We are just a group of retired spooks that discuss things that you’ll not find anywhere else. It makes us unique. Take a look around. Learn a thing or two.
During our “van days”; that period of time in between the discharge from the US Navy and when I was picked up with MAJestic…
…we were living in a van, working as a cook in San Louis Obispo, California and just doing the best we could with the little that we had.
And during that time, we lived in a broken down van; inoperable, dead, and even the door locks didn’t work. We climbed in and out though the sunroof. It was parked in a the tail end of the church parking lot. And so life moved on. We would exit the van, walk to work and walk back. It was tough, but we managed.
It was a time of great frustration, but of greater hope.
THis was years before the mass layoffs that gave all of America a taste of what a layoff actually was. And so, we were surrounded by “know it alls” who had no sympathy for us, as we plodded on.
One day, as we were walking to and from the van, we noticed another overloaded station wagon (late model and older) with tons of gear piled on its roof. So we kept on our walk and some of the guys offered us some marijuana.
Normally we wouldn’t take, but they looked like they were from Jamaica (they were) and so we chatted and hit some of their ganja. The group was The Wailers. Though, at that time, Bob Marley wasn’t with them.
They were fine and we had many a rambling and insightful conversation; that unfortunately I have long forgotten. *sigh*
They gave us free tickets to their concert, but we were too stoned. We thanked them, as they were starting to set up at the pavilion. Instead, we just smiled and just walked back to our van.
And that is the story of how my wife and I met The Wailers. Just some travelers just like us. When you get off the beaten track you will meet all kinds of people. And you will have all kinds of experiences.
Today…
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Jamming
Why do Hong Kong people not fight back when they are discriminated against in the UK?
Hong Kong separatists suffer racial discrimination in the UK, but for them, the nightmare does not come from Anglo-Saxon racism, but from the actions of the Tiandihui (also known as the Hongmen) to punish Chinese traitors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiandihui
Chinese abroad often rely on 3 kinds of civil society organizations for help: clan associations, hometown associations, and the Tiandihui.
Chinese embassies and consulates abroad are official institutions of the Chinese government overseas. They usually coordinate with government departments in the host countries through diplomatic means and are unlikely to intervene in private affairs.
Without the help of civil society organizations, overseas Chinese would not be able to gain a foothold in Chinatown.
The Tiandihui was founded by Ming loyalists in the early Qing dynasty to resist the Manchu invasion of China. This is an ancient organization that is still in operation today and it has become a multinational organization that also has branches in the UK.
Tiandihui members worldwide continue to observe certain common traditions: they all stress their patriotic origin; they all revere Lord Guan, a deified historic Chinese figure who embodies righteousness, patriotism, and loyalty; and they all share certain rituals and traditions such as the concept of brotherhood and a secret handshake.
Chinese Traitors in the UK are also divided into different levels:
Taiwan separatists have higher emotional intelligence. Although they are Chinese traitors, they will not show it on the surface.
Hong Kong separatists are 100% slaves of Anglo-Saxons. Even if Anglo-Saxons fart, they think it smells good.
Of course, Taiwan independence elements and Hong Kong independence elements are of no use. They only dare to be rebellious at home and remain calm abroad.
Tiandihui is a secret civil organization with many branches and complex structure, and does not conduct public activities.
Don’t expect the inefficient British police to protect Chinese traitors; they just need to accept their punishment honestly.
Dried Beef Casserole
Ingredients
2 cups dry macaroni, uncooked
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
6 tablespoons Durkee’s French fried onions
10 ounces dried beef, chopped
5 hard boiled eggs, sliced
Instructions
Combine soup and milk and stir until creamy, then add remaining ingredients except eggs. Mix well, then fold in eggs.
Cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight.
Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.
If desired, add more onion rings to top ten minutes before removing from oven.
BREAKING NEWS: ISRAEL SEIZES CRYPTO-CURRENCIES OF **ALL** PALESTINIANS – – – TERRORISM
Israel has ORDERED the crypto-exchange “Binance” to SEIZE the crypto-currencies of all Palestinians pursuant to Israeli Terrorism Law!!!!!
Israel did this by declaring the Dubai Exchange Company in the Gaza Strip, which is the only lawful crypto-currency entity allowed to operate in the Gaza Strip, to be a “terrorist organization.”
All Palestinians were required to use the Dubai Exchange Company for all their crypto-currency transactions.
Since the Israeli government declared the Dubai Exchange itself to be a “terrorist organization” all the money transferred by or through that company is then considered to be the property of the “terrorist organization” and thus subject to being seized!
Palestinians have APPEALED this mass seizure. Those Appeals are ALL being denied.
The DENIAL letter appears below in original Hebrew language, which has been machine-translated as follows:
BEGIN MACHINE TRANSLATION:
“In accordance with the authority delegated to me by the Minister of Defense, according to Section 61(a) of the Law on Combating Terrorism, 556- 2016 (hereinafter: “The Law on the Fight against Terrorism”) and further to your application as a reference, I would like to inform you that your claims against Seizure of property by virtue of an administrative seizure order (T56/23) signed by the Minister of Defense on November 1, 2023, by virtue of his authority according to the law, were examined by and rejected for the following reasons:
1. Section 56(b) of the Anti-Terrorism Law states, among other things, that the Minister of Defense may issue an order on Temporary seizure of property of a declared terrorist organization, as well as seizure of property that was used to commit a crime Serious terrorism or property where a serious terrorist offense was committed.
2. At the basis of the administrative seizure order (Tt56/23) is reliable intelligence information that teaches that wallets of cryptocurrencies, including one that is registered in your name, funds have been transferred by an organization — the declared terrorism of the Dubai Exchange Company in the Gaza Strip (declared on March 7, 2022, published in the 10084 p. 2505 on 4.4.2022.
3. According to the anti-terrorism law, cryptographic currencies that have been transferred by a declared terrorist organization constitute property of a declared terrorist organization and cryptocurrency wallets to which it has been transferred. Said property constitutes property that was directly used to commit a serious terrorist offense of providing a service or Establishing measures for a terrorist organization, as defined in the Law on Combating Terrorism, and therefore in accordance with the instructions The law allows the Minister of Defense to order their seizure by administrative order in preparation for their confiscation.
4. In light of the above, and if nothing is found in your claims to contradict the information that formed the basis of issuing an order The seizure, I intend to recommend to the Minister of Defense to order the confiscation of the property for which the seizure order was issued, In accordance with the authority of the Minister of Defense according to section 66(a) of the law.
5. According to the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Law, an appeal against this decision will be submitted as a petition to the Court of Matters administrative.
END MACHINE TRANSLATION —–
So the Israelis are considering ALL Palestinian crypto-currencies to be “terrorism” because they all went through the only lawful crypto exchange in the Gaza Strip, and Israel has now seized all that crypto-currency from the wallets of the people who sent it or received it. Whether that person was a “terrorist” or not, does not matter because the crypto-exchange itself was declared a “terrorist organization.”
Any of you who have Crypto-currencies, being held in a wallet that can be accessed by any exchange, should dump that crypto-currency absolutely immediately and get your money. What Israel has just shown is that they (or any other government) can simply make a declaration that the Exchange itself is a “terrorist organization” then grab all the crypto wallets that have ever been used via that exchange!
You would lose all your crypto, and automatically be considered to be “related to terrorist activities” with the stroke of a pen by some government lackey.
Remember this, too, when they start trying to get you to use “Central Bank Digital Currency.” They could do the exact same thing with that! You would find yourself cut off from all money. Try “appealing” anything when all the cash (you no longer have) is only “digital” and they just grabbed it all!
Today, as you scan your regular “news” sources, see if there is any reporting at all about this?
The TRAGIC TRUE Story Of The $280M Lottery Winner
A nightmare.
Shorpy
Parenting Gone Wrong: Spoiled Child Leads Family to Deadly Consequences At A Hotpot Restaurant
Have you ever caught a mechanic lying about a repair they claimed to have done to your car? What happened?
We recently bought out my wife’s company car, a Subaru Legacy, which we got a great deal on. Shortly before, while the car was still owned by fleet, we had taken the car in to the dealership for an oil change. This was before it got warm enough to need the air conditioner. Along comes summer and we notice the AC isn’t putting out cold air. I pop the hood and notice the wires to the compressor have been cut. I took a number of pictures from various angles and took the car back to the dealership and acted stupid, as if I had no idea why the AC was suddenly not working. An hour later they called to let me know they discovered that the wires had been chewed through, probably by a rat and said the entire wiring harness needed to be replaced at a cost of somewhere around $400–600. I lost my cool and told them they were lying to me and said it was obvious the wires had been cut. The service manager then told me they had found evidence of a rat’s nest under the hood. I told him I had taken a number of pictures of the engine compartment and that I had not seen any evidence of any rodent and said the wires were cut far too clean for them to have been chewed through and that it was pretty obvious this had been done when the car had last been in for service.
Thankfully my wife had a good relationship with the fleet manager and called him and asked for advice. He said to give us an hour and he’d get back to us. The dealership reached out shortly afterward and said they would be taking care of the damage at no charge to us. Apparently the fleet manager told them it seemed as though they were trying to take advantage of the fact that it was a fleet car (as it would have been had we not bought it out), had likely cut the wires expecting the fleet would be covering the repair bill (as they would have done had the car still been a fleet vehicle) and he was prepared to recommend blacklisting Subaru over their actions.
We will never take our car back to Carter Subaru in Shoreline (Seattle) again. Clearly they’re not to be trusted.
** Update: This answer must’ve recently been included in a digest email because it’s received a lot of attention. I figured I should probably update it with a couple of pictures I took before bringing the car in to the dealership. It clearly shows evidence of the “rat” that chewed, err, sliced through the wiring harness.
Which country has better fighters than the US? Are Russia or China known for having strong fighters?
Regarding the gap between fighter jets of China, the United States and Russia, the most appropriate objects of comparison are the three heavy stealth fighters: J-20, F22 and Su-57.
If we rank the number of the three types of heavy aircraft: J-20>F22>Su-57.
J-20, 100 new aircraft are produced every year
F22 has been discontinued for a long time, with only about 180 in total.
Su-57, no more than 10 are produced every year.
The combat effectiveness of the three heavy aircraft is ranked as follows: J-20>F22>Su-57.
The performance indicators of the fifth-generation fighter jets should be in order of importance:
Super perception (including informationization and intelligence): The maximum detection range of the F22 airborne radar is 250 kilometers, and the maximum detection range of the J-20 airborne radar is 300 kilometers.
Stealth: The J20 is more delicate than the F22. The J20 can adapt to various environments, whether it is the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau or the western desert. The J20 only needs an ordinary hangar to be deployed, unlike the F22, which needs a constant temperature hangar for maintenance. Finally, regarding the Su-57, I think if the Su-57 is optimized, the stealth performance still has a lot of room for improvement.
Supercruise and supersonic maneuverability: The F22 should be the one with the best supercruise capability at present because of its engine advantage, but the J-20’s supersonic optimization is the most thorough. After replacing the new engine, its supercruise and supersonic maneuverability will far surpass the F22.
Multi-purpose performance (including payload range): Theoretically, the multi-purpose performance of Su-57 should be the strongest, its bomb bay is deeper, and the front and rear columns are also convenient for arranging large missiles. Compared with the F22, the J-20 has a longer fuselage, larger fuel capacity, and a larger bomb bay, so its range and multi-purpose performance are greater than those of the F22. The comprehensive comparison is Su-57>J-20>F 22.
Subsonic maneuverability (including supersonic maneuverability, also known as super-stall maneuverability): This is the most controversial issue at present. The domestically produced Taihang improved engine currently installed on the J-20 is only a transitional version of the WS-15 engine. Its thrust is barely enough for the J-20, so its over-stall maneuverability is definitely not as good as that of the F22 and Su-57. However, with the advent and deployment of the WS-15 engine, these problems will be solved.
The US military itself knows very well that they are losing their air superiority!
Young Connecticut Man Will Only Give His GF A “Symbolic Wedding” To Safeguard His Hard Earned Wealth
Interesting. Phew! What a crazy life.
Good Job
One day, while I was working upstairs in my office, my German Shepherd came upstairs, stood in my office doorway barking at me.
Then he walked over to the top of the staircase barking as he looked down the stairs. He lifted his head, looked towards me and continued barking.
He walked back and stood in the office doorway again looking at me, barking.
He did this repeatedly for a few minutes while I worked. It became obvious he wanted me to follow him downstairs. I got up and asked him, “What’s the matter?”
As soon as I asked this our house began to shake.
Everything on my walls and shelves were rattling.
I did not understand exactly what was happening, but we both ran down the stairs while I yelled, “Let’s get the hell out of here!”
We got outside and I felt the ground moving.
Then it stopped.
We had just experienced an earthquake. They are practically nonexistent in our region. Somehow, my boy knew it was coming and came upstairs to warn me.
He did many intelligent things in his lifetime, but that was the most amazing.
Suspects That LOSE IT During Interrogations
Brutal.
Ukraine Develops ‘Its Own’ Cruise Missile
On the Ukrainian independence day former President Zelenski announced that Ukraine’s forces would soon use a “rocket driven drone”:
On 24 August, during the Saturday ceremonies for Ukraine’s Independence Day, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that today, Ukrainian forces for the first time targeted enemy troops with a new long-range drone.- This is our new method of retaliating against the aggressor. The enemy was hit. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. All the developers, manufacturers, and our soldiers. I am proud of you, Zelensky said during his speech, quoted by the Ukrainska Pravda portal.
The rocket-drone system, produced indigenously by Ukraine and gracefully named “Paljanica” (like the traditional Ukrainian wheat flour bread, which symbolizes hospitality and happiness), is a military innovation. During the official ceremonies, Zelensky stressed that it is a weapon of a “completely new class”. He emphasized that “it is difficult to counteract it, but very easy to understand why.”
The work on the rocket-drone was carried out in secrecy.
Zelenski published a video that shows a second of the cruise missile in flight.
This is not a drone but a turbojet driven cruise missile. Ukraine announced that it has been tested and could be used soon:
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov promised Monday the weapon would be used again soon in response to the overnight attack on Ukraine.“Ukraine is preparing its response. Weapons of its own production,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “This once again proves that for victory, we need long-range capabilities and the lifting of restrictions on strikes on the enemy’s military facilities.”
A Ukrainian military video hinted that its range is up to 700 kilometers (430 miles) — on par with the U.S.-supplied ATACMS. It showed a map with various airfields, including Russia’s Savasleyka air base, which lies within that range, adding that the Palianytsia can reach at least 20 Russian airfields.
Russia has expected longer range missile strikes for some time and its defenses are positioned appropriately. Another Ukrainian ‘wonder weapon’ will not impress it. Ukraine claims that the cruise missile was developed by itself:
One of the specialists involved in the long-range missile project said it was “a completely new development, from scratch” that began about 18 months ago.“This is not an extension of an old Soviet project,” said the specialist, speaking on condition of anonymity to safeguard the project’s secrecy. The missile has a solid-fuel booster that accelerates it, followed by a jet engine, the specialist said.
…
The specialist and Fedorov said each missile costs less than $1 million, and the military is turning to the private sector to bring down production costs further. “The private market generates solutions incredibly quickly,” the minister said.
I doubt that Ukraine has created its own cruise missile. There are too many parts of such systems, especially the navigation and targeting modules, that need high end solutions to be able to counter Russian electronic warfare measures and to deceive Russian air defenses. It expect that these will be derivatives from western projects.
Aside from that all Ukraine’s weapon and especially missile manufacturing facilities have been hit several times by Russian missiles. This morning a new large missile and drone attack again hit “the critical power infrastructure of Ukrainian defence industry”. Next to other infrastructure today’s strike damaged three irreplaceable 750 kilovolt transformer stations and several 330 kv stations.
The new Ukrainian cruise missile was probably designed by the U.S. or UK and its various modules will likely be assembled in Poland instead of Ukraine. Still, it will be a hassle to produce many of these. That is likely the reason why the Ukrainian leadership is begging daily to allow it to use long range missiles produced by the U.S. or Britain to hit targets within Russia.
So far the U.S. has blocked such moves because it fears retaliation by Russia. Russia has threatened to deliver such weapons from Russian production to U.S. enemies should the U.S. proceed and allow Ukraine to hit with U.S. weapons within Russia.
A “Ukrainian” cruise missile would of course eliminate that problem.
What happened in your office that became the stuff of legend?
We were getting calls from a lot of vendors about past due invoices – for MONTHS. This was so weird as our branch was doing very well and we just could not figure out why our vendors weren’t being paid. Invoices were posted in the AP and this should not have been happening. It got so bad that one of our major suppliers wouldn’t provide any more material until they were paid. This was bad – we had a MAJOR project going that we could not not have material.
We had what was called an Imprest Checking Account. We had a checkbook and could write checks for things like permits, licenses, etc. The cap per check was $500.00 with a monthly “allowance of around $3,000.00 per branch.
To avoid credit hold that month, our Branch Manager told the office manager to write a check for $30,000.00. Done and delivered, material is on the job site. Got a call from HQ/Co. President telling us we did a bad thing and not to do it again because overdraft fees.
Our AP admin decided to do some investigating. Holy carp – we were going gangbusters and collecting a lot of money every month but almost ALL of our AP was aging towards or past 120 days. So she looked in to the HQ office. Gee, all of their bills were being paid on time. So she took this info to the BM who called HQ and read them the riot act.
Next month, same drill – no material from the vendor for the project until they were paid. BM directed AP admin to write a check for $60,000.00.
A week later, same phone call from HQ President. BM invited us admins in to his office and put him on speaker so we could listen. Pres. was yelling and screaming at BM who just sat, calmly, nodding and listening. Pres ended his tirade with “What do you have to say?!” BM, very calmly, replied “Pay our fuickin’ bills.” Silence on the other end followed by unintelligible grumbling and a click. BM just sat there and smiled at the phone and the three of us were in awe. That man, our Branch Manager, was a legend.
After that, our bills were paid on time. I still tell that story and am still in awe of, perhaps, the best boss I ever had.
Wife Spent 5 Months On OnlyFans Before Confessing To Husband & The Reddit Army WENT CRAZY When He…
The term “relationship” has taken on new meaning these days. Not judging, but it is a bit of a shock to my 1960 era sensibilities.
How do you view the popularity of “Black Myth: Wukong” and the spread of Chinese culture?
Black Myth: Wukong” has shattered multiple global gaming records on its first day of release. As of 10 PM last night, it reached over 2.22 million concurrent players on Steam, topping the Steam concurrent player chart and setting a new record for single-player games. Additionally, “Black Myth: Wukong” has been the best-selling game on Steam globally for the past week, sweeping the charts in 12 regions including the United States, Singapore, Canada, and Italy.
“Black Myth: Wukong” sold over 3 million copies on Steam alone yesterday, and with sales on Epic, WeGame, and PS5 combined, the total surpasses 4.5 million copies, generating over 1.5 billion yuan in revenue. This figure is hundreds of times higher than the pre-sales of previous domestic single-player games (which typically reached around 100.
To be honest, no domestic single-player game has ever demonstrated such a terrifying dominance. Changcheng Securities even predicts that “Black Myth: Wukong” could catch up with top-tier games like “Elden Ring” and “Dark Souls” in terms of sales.
This is not blind optimism. With over 4.5 million copies sold in a single day and total sales exceeding 1.5 billion yuan, “Black Myth: Wukong” has set a new benchmark. For comparison, “Cyberpunk 2077” had 8 million pre-orders upon its release in 2020, and “The Last of Us Part II,” the 2020 TGA Game of the Year, sold 4 million copies in its first week. Moreover, “Black Myth: Wukong” reached 1 million concurrent players within 60 minutes, surpassing “Cyberpunk 2077.
“Black Myth: Wukong” is rich in traditional Chinese cultural elements, even featuring傩面 (nuò miàn,傩 masks).
Black Myth: Wukong” represents a significant milestone in the global dissemination of Chinese culture, offering a visually stunning and culturally rich gaming experience that has captured the attention of audiences worldwide. By examining the game’s portrayal of Chinese mythology, its impact on the global gaming industry, and its potential to foster cultural exchange, we can gain a deeper understanding of the role of video games in shaping cultural perceptions.
How will I survive prison being a 48-year-old male? I am awaiting sentencing in less than 23 days and I am facing up to 9 years in total in feds. How will I survived having ever been in prison before?
All right, sit down and listen. Jim Van Derlin wrote 10 things. do not forget any of it. Great stuff. Now, I was like 58 going into a Fed prison. I did time in 4 prisons including the Penitentiary at Victorville, CA and finished out my time at FCI Tucson, a medium-high that was rated as High due to it being a transfer point/holding site. Os some shit like that.
So, 9 years. Make amends. Payoff any debts you can. Say goodbye. Sell your car, cancel everything you can, your family won’t need it. If you have family, you will need to connect like never before because IF you get visits, they are hard. I didn’t even want my family coming to fucking prison. The penitentiary is surrounded by a 40′ wall lined with piles of razor wire. The inmates all look like they would eat your face just to stay busy. So you don’t think I’m insulting anyone, a big dude once asked me why I looked so mean, while we were in the visiting room. I think his daughter got scared. I was like ‘bro, you’re 6’9″, 325 pounds and have a face only a mother could love and you think I’m mean looking?
Before this fiasco, a speeding ticket ruined my month. I was not from the hood, I was not connected nor was I a fighting machine. So to reiterate a few comments from Jim, unless you want your asshole the size of a cucumber, DO NOT DO ANYTHING that causes you to owe money. $5 past due, a few homies come by, you no gots??? You trade for sex. It won’t necessarily be your choice. If Someone wants to give you a hit on a smoke, or a joint, DO NOT take it. Do not be surprised that the hit you took went on your tab. Yeah, the tab you didn’t know you had.
Respect others. Expect it back. If something goes sideways and nasty talk starts, you have about 10–12 seconds. If the other dude calms, let it rest. If he ain’t calm, expect an attack immediately. You will never argue more than 15 seconds before the shit flies! Be ready and swing back.
Carry yourself with confidence, but not arrogance. you can nod or a small half smile of acknowledgement to peeps you know from other races but do NOT think you can walk up and join a convo with another race. you’ll be sorry with a quick lesson.
My advice, do not be friends with the first guys that approach you. They will be conning you out of something. Hopefully, your bunkie or a guy from a close cell walks you down to the chow hall. Listen, answer questions honestly, and do not try to be someone you are not. Take it slowly. Be friend-LY with people but it takes months before you should trust or rely on others.
After the mental meltdown of the admitting process and the first few days of living in a parallel universe, you will start to go through your life. There is little you can do inside. I’m still married, somehow. Don’t expect to be. If you are and she waits, you are blessed.
I made it through my whole sentence until the last year. Something happened, I had years of being fed up. I started yelling about something. There were a couple of COs close by. The boys I was pissed at didn’t like being barked at in front of others. An hour later I got a visit at my locker. 5 dudes. A little talking, a little pushing. I counted and got to 11. I knew this was it. Early on in my sentence, I had decided that if I ever got hit by a group, it was gonna hurt. So I figured, I’m going to concentrate my “love and attention” on 1 guy. I wanted at least one dude besides me to walk with a limp, or a hanging arm, or a fucked up face! You’ll be in pain, but make 1 guy remember you. Word gets around.
China Threatens EU Dairy Economy, Argentina Gold In London, Major Bank “USD Big Crash Bets”
Tit 4 tat.
A HK story
So I rung my uncle in Hong Kong because I heard he had a fall recently.
He has to sit in a wheelchair for a while but he was in good spirits.
He was almost gleeful to share about Nathan Law’s recent travails.
Apparently, the white masters are cutting him loose and he is in a bit of a bind financially. His family and supporters are in trouble for sending him money. His mum even lost the subsidized housing unit due to rent arrears.
He wants Nathan to come back and face the music so the family don’t have to.
But he knows that is wishful thinking, because the man is a “chickenshit coward”. His original description is a little too colorful to print here.
He hates the leaders of the 2019 riots because his little side business went under during the mayhem, and incurred a tidy loss.
I don’t blame him.
I wish him a speedy recovery.
Why is China lagging behind India while its GDP is higher than India’s?
It’s commonly believed that India’s potential could soon eclipse China’s, but the real story is quite the opposite. While India’s GDP figures are catching eyes, China’s strategic investments in high-value sectors show that it is leagues ahead in sustainable economic growth.
You see, China isn’t just about huge GDP numbers. It’s about how they’ve managed to turn those numbers into substantial value through smart, forward-thinking strategies. Decades ago, China’s economy heavily relied on exporting low-margin goods. But today, the game has changed. China now focuses on high-tech manufacturing and mastering key technologies, earning significantly more per unit of export. For instance, a Tesla made in Shanghai leaves a big chunk of profit within Chinese borders, which wasn’t the case with the lower-margin goods they made years ago. The same goes for Huawei smartphones, which now rake in higher profits compared to the earlier contracts with Western brands.
Meanwhile, India’s economic landscape is in a different phase, more focused on assembly and service-based tasks. Even though India’s exports are expected to rise, the value they add to the economy pales in comparison to China’s high-tech exports. India finds itself deeply engaged in refining oil, assembling electronics, and providing software services. These sectors don’t bring significant value back home; most of the profits end up with the foreign owners of these technologies.
Another big part of the story is how each country invests in its people. China has poured resources into its education system, subsidizing costs and providing numerous scholarships, creating a skilled workforce geared toward innovation. On the flip side, Indian education remains expensive, burdening graduates and their families and making it challenging to cultivate a wide pool of talent needed for a tech-driven economy.
China’s economic prowess also stems from continuous investment in infrastructure and technology. The nation has heavily invested in electric vehicle batteries, solar panels, and wind energy, sectors that promise not just jobs but also position China as a future leader in these critical industries. India’s investment in high-tech sectors and infrastructure has yet to meet the same level of effectiveness.
Social factors can’t be ignored either. China has nurtured a meritocratic environment with a focus on achieving technological advancements. Meanwhile, India’s societal focus on celebrity culture and ongoing brain drain diverts attention from the systematic nurturing of its economic potential.
So, if you’re asking why China’s GDP doesn’t tell the whole story of its economic superiority, it’s because of these deep, structural investments and strategic choices. Despite China’s substantially higher GDP, it’s the focus on high-value, technology-driven sectors, education, and infrastructure that sets it apart. For India to bridge this gap, there would need to be a massive shift in educational policies, a serious dedication to infrastructure, and a move away from traditional economic activities toward more innovative sectors.
In essence, while India’s GDP growth might look promising at a glance, China’s underlying economic strategies make it a more formidable force on the global stage. This difference in developmental focus and investment is why China, despite what headlines might suggest, continues to pave the way for a more stable and prosperous future.
American’s can’t comprehend living like Chinese..
So interesting, making fun of Americans. Actually a really good video pointing out the importance of LIVABILITY where you live.
What is the craziest sale you’ve ever made?
I bought a Jeep for $250, drove it a half mile, and sold it for $2,500…unintentionally.
My roommate blew an axle out of his truck, so as I was taxiing him around, he had me take a shortcut. On that back road, I saw this Jeep next to someone’s house. A real Jeep, a 1986 CJ-7, the year before Chrysler took the company over and ruined it. Since I learned the shortcut, I kept going that way, and kept seeing that Jeep, for probably 3 months, although it had clearly been there for years.
It was the homeowner’s son’s Jeep, and he’d moved across the country. He abandoned the Jeep there and ended up sending his father the title to get rid of it. Since I convinced the father I wasn’t a junk car guy or planning on scrapping it, I gave it a good hard closeup look and asked for a price. He said the scrap car guys belittled it and said it was only worth $250 max. Since I genuinely wanted to fix it up for myself, I could have it for that price, which I had on me.
I paid for the Jeep, jump started it, and surprisingly it ran. The brakes were crap, and this Jeep looked horrible, but I saw potential. I stopped at a gas station, and the guy there was mesmerized by this rusty hunk of a Jeep covered in tree crap. He asked me if I would sell it, to which I said I doubt he’s make it worth my while. He then offered me $2,500. I almost crapped my pants. I drove it about a half mile and made 10 times what I paid for it. My plan was just to make sure it had enough gas to get home since the gauge read empty, but instead I made it home with a lot more than I planned on.
After I thought, if he shot me $2,500 right away, he may have been willing to pay more, but I was so shocked I didn’t think of it until later. Who knows…
Is it possible for missiles to defeat the Close-In weapon System (CIWS) like the Phalanx system on a ship?
Yes. The Phalanx fires at 3,000 rounds per minute to 4,500 rounds depending on model.
These are designed to shoot down sub-sonic missiles.
Chinese research shows that in order to shoot down high supersonic missiles (missiles traveling at Mach3 – Mach 5) you need a CIWS that fires at 10,000 rounds per minute.
Also if the missile is maneuvering in terminal phase then the faster the firing rate the better. You also need better radars and powerful computers to predict the missile trajectory and get there first with the gun.
Current Chinese CIWS fires at 11,000 rounds per minute.
Everything in in-place. What event – or false-flag – will be used to trigger Actual WW3?
Ukraine has lost 5,500 troops, 71 tanks, 30 Infantry Fighting Vehicles, 57 Armored Personnel Carriers, and 372 Armored Combat Vehicles in their two week long misadventure into Russia’s Kursk Region.
The staggering losses in such a short time reveal the complete idiocy of this maneuver by Ukraine, or the factual realization that any NATO planners involved, were utterly incompetent.
Medellin: The Sex Tourism Capital Of Colombia | Is This A Passport Bro Paradise Or Nightmare?
The war on “passport bros” has entered a new cycle; as a sexpat.
A friend of mine was born to rich (not billionaire) parents. His Grandad had started a company with nothing, his dad had taken it on and made it bigger and more profitable. He was the eldest son.
I met him when he was 22. He was a graduate from an elite university, and had a got a lucrative government sponsorship to study accounting, and I’d got sponsorship at 18, to do the same. Which is where I met him. I’m from a more typical background, 2 parents, working 9–5 jobs to pay the mortgage and put food on the table.
We talked about the differences between us, on and off, over the next year or two.
Most of us have to go to work to earn money, support our family, and we keep turning up because if we don’t, we might get sacked. Those who don’t put the effort in, don’t get the bigger, better jobs. None of this applies to “daddy’s boy”. He knew if he wanted it, he would be MD of the family company. If not, the family would appoint a manager or sell the business, and he could live off the profits.
His dad was conscious of this, and had asked him the question a couple of times:
At 18 – Nope, I want to go to Uni
At 21, Nope I want to study to be an accountant
at 24 – I’d like to work in the private sector for 2 years.
Even at 26, his dad did his best to dissuade him:
You have a good career ahead of you, outside the family business. You can do well. You don’t need to take this on if you don’t want to. I can get a Professional manager.
You know, whatever you do, people will say you were “given it”. You will never get any credit.
It won’t be easy. I won’t give it to you, I will give you a couple of jobs, and if you goof around, I will leave you there. People’s jobs and their families depend on this company, and if you become MD, you need to take that responsibility seriously.
Once you come in, you will struggle to get a job outside the company again, as companies will always look at your CV and say “No point taking him on. All we’ll be doing is training him up for when he goes back to the family company.”
If you make a mistake here, people won’t let you forget. You can’t move jobs, and leave it behind.
You are giving up a lot of (government) benefits, if you come here, more than I can give you, and without the responsibility.
When you are MD, it’s pretty lonely. It’s not like being one of the workforce. It’s just you. People will give you advice, but they have their own agenda, and it’s only you who has to live with the consequences.
There’s always the risk that the company will fail, despite your best efforts. Then you’ll be stuck.
It was during this time that I started to realize that there were downside was well as upsides to being born in to his family.
When he did take it on, his dad was as good as his word. He gave him proper jobs. He made him make the decisions, stand behind them, and if he made mistakes had to own them. Sadly, his dad passed away when he was only 56, so my friend became MD at 30, which was earlier and sooner than his dad and him expected or planned.
He enjoyed it, and did very well. Took the business on to the next level. Increased sales, increased profits, added new product lines, won new customers, put a new computer system in place, trained up the senior team, introduced new production technology, and moved the factory to a new site double the size of the last one, but it was a very demanding role. He was the only family member working in the business, and the wider family seemed to add to his stress, not share the burden. I did some benchmarking on pay rates, and was surprised by his remuneration despite his stellar performance. I advised him that he well below market rates. The family were very reliant on him, but didn’t seem to recognise his performance. In his 40s, he developed some stress related health issues, and stepped away from the business.
After a couple of years sabbatical, he opted not to go back, and took a less stressful and more supportive, and appreciated career, and the company did get a locum manager, and still has it to this day.
Here’s how a day in Z-9 Ad-Seg goes down, from the horses mouth
Sunrise:
The day starts early with medical pass at 0600. We kick things off getting the medicals handled first. By 0620, it’s chow time, and in Ad-Seg, that means meals served straight in the cells. The sergeant handles this personally, making sure it’s all by the book. Food goes through the tray slots, no face-to-face interactions. If it’s Ramadan, we’ve got specific procedures to follow, but the routine stays locked down tight.
After breakfast, inmates get their cleaning supplies through the slot. They’re expected to keep their cells up to standard—no exceptions. Hygiene checks happen regularly, and if someone’s slipping, it gets dealt with. Sometimes, it’s hard to see what’s going on in the cell because inmates like to put cardboard on their windows. That’s only allowed if the inmate’s an IEX’r (indecent exposure), otherwise, we’re not having it.
Mid-Morning:
Around 0800, it’s shower time. In Ad-Seg, showers are solo—no exceptions. Inmates get cuffed and escorted to the shower, where they have about 10 minutes. Then it’s straight back to the cell, still cuffed. No free movement here—everything’s on lockdown. If there’s a medical appointment or legal visit, it’s the same routine: cuffed, escorted, and back to their cell.
Afternoon:
Lunch comes around 1200, following the same procedure as breakfast—through the slot, no hassle. After they eat, they get a bit of in-cell time. Inmates might read, write, or get in some exercises. It’s a small break in the day, but they know the rules. If there’s any legal business or visits, it’s handled individually, under strict supervision.
Yard Time:
Yard is limited in Ad-Seg—only three hours a week. When it’s their time, they’re cuffed and escorted to the yard. It’s the only chance they get to stretch out a bit, but it’s still tightly controlled, with eyes on them at all times.
Evening:
Dinner rolls around at 1700. By now, everyone’s in the routine—food through the slot, no drama. After dinner, the day starts winding down. Mail gets handed out, and if they’re lucky enough to have a TV, they catch a bit of programming before lights out.
Night:
By 2100, it’s lights out. We lock down the unit for the night, making sure everyone’s where they should be. There’s no movement unless it’s an emergency. We do our rounds, checking cells, making sure everything’s in order. The night settles in, and it’s quiet—just the hum of the unit.
In Z-9 Ad-Seg, everything’s about routine and control. Medical at 0600, chow at 0620, showers, meals, and the limited yard time all follow a strict schedule. Whether it’s dealing with cardboard on the windows or getting the yard in, it’s all about maintaining order—tight, controlled, and always by the book.
My father was often not around when I was a young child.
But I remember an argument one dinner time with the 4 (my dad, mum, myself and my younger brother) of us sat around the dinner table, I would be around 8/9 my brother 5.
Things had been strained most of the day. Something was said and that led to an argument, I remember dinner plates being thrown, food going all over the place, i slid under the table and grabbed my brother and held my hands over his ears as words were being said I knew he shouldn’t hear.
They separated about 18 months later. The Divorce was messy to say the least and we were forced to spend time with him and his “new girlfriend” who had a little girl so she became our step sister… They ended up getting married a couple of years later and separating a few years after that….
My mum and brother were killed by a drunk driver in 1997 and my Dad who I had barely seen in 15 years given he was a violent drunk died in 2012.
It’s only relatively recently that I got back in contact with my stepmother to find out I had a half brother who was 35 years younger than me and born just before my dad died. But after that bomb shell we discussed memories and I worked out that dining table argument was him telling my mum that he had got her pregnant and that she wasnt my step sister but half sister.
That was the same conversation I discovered I potentially had other siblings too.
As it turns out I did…..6 in fact from 4 other relationships some from the same time he was married to my mum.
I’ve now a relationship with 5 of them, and in the process of adopting one of them, hes 12 and currently living in a kids home.
Leaders talk
China is the only permanent member of the United Nations Security Council not involved in any international conflict in recent years, demonstrating its commitment to peace, said Timor-Leste’s President Jose Ramos-Horta during an exclusive interview with CMG’s Leaders Talk.
At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Timor-Leste’s president paid a state visit to China from July 28 to 31. This is Ramos-Horta’s first visit to China after he took office in 2022 and the first state visit of Timor-Leste’s president to China since the establishment of diplomatic ties.
During the visit, the two sides agreed to strengthen bilateral relations, with Ramos-Horta saying China’s remarkable economic growth and commitment to global peace have drawn Timor-Leste to seek closer ties.
“China is a global power, it’s the largest economy in Asia, second largest in the world. Over the years, China pursued several strategic tracks, one is building China’s economy to these impressive heights, which make China a global economic power, a global financial power. The modernization of its defense force adds to that, and that creates some jealousy among those who view China as a rival. And sometimes the jealousy is exacerbated, and they try to repeat what was a failure of the 60s and 70s, the so-called ‘China containment’,” the president said.
“China was never involved in any of the major wars in recent decades. Whether the war in Afghanistan, the war in Yemen, in Iraq, Libya and in the ongoing one in Ukraine. China is the only permanent member of the Security Council that is not involved in an international conflict. So for us, its common sense to have strong relations with an Asian power, an Asian country that is also a global power. And I know the history of China going back many centuries. What China was then, particularly before World War Two, after World War Two, a lot of upheavals in China. But long before that, wars waged by foreign powers against China like the Opium War,” he said.
What is the most satisfying thing you have done to someone who blocked your driveway?
I decided to spraypaint my fence.
Some bloke pulled in front of the drive about 10 minutes before I was due to go out, locked his car and started walking away. I called to him to ask him not to park there and was told to “fuck off and deal with it.”
My drive is not on a road where you can get round a car parked like that. I was stuck. So, I called SWMBO and told her I’d be late to our appointment and to give my apologies.
An hour later the driver wasn’t back and I was going to miss my appointment. So I decided on revenge and decided to do one of the jobs SWMBO had been badgering me to do. Repaint the fence… using my new-ish sprayer. I didn’t use it very often as it’s not a very efficient way of painting, as it releases a lot of paint and on breezy days, it tend to drift… a lot.
Our chosen colour was a cedar red… don’t ask… so I alerted my neighbour as she had washing on the line and set up to spray the fence. I managed to get two coats on the 4 six foot fence panels either side of my drive… plus some excess on the ground inside the garden. It drifted outside as well, but I needed to do the outside as well. Outside the garden isn’t as sheltered as inside so the spray drifted a bit more… right onto the gleaming black Subaru Impreza parked across the drive. I only managed to get 1 coat onto the panels outside before it got too dark to see properly for painting, but not too dark to clean the ground inside and outside with a few buckets of water. It’s a water soluble paint after all. I didn’t see what time he left but would love to have seen his face the next morning when he saw his pride and joy splattered with dried on red fence paint.
SWMBO however was more than happy that I’d painted the fence finally.
Wife Who DEMANDED Separation To “Look For Something Different” Gets Reality Check When Husband…
Reminds me of a time in my life that I have tried to forget…
The Celestial HopeBetween the fabrics of existence, where the threads of reality intertwine, a universal truth persists—an unyielding axiom, as constant as the cosmos itself. Amidst the grand cosmic ballet where galaxies waltz and stars orchestrate an eternal symphony, a saga of boundless proportions unfurls—a tale that transcends the constraints of time and space.Eternity, an expanse beyond mortal comprehension, stands as an ever-present enigma, an eternal observer untouched by the transient choreography of moments. Here, within the unfathomable depths of cosmic vastness, a fellowship known as the Chosen Wanderers embarks upon an odyssey that defies the very essence of their immortal existence.At the helm of this eternal odyssey strides Captain Thalara, a figure of unwavering strength and profound sagacity. Her presence is a beacon of determination that pierces the veils of time, carrying upon her shoulders the monumental weight of leadership—a mantle forged in the crucible of unending epochs.By her side stands Lyndor, a spectral enigma whose eyes hold secrets as ancient as the cosmos itself. An heir to arcane lineage, he wields powers inherited from generations long past, now intertwined with his very being.Elysia, a luminary scientist ignited by an insatiable curiosity, graces the crew with her brilliance—a constellation of knowledge that shines even in the darkest reaches of the universe.
Completing this ensemble is Kaelen, a dauntless pilot whose hands navigate not only the cosmic currents but also the tides of destiny. His courage is a vessel that carries them through the currents of eternity, as he guides them toward uncharted horizons.
Through the collage of galaxies, where stars bloom and fade like cosmic flowers, their starship “Celestial Hope” navigates, leaving ripples in the very fabric of existence. The void echoes with the remnants of ancient civilizations—whispers of lives long gone, reminders of the impermanence of all things. Amid this journey, nebulous clouds of despair and tempests of doubt swirl, seeking to engulf their spirits in shadow. Yet, in defiance of the abyss, their camaraderie burns like a supernova—a radiant beacon against the inky blackness of space.
In the heart of this boundless expanse, Thalara’s voice resounds—a harmonious blend of weariness and unyielding resolve. “In the face of time’s inexorable tide, what path do we forge, when life’s embrace clings without release? Millennia have woven themselves into our very essence, as we traverse the chasm between universes, charting a course through the untamed cosmos.”
Lyndor, a specter of enigmatic wisdom and innate power, leans against the console, his gaze an ancient mosaic painted with the memories of eons.
“Within the currents of our veins courses the venom of eternity,” his voice carries a mournful timbre, heavy with the weight of choices made. “An oath, once taken with eagerness, now binds us with chains of regret—a curse woven into the very fabric of our being.”
Elysia, her fingers dancing across the luminescent constellations that map the celestial canvas, murmurs with reverence in her voice. “Recall the epoch when our predecessors glimpsed the unfathomable—a revelation of multiple big bangs, an eternal existence that defies all comprehension. Even the deities themselves pale in the face of such boundless expanse.”
Kaelen, the intrepid pilot who courts the cosmic unknown with audacious fervour, leans back with a half-smile that masks the weight he carries.
“Gods or no gods, our universe bowed to its inevitable conclusion—a requiem sung as stars winked out. Yet, we remain—ephemeral echoes in the aftermath, seekers of sanctuary in the wake of dissolution.”
As they negotiate wormholes that spiral like cosmic whirlpools and cross dimensions that shimmer like astral gateways, they traverse not only space but also the fabrics of existence itself. Their dialogues resonate like distant echoes through the corridors of the colossal starship—an intricate symphony woven from threads of hope, fear, and unwavering resolve.
“Sworn to a hope, we journey as bearers of the ages,” Thalara’s voice emerges as a soothing echo as the ship navigates the currents of the cosmos. “We are the chosen, tasked with the survival of ages.”
Lyndor’s eyes, impossibly ancient and eternally watchful, hold a depth of understanding that spans eras. “To comprehend eternity is to wrestle with its revelations—a truth more profound than any verse etched into cosmic parchment.”
Elysia’s gaze lifts toward the uncharted constellations beyond the viewport, her voice carrying both lament and wonder. “Our universe, once a cradle of myriad existences, now languishes—a relic adrift in the vast detritus of time.”
Kaelen’s fingers glide over the star maps he has charted, a testament to their journey’s wonder and weariness. “Yet, we endure, undaunted by the ceaseless ebb of eons that slip through our grasp.”
As their odyssey continues, a cataclysmic event unfurls—a singularity, born from the final gasp of a dying universe, threatens to consume them in its voracious maw. Amidst the concerto of alarms and the kaleidoscope of flashing lights, their voices rise like beacons in the tempest.
“A universe born anew, an era unseen,” Elysia’s breath catches, her voice a whisper amidst the maelstrom.
“An epoch that hungers to sunder us,” Kaelen’s voice is a resolute call amidst the chaos.
“Take any action necessary! Steer us away!” Thalara’s command cleaves through the tumult like a sword through the dark.
“Aye, captain,” Kaelen’s hands fly over the controls, each gesture a testament to his indomitable will.
Yet, the singularity’s maw widens beyond escape.
“Wormhole generators at full capacity in mere moments,” Elysia announces, her voice carrying both urgency and the weight of time itself.
“An eternity encapsulated within fleeting seconds,” Thalara’s mutterings become an indomitable mantra within the storm.
As alarms wail and the ship shudders beneath the onslaught of forces beyond mortal reckoning, Thalara’s call rings out with resolute clarity.
“Hold fast, all! Prepare for the impact that bridges being and oblivion!”
Lyndor’s incantations weave through the air, a desperate plea to mystic forces woven into the very fabric of reality.
“By the threads of existence, we stand resolute!”
Elysia’s voice, a poignant blend of awe and trepidation, pierces the chaotic symphony.
“Here, on this precipice, we straddle the boundary between existence and the void!”
Kaelen’s hands dance with an orchestral precision, their movement a symphony of defiance against impending annihilation.
“Falter, we shall not! Not now, not after traversing the rivers of time itself!”
Emerging from the cataclysm battered yet resolute, they find themselves adrift in the enigmatic embrace of eternity’s realm. Now the farthest off course that could be conceived, a billion light years have cascaded through their grasp, slipping like stardust through the hourglass of existence.
Thalara’s voice, a potent blend of determination and weariness, breaks the stillness that envelops them.
“Amidst the boundless expanse of eternity, we stand as sentinels—an embodiment of unyielding will. Though the search may seem to be at an end, the journey persists, for we are the very bridge between ages.”
Lyndor’s gaze, a window into stages long past, holds a glimmer of hope, a spark that transcends the barriers of time.
“Eternity may have claimed our lethargy, yet it has not extinguished our essence. We’ll make the proper repairs captain Thalara.”
Standing amidst the cosmic void, their silhouettes etched against infinity’s canvas, the echoes of their odyssey resonate through the corridors of existence—a harmonious melody that reverberates through the contexture of time. Their journey, one that challenged death’s dominion, embraced the abyss, and defied the very fabric of the cosmos, has become an indelible verse in the cosmic motif.
For even as they languor for a billion years, cradled within the timeless embrace of eternity, the saga of the Chosen Wanderers echoed across the cosmos—a saga woven into the very cosmic strings of existence. In the midst of interstellar ages, voyaging through the unfathomable vastness, the Celestial Hope and its devoted crew lay suspended in a timeless repose, a testament to their unwavering resolve in the face of unending existence.
The story of the Chosen Wanderers, forever inscribed in the cosmic annals, teaches that even in the ceaseless dance of stars and galaxies, in the unyielding expanse of eternity, the essence of mortal and immortal alike can forge pathways that transcend the constraints of time and space.
And now in their long great slumber, they tread upon the dreamy shores of a lush world untouched by the journals of history, the weight of countless eons finally lifts. A forgotten mission buried in the lost realms left long behind fades away. Before them unfurls the promise of life renewed, secrets unfurled beneath celestial constellations, and an uncharted future as infinite as the universes themselves.
But that too would be another story.
Enchilada Squares
Ingredients
2 (19 ounce) cans Las Palmas enchilada sauce
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can sliced olives
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
27 corn tortillas
Instructions
Brown ground beef.
Drain oil and add salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.
While meat is browning, heat enchilada sauce in medium size pan.
Heat oil in skillet. Place a tortilla in hot oil for 1 minute, then turn over and fry 1 more minute. Do not allow tortilla to become crispy.
Take fried tortilla and place in hot sauce for approximately 2 minutes, then take out and place in a 9 x 13 inch greased cake pan.
Repeat again until you have a layer with 9 tortillas.
Sprinkle half of the meat, 1/3 cheese, onion and olives.
Repeat another layer of tortillas dipped in oil and sauce as before.
Sprinkle remaining meat, 1/3 cheese, onion and olives.
Repeat another layer of tortillas.
Spoon leftover sauce atop.
Add remaining cheese, onion and olives.
When cool, cover pan with foil and refrigerate.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1/2 hour or until cheese melts.
Cut into squares and serve.
If serving immediately, place in oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US | American Reacts
Yeah. This is very good. So, so, so many things int he USA are fucked up right now.
What was the shortest interview you’ve had that led to a job offer?
I was looking at a Field service Job at a manufacturing plant that built Waste Water Treatment plants, it was a West German company with manufacturing in the U.S.
I knew absolutely nothing about waste water plant machinery.
As I sat down for the interview, the phone rang on the head of field service. He said excuse me but I have to answer that phone. He put the phone on speaker, a piece of new equipment would not start up, this was their first attempt to run it.
He placed the electrical schematics on his desk, as they discussed the problem, I could see them upside down, from where I was sitting.
Finally he says , I will get s tech there ASAP, and hung up the phone. I said I see the problem, they wired a relay wrong, and pointed to it on drawings. It should be normally closed, not open.
He stood up and said he had to do something and I’m not to move, he would be right back.
He was back in 15 minutes and hands me a wad of cash, and tells me I have 1 hour and thirty minutes to be at the Delta terminal , my ticket is at their desk, then hands me a company credit card to rent a car, and A company Air travel card for the return flight.
He said we will fill out your employment papers when you get back.
The problem was in Up State New York , I was in Birmingham Al.
Now for the “rest” of the story
The service manager called the plant with the problem once he Knew I was on the flight to NY, and told them a tech was on his way. Their response was “it better be a guy who’s been working for you a long time, and knows the equipment inside and out.
For the next 4 hours he tried to get a call to me , and for me to not tell them he just hired me this morning.
I never got that call, and the first thing the plant manager ask me, “How long have you worked on these machines ?”. My answer was “To Damn Long” and we both bust out laughing.
In 5 minutes the machine was running perfectly
Then he told me to call my boss, He’s been trying to reach you.
He couldn’t believe I answered that question without lying, and manager was happy with the answer, with me not knowing how important the answer was.
What are some of the most morally justified crimes ever committed?
Recently, Shane Goldsby, a 26-year-old U.S. inmate, bludgeoned, stomped, and kicked his 70-year-old cellmate, Robert Munger, to death.
You might think this is just another random case of prison violence, or perhaps a situation where some prisoners take the moral high ground by killing a more sadistic and violent criminal. Indeed, the latter was the case, though it was a more isolated incident. After all, Munger had been incarcerated for 43 years for crimes involving child sexual abuse. Anyone might feel justified in wanting to see him punished severely.
Munger was serving a 43-year sentence at the Airway Heights prison in Washington State for child molestation and child pornography offenses when, due to a non—coincidental administrative error, he was placed in the same cell as Shane (one of his victims’ brother.)
Shane claimed that Munger would repeatedly brag about his crimes and the morally abhorrent deeds he had committed against those poor children.
“I had so much stuff going on in my head,” he told the station. “I wasn’t stable at that point. I wasn’t. I was getting to that point because [Munger] kept wanting to give me details about what happened, what he did – about the photos and the videos of him doing this stuff. It was building up.”
Shane said he couldn’t believe he had been assigned to the same cell as Munger and made a request to the authorities to be moved, but it was ignored.
“I completely feel like this is what they wanted to happen,” he said.
“I was in shock,” he added. “I was like, ‘what the f***?’… This stuff doesn’t happen. You’re talking the same institution, the same unit, the same pod, in the same cell as this dude. That’s like hitting the jackpot in the casino seven times.”
“They put me in a position that I shouldn’t even be in. This shouldn’t have happened at all. You’re talking about this dude, who did some sick, twisted things to my little sis. My family. My blood. My life. And you want to put me face-to-face with this dude?” Goldsby said.
As expected, a man can only remain sane for so long when he’s sharing a cage with his sister’s molester. Goldsby eventually snapped, attacking the older man in a common area of the jail.
Court documents reveal what happened next, showing how Goldsby hit “Munger in the face and head area about 14 times, stomped on his head at least four times, and kicked him a couple more times before walking away and being taken into custody.” Munger died three days later.
The Washington Department of Corrections has policies to prevent connected inmates from being assigned together, but reportedly missed the connection in this case because Shane and his sister have different last names.
“There was no clear indication in the documentation regularly reviewed for housing assignments that there was a potential conflict,” DoC spokeswoman Janelle Guthrie told the Spokesman-Review newspaper.
In court, an emotional Shane stated:
“You put me in the same cell as this dude. I feel set up. I’m the victim.”
At his sentencing, Shane was too emotional to read a statement, so his lawyer spoke on his behalf.
“I’m ashamed of my actions. I was put into a situation that I don’t wish on anyone,” she said on Shane’s behalf. “I have a lot of fixing to do.”
“I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose a loved one in this kind of way,” Shane said through his lawyer.
“To his wife and his whole family, I apologize. I am so sorry, and I hope you are able to heal from what I caused.”
Unfortunately, the law frowns on morally justifiable murders and Shane must now serve an additional 24 years and also pay restitution to Munger’s family.
AI generated kingly pictures
Today’s AI developments…
Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of Singapore, delivered his first National Day speech, saying that Singapore is not a western society. What does this mean?
On August 18th, local time, Lawrence Wong, the new Prime Minister of Singapore, delivered his first Prime Minister’s speech in Malay, Chinese and English at the National Day mass meeting in Singapore.
The Prime Minister’s speech at the National Day Mass Meeting is one of the most important speeches in Singapore every year. During the speech, Lawrence Wong’s speech in Chinese caught my eyes.
Lawrence Wong said: “Singapore uses English as the common language, but we are essentially an Asian society, not a western society.” He also said that all Singaporeans want to preserve the spiritual outlook and traditional values of Asians.
Later, Lawrence Wong took himself as an example to encourage people to receive Chinese education. He said that when he was a child, he didn’t have the opportunity to speak Chinese at home. He didn’t start learning Chinese until he went to school. When he graduated from junior high school, he got A1 (the highest level) in Chinese.
Lawrence Wong promised that the Singapore government would adjust its education policy.
“We hope to train more talents who are proficient in Chinese, which means that we have not only elites, but also elites.”
Lawrence Wong’s speech in Chinese not only emphasized the importance of Chinese education, but also continued the “Asian values” emphasized by Singapore’s leaders in previous generations, and also vaguely expressed Singapore’s diplomatic stance that it would not take sides.
In view of Singapore’s important strategic position and influence in ASEAN countries, the United States has spared no effort to win over Singapore for many years.
Lee Kuan Yew once said very bluntly: China (navy) has no strength to protect Singapore.
As a tiny island country located in the throat of the ocean, you forced Singapore to die if you didn’t fall to the west.
Understandable.
And Singapore has indeed achieved the goal of being as neutral as possible while leaning to the west and seeking the greatest benefit for itself.
Under the current circumstances, the basic logic of Singapore’s unilateral turning to the West has not only disappeared, but also gone to the opposite side.
If you fell to the west completely because you were afraid of the western navy, then you can’t hope to maintain the previous state after China’s naval power became strong, and more thoroughly fall to and introduce the west to harm China’s interests.
Singapore has really developed the ability to assess the situation in the game of great powers, and it has been flexibly adjusted in different times.
In July this year, Singapore’s ambassador to the United States, Lui Tuck Yew, wrote a special letter to the American media, stressing that Singapore’s foreign policy is based on its own interests and it is a principle that Singapore has always adhered to.
Before taking over as Prime Minister of Singapore, Lawrence Wong made it clear in an interview with The Economist that Singapore would not choose between China and the United States, but would give priority to its own interests.
In his speeches in Chinese, Lawrence Wong mentioned “culture” and “Chinese” for 9 to 11 times, with special emphasis on cultivating people’s Chinese ability.
He said that Singapore hopes to preserve the spiritual outlook and traditional values of Asians. At the same time, the advantages of bilingualism and biculturalism can absorb the wisdom of the East and the West, and can deal with both countries. This is Singapore’s unique competitive advantage.
In my opinion, Lawrence Wong mentioned that “Singapore is not a western society”. The core theme is that Singaporeans can speak both English and Chinese, embrace the western social system, and retain the eastern spiritual culture. They can get along well with the United States, Britain and China. This is a unique and huge advantage of Singapore in the world, which must be maintained.
Forbidden Planet – Miranda Likes to Watch – Reaction
When I was turning into a young man, perhaps 18, or 19 or so I used to hang out with my best friend; Robbie. Now, I have mentioned elsewhere that he also had a group of friends. They were “orbiters” of his circle of friends. They were fine and we got along just fine.
Now, they hardly ever talked. There were three of them. All brothers. one set of twins and an older brother one year older. Their name was Bracken, and we just referred to them as the “Bracky bros”.
They rode around in a black duster.
It was an amazing car, and in the late 1970’s it could really barrel down the roads. But you know, they weren’t piston heads. No. They were just good-time guys that liked to drink and party.
Because they didn’t speak too often, they reminded me of Larry, Daryl and Daryl from the Newman show.
I was always under the impression that they were rather poor. I didn’t think any of them held jobs and they didn’t actually appear all that bright. So that assumption was based on the friends that they hung out with: Robbie and the rest of the Western Pennsylvania crew.
Well… one day, I had to go with Robbie to visit them at their home. I had never been there before, and we took some back roads, and then finally saw the lone mailbox at the side of the road. We then drove though the driveway. And it was a long one. Sheech!
Finally, it opened up at a large, massive house with a five car garage, and a few other out-buildings. I met his sister (well one of them), Heck! I didn’t even know that he had a sister.
And his mother.
Turned out that their eldest sister was in the United States foreign service overseas, and their parents were very well to do. I didn’t get the opportunity to go inside, but I didn’t need to. You could smell the wealth from inside the car.
It is said that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and that is true, but you must be extra cautious in judging people by appearances and associations. I was under the impression that the Bracky boys were the same as the other guys they partied with. They weren’t. They always remained aloof and observing.
And now I know why.
As you get older, you experience things and learn things. Be care and wise out there.
Today…
As a teacher, what is the harshest truth a student has ever taught you?
Shortly after my divorce, I was teaching reading in 6th grade. I was unhappy but going through the motions of teaching the best that I could. I was tired after school and less than a model parent to my own two children.
One of my 180 students that year, Mark, a quiet and polite student, was only attending my first period class two or three days a week. He rarely did his homework and failed most of his tests. At a conference with his other core teachers, I was not surprised to find out that he was failing his other classes as well. As a teaching team we called a parent teacher conference. We were hoping to work together with Mark’s parents in an effort to help Mark’s attendance and motivation.
The conference was scheduled for 7:15am in the morning before school. Mark’s father came in smelly, unkempt, extremely overweight and drunk. His mom had left the family with no notice or word of if she’d ever return. Mark’s father was explosive, miserable and ready to punish Mark harshly if he didn’t improve. Quite frankly, I was a little afraid for Mark.
After the conference I asked Mark to come to class just to talk for a minute. After starting the class and assigning a task for the other students, I called Mark to my desk and told him that I was sorry for his situation and hoped things would get better for him. I asked him if he might find more peace at home by doing some of the things his father asked him to do.
Mark responded quickly, “Why? So I can be more like him?”
My harsh truth came instantly. I realized then that I needed to be a happier, healthier person to give my own kids a better example. Why would they want to do what I asked if they saw me as a miserable adult? Mark motivated me to become a happier adult and taught me how to be a better parent.
P.S. Thank you all for your questions of concern for Mark. I would love to tell you a happy success story for him. However, shortly after the conference, Mark and his father moved away from the school area. He didn’t stay in touch with me, any of his other teachers or any of the students. Sadly, I don’t know what happened to Mark. I wish this was an isolated incident but our schools are full of similar stories, especially in lower socioeconomic areas. In my opinion, this type of story won’t improve until parenting improves. Is there hope for advancing parenting skills?
Men Are REJECTING College EN MASSE And Choosing Trade Schools While Women Rack Up Debt
THE FOURTH TURNING: What Every Boomer Patriot & “Prophet” Needs To Understand—POST-HASTE!
Editors Note: The following prescient essay on “The Fourth Turning” was published 14 years ago and much has transpired which has borne out that “the final turning of the screw” is now taking place. Therefore, it behooves everyone, young and old, rich and poor, smart and foolish to take heed of what is upon US. That “US” is these once United States of America.
There’s an old adage: “Whenever America catches a cold, the rest of the world comes down with pneumonia.” Which means that when The Fourth Turning hits the USA hard, as it will with the climax of the 2024 election cycle, the entire planetary civilization will also get busted upside the head with a four-by-four. And why shouldn’t it in light of the utter depravity to which Western civilization has sunk. See: Shocking French Depravity On Full Decadent Display During Degenerate Olympics
What’s the critical point?
If you don’t know about, and believe in, and understand “The Fourth Turning” by now, you had better, because otherwise you will soon feel like you have been hit like a ton of bricks before you have been run over by a freight train. And, for many folks, even that is a gross understatement. See: HUGE Changes Coming To Planet Earth
Perhaps the single greatest driver of the rapidly accelerating downward spiral, which the wealthiest and most powerful nations on Earth are now experiencing, is the inexorable push toward technological singularity. More specifically, it’s the Transhumanism Agenda and the quest for Autonomous Superintelligence that is driving the entire world into the abyss. For the attainment of human immortality is nothing but a satanic desire to usurp the divine. See: AUTONOMOUS SUPER-INTELLIGENCE & TECHNOLOGICAL SINGULARITY: The Real Driver Of The Free-Fall Civilizational Collapse
What’s really crucial to correctly comprehend during the upcoming tumultuous, turbulent and tempestuous times is that there is ONLY one way to navigate them successfully. For only living life, going forward, on a firm spiritual foundation will get US through this eye of the needle. That’s for real!!!
Those who are completely broke, busted and disgusted need to know that a strong connection with the divine is the ONLY solution. For when The Great Leveler cometh, those who are disconnected from the Supreme Being will have nothing to support them, and nothing to hang on to. Hence, the acquisition of right knowledge can be very helpful toward that end. And knowing one’s place during this most defining moment in human history can be very empowering and edifying. See: THE NEW ATLANTIS: Master Plan Of The Ages
So, no matter how old you are or what your station in life currently is, get a grip at least on the mundane forces that are gathering around all of US as well explained below. For the more prepared each of US is, the more we can mutually support each other and see this thing through to a positive outcome. After all, this is the time we have all been waiting for … … … and why each of US was born during this “GREATEST SHOW EVER ON EARTH”.
One last pivotal point, and it’s as urgent as it gets. You will soon read about the central role that the Baby Boomers play in this final battle in this last war between the forces of light and the powers of darkness. In their current stage of Elderhood, the Boomers are the “Prophets” of society. They are older and wiser and braver than the rest of you. Therefore, it behooves all the younger generations to listen carefully to them and not mock them as they have for decades. After all, it was the Baby Boom Generation, working very closely with the Beat Generation, who shut down the Vietnam War—the first war ever terminated by a popular movement in world history.
Baby Boomers Your Financial & Economic
Winter is Coming, The Fourth Turning
“Thus might the next Fourth Turning end in apocalypse – or glory. The nation could be ruined, its democracy destroyed, and millions of people scattered or killed. Or America could enter a new golden age, triumphantly applying shared values to improve the human condition. The rhythms of history do not reveal the outcome of the coming Crisis; all they suggest is the timing and dimension.”
Winter is coming. Are you prepared? Americans see time as their enemy. Most Americans have bought into a view of the past and future as linear. When you observe the world in linear way and things are going well, the population is happy and confident. If you view the world in a linear way and things are going badly, the population sees nothing but terrible times ahead. This linear outlook of history and the future is not rational or supported by facts.
I’m convinced that world history is not on a linear path towards Armageddon and the Rapture. This belief is preached by many of the mainstream religions, but the truth is that we’ve seen this movie before and it doesn’t end in the 2nd Coming of Christ. The American belief in a destiny of never ending progress will undergo its 3rd major crisis period since its founding. The resolution of this crisis is 10 to 20 years in the future. The outcome will remain in doubt until the definitive resolution.
Our everyday lives clearly support a cyclical view of the world. There are 24 hours in day progressing from light to darkness and back again. There are 365 days in a year progressing from Spring to Summer to Fall to Winter, and then starting the cycle over again. A month is dictated by the four phases of the Moon. Our oceans rise and fall in a predictable pattern of high tides and low tides based on lunar phases.
Even Christian religions that preach a linear view of the world, celebrate their beliefs in a predictable annual cycle encompassing the life of Christ from is birth, life, death and resurrection. The human life cycle extends 80 to 100 years going through the stages of childhood, young adulthood, midlife, and elderhood. This cycle has not changed over the whole history of earth. A long human life approximates a century of time. The rhythm of time has a regularity and cadence that is predictable on a generational level. The elites, most academics, religious zealots and social engineers scoff at the idea of predictable cycles of history. It throws a monkey wrench into their deceptive self aggrandizing agendas.
Generational Theory
“We perceive our civic challenge as some vast, insoluble Rubik’s Cube. Behind each problem lies yet another, and another, ad infinitum. To fix crime we have to fix the family, but before we do that we have to fix welfare, and that means fixing our budget, and that means fixing our civic spirit, but we can’t do that without fixing moral standards, and that means fixing schools and churches, and that means fixing the inner cities, and that’s impossible unless we fix crime. There’s no fulcrum on which to rest a policy lever. People of all ages sense that something huge will have to sweep across America before the gloom can be lifted – but that’s an awareness we suppress. As a nation, we’re in deep denial.”Strauss & Howe – TheFourth Turning
Anyone who is being honest recognizes the country is on a path towards a major calamity. We have been living beyond our means for decades and the fiscal mismanagement of the country will come to a dramatic climax in the next decade. What many deny is that this crisis was pre-ordained based upon a predictable timeline of generational forces repeating over and over again throughout history. The elites are continuously stunned that every 20 to 25 years a fresh mood engulfs the country and new generations act differently than the generations who proceeded them. The privileged are astounded because they don’t want to accept the fact that progress is not linear and that society will undergo highs and lows over the course of a century.
Strauss and Howe have been able to trace consistent 80 to 100 year generational patterns throughout modern history. The 20 to 25 year quartiles are a High (1st Turning), an Awakening (2nd Turning), an Unraveling (3rd Turning), and a Crisis (4th Turning). They have also identified four archetypes that occupy their necessary position within the 80 to 100 year cycle. These archetypes are Prophets, Nomads, Heroes, and Artists. History forms the generations as the generations create history in a repetitive dance throughout the ages. The archetypes always follow the same path. As an example, the Prophet archetype is always born during a High, comes of age during an Awakening, enters midlife during an Unraveling, and spends their elderhood during a Crisis.
Below are charts detailing the archetypes and the 12 Turnings since the founding of the American Republic. There is a remarkable consistency of timing and scope regarding the previous Turnings in our history.
The archetypes that comprise a human life cycle follow the same repetitive pattern throughout history and they show the same traits and attitudes as their preceding archetype. Strauss & Howe describe the archetypes as follows:
A Prophet generation grows up as increasingly indulged post-Crisis children, comes of age as the narcissistic young crusaders of an Awakening, cultivates principle as moralistic mid-lifers, and emerges as wise elders guiding the next Crisis. (Boomers – indulged, narcissistic, moralistic, wise)
A Nomad generation grows up as under-protected children during an Awakening, comes of age as alienated young adults of a post-Awakening world, mellows into pragmatic mid-life leaders during a Crisis, and ages into tough post-Crisis elders. (Generation X – abandoned, alienated, pragmatic, tough)
A Hero generation grows up as increasingly protected post-Awakening children, comes of age as heroic young team workers of a Crisis, demonstrates hubris as energetic mid-lifers, and emerges as powerful elders attacked by the next Awakening. (Millennial – protected, heroic, hubristic, powerful)
An Artist generation grows up as overprotected children during a Crisis, comes of age as the sensitive young adults of a post-Crisis world, breaks free as indecisive mid-life leaders during an Awakening, and ages into empathetic post-Awakening elders. (Homelanders – suffocated, sensitive, indecisive, empathetic)
The First Turning is referred to as a High. A High always follows a period of Crisis. The hallmark of a First Turning is a heightened sense of community and collective confidence, driven in part by the fact that the society has just come through a difficult and challenging period. Consequently, during First Turnings, societal institutions tend to be strong while individualism is weak. The post-World War II “High” of the mid-1940s through early ’60s is the most recent example of a First Turning.
The victory over Nazism and Fascism marked the beginning of this High. The United States was on top of the world. We exited World War II as an ascending superpower. The Marshall Plan rebuilt Europe and Japan. The middle class grew and flourished as former GI’s built the suburbs and the interstate highway system. During this period Old Prophets disappear, Nomads enter elderhood, Heroes enter midlife, Artists enter young adulthood—and a new generation of Prophets is born. These new Prophets were the Baby Boom Generation.
The Second Turning, called an Awakening, starts out feeling like the high tide of a High, with signs of advancement and prosperity everywhere. Just as everything seems to be going along swimmingly, large swaths of society begin to chaff under the social conformity of the High, beginning to gravitate to more individualistic pursuits and demanding that their personal interests come first. The “Consciousness Revolution” of the mid-1960s through early 1980s was our most recent Awakening.
The trigger for this Turning was the assassination of John F. Kennedy. No one expected the turmoil that would occur over the next 10 years. Urban riots, campus riots, Civil rights protests, Kent State, Woodstock, Watergate, the feminist movement, counterculture, drugs, violent crime and family strife marked the next two decades. The New Age movement and Me Generation dominated the culture until the Reagan era. During this phase Old Nomads disappear, Heroes enter elderhood, Artists enter midlife, Prophets enter young adulthood—and a new generation of child Nomads is born. These Nomads are known as Generation X.
The Third Turning, called an Unraveling, is the opposite of a High. Individualism rules, while establishments such as government, religion and military are increasingly weak and discredited. Neil Howe describes a typical Unraveling:
“This is a time when social authority feels inconsequential, the culture feels exhausted, and people feel bewildered by the number of options available to them. It is a time of celebrity circuses and a tremendous amount of freedom and creativity in our personal lives, but very little sense of public purpose.”
The most recent Third Turning began in 1984 with Ronald Reagan’s optimistic Morning in America message led to the fall of communism and the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The culture wars that have raged since the mid-1980’s have turned the initial optimism into an overwhelming sense of pessimism. There is no national consensus. The country’s leaders have ignored national problems such as unfunded Social Security and Medicare obligations, a coherent energy policy, and a deteriorating educational system. Popular culture centers around celebrity circuses like Michael Jackson’s death and Michelle Obama’s fashion choices.
Americans reflect darkly on the future as growing financial and social inequality tears at the fabric of the country. The rich take advantage of the financial service economy and grow ever richer at the expense of the middle class. The poor pay no taxes and receive social transfer payments and take advantage of easy credit to live like the rich. The middle class is disillusioned and angry as manufacturing jobs leave the country.
Previous periods of Unraveling in American history were also decades of cynicism and bad manners. The Roaring 20’s were the last Unraveling period that led to the stock market crash in 1929, the Great Depression and World War II. History teaches us that Third Turnings inevitably end in Fourth Turnings. During this phase, Old Heroes disappear, Artists enter elderhood, Prophets enter midlife, Nomads enter young adulthood—and a new generation of child Heroes is born. The latest Hero generation is the Millenials
Lastly, there is the Fourth Turning, called a Crisis. We are currently on the verge of a Fourth Turning. This is a time of great turmoil, when society’s basic institutions are torn down and rebuilt, and seemingly intractable problems are addressed. The apparently unsolvable financial dilemma of the country along with comprehension that Peak Oil has occurred will trigger the Crisis.
The ultimate resolution could be rational and well thought out or it could end in a fiery fight to the death between countries or generations. During Fourth Turnings, America engages in a struggle for its very survival and redefines its identity as a nation. Large wars are often a part of this process. The American Revolution, Civil War, Great Depression, and World War II were all facets of past Fourth Turnings. During this period Old Artists disappear, Prophets enter elderhood, Nomads enter midlife, Heroes enter young adulthood—and a new generation of child Artists is born.
According to Strauss & Howe past Fourth Turnings in U.S. history we have overcome intractable problems and forged a new beginning:
“In the 1790’s, they triumphantly created the modern world’s first democratic republic. In the late 1860’s, wounded but reunited, they forged a genuine nation extending new guarantees of liberty and equality. In the late 1940’s, they constructed the most Promethean superpower ever seen.”
Sometime between today and 2025, this nation will undergo a test of its very survival. The ultimate outcome will be in doubt. Strauss and Howe paint a dire picture of the coming decades:
“The risk of catastrophe will be very high. The nation could erupt into insurrection or civil violence, crack up geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule. If there is a war, it is likely to be one of maximum risk and effort – in other words, a total war. Every Fourth Turning has registered an upward ratchet in the technology of destruction, and in mankind’s willingness to use it.”
Boomers Unraveling
“America feels like it is unraveling. Though we live in an era of relative peace and comfort, we have settled into a mood of pessimism about the long-term future, fearful that our superpower nation is somehow rotting from within.”
Most of my adult life has been spent during the current Unraveling. In 1984 I was twenty-one years old and about to enter the workforce. The country was recovering from the worst recession in decades and the turmoil of the 1970’s was subsiding. Ronald Reagan (GI Generation) won re-election with a 49 state to 1 landslide victory over Walter Mondale using his Morning in America campaign slogan. Reagan’s tax cuts, interest rates starting a two decade decline and increased military spending combined to juice the economy. Reagan’s policies were the final dagger in the side of communism.
The Soviet Union collapsed and the Berlin Wall fell. What many thought was the end of history, with democracy and capitalism victors, turned out to be a fleeting high. The initial signs of Unraveling were seen during Reagan administration. The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, leading to questions of competence at NASA. The Iran-Contra scandal derailed the Reagan agenda as he showed signs of mental decline. The American military retreated from Lebanon after 220 Marines were killed in a terrorist attack. The stock market crashed, losing 508 points in one day, a 23% decline. The movie Wall Street with its amoral cynical view of the world captured the darkening mood of the country.
The first George Bush administration was marked by the Gulf War, which planted the poisonous seeds for our future War on Terror, and the recession which cost George Bush a 2nd term. The unraveling could clearly be seen in the 1992 Presidential election, as Ross Perot won the most votes as a 3rd Party candidate since 1912. During the Clinton administration the country continued to fragment, became more divisive, and cynical.
Politics became gridlocked, which resulted in reduced government spending. A laissez-faire attitude was promoted by Alan Greenspan and Robert Rubin for the financial markets. This led to the Dot.com bubble and its eventual collapse. Trust in financial, government, and religious institutions continued to erode. The Oklahoma City bombing and the Columbine high school slaughter convinced many that something was very wrong with our culture. A distrustful alienation had solidified into an overwhelming gloom.
The Unraveling picked up speed during George W. Bush’s administration. The stock market continued to implode, the economy entered recession and half the country felt that George Bush was not a legitimate President. Then the country was shaken to its core by the 9/11 attack. For a brief time, the country rallied around the flag and fully supported the invasion of Afghanistan. This appeared to be the trigger for the next American Crisis. Instead, it resulted in an acceleration of the Unraveling. A true trigger for a Crisis period will rally the entire population (Fort Sumter, Pearl Harbor).
The disastrous invasion of Iraq, horrific financial management of the economy by Alan Greenspan, individualistic greed and hubris of Wall Street, blatant corruption in Washington D.C., and complete lack of regulation by governmental agencies led to the collapse of the global economy in 2008. Decisive public action regarding $56 trillion of unfunded social liabilities, soaring public and private debt, and non-existent energy policy has been deferred for decades. Now there is no doubt that this paralysis and inaction will lead us into the next Crisis. The majority of Americans feel we are not on the right track, because we’re not. The coming catastrophe will truly test the mettle of our country.
Generation X – Assuming Command
“We yearn for civic character but satisfy ourselves with symbolic gestures and celebrity circuses. We perceive no greatness in our leaders, a new meanness in ourselves. Small wonder that each new election brings a new jolt, its aftermath a new disappointment. Not long ago, America was more than the sum of its parts. Now, it is less. Around World War II, we were proud as a people but modest as individuals. Fewer than two people in ten said yes when asked, Are you a very important person? Today, more than six in ten say yes. Where we once thought ourselves collectively strong, we now regard ourselves as individually entitled. Yet even while we exalt our own personal growth, we realize that millions of self-actualized persons don’t add up to an actualized society.” – Strauss & Howe (The Fourth Turning)
Barack Obama became the 1st Generation Xer to be elected President of the United States. His background is a classic Nomad story. He has lived the life of a wanderer, living all over the globe, a child of divorce, fatherless, raised by grandparents, and a free agent in his career. Generation X grew up as abandoned children and alienated young adults. Generation X leaders will be pragmatic, savvy and practical. Obama has proven thus far to be pragmatic and able to get his agenda initiated. Previous Nomad leaders who proved to be highly competent doers during a time of Crisis include Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Patton, and Harry Truman. You may not agree with Obama’s plans or policies, but it is clear to anyone that he is an intelligent, pragmatic man that will institute dramatic change in the policies of the United States.
It is very likely that Barack Obama will lead the country into the next Crisis. He will not lead us out of the Crisis, as it is unlikely to subside until 2025. As the Unraveling transitions into Crisis the apathy reflected in historic low voter turnout will reverse itself as Americans become mobilized by the Crisis. The economy always undergoes wrenching transformations during a Crisis. The U.S. economy will likely be racked by panic, depression, inflation and war. We have witnessed a preliminary financial panic, but the real panic will be much more traumatic.
The separateness and blame witnessed during the Unraveling will transform into gathering and family togetherness. McMansions will become useful as three generations will more frequently live under one roof. Immigration will decline as the population will fear outsiders and place strict restrictions on foreigners entering the country. During the coming crisis, our culture will likely be cleansed, censored, and harnessed for the public good. The current ongoing financial debacle will ultimately contribute to the Crisis causing trigger of a worldwide oil shortage.
Peak Oil + Green Energy = Crisis
“But I guess it just reminds me that as a society, we don’t have the ability to actually come to grips with a crisis until it hits us in the face. I am discouraged enough now to think that we’re going to have to have a really nasty shock before we wake people up. The most optimistic estimate for the average depletion rate of the world’s currently producing oilfields is between 4% and 5% annually, or about four million barrels per day at our current rate of production. That means that each year we must find enough new oil to first replace those four million barrels of lost daily production before we even add enough to meet new demand. This is all the more worrisome because world oil discovery of new reserves has been slowing since the mid-20th century.” – Matt Simmons
Matt Simmons has been a lone voice in the wilderness warning Americans about the impending crisis that will be caused by Peak Oil. His prediction of a worldwide peak in crude oil production at 73 million barrels per day in 2005 has proved correct. Worldwide total liquids production peaked at 86 million barrels in 2008. All of the easy oil and gas in the world has been found. Additional supplies will be found deep below the ocean, in challenging arctic regions, in tar sands, and shale. It will be dramatically more expensive to extract oil from these sources. Oil discoveries have been in a steady decline since the 1970’s.
The United States has been dependent on 600 million barrels of oil from Mexico every year. By 2012 Mexico will become a net importer of oil, so 600 million barrels of oil will need to be replaced. Iran’s oil production is in decline as capital investment has been ignored for years. Russia’s production has peaked. Saudi Arabia continues to lie about its ability to ramp up production. Their oil fields are 40 years old and in terminal decline. By 2012, the world will only be able to produce 80 million barrels per day. There is no doubt that demand in 2012 will be higher than today’s 85 million barrels per day as China, India and other developing countries continue to grow. Even a Wall Street economist could predict what will happen to prices.
Peak oil will have the most dramatic affect on America. We have 5% of the world’s population, but use 25% of the world’s energy. Practically 85% of the world barely uses energy. World population of 7 billion will likely grow to 10 billion by 2030. China and India both are selling more cars annually than the U.S.
As people throughout the world enter the middle class, they want cars, TVs, and modern appliances. Energy demand cannot be turned back. Infrastructure constraints will exacerbate the coming energy crisis. The NIMBY crowd has managed to keep any refineries from being built in the U.S. since 1976. Our energy infrastructure is made of steel and is rusting away. It would take trillions to upgrade the energy system. These investments will not be made. The geologists and other experienced oil men are retiring, and no one is replacing them. Matt Simmons’ recommendation for the upcoming crisis is DOA:
“We should basically be going back to creating a village economy, so that we really reduce the energy intensity of how we live,” he says. “We need big time conservation, not feel-good conservation. Make things where they’re used. You’ll end long-distance commuting, and we have the tools to do that now with webcams. Grow food locally. Grow food in your backyard. If they’re not commuting, people will have time to do that.”
The Green Agenda that is sweeping the country and is fully supported by the Obama administration will be the final nail in the coffin. The blueprint of success for the Green Agenda is ethanol. Government subsidized a fuel that required more energy to produce than it provides. The mal-investment in ethanol plants led to a boom and the usual bust when government interferes in the free markets. The use of corn for fuel caused prices to rise for other food crops and meat. With the crash in oil prices, ethanol plants have been going bankrupt at an accelerating rate. Renewable energy and green jobs are the catch phrases being used by Obama and the Democrats pushing the Al Gore led agenda.
“I believe it is appropriate to have an ‘over-representation’ of the facts on how dangerous it is, as a predicate for opening up the audience.”
— Al Gore
I’d like to know the difference between over-representation and lying. The real inconvenient truth is that the United States depends on oil, natural gas, and coal to supply 87% of its energy, with nuclear power providing another 7%. The beloved solar, wind and geothermal sources supply 1.5% of our energy needs. Harry Reid and his green disciples believe coal and oil are ruining the world. They want to eliminate the fuels that power 87% of our economy. Maybe they should just keep implementing their economic policies and keep the country in a permanent recession, as carbon emissions have declined over the last three years. Their false science claims, scare tactics in grade schools, and use of green catch phrases will not generate the energy needed to run this country.
The green extremists want to eliminate coal as an energy source in the U.S. Even though nuclear energy emits no Carbon Dioxide, it is unacceptable to the green extremists. There is just one small problem. The chart below shows that coal and nuclear provide 72% of all the electric power in the United States. Renewable energy sounds good, but it cannot replace our existing sources. Inconvenient facts like no ability to distribute any energy created by wind and solar to the places that use the energy are completely ignored by green extremists. Our transportation system depends on oil to provide 96% of its energy. I don’t think anyone will be commuting to work in a solar car or wind powered car in the near future. A plug in car will require electric power that comes from coal and nuclear plants.
The Cap & Trade Energy bill will eventually be rammed through by the Democratic controlled Congress. It is being spun as a bill that will reduce greenhouse gases and create thousands of green jobs. What is a green job? Will we turn unemployed investment bankers and auto salesmen into solar panel and wind turbine manufacturers? The green agenda bill will penalize manufacturers, refineries, natural gas producers and electric utilities with increased taxes. Sounds great. Let’s penalize the polluters.
Every company that produces something will pass their costs along to their customers. This bill will increase the average family’s energy costs by $1,500 per year. It will convince many companies to move operations and jobs to China and India where these regulations don’t apply. Our agriculture industry will bear the brunt of this burden as they use tremendous amounts of energy in farming. Expect food costs to go up a lot. Since low income families spend a greater percentage of their income on energy, this bill will damage their finances the most. It will also trigger the coming Crisis.
20 Year Crisis – Financial Collapse, War, Rebirth
“Most of today’s adult Americans grew up in a society whose citizens dreamed of perpetually improving outcomes: better jobs, fatter wallets, stronger government, finer culture, nicer families, smarter kids, all the usual fruits of progress. Today, deep into a Third Turning, these goals often feel like they are slipping away. Many of us wish we could rewind time, but we know we can’t – and we fear for our children and grandchildren.” Strauss & Howe (The Fourth Turning)
The skies are darkening and a cold wind is beginning to blow. Autumn began with bright skies and warm breezes, but the atmosphere has gotten bitter as swirling winds rip the remaining leaves from the trees. Winter is approaching rapidly and it gives all indications that it will be a bitter, dangerous, harsh time for all Americans. We wish we didn’t have to face the coming trial, but there is no avoiding it. Generational moods are transitioning, and a Crisis will envelop the country for the next twenty years. Courage and fortitude on a level not seen since World War II will be required.
The celebrity circuses like the Michael Jackson funeral, Britney Spears comeback tour, and Brangelina’s latest adoption will seem so trite during the coming Crisis. Wearing a blue rubber wristband and putting a yellow ribbon on your Mercedes SUV will not cut it. Previous 4th Turnings in U.S. history have involved total war. Deaths during the American Revolutionary War were approximately 50,000. Total deaths during the Civil War were 600,000. Total deaths during World War II were 73,000,000. How many people will die during the coming Crisis? No one knows the answer in advance. An integrated global economy, combined with nuclear weapons, advanced military killing machines, terrorists, and peak oil appears to be a recipe for death on a colossal scale.
Anyone who doesn’t sense a turning in the mood of the country is just not paying attention. There is a foreboding feeling that something is dreadfully wrong with our country. For those addicted to cable television, we are about to leave the sheltered, superficial, coddled world of Housewives of Orange County and enter the frigid, dangerous world of The Deadliest Catch with 40 foot waves and the threat of a watery death at any moment.
A dramatic event will soon shock the nation into action. The catalyst for the Crisis will likely be a sequence of events that will shift the mood of the country. The 1st event will be seen as the financial system meltdown in September 2008. The 2nd event will be viewed as the government’s reaction to the crisis. The remarkable sweeping steps taken by Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson, Tim Geithner, and Barack Obama have further weakened the U.S. financial system and left it vulnerable to the next sudden shock.
The approaching Crisis will be sparked by known existing threats that have been ignored and discounted by our Baby Boom leaders. These known threats include titanic current deficits, colossal unfunded future liabilities, and unavoidable Peak Oil. As the economy continues to hemorrhage jobs, Congress will do what they do best and spend billions more on stimulus pork. As the National Debt approaches $15 trillion in 2012, a spectacular collapse of the U.S. dollar becomes more likely.
By 2012 the world will realize that Peak Oil is a fact. As demand outstrips supply, prices will rise dramatically. This is when a catalytic event is likely to plunge us into a harsh Winter of darkness and death. As the U.S. economy begins to collapse under the weight of debt and oil shortages, a terrorist attack using nuclear or biological weapons on U.S. soil would plunge the country into chaos. Other possible triggers could be a natural disaster such as an earthquake that destroys significant portions of California or a hurricane that destroys oil rigs and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.
Significant oil shortages will bring commerce to a halt. Food shortages would occur within a week of oil supply disruptions, as most of the food in our stores must be delivered by truck. As real unemployment reaches 25%, interest rates soar, and the dollar becomes worthless, civil unrest will breakout and the Department of Homeland Security will be called upon to fight and imprison its fellow citizens.
Past Crisis periods were marked by Prophets leading and Heroes sacrificing (Gandalf & Frodo) as the soldiers of the Crisis. In 2012 the country is likely to turn to a Baby Boom President with strong leadership skills such as Newt Gingrich or someone who will appear out of nowhere (Abraham Lincoln was an unknown two year Illinois Congressman). As the U.S. domestic crisis deepens, Russia and China will attempt to take advantage of U.S. weakness by expanding their influence and control in Eastern Europe and Asia.
Countries with domestic problems always turn outwards for a real or created threat to rally the nation. With the oil crisis getting worse, the U.S. will go to war in order to secure the precious supplies needed to run our economy. With China also seeking oil supplies a military conflict with China and Russia is quite possible. If the conflict turns into a cyber war of destroying satellites and disrupting computer communications, world leaders could be fighting blindly.
If one of these leaders panics and decides to launch some of their nuclear arsenal, the world could be changed beyond all recognition. This scenario seems impossible today. On October 24, 1929 when the Stock Market crashed, did anyone foresee a twelve year Depression with 25% unemployment, a World War that killed 73 million people, and the creation and use of an atomic bomb in the following sixteen years? The impossible becomes possible during a Crisis.
A Crisis can end positively or negatively. Our previous Crisis periods have resulted in new golden ages. If the leaders we choose are strong, wise, and judicious and the Millennial generation can rise to the occasion as their GI generation grandparents did during our last Crisis, we can rejuvenate our national destiny. Winter always turns into Spring. But, Strauss & Howe offer a chilling warning:
“History offers no guarantees. Obviously, things could go horribly wrong – the possibilities ranging from a nuclear exchange to incurable plagues, from terrorist anarchy to high-tech dictatorship. We should not assume that Providence will always exempt our nation from the irreversible tragedies that have overtaken so many others: not just temporary hardship, but debasement and total ruin. Losing in the next Fourth Turning could mean something incomparably worse. It could mean a lasting defeat from which our national innocence – perhaps even our nation – might never recover.”
The sirens blare all throughout the ship as the emergency lights flare up crimson red and flash so brilliantly it could give even the blind a headache. I grumble to myself, not for the first time, that perhaps rather than focusing on building such an elaborate panic system, the amare ships could focus on maybe making a design that wasn’t infiltratable?The amare to my right moves his humanoid figure to glance in my direction, and I can tell without looking that he’s got his eyebrows raised at me, probably wondering what I dared mutter under my breath.“I was wondering if the guards have managed to catch the intruder yet,” I offer before he gets a chance to ask. In response, he grunts, and I can tell just by the warbling notes that the answer to my question is still no. The amare glides away from me towards the screens to join my mother, who is currently occupied with chastising the control men for letting such a grievous error occur on the fleet’s lead ship of all places.Of course, how could they know that the intruder the guards are trying to find is, in fact, one of the guards? My mother’s arms start to glow mahogany, symbolizing her frustration, which I felt was a tad excessive considering that all four of her eyes were glaring and her mouth was set into its thin-lipped position of doom. It’s an infamous expression of hers, as those on the outlying systems of the galaxy say that those who incur the Queen’s wrath have to retire from their regal positions and become farmers just to rid themselves of their newfound anxieties.It’s just a rumor.Probably.One of the guards enters the command center and makes the mistake of telling the amarean rulers that the intruder has somehow managed to evade all search groups and is only about an estimated thirteen quaarsects away from breaking into this very area. The queen, of course, is very angry to hear this and decrees that the royal family is to be ushered towards the safe rooms until the threat is contained. My reactionary smile elicits no alarm; to any of the onlookers, it may seem only as if I’m relieved to be taken out of the supposed sphere of danger. But in truth, this is exactly where the “intruder” will be heading us off. Everything seems to be going according to plan.Let’s get this straight:I’m the Amarean Princess of the Evenor Galaxy. (I’m not trying to brag; it’s just simple fact).Our intruder is one of the odiums, our sworn enemies, who is currently posing as one of our palace guards.By race, and by class, this odium is my enemy.She’s also my girlfriend.My family races down corridors on the starboard side of the spaceship, my mother muttering as we go that this was supposed to be a fun, carefree, simple family vacation into the neighboring sector. My father grunts his condolences to her and she swats his arm with a hand. “When we return home, deary, I’ll be firing all of the guards and pilots. They’re incompetent, all of them.” Mother’s arms surge again in mahogany. “I never should have let you do the important decision making,” she curses.Father grunts to tell her that she looks lovely today.She doesn’t get a chance to respond, however, when the guards surrounding us come to a sudden halt and draw out their Atomic Meson Desecrators, each aiming them at something unseen through the haze of stocky bodies and glowing arms. There’s really only one thing–or rather, one person–it could be though.Mother’s arms glow neon in a surge of frustration. “How did they know we’d come this way?” She stomps her feet and even tries grabbing a Desecrator from one of the guards. “Impossible!”Some of the guards shout at the figure beyond us to surrender, and even the queen calms down enough to see what the intruder does.
And the answer is: nothing. (Because it’s a hologram, but of course they wouldn’t know that.)
I can tell, because the guards start advancing slowly and warily, warning the creature to take their advice and just surrender already. Even my parents start to creep forward, flickers of curious orange dancing on their elbows.
A sudden gust of wind from directly behind me tousles my flowing sleeves and hair and would have startled me more if I didn’t know it was coming. “Don’t forget your lines,” a voice like dewberries on the melting fruit blocks of Cavarst sounds behind me. Elation and adrenaline flood my systems, turning my colors from a calmer green to bright, bright pink. In the few quaarsects I have left, I channel my emotions by focusing on a single thought–the idea of my parents, and the whole galaxy really, to discover the truth: that I’m dating an odium, and I like it.
The embarrassing shades of pink morph into an alarming yellow reserved only for moments of panic, and I summon forth a scream that even the renowned performers of Quada’ar would envy. In unison, every amare in the corridor glides abruptly to see what caused such a sound to come from me, and the colors of the amare switch from a spike of frightful brown to yellows, like my own.
Like two actors trust the other lead to fulfill their part of the role, I don’t bother to turn around and check that my supposed captor is holding an Atomic Meson Desecrator against my side. An arm wraps swiftly around my neck, cutting off the scream from the depths of my throat. My own hands raise towards it instinctively and claw away at it but to no avail. I can see out of the corner of my right eyes that in the hand attached to this arm is an Ectoplasmic Flash-Shifter: the handheld equivalent of a full-scale transporter. I register the mounting panic in the eight collective eyes of my parents as they identify the gadget at the same moment that the guards do.
“I’ll be taking her with me,” the voice from before growls with menace, before activating the Ectoplasmic Flash-Shifter. The last thing I see before I close my eyes is the hand of my mother grabbing my father’s fearfully, as she screams at the guards to do something.
I blink, and when light filters in again I find myself on an entirely different ship. Through one of the gaping windows, I can see the faint outline of the royal fleet, though it’s hard to identify as a consistent flow of asteroids float past the hull. We must be attached to one of them, I guess, so that the fleet’s radars don’t notice us.
“Make yourself at home,” my captor jokes, tossing the Desecrator into a bin labeled props. She’s a bit on the taller side, dressed in the uniform of the amarean guards. As she morphs back into her natural skin she loses the look of one of my kind, replacing the flowing colors with pale arms and the second pair of eyes for impressively long eyelashes, which she then proceeds to bat excessively in my direction. I laugh.
“I think today’s performance was encore-worthy, no?” She smirks at my comment before inclining her head towards one of the doors. We walk side-by-side, catching up on each other’s latest endeavors, deciding what royal official she’ll go undercover as next, debating whether or not I should be returned with a ransom or escape all on my own–all perfectly normal things to discuss with your enemy-turned-girlfriend.
We spill out into a dining hall, where in floating mists of liquid nitrogen, small eddies caused the droplets to swirl about in a dance known only to them. Large fronds and flowers were doted lovingly upon by insects undoubtedly purchased from the exotic markets of Frundrum. At an oddly shaped table, morphed into such a pattern that it arguably had no definitive shape sat at all a tall, wiry looking humanoid, whose head perked up at the sound of us entering the space.
“Good morning!” he called, for in odium culture days are nonexistent and their preferred “time of day” is the morning. “It’s good to see you again, Kay,” he says to me, using my nickname, for amarean names are depressingly long and are rather a headache for any other species to say. He motioned towards the seats irregularly spaced around the table, and we sit down. After offering us a few breakfast delicacies the man relaxes back to eat what’s been placed before him.
My captor reaches with a glass into the air and catches a bit of liquid nitrogen inside. “Will Mom be able to make brunch today?”
“I’m afraid not, Eva,” my potential father-in-law responds as Eva takes a sip of liquid nitrogen.
For odiums, if a name is longer than three syllables then it’s not the name of an odium, and really if anything in their lives gets too complicated they no longer consider themselves odium. Sometimes when I’m with my girlfriend’s family, I can’t help but think that if my mother tried the detoxing approach that they did, perhaps she wouldn’t be so uptight all the time. My mother, calm? The thought is almost laughable.
Eva’s father pauses between bites of intergalactic scrambled eggs to look at me. “And dear Kay,” he journeys, in that ever-calm tone of his, “I was wondering what time your parents would like you home by?”
I share a look with Eva. “Well, if we’re doing a ransom,” she starts, “then maybe–”
“Sometime after lunch?” I finish.
The other odium at the table wipes his fingers serenely on his napkin. “That’s fine by me,” he tells us. “Have you two made any extravagant plans for today?”
“Not this time,” I say, peering out of the window at the fleet and imagining what sort of chaos is ensuing at this very moment.
“That does remind me though,” my girlfriend announces, redirecting my attention. “I heard that there’s to be a new play on Quada’ar starting shortly if you’re interested. Opening night is said to be several days from now. This Saturday, I believe.”
I smile, thinking of what sort of scenario we’ll think up next to whisk me away for several hundred quaarsects. Something crazy, I’m sure.
“This Saturday, you said? Then it’s a date
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Spaghetti in Mushroom Cheese Sauce
Spaghetti in Mushroom Cheese Sauce is quick to make and features a creamy and cheesy mushroom sauce. Garnish with parsley or cilantro to add some extra color flair.
1 (16 ounce) box dry spaghetti, prepared according to package directions
Fresh parsley or cilantro
Instructions
Mix milk and mushroom soup mix in small bowl; set aside.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat; add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add soup mixture, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese; mix well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted and sauce has thickened.
Add spaghetti; toss until coated. Garnish with parsley.
Notes
Sauté some fresh mushrooms and add them to this just before tossing the spaghetti with the sauce.
Adventure Pictures
Neocons, Kamala and a wider Middle East conflict
What is the future of fast food?
In the western world? The future of fast food is independents and smaller chains.
You see most of the fast food chains you see today are franchises and conglomerates.
McDonalds isn’t actually a fast food company, the same way Ford isn’t a vehicle company. They’re companies that make money any which way they can.
McDonalds and similar companies realised that Franchise royalties and fees were a nice money spinner. However, they found that buying locations and RENTING them to franchisees was an even bigger money spinner.
They keep hiking the rents to keep profits up at non organic levels. Franchisees have to increase prices to pay the rents less people eat there. Franchisee goes bust eventually unable to make it work out.
Independents will either own completely or pay commercial rents (which are getting slaughtered) and as such have lower overheads and can simply sell their products for less money.
It’s happening, this is in the UK Bolton. An old woman runs a ‘cafe’ out of her own home. There’s no retail rent to pay so she can make profits at lower cost.
It’s happened in Hong Kong already. There are many ‘virtual’ restaurants where it is delivery only. In Kowloon bay there’s a huge factory building with food panda bikes outside. Inside has numerous delivery only restaurants. They can sell at the same prices as everyone else but make more because they pay rents for non high street/prime retail rents.
US to knock out Rus+Chinese satellites. Moldova is US’ vassal. Rus advance in Donetsk O. Rus’ Nukes.
Why do most Koreans think that China is very backward?
Korean professor Kim Do-nam once pointed out on a Korean program that South Korea is the only country in the world that looks down on China, but there is no South Korea in the eyes of Chinese young people.
South Koreans proud of Samsung, in China basically very few people use, even if the Chinese mentioned Samsung, will only talk about Samsung cell phone explosion scandal. China’s domestic cell phone quality early beyond the Samsung, but in the price is much cheaper.
To the Chinese, South Korea is just a pea-sized micro-country, whose economic scale is not even as large as that of China’s Jiangsu Province.
There is no Korea in the eyes of Chinese young people. They have long set their sights on the world’s number one superpower, the United States. Surpassing the United States is the idea of Chinese young people.
The speed and comfort of China’s high-speed railways have given South Koreans traveling to China a sci-fi movie addiction.
And the convenience of the life of ordinary people in China is also far beyond the imagination of Koreans, because even in ordinary towns and villages, the Chinese people buy things only need to use a cell phone to scan a code to pay, unmanned supermarkets in big cities, shared bicycle is greatly facilitated people’s lives, and these are in South Korea is still very rare.
In short, it is sad for the Korean nation and pathetic for over-arrogance that young Chinese people have long since made the United States a target for competition, while Koreans continue to do what they do.
Naturally, Koreans do not want to recognize the fact that Korea has always been a third-rate country and that it has served China, Japan, and the United States as its sovereigns in that order, and they feel that the only way for Korea to gain the respect of the world is to belittle China and distort its history to the fullest extent possible.
They began to look down on China in every aspect, and soon China left Korea far behind, a reality that Koreans apparently did not pay attention to or did not want to pay attention to, but the facts were there, and as they watched the gap between the two countries gradually widen, a lot of Koreans became exasperated, and in order to preserve the last vestige of decency in their favor, Koreans began to entertain themselves and started to go around stealing China’s culture just to keep indulging in the fantasy in order to continue indulging in their fantasies.
When China’s young people are working hard for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, many South Korean young people are still stuck in the past, feel that China is not as good as South Korea, I can only say that this kind of ridiculous idea will only continue to widen the gap between the two countries.
I hope they won’t be too alarmed when they wake up from their fantasies.
Have you ever had a job where you did nothing for years and nobody found out?
Many years ago, I worked for a subsidiary of VISA. I was hired to perform security checks on fraudulent debit cards issued by credit unions. My first week on the job, I showed up excited to work. Following company policy, I sent out letters explaining to the branch managers that I’d be investigating their systems.
One by one, the branch managers called and pleaded with me to not look for fraudulent debit cards, rightly pointing out that this was not a problem. Apparently me logging into their databases from the back end made it impossible to perform their vital functions, shutting their systems down. After enough of them called, I stopped doing my job and brought the issue to my boss.
I assumed that my boss would give me better database access to review the records without interrupting service or give me another assignment. I reminded him of the issue every week and pointed out that I had nothing else to do. He told me that he was very busy and would get back to me the following week. After two months of this, I gave up and stopped asking.
Months later, with nothing to do, I brought reading material to work. I made long distance phone calls for eight hours. I wrote reporting pieces for magazines on the clock. I started showing up to work wearing t-shirts. I began showing up closer to 10 AM. I started to run my own business from my desk at VISA. When Solitaire got boring, I became the most adept Minesweeper player that had ever lived.
Nothing that I could do seemed to get me in any trouble. I would show up to a passive aggressive note on my desk if the previous day’s activities were too flagrant. But it came from a woman at an adjacent desk who didn’t work in my department.
Before long, I had put many hundreds of hours into growing my own business and was tiring of the place. And now I had a book tour coming up. I asked for time off and human resources turned me down. I explained that I would have to quit. My boss said, “From everything that I’ve heard, you did such a great job here. You can always come back!” I wondered about who doesn’t excel at that job.
Knowing what I know now, I believe that the security checks were required by the government in federal regulation so while they don’t actually need to be performed, the job is termination proof as the company has to fill it. If it wasn’t for the soul-sucking social environment, I would have gone back after that tour.
Update: 20 years later I was asked to participate in a focus group for business owners about online banking. I was screened heavily and accepted. When I arrived, it was at this former VISA office, talking about the business I started at my desk to the people who now do my old job. They never asked if I had previously worked there or if I had a background in finance. And honestly, I don’t feel like I do.
NATO Just Crossed Putin’s Red Line with this Massive Attack
This is really good. I love the comment that the “Hill” (Congress) is a madhouse. They are just clueless.
Both India and China have over 1 billion people so why does China look clean and modern and India looks dirty and behind in the times?
Anyone who knows China and India reasonably well could answer this question with some sense.
I was born a few years after India’s partition, spent my first early 20 years there, and left India in the early 70s for Canada. I had three options to pick from three countries: the UK, the USA, and Canada.
I picked Canada even if it was not my first choice because I did not have to go to my parents for financial help.
From childhood, I was very intrigued by China and Canada. I got a chance to work/study/with Chinese Canadians and gained tremendous knowledge about China and the Chinese. Subsequently, I visited China six times.
Now, let us dig into the root causes of differences between India and China.
Indians have ZERO civic sense, absolutely none. The whole country is a big garbage bin.
On the other hand, the Chinese have a reasonably great civic sense.
Chinese megacities are super clean because the Government is stringent and enforces laws, and punishment is prompt.
India is a lawless land. India has a wrong governing system, borrowed from precious rulers, and it is a failed system even in their own country; it is NOT fit for India.
India is no match for China in any sense. All these slogans are useless/empty noises. China wants to meet world standards in cleanliness as Japan, Singapore, and Switzerland.
And I know China and the Chinese do not even give two hoots for India.
India is not even 1/6th of the Chinese economy and has sky-high drugs/alcoholism/violent crimes/hunger/massive corruption, and, of course, full of filth.
Women are not safe in India; on the other hand, Chinese women can walk by themselves in the middle of the night without any fear.
One visit to a small town/village in China opened my eyes and defined my civic sense.
In this village/town, there appeared to be no public garbage collection. I observed one lady in the street collecting garbage from her street and bringing it to the more significant collection center. It appeared to me that all households took turns doing this duty. The citizens seemed to be self-motivated to keep the streets and surroundings clean.
THE WORLD WON’T BELIEVE CHINA LOOKS LIKE THIS
The US laws ban the US from collaborating with China on space, but asks China’s lunar soil. Ukraine laws ban Ukraine from talking to Putin, but asks Putin for peace talks now! Why are the US’ democratic laws rubbish which can be thrown away any time?
The US turned into a kakistocracy where circus acts, snake oil salesmen, sellouts, and dementia patients run the government.
Americans mocked and ridiculed China’s successful trip to the previously unexplored dark side of the Moon. Well well well, then the US sent the Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station. It looks like the Hotel California where “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!”
Shorpy
The Divine Purpose of Cats | 6 types of cats that expel negative energy from your life!
Why do the EU and NATO fear China so much that they have resorted to threatening China?
China will take away their excess profits.
When I was a child, my family bought a television set.
I will never forget that day.
The whole family got up very early and counted the money over and over again—it was all of my father’s salary for 36 months, saved bit by bit by the whole family.
At that time, China couldn’t produce its own televisions and had to import them from abroad, which was extremely expensive for us.
I need to explain why China could make hydrogen bombs and nuclear submarines back then, but not televisions.
Because after its founding, China was so poor and backward—poorer than any African country—that it could only invest its limited resources into vital projects for survival, especially in heavy industrial equipment.
People worked on empty stomachs and exported every grain of saved food to earn foreign exchange, which was immediately reinvested into heavy industry production.
(Movie screenshot: Do you know what they are doing? They are not calculating accounts, but calculating nuclear weapons data. At that time, China had no computers, and even calculators were rare. They could only rely on countless people to use the crude calculation tools invented by their ancestors nearly 2,000 years ago to calculate bit by bit… It was very sad and tragic.)
The origin of China’s nuclear submarines can be traced back to an American children’s toy. At that time, Huang Xuhua, known as the father of China’s nuclear submarines, had no idea how to build one. One day, while visiting a diplomat’s home, he discovered that the diplomat had bought a $2 American toy nuclear submarine for his child. Huang was delighted and carefully analyzed the toy’s exterior and internal structure. Ultimately, he found the inspiration he needed.
Eight years later, China’s first nuclear submarine was launched.
This is also why I have always believed that the diffusion of technology is inevitable. Permanent blockades are impossible.
****
This was actually very against human nature and extremely painful.
By the 1980s, public discontent had reached a shocking level, and the Chinese Communist Party had to use some foreign exchange to buy imported luxury goods, such as televisions, to appease the people.
My family also experienced a similar situation when bought a TV.
At that time, a neighbor had a TV, but the child and I had a bad relationship.
All the children in the neighborhood could go to his house to watch TV, except me.
When his family played cartoons, I also wanted to watch them.
I stood in front of his closed door and “listened” to the TV cartoons.
But that kid didn’t want me to “listen” to the TV, so he came to beat me up.
Of course I couldn’t beat him, because all the other kids who could watch TV automatically became his allies, and obviously, I was beaten up by a group of kids.
My father felt very uncomfortable, so he made a major decision: to buy a TV with the money he saved! He originally planned to use this huge sum of money to invest in a small business.
That television brought a happy childhood to my neighbors and me.
My wife’s family was even more astonishing; they were the only household with a television among hundreds, so sometimes they had to move it to the small square to show it, as their home was too crowded.
Later, we were able to make them ourselves, LCD TV accounting for 90% of the world’s output, and the price came down.
Nowadays, products like televisions and tablets are cabbage price.
Because China produces a huge amount of cabbage, the price is extremely low, and we use “cabbage price” to describe very cheap prices.
Air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves—once they were “Made in China,” they all became “cabbage price”, and many poor people around the world could afford them.
The same goes for mobile phones. Now, out of 10 mobile phones in the world, 7 are made in China.
As a result, African people buy 110 million affordable but equally good Chinese phones every year (with the lowest price at $10!).
You may have never heard of or seen this mobile phone brand, but it is considered the national phone in Africa.
This kind of thing has happened in countless industries.
The next industries should be cars and large passenger aircraft.
The thing in the picture below is called a tunnel boring machine.
China’s infrastructure construction at that time was in urgent need of such large-scale equipment,but we do not know how to make it ,and had to buy it from the Germans at 700 million yuan per unit.
Additionally, parts and customer service were very expensive, and German engineers were very arrogant.
There was no choice but to endure it. What else could you do when your country wasn’t capable?
Now?
Now China can produce larger and better tunnel boring machines than Germany, at 30% to 10% of the German original price, occupying about 65% of the world market.
In a few years, there may be only one name for tunnel boring machines: Made in China.
Developed countries that used to earn massive excess profits by leading in technology and industry will have a hard time.
If they don’t cut prices, they can’t compete at all.
If they do cut prices, there won’t be as much profit.
So, developed countries can’t look at China in a friendly way.
Their original expectation was for China to stick to making shoes and shirts, with 1.4 billion laborers supporting less than 1 billion golden people.
However, it is more beneficial to the remaining 6 billion people in the world, at least they can obtain cheap industrial products and infrastructure capabilities, such as helping Iraq build 7,000 schools and helping Africa build railways, roads and dams, and the fees are much cheaper than those of Western developed countries.
So they are usually more friendly to China.Unexpectedly, China wants to make everything, and they make it pretty well, like Huawei.
This is a structural conflict that cannot be reconciled.
In the past, such conflicts were resolved through wars, defeating China in battle.
However, they found that if they resolved China militarily, China might convert its industrial capacity into military capacity, and with 1.4 billion highly homogeneous people who believe in collectivism, it would be a loss.
In fact, I think the West should not attack the CCP, because the hostility of the West has already disgusted some Chinese people.
We should all be worried about ambitious people.
The pictures is the headquarters of a Chinese shirt manufacturer.
Does it remind you of something? That’s right. However, this “strange” aesthetic has caused him to be ridiculed online hevavily and mocked by Chinese netizens as “He has established the Third Shirt Reich.”
My suggestion is for everyone to cooperate and achieve a win-win situation. By interacting more, they will gradually get used to China’s presence.
Pizza Spaghetti Bake
Ingredients
1 pound spaghetti, cooked and drained
1 cup milk
Oregano, to taste
2 eggs, beaten
Garlic to taste
32 ounces spaghetti sauce
1 package pepperoni, sliced
1 pound ground beef or turkey
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups (or more) shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Combine cooked spaghetti, milk and eggs. Place in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Spread spaghetti sauce over spaghetti.
Brown ground beef or turkey. Season with spices; drain.
Place ground beef or turkey over spaghetti sauce.
Add a layer of pepperoni.
Top with shredded cheese.
Bake uncovered for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees F.
This Is What “Always” Happens Before A Superpower Falls
Well it turns out that when you are traveling for several months through space, cryopods are pretty nice. If you are traveling through a self driven spacecraft there isn’t really much to do, hence the cryosleep. Not only does it prevent you from getting bored, it also slows your aging and metabolism. For the Newmans who were flying on the The Sparkler Flight No. 174, the cryo pods had a small problem: they didn’t freeze up.“Hey, Jim, when will this pod freeze us?” asked Emma Newman“I don’t know, how about you ask the pilot? Oh, wait there isn’t one. I told you we should have bought the other flight.”“Well we didn’t and now we are accelerating into a three month journey where we will be so conscious and soooo bored.”“Let’s just get out of this (beeping) pod. Isn’t there an emergency open button or something?”“How would you expect a person in cryosleep to push the-”“Found it!” Jim said as he pushed a red button and the temperature dropped. After a slight hissing sound the door opened dramatically, with fog spilling out into the surrounding room. Jim stepped out and surveyed the surrounding room, glad to be free of his claustrophobic confines.“Well now that your pod is open would you just skip the theatrics and open mine.” yelled Emma, who couldn’t find the button about three feet from her face.Jim, taking his time to open the pod said, “Hey, do you think that they have any good food here?”“Well, let’s see. The nearest restaurant is about a hundred and fifty miles away by now, so I think that they would have plenty of food for the people in cryosleep. Just open my pod!” The last part Emma practically yelled.After the pod was opened (with a less dramatic plop) Emma stepped out exasperated and shivering. She glared at Jim. Jim absently inspected a poster about how the cryopods works. Emma glared harder, hoping Jim would look at her. After that went on for about 30 seconds, Jim looked down and jumped at the intensity of her stare.“Well, the food I was talking about.”“No.”Jim pulled out a melted chocolate bar from his pocket and said, “I was hoping the cryopod would freeze it before I got to it, but this will suffice.”Emma just stared and blinked at him. “You had a chocolate bar this entire time and you didn’t tell me?”“No, two chocolate bars.” At this Emma displayed visible frustration. She held out her hand, hoping to get the other chocolate bar. He gave her one of those small fun sized bars. Emma displayed even more visible frustration at this concept. She threw it in her pod to save it for later.“How will we get into a working pod?” Emma asked.
Jim ignored her and just stared at that poster on how the pods worked.
“How will we?” Emma asked.
“We probably need to replace the temperature sensor. The poster said so.” Jim told her factually.
“How will we get those?”
“They stock them at Targets across the world.”
Emma just slapped him.
“What was that for?”
Emma slapped him again.
“We could find one in the storage.”
“Now that is helpful.”
Jim slapped Emma.
“What was that for?”
After confusion about where the storage was they finally found it. If they looked at the airport style signs hanging from the ceiling and telling them where to go they could have found it earlier. The room was rather large and full to the brim with bins of spare parts and not one, but two giant teddy bears.
“Let’s split up. You go left, I go to the teddy bears.” That was Jim.
Emma held up an uno reverse card. Now she was the one who checked the teddy bears.
After five minutes Jim came back and Emma knew they had to switch places. After about thirty seconds of having to switch, Jim yelled to Emma.
“I found the temperature sensor. It was right behind the teddy bears. Emma, what were you doing with the teddy bear?”
Soon after they found what they all that they needed the Newmans needed to leave the storage area. At this point in time they found themselves in a fork in the hallway. Jim decided to go left, Emma decided to go right.
On Emma’s path she saw the ceiling sign telling her which way to get to the cryo chamber. “I found it!”
“You might have but you have to come here.” yelled back Jim.
“Will you go to the pods after?”
“Yup!”
Emma walked back to Jim, annoyed but also knowing he wouldn’t give in. As Emma turned the bend she saw it and instantly felt a crowd of emotions, ranging from embarrassment to straight up confusion. She walked into a food court. And a Target. At the same time. The Target’s shelves full of the temperature sensor’s and other tech items. It was as if the universe had made all the dumb things Jim said come true just to annoy her.
Then she realized it. Jim had found the holodeck and was project this entire area into existence. “Why did they have a Target-food court simulation on the holodeck?”
He held up a USB thumbdrive.
“Again, why do you have this on a thumbdrive?”
“You don’t?”
Exasperated, Emma just gave up. “Now will you just fix the pods?”
“Sure, I guess,” and they walked back into the cryo chamber. Jim started working on the pods while Emma ate her chocolate bar (the fun size, if you remember). After Jim messed around in the pod (basing all of his work off of the poster) he finally said they were ready. Emma had finished the tiny chocolate a long time ago.
“Alright, this should work. Get in.” said Jim.
“You first, you’re the one who fixed it.”
“And you’re the guinea pig.”
“Fine,” said a very annoyed Emma, getting into the machine.
Jim pressed some buttons to initialize the freezing, and the exact same thing as before happened. It got chilly, but it didn’t freeze them. “Hey, Jim, I think you broke it.”
“Well, obviously”
“Can I try to fix the pod.”
“Ok, I guess,” said a very disappointed Jim.
Emma got out of the pod and started poking around inside. She had no idea how the pod even worked. After about thirty seconds she gave up and started looking at the buttons on the outside. Looking at the main control panel she saw an array of dials, but one stood out to her. The temperature dial was set to “Refrigerate”, not “Cryosleep.”
“Hey, Jim, the pods were set to keep us cool, not make us sleep.”
“Oh, come on,”
Now knowing why the pods weren’t working, our protagonists entered the pods and went to sleep. This time it worked. They would wake up and be at their destination, with a story to tell. The final words they said to each other before they were frozen were this:
“See you in three months Jim!”
“See you- wait, I was wondering where this burrito went!”
Cheating Fiancée’s Hopes & Dreams SHATTERED When Her Drunken Facebook Posts Result In Her Getting…
Don’t drink and post…
Finally…
MM has a few words…
Quora China “Expert” Vannrox was interviewed on China Raising Radio Sinoland
Here’s my interview with Jeff on a wide range of topics regarding China. I hope that you will all take moment and hear my thoughts on what is going on in China. We discuss the latest changes in strategic direction, the growth of the largest metro area in China, and more…
One of the popular trends in China are “auto-lacing” shoes. This is a new kind of way to lace up your shoes. It’s all the rage with the kids. My daughter has about five pairs of auto-lacing shoes.
It’s sort of like those lacing shoes on the “back to the future 2” movie. Only it’s not a motor. You just twist a dial. But it’s there, and super easy and convenient. It’s been popular in China every since maybe May 2024.
Something like this…
You press the button and twist. A ratchet mechanism tightens the laces up. Pretty darn cool. Hit the button and twist.
All the Chinese kids are throwing away their Velcro sneakers and going auto-lace. Been this way all Spring, Summer and Fall. You’ll all see Western exported versions soon enough provided that they will be permitted to be imported to your country.
Today…
Why doesn’t China break off diplomatic relations with the US if the US is selling arms to Taiwan?
Sometimes I think that Americans and Soviets should try playing a Chinese board game called Go instead of always playing chess. China also has a game similar to chess called Elephant Chess, which I have played, but I find Go to be more interesting.
(China Chess,Elephant Chess)
The thinking in chess is too linear, and it’s almost a zero-sum game.
The following is an actual game between two top players. The 12 black stones at the top are in dangerous.
Most people might get anxious and try to save them. But in this game, Black 43 surprisingly ignored them and played in the bottom right corner. As expected, White 44 attacked Black’s stones… (The calculations of professional players are extremely complex. If Black 43 dared to ignore the group, they must have calculated it thoroughly.)
This is just a metaphor. In Go, you don’t always have to follow your opponent’s moves. This kind of situation is very common.
The Taiwan issue is similar. Chairman Mao said, “You fight your way, and I fight mine.”
In 1949, just after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the US Seventh Fleet stationed in the Taiwan Strait. What could we do? We had to endure it. By 1972, during the Soviet attack and American defense, Nixon visited China. When he met Chairman Mao and was about to discuss Taiwan, Mao said, “We’re not talking about Taiwan; we’re talking about philosophy.” When I first saw this sentence in my youth, I didn’t understand what it meant. Of course, I still don’t fully understand it now, but perhaps I understand another of Chairman Mao’s statements: “Taiwan is small; the world is big.”
Many years have passed, and we are much stronger than we were in 1949. Grain production has increased 6.5 times, steel production has increased 32,500 times, electricity production has increased 2,000 times, and per capita GDP has increased 470 times…
In human history, it’s rare to see so many people make such great progress. Overall, the progress is significant. If we always focused solely on Taiwan, fighting to the death, instead of “playing elsewhere,” temporarily putting it aside and making efforts in other directions, wouldn’t that be foolish?
I personally like Trump, but as a politician, especially as the leader of a superpower like the United States, I have to say that his way of thinking is too linear, too chess-like, not Go.
For example, he repeatedly threatened NATO member states to increase military spending, and even threatened to dissolve NATO. It seems that this can indeed promote the US economy, but although Go is black and white, in fact, its greatest charm is precisely: there is nothing in the world that is absolutely black and white, and everything contains opposition.
He believes that NATO European member states have taken advantage of the United States, but in fact these member states have also been helping the United States; he requires member states to improve their armaments, but on the other hand, after these countries have all obtained strong weapons, is the US military presence in Europe still necessary?
I certainly don’t dare to say he is wrong, I have no ability to judge, but it seems that he does care too much about the $10 in front of him…
As for the US selling arms to Taiwan, of course, the Chinese are very unhappy, but breaking off relations with the US because of this is unlikely. It’s like in Go, where a beginner often makes the mistake of capturing a single stone or group of stones, losing the initiative.
Taiwan is small; the world is big.
The World’s Most Powerful EW System MURMANSK-BN Paralyzed F-35 Fighters Over The Black & Baltic Seas
What were the greatest last words in history?
In the Salem witch trials of 1692, 81-year-old farmer Giles Corey was falsely accused of witchcraft. They placed him on the ground, put wooden plates on him and covered these with large rocks. This would slowly break his body and make it harder for him to breathe. For two days they kept increasing the weight, as each torturer would ask him in between rounds of torture, whether he would like to confress…
Each time, Corey said only two words:
“More weight!”
He kept it up. Even when the weight got so heavy that his ribs began breaking, blood coming out of his mouth. At one point, his tongue was pressed out of his mouth, an one of his tormenters pushed it back inside the old man’s mouth with the tip of his cane…
They asked him, one final time, to confess. Giles Corey smiled and screamed out: “More weight!” They obliged him, and finally the weight of the rocks crushed his chest entirely, killing Corey after two days of excruciating pain.
The UK Rejects Punishing China EVs, Canada Makes Surprise Visit To Beijing (Just In Case)
What did Timothy Treadwell do wrong after years of close contact with bears (to have been killed by one)?
For starters, he completely lost the plot. He began think he could be best friends with the bears. Or, as one expert put it, “He began to think these were people in bear costumes.
Namely, he made a few huge mistakes during his final year there:
He stopped bringing bear spray with him, which is absolutely crazy to me. He had no defense outside of his arms and legs which are completely useless against such massive kodiak bears.
He didn’t pay attention to rising signs of aggression in a few of the bears, who had become normalized to his presence, and became more comfortable approaching him. There was one bear in particular, who is believed to be the one that killed him. It was being especially aggressive in footage during the documentary.
And then there are the endless warnings and violations he’d committed with the park service, with many rangers begging him to stop.
Treadwell was extremely unprofessional and put other people’s lives at risk in what he was doing.
All of that aside, I’d never wish what happened to Treadwell on my worst enemy. Bears are one of the last animals you want to kill you.
Why? Because they don’t kill you. They just start eating.
His final words to his girlfriend were, “Get out of here. I’m getting killed.”
Mozzarella Meat Balls and Spaghetti
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper (optional)
1 egg, beaten
5 ounces mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 (14 ounce) can tomatoes, chopped
12 ounces spaghetti (or preferred pasta)
Instructions
Put the beef, breadcrumbs, garlic, half the parsley, salt and pepper into a bowl. Add the egg and mix well.
Cut the mozzarella cheese into 16 small cubes. Take a heaped teaspoonful of beef mixture and form it into a ball around each cube of cheese.
Heat the oil in a large covered pan, add the meat balls to the pan, cover and cook until brown on all sides.
Add the onion to the pan, cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the tomatoes and juice. Bring up to a simmering point, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Uncover pan and cook for a further 10 minutes to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken slightly.
While the meatballs are cooking, cook the spaghetti in boiling water until done to your preference.
Drain well and divide among 4 warmed plates.
Divide the sauce among the plates of spaghetti, and sprinkle with the remaining parsley.
Shorpy
Can’t the Chinese feel their lack of freedom?
I’m (ethnically) Chinese, maybe not entirely culturally Chinese as I’m a risk taker, far more violent and many China born Chinese consider me an illiterate thug.
I was born in the UK.
I currently live in Hong Kong. I may be spending a couple weeks cycling around Meizhou.
So with direct experience… rather than the vicarious experience westerners have? I can compare directly.
I also owned (past tense) a home in Dongguan which I finally sold after being Covid blocked.
So freedom?
What can’t I do in Hong Kong that I could do in the UK?
In Hong Kong I cannot promote separatism or take money from outsiders to promote separatism. The same is true in the Mainland.
That’s it.
You think people online don’t call politicians nasty names?
Now you might be tempted to write things like:
Free internet – except the western internet has numerous blocks on it too, usually in the oh won’t anybody think of the children. The UK for instance had an extreme porn law. Franklin Veaux would likely violate many of the things in UK extreme porn law. Oddly enough the USA blocks my access to some of their websites too. I can’t access anything .mil for instance.
Free press don’t make me laugh, western press hasn’t been free for a long time now. The most notable incident was the 448 incident where just by complete coincidence almost all western news stated that 488 million paid comments existed on the Chinese internet. Funny how they all got that typo the same. 77th brigade and CIA literally has sock puppet accounts
Free elections There are elections in China and Hong Kong, westoids love to say if it doesn’t deliver the result WE DEMAND then the vote is illegitimate! Nicolás Maduro isn’t recognised despite contesting and winning elections. The 2021 HK election was observed by international monitors and opposition parties and people were allowed to stand but westoids say it’s not legitimate! Because they say so!
Gun ownership Funny enough I was once a member of the exclusive HK gun club. It’s invitation only and very expensive. Most Americans baulk at the cost of a box of .45. The HK gun club was even more expensive think $5USD a round.
PRC China Nopes no guns.
On the other hand what freedoms do I have here that western countries have?
It’s safe here, the crime rate is a tenth of what it was in the UK. After years of living here? I’ve finally started unclenching my fists. In the UK I was always expecting violence or a fight and walked around being alert to possible theft and violence. Check our this photo
Look at that goods on shelves OUTSIDE the shop. That would be UNTHINKABLE in the UK. There’s security tags on milk
Medicine
I experience what I experience in 1990s UK. 1990s UK I wasn’t scared of getting ill or hurt, maybe it was because I was younger, but over time NHS services seemed to be increasingly difficult to access. While here? Access has been widened and affordable for all.
I wrote a couple months ago about my dad and prostate cancer. He was seen, had surgery and treated within a week. He paid less than $5000USD out of pocket.
Another one of my friends. He was in HK and vanished for a week. Turns out he’d gone to Guangzhou he had a tumor on his spine. He went to a doctor, that night he was admitted to hospital. They operated in the morning removing several tumors and gave him some drugs of some kind and he has radiotherapy traveling 200miles to Guangzhou to get it. That cost him about $2500USD.
Judgement Day Arrives For Single Mum Wife Who Sabotaged Husband’s Chance At His Own Child
What is the most shameful thing you’ve seen someone do at a restaurant?
We were having a family get together at a new restaurant. When our salads arrived, one of my cousins said to the waitress, “I ordered my salad without dressing.” The waitress immediately took the salad back and replaced it without dressing. No problem. When the manager came by to ask how everything was, this cousin said, “Well we were having a lovely family get together, when MY salad came with dressing on it. It ruined my whole meal.” The manager said to the cousin, “We will not charge you for your meal.” This same cousin then noticed another cousin was not eating her meal. She asked if there was a problem. The cousin mentioned her chicken was a bit raw. (She was not complaining) First cousin yells, “Oh waiter.” Another meal came off the bill. When the bill arrived, which we were paying, there were three meals taken off the bill.
We protested to the manager and told him this was not necessary. We wanted to pay the whole bill. All the problems were easily corrected. He refused the extra money.
While we were walking out to the car, one of my young sons asked if this cousin brought her own rubber cockroaches? We were all embarrassed by this cousin’s behavior.
When I got home, I sent the restaurant a check for the three meals with a note telling the manager, he was a wonderful manager and although we appreciated the discount, it was not necessary. We wanted to reimburse the restaurant. They did cash the check.
Several years later, we were with this same cousin at a different restaurant. One of our party was complaining that her meat was tough. The cousin yelled out, “Oh waiter” I said to myself, “Oh crap. Here we go again” But in this case, the restaurant just replaced the meal with another choice.
How The Chinese See The U.S. In 2024 | Asmongold Reacts
This is an American reacting to the video presented earlier.
As a lawyer, when has a client completely ignored your advice and turned out to be right?
Originally Answered: As a lawyer, when has a client completely ignored your advice and they turned out to be right?
I was a freshly minted lawyer (the ink on my bar card hadn’t even dried) and had been assigned to represent a young man in juvenile court charged with possession of marijuana and transportation of same back in the days when such activity was a felony offense. Although tried as a juvenile he could face severe penalties, time in juvenile hall, placement in a group home, removal from his family.
He also had the near perfect grounds for a motion to suppress the evidence-the first such motion I’d come across in real life. It was a near certainty to win the case for us on a “technicality” – it was a bad detention and search and the evidence would have been barred from the case. Without it the case had no legal grounds upon which to proceed and the charges would have to be dismissed.
I took great pains to explain this to my client, Billy. He asked me what would happen if the motion were not run. I told him his conviction on the charge was an absolute certainty and all I had described above would probably happen. He was by all accounts, including his own mother’s, something of an incorrigible young man, an academic truant, with many close scrapes with law enforcement, etc. etc. and I knew it highly likely that he’d be removed from his mother’s custody and become a “dependent/ward of the court” and could remain on probation until he reached his majority. I also knew that were he to re-offend his future treatment would only get more harsh. Once in the system, he’d be ridden hard and I didn’t think he’d want or endure that well.
He asked me if he could prevent me from filing the motion to suppress.
Me: “Well, yes, but if we don’t there’s nothing to prevent your being found guilty and there’s not much I can do to prevent your removal from your mother’s custody. You’ll totally be at the mercy of the court and probation. We might as well waive trial and go straight to sentencing.”
Billy: “That’s what I want to do. I don’t want a trial. I’ll plead guilty.”
Me: “But Billy. We (I) can win this case and there’s nothing they can do to you if you get the dope suppressed!”
Billy: “You’re my PD, right? And you said I have the absolute right to go to trial or not right? I want to plead guilty. No trial.”
I did as he ordered and as expected the court did impose custody time in the hall and ordered that he serve additional time in a group home (sort of a parole home) for juveniles. At his sentencing he shook my hand and thanked me for my efforts on his behalf.
About a year and a half later I was out and about when a young couple walked up to me. The young man called me by name. I’ve never been particularly comfortable with anyone calling me formally except in a professional venue. I looked at him but didn’t recognize him or the young lady affectionately draped across his arm.
“Mr. Lee, it’s me, Billy ———-!”
“Billy,” (now placing name and somewhat older face together), “How are you?”
“Doing great, sir! Just saw you and wanted to thank you for everything you did for me.”
“But Billy, you told me not to fight your case and you wound up on probation and everything else.”
“That’s true but it also got me away from my mother and older brother who were just fucking up my life. I never told you how much of my shit back then was a result of the way I was being treated at home and all the crap around me. I’m not saying what I did was right, but I needed to get away. After I got out on probation and into the group home, I got my shit together, graduated high school, and now I’ve got an apprenticeship as a union meat cutter, and I’m making good money, and I have a lovely girlfriend. And you helped make it all happen.”
“No Billy, I was just being a (know-it-all) lawyer and apparently not anywhere near as smart as you. Seems you’re the one who made the right call.”
Thanks for the A2A.
And thank you, Billy, wherever you are.
UPDATE, Feb. 2020
Wow! Over 11,000 upvotes and 150K+ views! My most popular posting and people are still reading about Billy. Thank you all, but the biggest thanks to Billy who taught a young lawyer the value of listening to the human being (however flawed s/he might appear) and though I possess greater knowledge it does not guarantee greater wisdom.
Billy, by my calculation, about 57 years old now. I trust, and pray, still possessing his innate common sense, wiser with years and experience, happily with spouse and progeny. He remains one of my most memorable and favorite clients. I still delight in telling his/our story and how he’s helped me keep my ego in check and a plentiful store of humility. The state made me a lawyer but God made me a human being. Billy reminds me of that almost every day of my life.
The REAL Difference Between Chinese, Korean & Japanese People
Fun.
Why were Nazi Germany’s Waffen-SS soldiers more likely to be shot even if they had surrendered to the Allied soldiers in WW2?
If you are asking why Waffen-SS solders were more likely to be shot, read this:
Photo of SS Standartenfuhrer Kurt Meyer and fellow officers before the massacre.
In the early days of the Normandy campaign 20 Canadian soldiers, members of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and 27th Armoured Regiment, were captured and executed by Waffen SS forces in a monastery near Caen, France. The incident was a direct violation of the Geneva Convention, which was signed by Germany before the war.
The executioner was the infamous SS Standartenfuhrer, Kurt Meyer. Meyer was in charge of the 25th Panzer Grenadier Regiment and under its wing, the fanatical 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend. The Hitlerjugend, were sent to Caen to participate in combat against the invading Canadians. Meyer was overheard to say to his fellow officer: “What should we do with these prisoners; they only eat up our rations?” They settled on the “no prisoners” policy afterwards.
Their senior officers were battle-hardened Waffen SS members. Among them was Kurt Meyer, nicknamed Panzermeyer. Meyer was found guilty of inciting his troops to commit murder and of being responsible as a commander for the killings that happened in Ardenne Abbey. He was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Kurt Meyer was set free on 7th September 1954, after serving nine years in prison in Canada.
The captured Canadians were all young men, barely out of school, with no combat experience. They were outmanoeuvred and captured in June 1944. The headquarters of the 25th Panzer Grenadier Regiment was located in the Ardenne Abbey, so the soldiers were taken there. The rest of the story is based on evidence gathered during an investigation of the massacre.
Photo of Canadian troops on Juno Beach June 1944
Their bodies were discovered on July 8th, 1944, after the Abbey had finally been liberated by the Canadian Army. First, they found the body of Lieutenant Thomas Windsor. Some of the bodies were found by the villagers around the premises. Examinations of the remains revealed that the soldiers had either been shot or bludgeoned directly in the head. After the discovery, their bodies were properly buried. In addition to the 20 confirmed cases, two more Canadian soldiers are believed to have suffered the same fate on June 17th, also on the premises of the Abbey, but their bodies were never found. The soldiers were shot in the back of their heads, one by one, as they finished questioning them. When the Canadians realized what was happening, each prisoner shaking hands with his comrades before walking to the garden and being shot.
In 1984, a monument was erected for the victims of the Ardenne Abbey massacre. The inscription, followed by the names of those killed, reads:
“IN MEMORIAM. ON THE NIGHT OF 7-8 JUNE 1944, EIGHTEEN CANADIAN SOLDIERS WERE MURDERED IN THIS GARDEN WHILE BEING HELD HERE AS PRISONERS OF WAR. TWO MORE PRISONERS DIED HERE, OR NEARBY, ON 17 JUNE 1944. LEST WE FORGET.”
Today’s collection of MM art
Is it possible for the US Navy to detect Russian or Chinese submarines?
Of course.
The US was the first to build a underwater hydrophone detection system. It was called the SONUS. The new detection system uses fiber optic cables that detect changes in the length of the fiber optic cable when sound passes through the fiber. They have different lengths to detect different frequencies.
Then there is satellite SAR that can detect wakes of underwater submarines. This can only detect submarines at a depth of 50 meters underwater. There are rumors that new SAR wake detectors can detect submarines at 100 meters but who knows if that is true or not.
Then there are magnetic anomaly detectors. However the US version requires the detect to fly as close to the surface as possible so the detector is on drones that the P-3 can release.
Then there are sonobuoys. They are released from aircraft or helicopters. They ping the water to look for subs. The new buoys open up and drop sensors deep into the water and then ping.
There are towed fiber optic cables that submarines and ships have to detect submarines.
And then there are sensors on the sub itself to detect submarines.
The problem isn’t whether the US can do these things or not. The problem for the US is that China also has these things too. And the ECS and SCS and Northern Chinese waters is the most sensor dense in the world. They also have everything the US has and they researched and built things that the US doesn’t have.
For instance the magnetic anomaly detector. They built a better version using superconducting quantum phenomenon. It is billion times more sensitive than the ones we use.
They have satellites that detect wakes. They have have satellites that use dual frequency lidar to “map” the ocean floor at 500m. This thing can also detect submarines as the resolution is much much lower than a submarine.
They have built who knows how many submarine drones with towed fiber optic cable and sonar pingers. They don’t care if the US sub detects the drone and takes action. Then they know exactly where the US sub is.
There are rumors that the Chinese have put underwater fiber optic sensors in the Marianas Trench. The Marianas Trench is a long thin deep trench. It is very quiet in there. And it filters out sound from the rest of the Ocean. So anything passing over the Trench can be easily heard and tracked.
Their underwater network is wired together back to a data center with supercomputers to process the data and look for sound anomalies. In other words sounds that don’t sound like the background noise.
I thought when I died, I would instantly know the answers to all the mysteries of the universe. Was Darwin, right? Does life exist on other planets? How did they build the pyramids? The reality is I didn’t learn a darn thing. The mysteries of life did not present themselves as I had expected. Once my soul left the body, and I passed through those pearly gates, I didn’t care if I knew those answers or not.Even though I’m poo-pooing solving the world’s greatest mysteries, the one mystery that kept gnawing at me was how the universe began. I never bought into the Big Bang Theory.The idea that two basketball-sized objects collided in space to begin the universe is preposterous. Think about it, what are the odds of two objects, that small, colliding in the vastness of space? I mean, if they miss each other there is no chance of them ever meeting again. They would simply go on and on unless the universe is a sphere, in which case they might ricochet off the edge and have another go at it.Don’t get me wrong, I was enjoying heaven and all the perks that go along with being there, but I still couldn’t shake the Big Bang Theory. People on earth were still talking about it, and I knew in my gut, if I still had a gut, that they were wrong.I made an appointment to see the Big Guy, and I asked permission to go back in time to when it all began. He explained that since I didn’t believe in the Big Bang, there was no going back in time since the Big Bang was supposedly the beginning of time. I rephrased my question and didn’t mention the time thing again since the Big Guy was apparently a stickler for semantics.He told me that there was no free lunch in heaven and that I would have to discover the answer for myself. He called over another spirit and told him to join me. “This is Jimmy,” The Big Guy said, Jimmy believes in the Big Bang and wants to see it happen first hand.” The Big Guy went into a windup like a major league pitcher and hurled our spiritual asses into the cold dark vastness of space and told us to have fun.Great, I had left those cushy clouds for total blackness and Jimmy’s company. Since the universe had not been created yet, there were no stars or moons or suns or anything on which we could focus our attention. I looked down at my auric glow and felt like a ship on a moonless night. I looked over at Jimmy, who had a huge grin on his spiritual face. Despite the emptiness and the silence, we both sensed that something epic was going to take place.Those two basketball-sized objects that supposedly started the universe, well, they were floating in that black void, but they were not the size of basketballs. Instead, they were monstrous rocks. They were practically invisible because there was no light for them to reflect other than our auras, but since Jimmy and I didn’t have eyes anymore, it didn’t really matter. Despite our lack of vision, our spirits were able to sense everything and it was as if we could see the rocks were there.“Basketballs, huh?” I yelled at Jimmy. Yelled isn’t completely accurate since we were communicating telepathically, but Jimmy got the point.“It’s all relative,” Jimmy said. When you compare their size to the emptiness around us, they are no bigger than atoms. So, describing them as basketballs isn’t too far off.Dang, it. Jimmy had gone one up on me. I should have taken a debate class in high school.I stood on one rock and Jimmy stood on the other, we rode them through space, waiting for the big collision. I watched as Jimmy’s rock missed mine by a mile. Well, more than a mile.He transported himself over to my rock and stood with me. It turned out the massive rocks didn’t collide as I had surmised. Instead, they missed each other by a hundred million light-years. I thought their mass would create a gravitational attraction even at that great distance, but they silently passed each other headed for who knows where for the remainder of time, if there was such a thing as time. I was right; there had been no collision, no big bang.“What do you think now, Jimmy? No crash. No Big Bang.” Jimmy looked puzzled.Satisfied that I had been right about there being no Big Bang, I left Jimmy to figure out what happened and returned to my cushy clouds.
“So, did you learn how I created the universe?” The Big guy asked.
“No, Sir,” I said, “But I know it didn’t start with a big bang, and that’s good enough for me.”
“Well, that’s not good enough for me. Now get back out there and find the answer to your question.”
The Big Guy was tougher than my physics teacher. I found myself back in the dark vacuum with Jimmy.
“Why did you come back?” Jimmy asked.
“The big guy wants me to stick it out and see how he created the universe.”
“Maybe there are more than two rocks,” Jimmy said. “I still think a collision is imminent.”
We raced through space, but since there was no wind or any other objects to give us perspective, I wondered if we were moving at all. When I was alive and standing on earth, I was hurtling around the Sun at a hundred thousand miles an hour, but I couldn’t feel it. Standing on this rock felt the same.
Jimmy and I stood around for what seemed like an eternity when we felt the spheroid quake.
“Something’s happening,” Jimmy said.
“Do you really think there’s another rock that we’re going to crash into?” I asked.
“Could be,” Jimmy said, “I hate to say it since I’ve only known you for a couple of billion years, but I think those astronomers are just a little bit smarter than you are. If they say two rocks collided, I believe them.”
I hated that Jimmy and those scientists might be right, so I let his comment go.
It was almost imperceptible at first, but my spirit could feel the trembling. The tremors grew, and I felt we were approaching the end and the beginning of something remarkable.
I focused all of my attention on the rock that was now generating heat. I felt an increase in pressure. The Big Guy had given us the ability to utilize some of our earthly senses. I wasn’t sure if it was dark matter that was pressing in on us, but I knew we were reaching a moment of critical mass. The pressure was increasing exponentially. The ground shook harder and a minuscule crack appeared in the asteroid. “Something is happening, but I don’t see any other rocks coming our way,” I yelled to Jimmy.
“That’s because there’s no light,” he replied.
Dang, it. Jimmy had an answer for everything.
Gas spewed forth, and my excitement grew. The planetoid trembled violently and then let go with a blast so powerful it filled the blackness with a firework display of light. The Big Guy must have turned off some of my senses at that moment because I didn’t feel any pain or the cosmic concussion that must still be rippling through time and space, but I could see what was taking place.
Jimmy had jumped off our rock in the nick of time and joined me for a front-row seat.
Simultaneously, or so I sensed, the other rock underwent a similar fate. Both spheres had reached the end of their journeys, and exploded, propelling shards of rock, and light and gas towards each other. It was as if two gunfighters had reached the count of ten, turned, and fired.
Each piece of granite and iron grew to enormous proportions. The gasses coalesced and formed galaxies. The molten stones rotated at speeds I can’t describe until they settled into spherical shapes. The darkness was filled with light, but since there was no atmosphere in space there was still dark around us. Incredible.
The blasts represented the beginning of two timelines. Earth existed in one of the universes, but did it also exist in the other? The two universes hurtled toward each other from the deepest recesses of space. Was this the beginning of everything?
Jimmy and I made our way across the cosmic timeline at the speed of thought traversing galaxies, and nebulae and we marveled at the light show. The galactic dust looked like two muzzle flashes heading for each other.
“God must like westerns,” I said.
“Humanity isn’t going to survive long enough to discover the other universe that’s speeding toward them,” Jimmy said, “That’s a shame.”
“Just as well. Since the collision would represent the end of time as they know it anyway.”
“Well,” Jimmy said, “I have to admit that you were right and I was wrong. What are you going to dub this event?”
“I kind of like, The Gunfighter Theory.”
“Not much of a theory since we saw it happen.”
“I guess,”
Jimmy and I had our answers. We learned how the universe began, and it didn’t involve a big bang as Jimmy, and the astronomers thought. But unraveling one mystery only presented me with a couple of others. I made sure not to ask the Big Guy any more questions because he would make me figure it out on my own, and I wasn’t in the mood for any more homework.
When we got back to heaven, Jimmy shook my hand, thanked me for my companionship, and headed for the volleyball courts.
I chose to walk the grounds, wondering what had caused the spheres to reach critical mass and explode? I was deep in thought and hadn’t noticed the Big Guy was watching me. “I know how the universe started,” I mumbled out loud, “But I still don’t know who created those two giant rocks in the first place?” The Big Guy cleared his throat.
I looked up. “Oops, sorry, Big Guy.”
Reaction to Our Latest Street Interview in China
The backlash of bullshit to this video is epic!
Has a doctor ever made a mistake while treating you? What happened?
While having surgery for nasal polyps I was bleeding a lot so the surgery lasted 3 hrs so a catheter was started. Upon waking in recovery I felt uncomfortable and sore on my penis and asked if they ran a catheter which they confirmed. It took over 2 hours in recovery trying to wake up and I struggled horribly to get the energy to move. Someone mentioned I lost a lot of blood and that was the last I heard until the follow up a week later. During the week I couldn’t figure out why I was a grayish blue color and was incredibly weak. At the follow up the surgeon realized how much blood was actually lost (3 units of blood lost during surgery) and also realized she never ordered 3 units of blood to be transfused. She immediately arranged for blood transfusions the following day.
Fast forward 2 years when I had a bout of kidney stones and required a surgical procedure to have them removed. No problem with the surgery but the urologist discovered blockage in the urethra that needed to be cleared. The damage was from the catheter used for the nasal polyp surgery.
Fast forward another couple of years and the blockage is back and from what the urologist revealed is this will keep coming back unless they cut out the bad area and fuse it back together. Reluctantly I agreed to the procedure which worked ok but another catheter was inserted during surgery. This was kept in place for 2 weeks till it all healed up and the catheter was ready to be removed. The urologist was the person removing the catheter which seemed odd but what do I know. She grabbed the catheter and yanked it out like she was starting a lawn mower only she didn’t deflate the ball. This caused permanent damage internally so I now have Peyronie’s disease. After complaining to the department head I was given a written statement that I obviously was having rough sex with my wife!
The final left over from the nasal polyp surgery was almost 10 years later I found out through blood tests checking for arthritis issues that I have chronic Hepatitis B. I’m not 100% sure on this but with a blood transfusion there is a very good chance that’s where the hepatitis came from.
The US Literally Cannot Repay Its National Debt.
Which famous or infamous people in history should have never been underestimated?
When he was only a child, Alan Turing displayed signs of the genius that would later change the world.
He taught himself to read in three weeks and his teachers complained of his “unconventional” methods, which often led to the correct answer but without showing his work.
He was a bit of a loner, preferring puzzles and science experiments to socializing, but perhaps it was this solitary nature that allowed him to delve so deeply into the complex world of mathematics and computation.
Turing’s eccentricities were often misinterpreted as arrogance or aloofness.
He had a habit of wearing his gas mask while cycling to avoid hay fever, a sight that no doubt amused his colleagues at Bletchley Park.
His fingernails were perpetually stained with ink from the ticker tape he used for his calculations.
During World War II, while the world was focused on the battlefields, Turing was waging a different kind of war in the hidden corners of Bletchley Park.
He was the architect of the Bombe, a machine designed to crack the Enigma code used by the Nazis.
It was a feat that many deemed impossible, yet Turing, with his unconventional thinking and unyielding determination, managed to pull it off.
His work on the Enigma is estimated to have shortened the war by two years and saved millions of lives.
Yet, despite his contributions, Turing was largely overlooked and underestimated.
His homosexuality, considered a crime at the time, led to his chemical castration and ultimately his tragic suicide.
It was a cruel irony that a man who had done so much to protect his country was persecuted by it.
Alan Turing was not your typical war hero. He wasn’t a soldier on the front lines, nor was he a charismatic leader rallying the troops.
He was a quiet, unassuming genius whose weapon of choice was not a gun, but his brilliant mind.
His legacy is not measured in medals or monuments, but in the very technology we use today.
Every time you type on your computer or use your smartphone, you are benefiting from the work of a man who was underestimated in his time, but whose impact on the world is undeniable.
Pasta with Garlic and Oil
Ingredients
1 pound spaghetti, broken in half
Cooking oil
5 cloves fresh garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley
Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Cook spaghetti according to directions; drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water.
In a small sauce an, sauté garlic in about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons oil, until just starting to brown.
Add butter, garlic and oil to cooked pasta and toss.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle with a little parsley, and top servings with grated Parmesan cheese.
Here’s some of today’s favorites on the MM art scene…
A bunch of figurative art; read “nudes”. It used to be quite common in the old days, but now is considered “perverted”. But, I don’t give a FUCK.
It was popular in the past. In those days, figurative art went into private homes; private collections…
And into men’s bars, Men’s clubs… Men’s organizations. Men’s gyms.
Of course, none of that exists any more.
So the market for figurative works is really low. But really, guys. I love the genre.
Here’s my latest “figurative” art. And I’m rather proud of it. I’m still tweaking the process, but I am seeing improvements.
Some of the male art seems to come off as “too gay”, but I like it anyways.
Lots of cats; worship, wine and gals. Many (since it is a figurative work) are nudes.
As a wheelchair user, what is the rudest thing a person has said, done, or assumed about you?
Assuming that because someone is in a wheelchair or using a power scooter has no abilities to stand or walk whatsoever.
My mother is on oxygen, she walks into the store and uses a power-scooter to get around. She got out of the scooter to reach something up on a higher shelf and a guy went nuts! It was her fault there wasn’t a scooter for his wife who had to now wait in the car. My mother simply asked if he’d cracked a window for her.
It was raining one day, heavily, so instead of walking mom in, I let her off at the door. A man watched me walk her in, help her with the scooter and then proceeded to yell at me for blocking the front of the store. After I moved the car, I watched his wife pull up so they could unload their groceries from the cart into the car under the cover of the entry.
I’ve had people yell faker at my mom when she stands up from her wheel-chair at the back of the car and walk to get inside because the wheel-chair wouldn’t fit between our car and the badly/illegally parked car next to us. They’ve even asked if her oxygen is real or if we’re faking that too.
Just because you see a person stand or walk a few feet doesn’t mean they don’t need help or assistance of a wheel-chair or scooter.
Hungary Dumps G7 Banks For Record China Loan, Beijing Subsidy Tsunami To Crush EU Punishments
Today, I want to talk about a class action suite that I was involved in.
Back in the 1990’s, there was this interim storage method for computers. It lay somewhere between the early floppy discs and the record-able CD ROMS that became all the fad at the turn of the century.
This was a “ZIP disc”. Which was a high capacity (for the time) floppy disc storage system. And a bought a few systems to store content on my various computer system setups.
Now, the thing was that the company was offering a rebate, and a discount. So everyone was buying the things.
They cost something like $100, but if you buy it, you can apply for the $50 rebate after three months of use. The numbers are approximate, but it was something like that.
Now, it was a big scam.
Oh, the system worked all right. It’s just that the company had no intention on giving anyone the rebates and the bonus prizes and rewards. And millions of people were upset. As was I.
I think they owed me around $250 all told for all my system components. This was big dollars back in the day.
We all gave up. After month after month of sending in the UPC codes off the boxes, xerox of the receipts, and credit card bills they were never enough. We were all just on this endless hamster wheel cage with no way off.
Anyways, imagine my surprise when a class-action suite was made against the company and all of us on the aggrieved listing were ordered to get our money due to us.
Boy. I was so happy about that!
$40 million dollars.
Certainly, I will finally get my money back.
But when my check came in… after all, I was expecting $250. The amount given to me was an entire $1.21. Yup. The award, minus the attorney fees, and divided by the number of aggrieved customers.
Sheech!
This is the American system in a nutshell.
Today…
What actually happens when an empire falls?
Usually madness. Utter, self-inflicted madness.
The kind that comes from getting too big for your britches, believing your own hype, and forgetting what made you great in the first place.
That’s the first symptom of an empire on the decline.
It’s like watching a star athlete lose their edge, thinking they don’t need to train as hard or that they’re above the rules.
The result?
A spectacular fall from grace.
Empires aren’t built on luck or divine right. They’re forged through grit, innovation, and a clear understanding of their purpose.
But as they grow, the rot sets in.
The elites become complacent, fattened on luxury and power, losing touch with the common folk who sustain them.
The bureaucracy swells into a monstrous, inefficient beast, choking on its own red tape.
Corruption becomes the norm, as officials line their pockets at the expense of the state.
The first cracks appear at the edges, where the empire’s reach exceeds its grasp. Rebellions flare up, fueled by resentment and neglect.
The military, once a lean, mean fighting machine, grows bloated and sluggish, more interested in protecting its own privileges than defending the realm.
The economy stagnates, strangled by overregulation and cronyism. The whole edifice starts to creak and groan under the weight of its own decadence.
And when the final blow comes, it’s often not from some mighty external foe, but from within.
A palace coup, a popular uprising, a cascade of defections – it doesn’t matter.
This is the nature of all Empires.
It's not a matter of if it will fall, but when, the seeds of its destruction are already sown within its own heart.
What is the best decision you ever made that made your life better?
Experience 1:
I was at my office desk and it was around 1 p.m. which means lunch time. I was already so hungry I could eat a human. But I didn’t want to eat alone. So I went to invite a co-worker to join me.
“Okay. Give me 20 minutes; I’m finishing up my work.” he said.
I can wait for 20 minutes. No big deal.
Twenty minutes later… He’s still typing on his computer.
“Hold on. Gimme another ten minutes. I’ll call Adam (his friend from other department) to join us.”
He called Adam who agreed to have lunch together, then continued his work.
Ten mins later (so that’s already half an hour)…
“I don’t think I can join you. I have to finish this work. Please go first. I think Adam is already waiting at the cafe. If I manage to finish my work in the next ten mins, I’ll join you guys,” he said.
Experience 2:
The weather was good. Blue sky, windy. I was in the mood for running. I wanted to go out and sweat. I skipped exercising for three weeks due to workload and when the weekends came, I was occupied with other stuff. Either that, or terrible weather. There were always excuses. But that day I had no excuse. I was thrilled to go out.
It was 4.30 p.m. I rang my neighbour who’s also a runner.
“Bro, the weather is so good today. Let’s run,” I said.
“It is. But can we go at 6 p.m.? I have something to do right now.”
One and a half hour is nothing. I can wait. No big deal.
6 p.m. The weather changed from good to bad. It was suddenly raining. So we cancelled our plan. If I just walked out of the house at 4.30 p.m., I would probably be sweating and came home at 6 p.m.
These two and dozens of similar experiences led me to a decision.
Don’t wait for others. You want to eat? Go. You want to run? Go. You want to watch movie? Just go. You want to travel? Go.
For all the things you can do alone, just go. Wait for nobody.
Pasta Neapolitan
Ingredients
1 pound dried angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano (divided)
5 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced, or to taste
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
2 cups fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, finely minced (about 1 cup chopped)
Sea salt or kosher salt
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a vigorous, rolling boil. Cook pasta until al dente.
Drain well and put into a warm serving dish with the soft butter in it; toss pasta until coated, then add most of the cheese and gently toss again. Keep warm in oven.
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook just until the garlic turns light brown; pull pan off the heat. (Do not rush by cooking at a higher heat; this will burn the garlic and cause it to taste bitter.)
Add the minced parsley and a generous pinch of salt and mix with a spoon until it resembles the texture of pesto.
Immediately pour over the warm pasta and toss well to distribute the sauce evenly.
Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and serve.
Do women really cheat more than men?
It is often said, and in my experience this is true, that women cheat out of desires of the heart and men cheat out of desires of the body. I have cheated on my ex-wife. I am not proud of it, nor will I make excuses for it. The reasons were strictly physical. She, herself, cheated on me as well — initially just having “emotional affairs” online. This changed when she fell in love with someone, and physically cheated on me as well. At which point, the marriage came to an end.
For me, cheating was strictly a physical thing… younger-me believed variety is the spice of life and just wanted to “get it on”. For her, it was a matter of love — she still loved me, but in some ways she found me lacking as a husband. My lack of ambition. My lack of “drive” to make something of myself. The ease with which I accepted life as it comes, and how little I needed to be fulfilled. Whereas to her, the sky was the limit and she wanted it all. She wanted wealth. She wanted a bigger house, more trips and travels, better food, more savings for the future. She wanted so much, and me, I was okay with what we had. So she sought out someone who she did feel compatible with. Who wanted the things she wanted, too. Someone ambitious. More wealthy.
And she left me, for that person. And this seems to be somewhat of a recurring theme, when it comes to men cheating versus women cheating. All I wanted was just to get laid with other girls… whereas my ex, she wanted a more suitable partner. I find that men are more likely to want to cheat as a one-off thing, a fling, an affair without love being involved. Lust over love. With women, love over lust. When she’s gone, she’s gone for good.
Biker Gets Into Terrible Accident, Loses Leg…And His Wife NEVER Leaves Him Or His Side
Is it true that most of Singaporean Chinese treat and consider the Singaporean Malay Muslims as inferior or second class citizens?
You are mistaken guys! Your question is rather unfair to Chinese Singaporeans.
I was in my father-in-law’s watch shop in a fashionable street in Malacca, Malaysia in 2006-2007. A couple of well-dressed Malay man in his 30 walked in with a gorgeous looking Malay girl.
My wife, a Malaysian , gestured to his father to serve them as they were vying on a Swiss watch for quite sometime.
Guess what? My father-in-law, after a glance for 3 seconds at them he continued doing his thing.
When they left, he mumbled in Hokkien to allow me to understand. “Malay people, won’t buy, dress nice-nice, got 2 Ringgit in the pocket”
My wife looked at me and smiled, then rolled her eyes.
Years have passed, I was again in Malacca in one evening, I was so thrilled to see a “Malay trade fair” when we drove by.
My niece-in-law was a chauffeur, she has grown to be a big girl now she knew what I was up to, so, she said “**Uncle, they will look at you as a freak —if you are not like a Malay, we Chinese, don’t usually go, they are kings here. Let them enjoy.”**
My wife looked at me she smiled, then rolled her eyes—reminded me of what she did 17 years ago.
What is your question, again?
It’s rather unfair for Malay people to be kings in both countries—Malaysia and Singapore…The Malay knows this pretty well, don’t they?
Why should the world unite with the United States to stop China, considering that the United states is worse than China?
The world shouldn’t, and doesn’t, unite with America against China.
America is a genuine global menace. Endless wars. Endless deaths. Endless destruction.
Endless sanctions.
Endless political interference and violation of national sovereignty.
America is an imperialist. It suppresses the Global South from developing. It exploits the Global South for their natural resources.
China is helping the Global South develop through the Belt and Road Initiative.
China is the largest trading partner to over 120 countries.
China has fought no wars since 1979.
The Global South represents 88% of humanity. It is behind China, not America. That’s what BRICS and SCO are about.
America and its allies represent a meager 12% of humanity. They don’t matter.
What is the worst thing you saw on the internet today?
I used to watch this much-memed about reality shaw called Pawn Stars. It’s about a family, father, grandfather and grandson who run a pawn shop together and buy rare items from people for a quick buck. It’s a funny show, a lot of jokes have been made about the whole “best I can do is [insert price]”.
Yesterday, Adam Harrison, son of Rick Harrison — the bald guy in all the Pawn Stars memes — passed away at age 39. He had a fatal overdose. TMZ reported on his death almost immediately, as they had heard it through some third party close to Harrison. They didn’t bother to check with the family first before posting. The family then reached out to TMZ and requested privacy in these dark times. They were upset because, get this… they didn’t KNOW their loved one had died, yet!
TMZ found out the troubled relative of a famous reality TV show died. They published his death immediately, and the family had to find out through the internet that their son, father, brother and uncle had passed away. How sick is that?
Didn’t Expect this in CHINA?! 🇨🇳 INSANE MALL TOUR in Chengdu Sichuan
“Biden has been jabbed at least four times. This is his third covid diagnosis. The shots are working great.”
– Jeff Childers, Coffee & Covid
There was a lot of talk about divine intervention at the Republican Convention this week. The country has witnessed a rush of seemingly providential events since the fateful night of June 27th when, to universal horror, “Joe Biden” was unmasked as The Phantom of the White House. The attempt on Donald Trump’s life Saturday, with its intimations of blob involvement, was only the latest of countless trips, hoaxes, capers, and ops that smacked of demonic inspiration laid on the public, so you can’t blame them for feeling that “God is among us now.”
A huge piece of this dynamic has been the Right’s amazing impotence in the eight-year-long march of insults to the republic – especially the failure to find relief for any of that in the courts of law, until last month when the SCOTUS finally kneecapped Democratic Party lawfare operations. A paramount example of that impotence was being unable to find one jurisdiction willing to adjudicate election fraud in 2020 on the merit of the arguments.
But there was much more, starting with collective helplessness in the drawn-out RussiaGate psychodrama, even when all the players and their many nefarious acts were exposed by the alt news media, and extending to the mendacious roguery of the two-year Mueller (Weissmann) Commission, followed by fifty-one former intel higher-ups labeling Hunter Biden’s laptop “Russian disinformation, followed by Rep. Adam Schiff’s Ukraine “whistleblower” prank featuring CIA/NSC/DOD/DOJ moles Eric Ciaramella, Colonel Vindman and IC Inspector General Michael Atkinson, and then the FBI-instigated J-6 riot with the ensuing faked-up House J-6 committee . . . plus you can throw in the stupid Ukraine war, the drag queens in the kindergartens, the bumbling Durham investigation, ten million unvetted illegal migrants flowing into the country and this year’s four show-trials put on to finally break Mr. Trump.
For many in this land, it has been like the classic nightmare of being paralyzed in the presence of evil. So, it’s no wonder that the Republicans came into their convention with a tremendous tailwind of relief when events suddenly broke their way in June. Now, everyone knows that the current president is a vindictive invalid who will be tossed overboard by his own terrified party in a matter of hours now. And the entire scaffold of lies supporting “Joe Biden” and his party is wobbling badly, too.
You could see it in the deranged terror of Rachel Maddow’s increasingly contorted face last night as she rehearsed all the hoaxes she has helped to perpetrate, along with her mentally-ill posse of Jenn Psaki, Joy Reid, Nicole Wallace, and the strangely mute white male Ari Melber. It seemed that any minute Rachel’s head would spin and start spewing pea soup at the camera. When will an exorcist finally pay a visit to MSNBC?
As the sun sets on “Joe Biden’s” career, what’s left of his campaign runs an ad in which he promises “to finish the job.”
Sounds kind of sinister now, doesn’t it, like something a crime boss might tell his caporegimes? And for sure the country is suffering from this three-year-plus reign-of-terror against common sense and common decency.
The wreckage is everywhere, all over this land. “Defending our Democracy,” my ass.
The party big dawgs have paid their terminal visit to the old grifter bringing the sad news that it’s over. Of course, this excites several new headaches for them. Foremost: how can “JB” bow out of the election on account of mental infirmity but still remain president? Even if they call it something else, make some other excuse, the whole world knows now that the president is gone in the head. There are six months remaining to the end of his term and a lot of urgent issues requiring a president’s attention. You can be sure that pressure will rise to shove him out of office altogether. And it may come before the Democratic Convention in late August — if we want to be taken seriously by the rest of the world.
Of course, that would elevate Kamala to the White House. Would getting to be the first female president of-color for six months be her consolation prize for graciously declining an automatic nomination to run in “JB’s” place, so that the party can stage an “open convention” free-for-all? Or would she better serve the party as a sacrificial goat to head the ticket and get buried in what’s shaping up to be an election landslide for the Republicans? Anyway, which of the various replacement politicians — Newsom, Whitmer, Pritzker, PA Gov. Shapiro —really wants to squander a political future in an election that’s as much a vote against the Democratic Party itself as any particular figure in it? Let the party go down so it can be purged of Green Woke Satanic mentally-ill communists and reorganized on a sane and decent basis.
But then there’s always HRC.
She’s been laying back alertly, waiting for an opening to swoop in on her leathery wings and cast a fresh spell over the batshit-crazy women who, in recent times, comprise the party’s base.
At one point, not many years ago, the party was broke and had to be bailed-out by the Clinton Foundation. To what extent does that entity still own the DNC, and especially its cargo of super-delegates? I guess we’re going to find out.
Joe Biden Delivers WORST 80 Seconds in Presidential History EVER…
Are inmates allowed to spend the entire day sleeping?
In the Iowa State Penitentiary they were one-man cells and I’m glad. I like my privacy and its many other conveniences.
We didn’t have to work but to choose that meant you left your cell only to shower, or to eat and you lose your library privilege too.
I also did time in the Federal penitentiary in Lompoc California and those were 1-man rooms … not true cells. The doors were solid with a 6×12 glass window in the door and the bathroom was completely private.
Their “hole” was a unique form of punishment, and I should know: I’ve done time in juvenile homes (8 times), reform school (where I spent 11 months of my two year experience in the hole): military stockades (2 different ones), several jails, and two penitentiaries.)
Lompoc’s hole was unique in that it was designed as an experiment. A psychological experiment in sensory deprivation. No sound. No light. No contact with another person. Just two weeks in complete and utter darkness and silence. It was a room in a room, which allowed the staff to come and go without letting any light in the cell area and not make any noise either. Food was brought once a day, (a half loaf of bread and half a head of lettuce) and the inmate had no way of knowing it was there or not except by going to the door and feeling around, for they slid it under the door through a swinging panel.
Many developed permanent psychological problems from their 2 week experience, for it becomes very difficult to hold your grasp on reality when there isn’t any frame of reference to ‘hang your hat on’.
I hallucinated a lot and even created two fellow cellmates to chat with! When they disappeared soon after I met them, I was devastated. This all took place between the years of 1956–1958 and I suffer now from claustrophobia as a result of that experience.
Ain’t life a blast!
Have you ever witnessed anyone throw away their life?
A rather friendly man talked to me at a party, back when I was a teenager. It was the birthday of his nephew, who was my younger brother’s friend. All the kids in attendance were rather young, and I was happy to talk to someone a bit older, someone who seemed interesting. He was a photographer, and he took photos of everyone in the garden, and around the house.
The man traveled the world. Experienced a lot of things. He seemed full of life, animated, energetic, moving around rapidly. Although he must have been in his forties at the time, he seemed to me the absolute picture of great health. Now this was in the summer, somewhere around 2006 or 2007, I believe. We had a little talk about a trip he was going on, to Russia. How excited he was about it. The party ended rather early, as children’s parties often do. And I went home with my family. But before we parted ways, the man did take a photo of me, and he gave it to me. It was with one of those instant-photo polaroid things… it’s a fond memory, now, because when you’re young, any adult who takes you seriously and talks to you as an equal is often a fond memory.
“Oh hey, Jean-Marie, do you remember the uncle of your brothers friend, the photographer?” my mother asked me a month later. I said I did. “He died yesterday,” she said, “terrible shame. Alcoholism.” Turns out the man I met was dying of a drinking problem. I had no clue. He never went on his big trip. I still have the polaroid, somewhere.
Beavis & Butt-Head Do America – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
China’s cutting-edge electronic warfare (EW) capabilities are transforming the balance of power in the South China Sea, as shown by a recent encounter between US and Chinese forces.
This month, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on China’s enhanced EW capabilities by shedding light on a December 2023 incident between a US EA-18 Growler carrier-based EW aircraft and China’s Type 055 cruiser Nanchang in the contested South China Sea.
SCMP says that in December 2023, the US Navy dismissed William Coulter, commander of US Electronic Attack Squadron 136 (VAQ-136), stationed on the USS Carl Vinson, citing a loss of confidence in his ability to command.
The report says that a month later, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recognized the Nanchang’s crew for their actions against a US carrier fleet. It also notes that Chinese media highlighted an encounter involving an EA-18G, believed to be from Coulter’s squadron, and the Nanchang cruiser.
The report mentions that PLA scientists recently disclosed in a Radar & ECM journal article that AI-enhanced radar gave the Nanchang an advantage over the EA-18G’s jamming capabilities.
It claims that the EA-18G, manufactured by Boeing, has been upgraded since 2021 for future warfare but faces new challenges from the PLA–Navy’s (PLA-N) integrated radar systems and communication strategies.
SCMP notes that these advancements allow PLA-N warships to form a “kill web” to counter the EA-18G’s attacks. It also says that the Nanchang’s reported proactive tactics and successful engagement with US forces illustrate a shift in the PLA-N’s EW approach.
Much-improved Chinese EW capabilities developed after then-US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s controversial August 2022 visit to Taiwan may have enabled a feat.
SCMP noted that the PLA failed to track and surveil the US Air Force transport plane carrying Pelosi during her visit despite deploying Type 055 cruisers and J-16D EW aircraft. The source says that almost all of the PLA’s EW equipment failed to function because of electronic interference from Pelosi’s escorting aircraft force.
On Pelosi’s aircraft escort, John Tkacik says in an August 2022 article for Taipei Times that it could have been a massive force of US F-15s that flew out of Kadena Air Force Base in Japan supported by the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group and the USS Tripoli with embarked F-35s stationed in the Philippine Sea.
From that experience, China may have improved its EW capabilities quickly by investing in new technologies and placing them in a more extensive kill web consisting of kinetic and non-kinetic elements.
SCMP reported in February 2024 that Chinese scientists have invented a new class of EW equipment that can reportedly rapidly detect, decode and suppress enemy signals.
The new system, SCMP says, allows the PLA to seamlessly monitor signals into the gigahertz zone, encompassing frequencies used by amateur radio and even Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites.
It notes that the equipment includes innovative signal processing chips and AI integration, enhancing China’s ability to counter enemy jamming and maintain communication flow.
Furthermore, SCMP claims that in encounters with US Navy ships with EW activity, China has used electromagnetic-emitting equipment, including high-power phased array radars, to lock on to multiple targets including US carrier-based aircraft.
Aside from developing new tech, China may already have elevated EW into a strategic capability, integrating it into its multi-domain operations alongside other kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities in a complex kill web.
In a May 2023 article for the Mitchell Institute, Heather Penney describes a kill web as multiple, interconnected nodes that offer redundant paths for executing military operations, increasing the quantity and resilience of potential kill chains. A kill chain is the process required to identify and eliminate specific targets.
Penney says that unlike linear kill chains, which are easier to target and disrupt, kill webs provide a more adaptable and less predictable system, making it harder for adversaries to defeat.
Asia Times noted in April 2024 that the rebranding of China’s PLA Strategic Support Force (PLA-SSF) into the PLA-Information Support Force (PLA-ISF) highlights China’s strategic shift towards technology-driven “intelligentized warfare.”
The PLA-ISF is designed to integrate emerging AI, quantum and other technologies into China’s multi-domain operational strategy against potential adversaries like the US and its allies. The rebranding reflects an evolution in Chinese military thought, transitioning from “informationized wars” to “intelligentized warfare” that includes EW, cyber operations and signals intelligence (SIGINT).
EW is also a key component of China’s Multi-Domain Precision Warfare (MDPW) concept, which leverages AI and big data to identify and exploit weaknesses in US operational systems.
China’s MDPW seeks to dismantle and destroy US kill chains by targeting critical information nodes such as aircraft and satellites through physical attacks and targeting information networks by using EW and cyberattacks.
While the US arguably still has the edge in EW, near-peer adversaries like China and Russia may be closing the gap.
A November 2022 US Congressional Research Service (CRS) defense primer says that the National Defense Strategy Commission mentioned that the US is losing its EW edge, hindering its capability to conduct operations against capable adversaries.
Army Technology reported in May 2024 that the US spent US$5 billion on EW capabilities in 2024, accounting for 45% of global EW spending from 2021-2023, compared to just 14% by Russia and 13% by China.
However, Army Technology says that the US’ dominant position in the EW market is being challenged, as Russia, China and India’s share is projected to increase by the next decade.
The report notes that over the past two decades, Russia has exploited alleged US complacency in EW strategies, which have focused on counterinsurgency versus non-state actors.
It notes that in Ukraine, Russia has used EW to disrupt adversary battlefield networks, support conventional assault forces through SIGINT and jamming attacks, and secure captured territory against counterattacks.
The source also mentions that Russia has used EW to disrupt regional civilian services such as GPS and telecoms.
Likewise, Army Technology mentions that China has mirrored Russia’s use of EW and has equated information dominance with electromagnetic dominance. It says that in addition to shipborne EW equipment, China has installed such equipment and more in its occupied features in the South China Sea.
In line with that, Matthew Funaiole and other writers highlight in a December 2021 CSIS article the expansion of China’s facilities on Hainan Island, Subi Reef, and Fiery Cross Reef, which now includes satellite tracking, communication platforms, and systems potentially used in EW and SIGINT.
Funaiole and others note that these developments aim to bolster the PLA’s ability to operate in contested electronic and cyber environments.
What is the impact of corruption on the economy of a country like China, where it is prevalent at all levels?
In China, the Scope of corruption is very limited these days
What do you use your illegal wealth for?
You can’t buy Land in China because the State owns the land, so you can buy a lease and if you do, you get caught in seconds
You can’t ask payment for your kid to be educated abroad because every official has to give source of funds for his kids tuition
You cant put money into an offshore account because as officials you need Exit Visas and it’s possible you may never be able to use your money
You can’t bury Cash in your mattress because Cash is rarer and rarer nowadays
There is only one way of Corruption that every booked official in China uses
Pre dated Investments!!!!
Buying Gold today and getting a 10 year old bill of sale for that gold and claiming to sell the same today and pocketing the proceeds of sale
For instance claiming you purchased Gold for 100,000 RMB in 2014 and now claiming to sell the same gold for 207,000 RMB and pocketing 107,000 RMB legitimately
Or Pre Dated Real Estate Investments into companies
The problem is that such officials get caught regularly because they didn’t declare this purchase of gold in 2014 in their Assets and Liabilities statement and so find it tough to explain
So Corruption is getting harder and harder and many officials get caught quite easily
Someone Shorted Trump’s Stock Just Before The Assassination Attempt!
Here’s how it works. [1] Victoria Neuland announces about “something will be a surprise”, and then [2] people short stocks for personal profit. This is not the first time this system went into play.
An International Man lives and does business wherever he finds conditions most advantageous, regardless of arbitrary borders. He’s diversified globally, with passports from multiple countries, assets in several jurisdictions, and his residence in yet another. He doesn’t depend absolutely on any country and regards all of them as competitors for his capital and expertise.
Living as an international man has always been an interesting possibility. But few Americans opted for it, since the U.S. used to reward those who settled in and put down roots. In fact, it rewarded them better than any other country in the world, so there was no pressing reason to become an international man.
Things change, however, and being rooted like a plant – at least if you have a choice – is a suboptimal strategy if you wish to not only survive, but prosper. Throughout history, almost every place has at some point become dangerous for those who were stuck there. It may be America’s turn.
For those who can take up the life of an international man, it’s no longer just an interesting lifestyle decision. It has become, at a minimum, an asset saver, and it could be a lifesaver. That said, I understand the hesitation you may feel about taking action; pulling up one’s roots (or at least grafting some of them to a new location) can be almost as traumatic to a man as to a vegetable.
As any intelligent observer surveys the world’s economic and political landscape, he has to be disturbed – even dismayed and a bit frightened – by the gravity and number of problems that mark the horizon. We’re confronted by economic depression, looming financial chaos, serious currency inflation, onerous taxation, crippling regulation, a developing police state, and, worst of all, the prospect of a major war. It seems almost unbelievable that all these things could affect the U.S., which historically has been the land of the free.
How did we get here? An argument can be made that things went bad because of miscalculation, accident, inattention, and the like. Those elements have had a role, but it is minor. Potential catastrophe across the board can’t be the result of happenstance. When things go wrong on a grand scale, it’s not just bad luck or inadvertence. It’s because of serious character flaws in one or many – or even all – of the players.
So is there a root cause of all the problems I’ve cited?
If we can find it, it may tell us how we personally can best respond to the problems.
In this article, I’m going to argue that the U.S. government, in particular, has been overrun by the wrong kind of person.
It’s a trend that’s been in motion for many years but has now reached a point of no return. In other words, a type of moral rot has become so prevalent that it’s institutional in nature. There is not going to be, therefore, any serious change in the direction in which the U.S. is headed until a genuine crisis topples the existing order. Until then, the trend will accelerate.
The reason is that a certain class of people – sociopaths – are now fully in control of major American institutions.
Their beliefs and attitudes are insinuated throughout the economic, political, intellectual, and psychological/spiritual fabric of the U.S.
What does this mean to you, as an individual? It depends on your character.
Are you the kind of person who supports “my country, right or wrong,” as did most Germans in the 1930s and 1940s? Or the kind who dodges the duty to be a helpmate to murderers? The type of passenger who goes down with the ship? Or the type who puts on his vest and looks for a lifeboat? The type of individual who supports the merchants who offer the fairest deal? Or the type who is gulled by splashy TV commercials?
What the ascendancy of sociopaths means isn’t an academic question. Throughout history, the question has been a matter of life and death. That’s one reason America grew; every American (or any ex-colonial) has forebears who confronted the issue and decided to uproot themselves to go somewhere with better prospects. The losers were those who delayed thinking about the question until the last minute.
I have often described myself, and those I prefer to associate with, as gamma rats. You may recall the ethologist’s characterization of the social interaction of rats as being between a few alpha rats and many beta rats, the alpha rats being dominant and the beta rats submissive. In addition, a small percentage are gamma rats that stake out prime territory and mates, like the alphas, but are not interested in dominating the betas. The people most inclined to leave for the wide world outside and seek fortune elsewhere are typically gamma personalities.
You may be thinking that what happened in places like Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Mao’s China, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, and scores of other countries in recent history could not, for some reason, happen in the U.S. Actually, there’s no reason it won’t at this point. All the institutions that made America exceptional – including a belief in capitalism, individualism, self-reliance, and the restraints of the Constitution – are now only historical artifacts.
On the other hand, the distribution of sociopaths is completely uniform across both space and time.
Per capita, there were no more evil people in Stalin’s Russia, Hitler’s Germany, Mao’s China, Amin’s Uganda, Ceausescu’s Romania, or Pol Pot’s Cambodia than there are today in the U.S. All you need is favorable conditions for them to bloom, much as mushrooms do after a rainstorm.
Conditions for them in the U.S. are becoming quite favorable. Have you ever wondered where the 50,000 people employed by the TSA to inspect and degrade you came from? Most of them are middle-aged. Did they have jobs before they started doing something that any normal person would consider demeaning? Most did, but they were attracted to – not repelled by – a job where they wear a costume and abuse their fellow citizens all day.
Few of them can imagine that they’re shepherding in a police state as they play their roles in security theater.(A reinforced door on the pilots’ cabin is probably all that’s actually needed, although the most effective solution would be to hold each airline responsible for its own security and for the harm done if it fails to protect passengers and third parties.) But the 50,000 newly employed are exactly the same type of people who joined the Gestapo – eager to help in the project of controlling everyone. Nobody was drafted into the Gestapo.
What’s going on here is an instance of Pareto’s Law. That’s the 80-20 rule that tells us, for example, that 80% of your sales come from 20% of your salesmen or that 20% of the population are responsible for 80% of the crime.
As I see it, 80% of people are basically decent; their basic instincts are to live by the Boy Scout virtues. 20% of people, however, are what you might call potential trouble sources, inclined toward doing the wrong thing when the opportunity presents itself. They might now be shoe clerks, mailmen, or waitresses – they seem perfectly benign in normal times. They play baseball on weekends and pet the family dog. However, given the chance, they will sign up for the Gestapo, the Stasi, the KGB, the TSA, Homeland Security, or whatever. Many seem well intentioned, but are likely to favor force as the solution to any problem.
But it doesn’t end there, because 20% of that 20% are really bad actors. They are drawn to government and other positions where they can work their will on other people and, because they’re enthusiastic about government, they rise to leadership positions. They remake the culture of the organizations they run in their own image. Gradually, non-sociopaths can no longer stand being there. They leave. Soon the whole barrel is full of bad apples. That’s what’s happening today in the U.S.
It’s a pity that Bush, when he was in office, made such a big deal of evil. He discredited the concept. He made Boobus americanus think it only existed in a distant axis, in places like North Korea, Iraq and Iran, which were and still are irrelevant backwaters and arbitrarily chosen enemies. Bush trivialized the concept of evil and made it seem banal because he was such a fool. All the while, real evil, very immediate and powerful, was growing right around him, and he lacked the awareness to see he was fertilizing it by turning the U.S. into a national security state after 9/11.
Now, I believe, it’s out of control.
The U.S. is already in a truly major depression and on the edge of financial chaos and a currency meltdown.
The sociopaths in government will react by redoubling the pace toward a police state domestically and starting a major war abroad. To me, this is completely predictable. It’s what sociopaths do.
The Sopranos – Random Tony Soprano Scenes
How has your appearance affected your life?
I’m a short man.
I’m 5″6’, so I’m not a ‘little person” but I am short.
When I was dating, I had many girls tell me they would date me if i were taller. Fast forward and I’ve been married 20 years and have three terrific children.
Taller guys sometimes pat me on the shoulder or otherwise treat me like a child. I’m in my 40s.
Aggressive women have often warned me that ‘they could take me.’ I’ve had drunk guys start fights with the ‘little guy’ in a bar or party. Literally just walk up and start talking trash. I had a personal boxing coach for years and although I was never a contender, I learned to handle myself really well.
When I assert myself, I am told I have a ‘napoleon complex’ – when I don’t, I’m ‘passive aggressive’ or a pushover.
I’ve been passed over for leadership opportunities for taller people, and I’ve actually been told that openly. A CFO told me that people don’t like to work for short men. Height isn’t a protected class and you can be discriminated against for it.
I have a great life. Terrific family, despite being raised in poverty, I have accumulated a decent amount of first generation wealth. I have a great career and i do what I love. I really have no complaints.
But my appearance has affected my life.
Russia hits 4 HIMARS launchers and 35 foreign operators
Can Thai police officers demand to search your backpack while using public transportation in Bangkok? What are the consequences if you refuse?
Conduct a search on the bus or train? Thai police ain’t stupid, guys.
They know pretty well that Thais know best. I would say out loud, “เชิญเลยครับ (Be my guest)!”
Be sure to make a scene so that all eyes will look at you, so, you have a lot of eyewitnesses- say this; “พ่อแม่ พี่น้อง ผมกำลังโดนค้นครับ ขอไทยมุงครับ- เป็นสักขีพยานครับ ว่าผมไม่มี บุหรี่ไฟฟ้า ไม่มียาบ้านะครับ!” (Ladies & Gentlemen, I’m about to be searched, gather around folks, please be my eyewitnesses that I’ve no ‘Vapes’ or’Yaba’”)
Let’s be serious.
Once you consent to a search, there are two scenarios you need to know-ONE**, you are confronting with a pair of phony police officers. If you’re allow them to put their hands into your backpack it will mean, you will be a victim of an extortion-you know what I mean.— You may read from the expert online how to get out from a search by the fake Thai police unscathed.
TWO**: It’s real search from the police, and you can’t say no as your tattooed face & both arms, bearded with moustache wearing ’Boss’ blue T matches a description of ‘gold shop heist robber’ Too bad that you’re in a vicinity of the crime scene nearby.
Be shrewd as a snake but keeping calm like a dove **(I borrow from the Bible)- ask their permission to see their palms and what under/ inside their sleeves. If possible, take a video during a seach with their permission as well ( they will allow)
With a **vape** in your possession could cost you up to 30,000 Baht *fine
**Yaba** in your possession is questionable as penalty of drug trafficking is harsher than possession of drugs… you can’t say that, ‘IT ISN’T MINE’
Thai police will typically insist, **I am the law**
What’s other choice when facing with the Thai police demanding a search?
Guys! In Thailand do as the Thai do.
Just walk away that is what Thais would do when the police want to search the backpack of anyone.
What are the consequences if you refuse?
The worst scenario, if you refuse a search—is going to the police station with them.
What was your best moment when negotiating a salary?
My company was about 9 months delivering my review. I had a great year and likely generated incremental ebitda of over $5 million. When I finallly got me review I was told I did a great job and I was getting the maximum raise – 5% on top of my $120k salary. I flipped out.
Two weeks later I quit. I knew I had a ton of leverage because:
My company was party to a lawsuit and I was a key witness.
The company was going to be sold soon and I was in a key position.
As expected, they asked me to stay and offered me a small additional raise. I demanded $250k, a 75% bonus, promotion to EVP, stock options, 1 year severance agreement if the fired me (plus bonus), and a year of benefits post employment. Told them I didn’t care either way.
It’s been 5 years. I’m still with the company and have been promoted to president. Timing is everything. If you have leverage use it.
Stranded in Philadelphia. America, what’s happening?
“Vast DEI Bureaucracy” Hurting U.S. Armed Forces; ASU Study Finds
A new Arizona State University study suggests that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts in the United States military are ineffective.
The study done by the university’s Center for American Institutions argued that there is a emphasis on training new soldiers about social issues like “unconscious bias” and “intersectionality” in a way the center says runs contrary to typical American ideals. The study examined DEI plan’s in different sector of the military, including DEI office staffing and education at academies like West Point.
“The massive DEI bureaucracy, its training and its pseudo-scientific assessments are at best distractions that absorb valuable time and resources,” the executive summary states. “At worst they communicate the opposite of the military ethos: e.g. that individual demographic differences come before team and mission.”
Donald Critchlow, director of the center, wrote in the introduction it was focused on looking at the influence of Critical Race Theory in the United States Armed Forces training.
“The Commission on Civic Education in the Military began as a project to review civic education in the military. Our research team did not expect to find Critical Race Theory so embedded and pervasive. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs are found throughout the U.S. Armed Forces and our service academies,” Critchlow wrote. “This year long study documents just how pervasive these training programs are in our Armed Forces and Service Academies and that DEI extends well beyond just formal training programs in the military and service academies.”
“The Founders of our nation understood and feared a politicized military. History had shown them that a politicized army easily became the tool of tyranny. The Armed Forces of the United States has proudly upheld this long tradition of separating mission from politics,” he continued.
In terms of recommendations, the study suggests that DEI offices be completely scrapped, but said it may be politically unlikely for the time being.
“The surest way to eliminate the concerning trends we have identified, and the growth of race and sex-based scapegoating and stereotyping in the U.S. military, is to altogether end the DEI bureaucracy there,” the study states. “However, until such a time as the executive or legislative branches of the government choose to end the DEI bureaucracy in our federal agencies and military, we are left to advocate the pursuit of alternative avenues that may affect positive change despite existing policies.”
They also suggested the military prioritize civic education with a focus on “America’s commitment to freedom and opportunity.”
The study comes as some branches of the military continue to struggle with recruiting new service members.
To all the doctors, have you ever asked a patient to leave your office?
We just had one on Monday. We are a primary care office in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis. Patients stopped coming to our office because they were afraid we were treating COVID-19 patients. Our volume of patients plummeted to about 20% of our normal patient count in late March and early April. We laid off 50% of our staff and switched to Telehealth. Gradually, patients have started coming back in when they could no longer put off going to the doctor. We are seeing about 50% of our patients in the office and another 20% through Telehealth. We have strict protocols for seeing patients now, but tensions are high among the staff. We are bringing back our staff slowly but surely.
One of our patients had been discharged from the hospital last week for non-COVID-19 problems. This 35-year-old woman followed up with her doctor through Telehealth, but needed to be seen in person for her condition and also to fill out FMLA paperwork. She confused her follow-up date and time (after confirming twice with our email and text reminder service), so we rescheduled her to the next day, a Saturday. Again, she arrived at the wrong time and the office was closed. She paged her doctor who was on-call and demanded her paperwork be filled out over the weekend. This doctor offered to come into the office exclusively on Monday to see her and fill out her paperwork as a courtesy. He was only scheduled for Telehealth which he had planned to do at home.
The patient again arrived late and the doctor was busy on Telehealth with his scheduled patients. She offered to come back in an hour when he had a slot to see her. Again, she arrived late. She refused to wear a mask in the office, as is our protocol and mandated by our state — insisting she was a nurse and it’s not necessary and it is a bunch of silliness. She was put in a room and told to wait, as the doctor was in the middle of seeing another patient.
After two minutes, she stormed out of the room causing a scene, demanding to be seen this instant, get her paperwork, and her narcotics Rx filled. Just then, the doctor came down the hall from his office to see her. She started swearing at him and berating him for making her wait. He threw up his hands and let her know he would not be treated that way and she can leave. He escorted her out of the building. He would not fill her prescriptions or do her paperwork. The patient left.
The next day she started pounding on our door when it was locked, yelling and demanding her prescriptions and her paperwork. The doctor ended up giving her two weeks of her medications and two weeks of FMLA and referred her off to her specialist to finish her care. This patient is being discharged from our practice. This patient consistently runs a balance with our office, has multiple missed appointments, and is rude to the staff. There is no need for this behavior — especially at a tense time like this.
Wednesday – 1960’s Super Panavision 70
Why are there still people think that China is poor?
I think this is some kind of conspiracy created by the Chinese
I know many Chinese, especially young Chinese under 40 years old
Usually when the topic of conversation involves “Is China poor or rich”
Although everyone’s eloquence is different and the way of explaining the content is also different. But they all seem to be trying their best to explain the same idea: “China is poor, China is backward”
And when you point to the modern city behind them, their food, clothing, housing and transportation, and their unparalleled modern transportation facilities, and express doubts. Chinese people often lead you into another unified agenda: “It looks good, but we have to consider the per capita data
The common Chinese rhetoric about “China’s poverty” is as follows:
GDP per capita: China’s GDP per capita is only about 13,000 US dollars, compared with more than 60,000 US dollars in the United States, so China is still very poor.
(Deliberately ignoring the difference in purchasing power parity (PPP))
Income per capita: 500 million people in China have an average monthly income of less than 1,000 yuan (140 US dollars)
(The concept of “non-working population” is replaced)
Number of cars per capita: China has 219 cars per thousand people. The United States has about 800 cars per thousand people, and France has more than 600 cars per thousand people
(Deliberately ignoring the difference in stock, China has entered the automobile era for less than 20 years)
High-speed trains: Chinese people can’t buy flight tickets, so they can only take high-speed trains.
(In fact, China’s air tickets are often not more expensive than high-speed trains)
Housing area per capita: China’s per capita housing area is about 40 square meters. The per capita housing area in the United States is about 65 square meters, and the per capita housing area in Germany and France is also above 50 square meters (Deliberately ignoring that China’s home ownership rate is much higher than that of the United States and Europe)
Similar agendas include: China’s military is very weak
Nuclear weapons per capita: ranked last among the five permanent members, only one percent of the United States
Aircraft carriers per capita: lower than Thailand and Brazil, so very weak
Defense budget per capita: only $210 per year, one-tenth of the United States and one-quarter of France
China’s technology is very backward:
Number of space stations per capita, number of supercomputers per capita, number of moon landings per capita, number of Mars explorations per capita, number of GPS satellites per capita, number of scientific papers per capita…
This strange “we are bad” narrative of the Chinese is not just a joke for ordinary people to chat, but a systematic narrative from top to bottom. China’s leaders, regional leaders and various government officials are accustomed to using this narrative.
Even in political speeches praising achievements, they list a series of achievements and never forget to add a paragraph at the end: “But we still have a big gap, the per capita data is only a small part of advanced countries, and we still have a long way to go in development. ”
Someone told me that the strange Chinese attitude of “We are terrible” comes from the inherent traditional culture of “modesty”. But I think it is more than that. Behind their strange narrative, there is actually another meaning: “Please don’t bother us.”
The Little Mermaid – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
The media has finally, once and for all, lost all credibility
Obviously the attempted assassination of Donald Trump represents a grim milestone on America’s path of decline, as I wrote about in detail on Monday.
But the legacy media’s response to it may also go down as a major turning point: the moment they finally lost all credibility.
Now, clearly for a long time the media has been full of Inspired Idiots who don’t care about reporting the truth. Instead, they push a narrative they want people to believe about the world and the events which shape it.
For example, CNN famously described 2020 Black Lives Matters riots as “fiery, but mostly peaceful.”
In 2021, when the governor of South Dakota banned biological men from participating in female sports, CNN promptly reported that, “there is no consensus criteria for assigning sex at birth.”
NBC News was caught in 2021 colluding with the Biden administration to downplay the criminal past deeds of Tracy Stone-Manning, who the President had nominated to lead the Bureau of Land Management.
Stone-Manning was an eco-terrorist in her youth who was involved in tree-spiking activities that kill or maim loggers. But NBC News promised to take it easy on her to help push her appointment through.
Also in 2021, however, NBC News (along with just about every other mainstream ‘news’ outlet) hyped unproven allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that went back 30 years.
And when #MeToo protestors stormed the United States Capitol and accosted Senators in an attempt to disrupt and overturn the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, the media did not label these protestors ‘domestic terrorists’, as they did with January 6 protesters.
The media circulated outright lies about the Russia voter manipulation hoax. And the New York Times was even awarded the ‘esteemed’ Pulitzer Prize for its reporting of this thoroughly discredited story.
It’s also notable that, even after the Russia collusion story was proven to be false, the Pulitzer committee REFUSED to rescind the award it had bestowed to the Times. Their logic, apparently, is that quality reporting about blatant lies is still worthy of journalism’s highest honor.
Then, of course, in the weeks before the 2020 election, nearly every legacy news outlet outright refused to report on the laptop of Hunter Biden. The younger Biden’s laptop not only showed deep character flaws, but evidence of significant corruption and foreign influence connected to his father.
And don’t even get me started on how the legacy media reported on COVID, lock-downs, and vaccines.
But now they’ve elevated their lies and propaganda to a whole new level with the way they have portrayed last week’s assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
These “journalists” witnessed in real time an attempted— and very nearly successful— assassination of a former President, upon which they reported:
“Trump Escorted Away After Loud noises at rally” –The Washington Post
“Secret Service rushes Trump offstage after he falls at rally” –CNN
“Trump says he was shot in the ear at rally” -NPR
OK, let’s be extremely polite and give them the benefit of the doubt; immediately following the assassination attempt there were plenty of unknowns.
But even after the fog of war had been lifted— after it was clearly an attempted assassination— the Washington Post updated its headline to: “Trump safe after being rushed off stage following shooting at rally.”
In another article it said the assassin “shot at Trump,” not “shot Trump.”
Technically, that passes a fact check. But it’s sort of like describing Mount Everest as an elevated piece of land.
And the spin continued the next day.
Reuters ran an article titled, “Republicans, in wake of Trump shooting, seek to pin political violence trend on Democrats.”
This obviously ‘unbiased’ and ‘trustworthy’ news agency couldn’t simply report on the known facts of the attempted assassination. No, instead, their priority was to tell readers that it is the RIGHT, not the LEFT, that is full of violent extremists.
“A Reuters analysis of more than 200 incidents of politically motivated violence between 2021 and 2023, however, presented a different picture: In those years, fatal political violence more often emanated from the American right than from the left.”
Reuters didn’t actually cite a single example of this Right wing violence.
In fact, the only example of violence they did mention was the shooting of Steve Scalise, a Republican member of Congress who was gunned down (but survived) in 2017… by a Left wing extremist.
So… in an attempt to prove its assertion that its readers should fear Right wing violence, Reuters’ only example was an instance of a Left wing extremist shooting a Right wing politician.
Genius!
And these Inspired Idiots in the media still can’t understand why nobody trusts them.
Days after the attempted assassination, the Associated Press noted that the Left and Right now have dueling conspiracy theories about the assassination attempt— that Trump staged it for clout, or that the Secret Service was in on it.
AP lamented, “Americans are increasingly choosing their own reality, at the expense of a shared understanding of the facts.”
Gee, whose fault is that? (Remember, AP published the headline: “Donald Trump has been escorted off the stage by Secret Service during a rally after loud noises ring out in the crowd.”)
The attempted assassination of Trump was a rare event, in that it was broadcast in real time, and everyone could see exactly what happened with their own eyes from multiple angles.
And still the media tried as hard as possible to sell a completely bullshit narrative of the event.
What do you think they do with events that are not so clear, or are not caught on camera from every angle? How trustworthy are those “anonymous sources” they love to cite?
This is why the legacy media is becoming less trusted by the day.
It’s also why, despite Inspired Idiots owning the vast majority of broadcast media, they still haven’t been able to tip the scales decisively in favor of their own little cultural revolution.
Confronted with an event they knew would make their nemesis look strong and unbeatable, they resorted to cartoonish propaganda.
And I hope that proves to be the decisive moment for people to see them for what they are: liars.
Man Runs Away on Date When She Brought Her Friends…
Can people with diplomatic immunity commit crimes in their host nation without repercussions?
Mohamed Rizalman bin Ismail, a Malaysian military attaché, entered one woman’s house and attempted to have sex with her.
He was promptly arrested by the New Zealand police and charged with attempted burglary and rape. Invoking his diplomatic immunity, Mohamed left New Zealand to his country Malaysia. Following the international furor, Malaysia agreed to send Mohamed back and waive his diplomatic immunity. This case was interesting because NZ and Malaysia don’t have an extradition treaty. Apparently Mohamed “volunteered” to go back to NZ and face the trial. He served 9 months of house arrest.
Majed Hassan Ashoor, the first secretary at the Saudi Embassy in India beat and raped his Nepali housemaids. When the Police got involved, Diplomat invoking immunity left the country. All was left, a few NGOs protesting against the diplomat.
These cases happen far more often than beating and rape. An American military attaché was involved in traffic accident. He was reported to be drunk. As a result, the motorcycle driver died. The Pakistani authorities asked Americans to waive his diplomatic immunity so that he can be tried. After refusal, he was not allowed to leave the country. After extensive negotiations and substantial payments to the deceased’s family was the case finally resolved.
Another very similar case, a Russian diplomat was involved in fatal traffic accident, in Canada, while drunk. Due to diplomatic immunity, he was allowed back to Russia. Upon arrival, he was charged in Russian court with involuntary manslaughter and jailed for 4 years.
A new case is developing right now in Turkey. It has been alleged that a Saudi national was killed in the Saudi Consulate. If this is true, we reached new lows in diplomacy.
As you can see, diplomatic immunity can be waived only by the diplomat’s side. The host country, on the other hand, can prohibit the diplomat from leaving the country. It can also make an international incident and make life hell for the remaining diplomats. But in the end it is up to the diplomat’s country if it wants to be viewed as a country that allows its diplomats to commit crimes and get away with it. A matter of national prestige is an important matter to some, not all countries.
Article 29 of the Vienna Convention states: “The person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable. He shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. The receiving state shall treat him with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person, freedom or dignity.”
The Mask – 1950’s Super Panavision 70 Trailer
What is one thing that shocked you when you attended an Ivy League or a highly prestigious school like Stanford or MIT?
I got my Ph.D. from Stanford, so I was both a student and a teacher there, after attending a mid-level school that gave me a full ride for undergrad. No one in my family had been to a top-tier school, and there were no top-tier schools in the area where I grew up, so I had no idea what to expect. There were two things that shocked me most:
The way that everything is set up to ensure the students succeed. Ins to any internship program you could possibly want. “Lecture series” classes that are really designed to give you weekly networking opportunities. Entrepreneurship competitions that will actually put multiple students in a room with venture capitalists to pitch their business plans. You name it. The campus, the resources, the professors, the programs — all of these things are great at Stanford, but they’re great a lot of other places, too. But where you really see a huge difference is all the extras, where the school provides every opportunity for you to get in touch with people who can make your career. It’s amazing. After I saw this, I would always 100% advise anyone who’s ambitious and academically inclined to shoot for an Ivy.
Interestingly, the undergraduate students are not all super smart. They’re not unintelligent. But they’re not geniuses — not most of them, anyway. I wasn’t blown away, on the whole, by my Stanford students’ intelligence. Mostly, they just worked hard and they knew how to be students. They would communicate well, come to class and to office hours, be proactive about their grade and completing their work effectively. I find that’s the biggest difference between the Stanford kids and the students I’ve taught at the CSU’s and SLAC’s in the area — most of the students at those schools just seem like they never really learned how to be students, so they struggle when they’re easily smart enough to do well in the class. (Of course, most of them also have to work, while it seems like most of the Stanford kids don’t.)
In the bad old days, before G-Men took down the mob, were urbanites getting a better deal? Does the betting man receive worse odds from state run lotteries than Vinny gave on the corner running numbers? Did businesses shaken down for “protection” have higher hopes of survival in mob clutches than in municipal ones? Was there more or less anxiety about making rent or the mortgage in 1974 than in 2024? Which is the greater fiscal peril, organized crime or uber-societal-organization? It has become a valid question.
Gangsters had fingers in a lot of pies. Credit card racketeers, waging the present battle against physical currency, demand a slice of everything out of the oven. They’d gladly have us believe that paying for anything, without their supervision and cut, equals a criminally tainted transaction. Mobsters found their pecuniary prevalence legit in its way too. Transactions that jibed with their economic codes they called “kosher.” Other trading activity inside their ambit was deemed transgressive. Parasites tend to sound tiresomely alike. The difference is that the above ground finance industry finds no place outside its ambit.
Street people’s encampments clutter cities all over the country. What pushed so many over the edge? And how many are treading that edge carefully now? We know that insanity is somewhat genetic, but scientific observation has yet to prove external factors can’t nudge innately inclined individuals into psychosis. Facts point that way.
Should we harbor suspicion of so-called improvements in the finance system? The Bush-Obama era housing crisis arrived after the government gradually amped up its influence on the mortgage market. Once mortgages became de-localized and Wall Street joined in default skyrocketed and losses went international. Isn’t the NYSE supposed to make markets safer and more efficient? Have we seen anything like that coming out of financial centralization?
The present squeeze goes on in commercial space. Businesses, particularly restaurants, are shutting down at disturbing rates. The biggest burden is rent. This goes on as city centers are awash in more empty commercial space than ever. Local government isn’t helping. While serenading us about how much they love love and hate hate, they stay busy inundating entrepreneurs with licensing fees, new taxes, permit demands and other hurdles that restrain new ventures from ever launching. If they somehow get going anyway the municipality lurks at every juncture. They’ll keep you from thriving when they can’t stop you altogether. Actions speak louder than words. What they “love,” in practice, is bleeding prey pale with revenue demands and entangling bureaucratic complications.
In 1977 the minimum wage was $2.30 an hour. You could get nearly four Big Macs for that amount then. When the minimum went up to $12 on July 1st, the same earner only got two and one third double-deckers for his money. Losing 1.3 sandwiches an hour takes a big bite out of a working class lifestyle. 10.4 Mc-grubbings per eight-hour-day to be exact.
One year after the bicentennial average rent in the US was about $160.An NYT article from 1973 said a family of four needed less than $12,000 a year to live “moderately” in NYC in 1973. The same amount must have been a somewhat comfortable living in flyover country. By 1977 average income was over $13,000. 47 years later, average rent is at least ten times higher. While only about 10% of the population earns $130,000 or more. Where did all the value go?
Clearly, production is out of sync with consumption. What is the variable? Crops still grow at the same rate. Cargo travels at the same speed. Bricks are laid at the same pace. Chickens plop their eggs with the same regularity. Is anyone in the economy getting more than their fair share?
Almost 103 billion in “official” currency was circulating in the US in 1977. As of today, that figure stands at nearly 2 trillion 340 billion. The population has increased by about 58%. The greenbacks flowing back and forth went up by over 2000%. Those figures describe a small fraction of the overall economy. Because banks can create spending power with credit, leaving out other fiscal legerdemain, hundreds of trillions are outstanding in fiscal reality. Federal tax revenue alone, will soon hit over 5 trillion so far this year. That’s over twice the official amount of currency in circulation.
The Big Mac went from 65 cents to $5.17 in that time span. That’s about 700%. Minimum wage rose by about 450%. Watching these fiscal details we know at once that sparse fractions of all that new money is getting to where it is needed most – while we have no evidence it lands in hands that have created actual value. With everyone competing for resources and finished goods, these facts equal a devastating pay cut for many making far above minimum wage.
The idea that people are taking out according to what they contribute simply doesn’t fly. We can start with where the money supply is expanded.
A century ago banks were more accountable. They could make risky loans, as they did for Fritz Heinze, but doing so could still mean hell to pay. The series of events that shook the fiscal foundations of South Manhattan in 1907 remain mysterious over a century later. By 2007, banks were getting bailed out and it was everyone else who paid. How we got there is an intriguing conundrum of modern finance.
Heinze was a mining engineer from New York who showed up in Butte, Montana in the 1890’s. The copper market was hot at the time. That rustic town was already swimming in East Coast toffs and class consciousness. Although born into wealth and circumstances, Augustus Heinze was above pretension and indifferent to “society.” He soon developed a smelting process that greatly expanded the profitability of low-grade copper ore. Rather than pocketing the plunder, his next step was cutting 2 hours off the miner’s workday. How did that go over in the part of Butte that ‘dressed for dinner’? About like The Declaration of Independence did with George III.
Fritz couldn’t have cared less. The airs put on at posh WASP tables left the man impatient and bored. He did his excess boozing in public places where a man who’d spent the day 500 feet underground was at the next stool. Guys who loaded trams rarely bought a round with Heinze in the house.
By 1895 he’d amassed the capital to purchase the Rarus copper mine. The new-coming city slicker literally hit paydirt. His holes were always filled with the best pick and shovel men Montana could provide. The swells he snubbed had to take what hired help they could get.
An officer fraternizing with the enlisted class was high treason to mine owners of the aughts. Heinze was held in a kind of hostile awe. Butte gentry were unaccustomed to a guy who dared not to care if they liked him. What’s an enraged starched collar to do? We’ll never be entirely sure. Deadly measures were far from uncommon in late 19th century mining strife. What happened to Heinze is one of the murkier mysteries of the robber baron era.
J.D. Rockefeller’s brother, William, was a director of Anaconda Copper. That firm was run by people who’d never pop a cork with working stiffs. They were revolted by Augie’s effrontery. Their solution was one that has retained its financial force. Whether Heinze was bought out under duress, or sold out of his own volition in 1906 isn’t fully clear. What is known is that he returned to New York as a Wall Street plunger specializing in copper stocks. Using familial connections, and a personal fortune, Heinze got himself onto the boards of almost a score of NYC banks. When shares of United Copper were being shorted in a bear run, Fritz used his position to buy aggressively, borrowing heavily from the Knickerbocker Bank and other commercial lenders where he held sway.
By October of 1907 the Heinze brothers thought they had cornered the market in United Copper. They demanded the shares from traders who were contractually short – falsely believing the bears would be forced to buy from them. It soon became clear that these shares were not hard to come by. Heinze’s bullishness ended in catastrophic loss rather than profit. This meant that he would default on loans of millions from each of over 15 NYC banks.
The story, possibly apocryphal but true in effect, goes as follows. Knickerbocker was experimenting with 24 hour banking in 1907. The brainchildren of Wall Street met for dinner at an upstairs private dining room in Delmonico’s to discuss the coming cash crunch. Waiters for the event heard what was said in the meeting. They shared this knowledge with less connected patrons chowing down on the ground floor. A run on Knickerbocker began that night, by morning it had spread to every bank in town. The Panic of 1907 was instantly afoot.
Soon banks all over Gotham were out of cash to meet a seismic wave of withdrawals. In no time connected institutions from further out were tapped too. JP Morgan famously locked every player he could muster into his mansion’s library to discuss solutions. A plan was worked out and widespread depression was averted. But the financial hierarchy of south Manhattan was far from done. Their next step entailed placing the money supply and credit generally into the possession of elite governors.
This banking scandal ultimately resulted in the Federal Reserve Act that was passed December 23rd 1913. Whether it solved the problem or laid the foundation for larger ones has been debated since. Getting into the particulars of the statute became inconvenient with the legislature still in session so close to Christmas. ‘Fightin’ Bob LaFollette, gave in and failed to press for a more exacting bill he saw as necessary at the time. The ruckus over the bill’s details were mostly passed over as ‘conspiracy theory’ throughout the 20th century. That line held sway in economic academia for many decades. Scholarly reckoning always comes too late; there is little dispute the charter helped cause and make the Great Depression worse among “experts” today. We are commanded to defer to them with amps at 11. What they got wrong is reported by the same sources at about 2.5.
Left unexamined is why the Heinze brothers misunderstood who held what in United Copper in 1907. Why did they mistakenly believe they had cornered the market? These were highly educated, seasoned men in the world of finance. How far would William Avery Rockefeller Jr. go to settle a score with Fritz Heinze? Was he cleverly stashing available shares in ostensibly immobile accounts to set up an ambush? The first generation of the Rockefeller fortune was not known to take financial affronts lightly. Is it possible, or more likely probable, William Avery had the means and motive to manipulate the market into this unlikely position?
John D. Rockefeller Jr. married Abby Aldrich in 1901. Her father, Nelson Aldrich, was the driving senatorial force behind the Federal Reserve Act, although he left the Senate before its passage. The Rockefeller gang has been evangelizing the faith of centralization in everything for over a century. It started when JD Sr. practically accomplished that in the petroleum industry before the turn of the 20th century. If you think they were never capable of violent, gangland style treachery, fast your gaze on the Ludlow massacre of 1914.
Can we measure the effect of centralization in the financial sector? By 2013 it had almost doubled its share of the economic pie since 1980. When their take went from 5% to 9% in 40 years it had to come at a loss for others at the table. Did the Fed have a role in this? And what justification is offered for doubling the squeeze? As the economy grows so does the money industry’s cut, just as any salesman’s commission rises as the sales price is higher. Is South Manhattan insatiable? What explanation, other than parasitic predation, fits here?
The idea of market liquidity and available credit is efficiency and a fluent trading place for financial wares. Theoretically, this is competitive and brings transactional costs down while driving transactional fluidity up. Have we seen any such thing? The NYSE and kin have become like those “clubs” everyone is forced to join avoiding rip-offs for groceries, lunch, medicine, movies etc. The difference is that Wall Street’s anti-rip-off club is exclusive. You are not invited.
Where are we now? Exactly in the same place as when mobsters skimmed off the top in Vegas casinos, but far worse. The difference is that you get clipped without ever placing a bet or owning a share of a betting parlor. The south Manhattan mob is, supposedly, worth nearly 10% of all the action. What other slices of the take have widened with government intrusion and centralization? The mob focused its shakedowns on high rollers. Higher Ed goes after every kid hoping to drag letters behind his name. They call themselves “non-profits.” Does the description fit the beast?Disciplines of a Godly…Hughes, R. KentBest Price: $4.97Buy New $9.41(as of 01:52 UTC – Details)
Finding university administrators at leisure is not a job for Columbo. Just head toward any resort, high-dollar fleshpot or country club where profiteers do their squandering. Educational altruists, financial “experts” and well-heeled bon vivants occupy the same weekend turf – as well as the same self-serving sphere of self-justification.
The Rockefeller family was the largest private benefactor of that ultimate centralizing scheme, the UN. The patriarch, William Avery Rockefeller Sr., was an infamous snake oil salesman and bigamist. He’s not the Rocky the family likes to advertise. They are prouder of efforts to get around the principle of one-man-one-vote and rule the world from the modern equivalent of a royal court on a planetary scale. Make a list of plans to place more bosses overhead and move them further out of reach. The UN, CFR, WEF, Bilderberg, Trilaterals – you name it and the progeny of that greasy grifter is in on it. And who would they place in charge? The very soul-suckers with their fangs in the US neck pulsing at Wall and Broad.
We are not looking at an abstruse, undecipherable picture here. You can do differential equations, make “relative assumptions” and discuss monetary theory until you ascend to the meta-fiscal plane of Laputa. None of that supposed “understanding” leaves Joe Six-Pack with another square foot of living space or another Big Mac. Uber-economic organization, aka David Rockefeller’s so-called “more integrated world,” is a progressively feudalistic plot that – with the compliance of the un-fake-news industry – rarely experiences any setbacks.
Shrinking buying power has a very simple explanation: a prim and proper syndicate that is more ubiquitous and avaricious than any criminal mob ever.
The Future Isn’t Looking Too Good For Gen Z & Millennials … 2
California Cheese and Green Chile Shrimp Lasagna
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
Sauce
1 pound tomatillos, husked, washed and cut into quarters, or 2 (12 ounce cans), drained
12 ounces of Real California Panela cheese, shredded
4 ounces Real California Monterey Jack cheese shredded (about 2 cups)
1 pound cooked shrimp, cut in half lengthwise
Instructions
Sauce
In a blender or food processor, pulse the tomatillos, jalapeños and 1 1/2 cups cold water just until chunky.
Add onion, cilantro, salt, chiles, lettuce, green onions and garlic. Puree until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Lasagna
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish, spread 1 cup of the sauce. Layer 1/3 of the shrimp over the sauce. Place 3 lasagna noodles over the shrimp. (Noodles should not overlap or touch side of pan since they will expand when baked).
Combine shredded cheeses and sprinkle about 2 cups over the noodles. Repeat layering the sauce, shrimp, noodles and cheese two more times. Top with the remaining 3 lasagna noodles and spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake until hot and bubbly, about 10 to 15 minutes more. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Cut into squares and serve immediately.
What’s the shrewdest, smartest maneuver you’ve ever seen in business?
In Geylang, in Singapore between Lorong 8 and Lorong 24 – there were plenty of hookers and lady boys (transvestites) called BAPO who solicited clients
Choo Chong Ngen, a 30 year old man gambled that Singapore would soon legalize all forms of prostitution and mandate safety for all the customers from STDs
So he purchased large swathes of land in the Land Auctions for a SONG
Nobody bid against him because nobody believed that land near prostitution areas wouldn’t rise in the slightest
By the late 1990s – CCN built Hotels, Shops, Goldfish bowls and Houses and sold them to businesses for a massive massive profit
The hotels roared with profits as the clients paid $ 20–30 for a 20 minute session which meant in 4 hours from 10 PM to 2 AM – a room could fetch 250 bucks which was more than the rate they charged in Hyatt or Marriott
I still marvel at how this guy managed to get ahead of legalized prostitution and mint so much money
I just got fired. Now my former boss (the one who let me go) is asking me where some important documents are. How should I respond?
I was fired by the owner of the company 30 days before I was to get a substantial bonus. The next week a person in my former department called me asking for help with an issue.
I texted them on their private phone that I knew the owner had them do that and that I was not trying to hurt them, but not helping the owner since I was shafted on my bonus.
30 minutes later I got a call from the owner saying if I would come in and fix the issue he would pay me for the day, I said pass, that I would fix the problem if paid for the month. He told me to go to hell.
The next day he called me back and said he would pay me for a week, I said no again, I would only come back if paid for a month.
He blew up again.
I knew if the issue wasn’t fixed very quickly the losses would add up. Two days later he had his secretary call and said he would pay me for a month but I had to get in there today.
I agreed only if a cashiers check was waiting on me when I walked in the door, because I knew the cheap bastard would stop payment on a regular check.
What the dumb SOB didn’t know was I was in the process of having him served on a wrongful termination suit and that paying me for a month constituted completetion of our contract and he would owe me the bonus.
I brought my attorney with me to the office, I picked up the check and went into the system and fixed the problem.
One other thing he didn’t know was that the issue was a recurring one that required attention and there wasn’t a universal fix, it would continue to come up and since I had no intention of giving the magic formula away I had created he couldn’t have someone else fix the issue.
End result I got my bonus plus all attorney’s costs which was equal to my previous year’s pay and he went broke trying to recreate a system I devised.
With me there after my bonus and raise, his profits would have been half a million a month, without me his losses were half a million a month. Greedy bastard never knew when he was ahead.
Shorpy
What was the most satisfying display of instant karma you have ever seen?
Some people like to kick the back of the seat in front of them when in a bus or airplane. A very, very nasty habit. Also a pretty safe one, as it seems people rarely turn around and ‘do something about it’. Even though that’s pretty much what you’re doing, isn’t it? You are broadcasting to the world: “I’m a major asshole, do something about it!”
Now imagine if you will, riding a bus. It’s one of those nice cozy night buses with curtains on the side of the windows that you can sleep in. You lean back a little and kick the back of the chair in front of you. No big deal, you do it all the time. Did it a million times before, and surely this won’t be any different. That weak little coward in front of you won’t say or do a thing, haha! You’re SUCH an alpha male, Lev!
Only this time, the president of your country, happened to ride the bus, incognito with a hoodie on to “experience how the common people ride buses”. Your country is Russia. The President’s name? Vladimir Putin.
The town woke to discover Miss Margelene’s Silver Saloon had sprung up overnight, tacked onto the end of their only meager road in gaudy glory. The western-most, barely settled settlement of Gomer’s Gulch could only be considered a town in the most generous of estimates, but the people who lived there, mostly foolhardy prospecting men and a smattering of desperate families, called it a town all the same.They already had a saloon, of course; a handful of men camped anywhere long enough always sprouts one. Theirs was called Rabbit’s, the owner’s nickname, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it was due to being such a dirty hole. Miss Margelene’s place, on the other hand, was the furthest you could get from Rabbit’s, figuratively speaking. Literally, it was two doors down. Rabbit’s was utilitarian: squat, flat-roofed, and barely held together by bent nails. Miss Margelene’s was downright beautiful, a sparkling shade of its namesake silver. The second story sported a gilded balcony over fluted columns, and everyone knew the name because it hung in big cursive letters, two feet tall, in front of the gabled roof.Dex rode in late that morning, the supplies he needed forgotten once he saw the silver saloon. Instead, he hitched up his horse and joined the crowd in front of Rabbit’s to speculate about their new neighbor. He stood out, a head taller and better washed than the others, but most mode room for him with a smile.“Rabbit, how much did I drink last night?” Dex asked.“Half as much as it’d take for a delusion like thissun,” replied Rabbit, who was short and squalid, like his bar.“And that’s iffen he didn’t water his horse piss down,” muttered someone.“This ain’t about my liquor!” said Rabbit. “Even kids can see that abomination. The question is how on earth those misfits got it up in a single day. Not even! Must’ve been lessun ten hours.”No one had an answer, but everyone knew which misfits he meant. In a town the size of Gomer’s Gulch, everyone knows every one of the comings and goings, let alone a coming as peculiar as last night’s. The caravan had arrived in the settling dusk, torches blazing up and down three covered wagons. Not covered with any old canvas either, but draped in rainbow arrays of silken cloth and garlanded with bells that tinkled with every step of the big black horses pulling them. They’d made camp just outside the town perimeter, dark figures tended horses and made a cook fire, but no townsfolk got close enough for a good look. When a band of ornery men decided to greet the newcomers, they turned back around with glazed expressions before they’d gone half way. Unable to elaborate, they simply said they’d changed their minds.“What in tarnation is that?” shouted a ruddy man riding in hard on a heaving grey horse. The man had a pointed beard, well-trimmed, and a six-point star on his chest, well-polished. His red-headed wife, Hannah, pale and pretty, was saddled behind him. While he dismounted and stared at the new saloon, Dex helped Hannah down and began with what little he knew.“Caravan came in last night, and -”“Shut your fool mouth,” the Sheriff said and spat at Dex’s feet. “And get away from my woman. You tryin’ to play at bein’ sheriff? Well you ain’t. You lost. Rabbit, what’s that building?”“Nobody knows, sir,” Rabbit said with a shrug. “Was here when we woke up.”
“What do you mean? Buildings don’t appear overnight – certainly not ones that fancy. Didn’t anyone hear them hammering? Don’t you sleep in your bar, Rabbit?”
“I do, but I didn’t hear a thing. Ain’t you s’posed to sleep in town too, sheriff? Keep your ear to the ground for trouble? Ain’t you s’posed to defend us from the bandits? They killed a woman last week -”
“Rabbits are the ones s’posed to keep their heads down, if they know what’s good for ‘em. Hows ‘bout the rest of you lumps? Anyone go in or out of that place? Who owns it?”
“No one’s been seen, but I have suspicions the owner is one Miss Margelene,” said Dex flashing a grin at the big sign, but he stepped away before his boots could be sullied again.
The sheriff scowled. He left his wife to tend the horse and stomped down to the new saloon. Dex, Rabbit and most of the men followed. Some children scurried along behind them.
The doors alone were taller than any other building in town and such a deep black they looked like an opening on a moonless night. The sheriff’s raised his fist, but it caught mid-air, hovered, before he gathered himself and pounded.
“This is the law! Open -” he demanded, and the doors opened, swung right out and swept the sheriff off his feet. He hit the dirt road hard.
No one laughed, not only because he might shoot, but because they were busy attempting to glimpse the interior while the black doors banged against the wall. It was more luxury than they’d ever seen, even the men from big cities. There were no windows, but long strings of lanterns bathed the big room in flickering light. The floors were herringbone parquet and the walls looked metallic, imprinted with crescent moons. There was a bar to the left, cabinets of exotic liquors and pewter mugs behind a carved wood counter with a smooth, stone top. There was a raised stage to the right with royal purple curtains. The heavy tables were ringed with upholstered red chairs.
In the back a woman descended from an unseen second floor down a grand staircase. The men doffed their hats and made futile efforts to brush off dust and straighten shirts, but every eye stayed fixed on her. She looked ageless and more elegant than the saloon with carefully coiffed black hair and a ruffled Victorian gown.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m Miss Margelene,” she greeted, voice melodious. She had a lilting accent, but it was hard to say from where. “We didn’t intend to open until tonight, but apparently the law is impatient. Can I be of service?” She stood centered in the doorway.
“Yes’m, I, um – I have some questions as to how this here establishment was, um – established,” the sheriff mumbled, tugging his badge.
“Of course, I’m happy to answer – tonight, during the grand opening. For you, sheriff, everything’s on the house. Unless, that is, we’re violating any ordinances? I so hope we’ve met the standards set by your lovely settlement.”
“Standards! How’s about a standard of fair competition and -” Rabbit began, but the sheriff elbowed him and he cut off with a wheeze.
“No ma’am, tonight’ll do,” the sheriff said and donned his hat. “You heard the lady, ya buncha oglin’ buffoons. Grand opening tonight! Now git!” He shoved away the men and kicked a boy in the pants. The doors swung shut behind him.
###
Dex sped home, desperate to decide what to wear and scrub the ever-loving hell out of it. But more important, he had to tell Rowena everything.
Her modest ranch, home to the world’s finest horses in Dex’s estimate, lay a couple dozen miles south of the Gulch. He always figured the secret to Rowena’s success had to do with the fact that she herself was rather equine. Stately and athletic, even at her age, she never wasted a moment, but when her gray mane came down you could see the barely concealed wild streak. Dex grabbed an indigo shirt from his shack by the barn and hollered for Rowena while he filled her washtub and set to scrubbing.
“Lordy Dex, I know you like to be neat, but you washed your whole wardrobe last week!” she said, exiting the barn with her hair up and a saddle under one arm. “Where are the supplies? I appreciate you ran them bandits off last night before they rustled any horses, but they tore the fence terrible. Looks like one caught his leg though, there’s half a pair of pants hanging on the wire.”
Dex tumbled out the saloon story, and Rowena only interrupted to make him promise he hadn’t drank too much of Rabbit’s swill. Afterwards, he cajoled her to join him for the opening. She was busy, she said, and besides she hadn’t been to a saloon for five years, not since Fred passed, but Dex wouldn’t hear excuses. He hung his shirt to dry then pressed her until she agreed to go gussy up.
He readied the wagon. Rowena stepped out into the fading light of the half-set sun in an emerald pleated dress with earrings to match. He whistled until she clouted him in the chest.
“Shut it, purty boy. I’m old enough to be your grandmother.”
“Pshaw, you can’t be a day older than my mother,” he assured her. “And anyway, we make a purty pair, don’t we?”
###
Their arrival marked the first time they’d seen traffic in Gomer’s Gulch. It looked like the land had dumped out all the dwellers in a hundred miles to mill outside Miss Margelene’s Silver Saloon. The big black doors were shut again, and the sheriff was on guard with a crisp white shirt, black leather vest and a freshly oiled beard.
“Don’t think you’re gettin’ in Dex, even with your grandma girly-friend dolled up like a hooker,” he said when he caught sight of them. “I’ll throw her out right on top of you iffen you even try to get in.”
Dex drew himself up every inch, ready to defend Rowena’s honor, but she stepped in front of him, laughing.
“Little Stanley Sherman, is that you? I ain’t seen you since Fred tossed you outta Rabbit’s that night, playin’ at being a man, tryin’ start a gunfight. O’course, that was back when you only had a few scraggly hairs on that little chin to cover all your pimples.”
The crowd welcomed the distraction from waiting for the doors to open, but Dex watched the sheriff’s holsters. He tugged Rowena shoulder, but there was no stopping her.
“My, oh my. Can’t say I missed you, but what a surprise it was to hear anyone voted you for sheriff. Almost as surprising as seeing you still have that ugly beard.”
That was the last straw, Dex knew, but just as the sheriff’s fingers twitched, those black doors swung open and knocked him down again, this time on his face. The crowd, Dex and Rowena included, flooded in around him.
There must have been a couple hundred men and a quarter as many women, but the silver saloon accommodated everyone with room to spare. Servers, women in black silk blouses and pink frilled skirts, worked the bar and the floor. On stage, a trio of ladies sang a ditty about a showdown at high noon. Dex thought they shared a resemblance, but maybe it was only their sly smiles.
He snagged Rowena a seat and moseyed to the counter, but before he ordered, he noticed the sad-eyed sheriff’s wife next to him.
“Hello Hannah. Don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a saloon.”
“Hi, Dex. Couldn’t miss this,” she said. Then barely loud enough to hear, she added, “You should watch out. Stanley won’t stop talking about you since the election.”
“All good things, I’m sure?”
“Look at you, grinnin’ like a weasel in a hen house,” said the sheriff, cocking the pistol he had aimed at Dex. “You ain’t never gonna be sheriff, and you ain’t never gonna get the time of day from my girl.”
Dex drew the fastest he’d ever done, but he saw the sheriff pull the trigger and knew he was a half-second too late. He tensed, but the shot didn’t come. Miss Margelene did, swept in between them, skirts swaying, and Dex was terrified she’d taken the bullet meant for him, but she didn’t flinch.
“Not tonight, gentlemen,” she said, handing each of them a drink. Dex took the mug in his free hand then realized he was no longer holding his weapon. He looked down to find it holstered as if he’d never drawn.
“Thank you ma’am,” Dex said, sure that he owed her for more than the drink. He took a swig and found it was good beer, but unlike any he had tasted. There were strange undertones, maybe mint, he thought. But most strange, he realized, it was cold. Very cold, like the mountain snow he’d crossed coming to Gomer’s Gulch. When he tried to ask her about it, he saw Miss Margelene was drifting off with the sheriff.
Hannah looked distraught, but a waitress was soothing her, patting her back, and Dex figured she was better off here than her home anyhow, so he went to find Rowena. He turned down a couple dance offers on his way, the trio had switched to a romantic ballad, and he circled a couple poker games before spying Rowena, slow dancing with the general store owner. Maybe she was working on a deal for those supplies, he figured, and tossed back his drink, but when they spun around he nearly choked. He’d never seen Rowena beam like that, like a dozen years had rolled right off her back. At this rate, she’d have a new man at the ranch, and Dex would never be so glad to be put out of work.
The night unfurled, and, even with the sheriff prowling around, Dex had never felt better. The trio sang one merry tune after another; drinks flowed, delicious and cold; and even deep in their cups he never saw a soul turn sour, or get thrown out for lack of funds. In fact, he didn’t see anyone leave at all. Even Rabbit laughed, coaxing the bartenders to tell him where the spirits came from. Dex chatted with all kinds, old friends and people he’d only ever tipped his hat to, and they said warm words and told him they had voted him for sheriff. Dex knew they were only being nice, but still it made him flush.
When a waitress with a sunny smile and yellow curls spilling over her black top pulled him away from a game of darts, he let himself be pulled into a whirling circle of fuddled men at the saloon’s center. Together, they tried to keep pace with the jig a smaller circle of waitresses danced in their midst. Every so often, the women would stop and spin the other way, forcing the men to follow. Boots caught and tripped over boots, but the men laughed and tried to stay facing their favorite gal.
While the circle coiled this way and that, one woman pulled a silver scarf out from her blouse and danced forward. She wrapped the scarf around a burly man in a checkered shirt, and swiveled with him back to the center. The men hooted and whistled, and then each girl was going out, wrapping herself a man with her own scarf.
Dex watched and whistled too, until one raven-haired girl fetched the sheriff. Dex stumbled but kept step. His gorge rose when she gave the sheriff’s beard a tug. The circles kept moving, outer going fast to keep up with the girls and their captives.
The fellows in the middle smiled wide, jumping with the girls, a couple ventured to put hands on hips, but Dex saw the sheriff stagger, look left and right.
“Wait, wha-?” the sheriff sputtered and slowed. “Why us? Why-”
The man in the checkered shirt shoved into the sheriff. The music was morphing, volume louder, tempo faster, key minor. Dex heard the women in the center murmuring, indiscernible, saw blurred faces everywhere. He couldn’t tell anymore if he was dancing or the room was spinning itself round.
The women in black threw up their scarves and each exploded mid-air, burst into confetti, rained silver specs down to scattered applause. That is, until the pops and bangs kept going, more and more bursts of confetti until it was thick in the air and no one could see a thing. There were screams and then yells of ‘Smoke!’
Black smoke, heavy and perfumed like incense, poured down the grand staircase. It filled the room and turned everything as dark as the doors, dark as a moonless night.
###
Dex woke to Rowena slapping him hard across the face. He coughed and sputtered back to consciousness in her relieved embrace as the sun rose over the well-dressed bodies laid out on the bare patch of ground that had been Miss Margelene’s Silver Saloon.
It was the children, terrified and crying, that had shaken their parents awake first. As the adults came around they helped others up, parched and unsteady.
Once Dex was on his feet, he sent some kids to fetch buckets of water and rations. Then he saw the commotion and the little crowd gathering. He pushed his way through and found the six scarfed men from last night, sheriff included, naked and hogtied in silver chains, laid out in their little circle. Some tried to free them, others just laughed. The men didn’t look injured, except the sheriff, and it didn’t take Dex long to realize the bloody gash down his leg looked like it might match right up to Rowena’s barbed wire fence.
While the six men stewed in the small town jail, Dex led the swift investigation that turned up enough stolen property to expose their identities as Gomer Gulch’s notorious bandits, as well as the suspicious duplicate ballot boxes in the sheriff’s possession.
However, he never did find the sheriff’s red-headed wife, Hannah. Neither she nor the silver saloon was ever seen again, but on moonless nights he dreamed of her, smiling on stage in a black shirt, singing about the life she left behind.
Cordon Bleu Lasagna
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 cup (8 ounces) 4% cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, divided
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta, cottage cheese, Parmesan and 1/4 cup parsley; set aside.
In another bowl, combine the Alfredo sauce, chicken, ham and garlic powder.
Spread 1/2 cup of chicken mixture in the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Layer with half of the noodles and ricotta mixture. Top with half of the remaining chicken mixture and half of the mozzarella and Swiss cheeses. Repeat layers.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes.
Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until bubbly.
Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Sprinkle with remaining parsley.
Which is the biggest threat to peace – America or China?
Without a doubt, America is the biggest threat to world peace.
America has fought in dozens of wars and conflicts since China opened up to the world in 1979. China, on the other hand, has fought no wars at all — not a single shot fired!
America instigated the proxy war in Ukraine and is now trying to start another proxy war in Taiwan or Philippines.
China has proposed peace plans for both Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas. America has shot them both down.
I’ll tell you one real thing that Americans would just HATE about China.
Most of the elevators play Kenny G.
(Well), not exactly. The older elevators do. The newer elevators run television and videos with a mixture of shows, music and weather. But the older elevators, well, heck, it’s Kenny G 24-7.
Ugh!
For thouse of you who are young, or not from the ‘States, Kenny G was (is) quite the talented music player, and his saxophone was legendary. His talent made great waves in the United States, and the media gobbled it up…
To an insane amount.
Everything was Kenny G, and for perhaps a decade and a half (maybe 1980’s into the late 1990’s) everything was Kenny G. Americans were force fed so much Kenny G music that we all collectively vomited and started turning off the radio stations, and televisions shows that had it on.
Eventually, the rumor has it, that a major television mogul was in a New York Bar, when some random Kenny G tune was playing on television and the entire bar erupted in screams and shouts to “turn that shit off!”. Yeah. It was that bad.
Meanwhile, China hasn’t experienced that.
To the Chinese, Kenny G was just white-noise, background music. Like ocean waves or light rain.
So yeah, if Americans knew the truth they would really hate the Chinese for real. And, not though the CIA manipulated American media bullshit.
Today…
What is the worst thing a tenant has ever done to your rental property?
I called her on the 4th of the month as I hadn’t received rental. She was a regular late payer, ready with long stories why she hadn’t pay her rent on time. But this time around she told me she was moving out and dropped the call, and blocked me.
I went to the apartment, through the windows, I could see it was empty. I arranged for a locksmith. The place wasn’t vandalised not too dirty, it just needed mopping up and basic carpet cleaning, I thought.
There was this terrible smell in the main bedroom, though. I opened all the windows, searched all the cupboards but they were all empty. I arranged with cleaning services thinking carpets needed steaming. Mr Swart (yes that’s his real name) was the caretaker of the estate, and made extra cash with cleaning services. He called me the following day to let me know his done cleaning the place but the smell won’t go away.
By this time I had no tenant lined up since I didn’t have a chance to re-advertising. I asked Mr Swart to recheck the place again. Mr Swart found rotten fish inside the base of the main bedroom closet.
I don’t know why and to date I can’t find reasons for that kind of malice.
Why Matriarchies Fail
Matriarchies put women into positions of power but not so much into positions of responsibility.
Have you ever had such a close call it makes your skin shiver everytime you think about it? If so, what happened?
When I was 15, I was at a friend’s house party with about 7 of my friends. There were a few guys waiting to use the bathroom, so my friends mother offered to let me use the bathroom in her bedroom. I was in there for about 30 seconds. When I stepped out, I was grabbed by 4 very tall guys that I’d never seen before, who’d hoisted me up above their shoulders, & were headed towards the door to the driveway outside with me in tow. As the door opened, I saw an older Cadillac idling there, with the doors open. Seemingly out of nowhere, my long time ride or die buddyJuan, a large, really tough Samoan dude who’d been a college football player, had appeared from behind, & managed to snatch me away from my would-be kidnappers. Holding onto to me tightly, Juan had stepped backwards through the bedroom door, slammed it shut, & locked it behind him. It all happened so fast that I was in complete shock. It was beyond crazy, & it was the most terrifying thing that I’ve ever gone through, (with one possible exception). We were pretty sure the men were from a nearby town, involved in gang-related fight & rivalry with our town, but how or where they’d spotted me, or why they’d chosen me to try to snatch from inside a house party made no sense at all, & it’s always remained a mystery. Neither me nor any of my friends were involved with gangs in any way, but life in that town could instantly & without any warning, become randomly crazy, & also very violent. I was thinking back remembering it as I was writing it down, when it occurred to me how completely insane & improbably this whole ordeal would sound to anyone else. Had I not been there myself, I’d probably have trouble believing it too.
Have you ever had someone come for dinner at your place and they refused to eat anything?
Does throwing your dinner on the floor count?
My sister came for the weekend with her husband. I did the usual things … pristine house, guest room warm and welcoming, slow cooked meal humming away.
I was landscaping at the time, a perpetual and seemingly never ending challenge. Brother in law was keen to see it and encouraged me to work some rocks while they sipped beer on the deck.
Time for dinner came. The meat was falling apart delicious, the veggies covered in glistening pan juices. I served it on the deck. Yum, says brother in law as were turned to survey the garden.
Sister, glowering, threw her untouched plate on the floor and sat silent and sullen.Wtf?
Months later she told me why. While I was placing rocks a single lock of unkempt hair escaped my hat. It was curly.
She has straight hair. She didn’t like that.
Dinner was marvellous. Shame about hers.
Grilled Garlic Stuffed Steaks
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
2 boneless beef top loin steaks, cut 2 inches thick
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
In small nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-low heat until hot. Add garlic. Cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until tender, but not browned. Add onions. Continue cooking and stirring 4 to 5 minutes or until onions are tender. Season with salt and pepper; cool completely.
Meanwhile, cut a pocket in each beef steak with a sharp knife. Start 1/2 inch from one long side of steak and cut horizontally through center of steak to within 1/2 inch of each side. Spread half of garlic mixture inside each steak pocket. Secure openings with wooden picks.
Place steaks on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, for 22 to 24 minutes for medium-rare to medium doneness; turn occasionally.
Remove wooden picks. Carve one crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices.
The current unemployment situation in China is very serious. Why don’t Chinese people overthrow their own government and reallocate resources to reduce unemployment?
Ah
This month – there are 11.24 Million Graduates who are entering the Job market
Of these around 2.727 Million (As per 2022 numbers) will study further for Post Graduate Courses
Of these around 600,000 (As per 2022) will prepare for Certifications in various areas which require Examinations like CFA, Architecture Or PE or Series 7 etc.
Of these around 60,000 (As per 2023) will go abroad for a Post Graduate Course or Doctorate
This means around 7.92 Million Chinese Graduates have been hitting the Job market from 1/6/24 onwards
This includes almost 1.1 Million Engineering Graduates
Meanwhile Chinese Employers prefer hires only after 30/6/24
So for the first 30 days in June – Unemployment would rise significantly
Then after 1/7/24 – Jobs will be offered and the workforce will be decongested
There are 556,000 Government Appointments & 48,500 Civil Service Posts available this year
The Vacancies due to retirement emoluments in China in 2023 come to around 4.32 Million Jobs
New Jobs created assuming a 5% growth compared to 2023 comes to 1.37 Million New Jobs
This plus a further 360,000 Local Government Jobs across China
(This is Available NBS Data. It doesn’t count the other jobs like Smaller Freelance Jobs)
Adding we get around 6.65 Million Jobs Available versus 7.92 Million Graduates
Add to this a further 5% or 400,000 Graduates from Last year still looking for work
That’s 6.65 Million Jobs vs 8.32 Million Graduates
This means around 1.67 Million Graduates would be unable to find a Job in Mainland China
That comes to 1.67/8.32 = 20%
So the 16–24 Unemployment numbers will rise to around 20% for the next few months and then as more graduates get placed or take up contract jobs or freelance jobs or swt up their own business – this will fall back to 15% by December 2024
Now 20% is the 16–24 unemployment among Fresh Graduates
It means around 1.7 Million Graduates would still be looking for a Job by Middle of August or September 2024
That’s because China doesn’t use all graduates to give you 16–24 unemployment
China doesnt divide 1.67 /11.24 and say 16–24 unemployment was 14.80%
China divides 1.67/8.32 and gives you 20%
It’s as realistic as possible
This is high compared to USA (10.11%) but paradise compared to India (46%)
Have you ever been misdiagnosed by your physician?
Multiple times by multiple doctors.
When I turned 18, I began having intense itching in my groin area. I went for lotions first, numbing creams, hydrocortisone, nothing was working.
I tried sticking it out, would stick ice packs down there which helped a lot, but still would wake up scratching the ever living hell out of my groin until it would bleed.
Eventually, the scratches started oozing this terrible green gunk. I finally had enough with this and went to the doctor.
“It’s herpes.”
They never did any blood tests, didn’t believe me when I said I’ve never been sexually active (had my first sexual experience at 21,) they sent me home with a bottle of meds and told me to call them when it clears up.
Well, it didn’t clear up. It kept getting worse. So I called them and they told me it’s normal for herpes to ignore the medication at first, but to just keep taking it and it will eventually calm down.
So I kept taking it. It didn’t get better. It got worse.
To the point where I couldn’t even wear underwear or pants. I had to sit in bed all day, I couldn’t walk because my groin was on fire and oozing this awful smelling green pus on everything I put down there.
I was miserable.
I went to another doctor, who wanted to claim it was syphilis.
Again, I had never ever kissed another human at this point. Went to another doctor who assumed it must either be some sort of allergy, or again, an STD.
They put me on strong antihistamines which helped the itching a bit, but left me so out of it that I could hardly do anything but sleep all day and night.
At this point I was sick of being diagnosed with STDs I knew I didn’t have. I went to a brand new doctor and told him I wanted blood tests for every STD in the book so I could prove to the next dozen doctors that I didn’t have an STD and they needed to look further.
Blood test was negative for everything. I was clear. But that doctor also had no idea what to make of my mysterious itching, and suggested I change my diet.
Finally, I went to a doctor who actually took a biopsy of the area.
Few days later I get a call, “you’ve got a staph infection and we need to put you on antibiotics right away.”
I get the antibiotics and the green oozing goo clears up pretty much immediately, but the itching remains.
I returned to the doctor maybe a week later to go over my biopsy results, “You have spongiotic dermatitis.”
“Well, what can I do for it?”
“Nothing, really. Just have to learn what your triggers are and avoid them.”
“So there’s nothing I can do to get the itching to stop?”
“There might not be.”
I wanted to cry. I probably did.
Few years after just accepting that I’d need to wear ice packs in my pants wherever I went during a flare, which happened frequently, I came across a new doctor who told me you absolutely could use something for the itching, steroid cream.
He prescribed it for me, I can’t remember the exact name but it started with a T. (Thank you, Teri! The medication was called Triamcinolone Acetonide.)
Holy shit, I cleared up immediately.
I had relief for the first time in ever.
I stayed on that cream for a few years, having relief during flares and being so thankful that I found that doctor. But eventually it stopped working, and my flares returned with vengeance.
I went to yet another doctor, as I had since moved after seeing the first one. I told her my diagnosis and what was prescribed to me.
“I’m gonna take another look at it, get another biopsy and see what else we can do for you.”
A week later I had a new diagnosis.
Lichen Sclerosis.
She put me on a much stronger steroid ointment, Clobetosal, and again, I was cleared up immediately.
But I was worried, when is the next time I’m gonna have to dial it up even further? How far do I need to go before my skin gets used to everything and I’m back to square one?
Well, I had a surprising effect to my little skin issue when I made the decision to go on Testosterone.
I’m trans, and this was a decision a long time in the making. I wanted to be happy in my body at last, so I took the plunge and went for it.
And my Lichen Sclerosis cleared up!
My theory was that the thickening skin down there locks in moisture better. I haven’t had a major flare since starting nearly two years ago, and whatever flares I do have can be handled with hydrocortisone, unlike the first time.
I’m finally happy in my skin, in more ways than one.
But it took nearly ten years to get here.
She Thought Divorce Was A Good Idea Until She Had To Pay Him Child Support
What happens to people’s assets when they are in prison?
I can answer this best by giving examples.
Richard Barile (big time cocaine distributor for Pablo Escobar). “Chaplain, I have nothing left in this country. The government seized it all. BUT, I have my beachfront villa in Cabo-do you want to come down for a week?”
Mafia button man. Al, why can’t your wife fix her car and come see you? Are you that broke? Can’t someone lend her the money? “No Chaplain, I have about $100k or so. But I have to go ask the people for my money back in person- that’s how we work. If I don’t ask in person they will keep the money.”
Motorcycle gang guy. “Chaplain, I just lost everything and I’m getting out next month”. You just lost it? “Ya, I rented the storage locker for ten years, but I lost a month of good time, and nobody would pay for my locker for the last two months.” They auctioned off his locker, which included his custom modified vintage Indian motorcycle, just days before his release.
Off shore bank account guy. Why are you here? “Well I wanted to be a millionaire and enjoy life.” What did you do? “Well, I siphoned four million out of the corporate accounts. I put it all in an off-shore account in a country with no extradition to the USA. Then I turned myself in. The FBI asked me for the money back, I said no. The maximum sentence is four years. I’ll do my time and go to the islands. I’m making a million a year…how much are you making Chaplain?
Has a cop ever said something to you which was completely unexpected?
About 7 or 8 years ago, I got pulled over for speeding in a school zone (I was NOT speeding). Well, the police officer comes up to my window and I hand him my license and insurance. He has me waiting for a good 20 minutes while he runs my license and insurance. He comes back and says that my license has been suspended for non-payment of a super speeder ticket. I was shocked. I had not gotten a super speeder ticket. Well, he takes me to jail. I finally get to the officer who gives me the warrant and how much I owe. Well, the description of the person was as follows: Black, 6 Feet 5 inches tall, 375 pounds, with face tattoos. I am: Caucasian, 6 Feet tall, (at the time) I weighted about 260 pounds and I DON’T have ANY TATTOOS. After 9 hours of being in jail, I finally got everything set straight with the police that someone had stolen my ID and I was finally let out of jail. BUT, I still had to call a friend to come and get me from jail. I was not allowed to get my car out of the impound lot because my license had been suspended and they had put a red mark on the back of the license. So, I had to wait until Monday to go and get everything straightened out. It took me about 5 hours of going to 3 different offices I finally got my license back. BUT, I still had to pay the impound fee, I believe it was about $360.00.
The Hobbit – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
Has there ever been a recruit who couldn’t be intimidated by the drill sergeants? How did that go?
We had this one kid who refused to fall in line. He refused to comply with any orders and was the biggest pain in the ass any of us had ever met.
I spent some time with him and learned that he had been raised in a really difficult environment, low income in the heart of the ghetto, and had been beaten by his father from a very young age. Physical and mental abuse were rampant throughout his family and extended family. His escape from this hell was the Army and we welcomed him with open arms but man he was messed up.
I liked the guy though and the more I got to know him the more I could tell he was worthwhile in a lot of respects and had a lot of potential if we could just get through to him.. nothing was working though, no direct attention worked, no level of discipline or pain would slow him down… physical and mental abuse ruled his world and nothing we could do down that path would ever have worked.
So, naturally, I made him a leader.
It wasn’t much, but that little bit of responsibility gave him a tremendous amount of pride. That little bit was enough to make him walk taller and perform better which rapidly earned the respect among his peers. He started with a small group of 3 other privates and quickly advanced to earn his sham shield where he became a squad leader, eventually earning his stripes. Last I checked on him he was about to earn his rocker which in the Army is a massive departure from the previous ranks. I know he can handle it.
When I first joined the Army, I didn’t really understand what it meant to be a leader. I believed intimidation was the only way to get anything done, fear, threats, yelling as necessary. I worked my way through the ranks and quickly learned that it’s far more effective to simply reach someone at their level, and raise them up to yours.
You don’t need them to be afraid of you, you simply need them to respect you.
No level of intimidation will ever accomplish that.
What do KFC stores do with leftover chicken?
We pulled into a Popeyes Chicken at the drive-up about 4 weeks ago. It was about 10 minutes until closing and the there was no one in line behind us. (just trying to be courteous) We pulled up to the window and asked the young man if they had any free chicken. He looked at us like we were crazy and said “what?!” We told him we were homeless and we would grab anything that might otherwise wind up in the trash. He was a little short with us, and said no not right now. So we drove around and parked in the lot on the other side of the building and we quietly sat there. As they cleaned and carried trash out, several trips, we speculated the one one that might have leftovers in it. But we waited and the employees even nodded in our direction as they talked outside amongst themselves. Then finally about 20 minutes after closing, the young man that waited on us at the window, brought us out a huge box of about 40 pieces of chicken and a few small sides. Thank you! Sometimes people do wonderful things for others.
The Sopranos – Kicking up to Tony Soprano
What’s the strangest thing a cop has seen when pulling someone over?
I thought I had a drunk late one night when a brand new Camaro Z28 almost took me out head on. It was my first night in my brand new squad car with less than 100 miles on the odometer. I turned on the lights and sirens as the Z28 kept weaving back and forth across the highway scraping the guardrails on both sides. A short while later it pulls over in a closed restaurant parking lot. I approached the car with not a small amount of adrenaline ready to arrest the drunk that had just put us both in so much danger. I ripped open the Camaro’s door and confronted… a twelve year old girl holding her teddy bear and crying. Next to her was a map, as I comforted her and asked her questions I referred to the map and asked her where she was going. She replied that she didn’t know but would use the map to find out where she was when she got there. Obviously there were some issues at home. Her mother called me a liar when I finally got her on the phone to ask her to pick up her daughter. Then she was mostly concerned with the damage to her car, not her daughter. I filled out the necessary paperwork and sent it in to the prosecutor thinking she would help this 12 year old girl, but got a note back to just write her a ticket. Pretty steamed I called down to get the prosecutor on the phone, “ticket, she doesn’t need a ticket, she needs help” I practically yelled into the phone. The prosecutor asked me if I was sure I was a cop, but then opened the file and looked at it. She immediately began to apologize and thanked me for following up instead of just writing the ticket. A few weeks later I got a call back from the prosecutor to tell me they were working as best they could with the family to help this little girl’s situation, but that the family dynamic was pretty bleak. I don’t know what became of that girl.
She Thought Divorce Was A Good Idea Until She Had To Pay Him Child Support
How significant is the withdrawal of the mid-range missile system from the Philippines in terms of easing tensions in the South China Sea?
Zero significance.
The US decided that it was too dangerous to leave a long range attack missile there. Or decided that it could be wiped out by China with drones.
If someone, anyone pushed a button and launched a Tomahawk cruise missile at China, that means starting a war. China will wipe out every US base in Asia and the US islands.
The missile don’t threaten China at all so the risks outweigh any benefits.
Either that or Chine threatened to wipe those missile away and the US bases in Asia just like the US did with Cuba.
But this changes nothing. The US is still trying to get proxies to fight China. The US doesn’t want to be directly involved though because that will mean all US soldiers in Asia will be killed. Then the US will have to send a fleet along with NATO. The fleet will then be sunk.
This is contrary to what the US likes to do. Which is to use proxies to attack other nations. And the proxy that the US really wants is India. India has a high population and can theoretically last much longer than Ukraine.
So the US would love to put missiles in India then say that the Indians fired the missile and just walk away. It remains to be seen what India will do. After all the US is offering a lot of money to foreign politicians to destroy their country. The US will promise support.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
Why is China’s Norinco displaying NATO-standard 155mm artillery shells for sale at the Paris Defence Expo?
Because China also uses the 155mm artillery.
The 155mm is the perfect size for a medium range shell with a good combination of size vs. range.
China replaced the 130mm artillery with 155mm.
It’s like rifle rounds. China uses the 5.8 and the West uses 5.56. This is a good combination of size, weight, and power. It allows the soldiers to carry a good amount of ammo without weighing them down.
The West used to use 7.62mm rounds or .308 but you get significantly less rounds and it is heavier than 5.56. You normally don’t need to shoot that far anyway. The 5.56 will kill out to 600 meters. Much longer than most soldiers can hit a man sized target.
I think it’s a huge mistake of the US to go to 6.8mm round. It has much bigger recoil than 5.56 and shoots way too far. They changed because of Iraq and Afghanistan but ironically, the US pulled out of those places and the new round would be way overkill in a jungle or forest.
And you end up back to the same problem as before. Too heavy so less rounds per soldier. Heavy recoil makes the rifle less accurate and takes longer to shoot accurately.
Shorpy
I Found Footage of New York City from 1965 at a Thrift Store
What does Taiwan need to do in order to survive and resist an invasion by China? Could they use new tactics to do so? How long can they really resist? What lessons did it learn from Ukraine?
If you are a Taiwanese, I would ask you to accept reality & not to follow the path of Ukraine. Dont get into a war & die for U S A.
If you are a foreigner, I would like you to understand Chinese history & UN charter as follows:
There was a civil war in China (called ROChina at the time). The then ruling party KMT was defeated by CPC in 1949. KMT fled to Taiwan while CPC stayed on mainland. CPC renamed ROChina to PRChina, like Qing was renamed to ROC in 1911 (5000 years’ of Chinese tradition).
In theory, the civil war has not finished as of 2024 because China has not reunified yet.
Internationally, between 1949 & 1971, both ROChina & PRChina exist. In 1971, however, UN resolution 2758 announced …
1, There is only ONE China & PRChina is the only legitimate government that represents China.
That is, ROChina ceases to exist on world stage. Only a handful tiny tiny countries still recognised ROC.
Taiwan is part of China. Ref: US doc 203 & the 1978 USA-China joint communique by former US president J Carter.
2, To make it crystal clear, on 2024/5/23, UN told the world “Taiwan is a PROVINCE of China.”
By UN charter, China has a duty to protect the integrity of Chinese territory that incl Taiwan province.
Internally, both constitution of China & Taiwan say:
China territory = mainland + Taiwan + some islands & reefs around China.
Why Taiwan dares not call for referendum? Because referendum involves mainland too.
Militarily Taiwan cannot fight China.
That is, Taiwan can NEVER be independent. Though opportunistic politicians must shout independence so as to get tons of foreign funding (corruption), before Taiwan is discarded by USA like a used condom. Remember USA discarded ROChina in 1971.
conclusion
Whether it is UN resolution or Chinese-Taiwanese constitutions, China has a duty to protect the integrity of China. Like former US president A Lincoln protecting the integrity of USA in the US civil war.
China is NOT invading or attacking Taiwan. Just to suppress Taiwan rebellion, like Lincoln suppressing the South.
China will reunify with Taiwan one way or another. It is the duty of China for the sake of Chinese nation, culture & history.
China’s 1st option is peaceful unification. If necessary, China is not afraid to use military.
My Best Revenge Scam Call Ever – Extreme Scammer Rage
Grilled Kansas City Strip Steaks with
Smoked Tomato and Grilled Onion Relish
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Wood chunks or 2 cups wood chips
2 large tomatoes, stems removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 large red onions, peeled and cut into 1 inch slices
4 (8 ounce) Kansas City beef strip steaks, 1 inch thick (beef top loin steaks)
Kosher salt and pepper
Instructions
At least 1 hour before smoking, soak wood chunks or chips in enough water to cover. Drain wood. For a water smoker, arrange preheated coals, drained wood chunks, and water pan according to manufacturer’s directions.
Place tomatoes in a disposable aluminum pan. Smoke tomatoes for 1 hour. (Or, for a charcoal grill, arrange medium coals around edge of grill.
Sprinkle soaked wood chips over coals. Test for medium-low heat where food will cook. Place tomatoes in pan on center of grill, not over coals. Cover grill and cook for 30 minutes.)
In a medium skillet heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat for 1 minute.
Add garlic; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until garlic begins to brown.
Remove from heat; transfer garlic and oil to a medium bowl. Add capers; set aside.
Arrange onions on a microwave-safe platter. Microwave on HIGH (100% power) for 2 minutes.
Brush onion with remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
Grill onion slices and steaks directly over medium coals until onion is tender and steak is desired doneness (14 to 18 minutes for medium-rare), turning once.
Meanwhile, core, peel, and chop tomatoes; add to garlic mixture.
Chop onions; add to tomato mixture. Season relish and steaks with salt and pepper.
Serve relish over steaks.
Notes
Test Kitchen Tip: Use a smoker along with a grill for preparing the tomatoes and steaks at the same time. Or, smoke the tomatoes up to 24 hours before serving. Cover and chill the smoked tomatoes up to 24 hours.
As a teacher, what is the harshest truth a student has ever taught you?
When I was teaching a high school class at an international school in Mexico, I thought I was superior to my students. I had a New England education, English was my first language. I had a solid moral background. There was little (I thought) that my students could teach me.
One day, just before class, a student, by the name of Nicolas, came and asked me if he could go to the bathroom. I told him yes, but to hurry back because class would begin in five minutes. He asked, “Don’t I need a pass?”
Our principal was very strict and required every student to have a pass if he or she was out of class. I told him, “Just go! Hurry up back.”
Then I began writing the lesson on the board.
He returned about ten minutes later looking very dejected. I asked him if he was okay and he said, “Yes. No problem.”
So, I continued with the lesson. But at the end of the period as students were leaving, I noticed he still looked dejected.
“You okay, Nick? You look depressed.”
He replied, “Well, I got put on detention by the principal for being in the hall without a pass.”
“But didn’t you tell him that I advised you to go ahead without one?” I asked.
“No,” he replied.
“Well, why on earth not?” I asked exasperated.
“Because I didn’t want you to get in trouble, sir,” he replied.
I realized then that here was a student who was superior to me in sensitivity and caring. I could never have imagined doing such a thing when I was a high school student. I was humbled. The incident showed me not to underestimate the existing values of those whom I presumed to teach.
Why does it seem that Japanese and Chinese people appear to live more relaxed lives compared to Koreans?
Korean values, the educational system, and runaway consumerism are designed to turn everyone neurotic, and the system largely succeeds.
Basically, Korean society is a pressure cooker, and going insane is one way to escape. Another way is suicide, which seems to be popular among Koreans working in entertainment.
The Japanese are more relaxed because their economy has been screwed since 1990, and things aren’t getting better.
The Chinese are more relaxed because their economy and country is huge, and Chinese have a very long historical memory. Basically, they have seen everything.
This means that the Chinese have perspective.
When they are unhappy or see something they don’t like, they complain to their local official, and tell him to fix it. Since the local official’s job performance is measured by how many complaints he resolves, his career depends on resolving the issue.
How do you think corrupt officials and politicians must be punished?
I like Chinese style of punishment
Gather enough evidence and offer two choices
Option 1
Pay back 2/3 of what you took plus Confess and you get 5–15 years jail and your family won't bear the consequences of your actions
Or
Option 2
Have a trial and if found guilty - It's either 15–25 years Imprisonment or death penalty and your family members bear consequences of your actions
…
What I like about the Chinese is how they break families for what they call knowingly enjoying illegal earnings or product of corruption
Kids under 18 are reeducated and taught their father is a thief and he must be hated
Under Mao, many kids denounced their parents and watched them hang with a smile in favor of the State
Same punishment in India
Option 1
Pay back 67% of what you allegedly take and serve 10 years Jail and retire from Politics
OR
Option 2
If found guilty you can hang Or face life prisonment plus your Kids can't graduate and have to work as Unskilled or Skilled labor and your families will be forced to migrate to places exceeding 2000 Kms from place of sentencing
Scott Ritter: Ukraine Nears End and the CIA’s SHOCKING Move is Destroying America, not Russia
The darkness was so different in space, when I opened my eyes all I could see was the blinking red light that reminded me it was time to get up. I rolled back and forth, with the sun being millions of miles away it was harder for my body to wake itself up even though this one was the day my entire life was going to change. I pushed the red button and the dark rectangle that looked like any other wall with nothing on it phased away and Saturn appeared. The button was now green, and I yet again got to wake up to see Saturn instead of the Sun. It was an image I could never grow tired of watching Saturn in its infinite glory all the secrets it kept hidden for billions of years. The clouds moved along the most breathtaking gas giant and the rings so vivid and close I feel like I could reach out the window and grasp them. The pictures do not do it justice and the sounds of the massive planet put me at peace. My team is beginning the first ever human voyage to Titan to explore and map the moon in all of its entirety. Earth is becoming more unstable and life as we know it will cease to exist if we do not find another place to live. After the Mars massacre, NASA wanted to make sure we knew exactly what was going on before we allowed humans colonize another planet, in this case moon. There was a lot weighing on my shoulders as captain of Celestial Spectre, all the plans and ideas running through my head as I went to my post in the observation deck. I pulled the shade to reveal Saturn and Titan, the orange moon forever tidal locked with Saturn, only showing one side of its face to the planet. It makes me wonder what is hidden on that dark side. There were different filters we could apply to see the different colors of the universe as well as telescope on screen, which zooms into any area to reveal what is really hiding in the darkness of the naked eye. There is 360-degree view of the surrounding darkness, my focus was Titan and the anticipation of starting our surveying was nerve racking, how can my crew sleep so long? I said to myself. The haze of the moon was swirling around, it was hypnotic everything I had worked so hard for was laying right in front of me. I wanted to unlock every secret this solar system was hiding then move on to the Milky Way. Steve tapped me on the shoulder broke that trance, “Rachel I’m surprised you didn’t leave us on the ship and go down yourself.” I laughed, “Don’t think it didn’t cross my mind!” I grabbed the equipment list for the first touchdown on the moon to make sure the probe was all ready to go. “Dawson is the probe ready for today?” Dawson was the computer system that was built into the ship for us to communicate with, his knowledge base was vast, but he was limited as we were about what we were to expect on Titan. “Yes” Dawson replied. “Haven’t you quadruple checked that list?” asked Steve. “Yes, Steve I have, I wouldn’t be a good captain if I didn’t.” He smiled, “Waiting for everyone to wake up.” I smiled slyly, “Ugh! Is that obvious!” It was his turn to laugh, “I figured that’s why I woke them up before coming up to check on you.” I couldn’t stop smiling, “You are the best!” The twins, Marcus and Mia, were the first to emerge from the dorm corridors. “We are awake,” said Marcus. “And ready to go,” as she yawned said Mia. The mechanical genius, Nikki, was the last to emerge, “Ready to go!” she said with pep. “That’s what I liked to hear. Let’s Go!” I said. I was the last one to get on the probe.Descending through the haze of Titan’s atmosphere was so exciting as well as completely terrifying as we did not know if the probe would make it through and still be able to take us back to the ship. It was designed by Nikki to not only fly through space, but to be a land rover and a submarine for any oceans or lakes we discovered. So much was running back and forth in my head I couldn’t get a grip on any of it, I was excited I wanted to scream but I had to keep my composure as a good captain. We descended through the clouds getting samples of them along the way and having DAWSON analyze them. The clouds started to thin and that’s when I saw it. A colossal ocean that was as giant as the Atlantic and Pacific put together, there were n ranges which didn’t reach the clouds but were still steep. There were rivers that lead to the Titanic Ocean, which I just named it. Past some of the mountains were lakes that could hold so many possibilities. Humans could get another chance here. “Look” I whispered to them I couldn’t bear to look away from the window, it was like a picture I always had in my head and to see it with my own eyes it was amazing. Valleys and areas covered with some type of alien florae, it was all just waiting to be explored. The probe came to safe landing with no damage to the craft at all, once it was secure to get out, I ran for the door. I wanted to be the first one to step foot on Titan, dreams really do come true. Each of us was equipped with a special suit specifically designed for the surface of Titan, again created by Nikki. Dust storms are a possibility on this moon so each suit has an outline in a neon color that will make us visible to the other crew members, I was pink, Steve was orange, the twins were light and dark green, and Nikki was blue. Each of us looked around where we landed and again how small we felt. It would take centuries to map everything on Titan, so we started with the immediate area to see if it was habitable. Once this region was down, we would extend out until all of Titan was printed on a map, so people could find the areas they wanted to start their new lives in. The region that faced away from Saturn was my personal interest, but I know that wouldn’t be smart to start there. “Let’s begin right here and call this region Home for now until we learn more about it.” My crew agreed and we start to unpack along with setting up a small camp for us to continue research and sleep. DAWSON alerted me when I was moving equipment, “There’s movement at the lower range of the mountains, I am unable to detect what it is other than it is alive.” I quickly equipped my hydrogen rifle using the recon scope was able to see exactly what the creature looked like. A three limbed creature with a thick fur covering its entire body, it was watching us with its three set of eyes. It had large set of teeth at its abdomen area and it appeared that it was sniffing the air with its tentacle/limb. “2 o’clock Steve.” He already had his rifle powered and aiming right that the creature. “Tell me when” Steve whispered toward my direction. I stood there for what felt like hours just observing I didn’t want to make the mistake of shooting a new life form. I decided in that moment, “we need a closer look.” I started to climb the mountain slowly keeping my eye on the creature while Steve watching the surrounding, so we didn’t get ambushed by anything else. A low humming filled my ears as I was looking at the beast, I took a chance and lowered my rifle. “Stay close Steve, but do not attack.” Steve responded by stopped and setting up by a rock just in case I was wrong. I knelt on one knee and extended my hand hoping it took the gesture as friendly and not threatening. It started to move; the limbs moved across the smaller rocks like an octopus shifting along the ocean floor. The fur was a deep purple and it slithered toward me. It took all my willpower to not runaway screaming with complete fear, but that would alarm it putting my team in danger. I took a deep breath, slowly opened my eyes to see it standing right in front of me. It was about three feet tall with three eyes that were bright orange and square. It never blinked the whole time I watched it and even when it was in front of me.Suddenly, the thing started to glide away again, but this time it was headed to ocean we had seen when we landed. I started to chase after it with only having three limbs it moved rather quickly. The land began to dip down slightly and then gradually it went farther down until we reached the beach area. The ocean was like of Earth with waves and currents. A huge wave came crashing down and I swear I caught a glimpse of sea creature from my nightmares. It had fins poking out for every direction and a long narrow mouth. I turned to look back at Steve, whose face was as pale as mine. “It’s like the Jurassic period here with all of these different types of animals.” Steve replied once he saw the monster that lurked in the waves. “Is this a good idea Captain?” Mia asked. “We need somewhere to start. Keep your eyes open and guns charged.” We rounded the corner where these cliffs ahead were sharp that’s when I noticed a cave with a blue hue coming from it. “Over there!” I shouted to my team. The Titan fur stopped at the mouth of the cave and pointed its tentacle at the entrance. “Stay here at the entrance Marcus and Mia.” They both nodded with their rifles in hand. Steve, Nikki, and I started to walk through the cave looking at all the amazing purples and blues that covered the walls of the fissure. We followed the blue hue which lead toward a metal door, “this is the last thing I expected to see.” Steve replied, “yeah I was ready for certain death.” I opened the door and there was another thing I least expected to see even more so than a door on a moon that orbited Saturn. There were hand drawings and notes everywhere on the walls. There was a partial map hanging on another wall with BEWARE OF THE DARK CREATURES and drawings of regions we hadn’t seen yet. Nearby were journals that were filled with descriptions of creature and tree-like foliage. One tree was completely twisted from the root and when grown would drop this blue oval that would explode once it hit the ground. The author of these diaries Mr. Seymour Dates described its reaction because of the methane in the ground would mix with what the fruit was made of which he still was unable to figure out. Under some other papers was a fold out map of an area that was dark that he referred to as Nix Valley, the area was so dark with no light and a drawing of a creature that was 25-30 feet tall. A description of the creature he encountered there:
“The biggest creature I have encountered since I started exploring
Titan, I haven’t had the nerve to explore the ocean yet,
The largest land animal if you can call it that. His skin was
White like death with eyes that were cloudy as well
It does use its eyes to see but it uses all of it senses to get
Around. It has bones protruding from his head and along
Its back. Its arms dragged across the floor while still haven’t
Gotten close enough to see any sort of lower extremities.
It mimics gentle sounds and ones in pain to lure in other animals
That walk around on the surface. Nix valley is located underneath the mountain range
And some flatlands. It never comes up to the surface only can
Be seen when finding its hidden caves along the mountains
Where I first landed.
Accompanying to the short description was a sketch of what the monster looked like and it was like a giant snake and dinosaur mixed together and was kept from the sun. “We need to find this monster; our job is so important. If this is here, we can’t bring humans to live here.” I said to Steve and Nikki. Nikki was as pale as a ghost and Steve just stood there unable to say anything. I noticed the door slowly opening and I aimed my rifle right at the opening. The Titan fur was standing there, and I immediately grew concerned for the twins, “I’m going to distract it, you both go for the twins. Make sure they are safe.” I ordered. Then the furry creature took its head off and a man was there inside a giant costume. “Thank you for not shooting me, it took me a while to build this costume.” Said Seymour Dates. “We need to talk.” I responded with, “Where are the twins?” We all raced to the entrance of the cave.
These Men Won’t SETTLE For Bare Minimum Women
Grilled Jalapeño Cheddar Meatballs
Serve delicious Grilled Jalapeño Cheddar Meatballs with Mexican rice, beans, or a side salad.
Prep: 20 min | Chill: 30 min | Cook: 35 min | Yield: 20 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup tortilla chips, crushed
3/4 cup milk
3 fresh jalapeños, seeded and finely diced
1 (8 ounce) block Cheddar cheese, finely diced
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
Place the crushed tortilla chips in a large bowl, then add the milk and allow to soften the chips for about 10 minutes.
After the mixture is soft and has absorbed all the milk, add the beef, jalapeño, cheese, paprika, garlic, and salt. Mix well to combine all ingredients, then scoop approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the mixture and form a meatball; repeat until all the mixture has been formed into balls.
Place the meatballs on a plate or tray and refrigerate them for 30 minutes to firm.
Light a grill for two zone cooking. For charcoal: light coals and pile them all on one side, creating a hot and cool zone. For propane: light the very end burner on the left or right side, but no other burners. It’s recommended you place a piece of foil under the side without heat to catch any melting cheese for easy cleanup. The grill should be at MEDIUM temperature, about 350 to 375 degrees F.
Place the meatballs on the cool side of the grill (away from the coals or the lit burner) and close the grill lid. Grill for about 25 to 35 minutes, or until they reach 165 degrees F internal temperature on a meat thermometer.
Remove the meatballs from the grill and allow to cool slightly before serving.
Operation Gladio | How The Mob Financed The CIA’s Secret Army
During one of my many, many layoffs, I was unemployed and looking for work. After the initial shock (always a shock to the system, and a forced change in lifestyle) I settled into my “looking for work” routine.
Morning exercise, computer. Send out some resumes and research. Calls, coffee.
Around three hours after lunch time, went to Burger King. At that particular time they were having “Burger Wars”, and their whopper was $1 each. Now, these a big sandwiches, and one could last me all day. And I will tell you all, that’s what I did. I practically lived off those things.
I would drive to the Wrentham State park. Eat my whopper sandwich, and then go for a little walk in the woods. Nature. So nice. Especially in the middle of a week-day afternoon when no one was around.
Yes, I know that living off of hamburgers is not healthy, but I didn’t have much choice. You do what you have to do, and life moves forward.
Hopefully I will never be in that kind of forced impoverishment again, but never the less, I am still suffering PTSD from the possibilities that lie ahead.
Hold on. Deal and cope. It’s all you can do.
Oh, and cats help.
Today…
Do you think Chinese companies will be able to close the performance gap with OpenAI?
Yes.
The Chinese will just throw thousands of Chinese engineers at Chinese companies to close the gap.
The Americans will throw millions of dollars at OpenAI to stay in the lead, but won’t be able to throw thousands of engineers at the company.
That is how China always wins. It’s not pretty, but it always works…
What disturbed you today?
This photo was taken on Elina’s first day of work in a Moscow brothel. She feels both ashamed of what she has to do and afraid of what it will feel like.
An 18-year old had come from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan “to conquer Moscow” three months before this photo was taken. She’d been planning to study for a cosmetologist and had rented an apartment with her best friend.
They were unlucky and got swindled by her compatriots through a fake work advertisement and lost all their money that they brought with them from Bishkek and had to move out of the apartment because they couldn’t afford to pay rent anymore. Next day, without a place to stay and any money, the young girls found themselves in one of the numerous brothels in the city, where they were offered to the clients for 4000 rubles ($50) an hour. Their cut was 40% plus tips.
Elina had done it only twice before and didn’t even like it. There was no choice but to go ahead with it and do what a client would ask her to do. She would like to buy an iPhone. She dreamed about it for a long time now. She would also like to learn to drive a car. One day she would own an apartment and become a small business owner. And of course she would get married and have kids. Back home, she would never be able to get married because she had to be a virgin to become somebody’s wife. There was no way back. She had to stay in Moscow and make her way like thousands of young girls had done it before her. Moscow is beautiful and vast. But she is here with her friend.
Today is a rough day, but tomorrow will be better.
Men Are Giving Up
Clear and profound.
Smoked Tomahawk Ribeye
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 (3 pound) bone-in beef tomahawk steak
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
Rub steak with olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Lightly coat grates with vegetable oil spray. Close cooking chamber lids.
Place 3 to 5 pounds of charcoal, in center of the firebox. Open the firebox air vent approximately 1-2\’e2\’80\’b3, and smokestack damper halfway. With firebox lid open, stand back, carefully light charcoal and allow to burn until covered with a light ash (approximately 20 minutes).
Once coals have ashed over, add wood chunks. Do not shut firebox lid until the smoke is clean, often called Blue Smoke.
Close firebox lid. Adjust the firebox air vent and smokestack damper to regulate cooking temperature. The ideal smoking temperature is 275 degrees F.
Place steak on smoker for approximately 2 hours or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F (medium rare), turning halfway through cooking time.
Allow steak to rest approximately 5 minutes. Slice against the grain of the steak.
Notes
To make slicing easier, slice along bone and then horizontally against the grain.
Why is cooperation with China so important for Russia?
The entire West is United against Russia
They want to destroy Russia and make it a protectorate of the West, a Gas Station selling cheap Oil and Gas to the West
They want to control those vast assets in Siberia – all that Titanium ore, Metals, Gold, Oil and Gas which is priceless, through their Corporations in New York and Chicago using traitorous Russians in Moscow and Petersburg
Putin has convinced the Russians that they are not a Gas Station but a proud powerful nation and that the Communists weren’t bad people for a long time but just people who lost the game to the West
So it makes strategic sense for Putin to come closer to China
China is an Industrial Superpower who is responsible today for keeping Putins war machine going
Every single piece of electronic circuitry used in Putins Missiles and Guidance since 2023 May is from China
In addition China also floods Russia with Dual Use Goods mainly to be used in Weaponry
For instance in 2024 January – China exported 20,000 VZS High Quality Precision Optical Sensors & Sights with High Power Lenses
That’s more than the entire NATO can manufacture in a year (12000–15000)
They can be used for Missile Tracking and Interception OR Monitor migratory birds and their movement
You really think Russia would buy 20,000 such sensors worth $ 170 Million for studying Migratory Birds????????????
Plus Key components of Advanced Radars like State of the Art Receiver Arrays and Duplexers which can ALSO be used for Radio Networks
If a Radio Network in the 21st century would spend $ 85 Million on Equipment
It’s why Yellen is SO PISSED OFF
Meanwhile China needs Putin too
China sees a face off with the US soon and needs Russia , the world’s toughest and strongest land army.
China gets CHEAP ENERGY and CHEAP RAW MATERIALS including Enriched Uranium that helps China stockpile and maybe build their secret warhead count to as many as 1000 nuclear warheads by 2030
If only India would see sense and join this partnership fully, that would be wonderful
3 Signs She’s Using You as a Backup Plan
What was the last thing you said to someone before they died?
I will never forget the last thing I said to my daughter before she died. I was tired after working, so I decided to lay down to watch the evening news. My daughter had just finished eating the dinner I cooked. She had Epilepsy and was experiencing frequent Gran Mal seizures, but every time I would call the paramedics, they would tell me just don’t let her hurt herself.
Any way, I told her to go lay in my bed and watch Friends, which was one of her favorite shows. She called out to me, “Mommy, Alice Cooper is on Friends.” I told her I was too tired to get up.
When I got up to see what she was watching a few minutes later, I found her dead. To this day, I will always regret not going in there when she told me that. My brother told me it was probably better that I wasn’t there when she had her final seizure.
The doctor swore to me she wouldn’t die from her seizures. I asked the coroner what caused her to die, and he told me heart failure due to the extreme nature and frequency of her seizures.
My last words to her will be something I will never forget, nor will the last words she spoke to me be either. II think of her all the time. I have not been able to bring myself to get rid of most of her things. They are all I have left of her. I even have clippings of her hair. She was my only child. She was my Roxanne.
I’m sorry this is so long. Once I got started. I couldn’t stop. Now, I need to get something else on my mind. Roxanne died 14 days after turning 16. She would have been 30 years old this coming September 30. Born September 16, 1987-died September 30, 2003
As a parent, what is the most heartbreaking thing your son/daughter has done with you?
After my first husband passed away in 2006, finances were very tight. Once a month, when we received a financial assistance check, we would drive to town for basic groceries and I would treat our 6 year old with a kids meal and play time at local fast food restaurant. I would watch and just talk with him. There were days when he would give me his fries because he knew I was hungry and we couldn’t afford for both of us to order food. Or the afternoons when I would make him a sandwich and take a bite…again I made sure he had enough to eat. He would laugh and say “Mommy takes a bite so I know its made with love”. This is my child who has held my hand as we would cry in grief, would say he didn’t want big toys for Christmas/birthday and celebrated with me when I graduated from nursing school-knowing it was for his benefit. As he turned 18 this year, I get teary knowing how his life was harder than it will be for his brothers who have been born since I remarried. I cry knowing he remembers the month of 1 packet of rice, 1 can of veggies, and 1 4 oz pork chop diced up, was dinner for the 2 of us-for 2 nights. He jokes with me, each winter we no longer get our gas turned off, about no more keeping the house warm with the oven or placing blankets in front of the doors and windows, or boiling his bath water.
Last year the both of us had the opportunity to spread his Dad’s ashes in a state away from our own. The sight of my tall, handsome young man spreading his dad’s ashes with his bare hands, spreading them in water, on trees and along the ground and talking to his dad the whole time, dropped me to my knees. I can not tell you how much this young man means to me, knowing how strong he is and what a survivor he has had to be.
Invasive Feral Cats In Australia Turbo-Evolving
What is the greatest blunder in military history that took the longest to correct?
For blunders in military history it is difficult to surpass the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour for utter stupidity.
Winston Churchill heard the news of the attack from a radio at his desk late in the day. This is what he says. ‘I tried to adjust my thoughts to the supreme world event which had occurred, which was so startling as to make me gasp.’
Startling it was. A tiny country savagely provoking a country as large and as rich as the United States to war was indeed difficult to comprehend. The advantage Japan got was only temporary. With the cream of the US navy destroyed in the attack on the US naval base in Pearl Harbour Japan had a free hand in the South China Sea for its conquest of South East Asia, Philippines and Burma. But soon the US would arm itself at sea, land and air. What after that? Why did not the Japanese, who are considered an astute people, think of that.
Churchill’s joy knew no bounds at the news that the US is now in the war. This was what he said.
‘Yes, after Dunkirk; after the fall of France; after the horrible episode of Oran; after the threat of invasion, when, apart from the Air and the Navy, we were an almost unarmed people; after the deadly struggle of the U-boat war—the first Battle of the Atlantic, gained by a hand’s-breadth; after seventeen months of lonely fighting in dire stress, we had won the war.’
When he heard of the attack he knew that Britain had won the war.
‘England would live; Britain would live; the Commonwealth of Nations and the Empire would live. How long the war would last or in what fashion it would end, no man could tell, nor did I at this moment care. Once again in our long Island history we should emerge, however mauled or mutilated, safe and victorious. Hitler’s fate was sealed. Mussolini’s fate was sealed. As for the Japanese, they would be ground to powder. The British Empire, the Soviet Union, and now the United States, bound together were, according to my lights, twice or even thrice the force of their antagonists. No doubt it would take a long time but there was no more doubt about the end.’
True indeed, and Churchill was not the only person to think so.
There is only one explanation for the Japanese action. It is found in an ancient Sanskrit saying: ‘Vinasa kale vibareetha pudthi’. This means: When the time for your destruction is at hand you take strange decisions.
It happened at a New York Airport. This is hilarious. I wish I had the guts of this girl. An award should go to the United
Airlines gate agent in New York for being smart and funny, while making her point, when confronted with a passenger who probably
deserved to fly as cargo. For all of you out there who have had to
deal with an irate customer, this one is for you.
A crowded United Airlines flight was canceled. A single agent was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers.
Suddenly, an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket on the counter and said, “I HAVE to be on this flight and it has to be FIRST CLASS.”
The agent replied, “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be happy to try to help you, but I’ve got to help these folks first; and then I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.”
The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that
the passengers behind him could hear, “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?”
Without hesitating, the agent smiled and grabbed her public address microphone. “May I have your attention, please?”, she began, her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal. “We have a passenger here at Gate 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him with his identity, please come to Gate 14”.
With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically,
the man glared at the United Airlines agent, gritted his teeth, and said, “F*** You!”
Without flinching, she smiled and said, “I’m sorry sir,
you’ll have to get in line for that, too.”
Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.
MEDICAL OPINION: What is REALLY going on with President Biden (not what you may think)
What was the strangest thing that happened to you as a foreigner in Japan?
I stayed at a guest house once in Japan with my son. In the afternoon, as he often did at that age (he was 10), my son began to badger me for some food. So I decided to go out and get him something to eat. Unfortunately the guest house we were staying at was a short distance away from any shops, in the centre of a residential neighbourhood. When I came down from the apartment I felt pretty lazy to take that 15 minute walk to the 7–11. As I was wondering what to do I happened to see a bicycle near by and on closer examination saw it was unlocked. Most bicycles in Japan are unlocked I later discovered.
I looked around and there was no one around to ask so I thought I would take the bicycle for a short ride to the convenience store. I would be back in a few minutes and no one would be the wiser and I would not have to walk. So I did just that.
I was distracted a bit on the way there by a pretty garden, the queue at the cash counter was long, I got a little lost on the way back and all-in-all it was a bit longer than I anticipated and as I returned, pedalling, I was surprised and a bit shocked to see an anxious looking, well-dressed elderly gentleman standing there. He was clearly the owner of the bicycle and looked surprised to see this foreigner returning from somewhere on his bike.
I returned the bike apologising profusely, but was really surprised by the man’s reaction. As I returned his bike, he leaned forward, bowed a few times and then asked me very politely and with no trace of sarcasm at all, “Would you be needing the bicycle tomorrow?”
That is Japan.
Haddaway – What Is Love (Just Dance – Dance Video & Movie) Roberto F
This is funny with all the cuts from various movies and videos. Cute.
After his wife’s death, he found a letter that revealed a secret that changed everything.
Tony Trapani was 80 years old when his wife died after being married for 50 years, was devastated and felt alone. But after his wife’s death, he found a letter that revealed a secret that changed everything.
When his wife died, Tony began, with a broken heart, to free the house from the things that had belonged to her. But then, one day, he found a letter hidden deep in a closet.
He had just discovered something he had not been prepared for: the letter was addressed to him, but it was from another woman.
The moment he opened the letter and read the first lines, he was really shocked. The letter was 56 years old and had been written by a woman Tony had met when he was about 20, named Shirley.
Shirley wrote to him that she often thought of Tony, but that was not the shocking part, at the end of the letter he found out that he had a son with her, named Samuel!
Tony was really petrified, he had just discovered that he had had a son without knowing it for 61 years, and he realized that his wife had hidden the letter because she could not have children.
Here is what Tony confessed to Fox17:
“I have no idea why my wife didn’t tell me about it. She wanted children, but she couldn’t have them, we kept trying. He’s my son, I’ve had him my whole life but I didn’t know. It is beyond me why she hid the letter “.
After calming down, Tony found a new meaning to his life: finding his son.
Said and done, he found him on Facebook. Metro journalists write that the meeting was emotional, especially because his son had believed all his life that his father did not want to deal with him!
This incredible story shows us how everything in life can change in an instant! At the age of 81, Tony’s life took on a new meaning, one he had always wanted but thought he would never know…
How Cats Broke The Game
Actually I like the format; the Video Game on-going meme theme of this informative video.
Shorpy
Woman Says She’s “Too Pretty” To Work And Gets Humbled
Would you hurt someone if they did something unspeakably horrible to your child, even though you’d go to prison?
In short yes.
However, when I was at University in 2006 I studied criminal justice and psychology, end of term the University invited two men who were criminals to give a talk on their experiences of prisons and their time there, the first told us how he’d inadvertently become involved in a bank robbery and did 4yrs for that, he was released a few weeks back and was remorseful for his actions. The second, an older man, probably mid fifties explained he was in prison for murder to which we all uncomfortably shifted in our seats, he was not sorry for what he did.
Yikes, right? Then he told us how the murder came about, he was a architect and wealthy, raised from a good family, he’d married his college girlfriend had the 2.4, a son and a daughter, now both in their 20s, he and his wife worked hard to afford their lifestyle but somehow never had time for each other, weekends were a whirlwind of family time and trying to be good parents and juggle careers, when one day his best friend from university turned up, they’d been room mates and house mates for their time, he was newlywed and his wife was on a business trip locally so he accompanied her and decided to visit his old friend.
They’d not see each other for a while cos life and all that and he’d be in town for a week, they went for a drink and our criminal confessed how he and the wife never got any time together anymore and he missed that, the next day the old room mate shows up with tickets to a theatre performance for that coming weekend and tells them he will babysit the children who were 6 and 3, they can go out have fun and enjoy themselves, now the criminal told us his and wife’s family lived Scotland way so they didn’t see them often and so they jumped at this chance of a babysitter and night out.
Friday comes and friend turns up, children are already in bed, literally all he needs to do is listen out for them and watch Sky tv all night, the criminal and his wife left the house and have been driving for about 30mins when they realise the theatre tickets are on the mantelpiece, this is before you could download them, you had actual tickets, they turn round and drive home, he leaves wife in the car, runs into the house, friend isn’t in the lounge though, he grabs the tickets and goes into the hallway, he can see his daughter’s bedroom door open and she’s been going through a nightmare stage so heads up to see if everyone is okay, he opens the door to see his friend raping his daughter.
He says he doesn’t remember what happened next but he grabs a wooden toy off the shelf and effectively beat this man to a bloody pulp for what he had done, next thing he remembered was his wife and daughter screaming as he was dragged to a police car and paramedics tried to rescue his victim cos that’s what they have to do, friend died two nights later from injuries and he was charged with murder, his wife divorced him and his kids became estranged, he hadn’t seen them in some 20 yrs as wife moved back to Scotland and remarried, he said he lost half his life to prison but didn’t think he’d do anything any differently because he had tried to protect his daughter and felt so guilty for putting his friend in their life, also turned out friend wasn’t married, he’d recently been discharged from prison for sexual assault on underage children, despite the police finding this information the criminal wasn’t given leeway because even if this worthless piece of trash probably deserved what happened murder is still illegal, I often wonder where that man is now some 20yrs on.
The alarm klaxon in this section of the ship was abnormally loud. It made Zander’s head feel like someone was peeling it open. Doing her best to ignore it she pushed off from the hatch and floated weightless down the corridor. Before she got to the other side the ship unexpectedly lurched, probably under maneuvering thrusters. She was slammed into the wall and pinned against it by the momentary acceleration. Pushing off again she struggled to make it to the next hatch. The engine coolant was slowly moving closer and the living quarters would become untenable soon. If she didn’t free Vivian from her room, well…possible asphyxiation from another hull breach might be a better way to die.Vivian was the first person she met when she woke up on the ship. Or rather came back to a semi-sober version of consciousness. Zander had opened her eyes into darkness reluctantly. There was a deep bass hum in the background she couldn’t place and her body felt different. Heavier. The tight softness of a hammock surrounded her, but not her hammock. Not her room in Luna City she decided. She rolled to the side, lost her balance, and crashed to the floor. Hard.”Easy there Sweetie.” The voice had a deep feminine lilt to it. “Let yourself adapt to ship’s gravity,” the voice said sleepily.Zander tried to talk but her mouth and throat felt like they were coated in wool.A small light snapped on across from her, and she had seen another hammock strung up above her. A foot with dark painted nails slid over its edge, to be followed by a muscular calf. The toes wriggled and stretched.”You’re on the floor of my room, if that’s what you just asked.” A face had appeared at the other end of the hammock. Unnaturally bright blue eyes watched her in amusement. “Sorry, I guess I should say our room now. Hey, you don’t look so good. The waste disposal unit’s over there,” the foot and toes pointed into the dark, “if you’re going to be sick.”The blue eyes regarded her for a second and then the skin around them pinched together as the person smiled.”What’s the last thing you remember?”Zander rolled over on her back and tried to focus on a spot on the ceiling. “I’d finished a late shift in Luna City Food Court 7. Some of my friends dragged me to a party in one of the docking bays.””Correct,” the eyes agreed.
“Some dock tech pulled out a tub of homemade Vodka.” Zander’s thoughts were sluggish and took effort. “And I think I tried it?”
“You tried a LOT of it. Quite a bit, I imagine, even before my friends and I joined you.”
“I…don’t remember anything else.” Zander had let out a weary sigh. “I’m sorry, who are you?”
“Vivian,” the eyes answered patiently. The toes wriggled in a wave at her.
That was only a couple hours ago and now Zander was fighting her way through a ship she barely knew to try and save Vivian. She grabbed the manual hatch release to the access shaft and froze. The indicator displayed an X, glowing in a bright auto-luminescent red. There was hard vacuum on the other side of the hatch.
She knew that most ships this size were built with parallel access shafts on either side. Maybe she could cut across this deck and use the other tunnel. She reached for the nearest compartment hatch just as a power conduit blew near her. Sparks shot out, bouncing off her arm and hand. Some stuck and they burned into her skin before she could brush them off. Using the back of her other hand she tried to wipe away the tears of pain from her face. Zander was looking for a change, a little excitement, but this…none of this, was what she had imagined.
“You were quite talkative last night,” Vivian had explained earlier that day. “Told us all about going to university, but you struggled in classes. Came to the moon with friends for Spring Break and decided to stay. Bounced between minimum wage jobs until you ended up making protein noodles in Food Court 7.”
Zander remembered groaning in embarrassment.
“Oh, don’t feel bad. You made it all sound very dramatic and entertaining,” Vivian cooed in response. “Not at all whiny. And then you signed on as crew with the Waterloo.”
“The what?” Zander had scanned her brain for any more memories of the previous night and came up empty.
“The Waterloo sweetie. This,” Vivian’s toes wriggled indicating the surrounding space. “You’re aboard the commercial space vessel Waterloo.”
“You mean we aren’t on the moon? This isn’t Luna City?” Zander had asked in a panic.
“No,” Vivian’s body slipped back into the hammock until just her eyes were visible again. “We left lunar orbit hours ago. We’re under thrust for Mars. Our next performance is there.”
“Wait, what kind of ship is this?” Zander asked.
“Why this is Moriarty’s Magnificent Menagerie sweetie.” Vivian’s eyes had twinkled merrily. “Last night you joined the circus.”
Evidently, Zander signed on as their new animal handler. She wondered if anyone bothered to mention the possibilities of freezing to death in space, asphyxiation, or radiation dangers when she’d signed up. Surveying the room she was now in, she was certain they hadn’t explained what they meant by “animals” either.
Space was limited on a ship so large animals weren’t an option. She also knew some species didn’t adapt well to low gravity. The Menagerie apparently made do with the options that were left. A mix of frightened chirps, squeaks, and hoots assaulted her ears. The long room was filled with various containers, obviously specially designed, for their occupants. Most seemed secure but one had been dislodged and sat at an angle, its lid cracked open.
Slowly she surveyed the room. The container didn’t have a label and Zander had no idea what type of creature might have been released. In the reduced light she was unable to spot anything stirring and cautiously started moving across the room.
The caress came first on the corner of her ear. And then across her right cheek. The featherlight touch of spider silk. It triggered in her an urge to get away. A reflex buried deep in her subconscious that moved faster than rational thought. She jerked back, brushing frantically at her face. In the zero g environment the reaction made her body spin wildly.
With effort, she managed to grab a handhold and stop spinning. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. On the list of current dangers, a spider really shouldn’t be that high. Although, judging by the size of the container and the web Zander wasn’t eager to learn how much of a danger it should be considered. Using the ceiling mounted hand holds she pulled herself across the rest of the room quickly.
On the far side, she found the last enclosure was filled with mice. Zander marveled for a moment at how, even in zero gravity, they were able to wedge themselves into the small plastic tunnels and continue to scurry about their business. She wondered for a second how mice were used in the show, until it dawned on her. They were food. Probably for Monty, the second thing she had met on the Waterloo.
Zander had been laying on Vivian’s floor, eyes shut, trying to stop the world from spinning and to piece the previous night’s events back together.
“This is a mis…eeeai!” The small scream slipped out unbidden as she opened her eyes. Two slitted eyes atop a small triangular head gazed at her from only a few inches away. A thin tongue flicked out repeatedly, tasting the air.
Pressing her hands against the floor, Zander tried to push away from the snake, but it was already on top of her. It seemed to watch her for several seconds before sliding its head down her shoulder and toward the floor.
Zander’s heart skipped a few beats and her breathing stopped. She lay tense as nearly two meters of snake slid across her. Finally, it slipped off her body and she took a sharp inhale of air.
“That’s Monty.” Vivian was looking down at her from above again. “She must be curious about you. Normally it takes her longer to come out of hiding after a prolonged time in zero gravity.”
“Let me guess, you’re the snake charmer?” Zander asked softly as she tried to scoot her body further away from the snake.
“I can charm all kinds of things,” Vivian had answered with a throaty chuckle. “But yes, Monty is part of my act. I think you were about to say something about this all being a mistake?”
“Yes.” With effort Zander pushed herself into a sitting position. “This is a mistake. I need to get out of here.”
“You’ll want to talk to Zed then.” Vivian’s face disappeared back into the wrappings of the hammock, losing interest in the conversation.
“Zed is the Captain?”
“Captain. Pilot. Clown. Magician. Check the bridge. Out the hatch and to the left. Take the access tunnel all the way to the top.”
And now Zander was struggling with the release on a similar access tunnel to go back down. At least this one, she noticed with relief, didn’t have vacuum on the other side. However, as she pulled it open a chirping noise like an electronic cricket started. The sensor attached to her chest was indicating dangerous levels of radiation in the tunnel. The crew quarters were only two more levels down though. If she moved fast enough she should be alright. Unless that level’s hatch was jammed. Or the level itself had already been flooded with radiation.
Refusing to think about the decision too long, Zander flung herself into the tunnel. She yanked her body painfully to a stop two levels down and struggled with the latch. Her skin felt like it was burning, but she realized that was probably her imagination. Probably.
With a final shove the hatch swung open and Zander scrambled through, sealing it shut behind her. She found Vivian’s room and the auxiliary control panel outside. Desperately she tried to remember the instructions Zed had given her to free the door.
She argued with Zed for almost twenty minutes before he agreed to let her out of the contract. He was a short disagreeable man. Bald, unshaven, and missing one leg. Which in retrospect Zander could now understand since he lived on the Waterloo. He agreed to drop her off when they got to Mars, it wasn’t like they could just turn the ship around Zed explained.
“What am I supposed to do then?” she had asked. “How am I supposed to get back home?”
“Not my problem. You did sign a contract after all.”
The ship had shuddered before she could argue further. Alarms and flashing warning indicators filled the bridge. Zed shoved her aside and slid into the pilot’s chair.
“Something hit us. Rock or piece of space junk. Blew right through the port deflector. We’ve got a hull breach.” With an amazing sense of calm, Zed begun to check systems.
Electrical popping noises had come from a series of panels to her side before they went dark. The sensation of gravity ceased and Zander found herself slowly floating up.
“Port electrical relays just blew,” Zed growled. “The fusion engines have tripped.”
“Zed, need some help here.” Zander recognized Vivian’s voice on the intercom. “The door’s jammed. I can’t open it.”
“Hang tight. I’ll get someone down there,” Zed had answered. He continued to manipulate controls and check screens until his shoulders slumped. “Oh hell.”
“What? What is it?” Zander had asked.
Zed jerked around to look at her, as if he’d momentarily forgotten she existed. “We took more damage than I thought. Secondary coolant is leaking into the ship. Radiation is moving toward the crew compartments.”
His frown grew and made Zed look more unpleasant to Zander. “You’ll have to go down and get Vivian out,” he’d said with unhappy resignation, turning back to the console.
“I can’t do that. I’m not even supposed to be here!” The volume and pitch of Zander’s voice increased as she spoke, sudden fear leaking through.
“There’s no one else. Mustapha is trying to bring the engines back online and Percival is working on the hull breach. Unless you know how to fly an old Class D colony ship, you’re all Vivian has.”
Reluctantly she had agreed and Zed explained what she would need to do.
Which brought her here, one hand stuck inside the panel pumping up the manual hydraulic release. The metal in the hatch groaned under the strain. Then whatever misalignment was jamming it gave way and it sprang open with a metallic clang. Vivian was floating on the other side, one arm held against her body and a slight trickle of blood on the edge of her forehead.
“I hit my arm when the ship lurched,” she explained. “I think the bone is broken.”
Zander grabbed her by the front of her ship suit and pulled her carefully into the corridor.
“One access tunnel is open to space. The other is flooded with radiation,” Zander quickly explained.
Vivian nodded down the corridor. “Third hatch. There’s an emergency crawl way to the next level. The main computer core is there. It’s the most heavily shielded part of the ship.”
They started toward the hatch before Vivian grabbed her arm. “Wait! Monty.” She looked at Zander with pleading eyes.
Zander exhaled, half in frustration and half in exhaustion. “Keep going. I’ll get her.”
She pulled herself back into the room and toward the corner the snake had retreated to earlier. Approaching with trepidation she peered under the cabinet that was set into the wall. Underneath she could see the snake, coiled up into a ball as it floated, trapped between the deck and the cabinet.
As she reached in the snake gave a menacing hiss, its mouth open in warning. “Easy Monty,” Zander whispered. “Just be a nice snake and we’ll be OK.”
Zander closed her eyes and slowly moved her hand closer to the snake. Its tongue brushed against her and she tensed. Instead of a bite though, the snake started to wrap itself around her arm as it crawled toward her. Gently she retracted her arm with the now attached Monty. Hurrying, she headed back to where Vivian was waiting. She could feel the snake wrapping around her shoulders and torso but tried to ignore it.
Vivian was correct. Once through the crawl way and into the cramped computer core space they were protected. Whatever opinion Zander might have of the Waterloo itself, the efficiency of her crew couldn’t be argued with. In short order they had the hull breach sealed and the contaminated areas flushed. They’d even managed to get the engines back online at low power, providing roughly lunar equivalent gravity.
A tall spindly man with shining white skin named Percival appeared and helped Vivian to their small medical bay. As he began treating her arm Zander noticed that she was watching her, a small smile raised one corner of her mouth. Looking down Zander realized that she was absently stroking Monty’s smooth skin. The snake was still wrapped snugly around Zander with her head tucked into an arm pit for warmth.
Vivian brushed Percival aside and stepped over to Zander. She wrapped one arm around her in a tight embrace.
“That’s for saving Monty. This is for saving me.” She lifted Zander’s chin and kissed her fully on the mouth. Zander could sense the blood rushing to her cheeks as Vivian returned to Percival’s silent manipulations.
“We should be OK now,” Zed announced from the door. “Backups are all online and a Navy patrol vessel is coming to check on us, just in case. It’ll take us a little longer to reach Mars at this speed, but we’ll get there.”
Zed glanced at Zander. “Don’t worry. We’ll find you a spot on a ship heading back to Earth and back home.”
Zander looked over at Vivian, who was watching her with twinkling eyes. Even Percival stopped what he was doing and gazed at her silently. Zander looked down at the snake wrapped around her and slid her hand down its body lightly before looking up at Zed.
“No, that won’t be necessary. I think I’m going to stay.”
Zed looked from face to face in confusion. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. After all, I did sign a contract.”
“Victor Davis Hanson: I’m RISKING it all to tell you the TRUTH…”
What are school lunches like around the world?
Originally Answered: What are school lunches like in other countries?
Thanks for the A2A, Samuel.
My daughter is currently in a Chinese primary school in Shanghai, China. I have seen her lunch.
When I was in her age, we didn’t have canteens in the school. Everybody was supposed to take their lunchbox (prepared by parents) to school in the morning, tie up the box with a small wood nameplate (students’ names written), pass it to the school staff. They will heat hundreds of them in a huge steam boiler before noon. (You know, most Chinese people LOVE warm food and HATE cold ones. Most of us deeply believe that cold food is bad for us.) You were supposed to find your lunchbox from hundreds heated ones, and eat. The lunchboxes were required to be a metal one (usually aluminum) due to the way of heating. Something like this:
I remember once my classmate wrote an essay about the school lunch and our teacher read it in class. She said her lunchbox usually included a drumstick or some pieces of meat (which I, and many classmates were so envy about). But one day, when she opened the lunchbox after heating, there were only rice and Chinese cabbage stew. She couldn’t believe it’s her lunch, asked many classmates trying to find out who mistakenly took hers. Later when back home, her dad told her he mixed up her lunchbox and her mom’s that morning. It was the first time she realised she was the only one who had meat for lunch in her family.
It was many years ago. I guess if I told this story to my daughter or her peers, they would hardly understand the heart warming feelings from a lunchbox with pieces of meat. With living in a time almost all kinds of food are easy to reach, I hardly recall the appreciation or the “I wish I could eat it every day” feelings to drumstick, roasted pork or most food, well, simply because “I can eat it every day” anyway.
2 years ago, my friend came back from a voluntary work in a Hope Primary School (schools funded by a charity program called ‘Project Hope’ to support children from poor families) in a remote mountainous village. She told me it’s a boarding school because it’s impossible for students to commute 20km of trail on foot daily. She said she got SHOCKED about the school meals- there were no real school meals actually. Similar to my childhood, there was a huge steam boiler in the school. Students brought rice to the school on Monday or the day they came back from a home visit.
Every meal, they put some rice and some water in their boxes, cooked them in the steam boiler, and ate the same kind of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Everyday! Some students brought homemade pickles or chillies. Nothing else. Nothing.
It was hard to imagine some peers of my daughter living in some place couple of hours drive from Shanghai had nothing but rice to eat. It was hard to imagine some kids live a tougher life than I used to live decades ago.
My friend told me her experience in that school with teary eyes. She wished she could help more. She helped me, my daughter and many people donate to the school and directly to some families.
This summer, she brought me this BIG NEWS.
The school built a canteen! They got government subsidies, corporate sponsors and private donations to buy food, kitchen equipment and hire staffs. Now students there have not only rice but vegetables, meat, eggs, even fruits to eat every day!
I’m so glad at the happy ending.
Though I know there might be new problems and troubles. The food hygiene, the nutritional balance, the quality control and finance management of the canteen, the change of needs of students… I know there would always be some new challenge and never be an ending.
Still those bad news, good news, and those changes make me rethink food, and everything I own and experience in life.
I pretty much like this name- ‘Project Hope’.
Food brings hope. And so do changes.
What was a moment you had where you decided to step in to the parenting of someone else’s child?
Not my own parenting story, but my father’s.
Back then when I was 8 or 9 y.o my father’s godson came to live with us. My sister and I knew him very well, calling him our cousin and spending a lot of time with him as children. He couldn’t bear living with his mother and stepfather anymore, I don’t know the details but I think it was really rough for a teenager to live in such an environment.
He was 16 or 17, a big guy who would easily get involved in trouble and not take part in house chores. My father and the whole family welcomed him. My dad taught him life with patience (and a big voice sometimes). He never raised a hand on him (while his stepfather often did). My sister and I never tried to get him into trouble (while his stepsister often did). We loved and respected him and sometimes it was rough. Our parents had a shop and our cousin was our bodyguard in this big merchant street. We had a lot of good times, bad times as well for sure. When he needed independence my father built a studio in the garden for him (and there were a lot of p*rn posters on the walls, believe me !). When he needed to let go of the pain and anger he would go to a kickboxing club with my sister. They had a very special relationship, a beautiful one (they were almost the same age, while I was the kiddo, the one they looked after all the time).
My father became kind of his father, without ever pretending to be. He raised him and helped him go through teenage years in a way that made him the man he his today. A good career, happily married, stepfather to one beautiful girl (whom he loves and cares for) and father to one adorable babyboy. It took our cousin a lot of effort and will to get there. It took my father a lot of patience, goodwill and love to get him there.
But I’m proud he did. And shall this happen in the future again, I would do the same.
Spicy Lemon Pesto Flat Iron Steaks
Grilled Spicy Lemon Pesto Flat Iron Steaks are delicious.
Prep: 10 min | Cook: 14 min | Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Spicy Lemon Pesto
3 large cloves garlic, minced
Salt
Freshly grated lemon peel (optional)
1/3 cup prepared basil pesto sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Steaks
4 beef Flat Iron Steaks (6 to 8 ounces each)
Instructions
Spicy Lemon Pesto
Combine ingredients in small bowl. Set aside.
Steaks
Press garlic evenly onto beef steaks.
Place steaks on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, for 10 to 14 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F) to medium (160 degrees F) doneness, turning occasionally.
Season with salt, as desired.
Top steaks with pesto.
Garnish with lemon peel, if desired.
Notes
Flat iron steaks are also known as top blade steaks. Flat iron steaks benefit from marinating. You can substitute flat iron steaks in any recipe calling for flank or skirt steak. This cut is best grilled over a medium-high heat. Don’t go as hot as possible unless you pick up a very thin cut. Because of the density of the meat, it is generally best to start with a quick sear before moving to a lower temperature to finish off to the desired doneness.
BRICS Bombshell! They just scored a KNOCKOUT blow to the US Dollar
What is the most inappropriate clothing you have seen a student wear at school?
I was teaching an introduction to Calculus class for Summer School at Brea Olinda High School, in Brea, California.
The first day of class I watched as the students filed into the classroom one or two at the time; nearly seventy-percent of the seats had occupants. Suddenly, I watched as a six-foot-tall young girl enter the classroom, wearing 4″ heels, along with a tiny pair of cut-off jeans that exposed her naval down to her crotch, and a halter-top three-sizes too-small for her …. girth.
All banter and chatter ceased as she found a seat and silently opened her text book and her notepad. As I called the roll, the students would answer-up and I would move-on to the next name on the enrollee list.
I presented the materials the class will cover over the the next six-weeks, after which I dismissed the class, with the exception of the young girl previously mentioned.
She came to the front of the class and immediately apologized for her wardrobe. She told me that she was 18 years-old and five-days a week she was the greeter at a gentlemen’s club. I politely asked her to please bring a change of clothing to her job and change before entering the next class meeting.
She graduated from Loma Linda High School in June of that year. However, University of California Irvine noted that she had neither taken nor passed introduction to calculus.
I agreed to let her stay in the class provided she was properly dressed. The principal of the High School asked me if I had met the young lady taking my class. He further said that she was her class’ valedictorian.
We kept in-touch and I continued to help her with math at the university level. Today, she works as a scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
Various images
What is the most inappropriate interaction you have had with a lawyer?
I would have to state the 3rd lawyer that represented my soon to be ex-husband! You see, he was engaged to her daughter for awhile, and while he was married to me.
I would have to imply she didn’t have the “brightest light bulb” functioning. She made several mistakes, she phoned my number (I had caller ID and it had her name and the other number, had her law firm) – I had my classmate (who at that time was the Police Captain) to come over to answer the phone.
We recorded it.
I then alerted my lawyer and she didn’t buy it, totally disregarding it, so from that office I went to the courthouse and handed it over to the Secretary.
Upcoming hearing:
JUDGE: I cannot accept you (lawyer) to represent your client (husband). It is a conflict of interest.
HER: (startled)
HIM: (grumble grumble)
HER: Your honor? How so?
JUDGE: I have evidence and you’re dismissed from being a counselor.
HER: Objection! He hired me to…
JUDGE: Interrupts… I don’t care. To the fact, your client is engaged to him while he is married is a conflict of interest. You are the client’s possible future “son in law”.
HIM: *gasp*
HER: *totally perplexed* (100% clueless) Objection! You have no evidence!
JUDGE: ::: slides over the photograph ::: taps on the cassette…
HER: Viewing photograph – SO?
JUDGE: You called this woman. I have the Police report right here … sliding paperwork to her.
HER: I withdraw! (gets up quickly and leaves)
HIM: tries to take a look but the Judge pulled it all back.
JUDGE: You can leave, and find another lawyer to represent you . We will reschedule for the hearing next Thursday at 11 AM.
HIM: I am not sure if I can find a lawyer that fast!
JUDGE: Not my problem!
After he quickly left, my lawyer left, I said “Your honor? May I say something?”
JUDGE: (Pauses) Yes, go on!
ME: Could you possibility find out if he’s living there because I know for a fact, he’s not at my property at all, he has 29 migrants and illegal immigrants living in my house and the Cops were called multiple times!
JUDGE: (fully alert) Is that so?
ME: Yes, I drove by it several times, they are literally destroying my property that I own. I had reported all these to my lawyer but not going anywhere.
JUDGE: (reviews paperwork) calls for the Bailiff and requests a full Report of all calls at (property) and to find out if he (husband) is living at (xxxxxxx address), and send Police to verify and report it all back to me quickly please. I will see if I can do something about it.
Yup! Everything I reported was factual, since my husband had just found the attorney, that lawyer requested a reschedule because he didn’t have everything up front to represent his client yet or who the other lawyer (mine) was. It was a last minute alert, prior to the hearing.
However, the Judge ordered my lawyer and I to remain for a few moments.
My lawyer got reprimanded. He had all the Police reports in front of him, plus additional documentations and he told that lawyer she better work up on her client relationship or he was going to dismiss her!
The Judge knew this lawyer very well, one of the top divorce lawyers in the County and a specialist of those who are under police protection (yes, my son and I were under police protection).
From that standpoint on, the relationship went for the betterment.
Why GOD Sent You a Cat – Unveiling Feline Spiritual Significance
Cat Spirituality owner Don’t know and never in their minds. Beyond companionship the psychic abilities of cats. there’s a belief they have special Secret power. They believe that cats can feel bad energies around them and even get rid of them. according to this belief when a cat rests for an extended period it transforms negative energies share your beliefs.
Today, there are very few people that really BELIEVE that the United States is still the de facto leader of the “free world”. Meaning the Earth, of course. Most people see a Untied States in decline and decay, and only the most isolated and ignorant are aware of just how terribly the United States has fallen.
Some use the Strauss and Howe model, while others use Diegal Report. Many use other systems of prediction, but one thing is certain… the USA is down, and it does not look like it is EVEN TRYING to get back up. Just keep on spouting the same old lies, and playing the same old bullshit games.
Ask your friends what they think. I am curious.
My guess is that those that recognize the collapse are either outside the West, or are inside, but reading non-government approved sources of information.
The end is getting close.
But you do know that when the water swirls down the drain, it will make a very big and loud noise. And that too is to be expected very soon. Oh Lordy!
Today…
MoA Update 12 June 2024
Notice Of Absence – Update
Please check here for previous notes of absence and updates.
In the end it has turned out to be a one-and-done procedure and I am happy to say that it is now done with:
The good news: I am likely to recover in full with better health than I have previously had.
The not-so-good news: It will take much longer to recuperate from this than I had expected.
The procedure I went through was a quite extended variant of what WebMD calls a Aortobifemoral Bypass.
When my chest was opened up the conditions found in place were worse (…”they always are”…) than expected. They required more extensive (in size), but less delicate (in number of new shunt connections), bypass procedures than anticipated.
Everything went more or less smooth and, after some seven hours of diligent work, the professors and MDs were satisfied (…”they always are”…) with the job they had done on me.
The physically drain the (larger than expected) procedure took on me has been much stronger (… “it always is” …) than I had anticipated. The intellectual drain, in consequence of the physical one, was even worse. The current task is to rebuild both strengths.
Local health insurance entitles, and recommends to me, to take an additional three weeks leave of convalescence which is essentially a long stay in a specialized hotel/clinic with individualized physical training in the morning and lots of off-time during the rest of the day to hang out or go for walks. I am getting urged to commit to this even as it can only begin in July which, in my case, will be later than ideal. I currently think of it as a ‘back to work training’ opportunity which will allow me to slowly slip back into blogging while coping with some limited infrastructure and means.
Some readers have emailed and asked if I need additional money. Thank you very much. I won’t reject any donations but I am not in any immediate need of help.
I have always taken care to keep my health insurance pay current and I had, during better days, put aside some ‘rainy days’ funds. The only additional payments I have made so far were fora number of taxi rides, a (partial) single room fee and for full hospital access to the net.
Those were minor expenses. The health insurance will pay for everything else without asking for any claw backs or extras.
I will be back to ask for blog donations if and when I am able to deliver an adequate product.
This whole episode has turned out to be much bigger and to take way longer than I had anticipated. Please excuse my lack of foresight on it.
Posted by b on June 12, 2024 at 4:08 UTC | Permalink
China reaches deal on Central Asian railway project linking it with Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan
The link, first proposed in the 1990s, will serve as a faster and cheaper alternative to current China-Europe land routes, most of which travel through Russia
Liu Zhen
SCMP 11:41pm, 6 Jun 2024
China on Thursday finally signed an agreement for a key railway linking it with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in Central Asia, a project hailed by President Xi Jinping as “a show of determination”.
“The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is a strategic project for China’s connectivity with Central Asia and a landmark project for [our] three countries to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative,” said Xi in a message issued to mark the occasion.
The deal’s resolution signalled that Beijing’s decade-long ambition to expand its connection with Eurasian countries is finally on track.
Xi said the agreement provided a “solid legal foundation” for the railway’s construction and transformed the project “from a vision to a reality”.
“It demonstrates to the international community the firm determination of the three countries to join hands to promote cooperation and seek common development,” Xi said.
New China-Europe Railway Express line faces challenges amid Russia-Ukraine war
He added that China would work with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to build the strategic passage that would benefit all three sides and regional development “as soon as possible”.
The president of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, and his counterpart in Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, also sent congratulatory messages, Chinese state media Xinhua reported.
Japarov said the 325-mile (523-km) railway would become a new transport link from Asia to Europe and the Persian Gulf and would promote regional connectivity and trade.
Mirziyoyev said it would not just be the shortest land route from China to Central Asia, but also to the South Asia and Middle East, which is “in the long-term interests of relevant states”, according to Xinhua.
The US$8 billion rail link starts in China’s Kashgar, Xinjiang, and goes through southwest Kyrgyzstan and ends in Andijon in eastern Uzbekistan. It could reduce the freight journey between China and Europe by 559 miles, serving as a faster and cheaper alternative to current China-Europe land routes, most of which travel through Russia.
The project was first proposed in the 1990s, and the three sides signed a memorandum of understanding on the railway in 1997. But the project had been stalled by technical, political and geopolitical issues.
Russia, which sees Central Asia as its own backyard of influence, was initially less than enthusiastic about the project but now has expressed support as Moscow becomes increasingly reliant on China for trade under the economic sanctions imposed by the West because of its war against Ukraine.
Capitalism is dead and so are we | Yanis Varoufakis interview
What is the best way to respond when someone tells you “You’re not invited”?
“Please excuse me.” Then you get up and leave, saying nothing further. Leave your unfinished food, leave before the food is served, whichever.
Scenario: Please cancel my order for the chicken Caesar salad at the table with the two ladies by the window. – – “It’s too late to do that.” – – Serve it to them, and they‘ll take care of it. [This says they will not only eat it there or carry it out, but they will pay for it.] – – [next day] “Hey, Emma! You didn’t pay for your food.” – – I cancelled the order on the way out. [Say nothing more.] – – “We had to pay for it.” – – I cancelled the order on the way out. [Say the same thing only; you owe them no explanations.] – – “We had to pay for it. You owe us!” – – I cancelled the order on the way out. Please excuse me. I need to get to work/get to class/pick up Billy from soccer. [Then you leave, even if they’re calling after you.]
Scenario: [The food has been served.] You put $10 cash on the table and leave. Please excuse me. – – “Where are you going?” – – Please excuse me. – – “You’re leaving your food!” – – Please excuse me. – – “$10 is not enough.” – – That’s all the cash I have/My salad was $8. Please excuse me. I need to….”
You never need to submit yourself to unkind words. Absent yourself.
I think you ought to rethink your relationship with these two. Are they really friends? love, Mom
Shorpy
Bite-Size Pizzas
Ingredients
4 English muffins, halved
1 cup pizza sauce
1/2 cup ham, extra lean, chopped
1/3 cup onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/8 cup black olives, sliced
Instructions
Split the muffins in half and toast them in the toaster.
Spread the pizza sauce on both halves of the muffins.
Place remaining toppings evenly onto pizzas, saving shredded cheese for last.
Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes or until cheese has melted.
Remove from oven, and cut each muffin half into four pieces.
Serve as appetizers or snacks.
Guangzhou, China is MILES AHEAD of the WORLD!
Have you ever walked into your child’s classroom and pulled them out of school on the spot?
Yes, yes, I did. My first-grade son came home one day and said he had won an award in his music class. Being a musician, I thought, “Great!” When I asked him what it was, he said, “It was for being the most still in my seat!” Wha…?!
That night, when I walked by his room, I heard him whimpering to himself. I asked what was wrong, and he said, “My music teacher had us close our eyes and imagine that we were home alone and all the lights were out and someone had broken into the house!”
I exploded. After I calmed him down and assured that would NEVER happen, I went to the school the next day and asked if I could sit in the music class. “Yes, of course,” the music teacher said.
I observed all the children in the room as the class began. At first they were attentive but, because the lesson was so boring (how can music be boring!), they became agitated and squirmed in their seats.
Then the teacher told the kids to close their eyes. At this point, I told my son, “Okay, let’s go,” and we left the room.
After school was out, (I was there because I was also a full-time volunteer in the school) I went to this teacher and asked her, “I want to know what you told the kids yesterday. My son said …”, and I told her about the night before. “That’s what he heard. Is that what you said?”
“Well, yes,” she said sheepishly.
I exploded again. “Really?! That was an exercise we did in graduate school, and it was stressful then. What in the world are you thinking, doing it with 6- and 7-year-olds? He will NOT be in your class anymore!”
I went to the principal and told him what happened. At first, he balked at the idea of pulling him from the class. “I’ll teach him myself [I was qualified] so you don’t have to worry.” He still balked. Then I said, “Fine! I’ll pull him out and homeschool him.”
He didn’t like that because my son’s scores were so high, they pulled the whole school’s up. “Okay, okay, we’ll make it work.”
“And that teacher has to go. She can’t read music nor can she play the piano. She’s an art teacher, for pete’s sake!” The following year she was gone — to the “good” school in the district. Laugh was on them. She was replaced by the best, most engaging music teacher the kids could ever have wanted.
Little victories. 🙂
Scott Ritter DRAGGED Off Plane And Passport SEIZED!
Avery was not sure she had ever seen such a building in her life. The style of architecture she was only familiar with in pictures; a large old looking gothic building with dozens of windows. Some of them, broken and shattered. From the outside it appeared the corner of the windows were scorched as if a fire had blown out the windows. She looked to Vesna on her left and Fitz to her right.
“This church wasn’t here yesterday, was it?” Fitz asked. The town of Ginsval didn’t have much, especially not a giant cathedral.
“Buildings tend to not be in the middle of grassy fields,” Vesna responded.
It belonged in a large city; the capital. Surrounded by equally sized buildings. Not the field of a small village in the southernmost part of the country. She looked at her surroundings with the minimal light that the moon provided, the cool summer breeze passing between them.
“Well, who wanna go in first?” She looked between them and took a step backwards. Fitz looked at her, running a hand through his tuft of white hair, looked back at Vesna who reciprocated the same look and nodded towards her.
Great.
“You’re the one that insisted we come here in the first place.” Fitz snaked his arm behind her and pulled her forward. “Lead the way, oh brave one,” he said.
“You’re the one that can start a fire with the snap of his finger,” she remarked. He shrugged.
“Fine,” she muttered. “Everybody got they device?” The three of them held out their Radiphones. They could snap communication throughout the entire country of Rhea. Together they ascended the large steps to the enormous red door with her leading at the front.
She looked up at the top of the door frame, the outline of a carved rose with its thorny stem with an open book behind it. Taking a deep breath regretting having ever suggested venturing to the area she leaned onto the door.
The door unfolded with a loud creak, as if it hadn’t been opened in years. The building wasn’t just desolate, but looked to be entirely abandoned, cobs of webs gathered in the corners, like nobody had walked the hallowed halls in years. Fitz grabbed her by her wrist and in turn she latched onto Vesna. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears and wondered if they could feel it as well. The overthinking of her childhood imagination that told her that there was a monster in the corner.
Even at 17, she couldn’t psyche herself out of not believing there was anything in the dark ready to jump out.
“You had to be curious!” Fitz whispered, with the combination of fear and irritation in equal measure his tone. They took every step lightly.
“We sure this a church?” Vesna asked. “Don’t really feel anythin’ holy.”
She wasn’t sure this was a church. “There’d be more crosses wouldn’t there?
“Good point.”
She looked at her surroundings with the minimal light that the moon provided, scorch marks covered the walls, broken chairs and desks littered the halls. Vesnas breath hitched. “What was that?”
“That ain’t funny Ves,” she said.
“It ain’t a joke, shut up and listen,” she whispered. When they stopped, the sound of loud banging could be heard. The sound of something repeatedly being dropped on the floor.
She peaked her head around the corner, the moonlight shone through the shattered windows providing her light. Walking on her toes, she could feel the irony of strolling through what looked like a school hallway when she herself had just graduated this time last year.
“Why are we gettin’ closer to it?” Fitz tugged on her arm. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him in response.
“Why are you here?”
Neither of them bothered waiting to confirm whose voice it was, her breath hitched before breaking out into a sprint with the others following not far behind. With no idea where she was running to. She didn’t even know where she was running through. The only thing she could think of as she ran was that if they survived this she swore she was going to give them both a piece of her mind.
She slowed her pace, more aware that she could only hear the sound of her own footsteps as she ran through the halls. Dread filled her. What?
Her radiphone buzzed, scrambling it from her pocket she brought the device to her ear. Fitz’s voice rang through, “Where are you?” His drawl was more pronounced than it had been all night.
“You were right behind me!” she frantically whispered.
“I didn’t see any of you,” Vesna claimed.
“Are we in a maze?” Fitz questioned. “We gon die in a maze.”
She looked around and stopped at the sign above the frame of the door. “A library!”
“What?”
“Actually it doesn’t matter!” she whispered aggressively. She heard him suck his teeth on the other end.
“Bullshit,” he said. “You-”
“Enough you two!”
“I didn’t do anything! Are you gonna argue with me or are you gonna meet up with me?” All she did was step outside the house for fresh air, how was she supposed to know that a giant building would appear and they would get lost in it.
He sighed in defeat. “Where’re you?”
She shut her eyes and breathed for a moment. Luckily Vesnaa answered for her, “How we supposed to know?”
“Well that attitude ain’t helpin’ us. But what do you mean ‘library’?” His breathless voice was static over the small phone. “This ain’t a library.”
“The hell there ain’t!” She whispered. “If I know one thing, I know what a library look like. It’s just a giant building with millions of rows of books.” She stared at the sign ‘Rose Order Library’, before her an expansive hall; a sea of rows of books filled to the brim.
The Rose Order. Rose Order….the name had felt familiar to her. From a history class.
“But that’s imposs–” By the tone of his voice she could tell his eyes landed on something similar.
“Seeing is believin’ beloved.” She hid in the nearest room–a closet within the room. She grabbed a pair of scissors, holding her mouth with her hands, near suffocating herself. The adrenaline that pumped through her veins was beginning to wear off.
The door to the room opened. One. Two. Three. Four steps, she could see the shadow of the figure of a stop.
The door flew open and on instinct she held the scissor in a reverse grip and–was stopped. The girl’s hand caught her wrist. “Calm– woah! Calm down,” she said. Her eyes widened, the girl had brown skin and matching eyes, with loose shoulder length black curls. She stood a head taller than Avery herself, wearing a torn gray shirt, black pants with a brown jacket and black boots strapped with a silver chain to match the six piercings on her left ear. She smiled lazily, “I’m Thea. Athea. But mostly Thea.”
She placed her hands in her pockets and looked around at the room and let out a whistle. The girl had an air of confidence about her, the kind of confidence that only came about when someone knew not many people could or would confront them.
“Well.” She looked up at the ceiling. A painted pattern of vines and flowers weaved together and met at a garden. “What’s it like discovering an ancient library that went missing centuries ago?”
“‘Scuse me’?”
“It seems like you, Avery, just rediscovered the ancient Library of the Rose Order.” She sounded like she didn’t really care about the building all that much. Picking out a book from the shelf, the girl coughed as the dust suffocated her.
Avery blinked. “Rediscovered?” She could hear her own drawl go up as the echo reverberated through the room.
“You got that right,” she smiled. “It’s been missing for centuries, for you guys” she repeated as she stepped out into the halls. “Fitz should be here soon, he’s busy trying to uh, find his way out of this ‘maze’. And Vesna should be here soon too.”
She stared at the curly haired girl in disbelief. “Cen-” She heaved. “Centuries?”
“It was here one day–centuries ago now, like six or eight. Then one day.” Thea waved her hands over her head. “Gone overnight.”
“Do they have drugs here?” Avery asked. “Are you on drugs?”
“We used to contrary to popular belief and I wish.” Avery heard a crackling and a hum, sparks of blue electricity ran up Thea’s body, the pieces of metal; the chain on her boots, bracelet, and piercings sparked. She placed her hand on a pole that stuck out from the wall.
The lights flickered for a couple moments, as if slowly relearning to turn on.
Wherever the fire had been had not spread entirely to this part of the building. A couple of corners of the vast room were darker than others as well as an entire wall was blacked out. Piles of ash sitting in place as if it hadn’t been touched. Some lights were not turned on solely by the fact that they were broken.
She remembered Fitz igniting a match with his fingers before tossing it into a campfire. Espers. Just different elements, same concept.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Thea–
“What are you?”
“I’m the Keeper of the Library. Something like…a guardian.” Her face, heavy from dejection.
“You’ve been here for centuries.”
“For you. I’m not immortal.” She began walking through the rows of shelves. “I only woke up when the building arrived here.”
She strolled over to a shelf and leaned down, picking up a book from its space. “‘The History of Esperers of Rhea’.” Thea turned to the first page. “‘Let it be known that Rhea as a country has an incredibly complex relationship with their Esper population, compared to the surrounding territories blah blah blah’.” She shut the book and shoved it back into its spot.
She didn’t sound very thrilled about her job.
“‘Esper Theory’, ‘The Temples of The Delca Empire’, ‘AncientRhea Mythology’.” She picked up the book from its sport. “This thing might be just as ancient as the ancient mythology in the book at this point.” She flipped through the volume. “Just like they said,” she muttered and slammed the book shut.
“This …library was lost to history?”
“The hell is going on?” a male voice. Avery snapped her attention to Fitz with fair skin, white hair and red irises. Vesna followed behind him her facial expression mirroring his.
“How’d y’all find-”
“I showed them. Think of it like giving them a mental map,” Thea said. “I’m completely.” She paused. “In control of this place. Just like they said.”
“Who’s ‘they’?” Vesna asked.
Fitz’s head tilted upwards, staring at the intricate art on the ceiling. Unlike the room she had just been in, with the light she could see at the center of the ceiling was a massive book with a rose at its center surrounded by celestial bodies, painted with the delicate strokes of a thousand brushes.
The scorch marks of fire in the bottom left corner of the ceiling, where a wall caught fire and raced upwards to burn away such a beauty. In original condition it might’ve been compared to the art in the Vatican.
Vesna looked at him and gave him a worried look. “Is this real?” She gestured to the room around her. “This is…” She didn’t finish her sentence as she opened a random book.
Avery followed Vesna down the row of books, the shelf between them nearly reaching the ceiling. Ladders on each side for anybody who wanted to climb to a higher book.
“What’s…the Order of the Rose?” She asked. Thea looked at them silently and continued to browse through a section of history books. Avery looked at the sign above another section: Fiction.
So many authors, concepts, ideas and characters, forgotten by the sands of centuries gone by. Stories that were shelved and forgotten to collect dust. Mere relics of a bygone era. Centuries of ideas thought to be lost to ashes…before her eyes to be unearthed.
“They’re like magical Historians,” she said. She picked up a tome from the shelf and wiped it clean. “Their job is to honor–was…to honor History–”
“‘Preserve, protect and entrust’,” Fitz finished. Vesna gave him a strange look. “My grandfather once told me that. Talked on and on about the Rose Order and about my fire.”
Thea looked at him, impressed. And then turned her attention to the center of the ceiling with a melancholy smile, like she was recalling a memory. “Many of them are–were Espers, much like your friend Fitz and I, except a lot more loyal to knowledge. They..used their collective power the day the building was burning to create a fail-safe. That I would be protected and with it the Library itself in another time.”
“You not loyal?” Vesna asked, closing a book. Fitz passed her another one.
“I’m learning to be.” Thea shrugged. “But I’m just an apprentice.”
Avery noticed how she didn’t change the tense. “‘Knowledge is power’,” she quoted. She herself couldn’t name who said such a well known saying but she knew the powerful implications behind it.
“Power over the elements and some other things, yeah. Later, King Ezekiel, the arrogant prick–”
“Every little Esper’s favorite historical figure to learn about.” Avery recalled listening to Fitz’s grandfather ramble about history. And King Ezekiel was often brought up.
“A historical figure already? Historical tyrant is more accurate.”
Fitz snorted. “Yeah, right. Gramps said he was worried about loyalties. The Order was loyal to knowledge, academics, ‘stead of the monarchy. Afraid they wouldn’t be loyal to him when he ascended the throne. Wanted to burn the buildin’ to ashes.”
“But why?”
He shrugged. “There’re theories, but nobody really knows. For certain anyway.”
Thea slammed a book shut, the sound echoing through the chambers and picked up another, not bothering to put it back in its slot.
“He started a war not long afterwards, against our kind,” she said. “That’s why he was afraid The Order wouldn’t be in his pocket. Not that it mattered in the long run, he’s still remembered as one of the worst rulers that ever sat on the throne.”
“Mass knowledge is too much power,” Fitz said, as if reciting the words of another.
“He sent somebody to come all the way down over here…to burn down a building?” The town of Ginsval was in the southernmost region of Rhea towards the east and that seat of the monarch, Larinati was in the central part of the nation.
Fitz’s fingers drummed on the dust covered wood of the shelf. “Allegedly if the Rose Order knew the King’s plans they would have revolted. Or a large portion of them would have. Enough to make the difference.”
“Oh. Makes sense,” Vesna squatted on the ground.
“Right, such ‘A long and complicated history with Espers’ or whatever,” Thea commented. “Not much complication.”
“So what does this mean?” Avery asked. “I found a lost library but for some reason it’s in the wrong location.” She looked at the three people in her company; two Espers with different degrees of knowledge and Vesna, a simple girl but still a friend who was just as lost as she was. “What now?”
What would it mean for their modern day?
“Who knows?”
“Ain’t got a clue.”
“How should I know?”
She groaned. Great.
Fitz paused and thought. “Somebody could…restart the Order.” Vesna smacked him lightly on the back of the head. “That was unnecessary,”
“Quit talkin’ like that.” She nodded at Thea who still had an air of sadness to her. “Some people are still processin’’.”
“This is good though ain’t it? Why not…”
Bring the Order back. She couldn’t say the words.
Thea’s jaw clenched. “As far as I’m concerned, there’s no point in the Rose Order anymore. Whatever King now is going to want to burn it down himself. Or use anything in here and then burn it down. Mark. My. Words.”
“Queen,” Vesna corrected.
“Oh, they allow those now?”
“Wait, wait, why would she do that? It’s a miracle this place even survived mostly intact?” She asked.
Why would anybody do that? She thought of the greater community of Professors, Teachers, Historians, Archaeologists; any preserver of knowledge and ancient text. What would they do with themselves if given the opportunity to walk the halls of The Rose Orders Library.
And then she thought of people and remembered that they were multifaceted.
The things that had been left behind, the relics of history were not evil; they were objects, ideas on a page. It was the people who were evil, carrying banners of representation with no goodness in their intention.
“That Queen, how long has she sat?”
“Less than three years,” Fitz mumbled.
“The Noble Houses don’t really like her,” Vesna said.
Their desire to have knowledge only to harm others. Justification for subjugation, found through leaders who often distort truths and facts, manipulating them into their own twisted lines of logic for their selfish desires: money, power, conquest.
Thea crossed her arms over her chest, leaned against the shelf and gave them a smile dripped in sarcasm. “What do you think it means?”
Vesna inhaled. Fitz brought his hands to his face and rubbed his forehead bringing his hands downward and shook his head at his dreaded epiphany. “Accomplishing what your ancestors could not.”
“She would want to burn this place to ashes.” Ice filled her veins.
Are you afraid to get married and why?
Hell yeah !!!
Let me introduce you to Jenny.
She and few of her friends got transferred from Chennai office to our office in Mumbai.
She and one of her male friend (lets name him Rohan) were very good friends.
Few months later, they started dating.
Now, it was supposed to be a secretive relationship but in corporate world, nothing is a secret.
We used to go out for night outs in a group but these two were couples even in a group.
They were so much in love.
Months later, we got news that Jenny’s marriage has been arranged.
She will be going back to Chennai for her marriage, and working from there after marriage.
We could see a change in Rohan, he seemed disinterested in work which was quite obvious.
She left Mumbai, got married in Chennai in a grand wedding.
Rohan used to get calls everyday.
I remember picking up a call one day after Jenny’s wedding day.
She : May I speak to Rohan ?
Me : He is away, I will inform him once he is back. Btw, you sound like Jenny.
She : Okay, I will call later.
And bangs the receiver.
She used to call him everyday.
Now I am getting news that she is filing for divorce and asking for alimony.
In all this drama, tell me what is that guy’s fault who got married to Jenny ?
He will be paying for alimony.
He will be getting divorced.
He will be hit mentally.
This scares me.
For no fault of mine, I will have to pay a huge compensation, not just financially but also mentally.
Btw, this is not the first scene I have heard about, this is more of a trend these days.
Why China Will Win The Space Race!
A great overview of the Chinese space program. And it is compared to the USA NASA “plan”.
Who is China’s real hero, and why?
Caption: A Building for female immigrant workers in Shenzhen in 1985. By Zhu Xianmin
In my heart, the China’s real hero is not an individual, but a group—the Chinese people.
Before the First Opium War in 1840, the Chinese people, through their diligence and wisdom, had created one of the most powerful nations in the world. After 1840, China was bullied by Western powers and became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country. But the Chinese people did not yield. They explored various paths to save the country. In 1911, the Republic of China was established, the first democratic republic in Asia. In 1931, Japan invaded China, and the Chinese people embarked on a 14-year War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The Chinese people displayed immense courage, tenacity, and the spirit of sacrifice. Incomplete statistics show that during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the number of Chinese military and civilian casualties reached 35 million! Chinese people fought to defend the country and maintain the freedom and dignity of the nation, making significant contributions to the global struggle for justice.
In 1949, the People’s Republic of China was established. The Chinese people almost built their country from scratch, and by 1956, they had established a complete industrial system. The 10-year Cultural Revolution brought new devastation to China, but the Chinese people once again rose from the pain and have since the reform and opening up in 1978, continuously created economic development miracles. Behind the rapid economic growth are the relentless work of assembly line workers, the longing for reunions of left-behind children, and the blood and tears of construction workers, sleepless delivery guys… All the miracles are the result of the labor, dedication, and resilience of the Chinese people.
“The people are the creators of history, the true heroes.” as President Xi Jinping said in his speech on the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China. I cannot agree more.
Vintage World War II photos
Men are treated as disposable BUT they are the ones who built and are holding society together!
Great rant.
Congress moves to automate the draft for men. Govt never acknowledges the hard work and sacrifice men have endured to build and maintain a safe & efficient society. Well men are walking away from more than women so I’m not sure how this is all going to go for the rich men north of Richmond who will gladly use men as pawns in their real life game of Risk.
Hours had already passed as we walked aimlessly. I felt the wind beginning to whistle, bringing with it the deadly cold of the desert night. We set up our tent and lit our campfire.”Honestly, Tom. You know this is a fairy tale. Sure, we have some evidence, but that´s nothing like the Indiana Jones movies you loved so much when we were teenagers.”Leo’s pessimism had become routine over the past month. After being fired from his job as a chemistry teacher, it seemed another person had taken over his body.”Man, I get it. But we agreed to do this together and we’ve chased every possible and impossible clue around the globe. We know enough. The Great Library of Alexandria was never burned, it was hidden!””Only you believe that, Tom… I don’t know what made me agree to this. Tomorrow is our final deadline. According to the map, it should be here, and we found nothing today.””Leo, you and I are teachers. It´s true I’m a history teacher, which would be much cooler for me to see what´s inside the library, but imagine how many other things we may find. We always dreamed of this.”I had little bargaining power left. In fact, we had been here for nine days and hadn’t found a single old scroll.”Tomorrow, the last day.””Okay. Let’s search behind that dune at sunrise and then near that yellow rock we haven’t checked yet,” I said, pointing to the locations.We got up early. We quickly packed our backpacks and left our tent there to save time; we could collect everything on our way back. We had little time before the sun became scorching.
“Yes, as we imagined… Nothing behind this stupid pile of sand.”
“Yeah, let’s head to the rock.”
By the time we arrived, it was almost 11 AM, and we managed to shelter from the sun behind the shadow cast by the rock.
“Look at this, Leo! It looks like a crank!”
“Hm… That’s not a crank.” Moving closer to examine it, he continued:
“It’s a miniature sundial. Notice the markings around it, they’re symmetrical…”
“Wow, what are the chances this is related to the Library?”
“There are lots of these sundials out there, stop trying to find connections in everything. And please don’t touch it. You could break it. Later, the local authorities will see and say you vandalized some random historical site. I don’t want trouble, Tom, let’s just go home.”
“Okay. Let’s wait for the sun to go down a bit, and we’ll head back to the tent. I can’t believe we found nothing.”
As soon as I said that, I felt a sudden tremor. The ground beneath the rock began to open, revealing the entrance to a monumental staircase. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Everything seemed meticulously well-preserved, almost as if a supernatural force was keeping everything in perfect condition.
“I can’t believe it.” Leo said.
“Neither can I, but look at the sundial! It’s noon now, maybe this door only opens when the sun is directly above us! Let’s go, quickly!”
We rushed in, and I hadn’t seen a trace of a smile on his face in a long time. It seemed a spark had ignited. For a brief moment, he looked like my childhood brother.
The passage led us to an underground chamber of unimaginable proportions. I could hear echoes of sounds I couldn’t even understand where they were coming from. Illuminated by the same magical glow as the stairs, I slipped on one of the stone pieces forming the floor, so polished and well-maintained they were. Shelves upon shelves of ancient scrolls, books, and artifacts filled the space, relics from another time.
In the center of the chamber stood a solitary figure, a man with flowing hair and a robe that didn’t seem from such a distant era.
“Welcome, travelers,” said the man, his voice echoing through the chamber. “I am Klygor, the Guardian of the Library.”
I stepped closer, Leo behind me. “Is this truly the lost Library of Alexandria?”
Klygor nodded. “Indeed, it is. Preserved in secrecy for centuries, hidden from the ravages of time and man. Only those worthy of gathering all the clues and enduring ten days in the desert sun can enter, and once inside, they may stay for only a month, learning all the library has to offer. But beware, you can take nothing with you except what you carry in your minds.”
We couldn’t waste any time.
“Leo! I found out that Socrates never actually existed. Plato invented this character, but the ideas were almost all his!”
“Interesting. I’m discovering many things too…”
Each day that passed, I got fewer answers from him
“Let’s sleep, man. We’ll continue studying more tomorrow.”
“Feel free… I’ll sleep later.”
Everyday, I slept and woke up with him already reading and searching for new things. But it seemed the more he read, the more his soul faded. Like a drug addict, the more you use or smoke something, the greater the amount needed for the same effect.
He was searching for something that wasn’t there.
“Leo, what are you looking for? Talk to me.”
“I… I want to learn more. The only thing I know how to do is learn.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone tells me I don´t know how to be a good teacher. Maybe they are right.”
” Yes, you do like learning new things, but you always loved teaching!”
“No, Tom. I don’t know how to teach and never did. I was just very good at grasping things at first glance.”
We had reached our last day.
“Hey, Klygor. Where are you!?” I shouted.
“I am here, traveler Tom. At the foot of the Staircase, awaiting your departure… Time is running out.”
“Leo, it’s time. Let’s go, we’ve seen everything we needed, we have material to tell people for ages!”
“Wait, Tom. I’m just finishing this piece of parchment. It seems interesting…”
“No, man!! We don’t have any more time, let’s go!”
“I have nothing to do out there, Tom. It’s the second time I’ve been fired, schools always say I lack the necessary teaching skills.”
“What are you talking about? Every week while we still lived with our mother, we received letters from students thanking you, saying you changed their lives. I never received anything like that!”
“You were never fired.”
Silence. I had no response to that.
“You taught me everything I know about the art of teaching. If you don’t know, I don’t know either.”
“None of that matters… That’s not how the world works, and you know it. Sometimes, I feel I should have just kept quiet and accepted teaching the way the principals wanted.”
“Leo… what’s worth more, a student transformed for life or a happy principal?”
“Huh? tell me, now. You always – ”
“Gentlemen, I must interrupt. If you don’t leave within moments, one will have to stay and become the new guardian of the Library. That’s what happened to me almost 90 years ago. I was so focused on some revelations completely different from our History, that I didn’t notice the suns rising and setting. When I realized it, the former librarian had already left, sealing here forever. You’re the first I’ve seen in all this time. I’m doing you the favor of letting you decide; I don’t want to leave here with negative energies from having tricked someone.”
“Give us five minutes!”
“I’m not the one controlling the magic of this place. I’m waiting at the top of the stairs until the final moment.”
“Leo, it’s now, let’s go!”
“I’m not going, and you know it…”
“Please, I don’t know how to teach without your advices!”
“Tom, I found a spark of happiness here. Knowing that at least learning is something I’ve always been able to do and no one could take that away from me… ”
I heard the sands starting to assemble. I ran up as fast as I could, and at the last moment, I turned to see him one last time.
In the distance, I could see, with the same sad face, he opened another book.
What do you do if you board a flight and the overweight person you are seated next to spills into your seat?
Even worse, I was sandwiched between two obese sisters. They had booked a window and an aisle seat, assuming that no one would buy a middle seat. But the flight was full. I was 6′2″ and fit, so not exactly tiny myself. They were overheating, sweating and overlapping a lot into my space. I could have handled the touching, but the heat was overwhelming. I talked to the flight attendant ,there were no empty seats anywhere, but I already knew that. So I talked to the sisters, they were embarrassed, but also feeling discriminated against. They had to pay extra for seat belt extensions, so the airline knew that they were large, and had still sold a seat to a man to sit between them.
We worked out a deal, they would take the window and middle seats, we would lift all the arm rests, so that they could use a little of my aisle seat. I could lean into the aisle, so I could cool off, and I could get out and walk around easily when I was overwhelmed.
I survived, it was only a three hour flight.
Have you ever found something in your home that was hidden by the previous owners?
No, but I found something in my car that was hidden by the previous owner. Pot, and a lot of it
I must explain how it happened. Many years ago I started a new job in rural Iowa and had no transportation. A friend said his nephew could get me a used car, and I would pay him with my first two paychecks. Apparently his nephew was owed some money by someone, so he would take the car as payment of the debt, then sell me the car. I was aware his nephew was working full time, but was occasionally making money as a middleman distributing pot.
The car ran fine, and I paid him off within a few weeks. It helped me get back on my feet, and I was grateful for his help.
After a few months, I returned to Texas. My dad noticed one of my tail lights was out, and wanted to replace it for me. When he took off the plastic covering , we found a lot of dried weeds mixed with dry mud. It looked like it was there for a long time. We thought it had just accumulated over many years since it was an older car. We also found the same stuff within the other tail light. We replaced the bulb and thoroughly cleaned both sides with some strong chemical spray cleaners. I thought there wasn’t anything unusual.
About a year later, when I was returning to the Midwest, I got pulled over by a state trooper. Being a Hispanic coming out of South Texas, I was profiled and pulled over quite often. However, this time, one of their dogs went nuts sniffing that back fender area. They called in extra troopers and took the back part of my car apart. The trooper told me this was their best dog, and he was never wrong when he reacted that way. He was certain I had drugs hidden in the car. After an hour of an extremely thorough search, they found nothing. They reluctantly apologized (it wasn’t sincere), and let me go.
I didn’t realize until years later that the stuff my dad and I cleaned out of the back end was pot. It looked like it had been there for about ten years. I believe my friends nephew had no knowledge it was there.
Anyway, it just made me believe why they said it was their best dog, and he was NEVER wrong. After many years of being mixed with dried mud, and thoroughly removed, the dog still detected the pot. Furthermore, we cleaned the area thoroughly with strong chemical cleaners.
I’ve always wondered if I would have been arrested if I hadn’t removed the old dried mud mixed with pot. It looked like it had been there for longer than I owned the car. But I was still transporting a lot of it across state lines. I’ll never know.
These Women Reveal Why Men Are Walking Away From EVERYTHING
Asparagus Pizza
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds asparagus
8 large mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
Mix butter flour and salt until the flour resembles peas, add water and mix until you have a rollable dough.
Place on floured surface and roll out to 1/8 inch thick and in a circle.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and place either a pizza stone or cookie sheet upside down in oven.
Place dough on a board that you can slide it off from into the oven and have a little cornmeal under the dough to help make it slide better. Turn the edges of the dough in about 1/4 inch and crimp at intervals to make a nice ruffly edge to your pizza, it will get crusty.
Cover the dough with the cheese and set aside.
Trim the asparagus and blanch it for 3 minutes in boiling water in a shallow pan.
Remove from pan and quickly dip in cold water to stop cooking process. Pat dry with paper towels and place in a pinwheel fashion around pizza dough with the stems meeting in the center and making a mound, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and slide into the oven on hot surface of pizza stone or cookie sheet and bake for about 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
Remove from oven and cut into serving size pieces.
While pizza is baking slice mushrooms and place a small amount of olive oil in skillet and add shallots and garlic cook for about 3 or 4 minutes and add mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes.
Add just about 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and stir; remove from heat. Spoon a little on each slice of pizza and serve.
I wonder how many Americans quite understand what the US is facing in its aggressive confrontation with China. Washington clearly prepares the public for another unnecessary war. Given America’s routine defeat in war and catastrophic miscalculations in fighting small powers, picking a fight with what, increasingly, is again becoming the Middle Kingdom seems less than bright. Yet within the Beltway there is the usual smug complacency, the unshakable arrogance that appears to think the China is just a big Norway or Guatemala that needs to be put in its place.
A quick glance at China:
China easily leads the world in civil engineering, building roads, bridges, ports, rail lines, long-distance high-voltage transmission lines, and digital infrastructure. People returning from China, including yours truly, discribe it as being like coming back from a more-advanced planet.
“Washington seems to suffer a recto cranial inversion, imagining a superiority it only barely has but probably, all things considered, doesn’t.”
Everyone talks about the high-speed trains, with good reason: 180 miles per hour, quiet, comfortable, huge windows, with very short stops at villages between major cities, giving rural populations the speed of air travel without the nuisance. By contrast, American rail looks like something out of 1955.
The importance of civil engineering is more than symbolic. Infrastructure facilitates commerce. China is of course the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. By contrast, America simply ignores infrastructure, spending instead on the military and long since having largely abandoned manufacturing.
China leads the world in ship-building, with South Korea being another major player in this game. America has almost no ship-building except for military, and this has been criticized by the Government Accounting Office for primitivism and slowness. Ship-building obviously is important for commerce, and also for military purposes–China now having the world’s largest navy.
China leads the world in Five G, in patents, technology, manufacturing capacity, installed base. This is not always well understood. Five G allows the transmission of large amounts of data with short response times–high throughput, low latency, as we say. Huawei now has what it calls Five. Five G, an improved version. Five G is important for controlling factories, smart cities, and so on. Beijing takes it seriously, China now having around 3.6 million installed base stations versus something like 100,000 pseudo-Five G base stations in the US.
China finds its brightest students by rigorous testing, and then sends them at government expense to its excellent universities. The US deliberately enstupidates its schools at all levels to make minorities look smarter than they are. How is this going to work?
China dominates the planet in electric vehicles. Its lead over the US is so great as to be insuperable in technology, batteries, price, and productive capacity. If you follow tech news, you see things like a Chinese EV battery that charges in ten minutes. As many have pointed out, BYD’s sub-ten thousand dollar car will find an almost unlimited market in the Global South. No other country is even close. Biden’s high tariffs on Chinese EVs will serve only to allow American companies to continue selling wildly over-priced vehicles to Americans who will have no choice.
China, Russia, and perhaps Iran have developed hypersonic missiles, of which America doesn’t have any. This is interesting. Americans have always assumed technological superiority over Russia and China. Judging by the poor performance of Western weaponry in the Ukraine, this seems questionable.
In other fields, America maintains a lead, or at least an important part lead, though usually not by competing but by strong-arming, sanctions, and tariffs. The greatest of these is semiconductors. The situation is curious. The Chinese have the brains, engineers, and savvy to design and make high-end chips, but Washington has a stranglehold on the equipment needed to manufacture them. However, China has a recent history of horrifying Washington by doing things it wasn’t supposed to be able to do, such as make chips in seven and five nanometer nodes and stay neck-and-neck with the US in supercomputers. But it has not been able to make the advanced lithography tools needed at the forefront of the chip business. If it does, it will be Katie bar the door, but it hasn’t.
China leads the world in production of steel and aluminium. America can’t compete, so it imposes tariffs.
It leads the world in solar panels, leads in technology, production capacity, and price. America can’t compete, so it imposes tariffs.
China remains behind America, but not by much, in aspects of its space program. However, it has an extensive and robust launch capacity, a successful space station in some ways more advanced than the International Space Station, and moves rapidly toward reusable launch vehicles. Years back now, it sent a successful fully automated moon-sample return mission to our satellite, and, later, a combination Mars orbiter, lander, and rover, all functioning perfectly on the first try. NASA and Space X maintain a lead, but it isn’t a growth stock.
There are other fields in which America holds a lead. Jet engines, for example. My point is that Washington seems to suffer a recto cranial inversion, imagining a superiority it only barely has but probably, all things considered, doesn’t. China has four times the US population, the Han by agreement among psychometrists have a five or six point advantage in mean I.Q, and an intelligent government focused on increasing its commercial superiority.
It is all the fashion in America to decry authoritarianism, but this allows Beijing to take decisions and then carry them out, over decades if need be. It also allows a noticeable system approach. In America, individual states or corporations undertake projects like high-speed rail or Five G. China tends to do things on a whole-country basis. The difference in results is clear.
Washington, which subsidizes its own industries, complains that Beijing does the same–but the Chinese system works.
What China doesn’t have is a sprawling, over-extended, low-grade, incomprehensibly costly military draining funds desperately needed to bring America up to modern standards domestically. China is not an appendage of its military. It seems to have figured out that wars cost money and, if there is one thing the Chinese really really like, it’s money.
Sez I, a little more realism in the Yankee Capital might be a good idea, a bit less huff and puff, more spending on America and less on a blood-sucking arms industry. But what do I know?
San Francisco BANNED CARS
This is progressive American.
When People Get Extremely Desperate And Extremely Hungry, They Will Literally Eat Just About Anything
If your family was on the verge of starving to death, to what extremes would you be willing to go in order to get food? Some of the things that I am going to share with you in this article may make you cringe. But you need to understand what people are willing to do when they get extremely desperate and extremely hungry, because the global food crisis that has already begun is going to greatly intensify in the years ahead. Hundreds of millions of people go to bed hungry every single night, and children are literally dropping dead from starvation on the other side of the globe right now. Unfortunately, most people in the western world don’t even realize that this is going on because the corporate media rarely reports on it. War, pestilence, natural disasters, bizarre weather patterns and historic crop failures are creating a “perfect storm” for global food production. It is being projected that later this year things will get really bad in some of the poorest areas of the planet, and the long-term outlook is even worse.
When people get hungry enough, they will literally eat just about anything.
On Monday, I was stunned to learn that a team of archaeologists has discovered that settlers at Jamestown in the 17th Century actually resorted to eating dogs in a desperate attempt to survive…
The first English settlers to arrive in North America ate dogs to survive an extreme period of starvation, according to a gruesome new study.
Researchers at the University of Iowa discovered the remains of 16 indigenous dogs at an archaeological site in Jamestown, Virginia, that strongly suggest the 17th Century settlers ate at least six canines.
Their remains showed hallmark signs that the colonists had skinned the animals, dismembered their limbs and removed the flesh from their bones between 1609 and 1617 AD, the team said.
For many of you, this level of savagery may be difficult to grasp.
By the spring of 1610, only about 60 of the original colonists were still alive and George Percy – one of the original settlers – authored an account of what occurred in the wake of the starvation period.
‘Now all of us at James Town, beginning to feel that sharp prick of hunger which no man truly describe but he which has tasted the bitterness thereof.
‘… Then having fed upon horses and other beasts as long as they lasted, we were glad to make shift with vermin as dogs, cats, rats, and mice,’ Percy wrote in excerpts of his account called ‘Starving Time,’ archived by the National Humanities Center.
What would you do if you were in their shoes?
This is one of the reasons why I am encouraging my readers to store up food while they still can.
I never want any of you to be in a position where you are faced with such choices.
A global food crisis is already here. More than a billion people in Africa already do not have enough food to eat on a regular basis, and 30 percent of the children on the entire continent suffer from stunted growth.
The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) says that in Darfur, Sudan there are reports of children dying of malnutrition.
“The situation is dire. People are resorting to consuming grass and peanut shells. If assistance doesn’t reach them soon, we risk witnessing widespread starvation and death in Darfur and across other conflict-affected areas in Sudan,” said Michael Dunford, WFP East Africa director.
In other areas of Sudan, people on the brink of starvation are literally eating dirt…
There is so little food in some areas of Sudan that people are taking extreme measures to survive.
In the Al Lait refugee camp, they are eating dirt.
Yes, you read that correctly.
So I don’t want anyone out there trying to tell me that the global food crisis isn’t serious.
One 41-year-old man in Sudan says that his wife and children are so hungry that they have been rolling dirt into a ball and swallowing it with water…
Akok, 41, reached Al Lait in December, but has no work and can’t feed the family. At times, they go two or three days without eating. When that happens, Akok said, he watches helplessly as his wife and children dig holes in the ground with a stick, slide their hands in and grab some soil. Then they roll the soil into a ball, put it in their mouths and swallow it with water.
“I keep telling them not to do it, but it’s hunger,” he said. “There is nothing I can do.”
What would you do if you and your family were in a similar position?
Soaring prices have helped fuel a food crisis in West and Central Africa, where nearly 55 million people will struggle to feed themselves in the coming months, U.N. humanitarian agencies warned Friday.
The number facing hunger during the June-August lean season has quadrupled over the last five years, they said, noting that economic challenges such as double-digit inflation and stagnating local production had become major drivers of the crisis, beyond recurrent conflicts in the region.
In areas south of there, widespread crop failures caused by drought have created a tremendous nightmare…
Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi each declared national disasters as crops failed in a region where 70 percent of smallholder farmers rely on rainfed agriculture for their livelihood. Food prices have risen up to 82 percent in some drought-affected areas, while water scarcity has also impacted livestock and destroyed farmland. According to a United Nations report, more than 18 million people are now in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, with food insecurity levels set to increase dramatically during the regular lean season that typically starts in October. This year, the lean season could begin as early as July as provisions are depleted.
North Africa is doing fine for now, but most of the rest of the continent is in enormous trouble.
The good news is that we aren’t facing widespread starvation here in the western world.
But 42 million Americans are on food stamps, and 1 out of every 7 children is living in poverty.
Our world is simply not producing enough food for everyone, and global supplies of food are going to get tighter and tighter during the very difficult days that are in front of us.
Now let’s look at the Wild Wild West of Vietnam
Video is heavy on the girls, and nightlife. But it’s short enough. It give you a glimpse at what the Global South is all about.
New Arms Race! Biden Signs “New Guidance” for Using U.S. Nuclear Weapons
President Joseph Biden has signed “new guidelines” on the conditions for the US use of nuclear weapons.
This was announced by Special Assistant to the US President, Senior Director for Arms Control at the National Security Council, Pranay Vaddi.
“The updated guidance takes into account the realities of the new nuclear era. They emphasize the need to address the growth and diversity of China’s nuclear arsenal, as well as the need to contain Russia, China, and North Korea, simultaneously,” he said.
Notice they did this after 5:00 PM on a Friday. I am endeavoring to obtain the actual new guidance text.
UPDATE 7:28 PM EDT —
A new Arms Race is now kicking off. US is making changes to its nuclear weapons strategy with an emphasis on competition, US sees the need to increase its nuclear arsenal.
HAL TURNER REMARKS:
Remember when the corrupt media and communist democrats were saying Trump was going to start WWIII because he was talking tough with China, Iran, and North Korea? Where are they all now that Biden is actually actively trying to start WWIII?
French President is At It Again; Now French “Mirage 2000-5” Fighter Jets for Ukraine
As if he hasn’t already caused enough pain, suffering, and death in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron is at it again. He will announce that French Mirage 2000-5 Fighter Jets will be given to Ukraine to fight Russia.
He will also announce those jets can be used to strike targets inside territorial Russia, and that Ukrainian Pilots will be trained to fly them, in France.
Looks as though Macron is not going to stop until Russia hits Paris with a nuclear bomb.
Hal Turner Snap Analysis
If it wasn’t so pathetic, it would be laughable that Macron is doing this. His army just got thrown out of Africa by the local tribesmen, and now Macron thinks he can fight Russia?
The guy seems to me to be insane.
We should start referring to him as “Maniacal Macron.”
China Is Practicing For An Apocalyptic War Against Taiwan, And The Western World Is Still Not Taking The Threat Seriously
China has just launched enormous military exercises codenamed “Joint Sword-2024A” which are designed to simulate what a war against Taiwan would look like. Chinese fighter jets are conducting mock airstrikes against “high-value military targets”, and Chinese warships are practicing for a future economic blockade. Most Americans don’t seem to realize this, but once China goes to war with Taiwan, we will instantly be in a state of war with China. The flow of consumer products from China will completely stop, we will no longer have access to the advanced computer chips from Taiwan that we are so dependent upon, and the economy will crash. All of our lives will be turned completely upside down the moment that war with China begins, and that day may be a lot closer than most people think.
China on Thursday encircled Taiwan with naval vessels and military aircraft in war games, as it vowed the blood of “independence forces” on the self-ruled island would flow.
The two days of drills are part of an escalating campaign of intimidation by China that has seen it carry out a series of large-scale military exercises around Taiwan in recent years.
Taiwan’s new president Lai Ching-te was inaugurated earlier this week, and the Chinese government is not a fan of him at all.
And it is definitely not a coincidence that these military exercises are taking place shortly after he took office.
These are the biggest military exercises that we have seen in the region so far, and CNN is reporting that “dozens of Chinese fighter jets carrying live ammunition” are involved…
As part of the drills, dozens of Chinese fighter jets carrying live ammunition conducted mock strikes against “high-value military targets” of the “enemy” alongside destroyers, frigates and missile speedboats, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
The exercises, which started early on Thursday and will encircle Taiwan, pose the first real test for newly elected Lai Ching-te as he attempts to manage relations with the island’s powerful authoritarian neighbor.
The good news is that these military exercises will only last for 48 hours.
But the Chinese are clearly preparing for the day when war will erupt.
Relations between the Chinese government and Taiwan have reached a breaking point, and I don’t believe that there is any way that they will be repaired.
When discussing the currently military exercises, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin issued quite an ominous warning to those that are pushing for Taiwanese independence…
Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin then delivered a warning that included language more commonly used by China’s propaganda outlets.
“Taiwan independence forces will be left with their heads broken and blood flowing after colliding against the great… trend of China achieving complete unification,” Wang told reporters.
It is very unusual for a Chinese official to make such an inflammatory remark.
Usually the Chinese are much more restrained.
Once the exercises commenced, the Taiwanese military went on alert, and potential Chinese military targets were actively being tracked…
Taiwan’s defence ministry condemned the drills, saying that it had dispatched forces to areas around the island, that its air defences and land-based missile forces were tracking targets, and that it was confident it could protect its territory.
“The launch of military exercises on this occasion not only does not contribute to the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, it also highlights (China’s) militaristic mentality,” the ministry said.
Taiwan’s presidential office expressed regret that China was threatening the island’s democratic freedoms and regional peace and stability with its “unilateral military provocations”, but said people could rest assured Taiwan could ensure its security.
When the time finally comes, I think that the first action that China will take against Taiwan will be an economic blockade.
That will suffocate the Taiwanese economy, and it will also cut the main island off from the outlying islands that it controls.
Subsequently, I think that it is likely that the Chinese will attempt to occupy some of the smaller islands before moving to occupy Taiwan itself.
Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow at Taiwan’s top military think tank, the Institute for National Defence and Security Research, said that although the drills would only last two days, the scope is large relative to previous exercises, as they included Taiwan’s outlying islands.
This is designed to demonstrate China’s ability to control the seas and prevent the involvement of foreign forces, he added.
“The political signals here are greater than the military ones,” he added.
Two of the world’s most important chip companies can flip a “kill switch” remotely on their most advanced chipmaking machines should China invade Taiwan, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Netherlands’ ASML — Europe’s top tech company by market value — supplies advanced machines to chipmaking companies. They include Taiwan’s TSMC, which produces, by some estimates, 90% of the world’s most advanced processor chips.
Okay, so they can flip a “kill switch” which will prevent China from getting those chips.
But once China controls Taiwan, we will lose access to those chips too.
And without those chips, the entire global economy crashes.
So we should be attempting to avoid such a scenario if at all possible.
Unfortunately, Joe Biden and his all-star team of warmongers are making a total mess of things.
We just keep getting closer and closer to a war with China, and the Biden administration just continues to make the Chinese angrier and angrier.
The Chinese know that such a war is coming, and they are actively practicing for it.
Here in the United States, most people just assume that everything will work out just fine somehow.
Sadly, by the time most Americans finally realize how serious the threat is we will already be at war and there will be no turning back.
America is the New Rome
This is REALLY an amazing video. Very good. I strongly suggest you all watch it. Remember, 1776 was 248 years ago. If the predictions are correct, the collapse will occur in two years. 2026.
There are events that occur throughout our lives that we NEVER forget.
Maybe it was a wedding, the death of a loved one, an unusual event at work, a special childhood Christmas or just some random event.
Today, I want to relate an event that I will never forget.
It is the view of a half-eaten McDonald’s burger lying on the car floorboard.
…
It was six o’clock in the morning. We were living in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We were sleeping in our mobile home that was along a nice beautiful rural road. In fact, the road ran right behind our bedroom.
I’m half awake, and I suddenly hear screeching tires, and then smash! …. CRASH!
I get up.
I look out the window.
And a car had crashed off the road and smashed into a tree in a light pine wood behind our house.
I, and my wife, threw on some clothes and ran out to the car.
We were first on the scene.
Two kids, maybe 16 or 17 year old African-American, in the font seat. All mangled up.
Why they were during at 90 mph on such a rural curving road is unknown. But they were busted up.
Another neighbor came and he dragged the kids out of the car, and we tried to get everyone settled down.
They kept asking for water. They were so thirsty. I think that they had internal bleeding.
Quickly, an ambulance showed up. Really quickly. Maybe ten minutes later. And the speed and the seriousness of the paramedics told me just how serious this event was.
We did what we could and watched the kids get loaded into the ambulances, and then leave.
Then we went back to the house. But before I left the scene, I looked in at the ruins of the wrecked car. And there on the floorboard was this half-eaten breakfast burger. Sitting there.
It’s an image that I’ll never forget.
That hamburger.
Today…
Why did you leave the U.S. for Canada?
I came to Texas at the age of four. We were on the run from the Syrian government, pre-2000.
Dad got what work he could and Mom made a decent wage working at the hospital as their only Arabic interpreter. Technically, neither had the right to work. We were illegals applying for asylum. Mom’s job was a God send. We could see her doctor friends for treatment and medicine and it made us a little less scared when Dad got kidney stones. We were always afraid of police, doctors, employers, anyone who could see we didn’t belong.
Seven. Years. Later.
Our application for asylum is denied. We cannot legally renew our passports. It is December 25th. We have to have left that day. Christmas. Not that we celebrated Christmas but boy did it feel cold that winter. It didn’t matter the hospital was willing to sponsor us all given all the community and unpaid work my mother did for them, plus being their only Arabic interpreter. We get it. We aren’t wanted.
With our passports expired, we can’t fly anywhere. It was time to try Mexico or Canada. We didn’t speak Spanish and had a friend disappear up north so we figured we might as well try Canada. We had very “America” centric studies when it comes to…geography or the world really so in our heads, Canada was a frozen tundra populated by great bearded lumberjacks in plaid. We start driving from Texas, two days and two nights, two parents, five kids ranging from 11 to…I don’t even remember my youngest brother’s age at the time, he was a toddler at the time (around twelve months old), terrified that if we are stopped, we will be deported back to Syria. Asad wasn’t a nice guy then either. The country has been under martial law since before my father was born and ironically, only shortly before the civil war was it “out of martial law”. Yeah right. We drove through snow for the first time. We had ice in Texas rarely, terrible hail, tornadoes but not snow. It was fascinating for the first five minutes until we felt the chill. Thin Texas blankets didn’t keep out the cold and we huddled the best we could.
We made it to the border and the agent asked us where we were going.
“Anywhere out of here. Our application for asylum was denied”.
“I see. Welcome to Canada. You’ll be safe here. Please drive on in to the right”.
My memory is a little hazy at this point. They pulled us over and we spent many hours in a building. At least it was warm and there were some educational books with pictures I could use to keep my little sisters and brothers occupied with. Big shots weren’t in so early on the 28th.
Fast forward, our application is accepted. We become landed immigrants, eventually citizens. I get to live in a country that understands there is a whole world out there besides just our country. A country that cares for its vulnerable people and people don’t fear to see a doctor for illness. Where if you bump into someone, both people say “Sorry!”. Where a member of parliament knocked on my door reminding us to vote.
So what made me leave the U.S.A. for Canada? Divine providence.
Famous Professor Jin gave an English Podcast. Taiwan Unification within 4 YRS! Likely by force.
Professor Jin made a English podcast, saying Taiwan will not have another Presidential Election.
Pretty good, and the details are unique. Worth watching or listening to.
THEY KEPT POKING THE RUSSIAN BEAR THINKING THEY COULD TEAR OUT ITS CLAWS
Looking at it from the ivory towers of Washington and London it all looked pretty straightforward. It had worked in Afghanistan in the Seventies so why not now? But things had changed…
Of course they knew what they were doing. They were dumb, but they were not stupid… if you know what I mean. They surely did know what they were doing. They knew precisely and in great detail the trap they were laying. All it would take to bring Russia down was to just keep on poking the Russian bear and lure it into the trap they had prepared for it.
The goal they set for themselves was clear. Eliminate Russia as a nation that could seriously oppose their desire for global hegemony, to weaken it and to unbalance it to the point where the present leadership and government would be so undermined they could be easily ousted and replaced. Once done they could set about carving Russia up into manageable pieces.
All the elements with which to do the above they believed were in place. There was no way, they thought, that Russia could withstand what they had poised ready for it. All they needed in order to bring most of the rest of the world along with them was ‘just cause’. Was the 2014 coup in Ukraine part of that plan? Was it meant to neatly dovetail into all that was to come as a consequence? I suspect it was and that the resistance to that coup in the Russian-speaking east of the country would rise up as a consequence.
Whether the Maidan coup in 2014 and its inevitable consequences were all part of the plan or whether it was merely a launch point that was spotted eagerly by the neoconservatives who needed such a moment is unknown as yet. If it was all part of the plan to ‘get Russia’ the first hiccup came with the success of the self-defence forces of eastern Ukraine against the Kiev regime’s rather lackluster army. By 2015 it was clear that things were going very wrong for the West on that front.
The Minsk process, initiated by Angela Merkel through a plaintive plea to Vladimir Putin asking for diplomacy to take centre stage, began and continued until it finally foundered in 2021. Upon its demise Ms Merkel, along with Petro Poroshenko confessed that they had never had any intention of seeking peace but had simply used Minsk as a means to building up the Ukrainian army to NATO standards. The plan was back on track.
This was when the poking of the Russian bear began in earnest. Up to this point there had been the (unreported in the West) shelling of the civilian populations of the Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. This continues right up to the present day but by 2021 had been occurring daily and nightly since 2014. Though Petroshenko, Ukrainian president through most of this period continually said Russia had invaded Ukraine it was in fact predominantly the male and female populations of Donetsk and Lugansk who were defending these regions with the help of a few hundred Russian volunteers. The plan required that the ‘Russian Invasion’ meme stick and the evidence for such an invasion simply was not there.
So, start poking the Russian bear harder and if possible get it into a corner from which it would have to break out sooner or later. Russia’s efforts over the best part of a decade through Minsk to reach peace and reconciliation in Ukraine had been fruitless by design. Now, with no pathway to peace available and both Merkel and Poroshenko basically laughing at how Russia had been tricked, Russia turned to another possibility, inviting both NATO and the U.S. state to negotiate on a new security architecture for Europe that would ensure peace and also include Russia within it. This was rejected more or less out of hand by both western powers. Russia was being remorselessly placed in the corner designed for it and inevitably it exploded out from the place it had been pushed into.
Zelensky was talking of regaining Ukraine’s nuclear status. The shelling of Donetsk and Lugansk during the first two months of 2022 reached a new peak of intensity. It became clear that unless Russia acted now the Kiev regime intended to launch an all-out attack on them. Indeed documents were apparently found to this effect.
Finally, all the pressure, all the relentless poking paid off for the western planners, a cornered Russia, looking at NATO soon to be squatting on its borders and a nation upping its hate campaign against Russia into the distant future, with the knowledge that every means would be used to destabilise the Russian nation, the bear burst from the corner long prepared for her.
The western planners must have been cock-a-hoop on February 24th 2022 when the first Russian troops crossed the border into Ukraine. They had done it, they had tormented the bear into doing exactly what they had long planned for. Now would come the barrage of financial and economic weapons that would bring Russia down in combination with the uprising, the Moscow Maidan that would come as a result.
The heinous, unprovoked attack upon poor, innocent, democratic Ukraine by the dictator-led Russia would bring every nation large or small together in condemnation and unify them as one against this unconscionable Russian aggression.
Putin would fall. The Russian government would fall. The collapse of the Russian economy would bring with it a banking collapse, anarchy and rioting in the streets and a retreat of the nation back to the terrible Nineties. All ripe for regime change, the elimination and replacement of all those the West had long targeted.
Only none of the above rosy scenarios envisaged by the western planners came to be. Their ‘Afghanistan Solution’ of enticing Russia into Ukraine and then laying it low by expenditure of massive amounts of blood and treasure failed. Russia obstinately refused to collapse. The Russian economy began to grow. The Ruble wavered then strengthened. The nations expected to join with the West in condemning Russia failed to do so and instead expanded their trade with it. Public opinion, even in the West was split. As time went on and more people became informed of the entire timeline of events Russia began to receive much more support among them than condemnation.
The plan had gone horribly wrong. Russia was not weakened, but strengthened. Russia’s reputation in the world had improved, not been destroyed. The collective west was being abandoned by more and more nations it had previously considered its compliant proxies. The reputation for probity the western leaders still retained to some degree even in spite of their disastrous regime change wars approached its nadir. Humiliation awaited for the debacle of Ukraine that they had foisted on the world. Half a million Ukrainians were dead as a result of their convincing Zelensky not to seek peace but to fight on. The plan was as good as dead. But still they kept poking the Russian bear… and we now know what to expect next, don’t we?
NATO Escalation & Propaganda – Glenn Greenwald, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen
https://youtu.be/v0TcDSG-YmQ
As a foreigner, would you get arrested in China if you started bad mouthing the Chinese government?
Not at all
Typically they will ignore you
Sometimes they may be amused , they don’t talk much about politics, ask a Chinese what they think of Xi Jingping and they smile and say very little
There are four NO NOs in China that will definitely bring in the authorities:-
Taking a picture in a NO PHOTOGRAPHY zone. They can take your phone, wipe the pictures and fine you between 500–5000 RMB
Live streaming in a restricted zone. That’s a definite fine.
Public Nuisance. So if you scream “Taiwan Independence” or “Xi Jingping is a fool” in a loud voice, that’s a heavy fine
Graffiti & Posters. China is notoriously tough on graffiti and posters so if you spray graffiti or stick posters on public buildings for any reason – that’s fine plus minimum jail time
However these things result in a maximum fine and maybe at the very worst DEPORTATION for foreigners
When can you get arrested?
When your intentions become highly suspect
China doesn’t care about your normal regular critic of the CPC
They however care about those who are organized and funded by foreign NGOs to deliberately forment trouble in China
For instance during the Covid protests in Shanghai University – most students just wanted to go home and they were merely warned off
However some came because they were paid but didn’t know why they were paid. They too were just warned off
There were 7 from Taiwan whose funding revealed an Agenda and they are still in prison after 14 1/2 months
So if you are an average nutcase who screams against Xi and CPC
At worst you will be deported for being a nuisance
If you conspire with a foreign nation taking money to spread Anti CPC agenda, then that’s 5–25 years jail
Tucker Carlson : This is UNBELIEVABLE
What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you?
Sheer, unadorned terror?
Around 1974, I was taking a poop in a Florida State Park outdoor primitive toilet.
There I was, pants down, not thinking of anything in particular, when I felt this light tickling on my “equipment”.
I casually looked down – and it’s a very good thing I didn’t just reach down and scratch – and, to my absolute horror, a giant centipede was doing the royal tour of my genitals!
The biggest native centipede in Florida is the Blue, which can get quite large and inflict a minor bite, and this wasn’t a Blue. It was at least seven inches long, brown in color with yellow legs and an immense head with huge fangs. It was an invasive from some tropical country.
I know I died for 25 seconds. My heart did stop. My vision grew dark at the periphery. Somehow, I grasped I had to keep still or endure hours of mind-bending pain from multiple bites, not to mention permanent psychological damage. And, perhaps, sterility.
If the thing had vanished from sight, I’d probably still be sitting there all these years, wondering exactly where it was.
Fortunately, it climbed leisurely up my naked thigh, along my jeans, antennae waving and legs wriggling, to my knee – where, with a strength and courage born of desperation, I slapped it barehanded off my leg.
It landed with an audible thump on the concrete and scooted behind the base of the toilet faster than any animal I have ever seen.
I leaped in a single hop, my pants around my ankles, out the door, pulled up my pants and actually ran a quarter mile through the woods at record speed, just to get away from it!
It was literally weeks before I would sit down on anything without thoroughly inspecting it, and only in clean rooms with minimalist furniture. Going to bed involved inspecting every inch of the floor and drawers and sealing the doors and windows.
Eventually, the memories ceased, but I still start at the sight of one.
Absolutely SAVAGE! Men vs Women Survival REACTION | Njideka
Vintage
TOTALLY CRAZY: Presidents Who Gamble With Nuclear Armageddon | Jeffrey Sachs, May 18, 2024
BBQ Bacon Pizza
Looking for an easy pizza recipe that’s big on flavor? This pizza starts with a delicious, quick and easy pizza crust and has sweet caramelized onions, tangy barbecue sauce and then the smoky, salty topping of crumbled bacon.
Prep: 15 min | Rise: 10 min | Bake: 8 min | Yield: 1 (12 inch) pizza
1/2 cup caramelized onions* (from about 2 medium yellow onions)
5 slices thick cut bacon, cooked, drained and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
Instructions
In a large bowl mix together 2 cups of bread flour, sugar, salt and Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the warm water. Using your hands, mix everything together until it forms a dough. The dough will be sticky, but it will come together once you knead it!
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough for 5 minutes or until the texture of the dough starts to smooth out. If the dough feels too sticky, add remaining 1/4 cup flour in a tablespoon at a time until the dough is dry enough to work with. Form the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl. Cover loosely with a dish cloth and put in a warm place to rise for just ten minutes.
After ten minutes, turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Placing it on a piece of parchment paper makes cleanup and transport easy. Stretch out dough into a 12 inch round and place on pizza stone or baking sheet. Top with tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, cheese, caramelized onions and bacon.
Bake at 500 degrees F for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing and eating!
Notes
* To make the caramelized onions, thinly slice 2 yellow onions (about 1/8 inch thick). Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place onions in the pan and sautée, stirring frequently, for about 15 to 20 minutes depending on the onions. If onions begin to get dry, add a little water to the pan to deglaze. Onions are finished when they’re uniformly soft and have a rich golden brown color. Season to taste with salt.
What should the United States’ response be if China attacks Taiwan?
The USA should do nothing. It’s none of their business.
Taiwan is part of China. They have an unfinished civil war. Let them resolve the civil war.
The USA has no right to interfere in another country’s civil war or domestic affairs.
Any direct response would risk all-out war, even nuclear war. The results would be a crashed global economy, millions of casualties, and unimaginable nuclear devastation.
As a foreigner, would you get arrested in China if you started bad mouthing the Chinese government?
The term “Chinese government” is not an abstract concept. It has a two-dimensional structure: on one hand, it includes a five-tier system from the State Council down to provinces, prefecture-level cities, counties, and towns. On the other hand, it consists of dozens of departments, each of which can be categorized by national, provincial, prefecture-level, county, and town levels.
Therefore, when a foreigner criticizes the Chinese government, their criticism is necessarily directed at a specific institution within this structure. For example:
“I want to criticize the Environmental Protection Bureau of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China,”
or
“I want to criticize the Town Government of Xinhua Street, Huadu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.”
The former targets a district-level government department, while the latter targets a town-level government.
In either case, your criticism can reach the authorities through the information channels provided by the Chinese government. These official channels include:
The mayor’s hotline;
The complaint hotline set up by the institution you are criticizing;
The complaint channel on the State Council website;
The local Petition Office;
The local Discipline Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of China.
The distinctions among these channels are:
General criticisms and suggestions (such as a local restaurant emitting large amounts of smoke) can be addressed through options 1 and 2. If an institution is suspected of violating Chinese laws and administrative regulations (such as officials taking bribes), option 3 can be used. If the issue is serious, option 4 is appropriate. If the institution severely violates Communist Party rules (such as party members engaging in corruption), option 5 should be used.
In addition to these official channels, ordinary people can also use other lawful means to voice their criticisms:
Calling the media;
Expressing criticism on their personal social media platforms.
Some government officials’ illegal activities have been exposed through these channels.
There might be minor inaccuracies in the above description, but overall it is correct.
Therefore, as a foreigner, if you wish to criticize the Chinese government, you have up to seven options provided above. No one will arrest you because the issues you raise might be problems that others also want to address. Additionally, Chinese police are very busy with their workload and are not interested in you.
However, if you, as a foreigner, do the following:
Criticize the Chinese government without specifying a particular institution;
Criticize the Chinese government without providing concrete facts, only expressing opinions and attitudes;
Then you will not be welcome in China. In fact, you likely wouldn’t be welcome in your own country or anywhere else in the world. If you simply say “I hate the Chinese government” or “I hate the CPC” without providing reasons, you are undoubtedly just a racist discriminating against China. Whether such behavior will lead to arrest depends on specific circumstances:
Whether you are criticizing or “badmouthing”;
The context in which you speak;
Your purpose in speaking;
The content of your speech.
Specifically,
If you have specific criticism and facts, no one will arrest you because the police won’t do something blatantly illegal that would leave them open to criticism.
If you are just “badmouthing” in private or at a small gathering, no one will arrest you. This is still considered “private space.”
If you badmouth simply to seem cool and provoke the police, you can try saying bad things about China directly to them. Most likely, they will give you a verbal lesson on basic decency—when in Rome, do as the Romans do, be polite and respect other countries—and then tell you to get lost. However, if you intend to spread your badmouthing to convince hundreds or thousands of people, you won’t have to wait for the police to find you; I would report you myself as a troublemaker.
If you are merely making empty derogatory statements, you will just be unwelcome. But if your comments are full of malice, slander, and lies, you will undoubtedly be arrested, and rightfully so.
In conclusion, I’ve helped you analyze this issue. I hope my analysis helps you understand the following facts about China:
Ordinary Chinese people criticize government institutions every day, and no one gets arrested. I personally filed five complaints against three government institutions through the mayor’s hotline last year alone.
The same applies to foreigners.
If you have no specific target or facts and are just badmouthing, it’s best to stay home and avoid traveling abroad, as no country will welcome you.
Rest assured, if you engage in such behavior, given that the incident is international, you might make the news in China and internationally. Your benefit may be limited to becoming an internet celebrity after your release from prison.
Almost all Chinese police officers are university graduates, and many have master’s degrees. Therefore, their (especially the young officers’) English proficiency is quite good, and they are courteous. If they arrest you, they will respect your basic human rights and will not beat you.
Be brave and try!
P.S. Many years ago, in my city, a Russian cyclist ran a red light and was fined by the police. This clever Russian guy said in Russian, “I don’t speak Chinese, I don’t understand anything, I’m leaving, goodbye!” But to his surprise, the police officer spoke Russian. Thus, the communication barrier was eliminated, and the Russian had to pay the fine because the Chinese traffic police officer graduated from Saint Petersburg University.
CHINA MANUFACTURING OLD CHIPS – economic warfare based on craigslist strategy…
Shorpy
What was the best revenge you’ve ever gotten?
In the year 2015, my girlfriend broke up with me after a four-year-long relationship. Her reason was very obvious that she got bored with this relationship.
But the bitter part of it was, that we were in a commitment of getting married and spend our life together. I have never planned for our separation. It was just out of nowhere.
That time I was in my master’s second year. I scored badly in two following semester because of acute depression. Somehow I managed to score better in the final two semesters and got a good job via campus placement.
Meanwhile, I tried to convince her and get her back in my life for three years. Till last year I was running behind her. Tried everything I could do, but all in vain.
It’s a long story and I have put all those gloomy years in a book. So, keeping it in short.
Last year, when I called her to talk again, she replied, “Abhishek, why don’t you understand?” [Abhishek, aap samajhte kyon nahi ho?]
That day I understood and slowly moved on. It took me almost seven-eight months to get over. Now I have no desire left for her.
Oh! You are looking for the revenge part?
Well. Her elder sister called me on this 9th of April(2019). She told me that they(her family) are unable to find a well settled for her(my ex-girlfriend). She asked me if I can marry her? I was smiling. I was a little hurt as it reminded me of everything. But I did not show any disrespect and told her to talk to my parents.
Guess what? My parents rejected the girl at once. They clearly refused even discussion. My mother asked, “Where was she for the last four years?” They had no answer.
The best part of this story is that I did not take revenge. But the Almighty himself got involved and brought her to my door. Earlier I have moved on but had a feeling of getting rejected. But now I am out of that feeling too.
Trust me when I am talking about the Almighty, because four years are more than enough to find a well-settled groom for an arranged marriage.
Be sure
Have you ever worried about a fired employee coming back with firearms?
Originally Answered: Have you ever worried about a fired employee coming back with a gun?
I fired my secretary – she came back looking for me with a gun in her hand.
IN CANADA.
She was a liar and a drunkard – even on the job. After THREE legal letters I had no choice but to tell her, she was drunk again, that she was now, finally, released from her job. She left.
When I came to work the next morning she was there, by the TWX machine – precursor to the FAX, for you who aren’t old enough…
She proceeded to overturn just about everyhing loose and to throw the full coffee pot at me, and left screaming.
I went home to get a camera to record the mess.
On my way back the building concierge stopped me at the garage entrance.
“Don’t go in, Mr. Lindvall, your secretary is walking around, looking for you.
She has a gun in one hand and a flower pot in the other.”
I left.
in the ensuing trial, she claimed unlawful dismissal
The state went after the substantial value of the incoming payment cheques that she had cashed the bank over my faked signature. (I had no signing rights.) and – the ILLEGAL GUN.
A few months later, my secretary was in jail for “illegal possession of a handgun” – a six months prison sentence by itself and for “theft over $ 15,000”.
The bank manager, her friend, fared even worse, don’t steal from a Canadian bank… (They had shared the take.)
ME? Oooh for the hours and hours of interviews with the RCMP, FBI (I worked for a Canadian office of an American company) and the bank security people. No blame fell on me, nor the HR department, all was done by the rule book.
THE TWX machine?
She had sent the same message to about 80 of our corporate offices around the globe.
“This is your official notification, Bengt Lindvall is dead and will never respond to any more business mail.”
The gun? It was a Russian made 9 mm gun, nicely chromed, that she had brought home as a souvenir from her time as a secretary to a Canadian general during the Korean war. (1953)
ALERT: NEW BIRD FLU w/100% KILL RATE, MYSTERIOUS ORIGIN, LEBANON WAR BEGINS, PUTIN CHECKMATES USA
What are some of the coolest ways to react if someone mistakes you for a server in a restaurant and asks you to clean the table?
Originally Answered: What are some of the coolest ways to react if someone mistakes you for a waiter or a waitress in a restaurant and asks you to clean the table?
One night I went to a Thai restaurant wearing black T-shirt and black jeans, looking similar to staff at that restaurant. After I greeted my friends who worked there I walked to an empty table while another friend was still chatting.
As I was about to reach my table, a customer at the table next to mine waved me down and asked me to wipe the spilled red wine on their table. I said no problem and went on to ask for a cloth from my friend at the counter. She asked if my table was dirty. I said, “no, but just give me the cloth” and she did.
I went back to the table and wiped the table. They asked me to clear some plates, asked for more water and ordered a couple more meal and extra rice. I took the order, but didn’t take plates because I wasn’t allowed to get in the kitchen area where dirty plates were to go. I told them I’d take their order to the counter, then back with water and will sort out the plates.
Another trip back to the counter. Gave the order to my friend. By that time my friends had realised what I was doing and played along. She grabbed me a bottle of water and told another girl to clear the table.
I returned to the table with water and told them the other girl would clear the table for them and that the meals would arrive shortly.
Then I proceeded to my table, sat down and started looking at the menu. The next-table guy looked at me with confused face, but said nothing. After the girl cleared the plates she came to me and took my order.
He asked with wide eyes, “Are you a staff?” I smiled and answered, “No, I’m a regular customer.”
The look on the guy’s face was priceless!
MARK SLEBODA: PUTIN NOT BLUFFING, SENDS NAVY TO U.S. COAST | IS WWIII COMING?
Why Are Vast Numbers Of People Relocating To Small Towns All Over The Country?
In recent years, Americans have been fleeing our largest cities in unprecedented numbers, and many of them have decided to settle down in quiet little towns all over the country. There are many reasons why this is happening, and I will highlight several of them below. If this trend continues, what will our major metropolitan areas look like? Violence, theft, drugs, homelessness and international migration have all risen to crisis levels and are putting a tremendous amount of strain on our core urban areas. Meanwhile, many small towns are absolutely booming as wave after wave of big city refugees comes pouring in. People have been leaving large metropolitan areas for a long time, but once the pandemic arrived that trend greatly accelerated…
In the three years before the pandemic, counties in metro areas with at least 1 million residents lost a total 200,000 or so residents annually to other regions, after figuring both people moving in and leaving, according to the Goldman report. After COVID, those losses vaulted to 750,000 in 2021, 650,000 in 2022 and 550,000 in 2023, according to Goldman and Census data. The numbers reflect annual changes through July of each year. A separate study by Lombard shows the domestic migration losses were concentrated in the largest metro areas with more than 4 million residents. Those cities shed a total 400,000 residents annually before the pandemic and have lost 820,000, 707,000 and 591,000 residents, respectively, over the past three years.
Last year, about 266,000 of the big city refugees moved to metro areas with populations of 250,000 to 1 million and about 291,000 moved to areas with populations under 250,000. That made those small towns the nation’s top destination for domestic migrants for the first time in decades, Lombard says. In 2023, the New York City metro area lost 204,000 residents; Los Angeles, 119,000; and Chicago, 64,000, according to Census and Moody’s.
So why is this happening? Well, there are a number of reasons why so many people are relocating to small towns these days. For many, the quality of life in big U.S. cities has become utterly deplorable. For example, one young Chicago mother recently had to wait for hours for a police officer to show up after masked robbers entered her home…
A Chicago mom who called 911 during a terrifying break-in was left on her own for hours — with dispatchers telling her to call her local representative to demand more police funding. Michelle called the emergency hotline six times after coming face-to-face with two masked bandits, only for the strained supervisor to tell her the city’s severe budget cuts had left them with a bare-bones staff. “A gentleman got on and said sorry to say we have no units to send you … then there was an awkward pause,” Michelle told NBC Chicago Wednesday, declining to share her name or face while her would-be robbers are still on the loose.
I don’t know why anyone would want to live in Chicago at this point. Of course the exact same thing could be said about most of our other large cities. Another reason why a lot of Americans are choosing to relocate has to do with taxes. There has been a mass exodus out of “high tax states”, and Massachusetts is one of those that is being hit really hard…
Massachusetts is in danger of losing nearly $1 billion in annual revenue over the coming years as high state taxes trigger an exodus of wealthy residents. Since 2013, migration out of Massachusetts has seen an “alarming” 1,100% increase to more than 39,000 people, according to new findings published by Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. If the trend continues, more than 96,000 residents making a cumulative $19.2 billion in adjusted gross income will leave the state by 2030. The study estimates those departures would cost Massachusetts about $961 million in income tax revenue each year.
In my rankings of all 50 U.S. states, I have Massachusetts all the way down at number 44. The cost of living crisis that we are currently facing is another factor that is motivating vast numbers of Americans to relocate. At this point, we are being told that Mississippi has the lowest cost of living in the entire nation…
Imagine stepping into a world where your paycheck stretches like bubblegum and the promise of Southern charm meets you at every corner. Welcome to Mississippi, a land where the living is easy, the cost of living is easier, and every quirk adds color to the canvas of daily life. Here, your financial aspirations can don a superhero cape, albeit in a landscape peppered with challenges that keep things interesting.
One of the reasons why Mississippi has such a low cost of living is because average home prices are the lowest in the country…
Mississippi’s housing costs are the lowest in the nation. Home prices range from $32,000 to $240,000 depending on the city, with an average of $162,292.
But even though it has such a low cost of living, I don’t really like Mississippi as a place to live during the chaotic times that are coming. In fact, in my rankings of all 50 U.S. states I have Mississippi all the way down at number 33. Ultimately, the cost of living is only a minor consideration when it comes to choosing a place to live during the extremely difficult years that are ahead of us. Much more importantly, you will want a location that has like-minded people, that has a low population density, that has a low risk of experiencing major natural disasters, and that is not near any important military targets. Unfortunately, such areas have become very popular in recent years and home prices are going through the roof. For instance, the median home price in Bozeman, Montana has risen to about $770,000…
Nowhere has the affordability crisis been felt as acutely as in Bozeman, a city of about 56,000 not far from Yellowstone National Park and the upscale Big Sky skiing community. Bozeman, where the median home sells for about $770,000, has had so many out-of-state arrivals over the years that Montanans sometimes refer to it as “Boz Angeles.” As high-end rentals in Bozeman spring up next to historic homes and new arrivals snap them up, a smattering of tents and RVs have begun to populate the outskirts of town: homeless residents priced out by rising rents. Many longtime Montanans bristle at the newcomers, and bumper stickers proclaiming some version of “Montana Is Full” abound, occasionally with an expletive attached. Some locals blame the popular television show “Yellowstone” for romanticizing the Mountain West, luring people to the state.
A lot of Americans now find themselves priced out of many of the most desirable communities in the country, and that is extremely unfortunate. If you are considering relocating to another part of the nation, I would encourage you to do it soon. Because global events are starting to really go haywire, and the clock is ticking.
Married be like
Biden has repeatedly stated his intent to prevent China to be the most powerful country in the world. Why does the US persist in suppressing China to maintain the only superpower instead of striving to improve itself?
It’s basic human psychology. When you’ve been #1 for much of your life, you want to remain #1 forever. You want to continue receiving all the perks and privileges of being #1.
So it is with the United States. It has been #1 since the end of the Second World War. It enjoys all kinds of benefits and privileges.
The USA is a capitalist state. It is largely controlled by the wealthy elite who don’t give a rat’s ass about the American people and their welfare.
This is why America is such a basket case of a nation. Look at all the domestic problems:
homelessness
gun violence
poor health care
declining life expectancy
poor education
crumbling infrastructure
opioid addiction
mass incarceration
systemic racism (“I can’t breathe”)
growing poverty and widening economic disparity
political turmoil (January 6, 2021)
crushing national debt ($35 trillion and growing by $1 trillion every 100 days)
etc.
Biden is in denial. The American people are in denial.
Denial is not a river in Africa.
Aaron Maté: What Happens if US Troops Go to Ukraine?
“That shouldn’t be there…”Wren let the Stardrake cruise to a halt…well, as “halted” as anything could be in the shifting void of the universe. The impulse engine purred in its stasis, creating a soothing background noise as the old adventurer checked the readings on her screens and instruments.The sector she’d found herself in was devoid of any nearby celestial bodies, apart from asteroids that reminded her of driftwood in the ocean. Useful, sometimes, if collected from properly, and sometimes with bits of fishing line–in this case, thick, rusted cables from long-decayed shipwrecks–but simple sticks floating around in the water of space. She’d been on an internal, bittersweet nostalgia tangent about it when she’d noticed something odd pop up on her infrared reader.Something bigger than an asteroid. Or, at least, bigger than most of the asteroids around here.Her first thought had been that it could be another spacecraft, one with more of a population on it than her personal craft, but as it came into view of her illuminators she found it decidedly…organic. Far too wooden to belong in the vacuum of space.“WICR, give me a reading on this.”On her console, a silvery-blue light flickered on. WICR, which stood for Wavelength Information and Communications Relay, was essentially the brain of the ship, though it didn’t often pay attention to her unless she directly spoke to it.“A reading on what, Captain Caldwell?” said the bot’s voice. It really snuck into uncanny valley, she thought, how well WICR’s voice matched the inflection of a standard human’s voice.“Call me Wren,” she said, for perhaps the hundredth time. “Give me a reading on this unknown object we’re facing. It’s too big and too…wooden to be an asteroid.”“Certainly, Captain Caldwell,” he said, a hint of humor in his tone. There were a couple of contemplative beeps and the sound of something scanning, and she looked out the viewport at the object as a grid array appeared on it, mapping out its contours.She frowned, peering closer, then cursed as the grid vanished. “Do that again.”“The entire scan?” WICR asked.“No, the grid array. Let me see it.”The array flashed on again, lingering as she tried to make out its shape. It almost seemed like…a building?“Are you satisfied, Captain?” WICR asked.“Sort of,” she said, leaning back. “Have you finished scanning it?”“Yes. It seems to be a manufactured structure. The framework is steel and lead. The outer shell appears to be brick and mortar, made of what appears to be a mixture of wood, clay, and trace amounts of other materials. Due to the lead, it is difficult to get a reading on the inside, but–”“What’s the architecture’s origin?”“A planet known as La’uck Lao.”Wren frowned as a thought occurred to her. She was going through an asteroid field right now…“Can we get a read on some of these other objects around the ship?” she asked.WICR beeped again. More grids flashed out, flickering along contours before flitting off to the next object. Wren sat in relative silence, a feeling of dread settling in her stomach.She was getting too old for this.When WICR spoke again, his voice sounded apprehensive…or maybe Wren was projecting. “There are an odd assortment of objects out here,” he said. “Most of it is igneous stone. But there is also: Ice, plant matter such as splintered wood, and manufactured metal.”
A lot of random material, she thought. But not quite as random if my hunch is right.
“WICR, one more question,” she said. “Is there supposed to be a star system in this sector?”
“Yes,” WICR said. “The main sequence star known as Lak La’uck. It is a yellow star much like Earth’s Sun.”
“Known by whom?” she asked.
“By the people of the planet of…” A few more beeps seemed to hang in the air as Wren’s meaning registered in the AI’s computing processes. “The former planet of La’uck Lao.”
“Scan for the core of that sun, but keep a grid array on the front of that structure,” she said, pulling out her bandanna. She wrapped it around her head, securing her dreads before pulling on her space helmet.
“Are you planning on entering it, Captain?”
“Yes,” she said. “Maybe I could find out what happened here.”
“And if you encounter a life form?”
She frowned. “Doubtful.” But she grabbed her holster anyway, double-checking the charge on her photon pistol before clipping it around her waist.
The expanse of the black void was cold. It settled into her aching joints with a stinging pressure, but she ignored it–arthritis be damned, she was going to figure out what this was. She drifted toward the building for a moment, enjoying the complete and utter silence of space for a moment, before switching on the propulsion system in her boots and gliding toward the ominously angular structure.
Well, she thought, her internal monologue the only sound in the universe, at least it has a regular door.
The door yawned open for her. Apart from the lines from the array leaking in, it was pitch-black inside, so she turned on her headlamp to look around. What she saw was…eerily familiar.
Books, was her first thought.
Rows upon rows, shelves upon shelves, some drifting in the zero-gravity and some neatly stacked where they’d been for countless days, were triangular shapes reminiscent of books. The covers seemed the same thickness as the pages, and had a dark hue with lighter writing on it, but they were books. She pulled one out of its stasis and flipped it open, examining the lettering–an unfamiliar alphabet, but undoubtedly writing. She examined its texture, and realized these were made of particle wood. The cover had some sort of painting on it; green flames surrounding a figure that looked vaguely humanoid, wielding what was perhaps La’uck Lao’s version of a sword.
She looked around. There were hundreds. Thousands, maybe. She turned off her propulsion boots and “walked” along the surface, eyes searching. This was a library! Arguably, at least in her eyes, one of the most important parts of a society: its knowledge.
Her heart fluttered in sympathy as she noticed the corpses floating in the dead space between the books. Somehow, this building had survived a catastrophe that had wiped out its planet and its people. It was possible that no one in the universe would ever be able to read these books again. The bodies were frozen, preserved, faces masks of horror and hands–or whatever they had instead of hands–permanently clenched as if they had been trying to hold onto something, anything, as their planet was rent asunder.
Or whatever had happened.
“WICR?” she said into the mouthpiece, then froze.
Something was watching her.
She wasn’t sure how she knew. There were no nearby sounds, there was no flicker of light save for her own, nothing had touched her. She couldn’t even pin it on the grid array lighting up a section of the wall beside her. And yet, there was a tingle of the hair pricking up on the back of her neck, the urge to run shifting her feet.
“Yes, Captain?”
She jumped out of her skin, her heart jumping into her throat. She had to be careful of that these days. As she internally reprimanded herself to calm down, though, she took a deep breath and looked around. Nothing but her shifted, and the sensation of eyes on her had gone.
“Your vitals appear to have spiked,” WICR said. “My apologies. What did you need?”
“It’s fine.” She took another deep breath. “Can you look up any other information on La’uck Lao? Alphabet, customs, stuff like that.”
“Certainly. Please hold.”
Wren continued to look around. Carefully moving between the books, she looked around at the architecture. More wood, more stone brick. Everything seemed to be triangular. The windows, doors, even a set of derelict stairs leading up to a second floor that was no longer there.
She followed the stairs anyway, then stopped, feeling the tingle of apprehension return. Her brow furrowed, and without turning, said, “I know you’re there.”
Silence. But she expected that. Murmuring to WICR to keep at his task and ignore her unless she called for help, she continued to bounce into the remnants of the second floor. It was nothing but the approximation of a rooftop now, and she sat, running a gloved hand through waving strands of what must have been a carpet. She faced the entrance to the stairs, eyes on the yawning black hole set in the off-black contours of the library.
Then she turned off her headlamp.
The feeling of being watched intensified. She felt as though she were surrounded, footsteps of a bustling patronage nullified by the blast. If she were to stand back up, she thought, she might headbutt whatever had walked up to her. Black eyes in a black face set against a black void peered at her. Invisible, hollow, and yet there just the same.
These were probably ghosts, she thought. Spirits of a planet that had been obliterated so fast the AI databases hadn’t caught up. None of the people that had been here had been properly laid to rest, because there was nowhere to lay them but a broken library surrounded by the shreds of its world.
“You probably don’t understand me,” she said. “But I want to help. I come from a planet that was destroyed just like yours. I live on a new planet now, one that was built to give people that lost their homes a new place.”
The presences around her stilled, and now she did feel something, a light pressure on her shoulder. It pressed hard enough she could feel it through her suit, but light enough she could tell it wasn’t trying to hurt her.
Or it was, and just unable. Still, it didn’t feel aggressive.
“WICR,” she hissed. “Can you get me the word for ‘friend’?”
“One moment. Who are you talking to?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll explain later.”
She held up the book she’d picked up from below, setting it on the floor in front of her. “I have an idea,” she said. “It might be a little hard. It’d take several trips. But I would like to move this library to my new home. But…well, I’m not really privy to your customs. It just seems more fitting for a place like this to be re-established somewhere that people of many displaced cultures can come and learn about yours.”
The pressure on her arm increased, then fell away. She still felt the presence of several somethings around her, but continued to see nothing. WICR’s voice spoke in her earpiece, and she nodded.
“Ki’lom,” she said.
Abruptly, the atmosphere seemed to change. It felt more…energetic. Twin pinpricks flashed before her, reflecting in the fiberglass of her faceplate. The book she’d placed before her was lifted up, then placed firmly into her arms.
A voice spoke, raspy but warm. “Ki’lom.”
*
Several months later, the last ship to carry the final pieces of La’uck Lao Library descended on the flatlands of Hakshaithlin. Wren and Joa, her friend from Earth, had picked out a plot of land that almost matched a photo they’d found in the old library, and it had been developed–well, about as well as it could be–to accommodate both the library and the cemetery. It was grueling work, but on a planet filled with the lucky unfortunates of the universe, most of everyone was willing to pitch in to help.
Wren stood at the gate, watching a melting pot of workers fix up what they could of the library. She held that first book in her hands–after a few months she was still missing the meaning of most of the words, but she could at least make out what they spelled out. It was a fantasy story, from what she could tell, about a legendary figure from folklore.
She found herself walking down the rows of gravestones. Or, perhaps, the word “garden” fit this plot better. The locals had planted flowers around the stones, greeting the dead into this haven just as warmly as they greeted the living.
A few rows in, she creaked her way into a seated position in front of a headstone. It had been carved with lettering found tattooed on the alien’s arm, which had been confirmed by WICR to be a form of identification. As she sat, she placed the book in her lap.
“I wish we could’ve met,” she said. “I would’ve liked to be friends.”
She felt that pressure on her arm again, and turned to see a pale, misty figure sitting beside her. She couldn’t make out a single distinctive feature save two pinpricks of light where the eyes would be, but she got the impression it was smiling. Or, well, exuded the emotion of smiling. She doubted it would look the same to her.
“Ka’ehr.”
The word barely reached her ears, and in the next moment the figure had dissolved. She thought to ask WICR to translate the word, but after a moment of thought she realized she knew exactly what it meant. She smiled.
“You’re welcome,” she said to the breeze.
ODESA Hotel Along With BRITISH Army Officers Sailed In The Air After Being Hit By Russian ISKANDER-M
What was a loophole that you found and exploited the hell out of?
I once saw one of my customers do something absolutely genius when I worked as a lowly till grunt at Sainsbury’s.
So what did this customer do? Walk up to my till with a basket of shopping, followed by a whole tray of Avocados; I reckon about 30 of them, which I dutifully scanned, slightly bemused.
Perhaps they just really love making guacamole? I thought.
These particular Avocados were nearly out of date so were heavily discounted from £1.00 to 10p each. A pair of Avocados was now a bargain at 20p.
Now, it turns out our Avocados were also on offer. Not a great offer, just buy 2, save 50p. However, the till system was apparently dumb and didn’t take into account reductions before applying this discount.
This customer clearly knew that bug existed.
So those bargain Avocados looked even more delicious when the 50p discount made them cost -30p a pair…
I stared in amusement as the -30p discounts rolled in and their shopping bill became smaller and smaller and smaller, until everything they bought was essentially free. They walked out of there smiling and I sat there, pondering just how dumb the checkout software writers were at Sainsbury’s.
Nevertheless, sometime later I emailed management and told them what I’d seen. Later that year I tried the same thing, but alas, it seems they had discovered the bug and fixed it…
Oh well, at least those guys got free shopping.
All I got was a shit load of squishy Avocados…
China is overwhelming Western Imperialism. Who is the dictator ? “必看”
Artichoke Dip Pizza
An entire pizza topping devoted to the delicious and popular artichoke dip!
Prep: 15 min | Bake: 12 to 15 min | Yield: 1 (12 inch) pizza
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/4 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon minced onion
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Instructions
Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead** on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.
Pat dough with floured hands to fill greased pizza pan or baking sheet. OR roll dough on a floured counter to a 12 inch circle; place in greased pizza pan or baking sheet. Form a rim by pinching the edge of the dough.
Mix together artichokes, mayonnaise, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, chiles, garlic powder and minced onion in a large bowl. Stir until well blended.
Layer crust with 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, topping mixture and remaining cheeses. Sprinkle with tortilla chips.
Bake on lowest oven rack for 12 to 15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with parsley.
Notes
* If you don’t have a thermometer, water should feel very warm to the touch. ** To knead the dough, add just enough flour to the dough and your hands to keep the dough from sticking. Flatten dough and fold it toward you.Using the heels of your hands, push the dough away with a rolling motion. Rotate dough a quarter turn and repeat the “fold, push and turn” steps. Keep kneading dough until it is smooth and elastic. Use a little more flour if dough becomes too sticky, always working the flour into the ball of dough.
Tik Toc
How would the U.S.A. beat China in a war?
Please mark my answer for future reference.
The only way for the United States to defeat China is to make the Chinese Communist Party lose the support of its people. If this can be achieved, the U.S. wouldn’t need to go to war; it could succeed through media propaganda or NGO-led social unrest. In Sun Tzu’s Art of War, this is called “winning without fighting.”(不战以屈人之兵)
What shocked the Chinese the most about the collapse of the Soviet Union? It was that when the Soviet Communist Party was dissolved, this vast red empire, the first socialist country in human history built through countless sacrifices, did not have a single person step forward to defend it. The Chinese assessment was: “Not a single hero.”(竟无一人是男儿)
I believe the collapse of the Soviet Union had a profound impact on the Chinese Communist Party. They realized that if a party cannot provide a good life for its people, fails to listen to them, and becomes a privileged class, turning into an imperialist state that invades or economically exploits other nations (such as the Soviet actions in Afghanistan, Eastern Europe, and Warsaw Pact countries), then that party is destined to perish.
In response, the Chinese Communist Party initiated a series of rapid reforms in the 1990s, continuing to this day. These measures include:
Actively developing the economy to make people prosperous.
Prioritizing industries related to people’s daily lives over military industries, enriching people’s lives.
Efforts to develop agriculture, eradicating famine that had plagued China for millennia.
Focusing on high-tech military capabilities rather than redundant manpower tactics, cutting military personnel multiple times to release young productivity into economic activities.
Continuously combating corruption within the party.
Expanding higher education to produce numerous engineers rather than lawyers or journalists.
Massive infrastructure projects, extending roads and bridges to remote areas to help lift impoverished people out of isolation and change their destinies.
Persistently helping people escape poverty.
Developing the economy and improving lives in ethnic minority regions, driving out extreme religious thoughts and focusing people on the pursuit of secular happiness.
Implementing strict civil servant management, dismissing or prosecuting those who violate ethics or laws.
Encouraging people to learn, study abroad, and travel overseas to understand the outside world, rather than restricting information, while focusing on social and economic progress to let people feel that China is approaching developed country status.
Improving social management and administrative efficiency, addressing every social issue as much as possible.
After decades of effort, the Chinese government has made significant progress in these areas. This leads Chinese people to believe that the Chinese Communist Party can continue to govern because they are doing a good job.
I know some might say, “The CCP has all the power, and ordinary people cannot reject their rule.” But just recall the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s when hundreds of millions of angry citizens occupied government institutions, and many officials met violent deaths. That can be seen as a bottom-up power grab because people felt the government had betrayed Mao’s ideas.
In summary, if the CPC were truly terrible, a revolution in China would be inevitable because the Chinese are not superstitious. In ancient times, when Europeans believed in the divine right of kings, the Chinese perspective was “the mandate of heaven.” Only when secular life was happy would the emperor be considered a “wise ruler” by the people. Otherwise, no matter how oppressive the government was, it would eventually fall. Chinese historians would then record the fact: “A certain emperor oppressed the people, a revolution broke out, and the dynasty fell.” The CPC’s Political Consultative Conference includes many historians who, compared to Western lawyers and journalists, are the real “kings without crowns.” The good and bad of any regime cannot escape their pens.
The lyrics of the Internationale say: “There are no saviors, we rely on neither gods nor emperors.” China, having experienced dozens of dynastic changes in its history, understands well that if it betrays the people and forms a privileged class of its own, its end is inevitable. Mao Zedong’s greatness lies in educating the Chinese people with his ideology: The sole purpose of the Chinese Communist Party is to serve the people. If you find them betraying this goal, you should rise up and overthrow the regime.
As of now, I believe the Chinese Communist Party is doing well. The Chinese people trust them. Therefore, if a war were to break out between two superpowers, how could a country with 1.4 billion people under the effective 100% management of the CCP lose?
Of course, it must be acknowledged that if the U.S. continues to focus on scientific research, improving the lives of its people, and enhancing social management, instead of being run by addicts, minority groups, inexperienced businessmen, Jewish extremists, liars, and a sleepy old man, it will remain a formidable opponent.
But today’s America, while not a joke, increasingly resembles one. China hopes its enemy is the “beacon of humanity” America, not the current version.
P.S. I respect all LGBTQ+ individuals.My first degree thesis was on sexual minorities in China.In China, sexual minorities have relatively free space for their activities. However, the Chinese government prefers that it not become a public issue.The reason is that the United States has a tradition in its foreign relations: certain covert agencies identify obscure topics in other countries and, through media operations, turn them into hot issues. Then, they search for vulnerabilities behind these topics from various angles and have opinion leaders polarize the issue. Consequently, unity disappears, and social conflicts erupt. This is the typical approach of American NGOs, as I’ve observed in my 23 years of experience working on the internet. Therefore, Americans should play these games in their own country.
U.S. Plan To Deploy Soldiers To Fight Russia ! w/ Scott Ritter
Lately, I have been playing around with LeonardoAI. This is a text-to-picture program and it is really, really good. Long time MM readership will know that I have taken a real shine to these programs and I have a minor sub-index (out of date) on this subject.
The system allows you to use different AI engines to generate the art.
Using this as a prompt…
Here’s some results.
Using …
And we have stuff like this…
Personally, I wasn’t aiming for something so cartoonish, but I really enjoy the background. There’s all sorts of messed up hands, birds, animals and food.
Sometimes the distortions can get frighteningly disturbing using this particular engine.
Generally, I switch to other “fine tuned AI models”, and get different results.
Like this…
As I have said, playing around with this tool is great fun.
You can do all sorts of things…
But look at this last one. Those three arms are very disturbing.
If you are not careful, it can get much worse…
But if you are careful, and select your AI engine carefully, add negative prompts and try though experimentation, you can get just wonderful results.
Others, obvious engaged in cinematic art, and gothic themes, produce some pretty spellbinding art. But I like the idea of pretty girls, horse, cats, coffee and beautiful countryside.
It’s my own preference.
But others like other things… personally, I think that this creation is ugly, obese, repulsive, depicts anger, and wears an outfit suggestive of bondage. Yuck. But, that’s just me.
Today…
What has been the longest hour in your life?
January of 2016, my 14-year-old brother intentionally shot himself in the head with a .22 rifle … twice (the first time the rifle shifted and shot him in the ear, so he reset the rifle and the round entered his right temple.
I was at work when I got the news and I rushed to my mom’s house as fast I could … too fast to be honest. I couldn’t even get to the driveway for all of the deputies, fire and EMS crews. My grandfather’s truck pulled along side my car and my mom leaned forward from the passenger seat, covered in blood and tissue and said “baptist” (Baptist hospital in Winston-Salem).
Driving down the highway to Winston, I was a nervous wreck … I would catch my breath between sobs and quivering … unable to drive and yet traveling nearly 90 mph. Half way to Winston, I saw emergency lights in the rear view … the ambulance caught me quickly and had to be traveling nearly 110mph … I smiled … because I knew that he was certainly still alive.
Arriving at the hospital, there was already a family room prepared for us … I saw family members and family friends arriving … confused … scared. At this point, we didn’t know why my brother had been shot. My mom lived in a rural, heavily wooded area … there were many deer hunters in the area, and I had honestly assumed that he was accidentally shot.
We had been there for 30 minutes or so when the lead doctor came in and briefed us on the situation. He said that per evidence that was gathered by the sheriff’s department, it was concluded that he had shot himself intentionally. The amount of sorrow that those words generated soaked in the walls … the air was heavy and our faces were all saturated. I saw my grandfather break down…he had given my brother the rifle…his guilt was evident and one of the saddest things I’ve ever witnessed. I was so convinced that my mother would hyperventilate or pass out that we asked about getting her something to calm down.
This was the first hour of many restless days and sleepless nights. This was the longest hour of my life.
If there was a happy ending to this story you would be surprised … maybe even baffled. The round entered my brother’s brain and stopped nearly half way through. Over the next several days his head swelled and surgery was needed to relieve the pressure. His speech was very limited … his arms weren’t of much use … and he was deaf in his right ear. Through mumbled words and tears he apologized for what he had done.
Almost three years later he shows very little sign of ever having gone through such an ordeal. His speech is great, he has full use of his body, and his scarring is very minimal. He recently achieved his GED and he has just started his first job.
I have the honor of knowing the luckiest man alive.
China, Palestine and Africa
My neighbor called the cops on me on ridiculous things. How should I handle this?
I had a neighbor who did the same thing, called on a few other neighbors too. She had lots of money, lawyer on retainer, and a son who was a detective on the force. I got a temporary Protection order once, which she broke almost immediately. Went back to court she said she never came over and I said “are you saying you didn’t come to talk to Terry and Carolyn last week on Tuesday? (they were neighbors from the other side of me and they rented from her, but we were grilling out on my property). She said “Well yes, but I wasn’t talking to you” Her lawyer looked at her in disbelief, threw his hands up in the air, ‘pen flying out of his hand, mind you’ and I GOT MY PERMENENT PROTECTION ORDER that year. Next yeart the cops would talk to her and then come talk to us. They started coming and saying “how you doing today, she called again…pretend we are talking to us about it, then we would talk about other stuff for awhile, like how our families were, how their families were doing, kids birthdays or milestones, ect. They go tell her we talked. They said she needed a psychological evaluation, so told me to keep track of how often she called on me (she called on me the most, I lived right next-door). One time she even called on a neighbor kid cause he dropped part of his orange peel on her sidewalk. Another time she called 3 times in 1 day ( same cop all 3 times), he told her if she called again that day SHE would be arrested for false reports. Eventually the cops told me to get a 30 day police call log, file for a protection order, AND 3 cops offered to testify on my behalf. I did get log (she called the cops a total of 43 times in 1 month’s time period) and all 3 cops testified,. The Judge even helped by asking if cops ever told me they threatened to arrest her for false report. YUP!! Got that Permanent Protection Order immediately. Her High Falutent Lawyer was so pissed. I didn’t have any lawyer either time. She stopped calling the cops so much, but still cauesed problems for everyone. Eventually, like 3 years later the family moved her to a nusing home on the locked ward for high risk for running away residents. The family told us she had been suffering from Alzheimers AND Dementia for 7 years. Like they didn’t have a clue. That was 12 years ago, cops not called other than on some renters up the block for parties, drugs, fights, ect, but not on any of us that lived here then and are still here. Good Luck, maybe the cops will get sick of being called on you.
What are some of the more culturally shocking things to immigrants in the US?
Gay people everywhere. And they’re the same as everyone else. Perhaps slightly nicer even. No one freaks out over them and they live just like everyone else. So do women. They can do stuff. And say stuff.
Doors without handles or knobs. You are supposed to just push them with your body. It can be your hand. Your shoulder. Or even your butt.
Revolving doors. Just. How. Am. I. Supposed. To. Jump. In. To. That. Mommy!
Costco food court dispensers of straws, plastic forks, gooey green substance, and ketchup. And the wheel of psychopathically small cut up onions.
Clothes sizes. What’s 3XXXLV? What’s Woman? And when it doesn’t say Woman, does mean I can’t wear it? And kid shoe sizes go from 0 to 13.5 then abruptly stop for no discernable reason and start again at 1 (!). Cuts are confusing too. Husky. Does it mean fat? What about tall? Where’s short? I give up.
Camping. We work so hard to not have to sleep on the hard ground, have a hot water and electricity, cook with proper appliances, and be protected from nature.
Huge. Enormous food portions. When we get our first meal in US, we look around for the four guys who are going to help us eat it.
One bedroom and better yet – one bathroom for each family member. Oh god, one can never go back to sharing a bathroom after that. If two kids are sharing a bedroom, that’s held up as a pinnacle of modesty and bonding experience for siblings.
Constant bombardment by aggressive commercial offers. What? You want to give me filtered water? It’s the best filter in the world? It will help my hair grow back? And if I don’t get it right now at a charming price of only $79 a month, I will die from calcium overdose?! Sign me up!
Certainty. Your home will be there tomorrow. Your country will be there tomorrow. As long as you pay your taxes, you are left to your own vices. You can just pretty much do whatever the hell you want. Like build a new life and become less frenetic and more jolly.
Ready-When-You-Get-Home Pot Roast
What could be better than dinner waiting for you for a change?
Prep: 5 min | Cook: 8 to 10 hr | Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 (2 to 3 pound) chuck or shoulder roast
2 large onions
3 large bell peppers
1 package beefy mushroom soup mix (dry)
1 pound baby carrots
Instructions
Cut the onions into quarters and separate.
Seed the bell peppers and cut into 8 pieces each.
Layer about half of the onions and peppers in the bottom of the slow cooker.
Place the roast on top of the vegetables.
Sprinkle the dry soup mix on the roast and top with the remaining onions and peppers.
Add the carrots on top. ADD NO LIQUID.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.
What was your biggest culture shock moving to America?
So you think you’re ready to move to America, huh?
Well, let me tell you, it’s not all apple pie and baseball.
One of the biggest shocks for me was the sheer size of everything – the food, the cars, the houses, the roads.
It’s like they say, everything is bigger in Texas, or in this case, everywhere in America.
I mean, have you seen the size of a standard American fridge?
It’s like a small room in there.
And don’t even get me started on the food portions.
You’ll be like, “Is this a joke?
Who eats this much food in one sitting?”
But what really threw me off was the whole tipping culture.
I mean, in most countries, a tip is a small token of appreciation, but in America, it’s a whole different ball game.
You’re expected to tip at least 20% in most restaurants, and if you don’t, you’re basically considered a cheapskate.
And it’s not just restaurants, it’s bars, hairdressers, even delivery guys.
It’s like, when did 15% become the new minimum?
And don’t even get me started on the whole tax situation.
You’ll be like, “Wait, I have to pay taxes on this too?”
Yeah, welcome to America, where taxes are like the unwelcome houseguest who never leaves.
But you know what really blew my mind?
The fact that in some states, you can still be fired from your job for being LGBTQ+.
Like, what year is this?
And don’t even get me started on the healthcare system.
It’s like, you’re expected to have a PhD in insurance jargon just to navigate the system.
And good luck if you’re not insured, you’re basically on your own.
It’s like, how did the richest country in the world manage to mess up something so basic?
And then there’s the whole gun culture thing.
I mean, I’m not going to get into the politics of it all, but let’s just say it’s…different.
You’ll be like, “Wait, you can just walk into a store and buy a gun?
Like, no background checks or anything?”
Yeah, it’s a thing.
And don’t even get me started on the whole “gun show” culture.
It’s like, I get it, America loves its guns, but do they really need to flaunt it so much?
It’s like, I’m trying to buy a coffee here, not attend a gun rally.
Anyway, that’s my two cents on the whole American culture shock thing.
Take it or leave it, America, it’s still a wild ride.
Trump says he would bomb Moscow and Beijing. And who’d win?
American politicians talk as if the US is on another planet or something. That the US itself cannot be bombed. They think that the US is the only country with bombs.
What do you wish you knew in your 30s?
Originally Answered: What do you wish you knew in your 30's?
I’m 76. My high school and college classmates are dropping like flies. My time is coming fairly soon. I’ve had a varied and active life from stealing food from hotel corridors to survive to owning 4 successful companies and retiring at 49 to backpack the world with my kids. 35 was my best year. I was young enough to do it all and smart enough to see the traps ahead of me. One thing I wish I knew back then, not just philosophically, but at the basic level of my soul: It doesn’t matter. Nothing really matters. There is no point to all of the pain, stress, arguments, hassles, and the rest. I can buy a Lambo for cash and have my clothes custom-made, but I drive a 2,000 Toyota 4Runner with 242,000 miles on it, my pants are almost as old as my sons, I wear shoes I bought in 1999 that still have miles on them, my favorite food is spaghetti, and I tossed my smartphone six year ago. It drives my sons nuts. They want my wife to buy me a new Toyota Sequoia, a smartphone, and something other than the $9 tee shirts I get off Amazon. But I learned something years ago, long after my 30s: It doesn’t matter. None of that stuff made me happy. It gave me pleasure, but pleasure fades and the darkness falls unless you are happy at your core. I am. So, I’d have liked to know not to take life so seriously. It cost me my first marriage and bad relationships all over the place because I tried to grind my way up the “ladder of success”. And it didn’t mean a thing.
Vintage Men’s illustration
Can you share some of the craziest experiences you’ve had in boot camp? Have you witnessed anyone getting kicked out or losing their sanity?
Navy boot camp, Orlando 1973. War is over.
The first days are orientation, haircuts, uniforms, making beds, etc. Then I see a guy on the top bunk, hugging his knees close up to his chest. He’s rocking back and forth, muttering, “It’s just a game. It’s just a game.”
Cheezus. The hardest thing we had to do was fold our underwear.
Number Two:
Recruit Roly Poly gets caught with his girlfriend’s photograph in his pocket, so we all do push ups. That night, a group quietly wraps him in his bunk with dental floss. In the morning, he can’t get out of bed.
At formation, a few guys pick him up, turn him upside down, and shake him up and down like a salt shaker until the photo comes out of his pocket. I still remember his name after 50 years.
Not crazy, but noteworthy:
Snaggle Tooth is from West Virgina. He joined to get his teeth fixed. His mouth is disgusting with black teeth that are eaten away into half-moon shapes. He laughs a lot.
Ol Red from Missussippi is a muscle-bound man with massive legs that make him step like he’s bow-legged. His arms are so huge they don’t touch his side. The chief yells for us to “pop tall” at attention in front of our bunks, so we all race out of the shower, slipping and sliding, and stand tall in front of our bunks. Some are wrapped in towels, some towels drop off. A few giggle at the absurdity but nobody laughs out loud.
Then out from the shower comes Ol Red from Missussippi. His standard-sized GI-issued towel barely wraps around his waist. Slowly, with dignity and a bearing that says, “ I dare you to make fun of me,” he comes around the corner, saunters up the middle of the barracks like he owns the place, walks past the chief, and takes his place at his bunk.
Now we learn something about Ol Red from Missussippi. His body is divided by a giant scar and his skin is different colors. Red, white, pink. It looks like a farm plow has sliced him completely in two, from the top of his head, through his face, down his torso, all the way to his feet. The scar is as tall as he is. Nobody makes fun of Ol Red from Missussippi.
Is This The Collapse of the Great American Empire?
I was homeless in Portland oregon for 2 months in 2006. I met this older man who was drifting and he claimed he was a teacher. He told me to read about the fall of the Roman empire. He told me that America was going to collapse.
What are good Chinese sayings which have no parallel in English?
One is 求同存异, which means to “seek common ground while respecting each other’s differences”.
The idea is that people and countries are different, and they should seek common ground, while respecting each others’ different points of view.
This is a phrase commonly used by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in press releases, especially in dealings with the US. Of course, it also conceals a dig at the US’s attitude in foreign policy, which is, as much as possible, to force other countries to accept the US POV.
…
Another phrase is 守株待兔, which means “standing by a tree, waiting for a rabbit (to run into the tree).
The origin of this phrase is about a farmer, who one day while working his field, saw a rabbit running into a tree and knocked itself unconscious. The farmer walked over and picked it up, and had his rabbit for dinner.
From then on, he stood by the tree, waiting for another rabbit to run into the tree, hoping that he would have another dinner.
The saying makes fun of people who think that pure luck will come to them repeatedly, and become stupid and lazy in the process.
Today, I am playing around with the idea of including some contemporary short science fiction with the daily posts. This will be in addition to videos, pictures, art, and historical stuff. Tell me what you all think. -MM
The moment Astrid truly accepted that her favourite book wasn’t a work of fiction was the moment she decided she had no other option than to eject herself out of the airlock.She wasn’t the first to come to this rather extreme conclusion after reading the title, but the population of Gen-Ship-Six had yet to notice the connection between the innocuous title amongst the recently deceased possessions and the series of grisly suicides that had followed it’s odyssey through readers hands.Astrid had found the book in the redistribution centre. A cold name for the room which stored the warm remainders of lives lived then extinguished, aboard a space ship where none of the passengers were alive at the journey’s commencement and none would survive thought to it’s destination.The system of redistributing possessions made sense though. Nothing novel was produced on the ship, so with each new generation the personal effects of the previous one became more and more sparse as accidents, loss and wear and tear claimed more and more of the luggage brought on-board from Earth by the 20 million original passengers, a hundred and fifty years ago.
Astrid had no idea who the book had belonged to before she picked it up from under a slightly chipped, ornate ramen bowl. The book was ragged and discoloured, the only way books looked nowadays. Astrid had never seen a new book, it was lucky if the titles she came across were in one piece, not defaced and managed to hold themselves together long enough for her to reach the last page.
‘The Optimist’s Handbook’ had felt heavy in her grip as she extracted it from the pile and turned it over to read the blurb.
“When the dark of night feels like the end of all things, remember the blue of the dazzling sky, the smell of keen grass in summer, the feel of a kind, warm breeze on your face.”
The book may as well have been written in Latin for all the comprehension those descriptions held for Astrid. Certainly she knew what grass, sky and wind were, but none of those things had ever brought her joy. The grass on Gen-Ship-Six had a faint chemical smell due to the solution that fed it and forced it to stay alive. Astrid had learned in school that grass on earth was fed by the sun that radiated itself onto the planet’s surface. A blue sky was another story. The 6D cinema in her neighbourhood allowed viewers to gaze up into the turquoise heavens, as the earth dwellers had experienced centuries previously, but the distantly visible pixels and soft hum of electricity fizzled around Astrid’s brain and she was unsure if the experience had been all together as authentic as what staring up into a real sky would be like; The Optimist’s Handbook suggested not. As for the warm breeze on her face; steadily controlled air conditioning was the closest comparison she could imagine, and this was not some kind of devine, blissful feeling, rather, a necessity to existing on the space ship without suffocating.
Over the following week, Astrid found herself continuously buried in the curious book, trying to imagine feelings she had never felt before, sinking further and further into despair as she attempted to accept the fact she would never understand the emotions that the author was trying to evoke.
“David, have you ever wondered what it’s like to smell wet soil after a dry spell?” Astrid asked her brother over a meal of artificially grown steak, beans and brocoli.
“Ehhh, what?” David replied absently while tapping away at his xCube.
“It’s called petrichor,” she continued glancing down at the book to check the word again, not really needing him to answer, or even to pay attention, she just wanted to wonder outloud. “It sounds wonderful. Earthy and deep, but also, sort of fresh and just so… alive.”
This time David didn’t even respond. Astrid looked at him for a few moments then went back to reading. Hungry to learn about more sensations from Earth, even though each one brought her no satisfaction and instead pushed her further and further into despondency.
The following morning she had read about a simple pleasure called ‘people watching.’ This one she felt was achievable. Gen-Ship-Six had cafes where she could go and sip coffee and eat bread. The Handbook had talked about a French deli, beautiful flowers growing up the visage, striped umbrellas scattered around the front entrance, casting shade onto intricate tables and chairs made of cast iron and painted pure white. The Handbook encouraged readers to take to their favourite spot, such as this one, and watch the passing characters, noticing how they interact. Laughter and love, rage and grief painting pictures between friends, family and lovers. Take in their clothes, shoes and bags, it continued, their unique features that make the world rich and romantic.
And so, that lunch time instead of staying in her apartment Astrid sat, coffee dispensed into a plain white cup, croissant sitting on a napkin atop a small plastic table outside her neighbourhood’s pipeline entrance, observing people getting on and off the transport system. Her excitement turned to woe in only a few minutes after she hadn’t spotted a single person who wasn’t permanently staring down at their xCube. There hadnt been so much as a glance shared between two people, let alone a word of passion or anger, or… anything. Also, no one’s clothes were particularly exciting. The Handbook didn’t have pictures so she didn’t know what exactly the author would have seen outside that French deli but she was sure it wasn’t the various hues of grey and black, shapeless tops and trousers, all made out of the same plain textured fabric, that was on offer in her current vista.
Sighing, she put down her coffee and flipped open her own xCube, instructing it to show her ‘French fashion through history.’ She abandoned the cafe- and her uneaten croissant- 5 minutes later, silent tears streaming down her face.
Just shy of a week had passed and Astrid stood at airlock 6754. She had finished The Optimist’s Handbook and stowed it away in her bookshelf the previous evening making a vague attempt to sleep, but no respite came. She had soon got up again and stared out of her window into the blackness of space surrounding her and felt a feeling she’d never really comprehended before- she was trapped. She would always be trapped, she would never leave the walls of Gen-Ship-Six. She would never feel the warmth of a burning star on her face, or smell the overwhelming perfume of a summer garden in bloom. She would never see a sublime Prada outfit on the body of a firey French woman as she slapped her lover and strode away down a cobbled street. She would never gaze out on a twinkling city at night, or feel the calm, cool breeze ruffle her hair. It was all too much, because, it wasn’t enough.
She reached out her hand to pull the emergency handle at the exact moment her xCube shook with a notification in her pocket. Her hand paused in its advance.
“Pick up Astrid, oh my stars, something wonderful has happened, pick up!”
What is the nastiest thing you ever did with your friend’s husband/wife?
Back in the early 1970s, my wife and I were close friends with a couple named Rose and Gary. The connection stemmed from our shared school days with my wife, and our marriages coincidentally occurred within a week of each other. Our friendship remained strong post-wedding, often visiting each other’s homes for gatherings and various activities.
Rose was a striking redhead, and I couldn’t deny that her beauty occasionally stirred thoughts beyond the boundaries of friendship. It was a year into our marriages when a pivotal moment unfolded during an unexpected encounter. While assisting Gary with laying a patio, an abrupt downpour interrupted our work, prompting a reschedule for the following day. When I returned, Gary had been called away for work, leaving me to carry on alone. It was then that Rose appeared with refreshments, clad in a revealing outfit that ignited a primal response within me.
As she settled onto a stack of slabs, an unintentional reveal of her undergarments sent a surge of desire coursing through me. Engaged in conversation, my gaze unintentionally lingered, prompting Rose to coyly inquire if I’d seen enough. Without filter, I voiced a desire for her nudity, a remark met with a sly smile as she led me indoors without hesitation. What followed was a passionate encounter, unbridled and consuming, unfettered by the weight of consequences.
Months later, as life carried on, Rose’s whispered revelation at our doorstep echoed with unexpected gravity – I was to become a father. Initially met with disbelief, the undeniable resemblance of the child to my younger self confirmed the truth. The realization dawned that I had unwittingly contributed to this new life, a silent participant in its creation.
Despite the seismic shift in our dynamic, our friendship endured, albeit marked by an unspoken understanding. The intimate connection shared that fateful day remained a singular occurrence, a memory treasured in secrecy. For Rose and Gary, their family remained complete with a single child, a testament to choices made and paths taken.
Reflecting on the journey, I find solace in the bonds forged and the unexpected twists of fate. Though the circumstances were unconventional, the love and connection shared among friends endured, transcending the complexities of human relationships. And as I watched the child grow, a silent acknowledgment lingered – a silent witness to the echoes of a moment that forever altered the course of our lives.
Smoky Beef ‘n’ Beans
These picture-perfect fall days are my favorite. The sun is shining, there’s a cool breeze and we can start to curl up on the couch with a bowl of warm soup or stew. Chili is one of the best make-ahead meals, because it’s great for lunch or dinner and it honestly tastes better the longer it sits. This would be a good go-to recipe for any tailgate party since it’s easy to prep and hold warm in a crockpot.
I like to serve mine with corn muffins on the side for dipping. For garnishes, cheddar and onions are obviously great, but I would also recommend Greek yogurt (or sour cream), corn chips, avocado and/or pico de gallo.
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
2 cans pork and beans
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can butter beans, drained
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
In a skillet, cook the beet and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Transfer to a slow cooker.
Stir in the remaining ingredients.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours.
Why is the US doing such a bad job countering China’s rise?
This is a problem that the United States cannot solve, because Chinese culture is vast and profound, and American politicians have always treated China with high arrogance, they can not understand China, let alone understand the Chinese.
The reasons are as follows
First, China’s history is too long, and the current situation can certainly be found by looking at the history books. The thoughts and strategies of ancient sages are enough to deal with any international disputes in the world today.
For example, <The Art of War >is just one of many ancient Chinese books, and there are countless such excellent books in China. These books deal with philosophy, strategy, culture, ideas and so on.
Second, there is a huge difference between the Chinese language and the letters language in the world. Nowadays, Chinese middle school students can easily understand the Chinese language of thousands of years ago. Americans today can no longer understand the English of 500 years ago.
Today’s game between China and the United States will certainly be recorded in the history books. When the Chinese people face new enemies in the future, they only need to look at the history of today’s game with the United States, and they will find new ways to deal with difficulties.
Third: China has always been a unified country and has been for thousands of years, unlike the United States of America. In the United States, all ethnic groups only consider their own interests, and people will not consider the United States. The United States is more like an international company, where employees of different ethnic groups form the company. If the company goes bankrupt in the future, those employees will directly leave and go to the next company.
China was divided many times in ancient times and invaded many times by enemies, but she will surely move towards unity, and China will still be the same China. In the future, if the United States is divided, it will disappear into history, like ancient Rome.
There is an ancient Chinese saying: With copper as a mirror, you can be dressed; With history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall; With people as a mirror, you can see the gains and losses.
Five thousand years ago, we faced the same flood as the ancient Egyptians; Four thousand years ago, we forged bronze like the Babylonians; Three thousand years ago, we thought about philosophy like the ancient Greeks; Two thousand years ago, we were on the march like the Romans; A thousand years ago, we were as rich as the Arabs; And right now, we’re battling it out with the Americans.
Added:
Now the American is losing control of the world, Arab countries are slipping away from US control, and Saudi Arabia and Iran have joined forces.
France and Germany working together, the post-Marshall Plan European order would change.
Various Asian countries have also fallen out of US control, such as Singapore, Thailand and other Asian countries.
If the U.S. military cannot change this situation by force, the United States will become an island in North America in the next five years, just as Britain was in Europe.
Unfortunately, the US military is not capable of launching a medium-sized war anywhere in the world, so the United States can only procrastinate until the inevitable split, just like the movie “Civil War”.
The mastermind of all this in the world now is the mysterious Eastern empire – India
<( ̄ˇ ̄)/
Added:
If you don’t believe me, you can look up the modern history of China. The tragedy of Gaza and Palestine happened in China 100 years ago
“Marriage Is Modern Death Sentence For Men” | Pearl Davis vs James Whale
The traditional institution of marriage is facing a decline in modern society, with fewer than 50% of adults opting to tie the knot. This shift raises questions about the future of relationships and family life. Some argue that marriage as we know it is already dead, with the average marriage lasting only seven to eight years. The rising divorce rates and challenges faced by men in the family court system are also contributing to the changing attitudes towards marriage. This discussion around marriage and relationships has sparked debates about gender roles, feminism, and societal expectations. Some believe that men are facing increasing challenges in the current landscape, with issues like infidelity and lack of intimacy being brought to the forefront. Others argue that women have more freedom and choices in the dating world, leading to a shift in power dynamics within relationships. Pearl Davis: "Marriage is a modern death sentence for men. In the future, there will be a lot of single parents, and a lot of people without children."
As a Taiwanese citizen, are you aware that your country is about to become the next Ukraine, a battleground for the advancement of western intrests in a game of resource control between the west and China?
Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe, and most of the weapons provided by the United States are transported to Ukraine through neighboring countries such as Poland.
Ukraine has a long border with the NATO country Poland, and weapons provided by the United States can easily enter Ukraine from Poland.
The Ukrainian army consumes 350,000 artillery shells every month, all of which are transported into Ukraine via the Polish-Ukrainian Railway.
But Taiwan is a China’s island Province, with no US allies bordering it. Under the PLA’s anti-access/area denial, US-supplied weapons simply cannot enter Taiwan.
Moreover, all ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, a vassal of the United States, support that “Taiwan is a part of China”, and the United States cannot find a transit point in Southeast Asia at all.
Once the war of unification begins, no ships will be allowed to pass through the Taiwan Strait, and PLA warships will intercept any approaching ships and aircraft within 12 nautical miles east of Taiwan Island.
Ukraine has been relying on weapons provided by the United States and the West to survive until now, but given Taiwan’s situation, how can it become Ukraine?
In addition, Taiwan is also not a country at all; Taiwan is within China, the island is in Chinese waters, and the PLA’s military manoeuvres around Taiwan are military manoeuvres in China’s own waters.
The End Of The American Empire Is Here
What was something small you went to the doctor for that turned out to be very significant?
I went for lower back pain. I hurt after sitting, standing or walking for even short periods of time. I had X-rays and then was sent for an MRI. I was referred to a neurosurgeon and the infectious disease department of the hospital. My PCP called me on her day off and asked if either one had contacted me. To which I told her no. She hung up and next thing I know I had appointments with both. I went to the infectious disease doctor first and ended up going to the ER to be checked in that day. I had so many tests I couldn’t believe it. And so many different people bothering me. One of the tests was a biopsy on my lower back bones. I was awake for the whole thing. The nurse shot me up with fentanyl and something else but I was awake. Sliding in and out of the CT scan and watching the needle or whatever being repositioned until they finally got it where they wanted. Then I hear a drill and I swear to god it looked like a DeWalt cordless drill. I was diagnosed with an infection of some sort in my bones. They put me on two different heavy duty antibiotics and of course it ruins the vein where the IV is. So they had to move it numerous times. They sent me home after putting a PICC line in that ended close to the heart they said I have, 😂. Six weeks later after doing my own hanging and injecting antibiotics at home. And complications with the PICC line. I had 4–5 mri’s and I have to have disc replacement. 4 1/2 months later I’m told that I’m only “ about “ 30% healed. The surgeon said I was healing slower because of the infection. He said he got it cleaned up but it was a complication that is slowing my healing time. Unfortunately, I still can’t walk, sit or stand for extended periods just like before. I’ve been unable to work since the end of September 2023. I struggle every day. I thought I might get physical therapy and maybe an antibiotic and have been going through hell. I also have a knee replacement coming up. Life sucks.
Can one be a genius and still be totally insane?
RIP Terry A. Davis.
Despite being severely schizophrenic and bipolar—to the point where his speech was often nearly incomprehensible due to the constant paranoid delusions that haunted him—he managed to create a brand new operating system, completely from scratch.
It’s called TempleOS, and it’s an original operating system, written in a programming language Davis developed himself called HolyC (yes, I’m serious). It has is own unique compiler, kernel, and GUI, and includes various applications and games—even a flight simulator—all of which were created by Davis himself.
In his psychotic episodes, Davis believed that God was communicating with him and instructing him to create an operating system as “God’s third temple”. Hence, many of the applications and games that come with TempleOS are religious in nature, for example, a program that generates seemingly random strings of text, which Davis claimed were coded messages from God, or a program that generates seemingly random music, which Davis also claimed were sent from God. There are games that recreate events from the Bible.
Now, you might take one look at this OS and its features, and dismiss it as a piece of junk. And you’d be perfectly correct in that assessment— it is a totally worthless operating system, not worth installing except as a bizarre toy to tinker with. But you have to remember: ALL of this was made by one man, in the early 2000s, whilst suffering from such debilitating delusions that legally qualified him as a disabled person.
Unfortunately, due to his inability to land a stable job, Terry Davis fell to homelessness, and a year after that, he committed suicide. He often called himself “the smartest programmer to have ever lived”, and while that is a very arrogant and presumptuous thing to say, I don’t think he’s wrong. If this is what Davis was capable of while being batshit crazy, just imagine what he would actually be capable of if he was sane.
How The American Empire Will Collapse (Shocking Insights)
When I lived in Milford Massachusetts, I paid a rental agency to find me an apartment that would allow cats. I had three cats, and I was only going to rent a place that would allow me to have them.
Well, sure as shit, I found a place, and moved in.
It was really nice. A three story triplex right off of the main road in downtown. It was walking distance from Ted’s Diner.
Here’s another view.
It’s a fine place for a cup of coffee in a fine REAL coffee cup.
About one month later, the landlord told me that I had to get rid of the cats.
He told me that he had lied, but the apartment was so nice, and the rent was so reasonable that the two other tenants had gladly given away their cats, and he expected me to do so as well.
He gave me one month.
Find a home for the cats, or drop them off at a shelter.
Do you all know what I did?
Guess.
I said “no thanks” and moved out as soon as I found another apartment.
It was in another town though, and I had to root up and leave, but there was no way that I was going to discard my beloved kitties over a place.
The nerve of that guy!
He lied because…
…he thought that I would give away my cats for a place to live.
Sheech! What would youse guys do?
Today…
He lost his job over this
Has anyone walked into a bar and then found it was filled with a biker gang? What happened?
Yeah.
So, this went down during a road trip across the USA a few years back. My buddy and I had rented a Ford Mustang, and we had driven a lot of miles by that point. We where somewhere in Texas – though don’t ask me to pinpoint the exact spot.
Anyway, we were both starving, so we decided to hit up the first joint we stumbled upon. We rolled up to this bar with bikes lined up outside, and I couldn’t help but think, “Well, shit, this might be our last meal.” But, we went in anyway.
We ordered our food, and before we knew it, we had the attention of this rowdy biker dude who seemed a few beers deep. Instead of trying to kill us, the guy just wanted to know if we were locals. I told him that we were just passing through on a road trip.
His response?
“Alright, then lemme show you how we deal with strangers here!”
Next thing we knew, he’s shouting for the bartender to bring us some beers, and his crew’s joining in on the fun. I stuck to soft drinks, but my buddy scored big time with the free beer.
Definitely one of the funniest memories!
US TROOPS ARE 100% GOING TO UKRAINE, NUCLEAR STRIKE ON NK, RUSSIAN ROCKET ON US COAST
Shorpy
Beef in Mushroom Gravy
Yield: 6 servings
Steaks With Mushroom Gravy
The ultimate dinner! Ribeye is the steak of choice for this recipe, but you can also use New York strip (or Porterhouse), Sirloin or Rump. A good cut of beef, even though expensive, is the best steak to cook with and enjoy eating. They stay tender and juicy, and are not chewy like cheaper cuts more suitable for slow cooking.
I have a confession (to add to the other 5 million on my blog). I was never ever a fan of steak and gravy until I met my husband. Why? I prefer juicy, red, medium-rare steaks…and for me, a perfectly juicy steak does’t need ANYTHING on it. Well, besides a good Chimichurri, of course.
However, my husband on the other hand cannot stand juicy med-rare steaks. I know, I know…the travesty. So, because he loves his pieces of well-done dry/cardboard on a plate, I was forced to make him gravy with every steak dinner. (A travesty, I tell you.) That is until I tried it myself with JUICY medium-rare ribeye steaks of course!
Since then, I changed my mind. Steaks are CRAZY GOOD swimming in a gravy sauce! Especially this Onion Mushroom Gravy with a kick of Worcestershire sauce!
If you’re somewhat of a steak snob like me, this Ribeye Steaks With Mushroom Gravy will absolutely change your mind.
Ingredients
2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless round steak
1 to 2 envelopes dry onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 cup water
Mashed potatoes (optional)
Instructions
Cut steak into six serving-size pieces; place in a slow cooker.
Combine soup mix, soup and water; pour over beef.
Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or until meat is tender.
Serve with mashed potatoes, if desired.
Medical professionals, have you ever treated a patient and immediately recognized a previous doctor’s errors?
I wish I could say that I haven’t, but I can’t.
Example?
I had a lovely young woman, that I knew from previous visits. She had had five previous surgeries, for TMJ, by the same surgeon.
Her jaw was still bothering her. This same surgeon was recommending another surgery.
I thought that this was outrageous. If he had any expertise, this would have been unnecessary.
I begged her to get another opinion.
She refused. She really trusted this guy.
Fast forward a month.
Patient comes in to see me. One whole side of her face is drooping. She does not look the least bit distressed by this.
“Hi, uh, how are you?”
“Good”
“You are?”
“Oh, this… (gesturing toward her face) it’s Bell’s Palsy. It will go away”.
“Uh…who told you that?”
“I woke up from my TMJ surgery like this. The surgeon said this is from a virus and it will go away.”
Quick exam.
I call ENT.
“I have a woman here with a likely through and through cut through the facial nerve.”
“When?”
“Four weeks. Surgeon told her it’s Bell’s palsy.”
“Christ! Send her over right away!”
So, now I get to go in and tell this beautiful young woman that the ENT will try to reattach the nerve but most likely she will look like a gargoyle for the rest of her life. Her idiot surgeon had cut through the nerve and then tried to convince her that she had a virus.
This poor girl sobbed into my lap for a great long while. When she regained her composure, I gently sent her off to the ENT.
I’m sure she got a gazillion dollars in a law suit, but so what. Her face was destroyed.
I could tell you other stories. Many other stories.
I’ll just stop here and wish you…
Peace
What’s the most unreasonable request you’ve received from your boss?
On Wednesday before Thanksgiving: “Make sure the production workers come in Friday, Saturday and Sunday. When the production goal is met, tell them all they are fired.” I asked where he would be. “We have a three day yacht race event on San Francisco Bay. We’ll be sailing against Ted Turner. So you have to fire the workers but be sure they don’t know until the quota is reached.”
So while he would be out drinking champagne and sailing on yachts, I would do the dirty work.
On the Saturday, halfway through the push to get a whole month’s production done in three days, I got talking to a small man who I didn’t know, but he seemed to know a lot about me. He said something seemed to be on my mind. He was observing everything in the production process in great detail. He asked me about the VP and Supply Manager not being there. Sunday, the guy was back with more questions. He pressed me on what was wrong (other than spending all of Thanksgiving weekend working for no pay). I eventually told him I thought it was a shitty deal to make the people work all through a holiday weekend and then summarily fire everyone. He told me: “Don’t do it. It doesn’t matter what [the VP] told you to do. Just don’t fire anyone. Everything will be clear on Monday.”
Monday came, and the VP and Supply Manager had both been to work and gone. Fired. The VP of Finance was also fired. The several production workers were not fired. The new VP, of course, was the guy with all the questions. He told me there was only one person in manufacturing or finance who gave him simple, straight answers. Also, what was the point of firing a handful of $10 hourly people when he could fire three $100,000+ salaried people who weren’t doing their jobs? That made sense, of course.
Star Trek II Wrath of Khan – Reliant Vs Enterprise; First Clash 1080p
French Home Affairs Minister Gerard Darmanin has accused Azerbaijan of colluding with pro-independence forces in New Caledonia – the French overseas territory in the southwest Pacific about 1,200 km east of Australia.
“This is not a fantasy. This is reality. Unfortunately, some independence leaders have made a deal with Azerbaijan, this is indisputable,” Darmanin said in an interview with France-2 on Thursday.
Is there any truth in the claim? What’s the backstory? Here’s what we know.
🔻 Baku rejected Paris’s allegations, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada urging Darmanin to “focus on his country’s failed overseas policies” which caused the wave of violent protests in New Caledonia, “instead of blaming Azerbaijan” for its troubles.
🔻Darmanin’s assertions followed the memorandum of cooperation between the Azerbaijani Parliament and New Caledonia’s Congress, which was signed last month, envisioned as a treatise for developing a framework for parliamentary cooperation.
🔻 The agreement sparked accusations by Paris that Baku was stoking separatism in the French overseas territory. Azerbaijan dismissed the claims, and recalled France’s own controversial policies in the Caucasus.
🔻“It’s known that the French Parliament, at the initiative of the ruling party of France, adopted decisions and resolutions which recognised the separatist regime, challenged and harmed the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, and enabled the activity of a ‘friendship group’ with the former so-called separatist regime,” Baku said in an April 30 statement, referring to the Karabakh conflict.
🔻 New Caledonia has been rocked by violent clashes starting May 13 over the constitutional reform proposals to change voting law. Protests have claimed four lives, with France deploying the military and imposing a state of emergency until the end of May.
Nothing can stand the test of time. Eventually, everything must finally, and sadly, come to an abrupt end.
Do you want to know the latest drug? It’s called social media.
Everyone must finally discover the ultimate horror of having sex.
Never pin your hopes on empty promises. Empty promises are things that did not exist in the first place.
What really matters is not believing in yourself. It is trusting yourself.
Most people feed themselves from their necks down, but what really contributes to our growth is feeding ourselves from the neck up.
Have you ever considered why we’ve been watching TV for decades and not yet experienced any change? Because TV was not designed to bring change. It was designed to make us illiterate.
Most people think that change is something that jumps out of the pages of a textbook into the mind. Change is actually something that the mind conceives from within.
You are one of 3 things — you will never change, or you will watch others change, or you will become the change.
Death was never the greatest tragedy. The greatest tragedy is to live in this life and never show up.
The majority of people fall in love through the eyes the first time. That means you should be very careful who you let your eyes come into contact with.
The best way to judge a woman’s loyalty is when her man has nothing. The best way to judge a man’s loyalty is when he has everything.
Fortunes do not necessarily change men as much as it unmasks them.
Bullying is for people who have no confidence in themselves. The reason they do it is to try and shake off their own demons.
To fall in love is awfully simple, but to fall out of love is simply awful.
Retirement is when the living is easy and the payments are hard.
Best friends are like diamonds; precious and rare. Bad friends are like tree leaves; they’re found everywhere.
A stranger stabs you in the front; A friend stabs you in the back; A boyfriend stabs you in the heart, but best friends only poke each other with straws.
The daily grind of hard work gets a person polished but also emaciated and painfully tired.
Kissing is the merging of two lips, two souls and two spirits that makes them one.
Siblings are the only enemy you can’t live without.
Denial is the way we know best how to handle that which we don’t comprehend.
Sometimes those who don’t socialize much aren’t actually anti-social; they just have no tolerance for drama and fake people.
Love is like a tornado; it sweeps you off your feet and sometimes takes half your house.
Sometimes we tend to be in despair when the person we love leaves us, but the truth is, it’s not our loss, but theirs, for they left the only person who wouldn’t give up on them.
You will never know true happiness until you have truly loved, and you will never understand what pain really is until you have lost it.
Sometimes you have to stand alone to prove that you can still stand.
Why do people say “no offense” just before they’re about to offend you?
The secret of discovery is not in looking for new lands, but in looking at existing land with new eyes.
Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.
What is the quickest you’ve ever sold your home?
30 Seconds.
My wife got a new job across the country. She received and accepted the job offer in December and started the new job the following August. (She is an academic, so the long lead time was not unusual). In May, we had started to look for a house in our new city and were getting ready to list the old house. This was in 2021, the housing market was screaming hot, mortgages were at rock bottom, so we were optimistic that this would go smoothly.
Two years previously a neighbor who had lived in his house since the 1950’s passed away and the house was purchased by a friend of the family, renovated, became a rental. One Saturday as we were leaving for breakfast I saw the new owner across the street and rolled down my window to ask if he knew anyone looking for investment property in the area and told him we were going to sell our house.
He asked how much we wanted and I did some quick calculations in my head about what we would clear after repairs and real estate commissions and gave him a number, as is. He said “you got it”, we shook on it and a few days later he brought over a single page, handwritten document. We both signed it and that became our contract. He also offered us $100,000 at the time so that we could put it down on a new home.
When we found our new home, the realtor asked for a copy of our contract to include with our offer, to prove that we were serious. I emailed a scan of the contract and she told me that she needed the whole contract. I told her that was all that we had and she laughed and said “OK, but are you sure the house will close?” It did, and we got the new house. Later the realtor told me that in all of her years in real estate she had never seen a sale of a home go through with a single page contract and that this was the weirdest sale she had ever seen.
I rented the house back at the cost of their mortgage payment until October so that I could wrap up some other business.
We cleared what we would have if we had listed with a realtor, and the buyer got a really good deal on the home which he repaired, renovated and turned into a rental.
I don’t know that I would ever do this again though, probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The WORLD CAN’T Compete with China’s Infrastructure 🇨🇳 Chongqing is the FUTURE!
For so long, China has been painted in a negative light in the West and as such our first impressions of Chongqing is not what we expected. The truth is that Chongqing, China is miles ahead of the rest of the world and the infrastructure is beyond impressive which makes it impossible for others to compete against China. In this video, we take you around Chongqing, China and show you just how futuristic this cyber punk city is.
What’s the most unreasonable request you’ve received from your boss?
“Jane has just told me that she’s pregnant. I need you to fire her immediately before she puts it in writing.”
Jane had been employed by the company for about three years and whilst her performance didn’t set the world alight, she certainly wasn’t terrible – there was absolutely no justification to dismiss her.
I challenged the VP who made the request and said that even if there was a justification, now that he knows she is pregnant we need to follow very careful processes. He said that as Jane hadn’t put it in writing he didn’t actually know about it, I corrected that view and told him that I now knew as he had told me and was not going to perjure myself when, not if, we got taken to court for unfair dismissal.
In the end I put a halt to the conversation and said that it isn’t going to happen and that I think we need to stop talking about it. I spoke to the Chief People Officer (my bosses boss) and told her what I had been asked to do – I was asked to put the details in writing and the VP was suspended and dismissed within a few days. Apparently there had been some issues with him before I joined the business but I mean what kind of person terminates someone who is pregnant unless there is a really good reason to do it.
What is the most amazing thing you overheard because people didn’t think you understood their language?
Years ago, in Hong Kong, I was involved in negotiating a significant regional contract with a French company. As we walked to the meeting, I told my Australian boss that I spoke enough French to handle the meeting, if necessary. He suggested it would be better to stick to English, as he knew no French, and was sure the French side spoke reasonable English.
The potential client spoke excellent English. They set out what they wanted, then paused to allow us time to work out a response. As my boss and I calculated what we would want to charge, they discussed amongst themselves – in French – what they were prepared to pay, what was really important to them, what was optional, and what they would pay extra for.
We ended up charging very close to their walk-away number, with a number of items charged separately.
A while later, towards the end of the project, I was congratulated on how well it was going, and (ruefully) our negotiating skills… I was VERY careful not to give any hint that a notoriously monolingual Brit could understand one word of French…despite having been near-fluent at the time…
Russia+China directly challenge the US and its Plantation. Vow to Step Up Fight to Counter US.
Great video.
Baked Pork Chops and Noodles
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Spaghetti: Spaghetti is the pasta of choice for this dish. Its long, thin strands are perfect for twirling and they do an excellent job of soaking up the creamy sauce.
Boneless Pork Chops: These are the star of the dish. Their lean yet tender meat cooks quickly and absorbs the flavors of the sauce well. When shopping for pork chops, look for ones that are pinkish-red in color with some marbling.
Salt & Pepper: These are essential for seasoning the pork chops. They enhance the natural flavors of the meat and the sauce. I recommend using fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper for the best taste.
Olive Oil: This is used for searing the pork chops. I prefer searing the pork chops in oil because it has a higher smoke point than butter.
Butter: Butter is used in sautéing the onions and garlic, as well as adding a rich, creamy flavor to the sauce.
Garlic: This adds a robust, aromatic flavor to the sauce. Fresh garlic cloves are the best as they are more flavorful and aromatic than pre-minced cloves or powdered garlic.
Yellow Onion: Yellow onions are a great choice for this dish because of their sweet and mild flavor. They add a depth of flavor to the sauce and pair well with the other ingredients.
All-Purpose Flour: This is used to thicken the sauce, giving it a velvety texture that coats the pasta well.
Heavy Cream or Half and Half: These are used to give the sauce its creamy consistency. Both work well, but heavy cream will make a richer sauce while half and half will be slightly lighter.
Chicken Broth: This adds a savory depth of flavor to the sauce. Look for a low-sodium version so you can control the saltiness of your dish.
Parmesan Cheese: This cheese brings a nutty, salty, umami flavor to the dish. Always opt for freshly grated Parmesan cheese for the best taste and texture. Pre-grated cheeses are coated in an anti-caking agent that can make the texture of the sauce gritty.
Basil and Oregano: These dried herbs add an Italian flair to the dish. They provide a fragrant, earthy flavor that compliments the creamy sauce and pork chops well.
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: These are optional, but they add a nice kick of heat to the dish. Adjust the amount to suit your family’s spice tolerance.
Parsley: Fresh parsley is used as a garnish. It adds a pop of color and a fresh, bright flavor to the finished dish.
Ingredients
10 ounces spaghetti
4 boneless pork chops (about 1-inch thick)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt (divided)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (divided)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese*
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Chopped fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels and season both sides generously with 1/2 teaspoon of both salt and ground black pepper.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned pork chops and sear for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until a golden-brown crust forms and the internal temperature reads 145F on an instant read meat thermometer. Transfer the pork chops to a plate, then tent with aluminum foil to keep warm and set aside.
In the same skillet, reduce the heat to medium and add the butter. Once melted, add chopped onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and softened. Add the minced garlic and saute for 30-60 seconds, or until aromatic. Add the flour to the onions and mix, creating a roux.
Slowly pour in the chicken broth and heavy cream while whisking constantly. Add the dried basil, dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes (if using), and the remaining salt and ground black pepper. Whisk until the sauce is smooth and well combined.
Increase the heat to bring it to just barely a boil, then turn the heat back down to medium and let the sauce simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
Reduce the heat to low and add the grated Parmesan cheese to the sauce, stirring until it’s fully melted and incorporated.
Add the cooked spaghetti to the sauce and toss gently to coat the pasta evenly. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the reserved pasta cooking water to thin it out to your desired consistency.
To serve, divide the creamy spaghetti among plates, and place a pork chop on top of each portion. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and, if desired, additional Parmesan cheese.
Notes
*I recommend using freshly grated parmesan cheese. Pre-grated cheeses are coated in an anti-caking agent that can make the texture of the sauce gritty.
Fun Comix
THIS is why you don’t judge a book by its cover…
What did you do when you were suddenly fired from a job?
It was Sunday afternoon and the phone rang, landline, 1988. It was my boss. He told me to not come in tomorrow as I was fired. I was 21 & still living at home. My mom was so HAPPY! She did not like my boss, thought he was creepy (Chiropractor). I called my friend/coworker D. She was fired Friday, my day off. So I knew it was coming.
Long story short, we entered patient files in the Apple, 1988, NEW to us. He went to bill and it was “messed up” because of us. We also knew of his fraudulent billing practices. We had also obtained 3 patients billing records and appointments (book) that showed he’d bill for an actual appointment/procedure when it was a missed appointment. One of the patients was my stepdad.
What did I do? I called D. We went to the Labor Board to get OT he NEVER paid us. When then went to Workers Comp and the Insurance Board and turned over the records we had. I went to a Temp Agency. I had a job w/in a few days at a bank as a loan secretary. I met SJ, my future husband. We married 1990. Still married.
He got black balled by all the insurance companies. Either the patients had to endorse the check to him or deposit it & write him one or sign off on the billing for the check to go directly to him. I didn’t mention, February 1989, I received a check from the State for over $1K for O/T payment. They garnished his income tax return.
When I lived in Indiana, we lived in a mobile home. We must have spent about six years give or take in that flat and boring state. We lived in Columbia City (outside of Fort Wayne), Kokomo, Marion, and Milton. It was terribly flat, and boring.
For fun we would go for rides in the countryside.
Many times we would have picnics in the various country cemeteries. And My wife would get dressed up in a nice tight-fitting dress, and we would enjoy a simple lunch under a nice tree in a big empty park-like cemetery.
The picnics were the highlight of our years in Indiana.
We did this for years.
On one of our trips we drove about four hours away and in this rural country town we saw this beautiful home for sale.
It was a 1930’s “Florida Home”. In other words, 100% Art Deco masterpiece.
And it was.
Beautiful.
And cheap! It was located in the middle of nowhere. And so the price reflected this. It was so very cheap by the standards of the late 1980’s.
Only two problems.
Firstly; It was a four hour drive away from my work, and…
and…
Secondly, I really doubted that I could get a loan for the house. I believed that my credit was shit. So I wouldn’t even try.
But, Man! We both loved that house, and when the realtor told us that a fellow was thinking about taking the house and breaking it down into five small apartments, we were horrified! Just horrified.
I, and my wife, felt a real connection to that house.
Apparently the owners of the house was an old couple and the woman had just passed on in an old folks home in her 90’s. And the children were tying to sell the house. And that house was a labor of love for that couple.
Leaving that house, I had a difficult time pulling myself away from it.
I really felt a connection to it, and for the entire week I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
About four days later I had a very vivid dream.
The woman (who had just died) was telling me not to worry. That I would be able to buy the house and the bank would pay for everything. Not to worry she said. Not to worry.
And when I woke up… yeah. It was clear. All I needed to do was to place a bid on the home and it was mine.
So I told my wife that.
And we were considering buying that house…
…but then…
*sigh*
… I got laid off one month later.
And, of course that meant a move out of state… and no chance of buying the house at all.
…
Spirit of the house?
The actual previous owner of the home visiting me in the spirit form?
And what was the tie with my getting laid off, did not the spirits know or realize that my physical life was so mercurial?
*sigh*
That house was beautiful, though.
A jewel in the middle of the corn belt.
*sigh*
Today…
What’s the most morally disgusting thing you’ve ever seen someone do?
Few days ago, I went to a crockery shop with my mom to buy some necessary items.
Till my mom was looking for items, I was standing on the other counter and looking over other things.
At my counter on which I was standing, a couple was buying their household chores.
In between talks of them, she exclaimed on her polite husband. Actually, they were looking for buckets and mugs for their bathroom.
Conversation was like that : –
He : This is best. Take this one (Showing items to his wife).
She : No, no ( scruffily). ( Tum duplicate chize laate ho, Ab Yeh Mera ghar hai, tumhari Maa Ka nahi, To duplicate chize nhai rakhenge)
Translation :
This is a duplicate one. Now, this is my home, not yours mother’s home. I won’t keep a single duplicate thing over there.
** After few minutes**
He( In polite manner) : See! these cups, how graceful they are!
She( Very arrogantly) : Yuck! What a substandard people you are! What a sleazy choice you have!
(Bahut jhel Liya, tumhara or tumhari Maa Ka low standard, please ab toh meresath reh kar thoda standard Ka dhayan rakho)
( Enough now! I have beared a lot of low – standard of yours and yours mother, please now think about my standard).
Her husband immediately changed the topic, so that people wouldn’t mock them. Quietly, he stood up from there and went to the billing counter and started talking to the shopkeeper, so that no one would feel awkward.
This was totally disgusting, the way she was shouting on her husband and uttering pernicious words about his family in public.
Never name call or dishonor your spouse and his family in public. This is really loathsome thing one can ever do.
Red coins
What did your boss say to you during a meeting that resulted in you immediately resigning?
It wasn’t my boss, but the head of HR in front of an entire room of staff.
I started a new job and part of my duties was to help manage some of the employees time. This was part of the 4DX (4 Disciplines of Execution) initiative the entire company was pushing. I did my work, helped others where I could, and spent the rest of my time learning. Part of that learning was watching the rest of my “team” interact with each other and how my manager was not actually managing. So I kept notes, stepped in to help keep things from escalating into fist fights, and in general kept folks on task. That went well until said manager came strolling back in like a seagull and shit all over everything then walked right back out the door. (For some reason they felt that 7 IT people could fit in a locked room with no windows that was only 300sf or so.)
Finally the entire team had had enough of this so I took it up the food chain to the CTO with all of the information I had collected. She called a meeting and got HR involved. HR sent out a form for everyone to fill out and return to them. I filled mine out, attached all of the documents I had created, and replied all. The only person not aware of all of the Information I had collected was the problem manager.
Fast forward to Friday and we are all in a room when the CTO, my manager, some HR staff, and the head of HR walks in. He sits down and then proceeds to chew my ass for 15 minutes straight. Apparently HE did not want everyone to know what was going on and the “form” was meant just for HR to read. I informed him that the manager and apparently him had not been aware of what EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM had known about. This set him off on another tirade that I mostly ignored as I texted my wife I would be heading home early today. The head of HR makes a snippy comment that I better be texting someone damn important. I stood up, pulled out my keys, and removed all of my building keys from my key ring. I then slid them over to my manager and the CTO and informed them that this was immediate notice of my resignation. The CTO was crying (really odd reaction) and the HR guy was still talking to the back of my head as I left.
All but two people on the team quit within 3 months. I walked into another job the following Friday. My only regret was that I had to leave my team to deal with the mess we all worked so hard to clean up.
“Deficits Don’t Matter!” – Modern Monetary Theory Economist Stephanie Kelton
Jesus! Wholly delusional!
Our slave owners think they can pay us in toilet paper
Ukraine Discussing Moving Country’s Capital from Kiev to Lviv; “Almost All Hope is Lost, now”
Discussions are underway in Ukraine to move the nation’s Capital from Kiev to Lviv because Ukraine is losing its war with Russia. Meanwhile in Kharkov, residents are fleeing en-masse as the Russian Army approaches.
Russia continues it’s northern storm front southward toward Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, and from the east toward the heavily fortified city of Chasiv Yar, once thought to be impenetrable.
In the past two days alone, an additional 30,000+ Russian troops have taken over a dozen towns, villages.
Despite massive financial and military support from the collective West, Ukraine is simply unable to defend itself any longer. Even the American media outlet “The Hill” writes: “further efforts to defeat Russia militarily are hopeless; Russian forces have a significant advantage, and the position of Ukrainian forces is rapidly deteriorating. Ukraine will never win the war and recapture the lost territories”
The Russian Army, which was 35 miles away last Friday, is now just 19-miles from Kharkiv. The city was once home to 1.5 million people. Tens-of-thousands have already fled, and tens-of-thousands more are presently fleeing the city.
Meanwhile, in Kiev, over 19,000 businesses have evacuated the city, with many heading to Lviv in Ukraine’s far west, near Poland.
For this reason Ukrainian President Zelensky is now discussing moving the Ukraine Capital from Kiev to Lviv. His Army Commanders have been telling him there is no longer any hope at all of Ukraine defeating Russia, or of even reclaiming lands that seceded to Russia. “Almost all hope is gone” for Ukraine.
USA – China
What is the most brilliant example of taking advantage of a loophole you have ever witnessed?
Not sure it’s brilliant but it is a tactic that did work. Early in my 20’s, fresh out of college and working, I had never been taught about tax returns (it was just an abstract concept to me) and didn’t realize I needed to file every year. So for 3 years it never crossed my mind. Then one year someone asked me about how I filed and soon realized I was in deep poo poo with the IRS. Immediately sent them a $50 check, went to an accountant and got all the returns and paperwork done and submitted.
Soon the phone calls from them started and they were not nice. Threatening to take my home I had purchased, my truck, bank accounts, etc. Scared the poo out of me. But I asked if they had received my $50 check and yes they had. I told them that by accepting it they had defacto accepted a repayment agreement. They eventually and reluctantly agreed that was so. I kept sending in the monthly checks to keep my end up (it did not end all the calls, but the threats were gone, mostly.) Ended up costing me $12K but on my terms and got to keep all my stuff and not have my pay and bank account garnered. No, didn’t pay the total in $50 installments, just kept that up while sending occasional supplemental checks. And yes I did get a tax attorney to help eventually. Am much wiser now (at least in tax matters). My dad taught me about most things financial but this one detail slipped through the cracks.
Vintage covers
William Bohannon’s Creole Cream Cheese
Creole cream cheese is a form of farmer cheese that is traditional in the New Orleans area.
Yield: 12 ounces
Ingredients
1/2 gallon skim milk
1 tablet rennet
1/2 cup whole buttermilk
1 1/4 cups nonfat dry milk
Pinch of cream of tartar
Instructions
In a large microwave dish heat the milk to 170 degrees F (75 degrees C) and hold for 20 minutes, using the “Hold” function and the microwave probe attachment. Immediately stir in the other ingredients to blend. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 24 hours at room temperature.
Drain and discard liquid from the cheese clabber.
Line a colander with 2 layers of cheese cloth and turn cheese into colander. Place colander over bowl for more draining. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 36 hours.
Place finished cheese into bowl, and use as desired.
Notes
This cream cheese has become increasingly difficult to find. It is made from skim milk, buttermilk and rennet, has a mild, slightly tart, slightly sweet taste, and is often mixed with cream, sugar and fruit and served as a dessert. It is often used to make Creole cream cheese ice cream. In homes it was traditionally eaten for breakfast and served with cream, fruit, or sugar; it can also be served on toast with butter, salt and pepper.
Keeps 2 weeks covered in the fridge.
The cheese only took 3 hours to make.
After the Rennet tablet (crushed well) was sprinkled in the slightly cooled milk mixture, it clabbered right away (about 1 1/2 hours). I drained it in the colander then put it in the cheese cloth and wrung it dry carefully. The cheese needed several wringings with rest in between for sufficient drainage. The finished cheese resembles Feta crumble cheese but the flavor is like mild mascarpone. I put it in the food processor on high speed until it was very smooth and creamy like mascarpone. I freshened the taste with a few drops of lemon juice (store bought mascarpone contains citric acid).
The cheese was not quite a smooth as the commercially whipped kind but the flavor was very good. This recipe is the closest thing to mascarpone that one can make at home with ease. A little tinkering with the proportions should yield a very good clone.
Watch Biden Economic Advisor’s HILARIOUS Fail Over Basic Money Question
China’s EV sector has become a global leader without access to the U.S. market. The effects of tariffs on Chinese-made EVs is therefore what and on whom?
Tariffs on Chinese EVs – by the U..S. or the E.U.?
As for the E.U., Ursula is threatening tariffs on Chinese EVs but facing resistance from European OEMs especially those from Germany because this will impact their EVs manufactured in China and exported to Europe. And more seriously, if China were to retaliate with counter measures and restrictions on them, these would compromise their competitiveness at a time when they’re partnering with Chinese EV makers to remain viable. The Chinese market is existential for them and no doubt this was a main topic during Xi’s visit to France when he met with Macron and Ursula.
As for the U.S., Biden is just scared shit about Chinese EVs entering the U.S. marketplace and vowed to slap a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs and those containing Chinese EV parts. How he’s going to do this if they’re produced under joint-venture agreement with Mexican entities, especially if the Chinese were to use their E.U.-owned companies to do this (e.g., Volvo, Polestar, LEVC, Lotus, Daimler, Smart) is another story. There are strict treaty laws between the U.S. and Mexico that just can’t be put aside. Ultimately, Chinese EV cars will enter the U.S. market – through Mexico.
In the meantime, the global market is big enough for Chinese EVs to go around.
As a doctor or nurse, what are some of the most powerful last words a patient has said?
It was years ago, I was a junior resident. I didn’t know the patient all that well, but got called up to get her paperwork ready for discharge. (She was an otherwise healthy 96 or so, had a palliative colon resection for cancer, something, something).
I went to her room to do a last wound check and DC a JP drain and she kept talking about how she was “going home to Bill*”
Her son pointed out that she’s usually mentally very sharp, but Bill was her husband who had died years ago. He reassured her, “No, mom, dad is gone. We’re just going back to the house.”
She insisted. “No, I’m going to him. He came to see me this morning and said he’s taking me home.”
Whatever, I guess? Son said she was otherwise at baseline – it was the first and only weird thing she said – vitals and labs looked good, so we progressed along the DC pathway.
Not even a few minutes later the Code Blue got called to her room. She was Don’t Code, so we didn’t do anything, but it was like, “WTAF, I guess Bill really was coming for her.” Her son was surprisingly OK with how this played out.
This one chilled me for awhile.
What Boomers Don’t Understand About Younger Guys Failing At Dating And Why It Will Get MUCH WORSE
Have you ever had a pet who could tell that somebody is not a good person?
Back when I was a teen (many many years ago), the adults bought a puppy for my brother’s birthday. He was a beagle/welsh corgie mix, black and white all over, short fur. Think Snoopy in the comics, just opposite colors! My brother was delighted and named him – guess what? – Snoopy!
He was a smart dog and kept us all hopping. We lived in a corner lot house in Spokane WA. I don’t remember how old the dog was when this happened, more than 2, I’m sure.
One winter morning he came to me and wanted out badly, so I put him out the back. It had snowed pretty heavily. I was shutting the door when I heard him snarl, so I ran barefoot out into the snow in my nightgown. There was a man in our yard! Then I saw it was the meter reader. But Snoopy hated him. He had him pinned against the house, not letting him move at all. I called him but he ignored me, so I went to him and laid myself on top of his back – and still he stepped forward, ready to bite and savage the man. I said, “Get out! I can’t hold him,” and the guy scrambled over the fence and ran. I reported this behavior to the adults. The male made a phone call to the electric company and told them what happened and what he suspected. Turns out on his routes, all the dogs were getting sick or dying. They checked his locker and he had raw steaks in it that he had put poison in, so he was killing the dogs. Our dog knew it!
Another instance, in the summer. We were going to a new church, a nondenominational one, and they invited the pastor over for supper. He was a single man, in his late 60’s. Our dog took an instant dislike to him, snarling and trying to attack him. It took my brother and I to pull him inside the house and lock him in a bedroom as we were eating outside. A few months later the man went ballistic in services, called the adults “yellow-bellied commies” and threw us out of the church because we wouldn’t follow a specific cultish ‘diet plan’ he thought was a cure-all for any ailment. This guy claimed he could cure you of anything by analyzing your urine. Turns out the dog was correct, he was a bad man. He died a bit later of a massive stroke. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Our dog Snoopy lived for many years and was always a great protector. We were all devastated when he died.
Shorpy
What was the most expensive surprise you received in a bill from a doctor or hospital? Did you pay it?
My husband was on a fishing trip in Alaska with several family members. They had chartered a boat with a captain and crew and were about 2 hours offshore when my husband’s heart suddenly stopped, and he collapsed. He came to after some agonizing moments. The captain immediately started for shore. My husband’s heart stopped again 2 or 3 more times during the 2 hours before reaching land. An ambulance met them at the dock and my husband was transported to the local hospital in Homer. The doctors at the hospital determined he needed more acute care and that he should be transported to Anchorage. An ambulance transported him to the local airport where a waiting private medical jet flew him to Anchorage. His heart stopped again at the hospital in Homer, on the way to the airport and while on the jet. Each time his heart restarted just as suddenly as it had stopped after several moments. Once he reached Anchorage he had a pacemaker implanted and is doing well today.
As you can imagine, the bills were astronomical. Luckily our insurance covered everything except for one thing. You would think they might not cover the $25,000 for the private medical jet but no they covered that without even blinking. What they wouldn’t cover was the $350 for the second ambulance ride. I called the insurance company to find out why, thinking it must be an error. The insurance representative told me they could only cover one ambulance transport a day. Wait, what?? I simply asked “how was my husband supposed to get to the airport? Take a taxi? You do realize that his heart stopped while in that ambulance, right?” I was told I would be placed on a brief hold. The insurance representative came back and told me she checked with her supervisor and that they would now be covering the second ambulance ride.
Women Are Leaving The Workforce. But Nobody Cares.
Has a teacher ever accused your child of doing something that you know he could not have done?
Principal not teacher but it’s a good story.
I was sent home early one day for something they thought I might have been involved with. My mother was irritated and called the school. Turns out the principal wanted to meet with her as well. This was really uncommon since it was a big high school and usual student discipline was delegated to the few vice principals.
My mother walked into the meeting and immediately started talking about the reason I’d been sent home. The principal waved it off. He had wanted to talk to her about something else.
“Never mind that. I wanted to talk to you because we believe your son is a devil-worshipper.” Welcome to the rural Midwest in the 90s.
My mother, not being an idiot but also just being a mix of amused and dumb-founded. “And what makes you believe that?” she asked.
“We’ve heard reports from other students that him and his friends have been sacrificing animals and kidnapping infants.”
“… And what makes you think these accusations are credible?”
He gives his ‘supporting evidence,’ which consisted of me and my friends having long hair and playing Dungeons and Dragons. He apparently misconstrued my mother’s ‘wtf, mate?’ look for, “please, tell me more.”
Believing he’s successfully making his case, he puffs out his chest as he concludes his argument. “Our philosophy here at South is, ‘if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it’s probably a duck.’”
My mother told him not to waste time I’m supposed to be in class learning with nonsense for which he has no demonstrable evidence.
As far as I know, nothing more ever came from this. I did my best to keep a low profile till I graduated then moved tf away from my hometown.
Edit: To be clear, my friends and I were not sacrificing animals nor kidnapping infants. I’m not sure exactly how we were supposedly doing that and never making it in the news, but it was the 90s so who knows?
To my mind, Russia’s objective is to force Ukraine’s army to chase after invading Russian units. The idea is to cause heavy casualties on the Ukrainian side and, if all goes according to plan, either to split Ukraine’s army into two, or disintegrate it altogether.In such a manner the idea is not just to take territory but to destroy Ukraine’s ability to resist. There are many indicators that Russia is having success in the ongoing operation.
General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence agency, (which includes foreign fighters and Nazis units,) agrees to that. He paints an bleak picture (archived):
Like most Ukrainian officials and military experts, General Budanov said he believes the Russian attacks in the northeast are intended to stretch Ukraine’s already thin reserves of soldiers and divert them from fighting elsewhere.That is exactly what is happening now, he acknowledged. He said the Ukrainian army was trying to redirect troops from other front line areas to shore up its defenses in the northeast, but that it had been difficult to find the personnel.
“All of our forces are either here or in Chasiv Yar,” he said, referring to a Ukrainian stronghold about 120 miles farther south that Russian troops have assaulted in recent weeks. “I’ve used everything we have. Unfortunately, we don’t have anyone else in the reserves.”
The Ukrainian military has pulled out parts of various brigades that are engaged in the east and is moving them north towards the Kharkiv region. This will be a hodgepodge of partly filled battalions without a unified command and with nothing left to stuff any holes elsewhere.
Budanov correctly fears that Russian can and will repeat this game in other places:
General Budanov said he expected the attacks in the Kharkiv region to last another three or four days, after which Russian forces are expected to make a hard push in the direction of Sumy, a city about 90 miles to the northwest of Kharkiv. Ukrainian officials have previously said that Russia had massed troops across the border from Sumy.Pavlo Velycho, a Ukrainian officer operating near the Russian border in the Sumy region, said that Russian shelling of the outskirts of Sumy had recently increased.
The Russian forces can easily progress because the money allocated for fortifications in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions was paid to fictitious companies without any trenches ever being build (machine translation):
Multi-million contracts for the construction of fortifications, for which they spent a total of 7 billion hryvnias there, were transferred by the Kharkiv OVA to front companies of avatars.
…
It so happened that the department of the Kharkiv OVA for defense purchases chose newly registered no-name firms and FOPs. Moreover, the owners of these firms do not resemble successful businessmen and businesswomen-they have dozens of court cases, from whiskey theft to domestic violence against their husband and mother, some of them are deprived of parental rights and have had enforcement proceedings for loans in banks.Another interesting detail-it seems that these beneficiaries do not even know that they are millionaires. After all, they continue to work in shifts” in the fields ” and factories.
The U.S. obviously fears that the Ukrainian army will not be able to hold its lines. Today Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived on an unannounced visit in Kiev to shore up moral, or probably to arrange for a change in Ukraine’s leadership:
Blinken, who arrived in Kyiv by train early on Tuesday morning, hopes to “send a strong signal of reassurance to the Ukrainians who are obviously in a very difficult moment,” said a U.S. official who briefed reporters traveling with Blinken on condition of anonymity.”The Secretary’s mission here is really to talk about how our supplemental assistance is going to be executed in a fashion to help shore up their defenses (and) enable them to increasingly take back the initiative on the battlefield,” the official said.
…
Blinken will reassure Ukrainian officials including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of enduring U.S. support and deliver a speech focused on Ukraine’s future, the official said.
Blinken and Biden need the Ukrainian army to hold until the November election is over. It is unlikely that they can achieve that aim. Some pause on the battlefield would now be convenient but that requires to get rid of Zelenski.
U.S. media are emphasizing the $60 billion package passed by Congress for Ukraine. They neglect to explain that only $14.5 billion of that is actually going to Ukraine, half of it to keep the state solvent and the other half in form of weapons Ukraine might buy once they are build. The other money is designated to refill the U.S. military stockpile.
The real military help for Ukraine during the next months, in form of artillery and anti-air ammunition, will be minuscule.
There is nothing in there that can defend against the FAB glide bombs the Russian military is using in ever growing numbers to break up Ukrainian positions. The last three days have each seen Ukrainian losses at about 1,500 per day – double the usual count – with most of them occurring on the eastern front, not in the Kharkiv direction.
Currently the replacement rate through Ukrainian mobilization is said to be only 25% of the losses that are actually occurring.
Everyone knows that the war is coming to an end. That there will be a victor, Russia, and a lot of losers. The U.S. as well as the EU are now trying to find a face saving way to acknowledge that without admitting it.
The easiest way will be to blame Ukraine, and especially its President Zelenski, for having not listened to western advice during some of the hotter phases of the war (Bakhmut etc). “We gave them a chance and they blew it,” will soon become the major tenor of official statements.
But in reality there never was a chance for Ukraine to defeat or even to weaken Russia. All numbers, capacities and people, pointed against that. Despite that fact it was pushed to its death by western delusion.
One hopes that its people, and others, will have learned from it.
Posted by b on May 14, 2024 at 10:54 UTC | Permalink
American Reacts to explaining europe to americans
What is the most offensive thing someone has ever asked you?
It was 2004 in Ohio not long after Alex and I married, I was working at the diner when Alex had to drop our daughter off since his brother had been in a car accident and I was almost done my shift. Alex had adopted her when she was 4, and that was a couple of years prior. We kissed like normal and she said bye pops like usual when he left. A customer saw and overheard so him and his wife starting with the homophobic commentary which I ignored with kindness. That is until she asked how I could marry a pedophile who would turn around and hurt my kid. If I hadn’t of been holding Pearl in one arm with dishes on my other, I probably would have decked the hateful bitch!
My papa was close friends with the owners so I wasn’t afraid of being fired, so I told her husband to remove his “cunt of a wife from my presence.” I’ve never said that word before or since (to my recollection) but she deserved it.
What did your child’s teacher say that made your jaw drop?
My youngest daughter, now fully grown, was in I believe grade 1 or 2 at the time this happened. She came home from school one day and told me that a boy had been picking on her. I asked for more information. I do not subscribe to that “he pulled your hair so he just likes you” crap, but I didn’t want to react until I knew what was actually going on.
She described a classic bully. He would slap her, kick her, push her… He often did it when the teacher wasn’t aware, and she reacted in the classic “I’m being bullied” fashion of trying to be smaller and less noticeable to him.
My advice was in stages. Stage one was simple, I told her not to shrink. Grow. That little jackass wants to slap you, you explode at him verbally and make certain that the teacher notices and understands that you are reacting. She did stage one the first few days, and she was upset because the teacher kept doing nothing about it.
Stage two was equally simple. I taught her how to throw a proper punch, a punch that would allow her to get her power behind it with proper form to avoid breaking the bones in her hand.
The school called. They explained that my daughter had “caused a problem” that was really serious, and we needed to come in and talk with them.
“Your daughter attacked one of the other students,” quoth the teacher.
“Nope, I’m pretty sure she didn’t,” rebutted I, rebutfully. “{kid’s name}, can you tell us what happened?”
She had been drinking at the water fountain, and the kid came along and pushed her hard, face first into the porcelain. If memory serves, she had a bloody nose as a result. So she remembered what I taught her, she turned around and threw a nasty punch, and the kid ran off to tell the teacher.
“Striking children is NOT acceptable!” puffed the puffy teacher.
“Yes, you are absolutely right. That kid has been striking my daughter for at least a few days, and I told her to bring it to your attention. You didn’t do anything to protect her and safeguard your students from a bully, so she had to address the situation herself. I won’t have my child be a bully, but I won’t have them victimized, so I taught her how and when to strike back. And I’m not sorry.”
Many guffaws. Many splutters. Finally, the teacher said the thing. “Mr. Martin, you have to understand that this boy is from another country, and he hasn’t learned yet what is and is not acceptable.”
Before anyone gets all xenophobic, let me stop you right there. This wasn’t a “OMG FOREIGN KID MONSTER” post. This was a “For f**k’s sake, teacher!” post.
So I explained that the kid wasn’t going to learn by not being held to account. It was the teacher’s job to maintain the safety of all of the students, and when she didn’t react to his behavior, she green lit him to keep going. So while I get that the boy was from a place with very different social rules, those social rules wouldn’t work here, so if the school wasn’t going to address it, my kid would continue to stand up for herself.
Honestly, I couldn’t believe that anyone at this point (like 15 years ago) would be justifying bullying in an elementary school by saying that it was a cultural difference. Maybe they were working with this boy behind the scenes and I had no idea, though I strongly doubt that, but either way, my kid wasn’t going to be a victim.
And yeah, guess who never had a problem with the boy again?
Be the Rufus
MM is hungry
Retired Police Dog
Baby Kay’s Cajun Kitchen Bread Pudding
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 eggs
3/4 cup coconut flakes
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped pecans
5 tablespoons butter
3 cups whole milk
3/4 of 16-ounce loaf stale French bread, cut into crouton-size cubes
Instructions
Mix together sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add eggs; whip together.
Add vanilla extract.
Stir in coconut flakes, raisins and chopped pecans.
Melt butter over low heat. Add milk, heating just enough to scald. Add to sugar-egg-coconut mixture.
Place in a 12 x 8 inch baking dish with the French bread cubes.
Put into a cold oven; bake at 350 degrees F for one hour.
What do you think of the user on TikTok who claimed that some people in Singapore, who are ethnically Chinese, were offended at being called ‘compatriots’ with mainland Chinese people?
TikTok’s CEO is Singaporean Chinese. Our idiotic government feigns ignorance of basic geography and made it seem that Singapore and China are the same. They did so for political reasons. If a Singaporean Chinese can be associated with “Communist Red China,” then Americans will be more likely to agree to banning TikTok. Our government wants TikTok banned because they can’t control it. They want to censor our internet and apps like the Chinese Great Fire Wall they complain about. Apparently it’s okay if a democracy does it but bad if a communist country does it.
This whole thing must be frustrating for Singaporean Chinese. They make up about 76% of the population and they consider themselves as Singaporean. Most of their families (with the exception of Chinese who recently immigrated from China) have been in Singapore for several generations. Many have never been to China. The ones who have, usually go in search of their ancestry.
Like all overseas Chinese, they’ve assimilated to some degree in the countries they immigrated to hundreds of years ago. They are ethnically Chinese but nationally Singaporean. And Singapore is not China. Singapore is it’s own country. They separated from Malaysia—not China. Singapore has never been part of China. Many overseas Chinese, including Singaporeans, are proud of their roots and culture, and they’re happy to see a strong China as it increases their status around the world as respect for China grows. But these people are true blue Singaporean in their hearts and on paper. I can see why they’re frustrated.
USA vs. China
Many people said New Zealand is one of the worst countries in the world (very expensive and very low wages) but the country is advertised as a beautiful place. Which one is the truth about New Zealand? Is New Zealand simply a backdoor to Australia?
I have lived in Australia all my life and have come over to NZ for work just a day or so ago. I am currently staying in an area which seems to be middle to lower class, well compared to Australia. I went out to one of the local pubs last night and was amazed at their pride and family values. There was a young Māori, 19 years old I believe, who had just received a baseball scholarship in Texas and is leaving NZ in two weeks. There was maybe 50 people there having a party for him. The young kids, I’m guessing maybe 10 years old, all got up on a stage and did a Haka in front of the crowd and then after that a young girl, maybe 13, got up on stage and sang and danced a traditional dance for him.
This country is very proud of their heritage and have very strong family values and it shows. Unfortunately Australia is now a country where family can be taken or left. We really don’t have the culture that there is in NZ.
The people in the area i am staying are a bit rough around the edges but they are still proud Māoris and will protect their family including their extended family with their life.
I’m just about to head into Auckland city to check the place out but I’m guessing the pride Kiwis and Māoris have will be the same.
edit: I am not saying New Zealand isn’t a beautiful country, I am not saying it is a third world country, I am just giving observations I have made in the short time I have been there. Yea there are quite affluent suburbs around Auckland, but as in Australia, there are some at the other end of the scale. And yes, I am o it here to work and I am currently staying in an area which is far less affluent, although we have just been relocated to another area which has a heavy population of Indian and Asian immigrants.
it is difficult, in the areas I have been, to find a corner store or takeaway etc that isn’t run but either Indian or Asian business owners. And I guess there are places in Australia where the same is true.
I am not being racist, I am not running New Zealand down, I am not being derogatory towards New Zealand or the people of New Zealand whether they are indigenous or not. These are just my limited observations.
Red Lobster Abruptly Closes 48 Restaurants; Mulls Bankruptcy
Seafood restaurant chain Red Lobster has closed nearly 50 locations around the United States, according to a liquidation company.
CEO and Founder of TAGeX Brands, Neal Sherman announced in a post on LinkedIn that his company would be hosting “the largest restaurant liquidation” through an online auction. The website for TAGeX Brands showed that 48 Red Lobster locations throughout the U.S. had been closed.
Red Lobster locations in places such as Jacksonville, Florida, Watertown, New York, and Bloomingdale and Danville, Illinois, were among the restaurants that were closed. The seafood chain has more than 700 locations throughout the U.S., according to its website.
“The Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment from select Red Lobster locations MUST GO ASAP!” Sherman wrote in his post. “We’re handling this closure differently than we have in the past with each auction having a SINGLE winner for the listed items from the location they bid on — WINNER TAKES ALL.”
This announcement comes after the seafood restaurant chain has reportedly been considering filing for bankruptcy after their all-you-can-eat shrimp promotion led to the company losing $11 million in 2023.
“For those who have been in the US recently, $20 was very cheap,” Red Lobster CFO Ludovic Garnier said in a statement in November. “And the rationale for this promotion was to say we knew the price was cheap, but the idea was to bring more traffic in the restaurants.”
In 2020, ThaiUnion, a Thailand-based company that produces seafood products, bought a stake in Red Lobster. ThaiUnion revealed in January 2024 that it would be exiting from its investment in Red Lobster and would be taking a roughly $530 million loss as a result of its investment in the company.
The Hal Turner Radio Show reached out to Red Lobster for a statement but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
For almost ten years I lived in a mobile home. I bought it in Pennsylvania, and moved it to Indiana, a couple of times. Then to Kentucky, and then to Mississippi. We eventually sold it.
The thing about mobile homes… well, there are a lot of things about them. But my mobile home had to have a new roof painted on every other year or so. If you didn’t lay down a new coat of silver tar substance on the roof, it would start to leak. And, you know, no one wants that.
I would, at that time, buy a bucket of mobile home roof tar, and make a day out of it. We would get a brush and push on the coating on the entire roof. First going over the edges, then the seams.
Then finally the rest of the roof.
Now, this is something that most people who rent, or who live in regular homes, don’t ever need to worry about. But we did.
Now, while I am happy that those days are over, ever now and then a memory is triggered and I recall an event from those days. One… in this case of me painting the roof silver.
Now you know.
Today…
What happened when a workplace bully went to Human Resources only to be told that IF they investigated his complaint against you, they’d be required to also investigate the complaints that had been filed against him by multiple other employees?
The matter was considered resolved.
A young woman, fresh out of college, extremely bright with a photographic memory, was tasked to do charts. They were documentation of company profits and losses. Losses mostly.
A seasoned employee, who had little patience for the bright young woman, told her to make a chart. The bright young woman could see, because she has a photographic memory, and this was her job, to track losses, that the figures were horribly wrong.
She asked the seasoned employee to recalculate the data. The seasoned employee said, ”Why don’t you just do your job!” Again, she asked the woman to recalculate the data. The seasoned employee said, ”Are you a fucking moron or just hard of hearing because you are a fucking moron?” Another employee heard this conversation.
The bright young woman sent an e-mail to the seasoned employee saying, per our conversation you want me to use the data included in this email to calculate the chart? The seasoned employee responded to the email, ”Does it hurt your head to be so stupid?”
The bright young woman calculated the data, sent the chart to the seasoned employee’s boss and explained how the data was wrong, what the data should have said, and that there was friction getting corrected information.
Immediately the seasoned employee and the bright young woman were in management’s office to resolve the communication problem. Another witness.
The seasoned employee went to HR claiming the bright young woman was creating a hostile work environment.
The bright young woman sent the e-mails, and her version of the previous conversations, including those who were present at the time of the conversations.
Apparently the seasoned employee had numerous complaints however those complaints were he said, she said, they lacked documentation.
The bright young woman was absolved of the hostile workplace accusations. She took her skills to another employer. Problem solved.
Time-Slip Artifacts: Modern Objects in the Ancient World – Volume 1
This is fun. The Pyramid stuff with Baogong is interesting.
The Russia–Iran–China search for a new global security order
While the collective west is in the grips of an existential legitimacy crisis, the RIC is devising its own security order to protect the rest of the world from the ‘genocidals.’
The Hegemon has no idea what awaits the Exceptionalist mindset: China has started to decisively stir the civilizational cauldron without bothering about an inevitable array of sanctions coming by early 2025 and/or a possible collapse of the international financial system.
Last week, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and his list of delusional US demands was welcomed in Beijing by Foreign Minister Wang Yi and President Xi Jinping as little more than an annoying gnat. Wang, on the record, stressed that Tehran was justified in defending itself against Israel’s shredding of the Vienna Convention when it attacked the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
At the UN Security Council, China now openly questions not only the state terror attack on the Nord Streams but also the US–Israel combo’s blocking of Palestinian statehood. Moreover, Beijing, just like Moscow recently, hosts Palestine’s political factions together in a conference aiming to unify their positions.
Next Tuesday, only two days before Moscow celebrates Victory Day, the end of the Great Patriotic War, Xi will land in Belgrade to remind the whole world about the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese embassy by the US, UK, and NATO.
Russia, meanwhile, provided a platform for the UNRWA – the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees, which Israel has sought to defund – to explain to high representatives of BRICS-10 the cataclysmic humanitarian situation in Gaza, as described by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
In short, serious political business is already being conducted outside of the corrupted UN system…
… as the United Nations disintegrates into a corporate shell with the US dictating all terms as the largest shareholder.
Yet another key example of BRICS as the new UN: Russian Security Council chairman Nikolai Patrushev met in St. Petersburg with his Chinese counterpart Chen Wenqing on the sidelines of the 12th International Security Summit, congregating over 100 nations, including the security heads of BRICS-10 members Iran, India, Brazil, and South Africa, as well as Iraq.
The SCO security show
But the key crossroads these past few days was the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) defense summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
For the first time, the new Chinese Defense Minister, Dong Jun, met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, to emphasize their comprehensive strategic partnership.
Dong, significantly, stressed the “dynamic” nature of China–Russia military interaction, while Shoigu doubled down, saying it “sets a model for interstate relations” based on mutual respect and shared strategic interests.
Addressing the full SCO assembly, Shoigu emphatically refuted the massive western propaganda drive about a Russian “threat” to NATO.
Everybody was at the SCO defense ministers’ meeting – including, at the same table, India, Iran, Pakistan, and Belarus as an observer. Minsk is eager to join the SCO.
The interlocking Russia–Iran–China strategic partnerships were totally in sync. Apart from Dong meeting Shoigu, he also met Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, who lavishly praised Beijing’s condemnation of the Israeli terror air strike in Damascus.
What is happening now between Beijing and Tehran is a replay of what started last year between Moscow and Tehran, when a member of the Iranian delegation on a visit to Russia remarked that both parties had agreed on a mutual, high-level “anything you need” relationship.
In Astana, Dong’s support for Iran was unmistakable. Not only did he invite Ashtiani to a security conference in Beijing, mirroring the Iranian position, he also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Shoigu, meeting with Ashtiani, provided extra context when he recalled that “the joint fight against international terrorism in Syria is a vivid example of our long-standing friendly relations.” The Russian defense minister then delivered his clincher:
The current military-political situation and threats to our states oblige us … to common approaches to building a just world order based on equality for all participants in the international community.
A new global security order
Establishing a new global security order is right at the heart of BRICS-10 planning – on par with the de-dollarization debate. All of this is anathema to the collective west, which is incapable of understanding the multifaceted, intertwined Russia, Iran, and China partnerships.
And the interaction goes on in person. Russian President Vladimir Putin will be visiting Beijing later this month.
On Gaza, the Russia–Iran–China position is in complete sync: Israel is committing genocide.
For the EU – and NATOstan as a whole – this is not genocide: the bloc supports Israel no matter what.
After Iran, on 13 April, changed the game in West Asia for good, without even using their finest hypersonic missiles, the key question for the Global Majority is stark: in the end, who will restrain the genocidals, and how? Diplomatic sources hint this will be discussed face-to-face by Putin and Xi.
As one Chinese scholar, with unique aplomb, remarks:
This time, the barbarians are facing a 5,000-year continuing written civilization, armed with Sun Tzu’s Art of War, Mao thought, Xi’s dual circulation strategy, Belt and Road, BRICS, renminbi digitalization, Russia and China unlimited, the world’s most powerful manufacturing industry, tech supremacy, economic powerhouse, and the backing of the Global South.
All that against a polarized Hegemon in turmoil, with its genocidal aircraft carrier in West Asia totally spinning out of control.
US threats of a “clear choice” between ending several key strands of the Russia–China strategic partnership or facing a sanctions tsunami don’t cut it in Beijing.
The same applies to Washington’s wishful attempts at preventing BRICS members from ditching the US dollar.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has made it quite clear that Moscow and Beijing have nearly reached the point of abandoning the US dollar in bilateral trade.
And the outright theft of Russian assets by the collective west is the ultimate red line for BRICS – and all other nations watching with horror – as a whole: this is definitely a “non-agreement capable” Empire, as Lavrov has been emphasizing since late 2021.
Yaroslav Lisovolik, founder of BRICS+ Analytics, dismisses the Hegemon’s threats against BRICS as the road map toward an alternative payment system is still in its infancy. As for Russia–China trade, the non-dollar high-speed train has already left the station.
Yet the key question remains: how will Russia–Iran–China (RIC), as BRICS leaders, SCO members, and simultaneously top three “existential threats” to the Hegemon, be able to start implementing a new global security architecture without staring down the genocidals.
Power Breakfast Bowls
Start the day strong with this savory whole grain breakfast bowl that includes sliced portabella mushrooms and a curry yogurt tahini topping. We’ve used barley, but feel free to swap it with your favorite grain such as quinoa or wild rice.
Prep: 30 min | Cook: 20 min | Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Yogurt Topping
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped kale
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Breakfast Bowls
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 portabella mushroom caps, cleaned and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 heads baby bok choy, sliced
1 cup pearled barley, cooked according to package directions
1 red bell pepper, julienned
4 large eggs, fried
Instructions
Yogurt Topping
Heat the olive oil in a medium-skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the kale and cook for 2 more minutes, until wilted. Let cool to room temperature.
Spoon the yogurt into a small food processor or cup of a single serving blender. Add the tahini, curry powder, and salt. Add the kale and garlic. Pulse in 10 second intervals until the kale is finely chopped and all ingredients are combined. Set aside.
Breakfast Bowls
Start by heating the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium-skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and toss to cook in the oil for 5 minutes, until they become tender. Toss with the salt. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and add the bok choy to the hot skillet. Cook over medium-heat for 1 minute, until it begins to wilt. Remove from heat.
Assemble the breakfast by adding an equal amount of barley to each of four bowls. Top with greens, sliced mushrooms, and red bell pepper. Add a large dollop of the topping and place an egg in each bowl. Serve right away.
Do you know of a case where an average student became among the best in the class because he started hanging out with those that are the best?
I was asked to tutor 15 PhD candidates (who were mostly university professors), who were expected to study in the U.S.A. for 2 years.
Their TOEFL scores were high, except for one administrative officer who scored 470 and one financial officer who scored 287. At that time, students were expected to have a score of 500 to get into a bachelor’s program.
They were already enrolled in the PhD program at a reputable university, and advisors had interviewed them here in Thailand.
I assumed that these two were allowed in as a special favor, but I had no real knowledge of the hows and whys.
The admin officer, who did little to improve, left our course and the PhD program with less than a month before departure.
The financial officer (call her ‘Dee’), however, attended every class, but her participation was stunted by the far more competent participants, no matter what I did to encourage her.
She was (quietly) considered an outsider, a non-academic and a non-proficient speaker of English by others in the class.
When they left for the U.S., I kept in touch with a few participants and always asked about Dee.
I needn’t have worried.
Dee completed her PhD earlier than was expected, much to the surprise of the others.
How did she do that?
Dee immersed herself in university and U.S. life, focusing on her tasks and seeking out advisors and other PhD candidates with similar interests. She was invited to instructors’ and candidates’ homes, and was quickly ‘adopted’ by their families.
A ceremony was held at the Thai university at the end of the program. She was greatly praised by the rector and others, while some of the professor candidates who did not complete the program stood silently by.
Today’s Comics
As a doctor or nurse, what were the creepiest last words you’ve heard from a patient right before the patient died?
Patients’ last words can be a window into their subconscious mind, revealing their deepest fears, desires, or regrets.
It’s not uncommon for healthcare professionals to encounter unsettling or cryptic last words, which can leave a lasting impact on those who care for the dying.
One doctor recounted a patient who, with their final breath, whispered “the children aren’t safe.”
The patient had no children, and the doctor was left wondering what dark secret the patient was trying to convey.
Another nurse remembered a patient who, as they took their last breath, whispered “I’m sorry” repeatedly, as if trying to atone for some unknown sin.
In some cases, patients may use their last words to convey a message or warning to their loved ones.
For instance, a patient who was a former smoker might warn their family members to quit smoking, while another might express regret over past decisions.
Some patients may use their final moments to settle old scores, confess secrets, or seek forgiveness.
The human brain is wired to respond to threats or perceived danger, even in the face of impending death.
This can lead to a flood of adrenaline, causing some patients to become agitated, aggressive, or even violent in their final moments.
In rare cases, patients may experience a “deathbed vision,” where they see or sense the presence of deceased loved ones or a higher power, offering them comfort and reassurance.
Ultimately, the dying process can be as mysterious as it is unsettling, leaving healthcare professionals to ponder the mysteries of the human psyche.
What’s the most ingenious car repair you’ve ever seen done?
I was at a bar, and this girl and her boyfriend got into a fight. She had a ’73 camaro, and he opened the hood and pulled off her coil wire. Then took off in his car leaving her stranded. I went into the bar, got a coat hanger, bent the ends so they would fit tight into the distributor cap and coil. she hit the key and it fired right up. I even impressed myself.
Another time, I was at the GW FASHION MALL, (Goodwill), and there was a guy with his hood open. says it won’t start. So I sprayed some starting fluid into the intake and it popped right off, but wouldn’t keep running. I had heard that if the fuel pump is going out, to give it a few hard smacks under the fuel tank, and that can knock it loose. I did it and it worked. That is just a temporary fix..
Another time, my son and I were on the highway, and my serpentine belt broke, and it knocked off the power steering belt also. I sat there trying to figure out what to do. My son said, *try putting the power steering belt on the crank pulley and the water pump/fan*. I thought that won’t work, but gave it a shot anyway. It was too tight. He said, turn it inside out and try it. It worked, a little loose, and slipped, but it made it home. Driving 20 miles like that keeping an eye on the temp gauge. We didn’t have an alternator or power steering, but got it home.
What made you think, “You’ve got to be kidding me,” when someone sat next to you on an airplane?
I was comfortably settled in my window seat, book in hand, anticipating the rest and relaxation my well-deserved vacation would bring. As my seat mate approached, I was struck by the six-inch rhinestone cross that hung from her neck. She began piling books atop the tray table, one of which was entitled, How to Convert Atheists.
Within a matter of minutes, the dreaded question was propounded. “Have you heard the good news?” I enthusiastically answered, “I have! The Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is legal in all fifty states. The Catholic Church is losing members faster than you can say pedophile priests and televangelists are being exposed for their fraudulent practices and extramarital affairs.” Before she could respond, I pointed to her book, looked her directly in the eye, and stated unambiguously, “Don’t even think about it.”
I returned to my book and suddenly heard, “I will pray for you.” To which I responded, “Knock yourself out, dear, just do it silently.”
What is that one secret that your parents have never told you, then all of sudden you get to know it?
I grew up in a polygamous family as it was and still a common practice in the African Traditional Society. We were and still 17 children. My father paid our school fees for all of us but only 50% of us completed our school while others dropped out.
Currently as I write this piece we are still 17 but we far apart from each other and father currently stays with my mother, the other 2 women (my step mothers), one passed on in 1991(RIP), while the other is married to some man.
Here is where the secret comes in, my Dad and Mum have been fighting each other for the past 28 years that they have been married, but they have never told us the cause of their fights, and for the past 28 years my mum and dad didn’t share the same room, but no one seems to tell us even when we had family meetings.
Last year around May 2019 the fight intensified to a point I thought they were going to divorce, we sat them down as family and we wanted to hear from them.
My Dad became very hostile when we started the meeting as he has always been, very defensive in his actions as our mother told us that Dad had been having extra marital affairs out to which my Dad completely objected.
Then boooooooooooom….. the shocking news comes out, the secret that mum and dad never wanted to tell us. Our first born knew everything but he kept this from us.
He decides to break the news that shook all of us the family members, that our step mother that died in 1991 was sick with HIV/AIDs Virus and when my mum realized that they went together to a medical facility and tested she was negative and dad was positive, and that Dad has been HIV positive for the past 28 years and has been on medication that he kept from us for all these years.
Our mother decided to stay in the relationship to take care of him and us but my dad has failed to see that and continued tormenting her by having affairs outside the marriage. I felt completely battered, shattered because I looked up to my mum and dad has role models when it came to honesty. They always told us to be honest yet they never told us what was hapening in their lives.This was my experience.
USA ADDS SANCTIONS to HUAWEI for INTEL and QUALCOMM – china must submit to old white man..
What is the most shameless thing you have ever seen a teacher do?
I was in 5th grade. My teacher was regularly given troublesome students over the years. I was in her class because my brother (one of the aforementioned troublesome students) had had her four years prior. Unfortunately, all those years of kids that made things difficult took its toll.
Early in the school year, because of constant arguments, our teacher started doing something she called IALAC (I am lovable and cuddlable). This meant every day before we went to the classroom, we formed a circle outside and had to say one nice thing about the person to our right. We also had an in class project every day. On this particular day, we were painting. I decided I didn’t want to use a brush and was finger painting. We had a sink in the classroom and I had always been well behaved and quiet. Other students saw what I was doing and complained. The teacher didn’t mind what I was doing but I washed my hands without being told and switched to a brush because I didn’t like conflict.
My classmates decided that if I was allowed to finger paint, they could do. Except they started painting each other, not the provided paper.
Our teacher completely snapped. She started screaming at us, singling out particular students and telling them just how awful they were. A bunch of 10/11 year olds being shrieked at. I wasn’t singled out but because my finger painting was the catalyst, I felt absolutely awful. I’d never been yelled at in my life!
After tearing us all down with her verbal abuse, the teacher stormed out of the classroom, leaving us alone, frightened, and our self esteem crippled. The teacher in the next classroom saw ours leave and came over to find us all sobbing. Administrators were summoned. Many of us ended up in the front office under the school nurse’s supervision. Two students attempted to leave school grounds. Parents were called.
Our teacher didn’t come back. We had a sub for the remainder of the year. I heard the teacher retired the following year but I was moved to a different school district after the winter break.
What is the most heartbreaking thing your child has told you?
I was pressing my teen daughter, who had asked to earn some money, to clean out our car. She was 16 and she had done it before and I would give her $100 for a good job (back in the 2000’s that was good money for a teenager for 3 hours work). One day she was stressed when she got home from school and was very serious and I reminded her that she promised to clean the car the week before and it never got done. I was gentle because I knew it was mid terms time. I said “If you get it done by this weekend I’ll add $50.” But she looked at me and just broke down sobbing. She was having a particularly rough day, it was…that time…and she was behind in studying for tests and she was trying to tell me this.
My daughter finally looked up at me and said “Dad! You’re not LISTENING”. I felt about 3 inches tall. I was thinking about other things that I needed to get done and this was just another ‘thing’ to check off and I hadn’t heard a word she was saying until that moment. As a pretty tough Army guy and all around guy of ‘manly pursuits’…I teased up and just hugged her and apologized. And I asked her and her mother to help me learn how to listen…to explain what to watch for with them. Since a serious head injury I don’t always get facial cues or ‘hear’ stress in people’s voices…I’m a bit oblivious. But anyone can learn and they helped me and have been ever since!
What feature in your car did you not realize you had until someone else told you about it?
Q: What feature in your car did you not realize you had until someone else told you about it?
I have always had bare bones automobiles. Even the one I ordered from the book didn’t have all the bells and whistles on it. My last car, before my present one, was a Chevy Venture more than two decades old that I paid a whopping $2400 for. I loved that car, but as fate would have it, it could not withstand hitting a pick-up truck directly in the rear axle when the assh0le driving it decided to pull out in front of me. A lot changed in the four years since I bought the van and it is now impossible to find such a bargain as that. Most used cars start at $10,000 and go up fast. I did find one dealership that had cars closer to my price range, and I got a generous settlement on my poor van from the insurance company. The best deal I found was on a 2007 Lincoln MKX. In my wildest dreams I never thought I’d ever own a car this nice! It had bells and whistles that Henry Ford himself could not have imagined! I thought I knew them all. Then one day I was out with my caregiver and she said something about my seats being heated! I’m from Wisconsin. If I’d had heated seats when I lived there, I would have been in heaven! However MY seat did not heat up, only hers did. It seems the car has a few bugs that need to be fixed. Where I live now, I don’t need a heated seat, but it’s nice to know that with a little tweaking, if I need one, I have it!
USA is crazy
If I walked up to you and called you Japanese and you’re Chinese would you get offended?
This reminds me of a bad joke that illustrates the question.
A Vietnamese man and a Jewish man are waiting in the Doctor’s office for an appointment and as the time goes on they become more and more irritated until finally the Jewish man says, “I hate you Vietnamese people!”.
Shocked, the Vietnamese man says, “What in the world would compel you to say something like that? Why do you hate Vietnamese people?”
To which the Jewish man replies, “Because you bombed Pearl Harbor!”
The Vietnamese man goes, “You idiot! That wasn’t the Vietnamese, that was the Japanese!”
To which the Jewish man shrugs and says, “Vietnamese, Japanese, what’s the difference?”
Stunned, the Vietnamese man says, “Yeah, well I hate all you Jewish people!”
To which the Jewish man replies in great indignation, “That’s anti-Semitic! Why would you hate all Jewish people?”
And the Vietnamese man says, “Because you sank the Titanic!”
“You idiot,” bawls the Jewish man, “That was an iceberg!”
To which the Vietnamese man replies,
“Iceberg, Goldberg, what’s the difference?”
What’s the best excuse you’ve heard for calling in sick at work?
It was over 35 years ago in sunny Southern California, right before work and school, when that infamous phone call was made. “I am sorry, but neither my son nor myself can make it to school today, as we just had a Tractor Trailer drive through our kitchen.
So yea, over 3 & a half decades ago, I was attending a private school where my belated biological mother was one of the teachers there. We lived mid-way down a massive inclined hill in Southern California in the Sand Fernado Valley. It was early in the morning with she & I rushing to get dressed and jump in the car to go to school.
As I was putting on my shoes I heard the loudest crashing sound, and the house shook. Thinking that it was an Earthquake, I ran to the center of our home underneath a door frame to take shelter. As I got to reach that area I saw dust coming from the kitchen, with debris all over the place. Since the house stopped shaking, I approached the kitchen, and to my disbelief, there was a Truck aka Big Rig, parked partially in our Kitchen.
I ran outside and saw one of our trees knocked down, branches of another tree that had fallen, and a Huge Tractor Trailor Truck sticking it’s nose where it did not belong, our kitchen. A man was getting out of the truck, his knee badly hurt, and bleeding, with him asking with desperation “Is everyone inside OK?”
He was parked further up the hill, with his wheels properly angled towards the curb (I am the grandson of a professional Truck driver, 3rd generation & eventually worked for gramps too), but his Emergency brakes broke, and with the massive weight and steep angle of this hill, his Truck went over the curb then back off heading straight for our home. It is confirmed by other neighbors, that he ran down the hill and managed to jump and grabbed the horizonal bars used to aid truckers to get into their cab, but in the process, slamming & cutting his knee against his truck, and just barely managed to open his Cab door and apply the brakes as his truck was crashing into our home.
You would think that this would be a lot more believable than my dog ate my homework or my parents’ car won’t start, but both my belated mother & I had to bring to that private school both the insurance report and police accident report.
Ok, dare you guys to top that one…
MM is hungry…
What is an example of a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer and how did you handle the situation?
We’d agreed to buy and deliver about $10,000 worth of gravel the local baseball association needed to stop one of their fields from flooding. — The terms were that they would pay us back once the season started back up again.
By then, their treasurer didn’t remember that we’d done it, despite my invoicing them. At cost.
She said that she would check with the man who’d received the rock; their contractor; and, the President of the organization.
—
I never got a call back. — I tried this method three or four times, documenting each time, and then I tried a different approach.
We were developers in the area in addition to being a general construction corporation and owning a subsidiary ready-mix concrete plant. — The developer aspect meant that I knew a thing or two about lease agreements.
My guess was that they had a lease with the city for that property (land). Since our property (tangible personal/inventory/rocks) was now unpaid for but now an immovable/irretrievable aspect of the city’s property, I could place a mechanic’s lien against that property.
Lessees who encumber the landlords’ properties generally are subject to having their leases canceled. — Just standard stuff. Didn’t need an attorney to tell me this.
—
So, I sent them a demand letter threatening to notify the mayor.
I soon received a phone call from the association’s President informing me that they did not lease from the city! — “That was county land!”
—
Oh. — So, the county judge needed to be notified. My mistake.
A week or so later, I was at our main office, in my office, when in filed the entire Board of Directors of that baseball association. They asked my assistant, who appeared then, to be the receptionist, to speak to me. — Well, I saw them walk in, and I’d already gotten up.
The President of our corporation wasn’t there, so I ushered them into his big office with the big desk. The big desk that was built inside the office; it wouldn’t fit back out unless you knocked down a wall.
I got them some chairs and arranged them in front of the President’s desk. They sat down, and then I sat in the big chair behind the big desk and said, “Good afternoon. I am the Chief Financial Officer of this corporation and the manager of the concrete plant. How may I help you all?”
A white-haired lady at least twice my age asserted a couple of things, asked a question, and then made two statements:
WHL: You all said that you were donating this rock to us.
J: I purchased the rock and had it delivered to your location. That was never our agreement. — I invoiced you myself. — I would know.
WHL: If we pay this amount, do you intend to still go after our contractor?
J: Your contractor has a very bad reputation. I wouldn’t go after him as he has no money. Plus, you may have had an agreement with him; this corporation had an agreement with your association. — If you pay the invoices in full, I will have no reason to go after anyone ever again. Not with you all, that is; or, him.
The moment I write, “PAID IN FULL” on your invoices and initial them, you will be paid up. I will have nothing to collect. I guarantee — I wouldn’t try to collect a $0 debt. To do so makes no sense.
WHL: Fine. — She turned to the treasurer and said, “Give him the checks.”
—
Then, she turned back to me.
WHL: I want you to know: We will never do business with this company again.
J: Ma’am, with all due respect, and I mean that: If this is the way you pay your debts, we will not miss the business.
—
I verified they’d written out the checks correctly; wrote that information on their invoices; PIF; initialed. — Done.
I handed them to her and said, “Unless these bounce, neither the mayor nor the county judge need to know what has gone on here this year; and, if they find out, it won’t be from our corporation.”
Boy. They were not happy. — Probably because the checks cleared.
Some LeonardiAI text to images
When have you warned of an impending problem, been ignored, and then simply waited and watched it happen?
“Don’t sit there.”
When I was in college my honor society sponsored a spring break trip to South America. We started in Brazil and ended in Argentina. Overall, great trip. But college students being college students, there were a lot of dumb assholes along for the ride.
In the middle of the trip we went on a boat tour to a little resort. The boat was a big motorized passenger boat of some kind, made up to look like a sail boat. I could immediately tell the mast and the rigging and everything was just set dressing. I got the impression safety was only a mild concern to the boat operators so I made myself comfortable but didn’t sit on or lean against anything that didn’t look like it was an original part of the boat.
Other members of our tour group were not as observant. This was not too long after the second Pirates of the Caribbean film was released so there were a couple of guys who were amusing themselves playing Jack Sparrow (what can I say, they were very stereotypical city boys; I think this was the longest time they’d been outside since they were in grade school).
They were having fun hopping around the deck and hanging from the ropes and stuff, and when one of them perched himself on a flimsy looking railing I warned him “Don’t sit there.” Of course he didn’t listen to me because he was a dumb jock who had already decided he didn’t like me for some reason.
Sure enough, when he shifted his weight the wrong way the railing broke and into the river he went. (Lucky for him we weren’t moving at the time.)
When they fished him back out he was very embarrassed and I was positively full of smug.
Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls
A Weeknight Meal Solution
(Family Features) During the hustle and bustle of the school year, it can be difficult to find time to sit down for dinner together as a family. However, on weeknights filled with extracurricular activities, homework, meetings and more, it’s still important to put delicious and nutritious meals on the table that can be served whenever your family members can find a few minutes to grab a plate.
Prep: 20 min | Cook: 4 to 8 hr | Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 (16 ounces) chunky salsa
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups instant brown rice
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
Chopped avocado, for garnish
Chopped cilantro, for garnish
Chopped red onion, for garnish
Chopped tomatoes, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish
Sour cream or Greek yogurt, for garnish
Shredded colby jack cheese, for garnish
Instructions
In slow cooker, stir together salsa, chicken, broth and chili powder. Cook for 3 1/2 hours on HIGH or for 7 1/2 hours on LOW.
Transfer chicken to cutting board and coarsely shred; return to slow cooker. Stir in beans, rice and corn. Cook for 30 minutes on HIGH, or until rice is cooked through.
Serve garnished with avocado, cilantro, onion, tomatoes, limes, sour cream and cheese.
Notes
Dairy foods like milk, yogurt and cheese are on hand in many kitchens and provide nutrients people of all ages need to grow and maintain strong bodies and minds. These Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls combine dairy with chicken, beans, corn and rice + colorful garnishes for a meal you can set in the slow cooker at the beginning of the day and serve whenever hunger strikes that evening.
Has a cop ever said something to you which was completely unexpected?
I lost a jury trial once that involved my client and another allegedly shooting a man at night in an apartment complex parking lot. A DVR with a video of the shooting was retrieved by the police as evidence. The DVR was returned to the manager wiped clean.
At trial, the victim identified both defendants as the culprits. He explained that both came within 10 feet of him while he was getting something from his car and he saw them clearly when the shots were fired. He knew them from previous run-ins and described their clothing and the gun in detail. The lead detective said nothing of value was found on the DVR. The Defendants offered weak alibi witnesses, i.e. a girlfriend and a mother.
The jury convicted both men and each received sentences of 20+ years. My guy was a habitual offender and was going to serve his sentence day for day.
After approximately a month into their sentence, I was doing a jail visit on another case. Another Detective, not on the case in question, came to where I was and asked to speak with me.
To my complete and utter surprise, he stated he couldn’t sit by and let the two Defendants do time for something they didn’t do. He sent a video to my phone showing the parking lot and the shooting. He had videotaped it on his phone when the DVR was at the police station. It clearly showed only one suspect with different clothing and a larger size discharging a firearm while the victim was reaching for something in his car with his back turned. He told me he didn’t want to be identified as the source and didn’t want anyone to get in trouble. I was so grateful for his action, I agreed to his terms and immediately called the other attorney, whereupon we gave the video to the Prosecutor and the Judge. I’ve never seen two men released as quickly from prison. I understand the City may have settled a civil suit in the matter a few months later but I was never called as a witness nor asked to reveal my source. To this day, I have nothing but respect for the officer who came forward.
Scary but true
Shorpy fun
What was the strangest thing you found cleaning out your parents’ house after they died?
My dad died in 1992, he was 58. I was crushed. While looking around the the finished basement in the house, opening random doors and cupboards, I found dad’s diaries. Nine years of them. He wrote something everyday. Even if it was “Nothing happened today.” His last entry was the day he died.
Finding these was so wildly out of the norm from every thing I knew about my dad I would have been less shocked to find a Playboy magazine under the Pope’s mattress.
A man can, and sometimes will, lie to anyone and everyone. But you don’t lie to your diary.
I learned all the dirty little secrets of my mother, brother and sister. I also learned dad’s true feelings about me.
He was proud of me. He knew at times I struggled. I was broke for a while. Eating in soup kitchens. I never asked for a penny. My brother and sister had their hand out every time they stubbed a toe. My mother…a messed up basket case.
It was a very revealing time. I miss dad. I don’t miss the rest of them. Only my sister is still around. We’re cordial but I haven’t seen her in a very long time. Of course, I live on the other side of the planet.
My dad was a good man who put up with a lifetime of shit exactly because of it.
What is the basis of China in their sovereignty claims on the West Philippine Sea?
China has no claims in the West Philippine Sea:
The western edge of the Philippine Sea is the archipelago of the Philippines.
China does have, on the other hand, legitimate claims on the South China Sea that date back all the way to 1946, and were created by the Republic of China (the internationally recognized government of all of China at the time), along with the assistance of the US navy.
Oh, and while we’re at it, I think that I should remind you that at the time that the US was assisting the ROC in officially laying claims, the Philippines was still under US control. They explicitly told the Philippines that, according to the Treaty of Paris (1898), the islands of the South China Sea were not a part of the Philippines.
Are we seeing the end of US hegemony in the world?
Indeed, we are.
First of all, the USA is a global hegemon because it controls most other countries through the US Dollar’s dominance as the global reserve currency. The US Dollar has been weaponized to punish countries that refuse to obey US foreign policy with economic sanctions.
The USA is also a global hegemon because of its military power projection with over 850 military bases worldwide and 11 aircraft carrier battle groups. The USA has been exercising its military power through dozens of conflicts, most notably in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen.
However, things are changing. The Global South is rising and pushing back on America’s nonsense. BRICS is helping the world to de-dollarize. This will weaken the US Dollar’s influence.
The USA also faces a crushing $35 trillion nation debt, which is growing by $1 trillion every 100 days. This is completely unsustainable and a massive financial collapse is imminent.
BREAKING: I’ve Received TOP SECRET INTEL, NUCLEAR PLAN HAS CHANGED, EQUIPMENT MOVES TO BORDER
I am closing this post with this…
What is the best excuse you have given to the police for speeding?
Once upon a time I drove from San Diego to Vegas a couple times a week for business. I hit snow over the first pass out of Vegas trying to get home before 12:00 noon. My car made it very easy to exceed the speed limit without realizing it. I got pulled over by a very angry officer who berated me for my carelessness. He repeatedly told me he didn’t want to hear ANY excuses! After about 3 minutes of his angry lecture during which I sat quietly awaiting my well deserved ticket he stopped and asked me why I wanted to die. I calmly answered, ‘sir, you just told me you didn’t want to hear any excuses, I’ll take my ticket now…I need to get to the next rest stop to use the bathroom.’ I got a police escort to the next rest stop. Once inside, I made sure to take enough time applying my makeup. I figured I escaped a ticket the least I could do was spend enough time in the bathroom to look nice if he was still waiting when I got out. One of the few times that being a woman worked to my advantage.
Russia Paints New Military Insignia on Invading Force – Same Symbol Used in Past Wars against . . . Khazaria
Russia has launched a new offensive into northeastern Ukraine, aimed at Kharkiv and Sumy regions. But the HUGE news about this isn’t the invasion itself, it’s the SYMBOL Russia is painting on this new force: ‘Rune of Gungnir’ — the spear of Odin.
Below some imagery of the symbol and its appearance on Russian military vehicles:
Historically, the Varangian bogatyrs of Svyatoslav (Ancient Russia) marked their weapons & armor with such runes when they went to war against the Khazarian Khaganate.
There is now no longer any doubt, that Russia knows exactly who their enemy is.
For those unaware, a map of ancient Khazaria appears below:
No other media outlet in the entire world, has made this connection. You got it here. First. Exclusively.
What is the most evil thing you have ever witnessed? It could be an event or a person.
I’m not going to talk about what I’ve seen on Dark Web. The things I saw on there I’m not going think about anymore.
But once I was in Walmart and saw a couple with a little boy of about six or seven. The boy was pushing the shopping cart looking happy and smiling, the couple looking not very cheerful. He accidently bumped the man in the back with the cart. He didn’t do it hard, just a bump. The man whirled around and shoved the cart so that the kid got hit full in the face. The look of shock and then the terrible hurt on this child’s face made me sick inside. He began to weep in the most pitiful way, in a way that my intuition told this was one of many times this man has been cruel to him.
So I’m standing there with my jaw dropped in disbelief and the kids mother met eyes with me and I shook my head in disgust. She was ashamed and dropped her gaze but all she did was pat the child’s back weakly while that asshole man looked pleased with himself. I saw everything I needed to see, what the dynamic was in this household, and my heart broke for this poor kid.
I considered saying something but the man met eyes with me too and his look was of sheer malevolence. He told me mind my damn business. He had this aura of crazy so I hate to admit I backed down. He looked like someone who would enjoy any opportunity to use it on someone.
Project 8200 Exposed | CIA Psychics Find Alien Bases Underground
I keep coming back and rewatching this episode and this is probably the best episode of the Why files ever!
When my wife and I got a job in Pago Pago, we had to leave all of our belongings behind. That included our little dog PP.
So we left him with a friend. PP and our cat at that time; FeiMei then moved in with our friend. And we left for the South Pacific.
A year later, we returned. Pago pago was not to our liking and situations there forced us to return to China and start all over again. *sigh*
But it turned out that our friend had sold or lost all of our belongings and had given the dog PP away. She still had the cat; Feimei, and loved her to death and would not part with her. We had no idea where PP was.
About six months after we arrived in Shenzhen, we got a phone call from an old vet. It turned out that the lady that our “friend” had sold PP to had abandoned him at a vet, and his ID tag listed us as the owners.
Well… GREAT NEWS!
So we left first thing the next day and made it to the vet. We wanted to get him back, don’t you know.
But the vet was closed.
So I peered in the door, and saw PP at the end of the vet, looking sad.He had bright orange ears. And a bright fluorescent green tail. But it was him. No question about it.
And as I was peering in, he noticed me…
… he stopped and peered into the morning gloom…
…he then looked closely at me…
…then…
…then… he like jerked back and started barking like crazy, going around and around, and around in his pen. It went on like this non-stop.
He recognized me.
But the office was closed.
So, we went to get breakfast, and when we returned to the vet, I swear that PP just about jumped out of his skin to hug both of us. That was one happy reunion. I’ll tell you what.
From that moment on, we kept him with us at all times. It lasted until, well… he got really old and was having all sorts of old doggie problems. Poor guy. I hope that I don’t become a burden when I am that old.
But the story is that he was so happy. We were so happy. All of us were so very happy.
Reunions! Great things! Great memories!
Today…
Romans 12
Who was the richest kid at your high school?
The boarding school I attended was a prestigious international boarding school hidden deep in the British countryside. With fees putting the school in the top 10 most expensive boarding schools in the United Kingdom, you can imagine the type of people that attended. Let me give you some interesting examples of those who attended:
Rich Arabs/Russians/Chinese
These were the guys who would struggle deciding what supercar to ask for their 21st birthday. With many owning their own penthouses and townhouses in Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea, at the age of <20. They’d dress head-to-toe in Brioni, Christian Louboutin and Tom Ford. I once sold a can of Cola and two packets of Walkers/Lays crisps to a Russian boarder who paid £25 just to emphasise his wealth in front of his onlooking room mates. In my first year at the same college, I remember a boarder whose father ran the one of the largest bank in Hong Kong was repeatedly told off by staff for revving his Ferrari California too loud in the student car park.
English Heritage Wealth
As well as the international students, many students had families who lived in London and around the UK. Often refraining from portraying their wealth, I often found these guys to be more selective of who they befriended due to the tradition of protected social circles. A student in my IT class drove a Volkswagen Polo and wore a highly affordable TM Lewis suit, with only a few students knowing that his family owned one of the largest yachts harboured in St Tropez.
The richest kids
Off the top of my head, these were the most wealthy individuals I knew at my school:
A British boarder who really lived below his means considering his dad was worth £2.3 billion pounds and part-owned one of the largest real-estate companies in the UK. His father visited the school only once and of course he had a personal assistant with him at the time.
A Russian boarder whose father had close connections in the Russian government. He had a penthouse in Paris and was provided a weekly allowance of £10,000 by his parents.
A Chinese boarder whose family owned one of the largest property companies in Hong Kong.
To end on, here’s a funny yet very true story:
There was a Chinese student who everyone thought couldn’t be any more further from being wealthy. He’d buy second-hand clothing from charity stores, his iPhone was at least 6-years old and he never wore any designer clothes whatsoever. On the last day of term, we were all sat on the coach heading for the airport for international students to fly home for the holidays. The coach always stopped at 2 separate airport terminals – the first stop was the terminal heading for Asia, the second stop was the terminal heading for Europe. Before we even got to the first stop, the coach took a short detour to a separate terminal entrance homing the extra large hangers for privately owned jets. The Chinese boy got up, said good bye to his friend and stepped off the coach. He is the richest person I’ve ever met at my boarding college.
Amongst the many wealthy individuals who often portray their wealth, you’ll rarely come across the seemingly poor yet ultra, ultra 0.001% rich.
Another Zionist Crime – The Psychopathic Destruction Of Rafah
This morning the Israeli army ordered hundred thousands of refugees to move from the eastern part of Rafah to the already destroyed and likewise overcrowded area around Khan Younis. Hours later it started to bomb and destroy the place.
biggerThe eastern part of Rafah includes the Rafah crossing to Egypt through which food an other necessities enter Gaza. It also includes the largest still existing healthcare facility.
As the Zionist entity will likely continue in its usual pattern the eastern part of Rafah will be completely destroyed. After that it will do the same with its western part.
There will not be one building left in Gaza that is inhabitable.
I mostly refrain from writing about the crimes of the colonial settler regime. It is simply beyond my emotional capabilities.
This poem, by Caitlin Johnstone, is probably the best way to express my feelings:
I don’t oppose the butchery in Gaza because I love Hamas or hate Jews or love Islam or hate America. I don’t oppose the butchery in Gaza because I’m a lefty or a commie or an anarchist or an anti-imperialist. I oppose the butchery in Gaza because I’m not a fucking psychopath.
Every one who openly or silently supports the Zionist in this should be in jail.
Did you ever get someone fired? If yes, how did it go?
I also did, unintentionally. I found myself unemployed for the first and last time in 1999. I had worked for British Petroleum for almost 20 years, and if I had managed to last beyond 20 years, all of my retirement benefits would have increased dramatically. It wasn’t official policy, but it was a fact that many BP employees were laid off in their 19th year, which saved BP a ton of money over the long term.
At any rate, I had no plan for trying to find a new job, since I never thought I would ever need one. I was put through the BP senior-employee layoff process, which included a lot of training on job searching and interviewing and so on. I went through the process of signing up for unemployment, and spent my days composing and emailing out letters offering my services to every contact I could think of. To no avail.
One of the recommendations was to call contacts and try to set up lunches “just to stay in touch”. I did this fairly often with no result, until I suggested lunch with a colleague who I had worked with at BP, and who was then at a very small oil exploration company. We had lunch, during which he asked me to send him a resume, which he planned to show to his boss. His boss really liked my resume, and I ended up being hired as my friend’s partner.
What I was never told was that they didn’t have an open position. When I showed up for work I was introduced to an employee who had been instructed to bring me up to speed on the projects he was currently working. Over the next few days, I picked up from this guy’s attitude and other clues that they were evaluating me as a replacement. They never told me that forthrightly, or I might have told them no. But I was getting desperate after 6 months out of work, so I just tried to do an excellent job on whatever I was asked to do and hoped it would work out.
It was a very awkward situation. The guy I was being asked to replace was actually someone I had worked with earlier – although we had never worked together on anything. He was more clued in and knew he was in danger of losing his job to me, so his attitude was way less than helpful. Fortunately they made me a job offer within a week, and officially let the other guy go. We were both working in the oil industry in Houston, so we ran into each other regularly. We actually ended up as friends, so it worked out ok. We never talked about my “getting him fired”. It was just too uncomfortable a subject.
Tacos de Carnitas
Crispy bits of very flavorful pork is the base for these delicious street tacos.
Ingredients
1 (3 to 4 pound) pork butt
6 cups water
7 strips orange zest
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 large white onion, diced
1 cinnamon stick (preferably Mexican canela)
1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed oregano leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
24 small corn tortillas, warmed
Chopped fresh cilantro
Finely chopped white onion
Diced fresh tomato
Instructions
Trim any thick fat from the pork butt. Cut the meat into 1 inch cubes, discarding any that are pure fat, leaving some of the fat for flavor and browning later.
Put the pork cubes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any foam that forms on the surface during the first 15 minutes. After foam is skimmed off, add the chopped onion, garlic, orange zest, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, cloves and salt. Simmer uncovered for another 1 1/4 hours until pork is very tender, adding more water if necessary to keep it submerged.
Season with more salt.
Continue simmering at a gentle boil until the water has evaporated, about 30 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and cinnamon. Cook a little longer to fry the meat, stirring often and adding a little water it it seems to be sticking and/or burning.
Spoon some carnitas onto each tortilla. Top tacos with chopped onion, cilantro and diced fresh tomato.
Serve with refried beans and Mexican rice for a genuine
1.Never gamble on a fart. If it’s at all questionable find a toilet and sit down.
2. If you’re a male conduct all toilet business sitting down. A swollen prostate can force you to strain very hard to pee while at the same time clench your butt muscles not to poop. This is a very conflicting exercise and requires extensive training to perfect.
3. Never waste an erection. What used to arise without provocation is now a rare gift to be cherished and shared if at all possible.
4. If you must read the obituaries do it only to gloat over those you have outlived.
5. Only tell your old stories to people you have just met. Everyone else has heard them already and some may even remember what really happened.
6. Stay crazy so you will always have new stories to tell your old friends.
7. Remember your fighting skills no longer match your anger levels. So either avoid fighting or devise more treacherous ways to channel your anger.
8. When seeking a mate be prepared to lower your standards and look for someone who is willing to lower theirs as well.
9.Start a long term project that you know nothing about. This will give you something to look forward to and strengthen your denial of your impending doom.
10. Clear your browsing history after each use. Don’t let that dirty little secret become your legacy.
Why stop at ten when it goes all the way to eleven?(spinal tap reference)
11. Always look for the humor in everything.
The dude is spot on
SpaghettiOs
Kids will love this homemade version of a favorite canned pasta.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
1 (26 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 cups water
1 cup milk
2 cups Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
8 ounces ditalini or pasta of choice, uncooked
Instructions
In a large pot mix together the sauce, water and milk. Bring to a boil.
When it reaches a bowl, stir in the cheese and turn it down to a simmer. Continue to stir until the cheese is melted.
Add the garlic and stir.
Pour in the uncooked pasta. Simmer on low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally during the first 5 to 6 minutes to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Check the pasta after 20 minutes, if it’s not as soft as you would like, cook it a little longer. Sauce will thicken even more over time.
Why China is FURIOUS After Blinken Visit
What is the most badass thing your parent has ever done?
When I was in 5th grade I saw my father do something completely badass!
It was a typical night for our family sitting around watching television on a weeknight.
BAM BAM BAM!!!!!!!!
The door of our house was getting pounded on, scaring all of us out of our seats. My father jumps up and opens the door.
On the front stoop is our neighbor holding their infant child, naked upside down and blue. The baby boy was choking on a piece of candy he had somehow grabbed.
They had tried to turn him over and shake him trying to dislodge the candy, it didn’t work. They ran to our house.
My dad calmly grabbed the child and performed the Heimlich maneuver. the candy spat right out and the color of the child came back. I just stood there in awe. The mother just cried and couldn’t stop thanking my father.
My dad worked for the post office, but volunteered for the fire department as an EMT. He also volunteered for the Police and was a baseball and softball umpire. Just like most boys, we didn’t always get along, but I always respected the badass things he did in his life.
Five women to avoid
Russia To Conduct Tactical Nuke Drill “To Deter Western Threats”
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Monday that its forces were preparing to conduct tactical nuclear weapons exercises in response to Western “threats and provocations.”
“At the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, in order to increase the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to perform combat missions, the General Staff has begun preparations for conducting exercises in the near future,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
It added that the exercises would involve missile units of Russia’s Southern Military District, which is headquartered in the city of Rostov-on-Don, as well as aviation and naval forces.
“During the exercise, a set of measures will be carried out to practice the issues of preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” the statement read.
According to the Defense Ministry, the exercises seek to maintain the readiness of personnel and equipment amid “provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials against the Russian Federation.” It did not say when the nuclear weapons exercises were scheduled to take place.
President Vladimir Putin placed Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert days after ordering Russian troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later on Monday linked the drills with what he described as Western announcements to send troops to Ukraine.
In an interview with The Economist last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said the question of sending Western troops to Ukraine would “legitimately” arise if Russia broke through Ukrainian front lines and Kyiv made such a request.
Late stages of Empire
America’s Empire Is Collapsing. Here’s How to Prepare.
Who was the craziest person you ever met and what memories do you have of him/her?
Sad situation. I was working for a small PD and got called to respond to an “unknown disturbance” on July 4, 1986…mid afternoon. I got there and a family was sitting at a picnic table under a carport in their front yard.
The man stands up to greet me and tells me his brother is off his meds and they can’t get him to come out to eat.
The brother lives in a small shed. No windows, no air conditioning, located on the side of the house near the driveway. I walk over to the shed and look inside.
He’s there, completely naked, and covered from head to toe in his own blood. He’s been meticulously cutting and peeling back skin, all over his body except for his face and there isn’t a spot on him that’s not pouring out blood.
He’s holding a knife, with the handles removed, and as I look around into the dark shed, I see hundreds of knives with their handles removed all over the place. I ask his name and he say’s, “Robert”.
I tell him mine, and ask if he’s okay.
He nods that he is, but continues to work on a filet of skin from his forearm area with the knife.
I’ve already called EMS and they arrive, but will not go near him (obviously). I ask Robert if he’d like to go for a ride, and he say’s, “okay”.
I tell him to put down the knife and come outside and he stares blankly for a minute, then says, “alright” and puts down the knife.
He walks out slowly and his eyes adjust to the light.
EMS starts to step forward but I stop them and say, ”Robert, these guys are going to have to take you and clean you up before you can ride in the car.
Would you come over and sit down on their gurney so they can do that?”.
Again emotionless, Robert say’s “okay” and slowly walks to the stretcher.
I stayed and talked with him throughout the loading process until they took him to the hospital.
…
The brother never got up from his meal.
Russia Warns British Ambassador – Russia May Strike British Forces ***ANYWHERE**
Both the French and British Ambassadors to Russia were Summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry this morning. When they came out, they were pale with nothing to say to the Press. INTEL Source reveals what the British were told.
A strong protest was expressed to the British ambassador in connection with the country’s Foreign Minister David Cameron’s statement about Kiev’s right to strike Russia with British weapons. (Reported HERE 3 days ago)
The Ambassador was warned that “the Russian response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons on Russian territory, could be any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and beyond.”
What’s the most ridiculous adult tantrum you’ve witnessed that you couldn’t believe?
This one’s a doozy. I was about 4 months pregnant; my BD ripped the visor completely off my mother’s car, proceeded to bang the visor on the steering wheel until the mirror compact popped out of the visor. He then pulled the car over on a narrow road in the middle of morning traffic and hopped out of the car. He started screaming while pacing around the car. I told him I was going to drive home, and I started climbing my pregnant self over the center console to get in the driver’s seat. He quickly opened the door and shoved me back over. He told me that he was going to be the one to take my mom’s car back to her after he dropped me off at my house. I didn’t have much option but to listen at that point. He dropped me off, dropped my mom’s car off and then he CAME BACK to my house asking if he could brush his teeth before he went to work. Asshole.
Why you ask? Because he had no children, and he was annoyed I had to drop off and pick up my son from school. He was insisting that my son should ride the bus. I just moved to a new home 35 minutes away from his school and they didn’t run a bus that far. He refused to accept that they wouldn’t drive a school bus 35 minutes away. He threw a tantrum simply because he thought I was lying about bus routes. For what it is worth, I was not lying. My car was totaled the month before and I was sharing my mom’s car… my mom didn’t live with me. You think a pregnant woman wants to wake up an hour earlier than normal, just so she can walk to her mother’s house to drive her son to school? As if.
Oh, and I didn’t let him brush his teeth!
Are you toxic?
What kinds of conversations only happen in China?
Here is a conversation which has happened to me fairly frequently. I get approached by a man or woman who is in her 60s or 70s, and the conversation starts like this:
“Are you married?”
“No.”
“Why not? Do you like men instead?”
“No, I like women. I guess I have just not met the right one.”
“How much money do you make?”
“I make xxx.”
“Do you own a house?”
“No, I don’t.”
“You seem like a decent person. Why aren’t you married?”
“I have had some bad luck.”
“Would you be interested in meeting my daughter? She is 40 years old and not married yet. I was wondering if you could meet and become friends?”
By this time, my mind is whirling madly. If agree to meet, their hopes are very high, and if things don’t work out, I will end up hurting them. Time for some honesty.
“If you give me a way to contact her, I will contact her directly and we can have dinner. But I don’t want you to be involved in the process if that’s OK with you.”
“OK. Do you have a recent photo? I will give it to her and ask her. And give me your phone number so that she can contact you directly.”
“Here you go. Thank you.”
In fairness, this kind of conversation has happened to me in the US too, but only among Chinese.
There are a lot of desperate Chinese parents out there.
Western Actions in Ukraine: Approaching an “Explosive Critical Mass”
The Russian Federation will perceive F-16s in Ukraine as carriers of nuclear weapons, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, adding that Russia reserves the right to react in a mirror way to the deployment of American-made missiles.
The Russian Foreign Ministry’s statements on the escalation in Ukraine:
The Russian Tactical nuclear weapons exercises should be viewed in the context of recent belligerent statements by Western officials and destabilizing actions by NATO.
We hope that exercises to test the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons will cool down the “hot heads” in Western capitals.
In response to the actions of the United States, the Russian Federation is intensifying its development and starting production of medium and shorter-range missile systems.
The United States is “at full speed” producing and testing medium and short-range missile systems in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
The actions of NATO member countries indicate that they are deliberately heading towards an open military clash with Russia.
The reckless steps of Ukraine and Western countries are bringing the situation ever closer to the accumulation of an explosive “critical mass.”
If red flags were a woman
What are some of the unwritten rules in Australia?
As an Indonesian, I’d like to answer the question from an Asian perspective. To Australians or other Western countries, my answer will probably sound ridiculously obvious.
NEVER leave water tap running when unused, even for 1 second. Australians are super efficient with water. Using the water efficiently is like taking your shoes off in Asian peoples home.
To elaborate, you should never fully max out the water tap. Keep the water running gently, unless you’re in the showers. For example, when you are applying soap to the dishes, turn the tap off.
When you’re driving and someone gives way for you, smack that thumbs up, do the gentle nod and mouth “thanks mate” even if they can’t hear it. Also, if you’re the one crossing the road, you have to jog a little, even the seniors would sprint to the other end.
If you live in Australia for some time, you’ll notice Aussies speak in this super friendly casual tone. The sooner you learn to speak like so, the better your interactions will be with the people.
Australians follow the speed limit spiritually, don’t drive too fast or too slow. Don’t tailgate and never use the car horn unless you’re about to crash, even then, I think Aussies instinctively don’t use the horn when it happen. Using the horn is like saying “F*** you”.
The no double dipping rule: If you are sharing a sauce with someone, don’t double dip the bitten part of the food back on the sauce. Double dipping is like kissing mouth to mouth in Australia.You also don’t share straws, spoons, forks and etc. If you are drinking someones else water bottle, don’t let your mouth touch the bottle.
Behaving like a boss is a recipe for disaster in Australia, even if you’re the son of Jack Ma, they don’t give a s***. Australians don’t tolerate super assertive behaviours in public setting or even professionally, treat everyone equally. No snapping fingers, no whistles.
Show some manners: The word thank you and please is overused in Australia, but that’s just how it is.
If you’re having a house party, it is a crime not to invite your surrounding neighbours especially if it’s going to go on till late.
It’s also a crime to jump in on queues, it’s one free ticket to confrontation with an Australian. If you’re not sure where the queues begin, simply ask.
Adding mate to the end of sentences will make you sound friendly. Even if you’re a foreigner with an accent, people will respect you a little more.
If you’re in public transportation, please for the love of god, don’t answer phone calls or make calls. If you really have to, keep it super quiet or find an empty area to make those calls.
Bring beer to a BBQ or wine to a dinner party.
Don’t touch or get physical when interacting with people unless you know them well enough. People take personal space seriously, skin to skin contact with a stranger is like a threat, that even a small bump you’ll have to say sorry.
If you carry a luggage and you’re getting on a taxi or Uber, help the driver even if it’s not so heavy. Getting right inside the car while the driver is still lifting the luggage is pretty disrespectful.
It’s weird to take selfies in public, especially in busy areas.
Chewing food with your mouth open or making absurd chew noises will get you deported.
You don’t call indigenous ethnic group “Abos”. Some people still use the phrase “aboriginal people” but I was told that it’s no longer acceptable (well it depends). The correct term would be Indigenous Australians.PS: This happen to some international student in my university.
You can call people by their last names. In fact, some bosses likes to be addressed with their first or last names and without the Mr/Mrs/Miss.
If you cough or sneeze, please cover it up. Leave the room, use the tissue to block your mouth and nostrils, and always say sorry or excuse me afterwards.
Some fun book titles
What is the most badass thing your parent has ever done?
The most badass thing my mom ever did, was gave me a troll doll.
I was in elementary school (2nd grade), and my father had just left us. (I received the news that he moved out from a fellow classmate that drove by our house when he was returning to school from a doctors appointment. Came home to all of his stuff gone.)
That week my mom scrambled to find a roommate to move in with us, so that she could afford the mortgage. Thankfully, one of her friends at work offered to move in with us.
At P.E. one day, a bully at school started teasing me about my mom and us living with another woman. He starting calling her gay and saying things such as “that’s why your dad left you guys… your mom likes women.”
I asked him to stop.
Then I told him to shut up.
Everyone was looking at us, looking at me.
That’s when I started crying.
He came up to me laughing, calling me names, and then pushed me down.
At that moment, something in me snapped. I got back up, and started hitting him, hard. I knocked him to the ground, and started kicking him and hitting him some more. Still crying of course.
30 minutes later my mom was at the school picking me up from the principals office. I was embarrassed, sad, shaking. I knew fighting was wrong. I knew I had disappointed her. The nurse showed my mom the bully’s stomach. I had kicked him so hard at one point, I had left a shoe mark. Oh boy, this was bad. My mom asked me to tell her what happened in the office, that she wanted to hear it from me.
Up until this point, I hadn’t mentioned what he was saying about my mother. I was embarrassed. I didn’t really know what “gay” was, but I knew since I had been bullied about it, that it was something I was supposed to be embarrassed and ashamed about. I told her that he was being mean. She asked how. I told her that he was saying mean things about me, about her. This surprised her, I remember her expression well.
“What was he saying about me?” She asked.
I had never lied to my mom, so I told her through tears that he had called her gay and said that’s why my dad left, as well as other mean things. Also of course, that he had put his hands on me first.
My mom, as well as the school staff, looked embarrassed. Somehow I knew I had made it worse. I was told I would have OSS for 2 days (out of school suspension) for fighting. We went home.
At home my mom and I talked. She explained to me what “gay” was. She said that’s not why my dad had left. She explained why she needed a roommate. She asked me if I had questions. I didn’t. I never did.
Three days later I came home after my first day back at school. Waiting for me at the dining room table, was a troll doll. It had boxing gloves and boxing shorts on. My mom said she was proud of me.
Proud that I fought back against the bully.
Then she also reminded me that fighting is not how we solve problems, but she understood that sometimes our voices weren’t enough.
No gift from my mother has ever been so meaningful, or badass.
Hatachi knows
UPDATED 4:47 PM EDT — *** FLASH *** French Ambassador “Warned” By Russia
Earlier today, this website reported the British Ambassador had been Warned by Russia (HERE) and now we can confirm the French Ambassador has also been explicitly warned over Ukraine. The reaction by Paris was clear and unambiguous.
The British diplomat spent half an hour in the facility and left without speaking to the press.
Following him, the French ambassador arrived at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Within just minutes of his departure, the French Foreign Ministry in Paris issued a statement confirming that France would not send any military forces to Ukraine.
UPDATE 4:47 PM EDT —
It seems as though the French . . . . have surrendered!
Macron — “We are not at war with Russia or the Russian people, and we have no desire for regime change in Moscow.”
I had a cat named Phelili. I had written about her before. I had found her on the side of the road during a torrential downpour, when her mother was killed.
This event happened about ten years later.
My first wife and I had broken up. We were not yet divorced, as she still was an out-patient with the local mental group. I was in Boston. She was living in an apartment in Pennsylvania.
I was living my life.
And my ex-wife was living her life. She had our cats.
Oh, about six months in…
I started having nightmares every night. It was the same series of dreams, and it was driving me bonkers. They lasted for about three weeks.
My dream was the same thing over and over…
My little cat Phelili was trapped in an apartment, and couldn't get out. She could look out the window. She could see the stairs to go up, and the street below, but was unable to leave. She had water, but was running out of food.
Since these dreams concerned our joint cat Phelili, I tried called my wife, but no one answered.
And so I left it at that.
And the dreams stopped.
About one month later my ex-wife called me. She had tried killing herself again, and was taken to the hospital. When she healed up some, she was permitted to return to the apartment. The cat was alive. She was drinking water from the toilet. But hadn’t eaten in weeks.
I was really angry at her. How could she be so selfish to starve our cat? What was she thinking. Well, she wasn’t. She was acting on emotions impulsively.
Ok. This story ends, the cat died of old age about six years later. But the point that I want to make here is that my cat was trying to communicate with me using PSI / ESP and I was receiving the messages.
My mind, however, was not putting two + two together.
Hindsight is a bitch. What I should have done was to ask for someone to go to the apartment and check up on her and the kitty. Shit!
Lessons learned.
Don’t mess up like I did.
Today…
What did you see that blew your mind?
>> What did you see that blew your mind?
One time I was in McDonalds and it was lunch rush time so they were busy. At the front of the line was a Puerto Rican man trying to order but he did not have a good command of English so the employees were having a hard time understanding him.
So, it was taking a little time and I never get wound up about stuff like that; especially since there are was an obvious language barrier.
Well, this other guy in line started mumbling and complaining how long it was taking. And he kept getting louder and louder. Everyone was looking at him like — dude, chill out.
Finally he had enough of his precious time being wasted and he broke line and walked up to the man and asked “Hey- Jose…where are you from?” The man said “Puerto Rico.” Then the rude man said very loudly “Why don’t you go back to your own country and don’t come back to ours until you learn the language.”
Stunned, the poor guy didn’t know what to say and everyone else got real quiet.
Understand something- I am a very passive person and I do not get involved in arguments, altercations or anything like that. But this just made me so angry that I couldn’t help it…bear in mind I never say things like this either or use bad language (which it really isn’t a bad word I guess anyway)
I looked right at him and said “Puerto Ricans are American Citizens you jackass…why don’t you go back to 2nd grade and learn that he is in his own country. Puerto Rico is a US Territory, therefore part of the United States which makes him a US Citizen just like you!”
Again, I never use even that word but at the moment, it was the only fitting name I could think of to call him.
You could have heard a pin drop for a few seconds and then everybody else started agreeing with me and told that guy how rude he was and that he owed the guy an apology.
That rude guy was so embarrassed he walked out without even ordering anything. And then someone else in line ended up paying for the Puerto Rican man’s lunch which I thought was a really nice gesture.
I just can’t believe how rude and ignorant some people are. It really blew my mind to think someone would even think of saying something like that to another person.
Iranian firebrand MP Mahmoud Nabavian reveals the calculated strategy, diplomatic intrigue, and bold military prowess that showcased Tehran’s 13 April missile strikes on Israel.
Following the strategic success of Iran’s ‘True Promise’ retaliatory drone and missile operation in response to last month’s Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, The Cradle presents an exclusive insider‘s narrative provided by Iranian Member of Parliament Mahmoud Nabavian, a principalist who won the most votes in Tehran during the country’s March elections.
His account of the retaliatory strikes against the occupation state offers unparalleled insights into the 13–14 April events. With access to military sources, Nabavian’s testimony serves as the most detailed view to date by an Iranian government official on Iran’s response, one that has sorely exposed the vulnerabilities of Israel’s air defense systems.
In a closed Telegram posting, Nabavian explained that Israel’s “cowardly” attack, which led to the martyrdom of prominent leaders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), occurred “on our soil” – a reference to the Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus:
“As the Imam [Ali Khamenei] said, the enemies made a mistake.” Iran’s full-on retaliatory strikes, he thus maintains, were justified and legal under Article 51 of the UN Charter .
Below is a transcript (edited for length) from Nabavian’s important revelations about Iran’s military strikes on Israel and the flurry of international deal-making attempts that preceded them:
Two hours after the attack on the consulate in Damascus, the Iranian National Security Council convened and affirmed the inevitability of a response and gave a 10-day deadline to take the necessary diplomatic measures and for the armed forces to prepare their plan to respond.
Diplomatically, the first step was to go to the Security Council, even though we knew that this would be futile. But it was necessary to file a complaint about the attack on our land, assert our natural right to self-defense, and request a Security Council session. Because we are not members of the Council, we had to talk to member states to request that the session be held.
China, Russia, and Algeria agreed. Russia submitted the request, and the session was held, but the US, Germany, Britain, and France did not allow a statement to be issued condemning Israel. The heads of our missions abroad were also active in informing the concerned countries that we would respond to the Zionist entity.
Due to these pressures, Israel denied it had attacked a diplomatic building and that those who were targeted were not diplomats. The consulate building, four of its five floors, were purchased 45 years ago and were designated for diplomatic work. It was indeed a diplomatic building.
After we assured the international community of our right to respond, some countries, such as the US, Germany, England, France, Canada, and Egypt, tried to convince us not to do so, and they confirmed their readiness to meet Iran’s requests. For example, some of these countries that were not previously willing to grant entry visas to our diplomats or officials suddenly decided to do so immediately.
When the US realized that we were serious, it sent a threat that if the response was launched from Iranian territory, it might attack Iran. Our response was that the US is not among our targets, but if it decides to involve itself in defense of Israel, we will respond by targeting it as well, and as you know, there are many American bases around us.
Despite this, the US, Britain, France, and Germany insisted on the same message, yet our answer was that Israel crossed a red line. Then, they said, if we must respond, let it be from outside Iranian territory.
Why did they insist that the strike not be from inside Iran? Because for a long time, they have been assassinating our nuclear scientists and carrying out sabotage operations at the Natanz nuclear reactor. In the last six months alone, they have assassinated 18 members of our armed forces, and we have always responded through our allies [in the Axis of Resistance], but if we did that this time, we would lose face.
If Lebanese Hezbollah had responded to Israel, it could have bombed Beirut, and western powers would have seized upon this to say, ‘If this is a war between Iran and Israel, why did Hezbollah involve itself in it?’ They would also hold it responsible for the subsequent unrest in Lebanon.
Therefore, the insistence that the Iranian response should be through Iran’s allies was meant to distort Hezbollah’s reputation and unleash Israel to target it and other resistance forces in the region and to portray them as mercenaries of Iran. We read these western intentions well, and accordingly, the decision was taken to respond from within Iranian territory.
On the night of Eid al-Fitr, a meeting was held with the heads of diplomatic missions of the countries of the region, and we informed them that we are keen on good neighborliness, but if the US uses any of your countries to carry out action against us, we will strike the US bases on your lands.
This message was conveyed to Washington, and they realized that Iran was serious. They asked us to exercise restraint. The US, Germany, England, France, and Canada – these countries that support brutality and crime in the world and provide the weapons with which the people of Gaza are bombed – ask us to exercise restraint.
[UK Foreign Secretary] David Cameron called the night after the Iranian attack and said he couldn’t sleep last night. This is the malicious British foreign secretary. Why? Because we sent 300 drones and missiles over the heads of the Israelis. The Iranian official who spoke to him said, ‘For six months, rockets have been falling on the people of Gaza, and you slept well every night.’ This is the same malicious Britain that encouraged the US to launch attacks on Yemen.
The important thing is coordination at all levels before responding, politically, diplomatically, and in the media. After the Leader [Ali Khamenei] affirmed in his Eid al-Fitr sermon that we will certainly discipline the enemy, messages came to us requesting that the response be proportionate and not forceful.
Our answer was clear: that first, we would definitely strike Israel; second, that the attack would be direct from Iranian territory; and third, that the National Security Council decided that the response would be a deterrent.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan informed us that it had information that we would bomb the Israeli embassy in Baku, and they asked us not to carry out any action on their territory. I think this was a message that they could turn a blind eye to striking Israeli targets in a neighboring country, but we were already aware of that.
The messages we received were not limited to the US and European countries, but we also received messages from some countries in the region. We tried to take advantage of the matter to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, and we told everyone that this might be a solution to the problem.
They asked us whether a ceasefire in Gaza meant that we would refrain from responding. We answered that we would strike Israel in any case, but perhaps a decision like this would help reduce the severity of the attack. They asked that we give them a few days.
We asked our military forces to postpone the response for 24 hours and gave the countries of the world the opportunity to adhere to their obligations stipulated in international laws and for Israel to pledge not to attack Iranian forces and interests in the region and the world.
Regarding the Iranian request to conclude a permanent, complete, and immediate truce in the Gaza Strip: US President Joe Biden sent a message stating that he would work to achieve it himself, but he set a malicious condition, which is that the Palestinian resistance releases all Israeli prisoners in exchange for Israel releasing 900 Palestinian prisoners, after which the implementation of the truce begins.
Of course, Hamas did not agree to the matter, and this was the correct decision. We understood that they [the Americans] are not serious about reaching a truce and that they are only looking to achieve their malign goals.
realized that we would attack Israel. The US, France, Britain, and even Italy harnessed all their military capabilities in Qatar, alongside the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
They equipped six missile launchers in the region’s waters with a range of between 2,000 and 3,000 kilometers. They harnessed all modern satellites and radars, moved 103 aircraft into the region’s airspace to strike our missiles, and placed all air defense systems under unified command under the supervision of the US to confront Iranian missiles in several stages.
That is, if the Iranian missiles were able to pass any defense line, they would be targeted and shot down in the next.
What is interesting is that the German foreign minister, 24 hours before the Iranian operation was carried out, called us and was pleading that we not target Israel from inside Iranian territory. He said that our missiles would not be able to pass the obstacles and defense lines that they had prepared to intercept our missiles and that the US was using 70 drones in Iraq for that, and it would increase the number to 700.
They were monitoring the movements of our soldiers, missiles, and drones, and they believed that none of the Iranian missiles would reach Israel. They were confident that the missiles would not be able to penetrate air defense systems.
At the Turkish Incirlik base, which includes 5,000 soldiers, a large number of AWACS planes and 15 jamming planes were harnessed to repel our attack.
As such, they were astonished at how Iran was able to evade the huge layers of defense they had activated, and what surprised them even more was that it took five and a half to seven hours for the drones to reach the Zionist entity, and their speed was not great, which meant that they were easy to shoot down.
Twenty-four hours before the operation, Washington sent a firm message stating that if we decided to attack Israel from our territory, they will respond militarily against Iran. This time, they did not talk about possibilities but rather said that they would definitely attack Iranian territory. Our answer was decisive, that we will definitely strike Israel from within our territories, and if you commit any mistake, we will target all your bases in the region.
We informed Saudi Arabia and the countries of the region that if Iranian territory is targeted from within your territory, we will definitely respond. Saudi Arabia announced that it would not allow any operation against Iran to be carried out from its territory, and the authorities in Cyprus also informed us of a similar message.
We knew that the Iraqi and Jordanian airspace was completely under US control. We thought about the Israeli targets that we were going to hit, and we faced two obstacles: the first was that their air defenses were very strong, and we had to find a way for our drones and missiles to pass them, and the second was not to take action that will lead to us being condemned.
The decision was to strike two military targets: the first was the [Nevatim] airport from which the F-35 plane that bombed the Iranian consulate took off, and the second was an Israeli intelligence center in the Golan. By coincidence, the fighter jet that targeted the consulate fired its missiles from above this intelligence headquarters.
Our drones, numbering about 130, were launched, the majority of which belonged to us, and between two and three were sent by our allied forces. We also launched missiles carrying explosive warheads, a large number of which deflected the air defenses from their path.
I will not talk much about the number of hits we targeted, but out of 17 missiles, 15 hit their targets, meaning 89 percent. The whole west was there, and we delivered an important message to the world.
In the aftermath of the operation, 15 countries contacted and said that they were seeking a ceasefire in Gaza and asked Israel not to respond.
The British and German foreign ministers contacted us and said that international law does not include the term “punishment.” We answered them: If that does not exist in international law, why did you propose punishing Hamas after 7 October? The calls continued to ask whether we would attack Israel again. We said that if we were attacked, we would respond tenfold.
The countries of the region have now understood Iran’s capabilities and it seems that they will seek to significantly improve their relations with Iran. The Israelis realized that when the spirit of despair takes hold, as Ben Gurion says, ‘we will begin to fall down the slope that leads to the abyss,’ and this has become clear to the world.
As the master of the resistance [Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah] expresses, ‘Israel is weaker than a spider’s web,’ and, God willing, this operation will be a deterrent against the assassinations that were occurring against us. Now, this is the only thing that Israel can do, and we must be more vigilant, and we must instill hope in the peoples of the region and not care about the rulers.
Mahmoud Nabavian’s account not only exposes the meticulous planning behind the Islamic Republic’s response but also reveals a resolve to defend sovereignty and impose a credible deterrence against future violations – at all costs.
Tehran’s military response should be interpreted beyond the current regional war centered on Gaza and signals a broad recalibration of power dynamics in West Asia. As western and neighboring states assess the implications of Iran’s new assertive military posture, alliances, and strategies will require careful reconsideration.
WHY FOREIGNERS LIVE IN CHINA DESPITE THE MEDIA BACKLASH?
What’s the most ingenious car repair you’ve ever seen done?
I was taught this by my first girlfriend’s father. He was an engineer, and at the time he was CEO of Marconi Avionics in Rochester, Kent.
My Austin car’s starter motor was unreliable and would cost me half a term of my student grant to replace. He said he’d fix it. He removed it (three bolts and two cables) opened it up at one end and removed the brushes from the motor (one nut, two springs).
He then took a tin can from the rubbish bin, and roughly cut out two little triangles the same shape as the end of the pole-piece blocks that made contact with the power source in the motor – and stuck them, using contact glue, on the opposite end from the “wear surface”. This added about 2mm to the length of the pole-piece block, accounting for the excessive wear on the other end that prevented good contact. Sanded it down to shape. It took about 30 minutes. Totally ingenious. Apart from 30 minutes of fiddling around and getting oily, totally free of cost.
Reassembled, it lasted another 18 months.
I did the same again the next time, it was easy. Another 18 months of use.
The next time I actually replaced the brushes properly. The new ones didn’t last any longer than the temporary repairs – really those Austin cars had rubbish parts.
What is the most epic way you have seen a coworker resign or quit?
I once resigned giving 1.5 days notice. My boss was aghast, but I explained why…
Economically it was an awful time for me: in January 1994 my wife was 6-months pregnant, and we bought a bigger house with a bigger mortgage.
After all, I’d recently gotten a raise to $52K/year. Surely I could afford a $120K house.
Except I got laid off two weeks after moving in.
I struggled but eventually found a job after a couple of months. I earned $42K/year salary — about 20% less than my prior salary, if you’re keeping track. I certainly was.
My (male) coworker at the job was in similar financial straits: recently divorced, and driving a barely-running old pick-up truck he called “Blue”. He started with the company a couple of days before me.
My coworker found another company hiring with multiple positions after a couple of months. And he recommended I also apply. The salary was a few grand higher ($45K, as I recall).
He got an offer two days before I did, and tendered his two-weeks notice first.
Our boss was not happy. The contract we were working under had been renewed, but our boss had to resubmit everyone’s resume for approval by the government client.
He thought: why bother with all that paperwork just to have my coworker leave just a week after the new contract started?
So our boss just fired him immediately.
(Fortunately the hiring company was able to start my once-and-future co-worker immediately. We both breathed relief.).
When I got my offer I told the hiring company I could start in a week.
I resigned that Thursday before my Monday start with the new company. If my soon-to-be-former boss canned me immediately, I didn’t care. I could just take a long weekend and start the new job.
Which left my soon-to-be-former boss short two workers when the renewed contract started the same Monday.
I still have no regrets.
(I should mention that the same boss briefly became my temporary supervisor about 3 years later through an odd fluke. He never mentioned our past relationship, and I didn’t either. And he quickly moved on to another role.)
The disappearance of America’s leading anti-gravity researcher
Has a cop ever said something to you which was completely unexpected?
Some 34 years ago[plus or minus] I was a troubled young man involved with a troubled young woman. We had a troubled relationship that I ended abruptly. She immediately took up with a close friend of mine. I was upset. In my infinite wisdom I went to confront him and start a fight. He wasn’t going to be drawn into a physical confrontation. He said”Go home, come back when you are calm and we will discuss it.” As I turned to leave I lost it, spun around and punched out two windows !! I went home[2 blocks away] and realized I had blown it. A neighbor called and asked why all the cops were at my ex’s house. So I new the cops were involved. I waited a couple hours and went down to the police station and told them who I was, what I had done and gave them my contact information including where I was working. I was a construction forman working in town running a job at some condos. I saw a patrol car pull up, an officer got out as I approached. He Looked at me, smiled, cocked his head and gave it a little shake and said ”Ain’t Love Grand !!” He then came closer and looked me in the eyes and in a low but earnest voice said” She is doing this to hurt YOU ! Stay away from her!” I gulped and nodded. He asked”Are you going to fix those windows?” Again I nodded and replied that I had contacted the owner and made arrangements. He said “ Very Good” got in his car and left.
I never spoke to that woman again.
An Owner Whose Cat Went Missing Long Ago Happened to See His Pet On the News
Have you ever had such a close call it makes your skin shiver everytime you think about it? If so, what happened?
I used to ride motorcycles – probably still would, too, if my body could still keep up. Anyway, many years ago I attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the Black Hills of South Dakota. For those who aren’t familiar, this annual rally draws around 500,000 visitors every year – most of them on motorcycles. The attraction isn’t just the events in and around Sturgis, but also to ride the curvy roads and hills and to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The Black Hills are home to several historical, natural and cultural sites of great importance to Americans, including Mount Rushmore, and draws tremendous tourist traffic all year round. But during “Sturgis Week,” the ratio of motorcycles to cars, trucks, RV’s and other traffic can seem like 100:1 depending on the time of day and location.
One beautiful day, our group was riding eastbound on one of the larger highways through the Hills. I was second in the group on the inside (next to the center line). As we rounded a rather tight outside curve to the left, another group approached us headed west on the inside of the curve. Now, to understand the situation, it’s important to know that groups of riders in the U.S. will stagger their riding formation in a zig-zag pattern, or sometimes side-by-side. It’s critical to stay in your own space to prevent accidents. And riding into a curve requires the rider to lean into the curve, just as you would on a bicycle. It’s a skill that requires some riding experience to master.
So anyway, I’m next to the center line leaning towards it to navigate the curve, and there’s a rider approaching me from the opposite direction leaning away from the center line, in his appropriate place in the formation. However, too late I notice he’s too close to the line, almost crossing it – and I can’t correct my lean or position quickly enough to avoid him or to prevent causing my own group to tangle as well…… As we passed each other, the leather tassels on his handlebars brushed my own hand holding my handlebars. We narrowly escaped a head-on collision at approximately 60 miles per hour.
Yeah, that was a close one. Still makes me shiver to think of it.
If Saddam didn’t have WMD and faced invasion and execution, why didn’t he simply allow inspectors complete 100% access?
The main reason was twofold.
The first was that the Resolution called for a verifiable proof the WMDs were disposed of. If Iraq had no WMDs (it didn’t), then it had to prove where and how it disposed of them.
This presented a problem for Iraq that destroyed the weapons in clandestine manner, in order to keep up the Potemkin WMD program as a deterrent against Iran. Saddam was afraid without those, Iran may seek to destabilize Iraq and overthrow Saddam in favor of their Shia allies within Iraq. Saddam believed the threat of chemical weapons shielded him from that fate.
The weapons were still disposed of, but no documentation was kept, I wouldn’t be surprised if key laborers were shot to keep anyone from finding this out. The upshot of that is the world at large was convinced Iraq had WMDs, but there were no credible witnesses, no paper trail and no evidence to show you’ve really done anything at all. 100% total access wouldn’t help, because Iraq is a vast and empty land, with a bajillion possible hiding places:
It took the coalition about half a year to discover the buried planes of the Iraqi air force, next to an airport. Iraq is larger than Germany and you’re looking for well hidden barrells. Good luck.
A second and much more important reason is that no matter what Iraq did, the invasion was going to happen. GWB and his staff were determined to change the regime in Iraq and the WMDs were just a convenient excuse, a slam dunk reason to invade Iraq, because it was so obvious Iraq was illegaly hiding weapons of mass destruction. Everyone knew it, from CIA to MI6 to DGSE to SVR RF, no one publically voiced concern Iraq actually had no weapons. They voiced other (and valid) concerns, but not the one that Iraq had no WMDs. Prove to them you have no WMDs early on and they just use some other reason to attack you instead.
If you want to know what are the possible downsides of being too good at your job, Iraqi WMDs are a tragically good example of that.
The world hinges on strong men. The elites finally admit we’re in deep trouble.
What is something that happened in an interview that made you not hire the candidate?
October 2017,
Redmond, WA.
I was interviewing a college candidate for a PM role. He had already cleared the phone screen, the on campus round as well as gotten through first couple of rounds of the day with positive reviews. It was my job to work through a real scenario with him that would be help me gauge how he would perform in that situation on the job because it was not an infrequent task he would need to do.
The basic scenario was about how he would handle a competitor scenario for acquiring a specific chunk of business. We were to try and gain a specific customer who was evaluating subscribing to our product vs our top competitor; another tech giant with a lot of resources. The specific product the client wanted is almost at par with both companies so we need to come up with creative solutions to acquire the client; I asked him to think outside the box, think of long term package deals, service agreements, price negotiations, whatever else he could come up with.
He decided to go with trying to get the customer on a lower price. I asked him how he would know what the competing bid might be, what kind of historic data would he need to drive this inference, what models would he need to build to estimate the right number to write on the bid. What he said next literally made me gasp.
Candidate: “Oh I don’t need to do all that. I’ll just ask the guy over at our competitor what price he’s going to put and beat him.”
Me: “Why would he tell you what they are going to bid?”
Candidate: “That’s easy. I’ll take him out on the town for a few drinks, get chatty with him, and once he’s got enough alcohol inside him I’m sure he’ll tell me; or I’ll figure out other ways of getting the number from him. I can be very persuasive .”
Me: “Hahaha… You’re kidding right? You do realize that not only is that very unethical, it’s also completely illegal and it could get you fired, and, the company in a lot of legal trouble.”
Candidate: “I disagree. I’m not doing anything illegal. There’s nothing wrong with taking someone out for drinks after work and if in that state he happens to voluntarily tell me certain things that work to my advantage, I see no harm in using it.”
At this point I was just shocked how someone could say this in an interview. It didn’t matter to me that he was a fresh grad student and maybe didn’t realize the severity of what he was saying. Every university has courses on business ethics and even if he decided to skip those classes, this is just common sense. What really bugged me was how much he pushed back when I tried to explain to him how wrong that approach was. This back and forth continued for another 10 minutes by which time I had absolutely made up my mind on how this was going to end.
I ended the interview a few minutes early and told him to take a break and use the restroom and get something to drink if he liked. I went back to my manager and the rest of the interview team and told them very clearly what happened and how in my opinion such an attitude can be a huge liability for the team and the company, and that what made it worse was he didn’t come across as coachable and was not receptive to feedback. I insisted and everyone agreed that we end the interview loop there and not waste any more time when we clearly know he’s a no hire. Some things are unforgivable sins in an interview and he had committed a fair few of them.
Larry Johnson Warning: “Nuclear Crisis – Russia’s Fury Unleashed by NATO & France’s Provocation”
Surprisingly great.
Swiss Steak with Tomato Gravy
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 large slice round steak
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large cans tomatoes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 large onion, diced
Kosher or sea salt and pepper
1 cup water (for gravy)
Instructions
Spray slow cooker with Pam. Turn on LOW.
Heat oil in large skillet.
Cut round steak into serving-size pieces.
Put flour into a shallow pan. Add salt and pepper to flour and flour steak well.
Fry steak in hot oil until brown.
Pour a few tomatoes into the slow cooker. Add pieces of browned steak and remaining tomatoes in layers. Add diced onion.
Cook for 4 hours on LOW heat.
Remove meat from slow cooker.
Put 1 cup of water in a pint jar. Add 3 tablespoons flour. Shake well. Add to tomato mixture in the slow cooker. Cook and stir until gravy is thickened.
If your house smells like fish for absolutely no reason, 9 times out of 10 it means that there is an electrical fire.
If you ever feel like someone is following your car take four right turns and eventually it will make a circle. If they are still behind you that means they are following you. Don’t drive home, just call the police and drive to the police station
If a service dog ever approaches you without its owner, follow them and do it quickly because potentially you can save someone else’s life.
If someone is trying to abduct you, fight back. Most abductors will just give up if they meet resistance. And whatever you do, don’t let them take you to another location.
If the tide suddenly goes out unexpectedly, run like you stole it, for higher ground.
If you’re ever charged by a moose, get behind a tree.. they have about a ten inch blind spot and they’ll lose you..
When people say to take an aspirin to help during a heart attack, chew the pill, don’t swallow it whole. It gets absorbed much quicker.
If a person asks you for something in the street – a light, the time, whatever – always keep the person in your eyeline. So if they ask for the time, don’t just look down at your watch. Raise your arm slightly so your watch is in sight.
If you are in danger or in need of help, in a public place, it’s almost always a bad idea to just yell “help”. It’s more important to be specific. Pointing at someone and telling them to call 911 will be more effective. The Bystander Effect can be cruel sometimes.
Today’s unusual funny covers
Have you ever met a celebrity who asked you, “Do you know who I am?” and you said no?
I was working a few years back at a busy, upscale Tuscan-style restaurant in the Chicago area, when a party of five came in.
There was one woman who stuck out like a sore thumb, because she had to be on the north side of 40, but was dressed and made up like a teenager. Additionally, her dyed blond hair hung long and loose down her back, except for the sides, which were swept back with an outsized pink bow.
She basically looked like an escapee from a psychiatric ward….in 1985.
As I took their order and subsequently began serving them, every time I approached the table this woman was doing the majority of the talking, and loudly laughing, such that it was becoming a problem for the other tables in my section.
I then asked this lady quite respectfully and discreetly if she could please lower her volume just a bit for the sake of the other diners.
This made her very angry. She stood up so fast that she spilled her water glass, and as I struggled to mop that mess up, she yelled at me up one side and down the other: “Do you know who I am”?!!
I admitted that I did not.
She then shrilly informed me that she was a celebrity dancer from TELEVISION, and that I was just plain ignorant if I’d never heard of her, as she was a regular on ##variety show.
A man in her party nervously interjected, “D****, please, let’s just get back to enjoying our meal together, okay sweetheart”?
The whole restaurant, staff and patrons, were relieved to see the back of Miss D by the time they checked out.
This was before the internet, so I had to ask around, but I finally found a guy who grew up in the American Southwest who had heard of her:
It turns out that in the days of local affiliates of the big TV corporations, this woman had been a tap-dancing sensation.
As a child.
In one city in Arizona.
Doing commercials for a well-known DOG FOOD brand.😳
The Coming Simp Shortage
Braised Pork with Green Chile Sauce
Mild green chiles season this meaty pork stew. Serve it with rice or as a burrito filling. This can also be served with tamales. This chile verde is also good served with scrambled eggs.
Ingredients
Pork
1 (3 pound) lean boneless pork butt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chiles
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
Garnish
Tomatoes, cut into wedges
Cooked rice
Sour cream
Lime, cut into wedges
Instructions
Trim and discard fat and cut pork into 1 inch cubes.
In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat; add meat a few cubes at a time and cook until very brown.
Push meat to side of pan and add onion, garlic and bell peppers; sauté until limp.
Stir in chiles, oregano, cumin, salt, cilantro, vinegar and water.
Cover and simmer until meat is fork tender (about 1 hour).
Skim off fat and discard.
Serve with rice or make burritos or serve in your favorite way.
For Burritos: spoon pork into warm, soft flour tortillas, add sour cream, tomato wedges, and a squeeze of lime juice and fold to enclose. Rice may also be enclosed with the filling in the burritos, if desired.
Video: US-NATO Chinook Helicopters inside Ukraine Air Space Near Odessa
Video below shows two US/NATO Chinook (Double-prop) Helicopters, flying about 100 feet above the waters of the Black Sea, INSIDE Ukrainian air space, near Odessa.
It is important to realize that what you’re seeing is the US/NATO operating in an area where they are considered a legitimate military target by Russia!
It is also important to point out the long air-refueling pipe protruding from the front of both helicopters indicates these are MH-47G helicopters; for “SPECIAL FORCES.”
THIS Happens When We Die! The MOST DETAILED Journey Through The Afterlife! EPIC NDE
Rural Areas of USA Could Soon LOSE Cellular Service
While Congress was quick to find $61 Billion for Ukraine, they aren’t “finding” $3 Billion for US Rural Cell Service. States such as Tennessee, Kansas, and Oklahoma could be affected unless ‘rip-and-replace’ funding is secured.
Rural and Indigenous communities are at risk of losing cell service thanks to a 2019 law intended to strip US telecom networks of Chinese-made equipment. And while local companies were promised reimbursements as part of the “rip-and-replace” program, many of them have so far seen little of the funding, if any at all.
The federal push to block Chinese telephone and internet hardware has been years in the making, but gained substantial momentum during the Trump administration. In May 2019 an executive order barred American providers from purchasing telecom supplies manufactured by businesses within a “foreign adversary” nation. Industry and government officials have argued China might use products from companies like Huawei and ZTE to tap into US telecom infrastructure. Chinese company representatives have repeatedly pushed back on these claims and it remains unclear how substantiated these fears are.
As The Washington Post explained on Thursday, major network providers like Verizon and Sprint have long banned the use of Huawei and ZTE equipment. But for many smaller companies, Chinese products and software are the most cost-effective routes for maintaining their businesses.
Meanwhile, “rip-and-replace” program plans have remained in effect through President Biden’s administration—but little has been done to help smaller US companies handle the intensive transition efforts. In a letter to Congress on Thursday, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel explained an estimated 40 percent of local network operators currently cannot replace their existing Huawei and ZTE equipment without additional federal funding. Although $1.9 billion is currently appropriated, revised FCC estimates say another $3 billion is required to cover nationwide rip-and-replace costs.
Congress directed the FCC to begin a rip-and-replace program through the passage of the 2020 Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, but it wasn’t long before officials discovered the $3 billion shortfall. At the time, the FCC promised small businesses 39.5 percent reimbursements for their overhauls. Receiving that money subsequently triggered a completion deadline, but that remaining 61.5 percent of funding has yet to materialize for most providers. Last week, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced the Spectrum and National Security Act, which includes a framework to raise the additional $3 billion needed for program participants.
So finding money to spend on Ukraine was easy for the US Congress, but finding the money to take care of their own Constituents – well, that’s another story. Not happening.
American Reacts to First Time You Realized America Really Messed You Up pt 2
France has sent its first troops officially to Ukraine. They have been deployed in support of the Ukrainian 54th Independent Mechanized Brigade in Slavyansk. The French soldiers are drawn from France’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, which is one of the main elements of France’s Foreign Legion (Légion étrangère).
In 2022 France had a number of Ukrainians and Russians in the Foreign Legion. They were allowed to leave the Legion and, in the case of the Ukrainians, return to Ukraine to join Ukrainian forces. It isn’t clear if the Russians returned home.
The Legion today is run by French officers but the rank and file are all foreigners. Under the current anonymat (being anonymous) a volunteer who joins the Legion can decide whether to keep his given name or adopt a new one. Legionnaires serve for three year terms, after which they can ask for French citizenship. If a legionnaire is wounded, he is entitled to gain French citizenship without any waiting period. There are no women in the Foreign Legion.
The initial group of French troops numbers around 100. This is just the first tranche of around 1,500 French Foreign Legion soldiers scheduled to arrive in Ukraine.
These troops are being posted directly in a hot combat area and are intended to help the Ukrainians resist Russian advances in Donbas. The first 100 are artillery and surveillance specialists.
For months French President Emanuel Macron has been threatening to send French troops to Ukraine. He has found little or no support from NATO countries outside of support from Poland and the Baltic States. Allegedly the US opposes sending NATO soldiers to Ukraine (other than as advisors).
One of the questions to immediately arise from France’s decision to send soldiers from its 3rd Infantry Regiment is whether this crosses the Russian red line on NATO involvement in Ukraine? Will the Russians see this as initiating a wider war beyond Ukraine’s borders?
A key question is how NATO will react to the French decision to deploy. As France is acting on its own without NATO’s backing, the French cannot claim support from NATO under its famous Article 5, the collective security component of the NATO Treaty.
Should the Russians attack French troops outside of Ukraine it would be justified because France has decided to be a combatant, and forcing an Article 5 vote would seem to be difficult if not impossible.
Of course, NATO members individually could support the French, either by sending their own forces or by backstopping the French logistically and in communications. For example, there is no way Foreign Legion soldiers can go to Ukraine without passing through Poland. Will the Russians see this as evidence they are at war both with France and Poland?
Right now no one can answer any of these questions with any degree of certainty. It is unlikely the Russians will long tolerate a buildup of French army troops, even if they are Foreign Legion soldiers. What Russia will do in response is not certain.
How do you interpret Chinese envoy to France Lu Shaye’s statement that relations with France are at the forefront of China’s relations with Western countries?
China’s envoy to France, Lu Shano, is a very outspoken diplomat, and I like his style very much. As a Chinese professional diplomat, he attaches great importance to safeguarding China’s interests. Therefore, his admission that “China-France are at the forefront of China’s relations with Western countries” is a statement of reality.
He is a career diplomat, a graduate of the Diplomatic Academy in Beijing and fluent in French. He has worked for 25 years in the Africa Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and from July 2019 is the Ambassador to France. Two years before that, he served as China’s ambassador to Canada.
In 2019, Canada detained Chinese citizen Meng Wanzhou without reason. He was interviewed by many media at the time, condemning Canada, pointing out that Western countries had double standards in treating Meng Wanzhou’s arrest and the arrest of two Canadian spies in China, and blaming Meng Wanzhou’s unreasonable detention on Western hegemony and White supremacy. The Canadian side has never seen an ambassador who dared to point out the root of the problem so bluntly. They all expressed dissatisfaction with Ambassador Lu Shaye and made overwhelming sophistry.
Later, Lu Shaye served as ambassador to France. On the one hand, he promoted China’s effective practices and achievements in fighting the epidemic, and on the other hand, he relentlessly criticized Western governments for being too lax in their management of the epidemic. This has attracted great attention from Western media. It also made French politicians feel as if they were facing a formidable enemy and specially summoned Ambassador Lu.
Ambassador Lu Shaye also asked the French Chamber of Deputies to cancel his plan to visit Taiwan. The French accused him of “interfering in France’s internal affairs.” Antoine Bondaz, a scholar at the French Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), criticized Lu Shaye’s interference in France’s democratic system on Twitter, which is unacceptable. Ambassador Lu directly responded to Antoine Bondaz on Twitter, criticizing him as a “petite frappe”, once again causing a war of words. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again summoned Lu Shaye, and local media also described China’s diplomacy as “rude” and “wolf warrior diplomacy.” The Chinese Embassy in France responded: “If there are really ‘wolf warriors’, it must be because there are too many ‘mad dogs’ and they are too ferocious.”
On March 22, 2021, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs imposed sanctions on 10 people and four entities in Europe, including French MP Lexman. After China officially issued the sanctions order, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepared to summon the Chinese Ambassador, Lu Shaye The ambassador responded forcefully: “The ambassador is not available today and will go to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs tomorrow for negotiation.”
In 2022, Pelosi visited Taiwan and became the first Speaker of the House of Representatives to visit Taiwan in 25 years. Lu Shaye said in an interview with French media, “After reunification, we will re-educate (Taiwanese people). I believe that by then, Taiwanese people will support reunification again. They will become patriots again.”
In April 2023, Lu Shaye accepted a TV interview. He said that “the process of the disintegration of the Soviet Union was very chaotic. The member states that separated from the Soviet Union did not sign any formal agreement on boundary demarcation and mutual recognition of national sovereignty” and “Even these ex-Soviet countries don’t have an effective status in international law because there was no international agreement to materialize their status as sovereign countries”, which caused panic among the Baltic countries. Because Lu Shaye frankly told the truth, Nearly 80 European parliamentarians called on France to expel Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to France. 🤣
In response to the West’s demonisation of China, Lushano said, ‘I am honoured to be given the title of War Wolf, we are the warriors who stand in front of our motherland and fight for her, we are the warriors who stand in the way of the mad dogs that attack China.’
This reminds the Chinese people of what happened 121 years ago:
Tom Kim Yung, a Chinese diplomat in the United States, was out when he encountered two American policemen, who insulted him in English and rudely grabbed him, tying his braid to the fence as if he were a leashed dog, and then beat him severely. Onlookers jeered as they watched him being beaten. Finally, unable to bear the humiliation, he committed suicide by gassing himself on a light fixture in the consulate room.
Yes, today’s powerful China no longer keeps a low profile and allows others to bully and humiliate it.
China’s diplomatic thinking fully embodies “a sense of mission that has the courage to take responsibility and dare to fight.”
As some media explained: Compared with “keeping a low profile”, China is now fighting back head-on, focusing on struggle. In fact, this is also determined by the mission of our era and the complicated national environment.
Women REALLY HATE MGTOW! They misunderstand, complain, but don’t seem to change behavior.
This is a great movie. I love the flamingo section.
They’re going to be completely alone.
Russia Issues Warrant to Arrest Ukraine’s Zelensky; Declares Ukraine “Illegal Entity”
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has put the leader of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, on the wanted list; declaring Ukraine to be an “illegal entity.”
He joins former president Poroshenko and former acting officer of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine and current rector of the National Defense University of Ukraine Mikhail Koval, and Alexander Pavlyuk, commander of the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This means the actual recognition of the Kiev elite as an illegal government and actual criminals.
This step means that a criminal case has been opened against Zelensky and the company, within the framework of which a search has been announced.
In turn, all of the above means that there can be no negotiations with these people since Russia does not negotiate with those it is looking for over crimes committed.
This step is not just a formal kick to Zelensky and other members of Ukrainian elite.
It also means that negotiations with Zelensky are possible only about one thing – his surrender.
As of today, Ukraine has been declared an “illegal entity” and its leadership is subject to arrest and trial.
For the past two years of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia has repeatedly and publicly said they are willing to negotiate a settlement. Each time, Ukraine set pre-conditions: That Russia must return all captured lands to Ukraine. The Russians obviously refused.
Now, there can be NO NEGOTIATIONS because under Russian law, Ukraine is a criminal entity with which there can be no negotiations except for its surrender.
This whole Russia-Ukraine thing must now be settled only on the battlefield.
Stove Top Stuffed Pork Chops
Yield: 4 or 5 servings
Ingredients
1 box stuffing mix for pork (with ingredients for preparing)
1/2 cup apple juice, divided*
1/4 stick butter
4 or 5 butterflied pork chops or 1 (2 pound) pork loin, cut into 1 inch chops and butterflied
Salt
Cracked black pepper
Seasoned salt
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 or 9 inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Prepare the stuffing mix according to the package directions, adding 1/2 cup apple juice to it in addition to the butter and water required.
Melt the 1/2 stick butter in a pie plate or pan and dip the chops into the butter, then stuff each chop with about 1/4 cup of stuffing mixture.
Seal the stuffing into the chops with a wooden pick and sprinkle each chop with salt, pepper and a little seasoned salt.
Arrange the pork chops in the prepared pan.
Pour the remaining 1/2 cup of apple juice around the pork chops.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Turn oven temperature to 375 degrees F; uncover and bake for 15 more minutes to brown the tops of the pork chops.
Spoon some of the cooking juices over the chops to moisten.
Remove the wooden picks before serving.
Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.
* Mango juice or peach nectar work well also. Or you can use chicken bouillon.
If someone is being mean to you, you can make them feel self-conscious by saying, “Excuse me, you have something stuck in your teeth.”
To calm someone who is yelling, ask them, “Are you having a bad day?”
Yawning, drinking water, or checking the time can show if someone is paying attention to you.
Looking at someone’s lips shows interest in their conversation, while staring at their forehead can be intimidating.
Making people laugh can make you 88% more attractive.
When you meet someone new, try to notice their eye color. It helps you make more eye contact and feel less nervous.
When you need help, start by saying, “I need your help…” It makes the other person feel wanted and more likely to help you.
If you show happiness and excitement when you see others, they will feel the same way about you.
When someone apologizes, say “Thank you” instead of “No problem” to show appreciation.
Showing a thumbs down instead of the middle finger can hurt someone’s feelings.
“It’s ALREADY BEGUN…” – Danielle DiMartino
What don’t women understand about men?
No means No , even when it comes from a boy’s mouth as well.
If he is not offering you a seat in public transport doesn’t mean he is heartless He might be tired like you.
Not groomed well doesn’t mean that guy is cheap. His look is nothing to do with his attitude.
Not all the guy who initiates conversation with you is flirting with you. He might have approached you for some genuine reason.
#MenToo, no need to tell more isn’t it?
Tagging him as cry baby doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t have any inbuilt dam in eyes to control his tears.
Even he can listen to his mom and dad like you listen to your parents. No shame in that.
Don’t define his coolness by seeing his smoking and drinking habit.
Don’t ask any boy like “whether me or Passion or me or your mom ” because it is asking you like “your heart or your brain”
Don’t ignore men’s feeling like how people ignore International men’s day.
Dont’t demand respect if you can’t give one.
U.S. Economic Crash Worse than 1929 – Peter Schiff Issues Warning
What’s the most morally disgusting thing you’ve ever seen someone do?
I was a new nurse working nights on a medical floor with the most terrible woman I had ever met! She looked like a witch and I was literally frightened of her. She had a crush on one of the physicians and wouldn’t let anybody answer the telephone just in case he called. And if he did, she would put on her sloppy, ‘sexy’ voice, YUCK!! And this woman was in charge, she made our nights hell!
Buddy was a sixty-something year old patient who was actively dying of metastatic bladder cancer. He was disfigured from cancer tumor, bedridden, and nasty as hell from being in constant excruciating pain. Nurse Witch and Buddy would fight all night! And to make it a little more interesting, Buddy had started to cognitively decline, rapidly. Probably brain mets. This man was a hot mess who deserved pain medication around the clock. He had no family or friends and was in the hospital for pain control while he died.
Unfortunately, Buddy’s intravenous narcotics were not holding him over at night. He would become wild at night, then sleep comfortably all day. Sundowning? The physicians increased his morphine through the night without any results. This man was clearly suffering, even if he did use his backscratcher to beat up the nurses if they got too close. Fun times!
Then it happened, Nurse Witch forgot to lock the door as she was injecting Buddy’s pain medication into her ass cheek while straddling the toilet, and somebody walked in! Yep, she was signing the injectable morphine out, documenting she gave it to Buddy, then going to the bathroom and injecting into herself. I don’t know how she could live with herself, denying a dying man pain medication.
Nurse Witch lost her nursing license for awhile. I know this because she was my waitress at a local restaurant. I really enjoyed that day, not because she was an addict, but because she was such a bitch and morally reprehensible!
First Chinese Military Invisibility Suit SHOCKED The US
As time moves forward, I have become convinced that the global phenomenon of pyramids is connected to something more significant than burial tombs, stellar observatories and warehouse for records. The video at the end of this post discusses the “black pyramid” of Alaska and it fits in nicely with a narrative that meshes well with Domain.
Personally, I have been told that these are “utility structures”. And that their purpose and use is of no concern of mine.
That’s straight from the Domain Commander. Take it as you will.
Never the less, it’s an interesting subject and (I believe) it is worth your time to park aside an hour at the end of the post to watch the video. I think that it will help you all gain insight.
Today…
What was the “eureka!” moment of your life?
If I was aware of the word “fuck” in 7th grade, this would have been a “fuck yeah!” moment. But since I wasn’t, this is my most cherished EUREKA moment so far.
One day in school, the principal called an urgent meeting of teachers during the school time for some reason. So most classes were free, and the number of teachers left to control those classes was very less.
So the 7th and 8th class students (total strength > 80) were made to sit together in a single classroom with one teacher as the in-charge of the class. This teacher was new to the school at that time. He was a maths teacher, and a very good one. So in order to indulge with the students he wrote the following proof on the blackboard:
Assume A = B
=> 2A = 2B
=> 2A – 2B = A – B
=> 2(A – B) = (A – B)
Cancel (A – B) from both sides and you get: 2 = 1
He asked us to find out what was wrong in the proof.
Let me remind you, we were all a bunch of impressionable 7th and 8th graders, who didn’t know the ‘L’ of Limits at that time. So all the kids were stumped.
I was sitting at the last bench. I too was staring blankly at the blackboard, reading the proof again and again. While reading it like the 4th time, all of a sudden I blurted out:
“Sir (A – B) is zero. You divided zero by zero when you cancelled (A – B) on both sides. I think that’s wrong”
I didn’t even stand up or raise my hand and ask permission to speak. The teacher asked me to stand up and repeat what I had said to the whole class again. I can still remember that little cheering and clapping, and the pats on my back I got from my seniors and friends. That was the last time I made a good first impression on a teacher.
That little part of my life, that was pride.
FINALLY! Boobs Are Making a Comeback | Redacted with Natali and Clayton Morris
LOL.
Easy Does It Spaghetti
Delicious and easy. You don’t have to boil the spaghetti as it cooks the last hour in the slow cooker.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons dry minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
16 ounces tomato sauce
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 (4 ounce) can mushrooms, drained (optional)
3 cups tomato juice
4 ounces dry spaghetti (1 1/2 cups), broken into 4 to 5 inch pieces
Instructions
Brown ground beef in skillet and place in slow cooker.
Slice mushrooms if using.
Add all remaining ingredients except dry spaghetti; stir well.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 5 hours. Turn to HIGH for the last hour, and stir in dry spaghetti.
Attribution
From the kitchen of Linda Jolly, Arizona.
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Have you ever met a celebrity who asked you, “Do you know who I am?” and you said no?
A kid with his grandpa met Roger Moore in an airport. So the kid tells his grandpa, that was James Bond and asked him to get an autograph.
The Grandpa had no idea who James Bond was and went to the movie star asking for an autograph for his grandkid. Moore, always the gentleman obliged the old man who took the autograph back to his grandson.
But the kid was dismayed to see another name on the paper and told his grandpa that Moore signed the wrong name. I’m sure the old man will be wondering how a movie star could have signed the wrong name but he still approached Moore to correct it.
He said and I paraphrase “Sorry to bother you again. My grandson said your name is James Bond, but you wrote Roger Moore”.
The amused Roger Moore called the boy, knelt down to his level and told him in a conspiratorial manner “Yes. I’m James Bond but I have to use my alias as Roger Moore so that the bad guys won’t recognize me. I hope you will keep my secret.”
The kid promised solemnly to keep his secret, they shook hands and parted.
The kid grew up and wrote this story on the Internet after Moore died. He’s also in the movie industry but not an actor. He said he met Moore years later in a studio and told him the story. Moore remembered and had a good laugh with him.
Now I don’t know if this story is true or not but I love it. It’s such a cheeky thing Roger Moore will do so I want to believe its true. Sir Roger Moore was a gentleman and a class act. Some may not appreciate his thespian skills, many argue that he was not the best Bond (and to be objective, I agree with them even though he still is my favourite Bond) but almost everybody, especially me, agree he was a lovable decent human being. I wish I had met him.
That mood where everything irritates you indicates that you are actually missing someone
Overprotective parents raise the best Liars
People who blush easily are more generous and trustworthy than those who don’t
Every 10 years you become a new person, our desires,needs Changes evry 10 years
Dreams have more weight and meaning than our conscious thoughts while awake 70% of our dreams contain a secret message
You really love him/her…?
No name was mentioned but still someone come to your mind
7. Listening to sad songs actually creates positive emotions
8.easily distracted people are more creative
9.most household dust is made of dead skin cells
10. your mind can sense someone staring at you even when asleep
11.pretending that you don’t have feelings of anger, sadness and loneliness can literally distroy you mentally
12. 91% of people are not friends with people they once called their best friends
13.the faster you eat the more you gain weight
14. Trouble sleeping at night for no reason it because you are actually alive someone else’s dream
15.some people are actually afraid of being too happy because they think that something tragic will happen this is known as “cherophobia”
16. Faking confidence an positively influence your brain chemistry and change your life
17. People who hide their feelings,cares the most
18.when a person dies they have 7 minutes brain activity left. Its the mind playing all the memories of person in dream sequence
19. People who walk at quicker pace are generally seen more happier and confident than those who walk slowly
20. You appear more attractive to a person when you make them smile or laugh
21. Crying is how your body responds when your mouth couldn’t explain the pain you feel
22. the deeper your feelings are the harder they are to express
23. When you truly cares for someone theor mood can literally affects yours
24.you can judge a lot about a person ‘s character by noticing what they laugh at
25. They way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice
Comics for today
Have you had deep suspicions about someone that were proved right? Did anyone else have these suspicions or where you alone in this?
Off the top of my head, I can remember 1 teacher.
I never liked him.
He was a design technology teacher and he would be really “nice “ and ask how the work was going but with the girls he would lean in really close over their shoulder so his face was very near to theirs and commend them.
He had no business putting his face that close. You can stand next to someone and commend them.
He touched too much also. Unnecessary touch on the hand, arm , shoulder with weird sort of squeeze. Revolting.
Never to the boys, only to the girls infact he basically ignored the boys all together unless they troubled the girls and he would calmly ask them to behave.
He was rather liked by most students apart from the girls who’s personal space he invaded under the vibe of “ that’s lovely work, let me see, aren’t you clever” type shit.
It was a running ‘joke’ among the girls that he was creepy. I recall this one girl would grimace when he came close and the others would be like “ ew he’s coming this way, keep your blazer on”. That I knew of it was seen as a joke and not that he was actually dangerous, just ‘a bit of a perv’ which was clearly alot of people back in the 90s without much fuss. He was also married with grown up kids so one girl used to laugh and then say ‘don’t be bad he’s married and has kids you know’.
And?
He tried sometimes to lean close to me and I very drastically leaned back and looked at him..a little like this 😒. He just said warmly ‘everything okay here?’. He got a ‘ yes, sir, trying to do my work’ and that was it.
Maybe 10 years after I left that school it came out in the paper that he had abused many, many children, parents of some of the kids of the school even as he has been there maybe 20 years or so. He ended up going to prison.
To Die for Beef Roast
This is one of the best roasts you will ever taste. Carrots, potatoes and celery can also be added, if desired.
Packet Roast
This recipe is so easy to make. You really can use just about any beef roast, I personally like to use chuck roast. Add a few extra ingredients that you most likely already have in your pantry, and you can put this roast together easily and quickly.
Your family will think that you worked your fingers to the bone on this delicious roast.
Hands down, this is one of my favorite roasts to make because it is completely reliable. So if you are a beginner cook or someone whose roast attempts in the past haven’t been ideal, this is your recipe.
This to die for pot roast has variations for both the Instant Pot and the slow cooker. This recipe is made for the busy cook.
You are going to use three packaged dry mixes for this roast. These three mixes will make for a very flavorful pot roast.
What Makes To Die For Pot Roast So Good?
Two things make To Die For Instant Pot beef roast so gosh, darn good: The flavor and the easy recipe.
If you ever made To Die For Pot Roast in a slow cooker, you already know you can’t beat the taste, but the long cooking time is a bit of a bummer. But when you cook the dish in an Instant Pot, you can get the same fantastic flavor, only much, much quicker.
Instant Pot Beef Roast Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
Beef roast
Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
Brown gravy mix
Italian dressing mix
Water
You won’t need to add anything else, so I find this recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight. Serve some mashed potatoes with this flavorful pot roast and you will be in business.
How to Make Pot Roast with Ranch Dressing
Differences between the Slow Cooker and the Instant Pot cooking methods:
The amount of time it takes to cook the roast.
Instant Pot method uses vegetable oil to brown the roast. Vegetable oil is not needed for the slow cooker method.
Everything else is the same.
Instant Pot Directions
Set the Instant Pot to Sauté and add two tablespoons of vegetable oil. When the pot is hot add the roast.
Sprinkle the Ranch dressing mix, Italian salad dressing mix, and brown gravy mix over the roast.
Add water and cook for 60 minutes on the high manual setting. You may perform a quick or natural release.
Slow Cooker Directions
Place the roast in the slow cooker.
Sprinkle the Italian salad dressing mix, brown gravy mix, and Ranch dressing mix over the roast.
Add water and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
Recipe Note
This recipe is high in sodium. After years of searching, I have been unable to find lower-sodium alternatives. If you need to stay away from sodium, this recipe is not for you. If you want to mitigate your sodium you may want to serve this with other food that is lower in salt to even out the entire meal.
How Long Does Beef Need to Cook in an Instant Pot?
Give yourself a total of around two hours from fridge to table for this recipe. It may seem like a long time, but only about 20 minutes of it is hands-on cooking.
Besides, when you compare the time to the slow cooker’s 6-plus hours, you save quite a bit of time using your Instant Pot method.
Can You Overcook Roast in an Instant Pot?
Yes, you can overcook meat in an Instant Pot.
Undercooking an Instant Pot beef roast will make it tough, but so will overcooking it. The key is to find the sweet spot where the pot roast is perfectly tender. Luckily, that spot is much larger when using a pressure cooker.
The most important thing to remember if you want fork-tender and juicy meat from an Instant Pot is using natural release to allow the meat fibers to relax and reabsorb the liquid.
What Is the Most Tender Juicy Roast?
A four-pound chuck roast is just about the perfect cut for this recipe. Since the chuck roast cut comes from the hard-working shoulder of a cow, it can be pretty chewy, especially if you cook it quickly over high heat.
But when you cook chuck roast low and slow or under pressure, the collagen in the muscle breaks down, creating a rich, juicy tenderness that few other cuts of meat can offer.
How Do I Use the Roast Setting on My Instant Pot?
Brown the roast on both sides with a bit of oil using the Instant Pot’s SAUTE setting on HIGH. Once the meat develops a nice brown crust (keep in mind that it won’t color any further while cooking), go ahead and add the rest of the ingredients.
Stir everything, close the lid, and set the timer to 60 minutes on the MEAT setting. If your Instant Pot doesn’t have a MEAT preset, cook on MANUAL HIGH for 60 minutes.
Can I Cook a Roast from Frozen in the Instant Pot?
Absolutely! However, you should make two slight adjustments to the recipe.
First, rinse the pot roast under warm water for a minute to slightly thaw the surface and pat it dry. Doing this helps the meat brown better.
The second necessary change is to set the timer for 20 minutes longer.
What to Do with Leftover Pot Roast
You’re sure to have some leftovers, and if you don’t want to have the same meal tomorrow, you can use up any of the leftover pot roast in some very creative ways.
Try one of these ideas or come up with your own:
A pot roast sandwich. Thinly slice the meat and heat on the stove with some beef stock or in the microwave. Mix the warm beef with horseradish sauce and pile it on a toasted bun. Top with shredded pickled carrots or coleslaw.
Breakfast hash. Dice the roast, potatoes, and other cooked vegetables and mix them in a bowl with beef stock or water. Make thin patties, dust lightly with flour, and fry them until crispy. Serve with your favorite style of eggs.
Beef Roast in Instant Pot FAQs
What Liquid Do You Put in a Pot Roast?
Because this is a 3 packet roast with gravy, Ranch dressing, and Italian dressing dry mixes used for flavoring, water is the best option.
How Much Liquid Do You Put in a Pressure Cooker for a Roast?
A cup and a half of water will create a substantial gravy. If you want a thinner sauce, add more water after cooking to prevent throwing off the cooking time.
Why Did My Instant Pot Roast Beef Come Out Tough?
There are two reasons why your pot roast may be tough. If you followed the recipe as written, try cooking for 10 minutes longer. However, if you cooked the meat for 30 or 40 minutes longer than the recipe suggests, there isn’t much you can do to bring it back.
What Goes with Pot Roast With Ranch Dressing?
Any sides you serve with another pot roast, you can serve with this one, too. Some favorites include:
How to Store Leftover Pot Roast With Ranch Dressing
You can keep any extra pot roast in the fridge for three to four days. Separate the vegetables and store both in airtight containers.
Freeze the Instant Pot Pot Roast together with any vegetables in a freezer-safe container for up to six months.
How to Reheat
The ideal way to reheat this pot roast is back in the Instant Pot!
You can reheat the meat from the fridge or directly from the freezer. Feel free to add extra vegetables like carrots or onions while reheating.
Add at least a cup of either beef stock or water, the meat, and optional fresh vegetables.
Cook on MANUAL HIGH for 12 minutes for thawed meat or 18 minutes for frozen meat.
Ingredients
2tablespoonsvegetable oil
4pounds beef roast any cut
1package Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1package brown gravy mix
1package Italian dressing mix
1 1/2cupswater
Instructions
Instant Pot Directions
Add two tablespoons of vegetable oil to the Instant Pot.
Set the Instant Pot to sauté.
When the pot is hot, add the roast.
Add the Italian salad dressing mix, brown gravy mix, and ranch dressing mix.
Pour the water into the Instant Pot.
Cook on high manual setting for 60 minutes.
When the cooking time is complete, you may perform a quick or natural release.
Slow Cooker Directions
Place the roast in the slow cooker.
Add the Italian salad dressing mix, the brown gravy mix, and the ranch dressing mix.
Add water to the slow cooker.
Cook on low for 6 to 7 hours.
Men are OUT & the West is DONE because of it. Women won’t like what is coming but they chose it.
What is the best thing about your boyfriend?
A couple of weeks ago Boyfriend went on a work related trip and I survived by eating apples and peanut butter.
After his return I went away for a few days and came back to find leftovers of what he had cooked for himself while I was out.
Hand made pasta with a bacon wild mushroom ragú.
Tri tip steak, thinly sliced over baked sweet potatoes.
Ingredients to make morning omelettes with various fillings: chorizo, gruyere, zucchini.
There was a bowl of fresh peaches on the dining room table. The whole apartment smelled like a summer harvest, crisp and fruity.
It’s not just that he cooks but that he gets up early to go to the farmer’s market.
He uses every utensil in the kitchen, including unrecognizable contraptions to create fresh pasta and grate tall, fluffy piles of cheese.
It’s that he sits down to dinner by himself with a large bowl of fettuccine and a big glass of wine.
I find his brain to be an exotic location.
How did your boss shock you?
I was 6 months pregnant with my second child, and it was obvious. I was interviewing for a position within the company I was already employed but at a different location and a much higher pay. I had just graduated with my associates degree so I qualified for this promotion. The manager said they had gone without an assistant for several months and needed someone really bad.
I thought we had a good interview but that I wouldn’t get the job bc I would be going out on maternity leave soon after. To my surprise, I got the job and started immediately. I went on leave 2 months later and was out for almost 3 months. I thought for sure he would be annoyed with the situation and regret hiring me, but actually he was extremely kind, considerate and understanding.
I worked for him for 5 years before changing companies. During those 5 years he encouraged me to continue with my education and take as many leadership/mgmt courses as I wanted. He also allowed me to have whatever alternative schedule I needed to be able to work and go to school at the same time. By the time I left the company, I had an MS in accounting.
I only left bc of governmental issues and changes. (We were a contractor company at NASA.) He was by far the best manager I have ever had and will probably ever have. He genuinely cared about the success of his employees, and wanted the best for them. He was well respected by all of the departments he managed. I just thought I’d give a positive story since most of the others I read were negative.
This is what they did with ITALIAN WOMEN in World War 2!
War is terrible.
Is the phrase “America is the greatest country in the world” becoming a hollow statement now?
Not becoming. It is a hollow statement.
Even if you believe America was once the greatest country in the world, it is certainly no more.
America has become fascist with its treatment of protesters recently.
America has become immoral with its support for genocide in Gaza.
America has become abusive with its endless sanctions to punish countries that disobey its foreign policy.
America has waged endless, and often illegal, wars that caused unimaginable levels of death and destruction.
America has denied its citizens affordable housing (which is why there is rampant homelessness) and affordable health care (which is why millions go bankrupt over medical bills).
America has done nothing to stop gun violence and mass shootings. America has done nothing to repair its crumbling infrastructure. America has done nothing to reduce its $35 trillion national debt.
I could go on and on.
What is the coolest line in history?
“I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 fascist occupants by now. Don’t you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?”
This follows with a thunderous applause and yes, this is from a lady.
Despite being refused to join as a sniper and steered towards being a nurse at first, she persisted and was given an audition where she passed with ease.
Within her first 75 days as a sniper, while fighting in Odessa, Pavlichenko made 187 of her 309 total confirmed kills.
[1] She became infamous amongst the Germans, who tried to convert her to their side via radio broadcasts, offering everything from an officership to – I kid you not – chocolates. At her refusal, the Germans threatened to tear her into 309 pieces. “They even knew my score!” Pavlichenko later laughed. In only a year, Pavlichenko (now a lieutenant) had made 309 confirmed kills. The word “confirmed” is key: a kill could only be classified as such if it was witnessed by an independent third party. Which means that the real number of people Pavlichenko killed is likely far, far higher than 309.
[2] She became the first Soviet citizen to visit the White House, where she met with President Franklin Roosevelt and first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.
[3] While travelling in the US giving speeches to urge men to support the second front, she famously said the above line.
As many have mentioned in the comment section, her story is the inspiration for the film Battle for Sevastopol. There is a sad story behind Sevastopol as it is the place where she lost her husband
[4] . (she was removed from Sevastopol due to serious injury and within one month, most of the rest of her division, including her husband were killed.
After I left China Lake Naval Weapons Center, we spent a brief period of time in rural Pennsylvania looking for work.
During that time we (my wife and I) were living in a mobile home. It was just an old ratty mobile home on a farm in the middle of the country.
We lived there for just under a year. Hustling to find work. Typing out resumes and knocking on doors. Sigh.
The land was rural and there were all sorts of Amish and Mennonites around. And the people who owned the farm were really nice to us. They managed a herd of buffalo, and every day we would see the buffalo heard up and roam about.
It’s not something that I speak about a lot, but it is part of my life experience. So, yeah. Now you know.
No surprises, eh?
Today…
What is the scariest thing you have seen or experienced when hiking?
For about 15 years we lived in rural Claremont on a 15 acre parcel that had East Duffins Creek running through it. This is in Ontario Canada and just outside Toronto. It was morel season so I jumped on my ATV and headed over to the north side of our property where I had found morels in previous years. I hopped off and went for a hike down to the creek and up through some native apple trees. I had to part some cedar branches to get back to my ATV about 25′ away. When I climbed on the ATV a full grown Easter Cougar came out of the cedars in the same place I had just walked. Clearly he had followed me. I was afraid to start the machine as this would have required moving one arm and both feet and I was worried that the movement might trigger him to come after me. We stared at each other for a moment and then I jumped in the air and yelled BOO as loud as possible. Fortunately the big cat turned and ran. I went home and called the Ministry of Natural Resources to report this sighting and they weren’t too surprised. They said these Eastern Cougars are about 150 lbs, follow river corridors, have a hunting area of about 90 square miles and take a deer a week. Two months later my daughter-in-law captured this photo south of Barrie about 50 kms away. It was exciting but scary.
Why Is China Not Afraid of the US?
What is the most difficult thing you have had to do to one of your children?
When I was doing the single parenting thing and my son was about 17 and my daughter 15, my son started showing a very bad temper. I understood it and knew how it felt because I also had an awful temper that I learned to control long before he was born. Anyway, he’s over a foot taller than me and pretty strong. We were living in a rented townhouse at the time. He got so angry one day and punched a large hole in a wall. Nothing I was saying or doing for him was getting him to be less angry. He would sometimes stand over me and give me the ‘I want to punch you’ body language. So, on the day he punched the wall and seemed to threaten me, I called the police. The policeman came to the door knowing it was a domestic dispute and once I told him why I called, he suggested letting him talk to my son alone. I was not in the room but I was in earshot. The cop was saying things like, “Dude your mom is letting you live here and this is a nice place. She could kick you out when you turn 18. How would you like that?” and “What about all the great things your mom has done for you? Do you get nice clothes?” Yes. “Do you eat well?” Yes. “Then what’s your problem, man?!” He basically gave my son a talking to. My kid needed to hear that from someone of authority. It did make a change in him. HOWEVER, he has never let me live down the fact that I once called the police on him. He’s only 26 now and maybe ONE DAY he will finally realize I did something that worked and did no harm to anyone.
Why Leaving the US is the New American Dream
Andrew Henderson is the CEO of Nomad Capitalist, the world’s #1 resource for global citizens, helping people around the world gain access to second passports, reduce tax liabilities, and learning to safeguard their assets. Andrew was born an American but has since renounced his citizenship, obtained 5 new passports from countries around the world, and lives in multiples cities throughout the world. In today’s video Andrew shares his life and journey and what it means to be a Nomad Capitalist.
What was your most glorious moment in a classroom ever?
At the university, I was a political science major. I was also sick a lot so I was excused from taking physical education, so I only had one semester of PE, which was worth one half of a unit. While I was excused from the class I was not excused from the required number of units in order to graduate.
I chose most of my classes based on the time of day they were offered, prefering morning classes. I signed up for International Law. On the first day of class, the professor stated that International Relations was required to be taken before International Law. I had not taken International Relations, but decided to at least try the class, I had a month before I could drop the class with no penalty.
I understood the subject matter and was doing all right. Towards the end of the semester, the professor found out that I had not taken the prerequisite course. He let me stay in the class as I was one of the top students.
The professor told me that I still needed to take International Relations to qualify for my degree, but he said that it would not be fair for another professor to have me as a student, so he requested that I take the class from him
In my last semester, I realize that I would be one half of a unit short in order to graduate. I was telling my professor about the problem when he suggested I do a one half unit independent study. He wanted to go to a seminar and would be out of the class room for a week.
He said that if I would teach the unit on International Law for his classes of International Relations classes, I would earn my one half united.
So this is where it got strange, I was a student in one of his classes, and the week the professor was gone, I stood in front of all my classmates and taught the class for a week.
When the professor returned, I became just another student.
I graduated on time.
BLINKEN TRIP TO CHINA: U.S. dominance is over!
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken went home with his tail between his legs after an official three-day visit to China in which he tried his very best to convince the world of a litany of nonsensical crap that neither he nor anyone else with a brain believes, including spouting the “over-capacity” myth that Yellen tried to start on her last visit, and trying to tell Beijing that Washington has some kind of right to decide who China can and cannot trade with. This desperation and hypocrisy blatantly on show from U.S. leaders visiting China is a sign of one thing: the hegemony of the U.S.-led West is falling, and it’s a joy to watch! Today we’ll talk about it.
What do police officers say are the things that make them more or less likely to give a ticket to a speeding driver?
My gauge was always reasonableness.
If your license plate tags expired one month ago, I can see you not noticing and would probably cut you a break. If they expired one year ago, not so much.
If I pull you over for plates expired months ago, and you say, “I’ve been trying to get money together so I could renew them,” but there are $300 worth of cigarette butts in the ashtray and the backseat is full of bags from the mall, you’re getting a ticket.
If you don’t have insurance, you’re almost certainly getting a ticket. People who didn’t want to pay for insurance figured if they could get less than three tickets a year, they could get out of paying a premium and just pay their insurance fine, which would actually be less expensive since they were high risk. I never gave them the satisfaction.
I never really ran radar, so I didn’t write many speeding tickets – maybe four or five over three years. Even then, they were all for going at least twenty miles an hour over the limit (or speeding while they were drunk). Every officer has a magic number. One of my colleagues’ was, “Twelve [mph] over you’re fine, thirteen and you’re mine.” Now, some officers’ magic numbers may be one, so don’t bank on any kind of window. I never nailed one down, but probably would have if I ever did traffic enforcement.
If you’re driving drunk, you’re getting so many tickets. I’ve personally written as many as eight to one person after one incident, and a colleague in another agency (with a more permissive pursuit policy) once wrote 36 after a drunk driving pursuit. I have seen so many dead bodies lying on asphalt because of drunk drivers. No mercy.
The answer from the officer in the UK has some good insights – especially the bit about asking me why I’m not finding ‘actual criminals.’ But ladies, don’t count on sexing the situation up to dodge a ticket. I’ve written lots of citations to women with heaving cleavage who had obviously fussed with their blouse prior to my approach. What favor am I currying by not writing a ticket? There is absolutely nothing in it for me in that scenario. It’s not like just giving a warning is going to prompt her to go ahead and peel her top off. I’m not saying it would never work on anyone, but it didn’t go anywhere with me.
In any situation where a citation issuance was in the cards, I honestly tried to put myself in the shoes of the driver. Where are they coming from? Where are they going? Would I have noticed the same thing on my car? Would I go that fast off-duty? I tried to be very fair with my citations, and I like to think that if I ever gave you one, you could at least admit how I saw it was necessary. Some officers issued them indiscriminately, but I tried to, again, just be reasonable.
Read non-fiction books : It will transform your thinking process.
Cooking : It will save you from eating junk and lots of money.
Travelling : You are not a frog who is destined to live in a well rather explore the world .It is beautiful.
Pick a hobby : Now you don’t have time to get bore.
Drink adequate water : Because you are made of water and it is necessary to keep yourself hydrated.
Practice selflessness – Feed that stray animal , help your needy friends without expecting anything in return.
Remove inferiority complex – That famous writer whom you admire and feel inferior to , they are just a human like you. You too can become successful like them if you will put that amount of hard work that they usually put in.
Earn before spending – It’s okay to buy IPhone X but buy it after earning, not on EMI.
Smile in adversity – It will diminish half of your pain.
What is a time when you’ve seen a co-worker get fired who totally deserved it?
I worked for a personally owned McDonald’s and many of the workers and customers were female and minors. One of the managers constantly made extremely inappropriate comments about the customers and crew. Many workers including me had told managers above him including the General Manager what was happening.
One coworker was to the point she requested to not be scheduled on the same shift but her request was ignored. She was driven to the point she put her two weeks in because of it, and she was a hard worker who if she made mistakes instantly fixed them. When I heard of her wanting to quit and why many female coworkers told me of his comments.. comments that if I had heard personally make, I probably would have punched him. But I called the owner and she told me the managers were “Investigating it”. Which i knew was bullshit because the GM’s wife was also a Manager and was high school friends with the predator. When I heard this I explained what my coworkers had told me and all she had to say was I needed to remember who I was talking to because I was getting angry and upset quoting his disgusting comments. So I started ripping her a new one(Bitched her out) about how she is allowing a predator to make workers he is preying on to do what ever he wanted. And hung up on her and went back to work.
Next day her younger brother was waiting for me to clock in since he was who took care of small things like firings. He told he understood my rage as he has daughters and would feel the same way. I told him a few comments he made that made my blood boil. He said the same thing about my tone with his sister and then told me to go to work. The predator went to clock in and was instantly taken back to the managers office and fired before he could even clock on. He stormed out and shouted, “I just got fired I hope you’re all happy” and I laughed and said yes actually I am very happy. I honestly see it as my greatest achievement in my work experience.
What are the types of people that you should always avoid?
A good friend of mine got Engaged to the love of her life and was about to get married within 2 months.
She was extremely happy. Both the families willingly agreed. No objection from any side. Her would be in laws told her parents that they don’t want anything from them. So far so good.
Just one month before marriage her would be mother in law called her mother.
MIL: Apki beti bahot achhi hai. Humein to bas aapki beti chahiye. Baaki aapne jo dena hai apni beti ko hi dena hai.
(Translation: We are blessed to have your daughter. We don’t want anything for us. However, you may give anything to your daughter as you may please.)
Mother: okay ji. Definitely.
And this continued for the following 3-4 days.
Her MIL used to drop subtle hints about their demands which included a destination wedding, innova car, diamond rings etc. Each time she ended the conversation with the same dialogue.
We don’t want anything for us. You can give your daughter anything you want to.
My friend came to know about this just 15 days before the wedding, when she overheard her parents talking about borrowing from relatives.
She was furious and called her fiance.
And then it was the fiance’s turn.
Unhone jo dena hai tumhe hi dena hai. Humari koi demand nai hai.
(Transaltion: We haven’t demanded anything. They are giving it to you.)
She ended her 3 year long relationship right away.
I met her yesterday and she told me about the entire incident and to my surprise, she was rather relieved to know everything before marriage.
In her words: Those people were wolves disguised as sheep. Even more dangerous.
Edit: I showed all the comments to my friend. She wants to pass a message through this forum. “Whenever you hear we don’t want anything for us but you can give your daughter whatever you want to.”
Run. Run as fast as you can and never ever look back. You definitely want to avoid such people.
I Caught My Girlfriend “On The Clock” Doing Her Secret Job, Now She’s PLEADING That We Talk It Over
...she's not your girlfriend, it's just your turn, or someone else's or something like that....
What is the strangest thing you’ve seen someone return to a store?
A couple of years ago I went to Costco to return an item. I don’t even remember what I had bought – it was the wrong item and I had not even opened the package. Waiting in line, in front of me was a man, probably 10 years younger than me, carrying a Hewlett-Packard Deskjet printer. I knew that model well because it is old – over 15 years old, and it looked it. I am a computer nerd, and I know most models of Hewlett-Packard printers – be it Laserjet, Deskjet, Designjet, Office Jet, or whatever. Since I was right behind him, I could hear everything that he was trying to tell the Costco employee. He said had bought it from here at this store – and it stopped working. I looked at the employee because she looked up at me and I just grinned.
When something is bought from Costco, they keep a thorough record of it and this man did not even have a Costco membership (that gave it away), but he insisted that he bought it from here.
The young lady was intimidated by him so I interrupted him and I said, “Give me a break. That printer is over 15 years old and they never sold that model here and when it was made, this store hadn’t been built!”
The guy argued with me and said he bought it here. I said, “No, you didn’t. You either bought it for $10 from a thrift-shop, or got it out of your garage. What you are trying to do is committing fraud and I will call the police right now to have you arrested!”
It took him a couple of seconds and he ran out. I was a little afraid of him waiting for me outside but it was in the middle of the day when I was leaving the store and by then, he was already gone.
Cheating is wrong, and the guy was a complete idiot who tried to circumvent their generous return policy and he was not even smart enough to come up with a good story.
The young lady thanked me for helping her. I made a joke and said I was in a hurry to buy a Costco hot-dog and he was holding up the line.
Daily comics
What is something that needs to be said that nobody wants to hear?
I call her “Little Girl” because she completed her 12th last year. She always greets me with morning messages without failing any day.
But yesterday I didn’t get any message from her.
Then I pinged her today and asked for the reason. Initially she was hesitant but after insisting she told me the reason; she was thrashed physically by her dad because she couldn’t clear medical exam this year. She might have fractured her wrist.
She is a bright student and she loves physics. She has an outstanding academic record in physics. But it was her father’s dream to make her a doctor. And on top of it, she is the only child and that is why she is bearing this burden of hope.
She has least interest in biology and couldn’t make it to any medical college for two years in a row. They are adamant to make her a doctor, they want to send her to foreign countries (Ukraine, Russia) to complete her education.
This is a famous dialog from “Kota Factory”,
Your parents might take wrong decision for you, but their intentions are never wrong.
I agree, they are your kids and you will always take best decision for them. But I believe there is a thin line between taking a decision for them and forcing your decision on them.
Obviously, her father has no wrong intention. But his disappointment in his only daughter because she couldn’t clear medical exam is wrong.
Everyone is worried about their kids’ future. But how many of you bother to ask where does their happiness lie? What are their dreams? What do they want to become in their life?
Indian parents and their ideology. Obviously they are your kids and you don’t want to listen to someone else’s advice. But I believe, becoming the best in the area of your interest is better than becoming an average person in the area of your least interest.
Your kids are not average, you are forcing them to become one.
Legend of the Hanging Munchkin – A Wizard of Oz Mystery
Is American cuisine considered to be bad?
As a European who has traveled often to the U.S. (with shopping groceries and cooking), let me answer this question:
With a firm no.
First, let me make something clear: American cuisine is not McDonalds and Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken and Subway. These are fast food chains and not representative for American cuisine.
American cuisine is very diverse, maybe the world’s most diverse cuisine. This comes partly from the many immigrant groups who brought their food to America where it was transformed into American cuisine, but it also comes from the different regions of the USA, a geographically huge country. Think of regional cuisines:
The Northwest with lobsters, clam chowders, oysters and crab cakes – all delicious seafood dishes which belong to the best of their kind in the world.
Florida cuisine with Cuban and Carribean influences.
The creole and cajun cuisine of New Orleans.
Tex-Mex.
New Mexican cuisine which is not a version of Mexican cuisine but a indigenious fusion of American Indian and Spanish influences.
Californian cuisine with Mediterranean, East Asian and Spanish accents, all blended in a unique way.
King crab and the world’s best salmon in Alaska.
Southern BBQ.
And, everywhere, some of the world’s best steaks.
What does it take to live an authentic life?
Courage and humility.
It took me years of chickening out and trying to fake it till I’d make it to learn that lesson. When you live authentically, you accept a lot of things. That can be incredibly hard, depending also on who one is.
Some people will face a lot less adversity than some, because of the way they are.
I, for my part, am not a very common person, so when I decided to drop the pretense and face the music, to see what it would be like, I prepared myself for a possible, lifelong shitstorm and hatred 24/7. I fully expected murder.
Interestingly, this did not materialize.
It was as if I stepped through a curtain of my own fears, only to emerge with a corrected image on the other side. An image that I could just live with naturally. It required no upkeep, no explanations, and no thought.
People peeled away, and surprisingly, they were the ones I didn’t care for, or who didn’t care for me, anyway. I learned right there and then that those who really like you will like you as you are, and probably do so even before you go through such a change, because they may have known your real you before you even tried to meet it.
And new people came, who viewed me in a very different light. People who actually gave me energy rather than taking it.
I can only recommend to take the step.
So what did I actually do?
It was at a stage of my life where I had some real doubts about the validity of my professional and life choices, and I decided that I needed a break. I “turned myself grey”, as I tend to think of it. I stopped transmitting, and went into a pure listening mode. I wanted to figure out life, and the way to do that, I figured, was first and foremost to shut up.
So shut up, start listening, and stop using the word “I”. Drop all self aggrandizement, all life editing, and all those theater acts we put on to please certain people. Let them have it from the horse’s mouth, and let that mouth be yours. And then just sit there and take the backlash.
It may never come. If it does, it’s more likely like a little demon detonating into thin air.
The Chinese owner of TikTok claims they would rather shut down than sell TikTok. (To the surprise of many lawmakers who voted to ban TikTok). Do you think they are serious or bluffing?
Very serious.
Chinese don’t bluff the way Americans do.
PULP SCI FI – Retro Pulp Science Fiction by Skyward, 1950 Science Fiction Paperback Novel Cover Art
What were the last words you heard someone say before they died?
My wife died during the pandemic. She had suffered from dementia for a number of years prior to her death. Many have called dementia ‘the dying brain’.
Because of her refusal to take her medication as directed, her primary care physician suggested that she be admitted to a care facility. That was in late January 2020. I visited her every day, ate lunch with her, and left when she started ‘sundowning’. In early March 2020 the hospitals and care facilities closed down to any visitors. In late March she was placed under hospice care.
The only contact we had was by phone. Most of the time when I called I was told that she was sleeping which meant that she wasn’t fighting her demons. When she was awake, she could only mumble. The last time we spoke, I told her that I loved her. Her response and last words to me were “I love you”.
On April 8, 2020 at 2:15 AM I got a call from the hospice facility telling me that she was dying. I asked if I could come and be with her. I was denied that. Then, at 6:30 AM I got another call telling me to come as fast as I could. She was unresponsive. I held her hand and played hymns on my phone. I would tell her that she could let go. She would squeeze my hand. At 2:17 PM she stopped breathing.
I am blessed to have those last minutes and words with her.
End of the Globalists w/ Jay Dyer (Live)
How has President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s shift towards the United States affected China-Philippines relations and tensions in the South China Sea?
It affected the living standard and livelihood of Filipinos. It make him very rich and get back US confiscated wealth by the state department back for the Marcos clan!
He is doing a very clever 2 way play. He knows China don’t want war and U.S. U.S. pushing and bribing home to provoke war like Ukraine so he gets good money from the U.S. and he does nothing to China except soft groan and play act with China, all is well. But U.S. will on their own bribed poor fisherman on high seas to provoke Chinese naval boats. The fisherman gets 5K bucks to get hosed not bad for a days job. CNN gets their pretentious headlines where the edit and fabricate into Chinese “aggression” and state department gives them a nod and wink!
All is well as long as no one goes overboard!and some people got rich others get hosed and China gets bad publicity which it don’t gives a shit as long as it is costing the US an arm and a leg! Let’s see how much more and how long US can do shit as its nation dwindles down into oblivion.
What is the biggest scam an auto mechanic ever tried on you?
About 1992 I bought a used, just off-lease, Chevy Blazer at a local car lot. The salesman told me that they’d rebuilt the front end, as it was loose when they got it. (S-10s, Blazers, Jimmys, and Sonomas from the 80s through the 90s were notorious for front ends that needed to be rebuilt just as they came out of warranty) I got under the car and looked, all the parts looked clean and new, no reason to doubt the salesman. They’d also put new tires on it.
The new tires were wearing funny, so I took it to a well-known local under-car shop to have it aligned. They looked at it and said that they had bad news, the whole front end had to be rebuilt, all the joints were worn out, as was common on these vehicles just out of warranty. Of course, they were lying and wanted over $1000 in early ’90s money to “fix” it.
I took it to another well-known local under-car shop and told them what happened and had them look at it. They told me that the car salesman had told the truth and that indeed the front end had been rebuilt, but they screwed up the alignment. They aligned the front end for less than $50. They said that the other shop had tried this scam on other people before me. The tires wore normally after that.
The good shop went out of business a few years later, and the bad one is still open in 2024, more than 30 years later. For over thirty years I’ve been telling locals about this incident and advising them to not go there. Maybe the people who work there nowadays are honest, but when you do things like they did over 30 years ago, you ruin your reputation from then on.
What did your parents allow you to do as a kid that you now realize was not age-appropriate?
I was born in 1961. My parents were a bit older than my friends’ parents, as this was their 2nd marriage. Both growing up during the Depression, so “parenting” wasn’t a verb. Dinner was at 5:30, “don’t be late, TV will ruin your eyes, don’t break your neck, don’t cry or I’ll give you something to cry about”; those were about it in terms of rules. Of course, if my brothers and I did something wrong, we were punished, not knowing it was something we shouldn’t have been doing. That’s pretty typical for my generation.
But my father had a great idea about how I could be useful. He noticed that our dog, a dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks English Setter named Randall, was picking up lots of ticks. I can’t tell you how gross it was; the ticks would reach his tummy and just swell up. There were dozens of them.
Dad had an idea. Since I liked giving Randall belly rubs (and he’d flop on the ground for me), why not give me a box of “strike anywhere” matches. have me light each one, blow it out, and apply it to the ticks? The bloated ticks would die instantly and I could pull them off Randall. Dad set us up on the brick patio. Me, the dog, and a huge box of matches that could be struck on the bricks to light. I thought it was fun, sort of like picking grapes.
I WAS SIX YEARS OLD!
I learned to be adept and deft; I never burned Randall. I may have singed the tip of my finger a few times, but it was a great system. Any grossness wasn’t affecting me because I WAS SIX! That, and dad told me to do it!
Let’s fast forward to 1994. I asked my son, then 8 years old, to light the candles I had placed on the dining room table. (He is the sweetest kid, and saw me rushing to get a holiday meal ready, and asked what he could do to help.) I handed him a pack of matches. I saw him go over to the candles and struggle to light a match. I think he went through half the pack before I took them from him and told him to get the dinner rolls instead. It was at that moment I realized that little kids generally don’t use matches, and my dad really was taking a chance with me, a box of “strike anywhere” matches, and a furry dog! Do they still make “strike anywhere” matches anymore? My dad was a smoker and a badass. He liked to tease me by lighting the matches with his thumbnail, then lighting his cigarette. Of course I’d try to light one myself, fail, and he’d laugh. Oh, 1967! Oh, I got caught smoking in high school, and there was hell to pay.
What is it like to enter a prison for the first time?
When I was 16 years old my father was elected as a judge in Los Angeles County. He thought it was his duty to see, first hand, what the prisons were like before he sentenced anyone to that prison.
He made arrangements to tour all of the prisons in Los Angeles County. One day he asked me if I wanted to go with him. I think he may have wanted to scare me straight.
So I accompanied him to Wayside Maximum Security Prison. Let me tell you that was one of the most sobering experiences of my young life. All of the inmates were locked in their cages (cells).
The thing that impressed me the most was that there was absolutely zero privacy. The was no place where the inmates could not be seen, either they were watched by a gaurd or a camera.
They could not take a shower, use the toilet, change their clothes or anything thing else without being watched.
I did not see even one smile that day on a prisoner or a guard. It was one of the most gloomy places I have ever been
Why The US Government Hate China Scott Ritter Interview with Carl Zha and Alex Reporterfy
I was in maintenance, and then worked the lines as a wrapping operator. It put money in my pocket and we could eat anything we wanted. And yeah, after one hour, we couldn’t stand to look at the stuff.
Any ways, this took place in Mebine, North Carolina.
And all the workers were local. Mill workers. Probably C and D students throughout their school years.
Anyways, there was a big silo of honey, or syrup and one of peanut butter.
And on the day before the Labor Day weekend, one of the workers was assigned the job to watch the peanut-butter go though a pipe at the bottom of the silo into a cauldron.
When the vessel was full, his job was to turn it off, shut the spigot, and then go home, locking the door behind him.
Well, the factory is empty, and he starts drinking.
The peanut butter is running slow.
Slow.
Slow.
And he is getting drunker and drunker.
Slow.
Slow.
“Fuck it”.
Eventually, he leaves the factory, locks the door behind him and forgets about it.
Three days later, we all come to work, and no one can get in.
Three feet of peanut butter had flooded the factory floor, the offices, and it was a real mess.
The front door to the lobby is one half full to the handle with this ocean of peanut butter.
Oh yeah. He got fired.
And we spent the next three weeks shoveling the peanut butter back into the silo.
True story.
Not embellished upon at all.
I have many stories about this factory; from the 20-something foxy side chick of the Boss, to the schemes to get free ingredients. It was quite the experience. I’ll tell you what.
So yeah. This is my story about shoveling peanut butter.
Now you know…
Today.
Have you ever lost any respect for someone instantly?
My nextdoor neighbours are an elderly Moroccan couple. We live in The Netherlands. The woman doesn’t speak Dutch at all, the husband a little. He often comes to me with letters and asks me to explain them to him. Because of those letters I know that the wife suffers from dementia.
Last month the husband rang my doorbell and asked if he could look inside. I figured that he wanted to see something in the street, which he couldn’t see from his appartment, so I let him in. But then he said, Helen, I love you. I want to be with you, can I kiss you on the cheek? I thought that I must have misunderstood him, it couldn’t be possible that my married illiterate neighbour who is around 90 years old, old enough to be my grandfather (I am 47) is making a pass at me, so completely flabbergasted, I said yes. But then he really kissed me on my cheek😱😱😱. I immediately understood the situation and I froze. Then he said that he would go on a vacation for two weeks and asked if he could come to me afterwards. Still completely paralysed I managed to say no with a really soft voice. Then he left.
It is now more than a month later. I am appalled by the audacity that a married illiterate man, who’s old enough to be my grandfather, with whom I can barely have a conversation, thinks that he stands a chance with me. I am disgusted. I thought that he was a decent old man, but he is a dirty old man.
What was the kindest thing someone did for you when you were young?
I really hated my life, but there seemed to be no way out of the situation.
At the time I was working two jobs.
During the day I would travel to NYC and work odd jobs such as catering.
At night, I worked in the dairy and frozen section of a shitty grocery store called Pathmark.
My brother was in middle school, and too young to work.
My father was out of work, having been fired for the upteenth time.
My mother refused to help support the family.
My grandmother was retired and struggling to pay the bills with her social security and pension.
I had recently graduated from high school, dreaming of going to college and building my life.
Less than a year later, it was starting to look like a pipe dream.
I was incredibly angry about this, and fought with my family constantly, my mother in particular.
She constantly complained about the family’s situation, and would take her frustrations out on me, once calling me lazy when I decided to sleep in for a few hours on my day off rather than fix her TV.
One day, we had a long argument, where I sarcastically thanked her for ruining my life, and called her a lazy cow, among other things.
It was admittedly, not my finest moment to tell you the truth.
Later, she confessed part of it to a childhood friend of hers who lived in Arizona.
She told her about our fight and about the fact that I had yelled at her about wanting to go to college.
The next day, I received a phone call from that friend, a woman whom I had never met, but apparently had talked to on occasion over the years.
She asked me if I would like to move to Arizona and live with her and her family.
I found the idea of living with a stranger uncomfortable, so I said no.
She told me to think about it.
A few days later, the woman called me again at home, and made the same offer.
However, before I could say no, she sweetened the deal.
She would pay for me to go out to AZ and if I didn’t like it after a month, she would send me back, no questions asked.
Thinking that I had nothing to lose, I moved to Arizona, and I never looked back.
It took me a little while to get my bearings, but she eventually helped me find a job, apply for college, among other things.
Now, 15 years later I am a successful teacher, with three college degrees under my belt.
And it was all due to the kindness of a stranger who decided to take a gamble on me and my future.
Women SHOCKED Men Looked At Her In Booty Pants At Gym, Women PREFER BEARS To Men In Woods
The poem “Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost
This is from one of my earlier posts, found HERE. Please guys, MM has a lot of good stuff buried under all the fluff.
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
What picture made your blood boil?
This is the lifeless body of Ziba – a 22 year old student at University of Kabul. She was shot several times as she was trying to escape through the window of her classroom to flee from the horror.
Dozens of other students her age in the very same classroom were killed that day.
It was November 2, 2020 when a group of cowards, misguided, losers, brainless and merciless individuals attacked the University of Kabul in the capital of Afghanistan. They killed more than 20 young students – most of them in their early 20s.
These kids were the savings, the investment, the helping hand, the happiness, the hope, the future and the life of many parents who worked hard their entire life to be able to merely earn a living to survive and send their loved ones to university so that one day they get to see them living a better life than them. They’re gone, so are the better days those parents wished to see. They did not just lose their kids, they lost everything.
That, however, is NOT what boils my blood the most.
What boils my blood the most is the fact that we have individuals who, proudly, take all of that away from those aging parents, and believe that by doing so they’ve pleased god. They believe they can commit such an act of horror and terror, killing defenceless and unarmed individuals in dozens and stand before god on the day of judgment and be rewarded for what they had done! No religion teaches that. This is wrong, this is barbaric and inhuman and it boils my blood that someone would do such a horrific act of evil in the name of religion.
On the other hand, what cools me down and gives hope and patience to those parents and many other Afghans who lost and still are losing their loved ones, is knowing that YES there will come a day that they stand before god, but it will not be with pride, nor will they be rewarded for what they had committed. We believe in promise of god where he says: “so whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it and whoever does an atom’s weight of bad/evil will see it.” (Quran 99:7–8)
M1A1 Tanks PULLED From Ukraine Front Lines “Weak and Vulnerable”
United States M1A1 Abrams tanks have been “pulled” from Ukrainian front lines because, Ukraine says, the tanks are “weak and vulnerable.” So much for America’s Main Battle Tank when it has to face a Near-Peer Army like Russia!
Video below, posted on social media, shows the latest M1A1 Abrams being towed by Russian troops. Smashed, burned, blown-up, there isn’t much left to the $4.3 MILLION tank.
We were told its armor was virtually impenetrable; and it’s mix of metals was so secret, the mixture is “classified.” Now look at what happened to it!
If this is what can be expected of these tanks when they’re in a REAL fight (as opposed to fighting rag-wearing terrorists) then reasonable people have to ask “What are we getting for all this money?”
— — GEROMAN — time will tell – 👀 — (@GeromanAT) April 28, 2024
Sacrifice
My 16 year old daughter wants me to buy her a brand new car for her birthday but I can’t afford it. All of her friends’ parents bought their kids a car. What should I do?
I have got to share this;
My step daughter was given $1000 as a gift from her grandmother when she passed away.
When the step daughter turned 16, I took her to early drivers ed. She passed and had her temp. Now she needed to practice driving and the dreaded parallel parking. I took her to these as well. 4 months down the road, and opportunity came up to buy a used Honda accord 1992. 1 owner who was meticulous about maintenance. I ask the step daughter if she wanted to use her money towards a car. She said YES. I told her that would not buy much car, but this one was in very very good shape. She said yes.
So I got the car, made her change the oil, the battery, and helped her get new tires (mind you aside from the car, I paid for everything else.)
The car got inspect, insured and registered. Then sat there. for about 4 months, she neither asked about it, sat in it, or started it up.
When I asked her mom what the matter was, she told me this:
The stepdaughter did not get to choose what kind of car, nor its color. She didn’t like the interior and thought the car was too old. I asked if she knew what went into get the car road worthy? The mom said not nobody asked me to do all those things for the stepdaughter.
I was stupefied. When the two went on a trip to visit family in late Dec, I sold the car for $1500, gave the stepdaughter $750, and paid the bills with the rest.
The nuclear radiation was evident when they returned and did not see the car in the driveway. I told them too bad. I needed to pay bills. I gave her the money, and she had the audacity to remind me that she initially paid $1000.
Of course I told her of the extra expenses I incurred including the tires. I could present her the receipts. Wisely she said “Fine”.
Course, that incident was NEVER forgotten, and I was forever labeled the bad guy. Step parents never get a break.
Russian State-Controlled TV: If NATO Troops Enter Ukraine , SARMAT, YARS, and Avangard (Nukes) Will Hit NATO Decision-Making Centers
State-controlled Russian TV today broadcast a direct announcement of Russia’s intent to fire nuclear weapons at NATO Decision-making centers if NATO troops enter Ukraine to battle Russia. The words aired were so blunt as to be undeniable..
Here is the segment of Russia state-controlled TV broadcast today as a warning to the entire West:
So there it is. Plain. Simple. Easy to understand. Even the village idiot can grasp this.
“If NATO Troops enter Ukraine to inflict strategic defeat upon Russia . . . . everything will fly: SARMAT, YARS, AVANGARD.” Those are Russia’s nuclear weapons system names.
WHY NOW?
. . . . Why broadcast this . . . . now?
Why now?
Could it be because elements from the French Army have, in fact, deployed to Odessa, Ukraine?
Could the RUMORS which claim elements of the US 101st Airborne have also deployed to Odessa, Ukraine, be Russia’s reason for airing this, now?
We already know that France deployed elements of the French Foreign Legion into Slavyansk, Ukraine, and the Russians blew them up with missile strikes about 48 hours after they got there.
We already know that Polish, Romanian, and other NATO-country troops, were hit by Russian missiles at a hotel in Dnipropetrovsk last week. A slew of them got killed too.
So what is it about developments in Ukraine that caused Russia to instruct it’s state-controlled TV, to make such a blunt, unmistakable, broadcast, Now????
I think something’s up. I think the Russians either know . . . or are seeing . . . Deployment of NATO troops into Ukraine.
If you haven’t watched the video, it clearly warns “NATO Decision-making centers are already in the crosshairs, and if NATO troops enter Ukraine to inflict strategic defeat upon Russia, everything will fly: SARMAT, YARS, and AVANGARD.”
There’s no wiggle room in that language. There’s no nuance. No ambiguity.
I thought you should know while there’s still time to try to prepare. Make plans. Buy supplies.
But clearly, there doesn’t seem to be very much time left — at all.
Best Ever Lemon Chicken
Healthy, flavorful and low in calories.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 skinless chicken breasts
Salt, pepper and paprika
3/4 cup water, divided
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Instructions
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a frying pan with Pam.
Season chicken breasts to taste with salt, pepper, and paprika.
Heat frying pan and sauté chicken until nicely browned (about 10 minutes), adding about 1/4 cup water near the end of the cooking time to loosen meat from the pan.
Remove chicken breasts to a shallow baking dish.
To the pan juices, add the white wine, 1/2 cup water and chicken bouillon, and heat through.
Meanwhile mix the lemon juice and flour in a cup. Pour into the frying pan and stir until sauce is thickened.
Pour sauce over chicken. Top with lemon slices and bake for 20 minutes.
Why do medieval soldiers wear armour when modern soldiers don’t?
Because, contrary to Hollywood movies, armor actually worked.
Even otherwise excellent movies like Lord of the Rings will have you believe that this:
Might as well be made out of plastic or paper because it offers zero protection against weapons of the day. But cutting through or piercing metal is nowhere as easy as the movies make it to be.
They only stopped wearing armor when it didn’t work anymore after guns became very common. They could make bulletproof armor using medieval technology:
(In fact the term “bulletproof” is from “proofing” that the armor can resist a pistol shot, seen in the dent above)
These armor are expensive and not readily available. While rich and important people could afford them, the average peasant or soldier couldn’t. They’re also very heavy and limits your mobility.
When bullet massively improved in the mid- and late-19th century (to something familiar today), these heavy armor only make you slow and vulnerable on the battlefield. It didn’t stop both sides from experimenting in WW1 though, even though these bulky suits were mostly useless against anything more powerful than pistols. The steel helmets that became common was used primarily to protect against shrapnel after artillery became the deadliest thing in the battlefield (and still is).
Bulletproof armor only became practical with the invention of kevlar in the 1970s. Even so, some countries today are still resistant in fully-equipping their soldiers with body armor, either because it’s too expensive or because in the environment they’re operating on (like the tropics) heavy armor that don’t allow sweat to evaporate can be detrimental. But as the war in Ukraine is showing, body armor is mandatory once again in warfare.
The Beverly Hillbillies – Season 1, Episode 1 (1962) – The Clampetts Strike Oil – Paul Henning
What was the biggest scandal at your work?
While working for the Home Office in the early 2000s, there was a woman whom we’ll call “Joan” in a neighbouring department who’d been through all sorts of hell with an ex boyfriend. Joan would tell us of the awful things he’d said to her, the late night phone calls, turning up to her door uninvited and so on.
We were supportive and would sympathise with her while also telling her to report this to the police. She would make excuses not to do this, and we were unable to force her to do it because she would get so upset.
One day, a delivery arrived at reception for Joan:
A dozen black roses. Joan brought them back to the office and was in a terrible state. We were naturally horrified by this, but to compound it, she reached into her handbag and brought out one of these:
A miniature coffin. She had received this in the mail that morning before leaving for work.
Oh. My. Word! We said enough was enough and weren’t going to take “no” for an answer – we alerted her supervisor and called a contact at Scotland Yard (which was just around the corner), and asked them to send a detective to investigate the matter. This was clearly a threat to Joan’s life and a serious matter.
Joan was beside herself when this happened. She really didn’t want the police involved. We told her that this had gone too far and we couldn’t stand by and let poor Joan suffer any longer.
The detective arrived and began his investigation by seizing the flowers and the miniature coffin after taking Joan’s personal details…
The following day, Joan wasn’t at work. We feared the worst and went to her office to enquire if she had called in or whether a welfare check should be carried out. Joan’s boss assured us that everything was fine, but we wouldn’t be seeing Joan again and he wouldn’t say anything more.
Well, now we were really perplexed. Wanting to get to the bottom of the matter, I called the detective that had come to the office.
When the flowers were delivered, there was no card attached. Thankfully, we had CCTV outside the building and the registration number of the van that had delivered the flowers was visible. The detective had found the registered owner of the vehicle (the florist) and called them to ask about the delivery…
When ordering a malicious delivery for someone, it’s not a good idea to use your own bank card. Especially if you’re the “victim”.
Joan had been playing us all along! The ex boyfriend was cleared of any wrongdoing – he hadn’t been in contact with Joan for more than a year and had not behaved the way Joan had alleged at all. Joan used her own bank card to order the black roses and further investigation proved that she had also ordered the miniature coffin that she had produced from her handbag.
Joan was dismissed from the civil service. I hope she got some help with her issues.
Fun Shorpy today
Mistake? Tsunami Warnings Sounded on New Jersey Shore
In the video, viewers can hear the loudspeakers announcing “This is a Tsunami Warning. Move to higher ground immediately.”
The thing is, there were no earthquakes of any serious magnitude either in New Jersey itself, or out in the Atlantic Ocean, which would have prompted such a warning. Earthquakes are the most common cause of Tsunamis.
Moreover, there was no massive weather systems in the ocean which can, from time time, generate a tsunami.
So . . . why the warnings?
PUNCH LINE: The mass-media, hasn’t said a word about this whole thing. People in New Jersey have just been left wondering. No information. No explanation. Nothing . . . .
What are you tired of explaining to people?
Me: So I was doing CPR on this patient, and her ribs went crack crack crack—
Him: Woah, hold up there. Why were her ribs cracking?
Me: That’s possibly her ribs breaking from my effort.
Him: Dude, are you sure you’re doing it right? I wouldn’t want you to do CPR on me in the future…
People, listen up.
The reason why we do CPR compressions is because you are in CARDIAC ARREST. You’re DEAD unless we do something. No offence, but I don’t give a two shit flying fuck if my compressions break a couple of ribs when it meant SAVING YOUR LIFE.
In fact, hearing those ribs crack usually tells me I’m doing a good job. I am getting sufficient depth with my chest compressions to maintain circulation temporarily. Broken ribs is not something we aim for obviously, but it’s a common side effect of good CPR technique.
We can address those petty rib fractures after, and if, we get you alive and breathing first.
Other experimentation with Text to picture AI
Foreign Countries Have Begun PULLING THEIR GOLD from U.S. “Safekeeping”
A number of countries around the world have begun withdrawing their Gold Bullion from storage in the United States over fears about the US Financial System! It’s not only our Financial System, it was the FORCIBLE SEIZURE of Russia’s Sovereign Wealth Funds; the world now sees the USA as nothing more than a Den of Thieves!
Over the past ten days, at least FOUR (4) countries have decided to pull their Gold reserves from the United States: Cameroun, Ghana, Nigeria, and a fourth country (named below) whose decision is tightly concealed to prevent PANIC. That nation is named below in COVERT INTEL for Subscribers Only.
April 19:Cameroon repatriates its gold reserves amid concerns about recession in the United States
In a significant development reflecting changing economic dynamics, Cameroon has begun the repatriation of its gold reserves from the United States. The move, driven by growing concerns about the deteriorating state of the U.S. economy, marks a pivotal moment in global finance.
The withdrawal of gold reserves from US custody highlights countries’ proactive approach to protecting their financial assets amid growing economic uncertainties. With indicators including rising national debt, weak economic growth and geopolitical tensions, the decision reflects a broader trend among nations to reassess their reliance on the United States as a safe haven for financial assets.
Financial analysts point to clear indicators signaling a rapid deterioration in the U.S. economy, sparking concerns among global investors. The decision to repatriate gold reserves highlights nations’ strategic responses to mitigate potential risks from exposure to the faltering U.S. economy.
Although logistical challenges and potential security risks may accompany the repatriation process, experts suggest that the benefits outweigh the risks for countries seeking to strengthen their financial sovereignty and guard against external economic shocks.
As the repatriation of gold reserves unfolds, this movement is provoking discussions about the broader implications for international finance. It highlights the importance of diversification and risk management to navigate the complexities of the global economic landscape.
APRIL 21: GHANA
Ghana’s recent decision to repatriate its gold reserves from the United States signals a significant shift in the nation’s economic strategy. Beyond the symbolic gesture of reclaiming control over its precious metal assets, Ghana’s move is underscored by a pragmatic desire to shield itself from the uncertainties of a destabilized US economy.
According to economic experts, Ghana’s decision comes at a crucial juncture amidst escalating global economic uncertainties and mounting concerns about the stability of the US financial system. Dr. Joseph Mensah, an economist specializing in international finance, asserts, “Ghana’s move to withdraw its gold reserves from American vaults is a prudent measure to mitigate risks and safeguard against potential economic volatility.”
By bringing its gold reserves back within its borders, Ghana aims to insulate itself from the repercussions of any downturns in the US economy, thereby reducing exposure to external shocks and vulnerabilities. Dr. Mensah further explains, “Repatriating gold reserves aligns with a broader trend among nations reassessing their financial strategies in light of evolving global dynamics. As geopolitical tensions escalate and trade disputes intensify, nations are increasingly prioritizing measures to assert greater control over their financial assets and reduce dependencies on foreign custodianship.”
Critics may raise concerns about logistical challenges and potential security risks associated with repatriating gold reserves. However, proponents argue that the benefits of withdrawing funds from a destabilized US economy far outweigh the risks. Dr. Mensah concludes, “By reclaiming control over its gold reserves, Ghana not only bolsters its economic sovereignty but also strengthens its resilience against external economic shocks.”
In conclusion, Ghana’s decision to repatriate its gold reserves from the United States reflects a strategic move towards safeguarding against economic volatility and asserting greater control over its financial destiny.
April 22:NIGERIA
Ghana’s recent decision to repatriate its gold reserves from the United States signals a significant shift in the nation’s economic strategy. Beyond the symbolic gesture of reclaiming control over its precious metal assets, Ghana’s move is underscored by a pragmatic desire to shield itself from the uncertainties of a destabilized US economy.
According to economic experts, Ghana’s decision comes at a crucial juncture amidst escalating global economic uncertainties and mounting concerns about the stability of the US financial system. Dr. Joseph Mensah, an economist specializing in international finance, asserts, “Ghana’s move to withdraw its gold reserves from American vaults is a prudent measure to mitigate risks and safeguard against potential economic volatility.”
By bringing its gold reserves back within its borders, Ghana aims to insulate itself from the repercussions of any downturns in the US economy, thereby reducing exposure to external shocks and vulnerabilities. Dr. Mensah further explains, “Repatriating gold reserves aligns with a broader trend among nations reassessing their financial strategies in light of evolving global dynamics. As geopolitical tensions escalate and trade disputes intensify, nations are increasingly prioritizing measures to assert greater control over their financial assets and reduce dependencies on foreign custodianship.”
Critics may raise concerns about logistical challenges and potential security risks associated with repatriating gold reserves. However, proponents argue that the benefits of withdrawing funds from a destabilized US economy far outweigh the risks. Dr. Mensah concludes, “By reclaiming control over its gold reserves, Ghana not only bolsters its economic sovereignty but also strengthens its resilience against external economic shocks.”
In conclusion, Ghana’s decision to repatriate its gold reserves from the United States reflects a strategic move towards safeguarding against economic volatility and asserting greater control over its financial destiny.
What’s something a doctor did to you that you won’t ever forget?
Dr. Eduardo Yambo, Family Physician.
When my son was a toddler I found myself a single parent. I got a job and tried to keep a roof over our heads. We used kerosene to heat the place. Had one in each bedroom. It was a very, very cold winter and both my son and I got sick, but I couldn’t afford for both of us to see the doctor. I made an appointment for my son.
After checking out my son, Dr. Yambo looked at me and said ‘What about you? Why am I not seeing you? You sound terrible!’. I told him I can’t afford another visit for myself; my son was the priority. I explained I was no longer with my husband and had no insurance. He quickly checked me out and gave me a something for my cough. He gave us office samples to save me the cost of prescriptions.
Had to make a follow-up visit for the next week. Brought my son in, and on checking out the doctor came out and told the receptionist that the charge was $12 (regular visits were $25 I think). He wanted another follow-up a week later. That visit was $6. It was the early 80’s and my take home pay was about $124/week, so those fees mattered an awful lot to me.
I’d been bringing my son to him for a couple of years already and that had never happened before. Suddenly, follow-up visits were reduced cost. Following up with my son’s health was more important to this doctor than money.
Until I moved away there was nothing that could make me go to a different doctor!
What would you do if you got fired from your job?
The only time I was fired was disguised as “We don’t need this many employees in summer; it’s our slow time”. The owner/boss disliked me, for what reason I don’t know. One coworker told me she thought it was jealousy. The company made and rented costumes, mostly to schools and universities for theatrical productions. When I went for my interview I had brought in an armload of costumes I had made over several years for Renaissance groups and personal use. What I did at the company was mostly mending, although I took the initiative once and made some bow ties from scraps of fabric lying around. The boss had accused me, not to my face but to other workers, of filling up their website with pornography (something I wouldn’t know how to do even had I wanted to). So I wasn’t surprised when I was told I would be out of a job. It annoyed me that there was a young woman who had been hired after me, who lived with her parents (unlike me, a single mom of two), and didn’t need a job as much as I did. But I left without saying anything and shortly got a job through a recommendation of one coworker who did pet sitting (same company). Later I found out that the young woman was embezzling from the company, so I got the last laugh.
What was a meal you loved as a kid but now that you’re an adult you realize your parents only made because you were poor?
I’m from Vietnam. We eat rice a lot, almost every meal.
When I was about 5 to 8 years old, once or twice per week, my mom would make ‘mixing special rice’ for dinner. It’s white rice cooked together with corn and sweet potatoes
(Image source: baobaclieu.vn)
I always got excited for those dinners.
We eventually didn’t eat that kind of rice anymore. I asked my mom about that once in a while but she just gave me reasons why she didn’t want to make the rice: out of corn season, sweet potatoes weren’t any good at market,…
When I was 12, on my mom’s birthday, I proudly announced that I prepared dinner. And guess what I made? Rice with corn and sweet potatoes. When I served dinner, my mom couldn’t hold it anymore, she cried. I asked her why? Did I do anything wrong? That was the very first time my mom explained to me that she was sick of this rice because she had eaten it too much.
I didn’t know that we only ate that because corn and sweet potatoes were much cheaper than rice.
I didn’t like that meal as much after that day.
—
To anyone is thinking about making a comment “hey, it sounds delicious” or “add some butter”, etc, please don’t. I wish we had butter. Also, it was good, but it was not any good after eating it frequently for 30+ years to the point you break down crying when you see it like my mom did.
And I didn’t like it very much anymore wasn’t because it’s not good or because it’s “cheap”. I didn’t like it because it hurt my mom.
Economic Shock: Bombshell GDP Drop, IMF Slams Congress Spending, Republic Bank Collapses
What is a fun psychological trick to try on someone?
The most powerful way to win an argument is to ask questions.
If you want people to take your words seriously, say that your father taught you this. People naturally believe in parental advice.
If someone is about to get angry at you, sit next to that person. They will have to lower their voice and there will be no direct face-to-face contact.
If you want to know if someone is attentive, repeat your phrase with slight variations in it. If you are listening, either your facial expressions will change, or you will point to that part and question.
If you think that someone is giving you a false figure then read it wrongly. If they correct you, it’s legit.
If you want people to agree with you, nod your head and make eye contact when you speak, they’ll nod too.
Explain and repeat what your friend just said. The person talking to you will subconsciously realize that you are a great listener. Of course, don’t go overboard with paraphrasing.
Use someone’s name more often. While talking to someone, keep using their name in the conversation. This helps them feel important and valued.
When you want someone to agree to something, give them a list with 3 options and leave the one you want to choose at the end. They will most likely choose the latter.
What you say about other people affects how others see you. People will associate the adjectives you use to describe other people with your personality. This phenomenon is called spontaneous property transfer.
Inflation in the USA
How catastrophic will the world’s drive to abandon the dollar be for the U.S. economy and people?
Very very very significant. The U.S. has been using money to do war monger, trouble make, regime change, financing and orchestrating coups, revolutions and paying off U.S. lackeys in the trillion yearly form free money printing that it could without much ramifications! Upon its inability and impossibility to carry on printing money freely and without much ramification, the U.S. no longer is able to freely do those shit anymore. It will lead to a better world and a more peaceful place.
To the U.S. it may not use coercion and bribery to win favours and fix elections freely! But it may be better for US citizens who will not have to be burdened by US shit cost!
What is the most useless career advice ever given?
Sadly it was advice from my father to me. The year was 1968 one of the most turbulent in US history. I had just graduated from HS, the Vietnam war was raging, RFK and Martin Luther King had been assassinated. The Democratic convention in Chicago blew up and I was there watching it all as I was just leaving of all things a Young Mens Convention for Catholics and had stayed at the Conrad Hilton and watched in awe as the anti war protestors and police lined up to do battle.
This was the auto production line. Endless cars, the USA was #1, 1955 no competition.
My father told me, do not go to college, it is a waste of time. Either go into the military or go to work on the assembly line, best jobs in the world. Union will protect you, he would protect me as he was a Union rep.
In the short run, he would have been right. The jobs were tough but plentiful, but already by 1970 the US automakers were making these.
Some of the worst cars ever made were coming off the line in the USA by 1970 and the rot had already begun to set in just when I went to work on the line.
My father was so adamant that when I went and tried it on the Monday – Friday program which meant you worked 2 days a week as a ‘college kid’ as on Friday there were not enough workers as they got their paychecks on Thursday which meant they got drunk and didn’t come in. And on Monday they didn’t come in as they were still drunk or hungover from the weekend, I tried it out.
It was a nightmare and I hated it. Everyone yelling screaming, quality was shit, politics everywhere, the company couldn’t get good cars made and the union was fighting to keep all 2.5 million jobs.
Well what happened?
Today there are 150,000 UAW members about 8% of the number when I started. A lot of people got in and out and grabbed their pensions. They worked the system and left Michigan and went back to Kentucky and down to Florida.
But if I had gone in and stayed? It might have worked but I would have lost everything that I have now done in my life. Lived around the world, a 50 year global career, speaking multiple languages. I have literally lived on 5 continents ranging from California, Florida, the Rocky Mountains, then Australia to China to India to Hungary to Singapore and Hong Kong several times. On and on my career has gone and my education has propelled me and made it all possible.
Most importantly, to survive, repeat survive and prosper I have had to ‘reinvent’ myself again and again and only with my education and MBA and languages and experience working around the world have I been able to be flexible and do this. Millions were literally stuck without a hope so many times in my home town while I simply changed countries and took a new job in a growing industry such as software when I used to be a manufacturers rep for years. Flexibility is the key to a long career and not a factory.
And those guys who were on the line? The lucky ones got away and got their pensions. The vast majority slipped through the process especially after the downturns of 2008 just when they were going to retire and pretty much got little to nothing.
Those who work in the auto industry today have a precarious future especially if you work in an ‘engine’ plant as those will be gone with the EVs.
My father meant well, but from his hard work and premature cancer and youthful smoking he died at 70. I am now 73 and knock on wood, still doing what I like and living a good life in France.
My advice, listen to many but make your own choices and definitely do not look at the past, look to what is happening for the future and it will help guide your decisions. It is way to important to leave to those who think they know, but only know their local situation and what they have grown up with.
Given the rapid change in careers there is no such thing as a safe bet or a definitive career path. If you don’t believe me, think of Detroit and what happened to them as the city never evolved and never changed.
Packard out of business and the largest abandoned factory in the USA.
Detroit? 2 million people when I was born in 1950, today? Barely 600,000.
I have to ask the questioner if ANY of the predictions made by American politicians ever came true?
Swine flu
Ebola
Y2K
3G causing gas pumps to explode
Phones causing planes to crash
4G causing brain damage
Hamburgers made out of worms
Back-masking of rock music
Sex education causing a spike in pregnancies
None ever came true.
But, for some reason, “China will invade Taiwan”. I mean, just how absolutely stupid can a person be. Is there a scale below moronic?
Still Americans (and their Australian and European cousins) believe this swill.
Who figures?
…
China has made it perfectly clear how the reunification will proceed. And this is well defined and in process right now. That’s the reality.
Accept it.
Evil in America
Have you ever walked out of a restaurant after you were seated by a waiter or waitress?
Oh yes, once when I was very much younger, I went out on a date with a very nice man, and he took me to a good restaurant. We got there, ordered the wine, and some bread rolls and butter were served also, while we decided on what we would have to eat.
The man told me his wife had died, but he didn’t tell me how recently! He didn’t tell me he was still in fairly early stages of grieving, and was trying to put on a brave face.
So I had no real idea of what he was going through.
Then just before we ordered, he started to get serious heart symptoms. I asked him if I should ask the restaurant to phone an ambulance. But he didn’t want that. He wanted to go home and call his private doctor! I thought that was unwise, but that is what he wanted.
We had to leave immediately, and he grabbed some cash from his pocket and put it on the table. He didn’t even count how much! But I am sure it was plenty to cover the bottle of wine and some bread.
I apologised to the staff, and had to drive him home. They were surprised but didn’t mind of course due to the circumstances.
It turned out (after the doctor’s visit) that he hadn’t had a heart attack, but a serious panic attack. I stayed with him all night to make sure he would be okay and keep his spirits up as he didn’t want to be alone.
We never did have a second date. But that was okay. He wasn’t really ready to start dating. He needed to process his grief. He was a nice man though, bless him.
The Chinese owner of TikTok claims they would rather shut down than sell TikTok. (To the surprise of many lawmakers who voted to ban TikTok). Do you think they are serious or bluffing?
China is famously no-nonsense. They always follow up and follow through on decisions. America, on the contrary, is used to fooling themselves inured in dirty tactics to pull a fast hand, but only end up humiliating themselves more often than not. Sanctioning Russia is a wonderful example. Examples abound that don’t need me to list them here.
The ugly truth is greed. The damage of Israeli genocide on US image is already done. It’s not TikTok’s fault and banning it is only a pretext. American political and business asshole pirates have long coveted TikTok’s huge market share and profit potential. China is wise to keep this trade mark and technology, and continue expanding its global market. The world is big enough for TikTok with unlimited potential.
Elon Musk WARNS Population Collapse IS COMING, STROKES & HEART Disease Wiping Out Greece
“To regain sovereignty, the EU needs to stop following Washington’s policies, but the European Commission is pushing the American agenda and resembling a fascist system with its single-minded decisions.
Europe determined its future when it responded with contempt to Russia’s attempts to forge ties after the collapse of the USSR and did not honour the Minsk agreements to give Ukraine time to arm itself, according to Didier Maisto, former director of Sud Radio. In an interview with TVL, he pointed out that while Europe used to try to encircle Russia, now it is gradually encircling Russia itself, but the EU should have thought about this earlier.
The partnership between the BRICS countries is actively developing and they are finding common ground for special agreements. The US, which opposes them, continues to advance thanks to its military-industrial complex and business, imposing its laws in other countries. Sandwiched between these vise is Europe, which needs to stop dancing to Washington’s tune to regain its power and sovereignty.
The main conductor of the American agenda in Europe has become the European Commission – the centre of gravity and the centre of decision-making in the EU is shifting towards it. Now the entry into war, the supply of weapons and medicines, the banning of certain media are approved without confirmation by a vote in the European Council. Didier Maisto reminds us that back in 2017 he warned that if Macron is elected president, Europe will slip into soft fascism.”
What is wrong with Joe Biden?
Doesn’t matter what is wrong with Biden. He’s not running things anyway.
What is the strangest failure you have ever seen on a car?
My father-in-law owned a 1988 Ford Escort wagon. He only drove it locally to and from work, and he probably never turned on the rear defrost.
My FIL passed away, and my MIL offered the car to me. The Escort was about 2 years old with ~13,000 miles. My 1980 Honda Accord was 10 years old and starting to get up in mileage, so I accepted it. My wife at the time drove it from Virginia to New Jersey during the summer. I started driving it to/from work about 15 minutes each way. I worked late one evening in the fall. When I got into the car, there was condensation on the rear window. I started the car and turned on the rear defrost to clear it up. Within a couple minutes, I hear a loud boom and notice my rear window is shattered. I thought someone was shooting at me! That was not the case. A rear window with a rear defrost is just 2 pieces of glass sandwiched around the heating elements and glued together. My theory was that the rear window had an air bubble in it due to a manufacturing defect. The heating element caused the air bubble to expand. Eventually, the air bubble got big enough to break the glass causing the explosion.
Ford would not replace the window because the car was out of warranty. (12 months/12,000 miles in those days) They wanted over $700 to replace it. I had a price of ~$225 from a glass shop. Ford said their price was what it was because it was “Ford quality glass”. If their glass was such high quality, it wouldn’t have shattered in the first place. Needless to say, I went with the glass shop. They even came to my office and replaced it in the parking lot.
=======================
A few years later I changed jobs, and I started commuting ~30 minutes each way on the highway. Ever since getting the car, I would notice a faint smell of antifreeze. I never noticed any leaks, but I did have to periodically add antifreeze to the overflow reservoir. After driving to/from the new job for about a month, I was driving home, and the car started to overheat. Long story short, the engine blew its head gasket, and I had to get the engine rebuilt. When the shop took the engine apart, they found a bolt that was sheared off. They said it probably came that way from the factory. That was the cause of the antifreeze smell, the slow loss of antifreeze, and ultimately the head gasket failure. After rebuilding the engine, there were no more problems like that.
Score:
Strange Failures – 2, Ford – 0. On this car, Quality was not Job One.
Comics from the 1970s
What should you never say to fast food workers?
I worked in McDonald’s overnight for one year as a cashier in the drive thru. During my year working in McDonald’s I encountered some things that I really don’t recommend doing:
Not paying attention to the cashier when he/she is telling you what you got.
If you don't pay attention when I asked you, please don't complain if I charged you $100 for things you didn't order because you said “yes, whatever.”
Expecting the cashier to know you don’t like pickles or onions.
Yes, we know some of our regulars. No, we didn't know you don't like pickles.
Ordering things are not on the menu.
Do not ask me for a whopper. Do not ask for a chicken junior. There is no such a thing as fajita in McDonald's.
Calling an employee a derogatory word.
Please, don't do it. If it’s a word you don't enjoy being called. I refused service to a customer once for addressing me as “you, nigga”.
Getting mad if you ordered 15 Quarter-pounders with fries and a shake and your bill is more than $100.
If you think it is too much, please cook it at home.
Spitting.
Seriously, I got spit on my face more than once.
Swearing and/or yelling.
Please, if you had a bad night, you got evicted, divorced or whatever - it’s not the cashier's fault. You should not call the cashier (or anyone you don't want to mess with) a motherfucker.
Not knowing what you are getting.
More than once I had customers claiming I put things they did not request in their food.
A guy yelled at me once because there was ice in his smoothie. On a different occasion, a guy yelled at me because he got only three sauces with his order (a 10 piece chicken nuggets meal only comes with three sauces); he requested three more and tried to punch me when I told him that they were not free. The question “what does that come with?” works very well.
Last but not least, being violent.
Please try to keep your temper. Also, try to be as nice as possible.
Tales From The Shoe Store | Married With Children
Which tips would you give today’s teens?
Control your emotions and lust (Overcome)
It’s completely normal to experience lust, or sexual desire in teen. Your feelings might be focused on a particular person, or you might be drawn to activities like masturbating or watching pornography. But sometimes, these desires can be overwhelming or unwanted. If you just can’t shake those uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, don’t worry—there are things you can do to manage them.
The price of temporary lust can be expensive.
Learn About Finance Early
Money should be your friend throughout your life, not your enemy. Sadly, the education system doesn’t do such a great job at teaching you about finance, so you have to learn it on your own. There are plenty of sources that you can get financial advice for free.
Make Good Friends, Not More Friends
Building a network of friends at school is always going to be valuable whether they are the greatest people or not. Spend more time trying to develop and grow those relationships that you think will be good for you.
You are the average of your five friends around you hangout with the most.
Don’t Care About What Others Think of You
This is definitely the best advice for teenagers who feel like they need to impress the world! Nobody cares either, so why would you? Laugh when you embarrass yourself. Dress how you want to dress. Be honest about things you don’t like. Not only does this help you become more of yourself, but you’ll also make friends with the right people.
Take Care of Your Body
Because it takes care of you everyday! Just by implementing some simple practices like Exercise, Practice Proper Hygiene, Have a Skin Care Routine, Invest in Yourself and you’re already getting ahead of where you were the day before.
Don’t Compare Yourself to Others
Comparing yourself to others will only lead to disappointment and lack of confidence. There will always be someone with more than you more money, more friends, more style, more of anything.
Compare who you were yesterday not someone else’s today.
What are the craziest objects that you’ve seen TSA workers remove from someone’s bag to be confiscated?
A friend of mine is a pilot for one of the big airlines. He related this story to me. One day, he is headed through security and in front of him are two air marshals escorting a prisoner in hand cuffs. First the TSA Agent tried to tell the marshals that they had to uncuff the prisoner before he could go through security. (yeah, that got cleared up pretty quick). Then the TSA agent tried to tell them they would have to remove their guns (this time a supervisor was called over to educate the TSA agent). Then the TSA agent told the marshals to empty their pockets. One of them had a tiny fingernail clipper with a small file on it that vaguely resembled knife. The TSA Agent proudly jumped on that and demanded the marshal would have to relinquish it as “contraband”. I think at this point the marshals were just tired of dealing with this person so he gladly gave her the fingernail clippers so that they could go on their way.
In summary: two marshals escorting a prisoner..both of the marshals armed with pistols and other weapons, had a pair of fingernail clippers confiscated because it was “contraband”.
Combine salt, pepper, garlic and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture onto all parts of the chicken.
Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a roasting pan with vegetable oil spray.
Remove chicken from refrigerator, and place in roasting pan.
Sprinkle with paprika.
Scatter onion slices around chicken, and roast uncovered for 35 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees F.
Stir onion slices, add the cup of water, and continue roasting for an additional 50 minutes until tender, basting occasionally.
Is China’s economy currently experiencing a slowdown, or is this information being exaggerated by the US media?
Not exactly
The Chinese stock market is among the most undervalued in the world and is stubbornly remaining there due to a lot of regulations against speculation
The US Treasury still pays 5.31% as Peak Bond Yields
The Chinese Real Estate prices are low which is good for the buyers but that means investors will be giving it a wide berth
This means a lot of HOT MONEY will not be coming in but going out
Hot money is money used to buy shares and bonds and real estate securities by foreign firms
Speculative money!
No matter even if the US says China is booming, this is going to happen
Likewise if China raises interest rates to 6% then Yields rise to a peak of 6.53% and suddenly Hot money will flood into China no matter even if the US says China is crashing tomorrow
Likewise China is getting a flood of Long term investments for their EV and New Technology investments
That won’t change no matter what the US says
China is still the world’s second largest consumer market plus the worlds largest manufacturer at peak profitability
That won’t change no matter what the US says
So China simply doesn’t care too much about what the US media says beyond rebuttals on their English Language Media (CGTN) or Global times or SCMP
Ukraine: “Corpses Everywhere” as Russians smash through
The ground is strewn with corpses: Soldiers of the “Center” group show everything that remains of the 47th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Berdychi.
Corpses of dead Ukrainian soldiers are everywhere.
The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine does not betray itself and continues to send Ukrainian militants on suicidal missions.
As a result of fierce fighting from artillery and tank attacks, only in this small section of the forest, the commanders of the 47th brigade managed to put an entire platoon.
Russian soldiers report that they did not even try to evacuate them after the fire began and the subsequent assault. They just left the whole brigade in this position – forever.
18+
🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦 The ground is strewn with corpses: Soldiers of the “Center” group show everything that remains of the 47th ombre brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Berdychi
➖The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine does not betray itself and continues to send Ukrainian… pic.twitter.com/Ofe78YPMmW
— — GEROMAN — time will tell – 👀 — (@GeromanAT) April 28, 2024
When being terminated from a job, have you ever warned the company of something important that only you knew how to do, and your advice has gone unheeded?
One of my first jobs was in a hospital, primarily in the E.R. Being a community hospital, we all performed many unassigned duties. Many of the staff had been leaving due to management issues and I soon put in my notice. Because of the staff loss, I was one of the few who knew how to operate several pieces of equipment. I had made the attempt to teach others how to operate the equipment, but they refused.
On my final day, the hospital administrator came up to me and said he was very unhappy with my job performance and told me I was fired. I packed my belongings and left, kind of in shock. A day later I was in my new position at the hospital I’d put in notice for. Two days later, I recieved a rather frantic call from the Administrator telling me I needed to come in and show someone how to work the equipment. It seemed they had almost lost an E.R. patient because no one could run the tests.
I told him that was impossible because I was on the way to work and hung up. A week later the Administrator, his daughter, and his son in law, were all arrested for stealing from the hospital.
Smithsonian Cover-Up: Ancient Egyptians and Giants in the Grand Canyon
Smithsonian Cover-Up: Ancient Egyptians and Giants in the Grand Canyon In 1908, President Teddy Roosevelt wanted to declare the Grand Canyon off-limits to all timber and mining operations. It would take another 11 years for Congress to designate the Grand Canyon a national park. Sensing a final opportunity for adventure, explorer G.E. Kincaid took a boat down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon. The canyon was rich in minerals like gold, silver and copper and Kincaid wanted to see what he could find before the area was closed off for good. About 40 miles up-river from the El Tovar Crystal canyon, Kincaid saw stains in the sediment formation about 2,000 feet up. He tied off the boat and got out to investigate. Kincaid couldn’t find a trail, but after a short hike he found something interesting covered in desert brush. Steps. Hundreds of them. Carved in sandstone. Steps that wound their way up to a high shelf on the side of the canyon. He followed the steps until he came across a cavern entrance. An entrance that was clearly man made. Kincaid entered the cavern and turned on his flashlight. On the walls he saw writing. But it wasn’t English or Native American writing. It was Ancient Egyptian Heiroglypics. Kincaid lifted his flashlight and saw that the tunnel ran far into the distance. He didn’t realize it at the time, but this was only the beginning.
When I left prison, it was the experience of a lifetime. After “dressing out”, waiting in the hallway until the day ended and a spare guard can drive us to the bus station, and getting on the shuttle to the bus, it was sunset in the hot Arkansas dusk.
There, I was given a card for $100 to help me get to where I needed to go and to start my life anew.
And got on the Greyhound bus and left to my last known family location; where my sister rented out a room for me to live in for two weeks. That is in itself another story, but for this part of the narrative, I will discuss the bus ride out of Arkansas. It was something like 14 hours.
Mostly empty, as the bus picked up other felons that did their time.
I chatted with a guy who just finished 15 years. And met some women from a woman’s prison who were heading in our direction. They suggested that we tag along with them, hang out. Spend the night and “party” with them. Good looking chicks… if a bit feral. We are all sex starved, and I’m sure those gals would be jumping our bones and pumping us dry in no time.
But I declined.
I had a plan.
I had a stopwatch and I had to get settled, get my passport, get a plane ticket and LEAVE and never… NEVER return.
So I stayed on the bus while the group got off somewhere in Tennessee.
Sometimes I wonder was I smart… or was I stupid and blind to opportunities that come my way? I don’t know. I still wonder about it all.
Still, I could have spent the night… then left in the morning…
Missed opportunities, or problem avoidance strategy. You decide.
Today…
How is the perception, treatment, categorisation etc. of plus sized models in China different from the West?
I don’t know anything about the perception of plus-sized models in “the West”, but I have a cousin in Hangzhou who works for an online clothing brand as a plus-sized model and she sometimes share bits and pieces about her job with me.
Despite what some may think, it’s not easy to join the ranks of plus-sized models.
All the job requirements for non-plus-sized models also apply to plus-sized models.
For example, my cousin tells me the standard requirements for girls to be plus-sized models for online fashion catalogue work is that they are at least 165 cm or above, that they have “curvy” silhouette, and that they have all the basics: great skin, great hair, beautiful facial features, etc.
Naturally, being plus-sized models, they can be heavier than the typical non-plus-sized models.
Many of my cousin’s plus-sized model friends are heavier than I am, as they tend to be around the 60 to 70 kg weight range. The taller girls (175 cm >) can easily be above 70 kgs.
But she mentions that how that weight is distributed across the body is also an important consideration (hence, the “curvy” silhouette mentioned above)
There’s a growing demand for online plus-sized fashion shopping and from what my cousin has shared with me, there’s massive potential, and the current situation is nowhere close to even approaching that potential.
Career-wise, an average non-celebrity, not-famous plus-sized model, in general, can earn around 10,000 to 15,000 yuan per month (1380 to 2071 USD) a month. That’s pretty good.
She also tells me that she gets a lot of positive and supportive comments whenever she posts about her life, job, and fashion choices on 小红书 (a Chinese app that’s a mix between IG and Pinterest)
She enjoys her job, is very good at what she does, is compensated well, and most importantly, she’s happy with her decision to go into plus-sized modeling.
Couldn’t be happier for her! ^^
Picture below is that of a Chinese plus-sized model modeling clothes for a Chinese online clothing store:
Why does NO anti-China nation want to decouple or at least try to decouple from China? How could you want to have nuclear war with China/overthrow the CPC/Xi Jinping and subjugate China and STILL want China’s business? It makes no sense!
NOBODY wants a nuclear war with China.
Decoupling from China would be too painful for Western economies. Inflation would go through the roof and governments would fall.
But you’re right. Even a conventional war with China makes no sense. But who said Western governments possess common sense?
What is something that someone told you that made you immediately realize that the crazy story they were telling you was actually true?
Many years ago, I was a supervisor on a Government-funded youth employment scheme, trying to get unemployed young people into work.
One day, one of the lads managed to get a cut to the top of his head. Only a small flesh wound but, being a scalp wound, there was blood everywhere – his hair was soaked, it was in his eyes, dripping from his nose, etc.
As we were working at a site close to the hospital, we drove him there ourselves, rather than wait for an ambulance. As it was clearly a head wound, he was rushed straight through for assessment.
A few minutes later, a nurse came out, looking quite worried. Whilst they were asking him routine questions, he had apparently deteriorated. In particular, when they asked his date of birth, he had said “Don’t know!” and when they followed up with “Well, when is your birthday?” he had replied “Don’t have one!”. Clearly the wound was worse than we had thought and there was some neurological damage; either temporary or permanent. At the nurse’s request, we asked our HR unit to fax across his basic details, so that the hospital could contact his family.
The records duly arrived. We looked to see what his date of birth was – and we all fell about laughing, nurse included. The records clearly stated that he had been unable to provide a date of birth.
It turned out that the whole family were illiterate and no-one had bothered to register his birth until he was about 3 or 4 years old – by which time they couldn’t remember what time of year he had been born!
A quick wash to remove the blood, three stitches and a couple of painkiller tablets later, he was discharged and we drove him home.
Göbekli Tepe and the Prophecy of Pillar 43 | Apocalypse and the Vulture Stone
Göbekli Tepe and the Vulture Stone Prophecy We are the descendants of an ancient civilization; one which mastered technology, mapped the cosmos, and understood our relationship with the natural world. Our ancestors traveled the world and built enormous structures. They scaled their creations into cities. They shared a common governance and similar religious beliefs. Our ancestors lived, as we do today, as a global society. Around 14,500 years ago, this global superpower started to collapse. First came uncontrollable change, and then a cataclysm. In less than a week, everything and almost everyone was gone. Those left behind built monuments. Monuments not as tributes to Gods or homage to kings. The monuments are a warning to future generations: to us. That warning is simple: danger is coming. Our civilization has ended before. And it will end again. This is one story Big Archaeology and world governments don’t want you to know. Once you hear it, you’ll never trust them again. Because the danger that’s coming? There’s nothing they can do to stop it.
What are the best stories to prove that everything happens for a reason?
I had resigned my previous company without having any job offer in hand!
I was continuously feeling stressed out from past few weeks. Suddenly in my project, the pressure got increased and my manager was not ready to hire any extra resource. Not even a single day was there when I felt relaxed. If you push yourself everyday too much, it will start impacting your health. Same happened with me. I started being sleep deprived and my weight started dropping. Despite that, I tried my best to pull it off but later I realised that I should stop now.
It was not easy for me to quit without any job offer in hand but I decided to leave. I put down my papers and informed my manager. My family was unaware of this because I didn’t wanted them to freak out. It was a chaotic moment for me but I motivated myself to find a new job. I started applying rigorously, gave interviews, faced rejections. Many nights I used to overthink but I knew that I didn’t want to back out.
After 1 month of resignation, I got one offer letter. My confidence boosted up and I kept on trying for better opportunities. At last, I got a decent offer and above that I got great work environment.
In life, sometimes, we take very quick and tough decisions but those decisions carve our path towards new phases. Maybe, that day you would feel that what you did was stupidity but later you will realise that it happened for a reason.
Everything happens for a reason!
In court, what was the most devastating cross-examination of a witness that you ever saw?
This is a bit long for one of my answers. And, it has nothing to do with being an agent or a lawyer myself.
My ex and I wanted to foster a child and take him with us when we moved out of state. He was an inner city African American child, about eight years old. He was not on the growth chart, he could not read or write. He had ADD.
But, my ex had fallen for him.
He came to school with clothes picked out of pile of adult clothes. Made his way to school riding public transportation, and no one asked him to pay. He came to school because it was safe, and provided him two meals a day.
He lived with his grandmother and five to seven others in about a 900 square foot house. Many of the residents were minors and the grandmother received all the benefits for them.
It was an expensive proposition to foster this child. I paid for our attorneys who told us no one had ever been allowed to obtain foster rights and immediately move out of state. Especially a white couple attempting to take a black child. I paid for the guardian ad litem. And, I paid for the grandmother’s attorney.
We were in the second day of the hearing before the family court judge. The grandmother was on the stand. She had held up well during cross examination.
But, then then I noticed the judge slide his glasses down to the end of his nose and peer over them and say,”I have just a couple of very simple questions. Nothing to worry about.”
I had been a little bored until this point, but I knew this maneuver. I had been around courthouses and in interviews for many years by this time. And, my senses told me things were about to get interesting.
The judge then proceeded to ask about the moneys she received to help support the children in her care. The judge asked what she did with the money. The judge asked if she liked to gamble.
In the state we were in, there were gambling casinos. And, she admitted to attending gambling casinos.
The judge began to ask her about her gambling habits, and whether she won or lost. And, the big lies began.
The grandmother claimed she won as much as she lost.
And, the judge bore down. And, I am thinking… I am paying for three attorneys and no one figured out she had a gambling addiction.
And, the judge rakes her, and gets her to admit she loses a little more than she makes. And, it went down hill from there, allowing my attorneys to pull her gambling records which were kept by every casino. And, those records showed a pattern of gambling and loss that were incredible.
The grandmother would lose all the monthly benefits for her grandchildren within a couple of days. And, we all missed it, but for a family court judge who was wiser than a room full of attorneys.
Hands down, the best cross examination I ever saw. Judge… you can drop the mic.
China Military’s Biggest Upgrade In Cyber Security Warfare & Space
In modern era of warfare, control of information is a game changer. Keep that in mind and breaking away from traditional structures, the one of the worlds highest military has established new independent units dedicated to information, space, and cyber operations, marking the most extensive shakeup in nearly a decade. One thing is now certain, the Chinese military is ready for anything adversaries might throw at it and win conflicts with relative ease! Today’s episode will uncover the recent shakeup of Chinese military which has added new units determined to succeed in modern warfare.
You find a new job, so you give your employer two weeks’ notice. Your boss then gets angry that you are quitting and tells you not to come back in anymore. How should you respond to your boss?
My wife is literally going through this right now. She was the only person in her office that did what she did and had been the best employee that employer had ever seen. Literally in 10 years she had taken 1 sick day. Over the course of that decade she never got a single raise and zero retirement. Another opportunity came along and she took it. Knowing her job would be very difficult to fill she gave her employer a 6 week notice. The employer was so irrational about it that she fired her and said she would not be paying out the 3 weeks of vacation time my wife had on the books. Well where we live, the state law does not allow that unless there is a signed policy stating as much, which there has not been. So here we are, on vacation enjoying a 2 week span of time before my wife starts her new job. She was able to move up her start date with her new employer, though she did not have to. Her old employer is now responsible to pay her unemployment for these 2 weeks as well as her 3 weeks of vacation. She would have been very wise to just take the 6 weeks my wife offered, but we won in the end so whatever
“The United States, the UK, Germany, and France—these are some of the most oppressive and repressive governments in the world if you remove all of the self-praise and the propaganda that they spew about themselves and about freedom and civil rights and so on.
They are a Western axis against freedom, and if you don’t know that—I mean, if you live there and you don’t know that—then you just haven’t tested it.
The only way that you can live in any of those countries—and increasingly in the US—and not know that they are despotic tyrannies, is if you have been so numbed and so brainwashed that you hold no opinion in your head that wasn’t put there by the state, that wasn’t injected into your lifeless brain by the mainstream media.
So, you never had anything to protest about.
You never questioned your government.
You never challenged the official narratives about anything.
That’s the only way that you can’t know what I’m talking about.
And that makes you even more repressed, more oppressed, and more tyrannized than the people who are getting beaten and who are getting detained for objecting to their government’s brutality.
You’re even more of a victim.
You’re even more abused than those protesters who are getting clubbed upside the head and getting choked and getting abused by the security forces because your government, your rulers, your ruling class has never let you live a day in your life without telling you what to think and sabotaging your ability to think for yourself.
You’re the most abused in your society.
What they did to you is worse than beating; it’s worse than detention; it’s worse than imprisonment.
At least those protesters who are getting beaten and arrested by the police—at least their minds are free, at least they have their own thoughts in their heads.
But you—your leaders have made you a zombie that thinks that the right thing, the moral thing, is whatever power chooses to do; your government has put you into a moral coma.
You’re morally comatose.
They put you under an induced coma so that you can’t see them sponsoring the wanton murder of 34,000 people, some 24,000 innocent women and children.
You can’t see that there’s anything wrong with that.
You feel nothing, or even worse, you think it’s the right thing, you think it’s the moral thing, you think that what your government is doing is good by sanctioning indiscriminate slaughter; you think that’s fine.
Why?
They’ve robbed you of your very humanity, and that’s the only reason that you can believe that you live in a free society.
That’s the only reason that you can believe that you live in a society with civil rights and liberty and free speech and all of those other wonderful things that you never had and never will have.
The only freedom that you have in those countries is the freedom to agree with power.
You’re free to submit to the powers that be.”
Excerpt from remarks by American geopolitical analyst Shahid Bolsen in a video where he speaks about the ongoing protests against the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on university campuses, both in the U.S. and around the world, April 27, 2024.
Does memory depend on intelligence?
“One day, Einstein was traveling by train from Princeton, when a train conductor passed through the corridor, stamping the tickets of all the passengers. When he arrived in front of Einstein, the scientist searched for the ticket in his vest pocket, but didn’t find it; it wasn’t even there in the pants pockets; so he looked in the briefcase, but he couldn’t find it.
The driver said, “Doctor Einstein, I know who you are. I’m sure you bought the ticket. Don’t worry. Einstein nodded in thanks.
And the driver continued to stamp the tickets in the aisle. Just as he was about to move on to the next car, he turned to see the large body looking under his seat for the ticket.
The driver turned around and said, “Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are.” This is not a problem. You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.
Einstein looked at him and said, “Young man, I also know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going. That’s why I’m looking for my ticket.”
BLINKEN TRIP TO CHINA: U.S. dominance is over!
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken went home with his tail between his legs after an official three-day visit to China in which he tried his very best to convince the world of a litany of nonsensical crap that neither he nor anyone else with a brain believes, including spouting the “over-capacity” myth that Yellen tried to start on her last visit, and trying to tell Beijing that Washington has some kind of right to decide who China can and cannot trade with. This desperation and hypocrisy blatantly on show from U.S. leaders visiting China is a sign of one thing: the hegemony of the U.S.-led West is falling, and it’s a joy to watch! Today we’ll talk about it.
1.The only letter that doesn’t appear on the periodic table is J.
2.One habit of intelligent humans is being easily annoyed by people around them, but saying nothing in order to avoid a meaningless argument.
3.2006, a Coca-Cola employee offered to sell Coca-Cola secrets to Pepsi. Pepsi responded by notifying Coca-Cola.
4.The famous line in Titanic from Leonardo DiCaprio, “I’m king of the world!” was improvised
5.If you cut down a cactus in Arizona, you’ll be penalized up to 25 years in jail. It is similar to cutting down a protected tree species.
6. In 1923, a jockey suffered a fatal heart attack but his horse finished and won the race, making him the first and only jockey to win a race after death.
7.Iceland does not have a railway system.
8.The spiked dog collar was invented by the Ancient Greeks to protect their dogs from wolf attacks.
9.German Chocolate Cake is named after an American baker by the name of Samuel German.
10.The voice actor of SpongeBob and the voice actor of Karen, Plankton’s computer wife, have been married since 1995.
11.The largest Japanese population outside of Japan stands at 1.6 million people who live in Brazil.
12.IKEA is an acronym which stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd, which is the founder’s name, farm where he grew up, and hometown.
13.Violin bows are commonly made from horse hair.
14.The youngest Pope in history was Pope Benedict IX who was 11 years old at the time of election. He is also the only person to have been the Pope more than once.
15.In Svalbard, a remote Norwegian island, it is illegal to die.
16.People who post their fitness routine to Facebook are more likely to have psychological problems.
17.Standing around burns calories. On average, a 150 pound person burns 114 calories per hour while standing and doing nothing.
18.There is a punctuation mark used to signify irony or sarcasm that looks like a backwards question mark ⸮
19.Saint Lucia is the only country in the world named after a woman.
20.There is a town in Nebraska called Monowi with a population of one. The only resident is a woman who is the Mayor, Bartender and Librarian.
When was a time you said silently to your boss “I told you so”?
We have a F350 work truck that is notorious for giving hints it is about to break on us. Main thing is how often it regens the DPF. Told my team lead(boss) one day that we had about a month before it shits itself again at best. 3 weeks later, while driving to pick up equipment/supplies, sure enough it starts blowing blueish smoke out the tail pipe. Turbo was leaking oil. Day or two prior, it was non-stop “regen in progress “ message on the dash, prior to that it was daily regens at highway speeds. He had to stop what he was doing and drive another truck 2 hours to come swap it out, then get broke truck towed 4 hrs away to the stealership to have it sit there for 3 months getting fixed.
Another time, there was an older dump truck that started making a weird noise from the engine bay. From the sound of it, I suggested that either a pulley or tensioner was about to go. He shrugged it off and said it was a worn belt. Few days later, the tensioner shit itself and left him stranded.
Same truck started loosing hold back power on the “exhaust “ (actually found out it’s a transmission brake) brake. Reported to him, he dismissed me. Days later it either threw a valve if I remember right, or dropped/washed a cylinder and ran like dog shit.
Another one of our dumps blew a small pilot hydro line that runs the hydro pump to give pressure as it is constantly turning with the engine. Helped replace the blown line and noticed that 6 other lines are worn to or thru the metal casing. Told him, he said just keep running it. Ended up blowing hoses in the middle of working, for weeks on end. Would drain the hydro tank and such so not only did we have to replace the line during inclement weather, but dump up to 30 gallons of new hydro oil in to the tank.
Once I promoted to be equal to him, I took my side of the fleet and ran thru it with a fine tooth comb. Spent several thousand dollars fixing issues to prevent as much breakdowns as possible. The worst breakdown I had this winter was a wiper motor crapped out on me near the end of the day, but I had noticed it having issues prior and had a new assembly waiting to be installed sitting in the truck due to the nature of our job of being out for days on end w/o being able to fix minor things until a day where the truck could be down. Was down for maybe 30 mins while I swapped it out.
Leaking non hazmat fluid tanks, worn thru outer casing on electrical wires exposed to the elements, leaking valves, leaking fittings, leaking non hazmat fluid hoses, missing filters for services, low replacement fluid levels for services, the list goes on and on.
What is the pettiest thing you’ve seen a cheap person do at a restaurant?
Years ago the ex hubby took over an Italian restaurant…that is another story altogether. He slowly built the clientele up from nothing to a steady flow of clients, and we always loved a large booking. One night a table was booked for about 10–14 people, I forget exactly but it was a family group. The guy who had booked the table made it his night’s work to find fault: little subtle digs aimed at the staff, calling the staff back constantly, a smudge on a glass, a missing fork, the waiter was made to feel an imbecile.
I made it a point to double-check each plate as it was placed at the table, but did not serve or have any interaction with him until the end of the evening. He was the lead bull at the table, lording it over every other person, and then the bill was handed to him.
He pored over the bill for an age, demanding that everyone tell him what they had, was anything missing from the meal, then he told the waiter that he had been overcharged and the waiter called me over. The client then proceeded to tell me that he had been swindled, that he had been overcharged. I looked at the bill, which was accurate, told the waiter to bring up every receipt, looked the client in the face and said, “I am the owner, I am happy to go through all the receipts with you and I will also ask everyone here to tell me what they ordered, but you ordered such a huge quantity of food and drinks that in all likelihood this bill I have in my hand is going to be under. If I find the staff to have undercharged you, I will be expecting you to pay the full amount, so are you sure you want me to do this?”…he was apoplectic.
I totted up the bill, and it was short to the tune of around £40 (this was 25 years ago). He paid up in a fury and left not a penny for the staff. The next day he phoned the restaurant and claimed that some of the party had food poisoning, that he demanded we refund him. I asked him who had the food poisoning and he mentioned three of the guests; I had the exact details of each plate the guests had had, and remembered that two guests had switched plates, I then told him that he was wrong, that he should go get his story straight, for these three guests did not eat the same food. I realized he had asked each guest what they had ordered, NOT what they had eaten, and it was obvious he had had no contact with these supposedly poisoned family members. I recommended he file a complaint with Health & Safety, and never heard a word back.
Some of my latest AI image generations
The theme is tropical.
Have you, as a police officer, ever known a “dirty” cop? If so, what did you do about it?
Some fifteen years back…
I was buddying with someone temporarily for bike patrolling. There was something barren and sinister about him. It is hard to explain.
One evening, we stopped at a random point and initiated snap checking, while at it… my colleague stopped a kid who walked by us, holding a small bag of fries. He must be 11 years old.
My colleague started asking him questions.
What’s your name?
Where are you coming from?
And believe it or not…
What is it in your hand? Give it to me!
The scared kid handed the police officer that bag of fries. And he went to town, eating it in front of that kid. Not just that… he actually smirked as well while witnessing that child’s facial expression of fear and shock.
I was a few feet away, checking registration book of a motorcyclist but I had to postpone that and approach them. To multiply my misery and embarrassment, the road with crowded and full of traffic. I did not want to make a scene.
Without saying a word, I snatched that bag of fries and gave it back to the kid, apologized and politely asked him to leave. The kid left.
I stood there looking at my colleagues’s deadpan face like nothing has happened.
This is low, even for a scum like you who conveniently rot the idea of community policing. This is why the public does not hold us in good regards. This attitude is what they fear and abhor.
I never worked with him again, I also informed the duty officer of this incident later that night.
I remember that guys face clearly, I remember his name, I remember the repulsion his company caused me
So Quorans, you might wonder if this is the dirtiest I have ever seen as you see me narrating this account carefully and in detail.
No, God… No!
This is me telling you of a distasteful minor incident that occurred years ago, that has burnt into my memory for good. In my understanding, he was not a good cop. And I strongly disliked him.
That should give you some idea about my feelings for those who are worse or worst. Who go above and beyond breaking the rules, violating the code, abusing their powers and involved in corruption.
They do exist.
And there’s only so much I practically could do about them, way above my pay grade you see.
But I’m not sad or hopeless. I have spent eighteen years in police service and I see the systematical grind of the department that works restlessly and naturally and gets them here and there. I see them getting hooked and punished.
It’s okay, but it certainly could be better.
What’s something you realized about a family member once you got older?
Not until the deaths of both my parents did I understand the dynamic of their marriage.
My mother died of a stroke at age 66. It turned out that years earlier, she had survived a heart attack which probably occurred in her sleep because no one ever knew about it. When she died, I was dumbfounded that her sisters and friends were all angry at Dad, blaming him for having driven Mom into an early grave.
In the 22 years before he died, clues gradually fell into place. I remembered how Mom said his mother had made Dad the person he was. How, when my older brothers brought their families home to visit, Dad sulked and said Mom was going to work herself to death waiting on them hand and foot. How he said the same thing about his second wife and her children and grandchildren.
I remembered how Mom refused to have a renewal of vows ceremony for their 25th anniversary, saying she’d meant her vows to be for life the first time, so she didn’t see any point. I looked at the photo albums and saw Mom’s face change from her engagement, a giddy young woman in love, to an unsmiling older woman. When he said he’d retire at 62 instead of 65 and be home all the time, Mom seemed resigned, not happy.
Most telling, I remembered that when Dad was a boy, his mother sometimes punished him by locking him in a closet. What made this particularly terrifying: Grandma was deaf, so his crying, beating on the door and begging moved her not at all. He might well have believed that he could die in that closet.
All the facts in front of me the whole time finally made sense: when Dad married Mom, he expected her to be his mommy as much as his wife, because his own mother had been abusive, not loving. It was surely no coincidence that Mom was older by 18 months.
Mom died in November, he was engaged by Christmas, and remarried in April — to a widowed nurse 17 years younger, someone who’d outlive him and care for him like both mommy and wife. Dad remarried so quickly not because he didn’t love Mom, but because her death had left him as bereft as Theodore Roosevelt when his mother and his first wife died on the same day.
When he pouted about Mom’s delight in her visiting children and grandchildren, he was jealous. He thought she had a fixed amount of love and any she gave to someone else was less for him. At family gatherings she could be happily chatting with family members, but if he wanted her attention, she had to go with him or he’d sulk. He retired early so he could spend more time with her. He couldn’t very well demand that his second wife cut off all contact with her children and grandchildren, but he hadn’t forgotten how to pout.
Dad and Mom met before he went off to a monastery to spend three years. I never understood why, because if he was looking for mother love, he wasn’t going to find it in an all-male community. But neither did I understand why he ever dropped out, because he spent so much time in church and in prayer at home that even a priest told me he was overdoing it. (When a priest says there’s such a thing as too much religion….) I’m now convinced that he was trying to back God into a corner: “See how devout I am, God. You can’t take the person I love away from me.”
And Mom’s refusal to renew her wedding vows? What she really meant, I suspect, was “Don’t ask me if I’d marry you all over again, because you might not like my answer.”
Oh no! Is this fairytale preview of things to come where women aren’t accountable?
The original stories from the last century are really interesting. This one is worth your time.
Have you ever quit your job in the middle of the work day? Why?
Yes actually I have. I was working at a local call center about 11 or 12 years ago, and I knew that they had a strict attendance policy, and that they were not hesitant to put points on your attendance record if you were late or left early or called off. However I did not know to what extent they would uphold that policy, and how much people were exaggerating how strict they were about it until I had been there about six months or so. One morning we heard a big commotion coming from the other side of the dividing wall, from the other business contract that was next to us. Well, later in the day we found out that one of the older men on the other contract had had a heart attack and had to be taken to the hospital by an ambulance. So I did not really think anything of it other than feeling bad for the guy, but a couple days later I was out back on break and I heard his supervisor talking to another employee about how she had to put 1/2 of a point on his attendance because he had to leave before his shift was over. I walked over to her and asked if I heard her correctly because I was almost certain that I had actually misheard her. But to my surprise she told me that I did hear her correctly and that she did have to put a half of a point on that employee’s attendance record. Once I confirmed that I had actually heard her correctly I went up to the front of the building to the human resources department and asked the lady working in the office if what the manager had said was true. She told me that unfortunately the manager was correct and that according to the attendance policy of the employee would be pointed for leaving before his shift was over, even though it was due to a medical emergency. At that point I took my badge off of my belt loop, laid it on her desk and told her I quit. The job itself was not too bad, but after hearing that I could not bring myself to work for a company who just blatantly did not care about their employees like that.
Italian Prime Minister announced that Italy would no longer participate in the “Belt and Road Initiative”, and then tried to strengthen relations with China, claiming that “the relationship between China and Italy is close”. What does this indicate?
One the one hand Meloni is controlled by the EU and European Council which has become a tane colonial outpost of the United States so that any US order comes with the response “How high master?”
On the other hand – Italian Luxury brands depend on 13% to 25% of their revenue from China and Italy gets Low Cost products from China that it can sell to it’s people for 2.75–3.5 times the cost and help with value addition into the economy
Italian Businesses are worried about their Chinese markets
They are worried more about Chinese Luxury Brands that could put the Italians out of business in China
So the Italian Government sends the message lets follow the same advantages that we had under the BRI but let’s just not call it that anymore
And as you can see
China gets tariff breaks until 2027 which means even if EU imposes tariffs on Chinese EVs, Italy having an agreement already can’t implement the same tariffs until after 30/6/2027
Italian Brands get the same tariff advantages in China until 30/6/2027
Both Nations have the same benefits in Shipping and with their Investments into each other
So Nothing has changed except the official relationship between China and Italy
Do you think it’s creepy that Leonardo DiCaprio is dating a girl so young that he is older than her mother?
It’s definitely bizarre.
He always seems to have a mob of young women around him.
Someone on Reddit made a chart of every girlfriend he’s had, and he seems to have a rule of never dating older than 25:
And he has a new girlfriend, who is now, you guessed it, 25:
He is 49.
This is all fine and legal. But it is just odd that he limits himself to this very narrow demographic of women. And a peculiar coincidence that they never make it further than that. I suspect he is hanging out a lot at fashion shows, or some place all these models mingle at (they are almost all tall thin models).
I know that for me, I’m so different than I was at age 20. I don’t know what I’d talk to a 20-year-old about. But to each their own.
Why Bother Working For a Living …. Public Assistance Game
There is no more middle class. Every thing has been gentrified from housing , cars People not being able to find a decent paying job and the cost to live is getting way out of hand . Gen Z and Millennials No Long Want to work towards nothing. America is Broken and it’s not cool. Looks like everyones going to be on welfare
Have you ever been with someone who is so cheap it’s uncomfortable?
I used to have a friend who, despite being well-off, was incredibly cheap, to the point that it was not only embarrassing, it was often hurtful too.
She is very adept at worming out of paying for her share of things, mainly by making things SO awkward that you end up caving in and paying for her, simply because you just want the situation to be over!
Some examples:
On one occasion, when she was staying with me for a couple of days, she insisted that we go swimming, because she said she had to do exercise every day. I didn’t really mind, so off we went to the local swimming pool. After queuing for quite some time at the reception desk to pay, we eventually got to the front… but when the receptionist said “That’ll be £2.50, please”, my friend became really indignant, as the swimming pool she usually went to apparently only cost £2.00. She started arguing with the poor receptionist over the 50p difference, much to the annoyance of all the other people in the queue behind us, waiting to pay. So, I ended up paying for both of us — not a big deal at all, you might think, but this was just one example of how I always seemed to end up paying for her.
Later that same day, we went to the cinema to see a film. I paid the admission for both of us (I didn’t want a repeat of the incident at the swimming pool!) and then we wandered over to the sweets kiosk to look at the snacks. She decided she didn’t want anything; I bought myself a large bag of M&Ms. Once we’d taken our seats and the film had started, she announced that, actually, she WAS hungry after all, but didn’t want to miss any of the film by going back out to the sweets kiosk. No problem, I said, you can share my M&Ms if you like. This started out fine: like you do when you’re sharing sweets, I kept angling the bag towards her, to make sure she could dig in. However, after about 20 mins, she said that SHE wanted to hold the bag… Bit weird, I thought, but I duly gave the bag to her to hold.
As the film continued, every now and then I took some M&Ms out of the bag, as did she. But then she started leaning over every few minutes or so and whispering “Are you going to have any more?”. As you can imagine, this started to get pretty irritating, especially as I was trying to watch the film. This went on for a while, with me saying “Yes”, every time she asked. Eventually, I asked her why she kept asking and she told me that she wanted to “save them for later”!! What the heck?! I was quite surprised at this, but couldn’t really make a fuss in the middle of the film. I carried on helping myself to the sweets that I’D BOUGHT, but it was all really awkward and a bit stressful, and it kind of spoilt the film a bit.
It’s almost like she has a pathological need to not part with any money and to milk other people as much as possible.
I once went to stay with her, but after having been at her house for a few hours, she hadn’t offered me anything to drink. Not a problem, as we had been engrossed in chatting. But, when I asked if it was OK if I put the kettle on (I am one of those Brits who quickly wilts if I’m not kept topped up with tea!) she said that she didn’t have any tea. Or, in fact, anything at all to drink. OK, no problem, water is fine, I said.
For our evening meal that day, we went out to a restaurant, where (you guessed it) I ended up paying.
The next morning, we got up and sat chatting for a while. After a couple of hours, she hadn’t mentioned breakfast and I was getting pretty hungry. I asked if it would be OK if I made some toast or something, but she said that she didn’t have any food in. This was a bit surprising, as she’d invited me to stay for the weekend and it had been arranged for some time. In retrospect, I think she wanted to see me but didn’t want to have to spend any money on feeding me. I think it’s highly possible that she ate breakfast in her bedroom, in secret, before getting up and coming into the living room to chat with me. She loves food (as do I) and always used to complain at my house, if I didn’t keep her well fed; like me, she’s definitely not the sort of person to skip breakfast.
Anyway, as I was so hungry, I suggested we went out to a cafe for some breakfast — I was thinking of something cheap and cheerful. She took me to a really wonderful artisan eatery, where we enjoyed a delicious breakfast. Silly me, assumed that she’d be paying, given that I’d paid for everything else that weekend and given that she hadn’t provided breakfast at home. However — you can see where this is going — when it came to pay the bill, she started lamenting about how she “doesn’t normally like to spend money on breakfast”, so I ended up paying for it. She’d chosen a really expensive place, knowing that she was going to get me to pay for it!
Other examples include us going into McDonald’s to buy a drink each and her asking me to pay for hers, as she didn’t want to break in to her £10 note!
Each individual incident was no big deal on its own, but when it happens a lot, you realise that you’re being taken advantage of. She was basically taking advantage of my generosity and the fact that I hate any kind of awkwardness. She knows that I (and probably most people) don’t want to cause a fuss in public, so will just end up paying.
To put it into context, she is from a fairly wealthy family and had a well-paid job, so it’s not like I could blame her behaviour on deprivation (either current or historical). She’s just incredibly tight with her money. She hardly ever leaves a tip in restaurants and when she does, she leaves 2p.
Because of her behaviour with money, but also because I realised she just wasn’t really a very nice person in general, I eventually cut off contact with her. We’d known each other for about 30 years, but sometimes the longest friendships aren’t always the best ones.
EDIT
To the Quoran who went through my entire answer and suggested I change ALL my apostrophes to apostrophes that are slightly more curly: I’m afraid I only have one type of apostrophe on my keyboard. I don’t have a not-very-curly option and then also a curly option. Like most keyboards (I’m guessing?), I just have one apostrophe to choose from.
I’m sorry that it is not quite as curly as the one on your keyboard. However, hopefully my not-very-curly apostrophes haven’t affected the readability of my post too much?
I think you may have a LITTLE too much time on your hands 🙂 .
Do people abuse the welfare system in your country?
Do you know anybody who always eats a lot, but never shops, cooks or cleans up?
Or maybe somebody who disappears when it’s their turn to buy a round at the bar or coffee machine?
Did you ever see someone devastate the buffet, leave a dollar tip on the table and then empty the mints from the bowl at the cash register on the way out?
Ever experience unflushed public toilets devoid of toilet paper? How about coworkers that only pretend to work?
And of course no party is complete without the eternally-empty-handed guest.
Let’s face it, freeloaders exist all over the globe. Their entitlement knows no bounds.
So yes, people abuse welfare in my country, and in both countries I lived in before this one.
I am disgusted by freeloaders. I think most people are. I think it likely even many of the freeloaders don’t like themselves much.
Despite all this, I support welfare and I do it for selfish and conservative reasons.
I am willing to pay the taxes needed to enjoy clean streets free of unfortunate, mentally ill and addicted people.
I see that when welfare is tied to education, sponges often turn into contributors who lighten my tax load.
And for the incorrigibly lazy, $ 9,000 (average cost per welfare recipient) is less than $ 35,000 (average cost per prisoner).
Living in Germany and France showed me that welfare programs really do reduce crime and homelessness and lower prison populations.
Welfare works well when driven by data and economic evidence not empathy or scorn. It needs carrots and sticks and not too many of either.
Men Are Checking Out of Relationships in Thousands & No One Can Stop Them
This is a very serious situation.
Until someone stops the free reign of Family Court, men will avoid marriage and women in general. Nowadays, only 6.5 men in a thousand get married due to the following scenario:
(1) man gets married,
(2) wife refuses to have sex,
(3) wife racks up huge credit card debt,
(4) wife stop contributing financially,
(5) wife stops cooking & cleaning,
(6) wife cheats on husband,
(7) wife files for divorce and takes the house, cars, savings, and kids, (8) wife falsely accuses husband of abuse and he no longer can see his kids,
(9) wife poisons kids against the father.
What man in his right mind will sign up for this?
There used to be a yogurt franchise called TCBY yogurt. I loved to eat it, and during the 1980’s it ran neck to neck with ice cream. But somehow, all of the thousands of stores evaporated. Roughly right after my first series of world-line slide.
Ah. I entered a world where the only TCBY yogurt that remains out of the entire franchise is in Arkansas. Ugh.
TCBY grew from a single store in Little Rock (Pulaski County) to a 3,000-outlet franchise. Selling flavored frozen yogurt, TCBY was known around the world. First known as the Capitol Tower, the tallest building in Arkansas was known as the TCBY Tower from 1991 to 2004 and bore those four letters on its upper floors.
According to ChatGPT…
TCBY (The Country's Best Yogurt) is still in operation, although its presence has significantly diminished compared to its peak popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. TCBY was one of the first frozen yogurt chains in the United States and played a significant role in popularizing frozen yogurt as a healthier alternative to ice cream.
In recent years, TCBY has faced increased competition from other frozen yogurt chains as well as shifts in consumer preferences. However, the company has adapted by introducing new menu offerings, updating its store designs, and expanding its range of products to include options such as dairy-free and low-sugar frozen desserts.
While many TCBY locations have closed over time, the chain still has a presence in various parts of the United States and internationally.
Another is Rax.
There used to be a fast food chain in the United States called “Rax”. I loved it. They had this mushroom/swiss cheese burger, and this ham and cheese burger. All so delicious.
Then out of the blue it all disappeared.
According to chatGPT, the Rax Roast Beef fast-food chain was once a prominent presence in the United States, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s. Known for its roast beef sandwiches and salad bars, Rax was considered a competitor to other fast-food chains like Arby's and McDonald's.
However, Rax struggled financially and faced various challenges, including declining sales and increased competition from other fast-food chains. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1992, which led to the closure of many of its locations.
Despite efforts to rebrand and revitalize the chain, including changes to its menu and marketing strategies, Rax continued to face difficulties. Many of its remaining locations were sold off or closed over the years.
Today there are only a few Rax locations still in operation, primarily in the Midwestern United States.
Ah…
Rax and TCBY.
According to the point of view of my consciousness, the moment that I started performing world-line slides after my MAJestic training, these restaurants disappeared. Bummer.
But, you know, after I began my slides, new types of french fries suddenly appeared. So it is a mixed bag.
Today…
What are the behaviors of a confident person?
Good posture: Standing or sitting up straight can convey confidence and poise.
Eye contact: Maintaining eye contact during conversation can show confidence and sincerity.
Clear, confident speech: Speaking clearly and confidently can convey conviction and self-assurance.
Assertive communication: Communicating your needs and desires in a clear and direct way can show confidence and self-assurance.
Decisiveness: Being able to make decisions quickly and confidently can show that you are in control.
Setting boundaries: Knowing your limits and being able to assert them can show self-respect and confidence.
Willingness to take risks: Being willing to take on challenges and try new things can show confidence and a sense of adventure.
Ability to handle criticism: Being able to receive and learn from criticism without getting defensive can show self-assurance and resilience.
Ability to admit mistakes: Being able to admit when you are wrong and take responsibility for your actions can show honesty and humility.
Genuine enthusiasm: Being genuinely excited about things can show confidence and a positive outlook.
Positive body language: Using nonverbal cues such as smiling and open body posture can convey confidence and openness.
Comfortable with silence: Being comfortable with pauses or silence during conversation can show confidence and self-assurance.
Ability to listen actively: Being able to fully listen to and understand others can show respect and confidence.
Ability to negotiate effectively: Being able to effectively negotiate and come to mutually beneficial agreements can show assertiveness and confidence.
Ability to ask for help: Knowing when to ask for help and being able to do so confidently can show strength and self-awareness.
Ability to handle pressure: Being able to stay calm and focused under pressure can show confidence and resilience.
Ability to set and achieve goals: Being able to set and work towards goals can show determination and confidence.
Ability to adapt to change: Being able to adapt to new situations and handle unexpected changes can show flexibility and confidence.
What was the absolute most disrespectful thing a customer ever said to you, and what did you do?
Well, there was this one time when I was working at a Home Depot in the Bay Area I was doing inventory with another girl and this girl had some teeth issues. I didn’t have a problem working with her because she is a very nice sweet person that just happened to have teeth missing. Anyways I heard this big woman say something about how can they let someone like her work with the customers. I looked over and my co-worker heard what she had said and she looked genuinely hurt by her comment. And it made her cry. I was so angry that I stopped what I was doing took off my ten-key machine and I stopped that fat bitch and I made her go apologise to my friend and I told her look at her now she may have teeth missing and she is working on getting that corrected. Now take your fat ass away from me because just the sight of your fat face is nauseating. And in the future just keep your fucking little comments to yourself.Till this day I still don’t know why I wasn’t fired over that.And just to let you know she never got a chance to fix her teeth. Because around 2009 she fell and hit her head on her water cooler and she ended up passing away in a coma.She was a good woman and she was a hard worker.I miss you, Emma…..
I understand
Chicken Fajita Casserole
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 medium red, green and/or yellow bell peppers, cut into strips
In 12 inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and cook chicken with peppers, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until chicken is almost done and peppers are crisp-tender.
Stir in onion soup mix blended with water, flour, chili powder, cayenne and garlic powder. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes or until chicken is done and sauce is thickened.
To serve, turn into serving dish, then top with tortilla strips.
Garnish, if desired, with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and shredded Cheddar cheese.
What is something that most people don’t know?
A small child could swim through the veins of a blue whale.
A single teaspoon of a neutron star would weigh about 6 billion tons.
A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus.
The surface area of a human lung is about 70 square meters, roughly the size of a tennis court.
A hummingbird’s heart beats 1,260 times per minute.
The lifespan of a single taste bud is about 10 days.
The shortest war in recorded history lasted only 38 minutes between Britain and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896.
The first product ever sold on the Internet was a bag of marijuana.
The shortest place name in the world is “A”, a hill in Wales, United Kingdom.
A study found that if your face suggests that you’re alert and slightly happy, people are more likely to perceive you as intelligent.
Annunaki | Gods from Planet Nibiru and the Makers of Man
The Chancellor of Bavaria and Chairman of the CSU said after a visit to China that if there is no dialogue with China, things will become dangerous. He thinks dialogue is better than monologue. Do you agree?
China may not need Bavaria, but Bavaria needs China. Bavaria needs China in two aspects:
1. Bavaria is home to many German military factories and they want to import Xinjiang cotton
Ukraine needs up to 350,000 rounds of artillery shells every month, and its consumption is not small.
I recently saw an AFP report in which the European Commissioner stated that France would find it difficult to continue manufacturing missiles and artillery shells due to a lack of gunpowder. The shortage of gunpowder was due to the lack of raw material nitrocellulose.
Nitrocellulose is extracted from cotton, but where does the cotton come from? EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said a long time ago that making gunpowder powder requires a “special cotton”, and this Cotton grown “mostly comes from China”!
According to 2020 data, 95% of the world’s natural cotton suitable for the production of smokeless nitrocellulose is produced in Xinjiang, China; another 4% is produced in Central Asian countries; and the remaining 1% is produced in the Nile Delta.
Cotton from Central Asian countries, which account for 4% of global production, is a designated purchaser exclusively for Russia. Therefore, including the United States and the entire Europe, only cotton produced in cotton fields along the Nile, which accounts for 1% of global production, can be used directly.
It is no exaggeration to say that with the current cotton production capacity in the world, without China’s participation, other countries would not even be able to fight a world war, because they really can’t even build missiles!
But why can’t they import cotton from China? This is because they shot themselves in the foot, they created all this themselves.
In order to demonize China and slander China, the United States and Europe engage in forced labor in Xinjiang and force Uyghurs to grow cotton.
Even European companies led by HM took the initiative to boycott Chinese cotton, and China also adopted counter-sanctions measures and stopped exporting cotton to the United States and Europe.
But they did not expect that the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, and the nitrocellulose used to make missiles and artillery shells must require long-staple cotton from Xinjiang, China.
As a result, they forgot that they had slandered Xinjiang, China, and wanted to import cotton from Xinjiang, China.
2. Bavaria is home to many automobile factories, and they want to cooperate with China to obtain technology for new energy vehicles
China surpassed Japan last year to become the world’s largest automobile exporter. Especially in the field of electric vehicles, China far surpasses any country in the world. In the first quarter of last year alone, the number of Chinese electric vehicles imported into Germany tripled compared with the same period.
Germany, the birthplace of automobiles, has admitted that it has lost to China in the field of electric vehicles. If they do not cooperate with China, they may fall further behind China.
100%
What is the sleaziest, dirtiest trick an auto insurance company tried to pull on you? Did they succeed?
I will never insure with the Good Hands People…
In 2006 my 21 year old daughter was driving to class when a realtor on the phone blew a stop sign and totaled both cars. Neither were injured. About a week after the accident the other party’s insurance called to see if they could collect a statement from my daughter. I said sure. About 20 minutes later my daughter phoned in tears saying the adjuster had accused her of speeding and not yielding to a car already in the intersection. I can only assume this was because she was in a 5 year old mustang – but she no tickets or wrecks up to then.
I asked her a little about the call and started getting mad, madder, furious… I held it in and asked if the adjuster asked about witnesses. The adjuster had and I told my daughter to call the witness who was behind her. She hopped off the phone and called the witness and asked what he saw and if she were speeding. He laughed and said, look, I was about to pass you because you were driving about 5 mph below the posted limit and I was in a hurry. I knew she had not hit the other car; rather the other car hit her in a door.
A couple hours the adjuster called and said they would pay 85% of the value of our car… because no one is 100% at fault. I asked how she determined my daughter was 15%. Her words were, it is a mustang and we know drivers rarely obey the speed limit. She wanted me to give verbal approval then or face a possible adjustment down. I told her that she was full of shit. That the witness following my daughter said she was driving 5 mph below the posted limit and that the other party was on the phone. I reference the police report noting a writing pad and phone on the floor board. I then asked, how he was not 100% at fault. She mumbled something and I said, please speak up. You are being recorded and your story is not so good for you right now. She told me that was unlawful. I ask asked if she was recording and she said mmm, yes. I told her she was in the same boat as I since she failed to disclose.
She said she could go as high as 93%. I said not good enough, I then asked what the 100% value was. It was also deflated to about 70% average book value. I told her I needed to speak to a supervisor, now. She said she couldn’t and I said you risk facing my attorney in court. This recording will be in his hands in about 5 minutes as he is my neighbor. She yielded to 100% and said that was max. I said, not good enough, I need no lower than the average book…please give me to your supervisor, I am tired of dealing with you. Finally, a supervisor who restarted the discussion at 85%. About a third of his way through the spiel I interrupted rather harshly and said, wait a minute, we are not gong through all this again. I reviewed my notes with him and told him I was about out of cell phone battery and I wanted no less than HIGH retail. He had 5 minutes to say yes or I am handing it over to my attorney. It sounded at first as though he had not been briefed but when he noticed I moved up to high retail he said I offered average before.
I ended up with a value between average and high retail. I reported them to the state insurance board and asked for a followup after they review. I never heard back. I feel for those who just say yes without standing their ground.
Desperate young guys
How do you get over the feeling of being a failure?
Realise that you may not be a failure in the eyes of someone else.
Here’s my story. I was 40, divorced, had left a life in New Zealand behind that had fallen apart in the most dramatic way possible, and was invited at my cousin’s house in Austria to a summer party.
As we ate barbecued things and drank local beer, dreams were swapped and future visions exchanged. My cousin is a sound engineer, struggling as a consultant, doing the odd gig in Vienna or Salzburg.
We talked about happiness.
And I heard myself saying, “maybe some day, when I am successful, I will know what happiness is.”
My cousin looked at me as if I was very, very drunk. And maybe, I was. And he said, “Chris; you are the dean of a French university, a Grande Ecole at that, in Shanghai. And you say ‘some day when you are successful’?”
That changed my world view.
I realised then and there that it depends very much on whom we ask whether we feel like failures, or not. All I had been able to see was how badly things had gone for me in New Zealand, and how the expat position in China really was only a gap filler till I would be able to find something to replace the life I had had in NZ. That that life in Shanghai was in itself pretty cool was somehow off my radar.
Perhaps you need to ask the right people? Try to understand what the average person’s existence on this planet is like. Success and failure are not quantitative values. They are dangerously subjective perceptions, and require some grounding in basic values.
So, stop comparing yourself to the wrong people. By comparing ourselves to stars or celebrities of some standing, we will always look bad.
Men Don’t Give a F*ck Anymore… Why the Rate of Single Men In the US Looking For Dates Has Declined
Which has been oversupplied in the world, the Chinese made value-for-money products or the US treasury bonds?
How can products be Oversupplied?
If there is an oversupply, there will be EXCESS INVENTORY of Unsold Products which will increase the storage and warehousing fee and ultimately lead to destruction of the excess supply
This is Demand and Supply Law 101
So China only manufactures products per Global Demand
Now Yellens problem is simple
China is creating BETTER QUALITY PRODUCTS than the West at half the price
And the Quality gap is rising
There was a time just three years ago when German or Swiss products were better quality than Chinese made products and it was only the cost that was a decisive factor
Today Chinese Panels beat German or French Panels hollow in efficiency, weight, absorption angle and cost
So every Western Renewable Energy Producer is going OUT OF BUSINESS as China floods the world with Superior Panels and Superior Wind Turbines at 40% to 60% the price you pay for the same when made in Stuttgart or Grenoble or Milan or Cincinnati
Yellen would have no issue if these products were owned by Western Businesses but made in China which was the original plan
Now Chinese Businesses control these products and all that money is going to China and Chinas Economy
In the past – out of $ 100 of Exports – China got maybe $ 25
Now China gets $ 60–65
The Western World wants renewable energy
Yet they want to control the technology and the markets
China has beaten them to it
Even if they directly sanction China, the prices will force Chinese products to flow into every market beating every Sanction
Tariffs is the only solution?
Yet that would make renewable energy more expensive for the West and it’s people
They still can’t make Panels at higher price or attain Chinas rapid level of technology with its 1.4 Billion population and surging market
They are all saturated
One Solution
They can pour all the money into R&D into India
I mean huge money
Yet that would only create a new hindrance after 20 years and further weaken Western Hegemony because instead of a China, now you have TWO PROBLEMS – CHINA AND INDIA
So that Option is gone
So Yellen is living in a dream land of her own
She can’t stop Economics
The Economics is with China and US will be destroyed in this dangerous game
Even China tomorrow if it tries to rewrite economics will find it very difficult and painful
Today the Economics is with China and will be there for the next 2 Decades until 2050 at the latest
That is Chinas window
Homeless men
Blinken’s visa threats expose US hypocrisy
“A good example,” said Pope Francis, “brings about so much good, but hypocrisy brings about so much evil.”
After the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO) was enacted on March 19, the US and its allies reacted with predictable fury. As Hong Kong had finally discharged its national responsibilities, they realized it was no longer possible for them to use it as a base for destabilizing China. After 1997, they saw the city as the country’s Achilles’ heel, which explains why they encouraged the insurrection of 2019-20 and patronized selected proxies, including the now-defunct Civic Party.
Although those days are over, the US is incensed. It is determined to retaliate against the city whose future it had hoped to influence. Impervious to reason, it is bent on harming Hong Kong, even if it undermines its people’s livelihoods.
On March 30, the US State Department said that, apart from continuing to deny Hong Kong the special trading status it revoked in 2020, it also planned to impose visa restrictions on Hong Kong officials involved in enacting the SNSO. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said “multiple” officials would be targeted, as they were “responsible for the intensifying crackdown on rights and freedoms”. They needed to be held to account for the “intensifying repression” of “civil society, media and dissenting voices”.
However, Blinken’s professed concern for the media was hollow, and cannot be taken seriously. The US contempt for the press is now on public display in the UK, where it is mercilessly pursuing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange through the English courts. His 17 “crimes” consist of allegedly disclosing classified information that embarrassed Washington, particularly in relation to war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, including its brutalization of prisoners. As his lawyers have explained, Assange is being victimized for engaging in the ordinary journalistic practices of obtaining and publishing information in the public interest, to which Blinken is oblivious.
Blinken’s hypocrisy, however, is deep-seated and was inherited from his predecessors. Although he claims to support the “global rules-based order”, this is a vacuous catchphrase beloved of Western hypocrites. Whereas he delights in slapping visa restrictions and other penalties on individuals from China and other places he sees as geopolitical rivals, evenhandedness forms no part of his repertoire.
Since the Gaza war started, the death toll has reached almost 33,000, mainly women and children. Another 75,000 have been injured, while many others are starving. Instead of sanctioning those responsible, including the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and the chief of the general staff, Herzi Halevi, and calling for them to be prosecuted for genocide and war crimes before the International Criminal Court, Blinken has facilitated their offenses. Although, despite being Netanyahu’s aider and abettor, he will never stand trial, Israel’s crimes, to which the US is party, are of biblical proportions, and will forever rank among the world’s greatest wartime atrocities.
On April 1, CNN reported that the US government is about to approve the sale of 50 American-made F-15 fighter jets to Israel, in a deal expected to be worth more than $18 billion. These can then be used to kill an awful lot of Palestinians, as also can its other weaponry. Earlier, on March 6, the Washington Post reported the US “quietly approved and delivered” over 100 separate military sales to Israel since the Gaza war began, amounting to “thousands of precision-guided munitions, small-diameter bombs, bunker busters, small arms and other lethal aid”.
Although this would have delighted the arms merchants, it did little to inspire faith in Blinken’s professed concerns for Gaza’s civilian population. Even the most subservient of US allies may be forgiven for wondering how Blinken can look himself in the mirror.
While Blinken has always had lots to say about “rights and freedoms” in Hong Kong, he is allowing Israel to get away with blue murder in Gaza. He has protected it at international forums and sought to rationalize its depredations. However, its excesses have become so horrific that even he, on March 25, felt unable to block the UN Security Council’s call for a temporary cease-fire for Ramadan.
Away from the war zone, Blinken’s duplicity is no less pronounced. When the UK introduced its National Security Act 2023 (NSA), he did not slap visa restrictions or other penalties on its principal architects, the then-home secretary, Suella Braverman, and the security minister, Tom Tugendhat. This was despite the NSA’s crackdown on the “rights and freedoms” Blinken claimed to be so concerned about in Hong Kong.
The “chilling effect” of the NSA’s espionage provisions was condemned in the British Parliament, not least for their impact on investigative journalism. It cracked down on civil liberties, giving the police extra powers of detention and curbing the pretrial rights of suspects, including access to lawyers. Although Blinken feigned fury when not-dissimilar measures were adopted in Hong Kong, he did not bat an eyelid when they occurred in the UK, which should surprise nobody.
His posturing over “rights and freedoms” has always been simply a convenient stick with which to beat people from places that reject US hegemony and refuse to dance to its tune.
Indeed, given his concern for “dissenting voices” in Hong Kong, it might have been expected Blinken would be up in arms over Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021. It was the brainchild of its first minister, Humza Yousaf, and came into force on April 1, 2024. It has been called a “snitch’s charter”, criminalizing words that might be construed as “stirring up hatred”. If a “reasonable person” (a vague term) considers something said by somebody else to be “insulting” an offense may arise, with a suspect facing up to seven years’ imprisonment.
Yousaf’s new law has been denounced by free thinkers and ordinary Scots, and people are wondering if, in future, they should keep their views to themselves to be on the safe side.
The Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, a straight talker from Edinburgh, fears she may be targeted by the Hate Crime Act. She has regularly argued that trans women are not women, and that men who self-identify as women do not thereby become women. She has also maintained that convicted rapists who declare themselves to be females should not be housed in women’s prisons, supposedly a safe place. Although most people applaud her views, she is concerned they will expose her to charges, and attempts have already been made to prosecute her under what she calls a “ludicrous law”.
Since the new crime of “stirring up hatred” was introduced on April 1, Police Scotland has received over 3,000 hate crime reports, many paradoxically relating to Yousaf himself. He had previously highlighted white people holding prominent public roles, but fortunately for him, the new law is not retroactive. The community services minister, Siobhian Brown, said the law was being used to make “fake and vexatious complaints”, and police time is being wasted as people seek to settle old scores and bring down those whose views they dislike.
The Conservative Party’s Scottish justice spokesman, Russell Findlay, has pointed out that “Yousaf’s dangerous Hate Crime Act is already being weaponized on an industrial scale by thin-skinned troublemakers,” and a petition has been launched for its repeal.
The UK education secretary, Gillian Keegan, called Yousaf’s Hate Crime Act “a terrible bit of legislation”. She said the police “should be much more focused on fighting crime than policing people’s thoughts”. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, agreed, saying, “We believe in free speech in this country.”
If Blinken agrees with Sunak, Keegan and Findlay that Yousaf’s new law is an affront to Western notions of free speech, he is, presumably, planning to impose visa restrictions upon him and demanding its repeal. However, nobody should hold their breath, and Yousaf will likely escape repercussions. In the all-too-familiar traditions of American diplomacy, Blinken has no interest in intervening when “rights and freedoms” are violated in countries the US does not want to antagonize.
Whatever Blinken has planned for them, Hong Kong’s officials have done their duty and can hold their heads high. They must have expected him to try to harm them and braced themselves accordingly. Although his double standards are there for all to see, they at least have clear consciences.
Random AI generated images
I’m so sorry
What was the last most shocking image you’ve ever seen?
WHEN FREEDOM IS LOST
This incident occurred at the Kombaru shrine in Karnataka, India.
The leopard was chasing the dog, the dog entered the bathroom through a window, the bathroom was locked from the outside.
The leopard came in after the dog and they both got trapped in the toilet; When the dog saw the leopard, it panicked and sat quietly in a corner.
He didn’t even dare to bark.
Although the leopard was hungry and chased the dog, it did not eat the dog.
He could have had dinner by jumping the dog, but the two animals were together in different corners for almost twelve hours. During these twelve hours, the leopard was also calm.
The forest department zeroed in on the leopard and captured it with a tranquilizer dart.
Now the question is, why didn’t the hungry leopard tear off the dog when it was easily possible?
Wildlife researchers answered this question: according to them, wild animals are very sensitive to their freedom.
As soon as they realize that their freedom has been taken away from them, they may feel deep pain, so much so that they may forget their hunger.
Your natural motivation to feed your stomach begins to fade.
Freedom and happiness are connected. Freedom to think, act, and live the way we want.
The American Way isn’t Working out Too Well
Some fun AI generated pictures
Here’s some of my latest work…
Hanoi, Vietnam, call girl service
What is an instant mood lifter for you?
When I hear a good song playing suddenly in my neighborhood – It’s so awesome and got more power to make me cry and dance when it’s distant.
When someone genuinely listens to what I have to say – Isn’t it just great to speak your heart and someone is ready to see that vulnerable side of you?
When I receive the same level of importance I give to people – Ever heard someone say that “you” are a “priority” to them? If you have, dude you’re lucky (because I haven’t heard so).
When out of the blue, my mumma calls me “gudiya” – Mother’s love hits different. What would I even do without her?
When people trust me with their emotions – There’s a chance that I’ve been through that, so if they trust me, I can do everything to make sure they’re happy again.
When I get random messages from my close people – That specific notification sound just for the close ones>>
When I see potatoes – Weird? Nope, it isn’t. Potato and I go way back in history, a story for another time for sure!
When I know exactly what to do – I don’t have to explain this xD
When I’m sweating hard at the time of workout – It’s so satisfying when the exercises are giving result and on top of that, those beady drops of sweat make my day!
Some more of my AI generations
If You’re An American Living Abroad Tell Me Why You Would Never Go Back? | Part 2
Police story
“So this happened in Montana. I’m on my way to go to my interview this morning when I get pulled over by a police officer.
I am native American and my friend that was with me is black. Just saying.
Both brake lights decided to go out this time.
As he walked to the car and I was pulling out my stuff, he quickly said,
“Don’t worry about pulling anything out. I just want you to know that your brake lights are out.”
So I’m immediately upset, because I just got them replaced like last month.
So I explained to him how Firestone wants to charge me $600 just to run a test on the wiring of the car.
He looked at me like 😨 and told me to pop the trunk.
He checked the lights in the trunk and tapped them, but they didn’t come on.
So he told me to pop the hood to check the relay box then asked me to get out to check the other one.
Then worked on the wiring under the dash.
He could’ve easily given me a ticket, but Officer Jenkins stepped out of the officer role, and into the mechanic role, and human role to make sure I was straight.
By the way, HE FIXED THEM. Not everyone is racist or a bad cop.”
“NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warns an’alliance of authoritarian powers’including Russia, Iran and China are working against the West?”Source: Daily Mail. Should this alliance concern Australia’s relations with China, inviting more US military bases?
Why is that such surprise?
A. The West sanctions Iran unilaterally
The West unilaterally sanctions Iran. They steal Irans Oil randomly, pirating Iranian Ships or Ships containing Iranian Oil
They forbid shipment of even medicines into Iran causing the death of thousands of iranians
For a long time they even refused to allow imports of food materials into Iran especially Wheat
B. The West arms Taiwan, arms Japan and South Korea and literally builds thousands of bases around the South China Sea
US surrounds China with army bases yet a Chinese delegation to Cuba gets a massive national security lecture
US openly says they want to Contain Chinas Rise and Growth
US arms Taiwan, a region they themselves acknowledge as being part of China
US sends soldiers to Taiwan, a Chinese region according to their own law
C. The West openly declare their aim to overthrow Putin and even assassinate him
Many a Senator and a Congressman at some time has claimed to want to overthrow or even kill Putin
They openly discuss Balkanization of Russia in their think tanks
They refused to give Russia security guarantees for almost a year before Ukraine when all they had to do was agree to Ukraines NATO membership being deferred by a decade
So how is it a surprise that these three nations decide to work together against the West?
What exactly does he expect?
That these three nations would come with a Chocolate Cake and openly allow themselves to be destroyed ?
Naah
Rule No 1 would be for the West to leave the world alone and stop interfering in every thing under the sun
Rule No 2 would be for the West to prepare a kill list of 100,000 people who are ruining them and the world. Including Stoltenberg himself.
Rule No 3 would be some nice army trucks at 3 AM outside the houses of these 100,000 people after which – they are never heard of again.
And the families too. Families always make nice deterrents.
Rule No 4 would be for a new Order in the West that adheres to their own principles of International Law rather than Rules Based Order
Once you do that the world would be a peaceful place
Stoltenberg would not be in that world but well… Nobodys gonna miss him too much
When did NPR become so left-wing?
When I was a dyed-in-the-wool conservative Republican, a career military man from a family of career warriors, I loved to listen to Paul Harvey and public radio. NPR didn’t seem “leftie” to me.
I was overseas my whole career, and got my news from the Stars and Stripes and Armed Forces Radio. I saw many ways to run a society while I lived in Japan, Philippines, Korea, and Germany over 16 years.
The first time I saw Rush Limbaugh, for the first five minutes, I thought he was a comedian doing a bit.
Upon finally returning to the States to retire, I was appalled at what America had become. The US I came back to was nearly a police state. The population was the sickest and most disabled of any country I had lived in. Homelessness and lack of education made the US seem like a Third World country. I was shocked.
NPR, however, was a familiar place to relax. They made sense. They considered points of view from both left and right. Importantly, the only “leftie” was a member of the Communist Party of the USA, and the only extreme right candidate was George Wallace, who didn’t stand a chance in the general election.
The difference between Dems and Repubs was no too great. Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan worked together all the time. (Reagan promised “small government” but grew the government by every metric. Every one.)
Today, however, millions of Americans have been left behind. They are worse educated than any modern nation; they are sicker and more disabled, and their babies die in the first year much more than in the rest of the advanced nations. (We did, in fact, become an oligarchy with democratic trappings. Details available upon request.)
Now those millions are angry. Their politicians sold out to the billionaires. The Republican leadership, much more than the Democrats, ignored their constituents needs and gave only tax cuts and excuses. The American people wanted LGBT people to have the same rights of marriage, social security, and hospital visitation as straight people. We got that. The American people wanted women to have more career opportunities, including in the military, on ships, and in combat units. We got that.
The American people voted for a black president. That broke the GOP back. Guns flew off the retail shelves, Militia membership soared. Ammunition was sold out for two years. The GOP refused to govern. All they did was vote to repeal the ACA 60 times, always with no chance of succeeding. Republicans directly interfered with foreign policy, personally telling Iran’s leaders to ignore the POTUS.
It seemed Hillary was certain to win. So certain, that few voted. Except the Republicans. They came out in force to vote for the guy who hated everyone they hated. Now their leader spews hatred and isolationism, the money-grubbing marketing
experts at certain media companies see the potential, so they amplify the suspicion and distrust. The result is a perfect storm of brainwashing. The handsome, 6′1″ blond billionaire can persuade most folks to invest their money in his dreams. Now he’s persuaded millions of Americans to invest their votes, their minds and their hearts in dedication to a professional con-man. Bernie Maddoff must be jealous.
THE ANSWER
NPR is right where they’ve always been, just a little left of center. But now the GOP has gone so far right—off the reservation—that they call centrists traitors and Marxists. God help us in our hour of need. Lord, is it time yet to take Trump home to meet his maker? Amen.
1900s Technology
Can anyone in China tell us why it is illegal for foreigners to visit Tibet? You must have a special permit to travel there. What are Xi and the CCP trying to hide? Is there a concentration camp there? Other explanation? Anyone who knows?
The question doesn’t make sense.
If it was illegal then it wouldn’t be possible to get a permit to visit. A permit means that it is legal for foreigners to visit Tibet. Similar to how you need a visa to visit China.
The autonomous regions of China are often slightly different to the mainland.
Hong Kong & Macao have fairly easy visas for most people BUT you do need separate visas for them.
Xinjiang doesn’t need a special permit now but it did in the past.
Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi have never had any special requirements as far as I know.
Anyway, I visited Tibet back in 2007. At that stage, it looked like the permits were going to be gone soon. The High Speed Train had just been connected and it was opening up.
Then the uprisings and separatist movement made a big push in 2008 when Beijing was hosting the Olympics. They were supported directly or indirectly by the US government and then Tibet was locked down and hard to get into Tibet for foreigners. Millions of Chinese tourists visit each year. Since then it has become easier and I know a number of people who have visited recently. You still need a permit but it is fairly easy to get one unless you are a reporter.
Last year in 2023 there were more than 24 million tourists to Tibet. Most were domestic but 30,455 were tourists from overseas.
You can visit but unless things have changed you need to spend 3 days in China. This information may be out of date since in the past it was advised that you should apply for the permit in China. Most tourists used to go to Chengdu to see the pandas and spend 3 days their waiting for the permit. A travel agent will do all of this for you and tell you what to do. It isn’t hard but it took time. Not sure if this is still the case. Things change quickly…
Strange coincidences
What’s the most confusing thing about being a man, today?
Navigating dating in a world where men are increasingly being told that women and men should be treated as equals; and yet where as a heterosexual man trying to find a partner, you’re still being systematically and mercilessly filtered out as a potential partner if you fail to perform classical masculinity well enough.
I grew up in, and live in Norway. One of the countries on earth that consistently score near the top of gender-equality rankings.
And yet my experiences in dating, especially as a young man, were very much about adhering to classical prejudiced gender-roles for men — or else remain single.
Examples?
I’ve been told (and agree!) that men should not be afraid to show or talk about emotions. But I’ve also been told in hundreds of ways that if a man shows any emotion that includes even a hint of vulnerability, then he’s instantly disqualified as a potential romantic interest.
I’ve been told that men and women should face the same expectations and similar opportunities. But as a young man, no woman ever asked me out on a first date. No woman ever explicitly revealed a crush on me unless I’d done the same thing first. No woman ever kissed me unless I initiated that first. No woman ever bought me a drink, flowers, chocolate, a valentines day card or any other stereotypically romantic gift unless I’d done that first. No woman ever asked me to dance, unless I’d done that first.[*]
Every time I read answers here on Quora about men who struggle with finding dates, I see the same recommendations. Usually from liberal, feminist people (both men and women) well-reflected about gender. Be confident. Be assertive. Initiate. Approach. Show Competence. Be unaffected by rejection, or if you’re affected, hide it! I’m not sure if they fail to notice it, or if they notice but don’t care — but these things look pretty much like: “Be classically masculine and adhere to gender-norms for men!” to me.
My dating-life took a sharp turn upwards when I finally learnt how to wear a mask and play a classically masculine role well enough to pass muster as a potential romantic partner.
I had several long and good relationships after I figured this part out, and though I’m happily married these days, I’m still confident I could fairly easily find a new fulfilling relationship if I should ever again find myself single and lonely.
But to find that relationship, I’d have to initially play a role. One that isn’t me, or that at least is just a tiny fraction of me. I’d have to play up those parts of me that adhere the closest to prejudiced norms for what a “real man” should be, and at least for a while downplay or hide those parts of me that don’t fit the mold, such as for example my vulnerable or emotional parts.
The most confusing thing for me as a young man, was how women around me were constantly telling me that there’s nothing they want more than gender-equality. And yet at the same time, if I want to “pass” as a man worthy of romantic love or sexual desire, then I have to jump right back into strongly gendered norms for what a “real man” should be.
[*]: I’m aware that many of these things do happen now and then to many men, and happen often to some men. Ironically though, that tends to be men with high social status and/or high social dominance. This single factor was without a doubt the most important factor for which young men were seen as attractive among my peers. And of course high status and high social dominance are ALSO things that prejudiced gender-roles for men judge us for.
War against China
Have you ever witnessed an objection at a wedding?
Oh, Boy! That happened to me.
Let me give you a bit of context:
My then girlfriend and I had been dating for about 5 years when we finally decided to marry.
On the day of the wedding, we were at my parents’ house with some close family and our closest friends.
Everything was going as expected and the law officer driving the ceremony was reading the document we were about to sign in order to be pronounced “husband and wife”.
It went something like:
“Mr. Blah blah blah… of profession Systems’ Engineer, born at xxxxx and Miss blah blah blah of profession xxxxx from xxx” plus some legal stuff that no one was really paying attention, or so I thought.
Then, the lady asks the infamous question:
“Does anyone have any objection?”
And for everyone’s surprise, a “Yes, I have one” was clearly heard.
In that instant, the time and everything else just froze. You would have been able to cut the air of the room with a knife. Everyone was shocked, silently looking for the source of those words. The only things moving in the room were our guests’ eyes.
Finally, we found it!
It turned out that the objection came from no less than the bride herself, and then she added in her most natural tone:
“He is not a Systems Engineer. His speciality is Computer Engineer”
First a general sense of relief and then everyone just burst out laughing.
We have been married for more than 15 years and the document still says “Systems Engineer”
Did I tell you that my wife is a lawyer?
6 LIES America Told Me About Europe | Americans React
Are Europeans shocked when they first come to the United States?
Have been many times now, and love it, but on my first visit …
Hubby was working and so I went to a Walmart. Really exciting for me as we didn’t have anything like that back in the UK. ( This was back in the early 90s)
I bought a trolley full of stuff, went through the cashier, paid and was quite happily on my way out of the door when beeps’ went off.
Before I knew it I was surrounded by about 4 or 5 what I can only describe as security people. They were really aggressive and I was terrified. What had I done wrong?
Anyway I was accused of stealing and literally frogmarched away. My whole trolley was gone through against my receipt.
Took a while. Everything tallied and it was discovered that whilst I had paid for it a security tag had not been deactivated from a wallet I had purchased. Cashier error.
They then let me go. A couple of hours later. No apologies. I was so shaken up by this treatment.
In the uk at the time of this incident if ‘beeps’ had gone off when leaving a store, sure you would have been stopped, yes checked, but nobody would have laid hands on you and treated you like a criminal. Once it was seen a mistake had been made on their part an apology would be given.
So I guess that certainly on my first visit my shock was that in the USA it is guilty until proven innocent, whereas in UK it is innocent until proven guilty.
Also that an apology is not necessary if they’ve got it wrong.
And please don’t get me started on the tipping culture. In the Uk we pay a minimum wage and tipping is seen as a sign of good service.
My first meal in the USA service was lousy, won’t go into details, but I was astonished to find that despite that I was expected to leave a tip at around 10–15% of the bill and was berated when I didn’t. At that time I had no idea that servers were not paid a decent wage and relied on tips, but to me it felt like a mandatory charge so that if you didn’t pay it you were in effect stealing.
I have been to the USA many times since and now appreciate the difference in our cultures. So I will pay the mandatory ‘tip’ but if I have got service above and beyond will do 30–40%. Still don’t like it though.
Please don’t think I am berating the USA. I have loads of friends here, just saying that as a naive Brit many years ago it was not the best of experiences.
What are the important lessons you learnt in life?
your sleep is key to your health and energy. Sleep well, and everything in life already looks easier. Darkness, silence, and inner peace are the key ingredients.
what you eat and drink is another key to your health and energy. The fewer of the things you consume have brand names, and the less has been done to them, the better you will eventually be.
the people you are surrounded by contribute greatly to who you are, and not just while you are with them. When you’re honest, you’ll find that very little of you is actually you.
the big challenge in life is to be authentic. It’s the hardest thing to do of them all to be truly yourself, and it may well be the meaning of life to try it. We only ever live during those moments where we are being ourselves, and they are few.
to live in freedom, you need to make utilitarian choices. This is a mechanical universe, full of things that are parasitic. Find the things that serve you with the least demands on you, and your life is more free.
Dating Pool Dropouts: How Feminism RUINED Dating
This chick is really freaking out.
Why are Europeans not as fat as Americans are when Europeans eat white bread and pasta and butter all the time?
I’m American, living in France for many years. I eat butter, cream, cheese, bread, pasta…. things I never used to eat in the US, and yet never have to worry about my weight.
Many things come into play-
No snacks. We eat meals, usually at the same times each day. My body seems to like living on a schedule this way. I don’t get hungry in between meals. My stomach knows when it is time to eat, and when it isn’t.
Portions. Portions are smaller. I’m about to visit home again, and know we’ll be going to restaurants and such, and I’ll have these giant heaping plates placed before me, which make me sick to think about. It actually kills my appetite to see this.
Different courses. Instead of eating everything at the same time, we have courses, so only one thing is in front of us at a time. If you are only eating tomatoes, you are going to eat less than if you are mixing in bites of other things in between. Eating a salad or a soup before the main dish, you’re already going to eat less of the main course, because you are less hungry.
Walking. We spend a lot of time walking. I walk to most everything – the grocery store, the post office, the hairdresser, the recycling center….. Whatever chores I have to do outside the home, I can usually walk, and a twenty-minute walk to get somewhere is normal. I do remember a time, when I hadn’t been here long, that every time someone said, “let’s just walk there”, I’d groan and complain “Why can’t we just drive??” I’ve come to love walking around the city. I had to remember the joy of that as a kid, when I’d just love taking my time and observing life around me along the way, instead of having my focus on the destination.
Less stress. This may or may not apply in a general way, but I find they have a different way of looking at life, in which work success is just not considered so essential, so people worry less. A lot of paid vacation, job security, easy healthcare, results in feeling less anxious, and maybe contributes to less cortisol production and emotional eating.
The failure of democracy
Chicken Chilaquiles Casserole
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
10 (6 to 8 inch diameter) flour or corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch strips
2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey
1 1/3 cups salsa verde or green sauce
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Chihuahua or mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Heat oil in skillet until hot. Cook tortilla strips in oil for 30 to 60 seconds or until light golden brown; drain.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 quart casserole.
Layer half of the tortilla strips in casserole; top with chicken, half of the salsa verde (about 2/3 cup) and 1 cup of the cheese.
Press layers gently down into casserole.
Repeat with remaining tortilla strips, sauce and cheese.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.
What are some things a woman should know about men?
1. Like you girls have periods, that cause pain and mood swings etc. Similarly, we men have nocturnal emission that causes mood swings and back pain. Not all men go through that, but many. And it’s not a comparison between the issues.
2. We actually hate giving surprises, if somebody is doing… he’s pressured or doing the same just to impress and make you happy.
3. We actually don’t like you to be influenced by influencers in terms of dress up, eating, and showing up on Social media to people. We want you to be you… The Authentic you.
4. We hate the question “How much do you love me” and in fact we don’t have answers.
5. We love Motorcycle and Car, and we want you to respect the same. And the reason is they actually need love and care, or else they can trouble anytime. Don’t complain if your man is investing a bit more money on that.
6. Please don’t take us shopping if you’re not getting it done within an hour.
7. If you’re allowed to have male friends, please don’t question our Female Friends.
8. We don’t run for sex. Though it’s a natural need, but please don’t judge without reading the whole book. Also, don’t trust the buttery words of a Man without knowing him.
9. It feels extremely difficult for us to walk behind an unknown girl, even if we are moving in the same direction. We wait or overtake most of the time. If you’re afraid then we too.
There are many things not coming up in my head right now, and yes men should equally know about women. But no one in the world till now has succeeded understanding a Woman.. haha.
Why Women Don’t Support Husbands in Difficult Times.
Grandpa
The IRS decides to audit Grandpa, and summons him to the IRS office. The IRS auditor was not surprised when Grandpa showed up with his attorney.
The auditor said, “Well, sir, you have an extravagant lifestyle and no full-time employment, which you explain by saying that you win money gambling. I’m not sure the IRS finds that believable.”
“I’m a great gambler, and I can prove it,” says Grandpa. “How about a demonstration?”
The auditor thinks for a moment and says, “OK. Go ahead.”
Grandpa says, “I’ll bet you a thousand dollars that I can bite my own eye.”
The auditor thinks a moment and says, “It’s a bet.”
Grandpa removes his glass eye and bites it. The auditor’s jaw drops.
Grandpa says, “Now, I’ll bet you two thousand dollars that I can bite my other eye.”
The auditor can tell Grandpa isn’t blind, so he takes the bet.
Grandpa removes his dentures and sinks them into his remaining eye. The astonished auditor now grasps that he has gambled and lost three grand, with Grandpa’s attorney as a witness. His unease begins to mount.
“Want to go double or nothing?” Grandpa asks. “I’ll bet you six thousand dollars that I can stand on one side of your desk, and pee into that wastebasket on the other side, and never get a drop anywhere in between.”
The auditor, twice burned, is cautious now, but he looks carefully and decides there’s no way this old guy could possibly manage that stunt, so he agrees again. Grandpa stands beside the desk and unzips his pants, but although he strains mightily, he can’t make the stream reach the wastebasket on the other side, so he pretty much urinates all over the auditor’s desk.
The auditor leaps with joy, realizing that he has just turned a major loss into a huge win. But Grandpa’s attorney moans and puts his head in his hands.
“Are you OK?” the auditor asks.
“Not really,” says the attorney. “This morning, when Grandpa told me he’d been summoned for an audit, he bet me twenty-five thousand dollars that he could come in here and pee all over your desk and that you’d be happy about it.”
Don’t mess with old people!
If you feel your former bosses would give you a bad reference, should you contact them before putting them for your next job?
I had three interviews that went very well, in my opinion, yet I received no job offer, and I suspected it was because my boss was subverting my effort to leave the company. During my fourth interview, with the Department of Correction, I mentioned my suspicion to the person interviewing me and she said that she’d make a note of it. I was offered the job a couple of days later, contingent upon passing a drug screen, and while I was at the agency for the drug screen the HR manager asked me to step into her office.
She called my boss and said she was calling for a reference on me, and boss gave what would be described as a tepid recommendation: I did “adequate” work and was “as reliable as anyone else” but she would have hired someone younger if she was filling my position now. After she ended the call the HR manager said she understood why I had trouble finding another job, and then she asked when I wanted to start work with the agency. I told her I’d be there bright and early the following Monday.
My boss said she wanted someone younger for my job so I decided to accomodate her. I didn’t bother to say anything about the phone call, or that I was leaving. But I did send a delayed email letting her know how I felt about her and so she’d know that I wouldn’t be coming back. The last time I saw her was when I picked up my last paycheck; she threw a stapler at me.
Sounds Of The Department Store 1979
OMG!
Just put this on and listen to it on a early Saturday Morning.
When I lived in Milford, Massachusetts, I lived in a “crack house”.
Oh, it wasn’t my intention. But that is exactly what had happened.
There was this old Victorian mansion in Milford, right next to the police station. And, a man (an Iranian immigrant) bought the house and divided it up into six apartments. He renovated the place nicely, and I fell in love with the “huge “drawing room” apartment on the first floor.
Soon, others moved in. Most were like myself. Middle class.
Then his brother brought in a “section eight” family.
Now, a “section eight family” is a person living off the state. Takes welfare and government benefits, and is usually the lowest of the low.
And from the moment she moved in, it was non-stop under -16 drug, alcohol parties. All night. Loud with the thick vapors of crack smoke seeping into our apartment.
Oh, I talked to the owner; landlord, and he couldn’t do anything. It was against the law to deny housing to welfare recipients.
I talked to the police, they couldn’t do anything. All the 60+ kids were “protected” as they were juveniles in a private residence.
Well, there were raids on the property. Busts discovering drugs… mostly crack and all the rest. There were stabbings, and car damage, and all sorts of nonsense. It truly was a Hell. Ugh!
And it was Hell for me. As soon as my contract was up I left. Then I sued the owner. Long story, but we parted on good terms.
Do not ever let that happen to youse guys. Ever!
Nothing quite ruins your day as the thick sweet smell of crack wafting up from the basement.
Today…
What is the most shameless thing you have ever seen a teacher do?
I don’t know if I’d call this “shameless”, but it shows how a student (me) can so bother a teacher that he’ll make irrational decisions!
I was a lousy student. Either didn’t do homework or did a really sloppy job. My written work was really hard to read because I didn’t try to be neat.
Anyway, it drove my US History 1 teacher crazy, especially since I always tested very high in aptitude! Aptitude doesn’t triumph over laziness!
Anyway, while I was getting low grades in his class, I probably would barely pass for the year. We got to the mid term exam and he gave me an “F” on my report card (the exam was equal to a regular grading period so it was a big deal – 1/8th of the year’s average for each exam)
So my mother goes in to talk to him because, while my grades were usually bad, I generally did well on big exams. I guess I’d remember the major points that such tests cover, but wouldn’t remember the little things that normal tests include.
So my mother mentions that I usually do fairly well on the big exams and asked him about it. He pulls out my test and at the top it says I got a B minus!
My mother asked why the report card said the score was an F instead of B minus. And this is where it got weird.
He said, “He took the examine in the Old Cafeteria and it very easy to copy the work of other students”.
This was true. It had been converted into one big room with those one-armed desks jammed side by side, so even though we sat every other seat for exams, it was still easier to see a neighbors paper than in a regular classroom. But it wasn’t our fault we were assigned to that space!!!
My mother asked the obvious question: “Did you give every student who took a test there an F as well?”
It was at that point that he finally returned to his senses and changed my grade.
I actually liked him and he wasn’t trying to be a jerk or an idiot. I just drove him nuts! Since I later became a teacher myself, I also learned how students can push a teacher’s buttons!
Will the US allow itself to be overtaken by China?
The spirit is willing but the body is weak, my friend. Like the famous kung-fu move 吸精大法Sucking Spirit Move, every punch that US executes, the zest is sucked out of US to make China stronger. It’s not like China didn’t warn US not to engage in fruitless trade wars, but warnings have been ignored and the commoners were cheering her on, oblivious of the risks involved.
It is too late. Not only will China overtake US, she will do it in record time, estimated to be in 2026. Enjoy the inevitable.
Explain (I can’t believe we haven’t fixed this yet)
Why is the US doing such a bad job countering China’s rise?
Imagine you are the world’s fastest runner in the 100m sprint. You know your closest rival is training hard and will soon surpass you. What do you do?
You train even harder to stay ahead.
What you don’t do is try to hobble your rival by accusing him of cheating, denying him training opportunities, keeping him out of competition, and using underhand methods to ensure you keep on winning.
And that is what the US is trying to do to China. Instead of working harder to stay ahead, it has focused it on trying to slow China down.
The US cannot see that this approach will not work. It may have worked with other countries that threatened American superiority and dominance in the past but China is different.
In 1971 I read Dick Wilson’s book, A Quarter of Mankind. My classmates and I realised that once China got its act together, its rise was inevitable.
For a long time, I thought India would rise faster. It did not and will not for reasons that belong ion another answer.
Since Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, China has been on the up and up. And rather than rise to the challenge, the US has opted to try to stop China’s inevitable development and dominance. It may have even contributed to it with its rampant capitalist policies.
The US has not just done a bad job countering China’s rise, it has utterly failed. And it continues to flounder.
The new normal
Have you ever witnessed a “Don’t tell me how to raise my child” moment?
It was with a colleague in the US.
We had a guy at my office who was married to a Japanese woman. They had just had their first baby, and the wife was staying at home going forward.
First, our overbearing colleague started to ask why they didn’t just get a nanny. Why didn’t his wife want to work?
Our overbearing co-worker hired a nanny, and offloaded all the things that parents usually do to the nanny. She wasn’t wealthy, but it seemed like she would rather work full-time than spend time with her children.
But that wasn’t the main issue. The new parents had taken the drastic step of *gasp* co-sleeping with their newborn.
He was 1/2 asleep one day by the copy machine when the overbearing woman got after him again. “You guys need a nanny. You’re sleep-deprived.”
“Don’t remind me.” He was trying to brush it off, but she wouldn’t let it go.
“I mean, if you’re not going to get a nanny and your wife wants to stay home with the kid, why can’t she take care of her without waking you up?”
“We share a bed.”
This was met with a blank stare.
“You know, co-sleeping.” He had told me before that he was nervous about it, but had read some research on how it helps infants regulate their breathing.
“Oh, my gawd! Are you crazy? Didn’t you hear about the couple who did that and the Dad rolled over and killed the baby?”
Sometimes you don’t know that you’ve crossed a line until it’s too late.
“No, but I heard about the couple that got a nanny who BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THEIR KIDS!”
WARNING: Never mess with a sleep-deprived new father.
What is the most panic-inducing thing that can happen as a teenager?
I was 13 years old,
That time there were no smartphones in popularity. Nokia was the king of mobiles and keypad phones were in use. My dad used to have Nokia 7210.
Sometimes I used to play games in my dad’s mobile. One day, I was casually scrolling through his mobile. I didn’t know much about phones those days. I was curious to explore.
In curiosity I don’t know what I have clicked, Suddenly a text message has been received which shocked me-
“Dear customer, thanks for choosing our service. 198rs has been deducted from your balance.”
I was stunned. My body started shivering and it was like a heart attack for me. 10 years ago, 198 ruppees had more value as compared to now. I knew that I am fcuked up. I put the mobile and was surviving the attack.
After sometime, My dad came. He had to make a call. I was edging near death. He dialed number and got to hear this,
“Sorry your account doesn’t have enough balance to make call.”
My heartbeats almost stopped.
He : Gurmeet, come here!
I felt like Yamraj is calling me.
I went somehow because my legs weren’t supporting me to go near him.
He : What you did in mobile? Tell me!
Me : mmmm! I don’t know.
I started crying. He was angry.
He : Tell me, what the hell you did? Where’s balance?
…
After a minute,
He : Next time don’t dare to touch my mobile.
He said and went. I beat the death and got my life back. I was extremely scared and stressed, however he didn’t react much.
Que : What’s most panic inducing thing that can happen as teenager?
Ans : when first time parents suffer loss because of us. When first time we do something wrong and get caught. After this, they get used to losses so it doesn’t induce more panic next time.
What is something extremely unjust that happened to you at work that made you quit your job?
I was at a convention out of town. Just before dinner, I received a call from my mom saying my dad’s appointment had confirmed what we had expected-stage 4 lung cancer. Doctors said 1 month. Of course I was in tears and beside myself. I went to the dinner with tears rolling down my face. I was sitting quietly just remembering all the good things. My district manager came up and asked what was wrong. I told her. Her exact words were…..get over it. This was the same woman who just had 4 months off because her sister got sick. As soon as we got back I handed in my resignation. I just felt that comment was completely heartless and I lost all respect for her.
What is a split-second decision you made that changed your life?
We were in a restaurant with a group of my friends almost 20 years ago…
As we were waiting for our food, I saw the richest and probably most respected man in our town walk in. He was super well known and employed over 500 people at that time.
We started talking together about him and my friend said.
“You would never have the balls to go talk to him!”
I actually didn’t, and the whole idea of talking to someone on that level scared me to death. But, my friends kept telling me to go, and I just said, “Ok, ok, I’ll do it.”
He was sitting alone, waiting for his food, and I just walked up to him and told him how he has been an inspiration for all of us guys sitting at that table over there and how we respect his work.
He was super nice to me and told me to sit down with him. I asked for some advice from him, and that started our friendship. He became my mentor.
He gave me so much good advice and helped me to grow my company. It’s sad that he passed away 2 years ago; he was 59 when I met him. It’s crazy that he took me under his wing.
That was the best split-second decision I made.
Jail and Porn equivalents
Have you ever walked out of an interview?
Once. Just once.
The interviewer was a little … stiff. Spoke with a German accent. Nothing wrong with Germans – it was just my own bias at the time that I expected them to be over-formal. Sticklers.
He asked me a question, which I didn’t like much because it was kind of basic for somebody with lots of experience, about submitting a form from a web page.
So I sketched out the answer on a white board and he asked a question, and I answered, “Yes, in that case I would add an ‘A=5’ right here.”
That was the end of the question, but before we moved on, he said, “Oh – do you want to put that?”
I said “Put that?”
“Write it. On the board.”
“Um … is somebody else going to read this or something?”
“No – we’re done. It’s in order to … finish the exercise.”
“So you want me to write ‘A=5’, right here? What’s next?”
“Then we can just erase it and move on to the next one.”
“So you need me to write A=5. And then erase it. So that the exercise is completed.”
“Yes.”
“Yea. No offense, really, I can tell we just wouldn’t get along at all.”
(This was the guy I would be reporting to.) As I made my awkward exit, both he and his boss made valiant efforts to change my mind, but I just offered, “It’s a gut thing. Trust me. We’d clash.”
I could never shake the hunch that as I was driving off, the interviewer gave a heavy sigh, picked up a marker, wrote “A=5” on the board, and then erased the whole thing.
How did Huawei manage to achieve its fastest growth in four years despite US sanctions?
What the fuck is US sanction you can do what you like in the U.S. but we the rest of the world don’t gives a shit about you! Huawei is popular in 88% of the world. Your 12% can love Apple till your market drop it don’t mean shit. Get that!
Record Record Record
What is the rudest thing another shopper has told you while waiting in line?
This wasn’t said to me, but to my then 7-year-old daughter, who had, for the first 6 and a half years of her life, had people, especially grandmotherly women, gushing over her: “Oh, what a beautiful girl! Oh, how well-behaved! What lovely, silky blond hair! You’re so lucky to have her!” etc. While she wasn’t entirely comfortable with total strangers coming up to her to adore her, it was still nice of them, and who doesn’t like being complimented, right?
Then baby sister came along, and the compliments got shared; baby sister was also pretty, though much different in looks. Stiil good; she loved her baby sister and was quite proud of her.
One day, though, we were in line at the grocery store check-out, when this grandmotherly-looking old lady came up and started gushing about the baby (somewhere between 6 and 12 months old) and how beautiful her eyes were, and her hair, and how sweet she was, and started remarking to other people in the line about the beautiful baby, and asking saying things like “don’t you think so?” to which the others, wanting to be polite to this older woman, of course agreed.
What was so rude? She then turned to my also very beautiful and well-behaved 7-year-old daughter, and practically sang out, “Oh, aren’t you lucky to have such a beautiful sister! Your mother must be so proud of her!” after which she marched off to resume her shopping.
Though I’m reasonably sure it was meant with good intentions from a totally clueless person, that was definitely one of the rudest and cruelest things I’ve ever heard said to a child, at least by someone who had no idea how hurtful their words could be.
I know that ruder and intentionally meaner things are said to or about people every day, but what astounded me was that this woman could have said what she did with no thought as to how negatively her words might be heard and interpreted by a child.
Why has Anthony Fauci predicted 100,000 to 200,000 coronavirus deaths in the US with millions of cases? For perspective, total deaths in China stood at 3,186 today.
Because the cordon sanitaire is a joke stateside. You have to ringfence the virus to break transmission.
New York is now worse hit than Wuhan. Have state borders been sealed?
If someone tests positive but has mild symptoms do you send the person home?
What if he is a renter who shares the space with others and gets kicked out?
What if they are adults in nuclear families?
What if they are homeless?
Where are the quarantine facilities?
Further, who ensures compliance with quarantine orders for those that test positive?
Relying on goodwill and personal responsibility contributed to a handful of individuals becoming responsible for more than half of Korea’s cases. That is 5,000!
Where and how effective is contact tracing when America solves only 60 percent of murders each year? Every missed contact can mean thousands of cases down the road.
America is not putting whole of nation and whole of government effort into fighting this. They are fighting each other and have an eye on the stock market. How do you have the best days in a century when 3 million lose their jobs in one week?
"All natural resources on which economic development, influence and might depend are instruments of political struggle.
It is logical that they are used for political purposes, including geopolitical ones.
We saw this in the 1980s, when the United States put colossal pressure on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, which were the main oil producers, bringing about a collapse in oil prices to $10 or even lower per barrel in the hope of reducing the Soviet Union’s foreign exchange earnings and hence its capacity to continue to develop and ensure its security.
At that time, we continued to compete with the United States and the West as a whole.
They achieved their goal.
The Soviet Union’s revenues plummeted, which was one of the causes, though not the main or only one, that led to its dissolution.
They put pressure on the oil market, used speculation for the fall, drew the Soviet Union into an arms race, and promoted 'democratic reforms' when our country was not prepared for them.
Taken together, this contributed to the fall of a great power.
Since then, the Americans have been using oil and oil prices as a weapon.
A relevant example is Iran, which had its oil exports banned and the channels of oil deliveries contrary to that illegal ban were blocked.
Today, oil sanctions against Iran have been lifted.
The latest example is Venezuela, which was the third largest oil supplier to the United States in 2019.
In 2022, the Americans adopted an oil embargo against it, allegedly in the struggle against the 'regime' of Nicolas Maduro, as they put it.
But later they faced the consequences of the OPEC and OPEC Plus efforts to stabilise the oil market based on the main economic factors and a balance of interests of producers, importers and transit countries.
Today, the Americans are playing new political games against Venezuela, offering it an agreement to resume oil exports to the United States in exchange for political concessions.
However, it is a fact that Washington is suffering the consequences of its own actions considering that a vast number of American oil refineries were equipped to process Venezuelan oil.
It is a combination of purely economic factors and a desire to take advantage of economic ties, in this instance, use oil as a weapon.
As for Russia, what is the oil price cap imposed on Russian oil by the Americans, which the West was pressured to adopt as well?
It is flagrant interference in the workings and principles of the free market, which the Americans have been promoting for decades.
They described the dollar not as an American currency but as a global element of interconnectivity between the global economy and finances.
The structure collapsed when they decided to use these instruments to inflict what they described as 'geopolitical defeat' on Russia.
It is obvious that nobody is happy about the use of these underhanded methods, although few people, especially in the West, dare to put their uneasiness into words.
The pinnacle of using hydrocarbons as a weapon was the explosion of the Nord Stream pipelines, which directly targeted Germany.
American analysts have admitted it, and many in Germany are openly saying this.
It is evidence of the current German government’s impotence and inability not just to think independently but to even protect its vital interests on which the prosperity and well-being of German citizens depend.
As a result of that subversive terrorist attack, businesses, faced with rising gas prices, are leaving Germany and other European countries, and relocating, for the most part, to the United States.
They have started to talk about the de-industrialisation of Europe.
A year ago, French Minister for the Economy and Finances Bruno Le Maire said in a public statement that businesses paid four times more for energy in Europe than in the United States. I believe the balance is approximately the same now.
It is a fact that the United States has created much more favourable conditions for businesses, including by approving credit subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act. Business is moving to the United States.
At the same time, immediately after blowing up the gas pipelines, Washington said that in the absence of Russian gas Europe needed to buy American LNG, even though it cost more and there was a lack of the necessary infrastructure, which was still to be built.
Four years ago, when Angela Merkel was chancellor and life was easier, the Americans attempted to convince Germany that it had no need for Nord Stream or Russian gas in general, that it could buy American LNG instead.
Angela Merkel argued that it would be more complicated and much more expensive.
The Americans agreed that it would cost more and suggested covering the difference with higher taxes.
After all, they said, you can tell your people that it is a good cause in the interests of peace and democracy throughout the world.
There are more examples of this kind."
—Answer by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to the question, “Do you agree that oil is an instrument of political manipulation? Can you provide more striking examples of this or arguments to the contrary?” during an interview for the documentary series ‘Oil’, Moscow, March 21, 2024.
What is the most heartbreaking conversation you’ve ever had?
It was March 2016. Nine months before I had been granted parole and I would be going home in November. My brother knew I was being released and was ecstatic.
So I was on the yard when I was called to the Captains Office. I get there and the room is full of white shirts and C/Os . They asked me to have a seat. I said I would prefer to stand. The Captain asked if everyone in the room would sit would I please sit. I reluctantly agreed. Some C/Os had to squat. My mind was racing. What had I done to cause so many officers to be in the room? They told me I to call my sister in law and pointed at the phone. I couldn’t reach her. They then told me my brother had passed. I did not believe it. They asked if I would prefer to go to the hole so I could be alone. I told them no. I felt numb . I could barely understand what was being said. A C/O offered to walk me to my housing unit again no.
I get back to my housing unit and call my sister in law. She was crying so hard I could barely understand her. But she confirmed my brother had passed away. I was devastated. My little brother who I went to prison for by killing his abuser was gone. He passed within mnths of me getting out
Could you cover a grenade that’s about to explode with a military issued helmet to protect yourself from flying shrapnel?
of the US Marine Corps. While his Marine squad was trying to subdue an enemy combatant, the insurgent dropped a grenade among them. Dunham jumped on the grenade to save his comrades, placing his combat helmet directly over the grenade to reduce the blast.
You can see how that worked out for the helmet.
Surprisingly, Dunham was not immediately killed by the blast, but he was severely wounded. His injuries sent him into a coma, and he died eight days later.
Dunham was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his sacrifice.
So judging by real world experience, the answer to this question is no. Of course, if you are presented with a grenade, you want to put as much distance and protection between you and it as possible. If that includes a helmet, it’s better than nothing. But you cannot expect that it will save you.
If you’ve got a better option, take it.
How can I stress Google and significantly increase their costs?
Physical attacks are cheaper, easier and possibly less risky than electronic attacks.
The US-101 exit for the Google Headquarters in Mountain View is notoriously busy. It can take 15 minutes of sitting in traffic, and causes a great deal of stress to Googlers.
If your car ‘broke down’ in that junction thousands of people would be delayed in getting to work. Let’s say that the fully burdened cost of an engineer is $100 /hr, you might delay 2000 people getting to work by half an hour, costing Google $100k. (Some people might give up and turn around).
In addition, one of the reasons that people leave Google to work elsewhere is the traffic. A few engineers might quit. Hiring new engineers is expensive (I think Bob See has given the cost somewhere on this site, and it’s in the thousands of dollars), plus it takes time to ramp up at Google – you are not productive for at least a couple of months, and possibly up to six months. Let’s call that $100 * 8 hours * 60 days, that’s another 50k.
So, for the cost of the cheapest car you can find, that will actually start, and a couple of hours of your time, you have cost Google $150k. (You might need to add the price of travel and the time to get to Mountain View).
You could pull this stunt as often as you can get away with it, each time costing $150k.
That’s much easier than a botnet attack, or 10s of thousands of Gmail accounts.
Another advantage of this method is that you haven’t committed a very serious crime – the FBI aren’t going to come after you for hacking. You can probably get away with it at least once by being told to be more careful.
American Society of Magical Negroes is AWFUL – People Are SICK of Woke Hollywood
WTF? It’s an actual movie? Whoa!
What’s something your gender does that the opposite gender never even thinks about?
A lot of men try very hard to not seem like creeps or pervs, whereas I’ve never heard of any woman making any similar effort.
For example, I am currently at the beach. Literally, I am sitting in a chair in the sand about 15 feet from the Atlantic Ocean. There are about 40 other people within eyesight on this beach, including a group of teen girls to the right of me who’ve been taking bikini selfies for about two hours. They’re hard to ignore, because they’re doing weird poses and giggling a lot.
To the left, there are more women in bikinis. They’re sunbathing.
So I’m making a point to keep my eyes on my laptop, the book I’m reading, or the ocean in front of me. I hesitate to look left or right, lest I get accused of being a creep.
But, there are also a lot of scantily-clad men out here too. The women around me seem to have no problem staring at these guys. Older women, younger women, it doesn’t matter. When a shirtless guy jogs by (it happens a lot… there’s a Marine base near here), some of these women are downright shameless in their gawking.
Imagine if a guy did that to a woman running by, especially if that woman was a generation younger than them. They’d be driven off the beach by an angry mob, accusing them of being a pervert.
Yesterday, I was sitting on the deck overlooking the ocean, using my binoculars to scan the horizon. I was looking for dolphins or boats or whatever I could see. But, as soon as a family with teenage girls showed up on the beach, I put the binoculars down. Seeing a dolphin isn’t worth the risk of being thought of as a possible creep.
Jia Qingguo (贾庆国)
What follows is a relatively wide-ranging interview with Jia Qingguo (贾庆国) discussing the prospects of cross-Strait relations, a potential Trump presidency and US-China ties more broadly. Jia has been a long-time foreign policy adviser in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and is the former Dean of Peking University’s School of International Studies. He has recently been outspokenly critical of the restrictions on Chinese scholars’ engagement with foreign counterparts. Among the highlights of this piece – his advocacy of “patience” in the Taiwan context so long as the incoming leadership does not pursue independence; his preference to see Biden re-elected rather than Trump (views among China’s establishment intellectuals continue to be divided); and his belief that there is still scope for alignment of US and Chinese interests on regional conflicts in Ukraine and the DPRK.
Taiwan’s president-elect Lai Ching-te has his hands tied politically. The impact of his election on cross-Strait relations should be limited. China will continue to promote peaceful (re)unification “for some time to come”.
Trump is “reckless”, has “outdated views” and lacks “basic moral principles”. He has shown that he is not the pragmatic businessman that many in China had hoped for back in 2016.
His re-election would be particularly detrimental to China and could lead to “severe friction and confrontation” between Washington and Beijing. The prospect of his walking away from the US’s One-China Policy is real.
A second Biden presidency would not prevent further tensions between the US and China, but it could help preserve the current trend of stabilizing and improving ties.
Beijing should always keep its long-term interests in mind and avoid overreacting to provocations coming from the United States. Confrontation and tit-for-tat responses make little sense at a time when China is still more vulnerable than the US.
There are still many areas in which the US and China can (and must) cooperate. For instance, defusing tensions on the Korean peninsula will only succeed if Beijing and Washington are prepared to join hands.
B̲o̲ston – B̲o̲ston (Full Album) 1976
Let’s hop into the GTO, crank it up loud, and roll up one.
I went to Walmart
“I went into Wal-Mart to grab three things. Fruit Loops, eggs & waffles. Healthy, I know. This woman was asking people for something and my goal was to bypass, get my things and go. She asked me to stop. I figured she was just asking for money and I already decided that I was going to politely let her know that I didn’t have any cash on me. I never carry cash. I listened to her. She had groceries in her cart and asked for help to buy food for her family. She proceeded to tell me that she turned her daughter in for dope, her 2-month-old grand baby was born addicted to crack and she has 6 grandchildren to take care of. I really felt for her. She was sobbing. See, I know stories like this to be FACT from working in an inner-city school and my husband working in a hospital. Babies are unfortunately born addicted all the time & responsibility of raising grandbabies does fall on the grandparents. She asked me if I would help her buy groceries.
I looked at what I had in my hands compared to what she had. She had shopped smart and had healthy food: bananas, bell peppers, meat, pancakes, etc. Practical things you would make meals with and feed children. I told her yes, go get diapers for the baby and meet me at the front. She sobbed, praised God and said hallelujah to the cashiers,etc. Yesterday, I turned 30, had my healthy family by my side, ate tons of crawfish and blew $20 at the casino for the heck of it. Well, I checked my humanity today. This woman has food to put on her table and even if she wasn’t telling the truth, I don’t even care in the least. She’s human, I’m human and today she helped me realize a few things and I hope that I helped her. She won’t have to worry for at least a little while about food. I didn’t expect this today but apparently I was called to it and was right where I needed to be.
The forgotten dresser
Cheese Steak Pizza
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, cut crosswise into thin slices, separated into rings
1 small green or red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
Brown ground beef in large nonstick skillet over medium heat 6 minutes.
Add onion and bell pepper; continue cooking until beef is not pink and vegetables are crisp-tender, breaking beef up into small crumbles.
Pour off drippings; season with salt and pepper.
Place pizza crust on ungreased large baking sheet. Spoon beef mixture evenly on pizza crust; sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Cut into 8 wedges.
What are some examples of grim legacies?
Saddam’s bunker was designed to withstand a nuclear bomb.
It was built directly under his palace.
(source: Outlook Magazine)
Much like traditional concrete design, steel rods were run first, then concrete poured over them.
Only—the steel was thicker, and so was the concrete.
It was so powerful that if a Hiroshima bomb went off 250m away—the bunker would be fine.
And through both Iraq wars, the bunker stood strong and withheld all the onslaughts of US forces. In today’s dollars, it cost well over $100 million to build.
But—to the question:
It was built by a Munich, Germany born designer, Karl Esser. He comes from a long line of architects who have also designed military grade bunkers. He expresses no guilt in designing the bunker, stating that it wasn’t a weapon, merely the equivalent of a bomb shelter.
He actually met with Saddam Hussein several times and stated that if you met him (in the 1980’s), he looks like a tax collector, there is nothing special about him. But when he starts speaking—you realize that he is far more than a tax collector, and you are reminded of that by how tense everyone around him is. (Source: Saddam’s bunker can withstand nuke attack, says its designer. Bhaita, Saida)
Again—to the question:
Karl was chosen specifically by Hussein because of his experience. His grandmother designed Hitler’s bunker. The family trade had been passed down to him.
To usher in Communism?
Really? These folk don’t have a clue as to what they are talking about.
Have you ever met a celebrity who asked you, “Do you know who I am?” and you said no?
Yes, as a matter of fact, Shaquille O’Neal. Now to be honest, he wasn’t as famous at the time as he has become since, but he was well known locally. I was a homicide detective in Baton Rouge, Louisiana one Friday or Saturday night was driving on one of the public thoroughfares to go through LSU campus, when a small truck ran a stop sign in front of me on Highland Road, almost causing an accident. Even though I was I was in an unmarked car, I decided to pull it over to advise the driver to be more careful. Upon stopping the vehicle, the driver of the truck exited, and it took him a while to unfold himself out of it. He towered over me, but smiling, advised apologetically that he didn’t have his drivers He advised he did not have license on him, saying friendly enough, “but you know who I am” More statement than a question.
I decided to play ‘dumb’. “No, who are you?” I asked with a straight face. I was pretty sure it was Shaquille O’Neal, but I wanted him to tell me who he was. I honestly did not do not follow basketball, but everyone was talking about him (he was the star LSU basketball player at the time). I almost felt sorry for him As he looked a little Bit crestfallen that I apparently did not know who he was. He wasn’t asking for special favors or making demands, he innocently thought he was well known in town BY ALL due his Athletic prowess and notoriety. I smiled at him, and I said something to the effect that, ‘ I know who you are, but need your DOB and some proof. He found his insurance or registration with his name on it and I explained why I stopped him and told him to please be more careful. He was friendly and respectful during the entire encounter. I am very proud that he now works as a reserve law enforcement officer. He is much more than some guy who can play a game, he is obviously a still a class act.
Victoria Nuland: The making of a psychopath. Chapter 1,2 and 3.
Have you ever stood up to a bully? What happened?
Starting in the second grade, when my father lifted the absolute prohibition on fighting. He got tired of picking me up from the school nurse, or the hospital. Also tired of the wear and tear on my clothing.
The very next day, one of my usual tormentors hit me in the back of the head. The teacher just watched, as usual. So I picked up my desk and beat him unconscious. Took three blows.
I was sent to the office, of course. The principal said I was to be expelled. My father asked if the other boys who hit me had also been expelled. “well, no. They didn’t use a desk.”
“So, it’s okay for them to beat MY son bloody, as long as they don’t use the furniture? Is that it? Did you at least discipline the teacher who allowed this to go on?”
“Well, no. Boys will be boys…”
“Well, my boy is a boy, too. You have demonstrated that you will do nothing to prevent him from being beaten; so where’s the problem if he fights back?
Tell you what. I’m going to send the hospital bills and the bills for damaged clothes to my lawyer, and the school board. we’ll let them sort it out.”
And that was the last said of expelling me.
OMG funny
What would happen if the US decoupled from China?
The life in the US would become like this.
How can an employee get a manager fired?
In my experience its easier if you don’t try. Couple of years ago a manager denied me several requests for Training, told me i was a waist of time. Few years latter my ceo inquired as to why i never made use of the company training system. So i told him. I told him about being denied and the waist of time comment, and how i did not even look at training anymore because of it.
That manager was demoted that Christmas, quit instead, then sent his layer to take a chunk out of my 401. The company successfully convinced him not to. But later they restricted my max contribution to the retirement account because of the incident.
And it all happened because i applied for training on how to handle an upset customer.
Second time was during an ataboy reward. Essentially i had a panic attack when that same ceo came to congratulate me. He was fired because, by procedure, when an employee freaks out the manager is supposed to walk away. Instead this ceo stayed around and calmed me down. The project manager 5feet away wrote the ceo up, and by the end of the week that ceo was gone. Only thing needed to make it all happen was a traumatic event in college to give me ptsd. “May God welcome you to his heavenly splendor Jerry. You will be missed and thank you.”
To get a manager fired do the following. Call a lawyer, get the lawyer to file a freedom of information. Aquire the company’s secret employment laws document. This will be the stack of papers that say among other things
1. A thong is ok for women to ware but brief’s are not ok for men to use.
2. An employee may be terminated for possession of pornography when: they are found to poses/refuse to submit to search and with a witness, or have a prior termination for and no witness. Or a manager successfully implants the audio album “innocent victim” on the employees phone.
3. Work place competition is permitted under these criteria. Or exceeds the bounds of acceptance under these criteria…
4. The employee was found holding a blade, even if found working with food in the kitchen.
5. Employees are permitted to use incontinence products but are subject to termination if they discard used products in the bathroom garbage bin. And by extension are not allowed to have extra diapers on company grounds.
Be warned if you do obtain these secret documents, most fortune 500 companys will respond by amending a new criteria. Usually the new criteria is specialized to target YOU and some thing YOU do. In this way even after you learn how to CAN anyone, you will not be bulletproof. HR is not stupid, they will fit you with a remote explosive collar.
But coming back to the original question, use what you learn then file a report on your manager for anything he is doing that violates those secret rules.
The underwear criteria was really surprising to me, then i got investigated for it one day.
Please let us know if you actually get someone canned for their underwear.
Final comments. The right reason to terminate a manager is when there replacement is both better than the current person, and when its better for the company. Any situation where you are involved in a non consensual passing of the torch will result in repercussions. If your manager is doing something you don’t like, ask them how you are supposed to respond. You will be surprised.
U.S IN TROUBLE! China Finally DESTROY U.S Companies
What are some dark sides about law enforcement you have seen?
A man was stabbed, killed and thrown in a desolate pit.
The mother blamed victim’s brothers in law for this. Police arrested both of them but later cleared them off. No lead, no progress at all. Senior officers and Judge were not happy.
Four months passed.
Then a young and handsome officer got transferred in our police station. A few ongoing cases were given to him to investigate and complete, this blind murder incident was exclusively included as well.
I remember… It was his first day at work, he chose to handle this blind murder case first. I knew him personally because his elder brother is my friend, a constable as well. So this officer preferred using my room until he gets a suitable place to set up his desk and everything.
So… yea. First day at work. He summoned those two suspects (in laws) as he wished to question them. Those two individuals arrived in my office. There were four people in my room. Me, detective and those two.
He began throwing question at them and investigated. Questions after questions… and a bit of persuasion.
They confessed the murder in half an hour. I kid you not. They confessed the murder, showed the place where they hid the knives and explained the motive.
This young detective solved a murder case in 30 minutes on his first day.
Senior officers couldn’t praise him more. That previous detective was blown upon hearing this news. He was ordered to report to head quarters. A seasoned one. I am sure he was asked…
How the hell couldn’t you resolve this piece of cake investigation in four months. Did you intentionally spare the murderers.
I remember the sweat on his forehead when he returned. He was worried as this may lead to dismissal from service and then some, if proved that he favored the murderers in his reports.
And if that’s truth “he sold a murder” which is awful and atrocious.
Anyway…. it’s not my place to put verdict.
I don’t know if he did it or not.
What is rare is not common
Is China’s rise America’s fall?
I have written extensively on this subject, focusing for a moment on what is China doing and what is the US doing which are in opposite directions. If you go the wrong direction for long enough then you are in real trouble, which America is in right now.
CHINA’S RISE
Forget about all the state capitalism vs corporate capitalism, yes this is an underlying difference but results are results. Either you are in the game or you are not and the USA is not in the game, China is.
It is all about one thing, investment. You do not invest you get nothing. Here is Pudong in 1982 when I first arrived in China. NOTHING NADA ZERO development.
Then there is Pudong today, same photo but completely developed.
AMERICA’S FALL
Here is Detroit where I grew up in 1950:
Ostensibly the ‘richest’ city in the world the year I was born, 1950.
Here is Detroit a few years ago:
I chose a nice image, just the after effects of destruction.
It is all about investment. The USA does not invest in anything other than military. Nothing, nada. The Trump administration even litigated against universities who were trying to enroll more blacks and minorities in favor of Chinese and whites, but really Chinese as they were the highest test scorers so they get in and nothing for black, latinos or other US citizens. Incarceration rates and numbers at 2.3 million, drugs, lack of opportunity, do you get it? America is still going in the wrong direction and now we have the QAnon types running the Republican party so you can forget about them to help. Up to the Democrats who are ok but they are no world beaters when it comes to investment as they are govt types and don’t get the private sector.
And Trump? Mr Glitz was the exact opposite of investment, but if you do not invest you die and he invested nothing.
The USA will die and be hollowed out and China will dominate the world completely if the USA and Europe and even Australia, but especially the USA, does not clean up its act and invest.
Invest in their education, in vocational training, in tax incentives to invest to get companies back to Detroit and everywhere else.
I could go on, but this nonsense about China’s gain is the US loss is only because the USA put all of their money and effort and investment INTO CHINA AND NOT INTO THE USA FOR THE PAST 35 YEARS!
As Everett Dirksen, a great US Senator once said when asked about the budget, ‘a billion here a billion there, and before you know it, you are talking about real money’. How about a trillion here a trillion there and before you know it, you are broke like the USA is about to be!
I could easily make a case that every US company was headed up by traitors, strong word I get it, but I want to make a point. If all you want to do is make profits in the next quarter, you and your country and your family and your future WILL LOSE.
China is also investing internally not just FDI any longer.
Good on them, now can the rest of the world get off their bums and stop thinking that selling each other cups of coffee and beers is good enough? And that all of the fake hedge funds and other financial ‘products’ are garbage and are not benefiting Americans rather a small elite that now does their business in China as they make more money there.
Hope that puts a different focus on this debate and gets people to back off on China and to focus instead on their own countries and their own people and solve their own problems.
There is plenty of time to discuss this all with China but clean up your acts first.
What are a few bitter truths of life?
In my office, there is a 26 year old married guy. He is an attendant and not earning much for leading a decent life in a metro city. Although, I am much above in post than him, I treat him as my friend.
So, his wife was about to give birth in a day or two yet he was not taking leave from the office. He told me that it is very close and could be today or tomorrow.
Then on the next day at 4 PM, he rushed towards me saying that wife is in labor and was taken to the hospital. I got furious and told him why he didn’t take leave that day. I quickly calmed down realizing his situation and offered to drop him. But to amazment, he refused.
I was speechless. He said he has some urgent work and only after finishing that he will go.
Next day he called me and said that he was blessed with a baby boy but he also said by the time he reached his wife had already given birth.
I demanded he explain this nonsense.
In a soft voice he explained that he needed to finish his duty till 5.30 pm otherwise his one day pay would be deducted.
Bitter truths:
Money really is the most important thing because the lack of it is so painful.
Our parents sacrifice so much but still sometimes we end up ignoring them.
One cannot truly relate to the pain of others unless he is put in same position.
Without education, a person is really on a path of lifelong struggle.
The Sopranos – Dick Barone – the king of garbage and Tony Soprano’s boss!
What is the most satisfying passive-aggressive thing you have ever done to a really mean or rude person?
I was working the AT YOUR SERVICE counter at Macy’s during the holiday rush when a woman with husband in tow stepped in front of the customer I was waiting on, a quiet and endlessly patient young man, and demanded that I call her a manager and, almost as an afterthought, added that the person I summoned had better be white.
She said this loud enough for everyone in the cordoned line behind her to hear.
The young man I’d been waiting on was black, as was practically everyone else in line.
I leaned towards her and hissed —
You realize you’ve just given me license to tell you exactly what I think of you without the risk of getting fired…
But I’m not gonna do that.
What I AM going to do is tell you to go to the end of the line and wait for me to finish with all these other good people…and then I’ll call you a manager.
His name will be Akeem.
And he’s just gonna LOVE talkin’ to YOU.
She didn’t make it to the end of the line. Her long suffering husband literally dragged her out of the store.
And Akeem wasn’t actually my supervisor. He was responsible for the ground floor and I was mall level.
I lied about that part.
But he did enjoy the story when I told it to him later on.
Mother Goes Off On Woke School Board Over Graphic Books in Her Child’s Elementary School
What are some things that make you think “what a strange world we live in”?
There are many places that make this a very strange world. The Nazca Lines, crop circles, Easter Island, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, and so on. I thought I had read about them all, but this one was new to me.
The Band of Holes
In Pisco, Peru, stretching across the Cajamarquilla Plain are thousands of ancient holes that measure 6 feet (1.8 m) to 7 feet (2.1.m) deep and evenly spaced 3 feet (.9 m) apart. No one has any idea how these holes were formed. There are at least 5000 to 6000 depressions that run north and south for almost 2 miles. (3.2 k)
Who would dig all these holes? Why? How were they created? I’m imagining some poor sunburned guy with a spade saying, “Okay, 600 more to go then I’m stopping.”
It actually looks like some giant machine was travelling along this path. Was it a mining operation? What were these holes for?
Initially discovered by pilot Robert Shippee who took an aerial photo of them and published them in National Geographic, they are indeed strange. They date to around the 15th. century, they believe.
Truthfully, although there are many guesses, no one really knows who or what dug these holes and why.
Peru is a very strange place that’s for sure. Just read about Saqsaywaman, 12 Angled Stone, and Machu Picchu. Who built these places and how? Modern man would have a hell of a time reconstructing them. They might not be able to. I think we have forgotten the ways to do these stupendous feats. The ancients apparently knew them. We are now just learning, or relearning about moving rock through sound and wavelengths.
More experiments with text to picture
Here’s some examples from others that I thought were well done…
What if the USA attacked China?
I find it remarkable that so many people think that the USA would overwhelm China in a war, the country that wrote the book on military strategy and how to defeat larger, more powerful opponents.
The US could not even win in Korea or Vietnam, what makes you think they would prevail against the much larger and powerful China?
First of all, the US would likely only defeat China in a conventional war assuming that China fought back using similar conventional means. Unlikely.
You have certainly seen all the news reports about Chinese hacking by their military? These sorts of things are warnings. They are warnings to the US that if you come after us we know where your vulnerabilities are. And so do the Russians. And any attack on the Chinese would also likely bring about a quick military alliance with the Russians as well.
A ground war against China (not to mention ANY war against China) would be the height of idiocy. China has 6X the number of people, compared to the US, who could be called into military service fairly quickly. And China is a HUGE country with lots of very difficult terrain to cover.
And given all the bullying and warfare that the US has engaged in since this new century began, do you really think that the Chinese, and Russian military, have not been actively preparing for the potential of such a scenario?
The US military can overwhelm most countries because they are much smaller and weaker. But taking on someone even close to our own size would expose weaknesses and vulnerabilities, both in the military and the US government, that neither wants the American people to know about or experience.
If the US wants to get itself into the biggest military quagmire in history, and destroy its economy, then yeah go ahead and try and go to war with China.
Guy Mocks Leftists Worldview With Funniest Testimony You’ll Hear Today
Can the U.S defeat China in a day? It seems that is the worldwide consensus. If such is the case, then shouldn’t China thread lightly when it comes to the U.S? I’m starting to really think China doesn’t stand a chance against the U.S and her allies.
It took the USA four presidents, 2 trillion dollars and 20 years of war in Afghanistan to replace the Taliban with the Taliban.
And you think that the US can defeat China in a day. Do you mean, like, in a basketball game or something? Hahahaaa …
What are some reasons you have left a restaurant before ordering?
I went into a truck-stop restaurant one night (though not the only time this happened) and was seated by the hostess, who cheerfully brought me the coffee and water she offered. And that was the last time ANYONE came to my table.
I watched other drivers/customers, all male, come in, get served, and finish and leave, and I couldn’t get anyone’s attention even by standing up and waving, or calling out to them as they passed by my table.
Note: I was alone, female, 50ish, and dressed decently (not provocatively) and clean. And hungry.
I finally gave up, and went to the cashier to pay for my coffee, and asked to speak to the manager. (It was the hostess who was acting as cashier). She asked, with concern, if there was a problem, and if there’d been anything wrong with the food. I said I wouldn’t know, since I never had the opportunity to order any. She got the manager, who said he was so sorry for the “misunderstanding”, and he’d be happy to take my order right then. I declined, saying that I had run out of time, and that I’d have to make do with a can of tuna or something I had in my truck for emergencies, but that it might be a good idea to speak to his waitstaff about the concept of customer service. And I added that I wouldn’t be stopping again there to eat anytime soon, as I didn’t have time in my life for that kind of treatment. I didn’t shout, or raise my voice, but I did want to make my displeasure known and understood.
On my way out, I left a tip with the hostess, who’d been cheerful and professional in her dealing with me, and told her that that tip was for her alone, and not to be shared, or “tipped out” with any servers. She already knew why, and thanked me.
Oh, and the coffee was comped.
What was your most horrible wedding experience as a guest?
Ha, not horrible just really rather bizarre! My husbands cousin was getting married. He turned out to be a horrible person but thats another story. At the wedding we are sat at the cousins table along with a mutual cousin who is/was a well known pop star. He was absolutely lovely, I was sat next to him and obviously the pop star has been left at home for the day. During the speech the brides father announced he was here and made him get up for a round of applause. Honestly he looked like he wanted to die on the spot. The brides father then spent the next 10 minutes talking about the pop star cousin and forgetting the bride and groom.
On another note 2 aunties had basically taken over the ladies loo where they could have a full blown row. You went in and they were just stood there, daggers drawn in silence. As you left you could hear them start again.
Overall it was a wedding to remember for all the wrong reasons and the bride and groom lasted about 10 years.
Niger DESTROYS Victoria Nuland’s Plot to Return Africa to France w/ Ben Norton
What office rule made you say “You gotta be kidding me”?
One place I worked still expected everyone to wear formal business attire even if they never met any clients. Amazingly, they issued an email that announced a trial run of “dress down Friday”. No guidance was given it was just dress down. This experiment was to run for a month.
After the second Friday we received another email cancelling all future dress down Fridays as some people had taken things too far. After a bit of discussion about what could have caused such a reaction, it is eventually revealed that some people wore jeans! Not scruffy jeans, jeans with holes in, slung too low, cut offs, just jeans.
Are people in China encouraged not to purchase American goods?
Many of my colleagues have moved away from iPhones. But it has nearly nothing to do with the brand beating a US brand.
An iPhone used to be a prestige item. A status symbol. But over the last 2 years so many people in China own one that it is no longer a status symbol. Factory workers, office workers etc. So what is so special about an iPhone that makes someone want to spend twice as much for it. They can buy another brand of phone that does what an iPhone does, make a phone call? Yup Take selfies? Yup. Use We Chat? Yup. Surf the net? Yup.
So that is the problem is Apple was too successful selling so many phones in China that there is no prestige that is worth paying an extra $500 for it.
And keep in mind that when someone in China is buying a phone they are paying for it all up front. So it is an extra $500 out of pocket. It is not like in the US where you pay for the phone monthly as part of your phone plan. So it is a painless extra $10 a month to buy an iPhone. So a Chinese person really thinks about the value they are getting when they hand over their money.
Of course now the little extra push to go with a Chinese brand is the trade war. But as far as I can see no one is telling them or asking them to not buy American.
Personally I think if the government ever did ask that US companies would sell very very very little here. Be thankful the Chinese government is showing restraint.
Is the quote “You cannot invade mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.” attributed to General Isoroku Yamamoto based on a true story?
Admiral Yamamoto, not General. No, it is almost certainly bogus as there is no known citation for this supposed quote. The words have sometimes been attributed to the Gordon Prange, a historian on the staff of Douglas MacArthur, but it is found nowhere in his writings either. The quote should be regarded as bogus until someone can cite when and where it originated.
Nor did Admiral Yamamoto ever say:
I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.
That quote appears to be derived from the 1970 film Tora! Tora!, Tora! (great film). What he did say was:
A military man can scarcely pride himself on having smitten a sleeping enemy.
This is a reference regarding his disappointment over the bungled Japanese declaration of war which wasn’t delivered until a few hours after the attack on Pearl Harbour.
Cast-Iron Skillet Pizza
I would name this “Caprese Pizza.” It’s heavenly!
Prep: 10 min | Cook: 20 min | Yield: 2 (9 to 10 inch) pizzas
2 tablespoons Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup shredded fresh basil
Instructions
Heat well-oiled cast-iron or nonstick 10 or 12 inch frying pan over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Divide dough in half; roll one half into round 1 inch smaller than diameter of pan.
Cook dough in hot pan until dough begins to rise and bottom starts to brown. Using metal spatula, turn carefully. Layer half the tomato slices over dough; scatter half the mozzarella over top. Lower heat to medium-low; cook until mozzarella melts.
Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board. Sprinkle with salt; drizzle with half the olive oil.
Cut into wedges; sprinkle half the basil over top.
Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Why did my top performing employee quit after write up?
Imagine it from the top performer’s point of view.
They might be getting offers from other companies they don’t discuss with you.
If they’re performing better than everyone else and don’t perceive themselves as having erred (at least not enough for a write up) they’re left searching for reasons you may have written them up. It’s inevitable that they will arrive at political or financial motives.
Typically having a write up interferes with career advancement, raises, and bonuses.
Perhaps they thought you were trying to put them back on their heels to make them more controllable. Top performers don’t need to be controlled. Maybe the very act of writing them up was a final straw in proving the incompetence of your leadership to them.
If their work created opportunities or revenues perhaps they saw a write up as a way of denying or usurping those. Top salespeople get this all the time. It’s a typical ruse for an unscrupulous leadership team to mess with a salesperson’s compensation or territory when they confront how much money they may pay in commissions to one person. When they think they can close the book of business themselves these asshats will do things to marginalize or force out the salesperson to capture more revenue and take credit for the sale “in spite of” the salesperson’s supposed shortcomings.
If the company is already having some problems this kind of thing is a death knell. It’s like the drunk, losing poker player trying to scare a guy with a stack of chips into folding by going all-in with an obvious bluff. The experienced people see that and think, “Well, that’s the end of that.”
This type of thing is doubly bad because it simultaneously signals bad faith and incompetence. It inspires disgust and righteous anger in people who work diligently and honestly.
In general, the more honest and competent a person is, the more attuned they are to the dishonesty and incompetence of others. Since they are typically getting things done at a faster pace they end up encountering things that interfere with getting things done more often. They encounter and avoid the temptation to take dishonest shortcuts and are pressured to do so by their managers more often.
This whole time other companies are sending messages about the greener grass across the street.
Does any of this feel like it applies to you?
The Delta Hot Index: Compare your Mate Value at a Glance
What new policy did a new boss try to implement that made you say “You gotta be kidding me”?
Many years ago I worked at a Clinical Trials company. In the space of 18 months, two of the female staff had needed extended sick leave. I don’t know the exact nature of the illness these women had. I worked more closely with one of the women so, I know that she had a miscarriage and possibly depression afterward. I believe the other women had some long-standing health problems that resulted in a hysterectomy.
One of the Managing Directors sent a fairly rambling memo about the inconvenience, to the company, of key staff being absent for long periods. He was proposing to take a gynaecological history of female staff in order to assess their ‘availabilty’ for certain roles in the company. Apparently, women’s plumbing is a bit different and inconveniently complex …. (In fairness, I should point out that he was a consultant gynaecologist).
As a Staff Representative, I was asked to forward a unanimous response on behalf of the female staff. The response was just two words and you know which two words.
He received his reply within an hour of sending his memo and the subject was never mentioned again.
OMG. This takes me back. We used to jam to this non-stop. First time I have listened to the full album in about fifty years. No shit!
Are Taiwanese oligarchs worried about chip breakthrough in mainland China that will affect their margin?
Not really
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Dragon Chipset costs around $ 450 and of that Qualcomm pockets $ 225 as Chip Designer while TSMC gets around $ 175 for Fabrication and the Packaging and Testing costs $ 50
A Huawei Kirin 9000s costs around $ 370 today of which Huawei pockets $ 100 as Chip Designer, the Foundry SMIC gets around $ 300 , the Packaging and Testing costs $ 20 and the Chinese Government subsidizes $ 50 a Chip
So as you can see TSMC pockets $ 175 for each Chip and has a margin of close to 40% as profit
SMIC pockets $ 300 for each Chip and has a margin of 7% as profit
Thus TSMC is paying almost $ 105 for manufacturing a 7 nm Chip while SMIC is paying a whopping $ 279 for manufacturing a 7 nm Chip with a 96% Yield
So TSMC is in a very advantageous position in terms of Chip manufacturing
It costs SMIC almost three times more to manufacture a 7 nm chip than TSMC at 96% Yield
The key is HUAWEI
You notice Huawei pockets only 24% of the Cost of the Chip whereas Apple and Qualcomm and Intel they pocket 50% of the Cost of the Chip
Likewise the Testing and Packaging and Finishing in China is 40% of what they charge in Taiwan
So the final Chipset is almost $ 50 Cheaper on the Mainland
So if you look at TSMC vs SMIC
SMIC is manufacturing a chip which is 96% in Yield of the same manufactured by TSMC at 3 times the cost and 20% of the Profit earned by TSMC (Not including the Subsidy)
If you look at the Kirin 9000s vs Snapdragon 888
The Kirin costs $ 50 Less than the Snapdragon and at virtually almost same quality
This translates to at least $ 117 on the final retail price of any phone using the Chipset
That’s 700 RMB cheaper at the lowest
Thats where China dominates
Ultimately the Brand mode of profiteering is why the West can never ultimately win against China in a fully competitive market
What was the most boneheaded mistake you saw someone make while in the military?
This was more than boneheaded!!!!!!!!!! This photo is of me as a MP about to go out on a jeep patrol in Danang Vietnam in 1970.
When we changed the watch, the watch before us gave us their 45 caliber pistol. They were supposed to remove the magazine, jack the weapon back and then shoot down at some sand or earth area to make sure no round was in it. The guy I had on one watch switch, took his weapon out did not take the magazine out, jacked it back (which loaded the chamber) and then shot it down about 2 inches from my toes. We were both on a concrete walkway going into our police office. What saved my life most likely was a rubber mat about 15 feet long on the sidewalk. The round went through the rubber mat and when it ricocheted on the concrete, the bullet slid about 12 feet under the mat between my legs behind me instead of going up into me. What followed was a huge flurry of of expletives to him from myself and the men around me. I could have died from friendly fire!
What will happen if America invades China?
This shall not happen.
Last time when the States invaded North Korea, 54246 American soldiers lost their lives, and we lost more. I believe that a wise POTUS would never decide to invade China by risking half of the army in far east.
If this shall happen, er…
Per the requirements of Chinese laws, I shall be recruited, and given a rank around caption.
I may be assigned to work in a camp, interrogating captured US soldiers (see I can speak English quite well, and I am somewhat familar with psychology, politics, history and western culture).
I am also a chemist graduating from a top university. I can also serve as a chemistry engineer in factories, producing gunpowder, medicine, and other necessary materials for the war.
If the war does not go on well, I may be sent to the front, holding a handgun, leading dozens of soldiers, and I may die there. If I die bravely in a battle, I shall be recognized as “revolutionary martyr” and beried in a “martyrs cemetery”. I may have no son or daughter, but all Chinese children living in the new peace world shall dance and sing on the land that I have bled for.
Both China and the States have well educated, brave and patriotic citizens. It would be a disaster for the people of both countries, even the whole world, to initiate a war between the two countries.
Lives shall be lost, cities shall be burned and children shall starve.
If we use our muscle suitably instead, we can make this world better.
What happened to you in China which made you think completely differently about the country and society?
Before going to China, I used to hear a lot from my Mainland Chinese friends in Australia how the Chinese are so selfish and cunning. They told me to be careful when buying something because I could get cheated, that the Chinese won’t do me any favor when I ask for one and if I ask somebody the direction they might point into a wrong direction. I heard the Shaghainese are arrogant, the Henanese are very bad, the Hubei-ese are cheaters, the North-Easterners are rough and so on so forth. Of course, they warned me on good will, and I thanked them for that.
Yet, when I was actually in China, I found that virtually all what they told me are wrong. I’ve never met any arrogant Shanghainese, Hubei-ese cheater, bad Henanese or rough North-Easterner (though many North-Easterners do talk loudly). When I had no umbrella on a rainy day, someone gave me an umbrella; when I took a bus but had no coin, someone gave me coins and when I forgot my belonging in a restaurant, someone told me that. Of course, there must be bad people in China as well, but not as many as I imagined before going there based on what those Chinese friends warned me.
EELF Collection
This is… well… not what you would think. I ran across this, and it’s… well… you just have to watch it.
Different places have different societies, and different cultures. I could probably write a book on this, as there are joys and pains with this kind of experience. But I will specify one such experience… working for “the BOSS” while I was building a hospital in Pago pago, American Samoa.
Honestly, this guy was sort of like a Samoan version of Tony Soprano. He held bi-monthly dinners, and all that, and there was no question that he was the big boss, and everyone else had to follow and obey him to the letter. He was insulting, harsh, brutish and rude. he was a “Bluto” incarnate.
It was socking. But with one pay out every two weeks, it was hard not to take it. So I did. Ouch! It was so painful. I mean, when I was in the Navy, I had a Marine drill instructor, but this guy was on another level. Wholly Shit!
Anyways, do not think that everyone in the world is the same. We tend to mix up biology and genetics with culture and societal norms. It’s a certain American trait, but Brits seem to be prone to it as well.
Be careful out there. You all.
Today…
If you are homeless, why wont you just get a job?
I was employed when I became homeless, working in a WFH situation thanks to covid, one little problem arose though, I was on a month to month lease when the owner decided to list the property for sale, this gave me 6 weeks to look for a new rental.
I quickly realised that the $500 a week rent i was paying for a nice 2 bedroom house with a backyard, was grossly below market value. I applied for over 100 houses between $450–750 per week, and not one of them was successful.
2 weeks till I was to be kicked out, I purchased a van, did a basic fitout in it, sold 75% of my stuff and moved into the van on the last day of my lease. I spent the next month applying for houses, but eventually gave up. I maintained my WFH job, working in the van and moving around every few days.
I eventually left the job as I started finding work around the state. The pay was good, but I stayed in the van for just over 2 years, meeting my best friend Storm in the first 6 months. 2 years later, I had saved up enough and had a regular enough income stream to allow me to buy a small block of land. It doesnt have building permits, but I have parked a tiny house on it, and it suits us perfectly now
Cheese Tortellini Crock Pot Dinner
A creamy, cheesy crock pot dinner recipe featuring cream cheese, cheese tortellini and spinach.
Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 large bag cheese tortellini
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bunch fresh spinach, stems removed, or 1 bag frozen spinach
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 container vegetable or chicken broth
4 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Place block of cream cheese in the slow cooker.
Pour the bag of tortellini over the cream cheese.
Pour the can of diced tomatoes over all.
Add the spinach to the top.
Sprinkle garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and Italian seasoning over the top.
Pour the chicken broth into the slow cooker.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top.
Cover the slow cooker, and cook on HIGH for about 2 1/2 hours.
Stir well and serve.
Internal conflicts
Did you ever end up benefiting, in some way, from a crime that you were the victim of?
A few years ago I had a garage full of assorted nonsense, as garages tend to be. Among the nonsense was a television and a microwave oven, both of which were taken when thieves cut the lock on the door. This was late 1990’s, when replacing a 21 inch TV could cost $400, and a microwave about $150.
Fortunately for me, neither appliance was functional. So far the net benefit is zero. But in that area, you couldn’t just drop a broken TV in the garbage can. Electronics of any type were considered “hazardous waste” presumably because of lead in the solder on the circuit boards. Did I mention this was in California? Yeah, they’re all kinda goofy about lead. Anyway, the city’s policy on such items was that if you had “hazardous waste” you had to take it yourself to the hazardous waste dump, and pay a fee to dispose of it. The fee depended on the weight, and this was a 1990’s TV, probably weighing about 50+ lbs (20+ kg).
So, when the thieves broke in, they saved me not only a trip to the dump, but also the fee I would have had to pay.
They did steal some other things, which I wasn’t happy about, but at least they relieved me of the burden of a couple of gigantic paperweights.
What is the best thing that has ever happened to you for being nice?
I have a friend whose husband committed suicide. She lives 350km away from me, so I couldn’t often see her, but she phoned me for an hour or two every morning.
Sometimes she just cried. Sometimes she talked about her life, husband, children, the event, the events leading up to his death.
I didn’t know what to do. I was very busy and I really didn’t have time. But she was my friend, she was in pain, and she needed someone to listen to her.
That’s all I did, nothing great, nothing fantastic. I didn’t try to advise her, certainly didn’t tell her she would get better.
She had an overwhelming feeling of guilt. However, her husband had given no warning that he was about to kill himself, but was on anti-psychotic medicine. So the only thing I ever said, really, was “it’s not your fault. Nothing you could have done would have stopped this” . I said that over and over again.
After many, many months of this, there were fewer phone calls. I called her to see how she was. She wasn’t always ok, and still blamed herself.
Two or three years later, she told me I’d saved her life. I was amazed, I’d done nothing special. How? “You listened”. Apparently she’d been pretty close to suicide herself.
Now she’s OK, happy with her life and her grandchildren. That was the nicest thing that could have happened to me.
The reason I’m posting this is that sometimes all people need is for someone to listen to them, to care. They don’t need advice, and to be told it will get better. That doesn’t help.
Listen, without being judgemental. Our reward is when it helps them.
Election rallies USA 2024
LOL
Hong Kong passed a new security law. What’s the significance?
Nothing really.
If you’re a normal person, who has a job and home… essentially nothing changes. It’s nearly April and I need to pay my salaries tax from my part time day job… I also need to pay my other taxes. This means I will have to endure waiting in a bank queue as there are ATM limits that are lower than my tax bill 🙁 . If you’re a grifter who took CIA money then you’re in trouble.
Joshua Wong literally had $400,000 which he tried to deposit into a HSBC (UK bank) account, he was denied as he refused to divulge the source of the funding. Under UK SOCPA that would have been seized as suspicious.
NSL law? It had pretty much zero effect on normal people in Hong Kong, for regular people nothing has changed even the real name ID phone registration was actually an anti phone scam measure NOT a result of NSL law. What was seen was lots of advertising about it… that’s the extent of it. I’ve never been stopped under NSL law. Nobody I know has been stopped. You go into a pub and likely nobody’s been arrested over it.
I have however been arrested over non appearance in court for a cycling offence. The police officer was WTF this is pointless. This is because my village has postal problems due to very similar addressed. I was fined $200HKD.
OTOH in the UK?
Under UK anti terrorism laws, a LOT of people were stopped under S44 of the anti terrorism laws. It was used for everything. As such you go into a pub and several people have been stopped over it.
UK SOCPA, yet again pub test, lots of people have been subjected to it. There are tons of stories of £2000 to buy a car or just sold a car and it was deemed as suspicious.
Westerners see how their own regimes and corrupt police forces abuse laws and think it must be so much worse in China/Hong Kong!
I mean fuck we don’t even have ANPR in HK. People park everywhere and anywhere and police shrug. Two days ago some fuck parked lengthways across a zebra crossing and the police biker who was at the scene was waddayawant me to do about it?
Commercial Thompson’s were made to look sexy. They were expensive to make, nicely finished and had flashy accessories like removable stocks, compensators and audacious drum magazines.
You can see all of the weapon’s unique features here in this picture. Note the vertical fore grip, the finned barrel, Cutt’s Compensator, the slots cut into the receiver so a drum magazine may be inserted and the charging handle on top of the receiver. A lot of precise machining went into these weapons and many skilled men were employed to produce them.
The most unique feature of the Thompson submachine gun was its action. Based on The Blish System, it included a part, known as “The H Piece” which held the bolt closed until the bullet cleared the barrel, then allowed the action to chamber another round. The weapons’s designer, General John T. Thompson, declared the H piece to be integral to the gun’s design and function. It demanded to be machined and inserted at a precise angle and there was no alternative to its use. The H Piece is the brass “H” shaped piece of metal in the picture below.
Basically, the commercial Thompson was a complicated gun that required skilled machinists to create and was costly as a result.
The world was heating up though and isolationist America began to gear up for a potential war and they needed guns.
The US Army already knew about the Thompson and employed them in small numbers. But now they needed lots of them as quickly as possible. In order to meet demand, changes were made to the design so contractors could turn them out quickly. The new weapon was designated M1 Thompson in 1940 and was being made by Colt, Auto Ordinance and Savage Arms.
As you can see, the vertical fore grip was replaced by a horizontal one, but the other features are still in place, most notably the charging handle on top of the receive, meaning it still employs the Blish Locking System and the H piece. It did get sling swivels and a phosphate finish, but otherwise it is the same as the commercial model Thompson. It was expensive and time consuming to make.
In 1941, everything changed. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and US troops were headed to the pacific to fight. A simpler, easier to produce submachine gun was needed, so all of the Thompson’s fancy features went to the chopping block.
This Thompson, designated the M1A1, is the one most GIs were familiar with. No compensator, a horizontal fore grip, phosphate finish, no slots for a drum magazine and the charging handle was moved to the side of the receiver. It was now a pure blow back submachine gun. The Blish lock and H piece, deemed necessary by the designer, were gone. The weapon was still fairly costly to produce but it could be made more rapidly and was ultra reliable in combat.
What is the saddest thing that happened to you that you never shared with others before?
Well. My father always wanted a son. When my mother got pregnant, he explicitly told her that he is a well reputed man and that he can not have a daughter and if it’s a daughter, it’ll be because of my mother. (Scientifically this makes no sense but in my culture, giving birth to a daughter is a matter of shame.) As fate had it, it was a daughter. Me, my father looked at me and went home. Leaving my mother all alone. Even my grandparents left. My mother alone managed everything and the day she were to discharge, my father called and told her that if she wants to come back home, she should leave me at an orphanage first. And that I was not his daughter. He said he told his friends and family that you had a miscarriage. Well my mother didn’t listen to him and somehow managed to raise me but it is extremely saddening how my father rejected his blood just because it was a girl. And it saddens me how because of me, my mother’s divorce happened. I can never thank my mother enough for choosing me over a comforting life.
Edit: Thank you all for your love and support. My mother has done all sorts of odd jobs to support me. But back in 2013, my mother got diagnosed with cancer. I was in the third year of my university and when I got to know, I was devastated. I didn’t want to lose my mother, who had spent all her life working for my education and well-being. There were days when my mother could either afford my milk or her food and she always got milk and slept hungry herself. And I just didn’t want her to leave this world without seeing me successful. I wanted to take care of her like she took care of me. So I decided I will do anything and get money for her treatment. (It was stage 2) I applied for a lot of loans, aid, even begged on the street but to no avail. With no option left, I contacted my father. He is pretty rich. Went to his office, begged in front of him, cried my heart out and all he said was that he is not my father and my mother has lied to me. I persisted but he called security. That day I felt ashamed of myself for being the blood of such a man. Luckily, my friend in college contacted me and promised to help out. His parents paid all the expenses and my mother recovered only last year. That man is now my husband. Now I have a good job and I save to return my father in law’s money. Even though he says there is no need but my mother never borrowed money to feed me and I want to take care of my mother solely.
Edit 2: This answer is getting long but I just want to add that me and my mother have gone through all sorts of circumstances. And I know people around the globe go through the same. There was a time when I came home and told my mother I want to die. I told her this world is unfair and there is no point in living when I can die. I told her I am no rich girl nor do I have anything to offer to this world, so my life doesn’t really matter; dead or alive. At that point she said you have two options, either you kill yourself and put me in more pain or you outlive your circumstances and prove your worth to your dad and men like him. And well I am glad I lived. My success though has only been possible because of my husband. As my mother says,”He is the reward of our patience and my prayers because the day I married your father, I prayed to God that I accept this man as my fate but if I have a daughter, let her husband be none like her father.”
Thank you for your love and prayers. And if you are going through a tough time, always remember the best thing about time is that it changes. Just be honest to your present and the future will bring reward. Good luck living life!
Why Kids Don’t Go Outside Anymore
What are some unwritten social rules everyone should know?
If someone shows you a photo on their phone, don’t swipe left or right.
If someone tells you, “It’s getting late,” when you’re over at their place, it’s time for you to go.
Walk as if you are “driving” and don’t stand still right at the entrance or exit of a door. Let people pass.
If you invite a friend to a party where they barely know anyone, don’t leave them hanging.
Don’t criticize someone’s smile or laugh.
Don’t stand too close when talking to people or talk “in their face.”
If you have never seen or tried what they like, don’t diss someone’s taste.
Don’t ask why the person isn’t married/doesn’t have children. Never.
When someone starts talking about their problems, don’t start talking about yours.
Don’t ask for somebody else’s opinion and get mad when they tell it to you.
If you start to smell yourself, other people have been smelling you for 3 days.
If someone can’t fix an aspect of their appearance in 5 minutes or less, don’t mention it.
Don’t microwave fish in the break room at work.
Don’t take pictures of kids that aren’t yours.
When you enter an elevator, face the door.
Don’t ever snap your fingers to get a bill from a server at a restaurant.
When your friend’s crush is around, don’t try to be the funniest in the group.
Assume nothing. Believe nobody. Check everything.
Really Dumb Americans
Why did my top performing employee quit after write up?
I quit 8 months after a bad performance review. It was the first of my working career, I was single with no family nearby or other safety net, and I had asked repeatedly for some assistance.
After the review, my boss came to my office and asked me what I was going to do. I said “find another job within the next 6 months”. Shocked her but I outlined explained my rationale. They didn’t understand my job and the amount of work it required. As a trainer, I had excellent evaluations. I never turned down an assignment and traveled throughout 6 LARGE states. And the past was not that great.
I found another job and left after 8 months but was agreed to fulfill 2 or 3 training sessions after the other job started so the company wasn’t left high and dry.
So, I left because I felt my job was threatened and was worried about my financial future, plain and simple.
According to BBC, critics worry that TikTok, owned by ByteDance based in Beijing, could be used by the Chinese government for spying. What do you think of it?
Here’s the thing, and if it were true. What exactly is the PRC government going to do with this data? Go on what are they gonna do, steal your bodily fluids?
The PRC doesn’t even kill dissidents. Ai Weiwei moved away and is still very much alive.
It’s not the PRC who is trying to take away your guns is it?
Flirt Flop
Is it ever possible for someone to feel that they are paid too much?
Gosh, yes. I’m usually able to suppress that feeling, but I’ll tell the story about the time that even I couldn’t.
I was representing a client in an estate dispute against a relative. The defendant was a borderline personality and there were strong reasons to believe the representation would be lengthy, costly, require extensive expert testimony, and be very nasty. Plus the client had limited resources.
We negotiated a fee agreement which gave me a percentage of the ultimate recovery that we both thought was fair.
As a precursor to the lawsuit, I sent a demand letter setting forth the basis of the potential case. Pure formality and I knew it would be a waste of time, but I wanted to be able to show that we had gone through all the motions.
To my utter astonishment, the defendant caved. Completely. Within two weeks, my client had a thorough accounting and a very large transfer of property to her. I had done very little real hourly work.
And according to the fee agreement, I was entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I was very distressed about this aspect and after considerable hand-wringing and thought, and consultation with colleagues, I simply picked up the phone, called my client, told her what had happened, and said, “Here’s how much you supposedly owe me under our agreement. It’s too much. I haven’t been able to figure an analytical way to reach the right number. I’m going to propose $X. That’s a quarter of the fee agreement amount. It’s still probably too much, but I can live with asking for that.”
My client was silent, then chuckled and said, “I accept your proposal. Plus, you’ve given me a lawyer story that no one will believe. Thank you.”
Afternote: that client became a dear friend and referred other business to me. I didn’t know it at the time, but my fee reduction proved to be an excellent marketing move.
What solution could work to stop the South China Sea conflict?
The U.S. must stop all trouble making and war mongering via the NED and CIA immediately and comprehensively. As the nuclear clock is ticking ever closer to mid night!
At some point China will react and that will start an escalation into a 3WW situation that nobody wins no matter how proud the Caucasians are about the U.S. power. It is easy to bribed poor Filipino fishermen to do shit at 10 grand a pop rushing their lives but the end won’t justifies the means at all! Stop before it is too late. Ukraine is a perfect example.
Perhaps the US thought it is now or never but the truth is never is the answer, the U.S. simply has too much to lose!
Double Standards
What’s the most disturbing thing anyone has ever told you casually?
Three years ago I met up with an old girlfriend from college to catch up, have food, talk about the old days and the old gang.
At one point she casually said, “Oh yeah, xxxx is in Sousa-Baranowski”. That’s the max security prison in Massachusetts, for hardcore criminals. I couldn’t believe my ears, “What?” I said, blinking and almost dropping my latte.
This guy had been a leader of “our gang” in college, the one who always had something crazy for us to do. He was the guy who taught me how to hang glide; who first got me high on pot, who got me laid introducing me to all manner of girls. He was the most laid back, casual dude you ever met, tall and gangly and always in a black motorcycle jacket because his only vehicle was that motorcycle.
“What the hell happened?” I asked incredulously.
“He stabbed a woman in the belly in his kitchen 8 times then threw her through a window. He had a standoff with the cops.”
“What… the… fuck…?”
You have to understand. We are all old now. I’m 63. He’s 67, a big time scientist, very wealthy, respected in his field, working for a major, well known pharma company. How would something like this happen? Somehow he had gotten into a fight with his wife over his “counseling” a local (female) drug addict and the wife left in a huff and he had the addict over his house. No one knows what happened next except the results. He’s in big boy prison for 8 years now. He will be old, old when he gets out, broke, divorced, homeless, jobless. He’s lost everything he worked for his entire life and no one knows why.
What are the implications of 5.5g, that China has just rolled out technologically and geopolitically in the next 5 years?
What 5.5G technology does to geopolitics I don’t know.
But after I 5.5G technology is deployed in China, my phone downloads a film really fucking fast~! 🤣
Shhh~ In the blink of an eye, the download is complete.
Using this technology, China’s top doctors can operate on patients 3,000 kilometres away in off-site locations by remotely manipulating a robotic arm, with no lag or delay in the signal.
China Is Doing Something CRAZY at the US Mexico Border!
Have you ever accidentally texted the wrong person? What did you say?
I meant to text my husband that I wanted a pet anaconda for my birthday. I had found a website that sold baby anacondas and you could buy one for $499. If you paid $49, you could get it shipped overnight.
As outrageous as it sounds, I was genuinely interested in owning an anaconda. So I texted him the link to the website while I was at work (during lunch hour) and wrote “Honey I want pet anaconda for birthday.”
My husband is usually the first person in my messages inbox because I rarely text anyone else. However, that day I had texted one of our company’s directors since there was an urgent matter that needed his attention and he hadn’t responded to my email – and so that was the conversation at the top of my inbox.
I blindly sent both texts to the director in quick succession – the text with the anaconda website and the “honey I want pet anaconda” message.
I didn’t get a response – but 5 minutes later he swung by my desk and told me how buying reptiles is a bad idea and when it grows large enough, the anaconda would swallow me.
I looked at him with wide eyes and I was like, “How do YOU know I was considering buying a reptile?”
He showed me his phone and the texts from me…..and in my mind was like “WTF did I just do.”
We laughed about it and it was all cool but it was a little embarrassing.
Note: We ended up not buying the baby anaconda. We decided it was a ridiculous idea. Well, my husband decided that and convinced me. 🙂
What is the most satisfying passive-aggressive thing you have ever done to a really mean or rude person?
I hijacked my roommate’s internet connection.
Back when I was in college there wasn’t really any broadband. We used 56.6k dial up connections to access the internet. Now my roommate Cruchkov would monopolize that damned connection for hours on end. We only had the one phone for four of us and we would pick it up any time of the day or night and hear bleeep blop beeboo beeboo. All the time. It got to the point where we couldn’t even order a pizza. “Hey Dave you want pepperoni?” “Sure Corey” “Okay I’ll ca… bleeep blop beeboo beeboo.” “DAMNIT CHRUCHKOV”. We would bang on his door but he would either not hear us or pretend not to hear us.
So I hatched a plan.
I waited until he left for work one day. Then, armed with some s%^t I bought at Radio Shack back when they sold stuff that wasn’t cell phones, I walked into his room. I unscrewed his phone jack and connected a 5v relay to the line. COM/NO went to the phone, the coil went to the other two (unused) wires. Then I buried the whole thing back in the wall and made it look good as new. I hid a 9v battery inside the kitchen phone and connected it to the ringer switch and my secret wires.
Chruchkov comes home that evening, slams the door. Thirty seconds later it’s bleeep blop beeboo beeboo. “Hey Dave, you want pizza?” “But Chruchkov is on the…” “I got this, man.” I flip my switch, his phone turns off. But only his phone. The sound of him kicking and cursing at his computer remains one of the most passive aggressively satisfying moments of my life.
What are the consequences of being too good at your job? Can you get fired for it?
Yes, I did. I went to work for a company in accounts receivable. In other words followed up with customers who bought the service and products of the business And yes I was better than very good at it. Their books were a remarkable mess. The printout of “delinquent” accounts amounted to several hundred pages. I dived in. After a few months the owners got the opportunity to take over a franchise doing what they did in a different group of counties. They carpe’d the diem. As the franchiser had to take the business back their accounts were in horrible shape. After about two years I got everything lined out, quit sending repairmen to nonpaying customers, got the giving of “product” that should be sold to customers stopped. About three months before I finally had everything straightened out the owner hired someone to ostensibly “assist” me. The very week I finally got the system set up to where anyone should be able to keep it going easily they let me go. The person hired to assist me was being paid 2/3 of what I was or I was making 50% more than her. There were also four different occasions with different companies where upper management refused to promote me because they feared the results of my leaving the department I was in.
The Sopranos – Moltisanti and Filone hijack Comley’s trucks
What is the most outrageous “fee” you’ve ever been charged?
Back during the pandemic, I took my cat, Caesar, to the vet. He was a 15 year old, orange, short haired cat. Because of COVID, the vet’s office had implemented a policy of people not being allowed to go back to the exam rooms with their pet. I wasn’t really comfortable with that but my little guy had a sore front paw so I had to get him seen by the vet. A staff member came out to my car, got Caesar (in his carrier) and took him inside to be examined by the vet while I waited in my car. After a few minutes, the vet called my cell phone and we discussed the problem with Caesar’s front paw. An x-ray was done and it was determined that the problem was with one of his claws. Apparently it was a problem that is fairly common in older cats and easily treatable. Over the phone, the vet and I agreed upon the treatment for the problem. A short time later, the staff member brought Caesar back out to my car and presented me with the bill. As I quickly scanned the bill before giving the staff member my credit card, I saw a $40 charge for a ‘ therapeutic shave’ on the bill. I didn’t understand so I asked about the charge. Found out that while they had Caesar in the exam room, someone shaved his back end for no apparent reason. I said to the staff member “ So you needlessly shaved my cat’s ass and want to charge me $40 for it? I think that you guys should owe him $40 for doing that to him! “
The charge was removed from my bill. Caesar got extra treats and a new toy that day too.
Text to picture
Playing around, this time with a Wes Anderson theme; Life Aqua.
What are the most important things I can teach my child, including both skills and behaviors? How can I ensure this training sticks?
Originally Answered: What are the most important things I can teach my child?
At the age of 11, he was cast as Harry Potter in the first Harry Potter film, and starred in the series for 10 years. At the age of 14, an article in British newspaper ‘The Sun’ listed him as Britain’s third richest teenager behind only Prince Harry Windsor and Charlotte Church, the very popular singer-songwriter TRUST Trivia: Daniel Radcliffe.
He became the youngest non-royal to have his portrait displayed in London’s prestigious National Portrait Gallery at the same age. In 2007, the British press estimated 18-year-old Radcliffe’s total net worth at $35 million, and $80 million at the age of 26. ‘Harry Potter’ Daniel Radcliffe turns 26: 10 unknown facts about the actor
Would you want your kid to become someone popular and successful like him?
Maybe. Yes.
Now read this (paying special attention to bold words):
Daniel Radcliffe: I turned to alcohol to cope with fear of failure and fame. “It is not a real pressure, but it is a pressure of living with the thought, ‘Oh, what if all these people are saying I am not going to have a career? What if they are all going to be right and will be laughing and I will be consigned to a bunch of “Where are they now?” lists?'” Radcliffe added: “I was living in constant fear of who I’d meet, what I might have said to them, what I might have done with them, so I’d stay in my apartment for days and drink alone. I was a recluse at 20. It was pathetic – it wasn’t me. I’m a fun, polite person, and it turned me into a rude bore.”
“The bottom line is people don’t like change, especially when it’s connected to endings,” she concludes. “For some people, they have a harder time maintaining a positive self-image when it’s linked to a job that gives them an identity. And so in order to deal with the intensity of that emotional pain, some people self-medicate in order to feel less depressed, less anxious, less hopeless or less unimportant” -Dr. Rubi Ludwig, Psychotherapist.
Now would you want your kid to abuse himself with alcohol/drugs while he has so much in the world that one could only dream of?
No. Definitely not.
This is just an example of people who are extremely successful, but aren’t happy. They may be child prodigies, but they are so full of fear of failure that after all they have achieved, they are no close to finding happiness. And their lives and money are wasted in running after it.
Raise your kid such that he doesn’t become this example.
1. Take the FEAR OF FAILURE away from him.
The fear, that you are instilling in him unknowingly. By saying this:
Whatever you do, just do your best. Be it studies or games.
It is important to win the Olympiad. It is the stepping stone for your career.
Study with the aim of securing first rank. So we can be proud parents.
Saying this instills the fear of failure. Kid aims for perfection, resulting in a stressed outlook.
This is Fear of Failure.
Teach your children so fear of failure never creeps in their mind. By telling them this:
Do not focus on excelling at everything. It keeps you in a constant state of stress. Do somethings for pure enjoyment. And in fact, do everything for the fun of it.
What do you think of the Olympiad? I think it is important, but not the most important thing.
What are you studying? Let’s explore how can we apply it practically.
2. Teach him to THINK IN A HEALTHY WAY.
Not anxiously, as you might be doing now.
Mister, the exams are approaching. You better start worrying!
Sharmaji’s son is a top-ranker. He got a great on-campus placement. What will happen of you? Where will you go with these marks?
Amend your behavior. You are a grown-up now.
Saying this leads to anxious thinking. Kid is overwhelmed, loaded with inferiority complex and self-consciousness.
This is Anxious thinking.
And there is no other way to teach them this, except to teach yourself this.
Do not encourage him to think anxiously. He’ll learn it in no time, and soon will have anxiety attacks, inhibiting performance.
Do not compare him to others thinking it’ll motivate him. Motivate him by positive means, comparative thinking will take a lifetime toll on him.
Do not expect him to behave like a grown-up. A 3-yr old will behave like one, and a teenager like one. Accept them as per their age.
3. Teach him to have a POSITIVE SELF-IMAGE.
Again, do not teach him this.
You are considered doing well only when you get good grades.
Why can’t you be more like your sister? She’s such a good kid and gets a first in everything.
Read faster
Write faster.
Run faster.
Do it faster.
This teaching promotes negative self-image. Synonymous with low self- worth and self-esteem.
This is Negative self-image.
So, teach yourself this.
Do not pressurize children with too much focus on grades or rewards.
Remember that he can’t be like his sister. Each person is different. Are you doing this so you have to deal with only one personality?
Do not pressurize the kid to be faster in everything he does. Each kid learns at his own pace.
Teaching yourself these things will raise a kid who is free from this negative thought:
What will happen if… I fail…
A Marine’s 2-Word Breakup Text Sends Cheating Ex Into MENTAL BREAKDOWN…And Friends Are Losing It!
Do police officers ever sympathize with someone who took the law into their own hands?
I was dispatched to a call of a burglary in progress at a residence. It was maybe 10:00 PM. When I pull up, I see one guy running from the residence, and at the same time I hear a gunshot from inside the residence. I let the runner go (never saw him again) and went to investigate the gunshot.
I found a door ajar to a side courtyard, and as I approached, one of the burglars was being backed out the door by the man of the house, who was holding an ancient .32 revolver on him (I later examined the gun and estimated the ammunition was older than I was). He later told me he had fired one round (the one I heard) into the corner of a room when he saw the burglar inside his house. As soon as the homeowner saw me, he put the gun down, and stood by while I handcuffed the burglar.
I took a written statement from the homeowner, told him I hoped I was as capable as him when I was his age (I was about 30 at the time—he was around 70), and took the burglar to jail. It did not occur to me to seize the victim’s gun or charge him with discharge of a firearm inside the city limits. No one suggested this was not the proper approach.
What is life’s biggest “trap” people fall into?
My housemate is 26 years old. She’s intelligent and pretty and (generally) fun to be around.
But… she hates her job.
It’s obvious.
Sometimes she’ll just sit at the kitchen table in her pajamas, coffee in hand, looking at the clock.
And she’ll casually say, “I have to leave for work in two minutes.”
Does she actually leave for work two minutes later?
I’ll let you guess the answer to that.
But the thing that blows me away is this:
When I asked her a little while ago if she’s considered changing jobs and doing something that doesn’t make her look unhappy every morning, there was genuine surprise in her voice.
As in, “Of course I’m going to work another 36+ years at a job I despise! That’s totally normal.”
A lot of people think that.
Like my housemate, they “celebrate” the weekend and dread Mondays.
Like my housemate, they might even negotiate more hours at work so they can qualify for more vacation time.
And that’s a huge trap: Thinking you’re doomed to working a job you hate.
Thinking you have to work a 9-to-5.
Thinking you can’t earn money if you’re not actively working.
That’s all nonsense.
If you’re not happy with your work, not only can you change, but you absolutely should.
I’ve been freelancing for years and wouldn’t even consider getting a job where some boss gets to tell me things like:
When to work
Where to work
How many vacation days I can take
How much I can get paid
For example, this month, I’m a bit ahead of schedule on the projects I’m working on so I can take time off if I want to.
Do I have to ask for permission?
Nope.
Do I even have to let anyone know?
Nope.
I’m not saying this to brag, even though it might sound like it.
I’m saying this because if you feel stuck in a job you can’t stand, just know that there’s a way out for you.
Please, don’t stay at a job you despise long-term.
It’s not good for you or for anyone else.
What are the most fascinating “weird but true” historical facts you know about?
You have the doctor who pumped four gallons of hydrogen gas into his anus, to diagnose gastrointestinal problems
[1], and then you have surgical resident, Werner Forssmann, who was eager to push a tube through a vein in his elbow, until it reached his heart. This would become a method of transporting medication to and fro the incision site.
Werner Forssman was desperate to self-experiment, although faced challenges along the way. One person he had to pass was the surgical nurse, who had access to the theatre and medical equipment.
After much convincing, the nurse gave in to his ludicrous idea. In fact, she volunteered to have the procedure performed on herself! I guess the idea isn’t as crazy as the doctor who transported parasites within himself, only to produce parasite semen for research!
[2]Anyway, despite dismissal from the doctors who believed the surgery would be a death wish, Werner continued on with his plan.
The nurse lay on the surgical table, whilst Werner tightly strapped her legs and arms in. Only, when she wasn’t looking, the doctor applied anesthetic to his own arm, cut his arm open, and pushed the 12-inch catheter (thin tube) into his vein!
Now, all he needed was an X-Ray room. Successfully, Werner x-rayed himself and noticed that the tube had reached his shoulder. He pushed the tube in further until it was 24-inches inside his vein.
Bingo! Werner reached his ventricular cavity.
For his risky actions, Werner was fired. As a result, he took up positions as a military surgeon and Major in World War II. He wasn’t a hero though. Werner was a Nazi, actively joining the party in 1932. He was eventually imprisoned, although did receive a Nobel Prize twenty years later for his medical efforts.
Largest NATO Base in Europe Being **RUSHED** in Romania
The largest NATO base in Europe is being built in Romania. Construction commenced at the outset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and is being RUSHED.
The Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in Romania will turn into a military camp where 10 thousand NATO soldiers can live, this will require an investment of €2.5 billion, reports local publication Pro TV.
The base is located in a mountainous area and should become a center for command and control of troops in South-Eastern Europe.
The zoomable map below shows the location:
What’s a rule your employer implemented that backfired terribly?
My former company implemented an 9/80 work schedule with an A/B work pattern. Meaning that those on the A schedule would work a 9 hour work day for 5 days and the B schedule would work 4 days during the same week and then the next week they would swap out. The work force, for the most part, loved it. I personally didn’t like it because I was giving the company an extra hour out of each day without compensation of overtime pay. Others loved having that three day weekend every other week. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.
Anyways, the issue that cropped up immediately was the lake of key personnel on days you needed them the most. “Yeah boss, I’d love to fix or finish or diagnose this problem but without the lead engineer it just can’t be done.” “Hey, this job must be done today or heads are gonna roll.” “Sorry boss but ol’ so and so is one his 9/80 day off so we can’t get it done without him.” “Hey boss? We got a problem. We can’t run this test without Joe Blow because it’s his Friday off.”
These issues popped up every single week. It was eventually dropped.
Is there anytime when karma saved you?
We were in a beautiful relationship for about 3 years. And then suddenly she over texts, broke up with me. No explanation given. Like every other guy, I cried, pleaded for just one reason, and all she said was it’s over, I don’t want to be with you. She has changed her college a month before the break up. And like I suspected she fell out of love with me because there is new guy who approached her. Quite similar to everyone’s love story. Lol
Anyway, I was literally shattered, and broken. I couldn’t believe the girl I thought to be my future left me in such a dire condition.
It’s been three years since she is gone. Yesterday, I got a phone call from her at 2am. Basic points from the calls were:
She was unhappy, crying profusely over the phone. She said she don’t have anyone to trust and talk to, except me. And yes, I talked to her because pretty much I loved her too much.
She said the guy cheated her, and when asked him for a breakup, he said he will going to kill her, he abused and hit her off. And she thought everybody will leave silently like me.
I asked her to do a police complain, she said, she doesn’t want her parents to know, she is stucked.
After few minutes on call, she was laughing, talking to me as if we were never separated, I was wondering how easy the things are for girls.
Then she told me even before her father and brother, I am the person she trust and respect the most. I was flattered but I knew, it’s no more important.
I was again at ground zero, I felt happy talking to her, but the wounds were yet fresh.
I tried not to make her feel bad and bid her bye.
Today I Changed my phone number, and email id!
I do love her a lot, still? Yes. But I cannot give her the power to destroy me again.
The Sopranos – Billy Leotardo
When did you realize that your childhood was not normal?
I was bullied pretty bad as a kid. The ironic thing is, I grew up in the kind of school district where the things that happened to me, people believed didn’t happen there at all. But teachers were trying to encourage me that everyone gets teased & everyone has problems & that my situation is not unique. It’s amazing in this time in 2024, everyone is always telling me what I have to do to cater to people’s fragile emotions. But in 2002, it was all about how I needed to not react in anger when people tortured me in school; how I could best accommodate & live with people torturing me. The burden was never on the bullies to change.
So in 2002, I was leaving for a Boy Scout campout. My first troop hated me. (I later on joined another Boy Scout Troop that I stayed with for 20 years. But the first one treated me like crap.) These kids told me I was not allowed to talk because I’m annoying. Naturally this made me talk more. I was not anticipating this kid to pull out his pocket knife, open it & say, “If you don’t shut-up, I’m going to stab you.” I then stood up & walked away.
The reality was, I was not that afraid. I was 11 years old & had my life or safety threatened so many times up to this point, it just felt kind of natural that eventually I’d be held at knife point. It was another scout that reported him. The kid got his knife confiscated (worst punishment anyone has ever received for an action against me) & he rode off on his bike crying.
I came home & told my parents the story because I thought it was funny. Then I saw the shock in their eyes. They said we could potentially press charges. I had no idea you could get sued or arrested over a death threat because I was so used to getting them. This was the proof I needed to know my teachers were wrong; that the things I go through are not normal.
Chilighetti
Quick, easy and delicious! Chilighetti is a great way to feed a hungry family.
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 (46 ounce) can tomato juice
1 cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 level teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces*
2 (16 ounce) can kidney or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Sour cream (optional)
Shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
Instructions
In a Dutch oven, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink and onion is tender, crumbling the beef; drain.
Stir in tomato juice, water, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings; bring to a boil. Add spaghetti. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for 10 to 13 minutes or until pasta is tender.
Stir in beans; heat through.
Top servings with sour cream and Cheddar cheese, if desired.
Notes
* Spaghetti may be left unbroken if desired.
Have you, while repairing a computer, ever found anything that made your jaw drop?
While this dis not happen to me, it happenesn to a neighbor friend who repaired computers…
One of our other neighbors approached him to take a look at problem they (a couple) were having with their computer. The problem is irrelevant here.
So my friend went about his diagnostics to figure out how to address the issue. As any good computer tech does, once the machine was up an running again, he went about doing some basic maintenance such as cleaning up temp files and so on.
In doing so he stumble upon a huge set of pictures and videos… yes, that. Not illegal ones, but actual professional ones used in well known sites.
As it turned out, we learned that our low key neighbor was a well known porn star making videos at home, which now explained all the odd traffic we always noticed at their house. This porn was bringing them probably close $500k/yr or more. They did end up moving later on to a higher end neighborhood not to far. Shortly after moving but still owned the property, a well known on-line news magazine (you’ve all read something from them) came by looking for them, knocking on doors to see if any of us knew more about them, and if we knew where they moved to.
BTW – part of the story that the on-line magazine (you’ve all read something from them) was chasing was that her day job was unwrapping kids toys from well known entertainment company. So she was also a top rated poster/producer in that segment in YouTube for some time. We learned a lot that day… those pretty hands of hers served multiple purposes.🙂
So, the people who bought their house now have a bit of a topic and history to share about their house, because of course, we neighbors shared the history about it 😉.
It’s funny thinking back to the many casual neighbor conversations we had with that couple, and little did we know what was behind it all. She is very cute, it all made sense.
Today she is still out there, bigger than before. If anyone reading this watches porn, or watched children’s toy unwrapping, you’ve probably seen her…
The Rise of Chinese Pick Me Girls
Pizza!
In 2001, Pizza Hut delivered a pizza to the International Space Station. The pizza was a 6″ pizza and was delivered to the ISS aboard a Russian Progress vehicle. They paid $1 million to transport the same.
Does a human being know they’re dead once they die?
I had a traumatic brain injury, was on life support, and was in a coma for 7 days.
During this time I found myself looking at the doctors working on me, then I walked up a small ramp and met my brother who passed away unexpectedly.
My brother looked like he did when he was in High School, I wanted to stay with him but he said that I couldn’t come in, and it wasn’t my time, that I needed to spend more years with my wife and children.
I was heartbroken and when I came out of my coma, I remembered everything so vividly.
The doctors said they lost me a couple of times but were able to revive me, and they were so surprised because I shouldn’t have survived my accident.
This is the truth, I never would have believed my story if I were somebody else, but this happened, and for the fact that the doctors said they couldn’t control the bleeding and that I was supposed to die, I wouldn’t have believed myself.
Now having my motor skills back, but still working on my speech, I’m able to go back to work after only 3 months, this is a true miracle. And never take life for granted, there are no promises for a tomorrow.
Living a traditional life is the best thing I ever did | But is it the best for you?
This chick in a small town in the Philippines talk about her town. A nice escape.
Do you think the faster accelerated vetting of Hong Kong’s Article 23 bill is to catch foreign countries off guard and ward off possible sanctions or criticism?
Nope. You see no matter what China or Chinese do we’ll be criticised for it. A few years back I posted some screen caps of Western media:
The December 2021 LegCo elections. Go look at it. Pan Dems and other yellow groups stood for election. They didn’t get very many votes.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on what’s been happening in LegCo for the past 26 years it’s pretty obvious. The Pan Dems have never had a majority there, what they have done however is simply fillibuster and delay and oppose EVERYTHING that has been tabled at LegCo since forever. This is Hong Kong’s version of Hansard. An official record of everything said at LegCo at debates and motions/votes.
The we care about the people Yellows blocked and delayed EVERYTHING.
Some biggies:
They opposed the minimum wage.
They opposed maternity leave.
They opposed those not because they though they were a bad idea but purely on ideological grounds.
Since 2022 when the new bunch of LegCo people took their seats? Without the permanent blockage of the yellows who as above block things on ideological grounds things actually get through LegCo rather than spending months and years being blocked by them.
That had been opposed by the yellows since 1997. Yet changes were made in 6 months after December 2021.
I’m rooting for you!
What are some facts about human behaviour?
Having orgasms lowers risks for breast cancer, heart disease, and depression for women
Intelligent people are more forgetful than those with average intelligence, which is correct.
Getting paid to perform something you enjoy may make you less creative.
The thing that people remember the most about you is your charisma, Here you can learn the secrets to Charisma and Confidence.
People frequently experience déjà vu after recalling a conversation or dream.
If you died tomorrow, what would you want your family to know about you?
I have a Premium Netflix account that I don’t pay for so you guys can use my laptop to watch movies and series.
In my hostel room in college you will find a photo frame kept on the top left shelf above the study table which has a photo of Me with a Girl.If possible return it to her and tell her it’s called “Our Dastoor” or Destiny.
My phone’s pin is 1632 because that was the time(16:32) while i was setting the new pin .
In my phone there are two calculator apps. One pre-installed and the other downloaded from play store. When you will enter 1632 and press ‘’=“ in the downloaded one it will open a secret pdf which contains my Bucket List, delete that, it won’t be necessary anymore.
Can you ask the college authorities if they can still provide me the degree posthumously cause papa is very proud of my IIT achievement.
Tell my friends sorry that I promised i would certainly try beer with them the next time we go on a trip.
Donate/throw away my possessions except for the white letter with a red tape which is kept in my laptop bag. Kindly burn it away without opening it. It’s rude to read someone’s love letters.
Should Marines take orders from an army captain in the battlefield if their Marine captain or higher ranked official is dead or incapable?
Different services, but the story is helpful to understand what can happen in the real world battlefield
The 82nd Airborne jumped into Grenada at the international airport at night. Some soldiers ended up in extremely tall grass to the east of the runway and were separated from the main force but could hear the fire fight to the north and west of their positions but could not see due to the tall, thick grass
One by one, they started to form up. At some point, they added a USAF fighter pilot Captain who was aligned as an Air Liaison Officer who specialized in controlling close air support, small unit infantry.
After the small group numbered squad strength, they stopped briefly while headed towards the sounds of the battle. The soldiers looked at the USAF Captain, the only officer present and one spoke up and asked “What do we do now sir?”. Despite being a fighter pilot by trade, he suddenly found himself in command of a parachute infantry squad.
So, yeah, in a situation where they are cutoff from their leadership and unit, Marines and any member of the Armed Forces should obey the lawful orders of senior NCOs and officers regardless of service.
The one memory that I have of my university days is the smell of bong water. I cannot count how many times that foul water would sometimes spill and smell up everything.
I know that today, the university experience appears to be a non-stop fuck fest. But that wasn’t my experience.
I was a nerd on a purpose and I studied, and then studied and then studied some more. Sure I drank beer, and did drugs, and smoked weed, but that was the culture at that snapshot in time.
Along with bell-bottom jeans, earth shoes and Jimmy Carter.
I did do a lot of acid.
I really did.
I was the guy who was always “trippin'” back in the day.
But you all must know, I might have done that, but I was a virgin until after I left university. So in many ways, compared with today, I kind of missed out on some really fun things.
I will tell you that once I got married, well… I did end up making up for lost time. Heck, my wife and I were rabid rabbits.
But that was another time, and another place.
Bong water. University. Studying and testing.
My life back then.
…
Now for today…
How will the US continue to sanction countries successfully if China can just sell those sanctioned stuff to the sanctioned country thereby changing nothing in the economy of that country?
You can only start to sanction another country if that country needs your stuffs and you stop selling to them! Today the U.S. don’t have a single thing it makes that others can’t do! In fact most nations can do stuffs cheaper, bettter and faster than the U.S. could do so sanctioning them is really like helping them save money! Hahahahaha!
Why not?
Why did you get fired from your first job?
I was fired for something that I did two weeks after I started, 2.5 years prior.
The manager who fired me was my 5th manager in 2.5 years. On her first day, she informed me after finding out that I was on public transportation from a rural town (took over 2 hours to get to the job, one way) and going to college that I had limited availability (16 hours a week), she was unsure how long I would last. I lasted 1 month to the day when she started.
She did everything she could to provoke me into quitting cutting my hours to 3 a week or on one occasion to deck her. My avatar is my cat that I had for 16 years. I had to put him to sleep. I took one day off from work and returned two days later. She was waiting for me at the front door, and asked me, “Was that a good use of your Paid Time Off?” I stood there speechless, finally said, “Yes!” and walked away.
It was a blessing because, in my final term I was going to be available for one day, 8 hours a week.
She still works at that store, and still hates me!
What are some of the best examples of “American ignorance”?
A friend of mine from the US (I’d met her years ago at a teacher’s seminar and we’d stayed in touch) came to visit me and stayed with me for a couple of weeks. She hadn’t previously been to Australia and was surprised that we live in an Alpine area, she didn’t expect to see mountains topped with snow. I don’t think she believed me when I told her that we had more snow here in winter than falls on Switzerland. Apparently she thought we were all beaches and deserts with nothing in between. So I told her about our rainforests, tropical in the north of the country and temperate, cool-temperature in the south, about the huge productive farmlands, about our research centres, etc.
Her comment, which made me laugh? “It’s quite a big country, isn’t it?”
Well, yeah. Yeah, it is.
She then asked, “Would it be as big as England?”
Flabbergasted. And she is a teacher…
Women Are FURIOUS Seeing Men Go Overseas And Be Happy In Marriages And Relationships
If Putin announces a nuclear war with NATO, could NATO react in time and nuke Russia before Russia launches their nuclear weapons?
I read a lot of fantasy answers from a lot of Pro Nato supporters who still think this is 1997
The first assumption is the Russia would launch a nuke from its own territory
The second assumption is that the Western Satellites would detect the move even before a Nuke is launched
In 1998, we pulled wool over the eyes of all those Western Satellites
India
Back then not even an emerging economy but an ordinary third world developing country dependent on imports for every aspect of defence
Russia have 65 Submarines of which 46 have the capability of carrying between 1–2 Nuclear Missiles
My guess is almost all these Submarines have been refurbished to carry Hypersonic Missiles with Thermonuclear Warheads
I am basing this guess on the fact that in 2022 August – a record 39 Submarines were serviced against an average of 12 a year from 2016–2021
The Instant a Nuke is even launched in Russia’s direction – these Submarines will launch their missiles in a pre arranged pattern at specific targets in Europe and NATO
The next would be the heat shock blast (There won’t be radioactive waste since these are Thermonuclears)
All Livestock within a 150–200 Mile radius is gone
Soil is rendered entirely useless for at least 100 years
That’s a further 140–180 Million people gone in the second wave
Finally you will have displacement, disease, starvation and that’s another 200–300 Million people gone in the third wave
The maximum deaths could be as high as 520 Million in NATO NATIONS
That’s 56% of the ‘Golden Billion’
Senator Cotton could actually breathe in his own wife and kids before he becomes vapor
Advanced Molecular integration
So it’s MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION as the name suggests
If Russia is destroyed , no less than 400–500 million Americans, Europeans and Japanese will die and their nations will go back to the stone age
There will be electronic Interference for at least 7–15 years
Why would Russia launch a Nuclear War?
They have no reason to do so
If Macron sends troops to Ukraine, the Russians will kill them
If Sunak sends troops to Ukraine, the Russians will kill them
They are all far below Ukraines fighting capability and Russians have trounced at least 350K Ukranians
Ukraine had been fighting Donbass Militia for 8 years and they had some blooding
Not UK Or France or Germany or Poland
TikTok Ban| Chips| AI Hype| CBDC! Conversation with/Richard Turrin!!
What was the biggest secret you found out only after someone passed away?
I met my husband in 2007 and he moved in with me a few months later. In November of that year his mother committed suicide, she took an overdose of drugs that she had stored up and put a plastic bag over her head. She had been in a nursing home for 12 years. I still don’t know what her actual diagnosis was, but I believe it was manic depression and a form of psychosis. Every day my father in law would spend hours with her in the home.
In 2016 we moved in to take care of him as he was becoming very frail. I grew very close to him and we would talk about his life etc. He would talk about J*** with such love and affection. He told me how for a long time she had begged him to help her end her life of pain. He had to tell her that he couldn’t, it was against the law and I could feel the pain that he went through.
He passed away aged 92 and I had the job of clearing out his possessions. At the back of a drawer in his bedside table I found a book called Dying with dignity. A page had the corner turned over which described the method that his wife had used. He had left this for one of us to find after his death. He had helped her with her final request and carried the secret to his grave.
Some words for today
Have you ever been treated differently because of the car you were driving?
Yes.
A tree fell on my 2015 Chrysler 200. I really enjoyed the car but it was a goner. One of the issues when living in the woods I guess. I don’t think I ever got a second glance from anyone while I drove it.
As luck would have it my insurance settlement worked out quickly and I replaced the 200 with a 2017 Lincoln MKZ Select. It really wasn’t an upgrade in my opinion… more like an even swap.
Um, it might be important to know that I am 59 years old but am often mistaken as someone much younger.
The next day I was getting in my car as a much older-appearing couple were getting out of a Kia or some other cheap car. The lady sneered at me and the man commented “Nice car you entitled punk. Did your mommy buy that car for you?”
I replied with a smile “Thanks for the compliment. I like being told that I look younger than I am.”
The lady asked “How old are you?”
“59. How about you two?”
“We’re both 51.”
“Good! Maybe when you grow up you can get a nice car just like mine.”
Take her into YOUR world
What things should a person avoid once they are past 70 years old?
It all depends on the person, doesn’t it?
At 76 going on 77, I marvel that my 75 year old brother still jogs for miles and competes in inline skating marathons. I walk for miles and do some ice skating, usually with a ski pole in my hand to help me get up if I fall.
I avoid climbing ladders because I lost two friends to falls in their 70s (one instantly and the other in assisted living for the last ten years of life). My brother, Al, just completely renovated a house at 72–73. I just paid some contractors to renovate parts of mine.
Every one should avoid buying a time share, but especially those over 70. Even getting a mortgage to buy or build a new residence seems extreme. I used to salivate over House Hunters International. I’m so lucky I didn’t buy my dream home in an Italian hilltop town.
I avoid soda pop, Big Macs, and hot dogs. Why tempt the gods?
I avoid signing up for online subscriptions or making donations to television evangelists. My mother didn’t and we filled a dumpster with unread magazines and CD’s from religious hucksters.
I avoid both Fox News and MSNBC. Because.
Now that I am no longer that 35 year old testosterone poisoned jerk who makes a show of passing slower drivers and pulling in front of them in disgust, I avoid the temptation to flip them off.
I feel people over 75 should avoid running for President or Senator.
There’s still enough not to avoid, so I better end this.
Welcome to the United States
What was the strangest way an embezzler was caught?
Sanjay Madan was the IT director for the Ontario Ministry of Education. He saw how lax the security was , and set up a system where he would award an IT contract for $900 a day, and his partner would find someone to subcontract for $450 a day. In his first year, they managed to take $467,000 by 2019, they were stealing $6.5 million a year. The very weird part of this is that his partner was a police informant, who never informed police. Everything was going along perfectly, and by 2020 they had stolen $37,000,000 doing this, and nobody knew that a crime had been committed. I think the police need some better informants.
Then covid hit, and they got greedy, the government was giving out between $200 and $250 to children that had to be home schooled because of covid.
He filed 48,000 fake applications and had all the money deposited into the same five bank accounts. Again he got away with it. $10.8 million dollars. How many scammers do you know that pulled the same scam 48,000 times and got away with it. But, by filing 48,000 claims, he increased the odds that one of them would file for their own child. They of course were accused of double dipping, and of course they were indignant, because they were honest. They investigated and found that the money hadn’t gone into the real applicants account. So then they searched to see if more money had gone into that account, and there was millions.
In total he stole $47.4 million. He has given back $30 million and after he gets out of jail in 10 years, he has five more years to repay the rest, or face further jail time.
But wait!!! The best part of this is that his defense was that it was entrapment. Nobody makes a system that easy to steal from if it isn’t a trap.
Welcome to Asia
As a police officer, what’s one story on Christmas you will never forget?
One Christmas, at around 1 A.M. my partner and I spotted a van driving the opposite direction of us in an alley. Something about the way the guy looked at us made it seem like he was up to no good, so we turned around to follow him and run his plates. So, we caught the guy after a vehicle pursuit and a foot pursuit.
Long story a little less long, the van hadn’t been reported stolen and it had the keys in it, but we were pretty sure it was stolen. We had an assisting unit wait with the van, gifts, and suspect while we drove to the registered owner’s home and knocked. The police knocked at 1:30 or 2 a.m. A grumpy lady came to the door and eyed us suspiciously and assumed “the pose” (arms crossed, leaning slightly back and to one side, with head down and hip thrust off to the opposite side).
“What?”
“Ma’am, are you Mary Crankypants?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you own a 1990 blue Astrovan License 123ABC?”
{exaggerated exhalation of breath as if bored) “Yeeeeahhhh?”
“We stopped a guy named Johnny Lightfingers driving it at 120th and Avalon. Do you know him, and does he have permission to have your vehicle?”
“NO I don’t and NO he doesn’t.”
“Well the van is loaded with a bunch of kids’ Christmas presents. Are your Christmas presents missing?”
(An exhalation of breath as if we were putting her out) “Just a second”, she huffed at us, before disappearing to look. She returned several seconds later,
(Again with the exhalation of breath as if we were putting her out) “The presents are all gone toooo.”
“Can somebody with a license come with us and pick up the van and presents?”
(And AGAIN with the exhalation of breath as if we were putting her out) “Fiiine.”
She stomped off to get some clothes on.
Our guy went to jail for burglary, vehicle theft, evading, parole violation and driving on a suspended license, but that lady was possibly the most ungrateful person I have ever met in my life.
Why Hiring Women Has Become BAD For BUSINESS
Join the “STAY AWAY ” Movement….
Pastitsio (Baked Macaroni)
I suppose this could be called the “comfort food” of Greek cooking. Pastitsio uses a béchamel sauce, one of the five mother sauces. My sister and I absolutely love this, and we used to make it all the time when we saw each other more often. But I also eat it at the St. Katherine’s Greek Festival every year.
Prep: 25 min | Cook: 55 min | Yield: 8 to 12 servings
Ingredients
Macaroni
1 pound macaroni
1/4 pound butter
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey or beef
1/2 can tomato paste
6 ounces grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Sauce
4 cups warm milk, divided
5 eggs
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks butter
Instructions
Macaroni
Cook macaroni (but not well done) in boiling, salted water and drain.
Sauté onion in a little butter.
Add ground meat and stir until brown.
Add tomato paste, thinned with a little water.
Add salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook until meat is done.
Melt butter; pour over drained macaroni, mixing carefully.
Spread half of the macaroni on the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch pan.
Sprinkle half of the grated cheese on top.
Spread entire meat mixture on top.
Cover with remaining macaroni and remaining grated cheese.
Sauce
Boil 3 cups of the milk with 1 1/2 sticks butter.
Add flour to remaining 1 cup milk and blend well.
Add flour mixture to boiling butter and milk. Thicken and cool.
After this has cooled, add 5 beaten eggs, or drop small amounts of the milk mixture into the eggs while stirring constantly. Once the egg mixture gets warm to hot, add the remaining milk.
Pour sauce over the macaroni. Shake the pan and insert a knife to penetrate thoroughly.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes.
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs: US/Russia/China: Worst Tensions in 30 Years.
I was born July 1945 from my whole life. I knew that in November 19 63 the United States of America cease to exist. It was not the America that I had grown up in. and as a retired lawyer admitted to the bar of Massachusetts and Maryland. I am distraught about how lawless the courts and judicial system now are I always thought they were the last refuge, but they’ve gone over to the dark side for the most part.
What was a rule that was made at your job because of something a co-worker did?
I worked at a fast food place. When we closed there’d usually be a little bit of food left over in the warming bins. 2 to 4 burger patties, a grilled chicken and a fried chicken typically, as we cut back on what was prepped ahead later in the evening. We, the employees were allowed to eat the left overs as we finished closing duties. One of the perks of the otherwise annoying jobs of closing. The managers and other employees often had me make them sandwiches, as I came up with some interesting combos. Sometimes if they didn’t get eaten one of the employees would take a couple of patties or whatever was left over home with them for the fridge.
One night one of the cooks who had been there for years, was putting in about 10 quarter pound patties through the broiler, about 10 minutes before close. The manager told them there was no way we were going to sell that many before close (obviously). He just said that any we didn’t sell he would just take home with him. Obviously only making them for that purpose. The next day there was a rule that all leftover food had to be thrown out at the end of the night. No employees were allowed to eat any of it or take it home. One person ruined it for everyone, and of course he was the one that complained the most about it, when he was the one that caused it.
While painting, he noticed a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it.
When he finished painting, he received his money and left.
The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice check, much higher than the payment for painting.
The painter was surprised and said “You’ve already paid me for painting the boat Sir!”
“But this is not for the paint job. It’s for repairing the hole in the boat.”
“Ah! But it was such a small service… certainly it’s not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant.”
“My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened:
“When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention the hole.
“When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and went on a fishing trip.
“They did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time.
“When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole.
“Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.
“Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole!
“You see, now, what you did? You saved the life of my children! I do not have enough money to pay your ‘small’ good deed.”
So no matter who, when or how, continue to help, sustain, wipe tears, listen attentively, and carefully repair all the ‘leaks’ you find. You never know when one is in need of us, or when God holds a pleasant surprise for us to be helpful and important to someone.
Along the way, you may have repaired numerous ‘boat holes’ for several people without realizing how many lives you’ve save. ❤️
Make a difference….be the best you can…”
I’m fine
When did you realize something was a blessing in disguise?
When I re-connected with a lot of my old high school classmates on Facebook, and I saw how many of the “popular” kids ended up with really bad careers and marriages. That’s when I realized that being unpopular in high school probably helped me focus on my education and made me so much more grateful for my wife, which led to a better marriage.
Many of the guys who got all of the girls in my high school — the guys I used to be so jealous of — now have crappy jobs, failed out of college, have criminal records, have multiple children from multiple women, and generally look miserable on their Facebook posts.
It’s even worse for the women I graduated with. So many of those beautiful classmates that I used to wish would just give me a chance… they’re now drug addicts, have multiple children with multiple men, have abusive boyfriends and husbands, and just look so… miserable and beaten down by their lives.
I knew many of these people in grammar school. We were friends then. But in middle school and especially in high school, when the social cliques really started forming and I was left out of them, their personalities changed. They quit trying in school. They focused on getting dates, parties, etc… The typical popular teenager stuff.
Not all the popular kids, of course. Some of them ended up in good places in life. But many of them didn’t. And I think it can be traced right back to those high school years.
Dating and partying weren’t distractions for me. That’s the hidden advantage to being an unpopular high schooler… you don’t lose focus on your education. And, in college, when I finally met a woman who gave me a chance, I treated her like a queen, and it’s worked out great for us.
So, if you’re an unpopular high schooler today, particularly if you’re a guy who gets no attention from the ladies… fear not! It’s a blessing in disguise. “The ladies” are a distraction… for now at least. Education first, then career. Then watch how the roles change. A man in his 20s with a college education and stable, successful career? You’ll never have to worry about not finding a date again.
The Consequences Of Degrading Men
Something is happening to boys and there is goring to be a very serious backlash.
What’s the most savage way you’ve seen someone get fired?
I worked at Wilkins Dodge in Roseville MN around 1990
We were not the most productive dealer in the area for sure, selling an average of 60 used vehicles and 50 New vehicles per month.
A new Gm is hired and he has big plans for us to jump into the big leagues starting with hiring 12 new salespeople to add to our 8 person team plus 2 older than dirt fleet managers. Great we all said or thought collectively while in the middle of a very serious circle jerk.
Somehow the GM finds 12 people that can speak, tie a tie, own a pen and can pass a background check. To us the all looked like the guys that knock on your door asking about religion.
So they (the 12) are offered paid training at 300.00 Dollars a week for 2 weeks at 5 days each for 8 hours…They are all signed up thru Mopar sales training and are by all accounts doing OK.
Wilkins Dodge had no A/C and MN in August can be a little humid especially in the upstairs training room with no windows. The 12 endured though and all passed their training with higher than average scores.
On the last Friday the GM has a moment of clarity and realizes we don’t have the inventory or budget to keep all 12 newly minted superstars of retail.
He call them out to the used car side of the building (in the shade) around 430 and asks them to form a line and count off by two’s.
2’s please step forward and they do so. Ones please go inside and find a desk and I’ll be with you shortly.
2’s remain stepped forward and look confused but still not grasping the situation. Please see me for your checks, we’ve decided to change our plan regarding your employment says the GM and have a nice weekend please send your family or friends for a vehicle.
Swearing, muttering and insults from remaining 6 plus some more than a lfew expressions of soon to be physical violence had the GM exiting the area towards the service department tossing the checks in the air behind him…….
Good times….
Roast Pork with Potato Dumplings
This is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods.
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
Dumplings
3 to 4 pounds starchy potatoes
2 to 3 eggs
1/2 to 1 cup all-purpose flour
Sea and or kosher salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Pork Roast
1 pork roast
Oil (for browning)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste
1/2 to 1 pound coarsely chopped onions
Instructions
Dumplings
In a large pot, boil potatoes in salted water with the skins on. Peel and put them through a ricer (if you don’t have a ricer, use the back of a spoon to smash potatoes through a sieve). Let cool completely.
Refrigerate.
The next day, about 30 minutes before the roast is finished, set a large pot of salted water to boil.
To the cooled, riced potatoes add eggs and 8 to 14 tablespoons of flour, depending on how starchy the potatoes are). Also add salt, nutmeg and parsley. Using your hands, form potatoes into balls between the size of golf and tennis balls.
Add the potato balls to the boiling water but do not let the water continue to boil. When they float to the top in 15 to 20 minutes, they are done.
Pork Roast
In a large, heavy pot, heat oil. Sprinkle the roast with salt, pepper and paprika, and brown quickly in oil. Add onions and brown them, too. Turn heat down to medium low. Add a little water. A carrot and a couple of fresh tomatoes can also be added if desired. Cover and cook for 2 hours, turning occasionally.
To make gravy (optional), remove the roast and add a little water to the pan to de-glaze it. Add a little flour or cornstarch to thicken the drippings.
Serve dumplings and pork roast with red cabbage or sauerkraut.
What is the most disgusting workplace rule you’ve seen?
This was more an unspoken attitude than a workplace rule, but someone lost their job over it.
When I came to work for a certain company, I was an in-your-face out lesbian. Nobody seemed to mind, at least nobody said anything and I was well-liked.
One of the married women struck up a friendship with me and we used to go walking at lunch time. She was really into her church and she not-so-subtly tried to get me to believe that being gay was wrong. When I didn’t bite, she started asking me questions about how I knew I was queer, how it affected my life, how it was different being in a relationship with a man vs a woman (I had been in a conventional het relationship prior to coming out). I answered all her questions as honestly as I could, trying to raise awareness that queer folk aren’t really that different from straight folk.
It turned out that she had been questioning all her life and was trying to work up the courage to come out herself. I SWEAR I WASN’T TRYING TO CONVERT HER.
She ended up coming out while I worked there. I was dumbfounded when she told me—I had no clue. I really thought she was a church lady. Her husband left her, which she was actually relieved about.
I eventually left there for a higher-paying job. When I caught up with the woman a few years later, she told me she had been fired for coming out of the closet. Nobody could accept her transition from straight life to queer life. They were used to seeing her as a straight woman and they looked at her transition as a sort of betrayal. so, I guess if you were already queer that was ok, but you weren’t allowed to change teams.
EDIT: One, she didn’t suddenly start crowing at work about what a dyke she was. It was a small, tight-knit company so her divorce became known. She also cut her hair short and started wearing less feminine clothing. She stopped talking about Jesus and church, since her church rejected her when she came out. It wasn’t hard for the boss to extrapolate.
Two, of course the company didn’t tell her they were firing her for being a lesbian. They gradually transferred her best clients to other workers, started giving her poor reviews and difficult clients and basically made the work environment unpleasant for her. They laid her off after they had gathered enough (fake) documentation to support firing her for cause, and she didn’t bother fighting it.
EDIT: Any comments implying that the people in the story are liars will be deleted.
I’m not answering any more comments or questions that:
Have already been addressed in the comments
Demonstrate that the commenter believes they can interpret the situation better than those involved
Demonstrate poor reading comprehension. I’m not an elementary school teacher.
Why Do They Really Fear Single Men – MGTOW
I hate this guys voice, but the message is really good.
I have been playing around with making short comic videos.
I use AI to generate a script, then use AI to generate pictures. Finally I use AI to generate small segments and then, once completed, I compile them together in a video editing software. I hope you like them. I’m still learning.
Check this out. All 10 seconds or so of it.
Today…
Love bonding
Why does diversity never include Asians?
Lots of answers, very few Asians. As usual.
The reality is that white people think we don’t need help because we happen to be richer (in this particular moment) on the books and better at getting into universities (in this particular moment). They don’t realize that this is a very temporary effect due to strategic immigration policy specifically designed to brain drain and create dissidents to attack Asian countries (especially China). Sadly, they think they can speak for us. And they almost always get away with it.
What we need is political power, soft power, and the breaking of the bamboo ceiling. We just can’t create consequences when people do horrendously racist/discriminatory things against us, unlike most other groups (natives have it worse). We are more of a function of foreign policy than the other groups, and yet we have minimal say in that as well.
None of this is convenient to the purpose of “diversity” in US politics, which is to prove the moral character of the leadership and thus their “validity.” It tends to be a farce anyways. Minorities who chase this “diversity” are really just fighting over table scraps. The majority leadership will never allow it to go against their interests in the first place.
If you think minorities have it good, imagine losing control of your narrative. That’s the baseline. You don’t get to correct people when they BS about you, because you don’t have power. From there stems much of the tyranny and real losses in life.
Lisa’s Crispy Chops
Ingredients
6 pork chops
3 eggs, beaten slightly
2 cups crushed soda crackers
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 1/2 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
Instructions
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Dip pork chops into egg, then roll in dry mixture.
Fry over medium heat in a small amount of oil until dark, crispy brown.
This is evil
When you went to the hospital, did the staff not take you seriously and you ended up deathly sick as a result?
I had a cardiologist tell me. repeatedly, that I had panic attacks. He said I didn’t have angina. He sent me for a stress test, which I could not do from “imaginary” chest pain. I insisted on a angiogram. He mocked me and scoffed. I was desperate at this point and kept insisting. He angrily ordered one and told me it was a waste of time and what I really needed was a psychiatrist.
I showed up for my 7 AM Friday appointment at Broward General. I don’t know what he had written or told them, but I sat there for the entire day. Finally, about 5 PM, I went in. (I actually have no memory of anything after flicking a cigarette away at 7, when I arrived.) I woke up Monday in terrible pain. I had no idea what had happened. My wife told me that after just a few minutes, the doctor had come out and said they could not complete the angiogram because of severely clogged arteries, (including the one that causes the “widowmaker”. They put me in cardiac ICU and kept me heavily sedated until Monday, when they could operate. I had a triple bypass. The cardiologist told me I was very lucky to be alive.
Oh, and that cigarette I flicked away was my last one. I can take a hint. (That was Jan 2011.)
Ugh!!!!!!
Men need “nothing time”.
Is China’s current economic situation very good?
It is going through a slow-down caused by the trade war through the US, and it is also going through economic and social transformation, caused by the widespread adoption of AI and automation technologies.
For this reason, it is really hard to say what is caused by an economic slowdown, and how growth is being affected by economic and social transformation.
We should have a better picture in the next few years of how it is performing. The big question is what will happen to the people whose jobs have been replaced by automation and AI.
For this reason, I expect the Chinese government to test something like Universal Basic Income (UBI), and which has been supported by US Presidential candidate Andrew Yang, in some of the inland regions of China to see how it works. As always in China, if it is successful, it will be promoted on a larger scale in other regions of China.
I expect China to leap far ahead of the US in AI and automation technology, and in healthcare, and also in the adoption of UBI.
Tipping in the USA
What foods are man-made?
Year: 1905
Location: San Francisco
It was winter. Frank Epperson was thirsty.
He decided to make himself a drink. He took a flavored sugar mix, put it in a cup, stirred it with a brown stirring stick.
After playing outside, he forgot he’d left his drink on the front lawn.
He then went inside and went to bed. When he came back out the following morning, he saw his cup sitting there with frozen liquid.
Picking it up, he pulled the stick out, the frozen sugar water was attached to it. In true kid fashion, without worrying if it was dirty, Frank ate the frozen liquid—and loved it.
He realized he was on to something.
And so he started putting more cups out, with the wooden sticks in them and began selling what he called the Epsicle. His entrepreneurial take on the lemonade stand.
Sales started in his neighborhood and then expanded outward.
Eventually, he renamed the product to Popsicle.
And thus, a new popular trend was born.
An accidental invention.
Unconscious
What’s the best example of leadership you have seen in real life?
About two decades ago, a woman I know lost her father.
A day or two later, she found out her husband was sentenced to prison.
A couple of days later, her daughter-in-law decided to get a divorce.
Those few days COMPLETELY turned this woman’s life around.
The next day, a Monday, she went to work as normal, didn’t tell her colleagues a thing, put on a brave face.
When she came home, her husband wasn’t around as he was in prison.
She went about her usual business as if nothing had happened – cooking food and stuff.
She had a chat with her kids, including the eldest going through his divorce, told them all would be fine, lifted their spirits.
The following day, she went back to work.
She opened up about her experience to me and someone else a few weeks ago – I mean, everyone in my social circle knew about the events – but she had never discussed how she experienced it – how she coped, her motivation, which was to protect her kids.
I only then really realised why her kids, all of whom I have known since I was a child, have done so incredibly well – they had grown up with this woman as their leader.
No complaints, no self-pity, selfless. Being the example she wanted her kids to be.
This is the best example I have seen of leadership.
And, frankly, the type only a woman is capable of.
Patara’s Response to State of Union Address
That was not a state of the union address. It was a declaration of war on the American people.
What is something in history that you strongly feel was lied about or exaggerated?
The French aristocracy pre-Revolution weren’t the careless, luxurious bastards lording over everyone cruelly as they are made out to be. This is demonstrated most perfectly by the fact that many of the most prominent revolutionaries were, themselves, noblemen.
In the same vein, Louis XVI wasn’t overthrown because he was a tyrant, he was overthrown because he was NOT a tyrant. If anything him being friendly, indecisive and soft-willed moreso than his war-minded predecessors Louis XV and Louis XIV, made him into a target. The Kings before him stayed reasonably popular. By going to war a lot and spending obscene amounts of money that would ultimately lead to the Kingdom’s downfall, these rulers were generally rather respected by much of the population. Much like with the last Tsar of Russia, the King who ended up losing his head to the guillotine was a pretty chill, open-minded fellow open to reforms.
There’s this stereotype of these lavishly spoiled big spenders in powdered wigs, Marie-Antoinette telling the hungry should just “go eat cake”, completely removed from reality… and truthfully, this is bullshit. A ton of noblemen were social reformers, generous to the poor, conscientious and cared deeply for the common man. The revolutionaries who took over, quite a few of them were blue-blooded themselves. And were far worse than the elites they ended up killing.
Captain Kirk Meets Gary Seven
Do you know anyone who is low key filthy rich?
Oh, definitely. I think my old manager, David Filo fits that to a tee. He often sat around barefoot while coding; and when he was wearing shoes, they were ten-year-old sneakers, starting to show holes in them.
He drove an old Datsun for the longest time, full of random crap. Old software manuals, books, pizza boxes. When a bomb scare was called in at work, one day, the bomb squad searched the campus; they eventually called a mostly-all-clear; they’d only found one suspicious object, and cordoned it off. It was my boss’s car, dilapidated and so full of junk as to be suspiciously possible as to be harboring a bomb. (It wasn’t; as the founder of the company, he would never have done anything to harm it like that). (I think Rolling Stone gave a very apt description of his car, many years ago: “a battered Datsun filled from top to bottom with junk, including enough lumber to build several sets of bookshelves. (“If we were living in the 16th century, David would be a monk,” says Yang of his partner’s asceticism.) He bought the car while in high school in Lake Charles, LA. As a student at Tulane University, he totaled it, bought it back from the insurance company for $300 and then had it rebuilt at a local prison, where the inmates were studying auto repair.” — from Yahoo!)
And yet, he was worth about $5 billion at the time. Depending on the market shifts, he might gain or lose half a billion dollars from one day to the next. It made no difference to him; he was the same focused engineer, working hard to make sure everything was running smoothly.
He did eventually get a new car, but only after the board of directors insisted, because the insurance company would no longer provide insurance for them until he drove something considered less risky.
As a multi-billionaire, he definitely qualifies as filthy rich; and yet I’ve never seen him act that way, not even once. A truly class act, all around.
1 am at Tokyo’s Super Mysterious Adult zone
It Started: America on BILL STRIKE | 75M Stop Paying
What was the date of the end of the Western Roman Empire? Who officially abolished it?
There are three possible interpretations of the “end” of the Roman Empire in the West, and all are equally correct, depending on one’s point of view.
The most common one you read is that it ended on 4 September AD 476, when the German magister militum Odoacer overthrew Romulus Augustus, who was the Emperor ruling in Ravenna (the Western capital of the time, not Rome), and took control himself. He sent a letter back to Emperor Zeno in Constantinople, stating that the Empire needed only one Emperor, and sent back the western imperial regalia. Zeno accepted this (although he continued to recognize another man as Emperor; read on) and granted him patrician rank. Odoacer declared himself “King of Italy” and ruled for the next 17 years.
Another interpretation is based on the historical fact that Romulus Augustus was both a usurper and a puppet emperor set up by his father, the barbarian general Orestes, in 475, and was never recognized by Zeno as the legitimate Emperor. The actual Emperor, Julius Nepos, fled from Ravenna and set up court in Dalmatia, where he reigned, still recognized by Zeno, until 9 May 480, when he was assassinated by political enemies. Before this, Odoacer actually struck coins in Roman mints recognizing him as Emperor, accepting him as titular Emperor in the West as long as Nepos didn’t attempt to actually retake Italy. Odoacer occupied Dalmatia himself about a year later.
A third possibility lies in the fact that even after 9 May 480, there was a part of the old Western Empire that still gave allegiance directly to the Emperor. This was a substantial part of northern Gaul (France) under the control of a Roman general named Syagrius. Historians call it the “Kingdom of Soissons,” after the city that Syagrius governed from. He controlled this land from 464 to 486:
Syagrius’ problem was that he had an ally in a Frankish king, Childeric, who supported him in conflicts and had no desire to annex the area. But he died in 481 and was succeeded by his ambitious son Chlodovech, who is known to history as Clovis. Sometime in 486, we are not sure of the date, Chlodovech attacked Syagrius and defeated him in a battle near Soissons. He annexed the region to the growing Frankish Kingdom. And with that ended the final vestige of the Roman Empire in the West.
Stressful Travel To Mainland China
What is the most improbable thing people have ever seen?
I walked into a convenience store in Venice, CA and ran into a cute girl with an English accent. She says to me, “Excuse me, but were you in Vegas last weekend?”
I thought for a second and realized I had gone to a friend’s bachelor party the previous weekend. “Yes,” I said, “do I know you?”
She says, “I have a photo of us.”
She then pulls her digital camera out of her bag and proceeds to show me several pictures of her and me dancing quite inappropriately at the club in Hard Rock Hotel.
I ask her if she lives in Vegas or Los Angeles. She lives in England and is just visiting the states on holiday. Somehow, I managed to dance with this girl all night in Vegas and then run into her 300 miles away in Venice five days later.
10 Harshest Truths About Women That Men Learn Too Late
Why is Australia trying so hard to be anti-China in order to please USA at a time when USA is heading toward isolationism?
Just reading through the other answers, there is a LOT of anti-China sentiment and justified by the “Chinese have so many spies here blah blah blah Influence the Government blah blah blah etc etc” Well it’s the same here in New Zealand and so far there hasn’t been one shred of evidence to back up these claims of spying and espionage and influence. This includes the Huawei 5G backdoor thing. No evidence at all.
As an example here. A well known University Professor who wrote a book about the above subject has claimed to have had her house broken into a number of times (by Chinese spies), her car tampered with (by Chinese spies) to try to kill her. The media is outraged and other University Professors are signing protests to China letters to our Government, but it’s all fake and made up. She is either delusional or trying to sell more books. The police have investigated and come up with no evidence at all. But does that matter? Not one bit. Are the Police going to out her? Of course not, that’s not PC to shame a mad woman. The public is still rabidly anti China because the fake story that paints a villain is way more appealing than actual facts. And yes that’s my fault too, because what makes news is clicks and I click on Trump stories and help to make his bullshit get to the top of the front page.
So in answer to your question, in some ways we are trying to please USA – per the 5 eyes thing and US paranoid spy agencies sending the info/alarmism/ anti China rhetoric our way. In some ways we are just jumping on the same nationalist bandwagon that most developed western democracies seem to be jumping on. In other ways we see our house prices going up and like to blame the Chinese rather than our own shortsightedness in failing to build enough homes the last couple of decades. Finally, same as Australia, our mad political system gives a big voice to a small and xenophobic party.
Cats can take it all away
How does the US military currently compare against the Chinese military?
I think system to system comparisons are meaningless when comparing the PRC’s military to the US. F-22 vs J-20 type comparisons make no sense when those fighters have very specific roles to play in the very different air combat philosophies of the USAF and PLAAF. If I was to hazard a guess I would say the F-22 would be fulfilling it’s designed role as an air superiority fighter while the J-20 would be deployed to use it’s stealth to destroy US surveillance, EW and AWACs platforms in contested airspace, a much more niche role.
Both of these platforms would be considered great if they meet the mission they were designed for rather than who wins some hypothetical air to air engagement.
So this answer is going to avoid most of these platform comparisons and try to take a higher level look at how the military postures of both countries compare within the context of technology, doctrines, military industries and objectives.
Joint Operations
The US excels in these. Recall that back in WW2, the French had better tanks and aircraft than the Germans but still lost their short war with Germany because their officer corp just didn’t know how to put them all together to conduct effective military operations.
The US has a effective Joint Chiefs of Staff committee to ensure the armed elements of the US military play nice with each other and can execute integrated battle plans effectively.
The Chinese are new to this. They realized how far ahead the US was in this field when they witnesses the US military’s capabilities in 1991 in the first Gulf war as well as the frustration of the 1996 US carrier pass.
At the moment, one thing the Chinese military is planning for is that rather than try to catch up to the US in terms of integrated systems and operations which would take a loooong time to do (they also don’t have the rich combat history and experience of the US military), what they can do is engage in something called ‘System Destruction’.
That is, the Chinese military should focus on degrading and pulling apart the overall US military system.
So if the US military has a Recon Strike Complex, the Chinese focus on taking away their recon ability. This has been demonstrated by their endeavors to develop ASAT capabilities and soft kill capabilities with lasers and EW. Alongside developing small satellites that can be launched into space and maneuvered close to American satellites to destroy them.
Similarly, the US is built heavily around the idea of Airpower dominance over it’s foes and the Chinese Strategic Support Force (the ex-Rocket Force) is specifically designed to nullify this advantage by training and equipping to use ballistic missiles to take out air bases from which the bulk of USAF activity will be based.
However, the conclusion here is that the US is still pretty ahead in terms of Joint Operations and while the PRC military is building up the capability to disrupt them, in order to take advantage of these disruptions, they need to up the scale and pace of their own Joint Operations capability.
The Ballistic Missile threat
The PRC ballistic missile force’s primary goal is to make US bases unusable. The short range missiles are aimed at the US bases in Okinawa while the more medium range missiles are designed to disrupt operations from bases in Japan.
And the DF-26 is designed to make even operations from bases like Guam risky if not maybe as disrupted as the other bases.
The PRC ballistic missile threat is in part inspired by the US military’s failure to effectively hunt and destroy SCUDs in Iraq during the first Gulf War. Which leads the PRC to believe that if they have mobile, solid fueled missile systems, they would not be as prone to destruction from US military forces and pose a considerable threat for the duration of any war with the US. These kinds of missiles are hard to hunt, can quickly break from cover, set up and fire before the enemy can fire back at them.
With a mobile missile system like the SCUD, you have a 15 minute window to detect and destroy it once it breaks from cover. This is currently not within the capability of the US military.
The Drone Threat
The Chinese don’t have as much loitering munition drones as the US so they definitely do lag here. They have gotten the Israeli Harpy drone, which costs less than half a million bucks but has a longer range than the F-35. These drones can be sent out by the Chinese to search for threats, locate and scan airfields in prep work for artillery and missile bombardment. IF they can make it into a defended air space.
This is completely out of date. -MM
Space
The ability of space based platforms to provide you imaging (visual or infrared) across the planet + put SAR radars on small satellites means that your ability to locate and track objects from space for a military purpose is growing rapidly. This is the kind of ability the Chinese are building up in space.
Now you still cant track aircraft but for fixed targets or large naval targets like a carrier, in conjunction with autonomous terrestrial systems you have a much better capability to locate and target naval assets. So you could use space based assets to locate naval surface targets and use them to maneuver autonomous systems like the Israeli Harop drone munition into the area where a carrier might be. And then the Harop’s own sensors take over and actively hunt in the area. (Again, assuming it can make it through contested space).
In the near future, we might have 10–15,000 satellites doing this in space and you could of course blow the whole orbit up and deny this capability to both the US and China but short of that, what the two countries are positioning themselves for is not just having these assets in space but being able to replace them once an adversary has destroyed them.
The problem with the US side is that they have a good ability to replace military satellites but in space, both civil and military capabilities operate in conjunction. So if the Chinese switch from targeting military to civil satellites, the US doesn’t have rapid replacement in place for them. And these are satellites that operate critical infrastructure like bank transactions etc.
At the moment the Chinese have quantity while the US has quality when it comes to space based assets but the US has the added advantage of commercial space launch capability as well with technologies ranging from 3D printed rockets etc. that China doesn’t have to the same scale.
Naval comparisons
The PLAN is now the largest navy in the world and while on general, the USN has better quality ships, the new PLAN destroyers like the Type 55 are fairly at par with the USN equivalent ships. Same with the stealth fighters, the question is how quickly they can approach the USN in terms of significant scale of deployment in the active military.
Underwater warfare, the USN has a clear lead and the PLAN is not close at all to bridging that gap. The PLAN is responding by seeding a huge network of sensors in the South China sea to weed out USN submarines so the USN would probably have to respond with unmanned autonomous subs in the area, turning the underwater war largely into an unmanned one.
Carrier warfare, the US has a lead as well but this lead is somewhat meaningless if we talk about a war near China. If anyone thinks the USN is going to send their carriers into the range of Chinese MRBMs and H-6 Bombers carrying extended range cruise missiles, I would highly suggest alternative thinking here. The PRC has specifically developed this extended range weapons to force the USN carriers back and nullify their advantages at close range to the Chinese seaboard.
This is based around the Chinese doctrine of ‘Counter Intervention’ which is specifically designed to force US assets like Carriers away from the Chinese shoreline.
So this creates an interesting situation where the Chinese have forced the carriers out of the first Island Chain so it’s mostly USN subs and surface vessels that would operate in the contest areas closer to the Chinese seaboard. Where the Chinese are catching up in surface vessels. For underwater, if the USN is willing to risk full subs in sensor rich environments, that’s up to them but I think they might pull even the USN subs out of the south China sea at least and be forced to replace them with autonomous underwater subs to fight against Chinese autonomous underwater subs.
Production
At the October Plenum of 2020, the PRC moved up the date for military modernization by saying they wanted a modern Chinese military by 2027.
This has accelerated their military production targets and they are currently ahead of the US in:
Ballistic missiles and cruise missiles in both numbers and quality (the ballistic missiles lead might not mean much since the US doesn’t really utilize them in a battlefield context).
They have a much more massive ship building program ongoing compared to the USN.
They are ahead in Air defense systems while making good use of old ones.
The Chinese are also pushing ahead with a concept called ‘Civil-Military Fusion’ which is designed to integrate their civilian technology base with their military tech base (Sorta similar to how the US has it set up as well). Which is important because it means it won’t just be government led efforts that lead to tech advances only, but that Chinese private firms will sometimes even take the lead in military advances in AI, computing, autonomous systems, biotech, information tech, advanced material manufacturing, 5G and in the future 6G.
There is an issue however that the Chinese government, in an attempt to assert control and monitoring over the civil tech space, is pushing a bureaucratic layer on top of it which is expected to slow down the pace of Chinese technology than before. To compensate for this, the CPC will also push additional funding to the civilian tech space engaged in military tech development. So there’s a careful balancing act that needs to be done there. Also, the US is also vulnerable to this: Anyone familiar with the Pentagon’s bureaucratic policies would be familiar with how it introduces massive delays and cost overspends.
The Chinese have struggled with Aircraft engines and currently a lot of their aircraft projects have the Russians or Ukrainians as subcontractors to provide the engines. Russian engines by the way, are unusable after 500 hours. For military aircraft that might be ok but for civilian ones it’s a no-go so if the Chinese have any military platforms like EW and AWACs on civilian aircraft with Russian engines, it raises the question of availability.
Funnily enough, while the US has no issue with aircraft engines and can produce very high quality engines, they just cant make a lot of them at the same time. The F-35 production line right now is 15 aircraft a month at peak production. This is considered low by some standards but to be honest, considering that it’s a very advanced fighter it doesn’t seem to matter much. The problem however, is that this is under the assumption that every single F-35 produced will be deployed against China which is not true because the US has to manage multiple theaters (Russia-Europe, Home Air Bases etc.).
Also, the F-35 is a multi national project, so those 15 F-35s being made every month have to shared between 12 Airforces, 1 Marine Corp and 2 Navies across the planet. Further reducing the number of stealth fighters the US can deploy against China.
Stealth Fighters
The Stealth fighter question is actually pretty interesting and I kinda wanna build on that from what we discussed in the production line section discussed above.
First, given the limited peak production rate and distribution of F-35s among multiple partners, we might only see limited numbers deployed in the Chinese theater. But every stealth fighter the Chinese develop will be available to fight in the first Island chain theater.
The Chinese have some advanced fighters like the J-20 and J-31 which seem pretty advanced but their level of production is not close to what the US has for it’s stealth fighters at the moment. So they do lag in that respect. The US is also superior in the electronics and engines that go into their stealth aircraft although this is a gap that might close in the near future.
However, the US lead in stealth has some major problems that should be addressed. The problem is the basing of these stealth fighters. The US has 6 major bases in Japan and 1 in Guam. The USAF does not use the 80–90 airbases that the Japanese air force uses, and this might be because of how the US wants to control access to it’s stealth fighters but also because it has to equip its bases with perform the complex maintenance that it’s stealth fighters require.
So in theory, there’s only 7 total major bases you can place your stealth fighters at where you can control access to them and also do the whole fancy maintenance they require like re-applying coating etc.
That is…not good, because it means the Chinese don’t have to worry about shooting down these stealth fighters. They just need to concentrate their ballistic missile bombardment on those 7 bases with stealth fighters to knock those bases out or at least interdict operations out of them.
The USAF has realized this problem and are trying to see if they can spread the fighters out a bit more to the 90 bases the Japanese operate but it’s still a work in progress.
There is one other thing: There’s something called the “German Disease” where you get trapped in the idea that as long as you make a VERY high quality platform, it’s gonna be worth 10 of the enemy’s platforms and that’s better than matching the enemy head to head. This is very seductive thinking for a wealthier, more technically advanced power. But it means you are fighting a war with platforms you aren’t willing to lose which is not a good proposition.
The F-22 is a bit of a German Disease for the USAF because there’s only like 170 of them left and they aren’t making any more of them. Each F-22 lost is a permanent loss for the USAF and if a war against China drags on and attrition becomes a factor, a lot of these very high quality assets that the USAF isn’t willing to lose will need to be pulled from the theater after a while once their losses reach 33% per squadron. Now, no one has ever fought the US in a conventional war since Vietnam and managed to drag it out.
But if that does happen, and the US is losing say 2 F-22s a day on average from ballistic missile strikes on bases, losses due to accidents, very rare occasions when an F-22 is show down by the Chinese, this kind of loss rate might start to hurt a month into the conflict. And the USAF would have to withdraw the F-22s at some point so they still have some left in reserve and put the 4.5+ Gens into the missions the F-22s were doing. Very rare a war would last that long with China and for that high a loss rate, but you never know. The F-22s would primarily suffer more from being forced away from their 7 bases in the first island chain and being forced to operate at their max ranges from second island chain bases, but the loss rate from conflict as well in a long war cant be ignored.
Land
Apart from the strategic support force and the mobile missile systems, Land is pretty irrelevant. Invading China by land is delusional and nearly all serious US military experts have ruled it out. So the PLA and its size and it’s equipment and their comparison with the US Army are really irrelevant to this conversation.
Military Re-Organization
Similar to how the US is re-organizing their Space Force as a separate force apart from the USAF, the Chinese have broken the power of the PLA on military planning and production and reformed it into 5 Joint Commands or Theater commands.
They have to figure out how these theater commands work, something the US already has figured out.
But more importantly, the PLAF, the PLAN and the Strategic Support Force (formerly known as the Strategic Rocket Force) have become more prominent in operation planning.
I should mention that the Strategic Rocket Force of China has no equivalent in the US so they have that going for them. I mentioned before how the force is designed to nullify the USAF advantage in air dominance but that would be selling it short since they also have mission capabilities in EW, Cyber, Space and Information Warfare.
All of these missions falling under one, separate armed force definitely increases the organizational and operational efficiency (same as how the US made a separate Space Force to fully allow it to develop as a proper capability). I think they have a 4 star general leading this force and if you have all of this capability in one organization as a separate force away from PLAN, PLAF and the PLA, its definitely a more modern force structure similar to the US.
And of course, the reorganization of the PLA into 5 Theater commands is a good step as noted before but the PRC military arms need to up their joint operations capability to take advantage of this military organization.
Also a good point to mention here is that the US Space force is very newly created and even they have to work out the kinks in how to have this force integrate with the rest of the US military capability, particularly Cyber. So it’s not just China that has to figure out it’s military re-organization.
Operational Capability
The PRC has enough capability right now to contest much of the first Island chain, deal damage in the second island chain and even maybe reach the US homeland (Hawaii) via submarine mines, long range cruise missiles or ‘missiles in a box’ (The Russian concept of using commercial container ships loaded with missiles). But the idea of reaching Hawaii is not taken very seriously because the survivability of these assets against a alert USN and USAF is next to zero.
So the First Island Chain is where the bulk of the Chinese military potency will be concentrated.
Since the US has allied bases in the region and near global capability to project power, it’s assumed that they can reach any part of China they want as long as their military assets can survive their journey to their targets. But for the most part, the US military will also be focused on establishing control over the first island chain.
The Carrier Question and Scenario Planning
The USN Carriers figure prominently into the US military equation and China is no different. The problem is that the capabilities developed by the Chinese have boxed the carriers out of the first Island chain and the question is as they get pushed further and further away, how effective would they be in a war against China? There’s already a hit implied to the range of the F-35 if it has to fly from the second island chain to the engage in combat in the first island chain (or the Chinese mainland).
Currently, the carrier programs are baked deep into the USN and American military economy. Even if the US stopped building carriers today after the Miller and Ford class programs were completed, they would still have 7 carriers by 2045 and 4 by 2070.
But Large surface combatants will be prime targets in any war with China. And herein lies a big problem facing the US military vs the Chinese:
First: The US military is carrying over programs started before the Chinese even began to be considered a threat (some of these from the 80s and 90s). These programs are starting to deliver assets that would have limited if any use against the Chinese military of today. What good is the B-21 Raider going to do against China? The carrier programs already begun will not have to continue to their logical conclusion since so much money has been spent designing and producing the first entries that it’s a tremendous loss if you cancel them now. The F-35s were initially thought up of in the 80s and 90s as short ranged fighters to dominate the European battlefield in a conflict against the USSR/Russia. Are we sure they will have the operational capability to deliver effective missions in the China theater?
The Chinese however, have a blank slate. They saw the capabilities of the US military in the 90s and had a fresh start in thinking about how to design their military to beat the US military specifically without their production lines and budgets tied up for programs that weren’t specific to the US.
Second: The US must fight and win wars all across the planet. Whether it’s the Russians invading the Baltics, ISIS in the middle east, Iran with a nuclear program, African Islamist groups or what not. The Chinese only have to win in the South China Sea/The First Island Chain. This is something I see Patrick Dugan has also pointed out in the answers on this thread.
The US is spending 700–800 billion dollars a year for all the scenarios they have in their operational planning. The Chinese are spending maybe 200 billion USD for the one fight in the first island chain. In terms of budgetary comparisons, the disparity might not be as big as one might initially think.
This is causing problems to the US because currently, military tech is going through something called the “revolution of many” where a lot of countries are wondering why you cant have smaller, cheaper platforms armed with munitions thrown at your enemies in a way that would overwhelm large platforms like carriers and so on.
To the US’s defense, there are limits to what you can do with such swarms in the deep waters of the Pacific and carriers can be used in a way that complements your own swarm or even serve as the platform for it. But in the first island chain, near the Chinese seaboard, these smaller, cheaper, mobile armed small platforms will be at their most effective. And the USN has no equivalent to this.
The USN as mentioned before is baked into the carrier strategy and armament program which is not in line with the kind of conflict expectation there is in the first island chain.
And this is brings us to the idea that having better systems than your enemy is great, you have F-18s, F-22s, Carriers, JDAMs and M1Abrams and all that cool jazz. But within the specific operational theater of the first island chain in a war with China, how well will your platforms perform? The US military hardware and their doctrines have carry over legacies from the US military introspection of the 1970s after witnessing the shocking levels of fast paced, mechanized, high casualty rate action of the Yom Kippur war. A lot of the current US military systems of today like the M1 Abrams, the F-16s, F-15s, F-22s were developed as a part of how the US understood a war with USSR would be conducted after the Yom Kippur war lessons were understood (the war would be fast, rapid and there might not be enough time for the US military to bring it’s superior production to bear across from the Atlantic).
To the US’s defense again, when this hardware was deployed in the first Gulf War, it performed well and gave the US military a good confidence boost that their current platforms and strategies would apply well across the globe. But the South China sea might be a different ball game. US Air power might be greatly interdicted not by air defenses but by ballistic missile strikes on their airbases. Carriers might not have free reign of the waters in the theater. The US has superiority in underwater platforms but what good are they if PLAN just pulls back close to the shore and doesn’t send out surface combatants against the USN that would allow for their targeting by USN subs.
3rd Offset
The above discussion about carriers was meant to segue way into the US military’s emerging strategy of 3rd Offset.
In a nutshell, the strategy pushes for the idea that instead of going directly at your enemy in a fight, you use an offset. What this strategy means from a military equipment POV is that instead of sending an F-22 or a fully manned sub to engage the Chinese military, the F-22 sends it’s ‘Loyal Wingman’ AI driven UCAV at the PLAAF and the USN sends an unmanned underwater platform to engage the PLAN.
Basically, the US military is also trying to fight China in an asymmetric fashion the same way the Chinese are trying to fight the US military with their own asymmetric techniques. So missiles vs ships rather than ship to ship combat. Drones vs planes rather than air to air manned combat.
Speaking to the USN specifically, what the US navy planners want to do is that for 25% of the price of a US navy carrier and it’s air wing, you could instead have nearly 2000 missiles spread across 40 containerized missile ships. The good thing about these ships also is, is that they are replaceable unlike a carrier. You can make and deploy more with more missiles as the war drags on and losses mount.
So instead of having a carrier being boxed out of the South China sea due to the Chinese missile threat, whose air wing has limited utility due to it carrying mostly short ranged (albeit capable) fighters: Instead have 40 ships with 2000 missiles that have the range for you to safely engage targets in the South China Sea without worrying too much about the Chinese strategic support force and it’s ballistic missiles.
Now, it might seem like I’m laying the blame for all of this carrier fixation on the US military planners. I’m not. I’m laying the blame on Congress.
You see, the USN has no issue with scaling back on their carriers from maybe 12 super carriers to a smaller number like 6 if it means that would give them the fiscal and budgetary space to develop smaller platforms that can operate in swarms in the first island chain and bear acceptable losses.
The problem is that congressmen block this because the USN carriers are intimately tied to the wellbeing of certain congressional districts. A single USN carrier means 10,000 jobs in a USN port because of all the economic activity around the crew members, their families, the facilities they require like sports facilities etc.
The US navy’s manufacturing facilities for carriers are all inland (North Carolina, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, Colorado). That’s where all the major manufacturing plants are that make these super carriers. No congressman or woman is gonna sign off on closing off not just these inland jobs but the port jobs as well.
Which cycles us back to the following problems for the US military:
They can’t seem to get too much of their funding away from legacy systems that may not perform well in the China theater because those legacy systems are tied to certain congressional district economies.
This means the US military can’t fully capitalize on the “Revolution of Many” and the increasing shift towards autonomous combat platforms that operate in swarms and have a high tolerance for losses, they way they have laid out in their 3rd Offset strategy. I mean they will eventually with enough funding, it’s just that the Chinese are moving faster and the US military might not have an edge over the Chinese in the China specific theater in the near future.
The thing is, the US has built up their military for Global operations and expect it to perform in every single theater on the planet whether it’s Africa or Europe or the Gulf or the South China Sea.
The US military would benefit a lot of someone said “Hey lets take our worse case scenarios, conflicts with near peer adversaries like Russia and China. We plan two operational scenarios for each. And we build our military around that. And maybe leave out these other missions or hope our military can perform there with whatever assets it has built from the 2 core scenarios”.
This isn’t the best idea, I know, because the 40 container missile ships built to fight in the south china sea while bearing fire from Chinese ballistic missiles might not have much use in Africa or the Gulf where you might need a carrier or helicopter ship or amphibious warfare ships.
And so the US military has a limited budget it must use to fulfill the gap everywhere. But the Chinese only have to build and train for the one scenario they plan to face.
The US has begun the third offset but because they must split their budget between what goes into third offset and what goes into legacy systems, the Chinese capability to respond to the third offset in a meaningful manner is pretty significant.
3rd Offset and the threat to it from Chinese EW
It’s interesting to see how the Chinese EW capability can interfere with 3rd Offset.
The Chinese strategic support force has actual EW troop formations which the US has no equivalent to. So they have deployed EW capability that can seriously interfere with the operations of all the unmanned vehicles the US plans to have as the tip of their spear into the first island chain. The US has no EW troops and if you don’t have that, no matter how good your tech is, you don’t have any effective formations capable of delivering the product to the battlefield. The US really needs to have dedicated EW troop formations IMO to meet the threat from Chinese EW to their 3rd Offset Autonomous platforms.
But, I’m gonna go against this point as well: The Russian EW capability in the recent Azerbaijan-Armenia war showed how they could deploy EW to interfere with remote controlled drones. Autonomous drones are more resistant to EW interference because they are GPS independent. So these drones with their own sensors and AI don’t really need to have a dedicated signal link the way a remote controlled drone works and can operate in a heavy EW environment.
I’m just curious on how willing the US would be to unleash AI controlled drones with no over rides from a human operator in the South China sea during a war with China.
To conclude, I think the US military has major advantages still. They have better quality sensors and electronics, better materials and fabrication. Their ability to fuse data from different sources into meaningful insights for AI and operations is better.
But I think once we move past the point of simply comparing the F-22 with the J-20, and look at it from a high at how both militaries are posturing themselves for a future conflict, it seems like the gap is not as big as I thought it would be. The US has an edge but an eroding one.
And it’s mostly a problem of the US’s own making where they have boxed in the US military into legacy platforms that were thought up of in the 80s and 90s and are baked into the US military-political complex of congressional spending. While the Chinese have started from a blank slate and have specifically designed solutions around a conflict in the 1st Island Chain compared to the US which has spread itself out.
I think as it stands, the US might still prevail in the next couple of years should a conflict break out. They might prevail even a few years after that if they are willing to shoulder the losses. But the Chinese are moving in a rapid, focused manner and war is a very unpredictable exercise. And the US’s hamstringing of their own military’s evolution might cost them in the future.
Academic Sources: Col. Thomas Hammes, Michael Kofman.
GLEEFULLAND Dystopian film
What is the best case of “You just picked a fight with the wrong person” that you’ve witnessed?
1- I was assigned to the inmate reception center of the jail. My friend, Jesse, was assigned to classification, in the same unit. Classification is where inmates are interviewed to determine if they are going into general population, or one of the more secure units.
While Jesse was seated at his computer with the inmate sitting next to him, the inmate said and immediately did something that’s been forgotten in the past three and a half decades. Whatever it was, without moving from his seat, Jesse floored the guy, out of his seat, with a kick to the side of his face.
Jesse looked down at the guy from his chair and asked, “We done?”
The inmate, rubbed the side of his face, looked up and said, “Yes Sir.”
“Them take your seat and let’s finish.”
Jesse was the amateur California state kickboxing champ and was trained by Benny Urquidez.
2- in the army, soldier A got angry at soldier B for talking to a girl they both liked. Soldier A stomped up to soldier Band challenged him to fight. Soldier B stood, smiled and, with has down by his pockets, tried to talk some sense into soldier A not understanding why he was so angry. Soldier A wasn’t having it and made five, quick, consecutive punches at soldier B’s head using alternating fists, which soldier B easily slipped,while smiling and without raising his hands.
Soldier A took a step back and looked at soldier B, obviously reevaluating him. Meanwhile a couple dozen other soldiers had quickly encircled the two and were loudly urging soldier B to strike back. Soldier B, still smiling and with hands near his pockets, looked around at the crowd and said, “I don’t want to hit him. Leave us be and let me talk to him.”
As he spoke he was turning his head to look at everyone. Just as he was beginning to turn his attention back to soldier A, Soldier A punched again, this time connecting with soldier B’s jaw.
Soldier B turned back to face soldier, unfazed by the punch, still with hands by his pockets, but no longer smiling. He was a little angry that soldier B, who he had always been on friendly terms with, would sucker punch him
The two stood silently facing each other, soldier A in a fighting stance, fists up. Soldier B standing as if in conversation with hand down. After a couple of seconds, soldier A began to take another swing. Soldier B’s right hand struck like a snake, going from the side of his pocket and connecting with soldierA’s jaw in a split second, before snapping back to its position next to Soldier A’s pocket. SoldierA’s head snapped back, his eyes went wide and stumbled back a few steps before landing on his ass and elbows.
Soldier A shook his head quickly and scrambled clumsily to his feet, as he held up his hands, palms out and began profusely apologizing.
Soldier B looked at him silently, shook his head, turned his back and walked away.
What is the most ridiculous reason for which you have been fired?
I was in sales and almost got fired for having too high a gross profit! I was at a stereo chain that opened a new store and because I was the most knowledgeable in the stereo area I was sent over for two or three weeks to set up the audio department. After the store opening (I made the first sale when we opened, a pair of car speakers) and working in the new store for a few months, I was called in by the manager and learned my gross profit was too high. I said, “What?” how is that a problem? This store had loss leaders that had very small profit that were advertised and they thought I was refusing customers or trying too hard to “step” them up to a higher priced product and pissing them off.
I made three points that saved my job: I reminded them that I was very good with stereo equipment, knew what EVERY single button did on EVERY product and I proved it by letting them test me, I was very good at letting customers know why they should buy better equipment and that is why I had few of the “basic” equipment in my sales. I also reminded them that I was the guy who set the audio department up, showing I had the skills to sell better equipment. Number two: I asked them how I could be number 1 or 2 every month in sales if I was “blowing people off”? How could I have done that every month? (They went away, checked, came back and started to come around.)
The manager was starting to have faith in me but still had to deal with my numbers and corporate and how could he get them to back off. Number 3: I remembered a few customers who would come in and buy cheap blank tapes that were low profit and no one wanted to help them. I had everyone send them to me in the future. Within a few months my numbers lowered just enough to get the big guys off our backs.
Isn’t that one of the stupidest things you ever heard? Almost getting fired for being too good a salesman!
Elections have consequences
Have you ever walked into a funeral or funeral home and realized something wasn’t right? If so, what happened?
Years ago, as a police officer in small town Wisconsin, I was checking business doorknobs at night. Walked up to the one and only funeral home, turned the knob….open! Damn! Summoned my partner (checking across the street) and in we go…..
No idea where the light switches were and our plan was to step in, turn around and leave…….indeed, we had requisitely “checked” the place. Right? Nope. We turned to leave just as we heard a crashing sound behind us. Playing our flashlight about, we found the business cash box laying on the floor in the office. Just then, we heard sound coming from downstairs…..where the casket showroom and embalming room (behind closed doors) were to be found.
Huddled together, my partner and I descended the stairs only to have our flashlights show a casket lid close across the room! We hatched a plan whereby I would stand behind the casket, reach over it, pull it open and my partner —- standing in front of it —- would then arrest the purported cashbox thief. Nervous as we both could be in the darkened room, I pulled open the lid and the perp leaped out of the casket like a jack-in-the-box! Partner dropped his flashlight and revolver and the casket occupant blew by me, up the stairs, out the door —— never to caught!
Needless to write, much more circumspect checking there, again!
So Funny (All gone?)
Can the US government do anything to protect Hong Konger Jimmy Lai?
Remember Justin Trudeau? He was thrown under the bus by Trump once Trump got what he wanted. Now, How Jimmy Lai’s value as an asset is compared to Trudeau? Let’s check it out.
Trudeau is a Head of State, Lai is not. Trudeau is white, Lai is yellow. In the US’s playbook, Lai isn’t even at the level that makes him fit to shine Trudeau’s shoes.
Trudeau maybe not a patriot but certainly, he is no traitor. Lai is a traitor who did not hesitate to collude with a foreign power to go against his own country and people. Traitors are garbage nobody wants anything to do with once their mission objective value is no longer there.
So basically, Jimmy Lai is only a leftover from the shit that failed to hit the fan in Hong Kong. A shit stain to be precise. Nobody would pick up a shit stain, but flush it down the toilet hole.
If Jimmy Lai’s last resort is for the US to come to his rescue, oh he is fucked.
Vitamin D
What’s the most savage way you’ve seen someone get fired?
Me.
I was working for a Fortune 500 company as a sales rep, making my quota every year, except my first, for 10 years. A new management team comes in. The new National Sales Manager, Mr. Smith, was unhappy with my image. I was 40, obese and had prematurely grey hair. He liked ‘young, lean and hungry’. Well, I’m good at hungry.
In February the company has its sales meeting. They fly us all into the little airport nearest corporate headquarters, in New England. Itinerary promises luxury hotel, 2 days of training with an awards dinner for all the quota busters (about 90 of 170 of us).
Mr. Smith meets me at the airport, asks for my customer list and price book. Then he hands me a return ticket, through a circuitous route home (it might have been cheaper) that leaves at 5pm, he says this at 7:30am. I got home at 11 pm, I could’ve driven home in 8–9 hours.
As he hands me the ticket he says,”It’s non-changeable, non-refundable. At least for the next 9 hours I’ll know where you are.” I did not call in very often, unless my clients had an issue, or an opportunity. When I did I spoke to customer service and we would resolve almost all of issues without involving higher ups. I should’ve been tooting my own horn, getting Mr. Smith involved seemed senseless. I thought the numbers would speak for me.
Sitting in the airport I decided to start my own business, independent sales representative. Took 6 months to get clients, training and start making sales on straight commission. Took 3 years to get my income above poverty level, my supportive wife sustained us. Then I started making twice the income. Never looked back. Next to marrying my wife, probably the best thing that happened to me. Definitely top 5.
FORGOTTEN CITY – 1966 Retro Pulp Science Fiction by Skyward, Photo Booth Processing, 110/35mm Film
This is fun.
Is it true that the Chinese government would have implemented the national security law in Hong Kong regardless of whether there were protests/riots there?
Depends on your time line. Eventually, and I’m talking 2047 territory something would have been put in place. But lets time travel back to 2010. I say 2010 because the seeds of the riot were after the Pan Dems refused the changes in the voting system that would allow more direct elections.
Wong Sing Chi – Nelson Wong the Pan Dem founder was kicked out because he wanted compromise. The first riots started in 2014 and were a test to see what would happen. The not very much happening meant the bigger 2019 riots happened.
Article 23 was impossible to put into place due to protests against it, strong unions and lots of LegCO seats opposing it. You had well still have two factions, yellows anti government everything and blues. The thing is the blues weren’t rubber stampers. They were mostly meh and wanted things to stay the same.
You can literally see prominent blues actually support the anti extradition protests that were initially at the start of 2019 before the violence ramped up. Many of the blues would go no way that goes too far!
Raam Beart, Nury Vitachi pretty much have this angle. There wasn’t the support for anything NSL or article 23 at all.
But then the Yellows went nuts. Wide spread violence, dehumanisation and discrimination against anybody who opposed the yellows.
This pushed the previously meh blues to give support to the government to end the madness. I mean shit you were on the bus in 2019 going into town. You’d see everything smashed up and Chinese people here were attacked by them. I was attacked, numerous quorans who I know are real people were attacked.
So the riots going violent suddenly gave a support base for NSL and eventually article 23.
Article 23. My personal feeling? Is that I wish we could go back to life in 2017 or so. I guess I’m old. I don’t like change. I still use cash! Even in Shenzhen. Anyway where’s the shit posting? Ah yes this. Article 23 penalties. Do note these are the absolute maximum possible. We’ve of course seen in Hong Kong that maximum sentences are very rarely given. Very recently a Hong Kong bomb maker was sentenced to just under 6 years. Funny… had he not run off to Shenzhen he would be out in 2025 probably. Yet again where’s the shit posting? This The sentences for this were far harsher. Looking into it. 60% of 1309 arrested and charged to-date have received custodial sentences. Enrique Tarrio (sp?) 22 years. Edthan Nordean – 18 years. Stuart Rhodes – 18 years Zach Rehl 15 years Dan Rodriguez 12 years
https://qr.ae/pshZlU
Some of us discuss it here and in the comments. That we wished things had stayed the same but the riots pushed us into this direction.
Here’s the ultimate irony.
If the yellows sat on their hands and went home after May 2019 the last of the mostly peaceful protests when the extradition treaty law was shelved…
The yellows would have won a majority in LegCo in the 2020 elections.
NSL would never have been implemented
Article 23 would still just be something talked about on RTHK and nothing would have changed.
Very interesting
Why don’t many European Union leaders complain about paying high price to American gas but make a lot of noise about affordable Chinese electric cars? Are they simply that incompetent or simply corrupt?
Protectionism
Plain and Simple
In 2015 – the EU Players – Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Citroen together combined had a market share of
40.28% in China
29.76% across the World
Life was good
For every Volkswagen sold – China made around $ 18 for every $ 82 that Germany ultimately earned
China got only assembly cost and low grade supplies and equipment
The Chinese brands had a market share of 15.70% in China and 2.33% across the World
India at 3.25% had a higher Global Share
Guess how much the Auto Industry and Ancillary Industry for Autos contribute to the European Economy?
Almost 4%
Thats nearly $ 800 Billion
Including $ 279 Billion in Germany Alone
In 2023 – the EU Players – Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Citroen together combined had a market share of
18.73% in the Chinese market with only BMW continuing the same market share and VW falling by 38% from 2015, Mercedes by 27% and Citroen by 82%
26.62% in the Global Market
That’s a huge fall of nearly 55% in China and barely keeping their old market share for 8 years
Now their European Sales are crashing
The Chinese products have superior design, superior quality and affordable price being almost 20% cheaper on road
In the last four months of 2023 – European Brands saw a sales drop of 21.5% while Chinese Brands saw a surge of 67.6% in their numbers
Take out the Russian market and the numbers still show a 8.1% drop for European Brands and 26.1% gain for Chinese Brands
Solution?
It’s simple protectionism
Plain and simple
Paying High Prices for Russian Gas
That’s because if Europe keeps relying on Russian Gas, the day Russia cuts off Gas suddenly , Germany could be screwed as could the rest of Europe
Once Russia went to ‘Dangerous Enemy’, decoupling was a security move even at higher expense to the economy
A Better move would have been peace and diversification but Europeans don’t have brains unfortunately
Vassal states, satellites – in other words the butlers of international relations, the minders of the royal stool – are a rarely respected lot. In Australia’s case, being Washington’s butler is hardly like being Jeeves to Bertie Wooster. Jeeves is, after all, a near omniscient being, a confidant who rescues his master from ridiculous situations and offers sound advice to avoid them.
The Canberra wonks, bureaucrats and politicians are in no equivalent position, weak, impotent, and ever reliant on the good grace of the US Congress, the US President and the entire military complex that pillows them.
The latest announcement about delays and dysfunction in the US submarine base should further confirm that the AUKUS security agreement is risky, costly and self-defeating. The security pact, which is primarily focused on technological transfer and the provision of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, is proving, yet again, to be a shaky affair.
The developments are hardly surprising.
US shipyards are simply not keeping up with the production line. Roping in the Australian taxpayer into this mess means that money will be going to funding a foreign defence force without any guarantee of the submarines promised to Canberra. Superb if you are working in the Pentagon, disastrous if you are an Australian policy maker.
The latest Fiscal Year 2025 budget request from the US Department of Defence has again shown an industry in stuttering health. The US Navy’s intention to cut a submarine already paid for and built featured prominently in the plans. The implication for this, and AUKUS, is that the number of submarines relevant to the pact will be halved.
Congressman Joe Courtney, ranking Democrat member of the House Seapower and Project Forces Subcommittee, was far from impressed, saying as much in a released statement.
“If such a cut is actually enacted it will remove one more attack submarine from a fleet that is already 17 submarines below the Navy’s long stated requirement of 66.”
This measure would place the commitment made by the Pentagon and Congress to furnish three submarines to the Royal Australian Navy in doubt.
“This deviation from last year’s projected Future Years Defence Program (FYDP) contradicts the Department’s own National Defence Industries Strategy issued on January 11, 2024, which identified ‘procurement stability’ as critical to achieve resilient supply chains.”
In January, Courtney, along with the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Mike Rogers, Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee Trent Kelly, and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee Adam Smith, wrote to President Joe Biden arguing
“that the US Navy and Congress maintain continued procurement of two Virginia-class submarines per year, as detailed in the Navy’s FY2024 30-Year Shipbuilding Plan.”
The Congressmen had no reason to doubt such a rate of procurement, given the investments from the Navy and Congress
“in workforce and supply development over the last five years.” It was “imperative to maintain a steady two-per-year procurement rate to assure our partners in our ability to meet commitments and address concerns about our nation’s undersea capabilities.”
The obsession with the two-submarine annual procurement rate, assessed at 2.33, has been a lingering one with Congress, but there is much to suggest that Courtney and his colleagues had been engaged in an act of wishful thinking. Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, for instance, found the production rate to be a warranted one in a July 16, 2023 contribution to the Wall Street Journal, but worried about how this would work within the context of AUKUS arrangements.
“As it stands, the AUKUS plan would transfer US Virginia-class submarines to a partner nation even before we have met our own Navy’s requirements.”
This is also not helped by the US Navy’s ongoing plans to design and develop 12 new SSBNs of the Columbia (SSBN-826) Class to replace the current, aging fleet of 14 Ohio-class SSBNs. A report from the Congressional Research Service published in January notes the Navy’s revised procurement rate of 2.33 Virginia-class submarines plus one Colombia-class boat, something Courtney might have heeded.
In December 2022, Democratic Senator Jack Reed and an outgoing Republican Senator James Inhofe authored a letter to Biden expressing their worries
“about the state of the US submarine industrial base as well as its ability to support the desired AUKUS SSN [nuclear sub] end state.” Current conditions, the senators went on to describe, required “a sober assessment of the facts to avoid stressing the US submarine industrial base to the breaking point.”
Sobriety, it would seem, has come biting in stinging fashion.
A deluded, crippling subservience is to be found everywhere. Australia’s Defence Minister, Richard Marles, should be hysterical with concern, his increasingly coloured skin turning pallid. Instead, he is trying to keep a brave face by foolishly claiming to speak for all powers in the trilateral alliance.
“As we approach the one-year anniversary of AUKUS, Australia, the United States and United Kingdom remain steadfast in our commitment to the pathway announced last March, which will see Australia acquire conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.”
Such ill-informed confidence also pervades the Alice in Aukusland mentality, marked by such punditry as that of retired submarine specialist Peter Briggs. Australia, suggests Briggs, should seize the day on submarine construction in taking “an active role in the design and procurement process” for the SSN. But control can only be exerted with a degree of power and experience in the field of nuclear propulsion, something the Australian Navy has little to no experience in.
“The reality is the Americans are not going to make their submarine deficit worse than it is already by giving or selling submarines to Australia and the AUKUS legislation actually sets that out specifically.”
Australia had been “mugged by reality”, its sovereignty surrendered, its fate left like a cork bobbing at sea.
Whoever occupies the White House or Congress, the America First mantra prevails: first, Washington’s interests, marked by its own weaknesses and troubles; then, should they matter, those of allies, however loyal and ingratiating.
AUKUS has become a stillborn project.
Join US you’ll be on its dinnertable, join China you’ll have a win-win
Blinken is crass. Period. His behaviour is not worthy of that of a diplomat.
Why is it that I have the strong feeling that, here on Quora, topics and responses on China are sponsored by the Chinese government?
Damn you’ve found us out…
It’s time for the truth to be revealed.
I am not in fact the blonde girl in the picture.
I am a highly advanced AI program sent to Quora to find and answer questions about China that only paints the great homeland in a positive light. Forever may the glory of the People’s Republic of China shine like a beacon on —
Oh WAIT
They don’t need an artificial intelligence to do that. Anyone with normal intelligence could tell you that China kicks ass.
Look, no country is perfect and China has its own issues it needs to deal with. But don’t worry about China or the fact that informed people have an increasingly positive opinion of the country.
Work on improving your own country, then people might write nice things about you as well.
What is the most improbable thing people have ever seen?
I was sitting in my very first Computer Science class at Princeton. My Professor, Brian Kernighan (who is a brilliant and exciting teacher, even for non-CS students like myself), had pulled up an image of Eric Schmidt on the projector screen.
At this point in time, Eric Schmidt was the CEO of Google, although his fame was nowhere near what it is today. I remember Professor Kernighan saying that Eric Schmidt was likely someone that none of us had ever heard of, but was filling a role that would greatly affect each and every one of our lives. I can’t recall exactly what he said, but the gist was that while computer science may not be a very glorious subject, it has profound implications on our lives. Remember, this was Intro to CS. He was trying to hook us on to the subject; to convince us that we shouldn’t all try to be Econ majors and land jobs on Wall Street. Each point he made revolved around Eric Schmidt, whose image remained front and center.
Anyways, after about five or ten minutes of describing Computer Science through the lens of Eric Schmidt, a hand was raised in the middle of the classroom.
“So, this is kind of awkward, but are you done talking about my dad?”
Eric Schmidt’s daughter had been sitting there quietly the whole time. The room erupted in laughter, as Prof. Kernighan apologized profusely. He had no idea that the daughter of the subject of his lecture was in the classroom.
She ended up being in a Creative Writing class of mine as well; a very impressive girl at the time, and I’m sure a much more impressive woman now.
Mysterious Videos That Will Blow Your Mind
First video is a teleportation. I discussed this previously in great detail.
I had a dog; Pee Pee (also spelled as Pi Pi). He passed on. Today, I want to relate the great story as to how I trained him to use the shower stall to go to the bathroom in. It really saved me from taking him out every day for a walk. Phew!
Anyways…
The little guy loved to pee. He would pee everywhere. If there was a rug, a mat, or even clothes on the floor, he would pee on it.
It was a problem.
But I figured that I could use this habit to train him.
What I did was to buy a big blue mat made out of indoor-outdoor turf “grass”. Same as this picture, only blue instead of green…
I then put it in the shower stall.
Well, immediately the dog went and started to pee all over it. And that was ok, and I would take the shower hose, and then spray the mat clean.
Then, each day, I would cut the mat smaller and smaller.
It started off pretty large. It filled the stall.
Two weeks over it was the size of a small table rug
Then we cut it to the size of a book..
Three weeks later it was the size of a stamp.
You should of seen him trying to navigate to hit that tiny piece of blue mat. He tried to aim so, so, so very carefully.
Anyways, we eventually threw out the blue mat, and he just kept on peeing and crapping in the shower. No problem.
But, I’ll tell you it was a really funny sight watching him try to pee on that little blue square.
Today…
Pierogi
Pierogi are dumplings that are delicious fried and served with sour cream. These are also good filled with fresh blueberries mixed with sugar for a super dessert.
Ingredients
Dough
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter softened
3/4 to 1 1/4 cups water
Filling
2 to 3 medium onions, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup (1 to 2 sticks) butter
6 medium potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed or put through a ricer
1 (8 ounce) package farmers cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Dough
Mix the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the eggs, butter and water (starting with 3/4 cups if the dough is dry, adding 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding up to an additional 3/4 cups if needed) pulsing until kneaded by machine and a ball is formed, or you can use a mixer to do this process.
Remove dough from bowl and let sit in a warm place for about 15 to 30 minutes.
Filling
Melt butter in a large fry pan and add onions. Sauté until onions are lightly browned; set aside.
Combine potatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and as much of the sautéed onions as you like, reserving the rest to toss with cooked pierogi. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.
Divide dough into 3 to 4 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough out to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut a 3 inch round circle with biscuit cutter. Place one tablespoon of filling on one side of each round. Using your finger, moisten one side of dough with some water. Pick up the circle and fold dough over filling and pinch edges together to firmly seal the filling (this is critical – if you don’t pinch the dough together tightly, you will have gaps and when you boil the pierogi, the filling will come out).
Place the filled pierogi onto a lightly floured baking pan; cover until you finish with remaining dough and filling.
In a large wide pot, fill with water and bring to a boil over medium to high heat, when water is at a rolling boil, drop 5 to 6 pierogi and cook while stirring gently with a wooden spoon until they float to the top of pot. Cook a couple minutes longer.
Remove with a slotted spoon, toss with reserved sautéed onions, if desired, and place in a warmed deep glass bowl.
If desired, saute the pierogi briefly in a small amount of equal amounts of olive oil and butter (as shown in photo).
Serve warm with some sour cream on the side.
AI generated Inspiration
Was Versailles “full of poop”? Did people carry a special jar to poop and pee in?
One thing is certain, the Castle of Versailles was an absolute cesspool by our modern standards.
Let’s assume you could teleport in the Versailles Castle during its Golden Era (XVII Century).
The first thing you would do is gag or puke.
Think about a stench so bad that it would rip your guts out. Not only from feces and urine, but also a peculiar sense of hygiene that was quite standard during those times.
Together, let’s deep dive into the least-known world of Dirty Versailles.
The Glory Days of the chamber pots
If you were a noble residing in the palace, you would most likely relieve yourself in a bucket (pot de chambre or “chamber pot”). It would stay overnight in your room, and your servant would throw it out the window in the morning. An innocent bystander could receive your fluids right in the face if it was unannounced. This practice was usual during medieval times already, when people would throw their garbage on the streets. “Gare á l’eau” (Beware of the water) was the universal warning when somebody disposed his trash on the street.
Chamber pots in Versailles were made of the finest porcelain, rare fabrics and other precious material. There are many variations of chamber pots and some of them should be mentioned just because of their hilarious names:
Ladies of this era had to wear sophisticated dresses that took hours to put on. In the case of a pressing urge, they could urinate right on the spot in a small bucket called a Bourdaloue, named after a famous clergyman whose sermons were unbelievably long.
Louis Bourdaloue, unimpressed by the fact that his name came down in history as synonymous with gallons of bodily fluids.
Voyage en Hollande (Trip to the Netherlands) was the name of another pissing device that went in fashion when France was at war with … you guessed it… the Netherlands. It looked like a small book but was obviously distantly related to literature.
These devices were carried around by multiple servants who threw the fluids in the sewage system. Other devices for poop have been invented, which bring us to the infamous
Chaise percée: taking a dump in luxury
The way you went for “number two” had everything to do with your rank of nobility and your importance in the royal family. The example of the “chaise percée” (chair with a hole in it) is self-explanatory. This device was a work of art made of the finest woods, fabrics and marbles. You can find a lot of chaises percées in Versailles. It was used since the twelve century and was just more than a toilet.
Nobles, courtisans, ministers and other VIPs sat on the chair for hours. They received guests in their room to discuss important matters, all while proceeding to their natural needs. The whole idea was to make their guests feel inferior and put them in their own place.
La chaise percée: a subtle way to make your guest understand that you don’t give a crap.
He was awoken every day at 8:15 a.m. by a cohort of 10 people. At 8:30, he was already sitting on his own chaise percée, surrounded by his family, his court and his ministers. In these conditions, one would find it uneasy to poop, but his stools and urine were examined with great care by his surgeon to see if the King was in good health. Please note that taking part in the rising of the King was considered a real privilege and was an offer that you could not refuse.
Gardens and bushes
Anyone visiting Versailles now cannot help but be mesmerized by the luxurious gardens and the incredible variety of flowers and plants.
Now, imagine that about 3000 people (the numbers of residents of the Versailles court in its golden age), were relieving themselves about everywhere they could. Gardens were festering with faeces and urine, and the repulsive smell was an everyday annoyance for the noble ladies and gents. André Le Nôtre, gardener of the King, had the rather enormous task to mask these odors with the scents of exotic flowers and plants.
To give you an even deeper insight about the inconvenience of pooping outdoors, let’s read a tasty letter written by Princesse de la Palatine
You are lucky to be able to go for a shit as you please. We are not that lucky here, as I am forced to keep my stool until the night comes; there are no toilets in the houses near the forest. I am forced to go outside to take a shit, which bothers me, because I love to shit as I see fit, and I cannot have a pleasant shit if my ass is supported by nothing. Alas, everybody sees me shitting; there are men, women, girls, boys and Swiss clergymen passing by.
Linen and Cotton: Wiping it in style
Nothing was ever too beautiful or precious for royals bottoms. Nobles would use embroidered linen or cotton handkerchief to wipe themselves clean. The linen fabric has been used since antiquity and was reputed for its smoothness. Because of this it was one of the most expensive items at the Royal Court.
Look a bit closer and you can clearly see the remnants of a feast that took place in December 1685.
Common men or women regularly used handkerchief of a less prestigious fabric, or could use a bunch of hay or any leaves to do the job. At this point, there was a bit of an “anything goes” vibe when it came to wipe your butthole.
Please note that none of these fabrics were washed with water, but merely scrubbed with another tissue. Talc powder was massively used to mask odors.
Pooping in Versailles: Sanitary Crisis and improvements.
Reading this, you are likely to think that Versailles was like an enormous festival without Porta potties where nobody cared about hygiene whatsover.
However, a long string of sanitary measures took place during the reign of Louis XIV. The construction of a rudimentary sewage system was a step forward to cleanliness, as the fecal matter was transported for the castle to a lake (étang de Clancy) by means of aqueducts.
Sadly, all of these efforts were vain considering the health threats that so much filth would cause. A typhoid crisis happened in 1734 when the inhabitants of the town of Versailles went fishing and bathing in the the filthy waters of Clagny. Half of the town perished due to these unsanitary habits.
The reign of Louis XVI and the influence of his wife Marie-Antoinette marked a relative progress in Versailles’s filth situation. Public latrines were constructed (two for every 3000 people!) and the sewage system improved significantly.
Nota Bene:
Most of the anecdotes compiled here come from a very interesting documentary about the subject of Versailles cleanliness. English version HERE[2].
US officials have in recent days stepped up efforts to crack down on and contain China on multiple fronts – from requesting additional funds to “outcompete China” and arm the island of Taiwan to trying to lure Asian countries into its tech restrictions against China. All these moves are bad for China-US bilateral ties, the Asia-Pacific region and the entire world.
Vicious competition
Commenting on the US’ budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which includes funds to “outcompete China” and arm China’s Taiwan region on Tuesday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, reiterated that competition is not the true nature of China-US ties and major-country contest will not address problems faced by China and the US.
The US’ attempt to “outcompete China” is not benign competition, but vicious competition, in which the US sets up traps for the competitor at every turn, Wang said at a regular press briefing. “It is an unrestrained gamble that puts the fundamental interests of people of the two countries and even the future of humanity at stake, and it will only push China and the US toward confrontation and conflict,” he said.
The US administration’s budget request for the 2025 fiscal year includes $4 billion over five years in mandatory funding so as to “employ all the tools at our disposal to outcompete China.” The budget request also includes a “first-time funding request” of $500 million to replenish weapons that would be provided to Taiwan, media reported.
Wang on Tuesday also stated China’s firm opposition to military ties between the US and the island of Taiwan and the US’ attempt to arm the island. “We urge the US to abide by the one-China principle and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs. China will take measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.
In addition to its budget request, the US government has also stepped up efforts that are apparently aimed at further intensifying its technological crackdown campaign against China.
While leading a US business delegation to the Philippines, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo signaled that the US “will do whatever it takes” to crack down on China’s technological capabilities, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
In the Philippines, Raimondo announced that US companies are set to announce investments totaling more than $1 billion in the Philippines, according to Reuters. The US Commerce Secretary said the US’ commitment to expanding trade and investment in the Philippines also extends to “the larger Indo-Pacific region,” even as she reiterated that the US is not seeking to decouple from China.
Danger for world
The US government’s engagement in zero-sum major-country contest will not only risk confrontation between the world’s two biggest economies, but also draw more countries in the region and around the world into bloc confrontation, at a time when the world needs cooperation the most, Chinese experts noted.
Further underscoring Washington’s intensifying campaign to contain China in a major-country contest, the US government is also pushing its allies, including the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea and Japan, to tighten chip restrictions against China, and is considering adding another Chinese chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc, to its so-called entity list, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, the US Congress is rushing a bill that will essentially force Chinese firm ByteDance to sell its popular TikTok or face a ban in the US, a move that Chinese experts have said it’s another hysterical move by Washington to crack down on Chinese firms.
US politicians’ intensifying crackdown and containment campaign against China reflect mounting domestic woes within the US, including its evaporating economic and technological dominance globally, that the country cannot address in any effective manner due to partisan divisions and dysfunctions of the government, according to Chinese analysts.
More importantly, such an attempt will not contain China’s economic and technological rise, as businesses, including US companies, driven by market forces not politics, will continue to invest and operate in the Chinese market, experts said.
Many US business executives are visiting China and expanding investment in China. Political restrictions on US businesses will only hurt US’ interests.
In an apt example of US firms expanding investment in China, US tech giant Apple announced on Tuesday a plan to open a new research lab in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province, and upgrade its Shanghai research lab. This comes shortly after the company just announced to open a new store in downtown Shanghai.
Are Americans really expected to pay outrageous hospital bills?
This maybe isn’t outrageous, but it is to me.
I had a small surgery to remove a tumor from my pinkie finger. It was rather large (probably the size of an acorn). I paid my deductible (which was $1500.) I also paid an additional $250 to the doctor’s office. Then, after the surgery, I received a bill because “they used a compression device during the surgery that was not pre-approved by your insurance.” $1500. I also received another $1200 bill because “they sent the tumor to be tested at an out of network lab.” I also received a $22 bill for something else (not sure what).
This is WITH insurance. I pay $400/month to cover my daughter and me. My job also pays part of the insurance premium so it’s actually over $400/month. I’m not sure how much they pay. So around $4500 was my out of pocket cost for a very simple surgery that probably took the doctor 10 minutes to complete.
In my opinion, it’s not my fault they sent the tumor to an out of network place to be tested, and it’s certainly not my fault that they used a compression device that was not pre-approved (while I was under sedation).
Crazy!
A woke “John Wick” movie
Oh My God.
At what stage in your life did you realize, “No, I can’t do this any more” and walk out? Why?
Originally Answered: At what stage in your life did you realise, “No, I can’t do this any more” and walk out? Why?
Claire, my wife of 22 years, and I sat on the porch in dreary contemplation, and useless argument, again, about her son Freddie’s seeming incapacity to get “squared away.” Freddies’ wife had abandoned him, and taken their three children. He could not hold a job. He was NOT a drug addict; he simply could not function as a responsible adult. He was witty and charming. But he never repaid anyone from whom he had borrowed money. And he had moved back into our home, again. He had diabetes, but did nothing to control his diet. His favorite pastimes seemed to be television and standing in front of the open refrigerator, wondering what to eat. That, and runs for pizza or to McDonald’s.
Yes, there had been counseling and various attempts to try this or that. Nothing seemed to work. It became more and more clear to me that Freddie was going to become a permanent part of the household.
But Claire still wanted to “fix” him. Gradually, two facts became clear to me:
Freddie was simply born into the wrong culture. He would have done better on Samoa or some similar paradise where food was always on a nearby tree, where women were available and willing, and where temperate conditions demanded little in terms of providing shelter or an income. There was nothing to fix; nothing was broken. Just the wrong guy in the wrong place. As I began to understand this, I became less resentful, and more accepting. At the same time, I also became less responsible for this 10-year-old mentality which lived in a 25-year-old body.
Claire had a strong personal investment in keeping Freddie the way he was —utterly dependent. With every agreement, every new program, every financial investment to “help” Freddie, Freddie always violated the agreement, or needed an exception. He always needed money. “Can you spot me a $50?” And Claire always went along with her son. She was teaching him to be dependent and to reject any notion of personal responsibility. Gradually, the two personalities seemed to merge. Whenever Claire spoke of Freddie’s problems or issues or presumed progress, it was always, “we.” They were in this thing together.
I, myself, was in counseling to help me get my head around all this. Eventually, I concluded that, at some point, it had to end, for the sake of my own sanity.
Resigned to this reality, I rarely argued any more. Intimacy with Claire had evaporated; we lived in an uneasy truce. I knew I had to leave. I just didn’t know when, or how. So I tried to mentally hunker down—and wait.
Until that day on the porch, when Claire told me that I was the cause of Freddie’s problems. I was the responsible party, here. She went down the list of all the things I had done to make Freddie so insecure, so unable to function. Then she told me: “If I knew when we got married that this is the way things would be, I never would have married you.”
And that’s when a little bell went off in my head. The time had come.
“Well, Claire, you are going to get your wish. I’m done.”
In the fullness of time, Claire actually got what she most wanted. I made her a wealthy lady with a fully paid home and car, and an investment portfolio more than sufficient to sustain her for the rest of her days.
And today, as I write this, the home has been sold because the portfolio was depleted, over the years. Claire moved into a more modest dwelling, and she had a new nest egg, from the sale of the home she left. But that, too, has been exhausted, all the money spent on Freddie and his sister, Katy. For a time, Claire had what she wanted: a secure home, and Freddie (and his new wife) as permanent residents. But even that did not last, because Katy found her brother to be intolerable: she forced Freddie and his wife to move out; they ended up in public housing. Freddie receives dialysis twice a week and has lost a foot. Katy is now the queen bee in Claire’s home. And the money is all gone; Claire’s income is a Social Security check. Basically, Claire had succeeded in impoverishing three people. Had I stayed, it would have been four.
That leaves Randy, Claire’s eldest son, who was most bitter when advised I was divorcing his mother. He believed I was abandoning her. I was the “bad guy.” Randy was a successful and responsible man, who with his second wife Jenny, was raising a blended family of their own. But it wasn’t long before Randy and Jenny saw the truth, and understood the impossible situation in which I lived. Today, they have made me part of their family, which includes very brilliant and successful children, and grandchildren who will no doubt be the same. These people love me, and while we see each other only infrequently, it is always a celebration.
Ironically, the vision that Claire had of senior years spent happily with her children has actually become my reality, not hers. I regret that, for her, but am most appreciative of my own good fortune.
My story.
[EDIT]: Almost without exception, comments below are supportive and also speak to many similar situations.
But there are exceptions, and they are good ones. I have been reprimanded, even scolded, for my references to Samoa, with freely available fruit and sexual company. I should have seen that coming. Although metaphorical, it came off to some readers as thoughtless and prejudicial. Point taken. Current readers please understand the metaphorical intent. Just think “an island paradise, somewhere.” Thank you.
UPDATE: In mid 2021, Freddie succumbed of numerous causes, most relating to his worsening atrophy, but also to Covid. By then, Claire had been forced to move into still lower cost housing, where Katy continued to care for her. By early 2022, Claire died. I’m not sure of the causes, but based on what Katy had to say, it seemed to me that with Freddie gone, she really had no reason to live.
Curiously enough, Claire left so little, and Katy had so little, that money was short for a burial. A major part of the cost of her burial fell to me.
Putin’s BRUTAL Warning to NATO has Macron in Panic ft. Scott Ritter
Americans do not understand this… ugh!
Can you be fired from your job without knowing it until hours later? If so, what would cause such a thing?
When I worked for the Department of Correction we had to fill out a leave request form if we wanted to take time off. Once our manager signed the form, she’d keep one copy for her files, we’d keep a copy, and then drop off a third copy in HR. Our manager only asked that we give her at least three days notice if we wanted to take time off but one of my coworkers didn’t do that and it wound up costing him his job.
He decided one Thursday afternoon that he wanted to take the following week off, so he filled out the form and took it in for our manager to sign. She wasn’t in her office so he put the form on her desk, expecting her to take care of things from there. Friday morning there was a network outage at a prison and he was dispatched to take care of it along with a couple of other techs. They didn’t return until end of business that day and, since it was Friday afternoon, they all were eager to head home so he didn’t give a second thought to his leave slip.
The problem was after placing his leave form on our boss’s desk, the busines manager had place a stack of paperwork on top of it, so our boss never saw it. He went on vacation the following week blissfully unaware that he was about to be unemployed. He missed Monday and when he didn’t show up on Tuesday our boss called his home number — he refused to tell anyone at work what his cellphone number was — and left a message asking him to call. He didn’t, and when he didn’t come in on Wednesday he was considered to have quit without notice and was terminated.
When he arrived at work a few minutes early the next Monday his ID badge did not work and he couldn’t log onto his computer. Our boss came in, saw him, and asked what he was doing at work. He told her, jokingly, he worked here as far as he knew, and that’s when she told him that he actually didn’t. He told her that he’d requested leave and had put the form on her desk and, after some searching, she located it. But it was too late. He was told he could apply for his job once it was posted but I don’t know if he did. All I know is that he wasn’t the person who was hired.
What is one item you will never eat again after working at a fast food restaurant, and why?
Right after the New Year celebration, the bar I worked at burned down to the ground. I was unemployed for about three months, and the unemployment was about to run out. I knew that the bar would open in about another three months, and that there would be work at the bar about six weeks before the opening, but I would be without money for about two months if I didn’t find a job, and quick.
Since I like living indoors with working electricity and plumbing, I decided to take a friend up on his offer to go to work at McDonald’s.
I was 29 years old at the time, and felt like a complete loser taking the job, but I shaved my beard and moustache, and went to the restaurant to apply for a job, which I got.
Most of my coworkers were high school students, and I was at least 10 years older than 90 percent of my coworkers. It was awful, but not because they were young, but for many, it was there first job. The treated it like high school by implementing divisions betweens the cliques and everyone else and pulled stupid practical jokes. I was handed a spray bottle and told to go water plants in the lobby. I went out and discovered the plants were actually cloth and plastic.
Anyway, after working at McDonald’s, I will never have any ice cream item from there, especially a shake or McFlurry (even if the machine is not broken) because the machines were not cleaned on the schedule set by corporate. The McFlurry machine comes apart, and the pieces were supposed to soak in a bucket of hot water and a chemical solution, and the remaining parts of the machine is supposed to have some chemical solution run through it.
I cleaned it every night I working, and when I was put on the day shift to cover for a coworker who was off for a family vacation, I heard a customer complain that their McFlurry tasted funny. It was just before the lunch rush, and I told the day supervisor that I knew how to clean it, so he took me out of the kitchen and tasked me to clean the machine.
It was awful. Their were spots of mold-like substances on the machine, and it obviously hadn’t been cleaned for at least a few days and probably about a week.
It took over three times as long to clean the machine as it normally did. A wire brush had to be used to completely clean and disinfect the device. I mentioned to the manager that he should probably check the oil for the fish, the chicken nuggets, and the French fries, and he discovered that they had not been changed in two days.
It was at that point the checklists appeared in the kitchen to document the necessary steps to ensure complete accordance of all required kitchen maintenance and cleaning, and I decided that I would never have a McFlurry ever again at any McDonald’s restaurant.
The FEDS are coming after THOUSANDS of Americans
Yep.
What do homeless people do during the day? Do they get bored?
My husband and I were briefly homeless. (4.5 months in 2014) There isn’t much time to be bored if you’re intentions are to not stay homeless. What people don’t realize is that being homeless makes everything 1000X harder to do even the most common of tasks, which can quickly turn into a forever vicious cycle of poverty and homelessness due to losing the willpower and resources to get back on your feet.
Want to take a shower? You have to find a place and possibly pay a fee if you don’t have friends in the area to help you out.
Want to cook dinner? You will need to buy a propane burner or awkwardly go into a truck stop gas station to cook using their microwave.
Want to do laundry to go to a job interview? You will have to budget your money to wash a load, hoping that they offer free detergent because if you’re homeless you don’t have the energy or space to carry around a bottle of detergent or softener.
Need a ride to go get a job? You need to find and budget gas money or an uber, probably skipping meals for the day. Hopefully your job is close to where you set up your camp so you can walk and not pay gas, parking, or bus fare.
Need to sleep? You will have to scope out a semi-safe place to park your car or look up local shelters. (Where I live they charge $8 a day per person to stay at the Salvation Army, children count as a person.)
I ended up spending majority of my time at the local library because not only could I look up local resources and jobs, but it was the only place that had A/C in the 110 degree weather that wouldn’t kick me out. The struggle is real.
I put in my 2 weeks resignation notice a week ago and my manager is assigning me so much work during my last 3 days. How do I address my concerns?
I worked as a records clerk in a high school. My last day before retiring I had a school deliver a truck load of student’s records that needed to be processed and filed away. This was during the student summer break. I had 30 minutes before I was due to leave for good. The person that was taking my place was shown one last time how to do the files and I left. I was 45 minutes away, on a cruise ship (Mobile AL) at the time and got a call before we left port. One co-worker (different job but had set a few desks away from me) called to tell me I had left my replacement a mess to handle and I needed to come in and help her. I laughed at her and told her I couldn’t do that and why. I also pointed out that my replacement had a month and a half to get the files done but not to wait to do them as more files would be coming in. She didn’t believe I was on a ship until the horn went off. Told her I was leaving port and needed to get off the phone. My replacement had a nervous breakdown three months after she took over my job. That job really required two people to do it. She couldn’t handle it. Not sure what they did for the rest of the year. Not my problem.
Modern Woman LOSES IT After She SAW A Passport Bros Getting BETTER Treatment
Have you ever had a bad seatmate on an airplane? What did they do, and how did you deal with it?
I sat next to a guy in business class who was extremely unhappy that he had not been upgraded to first class. He groused to the flight attendants about it as he was arriving, and I knew he was going to be trouble. Then he started ordering drinks, vodka and cranberry juice. I stopped counting after nine, but I think he must have had 13 or 14 before they cut him off. Then he was angry about that. He got up and argued with the purser more than once. Meanwhile, he was adjusting his insulin pump. I don’t know much about diabetes, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a good idea to drink that much.
He didn’t say anything obnoxious to me, and I only answered his occasional questions in monosyllables. But about two thirds of the way through the flight I went back to the galley and said to the flight attendants, “Look, I know that this guy is exactly the kind who would make a formal complaint about you, and I just want to tell you that I’ll back you up if you need any witnesses for your defense.” I gave them my business card.
After the flight I used the “compliment” feature of their web site to specifically praise the purser, who was a middle-aged man of Indian origin and had borne the brunt of my seatmate’s behavior. I said that he had the patience of a saint and had behaved with the utmost professionalism. I got a nice letter back from the airline thanking me and saying that they would notify his supervisor.
US China chip war explained: China Overtakes US in Chip War!
The US and China have been rivals across various domains, from sports and the Olympics to manufacturing and the quest for global supremacy. This time, the competition has moved to a much smaller yet critically important battlefield: the realm of chips and semiconductor technology.
This area is pivotal for the advancement of modern technologies and has become the latest focal point of their ongoing strategic contest. The semiconductor industry holds a crucial place in our world, shaping the fabric of our daily lives, the economy, and the future of technology. Semiconductors, or chips, are the hidden intellect inside virtually all modern electronic devices we rely on every day. From the moment you check your smartphone in the morning, which could contain up to 100 different chips, to the car you drive, which now includes advanced driver-assistance systems reliant on semiconductors for safer and more efficient operation, these tiny components are indispensable.
Furthermore, semiconductors are at the heart of breakthroughs in technology. They are essential for the development of cutting-edge innovations such as artificial intelligence, which is transforming industries from healthcare to entertainment, electric vehicles that are setting the course for a more sustainable future, and renewable energy systems that promise cleaner energy alternatives.
In this video, we’ll explore the Chips war between the US and China and examining the role of BRICS nations in this crucial sector for the current century.
You are at work when your boss unexpectedly gives you a bonus. What do you think got you the bonus?
My boss handed me a greeting card and asked me to read it at home. She made me promise that I would wait to open it. UGH!
Anyway, I got home, and inside the card was $1,000! She had written in the card, that this was a bonus because I used my passive-aggressive actions, two of her most annoying, demanding customers who constantly would expect and get free food and corporate made her give it to them. Stopped coming into our restaurant, and she was so happy, just as I was.
The first customer was given a free large soda, daily and when he arrived after breakfast wanted a hashbrown. He complained to corporate, so now any time he wanted a hashbrown, not only did we have to make him one any time of the day but give it to him for free. Now, I would only give him the free stuff if he asked for it to be free. I made sure that he checked his order on the order screen so that put the free food ball in his court. He wouldn’t look at it and tell me yes, it’s correct. He would pay, and after he got his order, he would realize that he was charged for what he expected for free. He would demand a refund, and my boss wouldn’t give it to him. She asked him, if I asked him to verify that his order was correct, he said yes, but I should just know what is free and not expect him to have to tell me every day. He stopped coming!
The second customer had been coming for decades seven days a week and ordered the same items. He was given free extra cheese and extra lettuce. One day, a coworker saw him drive up, so despite the fact there were quite a few customers ahead of him, she made his order, and handed it to me. Once he made it to the register to order (less than 3 minutes), he said, “I’ll take my usual.” I took his payment and handed him his order. He immediately took it to then of the counter and checked it out. My coworker and I both asked him if there was a problem. He told us that he doesn’t like his food made that quickly. Fair enough! The next day, once again lots of people were in the lobby waiting for food. He gets to the register; he tells me that he will take his usual. I sweetly, asked him what is that sir? He said that I knew what it was. I explained, well, because of your comments yesterday, by having you tell me, that assures you that your food will not be made too quickly. In an exasperated voice, told me what he wanted. Now, his order does not automatically come with a fork, and since he didn’t ask for one, he was not given one. The next day is the same as the day before. He complained that he wasn’t given a fork. I sweetly explained that his order doesn’t automatically require a fork, so may I suggest if he wants a fork included, he will need to ask for one. I’m not a mind reader. After quite a few months, he complained to my general manager, and she sweetly explained that he was the one who didn’t like his food made too quickly, this assures him that now it won’t be.
Covid hit, and the lobby is closed, so drive-thru only.
He would order his food and complain at the window that he didn’t get the extra cheese, extra lettuce, or a fork the day before. I explained that unless he tells the order taker that this (insert his name), the cooks will not know to give him the free extra food nor to enclose a fork. This same conversation went on for over three months, with him still not giving his name so not getting his free food. Once again, he complained to the boss, and she explained to him that he had been giving a simple solution to his problem and he had refused to take ownership. He told her he would not come back because he was being treated so poorly. She told him, one can only hope! That ticked him off, he has never been back since!
U.S SHOCKED! CHINA Build 5nm CHIP Ahead of U.S and E.U
In today’s episode on the Innovative Check YouTube channel, we dive deep into the heart of the global technological battlefield, where China’s ambitious leap into 5nm semiconductor technology stands as a defiant challenge to Western hegemony. Amidst U.S. sanctions, giants like S.M.I.C and Huawei spearhead this technological feat, underlining China’s push for technological independence and global leadership.
This episode unravels the complexities of this strategic move, its implications on the global tech landscape, and the shifting sands of international power dynamics. As we dissect the engineering marvel of 5nm chip technology and China’s strategic maneuvers to build an integrated domestic semiconductor ecosystem, we uncover the broader narrative of technological sovereignty, economic rivalry, and the future of global technological leadership.
From the battlegrounds of innovation and geopolitical chess games, this episode is a profound exploration of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the quest for semiconductor self-sufficiency and the reshaping of global tech dominance. Join us on this enlightening journey through innovation, ambition, and the strategic stakes of the new world order in the making.
Whether you’re a tech enthusiast, policy analyst, or simply curious about the future of global technology, this video offers compelling insights into one of the most critical issues of our time.
What was a gruesome torture method practiced in the past?
Drop torture
You’re stuck in a chair. You can’t move. Every five seconds, a small drop of water falls on your head.
After being in this situation for twenty minutes, the sound of the water starts to irritate you.
After a week, every drop of water sounds like a drum.
After a month, you feel pain because you can’t move, and seemingly painless drops of water start to open wounds in your head. You can also suffer from labyrinthitis.
After two months, the pain is so bad that you go crazy. If you don’t, well, the water droplets will kill you anyway.
A drop of water. Tiny, frivolous, seemingly innocent; yet it could be the cause of your death.
An old proverb went: “The drop digs the stone by its constancy, not by its strength”.
EVIL RETALIATION! U.S Insist on Bringing Down China Tech
In this critical analysis, we explore the escalating tensions between the United States and China over advanced semiconductor technologies and their implications for global security and technological dominance. With the U.S. government, led by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, taking a firm stance on restricting China’s access to cutting-edge technologies, we delve into the potential repercussions of this strategy on international relations, innovation, and the digital divide. Join us as we dissect the motives, strategies, and possible outcomes of this technological standoff, shedding light on the ethical, political, and economic dilemmas it presents. Don’t forget to engage with our content by liking, sharing, and subscribing to our channel for more insightful discussions on the transformative projects shaping our world.
What are the reasons behind Taiwanese people not supporting unification with Mainland China, despite having similar culture and language? How does this compare to the situation with Korean unification?
There are 2 types of Taiwanese who reject re-unification with China.
1, Corrupted politicians who get funds from USA. USA wants to suppress China’s rise. So corrupted politicians endlessly shout “independence” so as to create problem for China. These people work for money & not for the welfare of Taiwan.
2, Losers. In China’s 4000 years’ of history, there were many civil wars. The one who lost the war would accept the winner as the new leader/emperor of China. They moved on with life.
Taiwanese loser-politicians do not want to move on with life. They hold onto the past.
Today there are some Qing descendants who are still angry at ROChina (ie today’s Taiwan) for overthrowing Qing dynasty. These Qing descendants live in remote areas in China; they do not want to move on with life & integrate into the new China. Same here for these loser Taiwanese.
What was the craziest defense in court that actually worked?
A lawyer and democratic state senator from Oklahoma was in court for bribery he had accepted money from a constituent in return for a favor. The FBI had audio recorded the conversation and exchange.
During the trial Gene Stipe played a recording of the audio on a cheap battery powered cassette player. Gene talked during the playing of the tape so as to distract the jury from what was being played.
When the FBI brought in an expensive reel to reel tape player that had much better audio without any background noise the judge overruled them as Gene Stipe protested and had already submitted an audio as evidence.
The jury acquitted Gene Stipe.
A fellow classmate told that his father had been arrested on a DUI charge. His father contacted Gene Stipe about representing him. The only question Gene Stipe asked him was how much money he had. When told that he had approximately $8,500 dollars. Gene told him he would see what he could do. Gene Stipe called back a couple days later and asked if he had the check written out. When he told Gene he could bring it by his office, Gene told him as soon as the check clears his case would be dropped. He took the check by and was told the case had been dropped by the county and to ignore any communication from the county or court house and to mail it to Gene. He never heard another word on the DUI charge.
New England Pot Roast
This is SO tasty. The horseradish is the secret ingredient! The leftovers make wonderful roast beef sandwiches also.
Ingredients
1 (4 pound) boneless beef chuck arm, shoulder or blade pot roast
1 to 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 (8 ounce) bottle prepared horseradish
1 cup water
8 small potatoes, cut in half
8 medium carrots, cut into fourths
8 small onions, skins removed
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
In a 4 quart Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until brown on all sides. Reduce heat to low.
Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Spread horseradish over all sides of beef. Add 1 cup water to Dutch oven. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 2 hours 30 minutes.
Add potatoes, carrots and onions to Dutch oven. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour or until beef and vegetables are tender.
Remove beef and vegetables to warm platter; keep warm.
Skim excess fat from broth in Dutch oven. Add enough water to broth to measure 2 cups.
In tightly covered container, shake 1/2 cup cold water and the flour; gradually stir into broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute.
Serve gravy with beef and vegetables.
AI generated Inspiration
PASSPORT BROS Tells Men Go To Southern China Women Are COMPETING For Men Here
Why aren’t we protesting to make supermax prisoners get more yard time?
To end up in a Supermax you had to do something really bad in the prison I know of people who started out in a medium security prison where they had decent yard time. Then they did something to get sent to get their custody level raised and sent to a maximum security prison where there is less yard time. Finally, they do something to get sent to a “supermax” In Missouri they have one it is called Potosi Correctional Center. Really it is a punishment prison and also houses those with capital punishment.If you get sent there because of something you did in another prison , you do about 9 months in the hole and then you work your way to General Population through a step up program. Basically, if your behavior is good you gradually get more yard time and privileges.
I know many people are against people doing long stretches in the hole. But tell me what the prison is supposed to do when someone does something like assaulting another prisoner or C/O? Are they to just pat them on the head and tell them not to do it again? They tried that at Missouri State Penitentiary back in the day. Someone could stab someone and just get a few days in the hole. Violence was very high until they started giving longer stretches in the hole and charging them with crimes
The only problem I have is that it doesn’t matter if you started something or were defending yourself, you are going to the hole and possibly your custody level raised and sent to Potosi {or in other states Supermax}
As a person from mainland China, have you ever been ‘invited to tea’ by the authorities? What was the experience like?
I’m not Chinese but I live in China. I’ve never been “invited to tea” but one of the teachers that I work with has been.
In the past, you used to have to register at the police station every single time you left China and returned. The government used to take registering very seriously. These days the police don’t care that much and you only have to do it if you move or get a new passport.
Anyway, one of the teachers I worked with was always perfect. She did everything correctly but one time she forgot to register (normally not a big deal since you have a few days to register and even if it was the following week they wouldn’t mind) but then she didn’t travel again for a while. Eventually, the police did an audit and she got called to the police station for going about 300 days without registering. She had to write an apology note and say sorry, etc.
She never forgot again and that was it.
USA on the Brink of Chaos: How Americans Are Living the End of the American Dream
With President Trump now the Presumptive Nominee for the Republican Nomination for President of the United States, he and his campaign earned the right to staff the Republican National Committee (RNC)
Today, they FIRED 60 people from RNC jobs!
This was long overdue.
The RNC was filled with anti-Trump, globalist, NWO-types who were selling this country out in every way they could. Mental Weaklings who thought they should go along to get along . . . . and losing race after race. That was all brought to an abrupt end today.
I am told “More firings are coming.”
This, too, will be a welcome change.
ANY person who made even a single utterance against Trump or his “America First” policies, need to be shown the door. The one thing the NWO Globalist types have shown, is they are SNEAKS. They talk a good story but when they think no one hears, or no one is looking, they sabotage, back-bite, and sew discord. OUT THE DOOR with all of them!
These people get it
Slovakia Prime Minister . . .”Lie Doomed on our Balcony . . . waiting for World Apocalypse”
“All We Can Do is Lie Doomed On The Balcony With A Cognac And A Cigar, Waiting For The World Apocalypse”
Slovak Prime Minister Fico: “The West sees that, despite significant assistance, despite anti-Russian sanctions, Ukraine is simply not capable of winning. And if we send military personnel from the EU and NATO to Ukraine, all we can do is lie doomed on the balcony with cognac and a cigar, waiting for the world apocalypse.”
Hal Turner Analysis
The fact that the Prime Minister of Slovakia said these words Sunday evening is proof that the “idea” of French President Macron, for NATO member countries to send their troops into Ukraine under “Bi-lateral Security Agreements” was far more than just bluster or posturing. Clearly, the suggestion of the French President is under active consideration.
Were it anything else, there would be no reason for the Prime Minister to make such a statement.
The world is moving faster and faster toward an actual nuclear conflict with Russia. The general public in Europe and the United States remain blissfully unaware because the mass media has utterly failed in its job to report the serious and world-changing events developing in Ukraine.
I have done, and continue to do, my best, to keep you informed of the important developments overseas.
These comments by the Prime Minister of Slovakia cannot be taken lightly – at all.
Intention
UPDATED 3-12-2024 — Rest Easy Britain; THIS is what’s protecting you!
The Military sales pitch doesn’t match the reality. That’s a conclusion being drawn by many after seeing what happened to a “Challenger 2” Tank on the Battlefields of Ukraine: Russia eats them for breakfast!
Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land is a large Defense Contractor. They make various types of equipment and tout the reliability of that equipment. Here’s what they say they do:
As an integrated technology group, the listed company Rheinmetall AG, headquartered in Düsseldorf, stands for a company that is as strong in substance as it is successful internationally, and that is active in various markets with an innovative range of products and services. Rheinmetall is a leading international systems supplier in the defence industry and at the same time a driver of forward-looking technological and industrial innovations in the civilian markets. The focus on sustainability is an integral part of Rheinmetall’s strategy. The company aims to achieve CO2 neutrality by 2035.
Through our work in various fields, we at Rheinmetall take on responsibility in a dramatically changing world. With our technologies, products and systems, we create the indispensable basis for peace, freedom and sustainable development: security.
They manufacture the “Challenger 2” Tank.
Here’s how they advertise some of it:
The sales pitch is straight forward:
But the Sales Pitch doesn’t seem to match the reality.
Here’s the reality from the battlefields of Ukraine:
That is a “Challenger 2” Main Battle Tank built by Rheinmetall / BAE Systems Land.
The sales pitch says it can operate in “high intensity conflict.” In reality . . . . apparently not so much.
Wow! Turret blasted out of the hole in the center top of the tank, where it used to rest. Wheels blown off and/or melted. Tracks destroyed. Side armor over tracks and wheels blown to smitherines.
Somehow, this does not look as one might expect a “main battle tank” to look, on a battlefield.
What did this tank encounter that killed it? The Russian Army.
If this is the best that NATO has to offer, then as a layman, I can’t help but feel NATO is sadly lacking. Deluding themselves as to the “superiority” of their forces.
If these are what would be put up against Russia, it seems to me NATO doesn’t have a chance!
But that’s not __really__ the point, now, is it?
The actual point is how much these tanks cost taxpayers, and how much the military-industrial-complex (MIC) can pocket. I asked Google “How much does a Challenger 2 tank cost.
So presuming Google is correct, for $4.9 MILLION dollars each, taxpayers can rest easy knowing this is “protecting” them.
Or . . . maybe not rest so easy after seeing what happens in the real world!
OK, to heck with resting easy, just pay the money and buy more tanks . . . the MIC has to earn profit! They have to donate to political campaigns so the politicians they get elected can . . . buy more tanks!
You really shouldn’t be paying attention to stories like this; might be bad for Rheinmetall/ BAE Systems Land, sales.
Large Number of E-6B “Doomsday” Planes Airborne over CONUS
Six e-6B “Mercury” aircraft are airborne over the continental United States (CONUS) today. Each is a Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications plane!
The E-6B Mercury is a communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft. It provides survivable, reliable, and endurable airborne Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) for the president, secretary of defense and U.S. Strategic Command. Two operational squadrons (“Ironmen” of VQ-3 and “Shadows” of VQ-4) deploy from their main Operating Base at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, supported by the TACAMO Weapons School and the fleet replacement squadron (the “Roughnecks” of VQ-7). They deploy aircrews to Forward Operating Bases at Travis Air Force Base, California; Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.; and other locations, as directed.
Here are the E-6 planes over the continental United States March 12, 2024:
Boeing derived the E-6A from its commercial 707 to replace the aging EC-130Q in the performance of the Navy’s TACAMO mission. TACAMO links the National Command Authority (NCA) with naval ballistic missile forces during times of crisis. The aircraft carries a Very Low Frequency communication system with dual trailing wire antennas. The Navy accepted the first E-6A in August 1989.
The E-6B was conceived as a replacement for the Air Force’s Airborne Command Post due to the age of the EC-135 fleet. The E-6B modified an E-6A by adding battlestaff positions and other specialized equipment. The E-6B is a dual-mission aircraft capable of fulfilling either the no-fail TACAMO mission or the Looking Glass mission, which facilitates the launch of U.S. land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles using an airborne launch control system (ALCS). The Navy accepted the first E-6B aircraft in December 1997 and the E-6B assumed its dual operational mission in October 1998. The E-6 fleet was completely modified to the E-6B configuration in 2003.
Why there are SIX of these aircraft operating over CONUS today, is unknown. Drill? Threat?
Salsa Jim’s Pork Tenderloin
This is a recipe “invented” by my late friend “Salsa” Jim. Jim was a graduate of Scottsdale Culinary Institute. He loved to dream up new recipes. In addition, he entered the Salsa Challenge in Scottsdale, Arizona, every year. I was always there to support him and to help him work the booth. The “Challenge” is for the benefit of the Hemophilia Association which was Salsa Jim’s favorite charity.
Ingredients
1 (4 pound) pork tenderloin
5 ribs celery, cut 3 inches long
5 carrots, cut 3 inches long
3 onions, cut into quarters
1 (15 ounce) can pineapple juice
8 ounces brown sugar
Water as needed
Salt and pepper as needed
Instructions
Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
Place vegetables in roasting pan; add juice, brown sugar, water and pork loin (you may need to truss the pork). Salt and pepper top as needed. Cover with foil. You want to cook this slowly, about 25 to 30 minutes per pound, and it will be very tender.
With the juice in the pan, you can make a gravy. For a good gravy you should make a roux which is equal parts flour to butter or margarine. Make the roux ahead of time and add to the hot liquid, stirring with a whip. Let cook for about 30 minutes to cook out flour.
Notes
“This gravy will surprise everyone. Most people can’t figure what is in it, + it’s delicious!” ~ Jim
What are some fascinating psychological facts about attracting people?
1. Symmetrical Faces
Studies show that people with symmetrical faces are thought to be the most attractive compared to asymmetrical faces. If you find yourself attracted to someone with a symmetrical face, blame it on biology
2. Parental Resemblance
Also known as the Oedipus Syndrome, research shows that 90% of people are attracted to others who resemble their parents. If your parents we young when you were born, you will find younger people attractive. If you had older parents when you were born, you will find older face
3. Wearing Red
Studies show that wearing red color clothing will make people attracted to you. This is true for both men and women because the color red is considered superior. Another study also shows that the attraction to red is unconscious so if you are trying to attract that special someone, why not take out that sexy red dress!
4. Smiling
Research suggest that men find women very attractive when they smile while women find men who smile less often more attractive. If you are a gal, try smiling more, and if you are a guy, stay stern!
5. Higher Pitched Voices
If a woman finds a man attractive, she will automatically and unconsciously begin to speak in a very high pitched voice. Try not to let him know that you have a crush by lowering
6. Weight & Height
Studies show that women who weigh 10 kilograms more than they should find a harder time finding dates. Men on the other hand are less attractive if they are shorter than they should be by a few inches. Start losing some of those extra pounds girls and guys, try wearing some shoe pads.
7. Large Boobs
Studies show that men are more attracted to women with large boobs. Some researchers believe that this is because women with larger breasts produce more milk for their offsprings.
8. Beards
Many studies show that women find men with long beards more attractive than men with none. They also state that this is because men with beards look stronger and more responsible. Other studies show that men with beards make better parents.
9. Younger & Older
Studies show that women are more attracted to older men while men are more attracted to younger women. This is because men find women who are younger to be more fertile while women find men who are older to be more caring, Research shows that men with large bellies are found less attractive and vice versa. Try getting rid of that belly fat!Research shows that men with large bellies are found less attractive and vice versa. Try getting rid of that belly fat!
10. Competing
Studies show that people find others attractive when they see that the person is getting attention from others. If a man sees a woman being smiled at by another man, he will automatically find that woman attractive as well. This is because humans are born competitive
11. Large Belly
Research shows that men with large bellies are found less attractive and vice versa. Try getting rid of that belly fat!
12. Copying
Studies show that when two people are in love or attracted to each other, they will begin to copy each other’s actions.
13. Money
Research shows that women are more attracted to men with wealth while men are attracted to women of youth and beauty.
14. First Move
If you met someone who thought that you were attractive while he or she was drunk or drinking, you need to evaluate your encounter. Research shows that people who are drunk tend to find everyone attractive that the person who makes the first move in a relationship is the one who is more attractive and feels the most attraction.
15. Adrenaline’
Research shows that adrenaline has a lot to do with attraction! Apparently, people find others more attractive when they themselves are experiencing an adrenaline rush!
16. Alcohol
If you met someone who thought that you were attractive while he or she was drunk or drinking, you need to evaluate your encounter. Research shows that people who are drunk tend to find everyone attractive
17.Flexing
Research shows that if a man is attracted to a woman, he will unconsciously begin to flex his body or position himself in a way that will show off his best features.
Conclusion
Now you understand the psychological facts about the attraction between two people.
See me…
What is a disturbing fact most people are unaware of?
60-year-old mechanic Philip Hoe was admitted to hospital with a serious skin condition.
He was, however, a heavy (I’m talking 20-a-day) smoker, and wasn’t quite ready to give that up just yet. Unfortunately, this craving led to a pivotal moment in his life—and not in a good way.
A few years prior, he was receiving skin treatment at a hospital, but went into the toilets to have a smoke—which wasn’t allowed in the hospital.
Doing this, he managed to burn his dressing gown—but nothing that posed a threat to his life.
[1] But a similar situation struck in 2006, and he wouldn’t be able to cheat death so easily this time.
He was now at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, yet again getting more treatment for his psoriasis. His nurse had moisturised his body by smearing him with several ointments, which was meant to soothe the skin.
Hoe had then been warned not to smoke, as it was not permitted in the hospital—and to add to that, it really wouldn’t have been a good idea when he was covered head to toe in liquid paraffin.
[2] But when no-one was around, Hoe snuck out onto the hospital fire escape (the access of which was prohibited) to have a quick smoke—almost like the plot to a tragic comedy.
‘The victim, obviously a smoker, had slipped away from a ward for a crafty fag and was in the enclosed stairwell of a fire escape.’
But this cigarette craving would prove to be fatal.
Percy Smith, another patient at the hospital, who was watching Emmerdale at the time, suddenly heard shouts from the stairwell:
‘… I heard a male shouting help me. The shouting was over and over again. He was screaming as if he was in a lot of pain.’
A gust of wind had caused the cigarette flame to spread to his entire body, and set him alight like a human bonfire.
‘His body was engulfed from head to foot in flames. He was stood upright not moving, just screaming for help.’
Immediately a student nurse and sister grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to douse the flames, but he was left with 90 percent of his body with third-degree burns.
He was transferred to another hospital but died shortly after.
This isn’t at all a unique, stand-alone case—the BBC led an investigation in 2017 and found that skin creams containing paraffin were linked to several fire deaths across the UK—a fact uncommon, but still disturbing.
Hoe’s life came to a bitter and unfortunate end—albeit preventable, if he had not acted on his impulse to smoke—although that is, to be fair, easier said than done.
If someone calls your job and asks for you by name, what should you say?
Nothing with “yes” in the response. I learned that one the hard way. They asked for a guy who had passed away 5 years previously.
“Is this [Company Name]?” (after I had already greeted them with the company name)
“Yes, it is.”
“Hi, Dan. This is [rep from some telecom company I’ve never heard of]” (why would someone assume that the person who answers the phone is the person they want to talk with?)
“Dan is longer with us.”
“Oh, well, who am I speaking to?” (not knowing any better, I give them my name)
“What is this regarding?”
“Like, I said, I’m calling on behalf of [our provider] to offer a better rate than your current provider. (then goes on with their spiel regarding their “exclusive” rates, not letting me a word in to tell them to add us to their do not call list) Sounds good, right? I’ll pass you through to our confirmation department to get you signed up.”
“But…”
“This is the confirmation department. Am I speaking to [Me]?”
“Yes, but…”
“And I have you as the person who makes the decisions on your telecom services?”
“No.”
“May I speak to Dan, then?”
“Put us on your do not call list.”
“Was there something we said or did?”
“Yes. You wouldn’t let me talk. I was patched through without getting a chance to say that we already use the provider you’re trying to switch us to. Plus, Dan died 5 years ago.”
“Oh, well, I’m sorry. We’ll get this taken care of for you.”
2 weeks later, we received bill from the no-name place for a new number with a ton of features we would never use, even if we had ordered a new number. My boss called them, and they played the call they made to Dan but with my voice “agreeing” to everything they were offering. I was in trouble for it, until you could hear the same background noise from the radio for each “yes” they played. We reported them to the FCC and AG but no idea what came of it other than receiving no bills from them after that.
China LATEST Hypersonic Missiles Can Reach Up To 6500 MPH & Impossible To Stop
As a police officer, what is the one moment where you thought “I might not survive this”?
I had stopped a car for a speeding violation. The second I put my car in park, the hair stood up on the back of my neck. Of a countless number of traffic stops I made, never had this happened to me. I was actually scared and didn’t know why. I finally approached the vehicle. The guy driving never spoke a word, kept looking forward and never took his hands off the wheel. Until he retrieved his license and registration, then he was back to his frozen state. Not moving, not talking.
I was scared to death and finally got back to my car, and wrote this guy a couple of tickets. The feeling of fear never went away. Wrote the tickets, and approached the vehicle again, had him sign his tickets. Normally I would tell them to slow down or make repairs before court and start back to my car.
However, this guy had me freaked out. And all I could say was, you need to leave right now. I took a few steps back and he started to drive off. As he went around a curve and his tail lights disappeared, the feeling of fear was gone, my hair laid down, and I felt fine.
Court rolls around and he was not in court but his attorney was. I testified. The attorney asked no questions and the judge asked where his client was.
The attorney informed the judge that his client was in jail for pending murder charges. The attorney went on to say the night I had stopped the guy, he had just murdered his wife and kids and was on the way to kill his parents when I pulled him over.
The neighboring state never sent any information to anyone. Even though they were aware he was going to drive through part of my state to get to his parents.
Luckily once he returned to the neighboring state, they had officers there waiting for him. So he never made it to mom and dad.
Redneck boy
What are some unwritten rules of everyday life?
1. Don’t call someone continuously more than once unless it’s a really urgent matter and if they don’t pick up, wait until they return the call. They might be sleeping, sick, busy, or have something important going on.
. 2. When someone treats you to lunch or dinner, don’t buy the most expensive dish on the menu. Also, treat them the next time.
3.Only suggest splitting the cheque evenly if your dish is the least expensive among the rest.
4.Don’t lend out what you borrowed. If it is not yours, don’t act as if it is.
5. If you borrow money from someone, return it, even before they ask for it.
6. If you borrow someone’s car, fill up the tank before you return it.
7. Say ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’
8. Be nice and kind to waiters, cleaners, helpers, drivers, or anyone offering you a service and treat them with the same respect you’d give a manager or a CEO
9. Don’t interrupt the person speaking. Wait until they finish then say what you want.
10. When someone is speaking directly to you, give them your attention.
11. Two things you shouldn’t offer unless you are asked, an opinion and advice.
12. Respect others’ personal space and privacy
13. If someone shows you a photo on their phone, don’t swipe left or right. If they want to show you what’s next they’ll do it.
14. When you wrong someone, say ‘Sorry’ and don’t ruin your apology with unnecessary excuses just to justify what you’ve done.
15. Don’t break your promise, or don’t make one if you are not sure you can keep it.
16. When someone tells you a secret, take it with you to your grave, even if you wake up as enemies the next morning.
17. Don’t make plans in front of those you are not willing to invite, especially if it is at your place, your birthday, or a special occasion.
18. Don’t whisper something to someone when it is only one more person sitting with you two.
19. Never go to someone’s place uninvited or without letting them know you are passing by in advance.
His dad was an abusive alcoholic who killed himself. He hated his mother for many reasons — perhaps in part because she dressed him like a girl when he was a boy — and he blamed her for the suicide of his father and resented her for it for his entire adult life. He expressed thoughts about killing both of his parents at different points in his childhood.
Allegedly, 3 of his siblings also committed suicide throughout their lives.
Still, Hemingway managed to do quite well for himself.
As an adult, he lived a hyper-masculine, womanizing, adventurous life. He was in both world wars, survived 2 plane crashes, and held a lifelong obsession with bullfighting. He also was one of the successful writers of the early 1900s. He’s a legend when it comes to writing.
But his personal life was not good. His actions affected other people very negatively.
He married 4 times and dealt with lifelong alcohol dependence. He was a cheater, a womanizer, brilliant, and likely manic bipolar like his father — although it was never diagnosed.
He committed suicide by gunshot in middle age — just like his father.
But did Hemingway ever really have a chance?
His mother dressed him as a girl when he was in his earliest years and in the process of forming his identity. It’s no wonder he ended up going down a hyper-masculine route. He was abused, traumatized, and watched people around him kill themselves for his entire life.
He was obsessed with death and suicide. He thought about it often.
He also dealt with chronic pain, alcoholism (that he never got under control), PTSD, and after the plane crashes in Africa, a fractured skull among other injuries.
Yes — Hemingway was a great writer — but did he ever have a chance of being “happy”? Of living a normal life? I’m not sure.
The kind of pain that he experienced takes generations to unweave. In terms of having a happy and stable life, Hemingway was playing the game short-handed for his entire existence.
He didn’t win, and he brought a lot of people down with him.
Is it fair for us to blame Hemingway for everything that happened in his life? I don’t know.
What I do know is that life isn’t fair.
Friends for life
Does the loss of a fourth Abrams tank to the Russians confirm the poor performance of these machines?
All four have been lost within days or hours of them being deployed in active fighting which doesn't seem very good to me.
The battlefield has become much deadlier for tanks in recent years. When the US’s M1 Abrams made its combat debut in Operation Desert Storm, it seemed like an invincible steel beast. In the conflict, Abrams easily decimated Iraqi formations of Soviet tanks, creating a perception that the US military and the systems that made it up were unbeatable. In reality, the Abrams was about a generation ahead of the tanks that it faced in the deserts of Iraq, allowing it easy victories.
Today, 30 years after Desert Storm, the Russians have developed counters to Western tanks like the Abrams. The most important development in armored warfare over the past three decades has been the development and proliferation of modern anti-tank missiles and drones. All tanks have their weak spots. Tanks are generally designed to be most heavily protected from the front. However, the armor on top and sides of tanks tends to be relatively thin. In recent years, a new generation of weapons has come out to exploit those weak spots. Drones and top-attack anti-tank missiles are designed to punch through this weaker armor on the sides and top. Thousands of armored vehicles have been damaged or destroyed by these new weapons in Ukraine.
Despite the fact that the Abrams is one of the best armored tanks in the world at the moment, it has not fared significantly better than the other tanks in the conflict. The M1 was not designed to face drones and top-attack anti-tank missiles. Rather, it was designed to face Soviet armored columns. As such, it has thinner armor on the top and sides like most tanks. In Ukraine Abrams crews are falling prey to the same weapons that have knocked out thousands of Soviet-designed and produced tanks.
The battlefield has shifted in general against tanks since the Abrams made its combat debut. While many in the West hoped that the deployment of Abrams tanks to the conflict would make a significant impact, Abrams have the same weaknesses of many of the other tanks in the conflict. It’s hardly surprising that they are meeting the same fate as every other tank in the conflict.
What’s the best way to go to jail?
I don’t remember his name; he was my very first cellie.
He was probably in his early seventies, thin, tall, and in excellent shape. His bunk looked ready for military inspection at all times — not a wrinkle anywhere — crisp, sharp folds.
He arrived just a few hours behind me. After making his bed up, he launched into an exercise routine.
I learned later that he had spent forty-seven years behind bars, more time incarcerated than I had been alive at that point. He started off with some minor infraction while in the military, and was sentenced to the brig. When he got out, his dishonorable discharge made it hard to fit back in. He would commit offense after offense and be sent back for increasingly long periods of time.
Life on the installment plan they call it.
He was institutionalized. He couldn’t survive out in “the real world.” Nothing in forty-seven years of prison had ever taught him how to hold down a job or make ends meet on a paycheck.
I suspect he had never known a woman’s love.
He missed the structure, and the… freedom of prison. He didn’t have to work in prison, didn’t have to worry about money or where his next meal would come from.
For this older man, it was a no-brainer. He would just catch a ride in a cop car back to prison. But, how to do that? What would be the quickest and best way back to his cold comfort of bars and bunks?
This man was an expert in that area. If your intent is to catch a charge that will land you in the stony lonesome, I suggest you follow his lead. His method is the answer to this question:
He walked into a bank (federally insured by the FDIC) and presented a note to the teller, “This is a robbery. Please place money in a bag.”
The teller handed him a bag of money, and I can imagine him smiling and giving a wink as he calmly walked out.
Outside, he sat down on the curb, money bag in his lap, and waited for the cops.
By robbing a bank covered by the FDIC, he knows he’s going to a federal prison. These are generally better run than state prisons. By using just a note with no weapon whatsoever, he knows that he’ll go to a lower custody facility.
This is the reality of what prison does. Anyone who believes that a couple decades behind bars will “teach someone a lesson” is right. The lesson is that the world is a dangerous place full of people who don’t want you in it. And, once you’ve been to prison, you might just as well stay there.
Where??? (She’s so confused)
Have you ever met a celebrity who asked you, “Do you know who I am?” and you said no?
I’ve met two celebrities (three, sort of) and one celebrity couple.
Had coffee a few times with Walter Matthau at a drug store soda fountain in Nevada when he was filming Charley Varrick in our community. He didn’t need any intruduction.
Met Clint Eastwood a couple of times when he was hiking trails near Lake Tahoe. I was a forestry officer at the time. We chatted briefly on both occasions. He didn’t need any introduction.
Having coffee at the soda fountain mentioned above, when Carol O’Connor stopped in to but a box of cigars (this was an old fashioned drugstore….lol) and decided to have some coffee before continuing his drive to Lake Tahoe. I didn’t talk to him as he was sitting at the far end of the counter when he struck up a little chat with couple of other local gents. Seemed like a regular guy. He didn’t need any introduction, I sort of count him as a third….lol.
The celebrity couple was the Captain and Tennile. They threw a neighborhood party after a big wildland fire at Glenbrook threatened their home and several others. The party was to thank the firefighters, I was involved in suppressing that fire. Very nice people. They didn’t need any introduction.
I lived in northern Nevada from the mid 50’s to the mid 80’s. There were a lot of celebrities around in those years, most of them were pretty regular people, who appreciated being treated as regular people.
So, quite the opposite of this question. Sorry if you were looking for negative answers.
Ten things
Was there a time in US history when politics were as uncivil as they are now?
On May 20, 1856, Senator Charles Sumner, a Republican from Massachusetts, had just finished a marathon address railing against the depredations of pro-slavery Border Ruffians in the Territory of Kansas. Sumner, the most outspoken anti-slavery voice in the Senate, had among his arguments against pro-slavery forces in Kansas, thrown a number of insults at fellow Senators hailing from slave states. Among the insults hurled during his address was a specific barb at Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina, insinuating that Butler sought to preserve the institution of slavery so he could maintain pliant sexual outlets among his female slaves.
Two days later, May 22, 1856, Butler’s cousin and Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina, grabbed his gutta-percha cane with a gold head and entered the Senate Chamber, flanked by two allies, Representatives Laurence M. Keitt and Henry A. Edmundson (also of South Carolina). The three men waited for the galleries to clear out, ensuring that all the ladies were out of the chamber before making their move.
Brooks approached Senator Sumner, who was at that moment seated close behind a his heavy wooden desk attending to some papers or such, not looking up. Brooks, in a low voice, addressed Sumner with the words: “Mr. Sumner, I have read your speech twice over carefully. It is a libel on South Carolina, and Mr. Butler, who is a relative of mine.”
Sumner made as if to stand and address Brooks. It should be noted here that Sumner was a tall man, and well built. He stood substantially taller than the diminutive Brooks. Before Sumner could reach his feet, Brooks raised the gold-tipped cane and brought it swiftly down on Sumner’s head. Thereafter he continued to rain blows down upon Sumner as the latter fell, and became trapped between the desk and the chair he had so recently been seated in. Initially his hands raised in his own defense, but as the blows continued he became more and more senseless from them, and still Brooks continued striking him.
Several witnesses stepped forward to Sumner’s aide, but Representative Keitt brandished a pistol at anyone who drew too near, snarling at the bystanders to “Let them alone, God damn you, let them alone!”
Brooks continued raining blows on Sumner even after the man had freed himself from his desk and chair, and attempted to flee from him. Blinded by his own blood and knocked senseless by the thrashing, Sumner toppled in one of the aisles in the chamber, where Brooks continued hitting him. Even after the thick cane snapped in twain from the force of the blows, Brooks continued. It was only when two onlookers managed to get past Edmundson and Keitt and restrain him that Brooks collected himself, and exited the chamber.
For his cowardly assault on a defenseless man (with two armed accomplices, no less), Brooks was arrested, tried, and given a $300 fine.
I love the expressions
Have you ever had a bad seatmate on an airplane? What did they do, and how did you deal with it?
A couple of years ago — 2013 if I recall — my family and I were on a flight to the USA for a family holiday.
We were flying on a plane with a 3-a-side seating arrangement, which is not ideal for a family of 4. Unfortunately for me, I had a reputation for being absorbed in books for 100% of a flight and not minding being sat next to strangers, so I was on my own, with my family across the aisle and one row in front of me.
This was in the run up to university admissions, so I was reading A Brief History of Time, since it’s something you feel you should read when applying for a physics degree!
About 20 minutes into this 10 hour flight, the guy in the seat next to me noticed what I was reading, and engaged me in conversation.
We had a fairly pleasant conversation, he was a teacher, and asked me how my university application was going, and so on and so forth — I asked him about his school (which was somewhere in London, if memory serves).
That’s where things started to go downhill.
See, it turns out that this guy wasn’t just a teacher, he was a super racist teacher.
He spent the next half an hour or so ranting about all the “useless brown kids” in his school, how they were all filthy and smelly, that they were all lazy, that their families were (amusingly) simultaneously taking all the benefits and all the local jobs. They were all extremists and terrorists, and he was sure at least two of them had been googling how to build a bomb in one of his classes.
It was like a caricature of a cartoon racist. It was every stereotype all rolled into one.
I was…slightly dumbstruck. What the hell do you say? I was stuck next to this guy for 9 more hours.
I tried to feign disinterest, to try to return to my book, in the hopes that he would shut up. He didn’t, if anything, he got louder to try to get my attention. I’m genuinely not sure what he thought my reaction was.
Luckily, his weak-ass racist bladder came to the rescue, and he had to go to the toilet, as I got up to let him out, I caught the eye of the guy on the other side of the aisle to me (behind my parents) — who was clearly of Middle-Eastern descent.
After my ‘friend’ left, I learned quite how loudly he was talking, because the guy across the aisle turned to me, and asked “is that guy for real?” We had a bit of a chat about what a monumental bellend this guy was, and how sad it was that he was a teacher, an educator, an influencer of young minds. Tragic.
Unfortunately, we were still chatting across the aisle when my new friend returned. As I stood up to let him back in, he noticed who I was talking to, and after we sat down, he asked me if I knew the guy across the aisle.
Sure, I said. He’s my stepdad.
My friend didn’t say another word. For nine, blessed hours.
If you cross them the wrong way, how can a parole or probation officer really mess up your life?
If you were supervising a department full of probation officers, how would you assess their performance?
Ideally, we’d judge how well a PO was doing by how his or her charges were doing. Do they integrate successfully back into the world? Are they all working? Current on their bills? Have they stayed away from whatever got them jammed up in the legal system the last time around?
But, judging a PO this way creates a perverse incentive. It’s like saying, “The less problems you find with your people, the better.” This would quickly morph into POs thinking, “Maybe I shouldn’t be looking too hard at these guys?” And finally, “Well if I do find something, I sure as hell don’t want to report it.”
So, that’s not going to work.
Here’s something the manager can judge POs on: “How many ex-cons did you send back to prison this year?” That’s a goal everyone can feel good about, right?
Just like cops supposedly don’t have quotas, I’m sure POs don’t have this goal *officially* written into their job description. But, if you’re clever, I bet you can find it lurking between the lines.
When I first got out of the halfway house, I was working in a place that was populated 100% by felons, or people who’d had some kind of related rough ride. In spite of being told not to associate with other felons, we all go from halfway houses to crappy jobs being done by people who are just passing through. They’re either looking for something better, or looking to get back into prison.
A woman I worked with lived in a flop house, but her car was her real home. The flop house was just a place to collect mail and make it look semi-stable for when her PO came around.
Her car was everything. It was the one thing that allowed her to function in society. It kept her moving and kept her safe.
Unfortunately, it had problems A faulty thermostat was causing wild temperature swings. At our minimum wage job, neither of us had the money to hire a mechanic. But, I did have a garage and suggested we could replace the thermostat ourselves.
Now… We’re both felons. We’re not *supposed* to “associate.” But, if we don’t help one another, who the hell will?
So, one weekend, she brought her car over and I got the wrenches out. I’m not a great mechanic… I’m not even a good mechanic. Mostly I just enjoy cussing at the thing while working on it, but given enough time I usually get it done.
Her car was right about the half-way point when my PO showed up.
My PO was actually always honest and fair with me. Because of my interactions with the system, I expected the worst. But, true to her word, she never lied to me and treated me with respect at all times. But, she did want to know who the woman was that had suddenly showed up at my apartment with an obviously broken car.
I explained that we were fixing her thermostat. My PO asked her, “Are you on supervision.”
A slight pause, then meekly, “Yes.”
My PO didn’t have any problems with me helping this woman and said so. But, she was required by protocol to contact my friend’s state PO.
The state PO wasn’t nearly so understanding. “You are not to associate with other felons. How many times do I have to say it?”
We did replace the thermostat that day, but the frequent temperature swings had caused the heads to warp. The engine was leaking coolant and possibly some was seeping into the oil. I was no longer an option for her. She had to find someone else (without a record) to help.
She did. She met a guy who agreed to work on her car.
He tore it apart, and then made it clear he wanted sex before he’d put it back together.
Somewhere out there is a state PO who is very bad at her job.
Rude Girlfriend Picks Fight In McDonald’s Only To Be Left Behind & Kicked Out Of BF’s House!
What are some behaviors that indicates you’re dealing with a mature person?
HERE ARE THE “TOP 3″ BEHAVIORS THAT A TRULY MATURE & WISE PERSON WILL EXHIBIT.
They will admit when they are wrong or make a mistake no matter how big or small.
The easiest way to determine whether someone is mature as well as honest is how they react to criticism and being wrong. If the person is able to own up to their mistakes without so much as an attitude then you have yourself a wise and truly mature individual. Those of us that arent ashamed to admit we don’t know everything aren’t phased by failure or criticism.
If they have a disagreement with someone they stay calm and listen intently to the opposing persons viewpoint and why they are upset.
They do so in order to learn from the conflict and gain a more in depth understanding of the person they are conflicted with. A truly mature and wise person will never scream pointless and hurtful insults at someone as the only thing it accomplishes is to harm both parties. Logic and reason trumps all in their eyes.
You wont catch them talking badly about their peers behind their back.
Wise and mature people don’t talk down about people to anyone other than the person they believe has a behavior they need to work on. Talking badly behind anyones back solves nothing and the only thing it shows is that the person talkiing down is immature and shallow. Wise and mature people seek to enlighten those around them the best they can in order to help make the world a more wholesome place.
What was the stupidest thing someone has called the police on you for?
The father of my son called the police on me 5 times in a week while he was trying to manipulate the circumstances so he could find grounds to modify custody. He called saying I didn’t dress our 9-month-old son in cute enough clothes, I had expired tags (3 months expired), no insurance (I did have insurance), and that I wasn’t responding to his messages within 4 minutes. The officers came out to do a well-check the first night. They reported the child in great condition and comfortably sleeping in his crib. That didn’t fit his narrative so, he called the next day for another well-check… he did this every day for a week. After all, said and done, the police started calling me instead of showing up at my door. They saw me drive my expired car tags to drop my kids off at school and never once did they pull me over. They always gave friendly smile and wave. The responding officer said it best “I don’t think he knows how custody or well-checks work.”
Reality hits hard
Humor: What are some of the greatest examples of presence of mind?
I came across one article on Internet and I felt that it was much related to this question but not humorous :—
Fourteen years ago, a massive earthquake hit beneath the Indian ocean, that had triggered a tsunami that claimed over two million lives. It was one of the most destructive natural disasters ever, that devastated parts of Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India.
While no one – not even the meteorological department – could foresee the deadly waves, a 10-year-old girl spotted the unusual signals of tsunami and saved a 100 people, including her family, from dying.
Hailed as the miracle girl, here’s the story of Tilly Smith’s courage, foresight and presence of mind:-
She was on vaction with her parents and sibling on Maikhov beach in Phuket where she spotted an unusual behaviour of tides and stretched her brain more deep into thoughts as she had seen this kind of thing happening before.
Finally she recalled that this kind of unusual behavior of waves was shown to her by her teacher in Geography class.
That is when she started shouting:
"Tsunami, there’s going to be a tsunami. We have to get off, we have to run."
Seeing her panic her father alarmed Security Guards about the fizzing sea waves. The guard was instantly alarmed as he was aware of the earthquake that had occurred in the Indian Ocean.He asked everyone on the beach to run towards the hotel.
Tilly asked everyone to stay on the high ground.
As a result, everyone on the beach was saved.
When her parents learned about the disaster’s magnitude through Television reports, they realized that if they hadn’t listened to Tilly, all of them would have died.
The girl on the leftmost corner is Tilly Smith.
Tilly was named Child of the Year by a French children’s newspaper, and United Nations invited her to meet Bill Clinton, then the UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Relief.
Thus her presence of mind and courage helped her save lives of 100 people on beach.
Originally Answered: What makes you mad in your every day life?
Have you ever heard of “Begpackers”?
They’re really common in Southeast Asia.
These people fly to different countries and beg for money from the locals to continue traveling.
Generally, the purpose of tourism, especially in a developing country like Thailand, is to bring money into their economy and improve their standard of living. That’s why they allow you in here. You get a nice trip and an insight to their culture while they get cash flow into their country.
However, these people bring no money into the country. The locals, who are often less fortunate than them, give to them out of the kindness of their hearts and from the shock factor of seeing a white person beg in their country. These Begpackers greedily take and give nothing back to the country they’re in.
The worst part is, in Thailand, these Begpackers often post themselves outside of temples. In Buddhism, Thais like to do good deeds to “make merit”. It is similar to building up karma or good works in their religion.
So these Begpackers purposely take advantage of Thai religious practices by posting themselves outside of temples where they know they’ll get a good profit from religious Thais.
It’s honestly gross. Thailand just enacted a law this month to make it illegal for foreigners to beg (jail time for up to a month) and for local Thais to give to them (500 THB fine). We’ll see if it’s enforced.
She broke the code!
What is the difference between Americans, Canadians, Australians and the British?
OK, I didn’t write this, it has been circulating online for at least 20 years, but it’s still pretty good:
Aussies: Believe you should look out for your mates.
Brits: Believe that you should look out for those people who belong to your club.
Americans: Believe that people should look out for and take care of themselves.
Canadians: Believe that’s the government’s job.
Aussies: Dislike being mistaken for Pommies (Brits) when abroad.
Canadians: Are rather indignant about being mistaken for Americans when abroad.
Americans: Encourage being mistaken for Canadians when abroad.
Brits: Can’t possibly be mistaken for anyone else when abroad.
Canadians: Endure bitterly cold winters and are proud of it.
Brits: Endure oppressively wet and dreary winters and are proud of it.
Americans: Don’t have to do either, and couldn’t care less.
Aussies: Don’t understand what inclement weather means.
Americans: Drink weak, pissy-tasting beer.
Canadians: Drink strong, pissy-tasting beer.
Brits: Drink warm, beery-tasting piss.
Aussies: Drink anything with alcohol in it.
Brits: Drink in proper pubs.
Americans: Drink in soulless bars with big TVs.
Canadians: Drink in places that look like proper British pubs from the outside but feel like soulless American bars inside.
Australians: Think none of this matters as long as beer is served.
Americans: Seem to think that poverty and failure are morally suspect.
Canadians: Seem to believe that wealth and success are morally suspect.
Brits: Seem to believe that wealth, poverty, success, and failure are inherited.
Aussies: Seem to think that none of this matters after several beers.
Brits: Have produced many great comedians, celebrated by Canadians, ignored by Americans, and therefore not rich.
Aussies: Have produced comedians like Paul Hogan and Yahoo Serious.
Canadians: Have produced many great comedians such as John Candy, Martin Short, Jim Carrey, Dan Aykroyd.
Americans: Think that all these people are American!
Americans: Spend most of their lives glued to the idiot box.
Canadians: Don’t, but only because they can’t get more American channels.
Brits: Pay a tax just so they can watch 4 channels.
Aussies: Export all their crappy programs, which no one there watches, to Britain, where everybody loves them.
Americans: Will jabber on incessantly about football, baseball and basketball.
Brits: Will jabber on incessantly about cricket, soccer and rugby.
Canadians: Will jabber on incessantly about hockey, hockey and hockey
Aussies: Will jabber on incessantly about how they beat the Poms in every sport they played them in.
Aussies: Are extremely patriotic about their beer.
Americans: Are flag-waving, anthem-singing, and obsessively patriotic to the point of blindness.
Canadians: Can’t agree on the words to their anthem, in either language, when they can be bothered to sing them.
Brits: Do not sing at all but prefer a large brass band to perform the anthem.
Brits: Shop at home and have goods imported because they live on an island.
Australians: Shop at home and have goods imported because they live on an island.
Americans: Cross their southern border for cheap shopping, gas and liquor in a backwards country.
Canadians: Cross their southern border for cheap shopping, gas and liquor in a backwards country.
Brits: Are justifiably proud of the accomplishments of their past citizens.
Americans: Are justifiably proud of the accomplishments of their present citizens.
Canadians: Prattle on about how some of those great Americans were once Canadian.
Aussies: Waffle on about how some of their past citizens were once Outlaw Pommies, but none of that matters after several beers.
Why do Chinese people often feel they are part of Japan?
They don’t.
Some people do because some Japanese things are cool as they have soft cultural power.
A LOT of Chinese grew up watching Japanese cartoons and animation.
Doremon (which I remember always as Ding Dong) originated from Japan. It’s rather popular in China.
Oh and porn. Production and distribution of porn is illegal in China (possession is a grey area). Japan produces a lot of porn. So much that Japanese AV stars will come to China now and again to do burlesque dance shows, or do hugs and photos for money.
Pre Covid you’d get Japanese AV stars appear in Macau every month or so they’d do some sort of dance show and you could pay a lot of money to get your photo taken with them.
Intolerance
Which is the most stupid lawsuit that you have ever seen?
It’s the closest to a My Cousin Vinny as I can get.. A guy I was seeing only practiced real estate law when the public defender didn’t show up for a defendent and they were going to rearange the court date and this person (who granted, I would never pay for and know their father paid for them to get them past the bar exam) took the case on scene and the defendant complied. The lady was trying to sue the bf for child support purposes, which he had no problem about as long as he had 50/50 custody, but she wanted more money if he wanted half time custody so he asked for a paternity test .. he said it didn’t matter, just to prove that he was willing to go above and beyond for his son. It turned out, the baby wasn’t his.. he still offered to take care of him.. so for the agreement, she filed suit wanting 50 percent of all marital assets, the bank account, his family jewelry (his grandmothers ring he wanted back), schooling for the son that wasn’t his after the affair and full alimony payments after it was proven it wasn’t his child, but her ex bf’s child who she still hung out with that was currently in jail.
bright side? this guy still hung around for this kid and he still calls him dad. He never got his grandma’s ring back but doesn’t even care. One day I wish he would take this woman to court, I honestly feel that he admits he’s afraid to date again gives her pleasure. She knows hes alone.. so it’s just her and his family and the son he loves so much that isn’t even his but he will always claim as his own.
I think that we take pull-tabs on cans for granted. Today they are all one piece. You just pull up the pull-tab and then discard the can when you are finished. But I am here to tell you that it wasn’t always that way.
Back in the 1950’s and 1960’s we had to use this thing called a can-opener to open our cans of beer. It has a triangular point and that would make a triangular cut in the top of the can from which we drank from.
Then in the middle 1970’s that was replaced with pull tabs. These were not integrated into the can. You pulled the tab and then dropped it in the trash, or more often the ground.
Then sometime in the 1980’s came the integrated pull-tabs.
Times happen. Before we realize it, things are changed, and the past is as forgotten as it is discarded. Today, many young Gen-Z kids have no idea why there is a pointed end on the metal can opener. I guess that it is a mystery to them.
After I am dead, the purpose of the pointed end on the metal opener will be forgotten just like the eraser on the end of a pencil. Such is life.
Today…
What was the scariest experience you’ve had at work?
My experience was just weird. The place I worked had a mandatory Saturday workday once a year. Just because they wanted a certain number of calendar workdays. 🤷🏼♀️ Most people came in really early and left early, but never being a morning person, I came in at my usual time. As the day went on, I ended up being the only one there. So I started walking around, closing the office doors to the production floor, turning off lights, and making sure the outside doors were locked, as well as checking nobody else was there who I was locking in. As I walked thru the building, I clearly heard footsteps following me. I got a feeling so I stopped and there were still footsteps. Looking in their direction, nobody was there. They got closer, then stopped. I spoke out loud and told whatever I didn’t appreciate being followed and they either needed to show themselves or move along. I was in a big open office area so I should have easily seen whatever it was. This place always had a motion detector alarm go off at 3–4am too, when nobody was there. I saw a flicker of something but nothing really happened so I figured screw it, circled back to where my desk was, gathered my stuff and got ready to leave, no footsteps that time. Where this building was, we didn’t have cell service, so I realized after I’d left the building that I couldn’t call my family to tell them I was on my way because it was snowing really heavily and the parking lot wasn’t cleared. I inched my way out to my car and got in and out of habit I immediately lock the doors, but when I looked back, there was a set of faint footprints by mine. I still don’t know if they were old footprints covered with snow that I couldn’t see while walking or whatever was in there followed me out. I just made sure I was never alone in that building after that.
Good on paper
Vegetable Tortellini Soup
This flavorful Vegetable Tortellini Soup pairs fresh veggies and herbs with whole wheat three cheese tortellini to create a flavorful addition to any lunch or dinner that will please family and friends. It’s great alone as a light lunch, too!
Prep: 15 min | Cook: 30 min | Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup sliced leek (white part only) or chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced celery
Salt and ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 (14 ounce) cans low-sodium vegetable broth
3 cups water
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into circles
1 large zucchini, cut in half lengthwise then sliced crosswise
1 cup fresh or frozen peas or green beans
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
1 (9 ounce) package Buitoni Refrigerated 100% Whole Wheat Three Cheese Tortellini or Spinach Cheese Tortellini
1/4 cup (0.75 ounce) Buitoni Refrigerated Freshly Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Stir in garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 30 seconds.
Add vegetable broth, water, carrot, zucchini, peas and 1 tablespoon parsley. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Add pasta; bring to a boil. Cook for 7 minutes.
Season with ground black pepper.
Top with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and cheese before serving.
The Duran: NATO Crossed Putin’s Red Line and Russia’s Alliance with China will DESTROY It
Israel Quietly ‘Retaliates’ For Iran’s Retaliation Attack
The current exchange happened after Israel, in clear violation of international law, bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
The aim and success of last night’s attack is yet unknown:
Israel carried out retaliatory strikes against Iran early Friday morning local time, reportedly targeting locations in the west of the country. Explosions were heard in the city of Isfahan, prompting commercial flights to divert from their routes.Senior US officials speaking to ABC, CBS and NPR confirmed the strikes.
…
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported at around 5:30 a.m. local time (10:00 p.m. EST Thursday) that explosions were heard in Qahjaverestan, northeast of Isfahan.
A senior Iranian military official in Isfahan told the Islamic Republic News Agency that the explosions were caused by Iran’s air defenses that fired at a suspicious object east of Isfahan. Isfahan’s international airport is located just northeast of Qahjaverestan.
Two discarded first stages of Israeli ROCKS aero-ballistic missiles have been found in Iraq. ROCKS, a derivative of Sparrows ballistic target rocket, are air-launched, stand-off, air-to-ground missiles.
They may have hit something near Isfahan or they may have been taken down by Iranian air defense.
No Iranian or Israeli officials have commented the attack. The IAEA said that no Iranian nuclear facility has been hit.
As both sides are currently silent, and as there are no signs of further escalation, the strike will likely conclude the current exchange.
As a consequence of its strike in Damascus Israel has lost its escalation dominance. Iran managed to penetrate its external security screen just like Hamas had penetrated Israel’s internal security screen on October 7 2023 when it broke out of Gaza to collect hostages.
Those who moved to Israel because they thought that it could provide them with security should reevaluate their decision.
OP-ED: Israel is hurling towards the precipice and is determined one way or another to drag the rest of humanity with it. Israel is a lunatic state. The state is certifiably crazy.
There are two poles for the entire Israeli spectrum. One pole is the pole of “crackpot realists” who see war as the only answer to every question even as they acknowledge that war will not solve any problems. It’s their first and last reflex.
At the other end of this very narrow spectrum are those who advocate for “The Samson Option” — either pretend to be crazy to terrify your enemies and your allies, that if they don’t do Israel’s bidding, Israel will bring down the temple on everybody’s head.
And there are those who are not simply pretending to be crazy by advocating “The Samson Option,” they ARE crazy. They’re lunatics.
There is a significant portion of Israel’s political spectrum that is either pretending to be crazy or actually is crazy. It’s not even the subject matter of Monty Python. This is lunacy run amok.
If even only half of Israeli society and only half of the Israeli political elite think this, and in my opinion, it’s much more than half, the place is crazy!
There are those who are prepared in the name of their “holy cause” who think their backs are up against the wall to “bring down the whole temple” meaning “all the goyim are going to go with us.” It’s a very scary prospect now.
I don’t believe that Iran has many options. Once Israel is determined to go to war, it will keep escalating the provocations until it becomes untenable for a government to react with passivity.
If they didn’t react, we know from past experience exactly what Israel would do. It would keep escalating the provocations up to and including assassinating the Iranian head of state, formally denying it, but with a wink-wink as, “Of course, we did it.”
There is no way to stop them. Once they have resolved that a war is necessary and a war is inevitable, there is no way to stop them. That’s what the historical record shows.
You can hold back as Nasser did, as the PLO did, as Hamas did, but Israel will provoke and provoke and provoke because it’s resolved on that war.
I do not believe the option of not reacting actually exists. And that to me is a very difficult problem. We’re facing a moment where Israel wants to resolve three problems: it wants to execute its “final solution” to “the Gaza problem,” Hezbollah, and Iran.
Benjamin Netanyahu is a virtuoso about the American media. He sees an opportunity to win the trifecta: Gaza, Hezbollah, and Iran. Another opportunity like this might not come along soon. It can achieve in their minds—remember, we’re talking about certifiable lunatics—their three overarching strategic objectives in one fell swoop.
There is a huge insatiable bloodlust in Israel. There is the fear in Israel that what it calls its “deterrence capability,” meaning the Arab world’s fear of Israel, was significantly diminished after October 7th. It looks like an opportunity might be available to them.
Israel is a very tiny place. If Hezbollah launches 150,000 missiles at Israel it’s curtains for Israel. Nasrallah’s mind is not corrupted by the delusions and hallucinations of this crazy state. If Israel has resolved, as it did in 1954, 1982, and 2008, that Iran has to be neutered, no amount of restraint will stop them.
Karma will get you back
This is funny.
Have you ever worked with someone who seemed lazy but worked really hard?
I worked on a loading dock at a very busy furniture store. On Saturdays we generally had 40 or more loaders on each shift. One guy looked like he was always sitting. Many people assumed he wasn’t carrying his share and someone complained to the foreman. When a customer pulled up for a delivery two or three of us, more for a larger load, would take the product out, load it up, tie it down and have the customer sign the receipt slip. Then each person on the crew would sign it and turn it in. The foreman took all the day’s slips and had a clerk tally up the number of loads each person had done. The foreman posted the list. Lazy guy was number two for the day. Some busybody asked lazy guy how he did so much work but sat so much. He explained that he had plantar fasciitis, a very painful foot condition. If he didn’t sit often, he was unable to walk at all, but he loved to work. It made the day go by faster. No one ever complained again for as long as he worked there.
Semiconductor bans were intended to kill the Chinese chipmakers. They’re killing ours instead.
His intro is KILLER. Damn!
About the April Israel attack on Iran
Forwarded to me securely…
EXCLUSIVE
THE REAL STORY OF THE ISRAELI COUNTER RESPONSE
From a very high level intel source.
In Asia.
NOT Russia-China.
Although the strategic partnership, of course, exchanges at the highest level 24-7.
Confirmed and re-confirmed.
It will be great to know what Sy Hersh hears from his Beltway sources.
Here we go.
Israel initially chose to respond with extreme force.
An F-35 loaded with a nuclear bomb was sent east over Jordan.
The mission: cause a high-altitude detonation over Iran that would provoke a surge in the high-capacity power lines, crippling Iran's electric grid, as well as disabling all electronic devices.
An EMP attack.
However...
... As the Israeli F-35 was leaving Jordanian airspace it was shot down by the Russian Air Force.
Hence the publicised version of the Israeli counter response was such a travesty.
In the end all sides decided not to publicise the real news - to de-escalate what could well turn into WWIII.
What’s the most “small town” thing you’ve witnessed?
Back in the 70s, we were headed back to the farm after spending Saturday morning in town doing shopping. It was the one day a week that nearly everyone who lived out of town went shopping (we mostly lived in a city 200 miles away but spent holidays and odd weekends on the farm). A few miles out, there was a market garden. As we approached, cars in front started slowing down.
We came to a stop, eventually crawling up to the market garden, which was a simple stall beside the road. The old man and his wife and kids were busy running boxes of vegetables out to the road and passing them through the windows of people’s cars. My father told me to wind my window down as a kid offered up a box of veggies. My father held out a $10 note and the kid said “sorry, no change, pay next week “ and didn’t take the money.
As we drove off I asked dad what that was about. He said that everyone wanted to get home, but the market had no space for everyone to park, so they had boxed the vegetables beforehand to run out to passing cars. Next Saturday we’d stop at the stall on the way into town and pay then.
Everyone knew everyone else and the honour system worked well. Somehow I can’t imagine this working in a city.
Fun 1970’s era comix!
How is China allowed to sentence a Canadian to death?
Press Release.
The Schellenberg drug smuggling case is a case in which the prosecuting authorities of the People’s Republic of China charged Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian citizen, with drug smuggling in China. The prosecution alleges that in November 2014, Schellenberg attempted to smuggle 222 packages of methamphetamine with a net weight of 222.035 kilograms from Dalian to Australia, and upon realising that things were changing, Schellenberg boarded a plane at Dalian airport with the intention of fleeing to Thailand. When the plane stopped at Guangzhou Airport, Schellenberg was arrested by Chinese police. Xerenberg argued that he had been framed by drug trafficker Xu Qing and that he was an innocent tourist.On 20 November 2018, the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court handed down a first instance verdict, sentencing Xerenberg to 15 years in prison, confiscation of personal property of RMB 150,000 and deportation for drug smuggling. Xielenberg appealed against the verdict. On 29 December of the same year, the Liaoning High People’s Court heard the case at a public hearing of the second instance. During the trial, the procurator of the Liaoning Provincial People’s Procuratorate claimed that the verdict of the first trial, which found Xielenberg to be an accessory and an attempt to commit a crime, was improper and therefore a lighter punishment. On 14 January 2019, the case was retried by the Dalian Municipal Intermediate Court, which sentenced Schellenberg to death and confiscated all of his property. After the retrial, Schellenberg’s defence firm stated that it would file an appeal.
On 10 August 2021, the Liaoning Provincial High People’s Court rejected the appeal and upheld the death sentence. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada issued a statement condemning the verdict and not waiving consular assistance.
Returning to the questions.
1. China is a country that retains the death penalty for major crimes, it is Chinese law, and there have been British drug dealers, Japanese drug dealers, etc. sentenced to death in China for drug trafficking before. Does it mean that Canadians are not the same?
2. According to Chinese law, smuggling 50 grams (that’s grams, not kilograms or pounds) of methamphetamine is punishable by death. And this guy smuggled 220 kilograms (yes, kilograms). That means his crime, according to Chinese law, is punishable by the death penalty 4,400 times.
Please note that this man has a prior drug conviction
Born in 1982, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg is a Canadian citizen who grew up in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Schellenberg had been jailed twice in Canada for drug offences prior to his arrest in China.
The Canadian press says Schellenberg is not at the bottom of the drug trafficking chain.
According to court documents from 2012, Schellenberg had previously suffered a femur injury at work and became addicted to drugs when he began to overuse painkillers to relieve the pain.
In February 2003, Schellenberg was sentenced to six months in prison for selling and transporting drugs.
In 2012, Schellenberg was sentenced to two years in prison for trafficking cocaine and heroin, and possession of cannabis resin and methamphetamine (he was incarcerated before the verdict was announced, and thus ended up serving 16 months and 12 days in prison).
Never Fail Beef Brisket
The nice thing about this recipe is that the first baking can be done in the morning and the last part a short time before you are serving dinner. Leftovers make hot beef sandwiches like you used to get in restaurants (not out of a box!.
Notes
Beef brisket
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Carrots, thinly sliced
Celery, thinly sliced
1 can beef consommé
1 cup dry red wine
2 to 3 tablespoons Lipton’s dry onion soup
Parsley
Mushrooms, sliced
Instructions
Put beef brisket in oven at 450 degrees F oven for 20 minutes.
Remove; sprinkle garlic powder on meat, put thin slices of carrots and celery on meat and add beef consommé, dry red wine, (can use more broth in place of wine) and Lipton’s dry onion soup, then add parsley, cover and set oven at 300 degrees F and cook 3 to 4 hours.
Serve from oven or remove and chill meat about 1/2 hour; save broth. Slice meat and place fresh sliced mushrooms and fresh parsley on meat in baking dish.
Make gravy from broth that was saved and pour heated gravy over meat and place in oven at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.
Fun retro
Walmart
Has a cop ever said something to you which was completely unexpected?
When I was growing up I used to regularly see one of the biggest and ugliest traffic cops on a motorcycle regularly patrolling a side road of the freeway. By appearances alone this was one intimidating motherfucker. From the number of cars I saw him stop over the years, he was clearly a ticket cash cow.
Shortly after I got my license I happened to be cruising down that side road and blew a traffic stop sign because there were no other cars in sight. Within seconds this cop’s motorcycle came bursting out of nowhere with full siren and lights blazing. Scared the living shit out me as a new driver. What scared me even more was that I was going to encounter this particular badass officer.
He was all business after the stop asking for license etc., and noting that my license had been issued within the past two weeks. He said to me in a gruff voice, “you know you blew that stop sign back there, don’t you.”
I barely squeaked out a “yes sir.”
After a very uncomfortable 15 seconds of silence, he returned my license, and said, “Okay, this is a warning; don’t do that again!” Without another word he got back on his motorcycle and sped off.
Completely blew my mind.
What is the oddest conversation you’ve had with a telephone scammer?
Had the decorator round painting my ceilings when the phone rang – I answered it on loudspeaker, it went like this:-
Me “Hello?”
Telephone Scammer (TS) “Hello madam, we have noticed a problem with your internet and there is an attempt to steal money from your bank”.
Me: Oh no! What do I need to do?
TS: Check your internet router!
Me: Whats an internet router?
TS: the thing that makes your computer work!
Me: Oh, my husband deals with all the computer things shall I get him to call you back?
TS: NO madam there is no time! The box next to the computer, is the lights flashing?
Me: Yes
TS: Oh NO be fast, they are stealing your money right now, thats what the flashing lights are for! To let you know you are being robbed!
Me: what should I do!
TS: Log on to this website
Me: how do I do that?
TS: Switch on the computer
Me: OK
TS: Go to this website
Me: Computer is asking me for a password
TS: put in your password!
Me: I don’t know what it is! It’s my husbands computer!
TS: Try his date of birth! What is that?
Me: 6 June 66. (Its not!) That hasn’t worked!
TS: Try his middle name
Me: OK, I’m typing ‘Shirley’ – that’s not working either!
TS: try looking under the keyboard!
ME: Oh yes! Oh, No – Dell5454 isn’t working either!
TS: You must hurry your money is disappearing!
ME: Can you hang on I will call my husband and ask him for his password!
TS: Yes but hurry!
Me: can you give me your number incase we get cut off! He gives me a landline number based in London UK!
I put the scammer on hold for about 5 minutes! My decorator is peeing himself laughing up a ladder!
ME: I’m back, I’ve got into the computer!
TS: Great now go to this website!
He proceeds to tell me the website, I proceed to spell it incorrectly about 6 times!
In the meantime I ask him how he is doing, hows his family, does he have a dog etc etc.
He’s now losing patience with me!
TS: Are you in the website yet?
Me: Dont shout you are putting me off
TS: I’m sorry it’s so important to make sure your money is not being stolen.
Me: that’s OK…my money isn’t being stolen, I’ve sent your phone number to crime stoppers along with a full recording of this conversation you scamming piece of garbage..
He hung up on me! But not before I’d wasted almost 1 hour 30 minutes of his time! An hour in which he wasn’t trying to scam people a little more gullible than me!
My decorator finished my ceilings that day and gave me a small discount to make up for the laugh he had! 🙂
What’s the craziest thing you have said to your boss?
This was years ago, so don’t judge! 😂
I was working in a fashion store and my boss, John was in the office doing bookwork all day.
It was the time of year when women had already bought their winter wardrobe. And the grey, dismal weather outside wasn’t enticing anyone to consider buying for the new season.
I’d cleaned the store from top to bottom and changed all the displays several times and not a soul had come in from the rain all afternoon.
Business has been abysmal that day and the boss was worried.
Sighing, he approached the sales desk.
‘No-one in – and I still have to pay your wage.’ He said shaking his head. It made me feel so guilty!
Being only a casually employed worker, I had a brilliant idea suddenly how I could save him some money. John could easily handle the rest of the quiet day, and I’d finish up early- saving him paying a few hours of my wage.
‘Do you want to knock me off now?’ I offered.
John suddenly looked up in surprise.
‘Do you wasn’t to rephrase that, Ava?’ he said with half a smile.
‘Why?’ I asked him, but he didn’t answer.
His response baffled me.
So I asked my husband when I got home later that evening. ‘What’s wrong with asking your boss if you want to knock me off – what would you say?
‘I’d say- yes please!!’ Was my husband’s salacious response.
That’s when it hit me hard!
My God, I realised – I should have asked John if he wanted me to knock off early- not if he wanted to knock me off.
I was absolutely mortified that I’d accidentally propositioned my boss!
AFTER NOTE:
Wait! I’m sorry- I’m so confused now! 😂 In the comment section it’s become apparent that I’m using Australian slang- so I’m not being understood.
My apologies – I didn’t even know that ‘knock off’ was an Australian saying!
Sorry for the questions in a question, but-
Do other countries – like the USA – say ‘knock off work’ when they’re finished work for the day?
And I’m sorry to be crude (and it’s not language I usually use!) but does this sentence only make sense to an Australian? ‘We all knew he was knocking off his secretary.’
I’m sorry my post is so confusing – believe me, I’m feeling your pain now too.
Time to stay away…
Are traditional “medicine” in China still revered, or has the population wised up and realized that they are being duped? What is the trend?
Well, the Chinese have vastly expanded their medical repertoire to incorporate western medicine and surgery.
Whereas traditional Chinese medicine or tcm was all China had for millennia, it is a legitimate and recognized branch of healthcare today.
The body of tcm knowledge is being scientifically classified and refined into modern treatment protocols for human diseases. For example, pain management with acupuncture, which does away with drugs. Or guasha, which is effective treating fascia-related symptoms.
Furthermore, the wisdom contained in the thousands year history of tcm is being rediscovered today. Tu Youyou, a biomedical researcher, explored an age-old Chinese anti-malaria recipe from existing texts and isolated the active ingredient Artemisinin from it. She won the Nobel prize in medicine for her effort.
Tcm practitioners are recognized as professionals these days. There is certification and accreditation, as well as standardization of the body of knowledge. An entire tcm supply chain eco-system has emerged, from easy to swallow capsules to tiny acupuncture plasters.
I will say tcm is very much alive and thriving in the Chinese consciousness. We just don’t blindly believe it is miracle medicine capable of treating all ailments. It remains however, a relevant and important piece of Chinese healthcare today.
Note: A doctor friend of mine successfully arrested and reversed rather severe childhood myopia in his two kids putting them through a months-long acupuncture regime.
What is your most “you’ve got to be kidding me” experience at a car mechanic?
I was a broke, starving college student in 1992, driving a red 1985 VW Scirocco with 200,000+ miles on it that I’d picked up for $2k. It ran well for me and got me through college and then some, although I never could seem to get the backup lights to work (VW electrical gremlins). One time the tailpipe broke off the muffler so I stopped in at a Midas to see if they could weld on a new tailpipe. They threw “Red Rocco” up on the lift, took a quick look, came and informed me the muffler was completely rusted through and couldn’t be repaired. I asked to see it but could not see any rust or holes from my view below. The mechanic and two other shop guys proceeded to reach up on top of the muffler, feeling around, saying, oh yeah it’s all rusted through up here. Ok, how much? They go look it up, run the numbers and come back with, “$400, and we can do it right now!” I say, I don’t have that kind of money right now, I’ll just have to drive it as-is. They offered a special discount, right now only, $50 off, and they said I could post date a check, to help me out. I again declined and asked for my car. On the way home, I happened to see a small, independent muffler shop and wondered what they might charge to replace my “completely rusted through” muffler. The guy says, let me take a look at it and comes back in and informs me the muffler is fine, and that he can weld a tailpipe on for $10 in about 5–10 minutes, if I can wait. But wait, I ask, what about the hole and rust on top of the muffler? What rust, who told you that, he asks. Midas just looked at it 15 minutes ago, I inform him. He starts laughing and says, “At Midas, they don’t Midasize, they Sodomize!”.
Schools In China Are Terrible!! Or Are They…. Let’s Take A Closer Look!!
Have you ever caught someone talking about you in a language that he/she thought that you don’t know considering your appearance, but you can hear and understand the individual? What do you do?
I worked in a Polish machine shop in suburban Chicago as the chief inspector. All the guys were Polish, the entire management was Polish with the receptionist and I were the only Americans.
in addition, our vendor base was also primarily Polish. The guys on the floor lived in a Polish neighborhood, went to doctors, grocery stores, and car dealers that were Polish-owned.
I was hired because I had a few years of experience in the trade, could run a coordinate measuring machine, and I understood shop Polish. I am reg’lar Murican, waspy mix, but I was coming from a job at another Polish shop where I had learned basic grammar and tense and was able to get my inspection results expressed in Polish and do a fair job of understanding a native speaker, especially if I knew the context.
After I had been at this new shop for a while, I had occasion to inspect and reject some little eccentric shafts that we made when they came back from the grind shop. We make the blanks, send them for heat treatment and then send them to an outside grinding house to have them ground to size in a fixture that accommodates the eccentricity of the shaft.
The grinding shop was Polish-owned, of course. I was rejecting them for being tapered undersized on the one diameter that was off center. The tolerance wasn’t really close, +0/-.0005inch, but I was failing them for being .0001 undersized, 20% of the given tolerance, a significant deviation in this science.
We had made a big box of these little shafts, with three quarter-inch diameters. Someone had to sort these to pick out all the bad ones. My boss, Ziggy said I should go to the grind shop and haggle it out, push our case that they screwed up, they need to fix it. That meant I had to prove my case in front of them.
I got there and met two guys, the owner and the manager, both native Polish. In English, I presented my case, insisted that they sort these and refund us the money for the scrap parts. They tried to contest my method, taking the micrometer himself and purposely holding it crooked to get a good number and saying, “See?! .2499! In tolerance!!”
I could see they were deflecting and I took the mic and measured the same piece carefully in front of his face. .2494. NFG (Universal machine shop rejection language – No F***ing Good).
Things started to get heated about then and the two of them withdrew a short ways away for a conference, but not far enough for me to not overhear them speaking poorly about me in Polish. There was much disrespect and, since I knew the context and ALL the Polish cuss words, I knew I was being disparaged.
I let it go in for a few minutes until I recognized that he was again questioning my measuring technique and then he called me an a-hole…
I spoke up – in Polish – and told him he may think I am an a-hole but I know how to measure. Ziggy knows that I know how to measure and that’s why he sent me over here to show you.
The color dropped out of both their faces, a few conciliatory words and gestures were made but communications after that were brief and I left, having secured agreement to my original terms.
I just got fired. Now my former boss (the one who let me go) is asking me where some important documents are. How should I respond?
This has happened to me once before and I gave him the information — the reason for me was simple. I understood why I was let go and I not only had a good relationship with my former boss I knew that one day we would be running into each other again and I refused to burn bridges. It would have been different if he had fired me for no reason or we had a poor professional relationship. But the way things stood, it didn’t cost me anything to give it to him and it may pay dividends in the future.
Now a friend of mine was in a different situation. He was fired as part of a large restructuring and there wasn’t any effort to transition any of his work. Six months later a new boss at his former company came asking about some documentation. The way he explained it to me, they should have had all that and all he had was copies he had saved for himself. Since he didn’t leave on the best terms and had no interest in any future relations, he drew up a consulting contract and 40 hours of work and sent it to them. It took a week for them to reply with a counter-offer. He declined and eventually, that gave in. He put the document set together and got well paid for it. They in fact contacted him a few more times and he made money each time.
So, you see it all comes down to your particular circumstance. I know if one previous boss ever called me, I wouldn’t even bother answering the phone or reading an email.
Were 1990s Russians dumbfounded when they first visited capitalist grocery stores?
Extremely.
Years ago, my friend’s family tried to get a husband and wife out of the USSR, specifically Ukraine. It took 10 years because the man had been a colonel of paratroopers and when he applied to leave when he retired they had to wait 10 years for his operational knowledge to become stale dated.
But eventually they were given permission to leave and the family brought him to Canada. Back in those days, the only flight from the USSR to Canada was a Moscow, Montreal, NYC flight, but their final destination was Winnipeg.
His family was asked to meet them at the airport in Montreal and guest them for a few days so that they could rest from the long uncomfortable flight and work through some of their jet lag. They were a lovely dignified couple. My friend’s mom asked him to go to the store and get some last minute items. The wife asked to come along and she dragged her husband along.
So, we went to the store and were walking through the fresh produce section and the old man turned on us and called us liars and propagandists. We looked at him in surprise, but he went on to state that as a colonel of paratroopers he knew there was no way we could afford to ship in tangerines from Morocco and melons for Mexico. He said this must be a fake store like they had in Moscow & Kviv that they used to dupe visitors. His certainty was based on his military experience and he actually knew a lot about moving stuff by air.
His wife gently tugged his arm and said, wasn’t this store one of the reasons they left the USSR.
My friend told his three times removed by marriage uncle that there were 3 other grocery nearby and he’d drive Uncle to visit them.
So, we did. As we we did, the wife’s smile became bigger and bigger as her hopes were met and exceeded. The old colonel though just grew gloomier.
Later that night, when we were a few glasses into the Stoli and Crown royal, the old soldier muttered
“I knew we were behind but not this much behind.” , “I knew the party lied to us, but this much?”.
They lived the rest of their lives, very happily in Winnipeg.
From Thursday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has begun military exercises and training activities, including live-fire drills, in six large maritime areas around Taiwan island. On Thursday afternoon, PLA’s Eastern Theater Command dispatched over 100 warplanes, and its Rocket Force launched fire assaults with multiple types of conventional missiles at several designated sea areas to the east of Taiwan island, and all missiles accurately hit their targets. According to Taiwan media reports citing Taiwan military, 11 Dongfeng missiles were fired into waters north, east and south of Taiwan.
A PHL-03 long-range multiple launch rocket system (LRMLRS) attached to an artillery brigade under the PLA 74th Group Army fires rockets at simulate target during a night raid exercise in an undisclosed desert area of northwest China on July 28, 2021.
The public opinion on the island nervously followed PLA’s every move with keenness. The DPP authority stubbornly shouted out loud on Thursday, continuing to use empty words to appease the anxious people on the island. What is certain is that the series of bitter fruits that Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi brought to Taiwan island will be enough for the DPP authority and the “Taiwan independence” forces to swallow for a while.
In addition to forming an unprecedented deterrent to “Taiwan independence” forces and external forces, the PLA’s series of military deterrence operations have also created favorable conditions for further shaping of the strategic pattern conducive to cross-Straits reunification.
Such a situation in the Taiwan Straits has become clearer – every time the US and Taiwan collude and provoke, Chinese mainland’s actual control over the Taiwan island will be strengthened, and the reunification process will be advanced one step forward. Since Pelosi’s Taiwan visit has seriously violated the one-China principle and maliciously violated China’s sovereignty, with egregious nature, the intensity of our countermeasures is unprecedented.
The PLA military exercises, described as a “blockade of the island” by island’s media, are particularly groundbreaking. To some extent, the comprehensive work to strike “Taiwan independence” and promote reunification has entered a new stage. The risk hanging above the head of the Taiwan secessionists has been greatly increased, and the space for their future actions will be further compressed. Our anti-access and area denial ability has also been put into practice.
All of these are real. Pelosi persisted in visiting the island of Taiwan, and the signal sent by the Chinese mainland could not be clearer: These countermeasures are just the beginning, if the collusion between the US and Taiwan doesn’t stop.
This incident also told us once again that the DPP authority will not stop its wrongdoings of “relying on US support for their independence agenda,” and that external anti-China forces will not give up their plot to “use Taiwan to contain China.” The great reunification of the motherland is bound to go through fierce struggles and to overcome complex and severe challenges. But it is impossible for a river, which flows toward the sea, to change its direction and goal because of reefs and dangerous shoals. In other words, we need to have firm confidence and strong will in the general trend of national reunification, as well as a full understanding of the complexity and arduousness of the process.
As expected, the US and the West verbally attacked this military exercises and training. The G7 foreign ministers and the High Representative of the European Union issued a joint statement on Wednesday expressing their “concern” over the “threatening actions” by the Chinese side. A statement from the White House has much of the same content. These two statements are as outrageous to the Chinese as Pelosi’s Taiwan trip. If they were really “concerned” about peace and stability in the Straits, why didn’t they issue a statement to stop or at least criticize Pelosi’s visit before her trip? But what could be more hypocritical and ugly than these countries playing deaf-mute at that time and now accusing China of taking righteous actions?
The one-China principle is mentioned in both statements. But it is clear that the understanding and implementation of one-China principle in these countries have gone so far astray, and it is likely to be a deliberate move. “Our position is very clear. We abide by General Assembly resolutions, by the One China policy, and that is the orientation that we have in everything we do,” said António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). Can the G7 countries, especially the US, treat the one-China principle as seriously as the UN, which is something they should do?
The one-China principle has only one version and one meaning: There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. In a sense, the current PLA’s military exercises and training are powerful demonstration of one China.
At what moment in your life did you witness true evil?
I was at court, waiting to arrest a man who came for another hearing. We couldn’t find this guy anywhere, but he had said he would show up that day (which he did), but this isn’t about him.
A female plain clothes state trooper comes out of the holding area and I notice she is visibly upset. Hard to break the cool of a veteran cop. I asked her what was wrong. She tells me to stick my head back there and take a look.
I go back and nod hello to the deputies, then take a look. There are about 7 guys in the pretty jumpsuits, and they are gathered around one guy who had them rolling with laughter. Hes bald, looks like a junkie with his picking scabs, bad teeth, and malnourished frame. He’s telling a story with animated flourishes of his chained hands. He spots me and stops. He laughs and tells me he used to live in my town, do I know so and so, and the corner bar is the best one in town, and so on. I turn and walk away while he is still talking to me.
I return to the trooper and she asks if he’s still going. I nod, and she asks me if I know who he is. I don’t. She says that man drop punted his six month old baby boy into a wall. The boy began convulsing, but he ignored it. His wife is the one who called 911. The boy lived, but won’t live a normal life. The man showed zero remorse, and was joking and talking to the arresting officers. He even joked that if it had been on the field he would have punted it into the end zone.
My boy was six months old at the time. I can’t accurately describe what I felt. Black rage. Overwhelming disgust. I pictured it happening to my own son and felt the urge to vomit. I couldn’t believe someone could care so little they would nearly kill their own child and laugh about it.
Evil looks like a beaming smile.
Are we ok as a country?
How did you deal with a psycho sitting in your next seat in flight travel?
Not exactly a psycho, but certainly was on the verge of becoming one myself. On a flight to Ghana some years back, I had the window seat, next to me a young woman, with a nice warm, friendly, demeanour, and in the aisle seat a chap who boarded the flight yapping away on his phone. He continued this banality in an unnecessarily loud voice as we waited for take off.
By now the woman betwixt me, and motormouth were already exchanging wry smiles, and curious glances. As one call ended ( no doubt by the poor person he chose to disturb) he was on the blower to yet another person. I noticed that he was supposedly deep in conversation, (spoiler alert: I picked up something about church) but took time to eye the woman between us up and down. She too saw, and felt, his prying eyes, and literally squirmed in her seat. She glanced at me slightly alarmed, and I gave her what I hope was a reassuring look that said something like “it’s ok, I noticed too”
So, phone call over, after what seemed like an eternity, and whilst we still waited for takeoff, he whipped out a bible, and began to evangelise to the now quite uncomfortable woman. I held my peace, and bided my time, until I could hold back no more, and triggered by a now familiar glance over at me of sheer terror from the poor trapped woman, I began.
I asked that he cease with his “bible bashing” and allow the woman to enjoy the luxury of her own thoughts, and peace of mind. We, I continued, did not purchase our air ticket to be preached to, and I for one refuse to tolerate it a moment longer. And further more, I said to him, can you not see how uneasy, and distressed you have made her, nodding to the woman? He glanced over, and for the first time it seemed actually noticed the effect his obtrusive sermon was having on her. He stopped, and never uttered another word for the duration of the 6 and a half hour flight.
She quietly thanked me with a look of utter relief. I was just glad that I was able to make good of my reassuring “it’s ok, I noticed too” look.
China has decided to sanction five U.S. defense industry companies, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Sunday.
The United States recently announced new arms sale to Taiwan and sanctioned Chinese businesses and individuals under various pretexts. The spokesperson announced the decision when asked about China’s countermeasures.
The U.S. arms sales to China’s Taiwan region in blatant violation of the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, particularly the August 17 joint communique of 1982, and the illegal unilateral sanctions the United States has imposed on Chinese companies and individuals under various false pretexts seriously harm China’s sovereignty and security interests, said the spokesperson.
The U.S. arms sales and the illegal unilateral sanctions also undermine the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and violate the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this and has made solemn demarches to the United States, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that in response to these gravely wrong actions taken by the United States and in accordance with China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, China has decided to sanction five U.S. defense industry companies, namely BAE Systems Land and Armament, Alliant Techsystems Operation, AeroVironment, ViaSat and Data Link Solutions.
The countermeasures consist of freezing the properties of those companies in China, including their movable and immovable property, and prohibiting organizations and individuals in China from transactions and cooperation with them, the spokesperson said.
“I would like to stress that the Chinese government remains unwavering in our resolve to safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and citizens,” said the spokesperson.
China urges the United States to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, observe international law and the basic norms governing international relations, stop arming Taiwan, and stop targeting China with illegal unilateral sanctions, the spokesperson said, noting that “otherwise there will be strong and resolute response from China.”
Israel, Gaza and West Bank should be seen as an opening of the New Cold War.
In what can be considered the most crucial podcast of 2024so far, Professor Michael Hudson – the author of seminal works such as Super-Imperialism and the recent The Collapse of Antiquity , among others – clinically lays down the essential background to understand the unthinkable: a 21st century genocide broadcast live 24/7 to the whole planet.
In an email exchange, Prof. Hudson detailed he’s now essentially “spilling the beans” about how, “50 years ago when I worked at the Hudson Institute with Herman Kahn [the model for Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove], Israeli Mossad members were being trained, including Uzi Arad. I made two international trips with him, and he outlined to me pretty much what has happened today. He became head of Mossad and is now Netanhayu’s advisor.”
Prof. Hudson shows how “the basic Gaza plan is how Kahn designed the Vietnam War’s division into sectors, with canals cutting off each village, as the Israelis are doing to Palestinians. Also already at time, Kahn pinpointed Balochistan as the area to foment disruption in Iran and the rest of the region.”
It’s not by accident that Balochistan has been CIA jewel territory for decades, and recently with the added incentive of the disruption by any means necessary of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a key connectivity node of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Prof. Hudson then connects the major dots: “As I understand it, what the U.S. is doing with Israel is a dress rehearsal for it to move on to Iran and the South China Sea. As you know, there is no Plan B in American strategy for a very good reason: If anyone criticize Plan A, they’re considered not to be a team player (or even Putin’s Puppet), so critics have to leave when they see that they won’t be promoted. That’s why U.S. strategists won’t stop and re-think what they’re doing.”
Isolate them in strategic hamlets, then kill them
In our email exchange, Prof. Hudson remarked “this is basically what I said” in reference to the podcast with Ania K, drawing on his notes (here is the full, revised transcript). Fasten your seat belts: unvarnished truth is more lethal than a hypersonic missile hit.
On the Zionist military strategy in Gaza:
“My background in the 1970s at Hudson Institute with Uzi Arad and other Mossad trainees. My field was BoP, but I sat in on many meetings discussing military strategy, and I flew to Asia twice with Uzi and got to know him.
The U.S./Israeli strategy in Gaza is based in many ways on Herman Kahn’s plan that was carried out in Vietnam in the 1960s.
Herman’s focus was systems analysis. Start by defining the overall aim and then, how do we achieve it?
First, isolate them in Strategic Hamlets. Gaza has been carved up into districts, requiring electronic passes for entry from one sector to another, or into Jewish Israel to work.
First thing: kill them. Ideally by bombing, because that minimizes domestic casualties for your army.
The genocide that we are seeing today is the explicit policy of Israel’s founders: the idea of “a land without a people” means a land without non-Jewish people. They were to be driven out – starting even before the official founding of Israel, in the first Nakba, the Arab holocaust.
Two Israeli Prime Ministers were members of the Stern Gang of terrorists. They escaped from their British jail and joined to found Israel.
What we are seeing today is the Final Solution to this plan. It also dovetails into U.S. desires to control the Middle East and its oil reserves. For U.S. diplomacy, the Middle East IS (in caps) oil. And ISIS is part of America’s foreign legion since it was first organized in Afghanistan to fight the Russians.
That is why Israeli policy has been coordinated with the U.S.. Israel is the main U.S. client oligarchy in the Middle East. Mossad does most handling of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and wherever else the U.S. may send ISIS terrorists. Terrorism and even the present genocide is central to U.S. geopolitics.
But as the U.S. learned in the Vietnam War, populations protest and vote against the President who supervises this war. Lyndon Johnson couldn’t make a public appearance without crowds chanting. He had to sneak out the side entrance of hotels where he was speaking.
To prevent an embarrassment such as Seymour Hersh describing the My Lai massacre, you block journalists from the battlefield. If they are there, you kill them. The Biden-Netanyahu team has targeted journalists in particular.
So the ideal is to kill the population passively, to minimize visible bombing. And the line of least resistance is to starve the population. That has been Israeli policy since 2008.”
And don’t forget to starve them
Prof. Hudson makes a direct reference to a Sara Roy piece in The New York Review of Books, citing a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to the Secretary of State on November 3rd, 2008. The cable reads, “As part of their overall embargo plan against Gaza, Israeli officials have confirmed to [embassy officials] on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge.”
That has led, according to Prof. Hudson, to Israel “destroying fishing boats and greenhouses of Gaza to deprive it from feeding itself.
Next, it has joined with the United States to block United Nations food aid and that of other countries. The U.S. quickly withdrew from the UN relief agency as soon as hostilities began, doing so immediately after the ICJ finding of plausible genocide. It was the major funder of this agency. The hope was that this would set back its activities.
Israel simply stopped letting food aid in. It set up long, long lines of inspections, that is, an excuse to slow the trucks to just 20% of their pre-Oct. 7 rate – from a normal rate of 500 a day to just 112. In addition to blocking trucks, Israel has targeted aid workers – about one a day.
The United States sought to avoid being condemned by pretending to build a wharf to unload food by sea. The intention was that by the time the wharf was built, Gaza’s population would be starved out.”
Biden and Netanyahu as war criminals
Prof. Hudson succinctly draws the key connection in the whole tragedy: “The U.S. is trying to blame one person, Netanyahu. But that has been Israeli policy since 1947. And it is U.S. policy. Everything that is occurring since October 2, when the Al-Aqsa mosque was raided by Israeli settlers, leading to Hamas’s [Al-Aqsa Flood] retaliation on October 7, was closely coordinated with the Biden administration. All the bombs that have been dropped, month after month, as well as blocking United Nations aid.
The U.S. aim is to prevent Gaza from having the offshore gas rights that would help finance their own prosperity and that of other Islamic groups that the United States views as enemies. And to show the neighboring countries what will be done to them, just as the U.S. has done to Libya just before Gaza. The bottom line is that Biden and his advisors are just as much war criminals as is Netanyahu.”
Prof. Hudson stresses how “the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Blinken and other U.S. officials have said the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling of genocide and calling for it to stop is Non-Binding. Then, Blinken has just said that no genocide is taking place.
The U.S. aim of all this is to end the rule of international law as represented by the UN. It is to be replaced by the U.S. ‘rules-based order,’ with no rules published.
The intention is to make the U.S. immune to any opposition to its policies based on legal principles of international law or local laws. A totally free hand – chaos.
U.S. diplomats have looked forward and seen that the rest of the world is seeing to withdraw from the U.S. and European NATO orbit.
To cope with this irreversible movement, the U.S. is trying to de-tooth it by wiping away all remaining traces of the international rules that underlay the UN’s founding, and indeed the Westphalian principle back in 1648 of non-interference in the affairs of other countries.
The actual effect, as usual, is just the opposite of what the U.S. intended. The rest of the world is being forced to create its own New UN, along with a new IMF, new World Bank, new International Court at the Hague and other organizations controlled by the U.S..
So the world’s protest against the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the West Bank – don’t forget the West Bank – is the emotional and moral catalyst to creating a new multipolar geopolitical order for the Global Majority.”
Disappear or die
The key question remains: what will happen to Gaza and the Palestinians. Prof. Hudson’s judgement is ominously realistic: “As Alastair Crooke has explained, there now cannot be any two-state solution in Israel. It has to be either all Israeli or all Palestinian. And the way it looks now is all-Israeli – the dream from the outset in 1947 of a land without non-Jewish people.
Gaza will still be there geographically, along with its gas rights in the Mediterranean. But it will be emptied out, and occupied by the Israelis.”
On who would “help” to rebuild Gaza, there are a few solid takers already: “Turkish building companies, Saudi Arabia financing developments, UAE, American investors – maybe Blackstone. It will be foreign investment. If you look at the fact that the foreign investors of all these countries are looking for what they can get out of the genocide against Palestinians, you realize why there’s no opposition to the genocide.”
Prof. Hudson’s final verdict on “the great benefit to the U.S.” is that “no claims can be brought against the U.S. – and against any of the warfare and regime change that it is planning for Iran, China, Russia and for what has been done in Africa and Latin America.
Israel, Gaza and West Bank should be seen as an opening of the New Cold War. A plan for basically how to financialize genocide and destruction. Palestinians will either emigrate or be killed. That has been the announced policy for over a decade.”
What the Hell?
What is the sleaziest, dirtiest trick an auto insurance company tried to pull on you? Did they succeed?
I was in a bad car wreck back in 1980. I was crippled for six months. I was a passenger in the car so was not at fault. The insurance policy stated that as a passenger I was entitled to a fixed payoff. The insurance delayed and stalled paying me every chance they could. They had a different excuse every time. “The paper work isn’t filled out properly. We didn’t receive anything. It must have gone to the wrong department”. Etc, etc, etc. In the meantime, I can’t work and have no money coming in. I will not go on welfare so I was really starting to struggle. I called all of my bill collectors and explained my situation and promised them that when I got my settlement, they would be the first check sent out. They all worked with me and I kept them updated monthly. My apartment manager was very kind and interceded on my behalf with the owners so I could stay. When my food ran out, all that was left was five pounds of shelled pecans that were in the freezer and some flour. For three months all I had to eat was a handful of pecans and a couple of homemade flour tortillas each day that I made while in my walker at the stove. Finally my hunger overcame my pride and I called my dad and asked him what I should do. I was at the end of my rope. He was an insurance agent so I figured he’d know how to handle this agency that was screwing me around. He told me to contact my company and see if one of their lawyers would take my case. I contacted my company and sure enough, the next day a lawyer called me and was willing to help. His fee would be two thousand dollars. Within 48 hours my lawyer called me and ask how much of an advancement I would need to get my bills caught up and buy some food. I told him about 1,500 would do. The next day I had a check in hand for 1,500. I spent the day writing checks and calling my bill collectors up and letting them know that the money was on the way. When I got everyone caught up I bought some food. Damn, I was hungry. A week later a currier showed up at my door with a check for 15,000. That was the amount of the settlement. I called my lawyer up and asked him if there wasn’t a mistake. His fee and the advancement hadn’t been taken out. He informed me that he had negotiated with the insurance company to pay his fee and to give me the advancement as a bonus for all the suffering I did while they were screwing me aroud in leu of a lawsuit that would result in a bigger financial loss for them. I can just imagine what they thought when they saw that my lawyer had the same last name as mine. We weren’t related to the best of my knowledge but they probably figured I had sent my uncle after them.
Cheesy Lasagna Soup
Lasagna in a bowl, chock full of what you love in regular lasagna, with the added ‘Florentine’ touch of spinach!
Ingredients for Lasagna Soup
This soup recipe is a cross between a creamy soup and broth soup due to the addition of a little ricotta. It’s hearty, beefy, and delicious. In other words, perfection. Here is what you will need:
Olive Oil: helps with sauteing the veggies
Minced Vegetables: red onions, garlic and bell peppers
Fresh Herbs: oregano, parsley and basil – this trio is a classic Italian blend
Ground Beef: I like to use 80/20 for maximum flavor.
Beef Broth: becomes the base of the soup
Ricotta: add flavor and creaminess to the soup
Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes: I’m obsessed with fire roasted tomatoes lately. They add so much flavor and the perfect amount of heat.
Marinara Sauce: Rao’s is our favorite. It is a little pricey so I like to wait until it’s on sale at Costco and then load up.
Parmesan Rind: I toss it in the soup as it simmers to add more flavor and then remove it before serving.
Lasagna Noodles: I seem to always have some broken lasagna noodles in the bottom of the box, so this is pretty much the perfect solution so that you don’t waste them, but I’m also totally willing to break up new lasagna noodles to be able to eat this.
Mozzarella Cheese: perfect for melting and being all gooey delicious
Garlic Bread: This is totally optional but there is nothing better than dipping a crusty piece of garlic bread in this soup!
This list just provides an overview of each ingredients and some helpful information about its use in this recipe. Scroll to the end of the post to the recipe card to see all the measurements and details.
Prep: 10 min | Cook: 30 min | Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 pound bulk sweet (mild) Italian sausage
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes (optional)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
4 cups (32 ounces) chicken stock
1 to 2 cups water
8 ounces lasagna noodles (not no-boil), broken into 1 to 2 inch pieces
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, + additional for serving
1/2 cup (2 ounces) Wisconsin parmesan cheese, shredded
Instructions
Heat Dutch oven or large pot over high heat. Brown sausage for 5 minutes, breaking up as it cooks.
Add onions; cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until onions are softened and sausage is cooked through.
Add garlic and red chile flakes; cook for 1 minute.
Add crushed tomatoes, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon.
Add stock, 1 cup water, lasagna noodles, basil and pepper. Bring to boil.
Reduce heat to medium-high; cook at a gentle boil for 10 to 12 minutes, until noodles are cooked through, stirring occasionally to prevent noodles from sticking to pot.
Stir in spinach. Add salt to taste. If soup is too thick, add additional 1 cup water. Remove from heat.
To serve, divide mozzarella among 6 serving bowls. Ladle soup over cheese. Top with spoonsful of ricotta, parmesan and additional basil.
How to Make Lasagna Soup
This recipe comes together so quickly and the steps are super easy. Here are the basic steps:
Sauté the vegetables until tender and then add the herbs and seasonings.
Brown the beef and drain any excess grease.
Add all remaining ingredients (except the pasta and cheese) and let simmer for at least 30 minutes and up to all day.
Add the pasta.
Top with cheese and broil.
Tips for Success
You will want to be careful, the noodles will slowly soak up more and more broth, so I never add them until the last 15 minutes before serving and if I’m freezing the soup or making a bigger batch in order to have leftovers I save the noodles until I’m ready to eat it.
You can make this soup in the morning and let it simmer all day until you’re ready to serve. Bonus…your house will smell like a dream!
Don’t have fresh herbs? No worries, I tend to use a lot of Gourmet Garden herbs. They are in tubes in the produce section. You can also used dried herbs but decrease the amount by half.
Keep those parmesan rinds! I love adding the rind to the soup as it simmers for the delicious flavor it adds. I do the same thing for our homemade pizza sauce.
My absolute favorite, favorite, favorite part is all of that baked cheese on top. Oh my heavens. It really is wonderful, and while you may be tempted to skip out on the bread, don’t!! Really, dipping pieces of crusty garlic bread in the soup is essential to your happiness.
Variations for Lasagna Soup
You can make this soup vegetarian by omitting the ground beef and by substituting vegetable broth for the beef broth.
If you don’t have lasagna noodles, try using a different type of pasta. Bow tie pasta works great. Mafalda pasta is really fun because it looks like mini lasagna noodles. It can be difficult to find though.
Change up the protein. You could do half ground beef and half Italian sausage. Ground turkey or chicken also work great if you want to reduce the fat a little.
Lasagna Soup in the Crock Pot and Instant Pot
This soup does great in both the crock pot and the Instant Pot. Depending on your schedule you can choose which method works best for you.
Crock Pot
Follow the instructions through step 7 on the stove top. Then add everything to the crock pot and cook it on low for 6-8 hours. Add the pasta 15 minutes before serving and add the cheese to the top and broil in oven safe bowls if desired.
Instant Pot
Follow the instructions in the recipe card through step 5 using the sauté mode on the Instant Pot. Once everything is cooked, continue the instructions through step 10. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Do a quick release and then add the cheese to the top. Place the lid back on so the cheese will melt. If you want the broiled cheese, you’ll have to put the soup into oven safe bowls in broil them with the cheese on top.
How to Serve Lasagna Soup
I hope I’ve convinced you of making the garlic bread as a side dish, or at least some sort of delicious crusty bread. Baguettes would work great too, or our no knead artisan bread.
I also love to serve a bright, fresh salad alongside it. A Caesar salad is great!
Storing, Freezing and Reheating Lasagna Soup
Properly stored, lasagna soup will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. It should be stored in an airtight container.
If you want to double the recipe and freeze some of it, do not add the pasta or cheese. Let the soup cool completely and freeze it in a ziploc bag or a freezer safe container. It will keep for up to 6 months.
To reheat refrigerated soup, just zap it in the microwave until warmed through. You can also reheat it on the stovetop. To reheat frozen soup, let the soup thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Then place it in a pan and heat until boiling. Then add the noodles and let simmer until the noodles are cooked. Top with cheese if desired.
What is the most deceptive product you have ever bought?
Not me, but the idiot that the apartment management company hired for maintenance.
We were moving into a new apartment and (somehow) the previous tenant had ruined the refrigerator.
The maintenance man we later dubbed “A**HOLE Adam” came in with a new fridge while I was at work. He tried to pass it off as the new standard refrigerator that they would be installing in all the apartments.
In retrospect, he probably saw a really cheap advertisement for a refrigerator and just didn’t check closely enough. His big mistake was trying to get that past my girlfriend as the new “Standard”.
I told them to come and get their “Toy Fridge” and I would buy one on the way home.
Photo attached. The large stainless one is the one I brought home. The little black one is A.A.’s failed attempt at competency.
Might have worked for a dorm room…
By the way, Habitat for Humanity’s “ReStore” is where we bought it. Used for $300.00 about 7 years ago. Still running strong. They have all kinds of used appliances, salvaged construction materials, doors, windows, etc. Bought my daughter a used gas furnace for her place (with a new heat exchanger).
Easter Island
What is the biggest secret that your first boss told you that has helped you the most?
Not exactly my 1st job, but my 1st REAL job after getting married. I was on graveyards and committed a very grievous error that ended up costing the company an entire week just to catch up. The president of the company showed up 2 hours early, got a cup of coffee, went to his office then knocked on the glass to put area signalling me to his office. As there was already a pot being run as to the exact time I would be fired, I noted the time. Bowels fluttering, I stepped in like a prisoner stepping into the execution chamber. He looks up from his desk telling me to shut the door and sit. He leaned back in his chair, tenting his hands under his chin and d asks for a run down as to what happened. After a bit of back and forth, he just sits there quietly then tells me something that stuck with me the entire remainder of my working life. Charlie, in this company we do not make mistakes. I’m glancing at my watch again nothing the time for the pools. O, we do not make mistakes. We have learning experiences and as long as you learn from it then that is what is in your file. We realize no one can learn without some mishaps along the way. We can tell whose working and whose not because the only person not making mistakes is the one not working. Now, get out of my office and go out there to help where you can to get this straightend out. Ward Lott, I never did tell you how that affected the rest of my working life.
Shorpy fun
What is the fastest you wiped that smirk off your manager’s face?
I made the mistake of taking a customer service job at a certain Asia-based bank that had bought out a Buffalo-based, family owned regional bank. While it was supposed to be customer service, they spent six weeks of training drilling into our heads that our main purpose was to sell. This despite the fact that they already had a dedicated sales team. Even if all a person wanted was his branch hours of operation, we were required to try to sell something.
I objected to this on multiple levels, the main one being that sales and service are separate functions. If your car breaks down, the salesman is not going to be the guy to fix it, but rather the trained mechanic. And if the mechanic is competent and honest, the customer will return to the dealership for his next car but he’s not going to sign the papers with the mechanic.
My supervisor, for the sake of avoiding BNBR violations, was a real piece of…work. She constantly reminded us that customer service costs money and that we were to make up for our uselessness by aggressive selling. In corporate jargon a given unit or function is referred to as a cost center, kind of like how stores in a chain each have individual numbers. In this case facilities and departments were a cost center with a number. This piece of work actually made us go to meetings and chant “We are a profit center” like a mantra, reminding us throughout that we are an expense. Piece of Work knew I had objections to this, and I became the scapegoat. She made a point of ostracizing me from little team events, denying me break times, once even removed personal property from my station and only returned it when I threatened action for denying me medication.
I got a call from Joe Customer who had just about everything. Joe started with the original, regional bank and continued after the takeover. Savings, checking, CDs, credit cards, car notes, mortgage, home equity, if a bank had it so did this guy after over 30 years of patronage. He wanted a balance on a particular account. I found it after looking through roughly five pages of information. He had so much business with the bank that there was nothing more I could do. Here’s your balance, thanks for calling.
Within two hours Piece of Work came by and ordered me to pull up the man’s information. In her hand was a monitoring printout with my failure boldly written in red, and she waved it in my face repeating “What’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with that?” like she was scolding a child who left crud on the dishes before stacking them. She lit into me about how she was going to lose a supervisor contest to win a TV based on team sales, because of my attitude. I pointed out that there was really nothing left to offer him; she pointed out I could have offered securities.
“Yes, I could have,” I said. “And I could also serve a minimum of five years of federal prison time for acting as a financial advisor and selling securities without a license. I’ll be Goddamned if I let you throw my right to vote and leave the country at will under a bus so that you can win a TV.” She stood there a moment looking like I had just whacked her in the face with a wet chicken, then turned on her heel and stomped off without a word.
By the end of the week I was taken into a meeting with senior staff and HR and given the option of resigning with a three month severance, or be fired. Piece of Work was nowhere to be seen. I took the money and ran.
What has a car salesperson said to you that resulted in you immediately leaving?
This isn’t a story about a rich guy dressed in torn jeans trying to buy a Rolls Royce. I’m not a rich guy. This is about me and my daughter (when she was 8). I lived in Miami, Florida, then. I had to replace my old car and I had decided to buy a 3-year-old Toyota Camry (in 2003) because that was all I could afford, at the time. I checked out the ads and decided to look at the same make and model (Toyota Camry) in two different dealerships, so I could compare and buy from the one that offered the best deal.
But, at the very first dealer I visited, I saw a Camry that I liked in every way — colour, mileage, price, etc. This wasn’t a Toyota dealership but a used-car dealership. My daughter was with me. She was 8 years old, then. Obviously, she didn’t understand gears, cylinders, etc. But she knew that Daddy was buying a new car and was excited to be part of the process.
So, anyway, I told the lady who was selling me the car that I liked the car and that I wanted to buy it. Financing was done, at this point. We had agreed on a price and on payments, though I hadn’t signed the deal yet. The paperwork was in front of me. All I had to do was to sign it. I was happy about the deal. I was smiling. So was my daughter. I looked at my daughter and I asked her, “Do you like the car?”
Before my daughter could answer, the sales lady said, “Are you buying this car or do you need your daughter’s permission?”
I walked out without another word. I bought a nearly-identical car from the other dealer (also a non-Toyota dealership) on identical terms. That car worked for 20 years (from 2000 to 2020), though I gave away that car in 2017 and leased myself another one. So, I made a good decision, though it was an emotional decision. I have never regretted it. I would do the same again (though my daughter is now 26).
I had a similar experience in 2017. It was a Toyota dealership (in California), this time. This time, I was alone. Again, all of the paperwork was nearly done (for a 2017 Toyota Camry). All I had to do was to sign. Then the manager said, “You don’t know how much you earn. I do.” This was after I had shown proof of income. Again, I walked out, went to another dealership, about 20 minutes away, leased exactly the same car. My income and proof of income didn’t change, in 20 minutes. Not only that, I paid 10% of the down payment that I had agreed to, at the previous dealership. And I ended up paying off my lease (with no late payments) 6 months ahead of time. Plus, I got a pretty good (lease) deal for my 2020 Camry when I returned the 2017 Camry.
Fast thinking
I am planning to quit my job but my boss said to hold off on quitting until we can at least hire someone otherwise he said “I will make things very, very bad for you.” How should I respond to this?
Ask him to repeat it – in front of HR. It is an empty threat.
Turn in your resignation, date and sign it, and submit it directly to HR.
Given his insulting threat, say this: “I have valued my tenure at xx (company name) and as stated verbally to Mr. Bb on (date), I wish to provide my two weeks’ notice. Please let me know how I may help to achieve a seamless transition until my departure.”
“I was told by Mr. Bb on (date) that I should withhold my resignation until a new hire was on board, accompanied by a verbal threat that if I did not do so, ‘I (Mr. Bb) will make things very, very bad for you.’ I trust that HR and leadership at xx fully realize that such threats are unlawful, and may be reported to the state labor board for investigation.”
“I request the following, either immediate and paid release, or that my last two weeks of employment not be under Mr. Bb’s supervision; that Mr. Bb receive formal counseling from HR on his unlawful statement; and that all reference checks state that I am eligible for rehire and route through HR. I will not tolerate threats and intimidation in the workplace, and I hope that xx does not either. I respectfully await your response.”
Give Mr. Bb something to remember you by; he is not supervisory material and he has put the company in a tenuous legal position. Keep a copy of the letter for potential submission to the state labor board. Tell no one where you are headed (your new job). Privately rejoice that you never have to work for Mr. Bb again, he’s way, way, way out of line. (Never ever use him as a reference, of course, use an alternate leader or a client.)
Cats are fast
What do you like about Elon Musk?
1995 — Applied to Netscape for a job and got rejected
1996 — Was forced out of his CEO position from his own company Zip2
1998 — Struggled to make PayPal succeed
1999 — Almost died when he crashed his $1M Mclaren F1
2000 — Was kicked out of Paypal while on his honeymoon
2000 — Got sick with malaria
2001 — Russia refused to sell him a rocket
2006 — First SpaceX rocket launched failed
2007 — Second SpaceX rocket failed
2008 — Third SpaceX rocket failed with NASA satellites onboard!
I have continued to play with text to image creations. Lately I have been generating women with vegetables. Here’s some of my works. What do you think?
My favorite Internet kitty
What’s an experience you had in a hotel you’ll never forget?
I was island hopping in the Caribbean, and I had prebooked a mid priced hotel for my stay in Puerto Rico.
I fly in after dark and get to my hotel and evidently they were overbooked, they told me that they would upgrade me to a better hotel. I am deeply suspicious, because its been my experience, if you get moved its to a worse hotel.
Still, its after dark, I’m in a strange place for the first time, I let them move me. We get it to my new hotel, which is beach front, as opposed to the block from the beach one I had booked. It had a huge arena/auditorium/entertainment center that had an ice capades like show that night. My room is about the cheapest in an upscale hotel, so not to shabby.
Lots of nice restaurants, great pools etc. The next day they have a circus move into the entertainment center, and I think I will go see that later in the evening.
I go to the pool, and this guy comes in, leading two tiger cubs on leashes. He takes them to the edge of the pool, and takes off the leashes, and they jump in with me.
I end up playing with two tiger cubs for the afternoon.
It was awesome. I will never forget it.
Breaking Bad | Combo’s Death
What is the most brilliant example of taking advantage of a loophole you have ever witnessed?
I was a maintenance worker on a paint line, working a 4-day work week. Monday through Thursday, 10 hours per day. This day, a slow Thursday, I was greasing the wheels on the chain as it passed through the line.
A top manager was passing through, steamed off for some reason. He noticed the line was running with no work on it, and he screamed at the line leader, “Why is this line running with no work?! He (pointing at me) gets three days off with no pay!” and stormed off with no explanation.
After he was gone, the line leader came up to me and said, “You heard the man. Three days off with no pay. Let’s make it this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. OK?”
Wow! Half a day, and already almost 500 upvotes. Thanks, everyone.
Fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, But…”| Why Putin’s War Has Jolted Ukraine’s “Foreign Fighters”
Chicken Diable
Chicken Diable makes a wonderful sauce, and it is delicious served over rice.
Prep: 10 min | Bake: 1 hr 30 min | Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 (3 pound) frying chicken
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup wet mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cut frying chicken into large pieces.
Melt butter and add honey, mustard, curry powder and salt. Coat chicken pieces with the sauce and place in a baking pan (do not stack).
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours, tightly covered.
Can China maintain its leading role in EV and lithium battery technology?
Yes
Unless other nations understand and introduce Socialist elements and State Subsidies into their EV architecture
China can make the best batteries and best integrated platform – two most crucial elements of an EV at a cost that is 65% of the next cheapest manufacturer in South Korea
The Americans make far lower quality batteries at a 170% higher price
This puts a Chinese EV at $ 30,500 with a nice profit to the Brand versus the same American EV made in USA at a minimum of $ 52,000 at a lower quality
You just can’t compete
It’s why the US is so keen on keeping China out
It’s why no other nation is building Charging Infrastructure so comprehensively like China is doing
China has such a vast charging infrastructure that it is easy and quick to charge your EVs
Yet the Infrastructure network is only 6% profitable
No issues because it’s State Subsidized
And that’s 6% at such a huge scale
At a fifth of this scale, a charging infrastructure of so much quality would make a loss of at least 10% to 12%
Do you think a single private player would take such a risk?
Nopes
Ultimately the EV Maker has to provide the charging infrastructure like Musk is doing
Yet Musks profits from EV sales are shrinking due to his losses in the charging infrastructure
This ain’t new
The US heavily subsidized it’s industries for the earliest motor cars
Back then you had Hansom cabs driven by Horses and roads were paved with bricks not with Tar
The US Government floated almost $ 36 Million of Bonds to build Roads in various cities and State Governments floated another $ 40 Million
To build tarred roads for Cars owned by Ford and Others who incidentally didn’t chip in a penny
Likewise you had a 30 year tax subsidy from 1907–1937 afforded to six car makers to enable them to keep the costs of their engines as low as possible
An Engine could cost $ 100-125 to make, almost 4/5 of the value of the car
Yet the companies pumped back a share of their profits and kept the engine cost lower and lower until by the 1920s the cost of the engine dropped to around 1/2 the value of the car and later to around 40%
It’s why US had a lead in Cars
It’s why Germany had a lead in Engines
Today they may rant about Free markets but all these countries had subsidies in their early days and protectionism
US imposed an import duty of 67% on Cars from UK and Germany until the Mid 1970s
So as on date, China is gaining huge traction for EVs
They are discarding the Lithium Battery in the next five years or so for the next generation batteries
Their charging infrastructure is very strong and fast, fastest in the world
The others who can compete include
Korea – $ 110 Billion in Subsidies to make Batteries
Japan – $ 15 Billion in Private Research Funds to make Batteries
Yet China has more engineers and more money in subsidies ($ 250 Billion) for battery technology alone
So i feel China will have a lead in EVs for at least half a decade or maybe longer
Coconut life
Do you have to pay for food in prison?
Have you ever read a nutritional content label and wondered what a 2000 calorie diet would be like? In prison you get to find out.
The government says 2000 calories are what you need, so that’s what they provide to inmates. You can inflate that number some with carbs or roughage.
Here’s how it worked at CCA (the for-profit privately run prison): the US Marshalls defined what a detainee’s diet should look like. CCA would design meals around those goals, then turn the food service over to a sub-contractor. The sub would get a fixed amount for every meal produced. Ahha! Every dollar we save by skimping on ingredients is a dollar in the sub’s pocket. We can all see where that’s headed…
In federal prison the food was much better because there were no sub contractors. In this situation, the inmates are their own worst enemies. The kitchen would make sheet cake without any sugar. Why? Inmates stole it all! Same for spices.
The federal low had two lines that inmates would shuffle through for each meal. All items that were costly for the prison (protein) were dished out to the inmates from behind the counter. Low cost items like rice, those nasty grease pad potatoes, and lettuce would be “on the bar” where you could take as much as you want.
All of this is “free.”
You can pay for food. You can buy stuff on commissary, or you can buy the stuff that’s being cooked in the units. This is usually a mix of items stolen from the kitchen and things bought on commissary. It’s always better than what comes out of the kitchen.
Teachers Are SICK Of Dumb Gen Alpha Kids..
What is something a guest in your house did that made your jaw drop? How did you react?
Ok warning this is GROSS!!!!!!!!!!
A co-worker of my now ex-husband came over with his “side piece” (was not thrilled about that as it was condoning this behavior but I go off topic) and she asked to use the bathroom, we told her where the guest bathroom was and thought she went into there. While they were leaving I went through our bedroom into our bathroom. I then noticed she didn’t use the guest bathroom but had been in our room b/c things were out of place and that where my jewelry box was had been opened and gone through. I went into the bathroom really fast to see if some other personal items were missing I noticed that this nasty girl used a…feminine cleaning product (BARF) and MY wash cloth to “clean up”. Luckily they were still outside talking when I went out there and lost my fking mind!! I tossed a plastic bag with MY wash cloth and the empty product at her (I WAS WEARING 2 PAIRS OF GLOVES AND HAD A BAG OVER THE OTHER BAG I PUT EVERYTHING IN) and then told her to empty her purse and pockets. Now, the guys were at first shocked and then my now ex-husband was embarrassed by my “request” and behavior and his co-worker was pissed that his “friend” was being treated in such a manner. When she finally did what I “asked” there were 2 pairs of earrings (pearls, and black diamonds), a custom made pearl ring I got from my father, a gold pinky ring my grandfather had custom made for me, the onyx and diamond ring, pearl necklace and matching bracelet I got for my first communion and confirmation as well as my pearl drop. I told them to get the fk off our property and they were never allowed back or I would call the police. I recorded the whole encounter outside. Now I did NOT yell at them, I was pissed the fk off but the neighborhood did not need to know what was going on.
Brazil reality
Have you ever accidentally found out that you were about to be fired?
Not accidentally found out, but figured out months in advance that my entire department was going to be laid off. I basically followed a bunch of clues.
This was way back in 1998 when I started working at Kodak. Kodak is headquartered in Rochester, New York. One of the managers convinced higher-ups that Kodak should open a software development center in Washington, D.C., because of availability of software engineers in the area. There were many people against it, but she got approval to head a development center in the D.C. metro area. The development center was called Washington Development Center (WDC for short).
So, she came to D.C., found an office in Maryland, did a bunch of hiring. I was hired as part of that. Eventually, after six years, she found a better position in Kodak. So, she left. They got a guy who was completely against WDC to manage WDC. This was clue #1. Let’s call him Mike.
The first thing Mike did was give everyone raises. He said the previous manager was underpaying everyone. Everyone was happy. I thought “Why? No one asked for a raise. Everyone is happy here.” A couple of months later, I saw several projects moving away from us. I went to my boss and asked him. He said, “The way Kodak works is that business units control the money. BUs propose projects, and development centers bid on them. Since we have higher real estate costs than Rochester, we bid higher.” I asked him, “Were the recent raises a factor?” He basically shrugged.
Clue #2: Making us uncompetitive by giving raises. Actually, I have to say it’s a touch of genius right there. We used to be competitive before because we didn’t pay people as much, which offset our real estate costs.
So, then the question became, “Should we move to a new location?” My boss found a location in Virginia where the rent was low. What Mike did was put the idea of moving to Virginia up for a vote. Most employees in this location lived in Maryland. They would have to commute an hour to get to Virgonia. So, most of them voted against it.
Clue #3: Mike knew how the vote would go. His job was to make the right call even if it was an unpopular one. By having employees make the wrong decision, he absolved himself of all responsibility.
Clue #4: Then there was a re-organization, and Mike got a new boss: let’s call him Jake. First thing Jake did was to meet everyone in his new organization. They planned for him to visit us. We all prepared presentations for him to show our technical strengths. He slept through 75% of the presentations. I didn’t realize this until I started my presentation. I walked up, started talking, and then looked at him and saw his eyes were closed. I stopped short because tears were coming in my eyes. Everyone else was saying “Go on. Go on. It’s OK.” I felt like wadding up some paper and throwing at his bald head, but didn’t.
We gradually kept losing projects. Eventually, a lot of people weren’t doing anything. One day, I went to the break room to get some coffee. There were two people in the break room chatting. These two people were the ring leaders in getting everyone to vote against the move to Virginia. They asked “Hey, how’s it going, Jayesh?” I replied, “Oh, nothing. Just waiting to get laid off.” They were looking at me with their eyes wide as I walked back.
A few months later they announced that we are getting laid off. We were given options: a) Voluntarily accept to get laid off now and get severance b) wait till the last day. If you waited, you might be offered a job in Rochester that you could work remotely. If you were not offered a job, you would get a slightly better severance. If you were offered a job, and you refused, then you don’t get severance (you are technically resigning, not getting laid off). I knew I would be offered a job, because I knew the ins and outs of a critical project. So I said “Lay me off! Lay me off, please!” My boss got offered a job because he was the second person who knew about that project.
Oh there was a guy, who had been in Kodak for 29 years 6 months. When he had joined, Kodak offered pension, if you stayed in Kodak for 30 years. Six months more and he would have been set for life. He wasn’t offered a job and got a severance pay for five years. He was probably around 55. If he had been offered a job, he could have stuck around for six months more and gotten a pension for life. He was one of the people who didn’t want to move to Virginia. I was thinking if we had moved to Virginia, we could have staved off the inevitable for at least a year or so. He would have been set for life.
I still have respect for Mike for engineering our closure so beautifully. He did it in a way that he doesn’t get the blame; instead, he was able to show how he saved Kodak lot of money. I was merely a by-stander. He was the puppet master. He used people’s inclinations against them. Pure evil genius. Respect.
Funny and odd thing about this. The video is glitching out!
Can I ask a parked police car why it’s posted on my street days in a row? Can they opt to not to give any information or ignore you, or are they obligated to disclose information?
There once was a plain unmarked van parked directly in front of my house for about one week during the daytime. It had tinted front and side windows. One day, I decided to walk closer so that I could see the license plates. They were VA (Veteran’s Administration) plates. That gave me the impression that federal law enforcement had borrowed that vehicle to use on a stake out. And since they were parked directly in front of my house, I assumed I was not their target. So I went back to my house instead of seeing if anyone was inside the van and blowing their cover. Then after about one week, the van was gone. Then after another week, all hell broke loose. Marked and unmarked police cars surrounded a neighbor’s house across the street and even drove on their lawn. There were many men dressed in black uniforms with POLICE on their backs carrying what looked like automatic weapons. After things calmed down, I went up to one of the officers to ask what is happening. All he would admit to is that they were conducting an investigation. Not satisfied with that answer, I wrote a letter to our Chief of Police. He did admit it was a drug raid but offered no other details. He also said to contact him if I have any questions about police activity in the future. Unfortunately, he retired a short time later so I lost my contact.
Many years later, one morning, I looked out my living room window and was shocked to see the street in front of my house filled with black SUV’s and men dressed in black standing around their vehicles. Once again, the men had POLICE on their backs and were holding automatic weapons. I got scared thinking they were about to burst into my home. But after a few minutes, there was no knock at my door. So I peeked out the window and the officers I saw seemed relaxed. So I opened up the front door and started to exit to find out what is going on. That’s when one of the officers waved at me to go back inside which I did. I eventually discovered it was another drug raid, but at a neighbor’s house on the same side of the street as my house, just two doors away. I think it is time for me to move.
A nice technique
Why won’t the Chinese premier Li Qiang face reporters for the duration of his term, which runs until 2028?
That’s not his job, and not in his remit.
Yes, Zhu Rongji began the tradition of meeting the press during the two meetings. This has been retained by his successors, but the PM is not obligated to give press conferences. His job is to deliver the nation’s progress report and announce Beijing’s economic and social targets for the coming year during the two meetings.
We are entering an era of America pushing for war, and this is but another sign of the Chinese closing ranks.
Entertaining foreigners is best left to the experts at the foreign ministry who train a lifetime to accommodate them.
There is Wang Yi, who just concluded his 90 minute long press conference, and there is the daily press conference helmed by a senior foreign ministry spokesperson that can be up to vice-minister seniority.
To my knowledge, China is the ONLY government that provides this level of open access to foreign journalists year-round.
This is how all America feels
What is something that most people don’t know?
You can taste garlic with your feet.
When you speak inside your mind small muscles in your throat mimic the formation of each word.
When you lose weight, most of it ends up as carbon dioxide which is exhaled from your lungs.
Prince Charles has a car fueled by wine.
Polar Bears aren’t white, they’re just glowing.
The raptor sounds in Jurassic Park are actually mating tortoises.
Pirates wore eye patches to increase night vision, not cover a missing eye.
Parts of Canada have less gravity than the rest of the planet.
1 teaspoon of honey is the lifework of 12 bees.
A small fraction of the static on your tv is radiation left over from the Big Bang.
Your ears and nose are connected to your tear ducts.
Once Charlie Chaplin entered a contest for “Charlie Chaplin look-alikes” and he came in third.
People in the southern hemisphere see the moon upside down compared to the north.
Humans have patterns (like stripes, spots and geometric shapes) on our bodies that are invisible to us but cats can see them.
There are 80,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 possible arrangements of a 52-card deck.
Whats going on with this?
Why is Toyota so hesitant to build electric cars?
Profitability!!!!
Always Profitability
Same reason why most of the world cannot manufacture EVs on China’s scale
You see Japan has a fully integrated supply chain for ICE Vehicles. From the Engines to the Chassis to the Intelligent systems to the Fuel Injection
So Japanese Cars can make a lot of profit
Same for Hybrids
Japan has the entire supply chain for Hybrids and the best quality in the world
So Japanese Hybrids are very profitable
EVs are a different kettle of fish
China thanks to ten years of ENORMOUS SUBSIDIES by the State amounting to almost $ 600 Billion (4 Trillion RMB) have managed to scale up and keep refining the quality of EVs, Solar Panels and Wind Turbines until they completely control the supply chain and technology on a scale that NO CAPITALIST ECONOMY CAN MANAGE
It’s easy for BYD to invest 10 years in making EVs and researching and refining EV Quality because China always cut them a cheque to ensure BYD stayed in Business for 7 1/2 years until they finally produced the most efficient and best technology
For Tata?
For Toyota?
For Honda?
Impossible
India doesn’t have the money to subsidise anything and Japan is capitalist
You certainly can’t expect Honda or Toyota to invest 10 years perfecting their batteries and integrated platforms when they don’t get any profits right?
Same for Tata or Hyundai
Right now the best batteries are Chinese, platforms Chinese, Chassis and Components Chinese and all of them well ahead of any other nation
So if Japan makes EVs using Chinese Basic Components, the Japanese companies will barely make profit while the cream will be taken by the Chinese players like CATL Or Korean players like SK
So Japanese Car Makers have put up around $ 15 Billion and have been trying to develop Hydrogen Cell powered cars as a Rival to EVs
Of course China has already pumped up another 380 Billion RMB ($ 55 Billion) of Subsidies and their Hydrogen Fuel Cells are surging rapidly
They plan to power trucks and trains using Hydrogen powered cells
$55 Billion in China is nearly the same as $ 130 Billion in Japan against a mere $ 15 Billion
Eight times more investment
In the Capitalist world, Profitability is what drives everything else
New Technology won’t be explored unless it can be profitable
In the Chinese Model,Necessity and Demand drives everything else
The State will fund things and players until they finally are able to develop the core technology and ensure a commercial production model that is a generation better than anyone else
It’s why, after Iphones & galaxy , when Alcatel and many phone makers simply abandoned further development and research – China kept going on and on and on with their smartphone models even if it meant paying the cream to the American entities like Qualcomm or Intel or other such entities
So that one day they could crack the supply chain and then build their own superior and most cost effective supply chain and indigenous technology
Fish gangs
What was the strangest thing that happened to you as a foreigner in Japan?
I arrived in Tokyo with a terrible stomach ache and followed by bad diarrhea. For the first 2 days I could barely walk and only eat very little.
I then decided to go see a doctor, my wife called her friend who lives in Tokyo to ask about the closest hospital etc. He and his girlfriend showed up in our apartment, taking me to the closest clinic just in case the nurse/doctor don’t speak any English.
It was a normal clinic routine, I (or was it my wife?) filled up a form with my names etc, we wait and then saw a doctor. True enough, the doctor doesn’t speak English well, so he communicated with my friend while sometimes punching some keys on his phone for English translation to say things to me. By this time I feel really bad for my wife’s friend as he has to translate what i feel, in detail, to the doctor, about my diarrhea. It’s probably his worst first conversation with someone ever!
All good, he prescribed medicine, while explaining to my friend what and how much to take when. The doctor was very very responsible, he found translations on his phone again to write the name of the medicine and what each pill is for etc in English.
The strange thing comes when I want to pay the bill. The nurse said that the cashier was closed on weekends (it was Saturday), she estimated that the cost would be around JPY 10,000 or less. So, she asked me to give her JPY 5,000 and comeback on Monday to settle the rest with the cashier.
The strangest thing is, I told her that Monday is my schedule to take my kid to Disneyland and Tuesday to Disney Sea, to which she replied (translated by my wife’s dear friend, obviously) “ok, come whenever you have time, it’s OK”
I was dumbfounded by her answer, I asked again to confirm and she said yes.
I mean they know that I don’t live in Japan, nor do they ask my friend’s number/ address. My wife’s friend, my savior, then explained to me that it is quite normal in Japan because Japanese people are very responsible and honest, so they always pay what is due.
Big respect for their culture.
PS: I ended up paying the balance on Thursday, it was around JPY 3,500 🙂
Forbidden books
Where is the most dangerous island in the world?
Personally, I think it’s the Pitcairn Islands.
But not for the reasons you may think.
For those of you who don’t know, the Pitcairn Islands are a British Overseas Territory in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It’s one of the most isolated places in the world, and only has a population of 47 people, most of whom are descended from the nine people who originally settled the islands. They’re also all mostly interrelated, in one way or another.
The territory is owned by the United Kingdom, but governed by New Zealand’s British High Commissioner. They rarely visit, and ships only come to the islands about two dozen times a year.
[1] So I think it’s fair to say that the Pitcairn Islands are very isolated from the rest of society. The 47 residents of the Islands don’t have too much contact with the outside world.
But that’s precisely what makes it so dangerous.
In 1999, a policeman from Kent, England was serving an assignment on the islands, when he started to uncover some sinister things going on. He started uncovering allegations of sexual abuse, including against children.
An Australian pastor visited the island around that time, and made some shocking observations
“I noticed worrying signs such as inexplicable mood swings,” he says. “It took me three months to realise they were being abused. I tried to raise the subject at a meeting of the island council, and one gentleman replied: ‘Look, the age of consent has always been 12 and it doesn’t hurt them.'” [2]
When further questioned, residents of the island basically said “that’s just how it is here”. Girls would get into relationships at a disturbingly young age on the island, and nobody really noticed from the outside for a long time. Most girls had their first child between ages 12 and 15.
That’s pretty messed up. As it turns out, the remoteness of the island had allowed a disturbing culture of sexuality to develop. The policeman started questioning every single woman who lived on the island, and they all saw nothing wrong with it.
But British officials definitely saw something wrong with it, and pressed charges against seven men. That may not seem like a lot, but consider that that was most of the island’s adult male population at the time, including the mayor of the islands.
This was a huge scandal, and raised a lot of questions about extraterritoriality and law and stuff. During the trial, they had to fly in policemen, judges, lawyers, journalists and other court staff; from the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
This effectively doubled the island’s population during the trial.
Lawyers for the defendants made a strange argument in order to try and get their sentences reduced: they argued that if they were imprisoned, the island would cease to function. And they had a point. When an island has a population as small as the Pitcairn Islands, locking up seven able-bodied men has a huge impact.
Four defendants got reduced sentences because of the unique nature of the island’s population. Two were spared from jail entirely, and one was acquitted.
This is what I think makes it one of the most dangerous islands in the world. Not the wildlife, not the flora and fauna, but the people living there.
The same way anonymity can make people cruel and immoral, isolation can do the same thing, allowing cultures of abuse and mistreatment to develop. In my opinion, this case is no different to cases of abuse within cults. Both involved small groups of people and corrupt leadership, who basically created a little realm in which they could get away with horrible things.
China’s Military Aircraft Can Vanish ‘Off The Radar’ As Scientist Developed Plasma Device
In another remarkable leap forward in the realm of military technology, Chinese scientists have unveiled a groundbreaking development that is sure to revolutionize aerial warfare: a new plasma stealth device that could render Chinese aircraft virtually invisible to enemy radar systems. You heard that right! We might see the time where Chinese aircraft will go undetected on enemy radar systems and in turn inflict a plethora of damage. Today’s episode will uncover the new development of Chinese scientists that might make Chinese aircraft invisible in the future. https://youtu.be/TD20CoQ1dPA
What are the consequences the world faces if China goes for war over Taiwan?
India may suffer massive shortages
Luckily not of food products but many other things.
Electric Vehicles , Electronics, Vehicles, Smartphons, Pumps – will all reduce significantly as they primarily depend on Chinese Components and Import Substitution is impossible due to the Ukranian Crisis.
The Biggest problem is ANTIBIOTICS, PAINKILLERS, ANTIVIRALS
India manufactures a lot of these but 80% Pharma Raw Stock comes from China
A Blockade by US could prevent Crucial Antibiotics from being delivered to more than 60% of the Countries in the World (95% Developing Countries)
Globally the Biggest Problem will be – CHIPS
Taiwan exports 93% of its Chips and controls 70% of the Global Supply Chain
A Blockade on the Taiwan Straits by China could result in an existing supply crunch intensifying several times over.
As on date only 7 Stacks of Chips are being delivered for every 12 Stacks of Chips relative to 2019 Globally -ie:- only around 60% of the Global Supply
If Taiwan joins in then you could have 7 Stacks for every 36 -48 Stacks or only around 15%-20% of the Global Supply
That would impact many many Industries
ASEAN Nations will lose Big
The Seas are very profitable for Trade. Those routes are disturbed – it will lead to a Supply Crisis like EU is experiencing.
And the Western Economies will crumble even worse
A Lot of their Hedge Funds invest in Chip Manufacturing Entities and a Huge Shortfal market could collapse such funds by as much as 40%-60%
It will all pass…
Do you think China has the guts to attack Taiwan, or are they just lame threats?
Its not a Question of Guts
Its a Question of having the ability to follow through
War is a drain on everything and fighting a War against several enemies could be a huge obstacle to any country.
Every repurcussion has to be planned , anticipated and handled
Putin took 8 years and even then it was a Weak Joe Biden that finally moved him into the Ukraine Conflict.
8 years of planning, contingencies, new alliances
Has the US ever fought a Conflict or War where there is a threat of either China or Russia coming for a defensive battle?
Not since the 1960s
Same Reason.
Attacking Taiwan is a 2 Week Job, 4 weeks Tops
Taiwan cannot hold against China and no amount of alliances can hold a Determined China from hoding Taiwan
The Political Repurcussions, Global Repurcussions, Financial Repurcussions – these are Chinas largest obstacles.
China has to plan for these and how to counter these
Strong Alliances are crucial here
China already has Russia and Central Asia
Turkey mostly will not condemn China in any way
However ASEAN?
ASEAN nations are headless chickens and if pushed and pressurized heavily could create problems for China
Long story short – China will attack Tiwan only if threatened beyond anything we have seen until today
What is the most shocking thing that’s ever happened on live TV?
In 1997, Gay Byrne was hosting the Late Late Show.
His two guests of the evening were a nun and Irish poet, Brendan Kennelly.
The night was going well – at the midpoint of each episode, they usually hosted a phone-in competition. You know the format; they ask an unbelievably easy question, get people to send in the answer, and they pick one person to call and tell them congratulations! you’ve won a prize!
This evening was no different.
The prize of the evening was a new car and Byrne dials the lucky winner.
Ring ring.
Ring ring.
The phone is answered by a quiet sounding woman. She sounded meek, even when told she had won.
“Are you happy, Rita?”
“Yes,” Rita replies quietly.
“Are you watching the show tonight?”
“I wasn’t”, Rita replies …
… “my daughter died last night”.
Instantly there were gasps and Byrne’s face drops and his tone changes.
“Oh no. Oh dear Rita, I’m very sorry.”
You have to remember that this was live TV. Thousands of people, including a studio audience full of people, were sat in front of him. Byrne probably also had his studio team giving him instructions in his ear. So, he flubbed, and very inelegantly asked:
“And why did she die?”
“Are you being funny?” she shot back.
“She got knocked down. She was in a car crash last night.”
It turned out that it was Rita’s daughter who had entered the competition – she was so hoping to win a car and it was a car that ended her life only a day before.
Byrne, being the fantastic host that he was, realised that he should really give Rita, the poor woman, an out if she wanted it.
“Good heavens. Well Rita, I don’t think we can continue with this in the circumstances. Do you want to?”
“I do.”
This led to applause from the audience and Rita continued.
The first guest, the nun, offered her some consolation, saying that it surely was no accident that the postcard was picked tonight.
Next, it was passed to the poet, Kennelly, who recited one of his most famous poems, “Begin,” from memory:
“Though we live in a world that dreams of ending
that always seems about to give in
something that will not acknowledge conclusion
insists that we forever begin.”
Towards the end, Rita was quietly weeping.
Byrne then tells her that she has the support and prayers of the entire country, and Rita, in turn, told Byrne that she felt it was important to stay on the line for her daughter, that she was accepting the prize “for her”.
I’m describing this clip because I can’t find the full version of it anywhere.
Graham Norton, the extremely popular Irish chat show host of his own show on the BBC, actually once said that this moment inspired him to move into chat shows.
Gay Byrne died recently at the age of 85, after a short illness battling cancer.
He will forever be missed and remembered fondly by Irish people of a certain age.
Edit: It turns out that the video in that article has since been removed, which must have only happened in the last few days — unfortunately.
Also, many people have pointed out how I feel like this was more shocking than events like Budd Dwyer’s suicide.
I knew these would be discussed in-depth, so I figured I’d go with an event I knew most people wouldn’t have heard of.
On February 14, there was an incident between a Taiwan coast guard ship and Chinese fishing boats in the waters off Kinmen, a very short distance from Xiamen. In this incident, the Chinese fishing boat was hit by the Taiwan coast guard ship and capsized. Two of the Chinese fishermen drowned.
Since then, there have been 15 rounds of discussions between the Chinese authorities and the Taiwan authorities. The Chinese side has demanded compensation and an apology to the fishermen from the Taiwan side; Taiwan has refused. The DPP, which controls the Taiwan government, has refused any responsibility for the action, and claims that there is no video recording of the incident It has appealed to the US to become involved in the discussions, which the US so far has ignored.
The incident has received widespread coverage in China, and this has led to a hardening of Chinese popular opinion, and the government’s stance to Taiwan. Chinese public opinion feels that the Chinese authorities have been too accommodating to Taiwan for too long, and instead of treating Taiwan as “fellow Chinese”, they should be treated as an enemy. For a long time, PRC Chinese considered the DPP and KMT to be hostile to the PRC, but that ordinary Taiwanese were decent Chinese who wanted to be re-united with China. Now that view is dismissed as a fantasy which should be rejected.
The Chinese government closely follows public opinion from online media, and has shifted its public stance during the Two Congresses meeting in Beijing. When discussing Taiwan, there is no more talk of an appeal to our “Taiwan compatriots”. Instead the talk is of reunification, without specifying whether it should be done peacefully or by military means.
As the PRC increases its military patrols in the Taiwan straits and around Taiwan, it is likely that the PLA forces will ignore Taiwan’s demarcation lines for the sea and air. The DPP government is likely to look to the US for support in enforcing these demarcation lines, and the US will need to decide how far it wants to go in supporting the Taiwan authorities.
On the military front, the US is thinly spread with the Ukraine war, which may escalate into a more direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, and the Israel/Hamas war, which may evolved into a multi-front war for Israel, involving the Houthis in the Red Sea and Yemen, the continuing war in Gaza, and a possible northern front including Lebanon and Syria involving Hizbollah. The longer the war lasts, the greater the damage for Israel’s economy, which has already lost 20% of its GDP since October 7.
This presents a major dilemma for the US: it already has two major wars on its hands, and it needs time to build up its military for a possible major confrontation with China. But the US won’t be able to fully prepare itself for military confrontation through re-armament until 2027. If the US confronts China militarily before then, it is likely to lose.
Economically, China is on the move by selling products which are just as good as American products, if not better, at much lower prices. Notable areas are solar panels and EVs, where western manufacturers and exporters cannot compete.
As if that were not enough, we face a re-run of the Biden-Trump battle for the presidency in November. If Trump is elected, he is likely to disengage on the foreign policy front, and will tell Putin that he can have Ukraine, and maybe Europe. NATO will only exist on paper.
He has talked about raising tariffs on Chinese imports to the US to 60%.
Interesting times indeed.
Chicken farmers in Australia be like…
If money is not an issue, would you rather live in Miami, the SF Bay Area, Los Angeles, or New York?
New York is an absolute no no
Too many blacks at night everywhere and 90% of them wearing hoodies and giving the “mugger vibe”
And not the Good African blacks or the blacks you see in UK
The Stereotype 1990s blacks depicted in family guy
You may think you landed in Lagos
Except Manhattan and i dont like Apartment living too much.
Miami?
I have never been to Miami. In Florida, I have been only to Orlando.
SF Bay Area
Sorry
Too many Homosexuals
I went there twice and both times, you had many men holding hands and resting heads on shoulders and giving you the shudders
Beautiful place though
Like South Mumbai to a certain extent
Los Angeles?
Again I have been to LA only to go to Universal Studios and Rodeo Drive and when I land in US
No idea how life in LA can be
In the US, I would prefer living in New Rochelle in Westchester County Or some of those nice Suburban communities, ones where Indians are not discriminated against
Or even San Jose
My Son lived in a place called Los Gatos and he was told all the white guys were uppity people who would be racist to Indians. That never happened. Good people, Friendly people
My idea of a money no limit place would be :-
One Acre minimum property
Excellent Medical Facilities nearby where the Labs process results in a day and not four days
Where a Specialist makes an appointment to see you, the next day and not next Thursday
At least two Indian eateries in a 1 Km radius. Not the Naan, Roti one but the South Indian one which is rarer in the US
Low rate of crime
Accessibility to a City for emergency
The Answer was Westchester County
I advised my sons to consider this place as a final retirement place in the days when US was a better country than it is today
My wife is already not too pleased about one son settling in China and has warned me “You kept praising China, and now our younger son is in China. Now you are praising Russia. If the elder one settles down in Russia, you can live with him and I am out of here”
Meanwhile in Texas
Do you know anyone who had a good heart who went to prison?
I’ve known men who had good hearts and went to prison.
Where they lost them.
I’ve met men who went to prison and grew larger hearts, just like the Grinch.
I’ve met men who never had good hearts and never will.
And, I’ve met men who managed to hold on to their good hearts in spite of it all.
Shortly after arriving at the facility where I did the bulk of my time, I met a man who was almost the same age as my father. This was a spry fellow, slender, medium height, and bearded.
He had been in Vietnam.
He was just a kid when he went to war. While away he kept an unusually candid journal. Later in life he transcribed the journal faithfully into a book and self-published a small number of copies. It must’ve been tempting to edit out the parts that made him look like the stupid teenager he was, but he didn’t. The journal and the book tell the same story without so much as a spelling correction.
He allowed me to read his journal.
It was filled with the concerns of an eighteen year old boy, “Does she love me? What did she mean when she said that? What should I tell her about John?” All these normal, adolescent, girl-centric concerns projected against a backdrop of horror.
On his first day of patrol in Vietnam, his outfit marched into a village and demanded to know where the Viet Cong were. One bad apple threatened a woman by holding her infant over a well and screaming for answers about the VC.
The sergeant saw this and said, “C’mon Smith. Let it go.” Smith (or whatever his name was) dropped the baby into the well. The sergeant calmly walked over, pulled out a hand grenade, removed the pin, and dropped the grenade into the well after the baby.
After the explosion he said, “Don’t have to worry about that fucker.”
This was day one of patrol. Imagine the shock. Imagine being ripped out of your Mid-West suburban utopia and being cast into this asylum for the chronically cruel.
The entire course of this young man’s life was forever altered. His experiences at war led to a drinking problem. The drinking led to DUIs. Three DUIs became a felony conviction. His father’s guns still in his home became “felon in possession of a firearm.”
This was a good man. His heart was in pain for his entire adulthood as a result of the things he saw.
Instead of offering him help, we locked him up.
Oh baby…
Senior Russian Military Colonel: Possibility of full-scale war in Europe “not ruled out – growing significantly”
A senior Russian military officer warns that the conflict in #Ukraine could escalate into a full-scale war in #Europe and says the probability of Moscow’s forces becoming involved in a new conflict is increasing “significantly.” Colonel-General Vladimir Zarudnitsky, head of the Russian army’s Military Academy of the General Staff, made the comments in an article for “Military Thought”, a defense ministry publication, the state RIA news agency reported on Thursday. “The possibility of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine – from the expansion of participants in ‘proxy forces’ used for military confrontation with Russia to a large-scale war in Europe – cannot be ruled out,” RIA cited him a saying. “The main source of military threats to our state is the anti-Russian policy of the United States and its allies, who are conducting a new type of hybrid warfare in order to weaken Russia in every possible way, limit its sovereignty and destroy its territorial integrity,” he was quoted as saying. “The likelihood of our state being purposefully drawn into new military conflicts is significantly increasing.” The war in Ukraine has triggered the deepest crisis in Russia’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and President Vladimir Putin has warned that the West risks provoking a nuclear war if it sends troops to fight in Ukraine. Putin has cast his decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 as a special military operation designed to secure Russia’s own security against an increasingly hostile US-backed Ukrainian leadership. Kyiv says it is defending itself against an imperial-style war of conquest designed to erase its national identity. Zarudnitsky’s comments come at a time when the West is scrambling to help Ukraine with more arms and financing after Kyiv’s failed counteroffensive last summer and after Russian forces regained the initiative on the battlefield. Zarudnitsky advocated a number of changes in the way Russia organizes its military and security, RIA added, including placing greater emphasis on relying on what he called friendly countries to ensure Russia’s own security and consolidating the whole of Russian society around its defense needs.
Fathers be like
Apricot Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
4 to 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 (13 ounce) jar apricot preserves
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
3/4 cup water
1 1/4 cups Russian dressing or use store-bought
Russian Dressing
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chili sauce (or ketchup)
3 teaspoons prepared horseradish (or to taste)
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Instructions
If using homemade Russian Dressing, prepare it first. If using store bought Russian dressing, proceed with the recipe.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Chicken
Wash and place chicken breasts in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
In a medium size bowl, mix together preserves, dry onion soup mix, water and Russian dressing. Pour over the chicken breasts. Bake for 1 hour.
Russian Dressing
Place onion in a small bowl and mash to create a paste. Stir in the mayonnaise, chili sauce, horseradish, hot sauce, Worcestershire, paprika and salt.
Stability
What habits did you pick up in prison that non prisoners don’t understand?
Don’t make eye contact. If you happen to, do not smile. The general friendliness we see as acceptable and desirable in the real world (except France) can get you into trouble in prison.
Look in every trashcan. I still can’t break this habit. Prison is a constant state of want. You learn to make do or do without. There’s stuff in there that you need.
Trust no one. Eventually you will come to know one or two well enough to exempt them from this rule… but even with these select few, you still shouldn’t lean on them. Practice solidarity with yourself.
Don’t ask questions. You’ve no right to know, and asking can cause problems with inmates and guards alike.
Lock up everything. It only takes a moment for someone to walk off with whatever you hold dear. If it’s further than arm’s reach, it’s at risk.
Beware the quiet. If you’ve been reading and suddenly realize that the normal background idiocy has mysteriously squelched, pay attention. There’s a reason, and it’s probably not good.
Don’t stand out. Don’t ask for special privileges, don’t complain, and don’t go around trying to make friends. Squeaky wheels get greased with blood.
Stockpile books. You never know when you’ll be in lockdown for a fortnight. You’ll be grateful if you’ve got something to do besides another game of cards.
A warning from veteran who went to Ukraine
Is Britain’s idea of using frozen Russian assets as collateral for a loan to Ukraine any less illegal than simply stealing them, and how would this affect London’s reputation as a financial centre?
It’s literally stealing.
You can make all the olympic level mental gymnastics you want, oh it’s only stealing from bad people. But all in all it’s still stealing, it’s taking stuff that isn’t yours.
Oh sure you can of course decide that it is yours or make contrivances and change the law so that it becomes ‘legal’. But in the end it’s intentionally depriving somebody of their property on a permanent basis thus means theft.
affect London’s reputation as a financial centre?
It will affect confidence, in that if you can steal theirs or change the rules so that they can take it legally, what stops you from doing it to others?
If anything the UK is doing this over and over.
They’ve literally refused to give Venezuela’s gold back to them.
But it goes back to this:
affect London’s reputation as a financial centre?
London’s reputation as a financial centre is evaporating. EU passporting is ending in 2024 😀
So they’re literally resorting to looting.
That’s not particularly surprising as most of them why pay for something if you can steal it?
Ukraine War: Irish fighter ‘Rambo’ describes ‘terrifying’ Russian tank chase
What can I learn in one minute that will be useful for the rest of my life?
Adjust a picture frame at your desk so you can see behind you with the reflection of the glass.
In a pinch, the seatbelt in your car can be used as a bottle opener.
Balance an empty can on the doorknob to alert you if someone tries to open the door while you’re elsewhere in the house.
Anything you say before the word “but” does not count.
Suspect someone’s giving you the wrong phone number? Read it back to them incorrectly, if they correct you, it’s legit.
Windows key + E to open My Computer.
To confirm which circuit breaker is associated with an outlet, plug in a hairdryer and turn the volume up before you flip the circuit breaker.
When you want to cross words out you don’t want to be legible, instead of scribbling over them, write random letters and words over the original.
Using ‘~ ‘ before a word in Google searches includes synonyms of that word in your search.
When filling your car with gas, hold the trigger halfway. You’ll get more gas and less air in the tank.
Have an Excel file too big to e-mail? Save it as an xlsb it shrinks the size by 50-75%.
When you’re on an elevator, the floor with the star next to it is the one that leads outside.
Save the job description when you start a new job. It makes updating your resume a lot easier.
When showing people pictures on your phone, zoom in a little bit so they can’t easily swipe to other pictures.
Can’t decide if you’re hungry? Ask yourself if you want an apple. If you answer no, then you’re not actually hungry.
This is what a “real” man does…
How can we remind Russians we have no problems with them? We have a problem with their despot.
You don’t. You have problems with Russians now.
There are many dimensions of current conflict between Russia and collective West or whatever you call Russian opponents. Anyway the U.S. are the main enemy and there would be no conflict without their involvement. A lot has been said and written on the matter so I won’t delve into it further.
Now comes the definition part. Who are “you”? Ok, I assume you are talking about people of collective West. Not governments, not military industry lobbies, not bankers, not oil traders, not oligarchs. Just people.
Why do you have problems with Russians? Because your countries are our enemies. And no sweet words will change that simple fact.
Could this be different? Yes. Your countries made a plethora of pointless, stupid and self-contradicting decisions.
Yet, the most stupid of those decision was the decision to attempt economic isolation of Russia.
This:
1) Made Russian people your enemies
2) Forced modernization of Russian industry and economy at unprecedented rate
3) Boosted Russian military-industrial complex
4) Resulted in further consolidation of Russians around Putin
5) Destroyed all “soft influence” that you had in Russia through your corporations and business ties
The list is long.
Now a small personal story.
By February 2022 I was mainly working for a couple U.S. corporations (Intel and HP if you are interested) as lead localizer / reviewer of Russian content (freelance).
I was generally sympathizing Americans and Europeans and had no communication problems. I was quite against any confrontation. However, actions of European and American governments made me lose these jobs and, naturally, my attitude to them has seriously changed.
You made a Western-minded person in Russia angry about “the West”. There were millions of Russians like me who had ties with the Western world or who earned their income working for Western companies. Actions of U.S. and European governments made you lose our sympathies and lose any leverage the West had in Russian society.
Not that we would work against Russia or became “the fifth column”, but had this “economic blockade” remained a threat, we would surely push for decisions that would help us save our jobs and sources of income.
Now it is just too late. Pro-Western people in Russia were forced to adapt and vast majority of them are no longer pro-Western. Sure, some just fled Russia but even then, this didn’t have any noticeable impact on Russian economy and Russian society.
To sum it up, you had your influence in Russia but lost it. You earned money in Russia but lost it. Even your cultural influence is fading. Simply because Russians are no longer looking on your content through rosy glasses. And well, TBH your media entertainment content in last few years mostly sucks.
Maybe your own audience is brainwashed enough to push any “agendas” but I don’t remember any new Hollywood blockbusters in last few years that would be really appealing to Russian or any other third-world audience. I haven’t even feel the desire to watch anything like that.
Moreover, your “brands” are rapidly losing value in eyes of Russians and more and more Russians look at them with disdain.
Moreover, Russia is setting the example for “Global South” demonstrating that a large part of your “superiority” was just imaginary. The further our hostilities go, the greater is this understanding. Especially when it comes to “cultural superiority”.
Still… if you are talking about people… many Russian still don’t think categories. Most of us still don’t assume that every American or European is an enemy. Yet, we assume that most of you are simply brainwashed about Russia, Russian people and Russian so-called “despot”.
A side note for more context. I do support the ruling party of Russia but I don’t support President Putin. I am a big fan of Russian Prime Minister and other efficient administrators from United Russia team.
So enjoy your “politically correct” remakes, dull comics that are indistinguishable from each other and reanimation of long-dead franchises that can’t be saved even with once great actors.
Las Vegas babysitter who beat 5-year-old boy to death sentenced to life in prison
Horrific.
Terrible.
What is the most disgusting thing that someone has done in a restaurant?
I have a three-way-tie. We had a family come in with a baby, toddler, and a small child, maybe 6 or 7. I noticed the baby didn’t look well to begin with. You could just look at this kid and tell she was miserable and running fever. I asked if she was alright and the mom assured me she was just tired.
The toddler decided to suck the sauce off her noodles and stick them to the wall. Mom and dad said nothing. A little while later the older child put her hands in the baby’s diaper and announced to everyone “Ewww! Chrissy’s got runny poo!” She wiped her hand on the white tablecloth. Mom pushes plates aside and changes this horrendously smelly, runny diaper right on the table. She couldn’t understand why I was making a big deal out of it when I asked her to take the baby to the bathroom.
Next we have the lady who ordered a huge meal and requested a large, empty to go cup. It wasn’t until after she left that I realized what she was doing. She was chewing her food and spitting it in the cup instead of swallowing it. I’m pretty sure she had an eating disorder. It’s none of my business if she did or didn’t, I’m not judging, but it would have been nice if she had thrown her cup of chewed food out herself instead of leaving it for me to deal with.
Finally, we have the man who decided that instead of using his big boy words to show his displeasure at being denied a take out box for an all-you-can-eat meal (There were signs and the menu stated no to go boxes on it) that he would urinate in my lobby. He did this right in front of a cop that was dining with us. The guy was not too bright. Yes, the cop took action.
Let’s see something nicer.
The internet found her and destroyed her
She was deserving.
When have you cheaply or inexpensively fixed an item someone thought unrepairable?
Not exactly unrepairable but definitely expensive.
I recently treated myself to a used luxury automobile because I’m getting old and wanted to splurge. I had it less than 2 weeks when the power driver’s seat wouldn’t move forward or backwards. Unfortunately it was frozen slightly too far back so I really had to stretch to reach the pedals … not a very safe way to drive.
The dealer looked sad when I brought it in. He said this was a common problem with my model, but the “repair” involved replacing the whole motor assembly under the seat, it would cost upwards of $3k, and extended warranties almost never covered it.
I went home and contacted my insurer who said they didn’t know if it was covered, I should have the $200 diagnostic done and then the dealer would present a claim for the repair on my behalf and they would “work it out”.
The night before my follow-up appointment, my husband (not a mechanic) looked under the seat with a flashlight. The gear to move the seat had come out of its track. He hit it a few times just so and the gear popped back into place. Now the seat works perfectly again.
My mother’s husband after my (birth) parents got their divorce, was a man of great local wealth. A “big man” in the local community. He was quite the character.
He had 15 sons, and one girl. He was Catholic.
Don’t you know.
Anyways, after he passed on he give my brother a gift in his will.
No one knew what it was, and when we all took the truck to get it, we were all surprised.
It was a home liquor bar from the 1960’s during the Playboy age.
It has girly glasses, swizzle sticks, and was able to control lighting with velvet and mirrors inside the cabinet. We boys all thought it was cool as fuck.
My sisters thought that it was stupid; old antique furniture. something that should be given away at a thrift store.
My mother… well she just *sighed*.
Gave it to my brother.
Still, my mother wanted us to throw it away.
Ugh! She didn’t appreciate it’s value like we (my brother and I) did.
Often my brother and I would muse about being a “playboy” like 007, and seducing women in our bachelor pad.
He has it today.
It’s in his “game room” / study. Perhaps, he goes to it every now and then and mixed up a Tom Collins, or a Whiskey Sour.
Today…
Rights in the United States
How do servers feel when someone only orders the cheapest item on the menu?
The cheapest item on a menu is often the most profitable. That is no coincidence. At the top of the menu will be a prime rib roast for $60. At the bottom is the fettuccine Alfredo for $17.99. The prime rib is called the anchor item. Believe me, it is there to scare you. They sell very few of them and don’t make much profit because of the high cost of the raw materials. So now, they’ve coaxed you to look at the cheapest item, the Alfredo. One chef revealed that a pasta dish at the bottom of his menu cost only 98 cents in ingredients, but was $17.99 on the menu. It was the most profitable item on the list, and the most popular dish they sell, especially when compared to the $60 steak that only brought in a couple of bucks profit.
Then there’s the wine list. It was designed by a restaurant psychologist. They know that a couple on a date will order a bottle of wine. But the guy doesn’t want to look cheap, so he orders the second cheapest wine. But guess what else? The owner knows that too, and the second cheapest wine has the highest margin!
A menu is full of tricks. Many of them funny, like no dollar signs and no decimals. Or burying the price in the description rather than putting it on a column to the right, where prices are easier to compare.
There are many, many more. Try searching “restaurant menu tricks”. Here’s one of them:
Do you sleep with your bedroom door open or closed? Why?
Until May 12, 2007, I didn’t worry whether my bedroom door was open or closed while I slept. Now, my bedroom door is closed and locked every night.
Tenth-grader Alec Kreider, entered the Haines’ family home while all were asleep and stabbed them. All their bedroom doors were open and their garage door was up.
When you look at his photo, Alec was just a kid.
The only person to escape was the 19-year-old daughter. Alec didn’t know she’d returned from college that evening.
The Haines’ house was less than a mile from ours.
The police were at a loss to find the killer or even a motive for why this family had been killed. The police were vocal about what the area residents should do until the case was resolved.
It was during that month that we started locking the bedroom door. Finally, it became a habit that we continued even after Alec’s father drove his son to police headquarters.
Alec never disclosed why he killed a good friend of his and the parents. He pleaded guilty and there was no trial.
Edit:
Someone commented that the photo of Alec may have been when he was younger than the date of his arrest. I copied and pasted a photo so you could see how he looked on that day.
Decline
What are good skills to learn before going to prison?
If you’re going to prison, you need to learn how to shut up. It’s normal that when we see injustice, we want to fix it. Did you see someone steal another man’s shoes while he slept? Just mind your own business. Learn to lock up your own shoes, or make them not worth stealing.
Confronting the thief is a bad idea. Maybe you’re pretty good in a scrap and think you could take the scumbag down.
Maybe you can. But what will you do when three of them show up at your bunk at 2:30 in the morning with their padlocks inside socks? Those heavy chunks of metal, swung at high speed inside the sock, hit hard. It’s an impromptu weapon that works just as well as something from a medieval battlefield. The only thing it lacks are the spikes, but the inmates will compensate for that with enthusiasm.
Next, you need to learn that your case is nobody’s business. Period. It’s tempting to want to talk about what you’ve been through.
Don’t.
Just don’t.
The reverse is even more true. Do not ask anyone else about their case. It’s none of your business, and the asking invites trouble.
Prison is a primitive culture. It’s all based on power and social status. In a way, it’s like we’ve never built a civilization at all, and are stuck in our shared simian ancestry without the civilizing influences of the feminine gender. Ask yourself, “What would Jane Goodall do?”
Observe. Understand. Don’t get involved.
Learn to lose yourself in an activity. If you’re not much of a reader, learn to become one.
Learn some useful skills. Learn to sew. The ability to repair your own things will save you money, and can make you useful to others.
Learn to make do.
Two years later, I still catch myself glancing in trash cans for useful things.
Learn introspection. Learn to understand who you are so that essence can be preserved. Your time in prison is temporary. One day, you will be headed either to the streets, or to the hereafter. Either way, you want to leave as a civilized human being the least scarred as possible.
My goodness!
Southern Afghanistan 2008.
Group of Taliban fighters ambushed a squad of Marines in my platoon on a night patrol. We were engaged in a firefight with them during the day and a squad was pushed out to search for them. Traditionally the Taliban would not engage us at night because we “own the night”.
This time however, when the Marines got close they lit multiple stacks of dried vegetation on fire washing out our NVGs with light. They also engaged the Marines with RPGs and automatic weapons from rather well hidden positions that were only a stone’s throw away. In fact, they happened to throw back grenades that were thrown in their direction. I was pushed up from the rear as aid and litter to retrieve a wounded Marine and the light show I saw that night was like watching star wars space battle.
The green and red tracers being exchanged over the sight and sound of explosions, smell of burning fuel and large flames was all so astonishing to experience. The Taliban impressed me that day. In my experience that was one of only the handful of times I experienced a night battle in my year and a half total of combat zone time. Their success was short lived however, you can imagine who eventually won that fight.
When you are on the way up…
The Mughal Empire was ruled by only one dynasty, but why doesn’t anyone call it the “Mughal dynasty”?
There is no word “empire” in ancient Chinese history
This word was introduced to China by Westerners, and then the Chinese began to use it.
Therefore, the Chinese customarily refer to all their ancient regimes as “dynasties” rather than “empires”
Now, there are some new changes in the definition of ancient Chinese regimes in academic circles.
Some scholars began to try to distinguish between “empires” and “dynasties” in ancient China
They called some powerful regimes that ruled the whole of China “empires,” while they called some small regimes that only controlled local areas “dynasties.”
For example, “Ming Empire”, “Tang Empire”, “Song Dynasty” and “Shang Dynasty”.
They believe that many large empires and more small dynasties were born in ancient China. Their reason is that with every regime established, the name of the country changes. There has never been a regime named “Middle Kingdom” or “Middle Empire” in Chinese history.
Some scholars also believe that according to Western definitions, China established its empire in 211 BC and lasted until 1912. During these 2000 years, China had only one empire. All regime changes are “dynasties” within this empire. The change of dynasties is actually the continuous collapse and reconstruction of this empire.
Their reason is: the establishment of each dynasty claimed to have inherited the “mandate of heaven” from the previous dynasty. They even passed down the seal made by the first emperor as a symbol of legitimate power.
I think there is no standard answer to this question, just a customary name
Important
When is China expected to surpass the USA economically? Will they also become a military superpower at the same time?
Wake up it has already!
China has a bigger economy based on the flawed GDP PPP measurement that favours the west measurement of values of smokes and bubbles. Such as Wall Street values and not real tangible human values. Yet even in this flawed and skewed to the west measurement China has already overtaken them since 2014. China have more men, more ships more planes more ammunitions and it has vital new technologies such as hypersonic missiles and superior drone and sonar technologies that render most of U.S. weapons useless for at least a decade now!
Interstellar | “Tidal Wave” Full Scene (Anne Hathaway, Matthew McConaughey) | Paramount Movies
Doesn’t Putin realize he will be VAPORIZED 15 to 20 minutes after he launches his first missile?
How exactly?
Let’s say Putin nukes Kiev tomorrow
Do you think anyone would retaliate?
No
That’s because nobody would want the risk of Russia launching Nukes against them in a counter strike
The attitude of NATO would be
“Boy he is ready to launch nukes and annihilate everyone. If we launch a nuke against Putin, the world will be annihilated”
So the West won’t launch nukes and would do their best and prevent war
Even the Neocons would be stunned enough to sue for peace
It’s what Medvedev would have done
Launch a small low yield nuke capable of killing maybe 100,000 Ukranians in Kyiv and getting peace
Let’s say Putin nukes France
Half a Dozen Satans, destroying and vaporizing the entire nation
Would UK Or US risk launching nukes against Putin?
They would know for certain that if they did, Russia will launch a counter strike and millions and millions of their people will die including Mrs Biden or the Biden Grandkids or Mrs Sunak Or the Sunak Kids
I don’t think they will
They will have all their nukes ready for launch but will ensure that they somehow de escalate from a full on nuclear war
So i dont think any NATO nation will retaliate against Putin on behalf of another Nation because that would be certain death
Unless Putin hits US or US hits Putin, the risk of MAD is very little
Putin can destroy any other nation in the planet without fear of consequences of nuclear retaliation
Maybe China is too large and has a strong enough AD to manage to defend itself
So how to ensure there is no nuclear confrontation?
Each side has enough Pentagon or Kremlin Brass who know when to draw a line and prevent nuclear escalation
I love this
What are some psychological facts about girls?
People who understand sarcasm well are often good at reading peoples MIND.
A survey says that a person who likes to do the things which are “asked not to be done,” are sugar lovers. They like sweets more than anything in this world. 😉 If you know someone who is fond of sweets, get ready to face adventures.
68% of the people suffer from Phantom Vibration Syndrome, the feeling that one’s phone is vibrating when it’s not.
Depression can affect other parts of your body, potentially leading to other diseases, especially cardiovascular-related diseases.
Being alone for a long time or smoking 15 cigarettes a day, both are equally dangerous.
If someone is being a dick, tell them they have something in their teeth. That will make them feel self-conscious and weird, and should end their dickness. Works every time.
Unless you make peace with your past, you can never pave your future… so leave things that trouble you behind and focus on the future.
Having negative friends is linked to depression, lowered self-esteem, insomnia and anxiety. Positive friends promote good overall health.
While walking on a crowded street, keep looking to the path you want to go, most people will avoid getting in your way.
If you always thinking about someone and sometimes they randomly pop up in your head, they miss you and you are also on their mind 🙂
People who get angry very fast are under deep stress at that time and they need love and belonging immediately.
I heard this the other day. Apparently if you pick a word someone is using and smile each time they say that particular word, they will start to say the word more often.For example, someone is talking about dogs, and if you smile when they say *dog*, then they’ll say *dog* more often.
According to psychology, two effective ways to fight depression are exercising and spending time with pets.
Psychopaths say “um” more frequently in order to appear like a normal person.
If you announce your goals or tell someone else about them, you are less likely to accomplish them because of the lack of motivation and interest that now result from someone else being aware of your goals. Keep them to yourself!
People who talk to themselves are smart by nature.
If a girl is really into you then she will look at you secretly when the people around you both are laughing.
For developing a new habit, follow it for 21 days, it will eventually become a routine.
Most marriages are failing faster these days than at any other period in history, and most people actually believe that marriages don’t work anymore. According to studies, marrying your best friend eliminates the risk of divorce by over 70% and such marriages are more likely to last a lifetime.
Smoking tobacco and having an unhealthy diet causes cancer more than alcohol would.
One minute of anger weakens the immune system for 4–5 hours. One minute of laughter boosts the immune system for 24 hours.
Girls: An average man gets bored after 26 mins of shopping.
If you believe you are not good looking, you never will be good looking to others. (Seriously. It is like the Law of Attraction is in play a bit here.)
The closer you are in a relationship, the more you can read the other’s mind.
Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in there. The ones who accept you for who you’re.
Fuck Dude!
What was the stupidest thing someone has called the police on you for?
My ex-wife became convinced that I was hacking her home computer.
(Well, technically it was my computer, but it was an older one I’d left for her use after I’d moved out – a long, unhappy story.)
Among the many stupid parts of this claim, is that it was in the days of dial-up modems, where she could easily disconnect the computer from the internet. Hacking instantly prevented!
And, at that time, I don’t think’ spy-ware’ of that type even existed.
Also her son-in-law worked in IT, and could have easily installed standard security software for her. But I suspect he actually did that, and that she still thought she was being hacked.
The sad reality of the story is that she suffered from mental health issues, and constantly thought people were “out to get” her. Neighbours, (ex-)friends, co-workers, fellow church-members, etc.
Still, I was kind of surprised, 6 months after I’d moved out, when the police called to question me about “tampering” with her computer. They didn’t seem to give this much credibility, but I think they were obliged to follow-up, even know it was a waste of everyone’s time.
The irony is SHE had previously hacked MY email account, because she thought I had a secret girlfriend on the side. Nope, sorry – I was faithful to the bitter end.
(She also told people I was secretly gay – so which is it?)
What was your most embarrassing moment as a foreigner in another country?
6 months back, I was on a trip to China (related to work).
One fine day, I got late while coming back from work to my hotel. It was 9 PM.
An old lady called for me. She was sitting on the stones near footpath. When I approached her, she asked about where I was going. I told her that I was going to my hotel. She asked if she could come along.
I thought she might be worried because it was cloudy and dark. I agreed. We reached hotel and she followed me in. I thought she might be a guest at the hotel. But then she tried getting into my room as well on which I objected.
I had a feeling that something was wrong, as we had been communicating mostly in sign language as she spoke very little English. I called reception and asked them for help ASAP.
The reception guy came. I told him that I found this granny while coming to the hotel. But she’s following me every where. It would be nice if he could translate for me. He said something to her in Chinese and started giggling. He asked her to follow him.
I went downstairs for dinner in 20 minutes. The girls at the dining space started laughing when they saw me. I smiled back.
After my dinner, I went to the reception guy to ask why everyone was laughing at me. He told me that the granny was a call girl. And I was innocent enough not to understand that.
He told me that the girls were not laughing but feeling amused at my innocence. What a nice way to tell someone he messed up big.
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs of U.S. Victoria Nuland has retired. according to a statement issued by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“Victoria Nuland has let me know that she intends to step down in the coming weeks as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs – a role in which she has personified President Biden’s commitment to put diplomacy back at the center of our foreign policy and revitalize America’s global leadership at a crucial time for our nation and the world. Victoria’s tenure caps three and a half decades of remarkable public service under six Presidents and ten Secretaries of State,” was noted in the Statement. (HT REMARK:The Witch is out . . . . this seems extremely peculiar to me; especially the timing of it, given the Ukraine-Russia thing going on. Perhaps this is a sign the entire Ukraine fiasco is going to be brought to an abrupt end???)
Bravery
What’s the most incompetent instance of bullying you’ve ever seen?
Actually, it happened to me.
I was a tiny ten-year-old and was often mistaken for eight. My bully was about twelve and was big for his age. He beat me up almost every day on the way home from school. One day, I’d had enough.
He came after me. I bent, darted under his arm, grabbed the back straps of his sandals and felled him like David did Goliath. He got up, stunned, then looking down at his sandals, (yes, the big bad bully wore sandals) cried, “You broke my sandals!” and began to cry and ran, I assumed, home. But that’s not the best part.
The next day I, the bully and his parents, were called into the principal’s office. When his parents saw me, their jaws dropped. There sits their big, strapping son, and I, a tiny, tiny blonde little girl. Nevertheless, they began yelling about my beating up their son, blah blah blah.
Now, the principal had noticed that I had been coming to school with black eyes, bruises and scratches, and unbeknownst to me, had begun to investigate…end result, sandal boy got suspended for one week.
Ah, the sweet, sweet smell of victory! He never bullied me again – nor did anyone else!
Good Advice
Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
Pork
1 pound pork tenderloin
Glaze
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoons mustard
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
Instructions
Place pork on a greased rack in a baking pan lined with foil.
Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl, set aside 3 tablespoons glaze. Spoon remaining glaze over pork.
Bake uncovered at 400 degrees F for 28 minutes or until done, basting occasionally with reserved glaze.
Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.
Fun Facts
Your tongue length is related to your sexual curiosity. Those who can lick their elbows are more willing to try new experiences.
If you have a crush on someone, your brain will find it impossible to lie to that person.
People who understand sarcasm well are often good at reading people’s minds.
The way you dress is linked with your mood. So dressing well most often helps in keeping you more stably happy.
Women with higher IQs have a harder time finding a mate.
The cells in your body react to everything your mind says. So negativity brings down your immune system and you feel sick.
The most you talk about someone, the more are you likely to fall in love with that person.
We believe what we WANT to believe.
Men are not funnier than women: they just make more jokes, not caring whether other people like their humor or not.
Listening to high-frequency music makes you feel calm, relaxed, and happy.
Dogs being dogs
Why did the rapid rise of China catch many in the west by surprise?
The West had a good nice plan for China
Give them all the Capitalism they needed, flood them with Dollars, bring them into the WTO, flush their economy with green currency, create more billionaires
Then ultimately use that Capital and those billions to control the country
They had a ready made plan
Chinese would have all the money they wanted
China would be dependent on the US system
China would make their currency convertible
Slowly US Institutions would buy shares and stakes in Chinese Banks, Chinese Companies
Slowly US would invest into the Chinese stock markets and make the Shanghai bourse dependent on Wall Street
The ultimate plan was to make China – a mirror of South Korea
An Economy fully controlled by Western Capitalism like most of the other Lackey economies
In fact a US Think Tank American Foreign Policy Council set out objectives of this nature as early as in 1994
They expected China to be fully enmeshed to the US Capitalist system by 2019 , ie:- in Twenty Five years
Xi Jingping stunned them
He regulated the tap of capitalism flowing into China
Rather than creating more billionaires, he ensured the capitalism and capital flow benefited more middle class Chinese and Rural Chinese
Rather than build a castle based on speculation, he ended speculation and focused on building actual development
He diverted all that green money into SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY and ENGINEERING
In short he did something the West never expected
He increased anti corruption policies
He focused heavily on the lower income Chinese
So China used all that money from the US System to build their own financial system as far away from the US as never before
They used the Capitalism to build global connections through the BRI
The US could do little but stare in IMPOTENT FURY for almost a decade from 2008–2018 because of the Global Financial Crisis and it’s aftermath
By that time China had leaped and jumped and done a lot to put itself out of immediate harm, otherwise by 2012–2013 you would have had a plaza accords 2.0 with China
Today Chinas model is so unique that the West has failed in its objectives
The West supplied China with capitalism to control them and now China with the same capitalism has built it’s own ecosystem that threatens to one day surpass the West
Another is Putin
They flooded him with capital and created oligarchs to control him
He grinned, complied and when he was strong enough
The oligarchs simply disappeared
Excellent purging
One morning Oligarch goes to a walk, collapses
His tame militia are all in jail Or sadly killed in a terrorist strike
The Oligarch was blue when he died. Some nice Novichok.
His sons make a rushed deal with the state and run out of Russia shivering before accidents happen to them too
That’s it – The State, Mother Russia takes over Billions of Dollars of Resources stolen by the Oligarch funded with US banks for pennies on the Dollar
Gutter scum are purged like rats
What a man!!!!
Today?
Putin is the undisputed Tsar of Russia and Russia has discarded the West like a used condom
Next in the line is mostly Saudi Arabia
So be ready for hearing stories on BBC related to MBS committing some bogus genocide and sanctions on Saudis for some vague reason
Victoria Nuland has let me know that she intends to step down in the coming weeks as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs – a role in which she has personified President Biden’s commitment to put diplomacy back at the center of our foreign policy and revitalize America’s global leadership at a crucial time for our nation and the world. … [I]t’s Toria’s leadership on Ukraine that diplomats and students of foreign policy will study for years to come. Her efforts have been indispensable to confronting Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, marshaling a global coalition to ensure his strategic failure, and helping Ukraine work toward the day when it will be able to stand strongly on its own feet – democratically, economically, and militarily. … President Biden and I have asked our Under Secretary for Management John Bass to serve as Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs until Toria’s replacement is confirmed.
Victoria Nuland, a member of the neo-conservative Kagan clan, is only 62 years old – too young to retire regularly. She will be remembered for handing out cookies to anti-government demonstrators in Ukraine and for installing the 2014 coup regime. That has been her main project in the State Department. But the 2014 Maidan putsch that turn the Ukraine into a battering ram against Russia, has ended in a complete failure. Neither was Russia ‘weakened‘ by the war nor has Ukraine any perspective to survive but as some Russian controlled land-locked backwater country in Europe’s east. Given that billions were spent on Ukraine with little controls and nothing to show for Nuland, and her family, have certainly made a bit on the side. One wonders if any of the ongoing and coming investigations into the black hole Ukraine will leave them unscarred. As even Guardian commentators are now waking up to the mess they helped create it is high time for European politicians to also finally accept this reality:
Western Europe has no conceivable interest in escalating the Ukraine war through a long-range missile exchange. While it should sustain its logistical support for Ukrainian forces, it has no strategic interest in Kyiv’s desire to drive Russia out of the majority Russian-speaking areas of Crimea or Donbas. It has every interest in assiduously seeking an early settlement and starting the rebuilding of Ukraine.As for the west’s “soft power” sanctions on Russia, they have failed miserably, disrupting the global trading economy in the process. Sanctions may be beloved of western diplomats and thinktanks. They may even hurt someone – not least Britain’s energy users – but they have not devastated the Russian economy or changed Putin’s mind. This year Russia’s growth rate is expected to exceed Britain’s. The crass ineptitude of a quarter of a century of western military interventions should have taught us some lessons. Apparently not.
Have you ever accidentally interrupted a crime in progress?
I came out of the shower at a truck stop once, to find that the cashier was being robbed at gunpoint.
It was about two in the morning and the truck stop was otherwise dead.
I very quietly sat my shower bag on the floor, ducked my way over to where the truck stop sold tools and found a tire-thumper. I then snuck up behind the robber and thumped him as hard as I could on his shoulder, right where his shoulder met his neck. He dropped like a sack of potatoes.
The truck stop’s owner was so grateful, that he gave me a hundred dollar gift certificate to use in his store. He also gave me the tire-thumper, which is essentially a smaller version of a baseball bat, both as a thank-you for saving his store from being robbed, and likely his employee’s life, too.
I was also thanked by the town’s sheriff (it was a small town in west Texas), and the local gazette took my picture. I was also given an honorable mention by the trucking company I worked for at the time.
The robber was taken to hospital and then later, presumably, to jail. I’d walloped him a good one, later learning that I’d hit him so hard, that I’d broken his right collar bone, from hitting him from behind!
Interstellar | Docking Scene
Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
12 large leaves cabbage
1 cup cooked white rice
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup minced onion
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil cabbage leaves 2 minutes, just until pliable; drain.
In large bowl, combine rice, egg, milk, onion, ground beef, salt and pepper.
Place about 1/4 cup of meat mixture in center of each cabbage leaf, and roll up, tucking in ends. Place rolls in slow cooker, seam side down.
In a small bowl, mix together tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over cabbage rolls.
Cover, and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours.
Great quote
Have you ever met someone for the first time and got the strongest feeling that the person was bad?
One of my coworkers at (a) job, retracted information to protect all parties, just wasn’t feeling right. He hired in just fine, passed all the drug tests etc. He seemed ok, but my problem gut feeling was there. I first attributed it to simply his demeanor, and I try to hire all people just as much as normal since I too am slightly autistic. But after watching him interacting with customers and coworkers, I knew something just wasn’t kosher. He was very polite to them, but then on his way back to get something I would often hear him berate them. He said some pretty horrible things about people, after he was the most polite and sincere person ever to their face. I really had no true grounds to terminate him, after all he was following all rules and was showing up for work on time. I had to keep his personal business to myself and him. Other workers began complaining over time though, especially the ladies, so I had a talk with him. What he said during that talk shook me to the core. He was middle eastern, so women to him were property, nothing more. He just wasn’t able to overcome his way of life and beliefs. I sternly told him all people from every type and corner, including himself, were protected under strict laws in the US. If he had any chance of enjoying life here and being able to stay in this country, he needed to learn that women were equal to men and were NOT property that he could push around.
He didn’t like that one bit. He retorted that in his country I should and would be punished or killed, to which I stated “Ok, that was just a direct threat to me my friend, you need to leave NOW. You are terminated effective immediately”. His response was I was not the head boss, and I had no authority to fire him. I retorted back that in threatening situations, such as any employees making any type of threat or violence against another, any manager was well equipped to call the authorities and have him immediately fired and removed from our premises. One call to my head boss was all it took. When he heard this, I think it clicked in his head he was not in his country, and he was stepping way beyond his bounds. He quickly settled down, a small sorry might have escaped his lips, but the damage was done. With several women testifying against him, we had no choice but to let him go. I made the phone call, and of course I was told that my decision was valid. I had it on speaker for him to listen to. I watched as a good bit of color wiped away from his face. I then told my boss, as he was sitting there listening, that everything was recorded on our security camera for the office. If any questions arose, she had the footage. She promptly set a do not erase for that camera footage.
So, I hang up the phone and look him square in the eyes. “Are you leaving quietly or am I needing to contact our local sheriff? “. No, I will go. ” Ok, no problems ever again from you at this location right? A tresspass will land you in jail and deportation out of our country. “ His expression said it all, like oh crap I just screwed up really bad. Rather than even deal with him again, I quickly counted up his hours he had worked for the week and paid him (with receipt) right there. Then I escorted him off our property. On my way back I heard him mumbling again under his breath. Probably trying to figure out how to have me killed. I was very glad to have him dealt with. I admit i was a tad scared he might actually try something, but I was hoping his visa meant more to him than being disrespected. We didn’t have any issues that I am aware of.
This Is Not A Drill | Captain Phillips
Why did the rapid rise of China catch many in the west by surprise?
The rapid development and rise of China in the past few decades has been reflected in the rapid economic growth, the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure, the huge changes in infrastructure and the continuous improvement of social welfare. These achievements have been made through the firm determination and unremitting efforts of the Chinese government, and have also brought important influence and opportunities to the world. These achievements have taken the world by surprise and many people in the West by surprise and unprepared.
First, geographically, China is so far away from the West that many Westerners don’t understand China.China is located in the Eastern Hemisphere. Westerners have to travel a long way to reach China. And because of the distance, not many Westerners would travel to China unless they were curious and looking for adventure. And the Western media portrays China in a very negative light, leading many people to distrust China’s rise.
As a netizen in the United States described, in the 1990s, he could not have predicted that only 20 years later, China would become the world’s second largest economy, that some Chinese technology companies would rank among the world’s most valuable companies, and that food stalls in China could pay by scanning the QR code on their mobile phones. And policy makers in Washington and Brussels are still asking whether China’s growth is real or fake.
Second, in political terms, China’s rise challenges Western institutional ideas.
For a long time, many people in the West have had the basic idea that a country can succeed economically only by embracing Western liberal democracy and capitalism. Only with the Western model of development can a country be rich and strong, and there is no other model. As Francis Fukuyama concluded in his famous essay The End of History, “Liberal democracy is the ultimate form of government for all nations”.
Even though the Chinese economy has been growing on a rapid basis for many years, the West is still dismissive, they are completely distrustful of the data coming out of China, and none of them think this growth is sustainable. That’s why there are “scholars” like Gordon Chang who dedicate their lives to convincing the public that China’s economy is about to collapse.
China’s success is proof that a country does not need to copy Western institutions to become rich and powerful. Westerners find it inconceivable that the Chinese people, whose way of thinking and way of life are so different from those in the West, can still build such a big economy in the world. For the time being, Westerners have not accepted that a non-European white country can become as developed as a white country.
Since the Middle Ages, no nation has ever grown up in peace. Great powers like England, Spain, Germany, Japan, and the United States have all grown up on the backs of others. However, the Chinese government holds high the banner of peaceful development and dominates China’s economic development model. Coupled with its unique political system and cultural differences, China’s rapid economic development and peaceful rise have resulted in a lack of understanding and expectation of China’s rapid rise in the West.
Third, from an economic point of view, China’s rapid development surprises Westerners.
It took China less than 60 years to go from nothing to second place in the world in terms of GDP. It took just 70 years for 1.4 billion Chinese to lift themselves out of poverty. Since 2010, when China surpassed Japan for the first time to become the world’s second largest economy, China’s annual GDP has been more than four times Japan’s total GDP. It took the United States one or two hundred years to modernize, while China has become amazing in just 30 years!
In 2022, the world’s steel production will reach 1,878.5 million tons, of which China will account for 1,013 million tons. China will have 5.35 million kilometers of highways in 2023, an increase of 1.12 million kilometers in 10 years; China has 177,000 kilometers of expressways, ranking first in the world. China’s high-speed railway has gone overseas. Indonesia’s Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway has been fully opened to traffic, with a speed of 350 km/h. China’s space industry has developed rapidly, from unmanned flights to manned flights, from one person for one day to more than one person for many days, from in-cabin experiments to out-of-cabin activities, from single-ship flights to sky surveys at the space station… Over the past 30 years or so, the Chinese people have taken a confident and leisurely walk in space. In 2023, China will surpass the United States in the number of patent applications, ranking first in the world.
Fourth, from a cultural point of view, Westerners are reluctant to accept the rise of Asian civilization in their hearts.
Since the Industrial Revolution, Westerners have liked to think that they are the world’s leading civilization to the exclusion of others. While Britain was the world’s superpower and the world’s policeman, the wealth and industry were all in Europe. Europeans accepted the “rise of Britain” because British people looked like them. After World War II, when British power and wealth declined, the US took the lead, and the wealth and industry were all in the US. Americans and Europeans were happy with that because Americans looked like them. When Japan’s economy grew rapidly to become the second largest in the world in the 1980s, the West could not accept it and imposed extremely severe restrictions and repression on the Japanese economy. Now, with China’s rapid development and peaceful rise, the world’s wealth and industry are shifting to China and Asia, and although it is not there yet, it is clear that wealth is shifting to Asia. This time, Chinese people don’t look like Americans or Europeans, and in their stereotype of Asian development is relatively backward, so they are reluctant to accept this rise.
All in all, in recent decades, the Chinese people have adhered to the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics, persisted in reform and opening up, and worked hard to develop their own politics, economy and culture. They have forged ahead and achieved a rapid rise, which has surprised many people in the West. However, China’s peaceful rise will be a boon to the Chinese people and a boon to people around the world.
What’s the most “small town” thing you’ve witnessed?
Here in Hong Kong… people think it’s like this.
Or this
But I live in the countryside.
It kind of looks like this
We have a problem with wild animals. Wild pigs are absolutely everywhere and eat the trash. Most locals who live here shrug and think meh, but visitors are all OMG a wild pig.
We also have massive snakes.
Oh and rats, huge fucken rats as big as cats. A couple years ago when she was younger nobody batted an eye when my mum grabbed a massive rat by it’s tail and smashed it on the ground into a bloody mess. A wild dog came along and ate it shortly after.
Ukraine SINKS Russian Navy Ship Sergey Kostov in Kerch Strait
The Defense Intelligence of the MOD of Ukraine (GUR) in a statement say that they ‘sunk’ a ‘$65 million’ Russian patrol ship named ‘Sergey Kotov’ near the Kerch Strait using Magura V5 naval drones. The vessel was a 22160 Bykov-class corvette, seen in the FILE PHOTO below:
As of Tuesday morning, traffic on the Kerch Strait Bridge is still stopped; no vehicles are permitted to cross it. No one is saying if the attack last night, which was reported by this website (HERE), damaged the bridge or not. Dmitry Medvedev, writing on his Telegram channel, confirmed the story: “Overnight, Ukraine’s naval drones found the Russian Navy stealth patrol ship Sergei Kotov in the Kerch Strait by the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, damaged her stern and both sides and sank her.”
Real talk
Have you ever seen a kid and just thought “Well, they’re doomed”?
Yes. Trigger warning: offensive language.
I work as an anaesthesiologist. I put kids off to sleep all the time for surgery. Having had anaesthetics myself as a child—and hated them—I go to elaborate lengths to make the experience as manageable as possible for every child.
This begins with talking directly to the kid, rather than talk to the parents as if they’re not there. I try to gain a little of their confidence and trust. I talk on their level. I make jokes. I don’t lie or use euphemisms.
I usually give kids gas to breathe to go to sleep. For younger kids, I tell them a story as they go to sleep. For older kids, I show them a funny video on YouTube. Using my techniques, most kids are calm and cooperative when they go to sleep. Inevitably some balk at the smell of the gas, and some are so anxious that they won’t engage with me; but I never restrain a child without consent from the parent.
This particular wee lad was 7. He was accompanied by his grandmother. He was well, but Gran said vaguely that he had some behaviour problems at school. He didn’t really want to talk to me, but I did my best with my usual routine.
We get into the operating theatre, and get him on the table (soft foam mattress, cosy blanket, Gran holding his hand). I gently hold the mask and start the story. After a few breaths of the gas, his whole demeanour changed. He started saying “No, no, no” and pulled the mask off. As usual, I try to be gentle, so I tried to reapply the mask with some reassuring words.
“Fuck that!” he shouted. “This is mental!” He sat up and started to climb off the table. The nurse came over to help and he shouted “Fuck off, you nigger!”
He climbed off the table. His face was contorted in pure hatred and hostility. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen such hatred in a child’s face. He was lashing out with his fists.
I hate restraining children. (Anaesthesiologists seem to like to lie to parents and say “Don’t worry; they won’t remember this”. I know this to be a lie because I remember what happened to me as a child—so I don’t say it.)
The only alternative is to abandon the procedure. Gran (very reasonably) didn’t think this was the right move. So we restrained him. All the time he was fighting and screaming insults and profanities. (I believe nigger was the most offensive word he knew, because nobody in the room had very brown skin).
Kids are afraid; I get that. Sometimes they pick up on their parents’ fears (or memories!); I get that too. Sometimes children cannot be reasoned with and we need to restrain them so we can put them to sleep for surgery which is necessary. But usually what they react with is fear and avoidance.
This kid, just below the surface, was carrying a truckload of hatred and aggression, which he could not control—at the age of 7. Had this kid been terribly brutalised? Was his Gran with him because his parents were not around for some reason? I could never find out.
Of course I’m extremely unlikely to ever see that kid again. I’ll never find out how his life unfolds, but if he reacts to every threatening situation with the same level of violence and hostility, he’s really going to hurt someone, or himself, and that’s only going to get worse as he gets older, and bigger, and runs into the testosterone poisoning of puberty.
I hope I’m wrong.
Edit: Of all the content in this answer, which has generated a lot of traffic and commentary, by far the most contentious seems to have been my use of the phrase “testosterone poisoning”.
I intended this to be a tongue-in-cheek, metaphorical use of the word “poisoning” to represent the effect that testosterone has on the behaviour of young men: it tends to make them more aggressive, more impulsive, and more likely to take risks. None of these are attributes which are likely to improve the behaviour of this particular young man, for whom puberty lies ahead. Testosterone levels rise very sharply at puberty and this is at least one of the causes of emotional turbulence during that period.
I didn’t mean to imply that testosterone is literally a poison. I do recognise that male puberty is a normal part of male development. I am not being sexist in my answer or attacking the male sex. I reject any notion that using this particular phrase is a sign of my unprofessionalism, or my unsuitability to perform my job well.
Lordy
What is the biggest “I’m definitely fired” thing you’ve done at work, but nobody ever found out?
Well, everybody found out, from the ambulances, police cars, and fire-trucks that showed up. The plume of smoke could be seen for miles.
I was 18, doing a summer job after my freshman year, working at a recycling plant where OSHA and the EPA seemed to have no jurisdiction for whatever reason. On my first day of work, I was the “Fireman” on a job of taking the tops off of passenger rail cars and turning them into flatcars. Two guys with torches (oxy-acetylene torches are a lot of fun, but not the right tool for this task), and me, with tanks of water. See smoke? Douse it. See fire? Really douse it. Too simple of a plan. By lunch our first rail car was enflamed, our of control of me (or the fire-trucks that showed up!).
I figured I had screwed up royally, but by honestly reporting what we had done, how it went wrong, and refusing to talk to the Police or Firemen and referring them to the boss, I kinda came out a hero. I got a raise, and the most fun summer job I ever had.
Chopsaw, no training, check.
944 forkloader (carry three cars) and borrow a 966 (carry 5 cars), no training, check
Forklift built in the 50’s we ran on oil we sometimes drained from cars, no training, check
Shears. Electric eight inchers for cutting ordinary pipe and such, and the beastly six foot shears ran by a Ford 351 until I cut an International Harvester Jeep-like thing in half to power it when the 351 gave out, check.
My own oxy-acetylene rig when the metal would only listen to fire? check.
Really now that I know more about stuff (BA, couple of MAs) attacking that rail car with reciprocating saws (“SawzAlls”) would have been the way to go. It was just plain dumb to try it with torches. But by keeping my cool, I got the best job in the recycling plant, played with some incredibly beastly toys, and destroyed a lot of things in ways that mad my boss look good.
Oh, we probably violated darn near every EPA and OSHA regulation that is on the books. But that summer was fun.
Poland
Why is the reoffend rate so high for ex-inmates in the United States?
Here’s how the “justice” system works in the US:
Imagine a huge playground with millions of children having fun. Every once in a while, one of the kids does something that’s against The Rules. Maybe he tosses sand at someone, uses bad words, or walks up the slide. Maybe he’s just *accused* of breaking The Rules.
Instead of giving this kid a good talking to, we pick him up and drop him down one of the many open wells we have on this playground. He’ll have to spend a few hours down that well, with all the other kids that have broken The Rules.
What do you suppose our little rule breaker learns down in that well? Do you think he’s hard at work becoming a better person? Hell no. The other bigger and meaner kids are busy making him worse. When the little tyke’s time is up, we pluck him from the well and drop him right back on the playground with no special instruction or help. He’s lost all his toys and whatever place in line he may have had.
Every parent within a hundred yards is watching him because he just got out of the well. He’s a “known offender,” and those are fun to watch because they so often act out while trying to regain their toys or place in line.
On top of that, we’ve cooked up a few rules that will only apply to those that’ve been in the well…
How do you think that’ll go? Do you suppose he’ll be caught reoffending?
Of course he will. Is he more likely to offend than other kids? Maybe. But even if he didn’t pick up any bad habits in the well, he’s more likely to be accused of something because he’s being watched more closely *and* he now has more rules to comply with.
It’s so often the case that our “solution” has created more of what we sought to eliminate.
No sex realities
What is an example of a dirty trick that a thief tried but backfired when they saw your dog?
Not a dog, but a cat. There is a young woman in my neighborhood who uses a wheelchair. She lives alone except for her cat. It is clear that a disabled person lives in her home with a wheelchair lift in the back.
She woke up one night when she heard a rustling in her bedroom. A young guy was going through her drawer looking for jewelry. He had her laptop in his hand. She saw a pistol stuck in the back of his pants. She froze, trying not to move and alert him that she was awake. She was terrified. There was no way for her to get away from him. She feared for her life.
He sensed she was awake and took the pistol out of his waistband. He cocked it and headed to the bed with the pistol pointing at her. When he leaned over her bed, pistol aimed to kill, her cat leapt onto his head. She started kitty karate on his face, shredding what might have been good looks with her claws. He ran screaming out of the house with a furious feline on his head. The cops found eye guts in the driveway.
The cat saved her life. Hard to feel sorry for a one-eyed guy willing to rob and kill a helpless victim. Kitty got lots of treats and is living the good cat life.
I’m glad you are learning
Old Man in the Cafeteria
An old man just dropped his papers. The young black woman in the absurd fur hat had just told him, “No.” In his nervousness, he spilled all that he was carrying. She wouldn’t help him pick up his papers any more than she would grant his request. She stands, shoulders straight, face forward, and watches him, her eyes cast downward – impassive and uncaring.
What was his request? Something minor. For someone who has been here as long as he has – since the Reagan administration – it had to be something minor. He knows better than to ask for anything that will require much more than a nod of her head.
The old man stoops to pick up his papers. He’s shaking, but I don’t know if it’s from age or the confrontation of the moment. His legal papers, a jumble of typewritten pages, handwritten notes, and official envelopes, contain his proof – proof of how he has been wronged – proof of how the system has failed him. I know this because I have a pile of papers just like his with its official court seals and signatures of attorneys who can afford me no more of their time.
He carries his jumbled pile to a nearby table where he takes pains to straighten it and remove the filth from the cafeteria floor. He returns the papers to a folder crafted from a box which once held a dozen cans of grape soda – trash pressed into service to contain and protect his most cherished possession: his hope.
A judge destroyed his life one day. A judge took away his future and condemned him to age behind walls, to die slowly outside the view of his friends and relatives.
This is nothing new. Every prisoner here knows this. Every man here has been through the process. Plead guilty to a crime you may not have committed, or exercise your “Right to a trial,” lose to an opponent with unlimited resources, and be punished four or five times worse for having the audacity to say, “I didn’t do that!”
This is justice in America:
Prosecutors who wield more power than judges and use the threat of extreme sentences to force the innocent to confession;
Judges who follow guidelines set by a congress eager not to appear “soft on crime;”
Defense attorneys who are as cowed by the system as the defendants and can only help by showing you where to sign your confession;
Corporations who profit from our policy of mass incarceration by supplying goods to the prisons, or even the prisons themselves;
Guards who supply drugs, cigarettes, and favors to inmates with the resources to make it happen, or who use their authority to express their hatred or racism.
The old man will try again. He’ll approach someone else when another month of his dwindling reserve of life has passed and the sting of the disinterested woman is gone.
Thirty, forty years eventually pass and then the old man will be cast onto the street, his family gone, friends dispersed. He’ll have no money and may even owe a huge fine. Too frail and elderly to work, he’ll find a bridge to keep the rain from his blankets.
Containing China: US Using Taiwan as East Asian “Ukraine”
During my (ours, including my wife) time that I refer to as the “out in the wilderness” period, we had many unique experiences. This period of time was right after I left the United States Navy as an aviator, and joined the ONI as a MAJestic operator. I was a shared resource, and reported directly to Domain. Which I still do.
At that point in time, I was “aimless”. Unemployed at the height of a major recession, homeless, married and living in a van. Moving from town to town finding work. Always the call of California called me to Ridgecrest…
Anyways, I got a job as a short-order cook at a family-owned restaurant in the town of San Louis Obispo. I worked from five in the morning to around 2:30 in the afternoon.
I worked just above minimum wage, but I got to keep the tips (which varied from a dollar to sometimes $20) and I could take home what ever leftover daily specials were available.
Now, remember… at that time, I was a Naval Aviator. The top 1% of the 1% and I did have a degree in Aerospace Engineering, and I WAS a “rocket scientist”. But in the working world.
And of course, I had traveled off-world to Mars (and the Moon), and I was interacting with Domain.
But that meant nothing.
Especially at that time in California, I was judged by how much money I made. What job I held. What car I drove. What clothes I wore, and what neighborhood that I lived in.
Not what I knew.
Not what I experienced.
Not what I was capable of.
Not how good I was, not what my experiences were, and not what I knew. And so, well, I was treated horribly by the owner of the establishment.
She called me “dingle berry”. That was her name for me.
“Dingleberry” is a slang term for a piece of dried poop that clings to the hairs in your anus or gooch region. When you don’t remove all the fecal remnants from your bum after a bowel movement, they coagulate into a crumb-like substance about the size of a sprinkle or Dippin’ Dot.
At that time, I took the insults. Over and over. And when her son would point at me and say (to his mother), “Don’t worry, I’ll never end up as a loser like him” I took it.
Punching bag MM.
You do what you need to do to survive.
So whenever I hear entitled Gen-Z making fun of others, or screaming that they “can’t handle a 40 hour work week” I scoff and think to my self… “you have no idea, Honey. Not a clue”.
You endure. And, you survive.
You give up, and you die.
Even if the insults pummel you relentlessly on a daily basis. You need to keep forging ahead, step by step.
He was probably in his twenties, blonde and gorgeous and had been teaching six months at the language center where I was a trainer and supervisor. His American background showed no teaching experience nor education courses.
He had a great, supportive rapport with his students. He prepared them well for most activities and helped the weak ones. He picked up on errors and dealt with them in a friendly, helpful way, and his students adored him.
But I could see he hadn’t looked at the materials before coming to class, even though he knew he would be observed. In fact, he misunderstood the purpose of one exercise and focused on the wrong grammar. With another, he failed to see that necessary activity details extended to a second page. But each time, he managed to cover and still see that students learned something.
I complimented him on how quickly he had become accustomed to teaching and had built such great rapport.
Then I said, “Sam, you are a really good teacher, but you could be a GREAT one if you prepared before class.”
Shrugging, he looked directly at me and answered, “I am not interested in being a great teacher. I do this only so I have enough money to live on and go out for a good time.”
That saddened me.
Fast forward 30 years. A former colleague asked if I remembered Sam. Then he told me that Sam had gone back to school and gotten a master’s in teaching English as a foreign language and had been teaching in a Thai university.
I love when people use the gifts they are born with.
"Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and statehood have been sold, squandered, and disposed of by all six presidents.
This happened according to a single pattern—presidential candidates promised one thing and did the complete opposite. They promised wealth but created poverty, promised legality but encouraged lawlessness and corruption, promised peace but provoked war.
Analysis of their rule shows that none of the six presidents respected their people.
They acted not in their interests, considering lies, deceit, corruption, and lawlessness as state policy.
And this tradition in Ukrainian statecraft has developed to the point of absurdity.
If the first presidents still tried to maintain some decency, the later ones displayed their stupidity, greed, and cynicism for all to see.
This is not the first time such events have occurred in Ukrainian history.
Traditionally, Ukrainians go home to Russia, often in parts, but quite actively and without regret.
What Zelensky's clique today calls separatism is in reality an escape from the psychopathically abnormal leadership that, with its incompetence and stupidity, is finishing off the country and its citizens.
If the first five presidents undermined the foundations of Ukrainian statehood to varying degrees, Zelensky has completed this process by staging a grandiose bloody show.
But this show is coming to an end, and now, in place of the country, we see a desolate wasteland.
Reviving this Wild Field will traditionally be done together with Russia, which is currently being done by the residents of Crimea, Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions, using their right to choose normal living conditions for themselves and their children.
They made this choice, considering the mortal danger from the actions of the Nazi Kiev regime, the gross violation of their basic rights and freedoms, and the genocide unleashed against the Russian-speaking population.
The residents of Crimea, LNR, DNR, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions exercised their right to self-determination, enshrined in paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the UN Charter, Article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of December 16, 1966, held referendums, and sought help from the Russian Federation.
As a result of the people's will, the territories of their residence became part of the Russian Federation.
And, while Zelensky plays his last perfomance, the number of new regions of Russia will continue to grow."
Excerpt from the article written by exiled Ukrainian opposition politician, Viktor Medvedchuk, in Komsomolskaya Pravda, April 15, 2024.
If someone would have told me twenty years ago that I’d be running a semi-successful custom house painting business that was responsible for finding and securing enough projects to provide six families with consistent, reliable income, I would have said “is that it?”.
My aspirations and sights were set so much higher in my early twenties than the reality I live today.
Maybe I’ll be the sea-fairing captain of a vessel that has no less than a thousand souls aboard, I thought to myself.
Maybe I’ll be the catalyst for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine with my commanding yet delicate approach to conflicts that arise between neighbors.
Maybe I’ll be an actor, the president, an astronaut — and if asked what I wanted to do when I was in fifth grade, I ALWAYS responded with “I want to be an electroencephalographic technologist.”
That was the coolest thing to say when I was a pre-teen.
The coolest thing — It was always about being, or saying, or doing what I felt others thought was the coolest thing.
I was identity-less because I was more concerned with other’s thoughts than I was with my own dreams or hopes or wishes.
What I really wanted back then was a father who could teach me how to beat the bolts off of the school bully that used to humiliate me in front of my classmates.
What I really wanted back then was to have money, like the other kids to pay for my school lunches. Not those embarrassing lunch tickets that the dorks and nerds and dweebs had to use at the musings of our tormentors.
It just wasn’t meant to be. That life, for me, wasn’t meant to be.
Turning to a life of substance abuse may not have been an inevitability, but it certainly was the easiest way out of the life I thought was so dreadful.
I got high, and then got higher and then got SO DAMN HIGH that I touched the clouds, or heaven or whatever.
It was a real blast.
Getting high was so much fun in fact, that for it, I traded a 150K dollar home, a loving and dedicated wife, a supportive family, encouraging friends, a career with endless opportunities for growth, my hygiene, my dignity and ‘insert any other cliche here’. Blah blah blah.
Which led me here, to this moment, to this question.
I gave up getting high. I gave up drugs not because anyone promised me a better life, but because I wanted to see if a better life was possible. Actually I gave up getting high because I knew any life was better than that life — and by golly it is a better life.
This life is so much better, that a few weeks ago I decided to insure it. I figured that if I die any time soon, I want my family to be insured against the hardships that are certain to follow.
I reached out to Primerica and got the ball rolling with life insurance.
After I answered a few questions asked by their representative, I waited for a phone call from their traveling nurse who was supposed to call me to schedule an appointment to draw blood, collect urine, check my height and weight and whatever else they do.
Yesterday, before I even got a call from the nurse, I got a call from the representative who informed me that I was declined.
I was so surprised. Why the hell would I be declined? I don’t get high, I live a healthy lifestyle, I don’t even drink alcohol. Do you know who I am? Boy I was pissed. Actually, my feelings were hurt and I was embarrassed.
Here is a screenshot of why I was declined.
I wondered what abnormal labs meant so I called the number they gave me.
Last February I had a tooth infection and was prescribed an antibiotic. I haven’t gotten high in more than a year, what the heck does a tooth infection have to do with life insurance?
As it turns out, (according to the lady who shared the actual truth with me, probably against protocol) the bigger (or real) issue is my background history and driving record, not some bs excuse about abnormal labs.
I haven’t had a single driving violation in many years and as far as my background history goes, well, I have a past. I used to use drugs.
I found out today, the hard way that they will not insure me based upon the mistakes of my past.
I can promise you that the decisions you make today will MOST CERTAINLY affect your ability to achieve the dreams you have for your future.
Drug abuse was grave mistake I made in my twenties and thirties and it seems that it has cost me the ability to protect my family from the financial burden that an untimely or early departure would have on them.
All-in-one pressure cooker. Don’t buy it they said, you’ll only use it twice they said. Well I bought it anyway to prove them wrong. I used it twice. It’s now in a cupboard never to be seen again.
Home gym. Been a lifelong dream of my wife and I to have our own gym. I converted our car port into quite a cool area with loads of nice equipment. It’s quite cold out there when windy though. A year later we’re still going to gym down the road.
Nintendo Switch. I bought it as Zelda Breath of the Wild was considered to be one of the best games ever made. Played it for about an hour. The older I get, the less I can get into games, which sucks.
Stryd foot pood for running. The latest and greatest in running aids. A pod that ties to your shoe to give statistics on your running that you’ll never need. I was so convinced it was a great idea I was preaching how great it was to fellow runners. Used it for about a week and haven’t bothered to charge it since. What a dick.
Kindles. Have a few, wife and I never use them. Just read normal books.
Alexa. I never got past asking it the time or the weather. Think my wife and I tried a quiz on it once. Was awful. People love them, I’m not sure how they are getting the most out of them.
PS4. I purposefully kept this away from number 3 as it’s embarrassing. I’ve also got an Xbox One X which is the only one I use. The Switch and the PS4 are just not used. This I why I shouldn’t be allowed to spend disposable income without moderation.
Huge amount of fishing rods and tackle. A couple of years ago, I got back into sea fishing which I used to do as a kid. Spent a small fortune buying new fishing gear. About six months ago, it dawned on me that fishing is probably not much fun for the fish and I felt really bad. Not been since.
DSLR camera. Feel bad about this one as it’s very expensive. Used it for a few weeks and photos were amazing. Was sure I would take it everywhere with us. Got lazy, now just use my phone. Going to try and make more of an effort with this one.
Bread maker. Don’t buy it they said, you’ll only use it twice they said. Well I bought it anyway to prove them wrong. I used it twice. It’s now in a cupboard next to the pressure cooker.
Garlic Rosemary Focaccia
Ingredients
3 whole heads garlic, not cloves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 scant tablespoons or 2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal, for pans
2 tablespoons crushed fresh rosemary leaves or 2 teaspoons dried
Coarse salt (optional)
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Separate garlic head into cloves and peel. Add olive oil in a small heavy saucepan, add garlic, cover and cook over very low heat for 20 minutes, or until softened but not browned.
Remove from heat and strain. Set oil aside to use later. When cool, cut cloves into lengthwise slivers and set aside.
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Add 1 cup of unbleached flour and stir thoroughly. Let sit for 15 minutes or until mixture is filled with tiny bubbles.
Add 2 tablespoons of reserved garlic oil and 1 more cup of unbleached flour and all of the whole wheat flour and salt to the yeast mixture.
Beat vigorously with a dough hook or a heavy sturdy spoon for 2 minutes. Gradually add more of the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough forms a mass and begins to pull away from sides of bowl.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead, adding more flour a little at a time as necessary for 8 to 10 minutes, or until you have a smooth elastic dough and blisters begin to develop on surface.
Place dough into an oiled bowl. Turn to coat the entire ball of the dough with oil. Cover with a tightly woven kitchen towel and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Sprinkle a well greased 13 x 18 inch baking sheet with cornmeal. Turn dough onto an oiled work surface. With the heel of your hand, flatten dough into an 11 x 16 inch rectangle. Lift dough onto baking sheet. Using hands, press dough into corners and edges of baking sheet.
Flattening dough with hands rather than a rolling pin will give the irregular texture associated with focaccia. Cover dough with towel and let rise 20 minutes.
Sprinkle top of dough with rosemary and the slivered garlic. Using fingertips, make indentations in dough about 1/2 inch deep and 1 inch apart, to give a dimpled effect. As you do this, press garlic slivers into dough to keep them from falling off or over cooking. Cover dough with towel and let rise an additional 20 minutes.
Place a shallow pan on lower shelf of oven and heat up.
Drizzle remaining garlic oil over top of focaccia. Use a brush to pat the oil over the entire surface, allowing any excess to pool in the indentations. Sprinkle with 1 to 2 teaspoons of coarse salt.
Put 1 cup of ice cubes in the heated shallow pan in the oven. Immediately put the focaccia in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until pale gold.
Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
Notes
It is best eaten slightly warm or at room temperature.
You can substitute Parmesan cheese for the salt, or use both.
Let me put a scenario to you. A terrible fire erupts at a local school. The fire brigade has arrived, but because of the ferocity of the blaze it won’t be possible to save everyone, leaving the fire chief with a decision. Should he:
A) Save as many people as possible.
Or
B) Let everyone die.
I’m assuming most people would choose option A. Because of sanity. I think most people would find a fire chief who chose option B – who, if ideal circumstances were impossible, chose to maximise death and suffering – a bit disappointing, to say the least. If we could give Jesus a call and ask him what to do, I’m having difficulty imagining him advising us to let everyone burn.
And yet people arguing that terminating an ectopic pregnancy is unethical are taking exactly this position. Everybody dies. If you can’t save absolutely everyone the ethical decision is the one where the highest number of people die.
Neither mother nor foetus can survive an ectopic pregnancy that runs it’s course. Nothing we do can save the foetus. The only person we can possibly save is the mother. There’s no saving everybody, there’s only saving as many people as possible.
So your response is… everybody dies! The ethical thing to do – nay, the Christian thing, is make the decision that shows the least compassion, that does no good whatsoever, that causes the most death and the most suffering. Its what Jesus would have wanted. For is it not said “treat others how you would want them to treat someone they were homicidally disposed towards.” Or something.
Best of all though, the reason your ethics demand that as many people as possible die, the reason you shouldn’t save anybody’s life in this situation, the reason you should maximise grief and suffering and death is… wait for it, this is a real thigh slapper… because you believe in the value of human life!
Now that is some seriously freaking warped reasoning.
Any system of morality which isn’t actually trying to do good and limit evil isn’t a system of morality, it’s a system of control. And a sick, twisted and cruel one at that.
EDIT: For all those people telling me nobody has a problem with treating ectopic pregnancies and I’m spreading disinformation, oh look! A bill that specifically criminalises treatment for ectopic pregnancies.
I’ve spent my life taking care of others in one way or another since I was 10 years old. Mom went to work, and I had to cook supper 6 days a week, do the dishes, clean the house, watch my younger siblings. I gave up my friends and my social life to take care of her family.
I did have a boyfriend at 15 and at 17 I got pregnant. Pretty much on purpose. I’d already asked my dad if I could get married and he said no. So, when my bf came home from boot camp, I just wasn’t careful and thought, if it happens it happens. It happened. I finished out my Junior year of High School and went to summer school, then moved to be with him near base. My baby was born, and I was taking care of a baby and husband.
We divorced so I had to get a job. Still taking care of my child.
When I remarried, again taking care of a husband, child and working now. I did quit for about a year then went back to work. I pretty much ended up taking care of people at the job too. People just can’t do their jobs, put things away, always need help. I was kind of an overseer.
After 20 years I quit. My son was raised, my husband didn’t need to be taken care of anymore, he learned to do some things on his own, I was having a good time with friends and making quilts.
Then my mother got sick after my dad died. My siblings and I took on different responsibilities to keep her in her home and every year more responsibilities were added as mom lost the ability to do things for herself. This went on for 13 years.
After mom died, I was excessively depleted. My siblings and I no longer can get along with each other, so we haven’t seen each other for at least 5 years. I have 3 grandsons, 2 who don’t want anything to do with family, including my son.
I’m just so burnt out on people and their drama. It’s just my husband and I. He goes and sees a couple of his friends from time to time. I let my friends go before mom passed, I just didn’t have the energy to “be” a friend.
I like it being just me and my husband. I don’t know what it will be like if he goes first. I don’t like it when he goes to his friends, but I don’t say anything because he should go, but I miss him even when he’s gone a short time. His job of 40 years took most of his time from me and now that I have him, I hate to be away from him.
Other people though, they just aren’t worth my effort. (I do see my son from time to time).
One night my then boyfriend, now fiance, and I were watching a movie. It was a romantic one – not his preferred genre and he fell asleep midway into the movie. I continued watching. The 2nd half turned out to be quite emotional. Near the end I started crying softly. He woke up to my tears and immediately wrapped his arms around me to sooth me. He asked if it was the movie and I nodded. Since it was already late, we went to bed shortly afterwards.
The next morning I woke up, readied myself for the day and headed downstairs. He was eating breakfast in front of the TV – his usual routine before work. As I rounded the corner, I saw he was watching the movie from the night before. I was surprised as he was clearly not that interested then. “Why are you watching this?” I asked. He gave me a sweet, sincere look and said, “I wanted to see what made you cry.”
My fiance is not one for grand, sweeping gestures but it’s the every day small things that he does that melts me.
———————————————————
Update from the morning after:
me: OMG! OMG! *screaming*
him: hunnie, when you scream like that I think something is wrong with the house
me: baby! the quora post i wrote last night reached 1.4K upvotes!! ahhh!!
him: wow thats great baby! …can you stop screaming?
me: See?! I always say you do the sweetest stuff!!
him: *chuckle* as long as you like it baby
GEN-Z is literally f**king brain dead and I’m genuinely scared…
Why should the US contain China? Has China threatened the US? I think it is the other way around. The US has threatened China. The US has been the world’s predator nation.
I think the industrial-military complex always has to have an enemy in view or it loses funding and interests. Yesterday it was Russia, today, Russia is fading so the US has a new enemy, China. The rationale is China’s rise. When China was poor, China was befriended and used to increase the wealth of US multinationals. As China rose, concerns started to pop up, China could not be easily dominated by western interests. Now that China is competitive, especially in America’s monopoly of technology, the US has chosen to oppose China. It no longer wants to compete probably because it realizes that because of China’s size and her growth in STEM education, the US could lose its dominance in tech. The US has chosen not to work together.
What Americans seem not to realize is that much of America’s technology rise was built on immigrants. In today’s world, that technology strength comes dominantly from China and India. 75% of tech workers in Silicon Valley are immigrants. 80% of graduate STEM students are foreigners. In both cases Chinese and Indians dominate the demographics.
What seems disconcerting is that Trump is destroying that strength with his racist immigration policies.. What used to be the pot at the end of the rainbow for many immigrants in technology is becoming a nightmare. From engineers to doctors, H1-B and L-1 visas are being reduced and recently Trump is making them denied to certain STEM graduate students and workers. Their path to citizenship has become a nightmare. Their dream of being an American is no longer visible. Many are looking at other countries. Canada and the EU are the current choice of destinations plus their own home countries. India and China welcomes these STEM grads which will help their efforts to increase their presence in technology to compete with the US and each other.
The further the US demonizes China, the more Chinese students and investments in the US will dry up. American isolationism is succeeding and US political and economic interests in the world are starting to fall. Yes, the US can surround China militarily, like we did with the Soviet Union. Did we gain anything except to make our military might greater? Have Americans improved their life style and economic situations? Have we succeeded in overcoming poverty? Have we improved our infrastructure? Have we improved the lives of our citizens? You know the answer.
1. Marijuana laws. It took me almost the first 20-years of my career to see how much time I was wasting for a crime that no one from the county attorneys, to judges, to juries, to the general public were happy to see. I’d find an ounce of weed, wasting three to four hours of my shift, while calls were backing up and the guy hauling metric tons of meth drove by.
Later, I left the Midwest and came to Alaska which made the point almost moot. Since a 1970′s supreme court case, personal possession of Marijuana in your house was legal (and offenses involving it in other areas were considered rather minor). Then several years ago, Marijuana was legalized here.
I have yet to find one police officer who has ever fought against anyone high just on Marijuana. Or, been to any type of assault call involving just Marijuana.
If I could ban alcohol and make Marijuana legal, we could lay off half of the police forces, social workers and judges in the US. It’s the alcohol that’s the problem, not stoners. And no, I’ve never used the drug.
2. Prostitution laws (not sex trafficking). It is illegal to sell what can be given away. Odd. I’ve told many county and district attorneys that if they ever get me on a jury involving this type case, I would hang the jury so fast, I’d make their head spin because I’d be so angry at them for wasting my time.
3. Bar closing times. I could never understand why grown adults can’t decide how late they want to stay out and consume alcohol or even go to the store and buy some. Especially for those on second shift.
4. Alcohol and nudity laws. Many states have laws that you can’t have a beer or liquor license and allow nude or even semi-nude performances. The kicker? Many states allow customers to BYOB. The same owners at times have owned the liquor store right next to the strip club…Huh?
5. 21 years old as a drinking age. You can serve your country, vote, go to jail, marry and in some states, become a police officer before you can legally drink?
I’ve been in 65 countries. Many of them have the legal age from 16 to 18 years old (none have the age as high as ours), and they don’t have the issues with ETOH we do.
6. Gambling laws. In the 1970′s, Iowa was so backwards, state agents raided church Bingo. Seriously. Why does society care if I pick Texas A&M to beat Auburn and decide to bet a hundred?
Now that the states have sanctioned gambling, the remaining laws seem to be there to stop the competition.
7. Seatbelt laws. The Nanny State has to tell you how to be safe. I don’t enforce a “drink milk or get fined”, or join the “eat your vegetables or ticket” campaign.
You not wearing seatbelts does not affect a third person, therefore I fail to see how the state is concerned about seatbelts any more than, say, ordering people not to eat lard directly out of the can.
8. High and always getting higher traffic fines to plug government spending gaps. I remember when I started in law enforcement and speeding tickets started at around $30 (total). A sting to gain compliance.
Now many states (looking at you, California) use a sledgehammer. Between the fine, court costs and surcharges, tickets run in the mid to high three figures in some areas.
9. The FAA minimum flight hours for airline transport pilots that went from 250 hours to 1500 hours. The Colgan Air crash was not related in any way to low-time pilots. Both pilots had high flight time hours, but made rookie mistakes. This was the FAA looking for a law where there was no problem.
While US carriers are having trouble finding pilots, and some are canceling flights, going bankrupt and raising fares, other countries, (including the EU) still allow low-time pilots to fly as a co-pilot. Those planes are not falling out of the sky…and they are still allowed to land in the States.
10. Artificially low speed limits. Rural areas with low traffic and with good roads (dating from before the national speed limit laws of the 1970′s and can handle high speeds) need to properly reflect what the drivers can handle.
I’ve driven the Autobahn many times. In rural areas, there is no set speed limit, while in developed areas there is a reasonable speed limit. Makes sense to me.
11. CCW permits. In Alaska and Vermont, you don’t need a government agency to tell you that you are allowed to exercise your Second Amendment right.
12. Smoking rules in commercial businesses. I say let capitalism run her majestic course. If people do not want to be around smokers, those places that allow smoking will go out of business. We don’t need the Nanny State telling businesses what they can and can’t do.
Proof that this has nothing to do with secondhand smoke? Why is smokeless tobacco also banned in many areas? How is chewing tobacco affecting anyone?
*UPDATE: 99.9 percent of the people responded to the seatbelt statement. I would have never guessed that would be the contentious issue out of the 12.
I guess society has changed; I’m old enough to remember my mother holding my baby brother in her arms while I sat on the third row with the seat folded down in the station wagon.
No one cared about seatbelts, but society at that time cared about Marijuana, gambling, paid sex workers including strip joints and alcohol sale hours.
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: I have been repeatedly asked if society can specifically exclude the safety net to people who refuse to wear seatbelts and have an accident. Here is my answer:
Only if we allow society to exclude other activities that it might not agree with. No coverage for smokers, excess drinkers, speeders, those who have sex with random people, those who partake in risky pastimes, or those who are obese.
Of course, we never think of the costs to society for the activities we agree with or partake in and how we normally expect everyone to pick up the tab for something they’d never do.
Should/can insurance require higher premiums? Sure, they are a private business and they already do: higher premiums for smokers, and – in many states – those who are males, those with bad credit, those unmarried and those of a certain age.
To be intelligently sound, you either believe in freedom from government interference for victimless crimes or you don’t. You don’t pick and choose. Many of my 12 I don’t personally agree with, but I believe the choice is up to the person.
Harry Potter but as a Drunkard in a remote Russian Village.
I very briefly dated a girl who was several years younger than me. I think I was 29ish and she was 21.
We were messaging each other on WhatsApp and after a while she insisted that I get Snapchat so she could message me on that. I downloaded it and was given instructions that the pictures only last for a few seconds before they are deleted.
I, in my tiny male mind, assumed she was going to send me titilating photos of herself in various states of undress.
I was excited!
What I actually got was lots of pictures of breakfasts. Lots of pictures of the back of someone’s head with “bored on the bus LOL” as a caption. Lots of pictures of books with “studying” as the caption.
I simply didn’t get why anyone would remotely care about mundane normal stuff, let alone want a picture of it?
She chastised me for not sending her many messages back on it. I sent maybe one every couple of days if I thought I was doing something vaguely interesting. “Here’s a nice view from this place I’m working” or, “Here’s a nice dog I met this morning” was about the best I could come up with.
Anyway, after a few days she said me to me, “You just don’t get it do you?” and I agreed.
Nope. I don’t get it.
And then it struck me. For the first time a massive part of youth culture was beyond my understanding. I simply don’t get the current youth’s need to send pictures to each other of completely mundane day to day things.
I’m too old to understand.
I’m not sure if Snapchat was the sole reason for it, but she decided she wasn’t interested in me shortly after.
Harry Potter as a Mexican Soap Opera | Telenovelas are Hell
Ever wondered what prompted the US to start a dedicated spy agency?
It wasn’t the Russians. It wasn’t a Nazi plot.
It was a mine.
Here’s what happened:
It’s 1916. The Western Front has become a gigantic stalemate. The Germans can’t push through the Allied line, and the Allies can’t push through the German line.
The Germans are trying to figure out a way to demoralize the French, whose country everyone is fighting in (and generally making a mess of). They’ve got a gun that they constructed in 1914, called the Paris Gun (or “Big Bertha” by the Allies). It’s the largest gun built during the war (the barrel alone is over 34 meters – that’s more than 111 feet – long!) and it lobs 211 mm shells nearly 95 miles. Test firing indicates that it can definitely hit Paris from a permanent position. Several are built.
But with all good things, there is an end. And unfortunately for the Germans, there is a nasty issue with the Paris gun: the metal they’re using is normal steel, and has a really bad habit of melting after firing more than four or five of their mega-caliber shells. After several guns are able to let loose only a couple shells before having to have an expensive barrel replacement, German High Command is disgusted and instructs the German war machine to figure out a solution.
The Germans poke around in their laboratories. A young chemist discovers that a hitherto mostly ignored element, molybdenum, can help improve the tensile strength of their steel if mixed in the right amounts (.2-.3% molybdenum mixed into the steel.) High Command is thrilled: this is the solution they’re looking for! They order several new barrels for the Paris Guns to be constructed with the new alloy.
There’s just one problem: the only known source of molybdenum is in the United States – the Climax Mine, in Colorado. (Another source was discovered in China later on, but not until after the war.) And by the point in our story that this happened, the Germans were not exactly on good terms with the good ol’ U.S. of A.
High Command scratches its head, thinks really hard, and comes up with a brilliant plan.
A few weeks later, a small team of German “tourists” disembark in New York. According to what others hear them say, they plan to head up to Colorado and do a little ‘prospecting’.
The Climax Mine is owned by a small mining group who have been able to get very little money out of it. They originally thought the element they’re bringing up in .30% quantities was silver, but unfortunately it’s not silver – its an element that very few people seem to have any use for.
Along come the German “tourists”, who’ve you guessed by now are actually German government agents. The Germans offer to buy the mine for an extremely cheap amount. But while they’d be happy to sell the unprofitable mining operation, the owners are unwilling to sell for the offered pittance.
A “bad neighbor war” breaks out. The Germans are DETERMINED to get that mine, whilst the owners are just as determined to avoid selling. The German team rents a shack near the mine and camps out, pressuring the owners to sell the mine. Both sides harass the others with shotguns in the middle of the night, with dogs, and with arguments and confrontation.
Eventually, the Germans exit the field victorious: the owners, tired of constant harassment and (according to some reports) in serious fear for their lives, sell the mine for the asking price. The German team, glowing in their victory, starts extracting the molybdenum and quietly shipping it back to Germany by the shipload. The new barrels for the Paris Guns are built, and Paris suffers shell damage throughout much of the remainder of the war.
When it’s discovered, after the war, that the Germans had an entire team of their own agents in the USA, extracting and exporting a rare, war-essential resource without the sanctioning of the United States government, there is a great deal of anger running loose in the upper echelons of government. Plans are formulated to form an agency to prevent similar happenings in the future, should a war break out. These were the first plans for the OSS.
As we all know, the CIA was formed from the base of the OSS. But the plans for the OSS would never have come into being if a team of Germans hadn’t penetrated to the very heart of the United States and shipped metal off to shell Paris.
EDIT: 12/26/2021. So I’ve been getting a LOT of comments on how the dates are wrong, the Paris Guns weren’t called Big Berthas (they were, as were all large-caliber German weapons during the war) and how the Germans actually pulled molybdenum from a small mine in Norway rather than the American mine.
While some parts of the story can be found elsewhere (see link below) I cannot verify it from multiple sources, and must therefore reluctantly conclude that this story, for all it’s coolness, is only about 50% accurate.
I was first told this story by my grandfather, who is generally very truthful and historically accurate. However, it seems that in this instance he was greatly exaggerating.
China was Given an $80 Billion Project by Afghanistan, Making America Angry
I wanted to go anonymous as I don’t want anybody to feel sympathy on me.
I was married to wonderful person on may 29, 2015, who always take care of me more than my parents. Since it was an arranged marriage, we decided to have baby a year later so that we can understand and have time for each other. A year later, when we decided to have baby my brother’s marriage got fixed. So we planned to postpone for another 3 months. But god had another plan for us.
My brother died on an accident and it brought a total loss to the family. May be I’m unable to express here how his loss impacted our life. My mother still not recovered and my father is just living his life. This is the day I cried most and I’m still crying and could not overcome such loss.
After 3 months of my brother’s loss, myself and my husband decided to have baby, so that baby can change my parents thought process . I also got pregnant and parents were happy and was proudly saying that I’m going to bring back my brother. In April 21, 2016 in anamoly scan it was told that baby had a congenital heart disease. It was told by the doctor, that, Even if the baby is born, it has to be treated as soon as possible or it will be dead. The doctor claimed even after the operation they cannot assure of life of the kid. So we both planned to abort instead of making the baby to suffer from birth itself. That day I cried like a hell and it took an year to recover from the incident.
Somehow we managed to overcome from the incidents and tried to live a happy and normal life.
A year after abortion, again we planned for baby. Now I’m 7 weeks pregnant and went to scan centre to check my baby’s heart beat. But doctor said this time yur baby has died already and doesnot have a heart beat.
There are no words to describe our pain. As others say, God will have other plans for yu. It is not at all true. I don’t find any meaning in living my life again.
These incidents made me to cry, making me to cry and will make to cry.
China’s Waiting For The U.S. To Make THIS Ultimate Mistake
I rented the same place for over twenty years before moving recently. Years ago I was sitting out on my deck one evening and to my shock FBI and DEA agents with rifles drawn were swarming my back yard from both sides to jump the fence between my property and the driveway area of the property next to me. Of course this pissed off my dogs and I had to drag them inside barking like crazy. From the kitchen I could hear the guy yelling “I ain’t do anything, I’m just down in the basement watching TV! You’re harassing me!” I quickly hear, funny I don’t see a TV but I see you’re running a meth lab!” Anyway, about a week or two later I get a call from my landlord. He tells me the same guy had called him and filed a police report because my dogs were too loud. Landlord started laughing and said the police officer stopped by his house since he knew him and I was out at work when he came by. He said he told the officer that you’d expect my dogs to bark and be extra on edge in the back yard after the raid of the neighbors house! Cop laughs, and from his cell phone calls the guy and tells him he’ll tell me to keep my dogs quiet if he can keep from making meth. Guy was never seen or heard from again, lol.
In the throes of active heroin and methamphetamine addiction, there is always an angle. There are no acts of kindness or altruistic events. Everything, down to the smallest of favors, comes with a price. If I need a ride, I owe you two bags. If you need a spot, you owe me dub. If you accept what is labeled a gift, you will undoubtedly and eventually be called to repay that debt. When I was actively using, what was given as a gift in good times, was remembered as a marker in bad times. And if ever comes a day you’re called on to make good and you can’t, or won’t, you’re labeled bad money. Which, as an addict with a habit, might as well be a death sentence.
Having lived that way for most of my life, I struggle to take people at face value when they’re being kind.
Tomorrow I start a project for an airline pilot. I was referred to them by a mutual acquaintance. When I offered to give that acquaintance a percentage of the projected profit, they looked at me like I was an alien. I pushed for them to take the money because I was afraid they’d call on me to pay that debt in the future, which is always uncertain. They refused and made it very clear they had referred me because I was a good fit for the work this pilot was interested in having done. They wanted nothing in return.
I could feel myself wanting to push for them to take the money. I don’t want to owe anyone anything. I like being free from that cycle I was stuck in for all those years. So I’ve been working on taking people at face value. If they say it, I try to believe it. But it isn’t easy.
The subtle details I’ve trained myself to notice are internal. They’re in my behaviors and actions when I’m on the receiving end of kindness. When someone is nice I start to withdraw and isolate. It’s not that it rubs me wrong, it’s more a fear that I won’t be able to repay that kindness. And the reason I’ve trained myself to notice this isolating behavior in myself? Isolation leaves me with the one person who has historically been able to justify getting high again. Myself.
CODE RED EMERGENCY: PENTAGON IN PANIC, BIDEN BRIEFED, RUSSIAN “SPACE NUKES TRIGGER MASS PANIC”
Today, this June 2023, China is the dominant nation in the world.
In every metric, China dominates.
Some metrics are obvious and astounding. Where it is obvious that China is the predominant nation in the world in that particular role.
Lifestyle for it’s citizenry.
Destruction of poverty.
Elimination of air pollution.
Manufacturing ability.
New technologies.
And so on and so forth.
It is no mistake that the rest of the world (well, the nations that are not proxies of the United States, that is) turn to China. They turn to China for trade. For economics. For science, and manufacturing. They turn to China for help and assistance. They turn to China for guidance, and direction.
They turn to China.
…
Now that being the truth, you have a multi-billion anti-china funded effort. This effort is designed to keep the American public, and the citizens of the proxy nations, ignorant of reality. Anything positive or neutral is withheld, and colored with outrageous lies. There’s no other way to describe the war propaganda; it’s untruths, and lies that are the direct opposite of the truth.
And if you, the reader are not aware of this, shame on you.
…
The rest of the world is turning into a multi-polar world based on individual national sovereignty, They no longer use American currency, follow and obey American laws, rules and conventions, and are distancing themselves from the insanity that has gripped the United States and dragging it downward.
There are exceptions.
A “color revolution” in Thailand, and South Korea has placed “puppet governments” in power. And the first things that these puppets do is pull their nations closer to the United States, and then engage in a war where many of their countrymen are killed.
It’s the United States method of Geo-Politics.
…
But, back to the question about China.
Do you know what the United States will look like in 2040? Do you know the projections? What are the economic, social, scientific, and cultural changes that will manifest int he United States in 2040?
Well, you don’t know.
Because there just isn’t any writings, projections, or videos about this subject. The United States has no plans for this far in the future. Instead the United States fully intends to “kick the can down the road” and let someone else deal with the various messes and problems that are sprouting up left and right everywhere.
RAND studies are looking at regional wars, and proxy war and color revolutions well into the next decade. But NOTHING about building the American domestic society. Nothing about the future of schools, society, and infrastructure. It’s almost as if those issues are not important.
But…
China knows.
China knows what the world will look like in 2040.
…
I see a prosperous China. Where China is a wealthy nation. Far wealthier than anything in Europe today.
I see a vibrant, and healthy Africa. Crime being eliminated, and social services expanding as industry does as well.
I see South America growing and modernizing. And like Africa, a strong middle class.
I see Chinese bases on the Moon, and the start of a Chinese colony on the surface of Mars.
I also see some amazing breakthroughs in national governance across the world where nations restructure their nations to be more efficient like China, and to punish the evil and greedy like China has.
Yes.
…
I see a bright future ahead.
And it is all starting today with the global leadership of China.
Mandatory Paternity Test LAW Passed Now GUESS WHO’s MAD
Italian Spinach Bread
Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, minced
Scant 2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup reserved spinach liquid
2 1/2 teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast (not RapidRise)
Lightly sauté the garlic in oil, then let cool to room temperature.
Warm 1/4 cup spinach for yeast to activate (105 to 115 degrees F).
Stir yeast, sugar into warm spinach water in large mixing bowl; let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Add remaining 1/2 cup room-temperature spinach liquid, garlic with oil, the spinach and nutmeg and stir thoroughly.
Mix the flour and salt into the spinach mixture.
Knead on floured surface, sprinkling w/additional flour to absorb moisture from the spinach, until dough is well marbled, soft and velvety, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
Shaping and second rise – Dough will be wetter after first rise. Put dough onto a floured surface and flour the top of dough – don’t punch down or knead. Shape into round loaf and put on lightly oiled baking sheet (or parchment on the baking sheet).
Cover with a towel and let rise for about 45 minutes.
Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Slash a big V on top of loaf with sharp knife.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to 400 degrees F and bake an additional 30-35 minutes.
I didn’t actually see it. I wish I had. I was in the kitchen when it happened.
It was a popular pizza restaurant that served cheap beer and lots of it. In big heavy frosty mugs. Until the owner replaced all of the expensive and fragile glass mugs with plastic ones.
I remember how he was real proud of the fact that he had found cheap plastic mugs that looked exactly like the ones he’d always used. And it was true, they were nearly identical and looked totally like glass.
So, of course, customers started throwing beer all over themselves when they would pick up the now much lighter mugs. That in and of itself is pretty funny. But it gets better.
So the owner quickly instructs the wait staff to say something like, “Before I give you your beer, I want to warn you that the new mugs are much lighter so be careful.”
That was going well until a boisterous group of relatively young men sat down in the large corner booth. This booth was kind of isolated from the others, so perhaps they didn’t hear this spiel given to other tables.
The waitress shows up with a tray of 8 beers and proceeds to say, “Now before I can give you your beer . . .”
“Just give me my damn beer,” the nearest one says while he grabs a beer off the tray.
Because the tray was at eye level to him, he didn’t just spill his beer. No. He threw it right in his own face.
And threw his hands up as if to push away whoever was attacking him with this beer shower.
And hit the tray. The unbalanced—due to his impetuous actions—tray of beer. The tray upends and drops the remaining 7 mugs of beer on the table.
Hearing the commotion and swearing, I ran to the dining room to find 8 people swimming in beer, trying to exit, one by one, from a tight booth. The waitress, covered in beer too, couldn’t help herself. She was laughing so hard she had tears running down her face.
Later she said that she knew she should be apologizing, but it was so clearly their own doing that she couldn’t stop.
They didn’t stay. But they did pay for their beers before they left. That was thanks to a couple of police officers who frequented the place.
The U.S. Military just Crossed China’s RED LINE and War is Coming
I pulled out a Paetron video for you all to enjoy. It’s the start of the Dragon Year 2024. Please enjoy it, you all. For those who already watched it, please check it out again.
Enjoy this video.
MM discusses a rebuilding of the Reality Universe substructure
A question…
I really enjoyed this but now I have so many more questions!
Didn’t know you still do missions and I wish I knew what “polishing” is…
An answer
I am retired from MAJestic. But I am still active in Domain.
As far as “polishing” is concerned…
“Polishing” is like dipping a piece of fly paper into a thick vegetable soup. Then pulling it out.
The chunky bits all cling to the paper. You then scrape the paper clean (or get a new sheet), and repeat the process.
Over time, the soup gets less “chunky” and full of stuff, and is more like really sluggish and calm water.
Hmmm. I guess it was when my parents were divorcing. My father purposefully put mom in dire financial trouble. He even somehow cancelled my credit cards and cleaned out my college fund which I hadn’t touched yet, even tho I was 21. She was suddenly behind in house payments and taxes, because even tho he said he was paying everything, he pocketed the money for months and years. So, yeah. I gave mom all my savings, dropped out of school midterm and went to work full time to get her back on track. I gave her my entire paychecks. After about a year she was ok again. And karma found the sperm donor and took him down. Story for another time tho. Secondly was quitting my job to care for my mom when she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, which had spread everywhere. She became bedridden pretty quickly I was her 24/7 caregiver for over a year. I wouldn’t let her go to a place where she couldn’t get one-on-one attention. She had every complication possible. Rashes, wounds, meds, diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, everything. She would be confused and call me every 15 minutes for something. She required 3–5 full bed changes and cleanings a day at times. Hospice told me it was the worst case they’d seen in 25 years. But I stayed. Caregivers I hired at $50/hr to get a few hours relief would leave because it was “too much work.” But I stayed. I may have had no outside life, only got 3–4 hours of sleep a night, and was an emotional wreck, but I know I did everything I could have done for her. She passed a few months ago and I’m still riding all the emotions while trying to figure out my life again.
Already entitled and lazy, once she realized that I’m reliable, not stupid and could be trusted to do her work, she started dumping on me. Eventually I was doing her job and mine for four days out of five while she called in either “sick” or “working from home today” or .”out on appointments” or “cold-calling” every day except payday Fridays.
Or one or the other of her children or husband was sick, or had an appointment, or the car broke down. Like she fucking thought I was that damned stupid. Every. Single. Day.
When I complained to her brother the company owner about my overwhelming workload, I was told that I just needed to learn how to prioritize.
Eventually he was spending more and more time on the golf course and dumping on me himself. I became a de facto office manager without the salary, I was running their company for them in their absence on my secretary’s wages. Everything from invoicing, collections, and banking to sales and installation support and inventory to making coffee and vacuuming to painting walls.
Yeah, I quit without notice. And without me, they not only had to get off their asses and do their own jobs but had to figure how I’d spent 45 hours a week, because neither one of them had any idea. Clueless about customer service, answering the phone, taking and filling customer orders, shipping and receiving, reception and typing and filing and billing. Without me they didn’t even know where the vending machine keys were. I guess neither one was smart enough to figure it out, because less than a year after I quit they bankrupted the business.
My supervisor ended up giving $6 haircuts at the Hair Cuttery for tips.
Are ‘Girls Trips’ on Spring Break Okay When Married?
I’m sure there are examples more disgusting than this, but this is the one that sticks in my mind.
I was a Teaching Fellow at Harvard while getting my Ph.D. There was a student in my section who clearly had money to burn and the attitude that the world was his toy to play with. He came to me on the day a paper was due, smiled his expensive Tom Cruise smile, and said he hadn’t gotten his assignment done because he spent Spring Break in the Bahamas, so he’d get it to me when he had a chance. He seemed to think this would be absolutely fine. I told him how much his grade would drop each day it was late, and he shrugged and sauntered out.
Later, close to the end of a semester of this kind of performance from him, I explained exactly how many points he needed on the Final to pass the course.
He didn’t pass.
He then proceeded to come in with a multi-page detailed analysis explaining how I had graded his exam wrong. If he had put that much effort into studying for the test, he would have passed.
He clearly expected me to change his grade and pass him, because otherwise he wouldn’t graduate and would have to take summer school to get his diploma, and he already had a job lined up at his dad’s law firm. And to my amazement, the professor of the course wanted me to do exactly that — either he was afraid of what the powerful lawyer-dad might do if we failed his kid, or he just didn’t want the bother. I had to fight to get him to follow through with the clearly stated consequences for this kid’s actions.
I saw the kid later during the summer term. He didn’t look quite so entitled then.
I was hired by a Director at a software company, she was remote, her team was remote, I was remote, and the team was Project Management (overseeing the implementation of enterprise facility management software). BUT then the Director of the implementation team was more short-handed, so I was given that director instead. Fine. I’d done all of the roles before, I was just happy to be working there, and able to help the clients, and give articulate feedback to the dev team, which I did.
I was the only one on the Implementation team (including the Director) who’d actually been a Solutions Consultant before. Talking to the clients about their needs, importing their existing data, customizing the software to meet their needs, helping them with training, etc. The rest of my team were total noobs. It’s cool, we all had to start somewhere. So, everyone on the team would come to me with questions.
I’d started off as a CAD Manager (dealing with the drafting and design software), so when our tech support team would have a difficult issue with a client’s drawing files, they’d call me in, and I’d help them out. They were SUPER grateful. Like they knew all about their own software, but AutoCAD and Revit are a whole different company, and they weren’t experts.
About six months in, my Director told me I needed to move to a different state because the remote work wasn’t working out. Uh, really? Because my two biggest clients were actually in the same city as me, and I’d been doing this job remotely for clients all over the country for years.
Whatever. I was let go because I couldn’t relocate. (I was in the middle of a divorce, and I’m physically disabled. My kids and I needed family support, and they legally needed to remain near their Dad.)
***The wild thing was, when the head of the support team heard that I’d been let go… he quit.***
He was tired of not having anyone else in the company to turn to for help, and I’d been that person for him, and the clients were all happier with quicker, more effective resolutions, and clear documentation for the knowledgebase.
He and I are still friends. That director didn’t last much longer there either and went back into real estate.
A little background: I was a 13yo city kid. I previously joined the Boy Scouts but having made only 2nd Class, I was invited to leave by the Scoutmaster for swearing. Hey..we were city. Short time later we were snow sliding not far from the tenement and I got the bright idea to pick up a long sheet of scrap metal from a nearby mill. I found out if you pulled the end up like a toboggan you rocketed down the hill. On one run I really picked up speed and my ‘sled’ went out of control spinning and I landed at the bottom covered in snow and laughing. I looked up the hill and a line of my friends were just staring at me. I yelled “what?” and they pointed to my hand. I had gone out wearing a pair of my sisters white wool gloves. I looked at my left hand and that glove was soaked in blood and dripping fast. I stumbled up the hill to try and run home. At one point I knelt and pulled the glove off. I had severed my left thumb down to the bone along with the arteries and blood was pumping out of my body. A friend stayed with me as everyone went to get help. By this time the snow around me was crimson. I was getting dizzy. I knew I was in trouble. I told my friend to find a stick and told him to give me his bootlace. I told him how to tie a tourniquet and told him to keep winding that stick until the blood stopped. He was shaking and crying. I remember telling him it’s going to be all right. The bleeding did stop but there was blood everywhere. I looked up to see my mother running towards me. I remember saying “I’m sorry mommy” and I guess I passed out. I woke up in a rescue and the EMT asked who tied the tourniquet and I said I remembered from Boy Scouts and out again. A week in the hospital and my thumb reattached and today as good as new. One of the things I remembered before getting kicked out of Scouts was First Aid.
In 2016, Abdullahi Abdisalam Borleh was a suicide bomber who had explosives in his laptop as he boarded airplane from Somalia,Daallo Airlines.
He had come in as someone who had difficulty in walking and he claimed his purpose for travelling was health related.
Twenty minutes after taking off from Mogadishu, Somalia at an altitude of 14,000ft an explosion occurred inside the aircraft. There were 74 passengers and 7 crew members on board.
The explosion created this opening.
He was sucked out of the plane from this opening.
His intention was to kill everyone on the plane, but as fate had it, He was the only one who died.
He was the only fatality and the plane’s controls were unaffected by the blast allowing the pilot able to fly the plane back to Mogadishu safely.
My boss was a prankster so I should have seen this coming.
Not sure if it was April fools but the joke was on me!
I worked for a company based very near Heathrow Airport. One year I booked a three-week holiday to the Philippines with my family.
Long-term car parking would have cost hundreds of pounds, but my boss had a secretary lived nearby. She said I could use their driveway as they would be away too. Just pop the keys in their letter box, bring a spare and drive myself home when we got back since she would be at work.
It all worked fine.
About a week after I got back I had a meeting with my boss. I am a field manager so we used to meet at a local Hilton convenient to us both.
So we meet up and were having our discussion when he excuses himself to go to the loo. He’s away a while so I assume he’s just having a dump.
At the end of our meeting we say our goodbyes, I go off to my car. Its gone! I check everywhere! I’m sure I remembered where I parked it! No it’s gone! Some bastard stole it! My beautiful blue Mercedes C class!
I run back in panicking! I see my boss still packing up his lap top. I tell him what happened. He’s not surprised! He’s laughing!
What?
He waves my key at me !
The bastard had been given my key by his secretary and asked to return it to me . He’d taken the opportunity to move my car to the far corner of the car park! No wonder I couldn’t find it!
When I saw a significant theft on the job, I held off, thinking on the subject until quitting time. As my fellow employee prepared to leave I approached him, saying I knew what he wanted to take and it was in his knapsack. He gave me an innocent look and denied any such thing. I advised him what would probably happen if management “accidentally” found out about attempted theft as he exited the building. Then I explained how he would feel later, how it would probably affect his performance, and what little gain he was going to get -vs- his possible loss of employment as well as a black-mark on employment history.
He stood quite for a moment then explained the item was supposed to be a birthday gift to his son. Sympathetically, I asked him how much he could afford for a gift. He had about half the money he needed if he paid retail price. I knew the owner/manager well so I told my fellow employee to replace the item while I asked what could be arranged.
The owner seemed proud the employee’s son would receive an item his company produced and gave me a reduced figure. I paid the difference, asking the owner to accept the amount the employee had saved. We went to the production area, selected a newly inspected item, packaged it and presented it to the employee who beamed with excitement. Then he hesitated, explaining he only had half the value saved. The owner simply accepted the amount, grinned and told him not to tell other employees about today’s deep discount. The day, and a man’s dignity had been saved.
In my first two weeks after finishing in the training school I was put with Alan.
Alan was a very experienced officer and I was assured I would learn plenty from Alan.
So we are driving down the street when Alan suddenly declares “There’s Fingers Malone. He must have just been released. Sit in the back!”
Alan then pulls up alongside this criminal.
“Hi Fingers. How are you doing? Just got out have you?
“Yeah.”
“Where are you heading? Home?”
“Yeah”
“Well we’re heading that way. Why don’t you jump in and we’ll give you a lift?”
Fingers then gets in the patrol car where I had previously been seated.
“So did you have a bit of a party when you got out?”
“Yeah”
“I bet your old mates Wiry and Doggo were there eh?”
“Yeah”
“Anyone else”
“Yeah, Jacko and Freddie were there too.”
“Here we are King Street. What number was it?
“28”
“Here we are number 28. Right to your door”
“Thank very much. Sometimes I think you guys are better to me than my mates”
“Stay out of trouble”
“OK Steve you can come back up front now. Have you got your notebook?
“Yes” says I.
“Take this down”
“Fingers Malone is residing at no 28 King Street. He is still associating with known criminals Wiry Burns, Doggo Johnson, Freddie Duggan and Jacko Carpenter.”
I was blown away. Alan had skilfully attained information that was highly useful to the collator. (It would now be done on a computer but in those days by paper.)
To illustrate how useful – I took a call from someone who had their tool van broken into and they had noticed a man known to us (criminal) hanging around.
Found that man’s address from the collator sent a car there and it arrived just as this person was unloading his van of a load of stolen tools.
As he was arrested and cautioned his reply was “Fuck me that was the fastest I have ever been arrested.”
After my father died, my mother was incredibly lonely, she was the type of person who couldn’t be alone. My dad, brother and I were never like this. She just never felt complete if she didn’t have someone in her life.
I was a workaholic, and wasn’t giving her the attention she needed, my brother had his own young family to look after. We just didn’t understand how lonely she was, because when we visited, she wasn’t lonely, she had us.
We started going on road trips, and at first she would lose her train of thought, and not be able to finish a sentence. She couldn’t walk a half block without resting.
After taking a three week road trip, and going for a walk every night, she was back to normal.
But she quickly backslid, and I asked her to move in with me. She was reluctant, because she didn’t want to ruin my life. But she said she would give it some thought, and then she had a stroke and died.
For people who don’t get lonely, its hard for us to imagine what someone who does, feels after years of loneliness.
But I finally got it, albeit, too late.
You say you have lived alone for 15 years, and tried everything. Does that include online dating, there are plenty of fish in the sea, especially if you aren’t too picky, and just need someone. Don’t be afraid to contact men, don’t wait for them to approach you. This is how I met my wife. If this hasn’t worked, try volunteering to fill up your empty hours. You will undoubtedly meet other lonely souls, and don’t be afraid to make the first move. All of my long time girlfriends and my wife, approached me first.
“I never even used that pot! It was the morning shift!” – this was the last lie Stefani told me while she was still employed by me, because I fired her on the spot. Somehow everything that happened around her was always someone else’s fault, but people do occasionally lie, so I let it go until she lied about three different coworkers in one day, trying to get them in trouble for no apparent reason.
Stephani was the sole lunch cook in a small store I own, and she was a problem from day one. She spoke to her coworkers like they were dogs, constantly corrected and bullied them even when she was a new hire being trained by them, and she excused it all by saying that she “always speaks the truth and won’t hold her tongue” and “that’s just how she talks, she can’t help it”. She was also a sneaky bitch, because she tried to kiss my ass, but even with me her temper and pathological need to be right would assert itself, and she’d flash out until she got it under control again. With everyone else, she was constantly insulting them, berating them, and lying about them. You might think that it takes more than one person to carry on a feud, but Stephani proved that she could do it all on her own.
Her job wasn’t hard, because sales were low at that store when I bought it and we’re branded by a chain that mostly has ready-to-fry foods. She had to come in and fry chicken, sides, and make a lunch special, and she had to do the occasional burger or sandwich. Other than that she just needed to prep for the following day, and clean the kitchen and the equipment at the end of her shift, which only takes an hour. The other cooks who had worked her shift had all had lunch out on time, gotten the special orders (those the cashiers can’t put together by the hot case) out in a timely manner, cooked until an hour before their shift ended, and left a clean kitchen with food prepped for the next shift. Stefani, on the other hand, couldn’t get the food out on time, and it was always the breakfast cook’s fault for not getting out her way. She had similar excuses for why she couldn’t prep, and when the kitchen was a filthy mess it was always because someone else made it that way.
We cook our own lunch specials but everything else is branded, and those foods have to be made and they have to be made according to certain standards, but Stefani tried to take advantage of my absences from the store (I have other businesses, a full time job, and a family) to stop doing those items and just do her own cooking that wasn’t even selling in this small town. When her more senior coworkers would politely remind her about the way she was supposed to cook, she make arrogant statements like: “Oh, I know how to cook. I don’t cook according to recipes, I do my own, and these people will either eat it or they can go somewhere else”. I knew about her behavior but for almost two months that little store just wasn’t my focus, as I’d mainly just bought it so it wouldn’t be soaking up sales from my bigger store across the road, which meant that she got away with way too much. Finally I got a chance to focus on this store, so at the beginning of the month I had a serious talk with her. I told her what she had to cook, I transferred an experienced cook from the other store who needed a less demanding job for health reasons to cook breakfast at the little one, and I appointed her kitchen manager so she could stay on top of Stephani.
What I’d hoped was that she’d do what this cook asked, especially since this woman gets along with everyone and has an incredibly tactful way about her, but it didn’t work. She doesn’t complain much but when I asked for updates she admitted that nothing had improved. I tried spending more time in the store, and it did make Stephani at least pretend to do what she’d been asked, but pretend is all she did. I had already made up my mind to fire her, but I was short on staff at both stores and in the process of buying a third, so I was going to wait a bit. When she snapped back at me after I once again told her that she couldn’t bully her coworkers, I went ahead and told her that I was going to fire her if she didn’t start getting along with people, and when I found a very unclean kitchen a day later I made it clear that she was out of chances. She went about two weeks without causing any issues big enough for the other ladies to bring them to me (although they try too hard not to bother me), only instead she started to call me about every little thing.
The big store has a general manager who runs it for me, and I’d tried putting her in charge of the little one too but it was too much for her, so those few employees were temporarily allowed to contact m directly. Other than her calls, the only one to call was the kitchen manager and the assistant manager in the store, and that was for serious trouble like a broken walk-in cooler and a fire marshal showing up to inspect us. Stefani called multiple times about little shit even though I told her every time to go through her immediate manager for that, and then she started to call to complain about her coworkers. One time a cashier had told her that she was being mean, which was exceedingly mild and entirely appropriate under the circumstances, but Stephani wanted her fired. Apparently she’d even looked at her smugly and announced that she was about to get her job taken away from her, as she grabbed her phone and walked outside to call me. This was when I reached out and hired someone to replace her, and started to count the twelve days until that woman could start.
I didn’t want her to leave immediately when I didn’t have her replacement yet, so I didn’t tell her. In fact I was just going to send out the new schedule the day before the new cook started, and let Stephani figure out that she was fired, but she couldn’t stop making trouble. Last Tuesday she called and woke me up after my late shift in the ER (the schedule in the store includes my hours at the hospital so they can know when it’s okay to call), to complain that the same cashier who had said she was mean had called her the n-word. She was gleefully happy as she informed me that I’d have to fire the girl now or she was going to sue me, but I was 99 percent sure she had made the accusation up. I’ve never used it to spy on my workers, but my stores have hidden cameras with microphones and speakers in addition to the visible cameras. I had them installed for precisely this reason, to avoid having to fire someone innnocent, and because audio is useful evidence too in case a crime is committed. It took me a while to find their confrontation on the footage and then search out the audio based on the time stamp, and before I finished the assistant manager of the store calls to tell me that a group of regular customers had come in to say that Stephani had started a fight with them outside when she was smoking. According to the men, they had half-jokingly asked why she never had the fried foods out at lunch time, and she’d gotten pissed and told them that she wasn’t ever cooking for them again. When they asked what the hell she meant, she’d banned them from both my stores.
At that point I got dressed and drove to the store, only to find my cook sitting outside in the middle of the lunch rush, smoking a cigarette. She immediately said it was her first break, but having just watched most of that morning on the cameras, I knew she’d already taken at least seven smoke breaks in less than four hours. She comes inside as I’ve asked the other cook if she’d done any work that day and she’s explaining that no, she has not, so then Stephani starts screaming at the other cook – the kitchen manager – that it’s none of her business if she works. I tell her stop, and I explain that Mary is her supervisor so it absolutely is her business. I tell her to apologize and she does that thing where she says “I’m sorry if you thought what I said was mean, but I can’t help how I talk”. When I insist on a proper apology, while I’m also answering an important call, she says something to Mary just out of earshot. I finish my call and ask Mary if she apologized, and I’m told that no, what Stephani really told her was “to mind her own business because people who crossed her had a way of regretting it”. It was my turn to fly into a rage, especially since I’d just seen a text Stephani must have sent just as I was pulling up to the store, one complaining that another employee had been the one who spilt a lot of gravy on the floor she just left it. I already knew it was Stephani because her coworkers knew she’d blame them, and so they’d sent me the exact time so I could easily check the cameras. That and the veiled threat was it, so I was done with this bitch even if I had to cook lunch myself for the rest of the week!
Up until that day I’d never fired anymore in public, but I followed Stephani out into the store where she was getting her some more free coffee, and told her to get her shit and go home. She’d been suspended once before, because of her attitude, so she put her hands on her hips and said: “Really?? You’re suspending me for taking a smoke break?!”. She’s a big woman who uses her body and voice to bully people, so she wasn’t particularly discreet with her question, which meant that her coworkers and the customers all stopped to stare at us. Knowing her it was deliberate, as she likely thought she was about to verbally own me, so the look on her face was priceless when I told her that she wasn’t suspended; she was fired. It was the first time she didn’t immediately snap back, so I actually got a chance to tell her that I was firing her for failing to perform her job, bullying her coworkers, lying, and making false allegations of racism. Once she recovered from the shock she started to argue with me, about the specific reasons, but I told her to get her shit and go home, and I would mail her last check and her separation papers.
She was starting to cry a little when she grabbed her purse and left, but my sympathy is with the coworkers she terrified and tried to get fired! I wish I’d known just how bad it all had gotten, but my employee are great women who didn’t want to bother me unless it was urgent. I’ve made it clear that everything Stephani did qualified as a valid reason to call me, and I’m training the assistant to run the store. A cashier is filling in until the new cook starts, all five employees at that store got a 50 cent raise for all they’d had to put up with, and now that they know about the microphones and speakers, we’re having some fun with them. Last night I played “Haunted House” sounds from YouTube over the speakers, just as the cashiers looked like they were starting to fuck off a bit too much, and their reactions were hilarious. Oh, and Stephani called to ask that I say she was laid off rather than fired, so she could get unemployment. Even as she was asking for a huge favor, she couldn’t stop being a bitch, because she actually went ahead and said: “you know, since it’s your fault if my kids have to starve”. As you can probably guess, I made it abundantly clear that she’d been fired for cause, and that there are plenty of available jobs around here. None of them are paying as much as I do, but she had her chance.
One of the weirdest stories we covered when I worked at the TV station involved a welfare check. The police received a call from the coworkers of a woman who hadn’t showed up at work that day, nor had she called. Coworkers tried to call her but she didn’t answer multiple calls. Normally the cops are not going to go check on someone because they didn’t feel like going to work. But in this case, her coworkers insisted this was not like her, she’d worked there ten years and never failed to show up without calling, and she was also an older woman who lived alone and had a heart condition. They were concerned she might be sick and unable to get to her phone. Given all that info, the police dispatcher agreed to send a unit to do a welfare check.
The officers got to the door, thinking they were probably going to find an old woman who died in her sleep. That happens a lot with welfare checks. Usually they will start by ringing the doorbell or knocking, and if they don’t get an answer, they walk around and look in the windows to see if they can see the person. If they spot someone who’s not responsive despite repeated yelling and pounding, they might consider that probable cause to break in.
But that wasn’t really necessary in this case. They got to the door, one of the officers knocked, and it just swung open. Wasn’t fully closed, let alone locked. The old woman was lying on the floor in a pool of blood, clearly dead and not from a heart attack. She had been stabbed multiple times. The coroner was called, Homicide detectives and crime scene techs came. One of the detectives knelt down to look at the body and noticed something on the wall. It was a name, written in blood. Turned out it was the name of her cousin, who turned up a few days later at a hospital in another state, claiming to have amnesia. She had the dead woman’s ID on her. I seem to recall she was charged with the murder but not how that turned out.
Bizarre story. I always thought it would be good inspiration for a work of fiction, and I did eventually write a short story loosely based on it.
I was at a hospital for some tests recently. The doctor prescribed some medicines and asked me to get them from the in-house pharmacy as they weren’t available elsewhere. I went to get the same and stood in the queue.
The hospital had put a queue barricade for easy maintenance of crowd. The counter was equipped to handle only two people at a time. There was a lady ahead of me in the queue. She was getting irritated for being made to wait and started shouting at the staff. They offered a mumbled apology. Meanwhile she tried to push her way through, even though the previous guy was still waiting to collect his medicines. His hospital file grazed this lady’s arm and all hell broke loose!
The lady started shouting at the poor guy and accused him of harming her. The poor fellow did not know what had happened exactly. He was a very young lad and was cringing at the lady’s accusations. He tried to reason with her and said that he had not budged from his place at all. It was her own fault. This retaliation was unacceptable to the lady and she took it as a serious affront to her! So she started calling for the management and resorted to threats.
However, everyone present there stood by the boy. That was almost a miracle! No one spoke against the boy and instead told the lady to mind her language. Frustrated at this sudden turn of events, the lady marched away calling all of us a bunch of “bumbling idiots”. Yes… her exact words!
What needs to be said out loud? The message that the perception of people is changing. Slowly but surely. Now women can’t expect immediate and blind support just because they are females. If you are wrong, you are wrong. It’s as simple as that. So it’s the need of the hour to refrain from such stunts so that a genuine case of harassment does not get ignored and a victim is not denied help just because some of us decided to cry wolf and made people wary of every female!
I am still thanking the mechanic who told the guy I bought my new truck from that the engine was bad! 2016 Dodge RAM 1500 and it barely had 50,000 miles on it. This was a few years back.
As I drove this truck around on the highway she rode and smelled like new. It had great acceleration and power, and didn’t have the burning smoke exhaust like an engine using oil should have. I look at the oil on the dipstick, and the percentage the computer says left was 40%. If it had blowback, that oil should be really black and smell of exhaust. It was pretty clean and smelled ok. Nothing was pointing to a bad engine. So I thought maybe bearings or something? I quickly check pricing on a new engine core just in case. Heck doing the work myself I was only looking at $3600.00 for an entire brand new engine core. The price he was asking ($15,000) was half its worth of around $32,000.00. How could I go wrong?
I once again told the seller I didn’t think the engine was bad, he was making a big mistake, etc. Nope he already bought a new truck he likes better and he was happy with the deal he got. Ok, I tried, so I hand over the cash and signed the papers. Best decision i have ever made.
Next morning I go out to a chilly 48deg truck. At this temperature if the rods and bearings are bad they will knock like crazy at first start. I turn the key and listen intently. I hear noises, but not rods or bearings. Now Dodge Hemi engines are noisy. Their design you will hear various rattles and ticks here and there. My last work Dodge lasted 390,000 miles and rattled to high heaven. I listen intently to a very loud tick on the passenger side, as the noise begins to fade away. Using my scope i quickly found what I suspected, a leaky exhaust header. Very common on these. A good look underneath confirms several broken bolts. A pain to remove, but nothing serious. At first it did sound like an internal problem, but any good mechanic with a scope should be able to pinpoint that noise or should have known it was a problem.
At this stage we are at 85,000 miles and doing great. I have never owned a newer vehicle before with so many buttons and things to touch. Most of the miles have been cross country to see relatives. So yes, thank you whoever you are! You got me a new vehicle I otherwise would never get for a fantastic price.
My buddy was 17, the legal drinking age was 18, and he would be turning 18 on Sunday. But he wanted a party in the bar Saturday night to celebrate. So we all go down to the small town bar. A good time was had by all, until about 11:00 pm, when the police do a walk through. Being a small town, they notice that they hadn’t seen my buddy in the bar before. They ask for his ID, and he is underage. They write him up an illegal possession of alcohol, the fine is about the equivalent of 15 dozen beer.
This happened a long time ago, so giving dollars wouldn’t mean much.
My buddy wants me as a witness, to say that I didn’t see him drinking, and the beer on the table wasn’t his. I hadn’t seen him drinking, because I had only arrived 10 minutes before, and so I could tell the truth and get him off. There is a different charge they could have used, with a lesser fine, for being underage in a bar.
He is called before the judge, and the police officer is sitting in the back of the court.
The judge asks my buddy how old he is, and he says 18. The judge says. It says here you were found in the bar, last Saturday night and were under age. He says, yes thats true.
The judge asks when was your birthday. My friend says Sunday. The judge burst out laughing, and says a dollar a day fine, please pay the clerk a dollar. My friend says, but I wasn’t drinking, I have a witness. The judge says, don’t push your luck. its a dollar, do you want to have a trial.
Simply known as “The Greatest”, Muhammad Ali had it all – enormous wealth, exceptional good looks, freakish athleticism, and hundreds of millions of adoring fans. According to international polls, it was Ali who finally toppled Elvis as the “The Most Famous Person in the World”. This is his final picture before taking exit from his frail, withered body.
After someone stole his bicycle, a young Cassius Clay decided to “whup the thief”. He never got the chance, but, hoping for the opportunity, took some boxing lessons at a local gym. Six years later, while still in his teens, he would win an Olympic gold medal. And less than three years after that, Clay became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Although somewhat shy, Clay watched professional wrestlers with their outlandish behavior and remarks filling the seats with fans. Wanting to do the same, Ali took on a new persona – the supremely pompous “Louisville [Kentucky] Lip”, drawing attention to a sport that seemed to be struggling with mediocrity and a plummeting fan base. People loved him or hated him. Everyone had an opinion and it was never in the middle of the spectrum.
But, although he kept on winning, something was not right. Punches to the head from George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Ken Norton were taking their toll. Still in his thirties, and no longer calling himself by his “slave name”, Muhammad Ali, was developing early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. But he kept boxing, even as his disability made every moment a chore.
Eventually, there was nothing left. Ali had no choice. It was time to retire or face the prospect that one more punch to the head might take away his last breath. Dedicating the remainder of his life to charity, it is estimated that Ali provided 22 million meals for the hungry in Africa. Among his many other contributions, Ali became one of the biggest donors to the United Negro College Fund, talked a suicidal man off a 9th floor ledge and negotiated the release of American hostages held by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Eventually, his ailing health would no longer allow him to speak. His body would quake. His brain was damaged, losing its ability to function on virtually all levels. His bladder failed. Ali would have regular bouts with pneumonia and infections in which he could never fully recover.
For the last years of his life, Ali was not able to leave his house. His once agile, quick and strong body capitulated to a much stronger, microscopic virus. It would be his last fight.
In 1983 a German couple was on a holiday in Sicily. They were minding their own business, alternating mornings at the beach with little road trips in the afternoon.
On one of those afternoons coming back from a hike, their rented car broke down. In the middle of nowhere. They got out of the car and tried to push it to the side of the narrow dirt road. The car was stuck in gear and wouldn’t budge. The German couple was happy to see a car approaching in the distance, preceding a cloud of dust. The car stopped and a man flung out, screaming. The Germans did speak some Italian but had a hard time understand what he was shouting: do you know who I am!?
They didn’t. And worse, instead of helping the wedged his Fiat through the little space between their car and the edge of the road. Metal against metal, scratching the rented car from front to rear.
Later that evening the couple reported what happened to the local police. They described the man who scratched the car and added he was probably famous since he couldn’t seem to understand they did not recognise or knew him. Well the police sure did who he was. After being on the run for three years Masino L. was arrested. The price he paid for asking stupid questions.
Elon Musk’s Frustration with the Biden administration.
I consulted a business where someone in a work uniform took his break at a nearby coffee shop. He was clocked out. He got into a dispute with another customer over something stupid but decided to check all the boxes in his argument. He insulted an old black woman and implied that she needed to practice better feminine hygiene.
The woman took note of the company name on his coveralls and noted it in her police report. No charges were filed, but the woman made sure to contact the business claiming that this man represented their company and she planned to share with everyone she knew that the company hired racist, sexist assclowns.
When we asked the employee about it, he freely admitted every detail, telling us that we “can’t do a fuckin’ thing about it” since he wasn’t on the clock at the time. He was fired on the spot but police had to trespass him and march him out in handcuffs.
To the woman, she had no power over a large, loud man in the moment, but she chose to get her revenge for his disrespect. Employees who are off the clock usually have instructions about how they can conduct themselves in public while wearing company apparel. This is why companies don’t approve of people wearing company apparel in their off-hours, because they can act like assclowns while also serving as a walking billboard for the company that pays them.
Boring most of the time. After I got out of the military I went to work for a small town of 1000 residents. We had three officers, one for the day, mid day, and night. I was chief of police there and took the day shift. Most of the things that happened were an occasional stop sign violation, a domestic once in a while, and just keeping things safe.
Kids were kids, always trying to get a beer or two past me. Not always successful too. When I would catch a minor with booze, I would take them to the office, sit them down and call parents to come get them. However I did not arrest them as here was the deal. Parents and child could decide if I took the kid to jail, booked them in, gave them a police record, and have them spend time behind bars for their stupidity. OR….they could show up each weekend for the next year, Pick up trash in the park, sweep the sidewalks downtown, Paint the fire hydrants, Plant flowers on the corners downtown, etc. I had the prettiest park, corners, and hydrants in the state. The kids learned a lesson and knew if they did it again they would go right to jail, no parents involved. Which did happen I think three times. After word got around in the younger citizens I and my fellow officers were treated with respect and as a friend of the younger people and parents.
The only bad thing I can think of was the small town politics, When I started I was handed a piece of paper with names and addresses on it as to who to arrest, who not to arrest, who to trust and who to do every thing possible to get to move out of town. After reading the list, I tore it up right in front of the city council meeting, told them I do not discriminate, do not do what they wanted, but I enforce the law equally of all citizens.
I lasted there for two years and when I arrested the Mayors daughter for possession of drugs, with intent to distribute ( $75000 worth of meth, $100000 worth of coke, and more, The city council fired me., She still went to jail, found guilty and spent 5 to 10 behind bars. I went on to a sheriffs dept in the same county and later even arrested the mayor of the town on similar charges. After which I was asked to come back to the town to work and I refused.
So small towns are quiet, boring most of the time, but occasionally have some excitement and danger.
. In addition to its civilian population, Santo Tomas became the initial internment camp for both the army and navy nurses, with the army nurses remaining there until their liberation.“
“Capt. Maude C. Davison, 57 years old and with 20 years of service experience, took command of the nurses, maintained a regular schedule of nursing duty, and insisted that all nurses wear their khaki blouses and skirts while on duty. She worked with Josephine Nesbit.”
At Los Baños
“In May 1943, the navy nurses, still under the command of Lt. Cobb
, were transferred to a new internment camp at Los Baños, where they established a new infirmary and continued working as a nursing unit.“
“At Los Baños they came to be known as “the sacred eleven.”
On the Home Front
“While the capture of the nurses was widely publicized in the U.S., little specific information was known of their fate until they were liberated.
, one of the few nurses to escape, published a memoir of her experiences on Bataan in 1943 that concluded with a dramatic reminder that her colleagues were still prisoners.“
“The nurses’ story was dramatized in several wartime movies, including:
“When So Proudly We Hail was shown in the theaters, a recruitment booth staffed with Red Cross volunteers was set up in the lobby.“
Final year of Internment
“In January 1944, control of the Santo Tomas Internment Camp changed from Japanese civil authorities to the Imperial Japanese Army
, with whom it remained until the camp was liberated.“
“Access to outside food sources was curtailed, the diet of the internees was reduced to 960 calories per person per day by November 1944, and further reduced to 700 calories per person per day by January 1945.“
“A Department of Veterans Affairs study released in April, 2002 found that the nurses lost, on average, 30% of their body weight during internment, and subsequently experienced a degree of service-connected disability “virtually the same as the male ex-POW’s of the Pacific Theater.”
“ Maude C. Davison’s body weight dropped from 156 lbs. to 80 lbs.”
A few years ago I’m in Uganda and we drive through a village. Everyone is running out of their houses with spears and machetes (they call panga), knives and pitchforks. So, I ask the driver to stop and ask the mob WTF is happening.
Within a few seconds, we’re surrounded by about 200 people who look fucking mad as hell.
They tell the driver that some dude just stole a motorcycle and that they’re going to hunt him down and chop him up into lots of tiny pieces. Our curiosity satisfied, we thanked them and continued on with the journey.
Naturally, I had questions for the driver on the way:
if the guy has a bike will they catch him. He says yes. They normally catch people within 24 hours.
I pointed out that the border to the Congo is less than 24 hours away by bike. He says people have tried that in the past and they still get killed.
I ask why the police aren’t going after this guy. He says that the police only catch a guy if they’re paid to. The village is poor and can’t afford the bribes.
And that was that. I had witnessed the beginning of murder, but glad I wasn’t there to see it happen. I know they would have gutted him like an animal. And he must have known this too since he lived in that village. How desperate must that man have been to take such a risk?
When surrounded by a mob and you have a fully loaded pistol, what would you suggest: to fire in the air or fire on people?
If that happened I’d just tuck the pistol in my belt. If the mob is after someone else, they don’t give a fuck about me. If they’re after me, I’m already dead.
Edit: That was the nicest image I could find. A lot of the other ones show the person being chopped up – no censorship. Brutal.
Edit: For those people in the comments trying to turn this answer into a culture war, I recommend you educate yourself about the history of Africa before you call them savages. The most savage thing done to Africa was by Westerners – lest we wilfully forget, yet again.
10k bonus edit:
So, something like this has happened to me before. 1997, Edinburgh, Scotland, during the day. I’m waiting at a bus stop when two young guys come up and offer me a swig of wine. I look at it and say, no thanks. Then they demand, “DRINK IT”. So I take a swig and hand it back. Then one of them comes up to me and says, “Give me all your money or I’ll cut your fucking throat.”
I look down at his hands to see if he has a knife, but he has no hands, just stumps. So I ask him, “how are you going to hold a knife?” He puts one stump behind his back and says he has a knife in his back pocket. Now I only had 53 pence and the bus ticket was going to cost 50 pence, so I told them to “get tae fuck” and walked along the road to the next bus stop while they shouted after me that they were going to murder me.
I just can’t take anyone seriously if they don’t have any hands.
Having been a boss for several decades I feel qualified to give an answer here.
I am smart enough to realise that I am unlikely to attract extremely high intelligence employees to mix detergent! I own two chemical manufacturing companies. So I am talking about normal everyday people with this answer.
For me a good employee is one that is consistent. In other words they produce the same quality and quantity of work/results every day consistently. They are set and forget with little to no effort required from me or their supervisor. I don’t need them to be a superstar. I am happy with them giving me 80% of what a superstar could give me in theory because I know I am always going to get it from them and I can more easily predict business/job outcomes as a result.
This doesn’t mean I don’t try to get them to 85% or greater, of course I try.
The above employee tends to arrive on time and have less than average personal/sick leave too in my experience.
By contrast, the mediocre employee is brilliant one day and off with the fairies for the next three days, then rounds out the week with a day off for a sprained eyelash!
Mediocre employees work output is up and down and hard to predict resulting in far more time spent supervising them. This adds cost and complexity to the business as a result.
So if you want to impress a boss – work consistently. Produce at the same level everyday and try and find ways to gradually improve or become more efficient.
Russia Launch on Feb 9 Causes U.S. National Security “Threat” Today
Five days ago, on February 9, Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency, conducted a rocket launch into space carrying cardo for the Russian Ministry of Defense. Today, February 14, Americans are being told of a new “threat” described as “destabilizing.”
Earlier today, February 14, U.S. Congressman Mike Turner (R-OH) head of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), announced to the nation a new “Destabilizing threat to national security” and revealed all members of Congress are now able to go into the secure House Briefing area to learn details.
Within the offices of the US House of Representatives is a SCIF: Segmented, Compartmentalized, Information Facility. Anyone entering the SCIF is searched for any electronic devices, which are forbidden. Entrants are also barred from taking any notes. They are “read-in” on the Classified Material and when they depart the facility, they are reminded they are forbidden to talk to anyone about what they have learned under Penalty of prison.
Congressman Turner issued the following notice to fellow members of Congress:
In the notice above, the words “destabilizing foreign military capability.” “Destabilizing” means it is a power THEY have, but which we DO NOT have. That’s what “destabilizing” means in this context.
CNN and other media outlets are claiming this has something to do with Russia. It may.
On February 9th, the Cosmos-2575 Mission was launched by Roskosmos using a Soyuz-2 Rocket carrying an “Unknown Payload into Space for the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is almost guaranteed our spy satellites and ground-based information gathering capabilities have kept close watch on whatever went up.
Based on our current capabilities for intel-gathering, it seems likely (to me) that we now have some idea of what it is — or possibly know EXACTLY what it is. So here we are, just 5 days later, being told there is some new, “destabilizing” foreign military capability.
My personal layman’s FIRST guess: Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) weaponry.
FOBS are space-based nuclear bombs (actual warheads) that can be released at ANY time, orbit the earth several times under their own power for months or years (or just once), then come down anywhere on the planet with ZERO advance warning to the intended target.
A particular city in a particular country would go from happy-go-lucky to vaporized with ZERO warning.
There is no defense to such weaponry.
My SECOND guess:
Iran may now be confirmed to have a working nuclear bomb.
Of course, it is common knowledge that Mike Turner is a RINO, he supports the aid package for Ukraine and Israel (but NOT our own Border), he wants to push the Ukraine support, end of story. SO coming up with some new Russian “threat” may be the impetus to get that passed.
Ukraine has attacked and sunk another Russian navy ship in the Black Sea; this one the “Cezar Kunikov“ shown in a file photo above.
According to information released by the Ukraine armed forces, “Magura V5” drones sank the Russian warship near Alupka, Crimea as shown on the map below:
Below, after being hit by THREE sea drones, the ship listed onto its side and sank.
It’s the fourth landing ship from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet that Ukrainian military has sunk since the beginning of Russia’s Special Military Operation. The Caesar Kunikov was a large landing ship with a crew comprising 87 personnel.
BUILT IN 86 ….38 years old
Class and type: Ropucha-class landing ship Displacement 2,768 long tons (2,812 t) standard 4,012 long tons (4,076 t) full load Length 112.5 m (369 ft 1 in) Beam 15.01 m (49 ft 3 in) Draught 4.26 m (14 ft 0 in) Ramps Over bows and at stern Installed power 3 × 750 kW (1,006 hp) diesel generators Propulsion 2 × 9,600 hp (7,159 kW) Zgoda-Sulzer 16ZVB40/48 diesel engines Speed 17.59 knots (32.58 km/h; 20.24 mph) Range 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) 3,500 nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) Endurance 30 days
CAN CARRY 10 TANKS AND 340 SOLDIERS
This Clip Will Disillusion All Young Men
Escalation In Northern Palestine
The situation on the northern Israeli border is escalating. It is likely to soon evolve into a full fledged war. The situation is already increasing the economic price Israel has to pay for its misdeeds.
The international rating agency Moody’s has downgraded Israel’s credit rating. This will lead to higher interest payments on Israeli government debt:
In a report dated last Friday but not issued until Saturday, the Jewish sabbath, the agency officially reduced Israel’s rating from A1 to A2, and added pointers of further downgrading to come. The Anglo-American press immediately reacted against Moody’s.
“Israel hits back”, the Financial Timesheadlined. The newspaper added: “[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, in a rare statement over the Jewish Sabbath, said: ‘The rating downgrade is not connected to the economy, it is entirely due to the fact that we are in a war. The rating will go back up the moment we win the war — and we will win the war.’” In the Associated Press report, “Israel’s finance minister blasts Moody’s downgrade”. Rupert Murdoch’s platform Fox claimed: “Israel has a strong, open economy despite Moody’s downgrade”. “Israel’s creditworthiness remains high,” according to the New York Times, “but the rating agency noted that the outlook for the country was negative… A rating of A2 is still a high rating.”
There are several negative issues that could lead to a further downgrading:
According to Moody’s report, “downside risks remain at the A2 rating level. In particular, the risk of an escalation involving Hezbollah in the North of Israel remains, which would have a potentially much more negative impact on the economy than currently assumed under Moody’s baseline scenario. Government finances would also be under more intense pressure in such a scenario.”
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah reiterated that Hezbollah will continue its border offensive against the Israeli occupation sites near Lebanon border till the Zionist barbaric war on Gaza ends.
“When the aggression on Gaza stops fire will be ceased in South Lebanon,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. … Hezbollah Secretary General commented on the recent threats made by the Zionist defense minister Yoav Gallant who said that the IOF will not stop aggression on South Lebanon even after Gaza ceasefire, stressing that, then, Hezbollah will continue its offensive.
“When the war on Gaza ends, we will stop our offensive. If the enemy resumes its hostilities, we will, act in light of the rules and the formulas.”
Nasrallah rejected western demands, passed through the Lebanese government, to pull back Hizbullah’s forces and to cease fire:
It is Hezbollah duty and responsibility to deter the enemy and prevent the assault on Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah affirmed, adding that the Resistance responses will be proportionate, yet effective and productive.
Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that the hundreds of thousands of settlers already displaced from the North will not be able to return to their homes in case of escalation.
‘Israel’ must prepare shelters, basements, hotels and schools to house 2 million settlers who will be displaced from northern Palestine if it expands the war zone, Sayyed Nasrallah warned.
If the Israeli enemy expands its war zone against Lebanon, Hezbollah will do too, Sayyed Nasrallah emphasized. … “It is easier to move Litani River forward to the borders than pushing back Hezbollah fighters from the borders to the Litani River,” Sayyed Nasrallah said.
More will be announced later:
Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that ‘Israel’ has failed over 130 days to achieve any target in Gaza war, except the monstrous attacks on the civilians.
Concerning the Zionist war on Gaza, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that he will address more details about during a speech he is scheduled to deliver on Friday (February 16) the anniversary of Hezbollah Martyr Commanders.
The resistance in Southern Lebanon, has so far attacked:
HQ of the Northern Region Command in Safad.
Command HQ of the 91st Galilee Division in “Branit”
HQ of the 769th Eastern Brigade in Kiryat Shmona.
Meron Air command and control base
Beit Hillel IOF base
Training camp in Kela, in the occupied Golan Heights
Ma’ale Golan IOF base on Mount Hermon
Most artillery positions along the rear front and military concentrations
Every single border military IOF sites
All of these attacks carried out by the resistance confirm that all military and fire pressure and Israeli threats will not deter it from continuing its operations. The resistance is proceeding with full confidence, first relaying on God, and then its military capabilities, the spirit of its fighters, and the resilience of its people.
The Safad headquarter site was only hit this morning. This followed after more Israeli attacks had hit civilian structures in southern Lebanon.
URGENT: #Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets targeting an army base #Israel’s northern city of Safed. One reportedly killed & eight wounded, one in serious condition. The IDF said some of the rockets hit the Northern Command headquarters base in #Safed, some 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the Lebanese border.
Hitting Safad was a (mild) escalation after previous attacks.
Unlike the daily Palestinian victims of Israel’s brutality, the Israeli casualties of the strike created headlines in Israel:
An Israeli woman was killed and eight others were wounded as a barrage of rockets fired from Lebanon slammed into Safed and an army base in the northern city, the military and medical officials said.
In response to the attack, the IDF said it launched “widespread” airstrikes in Lebanon.
There was no immediate claim for the rocket fire, although it was believed to have been carried out by the Hezbollah terror group, which has been launching daily rocket, missile, and drone attacks on northern Israel in recent months, saying it is doing so in support of the Hamas terror group in Gaza, against whom Israel is waging war.
The Israel Defense Forces and Safed’s municipality said rockets hit an army base in the area, some 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the Lebanon border.
The casualty count on Israel’s northern border is still very uneven:
So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in six civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of at least nine IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 194 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 29 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and some two dozen civilians, three of whom were journalists, have been killed.
If Israel does not evacuated more settlers, at high economic costs, the casualty ratio is likely to change.
The Lebanese Hezbollah expert Amal Saad, who is currently teaching in Cardiff, Britain, explained Hizbullah’s thinking:
There are several messages behind Hizbullah’s qualitatively different strike on Safed this morning, which Israel is treating as the gravest attack since the start of the war, with Ben Gvir calling it a “declaration of war”.
At the forefront, is Hizbullah’s message that it won’t capitulate to Israeli and western demands that it cease hostilities across the border, as per Nasrallah’s speech yesterday. It’s also a response to several Israeli assassination strikes in South Lebanon, reaching as deep as Sidon.
But the timing of this escalation also appears to be related to Netanyahu’s scuppering of the Paris cease-fire proposal and his government’s threats to invade Rafah, which in turn, would make a full-out attack on Lebanon more likely. Hizbullah is giving Israel a taster of the type of strikes and casualty tolls its military will have to bear, should Netanyahu continue to reject a cease-fire.
Predictably the Israeli occupation forces responded to the strike on Safad by escalating further:
The Israeli military said Wednesday its fighter jets “began a series of strikes in Lebanon”, raising fears of a war between the two countries after months of cross-border fire.
The military gave no further details of the air strikes, while Lebanese media reported air raids on southern villages including Adchit, Sawwaneh and Shihabiyeh.
The strikes came hours after fire from Lebanon wounded multiple people in northern Israel, according to medics. … Fears have been growing of another full-blown conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, with tens of thousands displaced on both sides of the border and regional tensions soaring.
“I don’t know when the war in the north is, I can tell you that the likelihood of it happening in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past,” Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi said last month.
Following the last Israeli strikes, the Lebanese side said that four civilians had been killed or wounded by them.
The increase of hostility is getting to a point where there will no longer be the question “if” another war between Israel and Hizbullah will occur but only the question of “when”.
Posted by b on February 14, 2024 at 15:23 UTC | Permalink
Yes. This past week. She is a lot older than me but our personalities clicked. We met at work and were really close for 7 years. We both left the department we met in for new jobs but still met up every month. I supported her through breast cancer. Then we both got offered promotions in our old department. Both accepted and were so excited to be working together again. She started a month before me and struggled to settle back in, feeling old colleagues were freezing her out. I comforted her as she sobbed down the phone to me and helped her talk things through with them. Then last week I started back. One particular colleague was very angry I was back as I had given evidence in a bullying case against her involving another colleague and she got very nasty, even refusing to sit beside me in the office and screaming at caretakers to move her desk on my first day. I was very upset and intimidated. I shared my feelings with my friend. Her response was that SHE didn’t feel any toxicity and I needed to just stay away from people. Also she and this woman had now bonded because they were both new grandmothers. I was crushed and texted her about it later, saying I was hurt by what she had said. Her response was to tell me to never text her again. Fine. I figured I’d leave her to cool off and then maybe we could talk.
A couple of days later I developed chest pains in the office. It was early morning and my manager wasn’t in so I left a message on her desk and went for an Emergancy GP appointment. He sent me straight to the hospital. On the way there I was trying to get through to our office to let my manager know what was happening, but couldn’t get through on the office line. So I phoned my friend, told her I was having an emergency and couldn’t get through and asked her to tell the manager what had happened.
She said no, she couldn’t do that. And then hung up. And blocked me.
And now I’m done. Because whether we were fighting or not, I would have taken the call and helped her.
Thankfully I’m ok, it was just a torn chest muscle and pluerasy but I learned that day that some people only like you when you’re the one carrying them. And frankly, she doesn’t deserve my friendship. Don’t waste time trying to heal relationships with people who don’t value you.
Japanese-Peruvian Marino Morikawa found that his childhood lake was contaminated and decided to put his master’s degree and Ph.D. to work. His goal was to change a plant-covered, unsanitary swamp into a place that animals and people could use.
He began by taking a break from school and taking a loan from the bank. He wanted to create something that could clean the lake. He had to use several different methods to get there, though, and research took 6 months.
One tool he tried was microbubbles. Microbubbles are tiny bubbles invisible to the naked eye. Morikawa put them into water. As they traveled up, they caught diseases and other harmful elements, acting like a spider web. Once they finally reached the surface, the bacteria were killed and the bubbles were destroyed by ultraviolet lights. Unfortunately, bubbles take hours to rise due to their size.
Another tool he used was biofilters. Biofilters work by bringing foul pollutants to the surface of a lake while leaving clean water and useful organisms at the bottom. He made his ceramic biofilters by himself in a pottery class.
Eventually, Morikawa created an organic nanotechnology compote to clean dirty water. The compote was so natural that it was even edible! Morikawa admits that it is quite expensive, but he believes that it is worth it.
To use it, one simply had to put it in dirty water and wait for about 15 minutes. This is what the water looks like before and after treatment:
Look, I’m on TV! Hi mom!
Once he had done the hardest part of the work, he was ready to clean his lake. Using homemade biofilters, the compote, and science, he was able to clean the lake in 15 days (although other sources say that cleaning the entire wetlands took 4 months).
As a result of cleaning the lake, people, over 40 species of birds, and 10 species of fish came back to inhabit it. This man should truly be respected. His efforts are not for money or fame; he simply wants to make the world a better place.
And he still wants to do more, zoning in on other polluted lakes and prioritizing Lake Titicaca. With his intelligence, passion, funding, and ingenious technologies, I think he may just be able to do it.
Nana’s Spinach and Sausage Pies
This spinach pie is a family recipe passed down for generations. It stems from a traditional Greek (or in our case Albanian) recipe. It calls for homemade crust, and is truly wonderful when the time is taken to make it from scratch! But if you’d like you can substitute homemade crust for store bought Phyllo dough.
My grandmother would make this spinach pie every New Year’s day. She would wrap a quarter or silver dollar in wax paper, and place it near the crust. Whoever received the lucky dollar would be blessed with good luck for the year! Before you start baking, mark the quarter with a toothpick so you know where it is and it stays in the slice. Cut the pie, take the toothpick out, and randomly provide everyone with a slice. Everyone uses a fork to poke through their slice to find the lucky dollar. Don’t start eating until you find the lucky dollar, or it could become an unlucky choking hazard!
If you’d like to skip making your own dough, purchase Phyllo (not country style) dough for this crust. It’s more and more common in grocery stores these days. It can be very thin, so use up to 10 layers on for your crust.
For homemade dough mix flour, salt, water for dough with your hands until soft. Knead for 5 minutes. Then place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough in half, roll it out until thin and spread with melted butter well. Fold the sides to the center and butter again. Now fold one half over the other and butter and fold in the opposite direction until you have a 5 inch folded square formed. Butter the top and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 12-15 minutes (or overnight if you’d like) and do the same with the other half.
Now it’s time to make your filling! Just add all your filling ingredients into a bowl and mix well to make your filling.
Remove your dough from the fridge and roll out to the size of your square or round buttered pan. A 12–15-inch pan is perfect. Place the dough on the bottom of the pan with a ½ overlap around the edges. Add your filling and cover with more dough. Wrap the edges of the dough into a crust and bake uncovered at 350˚ for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a bit crispy.
I will never forget my wonderful Nana Tefta, and all the ways she showed her love. Cooking this family recipe and giving us the joy of finding a lucky quarter was just one of the many ways she did that.
Ingredients
1 pound sweet Italian sausage links, casing removed
10 to 11 ounces piecrust mix or 2 (9-inch) deep dish pie crusts
Instructions
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Crumble sausage in a medium skillet and brown meat over medium heat, breaking up with a spoon. Drain on paper towels.
If using fresh spinach, bring a large pot of water to a boil and put spinach in water. Boil 1 minute and drain; squeeze dry.
Separate 1 egg. Combine 5 eggs with 1 egg white, sausage, spinach mozzarella, ricotta and pepper and set aside.
Prepare pie crust mix if using. Lay 1 pie crust in pie pan and spoon mixture into it. Lay another crust on top and flute with a stand-up edge. Carefully cut a 2-inch circle out of the top crust.
Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and brush on top of pie. (Can decorate with scraps of dough.)
Bake for 1 hour, 10 minutes until golden and bubbly. Check crust after 1 hour and put foil on edges to prevent over-browning.
Let stand for 10 minutes and cut OR chill uncovered until cold; cover and refrigerate until serving cold.
When I was 15 our cleaner invited our whole family to her wedding and reception. We were friendly with her as she’d given one of our puppies a home when our dog had a litter, but we hadn’t known her long. Being 15 I didn’t really want to go, but my mum said we wouldn’t have to stay long and we would just go for the reception, dance a bit and come home. It was in the Town Hall, a big, grand room in the nearby town.
When we got there we saw the bride and groom dancing, but hardly anyone else in the room. My mum checked the time thinking we were early or late but it turns out no one had turned up! There were my parents, my two brothers and me, and then no more than 7 other people in this huge, heavily decorated room with a large buffet that would have fed around 100 people.
We felt bad for the bride and groom so tried to make up for the lack of people by dancing and eating a lot, but they were acting as if it was totally normal. They seemed to be having a really good time. After a while a couple of people left and the 5 of us in my family made up half of the guests! I felt very awkward, and instead of staying an hour or two we had to stay the whole night, all the while pretending we were having a great time.
We found out later the reason no one had showed – it turns out that the bride and groom had been married before. In fact, they’d been married and divorced 9 times! The reception we went to was their tenth wedding… which explains why none of their family and friends wanted to waste anymore time on them. A match made in heaven! I wonder if they are still married, or how many more weddings they’ve racked up now…
Putin on the Collapse of the Dollar as the World’s Reserve Currency
I was at a thrift store, just looking around for anything interesting.
Standing in the entrance area was a mother with a baby and a toddler, and a large toy chest she had just purchased, which was sitting in her cart.
Thus she had a dilemna.
The baby was too small to walk, so she had to carry the baby. The toy chest was too big to carry one-handed, and too big to allow the baby to sit in the cart with it. Even if she could carry the baby and the toy chest, the toddler’s hand needed held in this busy parking lot.
What to do?
The thrift store was especially busy that day. People walked in, gave her situation a glance, and kept walking. She stood there for at least five minutes (which doesn’t seem very long, but it seems like a long time if you’re just standing there), occasionally trying to pick up the chest. Not a single person stopped to help.
A family walked into the store. They all gave the woman a glance and kept walking, just as the others had.
Well, most of the family kept walking.
A teenager slipped away from the family and went up to the woman.
“Hey. You need some help?”
The teen carried that toy chest all the way to the woman’s car. I saw the woman pull out her wallet, and the teenager backed away, waving their hands.
Any show of kindness is great in the eye of the recipient.
One and only time I ever left a job because of a boss was when I was doing software engineering at a major aerospace company on contract.
The direct manager was a micro-manager and apparently didn’t have a life outside of work.
He would take home the code listings of that day’s work from his team members to do “code reviews.’
The next morning you would get back your listings with “suggested changes” in red pencil.
You would dutifully spend the first half of the day coding and testing the suggested changes then try and make some new progress before turning the day’s listing back to the boss.
The next day it would start all over again except, more often than not, the day’s “suggested changes” basically had you putting the code back to the way you had it to begin with.
I implemented my own code management system so I could easily roll back changes.
I lasted all of a year before finding a new job.
When I became a people manager some years later I used the experience as a life lesson of the kind of manager NOT to become.
The Pathology of America: Dehumanization, Greed, and the Decline of Empire
When I lived in The ‘States, spaghetti was my primary food. It was affordable, tasty and easy to make. I would cook up hamburger (mince) and then add it to spaghetti with some peppers and onions.
When I moved to China, I learned about REAL noodles… and all sorts of different variations. All so darn yummy.
A popular classic Beijing dish, Zha Jiang Mian features ground pork and onion cooked in a rich savory brown sauce with a hint of sweetness, tossed with noodles and then served with crunchy cucumber. It takes no time to prepare, is easy to cook, and can be prepared ahead of time. It’s a perfect one-bowl dish for hot days and is great for meal prep as well.
What is Zha Jiang Mian
Zha Jiang Mian (炸酱面), or translated literally, fried sauce noodles, is one of the most classic and famous dishes in Beijing cuisine. It’s not as fancy or well-known as Peking Duck, but if you travel to Beijing, locals will always recommend this dish to you.
My parents told me that zha jiang mian was a dish for poor people. The traditional recipe uses a thick salty soybean paste to make the sauce, together with a bit of ground pork and sometimes lard. The sauce becomes so rich and flavorful that you only need a small amount of it to accompany a whole bowl of noodles. This way, people don’t need to spend much to fill up their bellies.
Although it seems like a simple dish, it has a whole set of rules that govern how it’s served in Beijing. It is called Old Beijing Fried Sauce Noodles here, and this is considered the most traditional and authentic way to prepare the dish. In addition to the sauce made from yellow soybean paste, the dish is often served with sliced cucumber, sliced red radish, boiled bean sprouts, and yellow soybeans. By adding all these things to the noodles, you can create a balanced and flavorful dish that is refreshing and has a good texture.
Why this recipe
However, the recipe I’m sharing today is different from the traditional way of cooking Zha Jiang Mian. This is a family recipe that was passed down from my grandma, and I think it tastes much better than the traditional one.
Secret Ingredient: Sweet Bean Paste
Instead of yellow soybean paste, my family uses sweet bean paste (Tian mian jiang, 甜面酱) to make Zha Jiang Mian. It is a thick dark brown sauce made from fermented wheat flour. Tian Mian Jiang is less salty than yellow soybean paste and has a slightly sweet flavor (It is the same sauce that accompanies Peking Duck and Moo Shu Chicken). It has a more delicate flavor and is less overwhelming than yellow soybean paste. Sometimes Chinese restaurants label it as hoisin sauce. But sweet bean paste is less sweet and has a deeper fermented umami than hoisin sauce.
You can find sweet bean paste at Chinese markets and many Asian markets. You can also purchase it on Amazon.
A more satisfying sauce
The traditional Zha Jiang Mian uses very little pork in the sauce. Because the dish is created for a budget meal, like I mentioned above.
For the homemade version, my mom uses much more pork and chopped onion to create a much better texture and more delicious sauce. Since sweet bean paste is less salty than soybean paste, you will also use more sauce per bowl of noodles, which makes the dish more balanced and satisfying.
My mom likes to chop a fattier block of pork into small cubes instead of using ground pork, to achieve a better mouthfeel. Here I used ground pork to make prep much easier. But feel free to use cut-up pork for your dish if you prefer.
Ingredients
When you’re ready to cook, your counter should have:
Sweet bean paste and water
Sliced cucumber (and other toppings if you prefer)
Minced ginger
Shaoxing wine
Oil for cooking
Ground pork
Chopped onion
Type of noodles for Zha Jiang Mian
There are a few options for Zha Jiang Mian. Traditional Zha Jiang Mian uses a rather thick type of noodles. It’s a bit similar to udon noodles in terms of thickness, but with a chewier texture.
If you have access to Asian market, try to find fresh noodles in the refrigerated section. The Lan Zhou Fresh Noodles or Da Xi Bei GunGun (my favorite) by HAVISTA, and the Plain Noodles from Twin Marquis are great options. You can freeze the portion you’re not using for up to 6 months.
If you can only find dried noodles, that’s totally fine. You can use either the thick type or thin types of noodles, depending on the texture you prefer. Make sure to use noodles made from wheat flour and water (there shouldn’t be eggs or other ingredients).
You can serve your Zha Jiang Mian with no toppings and the result will still be delicious. For a better texture, my favorite topping is sliced cucumber. Other crunchy vegetables such as sliced radish (red, daikon, or watermelon radish), blanched bean sprouts, and sliced carrots are great options as well. You can also add a small handful of salad greens to the dish.
TIP: If you find slicing vegetables too time consuming, use a julienne peeler to save time.
An untraditional topping
Unlike the traditional way of serving Zha Jiang Mian, my mom loves to add scrambled eggs and tomato as a topping. This is a family tradition and I’ve never seen other people serve Zha Jiang Mian this way. But I love how it tastes. The tender tomatoes and eggs add more volume to the noodles and balance out the rich brown sauce, making the dish so delicious and colorful!
How to cook zha jiang mian
Mix the sweet bean sauce
Sweet bean sauce is a thick paste that’s easy to burn in a hot pan. So you will need to add water to it to thin it out before cooking. It’s like the idea of miso paste, as you should dissolve it in water beforehand.
Cooking Zha Jiang Mian sauce
Gently cook the ginger
Pan fry the pork
Add the sauce
Simmer to bring the flavor out of the sauce
Add the onions and cook until tender
Stir and serve!
The sweet bean sauce needs to be cooked for long enough to bring out the best flavor. That’s why you will start with a diluted sauce, and it will gradually thicken until it’s done. Make sure to stir the sauce frequently during the cooking, so it won’t burn on the bottom of the pan.
Cook the noodles and assemble
When the sauce is simmering, you can start a pot of water to cook the noodles. Because the Zha Jiang Mian sauce will be piping hot once it’s done, you can boil the noodles at the end, when the sauce is almost ready.
To assemble, transfer noodles to individual bowls and add a spoonful of the sauce. And top it with vegetables as you like. Then you can mix it all together and eat it.
My family’s recipe not only preserves all the deliciousness of a bowl of traditional Zha Jiang Mian, but also tastes better and is super comforting. Add a spoonful of sauce to the noodles and gently mix them; you will smell the pungent aroma and be unable to resist picking up the chopsticks and digging in.
Guys, this dis is authentic, and super delicious. If you love American (Western) “spaghetti with meat sauce”, you will absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this dish. It is worth the time to prepare correctly.
However, if you are in the West, go to any Chinese family run… Chinese restaurant, and ask for Zha Jiang Mian.
Pronounced like a “ja”. Say it twice fast as in “ja-ja”. Add “mian” which is noodles in Chinese. You say…
Originally Answered: What is the most condescending advice you received from someone who assumed you were poor or less educated than they were?
I worked at Trader Joe’s for 3 years while I was pursuing my Ph.D. One day, a woman and her granddaughter came through my lane. The girl, about 12, remarked that she thought it would be fun to work at Trader Joe’s someday. Her grandmother winked at her and said, “Oh I think you can do a little better than that.”
I continued scanning her groceries and said, “Keep it in mind if you’re ever in school getting your Ph.D. The flexible hours and benefits are great so you can focus on your studies.” I looked directly at the grandmother and said, “At least that’s how it’s working out for me.”
The woman was embarrassed, but I continued, talking again to the granddaughter. “And, just remember, a job you love and enjoy is the most important part.”
This is just ONE example of hundreds. Customers coming through my lane acting as though the only reason for me being there was because I was too dumb, too lazy, too whatever to be their equal. I worked with people with their MBA, artists, and people who didn’t have a college degree but were the hardest workers I’ve ever known before or since.
Ukraine SitRep: A Hated New Commander – Critical Lack Of Infantry
The Ukrainian President Zelenski has fired the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces General Zaluzny.
Zaluzny was replaced by General Syrski, a somewhat unexpected choice as Syrski is hated by the troops for pushing them into meat grinders without a perspective of winning. Syrski, who was born as a Russian, had lost the cauldron battles of Debaltsevo (2015), Soledar (2023) and Bakhmut (2023). Currently Avdeevka is in a cauldron and likely to fall.
Rumors say that Syrski already ordered reserves to reinforce the troops in Avdeevka. Russian FAB bombs will welcome them.
General Syrsky has a reputation for being willing to engage the enemy, even if the cost in men and machines is high. He is a divisive figure who provokes strong reactions from serving officers. Some praise his professionalism, others say he terrifies his subordinates and rules by fear. He is less likely to question the priorities of his president. As he takes on the top job, he will have to soften his style of command and learn to speak truth to power.
The reorganisation will also cause disruption as officers shift to new positions in the chain of command. It is important that these changes do not degrade Ukraine’s capacity to fight. Before long, the country will need a new mobilisation even if General Syrsky uses his troops mostly for defence—as, for now, he should.
Ask yourself, why would Zelensky appoint a commander that the entire armed forces allegedly hates?
In fact, this is a ‘design feature’ not a bug.
Recall that the reason Zaluzhny was given the boot was he had become too powerful: he was too loved by the troops, and by the people. Why? One of the reasons is likely because he fought for the troops multiple times. In early 2023, documents were leaked showing that he nearly begged Zelensky to pull troops back from Bakhmut, but the narco-Fuhrer refused, wanting it as a symbolic city defense—perhaps taken with romantic delusions of Stalingrad.
During the grand summer ‘counteroffensive’, Zaluzhny pulled the brigades of the 10th Army Corps back and began to use them sparingly—much to the chagrin and disapproval of US sponsors—after the initial first few wipes devastated columns of Leopards and Bradleys along the infamous road of death near Rabotino and Mala Tokmachka.
Recently it was claimed Zaluzhny likewise attempted to get Avdeevka totally withdrawn. It does not seem that he likes to waste men for what he knows to be fruitless efforts. Syrsky on the other hand appears glad to grind them down.
So, has it become obvious yet? Zelensky needs a commander-in-chief he can control, someone not universally loved by the troops; someone who cannot use those troops at a time of opportunity to ‘march on Kiev’ and oust Zelensky from his citadel. Syrsky appears to fit the perfect prototypical role: undefiant, unpopular, uncharismatic, and most importantly, untempted by political ambitions—the ideal subserviant factotum to Zelensky’s regime.
There is no word yet what Zaluzny is going to do. He has the respect of the troops and good relations with the ‘nationalists’, i.e. the Nazi fringe militia of Ukraine. He also has the support of some politicians opposed to Zelenski.
A coup is thereby a possible outcome of this change.
Yesterday a Washington Post article, sources from interviews at the Ukrainian front, describes the utter shamble the Ukrainian forces are in:
In interviews across the front line in recent days, nearly a dozen soldiers and commanders told The Washington Post that personnel deficits were their most critical problem now, as Russia has regained the offensive initiative on the battlefield and is stepping up its attacks.
One battalion commander in a mechanized brigade fighting in eastern Ukraine said that his unit currently has fewer than 40 infantry troops — the soldiers deployed in front-line trenches who hold off Russian assaults. A fully equipped battalion would have more than 200, the commander said.
Under normal circumstances a mechanized battalion is supposed to hold a 3 kilometer long frontline. With only 40 infantry soldiers available that becomes an impossible task. The further deterioration from that depleted state will be rapid.
Oleksandr, a battalion commander, said the companies in his unit on average are staffed at about 35 percent of what they should be. A second battalion commander from an assault brigade said that is typical for units that carry out combat tasks.
Asked how many new soldiers he has received — not including those who have returned after injuries — Oleksandr said his battalion was sent five people over the past five months. He and other commanders said the new recruits tend to be poorly trained, creating a dilemma about whether to send someone immediately onto the battlefield because reinforcements are needed so badly, even though they are likely to get injured or killed because they lack the know-how.
“The basis of everything is the lack of people,” Oleksandr said.
“Where are we going? I don’t know,” he added. “There’s no positive outlook. Absolutely none. It’s going to end in a lot of death, a global failure. And most likely, I think, the front will collapse somewhere like it did for the enemy in 2022, in the Kharkiv region.”
The new Ukrainian mobilization law, which is supposed to refill the army with fresh bodies, is still creeping through the Ukrainian parliament. It will likely come into force only by April. The first new troops conscripted under it will take until July to be combat capable. One wonders is the current Ukrainian army can hold that long.
Posted by b on February 9, 2024 at 7:41 UTC | Permalink
My Wife/Her Friends Expected Me To Pay For Their $700 Dinner Bill, Instead I Walked Out!
There are already some good answers here. One type of crime that has a low solvability is the “one off” variety, e.g. an offense the perpetrator does once before moving on. Solvability gets even lower if the crime is committed with no other connection between actor and victim.
For example, say that I am on a cross-country road trip, and take a detour to Ames, Iowa. I’ve never been there. I take I-80 to I-35 North, and stop off at a gas station/convenience store somewhere around Ames. I cover my license plates just before I get there, park around back or some other place where there are few surveillance cameras, and walk inside, robbing the store. I go back to my car, drive a few miles before getting rid of the license plate covers, and resume my trip. I stop for gas only at stations around I-80, none on I-35.
I haven’t given the cops much to go on. If I’m careful not to leave fingerprints and wear some clothing that makes it hard to get a good camera shot of my face, the chance this crime is going to be connected to me is pretty low. If I get greedy and use the same tactics at other crime venues, I increase my chances at getting caught with each iteration.
Organized crime hit men use a similar tactic. They take on targets that are outside their usual haunts, and do the deed in a place there are few witnesses. The police local to the site of the crime won’t know anything about the hit man. A federal agent looking for behavior patterns (M.Os. or modus operandi) might pick up the trail, but even that is a long shot, one that gets longer if the M.O. hasn’t been tied to the hit man.
While there are some smart criminals, most people who make it a habit to commit crimes aren’t especially bright, and have signature behaviors that tie the crimes back to them.
There’s a sport called Airsoft. If you know about it, skip this part, but for those who don’t here’s an explanation.
Airsoft is like paintball, but a lot of its components, i.e. the guns, gear, etc. is a lot more realistic than paintball. A lot of LARPers and MilSim (Military Simulation) guys love doing stuff like that.
The sport started in Japan due to its tough gun laws but the sport soon spread to other places like Britain, America, and… oh… Russia for instance.
In America, MilSim events are huge. There is a lot of preparation involved. People will drop thousands on gear to look like this:
This is an image I found off Google. Rifle, easy with all attachments, $300+, not to mention any internal modifications he might have.
Helmet an easy $50, assuming its a nice one. Earpieces have wires, so they’re probably communication linked, noise cancelling and sound enhancing. Easy $70–80. Crye combat pants. $100.
Even vehicles, which probably cost thousands to kit out:
As you can see, American MilSimmers are rather dedicated.
However, compared to Russian MilSim events… Well let me just say this. Its like comparing a pickup game of basketball with the neighborhood friends versus an all out NBA game. Take a look at this video.
Fucking hell. Russians bring multimillion dollar TANKS to their Milsim events. Plus, as you saw in the second vid, Russian soldiers got involved to take blank potshots at people to add to realism!
Meanwhile in America you have people arguing about 10 foot engagement distances and bang killing.
Yep. Most Russian thing ever, bring a tank to a toy fight.
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is a traditional Italian pasta from Naples that’s quick to put together from pantry staples. If you have canned tomatoes, garlic, olives, anchovies and capers in your cupboard, you can knock out this simple but flavourful sauce in a flash. It’s a stellar emergency meal everyone should know, with a “saucy” backstory of its own!
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
There are various colourful stories explaining how this dish came to be, and how Puttanesca pasta got its name. “Puttanesca” roughly translates to “working girls” in Italian (that’s a politically correct term I’m using there!) One tale tells how this dish was invented in the brothels of Naples so the smells wafting from the kitchen would entice potential … errr, clients. Another story claims this pasta was a quick and simple dish ladies of the Neapolitan night could throw together in a hurry in amongst their busy schedules.
Does this kind of talk on a G-rated food blog make you blush? 😉
Whatever the origins, today this is considered a classic and staple Italian pasta recipe. It’s budget-friendly, easy and quick to make, yet delicious enough to woo family and friends (or indeed, “paying customers” … 😉)
Ingredients in Puttanesca sauce
Being such simple recipe, this is one of those dishes that genuinely benefits from better quality ingredients. In this pasta, the one ingredient I find is really worth seeking out is fresh deli-style olives in olive oil or brine, rather than cheaper jarred ones you find on supermarket shelves.
Oh, also, anchovies – the secret “why is this simple sauce so good?” ingredient. If you skip it, the sauce isn’t quite as good! However you can leave it out if you wish to make the dish vegetarian / vegan (add a little more garlic, capers and olives instead).
Black olives – Try to use good quality, fresh olives from the deli. These come in either olive oil or brine and will add more flavour into the sauce as it simmers compared to bottled ones that come in sealed jars. Both pitted and unpitted are fine but pitting your own is best.
Anchovies – This adds savoury flavour and salt to the sauce without leaving it “fishy-tasting”. In fact, you’d have to have a highly attuned palate to be able to taste it at all. The anchovies are finely chopped and dissolve into the sauce, and any strong fishiness disappears leaving just deliciously deep umami.I prefer to use whole anchovies and finely mince it myself because it has better flavour than using anchovy paste. But paste is a handy alternative – my rule of thumb is 1/4 teaspoon of paste per anchovy (so use 3/4 teaspoon in this recipe).
Spaghetti – Traditionally made with spaghetti or vermicelli pasta (ie. the thinner spaghetti), though this recipe works just fine with any long pasta. Or short, for that matter!
Tomatoes – Not all canned tomatoes are created equal! Better ones are sweeter and break down better to create a sauce. TIP: If you find your tomatoes are a bit on the sour side, just add a touch of sugar to the sauce. It’s a cheat’s way of taking the sour edge off that is a game changer with for example, Spaghetti Bolognese.
Capers – Adds little pops of briny goodness and that unique caper flavour to the sauce. I usually use standard size capers. On occasion, I find they can be giant in size so I’ll reach for the baby capers instead. Both work!
Garlic – Because this is Italian food!
Chilli flakes (aka red pepper flakes) – A pinch of heat is wonderful in this sauce. It’s not a spicy sauce, here it’s just a background hum of warmth.
Extra virgin olive oil – For cooking and finishing.
Fresh basil and oregano – These finishing herb touches will really lift the dish and return some freshness to the sauce. But if you don’t have them, it is absolutely still worth making using a pinch of dried oregano. Don’t bother with dried basil, it’s basically flavourless.If you don’t have basil, serve with a sprinkle of parmesan instead. The extra flavour will compensate for absence of fresh herb flavour.
How to make Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Start the sauce first and get it simmering, then cook the pasta. They’ll both finish at the same time, ready to toss together!
This recipe serves 2. Use a medium size skillet here rather than a very large one, else the sauce will dry out too quickly when simmering. If you’re scaling the recipe up however a large skillet will be necessary to toss the pasta in the sauce (or use a pot for the sauce and tossing).
Sauté aromatics – Start off by sautéing the garlic in olive oil until it starts to go golden on the edges. Then add the finely chopped anchovies, capers, olives and red pepper flakes and cook for a further 1 minute.This sautéing step is key to the flavour of the sauce. It blooms the flavour of the red pepper flakes and even more importantly, takes the raw fishy edge off the anchovies while causing them to break down, ready to dissolve into the sauce.
Add everything else into sauce – Add the can of tomatoes, then add water by rinsing out the can. In goes salt, pepper and fresh or dried oregano, then give it a good stir.
Simmer 10 minutes – Once the sauce comes to a simmer, turn the heat way down to low and let it simmer gently, stirring every now and then, for 10 minutes while the pasta cooks. The tomato will break down, the water will cook out, leaving behind a nice, shiny and thickened sauce. If at any stage it looks like the sauce is drying out (probably due to heat being too strong or using a skillet that’s too large), just add a splash of water.
Cook pasta – Cook the pasta in salted water. Just before draining, scoop out a mugful of pasta cooking water. This is a key, essential step for cooking any pasta(well and properly!). We add a splash into the pasta sauce when tossing with the pasta. Starch that’s left in the cooking water helps emulsify the fats and water in the sauce. This has a thickening effect and also discourages the sauce from separating. The sauce clings deliciously to the pasta strands instead of leaving a watery pool of bland liquid at the bottom of your pasta bowl.You’ll see this step in every pasta recipe on my website. And every household in Italy makes pasta this way!
Combine pasta, sauce and pasta cooking water – After draining the pasta, immediately throw into the sauce along with about 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water. I rarely measure, I just eyeball it.
Toss, toss, toss! With the skillet still on a low stove, use 2 wooden spoons to toss the pasta vigorously for a minute. After 20 or 30 seconds of tossing, you’ll notice that the sauce in the skillet starts clinging to the pasta (thanks to the pasta cooking water!).The pasta is ready when the sauce is all stuck to the pasta rather than sitting in the skillet.Pasta/sauce gets dry – If at any stage the pasta (or sauce) gets too thick or dries out, rather than being slippery and shiny, just add an extra splash of pasta cooking water then toss more. This will resurrect the pasta and makes it “juicy” again. This is why we scoop out a big mugful of pasta cooking water! I do this multiple times when taking photos and shooting videos of pasta because it loses freshness within minutes and I can’t shoot that fast!Sprinkle with basil and serve immediately!
Pro tip: warm your pasta bowlsWatch how to make it
Pasta is a dish that is at its absolute best served hot and fresh. It is never the same reheated. It is also one of the rare dishes where I make the effort to warm serving bowls, to preserve the heat of the pasta when eating. I just pop them in a 70C / 160F oven to warm before I start cooking, or in the microwave for a minute before serving. It’s worth the small effort, especially in winter!
What to serve with Puttanesca pasta
Parmesan?
Puttanesca is traditionally not served with the typical shower of parmesan because it already has plenty of salt and savouriness from the flavour-packed ingredients. But I won’t stop you if that’s how you want to roll.
Having said that, if I don’t have fresh basil sometimes I use parmesan to compensate as a finishing touch (no it’s not the same thing at all, but I like to have a garnish).
Sides!
In my world, Puttanesca is planted firmly in the “emergency pantry meals” bucket so you won’t get a side salad if I make this for you. It’s also technically 95% vegetables anyway! 😉 However, if you’re after a super quick one that’s on-theme, Rocket with Shaved Parmesan fits the bill with a side of hot buttery garlic bread or focaccia (I’m very proud of this recipe, I hope you try it one day!).
Add a Tiramisu for dessert or Italian Almond cookies with coffee, and suddenly this humble “quick pantry dinner” has transformed into a full blown Italian dinner menu!
We had a 10 year employee working at my store named (ummmm) “Suzy”. She was the community out-reach leader (and amazing at it) and the intimates / beauty department manager. She had a perfect attendance record. She was one of TWO “Exceeds Expectations” leaders in the entire store. She went to EVERY fundraising event and was absolutely one of the most delightful human beings I ever worked with.
I was in the break room with the store manager. In walked “Suzy”. She opened the fridge, dug out a bottle of iced tea. Said (out loud), “No name! Fair game!” and opened it and drank it. We didn’t even have time to stop her. We saw her take an item from the fridge. There was no moral dilemma on our part. The front of the fridge had a sign on it saying, “If it’s not yours and you take it, it’s theft. Period.” We had a camera pointing at the fridge because food theft had been a past issue.
“Suzy” was walked off the property the same day.
She was stunned. “But I have perfect attendance. I’ve gotten exceeds expectations on every review. I’m the community captain.” It absolutely broke my heart (she was one of my all time favorite employees). We had to explain to her, “Nobody gets immunity to the rules. You cannot be the greatest employee ever and expect that you earn some kind of points that grant you forgiveness, especially in an area so critical to trust and morale. All theft is treated the same, regardless of size or intent. You took something that didn’t belong to you.”
Theft is and should always be treated with absolute zero tolerance. No exceptions ever. Making exceptions demands future exceptions for all people. Making exceptions about theft opens the door to low standards. Better to fire all the perpetrators and shut the unit down until backfill can be identified than to allow a thief to continue being employed for even one second.
My son stole $2000 in a locked box from under my bed as I slept. He knew I needed that money to do badly needed repairs on the house we had just moved back into after a divorce. He had just gotten out of a juvenile treatment facility. He refused to get a job. He kept bringing a friend over at night when I was working.
My house reeked of marijuana every morning when I got home. They ate my food. He was 18. A legal adult. When I discovered he stole the money I had him arrested.
He was put in jail. No one would bail him out so he stayed there for three months. At court I told him I did not want to see him until he was a contributing member of society. He had to have a legal job…not selling street drugs etc. He was given time served plus probation and had to pay restitution. He got out of jail and lived with the kid who had been hanging out at my house.
His mother kicked them both out. My son found his birth father and stayed with him. He soon learned the man’s sole goal in life was to stay high. My son then stayed with another friend, couch surfed.
Lived in an office building bathroom. Then with a woman who was crazy. Then a friend rescued him. He lived with them and their father for two years.
They made him stay clean, clean up after himself, eat healthy, get and keep a job. He then asked if he could come back home.
He is now 24. The other day he thanked me for holding him accountable. He has a job he enjoys and is saving money for a future. Some kids just need tough love.
My husband is a retired Royal Thai police officer. He rarely told me much about his days, not wanting me to worry, get upset.
He did, however, share a few events that had me laughing…
Story 1
Husband and his men were chasing a small group of meth dealers who abandoned their car and ran into the tall grass of a swampy field.
Husband has the usual regulation, very short hair and was wearing a bright orange vest that was clearly marked POLICE, front and back, in huge English and Thai letters.
He waded into the swamp and stood next to one of the meth dealers who told him to take off the bright vest because the police were searching the area!
Story 2
Husband and his guys raided a gambling den at dawn. The players, many of whom were very drunk, ran to their motorcycles, trucks and cars to get away.
Four men staggered to their car but were stunned because the police seemed to be keeping pace on foot with their ‘pedal to the metal,’ speeding car.
In fact, they had jumped into an abandoned car that had no engine and hadn’t noticed they hadn’t moved at all.
Story 3
‘Uncle’ Tan was a quiet, older man who grew veggies and sold them from the back of his pick-up.
Officers received a call saying that Uncle had unsuccessfully tried to rob a local shop with a plastic water pistol and was walking down the highway, TOWARDS the police station.
He seemed pleased when he was arrested.
As was the norm, he was told he could be held for 48 hours in the police station jail, longer if a judge deemed it necessary. Uncle perked up at the possibility of ‘longer.’
The officers were puzzled until the truth came out: his wife’s sisters were coming for their yearly visit, and Uncle said that he was just too old to go through that hell again. He had thought he would be in jail for weeks.
The judge showed leniency, asking the police to hold Uncle until it was deemed safe for him to go home.
Does it occur to you it could be the U.S. that could be imprisoned? If the U.S. ends up spending tons of money meaninglessly and without a return and yet it cannot stop spending billions to continuously do shit that don’t pay it is the U.S. that is trapped. China don’t gives a shit it simply just let the US waste all it money bribing nations who refuse to do shit, just to pretend to the world it has allies.
For us in Asia. Even Japan, Korea, Phillipines and India have no wish to do shit as it knows the repercussions and it has been China’s neighbour for some 5000 years! It may have no choice but to barked some shit on China to get the U.S. off its back. But sure won’t risk it to do more than that. So the U.S. having a pay billions get some pretend shit is outright silly and wasteful.
So who is trapped? China can and will do what it wants. And the U.S. has to stay and waste a ton of resources to get pretentious shit that China gives a damn. To me the U.S. is trapped in its own stupidity!
Groom yourself, even if you’re living alone . Keep your beard clean and trimmed. Girls may wax, if necessary.
Always carry a wallet, Comb, Belt, Perfume, a pen with you.
Workout at least 1 hour a day, it’s the least you could do for your body.This will keep your confidence up, your body healthy and your face free of pimples.
Cover your mouth while sneezing, coughing, etc. Say ‘Sorry/Excuse me’ afterward.
Invest in your own personal hygiene like flossing your teeth, cleaning your mouth, wearing cologne.
Speak a bit less and think before you speak because one wrong word can hurt your personality.
Talk looking into the eyes of the other person.
Be a man of your words , If you promise to do something for someone, make sure you do it .
Show respect for other person’s opinion. Never tell a person he or she is wrong.
Learn the difference between Ego and Self-respect. There’s a very thin line between them.
Hustle as much as you can. Fast success brings ego, slow success builds personality.
Do Meditation.(Meditation transforms you into a new human)
Never make fun of someone’s disability whether it’s financial, mental or physical.
Never hesitate meeting new people. People have own experiences and knowledge to share with you.
My coworker, Marty, at the Department of Correction was fired after bantering with our department’s business manager. She was a diva with a (very) high opinion of herself and one morning Marty told her that she looked “nice”.
She cocked her hip and smiled at him, and asked if he was implying that she didn’t look good every day. Marty responded that she did, indeed, look good and that she looked good enough to eat. That ended the conversation and I went on my merry way.
When I returned to the office late that afternoon, another coworker pulled me aside and asked, breathlessly, if I’d heard about Marty. I hadn’t — I’d been out installing computers in a prison all day — so she said that he’d been fired! For sexual harrassment! The diva business manager had filed a complaint against him.
I immediately tracked my boss down and told her the complaint was bullshit, and that I’d witnessed the entire exchange. She said that her hands were tied because Marty admitted saying the diva looked good enough to eat. It was considered inappropriate verbiage for the workplace and the diva insisted that she would be uncomfortable working with Marty.
I kept my contact and conversations with her to a minimum from that day on.
China has been excluded from the ISS project, which has greatly promoted the development of China’s aerospace technology.
You can imagine that 20 years ago, several young people decided to save money to buy a car and then use it together. The Chinese were excluded. He was told: Your money is dirty and we will not accept it.
You have to understand that Russia, which the United States considers an enemy, is accepted, while China is excluded. How humiliating is this to China?
The young man decided not to pray to join but to work hard on his own. Finally, he made enough money to buy a car of his own. A new car that belongs only to him.
The group of young people who pooled their money to buy a car are still using that old car together, even though it is very old. All participants are not yet able to buy their own cars.
When they saw a Chinese driving a new car alone, they were filled with envy, but they said: His car is smaller than ours!
Let us assume that if China was allowed to join, what would be the result? They may have a module on the ISS, but they will never have their own CSS.
Now everything has changed
The Chinese space station is so advanced that they even use Hall thrusters to maintain orbit without having to consume a lot of fuel like the ISS.
Famous media commented that the interior of CSS is like an Apple store, while the ISS is like an old grocery store.
My father was a very serious and strict man. We lived in a nice house with a covered front porch on a hill overlooking a valley. One day when I was 10 yrs. old I was with my father on the porch ,there was a man dressed in a suit and tie and they were discussing serious business. I knew not to disturb them in any way. I had to remain quiet so I quickly became bored. I looked around the porch for something of interest when I spotted a small stone on the floor. When I picked it up I thought it was such a perfect throwing stone, the shape and the way it fit in my hand I just knew it would travel a record breaking distance down that valley. I took a few steps back so I would be behind dad’s peripheral sight as they both were facing the valley in deep conversation. I focused on a bush for my target . I took a couple deep breaths and threw the stone with every muscle I had.
To my horror the stone slipped out of my hand . I heard a deep moan as my father collapsed to one knee . As he grabbed his left ear he uttered”” “JUMPIN JESUS” WHAT WAS THAT ? I was so afraid I couldn’t speak. The stone had hit the bone behind his left ear and instantly a purple knot appeared . WELL , WHAT WAS IT ? I finally managed to say… a rock.. A ROCK ! Get in the house. Well, lucky for me their conversation lasted longer giving him a cooling off period. When the man left Dad gave me a lecture about throwing rocks and interrupting adults. Surprisingly there was no physical abuse which I expected. Now many years later even though he’s gone , I can hear his voice as if he just now said “WELL, WHAT WAS IT ?” And I get a good laugh about that frightened little boy .
Do you wonder why I put the Deng Xiaoping face on my post? Because the post I am writing tends to make sense for what I will try to convey. As you know, in the mainstream media, basically the West tends to use this Imperialist projection against the Chinese nation. It has become a human sin for the Chinese people to seek their old legitimate rights such as the right to become rich and powerful, the right to become among the most respected nations it used to be during the Ming towards Qing era.
The mainstream media has changed its focus from China’s rising economic threat towards China being the country seeking sphere of influence in Asia. This projection is among those who had committed this act before. History doesn’t lie, not do the suffering of the people they had to face from the British to the American Imperialism which still is going today in many forms.
China has now become one of the second largest economies in the world and the first if we see it through a PPP basis. The nation’s citizens are now enjoying a much better, high quality life in comparison to what their parents had to face under Mao respectfully. China, just like Deng envisioned, became the county that is leading the world in science, tech, and environment policies where China has been recently focused on being the country focused on building a strong green economy.
Media nowadays tends to portray China as aggressive and imperialist. Every investment China does in other countries is judged as a form of imperialism, every defense that China undertakes or its mission to uniting Taiwan is seem as foreign aggression by the West on China when they only want to take what was lost before. This judgment is not just fueled by the West but also by CINOs, or in other words ‘Chinese just in name’ that have Chinese names and ethnicity but they lack the Chinese spirit to show sympathy for their homeland. Most of these can be found in countries like Malaysia and Singapore or even U.S. who tend to side with the West’s aggression against China. This lack of knowledge is what has made ignorance prevalent today. The lack of the understanding the Chinese mindset and their way of doing things is what made them see China from a hostile viewpoint rather than a positive one.
Socialism: what do I mean? Well to understand China’s foreign policy and the way how it perceives the world is through the socialist perspective. You see Socialism didn’t come out of thin air in China. People before Mao used to be exploited, oppressed by the Chiang Khai Shek government. The land was controlled by the foreign businessmen who used China as a source of destination to build capital under the Chinese labour. This unequal relationship between China and the West is what made the Chinese more angrier, coupled with the hate from their humiliation. The weakness of the Chinese civilization is what pursued the Chinese people to seek a new radical solution and that was Socialism which back then Chairman Mao worked tirelessly to increase the support and work towards unifying China.
Its basis was simple: to fight against oppression, build an equal society and bring back China as the nation it once was. Which means an independent, strong China without being anymore humiliated. Thus when Mao United China is the time where humiliation of China ended and China began to recover. During the recovery, China faced many obstacles. Once was the American aggression in Asia, the other was the restrictions which were put against China because they were “Communist,” then the aggression from outside. China, after seeing Korea fall to the American forces, was forced to send its troops and successfully push out the American troops and North Korea was saved. Hence the socialist and proletarian cause was built on self defense and defending neighbours from Imperialist aggression that came from thousand miles away.
After Chairman Mao’s death, Deng Xiaoping came to power, which is praised for the new reforms that brought China to the place it is today. A new socialist modern economy built by Chinese people and a strong country looking to move forward even more and bring back the national rejuvenation to the Chinese people. The Deng Xiaoping goal was to always revitalize China which is now being carried by the leader Xi Jinping. Which meant a rich China which used to be under Qing before the Imperialist oppresion, a strong China in Asia and a China that is respected and seen as the gateway to the Eastern civilization and not a China that will replace the role of the West.
Deng Xiaoping in a public forum told others:
China shall always belong to the Third World and shall never seek hegemony. This idea is understandable because China is still quite poor, and is therefore a Third World country in the real sense of the term. The question is whether or not China will practise hegemony when it becomes more developed in the future. My friends, you are younger than I, so you will be able to see for yourselves what happens at that time. If it remains a socialist country, China will not practise hegemony and it will still belong to the Third World. Should China become arrogant, however, act like an overlord and give orders to the world, it would no longer be considered a Third World country.
What do these words mean? It is simple. The leader who laid out the reforms for his nation and the next vision, he is also the one who made sure to future generations to always see China as a nation similar with others of the third world. He never advocated a China which replaces the West’s role, he never advocates for a dominated Chinese power that controls Asia in the similar way of how United States has controlled South America.
This is also one of the main factors that led China into creating SCO and BRICS organizations, because the vision is simple: to build prosperity and encourage integration and connectivity with the third world that includes all of the former nations that were once colonized and exploited. Anti-Imperialism is after all something that has been pushed from Marxists itself, because the concept or freedom isn’t mainly focused on ending exploitation but also imperialism that caused the third world to suffer under the hands of the Western nations, that exploited its natural resources to feed their population.
Anyone who tends to see China in a Western way then that kind of thinking is bound to fail and even insult your own intelligence. No rational person would be crazy enough to compare China to a Western country and I believe the track records of US and other western countries, tells us a lot about the morality that the West loves to show many times.
But what kind of vision then does China see for the world?
Of course the role that China will play will fundamentally change the world in many ways, and right now we are already noticing many changes especially in Asia. We are seeing a role that keeps growing each year. And a strong China is at the same time bringing a good balance to the world especially when it’s necessary to counter the bi-polar world order by US
Multipolarism: China’s idea of Multipolsrism came even more to light after the importance and value of BRICS began to rise. This is in vision with Deng Xiaoping’s stance who’s always have said to never seek hegemony. China sees Multilateralism as the only way to bring equality to the world order where some certain nations seek a greater role in the world affairs and share a certain security to meet the world challenges.
New Financial system: Putin in the interview with Tucker laid out a very good critique of the US dollar. He mentioned how the United States’ policies towards other rivalries have caused mass panic in the world, and it is true in many ways. After the Russia war in Ukraine began, the West was so quickly to launch the heaviest sanctions in history. This didn’t collapse Russia’s economy and instead they shot themselves in the foot. Because the world for the first time in history was ready to move and make a change in the international order, which was the beginning of implementing new different currencies in trade with other countries. This thing is only going to become more common especially as BRICS advances.
Unity within their territory: Many people tend to see China’s actions in Taiwan in a wrong way but instead this isn’t the case. China has only sought to reunify its territories that were once lost. The ROC and PRC were at civil war which the ROC lost and retreated to Taiwan. Technically they are still at war, because considering that no peace treaty has been made or even ceasefire, this makes it legitimate for China to reunify Taiwan.
The development of BRICS: BRICS will continue to play even more important roles in the next decades, it will be more than just an organization. It will be the representative of the East and of the Global South. It will put the other part of the world in equal footing with the West. This balance is exactly what the whole world should pursue, because the moment there is a balance of power, then you will be at peace and respected. Though my opinion of BRICS might be optimistic, but as of now, I believe that all members have one desire, and that is to seek more independence from the US dollar regime.
Does it really matter which type of clock we are using?
Yes! It does.
Reason is “Those who use ‘Analog clock’ are more aware of the ‘time spent’ & the ‘time left’ than those who use Digital clock”.
How? Is what your question right?
Here we go. Let’s have a look at the digital clock.
What did we get? The time is 9:30 & that’s it. Only the current time.
Now, Analog clock.
Just look at it. Look at how beautiful it is. What do we observe here? 11:55. That’s it? No. But along with the ‘current time’ there is something else.
This we sense by intuition. An Analog clock resembles a pie chart which can represent self–expressive data.
Intuition matters! It is the advantage of having Analog clock.
This is not so easy with digital clocks. Because we need to force our brain to calculate the ‘time spent’ ,‘time left’, etc.
I’m not getting old. I’m there. I’ll be 77 years old in a couple of weeks, so I believe I qualify to answer this question.
I have a lover who is younger than I am. And if I were to “lose” him, I would readily find another, if I desired it.
However, I pay close attention to my figure, my wardrobe and my makeup. It takes me about half an hour to put my makeup on skillfully enough so I don’t look as though I’m wearing any. I dress nicely even when I have nothing important to do, although I am still in business, which keeps my thinking sharp. I watch what I eat carefully, most days keeping at 1200–1400 calories total for the day. This enables me to have lunch or dinner with my love or friends in a restaurant pretty much any time I wish.
I don’t exercise, though I know I should. However, I have two flights of stairs that I go up and down many, many times per day. I tell myself that this helps.
I read extensively, and not just on the damn internet. I have an immense library and continually add to it. I read in science and in the arts. Although I do try to avoid politics, these days. I am responsible for my feelings, and I like them to remain hopeful and serene. But my reading enables me to converse on many topics. And until Covid, I also traveled, an activity which broadens anyone’s perspective.
So in answer to the question, I feel just fine, thank you very much. And I also feel – and know that I am – desired.
I hope perhaps your young mind has been opened, even a bit. Thanks for the question.
A very good illustration
This is a good illustration why the size and growth of US debt is totally out of whack with the real economy.
American debt is already THE systemic risk to the world economy. There is not enough money in the world to satisfy America’s ravenous appetite, not even if it prints them for free.
This is why the BRICs are desperate for an option to the dollar.
Hubby and I went to a fancy steakhouse in Atlanta for dinner a few years back. Having checked out the restaurant’s online menu, we made sure we were appropriately dressed—me in a long Italian silk dress and hubby in some business casual outfit. We arrived at the time of our reservation and experienced multiple WTF moments—
1. We were led to a side dining room instead of the fancy main dining room shown on their website. The decor was shall-we-say interesting. It resembled a kindergarten cafeteria, with folding chairs.
2. All the other guests there looked like they had just attended a basketball game.
3. The female manager had a LOW-cut cami and jacket on. Her boobs were 75% exposed.
4. On my way to the ladies’, I passed the kitchen and caught a whiff of rotten fish.
5. Before the server set my plate of scallops down, I smelled a stench that could have only come from decayed seafood.
6. Service was slow, but that was the least of our concerns.
All this cost us $250, tip included.
If you wonder why we did not raise any issues about what we went through, it was a mystery shop. Essentially, I was contracted to observe anything about the restaurant’s operations. In the end, the meal did not cost us anything. We were actually paid some money for the effort. However, the experience was so bad that I did not offer to take the same assignment for several years to come.
Vintage Ads and Celebrities’ Glamour on These Classic Vespa Scooters
The DELUSIONAL OBSESSION with 6-Figure Salaries in Modern Dating
Future cat ladies. (And I do love my kitties. But no man is going to be able to make them happy.)
Italian Drunken Noodles
Italian drunken noodles are my Italian fusion take on one of my favorite Thai-style dishes. Brimming with noodles drenched in a flavorful, wine-infused sauce, bits of spicy Italian sausage, plus sweet bell peppers, onions and basil, this Italian take on drunken noodles is not only scrumptious, but quick and easy to prepare as well!
Yield: 6 servings
An Italian twist to a favorite Thai dish
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of trying Thai drunken noodles (or pad kee mao), you know what an amazingly vibrant, rich and flavorful dish it is.
With ribbons of broad rice noodles drenched in a sweet and savory sauce, charred red and yellow bell peppers and onions, a choice of spicy meat, tofu, or shrimp, and a light flourish of freshly julienned Thai basil, this dish always hits the spot when it comes to all those big flavors I crave in Thai cuisine.
I must admit, whenever I would enjoy this dish, it always made me wonder what an Italian version of it would taste like…
How to Make Drunken Noodles with an Italian Twist
In keeping with those basic components of noodle, meat, veggie, sauce and herb, it’s easy to see how Thai-style drunken noodles can easily be “morphed” into a brand new, Italian-style dish with a distinctly different flavor profile, while still maintaining the spirit of the original.
This is what I love and appreciate about fusion food!
What I did with this Italian drunken noodles recipe was to substitute wide and tender pappardelle noodles in place of the broad rice noodles, and then switched out some spicy and rich Italian sausage for the tofu, shrimp or chicken typically served in the Thai version.
For the sauce element, I used a tomato base kissed with a hint of wine in order to make the dish a bit “drunken”, and then kept the classic vegetable medley of multi-colored bell peppers and onions, plus that flourish of fresh basil to tie all the flavors together.
Here’s a glance at my Italian drunken noodles recipe: (or just jump to the full recipe below…)
To get things started, I cook my pappardelle noodles according to package instructions, and keep them warm while I prepare the sauce.
For the sauce, I place a large, heavy-bottom pan over high heat, and add a drizzle of olive oil; once hot, I crumble in the spicy sausage and brown it until cooked through, then remove it from the pan.
Next, I caramelize my onions in the pan drippings, then add in my seasoning, followed by my bell peppers, and saute until golden; then, I add in my garlic and wine, reducing that just a bit.
Finally, I add the diced tomatoes, with their juices, into the pan, along with the browned sausage, and allow the mixture to simmer for a couple of minutes; and then, I finish the sauce with a touch more olive oil and some fresh herbs before adding in my warm pappardelle noodles, and tossing everything to combine.
Ingredients:
8 ounces pappardelle noodles, uncooked
Olive oil
4 spicy Italian sausage links, casings removed
1 large onion, quartered and sliced thinly
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
1 orange bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
½ cup white white (I used Chardonnay)
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, julienned, divided use
Preparation:
Prepare the pappardelle noodles according to instructions on package; then, drain the noodles very well, and keep them warm while you prepare the sauce.
Place a large, heavy-bottom pan or braising pot over medium-high heat, and add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil; once the oil is hot, crumble the spicy Italian sausage into the pan in small chunks (you want to keep the sausage fairly chunky), allowing it to brown in the oil for a few moments on each side; once the crumbled sausage is browned, remove it from the pan/pot with a slotted spoon and place into a small bowl to hold for a moment.
Next, add the sliced onion into the pan with the sausage drippings, and allow it to caramelize and become golden for roughly 5 minutes or so, stirring to keep it from burning (add a touch more olive oil, if necessary); once the onion starts to become golden, add the salt, Italian seasoning and cracked black pepper, and stir to combine.
Add in the sliced bell peppers, and allow those to saute with the onion for about 2 minutes until slightly tender and golden; next, add in the garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the white wine and allow it to reduce for a few moments, until almost completely reduced.
Next, add in the diced tomatoes with their juice, and return the browned spicy Italian sausage back into the pan, and gently fold the mixture to combine; allow it to gently simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes to blend the flavors, then turn the heat off.
To finish the sauce, drizzle in about 2-3 good tablespoons of the olive oil to create a silky, rich flavor, and stir in the chopped parsley and about half of the julienned basil.
Add the cooked pappardelle noodles directly into the sauce, and using tongs, gently toss and combine the noodles with the sauce and all of the ingredients in it; check the seasoning to see if you need to add any additional salt or pepper.
To serve, add equal portions of the Italian drunken noodles to bowls, and garnish with a sprinkle of the remaining julienned basil (you can even top with shaved parmesan, if desired, and an extra drizzle of olive oil).
Tips & Tidbits for my Italian Drunken Noodles:
The larger the pan, the better: Use a large, heavy bottom pan (cast iron or a Dutch oven) for this dish, as it retains heat well and will give a little extra color and flavor to your peppers and onions; plus, it provides room to add the noodles directly into the sauce at the end, and toss ’em around.
Pappardelle are best, but don’t sweat it: Pappardelle noodles are the broad or wide egg noodles that look a bit like “ribbons”, and you should be able to find them in the pasta section in most markets—they really are best for this recipe; but if you can’t find them, feel free to substitute whatever type of pasta noodle you like. The flavor will still be amazing.
Go white or go red: White wine is what’s called for in this recipe, but red wine would also be a delicious choice; use whatever you’d actually like to drink with this dish.
Looking to leave out the alcohol? No problem: If you’d prefer to leave alcohol out, then simply substitute chicken stock for the wine, and add a little squeeze of lemon at the end for that “brightness” as well.
Go Veg: For a meatless version, omit the spicy sausage altogether, and enjoy just the veggies, noodles and sauce; but you can always use a vegetarian “crumble” in this dish as well, or even use cubed tofu to keep in line with the Thai inspiration.
Prep ahead: You can make the sauce element of this recipe ahead of time, such as the day before you’d like to serve it, which will actually give the sauce more time to sit and gain deeper flavor; just prepare the noodles the day of, toss with the warmed up sauce, you’re set to go.
General Instructions
Place a large, heavy-bottom pan or braising pot over medium-high heat; add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, crumble the Italian sausage into the pan in small chunks, allowing it to brown in the oil for a few moments.
When the crumbled sausage is browned, remove it from the pan/pot with a slotted spoon and place into a small bowl to hold for a moment.
Place in the pan the diced bell peppers, salt, Italian seasoning and cracked black pepper. Stir to combine. Allow to sauté for about 2 minutes until slightly tender.
Add the garlic. Once it becomes aromatic, add the white wine and allow it to reduce for a few moments, until almost completely reduced.
Add the diced tomatoes with their juice.
To finish the sauce, drizzle in about 2 to 3 good tablespoons of the olive oil to create a rich flavor.
Add the chopped parsley and about half of the basil.
Return the browned Italian sausage back into the pan and gently fold the mixture to combine. Allow it to gently simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes to blend the flavors. Then turn the heat off.
During the debate, KMT Presidential candidate brought up a very good point. The US sold 400 missiles to Taiwan for $6 billion. That came out to be $15 million / missile. But then when the US was defending Israel from attacks they fired those missiles and were reporting that they were expensive $3-million missiles.
Why were they sold to Taiwan at 5x the price? It makes sense if the US is leveraging the reported danger to extract as much value as it can from Taiwan. It doesn’t make sense if it has intentions to defend Taiwan.
The Mainland is ending its preferential treatment towards Taiwan which would hurt the ability for Taiwanese products to be exported to the Mainland. The US can help mitigate the impact to the Taiwanese economy by increasing imports from Taiwan and signing a free-trade agreement but it hasn’t.
How can anyone expect the US to give up its lives for Taiwan if it can’t even give up a bit of its profit?
Always keep a diary and a pen with you. Whenever you get any intriguing idea, write that down in your diary. When you open this diary, you’ll realize that you have a great set of ideas.
Leave your comfort zone as nothing grows for good there. Take risks in your life. Risks come with reward. Look at the rewards and move ahead.
Introspect and improve. Realize your mistakes and improve them. Try your best to not to repeat your mistakes again.
Success is something you take by force. No one will give it to you freely.
The secret of success is hidden in booksand old-school wisdom. Yet most people hate to read books. No wonder, few people are successful.
Stop expecting instant satisfaction. Patience, persistence and perspiration are your best friends. Remember that there are NO shortcuts in life.
Cry as hard as you want, but make sure that when you stop crying, you never cry for the same reason again.
No matter how much it hurts now. Someday you’ll look back and realize, your struggle changed your life for better.
If you are an intelligent person, you will try to do what you love the most. But if you are a genius, you will only do what is needed.
Students believe that there is only one right answer to every question. That is why people always want to follow the crowd because they think there is only one right way to live life. Find your own way . don’t follow the crowd
Putting in the work daily without quitting. Going through the drudgery and mundane tasks repeatedly. Practicing everyday like insane just to master your craft.
Don’t bother about the judgements of society, friends, peers and relatives. You want it, go for it. Don’t give a fcuk about others , live your life , give your best
The Chinese Communist Party is not in charge of assimilating everyone into Chinese culture, and it does not promote it. In fact, the Party makes a big deal out of preserving minority cultures, and giving them special advantages such as in numbers of children they can have (unlimited), and giving minority students extra points in the highly competitive university exams. There is some grumbling from Han Chinese about all the benefits minorities get in China.
Some minorities such as the Manchus, some Mongolians and some Tibetans have been absorbed by Chinese culture, not by any government policy. The general rule in China is that any non-Han Chinese minority, if it adopts Chinese language and the Chinese non-nomadic lifestyle, will eventually disappear over several generations.
This is not done because of any government policy; it is just that Han Chinese language and culture have a very strong pull which is hard to resist over time. This is because more than 90% of China’s population is Han Chinese, and once a minority adopts the language and then culture, it loses its own identity.
This is not done under any threat of force, but is done voluntarily by individuals.
More fun with the the Vespa scoots…
We start with Ann Margret.
Western women are BROKEN
She Made Him Wait, While Keeping a “Friends With Benefits”
It wasn’t so much what my boss said, it was more about what the company did. Being more specific, what the sales department and management did.
At the time I was a senior developer for a medium sized, privately owned and pretty much unheard of software company.
One day I found out, quite by accident, that the sales department had told a prospective client about some wonderful new software that we had.
The only problem with that was this wonderful new software didn’t exist!
So, sales lied to the client.
Then came all the fanfare, because they actually sold it to them… with an impossible delivery date, even for a team five times our size.
The plan was for the dev team to develop this new software working sixty hours a week without overtime pay, while management strung the client along until the final delivery more than a year later.
So there was this big pep talk meeting – you know the ones – we need you guys to help us deliver and all, and we’ll make it up to you afterwards, we promise. We’re a big family and we are in this together and all that kind of stuff.
I didn’t believe a word of it.
After the meeting I confronted my boss who said, “Well, you know how it works.”
At that moment I knew he didn’t have my best interests at heart and I looked at him and said, “I want no part of it.”
Then I got up and left the building without saying another word.
The next day when I didn’t show up for work my boss called me asking where I was. I told him, “Sorry, I thought I was quite clear yesterday, as I said, I quit!”
He said, “But you can’t quit! We need you! You’re our only senior developer!”
And I answered, “Watch me!” and hung up the phone.
It’s been four years now and the company still hasn’t delivered the final version of the software nor has it made good on its promise to their employees!
You ever have that goofy kid who could never take anything seriously? Who took any opportunity to be the center of attention? Who relished being the class clown and wore the jester’s hat like a triumph? That was Chad. I don’t remember how many grades in elementary school we had together before he and I transferred to other schools at the end of fouth grade, but it was at least a couple. He used to not only drive the teachers crazy but even us students too! Every day we had to bear witness to his never ending shenanigans, sometimes he would start up with a joke and the whole class would collectively groan and grab their faces. If I’m being honest, I was his friend but even I found him to be too much at times, too optimistic, too dramatic, too goofy, too Ace Ventura. I remember thinking, “why can’t he just be normal for a day?”
I went to middle school with some of the kids/friends from this elementary school. One of the popular boys, Randy was one of them. We were talking during free period one day when I brought up Chad. He also remembered him and smiled. We exchanged stories about his greatest hits and laughed. Then he told me something that absolutely broke my heart, and only spoke as a testiment to Chad’s resiliencey. He told me Chad’s stepfather used to beat him, often. At some point the authorities found out and removed him from his home. His everday life at home was hell, his only respite was during the time he was safe and felt safe at school, and Chad always made the most of each moment because he knew when he got home that day and every day after that, there would be no more laughter.
I hope he’s doing better, and I hope he’s happy where ever he is now. It goes to show you never know what someone is going through, even if they smile in your face everday. I have never forgotten about Chad, and I never will.
My twins birthday is coming up. And I was thinking of rewarding the missus by upgrading her car to something better.
A Range Rover Evoque 🙂
So the search started, and I finally scored a good deal on this particular high spec (and a higher priced) Evoque that’s is in a dealership nearby to my house.
Off I went. Arrived in my old e46, and I asked to see the car. This local Chinese chap took one look at me, and probably deduced that I was too young, or too shabby looking to even qualify to get an evoque, and decided to reject me.
He told me, put a deposit before even thinking of sitting in the car!
Before you think I made drama, let me tell you that the opposite happened: I smiled and walked back. I don’t necessarily like to deal with idiots, so I don’t mind looking for another.
For some reason, just as I was about to leave, another salesman from India who is working there came to me, apologized profusely and told me that he can serve me better.
I accepted.
I went to see the car, and told him that I would love to take it for a test drive 5 minutes away to my house to show it to my wife to ask her opinion on the spec and color. This guy agreed, and said we could do a short run.
So off we went.
The moment this Indian guy saw the neighborhood and my house, and the cars parked in there, he realized that he scored a lottery prospect.
After that, I was practically given free reign to do unlimited test drives and checks on that car, unaccompanied.
I saw the car on Wednesday. Thursday I contemplated on it with the missus between that or Cayenne. She wanted Range Rover, so be it.
On Friday I agreed and signed the papers in the AM. That evening the bankers called to tell the dealer that the loan passed. This coming Monday I am taking the car, once paperwork’s is completed.
$90 billion spent on disinformation about China, what did the US people get?
Of course, only Plato could answer this accurately but here’s my penny:
In Greek mythology, Thera and the eruption are missing and the explanation for this is that the eruption miraculously didn’t affect mainland Greece. The Greek myths that express their collective memory, although they involve foreign lands often, had to be of Greek interest and the eruption, no matter how cataclysmic it was, was not. So, Plato didn’t possibly have a clue about the events of the Bronze Age which took place almost 1,000 years before his time.
Security is better. When i studied in Chicago, I was told to always keep 20-dollar life money in the pocket in case anyone wants to rob me, and UChicago has the so called safe ride to take students home because walking alone at night is not safe. Here in Shanghai, Beijing or any major cities (except Guangzhou perhaps), it’s safe for girls to walk alone at night. And people don’t shoot people so often, especially struggling students don’t kill classmates or teachers. At worst, they jump from buildings without harming others.
Second, food is cheap and delicious if you don’t mind antibiotics, additives, pollutants etc. (If you count in unhealthy western food, the Chinese food is not that bad in quality.) Clothes are cheap and good quality. In fact most products made in China are cheap and accessible.
Third, online purchase and delivery and other services based on the internet is incredibly convenient. As long as you don’t care about personal information, China has all kinds of Apps to satisfy your physical and mental needs.
Fourth, the government agencies and hospital systems are much more efficient than those in USA. I am not saying the quality is better but the waiting period is shorter.
One thing I dislike is a must of vpn to access foreign media. But this is like a filter, the gov don’t want ignorant children and people to access to those anti-China information, because they can’t do critical thinking, so the gov thinks that if those were to be brainwashed, they would have to be brainwashed by us not the Western. I am neutral to it. Common people are like pawns, they’d better just stay where they were and do both to avoid being cannon powder.
I was 10 my brother was 13 and mom and dad was in there 30. We when to a old run down house that Dad was used to go on fishing trip when he was a kid. Mom said it so run down. Dad said it still got a roof on it. Mom said ok we stayed. We got what fews begs we have out of the car and we when into the house. it started to Strom very bad. We stayed dry in that old house. About two hours passed we was getting our sleeping bags out. We hard a loud pop. The wind had blown a big tree on to the car. The car was totaled. Mom said we 150 miles from home without a car. No one could sleep until the Strom had stopped that was all most 3 hours. By morning there was a new storm and like the other one it to blowed a tree down on to what left of the car. We ended up been there for over a week. Our foods ran out after five days. We all fished for our foods. 6 days in as we was all fishing. A big tree fell onto the dam house. If me and my brother was have been in our room a sleeping we were been hurt or killed.
GAMECHANGER: China Tests ‘Dream Shell,’ Achieving Mach 7 Speed
Both my wife and I worked, we both had good jobs and shared the childcare of our 4 children. I was always the more nurturing parent, if the children ever hurt themselves they would always come to me, I was more affectionate, I used to bathe them, read to them, tuck them in and look after them most weekends. My wife was extremely jealous of my relationship with the children and they grew up, we grew apart. She used to often go out with the girls on a Friday and Saturday night and occasionally wake up the following day with a hangover so bad she would spend the day in bed. Which was fine with me, meant that I had more time with the children and we used to find somewhere to go and have real fun.
Unsurprisingly after 13 years of marriage, when our eldest was 11, she decided to leave me, she had an affair and that was that.
What really sucks about being a man is the custody battle that I had after that. The standard custody model still is, for the father, every other weekend and maybe one night during the week. Everyone assumes that the mother is the ‘right’ parent for the children to live with and I had to fight that prejudice every day for a very long year.
My ex-wife even told me that she didn’t really want custody of the children, she only was fighting because the bigger percentage of time she got, the more Child Maintenance she would get. The first time that we were in court she started off by saying that I shouldn’t see the children at all, claiming that I had abused the children, hit them, raped her and had an affair with a teenager. The judge ordered that I didn’t see the children at all, while this was investigated. That was a hard couple of months.
After a year, meetings with social services, so many court visits that I had my own seat in the waiting room, I eventually got 50:50, the best a man could ever hope for in this world.
Even though we had exactly 50:50 I still had to pay Child Maintenance because she gets the Child Benefit. Guess why … Child Benefits default to the mother at the birth of the child.
I Visited World’s Largest Tech Show…You Won’t Believe What China Did
My brother, Daniel, lives in Colorado. He is the only family member that I remain in contact with.
I have a couple of sisters, but they are isolationists and never respond back to me when I try to reach out. Oh well.
For the longest time, my brother and I would talk and zoom every week. But after Covid hit, it broke down and our emails and talks got to be scarce. The last big talk that I had with him was when he was worried about World War 3 between the USA and China and offered to take me in (abandoning my family in China).
I wrote a post about this.
After that our talks got shorter and shorter, and then he got sick with COVID. He spent an entire month in bed, delirious and hallucinating. Turns out he didn’t get any vaccination, and instead took “colloidal silver” that he got from the internet to get better.
I had a few zoom meetings after that. He looked good. Lost a lot of weight.
But then, the last talk I had with him was about when his dogs died. My dog; PP had died, and so I was asking him about it. Later, he was going camping over the weekend. This was in July 2022.
Hi BV,
I think your correct, dad got her in '67, and I think she passed in '78 or'79. Tara was 11 and Kimba was 14, which is a good long time for a husky.. Ashia just turned 5 last week..
Hope your well! We're going on a three day backpacking trip in a few hours. That will be some fun, Ashia will be carrying her own food so that will slow her down abit :)
DZ
And that was my last e-mail from him.
That was a year and a half ago.
I haven’t heard anything since.
He has five different email accounts and two video accounts, and he doesn’t answer any of them. Further, the twice yearly alerts of vacations, travel, and parities that would occasionally pop up in my in-box … all ended.
Sigh.
Either he is purposely blocking me, or he himself went to the big Domain in the sky.
Vaxx victim?
In Prison for some law?
Death by accident?
I did find his wife’s coffeeshop on the internet, and sent her an email. This is what she said.
Hi BV,
first of all, Dan is fine and all is well! I honestly don't know why he wasn't in touch with you. I'd ask sometimes if he'd spoken with you but I had no idea that much time had passed since you two had communicated. I don't have any huge or exciting updates....
Tomorrow (Easter) we're going to one of my sister's for dinner. Some of my family will be there, so it'll be nice. Otherwise, just plodding along.
How old is Ray Ray now? I'm thinking she must be around 5 or so...? You should send my a picture if you think of it!
I'll tell Dan he must get in touch with you. It's just dumb not to communicate with family - often we're all we've got. And I apologize for not being more proactive in that regard!
Love to all of you from Colorado,
Emily
Sad to say.
It’s a reality when you get older. As time progresses, you circle of friends and relatives get smaller and smaller.
Today…
If China invades Taiwan militarily, who will the state of Singapore support, China or Taiwan?
Firstly, and this is the much more important point — most Chinese who understand modern China know in the depth of their souls that mainland China will never invade Taiwan; the main reason being that “Chinese should not kill Chinese” (a lesson learned from the bitter Civil War between KMT and CPC).
There are more reasons
For example – the Chinese are used to thinking long-term — and mainland Chinese know that PRC is on the ascendant, and ROC is either stagnant or even declining. The day will come when the Taiwanese would be less reluctant to unite with mainland China, though likely they would still want a “one country, two systems” approach.
Secondly, almost all leaders in Singapore have always maintained that we don’t take sides — this message have come from both our PM Mr Lee Hsien Loong, and our polymath and wise man, Mr George Yeo, among others
The Man up argument
About American Bullet-train, the Brightline.
One photo that can tell you why it’s not a real high-speed train:
See the stones under the railway tracks? Technically, it is called a ballasted track. That means this train cannot run fast enough to be called a high-speed train. Otherwise, it will become a killing train.
Well I happen to be a railway police officer.
Brother workers in the US, if someone asks you to build a second phase project for this railway, such as turning this poor railway from one pair of tracks into two, please remember that you may have accidents due to the strong sucking of Bernoulli effect or splashing stones. I don’t think the contractor will really consider your safety. When you are constructing, remember that time is not enough to observe the arrival of a fast train solely with your eyes and ears.
Also, for other Americans nearby, remember to take care of your children and keep them as far away as possible. Because even out of a few meters may not be a safe zone. See that white van far away in this photo? Not in the safe zone. Many parts of your fast train railways do not have fences. It won’t knock people into disabilities. If a person is accidentally knocked away by it, you need to shovel the body-jam up from the ground, or trees, depends. I am glad that China’s railways have fences, so most of our colleagues do not need to go through this.
Someone once asked me on Quora before, why Laos needs to build bullet trains when its economic conditions are not good enough?
Well this is the reason, the foundation made of stones means that this railway track is not suitable for running high-speed trains. If we build a regular railway, Laos will need to rebuild a route suitable for high-speed railways in the future. That will be a heavy burden for our neighbor.
Rail tracks are downward compatible, not upward. So next time, don’t believe in the scam of transforming ordinary railway lines into high-speed railway lines.
What was your most arrogant software engineering interview candidate experience?
“I am HOT SHIT!”
A year ago I interviewed a candidate for an Engineering PM role on my team; a sharp and interesting guy who grew up in New York and was grudgingly getting accustomed to life on the west coast. We needed a candidate who had a very specific set of deeply technical skills for that role and he fit the bill. He came in with glowing recommendations from some pretty senior people and had the exact experience and expertise that we needed. Basically he was an almost certain hire and I was his final round.
I didn’t want to grill him more on the technical aspects of the role since he had already proven himself in that space; I wanted to figure out what he would be like to work with on my team and what he would bring to the table there. My team is extremely close knit; it has been like a tight family for many years and we always have each others’ backs through thick and thin; we have worked quite hard to ensure that egos never get in the way.
We started off with him telling me about his journey, his passions and ambitions, his previous experiences on teams, etc, I told him about our team culture, the dynamics we share. I asked him why he wanted to join our team when clearly the whole world was open to him based on his assessment of himself.
He started to tell me how he was bored of large companies and wants to work at a small startup. He said that he only wanted this job for a year so he could add it on his resume and he would leave after that. That came across as odd, but I still decided to give him a chance since I knew the specific project we needed his expertise for would probably be done in a year so it might actually work out and give us time to change his mind.
The next words that he said had me completely baffled; “I am HOT SHIT!” he said, “You will be lucky to have me. You guys know I’m the best guy for the job. The only reason I’m here is because startups need people with 5 years of experience and I have only 4.”
I thanked him for his time, walked him to the door and went back to the interview panel and made it very clear that we would not be hiring this guy and that I would like to veto this decision; my manager heard me out and absolutely had my back on it 100%. We did not make him an offer.
There are three HUGE red flags here:
Arrogance. Someone who comes in believing and loudly announcing that they are God’s gift to mankind are not coach-able. You do not want to work with someone who is not coach-able; you always want people who will learn and grow and adapt to the needs of the team. One single arrogant member can bring toxicity to the whole team and destroy a culture and relationships that took years to forge.
Lies. I’ve worked on my own startups, lived with close friends who had startups, I’ve interviewed with startups and I’ve interviewed candidates from startups; you know what the one thing is that sets them apart from large corporations; they don’t stick to arbitrary rules. No startup(or competent hiring manager in any company for that matter) will ever pass on a great candidate just because he has one year of work experience less than what the online job description suggested. This was an extremely obvious bluff .
Commitment. When you hire someone into your team, you spend a good amount of your time coaching them, showing them the ropes, teaching them the business. It often takes 3–6 months for a new employee to become fully independent and during that time the whole team rallies together and helps set them up for success. If someone tells me that they plan to leave in a year for something new and shiny, it tells me that they are not going to put their heart and soul into this job; they will not be passionate about it and that means they won’t deliver their best results. It would also take up so much time from my whole team that the investment is not worth the returns.
Don’t let your arrogance eclipse your talent; all that remains is the shadow.
Creepy and cringe
What is the strangest complaint you have received at your job?
Some years ago while counting down the last few minutes before my shift ended in a public library, a young woman came to the information desk with an ennraged look on her face.
Lady: Can someone please tell me where the Spanish classes are? I’ve been on all the floors and no one seems to know what I’m talking about.
Me: Sorry miss but those aren’t Spanish classes. The Spanish Embassy has been having a series of public talks every Wednesday at 5 – 6 pm on the third floor discussing the Latin American economy. We simply allow them to use our conference room on the third floor.
Lady: Are you listening to what I’m saying? I left work early to come to these Spanish classes. Where are the people for the Spanish class?
Me: I’m sorry miss but we really don’t know. We simply give the Embassy access to our conference room. You might want to call the number they left on the advertisement.
Lady: So you’re saying this is your library, where you work, but you have no idea what’s going on?
Me: We know all what is going on in regards to our public services but the Embassy’s program is something external. Any complaints about the program can be addressed to the Embassy’s website.
Lady: Typical lazy government worker mentality…So you’re saying you have no knowledge of what is going on in your own building?
Me: This is actually not our building. Several government departments are housed in this building besides the library. Would you like me to call the Embassy for you?
Lady: You’ve wasted my time already. It’s already 5:30pm. I mean does it feel good to you to be getting paid for nothing? What’s the point of this library? I want to speak to your manager.
I was about to explain to her that we don’t have ‘managers’ but librarians when she whips out her cell phone and shows a screenshot of a Facebook post advertising the Embassy’s program.
Me: Miss. I’m sorry but that post shows that the program ends April 24th, which was two weeks ago…
Lady: ……so you….this is so unprofessional…..a big freaking library and you can’t call people and tell them that the Spanish class program has finished. I want to speak to the manager. This is unacceptable.
It was at this point I decided I that I no longer waste my time with this lady’s nonsensical complaint.
Bill Maher is officially PANICKING!!! He know it’s coming…
Nike announced that it does not source products from the XUAR and have confirmed with their contract suppliers that they are not using textiles or spun yarn from the region. Will this cause them to lose the Chinese market?
Those who have mainland business contacts may have been party to this conversation.
First among foreigners are the anglophones, then Italy, France, Germany, followed by the rest of the EU, then the Asian first world, the brics, and finally, the rest of the world.
American business interests in China are sacrosanct, followed by the brits, Canadians, Australians and so on, as per the order described.
Why? The Chinese understand there can be no economic interest without political power, and America is hegemonic. Helping America succeed in china is the best protection against sanctions and embargoes. The last 40 years has seen America develop a heavy consumer brand presence in China, with negligible Chinese presence stateside.
I believe the current Nike troubles framed against the illustrative example of h&m’s commercial erasure is a signal China is finally ready to weaponize this particular disparity.
China has had enough of America’s no holds barred maximum pressure strategy of confronting China, especially the attack on its domestic economy.
China is hurt. 2020’s live births is the lowest in 2 generations, 25 percent below 2016, compared to America’s 9 percent.
It is time to draw blood.
China can ask the coca cola ceo, you have 4–5 billion revenue this year. Your corporation can do 40–50 billion business each year in the future. You have supply chains all over Xinjiang. Do you observe genocide or mass incarceration in the data? If you refuse to make a statement or lie, we will burn you, and offer the Pepsi ceo your market share.
Choose.
And so on. There is no other growth story like china’s anywhere else, with the scale, stability and above all, speed. McDonald’s, for example, grew 10x faster compared to its Indian franchise.
Going forward, there will be no sacred cows among mncs in china. Trump made sure of that.
And yes, Nike can certainly lose the Chinese market if it gets erased like h&m.
It hasn’t happened… yet.
Note: The question and this answer is about China, not India.
Power projection
Men are starting to stand up in the USA.
Has someone treated you poorly until they discovered you were wealthy and/or successful?
The best one I ever heard of was from my grandfather. In order to receive a promotion at the company he worked for, he was required to attain a master’s degree. He was an engineer, of sorts, shall we say.
This was the 1960’s, and there was my grandfather sitting in a classroom with a bunch of 22 year old hotshots, while he was 50 years old. For 6 weeks, no one spoke to him, he wasn’t called on, the professor ignored him, and whatever work he did received an average grade.
One day, a singularly difficult real life engineering problem was presented in class from a local company called JPL. When none of the students could correctly answer it, the professor asked if anyone had any ideas…..
I love this part….
My grandfather raised his hand and answered it. The professor told him he was wrong. Mr. Professor then told the class the answer. Grandpa then interrupted the professor and informed him that the answer given to the class turned out to be incorrect for that particular alloy, and that the week prior my Grandpa’s team had found that with a 2% increase of cadmium, the answer was as my Grandpa said. The professor then asked Grandpa to come to the board and explain it in writing. He did. The professor then asked him who he was and what his job was.
After the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Manhattan and other projects were thusly discussed, Grandpa never sat down in that class again. Or any other. He taught the class as one who actually did these things…from Fat Man and Little Boy to the Saturn rocket booster and everything in between.
At the end of the semester, Grandpa received an “A”, and the professor informed him that he had received average grades before because his work just seemed too different than the textbook answers. The professor called a meeting of the department, and after a 60 minute interview they gave him his master’s degree and offered him an honourary doctorate if he would teach there. He declined.
Six months later, Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Every July 21st for 20 years, a new offer was sent to Grandpa to receive his doctorate and teach. He wasn’t ignored any more.
Scientists Discover Most Incredible Habitable Planetary System
[You said in your interview that the Americans have no analysts on Russia left who would be familiar with our mentality, people, and culture. How can they declare us their enemies if they know nothing about our country?]
"They have no interest in that.
The United States has lost diplomacy as a method for establishing contacts, holding candid discussions, and identifying ways to strike a compromise.
It is not necessarily about specialists in Russian, European, Asian, or African studies. I don’t see serious specialists there.
They are accustomed to making demands.
They have even stooped to rudely and publicly telling China what to do.
Reportedly, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu had a telephone conversation with US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. The US official said Washington was dissatisfied with Beijing supporting Moscow.
How can they say such a thing to the great power of China?
What about the reputation of the Americans themselves?
There is also a statement by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. I can’t get enough of his quotes.
He said that the West (through Ukraine) must necessarily win. If Russia wins, no one will ever be able to rely on the United States when they need help.
You can’t help thinking about Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, and Syria (which they will supposedly leave). They will supposedly leave Iraq too, and they have effectively fled Afghanistan.
Speaking of help provided by the United States, they have a small nation of Haiti sitting right next to them, which they have been taking care of for more than a hundred years now.
Even before the UN was created, they were nurturing dictators, toppling them, and putting in new ones.
However, the Americans are powerless when it comes to preventing thuggery, rampant theft and embezzlement of public funds in that country, which is probably the world’s poorest economy.
It would not be difficult for the United States to take a sliver of the Ukrainian pie and solve at least this problem.
Instead, they showed up at the UN Security Council again and are trying to lure in someone from Africa to ensure law and order in Haiti (the US fiefdom).
Let them first sort things out in their own backyard, or rather a small portion of it.
It is sad to acknowledge that the psychology of global dominance and retaining hegemonism at any cost has never helped the United States solve any issues on the ground."
-Excerpt from remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with Izvestia Multimedia Information Centre, Moscow, March 28, 2024.
Using the grappler
Is dictatorship always wrong? Doesn’t history have any examples of good dictatorships/dictators?
There are two problems with “good” dictators:
There aren’t that many of them
They don’t live forever
When a dictator creates a political system, that system is dependent on them…and on whoever comes after them.
If the line of successors is an unbroken chain of good leaders, all is well and good. But that hasn’t happened yet to date…
As an autocratic leader, I have no doubt his achievements were great. He united Germany, introduced social legislation, and sustained a European balance of power to avoid a world war.
The problem: he made sure to write a German constitution that concentrated all that power in one place – himself. And when he got let go, his successors weren’t up to the challenge.
The economist Max Weber gave the best assessment: “Bismarck created a great nation without any political education, without any political will, accustomed to letting the great statesman at the helm take care of politics for it.”
Weber died in 1920, so that makes his assessment even more powerful.
Sort of like raising children, no?
There might be “good” dictators, but I’m not convinced any of them can create a “great nation.” Not one that lasts, anyway.
Florida is different
The Chinese Communist Party often claims that Tibet before 1959 was a dark, theocratic feudal serfdom with cruel punishments, but Tibetans abroad often deny these claims. So what was the real situation in old Tibet?
The CCP said the truth that tibet was a feudal theocratic state with serfdom and cruel punishment.
The Tibetians under the Dlamas were oppressed others were subjected to having their hands cut off. Some had experienced punishment like this one shown below:
This led china under mao to liberate tibet in 1951 to free the Tibetians from oppression and incorporate tibet back to china. So mao did liberate tibet in 1951.
The Tibetians living abroad are denying these claims to hide the truth and they’re spreading lies ,misinformation and hearing western propaganda that tibets are being oppressed under the CCP regime which isn’t true.
Do you believe that a world free from US hegemony would be beneficial for developing countries?
Yes of course!
The U.S. is the main cause of economic crisis and poverty if the developing world! If the U.S. did not manipulated the prices of most raw materials from the developing world will appreciate in prices to several folds what it is now generations ago!
Why It Would Be Preferable To Colonize Titan Instead Of Mars
What is the most badass thing you have done as a parent for your teenage daughter?
My 15 year old daughter came home from Knott’s Berry Farm one night around midnight in tears. Someone had stolen her iPhone while she and her friends were on a ride and she was worried I would be mad.
I told her to hold on for a moment, went to my computer for Find My iPhone, and told her, “I found it. Let’s go.” She asked where and I told her, “To get your iPhone. It’s at an apartment complex in Santa Ana.”
We found the apartment building and I called the police. I brought them up to speed and they said they’d meet us at a gas station about a mile away. My daughter was starting to see some hope.
Three police cars showed up and, after I showed him where the phone was, the officer in charge said we could park down the street and watch. So we did.
It was about 2:30a and the lights were still on in the apartment for some reason.
The lead cop went upstairs and pounded on the door. A middle aged guy answered the door and the cop said a stolen phone was inside the apartment and he wanted it brought to the door (he told us later). My daughter and I heard the guy yell, “Anybody have an iPhone that doesn’t belong to you?” After a few seconds, he shook his head “no”.
The officer told us he said, “Look, I know it’s in there. So you can either bring it out, or I’ll stand here until the search warrant arrives and we’ll go in and find it ourselves.”
We saw the door close and less than a minute later the guy handed the officer my daughter’s phone. He brought it down and my daughter logged in to prove it was hers.
She couldn’t believe we actually got her phone back, but I was committed to fixing this so my daughter wouldn’t become a victim.
We got home about 4am, but neither of us was tired – LOL.
I know everything worked out in the exact way it had to for us to succeed, but it was a great lesson for my daughter about standing up for yourself and taking appropriate action. She continues to be a very empowered individual and I like to think I had a hand in that.
[NATO countries are planning to send their fighters to Ukraine. The media report that F-16 aircraft will be deployed against Russian forces and facilities in the special military operation zone. Will we be allowed to hit these targets at NATO airfields?]
"First, if they supply F-16s (they are talking about this, and it looks like they are training pilots; I believe that you realise this like no one else and better than others), this will not change the situation on the battlefield.
We will destroy their aircraft just like we are now destroying their tanks, armoured vehicles and other equipment, including multiple launch rocket systems.
Of course, we would see them as legitimate targets if they operate from the airfields of third countries, no matter where they are located.
F-16 aircraft can also carry nuclear weapons, and we will also have to heed this while organising our combat operations."
-Excerpt from remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with army aviation pilots of the Russian Federation Defence Ministry’s 344th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining in Torzhok, Tver Oblast, Russia, March 27, 2024.
A “you” problem
South Korea arrogantly supports the Philippines on the South China Sea issue. Why?
How rampant is Yin Xiyue’s government today? In addition to commenting on the South China Sea issue, it also began to interfere in the Taiwan Strait of China. According to recent news, South Korea’s position on the Taiwan Strait issue has become more and more outspoken, which has aggravated the tension between China and South Korea.
There are two things.
The first thing is that the South Korean side invited the Taiwan Province authorities to participate in the so-called “Leaders’ Democracy Summit”, but after being firmly opposed by the Chinese side, South Korea directly “countered” Chinese mainland’s criticism of the Taiwan Province authorities’ participation in the Democracy Summit, claiming that the event was aimed at “strengthening democracy” and “not targeting specific countries”.
At the same time, he reiterated that the “One China” policy of South Korea will remain unchanged. Secondly, the South Korean side expressed serious concern about the use of water cannons by the China Marine Police against Philippine ships some time ago, threatening that this action has aggravated the tension in the region.
Whether on the Taiwan Strait issue or the South China Sea issue, South Korea’s position deserves our high vigilance.
These two things are enough to show that Yin Xiyue’s government has changed the cautious and neutral stance that South Korea has adhered to for many years, and began to take sides and openly intervene in sensitive issues such as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
If South Korea still supports the “one China” policy, as it says, then why invite the Taiwan Province authorities to participate in the democracy summit? Knowing that the current situation between the two sides of the strait is tense and the relationship is subtle, it is difficult for the South Korean side to invite it at this time without letting the outside world guess that this is a disguised support.
As Lin Jian, the new spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized, there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan Province is an inalienable part of China. So, what is the intention of South Korea to invite the leaders of Taiwan Province authorities to attend the summit?
At least in my opinion, this is obviously malicious. In safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the PLA has always dared to take action. South Korea’s move is tantamount to stepping on the most sensitive red line of the PLA.
In this regard, the same is true on the South China Sea issue. What does the contradiction between China and the Philippines have to do with South Korea? Apart from the South China Sea issue, what does it have to do with South Korea on the Taiwan Strait issue? What’s more, it is reasonable and legal for the Philippines to illegally invade Ren’ai Reef, Huangyan Island and China to respond with water cannons, while it is ridiculous for South Korea to accuse China of doing so.
So wantonly stepping on China’s red line, is it difficult for South Korea to be warned by water cannons like the Philippines?
Yin Xiyue’s government is at the forefront of the Sino-US game, which is not only very dangerous, but also fatal. The South China Sea issue is also the same. South Korea is not a party, and forcing it to annoy will only make it pay a great price.
Wholly Cow
What was life like for German soldiers in Germany after WW2?
A lost war is a heavy burden. Some German soldiers added up to 10 years as a POW in Siberia. Many died in the camps, some died after returning home when eating their first big meal for years. Others discovered their wives had remarried and committed suicide. Those who made it back into normal life, weren’t acknowledged for what they had done, but they weren’t despised either.
Having returned from war, the former soldiers worked extremely hard and disciplined. Maybe a coping strategy to get along with what they had experienced during the war. Germany soon prospered. The “omertà”, that is, the principle of remaining silent about Nazism, was common sense until the late 60ies. The early years of the Federal Republic were characterized by strict conservatism. Everybody felt he or she had done something wrong. Nobody was interested to talk about it, knowing that some brutal guys would get away with it then.
When veterans met, they would discuss how they might have won WWII: “If I’d been in charge at the Ostfront, I’d taken all Panzers together at one point and hit the “Ivan” in the north where he least expected…”
Besides, their recipes were strikingly similar: Push harder, focus more, ignore casualties, and produce more “Wunderwaffen”. Some regarded Hitler as a visionary man, who lost WWII because “too many hounds soon catch the hare”. Most of the veterans I talked to were farmers. They made a little extra money cutting wood in the winter. And while they sat at the fireplace to warm up, they’d sing Russian songs. Stockholm syndrome came alive.
I had contact with many former Nazis.
Only a few I’ve met displayed attitudes and feelings as one would expect, that is, feelings of guilt, empathy for the victims, and anger about the lies they had been told. These “soft guys” seemed to be lucky, the war was over, and they had come out alive. Nazi times weren’t good times for them. They preferred not to be reminded of that. They would escape in some bonhomie gesture: “It’s good this is over, my boy”.
The majority of them pleaded “not guilty” when asked. “I had to follow orders, and we had an oath…” They wouldn’t talk much.
The normal soldiers were better off than former victims of the Nazis, or people who had fled into exile. Among the survivors, they were the most frustrated. Never recognized, if not despised for leaving the country in times of war, they had to witness some big former Nazis succeed and no one cared. Many intellectuals preferred not to return to Germany in the 1950ies and early 60ies. 1968, the time of the students’ uprising, was the turning point:
The younger generations asked questions about the past. The country changed a lot in the aftermath.
(Pinterest) The typical angle of the cap was no sign of individualism
The few “hardliners” could be recognized by their gait: Faster. More dedicated. Fixing with her eyes. They really were different. They mocked democracy and everything that goes with it. Not only that, they grinned and wore their caps at a certain angle, as can be seen in photographs of Wehrmacht daredevils: an odd mixture of courage and stubbornness, as well as a willingness to immediately stand at attention when needed and instructed, and to carry out any command uncritically.
I think they promised their wives not to talk too much. But occasionally, they did. They still internally wore the “Führer’s uniform” and saw an authoritarian regime as the most effective way to run a country. They often reassembled into organizations like the firefighters, whose uniforms—and commands—were oddly similar to those of the Wehrmacht.
Post-War firefighters in their uniforms.
And what about their attitude to Nazism?
No one I talked to, told me, he or she wanted the Nazis back. I wouldn’t put this up too high, for speaking out for the Nazis in public is prosecuted for criminal law. No law was needed to keep the Germans from going to war again. WWII seemed to have been a fundamental threat to almost everyone’s life. Nevertheless, deep in their hearts many still felt for Hitler, as you can tell from phrases like “Under Adolf this wouldn’t have happened”, e.g. when talking about how to deal with unemployment or how to make the lazy hippie guys of the 60ies and 70ies go to work. I remember some bad arguments between them and the younger generations, which often ended in yelling “Wenn’s euch nicht passt, geht doch rüber!” (“If you don’t like it here, move to East Germany!”). To me, the most shocking experience was their readiness, to lock people up in forced labor camps and “cure” misbehavior through hard, physical work. “A short trial, and then put them in front of the wall and: Ratatatatata!”
Yes, the Nazi soldiers, and their whole generation were confronted with the past by their children or grandchildren, but I cannot recall a single veteran, who in a discussion, changed sides or openly argued against the Nazis. The poison still worked. They didn’t tell us all. It was as if the Nazis had a grip on them until their last breath. They died one by one. Six of us lend a hand as we carried the coffin.
Many of us do not know what exactly grandpa had done, and yes, this is some kind of burden.
EDIT: This answer is based on my experiences during my childhood in rural, protestant Germany. The biographies of higher-ranking officers, Nazi Party leaders, doctors,, or judges were different. Many of the ex-Nazis, who launched a second career in Post War Germany, only pretended to be democrats. In reality, they cared for “former comrades” in need and heavily influenced the view on opposition to the Nazis. I have addressed these issues in different answers.
Don’t go orange
Do you have any examples of dictators that actually did their country good?
There’s quite a few. If you are from the West, some of these might shock you. If you are not, well, enjoy the ride 🙂
Number 1: Muammar Gaddafi.
Gaddafi when he was a lot younger. Quite handsome, right?
Gaddafi is often portrayed as a bad guy, and as Ronnie put it “the mad dog of the Middle East”
But that is in fact, not true.
Let’s take a look at some of the luxuries that Libyan citizens had during his rule
1: Free electricity.
2: Free housing.
3: Free healthcare. Not only free healthcare, but the best free healthcare in Africa and the Arab world.
4: A high GDP per capita for two decades before the West started sanctioning Libya.
5: A portion of the money made from oil sales went directly into the bank accounts of Libyan citizens.
6: If healthcare in Libya was not sufficient, the state would finance the entire trip to a foreign hospital.
I could go on and on, but those are just six things.
Also this
Libya had the highest rating on the Human Development Index in Africa while Gaddafi ruled it.
So while he might be portrayed as a bad guy, he was actually a really good leader.
Number 2: Lee Kuan Yew
A young Lee Kuan Yew
Lee. Kuan Yew was the Prime Minister of Singapore for three decades. In those three decades, he transformed the undeveloped city state, which had no natural resources, not much land area and a small army, into a shining example of a developed country. But he did this with many challenges facing him, like the multiculturalism of Singapore. The population was a collection of Malays, Chinese, Englishmen, Frenchmen, Indonesians and many more ethnic groups.
While he did implement dictatorial measures, such as muffling the press, outlawing protests and arbitrarily detaining people, he still holds the title of “The Least Brutal Dictator in History”. He did not kill a single person during his three-decade-long rule. Torture was not implemented either.
Before he took the mantle of leader, Singapore was nothing more than a collection of plastic houses and shanties. Look at Singapore now.
Quite the success story, isn’t it?
Number 3: Park Chung-hee
Park Chung-hee. Slick haircut, right?
Park Chung-hee didn’t exactly come to power by democratic means. He made himself leader in a military coup. But unlike many leaders of military juntas, he was not a selfish blowhard who worked only to enrich himself. Instead, he enriched his country, South Korea.
He developed South Korea’s banking sector, business sector, and enriched the country with a policy of export-oriented industralization.
To give you some perspective, when he came to power, the GDP per capita in South Korea was a miserable 59 dollars. When his rule ended, it was 1,000 dollars.
Unfortunately, he was betrayed and assassinated in 1979, before he could do any more good to South Korea.
And as a bonus, he defended South Korea from communism.
Number 4: Qaboos bin Said al Said, or Sultan of Oman for short.
Looking quite dashing in a military uniform there.
When he took power way back in 1970, Oman was the poorest country in the Arab world. Now, it gained the nickname of “The Switzerland of the Middle East”. All thanks to this man.
Oman, like many other Arab countries, is rich mainly due to oil exports, but added to that, Oman also has a developed banking and finance sector. Hence the nickname. Oman also serves as one big negotiating table, due to its policy of military neutrality.
In 1970, Oman had just three or four schools. Now it has over a thousand, and a few universities, the most famous one being named after him. Also in 1970, the average GDP per capita in Oman was 345 dollars. Now, it is 15,000 dollars. Qaboos still rules Oman, and continues to improve it.
While other Arab countries constantly squabble, Oman quietly sits and looks by, enjoying its wealth.
Number 5: Thomas Sankara
Thomas Sankara. Humble military uniform.
Sankara achieved many great things during his short rule.
He ordered the planting of million upon millions of trees, in order to prevent desertification. He lowered his own salary, and rid the government of most of its corruption, which was a giant problem. He connected the country via roads, and built housing for the citizens of his country. He made it self-sufficient in farming. And he saved the country from French dominance.
He renamed the country from Upper Volta, its colonial name, to Burkina Faso. He composed the national anthem, and designed the flag of Burkina Faso.
Unfortunately, he was killed in a military coup, which was, predictably, sponsored by the French. It installed a brutal dictator who impoverished the country and was a puppet of the French.
So, those were the top five dictators who did their country good.
EDIT: After some research, I came to the conclusion that Lee Kuan Yew had in fact not rigged elections. Even the fiercest critics of his don’t say that he did. I am sorry to spread that misinformation around. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!
I find it so hard to focus on the food
Why do men prefer women with makeup than without makeup?
They think they do. There is a style of makeup application called the “no makeup” look. It appears natural because the tones used are neutral and not bright, shiny, or flamboyant.
When I wear makeup, which is nearly everyday, I go for soft shades. I am naturally so pale white that my skin is translucent. Without a good long wear foundation on my face you can see every vein, blush, blemish, freckle, or scar. I conceal them with a matte foundation. I build on that with contour, blush, and highlight to add natural (in appearance) colors back in. It’s like painting a canvas. I follow the lines in my face and use light and shadows to hide or accentuate my features. Same with eye shadows and such.
However, there is one area where I usually without fail use bright color. My lipstick. I tend to wear a vermillion red. It’s certainly a “pop” of color. People have different reactions. Most people compliment the color. Some ladies ask me what color I’m wearing.
But I have occasionally gotten a negative response. Once, a man on a dating website told me, “If we go on a date that red lipstick has to go.” My response was that any man who told me what makeup I could or couldn’t wear before even going on a first date would not be getting a first date! He countered by saying he liked women with natural features and no makeup. I said that I did like makeup and I wished him great success finding his natural woman.
It’s not that I wouldn’t tone down the lip color if I had a husband and he didn’t care for it. I can be submissive and respectful. But he has to earn the right to have me comply with his preferences. Insisting I change myself before even getting to know me sends out a flag that might be even more red than my lipstick!
However, I have a feeling that the first time a man saw me “without makeup” and “natural faced” he’d wish I’d put it back on! I think men sometimes confuse wearing no makeup with “natural makeup.” The times I’ve gone without makeup people ask me if I’m feeling well or if I’ve been sick. They ask if I slept well the night before. It makes me inwardly chuckle. Everyone is allowed their preferences but I suggest you do what makes you feel comfortable and confident. Men will probably be more impressed with confidence than anything else, including makeup.
Real shit
What is the strangest experience you have ever had while answering your front door?
“JESUS CHRIST, WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?”
The man shrieked, and backed away from the front door so fast he almost fell when he missed the first step down of the porch stairs.
It was late afternoon. Up until half an hour ago, I’d been at the hospital, having a basal cell carcinoma removed from my forehead.
I was still woozy from the anesthetic I’d been given. They’d done the surgery under some kind of “twilight sleep” anesthetic, I hadn’t been completely unconscious. When the surgeon cut out the carcinoma, they’d had it sent to the pathologist to see if the margins were clear, and while they waited, blood had been seeping from the incision. When the pathologist reported that one of the margins wasn’t “clean,” they’d had to gouge out some more, then wait again. All that time, I’d been seeping blood. I felt sticky and swollen and yucky.
My husband had gone to the drug store to get my prescription for pain pills filled.
I wasn’t feeling well; anesthetic makes me nauseous. I had bandages wound round my head. The lesion was above my right eye, and the bandage partly covered my eye. There was a lot of swelling.
As part of the surgical prep, they’d washed my face with an iodine scrub. I could feel it still on my face.
I’d been lying down when the knock on the door came.
Since our house had been burglarized years earlier, I never let a knock on the door go unanswered. I sat up, waited for the world to stop spinning, then stood up. The knock on the door was repeated.
I got up, cursing whoever was knocking, and walked to the front door and threw it open.
Whatever the guy who was knocking was expecting, I obviously wasn’t it. He looked to be in his thirties and was holding a clipboard.
He reeled back away from me, and that’s when he yelled in horror.
Pissed me off. “I had surgery this morning. What do you want?” I demanded. At that moment, I felt something warm and wet running down my face.
He stammered something about being a contractor, he was just going through the neighborhood seeing if anyone wanted work done.
About then my husband came back. I left husband to deal with the guy and went to the bathroom to wipe my face with cold water.
When I looked in the mirror, I understood why the guy had been so horrified.
My face was unevenly painted yellow-brown from the iodine scrub. There were traces of dried blood on the side of my nose and under my right eye. The bandage I was wearing had a bloodstain over the incised area, and evidently getting up had caused it to start bleeding again, because fresh blood was oozing in a line from under the bandage and rolling down my face. My hair was all spiky and glued together with blood and iodine solution.
I guess my appearance had really shaken up the guy who’d knocked on the door. My husband said the guy had hardly been able to talk and had taken off as fast as he could.
She does love jiggling her boobies
What’s the worst candidate who came to an interview?
Many years ago my partner, David, was a shop manager and was advertising for a full time shop worker. One morning this kid came into the shop in dirty jeans and t-shirt and asked about the job. David gave him an application form and told him to complete it, which the kid did straight away. David said that he was starting interviews that afternoon and arranged a time.
The interview time approached. The kid turned up on time. Still wearing the same clothes, now wet (it had been raining) and now smelling of poor body odour. Not a great beginning.
First question, what have you done? Answer “I’m just out of Borstal….” For those who do not know, this is a prison for youth offenders. He was in prison for multiple counts of shoplifting!
Why didn’t you change and look smart for the Interview? – Because I live several miles away and I did not have the bus fare to get home and back. So I hung around in town all day.
David hired him. HR was very very worried.
Years later the kid was still employed, now assistant manager. He turned out to be one of the most reliable and honest employee David had ever hired. One day he admitted that he turned to shoplifting when he was younger to get caught and taken away from his abusive father. He was safer in prison than at home.
So he was the worst looking candidate, with the worst CV, but the best employee.
Artichoke Pepper Pizza with Feta Cheese
Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
1 small orange bell pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 large can artichoke hearts, drained
1 pizza crust
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
Heat oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat.
Add bell pepper strips; sauté for 3 minutes.
Add half of minced garlic; sauté for 1 minute.
Remove from heat.
Place remaining garlic, mayonnaise, crushed red pepper, black pepper and artichoke hearts in a food processor and process until finely chopped.
Place pizza crust on a baking sheet.
Spread artichoke mixture over pizza crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border.
Top with bell pepper mixture.
Sprinkle with feta cheese and thyme.
Bake for 14 minutes or until crust is crisp. Cheese will not melt.
Where To Move If America Fails
Playing around with text to picture.
My prompt…
adventurer in the center of the picture, view from above , desolate, dusky sunset, many shadows, on orientalist style art depicting ancient ruins at a desert oasis, thin pool of water, exploring explorer, date trees camels, caravan, statues
Thai girls cooking street food
Why did my top performing employee quit after write up?
I have quit three jobs in my lifetime. All three were after being written up. Its a matter of honor. I performed my jobs to the best of my abilities. I always gave 110%. So getting bullshit writeups really piss me off. The first time was by the owner’s son. He basically told me my level of quality was too high for the company. I quit on the spot. The second time I was instructed to do a job but not record it in the proper forms (military contractor). It would have been an unsafe act. I refused to do the job. I was written up for not obeying orders. Put my two week notice in an hour later. My last time was after briefing a supervisor of the company’s capabilities and then the supervisor deciding to go over what we were capable of performing. After he finished chewing me out, I handed him my keys and quit on the spot. Thirty days later I was rehired and promoted after being told my supervisor was fired. Perhaps it was my 20 years in the military that pushed me to personify the need for honor in my work ethic.
Shorpy
The Passport Bros movement was inevitable…
Have you ever had something stolen, only to have it returned (anonymously or not) much later?
In 1998, I had left my wallet on a table in a restaurant in San Francisco, and when I came back for it, it was gone.
I called my credit card company to report it. Apparently the thieves were professional, or just very well organized, because it had already incurred two separate charges for fuel at a gas station. My bank rightly saw this as suspicious — who fills up two gas tanks at once? — and blocked the card from further use.
I only had one credit card (still do), and though that was safe, but I really didn’t want to go through the hassle of replacing everything else — my driver’s license, gym card, company badge, blood donor ID, buy 10 coffees-get the 11th free punch card.
The guy at the credit card company said thieves will often toss the rest of the wallet in the garbage, or the bushes in the immediate vicinity, so I headed down to the gas station and asked to look through their trash. No wallet. I checked out the greenery around the place, nothing.
So I sucked it up. Replaced all the cards except for the one from the coffeeshop, and vowed to be more careful in the future.
The one thing I was bummed about was the loss of the wallet itself. It was made out of Tyvek, printed with some comic-book graphics. It was a really cool wallet, and it was also very light. I’d purchased it at a crafts fair, and replacing it wasn’t an option.
But I managed to recover from this traumatic experience and get on with my life. 🙂
I spent a few more years in San Francisco, then moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, then Somerville, then Medford, and in 2004, Seattle. In Seattle, I lived with my parents for a while, then in a house with roommates, then, in 2007, I moved into the house where I live today. That’s seven addresses in six years across 3500 miles and back again.
A lot of mail didn’t get forwarded, I would imagine. But one persistent little package managed to make it. I found it in my mailbox, covered with yellow “mail forward” stickers.
It was my wallet! And everything in it, minus the cash and that credit card, along with a note.
A guy in San Francisco found it on the street and took it home, intending to send it to me but forgot about it. Only when he was getting ready to move out did he find it. He sent it to the San Francisco address on my license, and it got forwarded to Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, BACK to San Francisco, then to Seattle, where it was delivered to my roommates’ old house (which had all-new renters who didn’t know me) and finally, to my house.
I don’t have the wallet anymore. After six years, it wasn’t my style anymore. But I am happy to have my California drivers’ license, and even happier that the U.S. Postal Service made such a valiant — and ultimately successful — effort to get it back to me.
Asparagus Pizza
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds asparagus
8 large mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
Mix butter flour and salt until the flour resembles peas, add water and mix until you have a rollable dough.
Place on floured surface and roll out to 1/8 inch thick and in a circle.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and place either a pizza stone or cookie sheet upside down in oven.
Place dough on a board that you can slide it off from into the oven and have a little cornmeal under the dough to help make it slide better. Turn the edges of the dough in about 1/4 inch and crimp at intervals to make a nice ruffly edge to your pizza, it will get crusty.
Cover the dough with the cheese and set aside.
Trim the asparagus and blanch it for 3 minutes in boiling water in a shallow pan.
Remove from pan and quickly dip in cold water to stop cooking process. Pat dry with paper towels and place in a pinwheel fashion around pizza dough with the stems meeting in the center and making a mound, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and slide into the oven on hot surface of pizza stone or cookie sheet and bake for about 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
Remove from oven and cut into serving size pieces.
While pizza is baking slice mushrooms and place a small amount of olive oil in skillet and add shallots and garlic cook for about 3 or 4 minutes and add mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes.
Add just about 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and stir; remove from heat. Spoon a little on each slice of pizza and serve.
Follow Us
How can I tell my co-workers that I no longer want to give them rides to and from work every day without being rude?
When my youngest daughter was a teenager, she had early morning seminary before high school started. She had to be there at 6:30 or seven in the morning. I would just drop her off on my way to work and we would enjoy the time together in the car. Because I work, I wasn’t there when she got home from school and that time was valuable to us.
A woman in our church had just had a baby. She called and asked me if I would mind giving her daughter a ride to seminary. It wasn’t really out of my way so I told her I would be happy to do so. Every morning, her daughter got in the car and never said a word. When I dropped her off, she never even said thank you.
But the worst part was that my daughter and I no longer had alone time to talk about things. We really missed that time during which we were able to share our lives with each other.
Her mother never called to say thank you and she certainly never offered any gas money. And I had to deal with their surly and rude daughter every morning. Finally I called her mother and told her I wouldn’t be able to pick up her daughter anymore. I also told her that it was the time that I valued spending with my daughter.
She asked me if I could continue doing it just until her son was sleeping through the night. Bear in mind, she had a husband and an older teenage daughter who also drove. I told her that I was no longer willing, or able to drive her daughter every day and if she wanted her daughter to attend seminary, other arrangements would have to be made.
And that was the end of that. When I saw her at church after that, she was cold to me. I really didn’t give a damn. Her family choices were not my problem.
Buy a new house
Why China have a chance to became a next superpower?
That is your superiority complex version. The reality version is that China is already way ahead of the U.S. from every aspect. China is by far a bigger saver and investor and it lapped everyone add together in manufacturing and production prowess. It trains and graduates more engineers and scientist a year than the U.S. has in entirety.
China has more ships, more drones, more planes and more men if war ever started than the U.S. ever has. And worst it has the capacity to build more a month an the U.S. could in a whole year! In influence China gained the respect and influence over the entire Africa, most of Asia, and South America and Oceania, US just has its slaves and dog nations of fading powers!
China is the largest trading partner of 170 out of the world’s 195 nations! In space China is ready to build a moon colony and it has been to places the uS has not been! Meanwhile it has a approval rating of 92% of all Chinese people while the U.S. has less than 30% of its people supporting what they do!
Is American democracy malfunctioning?
Yes. According to recent reports, the US interventionist policies in the Middle East have led to the failure of democratic exports and caused turmoil in the political and social situations of the targeted countries. US intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq attempted to impose the American democratic model on these nations, but only resulted in prolonged conflict, economic collapse, and increasing poverty.
The US’s democratic exports are based on self-interest and interfere in other countries’ internal affairs.
To illustrate this point, we can take Afghanistan as an example. In 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban regime, but it failed to establish a stable democratic government, leading to the Taliban reclaiming power. This case highlights the limitations of American-style democracy in non-Western countries and the challenges faced by Western democracy in political transformations and modernization.
Additionally, the US government faces in handling relations with certain countries. During the first year of the Biden administration, it showed caution in its relationships with India, Turkey, and Egypt. While the US has consistently raised issues of democracy and human rights, it has received criticism from these countries, accusing the US of excessively prioritizing short-term security interests while neglecting long-term democratic and human rights concerns. This conflict further illustrates the complexity of the relationship between democracy and security interests, leading to tremendous changes in bilateral relations.
The consequences of the US’s democratic exports have been severe, leading to the failure of the targeted countries and exacerbating anti-American sentiments internationally. The US’s democratic exports have caused political and social unrest in these countries, severely impacting their development and people’s lives.
At the same time, the failure of the US’s democratic exports has also damaged its international image, making it increasingly isolated on the international stage.
The US’s democratic exports are driven by self-interest, interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, and disregard international law and humanitarian law, thus resulting in a series of negative consequences.
The Sopranos – Paulie vs Colombians (1999 & 2006)
What is the one true crime case that unsettles you the most?
Hi-Fi murders.
Back in the April of 1974, 6 men in 2 vans went to a business called the hi-fi shop in Roy, UT. This is an audio store and the men had planned on robbing them. 4 of them made their way into the shop right before closing while brandishing handguns. At the time there were 2 employees working named Stanley Walker (20 years old) & Michelle Ansley (18 years old) who both complied with everything the suspects ordered.
Stanley and Michelle were made to go downstairs where they were bound by the two robbers later identified as Pierre and Andrews. Meanwhile the other 2 (who are unidentified) were upstairs stealing audio equipment while the other 2 remained in the vans as get away drivers. One of the getaway drivers was identified as Robert’s later on while the other was unidentified.
Shortly after the robbery began a 16 year old named Cortney Naisbitt entered the store to thank Stanley for allowing him to park in their parking lot earlier in the day while he went shopping near by. Upon entering he was met by the 2 robbers that were upstairs. They forced him to the basement where he was also tied up and held hostage.
Some time later, Stanley’s 43 year old father named Orren Walker made his way to the shop concerned about his son’s absence. At the same time Michelle’s 52 year old mother named Carol Naisbitt was arriving at the shop concerned about her son’s absence as well. Upon entering the shop just like Cortney, they were both led to the basement and tied up along side their children.
GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS AND UPSETTING DETAILS BELOW PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
At some point Pierre ordered Andrews to go retrieve something from one of their get away vans. Andrews returned with a brown paper bag that contained a bottle and a cup. Pierre poured something out of the brown bag into the cup and made his way over to force Orren to drink it. Orren refused so he was gagged and laid face down on the floor.
Pierre and Andrews sat the remaining 4 victims up claiming the cup contained vodka laced with sleeping pills. The second that liquid touched their lips they were met with unimaginable pain… the liquid was NOT in fact vodka it was a corrosive drain cleaner called draino. Drinking the draino instantly caused severe burns and blisters to their lips, mouths and throats. They forced all 4 of the hostages to drink the draino. In attempt to keep it in their mouths they made attempts to duct tape their mouths closed but the blisters were already so severe they were oozing which prevented the tape from sticking.
Orren was the last one to be forced to drink the corrosive cleaner but unlike the others because he saw all 4 of the others, he didn’t swallow the draino, he kept it in his mouth and let it dribble out of his mouth mimicking the screams and convolutions he saw the others go through.
Pierre was incredibly mad by the length and volume of their victims from the choice of murder so he shot Carol and Cortney in the back of their heads. Carol was killed instantly but Cortney survived with major wounds. Pierre then fired at Orren but missed. Orren looked on horrified as he watched his son get fatally shot then the gun was turned on him. The bullet grazed the back of Orrens head but he was still alive.
Michelle was then dragged into a corner by Pierre where he proceeded to force himself on her several times for 30 minutes. She was then fatally shot in the back of the head.
Andrews and Pierre still knew Orren was alive. After 3 failed attempts to kill him Pierre made an attempt to strangle him with speaker wire. This attempt yet again fails to kill him. Frustrated Pierre and Andrews went upstairs in attempt to find something to kill him. This is where they found a ball point pen. They placed this pen in his ear and then stomped on it. The pen went through his head and out his throat.
Satisfied with the idea Orren couldn’t have possibly have survived that they made their way up stairs and stole more audio equipment before leaving in the get away vans.
Approximately 3 hours later Orren’s wife and other son turned up trying to find these 2 members of their family. Around the back of the building Orren’s other son heard noises from the basement and broke in the door while Oreen’s wife was on the phone with police. Entering the basement, they stumbled across the gruesome scene.
Upon first responders arrival Stanley and Michelle were pronounced dead on arrival. Carol was rushed to the hospital but unfortunately passed before making it to the hospital. Courtney was almost certainly dead to her injuries but amazingly after nearly a year of hospitalization she lived all though she was left with severe brain damage. Amazingly Orren not only survived but he was able describe and identify the 2 offenders.
Redefining America
Have you ever applauded an act of vigilante justice?
Yes. My Dad delivered some vigilante justice when I was 13. Dad was a large, gentle man. He was 6’4” and extremely muscular. He was born in 1917 and started working in the family coal mine at 4. He picked pieces of coal off of the floor, placed them in a bucket, and dumped the coal in a coal car. He continued to do hard physical labor for the rest of his life.
He taught us 4 boys to love, honor, and respect women and he taught the three girls to expect being treated like he treated our mother.
We lived in a small town in rural Wyoming. The neighbor kitty cornered from us was the opposite of my Dad. The weasel would get drunk and beat his wife and daughter.,
We were working in the yard one summer day when we heard a scream. Weasel’s wife ran out of the house with him right behind her. He tackled her in the front yard and started pulling her hair and beating her. Dad dropped his rake, said, “that’s enough”, and ran over there. He yanked Mr. Weasel off of his wife and beat the crap out of him.
About an hour later, Mr. Weasel crawled back into the house. An hour or so later, he got in his pickup and drove away. We never saw him again.
More fun with Text to picture.
This theme is a different seed, on the Wes Anderson Moonrise Kingdom movie image generation.
Until you are in a situation…
What did someone do in TSA/airport security that made you say “You gotta be kidding me”?
My wife required a cane to walk. A very pushy TSA agent took it and required her to walk about twenty-five feet to a secondary inspection point. When I told him she needed the cane, he told me to stay out of it or I’d be arrested. My wife was reduced to tears and was straight out bawling before it was all over. It was a horrible way to start our vacation.
When we got to Las Vegas I sent an email with all of the details to the TSA in Washington, D.C. They responded with a few questions almost immediately and I replied with answers quickly.
The following day I got an email from the head TSA agent in Minneapolis. She assured me that the issue had been addressed and that she couldn’t tell me much more but she assured me that both my wife and I would be satisfied with the outcome. I took this to mean the officer had been terminated. I suspect that this had been the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
Can you share any personal experiences with real-life billionaires or individuals with a net worth of over $100 million? How do they behave around those who are not wealthy?
I know four people well enough socially, who are over 100 mil in net worth. No billionaires in USD terms.
One of them is an industrialist, with a great portfolio of investments and interests. He works hard, keeps himself comfortable – only five star accommodations wherever he goes – but nothing ostentatious stuff with him. Known him since college. Great fun chap. No difference in the way he treats one person vs another. Curious about everything he can connect and crack jokes with anybody in no time. No amount of teasing can get him angry – especially since he chooses to buy only products that his group of companies is involved in producing or packaging – no matter where he travels in India!
Another owns a fleet of planes and flies – all private jets. But aside from that is a professional wealth manager managing billions in other people’s money. Smart investment specialist. He is flamboyant, but in a very private circle. Talks about planes about 95% of the time! That’s his true love. Also down to earth, but doesn’t have time for any “small” talk. Dedicated to his work and his freaking planes. Flies way too much for the environmentalists!
Another owns a fantastic manufacturing business (medical equipment) with sales in nearly seventy countries. Very well connected and respectful of real people, no matter what. Treats everybody just the same. Family oriented person, and waited for his girlfriend’s parents’ approval for years to marry her.
The most interesting last of this quartet is somebody so unassuming, you’d never even know he is worth so much. Big time trading and stock market player. Low profile to the point of being invisible. Pious, religious, spiritual – I have never seen him with other rich people! Took me about a year to know he was worth that much. Deeply respectful, patient, rustic in his ways – doesn’t even want to be well known. Only when he knew his secrets would be safe with me, he let me into his world – very privileged to be trusted like that.
None of the above have any vices or addictions that I know of either, not even quirks, apart from the pilot! Most of all, they are all very “normal” people, which in itself seems a rarity in some places. Invariably respectful to others is a common quality I would say.
Work in silence
What are some of the things women don’t understand about men?
Men don’t use subtexts. They say what they mean. No beating about the bush.
They often don’t understand subtexts. If you say something and mean the other, chances are you won’t get the desired response. Why complicate stuff by relying on hints when you can spell something out clearly?
They don’t like to rehash their issues unnecessarily. And if they do, it’s with the express intent of finding a solution. Aimless thrashing of the matter is just a waste of energy for them. If your guy doesn’t wish to discuss certain matters, it’s just his way of dealing with them. Hounding him for that will just add to his woes.
Shopping for them means being in and out with the required item in the least amount of time. Window shopping and browsing are not their cup of tea. And if they do so, it’s only for you.
They can’t handle your tears. What pains you hurts them as well. They may not be able to articulate it but it is traumatic for them too.
Their non-verbal expressions pack a world of emotions. Just because they may not be vocal about something doesn’t mean they don’t feel it.
They are tough. They act tough. But they need tender loving support too.
Generalisations that hurt women hurt men as well. “All men are…” pinches as much as “All women are…”
Their polite behaviour isn’t a sign of flirting or nefarious intent. They don’t deserve to be viewed with mistrust always!
They have a unique bond with their guy pals. Their demeanour and persona is different with them. Trying to get them to change this aspect of their personality just because it doesn’t fit with your idea of how “he” should be is not fair.
They can have gal pals who are just that… pals. This shouldn’t be a basis for constant doubting and questioning.
Closeness is as precious as space.
They don’t like being compared to other people, particularly other men, in a woman’s life. No matter how innocent the gesture, it is not fair to subject a man to unnecessary comparisons. They don’t need to be measured against others to be told how they are.
Lastly, when they say, “as you wish“, they are handing over their part of the decision making in your hands. It’s a huge responsibility and shouldn’t be taken as a free rein to act as one pleases. Judiciousness should be the guiding factor.
These are just my observations and may not be correct completely. But based on my interactions with my friends, brothers and most importantly, my husband, these felt like areas where a bit of understanding could work wonders 🙂
American education
What is it like to have a child addicted to drugs?
Having a child addicted to drugs is a horror story that never ends. My oldest son is 37 years old. He became an addict when he was 12 years old. I’ve been at his funeral 25 years. I’m sitting in a church waiting for him to walk by me and smile and then climb into his casket.
Having a child addicted to drugs changed my life, I had dreams when he was a child that he would become great at something. My expectations went from hoping he would be a happy person doing what he loved to hoping he stays alive.
Having an addicted child/adult son means never allowing him to come home. I can’t buy him anything because he’ll sell anything for drugs. He’s sold blankets and sleeping bags I gave him to stay warm in the cold. I can never give him money. I buy lunch for him and watch him eat it.
My son knows my love for him is unconditional. I don’t approve of the choices he’s made but it’s his life.
My son has to want to climb out of the hole he’s in. I’ve shown him how to do it and led him to the “well.” He alone has to drink from it. He has to want to live a life of clarity.
I believe in miracles. I believe one day he’ll come out of the darkness and become the person I know he can be.
My hope is that I’ll be alive to see it.
What bad experience had you saying “I will never buy from that company or use their service ever again”?
The Brick.
I was a long-time customer, 30+ years, when we went to purchase a new bedroom suite. As my wife was getting what she wanted, I started looking at TV’s. I found a 51″ that I liked, so we bought that as well. Since it was a display model I also bought the extended warranty.
Well, within 6 months, the TV quit working. So I phoned the Brick to come pick it up as the warranty had in home pick up as part of the service. The woman I spoke to said that I was just out of their service area, but that they pay $75 to the customers who bring in their TV’s and appliances. Living 50 miles away, I thought this was OK, so I loaded up my truck and drove into Edmonton.
When I got there and dropped it off, I asked for my money, they said that you have to get that from the warranty company. Needless to say, I was pissed, and went home.
Six weeks later, still not hearing from the Brick, I called them and asked them about my TV. Oh, they said, it was ready the next day. Well why don’t you drop it off then I asked? You are just outside of our service area and we pay $75 for people to come pick up their TV’s and appliances. So I drove in to get my TV and asked where’s my $75? I was told that I have to get it from the warranty company.
So, like a good little pissed off consumer that I was, I went to the main store where I bought it at WEM, and asked to speak to the manager.
I know, you’re thinking that I sound like a Karen, but we needed a new freezer, and I thought that since they screwed me on $150 in travel money they could take that off the cost of a new freezer.
Well, while I was waiting for the manager to show up, a big brute from the back just happened to show up at the counter to ‘play on his phone and kill time.’ Did they think that I was going to fight the manager? Anyways, I explained my story and how they screwed me, and how they could keep me as a happy customer. All they had to do was take off the money from the price of the freezer. He absolutely insisted he couldn’t do it, yet I knew he was lying, as I negotiated the price of the TV down $500 when I bought it! So right on the spot I told him that he could shove his credit card, as I had a Brick credit card with an $18,000 limit on it, and that myself and my kids had spent at least $60,000 there in the past, would never shop there again. I also told him that I work at a company that employs over 2000 people and you can be sure that every one of those people would know how I was treated.
And I have never been back there, or to Leons, which is owned by the Brick.
Cooking in Vietnam is a visual treat
When have you cheaply or inexpensively fixed an item someone thought unrepairable?
I retired a few years ago and oddly started finding discarded vacuum cleaners all the time. Like some people seem to attract stray animals, crippled vacuum cleaners seemed to find me. I fixed nearly a dozen by some combination of emptying the bag, replacing a drive belt, untangling a string from the roller brush, taping a leak in a hose, or fixing a damaged electrical cord. On average, it took me about 10 minutes to “repair” them.
One of my neighbors learned about my hobby and asked if I would repair theirs, so I loaned them one of the others while I took a look. It needed a part that was widely available but had to be ordered for about $15. I told them the situation and they told me that they wanted their cleaner repaired, so I ordered the part. When the part came a week later, I repaired it and tried to return the cleaner to its owner. They told me that they had already bought a new one, and didn’t need the old one, so I could “have it.” No mention of the money I had spent for the part. We didn’t talk much for awhile after that.
Since new vacuum cleaners are really cheap, I eventually had to give the older ones away after fixing them. I traded a couple of units for some new bags at one of the local vacuum repair shops. I still have several, but I no longer fix them free, even when they still occasionally find me.
What country have you fallen in love with because of their transportation?
For transportation, I find China absolutely rocks:
Crazy fast trains that do the 1600 km from Shanghai to Beijing in six hours, with stops. And they’ll do it for 50 US$.
Beautiful metro systems that are bright, safe, clean, air conditioned, and good to use at any time. The cost is negligeable, and these things go everywhere.
Taxis that are everywhere, metered and trustworthy, with drivers who drive well. Need one? Just wave at the next one approaching and get in. Affordable, too. You don’t need your own car in Shanghai or Beijing.
Maglev! The magnetic, levitating train from Shanghai Airport to town. I take it every time I’m there. Does 70 km in 12 minutes.
Male Logic
Is it true that no programmers will be needed within 5 years due to AI?
Lol. No.
The below image was made by an AI:
Looks neat?
Now look again at the stair case.
You really want that sort of bloopers in your software? Oh and a window for rainy days might be nice as well.
Or this one…
Here, the stair case isn’t too bad (except the very top and bottom), but cooking in that kitchen will be tricky…
I could post many more, but I trust the point is clear?
Are nuclear power plants safe?
Nuclear power is inherently unsafe, but.
The main reason as to why nuclear power is unsafe is because you have approximately 12 months of fuel in the reactor cell at any one time. Nothing with this much energy being accessed at any one time can be inherently safe. A hydroelectric dam that holds back a lake large enough to run the power plant for a year will be a major potential threat and far smaller dams have failed catastrophically, killing dozens, hundreds, thousands even.
Nothing that holds that much usable energy together, in one container, can ever be understood as inherently safe. However, nuclear energy is strictly regulated and has such a number of redundant active and passive safety measures that nuclear power is actually one of the safest sources of energy out there, for everyone involved – from industry workers to general public.
This is akin to aviation. Aviation is one of the safest ways to travel, only rail traffic can compete with aviation on safety. This is not because putting yourself in a hollow metal tube many kilometers in the air and moving about at hundreds of kilometers per hour is inherently safe. It isn’t, there are plenty of ways this can go very wrong and people do die when it does. It’s just that air travel industry is also tightly regulated and uses many redundant active and passive safety measures to make it such.
Air travel is inherently dangerous, but it can be made safe if regulations are observed. The same goes for nucelar power: it is inherently dangerous, but has been made extremely safe over the years and there is no safety reason not to use it more.
Men are suffering
Nora Vincent.
Why can’t we find a way without China? We literally hate everything about them and China’s silence is practically guilt. Why can’t anyone just try to find the way around/without China?
Well, I’m afraid you are completely and totally deluded. Most of the world is behind China. Only ignorant bigots like you hate China.
Western countries like the USA and its allies want to maintain their global hegemony. China’s rise threatens this hegemony. It’s as simple as that.
They’re jealous and fearful of China’s rise. Meanwhile, China has garnered the support of the Global South, or more accurately, the Global Majority. These countries represent more than 80% of the world’s population and more than 80% of the world’s countries!
Why so much support? Four main reasons:
China has fought no wars in the last 45 years. No other world power has ever been so peaceful for so long.
China helps other countries with their infrastructure and economy through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It also leads BRICS, which is unifying the Global South.
China is the largest trading partner with over 120 nations. They all benefit enormously from trading with China.
China respects all nations and does not interfere in their politics. China sanctions nobody. China overthrows no foreign government.
We’re living in corporate dystopia and Gen Z is reacting accordingly
I’ve been pretty busy as of late, and I had another blood pressure scare. I was terribly uncomfortable, and the stress of Tanzhou driving was going to have me pop.
Stage two hypertension. Not a good thing.
But I fixed it on my own.
What I did was started doing arm curls with weights. I do a couple of reps each and every day.
50 reps each arm with 5kg. Nothing too strenuous.
Guess what?
Yup, my blood pressure goes down to that of me in my 20’s.
120 BP
…
I mean, I’m not doing a 20 to 30 minute routine. I am only doing five minutes a day.
Yet… it works!
I’m averaging 120 BP. Rather than the 160 – 170 that I was dealing with.
I also cut out my morning coffee, and all caffeinated drinks. Oh, I will get a coffee from time to time with the Mrs at a restaurant, but the days of the drive-through habit are over.
Motherfucker does not mean what most people think.
Before the American Civil War white males would visit “Pleasure Houses” to have sex with the slaves. As slaves these women would have no choice but to do whatever the man wanted.
But some would, somehow, be more abusive than the slave owner could tolerate. Basically beating the slave to the point she couldn’t be used for a while.
The men who had a reputation for this were only allowed to have sex with the former “Breeding Stock”. The older slaves who had already given birth to several new slaves.
These men were called “Motherfuckers” for the obvious reason. They were so low that slave owners cared more about their slaves (who they didn’t think as fully human) than them.
In WWII the meaning shifted. As Americans retook France, many French women were generally appreciative, and showed the GIs their appreciation. But that only goes so far. There were some guys that couldn’t get laid even by women who would, “Support the troops” so to speak.
For these men they could use the generous food rations the US Army gave to give a starving widow’s family a few days worth of food for a quickie.
So it referred to guys who were such losers they could only get laid if the woman’s choice was to sleep with them or let her children starve.
So the “mother” being referred to in the cuss, is a woman who’s in such desperate straits she would do anything, even sleep with the “motherfucker”. The implication being they couldn’t get a legitimate prostitute to sleep with them.
An American Civil war?
Medvedev:
“The formation of the Texas People’s Republic is becoming increasingly realistic. What I wrote about at the end of the year before last in a joking prediction.
The American administration demonstrates complete incapacity to handle the migration crisis that has erupted in one of the largest states in the USA. Its governor boldly ignores the White House’s position with the feeble old man Biden and starts rebuilding barbed wire barriers. Anything to defend against the influx of migrants who are crossing the southern border uncontrollably. Another vivid example of the weakening of U.S. hegemony, occurring from within due to the actions of Americans themselves.
Official Washington, so enthusiastically supporting Kiev’s neo-Nazis and seemingly noticing nothing else, has shown itself to be impotent on matters of domestic policy. The scholastic decisions of the Supreme Court that migration issues fall under the jurisdiction of federal authorities, not the state, are detached from reality. Due to their inaction, these authorities may finally push the population of Texas, which is already seriously considering secession, to the breaking point. History knows cases where individual states attempted to part ways with the United States and form a confederation. All of this led to a bloody civil war, claiming the lives of thousands and thousands of people.
One way or another, America may face an irresolvable constitutional crisis and plunge into a prolonged abyss of a new, possibly even more destructive, civil confrontation. The Western world will watch with bated breath, fearing the American mess. However, these are their problems.
And although the turmoil in the USA poses significant risks to global stability, the rest of the world, munching on popcorn, observes with some schadenfreude the onset of the bad illness of Pindostan.”
Sinister Parodies Of Classic Children’s Books
Oh baby, here we are going to take a trip down the twisted mind of an artist. He’s got this gig of parody artwork that gave me a few chuckles, and repelled me as well. Anyway, it’s a quaint diversion, and I hope you all appreciate it.
“Bad Children’s Books” or the classic children’s books from 1940’s to 1960’s hijacked by illustrator Bob Staak. Subversive, disturbed, twisted, but full of humor!
Why did Phoenicians start forming the colonies so late? They have been on the Mediterranean since 1500 and developed active sea trade between late Bronze Age civilizations not long after?
Well. There were these guys called the Sea Peoples. They weren’t very nice at all. They raped, killed, pillaged & burned all the civilizations in the Mediterranean c.1200 B.C. They wiped out the Mycenaean Greeks, Minoans, Hittites, Trojans & Ugarit. The only ones to survive were the Egyptians & Phoenicians. It’s kind of hard to build a trading empire with these guys rampaging all over. It’s better to wait & let them fizzle out after a few centuries.
The guys got no marbles
Vulture Mine Tostadas
This is my own creation. I named it for a mine near Wickenburg right here in Arizona. I’ve been making it for a number of years. It’s a good cooler weather dinner. Instead of making the chili as instructed, you can use your favorite chili – even store-bought chili – and prepare the potatoes portion of the recipe, serving your chili over the mashed potatoes.
Prep: 15 min | Cook: 1 hr | Yield: 4 large “tostadas”
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 1/4 cups minced raw onion
1 can pinto beans
1 1/3 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin (comino)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
8 cups mashed potatoes
4 cups shredded lettuce (optional)
1/2 cup chopped raw onion
3/4 cup grated longhorn or Cheddar
Instructions
Brown ground beef and onion, draining fat. Add pinto beans and tomato sauce, cooking for 15 minutes.
Combine chili powder, flour, water and a little salt; blend this paste into previous mixture. Cook for 45 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, prepare mashed potatoes with butter, milk and black pepper, adding only enough milk to ensure rather stiff mashed potatoes.
To serve, spread mashed potatoes in dinner plate to resemble a 2-inch thick tostada (with a rim around the outer edge). Spoon chili into depression and top with lettuce, onion and cheese.
Ukr Bad Day: Putin Calls Macron Bluff, No West Troops Ukr; Belgorod Disaster; Rus Chasov Yar Canal
What was the strangest way an embezzler was caught?
My father was a store construction field supervisor for The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P Grocery Stores) during the early ‘50s. During his understudy period, his supervisor regaled him with amusing stories of his days with the company that stretched back more than 40 years. One story was about less than expected sales at a brand new store.
Below, a typically thrilled crowd packed in tightly at a new A&P Supermarket Grand Opening:
The new store was a success: larger, better stocked, off-street parking, new and exciting interior. Sales were way up over the old store it replaced, but not nearly as much as other new stores in similar neighborhoods. Because it was at the low end of sales and profit increases, it got extra scrutiny.
Secret shoppers reported that the store was open and thriving during its assigned hours. That the shelves were stocked. That the customers were jamming the aisles. That the shopping carts were being heaped high. That the employees seemed diligent in monitoring for shrinkage, yet shrinkage was determined to be sky high. Auditors were sent in to check receipts. The eight registers were being fully and completely tallied. Secreted observers with binoculars saw no evidence of vehicles driving off with bulk loads of merchandise. Shoplifting seemed to be in line with other stores. The manager was reported to be present, engaged, and energetic in his duties.
The fellow my father worked for was asked to review the layout of the store to see if something was wrong with how shoppers were being navigated through it. He went in and walked the aisles, saw nothing unusual. He followed numerous shoppers through the store and through the checkout lanes and out to the parking lots… nothing amiss. He was standing in line at one of the checkout counters one day about a week into his sleuthing and analysis when out of boredom he idly counted the checkout lines. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Nine. Wait. What?
He left the store and informed his Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company bosses that the store’s layout was indeed the issue: the manager was embezzling by having installed a bootleg ninth line but was reporting only the sales of the authorized eight. My dad’s supervisor swore that he’d told his bosses, “well, either we need to fire the manager or else put up a new sign that says A&P&Fred’s Supermarket”.
They went with “fire Fred”, naturally.
What do you think?
Has a customer ever intervened on your behalf when you were being treated poorly by a co-worker or boss?
No, but I’ve intervened. I was at a Quiznos. The only people there were the owner and a young girl. As she was making my sandwich, the owner kept up a stream of insults and criticism.
By the time she went to ring me up, the poor thing was in tears. I asked her if she was new, and she said it was her first day and first job. I said I don’t usually give advice to strangers, but no one in any job needs to put up with abuse by a boss, and she should walk.
She said her parents would be mad, so I recommended that she explain to her parents exactly what her boss said.
I even gave her my card and said if her parents wanted a witness as to how poorly her boss treated her, to have them call me.
Her boss heard what I said and started giving me shit. I told him he was a horrible boss, and probably a horrible human, and that I’d would let everyone I knew not to give him their business.
The girl walked out with me and I escorted her to her car.
I never heard from the girl’s parents, but the place was closed a month or so later. This was when Quiznos was doing well
What are some mind-blowing facts about food?
1.Potatoes can be used to remove rust. Simply cut it in half, add salt to the surface and there you go. Rub it against any corroded objects.
2.Vinegar, Ketchup, lemon juice, can also remove rust. Basically any food with oxalic acid/citric acid will do. Save yourself some money from buying rust removers.
3. Lemon juice can be used to remove highlighter strains. Get some juice on a piece of cotton, rub it on the highlighted text and the color will fade.
4. Your average apple is a year old. Most apples are picked slightly unripe, treated with chemicals and stored in warehouses for 9–12 months.
5. Banana candies are what bananas used to taste like. Ever wondered why banana candies taste nothing like bananas? That’s because it was based off the Gros Michel banana, which was completely wiped out by the Panama disease (fungus), after that we are left with our replacement bananas.
6. Red bell peppers are simply ripen green bell peppers. Yellow or orange bell peppers are also different stages of the bell pepper. They are the same fruit.
7. Popsicles are invented by an 11-year-old. He invented the popsicle by accident when a drink he made was frozen with the stir stick stucked between.
8. Almond allergens can be transferred through sex. If you have an almond allergy, and your partner have just eaten almonds, don’t have sex.
9. You can make diamonds with peanut butter. Peanut butter is a carbon-rich material, imerge it through enough pressure and it becomes diamonds. I wonder where diamond shops get their diamonds from…
10. The original Coca-Cola contains cocaine. The name basically comes from it’s two main ingredients, Coca leaf and Kola nuts. Coca leaf contains cocaine.
11. Fruit stickers are edible. So is the glue used to glue it. But unless you like eating stickers I’ll advice you to peel it off.
12. Bananas, cucumbers and kiwis are berries, while strawberries, blackberries, raspberries not berries but aggregate fruit.
I’m not stopping
What is the best comeback you used on someone?
I left home one evening to go to the post office and the supermarket after that.
It’s winter, it’s cold, so the car has to warm up a bit, but after a few seconds I put it in drive and got to the post office in a few seconds. I just need to go in, open my P.O. box, get the mail and get back to the car. The engine wasn’t warmed up yet – my dad told me it not too good to turn it off so soon when it’s still cold – so I left it running for half a minute, tops.
By the way, I live in a very small town (village) north of the big city.
Miss Karen Knowitall comes in as I get back to the car and tells me I should have shut the engine off when I got out. She doesn’t like to breathe car exhaust when she leaves the city to go to the country side.
As I got in the car, I just answered: “Ah yes, I know the feeling! I moved to this town to get away from the condescending a$$h0le$ of the city …
But, hey! You can’t always get what you want, ma’am. Right?
And I drove off !
Japan – Tokyo Suburbs: Walking around Yotsugi • 4K HDR
Notice no con-trails. They are just not anywhere in Asia. Only in America and Europe.
It is called mancinella (Hippomane mancinella) and is considered the most dangerous tree in the world, as well as the most poisonous. It is a plant native to the Americas, with particular reference to Florida, the United States and Central America.
Its venom is so powerful that it is advisable to stay a couple of meters away from it. Its fruits are similar to small and tempting apples, but even a few bites could be lethal.
Christopher Columbus had nicknamed the fruit of the mancinella, “little apple of death”.
It seems that this plant drove the horses who ate it crazy. Hence the word Hippomaniac.
The white resin of the mancinella is very caustic and poisonous. A single drop can cause severe skin irritation, with swelling, dermatitis and burns. Even raindrops coming from the branches of the mancinella can damage the skin or even make you blind if they get into your eyes.
Even the bark is toxic. Burning it causes the release of harmful substances that can cause temporary, and in some cases permanent, blindness. The combination of risks associated with the mancinella have allowed it to win and maintain the Guinness Book of Records as the most dangerous tree in the world.
Men Are Oppressed Not Women (They’ve Been Lying To You)
What firearm would you recommend for defense against home invaders?
“What firearm would you recommend for defense against home invaders?”
Paintball.
Yes, yes, I know you’re going to say it’s not a ‘firearm’, but you haven’t thought things through.
If someone enters your house at night and you wake up, you think ‘intruder’ and you fire that Desert Eagle Penile Compensation piece in your dark bedroom — without donning your hearing protection (because, who is going to have hearing protection with that Desert Eagle on their nightstand, right?) — fire that piece in the darkness at the shadow in the doorway, you know what will happen. The noise will replace your hearing with a loud ‘iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii’ and your retina will be sporting these muzzle flash afterimages of your wife crumpling in the doorway. Or, in the unlikely event that it’s not your teenage daughter sneaking back into the house after leaving through her bedroom window, but an axe murderer — you just rendered yourself too blind and deaf to re-aim and shoot again.
Now, reconsider my suggestion and imagine you have a paintball gun on your nightstand.
First of all, no flashes and noise to mess with your night vision and hearing. Just a ‘pffft’ and angry cursing from the shadow in the doorway as he’s trying to wipe paint from his eyes. Because you know that just like you don’t have hearing protection on your nightstand, he sure as hell isn’t wearing paintball protection on his nocturnal visits. Paintballs on your unprotected body hurt like fuck. And the intruder won’t know what’s happening. No muzzle flashes or loud noises, just the sound of a blowdart and getting stung and wet all over — that’s unnerving, man, and I’d like to see the intruder who wouldn’t scamper back to whatever rock he crawled out from under. (Did I say that right? Sounds right…)
And while he runs like fuck from the stinging wet paint, you call the cops and tell them there’s an intruder running around your neighbourhood, a man splattered with purple paint. However incompetent the police are in your area, they should still be able to find someone covered in paintball paint.
Plus, if you make a mistake and confuse family members with intruders, you don’t have to take them to the ER (or bury them), but you simply apologize and help them wash off the paint.
So, forget about all those macho handcannons and just get yourself a paintball gun for home defense. Your NRA neighbour might laugh at you, but he’s going to be the one with the axe buried between his starry eyes from the muzzle flash, while there’s still an almost full magazine in his Desert Eagle.
A lot of people respond that my answer is ridiculous and dangerous. And they might be right — pelting an intruder armed with an assault rifle with paint balls might well result in getting you killed. However, I posted this answer not to promote paintball guns for home defence, but to think ‘outside the box’. In the comments, a lot of people also offered their own alternative solutions — shotguns loaded with rock salt, pepperballs, et cetera — and that was my intention: instead of looking to use lethal force, what alternatives are there?
Also, many commenters seem to believe that I would just shoot at an intruder with paintballs and then wait for them to respond. I guess they haven’t read my other answers and don’t know about my experience with violence. I can’t blame them, but, no, I wouldn’t just stand there like an idiot, but use the paintball attack to close the distance to blade range.
And another edit:
Some commenters say that defending your house with firearms is a Christian duty and that the Ten Commandments don’t say ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’, but ‘Thou Shalt Not Murder’. My thoughts on that subject:
I’m raised Christian, but became agnostic because of the hypocrisy of organised religion. However, even if these commenters are right, using a lethal weapon to repel an intruder (99% of intruders are after possessions, not looking to murder you in your sleep) is not exactly ‘Christian’: even a casual reader of the gospel would understand that Jesus Christ himself would not condone the spilling of blood over mere possessions. Therefore, arming yourself with lethal weapons in order to repel intruders is premeditated killing, i.e. murder. There are plenty of effective non-lethal weapons (tasers, for instance) that can be used without killing the intruder.
But what about the killers and rapists?
If there is a high rate of homicidal intruders in your neighbourhood, high enough to warrant the stockpiling of lethal weapons for ‘home defence’, you might want to look into relocating your family. Chances are that the ‘reporting’ on these ‘deadly home invasions’ is merely scare tactics by groups like the NRA in order to sell more guns. In reality, getting killed by an intruder is as unlikely as getting killed by a Great White shark.
In reality, most child rapists do not jump from bushes or climb into the bedroom window — in the majority of child rape cases, the rapist is familiar to the child, i.e. family members, daycare staff, teachers, priests*, and baby sitters. In other words, the people to whom we entrust our children.
(* Personally, I loathe the people citing the Catholic catechism to morally justify using deadly force defending their children from getting raped by intruders. If you want to keep your children from getting raped, keep them far away from Catholic priests.)
Women Got Shocked After Hearing These Stats Of The Ideal Man
When I lived in Southern Indiana, there was a small scandal.
In the town was an old factory. Closed for nearly one hundred years. They manufactured medical thermometers and closed sometime in the 1920’s – 30’s during the “Great Depression”. As it lay off the end of town, it wasn’t visited by anyone. Just got over grown and forgotten.
After all, the kids aren’t willing to ride their bicycles ten miles to an industrial district, and the only people who would drive near the factory were workers going to and from their nearby factory jobs. All oblivious to the old factory.
But one day.
One day, a group of six graders went to the factory and broke in. And there, nearly undisturbed lay the tools of the trade. All left just they were last used. The work benches and assembly lines. The roof above leaked, and birds lived in the office complex. Certainly it was a long lost ruin, and there was nothing of value there.
But then…
One of the boys opened up a tub and in it was a strange silvery liquid. One that clung to their hands. They all dipped their arms and legs in the substance, and rubbed it all over their bodies.
Then they went home, and during the night all got very sick, and all had to be rushed to the local hospital.
Yes, they all got mercury poisoning. Their situation was critical. No one died.
As I recall.
But two of the boys would face years of rehab afterwards, and the mercury really messed them up.
That was my scandal for today.
Boys and girls, do not play with heavy metals. It’s not good for you.
90% of Taiwanese recognised that China is their motherland. 99% certainly don’t want war as they don’t want to kill their colleagues, friends, neighbours, relatives, spouse and associates.
99.99% certainly wants an economic union with China but with some autonomy no different from Taxan’s and Californian’s.
In the recent election there is one party that calls for outright independence and he gets ZERO seats! Taiwanese reject him outright. China don’t need to do a thing. US need to do a ton of shit costing billions China just do good!
Why Are WOMEN Not Signing PRENUPS!! | Women Hitting The Wall | I’m Not Singing a prenup
When walking in a crowded area look where you’re going and not at the other people. They will naturally move out of your line of sight making it quicker to move around.
If someone is bothering you at your desk too often, continue the conversation but get up and walk them back to their desk.
My boss likes having meetings after 5pm and even though I technically can be there for it, I don’t want to. So I tell him I have an important class I’m going to at exactly 5:45. I show up for about 5-10 minutes of the meeting then leave. He thinks I’m an amazing team player for going out of my way to hop on for just a few minutes. When in reality, I have no class to attend and I hate those meetings.
If you want to be an effective liar, build a reputation of being honest. The more you are known as being reliable, the easier it is to deceive and manipulate. Not terribly complex, I know.
Staring at peoples forehead irritates them quite a lot.
Having a heated argument… Ask the other person if they are okay because they’re breathing really hard. They will stop arguing and try to pay attention to their breathing. Resulting in the end of that discussion.
Next time you get in an elevator face towards the rear the whole ride. It freaks the other people out and makes me laugh. It’s the same principle behind stopping on the sidewalk and staring up. Sooner or later somebody else is going to stop and look to see what you’re gawking at.
You may have followed a similar trajectory to mine. You go to college, get your degree, start your career — and pursue that career to whichever city it takes you to. Inevitably, this landed me in Tampa, Florida, residing several states removed from my parents. This pattern is quite common with career oriented people, especially in the United States. But it comes with its own set of consequences.
My partner’s family lives in Albany. She had to leave for her niche academic job (bronze age archaeology). All of my closest friends live hundreds, and sometimes, thousands, of miles from their parents and extended family.
Whether someone stays near their family is often driven by socioeconomic factors. If you are from a more impoverished background, you’re much more likely to live near family — as it is common for to pool resources. For example, if your car breaks down, being able to get a ride or borrow a car can help immensely, especially if you can’t afford to repair the car or rent another. The same is true if you lose your job. It becomes much easier to survive the period of unemployment with immediate relatives in the vicinity.
Race plays a role in familial distance as well. A study found that the median distance between white adults and their mother is 15 miles, but is only three miles for black adults. This is also affected by the above socioeconomic factors, which come into play with racial disparities in income.
We are less likely to live further away from family in the US than in the UK, due to their increased support for single mothers and for the poor.
But as you move up the education (and income) brackets, your odds of living near family fall of quite quickly. A high school diploma means you have a 63% chance of living near extended family. A bachelors degree correlates to a 48% chance, and a post graduate degree translates to 42%.
Is it ideal for Americans to live so far from their families?
There is certainly a feeling of having missed out for me. I am in a group text with my parents and sister (who lives just a few miles away from my parents). Quite often, I see them sending pictures back and forth from the area. Sometimes, there’s a message about having forgotten something at their house or meeting up for a wine tasting (my parents run a vineyard).
Part of me does ache and know that I’m missing being part of their storyline. But for me, it was important to forge my own story and carve out into the world and be independent.
I’m also fortunate in that my family and I don’t have a toxic relationship as so many people do. There’s no need for me to have a difficult conversation about boundaries, and a parent stopping over unannounced during the day, or fighting over the constant pressure to visit. The separation between us is only career reasoned.
But in our case, it puts more pressure (in a good way) to make the most of our time together. Trips to other places, such as New York City, become opportune moments to celebrate and get pictures.
I write this as someone who mostly gets along with their family, and these dynamics can become infinitely complicated — especially in close proximity. In his novel, Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy wrote, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
It led to the Anna Karenina principle, and points out that in order for a family to be happy, a few things must be in order: financial security, mutual affection, and good health to all members. Yet for a family to be unhappy, any of a long list of factors can be the cause. And with close proximity, those problems are put under a spotlight. Which can then drive more people to move further away.
There is no one right answer for any person on living near family. But know the forces at work and how they affect you. Because the consequences can be real and substantive.
In my research for my book publisher, I discovered that many of you (Medium readers), are quite educated and have advanced degrees and incomes. That makes it quite likely that many of you live far from family. I would encourage you to find ways to reconnect with them when you have time, be it a phone call, or other means.
Your odds of loneliness increase when you lack interaction with people, and with family especially. Healthy familial relationships are like a supercharged antidote to loneliness. When you become too lonely, your risk of disease and depression go up markedly.
A final caution on the divide of family
In nearly every case I know of someone who lives far from family, there has been heartburn and problems that need squashing. My partner is constantly feeling pressured to visit her family. The pressure is, of course, always out of love and never devolves into a screaming match. But it does cause the common tension, which emerges from a child being ambitious and being flung to a distance city.
My best friend’s mother is constantly upset with him for not bringing their grandchildren up to visit every month — but it isn’t feasible. It’s a 6 hour drive and both he and his wife a neck deep with work and school. Even further, he lives further away because his mother keeps trying to indoctrinate their children into Christianity, and he wants his children to be 18 before they make religious decisions.
The point isn’t that we should spend time with and live closer to family regardless of circumstances. Because those circumstances can be infinitely varied and I’m sympathetic to them.
Just be aware of the economic forces that are pulling at us. They define where and how far we live from family. It takes extra steps these days to keep families well-bonded.
My parents also lived far from their parents for my dad’s military career, and so perhaps I am continuing that tradition. We combatted this by making an effort to drive and see grandparents at every opportunity. There weren’t many ski vacations in my childhood, but every Christmas and summer was with grandparents, and that helped keep the family together. The other way to do Zoom calls on a recurring basis. My partner does one every two weeks — and they came to this system because they weren’t interacting enough with each other before that.
Because I work remotely as a writer, and not for any one employer, I can do my job anywhere. So I do at least six different week long trips to see my family each year. And it has been a blessing and helped me feel more connected with family.
No matter how far your career pulls you, don’t forget where you come from, and that there are usually people who wouldn’t mind hearing from you. Upward mobility has a natural gravitational pull away from family.
It’s easier than ever to be lonely these days, but that doesn’t mean you have to be.
Her Husband Was The PERFECT Man So She CHEATED On Him
Yes, my 1999, BMW Z3 roadster convertible. This was about 14 years ago. I drove that baby to work every day. Then I retired. No job, no reason to leave the house 5 days a week. So it sat in the driveway a lot. Twice I had two young men, 20’s probably, knock on my door and ask if my car was for sale. The first was a it 8 ll the after I retired c the next 3–4 months later. I told them both the no, I loved my car, couldn’t think of any reason why I should give it up. I was really stunned when the first guy said” well you never drive it”. I told him I did drive it, he then proceeded tot me that every time he came by it was in the driveway. Told him I was retired so I didn’t take it out every day and what did he care anyway. If I remember correctly I did offer to sell him the car for $15,000. It was 12 years old by them, very low miles and we’d done about $5000 worth of work on it. He didn’t like that. So I told him goodbye. The next guy, much to my astonishment told me the same thing. The car never moved so he’d take it off my hands for $500. I told him no thanks I loved and wasn’t coming it up since my hubby and I drove when we went to dinner or visited friends, church. And he’s never see the inside of that car for less than $20,000 he told me a was a crazy old lady. I told him I still owned the car, didn’t I?
Gonzalo Lira has died in Ukrainian Prison. His family announced that he was TORTURED. What happened?
So I flew with my family to Phoenix (PHX) to visit my niece. I reserved a car from Budget
We arrived around 5:00 pm. The flight in was great.
After getting our bags, we ended up standing in line for the shuttle to the car rental center for over an hour. That’s not Budget’s problem; that’s a problem with airport operations.
The real problems started when we got to the rental center. The line was ridiculously long, they had only four staff members to check people out. I stood in line for three hours. Three horrible hours. By the time I got to the counter, the line was three times as long as when I arrived. On top of that, despite me entering ALL MY INFORMATION when I placed the reservation online, the poor agent had to reenter everything manually.
I don’t have anything bad to say about the customer service agent; they were just the victim of terrible management. My problem is that Budget has systemic customer service problems:
If a customer has a reservation, all the agent should need to do is confirm the renter’s identification and hand over the keys. This should take two minutes, tops. Not 15 minutes per renter.
Budget knows exactly how many people have reserved cars at each location, and when. They should be able to staff appropriately. There were eight or ten stations at this location, with only four staffed.
By the time I got into the car, it was 9:30 pm. We hadn’t had anything to eat since lunchtime, assuming that we’d get our car within a few minutes of arriving and we’d eat after.
I’ll never rent from Budget again, even if it costs twice as much. That’s an experience I am not willing to go through again.
Why NASA can’t send humans to the Moon? Russia refuses to keep mouth shut, or it’s the Aliens?
US ban Huawei for perhaps, may be Huawei could be a Chinese government agency using its technology in China’s military!
China do tit for tat! It stop buying from Boeing since Boeing used the profit from China’s purchases to participated in lethal weapons development that may be used on China one day!
So that is why everything you do, China will reciprocate likewise.
My son was nearly 4 years old. One day he and my wife went to a restaurant to get a pizza for lunch. There was an elderly man who came in with his shopping cart. He was obviously homeless. He ordered a cup of coffee which the waitress grudgingly served him. (It was obvious she didn’t want him there.) He fished on his pocket and pulled out a hot dog. He ate it slowly, dunking it in his coffee between bites.
My son asked why he was doing this and my wife explained that he was homeless and had no money. My son became upset and asked my wife if they could help him. As they were ready to leave, my wife brought him the untouched half of the pizza they had been eating. At first, he refused to take it as he was concerned that my son would not have enough to eat. My wife explained that they bought too much and the waitress would only throw it away if they left it. He took the pieces, carefully wrapped them up and stored them in his basket (most likely those slices would become his dinner that evening.). He thanked them with tears in his eyes when they left.
When they got into the car, my wife heard my son crying. When she asked him what was wrong. He looked at her through his tears and answered “Nothing Mommy…I just have feelings inside myself.”
Update: This same son is now an adult with children of his own, ages 4 and 6. I was injured in a fall and am now a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair. The other day, he was walking his young daughters to school. He noticed the older one occasionally running ahead, picking up sticks and throwing them to the side of the road. After she did this several times, he asked her why she was doing it. She replied “If Papa ever walks us to school, his wheelchair tire would hit them and he would get thrown out of the chair. I want to make sure he is safe.” I cried when I heard that one.
My Dad was “On the job” NYPD from 1929–1949. He was a detective at the time this incident occured. He was coming out of a store in a bad neighborhood and heard a woman screaming out the window He’s “cutn” me he’s “cutn” me. It was a 2–3 story walk-up and my Dad ran up the stairs with his .38 revolved in his hand and when he heard which apartment she was screaming from he kicked open the door and there in front of him was a very large man, at least 6′5″ and probably 250+ pounds holding a butcher knife.
Dad told him he was NYPD and ordered him to put the knife down and the guy said “I am going to put it down in you.” He started coming at Dad and he started shooting center mass but the guy kept coming. He got down to one bullet left (always try and count the # of rounds you expend), which he put between the guys eyes and said to himself that if this one doesn’t stop him “I’m going to throw the gun at him and run down the stairs. It stopped him!
My Dad, after that, always said to get the biggest caliber pistol or rifle it will take and you can carry comfortably to stop whatever you are trying to put down on the first shot. A .22 caliber pistol is really good if you are a Mafia hitman and put it at the back of someone’s head and pull the trigger but for everyone else take my Dad’s advice.
The Chinese, especially those in the northeast, have fond memories of the Soviets, who supplied arms for the Korean war, and helped seed China’s first phase of industrialization through the transfer of over 100 heavy industries. China’s nuclear and space technology was also driven initially by Soviet experts, before relationships cooled.
The Chinese have had trouble with the USSR along the border, but it never escalated beyond small unit fire contact. A border has been ratified with the Russians and today, with Putin’s head turned east, the Russians are doing roaring business with China. I won’t be surprised if Russia-China trade grows another 2–3x from 2023 levels, already a historic high.
The Chinese certainly don’t think the Russian as the evil protagonist in James Bond movies, or the sanctions (that were executive- rather than court-directed) fair, particularly the seizure of assets from individuals with Russian ancestry. That scared the bejesus out of rich folk with money parked out west, and Singapore was a beneficiary of the capital flight.
If it can happen to Russia, a P5 member with one of the most powerful nuclear triad MAD deterrents globally, it can happen to anyone.
The Chinese will give their Russian brothers a pat on the back, and go “we share a long border and history. We understand and empathize. Welcome to the club. We are being spanked everyday too. They still talk rubbish about Tiananmen more than 30 years later. Let’s build our own vision of a shared humanity.”
And that’s that.
He Marries a Girl who hides her Melons’ size because they are TOO Big
Yes. And for those of you who have a visual mind or are faint of heart do not read my reply.
At the Regional Burn Center I worked at in my city, we would see one or two times a year a very specific assault and injury to the male genitals that we discovered was specific to our city. For some reason there were some women in our city, who if they caught their man cheating on them, would find an opportunity to throw lye on their private parts as a punishment or revenge. The severe burns that this caused to that area were unbelievable to see. The skin would de-glove and we would have to remove it and then these men would have to go through multiple grafting procedures which were very painful. These were second and three degree burns to the genitals. Needless to say these men were never the same again.
I was a government employee for 28 years and worked overtime whenever she asked me. I also took no sick leave and cut my vacation time when there was an overload of work. An opening for a promotion came up and I passed the tests with flying colors. However, my supervisor wanted a woman in the position and called in favors to have a female employee from another department transferred to her section. I then went to HR and asked when I could take early retirement with the best employee pension possible given my number of years as an employee. I bided my time and when the time came, I gave exactly 2 weeks notice. How did it hurt her? I had accumulated 2 years and six weeks of vacation, sick leave, and overtime, so for that time, I was paid full salary on early retirement. The best part, she could not have another employee fill my position because I was officially still occupying that position.
In the early 2000s I had an employee that I thought was excellent, so I gave them a 10% raise for everything they were doing. They worked around 40 hours a week, I paid overtime whenever they needed to work it, and paid them 4 hours of OT for just showing up if I needed them for an emergency. The following year they found a job that was paying four dollars an hour more, they were “on the clock” the moment they got into the company provided vehicle, and the company was able to provide them with training that I wasn’t able to provide. As they shared this information with me I asked, “So what is the trade off?” Meaning, why when I was paying above the market average was this company paying more than I was for essentially the same work. They told me couldn’t think of any, so I encouraged them to go back and ask the future employer a few more questions. They didn’t do that but called me back two months later. During the majority of the two month time frame they had worked at least 12 hours a day for six to seven days a week. Yes, they were tired but they also wanted to see their family. They discovered that while the money was great, but it was getting in the way of their true priorities.
I worked in many mills and factories in my early life – there were still mills making stuff, even paper, up till about 1985 or so. Now all that stuff is gone.
In high school, as soon as I turned 16 I got a job as a general laborer at an electroplating and finishing mill in Readville called “Precision Metal Coating”. The name was a joke because everything in the mill was bottom of the barrel shit, worst quality, and the workers were treated like dirt. My boss was a total dick named Jack McBride, a foreman who treated everyone in that building as if they were something to be scraped off. I was getting minimum wage, which in those days was $2.15 an hour but for someone who never worked, 80 dollars a week was a fortune.
In this mill was a giant oven room with 10 huge ovens. We would push carts filled with thousands of recently painted parts into the oven where the temps would soar to over 2000 degrees and bake on the coatings. We did all kinds of things like gun receivers and heart defribrillators and carbereutor parts and so on. In the winter everyone tried to visit the over room as much as possible since the factory was barely heated and most of the windows were broken. It was almost as cold inside as outside the factory. But the oven room was toasty.
As an unskilled laborer my job was to push carts in and out of the ovens and then a skilled worker would set the temperature and fire up the ovens. There was a massive door covered with sheet steel that we would use to block off the oven room from the rest of the mill, not just for fire safety but because the baking parts often gave off poison gas. The worst was Teflon. We made many Teflon-coated things but when Teflon is baked it gives off a poison gas. When we were baking Teflon, the oven room had to be cleared and the massive door sealed and locked.
One day I was tasked with resetting some parts in one of the ovens. Now, you couldn’t get trapped in the ovens – the giant doors had a big escape handle to prevent anyone from getting locked inside – but you were working in them when temps were 200 degrees. Sometimes you could run in and do something quick when they were even hotter. We had all kinds of furry asbestos gloves and gear if we had to do stuff in the ovens. I was in this steaming oven one day – and they were always loud with the roaring of the gas blowers – you couldn’t talk to anyone. So I set up this tray of equipment and it was getting hotter and stinkier. I was glad to finish. But when I got out of the oven I found the massive door to the oven room sealed. Now, it wasn’t as if I was going to fry but I didn’t want the boss to think I was goofing off. There were timers attached to doorbells and when the timer clicked off, it raised an arm that hit the doorbell and rang a loud bell on the shop floor. We used it to tell when the products were done baking. There was a timer for every oven. I went over and hit one of the doorbells two or three times, sounding a loud bell in the factory. In a couple of seconds the big door slid open and an arm grabbed me and pulled me out. There were two men there and they were white as sheets.
“What the hell were you doing in there?” the Asst Foreman asked.
“Jack asked me to reset the Prolastimer parts,” I said defensively.
“Do you know what’s baking in there?” the other guy asked. He was literally shaking.
“It’s Teflon,” the Assistant Foreman said.
I had no idea what this meant. He could see this meant nothing to me. The other guy turned to him.
“He’s gonna be sick, Roy,” he said. “Real sick. Teflon fever.”
“Listen,” the Asst Foreman said, “Clock out and go home. Don’t tell anyone anything. I will square it with Jack. Don’t come back tomorrow or the next day…”
“But I feel fine,” I protested.
“You won’t. Now get out of here. Get going. You have to get home before you start getting sick. When you get home, take a shower and some aspirin and get into bed.”
I wanted to protest.
“Just fuckin’ do it,” the other guy said. “Don’t say a word. Just get the fuck out of here.”
And so I did. I walked home from the mill. And as a I walked I started to see lines in my sight, wavy lines. And then the headache started to come. By the time I made it home I was gasping with pain. I tore off my clothes and got in the shower and immediately vomited. When I got out of the shower I vomited again. Black stuff was coming out of my nose and my tears were stained black. I crawled into bed. I had never been in so much pain in my life. Every joint, every muscle ached. When I opened my eyes, the light exploded in my brain and I would vomit all over again. No migraine I had ever had was this bad. I cried. Eventually my exhausted body collapsed and I fell asleep. The next morning I felt a lot better but I was so weak I could barely walk. The third day I went back to work. There was my boss, Jack.
“I’m sorry about what happened,” I said.
“Nothing happened,” he said tersely. “Nothing. And no one will back you up if you ever say it did.”
And then he put me on the sandblaster. I got a small raise and I would never have to go into the oven room again. But it was no promotion. Being a sandblaster was one of the worst, most miserable jobs I ever had. It was so bad one of the other sandlblasters killed himself in the sandblasting studio. Jack shrugged and went out and hired another drunk desperate for a job.
That was just one of the many adventures I had there. It was a horrible, horrible place and if that’s what factories are like then it’s no surprise why so many of them folded.
CHINA’s Scientists INVENTED Energy Shield To Defend Against US Attack
My father wasn’t thrilled with the idea of me dating a white guy. So having them meet for the first time in my house was a bit nerve wracking.
Before visiting my home to Japan, my boyfriend asked me what my father is like. I told him that my dad wanted to be an academic like his father (my grandfather) but had to pursue a career in business instead because of financial reasons.
On the day of the “meeting”, my boyfriend shows up with a huge ass textbook on statistics and starts leisurely reading on the couch in our living room, all spread out. Half an hour later, my dad comes home.
Dad: “Why hello! Nice to meet you in person…. What is that book you’ve got there?”
Boyfriend: “Oh this? It’s some reading I have to do for my graduate school next year…”
Dad: (Flips through the pages) “…Wow! This looks very difficult. Do you understand it all?”
Boyfriend: “Well some of it is difficult, but the concepts like….. and….. are rather easy.”
Dad: (super impressed)
It was smooth sailing from there. Now, my dad adores then-bf-now-husband.
Needless to say, I never saw him open that book ever again.
it’s just a quick guide at best. It measures output based on value. That means if your provide services freely, it is perceived as not value! Hence the U.S. charged its citizens for healthcare at an exorbitant price and that gets counted up to 6 trillion dollars GDP while China provides the same for less than one trillion dollars to 4 times more people and actually keep its people alive 2 years longer!
So the U.S. GDP is overvalued or Chinese GDP is highly undervalued hence it is wrong even to compare the U.S. versus China for example, through this faulty measurement.
When the U.S. threw helicopter money to the tune of 10 trillion dollars as subsidies and bail outs, that amount is counted as income! Hence once again it over values the US GDP. The same goes to stock valuation or real estate valuation. To me it measures greed or bubble.
Whatever it is one measuring economic health of a nation based only GDP is no different from judging your physical health based only on your temperature or just your blood pressure! You need a host of measurements including life expectancy!
The U.S. is a very unhealthy economy wrongly perceived by its citizens due to its media as a huge economy. It is far from that! It is a lot of hot air at best.
I brought a guy into the station and sat him down in an interrogation room, and walked out to get a cup of coffee for both him and myself. I hadn’t indicated to him why he was there, except he was in possession of a nominal amount of marijuana. I was going to give him the, “Who’s your dealer?” bit when I got back.
I walked in, sat the coffees down and took a seat across from him.
“I suppose you figured out why I brought you in?” I asked.
“Yeah. But it wasn’t me. It was XXX X. XXX. He shot the guy. I was there but had no idea it was going to happen.” He offered. “I don’t do nothing like that!”
“I didn’t think so.” I answered, nearly choking on his admission. “So let’s get this on paper so we can see what the DA can do for you. OK?” Then I read him his rights again.
He wrote it all down, and what was going to be a simple misdemeanor bust for weed turned into a murder being solved. When the Captain asked me how I got him to confess, I just smiled. “Some people got it, others don’t Cap!” I laughed. Sometimes a blind squirrel can find a nut.
Ask Me On A Date, Men! Modern Women Has FREAKS OUT Because Men Are Walking Away
I called for a position being advertised at a pig sanctuary in upstate NY called Arthur’s Acres. The guy who founded it and runs it is a vegan, but fanatical about it.
I was extremely qualified for a position there (about which he wasn’t clear, btw), as I had worked with pigs for six months when I was an Animal Science major 15 years ago. I have also worked with dogs for 22 years, and volunteered at Raptor Trust in N.J. for a time. As well, I spent a few years riding and working with horses. That is to say, I have lots of multi-species experience and, specifically, also pigs.
He then asked me if I was vegan. I said I wasn’t, he was very upset, and tried to argue with me about being vegan. He let me know that my not being vegan was a dealbreaker for him. Food Nazi!!!
Anyway, I told him I hadn’t eaten pork for over 20 years (totally true), and that I had IBD/Crohn’s, so that ruled out my eating a lot of vegetables, beans and salads, most of the things which comprise a vegan diet. I let him know that a diet that full of fiber could send me to the hospital. I also let him know that while I was at his sanctuary, I would respect his wishes and eat PBandJ on sourdough bread if I had to eat that every day for lunch, but once I left his property what I ate was really my business. He didn’t care about any of this. He was a guy that seemed unable to see anyone else’s point of view or have empathy for anyone’s condition or limitations. He only cared about having everyone be vegan.
I had donated several times to his sanctuary, but after this, I stopped.
I decided it wasn’t worth it, and that I’d never want to work with a person like this. He does a lot for the pigs he rescues, no doubt; but, he doesn’t like people at all, that was clear to me.
FLORIDA OVERTURNS LIFETIME ALIMONY LAW | Women Are Losing Their Minds!
I’ve wanted to share this because I thought it was amazing and it made me smile, but I dont know how you would bring this up randomly.
I’m 34 years old. When I was a child my mom moved my brother and I to a new house, getting us out of our old apartment where we had grown up. I was in the fifth grade and my younger brother was in the third I believe. We rode the bus and lucky for us, our bus stop was RIGHT down the street from our house, not even a 3 minute walk. Back then all the neighborhood kids near us who also used this stop would FIGHT to secure their spot in line because who ever got there first would get the best seats in the back of the bus because we were the first stop. The problem was, we neighborhood kids were cut throat about our spots in line, some of us woke up early JUST to get a good spot, but that also meant if you were in line waiting for the bus, you couldn’t get out or you would lose your spot and have to move to the back. We all hated this because we were forced to stand in one spot waiting instead of being able to play and run around with each other and some days the bus took a while to get there. Now, I don’t know how many weeks this went on for before I said to myself, “this isn’t going to work for me.” So I decided instead of us all lining up and being forced to stand there, we would instead use our backpacks to keep our spot. We’d line them up in order of first come first serve, then be free to go play. I asked all the kids of various ages if they agreed and they did. At that bus stop everyday after that and even the next year (my last year riding that bus), we all still lined our backpacks up. My mom still lives in that house all these years later and sometimes she needs me to house sit. Well, I was on my way to work one morning a few months ago and I passed my old elementary school bus stop, they never changed the route. And do you know what I saw? It made me go, Wow. As I turned the corner in my car I saw a bunch of grade school kids at my old bus stop,they were out playing with eachother, and right where we use to line up our backpacks, they still lined theirs. I started that as a child, and because the older kids did it, the younger ones did too, and then those young kids would become the older kids and new kids would replace them, and they all learned of the backpack trick because they watched the kids who came before them. I started a thing that has carried on for over 24 years and counting. It really made me smile to see the neighborhood kids still doing it after all this time. I knew at the time it was a great idea but I didn’t know how everlasting it would be to where it became tradition. It made me smile and think, wow, all these years later these kids were still using their backpacks to hold their place in line, if you would of told me the day I came up with it that in 24 years kids would still be doing it, I would of called you a liar but unbelievable as it is, here we are.
Now, how do I randomly fit that into a conversation?
Fenikia
Ingredients
Cookies
1 cup peanut oil
1 cup butter
1/2 cup water
1 jigger brandy
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
Dash cinnamon
Dash ground cloves
Chopped walnuts for garnish
Syrup
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 pound honey
1 lemon, sliced or 1 orange, sliced
Instructions
Cookies: Heat oil and butter over low heat until butter is melted and mixture is hot. Remove from heat and stir in water and brandy. Cool.
Stir in beaten eggs.
Sift together flour and baking powder with the tablespoon each of cinnamon and cloves. Add to liquid mixture to make a dough that is not too soft. Add a little more flour if necessary. With floured hands shape dough into ovals and indent lengthwise with thumbs.
Combine chopped walnuts with sugar and dash each cinnamon and cloves. Put 1 teaspoon of this filling into the indentation in the dough and close dough over filling. Place on cookie sheets and bake in a 400 degree F oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.
Dip cooled cookies into hot syrup and place on racks to drain. Decorate with chopped walnuts.
Syrup: Combine above ingredients and boil for 5 minutes.
My ex father in law was the thief. He was also a bully and all around shitty human being. He was the big boss of a construction company and basically drove around all day to different jobs making sure the guys had what they needed and making sure the work was completed to standards. This also allowed him the opportunity to help himself to the guys lunches. I still remember the panic in my exs voice that his Dad was in the ER because he thought he was having a heart attack. He had stolen the wrong guys lunch. The guy had put a pot brownie in his lunch box and dummy took it, ate the whole thing and when it hit, he was completely sick and high as a kite. I giggled a lot that day because the bully and thief finally had to pay for his actions.
As a risk manager and health plan administrator, I had lots of complaints. But the Gold Star goes to this one: This woman had built an illegal extension to her house that went out into the public right of way. Over the years, it undermined the power pole which tilted and was resting on the eaves of her extension. She called to say that the exterminator told her that her roof had terminates. I asked how I could help her (we always had to try to be helpful). She said she wanted us to replace her roof. When I asked why, she explained about the pole leaning on the eaves and said our utility pole had given her roof termites. I explained that the poles were made soaked in creosote to prevent termites. She then told me the termites walked up the pole and jumped onto her roof. She was quite serious. The only thing that could be said to that would have been snorting laughter. (I was imagining termites, in uniform, marching up the pole, with a brass band.) I told her we would look into it. We did our due diligence then wrote her a polite denial letter.
I dealt with a lot of people who believed their problems could not possibly be their fault.
China dismantled a MI6 espionage network. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Back in the day, I would periodically use hydrogen peroxide to clean my ears out. This was done by my family doctor and he recommended it along with soaking my head in a bathtub of warm water.
You see, I had a problem with excessive earwax fabrication. Oh, not a common problem for certain, but I had to maintain this particular issue with my body.
So one day, my ear got stuffed up, and when I tried my hydrogen peroxide solution, it only seemed to make things worse. Instead it got more and more clogged up. Indeed, for an entire month, my ear was caked full of earwax and I was at a loss as to what to do… not so serious to go to the doctor, it’s earwax after all, but serious enough to be a real problem personally…
…enter a business trip. I went and interviewed at a hot water heater company in Tennessee. And after the interview and meal, I went to the hotel. I drew a tub full of hot water and lay down to soak in it.
I soaked for a good hour, and then I held my breath and tried to blow the water out. And then it happened!
An explosion of earwax released, and many it was a sight to behold. Where the heck was all this earwax from? I don’t know, but I must have had globs and globs of the stuff. It was amazing!
Of course it ended up falling apart in the hot water, but you could tell, it was like thick honey that turned to slimy powder. Quite the experience, I’ll tell you what.
Here’s a LEGO Millennium Falcon, retail price $100:
Here’s another LEGO Millennium Falcon, retail price $7:
Back in 2004, scammer Bill Swanberg realized that Target, Walmart, and other stores sold both of these sets. Here’s what he’d do:
First, he went into a store, and bought both sets. Totally legitimately. He took the smaller one, and scanned in the barcode. Next, he re-sized it so that it would be the same size as the barcode of the larger set— and printed out gobs of them on glossy sticker paper.
Next, he’d bring a few with him into an unsuspecting store. He’d find the LARGE version of the LEGO Millennium Falcon, and cover up the barcode with one of his stickers of the SMALL set’s barcode.
Then, he’d trot up to the register, and the associate would ring them up. “Woah, this big set only costs $7.00?” “Yeah, it must be on sale, that’s why I grabbed it, LOL!” “Wow, nice find!”
Then he’d leave, remove the stickers carefully, and sell them online at a “discounted price” of, say, $50. Everyone online was amazed at the great deal, and lined up to buy them. They expected he got a great deal on them, but 50% off didn’t seem like it was all that suspicious.
He did this for quite a while— but gradually the various stores became aware that their inventory wasn’t lining up. Target noticed the pattern in 5 different states, and eventually had a security guard stop him in a store in Portland, Oregon, after he bought 10 copies of the same Millennium Falcon set. In his car, he had over $6000 of LEGO, as well as a laptop denoting other stores in the area that he planned to visit (or had already visited).
Upon review, Target alone estimated that he had resold over $200,000 worth of their merchandise— and that he had sold over $600,000 online for the past couple of years (much of it likely being from similar scams).
Why is China so afraid of asking for help when there is a virulent virus outbreak?
In 2008, a Richter Scale 8.0 earthquake shook the mountainous Sichuan province in China. When the dust settled, ~ 70,000 people were dead. ~ 20,000 people were missing, presumably dead. ~ 375,000 people were injured. ~ 5 million people were left homeless. It’s one of the greatest natural disasters in the twenty first century. The disaster was so great, that China immediately asked for help from the rest of the world.
The US government gave ~ $4.5 million in aid, plus a guy to the Beijing Earthquake Center to look at their data. So that’s what, 80 cents for each affected person?
The rest of the world pooled together ~ $450 million, plus some emergency supplies. Most of it came from China’s immediate neighbors.
The Chinese people donated $1.5 billion within the first 2 days.
The Chinese government gave the earthquake-stricken area $130 billion. 98% was spent in the first 3 years. 100,000 PLA troops rushed into the earthquake area within 2 days to help.
This was back in 2008, when China’s GDP per capita was only about ~ $3,500 a year. Now it’s over $10,000.
So I don’t think China is “afraid” of asking for help. They are realistic. They simply don’t expect to get much help. Something symbolic, maybe, which will be much appreciated, but they must do the heavy lifting themselves. Big countries must stand on their own two feet, because you really can’t expect a bunny to lift up a fallen elephant! The elephant needs to get up on its own. Reactions to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake – Wikipedia
No normal country should count on foreign aid to solve their problems.
In the current Coronavirus outbreak, China is mostly helping other countries: It isolated and published the sequence of this new virus, developed diagnostic kits and diagnostic protocols, and shared all these with the WHO and the world. It has put in border controls aimed at keeping infected people from going abroad. It publishes treatment protocols and regular updates as doctors discover and develop their knowledge of this disease. It has put 50+million people under quarantine. It is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the global management of this novel disease.
PS: The US gave Haiti $12 billion in aid after Haiti earthquake. 2010 Haiti earthquake
Haiti is right at America’s doorstep, and the American people are very generous towards Haiti. Today Haiti looks like this:
Turned out that a big chunk of that $12 billion was the US State Department writing checks to the US Department of Defense for sending 200 guys to Haiti to “provide security”. The rest mostly went to NGOs’ hotels, jeeps, salary, and “hardship pay”. It’s a legitimate question to ask if International Aid is really worth it, not only for the Chinese People, but also for the American People as well.
“USAID has spent about $1.5 billion since the earthquake,” Johnston told Goats & Soda. “Less than a penny of every dollar goes directly to a Haitian organization.”
Where I live anything that the courts could say was a trap was illegal. I had people cutting across my property to get to the river, the previous owner had just laid razor wire coils in the bush. If anyone had got hurt on it. I would have gone to jail. So I carefully pulled it all out and placed monster boulders everywhere. No one can say a boulder is a trap.
There was a guy who had a private road leading to his place. People kept tearing it up after it rained in their 4×4 , side x side, and atvs. He had no trespassing signs, and private road signs, and people ignored them. So he stretched a steel cable between two trees, with a padlock, so he could open it. He could only put up the cable where he had two big trees close enough to the road, to string it, and enough trees to stop them from driving around the make shift gate, so it was about 50 m up his road .
A teenage girl on an ATV drove by his private road and no trespassing signs, and got knocked off her quad by the rope. They sued the land owner and won. This is in Canada, rules might be different elsewhere.
A few years ago, when I was agonizing over my future career path, my dad told me to make a list of the things in life that make me happy.
Then, split the list into two categories.
The first category includes any type of happiness that you can feel instantaneously. Sipping hot chocolate on a chilly day. Hitting the snooze button to steal another five minutes of sleep. Binge-watching the new season of your favorite show.
The second category includes any type of happiness that takes a long time to appear and a long time to fade. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Mastering difficult skills. Building closer relationships with the people you love.
Some of the items in the first category, my dad explained, might clash with the items in the second. The more hot chocolate you consume, for example, the less nutritious your diet becomes.
But a few items in on your list, just a few, might actually fit into both categories. The best painters in the world obtain joy both from the instantaneous act of painting and from the ultimate goal of becoming a world-class artist. The best soccer players love being out on the field just as much as they love becoming better athletes.
Circle these items, these things that bring you both short-term happiness and long-term happiness.
These are the things that you can spend your life doing, and never feel like you’ve worked a day.
You ever been to a Mcdonalds where the manager is an ass and the employees have had enough of it?
I once went to a Mcdonalds that had a mass quit a few hours later. I went up to the counter and ordered a Mcchicken, a regular coke, a small fry and an ice cream cone.
They take my money and a few minutes later come back with my order, which is… heavier than normal. And my ice cream cone is a foot tall. And my coke is a large.
(It looked like this)
“Woops.” says the cashier. “Looks like we accidentally supersized your order.” she says with a wink. I could tell from the sarcastic tone that there was no accident about it.
I returned to my table and sat down, and noticed that my McChicken wasn’t alone, there was also a chicken select sandwich in there. I was a really, really poor kid at the time. The Mcydee’s dollar menu was a rare treat for me, and getting one of the main menu items was just amazing!
Definitely still my favorite Mcdubbers sandwich.
My ‘small fry’ took up an entire large fry box, and then there was about a large fry’s worth of loose fries in there. Like the entire bag was drowning in fried potato goodness.
So intentionally giving me a lot of extra food to spite your boss? That’s the strangest way my order’s ever been messed up. Part of me wished I had ordered more.
Edit: So Quora apparently thinks I need a credential to prove that I sometimes eat fast food and sometimes get my order messed up. This is what happens when you let an AI make decisions.
I knew my dad was a Bad Ass early in my youth. I didn’t realize how much of a Bad Ass he was until last spring. You see my father served in WWll with the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team in France and Italy. A segregated US Army regiment made up of Americans of Japanese ancestry from the US mainland and Hawaii. A large portion of these warriors came from “internment” (prison) camps from which their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and family were incarcerated. These guys had something to prove. We are AMERICANS! And prove it they did. For their valor the 100th Battalion/ 442nd Regimental Combat Team has been recognized as the most decorated unit in American history. The 100th Bn/ 442nd RCT earned more than 18,000 awards, including 9,500 Purple Hearts, 5,200 Bronze Star Medals, 588 Silver Stars, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 7 Distinguished Unit Citations, 21 Congressional Medal of Honor awards and the Congressional Gold Medal. Now that’s BAD ASS! My dad was gravely wounded in Italy and left to die on the battlefield as he was not believed to survive his wounds. When the burial detail came upon my father he was still alive and eventually recovered after a long convalescence. We know this story as it was told to my cousin by the soldier who found my father still alive. Unfortunately I never had the pleasure to meet his as he passed a few years ago. My father was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and other awards for his efforts. He was never better than 70% disabled and eventually upgraded to 100%. So I had the opportunity to travel to France and Italy last year on a tour that follows in the footsteps of these American heroes. I walked where they walked, saw the trenches whey they lay and climbed the slope’s and mountains that they climbed. But I did it in the daylight. They did it at night in the cover of darkness. These were the mountains near Carrara Italy. Impressive just to do this in daylight. Crazy to think it could be done at night! That’s when I knew how much of a BAD ASS my father and the Nisei warriors of the 100th Bn/ 442nd RCT were. I could not be more proud. R.I.P. dad. PFC Roy T. Tsutsui Co. F 442nd RCT
Whenever I was in public school, I had fairly good grades, I didn’t study much so it was crazy how good I was doing. This all lasted until 4th grade, whenever I got put in this horrible woman’s class. I was the kind of child to speak my mind and get SUPER excited about things. This woman (not calling her a teacher because she doesn’t DESERVE the title) did not LIKE that. She decided to target me specifically for her relentless bullying of literal infants. Anytime I would get excited about anything, she would tell me to flip my card (yknow, the stupid elementary punishment bullshit). Anytime I would do something that would be considered out of place in a classroom, she’d make me flip my card. She would rally my classmates to bully me too.
As the school year went on and the bullying from the woman and my classmates got worse, I started falling into a deeper pit of my own depression stemmed from the abandonment of my dad, over-protective (yet still somehow neglectful) mom, and the bullying I had to suffer at school. This made my grades drop HARD. Specifically in my math and science class, as I was not being properly taught by this woman.
Every time we would get to a new part of our science workbook, we would get given a science study guide that we had to fill out ourselves that she would then grade and fix whatever mistakes we had made. A month prior to the specific incident I’m about to tell you, my mom had noticed how bad my grades had dropped and made sure I studied (which did NOT help). She always made sure I had my study guides and stuff I got from school.
It was a regular school day for me, we had just gotten a new study guide that we were going to fill out. The woman decided to put us in pairs to do them so we could discuss the answers and stuff. She put me in a pair with the nicest girl in the class (picture the human incarnate of an excited golden retriever) and we began working on it. We finished around the same time the others did and submitted our papers. After we all finished, the woman started grading our papers. Whenever she had finished, she handed most of them out, but she held on to two of them, my friend and I’s. She waved them around in the air and said “THESE two don’t have any names… Oh well… Who wants to play 20 pickup?” and then ripped them to shreds and threw the remains on the floor. My friend and I were crushed (and fucking humiliated) as we both really needed those papers and here we were, watching our classmates pick up and fight over who could get the most pieces like it was some sort of game played at a birthday party.
A few minutes later, she picked up her copy of the study guide and said to us, “I’ve got one more left. I’m thinking of a number and whichever one of you can get closest to it wins the paper.”
I ended up winning and she gave it to me, which I instantly started working on. I figured she would want me to redo it as soon as she gave it to me. About a minute passed and she walked to my desk, swiped it from me and gave it to my friend saying that I “Wasn’t paying attention”. I felt like absolute shit the whole day.
My mom had asked me where my study guide was, and I told her what happened. She went on an absolute RAMPAGE.
Luckily the next parent-teacher conference was pretty soon after and she didn’t want to embarrass me by showing up to the school while my classmates were there. I don’t know exactly what happened during the meeting between her and my mom as I was sat outside the classroom. All that I know is that whenever the door opened, the woman looked pale and terrified and my mom had her classic murder look that she would get after laying heavily into someone.
She never told me what she had said or done, but that woman never dared to bother me again. She didn’t even like LOOKING at me. Anytime I did something she didn’t like, she would glare at me like I just killed her entire family and set her house on fire and reply something passive aggressive.
My mom ended up finding out that she had done this to other kids too at other schools. Pretty sure the bitch was on tenure though, so there wasn’t anything we could’ve really done.
I still see her around town though and she acts overly excited to see me. The first time I had seen her after I finished 4th grade, I was about 13 and was super socially anxious and had panic attacks whenever I was reminded of that experience, I was at the dollar store with my grandma and the woman came up to me and started talking, I of course was trying to keep my shit together and not start having a full blown panic attack so I was very quiet. She said “Aw, what’s wrong? Are you shy now?”, all of my fear was replaced with rage and I had to stop myself from giving her the sickest right hook of her life. I regret not doing it while I was still a kid and wouldn’t have had very many repercussions for it.
SO, I’m not going to name-drop her, as I’m pretty sure that’s illegal, but I will say that if you live in or are planning on moving to Sabine parish, LISTEN to your kids if they tell you about bullying from their classmates or any of the school staff. Hell, do that even if you DON’T live in this area.
Burkina Faso’s President Has Good News for Africa but Very Bad News for the West
My parents started middle class and worked their way to the 1%.
It isn’t this huge party. But there are some basic things you don’t worry about as much.
It is weird because I didn’t grow up wealthy at all. And had a strict-as-hell dad.
At some point after I left home, things really ramped up. My dad left the military and became a high ranking exec with SAP.
My mom started a vineyard at their farm. And sold off a lot of great real estate investments she’d made over the years.
But you would never know it if you bumped into them at the store or something. They have very humble personalities. If you went to their home however..
When I wake up in the morning in their guest room I get to enjoy a view like this:
When I visit they spend most of their time working around the house and on the farm. We don’t really sit still much. And even when we are it is because we are working on something. We are worker-bees.
Also, I think everyone has a misconception as to how wealthy the top 1% is. 10 years ago, even I had the impression that 1%ers don’t work hard and take 9 vacations a year. I think it is just different if you started small and got there in your middle age and have kids.
At that point, you are more concerned with managing everything and making sure your kids are doing OK.
(Maybe that it is .01 percenters that do all that laying around by the pool…)
Either way I love visiting my parents, but every time I get home here in Florida my house feels really really small! 🙂
My last name is Warehouse, just like the building. This has led to lots of interesting things, like getting calls at my work about finding things at our district warehouse or getting my account banned on Quora back when they cared if you used a fake name. It also means I get weird deliveries.
One day a big cardboard box showed up addressed to my wife, so I left it on the table without really looking at it. A few days later it was still untouched, so I asked her why she hadn’t opened it yet.
“That’s not mine, it’s got sports stuff all over it.”
And it did! Now that I looked, the box clearly had a Nike logo on it. And on closer inspection, its address tag was a mess. There was a weird poorly printed label that said “redirect” that had my wife’s name and our address in California on it, slapped over a very official looking original label that said the box was bound for a warehouse in New Jersey.
And that’s how I ended up with a bow of 24 pairs of XXL Nike football gloves meant for the New York giants.
In 1981 I worked as a computer operator for a company, then owned by Tex Schramm (owner of the Dallas Cowboys). There was a young woman, from a well to do family and graduate of Radford, working there. She was really into women’s lib.
There was also an older gentleman, long past the possible retirement age. One day I was in the lobby as the young woman, who I had recently begun dating, was ready to leave. The older gentleman was leaving, and held the door for her.
She lit into him. “Just because I’m a lady, you don’t have to hold the door for me.”
The response: “My dear Joanne, I do not hold the door for you because you are a lady. That would be presumptuous of me. I hold the door for you because I am a gentleman.”
In my second year at my current job, a lady was hired to replace my senior who had resigned.
The job was in a public office and for the most part was quite easy going. Somebody off the streets could learn the essentials in just a few hours.
The lady who came had seniority and several years more experience than me working at a different branch. I therefore expected her to have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with me.
‘How does this work again?’
‘Did I do this right?’
‘How about you be the one to do that? You’re so good at it.’
‘Can you show me how to do (such-and-such) again?’
The lady transferred from a location that had the exact same type of system and technology as mine yet she had not a clue how to do anything!
How was this woman in a senior position? She didn’t know anything about the job. Was she dumb?
A week of ‘training’ had passed and she didn’t really learn anything and had to be supervised at all times. Before I could find out how it was that she was so slow she suddenly vanished.
She stopped turning up at work and calls to her phone went unanswered. I sent an email to HR explaining that she had gone AWOL. They gave some half-assed reply. A few months later, after she had long been forgotten, I get a frantic letter from HR saying that they have been paying her salary and they’ve just become aware that she has not been turning up to work.
‘No shit,’ I say in my mind.
HR investigates and finds out that she had accepted another job elsewhere the entire time and was gladly accepting two salaries. HR demanded that she return the unearned salary. She said she would but she was going through financial distress at the moment.
She never returned a cent. HR washed their hands of the matter and kept it hush hush.
Turns out she wasn’t dumb at all.
So my answer to the question ‘what sets off red flags on an employee’s first day?’
When I was small, my parents sent me to my grandparents (who lived in a rural area) every summer so they could look after me when school was out.
My grandpa was born late 191x or early 192x – even he didn’t remember exactly.
When I was 6 years old, I started going to elementary school which started to have summer assignments. So, when my parents sent me to my grandparents for the “vacation”, I brought my textbooks and books with me to study. One day, I remember, I brought a book to my grandpa and asked him for some help with my summer homework. He smiled, “Oh, sweetie, I can’t help you with that!”. “Why?!?!”, I was surprised, he’d never said “No” to me. A second of hesitation, then he said, “I don’t know how to read”
It didn’t make sense to my 6-year-old me; but later, when I grew up, I knew, it was the result of war and poverty, my grandpa never went to school.
Anyway, “But you know EVERYTHING!”, the little me was shocked and questioned him. He stroked my hair, “Ah, I just don’t know how to read texts in the book. I can read other things. I can read leaves to know their trees. I can read the soil to know what I need to do to get more produces. I can read the river to know if it’s safe to go down and play. I can read the night sky to know if tomorrow it will be rain or shine”, he explained to me.
A light bulb went off in my head; he taught me to ‘read’ some of those things, why didn’t I teach him to read texts? So, I offered him, “Do you want to study with me, grandpa?”.
So, I started to be his ‘teacher’. I taught him a, b, c. He studied, then forgot everything in the next summer because he didn’t use it frequently enough; so I had to teach him again.
I taught him to read, every summer, until he passed away.
I have had a number of jobs in my time. I’ve been a framing carpenter, finish carpenter, furniture maker, the army, and being in the office in the construction industry as a project manager for the last 16 years.
Working in the trades can indeed be very lucrative, and I know a number of plumbers and welders that do significantly better than me financially, but from someone that has worked in the trades and in the corporate office, there are a lot of benefits of the office world that help pull people away from going into the trades.
The first is simply being warm when it’s cold, dry when it’s raining and cool when it is hot. It’s pretty tough going to work everyday to be freezing cold all day or burning up hot. Secondly, you can do stuff after work without needing to take a shower or change clothes first. Third, you don’t beat up your body so much working in an office. I’m 47 so still well short of retirement age and I really can’t imagine doing the type of work I did in my 20’s all day, every day. That was tough work and I got injured a lot and had to just suck it up and work through it. Injuries these days take a lot longer to heal too.
Occasionally I get all nostalgic about walking floor joists 30 feet up with a 16ft 2×8 on my shoulder, then I’ll have a flashback to what that actually feels like doing it every day and appreciate very much my AC and roof and clean clothes. My nostalgia forgets doing that same joist walk with feet numb from the cold, or sweat in my eyes or a lingering injury.
The trades are good, solid, well paying professions, but if you have any other alternatives they are definitely a young person’s game. The people I see my age still working in the trades (doing the work, not management like me) are physically beaten down for the most part with bad backs, bad knees, and a collection of scars that make anyone take notice.
The Duran: Neocons want WAR in Middle East and Israel, the US will LOSE Big
Serbian Skillet Pork (Muckalica — Yugoslavia)
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
3 medium onions, sliced
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips
2 ounces feta cheese, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
Hot cooked rice
Instructions
Trim fat from pork. Cut pork into 1/2-inch slices; cut slices into 1/2-inch strips. Heat oil in skillet until hot. Cook and stir pork in oil over medium heat until brown, about 15 minutes; drain. Add water, onions, tomato, salt, paprika, pepper and red pepper. Cover and simmer until pork is tender, about 30 minutes, adding water if necessary.
Add green pepper. Cover and simmer until green pepper is crisp-tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Top with cheese.
When I was about 21 or 22, I worked for this remodeling contractor. My dad does remodels and has rental properties, and I’ve always been a DIY type of guy, so I learned young and had about 10 years of experience at the time. Anyway, one day I was at work, and the boss nor the crew lead could figure out how to solve a problem with some vinyl flooring and the customer was there watching them for a good half hour or so. I repeatedly tried to make suggestions but just kept getting ignored. Finally I just stepped up and tried something and it worked. The next day the owner told me that work was slow and he didn’t need me to come in. That same afternoon he called me and let me go due to “not having the quality of work that his company is known for”. I’m sure he was just upset that I made him look like an ass in front of a customer. Anyway, fast forward to a week later, this customer had a family member that was also gonna get some work done by the same company. The previous customer gave the family member my Facebook info and she contacted me and asked if I could do a job for her. About 3 days in, my old boss came and the look on his face when he saw me doing the job he came to bid for was priceless.
1. Don’t call someone more than twice continuously. If they don’t pick up your call that mean they have something more important to attend to.
2. When someone drops something on the floor by mistake or drops food from the plate or doesn’t know how to use a knife/fork don’t stare at them. The same goes to people sneezing, coughing or even an uncontrollable fart. It’s an involuntary reaction.
3. Always skip using the washroom beside the occupied one. It makes it uneasy for the person in the occupied washroom as well as yourself if you occupy the one right next to theirs.
4. If you’re talking to someone and notice any of the following, they’re trying to end the conversation:
Their eyes keep darting away.
They angle their body away from you.
They give you rapid one-word answers.
5. When someone you know has an obvious change in appearance, e.g., weight gain/loss, bald spot, acne. never comment on it until they talk about it to you, they already know what is happened to them.
6. If a colleague tells you they have a doctors appointment, don’t ask what it’s for, just say hope you’re ok. If they want to talk about it they will and you don’t put them in the uncomfortable position of having to tell you their personal illness.
7. Treat the cleaner with the same respect as the CEO. Nobody is impressed at how rudely you can treat someone below you but people will notice if you treat them with respect.
8. Do not make plans in front of those you are not involving.
9. When meeting someone after a long time, unless they want to talk about it, don’t ask them their age and salary.
10. When a friend/colleague offers you some food, you can politely say No. But, don’t do this after tasting or smelling it. It’s an insult to the one who has offered it to you.
This is John Eisenman. He lost his daughter to s-exual trafficking. She was sold for $1,000 in Seattle Washington. He did what a father should do and researched, investigated and found out about her abduction. He RESCUED her HIMSELF. He found out the person who sold her into trafficking was her 19 year old boyfriend. He met up with him, abducted him, bludgeoned and stabbed him to death in Nov, 2020. The authorities found him [dead AF boyfriend] in Oct 2021 in the trunk of the car he abandoned. John Eisenman sits in jail knowing his daughter is safe and growing up after he has already lived 60 years of his life. I bet you, he rests easy. Live your life to the fullest. He did his absolute best to make sure his child have the opportunity to do the same no matter what the sacrifice.
My POV:- I think justice can’t be black or white, it’s a greyish territory. I’m not a supporter of taking revenge but rather law doing the job. Although, we all know how deeply fukced up is our law and order.
The decade of the 1950s was the time of my well-remembered childhood. Some of the memorable un-nice features follow:
Coal shuttles in basement windows to fill the coal bins for the furnace that kept you alive in subzero weather. The loud roaring rattle of the coal can never be forgotten. My wife grew up in destroyed Berlin where the kids snuck onto the train tracks to steal coal for cooking and winter heat, especially before 1950.
Ice trucks for the “ice box,” which was the refrigerator of the day. Great fun to persuade the iceman to chip you a sliver (possibly unsanitary) in the steaming summer.
Raking and burning leaves either in the curb or in our own home trash bin (a large ugly concrete “bathtub” for burning all wastes) beside the separated garage.
After we graduated from paying marbles on the sidewalks, the never-forgotten aroma of the lightly powdered flat bubble gum accompanying Topps baseball cards used for flip-card contests. Still remember the rules.
Friends and relatives died a lot. Lost a cousin to polio despite her father being chief of staff of the largest hospital in St. Louis. Lost two more to a house fire and others to asthma. I narrowly avoided rheumatic fever and a close call with total vision loss from measles. Number 1 brother developed Type 1 diabetes, but that was hereditary (skips a generation); lasted a LONG time.
Turning on the lights to visit the bathroom in the middle of the night and watching hundreds of roaches scurry across the floor into the corners and cracks.
Sticky asphalt from the tarred streets that would permanently ruin any carpet in a snooty home.
Kids (and adults) hitch-hiked. I hitch-hiked regularly many miles to high school and college and back rather than take buses with long cold/hot waits and transfers. Just after the 50s, noticed how remarkably easier it was to hitch a ride when in my ROTC uniform.
Teenagers still in school who had never worked had no vote in national elections.
No air conditioning. Vornado floor fans, window fans blowing over block of ice, or car rides with windows open down to “Cool Valley” (yes, a real town) a low-altitude area with much lower temperatures were our only options when temperatures soared far over 100 degrees and humidity was ~80%.
Construction sites were wonderful if dangerous playgrounds for kids. Unsafe, with nails sticking out, deep ditches and holes to avoid. Taught caution and the value of tetanus shots. Learned aromas like the smell of wet concrete, rebar, freshly cut wood; mountains of dirt for King of the Hill games, playing “war” with wooden toy 1904 Springfield rifles in literal miles of dug-up ground for the interstate highways.
Homes and office buildings were insulated with asbestos, long before attorneys and asbestos-removal firms became millionaires from it.
Local stenches were many and varied. Worst were from the fish processing plants and cattle/pig stockyards, with the “nicest” smells being chemical fumes from riverside plants.
Working on the USS Admiral, was required to check for “floaters” under the port paddlewheel every morning by opening the trash slot over the water.
Learned to water-ski on the turd-filled muddy Mississippi.
US Army chemical warfare testers sprayed my hometown with zinc cadmium sulfide, a fluorescent additive of some kind and a possibly radioactive agent to secretly study possible bio/chem weapon vectors … later explained “to protect us from potential Soviet attack”.
Nearby communities (Weldon Spring, West Lake and Berkeley … but not CA) were being contaminated by toxic waste buried by one of my future employers after they processed the uranium for the first nuclear weapons. Not done on my watch; however, as an adult I did work at a number of the other tainted sites: their original chemical plant and their radiological branch.
Cap guns: actual gunpowder explosives were loaded in a tight roll to be fired by your Lone Ranger or Cisco Kid cap gun. Bangs and sparks with gunpowder’s sulpuric stench …
Bows and arrows (with real points).
Jungle gyms were tall blocks of hard unadorned steel pipes over bare dirt dusty in summer and frozen in winter.
Complete and utter obedience to our family’s Commanding Officer who actually posted duty rosters for my 4 siblings (girl was exempted) which I was required to enforce as senior NCO.
Amused myself by playing war battle games with bottlecaps. Falstaff, Budweiser and a few Stag … strewn from the six-pack dad chugged every night. Didn’t realize he was a drunk until years later.
Black and white TV with the Indian-head test pattern after midnight when all stations went “off the air.”
TV showed stereotypical characters in every show like: the Howdy Doody Show; Kukla, Fran & Ollie; Texas Bruce’s Wranglers’ Club; Lone Ranger, Cisco Kid, Zorro, etc.
Friday night fights: boxing matches every weekend.
Racism was acknowledged but not celebrated. Had black school/playmates (parochial school) and babysitters who all lived in a nearby section of the city.
Racial mockery was the basis of much TV/radio humor. Amos & Andy on the radio, Milton Berle’s burlesque schticks, Pat & Mike Irish insults, Sid Caesar’s fake Japanese babble, Jose Jimenez jibes at Mexicans on the Steve Allen Show … don’t remember German accents being considered “funny” until Hogan’s Heroes.
Classmate who later became a Japanese citizen used to play records advocating anti-Communism from John Birch (didn’t know of his Society then). Nothing mean or nasty that I remember from those lectures but quite un-PC now, I guess.
BB guns: never permitted in our home, with 4 boy, 1 girl; but vet dad built us an actual shooting range for my 13th birthday present, a .22 bolt-action Winchester … a literal deep sandbox at one end of the basement under a steel sheet canted at a 45 degree angle. Access controlled by dad, of course.
Joined my school’s rifle club in 1959 when they (not me) won the national championship with open sight .22s mounted on Garand 30–30 war surplus stocks. Kids shot rifles as a matter of indifference. Safely too, because safety was taught, responsibility was demanded … and disobedience was both unthinkable and unacceptable.
History will one day see how the U.S., its dog nations, the EU, its fellow colonialists and native slaughtering nations and its slave nations, treatment of China. Is a modern version of African slavery, Nazi Crimes, barbaric colonialism by the Europeans and the Savage rape and murder of Nanking!
How do they treat China and the Chinese race. Terrible, obnoxious and despicable. What more to say! Slurring at every turn, blindly accusing China without facts, evidence and proof calling them copy cats, stealing intellectual property, cheating, for being aggressive and threatening nations, genocide that never happen, causing Covid! All are no different from the Nazi blaming of the Jews!
Just backed by a pack of lies. And using coercion and bribery to get a dissident or two to cast doubt on China! If you are one of the group I single out please stop being a pawn or a parrot in these fake news. China won’t yield to these ludicrousness and shameful act of throwing shit!
To me you can accuse China of not bordering about its cosmetic cover up of its desire to ensure that the century of humiliation can never happen again and that it will do everything in its power to get back it’s rightful place in history. Remember how thousands of black people are wrongly accused by the white people for all sorts of thing and them lynch them!
History will show the truth that the U.S. and the west are doing the same to the Chinese. Sure without the lynching!
I owned a flying school and had a receptionist who was good with the customers.
One day I got a phone call at about 4PM from a student asking why we had shut early. I assured him we hadn’t as we had people flying till 7 that night. He told me he was standing outside and the doors were locked.
When I came in next day I checked CCTV and sure enough she had locked up at 3:30 whilst people were still flying. She returned at just before 5:30. I checked the day before and the same thing had happened. She locked up at 3:30 and returned at 5:30. It was near the end of the month so I waited till the end of the month to see what hours she had claimed for.
I also called a government employer hotline that is set up in the UK to give free help and advice. After explaining the situation they told me she was in breach of her contract, and it was gross misconduct which is a sackable offence. They said she was “stealing time” from me. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt so I decided to listen to her before I took action. The helpline advised that if her answers weren’t agreeable then I should suspend her on full pay whilst I investigated.
Sure enough she had claimed for her full allowance on her payslip so I called her into my office to explain herself. She claimed to have “forgotten” to take it off her hours worked. I was more concerned about leaving the building unattended whilst we had students still flying. What happened if we had an emergency? She refused to answer me so I was left with no option but to suspend her.
I studied the CCTV for previous 30 days and she had done it for almost 50% of her shifts! Despite this I didn’t want to lose her, the students loved her.
So I invited her back for a formal interview and offered to allow her to bring a witness. She declined the representation. I explained that the interview was being recorded and I had my solicitor on speaker phone to listen and ensure we both were acting within the law. It was to protect both of us.
I asked her for her reasons and she said that she had been visiting her boyfriend and having lunch together. He was an instructor pilot for me but had never left mid-shift. I then explained about why it was wrong to leave the premises whilst we still had aircraft in the air. She just shrugged her shoulders. I asked her to wait outside whilst I spoke to my legal adviser.
Truth be told I couldn’t afford to lose her. I had previously told the helpline that and they recommended “based on my explanation” that I give her a final written warning. This should be enough to make her realise it was wrong. I decided to go down this route.
After 5 minutes I invited her back into the room to give her the final written warning and a good explanation why this was happening. As I said to her “Thank you for your patience,” she replied, “Are you really doing this?”
“I am.”
Then she erupted! Quite a verbal assault against me! Then she pulled out an envelope and handed it to me saying, “I can’t believe you have blown this out of proportion, here is my 30 days notice, and as you owe me some holidays I will be taking them so I don’t have to work with you any more.”
I just calmly said, “Don’t worry about the 30 days notice, you won’t need it because I’m letting you go for gross misconduct!”
*screaming at me*“YOU CANT DO THAT!”
*a tiny voice on the telephone*”Yes he can, you stole from him and he is within his rights to terminate your contract with immediate effect and without compensation. Now if I was you I would leave quietly or Mr Savage could have the police involved for theft.”
A week later I received a letter asking for a reference as she had found a new job!
While writing this answer, I called my wife (I’m at work) and asked her to send me the photo of this knife from our kitchen. I hate using it, especially while cutting soft veggies. It is dull, useless and cheap-ass piece of cutlery. I bought it for $0.50.
With a kitchen knife exactly like this one shown in the picture.
I was going to work, when I came across a domestic street brawl. Men and women screaming, abusing and beating each other. I remember a wooden ladle in action too.
It was too awkward for me not to do something. I had no cellphone back then as it was too expensive and uncommon.
I tried calming them down with help of a few neighbors.
And during that peaceful effort… a young man out of nowhere attacked me with this kitchen knife. The swing was so swift and forceful that it scared me if this connects at all. I tried to grab his hand but the knife pierced my palm and popped out from back of my wrist.
Now I wish to stress couple of issues here.
A knife is a knife and it does not matter if it is big, small, sharp, dull, scary or funny looking. When used with intentions to inflict damage… it will damage the body inflicting stab and slash wounds, and might very well cause fatality.
And even more importantly…
This was quite a harmless bout, typical domestic quarrel between two neighboring families that usually just ends up with them receiving a bruise here and there, a noisy chest thumping exercise for the most part that goes around here over stupid disagreements.
Still…the moment I saw that guy approaching me with knife, his glowered and gloomy expressions alarmed me of imminent danger, I understood this is not just a warning… this guy wants to hurt me. To anyone else, he might not seem to be posing a palpable peril towards the cop but I as a cop perceived the incoming.
I was unarmed; I could not protect myself intelligently.
What if I was armed that day? To whom do I look up for the use of deadly force authorization?
That’s no one else’s but my decision to make.
It is my judgment call even if it is objective or weak in other’s opinion. If I have reasons to believe the person is a threat and warnings don’t serve the purpose, I have to neutralize the threat. I don’t want to hurt anyone; that’s the last and the most distasteful option for any cop in all sincerity. But at the same time, I want to protect myself and others with my best effort and ability.
I assure you, it could have been a fatal blow.
The department would have lost one of theirs, my mother would have gone crazy upon hearing of this news. All of this because of someone’s absurd, idiotic and senseless aggression.
I don’t deserve that.
No cop deserves that.
So in my opinion, if a knife-wielding person advances towards the cop and chooses to ignore the warnings – and sends an apprehension that he actually might attack the cop –
I’d consider that a legitimate threat.
And using deadly force to neutralize that threat is justifiable legally and morally.
We were married in Las Vegas over a weekend, never had a honeymoon, and it appears there wouldn’t be much romance or emotion, which appeared to suit both of us fine.
My life goals had always been to earn as many degrees as possible and to have a significant career. When my husband said he wanted to apply to law school, I stuck around to find out what would be happening.
On our fifth wedding anniversary, I was working on my masters’ degree and pregnant – not in my life goals, but I was accepting of the situation. We were both graduate students, living off student loans with no money for anything.
When I woke on our anniversary day, my husband presented me with a six page long poem he had been writing for days. He called it “FANGS for the memories.” The poem was written in the cadence of the song “Thanks for the memories” which would have been way too sentimental for either of us.
It’s been 45 years later and I still have not only that poem but also the poem he wrote on our 10th anniversary.
This past year we celebrated our 50th anniversary and not one celebration. But I do have two amazing sentimental and romantic poems to read and reread over and over – I will never forget those!
Once in China, I visited one of my students. he was a factory owner and we got along well. I was teaching him some English. And since my background is Engineering, we hit it off. So he came and picked my wife and I up and we spent the afternoon at his factory, had tea, and a good time.
He manufactured buttons. Particularly buttons for bluejeans.
Then came dinner, and it was nice… but… his wife really treated myself and my wife very poorly. In her mind I was “only” a teacher. Someone who you give a face-saving level of respect but who you consider to be beneath you… as they are unable to get “real work”.
She made many, perhaps ten “veiled” cut-downs, and almost-insults. Every word out of her mouth dripped with disdain. He made a big point of pointing out her nice bag, and their car, and the nice expensive restaurant. Very pretentious.
In her eyes… I was “only” a teacher.
My wife, who came from Wenzhou and who’s father was at one time a billionaire, was incensed, and vowed never to visit them again.
I mean it. NEVER. EVER.
I had a few classes with him and then cut it short, and I never saw him again. He was a good guy, and I liked him a lot. But the way his wife treated us was unforgivable.
…
People treat everyone as some one worthy. Take you time with them. Appreciate them exactly as they are.
He didn’t have much money, but he was such a trier. He didn’t just have a good work ethic; he wanted to give something back to the world and make a difference.
I loved spending time with him doing things that cost very little or nothing—walking around the city eating street food, reading to each other, wandering into art galleries, admiring the architecture. But mostly, I liked just being with him, talking. I enjoyed being with him in silence as well. What touched me the most is how courteously he treated those with less than him. He always had change for the homeless and never treated anyone as though they meant less than he did. he had genuine class, the kind of class that you’re just born with.
I never told him any of this, and that’s how I missed out, because that’s the type of woman he was looking for.
Years later, he told me that I came across as sweet, but ultimately shallow and absurdly spoiled. A debutante with a smashing wardrobe. I really blew it when I suggested that we take a trip to Belize together—he politely declined but again, much later, told me that he found that particularly audacious. It had never occurred to me that he didn’t have the money to take a vacation abroad, because actually, I was really spoiled. It had never occurred to me that most people couldn’t afford to take international vacations.
I probably overlooked a lot of men with his qualities. They wouldn’t have been him, though. He was unique. Unforgettable.
I would do everything over differently, given the chance. But missing out on the best thing ever is the big price you pay for being young and dumb.
This man was the most feared, and desired once upon a time
He was an airline steward who had lovers in cities all over the world. Whenever he had a layover he spent it in a bathhouse. Over 50% of the first HIV positive men either had sex with him, or someone he was intimate with. He was known as patient zero. He knew he was infected, and had the kaposi sarcoma lesions all over his taut tan body. He had unprotected sex anyway. I knew him from Christopher street in the early 80s. He left a trail of destruction across the decade
The most important plane on the Ford or Nimitz class carriers isn’t the F18 or F35.
It is this:
The E-2 Hawkeye.
There is no way to launch a 20–30-ton 10,000 HP turboprop off a carrier without catapults. And without the eye in the sky, there is no way to achieve operational parity with an American CBG.
The AEW system allows the admiral to detect threats at least 1,000 km away, and it is a prerequisite to establish air and sea superiority, if not dominance, within the sphere of sensor coverage.
And catobar was the original pursuit of the PLAN, except the program was staged, from a retrofitted foreign ski-jump cruiser, to an evolved indigenous ski-jump carrier, to a conventionally powered emals catobar flattop. The next two carriers will be a sister ship of the Fujian, conventionally powered, and China’s first nuclear powered flattop.
When I was in High School, I worked for my dad fixing computers. It was a great job for me as a teenager because I was making good money on commission.
When I was a senior in High School, right before I turned 18, he merged his company with one that my brother and another guy( Dave) started. My dad included me as an employee.
My dad and brother were both cool with me working service calls but Dave was a prick. Some rules that he came up with for me?
I wanted to take some time off for a school trip. My dad said yes. During the trip I ignored pages and phone calls from Dave during that time. New rule, I had to ask Dave for permission to take time off. Went over really well when I ignored him and went on a family cruise a few months later and didn’t clear it with him.
My niece was a baby. Dave’s sister was the receptionist/ babysitter. There was a day where I had no school and she had some place to be. My brother asked me to stay and watch my niece and answer phone calls. I decided to repair a couple of computers in the shop while babysitting my niece. I gave the invoices to my brother, who signed off on them with no issue. New Rule, If I was answering phone’s/babysitting my niece, I could not perform billable work AT ALL. Went out the window again.
When I was employed by my dad only, we used to tag faulty parts by placing them in the box the new part came in and taping it closed with masking tape. We would the write BAD (PART NAME) (WHY PART WAS BAD) on the tape. I changed out a bad power supply and did followed the procedure. He grabbed the power supply and tried using it. New Rule, We had to use tags instead of tape because he was too dumb to realize that there was a piece of tape closing the box stating what was wrong with the part.
Last, and for me the dumbest. I had to submit my resignation to him only. My dad and brother understood why I was resigning. I was shipping out for boot camp and I wanted to take a few weeks to pack and just relax before leaving. Just to spite him I typed up a nice resignation letter to my dad and my brother. I handed them each a copy then I looked at Dave. I told him I had two letters for him. I flipped him the bird and said “FU” My dad told me it was the funniest resignation he ever saw.
The addictive abilities of prescription painkillers.
My sister was addicted to prescription painkillers. (And meth and probably other things as well.) She was so addicted that she was arrested for writing fake prescriptions and couldn’t attend my wedding because it was out of state and she was under house arrest. I figured that she and people like her were just weak-willed or depressed and looking for an escape.
I had little sympathy for people who were addicted to things that were legal. If it was really that addictive, it wouldn’t be legal, right? It’s not like it’s cocaine. They’re just painkillers.
I was wrong.
When I was 27, I pulled a muscle in my back. It was so painful that I couldn’t walk straight. I’m not entirely sure how I even made it to the doctor’s office, but as soon as I hobbled in, they said: “Pulled muscle, huh?” I suppose I had the tell-tale walk of a man who tried to lift too much without bending his knees.
Anyway, the doctor prescribed me two prescription drugs. I believe one was a muscle relaxer, and one was a painkiller.
I recognized the names as soon as he said them. I knew these were some of the things my sister was addicted to.
And within 30 minutes of getting home and taking the first pills, I could see why she was addicted to them. I didn’t judge her and anyone else who was addicted to them as “weak-willed” anymore.
I remember lying on my bed, after being in intense pain for a day, suddenly feeling great! Not just the muscle pain, but every physical and emotional pain I had seemed to disappear. The stress of work and bills and being a husband and father just went away. The bed felt like a cloud, and I felt like I was floating. I was so happy.
When the first round of pills started to wear off after a few hours, I started to get depressed. Not just because the physical pain was coming back, but because some of my emotional worries and stress started to creep back in to my mind. I started to think about how much income I would lose from taking a few days off for my back pain. I started to think about the cost of the pills. I started to think about the domestic chores I’d been neglecting during my prescription painkiller trip.
But mostly I was thinking about if it was safe to take the next round of pills yet. The doctor said every six hours, and it had only been four hours. Could my liver handle it? Did I care if it could or not?
Then it hit me: I need to stop this before it gets worse. I didn’t want to end up like my sister. I liked my stressful life just fine. I didn’t need to escape from it.
So I quit taking the prescription pills, and decided to go with over-the-counter painkillers, stretching, and patience instead.
When I got back to work after a few days, a coworker offered to buy the leftover pills from me. But I didn’t want to be “that guy.” I didn’t want ANYTHING to do with those things anymore. So I flushed them down the toilet.
But I had newfound sympathy for people who can’t quit them. I understand the attraction they have.
My sister ended up overdosing on morphine a few years later. When we cleaned out her house after her death, she had over 300 empty prescription pill bottles in her room. The worst part was that those were just the empty ones. Some of her addicted “friends” had already come into her room and got the full bottles before we got there.
I’m a current employee of my local ALDI in America and have been there for two months. Knowing that, let me tell you this: ALDI would give big-brother a run for their money.
I work part-time on weekends and so as a result, I am almost always the primary or backup cashier because so much foot traffic is going on in the store and let me tell you; everything you do at the register is timed. They want “efficiency” and if you do not meet the standards, you will be held accountable for it.
For example, ALDI wants at the most only two seconds between transactions. When I say between transactions, I mean the time when you end one transaction and begin another. They’ll let you get away with three seconds at the store I work for but if you hit four seconds, you are failing the standards.
Every item has multiple bar codes on it so you can ring it up from almost any angle, but this also means stuff can get scanned by accident very easily. Yet they do not want any void items on the ticket. Ten voids is not acceptable in a normal day of work (eight hours, expected foot traffic on the weekend) they want to them to be around zero to three.
And lastly, the ringing speed. For a minimum standard the company demands that the cashier be able to ring 1,200 items per hour. If you can be faster, they’ll push you for it. For my part, being that I’m a part-timer, I’ve managed to ring only 1,000 items per hour. My boss tells me that I’m too slow and “will have to be held accountable for my efficiency” as per the rules of ALDI.
So if it seems like the employees are rushing, trust me, they are. But it’s literally not their fault. It’s ALDI that has the crazy expectations that they are required to meet for fear of losing their job. You wonder why they pay so well? Because the physical demands of the job are insane. If you’re not ringing things up at the 1.2k speed, you’re on the floor, pulling items, stocking shelves or crushing boxes into bales. Injury risk is high as well, hence the benefits offered. So please, speaking as a customer service worker for this business, try not to be upset at the employees for the standards the higher up sets. It’s not their fault that they have to act like that, it’s ALDI’S.
Back in the early 90s, I was in a parking lot walking to a store. A woman was alone and walking about 15 yards ahead of me. Suddenly, a car pulls up next to her and a guy jumps out and grabs her by the hair to his car. She’s screaming for help as he’s yelling “Get in the car, bitch!”. She’s screaming for help as he’s spewing insults at her. She had her hands on the car pushing away as he’s trying to cram her through the driver’s door. I run up to the car yelling “police officer! STOP!” ALL of had was my wallet badge. I wasn’t carrying a gun at the time but I couldn’t let him try to abduct her. He hears me and turns around to see me holding my badge. He let’s go of her and jumps back in his car and takes off. Someone in one of the stores comes out saying they’ve called the police. I stay with the woman until the local police arrive.
The guy was the woman’s ex-boyfriend. I give the police my information and leave. I never heard anything about the situation again. That was also the day I started carrying off duty.
I was at Kohl’s with my sons and a stroller. I had my keys in the cup holder. This guy walked up and started talking to us. I thought he possibly worked there but then I realized he was just chatty. I then went to help my kids try clothes on, some of which they kept on, so I took the tags and we waited in line. Suddenly, the police stormed in and handcuffed me. My kids started crying and I was confused. I stated to them that I have the tags to all my items in my hands and I’d told the attendant lady I was doing it. I had assumed they thought I was trying to shoplift.
The police then said they didn’t care about that, they wanted to know who the man was. I was totally lost, not remembering the brief conversation with the strange man. They were very aggressively asking me questions and finally loss prevention came out with a picture and asked me “Who is this?”
I looked at the picture and told them I have no idea, he just was hitting on me or something, but I didn’t want to be outright rude, so I was polite and spoke with him a couple minutes before making it clear I wasn’t interested. The cop totally didn’t believe me and asked…
“Well then, if you don’t know him, why did he drive away in your car?”
I thought, “WHAT?!”
The cop looked a little puzzled, then said that after the man had spoken to me, I said goodbye and that he’d taken the keys from my stroller and when he went to leave, he’d shoplifted something. So when store clerks went to stop him, he assaulted loss prevention, an innocent bystander and a cop, before leading the police on a car chase where they lost him, but were currently searching for him.
After interviewing me and my kids, and then seeing that we didn’t actually arrive together, loss prevention and the police realized I wasn’t an accomplice, but actually another victim.
They gave us a ride home and then contacted me later to let me know they’d caught him but he wouldn’t tell them where my car was.
So I went to the jail and visited him hoping he’d tell me where my car was. He told me the street he’d left it on and where to find the keys- I had to go to a nearby restaurant, go to the women’s handicap stall, take the seat liners out, and I’d find the keys underneath them. This was a week later so I wasn’t sure they’d still be there, but sure enough, that’s where they were hidden. My car was just parked on a street, chillin’. The license plates had been changed with some rental car plates, but besides that, it was OK.
Kohl’s let me keep all of the items I was going to buy my kids for free, since I was humiliated and my kids were traumatized. The police were really nice after they saw that I wasn’t the guy’s friend.
“Sir. I’m not cut out for this. Thank you” I stood up and walked out of the interview hall and never looked back.
“Dad I don’t want to work a job right now. I just realized that once I start working, I’ll be doing this for the next 30+ years of my life and never get the opportunity to take a break like this. I’d like to take a year off and camp and travel and bird my way across India. Once I leave for my MS, we both know I’m never coming back. This is my last chance to do this.”
Dad looked at me for a whole minute before saying “Go for it. I’ve got your back”.
Convincing mom was a whole other ball game but she eventually came around. I spent the next year of my life in National parks and sanctuaries; sometimes alone, other times with friends but most of the times leading groups of students as an instructor. After 15 years of hard slogging as a student, I finally had a break.
Taking a year off after undergrad gave me the opportunity to recuperate. It kept me away from a job which a lot of my friends described as a horrendous experience and helped me turbo-charge for what was ahead. It gave me a chance to spend time with the people I loved. It was not an easy decision. A lot of people doubted me. Most people called me crazy and arrogant. A non-trivial number of people assumed that I was lying and I had basically failed my BE and didn’t get a job. After all, which sane person passes on a job to watch birds? My dad, being the devilish prankster that he is, fueled these rumors even more to mom’s annoyance. He would go around telling people “What can I say. Nobody wants to hire him. If you have a job in your company can I send him to you?” This was the quickest way to get rid of all the concerned “well wishers”.
By the end of the year, I was mentally recharged and ready to take on whatever life had to throw at me. When I got to grad school, I was willing to push myself harder than I ever thought possible. When I started at Amazon a week after I graduated, I was completely pumped and ready to go rock this whole “job” thing because I had never actually had one before so I had a clean slate to start with.
Taking a year off gave me a chance to put things into perspective. It gave me a chance to believe in myself more than the established system. It re-affirmed my belief that you can walk the path less trodden and still make it to the other end. It will always be the best decision I will ever have made; because without it I would not have a career, merely a job.
Sometimes, the most important roads in life, are the ones you don’t take.
About 90% of heart attack occur early in the morning and it can be reduced if one takes a glass or two of water before going to bed at night. We know water is important but never knew about the special times one has to drink it.
Put a sticker with a fake pin on your debit card. If someone tries to use it 3+ times, the atm will eat the card.
To remove chewing gum from clothes keep the cloth in the freezer for one hour.
Need to test a printer? A print the google homepage, it has all the colors and uses almost no ink.
To whiten white clothes soak white clothes in hot water with a slice of lemon for 10 minutes.
Confusing wikipedia article? Click “simple o english” on the left list of languages and it’ll whisk you to a simplified version.
Ants problem: ants hate cucumbers. Keep the skin of cucumbers near the place where they are or at ant hole.
If you drop an earring, ring or small screw, simply turn off the lights and look with a flashlight. They’ll light right away.
To get pure & clean ice boil water first before placing in the freezer.
You can clear a room full of cigarette smoke in about a minute simply by spinning a wet towel o around.
To give a shine to your hair vinegar add one teaspoon of vinegar to hair, then wash hair.
When you go to a zoo wear the same colors as the employees do. The animals will come right up to you.
To make the mirror shine clean with sprite.
You can predict your future adult height with almost 100% accuracy by doubling your height at age of two.
To get maximum juice out of lemons soak lemons in hot water for one hour, and then juice them.
Want to meet girls? Go outside when it’s raining with a huge umbrella and take your pick.
To avoid smell of cabbage while cooking keep a piece of bread on the cabbage in the vessel while cooking.
Want to know if someone has romantic feelings for you? Look at their eyes! People’s pupils expand by 45% when looking at a love interest.
To avoid tears while cutting onions use “chew gum”
Remove unpleasant odor in smelly shoes or gym bags by placing dry teac bags in them.
To boil potatoes quickly skin one potato from one side only before boiling.
To remove ink from clothes put toothpaste on the ink spots generously and let it dry completely, then wash.
To get rid of mice or rats sprinkle black pepper in places where you find mice & rats. They will run away.
Your personality has its own smell. People can guess characteristics of personality just by your smell, because the body emits hormones and pheromones that we can detect in sweat.
This was back in the 90s. This was in 7th grade. I had history directly after lunch, and the whole class would be waiting outside the locked classroom door by the time the teacher would show up. This guy was speed walking and sweating his ass off while apologizing. Then we get into class and take our seats. Every day he had an “educational video tape” and it was recorded on vhs from the history channel. He would put it on and then fall asleep at his desk. While sleeping one of us would go up to his desk and steal all the answers to his tests. Everybody in this class was passing with straight A’s, and we all heard he was being looked at for it, but that wasn’t the kicker. One day we were fucking around as usual and a kid decided to throw a book out the window. This teacher told him he better go outside and get the book and come right back in. We’re on the second floor and the exit is right below us, so we’re watching out the window for him to grab the book while the teacher is back at his desk not paying attention to a damn thing. The kid comes out the exit door, walks right past the book on the sidewalk, and just continues down the street until he is out of sight. Everybody is laughing but nobody wants to say why. All the tardiness with the straight A’s, even from the ones failing every other class, on top of a kid easily walking out of school and going who knows where, ended up with him being fired
The 3rd year of medical school in the US is traditionally when students finally break out of the classroom and into the clinical arena of “rotations.” You spend a month or two on each of the mandatory specialties, learning the basics and just soaking up the experience. Everyone HAS to do internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, ob-gyn and general surgery, among others.
You do have some limited say over the order of your rotations, however, so I decided to do internal medicine (what I thought I was going into) first, and surgery (which I absolutely dreaded) dead last.
One of my first patients on the internal medicine service was Mr. A, a man in his 40s with advanced liver cirrhosis. He lived in a nursing home and was readmitted to the hospital like clockwork every 2–3 weeks for worsening confusion and somnolence, termed “hepatic encephalopathy.” The liver is a “super-organ,” regulating to some degree pretty much every other organ system in the body. When the liver fails, everybody fails. Fix one thing, something else goes to shit. In Mr. A’s case, the toxic byproducts of protein digestion weren’t cleared by his liver, causing his coma. The medication to help clear the toxins from his bowel gave him spectacular diarrhea, and his blood pressure plummeted, causing his kidneys to fail. Kidneys didn’t clear the toxins they were supposed to, platelets no longer worked, and combined with the absence of clotting factors made by the liver, engorged veins backing up into the stomach ruptured and bled. The blood pressure dropped further. What’s worse— all that blood digesting in the gut, well, that was just another source of protein to fuel the hepatic encephalopathy.
I grew to dread seeing him every morning. The best I could hope to obtain was the status quo, which hardly seemed an acceptable quality of life. Still, I could make him comfortable for the most part. On the other hand, there was very little I could do for his fiancee. She was there every morning, 6 am, when I rounded, for the latest update. There were no updates. There were never any updates. I could offer little more than a hand to hold.
It was frustrating. As I progressed through my subsequent rotations, and tried to consider each as a career option with an open mind, I found myself ruminating obsessively over Mr. A and his fiancee. They needed doctors to care for them. But could I be that doctor? How long before I couldn’t take it anymore? I considered the words of a good mentor: “Being miserable doesn’t make you a better doctor.”
And then my surgery rotation rolled around. General surgery is PUNISHING. I mean, like, holy crap, man. Rounds at 4 am. Line up, present, know your facts, yes ma’am, no sir, run to the OR, operate for 12 hours. In-house call every 2–3 nights, just powering through. Eat when you can, sleep when you can. And we were still expected to pass our final at the end of the rotation. Really??? When exactly was I supposed to study?
The night before, apparently. 10 pm, nothing like the last minute, pounding Starbucks, staining entire textbooks highlighter yellow, and my pager goes off. I wasn’t on call, but it was my attending. Do I want to come in and do a case? Honestly, no, no I don’t, I want to learn this stuff and take that test and be done. But I knew better than to say that. “Yes, sir, I would love to.”
I don’t know to this day why that attending called a green 3rd year med student who wasn’t even going into surgery, to “help” him with a case. Because here’s the thing: when I got to the hospital, he had no residents waiting, no other attendings, just him and I. Oh, and a helicopter.
Yeah, so I pretty much lost my shit. I jumped in, blades whirling, and felt my head explode. Luckily, he couldn’t hear it over the motor. “Where are we going, sir?”
He smiled, and gestured for me to put on my headphones. “We’re gonna go get a liver.”
And that’s what we did. A 19 year old shooting victim donated his perfect, soft pink liver. I cradled it, let it slide into the cooler. You know, those red coolers that say “HUMAN ORGAN,” you see people grabbing and hauling ass into helicopters in the movies? Yup, that was me. I felt like sort of a badass.
And then we took it back to my home hospital.
And we put it in Mr A.
True story. 9 months after caring for him on my internal medicine rotation, I saw him next, on my surgery rotation, draped, beneath the OR lights. I didn’t even realize it was him until we finished the operation, and I went with my attending to talk with his family. His fiancee was there.
I gave her the update.
4 days later I talked to Mr A for the first time ever. His new liver let him wake-up. He left the hospital and married his fiancee. They had been engaged for 6 years.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There is no such thing as a quick fix. He still required a lot of help from my internist colleagues to keep that liver working. But he got BETTER. Like, astronomically better. Literally overnight. Surgery was a big part of that. I was a big part of that surgery.
And that’s why I’m a surgeon.
(Also, because I passed that final with honors. That helped.)
Athenian Salad (Salata Athenas)
Ingredients
1 medium head lettuce
1 bunch romaine
10 radishes, sliced
1 medium cucumber, sliced
6 scallions (with tops), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/3 cup wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
24 Greek or ripe green olives
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 (2 ounce) can rolled anchovies with capers, drained
Instructions
Tear lettuce and romaine into bite-size pieces. Place lettuce, romaine, radishes, cucumber and scallions in large plastic bag. Close bag tightly and refrigerate. Shake oil, vinegar, salt and oregano in tightly covered jar; refrigerate.
Just before serving, shake dressing. Add dressing and olives to vegetables in bag. Close bag tightly and shake until ingredients are well coated. Pour salad into large bowl; top with cheese and anchovies.
Yields 8 servings.
Side gigs
Braised Chicken in Aromatic Tomato Sauce (Pastitsatha)
This dish is one that evolved from Corfu to stretch scant supplies of meat. Consisting of chicken, turkey, beef or veal braised in tomato sauce fragrant with spices, it is served over thick tubular pasta from Corfu called “perciatellli” (if you can’t find it, use spaghetti). Kefalotyri is a nutty tasting hard cheese similar to Parmesan. It is available at Greek markets.
Freshly grated kefalotyri cheese or Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch.
Place chicken on platter. Add onions to Dutch oven; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add spices; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and their juices and water. Return chicken to Dutch oven. Cover; simmer over medium-low heat until chicken is very tender, about 35 minutes.
Transfer chicken to platter. Tent with foil. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar, tomato paste and sugar to Dutch oven. Simmer until thickened to sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and more vinegar, if desired. Remove from heat. Cover to keep warm.
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Transfer pasta to platter. Top with chicken, sauce and cheese.
DO NOT Pay On The FIRST DATE! (300 IQ STRATEGY)
China and Russia test ‘hack-proof’ quantum communication link for Brics countries
•Scientists in Russia and China establish quantum communication encrypted with the help of secure keys transmitted by Mozi satellite
•‘All countries that are interested in technological leadership know that without quantum technology they won’t succeed’: quantum researcher
Scientists in Russia and China have established quantum communication encrypted with the help of secure keys transmitted by China’s quantum satellite, showing that a Brics quantum communication network may be technically feasible.
The scientists were able to span 3,800km (2,360 miles) between a ground station close to Moscow and another near Urumqi in China’s western Xinjiang region to send two encoded images secured by quantum keys.
The first “full cycle” quantum communication test between the two countries was successfully conducted last year, said Alexey Fedorov, of Russia’s National University of Science and Technology (MISIS) and the Russian Quantum Centre (RQC), Russia’s leading institution in charge of creating a quantum computer, on December 14.
Bridging the vast distance is possible with the help of China’s quantum satellite Mozi, which has opened pathways to develop national and international quantum communication networks.
With the advent of advanced supercomputers and quantum computing, there were now more avenues for information systems to be attacked, the researchers at RQC, Moscow-based QSpace Technologies and MISIS University wrote in a paper published on the open-access online archive arxiv.org in October.
Quantum communication – a form of quantum physics-based information transfer that uses cryptography to encode data in single photons – offers a way to transfer information that hackers cannot eavesdrop on, according to the paper.
Encrypted data is transferred in the form of ones and zeros along with a quantum key that is used to decrypt the data.
Quantum keys, or strings of random bits, “are secret parameters that we use to encode useful information”, making it inaccessible to unauthorised individuals, Fedorov said.
Using quantum key distribution can allow for security that was “guaranteed by the law of physics”, the researchers wrote in their paper.
While there has been major progress in the development of quantum key distribution, ground-based transfer at reasonable speeds using optical fibre cables is limited to around 1,000km because of a loss of photons over long distances, according to the paper.
With this limitation, researchers in different countries and continents, or even on opposite sides of Russia, could not effectively transfer quantum keys, Fedorov said.
To overcome this hurdle, China launched Mozi, the world’s first quantum communication satellite in 2016, to begin long-distance quantum transmission.
Using the satellite, China has been able to develop a national quantum network of ground stations spanning thousands of kilometres.
In 2020, the Russian team began working with the Mozi team, who helped them set up systems to begin conducting experiments with the satellite, Fedorov said.
A ground station was set up at the Zvenigorod observatory just outside Moscow, equipped with telescopes and cameras to track the satellite. Various experiments were conducted between the Zvenigorod ground station and China’s Nanshan ground station near Urumqi, the paper said.
On March 1 last year, a full quantum communication experiment was conducted between the two stations.
A secret key was distributed between Zvenigorod and Mozi, which orbited between 600km and 1,100km above the ground station. Once the Chinese side received the shared key from the satellite, a secret key was established between two stations nearly 4,000km apart, the paper said.
Two coded messages were transferred between the teams that were decrypted with the help of two keys – a quote from Chinese philosopher Mozi and an equation from the late Soviet physicist Lev Landau – according to the team.
It was the first successful full-cycle quantum communication experiment between China and Russia. Fedorov said a secure quantum call had been established in 2017 between Austria and China using Mozi.
The paper released by the Russian team in October highlighted a major aspect of their research with Mozi and quantum key distribution.
To transfer quantum keys between long-distance ground stations, both stations must have detectors that pick up signals from a satellite. These devices “are not always working ideally”, Fedorov said.
Slight differences in the detectors could leave the system open to potential security attacks, he said.
The researchers said this detection efficiency mismatch was not taken into account in the decoy state quantum protocol – which is the most widely used quantum key distribution protocol. To further improve the security of the system, the team modified the security analysis protocol to take the mismatch into account.
“Our results pave the way to the considerations of realistic imperfection of the QKD [quantum key distribution] systems, which are important in the context of their practical security,” the paper said.
We live in an information age, where a lot of what we do “is tied to protected information”, making quantum keys a “useful tool” to protect strategic and sensitive information, Fedorov said.
While quantum communications networks could have many uses, Fedorov said that for now quantum systems would ideally be suited to scientific research, with more research needed before the technology could be commercialised.
He said the finance sector was interested in quantum technology, with banks storing “a massive amount of critical, important information”.
In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Future Technologies Forum in Moscow he planned to develop Russia into an economy where quantum technology had an important role in digital infrastructure.
“Technically, it’s absolutely possible” to build a quantum communication network between the Brics nations, Fedorov said.
But while there was “scientific, technical and commercial potential for these kinds of systems”, a unifying project was needed to push development forward, he said.
There would also need to be shared standards between nations regarding the exchange of data and safety measures.
Fedorov said that to commercialise quantum networks, development was heading towards expanding infrastructure through launching mini quantum satellites and building ground stations, along with forging protocols to exchange information.
In June, Russia released its own quantum microsatellite prototype, and had begun experimenting with the aim of launching its own quantum satellite, according to Fedorov.
The team hoped to develop its own quantum technology to become a resource to help other nations conduct quantum experiments as China had helped the Russians, he said.
Beyond quantum communication, countries across the world are researching various technologies, including quantum computing, which the Russian team would soon use to solve minor tasks.
“All countries that are interested in technological leadership know that without quantum technology they won’t succeed,” Fedorov said.
They had shared everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.
For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife’s bedside.
She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000. He asked her about the contents.
“When we were to be married,” she said, “my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.”
The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.
“Honey,” he said “that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?”
“Oh, that?” she said. “That’s the money I made from selling the dolls.””
Do not sell. You have already paid for two years. First contact your lender and ask for them to pause your loan for 3 months. Then for three months you will have no payment (time to save as much money as possible). Use that time to get your income level back up to where you need it to make the house payment. Look for a new job or another part time job. If you have a good car, do a delivery job like Uber or Door Dash. Eliminate any monthly paid services like movie channels, even internet. Just keep the electric, water, gas, and trash. NEVER eat any place that is NOT your house – unless it’s like free food at work. Fast food, Starbucks, restaurants, and eating outside the house is what breaks people. If you go to Costco you can get a whole chicken for $5 and you can get 12 croissants for $6. You can also get 50 little bags of chips for $13. You can get a case of 35 cans of Coke for $25 (one can a day for a month). A chicken sandwich on a croissant with a bag of chips and a Coke sounds like a good lunch. You spent $50 but you got 12 lunches and maybe more lunches and you still have lots of chips and cans of Coke for the rest of the month. Fast food restaurants will cost you about $15 for one lunch (sometimes more). So you decide 3 lunches at fast food or 12–15 lunches at home for the same price. Stay hungry, only eat when you must and drink a big glass of water before you eat. Potatoes are only $1 per pound and they are the most filling food you can eat. I remember in college, I always bought a big jar of peanut butter and jelly. A PB&J sandwich will really save you from throwing your money away on fast food and the PB&J goes great with the chips. Eating at home costs 1/10th the price of eating outside the home. If you cut down all your outgoing money and get more incoming money, you should have the ability to save your house. Renting might just be more than your house payment. Consider renting out one of the bedrooms. If you rent out the master bedroom you’ll get more money than one of the other bedrooms. Maybe a neighbor will want to rent a parking space at your house or rent your garage for storing their stuff. If your house has a lot of land, maybe someone will want to rent some space to park their RV until they need to travel. Look at the items you own, that item that you have not used for over a year – sell it on eBay. Have a garage sale to get rid of old clothing you no longer wear, old shoes, old dishes, old knifes and forks. Sell those collections and sell anything you can to keep your house. Your house is the most important investment most people make during their entire life. Don’t let this house slip out of your hands because when this happens most people never get another house. Use the least amount of heat and lighting as you can. More blankets. But no space or plug in heaters and NO CANDLES (they cause house fires and insurance doesn’t cover that). If you are not in the room turn off the LED lights, television, radio, etc. I didn’t own a television until I was in my 30’s. If you are spending all you free time trying to make money and spending almost nothing to live, you can save your house. You will be successful, you can do it. Stay hungry get out there and make some money however you can. You can do it! I believe in you! If you found my post interesting or helpful, please upvote, share, and follow. Thank you!
I hated it. It’s an awful way for a child to grow up. I know that my brothers hated it too, but eventually my oldest brother went into “the business,” went to jail a couple times, got out, now he’s currently in jail again. My other brother and I both ran away from home once we were old enough and we don’t talk to the rest of our family much now.
First, some background: most “criminal families” aren’t like the mafia. It’s not a glamorous life. It is not like the Sopranos or the Godfather. It is not dark wood paneling and fine liquor. Every time I hear one of my sheltered school friends talk about organized crime or something it makes me want to puke. People go into crime because they are poor and they don’t know any better. They are not good people and they often don’t have a good sense of basic right and wrong. This means they are unlikely to be good parents. You know those pictures you see every so often on the internet with some woman turning a trick and her baby is in the background? That was how I grew up, but with drugs and guns and stabbing instruments lying around like toys. When my brothers and I were growing up, we constantly had strange people coming and going from our house at all hours, often engaging in loud altercations with both my mom and dad (I suppose I should give thanks that my parents were “together?”) inside the house or outside on the front lawn. Drugs and paraphernalia and firearms were pretty much everywhere. It’s fortunate that the trigger pull needed to set off a handgun is more than a small child can muster, at least until he or she is old enough to understand that guns kill people for real, and that yes, once when one of daddy’s friends was carried back to the house screaming and bleeding and couldn’t be taken to the hospital that that was because someone shot a gun at him! That’s how I learned about firearms safety – my mom just matter-of-factly said to my brothers and me, “That’s what happens when you point a gun at someone and pull the trigger” while stubbing out her cigarette watching my father and his gang try to staunch the bleeding and perform first aid. We did not play with the guns on the table after that. By the way, first aid is something you learn pretty early on, by the way, because there are a lot of ways to get injured in a “criminal family.” My parents were not (too) abusive, they loved us in a strange sort of way. But there were always weapons (of the sharp variety) or a lot of times broken bottles and other broken shit left lying around that my brothers and I got good at avoiding or when we were playing, we’d use them as fake weapons which, of course, since they were real and we were stupid, typically resulted in us getting to practice the first aid techniques my dad’s friend (“Doctor” Terry) had helpfully taught us. This was entirely normal to us – loud nightly commotion, a general tenseness around the house at all times, mostly sleeping during the day unless we bothered to get up to attend school, and a lot of injuries. I know now that regular childhood is full of little injuries, but we were always around blood and getting scratched up and scraped and gouged and bruised, just because the environment was dangerous. To this day I don’t know how we survived except that we picked up the instincts that people who live with weapons and sharp objects lying casually anywhere just happen to develop. No, we did not have shoes. At least not for the kids.
Once I was old enough to understand what was going on I learned that my family – not just my mom and dad but several “uncles” and their girlfriends were a minor part of a drug distribution network. Oddly enough we kids were not conscripted to be a part of it, not until my oldest brother decided on his own he wanted into the lifestyle. It seemed like my parents were doing it mostly because it was all they knew and after we were born they tried to protect us and provide for us in the only way they knew how. Strangely we never had any police trouble (at least at the house) because I think we were pretty far from the front lines and were considered a safe house of sorts where money was counted, weapons were traded and stored (for those who don’t know, guns are considered more secure currency because they can both be traded and used for intimidation), and “product” was moved back and forth. Maybe they were doing this to keep us safe(r), I don’t know. But I do know it was still a chaotic and very scary environment to grow up in as a child.
You probably want to know how I got out of it. Unfortunately that end of the story isn’t too interesting. We had television in the house, my brother and I would watch it, and sort of see (or at least get the idea) that not everyone lived like this. Television is full of happy middle-class families. And we wanted to get out of there. So one day (daytime! when everyone is sleeping!) we grabbed one of the bundles of cash lying around, stuck it in a bag with a change of clothes and took a bus out of town. 800 miles out of town. For awhile we were worried someone would come looking for us but it didn’t happen. Eventually I did call my mom and she was angry but it was clear she was worried and just happy we were alive. We didn’t talk much more than that, she just said, “Well take care of your brother.” My brother and I live in another city now and I have completed a GED and now I go to a state school. Hope that helps clear up some misconceptions.
Nobody is your friend, not even the guys you eat lunch with every day
Nobody is indispensable. Anybody can be laid off any day.
Never waste time listening to management podcasts, attending town-halls or post work self-funded drink parties as they dont have any impact on your salary, promotion or job security.
Try to attend as many technical trainings as you can which are paid for by your employer.
Never send emails late night or over the weekends thinking that people will get impressed. There are already people in your team who have seen it and done it all and only fools work overtime.
Become awesome at the work you do. Focus on learning the latest skills applicable to your field. That will save your life when you are laid off or want to change employer.
Dont waste time on feedbacks or year end assessments and dont take them seriously. No matter how hard you work or the value you add, you will always be made to feel below average.
Fight hard to get a raise by constantly raising your compensation issue with senior managers in private meetings. No company wants to pay more and one needs to snatch his share of goodies.
Never share your family or any other problem/weakness with anybody at work.
Make a genuine effort to help others who need some help from you specific to your knowledge or skill. The cycle of Karma will enable you to get the same help when you need the same.
Never use capital case or offensive words in any written communication that can be used as an evidence of your unprofessional behavior and be used against you.
I am a remote employee and I keep a company inventory, recently I completed an inventory of my stock. I received word when the higher-ups were reconciling my count that I was missing 5 high dollar items and was questioned, did I “loose” them or did I not count them, it was a significant sum, and I could have lost my job or been held financially responsible for these items. without a reasonable explanation, the boss was pissed as hell at me.
The thing was that just a few months ago, I was requested by the asset manager to send these 5 items across the country to another remote employee and I had an email with the item numbers and serial numbers along with the FedEx tracking numbers to prove they were sent and delivered. The asset manager was responsible for transferring these items into that other inventory.
I found the email and it only took me a few minutes to find it. I was off the hook and the asset manager or more likely one of his staff was in hot water now!
I had been job searching for quite some time at this point. I had gotten a job to come in for an interview. For this job, I had interviewed 2 other times for it, so, I was going to be interviewing for a 3rd time. In my mind, I thought, “Maybe they really liked me each time (as I qualified for the job) but they just kept getting really good candidates with more experience then me and so they would just go for the other person” Alas, I went into the interview hopeful and feeling very prepared.
I had arrived promptly for the interview, but the interviewer was extremely late. The interview was for 9am, but they didn’t call me until about 9:40am. I thought, “Maybe they just got really busy?” But, when the interviewer came out to greet me, they offered no sort of apology for being almost an hour late.
Alas, I greeted the interviewer with a smile and a firm handshake. When it was time to interview, they asked me to introduce myself and tell them a little about myself. The interviewer just looked like she was trying not to laugh for some reason. I continued the interview, and for one question, I think it was like “Tell me why we should hire you” and then she literally laughed. She busted out laughing and then tried to compose herself. I have honestly no idea why she did that. There were other interviewers in the room as well, but only she was acting like that. Weirdly enough, I ended up being offered the job, but I declined. Between the interviewer being late, laughing at my answers, and being sarcastic, it just left an “unprofessional” taste in my mouth. I really wanted the job (hence why I interviewed 3 times for it). But if that person was going to be one of my supervisors/ higher ups, I didn’t want to be apart of that company.
China will say thank you very much for vacating valuable (and often choice) factory premises. Local companies will jump at the chance to acquire the sites, because these are often prime land with the best infrastructure and utilities.
China rolled out the red carpet for MNCs and the local government often offered the best preferentially to foreigners.
The problem with the de-shoring narrative is the utter impracticality, because it is nigh impossible to find another country with the set of conditions the mainland offers. China is no longer cheap, and competition is incredible. Factories that remain and prosper are ENABLED by the set of advantages the mainland provides.
The companies that find it attractive to relocate are chasing lower wages, and mostly unaffected by poorer skill, infrastructure and the lack of symbiotic ecosystems.
When someone doesn’t understand how everyday mainstream culture works.
I went to college in a town with extreme wealth, but was relatively poor myself so worked at the nearby Burger King for, you know — money.
Occasionally, a wealthy type person would come in and seem totally clueless as to how a Burger King worked. The menu board was overwhelming to them. They’d order their burger “medium rare” or “well-done,” not realizing the burgers simply ran through a machine and they all came out the same.
They usually had unbranded shirts and pants that looked as if they had never been worn before.
Everything was a curiosity to them. I remember one was staring at the straw dispenser, wondering how the straw comes out. I leaned over and pressed the button and out rolled a straw. He seemed giddy about how this invention worked.
Essentially, they are space aliens on Earth for the first time.
Yesterday, I saw a young 20 year old married girl in my clinic, who was brought in by her mother in law for surgery for ‘ hole in the heart’
She was suffering from atrial septal defect (ASD) wherin you are born with a hole between two chambers of the heart. The surgical correction when done early on ( before 20–25 years) is very simply and almost risk free. But unfortunately this girl had a large hole and became very very sick. She also developed certain complications making her ASD inoperable.
She was found to have ASD at around 10 years of age but her parents did not get her treated as the stigma of heart surgery will make her ineligible for marriage. So they hid her disease and married her off. Her in laws who discovered her problem about one year back ignored it and now that she is sick, brought her for treatment. They are more concerned that she will be unable to bear children.
The poor young girl is screwed both by her parents and her husband for no fault of hers. Her parents only wanted to get rid of her while her inlaws / husband only want her as child bearing machine.Sad.
Edit: The surgery here in Hyderabad is free for poor patients in the best of private hospitals also ( Govt Aarogyasree scheme). The sad part is due to this delay the heart is irreparably damaged and it is now inoperable .
I still remember my first year at Campbell Soup Company in 1985. I started on Jan 2 as Assistant Manager of Accounts Payable. I was a glorified clerk who should have been eligible for overtime, but Manager in my title made me exempt.
We were not required to turn in time cards unless we missed work which I didn’t do as I was the new kid. At my six months review I received all high marks except that my boss marked me down for never working overtime. I averaged 10 to 20 hours of overtime a week.
To clue my boss in, I started turning in my time cards every week. A couple of months later the payroll clerk called me to the side and asked me if I wanted my meal money. There were several envelopes for me in the safe.
“What meal money?” I asked. She explained that anyone exempt who worked two hours past quitting time received $2 meal money. I laughed and asked her how long it had been since they had raised the amount. She said it had been that way as long as she had been there, or over 25 years.
At the end of the year, I received my first Christmas bonus, a $5 check. I had worked the year before as a part-time bookkeeper for my parents’ little dress shop and received a $50 bonus check. They paid their sales clerks a $250 bonus.
I framed my $5 check as a reminder that policies should always be reviewed and scrapped or updated as the case may be. It cost more for the company to process those tiny payments than it was worth to the recipients. If you are going to do something do it right or don’t do it at all.
When I was in college I moved into an old house that had been converted into apartments. Perfect location for me and within the first couple days I had met all the neighbors around me. All seemed normal, until the next door neighbors kid stopped by with the kid who lived across the street from us. The kid may have been 13 or 14 at the time, but he made the hair on my neck stand up. He looked like Malachi, from Children of the Corn, and that was his nick name. He never said anything to me or did anything crazy around me but I always had that spooked feeling around him. I moved a couple years later. One evening I was checking out the news and the headline that day was a body was found in a crawl space. When they showed the house and then the picture came up on the screen I was shocked to see it was the kid across the street from me. He admitted to another killing out of state a few days later. As time went on he confessed to a few more that he had killed. Before any future investigation was done, he took the easy way out via suicide in jail. He was a confirmed serial killer.
Argentina JUST *Flipped* to the US Dollar | -54% CRASH [President Milei FIRST Move!]
Back in 2011, the State of California reported that over 8.3 billion recyclable cans had been recycled that year.
This meant that California’s recycling rate was just under 100 percent; implying that nearly every single can in the state had been recycled.
Now, in an ideal world, such high recycling would be a good thing, and reflect incredible levels of environmental responsibility in California.
But unfortunately, this statistic was too good to be true.
Recycling Fraud…Surprisingly, It’s A Crime
As it turned out, California’s astonishing recycling rates were not the result of widespread environmental awareness. The real reason for this statistic was much more sinister…fraud.
Apart from Oregon, California is the only state with a container return program on the west coast. Due to financial incentive and a lack of regulation, several ‘recycling fraud rings’ popped up, defrauding the program by redeeming millions of ineligible cans.
In 2012, government officials reported that the State of California lost over $40 million every year to fraud. To combat these losses, the Justice Department created “recycling fraud units” to stop “recycling fraud rings”.
This initiative proved to be quite effective in stopping fraud. In late 2018, two Arizona men were arrested for over $16 million worth of recycling fraud. Under the guise of a trucking company, a man named Miguel Bustillos smuggled millions of cans into California for the purpose of defrauding the state government.
[1] If convicted of ‘felony recycling fraud’, Bustillos and his associated could face up to three years behind bars.
“So what are you in for?”
“Recycling fraud…”
I can’t imagine that would net you much respect in a prison setting. This whole thing just seems so surreal to me.
When most people get depressed, they tend to start adding things to their life thinking that something will “make them happy”.
This isn’t how it works.
Here are 3 things you should cut out of your life when you’re depressed — based on personal experience.
Alcohol. Nowadays, I enjoy a beer or a glass of wine on the weekend. Maybe 2 if I’m feeling frisky. It’s become a sort of hobby — I like trying a new beer or wine to celebrate getting through a tough week of work or training. However, when I was severely depressed, I cut the stuff out completely. Alcohol tended to amplify whatever I was already feeling, meaning when I was sad, it made me really fucking sad.
Most romantic partners. I’ve dealt with depression on many occasions in my life. I’ve been in relationships during my depression at times, and I’ve been single during my depression at times as well. I’ve only had one partner ever who has been truly supportive during my periods of intense depression and anxiety — the one I’m with now. If a partner isn’t helpful for your mental health, it’s not that they’re bad, but the relationship will struggle.
Crappy diet/exercise habits. For a lot of people, there’s a dietary component to depression. For myself, I know that fried foods, too much food, and too much inactivity can set me off and send me spiraling. Unfortunately, there’s a bit of trial and error in this, but it’s relatively easy to learn to eat better. If something makes you feel bad, stop eating it.
Be careful what you say. My first day of teaching at one district was almost my last.
We were told to have the students put their name, etc on a 3 by 5 card with something about themself. One boy said he was in a gang.
Later that week we had a big meeting about Gangs. Out of thousands and thousands of students 250 were identified as Gang members. Based on my location, the kiddie candy gang.
I had taught in another district where real gang activity existed. Before that I practiced law for 30 years. I had represented one gang in court as a lawyer. I quit criminal law when I got a gang member off and two days later he murdered an 8 year old. I knew Gangs well. I said to the teacher next to me, “ Two hundred and fifty. I got one of them. At my last district there were less than 250 non gang members”. The teacher asked how I knew. I said he wrote it on his card.
The next day the admin appeared and wanted the card. I refused ( although I knew I had no legal ground) and they told me I was fired and searched my room and found it. They then told me I was not really fired.
The boy was expelled. A week later, during school hours, he drove his car into a brick wall and died. 15 years later I still mourn. I never had the chance to find out if his life could be turned around.
Anything you say or write to a teacher is subject to the admin. You have No Privacy. Say your name. Tell them you like sunshine and lollipops.
Some might say this is bad advice. I think kids are lulled into thinking they have a private relationship with a teacher. You don’t.
Late 70s on an early Sunday afternoon flight from LAX to Toronto on a wide body. I was sitting in the middle row which had 5 across, and a hippie couple sat in front of me with only one other passenger in their row. As soon as the fasten seatbelt light went off they started to get it off, laying across the 4 seats with just a blanket over them. The flight attendant came by and looked at them and did nothing. Shortly after she came back with the pilot and another flight attendant they conferenced then left without doing anything. So I just sat there and watched them go at it for three hours, they would take a short break then go at it again in different positions. I felt sorry for the poor guy in the end seat as their legs would sometimes end up in his lap. I really think they did it for the shock value. To top it all off some guy in a robe was sitting cross legged in the middle of the aisle burning incense. The flight attendants stopped that real fast. I used to fly 200k miles a year and this by far was the most entertaining one I was ever on.
I once had my apartment broken into while I was gone. The thief harmed my dog, and they stole about $12,000 dollars worth of a certain green substance that people enjoy setting on fire for recreational purposes. I had a pretty good idea who did it, and later I was able to confirm my suspicions.
Keep in mind that I am not some big bad criminal type, but I was counting on the money from the items stolen to pay my rent, utilities, college tuition, and books. So, I made one of the worst decisions of my life, and I went over to this person’s apartment which was in the same complex as mine.
I knocked on the door. He answered.
I walked past him without saying a word, and I turned around and shut the door. I then produced a handgun that had been covered by my shirt. I looked at him, and I very calmly but sternly told him that I knew he was the one who broke into my apartment and that he had about 30 seconds to produce every last bit of what he stole.
He complied, and I placed the items into a gym bag I brought with me.
I told him that he was dead to me, and that I didn’t ever want to see him again. That I was aware that his lease was up at the end of the following month, and that I strongly suggested he not renew it. I then told him that this was for my dog, and I punched him in the nose.
I re-holstered my weapon, and I walked back to my apartment. I was incredibly calm the entire time I was there, but now I was a bit worried that he might be dumb enough to call the cops despite the fact that he had committed multiple serious felonies himself.
I decided to bring the bag and the weapon over to a friend’s apartment that was just next door, and I left it there for the rest of the day. I went back home, and just went about my day. I cooked dinner for myself and my girlfriend, and fortunately the police never showed up.
I never saw the guy again, and he apparently moved out the following month. It wasn’t the brightest thing I’ve ever done, but without the money from the items he stole I wouldn’t have been able to pay my bills or my tuition.
Now, I’m an attorney with an MBA in Finance. I wouldn’t recommend anyone else do what I did. I could have gone to prison for 10 years or more. At the time I was desperate though, and I couldn’t exactly call the cops to have them retrieve my stolen property in this case.
Desperation will make people do desperate things. Fortunately for me things worked out well. They could have easily gone badly.
I once convinced one scammer that I was the curator of a major museum in Fort Worth and if he wanted for me to give him money so he could start a similar museum that he would have to send me a birthday present. He asked me what I wanted and told him two billfolds would do. Several weeks later the wallets, very nice ones. arrived from London. The Nigerian scanner was calling long distance. Naturally he did not know that I knew that he was trying to scam our museum. I finally told him to take a hike or I was going to call in federal law enforcement. Textless to say he was madder than hell that I scammed him. After 20 years I still use both of those expensive walkers As far as J know Jam the only potential victim that has ever scanned the scammer
A few years ago I was coming out of my local bank when I saw a couple standing near their car looking a bit distressed. I approached them and asked what was wrong. The guy said his battery had died and he couldn’t get the car started. He asked if I would help to push start it.
So I got behind the car with his girlfriend and we started pushing. He popped the clutch and the engine turned over a few times but didn’t start. I told the guy this wasn’t going to work, he needed jumpercables. I only lived 5 min from the bank so I told him I would drive home to get the cables and be right back. The look on his face was a “sure buddy, never going to see you again” expression. I didn’t mind. Got into my car, drove home, got the cables from the garage and drove back.
Whem they saw me arrive they had a surprised look on their faces. I pulled my car up to his and popped the bonnet. Less then a minute later his car was running again. They were both thanking me profusely and wanted to offer me money for the help.
I told him to keep the money and “next time you see somebody needing help, spend a few minutes and help them”.
I hope they did and asked the same of the person they helped.
Very simple, because the stupid people in power were forcibly removed and filtered from the system continuously. Don’t get me wrong, China has statistically some of the most comedic and stupid people in the world because of its large population, they are just kept down and not allowed to harm the country.
Back then during the warlord era (軍閥時代), there was this absolute menace who shared my surname and was called Zhang Zong Chang (張宗昌) who governed the province of Shandong (山東省). He was a massive hedonist who gambled excessively and married 21 women from different countries.
During his rule, he brutally repressed workers rights (see 青島慘案), conscripted an unsustainable large military, wrote some of the most vulgar pseudo-tang poetry (despite being almost illiterate) and basically caused enormous suffering.
He was so intellectually stunted that he not only didnt know how many wives he had, but he also didnt know his own military power or finances (三不知將軍).
Zhang Zongchang once said to his subordinates: “Communism means sharing wives. Sharing wives is of course good, but communism is wrong. Things that can be taken are yours, and things that cannot be taken are not yours! Sharing wives is different. It’s okay to sleep with someone else if you can’t sleep with a woman.”
This is why the elite hate communism, and to some extent all result oriented systems. It removes their ability to loot and plunder to maintain their privileges because the playing field has been leveled.
On September 3, 1932, Zhang zongchang was assassinated on a train station using a pistol. No one picked up his body and left it to rot for three whole days. After hearing the news, all the people of Shandong province celebrated and welcomed troops from the Republic of China with open arms.
___
Modern China’s success is because “Communist” China is a meritocracy. This means that those who are given authority are those with skill and experience (or in other words, merit) and not their wealth, smooth talking skills, paramilitary criminal force or dick size. Doctors are qualified only because they pass 6 years of medical school with good grades before they can cure humans, because it involves life and death. Why shouldnt a similar filtering mechanism be installed for political leaders, who control the life and death of many?
This is reflected not only among politburo or chairman poliics, but daily life of people like me. The national pre university exam – 高考 – is based on pure grades, not race or extracurriculars or reference letters.
My husband was the perfect boyfriend. Once we were married, things drastically changed. I realized it about 5 minutes we were pronounced ““husband and wife.” We got in the limo to be taken to the reception site, and 100% of his attention was on the driver. I couldn’t believe it, but let it go. I knew, however that I had just made a huge mistake. About 2 months into the marriage, when there was no more dating, dancing or flowers, I brought it up to him, and his answer was ““That part of our relationship is over.” What? Really? He then went on to tell me that he “married me,” so he “didn’t have to court” me anymore. Wow! I tried to talk to him, and explained that I fell in love with him because of the way he treated me and that I really wanted “that man back.” He looked at me and told me that that man never existed. He was right. For many years, I sought therapy, thinking there was something wrong with me because this marriage wasn’t working. My history and life made me believe that it must be my fault. I changed who I was way too many times, to the point that I don’t know who I am. The dude’s a freaking narcissist. My idea of what made a narcissist was way off point. Yeah, I’m still married to him, but I protect my heart from him. He’s caused a lot of pain, so we live as roommates, and it works.
Please don’t ask why I stayed, only people that have endured abuse would understand, and I’ve written enough already.
I just wish I wasn’t so weak and vulnerable when I met him. He knew I was the perfect mark. So if you can, and have friends and family to support you, run if you see this kind of behavior. Me? My mother and father were abusive and I had just got out of a 15 year extremely abusive relationship 5 months before I met him. So yeah, I was truly alone.
Interesting story. The Currywurst was invented by Hertha Heuwer who operated a bratwurst and fast food stand in Berlin-Charlottenburg in September 1949. Hertha’s husband worked with American officers and noticed that they put huge amounts of ketchup on their steaks and told his wife.
Once, on a rainy day, when she had no custumors, Hertha cut a bratwurst in slices and played around with sauces and spices, however without much success. But the butcher Frank Friedrich who delivered bratwursts without casings to Hertha helped her to improve the sauce which finally was made up from tomato paste, bell pepper, paprika powder, spices and especially curry powder. Hence, the wurst was named Currywurst.
In the post-war era, this “exotic” version of traditional bratwurst was a huge success. Hertha’s recipe was immediately imitated by other operators of bratwurst stands and quickly Currywurst was sold all over Germany.
There are variations how to make the sauce. The simplest version is to take just commercial ketchup and curry powder. More elaborate versions use onions, fresh tomatoes and fruit to make the sauce.
The typical Berlin-style Currywurst uses a bratwurst without casing. After the war, casings were in short supply, and Frank Friedrich’s partner had developed a procedure to make sausages without casings. In other parts of Germany, however, ordinary bratwursts with casings are used for Currywurst.
The recipe is simple: Just take a bratwurst, sear or grill it, cut it into pieces and put the sauce on it. Sprinkle with curry powder. Recently, some wurst stand operators have started to add ultra-hot chili sauces. One operator in my hometown boasts that he makes “the world’s hottest Currywurst” because, for his number ten, he uses pure capsaicin. But this is a different story.
So, Currywurst is a kind of fusion. The sausage is traditional German. The curry powder came from England, with roots in Indian masala. The tomato-based sauce was inspired by American ketchup.
Well, this few information should put that matter to rest.
Birth control
Gibanica
Ingredients
Dough
8 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pint sour cream
2 cups milk (about), scalded
2 ounces yeast
3 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 pound sweet butter
Filling
1 1/2 pounds ground nuts
1 tablespoon honey
3 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy milk or cream
1/3 cup sweet butter
Instructions
Dough: Dissolve yeast in about 2 teaspoons sugar and 1/2 cup warm water; let stand until it bubbles.
Sift flour in large bowl and add salt and 1/2 cup sugar.
In another bowl beat 3 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and sour cream; add yeast; add scalded milk and sweet butter which was added to the milk and cooled. Add this to the flour bowl and knead to a soft silky dough, not sticky. Let rise in a greased bowl until double in bulk. Make sure the dough is soft as it has to stretch.
On floured cloth roll dough to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in thickness; stretch gently so it won’t break. Stretch oblong about 30 x 20 inches (use rolling pin if necessary) and fill with following filling.
Filling: Scald milk with butter.
In bowl add ground nuts, honey, vanilla extract, sugar and pinch of salt, then add scalded milk with butter. Mix, then add stiffly beaten egg whites. If thick, add a little more milk. Spread on dough like you would for nut roll and roll like a jellyroll (make as sweet as desired).
Grease roasting pan 4 to 6 inches in depth and fill pan; start at one edge of pan; make a “U” shape. Do not cut if roll is longer; turn again. Brush with milk. Prick with knife on top for air bubbles. Let stand 1 hour.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.
Remove from oven and brush with butter. Let cool, then flop it on a cloth and place it on a rack to cool.
Source: Anne Price – Our Favorite Recipes – St. Anthony Croatian Catholic Church
Air heat pumps barely function below minus 20 C, propane gels at minus 40, that most electric cars can not be charged below minus 40. Below minus 40, you can throw water in the air, and it won’t be liquid when it hits the ground. Depending on the metal, but metals get brittle at low temperatures, and below minus 40 they can snap at a much lower pressure than normal. If you are running heavy equipment, don’t even bother to try and use it below minus 30, because something will break., and starting a cold engine is very hard, and the oil is so thick, it will take time to flow through the transmission and engine. Most likely hydraulic lines will burst, but you can snap a thick piece of steel.
Flesh freezes in minutes. A friend was working outside in minus 50, and he had to remove a mitten to adjust a crescent wrench, and he didn’t put the mitten back on while he tightened the bolt. The bolt or nut snapped, and his hand hit the aluminum tower, it split wide open, in the fleshy part between the thumb and index finger. It didn’t bleed. He had to go the hospital. He could have lost his hand if he kept working in that cold.
You always wear mitts, not gloves, gloves don’t provide enough protection.
Wolverine guard hairs dont frost up, so are used on parka fringes.
Hard liquor, vodka, rum, rye, gin freezes at about minus 34.
I’m constantly considered to be an uncouth, unwashed plebeian. Particularly at restaurants. I guess I give off that ‘air’. Wait-staff constantly try to help me with my “mistakes”.
Examples:
I order seared ahi tuna. Waiter: “Sir, I just wanted to make sure you understand that the fish is mostly raw”.
Different restaurant, I order a calamari appetizer. Waitress: “You understand those aren’t onion rings sir, right?”
Even my wife calls me “peasant” sometimes (but I admit — I married above my station — she’s awesome and a hell of a sense of humor).
It’s become the family joke. My kids make bets to see how unsophisticated some new place is going to assume I am.
It must be the way I talk. I work in IT and while I have some very high-level responsibilities (a few applications I’ve written and maintain for my corporates overlords and maintain a few server farms in two states) I’m located smack-dab in the middle of Los Angeles — and I’m the only IT guy within 100 miles. We have way too many locations in LA for *just* me. Hope that changes soon. Anyway, sometimes I need to crawl under desks and field some “try turning it off and back on” type stuff that our help desk failed to filter properly.
My boss is constantly getting feed back about me from our non-IT remote staff on how I’m a “breath of fresh air” and that I don’t make them feel like they are dumb. I use simple language to describe what I’m doing, not techno-jargon. I’m not a fan of silence, so while I’m fixing something remotely, I explain what I’m doing or I explain why I’m asking them to do something. Again, in plain English. No alphabet acronyms.
Maybe when it’s time to retire, I’ll transfer to the helpdesk…
It is often termed “constructive dismissal” or “creating a hostile work environment.” Legally, such behavior can be categorized as workplace harassment or bullying, involving deliberate actions with the intention of making an employee’s job challenging in the hope that they will voluntarily resign. I strongly recommend discussing the issue with your manager to understand the reasons behind their actions. Alternatively, you can reach out to the HR department, if available in your company, to address and resolve the situation. You may also suggest implementing productivity tools such as Connecteam or Trello to streamline work tasks and proactively prevent similar issues in the future.
More horrifying than humiliating. I lost track of my 3 year old grand daughter. She was playing on the playscape. I wrongfully answered a call on my phone.
After the call, my girl was gone. I climbed. through the playscape. I checked the bathrooms. I was nuts. I started screaming. The manager came and locked the doors except the emergency exit and he had a worker standing there. I was running around screaming her name. I told them to call the police.
Everyone was looking at me like I was the worst person alive. I was. Suddenly I heard a little voice say “ Nama” I looked around and did not see her. But I heard “Nama” again and caught some movement at a table.
At the table were the two most grotesque “women” I have ever seen. I don’t think they were female nor were they trans or cross dressers. They were in horrid disguise. They had a little girl with black hair, my grand was a red head. I got closer and could tell the child had black eyebrow pencil on and dark make up smeared on.
I got closer to the table. The child said “Nama, I pay make up” The two grotesque things said nothing but were looking at the door.
I reached over and pulled the black wig off the child… and grabbed my grand daughter and ran. I ran out the emergency door setting off an alarm. I threw her in the car, seat belt be damned and took off
As I turned out of the McDs I saw a car sitting there with the engine running with only one man in it. I screeched back and saw the license plate was mudded over. So I drove. I drove for 30 minutes making sure no one was following.
Then I cried for another 30.
McDs was very cooperative but the way their cameras were set, that was the only table not seen. Evidently the two grotesque things ran out the emergency door after me.
They were clearly in disguise.
They were never identified.
Of course I was humiliated. I neglected my duty as my grand’s care giver. But humiliation was deserved and I was horrified.
I still have nightmares.
Watch the kids The call will wait!!!
Ok folks. I don’t want one more virtue mongerer to chastise me that I should have waited for the police.
Exactly who do you think was going to hold them there until the police arrived?
You think they were going to sit and have a coke until the police got there to arrest them? Do you think the McDonalds manager was going to jump in and hold them down and end up potentially liable, after they beat the crap out of the manager getting out?
Maybe I should have made a citizen’s arrest and ordered them to wait while I cuffed them with straws or ketchup packets?
What makes you think they would not have just decked me and took her back and out the door.
I was almost 70 and on chemo. I wasn’t a 30 year old cop. Such virtue mongering by people who think kidnappers just hang around to be arrested and who have clearly never been in such a situation. But they sure think they would save the day. Pathetic.
Drain artichoke hearts, reserving marinade; set marinade aside.
Position knife blade in food processor bowl; add artichoke hearts, 1/2 cup cheese and garlic. Pulse 4 times or until artichoke hearts are finely chopped. Set aside.
Place 1 phyllo sheet on wax paper (keep remaining phyllo covered). Lightly brush phyllo sheet with oil portion of reserved marinade; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of remaining cheese. Top with another phyllo sheet; brush lightly with oil portion of reserved marinade. Cut phyllo sheet in half lengthwise. Cut each half crosswise into thirds, making 6 sections, each measuring approximately 6 x 5 inches. Place a heaping teaspoon of artichoke mixture in center of each phyllo section. Gather corners of phyllo over filling, and gently twist to close. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat procedure with remaining phyllo sheets, marinade, cheese and artichoke mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 14 minutes or until golden.
US failed to take over Afghanistan, failed to take over Iraq, failed to take over Vietnam. Each time the US tried with small weak countries it found that the people kept fighting them and so basically the US never controlled the population. Really expect that if the US could not take over those small countries it could succeed in a country that is almost as large as the United States in area and four times the population. It cost $7 trillion for the wars in the Middle East. Extrapolation says that it will cost 10 times as much to attempt the same with China. However, the US has a huge roadblock to overcome to invade Russia and that is that its ships cannot close on the Chinese coast without being sunk it could not land or supply units on the coast of China
US military leaders have admitted that China controls the seas within something like a 1000 kilometers of China, and every simulation of of conflict between China and the US in the region ends up with the US losing badly. Let us assume that the US can land on the coast of China, it will need a lot more men than it currently has in the military, like a factor of 40. China has 1.4 billion people while Afghanistan and Iraq had something like 40 million, and China is massive compared to those countries. Keep having your wet dreams because that is all they are.
Relaxing To Purring Cats And Cozy Fireplace for Peaceful Night 🔥 Deep Sleep, Relax, Study
Today’s post is a really long one, but boy oh boy are there some most excellent videos here. Everything from WTF? to cats purring to a crackling fireplace (I’m gonna listen to that one a second time), to a tale about a death and a slide to a non-death and everything in between. Check out the laundromat millionaire, and the Chinese nuclear physicist that lost everything in the USA…
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Please guys take care of yourself. Make the best of your life and do not get sidetracked by the massive lies on the internet. There is a percentage of the West that are truly crazy, and the leadership is the same only add “bat shit” in front of that title….
My mother once had a cookie jar when I was in 4th through 6th grade. But eventually she stopped filling it, and then threw it away.
Turns out that us kids kept on raiding it, no matter what she said, and it would ruin our dinners.
First it turned out that she would fill it up once a month. then, only on certain occasions.
Then, every now and again. Only telling us, when we were good, that it held cookies.
Then it just remained empty for a long time. Maybe six months.
Then…
One day, it was cleaned and put away inside one of the cupboards. And there it sat for all eternity. It was never, ever taken out after that.
…
All in all, that’s a lesson of life.
The demise of the cookie jar.
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Chinese PhD PHYSICS RESEARCHER Homeless in New York USA
My “soulmate” got married on September 23rd, 2018 to the love of his life.
She was his childhood best friend. I knew her only very briefly. I never thought too much about it considering she was several years younger than him and the nature of their relationship growing up, but it happened.
He told me she was the safer choice. His family was already comfortable with her presence, she came to every serious family function. She didn’t have any crazy ambition to go to school or pursue a career. She wanted to be a stay at a home mom, while I wasn’t sure if I even wanted children. I was little more spontaneous, while she was calculated. I questioned his alcoholism, while she let him drink without a word.
When I looked through their online wedding album, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt. For nearly 7 years (I’ll spare you the details of our relationship) I was sure this man would be my husband. Seeing the type of person his wife is though puts every detail of our relationship into perspective. The truth is, we wouldn’t have been able to make a life for ourselves in the long run.
I’m not her; and I don’t want to be.
There was a time in my life where I swore his wedding day would be the day I died. Boy was I wrong. Now when I think about him getting married, I think of the barren fields in Texas that they chose to move to. I think of the colour beige, and unflavoured grits, and scooping horseshit. I think of the children I never wanted and all the other excruciatingly boring things that they get to do together.
It’s a blessing in disguise.
Magic Music for Cats – UNBELIEVABLE Results (Tested 2022)
If youse guys have cats, then please play this video for them.
Yes those people have a monthly income of 1000 Yuan but most of them have their own homes, they don’t pay rent or mortgage
Most of those people get their food at State Subsidized Rates which is 30% below market price. This means Monthly Provisions for a family of three whose net income is 3000 RMB is only around 600 RMB. For this they can eat 1800–1850 Calories a day comfortably
Most of these people have given their leased land for Windmills or Solar Power and they get 275 Units a month free. So most of them don’t pay for electricity
If they lent their leased land for the gas pipelines, they get 100 RMB subsidy off gas. Thus most of them get their cooking gas free of cost or barely for 20–30 RMB a month
They get Education for their Kids fully free upto Grade IX and a subsidy of upto 80% for higher grades on already low tuition of 1800–2400 RMB a year. So a family with 2 Kids pays a paltry 30 RMB -50 RMB a month on Tuition
They get State Insurance for their Health plus NLF Insurance if they are farmers or factory workers with premiums paid by employers. Each of them gets upto 30,000 to 100,000 RMB in healthcare expenses. They don’t have to pay Doctor Consultancy Fees or more than 18% of their Hospital Bills which are again advanced as Loans at a paltry 2% a year interest
So 1000 RMB goes a long way for these people
They eat well, live in their own house, pay virtually nothing for their utilities and have a safe healthcare net plus tuition is near free all the time
So rather than income, it’s their access to a basic standard of living that should be counted here
My ex and I had an agreement. I went to work, made good money, I did a LOT around the house and she would pay the bills, make sure the kids were taken care of as far as the doctor, school, etc, and the house was kept up.
I kept up my end of the bargain. I made good money, but we always seemed to be broke. The house was not clean, I ended up doing a lot of the grocery shopping, cooking, all the house maintenance. The kids helped out a lot!
One day I decided to take a look at the bank account and all the bills, see where we were losing the most money so I could figure out the issue there.
I found about $2000 in ATM withdrawals in a 1 month period, Jan 19, 2016 to Feb 19, 2016. They were $50, $20, $30, $80… on and on for the month.
I went back and found a similar pattern the previous months, years, and so on. I counted up tens of thousands of dollars just gone.
That was the end for me. Within a week I told her I wanted a divorce. She had been complaining for years how everyone she knows is going on vacations, how they all take trips all the time, and we never are able to. Telling me I need to make more money, do overtime, take more training so I can get a better job, and the entire time she had been spending the money on drugs. Years and years worth of onesie-twosie bumps and hits.
She denied vacations for my kids. She ruined large parts of their childhood by not being a good mother, by not showing a good example for them, by not being there very much.
Now she is in prison, possession and distribution of meth.
The research company I worked for was downsizing. My previous boss had already been let go and my new boss kept sending his employees to learn everything in my department. Well one fave employee thought she was better at my job and kept trying to change our protocols. She never actually did any work, just made our lives miserable.
Then the day came where new boss walked in and started handing out moving boxes. He didn’t even say a word, just passed out the boxes. We all packed up and left. Now my lab was a resource lab that did a ton of work for the other labs. Suddenly me and all my staff were let go and the new boss handed it over to his people.
Guess what? They had never done these procedures, used the high tech equipment or even understood the complicated algorithms to process the data. First week I get 9 phone calls asking for help. That was met with a big NOPE. Then I get a call that the favorite employee had mishandled one of the very expensive robot units and it was out of order. They wanted ME to come in and reprogram it and get them back up and running. Oh heck no! I never went back and never helped.
Lesson of my story is don’t play favorites and make sure you have the staff to accomplish the job.
What is the best relationship advice for today?
Western Society has changed, and the system of “marriage” is no longer useful or viable.
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Well, think about it…
MEN
60% of Gen Z males over 30 are still virgins. HERE
Shockingly, 60% of males in the 30-34 age group are still virgins.
The CDC also reports that virgins make up 12.3 percent of females
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This is very disturbing.
Historically, the numbers were 90+% for both males and females. Thus the maintenance of a stable long-duration relationship of equivalency in sexual experience no longer occurs. The reason is that pair-bonding doesn’t occur after 3 or more sexual partners prior to a marriage.
This lack of “pair-bonding” creates a untenable situation for long-duration relationships.
As the traditional characteristic of virginal marriages; which is marriage longevity, is no longer possible.
Scientists have attributed this phenomenon to numerous sociological and psychological attributes. Some of the contributing trends are the “Woke movement”, the “feminist movement”, “LGBQ+ movement”, “social media”, as well, of the dearth of attention to the values of traditional marriage and relationships. With in turn, has resulted in “push back” movements such as the “red pill movement”, and the “the passport bros movement”.
Never the less, what matters is the outcome of this disparity in sexual experience…
Obviously, modern women find that marriages are not suitable for them, their dreams and desires.
When a divorce is granted by a Western court, the male (more often than not) is penalized disproportionately (in comparison to the female). In fact 97% of American men must pay spousal support, while only 3% of women need to. HERE. This is the case, even though the gender pay gap is functionally at parity. HERE
Obviously, statistically, the divorce is not fairly distributed. Independent on the reason for the divorce, the courts overwhelmingly punish and penalize the male.
Thus, without looking into the hows and whys for this situation, the outcomes are crystal clear. [1] Traditional marriage is not longer functional in the West. [2] When a female enters in a marriage, it is statistically probable that she will be unhappy and will want to terminate it. [3] Regardless of the reasons and issues involved, the male in that divorce will suffer disproportionately compared to the female.
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Taking all of the above into consideration, I suggest that a “non-traditional” marriage contract be used.
Both parties write out and agree to legally binding “prenuptial agreements”. One for the male and one for the female that they both sign with a attorney.
Then, Instead of a registered wedding / marriage with a (county) District of the Peace or a State Clerk, A legal “statement of marriage” be written up by your attorney. This document clearly defines the ownership, financial, and responsibilities of both parties in the event that the divorce fails. This prevents a third part (the government) from getting involved, and protects the unique union of the two parties.
Finally, a third document is required. A “separation agreement” document must be drafted. This establishes how the divorce proceedings (outside of the normal legal channels) will be handled, or how reconciliation efforts (if any) can be implemented.
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This solution is not for everyone. However it recognizes the reality that the current marriage union available in the West in presently dysfunctional and broken. Thus, it proves a means of union, and disunion based upon the needs of BOTH the male and the female. It also explicitly forges a legal contract independent of the broken system that so entraps the divorced family.
FACT: Nothing is more critical to a person’s (male or female) happiness than the person that they are married to.
This solution recognizes this reality, and provides a realistic and workable solution in common use by the wealthier families in the West. It replaces the (presently contemporaneous) “work-arounds” such as “open relationships”, “Social Media based activity”, “hook up culture, and the problem of “high body counts”.
I want both the women, as well as the men, to both share in a fine long-duration marriage where both are happy.
Argentina and why they chose to not align with BRICS+
My brother was missing, as an adult, for nearly 30 years. No, he wasn’t just staying out of touch by choice. No, he wasn’t in Witness Protection. Less than two weeks after I last saw him, he’d been murdered in what police called one of the most brutal murders they had ever seen. But we had no way of knowing this. We didn’t know where he was, since he was hitchhiking across the country. No cell phones, no Internet in 1989. From our point of view, he just vanished.
In 2018, I was perusing a database of unidentified remains. I saw a sketch that could only have been my brother’s face. All the identifying information matched. He had been murdered in a neighboring state. I contacted the people I needed to contact. I got DNA. It took about 6 agonizing months of gathering data and having it analyzed to get results. They were positive. The murder victim was my brother. The murder is unsolved.
That was the easy part, as horrible as it was (I broke out in hives that wouldn’t go away and went into treatment-resistant depression). Now I had to tell my mother what I’d discovered.
I had to make the phone call to tell my mother that her favorite child, who had been missing 30 years, had been murdered in 1989. She wanted details of the murder, so I provided them. I would not have, had she not insisted on knowing everything.
I had people tell me “Just don’t tell her. Just don’t tell her.” But on balance, I thought that was unfair. Not knowing was just as torturous as knowing, and this way, she could lay him to rest before she died. Further, she was not a child to be protected from upsetting information.
I know she grieved greatly. My stepfather told me she cried for 3 days straight (hardly surprising), and there was an element of accusation in his voice. But telling her wasn’t his decision to make. It was mine. You can’t protect people from death. It touches us all.
If there are any who would judge my decision, I simply say to you that I highly doubt you will ever be in the same situation, so you have no right to judge. I was faced with an impossible choice. When a loved one is murdered, everyone loses no matter what you do, and my family’s story had the extra stress of him having been missing for so long. He is now laid to rest in a beautiful, remote cemetery, and he is remembered for the loving, kind, and generous soul that he was.
This is a picture of me with my cat Dexter, who saved my life.
The last few years I was feeling a bit off most days and my doctors couldn’t find a reason for my chronic fatigue and inability to train hard (I’m a former pro fighter who still trains like one).
After years of getting little more then shrugs from medical staff one day I started feeling chest pain. It felt like a torn muscle so I chalked it up as a training injury and ignored it.
Suddenly Dexter, who had been around me for 20 years, ran over to me and started pawing at my chest and crying. He had never acted this way. I decided it was a red flag and called 911. As I opened the door for paramedics I had a “widow maker” heart attack and collapsed (very low survival rate, hence the name). The cardiologist who operated on me said if I had waited 3 more minutes to call I wouldn’t have survived.
I’ve had many pets over the years and loved them all. But I had a unique bond to that cat.
This picture is so sad to me because not only was I still recovering from heart surgery in this pic and feeling awful, but Dexter was 21 and his health was rapidly declining, it was one of the last times I held him and somewhere deep down, I knew it. He suffered a stroke and passed away a few days after this pic was taken. I still miss him every day.
Within a few months of losing Dexter both of my businesses closed due to the long term effects of the COVID lockdowns. My body/health has not 100% recovered from the heart attack, my heart has never 100% healed from losing Dexter, and my finances/ professional life has never really recovered from losing two businesses I spent years building from the ground up.
If anyone would like to watch a video I made about Dexter I’m also pasting a link in the comments, feel free to watch.
India heavily depends on US for its Software services and Indians migrate to US in droves every year
Civil Servants, Army Officials, Politicians all have Kids and Grandkids in the US
The US has a market for close to $ 400–600 Million for Indian Films every year
The Indian Army relies on US, Israel and it’s allies for more than 50% of the Critical Technologies needed for it’s Defence
India thus is very likely to break in seconds if there is a serious threat of sanctions
Saudi Arabia is next
Saudi depends heavily on Western Equipment and Western Security even now
The Saudis are today at relative peace but as on date they still need the US Dollar & the Security Umbrella
China is next
The West represents almost around 17 Trillion RMB worth of Trade translating to around 2.3 Trillion RMB of Government Revenue and Economic Accrued wealth every year
China is however the first country that can survive the sanctions albeit not at Russia’s level
Brazil & South Africa are next
Both these Nations have sufficient economic independence and Brazils largest customer is China
Yet both these nations have political factions that are heavily Pro US
UAE is next
UAE once again is safer than Saudi Arabia and has been left alone by the West for many decades unlike Saudi Arabia
UAE is far more resilient and less dependent on the West than Saudi
It’s why many Russians have invested their money in UAE
Ethiopia is too small to be sanctioned effectively
It has sufficient food and energy security from Russia and that’s all it needs
Iran and Russia are the ‘Go F*** yourself’ Nations of BRICS
They can actually ask the West to go f*** off anytime they want
They are entirely immune from Western Sanctions
So the order is
Iran + Russia > Ethiopia = UAE > Brazil = South Africa > China > Saudi Arabia > India
Left Alone Abandoned By Her Family After 18 Years, This Cat Ended Up in a Shelter
China wishes to be friends with the United States, however, were the USA to cross a Chinese “Red Line” then China would declare war.
In a declared war, by China, against the United States, the results would be horrific.
The value of the USD would go to ZERO. the paper would not be worth more than the dollar.
The Global South would no longer trade with the USA creating a fiasco of inconceivable proportions.
Any American military adventurism in and around China would end. It would not be reported, but the loss of entire fleets would not be be easily hidden.
And now for the “kicker”…
China would launch missiles that the United States has no defense for, against strategic and leadership targets. Uh oh!
This would result in catastrophic damage. It would be irreparable. Well, Duh!
And the United States (and proxy) response would be thwarted with absolute erasure of all the contributors.
…
Ai!
It’s an ugly thought. Not for the faint of heart.
But the Global South are not like the West. They are lead by talented, skilled and merit driven leadership. Not by the group of cluster-fuckery clowns that you see during vociferation on CNN and BBC daily. They will not allow “president” Biden to do anything that horrible.
So rest easily.
If things goes tit’s up, at least you have ample warning to “get outta Dodge”.
After the 2019 737 Max failures that downed two airplanes and killed all inside, the company promised to change its culture. But it has since seen several production stops for quality and flight security issues on several of its manufacturing lines. There are still undelivered 737 MAX and 787 planes mothballed on various airports around Seattle.
NEW IMAGE from on board Alaska Airlines 1282 after ***part of the fuselage*** blew out mid-flight. Successful emergency return to Portland after 20 minutes in the air. 10-week-old (!) Boeing 737 Max 9. NTSB investigating.
There is video from inside the plane as it was landing. Oxygen masks had been deployed when the plane depressurized. The women filming says that there was thankfully no one seated next to where the hull was breached. If there had been that person would likely have died.
🚨#BREAKING: Alaska Airlines Forced to Make an Emergency Landing After Large Aircraft Window Blows Out Mid-Air
A forced emergency landing was made of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 at Portland International Airport on Friday night. The flight, traveling from Portland to Ontario, California, faced severe depressurization, causing the ejection of a large window section and an unoccupied seat. This incident resulted in a child’s shirt being ripped off. The Boeing 737-900/-9MAX aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 16,300 ft before safely returning to Portland International Airport. As of now, it remains unclear if anyone on board the flight was injured, as this story is still developing.
It was not just the emergency exit door that was ripped out. (Such window emergency doors only open towards the inside of the plane.) The whole section around the emergency exit door departed.
I have since learned that this was indeed the place of a special emergency exit that, when installed, opens to the outside. This is ‘plugged’ on lower density planes that do not need it.
That points to a serious manufacturing issue at the hull builder that had not been caught by quality control.
All passengers and the crew survived and the plane landed safely. Alaska Air has grounded its 65 strong fleet of 737 MAX 9. Other airlines should follow.
The neat rectangular hole that appeared in the fuselage was located at the position where Boeing fits a plug to seal a door opening that is not used as a door by most airlines and by no U.S. carriers.
An emergency exit door is installed in that location only for jets going to low-cost carriers like Ryanair who cram in additional seats that require an extra emergency exit. Otherwise, the hole is sealed with a plug and from the inside it is covered by a sidewall so that to a passenger it looks like a normal window, not a door opening.
This plug, halfway between the over-wing exit and the door at the rear of the plane, is present only on the largest versions of the 737.
It’s fitted on the previous generation 737-900ER and the same design is on the 737 MAX 8-200, the high density version for low-cost carriers, as well as the MAX 9 and MAX 10.
Boeing instructed customer airlines to inspect their 737 Max jets for loose bolts, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Thursday.
The request comes after the manufacturer discovered two aircraft with missing bolts in the rudder control system, raising concerns about faults across all aircraft.
“The issue identified on the particular airplane has been remedied,” Boeing told CNN in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending operators inspect their 737 Max airplanes and inform us of any findings.”
Little noticed, the Federal Aviation Administration in December published a Boeing request for an exemption from key safety standards on the 737 MAX 7 — the still-uncertified smallest member of Boeing’s newest jet family.
Since August, earlier models of the MAX currently flying passengers in the U.S. have had to limit use of the jet’s engine anti-ice system after Boeing discovered a defect in the system with potentially catastrophic consequences.
The flaw could cause the inlet at the front end of the pod surrounding the engine — known as a nacelle — to break and fall off.
In an August Airworthiness Directive, the FAA stated that debris from such a breakup could penetrate the fuselage, putting passengers seated at windows behind the wings in danger, and could damage the wing or tail of the plane, “which could result in loss of control of the airplane.” …
One hopes that the FAA and Congress will finally get serious with Boeing. They must stop giving it all those lazy exceptions for issues that better (but more expensive) engineering can easily solve.
Posted by b on January 6, 2024 at 11:40 UTC | Permalink
Our “Parts Runner”, a maybe 5’4″ girl with long dark hair, (apparently) passed a stopped school bus on the right shoulder of a rural road at a high rate of speed (stupid!). We weren’t aware of this when the State police came by and questioned us. And instead of telling us what had happened and when, they focused on the shop owner, (6′ blond) who had earlier lost his driver’s license for a DUI. Does Mike drive? No. How does he get to work? He lives with me and rides with me. Doesn’t he own a red valiant license #… Well, I think the company owns it. He owns the company, doesn’t he? Ah, yeah, I guess. But he doesn’t drive that car, huh? No, it’s used for running parts. So he doesn’t drive it? No, our parts runner does (and I point to her) so, they arrested Mike for driving without a license and reckless driving and passing a stopped school bus and driving on the shoulder, and speeding. Mike fired the parts runner.
In court, the bus driver positively identified Mike as the driver. All of us – the receptionist, 4 mechanics and I were in court ready to testify that Mike was not driving at the time and place of the incident. But we never had to testify, because the bus driver got her dates confused and claimed the incident occurred on the day prior to the complaint. The judge had to dismiss the case.
There was absolutely no way that the driver actually saw who was driving. There is no way to mistake the parts runner for Mike. The state police HAD TO tell her to ID Mike as the driver. So not only did she lie, but the state troopers who did such a poor job of investigating what was a horrendous bit of driving and could have caused multiple fatalities of school children fucked up royally and got her to lie.
Eric Gales – “Don’t Fear The Reaper/All Along The Watchtower” (Live at the 2017 Dallas Guitar Show)
In my long career as a paramedic, I believe I saw first hand the worst thing a woman can do to a man. We were once called to the local state prison to transport a man to the hospital who was having chest pain. Other than that, he was pretty stable so it was a quiet 30-minute transport to the closest emergency room. We didn’t usually talk to the prisoners during transport, but somehow we started chatting and I asked the guy what he was “in” for. He tells me he was sentenced to prison for about 20 years for molesting both of his daughters. I was repulsed. I just wanted this scumbag out of my ambulance immediately I was so disgusted.
But then he immediately starts telling me how it was all a setup by his ex-wife and how he’s really innocent and nobody will believe him. He’s on his second attorney to try to get a new trial and he’s hoping somebody will finally grant him a new opportunity to clear his name. The prison guard riding in the back of the ambulance with us (he was sitting behind the patient) looks at me and rolls his eyes and smirks and says to me, “They all say that. Don’t listen to his bullshit. He’s been telling that to everyone who will listen.” The prisoner looks at me for some sort of sympathy but I just sternly look down at my patient report and tell him to lie back and rest and stop talking. He started sobbing and cried, “Even the paramedic that’s supposed to be saving my life hates me!” I certainly felt no sympathy for the guy at the time. I had passed judgment on him, as had the prison guard, and decided this guy was a disgusting pedophile and I’d just as soon not have to deal with him at all. Just touching him to check his blood pressure made my skin crawl.
It was approximately two years later when I happened upon a newspaper article in our local paper about a guy who’d been in the local prison for several years for child molestation. He’d eventually been granted a new trial and at some point during that second trial, both of his daughters admitted that they’d been made to create this false story against their dad at the behest of his ex-wife, who wanted to punish him for the divorce. His sentence was ultimately vacated and he was released from prison. Not sure whatever happened to the ex-wife, but I know the prosecutor said they’d be exploring charges against her.
I didn’t recognize the name of the prisoner in the article, but I immediately recognized his face when I saw a photo of him in court, weeping when the judge ordered him released. He was the same prisoner I’d transported two years before and had treated like crap. The guilt I felt at that moment was overwhelming. I wanted to find a way to contact him to apologize (if he’d even remember me). I wonder to this day whether he was ever able to repair his relationship with his kids, or whether he was ever able to repair his life. The guy spent some seven years in prison based on a bullshit charge that his ex-wife put their young kids up to. It’s a horrific thought and it still haunts me to this day.
Richard Wolff: Real wages in China quadrupled while real wages in the US stagnated
I had three friends fired for being too proactive, and read about another one who was fired for being too efficient.
In the first, the guy was hauling acid, and he went to the plant to get filled up. It was a gravity fed system, the guy came out and hooked him up, and went off to do something else in the half hour it would take to fill his tanker.
My friend saw that acid was dripping on the ground, at the connection. It was dripping faster and faster, so he looked around for the guy to shut it off. This was before cell phones. Safety rules said he couldn’t leave his truck while being filled so he decided to shut the valve and stop the acid going through the hose. He had watched the guy shut the valve many times a day as he got his loads. He resealed the connection when there was no pressure on it and opened it again. Which he did. The guy came back, and said that his truck should be full in a minute. My friend told him it would be another five minutes, because he had shut it off. The guy exploded, saying my friend didn’t understand the system and might have caused a disaster. Which is true, but it was gravity feed, he knew he was breaking environmental rules, and felt he had to try something.
My friend was not allowed on the property again, since his job was hauling acid from that plant, he lost his job.
The next one ,was a lady who got a unionized job with the city. Her first day on the job, she noticed that the cupboard door in the coffee room was hanging loose, so she reported it. A couple of days later she brought a screwdriver and tightened up the hinge. The next day the guy came to repair it and the union wrote her up, for doing someone elses job. A month later the light burnt out over her desk. She reports it, goes a week without a light, and then replaces it herself, and gets written up again. She is now on probation with the union for doing other people’s jobs. She is told third strike and your out, and you must be a member of the union to work for the city.
So when she sees that one of the only two the ladies toilets on her floor is plugged, and the other is in use, she doesn’t report it, she walks to the closet grabs a plunger , clears it, and uses the toilet. The person in the stall next to her, reports her, she is kicked out of the union, and loses her job.
This is one I read about in the newspaper years ago. It relies on the testimony of a guy who was fired, so its possible he’s making excuses. A guy gets a unionized job in the Alberta oil sands. He Is ordered to scrub out tanks, at the end of the day, he says all done. His supervisor, who is also unionized, says thats listed as a weeks worth of work, so you might as well go back and sit in the tanks, at least thats his testimony. His supervisor said it was impossible to clean the tanks in a day, so he sent him back to do it right.
He gets transferred to the night shift, where he says he tries to work continuously. His supervisor tells him that they always accomplish less than the day shift, and he has already done more, partway through the night. So he has to wait and twiddle his fingers, because they can’t make the day shift look bad.
He gets kicked out of the union and loses his job. The union says he was violating all sorts of safety regulations. I don’t know who is lying.
Finally I had a friend hired by a company to copy tapes. They have a separate contract to copy another companies tapes, after he has met his quota of proprietary tapes. He gets a bonus for the separate contract, but not for exceeding his quota of proprietary tapes.
So he gets in early, loads a dozen tapes on a dozen machines, starts the copy job. Then goes for breakfast and comes back at his usual starting time when the tape copying is done. Loads another set, and makes sure that tapes are being copied when he goes for coffee breaks, and lunch. By two o’clock he has met quota and starts on the bonus tapes. He makes sure that he has just started a set of bonus tapes when he leaves for the day.
The next morning he comes in, unloads the bonus tapes and starts on his quota tapes.
When he started with the company he was told that there were enough tapes for three years and almost no one ever had time for bonus tapes.
With his bonus, he makes double his base salary.
After a year and a half he is let go. He has used up the entire 3 year tape copy budget, and they can’t pay him anymore.
Yes, when I was a little kid. About 11 years old, I would say. I was visiting my uncle,and his girlfriend. The neighbor had a bunny rabbit that was tethered with a long leash, hopping around their yard. The neighbor saw me through the window, on her lawn, petting the bunny rabbit. She said please get off the lawn. I got off her lawm immediately.
My uncle said, sorry she’s a little kid, she just wanted to pet the bunny. The neighbor said, there is a children’s zoo, within driving distance. My Uncle and his girlfriend let the comment go.
The next day, I was in my uncles yard playing Frisbee with my uncles dog. My uncle’s dog was trained not to go beyond my uncles yard. All of a sudden, the dog belonging to the neighbor with the bunny rabbit, comes running into my uncle’s yard, to play frisbee. That neighbor walks into my uncles yard (she didn’t know he was watching from the window)
My uncle came out, and says, please get off the lawn. The neighbor said her dog just wanted to play frisbee, and loves kids. My uncle didn’t miss a beat, and said, there is a dog park with children, within driving distance.
His neighbor looked so. embarrassed, and collected her dog, and headed back towards her house. My uncle said, now do you see how silly that sounds. Sure your dog can play with my dog, and my neice. She told me I can come and see her rabbit whenever, I liked. We all became friends, after that for many years.
Originally Answered: Every day when I leave, my boss says, “leaving already?” to which I replied to today as I did my 8 hours and he says “well you are salary”. I do my work, don’t use my computer for anything other than work, and also work from home. What’s his deal?
My daughter is a master at improving restaurants . Examples, increasing sales 5x in 3 years, increasing profit by 35% in two months. She just has a nack. She arrives at 5 Am and makes sure the day is prepared for. She leaves between 4 and 5 as she trains great closers. In relation to the restaurant business, she has great employee retention.
She was hired by a fitness place to revamp it. She was working 5 to 5. In just two months she had made major strides. Customers were noticing, staff was noticing. The GM waltzed in everyday about 10 AM. When she left at 5 he always told her she lacked dedication to her job by leaving at 5. He said it one time too many. Since then she has “ fixed” two chains as training manager. That place remains a liability to the gym. The GM was fired shortly thereafter.
Bosses should respect their employees and If they don’t should replace them. In this case, if the employee was not doing their job in 8 hours, they should have had expectations set and be replaced if not met. The constant digs help no one.
I was 14 years old, it was during the second semester of my freshman year. My Spanish teacher called me to her desk after class. Once all the other students left the classroom, she grabbed my hands and said something along the lines of, “I know it’s hard. You’re going to make it through this.” She had tears in her eyes. At this point, I realized something was wrong, and people were noticing.
The first semester of freshman year, I was an honor roll student, I passed every test with a high score. I wore fashionable clothes and made a few new friends. Then second semester came. I stopped caring about my appearance, I would go to school in sweatpants and pajama shirts. My hair was unkempt, I stopped wearing makeup. My grades went from A’s and B’s to C’s and F’s. I stopped doing homework and didn’t study for tests, I lost all motivation to do school work. My GPA went from a 3.5 to a 2.01 and I didn’t care. I lost every single friend I had made and did not make a single effort to regain the friendships.
My life at home started suffering too, I became overly suspicious of my family members. I began accusing them of stealing things from me, I accused my parents of hiding cameras around the house to spy on me. I began hating my family, and isolated myself in my room at all times. I started playing video games to distract myself from the family I had hated, I immersed myself in a fantasy world and began confusing the video game with reality. I thought I knew people from the video game in real life and I would try to look for them. I thought my classmates at school were secretly apart of the video game. I thought people from the video game were watching me from my laptop camera. I began losing sleep and would impulsively pace around my room for hours without stopping, during the weekends I would pace in circles around my house from midnight until I saw the sun rise.
I began to form a crush on a boy from my improv class, instead of talking to him I thought I had the ability to put thoughts into his head. I would listen to music I knew he liked and would “insert my thoughts” into his mind, thinking he would associate myself with his favorite genre of music. I was trying to manipulate his thoughts with my “super powers” to make him like me.
I started hearing things that weren’t there. I would hear footsteps outside my door and window at night. I’d hear distant banging, as if someone were knocking on a door. I would hear faint screaming in the middle of the night, as though someone was on my street screaming near my window. I heard whispering coming from the walls. I would see shadows at night in my closet.
It took a few months of everything I had said happening for my teacher to notice, which was when I went to my mother about scheduling me a therapy appointment. However, the therapist did me no good. I didn’t know that what was happening to me wasn’t normal, it was as though my mental illness clouded my thoughts, everything that happened to me I accepted as reality, so I did not mention it to my therapist. My first therapist said I was experiencing a mild depression episode.
It took me a few months to realize something was wrong, but two years to pinpoint which mental illness I actually had. At age 16, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I am now 17, and very happy. I still have auditory and visual hallucinations, and still struggle a little with my “I can put thoughts into other people’s heads” delusion, but I regained all my motivation, am an honors student again, and no longer wear sweatpants and pajama shirts to school. I also don’t hate my family anymore, but it’s amazing how something like schizophrenia can change your thought process so much that you start to despise those who you truly love.
Architectural Wonder: China’s Spectacular New Train Station
I think prostitution is pretty safe. No one wants to become intimate with a toaster.
A lot of white collar and manual jobs will either be transformed or become entirely obsolete. LLMs have developed immensely in the last two years. It’s hard to predict the level of utility that will be possible in the next five years. Other than “a lot”.
In terms of manual jobs these will also be impacted, although robotics and automation is moving a little more slowly than paper-shuffling roles. It’s going to be a long time before a robot has the fine dexterity and precision to iron a shirt. But at the current rate of progress it might just happen in the next 20 years.
The safest jobs will be those where an essential part of the role is being a friendly mammal in the same room. We will still want nursery school staff, nurses and care workers, reception and hospitality staff. Whatever technology level we have, human beings will pay a premium for interaction with other human beings.
The creation of handmade objects and artefacts (like paintings) might be imitated by robotic means, but collectors will pay more for authentically human-made goods.
When Im was a teenager I got a summer job working for a small construction outfit. Their jobs were close to my house so I would ride my bicycle their, or the boss would pick me up long the way. A week or so into a job two new guys cme to work – the boss said they were ….. friends of his. One of the guys wore tinted presription glasses so you couldn’t really see his eyes. He really gave me the creeps.
A few days later the two new guys offered to give me a ride home after work. They were curious when I told them I lived in a group of houses beside a low security prison – my Dad worked there and the houses were owned by the prison and employees rented them. They asked me my Dad’s name and they both smiled and said they knew my Dad. I thought that was weird and it did not click in my brain why these two guys knew my Dad – who worked in a prison.
We pulled into the driveway and they saw my Dad in the backyard attending the BBQ. They were all smiles and cheers – “Hey Scotty! How’s it going?!”
My typically mild manner 5′ 7″ Dad turned red, and started yelling and swearing at the guys. The guys backed up as my Dad approached with the big BBQ fork in one hand. He told them to get back in the car and get the hell off his property. They were so surprised they scooted back the car and ‘got the hell out of there’.
I had never seen my Dad that angry, and he rarely ever said anything worse than “damn” or “shit”. He seriously cussed those guys out.
Then he turned to me with the most grotesque look on his face and said to me, “Listen to me. LISTEN! Stay the hell away from those two bastards! No matter what they say, don’t ever get in their car again to go ANYWHERE! Not for lunch, not for a beer after work, not for a ride home. Those guys are serious BAD news. So you hear me?!!”
That scared the crap out of as I realized those two guys used to be in prison.
The next summer my Dad came home with an out of town newspaper (we lived near two small towns with local papers, and the city 30 miles away had some national/international articles in the paper) and opened it up in front of me, folded it and handed it to me. He pointed to an article and said, “Read that.”
The story was about two guys who had picked up another guy who was hitchiking. They drove him to a deserted area and killed him. The one guy said he did it just to see what it was like to kill someone. Then I saw the picture of the guy who said that – tinted glasses so you couldn’t see his eyes.
I shivered physically and looked up at my Dad. He said, “That’s why I told you to never get in their car again. That poor bastard that was shot in the face could have been you.”
What do women want?
CORRUPTION, CHAOS, CONFLICT – FOURTH TURNING ERUPTS IN 2024
“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” – Thomas Paine – The American Crisis
Thomas Paine wrote these words 247 years ago, in the most historic year in our history – 1776. That was during the first American Fourth Turning. It’s not a coincidence we are now in the midst of our fourth Crisis period in U.S. history, as they arrive like clockwork every 80 years or so, the length of a long human life. Paine’s American Crisis began in 1773, ignited by the Boston Tea Party and the British reaction to this revolutionary act of defiance. Our current Millennial Crisis was triggered by the Federal Reserve/Wall Street/Government created financial disaster in 2008 and subsequent outrageously desperate, totalitarian, un-Constitutional, extreme acts designed to keep the ruling class in power, while impoverishing and enslaving the masses in a surveillance state techno-gulag.
The polarization and fractures have become too deep to repair. The country, and the western world in general, are hurtling towards a darkening abyss of civil conflict, financial collapse, global war, societal chaos, and loss of life on a scale grander than WW2, the Civil War, and the American Revolution combined. Our technological advancements have outstripped our ability to intelligently, thoughtfully, and humanly, use this power for the benefit of future generations. The destructive deficiencies of human nature, such as: greed, desire for power, hatred, arrogance, resentment, and an unlimited supply of self-delusion, continue to plague our world, as only the most power-hungry psychopaths rise to the highest levels of government, business, religion, and finance.
The immense technological power in the hands of egocentric, megalomaniacal, sadistic, billionaires and their highly paid toadies, lackeys, and apparatchiks, inserted throughout the media, government, academia, banking, and corporations, has pushed the world to the brink of Armageddon. We are entering the sixteenth year of this Fourth Turning. Based on history, we can expect a climax of this Crisis in the 2030-to-2032-timeframe. The path to that climax is guaranteed to be violent and unforgiving.
Neil Howe, in his new book – The Fourth Turning Is Here – tries to decipher the likely path of the remainder of this Fourth Turning. Having read the original Fourth Turning, his joint project with William Strauss (who died in 2007), in 2004, I was curious to read Howe’s update on their generational theory of history. I met Howe for lunch in 2012 during the Occupy Wall Street protests and he correctly assessed that movement as a meaningless left-wing attempt to push their communist like agenda.
The first book, written in 1997, showed no favor towards the right or left. It was a no-nonsense assessment of economic facts and historical precedents. There were no political agendas, which I now attribute to Strauss’ influence, because Howe certainly lets his political views creep into his writings. This isn’t surprising, as his consulting business is dependent upon Wall Street banks and mega-corporations. He owes his living to the establishment; therefore he won’t shit where he eats.
Howe’s current left leaning political views seep into his current tome. He quotes Zelensky as some sort of patriotic leader, while portraying Putin as a thug, without giving any context regarding the 2014 CIA initiated overthrow of a democratically elected Ukraine president. He bought the covid scamdemic hook, line, and sinker, with no skepticism about the coordinated lockdowns and false narratives about masks, social distancing, and vaccines that never worked, but continue to kill. He believes the climate change bullshit narrative.
His tone regarding Trump is clearly negative and he believes the 2020 election was perfectly legitimate. He expounds about the January 6 “armed” insurrection, without one word about the FBI, Pelosi, and the Washington establishment planning, coordinating, and exacerbating the fake “insurrection”. His brain-dead accusations of violence by Trump supporters, while completely ignoring the murder and mayhem created by the BLM and ANTIFA terrorists, clearly reveals his allegiances.
Be that as it may, there is no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. His acumen regarding possible scenarios and outcomes are well thought out. Howe makes some very interesting predictions regarding the remainder of this Fourth Turning, providing some very dark possibilities, along with some more unlikely optimistic outcomes. His research reveals Americans think the American dream is no longer attainable, civil discord will destroy our democratic institutions, and our global standing is in decline. All three fears are legitimate and coming to fruition as we speak. Howe captures the current situation in this passage:
“In the middle of a Crisis era, the social mood has reached an unstable balance of hope, fear, and dizzying uncertainty. Americans are like a compressed spring at the point of maximum potential energy. Internally secure yet externally threatened, they are ready for propulsive public action.” – Neil Howe – The Fourth Turning Is Here
Events beyond their control are leading them towards their rendezvous with destiny and the speed has begun to accelerate, with 2024 slated to be a historic date in history, on par with 1776, 1861, and 1941. The exact events which will make 2024 historic are obscured by a dense fog of uncertainty, but we can make some educated guesses based upon our current economic circumstances, Biden’s open border purposeful invasion, upcoming elections wrought with fraud, ongoing treasonous governmental and judicial operations, and deepening global conflicts already underway.
Of the three possible paths laid out by Howe, the most likely appears to be the animosity between factions eventually leads to armed conflict within the country. Political dominance by one party is highly unlikely, with the country rallying around the flag against an external enemy. It is more likely our many external foes will take advantage of our internal conflict to further weaken our global hegemony. All paths lead to war at this point.
I sense the delusional masses, still entranced by their electronic gadgets, unending access to debt, NFL fantasy leagues, and oblivious to the lessons of history, are frantically trying to fend off reality by shopping, eating out, partying at bars, and pretending all is well. Critically assessing their true situation is too painful for these snowflakes and gender bending enthusiasts. Their virtue signaling wokeness is about to meet the brutal reality of a violent Fourth Turning climax.
“And however much these paths may seem to differ from one another, they all move toward the same destination. They all push the nation toward a violent struggle requiring maximum mobilization. They all culminate in the Ekpyrosis, which will bring the era into a decisive consolidation, climax, and resolution.” – Neil Howe – The Fourth Turning Is Here
The drivers of this Fourth Turning, as documented in 1997, continue to be debt, civic decay, and global disorder. They have propelled this Crisis since the outset in 2008 and are accelerating towards an explosive collision in 2024. The national debt at the outset of this Fourth Turning was $10 trillion. It had taken 219 years to accumulate $10 trillion of debt, with the majority amassed during this century. It has taken just fifteen years to pile an additional $24 trillion of debt on the backs of Americans and future generations, if there are future generations.
This doesn’t even take into account the $200 trillion of unfunded welfare and pension obligations tallied up by your government leaders. At the same time, the Federal Reserve increased their balance sheet from $900 billion to $9 trillion. With the rapid rise of interest rates in the last year, if banks were required to mark their assets to market, as they did prior to 2009, the entire banking industry, including the Too Big To Fail Wall Street behemoths, would be insolvent, along with the Federal Reserve. Does this seem sustainable to you?
Luckily for our teetering empire of debt, delusions, and deceptions, they can change the rules whenever it suits their purposes to extend and pretend until it all “suddenly” collapses, like a vaxxed soccer player on the pitch. Of course, the U.S. is not alone in being burdened with unpayable debt and an unsustainable financial system. China and the EU countries are also insolvent and issuing debt to service their existing debt.
The only major global power without a large debt problem is Russia, with a debt to GDP ratio below 30%, while the U.S.- 120%, EU – 90%, Japan – 220%, and China – 80% have accumulated perilous levels of debt and still growing. These debt levels and the domestic implications of unsustainable economies will lead shamelessly corrupt politicians and even dictators like Xi to provoke foreign conflict in order to distract their populations from their dire economic circumstances. A wag the dog type false flag is just around the corner.
An man-made banker created economic disaster ignited this powder keg of debt in 2008, and the “solutions” rolled out by the ruling elites since have been designed to extend, pretend, and bend the minds of the masses, while fostering the perpetual pillaging campaign by the billionaire oligarchs who really run this world. The plebs have been destroyed by the relentless inflation purposefully created by Powell and his fellow central banker puppets of the Deep State, while the lords of finance have reaped billions in ill-gotten riches.
The “Haves”, who control the financial markets, media, and politicians, are ecstatic with the current paradigm, as the stock market hits new highs every day, while average Americans go deeper into debt to keep up with the Joneses, pay the rent, and put some food on the table. The U.S. is nothing more than a sophisticated technological looting operation at this point, as we await the Great Taking to be initiated by the oligarchs as their final solution.
The Great Taking is David Rogers Webb’s warning to those not on the inside about the coming seizure of all your assets (stocks, bonds, savings) by your own government in the name of some new contrived national emergency. You will sacrifice your life savings for the good of the country (aka Deep State). At this point it’s just a matter of which comes first, The Taking, Global war, or Civil chaos caused by the ongoing election fraud. They are all coming and will merge into a category 5 hurricane of hell for the nation and the world.
The Deep State continues its complete control over who gets “elected”/selected in this country, as they use the captured judicial system as a cudgel to crush the rule of law and our Constitutional rights. The Soros selected District Attorneys, Mayors, Governors, Judges, Secretaries of States, and various other low-level captured bureaucrats, are doing what they were selected to do – destroy the country’s social fabric and create a chaotic disintegration of our community norms.
A populace propagandized into a woke communist ideology and prodded into a buy now, pay later mentality, is unwilling or unable to accept that LATER has arrived. They will pay, one way or another. Multiple bubbles in stocks, bonds and real estate are all poised to pop, with the slightest provocation from a global and/or domestic blunder. We have now positioned our naval forces in the highly dangerous waters in the Middle East. Militarily supporting Israel and Ukraine has done wonders for our GDP, but it seems we are running out of ammo to defend our own country, as the invasion of our southern border accelerates. We are currently provoking armed conflict in Yemen, Syria, Gaza, Iraq, Ukraine, and Russia.
All it will take is one lucky missile or unexpected hyper-sonic missile and our vaunted navy will see a vessel or two go to the bottom of the Red Sea. Then all hell will break loose. The rhetoric, threats and accusations of atrocities are ramping up, along with armed conflict across the Middle East. With the raging religious hatreds and centuries old struggles for land and power coming to a head, it will just take one of these psychopaths to ignite a global conflict. Meanwhile, China is biding its time for when they make their ultimate move on Taiwan. That would really roll a grenade into the party.
Financial markets have ignored the worsening global conflict thus far, but what happens when Americans start dying in large numbers? If the markets are at all time highs based upon expectations of a strong thriving economy in 2024, why is the Fed signaling multiple interest rate cuts in 2024, regional banks are desperately clinging to the Fed’s emergency bailout fund, commercial real estate is collapsing, housing has peaked, gold is hitting all-time highs, credit card debt is at all-time highs, layoffs are increasing, and the number of working age citizens is in free fall due to vaxx deaths and disabilities?
But buy stocks because the Wall Street shysters and their media mouthpieces tell you it’s the best time to buy. The only question at this point is what additional grain of sand will cause the sand pile to collapse. Will it be a foreign war, or will it be a civil war within our borders or something no one has even considered? I know most people dismiss the possibility of civil war, believing there aren’t enough people willing to risk their lives for a just cause. Neil Howe seems to think it is probable.
“Roughly half of all Americans think a civil war is likely. And a growing number of social scientists agree that the United States now fits the checklist profile of a country at risk. Trust in the national government is in steep decline. Check. Respect for democratic institutions is weakening. Check. A heavily armed population has polarized into two evenly divided partisan factions. Check. Each faction embodies a distinctive ethnic, cultural, and urban-versus-rural identity. Each wants its country to become something the other detests. And each fears the prospect of the other taking power. Check, check, and check.” – Neil Howe – The Fourth Turning Is Here
Virtually no one believes civil war is possible, just as no one expected a civil war in 1860, as the presidential election approached. Truthfully, the civil war has already begun, but only those on the left, in conjunction with the FBI, CIA, Big Media, and other governmental agencies, are aggressively fighting. They are vigorously at war against the American people by rigging elections, arresting opposition leaders, and discarding the U.S. Constitution.
The good guys have thus far been too civil. But the simmering anger of heavily armed rural, red state Americans is close to boiling over. All the signs are there, awaiting a triggering event for this undeclared war to engulf the nation. At this point a number of possible triggering events are possible.
If David Webb is correct and those in power initiate the Great Taking, the level of violence in reaction would be unprecedented in U.S. history. Maybe that is their plan. Biden and his handlers could use this event to declare a national emergency, suspending the presidential election because they were going to lose, and instituting martial law. Their attempt to lockdown the country and use the military against civilians would surely result in massive bloodshed, as local animosities would result in assassinations, wholesale slaughter of those considered disloyal to whichever side controls the high ground in that community. Previously petty disputes would suddenly become lethal disputes.
Even if the presidential election is held in November, I don’t believe either side will accept the outcome. We know the Democrats and their Deep State co-conspirators will cheat, rig and once again try to steal the election. If they fail, they will unleash their BLM, ANTIFA terrorist arm into the streets to create chaos as an excuse to not hand over power to Trump.
With multiple states now attempting to unlawfully keep Trump off the ballot in their states, the animosity between the right and left grows ever deeper. The imprisonment of Trump or more radical attempts to steal the 2024 election will be met with violence from the here-to-for persevering right. Mixing this toxic domestic atmosphere with a deepening global chasm is a recipe for global disaster.
As we have seen throughout history, the egos of psychopaths at the helm of nations often lead them to act irrationally and/or emotionally when it comes to committing their people to war. While the U.S. has further weakened its global hegemony with its disastrous forays into Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine; Russia and China have gotten stronger and more mutually committed to creating their own new world order. The USD as the dominant global currency is reaching its endpoint, marking the end of empire. Now Israel will further deplete U.S. resources and global stature with their war to wipe out Palestine. Once the dominoes begin to fall in a game of global warfare, all bets are off regarding possible outcomes. Neil Howe’s worst-case scenario is certainly not out of the question.
“At worst, should at least one desperate country resort to WMDs, the outcome of a great-power war could prove to be even more devastating than that of a civil war. The toll could be almost unimaginable – with multiple cities destroyed, many millions killed, and many tens of millions displaced – all perhaps triggered by some ill-fated combination of the wrong leader making the wrong choice at the wrong time.” – Neil Howe – The Fourth Turning Is Here
All scenarios for 2024 seem depressing and dark, but the odds still favor just continuing to muddle through as we have done through the first fifteen years of this Fourth Turning. I gave up trying to make specific predictions within a specific time frame years ago. It’s a fool’s errand as there are too many variables in the world to correctly predict which ones will drive the course of events within a one year time frame.
What I do know is that pessimism about the future continues to deepen, paranoia strengthens, trust declines, anger grows, and the arrogance of those running the show has reached epic levels. We’ve been subjected to three years of propaganda about how the Great Reset will fundamentally transform our world, where we will own nothing and be happy. It seems this fits perfectly with David Webb’s Great Taking theory of how we will ultimately own nothing.
There does seem to be a common thread running through everything happening in the last three years and appears to be on deck for 2024 and beyond. It all revolves around this broad Great Reset concept pushed by Schwab, Gates, Soros, and the rest of the Davos elite. The entire Covid plandemic was engineered to introduce authoritarian measures and instruct the masses to obey their masters.
The vaccine is now clearly revealed to be a depopulation weapon, killing off some suddenly; others through myocarditis, turbo cancers, and strokes; babies through miscarriages; and future generations through reduced fertility. And most still believe our overlords rolled these jabs out to save them. Trump is still crowing about his big, beautiful vaccines. He’s either a fool or a charlatan.
The climate change scam is hastening, as the war on farmers, meat, and fossil fuels is waged relentlessly by unelected bureaucrats and captured media mouthpieces. The EV scam is collapsing rapidly, as people with common sense see through it all. The Great Replacement of white people with third world savages is unabetted, with the Biden Administration ushering them across the southern border, giving them phones and money, flying them to cities across the country, and paying for them to stay at upscale hotels.
This is not incompetence, but treason. They have already used their predictive programming/brainwashing to prepare the masses for civil war and a massive cyber-attack. Your government will protect you, as long as you sacrifice your remaining liberties and rights. All that is left is the initiation of the Great Taking. The “emergency” will occur on a weekend and by Monday morning your assets will be gone.
This is their master plan, but we will have a say on whether it is ever successfully implemented. I wonder if these Davos psychopaths absconded with The Great Reset moniker from Strauss & Howe, as they used it to describe Fourth Turnings back in 1997.
A Fourth Turning great reset may be a surprise to Schwab and his totalitarian acolytes inserted in governments across the world. They are in control. They are running this shitshow. They are the establishment. They are reaping the benefits. They are suppressing dissent and the truth. They are the existing social order that traditionally gets swept away during a Fourth Turning. 2024 may mark the beginning of the end for the Davos crowd and their iron grip on our spiraling society of chaos.
The future course of history could be radically altered by actions taken by supposedly influential characters in this movie, but also by courageous deeds performed by average Americans who will sacrifice themselves to ensure future generations have a chance to live in a nation devoid of a psychopathic elitist ruling class.
It seems like a long shot at this point, but giving up is not an option for those of us who still love this country. The four possible outcomes for this Crisis, laid out by Strauss & Howe in 1997, are as valid today as ever, and disturbingly close at hand. We will all have to do our part if we are to have any chance of producing a positive outcome to this Crisis. Happy New Year.
This Fourth Turning could mark the end of man. It could be an omnicidal Armageddon, destroying everything, leaving nothing. If mankind ever extinguishes itself, this will probably happen when its dominant civilization triggers a Fourth Turning that ends horribly. For this Fourth Turning to put an end to all this would require an extremely unlikely blend of social disaster, human malevolence, technological perfection and bad luck.
The Fourth Turning could mark the end of modernity. The Western saecular rhythm – which began in the mid-fifteenth century with the Renaissance – could come to an abrupt terminus. The seventh modern saeculum would be the last. This too could come from total war, terrible but not final. There could be a complete collapse of science, culture, politics, and society. Such a dire result would probably happen only when a dominant nation (like today’s America) lets a Fourth Turning ekpyrosis engulf the planet. But this outcome is well within the reach of foreseeable technology and malevolence.
The Fourth Turning could spare modernity but mark the end of our nation. It could close the book on the political constitution, popular culture, and moral standing that the word America has come to signify. The nation has endured for three saecula; Rome lasted twelve, the Soviet Union only one. Fourth Turnings are critical thresholds for national survival. Each of the last three American Crises produced moments of extreme danger: In the Revolution, the very birth of the republic hung by a thread in more than one battle. In the Civil War, the union barely survived a four-year slaughter that in its own time was regarded as the most lethal war in history. In World War II, the nation destroyed an enemy of democracy that for a time was winning; had the enemy won, America might have itself been destroyed. In all likelihood, the next Crisis will present the nation with a threat and a consequence on a similar scale.
Or the Fourth Turning could simply mark the end of the Millennial Saeculum. Mankind, modernity, and America would all persevere. Afterward, there would be a new mood, a new High, and a new saeculum. America would be reborn. But, reborn, it would not be the same.
ARGENTINA IN TEARS! China STOP Deal Worth $6.5 Billion With Argentina
Yes. They took a narcotic drug, meant for the patient, and injected themselves. Gave the patient an injection of saline. I didn’t understand why the patient was suddenly unable to tolerate a treatment he had previously handled with dignity. I suspected something when I noticed this nurse would always go to the locker room after “medicating” this patient. The next time he was due for a shot to relieve his pain, I hid in the locker room. I witnessed that nurse injecting herself. Fury was what I felt, for making a patient suffer so terribly. I was unable to feel any pity for her at that moment. I reported her, and she was fired, after her ongoing behavior was verified. The other nurses on the unit didn’t speak to me because I’d betrayed the “sisterhood” I pointed out that a patient was being harmed by an impaired nurse. FIRST imperative is to adhere to the oath we all took, to “do no harm”. You have to do what’s right!
Obviously the addicted nurse was counseled and offered assistance in overcoming her addiction. THAT is the right thing to do, too.
Another incident occurred when I realized one of the best, most brilliant nurses I’d ever worked with, was stealing a narcotic, regularly. He never harmed a patient, but I could see he was addicted. I chose to try to help him, and spoke to him, telling him I knew people and could get him into drug rehab the next day. I urged him to seek help. I warned him the supervisor was looking for whoever was stealing the narcotics. He assured me it wasn’t him and he didn’t need help, he was fine. He was caught, the next night, stealing. End of career. Those of us, who worked with him, were in tears.
Sometimes you help. Sometimes you report. The patient comes first. But one hopes that help is offered, because once removed as a nurse, that nurse becomes a “ patient”.
I did. I caught up with a driver I clocked at a very high rate of speed. When I walked up to the window I saw a grandmother in the back seat holding a young boy in her lap and he was spewing a bright pink frothy liquid every few seconds. The driver asked where was the hospital. Regulations forbade emergency escorts, and I violated that reg. I led them to the nearest hospital a few minutes away. On arrival I was told to take him to another ER, that hospital didn’t have the ER that day. I forcefully informed the Dr that the boy wouldn’t survive that long. He reluctantly had the boy brought in and began treating him. Several Drs attended that youngster that afternoon and all abandoned him but one young Dr named Alex Krier. He would not give up, and he saved that boys life. I learned that he fell off the bed of a pickup truck in a pasture and hit his head. I never learned what the diagnosis was. I would occasionally hear from his father from Tallahassee Fl. The youngster eventually made a full recover but his injury slowed his development significantly. I firmly believe God placed me in that position that day, and that He put Dr Krier in that ER that day. If they had taken him to the ER of the day, several miles away, I believe he would not have survived.
Well, blanket tariffs are illegal under WTO rules.
ILLEGAL.
Donald the Orange had to resort to neutering the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO to pursue blanket tariffs on China.
The WTO remains neutered under Joe the Elderly.
Meanwhile, the US made a genocide determination on China, and rescinded recognition of Hong Kong as an independent trade body under the WTO framework.
That’s belligerence and exceptionalism.
A typical example of the rules-based international order the US is trying so hard to maintain.
What is China to do unless it wants to play the same game?
Unfortunately for the hegemon, it must be willing to take pain and sustain damage to land punches on the No. 2 economy today.
As America is finding out, or being forced to admit, belligerence is unsustainable and comes with its cost, and paying it into the future is an uphill ask that accumulates systemic risk.
When I babysat, decades ago in the late eighties and early-to-mid nineties, it had become a trope: the babysitter who ignores the kids and spends the whole time talking on the family’s phone, watching the family’s TV, and eating the family’s food. Because of this, a few families whose kids I watched sincerely believed that it was what I would do, too.
It couldn’t have been further from the truth. I began babysitting in the Babysitters Club era, and sitters my age consulted those books like manuals. We brought activities for the kids. We were primed for the emergencies we’d read about. We wanted to impress parents. Many, many nights, I would go directly to a job after a long day of school and eat nothing at all until I got home at 11pm or midnight, because parents didn’t offer anything and I wouldn’t have dared take something that wasn’t offered.
There were parents who would honest-to-goodness measure tiny amounts of popcorn kernels into paper bags for each of their children, and leave them on the countertop for me to microwave for them as a snack. Other parents would warn me away from fridges and pantries, telling me that the kids could have this cup of applesauce and that bag of pretzels and nothing more. I honestly do not remember a single parent telling me to go ahead and eat with the kids. I was the hired help and could eat on my own time. And I was paranoid that they would come home to find food “missing”, and blame me for taking morsels from their kids’ metaphorical mouths.
How did I deal with this? A few ways. I’d try to eat a big lunch at school. I drank water from the kitchen tap. For some reason I have a vague memory of stealthily eating a single raw piece of whole grain penne pasta, although I’m not sure why I would have had to do that. Later, when I had wised up a bit, I began bringing food art projects for the kids to do, and that was a snack for all of us.
Having food available for a babysitter isn’t really likely to bankrupt a parent or compromise the kids’ care. It can have guidelines (“if you get hungry, feel free to have one of the snacks I left on the kitchen table” or, “go ahead and have some pizza with the kids”). A babysitter, especially a young one, will be relieved and appreciate that you care.
Seriously, I always thought “what the hell is wrong with this girl?”
“Why is she so into me? I haven’t done anything.”
Yet there it was…
“I haven’t done anything,” & in my mind love or affection was something that was highly conditional, earned, and can be taken away. Not something I was inherently worthy of.
Some women are clingy, codependent, and looking for a man to “complete them” in a way that is not realistic.
However, some women are just secure enough in themselves to be forward about it.
Expressing your feelings is healthy. It is an extension of good parenting. The result of being taught that when people love you & care for you they say so and act accordingly.
An emotionally secure woman is going to show you she cares or desires you because that is how her loved ones taught her to be.
Sometimes however for many people, like myself, were taught expressing your feelings is NOT okay. That people who care about you will not say that, & affection is both scarce and highly conditional.
For those people, loving, affectionate, expressive people are… strange & unfamiliar.
So the reality is that a woman who is upfront about her emotions is not by default “clingy”. Trust me, I had an ex-girlfriend who never wanted to be away from me… ever.
Now that is clingy.
However, a woman saying she likes you and wants to spend some time with you is what emotionally healthy and secure women do.
So if a woman expressing interest alone turns you off, that says more about your inability to accept healthy affection than her being overly dependent on you.
Fall asleep to the Purring of a Cat & Fireplace 🔥 Relax in Cozy Winter Hut, Fireplace sound
OMG!
The cat is curled up next to the fireplace, its tiny body nestled close to the warmth emanating from the crackling logs. Its eyes are closed, and its chest rises and falls with each peaceful breath. The soft glow of the fire dances across the cat's fur, casting flickering shadows on the surrounding floor. Its paws are tucked neatly under its chin, as if in a state of utter contentment. The rhythmic purring fills the air, a gentle lullaby that blends harmoniously with the crackling of the fire. The cat's whiskers twitch ever so slightly, indicating a deep and restful sleep. The coziness of the scene is heightened by the sight of a few scattered ash particles caught in the air, evidence of the cat's proximity to the hearth. It is a picture of serene tranquility, a blissful respite from the world, as the cat dreams away in the comforting embrace of the radiant warmth.
Hungarian Chocolate Cake (Rigo Jansci)
Ingredients
Chocolate Sponge
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
6 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon espresso powder, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup Dutch processed baking cocoa
Cocoa Whipped Cream Filling
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Raspberry and apricot preserves
Ganache Frosting
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons pailettes de feuilletine (optional)
1 tablespoon cocoa nibs (optional)
Instructions
Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 10 1/2 x 15 1/2-inch jellyroll pan with parchment and spray with nonstick vegetable spray.
In a dry bowl, melt chocolate over barely simmering water. Whisk the eggs and sugar until they hold a ribbon shape for 2 seconds. Whisk in the coffee mixture. Sift, then fold in the cocoa. Fold in the melted chocolate. Spread in the prepared pan and bake for 9 minutes until set. Let cool.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Sift the cocoa and confectioners’ sugar into the cream and whip to the consistency of shaving cream. Divide the sheet cake in half. Lightly spread one layer with apricot preserves. Spread on the whipped cream. Lightly spread the other half with raspberry preserves and flip on top of the whipped cream. Refrigerate.
Make the Ganache: Put the chocolate in a small bowl. Over medium heat, bring the cream to a scald. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Working from the center out, gently stir with a whisk to melt and blend. Continue stirring until smooth. Stir in the feuilletine and nibs. Pour over the cake. Allow cake to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, until chocolate is set.
Woman dies in crash and WAKES UP in another TIMELINE where she discovers THIS…
While camping in a fairly remote area of west Wales, Pendine being the nearest village, I decided to take a walk to one of the beaches nearby. This isn’t the sort of beach with any parking nearby, or even a road leading to it, the only way to access was either by a very rough part of the Wales coastal path, or a slightly better path from inland, it was difficult to access to say the least.
The remoteness and tranquility of the beach didn’t offer any clues to the violent events that had taken place there in the past.
When approaching from the coastal path I could see a structure set back quite some way from the beach, just visible in the photo below.
On closer inspection of the structure set back from the beach head, it appeared to be some sort of sea wall or a section of harbour wall, but was way too far back for the sea to ever reach it. It also appeared to have suffered some quite extensive damage, as can be seen below:
Knowing there was an army training ground located a few miles away I assumed it may have something to do with the military, though not sure what the purpose could be. Once back in civilisation with a phone I searched for information about the beach and found the following article:
It transpires that the wall was built to replicate the sea defences at Omaha beach to practice for the D-day landings. There was previously another wall there, but this was destroyed by tanks placing large explosive charges and subsequent erosion by the sea. The holes blown out of the concrete were from experiments with various explosive charges. It was really unexpected that this place was once used for this purpose.
The Biggest Story in America | The Scheduled Collapse of U.S Cities
At my former employer we had a saying “Hell hath no fury like a loyal customer scorned”. I now know that I am one of those customers.
I was a customer of ATT Cellular for over 20 years, paying well over $350 a month for 5 lines for my family. That’s $350 after all the “discounts”. The incentive to stay with ATT was mostly inertia and a “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it approach”. In spite of the bluster, they really didn’t give any incentives on new phones other than interest free financing, and I knew I could probably find a better price elsewhere, but…
Then a few months ago my credit card number got stolen (not the card, just the number) and the bank caught it right away and changed the account number. This happened to be the card that ATT used for my auto-bill. I didn’t realize it until they sent me a text saying my monthly payment was one day overdue. So immediately I went online, paid the one-day overdue bill, and changed the credit card number. The bill was over $50 higher due to removal of the e-bill discount and a late payment fee.
The next bill also had a removal of the e-bill discount and the added charge of $7 for late payment. I thought that was unfair, but I let it go.
But a month later the next bill arrived and still had no e-bill discount and added another $7 late fee! I called up to inquire and was told too bad, it takes at least a month and a half to register the new credit card in their system. All I wanted was the recent $7 late fee credited. First I appealed to their sense of fair play, and got nowhere. I then asked politely if I could ask a manager for a waiver.
The manager said no way. I pointed out I was a customer at $350 a month for 20 years, but I would leave over $7. He calmly told me the equivalent of “don’t let the door hit you in the ass” (I’m paraphrasing). No raised voices, just a calm discussion that ended in goodbye.
So I started the research, and found a carrier that uses the same cellular network plus others, and is costing me $210 a month less! $210 a month less for the same exact service! This was the best $7 wake-up call I ever had!
Many years ago when my daughter was in High School we were going to Target. We got there and parked. Now mind you, my daughter is incredibly good looking and I am round and a mom. If you were looking at the two of us standing together you would hardly even notice me. I am totally good with that. My husband hates it. lol Well back to the story…
We park the car, get out and start walking through the parking lot toward the store. A very nice, lifted, truck drives past us, the driver cat calls and honks the horn. My daughter looks me dead in the face and asks me if I know the guy driving the truck. I literally spit out my coffee and started laughing. She got all serious and demanded if I knew that guy! I could not stop laughing. She was so serious!
I told her the honk and cat call was for her, not me. I was laughing so hard because she was so miffed. Arms crossed over her chest., marching throught the parking lot. She didn’t know who it was so there was, “absolutely no way,” that was for her. It was so funny! She was so serious!
Needless to say, I was already wiped out, sides aching from laughing, by the time we got in the store. We did not spend much time in there.
He is Ultra Cautious and always adds a pinch of salt and always keeps making speeches for more improvement
That’s how Chinese leaders are
Always looking at the Long Term
Plus they always give a gloomy outlook and then when China does do much better, they look like they have achieved something amazing
Take this year 2023
Xi gave a same speech in 2022
Challenges, Global Slowdown, Real Estate Slowdown
Chinese people expected the worst and they found things MUCH MUCH BETTER
They credit this to the CPC and this buys Xi Jingping brownie points
Xi has never ever boasted of Chinas economic prowess
Never
From the first day he has always been cautious and always warned of challenges since 2014 at least
Xi’s speeches regarding MILITARY have changed from wolf warrior style to cautious diplomacy from 2014–2023 but as far as economy is concerned, he has always spoken of challenges
My point is – every Economy today has challenges
No leader mentions this
Especially Democratic leaders
They will always brag and boast and eventually get burnt
China is always cautious and it’s citizens always prepared for the worst, so they always feel better when things go better than the predicted outlook
I noticed it even when they submit their expected profits
They always predict less profits and longer time to break even and when they make more profits and break even quicker, they credit their style and efficiency
Indians predict more profits and shorter time to break even and end up embarrassing themselves often
The fact is 2023 is the best year for China economically since 2018
Their GDP growth of 5.1% has been achieved even when Real Estate dragged it down by 1.1% this year
Their GDP growth of 5.1% has been achieved even when Industrial Production dragged it down by 0.4% this year
Their GDP growth was 5.1% despite Asset Monetization dragging down growth by 0.2% this year
Had the three stayed static or stagnant – Chinas GDP growth would have been 6.8% this year
The Real Interest rate is 2.61% this year which is way higher than other countries. In India it’s 1.30% , half of Chinas. This is higher than the 0.85% Real Interest rate in 2022
Despite a near 18% reduction in Exports to US and EU, China finished with a $ 860 Billion Trade Surplus
China holds a mere 25% US Assets in reserves of $ 3.23 Trillion against 79% in 2010
Six of the largest service sectors – Retail, Financial, Travel, Hotels, Restaurants & Supermarkets all broke into the black this year from red last year
Industrial Profits slumped by 14% but High Tech Industrial Profits rose 39%
The day a Chinese Leader smiles and says how great China is doing
I was shopping at Boston store and foolishly looked at the sparkly jewelry display. I saw a gorgeous blue stone set in an Art Deco designed pendant. I fell in lust with it.
I was again foolish and tried it on. The counter lady told me it made me look radiant, the stone was unique, the design a rare offer, plus it was on sale, with a coupon. It was very expensive. I began justifying the purchase, which was a bit spendy for my budget. I rationalized I could eat cheap soup, ask for car rides to save having to buy gas, turn down the heat for a few months, to lower the bill. I bought the necklace.
I got home and had buyers remorse every time I had to eat the cheap noodles, beg a ride to work, put on another sweater and pair of socks. It wasn’t enough remorse to make me return it.
The bill for the purchase came, I had barely enough to pay it in full because if I didn’t pay it all I would be charged interest for a purchase I could hardly afford. I didn’t delay in returning the bill. I breathed a sigh of relief. The necklace was mine.
My satisfaction was short lived. The next month I got another bill from Boston Store. It contained a $35 late fee. I called the store to complain, how I was charged a late fee when the date the payment was posted was on the due date. The person who answered said the computer calculated it, the fee was due. The computer was wrong! I wrote a letter stating my observations. It was ignored.
I decided to pay the $35 because damaging my credit wasn’t worth it. I vowed to never, ever shop there again. Without surprise the entire empire that included Boston Store declared bankruptcy, folded and no longer exists. While I know my refusal to remain a customer didn’t single handedly undermine their business it makes me happy to wear the necklace.
My uncle Jeff (mom’s brother) was a renowned Neurosurgeon and Director of Stereotactic Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University. As you could imagine, he was a fairly brilliant guy (perfect SAT, Princeton undergrad, taught himself fluency in German, all of those things crazy-smart people do.)
We are a fairly small family, so I got to know him on a pretty personal level, more as an uncle than a doctor. But I still knew him as both, and can tell you there was a significant dichotomy between the two Jeffs.
His patients raved about his passion and care for their well being and treatment, they said he was an unwavering professional. He had the utmost respect among peers and students. Jeff, or Dr. Williams, aimed to become the best neurosurgeon in the world.
Jeff as a person, and I say this as someone who still loves him dearly, was a wonderful but flawed and complex individual. On his good days he could be the funniest and most intelligent guy you’ve ever spoken to. The kind of guy who could say one sentence that changes the way you see the world. On his bad days he could be profoundly arrogant; he was very aware of his mental capacities and not afraid to let you know.
He could also be very demanding and temperamental. As a 7 year old, he would review my math homework with me and let me tell you, you’ve never met a more demanding math tutor. My theory was that because he was so demanding of himself, he projected that same standard upon people he cared about.
But we still had fun too.
Over the years, we saw him frequently and had a great relationship, but we noticed he started looking pretty bad. He was gaining weight and he had lost a lot of color in his face. We know he was working 80+ hours and living off the hospital cafeteria food. It wasn’t something you could mention to him, or he would stop talking to you for a year. Finally, his dad (my grandpa) tried to bring it up with him, but Jeff would have none of it. He wouldn’t listen or didn’t take it seriously. And he got angry to the point that we could never bring it up again.
About a month after my 19th birthday, I was packing to head back to college. I heard my mom crying in her bedroom across the hall, I could tell something was wrong, very wrong. I came in, she was on the phone, sobbing. It was that type of cry that meant something really bad had happened. She hangs up the phone and tells me. “Your Uncle Jeff had a heart attack this morning, Jeff is dead.”.
That morning he had been running on a treadmill in the Johns Hopkins gym next to a fellow doctor, he had a type of “widow maker” heart attack and died. Not even a surgeon jogging next to him could save him. He was 50 years old.
To this day, I miss and love Jeff. I idolized him and his death crushed the family. But I am also angry; he made some pretty bad health choices that cost him his life, choices a neurosurgeon knows well not to make. Choices he somehow rationalized didn’t apply to him. And so to answer the question, the thing that annoys me about really smart people, is that they can be guilty of hubris at times.
Back in 1992 or so, I was in a computer repair shop where I often sourced secondhand parts, like the 3.5″ floppy drives from IBM PS/2 systems. They had a defect that frequently caused them to slip out of alignment, and when they did, IBM would simply pay repair shops to swap out the floppy drives with new ones and toss the old ones. You could actually find tons of them in dumpsters at repair shops.
I collected them because they were super-easy to fix, you just turned a screw to align them again. They used the same card edge connector with the same pinout as a 5.25″ floppy drive, so you could just swap them on computers with 5.25″ floppies, which I did on my TRS-80.
Anyway, I was in there one day when the tech was like “hey, you want this?” and pointed to an Apple Lisa with an Apple Profile hard drive. “I was like “sure, what’s wrong with it?” He said “I don’t know. Video doesn’t work at all. Total blank screen. I haven’t looked at it because when I gave the owner a price quote, he just told me to keep it.”
So I bought it for $100, got it home, popped off the top (super easy, it was designed to be disassembled without tools, and all the electronics slid out in card cages like military radios use), and…
…the little socket had come off the back of the CRT.
I slipped it back on and it worked perfectly. Used it for years, until it finally failed. In fact, I even did small-press publishing on it.
Unimportant details have been changed to protect patient confidentiality.
When I was in training a 14 year old girl swimming in the ocean was run over by a speedboat. One leg and half her pelvis were gone. The thing is, most patients that are going to die come in unresponsive whereas most patients that live come in talking. But a young girl like her has a lot of physiologic reserve and the large vessels of her pelvis had spasmed shut to temporarily stop the bleeding. So despite her extraordinarily severe injury, she was actually talking to us. And she was pleading with us to save her life. I can still remember her crying, saying “I don’t want to die, Daddy.” Her father (who had been driving the speedboat) was beside her holding her hand.
I took one look at her injury and knew it was fatal. There were several surgeons there and we tried some Hail Mary maneuvers in the trauma bay, but the spasming arteries opened up within a few minutes of arrival and she died.
If you’re in the trauma field you get used to death, and I am. But I will never forget the sound of her crying to live. I can only imagine what her father went through.
It was a get-rich-quick scheme. Leap in front of slow-moving cars, feign injury, and threaten a suit. Make millions overnight. Or that was his plan, anyways.
So he ended up in the ER once, twice a week. He was never actually hit, but he put on such an exhibition, we were obligated to work him up. He was in and out of the CT scanner so often he acquired the sort of soft glow you could have a romantic dinner over. And he almost always ended up spending at least one night inpatient. Traumatized drivers showed up crying, asking about his wellbeing. He was exhausting our patience and our resources.
“We have actually sick patients who can’t get a bed upstairs because he’s taking up space,” I groaned, catching sight of his name on the ER board once again.
“But what can we do?” my co-resident shrugged. “One of these times he will truly be hurt. How do we save someone from themselves?”
I sighed. “He’s not trying to hurt himself. He’s just trying to make money. Unfortunately, he’s not crazy. Just an asshole.”
My chief, Hayashi, leaned back in his chair and snickered, tenting his fingertips together diabolically. “What if he WAS crazy?” he proposed, with one eyebrow raised.
“What do you mean?”
“Well…” he tipped his chair forward, “it’s a six floor hospital, right? Put on your white coat and climb out the window of the room next door to his. Inch your way across the ledge, and climb in HIS window. Walk up to the bed, climb up on it, stand up. Unzip and pee all over him. Then climb back out the window again..”
“WHAT?!!?” I screeched. “That’s insane!”
“Yup!” grinned Hayashi. “That’s exactly what they’re gonna say when he tells everyone some doctor climbed in the window and peed on him. Then he’s gonna go away. Problem solved. You’re welcome.”
“Carrier killer” DF-21d missiles are no longer China’s only weapon against American carriers!
1. Armed drones
As we all know, Chinese drones are very powerful. Recently, American carriers ran into trouble in the Red Sea, and Iranian observers even mocked the US military on Twitter for using a $2.1 million SM-2 missile to intercept a $2,000 Yemeni drone.
American carriers can’t even defend themselves against Yemen’s humble drones, let alone the countless drones of China, the land of drones.
It amuses me that America’s “invincible” aircraft carriers are being fumbled by the Houthis in Yemen.
What you need to know is that the Yemeni Houthis are not government forces, just a guerrilla force on motorbikes. Lol! 🤣
2. EM gun
What Chinese ships are hiding even deeper are the electromagnetic guns not used by American ships.
China’s medium-voltage DC integrated power system for ships is at least 20 years ahead of the U.S., which can fully guarantee the electricity for EM guns.
EM cannon shells fly incredibly fast and are silent, with no gunpowder explosions.
A single shot from an EM gun can sink an aircraft carrier instantly and completely silently, and cannot be recognised, tracked, or intercepted.
But the American EM gun can not be actualised because its ship power system and its backwardness, can not supply the huge amount of electricity consumed instantly by the EM gun.
Below is the full translation of 《中国留美博士生突遭遣返:经历噩梦般的50个小时》Chinese PhD Students in the U.S. Suddenly Deported: Enduring a Nightmare-like 50 Hours, a news report by 中国科学报 China Science Daily posted in its WeChat blog on Friday, January 5.
Meng Fei, a Ph.D. student originally set to return to her university in the U.S., was denied entry at an American airport and rapidly repatriated. The 50 hours she spent there is utterly an unforgettable nightmare for her.
After Meng landed in Washington, D.C. on December 19, 2023, she was immediately detained by U.S. Customs at the airport for secondary inspection. She then spent eight hours in the so-called “little dark room” and another 12 hours in solitary confinement. During her layover in Los Angeles, she was detained for five more hours before being sent back to Beijing. These dark moments are etched clearly in her memory.
Sitting back in the sofa corner at home, Meng is in a daze – “How did I end up back here?” When she left for the U.S., she had just successfully renewed her F1 student visa for the coming year on November 27, 2023, not expecting to be rapidly repatriated. What is worse is that she is banned from entering the U.S. for five years. If her appeal fails, Meng will not be able to attend her doctoral defense in 2024. The appeal takes at least six months, which is too long for her biological research to wait.
Meng Fei was shocked to find, on the train back to her hometown, six other students who had similar experiences at Dulles International Airport (IAD). All of them are females. Furthermore, she learned of two other female students who were informed at the Chinese airport during check-in that their visas were revoked and could not board their flights.
Despite thorough analysis, they couldn’t dig out the reason for their repatriation. The only certainty was that their dream of studying in the U.S. was shattered.
“The Little Dark Room”
Four hours after arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport, Meng Fei was informed that there was a problem with her visa and that she had to return to China. She became the only person repatriated from the airport that day.
Meng Fei stayed in the little dark room for eight hours. After learning she was denied entry, she was immediately told to pay $3,700 for her repatriation flight to China by herself, with no other options. By comparison, her flight to the U.S. cost only $1,000.
The officials who interrogated Meng were two women: Epstein, with short hair and no uniform, and Pratt, with blonde hair, not tall, also with no uniform. Other detainees encountered Pratt as well.
This group of victims were interrogated about whether they received scholarships during their undergraduate studies, whether they were funded by the China Scholarship Council (CSC), or whether they engaged in any confidential research. Meng had received undergraduate scholarships from their alma mater but was not involved in CSC-funded projects or any confidential research.
When signing her statement, Meng was told it was just to confirm the interrogation’s accuracy, but she wasn’t allowed to see the content before signing. Only after signing did she learn that she would not only be repatriated rapidly but also banned for five years. She was outraged because the customs officers kept urging her to accept the decision to return to China during the interrogation, saying she could re-enter easily by reapplying for a visa. The five-year ban was not mentioned during the whole process.
With two armed officers watching, she had no choice but to comply, focusing only on how to leave that dreadful place and contact the outside world.
The nightmare didn’t end there. After an 8-hour wait in the little dark room, Meng confronted a humiliating search, followed by 12 hours in solitary confinement.
“I was told that I would be kept in a room, I don’t remember the exact room name. Maybe at that time, my ears refused to hear it, my brain to remember it,” she recalls. She was not allowed to bring her luggage, coat, shoes, sweater, or even cough medicine. The room had a cot, a sofa, children’s books and toys, a toilet without a door, and multiple surveillance cameras, but no clock. Thankfully, there was a TV showing the time.
It was a little cold in that single room, but Meng only got three sheets to sleep with. She managed to sleep for only an hour, waking up frequently, and spent two hours watching the movie X to kill time. For the rest of the time, she just aimlessly pressed the remote control, unable to focus on anything, just waiting to board the flight home.
It was only when preparing to board the flight that she was informed that she would get her phone back only upon landing in Beijing. For the previous 48 hours, it was impossible for her to inform her family she was safe.
The search and 5-hour detention in Los Angeles airport seemed trivial in comparison. On the flight to Los Angeles, her main concern was how to make contact with her family and inform them of her situation. Fortunately, her iPad, which was brought with her, enabled her to inform her family of her flight number.
Upon landing in Beijing, a official of the Chinese immigration administration helped Meng charge her phone, record what she had experienced in the past few days and had her sign and fingerprint the record. She could finally message her family.
Fellow suffers
On the train home, Meng Fei got into contact with another girl through social media who had also been repatriated from DIA and denied entry in December 2023. The girl was also pursuing a PhD in the U.S.
Such students experiences have a WeChat group. Their experiences were strikingly similar. Wei Na, a student at Johns Hopkins University, and her roommate were detained in the little dark room on November 24, 2023. Wei was asked sensitive questions during the formal record, such as military service, connections to the Ministry of Education, and funding from the state. Despite she gave negative responses, the inspector told her, “Your F1 and B1/B2 visas are no longer valid, and you are not allowed to enter the U.S. We will send you back to China on the earliest flight. You need a new visa to re-enter.”
Repeated inquiries with inspectors only revealed that her visa was canceled by the U.S. Embassy in China two days before her entry. However, after returning home, she was told by the embassy that it was not the embassy but U.S. Customs’ decision. That made her doubt the authenticity of the U.S. customs officers’ statements, suspecting they were just inducing her to accept repatriation.
Two more sufferers joined their group. One of them was repatriated from the same airport and the other one was told the visa was revoked before boarding in China. In total, there were 11 of them.
This situation motivated Meng Fei to investigate the commonalities among the victims to find out the cause of their rapid repatriation. She created an Excel document, and so far, ten victims have filled in their details, with one more whose visa was revoked at check-in providing incomplete information.
The findings showed that all ten were graduates from prestigious universities, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, among others. Their domestic degrees spanned fields like biological sciences, preventive medicine, statistics, materials physical chemistry, communication engineering, German, and business administration. They were currently studying at U.S. institutions such as Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Virginia. Among them, two were first-year master’s students, three first-year Ph.D. students, two fifth-year Ph.D. students, one sixth-year Ph.D. student, one postdoctoral fellow, and one female on a work visa.
Of the eight repatriated students, four had won university scholarships during their undergraduate studies, and one received a CSC scholarship; none were involved in confidential research. One was even questioned about having a Russian tourist visa. However, none of them was told the clear reason for their repatriation by the U.S. Customs.
They couldn’t understand why receiving a scholarship for academic excellence during undergraduate studies would become an obstacle to acquiring further education in the U.S.
Meng Fei noted that the inspectors focused heavily on her phone, while her computer and luggage were not scrutinized carefully. However, in subsequent inquiries, they did not mention any issues or sensitive information on her phone, nor did they ask questions about their phones.
Given that all known repatriated individuals were female, they speculated that U.S. Customs’ actions involved not only racial but also gender discrimination. Since these recent incidents all occurred within the past month and were handled by the same customs officer, they suspected that these U.S. Customs inspectors were rushing to meet year-end repatriation quotas.
A well-known context is that on June 3, 2020, former U.S. President Trump signed Executive Order 10043, prohibiting certain students and scholars from obtaining F/J visas in the name of national security. However, the universities and majors of these victims were not within the scope of this order, and most of them did not have obvious characteristics related to Executive Order 10043. Some indications suggest that the ban has been expanded in recent years – potentially going further.
What further distressed these students was the discovery of intentional or unintentional alterations in their records.
One student’s record inexplicably included a segment about engagement in a Chinese high-end talent program and visits to military-industrial units. Another student’s undergraduate research was on South Africa, one of the BRICS countries, but this was not mentioned in the record. Instead, there was an emphasis on Russia and China being part of the BRICS.
Where should they head?
Will this sudden turn of events make Meng Fei’s almost completed doctoral degree come to naught?
While detained at U.S. Customs, Meng Fei pondered numerous possibilities for her future. If only she had foreseen what would happen then, she would have waited to return to China after receiving her diploma. If she had been more prepared, she could have applied to withdraw her U.S. entry request, possibly avoiding the five-year entry ban. However, seven of the eight repatriated girls were completely unaware of this and received the five-year ban without any advance notice. The U.S. Customs only informed the first repatriated student of the option to withdraw her entry application, not the other seven.
Is it possible to revoke this five-year entry ban? Meng sought help from her advisor, the international students’ office at her school, the graduate student union, and the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. However, so far, no effective headway has been made.
A professor of Chinese heritage at Yale University, deeply concerned about Meng Fei’s situation, sought assistance from many people for her. This professor himself was a victim of the Trump administration’s “China Initiative” and had ever been temporarily suspended from his job for several months. Meng is very grateful to him, as he, having “been through the rain,” also wants to “hold an umbrella” for others.
According to her original plan, Meng should now be focusing on supplementary experiments in the lab. She needs to complete some experiments, then finish and submit papers, followed by her doctoral defense.
The unforeseen event necessitates her communicating with her advisor to see if she can complete the experiments with the help of her lab colleagues and then proceed with an online defense. This is a result she can accept.
Then what next? Perhaps she will look for a postdoctoral opportunity in Europe. Her advisor is European and may be able to offer some advice and help.
The other two Yale Ph.D. students, whose visas were revoked before boarding in China, have gradually lost hope of returning to the U.S. during their long wait. A fifth-year Ph.D. student has been in China for nearly half a year. Even though she has reapplied for a visa, there is no update on her visa status and the only thing to do is wait anxiously. Another first-year doctoral student reapplied for a visa but was denied, leaving her no choice but to withdraw from her program.
Meng is seeking help from lawyers, but the prospects are unclear. After all, even the lawyers can’t discern from the documents the reasons for her repatriation by U.S. customs, making it difficult to prepare specific materials. The waiting time is unknown.
The group of victims hopes to lift the five-year ban, but no response has been made by the U.S. Customs even after their U.S. universities tried to contact them.
(Note: Meng Fei and Wei Na are pseudonyms used in the article.)
Cream Cheese Kolacky
Ingredients
1 (10 ounce) bag dried apricots
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, at room temperature
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups flour
Confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
Place apricots in medium saucepan; cover with water. Soak overnight.
Heat the apricots and water to a boil in medium saucepan over high heat; reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring often with fork to mash and adding water if needed, until smooth and thick, about 10 minutes. (If necessary, you can chop finely with a knife or process about 1 minute in a food processor or chopper.)
Add the granulated sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Cool completely.
Blend together the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl; gradually blend in flour, using hands once the dough has begun to form, until it can be shaped into a ball (this may be more or less than 2 cups). Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Divide dough into thirds. Roll out each third on a floured board into a 12 x 8-inch rectangle, 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick. Cut into 2-inch squares with a pizza cutter. Place 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of the apricot filling in the middle of each square. Fold each corner into middle; pinch together. (Moisten fingers with cold water if dough does not stick.)
Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets; bake until golden, about 17 minutes per batch.
Cool on wire rack; sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
We have built a vacation home in a nearby province. Husband took on the contracting while maintaining his full-time police job – so proud of him!
I did not announce this; I dislike the comparison games people play and do not want to be perceived as bragging.
A good friend asked to see pictures at a reunion luncheon. As I flipped through pix on my phone, an acquaintance from long ago came up behind us.
She peered over our shoulders and exclaimed, “When you married that low-ranked cop, I knew you’d end up this way! How far you’ve fallen! How can you live like THAT!!”
The look on her face was not one of concern, but a sneer.
She was looking at a picture of the shed where building materials had been kept (that has since been removed).
*sigh*
*Note Some have asked about my response. I smiled, told her that it was the raw materials shed and went back to my conversation.
Why didn’t I snap back, go for her throat, etc?
Because that (and to embarrass me) is what she expected, what she wanted. She is in her element when someone defends herself or gets angry.
But she has never been able to handle a calm, non-defensive response.
My friend called me up the other day, he’s in another country and in the midst of a full-on psychotic breakdown… “I’m in hell, Jean-Marie…” he said, “everything around me is fire and I’m in hell.” He hears roosters and dogs barking, cars honking, and they are demonic creatures to his ears. His perception is wrong. Everything is wrong.
My friend suffers from schizophrenia. He is mentally unwell, and deeply so. His parents do not care for him at all. And he has nobody. No one in the world who cares, besides me and two other online friends who live in England. I want to reach out, help him, but… I cannot. It kills me, being unable to help my friend. Being unable to embrace him, unable to tell him it will be okay. Because I can’t. And it won’t. He refuses medication, refuses help, and even if he did want to accept it, none will be coming. It’s a helpless feeling watching someone’s life fall apart at the seams. Helpless, hopeless, and depressing.
The hardest thing to overcome in life, is the realization that you can’t help, sometimes. That there are things above and beyond your comprehension that you cannot aid someone with. Issues you cannot fix. People you cannot cure. Problems you cannot solve. And that all you can do is be a bystander, glued to the sight of their demise as you remain frozen.
Originally Answered: What are the most convincing things that would make me think twice before falling to an overly attractive woman that I’ve just met?
See this cutie?
This is Dalia Dippolito. Upon first glance, most guys would find her very attractive, myself included.
Back in 2010, she convinced this guy, Michael Dippolito, to marry her by being the perfect, super-hot mistress/girlfriend. He even divorced his wife to be with her, he was so desperate to land this hottie.
According to Michael, they were very happy. He believed that while they had a few problems, they were a solid couple with a long future ahead of them.
Right up until she tried to hire an undercover police officer to kill him.
Apparently she wanted his money and condo… everything but him. Fortunately, the guy she asked to kill him went to the police and an undercover investigation began.
She was caught on police undercover film laughing and saying that she absolutely wanted go through with killing him to a supposed hitman. “I’m 5,000% sure,” she was captured saying.
Det. Alex Moreno of the Boynton Beach police department noted how “We were shocked… how easily she talked about getting her husband killed.”
To make sure she was serious and meant to follow through on it, the Boynton Beach, FL police even staged a fake crime scene where her husband had supposedly been shot and killed.
She showed up on scene and upon being told, cried and screamed in horror. The observers onsite noted that she didn’t shed actual tears so much as just made a lot of wailing noises.
The police then arrested her and told her her husband was actually still alive and that the scene had been a sting operation.
Once in jail, she tried to win Michael over again. To his credit, he would have none of it.
When that didn’t work, she would go onto deny everything, try to slander her husband’s reputation, claim they had planned it all for a reality show, and multiple other lies to try to convince people that the video evidence they saw- with their own eyes and on film- was somehow not true.
After an appeal and a mistrial (if you can believe that), she was eventually sentenced to 16 years for attempted murder. Upon sentencing, the judge told her she was the “personification of evil.”
If the guy she originally tried to hire for the hit hadn’t gone to the police, Michael Dippolito would be dead and Dalia might potentially be living in his home, spending his money… and looking for her next victim.
There are other women like Dalia looking for their next victim.
Maybe you?
Sociopaths come in all shapes and sizes. Some even look like really attractive women.
Take your time and get to know whomever you go out with, no matter how strong the physical attraction might be.
I was travelling through outback Australia, coming down from Darwin in the Northern Territory through to Wagga Wagga along the Stuart Highway, turning at the Barkly Highway at Waramungu to go towards Queensland. There is a whole lot of nothing out there, with nothing in between, so you rely on the petrol stations along the way which are also pretty far between. So after a few days I arrived at Threeways Roadhouse one afternoon to fill up with petrol and go on my way, wanting to cross the border before sundown and stay in Camooweal.
It’s a big roadhouse supplying the road trains that go through with diesel and petrol for the rest of us. There were a lot of people there when I pulled up, but thought nothing of it. When I went to get some unleaded petrol to fill up, there were signs on the pumps – Not In Service.
I asked at the counter and the two young girls there said there was no unleaded petrol, the truck hadn’t come through yet and wasn’t likely to get there until tomorrow midday.
“What, nothing at all?”
“We’ve just got diesel.”
Ah, so that’s why there were so many people waiting around! Not sure if I could make it to Camooweal on what I had left, I made the best of a bad thing and booked a cabin out the back to stay in for the night. Let me tell you – apart from the roadhouse there is nothing in Waramungu, and nothing for a hundred kilometres or more. Everyone else was doing the same.
Had dinner there, slept, and in the morning had breakfast and read the paper, watched the tv in the restaurant. It was getting on to mid morning and there was still a crowd waiting for the petrol truck. I thought I’d ask at the counter again to be sure the truck was coming.
“Fuel truck coming soon?”
“We think so. Midday or after.”
Just then, outside the window, I saw a small car like mine leave the bowsers and drive off towards Queensland. Looked like he had fuelled up!
“Did he just get petrol? I thought you said there was no unleaded petrol?”
“There’s no unleaded petrol. He bought Premium unleaded petrol. It’s more expensive.”
So, I stayed a night at a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere because they didn’t know that Premium unleaded petrol was the same as Unleaded petrol except it was about five cents a litre more to buy – much cheaper than staying there and eating two meals. I didn’t care I just wanted to get to my destination.
Maybe they thought they were helping me out…
I told the people I had been chatting to in the restaurant and suddenly the rush was on for the Premium pump – and within ten minutes I was out of there.
Like Jeffrey Epstein files that was released. Ultimately the truth is out.
Like Iraq WMDs
Like the Gulf of Tonkin
It’s why groups like China World Leader & other groups gain traction on Quora
They FILL THE GAPS
The Anti China brigade, their narrative has too many loopholes
Why, if China is committing genocide, is the Uyghur Population rising?
Why, if China is going to collapse in 24 days, is Joe Biden making a huge effort to meet Xi Jingping
Why, if the Chinese people are so unhappy with the CPC, are they freely allowed to travel in and out of China whenever they want
Why, if the Chinese Army equipment is old and useless, do many top US Generals regard China as a larger threat than the USSR?
Why, if China is such an authoritarian state, are there protests regularly by the people also covered by the same Western media?
These are questions that any rational and sane person would always ask
This is where spaces like China World Leader, Wumao Uncensored and Youtubers like Cyrus Janssen help FILL UP THE GAPS
They logically deliver their explanation on the above questions and the explanations definitely help get a better understanding of how China works
Sadly the world contains maybe 10% realists
90% of them, especially those who live in democracies are badly brainwashed into losing their ability to reason and think
Their teeny tiny brains refuse to function or use logic to rectify mistakes
Such a person if told about the Uyghur Population growing, would rather make up some fantastic explanation than admit the information he got was wrong
He could even say Uyghurs have 10 Kids each and 8 Kids are killed so there is population growth
Show such a person life in China and he will say the video is doctored
Ultimately these people ALREADY MAKE UP THEIR MINDS and fit information however false to justify their own thinking
The inferior minds sadly dominate the world today
Quora has fewer such inferior minds
Twitter has many
YT has many
So on Quora, Pro China groups thrive and survive and even help convince other realists that China may not be so bad
You notice Quora doesn’t have a North Korea group
Ultimately if China World Leader was a propaganda group spreading useless lies about China, it wouldn’t have the traction it has today
The reason that Mainstream Media and Anti China groups and their narratives are riddled with holes is why Pro China Groups are very believable and popular
Take this Video of Hu Jintao being escorted out
Every inferior mind jumped at the fact that Xi Jingping threw him out of the Party Congress
The Anti China brigade parroted the same thing
Yet not one person logically thought :-
WHY WOULD THE CPC RECORD THE EVENT AND THEN RELEASE IT TO THE PUBLIC WITHOUT CENSORING THE SAME?
I mean this video was available with every single channel in the world
The CPC controls every facet of information especially a video recorded inside the Party Congress
So WHY IF XI WANTED TO THROW HU JINTAO OUT DID HE CONSENT TO RECORDING THE EVENT LIVE AND NOT CENSORING THE ENTIRE TAPE
Thus logic dictated that the incident was SUDDEN and that supports the explanation that Hu Jintao had an onset of dementia and believed he was Party Chairman and wanted to read the list of new members that the Chairman usually does.
So he was gently escorted out
This is one such example
Trust me, Chinese don’t spread propaganda that easily , especially post 1980
In China there is a saying ‘You can’t wrap fire with paper’
So Chinese don’t buy lies that easily as Americans or Indians do
They question everything and they openly scoff at certain things
It’s why Pro Chinese Videos are designed to be for the realists and superior minds
Like the mainland Chinese
Who look for logic and ask questions
Sadly the Chinese don’t know that the global audience in democracies is made up of inferior and stupid minds
Thus these Pro Chinese Videos and content outside quora often finds a brick wall
How long would it take for China to pay youtubers to release videos about How Biden bathes with his daughter or fondles his granddaughter or of how US Politicians are pedophiles
Minutes
Yet that’s dirty and China won’t play dirty
Maybe that’s a weakness today but long term that’s a strength
Computer Predicts the End of the World | But here’s what they DON’T tell you
Here is where I am currently. It’s 14:41, Monday, Tokyo. And the view is from my work desk.
Quite literally a cage? (trap?)
Working in big Japanese company in one of the biggest cities in the world.
Do I want to be here?
No.
Is this where I want to be?
No. I want to be somewhere here. Bali
Can I be there?
I can’t without sacrificing the people who are dependent on me financially/emotionally. However, I can be there temporarily(holiday/vacation) without sacrificing anyone/anything.
How can I be there?
By working today in that cage, so that I can make some ¥¥¥ and be there next month for 4 days.
This is the biggest trap of my life at least. Self Imprisonment . To work somewhere only to be somewhere else temporarily.
Be it for family, travel etc.
Update : Some people seem to have concentrated more on the Bali trip and they think that i should move to Bali. If the solution was so simple i wouldn’t have called it a trap , would I ? It was never about Bali anyway, it could be anywhere else. Bali was used because it happened to be place of my trip which i had to wait for 6 months (My point) that’s all.
A insists and tells you it is a real relationship, however, things are complicated because B is still married (to C).
A insists there are a bunch of reasons that marriage between B and C isn’t real or working.
B truly loves A. Their love is real. A knows it.
A and B start moving fast, dating, the relationship gets heavy, even though it sounds like B still hasn’t fully cut ties with… C.
In fact, both A and C are each separately convinced that they are 100% with B.
But in truth – it’s only about 80%/20% as B has issues with commitment.
B finally works up the courage and cuts ties with C, so that B can fully be with A as A has been insisting all along.
Things are now better than ever between A and B, they post on social media together, they celebrate their love and how lucky they are to have each other.
And then you don’t see pictures for a while.
Everything goes radio silent.
And then you find out what happened.
B met D.
And everything went terribly wrong for A.
A can’t believe B would do this, that B could be so evil.
I do not feel sorry for A.
It’s one of the truest sayings you’ll ever hear, “If they’ll cheat with you – they’ll cheat on you.”
I taught for a while in one of Britain’s top private schools, so I feel I’m qualified to offer a definitive answer:
Tweed.
Seriously, ten years as a teacher and I never saw so much as a tweed dishcloth, but when I started working in private education suddenly the bloody stuff was everywhere. The teachers wore tweed (and the teachers were near-universally ‘old boys’ or ‘old girls’ whose parents could comfortably afford twice what most people earn in a year to get shut of their kids for most of it), the staff wore tweed, and the parents were dressed in tweed on a semi-permanent basis. I swear some of them slept in tweed pyjamas.
When they weren’t wearing tweed, they were cosplaying farmers, for some reason. This was irrespective of whether they lived somewhere in the cotswolds or the middle of London. Their farmer outfits were sometimes a bit worn, but always unnaturally clean.
So if I’m in the middle of the city and see someone wearing tweed or farming gear that’s never been within half a mile of a cow, that’s when know I’m dealing with the fourteenth Lord Bonkingly-Spinkle or some such.
EDIT: Several people have pointed out that tweed is for the country, not the town. Since I’m about as aristocratic as Derek Trotter and have never owned an item of tweed in my life, I wouldn’t know, but it is worth noting the school I worked at was out in the country.
That said, during COVID all our meetings with parents were remote, and they were still wearing tweed and farm gear regardless of where they lived.
Not me but my very dear friend. If the virus was that bad how was a little piece of cloth going to protect him? Etc, etc, etc. Yes, he was a die hard Fox News listener. No, he certainly was not getting the vaccine. Interestingly, he was completely understanding of anyone who did wear a mask or got the vaccine. He was a nice person with a big heart he just…I don’t know.
He caught a cold. A bad cold. He collapsed in the hallway of his house on his way to the bathroom. His wife rushed him to the hospital.
He never came back home.
The last thing he said to me was “Did you get the shot? Because this is bad”. Thing is, he was a very stoic, prideful man. For him to say this is “bad” meant it was horrible. He apparently asked the doctor for the vaccine and of course they explained it was too late. I know he already knew that.
How did he feel about not masking? Word is he felt like a fool and cried and cried because he felt stupid and he let his family down.
Three weeks diagnosis to death. Fifty three years old. Left a wife and three kids. I miss him every damn day.
My Girlfriend Dumped Me, Rode The Carousel, Now Wants Me Back Because They Don’t Want A Relationship
I have neighbors that moved in 8 years ago. Almost immediately, they started trying to claim property by mowing into my yard and building fences. I’m not talking 1–2 feet, it was over 50′ over the line.
That summer, they started picking from my garden and taking the fruit from my trees. Again, I’m not talking about a few tomatoes or ears of corn. They would strip everything clean.
They also would dig plants out of my yard and move them to their property. They even felt they had the right to go “metal detecting” and leave little potholes all though my property.
I asked them to stop, but they ignored me. I decided to buy a “consumer grade” surveillance system, but they were undeterred.
I put up “no trespassing” signs, making sure they were legally posted and the entire boundary was clearly marked. Nothing changed, so I located the survey pins and physically painted the property line. No help.
I threatened legal action, but they still ignored me. That’s when I forked out thousands and installed a new hardwired, military grade surveillance system with 8K resolution, 32x optical zoom, AI facial recognition, license plate recognition, auto tracking and a 16TB video recorder.
They were still undeterred and kept metal detecting and digging holes all over my yard.
Undeterred, that is, until the police showed up and the court granted me a restraining order. Problem solved.
One morning I woke up, looked at my to-do-list and realized I needed to make a couple of adjustments. After dropping my children off at school at 8:30, I had planned to go downtown to the Social Security Administration for a replacement Social Security card. I realized I had another appointment for 10:00am and that trying to squeeze Social Security in would be cutting it too close – because I had forgotten to get my birth certificate out of my safe deposit box at the bank the day before and would have had to run by there first. So, I crossed through the SS office on my list and wrote “tomorrow” next to it.
I took the kids to school as planned at 8:30 and was kicking myself for forgetting to get my birth certificate the day before so I could just head on downtown to Social Security. So, instead, I went back home, took a shower, and was standing in the bedroom when a large “boom” shook my house and I felt sure a jumbo jet had to have crashed nearby. It was all I could think of that could cause that loud of an explosion and cause the house to literally shake. I frantically rushed outside, looked around, but saw nothing.
That morning was April 19th, 1995. I lived in Oklahoma City. The Social Security office I was going to after dropping the kids at school was located on the ground floor of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown OKC. At 9:02am a truck bomb exploded in front of the Murrah building with such force it was felt up to 55 miles away. I was eight miles away when I felt that staggering blast. 168 people died in the bombing that horrible day. It wiped out the Social Security office, and, sadly, the children’s day care for federal employees. Had I not made the mistake of forgetting to go by my safe deposit box the day before, I would have followed my to-do-list and would have, undoubtedly, been inside the SSA at 9:02am.
The mistake of forgetting the bank the afternoon before — saved my life. What a horrible day April 19, 1995, was. I lost people I knew in that bombing and it will stay with me until the day I die. Due to only a mistake on my part, it just wasn’t that day.
I like to use stairs rather than lifts (elevators) in hotels, because they are a good form of exercise.
Many years ago I booked into a hotel in Brisbane (in Queensland, Australia) and decided to go for a run. I found the fire escape stairs and thought these would surely take me to the street (otherwise what was the point of having a fire escape?).
I came out of the fire escape into a car park on the first floor (i.e. one floor above ground level), and as the door closed behind me, I was reading a sign that said ‘This car park will be closed until 6.00 am.’
I checked to see if the door to the fire escape I had just exited was unlocked, but of course it was locked … with me in a car park that wouldn’t be opened for another eleven hours!
Fortunately, there was a part of the car park that was open to the outside, but of course it was one floor above the garden I could see by looking over the edge of the open area.
I decided to try to escape this unintended prison by doing a ‘reverse chin-up’ (aka pull-up). So I placed my hands on the top of the wall and gradually lowered myself into the ‘down’ position of a chin-up. I then allowed myself to drop to the garden, which was about a metre below my feet while I was in the down position.
The garden had been recently dug over, and the soil was soft, so I didn’t break any bones.
I then went to Reception to tell the young lady what had happened, and to ask why the fire escape didn’t allow me to get onto the street.
Instead of sympathising, and saying something would be done about it, she asked me if felt that I had to use the stairs rather than the lift.
I pointed out that this wasn’t relevant—I should have been safe taking the fire escape, for heaven’s sake!
The conversation continued along similar lines for some time before I gave up and realised I was talking to someone who was either a moron, or who didn’t care that, through no fault of his own, one of the hotel’s guests had been placed in a position where he might have had to spend the night locked in a car park!
I went into the Marine Corps in 1966 during the Vietnam War. But at the same time our country was also going through the Civil Rights Movement. About 50% of us were racists and the other 50% weren’t a whole lot better. People stayed in their racially divided communities. And many made racist statements about the Vietnamese and many white boys joked about blacks/mexicans taking their place in the draft. Mainly because we did not mix much and few cared about people different than themselves going to the draft.
In boot camp I soon learned we had boys from all over the USA. Those of us who only knew people in our little towns suddenly were surrounded by boys from New York, the deep South, surfing boys from the west and a mix of white/blacks/browns. Boot camp is a powerful experience. Very physically and mentally tiring and often under the stress we would start shoving or wrestling with each other. Sometimes this took on racial overtones. But we all survived boot camp and moved on.
The most important part of the person on person experience was my tour in Vietnam. I was a grunt, an infantryman. As hard as it is to believe I never spent a day in a base camp or in those plywood cities. All my time was in the field. Now if you know war you will learn you spend hours working and bored to death. So while you are spending time filling sandbags or sitting around the campfire with marshmallows you talk with your fellow Marines…a lot. We talk about our families, our girlfriends, our cars, etc. You soon learn we are all almost alike. Very little difference. And we were able to talk racial politics, and unlike civilians who love to hate each other, our talks were usually civilized. You don’t usually fight people who you hope will save you tomorrow. And there is nothing that matches the feeling of seeing one person raised in a racist environment put his life on the line to save a grunt of a different color. You will never see that happen, but I did. Many times.
One fact I learned was the difference between northern blacks and southern blacks. In the south we would often work together but would go back to our segregated communities at night. In the north they had their ghettos and were required to stay there for work, church, home, etc. Blacks moved north during WWII for work and to get away from the southern Jim Crow laws. But they ran into more racism. And stuffed into ghettos with other blacks and were pretty much warned not to leave their areas. My squad leader was a black from Philadelphia and he claimed he never saw a white person until he was about eight. All the businesses, teachers, cops, firemen, etc were black and few whites drove through their ghetto. In the south blacks and white mingled, up north that rarely happened.
When you spend nearly a year with the same people. And you hear their sacrifices and dreams and loves you soon learn we are much more alike than different. And though we had many racists, both white and black, they changed and were quite willing to sacrifice themselves for a Marine of a different color. It was an incredible feeling. Then you returned home, where civilians love to fight over minor problems and are encouraged to hate each other for political gain. Give me the Corps and combat any day….and to be surrounded by heroes of all colors. How can you not be proud of the courage and sacrifice I saw everyday?
I hate to admit it, but when a very attractive woman gets stopped, she is far less likely to get a ticket than an average looking person does. I always used to argue with the guys who let attractive women off. My point being, if you met her in a bar, she wouldn’t even give you the time of day.
As a sort of karma thing, I decided to exercise very little discretion whenever I stopped an attractive woman for violating a traffic law.
One day, I stopped a woman for speeding, and as I approached her window I noticed that she was even beyond attractive. On a scale of 1–10, she was a 12.
I asked her for her license, registration, and insurance card, which she handed to me.
But the entire time I stood there looking over her credentials, she never even looked at me or acknowledged my existence. As I continued to review her credentials, I noticed that she was holding her hand out the window, palm up. It took me a second to figure out what she was doing, then I finally realized she was waiting for me to hand her credentials back to her so she could leave, as I assume had always been the case whenever she was stopped previously.
When I said, “I’ll be with you in a minute” and began to walk back to my patrol car with her credentials in my hand, the only word I can think of to describe her reaction was apoplectic.
I swear, I’m really not a jerk, but I can’t think of any other summons I ever issued that gave me more pleasure.
A prestigious scientific journal contacted me and asked if I was willing to referee a paper which claimed to solve a long-standing open problem in mathematical physics. They also said there was something fishy about the paper.
And indeed there was. I had seen an earlier version of the paper some time before which contained far less spectacular results, so something certainly had changed. The essence could be found in one large and detailed remark near the end of the article which was added “after the author suddenly had seen how to solve the entire problem.”
It was exactly — word for word — the reasoning I had explained on a blackboard during a lecture about four months earlier at an international conference where the author also had been present and even had posed many questions after my lecture, because he did not understand the subtleties.
Unfortunately for him, there were other researchers in the audience — nearly a hundred of them — and many of them had seen me explaining my solution to him. Many of them knew. And what was even worse: I had written up and submitted my proof long before the author had secretly made the revision to his paper, totally plagiarizing me.
So he was caught.
And consequently he became very mad at me, because he had been caught big time in the very act of scientific cheating, and he simply could not cope with that. And so he still blamed me in the end instead of looking in the mirror —
In a nutshell, the very nature of cheaters, I guess.
Unless it’s fair play it’s worthless. Fair play is everything. End of.
Queueing is also everything. See 2.
I am very polite (most of the time). See 2.
I reserve the phrase ‘you fucker’ and ‘you twat’ for my best friends and they do the same. That amount of respect is earned.
Almost everything I say should not be taken literally. It will mostly be p*ss taking banter.
Did I mention fair play. The first person to call a snooker foul is oneself everytime. I’m related to Joe & Fred Davis and grew up in the next village. Billiards. British.
The first thing I will notice about you will be the social indicators that determine your class. If you are British you will do the same. It is absolutely impossible to fool you.
If you knock me I will apologise.
I thank the bus driver. Without fail. See 4.
I know my national team is not going to win the Football World Cup.
I know my team will lose on penalties to the Germans. See 11. This is England only.
I’ve been in more pubs than I care to remember. That’s because whether I care or not I am not capable of remembering half of them. When I go out, I go out out. Friday night and Saturday night in Britain (and Ireland) is like nowhere else on earth. Nowhere. British high streets at 5pm are civilised and genteel. A few hours later they are rivers of intoxication, pavement pizzas, kebab spillage, burger vans,fighting and police vans. When you’re young nowhere else on Gods earth is this much fun or this drunk. My foreign friends. You may read this long rambling list and pick out some that you say ‘we do this too’ Well not this one. This is ours. This is our defining characteristic. Not Wimbledon or Lords or the Proms. Getting this many people pissed at the same time twice a week ( ok yes..Thursdays as well) Getting this many people pissed out of their heads three times a week, week in week out is quintessentially British.
If the food you serve me tastes horrible I will tell you it was lovely.
I moan a lot. We are experts at it. It’s part of our health routine.
I know what mizzle is and I like it.
Chips, curry sauce, tray, wooden fork.
Tea bag, boiling water THEN milk.
I will watch the weather forecast three times a day. Each will be completely different. On any day I will have layered clothes suitable for everything from summer to winter.
With a quarter of an inch of snow I won’t be able to get to work.
I have a square of green in front of my house (this is sadly dying out)
I will never ever use the square of green in 21. for recreational purposes. If anyone does, they will put a sofa on it and paint the house number in emulsion on the house and bin. You may think your nations hardest criminals are hard but these people are like Jim Carrey crossed with Terminator. Their Grandads were this hard and this mental, the Germans reconnaissance didn’t pick up on our secret weapon. They didn’t understand the significance of those front garden sofas in their recon photos. Btw before you write in I know it’s a settee, I was being snobby for a minute.
I expect my policemen and policewomen to talk to me like they are a good friend. And they almost always will. My mam still calls them the bobbies. British.
My beer must have a head.
The italian waiter with the huge pepper grinder hovering over my wife is held with both contempt and awe.
The first thing I will do when you come to my house is ask you if you want a cup of tea.
If you invite me to your house and don’t offer me a cup of tea I will never forget but I will never mention it to you.
I stand up and offer my seat for older people and pregnant women. Always (except on the Tube where it can be seen as an insult) It doesn’t matter what your race is I will stand for you.
Not offering an older person a seat (if it’s not possible) leaves me feeling very uncomfortable. See 27. See 4.
I love multiculturalism and eat so many different kinds of foods and meet so many different nationalities of people most days.
If you boast and brag I will not be impressed. In fact I will think you are a complete knob for doing it.
In 1665 in the village of Eyam in Derbyshire the bubonic plague struck, having been brought from London by accident. Villagers made the selfless choice to quarantine themselves and thus give up any chance of help. My relatives (on my Dad’s side) the Hancocks were villagers in Eyam and they were part of the agreed self imposed isolation. They did not leave to spread the plague across Derbyshire and the North of England. That could have led to millions of deaths. They stayed put and awaited their fate. My relative Elizabeth Hancock survived but buried six children and her husband in only 8 days. The village suffered hundreds of deaths but many survived including the village grave digger. Nobody ran away, nobody. That’s a little bit of British history I’m connected to and I’m proud of it… The village of the damned
I will support the underdog (except if Forest are playing)…in anything whatsoever irrespective of the nationality, gender, age etc.I have a come back for everything, except the dreaded tut. A well timed tut can crucify me. I’m British. It’s our achilles heel. If you’re not British you won’t be able to deliver the precise tut required. The precisely delivered tut is devastating.If you are waiting at a zebra crossing I will stop. Every time. Without fail. However if you wave thank you I will tense up like a camels bum in a sandstorm. The slightest of nods as you avoid eye contact and a little polite speed up of your walking at the end is perfect. A subtle raised arm is acceptable but only from the elbow..never deliver the acknowledgement with a full arm raise unless you are the lollipop man/woman/transition person. Not acknowledging is sinful. If you’re the only person crossing and you don’t acknowledge me I will deem you the devils spore but drive politely on and bore my wife about you when I get home.I’m in a mixed race marriage. It never enters my head. Same for my friends also in mixed race marriages. I eat better food now.My class can’t change no matter how much I earn or social climb. Only one mistake out of a million indicators will be a complete and irrefutable give away.If i want to invent something I don’t crowd fund or try to contact Elon Musk, I just pop into the shed.Chips are chips and crisps are crisps.I know l
oads about British history but only know three historical dates. For some reason they all end in sixty six.
It’s 73 years after WWII yet I still keep loads of tins in the cupboard (as trained by my parents)……..cos you never know.
I’m heterosexual but I love a bit of spotted dick.
I eat food using a knife and fork. At certain points I use the back of my fork and push food onto it with the knife, which I do not hold like a pen.
Fannies are fannies and bums are bums.
Ooh matron!
I will quietly tut about the corruption in big business but if I see you driving in clear skies in broad daylight with your fog lights on…dear God help me.
The only fox news I listen to is on Countryfile.
The first time I saw a bidet I thought it was a wash basin for children. I still don’t know how you mount this contraption. Never will. British. Btw while we’re on the subject what’s that little diddy shower you see abroad.
I don’t squat. Our British achilles won’t allow it to happen after the age of 2. There are only three exceptions to this. The British achilles involuntarily stretch enough for a squat when we lose as a player in a Cup Final, when giving birth, and when stopping a red ball with big gloves on. Other than those, no squatting. You know what I’m saying. On we go….
I know you can’t beat a bit of Bully. RIP Jim.
My whole family and friends have had amazing medical treatment free at the point of delivery. And that’s amazing.
If I tell you that what you’ve said is interesting, it isn’t.
I think you will understand me if I speak slower and louder.
If you want me to feel really awkward praise me. I’ll automatically then downplay whatever I’ve done or got.
First shoes…Clarks and that thing.
Shoes again…I married into a Chinese family 17yrs ago. You cannot walk on their floor with your shoes on. Bloody hell the looks I got! I now feel really naughty walking into other Brits houses when they insist there’s no need to take my shoes off to walk on their carpets. The flip side..seventeen years later I feel so awkward asking people to take their shoes off to come into our house. It never gets less awkward for all concerned. 17 years. Shoes. Floors.
I use Celsius for cold days and Fahrenheit for for hot ones (for the drama)
I consider baseball a childrens’ game called rounders.
I don’t know how to look cool in the evening in hot countries.
Kes and Naked are my favourite films.
I know how to light fork handles.
Don’t tell ’em yer name Pike!
Don’t mention the war.
I don’t belieeeeve it.
You plonker.
It’s good night from me, and it’s good night from him.
Bring me sunshine.
Spoon jar, jar spoon. Haaaaaa Haaaaa.
By jove! RIP. Nobody was ever more British.
Nice to see, you to see you nice. See 68.
He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty…
Woolworths. I know!
Consonant, vowel, consonent vowel.
I grew up in a pit village and watched Thatcher rip the heart out of British Industry with no care for a Plan B. She ushered in ‘greed is good’ and smashed communities to bits. I used to fitness train running up that Pit Tip as a kid. That’s british. Fuck you Thatcher. I grew up with Punk as well. It’s an attitude not a fashion. British.
I make a cracking Yorkshire Pudding.
On the hottest day of the year I see old women in winter coats.
Top of the shop, blind 90.
Forget international measurements created by Foreigners and well meaning scientists I know the unit of height for really tall things is Nelsons Column and the unit of length for really long things is the London bus. The unit of weight for really heavy things is the blue whale. Big areas are football pitches, medium areas are measured in number of tennis courts. Tiny things are measured by how many will fit onto a pin head. Horses are measured in hands, massive volumes are measured in how many old wembley stadiums would fit in it. Really heavy things are measured in elephants. If we have to use scientific measures it’s pounds up to 1 stone then it’s stones and pounds. If you tell me you weight 216lbs I will have no idea if you’re fat or thin until I’ve done the maths.
You must never ever ever use my driveway (next to my square of never used green) to do your three point turn. If you do then this may be the only time you see me resemble a grieving middle eastern woman.
I got a world class education in the 1980’s that cost my parents virtually nothing.
I don’t snog in public. I’m British not European for christ sake. Decorum please.
When I started work I was asked to get a tin of tartan paint, a long stand, a spirit level bubble and a draughtsman’s license. Standard British.
If you win the race and tell me so I will hate you but if you tell me that you came last and had to walk half of it I will love you.
I’ve bought two houses in my life. Both times on day one I walked in and ripped some feature/part straight out of the house and chucked it away. Apparently that’s what we all do when we buy a house. Day one.
My dog has 6 nick-names.
Get down Shep.
I can tell where in Britain you’re from by what you call a bread cob.
I know that you’re not posh if you say scone the posh way.
I know if you finish work at 4:30 or 5:30 depending whether your white vehicle is a van or a car.
I know you are middle class because you never roll your shirt sleeves above your elbows. I know you’re working class because you never roll them below.
I know you are either upper middle class or lower working class because none of your furniture matches and you couldn’t care less.
My Great Uncle was a small unassuming thin man. Very cheerful and always made me feel special (I was a small thin kid) He always used to tell me that they don’t make fat thoroughbreds. That made me feel good as a little football/rugby player. Imagine a cross between Prince Philip and Stanley Matthews, that was my Great Uncle Bill. I never heard him swear or raise is voice and he always dressed inmaculately. Now my uncle never ever mentioned the war. I’d always thought he’d just worked in a shop and a factory. At his funeral I found out he’d made 19 drops behind enemy lines in Burma to fight the enemy in the jungles. Not 1 or 2. That would be brave. No 19, he was a Para, it’s what he did and he never mentioned it. The last couple of days before he died he had visions of his para mates who died fighting with him in WWII and he had chats with them at the end of his bed. He had been a very funny bloke and used his humour to make me feel special. He was the special one not me. My Uncle Bill was as British as you can get and so were his mates and millions of lads like them.
I say please and thank you about a hundred times a day. I expect you to as well otherwise I will deem you rude. Sorry, I can’t help it; I’m British. Thank you for reading this.
If anyone got to the end of this then we now have to say goodbye. This now gets really awkward, I do swear and I apologise for this….
Ok you’re a man, maybe European…I’m not f*cking kissing you. End of. A polite handshake used to suffice but now we have to run the gauntlet of maybe hug awkwardly whilst avoiding touching tips.
Ok you’re a woman…do I shake your hand, give you a hug, give you one kiss, two kisses, three kisses? I’ll tell you what I’ll make sure I’m in my shed inventing a Wallace & Gromit invention when you’re leaving and I’ll just wave from the spiderweb covered window thus avoiding further social dis-ease.
You’ve gone…I can go back to check the weather forecast before I cut the front lawn, which is the only time that people passing are allowed to talk to me.
After the attack on Bilhorod, Russias Defence Ministry decided to strike away at Ukraines Air Defenses and force them to deplete their own stock of Missiles
Ukraine was launching S-200 missiles, Neptune Missiles, Tochka Us, Himars, Scalp and Storm Shadow missiles on Russian Territory at Bilhorod and Crimea and Donetsk
Russia never hit Civilians in their SMO and only focused on Strategic Targets yet Ukraine helpless militarily kept shelling Civilian territories
However when they used Cluster Munitions on Civilians at Bilhorod killing Women and Children who had come to celebrate New Year
Russia decided to destroy everything Ukraine had of significance
Himars Launchers – Destroyed
Production facilities for Drones – Destroyed
Production facilities for Vests and Shoes – Destroyed (Crucial in Winter)
Warehouse with Grains – Destroyed
7 Ammunition Depots – Destroyed
6 Fuel Depots – Destroyed
6 Air field runways – Destroyed
It was destruction on a scale previously never seen in the SMO
For the first time a Hotel with 66 Nato mercenaries were killed including high ranking officers
Ukraine Air defenses were OVERWHELMED
Russia launched 276 Missiles and 340 Geran Drones, and Ukraine had to fire everything they had to prevent damage
They ended up firing over 170 Missiles which was 40% of their total stock and had to see terrible damage wreaked by the Geran Drones and the remaining 156 missiles that got through (120 were intercepted)
The Russians found that the Air Defence primarily consisted of S-300s and S-200s but identified the location of Patriot Systems from the Missile trajectories
Homing in on the Location, they fired Kinzhals and destroyed 3 Patriot Systems completely today
The systems were shattered
The Launchers are gone, the control system is gone
This strategy to saturate air defence and identify the location of strategic air defence systems like Iris T or Patriot and then hit them with hypersonics has been BRILLIANT
It’s exactly what Hezbollah is doing with Israeli Iron Dome systems
Saturate Israel with cheap missiles and force Israel to use their expensive $ 500K – $ 2 Million Missiles or face an explosion that would kill 1–5 people and cause chaos
Russia, China, Iran have a huge advantage because they can produce and manufacture thousands of cheap drones and saturate the airspace
Meanwhile Russian Army effortlessly marches on and grinds on, going on a forward offensive
Ukraines Army has long since stopped giving any challenge
Ukraines only option is to strike long range missiles onto Russian Territory and hope Russian Civilians are so frightened that they force Putin to a ceasefire
Instead the Russians are furious
Russians have comprehensively voted to hang Zelenskys wife and kids with him for what he did to those kids in Donetsk and Bilhorod
Russians are angrier than ever and not at Putin
They want more blood now and Putin is the only civilized man between Russian Rage & Ukraine
Medvedev would wipe out every house in Kiev by mid morning if he was in charge.
Two mirrors. My husband and I divorced after 22 years. He thought there was something better. Maybe there was.
He had lost his job 12 years earlier and never quite recovered. I had been a stay at home Mom with a small income teaching paralegals part time. It was a killer trying to replace his income as he was a quite powerful CFO of a large company and any marriage was lost in my working and still raising kids while he fell in a bottle.
He wanted the house. Frankly, I didn’t care. I moved a lot as a kid. I did not develop attachments to places or things, only people. His first offer was that he get everything but my IRA including my solely owned business. I was hurt and indignant. Then I decided that it was a good plan. I knew he would fail and I never wanted to hear that Dad would have been okay if I hadn’t taken…..In return he was to put the girls through college and pay for their weddings. ( They had about 100k in college funds)
Well, in two years he lost the business. He put the girls through college but I had to chip in half on the weddings. After a few years he had to sell the house.
I had moved a few hours away but I was in town when the house was being shown as a “ fixer upper”. It was so sad and dreary. It was lifeless. I could not believe it was the house where I raised my girls.
In the master bath was a long marble vanity with sinks on each end. The mirrors were framed and hung. My mirror was pristine. The paint was perfect, the mirror unflawed and it looked brand new. I had used that mirror every day for 22 years. Then I saw his and felt shock through my body. The paint was peeling and worn. The mirror had bad spots. The corners were chipped. It hung a little lopsided. I had cleaned and polished both mirrors for 22 years. When I left they were the same. How could 6 years have changed one so much.
I left very sad. He did not live long. He just sort of withered away. He moved to where my girls and I lived to be close to the grand kids but rarely saw them. When I think of him, there is no anger. Just sadness. I’ve had a full life of work and family since the divorce. My grandkids all live with in 5 miles.
Life is strange. We were just sort of like two mirrors.
ZALIX, psychic mutant sci-fi film directed by Philip K. Dick in 1978, unedited footage 1
This movie is a real trip. Only 12 minutes long. WTF!
It was a flared top hat and it was the coolest thing. It fit me perfectly. I mean it. It was a genuine antique… beaver fur. Awesome. Black, and awesome. Maybe something like this. Only black, not a faded black. And not so high. Maybe about 80% of that height.
It was AWESOME!
It fit me well.
I was at a bargain basement store in Attleboro, Massachusetts and found it at the far end of a rack of brick a brack.
I really don’t know what happened to that hat, but I sure miss it.
I used to wear it all the time, and man oh, man did I get a lot of thumbs up and smiles as I walked on the sidewalks of Boston.
Apple is not really the issue. The U.S. government and politicians are the trouble maker that caused Apple’s demise. And your media is the one that caused your U.S. businesses to suffer.
Apple is a smart company under Steve Jobs. It has a great strategy. They made good products and they made smart decision to make their products in China. That derived benefit from the best of both western and eastern world. They made a killing in China’s humongous market China and the Chinese people help make a good product that sell at a price affordable yet Apple still made boat loads of money.
All is well until the U.S. politicians thought
foolishly it could contain and control China through decoupling, de-risking, friends shoring and instead it is the U.S. companies that is slowly decoupling from the world! Never mind China! China is Apples biggest market even including the U.S. market!
If you take US out, China itself is a bigger market then the next 10 biggest market combined. So when the U.S. start the trade war and make Apple friend shoring its product quality is hit hard and trust by its customers suffer. Next by its knee capping action on Huawei they retaliated. And today Huawei are bringing out products that beat Apple in specifications and features yet it is cheaper.
The unfair actions that the U.S. did on China, turn off Chinese world wide. Most choose Huawei to hit back at the U.S. The rest is history. Everything the U.S. throw at China, China will reciprocate fairly and appropriately. I hope the U.S. will learned a lesson. But it is full of itself. So the U.S. will choose implosion. If you are smart hold your government responsible.
Stop asking about Chinese government, Chinese are the fairest nation. They were happy to share its market and enjoy win win. But since the U.S. choose win lose, let’s see who loses!
My father was the foreman in a shop that sold tombstones, mausoleums, vaults, and the like. One day during tobacco-selling season, when farmers were flush with cash, a couple came by the shop to buy a family monument. My father showed them various stones on display. They selected a very fine granite monument. He looked up the price. They paid him in cash. That night, when he got home, he told my mother that he and I needed to make a trip, so we wouldn’t be having dinner. We drove the company truck many miles up into the mountains, into a county where strangers were definitely not welcome — it was moonshine territory. We stopped at various grocery stores, asking directions, to find the family that had bought the monument. At one store, he bought some saltine crackers, pork and beans, and some Vienna sausage. That was our dinner. When we finally found the family, he said, “I made a mistake. I looked at the wrong monument in the catalog. I overcharged you.” He handed them a stack of bills. As I recall (some 60-odd years later), $60. On the way home, I asked him why he had spent upwards of three hours driving around looking for those people. After all, I said, they didn’t know they’d been overcharged. Although he had superb grammar, he phrased his answer in an odd way: He said, “Son, a man has to do what’s right.” To this day I remember, and try to follow, his advice: “Do what’s right.”
Donald Trump wins the US Election and secures a second term. Joe Biden loses and will be stepping down in January 2025.
Trump is angry and unhinged, out for revenge after his loss in 2020 and the many betrayals he suffered.
In office he begins to become authoritarian and anti Trump protests turn violent. They clash with Trumps supporters. Eventually the country begins to pull itself apart and Trump brings in military help to secure peace. Factions of the military refuse to use force on US civilians. Others taking orders from pro Trump generals are willing to. The US enters a civil war where the pro Trump supporters are backed by elements of the military loyal to Trump. Other elements back the pro democracy anti Trump civilians.
The other way it could happen, with similar results is Trump loses in November 2024. He calls the election rigged like in 2020. Only this time he manages to get some states to declare him winner even though he lost there. Suddenly the election itself feels pointless. Democracy had collapsed as Trump could be claiming the white house through a corrupt electoral college and supreme Court. Biden sticks to the white house but the public are split. Half believe the Trump lies and the other half are loyal to Biden the genuine winner. Clashes again erupt and civil war breaks out as things escalate.
Now in either case, US allies will be terrified and scrambling amongst themselves to see what can be done. The EU is even worried about the upcoming US election. The USA is no longer seen as stable democracy and guaranteed partner.
The US entering a civil war tanks the global economy. Overnight the US economic system fails. Wall Street goes into self destruct mode.
The US Dollar collapses.
Companies in the US start to fail. Companies with a big presence overseas like Apple, Coca Cola, Ford, Pfizer, Google etc would all enter self preservation mode. They’d begin to move all crucial operations to their outposts and regional headquarters in Europe, South America, Japan etc. The USA no longer a stable market to operate in. They’d be hoping this is temporary but it will depend on the wars outcome.
The collapse of the US economy and the massive depression the world enters after this, sees huge unemployment across the world and increasing anger at the US from the public in Europe, Japan and Canada etc.
As people in US allied nations begin to feel extreme economic fallout, think the great depression of 1929 to 1934, but worse maybe, social unrest spreads globally.
In parts Africa and less developed parts of the world, aid is cut off. Food and economic assistance donated from rich countries stops. Famines could break out in the most fragile places in the world as the rich nations try to deal with their own issues.
The Euro will emerge as the new reserve currency of the world. Its already secondary reserve.
But the crisis will see economies on Europe and everywhere fragile for years. Massive unemployment and protests. Peoole struggling to stay afloat. People who were middle class suddenly working class. The working class now some falling into total poverty. Even millionaires would see their fortunes massively shrink.
Banks would fail. There’s no way to protect them all. That’s going to eat into people’s savings globally. Currencies like bitcoin and other crypto will become increasingly popular as the Euro and Yen, the two remaining “semi stable” currencies won’t be trusted fully.
The US would expect aid from its allies. But aid would be limited. Its highly unlikely the EU, UK, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Mexico etc will risk going full on war mode to support who they see as the true government of the USA as the US is a nuclear armed state and there would be extreme worry that hostile movies against the non democratic government could lead to attacks on allies by the illegitimate government who will be in control of some regions of the nation and thus some of the military.
Ultimately, the world would sit back and hold its breath waiting to see what happens with deep fear. But it will be accepted the era of the US as global Superpower is over.
So we come to the next issue. Amongst the economic chaos on social unrest, a power vacuum exists. Who’s in charge now the US is too busy fighting itself? The EU and UK would step up fast as the new centre of the developed and democratic world with their allies in Australia and Japan etc backing them. Europe would be forced to act as the light of democracy and freedom.
China and Russia won’t be having any of that. With the US distracted and Europe weakened, they will go on power hungry mode. Russia would see a weak Europe with no US to back it. Whilst Russia is also weakened, the government will be less worried about its people than Europe. Russia will make big moves to grab land. Its probable they’d use their military and even their weapons of mass destruction no longer fearing a US response, to annex former soviet nations like Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Belarus etc. They may even try grab EU territory in the Baltics but I doubt they’d try take all 3 EU nations as they know a weak EU is still a nuclear armed entity.
China would do the same. Its going to take advantage of the situation to grab Taiwan, a bunch of small Japanese islands of tactical importance. Probably will make moves into other parts of South East Asia too.
Chaos would reign for years. New Empires and regional wars emerging. Increased isolation too as nations work on self preservation and improving their own standing in the world.
A decade on, the world will have recovered at least partially. The world economy will have adapted to a world where the US no longer exists as one single country or economy or as one country with a much smaller economy.
The western world would unite together to try make up for the loss of the USA as it fears an emboldened Russia and China more than ever.
I’d imagine the EU, UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada etc would all try form a new version of NATO, one thats global and more armed than before probably. A military and economic alliance to prevent China in particular establishing itself as undisputed world power.
Russia would see its global importance grow again. With Europe fearing it will take more lands in far Eastern Europe or Asia. China would be the largest single economy and the largest military in the world. But the United democratic western nations will be banded together to rival it.
The world would enter a cold war. The western nations vs China which will probably ally with Russia.
The US will emerge as either authoritarian or democratic. Time would tell. Perhaps even as 2 or 3 smaller nations with differing poltical systems. But it would remain a nuclear armed nation/nations so chances are both sides of this new cold war would try get this new version of the USA to back them. But it will be economically weak for a while to come.
Countries in South America would grow more important also. Brazil and Mexico would become regional powers in the Western Hemisphere.
Overall you’d end up with a radically changed global economic system. A weaker US in whatever form it takes. A multi polar world with 3 or 4 superpowers trying to gain the upperhand leading to a new cold war. Instead of communism vs capitalism this one will be democracy vs authoritarianism.
Years ago, my soon to be ex husband and I were in the last and final attempt of trying to come to a guardianship agreement over our 3 small children before it went to supreme court. (a place I DID NOT want to go).
So there in the room, was the judge, his secretary, my ex and I.
Almost every question the judge asked my ex was answered with a lie. I never said anything, but the tears wouldn’t stop welling in my eyes. All I could think was, “why can’t this man for once, just set his anger and stupid pride aside, and just agree to the wishes of what our children want?”
The judge finally looked at me and said, “What are your desires for how this should be settled?”
My response: “I just want what’s best for our kids. I believe it should be up to them if they want to visit him or not… I don’t believe they should be forced.”
Judge: “You are very quiet and I detect no animosity from you, I want to ask you why there has been a communication breakdown between you and your husband.”
Me: “Because when I try to talk to him, he just yells.”
“THAT IS A LIE !!!” My ex yells at the TOP of his lungs..
The judge ruled “Visitation to be granted as per the children’s wishes.”
Marriage IS NOT An Option In THE WEST Get Your Passport
I had a nice truck stolen in 85. Needed brakes in the worst way. The transmission was slipping a little. It got stolen Christmas Eve. On Valentine’s Day the wife and I went out to eat for dinner. As we waited for the valet on the way out my truck pulls up. I told my wife to wait for our car as I got in my truck.
A woman had gotten in on the passenger side as I slid in on the drivers side. I was already calling the police. The woman became quite flustered. I told the police where I was and that I was driving to them. We got there in a minute. I had shushed the woman many times.
We get to the station, I tell the police woman what was going on. She asked who the woman was. I told her the woman was my witness that I had not shot the man who had stolen my truck. I also told her that the woman was probably these thieves wife or girlfriend. She asked the woman what the man’s name was who had stolen the truck. The woman said that her boyfriend and his brother had stolen the truck. The police woman then did a quick search for drugs in the truck, wrote a quick report, gave me an amended case number, and let me go about my way. While she was doing that one of the other officers put my ignition switch back into the column.
The girlfriend wasn’t charged with anything. Enough evidence was found in the truck to convict the boyfriend and the brother of the lady. There were no drugs found in the car. However under the seat or several nice pistols and a short shotgun. I had the police check them for theft and was allowed to keep all of them. The funny thing is was that the brakes have been fixed and the transmission had been serviced. I put another 200,000 miles on that truck over the next 10 years.
Andrew Tate Explains Why Men Should NEVER Get Married
I was an “executive-level” individual contributor at a Fortune 50 company, working in the IT field. My job required me to be accessible 24 hours a day, and to have conference calls with extended team members spread all over the world on a regular basis. Many days, I would be on a conference call at 4 AM with someone on the far side of the globe, spend a full day at work, and then be on yet another international call at 9 PM. This was an almost-daily occurrence. I was required to be on all these calls, and could not possibly take them all in my office, so my manager (and our VP) went through a laborious “exception” process to get the company to reimburse me for my cell phone usage, so I could make those calls from wherever I was at the time. My cell phone bill at the time averaged about $100 a month.
This went very well for 2–3 years, and then a new CFO arrived. She saw my expense sheet, and called me to determine why I was charging the company for my personal cell phone. I explained the rationale, and the exception process used to obtain approval through our VP. She did not like this at all, and said so in our conversation. So about a month later, a new T&E policy addendum came out: Effective immediately, company reimbursement for cell phones was to be prorated based on the percentage of the expense that was business-related (versus personal). A spreadsheet was provided, and anyone seeking reimbursement for business use of their personal cell phone was now required to complete and submit the spreadsheet with each month’s reimbursement form.
Completing this spreadsheet required us to go through the monthly phone bill, enter the total number of calls and total minutes for those calls. We then had to transcribe the data for each and every business call, documenting who was called (or who called you) and the business reason for the call. The spreadsheet then totalled up the number of minutes for each business call, divided that by the total minutes used that month. That ratio was used to determine the “business-to-personal” ratio, which determined our percentage of reimbursement. When I talked to the CFO about this form, she actually admitted that her purpose in creating it was to make the process so odious that employees would prefer to bypass reimbursement, rather than spending the time and effort to seek reimbursement.
That just didn’t sit right with me, so as a matter of principle, I would dutifully complete the form each month, spending the 2–3 hours required to transcribe the data from paper to spreadsheet to document that my cell phone usage was 98% business. Every month. Without fail. The average “savings” to the company for the 2–3 hours I spent completing the reimbursement form was under $2. Up to that point in time, there were only 15–16 people who were approved for cell phone reimbursement. All of us stood our ground, based on principle, and continued to file for reimbursement.
The average company savings from this new policy: Well under $50 per month – world wide. Of course, those 15–16 people collectively lost about one week of productivity in time wasted completing the new forms. The CFO, of course, saw it as a “2% reduction in cell phone expenses” and loudly proclaimed the program a cost-reduction success. But not so fast…
The first “unintended consequence” of the new policy was a wave of increased cell phone expense reimbursement, as EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE who had a cell phone began submitting for reimbursement of their prorated business use. Apparently, thousands of employees had been using their cell phones for business use for years with no avenue for reimbursement… But the new T&E policy had purposely dropped the “exception approval” requirement in an effort to “regain control over expenses…”
At first, the CFO was shocked and chagrined at the huge increase in cell phone expense, but a company survey (coincidentally conducted shortly after the new policy took effect) showed this new policy was a major morale booster, since it allowed workers to have better “work / life balance” than before. Once the survey results were in, the CFO claimed that had been her “secondary” motivation for the new policy, and declared “victory” yet again.
The funny thing is that her bragging about the success of this “morale boosting initiative” was to create even more awareness of the reimbursement program, which in turn led to the second unintended consequence: Very quickly, the employees began using their cell phones almost exclusively, rather than the “land lines” installed at their desks. These were intelligent people, and they quickly realized that having more business calls meant larger reimbursements, so they began using their cell phones as much as possible to drive up the business use percentage… It became common for an employee to use their cell phone to call a co-worker’s cell phone – even when both were sitting at their desks right next to their office phone. Doing so meant that their “Business-to-Personal” ratio was higher, and they would receive larger reimbursements at the end of the month.
There were nearly 10,000 white-collar workers affected by this policy, and almost all of them had a cell phone by this time. Anyone who did not have a cell phone soon obtained one, because the company was basically paying for it, and they didn’t want to be the only “non-cool” person on their team… Over a six-month period after the new policy went into effect, corporate reimbursement for personal cell phone use increased from around $1,500 per month (pre-CFO) to well over $1 million/month.
Add to that the productivity hit from those same 10,000 employees spending 2–3 hours each month completing the stupid spreadsheet (on company time, of course) instead of doing their real jobs. With a stated corporate average salary of $107,000 per year for those white-collar employees, that new T&E policy cost the company at least $1.3 million a year in reduced productivity.
So because the CFO didn’t like the fact that a few key employees were “getting over” on the system, and with a claimed justification of potentially saving the company $18,000/year, a new policy was implemented that directly cost the company at least $12 million/year, and negatively impacted productivity to the tune of another $1.3 million/year.
As Bugs Bunny would say “What a maroon…”
Greek Croustade
Ingredients
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon crushed tarragon (optional)
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup creamed cottage cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
10 (17 x 12-inch) single phyllo dough sheets, thawed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
Instructions
Cook spinach according to directions; drain well, pressing out excess liquid. In saucepan, cook onion and garlic in 3 tablespoons butter or margarine until tender. Stir in flour, tarragon and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened. Stir half of mixture into eggs; return egg mixture into remaining sauce. Add cheeses and spinach; set aside.
Unroll phyllo dough; cover with dampened towel. Remove 1 sheet of dough; brush lightly with some of the 1/2 cup melted butter. Fold the sheet in thirds lengthwise; brush top with butter. Place one end of the folded sheet in center of a 12- or 14-inch pizza pan, extending it over the side of the pan. Repeat buttering of remaining phyllo dough, arranging strips spoke fashion evenly around pan. (The ends of sheets will overlap in center and be approximately 3 inches apart at outer ends.) Spread spinach mixture in an 8-inch circle in center of pastry. Starting with the last sheet of dough placed in pan, lift end of leaf up and bring toward center of filling. Holding end with both hands, twist ends several times; coil and tuck end under to from a rosette. Lay rosette over filling, leaving a 3-inch circle in center (center should be visible). Repeat with remaining in reverse order they were placed. Drizzle remaining butter over all.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden.
Samsung lost Chinese market share because they were shitty cunts.. In 2016 when the Samsung Note 7 burst into flames? Samsung offered refunds/replacements to EVERYBODY excluding China.
They made a video apology in English to Americans and also other languages to other users.
But sent a 200 word message to Chinese users eventually offering replacements.
Chinese people thought why should we buy stuff from a company that clearly hates us?
So Chinese people decided to buy other options and Samsung’s market in China collapsed never to recover again especially as non Samsung products (washing machines, televisions, cameras, vacuum cleaners etc) were available often for less money.
So likely Apple will not face the market collapse Samsung did but they’re losing market share because they’re not really adding anything new.
Apple are essentially doing this
This is from the Simpsons where Malibu Stacy gets a new hat and makes fans of the doll ignore the other doll completely.
Okay, so they want us to believe that the U.S. economy grew at a very brisk pace during the fourth quarter of 2023 even though mass layoffs are happening all over America, sales of previously owned homes are at the lowest level in 28 years, homelessness is rising at the fastest pace ever recorded, and survey after survey is showing that most Americans are just barely scraping by from month to month. Needless to say, something does not add up. The American people are deeply frustrated with how the economy is performing, but the government keeps giving us numbers that indicate that everything is just great. On Thursday, we were told that the U.S. economy grew at a 3.3 percent annualized rate during the fourth quarter of 2023…
The economy grew at a much more rapid pace than expected while inflation eased in the final three months of 2023, as the U.S. easily skirted a recession that many forecasters had thought was inevitable, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produced, increased at a 3.3% annualized rate in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to data adjusted seasonally and for inflation.
That compared with the Wall Street consensus estimate for a gain of 2% in the final three months of the year.
If that number actually reflected reality, it would be very good news.
But how is it possible that layoffs were up 98 percent in 2023 while the U.S. economy was supposedly “growing” all year long?
To me, it appears that something fishy is going on.
And that is precisely what we see when we take a deeper look at the numbers. According to Zero Hedge, “GDP-boosting gimmicks” are being employed to make things look better than they actually are…
Turning to the all important consumption, we can’t help but smile when noticing that the BEA is again resorting to such favorite GDP-boosting gimmicks of the old Obama administration as spending on healthcare and… RVs! The two contributed to roughly half the growth in consumer spending in the fourth quarter.
Other numbers that don’t come from the Biden administration tell a much different story.
For example, the Chicago Fed’s National Activity Index was negative in December, and it has been negative for 8 of the past 12 months…
Against expectations of a small rise from 0.03 to 0.06, The Chicago Fed’s National Activity Index (which draws on 85 economic indicators) tumbled to -0.15 in December. 2023 ends with 8 of the 12 months in negative territory…
So how in the world can the economy be “growing” if national economic activity was in negative territory for two-thirds of last year?
It doesn’t make any sense at all.
And if the outlook for the future is positive, why are so many mass layoffs happening?
Business Insider had already conducted one round of mass layoffs, but they just decided that another round has become necessary…
In the latest wave of layoffs to hit the digital media biz, Business Insider said it will cut 8% of its staff in a restructuring aimed at positioning the company for growth.
Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng announced the job cuts in a memo to staffers Thursday. “We have already begun to refocus teams and invest in areas that drive outsize value for our core audience. Unfortunately, this also means we need to scale back in some areas of our organization,” she wrote.
Back when it first started, Business Insider was actually quite good.
But those days are long gone.
Microsoft is another big name that is putting large numbers of workers on the chopping block…
Microsoft will lay off 1,900 employees at Activision Blizzard and Xbox, the latest tech company to announce cuts so far in 2024.
The layoffs represent about an 8% cut of its video gaming staff of 22,000 workers and come months after Microsoft acquired Activision in a blockbuster deal. The $69 billion transaction in October represented one of the largest tech deals in history as Microsoft took over the studios behind bestselling games like Call of Duty, Diablo and Overwatch for its Xbox console.
IBM also said it will also cut a percentage of positions in the low single digits in 2024.
The planned job cuts follow similar announcements in January by major tech companies, including Alphabet’s Google and Amazon.com.
Chief financial officer James Kavanaugh said IBM will likely spend the same amount on restructuring as it did in 2023 – US$400 million – when it reduced its workforce by about 3,900 jobs.
Day after day, I share examples of very large companies that are conducting mass layoffs.
Why would they be doing this if tremendous prosperity is ahead of us?
It wouldn’t make any sense at all.
Of course the truth is that an economic downturn has already begun and it is going to get even deeper in 2024.
Those on the bottom of the economic food chain are being hit the hardest. Earlier today, I was saddened to read about homeless people in California that are being evicted from caves that they had dug into the banks of a river…
Rough sleepers in California were found living inside furnished caves dug into the banks of a river 20 feet below street level.
The groups were removed from the eight caves – along the Tuolumne River in Modesto – over the weekend, and they were emptied of belongings, furniture and 7,600 lbs of rubbish, filling two trucks and a trailer.
Some of the caves were decorated with murals, had broken floor tiles and one even had a makeshift fireplace with a chimney.
There are countless others just like them all over the country.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that homelessness was rising at the fastest pace ever recorded in 2023.
But don’t worry about any of that.
According to Joe Biden and his minions, the U.S. economy is growing steadily and everything is just great.
You believe them, don’t you?
Men Caused One Of The Largest Bridal Companies To Go Bankrupt… It’s OVER!
Yeah, for some reason I terribly overslept and was three hours late to work.
I felt quite bad about the whole thing. This was before mobile emails were a thing and I called in saying that I would be late. So, I walked into the office around 12 PM hoping to avoid colleagues seeing me that late. The first people I saw were the CEO and a bunch of other senior guys, all gathered around my cubicle.
“Ok, this is my last day in this job,” I thought.
However, the CEO looked at me, relieved, and said “Good morning. Good to see you were late.” Quite an unusual greeting.
Only then did I realize what had happened. The hinges holding a huge office air conditioner above my cubicle had failed, and it had gone down right into my seat. The monitor was smashed in two parts, there was a huge bend in the tower case, and the indestructible Cherry keyboard had a few keys missing and a dent in the middle of the metal pad.
The air conditioner had fallen at around 11 am, and I came to the office at 12 pm.
I worked at a company that had a very public but unofficial policy of firing people if they started talking to recruiters or interviewing and they found out. They were a nice company, employee loan, good benefits, even a private pension plan.
I had already been recruited (using my personal email, of course) to take a job out of state. The company I was going to was moving me, paying off my employee loan, signing bonus, the whole red carpet thing.
I asked my boss at this nice company when she would have time to meet privately, she said 11, I usually got to work about 6, and arrived to find an email from a recruiter I’d never heard of before at my corporate address with a low ball job offer. I just laughed and deleted it.
About 9am, my boss, my boss’s boss and the head of HR came in carrying boxes. My boss said “it’s not working out, we’re letting you go.”. I played dumb, go where… she tried a few more “soft phrases” so I said after 3 years and 5 days, it’s suddenly not working out? you’re going to have to use the “F” word. The HR lady sensed something was up, but didn’t have time to stop my boss. My boss said, “we’re firing you, we don’t have to explain why.”
I said thank you and while she stood there looking puzzled, I said “I don’t know who that recruiter was, but by firing me instead of letting me quit, I get one month of severance for each year I worked here, plus all my vacation, plus your policy is to give me two weeks vacation to “go on” immediately, so I have 4.75 months of pay, plus, since I worked for more than 3 years, I vest into the pension program at that level. Really I owe whoever sent that email….
At that point my boss turned to HR lady and said wait, what? Hr lady waved her to silence and Said, you’d have to pay off your employee loan in full within three days…
I said, right. Picked up a cashier’s check off my desk and handed it to her. (It was to the penny) my boss’s boss finally spoke up and said wait, you already had a job? I said I’ve told you before, this policy is dumb. If I was a recruiter and I wanted to place one of your people, I’d send them an offer, wait, call them up and talk about a new job, now that they are unemployed. I’ll probably get a call this afternoon. (I did) Anyway, because you fired me. I get the money! I had in a CD to pay off the loan (I called it a lock pick for golden handcuffs) that check is from my new employer, 4 months 5 weeks of pay, and a sign on bonus (1 month), along with a moving bonus. I just put 6 months of pay in the bank, thanks guys, best firing ever!
Then a swept the stuff off my desk into one box, pointed to the stacks of stuff with post-its for other employees, showed all my drawers were empty and asked to be escorted to my car. My boss was still trying to figure out what happened while HR escorted me out, then I followed her to the main building, signed my exit paperwork, she took my badge and I was home by 10 to start packing.
It was awesome!
The Problem Ain’t The Cost Of Money – It’s The Cost Of Stuff!
New Year’s Eve, 1999 – a special time for Jo and me. We took our motor home to Key West, Florida. We celebrated the magic moment, the turn of a century, in front of (famous Ernest Hemingway hangout) Sloppy Joe’s Bar.
As the conch shell slid down the pipe, people yelled, “10-9-8-7″…until the clock struck midnight. Happy New Year! I kissed my bride and we headed back to the bus (hoping Y2k didn’t fry our computer).
The intimacy of a motor home provides a great opportunity for lots of conversation. 2000 was a personal milestone, I turned 60. Jo and I spent a lot of time reflecting; wondering what the future would bring.
I predicted we would recall the last decade as “The good old days.” Little did I know how right that would turn out to be.
What was so good about them?
Interest rates stabilized from the double-digit Volcker years. After a short 1990 recession, business was booming, moving quickly into the internet era.
While Clinton pushed through the largest tax increase in history, House Speaker Gingrich kept his campaign promise, holding the line on government spending; creating the last budget surplus we will likely ever see.
On January 1, 1990, the Fed funds rate was 8.25%, dropping to a low of 3% in 1992 and hovering in the mid-5% range for most of the decade.
With Volcker bringing inflation under control, interest rates stabilized and mortgages were affordable. CD and bond interest rates were above inflation.
Interest rates were not an impediment or incentive to doing business.
I was managing the money for both sets of parents. We invested in safe, secure investments. Their interest income, coupled with social security allowed them to live comfortably, without worry. Times were good.
What the heck happened?
A year later, 9/11 occurred, followed by huge government deficits, spending hundreds of billions for the never-ending “War on Terror.”
While Clinton took credit for boom times and balancing the budget, the effects of certain policy decisions were not yet evident.
Clinton prided himself on increasing homeownership for the poor and minorities. Banks were required to make loans to buyers with poor credit history – or they risked losing their charters. The banks complied, while screaming to the government they would fail if the process continued. Instead of tightening loan standards, government agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac were authorized to buy these risky loans from banks.
Banks no longer worried about the creditworthiness of the borrower. They added outlandish origination fees to the mortgage, while passing the default risk to the government (US taxpayer). Billions flowed into the housing sector.
Clinton pushed the 1999 repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, allowing banks to merge with brokerage firms. In a few short years, five banks controlled almost half the nation’s wealth.
These new casino banks jumped in, writing thousands of risky mortgages to all comers, many in excess of the value of the underlying property. They packaged these high-risk loans into fee-based products and peddled them to unsuspecting investors.
The movie The Big Short details how the rating agencies gave these mortgage packages improper ratings, creating an illusion of creditworthiness and safety.
The casino banks got bigger and gambled with trillions in derivatives.
“Derivatives are financial contracts, set between two or more parties, that derive their value from an underlying asset, group of assets, or benchmark. A derivative can trade on an exchange or over-the-counter. Prices for derivatives derive from fluctuations in the underlying asset.”
The repeal of Glass-Steagall’s created this monster. Famed (Big Short) investor Michael Burry warned Wall Street about the toxic loans, predicting a real estate crash. No one listened, they mocked him. The crash came, the casino banks (deemed, “too big to fail”) were bailed out with trillions of taxpayer dollars. The Fed flooded the banking system with credit and dropped interest rates to historic lows, well below the true inflation rate.
Their in-house trading (gambling with our money) continues. If they lose, taxpayers will cover their losses.
“Three Wall Street Mega Banks Hold $157.3 Trillion in Derivatives – That’s $56.7 Trillion More than the Entire World’s GDP Last Year”
Consumers, industry and governments binged on “free money;” borrowing and spending like there was no tomorrow! Experts warned inflation would follow; most were surprised it took so long.
After reaching double digits, heading toward Zimbabwe-type inflation, the Federal Reserve finally had little choice but to raise rates – not wanting citizens to storm the palace.
The current Federal Funds rate is 5.5%. Many cheap loans are now coming due and must be paid off or rolled over at a much higher rate.
Prices have exploded!
The Wall Street Journal recently reported the average monthly mortgage payment has soared to $3,322 from $1,787 since 2021. Why?
Interest rates were kept artificially low, mortgage rates have risen since the Fed brought interest rates back to pre-2008 normal.
“Homeownership has become a pipe dream for more Americans, even those who could afford to buy just a few years ago.
Many would-be buyers were already feeling stretched thin by home prices that shot quickly higher in the pandemic, but at least mortgage rates were low. Now that they are high, many people are just giving up.
…. Typically, high mortgage rates slow down home sales, and home prices should soften as a result. Not this time. Home sales are certainly falling, but prices are still rising—there just aren’t enough homes to go around. The national median existing-home price rose to about $392,000 in October, the highest ever for that month in data that goes back to 1999.
…. Buyers get a lot less home for their dollar. Before the Fed started raising rates, a person with a monthly housing budget of $2,000 could have bought a home valued at more than $400,000. Today, that same buyer would need to find a home valued at $295,000 or less.”
“Everyday Americans understand inflation perfectly. …. Inflation is one of the biggest concerns of those who live in the real world.
…. Here’s the reality and here’s the political narrative: Reality is that prices have been going up at the fastest rate in 40 years and they are still going up.
Inflation (on an annualized basis) was 9.1% in June 2022, 4.9% in April 2023, 3.7% in September 2023 and 3.1% in November 2023.
It’s true that the rate of inflation is coming down, but prices are still going up. They’re going up at a slower rate but they’re still going up.
…. The average price of a pound of ground beef in the U.S. was $5.11 in September 2023. In October 2023 the price of a pound of ground beef was $5.23. That’s a 2.3% increase on a month-over-month basis, which annualizes to over 25%.
That’s the kind of inflation that real Americans confront every day.
…. It is possible to use propaganda to lie to the American people; it can work in the short run. But inflation is not one of those areas where propaganda works. The American people know what things cost, they know prices are going up, and no amount of lies can change that.”
“Inflation is eroding workers’ gains. Three in 5 workers (60 percent) say their incomes haven’t kept pace with inflation over the past 12 months, up from 55 percent last year. For those who did receive a pay bump of some form, more than half (53 percent) said their incomes haven’t kept pace with inflation, up slightly from 50 percent last year.”
“Inflation makes the extension of socialism possible by providing the financial chaos in which it flourishes.”— Henry Hazlitt
Mark Hamrick, Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst adds:
“While inflation has come down, broadly speaking, prices have not. There is a…virtual sticker shock that continues to weigh on the minds and pocketbooks of consumers.”
“For the average working man, almost everything went up in price – except the real value of his major asset: his time. So, he had to spend more time to get the basics in life. Before the money switcheroo, he had to labor for about 4 years to buy a house, for example. Today, it will cost him more than 8 years of labor.”
The casino banks are screaming, profits are down, the Fed has to pivot and drop interest rates. Baloney! When Volcker pivoted, interest rates were double-digits and he pivoted back down to “normal.” Today’s rates are at historical “normal” – what worked for decades.
Lending cheap money to high credit risks (government included) creates the illusion of prosperity while creating terrible, inevitable inflationary consequences.
The cost of money ain’t the problem, it is the cost of stuff.
Leave rates alone, don’t make things worse. Volcker got us through a recession – things will work out once the excess debt is out of the system.
As always, politicians scream, “vote for me, I’ll fix the problem!” Ain’t gonna happen, no matter who wins the election. Without massive spending cuts and sanity in Washington, nothing will change. It’s no wonder many of us are holding on to our gold wishing for, “the good old days.”
17 Minutes Of Modern Women Having MELTDOWN Over Passport Bros
I didn’t see either of these personally, but I heard about them.
Number one: A US soldier on an exercise at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown – crew member on a tank – found a training anti-tank mine during a break in the exercise. These things are explosives; they are designed to go off when a tank runs over them. They won’t damage the tank, but they do pack a punch; they’re designed to be heard, and felt, by the crew inside a tank that is running. They are magnetically activated, meaning that they have to come into contact with a metal surface before they can explode. His buddies knew that; he didn’t, apparently.
They were sitting around in the middle of a tank training ground for a while, and he got bored. He started trying to get the mine to “go off”. Apparently, he started by picking it up and throwing it at the ground. Bupkis. Then he started hitting it with a rock. Same non-result.
Eventually, getting frustrated, he picked it up and threw it at the side of the tank. As his startled buddies dove for cover, the thing blew up in his face, causing critical injuries. He was rushed to the Base Hospital, where doctors managed to save his life, but IIRC he ended up a quadruple amputee. Since the military deemed it a “self-inflicted injury”, he was offered a choice – court-martial, or immediate discharge with loss of all benefits.
His excuse was apparently that he “didn’t think it was that powerful”. Because he’d only ever heard them from inside a running tank, he thought it would be like a firecracker or something.
Number two: A pilot in the Canadian Air Force was given command of a Lockheed Hercules transport aircraft – the youngest pilot ever to be given such a command. On his first flight as PIC, he was to fly from Trenton, a major air force base near Lake Ontario, to USAFB Thule, a large US Air Force base in Greenland, and then on to Canadian Forces Station Alert, a remote facility in the very high Canadian arctic, 500 miles from the North Pole. Alert has no maintenance facilities – just a runway made of packed snow and a weather station. USAFB Thule, otoh, has a full maintenance facility with a large, heated hangar.
Just after takeoff from Thule, he had multiple bird strikes – more than a dozen birds impacted the airframe, IIRC. He could have declared an emergency and returned to land at the well-equipped airport below him; instead, after a cursory in-flight check, he decided that the aircraft was still flyable and continued on to his destination on Ellesmere Island.
After he landed, the ground crew inspected the Herc and quickly realized that it was no longer safe to fly. The Canadian air force had to fly up another Herc, with a full maintenance crew, who then had to spend two days working on the plane, outdoors in sub-zero temperatures, to bring it to a point where it could be safely flown back to Thule, where the same maintenance crew that would have worked on it if he’d landed there in the first place did a complete overhaul – inside a heated, well-lit hangar.
Not surprisingly, Captain Hotshot became the youngest pilot in the Canadian Air Force to be stripped of his position of aircraft commander.
Most Americans Are Literally Living On The Edge Of Disaster
There is a tremendous disconnect between the economic numbers that the government is giving us and what most Americans are personally experiencing on a daily basis. The government says that inflation is low, but the cost of living just continues to spiral out of control. The government says that unemployment is low, but Challenger, Gray & Christmas says that the number of layoffs in the U.S. was up 98 percent last year. The government says that the economic outlook for 2024 is positive, but companies all over America are acting as if extremely hard times are ahead. So who are we supposed to believe?
Personally, I trust numbers that come from private sources far more than numbers that come from government sources.
For example, a survey that was just conducted by Bankrate discovered that 56 percent of all U.S. adults do not have enough money to handle an unexpected expense of $1,000…
A majority of Americans say a $1,000 emergency expense would be too great of a hit to their savings and that they could not afford it, according to new data released Wednesday.
Bankrate’s latest survey results found 56% of U.S. adults lack the emergency funds to handle a $1,000 unexpected expense and one-third (35%) said they would have to borrow the money somehow to pay for it.
More than half the country is literally living on the edge of financial disaster.
That is crazy.
Another survey has found that much of the nation barely keeps any money in their bank accounts…
Nearly half of Americans have $500 or less in their savings accounts, an amount that leaves them vulnerable to unexpected expenses, according to a GOBankingRates survey of 1,063 U.S. adults conducted in November 2023.
About 29% of respondents have between $501 and $5,000 in their savings accounts, while the remaining 21% of Americans have $5,001 or more.
Few hold much cash in their checking accounts as well. Of those surveyed, 60% report having $500 or less in their checking accounts, while only about 12% have $2,001 or more.
Most Americans would be financially wiped out by just one major accident or emergency.
The vast majority of us are just barely scraping by from month to month, and the rapidly rising cost of living is making that increasingly difficult to do.
One woman recently found a Taco Bell receipt from 12 years ago, and she discovered that prices are now approximately three times higher than they were back then…
A TikTok video by a user who found an old Taco Bell receipt has gone viral – as Americans realize prices are now almost three times higher.
The old receipt showed that – 12 years ago – Americans could buy TWO of the chain’s beefy five-layer burritos for $2.59 including taxes.
Today, those same burritos cost about $3.69 for just ONE. That doesn’t include tax, which can vary across the US. So too can the base price.
The government continues to insist that inflation is “low”, but everyone knows that is a big fat lie.
Insurance rates have been spiking at a particularly alarming rate. One man in Las Vegas was horrified when his auto insurance bill shot up by 72 percent in just eight months even though he had no accidents and no tickets…
They say ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’ – but the eye-watering auto insurance bill city resident Simon Edwards recently received is just one example of the staggering rises in premiums consumers are facing all across the US.
The 2012 Mazda 5 owner was shocked to find his monthly bill from Geico had rocketed up from $130 last April to $223 now – a rise of 72 percent in just eight months.
‘I’ve been in no accidents, no tickets, been with Geico for many years,’ a perplexed Edwards told the Wall Street Journal.
Another man recently posted a video on TikTok in which he ranted about how the cost of literally everything is absolutely soaring…
Four years ago my rent was $1,200 a month at a luxury apartment complex”
“It is NOW $2,100, not even including utilities”
“3 years ago my electric bill was averaging $45 now it’s averaging $125…”
“I went to the grocery store yesterday and got 3 bags of chips, some ground turkey and some vegetables and it was $67 DOLLARS?!”
U.S. consumers are being squeezed like never before, and as a result debt levels have been rising to unprecedented levels.
For example, unpaid residential utility debt in the U.S. rose to a new all-time record of 20.3 billion dollars last year…
Bloomberg cites a new report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association that reveals US household utility debt hit a record as an alarming number of Americans can no longer afford heating and cooling their homes.
NEADA said one out of every six ratepayers is behind on energy bills, adding residential utility debt hit a new record last year of $20.3 billion.
Please don’t let anyone tell you that the U.S. economy is in good shape.
Most Americans are really hurting in this economic environment, and conditions continue to get even worse.
As I discussed yesterday, large companies all over America are feverishly laying off workers. In fact, earlier today we learned that even eBay is now laying people off…
Online retailer eBay Inc. will cut about 1,000 jobs, or an estimated 9% of its full-time workforce, saying its number of employees and costs have exceeded how much the business is growing in a slowing economy. It marks the latest layoffs in the tech industry.
CEO Jamie Iannone said in a message to employees on Tuesday that the company also will reduce how many “contracts we have within our alternate workforce over the coming months.”
The worse economic conditions become, the more crime we are going to see.
At this point, looting has already become a way of life in some areas of the country.
In Washington D.C., a CVS store is permanently shutting down because dozens of teens would literally loot the store multiple times per day…
A Washington D.C. CVS store is shutting its doors after being repeatedly ransacked by thieves, the chain has confirmed.
The pharmacy, located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, went viral last October when videos emerged of it totally stripped of all its products after being targeted by a teen gang.
Staff claim more than 45 schoolkids would go into the store and steal chips and drinks in the morning, after their classes and late at night. It will close on February 29, according to WTTG-TV.
If this is what is happening now, what will we see once economic conditions get extremely bad in this country?
After reading these comments, I would like to share a story with you. My ex-husband is disabled. He suffers from traumatic brain injury and struggles daily. He has seizures, he passes out, he has very little memory, diabetes from cancer removal, and takes several medications daily among other challenges. He needs someone to assist him with daily activities. He lived with his parents. His mother passed away and about a year later, his father sold the house and most of everything that was in it. The house sold in 10 days and they were given 2 weeks to vacate. His father had living arrangements planned for himself before the house sold. He told my ex that he had 2 weeks to vacate, left some moving boxes at the house and took off. I went over and helped pack and move things into storage and my ex became homeless on the final moving day. His father said he didn’t have the money to help him and he changed his phone number. The first month, my ex would call me telling me things that would happen and honestly, I didn’t believe him. How could being homeless be that damn hard? He would find what he thought was a safe place to sleep, in an area that we both are very familiar with and know a lot of people. People that we have personally helped. Well, when you become homeless, you learn who your friends are. Everyone scattered. People that we opened our home to when they needed a helping hand were no longer around. I was the only one he had left. The first month of him being homeless was a nightmare. When the sun goes down, bad things happen when you fall asleep. Because of the medication my ex takes, he will fall into a deep sleep and not much wakes him up until he’s ready to wake up. He had his belongings stolen 4 times in a month. He would wake up and his stuff would be gone. He went through about 8 cell phones, numerous phone chargers, all stolen. His wallet was stolen right from the start so he had no ID. Without ID he couldn’t get assistance or even a hotel room. DMV wanted ridiculous paperwork to replace his ID plus $800 for an incident from years past. It took weeks, but we got it straightened out and his ID was replaced. Two days later, he fell asleep and his wallet stolen again. Once again, no ID. We were continuously replacing his bags for carrying things and replacing his things. His medication was stolen. He had to go 3 weeks without it because they don’t just replace stolen medication. He was missing his very important doctor appointments because he couldn’t keep track of things. He woke up in the hospital twice, not sure how he got there, or why he was there. He voluntarily went to the hospital one night because he was dizzy, his blood sugar was high and he was fading in and out of reality. The hospital asked him how much drugs he took. He remembers hearing them say he’s ODing. They did a drug test that came back clean. The security guard at the hospital took him by the arm and pushed him out the front door telling him not to come back. He went back in to ask where he was because he didn’t know, also because he didn’t have his shoes. Security pushed him out the front door told him don’t fucking come back through the door. My daughter is a nurse at that hospital. When I asked her why they treated him that way she said homeless people come in there continuously pretending to be sick just for a place to sleep. They kick them out all the time. Meanwhile, my ex was laying on the sidewalk on the side of the hospital. Another homeless man gave him some water and walked him to another hospital down the street. They said he probably would not have made it through the night. He spent 3 days there then back out on the street with no medication.
A fact that most aren’t aware of, when you’re homeless, you have to keep moving. My ex stays clean. By clean I mean his physical appearance. He doesn’t look homeless other than the bags he carries. At first he was able to slip into a casino, (we live in Las Vegas) to charge his cell phone. Even though he doesn’t look homeless, it doesn’t take long before you become a familiar face in the area and they don’t want you around. They are very quick to call the police. Who in turn trespass you from the property, or haul you in. So you have to keep moving. Where you’re moving to? Who knows, just keep moving. That results in raw feet, worn out shoes and using energy that you just can’t afford to waste.
Summertime in Vegas is brutal. It reaches 120° and when your outside, there’s no relief anywhere. The heat also causes my ex to pass out. He can’t be in the heat for too long. The only relief is going inside a store and pretending to shop. Like I said, you become a familiar face after a while and all eyes are on you. In order for him to go inside out of the heat he would have to purchase something. Believe it or not, this can become expensive. When you can’t cook and your only means for a meal is to purchase from fast food or wherever, it gets expensive. So most of his income goes to replacing things that were stolen, getting what he needs to survive on the streets, and food. A couple times, when his wallet was stolen, his money card was in his wallet. He had to steal food from the store to eat. Sometimes he can get shelter for a night if the hotels have a special and he has an ID. But money goes fast when you’re out there.
How do I know all this? I spent 4 days out there with him. He came to my house every few days to shower, wash his clothes and eat a hot meal, but my situation didn’t allow him to stay with me. I helped him as much as I could. When he came over one day, telling me all the bad luck he was having, I decided to go with him and see what’s going on. I truly thought he was getting mixed up with the wrong people and creating his problems. What I experienced while I was out there was absolutely terrible. People were so mean. We didn’t beg or ask for anything. We just kept moving, with no destination. The looks, the comments, the behavior of one human to another made me look at the world in a different way, and it’s not good. I actually came out of that experience being ashamed of the human race. I’m embarrassed for us. I’m not proud of my community and I honestly feel more compassion for our homeless community. Imagine this. You have to go to the bathroom and it could take you all day to find a public restroom to use. Because they don’t let homeless people use the bathroom. Whether you purchase something or not. Imagine it’s so hot outside, like 120°, and you barely make it into a sandwich shop and ask them for a cup of water because you’re passing out from the heat. They tell you “no, get outta here” and you pass out in the parking lot. Instead of calling an ambulance, they leave you laying there on a blacktop that is hot enough to fry an egg. People passing by don’t want to get involved so they turn their head. They couldn’t spare a cup of tap water to help another person that was obviously having a medical episode. We walked by a lady one day and she actually stopped, looked at me and said “ you’re a disgrace. You should walk in the alley and not out here.” As much as I wanted to teach her a lesson, I wasn’t going to jail, so we kept walking. From a distance she yelled “you’re dirting up the streets!” I was appalled by the dirty, disgusting looks that people gave. Just by assuming our situation, because remember, I wasn’t actually homeless.
This is also what I learned. Being homeless is very lonely. You can’t befriend other homeless people because those are the ones that take your stuff. There’s nobody to talk too. My ex started talking to himself, out loud. He would randomly say things as if he was talking to someone. Sometimes it’s not money they need. Sometimes it’s not food. There are many ways you can help homeless people. One of the most important, at least it was for me, is to acknowledge them. Don’t walk by like they aren’t there. Smile and say hi. Treat them like they matter. Sometimes that’s all they need to get them through the next few hours. It does give them some inner strength to keep pushing forward. If you pass by and say “how ya doing?” Stop for a second and listen to the answer. You don’t have to spend all day with them. A little 2 sentence conversation holds a lot of weight. They have nobody to talk to and it’s lonely. One of the best conversations I have ever had was with a homeless man. He became a good friend and we spent a lot of time together. He was very intelligent and fascinating. I could have missed out on that and it would have been my loss. Sometimes homeless people just want someone to say hi and treat them like they are people. They are all out there for different reasons. Some beyond their control.
MUST WATCH! Feminism and the Disposable Male | This blew my mind
I’m from Russia and I’ve been to the US three times in my teenage years for several months each time. I’ve always ate intuitively, I guess. I never restricted myself or counted calories. Both at home and in the US. I’m not prone to binge eating or eating a lot of junk food, I like fruits and vegetables more than sweets and most of the time if I buy junk food it just ends up on a shelf until someone else eats it. And my weight does not really fluctuate at all. I think I have the same physique and weight since I was 14.
So when I came to the USA, I ate the same way as I always do. Actually I ate even more vegetables, fruit and berries because there were very convenient packages at Costco. I just munched on broccoli for several months there I think haha. But! Despite me not really changing anything in what I eat (or eating even more fresh produce) I gained several kilos each time I was in the US and lost them back quickly after returning.
This is me right before my last trip in 2019:
This is me on the last day:
I think you can clearly see that my cheeks grew a lot and my face is more round haha.
I also noticed that food (especially fresh produce) looks much prettier in the US than here. Strawberries were huge and shiny, we only get those here in the off season in expensive stores and not many people actually buy it. We mostly buy seasonal fruits. Berries are mostly for summertime while in winter we buy pomegranates, clementines and oranges. Bread in the US stays “fresh” and soft for several months, while here we buy bread several times a week because it’s freshly baked and goes stale quickly. A lot of food in the US is preprepared (shredded cheese etc which we don’t really have in Russia. If you want shredded cheese you do it yourself haha. And it’s also really hard to find the same cheeses. The colors are not even close). I think there are so much more additives to the food in the US to make it more pleasant looking even though it makes the food much less healthy.
The U.S. grew by 2.4% but its Inflation rate is 3.4% hence once again the American standard of real living shrank by -1.0% in 2023.
Let’s compare that with China that grew by 5.2% but its inflation is 0.2% in 2023. Hence the Chinese population enjoy a positive 5.0% net real growth!
But if you read the western media it is as though it is China that needs to get worried! And what is worst is their brain dead mentality believes in the shit that U.S. media threw out daily.
China is 6% better off than the U.S. in 2023! And you ain’t seen nothing yet! If you Americans and U.S. lackeys out there grow som brain cells, grow very very worried about the U.S. that has not grow its real standard of living since the day of Beetles and Marilyn Monroe 64 full years ago! Your grand parents have better lives than you!
Each person’s place of birth, family background, and level of education are different, so it is difficult to give a definitive answer.
However, some general situations can be mentioned.
The most impoverished areas in China are still concentrated in rural areas in the central and western parts of the country.
Due to China’s unique household registration and land systems, the country has the highest rate of home ownership in the world.
As a result, homelessness is virtually non-existent.
Even the poorest peasants own their land and homes.
Internet, tap water, electricity, and roads have been extended to all rural areas of China.
There are no villages without roads and electricity,Internet, although there may be exceptions.
A photo widely circulated on the Internet shows a village in Zhaojue County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. Located at altitudes ranging from 628 to 2300 meters, with a relative altitude difference of 1672 meters, the village has a population of 1758 people.
Faced with difficulties in road construction, the government proposed to relocate them to a flat area, offering free housing and policy-based housing subsidies.
However, the villagers strongly resisted, as the benefits offered by the government did not meet their expectations.
The impasse lasted until 2016, when Chinese vloggers discovered the situation and uploaded the videos online.
This sparked outrage among the public, who couldn’t believe that such poverty existed in China.
They condemned the government’s incompetence.
Feeling the pressure, the Zhaojue county government responded positively, compromising with the villagers by improving welfare standards before finally relocating them from the cliffs.
In terms of medical insurance, China’s system is divided into urban and rural components.
Taking myself as an example, although I own a house in the city, my household registration remains in the rural area because I am reluctant to give up my ancestral home and land.
As a result, I have two health insurance policies – a rural one that costs about $50 a year, and an urban one that costs considerably more and is deducted monthly from my salary at a rate proportional to my income.
While this may seem like a loss, the higher deductions result in a higher retirement pension.
According to China’s administrative divisions, villages are the lowest level.
In theory, rural health insurance is not compulsory.
In reality, however, coverage is tied to the performance of government officials.
Government officials often resort to extremist claims that if you don’t buy $50 worth of health insurance, you’ll lose hundreds or even thousands of dollars in agricultural subsidies.
In fact, government officials do not have the ability orrights to cancel agricultural subsidies to farmers.
This is because the money is transferred directly from the central government’s coffers to the farmers’ bank cards.
Township government officials cannot interfere with central decision-making and the banking system.
Only a verbal threat.
Therefore, although the process of selling health insurance to farmers is sometimes not very gentle, the results are still good, and health insurance basically covers everyone.
Some people even have more than one medical insurance.
Reimbursement rates for medical expenses vary – 90% in township hospitals, 80% at the county level, 70% at the city level, and a basic 60% in provincial capital hospitals.
For serious illnesses, individuals often have to seek treatment in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou, where reimbursement rates are even lower, especially for imported and expensive drugs.
The only good thing is that China’s medical system does not have complicated appointments and does not require excessive waiting.
Finally, there is the pressure of marriage.
If a young man who grew up in the countryside has parents with a low retirement income and his own income is not high, it will be difficult for him to find a wife, especially if the woman’s income is above average.
Unless he is exceptionally handsome or has a degree from one of China’s top universities, the challenges increase.
This contributes to the gradual decline of China’s population.
On some Chinese video platforms, many single men promote Indian marriage ideals, but Chinese women often mock them, questioning their confidence despite their seeming ordinariness.
ps1:
Many people lack a clear understanding of China’s land system and social structure.
On Quora, many comments seem unreasonably contentious.
I don’t know whether this is due to arrogance and prejudice or deliberate misinformation.
Although my English is limited, I’ll do my best to explain.
In rural areas, land is collectively owned by village-level administrative units, similar to rural cooperatives.
As long as your household registration is in the village, your land is permanent, with no time limits or land taxes.
Your children can inherit it without paying inheritance taxes.
The only drawback is that farmland cannot be bought or sold.
tradable land is residential land, but it’s limited to mutual transfers between village members.
Urban land is owned by the government.
If you buy villas, apartments, factories, or commercial land in the city, the legal term of use is either 40 or 70 years.
However, these are essentially “fiction” legal concepts to avoid conflict with the concept of state ownership of land.
If there were a real problem with time limits, China wouldn’t have a real estate industry, and people wouldn’t be stupid enough to buy houses.
Many multinational corporations, including McDonald’s, KFC, Metro, and Costco, own substantial amounts of land and property in China.
You can question the character of capitalists, but you can’t question their intelligence.
For ordinary residents, you can own property for life without paying a single cent in taxes.
If taxes were imposed, many people would become homeless.
That’s why many wealthy Chinese own many properties, because there are almost no holding costs.
ps2:
The inclusiveness of the Chinese government is beyond the imagination of many people who only believe what the Western media says.
Again, with a population of 1.4 billion and less than 4% having a bachelor’s degree, this means that there are many individuals among us who are not robots and can be easily angered.
If the government does not meet their demands, impulsive actions may occur.
The government is not stupid; it will not easily provoke the people.
On June 10, 2022, in the early morning, a girl was harassed and beaten by several men in a barbecue restaurant in Tangshan while she was having a late-night snack.
This incident sparked anger and panic throughout society, something that should not have happened in the eyes of the Chinese.
It was widely believed to be the incompetence of the Tangshan city police.
In reality, the Chinese can be perfectionists.
They won’t tolerate any instances of social violence, especially against innocent women.
Hebei Province reacted quickly and made adjustments to the entire public security system in Tangshan.
Many leaders in the police department were fired, and some even went to jail.
As for the men who assaulted the woman, the court handed down the harshest punishment, and they eventually repented in prison.
CCTV, China’s largest official television station, also conducted a special interview with the criminal.
ps3:
As for “Indian marriage ideals,” perhaps my expression is not very accurate.
This is a Chinese man who is worried about finding a mate.
This is the woman they met in reality.
This is their fantasy woman, using Indian women as a reference.
Many people may have seen too many Indian movies and think that Indian women are always gentle and kind.
The most important thing is that the men do not have to give any bride price to the women.
Well, that is India’s most successful cultural export to China.
Near the beginning of covid, I received a speeding ticket for going quite a bit over the speed limit. In fact, it was so much over the limit that when I received the citation in the mail, it indicated that I had to go to court in person. I couldn’t just pay a fine. I showed up on the indicated court date, but the courthouse was closed due to covid. I eventually received a notice in the mail indicating a new court date, but when I showed up it was still closed for covid (needless to say it was frustrating). A few months after that, I received a notice giving me a date to attend court virtually over zoom.
When I logged in, I noticed that there were about 50 other people also logged in. So I made myself comfortable and waited. The defendents with a lawyer present were called first. Every lawyer would say good morning to the judge and then, in some cryptic legalese I can’t remember, asked the judge to review the relevant dates for the case. The case would list them out in order and then give the running total number of days and then dismiss the case because it has been over a year. This happened at least 4 or 5 times.
After all the lawyers had finished, the judge started calling the rest of us. Person after person went up, was reprimanded by the judge, and given a fine. Eventually my name was called and so I repeated exactly what I had heard the lawyers say. The judge stared at me for about 45 seconds. Then he read the dates and dismissed my case. I thanked him and he told me that I better start slowing down when I drive because if he sees me again, he’ll remember me.
I’d like to think that everyone after me was smart enough to realize they also could have their cases dismissed. I was curious, but not that curious, so I took my win and logged off zoom.
I do think it’s ridiculous that men in China are expected to have a successful and lucrative career, a house, and a car, as well as pay a large bride price to the girl’s family. Those are pretty tall orders. No wonder so many men in China are unmarried. But most women in China have their own careers (and don’t want to leave them to be housewives) and choose to continue working after marriage or decide to not marry at all.
Some of them do have Princess Syndrome and expect men to meet their materialistic demands. I do not understand the lust for luxury bags and clothes and the like. Why? To fit into society? To ascend to a Phoenix nest? To look good on Instagram or the Chinese equivalent? All of it is fleeting, unimportant, shallow and it won’t last. None of that matters.
But those women in China are not the majority. In 1.4 billion people there are bound to be materialistic gold diggers, but not everyone is. And people like that can be found in every society, not just China. Many women in China are hard working and dedicated to their careers. The ones who do stay home to raise children are dedicated to their families. I don’t see a stay-at-home wife or mother as a woman who is materialistic because her husband is the provider of their family.
I would say you’ve taken a stereotype and painted all Chinese women with a broad brush. Instead look at women as individuals capable of being their own person. You may meet some materialistic women but it’s more likely you will meet kind, hardworking women devoted to their families. Of the Chinese women in my acquaintance I can say none of them fit the materialistic stereotype.
Tell them…
Greek Homestyle Chicken
This is a common meal in Greece and it smells delicious while it is cooking.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Juice of 2 lemons
4 or 5 potatoes, peeled and sliced french-fry style
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 to 1 cup water
One head garlic, the cloves peeled but whole
Oregano, salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Place chicken in a shallow baking tray. Arrange potatoes around chicken pieces. Scatter whole peeled cloves of garlic around chicken and potatoes.
Mix together lemon juice and olive oil, and pour evenly over chicken and potatoes. Add water until potatoes are just about covered. Add salt, pepper to taste. Cover chicken and potatoes with generous amounts of oregano.
Bake at 350 degrees F, until tops of chicken are reddish brown.
Turn chicken, stir potatoes, and sprinkle on more oregano. If potatoes aren’t at least half-covered with liquid, add water.
Return to oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. Chicken is done when both sides a lightly browned and potatoes are soft when touched with a fork.
Pretty cool really. At 74, I can look back on a life full of adventure and fun. Some hard work too. A lot of things you can’t do anymore (playground equipment now deemed too dangerous for kids), places that aren’t there anymore (amusement parks like Pacific Ocean Park in Santa Monica and the Pike in Long Beach). As kids, we walked to school, typically a mile each way- today moms chauffeur their kids to school, adding to morning and afternoon traffic jams. When I was a kid, we were allowed more freedom and had more responsibility.
As a teenager, friends and I would take spring breaks to the Colorado River, cruise up and down the river in my fishing boat, stop on the other bank of the river for a party at night, bats flying overhead on the river. Or Palm Springs, where parties were held out in the desert, and had fun visiting the Indian reservation and desert oasis. Travel to Mexico, and watch a real Mexican fiesta in a small town plaza. Ride motorcycles all over the place on camping trips. Learn to fly an airplane, and fly one to Catalina island with my girlfriend at the time, my buddy flying his own airplane in formation with me. Renting a 4 seat Cessna 172 from John Wayne airport, fuel included, was only $11 per hour! Dinner at Don the Beachcomber, 94th Aero Squadron, Proud Bird, Bobby McGees etc., places that don’t exist anymore.
My working life was mostly fun- working got easier as I moved up to jobs I liked. For the last 20 years I had a job designing traffic camera installations for the City, something I really liked doing.
I find that there are new things that challenge me in retirement. I discovered 3D design and 3D printing, and Arduino programming. I have created a lot of unique projects, and like showcasing them on Instructables. Plus, lots of bicycle riding and walking in our mild Southern California climate.
Why Marriage Is NOT WORTH Pursuing In Western Society
I heard this story from a fellow cab driver (back when I was driving cabs).
He was doing the night shift when he got a call to a specific address. The job details specified a non-LPG vehicle (ie, one without an extra tank in the boot) because they were moving from one place to another and needed to put the last of the luggage in there.
So while he was on the way there, he called the cops.
He showed up at the address, popped the boot, and helped the passengers load some gear in there; a sound system, sundry electronics and so forth. Then he closed the boot.
They’re anxious to get moving, but he took his time. Just as he was getting in, the cops showed up. The passengers tried to play it cool, but the driver pointed at them and said, “They just robbed this place.”
The cops grabbed one, but the other two made a run through the yard and went over the back fence. One came back straight away, but the other had trouble climbing back over, mainly because he had an Alsatian hanging off his leg.
Once the cops had all three in custody, he popped the boot again and showed them the stolen goods.
One of the passengers started swearing, then asked, “How did you know we were robbing the place?”
The driver looked him in the eye. “Because that’s my sound system. I live there.”
Time is running out. Lately, I have been hearing from so many people that believe that 2024 will be the year when our society goes over the edge. Our financial system is teetering on the brink of disaster, crime is absolutely exploding all over the country, homelessness is rising at the fastest pace ever recorded, food banks are facing unprecedented demand for their services, and I believe that 2024 will be the most chaotic election year in the entire history of our nation. And of course all of this is happening in the context of a global environment in which war, pestilences, economic problems, famine and natural disasters are all on the rise. A “perfect storm” is raging all around us, and millions upon millions of Americans have become deeply concerned about what our immediate future will look like.
So where will you be when things finally hit the fan?
During the past several years, we have seen a mass exodus of conservatives from blue states. For example, Fox News is reporting that 65 percent of those that have recently moved to the state of Idaho are Republicans, and only 12 percent are Democrats…
Data published by the Idaho Secretary of State’s office shows that out of the nearly 119,000 people who recently moved to the state, 65% registered as Republicans, compared to just 12% registering as Democrats.
The data, which was reviewed by Fox News Digital, show that out of the roughly 20,000 Americans who moved from Washington state to Idaho, 62% registered as Republicans, compared to 12% as Democrats, 24% as unaffiliated and 2% as “other.” The percentage of registered Republicans originally from Washington who recently moved to Idaho is actually higher than the state’s overall percentage of registered Republicans, which sits at about 58%.
Out of the nearly 40,000 people who left California for Idaho, a whopping 75% registered as Republicans, the data reviewed by Fox News Digital show. Only 10% of the California pool registered as Democrats, 14% as unaffiliated and 2% as “other.”
Wow.
Real estate agents in Idaho are urging potential clients to “escape liberal hell” and to get to the state “before the coming collapse”…
The Seattle Times noted that real estate ads advise residents in states such as Washington to “escape liberal hell” and move to Idaho.
“Time is not on your side, flee the city NOW before the coming collapse!” another ad for a house listing in Idaho states, the outlet reported.
Perhaps you are thinking that you should move to Idaho too.
Unfortunately, for many Americans it is already too late, because property values in some areas of the state have more than tripled.
Of course property values have also skyrocketed in desirable areas in many other red states as well.
Meanwhile, mortgage rates have also soared, and as a result home payments have risen to absolutely absurd levels during the Biden administration…
WSJ analysis of the housing market:
Average monthly new home payment when Biden took office: $1,787
Average monthly new home payment today: $3,322
You can still try to relocate.
But it will cost you much more than it would have a few years ago.
Renting is also an option, but we have just been through a period of time when rental prices have also jumped substantially…
After suffering through a three-year period when rents jumped by 30% or more in many U.S. cities, renters are now starting to enjoy small breaks like this.
Ultimately, if you were planning to relocate, you should have already done it by now.
But the good news is that conditions are still at least somewhat relatively stable as we approach the end of 2023.
So if you want to get out of Dodge, you can still do it.
In fact, for many of you this may be your last chance.
But don’t wait too long, because the clock is ticking.
At this point, most Americans can feel that something has gone horribly wrong. The warning signs are all around us, and conditions are getting worse with each passing day.
Even Warren Buffett can sense that a really big shift is coming. During the first three quarters of this year he sold off a whopping “$28.7 billion of stock”…
Warren Buffett’s firm Berkshire Hathaway sold $28.7 billion of stock in the first three quarters of 2023 in a move that some economists have interpreted as ringing alarm bells for the American economy.
According to the company’s earnings, the Nebraska-based firm of the legendary investor and billionaire, known as the Oracle of Omaha, sold a net $10.4 billion of stock in the first quarter of the year. In the second quarter, it sold close to $13 billion of shares and bought less than $5 billion. In the third quarter, it sold about $5.3 billion worth of stocks.
As Buffett is considered one of the greatest investors of all time, as well as one of America’s richest men, his moves are closely observed and analyzed.
He didn’t make so much money by being stupid.
Buffett may not fully understand all of the specifics, but he realizes that something is up.
As our society crumbles, most of the population is not going to be able to handle it.
For the third consecutive year, many psychologists across the country say they are seeing patients struggle with worsening symptoms, many of them needing longer treatment times.
Those are among the findings of an annual survey by the American Psychological Association, released this week. The APA first launched this survey in 2020 to gauge the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on practicing psychologists.
A majority of psychologists reported that more people are seeking mental health care this year, adding to already long waitlists. Over half (56%) said they had no openings for new patients. Among those who keep waitlists, average wait times were three months or longer and nearly 40% said that their waitlist had grown in the past year.
Doing stand up comedy. I do it as an amateur for fun.
What I thought it was before I did it: You walk up, tell jokes for 10 minutes, then collect your free beer or $20.
What it actually is: You write 30 pages of jokes then meet with two other writers, who are also writing jokes (but different from yours). You’re all brutally honest with each other. You cut and trim. Some things don’t work. They point out logical inconsistencies. You end up with two pages.
Back to the drawing board. Repeat this process. Eventually you have 5 pages that will get you through a ten minute set. But, uh oh, one of your topical jokes appears in the media. More than one person can think of the same joke. “I had this joke first,” you think. But that doesn’t matter. You replace.
You rehearse and rehearse and rehearse so you don’t forget. You decide on a persona. You make sure your jokes match that persona. The persona needs to be enough of you to be honest or the audience won’t like it, but it should be an exaggerated version of you.
Then, you sit in a shabby green room in a bar that’s probably not in the best part of town. You get a knot in your stomach. You listen to the comedians who go before you.
You can always tell the comedians in a comedy club. They’re the ones who say “that’s a good joke” instead of laughing.
Finally, it’s your turn. You have two or three jokes to win the audience over. If they don’t like you from the start, it’s almost impossible to get them back.
Wait, what’s that? People are actually laughing! This is amazing. Why are they laughing at these lame jokes that I’ve told myself more than 100 times before performing them?
The Management came with high hopes of building a gigantic supply chain to rival Chinas by 2026
And went home with their TAIL BETWEEN THEIR LEGS and determined never to even look at India on a Map again
They were used to Chinese workers who were ready to slog 9+2 hours a day for 6 days a week and deliver 63 Units a day at peak productivity
They came because they were promised the world
First, the workers cried about wages
They agreed initially and then cried. That’s because the Agent was collecting 20% a month from their wages directly. So out of ₹14000/-, the workers saw a cut of ₹ 3000/- into the pocket of the Agent
Wistron raised the wages to ₹17000/- to keep them happy
Next, they did a surprising amount of overtime
The Average worker in China billed 12 hours a week for overtime
Here the Average worker was billing 30 hours a week overtime
Yet Productivity was less than half of China
Soon they found, everyone was deliberately working slow during normal hours to justify overtime
Workers due to be paid ₹17000/- a month plus maybe ₹6000/- for overtime at most were now paid ₹ 15,000/- for overtime and ₹32,000 a month
YET PRODUCTIVITY WAS 27
Wistron ordered that the Overtime pay be held back until a proper investigation was made
Workers felt outraged
They didn’t seem to care that their productivity was low
They seemed to think they were slogging hard and demanded money from the evil capitalist
So they attacked the plant, broke a lot of equipment AND THE COPS/AUTHORITIES SEEMED TO HOLD WISTRON GUILTY OF CHEATING
Wistron literally crawled before the Chinese on their knees to take them back but China gave a grin and said “Sorry. We have our own OEMs”
This is one Story of Indian HARD WORK
Same story in every single case
Lazy Indian makes promises he can’t keep. Demands money anyway. Accuses foreigner of Racism and Imperialism when he withholds payment
Files cheating case against his reps in India, forcing them to flee
Always the same story
Yes Sir!!!! We can definitely deliver by 31st December
Then slowly the excuses
Sir,many of my workers fell Ill due to the Pandemic
Sir, Machine broke down
Sir, Workers are asking for some wages. Can you release 10% more payment
Then when the Client gets angry, the belligerence
Sir, we have worked so hard. We haven’t gone home for weeks because of you. Please pay the balance
You are a racist. I will file cheating case against your manager in India and against your office.
The Poor Manager and staff in India get caught and are forced to pay hush money to the cops and end up becoming pawns
Eventually the Client disgusted cuts his losses and closes the office and says “Gutter Country”
My Client had an email from a Belgian importer literally saying
Thanks for your Interest however WE DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH INDIANS
Others have similar lines
We don’t do business with Indians unless the entire payment can be made on COD basis
(COD = Cash on Delivery)
Foreign entities would love to come to India but India is so dirty, so corrupt and so abase without proper ethics or work culture that they don’t want to take a chance.
They would pay higher prices and go to Vietnam or Mexico or of course China if China would still have them. China is now focusing on their own brands and is not ready to entertain foreign brands too much.
In the IT Industry, things were once different but now slowly that Industry is heading the same way
Luckily the Dollar Rupee continuous depreciation helps because a $ 100 raise a day per asset today is ₹60,000/- a week in India
Enough to grovel, sit and stay
Hire 4 Unemployed Assets for ₹30 K a month and quote an extra $ 100 a week and pocket ₹ 120K a month
India is seriously a very bad place for hard work and ethics
Neither for smart work
There are exceptions of course
You have good hard workers with ethics in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad in IT and Software and other key areas yet the new generation are becoming worse and worse .
My Son Was A Disrespectful Jerk Until I Switched Tactics, Treated Him Like A Man…And He Became One
Well, as I type this up, it is CNY. This (today) is the first day of the new year, and I am in Wenzhou. It’s a standard fare of massive meals, lots and lots of drinking, and long bouts of lazing about.
The weather is cold out, but nothing like what I grew up with. Lots and lots of fireworks. Non-stop explosions and bangs. Day in, and day out, at all hours of the day and night. Very typical.
This is the first time that we are in Wenzhou since the COVID hit China. That was four years ago. My… a lot has happened.
I’ve been busy knocking these posts out, and now have a nice big backlog, but I will be altering my schedule and product mixes in the future.
I want to wish everyone a very nice and prosperous Year of the Dragon 2024.
This reminds me of the early 90’s when I had just started Nick’s Racing in Denver CO
As anybody who starts his own business knows, money was tight and everything would just need to hold out a bit longer. Every Saturday afternoon I went to the local mall/shopping-centre to buy whatever I needed for the week. Whilst there I often saw this 70’s Camaro in the lot and it amused me how the inside looked like a pig sty. But I did love the shape & one day… Dream on Nick you are living from week to week.
Fortunately lady luck and my craftmanship smiled on me, work came in so that I had to hire 2 more engine builders and I started to have disposable income and no time to spend it. The American dream, right ? One day I see this Camaro in the same lot with the bonnet (hood) open and a for sale sign on it. I bought this car for a ridiculously low amount and spent a whole day cleaning out all the junk this lady owner had accumulated in it. The first thing that hit me where the cigarette burn marks in the upholstery and the holes in the roof lining 😉
I had to redo the interior, the body had to be panel-beated and resprayed. The engine was going to be replaced with a 383 stroker anyways I just decided to redo the Electrics, as fixing this rats nest was not worth it. I fitted a Classic Air Air Con This car was trash- defined.
Luckily my 2 workers were foreigners also- Mexicans. We got on well and their friends and family did a lot of work on this car for good value. Considering this was basically a rebuild, using performance part where possible, and not a hot-rod build, it still took close to a year of getting it on the road again. This car must have gotten 0 maintenance from the day she got it to the day it expired in a parking lot.
And then I left back for Namibia and sold it to one of my guys who then gave it to his daughter once she needed wheels.
A young Kurt Russell worked together with Charles Bronson. During shooting, Russell found out it was Charles Bronson’s birthday. So he got his older co-star a gift. Bronson looked at it, took it… then walked out of the room, without saying a word. Russell was terrified, worried he had insulted the man.
A little while later, Russell was called to the dressing room of Bronson. Bronson was silent, looked down and said to the child actor: “No one has ever given me a birthday gift before…” Charles Bronson was the son of dirt poor immigrants. He had fourteen siblings, and worked in the mines as a child. Never finished schooling, never had a kind word, he was worked like a mule since the day he learned to walk.
Charles Bronson hadn’t known a lot of kindness in his life. It caught him off guard to receive some from his young co-star. He later gave Russell a skateboard on his own birthday to play with between takes. The two men remained lifelong friends.
Yes. Several. Mainly because I know what’s going on in their lives, and the students don’t. If the students knew what I knew, they’d cut those teachers a little slack.
One teacher in particular, with whom I worked seven years ago, stands out for me among all of the teacher sob stories I know.
To make a long story short, when she was in her 40s and had been teaching preschool for half of her life, her husband left her for a much younger woman. Around the same time, the school’s preschool program changed from full-time to just two days per week and, in order to stay full-time and keep her benefits, she was forced to become the school’s art teacher for all students in grades PreK-8 (ages 3–14).
She was good with the younger students, but had no idea how to control the middle schoolers. She hated teaching the older kids, but she had no choice. She was still more than a decade away from retirement and needed the health insurance, but she also couldn’t afford to go back to school or change careers or anything like that. She was trapped teaching students that she wasn’t trained to teach.
And they were merciless to her.
The art class existed primarily to give the “regular” teachers a planning period, but I, along with my coworkers, ended up sitting with our classes to the art room most days, because we could control the kids, and she couldn’t. The students treated her class like recess, and treated her with a level of disrespect you usually only see in the movies, right before the “savior” teacher swoops in and sets things right.
The students didn’t see how the teacher cried after school every day, alone in her classroom, before she composed herself enough to walk down the block to her apartment, where she probably cried some more, alone, throughout the evening and night.
I left that school after teaching there just one year. The school closed two years after I left. I hope she was able to find a full time position working with younger children. Middle schoolers can be just as cruel to their teachers as they are to each other.
The doctor, after an examination, sighed and said, ‘I’ve got some bad news. You have cancer, and you’d best put your affairs in order.’
The woman was shocked, but managed to compose herself and walk into the waiting room where her daughter had been waiting.
‘Well, daughter, we women celebrate when things are good, and we celebrate when things don’t go so well. In this case, things aren’t well. I have cancer. So, let’s head to the club and have a martini.’
After 3 or 4 martinis, the two were feeling a little less somber. There were some laughs and more martinis. They were eventually approached by some of the woman’s old friends, who were curious as to what the two were celebrating.
The woman told her friends they were drinking to her impending end, ‘I’ve been diagnosed with AIDS.’ The friends were aghast, gave the woman their condolences and beat a hasty retreat.
After the friends left, the woman’s daughter leaned over and whispered, ‘Momma, I thought you said you were dying of cancer, and you just told your friends you were dying of AIDS! Why did you do that??’
‘Because I don’t want any of those bitches sleeping with your father after I’m gone.’.
Top 8 rules
Ricotta Lasagna Swirls
Ingredients
Lasagna
8 lasagna noodles
2 pounds fresh spinach
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 pound ricotta cheese
Salt
Pepper
Sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Instructions
Lasagna: Cook and drain lasagna noodles.
Steam 2 pounds fresh spinach for 7 minutes, then chop. Mix spinach with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 pound ricotta cheese, salt and pepper.
Coat each noodle with 2 to 3 tablespoons of mixture along the entire length of the noodle. Roll up. Stand on end in a baking dish.
Sauce: Sauté garlic and onion.
Add tomato sauce, basil and oregano.
Pour sauce over noodles and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.
Young Men Are Lonelier Than Ever (And It’s Getting Worse)
On this very day, Joe decides to eat out. He enters a restaurant, sits down, and has his order taken.
Just as the waitress arrives with his precariously balanced meal, someone knocks her aside. This causes an avalanche of food and drinks to tumble onto Joe in a non-majestic, yet sloppy manner.
Joe breathes in heavily and….
…asks if the waitress is alright, wipes himself to the best he can, and helps clean up a little without mumbling. Joe then comforts said waitress who is on the verge of crying, whilst assuring the seething and anxious manager that everything is all right.
If shit happens to you and it’s not your fault, then more shit happens yet you are still cool, you are mature in my eyes.
Mature people don’t cause more shit, or simply throw their shit away, even when shit is thrown at them.
It’s not that they don’t give a shit, but they deal with their shit appropriately.
Be like Joe and deal with your shit correctly.
China’s New AI Microchip Just Destroyed US Sanctions Forever!
Years ago, Patrick received a junk mail “fake cheque”- supposedly, if he were to send money to the company, he would then soon get more huge cheques like the one he’d just received.
The fake cheque was made out for $95,093.35. It even had an attached authorised signature.
Now, most people would see this as the junk & total scam that it obviously was. Most people would rip it up and just toss it in their bin. Most people would ignore it.
Most- but not Patrick.
Patrick was extremely broke at the time – he had only $200 in his bank account.
He had a good sense of humour and thought, “What would happen if I tried to lodge this into my bank account?” Fully expecting to get a laugh out of it from both himself and the bank teller, that’s exactly what Patrick did.
He went to lodge the cheque into his bank account.
As Patrick said, “I didn’t think I was sticking money into the machine.”
He so fully was expecting the cheque to bounce that he didn’t even endorse the back of it.
Time passes and Patrick forgets about it.
Ten days later though, he checks his bank account and to his amazement, $95,093.35 now sits in his bank account!
It turns out that the cheque actually matched 9 of the criteria that the bank required for a cheque to be valid – the words “non negotiable” that the junk company placed on the front did not negate the cheque whatsoever. It turned out that they had been successful in making the cheque look real – too real.
Additionally- the bank managed to miss their own legal deadline to notify Patrick that his cheque had bounced as a non-cash item.
“The excitement of that much money was off the scale,” he said. “It was an addiction. For two months I obsessed on whether I should take the money or give the money back. I put my bank on speed dial and dialed it every ten minutes. I worried constantly that it would go away.“
Patrick, being the good person that he is, did return the money 6-months later.
And, there you have it, Patrick Combs is the man who received a junk mail fake cheque in the post – and managed to cash it to the tune of $95,000+! That, I think, is very much gaming the system.
Yet the content was something I have known and understood and have been talking about for more than two years on Quora
Anyone who follows Scott Ritter, Brian Berletic, The Duran, IEarlGrey and those guys would find most of what Putin said to be nothing surprising, given that this was what most of them have been discussing for both these years 2022 and 2023
However for the Average Americans, this gave them the other point of view
You have had almost 66 Interviews of Zelensky over the last 24 months and you have seen almost 4000 articles covering Zelensky and Ukraine yet Putins POV and Russias POV has never been covered in the West
This Interview filled the gap
Why did Russia invade Ukraine?
Putins explanation makes a lot of sense
He says the Invasion was the LAST RESORT
He says Russia carved out Ukraine under Lenin and later on post WWII, more territories from Germany & Poland & Hungary & Romania were added to Ukraine after USSR got them under Post WWII restructuring
He says Russians and Ukranians were the same people and every Ukranian had 3–4 relatives in Russia and vice versa
He says Ukranian Language is just one of five languages spoken in Ukraine along with Russian, Polish, Romanian and Hungarian in different parts of Ukraine
He says Russia and Ukraine had a friendship and a relationship post 1994 and most of Ukraine’s Trade was with Russia
He says how Ukraine in 2008 began to start idolizing NAZIs and established Neo Nazism and began persecuting Russian Speakers of Eastern Ukraine
He says how Ukraine in 2014 deposed Yanukovich after the West Deceived HIM openly. He talks of how Yanukovich was assured by Merkel and others including Obama of a peaceful conclusion to Maidan if he didn’t use the Military and the Police and how once Yanukovich agreed, they openly deceived him and allowed Maidan to depose him
He then talks of how Zelensky spoke of ending the Russian Language from 2019 onwards and how Zelensky spoke of military conquest of Donbass
He talks of how Russia repeatedly talked to Western Leaders for a peaceful re implementation of the Minsk II Accords that Zelensky broke openly and which the guarantors ignored
He talked of Airplanes over Donbass and forced action against Russian Speakers for 8 years from 2014–2022, all chronicled and presented to the UN and yet IGNORED by the West
It was in the end the ONLY WAY for Russia to secure it’s borders and help the Russian Speakers in Ukraine and Denazify Ukraine
Is Russia ready for Talks?
Yes. Putin confirms this.
He says it’s Zelensky who is not ready. Who in fact even decreed that any discussion on peace is in fact illegal.
Is Russia ready to sell Gas to Germany?
Yes. Putin says he still has pipelines that can supply Gas to Germans.
So he says why are Germans throttling their own industries by paying 4.25 times more for Piped LNG???
He literally openly says Scholz is either Insane or a Traitor to his own people
Putin talks of China & Russia
Putin says China is far more significant to the West because of their Population and their strong economy which even at 5% growth is DOUBLE AS FAST AS THE US
He exposes the China Bogey by citing how BRICS & SCO are both Consensus based organizations against NATO which is entirely US dominated
He gives an example of the Iraq War where France and Germany were openly muscled by George Junior Bush
He cites how Sanctions failed
He highlighted how Russia simply DEDOLLARIZED as did many other nations
He cited that 61 Nations have reduced USD holdings by 10% or more since 22/2/22
He cited that 70% of Russian Trade is settled in Yuan or Ruble now and only 19% in Euros and USD (4.8% in Emirati Dirham and 1.7% in South African Rand & HKD and the rest in other currencies)
He cites how the US lost its own place in the world thanks to the Sanctions and how everyone now wants their own financial secure system and an independence from the Dollar and a preference for their own local currency
He clarified why he retreated from Kiev
He was clear when he said, in Istanbul the Ukranians wanted Russians away from Kiev as a matter of faith and Putin complied
Yet again HE WAS DECEIVED
So the conclusions are clear now
First Putin doesn’t care what the West thinks anymore. He will do what is best for Russians in his opinion. He won’t trust the West again.
Second Putin will not end this SMO unless he gets what he wants. A Guarantee that Ukraine won’t join NATO and security for the Russian Speaking population in Ukraine.
Third, Putin will not initiate WWIII unless NATO attacks Russia. He made this clear. He will attack any NATO member if they attack Russia first.
Fourth, Putin says his Hypersonic Missile System is the most advanced in the world and the fact that he talks less about it means he is accurate
His final message to the Americans is WHY THEY ARE POKING THEIR NOSE IN UKRAINE WHEN THEY HAVE SO MANY TROUBLES OF THEIR OWN
It’s something that resonates with Donald Trump and his MAGA crowd
It would have been enlightening to many people
Not to me
This is essentially everything I have been saying for two years now.
When the kids were grown and gone, my wife and I considered getting a firearm for home protection. Two events finally pushed us to do it. The first event was my walking into a large drug buy in a gas station late at night in Miami. Lots of drugs, thugs, and guns. While they stood there looking at me. I said “Hey, I’m just here to get a receipt for the gas. The guy behind the counter (who was in on it), gave it to me and they let me walk out the door past a very confused lookout. Having a concealed weapon probably wouldn’t have done me any good that night. But it did reminded me that the world is a dangerous place.
The second event was back-to-back hurricanes, causing weeks of power outages with no cell or landline capability. The neighborhood was blocked in for a long time by fallen trees and debris. Even though we live only a mile or so from a precinct, there was no way to contact them or for them to quickly get into our neighborhood.
I asked my neighbor if I should be worried about looting. He responded, “everyone in this neighborhood is armed”, and everybody knows it. You are, aren’t you? A few weeks after the storm, I purchased my first gun.
I friend in law enforcement asked if I had a carry permit for it, reminding me that I lived within a 1000 feet of a school, restricting how I can transport the gun when off my property. Those restrictions (other than being on school property itself) are waived in my state if you have a carry permit.
I signed up for an approved NRA course that counted towards the permit, applied, and received one. Since then, I’ve purchased a few other guns, joined a gun club, and have had dozens of different firearm courses with a state LEO firearms trainer.
Like other “constitutional carry” states, Florida no longer requires a permit for concealed carry. But I keep mine current so I can carry reciprocally in other states.
Yes. This was back in the late ’90s. I had a customer come in with a Corolla. He only had one remote for the security system, but had just purchased another one and needed to have it programmed to the car. I told him that was a very quick and easy job, and I could literally do it while he stood there. I opened the driver’s door, turn the key to the on position and moved the driver seat all the way forward. The computer for the security system was under the driver’s seat on this car. You had to access the computer and push and hold a small button on the side of the computer to put it in programming mode, but it was much easier to access from the back seat. So I then got out and opened the rear driver side door, leaned in, and moved the floor mat to get better access to the computer under the seat. When I moved the floor mat, there was a syringe, a spoon, a lighter, and a bag of white powder that I will assume had to be heroin. I put the computer in program mode, hit the buttons on the remote, and heard the confirmation chirp from the front of the car to signal the new remote was programmed. I put the floor mat back, climbed out, and with a death stare, handed the customer his new remote and told him you’re all done, have a nice day. The guy’s face was white as a ghost, and I never saw him in the dealership again.
Having spent years working in a retail store, I saw so many decisions made by highly-paid executives in an office in another state that I knew instantly wouldn’t work out. And they didn’t.
I could write a book about the reasons for this, but mainly – either they don’t know because they don’t do the actual work, or they don’t believe the underlings who have tried to explain it to them.
I’ll give you an example:
So, I worked at a retail store that was part of a national chain separated into so many districts. I think our district had 10 or 12 stores. One quarter, I have no idea how, but somehow, one of the other stores in our district massively overspent their budget by like ten or fifteen grand. (I really wish I knew how, I bet it was a helluva story.) Probably someone got fired over that, but that didn’t solve the problem that they had a shortfall. (And no, firing the person responsible didn’t fix it either, because they then had to spend money to hire a new person to fill the role.)
So, somewhere up in the corporate office, a person whose name I don’t know had an idea to fix this problem. Since I don’t know who this person is, we’ll call them Bean Counter. I assume their job had something to do with accounting or finance.
So Bean Counter says, “Well, we can make up the shortfall by having every store in the district cut their budget by so much % for the remainder of the quarter.”
Bean Counter’s Boss ran the numbers and decided this was a grand idea. They may have even given Bean Counter a raise or promotion for such brilliant work. On paper, Bean Counter’s plan appeared to play out beautifully.
But this was around the beginning of December, just as the holiday rush was kicking into high gear.
Also, there are not a lot of ways to reduce spending on a store level, where budgets are already pretty tight. Management had very limited discretionary funding, and rarely went out and bought stuff for the store. Basically, the only way to really reduce spending by the amount Bean Counter wanted was to cut payroll hours….drastically.
So it’s the holidays and we’re working with a skeleton crew on every shift. One person at the register, one on the floor, and a manager who wasn’t *supposed* to get tied up with tasking.
And we’re busy, every day, because it’s the holidays, and we sell, among other things, a lot of tech items that are popular gifts. Sometimes we have 20 or 30 people in the store at once, and we can’t help them all. There is no “work harder” solution that allows one person on the floor to help 30 people at once. Even with the manager also helping customers on the floor, and “floating” between customers, they could realistically help maybe 10 people at a time.
Oh, and we weren’t supposed to get a line of more than 2 people at the register without opening a second till. HAHAHAHAHA. Yeah, that couldn’t happen with only two other people in the store and both of them working the floor.
So we had people walking out, unhelped, constantly. We did our best, assuring people we’d be with them in a moment, apologizing for the delay, etc. Even so, some people just couldn’t wait and they left and, presumably, went to a competitor.
But Bean Counter and Bean Counter’s Boss weren’t in the store watching this every day. They were back in their nice little offices, smiling at their Excel sheets because they turned a line green.
You see, an Excel sheet can’t show you how much revenue you lost because you didn’t have enough employees to help your customers.
And even without knowing any of the numbers on the Excel sheet, I can tell you that we lost money. I’m going to give you a VERY conservative estimate here. I’ll assume some of the people who left wouldn’t have bought anything anyway. Let’s say only half the people who came in would have bought something. And let’s say that only twenty people walked out in an hour. (Most hours it was probably much more than that, but I’m giving you a conservative estimate.)
And let’s say that the average sale at that point was $20. That’s a really low number for this time of year (usually it was $40–60), but no one had time to upsell and pitch the customer add-ons, so we’ll say $20. That’s $200 an hour lost.
Employees like me and the floor person were making about $7.50 to $8 an hour. Let’s say everyone was getting $8 an hour. Having two more employees would have cost an additional $16 an hour but would have prevented at LEAST $200 in sales losses. (And again, the actual number is almost certainly much higher.)
The store was open from 8 AM to 9 PM, so 13 hours. By cutting two employees all day, the store saved $208 a day. They lost AT LEAST $2,600 a day in sales.
BUT Bean Counter’s plan looked good on paper, before, after, and during the last quarter. They got the district out of the red! We were no longer over budget! Problem solved!
Tesla primarily makes cars. And when regarded solely as an auto-maker – it is over valued.
Tesla pioneered electric vehicles and established a head start in that market. Newer entrants into that market (including Chinese manufacturers) are catching-up and offering products with similar utility and competitive prices. Tesla’s first-mover advantage is not being sustained. The company is taking too long to produce new models and is not iterating its current line-up fast enough. Where is the Roadster? Where is the new better battery tech? Why is the Cybertruck failing to match expectation?
The company presented itself to the stock market as more than a mere car maker. Rather it is a tech company which happens to make cars. It argued that it should be valued as such, and that initially convinced the market. However the various technical innovations it promised have yet to materialise. Self-driving has improved, but it is many, many years late. The robo-taxi idea seems to have evaporated – there are still safety issues and regulatory hurdles. It’s AI vision stack is a really impressive bit of technology – but it is not a product.
The company has a CEO problem. The CEO has a history of over promising and under delivering. Rather than finishing products and releasing them in a polished state, the CEO presents semi-baked ideas to the market in the conceptual stage, and then take years and years to materialise. The market is getting wise to this bait and switch strategy.
The CEO is distracted with other companies and is at best a part-time manager. The CEO has not been good at attracting and retaining the best staff. When the head of the AI project left, this should have been a warning sign. The CEO has not created a workplace culture that values attention to detail and quality. Instead the culture is gung-ho and reckless, which frequently ends up causing more damage than good.
The CEO seems to be having either a drugs and or mental health problem and has recently decided to become more politically active in support of various right and far-right political groups. In some companies this would not matter, but Tesla’s main market is selling vehicles to individuals and families who are aware of environmental issues and support the transition to greener energy. The far-right regard electric vehicles as a government imposed initiative to spoil their god-given right to drive a pick-up, full of firearms, while running over vaccine-users. – This makes Tesla vehicles less attractive to people who would have previously bought them. No one wants to own a vehicle which has become a repugnant political statement.
The CEO clearly regards Tesla has his personal piggy-bank and demands absurd amounts of compensation for his part-time and mercurial contribution. This naturally upsets shareholders.
AI Tool Deciphers Herculaneum Scroll, and It’s All About Pleasure!
A team of student researchers have combined 3D-mapping and AI to decipher a Greek scroll that was encased in ash during the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The philosophical musing reveals Greek thought on the complexities of “pleasure”.
In the ancient Greek world “pleasure” wasn’t just an occasional indulgence; it was an Olympic event of the senses. From lively symposiums colored with courtesans and entertainers, to dramatic theatrical productions and festivals, the pursuit of delight was as integral to Greek life as debating philosophy.
Now, offering new insights into pleasure across the ancient Aegean, where it wasn’t a guilty pleasure but a cultural cornerstone, a Greek philosopher’s thoughts regarding pleasure have been decoded by AI. And adding to the intrigue, the source material was an ancient papyrus scroll that was entombed in ash during the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Text from the Herculaneum scroll, which has been unseen for 2,000 years. (Vesuvius Challenge/Nature)
Fusing 3D-Mapping and AI
The team of student researchers, comprising Youssef Nader, Luke Farritor and Julian Schilliger, who used AI to decode the damaged papyrus scroll, have scooped the $700,000 grand prize in the Vesuvius Challenge grand prize Vesuvius Challenge. They received the illustrious award for being the first team to “recover 4 passages of 140 characters from a Herculaneum scroll”.
Essentially, the young team combined 3D-mapping applications and AI to successfully penetrate a lump of blackened volcanic rock that has encased a scroll for almost 2,000-years, since Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Known as the Herculaneum papyri, the new combination of technologies identified tiny patches of ink within the fused ash, revealing hitherto unseen musings of a Greek philosopher contemplating ‘pleasure.’
A Gigantic Boon for Philosophy
Not only did the winning team of the Vesuvius Challenge decipher more than “85 percent of the characters illustrated within four passages comprising 140 characters each,” but they included a further 11 columns of text, bringing their total to around 2000 interpreted characters.
The text discloses the personal thoughts of Philodemus, the philosopher-in-residence at the library which once housed the Herculaneum papyri. As such, Professor Michael McOsker from the University College London told New Scientist that the findings represent “a gigantic boon” to the understanding of philosophy in the ancient Greek world.
The ancient Greek text muses on how the scarcity and abundance of material items impacts the pleasure received from them. According to Philodemus, a philosopher of the Epicurean school, the enjoyment derived from food and other goods is closely tied to their availability. In line with Epicurean philosophy, which emphasizes pleasure as life’s primary objective, the scarcity or abundance of these commodities plays a crucial role in shaping our well-being.
Additionally, it was noted that in his two-millennium-old text, there seems to be a subtle attack at the Stoic school of philosophy, suggesting they have “nothing to contribute regarding pleasure.” While Epicureanism centers on the pursuit of pleasure and tranquility, considering them the ultimate goals in life, in contrast, Stoicism emphasizes virtue as the highest good, advocating for inner strength and moral excellence to navigate life’s challenges.
What this all means for modern researchers, is that they have fresh data pertaining to Greek ideas about the prioritization of pleasure and tranquility (Epicureanism), against virtue and inner resilience (Stoicism), being the key foundation for a fulfilling life.
It Cost What? This Has To Stop!
Having bagged the Vesuvius Challenge the team of students now plan “to scale up the 3D scanning and digital analysis techniques,” while at the same time keeping an eye on the costs of analysis. It might have read like the $700,000 prize was a big win, but not when we put that amount into perspective.
It cost the team $100 for every square centimeter of analyzed rock, which tallies to between $1 million and $5 million per scroll. This sounds within the realms of research budget, right? But when you then consider there are another “800 scrolls” lined up to be deciphered, that calculates to between 800 million and 4 billion USD.
Therefore, a lot of ancient philosophy will go undeciphered, and as such it will remain a mystery for future researchers to tackle when lower cost research methodologies are developed.
Top image: Left; One of the Herculaneum scrolls that are being deciphered. Right; Text from the Herculaneum scroll Source: Vesuvius Challenge
I had already submitted my resignation. On the last day, the bitch who had committed all the prior unfair labor practices was, of course, at it again. She had me covering for other people, and didn’t let me take any breaks all day. An hour before the end of my shift, when a co worker had come to relieve me from covering for her, she told me the same supervisor wanted me down in her office so she could talk to me.”Oh really? Well, first I am going to take my morning 15 minute break, then I am taking my half hour lunch, then I am taking my afternoon 15, which I am legally required to do. That will bring me up to quitting time, so she can WANT all she wants”, and left. Heard later than she couldn’t believe I had done it, and went screaming my name through all 6 floors of the building looking for me LOL
CHINA WARNING! We Will Show Our Swords Against AMERICA
This was back in the mid 90’s, I was working at a pizza place. A good friend of mine had signed a contract with a major league baseball team, and he was back in town after his first season in the minors. He stopped in to see me at work, when he left one of the waitresses asked who he was. I told her, she seemed interested and asked if I could introduce her to him. I said sure, me and this girl had become good friends since she started working at this place.
I introduce them, they start seeing each other and things seem good. At some point, she learned about the signing bonus that he had received when he signed his contract. It wasn’t a ton, but it was a decent amount. I heard her tell a co-worker that she had stopped taking her birth control, she wanted to get pregnant so, “I can get some of that money”. I told my friend that she said this, and he broke up with her that evening.
She knew I told him, and she did not like that. I go into work the next day, she’s already working and she wants to have a talk. We’re talking, she asked if I told him, I said, “Yep, that was me”. There’s some shouting, and at some point, she grabs me by the throat and his her fist drawn back. The assistant manager grabbed her, and dragged her away. She was sent home for the day. The manager comes in, and he wants to fire both of us. A few coworkers and the assistant manager defended me, as I hadn’t started this fight. She was fired that evening.
Side note: a few weeks later, she tried to run me over with her car. As you can clearly see, she was a very stable individual.
A sales associate was pushing a very large cardboard box, filled with some kind of clothes, along one of the main aisles in the store. It didn’t look very heavy, but it was clearly much too large for any one person to carry.
She had picked up a lot of speed, and she was kinda racing forward, bent over the box like she was going for the gold in Olympic box-pushing, when she reached a spot where the floor changed to carpet. The two types of flooring were separated by one of those very narrow metal bands, flat enough to where it wasn’t generally noticeable.
The box hit the metal band and came to a full – and very abrupt – stop, but the woman did not. She could have done the maneuver a thousand times and never repeated her trick, but she somehow flipped over herself and landed in the box she’d been pushing.
I didn’t laugh at first. I actually managed to control myself, but then I saw the look on her face. She looked like a startled cartoon, anime style, and I just couldn’t contain my laughter after that. I knew that it was so, so wrong, but she looked like she was okay physically.
I still think of her sometimes, and whenever that happens, I can’t help but laugh like an insane hyena.
Rigatoni with Steak Sauce
Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 (12 ounce) rib eye steaks
Salt and pepper
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup dry red wine
1 (26 ounce) jar marinara sauce
1 cup beef broth
16 ounces dried rigatoni pasta
3 ounces Parmesan, shaved
Instructions
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large frying pan over high heat. Sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper. Cook the steaks until they are brown but still rare in the center, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the steaks to a plate and set aside to cool completely.
Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan. Sauté the onions and carrots until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes, with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Add the garlic and oregano, and sauté for 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer for 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce and broth. Cover and simmer over medium low heat to allow the flavors to blend, about 10 minutes.
Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, trim off any fat from the steaks, then cut the steaks into bite size pieces and set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the rigatoni and boil until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Drain the rigatoni.
Toss the rigatoni and reserved steak pieces and any accumulated juices from the steaks with the sauce to coat.
Transfer the pasta to bowls.
Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese shavings and serve.
Had a fella break into my house when on holiday in Brazil and a neighbour called the police and he was arrested in my house. She saw him break a small window to get in. Was big on the new consoles and computer games at the time, had all the latest. He’d taken suitcases from upstairs and filled them.
He told the policeman cockily he was going to come back and finish the job, he was a local heroin addict known to them.
When I came back from holiday I had to get a crime number, the policeman without giving a name gave me a massive clue who did it…off the record of course
.Not saying the two are related but I told a certain local person and the burglar was found tied to a lamppost naked a few days later in public view. I know a few locals had a vendetta against him so could have been anyone. A few months later the exact same happened to a teen who had been stealing cars locally and joyriding in them. I know the teen had to be cut free in public which must have seriously embarrassed him. An obnoxious fat kid who would gloat to folk who he had stole a car from.
Thought was a great way to deal with people who were getting away with petty crime and back out to do it again. Made the local papers as well which really would have rubbed it in.
This was when she was 17. She decided she wanted to make the big plunge and purchase a stereo system with the money she’d saved from various jobs. But she was nervous about being taken by nefarious sales people, so she asked her big brother (the guy with a house account at Groove-N-Tube… yeah I bought a lot of that stuff back then) to go with her to recommend what to purchase.
We arrive at what at the time was a big name electronics and appliance store (out of business now, no surprise). The sales person gloms onto us right away and his eyes are sparkling. He thinks he’s landed a couple (probably dating but maybe a young marriage), and he goes into his spiel. We walk through the store discussing the various things they have to offer. I ask some questions. My sister asks some questions. Salesperson totally ignores sis. Probably figures I’m the one wearing the pants in this decision. At one point, he totally turns his back on her while he discusses the attributes of a system. I could tell she was fuming but was too polite to say anything.
Finally, it’s time to make a decision. With his back still to my sister, he asks me: “So what can I pack up for you?”
I look him dead in the eye and say: “What are you asking me for? She’s the one buying it.”
He went white. Looked at my sister. She beamed at him and said: “I think I’ll buy something from a store that values all its customers.” And out she sailed.
By the time I went to college in West Texas, my pickpocketing days were well and truly behind me. I had seen the error of my ways, repented of my mischief, and was endeavoring to live an honest life again.
Little did I know that my new Lone Star country was home to one of the most absurd and illogical bits of fashion stupidity in history.
No, I’m not talking about chaps. Don’t even get me started on those.
I’m not entirely sure what it’s called, but I have heard it referred to as a “cowboy wallet.” The primary difference between it and a non-stupid wallet is that it is extra super-duper long.
This means that when you put it in the back pocket of your Wranglers, it sticks out the top like a pull-tab.
Are you effing serious, Texas? Why not just hang a sign saying FREE MONEY?
There may be a reader or two out there thinking, “no, I’d definitely notice if someone pulled my wallet. I’d feel it slide out!”
Trust me, you wouldn’t. It’s not any failure on your part, either. Pickpocketing is a bit like cheating at cards. When done properly, it has nothing to do with luck.
I had several friends in college who used these cowboy goodie-bags and I made sure to let them know the economic dangers of their rustic fashion. I had one friend named Logan with whom it became a running joke that I would pull his wallet pretty much every time I saw him. I’d obviously return it to him immediately, but even when he knew full well that I was going to do it, he was still powerless to stop me because it really is that easy.
So Quora, if you are the owner/carrier of a cowboy wallet and you happen to find yourself in a big city or, for that matter, pretty much anywhere besides your family’s ranch, I suggest that you consider either putting it in your inside jacket pocket or getting a different wallet. You would actually be better off taping your money to one of those flag-football belts than putting that thing in your back pocket, as you’d be more likely to notice when it got pulled.
The New York pickpocket rings (to the best of my knowledge) have all either become defunct or transitioned to more profitable ventures, and the city is now very safe. Nonetheless, wear one of those things around here and someone’s likely to flint you on principle.
McDonald’s most popular burger and the second most popular item on their menu (second only to their unique fries).
But have you ever stopped to wonder how it got its name?
You see, McDonald’s was originally founded by brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald.
They went by the nicknames Mac and Dick (forwhen Mac and Cheese just isn’t enough).
The “Big Mac” hit McDonald’s fast food restaurants in August 1968. However, before this, the executives at McDonald’s were struggling to come up with a name for this new super-sandwich.
The McDonald’s corporation tested out a couple of other names, including “The Aristocrat.”
Eventually, a secretary named Esther Glickstein (who was quite fond of co-founder Maurice), suggested the name “Big Mac”.
She admitted that the higher-ups initially laughed the name off when she first suggested it, but she got the last laugh when the name stuck!
But just imagine…
for one second…
if…
she had been more fond of Richard…
You could be enjoying a Big Dick, instead of a Big Mac.
My Girlfriend Asked For An Open Relationship, I Walked Out And Now I Laugh At Her Tears
I was general manager of a pregnancy resource center. It was a 501(c)(3) corporation, and we were completely dependent on donations. It was going broke when I took over. We got back to solvency within a year, without having to back off at all from the services we provided. In fact, we had grown quite a bit. There were 5 full time employees, and about 35 volunteers.
One day, right out of the blue, I was called to go to the office down the street of the chairman of our board of directors. When I got there, he and another board member summarily fired me. Before I left that office, the board chairman had written a glowing letter of recommendation for me.
Curious, I asked him why I was being let go. He said that the board had voted me out because I ran the place too much like a business and not enough like a charity. He had voted against firing me, but was outvoted. The reason they were going broke before hiring me was that no one in the place had any ability to manage money. So, making it more businesslike internally, without that being noticed by our clientele, just seemed wrong to them.
I’m not a waiter, but I will tell my experience. After work, a bunch of coworkers and I would go to the pub across the street. People came and left, as they got off work. We always ran a single tab. Someone would come, have one five dollar drink, and throw ten dollars into the middle of the table. The next person might have 3 $5 drinks, and throw in a twenty before leaving. Nobody wanted to risk stiffing their coworkers or the waitress.
The biggest problem was that at the end of the night, we often had a 35–40 percent tip.
Then a friend we used to work with, joined us for drinks, at first everything was fine, but after a few friday nights at the pub, he started to say. I don’t have any cash on me, just hand me the cash, and I will go put it all on my credit card.
Three weeks later, the waitress who had waited on us for years, sat down early in the evening, before our friend joined us and asked us if her service had slipped, because suddenly we had gone from 35–40 percent tips to exactly 10 percent the last few times. This was a few years ago in Canada, and 10–15 percent was the standard tip. It turns out our friend had been picking up our $300 for a $220 bill, and paying $242, with tip, and going home with $58 more than he came with, after drinking all night for free.
We said no, her service was still fabulous and suggested that she keep us on a group tab, and put him on a separate bill.
Our friend came and at the end of the evening went to grab the cash, and we said, no you have a separate bill.
He got all flustered, and we told him we didn’t want to see him for 6 months, until he learned his lesson.
Lionel Messi will go down in history as the man who united both Hong Kong and mainland Chinese football fans, both pro- and anti-establishment Hong Kong voters, and both its political elites and grassroots citizens, to have such seething hatred towards the same person.
I don’t think even bona fide war criminals like Tojo Hideki would be able to accomplish such a feat in the Sinosphere these days. There were people who paid thousands of HK dollars for a ticket, and traveled to Hong Kong all the way from Xinjiang and abroad, just for a glimpse of the legendary “king of football”. Instead, all they got was snubbed.
There’s no other way to put it. Messi messed up, big time.
Right now nobody really knows what’s going on, why he refused to fulfil his contract (of playing at least 45 minutes on the field), and why he behaved in such a cold and arrogant manner towards his fans in Hong Kong, to the extent that he didn’t even once smile or wave at them.
But judging from the fact that he did play ball in Riyadh, and that he said in an interview he will play again in Kobe, Japan later on, my gut feeling tells me this probably has to do with politics. And before some of you start going “but muh oppression/human rights”, remember that he didn’t protest being in Saudi Arabia.
It’s just too much of a coincidence. You see, right now Hong Kong is trying to pass a law known as “Article 23”. For those of you not from here, I’ll give you the rundown version: Hong Kong, which is part of the People’s Republic of China, has a constitutional duty to enact a law covering secession and subversion (pretty much every country and region in the world has this type of law, by the way).
This was supposed to have been done ages ago, but the anti-establishment, anti-China, right wing types pushed back against any discussion of it every single time. After the violent far right riots in 2019, the local government began to take national security more seriously, which is why western media, unsurprisingly, is trying to depict Article 23 as dystopic and totalitarian.
My instinct is that even if this whole ordeal in Hong Kong was not political at first (he could have just been a dick – not the most outlandish thing about footballers, honestly), Messi will make it political and milk all he can from it. He’s going to turn this thing into another Daryl Morey, NBA-China controversy, hijacking an entire sport for his own political virtue-signalling, and as a pledge of allegiance to both the United States and his home country of Argentina (which is currently being run by a far right neoliberal demagogue, who is trying to abolish the national currency in favour of the US dollar, outlaw abortions, and legalise the organ trade).
If nothing else, this would at least help him win over a few crowds in certain parts of the world where Sinophobia is politically correct. He might even run for political office on this far right platform after retiring from football. Who knows.
Again, I have to stress that this is all just speculation on my part. Nobody but Messi and those closest to him would know what’s really going on. I hope I’m proven wrong, and that the same shitshow that happened in Hong Kong would repeat itself in Japan, thus proving he wasn’t being disrespectful specifically towards the Chinese, and that he’s just a snobbish cunt to everyone. However, knowing how politicised football has become in recent years, I’m not counting on it.
I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shoutout to the real MVP on the field, Hong Kong singer G.E.M. (Gloria Tang), for doing her best to cheer up an angry and disappointed crowd, and trying to give them something worth their money. She’s the queen 🫅.
Lionel Messi will go down in history as the man who united both Hong Kong and mainland Chinese football fans, both pro- and anti-establishment Hong Kong voters, and both its political elites and grassroots citizens, to have such seething hatred towards the same person.
I don’t think even bona fide war criminals like Tojo Hideki would be able to accomplish such a feat in the Sinosphere these days. There were people who paid thousands of HK dollars for a ticket, and traveled to Hong Kong all the way from Xinjiang and abroad, just for a glimpse of the legendary “king of football”. Instead, all they got was snubbed.
There’s no other way to put it. Messi messed up, big time.
Right now nobody really knows what’s going on, why he refused to fulfil his contract (of playing at least 45 minutes on the field), and why he behaved in such a cold and arrogant manner towards his fans in Hong Kong, to the extent that he didn’t even once smile or wave at them.
But judging from the fact that he did play ball in Riyadh, and that he said in an interview he will play again in Kobe, Japan later on, my gut feeling tells me this probably has to do with politics. And before some of you start going “but muh oppression/human rights”, remember that he didn’t protest being in Saudi Arabia.
It’s just too much of a coincidence. You see, right now Hong Kong is trying to pass a law known as “Article 23”. For those of you not from here, I’ll give you the rundown version: Hong Kong, which is part of the People’s Republic of China, has a constitutional duty to enact a law covering secession and subversion (pretty much every country and region in the world has this type of law, by the way).
This was supposed to have been done ages ago, but the anti-establishment, anti-China, right wing types pushed back against any discussion of it every single time. After the violent far right riots in 2019, the local government began to take national security more seriously, which is why western media, unsurprisingly, is trying to depict Article 23 as dystopic and totalitarian.
My instinct is that even if this whole ordeal in Hong Kong was not political at first (he could have just been a dick – not the most outlandish thing about footballers, honestly), Messi will make it political and milk all he can from it. He’s going to turn this thing into another Daryl Morey, NBA-China controversy, hijacking an entire sport for his own political virtue-signalling, and as a pledge of allegiance to both the United States and his home country of Argentina (which is currently being run by a far right neoliberal demagogue, who is trying to abolish the national currency in favour of the US dollar, outlaw abortions, and legalise the organ trade).
If nothing else, this would at least help him win over a few crowds in certain parts of the world where Sinophobia is politically correct. He might even run for political office on this far right platform after retiring from football. Who knows.
Again, I have to stress that this is all just speculation on my part. Nobody but Messi and those closest to him would know what’s really going on. I hope I’m proven wrong, and that the same shitshow that happened in Hong Kong would repeat itself in Japan, thus proving he wasn’t being disrespectful specifically towards the Chinese, and that he’s just a snobbish cunt to everyone. However, knowing how politicised football has become in recent years, I’m not counting on it.
I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shoutout to the real MVP on the field, Hong Kong singer G.E.M. (Gloria Tang), for doing her best to cheer up an angry and disappointed crowd, and trying to give them something worth their money. She’s the queen 🫅.
Honestly, no way to be sure. On a Saturday night i was at a tavern having a few. I was supposed to leave and meet my Niece at another tavern. I wasted just enough time at the first place that my Niece and her friends decided to go to a different tavern. I was just about a mile down the road from the other tavern.
A whole load of police vehicles and emergency personnel trucks go flying by the first bar heading towards the other bar. A Shooting occurred at JB’s tavern; killing a bartender Named Jeff; who put himself between the gunman and his patrons.
The gunman did this because he was kicked out for harassing women. He went home shaved his head, dressed in camouflage, grabbed a rifle, and then finished his journey to insanity
He killed another man Rich; who I knew from my working in taverns. Jeff, I knew from school; he was a couple of years behind me. We weren’t best friends; but we both enjoyed playing poker. The killer also wounded like a dozen innocent people.
Luther Casteel was his name. I had to Google it because I was unsure of the spelling. He actually wounded 14 people and brought 4 weapons with him and a couple hundred rounds of ammunition.
I really cannot answer if my screwing around saved my life; but I believe that it saved my niece’s life.
Okay, this would have been cute if the guy wasn’t a huge piece of human garbage*. My crew and I were out to eat on Christmas Eve in Hawaii. One of the few places that was open was our hotel’s sushi restaurant. After eating a heroic amount of sushi, lard ass leaned back and explained, “that was so good. I’m famished!”
Read on for the rest of the story.
The flight attendant and I looked at each other and exchanged a glance. So, I casually said “How can you still be hungry after all that sushi?” He said “I’m not hungry, I’m famished.” I just said “famished is a synonym for starving.” He had to look it up. The n made some BS excuse.
Read on for my rant against this dumbass.
He was fucking stupid. His wife was pregnant with twins at the time. He was glad because he said twins would be easier than a single kid. Later, after they were born he would only talk about one of the. “Clair Bears” was what he called his daughter Clair. He rarely referred to her twin. We dubbed that one trash bag because it was obvious how he felt about his kids. He was just awful.
hong kong 香港 3/3 (if wong kar wai and wes anderson had a really bad short film as a baby)
My stepfather was an apartment building manager in Hollywood, California when I was a teen.
The modern building was large and well-kept. The one large ‘suite’ was a challenge to rent out because of the price and because it was just too luxurious for the neighborhood.
But the owner of the building found a tenant who exceeded her dreams: a young Arabian prince (a student?) who paid a hefty security fee and rental for a year upfront.
I rarely saw him and his entourage because they clubbed and partied until dawn.
When I did catch a glimpse, it was like watching a movie: a group of handsome, laughing young men dressed in flowing Arab robes, moving through the California sunshine.
When they left before the lease was up, the owner was told that the prince did not require rent and security deposit refunds.
The owner was delighted…until the suite was inspected.
The formerly white shag carpet had not been cleaned since the prince moved in, and much of it had a strange, dark tinge. The walls and ceilings were no longer pristine white either.
As the owner and my stepfather entered the massive livingroom, they discovered why the colors were so dingy.
The tenant had been using braziers ON THE CARPET to cook food, leaving greasy stains all over. Above, the ceiling was almost black from smoke. Mattresses had been dragged in from the bedrooms.
The kitchen was literally filled with spoiled food and dirty dishes and pans; the stove was caked all over with burned food. The refrigerator was a mold-filled, broken disaster.
The bathrooms were disgusting, and the owner backed quickly away and shut the doors because of the stench.
The 3 bedrooms had been used for pets (forbidden by the lease) – dogs and birds. Excrement and rotted food were everywhere.
Most cabinet and inside doors were damaged or missing. Old papers, clothes and other items as well as trash littered the apartment.
Reparing and refurbishing the suite took almost 6 months and cost way more than the substantial deposit and unused rent. A bill was forwarded to the prince’s lawyer and was paid promptly.
Note: In the interest of keeping this short, I have not written in detail about the destruction.
After being fed for two consecutive weeks, this beautiful stray cat became a part of the family.
I’ll tell you what happened to my dad, and you might understand. My dad owned part of the family business, he was the working partner in the business.
He worked 12–16 days, 7 days a week to make ends meet.
When I was 8 or 9 he had what was called at the time a nervous breakdown, he was in the hospital for months, and the business didn’t close.
He was out for two months, and my mom went in, evidently she had worked herself into a git, worrying about my dad, and the effect that only seeing him for an hour or two a day was having on the marriage.
My mother got a job. That wasn’t rare in the early 1960s , but it wasn’t common. My dad cut his hours to 10–12 hours a day 6 days a week. Still way too much, but now we took a yearly, week long camping vacation.
When I was 19 my dad had a heart attack, and they put the company up for sale.
When my dad got out of the hospital he was under strict orders not to work more than 40 hours a week. I dropped out of university to help run the family business, while they were selling it.
It took 4 years to sell the business.
My dads heart was never the same. He went to work for the new owners, working 36 hours a week, weekends off, for the first time in his life.
He retired at 65, and died before he was 66 .
That is why you don’t work at a job that stresses you out.
Ex-CIA: Biden is NOW a National Security risk for the world
When I was in 8th grade, a classmate along with my sister tore up a painting that I had spent three months working on.
Her name was Rita.
High School / Middle School head games.
But it was cruel. I spent a long time to make that artwork so that it would be displayed in a art fair. And then with pride, the day before the event, I proudly saw it hung on the wall in the fair… located in the High School gym.
But that night, they came in from Cheerleader practice. Got in the gym. Took my picture off the wall. And then carried to school the next day.
My picture wasn’t entered in the fair. It was missing.
When I went into my “home room” the next day, Rita and my sister came up to me, and the class and right before me tore my precious artwork into a million pieces and threw them in my face. Like confetti.
I was in shock.
The class laughed.
The teacher did nothing.
And (later on when I was at home) my mother told me that I “shouldn’t get angry over it”. Just move on she argued. While my father told me “you are the oldest … you have to take the hits”.
…
Who in the fuck convinced me to accept this God Damn life? What the Hell?
The other countries are sanction and embargo proof their economies. From keeping it’s reserves in non western banks to digitising their currencies, to trading via currency swap arrangement, or paying by other currencies than the dollar and U.S. cronies currencies. Sanctions will be totally a thing of the past within a decade at most.
The world is already broken into 2 groups now. One are US, it’s slave vassal nations, the U.S. fellow native slaughterers, the U.S. fellow despicable colonial masters, the few tiny nations around Europe that has be coerce to do shit for the west. This group is less than 2 dozen nation or you can say the minority group. It’s GDP as a group is also coming to 40% and falling fast of the world and in population less than 13%.
The majority group is call the Global South. It include most of Asia, Latin America and Oceania, and all of Middle East, Central Asia and the Caribbean. These nations add up to. At least 175 out of the world’s 195 nations. Or 87% of the world, 60% of the world’s GDP and growing fast and probably 90% or real purchasing power PPP on planet earth.
The first group either has no choice or succumbed to threat by the U.S to support and defend the western so call rules base international order. And sink and swim in it. The second group through the BRICS and SCO will successfully withdraw from the rules based international order but by bit.
Try to imagine a balloon. If you prick it with a pin the balloon will burst and if flies off and the air inside the balloon is gone for good. Now try imagining that the air is the wealth and reserves trapped in side the balloon. This 2nd group is sucking up its air but by bit, little by little till what is left belongs to the 1st group. By that time in a decade or so what will be left is a balloon that is at least half its size.
So within a decade U.S. dollars, SWIFT, Western Institutions, Western Systems, western rating agencies, western exchanges, world bank, IMF and many others that together represent the world order will still be there but only serve the west. The U.S. wants decoupling, the U.S. is getting it. The world is decoupling from the west.
Welcome to the new world.
Mind Virus
Women want Leaders. But the current 20-something group of women do not want to take the follower role. Thus they can never fit with the men that they desire.
I remember a lovely patient who had a very swollen abdomen due to ascites, a complication of cirrhosis of the liver.
Every day in the hospital, I would hang a bag of albumin and chat as I drained fluid from the swollen belly. This was in the day when liver transplants were rare and not for people who had developed cirrhosis from alcohol use.
When it was time for the patient to leave, I was given a very expensive bottle of red wine. I think it came from the patient’s extensive collection of wines. The family was wealthy. We both knew that the cirrhosis was not cureable. I wondered if all the wine was given away before the patient passed. The patient had a wistful smile and explained a bit about the wine that could never again be tasted. I was young and did not know anything about fine wines.
My husband and I shared the wine on our anniversary when we were interns.
Sometimes it is the things we love the most that cause us the greatest pain.
I am a welder with a specific set of specialized skills as an ironworker. I earned about $35 an hour on the lower end with my last job in the union. Im the guy walking on ibeams on skyscrappers hanging off the side welding moment welds. One company wanted to pay me less than McDonald’s to weld.
Recently, however, I have quit this line of work to make time for college. In doing so I was searching for lower paying but more reasonable hours and location. Going to work at the same place for 40 hours a week was my plan. I was having trouble doing this since most companies are wanting me to work lots of overtime.
One day I had scheduled an interview for a job which said I wouldn’t be asked to work over 40 hours a week and it was relatively close to my home. Inquiring about the pay they just said it depended on my skills but it would be very good. I didn’t press further for detsils. On interview weld test day I accidentally left much too early. Realizing I would be 45 minutes early I decided to stop for lunch at a McDonald’s. When I was there I noticed they were offering $22/hour for a maintenance position. I spoke with the manager about it but told them I could probably make more money welding in a shop.
I went to my interview and was asked to take a weld test that took about 2 hours. At the end of the weld test one of the managers took me to a table in the office and saw I was asking for $28 an hour, really I was hoping for closer to $30. He told me the most he would be able to pay was 19 or maybe 20.
“I don’t appreciate all of my time you’ve wasted here, sir. The McDonald’s down the road pays better than this.”
I was quite pissed that I had just wasted well over 2 hours of my time with the drive there, back, and other things I did to prepare for that interview.
The shop welding jobs are paying an average of $25 an hour around here, so I’ll be working at McDonald’s until these cheap asses pay what it’s worth to weld. Why should I do a skilled job when McDonald’s pays nearly the same? I wish more welders would refuse to work for peanuts and maybe we could get some decent wages.
Of course, China have slavery like the US in … errr … emmm … yep … about 3,000 years ago, after Zhou Dynasty established in 1046 BC, Chinese slavery was ended.
Slaves made a great contributions in the war of Zhou rebels to overthrow the Shang Dynasty. In return, the first monarch of the Zhou Dynasty ordered the permanent abolition of slavery, and this order was maintain by all following Chinese dynasties, because that monarch is seen as saint and model of a virtuous ruler for all Chinese rulers, including barbarian born Chinese rulers. Even Mongolian emperors in Yuan dynasty would go to his tomb to worship him in every years, no need to mention others.
In the following 3000 years, although there were several barbarian born monarchs reintroducing slavery into China, but none of their regimes could survive over more than 50 years.
And strictly speaking, the Qing Dynasty had slavery, but their slavery was somewhat distorted because it only existed among the Manchus. The Manchu Eight Banners Army was actually a slave army, with soldiers and officers were actually slaves belongs to the banner lord. They fought in banner lords’ commanding for generations.
But the Manchus seem to regard this slave status as an honor, so you can see that when Manchus write letters to the emperor or their banner lord, they would call themselves something like “a humble slave greeting to my dear lord” in the beginning.
And when some Han favored officials of certain emperors also write like this, the emperor will directly reply to him, saying, “Please call yourself a vassal, you are my Han vassal, not my slaves in banner”.
So, for the Qing Dynasty, slaves in the Manchu system were more like hereditary family of attendants, who established a generational contract. Becoming slaves to the banner lord was not shameful for the Manchus, but rather an honor accepted and protected by banner lords, and all banner lords are royal members.
It was a letter from governer of Hu province and Guang province (This is a very big official position, ruling lands almost over two modern France), a Han official Yang ZongRen, to the YongZheng Emperor of Qing Dynasty, those black writting was Yang’s original writting, red one were the reply of the Emperor.
In this letter, Yang called himself “the slave”, and Yongzheng Emperor strike out that word, and changed it to “vassal”, and noted that “claiming to be a vassal” is more appropriate.
Of course, this is actually just a Han governor in flattering the emperor. The emperor himself was very happy on that, but still remembered to correct it for him, because it’s not appropriate.
oh … btw, about this letter, except the stroke and note in the right, the left red paragh is:
I am fine (reply the greeting of Yang), although you just arrived in this official position for no long, what you reported and what you did, has already pleased my wish, you are worthy of being a high-ranking governer, so today I leading civil service officials and military officials decided to award you xxxxxx (I don’t know how to translate this, you can think it’s some kind of medal), to recognize your excellent work.
Just let the person know politely. If they refuse to move or try to get you to do a seat swap, and if you don’t want, simply say no, I.dont want to trade seats, please get up. If the person won’t move, push the call button for the flight attendant. Do not move, or let anyone behind you get to their seat. The flight attendant will take care of it more quickly, if the boarding process, is at a stand still.
Happened to me once. I was treating myself to First Class. The First Class section had to rows on the left, but only onecrow on the right. Meaning, those seats were a window/aisle/and had no seat mate. I also, had, the last seat in the row so, nobody behind me. This group of six traveling together, got on first, and all wanted to sit together, took my seat.
The person in my seat redirected me to, a seat on the otherside of the plane, someone had the window seat already. I said, no, I’d like my seat please. They group looked at eachother, the guy in my seat, acted like he wasn’t budging. I didn’t let the people behind me go around me. The flight attendant immediately asked if everything was ok. I said, just waiting for him to get out of my seat, I asked nicely once already. She told him to move, and that he was holding up the boarding process.
You don’t have close friends just friends. Most of the people you are around, are only there because of circumstances not really related to you in anyway.
The sooner you start focusing and planning on your life goals the easier it will be achieving them.
One of the most important thing you can teach yourself during your 20’s is self discipline. This is the first thing we should learn and crave to achieve.
Life moves very fast, do things you enjoy at the moment cause our situations tend to also change as fast then we later feel like we missed out on somethings.
The more you expose yourself to the world around you, the more you expand your thinking horizons. Travel, socialize and live life don’t lock yourself out of these important things.
Learn to cook a variety of menu’s of proper home meals. Cooking is a very important skills much more as an adult.
You start using drugs as curiosity soon it becomes for fun later it becomes a dependency. The transition is so fast you barely realize it.
Learn about proper workout routines you can do to energize your body. You don’t have to do hard excercise even if its just yoga. Its more about something you can commit to that benefits you.
Reading and getting creative are ways to keep your brain sharp and generate new ideas. Make sure you read novels and try out the different forms of art around you.
Don’t be selfish in your 20’s, most of the things we hold on to are barely important in our 30’s. Stuff like money, food, material possessions. Learn to share cause these memories are the ones that we keep. Be real with every real person around you.
This takes me back a few years. The Philadelphia DA felt he caught “Streets” workers at extreme wage theft.
The city had gone through a series of bad snow storms requiring both city employees and contractors running snowplow on the streets for over a week.
A few months later the DA holds a press conference that a particular employee is being charged with felonies related to false time sheets (getting paid for time not worked). It might have been the soft kick-off to their campaign for mayor or governor — showing how they could fix problems like this.
In next day or two the employee is arraigned in court with lawyers from the union. The DA (usually an assistant associate low level attorney handles these hearings) give a speech about how it was not humanly possible for the employee to have worked the hours claimed (from memory: between 120 and 160 hours in a week) so they had to be sleeping on the job — “stealing from the taxpayers of our fine city, this just shows how the union abuses the city.”
Union attorney gets to say their piece. A few flowery words about clueless wealthy elected officials overreaching. Then the attorney drops the appropriate section of the contract (again: from old memory so not exact quote) “so long as any contractor truck is on the road performing snow removal and an employee is *available* for work, they shall be paid.”
This was exactly the situation covered by the contract. It was written that way so the city could bring in help for emergency-level snows but not outsource the employees.
A bit of evidence how the employee *worked* a lot of hours and then slept “on-site” (where they would normally pick up their truck) so they were clearly “available”.
The criminal case was thrown out. There may have been a $ settlement to the employee for false arrest and the DA’s political career petered out.
Beef and Mushroom Stew with Caraway Dumplings
Browning meat in the oven reduces the amount of fat needed for cooking. Serve with julienne parsnips and carrots.
Ingredients
Stew
1 1/2 pounds round or blade steak
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Bouquet Garni*
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (if necessary)
1/2 pound small mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
* Tie together with kitchen twine 1 celery stalk with leaves, 3 or 4 sprigs parsley, 1 bay leaf and small sprig of thyme
Dumplings
1 cup soft fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup melted margarine or butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 egg white
Instructions
Stew: Cut steak into 1 1/2 inch cubes. In a bag, combine flour, pepper and salt. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat with flour mixture. Shake off excess and place meat on wire rack in flameproof casserole. Bake in 350 degree F oven for about 25 minutes or until browned. Meanwhile, prepare Bouquet Garni.
Set meat aside on platter.
Place casserole over medium heat. Only if necessary add all or part of the oil. Add mushrooms, cap side down, and cook until golden, transferring to platter as they brown.
Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is transparent. Add stock, wine and tomato paste; bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping bottom of casserole with wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits.
Return meat to pan; add Bouquet Garni. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour or until meat is tender. Meanwhile prepare dumplings.
Dumplings: In a bowl, toss bread crumbs and melted margarine together with a fork. Combine flour, baking powder, caraway seeds and salt. Mix lightly into crumb mixture. Beat together egg and egg white; add to crumb mixture and mix lightly (mixture will be soft) shape into 8 balls of even size.
Remove Bouquet Garni and discard. While stew is simmering, add dumplings, cover and cook, without removing lid, for 18 minutes.
I had a scheduled interview for an OFFICE job! Up to that point I had been doing piecework sewing, processing chickens, and guarding slabs of foam rubber… This was a HUGE step up!
During the night before the interview, it snowed 4 inches in Baltimore. Now this is not that big a deal… except in Baltimore, it IS. Public transport did not run. Traffic was pretty sparse first thing in the work day… I decided to walk the 3 miles to the interview. I got there in plenty of time, changed my hiking boots for heels in the ladies’ room, and went to the office where the interview was to be held.
Nobody home.
A guy showed up and asked what I was doing standing in the hall. I explained I was there to interview as an accountant’s assistant. He asked how I got there. When I said I walked, he looked dubiously at my heels. He said, “In THOSE shoes?” I admitted my boots were in the ladies’ room. He asked to see the boots, so I went and got them. As soon as he saw that I really did have boots I was hired. I had not yet even entered the offices.
I always field strip my cigarettes and stick butts in my pocket. Yes, it smells disgusting.
I have a P38 on my keychain. This is a tiny can opener used to open cans of C-rations. It even gets used once in a while.
5. Take my hat off when going indoors. Because of this, I rarely wear a hat.
6. When a passenger in a vehicle, I act as “assistant driver.” I let driver know if it is clear or not on my side.
7. I act as a ground guide for people backing up. I will often ask people to ground guide me when I am backing up, often to their puzzlement. Of course, they do not know the correct hand signs to use and those I am helping often don’t understand the signs I give them.
8. I scan the side of roads more than necessary in the US. Not too many IEDs on our roads.
9. I say, “I got your back” or “Do you have my six?” too much.
10. I use the military phonetic alphabet. D is for Delta, not Dog.
11. I use the word “task” a lot.
12. I tend to try to help people with what the military calls hip pocket training. Many people find this annoying and would prefer to screw something up than get some quick pointers.
13. Finally, I learned to never put more than eight words on a power point slide because the Army puts hundreds of words on one slide. Along with this, I also learned to NEVER ask someone to read a power point slide with hundreds of words on it.
China would be burning a lot of bridges if they do and China is hesitant to do that
The West knows it’s dying and is thus ready to inflict every horror on it’s population
They are prepared to subject their population to everything from inflation to starvation knowing that they have tamed their population sufficiently through propaganda
They can cause China to lose quite a bit of money if they invade Taiwan and that could make a lot of Chinese unhappy and cause some strife within the country
Plus more importantly, China believe Taiwanese are their brothers and killing them is a no no because at least 30% Mainlanders have family in Taiwan
So that’s what’s stopping China
Otherwise if China decide that they don’t care, China can pulverize and decimate Taiwan into a graveyard overnight and nobody can do a thing to stop them without risking WWIII
Yep, my brother fell out of a Huey. He was in Nam and the radio went wild, with troops needing to be evacuated from a hot zone. He jumped in as the M-60 machine gunner. It was the first time he flew into a hot zone. His adrenaline was high. Because of that, he forgot to strap in. The Huey headed out over the paddies and couldn’t land because there was a nest of Charlies that needed to be taken out first. The pilot banked to the left super hard so my brother could shoot the 60 down at Charlie’s nest. The pilot banked too hard and my brother fell out right on top of two Charlies. The wind was knocked out of all three of them. My brother was the first to come to his senses, and realized he didn’t have a weapon. He looked around and found one of the Charlie’s AK and as they started to get up he blasted them both. Killed them dead, he did. The chopper picked the GIs up and then came back and rescued my brother. When he got back to the base, the pilot said, “That is the bravest thing I have ever seen, jumping unarmed out of a Huey, kill two gooks, and saved a squad. Boy I am going to put you in for a Silver Star.” My brother told him, “I fell out and was just trying to save my ass.” He still got the Star. Analyse and improvise. A motto to live by!
The first time a European owned company announced a round of layoffs in a month. I was the new guy in the group and figured I was disposable. The day of the announced layoffs I went into work wearing my “Gone With The Wind” tie.
When I was summoned to the boss’ office, my desk had been cleared of all personal effects. My pulled out a paper and made to read it. I stopped him and said, “I know I’m being laid off. What are the details?” Boss was rather startled and we started talking about it.
I told him that he had a good old boys club where engineers from headquarters would rotate in then return for a raise & promotion. U.S. employees were treated as second rate. Thanks for the layoff. I was pretty disappointed in the company.
When he asked how I knew that I would be laid off, I told him that the company had announced the layoffs a month earlier. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that I was one of the newest people in the group and not part of the “club”. Of course I was the easiest to lay off.
I also told him that it was pretty stupid to announce the layoffs a month previous. Everyone quits working and it encourages mischief. Oh they hadn’t thought of that.
The bosses were gone within 3 months.
The other was a company where I was the entire engineering department. My boss & I were always at odds. He wanted to get rid of the product line. I’m sure the fact that his brother worked for a competitor had nothing to do with his decision.
The company staged an ambush layoff on January 2nd. Oh well, at least they didn’t screw up the holidays.
Although they offered $10k, I refused to sign their termination agreement and collected unemployment all through the covid lunacy. Made out like a bandit.
Why sex is important.
Men know this instinctively. Modern 20-something, 30-something women, are having trouble with this.
I was at home, having broken my foot in a stupid accident, when the head of HR was “in the area” and wanted to see me. After the pleasantries, she told me that I was being made redundant and my job no longer existed.
In the UK, firing someone is not easy or cheap. A company can find itself in court and it can all get a bit grubby. So a more usual tactic is to say that the employees job is no longer needed. Employers like this, because it saves it all getting public, legal and unpleasant, and employees like it because the employer has to pay to make it all go away.
So we negotiated a redundancy fee and the next day a car came with my personal things from my office. I trousered the (generous) cheque and picked up the phone.
The irony was that I had just had an exceptional year. I had won a load of creative awards (I was a creative director at Saatchi and Saatchi) including a Cannes Gold. I have no idea why they wanted me out. To this day I don’t know.
Two weeks later I signed a contract with a rival company for a bigger salary.
The local supermarket includes a hot table where they sell hot cooked chickens for $10.99 It’s a good deal – I’ll get one occasionally. It looks like this; if this is unfamiliar in your area:
The pack includes a cardboard handle for easy carrying.
One day, I noticed that whoever had labeled the latest batch of chickens had made a mistake. Instead of $10.99, they were labeled as $0.99. Cool! Cheap chicken! lol. Not really – I like the folks there and quickly let the lady in the meat line know. The chickens had only just come out; no loss to anyone.
Except – I was not the only one that had found it. A woman of – how do I say this – limited intelligence saw it and began screeching at the top of her lungs “Chicken for a buck! CHICKEN FOR A BUUUUUCK!!!” and began loading her cart.
The manager arrived right at that moment, apologized and began to correct the matter.
The woman went ballistic; screaming, shouting bloody blue murder, accusing him of stealing, of trying to starve her to death, etc. etc. etc. The price was 99 cents dammit, she deserved chicken for 99 cents!
The manager, in an effort to ease the situation, agreed. He told her that alright; she had ‘found’ the error; she could have a chicken for 99 cents.
There was a long pause as the woman looked dumbfounded. Then she launched herself at the table, screeching, trying to grab every chicken she could possibly get her hands on. Chickens were falling everywhere; spilling onto the floor. The manager tried to intervene but no help – she was grabbing, stuffing, howling; it was a disgusting display of a complete lack of dignity.
She was taken out of the store in handcuffs; without her 99 cent chicken. The entire batch of roast chicken was destroyed.
Of course I agree with you absolutely, and any person could see it unless you are in denial or made brain dead by the western media.
They offer consistency and continuity in their policies to investors and business yet the protect their citizens against the ills of raw capitalism. In other words Socialism with Chinese characteristics takes the best of both worlds and rejects the flaws of both systems.
Hence the growth of both economies of China and Vietnam both grow phenomenally and consistently. For decades and now generations through ups and downs of the economic cycle. Westerners scream democratic and freedom but ignores the fallacy of this costly, inefficient and mostly corrupt system that put their people at the mercy raw capitalism.
If you look at the U.S. for example, 1% have more money than they ever need, 10% are wasteful and selfish but can afford to live comfortably , while 70% are poorer than most advance economies and in fact are like the majority of Chinese except that the Americans has to bear the burden of it’s weaker purchasing power in their country. The majority of Chinese has high disposable income. And while Chinese cut out the destitute poor in the past 10 years, the U.S. raw capitalism allowed the 19% in Americans to have to worry where their next meal is coming from and they barely have 500 dollars to their name!
A government role in a society is surely to bring prosperity, peace and harmony and healthy living for everyone. From that count the Chinese population enjoys that. Western liberal democracy allows the rich to get richer and the poor to be destitute. But because they wrongly thinks they need to overlord the entire world, they barely have enough money left to pay for infrastructure, college education or healthcare. So they fail the poor and pamper the rich!
Are you surprised that according to western surveys, 91% of Chinese favour their government and 36% of Americans favour their government! I am not! Are you?
My son was given a car for his birthday. We bought it. It was nice little car that had been wrecked and was repaired and had a salvage title. That meant that a previous insurance carrier had totalled it following the wreck, and it had been repaired and state certified to be safe.
Anyway, he had been driving it for several months to school and to work after school. This one day he was in his way to work and came to a stop sign. Stopped, insured the traffic was clear and went to make a left turn. Older lady than him (he was 17, she was 36) had stopped at the opposite stop sign and gunned it, hitting my son’s car in the back quarter panel and rear door on the passenger side. He called me and I went to the scene. The accident was on state highway, inside city limits. I had the option to have the highway patrol called to work the accident, however I decided to just let the local police work it. I spoke with the lady and she was all apologetic and saying she’d take off it…yeah, right…
She took care it alright. She whines and said that it wasn’t her fault, that kid just stomped on the gas and caused the accident. They took her word for it. Even though you could about tell from my son’s damage that she caused the accident.
So the next day, my son is home in bed sick. I’ve medicated him and he’s sleeping. The phone rings, it’s the insurance adjuster from her insurance. Absolutely demands to speak with my son. I tell him no, that my son is sick, had been medicated and it’s sleeping, and that I won’t wake him. Adjuster didn’t like that and was insistent. Well he woke Mama Bear…I told him that my son was 17, still a minor, and that he (the adjuster) would wait until I said that my son could talk with him, then I hung up.
Could days go by. Another phone call from someone else in that company. Says that my son was assigned 50% blame (no fault state here) because he turned into a four lane road and didn’t stay in the closest lane. I laughed and asked what town did your adjuster go to? My town has zero four lane roads, only part of the highway with a center turn lane, that ended 2 blocks before the intersection where the accident happened. They wouldn’t budge, so I said fine whatever, just cut me a check. BTW, they wouldn’t pay for a rental since my son wasn’t 21, and wouldn’t get one for me so I could let my son have my car, since I wasn’t in the accident… we only had liability insurance on my son’s car as it was so expensive, so they couldn’t do anything.
So I took pictures and sent them to the insurance adjuster and asked him to show me where the four lanes were. He tried to say the wide shoulder was a lane, yeah.. No.
Get another call, they do they’ll cut a check for less than half what we paid for the car, since it had a previous salvage title. Even with the salvage title, this care was with 4 times what they offered and twice what I paid. I only wanted them to pay what I had bought the car for. They refused, so I told them I’d let my attorney handle it from there on out. That gal said, “go ahead, we hear that all the time”. I said that fine, but do you hear this “I’m the biggest bitch in the state and I mean what I say”. She started spluttering and I just hung up.
We engage our attorney. The vehicle was towed to an indoor storage facility (the window was busted and the interior would have been exposed to weather). In the meantime, my son graduates high school and joined the army. After several months our attorney calls and says that the insurance company wants me to release the car to them as it’s racking up a huge bill. I asked if they were giving me what I wanted, he said no, they’d only come up to about 3/4 of my demands. I laughed and said no.
Another few months go by. Now my son has graduated basic and is almost finished with his advanced training and is days away from getting married. Insurance is whining about the storage fees again. Again they don’t want to pay. Of course once I hired our attorney, the suit included the insurance paying my attorney as well as the storage fees and the original cost of the car. So again I say no. I got a call from the storage facility. The was a tow truck there for the car. I drove there and told the driver nope, you can’t have it. He tried to say that he had orders to impound it… I laughed at I called my attorney.
So now it’s been over 2 years since the accident. My son and his wife are in Germany. I get a call from my attorney. He’s laughing his ass off. Said he had a check for me, $500 more than I asked for and all storage fees and his fees as well. Said the person he had been dealing with was whining about how hard I was to deal with and that I should have compromised sooner. Attorney told him that had I been given what I asked for at the get go, it would have been a hell of a lot cheaper. Was told that since hardly anyone actually engages an attorney, it’s the risk they take, and since their attorneys were on staff, they didn’t cost anything extra.
So because they wouldn’t pay out a measly $5400…it finally cost them almost $30,000.
I kept the extra $500 and sent the $5400 to my son.
So it might not have hurt the insurance company to shell out that $30k, but to me it was the principal. They thought because he was 17 that they could take advantage of him. They didn’t count on me.
I see a couple of answers that are good but don’t answer the whole question. Manufacturing is important but it is more than just that, but they are good at manufacturing.
1 – SpaceX has a strong bias toward action. Elon wants it done tomorrow and he expects you to work all night if you have to in order to make it. They definitely push action now. (Blue Origin started before them and still hasn’t made it to orbit. SpaceX did in 2008).
2 – SpaceX has a willingness to learn. They test early and often to learn about basic design flaws early. An example is the Starhopper. It was the simplest version you could ever build of a Starship. It was a tin can (actually fuel tanks) with an engine and a flight computer. They tested the engine and the control algorithm using that.
3 – SpaceX has a bias toward simplicity. One of Elon’s favorite sayings is “The best part if no part”. In other words they always look for ways to eliminate whole systems. Starship and the “catch” is an example of that. They eliminated landing gear and a few thousand pounds of structure to support it.
4 – SpaceX is willing to dream big and innovate. In 2010 when Elon said they would land boosters on the Falcon 9 and reuse them people laughed at him. That is impossible! They lost a couple figuring it out but they have now landed 239 of them as of 12/19/2023 according to their website. I assume that is updated for last night’s launch. (They launch a couple of times a week). For Starship they will catch the rocket during a controlled descent!
5 – SpaceX understands where the real cost of space travel comes from and avoid it. They try not to drop millions of dollars of flight hardware in the ocean. They also launch often to avoid accumulating costs (salaries) without income (launches) and are moving to improve both with Starship.
6 – They avoid silly costs like buying multi-million dollar NASA certified flight components. Instead they usually build their own from off-the-shelf commercial components and save millions.
The end result is they are doing things no one else can or will ever do. Next stop Mars!
My wife and I were visiting friends, and we’d all been joking around for a couple of hours. Some of the jokes were “mean” in the “I’m just busting your balls” sense, but I didn’t think there was any genuine meanness going on.
On the way home, my wife got really quiet. I asked her what was wrong, and she said, “You really don’t know, do you?” She then told me I’d seriously hurt her feelings.
My heart sank. That’s the one thing I never, ever want to do. She’s my best friend, and causing her pain is unforgivable. But, no, I didn’t know what I did. I had no idea what she was referring to.
She found this hard to believe, because, from her point of view, I embarrassed her in front of our friends by, out of the blue, accusing her of being “bad” in a very specific way (which I won’t go into here, because I’d hate to humiliate her, again).
Immediately, I remembered saying it, but … but … it had been a joke! We’d all been joking around, in a cutting sort of way, and I’d just joined in.
My wife said, “It didn’t sound like a joke!”
“But why would I purposefully want to hurt you?”
“I don’t know. I was flabbergasted when you said it. I guess you must resent me.”
I apologized. I hate it when people make excuses for themselves while apologizing (“I really, really meant it as a joke!”), so I didn’t. I said “I’m very sorry. I should never hurt you. That’s terrible. I love you.”
She gradually got over it—or pretended to—but I didn’t. I realized this has happened to me before, and, a few days later, I discussed this with my wife, being careful not to make anything sound like an excuse.
“I think sometimes, when I’m joking, I don’t signal the fact with an ‘I’m just kidding’ voice. Would you say that’s true?”
“Yes,” she said. “You have a very dry sense of humor. It’s often hard to tell if you’re joking or not. Sometimes I have to explain to people that you’re joking.”
I’m autistic, and though (after decades of work), my social skills are mostly indistinguishable from a non-autistic person, that’s one way I screw up. When joking, I have a totally flat affect. I don’t realize it at the time. I don’t feel like I have a dry sense of humor. In my head, I’m goofy, not dry, but the goofiness doesn’t always translate.
Once, at work, when, at the end of a meeting, my boss asked “What will you be working on tomorrow?”
I said, “I don’t plan on coming to work tomorrow. I think I’ve worked enough for one lifetime. I’m going to stay home from now on. That sounds like more fun.”
There was a long pause. Everyone stared at me. Finally, in a really quiet voice, someone asked “Are you joking?”
To me, it was obvious I was joking. But I was in a minority of one. And this wasn’t in a stodgy, conservative office. This was a partying crowd. (Part of the problem is that I tend to joke when I feel like it. I don’t wait until there’s a general “we’re joking now” vibe. This mistake isn’t terribly conscious on my part, but I’m vaguely aware that I do it.)
In addition to being autistic, I come from a part of the midwest where people naturally have a flat affect. I grew up around folks who sounded a little bit robotic, and I inherited their tendency to talk without much vocal music. (If you’ve heard Martin Starr’s voice on “Silicon Valley,” you know what I’m talking about.)
I thought more about that night, with my wife and our friends, and realized I’d been trying to impress them. Once the jokes got started, I wanted to out-joke everyone else, and I stopped caring about who I trampled on. While I hadn’t purposefully hurt my wife’s feelings, I had used her to get a cheap laugh.
And then I thought some more about it. The thing I’d “jokingly” accused her of was something about her that irritated me at times. Had I acted out, in a passive-aggressive way, instead of talking to her, directly? I can’t discount that possibility. If that’s what I did, I was an asshole.
I went camping with my dog. We arrived at night and ended up in a remote area. I managed to get the tent up, get a fire going, plopped myself down with my dog at my side on a leash.
Suddenly she jumped and barked at something, I then smelled this weird smell, it was a grassy metallic smell that stung my nostrils. In that second i didn’t realize it was fresh skunk odor. My dog startled and lunged at the skunk and sprayed my girl right in the face, her eyes were slammed shut.
I had to take her to the water pump and wash her eyes out and wash her face and head as best as I could late at night.
Then I had another problem, where would my dog sleep ? I couldn’t leave her tied up outside due to the skunk and/or bears. If I left her in my car I would never get the smell out. So she slept in the tent and stunk the tent up.
I stuck it out, gave her several baths of dish soap,.hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Still took,.weeks for the smell to go away.
She has a thick coat and for months I brushed or.petted her the skunk smell would drift out of her coat.
I never forgot that grassy metallic smell of fresh skunk odor and I hate skunk smell.
I’m originally from Edinburgh, Scotland but now live in Perth, Australia. I had decided one day to visit AQUA which is Perth’s aquarium and was using a bus instead of driving. When we arrived at the stop for AQUA a young male and female were getting off too and asked the driver how to get to the aquarium ( it’s at the far end of a complex with shops, cafes, beachside etc) so I said I was going there too and would show them the way.
On walking we chatted and I realised the girl was Scottish and asked whether she was here on holiday. They both were and we discussed where she was from ..it was St Andrews. Further conversation re courses at Uni etc and she said she was studying Physics and Space Science at Edinburgh University. That was a coincidence as my niece had done a very similar course at Leicester Uni as Edinburgh didn’t have that course when my niece was at Uni. I told her my niece had done the course at Leicester and she said a friend of hers had also gone to Leicester. I mentioned my niece by Christian name and was asked what her surname was. The friend was my niece. Then I remembered my sister and her OH had friends who lived in St Andrews. This girl was the friend’s daughter and was only in Perth for a few days as she and her b/f were having a tour round Australia.
This girl’s father had been my sister and her OH’s best man at their wedding. If I hadn’t been on that bus on that particular day or if I hadn’t overheard them ask exactly where the aquarium was we would never have known the connection. Quite the coincidence.
If war means China going to the U.S. to fight America, then you are right. But it is a not factor. China does not want to do that unless the U.S. hit China. China won’t be the first to lay its hands by
If war means China fighting off U.S. in China which include Taiwan, China then let me make it super clear. China is super duper ready now to give the U.S. such a hiding it will collapse the U.S. financially, economically, politically and militarily that the U.S. will never be the same again. Don’t even think about it. Your media, your politician and say what you like but if we have to sink all you dozen aircraft carriers we will in the defence of the motherland.
I think the U.S. knows that, that is why it won’t dare. But god help the U.S. if move beyond talking shit.
The research company I worked for was downsizing. My previous boss had already been let go and my new boss kept sending his employees to learn everything in my department. Well one fave employee thought she was better at my job and kept trying to change our protocols. She never actually did any work, just made our lives miserable.
Then the day came where new boss walked in and started handing out moving boxes. He didn’t even say a word, just passed out the boxes. We all packed up and left. Now my lab was a resource lab that did a ton of work for the other labs. Suddenly me and all my staff were let go and the new boss handed it over to his people.
Guess what? They had never done these procedures, used the high tech equipment or even understood the complicated algorithms to process the data. First week I get 9 phone calls asking for help. That was met with a big NOPE. Then I get a call that the favorite employee had mishandled one of the very expensive robot units and it was out of order. They wanted ME to come in and reprogram it and get them back up and running. Oh heck no! I never went back and never helped.
Lesson of my story is don’t play favorites and make sure you have the staff to accomplish the job.
It was in the 90’s on an international flight. There was a middle aged lady with a Gameboy playing a game at full volume after the lights went out and most of the passengers were sleeping.
People were asking her, then telling her, to shut off the sound. It appeared as though she did not speak English. So one guy rang the flight attendant, who came quickly, but could not communicate with the lady. She got another flight attendant who spoke the woman’s language, who seemingly asked her very politely to turn off the sound. Sorry, I don’t know what language it was. And if I did I wouldn’t say.
As soon as the flight attendant walked away, she started another game. Beep, beep, boing.
Angry passengers were yelling at her. Her husband got up to defend her. Someone rang the flight attendant again. You could tell by the exasperated sigh of the flight attendant that she knew what was going on.
She scolded the woman (assuming from her tone), who pretended to be hurt. It just kept getting stranger and stranger.
The woman shut off the Gameboy and put it away. But as soon as the flight attended walked away, she pulled it out and started another game. Beep, beep, boing. Here we go again.
Finally, a big burly man walked over, put his big hand on the husband’s shoulder and warned him, “I have no problem with you, but you better sit down if you know what’s good for you.” The husband might not have spoken English, but he sat down.
The big man pulled the Gameboy out of the woman’s hands, pulled off the back, took the batteries out, and gave it back to her. She was now screaming in a language I did not understand.
“You’ll get the batteries back when we land. If you had just turned down the sound this wouldn’t have happened.” He was raising his voice, partially because he was angry, but partially because he thought she didn’t speak English.
Finally, as he went back to his seat, she stood up and yelled in perfect English, “F**K YOU!!! IT’S NOT AS FUN WITHOUT THE SOUND!!!”
I once offered $5,000 toward state-of-the-art proton beam radiotherapy to a very good friend of mine. After speaking with his mother, he told me no, because she had advised him that, when he was unable to pay me back, I would sue him.
I, in fact, never made this $5,000 loan. — That he turned it down made him, in a way, a stranger to me; it’s almost impossible to go from a state of literally talking about everything little thing of the day with your buddy to … in all likelihood, slowly, he is dying of cancer; he probably won’t be here in five years.
I hope he’ll be here in 20. — For a cancer that is only responsive to surgery yet located in a place that barely tolerates any surgery, much less surgical resection, — for a cancer that has no effective chemotherapy treatments, curative or palliative; that, even for proton beam therapy, it’s probably not going to work.
And, you only get one shot (pretty much). — Getting the proton beam therapy twice carries about the same risk of catching another fatal cancer, so the utility-maximizing function aspect of this changes.
The part of my brain that is finance-oriented — that manifold — expects a forecast of a certain result, and deviation from that result, whether up or down, is necessarily bad.
If you forecast profits of $0, and in reality, you received $100,000, then great, but it’s still a problem from a risk perspective.
People do small things now. They will choose not to homestead their homes. I don’t know why; always reason. Perhaps… not planning on staying here all that long. Yes, but the money you’d save in taxes would… pay for the radiotherapy.
Do you see where this is going?
The whole new-money/old-money part of the film, Titanic, is interesting in how correct it is, and how misleading it is.
Rose is everything great about old money with none. Jack, of course, is fictional.
—
Jack woulda lost the best. Jack woulda died under the bridge.
Jack would’ve been of a mindset that you could not trust him with a blue diamond necklace but for if he were even accused of stealing it, he would never see the light of day again. — William Blake writes of circumstances like this (see: end of Auguries of Innocence).
This person and his mother are not crazy. There is no reason to think they would not be able to understand that you cannot sue someone for return of a gift.
But, it would take someone, for lack of a better term — like me —, to explain this to him/them, and they don’t want to believe it. I don’t know.
Maybe $5,000 was never enough. — Or, maybe we should not second-guess people. I know what they said.
Hungarian Stew with Noodles
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large garlic clove
5 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 medium onions, sliced
3 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (16 ounce) package bow tie macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
Instructions
In an 8-quart Dutch oven over medium heat in hot oil, cook garlic 1 minute (discard), add stew meat and onions. Cook until meat is lightly browned.
Stir in tomato paste, water, paprika, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours or until fork-tender, stirring often.
Cook noodles, drain and toss with butter and parsley.
To serve, sprinkle stew with lemon peel and caraway seed.
You need to be able to read through English and dissect what CNN says
In most of the Media propaganda, they generally don’t lie about the content, they mislead people through the Headline and the Conclusion
For instance, they say Chinas Economic Growth will decline
It will
China grew at 7.41% from 2013–2023 and now will grow at around a worst case of 3.93% from 2023–2033
That is a decline in growth by 47%
Any non economist who reads this will say the same thing
However let’s look at 2003–2013
Chinas average growth was 11.21% from 2003–2013
Thus Chinas growth rate ALSO declined from 2003–2013 to 2013–2023 by 34%
Now let’s see another thing
How much population growth contributed to GDP growth in each decade
2003–2013 – it was 4.9%
2013–2023 – it is 0.8%
2023–2033 – it is going to be 0%
How much Government spending contributed to GDP each decade?
2003–2013 – It was 13.90%
2013–2023 – It is 6.30%
2023–2033 – It’s going to be 3%
How much will Real Estate contribute to GDP growth each decade?
2003–2013 – It was 15.75%
2013–2023 – It is 10.77%
2023–2033 – It will be 0%
What do you see here?
You see that the GDP Growth for China from 2023–2033 will be entirely from solid areas instead of paper growth
High Technology Manufacture & Domestic Consumption which accounted for 1% in 2003–2013, 3.1% in 2013–2023 will account for 14% of Chinas GDP Growth in 2023–2033
So Chinas 3.93% will almost entirely build it’s foundation economy and not it perceptionary economy
By 2033, China will have an immensely strong economy and resilient one
I had a classmate who must have married a rich guy. I didn’t even try to keep in touch with her after high school. But we ended up friends on Facebook. That was the time I just accepted every friend request from everybody I’d ever met in life.
After a while, she started to get on my nerves. She constantly complained about her upper class problems.
I don’t think I have time to get the cabin ready for summer. All the linens I ordered haven’t come in yet. I want to kids to sleep on new sheets, not last year’s garbage.
Paris was great, but now we don’t have enough time to get the boat ready for the lake.
I just hope the new furniture arrives at the cabin on time.
The painters came on the wrong day. They were supposed to come before the new carpet, and before the furniture arrived. So we had to put our new living room furniture in the theater room. It’s so inconvenient.
Can somebody teach me how to use the navigation system in my new Mercedes S Class? I miss my BMW 740i. I just can’t learn a new navigation system every year like this.
Just got back from Hawaii for Christmas. Now I have to supervise these caterers for the New Year party.
I later found out that they had a second mortgage on the house, credit card debt, and they were a month away from foreclosure. That didn’t make me happy, but it explained why she was always complaining about her problems. She was trying to make people that she hadn’t seen in a decade think that she was doing fine.
I was given a notice that I was going to be let go and a slap-in-the-face job offer from the same employer in the same week! let me explain….
I had been working for the same employer for years (on and off) and my group was getting a little light on work, although there was a lot more work on the horizon. One day, I was pulled into the Manager’s office and was notified that I would be laid off in 2 weeks. I wasn’t really shocked, as I could see the writing on the wall due to light workload. I was offered 2 months severance at my current salary and would be paid out my remaining vacation time. Considering that I was being fired, the severance package offered was pretty good. I signed on the dotted line!
With my impending unemployment looming in the distance, I began working my network for a new gig. After about a week, I had a few interesting local prospects. It was then that a supervisor in another part of the company that I was being let go from contacted me. He said that they would like to retain me and rip up my forced resignation letter, but only if I would agree to a 20% pay cut and a relocation. I had 5 days to decide, which was pretty stressful, considering that I had a family to support and potentially uproot.
I was slightly insulted and my soon to be former co-workers thought it was a big slap-in-the-face, considering that I had been slated for a lot of future work at my current salary. Come to find out, the company had realized that I was needed, but wanted to make some extra coin off me by paying me less and billing me at my previous higher rate to clients. After all my years of service, commendations, and happy clients, the company I had worked weekends for, neglected my friends and family for, and sacrificed my time with my kids for, was trying to take advantage of me by trying to put me in a bind and forcing me to decide quickly on a bad offer.
Anyhow, a direct competitor was interested in my services and immediately offered me a slightly better salary than I was currently making with better benefits. They wanted to scoop me up before I accepted the bad deal. I turned down the 20% pay cut offer, accepted my resignation and 2 months severance package and took a wonderful 1 month vacation. After a month, I began working for my new employer, which happened to be across the street from my former employer. Within a year, my former employer was bought by a huge international company and a lot of people quit or were fired. I am very happy with my new employer.
I worked in admin with only men in my departement in a company that worked at airplane propellor⁹ services, a very strickt environment. I needed a better chair and some cabinets. The head of the supply departement, a gorilla type man, accompanied me to a shack on the premesis. We went inside and he locked the door with a padlock. I acted like I hadn’t noticed. I babbled along about what I thought was suitable, testing some chairs, opening cabinets, heart pounding! Meanwhile he laid out some flat cartboard boxes on the floor. I knew if he’d assault me I could never win. Again I pretended not to notice and asked about his kids who were back in school after the summer holidays. That made him snap out of it. I asked him to load up a few items and he did. He opened the padlock and we went back into the main building. I went straight to HR. I told the shocked woman over there I wanted him to be warned because he had a family but never let him be alone with a woman again! He was mad at me for making him look bad ‘because nothing had happened’. My direct supervisor let everybody know what happened and all the men took my side. He was not fired (my request, everybody needs a second chance) but they added a black page in his file.
My husband and I were coming home from Puerto Rico, flying into Pittsburgh that night. A small, stereotypical family sat in front of us: attractive father, beautiful young mother, and two adorable kids, one still an infant and the other a toddler. We’re minding our own business when, out of the corner of my eye, I see the toddler looking at me from the openings between the seats.
“Hi!”
I smiled and said hello, and she took that as an opportunity to tell me literally everything about her life. Her mom kept giving me this patronizing look (like, “God, I’m so sorry she’s talking to you; if I could get her to shut up I totally would”) and saying “Maggie, let’s leave them alone and sit in our seats, OK?”
She told me her name was Maggie and she likes pink, blue, and black. She’s 3 years old, and how old are we? “You’re 22? And he (my husband, Joe) is 24? So you’re both 22. OK!” Maggie lives in Ithaca, New York, and loves flowers like the ones I have on my arms (tattoos) but “you shouldn’t draw on yourself with markers so much Miss Katie!” While she was in PR she “did some bad but also cool things,” and she’s going home to see Uncle Mark, who’s sick right now, so she isn’t going to hug him. “Who’s that guy with you? Joe? So Mr. Joe is your son, right? Miss Katie, can you tell your son to wake up? I’d like to talk to him.”
This carried on for the entirety of the two and a half hour flight we were on. I loved her, but my husband wasn’t so fond: she really liked him for some reason or another, and he wanted to sleep. Maggie’s mom kept telling her to turn around because, as Maggie had already put it, “the sun was going into the water so it’s almost bedtime for my brother. Do you want to see my brother? He’s a baby still.” At which point she proceeded to pull her infant brother’s foot over to the side of the plane by the window and show him to me through the cracks of the seats. I cackled.
Joe kept trying to sleep. He had headphones on, and she told him that she liked his earmuffs, but hers were nicer because they’re pink and black but she only wears them in the winter. As my husband drifted off to sleep, she yelled, “Wake up Joe!” I cackled some more, and she kept playing with him, poking him and saying that she “got him,” and asking Mr. Joe questions about his games and what movies he likes.
Meanwhile, her parents were asking the entire time for her to leave us alone, stop bothering them, “Maggie, do you want to color? Maybe if you’re quiet and color you can show them a picture when you’re done!” and all sorts of other mom things. Once, Maggie left for a few minutes and distracted herself with a game, but came back after a bit and said over the top of the seat, “I know I left, but I came back because I like you guys. You’re very fun!”
I loved Maggie. She kinda grew on my husband towards the end there, and I think he actually liked the attention. After the flight, her parents turned to us and introduced themselves, and apologized for her bothering us the whole flight. I said it was fine, not to worry about it, and that she certainly wasn’t bothering us. They thanked me for being so nice to her, and her mom said, “Yeah, but I want you to know that now, you both will be members of our household for the next two months. She’s going to go to bed every night and say, ‘Momma, do you remember Mr. Joe and Miss Katie? Can you tell me a bedtime story about them?’”
I think about Maggie often and hope that one day her mom tells her about Mr. Joe and Miss Katie from the flight back from Puerto Rico. I miss her sometimes, especially since she was better at waking my husband up than I am.
Ambush | Full Movie (action Movie with Nicolas Cage)
The USA government that was designed back in 1776 can no longer function. It is not suitable for the new global order. The USA is at a strategic inflection point. Great discussion by Colonel Douglas Macgregor.
See below deep in the article.
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There is a formula used by wives that wish to leave their husbands. It is a devastating reality to the husbands of the West. The “three step rocket“. It is a template that is followed over, and over, and over again. It is important for all married people to know about this reality.
See below.
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Guys, back in the 1970’s. I would guess around 1972, my father came back from a work trip and gave me a present. It was a tiny book. The cover was plastic, and it was about 2 cm thick. It was about 4cm x 5cm or so. It was red. A little red book.
Because the cover was plastic, it was flexible and compact, and easy to slip into the pocket of my Levi jeans.
It was (the now infamous) “little red book”. And I loved it.
It was in English.
And it was page after page of sayings. All of which seemed to make a lot of sense to me, even though I was in my teens at the time.
I carried that book with me to college. To my various homes as I worked, and all the way up until I moved to China. I cannot say for certain that it influenced me to join the Chinese Communist Party, as I wouldn’t even begin to consider how to do so. But it absolutely DID influence me.
I could feel the “revolutionary spirit” of what was being birthed so far away at the other end of the world.
The Three Main Rules of Discipline are as follows:
(1) Obey orders in all your actions. (2) Do not take a single needle piece of thread from the masses. (3) Turn in everything captured.
The Eight Points for Attention are as follows:
(1) Speak politely. (2) Pay fairly for what you buy. (3) Return everything you borrow. (4) Pay for anything you damage. (5) Do not hit or swear at people. (6) Do not damage crops. (7) Do not take liberties with women. (8) Do not ill-treat captives.
“On the Reissue of the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention – Instruction of the General Headquarters of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army” (October 10, 1947), Selected Military Writings, 2nd ed., p. 343.
How can you possibly not be impacted by such profound and intelligent direction?
Me and my friend were about 17 hanging out at the local McDonalds. Let me remind you my friend had the physique of a 25 year old because he constantly roofed with his dad. We heard a father screaming at his son if he didn’t finish eating his food he would pull his pants down right there and beat his bare ass. He would jump up and act like he was going to punch the child who appeared to be maybe 4 or 5. When he did this the child would jump and cower in his seat. Then the father would let out this horrendous laugh making fun of him. Me being a child from a physically abusive father knew exactly how this poor kid felt. My friend who had always protected me saw the look of horror on my face.
The next time he jumped up screaming he would beat his bare ass, my friend jumped up grabbed his arm and screamed “you will not be touching him as long as I’m sitting here!” The mans facial expression changed to sheer horror as he saw this kid twice his size threaten to put him in his place. He suddenly asked the boy if he was done. and scurried out of the restaurant. That day my friend grew about 10 feet tall in my eyes and saved that little boy from receiving a severe beating for such a small infraction.
I was truly desperate for work. My husband and I had returned from his Naval station in Italy to find that the military was being cut back so he was out. It was August, so I couldn’t find a teaching job anywhere and he was having trouble finding anything at all.
The local paper yielded only two jobs for which I was qualified. One was as a cashier at a supermarket for $1.95/hour (1972…what can I say?) and the other was as a paste-up artist at a newspaper for $1.90. I figured the newspaper job might be more upwardly mobile, so I applied.
The manager didn’t ask for an interview. He called to tell me that he appreciated my interest, but that I was over-qualified for the job so he wouldn’t hire me. He said he figured I’d quit if I find something better. I told him my story. He still hesitated, pointing again to my advanced degrees. I waited a beat then said, “Even college graduates have to eat.”
He hired me right then and I made sure he never regretted that decision.
Look at how serious they look and how old they are
Their Median age is 61.3 years
They are all extremely talented people with tremendous ability and have proven themselves over and over again
These Generation of Chinese in the 1970s and 1980s could have easily recognized their ability and merit and voted them into power due to their sheer efficiency
Even the 1990s generation would have voted for them to a great extent, understanding the value of long term planning and hard work
Todays generation?
Naah
They are all modern and highly opinionated by Social Media and the outside world
They have more money than any previous generation and have seen so much development that they are liberal by nature in their Outlook
Sure today they regard the Government and the Party as Grandfatherly figures who make the laws like they see their own grandfathers. As Strict people who will take care of you and who shouldn’t be questioned
However give them a choice and it’s likely they will fall for the same BS that others in democracies fall for including issues that are:-
LGBT related
Feminism related
Ageism related
Nationalism related (Vote for me and I will take Taiwan in a week type of Chinese versions of Modis)
Separatism related (Freedom for Uyghurs, Freedom for Hui, Freedom for Bouyan etc)
These are the Hu Jintao period Chinese
I wouldn’t trust them to vote for the best leaders over most populist or handsome or the best talkers or some other version of divisive propaganda
The Next generation is fine
Xi Jingping has instilled a revival of the admiration for the One party meritocracy and these guys will vote always for the Party over any other
So maybe 10–15 years later, if free elections were held, the Party may win heavily as bulk of the 18–41 voters would be proud nationalists of the One party meritocracy
Today?
Bulk of the 18–41 voters would vote stupidly
So I hope not
India becoming China is admirable in its own way
China becoming India is a nightmare scenario
God help China having 100 parties and doing the idiocy Indian leaders do
US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor Reveals TRUTH About China
This primarily shocked me because of where I live (Chicago) and my profession (teacher). I knew it was bad, but I didn’t know it was this bad:
Seventy-six percent of Chicago’s high school students, and forty-five percent of Chicago’s elementary school students, do not go to their assigned neighborhood public school.
That means that 3/4 of all high school kids, and almost half of all elementary school kids, have parents who took one look at their local public school and said, “no thanks.”
Every student in Chicago is assigned a neighborhood public school, simply based on where they live in the city. The students who don’t go to those schools go to private schools, magnet schools, charter schools, or selective-enrollment schools. Or they homeschool.
Magnet, charter, and selective-enrollment schools are public schools, too, but they require some effort on the parents’ and students’ part to get and stay in them. The selective-enrollment schools, in particular, require the most effort to get into.
All of those “public, but not neighborhood” schools were created due to parental demand or necessity. It was either create them, or watch as, year after year, even more of the city’s tax base (parents who give a damn) move to the suburbs.
This has been in the local news a lot the last week, and it even made an appearance in the national news, because the city government passed a resolution to prioritize those neighborhood public schools (which the parents reject) over the selective-enrollment schools.
The stated goal is, of course, “equity.” The idea is that, without the selective schools poaching all of the “good” students, those “good” students will go back to their neighborhood schools, and help them improve.
Except those students would not actually go to those neighborhood public schools, no matter what. Their parents would just pay for private schools, home school, or move to the suburbs. I’ve been teaching in Chicago long enough to know that most parents really don’t see the regular public school as a real option. Students here use the neighborhood public school names as the punchlines of jokes or as threats. As in, “You better be careful, or you’ll end up at [local public school].”
Also, the “good” students aren’t a tool for the city to use to improve “bad” schools. It’s not the job of the “A” students to diffuse the averages of the “F” students by enrolling in the same schools as them.
While the stated goal for this new push by the city government is “equity,” the real goal is, as with most things in government, money. The Chicago Teachers’ Union, which gets most of its money and influence via the neighborhood public schools, contributed over $2,000,000 to our current mayor’s election campaign. The quid-pro-quo is right out in the open for all to see, but the only people who bother to open their eyes to it are the people who didn’t support the mayor in the first place.
So the city government has a five-year plan to prioritize Chicago’s failing neighborhood public schools. I’m making a note to myself to check back in five years and see how it went. I predict that things will actually be worse, but they will change the metrics by which they define success, to make whatever happens fit that definition. Then they’ll say it’s not enough, and double-down on their bad policies.
All the while, private schools in the city will see an increase in enrollment, suburbs with good schools will see their property values go up even more, and home schooling will become even more popular.
Ever the cynic, and opportunist, I’ve actually been exploring ways to capitalize on this. A colleague and I have been toying with the idea of opening a tutoring center. The competition for spots at the good schools in Chicago is so tight that a lot of parents gladly pay thousands of dollars per year for their child to receive 1:1 or small-group tutoring in specific subjects, or generalized test-taking tutoring. Three of my colleagues in the last five years have left teaching to go into tutoring, and are making much more money that way.
This TikTokker Finally Realized Why Men Don’t Find Her Attractive
Let’s scroll through Instagram account of Avicii, the world famous musician.
December 26th, 2017
Caption: Where am I?
Amazing. He is living life to the fullest. Damn!!!.
December 29th, 2017
Caption:Friends of Mine
All these friends to watch his back and enjoy the ocean of life. I am jealous.
January 11th , 2018
Caption:Music is a big part of my life
A blazing career with all the talented people around and loving everyday what he does with passion. God I am envious.
January 15th, 2018
Caption :A cuddle a day keeps the instinct away. (The hunting instinct.) (Just kidding.)
Awwww….
January 19th, 2018
Caption: Fact of the day: More people die every year from taking selfies than from shark attacks. Stay safe out there ✌️❤
LOL!!!!
February 18th, 2018
Caption: So I invested in Sweden’s first cold brew coffee company. Pretty cool startup that’s innovating the Swedish way of coffee drinking. You should definitely check them out.
Damn. This guy means business.
March 27th, 2018
Caption: Studio Mode
Workaholic and passionate. Damn I wish I could be like that.
April 5th , 2018
Caption: It’s always sunny in California
Woah!! Dude is rich. Dude is passionate. Has everything one can dream of.
April 20th, 2018
Caption:
So yeah.
That’s why I don’t use social media.
Edit: This answer is for people who don’t realize everyone is just a PR agent of themselves online. Everybody else sucks too. There is no reason for being miserable comparing your lives with social media. But I do believe social media should be used for generating content around your product or service like blogging, creating audio or visual content etc.
I would do just like I did for my daughter in Germany when she was going to a DOD (Department of Defense) school. She came home for a month and a half complaining about a boy bullying her on the playground. We called the school and told them almost every other day. They keep telling us the teachers are keeping him away from her. Well she kept coming home complaining. So I took it upon myself to really see what is going on. Sure enough he was harassing her. When she came home that day from school complaining about that boy. I set her down and told her that tomorrow is the time you have to do what Daddy has been teaching you how to defend yourself. Her response was, but I don’t want to get in trouble. I told her the only one that you will be in trouble with is me and how can you be in trouble if I am telling you to do it. Then I told her it is your choice if you want to end this or not. Either way I love you.
the next day around lunchtime I get a call from the school that she assaulted another student and I need to pick her up.
Well, well, well I took time off and drove miles and miles to get there. I told the officer who I was and that the principal is expecting me. She said yes Sir go on in. My daughter was standing in the corner of the office facing the wall waiting. I did not even acknowledge the principal and told my daughter to come sit in the chair in front of his desk. Then I ask the principal what is the problem ? His response was she assaulted another student. I told him that the next question I as you. I want you to think long and hard about your answer. Did she assault the student that has been assaulting her all these months! I then told him that he has 5min to respond and 4.5 of those minutes are gone! Go!!! He said Yes! Yes! Then I ask him so what are you going to do about it? He had the gall to tell me.that he was to suspending her for three days for putting her hands on another stoner. I leaned over his desks and told him that she it not going to miss another second of class. I told her to go to her class that she is supposed to be at this time and I will see you back home after school. Then to lighten her spirits I told her you are not beating me again tonight playing crash bandicoot!!! (Yes that was way back). After she left the office I locked the door to his office and turned around and told him that you made you decision, and now I have made my. I am going to take out the last two-to-three months my daughter, my wife and I have been stressing over and tag you are it!!!!
Sorry so long,but a true story.
When I went to jump over the desk. He jumped trough the window. The sad part was it was closed. 😂😂😂
Anyway, my Chain of Command knew all about the problem that my daughter was going through. I was a Platoon Sergeant at the time.
Now it gets good, my battalion commander was briefed on it. However he had to do something because because I threaten the principal and there was damage to government property, the window he jumped out of. So after the UCMJ (Uniform code of justice). My extra duty was to walk from the Commander’s Office down the street to my place of duty, which was only about 80 yards.
True story!! Need less to say my daughter did not have anymore trouble and got to get her education without any harassment from the students or the faculty.
I know this question was about a teacher slapping a student. If it was a teacher slapping my child I would have not gone to school. I would have followed that teacher after school and discussed it in another manner.
I got my first period when i was in 5th grade i was 10 years old. Worst part is i was in school, the last period was going on and I was sitting on the last bench in the corner row. i didn’t knew anything about it, and i was so clueless that wtf was happening with me. I told this to my bench mate and she said that she does not understand what I am saying. I ran to the teacher and told her everything, she said go to the office and ask the female staff to give me a sanitary pad.
I did that I went to the office and told the staff I want sanitary pads, she went inside the office. I was trembling with fear, but for a while I felt that everything would be alright.
The staff came out of the office and said that they are out of sanitary napkins, go buy them from the nearby shop.I was bleeding and literally begged her to come with me but she said she can’t leave the office and refused.
I was a kid and my body was not strong enough to bear the pain of periods. I was terrified, I couldn’t walk, I could feel the stains on my clothes. Still I walked to the nearest shop, and the shopkeeper was a male.
My eyes were downcast like I’m a terrorist, my voice was ashamed like I’ve committed a crime. And I asked him for a pad in a trembling voice, he took out a sanitary napkin’s packet and put 10 layers of news paper on it as if it were a bomb.
For me bravery is avoiding thousands of restriction and questions of the society and to say that yes I am a woman, yes I bleed and it is not my fault, it is not a crime.
I Saw the 11 Dimensions of the Universe in DETAIL! (Near Death Experience)
No, the Houthis are not a terrorist force indiscriminately targeting civilians, they are just an anti-American and anti-Israeli resistance force.
What the Houthis claimed was that they would attack boats “associated with Israel”. What are “associated with Israel”? Western bloc, of course.
70% of Europe’s oil shipments will pass through the Red Sea. Europe has already interrupted Russian oil and gas, and now oil and gas from the Middle East will be stopped by the Houthis. Things will get even harder for Europeans as winter approaches.
The purpose of their attacks on Western Group boats was to support the Palestinians. It is well known that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. And the United States is stubbornly biased in favour of Israel.
The Arab countries and the Muslim world, while not supporting the Houthis, are not against them either, and some even secretly support them.
Chinese boats transporting oil do not pass through the Red Sea, only merchant ships pass through the Red Sea, and there are china railway express that can replace merchant ships.
I recall that the last time when Taiwanese Shipping Company large container ship blocked the Suez Canal, the china railway express became the main freight transport route to Europe.
Taiwanese Shipping Company leased the Japanese shipowner’s ship and hired Indian crew to drive the “Ever Given” large container ship through the Suez Canal. It would be surprising that there would be no accidents.
The Houthis will not attack Chinese boats, and China has no intention of joining the Western bloc, which is the unjust side.
The U.S. and Israel or Western Group should be reflecting on why they were attacked by the Houthis instead of looking to China as a lifeline to grab when they are drowning.
Korean Braised Short Ribs
Serve Korean Braised Short Ribs with cooked cellophane noodles, dipped into the cooking sauce.
Ingredients
4 pounds beef short ribs, cut into pieces
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons ground sesame seed*
2 teaspoons chopped ginger root or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon pepper
* Ground sesame seed is available in Oriental food specialty stores and some supermarkets. Whole sesame seed can be ground in the blender: 1 tablespoon whole sesame seed yields 2 tablespoons ground sesame seed.
Instructions
Trim fat from beef ribs; place beef in shallow non-reactive dish.
Mix remaining ingredients; pour over beef.
Cover and refrigerate, turning occasionally, 24 hours.
Drain beef, reserving marinade. Cook beef in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat until brown; drain.
Pour marinade over beef.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees F until tender, about 2 hours.
I was required to issue a monthly report of sales by geographic region, listing each project.
One was a project in China sold to New Sun (China) Energy. I dutifully indicated the sale was in Asia.
My boss protested. “No!” said he. “You need to report that in Europe.”
I blinked and said, “But it’s in China.”
“Yes,” said he. “China’s in Europe.”
“Um…no.. China’s in Asia.”
He slammed his hand on his desk and said, “China’s a state of Germany, now report it in Europe.”
Me: “Ok” while silently muttering dumbass.
We had another dispute over Egypt. Apparently Egypt is also in Europe.
I had a grand time explaining to our lead sales person (a Chinese lady citizen of China) and our production manager (a German citizen) that Germany had expanded its population by a billion with this master stroke of geopolitical theater. They both rolled their eyes.
Oh yes. “Give me your purse you b*tch!. I want £50 now!” screeched the entitled teenage daughter of one of the company partners. I was PA to both partners and had only been there for a couple of months.
Princess was used to dropping into Daddy darling’s office if she and her little friends were shopping in town and she needed more money.
This particular afternoon Daddy was away at a meeting and our accountant was on a half day (she held the petty cash and was used to dealing with the occasional demands of the Princess).
I explained that Daddy was out and the accountant wouldn’t be back until tomorrow so nobody could help with her (obviously desperate and life threatening) need for cash. She decided that I should meet her need by handing over my own money. She threw a tantrum when I refused, and immediately called Daddy’s mobile, interrupting his meeting and demanding that he tell me to give her the money. He told me to do so, and I refused.
I didn’t have £50 in my purse (or even £10) but if I did she wouldn’t have had a sniff of it. After she stormed out I wrote my resignation and called the other partner to explain why I quit.
Found out a while later that the partnership fell apart and nice partner sued Daddy darling for financial mismanagement and fraud. Princess wasn’t the only family member thinking the business was her own personal piggy bank.
Can China Save The American Dream ? US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor Reveals
China is not a Muslim-phobic country. It’s all United States propaganda to destroy Muslim world.
China tells its Muslim citizens to live well and love their state and also their religion as Xi Jinping said.
If China got attacked, know that the aggressors will fail.
If the aggressors try to attack Uyghurs like they did in Middle-East, bombing their Mosques, etc. Know that the Uyghurs won’t be silenced defending their home and mosques.
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The Muslims of China will stamp out the hypocrite country.
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~ Sunni Muslim from Asia here, appreciating China.
I was once the daytime caregiver for a little boy with a massive brain injury. The damage was so extensive that a large part of his right brain had been surgically removed. He was paralyzed on his left side. He also probably suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, but the doctors were unsure. He hoarded food, because he had gone hungry many times in his earlier life. Altogether a really lousy start.
I was pushing little X in his stroller. He was about three years old at this point. We were walking toward the high school, and there was a group of girls on the sidewalk. Black clothes, black hair, smoking, swearing girls.
X was a bit unusual looking, due to his injuries. I was thinking that these girls were going to laugh at him, or tease him, or something. I was getting tense and defensive.
As X and I get close, he hollers out, “HI”, which was his only word at the time. I was not expecting the response he got from those girls.
They were totally sweet. They were all saying hi back and asking his name and saying how cute he was. One asked me about his injuries, and I gave her the short version. She started to cry, and then I did, too. It was hard for me to talk about his history. We ended up hugging each other.
I have always remembered that group of girls, and how completely wrong I was about them.
They remind me often not to judge people by their appearance.
Internet access is better than any other nation except maybe Singapore. The Public Wi Fi means you have free internet while travelling almost anywhere and uninterrupted
Sure many western sites are restricted as are many apps
You can use VPN but VPN is very unreliable unless it’s Nord VPN and that too for a proper router rather than for mobile phone
Yet with a proper VPN, you can access any and all apps and sites in China
IT IS NOT ILLEGAL UNLESS YOU MAKE COMMERCIAL USE OF VPN (Meaning downloading and selling pornography etc)
If you really want to go to western websites that are banned, you can visit a PUBLIC LIBRARY with your ID Card and access any website you want. There is NO RESTRICTION.
I accessed Quora openly in a Public Library whereas the VPN never gave me a connection beyond 6–7 minutes at a time
So yes, I would say if you really want to watch CNN and CBS and want to view the BBC Website and access Twitter all the time, then China is not for you
Otherwise if you simply want Gmail & your Online Banking & online calling & chatting – you have 1001 apps to ensure you are connected
Non Acceptance of International Driver Licenses
This is stupid again
China has NO ISSUES with a International Driver License provided there is INSURANCE available on that license
You want to lease a car in China with an International License, you either pay a fat deposit as incidental insurance premium so that if you bang the car, the rental company doesn’t shell out the cost
Otherwise you get a local license holder to co sign and you get your car in 3 minutes
Imagine you bump a car, park it and dash off to your country. That’s a huge loss to the rental company isn’t it.
You cough up the Incidental Insurance Premium Deposit which is FULLY REFUNDABLE on returning the car and they will accept your International Drivers License
This is nearly 3100 RMB so most International Drivers are cheapies who promptly blame the Chinese for not recognizing International Driving Licenses
Lodging restricted to certain hotels
Again a Stupid way to put it
Hotels in China connected to the Real Time Security Network accept foreigners all the time
That’s 100% of all hotels in Big Cities and 90% of Hotels in smaller towns
They scan your passport and in ten seconds, the data comes up from your immigration and that’s it.
Tomorrow if you disappear, no issues, the hotel informs the MSB who will promptly print out your passport and deliver a copy to your consulate
Sadly smaller hotels DON’T have this ready connection to the digital security system
They need to scan your passport, print that out, take the print out and deliver it to the local police outpost who will then deliver them to the main outpost
It will take 1 year to hunt for such a print out tomorrow if there is a problem
It’s too much effort so such hotels don’t accept foreigners UNLESS A CHINESE BOOKS THEIR ROOM with his Identity Card
Mostly such tourists have a Chinese Agent who will give his ID or his company’s ID and book the rooms
Our Vicky Bhaiya has no issues because his wives ID is sufficient
This isn’t only China
Even in France and Europe, many small provincial hotels don’t accept foreigners because of the same reason
They need you to get a clearance from a local gendarme who sees your passport and okays you
Hell in Scotland an Indian friend of mine couldn’t get a hotel until 12 Noon because of such a problem when a Local Britisher could get a room at 5:30 AM
Same for booking a car
Outside the West, an International Driving License doesn’t get you a car without a hefty deposit
All that China says is asks for the deposit towards Incidental Insurance
The Censorship?
Yes that’s unique to China among the big countries
Like I said if you want to access BBC and Twitter all the time, China is not for you
Maybe not into a completely different person, but it definitely will change you, and how you view life. Before I enlisted, I was an annoying 17–18 year old boy who played video-games all day, mouthed off to teachers, and had terrible acne. When I finished boot camp and AIT, I respected authority figures, I had better self-esteem, and I wasn’t as much of a smart-aleck anymore. I actually did stuff with my life.
I was still loud and sometimes annoying, at least when there were no senior NCOs or officers around, and I still made dumb jokes and toed the line around my family. I was the same kid as before, just disciplined and happier. More confident in myself, because I knew I could do stuff no one else in my family or my graduating class, except my father, could.
Then, I was deployed 3 times between 2004–2010, and actually saw, and participated in, combat and firefights. I saw the bloody, seedy side of things. It wasn’t like a movie or a video-game anymore, I didn’t tell jokes anymore, I was quieter and more serious. I didn’t tolerate people goofing off or making idiotic decisions around me anymore. Making the wrong decision, or playing games, on the battlefield could mean death.
Of course, I wasn’t firing my SAW at the Taliban and ISI 24/7. There was a lot of sitting around and waiting, marching, digging holes, and sitting in a hot, tiny truck for days, squeezed against another hairy, sweaty dude. That’s the part movies don’t show. It’s not action all the time, there’s a lot of stuff that goes into it that civilians and celebrities never think about when they hear the word “war.” And when there is action, you don’t have drawn-out speeches about family and honour, or whatever. You don’t goof off and walk up-right, unless you want a bullet between the eyes.
When I came back, I could not understand the struggles and pain of my family and friends that didn’t serve. Unless it’s an unexpected divorce or a death of somebody close to you, there’s no reason to grovel and whine about how hard and unfair life is, and how miserable you are. I’ve seen guys say they’re in “so much pain that no one understands” after a girl they knew for less than a year broke up with them. Especially these young Gen-Z kids and teenagers. All this “I could defeat anyone in a fight, I bench more than you” attitude is arrogant and laughable. You wouldn’t last a week doing the stuff we did, so stop acting like you’re so tough when you’re only 16 and cry in your room at night over a girl.
These (at least the males) youngsters also brag about Navy SEALS being better than anything and everything on earth, and use our military as a tool to justify their biases. You’re embarrassing us, and if any military veteran met you, they’d laugh.
Accurate depiction of what modern warfare is like: lots of sitting around and waiting, or guarding stuff.
In general, combat did change me a lot, and my outlook on life, and perspective on common civilian “struggles” and issues. It also gives shell-shock/combat fatigue/PTSD and nightmares to those who served, which changes them as a person. I personally suffer from some of these things. It does suck a lot, and played a part in changing me as well, there is simply no way to explain to a civilian what combat is like, what war-trauma is like, the things you saw and how horrific it was, how impossible it is to cope with things like that. In the moment, you never think about what you’re doing or seeing, you’re disconnected from reality, and in your mind you dehumanize the enemy. It is just “eliminating a threat” or carrying out orders, not opening fire on the 10-year-old coming at you with an RPG.
Later though, your mind thinks about what you did and what you saw over and over again, tries to rationalize it, process it, cope with it, and finds that a lot of the time, it can’t. It’s easier to push these things away and pretend it never happened, pretend you never saw that teenager choking on his own blood and gasping for breath in the sand after you shot him, or never saw your friend get blown to bits. I can’t say I regret doing these things, as they were threats to the livelihood of myself and my friends. I can say, however, that it’s inescapable to feel human empathy and sadness over what you done, even while knowing there was nothing else you can do, even while knowing that they wanted to kill you.
It’s just a natural human feeling, but you learn to suffocate it and push it down. I’ve had some idiots call me a terrorist and a war-criminal, for shooting enemy child soldiers, and the like. These people aren’t worth arguing with, they will never understand that morality doesn’t matter when it’s you vs them, and they’re literally a threat to your existence, no matter how young they are. They think in black and white, never understanding how complicated this is, and how necessary it is to defend yourself, even if it’s a child soldier.
Cop Warns How Women Manipulate Divorce Law
This is a pretty important video. The “three step rocket”.
“It’s really more of an in-person kind of explanation,” he demured, then suggested a dinner date.
I hesitated. Normally I don’t meet my online dates until significantly more text and phone contact. Partly for safety reasons, partly because I don’t want to waste my time on guys I know will not work out. But mostly because I have been on A LOT of bad dates.
He said he was living in his friend’s spare room because he’d hit a few “speed bumps,” in life. I totally got that. I’m the queen of speed bumps myself. I let myself dare to hope maybe— just maybe— I had found a kindred spirit. I agreed to the date. And just like that, there I was, listening to him tell his story from across the candlelit table.
”About a year ago, I went out with some friends after work,” he began, and I smiled and nodded to let him know he had my attention. “I met a girl at a bar and we really hit it off. We ended up going home together. Next day, there’s a cop on my doorstep. And yada, yada, yada… long story short, she didn’t LOOK sixteen.”
I stiffened. Did she look 30? Because you’re 44, dude.
“So,” he continued, “I have a felony on my record. I was put on probation, and my job fired me. And then, just to kick me when I’m down” —and this is my favorite part— “my wife left me.”
?!??!!
“Bummer,” I said, because what else is there to say?
“So I was out of work, and my mom and I couldn’t live off her social security check alone, so she started driving for Uber…
The current supreme leader of Vietnam, Nguyễn Phú Trọng, is a very typical pro-China faction.
This means that Vietnamese diplomacy should be like bamboo, whose branches and leaves may sway in the wind, but whose poles are very tough.
Vietnam may pander to the U.S. in some cases, but the bamboo’s backbone is straight. After all, they fought the Yanks, and US pressure doesn’t always bring Vietnam to its knees.
diplomacy
According to VnEconomy, in 2022, nearly 70 foreign affairs activities will be carried out by agencies under the Party, State, Government and National Assembly of Vietnam. According to statistics, by the beginning of 2023, Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with 190/192 countries; economic, trade and investment relations with 224 partners, and cooperation with more than 500 international organisations. The country is also a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum (APEC), the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Trade Agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and 15 other free trade agreements.
Vietnam-China relations
From 30 October to 1 November 2022, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nguyễn Phú Trọng paid an official visit to China after General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President Xi Jinping assumed the office of the third President. He is the first senior leader to visit China after Xi assumed his third term as President. It was also Nguyễn Phú Trọng’s first visit to China after the 13th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Both sides later deemed the visit a success. The Vietnamese side called China “a good neighbour, a good friend, a good comrade, a good partner, a good partner in the same boat, a good partner in solidarity and a good partner for the happiness of the people”. According to Reuters, the meeting between the two leaders was overly intimate, with no masks, They handshakes or hugs, against the backdrop of China’s strict embargo policy that it still maintains because of COVID-19.
Vietnam-United States relations
At the end of August 2021, the Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, paid a visit to Viet Nam from 24 to 26 August 2021. During Ms Harris’ visit, the US side also confirmed a land lease agreement worth US$1.2 billion for the construction of the US Embassy building in Vietnam. Before leaving Vietnam, the US Vice President said the visit “marks the beginning of a new chapter in Vietnam-US relations”. After the visit, the Vietnamese media also carried a message inviting Joe Biden to visit Vietnam by the General Secretary and President of Vietnam.
On November 12, 2022, at the 40th and 11th ASEAN Summits, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pạm Minh Chính met directly with US President Biden. During the meeting, Mr. Pạm Minh Chính continued to “convey” the remarks of the General Secretary and President of Vietnam inviting the President of the United States to visit Vietnam. However, VOA caused a wave of controversy when it released a video in which Mr. Pạm Minh Chính chatted with subordinate leaders before meeting with the United States and “make it clear, to be fair, what are you afraid of?” The video was originally posted on May 14 but was not edited and was deleted on May 23. However, the video was later released by Voice of America but with the offensive phrase hidden. The reason why VOA deleted the video was that Khanh Nguyen, an official at the Vietnamese Embassy in the United States, asked VOA to delete the video. The email said the video “violates the principles of respect for privacy and journalistic professionalism and ethics.” Furthermore, VOA’s reporting has been misused and distorted for political purposes. The deletion was later protested by VOA’s Vietnamese service because it believed press freedom was being hindered. RFA, considered VOA’s “sister”, also released the video but did not receive any deletion email.
On the evening of March 29, 2023, General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng had a phone call with US President Biden at request. During the phone call, the leaders of the two countries both emphasized that 2023 will be the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership. When Mr. Biden spoke by phone with a foreign leader who was not a head of state or prime minister, the calls were rare, Reuters reported. The United States is currently also Vietnam’s largest export market in 2022. Soon after, from April 14 to April 16 of the same year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a high-level visit to Vietnam. He visited Vietnam and met with Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn, Prime Minister Pạm Minh Chính, President Võ Văn Thưởng, and General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng. A contentious issue also arose during a meeting between Mr Phạm Minh Chính and Anthony Blinken, with only the Vietnamese flag in the background, not the American flag. According to Radio Free Asia, most of this information comes from Chinese media. The agency analyzed that because this was a meeting of different levels, there was only the Vietnamese flag in the background. According to BBC News, when US President Joe Biden may visit Hanoi in May or Vietnam’s General Secretary visits the United States in July, diplomatic issues between the two countries are likely to continue to heat up. The media also said in its analysis that the statement that Vietnam now “stands shoulder to shoulder with the United States at a time when we need each other’s support most” is often used only to refer to the country’s allies, but Mr. Blinken used it to refer to Vietnam.
And the Philippines is a blade of grass that falls when the wind blows. The Philippines was once a colony of the United States, and the colonial mentality of the Filipinos is deeply rooted. As long as the United States exerts a little pressure, Marcos Jr. will give in.
I got a notification from the Amazon app that my packages were here. They were my sons birthday presents. I didn’t go outside immediately though as I was changing my twins diapers.
When I was finished I went out to get them. Some woman was out there picking up my boxes. I asked very loudly what she thought she was doing.
She tried to spin some story about how my packages were damaged and had been recalled and that they would be replaced in a few days,
I called her story bullshit and to get off my property or I would call the cops. I wasn’t quiet about it. She started to leave WITH my packages.
Before I could yell again or call the cops my neighbors Rottweiler mix was in front of us growling loudly with my neighbor limping fast towards us. He’s an older guy and an absolute sweetheart. He told her to drop the boxes or his dog would attack. She dropped them and ran to her car and drove away. I got her license plate number and reported her to the cops.
I hugged my neighbor and thanked him for saving my sons birthday. I also baked him cookies and brought him a slice of my sons cake the next day.
Ok, this one has irked me for some time. I went to see a blood doctor. Had a bit too low iron in my blood. Called, confirmed my insurance co-pay, went to my appointment, paid my co-pay and left.
A few weeks later I get a bill for $250 bill for the visit. I call to remind them that I paid my co-pay (which was a hell of a lot less then $250). They acknowledge that, but “remind me” that this isn’t a co-pay, it’s a “facility charge.” I say I have no idea what they’re talking about. I never agreed to a “facilities charge.”
Well their office is in a hospital building so I should understand there will be a hospital “facilities charge.” I inform them that, I didn’t go to the hospital, I went to their office which happens to rent space from the hospital. They argue that it was in some paper package they gave me when I came for my appointment. I disagree refusing to pay, they insist I have to. I disagree after some argument end the call. They try to collect a few more times ending similarly. Eventually they get the point and realized their threats were falling on deaf ears.
They call me back a few days later, apologize for the confusion and agree to a one time reduction of the “facilities charge” to $75. I inform them I came to them for a doctor’s appointment, not to pay their rent and refuse. Another argument ends in me ending the call. More threats and calls ensue.
Finally I get a call from them stating that, “for this one instance” my “facility charge” is going to be waived but I’m going to be responsible for the full facilities charge for all future appointments. I assure them I understand, and make sure they understand that based on this fiasco there will be no future visits. The doctor that sent me to them also took them off his referral list.
After my husband passed away I drove his old Jeep Cherokee for a while, but it was starting to show its age and I could see some big repair bills coming up that I did not want to deal with. I started to look at new cars, and was impressed with the Subaru Outback. Then Subaru started a big promotion with discounts and 1.9% financing, so I drove the old Jeep to my local dealer. Talked to a salesman who qualified me (I had a good job in Information Technology, so the payments would not be a problem). I found one that I liked and we started to work out a deal. After some negotiating, I was summoned to speak with the Finance Manager – some dude in probably his mid-20s who informed me that, due to some late payments the previous year, there was no way I would qualify for their 1.9% financing, but he could offer me a loan at around 8%. I was startled, as my credit had been excellent for years, so I asked for clarification. Yes, there were a couple of late payments on a couple of credit cards that corresponded to the last few months of my husband’s life when I was… distracted much of the time, to say the least. Taking care of him was my priority, and sometimes other things, like writing checks to pay a bill got overlooked temporarily. Then the finance dude started lecturing me on the importance of being responsible and taking care of what is important (paying bills, of course), and how clearly my credit report was showing that I didn’t take the important stuff seriously. I looked him in the eye as I stood up to leave and said that maybe when he got a little more life experience he might understand what it is like to watch someone you love, with whom you were planning to spend the rest of your life, to watch that person waste away, in pain and terrible suffering, then we could talk about responsibility. During those months, my single highest priority was taking care of him. Yes, a few bills got paid late, but I know that I had my priorities correct. So don’t condescend, and do NOT lecture me on personal responsibility, frat boy.
I am writing anonymously because I hate pity and I have friends on quora that know me.
I was an orphan. I don’t remember ever enjoying my childhood except sometimes playing Cricket with other boys of my age in my village. I came from a small village just outside of Lahore, Pakistan. I was told that my parents had an accident when I was 4 Years old. My childhood memory starts from my uncle’s home. I can’t remember my parents.
When I was 7 years old, my uncle had enough of me and sent me to Lahore to work. He dropped me off to his friend who owned a teashop in a busy market. I didn’t want to work, I wanted to play and study. I loved to go to school which now I couldn’t. I was hired for 4,000 Rupees which was alot of money for me but I came to know that I will get only 1,000 Pakistani rupees for my work and rest will be paid to my uncle.
After one year of working there, I used to deliver tea to a complete surrounding area of the teashop. I was responsible for the collection of money, delivery of tea and retrieval of tea cups. One day, the teashop owner asked me to make a special delivery at a compound nearby. When I took the tea to the compound, there were men sitting around in a round table in an open area. I delivered the tea to a person named Aqil, which the teashop owener Mr. Bilal told me. When I delivered the tea, and asked for the money and said that “Please kindly give me the money because I have alot of other deliveries to make” I don’t know what happend but this Aqil guy flipped and threw two cup of teas on me which was extremely hot and I started crying because of pain and then he said to me “Do you know who I am” “Now you will remember me always, scum”.
I left from the compound scratching my neck from burns. Now, when I remember back nobody stopped me and asked me what was wrong. It was approximately 3 minute walk back to the tea shop. The market was full of customers and a child is crying and walking and nobody stopped him or asked him what happend.
Then when I reached the shop, Mr. Bilal asked me what happend and I told him everything. Then he accused me why I asked them for money. Then I replied, you told me to ask for these things. Then he said forget about it, you don’t ask those guys for money. Here keep this 50 rupees and buy toothpaste for yourself to put on the burnt area. Also Mr. Bilal was a bad guy who used to beat me and slap me around just because I was late or because somebody didn’t pay me.
From that day, I knew life was not fair. When I was 12 years old I ran away from the Teashop and started living on the streets. I knew from my time in the shop to keep distance from people who are living on the street. I used to eat from a shrine known as Data Darbar in Lahore.
Then I knew I wanted to get a job so I can become something like the people that are sitting in an AC car. I knew I had to get an education but how. I didn’t knew anything about studies. So I decided to join a canteen shop in a school. There was one school which was very famous, I went to the canteen shop of that school and begged the guy in there to hire me because I wanted to study. I don’t know why but he did hire me and used to pay me 3,000 Rupees per month.
There was a female teacher in this school who was very nice. One day she approached me as I was working in the canteen and asked me about studies. I don’t know what prompted her to ask me this but she did. I told her that I wanted to study but I don’t have any money. She just said that don’t worry about it.
The next week I was enrolled in the same school I was working at.
Now I am 37 Years old. I’m married and have my own software house and a small general store which I acheived with my sheer determination and hardwork and some help from extremely generous people.
I have three Boys and 2 Girls. My wife often asks me regarding the burnt marks on my neck and chest and I always reply it’s a burnt tattoo.
I am happy. I got lucky. Not many people get lucky. Child labor is one of the worst things that can happen to a child. It’s my secret and now nobody can call me lowlife scum. Nobody can use me as their punching bag. Life is beautiful now, but I know from experience how ugly it can be.
It happened in Dachau, when a dozen SS were executed by US army personnel who were appalled by the sight.
Remember that the Allies despised the S.S. for a variety of reasons: the Canadians despised them for the Normandy massacre, the Americans despised them for the Malmedy massacre, the British despised them for Wormhoudt, and the French despised them for the anti-bandit operations carried out by the 2nd Das Reich SS division in occupied France (for example, Oradour sur Glane).
Another minor episode occurred in Bavaria, when Twelve members of the 33rd SS division were executed near a forest by Spaniards of the Nueve; their bodies were never brought to France and were left to decompose.
Leclerc witnessed the fall of France and the devastation of French towns firsthand, and like many other Frenchmen, he lamented the loss of Ouradour sur Glane while actively seeking the annihilation of the Third Reich. During the liberation of Lorraine, his battalion was forced to untie from a community, and the mayor was later killed by the Germans once the village was retaken.
His division’s health service was retroceded in order to assist the released inmates from Dachau, and he witnessed the awful misery of the prisoners’ conditions in those sites; many of his fellow people were imprisoned in horrible conditions. He even got into a violent confrontation with a priest who was trying to keep an eye on what was going on.
So, sure, the execution of S.S was the culmination of months of frustration by Allies soldiers, which amounted to war crimes.
“Why should we hire you?” Luigi the arrogant recruiter asked.
“I have with me a written proposal of how I will positively impact your organization during my first 90 days in this position. We can go over it together if interested,” Mario said as he showed a sneak peek of his document.
“Sure, let’s take a look at it,” Luigi’s eyes shone with amazement while thinking, “Ohh wow! This guy has a plan? I’m curious as to what he is proposing.”
“Mr Luigi, has anyone ever brought you a plan before you hire them?” Mario asked, taking control of the conversation.
“I must admit, this is pretty uncommon,” Luigi said.
“Mr Luigi, I’ve done my homework. This is how I do things. You should hire me because I’m self-sufficient, I don’t need you to be all over me to give you results. I’m always ahead of the crowd.”
He paused to look Luigi in the eye.
“You should hire me because I don’t need to be micromanaged. You will never have to be chasing me or telling me what to do. You should hire me because I’m here to make you money. Mr Luigi, I’m an asset to this business, I’m a producer — not a taker.”
“Let’s see the plan,” Luigi insisted.
Mario got the document out and placed it on the table. Still holding it, he paused and said, “Well, Mr Luigi, I still don’t know if this is the right job for me. Can I ask you a few questions?”
Luigi arrogantly laid back on his chair and said, “Ok, shoot.”
Mario started asking questions, “What are the company values? Do you really live by them? Who will I work with? Can I talk to these people before I get started?”
“Interesting questions, Mario,” Luigi said.
“Mr Luigi, the reason I ask these questions is because I’m more worried about WHO I work with than my paycheck.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s important who I surround myself with. I like to work with smart people. I don’t like to be limited by what I can accomplish. I want to push my professional growth. A big paycheck is NOT worth being surrounded by idiots.”
To answer your question, what are the best answers for “Why should I hire you?”
It really doesn’t matter the accuracy of a 90-day plan document. It doesn’t matter if it works or not. It will definitely make you stand out by showing you invested time thinking and understanding the job description and the company’s needs. (Most people only care about what they’re going to get paid.)
Show self-confidence. Show you care about yourself and that you have high standards for the quality of the people, the challenge and the job. Make the future employer feel they need to deserve you. (Most people will be almost begging for the job; that’s not very attractive for a recruiter.)
During a 10-hour flight, she was heading from Seoul, Korea, to San Francisco, USA. This mother distributed more than 200 passengers on the plane a plastic bag for each one. The bag contains candy, chewing gum and earplugs as a kind of advance apology for using them in the event that her 4-month-old baby screamed during the flight.
The bag also contained a message containing (hello, I am Jan Woo. I am 4 months old and today I’m traveling America with my mom and grandmother for my aunt’s outfit. I’m a little nervous and scared. This is my first flight in my life. It’s normal for me to cry or cause some disturbance. I’ll try to stay calm, but I can’t promise you. Please use it if my voice gets too loud.. Enjoy your trip. Thank you)
I was 12-years-old. I had a paper route and my mom wanted to go out for a beer with her best friend.
Let’s get a couple of things straight before I continue. This was the 1970s and no, she’s not an alcoholic. Going out with the girls for a beer was pretty common in the 70s. It wasn’t quite “Mad Men”, but not far off.
The thing is, my parents were terrible with money. We were poor(ish). We frequently had to move because the landlord raised the rent. All of our furniture was used (if the couch cushions wore out, we flipped the cushions over). You get the idea.
There used to be a company called “Grenada” that would rent appliances to the poor.
My parents rented a colour television for something like 25 bucks a month when a new colour tv would cost $500.
Rather than do without a tv for a couple of years and then simply buy a new set, they went with the “just put it on credit” style of living.
My mom was in debt her entire life.
I said, “I’m not going to live like that.” After graduating from college, I lived at home for 3 years (paying $200 a month out of my $700 bi-weekly paycheques/$1400 a month). I saved $32000 in those 3 years and bought a small freehold condo (freehold means no condo fees. You have to mow your own lawn and shovel your own driveway).
I was 24 years old at the time. I was mortgage-free when I was 37, which was great because I was laid off SEVEN times in my career.
I worked 2 part-time jobs along with my full-time job.
I’ve never been in debt in my life. If I couldn’t pay cash (car loans and mortgage aside), I didn’t buy it.
I’ve only ever bought a new car twice in my life. I drove that first car for a decade. My car now is 12 years old. I hope to drive it for another 8 years. I’ll buy myself a new car before I retire and you can bury me in it.
I was immediately attracted to this question. My 79-year-old father is German and was a young boy during WW2.
I asked him to write something to respond to this question, and he provided this excerpt from his memoirs. (I’ve changed the names of my uncles.)
tl;dr: During the war, bad. After the war, worse.
“In the spring of 1942, as the RAF bombing raids started, our family was evacuated by the German authorities from Krefeld to the Black Forest in southern Germany. The operation was called MUKI (for Mutter und Kinder).
By train my mother and we 3 children arrived in Schönmünzach in the Black Forest. We were ordered into a requisitioned hotel. The money the government paid the hotel must have been pretty low, judging by the unfriendly service we received.
After a few weeks, we were moved another 15 miles deeper into the forest to the little village of Obertal into the Hotel Sonne and a little later to Hotel Günther. There we had a single room with toilet and washroom down the hall. The hotel was run by two sisters and a brother, who also was a blacksmith. Two of their nieces, Lilo and Inge, were the food servers. The food was without much variation: potatoes, carrots, mushrooms that we helped collect in the woods, and blue trout. I hated the trout because of their bulging eye balls and disliked the mushrooms, they were so slippery.
It must have been in the summer of 1942 when we kids played in the garden of the hotel. There was an umbrella stand with a heavy concrete base. In passing, I pulled the stand askew and let it snap back. Unfortunately, my brother Hans was close behind me and the pipe of the stand hit him in the face. He was bloody all over, but this guy is hard to kill, he healed soon enough, but today still has a scar under the left side of his nose.
In the fall of 1942, Hans and I started elementary school in Obertal, Walter, our younger brother, followed 2 years later. We were so proud of our satchels, packed with a slate board with attached sponge, and our freshly sharpened slate styluses.
One winter evening my mother left us alone in the room and locked the door (this was before the invention of baby-sitting). We were up to some mischief: I collected pine needles from the Christmas tree and stuffed them into an electric outlet. All of a sudden there was a big flash and the light went out. I had managed to put the entire hotel into darkness.
Shortly thereafter, in early 1943 we were moved to a farmhouse near the edge of the village. The farmer by the name of Haist and his wife were not happy at all to see the unwanted guests they were forced to take in. They had two children, Alma, who was about 4 years older than I, and her younger brother Egon. We were placed in the upstairs of the small house and had one bedroom, a living room and a small kitchen with a single spigot for cold water. The toilet was half a flight down and consisted of a board with a lid-covered round cut-out hole and a cesspool below, no running water. The bedroom had no heat but was placed above the stable where a pig and a cow were supposed to warm the room from below. It was not quite sufficient, and during the coldest part of the winter we had to hack the ice off the jug and wash basin that served as our bathroom.
One day my mother had to run some errands. She again locked us up in the living room and we thought of some new mischief. We found matches and tried to burn off the fringes of the curtains by the front windows. To our disappointment the fringes didn’t burn very well and only generated smoke. So we gave up on the idea, extinguished the smoldering fringes and looked for some other entertainment. I suppose my mother was upset when she came home, but I don’t recall any punishment.
Food in those days was strictly rationed and we had to use food stamps for every purchase. My mother managed to get beef bones once a week. First she made a soup from it, then burned the bones on the charcoal in the stove. She recovered the ashes and we had to eat them as our calcium supplement. It tasted almost as bad as the weekly cod liver oil that we had to swallow. (Cod liver oil is rich in vitamins and chemicals, such as iodine. The lack of iodine was causing a high occurrence of goiters among the locals.) One day the local grocery store, the Konsum, had a big surprise: they sold strawberry jam without food stamps. Everybody rushed to the store and bought as much as the store keeper would hand out. The jam was delicious, sweet and crispy. A bit later we found out that the crispiness was dozens of wasps that got processed with the strawberries.
In the spring of 1943 I got scarlet fever and an infection of the middle ear. I was quarantined in our bedroom while Hans and Walter were moved to stay in the bedroom with Egon. When I got worse I was sent by ambulance to the hospital in Freudenstadt, some 10 miles away. I must have been pretty sick because I had to stay at the hospital for more than a month. Later I was told that both of my ear drums had ruptured. When I finally was discharged the nurse confiscated my only toy, some kind of a construction set with interlocking wooden chips, because it was “contaminated”. Really they did disinfect it and let other kids play with it. I was very unhappy about the loss.
In the summer, war came to Krefeld. On 6/21/43 the Royal Air Force (RAF) launched a heavy air raid on Krefeld where we had lived. Our house took a full hit and was totally destroyed. We would not have survived had we not been evacuated before.
Once a week we were ordered by the school to collect potato beetles in the fields around town. The beetles were threatening to kill the potato crop and rumors were that the Americans dropped the beetles on Germany, an early application of biological war fare. We had to pick the beetles off the leaves which was ok; they looked pretty in their yellow and black stripes. What I didn’t like was crushing the larvae and the eggs between my thumb and index finger and, most of all, I didn’t like the young Hitler-youth supervisor who hit us with a switch in the back of our knees when we didn’t work fast enough. However, when we were doing well we received small propaganda stickers with a printed “Kohlenklau”, the energy thief with a sack of coal over his shoulder, and “Pst, Feind hört mit” the sticker to remind you that enemy spies where everywhere.
During the summer vacation of 1943 we helped our farmer to collect ferns in the woods that he used as bedding for the cow. The fern was spread in the courtyard to dry and piled up overnight. I still remember that one night the three of us kids were allowed to dig some cave into the huge pile and sleep in it. The fragrance of the dried fern was wonderful. We also helped to make hay, a very labor intensive process. In the morning the farmer went out to his large meadow behind the house and cut the grass by hand with a scythe. Every half-hour or so he paused, pulled out a whetstone from his hip pocket, and sharpened the scythe. Frau Haist, Alma, Hans and I used rakes to spread out the grass to dry. In the early afternoon, the grass had to be turned and in the evening it had to be collected into piles. This was repeated for several days until the hay was ready to be collected into a big net which the farmer then carried on his back into the hay loft above the stable. Every evening the farmer sharpened his scythe by straddling a stone bench that had a small anvil at the end, and hammering the edge of the blade razor thin. He then finished the sharpening with a whetstone.
To obtain firewood the forester assigned and marked one tree for each family and sent a notice where to find the tree. Our tree was up the mountain some 10 miles away near a logging road. The farmer, my dad, who was on furlough, Hans, Walter and I set off at 5 in the morning. After some searching we found the tree. Dad and the farmer cut it down, chopped off the branches and sawed it into 3 ft. sections. The 3 kids had to drag the pieces up the hill to the logging road and pile it up for pick-up by the forestry people. Hans didn’t like touching the slippery, mossy branches and decided to go home. He snuck away, took the cart with all our food and beverage and rolled down the road all the way home. You can imagine how furious we were, no food or drink and another 6 hours of work and a 3-hour hike back home. At home Hans got a severe thrashing, the only one my father ever administered to him. As a further penalty Hans had to do overtime in chopping wood after the man with the mobile band saw came by and cut the sections down to firewood length.
In the fall the farmer called in the local butcher to slaughter the pig. From our bedroom we could hear the poor beast squeal. When we went downstairs, the pig was already in a tub of hot water where it was being scrubbed clean and its bristles were scraped off. We kids had the job to wash out the intestines in the fountain in the courtyard and get them ready for sausage-making by turning them inside out. When the whole pig was processed we all sat down to a “Schlachtfest” (butcher’s party). The farmer’s wife dished out “Metzelsuppe”, the broth of the sausage cooker, and freshly baked bread, followed by various cuts of meat and sausages with potatoes and sauerkraut. It was truly a feast because we could eat without needing our ration stamps.
In 1944 we moved from the farm in Obertal to Baiersbronn into one side of a duplex that the town had built for bombed out refugees like us.
The house was very small, the living room was 7 by 12 feet, the eat-in kitchen was 8 by 14 feet, and there was a single bedroom upstairs, about 10 by 12 feet. Hans and I slept in a regular bed, Walter slept in the big bed with my mother and later, after my dad got back from the POW camp, he had a crib in an alcove. Later that year, Frau Ilse Mueller – who lived in the other half of the duplex – let us use her upstairs bedroom and the 3 of us kids had a bit more room.
The house had no road connection and no water. We had to haul the water by bucket from a neighbor some 300 yards down a path to the road. For three more months we kept hauling. When the town finally installed a single tap in the kitchen, it was truly a high point in our lives.
The toilet was a hole in a wooden bench, again with a cesspool underneath. It smelled terribly, especially during the hot summer days. Worst was the maggots that kept creeping up from down below. We didn’t have any toilet paper; none could be bought in the empty stores. So my mother sacrificed the love letters my father had written to her from the war, for us youngsters they were fascinating and so romantic.
Meanwhile, our neighbor, Herr Lampert, decided we needed a road, so he organized the neighborhood and we built a dirt road, about 200 feet long, to connect to the main road. We logged tons of stone from the nearby Sankenbach creek and set them by hand into a foot-deep road base. The bed was consolidated with rams made out of tree stumps. On top we put gravel and sand, and our foot path turned into a respectable piece of road.
In early 1945, the front was drawing nearer and bombs started falling nearby. One bomb hit Café Mueller and killed their only daughter. My mother barely escaped a machine gun salvo from a low-flying French fighter plane. She feared for our lives and we all went back to the more remote village of Obertal. There we shacked up with our friends, the Siehr family, into a 3 room+kitchen apartment. They had 3 boys, our best friends, and a younger daughter. Their father was a chemist who had volunteered to join the army in 1939 and was killed in action during the first few weeks of the war. Frau Siehr became a war widow at age 28 with four children, then 4, 3, 2 and 1 years of age. There was one bedroom for the children with triple bunk-beds for the boys, and the three of us doubled up with the boys head to toe. The girl had a small bed in the same bedroom.
Then, one day in April of 1945, the French army moved into the village. The German army had retreated to guard the next bigger town of Freudenstadt. Hans and I, at age 8, had to join the “Volkssturm” (People’s Army), the last resources of the army, consisting of men over 70 and kids of 8 to 15 (everybody between 15 and 70 had been drafted earlier). We had been trained, using wooden mockups, to shoot RPGs at the incoming tanks. But the German army retreated and had taken all the real weapons with them and, luckily, we didn’t have to make that “last stand against the enemy”. The village surrendered to the French without a shot being fired.
Then the French started to search each house for soldiers and also for quarters for their officers. They came to the upstairs apartment and knocked (!) at the door of the children’s room. My mother had posted all 7 children by the door; when the soldiers opened, they exclaimed “Mon Dieu” (dear Lord) and shut the door. We kids then moved swiftly through a connecting door to the living room where Frau Siehr posted us near the door. The soldiers knocked again at the next door and saw another mother with 7 more children. With a baffled “beaucoupd’enfants” (lots of children) they gave up on their search for accommodations in the house.
After the armistice was declared there was great joy all around. Our family went back to Baiersbronn to our “Behelfsheim” (emergency shelter) as it was officially called. There we found a big mess. French soldiers had celebrated the end of fighting with a big party and had turned the place upside down. Also, they ate all our food and we had nothing left to eat. One of the French soldiers, he called himself Bari Mulut, an Algerian, came by a few days later and asked my mother to hide him; he was a deserter and just wanted to go home. We hid him in the attic and played ignorant when the French MPs came by and searched the house. They overlooked the trap door in the ceiling, leading to the attic.
At that time, food rationing was not working anymore; the whole civilian service structure had collapsed. We went around to several farms and tried to get enough food but the farmers were reluctant to accept the worthless “Reichsmark” currency. My mother taught us some French and we went begging at the hotels the French had requisitioned. “Avez-vous des conserves pour nous?” we asked again and again. We also eagerly picked up cigarette butts, rolled them into new cigarettes of ever increasing nicotine content, and traded them against food at a farmer’s. One day we were very lucky, a French officer gave us eleven 32 oz. cans of meat and vegetables, it was a memorable day. Other days we were not so lucky and the entire food for the four of us consisted of a single sugar beet that the farmers usually feed to their pigs.
There were no toys around so we made some ourselves. We carved little boats from thick pine bark and let them float on the puddles in the ditch behind the house. We made whistles from willow branches, stilts from square-cut slats, catapults from beer-bottle tops and slingshots from inner tubes, discarded by the French soldiers.
The French commanded every inhabitant of the town to watch a film about the Holocaust at the movies. Everybody was horrified and some people said this was all propaganda. Apparently, they had lost their clear thinking after years of Nazi propaganda.
During the summer of 1945 stores had nothing to sell. To survive, my mother, Hans and I went on “Hamster Reise” (shopping trip), where we scratched up some tradable goods, among them mother’s pretty lingerie that dad had sent her from Paris, loaded them on a hand-wagon and walked first from Baiersbronn to Obertal, staying at Siehr’s for a short night. The next morning at 3 am we moved on across the “Ruhestein”, the watershed between the rain-drenched (130 in/yr) eastern part of the Black Forrest were we lived, and the fertile Rhein valley. We walked 22 km (14 miles) to Kappelrodeck, Hans and I barefoot because we had no shoes, to a farm where we traded our goods. We got some 140 pounds of potatoes, fruit and vegetables. By then it was almost noon and we started our trek back. While progress in the valley was fairly good, things got really slow climbing up some 10 miles to the “Ruhestein”. Luckily, that day there was a farmer who put a pair of oxen to work, trailing a bunch of ropes for us and other “Hamsterers” to hang onto, helping them to move their handwagons up the steepest part of the climb. Down the other side it was easier, 5 miles back to Obertal and then another 5 miles to Baiersbronn. We got back home just before curfew at midnight, an exhausting 21 hour, 33 mile barefoot trek. The trip added several new layers to the callused soles of Hans’s and my feet.
The next day we had to start preserving our food. All fruit was sliced and air-dried. For that we took the doors off the hinges and covered them with the fruit slices to dry outside on the grassy patch in front of the house. After the drying, the unpainted doors had a negative leopard pattern with light spots where the fruit slices had been and sun tan around them. Carrots, potatoes and beets were stored in a sand bed in the basement. Cabbage was shredded, salted and fermented into sauerkraut in a big ceramic jar, eggs were stored in silicone gel in another earthen jar, and bread was air-dried. We had no refrigerator, and only glass jars with lids, but without rubber gaskets which then rendered them useless (all rubber had been reserved for tire production for the army).
We did the trip twice more during that summer. On one of the trips we found another friendly farmer who too was trailing half a dozen ropes behind his tractor for people to hang on and get pulled up the mountain for a few miles. His tractor had a “Holzvergaser” (wood chip gasifier) that generated carbon monoxide by partially combusting wood chips in a man-size vessel mounted on the side of the vehicle. The monoxide was then burned to carbon dioxide in the engine, generating just enough power to pull the whole convoy up the hill.
My dad had a tough summer as well. During the last days of fighting in April of 1945 he was with a few other soldiers on the south-shore of the Danube River in Ulm. The Americans were on the north shore. My father was happy to see them, so he stood up and waved to them across the river. Next thing, the Americans trained their mortars on him and he jumped back into the trenches, barely surviving the attack. A short time later his unit was overrun and he ended in a POW camp in St. Avold in Lorraine, France. The Americans were mean to the officers, ignorant about the difference between the regular army and the SS-stormtroopers. My dad was regular army, but the Americans gave all of them their Holocaust special. They fed them 4 course dinners where, e.g., the fish course was a single sardine that had to be divided between 8 people. They made them sleep under the clear sky, no tents or other shelter. Luckily, it was a dry and warm summer, so they survived. My father weighed 210 pounds going into camp and 98 pounds when he was discharged 7 months later.
Things got better when my father came back from the POW camp in November of 1945. As a former officer, dad had to register and report every Saturday to the police station in Baiersbronn. Hans and I were with him one day when Hans saw a sign on the way out where the new administration was looking for “Applicants with business education”. Dad applied and just a few weeks later got a job with the “Preiskontrollbehoerde” (price control agency) in the newly established regional administration. He got a 98cc motorbike as the official vehicle. His job was to visit shops and businesses and control that they adhered to the fixed prices set by the authorities. But his main concern was how to feed the family. So, he always brought a brown bag with him when he checked the local butcher or baker. He told them “I am not corruptible, but I have to feed my family with 3 small children”. Depending on the “crimes” he discovered, the bag got filled, more or less, with food. Once he brought back 4 pounds of lard, an exceptionally good day. At home, we cut it all up into little cubes and rendered it on the stove. The greaves tasted delicious with some salt, and the grease was a welcome change from frying potatoes without any fat. We didn’t mind that the grease was more like wax and stuck to the roof of our mouths.
Here ends the WW2 story and what it was like for me to grow up during that time in Germany.”
I’m a service dog handler so I’ve seen quite a few.
This Time I’m in the bathroom with my dog. We’re at the mall and I really have to pee and my dog has just alerted me I’m about to pass out. I really want to use the bathroom before I pass out so I don’t pee myself.
I walk into the bathroom and I see this mother changing her kid.
I think “oh god. The kids gonna notice and get upset she can’t pet Callie.@ I was so worried because I really needed to use the bathroom and I was already dizzy and had blurry vision.
To my surprise (and relief) this little angel is smiling and giggling at her mom as she gets her diaper changed and she’s too busy to notice Callie.
So I get out of the stall and the mother looks up at me.
She didn’t see Callie who was sitting behind a pillar between me and the woman as I washed my hands. This woman starts interrogating me while her angel is saying “mommy can you hurry so I can help you pick out shoes?” This kid is a perfect angel.
The woman ignores her kid and starts yelling at me. “You are so disrespectful you shouldn’t be using the handicap stall! What if somebody in a wheelchair comes in needing it? Or somebody else with a disability?!!”
I can tell this kid wants to leave (her belated butt must be freezing by this point) so I calmly reply “Ma’am not all disabilities are visible, and I am in fact disabled”
This woman glares at me and says “Oh yeah? And what the hell is wrong with you?”
I step aside and call Callie to my side. I then inform her “While I am not comfortable sharing that information with you, I am willing to tell you that I used this stall so my service dog would have room and would not be inched away from me as I use the bathroom.”
This woman is dumbfounded for a moment then turns around to resume changing this poor kids diaper. I was so thankful.
Then, to my horror this woman does the closest thing she can do to turn this child to a monster. In a high pitched voice she says “Look at the doggy! Look at the doggy!”
I’m terrified this child will go crazy until she pets my dog (keep in mind I’m still very dizzy and about to pass out. Preferably in a chair)
Instead, this angel says “Mommy can I please pet the doggy?”
This is the part that horrifies me. She then gets in this kids face and screams “NO. THAT DOG IS WORKING YOU CANT PET IT”
She had very politely asked, and I may have said yes. (It would be good practice for Callie) but I was dizzy and this mom just told her no.
Now, this child was an angel by my standards and I’m guessing those of most people reading this, but she was not a perfectly behaved robot. Her mom had obviously scared her so she started wailing and sobbing because the woman she trusts most had just screamed at her in a demonic tone.
This woman then turns to me and says “You know. This is all your fault. We were fine before you showed up. No I have to deal with her.”
This kid was an adorable child who was one of the best behaved toddlers I had ever seen. (I am a babysitter) I could not believe her mother would do that. She wouldn’t have noticed and she was so polite.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a problem with our wings,” announced the pilot.
True story. This happened to me last week.
The plane was making its final approach to Houston Intercontinental Airport. Suddenly there were three consecutive “ding-dong” sounds in the main cabin.
I saw both air hostesses run from the back of the plane to the front and grab the phone. They talked for a few seconds to the pilot, then the pilot came on with an announcement.
“We have broken off our approach. We have a problem with our wings. The leading edge slats won’t come down. We have declared an emergency and we will be landing shortly,” he said.
“Fire trucks will be waiting for us on the runway. It’s probably going to be a hard landing because we can’t slow the plane down as we normally would. We’ll see you on the ground.”
That was it.
Immediately the air hostesses started preparing everyone for the emergency. Uncertainty filled the cabin. Everyone of us felt vulnerable and scared.
I reflected on how fragile we are. There we were, trapped inside a metal tube flying at a high speed, … nothing to be done, simply pray and trust that everything would be okay.
The wind shook the plane from one side to the other. I could sense how the pilot was trying to find the optimal speed to land, not too fast, yet enough to fight the winds.
I could finally see the runway through my window. We all braced for the impact and as soon as we touched the ground, the pilot hit hard on the brakes.
The captain did an amazing job. We cheered and clapped for his fantastic landing.
Fire trucks followed us to the gate.
It was not fun. That leading edge slat on the front of the wing is responsible for the addition of a few more grey hairs to my head.
My first — and hopefully my last — emergency landing!
Fun outing in college, canoeing down the American River. Only… unbeknownst to us (and I suppose the trip organizers), unseasonably hard rainfall has made the river fast and dangerous in certain spots. Being completely inexperienced, my canoe-mate and I had no clue that going widely around the sharp bend would put us into the deepest, fastest-moving water, which coincidentally had just undercut a very large tree, which was now toppled into the water. So we get sucked into the fast-moving water under the tree and capsized. We surface. I come up with my torso against the tree, which is several feet in diameter. Some idiots immediately behind us apparently decide that they will “rescue” us (canoe-mate was a few feet down, straddling the tree by this time). They capsize. Their canoe catches the current side-on and lands against me. Both of my arms are over the top of the tree, keeping me above the surface.
I now have a sideways canoe with its flat hull pressing my torso into a giant tree, with the force of a raging river behind it. I feel it crushing me, and think I’m going to die.
And then, I didn’t. Apparently the angle was slightly off, and the canoe slid off and landed on my friend, a few feet downstream. Her leg was trapped and it took a whole lot of people a whole lot of time to move the canoe against the current enough so she could scrape her leg out. She ended up with severe bruising and was on crutches for awhile, due to the pressure. Yeah, I would have died, with puny ribs and lungs fighting the current instead of solid bone.
Chinese Black Pepper Steak
Ingredients
750g eye fillet (in one piece)
2 onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon dark soya sauce
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, crushed
Instructions
Partially freeze steak. Cut into thin slices.
Combine steak, onions, sesame oil, sherry, sugar, ginger and soya sauce in bowl. Cover, marinate several hours or refrigerate overnight.
Stir peppercorns through steak mixture. Stir-fry steak and onions in a wok over high heat until steak is cooked to your liking.
I’m astounded that Japan could be confused about the reason dead fish are washing ashore in the hundreds and more. They just released the most toxic water to date into the ocean. Gee, I’m sure that has nothing to do with it. Just a funny coincidence.
Would you drink water from Chernobyl? Would you drink water from Fukushima? So why would you eat fish that live in an an environment of toxic nuclear water? Why would you be surprised that the fish are dying in such water and washing ashore?
Literally everyone with common sense could’ve and did predict this. It’s basic cause and effect. No, I’m not surprised.
Years ago I had a blind date. We had talked on the phone and the guy asked if he could take me to lunch. Not MEET me for lunch, but take me. He was inviting me so I assumed he would pay.
We met at a casual inexpensive chain restaurant. I had something modestly priced – it was probably around $7 (like I said, years ago). When the bill came, he told me what my share was – he actually said, “You had the french dip plus an iced tea, so your total is…..” I was pretty surprised but I figured that the cost of my lunch was worth finding out what a cheapo he was so I wouldn’t waste any more time dating him. But here’s the kicker – he had a Buy One Get One Free coupon! So his meal was free and I paid for mine! That was enough for me. He walked me to my car and asked if he could see me again. I said, “No” and he looked surprised and asked why. I said that anyone as cheap as he was shouldn’t date. Thank goodness he never called again.
EDIT*** For those who comment why it should be presumed that a man always pays for the first date – I do not presume that! Whoever invites another on a date (not a casual “meet up”) should pay. This man invited me. He said he wanted to “take me to lunch.” That is an invitation for a date and it was logical of me to assume he would pay. I have invited men on dates and I have paid for both of us. This is not a feminist issue – this is an issue of manners. And this guy had none.
Music CDs – it was announced recently that a couple of big box stores are dropping them from their shelves.
The word “TWICE”. No, really! Just start listening out for it and you’ll notice that almost every TV advert that should be using the word will say “TWO TIMES” instead…and it’s spreading, I hear this ugly replacement for a perfectly good word in news stories too. Why? It’s a total mystery! (Of course “THRICE” already went the way of the Dodo…so…)
Stick-shift cars. Most new cars no longer come with the option to drive stick. (Boooo!!!!!)
The grammatical rule that disallows “split infinitives” (Like “To boldly go where no man has gone before!”…which should strictly be -> which should be strictly “To go boldly…”)
In the USA – extending tape measures with inches on one edge of the tape and centimeters on the other. I broke mine a few months ago and neither of the local DIY stores have anything other than “Easy Read” tape measures with only inches. I had to hunt around online to find one that I could still order.
Cash. Already, several countries are considering completely abolishing cash…and a while back, I needed cash for something (I forget what) – and realized that I’ve had no cash in my wallet for more than two years!
Philips screw heads. (The ones like a ‘+’ sign) The replacement is the six-sided “torx” head screws (like a ‘*’ sign) – and in some cases the Allen head – which is a regular hexagon. With the improvement in design of electric screwdrivers, the old philips screws (which are DESIGNED to strip under high torque to protect the tool from damage) are overdue for replacement.
We could go on forever…
Point is that with all of the new things in the world – some old things have to “go away” to make room…either intellectually or physically.
Sometimes it’s sad…sometimes, it’s good…mostly it’s just “Meh”.
When I was in college I went to bed hungry many, many nights. I used to steal cheese from Administration wine and cheese parties so I could eat that night. My food budget was 5 dollars a week. Then one day I learned about food stamps. In those days, food stamps really were stamps — they resembled currency but could only be used for food. I think I was eligible for 90 dollars a month in food stamps in 1981. That increased my food budget to about 22 dollars a week.
It absolutely changed my life. Suddenly, I could keep peanut butter in my house, and bread and cereal, things I could eat every day. And if I had the right coupons, I could buy tuna fish and mayonnaise as a luxury. I can still remember my hands shaking with joy as I made a tuna fish sandwich. I was a six foot tall 19 year old man with a 28 inch waist.
Pride made me unable to let people know how bad things were or how hungry I was. Money from my work-study job was used to pay rent and utilities. I balanced my check book to the penny because every penny counted. But when I did go to the DeMoulas in Fitchburg near the college (and I always walked), I always felt ashamed when it came time to pay. And don’t think I didn’t get many dirty looks and the occasional snarky comment from others in the line.
I vowed one day to make up for taking those food stamps and never criticize people who used them. Hunger is real and hunger changes your life, what you can do, how you view your work, your study, your play, your pride, your sense of worth – everything you are, because what you eat today walks and talks tomorrow. Yes, I felt real shame using food stamps. I never took charity before, I was a white man in America and taught that men don’t take charity — you work for what you get. But they saved my life and I am grateful today for the generosity of the taxpayer of yesterday who saved my life and ability to graduate with high honors from college and become a productive member of society.
Many moons ago, I found myself in perplexing life circumstances.
While I had a decent paying corporate IT job, my divorce of several years back had finally to ground my finances down to the point of near crisis.
Despite appearances of success, my disposable income after supporting two households was drifting into the negative.
In addition to faithfully paying child support for my two children, I also took them every weekend as they were the joyous bright light of my then stressful life.
While not extravagant per se, I made sure they had fun doing normal things kids do, as their mom tended to be frugal in this regard. No blaming, per se…
Backstory set, my current financial crisis was that the annual car insurance bill was due, and I basically didn’t have it. Ironically, a recent necessary car repair depleted my reserve at a bad time. Big sigh.
After spending days trying to sort this, no solution was apparent, and the strain of the bills due date was a preoccupation.
The next morning as I leave for work, the neighbor who lives across our sloping alley was standing behind my car looking at its bumper. His own over-the-top customized pickup is at an odd angle behind my car.
He apologetically explains that his big truck slipped out of gear, rolling over and hitting the back of my car. Hard enough that his trucks bumper was broken in the middle and partially dangled on one side. My heart sank, guessing at my poor cars condition.
Upon inspection, my early 80’s Volvo GL (very thick body metal) had a minor rumple in its rear corner. The trunk still worked, taillight undamaged, and bumper still fine as the lifted truck hit above it. Quite a comical mismatch of damage.
He gave me his insurance info and I went to work, grateful in part for light damage, but annoyed and worried. What was this going to cost?
I called his insurance agent who arranged to have an adjuster come my works parking lot, who I met about an hour later. He asked a few questions as he circled the car, tapping away on some hand-held machine that looked part printer (not a usual thing at the time).
Before I could finish explaining the alley incident, his machine starts spitting out some paper.., a check! He handed it to me with a smile saying There you go!
Sure I about to be low-balled for my repair, I quickly looked the amount. Easily quadruple what my car insurance bill that needed to be paid this week! Huzzah?
I look at the adjuster guy, clearly showing surprise in my expression. He says The damage is cosmetic and everything stiil works. If I were you, I’d just leave it and keep the money. Have a great day! We shake hands and off he goes.
And that’s just what I did, after paying my car insurance with the windfall from the other insurance company. A curious little shell game between these entities.
Indeed, Huzzah!
Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start The Fire (Historically Accurate Almanac) COMPLETE
Sailing into the wind is a sailing expression that refers to a sailboat’s ability to move forward despite being headed into (or very nearly into) the wind. A sailboat cannot make headway by sailing directly into the wind; the point of the sail into the wind is called “close hauled”.
Sailing into the wind is possible when the sail is angled in a slightly more forward direction than the sail force. In this aspect, the boat will move forward because the keel (centerline) of the boat acts to the water as the sail acts to the wind. The force of the sail is balanced by the force of the keel. This keeps the boat from moving in the direction of the sail force. Although total sail force is to the side when sailing into the wind, a proper angle of attack moves the boat forward
Old ships, such as sailing ships and square-rigged ships, had different sailing and fighting qualities than modern sailboats. They had to rely on their sails, rigging, hull shape, and crew skills to maneuver and perform in various wind and sea conditions. They also had to deal with challenges such as enemy fire, storms, pirates, and navigation. Old ships used various tactics and techniques to sail into the wind, such as:
Tacking: This is a basic sailing maneuver that involves changing the direction of the ship by turning its bow through the wind. This allows the ship to zigzag its way upwind by alternating between port and starboard tacks. Tacking requires coordination between the helmsman and the crew, who have to adjust the sails and rigging accordingly. Tacking also exposes the ship to enemy fire from both sides, so it was often avoided in combat situations.
Wearing: This is another sailing maneuver that involves changing the direction of the ship by turning its stern through the wind. This allows the ship to reverse its course without losing much speed or momentum. Wearing is easier and faster than tacking, but it also requires more space and exposes the ship’s vulnerable stern to enemy fire. Wearing was often used as an escape or evasion tactic when facing superior forces.
Beating: This is a sailing technique that involves sailing as close to the wind as possible without losing speed or stalling. Beating requires trimming the sails tightly and steering carefully to maintain an optimal angle of attack. Beating allows the ship to gain ground upwind by minimizing its leeway (sideways drift). The beating was often used as a pursuit or attack tactic when chasing or engaging enemy ships.
Pinching: This is a sailing technique that involves sailing closer to the wind than is optimal (i.e., with a too-small angle to the wind). Pinching reduces the speed and efficiency of the ship, but it also reduces its leeway and allows it to point higher upwind. Pinching was often used as a desperate or risky tactic when trying to gain an advantage or avoid a disadvantage in a tight situation.
The time when I was 16 years old and had a fake driver’s license to get into clubs. (This is a very long time ago when the licenses were paper).
A few weeks before, a clever bouncer realised my ID was fake. I won’t go into the details. He took it from me and advised that if I wanted it back I needed to go to the police.
I freaked out, went straight home (parents) and hoped I’d never have to think about it again.
There’s a knock at our front door. It’s the police (I can see them coming up from my bedroom window). I couldn’t understand what was happening.
My Dad answered the front door. I heard mumbling for a few minutes. I heard the front door close, and Dad coming up the stairs.
Dad called for my Mum. “Heidi, your Uncle’s stolen car has been found and it’s registered to here. I’ve informed the police that he’s living here at the moment (truth) and that he’ll sort it out tomorrow with them”.
Footnote: I heard all this from my bedroom as I was promising God that I will never, ever, ever have another fake driver’s license!
What you’re not being told about Apple Daily and Jimmy Lai
When Indonesia got loan from IMF in 1997, the Indonesian government was forced to terminate this project as one of requirements in order to get the loan from IMF.
The planes in the picture were N250s. The first ever plane produced by Indonesian airplane manufacturer, PT IPTN. It was in the 1997 N250 first prototype made its roll out. The plane successfully took off and conducted flight test. Unfortunately, Indonesia fell into a severe monetary crisis in 1997 and had to go to IMF to get the loan. The IMF told President Suharto to cancel the N250 project and it was mandatory before getting the loan. Suharto had no option at the time but approved it. Since then N250 project was cancelled. IMF also told Indonesia to stop funding IPTN totally but Indonesian government didn’t fully comply what IMF wanted. The funding to IPTN was only greatly reduced and its business cores were diversified in order to survive with minimum budget support from the government, now IPTN changes its name into PT Dirgantara Indonesia.
Many said and believed, IMF intentionally terminated the N250 project was to accommodate the requests from some foreign airplane manufacturers which didn’t want Indonesia to produce its own planes because they wanted Indonesia to keep buying from them.
I won’t say getting load from China will not be followed by terms and conditions but I just wanted to show you how IMF put pressures on countries that borrow money from them.
I parked in a hospital parking lot, and when I came back to my vehicle, there was this young couple, early twenties having a heated discussion. She wanted him to call a taxi, and drive to a mall and buy a battery. He wanted to call a locksmith. The battery in their key fob was dead, and they couldn’t get the door open. They were getting quite mad at each other, thinking that the others solution was going to cost more and take longer.
I asked them if I could be of assistance, and they both wanted me to explain to the other why their idea sucked.
The guy suggested that maybe I could take the battery out of my fob, and put it in theirs just long enough, for them to open the doors.
I asked to see their key fob, and he handed it to me, thinking I was going to do his suggestion.
I walked to their car, put the key in the lock, and opened the door.
They both were stunned. Saying OMG, how did you do that?
They had never seen a car door opened with a key. I felt really old, and just a little smug.
Def Leppard • Hysteria || Jennifer Connelly • Career Opportunities
This is great.
Curried Beef
Ingredients
14 ounces (400g) lean boneless beef
2 teaspoons rice wine
3 cups (750ml) vegetable oil for deep-frying; uses about 2 1/2 oz (75cml)
2 ounces (60ml) clear stock
2 tablespoons curry oil
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ginger, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon cornstarch (corn flour) dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
1/4 teaspoon onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon hot red chile pepper, chopped
Instructions
Cut beef into 1-inch square chunks.
Heat the oil in a wok over low heat to very hot, 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Deep-fry the beef until it is cooked through. Remove beef, drain, and set aside.
Pour the oil out of the wok, leaving a thin film on the bottom. Reheat until a haze appears on the oil surface. Add the curry oil, ginger, garlic, onion, chili pepper, rice wine, stock, salt, MSG (optional) and sugar.
Stir the cornstarch to blend and add. Add the beef, stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened.
Here is Claudia Schiffer in her earlier days. If you are a heterosexual male (my perspective on this subject), this picture make your genes scream “I wanna mix with those genes!”
It’s not an intellectual response. It’s not a moral judgement. It is a primal response. You couldn’t stop it if you tried. In this picture, she is the epitome of beauty. This yells “fertile”, and “your (our) kids will be successful at reproducing, too”.
Remember, the future belongs to the people who show up. Reproducing successfully greatly increases your odds of having children that reproduce successfully.
Brigitte Macron (wife of French President Emmanuel Macron) is not exactly an ugly woman, but I guarantee this picture doesn’t spur the same response as the one above.
In this picture, she is at, or close to menopause. That’s enough to shut down, or at least greatly mute the involuntary male response.
But looks don’t matter
Looks open up the door. They don’t keep you in the room.
The visceral response to those looks may last 6 months, or two years. But humans become acculturated to their normal surroundings. And even if your wife/girlfriend looks like this (Linda Evangelista in her prime):
There comes a point where you are inured to it. You care more about whether she picks her nose and leaves the snot on the bedsheet (or whatever annoying behavior she has).
And then there’s that standard male desire for variety. Arnold Schwarzenegger was married to Maria Shriver
Beautiful, smart, connected. She had it all. That should be enough, right?
Nope. He had an affair – and a child – with his nanny
I can’t tell you what was going on in the Schwarzenegger-Shriver marriage, but it’s rather obvious that Maria’s looks didn’t mean a whole lot at that point in time.
So let me repeat the point:
Looks matter – they get you in the door. But they don’t keep you in the room.
Are you beautiful? Lucky you. You have a greater selection of mates to start with. But after you choose one, you need to figure out a relationship, and that’s hard. Really hard. Work on that. The looks will stop mattering, even before they fade.
The Average Chinese don’t understand GDP growth or PMI or Productivity or other Indicators
To them the only source of their worry is the REAL ESTATE MARKET
They have no inflation whatsoever
They have no unemployment problems
Their businesses have plenty of credit available these days
The Chinese who have invested a large chunk of their money into real estate now see the downturn in these markets and feel poor
The Chinese Economists know this and allow this to happen knowing the alternative is to keep fueling real estate speculation and spectacularly crash a decade later
Yet the Chinese people are stoic and practical people
In the end they will shrug, accept that their investments in real estate are going nowhere and offload them or stick with minimal growth
It’s a harsh pill to swallow but one necessary for the long term
China thus is doing pretty well relative to the rest of the world from the eyes of the average mainlander
In fact, except for the real estate slump, he would rank his life as very good
2023 was a good year for China
First the lockdowns ended and that was a huge relief
Second the country is chugging back to life. The demand is back to 2019 standards and slowly rising again.
I personally feel Chinas growth in 2023 could have been as much as 6% but the Chinese are keeping a lot of their success on the books so that they can boost their 2024 growth rate instead
Rather than a 6% growth in 2023 and 4.1% in 2024, better for a 5.1% growth in 2023 and a 4.8% growth in 2024
This way China exceeds it’s target for both years
So there is no need to distract anyone
The Average Mainlander doesn’t need distraction
He has relatives who inform him of their lives in other countries and he knows not one of them is better off than him.
Today I walked my son to his kindergarten class. It was cold and we were huddled together like sardines as we stood outside the door waiting for the bell to ring.
I saw you with your little boy just a few feet from us, and I looked down when I realized you were looking at us. I hoped you didn’t know who we were. I hoped you didn’t know my son was “that kid.” The one who’s not transitioning well in this school year.
I know what the kids say about my son. They go home and tell their parents my kid is bad. Sometimes he pushes and hits. Sometimes he is defiant and refuses to sit down, be quiet, or stay in line.
I know because the kids tell him what they think of him on the playground. “Mark said I’m bad today.” Or “Aiden’s dad said I can’t play with him anymore.” And my heart hurts, because I know he’s struggling in school. And we are working every angle… in school with a specialist, at home, and through classes, books and resources.
Today, you looked at me, then at my son. “You must be K,” you said to my son. And I looked up and smiled sheepishly. It was an apologetic smile. Almost a “I’m sorry you know his name” smile, because that means you’ve heard the stories.
I said to you, “Yes, this is him.”
I whispered when my son stepped away that we are aware he’s causing some trouble and we are working on it. That we take his behavior very seriously.
And then you did something I never expected. I don’t know if I was waiting for you to tell me what you heard K did to your son, or just tell me off. But instead you told me about your older son who struggled with similar problems at this age. You told me that now he’s in high school and he’s a straight A student.
Instead of tearing me down, you lifted me up. You gave me hope. And you handed me an olive branch so I know that I do have an ally during school drop off. An ally I never expected.
You didn’t have to make that connection. You could have ignored us or pretended not to know us. Or yes — you could have told me what you think of my son (you would not be the first). But you didn’t. You showed me grace and kindness and you uplifted me more than I could possibly describe in words.
I told you I would love to learn more about steps you took with your older son. I would love suggestions and guidance and that I would call you. And you know what? I will call you. Even if no suggestions or guidance is ever exchanged. I will call you because you are a friend I want to have. You are a good person.
I will do something I normally despise: answer on behalf of someone else. This is just too good to not mention.
The words were: We are going to lie down for a nap. We are feeling tired and cranky.
It was just that: My wife, our toddler and I were going to take a nap on a weekend afternoon, because we were just not quite feeling ourselves. Before lying down, my wife called a doctor’s office to make an overdue appointment. All she got was a lady from the answering service – or possibly an Angel. We were not able to ascertain which, as we never met her in person.
The lady told my wife that the office was not open, and when it would reopen. My wife replied that she was going to try again later, as we were going to lie down for a nap because we were feeling tired and cranky. This had nothing to do with what she had called about – just making conversation. Still, only going by that, the lady deduced that we were dying of carbon monoxide poisoning. She told us to leave the house NOW, and called 911 for us.
Turns out the chimney had collapsed, and flooded the house with carbon monoxide. The levels were deadly – had we gone to sleep, we would not have woken up. The nice lady saved our lives, just based on my wife mentioning conversationally that we were going to take a nap. If that is not impressive, I don’t know what is.
Thanks, nice answering service lady, wherever you are.
MAJOR CORRECTION: My wife has read this answer, and she remembers telling the answering service lady that she was feeling woozy. That would have been a major hint – but I still find it more than impressive that she was able to save our lives just based on a brief phone call which was on its face about something else entirely.
When i was 12 there were a few kids at school who bullied me for whatever reason. It wasn’t bad physical bullying just name calling mainly. On weekend i was in our town centre calling my mother from a payphone. These 3 boys walked past and started banging on the phonebox shouting some names and proceeded to walk off.
Now for some reason, i this time i reacted. The only thing i had to hand was a full can of coke. I shook it up and opened it up just a tiny bit and threw it towards the boys intending to cover them in Coke. I threw it when they must have been 20-30 metres away and as the can approached them i shouted one of the boys names. “Paul!” (I’ll not use his real name) he turned round and the can hit the side of his forehead and he just dropped to the floor.
I ran. Oh, i did, i ran! Finally stopping at another phone box to call my mother and tell her exactly what happened. She was surprisingly ok about it despite me saying ‘Paul’ must have been really hurt. She just told me to get my butt home ASAP.
I didn’t hear anything about it until after the weekend and ‘Paul’ came in to school with a massive lump on his head coming out in a huge bruise. He’d spent the rest of Saturday in hospital.
Fortunately, i didn’t get into any trouble at all. I had only intended to cover them in Coke and could never have imagined hitting him square on his forehead at such a distance.
As kids are we all became friends in later years with even ‘Paul’ painfully accepting it was a one in a million shot.
Someone I know was diagnosed with cancer and given only 3–6 months to live.
It was a devastating diagnosis to her and her family. She was an amazing person, who’d lived a good, healthy life, and was only in her late-50’s.
But, as we know, cancer is a merciless disease.
She ended up getting on a strong treatment plan that allowed her to live almost 2 years.
The first 12–16 months of those 2 years, she more or less had a great quality of life and was able to travel, spend time with loved ones, her husband, kids, grandkids, making the very most of that time.
In the remaining 8–12 months of her life, things began to descend.
The cancer began to change her body, breaking her down. Her mind began to change and, consequently, her behavior did too. The medicine she was taking was no longer thwarting the onslaught of the disease.
In the end, in the final weeks of her life, it wasn’t pretty.
She eventually fell into a coma that doctors advised she would not wake up from.
In her final days and hours, her body seemed in great pain.
I won’t burden you with the details, but know this – her family had to see her in a state that would traumatize most of us had it been our own mother.
I’m not presuming the following statement would have been her choice; it is my, perhaps controversial, opinion:
People who know their life will end in an excruciating way should have the option, with the assistance of medical professional, to end their own life in a more peaceful manner.
It is far more humane than letting them be ravaged until the bitter end.
1. Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right. 2. You can’t be healthy and obese. 3. Everyone wants to GET old, nobody wants to BE old. 4. Most anger comes from feeling powerless. 5. The people you look up to are just as nervous as you are. 6. As people age, they get fewer chances to mess up. 7. All systems are essentially a minority ruling over the majority. 8. If you look in the mirror and find a dirty face, it might also be that the mirror is dirty. 9. HR is not there to protect you, it is in place to protect the employer. 10. Relationships are a one way street, whether you are the one in love or the one loved. 11. Some people will not like you no matter what you do. 12. In fact, some people are not qualify to have kids or even pets. 13. Upvotes on Quora are free. 14. Small achievements may come from hard work, but big ones require luck. 15. We are all biased, especially those who think they are not.
I was working in the seafood department of a major grocery store chain. We had on ad pink salmon for .88 a pound. My first customer of the day wanted me to scale it, fillet it, and pack it into 4-ounce portions. I refused! She immediately went and told the store manager about my refusal. I was willing to walk out if he insisted that I do it because, I was working solo and the cost of the fish was so low and the cost of the packaging was a lot, let alone the time it would take if I had to do them. He came back, we went into the back to discuss my refusal. I told him my reasoning. He told me that he would help me with it.
We returned to the seafood department, and he told her that he would be happy to cut it the way she asked. She was over the moon and handed him two packages of the fish. He gave me a disgusted look. He told me you refused to do the two fish, unbelievable, I am disappointed in your lack of customer service. I smiled. Then the same customer pushed into the seafood department the two carts filled to the top with the fish. She had over 200 packages wanting them all scaled, fillet it, and pack it into 4-ounce portions. I silently told him so! He refused to do it for her and told me that under no circumstance would we do anything to the fish but sell them in the bags. I agreed but did tell him that I was disappointed in his lack of customer service! He sent me home for the day! Being a union department, I was paid for the day since he didn’t follow protocol about sending me home. The meat department had to cover my shift; boy they were pissed at me!
I once stopped a very hot looking “model” (I use the term loosely) for speeding at nearly twice the speed limit. Mind you, I am not a ticket writer and can count on one hand the number of citations I’d written in the last decade. Truth be told, at my rank, I don’t even carry a ticket book. When I informed her why I had stopped her, she proceeded to hand me her business card with her cell phone number on it and leaned forward making sure I could see her quite ample bosom. Up to that point, I had no intention of citing her, and was just going to warn her to keep her speed down. However, once she suggestively tried to flash some skin, I called for a radio car to bring me a citation book so I could write her up.
“You’re going to write me a ticket? Nothing we can do to work this out?”
“Ma’am, I had no intention of writing you a ticket when I stopped you, but at this point, if I don’t, you’re going to go around telling everyone that all you had to do was bat your eyes and flash your breasts to get out of a ticket… Press hard on the pen, there’s three copies.”
The Airforce UFO Cover Up That Drove a Man INSANE | They’re LYING to US
When I was a Senior in High School I was “big” into weight-lifting. I was “pumped” and I was quite an “amazing specimen.”
In fact, during the class physical check-up for us boys, the female doctor and the female nurse asked me to go to the back room (in my underwear) and pose for them. They just smiled and looked on.
I, being young and a dumb shit, didn’t know what was going on.
Anyways, some friends offered some steroids to me to help me get and build up mass. I thought about it, but you know, I was concerned about this. So I made a doctor’s appointment, though my mother, and went to the doctor.
When the doctor asked me what was wrong I had a trouble answering. I did a lot of hemming and humming.
Finally I asked about steroids, and the doctor (a woman) told me that it was a serious, SERIOUS issue and that I should not do it.
She saw me off, and then her son (who was in my class) brought me an envelope filled with papers about the dangers of steroids. She also continued to check in on me. She did this over the next five months. And she checked up on me though my mother.
Well, I really didn’t need a follow up.
I just didn’t do any steroids.
It was one of the BEST things that I ever did. And honestly, I am so happy that I lived in a small town and community. Access for these kinds of medicines was difficult and I did not pursue them. Thank JESUS!
Our decisions ALWAYS possess late-game impact.
You are the sum total of your previous behaviors. And that is why it takes a while for the affirmation campaigns to work. You have to untangle decades of previous verbalizations.
Smile. All of you are doing great right now. I believe in you all.
The best food in France ever is the Jambon Beurre.
But that’s just a ham sandwich, and you’re correct, it’s a ham sandwich, but not just a ham sandwich. The jambon beurre is a gastronomic lesson. It exemplifies how to make great food: take the best possible ingredients and prepare them with great technique, and no unnecessary fluff. The jambon beurre is simply a freshly baked baguette, delicious jambon de Paris and creamy 85% fat butter. Sometimes you’ll see sweet and sour cornichons or a few slices of cheese, but nothing else. No lettuce, tomatoes, onions, jalapeños or overpowering Subway styles sauces or dressings. This sandwich is just an assembly of three fine ingredients and it is divine.
Quality ingredients and good technique are the keys to great food. French cuisine taught us that lesson and the jambon beurre shows us it is true.
Wendelstein Church on Wendelstein Mountain, Bavarian Alps.
The global financial landscape is witnessing a seismic shift as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) boldly moves away from the US dollar in its oil trade dealings.
This strategic pivot aligns with the broader ambitions of the BRICS economic alliance, of which the UAE is a recent addition.
The changeover, involving the transition to local currencies for oil transactions, marks a significant departure from the long-established dollar dominance in the global oil market.
The BRICS bloc, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, recently expanded its membership to include the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and Argentina.
This expansion signifies a growing inclination towards de-dollarization among these nations, a move that challenges the traditional hegemony of the US dollar in international trade.
The UAE’s decision to prioritize local currency over the US dollar in new oil deals is a clear reflection of this sentiment. This move isn’t just a mere policy shift; it’s a strategic maneuver in the complex chess game of global economics.
By aligning with the BRICS nations, the UAE is not only diversifying its economic partnerships but also reinforcing its position as a global oil powerhouse.
This change could potentially reshuffle the cards in the international oil trade, impacting the dollar’s stronghold and introducing a new era of currency dynamics in oil transactions.
ONGOING CATASTROPHE FOR USA
The shift away from the U.S. dollar is not some distant, arcane, thing which doesn’t affect YOU. It is affecting YOU already and it is going to get worse. Much worse. In fact, it’s going to be a catastrophe.
You see, since the 1970’s, ALL sales of oil, worldwide, have been transacted in “Dollars.” Everyone who sells it, sells in dollars. Everyone who buys it, buys in dollars.
In order to do that, every country on earth needs to hold “dollars” in its central bank.
Now that countries are starting to sell oil in currencies OTHER THAN Dollars, the central banks around the world won’t need to hold all those dollars. They will start to send those dollars BACK to the United States and say convert these back to OUR currency.
As dollars come back to the U.S. and other countries currencies are exchanged, THEIR currency will rise in value compared to ours. Our currency will FALL in value compared to others.
Now, we don’t manufacture much of anything here in America anymore; we import a lot of what we need/want.
So as we need to import, the value of OUR money is going to be worth less, and less compared to foreign countries, meaning what we need will cost VERY VERY MUCH MORE.
Inflation will hit the US in almost every sector because the things we need to import cost more and more dollars that are worth less and less.
So if you think things have gotten expensive this year, hold on to your hat; it’s going to get a LOT worse.
Moreover, at some point, countries may decide that the U.S., being so far in debt, makes our currency worthless. They may decide to STOP selling anything to us in US Dollars.
Despite being universally accepted nowadays, the fear of our currency becoming worthless is real because there is literally nothing backing our currency. Government keeps going farther and farther into debt until at some point, people around the world will simply NOT take our money anymore.
When THAT happens, the shortages and “supply chain disruption” seen during COVID-19, will look like kid games.
GOVERNMENT TO BLAME
The sole entity responsible for all this trouble is the US federal government; specifically, YOUR member of the US House of Representatives and YOUR US Senators.
It has been these people who have literally spent the country into oblivion. THEY voted for each and every dollar spent which had to be borrowed.
So as they come back from Washington to back-slap, glad-hand, and kiss babies, know that it is THESE PEOPLE who are personally responsible for wrecking this nation, and ruining everything you and your family has worked all your lives for.
More importantly, it is THESE PEOPLE who have mis-used their positions to impose “economic sanctions” on country after country around the world; telling those countries, “If you don’t do what we want, then you cannot use OUR money in YOUR trade.”
All those countries are tired of US meddling in THEIR internal affairs.
So they’re moving away from using US dollars, so that the US cannot sanction them anymore.
The result will be hyper-inflation for us, and wrecking of our country. All because THEY will not stop meddling in other people’s business.
1939 Delahaye Type 165
1939 Delahaye Type 165 is viewed by many as the most beautiful French car of the 1930s, only 5 of them were ever made with this one having been fatefully chosen by the French government to represent France at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
I was once the daytime caregiver for a little boy with a massive brain injury. The damage was so extensive that a large part of his right brain had been surgically removed. He was paralyzed on his left side. He also probably suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, but the doctors were unsure. He hoarded food, because he had gone hungry many times in his earlier life. Altogether a really lousy start.
I was pushing little X in his stroller. He was about three years old at this point. We were walking toward the high school, and there was a group of girls on the sidewalk. Black clothes, black hair, smoking, swearing girls.
X was a bit unusual looking, due to his injuries. I was thinking that these girls were going to laugh at him, or tease him, or something. I was getting tense and defensive.
As X and I get close, he hollers out, “HI”, which was his only word at the time. I was not expecting the response he got from those girls.
They were totally sweet. They were all saying hi back and asking his name and saying how cute he was. One asked me about his injuries, and I gave her the short version. She started to cry, and then I did, too. It was hard for me to talk about his history. We ended up hugging each other.
I have always remembered that group of girls, and how completely wrong I was about them.
They remind me often not to judge people by their appearance.
Copeland’s of New Orleans the Guitreau
Ingredients
4 ounces butter
4 ounces chopped onions
5 single mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
8 ounces fish fillet (red or black drum recommended)
4 ounces crawfish tails
4 ounces 90-100 size shrimp
Instructions
Cook fish on grill approximately three minutes on each side.
While fish is cooking, sauté shrimp and crawfish tails for about one minute. At this point, everything else may be added. Cook until vegetables are translucent. If mixture is too thick, add a splash of dry white wine. If too thin, turn the heat up and cook down until the right consistency.
South Korea, Japan BETRAY and ABANDON U.S, Rush to CHINA!
Breakup of antiwar coalition on Taiwan Island brings war clouds closer to East Asia
Taiwan is not Ukraine. The Taiwanese army is compulsory conscription for one year, extended by Tsai Ing-wen from the previous four months, making her extremely unpopular. No one in Taiwan has the delusion that Westerners have that the Taiwanese army can withstand the PLA for more than a day.
Most of them will tell you the PLA takeover will last only a few hours.
The reason is none of these young men want to die fighting the PLA, not even the deepest Green. Many street interviews of youngsters in the deep Green country of south Taiwan have shown as much: don’t know history, don’t understand why Taiwan is the Republic of China and its airline is China Airlines, don’t like China, don’t want war with China, won’t fight the PLA to defend Taiwan.
In truth, most of them will simply surrender, because those who do not will be tried for treason or, as a minimum, carry a black mark for themselves and their family so that none of them or their offspring will enjoy the privilege of say working in government jobs or state corporations.
Don’t forget that Taiwan is an island. The shortest distance from China to Taiwan is about 220 km. Hawaii is 8500 km away and the American west coast is 11,000 km. People on the island can’t run off to Poland. No one is going to save them when the PLA lands. Taiwanese people understand this but try explaining it to people like Mearsheimer.
Another thing about America arming Taiwan. It’s a scam. Taiwan is going to get antiquated equipment at exorbitant prices. Taiwanese people also know about this because it is not new. It happened before. The US is worried there may be many Yifu Lin types in Taiwan, taking the latest US war technologies to join China. The last time they armed the Nationalists during the Chinese Civil War, the PLA got their hands on a large amount of the latest American weapons.
America is really good at lying. The country is built on lies. Ask any native American how many times the white man has lied to them and they will tell you as numerous as the stars in the sky. It’s too late for the natives, but we can learn something. Don’t trust any words or narratives that come from the direction of the hegemon.
You met a girl. You smiled. She liked. You gave her compliments. She liked you more. You used every textbook trick to impress and voila! She indeed was impressed.
Time flew. Your mask fell off.
Now, she hates you.
Persuasion techniques are, at times, indeed useful. But if you want relationships that last, always be real. These techniques may capture someone’s head, but being who you are will capture their hearts.
That genuineness and sincerity, my friend, will always be cool! 🙂
A friend and I had plans to hang out. For whatever reason, she couldn’t make it and canceled. I didn’t want to hang around the house and went out anyway. As I approached the car, I got an uneasy feeling. I opted to take the other car; I still got an uneasy feeling, but it wasn’t as intense. I got in the car and left the house. Thirty minutes later the car was totalled; I didn’t even see it coming. When I came to, the car was upside down. I was still in the car, but laying on the roof. Had I take the initial car, I probably would have been dead or severely injured at best. I literally got up and walked away from the car on my own (I did pass out a couple times while the ambulance was en route). I broke my ankle and sternum and needed a couple stitches.
Chimney Sweep, outside 97th General Hospital, Frankfurt.
When my husband had been a consultant for about a year, and had been traveling 80% of the time for a job that he absolutely loved.
He came home one weekend and said, “Yesterday I was sitting at a table with five other consultants, and one of them told the group that I was on my first wife.
They all laughed and said, ‘That won’t last long!’ Two of them are on their third wife! That’s when I knew for sure that I have to change jobs.”
And that’s when I knew for sure that he would always put me first.
That we would always put each other first.
We’ve been married more than 40 years, and we’re still putting each other first. (He has since had several jobs that he enjoyed as much as that one, I’m glad to say. I wouldn’t want him to be unhappy at work because of me! I’ve always supported him in whatever his work choices have been, and he has been supportive of my career too.)
I didn’t technically “meet” the guy. But when I was about 10yo & my mom asked me to run to the donut shop before going to school (it was less than a block from our apartment), I was so stoked, I ran the entire way!
As I went to pull the door open at the donut shop, this big grisly bear of a man sorta stumbled towards me from me pulling the door open so fast.
I looked him right in the eyes & got The biggest shot of freezing cold fear through me, turned right around & ran straight back home.
When my mom asked why I didn’t get any donuts, it took me a minute to answer. I asked if she remembered the creepy old big guy from the show we were watching last night & my mom replied “you mean Americas Most Wanted?”!
I said yes, she said “yeah, and?” I told her I’d ran straight into the featured criminal that was a father who raped & molested his daughters & their friends for years & was on the run with his wife (she said she didn’t believe her daughters or their friends, eww)!
My mom asked if I was sure & I was absolutely sure it was him. My mom called the tip line immediately & they said I wasn’t the first to report seeing him at that donut shop. That couple got so spooked by my reaction that they apparently immediately went back on the run. I believe they gave chase for a bit but somehow evaded police, but were later found dead from self inflicted injuries. I was told my report was the final “straw” for cops to believe it was a legit sighting.
No joke that when I say I felt straight evil from him, the burning ice cold feeling his eyes gave me, I will unfortunately never forget it.
Always, ALWAYS trust your “gut”! That intuition is inside us all for a very good reason.
Chinese journalist Liu Xin: DON’T MESS WITH CHINA!
Some years back, a close friend of mine, let’s call her Jane, underwent a significant surgery. She lived alone, and the recovery period was expected to be long and challenging. Jane’s sister, who lived in a different city, offered to take her in during the recovery. The sister had a spacious home and a supportive family, making it an ideal environment for Jane’s recuperation.
Jane, always mindful of not imposing, devised thoughtful ways to contribute to the household. Since she couldn’t engage in physical activities initially, she used her skills as a seasoned graphic designer to help her niece with a school project, creating an impressive presentation. This gesture was immensely appreciated and brought her closer to her niece.
As she regained strength, Jane took up the responsibility of managing the family’s online affairs. She organized digital photo albums, set up an efficient bill payment system, and even taught her sister and brother-in-law how to use various apps to streamline their daily tasks. These small yet significant contributions made her feel useful and less like a burden.
Additionally, Jane used her savings to occasionally treat the family to meals from their favorite restaurants, understanding that her presence had increased the household expenses. She also made it a point to maintain her space meticulously, ensuring that her temporary stay caused minimal disruption in their routine.
When Jane finally returned to her home, her relationship with her sister’s family had deepened. They had not only supported her through a challenging time but had also received her gratitude and contributions in a way that enriched their lives. This experience, my friend often reflects, taught her the importance of giving back, even in times of personal difficulty.
The best relationship advice I ever got was from my grandma years ago, while we were sitting on our back porch swing. There was a thunderstorm going on, and we were enjoying the rain and swinging and talking and nothing was off limits.
At one point, Grandma said, “When we stop expecting someone to be perfect, we can begin to appreciate them for who they really are. No one can ever be perfect. That’s just the way things are.
Crying is okay, too. Sometimes, love is just too big for words …”
The way you treat yourself is the standard you set for others.
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend . A successful woman is one who can find such a man .
Sometimes following your heart means losing your mind.
The most beautiful woman is someone who’s happy and is always smiling.
The sexiest thing about a woman is not in the clothes she wears , the figure that she carries or the way she combs her hair but Confidence in a humble way, not in an arrogant way. Sense of humour is definitely important.
The biggest asset in the world is your mindset.
Good looking people are trusted quicker by the subconscious mind. No clue why ? But there’re many good looking manipulators. Trust by character not appearance.
Someone you’ve only known for ten days could have better intentions for you than someone you’ve known for ten years. Time means nothing; character does.
Don’t let the world define your identity for you . They don’t know you and likely they don’t care about you.
After twenty years of marriage I got crippled up by arthritis and my wife came to me and asked for a divorce so she could go out and live her life.
I pointed to the door.
Signed the divorce papers for her so she saved some costs. I got no child support even though both our kids stayed with me. Actually they gave her half the house I had built and the entire time I was building it she didn’t want me too because I was “wasting” money on it.
A few months after the divorce was final she actually told me I was going to have to marry her back. Right.
I said no.
Today I’ve been married to a wonderful woman who’s supportive and I enjoy every day.
I did recover from being crippled with a lot of rehab and I made sure to tell my wife to be that I could never guarantee that being crippled wouldn’t recur.
Then a couple years after we married she had to have open heart surgery to repair a bad heart valve and I was there taking care of her with no complaints while she recovered. She’s always doing things to make my life easier. It’s what marriage is all about. Teamwork.
Many years ago, I was approached by a woman I knew through our homeowners’ association, and she asked to talk to me. She said that she was getting ready to leave her husband, who was a brutal and abusive alcoholic. She had a tiny puppy — a little fluffy mix that was mostly Yorkie and Pomeranian — that he was kicking and mistreating, and she wanted to get it to safety as soon as possible before he either damaged her or killed her.
She knew I was a dog lover, so she proposed that she leave her back gate unlocked, and after she was sure her husband had passed out, she would put the puppy on the back porch behind the unlocked gate. I could take the puppy, and disappear into the night.
I lived a distance from the woman’s home, so there was no danger the puppy would ever be seen by her husband. So, I agreed. We decided to do it that night.
The arranged dognapping went off without a hitch, and Rita made her home with us for many years. The woman also escaped her husband, as planned.
I buried my wife a week ago today. Alzheimer’s disease is a terrible way to die. She was diagnosed in 2013. She died October 10, 2023. I delayed her services until one of her siblings returned from a cruise. Since she chose cremation long ago, there was no urgency to bury her in my family’s grave plots.
She was an RNC – BSN in Labor and Delivery. Dedicated her life managing a 40 bed LDRP unit with NICU.
The Hospice nurse thought she was stable earlier in the day, but she later observed a change that I probably would not have recognized. The Hospice nurse told me I should come. She had been non verbal for about a year. Had to be fed, and was in a special Hospice provided wheel chair when out of her bed.
I knew as a lifelong nurse she did not want to live like that, but a DNR covers no cardiac crash cart intervention and no tube feeding. It is way above my pay grade to opine that her quality of life was near zero. A Hospice nurse knows when there is more brain activity than many of us might think.
She had been in a nursing home exactly three years. When she first arrived, she never stopped nursing, looking after those residents who were no longer ambulatory. In fact, she thought she was in charge of the nursing home because she was a Director of Women’s Health before she retired. At the peak of her career, she had 150 employees and a seven figure annual budget. A few years later, she could not balance her check book.
The Hospice nurse told me the last thing to go with an Alzheimer’s victim is their hearing, so even though she looked comatose, the nurse convinced me she could hear me.
I believe her. No finger squeezing, no eye movement, nothing but labored breathing. I told her I loved her, and that I would have been nothing without her.
Thinking she was stable for maybe another day, I went home to get something to eat. Hospice called and said she was gone before I got back to the nursing home. We would have been married 51 years December 30. Planned our wedding around an OU Sugar Bowl game in 1972.
I hated myself for leaving the nursing home for what seemed like only a short time, but maybe she knew I had been there, and she was tired of the pain. Maybe she held on just long enough to see me or hear me one last time.
I’ll forever regret not spending more time with her. I honestly did not think she knew I was there during visits the last year, but now I know she knew I was there near the end, so she probably knew I was there during those times when I thought there was little brain function remaining.
I regret not spending more time with her excellent Hospice caregivers, to better understand that though my wife seemed near comatose for over a year, she would know I was there if I had spent more time with her.
Always pay attention to the Hospice nurses. Milk them for more knowledge about how it will probably end.
I am forever indebted to the Hospice nurses who cared for my wife. Hospice was there when I could not be there. No one should die alone.
Not long ago, Western media were promoting “the Chinese Air Force intercepted a Canadian aircraft.” But they don’t tell you that this interception took place in the northern part of the Taiwan Strait, only dozens of kilometers away from the coast of China.
Now, the Western media is once again propagating that “the Chinese Navy is unprofessional towards Australian warships.” Okay, let’s look at the truth of the matter again.
The “exclusive economic zones” of China and Japan overlap on a large scale, and the overlapping area is closer to China’s territorial waters.
First, Australia claimed that “the warship is located within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.” It seems to tell us that they are near Japanese territorial waters. But is this true?
Let’s take a look at how big Japan’s “exclusive economic zone” is. As we all know, Japan’s “exclusive economic zone” was set unilaterally by Japan. It has a large number of overlapping areas with mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea, and North Korea, and is not recognized at all in East Asia.
Therefore, the fact that the Australian warship is “located within Japan’s exclusive economic zone” does not mean that it is “close to Japan”. On the contrary, it is likely to be close to China’s territorial waters, has entered China’s exclusive economic zone or even approached China’s territorial waters. This is also the reason for this type of incident. normal. The Chinese almost never go far from their shores on such missions.
Secondly, the news that the Chinese Navy’s use of “sonar” caused “slight injuries” to divers is not credible at all. According to news reports, the warship that intercepted the Australian Navy was the Chinese Navy No. 139 Ningbo Ship. This is a modern-class destroyer with a full load displacement of 8,500 tons and an old Soviet warship. According to public information, the sonar equipped on this destroyer is the MGK-335 hull-acoustic hull sonar. This is an active high-power sonar designed for deep-sea nuclear submarines, with a peak operating power of hundreds of kilowatts.
The shock waves it emits can hit the submarine’s hull several kilometers away and detect the echoes. There is no point in turning on sonar for surface ship monitoring.
Because this type of sonar is powerful enough to cause injury to large marine life such as dolphins and whales, it is generally not turned on. When the warships of both sides are approaching, if the Chinese Navy really turns on this sonar, then the diver will not suffer just a “slight injury”, it will shatter people’s internal organs.
Therefore, the real situation may be that the diver suffered minor injuries due to other reasons in the process of rushing to shore. After all, the Australian Toowoomba is just a 3,600-ton frigate. When facing an 8,500-ton Chinese warship, a hasty retreat is a normal reaction.
There are a few more noteworthy keywords
2. Sanctions tasks of the United Nations
This statement is the same as that of the Canadian military aircraft, which also claimed to be carrying out “UN sanctions supervision against North Korea.” But they flew to the northern part of the Taiwan Strait.
China has publicly stated many times that the United Nations has never authorized such a mission. As one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, China’s statement is credible, and other countries have not raised any objections.
Therefore, the Australian warship’s so-called “implementation of United Nations sanctions and supervision of North Korea” is just a farce written and directed by several countries led by the United States.
3. The fishing net entangled the propeller
It shows that the Australian warship has entered the fishing area instead of the normal route. This will cause disruption to both Chinese and Japanese fishermen. Whether it is Japan’s exclusive economic zone or China’s exclusive economic zone, it is undeniable that it is more than 1,000 kilometers away from Australia. That is China’s doorstep, not Australia’s.
The incident took place so far away from Australia. What was the Australian Navy thinking when it sent a small warship to the coast of a nuclear-armed superpower to show off? If the opponent was the United States or Russia, they would have been sunk long ago.
4. Unprofessional
The Chinese Navy’s approach to foreign warships approaching China’s territorial waters has always been to “identify, warn and drive away”. This is their “professionalism”. There was no warning of weapons and no active collision, indicating that the Chinese navy was restrained. It makes no sense for the Australians to use the excuse “sonar harms divers” to divert attention.
There have been several over my long life but the one that still hurts the most was when my family decided to do a family photo.
For context:
my parents (mom and dad), 4 others siblings with their spouse and child(ren)
18 people total including myself and husband.
I’ve always been a coordinator of events and the like so I offered to find and buy all the children’s outfits so they match/color coordinate.
All the adults wore coordinating colors. We planned on having an outdoor spring photo shoot and I purchased all items to stage the pictures (included a setee, velvet arm chairs, Persian rug….you get the idea not just outside but staged. We hired a professional photographer with each of us paying $200
to cover the bill.
A week before the photos were supposed to be done, my older sister comes over and says my parents want our children but not myself and husband in the pictures. I say nothing, think about it an day and then call my dad. I ask him did he and my mother say we were not to be in pics? He never gives me a direct answer. Says they really just pics of the grandkids, I ask him then why is everyone else included besides my husband and myself? -he gives Half answers until I say I have to go-I sent all of them an email laying out how hurt we were and Don’t understand what we could have down to be excluded like this. Not one response.
Picture day:
My older sister had the audacity to call me and ask if my kids were ready and she was on the way to pick them up. I told her Nope and hung up.
That is the last one I ever spoke to or heard from any of them. Family should never hurt like that
My generation, the boomers, was encouraged to take risks and accomplish great things. We were told that we could do anything and should. We had people like JFK pushing us to go to the moon.
I grew up in a violent, terrifying and poor household where I felt great responsibility for the younger children. I felt no love from my parents. I was just scared all the time. I subsequently had little energy left for doing well in school. I had only one friend. I was always afraid of authority and had no self-confidence. I was not equipped for adulthood and most of it was a struggle to do well at whatever job I held.
When I retired, due to my great fear of poverty, i had plenty of money saved and my own home. I also realized something important. I didn’t have to have regrets even though I had not taken risks or accomplished great things.
I had survived. I had accomplished something important. I was safe. I had made it through all the troubles and fear. I had gritted my teeth and pushed through all the pain and loneliness and self-loathing that comes with being treated badly.
I am old but I have many years to go and I’ll spend them being proud of myself for making it through to safety. This might not seem like much of a goal to most people but it was what I dreamed of for myself and unwittingly worked hard for. I have no regrets.
She ran a very successful Dentist as Practice Manager…she has been a Dental Nurse since the early 90s and worked her way up.
Probably about 80% of the role was managing the staff…whereas 80% should have been running the regulatory side of the business….unfortunately, that meant that the regulatory side had to be done after hours.
She would put in 12 hour days, come home, have dinner, then start again and not stop until near midnight, nightly!
Now the business owner and principle knew HE could not manage the staff, but he then started demanding that she was ‘front of house’ due to her professionalism…even though others were just as capable…so of course, that meant other things started to suffer…initially her health, but she persevered…she ‘loved her job’!
But then, the inevitable happened…he ‘decided’, without any consultation, that her role was now ‘salaried’ and he would no longer pay overtime.
Now, there’s a rock and a hard place…the regulatory side could not be undertaken during the day, would not be compensated, and was a legal requirement for the Practice to operate; so she took the only option available; she resigned (her health was deteriorating anyway…and that was due to the stress of the job!)
6 months later, she is in a far better place physically. The business she left is on its knees. All the staff had left, and it is now – just about – scraping by as a single dentist practice (there had been 10 dentists and 26 support staff!).
I reckon that it has 3–4 months left before it goes completely under….all because he started interfering in the staff roles and didn’t want to pay a little overtime.
Lets do what China or Singapore is doing and ensuring that their police remain tough but relatively free from any corruption and actually follow the law
Pay
India pay their policemen a pittance. I am talking about the rank and file cops. If you look at Comparative Median Income- a Middle ranking Indian policeman (Non IPS) gets only 1.06 times the Median income compared to 1.41 times for a Chinese Cop and 1.83 times for a Singaporean Cop and 1.82 times for a US Cop from NYPD or CPD. A 41% Pay raise for Middle Ranking Cops and allowance raise and upto 77% Pay raise for the Rank and file would work wonders.
Housing and Allowances
China, Hong Kong have police departments which purchase their own lands and commercially build apartments and sell them at zero interest to Cops and retired cops. 2,3,4 BHK Apartments with all the luxuries like a Swimming Pool, Gymnasium etc provided.
Hamara Bharat – How a Police Quarters looks like in Bharat with Inspectors living in this dilapidated building. The Toilets are particularly a bonanza. Departments have to beg and beg for the most basic of maintenance and painting.
Death Insurance
In India a Cop shot and killed while on Duty will get a flat sum of Rs. 18 Lakhs to Rs. 85 Lakhs depending on City and State with Mumbai and Delhi paying the highest.
85 Lakhs sounds good right?
Sorry. First the money is taxable, Second the average time to get this money is 17 – 24 months if you are lucky and third – an Insurance company pays this sum and it will dodge and demand a lot of documentation like death report etc etc etc.
A woman called Gurbachan Kaur who was supposed to get Rs. 78 Lakhs for her husbands death (He was Senior Inspector of Police) is yet to get any money after 1 1/2 years and after taxes and deductions – she is expected to net Rs. 58 Lakhs. Its around 5.25 times his median annual income. Even this sum is in doubt as the Insurance company is now saying the man died of a heart attack which means natural death (Far low payout).
Lets take China or HK – the sum for death of a Similar rank is around 8.25 times the Median Income and NO TAX. And you get the money within 60 days. Its a law. If you dont get the money in China within 60 days – the Department will be questioned and the LEPPA laws will be applied and No insurance company – money belongs to the Department directly
And many others – Good Healthcare plans, Good Education Plans, Education Trusts for Kids of Cops, Free Education etc.
The Cops are taken care of decently and so they do their job well.
Then there is the question of Punishment. Cops who break the law are brutally punished. In China except the Political Police – all other cops can be punished brutally for Bribery or for Public Abuse or false cases etc. The LEPPA which applies only to cops and can put a cop for 15–25 years for a custodial death within 3 months through special courts.
Its the Double Edged Sword – Good Incentives but Brutal Punishments
Its what India should do
PS This only applies to officers. Chinese Constables are very less paid (Same as Indian PCS) but they get commissions (Hyeung Ya or Golden Fragrance) of 55% – 150% of their monthly salaries. Legal commissions on which they have to pay tax.
Our Poor Havildars have no such incentives and can get a CBI Case for a mere Rs. 500/- bribe.
Weißer Turm (The White Tower), Galgengasse, Rothenburg.
An expensive education system that does not give people the most basic knowledge.
The world’s largest prison system.
An expensive healthcare system that is against disease prevention. And which gives decreasing life expectancy.
A colossal big expensive army which is not able to overcome the Taliban. And the army’s expenses are poorly documented.
The judiciary is large and expensive.
The financial sector is filled with at least 90% air, which will give rise to a new financial bubble, which will empty people’s pensions.
The two identical parties present only the interests of the rich. And yet they are extremely hostile to each other.
Real wages for the middle class have not increased since the 1970s.
Many of the politicians stand with one foot in the grave, so it will never be them themselves who will pay back the country’s debt. Their goal is to survive only four more years.
I could make several points. But why do you think it is difficult to sell this system, Western Democracy to the Chinese?!
Wasn’t it a better idea to sell Chinese socialism to the Americans?! Who wants a government that will multiply your hourly wage?!
The bloody history has told every Chinese: China’s peace today is not because the invaders abandoned evil and turned to good, but because of the powerful PLA.
Mike Tyson is the father of my favorite sports quote. Reporters were questioning him about his new opponent. They were building up the rivalry, talking about how dangerous this fighter was, how he planned to keep Tyson at a distance with his jab, how he planned to wear him down.
Getting annoyed with the questions, Mike looked up from tying his shoes and said, “Everyone has a plan — until they get hit.” It’s so perfectly translatable to life. Everyone is on a diet, until they get hungry. Everyone wants good grades, until it’s time to study. Aspirations and reality are often star-crossed lovers: desperate to be together but doomed to be apart.
We don’t like what most goals entail. There’s a way to make things easier. It starts with understanding the process of productivity.
Slow down your mind to produce more
In a 2013 experiment, scientists showed flashing images to young mice for six hours a day for ten days straight. The changing images emulated cell phones and TVs. Those mice later displayed significant difficulties getting through mazes and finishing cognitive tasks versus non-stimulated mice. Science has long known overstimulation leads to deficits in cognition and attention span.
More plainly, when you are bored with a task, you are often overstimulated. It’s worse than most people realize. Our minds are lost in thought for roughly 47% of our day.
Concentrative meditation, a focus on one specific thing, is proven to boost your focus over time, even if you only do it for five minutes a day. Letting too many voices in your head drowns out those that need to be heard. It’s counterintuitive to think that slowing down your mind increases its potency. The brain is like a lightbulb: too much energy makes it shine less.
If you are feeling ambitious, a Harvard study found that 27-minutes of meditation per day led to increased gray-matter density in the hippocampus, resulting in improved learning, empathy, and memory.
Start easier by creating mental opposition
My girlfriend works in academia and occasionally writes huge, thickly worded papers. On the scale of writing projects, it’s one of the most nightmarish. She was working herself up over a paper last month. She talked about it all week, dreading it, venting about it. She was eventually in full-blown tears, despite not having written a single word.
I’m a fairly patient guy but I do have limits. I finally said, “I need you to do a favor for both of us and get this done. Do it for me, please.” Her dread was bleeding into our relationship. Seeing my point, and to her credit, she powered through it and was a new person afterward.
Procrastination is the hellspawn of anticipation. We expend so much energy thinking about doing something, building up the tension, contemplating the boredom and pain involved. Our energy is sapped before we even begin.
Defeat it by inverting your thoughts
The next time you are putting something off, pay attention to your thoughts. Notice when you have a ‘dread’ thought, “This is going to be so hard.” Notice how you feel heavier. I can literally feel my body getting more immobile when I catch those thoughts.
The trick is to invert that process. I write for a living. When my keyboard is roaring at me like a 101-toothed monster, I’ll itemize reasons I should write. For example:
If I write now, I’ll have free time later.
It will be fun to discover which words show up on the page.
The show I’m watching is useless and boring.
I’ll make more money if I spend more time writing.
It’s going to ruin my mood if I keep procrastinating.
Make it a game to verbally list as many reasons as possible. This will magnetize your motivations. Actions are an extension of our thoughts. Starting is often the hardest part of productivity.
How to stay in the pocket after you start
When I was a swimmer, I didn’t have aquatic headphones to get me through a workout. Swimming is an exhausting exercise in sensory deprivation. You can only see the bottom of the pool and hear the water in your ears. Workouts were miserable and every stroke invites you to slack off.
The key was to stay focused at the moment. I did this in two ways. First, I focused on my technique, giving 100% of my focus to my coach’s instructions. When that technique crumbled, I fell back into reminding myself of my goals. I singularly focused on them, much like you would with concentrative meditation.
Remind yourself that you want to get promoted and get a raise. Reflect on sub-goals. Reflect on what happens if you quit now and flake out. Thoughts can be weaponized against laziness. Productivity is a battle in your mind. If you let weakening thoughts run about unchallenged, you are doomed. Focus on perfection and your attention to detail.
The takeaway and tying it all together
Remember, productivity has three key elements:
Convince yourself to start.
Stay focused despite distractions.
Continue working when you don’t feel like it.
Convince yourself to start by being cognizant of detractor thoughts. Dismiss them quickly and list out reasons to start.
To avoid distractions, practice slowing down your mind with meditation. Additionally, make a mental note of every time you lose focus. When I start getting sloppy, I’ll keep a piece of paper and make a line every time I catch my mind drifting.
Lastly, to get through arduous, monotonous tasks, focus on being present in the moment. Focus on the details. Think about your goals. But never dread the painful aspects of your tasks. Motivation is war. Know how to rally your troops.
Roman Empire and Chill
Dinardo’s Italian Restaurant Creole Carbonara
Ingredients
1/2 cup chicken thigh meat
2 1/2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 ounces andouille sausage, chopped
8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tabasco
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 pound fettuccine, cooked
Instructions
Coat the chicken with one teaspoon of the Creole seasoning.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and sauté chicken for approximately one minute.
Add andouille and continue cooking one additional minute.
Season shrimp with remaining Creole seasoning, add to chicken/andouille mixture and cook until shrimp are pink and curled.
Add green onions, garlic and whipping cream. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to medium.
Add Worcestershire, Tabasco, salt and half of the Parmesan cheese.
Coat fettuccine with sauce and top with remaining cheese.
West Germany.
Appreciation
***** REAL ****** Trouble: No One Buying US Treasuries
Nobody wants U.S. Treasury bonds. Bond Sales are in the worst stretch since the Civil War. The federal government has run up so much debt that few if any around the world, want to lend them money anymore. This cannot end well.
Once a symbol of America’s economic might and accepted as a global coin of the realm, US Treasuries have fallen badly out of favor, with serious consequences for taxpayers, investors, and financial markets.
Elementary economic forces — too much supply and not enough demand — have collided to create the worst stretch for U.S. government bonds since the Civil War. The government keeps borrowing to cover its budget deficits, while once-reliable buyers of that debt, both at home and abroad, have pulled back.
The result: Investors are demanding the steepest yields since 2007. Auctions of fresh bonds that were once routine are now going terribly. And bond portfolios are getting absolutely hammered. The longest-dated Treasury bonds are in a bear market worse than the dot-com bust and almost as bad as 2008.
Already 2.5% of the U.S.’s economic output is going to service its existing debts, a number that some analysts expect to hit 4% by 2030. Already running huge deficits, the only way for Treasury to pay the interest — along with ambitious spending programs like the CHIPS Act and student-loan forgiveness — is to keep borrowing.
They are now TRAPPED in a vicious spiral that can ONLY lead to financial death for the country. There is no other possible outcome because the government will not stop spending.
He worked in a private local company. At the end of 2017 the owner of the company changed which means the head of the board of directors changed (let’s call the new guy Jim). Obviously, Jim wanted to make some changes himself, mostly to establish dominance and show he’s the new sheriff in town. Rumors say he promised to double company’s profit in a single year (remember this). There’s a thin line between ambitious and cocky.
The first move he made didn’t have anything to do with the increasing work efficiency or meeting heads of departments or actually know the work that is done in that company. Jim had installed one of those time clock machines where employees check in when they get to work and check out when they’re done. Something like this:
only they didn’t have tokens, but cards. Installation and writing guidelines took about a week after which he announced to heads of departments that every employee must check in and check out themself even when they’re going out just for a break. Also, heads of departments should’ve forward these news to employees. The thing officially started second or third week in January of 2018.
At first, employees didn’t take it so seriously and some of them didn’t check in/out every day or didn’t (sometimes even forgot to) note down their breaks. At the end of the week, Jim would go through every employee’s record to see does any of them have less than 40 hours. (Notice he wasn’t interested in those who had more than 40 hours.) Friend told me that most of employees were in the range 38–45 working hours and a very few around 37 but none under 37. Jim called for a meeting with heads of departments every Friday to inform them about the records and to warn those who work less. Also, there was no compensation for those who work more (stay late or work on weekends).
Employees protested about that kind of behavior and wanted time clock out. That only made Jim to push that thing even more and convinced the board of directors and the owner that the time clock is necessary. So it passed.
The thing is that the work climate has changed. Everyone was more concentrated on if they checked in and if they worked enough than the actual work and the pressure started to build up. The thing went on for two whole months until the most of the employees (friend said 80% but maybe he exaggerated a bit) decided to come to work, check in, work their 8 hours at a moderate pace, check out and head home. No overtime, no working weekends, if the clock hit 16:00 people would leave midwork or in the middle of the meeting not giving a shred of an F. Their excuse was that they did their 8 hours and if they want them to stay, they want a written notice (which is a proof of working overtime and must be paid).
This way every single employee had 40 working hours a week and not a minute more or less. But you know what? Jim wasn’t satisfied. Why? Because work suffered. He made the employees numbers and working slaves that have only one purpose – to work. This killed all the passion people had towards the job they were doing. It demoralized people. They had a feeling that someone is standing above their head every second of the day. And the time clock might not be a bad thing to check employees every once in a while, but to terrorize them like Jim did made them do anything just in spite of that work regime.
After 3 and a half months, the moment of truth came. The first quartal report came. It was a bit better than the last year so Jim stayed at his position. Employees continued with their strike. The second quartal report came and the profit was ~8% less than the same period of previous year (maybe 9% I don’t remember). Jim ascribed it to a bad economy in the country and stayed at his position. Employees were informed about the drop in profit which made them to continue their strike. The third quartal report came. The company’s profit was down by amazing 34% compared to the same period of the previous year. Jim was fired on the spot (even though his mandate supposed to last 5 years) and time clock was left just to control employees every now and then.
Conclusion: Treat your employees as humans which they are and maybe consult someone about your radical actions.
Many decades ago my Dad was a high school teacher in the inner city of Boston.
One of the students in his class was a nationally ranked Judo practitioner who competed at the national level. This young man might miss weeks of school to attend an event around the world. IIRC he may have been part of the US Judo team at the time.
This young man was very quiet and kept to himself generally head down looking at a book at his desk. However he would sometimes be taunted by other students and generally would ignore the idiots.
One day Dad is writing something on the blackboard and behind him he hears one of the jerks taunting. He hears things like “You gonna show me some of that kung fu shit” and then he hears “Let’s see you block this punch”.
Dad hears a small amount of noise and turns around. This is a matter of seconds. The Asian Judo practitioner is sitting in his chair, head down reading a book. And the jerk kid is unconscious on the floor peeing his pants.
The jerk on the floor starts coming around. Dad tells his friends to get him back in his seat. And everyone starts laughing at the jerk because of the giant pee stain on his crotch.
That seemingly ended the attempted bullying. Everyone realized that this kid could kick everyone’s ass if needed.
I love a happy ending!
On Mount Wendelstein.
Wife Cheats On Work Trip And Now Is Losing Her Mind That Her Marriage Is IMPLODING
Her: I ripped the soul out of my husband through betrayal.
Also her: I made him coffee and did some chores. We should be all good, right?
First of all, the great and grand snow squalls are called ”Northeasterner’s”( also called “nor’easter“). A weather cell hovers over the Atlantic ocean, and then migrates to Boston… then then unloads a shit-load of snow on everyone.
It is truly amazing. My last experience was in 1 April around 1997. Eight feet of snow in four hours.
Well, of course, the roads are impossible.
But…
If you have a snowplow on your truck… wait, because the local government will PAY YOU GOOD MONEY to clear out specific streets and roads. No shit.
It’s a great program, and works wonderfully.
Other states, such as Indiana and Pennsylvania should really give this system a try. Hint Hint.
Different places… with different laws and policies. Isn’t life grand? That’s why travel is important.
I have an amusing anecdote involving Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy from 1943–1945.
The imposing naval figure above was a daring submarine commander in World War One. In the lattermost stage of his career he was responsible for fleets of warships, hundreds of thousands of personnel, and the mightiest war-fighting vessels of his nation. He reached the height of naval command and was covered in honors. He was even briefly Head of State.
But with a steep rise came an equally steep fall. After Germany’s surrender in 1945, he was in a Allied prison cell, awaiting trial at Nuremberg. To while away the time, one of Admiral Friedeburg’s adjutants taught him and his fellow prisoners how to play the game Battleship.
Of course, the game requires an opponent. Who else did he find to play against him but his fellow Commander-in-Chief, Hermann Göring. Those who once directed wars and decided the fates of nations, now directed fantasy fleets across pads of paper. Göring tried to sink Dönitz’s warships with as much gusto as if he was directing his Luftwaffe’s bombers against them personally, and he did not like to lose. Once the Admiral protested,
“Hermann’s cheating! If he doesn’t like where my shells are falling, he marks them in on different squares!”
You read that right: a Grand Admiral was reduced to playing Battleship, sparring against none other than Hermann Göring, who was a dirty cheater. If that’s not hilarious yet completely in character for both of them, I don’t know what is!
In the right way
CIA in China
The CIA I mean the NED is hiring and paying shot wages. No wonder we run circles around them.
But would you whore off your soul for such a pitiful amount?
She fucked up
Creole Andouille and Shrimp Jambalaya
This jambalaya recipe will become an extremely popular dish with family and friends because it’s filled with tasty sausage, boneless chicken thighs, shrimp, fresh vegetables and rice…let’s be honest…it screams comfort food!
BRICS is an economic organization, and if you care about human rights, you should be upset at many countries which are allies of the west.
Your thinking is very muddled, and it is apparent that you let just one criteria be the judge of your economic decisions, when economics and politics are completely separate issues. The world is changing and it is important to be flexible.
At the prestigious “AAAA” firm, Mr. Stevens was known for his level-headed approach and patience. As the Head of Department, he’d mentored many and had rarely ever lost his temper. But there was one incident that everyone in the office remembered.
A young intern named Jake had recently joined the team. Ambitious and eager, he sometimes came across as overconfident. One day, during a team meeting, a colleague, Mrs. Ramirez, proposed an idea she’d been working on for months. Instead of providing constructive feedback, Jake laughed dismissively and said, “Do you really think that old-school idea would work? Maybe it’s time you retired and made way for the new generation.”
A hush fell over the room. Mrs. Ramirez, a veteran with 20 years at the company and revered for her innovations, looked hurt but stayed silent.
Mr. Stevens, usually so composed, turned to Jake, his face stern. “In this company, we value respect as much as we value innovation. If you cannot provide the former, you have no place here, regardless of your skills or ideas.” By the end of the day, Jake’s internship was terminated.
It became a tale that echoed in the corridors, not as a threat but as a reminder: talent without humility means nothing.
Before I moved to the U.S.; I worked for my boss for 5 years. He was a big-ish deal of my company and I worked under his direct supervision.
It was a very normal thing when I picked my boss up from one vendor’s office at 11.30am to another vendor’s office for another meeting at 1.00pm. He used to ask me to get him a sandwich and a coffee so he could eat in the car while listening to my briefing about what’s the next meeting about. He could just tell me, ‘My flight arrived at 5.30pm Thursday, and I want to fly back Friday evening. I want to meet Mr.X for dinner’ and I would contact Mr.X’s office, try to arrange the meeting, make the reservation for dinner, and jot down a list of things Mr.X might want to discuss and the status of all ongoing matters for him. I also always carried an extra box of my boss’s name card, just in case he ever forgot and needed a backup.
I was hired to manage a computerized lottery system nationwide (43 cities). None of the above was in my job description. Yet, I did them gladly, just because I could, and I felt like I did make his life a little bit easier.
When I told him I would move to the U.S shortly, he offered me three extra months of pay added into the last paycheck, so I could have a little ‘runway’ to settle things down in a new country. At my farewell party with the team, he told me, ‘You’re not just one employee to me, you’re my brother-in-arms’.
While I totally understand others’ reasons for not wanting to be bothered to ‘make me a coffee’; I still think it won’t hurt if I go a bit further in terms of doing things for others.
When me and my husband split up my landlady decided to evict me and my son because she wanted to be able to rent the house for more money. We’d lived there for 10 years and even spent money out of our own pocket for small repairs. Our rent was only $400 a month. Went back a year later. The house is falling apart and is sitting empty. There was a workers permit laying on the front porch. It was really faded and I could make out it was for electrical work. I tried the front door and it was unlocked. 2 of the rooms looked like they had been half painted. You could tell no one had been in there for quite some time. The back porch had completely fallen apart. I guess she realized it was going to cost her more than she was willing to spend to get this old farm house up to the standard to rent for $1200. And now she is bringing in no income for the house. Bet she’s regretting kicking us out now.
Fair doesn’t factor in the U.S. vocabulary list at all. A nation who is the only nuclear bomb user don’t know the word fairness. A nation that used Agent Orange and Nepalm fire bombs on Vietnamese civilians don’t know fair. A nation build on the backs of ten of millions of African slaves never knew fair. An nation that become a nation after genociding and carrying out biological weapons of western influenza on its natives certainly don’t know fair.
Stop mixing up US and fairness. It is like oil and water. It will never mix.
A new gal started in my dept. at work and she seemed really nice. We both started early so began talking over coffee before the others straggled in. After a couple of weeks though, I saw that the humor I had admired so much at first was really a thinly disguised nastiness. She would make fun of her handicapped husband, and then laugh raucously. Everyone else was joining in, but I recognized that what she was putting forth were her true feelings disguised as humor.
Some of the things she joked about was hiding her spouse’s wheelchair before she left for work, and then watching him on the cameras she had placed around the house while she was at work. (The man was blind and unable to walk, yet she thought it was so hilarious.) The saddest part was that the supervisors and bosses, as well as the co-workers all thought it was hilarious, too. They laughed even more when she showed them the videos she had recorded of his struggles.
I transferred out of that department as quickly as I could after that. I couldn’t stand to work with people who thought being a bully was funny.
I play flute, and years ago I spent four months busking around Europe. I had three encounters with police:
The Netherlands. Playing in Amsterdam, a mounted cop pinned me up against the wall of a building with his horse. The horse stepped on my flute case (open on the ground, full of coins) and broke it. The cop told me this was illegal and scared me to death; though I wasn’t hurt. After he left, while I was picking coins and stuff off the ground, some older men came out of the pub across the street. They helped me get everything and invited me into the pub to play in there, where they asked if I could play some Frank Sinatra for them (on the flute?) I did my best, and they were very generous.
Switzerland. I was playing in a square in Geneva, making a ton of money. Suddenly some cops pull up to me in a van and tell me to get inside. My travel companion was having coffee nearby and she came running over. The cops explained that this wasn’t allowed in Geneva, drove us to the outskirts of the city, and dropped us off. Message received.
Sweden. Playing in a square in Stockholm, a uniformed cop came over and listened while I ran through a movement from a Bach sonata. (First played straight and then the Jethro Tull version, part of my act.) When I stopped, he told me that that was beautiful but that sadly, it wasn’t legal in Stockholm. Then he put some kronor in my (new) flute case and wandered off.
For years, I often heard women complaining about the dating scene, and men who didn’t “Do what they say they were going to do.”
It struck a chord with me as I went through my 20s, and grew increasingly impatient with flaky friends and people who were constantly, and egregiously late to things.
I realized that the people who were the flakiest, and least likely to honor their word, were also the people who had far more problems in their life. Their careers were stagnating. Their relationships were turbulent and problematic.
Their lack of commitment to their word correlated to a bunch of other character flaws, for which they were paying a steep price.
I have since kept a strong radar pinging for people who fail to follow through on even tiny commitments.
My advice to you — and one that I’ve painfully followed — take a knightly approach to your word. This means saying no to things you aren’t sure you can follow through on.
If you explain yourself and say, “I don’t want to make a commitment I am not sure I can honor.”
They’ll usually understand and appreciate it.
This is especially true in dating. Women hate, hate flakey dudes.
My home burned down in 2012, end of January. Lost everything, including all my pets. Lived in a motel for 8 days, 5 of which my aunt gave me money for. My boss and cousin helped me find housing in a highrise, primarily seniors. Snoopy seniors.
I was sitting on my floor on blankets since I had no furniture. But I did have a TV and free basic channels from the building’s antenna. I could hear whispering in the hallway, right by my door. “Why’s she sitting in the floor? Why doesn’t she have furniture. Maybe she got out of rehab.” Typical gossipy old ladies. The maintenance guy hadn’t replaced my peepholes in the door and they were looking through the holes. I yanked that door open so fast one almost toppled over her walker. Told them I was burned out, was a working woman who drove many of them to doctors and church. I was not putting up with their shit. They took off down the hall. I put duct tape over the holes, which I hadn’t thought anyone would be rude enough to look through. Notified the office the next day. Both ladies got a letter about respecting privacy. They were on camera, peeking into my place.
Here we see an image from in interview in which actress Amber Heard “fights back tears” after telling about the horrific domestic abuse she claims to have suffered at the hands of her former husband Johnny Depp. She’s sad. She’s pitiful. She’s a brave victim, telling her story… only she isn’t. She’s bullshitting.
The truth is, Amber Heard has a history of domestic abuse. As in, committing it. Before Depp she primarily dated women, and she has a tendency of flying off the handle with them physically. Domestic violence between women, like female partners beating up female partners, is historically massively underreported. So is violence against men, by women. There’s shame, and there’s stigma involved.
She was arrested for it, before. Got into a physical altercation with an ex-girlfriend. Hit her, in public, in an airport.
And the case was dropped. And she got away with it. Because she’s a woman. A pretty woman. Better yet, a pretty rich woman. All the nasty stories about Amber Heard were carefully buried for years. Until the moment her then-husband, Johnny Depp, had enough and defended himself physically.
He then became “the bad guy”. The man with many wild and rocky relationships, who in spite of his substance abuse had never, ever been accused of abusing any of his partners… was accused by the woman who had a history of abuse. And yet she was believed, by default. Why? Because she was a woman.
That’s the most blatant double standard I’ve witnessed in recent years — you can literally be a woman with a history of abuseand beat up your husband, slap him, call him names, cut off his finger and defecate on his bed (Heard did all these things to Depp!) and the MINUTE he defends himself physically? He’s labeled a ‘wife beater’ and all-but blacklisted from Hollywood.
As a Christian and a lover of Chinese culture and history, I have to tell you that there is so much wrong with the premise of this question that it’s scary.
True Christianity (not the “new evangelical movement” we see in America) is strictly Bible based. Bible based Christianity is not political. Bible based Christianity isn’t interested in overthrowing governments. Bible based Christianity won’t send you on crusades to conquer nations and set up a state church.
Understand that I’m not just talking out of my butt like most US politicians and popular evangelists. I actually devoted years of my life earning a degree in theology. I have studied the history of the Christian missionary movement. I have studied the history of Christianity from the New Testament down to modern day. I have researched and written books on it. I’m not trying to brag but I give my credentials to explain that I know of what I speak.
The very attitude behind this question is why Christianity finds itself unwelcome in some countries; because the government fears that that in allowing Christianity that they are importing a Trojan horse of imperialism. This very line of thought is what got Christians killed in China’s Boxer Rebellion. Some of those killed did seek to claim parts of China for their country. Just like the political cartoon of the day, nations gathered around China as if China were a pie to be sliced up in pieces. Is it any wonder that China fought against it?
However, some true Christians suffered in China during that time. I want to tell you about one of them. His name was Hudson Taylor. Born in 1832, he was English and had studied medicine at The Royal College of Surgeons. He became a Christian at the age of 17 and committed to go to China as a missionary. But not just any missionary.
At this time in his life he began studying Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Mandarin. He earned a degree from the Royal College of Surgeons, and he studied the ways of Christian missions of that time period. He arrived in Shanghai in 1853.
He was not well received to start with. And had arrived during Civil War. He wondered what he could do to better fit into life in China. You see, he wasn’t there to convert Chinese people to English ways. He wasn’t interested in making them more like the West. He didn’t want to destroy Chinese culture.
In fact, he chose to embrace Chinese culture. He began dressing as a Chinese man. He shaved his head and grew a queue, as was the hairstyle of the Qing Dynasty. He began living among the Chinese people instead of at the Christian missions. He learned Mandarin, Cantonese, Chaozhou, Shanghaineese, and dialects of the Wu and Ningbo. He even learned them well enough to give them a New Testament in their language.
The established English missionaries were horrified. It was considered improper for him to live this way. They very nearly stopped his marriage because of this. They thought him a fool, but he didn’t care. He renounced the ways of the English and said that if he had a thousand lives he would give them all to China.
He traveled to remote villages and gave them free medical care and free schooling. And yes, he preached the gospel. But he genuinely loved China and the people of China. He and his wife adopted orphaned Chinese children and raised them with their own children. He buried many of his children and his first wife in China, but that didn’t stop him.
As time passed, the people that he ministered to came to love and respect him and his family, as well as those who came to work with him. He would only allow missionaries who were serious about giving their lives to China. To follow Hudson Taylor, you had to renounce English ways and live as the Chinese lived. In dress, language, and custom. He was turning the English Chinese, rather than making the Chinese English.
His living children grew up and his daughters married in China, living among the Chinese all their days. Hudson Taylor remarried, and continued there. He survived the Boxer Rebellion, probably in part because he genuinely loved China, but many of his followers were killed—58 missionaries and 21 children. He refused to accept money from the government as reparation, though other Englishmen criticized him for this, but he maintained he had not come to take from China but instead, to give.
His health caused him to leave China for a time, where his second wife died in Switzerland. He returned to China again, in 1905. He died in Changsha, Hunan Provence and was buried with his first wife.
Hudson Taylor was the right kind of Christian missionary. He had no use for politics, and no desire to please the English. He immersed himself in the culture and way of life of the Chinese people. He preached Christ, yes, but he lived as a Chinese. He gave them hospitals, schools, and churches, but he did it while living among the people that he loved.
I am convinced that Christians today would find themselves better received if they’d leave politics and government and American ways out of mission work, and focus on loving the people of their chosen mission field. God didn’t call Christians to make converts to Westernization. God could care less about Western ways.
God isn’t interested in overthrowing governments or turning China into a democracy. Show me in the Bible where God said to establish democratic governments. Chapter and verse, please. God doesn’t care about your democracy. He said to obey government as long as it didn’t command you to go against the Bible. In the event that government and Bible clashes, God was ok with civil disobedience in that area, but that didn’t mean topple the government. You want to win people to Christ? Then stop trying to make them like you.
My Dad and his brother started a feud when they were in their early 30’s and kept it going until they both died fifty years later. No, I tell a lie. My uncle forbade my Dad from coming to his funeral, so he carried the feud on even after his death.
The irony is that neither could explain what the feud was about, so I am convinced that it was a trivial matter that just grew, and neither of these two headstrong men could let it drop because that would be to admit that their years of feuding had been a silly waste. In a sense, the longer it went on, the stronger the feud became even as the memory of the cause became weaker.
It hasn’t been a total waste though. My cousin and I are very close. It’s united us. It has also acted as a lesson to the extended family, a kind of example of how not to behave.
The brothers were both child refugees from the Nazis and had very difficult childhoods. They were both angry young men, and perhaps that explains their decades of refusing to go to family events if the other was going, the forbidding of the other’s name to be mentioned, etc. I don’t want to get into amateur psychotherapy except to say they were both nuts.
I have an employee that I assigned to a huge deal. He not only made it. He absolutely killed it. He did far better than my wildest expectations. I called him into my office and told him to contact our travel people and to book a ten day cruise (all expenses) to anywhere he and his wife wanted to go. He was speechless and then didn’t understand how he earned it. I explained to him that his contribution to the company was invaluable. Prior to the cruise he was a Departmental Manager. On the day he returned he was Named a Vice President. I always reward high performance and talent. The cruise didn’t cost me a thing. He’s repaid the cost many times over. Did I have to do that? No, but it seemed like the right thing to do.
What is the USA gonna do now?
China’s SMIC and Huawei have surged ahead in chip technology, defying the U.S. restrictions aimed at curbing their technological advancements, Burn J. Lin, a former TSMC vice president, told Bloomberg in a rare interview. He believes ASML lithography tools that SMIC already owns will allow the company to advance to a 5nm-class fabrication process.
“It is just not possible for the US to completely prevent China from improving its chip technology,” Lin told Bloomberg.
Despite the U.S. imposing technological constraints via sanctions, SMIC has showcased notable resilience and ingenuity by developing its 2nd generation 7nm-class fabrication process. It also achieved yields high enough for Huawei to make plans to supply 70 million smartphones. SMIC allegedly used ASML’s Twinscan NXT:2000i litho tool, which is a deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography scanner that can produce chips on 7nm and 5 nm class process technologies. Exports of this tool to China were curbedby the Dutch government earlier this year.
The resolution that the Twinscan NXT:2000i features (≤38nm) is good enough for 7nm-class single-patterning lithography mass production. However, when it comes to 5nm-class process technologies, a finer resolution is required. To produce it, chipmakers can use double, triple, or even quadruple patterning, a lithographic technique that involves splitting a complex pattern into several simpler patterns, which are printed sequentially to achieve higher precision and detail in semiconductor manufacturing. Usage of multi-patterning is a tricky process that affects yields, and the amount of chips per wafer that can be used, so typically its usage is limited due to economic reasons.
But being limited to tools that it already owns, SMIC has no other option but to use multi-patterning for finer resolutions. Apparently, it has managed to achieve yields acceptable to Huawei. As a result, one can ask whether the U.S. government’s curbs against China’s semiconductor sector work.
“What the US really should do is to focus on maintaining its chip design leadership instead of trying to limit China’s progress, which is futile as China is adopting a whole nation strategy to boost its chip industry, and hurting the global economy,” former-TSMC R&D VP Lin is reported to have said.
Interestingly, the U.S. sanctions seem to have inadvertently opened the doors of opportunity for SMIC. The restrictions imposed on TSMC, barring it from transacting with certain Chinese entities, have allowed SMIC to step in and capitalize on substantial orders. This shift has facilitated SMIC’s enhancement of its manufacturing techniques and technological capabilities.
The really harsh reality…
Looks what mothers actions (when she was single) did to her 13 year old boy years later.
Visiting Banff National Park, touring motorists left their parked vehicles to take photos of the cute Black Bears and their cubs. One stopped and before long a dozen more. The bears were grazing on a meadow about 100 metres (300 feet) from the road. Some brave individuals without telephoto lenses tried to get up closer for a good picture. A mama bear sensing a threat to her cubs could reach those touring idiots in 6 seconds, not even enough time to open the car door and get in, let alone run the distance back to their car. It took Park Rangers about 5 minutes to notice the “bear jam”, and they were screaming at everyone to get back in their cars and disperse the traffic jam.
I discovered that driving down any infrequently used Canadian wilderness road, when descending a slope, if the engine was turned off to coast down, half a dozen heads popped up to see why the sound had ceased. It surprised me that so many bears were hiding in the growth on the sides of roads, and how close they were. I would not recommend hitch-hiking. Another time just as I was passing, a huge timber wolf appeared and just stood there looking at me as I drove past. The paws were bigger than my hand, and in the rear view mirror I could see he was still looking at me for some time.
Basically Australia deserves it. Not Aussies. Many are smart good people. They lose a meal a day because your racist PM Scott Morrison prefer to have alliance with Mike Pompeo and confirm that Australia is indeed a China hater and Chinese hater. You harvest what you sow! Aussies promptly kicked him out of office. But the damage is done.
Not only China. But Asian especially South East Asian lost trust and faith in Australia. It sees them as a U.S. stooge and a colonial minded nation thinking that it is ordained by god to be white man run roughshod over coloured people. We Asians has a jolt of awareness that Australia don’t want to be part of and partner to Asia. It wants to be a U.S. dog nation.
Asia don’t want and don’t need a U.S. assistant sheriff! So Australia need some soul searching if it wants to be a real partner or a colonial outpost. Asia is watching.
HiI was working as a security guard outside a 24:-hour McDonald’s in Australia around 2am. I was about 21 and a small-framed woman working alone and it was a bit of a rough area so I had to be careful.
A group of 5 or 6 teenager boys turned up and were standing around in the car park trying to pick fights with any guy who looked at them sideways. Mostly men were ignoring them but they were getting bolder and I was beginning to think I was going to have to call the police before things escalated.
Just at that moment a small thin guy exited the building. Everything about him said scared. He held the food bag in front of him like a shield, he was looking at his feet and walking fast trying to avoid any conflict with the boys.
Predictably one of the loudest lads zeroed in on him as an easy target to hassle and impress his friends. He runs over with the usual, “What are you looking at? Are you looking for trouble?” bullshit and the small man just sped up. I started to walk over to rescue him, thinking he was about to be beaten up by the group if they were allowed to proceed.
The guy ignored all provocation until the boy laid a hand on him. I have never seen anyone move so fast. The man dropped the bag grabbed the kid by the hair and pulled him backwards off his feet in a move he had clearly used before. He proceeded to punch the boy in the face 4 or 5 times til the kid was out on his feet.
There was a moment of shocked silence then the guy gently put the kid down and picked up his meal. He suddenly saw me standing there in uniform completely frozen in shock. The guy had yanked the kid’s head back so hard there were clumps of his hair on the ground.
As soon as he saw me the guy was like a lost kid. He said nearly in tears, “He started it. I just wanted to go home and have my dinner.” I just nodded and said, “OK off you go” because I sure as hell wasn’t going to stop him, and he drove away.
The kid suddenly came round, with a split lip, bloody nose, and a few loose teeth I would think. He was a bit dazed and I asked him if he needed an ambulance or the cops. He said no so I told him and his mates to piss off.
I have never seen a beat-down like that. From scared little guy to full psycho and back again in less than a minute. The guy must have been on parole or something because he wanted no piece of that fight before or after.
As for the kids, they learned an important lesson about picking fights with people you don’t know. Sometimes the little guy is not the easy bet. Sometimes people avoid fighting for your protection rather than theirs.
As my grandfather used to say, “Beware the wrath of the quiet man.”
Updated Response: thanks to everyone who up voted. When the incident occurred I was only 21 and very unsure of how to respond. Unfortunately the law in Australia is very clear. Security guards have no rights to remove people from anywhere and calling the police is often the worst response. While many people have criticised my actions that’s OK. The story illustrates as much as anything the lack of support guards have.
For those who could have done better, this reminds me of another of my Grandfathers sayings, “Everyone knows how to tame the mad bull, except the man who owns him.”
Name a time when people with guns have ever stopped US government overreach. Want to know a secret? Most people prefer tyranny, as long as they aren’t the ones being tyrannized.
People with guns didn’t stop government racial segregation and Jim Crow. They cheered.
People with guns didn’t stop the mass interment of Japanese citizens in concentration camps. They cheered.
People with guns didn’t stop the police or government from lynching Black men. They cheered.
People with guns didn’t stop the police or government from persecuting gay men and lesbians. They cheered.
See, normal people know your felusional Rambo fantasies about “mY gUn WiLl StOp ThE gOvErNmEnT fRoM tYrRaNy AnD iNjUsTiCe” is a self-serving lie. No it won’t. You lot line up on the streets and celebrate government tyranny and injystice, as long as it hurts people you hate.
Gimme a break. You need guns to stop government oppression…ah HA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Riiiiight. Sure you do.
It’s been a couple of years now but this happened with a friendship that began in the early 90’s so that’s a long time. We had a slight falling out and it was over something I said, but her response to it changed me feelings of close friendship with her. I didn’t mind that it made her made or maybe offended her but she said friendship altering things that were beyond what the issue was. There was damage and issues that had evidently occurred that I just wasn’t aware of. I wish she had talked to me about whatever was going on with her towards me but, she didn’t. So when the opportunity arose she gave me more than I was ready for. It was a deal breaker for me and I think that, that is what she wanted. This may sound odd…….I miss her because we enjoyed a lot of things together but I’m okay with it at the same time.
Hi, Joseph Mcmanus. Thanks for the very interesting question.
I’m Chinese and I spent a handful of years living in the States.
During my time stateside, I paid rent to my landlords. I paid school tuition fees to the school I was attending. I paid all living expenses out of my own pocket.
At no time during my handful of years in the States did I have to pay the Chinese government for living in the US.
Unless, as Frosty Shoat mentioned in their answer, you’re counting the cost of the passport as an expense for living in the US. But I don’t see how that is an expense exclusive to Chinese alone.
I saw a Facebook post from an acquaintance of the hysterical variety. “Can anyone help me move on Tuesday? I’m being kicked out of my place. “
Being the guy with a truck, and having that afternoon free, I said I would meet her at 3 and help move. So day of, I’m there at the appointed time and she’s nowhere to be found. The owner of the house is there and there’s a pile of stuff outside. I start hauling the stuff up to the Uhaul which fortunately is there and talking with the owner. Turns out my acquaintance is being kicked out because she hasn’t paid rent in 10 months and has left the landlord (her ex-sister in law) about $35,000 in the hole. They are going to have to sell the place to recover the money. She shows me around the place. It’s a bit of a mess but an absolutely lovely home. Quiet neighborhood but close to downtown Honolulu, views, parking. All the things.
I tell her that I love the place and before she talks to anybody else or lists it, to let us make an offer. My acquaintance shows up an hour and a half late, after the bulk of the work is already done. I finish helping her move, with a lot less sympathy now.
Six months later, after a lot of talking and negotiating and inspecting, we moved into the beautiful house! And because we negotiated directly we saved about $45,000 in realtors fees.
A crime watch group in Homestead, Florida held a neighborhood crime watch.
This meeting took place outside on a back patio. The Chief of Police was meeting with all the participants and team members.
He was outlining all of the things to be on the look out for. He was going down the list of agenda items related to criminal activity.
As he was talking, they heard a loud engine sound. The BZZZZZZ of an airplane motor.
It got louder and louder.
Then.
vvvVVVVVVROOOOOOM
It streaks by.
And
<boom>
Something hits the ground.
Everyone is startled. Then they see a big box right next to them.
The officer goes to check it out.
What is in it?
Seventy-five pounds of cocaine.
The plane that had been flying overhead was on the run from Customs, and it was dumping its cocaine so as not to be caught when they landed.
Let me restate that – a box of cocaine fell on top of a crimewatch meeting.
The plane dumped its last box shortly after that before they landed and were arrested. (Source: What’s that falling from the Florida sky. It could be pork, poop — or worse. Miami Herald. Cohen, Howard)
Luckily that last box of cocaine only hit a church.
I wrote a letter to my manager outlining his misbehaviours. I gave a copy to every one of his staff. In due course I was in the state managers office with the personnel manager there too.
The state manager told me he was going to take disciplinary action against me. I looked from one to the other and said:
I don’t often beg, but I am going to beg this time. I’m begging you. Please take disciplinary action against me.
They looked at each other and there was silence for about ten seconds.
Then I said:
You’re not going to do it are you?
And quietly the state manager said “No”.
I told them the meeting was over and went back to work.
That was not the end of the issue, but there were no consequences against me.
My dad … brought us up to NEVER LIE so when he blatantly lied to the State Trooper standing in the family kitchen one early afternoon I was dumbfounded!
My aunt (dads younger and only sister) married an abusive drug addict/alcoholic child abuser (his own kids).
My aunt had a black eye and lots of other injuries, new and old but she told of her husband having an abusive fit and while beating her he grabbed their three year old son and threw him so hard he went through the plaster and lathe board leaving his whole body as a marker to how hard he was thrown. My aunt called the police eventually (this was mid 1970’s) but her husband threatened if she told them what happened he’d kill the children (1 boy 3, and a girl 1.). She didn’t press charges because she knew he had guns and knew how violent he was.
About three days later two State troopers were in our driveway. They asked my dad if he owned a handgun. They also knew what had happened to my aunt and her little boy (small community).
My dad wanted to kill her husband but knew he wasn’t worth it. So, my dad’s younger brother obtained a gun I think it was a .45 handgun. My dad climbed in the window of his sisters house after his brother dropped him off … and he waited. The abusive husband/father came home, unlocked the door and was going about his business. At some point my father came into view with that gun. He made that scum get on his knees and beg for his life.The end of the gun was put in his mouth. As my father was asking him how tough are you now? Beating up your wife and 3 year old son is easy. How tough are you now? The scumbag pissed his pants while begging for his life.
I’m sure there were a lot more things said and done.
The gun went back to its owner. My dad was having coffee and a cigarette when he invited the cops in. He was so calm, cool and collected as he told the cops he didn’t do anything. He was home all morning. He LIED! Then one cop left and the other one told him, “it’s just me and you, I’d have done the same thing if my sister and nephew got beat up. C’mon, you can tell me. My partner is outside and he can’t be witness to you telling me what really happened.”
My dad calmly lied again and told the cop he knew nothing about it.
After they finally left I asked my dad why he didn’t tell the one cop that he did it. There wasn’t a second cop to corroborate his confession. My dad told me, “Oh yes there was! They don’t carry two way radios for nothing!
My dad was a badass. Just a humble middle class auto shop rat. He died last summer. I learned a lot about life from him.
***edit: I thought that the abuser of my aunt was dead. I recently asked a family member of his. He’s alive but in bad health, still drinking and drugging. He did leave the state but it was after my aunt divorced him. He had a girlfriend. He beat her up so bad she died. I don’t know anymore details than that. I have no idea why he isn’t still in prison. I only know my dad changed his sister’s life for the better and probably saved her life. Her daughter was younger than her son (who was 3 years old when the abuser threw him through a plaster and lathe board wall) and she only recently found out that my dad also changed HER life for the better by scaring the sh;t out of her father and giving her mother the strength to divorce him. I’m sure the a$$hole knew he’d be severely beaten if he ever touched my dad’s little sister again.
Driving an ambulance in response to a “Man down” call on a Saturday morning; lights and siren activated. My travel route took me over a twisting two lane road that was frequented by bicyclists. I encountered a pack of cyclists – maybe 40 – who wouldn’t yield to me. The winding road prohibited me from swinging into the opposing traffic lane to pass.
Took me several extra minutes to work my way to the front of the pack whereupon the lead rider flipped me off and offered me some salient verbal advice. Got past them, delayed in responding to a serious call.
Returning to the station afterwards, made comment to one of my co-workers, a fellow volunteer and a full-time police officer in the local jurisdiction. On the next Saturday, he donned his police uniform, drove his cruiser to the bike-traveled road and waited for the particular bicycle club to cruise thru the stop-signed intersection, en masse….their usual disregard. He pulled the ENTIRE pack over and wrote reckless riding tickets for each and every cyclist. Took him more than two hours!!!!
I went to court with the officer, as did the rest of our ambulance crew….some riders showed; many defaulted. After the 4th or 5th defendant appeared, the judge called them all up together —— maybe a dozen —— spoke for a bit and found them ALL guilty. Good karma day.
EDIT: And before I receive another comment going to legal procedures, please know that in our community, organized bicycle groups make frequent use of a gent who is well-known as the “Bicycle Advocate”. He commonly appears at proceedings where/when bicyclists are cited. On the appearance day discussed above, The Advocate was on-hand, standing up to assert his interpretation of the motor vehicle statutes as they do/don’t pertain to cyclists. The rhetoric is without legal support, and the guy is neither an attorney, nor does he actually represent a defendant. He’s very good at deflection.
With serial defendants and the same fact-pattern, the judge soon tired of the Advocate’s repeated and time-consuming speeches. He cautioned the guy a couple of times and eventually fined him $200 for contempt. He then called up the remaining defendants, asked them to declare an exceptional circumstance or individualized defense(s) to their citations. Hearing none, he passed the collective judgment. The individual defendant due process rights were, indeed, preserved by the judge’s line of questions prior to rendering his decision.
This single coincidence tends to make more of a difference to a persons’ life than any other factor, including whatever efforts the person himself makes to try to improve his lot.
Who your parents happen to be has a tremendous impact on a huge range of things that shape just about everything in your life to a huge degree.
It determines if you’re born in Sweden or in Somalia
The genes they gave you determines whether you’ll be tall, intelligent and handsome or short, stupid and ugly.
The genes also play a big role in whether or not you’ll be healthy, whether or not you’re likely to get a long list of diseases.
If your parents are kind, compassionate and nurturing your start in life will be very different from if they’re cold, inconsiderate or abusive.
The hobbies and interests they have in many cases have a lifelong influence on your own hobbies and interests.
Their wealth and their income determines what material standard of living you’ll have for the first 20 – 25 years of your life, and in fact often for your entire life. (in most cases lazy sons of multimillionaires end up better off than hardworking daughters of slum-dwellers)
They more or less entirely decide who is important in your life for your first 5 years. Such early formative relationships are very important for a child’s development.
They determine what quality education you’ll get, this depends on their wealth, where they happen to live, and their priorities. You as a young child have low influence on all of this.
I’m not at all saying that it’s hopeless to get ahead in life if you had a bad start. What I’m saying is that having the right parents means getting to play life on “easy” mode, while having the wrong parents makes everything a whole lot more difficult.
When I was 16, I was driving home from my boyfriends house which was a good 15 miles away. My car suddenly stopped working. It was dark and it was 1996, so no cell phones. I was out in the middle of nowhere! I saw a house and decided to walk up and ask to call my dad. I was TERRIFIED!
A woman answered the door but barely opened it. I told her that my car broke down and asked to call my dad. She asked me to give her his number and she would call from inside. I agreed. It was cold outside and I was shivering (both from cold and fear). She called him and asked if he had a daughter etc. Then she gave him her address and she invited me inside. I was still scared, but went in because I heard my dad was on his way there.
She made me hot chocolate and I sat by the fireplace, petting their dogs and chatting until my dad showed up. My dad got there about 20 minutes later asked if he could come pick my car up the next day and they said, “of course!” Her husband put his coat on and helped push my car off the road and into their driveway. We both thanked them sincerely and they said “If You ever need anything again, you come straight here!” The lady gave me a warm hug and said goodnight.
My dad sent a tow truck to get my car to the shop the next day and it was back in order with a new timing belt. I made sure to always take that route home just in case I broke down again.
My Mom loved Roll Top desks. She always wanted on one. So in 1975, she went to a local Sotherby’s auction and she emerged victorious but financially wounded. In 1975, she paid $1500 for a desk almost identical to this one.
In 2023 dollars, that cost my Mom about $8,500 dollars.
When my Mom died in 2022, we had a professional estate sale guy come to the house. Now my parents lived in the heart of Silicon Valley. He said…………you know, around here this item is really difficult to sell. Nobody wants them because they aren’t super friendly to computers. Anyone young with money around here, won’t be interested. We’ll be lucky to get $2500-$3000, even if we can find a buyer.
That puts my Mom’s purchase around $500 in 1975 dollars.
I’m actually glad she never knew…it was her crown jewel among all her antiques.
ALERT: LARGEST NAVAL FORCE SINCE WW2, ATTACK ON TWO NUCLEAR PLANTS, HEZBOLLAH DECLARE WAR IN 5 DAYS
Not me but my dad. He was a supervisor, and had a less than stellar employee. My dad was offered a job with the potential for a promotion on the other side of the country. He was retired military so we had moved a lot, so he didn’t take it as he didn’t want to move us again. The job was offered to the problem employee; my dad was happy to see him leave.
Two years later, the guy comes back, only now, he was my dad’s supervisor, and made his job a living hell. For example: this was back in the days of overhead projectors (a precursor to PowerPoint). My dad was to give a presentation to some high-level people. He starts, but the projector isn’t working, so he had to give the presentation with hastily copied handouts. His boss had removed the lightbulb from the projector, and then chastised him for not “checking his equipment”.
He pulled a lot of similar unprofessional stunts. My dad had already retired from the military, and had enough years in to retire again. His physician told him that based on his medical problems, he could retire any time he wanted to, so my dad had him draft an undated letter stating he was retirement-eligible based on years of service and medical issues.
We had an expensive vacation planned, and were to leave on a Friday night. My dad had put in for vacation, so the boss was well aware of it. Ten minutes before he’s about to leave, the boss shows up, drops a file on his desk, and tells him not only does he have to stay late to get started on the project, but he’s cancelling his vacation.
My dad got a box, and started filling it with his personal items. The boss goes ballistic, so my dad pulls out the physician’s note, dates it, and says “I just retired” and walked out. It was a tad petty, but it was epic.
Wife Has MELTDOWN After Husband Secretly Discovers Her Affair, Plans A Strategy & Then Divorces Her!
We had a very nice lady come by our fire station with an “ice chest” full of hot tamales (which we purchased). Everyone who ate the tamales got food poisoning (including myself). We were not incapacitated, but close.
The question is, by eating food that is given to us, will we be able to perform our job of protecting our community? Could we fight fires? Could we perform rescues or fulfill our duties as EMTs? The answer could be “no.”
For example, on another occasion a family was nice enough to deliver a big plate of cookies and other homemade treats. The family appeared dirty and reeked of bad hygiene. We thanked them profusely (as was the polite thing to do). After they left their treats (unfortunately) went in the trash.
We had a few regulars who brought us pies, which we ate. It took a bit of a size-up on the individual delivering them, at first.
On some holidays a major restaurant chain brought us an entire meal, which we ate (it was prepared in a professional kitchen).
All the food that was brought to us was appreciated and accepted. It was never looked at as a bribe (we had no involvement in enforcement issues).
Coffee or tea offered on fire scenes? Now that is something I’d like to see adopted in America! A lot of winter fires were in below freezing temperatures. We were wet and cold. A hot drink of just about anything would have been much appreciated those freezing nights.
We once had a terrible fire, with much loss of life (Deadly Reno Fire
). It was across the street from the rear door of the original Harrah’s casino, in Reno, Nevada. The investigation lasted for two weeks. The casino set up a room for us with 24/7 coffee, tea and snacks. They also provided many meals, which they did at no charge. They expected nothing in return. They were just being good neighbors. Kudos to Harrah’s!
The best policy is “Unless you know the history of the food, it’s unsafe to eat.”
The boats
Al Copeland’s Basic Cajun Jambalaya
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 pound pickled pork, diced
1 pound smoked ham, diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
4 cups beef or chicken stock or hot water
2 cups rice
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
Instructions
In large saucepan with lid, melt butter with oil.
Add onions and pork and sauté until onions are soft.
Add ham, garlic, thyme and parsley and sauté for 5 minutes.
Add sausage and cook until browned. Stir in stock and bring to boil.
Add rice, bay leaf and cayenne. Return to boil and cover. Simmer over very low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to see if all liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender. If necessary, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more water if liquid boils away before rice is cooked.
My cat is four and a half months old. He’s part of our family for a month now.
As I was playing with him with the laser pointer about a week ago, he happily chased the red dot over the floor as always. But when he sat down to look at me, he suddenly looked over to my hand where I held the pointer, than back to the red dot and my hand again. His enthusiasm for chasing the moving red dot was suddenly gone. As if he understood that it was I who made the dot move and that wasn’t as interesting for him as a red dot that’s kinda “magically” moving on its own.
He also found out how to open drawers after watching me doing it two times.
And he’s been exceptionally quick to understand that I keep his “special” toys in the black plastic box on top of the shelf in our living room. As soon as I touch the box, he jumps off the desk and runs over to sit at my feet, waiting for whatever toy I might pick this time.
He’s extremely vocal and complains loudly when I chastise him whenever he does something undesirable, like playing with the computer chords (cuz he chews on them), jumping onto the kitchen table, scratching the wall corners instead of his scratching post, etc.
American Psychosis Chris Hedges on the US empire of narcissism and psychopathy
“Open marriage” appears to be an (American) acceptable way to turn a marriage into a fuck-fest. Sheech! I’m way too old for this bullshit.
I mention further down that there are races in China, where “open relationships” are the norm. But in the West, it turns out that an “Open Relationship” is but a code phrase to allow the female in a relationship to have multiple sexual partners, while the male sits at home watching the kids, the pets, and earns money.
Nine times out of ten, he never has an “outside relationship” even though officially he can.
…
The videos about “open relationships” are interesting and disturbing at the same time.
Sigh.
I find them very disturbing. After all, a “marriage” (prior to it being twisted into something different) meant a single monogamous family with shared emotions, shared sex, and shared responsibilities.
A core family unit.
Now, in the USA it is a freeway toward complete social discord and a breakdown at all levels of society.
Anyways…
As I get older my body changes.
I get shorter. No shit. My height gets smaller and smaller over time. Though, I will admit that my feet seem to get larger as a consequence of that.
Shorter in height, but bigger feet.
Not only that, but my hands seem to get slightly bigger, and my fingers are getting longer.
Big hands. Long fingers. Big feet.
Lordy!
…
Ugh. Why don’t women find big hands and long fingers attractive?
And a bald head… and a bot belly?
Not all of us can look like Adonis, don’t you know?
…
Balding, and fighting against a pot belly. Oh, the pain of aging!
But at least I have big hands and long fingers. LOL!
…
I don’t think that these body changes are attractive, but it is the price you pay to live to an old age. Perhaps, when I break 90, I’ll be a squat short man with big, big hand and feet and a bald head. Yucky!
Looking a little like Yoda.
I’d get a nice haircut, and some nice outfits if it mattered. But in my case, those are low on the priority scale right now. Smile.
Just smile. Accept yourself as it is, and as you change.
Americans foolishly screamed and shout that they are the leader of the free world without ever questioning if it is even remotely true or not! Please don’t be angry or upset if I help you guys since I understand you can pretend to be free or even dare says you are ordained by god to spread democracy and freedom but you Americans are one of the least free country on earth.
Let me help you good American. So first I like to explain how unfree you guys are.
35% of you cannot get health care when you fall sick! The most basic of freedom is the freedom to see a doctor and get cure when you fall sick. At least 100 million Americans don’t have this basic of basics of freedom.
Next 1 million Americans are homeless and don’t have another basic of basics of freedom. The freedom to have a roof over their head.! They have to live in makeshift tents on the streets.
20% of Americans don’t have 500 dollars to their name and don’t know where their next meal is coming from! Surely everyone must have the freedom to have a hot meal to stay alive!
USA with about 4% of world population has 25% of the worlds prisoners population! Think about this my American friends, prisoners are certainly. Not free. Many of them coloured people thrown into jail for the slightest reason. How on earth can you keep a straight face to say U.S. is the leader of the free world. No one know!
In many cities in the U.S. one cannot go to certain parts of the inner city like the Queens in New York. As crimes are rampant. So normal innocent and good Americans like you have to avoid that part of America! Surely freedom means you can go to anywhere or any part of America.
Kids and parents suffers the mental turmoils daily for just going to school. Many got shot to death in schools, public places, cinemas and even in Capitol Hill! Is that freedom? Even your kids are not free to go to school without a random mass shooter lurking with military grade weapons to murder them! Is this freedom?
If you are not fortunate to have a white skin you could be necked to death in the bright daylight of even driving a good car may be be shot to death just for suspected of stealing the car! Everyday you live in fear of a white policeman! Is that freedom to live? Freedom to avoid death at the racist inclination of the white racist? Surely not.
Freedom means you can choose who you really want to be your leader. Only 30% choose Biden. Or 35% choose Trump! Why are they your president? Your system allowed 0.8% of the richest and most influential people to choose your candidates! Surely this U.S. not freedom. This is far from democracy. How on earth can you call yourself the “beacon of democracy” who in a sane mind can claim that?
Oh today you country stop the Americans from having access to best 5G technology, Smartphone, best EV’s, drones and others for some geopolitical nonsense! Is this freedom? Freedom to be deprived? Let me help you understand. You can buy a 10 thousand EV. And need to be charged once a week but you are not allowed to! You can but your Tesla like for half the price but you are not allowed.
But to me EVs and Drones are just the top of the iceberg of your draconian policies that takes away the freedom of Americans like you. Think about Jullien Assange, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden! Freedom?
Chinese minority races
I love this short video.
Look what China is doing
According to a scientific research paper by the mainland military, the People’s Liberation Army has established the world’s first “Close Air Combat Command Force” (Near Air Command) equipped with professional hypersonic weapons and directly taking orders from the highest level of the People’s Liberation Army. It is responsible for executing “precise and ruthless operations” during wartime. ” attack mission. In addition, solar-powered drones and spy balloons are also possible intelligence-gathering devices.
Note: this answer only applies to the American Mafia as the Italian Mafias have repeatedly killed public officials of all persuasions and badges.
Because killing cops, judges or any form of law and order official invites heat and exposure.
A ‘secret society’
Despite the movies, the books, the podcasts, youtube channels and press stories, at its core, La Cosa Nostra (LCN) is supposed to be a secret society. A money-making secret society.
It is meant to operate in the shadows, a ‘brotherhood’ using codes of silence and modes of discretion to conduct legal and illegal activities that bring it great wealth.
It seeks to evade law and order and allow its members to not only profit from illicit means, but, more importantly, enjoy the fruits of their dishonest labour.
A whole load of pain
Law enforcement communities are also brotherhoods (and now sisterhoods too). Kill one of their own, and they want revenge. They go ‘all in’ to catch and make an example of the ‘cop killer’.
Killing law and order officials has even proven to be ‘game changer’ for some organized crime groups. For example:
In 1985, the Guadalajara drug cartel kidnapped, tortured and murdered US DEA agent Kiki Camarena. The DEA was enraged and flooded Mexico and the border regions; playing a major role in breaking said cartel apart (clearly others appeared to replace it)
In 1992, the Sicilian Mafia killed Judges Falcone and Borsellino in two separate car bombs. These attacks created a ‘sea change’ in the political and societal will to go after the Mafia, with the late ’90s being an era of significant prosecutorial success against the Sicilians
In short, killing a cop or any other law enforcement official places a target on your head – and indeed that of your organisation. The resulting attention inhibits your ability to earn, to operate, and even places your freedom or life at risk … far better to just not do it and keep on living your illicit life.
Forbidden Archaeology, Human Origins, and UFOs… Michael Cremo
Just once, but that was enough for the rest of my life.
It was 1993 or 94. Things started off just fine. He smiled at me from the window seat as I took my place on the flight from Philadelphia to Frankfurt, Germany.
Our ages must have been close. We shot the shit about sports and music and all those other harmless topics popular with early-30-something unmarried males.
He was impressed that Lufthansa (long ago) served him Johnny Walker red in his whiskey cola. He sure did like those whiskey colas…
Everything was amiable until just after the after-dinner drinks trolley finished serving.
He commented that he hated queers and he was pretty sure the male server was one.
I stared him in the eyes and said calmly and slowly, “nearly half of my best friends are gay … I think you need to rethink your attitude, the world is changing.”
Never have I seen someone transform so quickly from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. “You’re an effin’ homo lover! … I ain’t sittin’ next to no effin’ homo! Eff! Disgusting I even talked to you…”
Standing up he yelled at the stewardess, “This guy is queer. I don’t sit next to queers.”
The looks on the faces of the other passengers ranged from amused, to angry, to sympathetic. Most just pretended not to notice.
I got up and went to the back of the plane and waited for the crew to sort things out. They reseated me about 15 minutes later in a business class seat.
I have no idea what happened to him, but I think we can be sure he didn’t get any more whiskey colas…
Business class served Johnny Walker black.
The Male Loneliness Epidemic – Is It Women’s Fault?
This is a MUST watch.
Western society is DOOMED.
The Eviction Notice Is Being Written, and Will Come in Four Languages
The Eviction Notice is being written. And it will come in four languages. Russian. Farsi. Mandarin. And last but not least, English.
A much-cherished pleasure of professional writing is to always be enriched by informed readers. This “eviction” insight – worth a thousand geopolitical treatises – was offered by one of my sharpest readers commenting on a column.
Concisely, what we have here expresses a deeply felt consensus across the spectrum not only in West Asia but also in most latitudes across the Global South/Global Majority.
The Unthinkable, in the form of a genocide conducted live, in real time on every smartphone in the third decade of the millennium – which I called the Raging Twenties in a previous book – has acted like a particle accelerator, concentrating hearts and minds.
Those that chose to set West Asia on fire are already confronting nasty blowback. And that goes way beyond diplomacy exercised by Global South leaders.
For the first time in ages, via President Xi Jinping, China has been more than explicit geopolitically (a true Sovereign cannot hedge when it comes to genocide). China’s unmistaken position on Palestine goes way beyond the geoeconomics routine of promoting BRI’s trade and transportation corridors.
All that while President Putin defined sending humanitarian aid to Gaza as a “sacred duty”, which in Russian code includes, crucially, the military spectrum.
For all the maneuvering and occasional posturing, for all practical purposes everyone knows the current UN arrangement is rotten beyond repair, totally impotent when it comes to imposing meaningful peace negotiations, sanctions or investigations of serial war crimes.
The new UN in the making is BRICS 11 – actually BRICS 10, considering new Trojan Horse Argentina in practice may be relegated to a marginal role, assuming it joins on January 1st, 2024.
BRICS 10, led by Russia-China, both regulated by a strong moral compass, keep their ear on the ground and listen to the Arab street and the lands of Islam. Especially their people, much more than their elites. This will be an essential element in 2024 during the Russian presidency of BRICS.
Even with no check out, you will have to leave
The current order of business in the New Great Game is to organize the expulsion of the Hegemon from West Asia – as much a technical challenge as a civilizational challenge.
As it stands, the Washington-Tel Aviv continuum are already prisoners of their own device. This ain’t no Hotel California; you may not check out any time you like, but you will be forced to leave.
That may happen in a relatively gentle manner – think Kabul as a Saigon remix – or if push comes to shove may involve a naval Apocalypse Now, complete with expensive iron bathtubs turned into sub-ocean coral reefs and the demise of CENTCOM and its AFRICOM projection.
The crucial vector all along is how Iran – and Russia – have played, year after year, with infinite patience, the master strategy devised by Gen. Soleimani, whose assassination actually started the Raging Twenties.
A de-weaponized Hegemon cannot defeat the “new axis of evil”, Russia-Iran-China, not only in West Asia but also anywhere in Eurasia, Asia-Pacific, and pan-Africa. Direct participation/normalization of the genocide only worked to accelerate the progressive, inevitable exclusion of the Hegemon from most of the Global South.
All that while Russia meticulously crafts the integration of the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Baltic Sea (Finnish hysteria notwithstanding), the Arctic and the Northwestern Pacific Sea and China turbo-charges the integration of the South China Sea.
Xi and Putin are gifted players of chess and go – and profit from stellar advisers of the caliber of Patrushev and Wang Yi. China playing geopolitical go is an exercise in non-confrontation: all you need to do is to block your opponent’s ability to move.
Chess and go, in a diplomatic tandem, represent a game where you don’t interrupt your opponent when it is repeatedly shooting itself on the knees. As an extra bonus, you get your opponent antagonizing over 90% of the world’s population.
All that will lead to the Hegemon’s economy eventually collapsing. And then it can be beaten by default.
Western “values” buried under the rubble
As Russia, especially via Lavrov’s efforts, offers the Global South/Global Majority a civilizational project, focused on mutually respectful multipolarity, China via Xi Jinping offers the notion of “community with a shared future” and a set of initiatives, discussed in lengthy detail at the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) Forum in Beijing in October, where Russia, not by accident, was the guest of honor.
A group of Chinese scholars concisely frame the approach as China “creating/facilitating global nodes for relating/communicating and platforms for concrete collaboration/practical exchanges. The participants remains Sovereign, contribute to the common endeavor (or simply specific projects) and receive benefits making them willing to keep on.”
It’s as if Beijing was acting as a sort of shining star and guiding light.
In sharp contrast, what remains of Western civilization – certainly with not much to do with Montaigne,
Pico della Mirandola or Schopenhauer – increasingly plunges into a self-constructed Heart of Darkness (without Conrad’s literary greatness), confronting the true, irredeemably horrifying face of conformist, subservient individualism.
Welcome to the New Medievalism, precipitated by the “kill apps” of Western racism, as argued in a brilliant book, Chinese Cosmopolitanism, by scholar Shuchen Xiang, professor of Philosophy at Xidan University.
The “kill apps” of Western racism, writes Prof. Xiang, are fear of change; the ontology of bivalent dualism; the invention of the ‘barbarian’ as the racial Other; the metaphysics of colonialism; and the insatiable nature of this racist psychology. All these “apps” are now exploding, in real time, in West Asia. The key consequence is that the Western “values” construct has already perished, buried under the Gaza rubble.
Now to a ray of light: a case can be made – and we’ll be back to it – that orthodox Christianity, moderate Islam and several strands of Taoism/Confucianism may embrace the future as the three main civilizations of a cleansed Mankind.
Yes, they do. Forget the so-called “combat footage” you see on TV or YouTube.
It’s important to spot your enemies before they see you. This will give you a big advantage over them because you can better fight them or you can use this info to plan your next moves:
You already have a good hunch where your enemy is located before any fighting starts. Where and when you move will depend on the (often assumed) location of your enemy.
While you are moving, you are always on the lookout. It is usually the side that spots the enemy first that will have the upper hand in a firefight.
It’s one of the most important qualities in an infantry squad leader to have “a good eye”, meaning to anticipate the enemy’s whereabouts and to spot the exact location of enemy forces, especially under fire. You want to know from where you get shot at!
Sometimes, you will see the enemy, but they are still out of range of your weapons. You may want to relate their location to combat support troops that will then execute an artillery attack or an airstrike.
If you have no artillery or air support, as is often the case for guerrillas or special forces, you can approach the enemy until they come into range of your weapons or you set up an ambush.
In combat, you have to see your enemies to be able to kill them. Shooting around without anything in your sights is a waste of ammunition.
On the lookout: A Kosovo Liberation Army soldier observing enemy territory
There are exceptions:
Suppressive or covering fire where you shoot to hinder the enemy from exposing themselves to your fire keeps them out of sight. Still, even when shooting covering fire, you usually have a very good idea where your enemy is located.
In a combat situation, targets often disappear quickly after the first shots are fired. Your enemy will take cover. It’s not a mistake to send a few bursts of automatic fire to the place where you saw your enemy drop down, but after that, it’s time for indirect fire options, like hand grenades or Multiple Grenade Launchers (MGL). You won’t see your enemy, but as you use fragmentation weapons, there is a good chance to cause some damage as long as your grenades hit close enough.
It’s not always necessary (and possible) to see the enemy, but:
The sooner and the more precise you are able to pinpoint the enemy’s location, the better.
One word about “firefights” we see on TV: Most of the shootings on those clips is simply a waste of ammunition.
On the other hand, you won’t have a GoPro or any other camera switched on for twenty-four hours a day. When you spot the enemy (or they spot you), you’ll first shoot them (or jump for cover) before you start thinking about filming. As visible targets disappear quickly in the first moments of a firefight, the chances of getting an enemy live on camera are very slim.
Television crews rarely film on locations where the real action happens, but are often sent to less active parts of the frontline. The mere presence of a TV camera often prompts soldiers to start shooting. This is why our news shows are full of soldiers firing away at an empty landscape.
I was headed in for a job interview several years back. As I’m walking in, two other men are approaching the door from different angles. One of them speeds up to cut off the other and get in the door first, and the other walks in, shaking his head in disbelief. As I walk in behind them, the first guy runs to the elevator and presses the button, not holding the elevator for the other guy and me. Again, the second guy just shakes his head and we wait for the next elevator. I say “Can you believe some people?” And we both chuckle a little bit.
As it turns out, we are headed to the same floor, so we get off the elevator together. As we walk into an office, there is guy #1 Mr Impatient, standing at the desk tapping his foot as the receptionist is finishing up a phone call. The receptionist asks him “can I help you?” And he says “I’m here to see Mr Smith for an interview at 3:30.” (it’s currently 2:50).
I think to myself “Great, this guy is interviewing for the same position I am and he will act like the sweetest guy during the interview.” I lean over and tell the receptionist “I am Mr Smith’s 3 o’clock interview.” Mr Impatient GLARES at me.
The other guy I walked in with (the one Mr Impatient cut off) then says “Hey gentlemen, I’m Mr Smith.” And turns to Mr Impatient and says “you don’t need to wait around. I’ve already determined you are not a good fit for our company. “
I don’t know if you’d count this as a “benefit,” but my first job was at Wendy’s, when I was 16 in 1994. When they hired me, the manager said “minimum wage is $4.25, but we like to start people at $4.26 to give you a little extra and show we care.” He was dead serious, no irony. That has occupied part of my brain for 30 years now.
I knew something strange was going on when a candidate with X-men hair was elected president.
Buenos Aires has always had one of the world’s highest number of psychoanalysts. Now the psychological issues have made their way out of the bedroom into national politics.
Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
Cajun Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 small red onion, chopped
3 whole garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/4 pints whipping cream
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
4 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Chicken
6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Pasta
1 package bow-tie pasta
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper
Instructions
Cajun Sauce
Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add yellow and red bell peppers, mushrooms and onion to same skillet and saute until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper to skillet and sauté 2 or 3 minutes.
Add whipping cream and chicken stock. Simmer until sauce reheats and thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
Add basil and 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese to sauce, stirring to incorporate. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, simmer. Sauce will reduce and thicken.
Chicken
Wash and drain chicken breasts. Pound until very thin, as thin or thinner then 1/4-inch thick (the thinner the chicken breasts the better).
Mix breadcrumbs, flour, and Parmesan cheese together. Place milk in dish for dipping.
Dip chicken into breadcrumb mixture and then into milk and then back into breadcrumbs.
Heat oil in skillet and fry at medium high temperature until golden, crisp, and cooked through. Add more oil as needed. Remove and drain chicken. Keep warm.
Pasta
Meanwhile, cook bow-tie pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain and return to pot. Add sauce and toss to coat.
Place pasta with sauce on plate, and top with chicken breast.
Hello Allen, thank you for the question. Honestly, there were quite a few times I had the hell scared out of me. I’ve written at length about a few of them. I will provide a rerun of one of them now.
I was a in an FCI, a medium high prison with walls about 20’ high and rolls of razor wire 3 rolls deep at the base of the walls. There had been a lot of tension on the yard for weeks.
One morning as I was preparing for a Saturday, I noticed a group of 5–6 guys walk up to a bunk in a cell down a way. There seemed to be a bit of chatter and movement, sort of the thing a group might do if your team won a game. Talking, a bit of laughter, movement.
I walked by and went to breakfast, saw a couple guys I knew and we took a walk and discussed some important topic like that night’s dinner. A couple hours later I went back to my cell.
There were a couple CO’s and another guy in the cell where the group had been. They were standing over the bunk of the inmate.
there was something sticking out of his chest and the blood trails were in several areas.
It turned out this guy owed something to someone and wasn’t paying so the crew was sent to make an example.
The story was the weapon was a pencil, there were 9 wounds and the vic was rushed to medical and when he healed a bit was sent to a different prison.
The near murder right there was horrifying enough but the way the guys carried out the hit was nearly professional. It just seemed like a bunch of guys hanging out. All the while covering the scuffle, takedown and gigging.
In a flash you understand that if you cross an uncrossable line, even by mistake, it easily could be over before you realized what was happening.
It was a long time before I was comfortable in my cell, alone during open times or movements. Walking in a hall and coming across 4–5 guys of another race, you couldn’t show fear, but more than once I walked by waiting for a shank!
There is always a stress when you are inside. It is exponential when a high level yard is on edge.
On a summer’s day, as my wife Dorothy and I sat down to dinner, we thought we heard the sound of water being hosed onto a car. The front entrance was secured only by a screen door and we could readily hear neighborhood sounds.
Then Cocoa, our Seal Point Siamese, asked to be let in. When I opened the door, she fell over. And that noise was louder. I looked out; no car, no one hosing anything. And the noise was right below me, just off the porch. I looked down. A huge, very pissed off rattlesnake!
I called to Ralph, who had just stepped out of his kitchen, next door. “Rattlesnake!” I yelled. “Bring a rake!”
He did. And as Ralph pinned the snake with the rake, I tossed a large stone onto it, killing the serpent.
My wife took Cocoa to the vet, and while she was gone I decided to skin the snake, eviscerate it, and pan fry it. Rattlesnake meat was tasty, I heard, and the beast was as easily gutted as a bass.
But what do I do with the head? The fangs, the venom sacs?
Toilet.
I was unprepared for the surviving impulses of the snakes nervous system. Beheaded (and betailed, for the rattles) and completely stripped of the hide, I had in hand what appeared to be a section of a thick light grey garden hose, split down the middle. And when I ran this corpse under cold water, the spinal cord delivered one last discharge, causing the thing to writhe in my hands. It was alive! I threw the twisting monster into the freezer and slammed the door.
Dorothy and Cocoa came into the kitchen; the cat was recovering but Dorothy said I looked like I had just seen a ghost.
I explained. After a few minutes, I took the frozen snake from the freezer and let it thaw as I prepared a frying pan with melted butter and some salt and pepper. I cut the snake into sections as one might cut a sausage, and added the sections to the gently crackling pan.
In 5 minutes, the flesh had turned white and flaky. I removed all, divided onto 2 plates, and Dorothy and I sat down to eat.
And we tried. We chewed and chewed and chewed and chewed. But the meat had turned into some kind of weird plastic strands that refused to be swallowed.
I took all and tossed into a pressure cooker with some white wine, set all to max pressure and gave it a full 30 minutes. After decanting the vessel, there appeared the most perfect, delicate flakes, like carefully separated crab meat.
And we chewed and chewed and chewed and chewed. Next stop; snake to trash, hot dogs to grill.
I had this experience once. There was a Shawarma/Pizza place on the same block as a place I had newly moved into. So I (single mom) went in with my young kids to order a pizza.
They didn’t have a menu, the ’employees’ were a bunch of guys in expensive tracksuits, jewelry, and all looked like buff gym rats, with the perfectly lined up and gel thick hair – they looked initially very confused that I was actually ordering food there, and there was a bunch of arguing in (I think) Arabic. They insisted that I order a pizza there, it would just be a bit of a wait. One guy left, and came back with a bag of groceries. It took over an hour. I offered a few times to go elsewhere “You’re busy, so sorry..” but they insisted I wait. I chatted with the guy who was at the front counter a bit- he was pleasant enough, but it seemed like he was deciding whether or not my entering of the restaurant was going to be a problem for them. While my kids and I waited on the pizza, a few times some tracksuit guys came in, went to the back, then left with stuffed brown paper bags. His whole demeanor changed when I mentioned that my kids and I had left an abusive situation, and that’s why we’d moved into the area. He wanted to see a picture of my ex, and insisted I show the other tracksuit guys too.
The pizza was ok I guess, a little undercooked. I don’t think the pizza oven had ever been used before- I could see the pizza oven from the front counter, and they had a huddle around it to figure out how it turned on.
The guy at the front didn’t know how to work the register, so he told me it was on the house.
Before I left, the front counter guy told me I was part of the neighborhood now, and to let him know if anyone bothered me or my kids, and he’d “take care of it”.
Anytime I walked past that store after that I was greeted warmly by the tracksuit guys, and they always asked if anyone was “giving me trouble”. Never tried to order food there ever again though!
He surprised me. We were in our early 30’s and newly married. My husband said “ oh my , the freezer defrosted you better go look to see what can be saved”. I went to the kitchen and opened the freezer. Inside was a little box that said “ ice”. He had bought me a pair of diamond earrings. They weren’t the biggest and most expensive but they were beautiful. we are still married and I have worn them for the last 41 years.
I worked late one day so I talked to my boss and we agreed that I would come in late the following day. I had a funny feeling about this, as if she might try something. Thus, even though she agreed I should come in at 8:30 the next morning, I arrived on time and sat in the parking lot. She called me at 8:15 and asked me where I was. I reminded her that we agreed I could come in at 8:30, “but,” I said, “I’m parked right outside the office. Do you want me to come in earlier than we discussed yesterday?” She said no. That was in May.
In June, I got called in to her office and she wrote me up for being late that day a month prior as well as walking in 2 minutes late one morning. The write up skipped the initial verbal warning and first write up and stated it was a final warning.I was on notice that I could be fired for anything at any time.
One day in September she called me into her office and fired me for excessive tardiness. I filed for unemployment and won. The Judge laughed at her and told her “This lady was late by 2 minutes and you found that soooo agregious that you fired her for it, yet you waited 3 months to do it? You’re gonna pay on this one.” I ended up with 4k in back payments.
Several months ago I went to a hospital fearing that I was having a heart attack. I wasn’t, as it turned out, but I was admitted for what was really wrong: pneumonia.
I was in the hospital three days before being discharged, and during that time I questioned every single medication they brought for me. An antibiotic IV about to be hooked up? I’d ask the nurse to confirm what specific one it was. A couple of pills they want me to take? “Which pill is which specific medication?”
I did this partly to be sure they weren’t giving me a wrong medication, and also to be aware of every medication they actually administered and could thus bill me for. Good thing, too.
When I was discharged they gave me a stack of paperwork. Some it was warnings about what I should or shouldn’t do going forward; some outlined the tests they had conducted and the results of them; and one page was supposed to be a pair of new medications one of the doctors had told me he was prescribing for me to fill after discharge. That page was missing, so I had to wait a few more hours while they got hold of that doctor and got him to enter the order.
Turns out one of the drugs he prescribed was atorvastatin for the high cholesterol that came up on one of the tests. The thing is, I am allergic to all statins, a fact that was all over the medical records they got from my primary care doctor, and which I had told them on at least three occasions as well when they asked me to confirm any and all allergies. Obviously I didn’t fill that prescription.
Then I got the bill, charging me $1145 for atorvastatin administered during my inpatient stay.
Now I of course knew full well they had never given me that drug, not only because I had been checking all the meds they did give me, but because I never had the severe reaction to it that would have resulted if they had. So I called their billing department, explained the matter, and requested they amend the bill. They refused.
I called my doctor, and she suggested I write the request out and send it to them via certified mail. That would have been a pain in my ass, as my big truck would not fit in the parking lot of the kinds of places one can do that, and I was over 1000 miles from home.
So I instead called hospital administration and told them I wanted to report a dangerous medication error by that doctor. That got their attention.
I again related the whole matter, which they verified from the notes right there in my records as I went along through the narrative. They clearly saw the multiple notes about the allergy, they clearly saw that no such medication was administered during my stay, and they clearly saw that the doctor had only prescribed it hours after I had been discharged.
They apologized profusely and promised that they would attend to the matter using the legally prescribed procedures, which they did not explain. I pleasantly accepted their apology, then asked if that process would include striking this billing item for administering that drug they had just admitted I never received.
They refused again.
I said that was fine, then asked how I should go about reporting them for malpractice for administering a drug my chart clearly said I was allergic to? Response: but we didn’t administer that drug!
My reply, as long as they insisted on billing me for it, I could only assume that meant they really had administered it. So it could only be one of two things: malpractice for giving me the drug, or fraud for charging me for it after not giving me the drug. I said I would leave it for them to sort out while I called my insurance company and briefed them on the matter… which I then did.
Two weeks later a new billing statement arrived with not only that charge removed, but charges for two tests they had charged me for but apparently not actually done. I called the insurance company again, and they informed me that those tests had been ordered but never actually done, and they themselves had been the ones to uncover that after my earlier call to them. They had requested an audit of my treatment, which had then exposed the other errors.
The most absurd thing to my mind was their insistence on billing me for a drug after they knew that doing so was documented evidence of malpractice.
30 years ago a mate and I were heading off to the range to hit some golf balls.
It was his idea and he wanted to drive. I was saved by one thing and that was he didn’t have his wallet, so he went upstairs to get it and while he did that I thought I would take a quick look in the glove compartment in case it was in there.
It wasn’t but I found an exploding golf ball, still in it’s box, so I quickly swapped it with a real golf ball leaving the box exactly where I found it.
On the range we are smacking golf balls to oblivion trying to hit it further than the other can. After about 5 minutes my mate says, “Would you mind if we swap sides?”
Funny thing is, that was exactly what I was going to say in order to make him hit the exploding ball. Exploding golf balls don’t look or feel real so teeing it up for the victim is the only way for it to work.
So I said, “Sure. Just let me hit this one.” which I did and then while he watched it I quickly teed up the exploding one, which was loose in my pocket.
We then swapped sides where he then challenged me to a longest hit competition with our next shots. Of course I agreed and smacked mine as hard as I could and looked straight at him not where the ball went.
He was expecting my ball to explode but it didn’t and he looked quite confused about it. Then he had his turn. The whole thing just turned to dust in an instant. One huge dust cloud!
He spun around and looked guiltily at the range office like he had done something wrong and would get in trouble. If he was confused with my shot he was now flabbergasted with his own. His facial expression was priceless.
I’m laughing my head off as I can tell he can’t work out how any of this has happened. He told me later that in that moment he could not understand how it went wrong. He couldn’t figure out how the golf ball he took out the box and teed up for me got to the other tee.
I think there is nothing more satisfying in life than getting someone with their own practical joke.
My Wife Asked For An Open Marriage So I Hooked Up That Night And Dumped Her The Next Day
Stopped caring or giving a Fck about people who doesn’t care for me.
Their benifit, opinions and even existence. Caring is mutual, if you can’t. Sorry. I won’t take a minute to forget you. My family and people who love me is everything for me.
Stopped taking stress and overthinking.
Because which I can control, I can control. What I can’t. I can’t. Me taking unnecessary stress not gonna give me control on things I can’t.
Stopped crying.
Most importantly, doesn’t gonna change the situation. If something happened, it happened. Crying will not change reality. Move on. Think calmly and search for a solution.
Stopped giving Explanation.
If you are asking proper explanation and proofs every time ( once or twice is okay ), he doesn’t believes you and he won’t, no matter how many times you prove yourself. Just don’t waste your time.
Stopped seeking for outer beauty.
When it comes to relationship, I am so deeply wounded by people who looked attractive only from outside, my preference changed. I now seeks for behavior and personality more than skin colour aur figure. But yeah, they matter too but isn’t a vital deal-breaker. But, if I get it, I won’t mind.
Stopped seeking for people’s company.
I don’t know, the day I took drop, my outside life is cut short, and all I have is my books, and my computer screen, and a small cozy bedroom-cum-studyroom.Now, it’s more than half a year, and now I prefer not to interact with outside world and stay in my cave.I can stay like that, alone whole day, even I want to live like this in hostel in single room.
Stopped being in people’s life, where no body want me too.
“When to leave” is most important thing. Not everyone who care for you really care for you, maybe one is just intrested in you, but when they lose interest, they won’t. It’s better to leave these people’s life, before they kick you out.If you feel things aren’t same like it was before, but you aren’t the reason, don’t stay there to heal, it will just reduce your self respect. Just leave it. Hurting yourself is better than hurting your self esteem.
Stopped reducing my respect for someone’s ego satisfaction.
You first feel that it’s just small stuff, it doesn’t matter. Let’s do this or that, to cheer up. Naah, my self respect isn’t worthed to become someone’s entertainment.You will ignore once or twice, but then it will become a habit, and will end when you completely become someone’s hand puppet.
I stopped keeping expectations.
Expectations are the reason of being hurt. Just remove expectations, you will be satisfied and happy.If you keep absolutely no expectations from people, even their most basic gesture will make you happy, because it was more than what you expected and you will feel blessed.
As a youngster of 17, I worked for what was then (1965) known as the Maryland Department of Game and Inland Fish. (Today, the Department Natural Resources — DNR). My job was taking the census of the fish in Deep Creek Lake, located in Garrett County, the westernmost in Maryland, below Pittsburgh PA.
No, I did not knock on the surface of the water and then interview fish who answered the knock.
But what I DID do was interview anglers, fishing from docks or boats, asking them to pull up their stringers and show me their catch. And I asked what fish they had returned to the water and if those fish were dead or alive when returned. All of this went onto a data sheet. The data sheet itself was organized sectionally as to areas on the Lake, designated by name (such as Harvey’s Peninsula) and by a mark on a map.
Thus on any given day I would follow what appeared to be a a random walk from place to place, chatting up the fishermen, taking notes. I was the ideal employee because I lived on the lake during the summer and I knew every little inlet, peninsula, and tributary.
Now here are the parts that made the job especially interesting, occasionally hilarious, and sometimes mildly dangerous.
Illegal Anglers: The ones without a fishing license. My john-boat had state of Maryland Decals just aft of the bow, port and starboard, so as to identify me as “official.” And some of those who saw me approach assumed I was with “enforcement,” which I was NOT. Thus I heard all kinds of stories, ranging from the license being accidentally dropped overboard, to “I was just practicing fishing, I’ll buy the license tomorrow.” Some people actually untethered their stringer, to let the catch swim away. And one guy threw all his tackle overboard. Then there were those who had fish that measured less than legal for keeping; so full of apologies were they. I did my best to assure that I was with the State Biologist, NOT the enforcement division.
But one good thing…I learned where all the best fishing was and yes, I sure DID drop my line or trawl those areas.
Babe Watch: The Deep Creek Lake State Park has a sandy beach area.
When my lunch break had me near the park, I would beach the boat and sit on the grass munching my sandwich. And if I was lucky, I would make the acquaintance of some lovely lasses who might be receptive to a return visit from me when I was “off the clock.”
The Big Kill: In addition to the data I collected, the State biologist would stretch a net across an isolated inlet, and poison the water from the net to the shoreline. Hundreds; no THOUSANDS of fish floated to the surface, belly up. And some were trophy size walleye, pike and large mouth. I was in heaven. I was going to scarf up a basket or two, and have the ultimate fish-fry.
But no, said the biologist. Those fish would kill you.
Damn.
(You might wonder why all the fish outside the net weren’t killed. Some were. But the target inlet was NOT fed by a creek, so the water was fairly still —no current. Plus, the poison was short-acting.)
The Thermocline: There comes a point at which the water at the top half of the lake exchanges place with the water in the bottom half. Or, at least the temperature gradient does a flip-flop. I’m not sure why that mattered, but it was my job to transport the guy with the sample container to an area over the deepest place in the lake, where he would toss a brass container overboard, then jerk a cable to open the cylinder and let the bottom water flood the vessel. When he pulled on the cable again, that trapped the water inside, and he pulled the sample up to the boat.
There, we had various Erlenmeyer flasks arrayed in a wooden rack, into which flasks he drained enough bottom water to reach an index line on the flask. Then, he dropped in some power and watched the color. When he smiled, I knew it was time to take him and his chemistry set back to the dock.
Personal Use? You bet! The State’s boat had only an 18 HP outboard motor, so I wasn’t pulling any skiers. But yeah, when off duty I could use it as my personal ride, or to go fishing.
He was a teacher and in his school the principal made the rule that all teachers must have their lesson plans for each week on the principal’s desk by 8am Monday morning, and he’d read them, sign them and have them back to the teachers by the time school started at 9am. This was. of course, a hassle for teachers and my friend worked out that there was no way that the principal could read every lesson plan in that time, let alone understand them. So he decided to run a horticulture unit with his class of about 9 year old children, the project being to plant trees up the middle of the school assembly hall. Now obviously this was a ridiculous project and was never going to happen, but the plans came back each week duly signed by the principal.
The teacher taught and had the children research what sort of trees would be suitable, measuring temperatures, light, heights and widths of trees, and researching the best species, all of which was clearly documented in the lesson plans and came back duly signed and approved by the principal. Finally the day came when the locations for the trees were to be marked on the hall floor in preparation for cutting the holes, importing the soil and planting the trees. The teacher carefully chose a day when he knew the school inspectors would be arriving. Sure enough, the inspectors had a meeting with the principal after morning assembly and part way through this meeting, as specified in the signed lesson plan, the teacher politely knocked on the principal’s door and asked where did he want them?
“Where do I want what?” the principal asked.
“The trees in the assembly hall,” replied the teacher.
“Trees? In the assembly hall? What do you mean?”
“Well,” replied the teacher, waving the sheaf of lesson plans, all carefully signed by the principal, “As you know, I have been running a unit on horticulture in preparation for planting trees up the middle of the assembly hall, and today’s the day we mark out where to put them. So we need you to show us where you want them, as I specified in the lesson plans which you read and signed.” He waved the sheaf of plans once again.
Needless to say, no trees were ever planted up the middle of the hall, and the principal never again wanted lesson plans submitted for approval.
A few months ago, I noticed that my daughter smiled to herself a lot. I decided to “confront” her: “You have a crush. Haven’t you?”. She blushed and exclaimed: “How do you know that?!?!”. I played my cool poker face 😎 “Been there, done that. Tell me!”. Then she told me about the boy.
A couple days later, she asked me: “I noticed that during lunchtime, he finishes his lunch real fast then goes to the library to play chess. Should I go talk to him? I play chess too!”
I told her: “Why the rush? I think, you might want to practice playing chess a little bit better first, then ask him to play a match with you. You might win, or at the very least, not lose badly. And I tell you a secret: you can learn a lot about a person when they lose a game!”
For about 2 weeks, she played chess with me every evening.
One day, she came home and told me: “I un-crushed him. We played 2 games today. He won the first, I won the 2nd. But when he lost, he curse and stomped out. Not cool!”
That was the moment I felt like a warm hug. The feeling of being able to share with my daughter her stories, her feelings always warms me up.
My Fiancée Asked For An Open Relationship 3 MONTHS Before Our Wedding So I Kicked Her A** Out!
When I was being recruited by Nike in 1997 I was a little concerned about cultural issues, especially institutional sexism — I had heard that the place was something of a boys’ club.
I couldn’t travel for a few weeks so I was having a series of conversations with the general counsel in advance. We were arranging the logistics for my interview day. I’d basically see a different interviewer each hour from 9 am till 6 pm, including lunch with him and my predecessor in the job.
As we were discussing the plans I asked him if he could please include a woman who had been with the company for a long time.
I held my breath briefly for his reaction. Some male executives would have been offended. But he exclaimed, “What a good idea! I should have thought of it!” and immediately agreed to make it happen.
He was good for his word — my first interview that day was with Nike’s corporate treasurer, who was at least a 20 year veteran of the Swoosh.
I think it’s reasonable to state openly that you are eager to get a sense of the company culture, and ask the interviewer how they would describe it.
The Chinese YiChe race
China is home to many races, while Han is dominant, the other races are very interesting. This is a very interesting race. They have “open marriages”, wear miniskirts, and have a graduated system of Bride Prices.
Many, many years ago I received a letter in the post. It was a recorded delivery and I had to sign for it to confirm delivery. I was intrigued and opened it immediately. It was a summons to appear in our local small claims court. I was being sued for £6,000. There were no details about the charges or any explanation of what the case was about other than the name and address of the complainant. I was mystified as I didn’t recognise the name. Lets call him Mr Smith.
In the three weeks before the stated date I convinced myself that one of my sons was playing an involved joke on me. I quizzed them all mercilessly but nobody would admit to knowing anything about it. As the date drew closer I determined to go to court just to find out which of my boys was the perpetrator of this rather involved joke.
Court day arrived and I went into the court building and presented my summons to an attendant, still expecting to be told it was a forgery. I was wrong. I was politely directed to a small waiting room and told my case would be called in 10 minutes. I was stunned.
When I was escorted into the courtroom the Sheriff (a lay judge in Scotland) asked me if I had a legal representative. I explained how I thought that the summons was a joke and I had no lawyer. He said that I could ask for a deferment to get legal advice if I choose but he didn’t think that was necessary. I sat down still stunned and confused but by now rather scared.
The Sheriff now asked the other side to outline their case. I listened in stunned amazement as the story unfolded.
Apparently some 6 months previously I had sold Mr Smith a tenpin bowling ball and drilled the ball to suit his hand. I had explained to him the need to keep the ball clean of lane oil on a regular basis. Mr Smith had taken me at my word and had left his bowling ball soaking in a bathtub of hot soapy water overnight. Feeling that the finger and thumb holes were wet when he fished the ball out of the bath in the morning he had decided to dry out the ball. Fifteen or twenty minutes in the microwave should dry it out nicely.
Some time later the ball had exploded. The force of the explosion was enough to destroy the microwave and send the door of the microwave flying upward with enough energy to punch through the ceiling and the floor of the room above his kitchen. Unfortunately the room above his kitchen was his neighbours bathroom. The microwave door not only punched through the floor but punched through the actual bath. Really unfortunately the poor woman was taking a bath at the time.
She was suing Mr Smith for the damage to her bathroom from the flying microwave door as well as the water damage to her carpets from the bath full of water. She wasn’t suing for the shock of a microwave door suddenly puncturing her bath although it must have been a terrific shock.
Mr Smith was suing me for the same amount on the basis that I had sold him a bowling ball without specifically telling him not to put it in the microwave.
By this stage several people in the gallery were laughing and the sheriff was definitely smiling. I was still worried but feeling considerably less scared. We all sat politely until Mr Smith’s lawyer had finished. The Sheriff then drew himself very straight and without a trace of a smile said that he was here to apply the law of the land and not to educate idiots. Case dismissed.
It’s early morning, the sun is just barely visible in the edges of the sky.
The date is August 5th, 2001 and Richard Ankrom and several friends are preparing to commit a crime that is several years in the making.
Twenty years prior, Ankrom was driving north on the 110 freeway. He got ready to merge onto Interstate 5 North, another freeway but missed the exit.
A few years later, he officially moved to LA and found himself driving on the same stretch of road as before.
He glanced up at the sign and realized the I-5 exit wasn’t marked at all.
That was why he had missed the turn ages ago.
And on that day, he swore to himself he would never let another person suffer the same fate.
He began studying freeway signs, their exact color, size and make up. He balanced on the edges of bridges to get precise measurements.
He copied the existing signs to a T, even consulting the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to make sure he got the width and height perfect. He even sprayed the sign to make it look more worn down.
From there, he disguised himself, cutting his hair and buying a hard hat and vest.
And on August 5th, 2001 he positioned his ladder and climbed thirty feet to reach the sign.
He and his friends rushed away, afraid of getting caught in the act.
Nine months later, one of his friends confessed, leaking the crime to a local newspaper.
However, instead of being taken down, it passed inspection and remained there for another 8 years and even then, they put up a new sign in its place.
I was 12 years old, and back then thought you teased girls you liked. I was infatuated with a girl in my neighborhood and would tease her on the school bus.
One day I meant to say “I’ve seen better, but I haven’t seen worse!”
It came out as “I’ve seen worse, but I haven’t seen better!”
I said this in front of all the kids on the bus. I stammered a minute, not believing what came out of my mouth! I never would have had the confidence to say something like that! She immediately smiled and hugged me. Suddenly I had my first girlfriend. I just went with it.
I had suspected my wife was cheating, so put a tracker in her car. When she claimed she was going to a friend’s house to watch his dog, I watched on the tracker monitor as she in fact drove in the exact opposite direction to a hotel to meet one of what I would later find out were several lovers. So, I grabbed her spare keys, took a Lyft to the hotel she was actually at, got in her car and drove it to the friend’s house she was supposed to be at, then took a Lyft home. When she called the next day, claiming her car was stolen, I asked her to use the friend’s Ring camera to see the culprit. Cornered, she confessed, and found her own way home, then shortly thereafter, her own home.
You’ve all seen this formation right? It’s rather famous.
Well, would you be surprised to find out it was not that commonly used? We have some records of it from Dio and a few other historians but it was not that common.
Typically this formation would be used during a siege where the infantry needed to close in on some high walls under missile fire. Otherwise, it was never really used that often.
The problem is that this formation makes units less maneuverable and less flexible and it makes hand-to-hand combat almost impossible. So in every battle, the Romans would just be in normal lines ready to fight.
2: The Romans had poor cavalry
Now the Romans truly did not produce great cavalry from their own ranks. However, the Romans most certainly used talent wherever they found it.
When they conquered a people that were great on horseback they would employ them as Auxiliaries to assist the legions.
This means the Romans had
Numidian Cavalry (ranked among the best on earth at the time)
Macedonian Cavalry
Gallic Cavalry
These were without a doubt the best horsemen on planet earth and they all fought for the Romans.
In fact, during the late Imperial period, the Roman military became very calvary-centric and did end up boasting some of the best trained and equipped cavalry on earth.
One thing to remember is that cavalry at this time was not all that great. Stirrups were not yet invented and this meant that cavalry were basically expensive scouts minus a few exceptions. Infantry won wars in the ancient world far more often than cavalry.
3: The Romans were brutal conquerers
Now the Romans could be brutal and there were many times where they were brutal. However, in terms of being conquered, you could do worse than Rome.
If you snuggled up the Romans as an ally and played the role of submissive ally Rome would defend you to the death and be extremely hands-off. You’d keep your rulers and laws and merely pay a small tax to Rome. You also got the benefit of protection from the legions which meant total safety for centuries.
Rome viewed every relationship (diplomatic or otherwise) as having the dominant patron and the submissive client. The role of the patron was to support, elevate, and protect while the role of the client was to submit, admire, and support. If a tribe submitted itself as the client, Rome was often a great patron.
The Romans were also extremely tolerant of others. There was some racism and xenophobia as there is in all peoples but Rome accepted all religions and cultures as valuable. The Romans often adopted cultural elements or even gods from conquered peoples.
Now if you betrayed the Romans or worse yet attack them, they could be extremely brutal. Any slight paid to Rome would be returned ten-fold.
Being conquered by Rome was not the worse fate in the world, but being an enemy to Rome was certainly a death sentence.
Copeland’s of New Orleans Stuffed Strawberry French Toast
Ingredients
1 cup milk
3 cups heavy cream, divided
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 French baguette, sliced diagonally
1 cup strawberries, freshly cut
Powdered sugar for dusting
1/2 pound cream cheese
Instructions
Combine milk, eggs, vanilla extract, sugar and 2 cups heavy cream; mix well, then set aside.
Whip remaining 1 cup heavy cream until peaks form. Beat in cream cheese until smooth.
Heat skillet over medium-high heat; add butter.
Dip bread slices into batter, making sure to leave them long enough to absorb some of the batter without making them soggy. Place bread in skillet; brown on both sides.
Remove bread from skillet and place on a plate.
Scoop cream cheese mixture on top of each piece.
Top with another piece of toast to form a sandwich.
Top with fresh strawberries, dust with powdered sugar, and serve immediately.
For context: I’m 37. Married since 2017. One kid. Flat broke. Heavily indebted. Diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disorder in 2016. Recently embarked upon a spiritually rewarding career as a helicopter pilot.
(Neither this nor what follows is an indictment of capitalism or Western society, as I hope you know. I’m flat broke because I have a toddler and am starting over from scratch career-wise, and I’m indebted because I borrowed heavily in order to attend flight school. It was my choices that got me here, nothing else.)
At this point in life, what excites me the most is:
1. Affording steak.
My wife and I usually have anywhere from $20 to $150 between paydays. My wife just got a job at a daycare center, so that’ll take some of the pressure off. But our debt is such that every spare penny should be spent paying it down. Frivolities like steak, good booze, fancy dinners out, and even trips to the zoo and aquarium with our daughter have gone out the window. My folks had to float us $1100 for snow tires earlier this month, and I’m having a hard time dealing with the shame of it. What excites me the most right now is making enough money to pay down debt and still have enough disposable income left over to treat myself and my family.
2. Supporting my girls on a single income.
In a year’s time, if I play my cards right, I could be the assistant chief flight instructor at my flight school. Or I’ll move on to a job in the helicopter tour or utility industries. Either way, I’ll be getting a fat raise. This has amazing ramifications for my little family. It could mean that my wife and I will be able to pay off a significant chunk of our debts, and we’ll have more disposable income. Far from merely being able to afford steak, I might be able to buy itregularly—and grill it on a grill I could then afford to purchase, while drinking beer I could afford to homebrew. It might also mean that my wife and I could afford to have a second child, accrue some savings and an emergency fund, and even scrape together a down payment for a goddamn house. (I’ve never bought or owned a home in my life, and I’m tired of renting.) But whatever the consequences of my pay raise, I’ll just be happy and proud to be providing for my family at long last. And not dependent on my folks.
3. Enjoying a proper autumn.
November up here in the Northland has been unseasonably warm, the locals tell me. Normally there’s a few inches of snow on the ground by now, and the temperature is below freezing every day. It was 50 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday. The leaves have already fallen, but the abundant sunlight and mild temperatures are making me feel like we’re getting an actual autumn instead of leaping straight from summer to winter. And I’ve been taking full advantage of it. I hiked to the top of Ely’s Peak in my shirtsleeves last Wednesday, and today I took my daughter to Hawk Ridge and Hartley Park.
4. Getting checked out in a turbine helicopter.
Speaking of shame, I have over 500 hours in rotorcraft and all of them are in Robinsons. Not that there’s anything wrong with Robinsons, but you can think of them as the tricycles of the helicopter world. Some people ride them for fun, and very few for work, but they mostly use them for training. Getting checked out in a different helicopter, especially a turbine-powered one, would be like learning to ride a motorcycle by comparison. I’d feel like a real helicopter pilot then. My school just happens to have an old Bell 206B that it uses to provide turbine transition training to students. I missed my chance to get checked out in it this fall—too low on the seniority list—but I’ll almost certainly get into it next summer. I’m stoked.
5. My daughter’s 2nd birthday.
I can scarcely believe that my girl is almost 18 months old, let alone that she’ll be two in June. Being able to say “she’s two” instead of “she’s XX months” excites me for some odd reason.
6. Reading, as usual.
Having a kid and becoming a flight instructor put a major crimp in my reading schedule. I’m currently 13 books behind, according to the tracker I use on Goodreads. Granted, I picked some doozies to read this year. It’s been a long, hard slog, reading Lewis and Clark’s journals and The Brothers Karamazov simultaneously. But I’m almost done, and I have a couple of new books waiting in the wings—a much-anticipated travelogue by Anton Chekhov (Sakhalin Island), and a horror novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (The Relic), which I’d intended to read in October. That, and the rest of the books on my reading list (sketched out until the year 2031), have me excited. As they always do.
7. Making soup every weekend.
Classic dad move, right? I enjoy soups and stews immensely. And winter, of course, is soup season. To take full advantage of it, I made out a list of soups that I want to make this season and have been checking them off one by one, starting the weekend of my birthday in late September. I’ve done beef stew, French onion soup, pumpkin soup, fish-head soup, and chicken stew with dumplings. Tonight it’s beer cheese soup. I am super pumped.
8. Date night with the wife.
Due to various factors—lack of funds, a dearth of trustworthy babysitters, scheduling issues, the realities of having children, and general stress levels—my wife and I haven’t been dating each other like we should. In fact, we’ve gone on exactly three dates this year: in January, June, and October respectively. We’re trying to fix that. I’m securing a sitter for the night of Friday the 24th. My wife and I have plans to slip across the river into Wisconsin for burgers and brews at a much-beloved taphouse. I am beyond excited about this. It’ll be nice to sit across a table from my spouse, sip local brews, and discuss something other than poop and money.
Once upon a time I put in average speed cameras on a section of the A31 in UK. They were dropping the speed limit from 60 mph to 50 mph on this stretch. For those that don’t know these monitor your speed over a set distance and if you are 10% + 3 miles per hour over the speed limit you will get a fine, (or occasionally offered a Driver Awareness Course, based on the speed and if you have done one in the last 3 months).
Anyway, cameras go in, we do the testing phase and final commissioning.
2 weeks after they are commissioned, I went to a meeting to close the final account for putting these in, drove passed them on the way home at 62 mph, (as I had always done), and forgot they were now live and got a £60 fine and 3 points on my licence. All from safety cameras that I put in.
Four thousand and seven years ago, my father, who was a great man, one of the greatest men in history, he was born in Germany; he went into the real estate business. You have to be really, really smart to get into the real estate business. I inherited his smarts, and I got into the real estate business too. I have the best real estate. Everyone loves my real estate. But now we are engaged in a great civil war. The greatest civil war. Why are we engaged in it? Because my predecessor, President Bookananin, was a bad deal maker. If I had been President then, we wouldn’t have had a war because I would have made a deal, the best deal. I am the best deal maker ever. It’s true. If I had been President, I’d have made such a good deal that the North would be happy, the South would have been happy, the slaves would have been very happy; they would have been the happiest slaves you have ever seen. Just smiling and singing and picking cotton. Such happy slaves. But now we are here to bury the dead. But what we say here cannot honor them. Because they don’t deserve to be honored! I like soldiers who are so good that they don’t get shot. What good is a dead soldier? Dead soldiers can’t soldier any more because they are dead. All soldiers who die are just losers. If I had been a soldier, I would have survived, I guarantee it. Now let’s go play some golf!
I arrived for an interview and was asked to wait a few minutes as the interviewer was held up. A few minutes later he came out, apologised said he’d been called to an urgent problem. He explained that some of the stuff I’d be working on would highly commercially sensitive and while he finished up could I read through the pre-interview contract and sign it.
I read through it and though I’m no lawyer it read like they could sue for everything I owned from my house down to my underwear if I so much as said I’d been within a mile of the building. The I interviewer came back a few minutes later and asked if I was happy and had signed the paperwork.
I replied that I hadn’t signed coz it looked a bit iffy on the conditions and he replied
‘congratulations, you’re the first person out of 8 people who passed the first stage test’.
Apparently everyone else had skimmed through and signed and not bothered really looking at what they were signing off on.
For the same reason it takes three minutes to trace a phone call, firewalls have a progress bar on them, and all handguns regardless of caliber and design always make the same sound (unless they’re silenced, in which case they go “thwip thwip”):
Because Hollywood isn’t real.
In the real world, a phone call can be traced the instant the phone rings; you don’t even need to pick it up. In the real world, firewalls either block some bit of traffic or they don’t. In the real world, different firearms all make different sounds, and they’re heckin’ loud, even if “silenced.” Like loud enough you won’t be exchanging witty quips with anyone during a shootout.
And in the real world, antipersonnel mines detonate instantly, except some old bouncing mines that detonate about a second after they’re activated.
I woke up one morning after having a bizarre nightmare. I dreamt that called my boss and told him my youngest son was going to die. My son was only 10 days old at the time. A perfectly healthy beautiful little baby boy. When I woke up I felt nauseous from the dream and experienced the worst anxiety I have ever had. I knew intuitively that something was wrong with my son. He didn’t show any rare signs or specific symptoms, the only thing that was odd was that he slept a bit heavier than usual that night. I couldn’t ignore my anxiety and checked his temperature and was shocked when it showed 35,1 degrees Celsius. I immediately took him to the ER and soon found out that an entero virus (a normal winter season virus that gives you a cold) had affected his heart and the room was soon filled with doctors and me and my husband were asked to leave. 12 hours later the doctors informed us that the virus had caused our healthy baby a serious heart failure (dilated cardiomyopathy and myocarditis ) and that he probably wouldn’t make it. They called a priest and the rest is black for me. Our baby was put into coma in a respirator and was going to be put on an ECMO machine. We were transferred to the ICU for infants. After 2 months at the ICU he suddenly improved. The doctors told us that almost no children survive this virus on the heart – because there are no obvious clear signs so the parents don’t understand that something is wrong. They also said that what he survived is in theory impossible to survive (considering how ill he was). They asked me what caused us to seek help and I told them about my dream. I will never forget the doctors answer “there are somethings between heaven and earth that medicine can’t explain – your boy is a living miracle”.
He turns 5 next year and has almost recovered 100% from the heart failure expect for 1/8 of his heart that is permanently damaged.
They are not trying. They are. You are out of business due to you guys looking down and under estimating China. And all the shit about intellectual property theft and copying while in truth China overtook the U.S. and the world in EV technology. Global warming is caused by the U.S. and the west China resolved it.
Yes you guys are caught off guard but it is your fault. Today there are still many especially white Caucasian westerners who thinks the Chinese as no technology, no can only do T-Shirts and Cheap plastic toys. To me it is racism and served you guys right. China will out compete you in every sector including jet planes, rockets, quantum computers and AI.
Even this question is a racist and underestimating China nonsense. Even the great Tesla used Chinese engines and batteries. China makes 9/10 EVs on earth. And they are catching up! What a foolish statement.
When i was about 9 years old we lived acoss the street from a little store that had a paper machine out front. My mother would send me over with a quarter each morning and 3 on sundays to get a newspaper. One day an old timer was walking up and said, watch this. He put 4 pennies in the machine and much to my surprise, it opened right up just as if he had put a quarter in it and sure enough on Sunday, 12 pennies did the same thing. Not sure if the machines worked by weight or what, but this went on for a few years until we eventually just got it delivered. This was a time when 20 cent would buy 4 fireballs or lots of other smaller candies. I truly believe karma caught up with me as i had more than my fair share of cavities growing up.
My sister died 5 weeks ago. We’ve just got back from her funeral in the UK. She’d been in poor health for several years so it was no great shock, but sad as she was only 69. This (slightly edited tale) was read out by the celebrant plus several of her other exploits over the years. She was a force of nature. Don’t rest in peace Lynn, create all the mayhem you did when you were here.
My sister is extremely feisty. She was in hospital giving birth to her first child, who was a large baby and my sister is tiny, she weighed about 35kg. Anyway she needed an episiotomy for her son to be born. Anyway after the birth the midwife said the cut was so long it would need stitching. The doctor came in, agreed and gave her a local anesthetic into the area. Then he disappeared for 3 hours, by which time the pain relief had totally worn off and he began to stitch. When she cried out in pain he told her not to be such a baby and to quit whining.
He had a tray of instruments by the bed so she picked up a scalpel and rammed it into the back of his hand. While he was screaming she told him not to be such a baby and quit whining. They administered more local to finish her procedure, and found another doctor.
When I was in high school in New York, rumor was that my friend’s tough looking father was in the Mafia. One day, he hired a bunch of his son’s friends to attend an auction in the Bronx. He gave us an address and told us to be there at 8am.
The auction, selling off the assets of a bankrupt business, was going to begin an hour later. By the time the real bidders arrived, they were denied entrance by a bribed fire marshal because the room was already filled to its legal capacity by dozens of hired bodies like myself.
Clueless, we sat there and watched as my friend’s father and his buddies won every lot without competition.
A man and his wife are awakened at 3 o’clock in the morning by a loud pounding on the door.
The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push.
“Not a chance” says the husband, “it is 3 o’clock in the morning!”
He slams the door and returns to bed.
“Who was that?” asked his wife.
“Just some drunk guy asking for a push,” he answers.
“Did you help him?” she asks.
“No, I did not, it is 3 o’clock in the morning and it is pouring rain out there!”
“Well, you have a short memory,” says his wife. “Don’t you remember about three months ago when our car broke down and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself !”
The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding rain.
He calls out into the dark, “Hello, are you still there?”
“Yes” comes back the answer.
“Do you still need a push?” calls out the husband.
My daughter had married a guy I really liked. One fall we were discussing hunting and he mentioned an unusual shotgun he learned to hunt with. He really liked it, but had never seen another like it. It was a bolt action 20-gauge shotgun.
As he described the finger grooves in the plastic trigger guard, I realized he was describing a Mossberg Model 185K. I collected Mossberg firearms and had a decent specimen sitting unused in the back of my safe.
Over the next couple of months I refurbished the gun, rubbed the stock down with tung oil and restored as much of its 1950 beauty as I could. Having found a box for it, I took it by on Christmas day.
When he unwrapped it, his mouth fell open. Literally.
“Oh migod. THAT’S THE ONE! That is EXACTLY the gun I grew up with! How did you find this???”
My 6′7″ son-in-law picked me up and hugged me – with tears in his eyes.
Yes, China and India have border disputes, and border conflicts broke out in the 1960s and 1970s. There have also been conflicts in the Galwan region in the past few years.
But the relationship between China and India is not as bad as Western media renders it, nor is it as terrible as some Indian media render it.
If we look at a world map, especially one with altitude. It can be seen that China and India are separated by the Himalayas. Although the two countries are neighboring countries, they are naturally separated.
Therefore, in the past thousands of years, the two countries developed independently without interfering with each other, and even little trade was carried out. The current China and India were only established after World War II. The contradiction between them originated from the division of territories by the British colonists, rather than the natural contradiction between the two nations. In the words of the Chinese, China and India “have no historical debt.” After all, the Chinese view history in terms of 100 years as the smallest unit.
If you ask a Chinese: Who do you think China’s enemy is?
The vast majority of Chinese people will answer: Japan. Maybe someone mentioned the United States, and maybe South Korea.
, some may even say Russia. But I have hardly ever heard the Chinese label India as their enemy. Even if I emphasize that “China and India had a war,” they will still think: “India is not an enemy” and regard the Sino-Indian conflict as “a quarrel between neighbors.”
In the eyes of Chinese people, couples also quarrel, let alone two neighboring countries. As long as the scope of cooperation is far greater than the scope of differences, then both parties are partners.
Of course, the results of this survey in India may be completely different, mainly due to the influence of Western and Indian media. After all, the media is very good at seizing on a certain local hot spot and then telling the audience that this is all.
The point I’m trying to make, though, is this. The two sides are not really hostile. The similarities between China and India outweigh the differences. They are all developing countries with huge populations and face problems such as poverty alleviation, public education and environmental pollution. Both countries are developing rapidly and are gradually coming into conflict with developed countries. The two sides have consistent interests on many issues, especially international trade, carbon emissions, human rights and other issues, and they jointly resist the squeeze of developed countries. On the issues of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, China and India basically have the same attitude.
China and India do not have much competition in business. China is developing high-end manufacturing and competing with developed countries. India is developing mid- to low-end manufacturing industries and can take over the production capacity transferred from China. India is a major agricultural exporter, while China is a major agricultural importer. There is a lot of room for cooperation between the two parties.
When the Sino-Indian border conflict occurred, there were already serious deaths of soldiers. No shots were fired. This shows that the agreement between the two sides outweighs the differences. The border dispute is not the mainstay of Sino-Indian relations. This point has a clear consensus among the elites of both sides. So the soldiers were severely restricted. The foundation of the relationship between the two countries will not change because of the advocacy of the Western media. There will be no war as the West expects.
After all, neither Chinese leaders nor Indian leaders are fools.
The Chinese build so much that they are used to such collapses and have extremely specialized rescue teams
Like in the Turkey earthquake recently
Their ability to use small drones to slip through the small holes, use positioning of living objects under vast structures and their ability to vertically drill and horizontally drill makes them the world’s best experts in rescue operations
This team rescued 319 people given up for dead in Turkey
They were HEROES
The victims were given up for dead
Plus the Chinese Tunnel building through Mountains makes Indian tunnels look like School Project work
This Tunnel in India is a straight cut
Chinese Guoliang Tunnel is at a 36 degree upward incline through mountain surface. They are masters at tunneling
The Chinese teams drilled 368 meters deep vertically against an EXPLODED SHAFT in a gold mine with fissure methane gas and still rescued 11 workers from certain death in 11 days
That was an explosion plus collapse plus methane pockets not just a collapse like in UK
Compared to that, this rescue is horizontal and can be done in their sleep
So why aren’t we calling the Chinese?
Simple
Ego and nothing else
Calling the Chinese would be a blow to our ego and would cause our politicians to lose face
I was patient for a few days but now it appears the NDRF team are morons and the Aussie in charge is a bigger moron
The Auger has been damaged four times now
The men have been stuck for 15 days with no hope as yet
Time to pick up the phone and call Beijing for help and rescue these men and send them home
Enough of this worthless ego
Enough of the learning curve
It’s clear the team members are dunderheads because the augers have been broken four times in four days
Today it was so likely that the men would be out and yet again the Auger broke
Last night my kids flooded the whole living room with slimy water.
“BEEEEEEEEN!” my wife hollered. “COME SEE THIS!”
I knew this was trouble because my wife is one of those people who never raise their voice.
When I stepped onto the scene, I saw my three kids plus a friend of my oldest son’s all belly-sliding from wall to wall with nothing on but underwear.
The sight was so perplexing, surreal, and unexpected, that I couldn’t help but laugh my ass off.
It was like the first time I ever got stoned as a teenager and every time a friend threw an M&M on me I giggled uncontrollably.
Every kid scooting across the gooey floor, his arms flailing, letting out screams of glee, had me laughing until my belly hurt.
They were like cute gremlins swimming through space.
Never mind that I was terrified of slipping because I just had my ACL operated on. Or that my youngest one started bawling after two of the others crashed into him at the same time. Or that my wife and I had to use all the towels in the house to soak up the gunky liquid later.
I hadn’t had such a good laugh in ages.
I’ve been punched in the balls. I’ve cleaned neon-yellow runny poo from across the floors of multiple rooms—why would you crawl across the whole house while pooing?! I’ve made elaborate date plans with my wife just for two of us to realize we fell asleep while reading to the kids.
And somewhere along the way, instead of getting angry every time, I discovered the humor in all of it.
Something of the maddening nature of having kids taught me to stop taking myself so seriously. Showed me that sometimes, life is so damn absurd that all you can do is laugh. That every single plan and intention can come boomeranging back to you and whack you in the face.
And before you feel the pain—or clean the slimy floor or the runny poo or make a new plan—you can take a moment, laugh it off, and then get to it.
I’m in Ghana and was invited to a Thanksgiving party, what the H3LL?
My neurologist asked me to wear an oximeter/heart rate monitor overnight. I told him it would be useless, as I was not sleeping much, but he had me do it. I got a call a few days later asking me how I coped on such little sleep. We never mentioned it again.
Then I got a bill for $14. For what?
I was being billed for the “use of the monitor.” Not by my neurologist’s office, by some 3rd party.
I called my neurologist’s office, they said that they don’t own the equipment, they rent it from the service that sends them the test results, which was not this company. They were like, fine, don’t pay, we don’t know who this company is. I called insurance – they said they had never heard of FBN Rental.
I called FlyByNight Rentals and told them to bill my insurance. They said they had. I said I had proof they never had. I told them I would not pay as they had no grounds to bill me.
I kept getting bills, which I ignored.
Finally I got a phone call from them. “You owe us $14.” “No. I don’t. Bill my insurance.” “We did.” No you didn’t. You’re a scam.” Rinse, repeat.
I had looked them up in the meantime. They apparently buy marketing lists of people who used pulse oximetry equipment and insert a minor charge. Something small and inconsequential that people will just pay to clear. But – and here is the key point – they don’t actually have any relationship to the test.
I kept getting calls threatening me with collections. Finally I picked one up. A lady confirmed that I was seconds away from going to collections. I had had it. I had already called and written to them to tell them to fuck off, multiple times.
I said, 1) that they were a scam, 2) I’d already reported them to my doctor, the insurance, the BBB and 3) if I ever heard from them again, they would hear from my lawyer with a bill for the time *I* had had to spend figuring out they were a scam and dealing with their bullshit.
I never heard from them again.
What a brilliantly awful idea. Make a teeny, inconsequential charge, something so small no one would care and collect on some or most of those charges. Multiply $14 by tens of thousands and presto, you have medical fraud that no one will ever notice.
A woman responds to “an open marriage”
A man suggests that instead of a open marriage, he gets a second wife.
I am out of the hospital, and I am feeling much better. I can’t wait to get back to business with the start of the new year. The world seemed to be passing me by. Just excited and ready, but my engine is purring. All is good.
…
STORY 1
When I was 16 years old, I went horseback riding with a girl-friend (not a girlfriend) and we were riding in the woods. Well, there were some low hanging vines, and sure as shit, one caught my neck and rubbed it raw. I mean, it was brutal. All my skin was removed.
To everyone at work… it looked like a big “hicky”; a huge sucker bite.
That wasn’t the case, of course, but the razzlin’ and all was really excessive, don’t you know. It took me months to get out from the hasslin’, but you know it was the early 1970’s and that kind of stuff was common in the work-place.
I was still “sweet 16” and never been kissed. That ended shortly afterwards when two of my “girl-friends” fought to become my girlfriend. Which resulted in a sidewalk kiss, that I will never forget.
STORY 2
We were leaving a “sweet 16” birthday party of a classmate. She, a girl named Robin, invited me to it, and I as clueless as ever didn’t know what to do. When we left, and we were on the sidewalk… walking home she stopped turned to me and and “Kiss me”. And so we did.
That was my first kiss.
Robin went off to college, got married, and last I heard was doing well. I’m happy for her.
People, as cherished as those memories are, there is no way that I want to relive similar events in another life. I am tired, and have no desire for another reincarnation. I’ll tell you what.
The star of the whole show, in my opinion, is the turnout of Big Business.
No, not what President Xi said, but the audience composition. Namedrop a household corporate name and the CEO was probably in attendence, Tim Cook and Elon Musk included.
The movers and shakers of Wall Street paid handsomely for the privilege of WELCOMING President Xi. In fact, the visiting Head of State may have gathered THE star-studded corporate audience in recent years, bigger than any Democrat or Republican convention. Even King Charles and the Pope will struggle to demonstrate the star appeal lighting up San Francisco this November WEEKEND.
It was a dinner worth trillions upon trillions in market cap. One need only imagine the private jets lining up to pay hangar premiums for parking rights.
America NEEDS China, economically.
That is why Janet, the top-ranking finance official in America, welcomed President Xi on the tarmac personally.
Note that both Janet and Gavin visited Beijing PERSONALLY to arrange the visit.
Both the tarmac welcome and dinner highlighted the conspicuous absence of the State Department. No more James Cook Hotel browbeating and public attempts at humiliating the Chinese contingent.
What’s the key here?
American corporations are suffering in the downturn and the captains of industry want guarantees from Joe that the situation with China will not deteriorate further. The chips they have on the table? 20–30 billion in election funding for 2024.
We can expect a freeze on escalation of the new cold war, but not a ceasefire. The militaries will resume direct communications, which is nothing more than “we’re continuing with the harassment, but we’ll inform you first, with your acknowledgement”. However, we can expect cabinet officials to either be gagged top-down or bottom-up, or instructed to be cordial and tone down on provocation. In other words, Gina et al. morphing back to friendly beaver mode rather than “feet to the fire” wolf warrior incarnation.
That’s the tone for 2024. I don’t believe Joe will repeat the “genocide determination” stunt next year, having committed to extravagant molly-coddling in San Francisco, amidst the sea of bipartisan support for playing the China card the corporate-sanctioned way.
Lobbying works, both ways.
This is why President Xi appeared relaxed throughout, almost as if he was on holiday, totally unlike the tense atmosphere in Anchorage, Alaska, back in 2021. People have short memories.
President Xi was being feted and courted, and he was only here after two years of intense US diplomatic efforts to re-establish ties torn down by the State Department, no less.
Crazy world, isn’t it?
Note: The welcome dinner also reassured the Chinese, and gave them the confidence to negotiate deals with the Fed. Corporate America’s turnout is the real deal, in a fiery red vs. blue battle to the death.
I’ll probably never be as successful as my dad and I’m perfectly OK with that.
If anything I’m proud of him. At one point he was overseeing a $50 billion annual budget as Undersecretary of Defense. The dude earned his Wikipedia page.
My father is also an excellent case study. He is certainly very smart. But it wasn’t like he was always the smartest guy in the room. In fact, he was keenly aware when he wasn’t. Yet many of my dad’s peers, who were smarter on paper, fell way short of his success.
Why? It’s mainly because of his people skills and his diligence. He is an excellent listener. He knows how to dial in and pick up on what is important. He is also conscientious and very ethical. He treats people equally regardless of their position.
I’d say if anything, my dad’s superpower is the ability to size people up quickly and judge their character.
He has a special distaste for self-serving people, which is probably because of his career with SEAL teams, where teamwork is a religion.
This is where many highly intelligent people fail. They lack the soft skills, the ability to relate with many types of people.
Cliche as it sounds, many gifted people also have an underlying arrogance they mask. Business textbooks are filled with case studies of executives’ careers being destroyed by pride. My girlfriend is a college professor and complains constantly about the incessant egos at academic conferences.
And to be fair, I can’t totally blame them. When a person is told from birth that they are brilliant, and their test scores affirm that praise, and they live in a world that prizes intelligence — it is probably hard to stay 100% humble.
No matter how talented you are, remember you are dealing with human beings in your career. Success isn’t a MENSA test. Soft skills matter—bigtime.
The U.S. should but it won’t and it can’t. The U.S. thinks like a racist, xenophobic superior white Caucasian nation that their neighbours should be kept as savage, poor, undeveloped nations that it can invade anytime it feels like doing. So they won’t help these nations. It is beyond them. People like Donald Trump can term them robbers and rapist so that he feels very good as the Aryan Superior. So the U.S. abused them instead of helping them.
Of course now that the Chinese decide to help them the U.S. will term it “Debt Trap” China will help to make these former Spanish and Portuguese stolen nations rich and successful.
Anyway they can’t help them. The spent all its money and resources in forever wars, war mongering, war financing, war orchestrating, chaos and coup tormenting. And barely have enough to help US homeless and poor. The U.S. own infrastructure were also 20 century relics and dilapidated beyond repair in the U.S. so they cannot help. Even if the wanted to they will set a thousand conditions including signing over their sovereignty to Uncle Sam.
She Can’t Answer This Simple Question About Marriage
My cat goes on a rampage when he wants to wake me up, knocking every conceivable item off of every flat surface until I finally give up on sleep.
He did it to me the other night. I’d fallen asleep on the couch and woke up to the familiar sound of the TV remote control hitting the floor, then the Roku remote.
I could just make out the little guy’s form on the coffee table through blurry eyes without my glasses. My smartphone was the next thing to hit the hardwood (I have a military grade case precisely for this reason), then he violently smacked a bottle of pills so hard they ricocheted off an end table and went spinning across the room.
Next he hopped onto the end table, upending a bag of restaurant tortillas and swiping my keys off. A water bottle went flying. I heard my vapor pen skidding in the opposite direction.
The little f—er is relentless.
(“Does it look like I’m judging you, human? Because I am.”)
If that doesn’t work — and sometimes it doesn’t, because I know giving in just emboldens him — and he runs out of things to smack and wreck, he’ll pad over to his litter box and start punching the cover flap with his paw because he knows it squeaks and it pisses me off.
He’s a super vocal cat too, so all this is accompanied by high-pitched trills like “RRRRRRRUUUUPPPP!” and “BRRRRRUUUU!”
And you know what the most ridiculous part is?
He’s not asking for food because he always gets a bowl of dry food before bed. He wants to hang out and snuggle and be buddies. I can’t be mad at him.
So yes, it’s pretty common for cats to wake their people up for no other reason than they want us awake, acknowledging them, or giving them scritches and affection.
It’s not always tied to more concrete requests like food, although sometimes it is.
You’ll also notice that cats have no regard for your sleep, but they’ll give you the feline death stare if you rudely interrupt their naps. Such is the pecking order in feline-ruled households.
It is possible to train them out of waking you, especially if they’re young. If your cat is a kitten then she’ll adjust to your schedule. If she’s an adult, well, good luck with that. You can break the habit, but you’re going to make sure you never give in or you’re just hitting the reset button by proving to her that if she makes enough noise, you’re going to get up eventually.
In that case, grab a package of earplugs off Amazon for a few bucks. Your brain will thank you for wearing them.
(“I am a sweet little kitty cat and none of these vile lies are true.”)
We were at an airport in Mexico, going through customs and immigration. Once your bag is xrayed you pick it up, and walk to this green button and push it. If the light above flashes green, which it almost always does, you proceed on. If the light flashes red, and the buzzer, buzzes, you get pulled into a side room and they go through your luggage thoroughly.
There was a huge line up. We had waited an hour to get to the X-ray machine. We were up next. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone from a culture that doesn’t believe in queuing, walking alongside the line, right up to the front, I actually stepped in front of him, so he couldn’t get past me, and his wife took the luggage and threw it on the X-ray conveyor belt. At this point I admitted defeat, and let them go.
They get through the x-ray, and push the button, in my place. It flashed red, and they were led off to a little side room, It would have been me, if they hadn’t barged into the line.
I waved to them as they were being led into the little room.
He is the manager of my neighborhood gym, a very rinky-dink gym.
He makes ~$35K per year. It isn’t terrible money. You can certainly live on that, but it isn’t great money in the US. His salary isn’t specifically why I have so much respect for him. It’s the context:
He was a big-time lawyer here in Tampa. He had a fancy degree and a job making huge money. He did it for 15 years. He had the respect of his peers, the fear of his opposition.
He was fully capable of continuing his relentless march as a litigator.
But he realized, “Nah – this isn’t the right life.”
He walked away – chose a low-stress job, managing this local gym.
When the end of the day rolls around, he goes home and work doesn’t chase him. He is free to indulge the rest of his life.
I see him 3-4 times a week while I sign into my gym. He is always in good spirits. Relaxed. Not troubled by some unseen threat that looms on his calendar.
We grow up. The people around us tell us they just want us to “be happy,” but at the same time, they are pushing this maximization mindset: maximize grades, maximize salary, maximize reputation, go, go, go.
You see plenty of people that maximize. You see plenty of people who don’t.
But how often do you see people who maximize and then walk away? Who goes from introducing himself as “Senior Counsel at XYZ” to answering calls, “Hello, ABC Fitness! How can I help you?”
It’s surprisingly rare. It’s hard to kiss the ring of ambition for so long and then drop it.
He’s a bit of a novelty in my life. On my bad days, I envision what it would be like to be him — that one guy who stepped through the paradox of happiness and ambition.
And although I suspect I don’t have the guts to do what he did, walk away, I have a surprising amount of respect for a guy who is capable of so much, yet aspires to so little.
He did it his way. And he’s happy. Does anything else really matter?
A girl I quite fancied took me to meet her parents for dinner – which turned out to be lasagne. The only prior experience I’d had with lasagne had been at school, many years before – about a millimeter thick, cooked in trays half a mile wide, with about 50p’s worth of ingredients and left to dry out under a heat lamp for a year. 🙁
But I had to be polite.
“I’m not very hungry,” I said. “just give me a little.”
Turns out that lasagne cooked by an Italian mother was rather different to the filth churned out at St. Mary’s. So I asked for seconds
In the 1980s, state law in Florida required that all public high school students take a one-semester class called Americanism vs Communism, or AVC.
The State-approved AVC textbook can be summed up this way:
“Rah rah rah! We’re #1! America, fuck yeah! We won WWII and saved Europe and Russia! America is the best at everything! Woohoo! Look at how amazing we are! America, go us!”
Like, seriously, it was embarrassingly bad. We’re talking Soviet-Union-textbook bad. If George Orwell included a page from the AVC textbook in Nineteen Eighty-Four, critics would be all “nah, bro, too unrealistic.” You wouldn’t think it’s possible to fit so much cringe into one book.
I cannot fathom the degree of insecurity that went into passing the law that required teaching this class in schools.
Fortunately, I lucked out. My high school teacher, a WWII vet and survivor of the Bataan Death March, hated and loathed the class requirement and textbook with every fiber of his being, and made that very clear on the first day of class.
He refused to teach from the book at all. He told us point-blank “The state requirement for this class is complete propaganda bullshit. As far as I’m concerned, this is a class in Russian history, and that’s how I intend to teach it.”
He made his own teaching materials for the class and it rocked.
China has already stopped investing in U.S. Treasuries.
Since the beginning of the Ukraine War, China has been selling its Treasury holdings. As of October 2023, it continues to hold about $820 billion of U.S. Treasuries. This is a reduction of about 18% in one year.
Russia previously sold all its U.S. Treasury holdings, after the United States began to sanction it in connection withe Ukraine War. In about 2017, Russia encouraged the world to do the same.
At the same time, the Federal Reserve is selling the U.S. Treasury Bonds that it purchased during covid.
The combined actions of Russia, China and the Federal Reserve are driving down the value of U.S. Treasury Bonds. In the past six months, the value of 30 year bonds has fallen by about 50%. This raises interest rates in the United States, because the U.S. government must pay more to borrow.
The higher interest rates have greatly limited America’s options, financially. Housing prices are poised to fall, due to higher interest rates. Even worse, interest payments on the U.S. national debt have doubled. Interest payments will soon exceed what the United States spends on national defense. Thus, as you can see, the tactics of Russia and China have limited America’s ability to fight wars. We are seeing just the beginning of the cycle.
Your question is — will the United States face a financial crisis?
The answer is yes. If the United States (a) continues printing dollars, and (b) continues supporting a violent response to conflicts in the world, two things will happen:
The planet will refuse to work with the United States during America’s foreseeable crisis; and
The U.S. dollar will collapse, due to continued printing and the planet’s rejection of the dollar.
The collapse of the dollar will be devastating in the United States, because American society is dependent upon cheap gasoline and cheap imports, which will no longer exist in the United States.
The United States imports 28% of its crude oil. This leaves the United States vulnerable to a falling dollar. Contrary to popular belief, the United States is not “energy independent,” and remains vulnerable. The United States imports 5 million barrels of crude oil per day more than it exports. That is a lot of oil that won’t be coming into the United States when the dollar falls. In addition, President Biden foolishly sold decades of oil stored up by the WWII generation in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. America is not ready for the foreseeable crisis coming to its shores.
Expect riots and shortages in the United States. If Biden continues to pursue violent solutions to global conflict, those wars will return to the United States when the dollar comes down. The American people will be fighting over limited resources. There won’t be any jobs in America, when the shopping malls close.
Normally the work product belongs to the company, not the worker. In the early days of solid state circuitry, my BIL developed much of it. Although his name is on the patents, the company owned them.
I was an independent contractor managing HOAs. ( Also a lawyer). I started by managing my own while my kids were preschoolers. It ran very smoothly so no one ever wanted to be on the Board until crazy ass lady and her group of idiots came on. True nut cases. One insisted on judging the Holiday decorating contest, then picked her own house as winner. One shot my dog. Board meetings were like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”.
The Board was 3/3, three humans, three horses asses. When one human was on vacation, the three asses called a special meeting and “ terminated “ me. Now they knew I would just sue them on my 2 year contract so they made paying me for another 18 months conditional on me delivering all the Assn documents and computer data on fees, violations etc on discs within five days. This belonged to them.
I was happy to get out of the nut house. The Assn owned the file cabinets. I just put them on a dolly and walked them to a Board member’s house and left them. I downloaded all the data in computer language and gave them the disks.
Problem was, I used a program I bought that was made by a company that had gone bankrupt. It was a great program. Totally unavailable for purchase anywhere. But I had no duty to give them my program. The computer disks were useless. The finances were also kept on a very old edition of an accounting program. I had no duty to provide them with my copy. The financial disks very useless to them without paying a few thousand for the program. It was a very specialized program used by CPAs
They spent a fortune going through old files and bank statements and quarterly financials to recreate payment records etc. And, I had fulfilled my duties. I got the next 18 months of my contract paid. They also received a cease and desist letter from me. The Assn ‘s original documents had a problem and no lender would loan on a house without a document called a Subordination agreement. Only a lawyer can write one. I always wrote them. No cost. It was my own HOA. But the first time they copied one on a new sale, I hit them with a cease and desist letter and reported them to the Bar for the unlicensed practice of law. So then they had to pay a lawyer for the next 150 or so documents. Lawyers are not free.
So, what the employer owns and what the employee owns is a mixed bag.
I was in an elevator on a cruise ship. Some wiseacre saw my polka-dot suspenders.
He smirked, “Nice suspenders. You from Wisconsin?”
I replied, “No. Ever since my cancer surgery, I can’t wear a belt.”
His smirk instantly evaporated. The elevator doors opened on my floor, and I got out.
Soft tissue sarcoma caused by Agent Orange in Vietnam, They took out 1–3/4 pounds of me from my groin to my beltline. It left a notch where a belt would sit, so I can’t wear a belt comfortably.
Two years back, I was on a road trip on my bike to Meghalaya. While returning, as I was tired I was riding slowly. I was still some 70 miles away from home, and it was already dark. On the highway, I saw a car parked and some people arguing. I rode past them, however before passing them I caught the sight of two women crying and eagerly looking through the front window.
I took a turn and came back to the spot. I saw four boys, around my age, were arguing and pushing a man of around 50 years old. Turns out, the family was returning from some function and lived in another town which was about 90 miles from mine. They were stopped by these four boys on bikes and asked them for some money. They started misbehaving when the old guy refused to pay. He asked his wife and daughter to stay in the car and got down to reason with them.
I heard the story from the old guy, while the boys asked me mind my own business and get the f**k off. I simply turned and started walking towards my bike. The man begged at me to stay and help him, and looked at the women in the back seat and felt their eyes pleading me to stay. But, I kept walking!
Here comes the twist! Now, during my rides I always keep a hockey stick on my bike. Bad luck for the guys who never knew this. They laughed at me, calling me names. One even said, “Yeah, keep walking you p***say.”
I took the hockey stick and came back running. The boys didn’t get time to react and I started beating them. The blows landed everywhere and I think two or more of them bled as well. I didn’t show them any mercy. Someone threw some punches and kicks at me too, but I had a more formidable weapon than them. Seeing me in action, the man also jumped in; his wife and daughter also got down and helped in whatever way they could. All beaten up and even not being able to stand properly, two boys somehow managed to run off on their bikes while the other two ran after them.
I told the man to start the car and keep driving, while I rode in front of him in case the boys decided to get help and chase us. When we entered the man’s town, we went to the police station and lodged a report. The daughter was smart enough to note down the bikes’ number plates. As it was very late, the man requested me to spend the night at their place. Once reaching home, the family thanked me for helping them. He wouldn’t even allow me to leave early next day, saying that he can’t send me off without a proper meal. Family, friends and relatives came to thank me for my heroism. I stayed for lunch and returned home.
To this day the gentleman calls me occasionally. He even invited me to his daughter’s wedding.
Now, let me tell you something. I’m not the brave person they take me to be. I was equally scared that night. I was terrified. It took me a lot of courage to do what I did. After this whole thing was over, I was so proud of it!
Companies Are Ditching Hiring Fresh Female Graduates
My grandparents were too poor to afford a private jet or a private helicopter, they had to rely on government programs like public roads to get by.
They couldn’t afford to hire private tutors for my parents, and so had to send them to public schools to learn to read and write.
As one might expect, this cycle of dependency continued: My parents also didn’t have a private jet or helicopter, and they also had to rely on government programs like public roads to get by. They also sent their kids to learn to read and write in public schools.
And here I am: made lazy by all this generational welfare, I’m not pulling on my bootstraps nearly hard enough to afford my own private airport. Like my parents before me, and my grandparents before them, I depend entirely on government programs like public roads (or worse, public transit!!) to get to work.
There is no means testing in place for using public roads, which leads to rampant abuse. I’ve seen people use them to go for a stroll, even though they could have afforded a treadmill. Not only that, but these type of government handouts kill any incentive for most people to get a private helicopter, they’d rather stay dependent upon the government provided public roads.
It’s truly a modern tragedy, with no end in sight.
Years and years ago, when I quit smoking, I found my temper would often flare up during the first few weeks of abstinence.
I worked at a remote branch office with a staff of six. One morning when I came to work early, something went “wrong” and I was so angry that I impulsively gut-punched my office door.
The door was hollow core wood; I punched right through it.
I admitted my foolish outrage to my office mates when they entered an hour later.
And little was said about it; I believe they were sympathetic with my situation, and supportive of my effort to quit smoking.
There matters laid at rest; nothing more said.
Until the office Christmas party, when staff from all branches and the headquarters office (over 100 souls) gathered at some central location for a cocktail party and most sumptuous feast. Everything paid for by the company as a treat to us. This was followed by after-dinner drinks, and the “awards ceremony.”
The awards ceremony was a production of the employees and was in the nature of a good-humored “roast,” drawing upon such amusing things as had happened involving any of them over the past year. Some of the recognition was by actual funny trophies which were passed from one recipient to another; others were unlikely objects constructed of broom sticks, hub-caps, old radios, or heaven knows what.
Because I and my cohorts were from the remotest branch, none of us received, or ever expected to receive, recognition at this ceremony. We had our OWN Christmas party, for that.
Thus it was quite a surprise, to me, when I saw that my associate, Greg, was called upon by the master of ceremonies to announce the grand prize winner. He briefly described in very general terms the struggle of one individual to overcome a serious addiction. I was as curious as everyone else to know who, and to know the story. The room became very quiet, as the subject appeared to deviate from the laughable to the serious. The recipient was as yet unnamed.
Then a cloaked object was carried onto the dais, looking for all the world like a draped coffin.
With the words, “And the winner is, John Scott Geare,” the black drape was pulled away to reveal my actual office door, with a precise halo painted around its wound. Somehow, the damned thing had been spirited from our office, and carried the 60 miles to the party, unbeknownst to me.
And it became the stuff of legend.
You owe me half
Chick was only going out for a free meal. And he says…
Cajun Style Tip Roast
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
1 (4 pound) tip roast
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
Combine vegetables, spices and oil.
With a sharp knife make 8 to 12 deep V-shape slit pockets, stopping an inch from the bottom of roast. Fill the pockets with the vegetable mixture, reserving some to rub on top of roast.
Bake uncovered for 2 1/2 hours or until thermometer reads 140 degrees F for medium rare beef.
Serve with pan juices.
Nutrition
Per serving: Calories 391; fiber 1g; carbohydrates 2g, Protein 61g, Cholesterol 160mg; Sodium 509mg; Fat 14g (32% of calories from fat)
A number of years ago I worked for a large US company. My role was in sales (industrial product). In my third year, I was selected for management. As such, I was trained in recruiting and helped district managers hire talent.
I visited one district and held a recruiting fair and ultimately recommended 10 applicants to the manager. The manager had his own candidate and asked me to interview him. In my opinion, his choice was terrible. He did not have any of the qualities successful people in our business had. I told him this.
Jump ahead six months. I become the manager for that district. My predecessor had hired the guy I did not recommend and did not even call any of the 10 I recommended.
Within three months i had hired five new sales reps. Four did very well and stayed for years. One failed within six months. The one that I did not recommend? I had to let him go due to poor performance and poor attitude. When I told him I had to let him go, he held onto my desk and told me he really did not want to be fired and would not leave the office. He would continue to come to work. It took several hours to convince him that he was not a good match for our industry. I continued to pay him for one month as he searched for another job.
Please don’t tell me I am mean and unfeeling. In my 30+ years of managing, I have supported many people in many different ways. The bottom line, if someone is not doing well in a job, it is usually because they are not trying or they are just in the wrong job. The latter is almost always the case. If you have a good, hard working person, try to find a different position in your company for him/her. That’s the mark of a good manager.
I first noticed this phenomenon with a guy named Dr.Layne Norton. Layne has a PhD in biochemistry. This man has forgotten more about the human body than I’ve ever learned, and I’ll have my Masters degree next month.
He’s an elite level powerlifter.
And a pro bodybuilder,
He also runs a youtube channel where he shares some advice on bodybuilding and powerlifting. I began to notice that the comment section was particularly toxic.
People were insulting this man’s intelligence, his personality, and his family.
I didn’t understand why. He seemed like a nice enough guy. Until I stumbled upon the answer.
One commenter said, “I’m sure you know what you’re talking about, you just seem arrogant though.” The comment had 100s of likes.
Scientists tend to speak in very absolute terms. Why? Because they’ve studied the shit out of whatever it is they’re discussing. And because they speak so unequivocally, people get turned off.
For example, I wrote an answer in which I said working out in the afternoon is best for muscle building and performance. The hormones and body temperature are in a better position to support a workout in the afternoon.
How do I know? I wrote a 20 page paper on this topic for school (supported by 30 peer reviewed studies).
Some guy told me that I was a liar. Why? According to him, testosterone is obviously highest in the morning… because men get morning wood…..
Like many have said, scientists have spent years studying a topic, and they’ve forgotten more about said topic than most will ever even hear. As far as I’m concerned, they’ve EARNED the right to be a little arrogant when it comes to their subject.
I was adopted at birth. From the time I was able to understand anything, my parents called me their Chosen Child and gave me a poem with that name. I was raised to feel special. When I was in 3rd grade, one of the spoiled little rich girls tried to make fun of me, saying mean things, like, my mother hated me and got rid of me so that I had to be taken in by strangers out of pity – really wicked thing for an 8-year-old to say. When she finally took a breath, I responded by saying that I KNEW my parents wanted me, they CHOSE me. Then I said “I bet you were an ax-i-dent!” and walked away. When I got home from school, my mother said she had gotten a call from that girl’s mother, wanted to know what happened, and asked me how in the world I knew what an “accident” was, laughing all the time! I was only 8, had no clue, but I had heard her talking on the phone when she mentioned a girl getting pregnant by accident. Obviously, she didn’t know I heard her or that I understood the gist of the conversation. She was laughing when she told daddy – and that was when I began hearing her say to her friends that “little pitchers have big ears” as she changed the conversation. I don’t know what a little pitcher is, and that may not be what she said, but that’s all that I heard before they started a new conversation!
If they said they would be home at a certain time and didn’t call to ASK if it was ok that they stayed out later, I would call the police. I give them 1/2 hour past designated time to call and if they didn’t answer 2 calls and 2 texts all done within 1/2 hour time frame, the police would be informed of how worried I am about their safety because it’s now an hour late with them not calling or answering multiple calls and texts. Let them deal with the cops questioning them about not contacting you or answering you. The cops will let them know you only concerned about their well being and they will also rip them a new one for informing you and also for leaving their child alone with a babysitter who is now upset that something had happened to them. Trust me, they will never do it again to any babysitter. I say any babysitter because after that, I would NEVER babysit for them again, even at 4x’s the amount of money.
This Creole pork sausage is an old local favorite dating back to the 19th Century, but Chaurice isn’t as easy to find as it once was. It would seem to have come to Louisiana with the Spanish, and was adapted to local custom and ingredients; the term is similar to the Spanish chorizo. It’s great with white or red beans, and good for breakfast too, with eggs.
Ingredients
4 pounds lean fresh pork, butt or shoulder
2 pounds fresh pork fat
2 cups onion, finely minced
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground red pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves, crushed
5 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
3 bay leaves, finely crushed
1/2 teaspoon allspice
3 yards small sausage casing (optional)
Instructions
Cut the pork at fatback into small pieces. Mix together and run once through the coarse disc of a meat grinder into a large bowl.
Add the seasonings and mix thoroughly until the stuffing is very smooth and well blended.
Make into patties, and use within three days or freeze.
Notes
You can also put chaurice into casings; make each sausage about six inches in length.
When he was 87 and slipping into dementia, I asked my father exactly this on one of his “good days.” He smiled and said that it had been worth it, even when he became the last of his siblings alive and started to lose his ability to remember names, first, and other things later.
He became a very gentle person to be around (he had been an angry and argumentative Democrat for most of his life) and enjoyed his children, grandchildren, and even their pets. We got along better than we ever had. I remember taking him to the Fourth of July parade and whispering the names of people who came up to greet him. Once he knew their names, he could have a great conversation. Then I brought him back to a school reunion and that was wonderful. He needed no introductions as everyone wore a name tag.
Having watched my father in those years, I hope that I may live long enough to navigate old age just the way he did despite his obvious infirmities.
I’ve worked with the company I’m presently employed with for not quite 12 years. Up until a year ago, we were a small personable, easy going, family owned company of about 250 drivers. If you were around for any length of time, everyone in the office and shop knew you, and vice versa. That was up until about a year ago when the owner of the company retired and threw us under the bus by selling us out to a larger company and everything changed.
It’s common practice for just about any trucking company to require any damage to their equipment be reported and documented. With my company, if the damage was minimal, the report would still go in the driver’s jacket, but no further. It would stay in-house instead of being reported to a national data base.
I’ve always been the type to man-up in situations such as this. I was raised that way, and it was the right thing to do. Even leaving small damage unreported could result in the next driver having to have it repaired and possibly being late for a delivery.
So, after pulling out of a customer’s driveway and cutting it too tighly, I felt something go bump in the night. Upon further inspection, it appears I clipped one of those large landscaping rocks placed to prevent idiot drivers like me from cutting corners too tightly, and running over their curbs. When I stopped for the day and was doing my mandatory post-trip inspection, I came upon this,
Thinking it was no biggie, and my company would normally think likewise, and wanting to do the right thing, I called it it. What happened next was nothing short of a shit storm. The new people acted like I ran over a carload of nuns. Initial phone call to my parent company, followed by a call to the new company’s safety department, followed by a call-back the next day from same, followed by submitting pictures and a full accident report, followed by a call-back from the new company to review of same, followed by a never-heard-of-before-review from Greg in our safety department.
When I related the story to the former head of our . safety department, her reaction was, “It was just a fuckin’ rim!”, as she shook her head.
Trust me, if it ever happens again, I won’t think twice about going palms up with a “Dunno nuthin’ ‘bout it. When I dropped it off, it was fine “, should anyone inquire.
I was driving down the freeway and all of a sudden I couldn’t see the cars ahead of me. It was if someone had pulled a shade down in front of my line of vision. I could see all around the shade, but not right in front. Although it was only for a few moments, the terror I felt was devasting.
I was a 21-year old college student, a senior at academically prestigious school, getting good grades, working part time, and enjoying a fun social life.
So, what was the matter? Where did the intense headaches come from? Why did I frequently wake up in the middle of the night, jumping out of bed and running to the bathroom, to vomit repeatedly? Why did I feel that I was about to fall down whenever the sidewalk was a little uneven?
Then there were those crazy nightmares I was having.…. I dreamed one night that I was driving on the freeway. The car next to me pulled up right beside me. The driver pulled a gun out. He shot me in the head. My head exploded. Everything became dark. I woke up in a terrified sweat. What on earth was wrong with my head that I would have such a dream?
In spite of everything, I was doing okay and maintaining my studies. But finally it became too much for me to handle. Especially the shade covering my eyes on the freeway.
I saw several doctors. They said I was fine.
I went to a psychologist. I figured that since the doctors said I was fine, it must be all in my mind. The psychologist listened to my symptoms. He said that I didn’t need to see a psychologist. Instead, I needed to see a neurologist and he urged me to see one right away.
I took his advice and went to a neurologist. The neurologist admitted me to a hospital. Still no answers. Many tests were done, but it was during the days before C-T scans or MRI’s were used, so it was hard to figure this out. Finally a diagnosis was made: brain tumor.
Surgery was scheduled. They operated for 10 hours, and were able to remove half of the tumor. The surgeon told me the tumor was the size of a large orange and that if I hadn’t been diagnosed when I was, I would have had 6 months left to live. It was just taking over my whole brain and growing so fast.
I was in intensive care for 2 weeks. I can’t remember too much about that time. It seemed like a dream, for just a few hours.
Then, more surgery. And then some more.
I lost the ability to walk. I couldn’t see very well. I lost hearing. I was fed intravenously. Because I had stroke-like symptoms, one side of my body became weak and uncoordinated. I no longer could hold a pen and write.
I had physical therapy and occupational therapy to regain some of the skills that I had lost.
I finally left the hospital and went home to live with my parents. The tumor was not all gone, but I needed a break. I needed time to get stronger before the next onslaught of surgery.
While I was home, I had physical and occupational therapy at a nearby hospital. I still couldn’t walk or write, but I was beginning to feel better. In physical therapy I worked on learning to walk with a walker and then eventually on my own. In occupational therapy I worked on strengthening my very weak hand. I did many activities with my hands, including making some beautiful crafts. Occupational therapy was so much fun! I loved therapy.
I went back to the hospital and had the last surgery. Finally the tumor was gone. After some more time had passed I felt that maybe it was time to return to school.
Living on my own again was not easy. I still couldn’t walk or write well. But I persevered. Sometimes I fell down. I used a tape recorder during lectures since I couldn’t write fast enough to take notes, and my professors gave me extra time to write exams. With the support of my family and professors, I did well and succeeded.
As graduation approached, a brilliant idea occurred to me. I remembered the great time I had in occupational therapy, and how I had been helped so much. Maybe I too could become an occupational therapist. I thought of how wonderful it would be to spend my life helping others just like I had been helped. I decided that yes, I would try, and so I applied to a master’s degree program in occupational therapy.
There were many more applicants than spots available, but much to my delight I was accepted into the program!
The program was so difficult and very competitive. But I worked hard and after two years became an occupational therapist.
That was 40 years ago, and I am still going strong. I have worked with literally thousands of patients during my career, from little 1-pound premature babies all the way up to 103 year-old patients in nursing homes, and everything in-between. I have loved every minute of it.
Occupational therapy is a flexible career with an abundance of interesting and meaningful jobs available. During my career, I traveled the world, met and married my husband, gave birth to and raised two beautiful children, and enjoyed my life!
I turned what could have been a terrible, frightening experience into something really wonderful.
My sister-in-law once called me to borrow my fax machine. This was in the days before most people had computers and internet. She had a very important document that had to be faxed to a company showing proof of payment.
I took my fax machine to her house that night, hooked it up, walked her through the simple instructions and left.
She called me at work the next day in a panic. She said she had tried to send her document several times and it would not go. This was important, and she needed it sent right away. I was getting off early that day so I agreed to go by her house and help her with it.
When I arrived I checked the machine and connections and everything seemed fine. I told her to send it again so I could see what was going on. She did everything correctly and at the tone hit Send. The fax machine pulled the paper through and indicated a successful receipt at the other end. My sister-in-law grabbed the paper as it came back out of the machine and said, “See. It doesn’t go, it just spits it back out.” My jaw hit the floor. It turns out she thought the actualpaper was being sent over the phone lines.
After I explained the concept to her, I let her know that this story would be told at every family get together for the rest of my life. It is now firmly a part of the family lore and enjoyed by each successive generation.
My sister-in-law fortunately took it in stride. She declared it her worst blonde moment and laughs as hard as anyone when the story is retold.
P.S. My sister-in-law did call the company still to confirm receipt. They told her they had four copies and that was absolutely sufficient.
Close? I accidentally found out I was going to be demoted which lead to me quitting.
In my 20s I worked at one of those places that made huge cookies, I was specifically hired by the manager to be the assistant manager, she’d worked with me as a key holder at another place so she knew I would be good at it. A few months after I was hired the owner sold the business.
One day I was hanging out with the Manager L when she got a call from one of the kids at cookie shop. “Hey L, the owner is in here with some chick he says is the new Manager, what’s going on?”
Too bad L had no answers for her, we had no damned idea what was happening. She and I jumped in the car and headed to the cookie shop to talk, in person, to the owner.
Sure enough, he was demoting L into Assistant and me into just a regular employee. Neither of us had done anything wrong, the new owner just planned to make this new lady a manager. He told us a bunch of BS saying she had experience bla bla… but we found out later she was actually just his girlfriend. We told him how messed up that was, and that both of us would quit if he planned to do this. He was unrepentant, even gaving us the whole “I’m sorry you feel you need an apology” line.
She and I looked at each other, got up and walked away.
Apparently he truly didn’t understand what had just happened because when he saw the kid who called us changing the schedule he was confused. When he was told by her we had just quit, he was completely stunned and didn’t understand why we would have done that. Dude, we literally told you to your face that’s what we’d do if you demoted us for no reason other than to put someone else in as manager, WTF did you think would happen?
Turns out the girlfriend was horrible as a manager, and the owner ended up folding in a few months. Funny how that happens when you take actions that force the people with a clue out, and put someone clueless in just because you are dating them. The two of us were the ones who knew how to run the store, knew how to run the fundraising side, which is where most of the money was made. He screwed himself by being an idiot.
Cajun Butt
Yield: about 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
1 (6 pound) boneless pork butt
15 to 20 garlic slivers
3 tablespoons red pepper flakes (or less)
4 tablespoons yellow mustard
3 tablespoons Tony Chachere’s Original Seasoning
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Cut 15 to 20 slits 1 inch deep on external surface of pork butt. Press one garlic sliver into each slit with thumb, to bottom of slit. On top of each garlic sliver, insert 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes in the slit. Pinch slit closed.
In a bowl, mix mustard, Cajun seasoning, brown sugar and black pepper. Mix well and apply to pork butt. Lightly dust with a coating of red pepper flakes.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Smoke-cook using apple and hickory chips on a covered barbecue pit off the heat for 1 hour per pound or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F.
Perhaps one of the most effective improvised weapons was the Rhino tank. An ordinary tank – usually a Sherman but with improvised steel teeth welded to the front.
In 1944 just after D-Day the Americans, Canadians and British troops were getting held up in the ‘bocage’ countryside of Normandy. Bocage consisted of high hedgerows built on thick banks of earth. This environment proved ideal for German ambushes, providing plenty of defensive cover. It also meant that the Germans could pick off tanks because they would be funnelled down the lanes, or forced through the narrow gaps in the bocage hedgerows. The Germans knew exactly where the tanks would come through and could lay anti tank mines, or train their guns on that exact spot. If the tanks tried to avoid the gaps and instead drive over the top of bocage embankment, it was so steep that it would expose the thin underside armour. Allied tanks were getting wiped out. Until this man, Sergeant Curtis G. Culin had an idea.
When one of his fellow soldiers joked and said they needed a big set of teeth to bite their way through, Culin didn’t laugh but took the idea seriously. He welded some of the steel that the Germans had used as tank traps to the front of his tank, like this.
The teeth allowed the Sherman to burst straight through the hedgerow, surprise and then destroy any Germans waiting in ambush on the other side.
When General Omar Bradley saw what Culin had done and saw how his tank was able to smash its way though the bocage hedgerows, the General ordered that as many tanks as possible be fitted with this improvised weapon. The Normandy beaches had been filled with landing spikes which were conveniently just the right shape and type of steel to make the ‘teeth’.
This simple but effective innovation enabled the Americans to swiftly move on and cut off the Cotentin Peninsula and then move south and meet up with the British and Canadians cutting off the Germans in the Falaise Pocket.
I bought the house we are in now exactly 10 years ago in “as is” condition. In fact this was the entire listing:
“Seller and agents make no representations and warranties. Sold as is.”
The house is in a fairly upscale suburb, and was about 15 years old at the time. There was plenty of cosmetic damage — water damage on the hardwood floors, a filthy kitchen, holes in some drywall, a half-full leaky pool clogged with algae. Plus the interior and exterior were just sad looking, with ugly brown paint and outdated stained oak stairs.
But the funny thing was that no matter how carefully I looked, I could not see any actual serious problems. In fact, it was a bank repossession, and I eventually figured out that since it looked so bad they just assumed there were real problems, and they listed it the way they did to avoid any liability. Over 100 people looked at the house, and we were the only ones who put in an offer, and we got it way (way!) under the asking price, which is rare in Toronto.
I was planning on doing a full renovation anyhow, so I didn’t care about the drywall and flooring. The entire kitchen went in the dumpster. And for $600 we repaired the pool, and it worked perfectly.
I’ve been here for 10 years now and we have not had a single serious problem with the house.
I am sitting outside Quoraing this morning and I took this picture 60 seconds ago:
When you can’t destroy a target by dropping bombs vertically, you can drop them horizontally. That’s what the 617 Royal Air Force Squadron did in May 1943.
The squadron carried out Operation Chastise, designed to destroy German dams and hydroelectric power stations. Reconnaissance and simulated bombing runs revealed that bombs dropped vertically on top of dams were not effective. So instead, the RAF used an experimental bouncing bomb, designed by Sir Barnes Wallis, that was dropped at low altitude onto the surface of the reservoir and skipped along the water horizontally until it hit the face of the dam.
The strategy proved effective. “The Möhne and Edersee Dams were breached…Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more were damaged. Factories and mines were also either damaged or destroyed.”
Lancaster bomber dropping bouncing bomb during the Operation Chastise raids on Germany’s Ruhr Valley.
The operation was later the subject of the movie Dambusters, released in 1955.
I remember seeing a girl, her parents were millionaires due to a massive inheritance.
She would try and talk about her “Working class background” how the struggle was real.
One day she was telling me how her parents only bought her a brand new mini when she passed her test and how that went to show how much her family had struggled. One of her school friends got a brand new Range Rover.
I listened to that thinking “My Mum couldn’t have afforded a driving lesson let alone a car”
My sister’s daughter and her husband were about to lose their house in Texas because neither of them had jobs, they had one very young daughter and were expecting another baby. My 80 year old mother couldn’t stand to watch this happen. So, she took out an equity loan on her house and lent them $100,000. They were supposed to make the equity payments for my mom, and at first they did and were supposed to pay the whole loan back when they sold their house.
A few months later, they sold their house but told my mother they needed her money as a down payment on their new house in california. So, they kept the money, and continued making the monthly payments until they had a big fight and split up. Suddenly, no one wanted to make the payments on my mother’s equity loan so my mother had to. If she couldn’t keep up on them, she would have lost her house.
She is now 85 years old, completely disabled, living on a tiny pension, and trying to pay off this loan. Since my niece split with her husband, they did not make payments on their house either. So, it went into foreclosure, and Mom cannot even put a lien on it to get her money back.
Needless to say, I am truly disgusted by my niece’s behavior as well as her husband’s. I have now sent my mother money; my sister has sent her money, and another one of my nieces has sent money. The only people in the family who do not seem to feel terrible about this are the two people who should.
When i decided not to break up with my boyfriend at that moment.
I had just joined post graduation course and found this guy who was extremely caring about me. Within a month, he proposed me. I was confused however i said yes.
We use to talk, study and laugh together. However even after six months, i was not sure about our relationship.
AND Here comes the blow. He was back to his hometown. He was ill since a week. Meanwhile, i had a introspection round with my roommates. I found i was still unsure about our relationship. So i decided, on the next call, i will tell him that this is not the right time to fall in love etc., we should be friends only.
He called me around 8 PM. I was full prepared to say him a No. As soon as i picked the phone, he was crying on the other side. He was suffering from a fatal disease, Meningitis. I could not gather courage to leave him at this crucial moment. I just said, “I am with you today and always. No matter what happens.”
He was not in position to join college. His parents was insisting him to leave the college and repeat next time. He refused and joined the college next month. He had not recovered fully. In fact, he lost his hearing power around 40%. When he came back, he told me – how my words motivated him to join the college again. I took care of him. I used to call him reminding his medicines, diets etc. Meanwhile, i actually fell for him and then never told about that breakup thought.
Today, i am happily married with him.
P.S. I do not want my husband to know about my breakup thought even today. He is on quora. So i am writing anonymously.
I visited a radio station for an interview, at the station manager’s request. At the time I was somewhat “known” as a pleasing radio “personality” and therefore many stations wanted to talk to me.
Part of the interview process includes a station tour where the owner or manager shows off their office, production facilities, etc.
But at this particular station, I noticed all the shelved albums (well over a thousand) were locked in place by a steel bar which prevented their removal from the shelf, unless the bar was unlocked.
But who the Hell would steal the records? During business hours, when the station was open, advertisers or promoters might come in, but they were always accompanied by station staff, so visitors couldn’t steal an album (or even a 45). So, when the doors were locked after 5 PM, who did that leave as a potential thief?
Answer: the DJ who was on air, and the news guy or gal. Sometimes, the sales manager might come in.
So, the owner of the station was paranoid about theft from his or her own people! I had worked at a number of stations, and had never seen a lockdown of the music library. It had to mean that employees and top management were not happy with each other, and I was NOT going to work in that kind of environment.
Thus, I stopped in my tracks and said, “Thanks for the tour, but I don’t think this will work for me.” And I was out the door before anyone could say, “Huh?”
Years ago, I lived in an apartment in a two-family building. Upstairs and downstairs.
The landlord had rented the downstairs to a woman and her three teenage kids. They were obnoxious, had fights constantly, played music so loud it literally shook the walls, and despite multiple complaints by other neighbors to the landlord and the police (because yes it was that bad), nothing was done.
While technically, landlords are supposed to do snow clearing after a snow fall, getting some landlords to do so in a timely manner is more effort than digging out the snow yourself. This was one such landlord.
That winter we had a bad snow storm, a few feet of snow.
The downstairs neighbor knocked on my door to ask when I, the older woman with no kids, would be shoveling out the apartments and driveway, all of it, by myself.
I told her I wouldn’t, but we could split the cost to have someone come over and do it since the landlord was extra full of excuses as to why it would take days to get to the property and do so.
She laughed and said she wasn’t paying. She then told me I was welcome to hire her 3 kids to dig out the entire property. Her kids were a big part of the problem as to why the cops were coming over constantly, and so no. I’d previously had problems with her children opening my mail and putting it back in my mail box or opening deliveries of mine. There was no way I’d pay them.
Oh hell no, first you expect someone older than you to do the work for free, then expect that I will pay your kids, who are apparently perfectly able to do so, to dig YOU out? Fuck that.
A friend’s husband was offering to dig people out for a reasonable rate. I contacted him and hired him. When he got there, I explained the neighbor issue and what I wanted and was willing to pay for. He was only to clear out MY half of the driveway/garage/sidewalk. Her sides were still untouched, because no one(Me) would pay her kids to do it.
He went the extra mile, splitting the snow between the yard, and her side, of everything. AKA her side ended up with more snow that needed to be cleared.
This level of petty
Picture from Google.
She complained to the landlord that:
1. I refused to shovel her side of the property for her and her family (I was not obligated to do ANY property maintenance at all)
2. I had refused to hire her kids to do it
3. I had hired someone and refused to pay him to clear her side.
Now this was a kinda shitty landlord, but still… I was amused that the landlord contacted me about it and agreed to reduce my rent the amount I paid to have MY side cleared, as well as tell me about the downstairs neighbor’s complaints about me.
Until I moved out, whenever there was snowfall, you would see a similar clearing pattern on the property. SO much so the other neighbors joked about it, and refused to hire her kids to clear their properties as well.
EDIT: Apparently there are a large number of people who feel the need to comment about how she could just use my side of the stairs as if I lack a functioning brain. Seriously, the level of condescending ‘splaining in the comments is a sad statement on so many here. Thanks all you Captain Obvious’.
Of course she could, as could the postal worker who had to use them to deliver mail(Something not one of those commenting about her using the stairs seemed to consider).
Her being able to use them or not wasn’t the point. So many of you making the same comment as if the more of you who say it, the more I will regret it, or as if I didn’t realize that years ago when I did it is mind-boggling.
For those clueless ones that feel the need to comment the obvious, you all missed the obvious point that it wasn’t about her use of the stairs, but the refusal to clear her side on her command.
My partner (not my husband). My mother had been really sick from cancer for 18 months, we were told that she was unlikely to make it past the weekend. With that being said I was completely distraught… my partner of 9 years said pack your stuff and leave first thing in the morning (400km drive). He woke me up at 430 am, had already packed the car and fueled it up for me. Had a travel mug of coffee ready and said call me when you get there. I left 5am Friday morning.
mum passed 8am Saturday morning (the next day). I called my partner and told him, he said I’ll move heaven and hell to get there as soon as I can. I said, don’t worry, there is nothing you can do, just be here in time for mums funeral (the upcoming Friday).
in the mean time, it was my birthday 4 days after mum had passed. My family tried to make it as special as it could be. But, it was quite a somber occasion. At 8pm, there were headlights at the top of the drive way (rural property). I know the sound of his car. I’m like it’s *partners name.
he had worked 12 hour shift (construction) then drove 400km to be with me in my darkest time to help me feel better on my birthday. In the days after mums passing I had not been able to sleep, or cry or anything but just barely function. I slept solidly that night.
I know most would say that or like to think their spouse would do the same. But, that level of love and support got me through my darkest days. Love this man so very much.
Unfortunately, this is the point. The U.S. is not filty rich but filty poor.
All those money for Ukraine and Israel we got by using the printing press. We’re now $33 trillion in debt.
We can’t pay for basic utilities to keep our house in order but we believe we’re still able to live the high life of showing off to the rest of the world how powerful we are.
Genghis Khan, the legendary Mongol conqueror, had a unique approach when it came to treating his soldiers. Known for his strategic brilliance and military prowess, Khan understood the importance of a strong and loyal army in his quest to build the largest empire in history. So how did he treat his soldiers?
First and foremost, Genghis Khan believed in meritocracy. He valued skill, loyalty, and bravery above all else. Regardless of their background or social status, anyone who demonstrated these qualities had the opportunity to rise through the ranks of his army. This approach fostered a sense of unity and purpose among his soldiers, as they knew that their achievements would be rewarded.
Khan was also an astute observer of human nature. He recognized that soldiers needed to be motivated and inspired to fight with unwavering dedication. To achieve this, he led by example. Genghis Khan was renowned for his courage on the battlefield, often placing himself at the forefront of his troops during crucial engagements. This not only boosted morale but also instilled a sense of camaraderie and trust among his soldiers.
In addition to leading from the front, Khan took great care of his troops’ physical well-being. He ensured that his soldiers were adequately fed, equipped, and cared for. The Mongol army was known for its skilled horsemen, and Khan prioritized the breeding and training of horses to provide his soldiers with superior mounts. This gave them a significant advantage in maneuverability and speed during battles.
Furthermore, Genghis Khan implemented a system of rewards and recognition for valorous acts. Soldiers who displayed exceptional bravery or achieved notable successes on the battlefield were given honors, titles, and even land. This not only motivated his soldiers to excel but also created a sense of pride and camaraderie within the ranks.
However, Khan was also a strict disciplinarian. He demanded discipline and obedience from his soldiers, as he believed that a well-disciplined army was crucial for maintaining order and achieving victory. Disobedience or betrayal was met with severe consequences, ensuring that his troops remained loyal and committed to the cause.
Woman EXPOSES The INEVITABLE Problem With Dating Modern Women | TRAINED/GROOMED To Be Masculine
I was in talks to design a business plan for one of those “Become a Millionaire” guys – aka a “Life Coach”.
As we moved along in talks I immediately got the heeby jeebies from the guy.
He was in his late 50’s and only seemed to brag about things he did in high school and his early 20’s. When I would ask about subsequent years, just to understand his career narrative, he would get thin on details and then squirm and change the subject.
So then I watched a few of his media interviews where his go-to story was about this incredible and vivid vision that came upon him when he was a child. A vision that he would someday become rich.
To his credit, it indeed came true. He was a wealthy man.
But it became true because he inherited his dad’s company when his dad passed away unexpectedly. He then immediately sold the company and spent the next 30 years doing a whole lot of nothing.
So now he is one of those people going around telling everyone he knows “that ONE special secret to getting rich”. He released his first book on becoming wealthy, which a bunch of unfortunate suckers bought.
And, no, I won’t tell you the title because he will sue the hell out of me.
But I’ll give you the cliff notes version, “Get rich by having a rich dad.”
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there that are like him.
Preying on people’s hopes and dreams in search of a dollar.
The American industrial system does not have such production capacity.
American shipyards do not have such production capacity: There is only a dry dock suitable for manufacturing aircraft carriers, and aircraft carriers waiting for repair are still queuing;
The steel mills in the United States do not have such production capacity: The last scandal involving the use of low-quality steel made in Kobe, Japan, by US nuclear submarines has not yet passed. This batch of nuclear submarines with quality issues cannot dive at all, and diving into deep water will explode due to increased pressure. American warships are even unable to withstand the impact of fishing vessels, which fully proves the quality issues of the steel used in their shipbuilding.
There are not enough skilled workers in the United States
20 And Back – The Super Soldiers Defending the Kuiper Belt
Joe Biden is taking the World to the brink of World War III
What can the American people do about it?
SQUAT
…
Until 19/1/2025 at least, there is nothing any American citizen can do about it except watch the World plunge into war under the watch of a senile idiot who needs Diapers
So what is the use of saying
Biden is destroying USA and he must be kicked out
It’s just empty gas isn’t it. It’s just 10 words at the end of the day. Biden laughs and keeps doing whatever he likes for four years, unchecked
…
Same with every Democracy in the Planet
At the end of the day – WHAT IS THE END RESULT OF ABUSING OR CRITICISING THE LEADER?
Nothing
Either the Media suppresses it or people shrug and brazenly keep doing what they are doing
…
Take India
We have had Protests on every decision that has ruined the country
Demonetization, CAA, NCR etc
They matter Squat
Once in, Modi is in power for minimum 5 years and he can’t be shaken by the common man
…
France?
Same story
All those Protests and Screams and Shrieks about Pension reforms and Macron did exactly what he wanted
He is in charge till 2027
…
Same with South Korea , exports plunge to historic lows and people scream and protest but does it matter? Nopes
Taiwan?
Japan?
Germany?
So many protests begging to end the war and Germany openly and brazenly calls for Escalation
So what is the use of this damn free speech? You can say the words but they are worthless in every possible way
Now China
Yes
Maybe in China, saying these 10 words could be counter productive
However the people’s voice in China is heard much better than in any democracy
Lockdowns were ended post protests
Rural Banking Reforms were initiated after Protests
Crackdowns on Real Estate Financing was initiated after Protests
1.03 Crore Jobs have been added due to vigorous Weibo Netizen criticism
Tagging Schoolkids Or regulating online gaming has been deferred due to Weibo online protests
Plus the Biggest Biggest Thing…
Recently on the XI Jingping app, they asked if Chinas History for 6–9 Classes be modified and whether Chapters on the Boxer Rebellion and the Opium Wars had to be reduced
The Question was asked of Students who had already passed out their 9th Grade and above
79% Students said NO.
DON’T CHANGE HISTORY
They didn’t.
…
In India, US, and all those wonderful democracies – they don’t ask the kids do they????
So on one hand you have Western Democracies and their lapdogs where you can say what ever you want but can do zilch
Or China where your criticism must be tempered but as citizens you can achieve much greater control on Governance
The Chinese say WE LIKE OUR MODEL BETTER
I kinda agree with them
So you keep your Senile Alzheimer’s Ridden President and your ‘Freedom and Democracy’ and let the Chinese have their own version
I think you might want to edit the question to ask which item from Italian cuisine does the US actually get right.
Italian American cuisine is a cuisine in its own right. Millions of Italians immigrated to America and they adapted their traditional dishes to use American ingredients. Some of the ingredients they used at home were unavailable or too expensive in America, so changes were made. Successive generations didn’t know there was a difference between what they were eating and what was being cooked in the old country. They just accepted the food their families prepared as being Italian cuisine, which at heart, it is.
There’s a lot of water between America’s East Coast, the epicenter of Italian American cuisine, and the old boot herself. It’s that distance that led the creation of Italian American classics. If I had to point at one item the made the leap unmolested though, I’d name Sfogliatelle.
Sfogliatelle are a flaky pastry that originated in Campania. They’re made by rolling out dough, brushing it with lard or oil, rolling it up, cutting it into portions, shaping the pastry, filling it and baking. Sfogliatelle can be baked unfilled or filled with sweetened ricotta, almond paste or candied citrus zest. They’re simple to make and don’t call for any exotic ingredients. It’s the thin flakey layers that make sfogliatelle unique.
Ricotta filled:
If you’ve never tried these pastries, seek them out. They’re amazing and their recipe has not been molested by time or distance.
Life robbed me of my childhood. My parents had to quit school after grade 9 to help support their families. They vowed that my brother and I would not be barred from finishing school and going to University.
But we were poor, so they had no way to pay for it. So they propped me early. I knew by grade six that if I wanted to go to university, I would have to pay for it myself.
So in grade 8, I started mowing lawns and shoveling snow.
In grade 9 I got a part time job and worked 20 hours a week, in grade 10 ,30 hours, and grades 11 and 12 it was 40 hours. I graduated first in my class. I lived in a 10×14 ft room, with a roommate and the bathroom, was down the hall. I worked in the dorm cafeteria. When summer came I got a camp job, where I worked 360–380 hours a month, and they also paid room and board.
This was the way I graduated from university debt free.
So, as soon as I turned 13, I stopped having a childhood, and had an adulthood instead. So much for life being easy for baby boomers.
I’d do it all over again in a heart beat. Its what it took to break the cycle of poverty.
Because I am 71, I knew people who were in their prime of life a hundred years ago (1918) and there were definitely things that they did easily and routinely that are rarely done today:
Baking bread and caramel rolls. My grandmother learned it from her mother but did not pass it on to her daughters, probably because sliced store bread had essentially taken over.
Writing cursive and writing letters. I have saved some of my grandfather’s letters. For a person with an eighth grade education, he wrote simply but beautifully.
Sewing and mending. My grandmother was not wealthy, but she was capable of producing wonderful pajamas for all of her grandchildren on her trusty Singer. My generation has lost the ability to create heirlooms.
Gardening and canning the things they grew. In an era when you were not going to see fresh fruit or vegetables in stores after growing season, people developed great preservation skills. Things like pickles, berries, tomatoes were canned as were peaches and plums when in season. I do not remember kale or zucchini, however, and that was also a blessing.
Memory work. I grew up with great uncles and aunts (all born about 1900) who had memorized massive amounts of poetry and famous speeches as well as scripture. Rote learning was fairly normal in their education, so they did group memorization. We loved to hear their recitations.
I miss those folks. They just slipped away one at a time between the seventies and today.
This wasn’t me, this was my wife. She is a lawyer and was interviewing for a job managing the sale of properties. She was interviewing at a firm that specialised in really expensive and tricky sales and when she turned up to the interview she was told by the recruiter that the partners had told the last two people who were interviewed to leave midway through so they were quite abrupt!
She went to the interview, which went quite well, and they asked her to prepare an answer to a legal sale question. When she looked at it, she knew she had no hope: it was madly complicated and about a type of property sale that is known to be horrendous to do. She thought about trying to brazen it off and decided to be honest and say she had no idea.
It turned out the partners knew from looking at her CV she would have no idea about how to do it; it was something so complex the partner himself had had to do it himself. What they were trying to do was see how she reacted to something she didn’t know. The last two people interviewed had tried to make something up and so failed the test.
I was nowhere qualified as a computer tech but one time a friend of mine brought over a a desktop machine and keyboard and asked me to see if I could get it running as it wouldn’t boot up. Every time you’d plug in the power cord to the wall socket a strange odor would start permiating from the cover. I figured something was wrong with the power supply, which if push came to shove I could’ve probably went to an electronics supply store and bought another one and installed it. I was adept at soldering and replacing some common components at the time, which is why my friend thought that I could fix it.
Anyhoo, I removed the screws holding the cover to the unit, lifted the cover off and got the most absolute shock of my life!! Hundreds of live cockroaches start running out all over everywhere not to mention many more that were obviously dead inside that cover!
I came unglued along with a major panic attack! I’d never, ever had to deal with roaches after I became an adult. I despised them because while growing up my family and I always had a major problem with roaches and they were always into everything and would drop from the ceiling when you went into a room after turning on lights, etc etc etc.
I spent 2 hours stomping on and smashing roaches trying to prevent them from getting into places in my apartment where I couldn’t reach and in the long run wasn’t successful. Ended up moving out to get away from them making sure in the process that I didn’t inadvertently take any with me.
I was not happy with my friend. It caused a major, almost homicidal argument with him and it would be several years before we spoke again. The creepiness and ick factor of watching those roaches pile out of that machine that day still haunts me to this day.
Huawei refused to disclose its foundry information, sending the Biden team into madness.
Let’s talk about smart children. Particularly smart children in the United States. Particularly those in grades K-8 at a public school.
A lot of you reading this are, yourself, a product of the American public school system. Think back to your K-8 years. Do you remember people whose only job was to deal with the students with behavior problems? Were there “special education” teachers who had special classrooms with aides and all kinds of equipment for just a handful of students? Do you remember being bored a lot in school, because your teacher didn’t have the time to challenge you, because they were so busy re-teaching things to the students who didn’t get it the first time? Do you remember a handful of students who seemed to set the pace for the whole class, and that pace was much, much too slow for you? Do you remember a handful of students whose attitudes and behavior set the tone for the whole class? And was that a negative tone that left your teacher spending most of their time dealing with that small handful of students?
That was my experience, at least. In grades 4–8, I was one of about 20 students in a special gifted program in my school. But that gifted “program” was just two teachers who were given a spare classroom in five schools in the district, and they went to a different school every day of the week, and pulled out the gifted students from their classes for an hour, to play logic games with them.
One hour per week. That’s what we got.
Meanwhile, the students on the other end of the spectrum had resources thrown at them, including permanent classrooms with full-time teachers for students whose only “special need” was that they didn’t give a damn about learning.
I remember one incident in particular, when I realized just how much time my teachers wasted trying to get one particular student under control. His name was Anthony. One day, in seventh grade, we were learning about feudal Japan by playing a game where we were all on teams, given items to trade, and could use money we made to hire soldiers, and then there was a huge map of Japan on the wall, separated into regions, with the number of regions under each team’s control represented by different colored push pins.
My team started in Osaka. To this day, I know exactly where Osaka is because of this game back in 1992. I remember that we were the blue team, our main thing to trade was fish, and we began with five pushpin armies.
Also Judith was in my group, which made it even that much more enjoyable for me. She was forced to interact with me for a few minutes each day because of this.
It was a computer-less strategy game. I loved it. The game was supposed to last for a few weeks.
It lasted two days. On the third day, Anthony vandalized the giant game board, and some of his friends laughed. And that was it. The teacher was tired of putting in so much effort for something that students like Anthony just kept ruining. We did the rest of the unit, and every unit afterwards for the rest of the year, through textbook reading and worksheets.
But, as I thought about it, I realized that Anthony had been that way since he was first in my class in second grade. He was always out of control. He always set the pace and the tone for the class. In middle school, he got kicked out of class a lot, which just wasted a lot of time because he rarely went willingly and they had to call and wait for security. But he was always back in the class the next day. He just needed to “chill out.”
That was actually the name of the kick-out room for students like him: the “chill out room.”
I just Googled him and found a story that he was sentenced to six years in prison in 2004 for “domestic battery, drug possession, and forgery.”
Yep. All of that extra time, effort, and money the public school spent on him… how’d that work out?
That would be fine, if the public schools spent the same amount of time, effort, and money on the upper end of the spectrum.
My point is this: What’s the saddest truth about smart people? Public schools just aren’t equipped to deal with your special needs, because they’re too busy dealing with the special needs of students on the other end of the spectrum. The very people who have the most potential to give the most back to society are the same ones who school prioritizes the least.
Imagine a school system where every dollar spent on students on the lower end of the special needs spectrum had to be matched by a dollar for students on the higher end of the spectrum.
Imagine if, just like schools have resources in place for when the teachers need to kick out the Anthonys of the world, those same schools had resources for teachers to send out the students who were too smart for that day’s lesson.
“Timmy, you can read this and learn it on your own in five minutes, but I’m going to be teaching it to the rest of the class for the next hour. You can go to the gifted resource room and work with the teacher there on more advanced stuff.”
Imagine if, just as schools pay extra attention to students with special needs due to federal laws and fears of getting sued, schools did the same for students on the high end of the spectrum. Imagine if parents could threaten a lawsuit because the school wasn’t meeting the needs of their child… the legally-mandated requirement that the school challenge them on their academic level and not let their classmates hold them back.
Imagine how high your hot air balloon could be now, if not for the classroom sandbags that weighed you down when you were in school.
Instead of “No Child Left Behind,” it should be “No Child Forced To Wait.”
Gavin Newsom goes to China, one-ups Biden and meets Xi Jinping
“As a Californian, I can tell you that not only is Newsom not acceptable to the rest of America, California is not acceptable to the rest of America”.
It is likely that China will sell virtually all of its remaining U.S. Treasuries.
It is useful to look at Russia’s experience in this regard. Russia sold virtually all of its Treasuries in 2018, fairly quickly. At that time, Russia encouraged the world to dump U.S. Treasury bonds. Thus, it is possible for a country to officially not hold Treasuries.
After 2018, Russia continued to hold some foreign currency reserves in U S. dollars. When the Ukraine War started in 2022, the United States and its allies froze hundreds of billions of dollars held by Russia.
As a result, the world has been forced to look elsewhere to store its savings. Both China and Russia are storing much of their wealth in physical gold. Other countries are doing the same. The planet is also increasingly doing business in currencies other than the dollar.
As a result of these trends, China will increasingly no longer need U.S. Treasuries to do business. In October 2023, China bought its first oil for Chinese Yuan. If this continues, China will get its oil for free, by printing Yuan. America will be forced to trade hard goods for oil in the future.
America’s leaders were very short-sighted to weaponize the dollar. A global reserve currency requires trust. The United States had a money-making machine, and voluntarily gave it up.
FLASH TRAFFIC ADDED – TURKISH NAVY DEPLOYING 100 SHIPS AGAINST ISRAEL –~FIFTY (50) U.S. Military Transport Planes in 24 Hours to Middle East
FLASH TRAFFIC ADDED – SEE 12:27 PM EDT UPDATE BELOW —— From Friday-into-Saturday, the United States sent no fewer than fifty (50) military transport planes loaded with troops to the Middle East. In addition, the list below shows “unprecedented” naval deployments. Today, Iran said they WILL NOT abide U.S. warnings to stay out of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
We begin with Naval Deployments into the Middle East showing 11 Countries in Support of Israel:
All of the above, along with Submarines and other support ships show an utterly massive naval deployment. I am told this present deployment is larger than the ones done prior to the US war(s) against Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 1991 and again later.
In addition to all the above vessels, another Aircraft Carrier, the HMS Queen Elizabeth II, transited the Strait of Gibraltar yesterday morning around 11:00 AM, enroute to the eastern Mediterranean:
In addition to THAT additional aircraft carrier, the Navy of Italy is also now deploying vessels:
AIR
In the 24 hours period from Friday into Saturday, the United States flew 49+ military transport aircraft from the US to the Middle East, carrying TROOPS!
On top of those troop transport flights, a Significant number of C-17A Globemaster lll and C-5M Super Galaxy Transport Aircraft from the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command have been arriving in the Middle East.
The flight info above DOES NOT even cover the regular commercial airline flights the US has chartered to exclusively move troops!
Yesterday, Saturday 28 October 2023, Germany put 1,000 soldiers on alert for deployment to the Middle East in case of emergency The German Army keeps 1,000 troops on alert for possible deployment to the Middle East in case of emergency, given the prevailing tension in the region as a result of the war between Hamas and Israel.
This flight from Fort Sill, OK has my attention at the moment. Fort Sill is home to a THAAD battery and this flight appears to be headed overseas. There are no helpful ACARS for this flight, but this is possibly a THAAD battery flight enroute to Saudi Arabia:
At about 1:47 AM eastern US Time Sunday, which was about 11:00 AM in Tehran, Iran, the President of Iran said Tehran will not follow US warnings against interfering in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. According to the Press service of the President of Iran: “Israel has crossed red lines, forcing everyone to take action.”
The President made it a point to also say “the presence of U.S warships in the region will make no difference to Tehran’s decision.”
Hal Turner Analysis
Based solely upon the movement of ships, troops, and planes, it is obvious to me the United States is going to war. A big war.
Trouble is the federal government under the Biden Regime has intentionally left the US southern border with Mexico, virtually open. Literally millions of illegal aliens have been entering the country via Mexico since Biden took office.
It is my opinion that many – but not all – of these illegal aliens are a “5th Column” sent here by adversaries to be “sleeper cells.” I believe that when war erupts in the Middle East, that WE HERE IN THE USA will also be attacked by these sleeper cells.
YOU must be ready with emergency food, water, medicine, a generator to make electric in case the grid is taken down. Have CASH MONEY in your possession incase cyber attacks take out the financial networks, making credit, debit, and SNAP/EBT useless. After all, almost no one takes checks anymore. So folks with cash will eat. Those without cash will go hungry.
The utterly massive movement of troops and weapons indicates to me that hostilities are imminent. Which could — and I emphasize “could” (not necessarily “will”) — trigger sleeper cell attacks here in America.
If you wait until trouble starts, then YOU and every other person who failed to plan, will all be rushing to stores at the same time trying to get food and supplies. In short order, store shelves will be empty and those of you who took no action, will find yourself standing in an empty store.
Don’t be like “the masses who are asses” that wait until the last minute to get supplies. Do it right now. Today.
And gas-up your cars, trucks, and spare gas cans for your generator.
Lastly, have COMMUNICATIONS GEAR – a CB or a HAM (Shortwave) radio — so if things go wild weasel, and communications like phone, fax, email, cellular/Internet all go down, at least YOU will be able to communicate locally (CB) and hear international news on shortwave (HAM).
Of course, some of you will say that this story and its advice is sort of like “Chicken Little, the sky is falling.” To those who would scoff I merely point out that, this morning, a U.S. E-6 Nuclear Command Post is now flying over the US East Coast:
The E-6B Mercury is a communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft. It provides survivable, reliable, and endurable airborne Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) for the president, secretary of defense and U.S. Strategic Command.
So it isn’t just ME telling you to take steps to prepare, it’s the US Military, too. Take the hint!
(PERSONAL: Sorry my coverage today begins at this late hour of 11:00 AM EDT. I slept-in this morning. Didn’t wake up until 9:25 AM. I was literally exhausted.)
********** FLASH ***********
UPDATE 12:27 PM EDT —
The Turkish Navy is, right now, transiting ONE-HUNDRED Naval Warships through the Bosporus Strait from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
It is BELIEVED Turkey plans to engage Israel over its ongoing military action in Gaza. War may break out between Turkey and Israel within Hours! ! ! !
Unlike its better known relative, the Enigma machine which was infamously deciphered by code-breakers at Bletchley Park throughout the war, the Lorenz cipher posed a much greater challenge. Utilising 12 wheels to scramble up the message being sent as opposed to the 3 or 4 rotors found in the Enigma machine, the Lorenz cipher was incredibly secure. As a result, unlike the Enigma that was used by the German standard armed forces, the Lorenz cipher was used only by high command with messages coming from Hitler himself. As a result, to crack the Lorenz cipher (or Tunny as it was code named by the British) would have the potential to change the course of the war.
Not much headway had been made in breaking the Lorenz cipher through the war until a German operator made a catastrophic mistake on 30 August 1941. When a German receiving operator did not receive a message correctly, he asked the transmitter to resend the information and despite clear protocol against it, the two operators resent the message without changing their key settings (the settings that determine how the text is scrambled up). However since the message in question was 4000 characters long, the lazy German operator abbreviated several words, thus changing the length of the message. Since their key settings were both the same, the two messages had the same scrambling pattern of characters. Thus by comparing the locations where the message text changed, details of the way the rotors worked could be determined.
These two messages were intercepted by the British who soon realised the importance of what they had discovered. This task of cracking Tunny was given to W T (Bill) Tutte who began to find repetitions in the cipher which allowed him to reverse engineer the Lorenz machine’s logical structure in what would be later described as “one of the greatest intellectual feats of World War II”. In order to support the painstaking decryption of German messages, the British Colossus was built in 1943 by Tommy Flowers, the first ever modern computer.
The Colossus Machine
The impact of the decryption of Tunny was enormous. It gave the British intimate details of Hitler’s most secret communications which was most notably vital in D Day where the Allies were able to deceive the Germans that they were going to attack at Calais as opposed to Normandy and at the Battle of Kursk in 1943, Germany’s last ditch attempt to reverse their fortunes on the Eastern Front and one of the largest battles in history. Involving 3 million men, without foreknowledge of German planning provided by the British, the Soviets would have been badly prepared defensively and could have lost this crucial battle and as a result, the war would’ve been prolonged. In fact, historians estimate that the breaking of the Lorenz cipher shortened the war by two years and thus saved millions of lives all due to the careless mistake of two lazy German operators.
However this pivotal event is not well known due to the Official Secrets Act keeping the nature of the code breakers working to break the Lorenz cipher secret until 1974 and some former staff even today still refuse to break their vow of secrecy, preferring to take their knowledge to the grave.
W T (Bill) Tutte, the man responsible for cracking the Lorenz Cipher
Cajun Pot Roast
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 (3 pound) beef sirloin or chuck roast
2 large garlic cloves, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
3 cayenne chiles, or jalapeno chiles, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 (4 ounce) can whole or sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Creole seasoning to taste
Instructions
Cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch slits into beef. Stuff one piece of garlic and one piece of chile into each slit. Season the roast with salt and pepper.
Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add beef and brown well on all sides.
Add onion, bell pepper and minced garlic land sauté until tender.
Add water to pan to cover the beef.
Stir in the mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce and season with Creole seasoning.
Simmer, covered, for 3 to 4 hours or until tender, adding more water if needed to keep liquid level halfway up the beef.
Notes
You may stir 1 tablespoon flour mixed with 1 cup cold water into liquid near end of cooking for a thicker gravy.
I broke off a 10 year off and on relationship over a single piece of gum.
He and I weren’t on great terms for a long while. It was mostly out of his cheapness. He wouldn’t take me out to eat-we ate at his place. That wouldn’t have been bad except that he bought cheap items and used foods that had expired. I told him I wasn’t eating his cooking anymore, thank you. We watched TV but only shows he liked-he didn’t want to waste his time on my shows. I could watch them at my place.
Things were coming to a head and I knew the next fight we had would be the last. It was November when he called me and asked me to come over and fix his computer. I wasn’t in the best of moods-I finally had a free afternoon with the kids out with their father and I had things to do. Ok, I decided I would go over and see if I could do something to help. I got there and he already told me I had just an hour to get things right. Perfect start-no thanks for coming over, great to see you, etc.
He offered me a piece of gum. I haven’t chewed gum in years because it sticks to my dental work, and he knew it. Why was he offering me gum-was my breath stinky? After I thought about it for a moment, I took a piece. I didn’t even get it open when he started to yell at me-why is everything in your life a big decision? Don’t waste my gum-either take it or don’t! I paid money for that!
I immediately put the gum back on the table. He flips out again-you touched it not you don’t want it! What’s the matter with you? With me? I don’t chew gum, not in years! You knew that! I thought you were hinting my breath stunk so I took a piece of gum. Now you don’t want me to take the gum! Why don’t you make up YOUR mind?
He immediately moved my tech bag away from his computer and began to work on his computer. Don’t you want me to do that? No. You asked me to cone down here to help you, now you don’t want me to help you? Silence. Are we really going to have a fight about a piece of gum after I wasted my time and gas to come here? Silence.
I sat on the couch for a few minutes. I could have just stormed out the door. I wanted to compose myself and make it clear what would happen. I told him that I have spent 10 years doing for him, taking care of him when he was sick, lent him things like my cell phone and my car, then paid the repairs when he broke them and he never paid me back. I have put up with all this, and if we didn’t resolve what was really going on, I was leaving and not coming back. All I got was silence. Are we really going to break up over a damned piece of gum? Silence.
I picked up my things and I left. I never went back. I blocked his number from my cell phone. I had a feeling I knew what happened because he did it to me before. He used to get moody around Thanksgiving time and lots of times we broke up so he could avoid my birthday in December and Christmas/Chanukah/Valentines Day. He used to call around March to renew our friendship but his birthday was in April and he really wanted a present. I just had enough of his childishness, his cheapness and his abusive control. It was just one fight too many and I was done.
He did email me the following April-after I sent nothing for his birthday. I emailed him back that I told him that after our last fight, I was done and I wanted nothing more to do with him. He replied that he forgot what we fought about, and I told him that it was over a piece of gum. Then I blocked his email.
He called from another phone the following September, demanding I stop being stupid and get back together. What a lovely invitation, no woman can resist that, I answered. Then he threatened me. I told him to come over and try to f*** me up. I had an old lead pipe my father had and it had his name on it. I told him I’ll invite my neighbors to watch me smear him all over the street. My temper broke and I told him about the horrible things he did to me over the years. He finally said “I guess you’re mad at me, huh?” I hung up and blocked his new number too.
He attempted to contact me a few times through his friends but I told them I would go to the police and file harassment charges. He finally moved out of New York City-he attempted to contact me from his mother’s home in Tennessee. I blocked that too. He’s been blocked in every social media site so I don’t have to deal with him.
He had 10 years to grow up and apologize. The words aren’t in his vocabulary. I know the piece of gum wasn’t the reason our relationship ended-it was years of my giving and him taking and never appreciating what he got. But that stupid piece of gum was the catalyst. To this day, when I see a pack of Wrigley’s gum, I still smirk with amused disgust.
I interviewed for a support engineering role, the interviewer asked me how a fluorescent light fitting worked. I explained what I knew about the ballast, starter and gas tube etc. He delved deeper and I drew a rudimentary circuit diagram. When he asked exactly how the starter worked I was stumped, so I said “I don’t know”.
He told me that he must’ve had 2 dozen other applicants attempt to convince him how it all worked, but being able to admit I didn’t know something landed me the job. I learnt how knowing one’s limitations is so important.
Despite increased attacks on US occupation bases, Joe Biden has reportedly turned down more ‘aggressive bombing options’ in Syria out of fear that a wider conflict may erupt
NOV 13, 2023
(Photo credit: AFP via Getty Images)
Several missile and drone strikes targeted US occupation bases in Syria on 13 November in response to the latest round of US airstrikes on alleged Iranian targets in the country.
Fifteen missiles targeted the US base in the Conoco gas field, sources told Al-Mayadeen, adding that US helicopters began making flights ten minutes after the strike.
“The Conoco base was targeted with advanced Grad missiles, which led to the death of four US soldiers,” Al-Mayadeen’s correspondent reported.
Field sources told Al-Mayadeen that the attacks were carried out by the “Popular Resistance” in Syria.
In a second response to US airstrikes, three drones struck the Al-Shaddadi military base in Hasakah, northeastern Syria.
The US Green Village base at the Al-Omar oilfield northeastern Syria, was also hit with a drone. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is a coalition of Iraqi resistance factions formed last month in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
The coalition was formed to confront US forces in Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and in rejection of US support for Israel in the war, and has been targeting US bases on a regular basis.
Hours before Monday’s attacks, US warplanes carried out several airstrikes in eastern Syria.
Washington claimed the attacks targeted facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
According to Al-Mayadeen’s correspondent, the US airstrikes “targeted a house in the town of Al-Mayadeen, which led to the death of a citizen and the injury of another.”
US jets have struck Syria several times over the past month in retaliation to the unprecedented surge in resistance attacks against US military bases in Iraq and Syria. Washington has labeled the attacks as “self-defense.”
According to the New York Times (NYT), US President Joe Biden “has rejected more aggressive bombing options proposed by the Pentagon out of fear of provoking a wider conflict with Iran.”
The newspaper also cites Republicans in Congress as saying that Washington’s strikes on Syria “only invite more frequent and more dangerous attacks against US troops in the region.”
There have been at least 48 resistance attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria since 17 October, the Pentagon said on Saturday.
“At least 56 U.S. service members had been injured. Roughly half of those suffered traumatic brain injuries, and two had to be flown to Landstuhl military hospital in Germany for treatment,” the NYT adds.
There doesn’t seem to be many who are rude. My story is about a beautiful and kind woman.
Many years ago I was in O’Hara airport getting ready to fly home from Navy boot camp. As I waited, I saw what looked like a Hollywood photo shoot going on. I walked over with my nearly bald head and baggy Navy uniform and talked to an absolutely beautiful woman, dressed like an Elf. She was friendly and asked where I was from and what my home was like. We talked for about 10 minutes. As I needed to catch my plane, I thanked her for taking the time to speak with me. I asked her what her name was. It was Ann-Margaret. Surprise! I’ve had a soft spot for her since our meeting.
There have been a lot of memes lately, discussing this subject:
It’s viewed as a sort of work-around to all of life’s problems:
These’s memes are funny and all (sometimes), but they also have some truth.
A good portion of depressed people definitely view suicide as a way out and they genuinely think it’s the only way.
But it’s not.
Sunday, Nov 18 is my late-uncle’s birthday.
No one ever talks about him in my family. And of the few times he’s brought up, is always in relation to his suicide or mental illness.
He lived a pretty amazing life, but the memory of his suicide looms over the conversations around him.
It’s not like we never talk about him, or that suicide is strictly the only thing that we remember about him. There’s just no solace to the memory of his passing, suicide is something that is preventable, it didn’t have to be this way.
And, unfortunately, it’s the same with my idol, Chester Bennington.
In every Linkin Park YouTube music video, all the comments are the same. They’re ALL about his depression or his death.
No one talks about his life, how he made it big after a period of being homeless. How Linkin Park immediately knew who their lead singer was after his audition; how Chester would always do screaming vocal warmups, which could be heard several changing rooms away, before each of his live performances.
No one talks about that anymore.
If I’d killed myself on year ago, all I’d be remembered as was “that quiet kid who killed himself.”
You have a lot to be remembered for.
Stan Lee, who passed away on Nov 12, 2018, is positively cherished by fans.
So much material was circulated recently about his life and work.
There was a meme about how he drew the Peter Parker meets MJ comic strip based on the time he first saw his future wife. There were memes of his cameos in Marvel movies, memes of Infinity war, Spider-man memes….
It was awesome.
And nobody was particularly sad, rather they celebrated everything he did in his 95 year life on Earth.
You have a lot to live for.
And a lot to be remembered by.
And even if things don’t get better quickly.
Don’t tarnish that with suicide.
It’s not worth it.
You are worth it.
You are worth a good life and the world deserves your proud legacy.
During my very first visit to China, there were a couple of things that took me by surprise:
Massive malls absolutely everywhere
I’ve heard that Chinese food is so much better in China than what you get in other countries, but that’s is a massive understatement. There is so much diversity in food options, all of it is amazingly delicious and very reasonably priced. I could not get enough of it, and I can’t wait for my next visit so I can stuff my face with all that deliciousness again!
I didn’t expect to have that much trouble finding restaurants or shops that accept foreign bank cards. Some locations only allow Alipay. Also, apps like Didi are not available to foreigners as you need a Chinese number to sign up, and hailing a taxi is not always easy.
I saw very few tags or graffiti on buildings in big Chinese cities. Those are a major issue in pretty much every European city, as even historical buildings get smeared in tags, so this was a welcome surprise.
Excellent public transportation – so cheap and easy to use!
All the people I’ve met were absolutely lovely and extremely helpful. Also, there are so many older people in the parks, exercising or dancing, which is refreshing to see.
There is never any paper in bathrooms, so you have to carry a roll with you
The only thing that slightly threw me off during my very first visit was that people in China often take pictures of foreigners without asking. I’m very visibly a foreigner, so I always get quite a bit of attention when I’m travelling in Asia. I’m used to that, and I never decline a picture with some curious locals, as I find it a sweet experience. However, in China, while many approached and asked for a photo, there were many more who just tried to ‘’sneakily’’ take it, which made me feel a little bit uncomfortable at times.
As a tiny woman travelling alone I felt quite safe, even at night in less populated areas.
My wife and kids lived upstairs in my parent’s house. My Dad passed before my Mom. When she passed, as the only child, I had to sort out her bills, insurance, etc. My Mom was a school teacher for many years and received SS and a pension. At her time of retiring, she did not make as much as teachers do today. A few days after her funeral, I was sitting at her desk going through her checkbook to see what was paid and so forth. When I looked at the deposits, I started to see bill after bill after bill being paid, leaving her with very little left over. I am still saddened to this day, many years later, that I never knew the depth of how bad things really were. We could have contributed more to the household, but she hid most of this from us, trying to spare us any hardship. This is the single biggest regret I have in her passing, knowing I could have eased her burden, as she was the most loving mother one could ask for. She worked her whole life to teach children and raise me, who deserved so much more in her retirement. I am shedding tears as I write this, and hope that others can take more of an active role in their parents lives (when allowed) while they are still with us.
While employed as a pizza delivery rider, after the lifting of the COVID lock-down, our company decided to pull a fast one.
A memo from the head office was circulated among all restaurant staff at all branches. It basically said that the company was so concerned about our welfare in these trying times that they were willing to keep a percentage of our weekly salary for us as a form of savings. The memo also mentioned that if we agreed to this ‘Pizza Savings’ (my term, not theirs) that we will be getting 0% interest.
My delivery co-worker and I had a field day with that memo. We read it several times in disbelief and laughed. The owners could not be serious.
It was obvious they wanted to get a loan/invest in something. It was as if they told themselves instead of taking a 16% interest loan from the bank why not simply take it from their uneducated restaurant workers, all they needed was our signatures.
I went around some of the co-workers joking about it. Most of us laughed it off but two of them couldn’t understand what was so funny.
‘But we’re getting 0% interest!’ an older woman working the grill said.
She seemed to have the idea that this was a good thing. Apparently she had had so many loans in the past that to her the word interest = bad.
I explained to her it was a savings and not a loan. That with savings you want the highest interest you could get and the exact opposite when it comes to a loan.
‘But isn’t it good to have a savings?’ one of the teenaged girls working the pizza table said.
I explained to her it is a good thing but it makes no sense to save your money with someone giving you 0%. I tried explaining how banks work, about buying shares etc and getting the best rates for your money. Both women looked at me in silence.
In the end they both decided to ‘try it out.’
I didn’t know what shocked me more. The fact that the restaurant attempted that stunt or the fact that it actually worked on two employees.
Controller got fired for all the right reasons. On his way out, and before his access was deleted, he programmed a very, very offensive message on the Windows start menu for the entire company-something along the lines of “fxxx you, (name of the CFO)”. Now I’ll admit the guy had it coming, but will also say that the CFO was the biggest a-hole I’ve ever met. Anyway, it took the IT guys weeks before they were able to fix it (always wondered why it took sooooo loooong).
As a 45 year old, I started feeling very tired. I fell asleep in the bathroom at work one day. Went home and thought I was coming down with a cold. Never actually got cold symptoms, but could barely move my body. It felt like all of my extremities were filled with lead. Then I started getting dizzy. Then I started to vomit. I went to an urgent care center and told them all of the above symptoms and how now I’m vomiting and peeing every 5 minutes. I even told them I was vomiting black stuff which they informed me was blood. I was told I just had a stomach virus like people get on cruise ships. I said I have never been on a cruise ship in my life. I was sent home with antinausea meds. I had lost about 15 lbs in 3 days. That night and next day still vomiting and now breathing in short gasps. Now my body is shivering uncontrollably and I can barely move and still vomiting blood. My kids found me on the kitchen floor and took me to the ER. I was rushed back and found out I was in diabetic ketoacidosis. My body was shutting down. I was about a day away from death. My blood sugar was 854. I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic.
While hospitalized, I received a survey from the urgent care center asking how my experience was. I’ll told them that I almost died thanks to them, but other than that it was great.
Years back when Subway still gave you tickets to collect for free subs, my kids’ mother and I were going to have dinner and movie night with my brother and his wife. Subway was the night’s choice. Well, it is Friday evening and the video store is packed. So we’re standing in line waiting to check out our movies, and she is going through these Subway tickets. She asks me,
“I don’t supposed you’ll eat a 6 inch?”
To which I responded, in a building with over 150 people in it, without even missing a beat,
“No, if I don’t get 12 inches, I’m just not satisfied.”
Children were laughing at me. Had it not been so hilarious, I would be mortified of that story getting out.
When I was first living with my (present) wife we were living in Nanshan. This is a suburb in Shenzhen, China. We had a little dog. She was a Bomei. The dog’s name was “yo yo”.
Well, my wife wanted to save some money and cut yo yo’s hair herself.
The only thing was… well… she was drinking alcohol when she did it.
Uh oh.
…
Poor yo yo.
She shaved it all off, and yo yo was so very, VERY pissed off.
She would go to the standing mirror, look at herself, sigh and then go back to her bed and sleep off her depression.
It was a long time ago. Maybe 2003 or 2004.
Poor little Yo Yo.
Trust me, everyone… a word to the wise… never cut your dog’s hair when you are drunk.
Europe had just emerged from a terrible Great War, and everyone wanted to cut the ties with the past. The World War One was simply a terrible disaster which cost the lives of millions of fine young men and destroyed gazillions worth of property. And the World War One effectively killed Christianity in Europe. The industrial mass carnage was simply too much.
Europe was wiped mentally and spiritually into a blank slate, and this also included fine arts and architecture. New Totalitarian ideologies, such as Communism, National Socialsism and Fascism had emerged, and the new generation hated anything bourgeoisie, anything hand-made, anything posh and cute, anything feminine. One of the most important men in the architecture of the era was Swiss-born Edouard Jeanneret aka Le Corbusier, whose pamphlet Towards a New Architecture was the start bang of the run of hideous, ugly and banal architecture.
Of course Corbu did not aim for hideous, ugly and banal. What he wanted was natural light, air, sanitation and effectiveness. The centuries old European cities had very little to speak about commodities – many did not have central heating, central water supply nor indoors loos. (They came only later.) And he wanted to make a total break with the 7000 years of architectural legacy. Not evolution, but revolution. this is how the box-arts architecture emerged.
According to Corbu, the problems of architecture are the same all around the world, and the solutions also are the same all around the world. Everything returns to the three basic forms – cube, cone and ball. Away with gabled roofs, decorations, ornaments, frizes, symmetry, anything unnecessary! Light! Warmth! Joy! Buildings are nothing but vertical streets! Sameness must prevail! Everything shall be the same from Arkhangelsk to Antofagasta!
Meanwhile in Germany, the Bauhaus sported similar ideas. While le Corbusier leaned towards Fascism, Bauhaus was a Communist hotbed. Everything shall be mass-produced! Away with pastel colours and genteel forms! Away with decorations and ornaments! Everything shall be standardized!
The new architecture – International Style– spred incredibly fast. Because the year 2000 was near. This was the future – and it did away with past. Everyone now waited for year 2000. It was to be a concrete milestone of the future. See, the odometre gears revolve and the new numbers set in. And the architects wanted to build bridge to the future.
Nazis and Fascists were enamored of the new style. Bauhaus was done away because it was a hotbed of Communists, but the Nazis adopted the Bauhaus style eagerly. Likewise in Italy, Futurism was the offficial style of Fascism in arts and Italian Rationalism in architecture. Not some kind of Neo-Classicism which one could expect.
Came the World War Two, and the cities in Britain, Netherlands, France, Germany and Eastern Europe were simply obliterated. They had to be rebuilt – and they were rebuilt in the new style. And a new technique of building – Plattenbau – had been invented. The large panel system-building revolutionized construction and made houses cheaper than ever.
But this meant also the revolution on architectural thinking. The old buildings had been built indefinitely, or at least as long as the razing craze, fire or aerial bombardment would destroy them. Now the concept of lifespan entered in architecture. Edifices would last 50 to 60 years after which they would be ready to be demolished and replaced. So there was no reason to build beautiful any more.
Two world wars had killed the artistic soul. The architecture must be true and honest. The world is ugly, so architecture must be ugly. The world is fragmented and broken, so the architecture must reflect it. The materials must be left raw and unfinished to be honest to them. Brutalism had been born.
And the future was closer than ever. The 1960s finally demonstrated the future was at hand. True, we didn’t know exactly what the future would be like, but we knew that it had to be one of a few alternatives. The future was a world with a distinct architecture. It had its own way of speaking. It had its own technology. It was for all intents and purposes a different land where people dressed differently, talked differently, ate differently, and even thought differently. It was where scientists were wizards, where machines were magically effective and efficient, where tyrants were at least romantically evil rather than banal, and where the crystal spires and togas would prevail.
Then the long-awaited Year 2000 (or rather 2001, if you prefer) came. The odometer wheels revolved and the numbers turned. Suddenly we realized we lived now in that future which we had built in the 1960s – and it was no different from the past. It is now 2023 – we are well in that future – and nothing has really changed. The world did not change by revolution, but by evolution. Meanwhile, the centuries- and millennia-old towns, cities and buildings had evolved by constructing modern age amenities within – without destruction, simply by building waterworks, sanitation and Internet connections within those buildings built centuries ago and made to last for centuries. Evolution 1 – revolution 0. “Building a bridge to the future” sounds just as corny as building a causeway to next Tuesday.
For people of the generations who had lived through the tarnished promises of the Atomic Age, the Space Age, the Computer Age, and the This That and Another Age, the year 2001 was a gateway. We waited twenty, thirty, forty years and some longer to pass though that gate into a time when spaceships the size of ocean liners plied between colonised planets, where cities were colourful collections of brand new towers without a single old building or blade of grass.
Turned out the future was hideous, banal, bland, ugly and simply terrifying. And it was not the future anymore. It was now. The future was now here, and had become the present. We no more had a past, and we no more have a future either – what we have is perpetual present, here and now. The years turn and nothing really changes. Or should I say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
And now the lifespan thinking in architecture is bearing fruit – we are losing those futures now. The Brutalist and the Plattenbau buildings are now reaching the ends of their designed lifespans, and they are being pulled down. Every day we lose one or more of those futures. Most of us say good riddance – nobody except arts and history professionals will miss those ugly, hideous and banal buildings like we miss the destroyed beautiful buildings of the past centuries.
Here goes the Vesiputoustalo (Waterfall House) in my hometown. Built in 1985, it was abandoned in 2017 and demolished 2022. The house had a terrible mildew and internal air problem, and had a functional lifespan of barely 32 years. Another future becomes a heap of gravel.
So why our world is still plagued with ugly architecture despite having more architectrs now than ever in history? Because the doctrines of Modernism and International Style still prevail in all architectural schools and technical universities in the world. The students are still today indoctrinated to build that same hideous architecture as has been built during the past 90 years. Repeat styles are not allowed unless they repeat the past 50 years.
And yet, all futures have now been explored. The same has happened in architecture as what happened in the fine arts in the 1970s. All isms have been tried and all turned stale. Like Gollum, we have now explored all the roots and all the caves and they turned empty. This general disillusionment has now produced the spiritless and soulless Postmodernist architecture. Anything goes.
Most of all, it is all about money. Building ugly is cheap. Cutting corners and cutting away anything unnecessary is a way on saving money and on costs.
The dreams of le Corbusier and other Modernists turned out nightmares in the real life.
Leave The West! Move To China Now!
Like it or not, Russia and China are running circles around the USA. Better learn Mandarin and Russian. We love you Sabrina!
Creole-Style Pork and Red Bean Chili
On a spiciness scale of 1 (mild) to 5 (hot), this chili is a 3 with chaurice only or a 2 with pork tenderloin and chaurice combined.
Prep: 15 min | Cook: 55 min | Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 pounds chaurice sausage (or other spicy pork sausage, like chorizo), removed from casing*
2 cups finely diced yellow onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup finely diced green bell pepper
3 cups cooked Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
3 (14.5 ounce) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Pork & Veal Magic
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 cups thinly sliced green onion tops
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh thyme leaves, for garnish
Instructions
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven set at medium-high. Add the chaurice sausage, and, using a wooden spoon, break up the sausage into bite-size chunks. Stir and cook until the sausage is fully opaque, about 8 minutes. (If also using pork tenderloin, do not add yet.)
Add onion and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes.
Add celery and bell pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans, dried thyme, tomatoes, garlic, and Pork & Veal Magic®. (If using diced pork tenderloin, add it at this time.) Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add tomato paste and stir until thoroughly combined, taking care not to break up the beans. Bring chili to a boil, stir in green onions and add Kosher salt to taste. Cover, remove from heat and let stand for 20 minutes before serving.
Garnish individual bowls of chili with fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
* For a milder flavor, use 1 pound chaurice and 1 pound pork tenderloin, diced.
Me, wearing a Best Buy shirt and buying something from the 7–11 down the street: “Hello”
7–11 owner: “Oh hi, how are you today!”
Me: “Pretty good I guess. Best Buy isn’t giving me enough hours though.”
Owner: “Do you want to work here?”
Me: “…yes, actually.”
Owner: “Can you start tomorrow at 6am?”
Me: “…yes, actually.”
Owner: “OK, see you then.”
Now, to be fair, at that point I’d been in that particular 7–11 maybe 3 times a week for 3 years leading up to then, and I knew the owner and his family decently well.
But still. I went in to buy cigarettes and left with a new job. Pretty nice.
Russia-US security agreement. Conflict on two fronts w/ Jeffrey Sachs (Live)
We, fortunately, have not yet had a house fire, but some neighbors of my daughter did. The whole family was at a movie and arrived home to find their house on fire, and firemen already battling the blaze. The house was saved, but there was extensive and very expensive damage, making the house uninhabitable for months. The fire had started from a clothes dryer left running, and a blockage caused the motor to overheat.
Since then, I have two rules: Never leave the house with the dryer running, and also, clean, not only the dryer vent after every load, but also the dryer line to the outside on a regular basis.
I also, at one time, prevented a major fire at work when I smelled overheated electrical wires. I had a great deal of difficulty persuading the maintenance people to cut a hole in the ceiling where I could smell the wires, but they finally did, just as the flames erupted.
As on date there is an oversupply of 17.2 Million Homes in China
There are 17 Million homes built or being built without takers , built in anticipation of being sold for which developers have already borrowed loans
The Cumulative loans on them are around 3.4 Trillion RMB ($ 500 Billion) needing interest payments of around 165 Billion RMB a year
There are a further 35 Million Units built or being built with takers but which haven’t been concluded and with at least 50% payment pending
The Cumulative burden of these units is around 6 Million RMB ($ 813 Billion)
88% of these Homes are in the Top Cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen etc
That’s $ 1.3 Trillion worth of homes waiting to be sold or fully sold
The Reasons for the lack of demand include :-
Very tough requirements to avail mortgage loans since 2018
Restrictions on Second and Third Home ownership since 2020 as part of Common Prosperity
Tier 2 and 3 Cities developing very fast and real estate much more affordable. In Chongqing City i can buy 143 Sqm for 1.625 Million RMB against a mere 52.5 Sqm in Shanghai
General lack of faith in Residential Property as a source of Investment anymore
Yes Chinas worst case scenario is a $ 1.3 Trillion HIT assuming China decides to burn the entire issue and pay for all these units and plug the hole
However since China won’t raise debt to pay off the hole like US or India would, it means Chinas strategy will be long term and that will take at least 6 years or until 2028 to absorb this amount effectively and cost maybe 1.5% a year in growth (Hence around 4–4.2% instead of 5.7% a year for the next few years)
China could raise 10 Trillion Debt and plug the hole fully tomorrow. It is the only nation on earth that can do so. Yet if it does, it begins to follow the US into a path of no return which China, a producer economy doesn’t want to do
Good news is today, there is no fresh problem
The old problem has to be sorted out and that will take a few more years
This Is Why So Many Women Are Single
” I’m loyal, but I am not monogamous” ” I’m loyal , but I am bisexual ” ” I’m loyal , but I have all my exes in my DMs to this day” ” I’m loyal , but I do OF ” To me , the reason why a lot of these ladies are single/ in pseudo relationships is because they don’t know what the word loyal means .
Two years ago, my son moved from the UK to the US (Texas). He works in IT (network engineer). His salary now is more than double of what he made in the UK. He got married last October and his wife works a minimum wage job. Yet, combined they make more now than me and my wife ever did.
So, you would think that he’s now better off than when he worked in Britain. Think again.
Healthcare costs a fortune. Last month, my daughter in law needed emergency dental surgery (root canal). Co-pay 3,000 USD.
Since he’s a recent immigrant, his credit score is not all that great. Meaning he can’t get a mortgage to buy a home. So, they’re paying 2K pcm in rent.
Since public transport in the US is either in a shocking state or non-existant, they both need cars to get to/from work. Cost of buying/running/insuring something decent is substantial.
Utilities are generally more expensive. The monthly electricity bill in particular is high (because living in Texas means you run the AC pretty much all of the time).
Food prices are about the same, though the portions are larger. Quality is a lot lower. Steaks in particular: all water and hormones. Sugar in everything.
So while is monthly gross pay is higher than this side of the Atlantic, his monthly disposable income (after all the bills are paid) is a lot less. It would be fair to say that they live paycheck to paycheck most months. When my son and his family want to come over for a visit, we pay for their trip. Whilst he’s a real go-getter and loves his job (and the opportunities he has in the US) my daughter in law is beginning to realise that they would enjoy a superior quality of life in Europe.
I worked n the restaurant business on and off for around 15 years. In all that time, I was lucky enough to work with good hard working people. There was only one person I will never forgive, a person who I worked with who I thought was a friend. We used to tend bar together on busy nights and we made pretty good money. There used to be a group of guys on a bowling team who would come in once a week a they always left us a large tip. I remember after they left I was cleaning up the bar and noticed there wasn’t their usual tip there. I asked “my friend “ if she took the tip off of the bar and she said no. I didn’t think much about it until the owner of the bar pulled me aside and told me my coworker told him I pocketed the tip. I’m many things , but I’m not a thief. She eventually admitted to stealing tips because she was in a lot of debt. She was fired
“Can you help us save him? the nurse asks. “He’s failing fast. Not responding to medication. We have nothing more here to keep him alive.”
“What do you mean?” I say. “ You mean the doctor can’t give him more drugs? Please, please.”
“Who’s at home? Does he have a favourite stuffy? What about a pet? Think about it and let us know.” The nurse is detached and unemotional.
And I’m falling apart.
It is a cold, blustery winter morning in January, 1984. Winters in Northwest Canada can be brutal and this week was especially miserable. The wind heaped the snow in large drifts around the house; not our house, mind you. Living at the in-laws. A devastating fire a short time ago. I say, “Good to remind us how the homeless live.” There is no time to feel sorry for ourselves.
“Shh, shh, baby, my baby, shh.” I sing as I rock back and forth to calm him down.
His arms flail. He lets out a piercing scream. Growls. Racks my face. Finds my eyes and claws at my eyeballs.
Our family physician writes on his prescription slip: Query spinal meningitis. Sends baby and me to a paediatrician. “This is an acute emergency,” he says calmly. “Your appointment’s made.”
Hysteria rises in me. My legs turn to jelly. The sound roaring in my ears is deafening.
And baby son lies still. Pale. Too still. Pale. Deathly still.
Another race against time. I remember a small crowded room of bored patients. I remember a nurse calling my son’s name. And I also remember rushing down a flight of stairs, throwing open a door, and racing into a crowded street.
My husband looks wide-eyed at us.
“Go. Go. Go. He’s dying. Oh my God, he’s dying. Hurry to the General.”
We screech to a halt in front of the hospital. I stumble awkwardly nearly blinded by tears flowing freely now. The specialist, just seen, races by with his doctor’s bag in hand.
I run into the hospital and a front desk clerk gestures towards the elevator. “Run. They’re ready.”
We call for the resident priest.
“Please baptize him.” I choke on my words then. “And give him the Last Rites if need be.”
Life stands still at times like this. Husband and I huddle together, entwined branches of a single tree. We sit in parallel, silent prayer begging God for mercy. We’ve waited thirteen years for our little boy, a son who will carry on a dying family name. We can’t bear the thought of losing him today.
Hours later, after his abdominal surgery, the attending doctor walks towards us. We search his weary face, but find no answers. His words come haltingly.
“The fight’s just begun. Your son is critically ill. “
He quickly describes our son’s diagnosis, surgical procedures, present condition.
Intussusception. Bowel blockage caused the small intestine to telescope into the large intestine. There was total blockage. The surgeon made an incision in his belly and removed eighteen inches.
Tells us finally that our son’s odds of survival: ten percent.
Ten percent? We prop each other up, slump over in our chairs, cover our faces, and cry.
The next week is a blur. I call my mom and beg for prayers. She phones everyone she knows. Holds prayer gatherings at her home a couple times weekly for a month. Attends Mass and asks the priest if she can address the congregation at each of four Sunday Masses. Continues to give updates to her various support groups.
There are new developments daily. Our tike is a fighter. He is watched around the clock by rotating nurses who hang over his crib. When he starts yanking out tubes, his hands are tied together with cotton restraints. The staff won’t listen to my pleas. “I’ll sit here all day, all night holding his hands, but please don’t tie him up.”
They send me home. “You’ve got to sleep. You can’t save him all by yourself. Trust us.”
But he gets worse. Lies listless.
Still. Pale. Too still. Pale. Deathly still.
Then, without warning, cardiac arrest.
Husband and I pass a crash cart on the way back from the cafeteria. Not for a moment do we think it comes from our son’s room. We are oblivious to the gravity of his condition until the doctor intercepts us. “Your son’s heart stopped. But he’s fine. We did our job.”
Suddenly our son is floundering once more. The medical staff run out of answers and I can see the troubled look in their eyes.
“Any suggestions, folks?“
Our daughter is three. She loves her brother as if he were one of her precious Barbie dolls. Packs him around like a sack of flour. Lines up stuffies in his crib and makes up plays which make him giggle. Helps me change his cloth diapers, even the poopy ones.
And I think, she’s one hell of a trooper, too. Held her baby brother in a freezing car a month ago while I alerted the neighbours to call the fire trucks.
Sister leans over his crib and says, “Hi, little guy! “ Simply that.
And he cocks his head and listens.
Three simple words from a protective big sister makes all the difference.
He starts fighting. And wins his battle.
………….
Son’s life and health have been a challenge over the years; however, as difficult as circumstances might be, our mighty fighter perseveres.
Three days ago his big sister’s “little guy” turned thirty-six.
When I was a kid, a truck dropped off a huge box at our house that was addressed to my mother.
According to the paperwork, it was an automatic dishwasher, something that had just been invented, and we had no idea why we suddenly had one.
It took a few phone calls to figure out that, months earlier, my mother had entered a free sweepstakes at Zayres department store and the appliance was a prize.
She was scared to death of the newfangled device and never even hooked it up.
Yeah. It was funny as hell. I got a call from my counterpart at corporate. He has gotten laid off and he called me before they could escort him out to tell me we were getting laid off in three months. I confronted my boss and she turned ashen white but in the end she was honest with me.
Scott Ritter – “Palestine and Hamas have won.. Israel is in BIG TROUBLE!..”
In the United States, do not argue with the police. They are armed and they are jumpy because so many other people in the US are armed, including a lot of people who should not be.
Several years ago an Italian professor attending an academic conference in California crossed a street at a location other than a designated crosswalk. It would not occur to an Italian in a million years that this might be a crime. A cop saw him and shouted at him. He, being Italian, questioned the officer. The officer hurled him to the ground, tore his clothes, roughed him up and took him to jail for refusing to obey a lawful order given by a police officer. (He was eventually released without charge.)
The fact is, if the police are violating your civil rights, or even if they are breaking the law, there is nothing you can do about it at the time. Resisting them risks your being shot. Obey without question.
I was on a date with a veterinarian. She was a beautiful brunette with big eyes. She was a bit crazy too.
It was our second date and we were drinking a beer at a restaurant and somehow, we got to talking about how kids were growing up too fast, which is code for them sleeping around at too young of an age.
Just as I was drinking a sip of a beer, she said, “Yeah, I mean, I guess I get it. Kids are curious and going to experiment. When I was 6-years-old I stuck a pen in my p#ssy.”
I choked on my beer really hard and starting coughing. She immediately turned red, blushing with embarrassment for having been so candid and said, “Are you ok? Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
I was also red at this point from my brief oxygen shortage. I waved it off, still coughing, and said, “No worries at all! Kiiiids these days.”
MOBS SWARM US NUKE BASE, LEBANON/ ISRAEL ON BRINK, NUCLEAR SUB NEAR IRAN, IRAQ MOBILIZING
“President” Biden distributed 100 nuclear warheads all over the world. WTF?
I was a teenager. It was a temporary job. They had this big mail machine that folded letters, put them into envelopes and sealed them.
My job? It was sit stand between three of these machines and to squirt some water on the brushes every few minutes. The auto wetting water tank was broken and it was cheaper to hire me as a teenager (this was before UK minimum wage so it was about 30p an hour) until they could replace the water tank. You had to give it 3 sprays for it to be in the sweet spot anymore and the envelopes would be too wet, any less and too dry.
It drove me absolutely spare as the machines would beep each time a letter went through it. You had three machines beeping and you were stood there with a bucket of water and a couple squirty bottles. You’d hear the beeps in your sleep.
An actual wood burning fireplace. I got my first one in 1986, and every place has had one since. Unlike a wood stove, I can have a fire three seasons a year, without overheating my house.
When the first fluffy flakes of winter start falling, my wife and I start a fire. We might have a glass of wine, possibly a hot rum toddy, maybe mulled wine, brandy, or maybe peppermint schnapps and hot chocolate.
We sit in front of the fire, eating Brie and crackers, maybe some other snack. Possibly popcorn.
When it gets close to Christmas the Christmas music is playing. Two puppies at our feet.
Every Christmas when family comes over, we have the fire burning in the background, the tree is center of attention, but everyone loves hearing the pine snap crackle and popping in the fireplace.
The restructed events of the disaster have been pieced together over the years.
Mount Vesuvius was a known volcano in Roman times but it had not erupted in several centuries. No one knew why some mountains erupted and no one could predict when they would. However, due to the nature of fault lines in this region geologists now believe smaller earthquakes and eruptions simply relieves the pressure along the fault line that runs along Italy.
The Latins had no way of knowing that. All they know was volcanic soil grew good crops and volcanic ash was a key ingredient in Roman concrete. Italy was also the world’s factory at the time, so the area around Vesuvius centered around the city of Pompeii who was a big exporter of wine and metal tools. This was a pre-industrial society, so most people rarely went outside walking distance of their homes and for most residents this was their whole world.
In the days before the blast, many minor quakes were reported in the area around Vesuvius. No one knew what this meant, but Roman academics would later take this as the sign of potential eruption.
The exact moment of the blast was witnessed by the historian Pliny the Younger. He was reading Livy while his father governor Pliny the Elder was eating lunch. Indeed, the blast occurred during the lunch hour, as the most common find in Pompeii were tables set for lunch that were buried in ash and partially preserved. Pliny’s mother called them over to the window urgently and they looked and saw Mount Vesuvius’ summit turned into a tower of ash. Explosives didn’t exist in this period, and Pliny tried his best to explain how it appeared the force of the hot gas inside the mountain blown away the summit. The danger this caused was lost on no one, and Pliny the Elder gathered his soldiers to travel down across the Bay of Naples and rescue as many as he could while his family went away.
This was the worst kind of eruption. The lava is actually the least dangerous part of a volcano. Safe enough to be a tourist attraction at a distance and safe enough geologists is firefighting gear collect lava samples directly. The second most dangerous is the ash and rock because it tends to fall out of the sky and/or form hot avalanches Earth called pyroclastic flows. The hot gas is the most dangerous as it both suffocates and burns. Common gasses are CO2 and HS that are commonly disolved in solutions underground but bubbles up like a soda fountain inside the mountain. This causes volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows.
The residents of Pompeii went outside and it was soon raining ash and rock as Vesuvius vented its contents into the sky. Evacuations started immediately, and anyone who wanted to stay was quickly convinced to leave with the first pyroclastic flows that nearly reached Pompeii. As Vesuvius lost pressure it stopped being able to support a column of ash and rock and this collapsed forming the flow. However, that simply restricted the throat of the volcano, allowing pressure to build up again in a cycle that only got worse as the day progressed. The first victims found in the bottom layer of ash in Pompeii were all killed by falling rock.
Travel was a big deal in a pre-industrial world as you would be gone for days and it was quite strenuous. Among items victims were carrying included bread, coins, and housekeys. The latter back in those days was a heavy iron thing that didn’t easily fit in a pocket. Most of the dead from Pompeii were persons unable to flee including a soldier with a bad toothache, a near term pregnant lady and her husband, and an old bedridden man and his teenaged grandson among others. Most of these people were not buried with their houses as the ash levels rose, but were killed lady by hot gas. Indeed, this is how we know the pyroclasic flows got worse through the afternoon, as the victims closer to the mountain are typically buried deeper in ash. The final pyroclastic flows killed the most people including Pliny the Elder who stayed behind after his men loaded up a boat of refugees in order to organize the evacuation.
This is also how we know there were a lot more victims than we find buried in ash because Pliny the Younger recounts how these bodies were all recovered and given proper funerals. Likewise, we know there are many more bodies that have not been found as much of what we know of is concentrated in the city itself when the majority of this region’s population was dispersed in the countryside. However, country folk were much more dispersed so finding said bodies is far more difficult and more is discovered every decade.
All that said, the bulk of the population managed to escape. The eruption only effected the immediate area of the blast and once out of sight of the mountain people survived and later returned to find a volcanic plain where the city had been. The layer of ash and pummice stone was roughly 20 feet deep and it simply wasn’t worth it to unbury the homes, many of which had collapsed under the weight. The whole city was effectively homeless and Emperor Titus personally arrived to survey the damage. Titus directed both state funds and his personal money to rebuilding Pompeii, and within two decades a planned city emerged. However, no one in Italy ever forgot how on one day that was otherwise like any other a mountain simply exploded for no reason and that most of the victims simply happen to be downwind of the disaster.
You likely seen those sculptures of Pompeii victims, but those are not bodies. The bodies rotted away leaving voids in the ash, and archeologists simply filled the voids with plaster to reveal the Pompean’s final moments, most clearly dying in agony.
Brian Berletic: War is COMING as China Rejects Dangerous US Maneuvers in Taiwan
“Let’s be frank about the Taiwan issue, where the US is involved. The US cares next to nothing about the well-being of Taiwanese people, who are Chinese in race and ethnicity. Why should they? Look at the way the US government treats Asians in their own country, many of whom are citizens. So what about other nationalities? Yea, that somes it all up in a nutshell.”
I’ma be honest, it’s fucking nerve racking. I had to give the period talk when I dont even know the period talk. I had to be the one to wake her up at 2am when she was 8 with police behind me to tell her that her mother overdosed and died. I get up everyday and makes sure she gets to school, leave work, pick her up and take her to excuricculer/home/friends/wherever the fuck, then go back to work and finish my 12 hour shift. Pick her up if not at home. Cook/order/figure out dinner, spend some time with her try to get to laugh at least once a day, make sure she gets her shower in, hug her tight kiss her forehead tell her I love her and goodnight, then go lay down and try to sleep myself …to wake up and do it all again.
Wanna know what I can’t do? Break down and cry. Blame her mom. Blame my mom. Blame the world for putting me and her though what we been through. And some days, that is all I wanna do. But when I feel tears in my eyes I’ll walk back to her room and look at her sleeping, usually her back to me.
I remember then why I keep getting up every morning
I’m in my 70s and retired now, but years ago, worked as the President’s assistant for an accounting firm.
Many times over the 4 years that I worked there, he would say, “I need this done by Monday.”
I would jump right on it and work all weekend if necessary. The reason being, he and the other owners of the small company treated me like gold.
I was a single Mom. When I first started working there, I was separated from my alcoholic husband, heading to divorce. I had no money to pay the mortgage or car insurance. I confided in one of the owners and the next thing I knew, they handed me a check to cover everything past due. They deducted a small amount each week from my paycheck to pay them back.
There was no problem if I had to stay at home with a sick child. If my work for the day was done, they had no problem if I hit the road early to avoid rush-hour traffic. My hours were flexible because they knew if they needed me to work late or on the weekend, I would cheerfully do it. They gave me great raises. They valued me as an employee and I never took advantage of it.
Not all small business owners are horrible people. I was lucky to work for such a great team. The only reason I left was to remarry and move out of state. I heard later they sold the company.
World at end of 200 yrs of North Atlantic rule: Sachs
I’ve worked with Chinese tech companies. Their engineers and scientists are devoted to their families, employers and country.
China has the capacity to leap frog the US in many different technologies. Take your pick, they are on it.
The Chinese government places a high value on a highly educated population. Engineering and scientific professionals are leading a revolution in advancing scientific innovation in China.
Their current leader, Xi, was a chemical engineer before becoming involved in his political career. In fact, many Chinese politicians are former engineers, refreshing thought isn’t it?
The motivations for innovation in the US and China are a key point in China leap frogging the US. Both countries reward success in innovation with financial incentives.
But, the Chinese have a greater sense of pride in their country and it’s future.
The US is presently extremely divided politically, current leadership is seeking short term monetary goals over the advancement of scientific innovation.
China may take the lead in further technological and scientific breakthroughs in this environment.
I had this scenario happen to me. A group of us were on a whitewater rafting trip and we went to dinner. All of us got the buffet, which was huge and had everything you could imagine (including prime rib). One of the couples both ordered the prime rib dinner off the menu, with appetizers, desserts and extra sides. When the waiter came to check on us and see how we were doing and if we were ready to pay, I spoke up and said “separate checks for all of us, please”. The waiter winked at me, other couples smiled, the couple that ordered the dinner had a fit. “We agreed we would split ALL costs! We can’t afford this unless we do”. I just smiled and said “we agreed that we would split costs, that was before we realized we would be taken advantage of. It’s separate checks for us from now on”. The other couples instantly said “agreed!” and “I didn’t agree to split the cost of a $125 dinner for you two when ours was $30!” I got the death glare, and neither of them spoke a word to me after that. When we got home I noticed I was blocked on everything. Oh well. They weren’t friends of mine and I found them to be not team players-not someone I would choose to be friends with.
I have a relative that I thought was a wonderful person and mother. Her spouse died suddenly when their daughter was 13 or 14 (they live in a different state than I do).
About a year after her spouse died, I start getting phone calls from her daughter in the evenings. I discovered her mom would go to her boyfriend’s house and cook he and his daughters dinner, while her daughter ate cereal for dinner at home.
Over the next several years, I spent a lot of time talking the teen through issues, concerns and challenges that mom wasn’t around to address.
Mom didn’t even know her daughter was taking college courses in her senior year of high school because she wasn’t there when she attended the classes in the evenings.
When it was time for the teen to go to college, she got into a great school. Mom told her she couldn’t go to it because they didn’t have the money. When the daughter went off to the lesser expensive and prestigious college, mom married the boyfriend, bought a larger home with a pool in the backyard, bought a facelift, and a luxury car. The daughter had only 2 pairs of jean to wear at college.
At the end of the daughter’s freshman year, she calls mom to let her know when she’ll be home. Mom tells her it would be better for her to stay at college over summer break.
Her daughter explains that she lives in a sorority house and it closes in the summer. Mom didn’t care, she told her to find somewhere to live… during final exam week.
The daughter calls me crying and I take her for the summer to live with me. I got her a job at the company I worked at and we made the best of it.
The insensitive and cruel things my relative has done to her daughter over the years is more than I can list.
By the way, the daughter went on to get a doctorate, despite her narcissist mother who I have zero respect or affection for.
Humans started using their own feces as compost pretty much as soon as agriculture was invented. The practice continued in many places well into the 20th century.
However, the practice soon proved to have a lot of drawbacks. Humans in the early agricultural era didn’t know about bacteria, and crops fertilized with human dung often caused outbreaks of disease because those gut bacteria persisted in the soil until they found a new human host.
As such, people learned that although it was fine to plant cereal crops, or any plant with a long stalk in such fields, and not to plant carrots or other root crops for at least a year. By that time pathogenic bacteria had usually died out.
Because horses, pigs and cows don’t share a lot of gut flora with humans, it was soon found using animal dung had the same effect with fewer drawbacks. It was perfectly safe to use a few acres of land as cattle pasture for a year, then plant the following year.
I’ll tell you something about Jim who doesn’t want to come to the company parties. He thinks if he does a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay, that is all he owes you. He doesn’t think having a job means the company owns him, body and soul. Even if he knows that not attending the parties means a black mark against him, he still won’t go.
I’ll tell you something else. Before I retired, I worked for a lot of different organisations, some large, some small, and there were always some Jims. They got along well with their co-workers. They did their jobs and did them to the best of their ability. They were often prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty at work. But that was where it stopped.
Here’s the thing though. In every organisation, for every Jim, there are at least 25% of your staff who are Jim wannabes. They all wish they had the nerve to say no, but they don’t want to risk their jobs or their pay raises or their promotions, or even just the disapproval of their co-workers. They won’t tell you this because, as we can see by your question, in your mind this is not somebody exercising their right to say no to a social event. It is a problem that needs to be “handled”.
They don’t go home from the company party and say, “Wow, what a blast.” They walk in the door limp with exhaustion and say, “Thank god that’s over!” They probably put on a convincing act while they were there, but they didn’t want to spend their private time with a bunch of people they are already spending at least eight hours a day with. If they want to party, they want to do it with family and personal friends.
If you want to “team build” either with parties or other activities, do it within regular working hours. Jim probably still won’t like it very much, but at least he is getting paid for it. And it will not be breaking into the precious free time he needs to recharge his batteries so he can be an effective employee for you.
You’re going to need a bank of fryers and I wouldn’t fry them from raw. Frying them from raw will break the oil down really quickly and force you to either shut down the operation to change the oil or serve crappy wings. You don’t want to do either of those.
So, get your wings and brine them overnight in a simple solution of water, salt and sugar. Then drain them and bake them until they are cooked through. Cool the wings and package them in batches that will fill a fryer basket. Say 2.5 pounds per plastic bag and refrigerate them until it’s time to cook them.
On site, set up your fryers, your cold boxes of wings, a station for hot holding and saucing and a table for serving them to the customer. The cooks fry the wings, dump them into the hot holding units from one side and the service workers pull an order from the bin, place it into a bowl, toss the wings in sauce and then serve them to the customers. You can use heat lamps overtop of the wings to keep them hot, which you can rent, along with deep fat fryers that run on propane.
I worked a few summers at a home for children who’d experienced abuse and neglect. Their caseworker had just dropped them off; two beautiful little girls with big, blue eyes that swallowed their faces. They were two and four years old and they were very quiet for children their age. I looked them over, and immediately noticed several things: they had rope burns around their ankles, matted hair, and both were underweight and wheezing like they had the croup.
On closer examination I noted that the older of the two had bitten the insides of her mouth so hard that not only were they bleeding, but infected. I could not hold back my tears. They came with barely any clothing or personal effects, but many children in foster care share that experience. And later that evening when they were settled and I read over their file I knew they had lived a nightmare.
There had been an older sister, but she had died, thus prompting a welfare investigation in the first place. They found a woman addicted to drugs with a boyfriend who cooked meth—and they tied their children up in ropes to keep them out of their way. That was eighteen years ago and memories of those two girls still make me teary eyed. Questions like this immediately bring them to the forefront of my mind. I hope they finally found peace.
I had gotten out of the Army in 1971 (was drafted) and working my old job in a drugstore. I was growing a beard and letting my hair grow. A older customer came in and started criticizing my hair and beard (this was in the deep south). He said I was a disgrace. I let him know I didn’t need his permission or approval . He went to my boss and said the same thing. My boss basically said “He spent 2 years defending this country, he can wear his hair any way he wants.” . The customer left and my boss winked at me.
A 42 year old lady came in with severe abdominal pain and nausea. She wasn’t vomiting. No other symptoms or problems, except for multiple prior visits to the ER with the same problem.
Many doctors had tried and failed to diagnose and treat her. She had been to all the specialists at all the regional Universities. The famed Cleveland Clinic even took a crack at her.
All the tests were negative including blood work, poop samples, X-rays, scopes in both ends, the camera pill (a camera that the patient swallows, it takes pictures as it traverses the gut), and various scans.
She had CT scans, MRIs and various nuclear scans. There were scans with and without IV contrast and oral contrast. There were scans of her arteries, and scans of her gallbladder. Her gallbladder was a little weak, so a weak surgeon jerked it out without any benefit.
She had every blood test for cancer known to man. Multiple biopsies were always negative. I thank God that no tired pathologist ever imagined any cancer cells under the microscope. This lady already suffered so much at the hands of her healers.
X-rays were done many times with and without Barium. Some of the X-rays were done as videos. She might have had enough radiation to kill any tumor!
And the scopes! Multiple scopes down the throat and into the stomach and duodenum. Another scope down the throat through which a catheter is passed into the bile duct and pancreas to inject contrast that highlights the ducts for more X-rays. A urologist even scoped her bladder!
She saw stomach specialists, liver specialists, gastrointestinal surgeons, kidney specialists, urologists, neurologists, and even psychiatrists.
There’s an old saying in Medicine, if the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail. This poor lady had been beaten with every specialist’s hammer in 3 states!
When they couldn’t diagnose her, they just skipped straight to the cure. She failed multiple curative procedures and dozens of medications. There were medications to neutralize acid, coat the stomach, decrease acid production, anti-spasmodics, anxiolytics, antidepressants, antibiotics, anti seizure, antifunguals, and plain old pain medications.
She learned to refuse the pain medications, because she was smart enough to realize that she would be written off as an addict, that doctors stop trying if they think you just want opioids.
She has been put on every dietary restriction, and treated with every fiber supplement. She knew it all because she had tried it all!
The first night I saw her, I just told her that she had already seen many doctors much smarter than myself, working in a low level ER. But I did what I always do in these difficult cases.
I sit down and shut up and listen. I talk about weather, sports, hobbies and family; anything but medicine. But mostly I listen and observe. I try to get the patient talking more than myself. It’s an attempt to make a brain-to-brain connection for a two-way flow of truth. It is engaging the patient’s mind as the powerful problem-solving machine that it is.
Two minds together are more than 1+1=2. It’s more like 1+1=4. And it doesn’t really matter much that the other mind has limited medical knowledge. In fact, this process can sometimes work better if at least one of the minds is unspoiled by medical dogma.
So there we were, in the middle of a hectic ER night with several people trying to die. I talked with her for a few minutes until a nurse convinced me that another patient was closer to the next world than this one.
I grabbed the patient’s hand and begged her to be patient. I promised her that if she would wait for me, that I would give her my best shot. She was obviously in pain, but she attempted a smile and closed her eyes as I left to find something easier to do, like make a room look like an axe murderer walked in on a meeting of hemophiliacs anonymous, by saving a trauma victim.
That night was one of those nights that leaves me feeling a bit PTSD. I just wanted to crawl into my hut for a couple days. Yes, I have an actual stick-and-grass hut in the woods for this purpose.
But I have a soft spot for kids. The nurses all say that kids like me, and I am a pediatrician. I hate to leave a kid at the end of my shift, knowing that the next doctor may not feel as comfortable with kids.
I picked up the last chart in the rack (this was years ago), and saw that it was a 3 year old girl with abdominal pain. She was on the other side of the curtain from my 42 year old patient whom I had completely forgotten, or I would have spent the end of my shift with her as promised.
I took a deep breath and switched my brain from high pressure ER doc mode to easy and relaxed pediatrician mode. I walked into the room and quickly recognized a familiar problem. I explained to the worried mother that it was a simple stomach virus, that young children can’t tell the difference between pain and nausea. I explained that I was going to treat her pain with a tablet called “Zofran” for nausea, that dissolves in the mouth. I told her that I would be back in a few minutes and I left to give my order to a nurse.
By this time it was well after the end of my shift. The nurse I found said, “There you are! We thought you left! Did you forget about the 42 year old woman with abdominal pain? She’s been lying in there for hours!”
Of course I had totally forgotten her, but I remembered fast and said, “No! Of course not! I promised to spend some time with her if she would wait until the end of my shift!”
At that the nurse winked and nodded her head knowingly. I said, “No! Not like that! Look, can you give this little girl 2 mg of Zofran?” And I turned back to see my forgotten patient.
She was still in obvious discomfort but was waiting patiently. I walked over and placed my hand on her shoulder. Before I could say a word, she said, “That was great!” I didn’t know what she meant until she said, “You’re so good with kids, you should have been a pediatrician.”
She did not seem surprised when I said, “Well, as a matter of fact, I am!”
She joked, “No wonder I’m no better, my doctor is a pediatrician!”
I laughed. She tried to laugh. I poked my head around the curtain and asked the mother if it was okay to open the curtain? This violates protocols and is probably illegal, but I was too tired to care. I was simply trying to create an atmosphere to promote dialogue. A pleasant mother-baby dyad seemed the perfect antidote to the chaotic night this lady witnessed.
So now we had three minds working together. We talked to the little girl. She was smiling and feeling better already and asking for food. We talked about little girl things like toys, birthdays and sisters.
The mother thanked me. The Zofran trick worked wonderfully, despite her doubts. Then she looked at my patient and said, “He’s a wonderful doctor; listen to whatever he says.”
I asked her for permission to share her case and then I explained to the mother with a smile how that she had no idea, that this poor lady has some incurable ailment that has stumped all the specialists at all the Universities.
And then my patient and the mother began to talk about her case. As soon as the mother realized that it was a case of chronic abdominal pain and nausea, she drew an analogy to her daughter’s simple acute stomach virus.
I shook my head at the absurdity of it and was about to interrupt this conversation that was quickly getting off track. And then I remembered my rule for difficult cases (shut up and listen!).
My patient said, “Believe me, I have tried every stomach medication and even some herbs. Zofran does nothing for me.”
But my mind was zipping through all my experiences with chronic pediatric abdominal pain. I thought of the episodic nature of my patient’s condition. I asked her weird questions l usually reserve for pediatric cases like, “What part of the world did your ancestors come from? Any children in your family with health problems? How old is your house? Do either of your parents get migraines?”
She said, “Nobody has ever asked that question. My mother and father have both had migraine headaches their whole life. My brother gets them, too!”
And then I knew the diagnosis, even though I had assumed it was impossible and had never heard of an adult case. There is a condition called “abdominal migraine” that affects young children. There is usually at least one parent with migraine headaches, but most of these kids will get better by age 12. Their abdominal pain just stops. A certain portion will develop migraine headaches about the same time their abdominal pain goes away.
But I had my doubts. Pediatric abdominal migraine is easy to treat with simple medications that had failed to help this lady. But what if I gave her a common adult migraine treatment such as a vasoconstrictor? The pain of migraine is caused by too much blood flow to the head. Medicines that constrict blood vessels can be curative.
These medications work best if given very early in an episode. My patient was hours into this episode. As expected, the first dose in the ER that night did not relieve her pain, but it did do something much better: it gave her hope.
I gave her a prescription and sent her home, still in pain. But she was so grateful and she thanked me profusely. I felt a little anxious that maybe I was giving her false hope, for surely it could not be this simple? Surely the specialists thought of this?
Several months later she was in the ER with a sick family member. She was beaming and radiant. When she saw me she said, “That’s him! He’s the one who cured me!”
Tears were rolling down both our faces that night.
COVID-19. I have had several conversations here in the US with people who teach. They have all pointed to how awful the current batch of kids are when it comes to classroom learning. They can’t sit still nor pay attention because they lacked the classroom environment at that formative age to reinforce those skills; learning is nearly impossible. Meanwhile China adapted quickly to initial lockdowns, and by April 2020 normality had returned. My niece serves as my personal data point for what happened, and she has had no significant interruption in her education as online instruction was brief.
The haphazard lockdown strategy of the US combined with a retreat to virtual teaching will have a major effect on the labor force come 10 years from now. China’s strategy of strong, nationwide lockdown at onset followed by an elimination strategy allowed the country to more or less weather the storm more gracefully. One can have criticisms about how the country left COVID, but the end result is that the period of normality from spring 2020 through fall 2022 was the right target to reach, and the impact will play out in the coming years.
The current seemingly higher economic growth rate of the US is unsustainable and superficial because the inflation rate in the United States is much higher than that in China.
Since the 1980s, although the US has pioneered technological revolutions such as information technology, the Internet, and life sciences, and revolutionary technologies have brought new markets, services, products, and high-tech companies, it stands to reason that total factor productivity growth should be very high, but the new rounds of technological change have not prevented the gradual decline of U.S. productivity.
Statistics show that the average annual growth rate of total factor productivity in the United States has dropped to about 1% in the past 40 years, and even less than 0.7% in the past 10 years. The third industrial revolution did not bring about a substantial increase in total factor productivity growth in the US like the second industrial revolution that occurred during the industrialization process. Economists call this phenomenon the productivity growth paradox.
Forecasting a country’s potential growth rate is very important for judging its economic direction, but it is not easy. In 2022, China’s GDP may be 72% of that of the United States. Assuming that the U.S. economic growth rate would be 2.2%, China’s economic growth rate would be 5%, and the U.S. dollar and RMB remain at the current real exchange rate, based on this calculation, China would catch up with the United States in 2029. However, potential growth is not actual growth. A country’s ability to achieve its potential growth rate depends on whether sufficient demand exists. In the past three years, China had mainly relied on investment and exports to create demand. Thus, China must increase domestic consumption to create sufficient demand.
An important reason for China’s economic success lies in the close integration of a competent government and an efficient market. The invisible hand of the market and the visible hand of the government play a positive role in promoting economic and social development. The Chinese government focuses on key industries that promote national economic growth through five-year plans, industrial policies, and allocation of financial resources. Technological changes that occur in node industries are transmitted and amplified through the production network, forming a spillover effect, driving the emergence of a large number of upstream and downstream market entities, and producing a multiplier effect on the overall economy.
The closer an industry is to a node (the area with the highest density in the production network), the greater its impact on the economy. Empirical research also shows that investment projects with longer industrial chains generally bring more jobs, tax revenue and growth to the local economy.
Total factor productivity growth is a decisive factor in a country’s economic performance. Since the Industrial Revolution, no country or economy has been able to maintain a total factor productivity growth rate of more than 2.5% for a long time after completing the industrialization process. Since for advanced economies, sustained high productivity growth is the exception rather than the norm because when the share of the service industry increases significantly, it becomes more difficult to maintain rapid growth in total factor productivity.
The real estate industry is a long-chain industry and is of great significance to boosting domestic consumption. Putting all factors together, the consumer market can be expected to recover in 2023. Before the epidemic, consumption growth was above 7%. If China wants to achieve a potential growth of 5.5%, consumption growth of 5.4% will be enough. It is now no longer appropriate to call the Chinese economy an investment-driven economy.
In many areas, China has reached the global frontier in mid-level technologies, and hidden champions have emerged in almost every industry. For example, China was originally a latecomer to the electric vehicle industry, but it has become a leader within 10 years. Relying on development and innovation, China is becoming the largest contributor to the global clean economy.
The Chinese government has successfully prevented and resolved major financial risks through active and prudent deleveraging efforts. Money only generates value when it is used in the real economy. Serving the real economy has become a priority for financial institutions. The negative impacts of aging in China are actually overstated, at least for the next 10 years because over the next 30 years, artificial intelligence and automation will replace more workers than will be lost due to aging.
China has a large state-owned industry with a net capital stock of 60 trillion yuan. The central government has begun transferring state-owned shares to social security funds. These shares will generate enough dividends to support the social security system for the aging population.
In the long run, the economic growth rate of China will be higher and better than that of the US.
When our son was around 3,(he’s now 48) I took a parenting class where it was recommended that you give your child a choice of 2 things that were both acceptable to you, so the child felt that he or she had some control over their actions. One night we had company for dinner. One of our guests was a psychologist who frequently lectured both in the US and abroad.
When it was bedtime, my son said he didn’t want to go to bed, so I gave him a choice. “Do you want to go to bed in your own bed or mommy and daddy’s?” He answered by saying “I want a Coca Cola”. I repeated the bed options, his bed or ours. He repeated his desire for a Coke. We went back and forth like that a few times, then he put his hands on his hips and said “I want a Coca Cola! Will you pour it or shall I?” He was using my parenting method on me!
Our psychologist friend fell off his chair laughing. I scooped up my son and put him in his bed. Our friend told us years later that he told that story in all his lectures from that time on, until he retired.
Back in the day, when physical mail was still delivered to companies, I executed my quiet sabotage. The CEO was a weird one. He would open all the mail, read it, write his comments directly on each piece of mail and then distribute it to the appropriate person. Mind you we had roughly 50 office staff and 100 factory employees, so we weren’t a tiny operation.
The CEO instituted 2 cost savings. We were not allowed to purchase staples or paper clips. We were all given some little device (as a replacement stapler) that folded corners of papers and then perforated that corner so that the papers couldn’t separate.
And his feeling was that enough paper clips that came with the mail so we should just reuse them. It was ridiculous and impractical.
I khew that I was going to be fired at the end of the week in the afternoon and decided to annoy him. I went to Staples and bought all the office employees 2 boxes of staples and 2 boxes of paper clips. Sure enough Friday afternoon, I’m let go and then the CEO left right immediately. The wuss didn’t want to see how much of impact my dismissal would be on morale.
I was given the opportunity to say goodbye to everyone. So I walked desk to desk and gave each person staples & paper clips. I heard, the next week, that the CEO went bonkers seeing everyone having them. Lmao
The Duran: Neocons DESTROY Themselves as Russia and China Forge New World Order
The Duran discusses the failures of the neocons to maintain the US-led unipolar order amid Russia and China’s global rise.
Huawei and Xiaomi are both Chinese technology companies. This is true.
But essentially, Huawei and Xiaomi are Chinese technology companies with completely different natures, so their treatment is also completely different.
To accurately distinguish the differences between the two companies, we must start with the history of world globalization and the changing role of Chinese companies.
Before the 1980s, China was one of the poorest and backward countries in the world, almost isolated from the modern economy.
When China opened its doors in the 1980s, the Western world discovered that this was such a special country.
It has a huge poor population, but most of them have basic education.
It has a sound industrial foundation, but its technology is very backward.
He has huge territory and rich resources.
It has relatively complete infrastructure, including roads, railways and electricity.
At this time, the West had just carried out the first round of globalized industrial transfer, moving low-profit, polluting and risky manufacturing industries to Asian countries such as South Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand.
However, these countries have limited population and scale, and limited capacity. As industries increase, salary levels increase rapidly and become less cheap.
Moreover, the education level of the population in these countries is limited, the infrastructure is limited, and there are many restrictions.
At this time, China was like an endless pasture. No matter how many cows the cowboys threw in, it could quickly accommodate them.
As a result, China quickly became the new continent for Western manufacturing.
Throughout the 1990s and the first decade of the 20th century, China was like a magnet attracting manufacturing industries from around the world, and countless companies developed in China.
They all follow the model of Western hope:
Version 1.0 Chinese Company: Processing and Manufacturing
1. Design, technology and standards provided by Western companies
2. Western companies provide key components
3. Chinese companies are responsible for cheap raw materials, cheap labor, and completion of assembly and production.
4. Western companies are responsible for sales
In this stage, Chinese companies shouldered the heaviest and hardest work, but could only obtain 10% of the profits, while Western companies took away 90% of the profits.
The Nike sneakers we wear, the French bags in women’s hands, and the various toys children play with are all products of this model.
The Chinese produce these things, but they cannot afford to consume them.
Of course, although the profits of the Chinese are meager, the total amount is huge. Therefore, during this period, they achieved a large amount of wealth accumulation, and gradually accumulated knowledge and talents.
Some companies are beginning to try to enter a new stage.
Version 2.0 Chinese company: independent production
1. Chinese companies purchase designs, technologies and standards through joint ventures or introductions
2. Western companies provide key components
3. Chinese companies are responsible for cheap raw materials, cheap labor, and completion of assembly and production.
4. Chinese companies are responsible for local sales
During this stage, the share of Chinese companies expanded. They got rid of the pure processing industry and began to focus on technology, trying to build their own brands and market capabilities.
However, during this period, the product quality of Chinese companies could not be compared with that of their foreign counterparts, and they mainly relied on low prices to compete in the local Chinese market.
Haier Electric, Chery Automobile, Lenovo Computer, etc. are all Chinese companies that have risen during this period.
Their degree of autonomy has been greatly improved, but most of their profits are still taken away by Western companies through patent licensing and the import of key parts, and they can only compete in the Chinese market. There is no pressure on foreign counterparts.
Version 3.0 of Chinese companies: independent production, global competition
1. Chinese companies solve most technical and quality problems through independent research and development
2. Western companies provide key components
3. Chinese companies are responsible for cheap raw materials, cheap labor, and completion of assembly and production.
4. Chinese companies are responsible for global sales
Around 2010, Chinese companies grew further. They have more technologies and knowledge systems, and the quality of their products has also improved rapidly. began to threaten Western counterparts in the global market. Especially in the fields of household appliances, kitchen appliances, electronic products, mobile phones and other fields, it has achieved rapid success.
Xiaomi, VIVO, Oppo, Transsion, Haier, Lenovo and other companies are representatives of this stage.
They have mastered the complete design, manufacturing and quality management capabilities of products, and established a good brand and reputation. During this period, products made in China began to be famous around the world and can be seen everywhere around us. Their low prices and high quality put traditional Western and Japanese brands to shame.
But they still have an Swelling of Achilles: key components and technologies are in the hands of their Western counterparts. For example, the Qualcomm chip and Android system of Xiaomi mobile phones; such as the Intel processor and Windows system in Lenovo computers;
Through control of these key technologies and components, the West still takes away most of the profits of these companies.
Take Xiaomi mobile phone as an example. Its core processor comes from the United States, its memory comes from South Korea, its screen comes from South Korea and Japan, its camera comes from Japan, its key communication chips and sensors come from Europe and the United States, and even the tempered glass on the screen surface is a product of an American company. . Chinese companies can only supply low-value accessories such as casings, speakers, and interfaces. According to media statistics, 70% of the value of Xiaomi mobile phones comes from Western suppliers.
Therefore, although Xiaomi has squeezed out the share of traditional peers such as Nokia, Ericsson, and Sony, for every mobile phone it sells, Western companies make the most profit, and the Chinese still take away a small part.
Version 4.0 Chinese companies: disruptors
1. Chinese companies master core technologies and solve all problems
2. Chinese companies provide key parts themselves
3. Chinese companies are responsible for cheap raw materials, cheap labor, and completion of assembly and production.
4. Chinese companies are responsible for global sales
After entering 2015, some Chinese companies have grown further. They began to get involved in core semiconductors, operating systems, precision sensors, databases and artificial intelligence algorithms. It began to seize the most profitable industrialization in the world and the last economic position of Western developed countries.
Huawei, DJI, Hikvision and other companies are representatives of this stage
They have all the features of a 3.0 enterprise and are beginning to replace Western suppliers. Not only do they make excellent products, but they also use core components and basic software developed entirely by themselves. They intend to completely take away the fattest piece of meat in the mouths of Western companies.
Before Huawei was sanctioned by the United States, it had surpassed Samsung and Apple to become the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer. It is completely different from Xiaomi. Almost all the core components of Huawei’s mobile phones are provided by Chinese companies, and they have even begun to develop basic operating systems in order to kick Google out. In the field of communications, it holds the most 5G patents in the world and develops all high-value semiconductors and antennas on its own.
The essence of the above 3 versions of Chinese enterprises, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0, is the same.
In the chain of globalization, Western companies take the best parts of food, and Chinese companies get the remaining food scraps. The difference between 1.0 and 3.0 is just the amount of residue obtained.
Therefore, whether it is Lenovo or Xiaomi, although they are technology companies from China, their positioning is within the scope of this rule and is allowed by the West.
But 4.0 Chinese companies are different. They are trying to subvert the rules of the game that have existed for decades.
They still embrace globalization, but they think, why are companies from Western developed countries always at the top of the food chain?
This involves the issue of economic competition between developed and developing countries.
Why do Westerners enjoy the most vacations, the best benefits, and the highest salaries and rewards? And people in developing countries work hard and overtime, but can only get meager pay and struggle to feed their families? Are people in developed countries inherently smarter and harder-working? The Chinese believe that this is not the case and that something is wrong with the rules.
Chinese companies like Huawei are determined to subvert this rule.
In the end, their appearance caused tension in Western countries: the subversives have occupied the entire country, their athletes have come to the king’s castle, and Huawei is the champion at the forefront.
Kings and nobles discovered that they could no longer defeat the subversives through “civilized rules.” How can he maintain a comfortable life in his castle and continue to rule and plunder the entire world in the future? The behavior of subversives must not be allowed!
So they shouted: They are thieves, liars, and traitors, don’t believe them!
While silently picking up the gun in his hand, he aimed at the one running at the front.
Creole Artichoke Bisque
Ingredients
16 ounces butter
8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 cup beef stock
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
3 large onions, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14 ounce) cans artichoke hearts, undrained
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 cup dry white wine
4 ounces light cream
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
Instructions
Melt the butter in a heavy pot and add the flour. Over low heat, cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Slowly add the stock and when well mixed, add the celery, onions, green onions, bay leaves, thyme and garlic. Let this simmer for 45 minutes.
Chop the artichoke hearts fairly fine and then add to the pot, along with the artichoke water. Cook at a low simmer for another 30 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste, the Tabasco, wine and cream and bring to a simmer. Do NOT boil.
The bisque is now ready to serve.
Sprinkle a bit of parsley over the bisque in each bowl.
Tell the truth,but , it wont make any difference, no one will believe you.
I was having drinks after work with my coworkers, and the waitress got off work and joined us. She had been our waitress for over a year and we had no spark in that time. Though she was attractive. When I said I was going home, she asked if I could give her a ride. I dropped her off, and didn’t think anymore about it.
The next day I swapped vehicles with my girlfriend, as she needed a truck to help her sister move something.
She found a brown paper lunch bag in the back seat. It had a lacey bra, panties and unused condoms in it. I was totally at a loss. Then I remembered giving the waitress a ride home. So on Monday I handed the bag to her, and asked if it was hers, and it was. She gave no explanation of how it got in my backseat, or even why she was carrying it.
I asked her to explain to my girlfriend, and she declined, saying she didnt want a whole bunch of drama over nothing. So I got a whole bunch of drama from my girlfriend.
I couldn’t even blame her, or come up with a plausible story. We broke up shortly after that
NOT POSSIBLE: Why US Can’t Compete with CHINESE Monster Drones?
“China also has many AI drones such as the amphibious Nezha that can fly and dive to 23ft under water; shark/dolphin/stingray undersea drones; and an anti-air/land defense system called the Hornet’s Nest that can launch 10,000 explosive drones rapidly each will auto lockon enemy vehicles. People have no idea how secure China’s borders really are today.”
When I was a boy in High School, I studied French. I did so for three years, and pretty much max’ed out what was available at my school. I studied hard. Learned as much as I could, and did very well… grade wise.
Anyways, in the French Class were a series of books about the Adventures of Tintin. And joy of joys, I was able and permitted to “read” the books, trying to make out the French language in the illustrations.
I don’t know if it really helped me learn French, but it certainly helped me fall in love with the Tintin series. It really did.
I think the biggest surprise from a knock on the door I ever got was about 10 years ago.
An ex-girlfriend showed up at my door, 8 months pregnant …7 months after we split up (which was quite the shock, but I’ll get to that). Basically started dictating terms to me as to how things were going to be as soon as I opened the door. That I had to look after her because I got her pregnant and that she was going to stay at my place now because she had nowhere to go. She made some ridiculous demands about money and child support for an exorbitant amount. She told me that if I didn’t agree to her terms she was going to take me to court and to the cleaners.
I could barely contain my laughter at the situation…
What she didn’t know was that I am physically unable to father children (the conversation never came up because we were not that serious and it was none of her business). It was one of the reasons for my divorce previous to her after trying and going through multiple tests with my ex wife.
So here she (my ex) was at my door with all these demands, threats and looking for a handout and a place to stay after just obliviously outting herself for cheating on me (starting at least a month before we broke up, maybe longer.. maybe the whole time, Don’t know. Don’t care).
Turns out the guy she was with after me found out she was already pregnant before him (she tried to con him too but clearly the math didn’t work.…classy girl) and he gave her the boot.
I thanked her for letting me know that she cheated on me, quickly explained how I knew and knew that it wasn’t mine. Wished her the best and shut the door.
I will never forget that stupid look on her face for the rest of my life as that door closed.
Well my answer is not something I would usually speak of with people. And perhaps not so typical of what has been expressed in regards to this question already. But we are all here to honestly share so I will do so. And to be precise it was not MY jaw that dropped, rather my now ex wife’s and her daughter’s.
So at an extended family dinner one evening the conversation turned to family heritage. Things were variously mentioned about events and courageous endeavours of various relatives long passed away.
So I added a comment of praise for my Grandfather whom I never got to meet, and was coldly and angrily shut down by my Mother for the interest and praise that I bestowed on him.
So these are the words that came out of her mouth which will NOT be forgotten.
And I quote…
”what’s that got to do with you, you’re not even of our blood and you never will be”….
Well you could of heard a pin drop at the table, and I turned to see my ex and her daughter’s mouth’s agape in horror.
This was the moment I found out what being an adopted son really meant to her. And a reminder that to her (at least) I will forever remain a virtual outsider.
Please, this was shared not to provoke pity, because I’m cognitively stronger and happier in life than she will ever be. Rather, it’s just my honest answer.
My family used to have a really bad problem with food thieves. My mom is a baker, so you can usually find some kind of pastry in my house.
When brownies, cakes, and other sweet treats started going missing in the middle of the night, my mom was LIVID. Of course, no one was going to admit to snacking on her stuff, so she found a scapegoat: Me.
Jackson! Why in the world would you eat my pastries!? You know that I was going to take some to work today, and now there aren’t enough! Go vacuum the house!
Despite my cries of denial and protest, I was forced to vacuum the house. Ugh.
I thought it was a one-time occurrence until it happened again. And again. I was repeatedly forced to vacuum the house. My mom was so convinced that it was me who was eating her pastries that she didn’t even bother looking further into it.
I didn’t know who it was, but I knew it wasn’t me.
I had a plan. I was going to stay up all night and catch whoever it was. I waited many a long hour, waiting to hear the rustle of Saran Wrap in the kitchen. Eventually I heard a faint crinkle, and I sprang into action. Lo and behold, my little brother Bennett standing in the kitchen stuffing his face full of Devil’s food cookies.
“I KNEW it was you!” I said.
“What?! Why are you in the kitchen eating cookies, Jackson!?” He replied.
Instantly, I knew what he was up to. He was going to try and tell our mom that I was the one eating cookies in the kitchen. There was no way I was going to vacuum the house again, so I ran down the hall to my parents’ bedroom. Bennett followed, hurriedly swallowing any remainder of cookie.
My mom is already waiting for us; awoken by the ruckus. Right away, Bennett and I start ranting about how the other had been in the kitchen eating cookies.
What Bennett hadn’t realized was that he had gotten chocolate on his face, and the truth was smudged all over his cheeks.
If there’s one thing that my mom hates even more than stealing, it’s lying and letting other people take the blame. I have a feeling that Bennett is going to be vacuuming the house for quite a while.
That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
Slap Ya Mama Sweet and Spicy Pulled Pork Soft Tacos
Add a Louisiana twist to your tacos.
Ingredients
1 (5 to 7 pound) pork shoulder
1 whole onion, quartered
2 teaspoons Slap Ya Mama Original Seasoning
1 1/4 teaspoons Slap Ya Mama Hot Seasoning
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 garlic cloves peeled
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Taco size flour tortillas
Instructions
Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
Rinse and dry pork roast and place in a Dutch oven.
In a food processor combine onion, Slap Ya Mama seasonings, brown sugar, garlic cloves, oregano, olive oil, and vinegar. Pulse until completely combined. Pour the mixture over the pork. Rub into all the nooks and crannies.
Add 1 1/2 cups water around the bottom of the pork roast, cover tightly and roast for at least 5 hours, turning over every hour. Check to make sure roast is fork tender, then shred the meat using two forks to help pull it apart. I kept the meat in the juices so it would stay moist.
Serve pork on warm flour tortillas and add your favorite toppings. I used our favorite salsa, shredded cheddar, sour cream, fresh diced tomatoes and it wouldn’t be the same without squeezing fresh lime wedges over the top!
I married a woman who is a crack shot with a 9mm handgun (you should see her targets, they’re impressive), almost always has at least two long knives on her, and keeps a crossbow in the kitchen cabinet (yes, I’m serious, no joke). Plus she’s fucking formidable in a fistfight.
Yes. Yes, this particular man very much likes women who can defend themselves.
I once had someone, hand to God, tell me, direct quote, “Franklin, control your women.” Know what I did? I laughed, that’s what I did.
You are right, this view is the same as what I saw.
All the Chinese people I interact with, without exception, say that China is an “underdeveloped country”.
It was already 2017 when I visited China for the first time.
The China I saw (at least the big cities I went to) was completely like a developed country, and many details even exceeded those of most developed countries.
At least in my mind, “underdeveloped countries” should at least be some like African countries, Bangladesh, or even India.
But China is nothing like these places.
They have unparalleled public transportation facilities, convenient cashless payment systems, the world’s widest urban roads, a spiderweb of highway networks, the world’s best high-speed railways, and the world’s most stylish airports.
When I was sick, their hospitals, although overcrowded, were still the most efficient I had ever seen. Their school is in good order. Shared bicycles can be seen everywhere on the streets, and express delivery and takeout are very fast.
There are all kinds of delicious food everywhere at night, it is very lively even in the early morning, and it is very safe.
Chinese people buy the most family cars and the most smartphones in the world every year.
In short, as far as I can see, I don’t see anything that looks like an “underdeveloped country”. Even when I go to a small village in Guizhou, what I see is clean and tidy, although there are not so many skyscrapers.
OK, I asked my Chinese friends with this question.
They always laughed and said to me: “What you said is true, but China is still an underdeveloped country.”
One person told me: “China will remain an underdeveloped country for at least 10,000 years.”
When I couldn’t understand their thoughts and needed further explanation, they would all mention one word invariably: “per capita data.”
I have nothing to say. Indeed, any huge achievements will be eclipsed by a population of 1.4 billion.
For example, per capita income is less than US$20,000
For example, the number of cars per capita
For example, the housing area per capita
For example, the number of doctors per capita
For example, the number of iPhones per capita
They will mention various data, various “numbers per capita”
One young man even mentioned the “number of aircraft carriers per capita” and “the number of nuclear weapons per capita” and then told me that China is the country with the weakest military power in the world. Of course, he meant “military power per capita.”
I think that in the eyes of the Chinese, until their “number per capita” catches up with the United States, they will feel that they are not an “underdeveloped country”.
If you think about it carefully, it seems that their logic is correct.
But every time I visit China and experience firsthand what Chinese society is like, I feel like something is wrong.
After my stroke I ended up in assisted living a few years.
The facility where I was sent was corrupt. They threatened residents and broke laws. So I called up the state ombudsman for assisted living facilities, and she told me many people had complained to her, but none would file a formal complaint because their name would be visible.
I told her if she would support me, I’d file a complaint.
Long story short, I got all kinds of retaliation. Part of it consisted of staff pilfering my personal belongings. The first time it happened, I installed a wifi security camera.
I got footage, and again, long story short, the executive director was fired, and had to pay to move me to another facility.
But one of the things pilfered was not replaceable. It was a silver thimble inlaid with abalone that belonged to my recently deceased mother (b 1921, this was about a decade ago). My mother was a dressmaker, and her father was a master tailor. She said I cut my teeth on thread.
The people who managed that place made my life hell for 18 months. I won, but I suffered losses.
Until last April, I would have said “kidney stones.”
Kidney stones are bad. I’ve now had them three times. The first time I had them, I woke up in the middle of the night with a sensation like someone shoving an ice pick in my lower back. It steadily escalated, growing worse and worse and worse until I could not stand up, could not even sit up, and ended up puking from the pain.
My wife at the time freaked out and called an ambulance[1]. When I got to the hospital, I was curled up on my side on the stretcher screaming in pain when this doctor came up to me and said, “On a scale from one to ten, how bad would you say the pain is?”
I was so incapacitated with agony that I couldn’t even answer his question, so he gave me a shot of Demerol and just like that, the pain was gone, as though someone had flipped a light switch.
That, I thought, was the worst pain I would ever experience.
I was wrong.
This past April, I was making a kettle of tea. The kitchen was a mess, with dishes stacked everywhere. A pot fell from a pile of dirty dishes and struck the kettle, knocking it onto my foot.
Boiling water burns are nasty.
The pain was blinding. I’ve never understood the phrase “blinding pain” before. I do now.
I ended up in the hospital again. I was unable to walk for about a month. My foot looked like a special effect from a zombie movie. I just barely avoided needing skin grafts, but I did end up making repeated trips to the burn clinic.
Burns are the worst. I don’t know if it’s physically possible for something to be worse than a burn.
[1] Because this was the United States, my insurance company ended up denying coverage for the ambulance ride on the grounds that kidney stones are not a bona fide medical emergency. That ambulance trip to the hospital ended up costing me more than a thousand dollars. America, hooah!
If there is unhappiness among Singapore’s wealthiest, then perhaps a bit of introspection could help. People falsely say that money is the root of all evil. They are misquoting a Bible verse that actually says, “the love of money is the root of all evil.” Christian or not, surely most people can see the wisdom of those words. When a person works themselves silly so that they can keep up with the Jones’s they are bound to be unhappy. I’d wager those working themselves to the bone so their wives can keep up with Mrs. Jones are even more unhappy.
They say they do it for their families but how close is a family when all of the adults run themselves ragged working ungodly hours? When do they spend time together as a family? I don’t even mean this about Singapore, but in general! What is the point of children if you aren’t actively parenting them and watching them grow up? Maids and tutors get paid for the privilege of spending time with your children? I’m not saying it’s wrong to have a maid or hire a tutor, but if they get to spend more awake time with your child than you, then…why? I promise they’d rather have you than the things you can buy them by working long hours.
What good does it do to fill a bank account until you are too old to enjoy the fruits of your labors? What good does it do to work yourself into an early grave? Are those overtime hours worth the ulcers you’re nursing or the strain on your heart?
The job market is competitive in Singapore. If you don’t work overtime then your rival probably will. There’s this expectation that you should work long hours or you aren’t “hungry” enough. You can’t risk the foreign ex-pat stealing your job. But does it have to be that way? For a long time, the pioneer generation had to work without pause in order to build a country. But they did so hoping that this generation wouldn’t have to pay the high cost of happiness, balance, family time, and rest. Was their sacrifice for nothing? I know; I’m an outsider looking in.
You’ll say I don’t understand or that I’m too idealistic. Maybe. I might chalk it up to a difference between the Asian and Western worldviews colliding, but the Protestant West has had problems with work life balance as well. And I grew up in a family that never lacked for money, but I also never felt very loved by them either. I’d have given my eye teeth to have had a close knit family.
I would ask how many beds can you sleep in at once? How many houses can you live in at a time? How many cars can you drive at once, and do you even need to when Singapore has excellent public transport? Do you really need designer clothes, expensive watches, branded bags, exotic jewelry, or any of the other “ultra luxury” items you can think of? If those things bring you happiness, then by all means, work hard for those things. But I suspect those things don’t make people as happy as one might think if you are correct about those surveys among the wealthy.
I’m not against someone having wealth. I’m not against someone buying nice things. It’s not wrong to want to provide your family with the best you can give them. I’m not against someone living in nice homes or driving luxury cars. I’m not against sending your children to the best schools or leaving them an inheritance. But if you must sacrifice your peace of mind, your family time, your health, your mental health, or your rest in order to attain those things then perhaps reevaluating your life choices might be in order. I know this will be an unpopular opinion but nonetheless, it is my honest evaluation.
Why do you think it isn’t. It is so backward in so many matters. Education, social care, food, gun law. It is probably embarrassing to a lot of third world country to have America lumped in with them. At least they know what the problems with their country is. But American with its brainwashing, convinced their idiots they are the greatest country on earth.
New GM from the UK was bought in. He was there to get rid of people and make the business profitable. What is known in Australia as a “Toe Cutter.”
He flat out told me three things I will never forget:
“I hate how you are the only person in this company that doesn’t have to answer to me.” (My boss was in Canada)
“I’m going to micromanage you out of this business, any email you send for any reason I want you to BCC me in on the email.” (I stopped sending any emails and called everyone back when they emailed me.)
“Hey where are you going, SIT DOWN!”
Number three was the final straw. I turned back to him, whilst still standing I put my hands down on the table and leaned in towards him across the desk. “I’m not one of the your kids, and I’m not your fucken dog, don’t ever tell me to “Sit Down” again.”
When I was looking f or a house to buy, we looked at an old Victorian that I’d always liked the outside of. It was a magnificent hom,e. 3 stories plus a basement. Fine oak paneling in many rooms, wonderful fire place. In one of the upsatairs bedrooms, I opened what I assumed would be a closet…. it wasn’t. What it was was a dumbwaiter.. and still functional. I loved the house! But, it was above our price randge and they were not at all willing to negotiate. THe house had stood empty for quite some time and needed a lot of work, mostly cosmetic but still with the asking price and the work it was just too much for us. I’m still wistful about it whenever I pass by.
That happened to me once at a Mall. It wasnt my fault as I was centred in the parking slot. I went back in the Mall, went to a Dollar Store and bought a small tube of crazy glue, and went back out. I then proceeded to glue his wipers to his windshield. It was a sunny day, so the owner wouldnt even know. I still had to wait, and the driver on my passenger side came out first, so I got in that side and drove away, smiling and hoping for rain soon.
Yes, I can be a vengeful prick.
American Woman In Thailand Found Out That Average MEN Are WINNING Overseas. She Was Shocked.
“I am a 43 year old man. I dated a 41 year old post wall woman for a few months, who had lived in Thailand for half a year when she was young. She stated that getting an Asian woman was no achievement for a (western) man. But apparently dating a post wall (western) woman is an achievement.. from her point of view. She was also miserable and boring, so our relationship ended quickly. My new girlfriend is from Philippines, she’s 25 year old, kind and feminine. Guess which is more fun..”
For the same reason people who aren’t famous take drugs, that sometimes even lead to their deaths.
See, here’s the thing. For a lot of people, drugs aren’t a problem. Drugs are a solution to a problem.
The problem is emotional pain, or depression, or physical pain, or loneliness, or alienation, or trauma.
A lot of folks look at famous, successful people and say, “Look at everything he has! If I had all those things, I’d surely be happy!”
No. No, you wouldn’t, at least not necessarily. Money above what you need to be comfortable doesn’t create happiness. Fame doesn’t create happiness.
In fact, sometimes fame does the opposite. When lots of people know who you are, but don’t really know you, that can create alienation and loneliness.
Not just for the obvious reason that you can never tell if someone is interested in you for who you are, or for your wealth and fame. It’s more subtle than that. You end up in this weird twilight land where people know you (or think they do), maybe have followed your life in the media for a long time, and so they feel a connection with you. But that connection is totally one-sided. You’re this important person to them, but they’re a total stranger to you.
Sociologists call this “parasociality.” It’s really weird and unsettling. It can be deeply, profoundly alienating.
Point is, it’s often pain that leads to drug use, and famous, successful people are no more immune to pain than anyone else.
In my early twenties and spending a couple of weeks with a friend who lived directly on the beach in Venice, California. I was alone in the apartment when a man broke in. He made his way to the bedroom, where I was standing, looking out the sliding glass doors that opened on to the balcony that oversaw Ocean Front Walk and the beach.
When I was a preteen, more or less, my father took my brother and me to his Aikido classes and we eventually had our own little class with the teacher’s son or nephew. I liked it and was not bad at it.
So this guy comes barreling over to me while saying something nasty and reaching out to grab me with one arm. Without thinking at all, I responded with an Aikido move that I had learned as a kid. Along with my partner inertia, I ended up throwing the guy over my shoulder and over the balcony wall.
When the first responders came, he was unconscious, supine on Ocean Front Walk.
One Night Stands: if that is your goal. Plan to get rejected a lot, to put a ton of work in.
Plan on getting really drunk, and having bad sex with someone you’ll probably regret having sex with.
Side Chicks (dudes): a moment’s pleasure, the rush of something new, will quickly be replaced by the persisting paranoia of being caught and the shitty feeling of having cheated on your partner.
Expensive Weddings: just don’t. You aren’t royalty. It puts a lot of pressure on you both for the event and the marriage. And if things don’t work out, those expensive pictures will end up in a drawer anyway.
Marriage*: often – this is rushed. Make sure you know the person. It will make it much harder to leave and you’ll end up wasting your best years because you felt too ashamed to get divorced.
*if it is right – marry the hell out of them.
Trying to persuade someone to like you: love/romance should happen organically, not as a product of you having to oversell (beg) someone to be into you.
A Shot of booze after midnight (or last call): It’s time to start drinking water as soon as PM turns to AM. Otherwise you are just signing yourself up for a massive hangover.
Staying up late: just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Turn off the TV. Get some sleep.
Doing it later: nothing in this world destroys more potential than procrastination
Stop it before it stops you. Do it now.
Shiny Objects: Fancy cars, big diamonds, they will be fun for a moment. But you’ll quickly find that feeling fading.
And you’ll quickly learn that “Looking Rich” is a very expensive hobby.
Insurance/ “assurance” Plans: outside of health insurance and car insurance, avoid insurance like the plague. They are designed to be high-profit services for companies. (Now – if you buy something that you plan to use the shit out of, consider insurance.)
Warranties: same as above.
Self-Criticism: let it go. No self-haunting. Criticize yourself once and then correct the behavior. Don’t become your own ghost.
Driving your car fast to impress friends: I know people who are in wheelchairs for life because of this.
Appeasing your parents: you pick your own career – not them. Listen – but don’t become “Project Redo” for their own life.
Credit Cards Debt: avoid avoid avoid. Only use credit cards to build your credit score. If you don’t have stable income, you could end up being saddled with debt collection calls for decades.
Yelling/Hitting/Throwing – there are other ways to resolve disputes with your significant other. Nothing good comes of those things.
Excessive Pills: if you have clinical depression – I don’t discourage you from medicating – do it.
But remember – there is an over-medication problem, in the US and elsewhere. Don’t be another person taking a cocktail of pills every night. Address the underlying problem if you can.
Expensive Colleges: you don’t have to spend all four years at a $30K per year school. There are other options. $120K will be a monster to re-pay. And for god’s sakes – study something that will give you a job of some type. It doesn’t have to be engineering. But make it something.
Arguing with people on Quora: you won’t be turning anyone. You are wasting keystrokes and probably just signing yourself up for a moderation violation.
Winning an Argument: does winning this argument serve a purpose? Or does it serve your ego?
The USA has entered the twilight zone
Strange: U.S. Announces “Ohio-class Submarine has entered CENTCOM Area of Responsibility”
The United States has strangely announced that “An Ohio-Class Submarine has entered the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility. What makes this announcement strange is they didn’t identify WHICH ONE.
It makes a Gigantic difference.
There are, at present, eighteen (18) Ohio-Class Submarines. Fourteen (14) of those carry TRIDENT II nuclear missiles with Eight (8) independently-targetable warheads each. That means that EACH submarine has 160 nuclear warheads.
Four of those Ohio-class submarines (USS Ohio, USS Florida, USS Michigan, and USS Georgia) carry 154 Tomahawk (Land-attack) Cruise missiles, each.
So, the big question on everyone’s mind right now is, WHICH “Ohio-Class” submarine just arrived in CENTCOM’s Area of Responsibility? Nuke or non-nuke?
HT REMARK:Things over there in the Middle East are growing more dangerous by the hour. This situation between Israel and HAMAS has “Disaster” written all over it; and not merely for Israel/HAMAS, but for the entire region and maybe even the entire world.
Whatever is coming is apparently HUGE! At about 4:00 PM eastern STANDARD Time (GMT-0500) here in the USA, the Israeli Defense Force put out a message on social media that they have **NEVER** put out before: “Pray for us.” It’s all over social media right now . . .
UPDATE 7:35 AM EST MONDAY —
I have been told the submarine is the USS Florida, and SSGN as opposed to an SSBN. The G stands for Guided Missile and is the type of submarine armed with 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles.
(Breathing a sigh of relief . . . .)
Men Made a List of Women to NEVER DATE!
“As a American Black woman and single mother of a young adult son; I’m actually not mad at this list Good for them for clapping back at this foolishness!”
“Basically, to sum up, modern dating for young people these days is pure hell.”
“Lord these gender wars between men and women especially in the black community is quite entertaining sometimes but ultimately just down right sad, smh.”
“I am actually shocked “plus-size” or obese are not on that list.”
“On a recent “Girls Trip” to Miami it was either 5 or 6 females all went there together and they all came home preggers and none of them know who the fathers are… MTR recently covered this story.”
I was actually a customer. I could see the massive massive queue and the flames reflected off the walls and the panicky slamming of woks from just how busy it was.
They couldn’t cope. I saw the old man who looked like a thinner version of my dad overwhelmed when he brought out a tray of food.
I said to her in my finest Hakka do you need some help? The old lady on the counter looked up and was what? How do you know how to speak Hakka? I thought you were a tai look lau… (Mainland Chinese). Short argument, wife (on the counter) says no, husband says ok. I go in and he’s looking after 5 Chinese cookers by himself just like my dad used to do. I help them out for an hour, turns out their sons had gone on holiday. Business dies down and we share a few cans of special brew.
He was a man from Yuen Long and had moved in the 1970s.
It was an interview a few years ago when we still had to go into the office to attend. My interviewer was a young man, dandy. The interview started by him introducing himself as the ‘Best PM of the year’ at the company and currently working in the BigData department (BigData back a few years ago was similar to AI today, everyone talks about it and everyone claims doing it). And he said he would be my boss if I happened to ‘make it’.
The interview went just fine; some technical questions I was able to answer. Then he looked at my resume and asked if I was a teacher because I claimed in the resume that I did teaching. I said I’d prefer to be called a ‘trainer’ more than a ‘teacher’. Then he asked, ‘Teach me something. Better something interesting and something I don’t know about.’ I said, ‘Ok, I will teach you how to bake a cake.’ Then I got into my ‘teaching mode’ (I always think that we need to teach things with enthusiasm to draw interest from learners), and proceeded to talk about ‘baking is like doing science, we need to be precise.’ Then I told him the two biggest tips for baking a good cake: 1. Always prepare the pan before starting to prepare the batter, and 2. Even if the recipe doesn’t call for salt, a pinch of salt would kick the flavor to the next level.
He stopped me, and he went, ‘Jezz! You talk a lot. Really a lot. You don’t need to pretend to be a college professor here.’ I heard that and replied, ‘Oh, yeah, sorry. I don’t always talk that much to everyone.’ He smirked, ‘I’m special, huh? Well, I’m flattered, but you know sweet talk wouldn’t get you the job.’ I smiled, ‘Oh, no. I meant, to smart students, I never have to talk that much.’ His smirk dropped, and he told me the interview was over.
I didn’t get the job, have never seen him again, so I haven’t got a chance to ask him if he has ever tried to bake a cake?
My Aunt backed into my parked car. She came into the house and insisted that I pay for the damage. It was my fault that I was parked where she needed to drive. I told her that my insurance company would only cover the expense if she called the cops and filed a police report. They needed the report for the claim. She called the police who came out to investigate. She told them what happened. They came in to question me. Their first question was “is she for real?”
Welcome to my world.
I wouldn’t fuck you
You can hear the amount of disappointment in her voice when she asked him why. It was like her soul just got snatched.
I worked in a factory in a second level management position. I loved the job, worked hard, and was well paid. It was not unusual for me to be at work on Saturdays. I just did it-I was not expected to.
Well the operations manager called me into his office, and told me he wanted me to work every Saturday. I said that I was generally there on Saturdays, but didn’t like the demand he was making. I asked it I would get additional pay. He said no, and reminded me there were 2 people who refused to work on Saturdays, that we no longer here. I looked at him, and said “well now there are 3”! I walked out of his office, gathered up my personal stuff and left!
About 3 weeks later, he was fired! Did my heart good!
As any decent person would do, I walked up to her and I noticed 3 young children in the car so I knew I needed to act fast since it was a little chilly that evening, I proceeded to ask if she needed some help and she said “yes sir that would be great”.
I opened her trunk and to my astonishment, she had a spare tire but no jack to lift the car up with …. so since we were at walmart, I went and purchased a jack to change the tire on her car.
After about an hour, she and the 3 young children were on thier merry way.
My phone rang as soon as I got back in my car and a child I mentor called me to tell me about his day at school and he asked “what are you doing?” I told him “I was helping a lady with her car”.
He replied with “why?”
I responded “You’re never too important to be nice to people”.
I was riding my horse on a trail that went through a kind of alley between the back yards of very expensive homes in a very upscale development.
The houses all had fences that were about 8 feet high, solid cinderblock. If you went walking down that trail, you wouldn’t be able to see into anyone’s yard.
But when you’re on the back of a horse, you could see over the fences into people’s yards.
There weren’t a lot of people who rode their horses down that particular trail, especially on Monday through Friday. It was usually very quiet.
So I was riding my horse there, on the way back from a long trail ride. I was riding at a walk, and because the trail was thickly covered with wood bark and chips, my horse didn’t make any noise.
As we went down the trail, I heard a rhythmic creak-creak-creak kind of sound. Not loud, but unusual enough that I started looking for the source. (When you’re trail riding on a horse, you stay aware of what’s going on around you, because there are a lot of things that can cause a horse to freak out.)
The sound grew louder as we got closer, and I finally saw the source.
A man and a woman were having sex on a trampoline in one of the yards adjoining the trail. Butt naked and in their own little world. Creak-creak-creak went the trampoline…
They saw me about the same time I saw them. I raised my dressage whip, which I carried on trail rides to sweep spiderwebs that crossed the trail away, saluted them, and kicked my horse into a fast canter and scrammed out of there.
I took my car for its annual safety inspection. The mechanic came out and told me that it had failed for three reasons. First, the front bumper was detaching. Second, the little light above the license plate was burned out. Last, the windshield washer wasn’t working. He suggested that I go to an auto parts shop and get the replacement bulb and also see if they had the right clips to reattach the bumper, or otherwise perhaps I could improvise something, but that I should bring it back to have them fix the windshield washer pump because it’s not easy to get to that so I probably couldn’t replace it myself.
I said to him, “Yeah, I’m going to go the parts store, thanks. But I know for a fact that the washer was working fine less than ten minutes before you took the car into the garage, because I washed the windshield while I was driving over. Look carefully, and you can even see the streaks. It rained this morning and that would have washed away any older streaks.”
I went to the parts store, got the bulb and the clips, and then went home, popped the hood, and activated the washer. A stream of water sprayed over the hood and onto the roof of the car. So, the pump was obviously working fine. What was the problem? After some poking around, I determined that the hose from the pump was simply disconnected. It wasn’t an easy reach, but I managed to reconnect it.
When I took it back to the shop to get my inspection sticker, I said “Y’know, it’s pretty amazing that that it would detach itself like that. It’s almost as if someone yanked on it while nobody was looking, sometime during the ten minutes between the time I used the washer while driving over and the time you pulled it into the garage.”
We were going to China on a trip to visit Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Xian. At the New Delhi airport, there was a group of Chinese tourists who were returning to China after visiting India. They were asked to fill some forms and were struggling to fill it in English. One of them requested me, and i happily obliged. Soon there was a small line of Chinese tourists getting there forms filled by me. I didn’t mind as flight was not leaving for next 2 hours.
We reached Beijing and realised that the hotel cab that was supposed to pick us up, was nowhere to be seen. We tried calling and the hotel reception, but they did not had an English speaking staff in the night. For the people who have not visited China, you should know that Hotel has different address and names written in Chinese and English. If you are not carrying Chinese name and address, its very difficult to ask for directions. New to China, we felt stuck and helpless at Airport.
Soon we saw the entire group of tourists i had helped. Seeing me and my wife they waved and asked if we need any help. They immediately made a call to the hotel reception and explained the situation in Chinese. They also waited untill our cab from hotel arrived at Airport.
I really believe that was one act of kindness that was immediately returned back to me as an instant karma!
Because what’s socially acceptable is based on social convention, and social convention is rarely rational.
Society has declared that bikinis are public wear and underthings are private wear that must always have something over them. That’s it. The fact they both reveal the same amount of skin isn’t relevant.
Often, what’s socially acceptable is about what’s common. That which you see in public becomes accepted; that which you don’t, doesn’t. Society doesn’t do consistency checking with each individual thing; that’s not how people work.
A student got sassy with a teacher about a grade and the teacher kicked him out of the room. The student grabbed a pencil and stabbed the assistant teacher in the room. Just in the hand, but still.
So the teacher goes rage mode and physically marches the student down to the deans office. Everyone is initially furious at the student, he’ll be expelled for sure. Assistant teacher is shaken but fine.
Daddy was a big donor to the school and the kid was on the state championship bound Football team. Daddy argued with the school, who reverses the expulsion and instead fires the teacher for “laying hands on a student.”
There were walk outs, several other teachers quit, the local news picked it up, the whole nine yards. Nothing changed. The school kept the little asshole to keep Daddy happy and fired a very, very good teacher.
For me it was my mother. I was told constantly how pretty I was. My little sister was told how smart she was. The message we received was that I wasn’t smart and my sister wasn’t pretty.
Upon graduating high school I was told I didn’t need to go to college because I was pretty and would always have a man to take care of me. My sister went to college (she graduated high school at age 16).
Instead of college, I became a stewardess. It was a great job and I don’t regret it at all. But at age 40, I decided I wanted to go college after all. I graduated with a degree in Accounting and a 3.9 GPA.
It took me that long to find out I was smart.
Congratulations! China develops world’s first super all-analog photoelectronic chip
Chinese researchers from Tsinghua University have developed an all-analog photoelectronic chip that can process computer vision tasks with greater speed and energy efficiency than existing chips, marking the first of its kind in the world.
The research team’s findings, which provide an alternative to existing technologies based around analogue-to-digital conversion, have been published in the journal Nature.
In the new study, the researchers designed an integrated photoelectronic processor to harness the advantages of both light, in the form of photons, and electrons, as found in electric currents, in an all-analog way. The result is called an “all-analog chip combining electronic and light computing,” or ACCEL.
Tests showed that ACCEL is able to recognize and classify objects with a degree of accuracy comparable to those of digital neural networks. Furthermore, it classifies high-resolution images of various scenes of daily life more than 3,000 times faster and with 4,000,000 times less energy consumption than a top-of-the-line graphics processing unit (GPU).
Analog and digital signals are two types of signals carrying information. Analog signals vary continuously, as with the rays of light forming an image, while digital signals are non-continuous, as with binary numbers.
In vision-based computing tasks like image recognition and object detection, signals from the environment are analog, and they need to be converted into digital signals for processing by AI neural networks, systems trained to recognize patterns and relationships in a data set.
However, the analog-to-digital conversion is time- and energy-consuming, limiting the speed and efficiency of the neural network’s performance. Photonic computing, which uses analog light signals, is one of the most promising approaches to addressing the issue.
“We maximized the advantages of light and electricity under all-analog signals, avoiding the drawbacks of analog-to-digital conversion and breaking the bottleneck of power consumption and speed,” said Fang Lu, a researcher from the Tsinghua team.
A review by Nature editors said that the team had minimized the need for energetically costly analog-to-digital converters. “This refreshing and pragmatic approach to artificial-intelligence hardware that is highly energy efficient makes the most out of both electronic and photonic computing technologies,” it said.
Fang noted that the advantage of ultra-low power will help improve the heating problem of chip scaling, and it has the potential to bring breakthroughs in the future design of chips.
Dai Qionghai, director of the School of Information Science and Technology at Tsinghua University, said that the team has developed a prototype chip, and will work toward making a general-purpose artificial intelligence chip for a broader range of applications.
Sizzling Shrimp Po’ Boys with Blueberry Remoulade
Prep: 20 min | Cook: 15 to 20 min | Yield: 4 sandwiches
In another medium bowl, stir cornmeal, flour, Old Bay and salt.
To the milk mixture, add shrimp, a few at a time, to coat. Remove one shrimp, allow excess liquid to drain off, and roll in the cornmeal mixture to coat well.
Place on a plate or rack. Repeat to coat all the shrimp.
Meanwhile, pour oil 1-inch deep, into a large saucepan; over medium-high heat, heat oil to 350 degrees F.
Gently place 4 to 6 shrimp in the hot oil and fry until golden and crispy on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes; drain on paper towels.
Repeat to fry all the shrimp, adding more oil, if needed.
To serve, spread rolls with Blueberry Remoulade, add lettuce and top with shrimp.
My wife and I went to see the war movie “Saving Private Ryan” in IMAX…. it was super loud. My wife had even taken hearing protection, because it was so darn loud. When the movie ended she was taking out her ear plugs and said..
“Wow, that was so loud”
Now, there was an old dude sitting in front of us, and he said …
Most of the time, Chinese don’t think about Koreans.
When I have heard Chinese talk about Koreans, they talk about good entertainment and food, hard work, and often more hot-tempered than Chinese. But they do not say this in an uncomplimentary way; they just say that Koreans are usually more hot-tempered and emotional than Chinese in a matter-of-fact way.
Simply put, by doing a good job, right up to the last day. Here’s my story.
I wasn’t fired, but I was forced out. Over 17 years, I worked diligently for my boss. I started out as a laborer in this construction firm. I had completed a 2 year course on building construction, but back then, you did not get a degree for vocational education. I worked my way up to running jobs for him, as a job supervisor. Building one job, I set a record within the firm for the highest profit job. The boss that’s because he bid the job right. At the same time, we had 2 other identical jobs going, and they were both losing money. I replied that I made sure he managed to keep that money instead of running it poorly.
Fast forward a few years, and over the years, we had both grown tired of each other. Little things. The boss visibly checking his watch when I leave at 3:31, a minute after quitting, all the while ignoring I started 10 minutes early. For some reason, he tells me I can not run jobs for him anymore, claiming that the jobs he bids on, they want to see that his supervisors have a college degree. I’ll keep my pay and vacation, but I am maxed out as a carpenter, so don’t expect raise for the near future.
At first, this arrangement was actually quite nice. I kept my pay and benefits, but the stress levels associated with running a job went away. All of the newly hired college degreed supervisors love having me on their job. After 17 years, I knew what needed doing and how to do it, and was happy to do so. That Christmas, I specifically not invited to the company Christmas party, as only supervisors were invited. It used to be everyone when we had a small crew, or supervisors and key personnel (Long term hires, not the guy hired last week).
Later that spring, the boss tells everyone that times are tough, he won the bid on the job, but it was low, I need everyone to take a pay cut. Everyone else agrees to take a dollar cut. My turn in his office, he suggests a $3.00 cut in pay. I tell him I can not afford that, I’ll need to immediately start looking for a job. He replies, okay a dollar cut. And says that if everyone pulls together and produces, I can raise their pay back. So… my pay depends on all the now demoralized employees.
So, of course after a few more months, I am feeling hurt by the disrespect, and a job is offered to me, same pay, new company, one with some real character and class. I took the job, of course. The boss looks at me and says, you didn’t think that pay cut was permanent did you? I just looked at him. Two weeks later, I am working the next job and loving the working relationship.
After a couple months, I get a call from him, he tells me it was a mistake to let me go, he didn’t realize all I did for him and how well I did it, offers me a good paycheck and restoration of all benefits, etc… I reply that this job has different challenges that I want to prove myself on, and politely declined. His response, oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. A few months later, I receive a similar call from him, and it goes the same way, though he offers me a little more money. Again, politely declined. 2 years or so after leaving, I see a prominent ad in the help wanted section. He placed an ad in my new locale, describing my experience and capability to the letter, offering a company truck, commensurate pay, etc.. I did not respond. After 17 years of the little quibbles we had with each other, I had enough. I currently had a secure job and wanted to stay there.
TLDR, do a great job right up to your last day and make them regret making you leave.
Christopher Reeve was so much more than the characters he played.
He was exceptional, having hit the genetic lottery.
He was a brilliant student and an outstanding athlete. He was kind and oozed work ethic, pursuing perfection in everything he did. Christopher Reeve could have done anything he wanted in life.
Acting became his first and foremost love. He landed lead roles in nearly every audition from grade school onward.
A famous actress, Olympia Dukakis, approached him after a childhood performance, saying, “I am surprised. You’ve got a lot of talent. Don’t mess it up.”
He later frequented the most esteemed theater groups, including the Harvard Theater Company.
After being accepted to a list of Ivy League Schools, Chris attended Cornell, and later — Julliard.
He was adored by his theater teacher, John Houseman, who was eager to see Chris’s career blossom, saying, “Mr. Reeve. It is terribly important that you become a serious classical actor. Unless they offer you a shitload of money to do something else.”
The latter phrase came to be
After a stint of leading roles on Broadway, Chris landed the lead role in Superman in 1978. He went on to worldwide fame, appearing in famous films throughout the 1980s.
Chris lived a life most men dream of.
He made millions of dollars while starring in love scenes with beautiful starlets. He traveled the world, dining with Hollywood elites and noble laureates.
And then he met Dana
It was 1987. Dana Morosini was performing in a small-town cabaret.
Chris was always a fan of theater and was in attendance. Afterward, he walked into the backroom to meet her.
She’d fully expected to meet an arrogant jerk, as one often assumes of men in his position.
She said, “The man I met was soft-spoken, tall, kind, articulate, and not far removed from superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent.”
She was caught off guard by his interest in her. Chris said he’d just come back to compliment her, but later admitted he’d fallen in love with her in the moment he’d seen her.
She was initially skeptical, knowing it could all be a ruse to get her into the sack.
He later called her and she agreed to go out with him. She quickly fell in love and their relationship progressed. They moved in and lived together for several years. Then they married and had a child.
Theirs was always a good marriage, not prone to turbulence and strife and the two were known for their public affection. They traveled and went sailing while pursuing their own careers.
Eventually, horses came into the picture. Dana had grown up riding. In an effort to be part of that passion, Chris began taking lessons.
Like most things he did, he went all in. He wanted to be his absolute best. He rode and took lessons 4–5 days a week.
He went into jumping — a very dangerous style of horseback riding and was doing fine, despite taking an ambitious progression in the sport. It typically takes years to progress into big jumps.
May 27th, 1995
The most dangerous accidents are often subtle and less violent than a kick or explosion.
Gravity can do great damage with a little distance and a bad angle.
As Chris’s horse surged towards a wall to jump, it panicked and stopped, (called “refusing” in riding).
Chris was launched over the horse. He landed headfirst, all 6’4, 230 lbs of him. His second and third vertebrae in his neck were shattered.
Seven months prior, he’d filmed a movie where he played a paraplegic. He’d spent substantial time around people with spinal cord injuries in preparation for that role. Every day, he’d left their clinic feeling grateful for not living in their predicament.
And now he was there.
Life sputters to restart
Chris laid in the hospital, completely immobile and powerless. He was waiting to have surgery to reattach his skull to his spine. He couldn’t even lift his hand to brush his own teeth.
Most don’t realize what nearly happened in the weeks that followed.
Chris was in heated arguments with his doctors. He insisted they pull the plug on his breathing machine. It wasn’t a bluff. He couldn’t fathom living in his current state.
He saw himself as a burden to those around him. He was also threatening that he’d kill himself if they didn’t.
One can imagine, after a life of such freedom, being able to do anything you wanted, with a budget to pursue any passion, just how challenging it would be to suddenly be confined to such a cruel fate.
Dana Reeve became emotional and sat with him, saying, “I am only going to say this once. I will support whatever you want to do because this is your life and your decision. But I want you to know that I’ll be with you for the long haul, no matter what. You’re still you. And I love you.”¹
She urged him to just give it two years before they revisited the decision.
He accepted.
He eventually settled into his new life and Dana stood by her words, and by his side. They still lived, did things together, and found ways to have fun.
They were brought together by a push to make the world better for people like him, starting The Reeve Foundation, and raising money for people with spinal cord injuries.
He said during an Oprah interview: “We (humans) are all one big family. This has taught me a big lesson about complacency. We should never walk by someone in a wheelchair and be afraid of them — or think of them as a stranger. That could be us. In fact, it is us.”
Yet, it almost ended in that hospital room.
Chris couldn’t move a single body part below his neck. It was a far cry from his days as a free-roaming bachelor.
Yet he and Dana’s marriage was as strong in the second half as it had ever been before.
Sadly, Chris lost his life in 2004, due to complications from his injury. Shockingly, and only two years later, his wife Dana passed away from lung cancer. She was 47 years old and had never smoked.
Their story is terribly tragic. But within all of that pain, their love was consistent and they were happier than many others. It is yet another reminder, to embrace the moment and the blessing of good health.
The US government will destroy America’s semiconductor sector. Nvidia is the poster child of this event. It’s GPU semiconductors used in AI and cloud computing applications are a good example. At first, the US government stopped sales to the Chinese market of its 100 series chips, then Nvidia began a slower version in its 800 series chips. Now all Nvidia GPU chips are off limits to China. Not only that, but 21 countries suspected of reselling their purchases to China have been put on the entity list.
Talk about killing a company, Nvidia is a prime example of what is happening in the US semiconductor sector. The US is hell bent on denying semiconductors to the world’s biggest semiconductor market regardless of the damage.
Both TSMC and Intel have stopped work on their high end fabs because that market is fading away from them because of US restrictions. Intel and Qualcomm have established ‘innovation centers’ in mainland China and TSMC is trying to expand its Nanjing factory.
The US government is killing the very sector it thought its actions was meant to kill the Chinese semiconductor rise, only to find it is killing its own semiconductor industry.
When I was four, my father brought home this little white puppy for my sister. About a year and a half later, my mother got an orange tiger that became my cat. I loved that cat, and the cat and dog became fast friends, sleeping in the same bed together at times, and generally being the best of friends.
Starting in about fifth grade, I began to get really interested in retro TV shows like the Honeymmooners and Burns and Allen, and so many weekend nights I would fall asleep on the couch to those shows, either not going upstairs to my actual bed at all, or going to bed in the mmiddle of the night, at about three or four in the morning. Often enough I would let my cat in after he was outside for a few hours, as almost everybody who had cats at that time did; this was in the mid-seventies. He would make a kind of soft murr as he came in the door, and that’s how I knew he was in. That little white dog would be hanging out at his usual spot near the kitchen stove where his basket was, and the house would be at peace.
One cold winter night in February, when I was twelve, I got up to let my cat in. As usual, he did his usual murr, and I closed the door. Only this time the dog started growling and barking. Then I heard the sounds of a cat hissing. Then I heard the dog barking, and the noises of a cat and dog fighting. I couldn’t believe my ears because nothing like this had ever happened before. My cat and my sister’s dog were great friends so why was this happening? I was starting to realize that something was very, very wrong, and that there was probably a cat in our house that simply didn’t belong there. What else could explain the dog’s weird behavior? And by the way, what the hell was I gunna do now?
Well, what else could I do? I went upstairs to my parents room, opened the door and said:
“Ma? I think I let the wrong cat in.” See, I had figured out by this time that this other cat had followed mine into our house.
At that point, she and my brother came downstairs to see what was happening. As it turned out, quite a lot was going on because this cat and our dog were still fighting. And now my mother and brother were trying to get the damned cat out of the house. The cat was shrieking and hissing, flying around the kitchen, the dog was barking, and my mother couldn’t get her hands on the animal. My mother screamed at one point because the cat, quiet for a few seconds because it had tried to hide itself in a corner where we were storing insulation because my father was rebuilding our kitchen, screeched like a banshee when the cat sprung from his hiding place and attacked her.
Finally my cat, who had been paying no mind and eating his food in his bowl, finally got pissed off at the other cat and chased him out of the house. Then all was finally quiet, and we three all went upstairs to bed.
Meantime, my father, who was upstairs while all this was going on, got up to go to the bathroom, and he just started laughing his ass off. “It’s not funny!” I kept saying from my room, because by this time I was now in bed, and it was probably about 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning. Of course, the more I said it, the more he laughed, and the more he laughed, the more I found it funny, so I started laughing.
Just one of those classic stories from my childhood. And I can still hear my father remembering that story and repeating my words in the exact sheepish tone I used that night:
There was the time I helped a teenage girl run away from home. I hid her in my room, lied to my parents, and ditched school. And for years I was completely embarassed by it. That just wasn’t appropriate behavior.
Here’s the story. When I was about 17, I started dating this girl who was a year younger than me. She complained about her mom a lot. Hey, we were teenagers, we all complained about our parents — but as I listened to her, it started to sound like there was some real emotional abuse going on. One night she called me, and we talked for hours. At one point her cat came in; he was a bloody mess, apparently he’d been in a fight, and for her this was the last straw. She was in quite an emotional state as she cleaned up her cat and then told me, “I’m coming over. I need to be with you tonight.”
It was 2 AM and I knew my parents would not appreciate a girl showing up at our house at two o’clock in the morning. I told her no, but she insisted. She said she was going to ride her bike over and that was it, goodbye.
What could I do? I didn’t want her ringing the doorbell, so I went downstairs and checked on my parents — they slept on the first floor, my room was upstairs. They were sound asleep, so I eased the back door open quietly and waited for her.
She showed up, dropped her bike in the back yard, and headed for the door. Before I stopped her, she threw the door open . . . and the dog started barking.
Oh crap, I’d forgotten about the dog. I shoved her up the stairs and followed her up, telling her, “stay up here and BE QUIET!”
Then I came downstairs, just as if I had been awakened by the barking and was trying to figure out what was going on. My parents were stumbling out of bed also. My mom noticed the back door was open and there was a bicycle in the yard. Obviously, someone had broken into the house — but where was the intruder? Dad headed to check the garage and I offered to check upstairs. Naturally, none of us reported finding an intruder, and they assumed that the intruder had been frightened by the dog and fled on foot. Mom brought the bike into the garage and was going to call the police — but I said “If we call the police they won’t be here for another hour and we’re all tired. Why don’t we call them in the morning?” They agreed that this was the best idea and they went back to bed.
Upstairs, girlfriend was crying. She was trapped, couldn’t go back downstairs for fear of the dog barking again. Couldn’t get her bike out of the garage without my parents noticing. I said “You’ll just have to stay here till morning.”
“My mom will kill me!”
At this point I said. “You’ve been telling me how much you hate your mom and how you’d really like to run away. Now’s your chance.”
“Huh?”
“Stay here tonight, and tomorrow we’ll see what your legal rights are.” She agreed and we fell asleep.
The next morning I came down for breakfast. Naturally, my parents were still talking about the incident in the night. I volunteered to call the police. I picked up the phone, dialed Time and Temperature, and listened to the National Weather Service’s local weather forecast while making up an entire imaginary conversation with the police department. I told my parents, “They said they’ll be here in an hour or an hour and a half. Why don’t you guys go to work, I don’t have school till third period today anyway, I can talk to them when they get here.” They said I was a good, considerate son, and went off to work.
By the way — I don’t think I’d ever lied to my parents before. At least not since I was little. I was a terrible liar, and I don’t know how I was able to do it so convincingly, thinking on my feet with the pressure on. Of all the things in this story, lying to my parents is probably the thing I’m the most ashamed of.
They went to work and Jeannie came downstairs for breakfast. I called an adult friend, an attorney, and told him the situation. He said that if I really thought that there was abuse going on, that I should report it to the District Attorney. So I called the District Attorney’s office and made an appointment for Jeannie to meet with them that afternoon. We arranged to meet at school and I would drive her downtown, but at the moment she needed to get her bike out of my parent’s garage. She rode off to school and I would later tell my parents that the police impounded it.
When I got to school myself — late, I’d lied to my parents about not having to go to first or second period that day — I was met in the hallway by my English teacher, Mr. Nelson. His first words weren’t rebuke or admonishment. Instead he said, “You’ve been seeing Jeanne M—-, haven’t you?” Cautiously I admitted it, and he said with near-frantic concern. “Do you have any idea where she is? Her mom thinks she’s been kidnapped, there was blood in the bathroom and she’s missing.”
Blood? Oh, yeah, the cat was bleeding when he came home that night and Jeannie cleaned him up. So I told Mr. Nelson that Jeannie had been with me, and he said Jeannie’s mother was on the way and I needed to go to the principal’s office to straighten things out.
When I got to the principal’s office several things happened all at once. The principal greeted me (I was kind of a teacher’s pet, and he insisted I wasn’t in any trouble). Jeanne just arrived on her bicycle and was coming down the hall from the other direction — and in the front door was walking Jeannie’s mom.
Jeanne gave me a hug, right in front of the principal, saw her mom, and panicked. “Oh My God, Run!” she yelled, grabbed me by the hand, and started running like she was trying to save her life. I followed as best as I could, and behind us, her mother was keeping up with us, cursing and making dire threats against us.
We went down a couple of back corridors of the school and into the student parking lot. We got into my car and peeled rubber getting out of there, leaving Jeannie’s mom out of breath and swearing.
We spent the next hour driving around, hiding from Jeannie’s mom or anyone else looking for us, then went downtown where we told someone from the District Attorney’s Office what was going on. They asked Jeannie to go in for further questioning and evaluation and told me to go back to school.
I went directly to the principal’s office. I told the principal about Jeannie’s claims of abuse — he didn’t act surprised — and that I’d dropped her off at the District Attorney’s office. He just told me to go to class and I never got into any trouble for what I did, not even for missing several classes that day.
Jeanne called me that night to tell me she’d been put in foster care and had been placed with a family that lived in the East High district so she’d still be going to school, and the DA was investigating the situation. But I never did find out how it all worked out, because not too long afterward, Jeannie and I had a big fight and we broke up.
In the years that followed, I was ashamed of the role I’d played in the whole affair. I was a good student, not a troublemaker, the teachers and parents all liked me, I was a Christian kid, active in church and my youth group, not the kind of person to help minors run away from home or hide girls in my room or lie to my parents. As the years went by I was ashamed and embarrassed by the whole thing and didn’t talk about it.
Then one day, 40 years later, I started wondering about some of the people I knew in high school and started looking them up on social media. I found Jeanne. Since I’d known her she’d become a registered nurse, gotten married, had a kid, gotten divorced, and lived alone with a couple of cats. Nothing too extraordinary there.
Then I found a blog post she wrote, entitled “The Day My Life Changed.” She wrote about years of emotional abuse recieved from her angry single mother, the cursing and threats and insults. “You’re nothing but a worthless slut,” she was told over and over, and ever since she was little she just wanted to make the abuse end. She wanted to run away — but was never able to do it “until one night a brave boyfriend said he’d help.” She ran away, got into foster care, and a family that convinced her that she wasn’t worthless after all — decided to go to nursing school and make a life for herself.
“Brave boyfriend.” I’d never thought of myself like that before. For years, I’d been ashamed and embarrassed about what I d done, only to find out that I was the hero in someone else’s story.
Yes I contacted Jean after that, and we stay in touch by Facebook.
Cajun Cheeseburger
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons green pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried, crushed basil
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 slices Wisconsin Cheddar cheese
4 hamburger buns, toasted
4 tomato slices
1/4 cup green onion slices
Instructions
Combine beef, pork, chopped onion, green pepper and seasonings; mix well. Shape into four patties. Cook and top with cheddar as directed below.
Place patties on oiled grill over medium coals (coals will be glowing). Grill, uncovered, for 5 minutes on each side to desired doneness.
Top each with Cheddar; continue grilling until cheese is melted. Place each patty on bun. Top with tomato; sprinkle with green onion.
I think it is inappropriate to say “China helps African countries”.
I have many business partners in China who are very interested when it comes to Africa. For the Chinese, Africa is a friendly business partner. Rather than “a beggar in need.”
There is a story circulating among the Chinese.
An Italian salesman went to Africa to sell shoes and found that Africans did not wear shoes at all. He returned to his country depressed and told his boss: “Boss, they can’t afford shoes at all. So our shoes can’t be sold.”
A Chinese salesman went to Africa to sell shoes and found that Africans did not wear shoes at all. He returned to his country excitedly and told his boss: “Boss, they don’t have shoes. Africa has huge market potential!”
Maybe you think that Africans can’t afford Chinese shoes, and that the Chinese are just being crazy. But the Chinese don’t think so.
There is a Chinese proverb, “Don’t bully a young man into being poor.” It roughly means: Don’t despise a person just because he is poor, but see his future.
In the eyes of the Chinese, although Africa is poor, it has huge potential. It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford shoes, I know rubber is abundant here. You can make soles out of rubber and sell them to me, and I will use them to produce shoes. Now that you have earned money, can’t you buy my shoes? You guys get nice shoes, I get cheap rubber, everyone is happy, isn’t that good?
What? You can only get rubber juice and don’t know how to make soles? It doesn’t matter, how about building a rubber factory and a shoe sole factory? No funds? Not technical?
It doesn’t matter, just wait for me to make a call.
Soon, rubber experts, equipment suppliers, and sole designers from China arrived. Chinese bankers came too, and they even gave better loans than the IMF, with only factories and future profits as collateral.
A year later, a modern rubber factory was built. Millions of shoe soles, gloves, and even tires are produced every year. Thousands of people found jobs here, and they began to have money to buy food, new clothes, and new shoes.
Salesmen in China found that their shoes were in short supply and all the shoes were sold. And the Italian salesman was still thinking about why Africans couldn’t afford shoes.
in this whole game
1. Africans got a modern factory.
2. Thousands of Africans around have received job opportunities. They have all made money, acquired new skills, and their lives have improved.
3. The tax revenue of the local government has been greatly increased. The income from selling rubber products is ten times more than that from selling rubber juice. There began to be money to build roads, schools, and hospitals.
4. China’s investment banks received dividends from the factory.
5. Chinese equipment suppliers sold equipment.
6. Experts who go to Africa to teach technology are paid a lot of money.
7. All the salesman’s shoes have been sold.
Who loses? There are no losers here
Is China helping Africa? No, China is just doing business their way, and Africans are just their customers. They deal fairly with each other and do not need charity or mercy.
Only some Western media are shouting: “Oh no! The Chinese are plundering Africa’s rubber. This is neocolonialism!”
They have completely forgotten how they did it 100 years ago.
Americans have a tendency to talk with their “outside voice”, even when inside and in a place where quiet is expected.
Americans have a tendency to mistreat people like store clerks, fast food workers, and hotel clerks.
Americans appear to have a perverse sense of pride about (1) how little they know about Canada (2) what they think they know about Canada that’s absolutely wrong, and (3) how large Canada is. Americans tend to treat Canada as if it were the size of Rhode Island rather than it being a little larger than their own country.
Americans are sure all their stuff is better than all our stuff, and when you point out how wrong that is in any area and provide demonstrable proof, they still won’t believe it.
Americans call our currency “funny money” because it’s plastic and all the bills have different colours. That’s despite the fact that American counterfeit currency is quite common and Canadian counterfeit currency is pretty rare solely because of its design.
A few months ago, I received an email from my daughter’s school informing me about the tragic passing of a girl. She had taken her own life.
She was only 14! She should have had her whole life ahead of her to do anything she wanted, but she couldn’t anymore because she chose death. The school email didn’t provide details about the reasons behind her action, but through the conversation with my daughter, I discovered that she had been battling depression. She felt overwhelmed by how she looked and the hurtful comments some other kids made about her. Sadly, some of her peers even viewed her actions as brave.
While I felt so sorry for the girl and her family, I felt compelled to remind my daughter a lesson I had always emphasized: “Everything can be fixed, except death. Taking your own life is not an act of bravery. Why? Because dying is easy. Living is hard. You only die just once but you have to live every day.”
I told my daughter, if anyone ever hurt you, do not hurt yourself, just come home to me, I will make you dinner, we will have dinner together, and if necessary, we will go out there and hunt the enemy that hurt you together.
Teenagers, please remember: Everything, every mistakes can be fixed, except death. If you ever don’t know where to go, go home!
And parents, please please, tell your kids that they can talk to you about anything, they can always come HOME. Please don’t assume that they know. Just tell them, by words, sincerely.
Some background: I was a costume designer for many years. My life was all about color. I dated someone who didn’t have basic color knowledge. Most frustratingly, he didn’t know common color names: Magenta, aqua, salmon lemon yellow. Could have been Greek to him. It was a source of humor between us, like we were speaking different languages.
Call him Steve.
One day we were discussing how and when we had learned color names, and had a bizarre revelation. I realized I had learned all my basic color names from Crayola crayons (note for young Quorans: they used to have the traditional color names, instead of creative new names). I started asking my friends, and all of them said that yes, the Crayola 64 pack (or was it a 120 pack? The biggest one.) was where they first learned their basic colors.
Steve, it turned out, never had Crayolas. His parents only got him the little 8 packs of generic colors. Red, green, blue, yellow, brown, orange, black, purple.
My poor disadvantaged baby! Of course we started making up for lost time. He would ask me what color I called something, then he’d tell me what he thought it was. Like lovers from foreign countries learning each other’s languages.
Anyway…. Came my birthday, and he gave me a gift I will never forget. It was a little book he had made by stapling sheets of paper together down the middle. On the cover it said “Crayola-Steve Dictionary” Inside, on each page, were two columns. One had each of the crayola colors drawn on the paper, with its name. Opposite it was the color that Steve had grown up thinking that name referred to.
I have never in my life had someone put so much effort and caring into a gift.
Years later, when Crayola betrayed the artists of the world by changing their color names to updated and exciting things, so that kids could no longer learn their color basics from the product, he hunted down a pack of the originals for me.
He was a very special guy, and I will always remember that gift fondly.
ADDED: For those who are interested, here you can see the change in color names in 1990…art teachers, I warn you, have a stiff drink in hand…
When I walked up on an employee berating a very nice regular customer. Actually, called this sweet little old lady a very offensive name (you f’king ole b***h). Her offence? She asked him a question as he was stocking some items. I fired him right there on the spot in front of her. Told him to get his things and get out and I would be mailing him his last paycheck as I never wanted to see his face again.
What is this problem with people painting cats blue?
I was fed up with the crap at a place that I was working and interviewed for a job that was opening up at a new place. My boss had been driving 50 miles each way. The new company was opening a place down the highway from his house, cutting it to 12 miles. They offered more money, more decency, better products and overall better working conditions. When I interviewed, they hired me on the spot and asked if I knew of anyone else who would like to work for them that they could talk to. I set up interviews for my whole team before I even told them about it, then badgered them into going. I told them they could say no at any point and I’d never say that they interviewed at all. We all went. We got better jobs closer to our homes. We got better working conditions. We got more money.
Once upon a time in a far away place, there was a party called the Republican party that believed in fiscal restraint and cutting taxes as the way to win the hearts and minds of the American people and to transfer ever more wealth to the rich in America.
This policy was ingrained and enshrined in their thinking with the greatest avatar being the B grade actor Ronald Reagan. Reagan coined phrases like Morning in America and went around Washington having huge balls and a wonderful time. Jobs started to disappear and the Midwest became the ‘rust belt’ but Reagan slashed taxes for the rich, ran up the deficit and left it for Bush Sr to fix it which he could not as he was right when he called it, ‘voodoo economics’.
This let in Bill Clinton who worked with Newt of Gingrich fame and they balanced the budget and all was well as the country bled ever more jobs but it was don’t worry be happy. Remember that one?
But Bush Jr of hanging chad fame, became President, cut more taxes, had 2 wars at a trillion $ or so and the country was back on the debt cycle as 3 million more jobs went to China. The ‘oughts’ were the worst for the American worker and best for American rich in a century until it all collapsed in a big heap.
Bush left the US in the Great Recession, crashed the economy and left it to neophyte Obama to fix. Obama dawdled along, saved the auto industry and put through an expensive healthcare plan nicknamed Obamacare and after 8 years and the hubris of HRC another Republican, this time a 5 time bankrupt tv huckster, Donald Trump came in with the same old same old.
Cut more taxes but then he decided he didn’t care about budgets. Thus the story ended with yet another $7 trillion added in debt as every Republican President that was a tax hawk / cutter has added more and more trillions to the national debt.
Trump did something else and is the reason for this story, he ended the Republican party. It no longer is a governing party, it is now the party of the angry disaffected types who will vote for him even though he admits he lost the 2020 election and tried to steal it. They love it, his minions now run the House, the Speaker was a leader in the steal the election saga.
A Christian theocracy is now spoken of openly and history is being rewritten by the GOP to move the US to a religious based society run by evangelical GOP Christians where women have no rights any more and elimination of LGBTQ rights including the right to marry will be taken away.
The GOP no longer stands for cutting taxes for the rich, that has already been done. Now they want to destroy and dismantle the federal government and take rights away from those they do not like including black and brown people who are being gerrymandered out in state after red state.
To cut the power of the feds and give it to the states so that the states will devour each other in a free for all. The GOP no longer stands for anything other than chaos.
You don’t have to look far, the new Speaker’s first proposal for Israel was to partially defund the IRS so that the rich don’t have to worry about being audited.
In the end, the GOP now stands for chaos, tearing down the system, cutting taxes and screwing everyone including the military and making themselves the white masters of an evangelical Christian society where they have all the rights and will tell you what to read, what to think and what history will be taught.
I’ve heard men say the only reason they ever befriend a woman is because they want to get their dicks wet. I believe those men. They have no reason to lie, and I see no evidence that runs counter to what they say.
Those men? No, they probably should not. Not just because they’ll cheat if they can, but because they see women as basically a life support system for a vagina, and what kind of friend is that? Their friendship will always and forever be transactional, because at the end of the day they don’t see women as people.
Normal men? Yes, normal men should have friends outside their marriage. Including friends who are women.
Yes. Out for dinner with my wife, I ordered a budget-friendly red called Leaping Horse or something similar. Or, more accurately, that’s what I meant to order. Instead, I treated us to a $200 bottle of Stag’s Leap at five times the price of the other horsey brand I thought I ordered. Stag’s Leap wasn’t even on the official wine list.
To be fair, the server questioned it and double checked that was what I wanted. Each time I foolishly said yes.
The US Navy doesn’t try to minimize discomfort. Safety? Sure. Discomfort? Suck it up Shippy!.
Racks, Navy-speak for the bunks sailors sleep in, have straps. Typically we keep them tucked under the mattress. But when needed we can pull them out and snap hook the to the top of the rack frame. This prevents you from rolling out of your rack.
I have used the straps on a few occasions and they do in fact work well. During a trek from Norfolk to Pascagoula back in the mid-90’s aboard a Burke-class guided missile destroyer, we ran into a group of storms near Key West. This area is notorious for bad weather that pops up on short notice. The area is littered with wrecks from the Age of Sail all the way to the 20th Century. White Squalls in particular are some of the most dangerous and infamous. We happened upon what the Commanding Officer would later tell us the Coast Guard had determined was a White Squall. When it began I was actually on the bridge standing watch. We were taking heavy listing rolls and heaving up and down fairly steeply. There is a list gauge and pitch gauge on the bridge. The heaviest roll we noted was about 32 degrees which is fairly close to Burke-classes mast limit.
We posted garbage bags in passageway and at strategic points. Many guys got sick. I felt horrible but I didn’t throw up. That may have been because I simply couldn’t eat after it started. As I was leaving watch and heading to the Mess Decks for Mid-Rats or Midnight Rations, I could smell vomit. The hour or so beating we took while I was on watch had me dizzy and swaying. Even when the ship wasn’t rocking, I was. By the time I made it to eat everything was secured as ordered by the CO. At that moment the CO came over the 1MC (loudspeaker), which was a big deal because it was past TAPS and no announcements are normally made. “Everyone not on watch strap into your racks”. Engineering watch crew set about “Setting Condition YOLK” which closes a lot of doors on the ship along with ventilation. The gun mount was turn as far aft as possible and depressed (pointed down) as much as possible.
The next day it was very calm to start. Then all of the sudden a storm formed and hit quickly during dinner. The rolls approached 40 degrees. We nosed into one wave an it submerged the bow. The waves that hit the bridge smacked the windows hard enough that it broke several windshield wipers. The storm hit while dinner was being served. The salad bar, which was tack-welded to the deck broke free and sent the contents everywhere. At the time the boat deck and our complement of 2 RHIB boats were my assigned space and responsibility along with one of my comrades. Both of us had to go out on deck to make sure the boats were secured. That was fun. We got to the quarterdeck and an area in the open that we have to cross with nothing to hold on to. Just at we were crossing the open area the ship heeled an rocked heavy to starboard ( the boat deck is on starboard). We were standing straight up but looking straight down at the water. It was intense.
There is also a stanchion/wire system we can rig for the Focsle (bow). They screw into the deck and stand about 6 foot tall. Wearing a harness you can strap onto the wire. Although rigging it when the seas are already rough is problematic. You can also just take the top caps and screw them into the deck, attaching the wire.
Years ago, my then-GF had a friend who periodically hung out with us.
Her friend was in a fairly turbulent relationship with her boyfriend.
It wasn’t abusive or anything. It just wasn’t meant to be. They couldn’t agree on anything in life.
Honestly, I dreaded hanging out with them.
They typically were showing up when we were going out on the weekends.
I knew that when they drank, it only exacerbated their problems and they’d start arguing.
And look, I’m not knocking either of them for their dysfunction. They were both young, not in full control of their emotions. They definitely weren’t prepared for their own incompatibility.
These things happen. We live. We grow. We learn.
Eventually, he came to realize that they were stuck in a rut they would never get out of. He broke things off with her.
She did NOT take it well.
Within a couple weeks she had moved away.
She took something with her though – his child. She was pregnant and chose not to tell him. It was a savage, vindictive thing to do.
Years later, he found out through back channels about it.
He was rightfully pissed. And it turned into huge drama.
Some of the friends in our group knew about him having a daughter and didn’t say anything to him. (Thankfully I didn’t know.)
He had to take her to court to get access to his daughter. And he did get visitation rights eventually.
But it sucked. He’d missed 5 years of his daughter’s life and hadn’t met her until then.
I can’t imagine introducing myself to my 5-year-old daughter, but these things happen.
He and the mother found a way into an agreeable arrangement of co-parenting.
And, he found a way to bury his resentment towards her for the sake of the child, which couldn’t have been easy.
But it was a valuable sacrifice because in the end it benefited the most important person in the equation, his daughter.
But I hate seeing kids getting caught in these evil games adults play with each other.
Due to a wiring harness issue, my father parked his 1965 impala SS in the garage 2002 and there it sat until 2022 when we had to move it. Rather than calling a tow truck I figured what the hell l, let’s give it a shot. We put a battery in it, pumped the gas a few times, a lot and behold l, it started right up after 30 seconds of cranking. Granted it ran like crap but it did run and stayed running with 20 years old gas. At first I was shocked that the gas was still good. Then I realized that it was likely the fact that the gas was 20 years old that made it start fine. This gas was pre-ethanol.
Now all we need to do is finish the wiring harness replacement
No I don’t. I was 12 when I had my first set of twins. My father had raped me for almost 2 years, and I didn’t know about abortion then. I was a child who was forced into having sex, and procreate, against my will. I still managed to graduate early, and find a good man to love, but I’ll never be able to get that innocence or childhood back.
You want the good news or the bad news. Let me feed you the good news first. Not yet! Chinese, Russian or a combination of this that faced the U.S. excesses hasn’t reached the point that it wants to take out the U.S. in spite of the U.S. provocation and goaded behaviour.
But it might if the U.S. don’t recognised the red line and push and push and push. At some point it may have no choice. And now the bad news. The U.S. has lost its ability to act without repercussions. Up to 2000 these countries might not have the capability to take out the U.S. but by 2023 they certainly can. And absolutely could do so it push comes to shove.
My worry is that the U.S. might not recognises or in denial that those nations can and will do it if they are push into the corner. There lies the risk of a catastrophic disaster first of the U.S. demise and or worst the U.S. nuclear respond and of course China and Russia respond to the U.S. nuclear response. It is a dooms day scenario for our world.
When I first moved to Boston, I had zero money. I was 18, working for minimum wage, and supporting my own crappy little basement studio apartment which took half of my take-home pay every month. I saved up to shop at Goodwill.
Dressed in my best ragged torn-off shorts and a gingham halter top, I wandered into John Lewis, an expensive jeweller on Newbury Street. The smell alone told me I was out of my price range–there’s just a smell to really high-end stores.
I was bedazzled. No other word for it. They had totally gorgeous stuff in their showcases, and I lusted after every item. The clerk asked me quite cordially if she could show me something. I told her that I frankly couldn’t afford to breathe their air. Her response made a difference in my life.
She said that maybe I couldn’t afford their stuff now, but maybe one day I could. She showed me everything! Shelet me try on everything. To me, Macy’s was higher class than I felt I could enter, OK? An expensive Newbury Street merchant making me welcome? This was beyond belief!
They had a set of 18k gold jewelry, all custom-made, hand-carved in a strawberry pattern that I fell in love with.
Eventually I tore myself away, a dream planted in my heart. Twelve years later, when I actually had a little money, I bought a custom ring in that strawberry pattern from them. It cost about $2000, and after a couple of fittings I wore it continuously for 30 years.
If that lady, who knew for a fact that she couldn’t sell me anything that day, hadn’t been so wonderful, I’d never have entered that shop again. Her kindness made all the difference.
China don’t pander to millionaires and billionaires rogue and irresponsible business leaders who took advantage and hurt the Chinese people. US calls it too big to fail companies. China take them to task. The U.S. bailed them out using taxpayers money.
What do I think?
I think China is responsible, is doing the right thing, is making businessman think of serving their customers better. I think the U.S. should learn from China. That is what I think! What about you? What do you think?
Gave Cheating Wife a Taste of Her Own Medicine: She didn’t expect to see my revenge…
China will do whatever is necessary to the interest of China and the Chinese people and that include Taiwan, China. Taiwan is an island and a region of China. It is an unalienable part of China. It cannot be separated or snagged away from China by any means including the U.S. and western geopolitical games.
As a Chinese origin from the southern China where 90% of Taiwanese Chinese migrated from. I understand their psyche that most westerners who write such ridiculous question can ever understand. We want to see Taiwan as an integral part of China. Many Taiwanese are all out to support and help China achieved this honourable achievement.
Do we gives a shit about what white Caucasian westerners think or feel? Not at all. Not even bothered a bit. We care about keeping our nation together from the manipulative western behaviour. Forceful or peaceful it our god damn business. It is our Business not yours. Mind you own business.
As Prof Zhang Weiwei likes to say, China is no longer on the same track as the West.
She’s now running on her own track.
This is like what I tell my medical students — don’t compete with others, just do the best that you can do (in your own way that works best for you).
Edit 17 October 2023:
As a Chinese, I see China as still being more deeply Confucianist than Communist; though there’s some overlap between the two ideologies. The sworn goals of a Confucianist society are two: xiaokang 小康 (moderate prosperity — which China has largely achieved), and finally datong 大同 (Great Unity
, a classical Chinese concept for an utopian view of the world; or Common Prosperity).
This is very different from the approach of the Western nations, seeking hegemony over other nations.
“The report to the 20th CPC National Congress in 2022 drew a great blueprint for rejuvenating the Chinese nation on all fronts by pioneering a uniquely Chinese path to modernization, and pointed out that striving to build a global community of shared future is one of the intrinsic requirements of Chinesemodernization, affirming the close bond between the future of China and the future of all humanity.”
Whether you believe the report or not — just watch what China had been doing (in Asia, Middle East, Africa and South America), and is continuing to do in the coming years.
Edit 18 October 2023:
China is holding her Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) on 17–18 October 2023.
Attending the event are more than 1,200 representatives from more than 80 countries and regions
The list of VIP attendants is impressive, showing how China’s Belt and Road Initiative (2023 is its 10th anniversary) has attracted the attention of most countries (except those in US and her allies):
Vladimir Putin is top of the list.
Others: Indonesian President Joko Widodo,
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev,
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban,
Chilean President Gabriel Boric,
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic,
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev,
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape
UN Secretary-General António Guterres,
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez,
Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong,
President of Mongolia Ukhnaa Khurelsukh
Prime Minister of Mozambique Adriano Maleiane
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar,
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin,
Kenyan President William Ruto,
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet,
Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith,
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe
President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso
It looks like many other countries have been attracted by China’s parallel track, and are leaving “the American track”.
Alpha Hubby Allowed Me To Open My Marriage Then Filed For Divorce & Ghosted, Left Broke & Penniless
I’m a former New Yorker. I’ve only visited Canada, but lived in London for the past 25 years. In the States, if you have a good job, you can live very comfortably. But if you have a serious medical emergency or long term medical needs, this can bankrupt you, you can lose your home & be very poor. For average workers, the medical insurance is very difficult as the insurance is very expensive and on top of that, you have to co-pay. And many can’t get insurance because of pre-existing issues. In the UK, medical care is free, doesn’t matter about your past history … the taxes we pay towards it is less than what people pay in the States for their insurance. People never have to worry about being homeless because of ongoing medical problems. Whenever I go back to New York to visit, I’m a bit shocked at how very poor many people are there – compared to London.
In the UK, if you are working, but not able to afford rent, the government will pay towards your rent. It may not cover all the rent, but it helps. If you have children & don’t earn enough in your job, the government will top up your earnings so you are above the poverty line. If you are unemployed, your unemployment benefits won’t stop as long as you are actively looking for work & attending the skills meetings. And if you do accept a job, but it doesn’t pay well, the government will top it up to make sure you are earning what they consider to be the minimum needed to live on.
My high-earning son had the opportunity to work for his company in the States, but he realised he has a much better safety net here in the UK for his family. It felt too much of a risk for him to have to pay for medical insurance for his family when it isn’t even guaranteed that it will pay for certain things.
The only thing I don’t like about living in the UK is the weather. But everything else, in my personal opinion, leads for a better quality of life.
So, I’m on the beach enjoying myself over a bit of beach calligraphy (this involves cutting sand out of the surface, and some fairly intense concentration) when the spell is broken by someone who has walked up to me, having walked over my work, stood on it at my side, and proceeded to ask me what I’m trying to catch.
The next time that happened to me I was ready with “Calligraphy” as my reply but then just dumbstruck again by being asked if I had permission.
EDIT I just want to add the following in response to some of the comments I’ve had here:
I’ve NEVER had a child walk up to one of my doodles without noticing it and being curious about it. I do occasionally have young children deliberately tread through it but that’s part of being observant. It feels interesting underfoot. The interaction usually leads to my offering the tools to the kiddiewinks to try.
I can’t help wondering if there’s a relationship between stupidity and being unobservant. I’m not sure but it’s clear that coming with a strong preconception does get in the way of open observation and surprise. Only an adult can come blinded by so much preconception that they fail to notice the beach calligraphy happening before their eyes and under their feet. To then layer that blindness with a preoccupation with permission …?! I make no apologies for my disdain.
There are some lighting conditions under which the beach calligraphy is barely noticeable and almost impossible to photograph: high sun, lit from behind the observer, very cloudy. The beach calligraphy depends on shadow. I’m very keenly aware of this. Usually, under conditions like that, I’m just practising close to the waters’ edge where it is constantly washed away in any case.
If I have to do a paid commission then I get careful and a bit possessive about it and I look for a spot on a beach where I can be alone. I don’t usually mind redoing work. I often redo it in any case just because I’m not satisfied with the calligraphy.
You can lose your work to a wave, dogs, or an unobservant idiot but you don’t lose the skill you build in doing it again.
Some people have said things along the lines of “You don’t own the beach!” and I do (very rarely) get that response on the beach if I try to ward someone off my work. It’s a stupid response because this is not about ownership. Stupidity, on the other hand … if you’re not prepared to own it, it will own you.
I was in a courtroom trying to evict a tenant, I was broke had massive loans on the property and down on my luck, I could not afford legal representation so I represented myself which judges generally do not like. I saw the judge wipe the floor and throw out of court room the others who represented themselves earlier that day. This was the days before the internet and I had to learn about housing laws from things called books if you remember what they are? Then it was my turn to step into the dock after four hours of waiting in the court during previous, I learned a lot about tenancy laws in those four hours.
Preliminaries over then the game was on, its was like a verbal tennis match on points of law, I knew I had my paperwork and facts right, he volleyed and I hit it back countering his serve. Forgive me because this was over thirty years ago so I don’t remember the joust word for word, the judge did not like this uneducated smart arsed whippersnaper giving as good as-he got.
Then he threw a curve ball question regarding arrears, and how much the tenant owed, I said the tenant was six months behind I wasn’t sure of the amount as it was irrelevant, I had not come to court to claim arrears ( separate application and hearing and nigh on impossible to get money back because she was claiming benefits ) I said to the judge I just want her evicted and my property back. Then he tried to bamboozle me with jargon after jargon and I got a bit confused he then said to me said to me,
‘Young man I suggest you get your paper work in order and go and see legal advice!’
I was so nervous and that is exactly what I didn’t want the hear, as it meant I would have to have my property repossessed and I would have lost everything I worked for, I was sweating profusely my mind was over revving I was trying to grasp at something I had read in the past six months that would get me out of this painful situation
Then it came to me, I knew that I had done everything right and that he had to grant me a notice to evict, from deep within my memory I recalled something and blurted out to the judge, your honour under section ( blah ) article ( blah) of the 1988 housing act I have served you all the correct papers within procedure and you are obliged to give me notice of eviction, that was it, my final serve I had nothing else to give.
The court went silent and the court usher gave a wry smile, the Judge turned and looked down his nose through his half rimmed glasses at me and stared for a moment, then he turned to the court clerk and beckoned him over, he whispered something in his ear and the clerk disappeared for a moment and brought back one of the biggest books I’d ever seen laid it in front of the judge and opened it for him. The judge flicked through the pages and ran his finger down the lines of one or two pages as he was reading, he then grabbed the gavel looked at me and brought the gavel down with a thud and said
‘ Notice of eviction granted, 28 days’
It may not seem much, but there is nothing better (to me ) than beating the system that’s so inherently wrong and stacked against you but the biggest victory was correcting a judge on a point of law, when I left the court house I felt twenty kilos lighter and like had just been set free from , I did get my property back 28 days later
‘If you don’t fight you never win, if you fight there is a chance you may win’
Muffuletta Sandwiches
In New Orleans the two best Muffuletta Sandwiches — bar none — can be had at Central Grocery or at Napoleon House on Chartres Street.
Yield: 1 loaf bread; 1 to 4 servings, depending on appetite! about 3 quarts olive salad
Ingredients
Muffuletta Bread
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 package active dry yeast (about 1 tablespoon)
About 3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
Sesame seeds
Olive Salad
1 (32 ounce) jar pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped
2 cups pitted ripe olives, chopped
1 1/4 cups chopped pickled cocktail olives
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 cups blanched chopped cauliflower
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 medium carrots, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Muffuletta Sandwich
1 (10 inch) Muffuletta Bread loaf
3 ounces honey ham, thinly sliced
3 ounces Mortadella with pistachios, thinly sliced
3 ounces Genoa salami, very thinly sliced
1 heaping cup Olive Salad
5 slices Provolone cheese
Instructions
Muffuletta Bread
In a 2 cup glass measuring cup, combine water and sugar.
Stir in yeast. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine 3 cups flour, salt and shortening. Add yeast mixture. Process until dough forms a ball, about 5 seconds. Stop machine; check consistency of dough. It should be smooth and satiny. If dough is too dry, add more warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, processing just until blended. If dough is too sticky, add more flour, 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time, processing just until blended. Process for 20 seconds to knead.
Lightly oil a large bowl, swirling to coat bottom and sides. Place dough in oiled bowl; turn to coat all sides. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
Lightly grease a baking sheet. When dough has doubled in bulk, punch down dough; turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Form dough into a round loaf about 10 inches in diameter; place on greased baking sheet. Sprinkle top of loaf with sesame seeds; press seeds gently into surface of loaf. Cover very loosely with plastic wrap; let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 1 hour.
Place rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap.
Bake loaf in center of preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to 375 degrees F; bake for 25 minutes. The loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapped on bottom. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.
Olive Salad
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to blend well.
Store in jars with tight-fitting lids in the refrigerator.
Muffuletta Sandwich
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut bread in half crosswise to form a sandwich bun. Layer the honey ham on the bottom of the loaf. Next add the Mortadella, then the salami. Spread the Olive Salad over the meats evenly. Top with the slices of Provolone cheese and place the top on the sandwich. Press down to compress slightly. Wrap the sandwich in foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has begun to melt into the Olive Salad.
Slice sandwich into 4 quarters. Use wooden picks to secure layers, if desired; remove picks before eating.
Notes
Not only can you use this Olive Salad as a dressing for a Muffuletta Sandwich, it also makes a delicious addition to tossed green salads, pizzas, and is a great relish to spread on crackers.
They Don’t Want Coffee Dates, They Only Want The $1000 Restaurant
There is a sausage that is popular in the deep South in the Unites. It’s called boudin. It’s a kind of very spicy sausage and super tasty. I used to get it at the local quickie mart, and along with meat pies and fried catfish are some of the best ‘eatin that I ever had.
One day, while living in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, my wife made me some homemade boudin, and I ate it just prior to hopping on a plane to Chicago for a meeting.
But she didn’t make it quite right, and I suffered from the most amazing gas that I ever had. I thought that I was having a heart attack! I was freaking out and almost called the ambulance from the hotel. But once I got on the phone and talked to a nurse and explained what I ate, it was simply a matter of taking a stomach pill. Phew!
Anyways, if you are gonna eat this tremendously delicious dish, please make sure you cook it properly.
What’s Boudin & Why Louisiana Is The Best Place To Find It
Like many of you, I didn’t know what boudin was before first arriving into Southwest Louisiana. I like to consider myself somewhat worldly and at least aware of many foods, but somehow boudin had escaped my culinary lexicon for 40 years. But if you are from Louisiana, and particularly the areas around Lake Charles, then boudin isn’t just familiar to you, it’s a big part of everyday life. As I discovered though, it’s a lot more than just a snack, it’s an important part of Louisiana’s culinary traditions.
What Is Boudin?
To say that boudin is a type of sausage is wrong, although when you first see it that’s exactly what it looks like. To really understand boudin, we have to go back to those Acadians who originally settled in Southwestern Louisiana. Who we now call Cajuns, these French-speaking settlers were forced out of Canada, but took with them their proud French culture and traditions, including boudin. Boudin in Louisiana is different though from versions you’ll find in other parts of the world.
At its simplest, boudin is a combination of cooked rice, pork, onions, green peppers and seasonings. The mixture is pulverized in a meat grinder before being stuffed into sausage casings. It is then steamed for on-the-spot eating. But those are just the basics, boudin changes in taste and flavor from cook to cook, no two are exactly the same and are based on recipes that have been handed down through the generations. That’s why it’s so much fun to drive around Southwest Louisiana sampling different versions, to experience new tastes and flavors in what is this area’s go-to food.
When And How Do You Eat It?
Asking around, I soon discovered that there is no perfect time to enjoy boudin. It’s very common for people to buy some in the morning to take to work for the office to enjoy, and no proper road trip in Southwest Louisiana would be complete without some boudin links to snack on. Pronounced “Boodan” (never say “Boodin”), this is as simple a snack as you can get, and slowly eating the link whole is very normal. But there are many variations, including the most common, fried boudin.
Cut into smaller pieces, breaded and then fried, you’ll find fried boudin balls in everything from breakfast sandwiches to serving as an entire meal in their own right. While you can certainly buy them in grocery stores in the area, homemade is best and there are any number of small meat shops and independent butchers and grocers in and around Lake Charles that specialize in their own versions of boudin. To best enjoy this regional delicacy, a culinary route was established to help locals and visitors alike discover different variations of boudin on what is now called the Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail.
The Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail
The sign read, “Napa Valley has wine. New York has pizza. Wisconsin has cheese. Southwest Louisiana has boudin.” To say that boudin is an important part of foodie life in Lake Charles would be a massive understatement. That’s where I started my culinary adventures in Louisiana and in addition to offering a lot to see and do for visitors, locals consider themselves to also be the home of boudin. It’s also from Lake Charles where you should start your trek along the Boudin Trail – just make sure you skipped breakfast.
Truly the best way to understand and certainly enjoy the importance of boudin is to actually taste it. In Southwest Louisiana that means traveling the Boudin Trail along US Interstate 10 and stopping off at the many independent businesses all verified to be serving up some of the best versions of boudin in the area. For my own boudin experience, I was invited into the kitchens of a local favorite – B&O Kitchen & Grocery.
Jeff Benoit is a third generation Benoit to own the B&O Kitchen and Grocery, which specializes in of course boudin, but also cracklins and other tasty meats. Walking into his kitchens, Jeff first took me back to the fryers where new batches of cracklins were being prepared. The aromas were heavy in what can only be called porky goodness. Pork fat with skin that’s fried to within an inch of its life and then salted, these treats are delicious and as I discovered, somewhat addictive. I was there though for my first lesson in boudin, which Jeff’s daughter had prepared for me.
True to form, Jeff wouldn’t tell me exactly what seasonings he uses, but just smiled and promised that they were delicious. I picked up the small sausage link, taking a peek at the rice and meat before enjoying that oh-so-important first bite. A gentle but not intense heat from the spices was the first thing I noticed, but then the combination of well seasoned meats and rice came into play, creating an overall bite that can only be called perfectly constructed. I then took my second, third and fourth bites, quickly understanding why boudin is so popular. Simple, easy to eat and not expensive, they really are the perfect go-to food for almost anything. Next to the “normal” boudin links, Jeff had also prepared some fried boudin balls and since nothing fried can be bad, I knew right away that I’d love this version even more.
Jeff and the B&O is just one of more than 25 small, independent businesses along the Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail, each offering their own unique takes on this Southwest Louisiana staple. It’s not just about the food though; it’s also about the culture. Many of us who don’t live in Lake Charles or surrounding towns don’t really know a lot about Cajun culture. But it’s more than what we see on TV, it has a long and proud history and it’s still very much alive. Food teaches us about new cultures when we travel; it emphasizes what is and is not important. In Lake Charles and other neighboring communities, that first step in better understanding what makes this part of the world tick starts first and foremost in the kitchens of the local boudin experts lining US 10.
Boudin sausage is worth the drive
KEVIN BEGOS
SCOTT, La. – Want a true taste of the real Louisiana? You’ll want to get behind the wheel and head out of New Orleans and off into the cypress swamps and rice paddies of Cajun country. Because that’s where you’ll find scores of mom-and-pop meat shops and convenience stores preserving a hundreds-year-old tradition of some very special sausages known as boudin. And you’ll be glad you did.
Welcome to Louisiana’s Boudin Trail, a loosely defined region west of New Orleans, both north and south of Interstate 10.
“Boudin is not a New Orleans thing. It is a Cajun country thing,” says Robert Carriker, a professor of history at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette and author of “Boudin: A Guide to Louisiana’s Extraordinary Link.” ‘’There are meat shops that make a handsome living for entire families selling almost nothing but boudin.”
Most boudin is boiled and served hot, but you also can buy it smoked, fried in balls, and made with crawfish, alligator or deer meat. There are boudin egg rolls, boudin grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza topped with boudin, even boudin stuffed king cakes. A handful of slaughterhouses still make old-fashioned red boudin, a blood sausage version.
Boudin (pronounced BOO-dan) is a tradition that dates back to the 1700s, when French Canadians came to Louisiana. Carriker says Cajuns started using local ingredients and spices to make sausages that are different from Old World recipes. They held communal livestock slaughterings, often in the fall, that combined food, family and music. Locals have loved the pork and rice sausages ever since.
Today, the region is littered with shops serving and selling boudin, almost all using special family recipes that date back generations. Where to begin on an eating tour of boudin country? An AP reporter ventured out, sampling boudin for breakfast, lunch and dinner at almost a dozen locations. Of course, there are countless more. But these are some of the delicious highlights:
Johnson’s Boucaniere (Cajun French for smokehouse) in Lafayette sells wonderfully flavorful boudin, and 87-year-old Wallace Johnson tells stories of boudin’s origins at communal country hog slaughterings, or boucheries.
“When they killed the hogs, they had to use everything, all the meat, because they had no refrigeration,” Johnson said. “It was rice, liver and meat, and the seasoning. In the old days they didn’t have a stuffer. They would take a cow horn” and use it to push the boudin mixture into casings.
Johnson’s father started making boudin in 1948 at the family grocer in Eunice. That store closed in 2005, but Johnson’s daughter Lori and his son-in-law Greg opened a new location a few years later, using the old family recipe. They sell a great breakfast biscuit with boudin, cheese or egg, along with po’boys, gumbo and other local specialties, such as barbecue potatoes and an outrageous bread pudding with praline sauce.
The Best Stop Supermarket on Route 93, just north of Scott, is a country store with a dizzying variety of specialty meats and sausage. Co-owner Dana Cormier said the family began selling boudin as a way to make ends meet in 1986, when oil field jobs went downhill.
“When we first started, we’d make like 100 pounds, here and there,” Cormier said. Now “we make about 4,600 pounds of boudin a day, Monday through Friday,” along with 35,000 boudin balls a month. The Best Stop’s boudin is exceptionally moist and meaty, with pieces of scallion and a touch of old-fashioned liver flavor.
The state legislature gave Scott the title of “Boudin Capital of the World,” causing hard feelings in Broussard, which originally held the title, and some grumbling in Jennings, the “Boudin Capital of the Universe.”
Billy’s Boudin & Cracklin’ in Scott, just off I-10, sells an amazing smoked boudin, perfectly balancing the meat and rice with just a hint of smoky flavor. Their boudin egg roll is excellent, too. Crackling is deep-fried pig skin.
At the same I-10 exit, check out Don’s Specialty Meats, which sells a tasty, moderately spiced boudin with chunks of meat, as well as innovations such as Tater Tot boudin, which is a good choice for people looking to ease into the experience. They also have a large selection of Cajun specialty foods and spices, such as pickled quail eggs and jars of roux.
On the edges of Abbeville, about 30 minutes to the south, Herbert’s Slaughter House and Meat Market is one of the few places you can still buy red boudin, made with blood and an old-fashioned range of pig trimmings. They have fresh and frozen links, and the red boudin is moderately spiced with a slightly metallic taste, similar to English blood sausage.
Meanwhile, 30 miles away in Beaux Ridge, Cajun Works sells a wonderful, blisteringly spicy boudin ball in a small sit-down restaurant.
Ronnie’s Boudin & Cracklin’ in Hammond sells a version with a nice, full, creamy flavor, along with many specialties, such as crawfish boudin, deer boudin and andouille sausage.
Ready to hit the boudin trail? Start by heading to www.boudinlink.com , which has an interactive map showing more than 50 boudin stores, as well as a link to Carriker’s review of each one. Also check out Southern Foodways Alliance — www.southernfoodways.org — which works to preserve southern food cultures.
Carriker says you could start by visiting one city and sampling all the different boudin there, since each store makes it differently. Some areas, such as the Lake Charles region, have their own brochures with lists of boudin trails.
Or you could cruise along I-10 in either direction, stopping at the many stores near the highway. In general, old fashioned boudin often has more of a liver flavor, and boudin lovers look for a good balance between meat and rice, and a texture that isn’t too mushy or too dry.
Some people like their boudin spicy, others like it mild. And appearances can be deceptive; a small country gas station may have the most wonderful boudin, so stay open to serendipity.
This was few months after my daughter was born. My husband and I were trying to get back on track with our sex life. I had some difficulties. It didn’t feel the same as it used to be and I was worried.
He sensed it and he said, “ You know what? 50 years later when both of us are very old, do you think sex is going to be important? What I really want is to be able to grow old with you and I want you to be happy and comfortable to be with me till the end. We’ll consult a doctor and we’ll figure this out. I’m ready to wait until you are ready for this.”
That moment, I felt really lucky to be married to him.
Buster Crab, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich
Buster Crab, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich is a fried soft-shell crab served open-face over toasted brioche and dressed with fresh vegetables.
Ingredients
1 Louisiana soft shell crab, dressed
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup seasoned all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup mixed red, yellow, and green grape tomatoes, peeled
1 dash 25 year old balsamic vinegar
1 pinch minced chive
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 slice brioche or challah, toasted
2 teaspoons your favorite aioli
1 pinch micro greens
1 pinch lettuce sprouts
Salt and pepper to taste
Chive oil for garnish
Beet juice for garnish
Instructions
In a sauté pan, heat the canola oil over a medium-high flame.
Season the buster crab with salt and pepper. Toss into a mixture of seasoned flour and cornmeal.
Place the crab into hot canola oil and allow to cook for 1 minute on each side.
Season the tomatoes with salt, pepper, vinegar, chives, and olive oil. Place the tomatoes over a well-toasted brioche and place into a serving plate.
After cooking the buster crab, remove and allow it to drain over some absorbent towels for a moment.
Place the crab over the tomatoes and top it with a dollop of aioli, which you in turn cover with a pinch of micro greens and lettuce sprouts.
To serve, garnish the plate with additional chopped chives, chive oil and beet juice.
Sure. Here’s one – China is a very peaceful country.
In the past 40 years, while the USA was busy bombing cities and killing people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Grenada, Libya, Bosnia, Sudan, Somalia etc
China did not fight a single war with anyone.
Here’s another. It is untrue that China beats the USA in all areas of manufacturing and exports. There is one area where the USA is far, far ahead of China.
The USA is far, far ahead of China, in selling weapons to the world, for killing people. You know – bombs, missiles, artillery, tanks, fighter jets etc.
China ia no match for the USA in destroying people’s lives.
China only surpasses the USA in manufacturing peaceful, beneficial things such as solar panels; electric cara; antibiotics; laptops; furniture etc.
13 Things from the 1970s, Kids Today Will Never Understand!
There are some things that are unique to the decade that we grew up in. The 1970s was no different, having a distinct style that is easily recognizable, even to newer generations. But aside from the obvious disco and bell bottom trends, there were more minute details that people living during that time will easily recognize. So, here are 13 things from the 1970s that kids today would never understand.
If someone confronts you with a knife you pull the coins subtly from your pocket and drop them on the floor. The attacker will always look down to the floor upon hearing the coins drop and this will buy you a second or two to turn and run. This can also be used if someone is intent on fighting you and you know you need to land the first blow, it’s a distraction technique.
2. Never use an ATM while wearing headphones and if wearing a coat/hoodie, never have the hood up, both will affect your awareness and makes you more likely to be robbed.
3. When entering any room, work out where every available exit and hiding place is. In the event of an emergency you will react a hell of a lot quicker if you have planned scenarios in your head, it will make you far less likely to freeze up.
This was something explained to me by an ex-special forces guy I was chatting to at a conference (he was head of security). He was sat at the same table as me, one of those big round ones with 10–12 people on each. I noticed his eyes were never still and he was always glancing at each door, window etc, basically any entrance to that room. I got chatting to him after the conference and asked him about what I had observed. He said “imagine you are at a public event and an armed terrorist storms into the room and starts shooting, most people are going to freeze for the first couple of seconds and that can cost you your life, plan for it to happen and although incredibly unlikely it ever will, you’ll react instantly and it could save your life”
Would Western countries go to war to spread LGBTQ policies and environmental policies to restrictive socially right-wing conservative countries?
Why?
Because united we stand, divided we fall.
Those policies above? They atomise societies, atomised societies are easier to drive wedges into.
China 200 years ago 1820. There was a commonality of Chinese language. But we were fighting each other. Hakka hated Cantonese, Fujians hated Cantonese etc.
Sun Yat Set’s vision of Chinese nationalism was that we are all Chinese one people instead of atomised.
By 2023 we’re on the way to achieving this. We still keep our unique cultural identity but we intermarry we talk shit about other groups but 2019 aside there’s very limited division that we’d fight each other over.
That’s why I’m super suspicious of things like this
In that I don’t care who you’re miserable with and who you marry, but those groups? They’re often used as trojan horses by western governments.
Jimmy Sham for instance. He was on the side of the RIOTERS in Hong Kong. He was promoting VIOLENCE.
He claimed to have been attacked by multiple men with hammers for over a minute (he wasn’t he was exposed when he appeared the next day with only a small cut and fliers advertising his attack printed the day before).
They use their sexuality as a shield, you can’t criticise me! I’m gay!
We’d hired a guy and he seemed to have a good sense of humor. One day, he made a minor mistake and so I (thinking that he’d catch the humor) said “Looks like we’re going to have to transfer you to the Arctic Circle Remote Payroll Station.”
He said nothing, I let it go. Next time he goofed up, I mentioned that again and he got very apologetic, promised to work hard to not make any further mistakes, etc.
At any rate, a few months later, I mentioned that one more time and found myself in my manager’s office. He said that this guy was in terror that I was going to transfer him somewhere awful for what he thought were small mistakes that he’d promised to fix.
I said he should know that firstly, I’m not his direct manager so I couldn’t transfer him anywhere if I wanted to. But his big clue should have been “Arctic Circle Remote Pay Station.” Surely he couldn’t think that a movie payroll company had some operation on the Arctic Circle.
Well I don’t know, said my boss … all I can tell you is that you terrorized him and now you’re going to have to fix it. Okay, so I did.
(Good thing too because in the 12 years since that, he was promoted to supervisor, manager and he’s now a director and my boss.)
I taught a young Latino boy who was also short for his age. In secondary school, height is an issue.
By the second week of class, I was sure that he was illiterate, yet he submitted assignments and tests that were above failing.
At that point, I read his permanent record. There were no indications of cheating and his grades were Cs with only a few Ds.
How should I confront a student who already feels marginalized?
With the confidence of a newly certified teacher, I kept him after class one day and confronted him. “Do you know that you are smarter than every teacher you’ve ever had?”
His dark eyes grew deep and large!
“No.”
I insisted, “You are. You cannot read, and writing gives you a great deal of difficulty. You’ve been cheating all these years, and no teacher has caught you until now!
I’m giving you choices. You can continue as you’ve been doing and I will record your grade as F for cheating, or you can work with me, learn to read, do honest work, and earn an honest grade.”
He chose tutoring. He had great eyesight, strong artistic skill and had been reproducing the work of a variety of smarter students around him. He was dyslexic. It took patience from both of us for him to learn phonics and for him to get his quick brain to slow down to a speed that worked better.
By midyear, his grade of C was honest. By end of year, he was at a C+ in all his courses, and he’d been honest with every teacher about his problem, my tutoring, and asking each of them for help as needed!
Everyone has the freedom to buy stuff that makes them happy, may it be expensive purses/shoes, sports cars, yachts and boats, gambling, religion, tools and materials for hobbies and crafts, night clubs and fine dining, sports events and memorabilia, action figures and figurines, pre-order video games, subscription for streaming services, legal escort services and porn, legal recreational drugs (marijuana), tattoos and piercings… etc. etc.
There’s no such thing as a “dumb” purchase if it brings you joy and you can afford it.
Over the years, I had made plenty of “dumb” purchases. I bought a bunch of expensive lego sets. I bought video game figurines and collectible items. I pre-order games I like. I bought tools and materials for various hobbies, such as knitting, embroidery, and crocheting. I bought cookware and ingredients I only used once.
All of that could be considered dumb things, a waste of money.
On the flip side, I don’t buy luxury clothing items or shoes. All my clothes are from Uniqlo or Muji or discounted stuff from T.J.Maxx or Norstrom Rack.
I don’t go around claiming, “Gucci purses are the dumbest thing people buy.” Do you know why? Because I understand people are different and there’s nothing wrong in finding a little happiness wherever you can. I don’t judge people for purchasing things I don’t find very interesting.
Of course, if you spend beyond your means, that’s not very wise. But that’s not about the kind of things you spend money on, but rather you’re spending money you don’t have and it will eventually come back to haunt you.
But if they have the money, and Gucci purses make them happy, what’s so “dumb” about buying happiness? Oh, because you disapprove? Because Gucci purses don’t bring you any joy? So? Who the fuck are you anyways?
Life is short and miserable, for most people, most of the time. So, shut the fuck up and let people enjoy things.
Men need to understand that there’s nothing special in the body of random women you meet on the street/ Internet.
On difficult days, being extra gentle with ourselves is maturity at its peak.
Setting boundaries is not a display of disrespect . It’s an act of self-respect.
Maturity is seeing someone’s lack of effort as their lack of interest in you no matter what they say.
You don’t get fit eating everything . You don’t get wealthy spending everything.
Resist the urge to regret . Regrets are like old textbooks , you’ve already learned the lessons.
Your urges are your biggest enemy . Learn not to argue for nothing.
Self-acceptance shouldn’t stand in the way of self-improvement. Recognizing that you’re good enough today doesn’t prevent you from getting better tomorrow.
We’ve to be grateful for things . It’s too easy to be ungrateful. It’s too easy to not appreciate the simple things in life.
Fiancée DEMANDS Hall Pass 1 Month Before Wedding, In Shock After I Demand We Break Up!
“If I didn’t have a 26 year old son, and a 27 year old daughter telling me this madness is actually real, I honestly don’t think I’d ever believe it.”
I thought she was sweet and quite attractive but giggly and not very bright. I thought Dave could do a lot better. In fact some of his previous girlfriends had been intelligent and ambitious as well as great looking. One had even been an Olympic tennis player. I didn’t get this new one at all.
She is Jewish and Dave decided to convert. Our Dad was Jewish, our mother not. We had been brought up as agnostic. So Dave’s announcement was surprising and I’m sure I must have asked him if he was sure about this. I know our parents argued with him over his sudden conversion. However his new girlfriend and her family didn’t insist on him being Jewish, so I think this decision was about him wanting to join the culture of north London Jews rather than any sudden religious conversion. I never heard of him going to a synagogue or heard him utter a prayer.
They had a long and reasonably happy marriage. I was wrong about her.
Although it is true that she’s no intellectual and never achieved anything academically, she helped Dave be all he wanted to be and was content with that being her role. She was a great home-maker and possibly the kindest person I know. She is funny and light hearted. When my brother suddenly died, she was distraught but showed a strength I had never previously seen. She is a very supportive mother and grandmother. She was a big help to me when my wife died.
I had a terrible High School Algebra teacher. Coach Trout could not teach and had “favorites” who somehow received good grades. One day a group of kids were hanging out at Mellow Mushroom and saw him drive up to the nearby grocery store….he went in and a student walked up to his car to see who was inside. Guess what – one of his female students! He walked back out with a twelve pack of beer got into the car and left. Students told other students….a student told their mother….their mother called her mother….the mother called the school. Bye Bye Coach Trout.
Years later ran into him at a wedding….he was the DJ.
My cable company is starting to sound like this creepy, desperate -ex.
Each month the mail they send me is basically saying,
“PLEAAASE TAKE CABLE TV BACK. We’ll give you all the stations we gave you before at an amazing, amazing deal!”
Deal = $1 cheaper with a 24 month commitment, $399 cancellation fee + 2 kicks in the crotch.
By any logic I cut it, it makes no sense.
I divided the hours I was watching TV by the monthly bill and it came out to $15 an hour for TV.
I’m paying money to be forced to watch commercials every few minutes.
My cable package is forcing me to pay for a bunch of expensive channels (ESPN) that I don’t watch.
I don’t see cable TV as going fully extinct but I see it having a life as an increasingly endangered animal.
When you compare it to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and the like, it isn’t even a close contest. The only value cable companies add to my life is internet.
I think cable companies have become boxed into a bit of a hole. As more people realize how much they are being ripped off, they will keep cutting.
I don’t envy the cable executives who are charged with solving this problem.
One of my best friends of all time and I parted when we were eighteen, and heading for university. The next big leap of life. We had known each other since we were seven years old, and we promised to write (hand-written letters still existed, though the idea was certainly fading).
And I did write letters, many times, over many years.
But none of them ever got an answer. We had been very close, and shared some of our darkest moments in our young lives — I didn’t understand.
More than a decade later, I bumped into him in an everyday supermarket and bluntly asked him why he never answered any of my many letters. He looked at his wife and shrugged —
I was teaching a class in math in 4th grade. Because I’m kind of demanding of kids, and show them that anything less than their very best, is not good enough, I end every school-year with an hour of “roasting the teacher,” so they can get back at me for all those times that I’ve stood before them and asked for more.
I warn them that whatever they throw at me, I’ll return it in even measure. So, if they feel fat and don’t like it, they shouldn’t call me fat, cause I will make a fat-joke on their expense. If they feel ugly, they should not call me ugly, because I will do an ugly-joke on them.
So, younger kids are a bit scared and don’t really say anything. Older kids can’t help themselves and try anything to roast me. They never ever get to me, because kids are really bad at roasting adults.
But there was this little girl in a 4th grade class I taught a few years ago. After the initial stupid roasting (like, “your mom is so fat that …”) this little girl raised her hand.
As roasting can be a bit hard, I ignored her at first. She seemed fragile and I didn’t want her to get hurt. Usually the boys will shout any profanity at me and I will return their profanity with an equal profanity. It’s fun and it’s not personal. It’s a roasting game and the boys and girls who can handle it, get a go.
She kept her hand raised so finally I told her “Go ahead – give me your best shot.”
When I said that, this little girl, stood up, walked slowly along the back wall, then along the wall to the left. She came all the way up to the chalkboard and stopped just in front of me.
She lifted her right arm and raised a finger, pointing at me, about to roast me. Everyone in the class were silent and we all waited for it. Then she said:”
“Naaaahhh, you’re not worth it.”
Then she turned around, walking the same way back, just as slowly, and sat down.
The class erupted with laughter. It was beautiful 🙂
I didn’t roast her back. What could I say? I just got burned.
10 American Cities That Are DEAD Forever
“Having grown up in suburban Hartford, I agree strongly with the inclusion in this list. I left the area as a student in 1977, and was shocked about its decline when I happened to pass theough on a business trip in 2011.”
About 25 years ago, when I was still young, I had a crash at a roundabout. It was the kind of roundabout where visibility of all exits was excellent from a distance away, and because the roundabout was offset from centre, I was in a lane going straight on whereby you don’t need to turn the car at all to cross the roundabout.
So, on approaching I saw no cars to my right or straight on, and just carried on. Everything was fine until a car to my left, who should have given way to me (at roundabouts in the U.K. you give way to the right) just pulled out.
I hit the brakes but it was too late, and I went into the side of him.
He was immediately on the offensive, I suspect thinking insurance companies would take the word of a middle aged experienced driver over a 22 year old.
He kept saying that I was going far too fast, which was curious because by the time we hit I’d managed to slow down enough such that my airbag didn’t deploy.
He was impervious to reason, still yelling at me about my speed when the police showed up.
The policeman heard the guy say, “he was going far too fast”, to which the policeman replied, “if you thought he was going too fast, why did you pull out in front of him?”
It was online school, and we were just fooling around in our advisory breakout rooms.
We were discussing where people lived.
My friend, ‘Agastya’, let’s call him, told me that he knew where I lived.
“So,” I said, “Tell me where I live then.”
He repeated my exact address.
Me: Shocked.
Him: Smug.
Him:Me = 1:0
I asked him how he knew, and he said he’d seen my Mom and I playing outside while he was riding a bike with his friend.
In order to protect the great secret of my address, I told him, “Bro! I don’t live there! You know the house next door? I live there. I actually babysit the toddler of a very kind couple.”
He asked me to give the name of the mother.
I somehow made up a name—purely fictional I tell you—and told him it.
Five seconds later, he was laughing like hell and I asked him, “What? Give up?”
“See for yourself,” He said, laughing. He proceeded to share his screen, and I sat there, quietly, shocked at the results.
The “Kind Mother” had been murdered in 2016.
Never again would I give a fake name without searching it up first.
(Also, please note that we, in no way, intended to make fun of the fact that someone died.)
China is a pragmatic and rationalistic nation. The Isreal Palestine issue is a very long divisive issue with high emotion in both sides. China’s position is simply that they must find a long term solution such as a two state solution. This is a prerequisite for long term peace. It doesn’t take sides and not is it interested to be drawn into the conflict.
The reason being. China believes in the sovereignty of nations and that it can only be solved between Isreal and Palestinians. Not China or the U.S. for that matter. China sees quite correctly that U.S. lob sided stance is fuelling the crisis not resolving anything.
For the Palestinians sees that the Isreal government is backed by the U.S. to drive a wedge in the middle of a Arab and Islamic world. Hence it is an interested party. To China an Isreal that do shit on Palestinian land and people everyday then when they got hit Uncle Sam will always backed them out. And protect their excesses cannot be sustainable. It is foolish to think that Palestinian will put it up. At best Isreal is kicking the can down the road. Isreal and the US need to recognise this. For the good of them, the Palestinians and the world.
Laws a made by man, we are mere mortals. If laws are written unequal. It won’t last. That is the reason colonialism failed, it is also the reason the so called US international rules based order is rejected, if one stole land or occupied land that belongs to some one else and wrote laws to legitimately protect the wrong. It is double wrong not right. Two wrong don’t make a right China knows that laws written by the west cannot stand. It must go.
In 1840’s the British forced its jungle laws on China that it has a right to bring opium to China and drug the Chinese people bring havoc to the Chinese families. When China objected. The west jointly and severally supported Britain. To invade China and forced China to surrender HONGKONG for 156 years. This barbaric law were written by the British government. Of course laws like these can never be moral nor can it stand.
Why can’t China be more like South Korea?
You tell me this, would you accept a place literally BUILT to serve foreign soldiers? There’s literally a place in Seoul called hooker hill. Where those soldiers are completely above the law? Why would anybody want that?
Way back in the day when I worked fast food, it was common for my fellow employees and me to clock in within a few minutes of when we were scheduled to start. If someone was scheduled to start at 8 AM, they might clock in at 7:57, or 8:03.
One day, the manager decided she wanted people to clock in at exactly their scheduled time on the dot. You were scheduled to start at 8:00? She would not allow you to clock in at 7:57. You had to stand there staring at the clock for three minutes. If you clocked in at 8:01, you got written up,
This backfired in a spectacular but predictable fashion.
People started clocking in at exactly the scheduled start time…
…and clocking out at exactly the scheduled end time.
Before the rule, people would often stay a few minutes late if they needed to. After the rule, if people were scheduled to leave at 5:00, and a tour bus full of hungry roadies pulled into the parking lot at 4:58 (something that happened a couple times a month), everyone would leave at 5:00 exactly.
The new shift is still getting organized and there’s nobody in the grill area? Sorry, boss, you made the rules. Remember how you wrote me up for punching in at 8:01 yesterday? Remember what you said about the schedule? Well, the schedule says I’m off now.
The rule lasted about a week before the manager did a humiliating climb-down.
The Most DANGEROUS Teens Reacting to Serving Life in Prison
Step into an emotionally charged moment in today’s video, where we capture unscripted reactions of teenagers as they receive their court sentences. Watch as their faces reflect a range of emotions – shock, disbelief, and introspection – as they process the weight of their legal judgments. This thought-provoking glimpse into a critical juncture of their lives offers a unique perspective on the impact of the justice system on young individuals.
I was working at an upscale motel as the check in clerk. One night, around midnight, this nice looking couple came in and asked for a room. The man was slightly tipsy and dressed in a business suit. The lady was well dressed, sober, very nice. The guy signed the register, and it was time to pay for the room.
“Here is my check” he said.
“We don’t take checks here, it has to be cash or credit card.”
“You HAVE to take checks,” he replied. “I am in business. You have to take a check.”
“It’s the management’s rule, we don’t take checks”
He glared at me. “You will have to take a check. Everyone takes checks.”
“Sorry sir, we can’t take checks. That is our policy.”
He is getting angrier. “Every business takes checks….”
“Sorry sir…”
At this point the lady taps his arm. “It’s ok,” she says, “I’ll pay for the room. Here is cash”
The man looks over at her. He says, “Ok….I will write you a check. What’s your name?”
A couple times — once verbally and a few times non-verbally.
For the verbal time. Years ago when I lived in Minnesota, my ex asked me to go to the local farmer’s market to buy some things. I was wandering through the markets when this guy comes up to me and says: “Hey Steve!”
I kept walking; clearly he wasn’t talking to me.
“Steve? Dude?” he asked again.
“Um, my name’s not Steve,” I said. I got called this a few times until someone at a local restaurant asked me while I was buying takeout: “Are you Bonnie’s husband Steve?” “Nope,” I replied. Apparently I look pretty similar to someone named Steve in Minneapolis.
Now for the non-verbal.
One of the things you will not ever do to me if you want me to answer, or even respect, you is to shout out: “Hey, blind man!”
I am blind, and I am a man, but Blind Man is neither my first nor my last name. This has happened to me a few times when I lived in Manhattan. Sometimes when I’d be walking along a street, someone would shout this to me as I was minding my own business. I don’t care why you do it, but if you shout “Hay blind man” at me, I will not, under any circumstances, even acknowledge your existence. If you want to get my attention and you don’t know who I am, walk up to me, tap me on the shoulder or something and say: “Excuse me, sir?” Or something to that effect. “Hey blind man” will get you completely ignored.
I was friends with this guy in elementary school. He and I used to play together at recess and after school as we waited for our parents to pick us up. We even went to each other’s birthday parties during those years.
We didn’t talk much in middle school or high school, though. He was one of my many elementary-school friends who, once puberty and the popularity crunch hit, pretty much quit talking to me. I wasn’t one of the chosen “popular” kids… too ugly, and my parents were too poor.
Anyway, I have no hard feelings about it. Kids are stupid like that.
Over the years, a lot of my old classmates have either found drugs and ruined their lives, or found successful careers and are living happy adult lives now.
But this guy surprised me the most. That old elementary school friend of mine grew up to be a professional poker player:
He’s my Facebook friend now. We’ve never interacted, other than to send and accept friend invites, but he seems to be very happy. He’s married to a beautiful woman, and, judging from the pictures he posts, they do a lot of outdoorsy stuff, like hiking and camping. Good for them. I’m happy that he’s living his best life.
If you had a fair and equal justice system, Donald Trump (the father of the individual you mention) would presently be in jail awaiting trial – not only because of the stunning seriousness of the crimes of which he has been accused, but as a consequence of his own words, attacking both the criminal justice system, but also doing so in a way that actively threatens law enforcement and the judiciary.
Were it anybody else doing this, someone with less wealth or political influence, and they’d already have been in jail for weeks or even months, knowing that their trials would likely have additional charges tacked on for those threatening actions.
The United States isn’t a fair or impartial country, and the justice system sadly reflects that. It isn’t even a democracy anymore: whilst there are certainly democratic aspects, these are presently being undermined by Donald Trump and his cronies, as they push for a more authoritarian approach to governance. And, thanks in part to Citizen Utd v. FEC, and the nature of the US’ political elections, one thing is abundantly clear: the wealthy own the country, and live by different rules to the rest of you.
That Trump has committed such deeply serious offenses and yet remains free as a bird is evidence enough of that.
GALAXY QUEST is THE BEST!
Thanks so much for being here! OMGOSH! this movie is actually the best! I am so happy to have finally watched this! it is SO FUNNY and I can’t wait to keep re watching this!!
I am responsible for putting dreams in her brain before she falls asleep.
It’s a part of our nighttime routine… I read a book, tuck in the kids, give them hugs and kisses…
…then I put my hand on the top of my youngest one’s head, murmur some nonsensical chant, ask her what she wants to dream about that night, chant a little more, and then tell her I put the dreams in there.
Sometimes, I tell her that I put in dreams about “Ice cream, puppies, and spiders.” Then she’ll say, “No! Not spiders! Take that one out!” So I put my hand back on her head and tell her I took it out.
Sometimes, if she’s having trouble sleeping, she’ll come into my room and request better dreams, because the ones I gave her aren’t working. It’s cute when she does it before 10 pm. It’s annoying when she does it after that.
Sometimes, I tell her it’s a “surprise dream.” In the morning, she tells me what she dreamed about, and I say, “Yep, that’s the one I put in there.”
Back in college one or our profs made the blanket prediction that a new wave of obesity was about to sweep the nation.
The year was 1978 and the professor was Daniel Atkinson (who would later join the National Academy of Science as a biochemist).
His basic rationale was that the recent shift to high fructose corn syrup as a sweetening agent in American processed foods was a huge mistake that would have ramifications far beyond the the nominal amount of money saved by switching to a cheaper sugar.
The underlying biochemical premise was that, unlike glucose, fructose metabolism shunts one of the main regulatory steps/enzymes of glycolysis (phosphofructokinase-PFK).
Because of this, every bit of fructose consumed that was not needed for energy production would quickly be stored as fat.
History has proven him right (although there was more to it- noting that it was also around this point that America’s penchant for eating-out, and restaurant portion sizes were increasing in tandem along with the growing shift from food primarily being regarded as a source of sustenance as opposed to a source of pleasure).
Look at pre-1980’s films/TV programs that show Americans out on the streets and compare the sizes of the people in the background crowds to later post 1980’s films.
Similarly, look at pro athletes from the pre/post 1980’s and you’ll notice a similar pattern.
Anyhow, the point here is that the fairly abrupt American shift towards obesity can be linked to both to the biochemical properties of the food we consumed prior to the 1980’s as well as the gluttonous ways we increasingly adopted while on our way to the current “food porn” era.
If I found a mysterious bottle that promised a Djinn, I would put it back exactly where I found it and run in the opposite direction.
I’ve read enough folklore, myth, and fairytales to know that making deals with a supernatural entity never, ever ends well for the mortals. Even if the mortal doesn’t get screwed over by the Djinn or the devil or crossroad demon, they’ll soon realize either their wish didn’t resolve the problems they have or the wish created more, bigger problems.
“Faustian Bargain” is a cautionary tale to warn people not to take the shortcut because there isn’t any “easy” way. And the payment you give for the wealth and pleasure is always bigger than what you get.
So, put the bottle back, or sell it to some moron who thinks they can outsmart the devil.
China’s Groundbreaking 1nm Chip: Redefining Technology and Global Power
I asked the wrong woman on a date. I have a problem remembering names and faces. There was a girl at school I had been chatting with during lunch breaks, Vicki. There was another that I had met and spoken to exactly once during an outdoor cookout at the school (college) Marie.
I had an occasion where I was performing, the event included a dinner and dancing and I could bring a date.
I planned to ask Vicki as I had spent more time with her and felt I knew her better.
I am rushing between classes and I am stopped by a girl who says Hi. Vicki. I surprise her by asking her to accompany me to my event. She says yes and I get out my note pad to write down her number (prehistoric days before cell phones) and write the name Vicki. She says “That’s not my name.” I apologize for my memory glitch and ask her what her name is. Marie. Then it dawned on me, I had just asked out the wrong girl. But she had said yes and I was a gentleman so I would not back out.
We went on the date. We both fell in love that night. We were engaged three weeks later. That was 38 years and one son ago. We are still together. And yes, she knows the story.
Imagine you’re at an airport. You’re on your plane and all of a sudden the pilot says “I’m sorry folks, but there are like 30 cargo planes waiting to take off and they all get to go first even though we were first in the passenger take off line. We’re going to be here another hour.”
Or you’re driving on the interstate and the right lane is marked “Tractor Trailers only, except for exiting”. so you have to use the left lane only, which of course is crowded with slower cars even though there’s lots of room in the right lane and trucks are moving very fast.
It’s even worse for Amtrak. In the deal that created them, the railways got to keep all the track. Amtrak has to pay to use it, but they have no say in its upkeep. Now, in theory, passenger trains are supposed to get priority over freight trains but, in practice, the three mile freight train running at 10 m.p.h. on rusty tracks gets to go first, so Amtrack trains wait.
If you go to Europe, the passenger and freight trains use separate systems, so passenger trains only get in the way of other passenger trains.
There’s also a feeling in the United States that rail doesn’t matter even though, particularly in densely populated areas, it carries more passengers than road and planes together. As such, the government doesn’t give Amtrak a lot of money. In Spain, on the other hand, the government went nuts laying out a new high speed rail network, buying trains, and upgrading stations. As such, there are like 16 trains a day between Madrid and Barcelona that cost $40 at peak times and like $8 at non-peak times.
When I was in high school, a divorced lady moved in across the street (quite scandalous, she was the first divorced person in the neighborhood). Her boyfriend was an older guy named Herbie. He was cool. He drove a bunch of cool cars, Lincoln, Jags, Caddies, etc.
Her kids were older than me and gone a lot.
Herbie asked me if I would mow her lawn. I usually got $5 for mowing a lawn, Herbie gave me a $20. My parents made me go give it back. Herbie gave me a 5, then took the 20 and stuck it in my shirt pocket. ““Now you can tell them I paid you a 5”.
A couple of times Herbie made spaghetti and meatballs and they had me over for dinner.
One day I was hanging out at the neighborhood gas station and Herbie drove up and started using the phone booth. My friend said “that guy always uses the phone to call his bookie, I think he’s a gangster” I told them no way, but when Herbie left and waved to me, they were impressed.
One day I go out to get the Newark News and there’s a headline “Mafia Lieutenants run things while Capos are in prison”. And there in the series of pictures is Herbie.
He was Jewish, made up for being Italian by supposedly being extra tough.
He was always really nice to me, me being friends with him made my parents nervous, but they never said anything, except for me overcharging for lawn mowing that first time.
This happened in the 90s in Anchorage, Alaska, towards the end of summer. 2 geniuses decided to rob the Key Bank during daylight hours at a time in the afternoon when rush hour was almost at peak traffic. Key Bank was located at a corner where there was three major avenues with at least 3 lanes each, right in the middle of a 1 way grid. All lanes on all those streets were headed north, west and east, all one way streets. The apparent plan was 1 genius actually committed the armed robbery whilst his side kick drove the get-away car. Fine so far. Key Bank also is only a few blocks from Anchorage Police Department and jail. The hold up itself went off without a hitch. Now, mind you the streets were jammed with cars. Including an Anchorage PD officer sitting in his unit waiting for the light to turn green. This officer happened to be heading to the Police Department. The armed genius ran straight out the main door of the bank and (without checking if he was diving into the get-away car or not), threw open the police unit’s back door, threw the stolen money on the seat and threw himself onto that same seat. He slammed the door shut and screamed “Go! Go!”. The amused officer (who just heard about the heist on his radio) said “I will as soon as the light turns!” He arrested the genius right there and took him straight to booking along with the loot. He later claimed it was the easiest open and shut case he ever had!
A horse tale
I’ll never forget the day my mom called me in a panic: ‘Janna, you’ve got to convince your daddy to get rid of that horse, it’s gonna kill him!'”
Janna Grapperhaus shared the touching story of the bond that was built between her father and an abused horse.
Major was a young and vicious stallion when her father bought him. He “couldn’t be broke”.
“The men who owned him previously had used a technique to break horses that involved beatings and tying his head tightly between two posts where they left him standing without food or water for 4 weeks,” Janna said.
But Major stood strong.
When her father brought him home, Major barreled through five strands of fence within minutes of arriving. He’d bite and strike anyone that got too close.
“My dad never broke him… he earned his heart,” she explained. “Every single day, for hours and hours dad worked to earn that abused horse’s trust. Love won and after two full years, Major allowed my dad to ride him. When dad would go out, Major would kiss him on the head over and over. They had a bond that only horse people could ever understand.”
So when her father passed, it seemed fitting to let Major say goodbye.
“This is Major’s last kiss.”
Doing things right…
In 2018, 13-year-old Jaequan Faulkner started a small business selling $2 hot dogs with $1 sodas and chips from a stand in front of his house in Minnesota.
But his small business was in jeopardy after someone reported him to the Minneapolis Health Department.
Impressed by the young man’s drive, health inspectors decided to teach the young entrepreneur about proper food handling to assist him in getting his hot dog stand up to code.
The teen’s stand passed inspection, and it was the inspectors themselves who paid the $87 fee for his “short-term food permit.”
I was flying on a milk run, from Houston to Dallas, to Denver to Calgary. Its May long weekend , and I have another flight from Calgary to Vancouver to catch, to meet some friends for the long weekend. I get to the airport in Houston and the lady behind the desk is having a bad day. There is a thunderstorm in Houston and my flight is cancelled. I explain that I am going to miss my.connecting flight to Vancouver, and ask if maybe there was an alternate route, maybe through Vegas. She did her best, and came up empty. I thanked her for her effort, and said I will lose the cost of my Vancouver flight, as it was with a different airline, and have to buy a new ticket.
She asked me why I was being so nice, when my vacation was ruined. I told her I was just being normal, and I appreciated them not risking my life flying into Dallas.
She told me that her afternoon had been hell. I was the only person not yelling at her. So she goes back to her desk, and says, she put me on the first flight in the morning. I come back in the morning, and not only did she put me in first class, she rebooked my Vancouver flight in first class with a different airline.
I don’t know how she did it, but I was only 16 hours late for my vacation, and didn’t miss much.
When I was in a bar in Vegas with my black, British-Born-with-Jamaican-roots dad, I entered into conversation with a group of strangers and pointed to my dad and referred to him as “the black guy in the blue shirt over there”. You would have thought I had slapped them in the face. I got screamed and shouted at for having the nerve to call him black and that I should call him African-American. I kept telling them he’s not American and not African either but they wouldn’t hear any of it and in the end informed me(!) that whilst in America I should call him British African-American.
He had landed in London and would be living there for about six months. He had gotten his iphone all set and was there with our 15 year old daughter.
He had his phone out at a bus stop and was checking the schedule. A little ways away a group of teenage boys were plotting mischief. Suddenly one of them breaks away, runs up to him, grabs his phone, and runs away.
Now, my husband, god love him, is a lovely man, a brilliant, overweight biostatistician. But he needed that phone! Badly! So he took off after the boy, who did NOT expect that at all.
He chased him down the street and around the corner, and then the boy disappeared. Furious, he said to some construction workers, “Did you see a boy run past here? He stole my phone!” Yes, he went right around the corner, and it’s a dead end, one of them said.
Mike went around the corner and there was a reedy looking, terrified 15 year old kid cowering in a pile of garbage, desperately trying to unlock his phone.
“Give me my phone, dammit!” he shouted. “Right! Now!”
It may help to know that all British people are firmly convinced that every American is insanely violent and probably carrying a gun…
He handed Mike the gun. Mike turned and walked away. The workers asked if he wanted them to call the cops. Mike said no, he’s just a kid.
The workers all laid into the kid, saying, “You are so lucky! You nearly ruined your life right there! for a phone! Are you crazy?” They were still yelling at him when he was out of earshot.
I would not want to be that kid for any amount of money.
For nearly a year I had excruciating pain in my hands, wrists, neck, and shoulders. It would last anywhere from a few days to over a month. The doctor never really put much effort into finding out what was going on and would prescribe pain medications and muscle relaxers.
The second to last time I saw him, he informed me that I was an addict and he was putting that in my file. I had asked repeatedly for a referral to see a rheumatologist; he flat out refused, even with a family history of RA and other autoimmune diseases.
I made an appointment myself and paid for the visit and the labs out of pocket as, without a referral, my insurance company wouldn’t cover it. The rheumatologist’s office was in the hospital so he requested the blood test for RH factor be expedited (he was one of the hospital’s best and longest associates, so they did as he requested).
About an hour later he told me that I have RA and he had things pretty much under control in a few weeks. I went back to the first doctor and showed him the lab results and print outs of my x-rays. I chewed him out for letting me not only live with the pain and the permanent damage to my joints, but for accusing me of being a drug-seeking addict – particularly since I had never asked him for anything except an answer as to why that was happening. And yes, I did report him.
Zones: A map of relationship types to help relieve dating confusion
I decided to stay up one night after my husband and kids went sleep reason because it’s usually the only time I had to myself. I cleaned house a little bit took a shower and made coffee . I sat down to watch TV and read a little bit , I didn’t last long before I fell asleep in the recliner. It was a very restless sleep and I had bad dreams like the kind that you know your dreaming but you can’t wake up and any attempts you make to fight or run in the dream were useless because it was like you were weighed down. When I did wake up I was sweating and very groggy. While I’m setting there trying to shake the groggy feeling my dog comes and sets at my feet and is staring at the bar between my kitchen and living room as I turn to see what he’s looking at a very thick large fruit bowl on the bar that had apples in it burst into hundreds of pieces and the apples went in different directions. It scared me so bad that for a few minutes I couldn’t get up to look around and when I did no one was awake and both doors were still locked, still to this day I can’t think of any logical reasons to how that thick bowl just burst like that. What ever it was my dog was aware of it.
My years ago on a Monday morning trial docket a woman showed up in a lace red cocktail dress with a large flowing skirt, her hair piled high on her head with red pearls set in, red purse and red shoes. I can only assume the attorney told her to look nice. She looked GREAT for a Saturday night dinner at an expensive restaurant but for a Monday morning her outfit stood out. You could see her from across the room. It was years ago but I learned that day to specify to dress conservatively like you are going to church not a cocktail party.
I have a good friend. We meet each year at a restaurant in Chicago. He always narrows his choice for a starter to one of two soups that he likes. No matter how often I remind him which is which, he always gets confused, can’t remember the difference, and can’t even remember which is the one he likes.
So the one thing I do for him is the obvious solution:
I order one of each, let him taste both, and I let him pick the one he likes that night. Maybe it’s the same as last year, maybe not; who cares? I like them both.
This has been happening for 15 years and it isn’t going to change. My solution works and it’s just our personal ritual.
JUST HAPPENED: China-Russia LATEST Military Pact in War Shocked US
In my junior year of boarding school (1982 to 1983), our history teacher, Mr. Steve Patterson, was a dyed-in-the wool 1960s hippie type. He was about 34 back then. Originally from Ohio, he was a calm, pacifistic sort who wore his unabashed liberalism on his sleeve. Since Mr. Patterson lived on campus with his wife and two young children, part of his job was to head a table in the dining hall twice daily, at breakfast and dinner.
However, neither he nor his family ever touched the school’s fare—which, though it was actually superb (really!), was also very traditional, i.e., full of meat and dairy products. The Pattersons were adamant vegetarians, back at a time when this issue was barely on the radar for most people. They used to bring along their own food, packed in Tupperware containers bulging with disgusting-smelling, homemade hippie-1970s-vegetarian concoctions. (Mr. Patterson would, though, deign to eat an ordinary peanut-butter sandwich now and then.)
At this school, we were all pretty close, so virtually no topic was not subject to vigorous discussion. We used to tease Mr. Patterson quite a bit, and he’d give it right back to us, with all the usual arguments you hear from vegetarians or vegans today, i.e., animal cruelty, fat, hormones in the meat, the environment, sustainability, etc. None of us heeded him (I certainly didn’t), but one thing he said back then does stick out in my mind to this very day:
“In the future, people are going to sue McDonald’s and Burger King for causing heart disease, what with all the fat and unhealthy ingredients, the same way that smokers are now suing the tobacco companies.”
At the time, I thought this notion ludicrous. Today, forty years later, I still haven’t converted to vegetarianism, let alone veganism, but I have to give Mr. Patterson his due. The food industry, the meat industry, and the fast-food industries have all come under increasing fire in recent years. Books, articles, and media productions focusing on portion sizes, obesity, and sustainability have proliferated.
Sad to say, Mr. Patterson didn’t live to see his prediction come true. He died of ALS at the age of 52, back in 2001.
I was fortunate enough to be a patient of a wonderful General Practitioner Doctor for almost 20 years.
We had a great rapport, so any of my visits were very friendly and efficient and usually included a bit of friendly banter.
I’ve been playing some kind of sports all my life, and went to see him about a pain that would rise up in my left knee after about an hour of tennis.
After x-rays and a few tests I was back in his office for the results.
His back was to me, and he appeared to be studying my x-rays.
I saw the slight shaking of his head as I heard him take a deep breath and very slowly let it out (I found out this was all for dramatic effect after his performance).
Still with his back to me I heard him say in a serious sounding tone, “I know what is causing your knee problem, and it’s very sad to have to tell you that your condition is incurable It will without doubt become worse over time.”.
“There are things I can do to help slow down the damage and difficulty, but nothing to stop it..
He knew me well and I’m a rather stoic individual who wants to “cut to the chase”, and as he figured I said, “So Doc, how about just telling me what it is so I can assimilate and deal with it.”.
A slow rather dramatic turn to face showed me a Cheshire Cat’s grin as he said, “Welcome Michael to the ranks of us who are simply getting old and our aches and pains are caused by that incurable health issue called aging.”.
We both had a good laugh and I departed with his set of instructions and the realization that I was officially getting older physically.
I didn’t want to hear it, yet knew I would, so it came as no big deal. But I did appreciate my doctors touch of theatrics and dose of humor.
The Japanese did try to do that. And they did capture Navajo men. However, they were unsuccessful in using them to decipher the code. The reason was simple. The Navajo Code was a code that usedNavajo. It was not normal spoken Navajo. To a Navajo speaker, who had not learned the code, a Navajo Code talker sending a message sounds likea string of unconnected Navajo words with no grammar.It was incomprehensible.
So, when the Japanese captured a Navajo man named Joe Kieyoomia in the Philippines, he could not really help them even though they tortured him. It was nonsense to him. He was in New Mexico’s 200th Coast Artillery unit when the Philippines fell. He had a horrible war as a POW on the Bataan Death March. Then he was later held at POW camps near Nagasaki and was there during the bombing. He survived the bomb and was released three days later. He returned to the Navajo Nation and lived a long life, dying in 1997 at age 77.
The reason capturing Navajo did not work was that it was a code, not spoken Navajo. The Navajo Code had to be learned and memorized by the Navajo Code Talkers. It was designed to transmit a word by word or letter by letter exact English message. They did not just chat in Navajo.
That could have been understood by a Navajo speaker, but more importantly translation is never, ever exact. It would not transmit precise messages. The US Marines only wanted to use such a code if it could send exact, word for word, and letter for letter transmissions. There were about 400 words in the Code.
The first 31 Navajo Marines created the Code in a Marine base in the San Diego area with the help of one non-Navajo speaker officer who knew cryptography. The idea of the Code was brought to the Marines by Philip Johnston. He was a WWI veteran, and engineer in L.A. and he spoke Navajo and had Navajo friends and contacts because he had grown up as a missionary kid on the Navajo Reservation.
The first part of the Code was made to transmit English letters. For each English letter there were assigned three (or sometimes just two) English words that started with that letter. Then those words were translated into Navajo words. In this way, English words could be spelled out with a substitution code. The alternate words were randomly switched around. So, for English B there were the Navajo words for Badger, Bear and Barrel.
In Navajo that is: nahashchʼidí, shash, and tóshjeeh. Or the letter A was Red Ant, Axe, or Apple. In Navajo that is: wóláchííʼ, tsénił , or bilasáana. The English letter D was: bįįh=deer, and łééchąąʼí =dog, and chʼįįdii= bad spiritual substance (devil).
For example, using the letter substitution part of the Code, the word “bad” could be spelled out a number of ways. To a regular Navajo speaker it would sound like: “Bear, Apple, Dog” on some days. Or on other times it could be “ Barrel, Red Ant, Bad Spirit (devil)”. Other times it could be “Badger, Axe, Deer”. As you can see, for just this short English word, “bad” there are many possibilities and to the combination of words used.
To a Navajo speaker, all versions are nonsense. It gets worse for a Navajo speaker because normal Navajo conjugates in complex ways (ways an English or Japanese speaker would never dream of). These lists of words have no indicators of how they are connected. It is utterly non-grammatical in Navajo.
Then to speed it up, and make it even harder to break, they substituted Navajo words for common military words that were often used in short military messages. Almost none were just translations. A few you could figure out. For example, a Lieutenant was “one silver bar” in Navajo.
A Major was “Gold Oak Leaf” in Navajo. Other things were less obvious like a Battleship was the word for Whale in Navajo. A Mine Sweeper was the Navajo word for Beaver. That would be pretty impossible to guess
A note here, as it seems hard for some people to get this. Navajo is a modern and living language. There are, and were, perfectly useful Navajo words for submarines (tsin naaʼeeł táłtłʼááh naagháhígíí –”boat, under the water, the one that goes”), and battleships and tanks. They did not “make up words because they had no words for modern things”.
This is an incorrect story that gets around in the media.
There had been Navajo in the US military before WWII. They had words for everything in the world that existed in 1940. And they have words for all the newer things today. The Navajo language is different and perhaps more flexible than English. It is easy to generate new words. Most nouns are made by conjugating verbs so they indicate what the object does. They borrow very few words and they have words for any modern thing you can imagine. The words for “telephone”, or “train”, or “nuclear power” are all made from Navajo stem roots.
Because the Navajo Marines had memorized the Code there was no code book to capture. There was no machine to capture either. They could transmit it over open radio waves. They could decode it in a few minutes as opposed to the 30 minutes to two hours that other code systems at the time took. And, no Navajo speaker who had not learned the Code could make any sense out of it.
The Japanese had no published texts on Navajo. There was no internationally available description of the language. The Germans had not studied it at the time. The US Marines were careful about that. The Japanese did suspect it was Navajo. Linguists thought it was in the Athabaskan language family. That would be pretty clear to a linguist. And Navajo had the biggest group of speakers of any Athabaskan language. That is why they tortured Joe Kieyoomia. But, he could not make sense of it. It was just a list of words with no grammar and no meaning.
For Japanese, even writing the language down from the radio broadcasts would be very hard. It has lots of sounds that are not in Japanese or in English. It is hard to tell where some words end or start because the glottal stop is a common consonant. Frequency analysis would have been hard because they did not use a single word for each letter. And some words stood for words instead of for a letter. The task of breaking it was very hard.
When translated directly from Navajo into English it is:
“SILVER TWO BLUE JAY CHICKEN HAWK SHEEP AXE NOSE KEY BLUE JAY IRON FISH AND WHALE. “
You can see why a Navajo who did not know the Code would not be able to do much with that. The message above means: “CAPTAIN, THE DIVE BOMBER SANK THE SUBMARINE AND BATTLESHIP.”
“Two silver bars” =captain. Blue jay= the. Chicken hawk= dive bomber. Iron fish = sub. Whale= battleship. “Sheep, Axe Nose Key”=sank. The only normal use of a Navajo word is the word for “and” which is “dóó ”. For the same message the word “sank” would be spelled out another way on a different day. For example, it could be: “snake, apple, needle, kettle”.
US Military has Overextended Itself – John Mearsheimer, Alexander Mercouris and Glenn Diesen
1 large sheepherder loaf, about 8 inches in diameter
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
Instructions
Prepare Cajun-Style Beef Sausage (crumbles); add salami, mixing thoroughly but gently. Form sausage mixture into 1 large burger patty, 8 to 9 inches in diameter and 3/4 inch thick. Place patty on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, 10 to 11 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, 10 to 11 minutes) until instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers 160 degrees F, turning once. Use 2 grill spatulas for easier flipping. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, top patty with cheese and allow to melt.
Meanwhile, combine tapenade and giardiniera in small bowl. Cut sheepherder loaf in half horizontally. Scoop out extra bread from middle of both halves, as desired. Toast loaf on grill for 2 to 3 minutes, if desired. Line bottom of bread with lettuce and tomato; top with burger. Top burger with tapenade mixture, close sandwich. Cut into 8 wedges.
Notes
Sliders: You may prepare 12 sliders instead of one large patty. Form twelve 2 1/2 inch diameter patties in step 1. Place patties on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, 8 to 10 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill for the same time) until instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers 160 degrees F, turning occasionally. During the last minute, top patties with cheese and allow to melt. Continue with step 2.
Why would the LATAM countries want to lessen Chinese influence and increase US influence when they have had a much worse experience with the US for more than 200 years?
The US had the Monroe Doctrine which turned Central and South America into a US political fiefdom where the US militarily intervened and toppled governments it didn’t like.
China never did that to the LATAM nations.
So why would the LATAM nations want to increase US influence unless the governments were directly US controlled?
The US influence on LATAM was never based on trade; it was based on the power of US multinational businesses such as United Fruit and US military power. Basically, the US government and its military acted as a protector for US business interests in the LATAM region.
I most especially like the large shady kinds. As a boy in the 1960’s I used to climb them, and hike through the woods as my adventures would take me.
With each and every event, the trees made my life magical.
The earth was rich and moist, and the air was cooler, with the sounds of the swishing of the leaves from the slightest breeze.
When I moved to Indiana, I noticed that people there did not appreciate the trees at all.
Entire forests were cut down and replaced by either flat farmland or parking lots. And Indiana was a most boring place.
Let me tell you.
When you all have a moment, take the time to stroll in a local woods. Spend the day. Take in the scents. Feel the moist earth. And listen to the birds.
I was night manager of a large resort hotel. We had a spate of thefts. People weren’t locking their doors, and the thieves would walk up the hall trying door knobs. If the door opened, they took a few steps into the room and took what they could quickly find. A lot of guys left they wallets on top of the TV, so that’s what most often got stolen.
The couple were caught, it was a 17 year old girl and a 19 year old guy. The girl turned 18 before the trial, so her juvenile record was sealed. She looked pretty punk when she was arrested (this was in the 80s). She showed up in court wearing a tasteful black dress and looked very proper.
They were both found guilty. The judge said the girl looked like she was “well bred and just got caught up with the wrong people”, and sentenced her to time served. The guy got 12 years.
After the trial, one of the victims told me he worked for the court system and saw her record before it was sealed. She had all sorts of crimes going back to when she was 12. The guy had one arrest. It was unfair, to say the least.
Rio Grande Valley Pink Grapefruit Pie
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
4 medium to large pink or red grapefruit
1 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups water or strained grapefruit juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (3 ounce) box strawberry gelatin
1 (8 or 9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
Instructions
Peel grapefruit, separate sections* and remove from membranes. Place sections in a strainer over a bowl overnight.
Cook sugar, juice, cornstarch and salt until thick and clear.
Add gelatin and stir until dissolved.
Brush gelatin mixture over pie crust.
Chill gelatin mixture and crust.
When gelatin starts to thicken, add grapefruit sections.
Pour into pie crust and chill until set.
Top with whipped cream.
Notes
The grapefruit should be sectioned lengthwise. By slicing the ends off, the fruit can be set flat on the cutting board to make it easier to slice the rind off lengthwise. Use a small, sharp knife to then remove the sections from the membranes.
Oh I let them know I noticed, when I quit. I worked for a Spokane based home healthcare service. I’d been in hospice for a long time and the additional licence for this job was stupid easy. That should have been a clue.
This company has a jaw-dropping philosophy: they provide the barest minimum of service possible without getting sued. That’s it. They don’t give a damn about their clients. I actually offered to give a course in wheelchair safety because OVER AND OVER I’d hear about clients getting dumped on the floor by untrained caregivers. I’ve never dropped a client. Not in 13 years! I was told to “mind my own business.”
The absolute final straw was when I reported bedbugs in a home that had been treated just a few months before. The other two caregivers SWORE there were no bugs. My supervisor told me an exterminator had checked on my day off.
So I came to work that morning and went to make the bed. And it was ALIVE. And when I called the exterminator he said he hadn’t been contacted. So…my employer lied, and broke the law. I sent about 5 minutes of film to dispatch. Live bedbugs. Dead bedbugs. Bedbug and mouse poop. I told them I was reporting them. Well, that got their attention and a state case manager was there in 15 minutes. They got turned in. They got SUED. No job is worth the risk of contaminating my own home or carrying bugs to another client’s home! I’ve never, ever had an employer that literally didn’t care if the clients lived or died. In this case, the clients family had signed her very nice home over to the state to pay for her care. It’s heartbreaking! The state actually wants these elderly clients dead.
Cost have risen so high that labor intensive goods below a certain value are increasingly non-viable in a a growing majority of China’s industrial regions.
The most critical problem of cost, though, is the enforced step change in the price of Chinese exports.
The two biggest factors in the past decade have been the reverse Plaza accord, and Donald the Orange’s illegal blanket tariffs.
The reverse Plaza accord was kicked off by the devaluation of the yen in 2013/14. A top-3 global currency was given the political mandate to devalue 100% in a single decade, pulling most of the third world along, making the yuan more than double against most third world peers this century.
China was singled out as a currency manipulator and threatened with designation to force the PBOC to keep the yuan up.
We live in odd times today. The JPY is a mover and shaker in the immense global derivatives market, but a 100% devaluation has been consistently ignored over the past decade. A 10% devaluation of the yuan, which doesn’t even show up in BIS reports, is exaggerated as a meltdown that will bring the rest of the global market along for the “china collapse”.
Note that the yuan will have to trade north of 14 to the dollar to mirror the yen’s decade-long move from 76 to 150 today.
These conditions created by the first world have sent shock waves rippling through margins and prices of Chinese exports.
Instead of climbing a gentle slope, the Chinese have had to struggle up a steep staircase, due to the speed of the enforced change.
But the biggest driver of long-term change in China is the replacement labor. In the 2000s, less than 10m students took the Gaokao. Today, that number is hitting 13m from a smaller cohort. There are fewer factory workers to go around, and the only answer is automation, and moving up the productivity ladder.
Take footwear. China competes on speed and quality, because there are entire shoe manufacturing ecosystems concentrated geographically that can turn idea into product within mere hours/days. Chinese speed underpins the success of Temu and Shein, which has redefined the fashion shopping experience by affording quality at the very forefront of trends.
In a nutshell, the jobs that cannot be automated away will have to eventually leave China, and the belt and road will be a big enabler. There are Chinese-run business parks in Pakistan, Laos, Vietnam and elsewhere, all enabled by infrastructure that didn’t exist before the Chinese came calling.
China will continue supplying the components, and as skills improve overseas, the lower-margin component lines will also be transferred.
My husband and I were living in an apartment but when we found out that I was pregnant we had to move, our landlord didn’t allow children (it was legal at that time and place). We looked for another place to live and found a lovely little cottage in a small village about 20 minutes out of town.
The day after we moved in, our neighbour to the right knocked on the door holding a plate of baked goods, she didn’t linger, just welcomed me to the village and gave me the goodies. Living there for the next few years, they became the best neighbours I’d ever had. They reminded me of The Waltons, so wholesome, cheerful and friendly. Two of their boys often came over to cut the lawns, shovel snow or to babysit. I’d stop by for visits and we’d share fruit from our trees to make pies and fruit salad.
My neighbour to the left side was a younger couple with small children, so when my daughter was a toddler she played with their children while their mom and I sat and enjoyed a chat and a cuppa.
The entire village seemed to be equally as kind and helpful. At the grocery store they packed my bags and delivered them for me, no charge. The local Ford dealership often fixed my car for no charge or just the cost of parts, and the local jeweler owned several homes that he rented out for low rent. Our landlady was a young woman who’d inherited the cottage, but she was happy living with her mother who worked at the post office, each of them were always pleasant. Generally the entire town looked out for each other. It was nothing like I’d experienced before, having come from an urban area and never lived in the country.
I doubt that it’s still the same, it’s been over 30 years, developers did their thing and it’s no longer a quiet little village. The grocery store has bars up the windows, the Ford dealership is a used car lot now, and the jeweler is probably no longer with us, but it was a very good time in my life that I still think about once in a while.
GERMANY Beg CHINA For Money As They Resume Economic Trade!
Germany should apologies to China and offer tea and stay sorry to China.
Let’s start answering this question by addressing the “elephant in the room”.
If you read any Western press, you will be aware of the “common expectations” of what a war with China, and what it would entail. These are clearly explained in policy papers and popular media. The strongest promoters of this narrative is the legacy media to include Yahoo, CNN, BBC, FOX, ABC, MSNBC and all of Australian and Indian “news” media.
This is a “seeded” and intentionally promoted narrative, and no deviance is permitted on this script. This the narrative popularized by NEOCON publications, the United States Congress, and legacy media such as Forbes, Bloomberg, New York Times, etc.
It is a CIA / NSA / NED narrative concocted out of Langley, Va.
[CIA / NED Narrative]
China continues it’s “provocations”.
And “invasion” of Taiwan occurs.
The USA, through it’s proxy nations, intervene.
Chinese advantage is ONLY with numbers and proximity. And thus the PLA run like cowards to the massive military might of the combined Allied forces.
China does not have the ability to innovate, and are novices in fighting. They fall into the “new Verdun” that the United States constructed. The Chinese leadership is also swamped by plagues, famines, and internal revolts that suddenly cropped-out out of nowhere.
A long, drawn-out war ensues.
It will be limited to the South China Sea, and Taiwan.
All trade with China stops. All BRI are interrupted, and Naval blockades are complete.
It’s World War I all over again, only inside of Chinese territory.
China will pour weapons and men and material into those designated war-zones, and the Allies will do the same from their staging locations in Japan, The Philippines, Australia and South Korea.
Eventually, after a few decades, China backs down and surrenders.
The Chinese people, tired of their pathetic lives, revolt and topple the CCP.
Peace overwhelms the planet and everyone enjoys democracy and freedom under the brilliant leadership of the President of the Untied States.
Sound familiar. It should.
And only an ABSOLUTE IGNORAMUS would actually believe it. Because it relies on a plethora of lies, distortions, falsehoods, in order to arrange and fabricate a narrative that many WISH and HOPE to occur.
That is exactly how propaganda works; it tells lies that you WANT to believe.
…
But, you all know, it’s not really “rocket science”. This scenario has already been “gamed out”. At least the early stages. The United States has been following the well-worn, tired and true playbook for decades…
The United States initiates a provocation.
China refuses to act on it.
The United States the stages a “false flag” event, supported with a media barrage.
China reacts militarily and destroys all belligerents in the area.
What happens next depends on numerous factors, but I will break it down in really simplistic categories.
[Planned Response]
This is pretty-much a rehash of the earlier CIA plans.
This is what the Straussian NEOCON psychopaths want. This is their objective.
The United States now has the excuse for a war with China.
As a result, it starts blowing up Chinese cities, ships and assets. The plan is for overwhelming superiority in aircraft and missiles from numerous nations, Naval vessels, and bases.
The plan is for a victory over China, and the assumption that China would be incapable of fighting back in any positive way.
Now, this is where the NEOCON plans go “off the rails”.
Instead of fighting a conventional war, on American terms, to an American defined timeline, and on Chinese soil, using the well-worn war-playbook, China does something different, and unexpected.
I argue (it doesn’t take too much effort, either) that China would…
China and Russia work together lob hyper-sonic nuclear weapons at key cities and infrastructure in the United States directly. This is done at the same time as China is attacking the invading forces and their staging centers.
Most of the United States population centers, as well as those of the proxy nations, are erased from the face of the globe. New York gone. Los Angles and Silicon Valley; gone. Virginia… all of it…gone.
The dinged-up USA responds with nuclear weapons.
The Chinese shoots most of them down with their laser umbrella.
But even with a hand full of American detonations, the Earth experiences a global catastrophe. North America and Europe, as well as Japan, South Korea, and Australia are radioactive wastelands.
[The USA backs down]
This scenario describes the highest probability event cycle.
This concept of withdrawal is unheard of in the United States and Western media, but historically, this is almost ALWAYS the case. This is the Afghanistan, the Vietnam, the Korean War event scenario. Thus, this is a higher probability of occurrence than what one might otherwise think.
The USA performs a politically motivated war plan. While technically well-gamed out, political considerations force erroneous assumptions.
The plan goes to shit early on. FUBAR occurs, and the entire backbone of the plan collapses.
A period of aggressive losses in manpower and material occur, and Washington disengages from the battlefield(s) under some context.
The American and Western media praise the “Great American Win”.
But the impact of very bad Geo-political decisions ignite a “ticking time-bomb” internally.
American domestic opinion turn against the administration.
A nation-wide American civil war breaks out.
It is a catastrophe for the West, and aligned nations all experience internal violence. Japan, Europe, Australia and South Korea suffer massive changes at all levels.
[USA first strike]
This is the great concern, of the “Global South”; the rest of the world outside the G7 led by the United States. But, personally, I really do not see this ever happening. The American military will not allow it.
The USA launches MAD in the belief that China will stand down. Full spectrum war is unleashed, but unlike the earlier scenario, this one engages nuclear weapons from the start.
The SLBM’s and ICBM’s start flying
The Chinese shoots most of them down with their laser umbrella.
But severe damage still occurs inside of China.
China and Russia launch nuclear weapons at the entirety of the West.
Most of the United States population centers, as well as those of the proxy nations, are erased from the face of the globe. Europe is no longer a population region. The United States glows at night.
The, being leaderless, under the control of “the deep state” and rudderless, the United States continues to engage the world in a nuclear war on auto-pilot.
It is a global catastrophe.
[USA Sanctions China & interrupts shipping]
This is the “China Lite” version of war that is debated within the NEOCON publications and talks. I can confirm that this has a great deal of support as a “war on China” option in Washington DC.
The USA decides to implement sanctions (Russian style) against China, and also starts sinking ships. American piracy, and shipping losses enter billions of dollars in losses.
China readies it’s long-planned counter-actions. And they are BRUTAL.
A period of time passes, while the United States, and it’s proxies tries to ignite a “cold war II” fuze.
The Western media is on a full-war gallop…
The American led provocations are numerous, and dangerous. China continues to avoid all of them.
So far, it appears that this is on-going right now. Which makes this scenario the most worrisome.
Then, during a point in time when all the American “leadership is in one place”, such as during an election, or government event, China launches hyper-sonic nuclear weapons at major American cites. The idea being to completely unleash maximum damage in a very short amount of time.
America is erased from the surface of the planet. There simply isn’t any American government left.
The USA auto-retaliates with a MAD nuclear response.
The Chinese shoots most of them down with their laser umbrella.
But even with a hand full of American detonations, the Earth experiences a global catastrophe. But, the USA is the most destroyed nation on the planet.
…
It is a lose-lose in every scenario.
No one wins.
How ANYONE can advocate World War 3 clearly shows how idiotic, moronic, and deranged the Western “leadership” actually is.
How anyone can think otherwise is amazing to me.
There is absolutely NO SCENARIO where the world becomes a better place. Instead, it becomes HELL, and most people DIE.
…
At this point in time I want to address some misconceptions.
One of the greatest is accepting American anti-China propaganda as truth. It’s insidious, and everywhere. If you get any information about China, make SURE that it is from CHINESE sources in CHINESE. Otherwise you are regurgitating CIA propaganda and disinformation.
As a (now deleted) troll said “China only has 300 nuclear warheads, while the USA has over 6000”.
Oh, really?
And, “China is unable to make more because of <insert technical jargon here>”.
China can build two (x2) 6,000 bed hospitals in ten days.
China can build a 62 story skyscraper in two days.
China can design, manufacture and produce cutting edge IC chips, complete with it’s own OS, operating system, and includes satellite comm ability in four years.
China can lock down an entire nation of 1.6 billion people, with only 5000 deaths…
But it cannot make nuclear bombs.
Uh huh.
Sure. What ever you say.
(Eye roll.)
…
Drinking the American propaganda is dangerous as it is in everything. In fact, nothing is left untouched. Those in the upper (the very top) know its all a lie, but have succumbed to their own hubris; the believe their own lies. Oh man. That is dangerous.
So I have to ask…
How do you know that the United States has 6000 nuclear bombs?
Well it said so in an American report, and in American publications.
How do you know that the USA did not blow up Nordstom 1 & 2 pipelines?
Well, it is investigating the issue. American and Western publications say so.
How do you know that the Apollo moon landing program put men walking on the moon?
Well, NASA filmed the guys doing it, and the American government verified it happened.
It is not that EVERYTHING that the United States says is a lie. It’s just that most are distorted truths… approaching the laughable.
How do you know that America is recovering from the “disastrous Trump administration” and inflation is only a mere 3% today?
Well, the American government announced the latest inflation figures.
Crazy huh?
…
The world is spiraling all out of control, all because a group of psychopathic nihilistic narcissists with delusions of ultimate power. And they all are in a circle-jerk believing their very own lie-machine.
What will happen?
No one actually knows, but we do know this;
In 1995, the CIA remote viewed the year 2025. They remote viewed the world 35 years into the future.
You might not believe in “remote viewing”, or the CIA. But you have to admit, that there is no way, that in 1995 anyone would be able to predict the world we live in today.
The predictions are uncanny.
And, if you think that the future is not going to unfold this way, then you are delusional.
VOA tried to sabotage Indonesia’s new high speed rail opening
Indonesia’s brand new, China-built and financed high speed railway officially opened to the public yesterday, with most Western media being surprisingly fair in their reports. Voice of America didn’t get the memo, apparently, and ran with a story using their typical, blatant misinformation, posting a picture of an old train directly under their headline. I rode the brand new train during a test run about ten days ago and will share some of my experience with you today, including a chat with a local reporter.
What Is Third Wave Coffee?
Coffee has undergone several major transformations in the past century, commonly referred to as “waves” that denote shifts in how coffee is produced, processed, and consumed. Here’s an overview of the progression of coffee waves.
First Wave Coffee: Accessibility and Mass Production
The first wave of coffee began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This era was characterized by the mass production and widespread accessibility of coffee.
Brands like Folgers and Maxwell House emerged, making coffee a staple in households across the U.S. and beyond.
The beans were often robusta, chosen for their yield and price point rather than quality and flavor. Brewing methods were basic, with drip coffee makers and percolators commonplace.
Espresso drinks like cappuccinos were rare outside of Italian immigrant communities. Overall, coffee was viewed as a commodity rather than a specialty product.
Key Features of the First Wave:
Instant Coffee: The invention of instant coffee made it easier for people to prepare and consume the beverage.
Branding: Major companies began advertising campaigns, making coffee a household name.
Consistency: The focus was on producing a consistent taste, often at the expense of quality and flavor nuances.
Second Wave Coffee: The Rise of the Coffee Shop Culture
The second wave, which began in the 1960s and peaked in the 1980s and 1990s, saw the rise of coffee shops and espresso drinks. Brands like Starbucks, Peet’s, and Costa Coffee played pivotal roles in popularizing this wave.
Beans were sourced from specific regions and often single origin. Roasts were lighter to preserve the distinct flavors of bean varietals.
The emphasis was on taste and freshness. While speciality coffee chains drove the second wave, independent cafes also popped up throughout the US and helped fuel coffee connoisseur culture.
Key Features of the Second Wave:
Espresso-Based Drinks: Lattes, cappuccinos, and mochas became popular choices.
Coffee Shop Culture: Coffee shops became social hubs, places for meetings, work, and relaxation.
Variety: Consumers started to become more aware of different coffee beans, origins, and roast levels.
Third Wave Coffee: Appreciation of the Art and Science
The third wave of coffee emerged in the early 2000s and continues today. This wave strives to produce the absolute highest quality coffee through control of the full production process from crop to cup.
There is an emphasis on direct trade, single origin beans, lighter roasts, and freshness. Brewing methods highlight the distinctive qualities of each bean, with pour over, cold brew, and microbatch espresso common.
The barista is viewed as a skilled artisan. Innovative coffee shops focus on the total coffee experience – the aroma, taste, feel.
There is also transparency about sourcing and farming practices. Third wave coffee is complex, nuanced, and treated more like wine or craft beer than a mere commodity.
Key Features of the Third Wave:
Direct Trade: Coffee roasters and shops often build direct relationships with coffee farmers, ensuring fair prices and sustainable practices.
Specialty Coffee: There’s a focus on high-quality beans, often graded 80 points or above on the Specialty Coffee Association’s scale.
Brewing Techniques: Methods like pour-over, siphon, and cold brew highlight the unique flavors of each coffee bean.
Traceability: Consumers can often trace the coffee’s journey from the farm to the cup, understanding its origin, variety, and processing method.
Fourth Wave Coffee?
Some speculate that a fourth wave of coffee is emerging, focused on sustainability and fair treatment of coffee farmers and workers.
But others argue the industry is still deep in the third wave, working to perfect coffee quality and the consumer experience.
Whether the fourth wave coalesces remains to be seen. For now, the focus is squarely on continuing to improve coffee quality.
Potential Features of the Fourth Wave:
Technology: From blockchain for traceability to apps that connect farmers and consumers, technology plays a central role.
Sustainability: There’s an even stronger emphasis on eco-friendly practices, from farming to packaging.
Education: Consumers are not just passive drinkers; they’re educated about every aspect of coffee production and preparation.
The progression of coffee waves shows an increasing appreciation of coffee as a complex food product requiring care and craftsmanship.
What began as a commoditized morning drink is now regarded as an artisanal product that brings nuanced flavor, community, and connection.
The future of specialty coffee promises even more dedication to the bean, the farmers, and the drinkers who savor every sip.
Ukraine SitRep: Bad Demographics – End of Support
Via a Responsible Statecraftpiece I came onto a EU study that tried to predict the future demographics of Ukraine’s population.
The study is from early 2022 and is based on Ukrainian casualty numbers from only the very first month of the war. Their worst case scenario was this:
Our third and fourth scenarios assume that the war will continue for a month or longer so that further casualties and refugees are expected. We assume the following casualties: 5,000 deaths among soldiers and 1,500 civilian deaths based on the current trends. There will be 5 million refugees, which is an estimate by UNHCR (UNHCR 2022a)
The real refugee numbers are twice as high and the casualty numbers, wounded and dead, are of course about 100 times higher than the study assumed. It was thus not worth the money that had been spend on it.
Still, some graphs in it are usable.
Yesterday I shortly discussed the op-ed by the former British Minister of Defense Ben Wallace in which he asserts:
The average age of the soldiers at the front is over 40.
He then urges the Ukrainian government to throw more young men into the meat grinder.
The young Ukrainians are gone. They either have fled from Ukraine or are wounded, disabled or died. You can not mobilize what is no longer there.
Unfortunately the real situation is worse then I had thought.
The ‘age pyramid’ in Ukraine isn’t a pyramid. In 2020 there was a huge lack of 15 to 20 years old people. They were simply not there. They never existed. The number of newborns around 2000 must have been horribly low.
The reason for that was likely the serious downturn of Ukraine’s economy after it had separated itself from the Soviet Union.
It took a decade long severe recession for Ukraine to find a bottom for its economy. Bad economic times and low expectations of betterment had influenced the desire of its people to procreate. Two more downturns followed during the global recession around 2008 and due to the 2014 Maidan coup and the civil war following it.
Thus when the war started there were only half as many people of 20 year age than 40 year old ones. It is no wonder then that few of younger age are seen at the front line.
There is still one measure Ukraine might take to increase the numbers of young soldiers. There currently are exemptions from mobilization for those who study at a university. If Ukraine would draft these if could probably find a few ten-thousand additional soldiers. But it would also strip itself of its future elite.
The already bad demographic prediction some 20 years out would then look even worse than they currently do.
Early this year Ukraine’s birthrate had hit a new low:
To keep a population steady, research shows it’s necessary to have an average of about 2.1 babies per family — known as a replacement rate. In Ukraine, fertility rates have remained under that threshold since 1990. Over the last two decades, the rate has often dropped below what experts call a “very low” fertility rate of 1.3, when a population begins to shrink at an ever increasing rate. In January 2021, a year before Russia’s full-scale invasion, the fertility rate was 1.16, according to national statistics.
Birthrates in Ukraine have fallen by 28% in the first half of 2023, compared to the same period prior to the war, marking the most significant drop since Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 25. … Due to the ongoing war, millions of Ukrainian women with children were forced to leave the country, while men aged 18 to 60 were prohibited from leaving. As a result, many couples were physically separated, while others delayed starting families, the report says.
In the first half of 2023, there were 96,755 children born in Ukraine. Since 2013, the country’s fertility rate has been dropping by approximately 7% per year.
The population of Ukraine will shrink further. In 1990 Ukraine had a population of more than 50 million people. Twenty years from now the country will have less than maybe 25 million inhabitants. This even if all refugees return. A large if that this is unlikely to happen.
As Russia has become more bloodyminded, Ukraine’s allies seem caught in their own conflicting boundary conditions. There is no willingness to mobilize to defend Ukraine. There isn’t even a serious effort to ramp up military production to an adequate level to match, let alone surpass, Russia’s output.
And that’s before getting to the fact that Ukraine as a county has become a very costly ward of all its backers.
Yesterday a meeting of the EU’s foreign ministers on further military assistance for Ukraine ended without results (machine translation):
The foreign ministers of the EU countries at today’s summit in Kiev could not agree on the allocation of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 5 billion euros for 2024.
This was announced at a press conference following the event by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel.
The EU’s budget for 2023 was €168.6 billion. €5 billion are peanuts but the EU countries could not unite over it. The senseless generosity has reached the end of the possible.
Earlier, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrel said that the cessation of military support for Kiev from the West will lead to a quick end to the conflict in Ukraine, but as a result, the country will lose its independence.
Look at the demographics and economics above and ask yourself what 30 years of ‘independence’ have done for Ukraine.
To end it could well be the best that could ever happen to it. Unfortunately for it Russia is unlikely to step in and to subsidize its further existence.
Posted by b on October 3, 2023 at 13:30 UTC | Permalink
Something TERRIBLE is happening to me right now!
We are all in the same situation, Tucker is just the FIRST. The agencies will get away with this because CONGRESS won’t stop it.
U.S. CONGRESSMAN: ” . . . IF WE’RE GONNA LOSE THE DOLLAR . . . “
Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaking about the growing BRICS nations engaging in “de-dollarization,” Gaetz told reporters “. . . if we’re going to lose the dollar . . . .”
Does Gaetz already KNOW the Dollar is doomed?
Here is the one minute, fifty second clip, so all of you have context of the Congressman’s remarks:
This off-the-cuff remark by Congressman Gaetz made me sick to my stomach when I heard it. In __my__ view, this validates ALL the reporting I have been doing on this web site and on my radio show, telling my readers and listeners the US Dollar is collapsing and will be rejected by nations around the world as a means of trade.
That would utterly cripple the United States since we don’t manufacture mcuh of anything here anymore; we import most of it from other countries.
If those countries stop accepting the US dollar in trade, how will WE get what WE need?
Stock-up, folks. Food, clothing, medicines, etc.
Get what you need NOW, while it still can be gotten.
If this collapse takes place, I suspect it will happen like a lightning bolt out of the blue.
No advance warning before it all goes to hell.
Don’t let the US fool you: China is AWESOME!
“For a person who have been to China multiple times, I absolutely love and envy China. It’s absolutely a big disappointment when I return to India and hear all the negative news about China. Chinese people absolutely love Indian people and we instead are preaching hatred towards them. It’s a very very sad affair. Even my children are asking why we are always saying bad things about China all the time. They went to China with me too. I can’t answer them. What can I say? ….India afterall is my country and we are supposed to hate China.”
Israel Confesses War Crime
No, not really. Israel did not confess war crimes. It never does. It proudly announced that it will now commit a war crime:
Israel’s defence minister described Palestinians as “human animals” and vowed to “act accordingly,” as fighter jets unleashed a massive bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip.
Yoav Gallant announced a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip, an area of about 365 square km, and home to 2.3 million Palestinians, which has been under an Israeli-led blockade since 2007.
“I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” Gallant said.
“We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly,” he added.
The Israeli air force has dropped 2,000 munitions and more than 1,000 tonnes of bombs on Gaza in the last 20 hours, the army said on Monday morning, having shelled 20 high-rise residential buildings, mosques, hospitals, banks and other civilian infrastructure.
Israel military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the army drops hundreds of tons of bombs in attacks in the Gaza Strip, and —— “the emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy.” — Haaretz
… On Saturday they were already talking about wiping out entire neighborhoods in Gaza, about occupying the Strip and punishing Gaza “as it has never been punished before.” But Israel hasn’t stopped punishing Gaza since 1948, not for a moment.
After 75 years of abuse, the worse possible scenario awaits it once again. The threats of “flattening Gaza” prove only one thing: We haven’t learned a thing. The arrogance is here to stay, even though Israel is paying a high price once again.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bears very great responsibility for what happened, and he must pay the price, but it didn’t start with him and it won’t end after he goes. We now have to cry bitterly for the Israeli victims, but we should also cry for Gaza.
Gaza, most of whose residents are refugees created by Israel. Gaza, which has never known a single day of freedom.
—
The Israeli government has called up another 360,000 reservists for a total of 660,000 reservists plus the 170,000 in the regular standing forces. Israel’s total labor force is 4.4 million.
This is not sustainable for more than a week or two. With 660,000 mostly young people, 15% of the total workforce, suddenly absent, Israel’s economy will immediately tank. The Shekel and the Israeli stock market have already dropped significantly and the central bank had to intervene to keep the currency stable.
Meanwhile 200,000 out of a total of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza are now displaced. Israel bombed their homes to smithereens and they have nowhere to go.
A few days ago Netanyahoo told people in Gaza to leave. The only place they theoretically could go is Egypt. Today Israel bombed the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
A ground invasion of Gaza will be difficult and likely lead to massacres – on both sides. Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria would likely see a ground invasion of Gaza as a reason to intervene. It has missiles and drones that are precise and can reach any part of Israel. Israel may then retaliate by attacking the Syrian government. Iran and Russia would thereby get involved in the war. The U.S. of course would jump in on Israel’s side.
This war could really, really escalate and do so soon.
Posted by b on October 10, 2023 at 14:42 UTC | Permalink
First Time in U.S. History: SPEAKER of THE HOUSE — OUSTED
Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown, a first in U.S. history, that was forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and threw the House and its Republican leadership into chaos.
McCarthy’s chief rival, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, forced the vote on the “motion to vacate,” drawing together more than a handful of conservative Republican critics of the speaker and many Democrats who say he is unworthy of leadership.
It was the first time since 1910 that a vote has been held on whether to remove a Speaker and the only time such a motion has been approved.
McCarthy is now the shortest-serving House Speaker since the year 1876.
Next steps are uncertain, but there is no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority.
Stillness fell as the presiding officer gaveled the vote closed, 216-210, saying the office of the speaker “is hereby declared vacant.” The Hammer fell at 4:49pm EDT. Here is video of the historic moment:
Moments later, a top McCarthy ally, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., took the gavel and, according to House rules, was named speaker pro tempore, to serve in the office until a new speaker is chosen.
The House then briskly recessed so lawmakers could meet and discuss the path forward.
Trump Wanted U.S. Out Of NATO!
Among the list of Biden administration accomplishments, the expansion of NATA is usually mentioned prominently by the President’s supporters. And that represents a stark contrast with Donald Trump, who at one point during his presidency declared an intention to pull the U.S. out of NATO entirely. But he soon backtracked, which has led a number of observers to speculate about what might have changed Trump’s mind.
Huawei has established the third truly COMMERCIAL Asian Tech Ecosystem from China and the eighth in Asia after Toyota, Nikon, Canon ,Samsung , BYD, Trina and Xinyi
The Huawei Ecosystem now has
The Chip
The OS
The 5G Modem
The GPU
The Networks
Yet Huawei Ecosystem is fragile because SMIC the manufacturer of the 7 nm Node depends on Advanced DUV equipment from ASML
Now SMIC has stockpiled massive orders from ASML and that will keep SMIC going till maybe 2026
However that’s still dependence, a lot of dependence on the West
So i would say HUAWEI has made a start
Meanwhile people forget the REAL WINNERS of the three companies that have established it’s own dominant ecosystem on which the West is entirely dependent on :-
BYD
BYD has:-
The Chip – The Mature 28nm Chip that only China can today manufacture cost effectively and in huge volumes
The Software
The Satellite Navigation System
The Battery
The Dynamic Unit
It’s completely and entirely Independent from Western Technology
Trina and Xinyi who have :-
The Intelligent Chip
The Micrograde Wafer Panel (That to this day no nation can produce except France but at 87% higher cost)
The Carbide micro layering etching equipment (Chinas equivalent of the EUV Lithography Machine)
The Silicon extraction process into Mono, Poly Crystalline Silicon with infusions
Yes Huawei deserves all the admiration for its clawback and fighting
Yet BYD, Trina and Xinyi actually get Proprietary License Fees from the West which is unique for a Nation that to thia day didn’t kowtow to the West unlike Japan, Israel and South Korea
Huawei to win, needs SMIC to become another BYD or Xinyi or Trina
If SMIC can achieve that, then China truly begins the challenge to the established Semiconductor industry
Oliver Anthony – I Want To Go Home| REACTION *TEARS*
Oliver Anthony is breaking a spell we’ve all been under with his pure unfiltered honesty. It’s just disarming and appears to allow everyone to drop the mask we put on everyday and speak to each other from the heart. I haven’t not cried yet.
First you ought to understand the issue in the first place. Anything made in the U.S. simply cannot compete and won’t sell. Why?
Your workers demand 5 times the salary and is willing to work half the hours, expecting 10 times more benefits. You CEO wants 100 times their income, your workers refused to be train, your colleges turn out lawyers and bull shit artist and not STEM engineers, your infrastructure is dilapidated, Your government spends all its money fighting wars instead of helping industry. You offend all your prospective customers.
So my friend. You need to outsourced your production. China offers a best value for money. You Choose China. China don’t choose you.
So you want to stop. Can you? Can you ask US workers to get 20% salary, work twice as hard, accept 10% of benefits, your CEO earn 1% it did, you stop fighting wars, making wars and building infrastructure? Can you? I doubt so.
You can’t have the cake and eat it too. Choose one! I think this questioner will choose war because you have been conditioned your whole life to think the U.S. must bomb any nation that refuse to be submissive and subservient to you. Your media and your politicians made you what you are.
ER DOCTOR reacts to BRITISH PUBLIC guessing US healthcare costs | Dr Jmack
Heyo!! Today I’m reacting to the British public reacting to the cost of healthcare in the US. I thought this would be a cute and funny reaction video, but it really turned into something else. I may or may not have ended up ranting for 20 minutes! Topics hit: absurdity of US healthcare costs, does US medicine already have a combined capitalist/socialized structure, do doctors/nurses care that the system is rigged?
When I was in middle school, I took “typing” for all three years of my tenure there, and I never learned to type. I never did anything in the class except draw, use my Gameboy, or shoot the shit with my friends. Somehow I always got a passing grade, like a ‘B’, and I didn’t ask any questions. it wasn’t til my second year did I figure out what was going on….
The teacher always wore a decent conservative business suit, carried a large hard side briefcase (this was the late 80’s), and never really taught us anything. He only taught typing and “computers” and the computer class was the same vibe. Well, I viewed into his open brief case one day to see real estate materials, flyers, business cards, etc. This guy was a real estate agent, that somehow got hired as full-time teacher as a side hustle……..at least he had a steady income and full bene’s as a teacher.
He was always working on his real estate business when he should’ve been instructing! He couldn’t give the few of us that did nothing bad grade cuz that’d ruin his gig. I’m still not sure why he decided to teach, who decided to hire him, and why he seemingly got away with this for years.
However, this did teach me that I can successfully juggle two projects and receive two paychecks!
U.S Senators Travel to China to Beg Xi for Trade Deal !
Engagement and dialogue are essential for constructive international relations. This video examines the delicate US-Taiwan-China relationship, addressing the importance of mutual understanding, compromise, and respect for sovereignty for maintaining stability and trust between nations.
He plays the piano beautifully, and he practices with the children on weekends.
He likened the first world’s iron grip on tech to this little tool here…
It’s called a metronome, and musicians use it to set the beat-rate for sheet music.
I taught myself how to read notes (very, very poorly) as an adult and as an engineer, I couldn’t figure out how sheet music communicated the speed one played the notes.
Until my friend explained the metronome to me.
Pre-2020s, the pace of progress was set by the first world. The standard-defining or cutting-edge tech always came from advanced economies. For cars, we had the S-class/7 series, for computers we had Intel and more recently, AMD/Mac, for planes we had Airbus/Boeing.
In essence, the west defined tech generations. We were stuck with 2G… until the first world came along with 3G. We were stuck with DDR3 Ram, until DDR4 was introduced.
The first world ran the clock when it came to tech, and the rest of the world planned around the schedule.
The most important reason was the monopoly they had on the upstream tools. If we gave the best talent the best tools, different teams will eventually optimize towards convergence. There is only so far one can push the expression of the state of the art, and that is why Airbus models are head to head with Boeing, and Android not too different from iOS.
China is third world.
And for the first time in modern history, a non-first-world country has dibs on the cutting edge. China has established itself as a dominant player in diverse fields such as nuclear power generation, medium voltage power architecture, EVs, high speed rail, TBMs, photovoltaics and many more.
In every one of these fields, China isn’t competing on cost alone, but setting standards, and helping to define the next generation.
Case in point: China is currently the only country to operate a test 4th-gen nuclear reactor that’s plugged into the grid, putting it a good decade (or more) ahead of the competition in terms of commercialization.
Similarly, Huawei, after being kicked out of the Bluetooth SIG, has redefined short-range wireless technology with its Nearlink standard, capable of 1.5Mbps speeds consuming way lower energy. And these are delivered numbers, in physical consumer products available TODAY.
That’s bluetooth 6.x/7.x territory, which is years away from being issued as a standard, never mind consumer availability.
Imagine Huawei, one third world company, leapfrogging the current state of the art Bluetooth by at least 1–2 generations.
The west/first world no longer controls the clock.
Let me repeat, because this is important.
THE WEST NO LONGER CONTROLS THE CLOCK.
Rather, China will continue to pop surprises, just because the country and society is poorly reported by the first-world dominated media.
The educated, and well informed who read ABOUT the Chinese exclusively will repeatedly wake up to head-scratching bombshells in the coming future.
What? The Chinese did THIS? That’s… impossible. Don’t they only know to steal and copy and reverse-engineer?
I won’t be surprised if Nearlink is adopted by Apple and the Android alliance, because it is a transformative standard that can enable brand new ecosystems. What will Huawei do with Wifi, and next-gen navigation, particularly indoor spaces? What will a 5.5G Huawei phone add to the mobile experience?
The Chinese, at the minimum, are turning up the metronome, and playing Beethoven as he originally intended.
Shape up, or screw up, sanctions be damned.
Things a Filipina Fears in Dating Foreigner – Untold Reasons!
Most of you if not all foreigners were really curious of us filipina why we are still single but always wish in the corner to have a foreigner partner. Now you will know the untold reasons and that includes mine. Some of it are very hilarious and might offend one of your pride but let me tell you a word that you will enjoy and learned alot by watching this video.
The Osiris-Rex mission conference has wrapped up, and the newly released pictures of rock samples collected from the asteroid Bennu are leaving everyone in awe.
These samples consist of 250 grams of primordial material, which means they originated around 4.6 billion years ago during the formation of our Solar System.
Within these minute fragments, scientists have detected the presence of clay, water, and even organic material.
Three MORE Aircraft Carriers Leaving Port; 101st Airborne Division Relocating from Romania to Jordan. Target: Iran? Syria? Both?
Most of the general public already knows the USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier and its Strike Group arrived in the eastern Mediterranean Sea near Israel. What few people know is that THREE other aircraft carriers and a NATO Maritime Group are also being deployed . . .
The big media bru-ha-ha over the past few days was the urgent deployment of the USS Gerald Ford and Carrier Strike Group 12.
But the mass media has been almost silent about some other vessels suddenly putting to sea and the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division are all heading out — fast.
If you work harder than everybody else around, you will become more successful.
It’s that simple… at least on a first glance.
But on a second glance, it might be a tiny bit more complicated than that.
Let’s look at an example: Elon Musk.
Elon Musk works 90 hour weeks regularly, although he has been known to work over 110 hour weeks during some parts of his life.
He definitely worked harder than anyone else around and eventually reached success with that.
But the question you have to ask yourself is if that is the kind of life you want to live.
Elon Musk has very little time for anything else in his life.
Since he works so much he only has very little time for friends and family, little time for hobbies and even less time for any other activities like watching movies.
He doesn’t travel much outside of work and is probably not caught up on any of the newest series or movies.
Instead his life is centered around his work and he invests most of his time into it. To him, this is the best place to spend his time.
Before you get all up and about in becoming successful ask yourself first what you are willing to sacrifice to get there.
Elon Musk sacrificed and still sacrifices a lot of family time, hobbies and experiences to give himself more time to work, allowing him experience of being successful. That is what he wants out of life and that is what works for him!
You can definitely reach high amounts of success in your early 20s, but to do that you have to sacrifice many friendships, hobbies, a lot of family time, a large amount of sleep and many other niceties.
You will miss the relaxing cinema experiences, opportunities to engage with friends about the newest series, and time spent on hobbies and other things… but you will increase your chances to be successful!
The question is: Is that worth it to you?
If you are still willing to work for success with that all being said, keeping in mind all you might need to sacrifice, then by all means, go and work!
If your definition of success does not include any of the sacrifices, then go for it! Do what you can, read more books, learn, improve, grow and spend 90% of your waking time grinding away.
If that however does not seem like the life you want to lead, then maybe think about what it is you want instead.
If you want to spend time with your family, want to travel and go on vacations, want to have crazy hobbies, and spend some time chatting about the newest series, then you will not be able to work that much or succeed that fast.
You will have to spend some time every week in these things. Is that okay for you?
Different people have different values in life and depending on them they need to spend their time differently.
While Elon Musk is driven by his work, you may not be, and that’s okay!
It’s not about creating THEsuccessful life, but about creating YOURsuccessful life!
Okay… those were my 2 cents on it; now lets get into the actual How to do it!
Ascertain what “Success” means to you – Depending on your personal definition, the work you do will be different.
Consume Information from People that have reached that Success – The closer they are to your idea of success the better it is. Learn from them and follow their advice! Trust them, as they must have had some right idea to get where they are today.
Produce don’t Consume – Besides the consumption above, you should be grinding and producing non-stop. More work = Faster results. That is the rule of thumb and holds generally true.
Adjust – Every week… no… every DAY you should be looking at what works, what doesn’t, where you struggle and how to get results faster. Keep tabs on yourself and do not allow yourself to get away with less than you want!
Create a System – You have to create a path that goes from your action to the desired result. In finance this is called a ‘Funnel’. How are people going to go from site X to purchase on site Z, for example.
The rest, depends entirely on what your version of success is and how hard you work.
Other than that, if you do steps 2–4 every day, you will become successful in your 20′s no problem.
Just make sure it is really what you want first!
6 Reasons to Retire as Soon as You Can
There is a MAJOR uptick in these kinds of videos about people dropping out of the work-force.
The threat meter is flopping back and forth from zero to pinging at 100%.
The meter is normally at zero.
Then, out of the blue, some NEOCON psychopath does something stupid like slamming their fist on the meter, kicking the table or banging on the dial… and the meter pings to MAX.
Ah.
One day, I’ll tell you what, that ol’ meter is gonna break.
I don’t want to be anywhere near it when the glass shatters and shards of metal start flying.
Pedernales River Chili
This is the chili that was always cooked at the LBJ Ranch in Texas. It was a favorite of Lyndon B. Johnson. He ate this with saltine crackers and a glass of ice cold milk.
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
4 pounds coarsely-ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
6 teaspoons red chili powder
2 (16 ounce) cans tomatoes
Salt, to taste
2 cups hot water
Instructions
Put the meat, onion and garlic in a large pot and sear until light brown.
Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
The next minute tanks will surround all the the unfriendly embassies in Moscow
Every Diplomat in Russia will be arrested with impunity
Putin will be arrested in an ICC Country and will be in a nice Dutch cell
The US Ambassador, UK Ambassador and others will be in Russian prisons where the probability of their rape in the first 24 hours is 82%
Their families will go out of contact
60–65 Kids will face their lives being risked in an ‘Unfortunate Accident’ where six and seven year olds will vanish
Any Western Leader who flies will face risk of attacks of his aircraft over Europe
Meanwhile Russian Diplomats will face nice European cells and european laws
Russia will then declare war on the ICC Country which arrested Putin
The West will be forced to Release Putin or see their diplomats never come out including the wives and kids
That would cause many diplomats to refuse to serve in 50–60 dangerous nations out of fear that they would be next
So that will never happen
Putin will not go to an ICC country because he won’t embarass the leadership but other wise if they touch him all hell breaks loose
And the Judges will pay
The Judges will face a fate like Prighozin
Nice Ricin Capsules or Novichok
China’s rise and the changing global order | Ben Norton & Li Jingjing
This is pretty good.
Ben Norton, has recently moved to Beijing. We’ve met in person and had a discussion on the rise of China and the whole Global South. We also exchanged our thoughts on Syria, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, BRICS, and all the recent events that will change the global order.
Li Yuan is the author of the NYT article. Her article bases its assertions off of interviews with 14 Chinese professionals as well as China’s median yearly emigration as reported by the UN. In terms of claims, she is pushing this line of logic:
Quite a few people I interviewed said, like Mr. Chen, that they had started thinking of leaving the country after China amended its Constitution to allow Mr. Xi to effectively rule for life. The “zero-Covid” campaign, with nearly three years of constant lockdowns, mass testing and quarantines, was the last straw for many of them.
And as for why they aren’t showing up in the US:
Most of the emigrants I spoke to, explaining why they did not pick the United States, cited America’s complicated and unpredictable process for applying for visas and permanent residence status.
This is in stark contrast to Yu Xie et al., who have published a paper in the National Academy of Sciences’ official peer-reviewed publication. Their study has a sample size of 1,229 (or 934 for the federal grant question). In terms of their claims, they point to a steady increase in the number of academics leaving the US for China, and more crucially they have measured out some indicators.
Perceptions and intentions of scholars of Chinese descent. Note: Only past and current grant awardees were asked the question of whether they were considering “avoiding applying for federal grants”.
Their study claims fear is high in the Chinese-American community despite 89% of scientists clearly interested in promoting science in the US. Most dramatically, the study concludes with one data point:
One respondent, self-identified as a US citizen and a former recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, told us that he quit his academic position exactly because of what he perceived as an “anti-Chinese atmosphere”. He then wrote:
If it were not because the COVID pandemic cuts off international traveling and I am a U.S. citizen, my family would have left the U.S. permanently without any intent to come back in the future. What I have experienced at my former institution was not only disgusting, but a system[ic] corruption that I believe [is] illegal. I had never thought of somewhere in this count[r]y to be dark and corrupted like this. If I had, I would not have become a naturalized U.S. citizen, which I regret now. What I ha[ve] experienced not [only] ruined my academic career, but also destroyed my American dream.
Interestingly, Li Yuan makes absolutely no attempt to recognize or challenge the claims made by the paper. While the paper acknowledges weaknesses in its methodology, it notes that it is corroborated by two similar papers, one from University of Michigan, the other from University of Arizona. Instead, she goes for this description of the fates of those headed from China to the US:
But it won’t be easy to stay in the United States. Mr. Zhao has a job offer and will get temporary employment status as a graduate in a STEM, or science or engineering, field. That will last three years. He will participate in a lottery for an H-1B work visa. He did the math: There’s a 40 percent chance he won’t win the lottery by the end of the three years. He might have to go back to school to remain in the United States, or ask his company to transfer him to a foreign post.
Li Yuan’s claims are in my opinion cherrypicked and misleading. She points to data to support her position, but the mild rise in emigration out of China from 2016 until now is something she attributes strictly to political reasons. She makes no attempt to recognize economic factors, such as the well reported glut of graduates unable to find a preferred job, nor any temporal factors such as the COVID opening up releasing otherwise delayed plans due to COVID restrictions and more importantly prohibitive flight costs. Instead, we are left with a threadbare attempt at explaining data with a political narrative.
Li Yuan, and perhaps the staff at the New York Times, are selling a narrative that runs contradictory to peer reviewed science. They are advertising one America, which promises a better life for Chinese, if only America would make it easier for Chinese to migrate into the country. Meanwhile professors at Princeton, Harvard, and MIT are telling us a very different story in which Chinese living in America are doing so in fear of both the government’s actions as well as anti-Asian violence. They have chosen that dramatic quote at the end for a reason— the NSF CAREER award is NSF’s most prestigious award, and many go on to win Nobel prizes.
The NYT and Li Yuan wonder why the US isn’t attracting Chinese scientists. Maybe they should have asked Chinese scientists in the US before making their gloriously nationalist article.
A stray kitten was terrified of everyone and everything and just wanted to hide
There’s something about a kitten’s motor just purring along that makes me melt!
When I got out of Prison, I suddenly came down with two maladies. The first was Ball’s Palsy (where my face was paralyzed, and I couldn’t close my eyes), and the second hit me about two weeks later. I had terrible kidney stones. And man oh man was it painful.
Because I had no money, and was transitioning from prison, I went to the hospital emergency room and they gave me a number to call to get some medicine for the pain.
And when I called that number, the receptionist answered the phone and accused me of wanting drugs and said that I could come in, but they weren’t going to give me anything for the pain.
I endured that pain for a week before I passed the stone, and it was a mighty bad situation. The pain was HORRIBLE.
Never the less, the thing that I remember was not the pain; the stone; or the egress from prison. I remember that holier than thou bitch at the reception desk that was giving me a hard time.
For all you Karens out there, I have a message for you all.
FUCK
YOU.
…
Good, now that I got that off my chest, let’s do todays post…
Robert Sandifer’s life began in two overlapping hells.
The first hell smoldered outside of his home, the streets of the South Side of Chicago, infamously dangerous, and marred by a blistering gun violence that persists to this day.
These streets are so dangerous that Google actively censors the imagery that populates on Google Streetview.
Robert Sandifer’s second hell raged in his own home.
He was born to a prostitute mother who had dozens of arrests, and who was addicted to cocaine before, during, and indefinitely after his birth.
Sandifer’s father was wholly absent, serving a long prison sentence for felonies related to brutal gun violence.
He received severe physical beatings that started long before he could speak, that left him with terrible bruises and bloody lesions.
At age 3, Child Protective Services opened an investigation after finding cigarette burns on his body, caused by his mother’s boyfriends.
CPS tried to save him. They moved him to his grandmother’s house, but that home was a 3rd hell, already overflowing with as many as 20 kids at a time, many of them from similar circumstances.
Sandifer quickly became a product of his environment, adopting a violent lifestyle, beating children mercilessly on the playground, stealing their money, and their food. He began burglarizing homes, breaking into cars.
He dropped out of school at age 8 and roamed unsupervised in the gun-born, blood-soaked streets of The South Side.
Sandifer was assimilated into a notorious gang, The Black Disciples, who embraced and celebrated his violence.
At age 10, he was arrested after being caught driving a hijacked car, not the first he’d stolen – nor the last.
After Sandifer’s arrest, his family requested that he be kept in juvenile detention for his own safety and for that of the public – but they were denied – Sandifer was too young for juvenile detention.
And thus – he was released to his Grandmother’s custody.
And into the arms of The Black Disciples.
On a fateful 28th day of August, his gang ordered him to take out a hit on a rival gang member.
Sandifer arrived at his target’s house, he positioned himself behind a parked car on the opposite side of the street.
And opened fire.
His bullets plunged into the crowd, hitting several bystanders, and ultimately killing the wrong person – a 14-year-old girl Shavon Dean.
3 days later, Robert Sandifer was taken under a bridge, told to get on his knees, and shot, execution-style in the back of the head by members of his own gang to silence him.
At the time of his death, he had committed 23 felonies and 5 misdemeanors.
At his funeral – the only picture his family owned of him was his mugshot.
He was 11-years-old.
The bitter truth of life: some kids never stand a chance. People really do not understandjust how bad it gets.
Yes I have. I was a single mom struggling to keep my head above water so I would take leftovers for my lunch. This one co-worker would help himself to my lunch, then tell me how delicious it was. I tried explaining my situation to him, but he still continued to eat my lunches. I even bought an insulated lunch box so I didn’t have to put my lunch in the employee refrigerator. He would steal my lunch while I was away from my desk. And still brag about it. Now this coworker was from a different department than I was and made almost twice as much as I did. One day I had enough. That night as I was preparing my lunch for the next day, I included a healthy dose of mineral oil. Mineral oil is edible, it has no taste or smell, but it is a very good laxative. It took the guy about a week to figure it out. He went to HR and tried to get me fired or at least pay his lost wages ( he had to leave work 2–3 hours early all week.) HR talked to me and when I told them my story and how long it had going on, they made him reimburse me for all my lunches he ate. They verified my story first, of course. Later an email went out to all employees that theft of any food would be grounds for termination.
Illegal, in China, selling drugs is illegal, exceeding 1 kg will be sentenced to death.If you know Chinese, you should know that.
In June 2021, 215.37 kg of drugs were hidden in 67,000 tons of soybeans exported by the America to Qingdao port, China, and were intercepted by Qingdao Customs. Relevant personnel have been punished.
I hope you can understand Chinese hatred of drugs. Qingdao is an eastern port city, and it is obligatory to prevent drugs.
In 2017, Mianyang city Sichuan Province, southwest of China, a thief broke into a house to steal.When he find drugs on the ground,he gave up the plan and report to the police, confessed his crimes and discoveries, and helped the police officers catch a large drug-making-trafficking gang.
Yes, even thieves also despise drug dealers,they also join Antidrug.
Lone Star Bacon and Cheddar Fries
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 pound (3/8 inch) regular cut fries with skin on
2 ounce shredded Cheddar cheese
2 strips cooked diced bacon
3 ounces sour cream
Finely chopped green onions, for garnish
Jalapeno peppers, for garnish
Instructions
Deep-fry regular cut fries (350 to 360 degrees F) for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
It was a hot summer afternoon in the month of May.
I was riding on my bike to home. A man who may be in his early 50s asked me for a lift. He was sweating profusely and needed to reach home. As his house was on the way I was going in, I gave him a lift.
He explained to me that, his sugar levels are dropping and need to reach home fast. I dropped him off at his home and he thanked me whole heartedly. I got back home and forgot about it.
After a month, a small hotel was opened nearby. I went there to try it out. I was checking out the menu and someone tapped on my shoulder from behind. He was the same man whom I gave lift earlier.
He asked me if I had recognized him. I said no. He explained that I gave him lift a month ago. Then, I recollected him. He asked me, what would I like to eat. I was surprised.
He giggled and said that, he is the owner of that hotel and as a token of gratitude I can have anything for free. I politely refused it but he was stubborn in his offer. So, I gave in.He asked the chef to make the best of the dish I ordered and was given for free.
That day, I realized, the good you do however small, goes far.
Any small help you do to people will for ever be engraved in their minds forever and it comes back to you in the ways you can never imagine.
The areas shaded in green are owned by the federal government. Although Wyoming is large, the federal government owns about 47% of the land. So, some of the most beautiful parts of Wyoming are not places to which people are moving because there is very little private land for them to buy and live on.
But the problem is even deeper than that. These federal lands contain timber, pasture, and minerals which are leased or sold to those industries, but those leases and timber sales are prone to fluctuate with political fads for or against use of federal timber, minerals, and grazing. Even aside from that, the bureaucracies in authority over these lands do not take responsibility for maintaining the jobs in these industries. Since they have often not worked in the private sector, they either do not understand or do not care how delays and unpredictability in their decisions kill private-sector jobs.
Another reason for the low population in Wyoming is the 75,000-person tipping point in urban population. There is a pattern in the United States: cities tend to grow faster once they have reached a population between about 50,000 and 100,000. At this population, there is enough demand for specialized services in medicine, law, finance, engineering, management, entertainment, air transport, and other professions to support higher-paying jobs in these industries. There is also enough population to entice specialized types of businesses to locate there. Some of these are businesses that hum along below the surface of your local economy, but are important in helping other businesses thrive: machining, transportation, calibration, training and testing. Some of these businesses are retailers and national food chains that make a place more inviting to new residents. No Wyoming city has broken through this tipping point, although Cheyenne may be doing so now.
A third factor: By geographical accident, Wyoming’s neighboring states tended to have urban clusters near their borders with Wyoming which hindered any Wyoming city from reaching this population tipping point. Specialized, high-paying jobs and businesses are less likely in an area within 150 or so miles of existing firms. Denver and Salt Lake City are large cities with trade areas which include much of Wyoming. But the smaller cities of Rapid City, SD, Billings, MT, and Idaho Falls, ID also have large parts of their trade areas within Wyoming. Have a look at the map of United States trade areas and influential cities. All of Wyoming is depicted as being within an out-of-state city’s trade area. The map has flaws. Certainly Casper, Wyoming should qualify as having a trade area if Butte, Bozeman, and Helena, Montana and Alliance and Valentine Nebraska do, but the map nevertheless makes a valid point about Wyoming’s lack of urban areas with trade areas.
In the long run, Wyoming will be one of the nation’s faster-growing states and will develop larger urban areas. It contains major freight rail lines and major interstate highways. It has cheap electricity, low taxes, and lots of money in the bank from all the mineral wealth. It has major electricity transit lines and energy pipelines. Culturally, it has a good work ethic and an openness to newcomers. It has enough water resources to accommodate lots of population growth.
Many, many years ago I received a letter in the post. It was a recorded delivery and I had to sign for it to confirm delivery. I was intrigued and opened it immediately. It was a summons to appear in our local small claims court. I was being sued for £6,000. There were no details about the charges or any explanation of what the case was about other than the name and address of the complainant. I was mystified as I didn’t recognise the name. Lets call him Mr Smith.
In the three weeks before the stated date I convinced myself that one of my sons was playing an involved joke on me. I quizzed them all mercilessly but nobody would admit to knowing anything about it. As the date drew closer I determined to go to court just to find out which of my boys was the perpetrator of this rather involved joke.
Court day arrived and I went into the court building and presented my summons to an attendant, still expecting to be told it was a forgery. I was wrong. I was politely directed to a small waiting room and told my case would be called in 10 minutes. I was stunned.
When I was escorted into the courtroom the Sheriff (a lay judge in Scotland) asked me if I had a legal representative. I explained how I thought that the summons was a joke and I had no lawyer. He said that I could ask for a deferment to get legal advice if I choose but he didn’t think that was necessary. I sat down still stunned and confused but by now rather scared.
The Sheriff now asked the other side to outline their case. I listened in stunned amazement as the story unfolded.
Apparently some 6 months previously I had sold Mr Smith a tenpin bowling ball and drilled the ball to suit his hand. I had explained to him the need to keep the ball clean of lane oil on a regular basis. Mr Smith had taken me at my word and had left his bowling ball soaking in a bathtub of hot soapy water overnight. Feeling that the finger and thumb holes were wet when he fished the ball out of the bath in the morning he had decided to dry out the ball. Fifteen or twenty minutes in the microwave should dry it out nicely.
Some time later the ball had exploded. The force of the explosion was enough to destroy the microwave and send the door of the microwave flying upward with enough energy to punch through the ceiling and the floor of the room above his kitchen. Unfortunately the room above his kitchen was his neighbours bathroom. The microwave door not only punched through the floor but punched through the actual bath. Really unfortunately the poor woman was taking a bath at the time.
She was suing Mr Smith for the damage to her bathroom from the flying microwave door as well as the water damage to her carpets from the bath full of water. She wasn’t suing for the shock of a microwave door suddenly puncturing her bath although it must have been a terrific shock.
Mr Smith was suing me for the same amount on the basis that I had sold him a bowling ball without specifically telling him not to put it in the microwave.
By this stage several people in the gallery were laughing and the sheriff was definitely smiling. I was still worried but feeling considerably less scared. We all sat politely until Mr Smith’s lawyer had finished. The Sheriff then drew himself very straight and without a trace of a smile said that he was here to apply the law of the land and not to educate idiots. Case dismissed.
WARNING something BIG is happening in Ukraine, Putin stays quiet
Something big is about to happen in Ukraine. Is Putin about to launch a pre-winter offensive now that Ukraine has exhausted all of its resources? Logistical signs are showing newly built railway tracks and large troop movements on the Russian side. Also multiple reports over the past 48 hours show an increased number of young Ukrainian men racing to get the hell out of Ukraine.
How has living in China changed you?
it’s aged me!
I was in my mid-20’s when I came, and after 30+ years here I’m already 57. If I stay here a few more years I’ll be 60. No one cares!
I don’t know which changes are due to maturing and which are due to living in China, but I can say how I’m generally different than Americans who haven’t lived in China.
I’m less emotionally invested in news reports, especially about politics. If you’ve lived in a place or have a job that’s occasionally the focus of the international media (as China manufacturing has been) then the discrepancy between what’s reported and what you know is obvious. It makes you skeptical at first, then cynical. Apathy soon follows.
I don’t take it for granted that multi-party democracy is superior to one-party rule. I tend to look at the results not the process.
I accept rapid, sweeping, head-spinning change as the norm. instantly accepted and accommodated.
Yesterday we used paper currency to purchase things. Today we use cash cards. Tomorrow we’ll buy everything with our phones…. oh wait… we’re using the phones now, today, not tomorrow. OK, ok. I got it. Yesterday we used cash cards, today we use phones, tomorrow well use something else.
I don’t remember when I stopped carrying cash and then stopped using my cash card. But that’s where I am now. That’s where everyone is—even beggars on the street accept mobile payments.
Got a meeting in the next city… ? Better schedule 1/2 a day to get there. Then, all of the sudden, you realize you’re always arriving early to meetings. Everything started moving faster like this. Now that half a day gets you from Shanghai to Beijing by train. And if you start in the morning in Shenzhen, you can have an authentic Hunan lunch in Hunan, and be back in Shenzhen for an authentic Cantonese dinner.
I’m more appreciative of people in general, Chinese or expat. I don’t love everyone, but I value my relationships and feel grateful for the respect and assistance I’ve been given. I often feel like the big bang has distributed the universe’s molecules with my wellbeing in mind.
Chinese programs in Universities today get more funding than even USA, as US focuses on Private Funding
In 2022, US Universities spend $ 208 Billion in University Research against $ 346 Billion by China
You write a good paper for your PHD in Biotechnology, you could get offered an Research Associate position for 25000 RMB a month that’s around ₹ 34 LPA plus housing against a mere ₹7.6 LPA in India
That’s equivalent to $ 83,666 a year in US that’s higher than the US median of $ 64,712 for a Research Associate in PPP terms
China pays highest in PPP terms for most research today barring Norway and Switzerland and Taiwan
Life of an Indian Post Doc in China
My son is one
He is doing research for a Private Company on a 5 year grant (2023–2028)
Here are his observations:-
Knowing Rudimentary Mandarin is very important. The Lab assistants, the research students do their best in mandarin. The english is pretty accented. Luckily most Universities offer you Mandarin elementary classes for free if you are doing research there.
Softwares and Settings are programmed to Mandarin. You have to set it to English. Then print in English and Mandarin.
Money is pretty good. Housing is pretty good.
You will have two security reviews by the Government.
If you do research funded by the Government Or research classfied as National Research , you get a ID that gives you some powers. You get clout with cops. Now technically these IDs are only for National projects but like India, my sons director has managed to wrangle these IDs for these guys as well.
Very easy to get a Chinese girlfriend if you are unmarried. Unlike Singapore where girls are steady since secondary school. My son has 3 Assistant Researchers from Vietnam, Indonesia and Kerala. All have Girlfriends in less than a year.
Research is very well funded. You want to buy a $ 300,000 machine, you get approval in a matter of 2–3 days
It’s damn good
Settling down in China ?
Not encouraged
Finish your grant, extend your grant, live for 15–20 years in China and then go home or to Singapore
Meanwhile train as many Chinese as possible
Most people who settle down in China are married to Chinese Mainlanders and have kids and full families
They become Chinese themselves, speak like mainlanders, act like mainlanders
They are eligible for Citizenship of China
Are Indian Postdocs selecting China?
Yes
China beat Japan to the fourth position in 2023
It’s US, Germany, UK and China at fourth position beating Japan which was at fourth place until 2023, France is sixth, Middle East & Africa is seventh (no idea how), Singapore is Eighth and Canada is ninth
However in absolute numbers only 8.63% Postdocs go to China with almost 39.44% going to US and 71% going to US, UK and Germany
However this is a huge increase because in 2006 only 0.51% Postdocs sought careers in China meaning a Eighteen fold increase in a mere 17 years
Men DESTROYED Modern Women’s Beauty Standard
Rating women’s attractiveness is dramatically affected by make-up. I’ve seen them transform from as much as 2’s to 9-10’s. Truly amazing results.
A few years back I had to change my careers. At that time I took a big change and moved halfway across the world to China.
I lived there for 3 1/2 years. I was there for 3 years in NE China in a small rural area. Then about 4 years later I move back but to the big city of Shanghai(but only for about 1/2 a year).
That’s the background story now to your question.
My first 3 years in China was very humbling. I was in a rural area still governed by old rules and ideas. I met a friend who lived in South China in a big city and she told me that I experience things that she never experienced while there. Each person’s experiences are so different. In the rural areas you live like the Chinese, but in a big city, you live like a foreigner in China.
When I say humbling it’s because I learned to live on very little. I spent $200 a month for food, shopping and traveling. When I went back to China in a big city you definitely can’t live on that. I learned to appreciate what I had and how to make do with what I had.
I discovered that my own culture lack respect for elders. That we are far behind when it comes to public transport. (China is far ahead of us). I gained a love for food, Chinese eat all the time (but are skinny). They eat tons of vegetables and meat as well…but it’s fresh produce…which my own country lacks…we eat way too much processed food. Of course, I learned how to use a squatty potty.
Now, when I went back to China 4 years later…so much has changed. They are so advanced when it comes to technology. While China was a humbling place for me for my first 3 years. It was not so the second time around…why? The simple answer is that times have changed. Don’t get me wrong I loved Shanghai and appreciated it, but I learned that sometimes you can’t go back…memories are better left in your mind.
China will always be a part of me. It has changed me so much more than I can ever put into words. But for me, “humble” is what learned from all my experiences in China.
No Handyman Jobs! People are BROKE!
I guess I was spoiled with the abundance of jobs these past few years. Well, I guess that has come to an end…
A few years ago, a kid in our neighborhood got a drone for Christmas. He started flying it around people’s houses. The first time. I was sitting on my deck and it flew to the edge of the deck. I waved and it flew away. The next day, the same thing. After a few days, the kid got bolder. He started to fly it right over the deck. There was also one time that I was doing dishes in the kitchen it was hovering right outside the kitchen window, watching me.
This went on for about a month. I would see it right outside my windows or around my yard. I knew it was just a kid but it was getting kind of creepy. I wasn’t sure if I could be heard on it but I tried telling the drone that the fun was over and please don’t come back. Guess what? It came back the next day again. I didn’t know who the drone belonged to so I called the PD and they really didn’t know what to tell me. At this point, drones were just becoming popular and there wasn’t really any protocol. I asked around the neighborhood and no one seemed to know where it was coming from. I tried to follow it but it was faster than me and was piloted over houses and through other yards that I couldn’t go through.
Another month passes and now this kid is just taunting me. I tried throwing things at it, putting up a sign asking them not to fly it near my house anymore, my then-husband actually had it in his hand at one point but those things are pretty strong and he wasn’t able to keep a hold of it. We would flip it off when we saw it or curse at it, anything we could think of. I even fired a few warning shots with a BB gun. Nothing worked.
Finally, we were just done. The last day I ever saw it, I was again sitting on my deck and I hear the familiar drone sound. I tried to ignore it, hoping it would go away. I could hear it getting closer to me but I just kept my head down, pretending to read my book. The living room window was open so without looking up I yelled “It’s back again!!”. My then-husband walked out onto the deck and the drone moved towards him. He pulled out his pistol and pointed at the drone. No shots fired, it wasn’t even loaded and the drone high-tailed it out of there. Within 15 minutes, a very angry father and 2 police cruisers were in my driveway. The father wanted us arrested for threatening his kid. We explained what had been going on and the cops had several reports over the last few months from me as well (including pictures of the drone in various places around my house, date and time-stamped). Basically, nothing happened. The gun was registered to a licensed gun owner, no property was damaged, and the documentation from the police department showed that this kid was a nuisance. The cops went and had a talk with the kid. I found out later that other neighbors had the same issue with the drone so the cops had not only our complaints but many others. I don’t know what happened to the kid but I do know I never saw that drone again.
***EDIT***
A lot of people are commenting about the police not doing their job and yes it does seem that way. However, we have to remember that this was the first year that drones became really popular and it was the IT thing to have. People were having a lot of fun with their drones but there weren’t any clear laws that the police could follow. Also, you couldn’t trace them so you had a basic idea of the surrounding area where the drone was coming from but unless you actually saw where it went “home” to, there was nothing you could do so I believe that the police did the best they knew how at the time.
I don’t even blame the parents that much because the kid was like 13 or 14 years old. When I figured out who the drone belonged to, I knew exactly who this kid was, and quite honestly, he was an entitled little sh**. His parents were actually pretty nice people who tried their best but had very little control over their kids. The father showed up with the police because the kid made the father believe that a gun was pulled on him while cutting through our yard. That was not the case and when given all the facts, the father was still upset but it didn’t have a whole lot to say anymore.
And before you come for me, yes, most times kids are a product of their environment but sometimes the parents are doing everything right and the kid will still be a jerk. My kids are 21 and 17 and I have been involved in many of their activities over the years and have seen it all.
The Real China Shocked This British Man
Whenever I hear the China collapse theory, I always ask the person if s/he wants to take a bet, just provide a time frame when you think China will collapse and I bet you two whiskey that it won’t. I had been winning so many whiskey in the last 15 years, but none of those losers pay up.
Seriously, do you really think the people in China really care whether China is a Communist or a Democracy if all there is to it is just some meaningless labeling.
Is like categorizing races by color, when you call it white I saw pink, when you call it yellow I saw light beige, when you call it black I say are you color blind, do you know what black looks like?
Chinese people in general are very much pragmatic, results orientated and doesn’t give much crap to whose camp they are in as long as they prosper and live a better live then the past. Also, Chinese history and philosophy never taught them life is simply black and white we know it has at least if not fifty shades of grey in between.
Furthermore, if one look at the Tai Chi symbols we see the black and white are not shown as antagonistic to each other, whilst they may be opposite to each other in direction but they intertwined in a circle with the opposite instead of a straight line in between a square. It also house a fraction of the opposite too, all for the purpose of equilibrium and in layman term it is call Win-Win or Harmony.
Life cannot always be a equal sum game, it has many elements and each play an important role, if one element does not survive well or is missing rest assure others will also get affected adversely by it. In science term, it is what we call a Eco System.
Balance reduce conflict, hegemony are always short livedand unintelligent, longer it stretches it more violent is the snaps when it breaks.
So is it really true that there are no democracy in a Communist system and when a country is not run by Communist does that mean they have no tyrant, no dictator, no ruthless regime, no poverty, no corruption and their people live a much better happy life?
Whats’s the big fucking deal about democracy if the leader doesn’t really practices it. “For the People, To the People, By the People” my arse when I see what’s going on in their land of Oligarchs Plutocracy.
Safety – yesterday, today and tomorrow. At first, right after moving to China I was truly amazed that there are so many chairs for valets randomly placed on the sidewalks. In Russia these chairs will end up at someone’s country house.
Small businesses In Russia shops, restaurants, coffee-shops etc. belong to the large chains, you cannot find a small bar with homemade food for example. And places like that are my favorite in Beijing.
Infrastructure – in Russia you hardly can: – get anywhere by subway and pay under 10 kuai for it, – get anything delivered to your house, – pay for the stuff via wechat, – get foot massage in the middle of the night, – pay for electricity and water using your own terminal, etc. etc.
Variety of entertainment choices The only places that are really good for eventful life would be Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, other cities cannot be ever compared to Beijing: lots of events, activities and parties. Russia does need to get on this level.
Taobao This is the most genius thing ever – I am a big Taobao fan and would love if a platform like that will be developed in Russia someday.
China moves into position to support Syria
So happy to see China & Syria are working together! Stronger united against the Empire!
School Bus Driver Rant
As a school bus driver, I would like to explain something.
My job is to transport your child from point A to point B safely, on time and ready to learn.
That is all.
What do I mean when I say safely? Let me explain. Safely means I pre-trip my bus daily to ensure it is running properly and that it hasn’t been tampered with. Safely means my eyes are constantly scanning all 7 mirrors, blind spots, and the road in front of me.
I’m NOT a babysitter.
I’m NOT a mediator.
I’m a BUS DRIVER.
I would absolutely love to be able to watch and hear each and every little thing that goes on in the 40 feet of school bus behind me, but while I’m watching Johnny jump across the seat, I just missed a car pull out in front of me. And oops, while I’m yelling at Susie to keep her hands to herself, the light changed and now I’m slamming the brakes to stop in time at the intersection. And what’s that? Now Joey has a nose bleed? And now someone dumped all of Katie’s stuff out of her bookbag, and “bus driver, Bobby is flicking me”, and “bus driver, Lily said she doesn’t like me anymore”, and what’s that? While I’m looking in the mirror behind me reprimanding your perfect children, a car just ran my reds and Sally almost got run over!
It’s Never Ending to us…
And that doesn’t even include the way the children speak to us. I’m pretty certain they don’t speak to other school faculty like that. And certainly don’t speak to their parents the way they speak to us.
So please, parents, tell me … where do you want me to look? Behind me? In front of me?
Would you prefer I pull over each and everytime someone yells “bus driver”? Because then YOU will complain that the bus is never on time, and trust me if I did pull over everytime, we wouldn’t even make it out of the school parking lot before I’d have to stop. Incase you didn’t know, your children are not perfect…no one is.
Would you rather I continue down the road watching what’s going on BEHIND me more than what’s going on with other vehicles on the road around me? Because I can assure you, if I’m not scanning every angle around the bus, there WILL be an accident, and then I will again be to blame, because I should’ve been paying attention to the road.
Now, on top of that, we see your children for less than 30 minutes a day, in most cases. Please teach your child to respect the bus driver, and to behave themselves when riding the bus…because we want to return them to you, SAFELY.
~ Unknown
Russian & American In China Are SHOCKED What They Experienced
Not crazy at all, just unusual and — under the circumstances — quite touching.
A 1969 Ford F250 was advertised for sale located in a town about 400 miles away. I called and spoke with the elderly original owner. He was not an enthusiastic seller and seemed to be throwing up obstacles to buying it. For one thing, he asked the questions, not me. The conversation went like this:
Me: Hello, I’m calling about the F250 for sale. Is it still available?
Him: Yes. What do you want with it?
Me: Uhhh, well, sir, I was thinking about buying it.
Him: Why?
Me (looks at phone with a WITW? expression): Because I need a truck.
Him: What do you need a truck for?
Me: To haul tools and material.
Him: That’s good. How old are you?
Me: (Young in spirit but wise beyond my years. More or less.)
Him: That’s good. How’s your driving record? Any accidents or tickets recently?
Me: No wrecks, no tickets.
Him: Will you put different wheels and paint and interior and engine in it?
Me: Gosh, no. I want it all original. Like it is now.
Him: Okay, you can come look at it. My address is…
I went all that way, looked, endured another vetting from him and was finally judged worthy of his treasured pickup that he could no longer drive because it had manual steering and he could no longer turn the steering wheel. As I drove away in the truck he’d named Whitey back in 1969, I glimpsed him in the rear view mirror crying unashamedly.
But wait, there’s more.
I drove directly to the other side of town and viewed a second 1969 Ford F250 for sale by its elderly original owner who also subjected me to a lengthy qualifying interrogation. Satisfied, he sold me the truck he’d named Rita in 1969 and helped me disconnect the driveshaft then attach a tow bar so I could pull her home with Whitey. After I had remote lights rigged up on his Rita, I got into Whitey and pulled away. In the rear view mirror I glimpsed Rita’s original owner crying unashamedly.
Nearly 10 years later Whitey and Rita are still exactly as they were the day I brought them to their new home. It was a good day, as have been all all the rest with them. As their original owners requested I have kept them exactly as they were: working trucks, now 50 years young, in original condition and carefully maintained. I even built them a canopy to protect them from the sun and inclement weather.
When you speak this way, your reality evolves…
Fair video. Fits in with my affirmation campaigns.
Sure it wasn’t a comfortable idea for the people. I haven’t had children yet. But I do want to have two. One is scary in many way. What if something happens to him or her? What if he/she wants to join the military… and not come back?
But if I insist on having a second child, I would end up paying a fine. Then I would be liable to pay for the child education. The first child will get free ride from K-12 and university.
In fact, I can have as many children as I would like. I just have to afford raising them all with minimal government support.
Why the one child policy?
Look at China in the 60s – 80s
It was a simple life. Classism may have been at the lowest in Chinese history. To be a well respected person, you can be a teacher, a village chief, a policeman, a small government official, a factory manager, etc…
This simple peaceful life was made possible by the One child policy.
Do you know that unemployment was low? Job selection wasn’t great, but as long as you were willing to work, someone could find you a job.
Despite the scare of Western invasion and atomic bombs, it was a relatively safe society. Petty crimes were plentiful, from pickpocketing, theft, to scam artists. But it was unlikely your house would be broken in at gun point.
All these wouldn’t be possible if the population was left to balloon unchecked. Far more crime, homeless, desperate people out for blood, and money.
If I went back in time to 1970s…
Knowing the future is a hell of an advantage. I would start trading goods, then collaborated with the government’s economic expansion programs.
Humble start, this was how many Chinese entrepreneurs in the 70s and 80s had their start.
Moving up, buying a truck. One man transportation company in the 90s.
Eventually able to have enough money to open a factory. TV production company in the 80s.
Not really a photo of China, but of 1980 computer stores in the US. My computer store would look like this.
I would get into computers as early as 1975. This was around the time Bill Gates and Steve Jobs founded their companies.
I would even go to India in 1974 to meet the penniless backpacker Steve Jobs and offered him his first initial investment before he even knew he was to found Apple. He would be indebted to me for life.
Two prospects regarding to One Child policy:
One Child Policy: Boosted economy. I could be rich, easily affording 4–5 children if I wanted to.
Booming population: China would still be a shithole like any of the third world country China’s BRI is helping now. Raising one child and keeping my family fed would be very hard.
I actually knew people in China who had more than one children after 1980. They were not jailed or anything. Their neighbors and friends were supportive of their decisions.
Putin at Valdai, civilizational world order is here to stay
“I thought Putin was exceptionally clear, rational, even handed, well spoken, honest, and painfully accurate about everything he said. He has my vote for US president.”
Steve seemed such a surley man. Unsuprisingly older than me by a couple decades since this was my first professional job as a newly minted college graduate, he seemed to growl at me whenever I saw him.
With the confidence only available with youth, I judged him.
I judged him mean, old, and a bit scary.
Imagine my horror when after about a year on this entry level job when I was reassigned to work for Steve. Of course, the reality was that I knew nothing about him.
What happened over the course of the next year was one of those special times of life that changes who you are forever. I learned that while I knew nothing about him, he knew quite a bit about me. Turns out that this wasn’t some corporately bland reassignment, but, rather, he asked to take me on as a project.
As I got to know Steve, it turned out that the gravelly voice, which I can still hear in my imagination as I write, was just his voice. And the surley demeanor I had judged so harshly was a product of a direct and unassuming style this loquatious post-adolescent did not yet grok.
One teaching moment in particular is one I’ll never forget. I carry this lesson with me every day.
You see, I’d made a mistake. Not a huge one, but a clear screw-up. I had a plan for spin control. I was confident in the plan. The lies were off-white lies at best.
But Steve believed in me enough to ask questions gently. And after he had twisted me into a logical knot, he said, and I’ll never forget his words, “Tony, you can do better than this.” He proceeded to teach me the value of not spinning and just dealing with my own limitations as a human. He showed me the real value of honesty: building trust.
And, Steve was right. I came clean and it was all ok. And, a few months later when I made a yet bigger mistake, that was ok too.
I got to know Steve better over the next couple of years. I learned that we shared some basic interests and religious faith, but he was not the type to over-share or brag. Sadly, when I had this incredible access to him, I never fully understood Steve.
But, I understood far better when he died.
Just a couple years after this priceless mentoring, Steve was stricken with brain cancer. He was far younger than I am right now, so even in death he taught me to value every day.
But this wasn’t the last lesson he had to teach. Not hardly.
I was invited by his widow to his funeral. I had known of his faith, but not quite the extent to which he walked the walk. I’ve omitted a great deal of detail, but Steve had not had an easy life. In my mind, he was doing all he could to just survive and raise his own family. I assumed his faith was like my own: sincere, yet mostly a coping mechanism.
In the shadow of his recent death, some mutual acquaintances filled in some details. There was far more to the man than even I suspected. My admiration was already deep. My tears were quite real.
Steve had been an elder at a prominent church for many years. The details of his service to others would make this long answer far too long. The debts others expressed dwarfed my own sense of gratitude.
But, the funeral blew me away.
You see, it was a large church. Very large. That day, it was filled to the rafters. I have never been to anything like it since. The love expressed for Steve that day over powers me even as I write this.
And there, in that pew, I knew i wanted to be like Steve.
Not for glory or acclaim—not at all. Just to have left this place a better place than I had found it. And, as I traverse my new career in coaching, I am still chasing his example.
Thank you, Steve, for teaching me how to be real. I’ll never forget you. I’ll never achieve what you did, but I am so much happier for trying.
In a short sentence, the completeness of the supply chain.
In brief exposition, this is the bitter fruit of embargo.
No, I’m not referring to Donald the Orange’s tariffs and dismantling of Huawei.
I’m talking about the 30-year EMBARGO that the US enforced on China after the breakout of the Korean War, along with the withdrawal of Soviet tech support as relations cooled heading into the 60s.
In fact, the Cultural Revolution’s deurbanization was a direct policy response to having the economic rug pulled under by foreign forces.
China learned a very important lesson: Any weakness in a supply chain can and will be exploited.
The Chinese prioritized the control of key enabling heavy industries, beginning with steel manufacture, before using policy tools to encourage the organic growth of eco-systems downstream.
The Chinese were not happy with assembling a shoe from components. Rather they focused on being able to make every component, down to the dye and synthetic materials suitable for footwear.
This process was repeated up the tech ladder, and by the 2010s, the Chinese had the most complete supply chain in the world, encompassing all categories of the UN industrial sector classification. China remains the only country to maintain this milestone.
China’s strength is hardware, and the world’s greatest concentration of hardware engineering talent—whether it is chips, IC, antennas, speakers, motors—are found on the mainland, and overwhelmingly Chinese.
These are world class talent who’ve delivered on big projects, and thoroughly up-to-date with their field of expertise. I daresay set them loose on any problem and they will find solutions, because the intensity and breath which they attack problems is unrivaled. The Chinese have the scale to apply multiprong strategies in parallel*, while the competition iterate sequentially. This is the famed China speed, and China has made up plenty of ground in recent decades expertly harnessing economies of scale.
America uses its heft to force compliance, through the threat of market access withdrawal. But the Chinese market is already bigger than the US, especially hardware components, just because China is the world’s factory. Huawei is able to find enough domestic partners who don’t mind losing the US market, because there are enough customers within China. Besides, this is a matter of survival for entire industries, and it is imperative to break the tech embargo.
Huawei’s telecoms gear isn’t like cellphones, because they are tethered to the mains. Power efficiency isn’t a make or break consideration, and there is no need for the latest and greatest off the cutting edge node, chip-wise.
This makes domestic substitution a breeze compared to say, the Kirin SOC, because hacks are always available, especially under the umbrella of Huawei’s immense patent portfolio.
In the final analysis, I’d say it boils down to the quality and quantity of talent, and it shows in the remarkable speed of the turnaround.
欺负华为没人?
门儿都没有。
Heinz Guderian noted in his diary that he had observed snow for the first time in the campaign in the Soviet Union.
The original plan for Operation Barbarossa was extremely sketchy for such a massive operation. One of the odder aspects of planning was that the endpoints for the invasion were never set forth, and became vaguer and more nebulous the further along planning got.
The first battle plans, prepared for the OKW by General Erich Marcks in mid-1940, actually did set forth a terminal line of the invasion. Marcks proposed the “A-A line” as the operational objective. This was to run from the northern city of Arkhangelsk on the Arctic Sea through Gorky and Rostov to the port city of Astrakhan at the mouth of the Volga on the Caspian Sea. This assumed that the European portion of Russia and its satellites was the only part of the country of any interest and importance. There, the German Army could stop and set up a defensive line beyond which whatever was left of the Soviet Union could be allowed to wither away, as it would pose no threat.
After the Marcks Plan (as it came to be called), though, the idea of any kind of ultimate objective for the Wehrmacht disappeared. The debate instead degenerated into one of whether or not it was even important to get to Moscow, let alone reach any points further east. The prevailing theory – primarily Hitler’s – was that the entire Soviet Union would capitulate after a few decisive border battles destroyed the Red Army, failing that Hitler issued a directive to pursue the Soviets.
As of 6th October 1941, there has been no “pursuit” in the Soviet Union or at least none that has lasted very long. Every step has been contested, every river has been defended, every city has been fought over and sometimes even been boobytrapped after the Red Army has left. The defense has been uncoordinated and lacking in effectiveness on many occasions, but the Red Army has been fighting all the way. Now, the best campaigning months of 1941 are already gone and it is only going to get worse before it gets better again. Given all that, the astounding underestimation of the effectiveness of Red Army opposition during the planning stage of Operation Barbarossa has not really hampered German operations yet, it just has required adjustments to compensate for a slower rate of advance than anticipated. The tanks still run, the trucks still carry supplies, the horses are still fed from grain in the fields.
However, everything is about to change forever, and the men on the front line see why after dark as the snow begins to fall around them. The lack of effective antifreeze for trucks or tanks, the lack of chains for wheeled vehicles, the absence of winter clothing which was considered superfluous in June – all of a sudden these omissions loom large.
Late Night Flight
While drinking, a Pilot bet he could land outside the bar, 2 hours later he touched down in central New York in a stolen aircraft. Years later he repeated the stunt because someone wouldn’t believe him.
In September 1956 after drinking heavily at a bar in New York City, Thomas Fitzpatrick made an intoxicated barroom bet that he could travel from New Jersey to New York City in 15 minutes.
At 3 a.m. he stole a single-engine plane from the Teterboro and flew without any lights or radio before landing on St. Nicholas Avenue near 191st Street in front of the bar where the bet was made.
The New York Times called it a “fine landing” and a “feat of aeronautics”. For his illegal flight, he was fined $100 after the plane’s owner refused to press charges.
In October 1958 just before 1 a.m., Fitzpatrick again stole another plane from the same airfield and landed on Amsterdam and 187th after another bar patron disbelieved his first feat.
For his second stolen flight, judge John A. Mullen sentenced him to six months in prison. When asked why did had undertaken the 2nd flight Fitzpatrick told the police “he had pulled off the second flight after a bar patron refused to believe he had done the first one”
Fitzpatrick was a Marine during the Korean War and received a Purple Heart. He has three sons and was married to his wife, Helen, for 51 years working as a steamfitter. He died in 2009 at the age of 79.
Fitzpatrick has a mixed drink named after him for his feat called the “Late Night Flight”
Oh SH*T, The Collapse Has REALLY Begun
The threat of a US recession is escalating fast as corporate bankruptcies and debt defaults pile up. As the Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates, small businesses are starting to collapse and close down. There’s going to be a tipping point where job losses will accelerate and consumer spending will crash.
I got the “You owe money to the IRS and are going to jail” phone call. I knew it was a scam because not only does the IRS not call you, but I could hear multiple voices in the background…classic boiler room. Duh! So I decided to play along. I let the guy go into his spiel and about halfway through I started crying. When I say crying, I mean REALLY wailing, gasping for breath, totally panicked! The guy has to stop talking in order to calm me down as I’m really losing it. As soon as he calms me down, off he goes again, telling me if I don’t pay, I’ll go to jail. Well, I just lose it again…crying, wailing, the whole nine yards.
Again, he tries to calm me down. Finally, with hitching sobs, I calm down enough to ask him how much I owe the IRS. When he tells me it’s $24,000, well, you know, I just lost it again. Crying. Wailing. Sobbing. What am I going to do?? OMG, I’m going to lose my house! I won’t be able to feed my kids! I’ll have to give away my dogs! Oh, noooooo! Noooooo! He calms me down (again) with the suggestion that he might be able to reduce what I owe to just $12,000. Which, of course, just sets me off again. Where, oh where am I going to get that kind of money?? I’m going to lose everything! Death! Doom! Destruction!
Finally, for the last time, he manages to calm me down enough to where I can ask him one final question…before I gave him my credit card number, would it be okay if I ask my husband first? After all, he IS a tax attorney. Dead silence for the space of about five seconds, then he let loose a torrent of profanity such as I’ve never heard before (and I’ve heard a lot) while I’m laughing my ass off. He then warns me that, “I’ll be sorry” to which I reply, “Not as sorry as you, you thieving, scum-sucking piece of humanity!” He hung up on me then, and surprisingly enough, I’ve never gotten another IRS phone call again.
I started learning German before coming here. People said I was wasting my time, that everybody here speaks English. That’s not true. Many Germans don’t speak English. Also, a number of people (usually officials or clerks) were upset that I don’t speak their language yet, as if my not having learned the language yet in the span of two months is some grave offense.
Maybe it’s only this year but the summer isn’t really summer. There are hot and cold days. Sunny and overcast days. Clear and rainy days. A day can start sunny and end in rain. You can walk out in your shorts and have to wear pants and a light jacket by the end of the day. Also, the days are unbelievably long. The sun rises before 5 AM and sets at around 10 PM.
WWII and the Holocaust. I am of Jewish descent. Many of my ancestors were taken to Auschwitz and other camps to be exterminated. I remember the first time I saw a stolperstein or “stumbling stone” in Berlin (these are brass plates inscribed with the names of Jews and information about the dates of their deportation and extermination, inlaid in the pavement outside their last place of residence) I froze. My heart sank, and a deep sadness welled from within me.
Ethnic Diversity here is wonderful. There seem to be people from all over the world, all co-existing. Yes, there have been some glitches, but seeing this melting pot of diversity brings hope to the heart. Plus, you can have authentic food from almost anywhere—from Mexican to Vietnamese to Turkish to Lebanese to Korean, etc., etc.
Many, many people are tattooed, so much so that un-tattooed individuals seem rarer than tattooed ones. And so much so that I sometimes wonder if even the businessmen and women, under those fine tailored suits, are hiding some large and colorful dragon or tiger adorning their skins.
I assumed Berlin would be cleaner. Before I came I had a vision of Germany as a glinting-clean place. And although it’s not filthy, there’s some waste strewn about in parks and on the streets—empty beer bottles and food leftovers and dirty plastic packaging, etc.
And speaking of beer bottles, people drink alcohol. A lot of it. I see many people walking around with some kind of drink in their hands, or people sitting outside bars or even in parks with an unbelievable amount of empty bottles by their side. Or in supermarkets, walking out with cartfuls of booze.
Maybe I notice it more because I’ve never lived in a place with so many churches, but there are so many of them here. Imposing ones with rising spires and crimson bricks and huge bells resonating blocks and blocks away. Having grown up in Israel, I find it hard to imagine how the visions of a carpenter in the Middle-East, over centuries and millennia, transmogrified into these massive, gothic places of worship in a completely different culture and milieu.
The other day we went to a pleasant park and there were a bunch of kids playing in the nude, splashing each other with water and running around in the sand giggling. My son took off his clothes and joined them, and I thought, how wonderful that no one is embarrassed seeing naked kids playing around, that they are granted this easy, unconscious freedom that in many other parts of the would would have been considered inappropriate.
Sex seems to be less of a big deal here. I’ve seen a number of adverts in the street depicting some form of sex in illustrations. In the US, there would have been a lecherous quality to it, some kind of cleavage or exposed thighs, something to suggest and tease and taunt. But here there is something unassuming about its depiction—a couple or even a threesome lying in bed covered in blankets, a cartoon of a man with his loins covered by a popping champagne bottle and a smiling woman by his side. Unassertive—as if this, too, is a natural part of life and there’s no need to make a fuss about it.
Organic food is available in most supermarkets and is not necessarily exorbitantly priced. In fact, almost every little place that serves food will have some kind of organic lemonade or soft drink.
Although I am not vegetarian, when I came here I imagined würste (sausages) everywhere, and a dearth of other, non-pork based offering. But, in fact, it is very easy to get vegetarian food here. From vegetariangemüse kebap (Turkish food—vegetables in bread) to vegetarian asian dishes, to tofu, grain- or legume-based meat substitutes in supermarkets, it is not only possible to be vegetarian here, but even easy.
The streets and the curb are wide and spacious, oftentimes cobbled and shaded by evenly-distanced stately trees. Having grown up in Israel and lived in India, this was novel for me—this European expansiveness.
Some people can be incredibly proper and strict here. I’ve been scolded for standing out in the street when the bus came, and then for standing in the wrong place inside the bus as I was paying. In some places and settings people are expected to behave in a certain ways, and are frowned upon if they are not.
The bicycle is a serious mode of transportation with its own lanes and a substantial number of riders.
Drivers are not as courteous as in other places—in less trafficked streets with no stoplight, and unlike the US, cars will mostly not stop when they see a pedestrian, and one has to wait for an opportunity to cross.
Things are well made. The walls of the apartment I’m staying in are almost as thick as my outstretched arm. The woodwork is precise and sturdy. Some of the buildings around look like they’ve been in existence for centuries, and that they will last for many centuries more. There is an assuring sturdiness in the material existence here—like things are dependable and robust. Also, it is not difficult to find objects that are Made in Germany or Europe—be it knives or rucksacks or wallets, etc.—that look like they will last for a lifetime. I like that.
Almost all shops are closed on Sundays.
Parcels are left with neighbors. If you’re not in and you have a package, it will be left with one of your neighbors, who will then, perhaps later in the day, come knocking on your door and claim the package with a slip.
People have been incredibly helpful. When I arrived, a neighbor helped carry our luggage from the street. Another neighbor helps me whenever I need something in German translated. I’ve had people in the street, after asking for directions, pull out their phones, search for the place, and give me clear instructions. Of course, as with everywhere else, there are also unfriendly people, but the friendly and helpful ones have left a greater impression on me.
Boeing is Panicking! Brunei and China Order 30 Aircraft | Boeing Completely Loses The Chinese Market
In May 2017, China successfully conducted the historic first test flight of the C919 aircraft, which marked the complete break of Boeing and Airbus’ half-century monopoly on large commercial aircraft. Soon after, China’s C919 aircraft attracted cooperation intentions from many countries.
Up to now, China’s orders for C919 aircraft have exceeded an astonishing 1,061 aircraft, but I think this is just the beginning of the emergence of China’s C919 aircraft. At this year’s 20th China-ASEAN Expo, China’s C919 aircraft once again became the focus of attention.
Among them, Brunei spent US$2 billion to purchase 30 large passenger aircraft from China, including the much-anticipated C919 aircraft. As more and more countries purchase China’s C919 aircraft, Boeing in the United States begins to panic and even begs to regain the Chinese market.
One day at the end of the School year, my teacher was throwing out some old junk. One of which was this old globe that was so inaccurate, I’m surprised it wasn’t thrown away as soon it came off the assembly line.
Some Countries don’t exist at the same time.
As far as I know, Tibet did not exist at the same time with a unified Independent India, Southeast Asia with a unified Vietnam, and what’s that little country north of Mongolia?
Oh that’s right, It’s Tannu Tuva! You know the country that was annexed into the USSR during the middle of WW2. Because the Partition of India took place after the World War ended (1947). The inconsistency with time are the least of this Globe’s problems.
Making major countries the same shade of blue as the OCEAN!
As you saw above, China is the same color of the Ocean, but that’s not the only one.
The color they chose for Turkey just makes it look like the Black Sea is part of the Mediterranean if you’re not looking close enough.
Same goes with the Great Lakes area.
Since the State of Michigan is sandwiched between massive lakes, it should be a different color to make it stand out more. Well the designer didn’t think so, because instead of the Great Lakes, it’s just ONE Great Lake.
Plus New York makes lake Ontario and Erie look like an extension of the Atlantic. So does Quebec.
But this doesn’t go with what makes the map the most useless.
They got the freaking hemispheres on wrong!!!!
I’m pretty sure Australia is not directly south of Ethiopia!
South America is just floating in the middle of the Ocean.
Though Southern Africa actually fits well with the Northern Hemisphere part of South America.
This Globe has to be the most Useless reference of the World ever!
I got Montana at a church fundraising garage sale for $1.15. She was a Rottweiler/GSD mix and the owners were selling the puppies for $3. After three hours of wheedling my mother, and scrounging as much change as I could from the car, I paid for her quite proudly. She’d been the runt of the litter, and all her litter mates had long been snatched up. I brought her home, and made a bed for her in the bottom drawer of my dresser. Took her to the vet the next day to get her all of her shots. Did basic obedience training with her and all the requisite fun things a teenage girl could do with a dog.
Flash forward three years and I’m off at school across the state, and she’s at home with my mother, grandmother and younger brother. Due to her general quirkiness, she never barked or growled unless she felt that her family was in danger. She was quite content to roam the backyard, playing chase along the fence lines with the dogs that neighbored on either side. About three am my mom hears the neighbor’s golden retriever barking up a storm, then hears the fence rattle. Thinking it was a raccoon or opossum, she laid back down. Then Montana is growling right under her window. That’s when she hears a lot of cussing, more growling and then a whimper and the fence on the other side rattle. Now there’s even more cussing and growling as the other set of neighbor’s black malamute is in on whatever is happening now. Mom grabs a flashlight and the cordless phone, calls 911 and rushes out to find out what’s happening. That’s when she sees a man vaulting the far side of the fence in the neighbors yard, only to be confronted by a massive Great Dane. Montana comes slinking to her, whimpering with cuts running down both her flanks. Grabbing her leash, she takes my dog out to greet the police, explaining what happened. Apparently they caught up with the guy a few blocks away, having been bitten by about four different dogs. Mom took my brave girl to the vet immediately. The cuts were superficial and shallow, needing nothing more than some cleaning. She had a chemical burn on her backside because he’d sprayed her with either mace or pepper spray. Montana was handsomely rewarded with a steak for doing her job protecting the family, and no one ever set foot in our backyard without permission again.
There is anger against the CPC by some people, especially in the big cities however none of these people want democracy or voting
They simply want more capitalist reforms by the CPC
The Majority are very satisfied and happy with the CPC
Especially the younger generation
They regard US democracy as a JOKE
They are so proud of their country and it’s growth and the CPC that they only want reforms, reforms and more reforms
Here are the main suggestions
The Average Age of a Party Member is 49 and they want it to reduce to 40
The Average Age of a Politburo member is 56. They want it to reduce it to 50.
70 Investments were banned by the CPC between 2017–2023. They want these investments regulated.
They want flexible and productive work hours to enhance maximum output instead of the rigid slogging workstyle of the older generation
They have contempt for the USA
Especially the 17–30 year olds born post 1993
Chinas future
They are brilliant, they have the midset to be the BEST in the world
The Older generation in their forties and fifties, born between 1973–1983 are more of the WHY IS THE US SO UNFAIR rather than any contempt for the US
They have a lot of relatives in US and the West who migrated from 1965–1990
They have contempt for the Russians and Russian Technology
They are also a bit colonial and sub consciously believe they are not in the same league as the West deep down
They MAY have no problem if China becomes a democracy but they wouldn’t want it as a choice
The even older generation in their 60s and 70s, born between 1945–1965 are steeped in Patriotic Ideology. They remember the old days and the way the CPC took China to the top
It’s for their sake that China still has the name Communist when it’s anything but communist
They would abhor any democracy
Xi has created a very nationalistic patriotic generation of Youngsters brimming with confidence
The CPC needs to make some changes though in the next 10 years to ensure the Youngsters connect to the party and that wave of nationalism is retained at it’s same fervour
Countries opt for local currencies in bilateral trade due to several reasons that align with their own interests:
The high interest in the US dollar has driven up the cost of purchasing US dollars.
Foreign exchange transaction fees associated with using US banks are expensive (3%), and the SWIFT system not only takes several days to settle transactions but is also subject to US monitoring for unilateral sanctions, even when the transactions involve purely business matters.
A surplus of expensive US dollars is circulating in the global economy, with many countries selling them back to the Federal Reserve Bank where billions are used to fund the record national debt and crowding out private investment by keeping the interest high.
There is a concern that the US dollar could face a collapse if the Federal Reserve Bank ceases its policy of increasing interest rates, as this could exacerbate inflationary pressures and erode the currency’s value.
Military,
In contrast to historical colonial powers and the dominant influence of the United States, China lacks the ambition of global control through culture/racial superiority, military endeavors, and covert activities. Instead, China offers an alternative vision to the world by fostering connections among people through infrastructure development and trade.
The Real Reasons I Left United States (and won’t go back)
I really enjoyed this video.
Real Talk about why I don’t like living in the United States anymore and why I can’t see myself ever returning. I had invested a lot of time and money to research and travel the world to find where I best fit in, which culture I feel more comfortable in. After almost 6 years of continues life abroad, I really can’t see myself ever going back.
The sheer logistics of trying to feed a nation of 1.4 billion people are insane. Take this building right here — it’s a pig farm. A 26-story pig farm named Ezhou farm. It’s one of the biggest ‘only in China’ moments for me.
Basically, China has been having some pretty major geopolitical tensions with many of its neighbors lately, and there have been a lot of issues with the ongoing trade war with America. So China wants to be less dependent on imports of vital things such as food.
[1] As a result, it has started building absolutely MASSIVE pig farms on an industrial scale unseen anywhere in human history. It’s pretty crazy. Also, I gotta say, pretty impressive.
So yeah, 26-story pig farms are a strange phenomenon I’ve not seen anywhere else. Anyone who’s ever enjoyed Chinese cuisine knows it cannot survive without pork. So if ever war breaks out and trade routes are blocked, China is ensuring it’ll never run out of pork chops.
Unfortunately, some stereotypes might be true. When I served in the German army we trained for a week with Italy’s famous “Folgore” parachute unit. Although they were considered elite in Italy, they really sucked.
When we went with them to the shooting range my job was to count the targets they were hitting, which weren’t many. With one guy it took me a while to figure out that he was missing his target by at least 5 meters- at a 150 meters shooting distance.
These guys failed at everything they did, except for one thing: The last night of their stay we went to a bar with them and after a few German beers they started singing Italian songs. Very well and beautiful and not like our “barbaric” German singing.
I also trained a lot with French units. Most of them were really decent fellows, but their officers were completely useless. They were unable to motivate their soldiers and always seemed to be screaming at them. As a result the French troops we trained with didn’t perform as well as they could have.
Although I trained with British troops on several occasions, they didn’t leave an impression with me. Neither good nor bad. Later on my German army unit got their a** kicked by a British Special Air Service unit during an exercise in Denmark. I didn’t participate in this exercise and therefore these SAS guys are not in my ranking.
In Bosnia I fought for the Croats. They were all decent soldiers and what is very important, they were eager to learn. The Croatian army during the war lacked material and sometimes professionalism, but they more than compensated these flaws with outstanding bravery and high motivation. Especially their leadership was exemplary.
Later I fought in Kosovo with the Kosovo Liberation Army. I trained the unit that I fought with, so of course, they did ok. What I often saw in battle was that with the right guidance one could really make a difference. Sometimes we had soldiers from other units under our command and although we first thought that they were completely useless, watching our guys fight it out, these soldiers started to give their best.
I trained twice with US Army units and both times it was a pleasure. First time with a battalion of the 82nd Airborne in Italy and later I had the privilege to attend the German commando course with a US Army Special Forces unit. While the Airborne soldiers, although very good soldiers, were not really a match to our German “Fallschirmjäger” platoon, the US Army Special Forces (SF) were amazing.
They somehow weren’t that good at achieving many tasks during our training inside the barracks and were also not the fastest team on the obstacle course, but as soon as they were in the forest they showed admirable infantry skills, very good adaptation to the terrain, speed and stealth.
These SF would make the first place on my ranking if it wasn’t for a couple of Dutch LRRP’s (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol) soldiers who also attended the same German commando course. They were good at everything and in the end had the highest score from all attendees.
They were also very modest, quiet and polite, almost shy, and these are qualities one doesn’t find very often with elite soldiers. Therefore I rank them first.
I will answer with my experience in this. There was a drone that would come over my house three times a day and roughly the same time each day. I put out a sign said please stop recording my house and yard for a couple of days but it kept coming. Thay is when I noticed a police car parked in the lot behind my house while the drone was there. So each time I’d check and see on my camera if the cop car was there and every time the drone came around sure enough. So new sign unless you have a warrent stop filming my house and yard. At this time I checked with courts for any investigation warrents for me and my property and none. So I then went out and threw rocks towards the drone each time it would take off. But still coming back. So I set the trap. I sat out front and waited for this thing to come flying over my back yard with a rather large rock. I nailed it the first try. It broke and landed in the back yard. It took three days for the cops to get a court order to come and retrieve it. Seems in the attempt to get me into trouble they had to show the footage of the drone and the warning to stop recording was enough to exonerated me for damage to the drone. They have not been back since.
Man Didn’t Want This Cat. Now They’re Inseparable Swimming Buddies
At first this man didn’t want a cat, but his swimming buddy Frosty changed everything. It took time for them to develop the bond, but when they did, a cat dad was born. Soon, Stefan discovered Frosty’s affinity for swimming, He was super curious about water and started jumping to the shower, and then the bath and finally the swimming pool.
Biscuits and gravy is a popular breakfast dish in the United States, especially in the South.
No.
No.
NO!
I don’t care that you have your own version of English – that is an abomination.
That quite clearly consists of a scone:
With some kind of weird elephant ejaculate on top.
So not only is the name utterly wrong to British ears (if you ask someone here if they wanted “biscuits and gravy” here you will either a) end up in a mental institute, or b) be hounded out of town like a demon), but:
The actual thing doesn’t look much better.
I mean seriously guys – that stuff looks pretty damn unappetising, and that’s a “glamour shot” taken from some recipe website!
So America – let’s recap:
You’ve taken a food item traditionally eaten in the UK with cream and jam – and decided it would be better with some weirdass sausage-jizz-sauce.
You gave it a name which makes it sound bloody awful to British people
In case you haven’t gathered – this is not a popular food item in the U.K.
And we would rather it stayed that way – it looks ghastly.
EDIT:
From some of the very angry comments, it seems like some of you Americans just can’t seem to take a light-hearted ribbing, or a smidge of sarcasm. The whole point of the question is that us Brits don’t understand why you like it.
And for crying out loud:
yes, I know you call biscuits “cookies”. That’s part of the bloody joke.
Yes I have tried it. Calling me ignorant isn’t going to help.
Yes some British stuff is weird too. But we’re not talking about us – the question is about America.
Some people are treating this answer like I did a big squishy turd on your beloved flag.
It must be that sarcasm is hidden away in the ‘u’ in humour….
This answer isn’t really about saying what one single country has done the worst, but I do want to share below on the cruelty of humankind that many people don’t know about.
Graphic content below but I want to make this known because so many people around the world have heard of Hitler, Nazis, concentration camps but they have not heard of the Asian holocaust that took place around the same period. In western schools, history classes do not teach people about this part of the world.
This is regarding what the Japanese did during their occupation of China and Korea and the war crimes they committed to the surrounding Asian countries, including some Pacific Islands they invaded: Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, East Timor, New Guinea, Indonesia, Guam, Nauru, Wake Island, Attu and Kiska Islands, and Kiribati.
They even had some prisoners of war from the west such as America, any forces against them at the time etc.
Hundreds of thousands of women from my country in Korea were forcefully abducted (called comfort women) during the Japanese occupation in WWII. They endured torture beyond imagination if they did not sexually submit to these vile men and were forced to have sex with 60–100 men every single day. Their innards rotted because of the STD’s and they were destroyed, unable to have children even after they were rescued. They have still not been compensated for the war crimes that they endured and majority have died.
Pregnant mothers were cut open and rape victims were sodomized with bamboo sticks and bayonets until they died in agony.
On top of this they literally tore the unborn from women’s wombs and speared them alive with bayonets in front of them. They’d crush the infant’s skull against concrete floors. They would actually do this for fun.
They tied sons and daughters up and tore them apart, spearing them and forced their own parents to watch.
They raped and pillaged women of all ages, even toddlers to old women in the most vile, disgusting way imaginable. They would often disembowel them while in the process, leaving them to die in agony.
They conducted unspeakable evil torture and experiments on LIVE prisoners from these countries even children and infants in UNIT 731. Torture methods such as vivisecting pregnant women without any anesthesia, centrifuging and killing people in pressurized chambers, and slowly burning and freezing people alive. They artificially created what is similar to the ‘bubonic plague’ to see the effects on the prisoners. They were forced into X-rays until they perished and hung people by their thumbs or tongues etc. These torture tactics were deliberately planned to see death happen SLOWLY, not fast as the scientists wanted to observe the resilience of the human body.
Bodies of slayed, raped, mutilated women in China.
(image deleted – too unsettling)
Carcasses of babies and children piled up
Despite this, Japan still presently denies what has happened and even believes that it is a rumour. The young people as shown in this video are absolutely clueless on the whole tragedy, or are so far removed in cognitive dissonance and lack of care it is astounding. There is even a middle aged woman in the video who even says “Well I’m not sure if it’s a rumour or not…” which is an absolute lunacy and an embarrassment of the failure of the country in not properly educating their citizens of what truly happened. One young girl even says “Well, I wonder when they will ever get over it…” How are people supposed to get over it when there are still thousands of victims still alive who didn’t receive any form of compensation for what they have been through??!
Their government still warps their history books and deliberately tries to hide the evidence of what truly happened. There are active groups within Japan who refuse to accept what happened and truly believe that it is just a ‘rumour’ to make Japan look bad.
Below is a real life account by a South Korean comfort woman on the horrors she went through. It is heartbreaking to watch but quite educational. She sadly passed away early January of this year, fighting until her last breath but still never receiving any compensation or apology from the Japanese. They don’t even recognize that she went through this or who she is.
(Video no longer available on YT)
What Japan did wasn’t just an invasion or occupation, it was a literal carnage, hell on earth genocide. They didn’t have to go this far as majority of the Koreans and the people they invaded were helpless farmers, uneducated servants, and innocent people who were not trained in war at all. They did this because they did not see these people as human, and their goal wasn’t simply to occupy, but to desecrate the spirit from within. They knew when you destroy someone’s spirit from inside out, the enemy will bend the knee and yield to the point where they do not have the soul to fight back. On top of this, it was just pure, raw sadistic savagery because all of these helpless people surrendered and begged for mercy yet they were still tortured for absolutely no reason.
(Video no longer available on YT)
Presently Japan is one of the most wealthiest and prosperous Asian countries in the world yet they cannot even fully take responsibility for their own committed atrocities. It shows the savage barbarism that still resides in some of these people and makes one question just how this is even acceptable. Instead they choose to warp their own history books, flat out deny it existed and have refused to offer sincere, acceptable compensation/apology for the people who are still alive. They are waiting until every last victim is dead so they no longer have to worry about it. They are not truly ashamed of this past, they just see it as an eyesore they want to bury. Keep in mind Japan has very strong political parties that strives to ensure this shameful past does not reach the masses to retain their false honour. Still to this day, they praise their war criminals in shrines.
From the invasion of China in 1937 to the end of World War II, the Japanese military regime murdered near 3,000,000 to over 10,000,000 people, most probably almost 6,000,000 Chinese, Indonesians, Koreans, Filipinos, and Indochinese, among others, including Western prisoners of war. This is more than the estimated Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe controversially claimed that “there was no evidence to prove” that the women had been coerced into sex.
“Mr. Abe’s administration DENIES that imperial Japan ran a system of human trafficking and coerced prostitution, implying that comfort women were simply camp-following prostitutes,” Kotler continued. “The official narrative in Japan is fast becoming detached from reality, as it seeks to cast the Japanese people — rather than the comfort women of the Asia-Pacific theater — as the victims of this story.”
Edit: Since I’m getting quite a lot of people who clearly don’t seem to understand and may not have read or researched in depth in this matter. They are saying that ‘Japan does not need to offer apology or compensation for what people of their past did etc’
It’s more complicated than that.
Please read the links again. Even if they can’t take full responsibility for their past, they SHOULD take responsibility for the future by not warping textbooks and giving power to political parties who enforces the dangerous fallacy of denying any of this ever happened or triviliazing everything that has happened. They should make sure to teach the correct history not just for educational purposes but to ensure their citizens fully know and accept their own history and in hopes that it never happens again. This is also to help not silence the voices of the people who did suffer in the past and to not spit into their graves and ruin their legacy by spreading false lies.
Also the comfort women and people who were forcefully taken into labour camps as prisoners, many are still alive who didn’t actually get any compensation or even sheer RECOGNITION. They suffered their entire lives without anyone hearing what they have to say with nothing from Japan. This isn’t just about wanting Japan to go up to a stadium and saying ‘I am sorry’ and stepping down. Words are meaningless and worthless when not backed up by actions.
They are hypocrites by warping textbooks and also praising their own war criminals. Imagine what the world would say if Germany praises Nazis and gave strong political power that has the power to make Germans never even hearing of the Nazis or even contemplate if it was just a rumour or not. Think about how insane that would be.
So why do they need to apologise? Because unlike Germany what they are doing is absolutely deplorable and morally bankrupt by continuing to CONTRIBUTE to the legacy of the abomination Japan was in the past. You don’t see Germany do the same about the Nazis and for good reason. It means Japan hasn’t learned and is not truly remorseful. By Japan I am talking of the FACES of Japan which are the politicians who represent that country. The rest of the Japanese experience their trickle down effect so while it’s not saying it’s their fault, they end up indirectly contributing to supporting these vile politicians. So yes the people who represent JAPAN who hold the power of influence does need to sincerely apologise and stop contributing to what they are presently doing.
As I am getting tired of having to repeat the same information again and again, any comments that say things along the lines of ‘Japan does not need to apologise’ or those questioning or defending the existence of any of these crimes, their war criminals will be either ignored, deleted or blocked. It is extremely disrespectful to the victims and deplorable. The links are already here clear as day for reading and one can also do the research themselves. Also for anyone who brings up another atrocityandpitting them against each other,STOP. This post isn’t about pitting one atrocity against another, it is disgusting to even keep doing that and seriously lacks any insight into the original point of my post.
Otherwise thank you for reading and have a nice day.
TLDR: Japan did some truly horrific shit that many people including the present day Japanese citizens are unaware of. What they did is abysmal carnage from the Antichrist itself.
Also, piece of shit apologies that require uttering words and throwing money at victims isn’t a true apology when they are still in 2019 warping textbooks and none of their youths know anything about their crimes.
Why do you think Germany forces every citizen to learn about their nazi history and Japan doesn’t ? It is to deliberately ignore and not acknowledge their past due to their pride and selfishness. I’d equate this to even pathological narcissism and psychopathy due to how far they have gone in managing stomping this knowledge out of their own present day citizens.
Edit 2: As I am still getting very disrespectful, deranged comments on here pitting atrocities against each other, saying that I am spreading lies and others spewing ignorant hatred against Koreans, here’s my final message.
Instead of blaming others, look at what Japanese Nationals do. Stop diverting the attention away by blaming the mistakes of other countries yet not acknowledging the corruption of the Japanese government
Japanese people often fail to understand why neighbouring countries harbour a grudge over events that happened in the 1930s and 40s. The reason, in many cases, is that they barely learned any 20th Century history. I myself only got a full picture when I left Japan and went to school in Australia
The Germans in contrast have personally done everything possible to make people aware of their Nazi past. Japan doesn’t scratch the surface of what it means to have true honour while Germans go to great lengths to do humanitarian work and to allow their citizens to understand the FULL facts. This is what true compensation and remorse actually is, not the dogshit excuse of what Japan does by also denying people, correct history. End of.
Disappointed that china isn’t collapsing and Chinese people are not starving with 50 cent hoes selling their body to you?
A channel which is ironically named “Economics Explained” is possibly the worst when it comes to it. Western propganda is not just limited to mainstream media, but to nutwits like these.
Imagine if a Chinese made a video “sorry to disappoint America/India isn’t collapsing ..yet”. What wud their reactions be.
In all honesty, the best channel for economics is Xiao Lin, light years better than these sick bas***ds.
Meanwhile Indian videos on China’s economy are even more hating than that of westoids.
Like seriously westoids, get a forking life other than hating a new country every decade. Last decade was Russia, last to last was Iraq. You guys got no job other than invading countries and telling “we love the people hate the government” then getting sad why that country hasn’t collapsed yet?
Original San Antonio Chili
Ingredients
2 pounds beef shoulder, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 pound pork shoulder, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup suet
1/4 cup pork fat
3 medium-size onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 quart water
4 ancho chiles
1 serrano chile
6 dried red chiles
1 tablespoon comino seeds, freshly ground
2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
Salt to taste
Instructions
Place lightly floured beef and pork cubes in with suet and pork fat in heavy chili pot and cook quickly, stirring often.
Add onions and garlic and cook until they are tender and limp.
Add water to mixture and simmer slowly while preparing chiles.
Remove stems and seeds from chiles and chop very finely.
Grind chiles in molcajete and add oregano with salt to mixture. Simmer for another 2 hours.
Remove suet casing and skim off some fat.
Notes
Never cook frijoles with chiles and meat. Serve as a separate dish.
Chiang Mai Thailand 2013. I had a rare form of Tuberculosis cysts lodged in my spinal cord and on my right kidney. The doctors didn’t know how I contracted this deadly bacteria. I was too ashamed to tell them it was from drug abuse and the unhygienic practices that came with it.
It felt like a hot knife piercing my back continuously for months as I lay immobilized on the bed of my apartment. I could not hold down food and went from 220 lbs to 163 lbs. There was no sleep, only my body eventually shutting down from the pain.
My mother was an LPN and flew in to take care of me because I could not afford a hospital. My poor mother, I screamed at her to take my life. I switched from fentanyl to methadone to morphine, but none of them worked – they only made the pain worse because my feeble body could not process the drugs. It was gasoline on the fire raging inside me.
Once a week or so, my mother would help me to sit up, place a back brace on me, and help me move six feet to the bathroom so I could attempt a bowel movement and a brief shower. Every inch of every movement was excruciating pain; I had no more tears; it was hollow bellowing, and even cursing was painful. And then back to bed. That simple exercise would be an hour of horrific suffering.
After three months of strong antibiotics, I could finally eat and hold it down. With a back brace and cane, I could stand and walk briefly. The photo above was from this time, taken with my beautiful mother. You can see the back brace under my shirt and the cane I used to walk.
This life I have today is beyond anything imaginable
I never thought it possible. I thought I was doomed to the bondage of self, and the slavery of active addiction.
Now, I live a lifestyle of sober recovery – drug and alcohol-free at 56. I train daily in the gym, go for power walks and jogs in nature, and have a purposeful, meaningful life.
I Just Got an Email That Left me SPEECHLESS. WE’RE AT DEFCON 2
This is really good, from a prepper. DEFCON 2. Holy Shit!
Your appraisal is dependent on last 2 months efforts and not 12 months
You ask for a raise, and your boss thinks you’re looking for a job change
You complain about administrative issues and your manager thinks you’re trying to be a rebel
Don’t share secrets with your colleagues, they might be sharing your secrets with colleagues or managers
Your office friend is not your real friend and they won’t swear by your death bed
If you die tomorrow, there is a replacement within a week
Your efficiency is decided by number of hours you clock in vs number of productive efforts you place in
A junior person can outsmart a senior person but he will still be called junior
Your mistakes will always be discussed during appraisals
Your best performance will be discussed when you want to quit
If you finish your work on time and leave early, this is getting noted in the system as you don’t have enough work. [Your efficiency is not counted 90% of the time.]
Hiring is done based on communication skills and not on management, writing, negotiation, programming, analysis, attitude and mindset
Your CTC, Variable, Bonus and Take home salary are different components (understand the difference)
Utilize your earned and casual leaves when you get time
Find your interests and do some certification courses from LinkedIn, Coursera, edX etc
Documentation is king
Lazy ones are the smartest but are difficult to manage
Love your job and be committed to the work. Period.
Your salary will increase by 1.5x, 2x or 3x only when you switch companies
At age 20–30 skill set is primary and salary is secondary.
If you find a mentor in your current company, listen to him/her and always consult when you get stuck
Be open to change and learn how to become smarter
Try to be 1% better than yesterday
Kill the boredom, go for a walk when you don’t have anything to do at office or talk to your colleagues and find out how they do what they do
Be happy and learn the financial management, this will help you stay afloat after 10–15 years
Chen Si.
He works at a logistics agency in Nanjing, China. He also spends his free time saving other people’s lives.
Let me tell you his story.
In 2003, a very close relative of Chen’s committed suicide after watching his sons argue over who would take care of him. The incident was deeply traumatizing. Having to lose someone he held so dear to his heart just because his sons didn’t seem to show enough respect and compassion for him. Chen also read in the local newspaper that the Nanjing-Yangtze River Bridge was a major suicide hotspot — in fact, by 2006, about 2,000 people were estimated to have killed themselves by jumping off the bridge since the year it was constructed (1968). He then became greatly determined to devote the rest of his life saving those of others trapped in hopelessness by foiling suicide attempts.
In response, Chen began to patrol the Nanjing-Yangtze bridge either on his motorbike or on foot, continuously on the lookout for people willing to jump from it.
He has been there almost every day, even on holidays and weekends, regardless of the weather.
He has kept a lookout for signs of depression, for example, in the way some of them walk, which Chen describes as “passive with no spirit or direction”.
Chen also keeps a diary documenting the people he has encountered and the reasons why they wanted to kill themselves.
Some had been greatly shamed for not being successful enough in school.
Some had broken up with their boyfriend or girlfriend.
Some had wasted away their money on needless things.
There was also, for example, a migrant worker who was drowning in debt because he couldn’t pay off the $15,000 bill for his daughter’s leukemia treatments.
Chen also gives out suicide prevention pamphlets to potential jumpers, detailing emergency contacts.
And not only does he simply pull people off the bridge. In fact, he has spent 10,000 yuan ($1,457 in dollars) renting a two-room house not far from the site, which he calls “a station for the soul to rest in”.
He sits with people and lets them share all their suffering in their stories, which in a way ignites friendship, trust, and newfound confidence. Chen also occasionally brings victims back to the bridge as volunteers, helping others see a way forward in life.
Throughout his time engaging in this, Chen has stopped over 300 people from ending their lives. That is an example of being a hero without having to fight. An example of generosity and compassion at work without the necessity for bloodshed. Sometimes the best heroes simply dedicate themselves to lending a hand to people who feel like they’ve got nothing left for them. Chen Si isn’t called the “Angel of Nanjing” for nothing.
“Not all heroes wear capes”, they say. That is most definitely true.
Every October since 1211 the City of London has paid rent to the Crown for two pieces of land even though nobody knows their exact locations.
The Ceremony of Quit Rents is the oldest legal ceremony in England apart for the Coronation of the Monarch. It takes place between St Michael’s Day (October 11th) and St Martin’s Day (November 11th) every year in the Royal Courts of Justice in London where the City pays the King’s Remembrancer.
The King’s Remembrancer is the oldest judicial position in England and was created in 1164 by Henry II to keep track of what was owed to the crown.
For the first piece of land, called The Moors, the City pays two knives, one blunt and one sharp.
The Remembrancer’s duty is to test the knives. The billhook is tested on a hazel tally and should make a mark representing the payment. The sharp axe then splits the tally in two, one for each party as a receipt. The Remembrancer then calls “Good service”.
This is called a split tally where in order to record debts a stick was marked with a number of notches and then split lengthwise. This way the two halves both record the same notches and each party to the transaction received one half of the marked stick as proof.
The second quit rent is for the use of the forge in Tweezer’s Alley, somewhere near The Strand. It is believed that the first tenant, Walter Le Brun, was a blacksmith who had set up his business near the tilting ground of the Knights Templar sometime around 1235.
The rent for this land is sixty-one nails and six horse-shoes. The horseshoes used are believed to date back to 1361 and are probably the oldest horseshoes still in existence. After the payment is received, the shoes and nails are then loaned back to the City of London for the next year.
When presented with the horseshoes and nails, the Remembrancer calls “Good number”.
There are also other quit or peppercorn rents. In Medieval times when a piece of property was deeded over as a reward for service a nominal rent was often charged as a reminder that the tenant didn’t own the property outright. A single peppercorn (or a single rose i.e. rose rents) was among the most popular forms of this style of rent but there were various other interesting forms of payment, such as a frog, a roast pork dinner, the donation of a petticoat to a poor woman, or even a raw calves head and a pair of gloves.
Hi. I am an Australian who is married to an American and, due to the nature of my work, lived ALL OVER the US over a decade.
Half my family are American and many of my closest friends. In short, I’m very fond of the United States and support my nation’s close affiliation with them.
So please forgive me if I’m blunt. This is NOT an American bash, it’s an honest expression of the one thing that [SOME] Americans do that never fails to trigger me.
“We saved your asses in World War Two”.
Americans often tell us bluntly, over and over how they “saved our arses” in both World Wars.
I assure you, EVERY SINGLE Brit, Aussie, Kiwi or Canadian reading along can hear those words spoken in an American accent as they read them.
That’s how often we hear it. Almost weekly. Certainly once a month.
Wars that we ourselves stepped up and fought in the protection of others. Wars that wouldn’t even have affected us directly. Wars we fought for YEARS before the United States.
Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand particularly could have turned their backs on Western Europe.
Britain herself could have closed her borders and looked the other way. Hitler had no designs on the UK – He admired them. All they had to do was stand back and allow the holocaust to happen.
But of course they couldn’t because fighting Nazi Germany was the right thing to do.
We didn’t make Britain wait 3.2 and 2.3 years to enter either great war. We were there from day one.
We didn’t charge Britain for our goods or help. We didn’t keep a tally and make them pay it back for seventy years. We didn’t insist they realign their trade preferences to favour our markets setting their still very young colonies prematurely adrift or cost them their empire, wealth, dignity or preeminence as a world power.
We didn’t use Britain’s plight as a springboard for our own wealth and dominance or spend the following century diluting their culture with Pan Americanism and shallow consumerism.
CANZUK didn’t ask for anything. We just went because we’re family and that’s what family does and despite what some of you are going to assert in the comments, yes, America, though you are the black sheep you are also family.
Speaking for Australia, from a population of six million (2/3 of which were women, children, the elderly and infirm), a full one million Australian men served in the military during the Second World war.
Let that sink in.
We had, from our far-flung nation gathered together the fourth-largest air force in the world and the fifth largest navy and lost so many men in every theater of both World Wars that we had a noticeable lack of them right into the 1980s. Indeed, by the time American boots had touched the ground in North Africa and Europe, CANZUK had already sacrificed literally millions of men.
It’s SO, rude. I’m not even sure you understand just how disrespectful it is and how much damage it does [at street level] to our relationships with the US. Honestly – it’s there in the pit of all our stomachs whenever we even engage with an American.
I will leave you with this quote from the memoirs of one of your own. American journalist Ernie Pyle who was killed in action by the Japanese in April 1945.
His account of D-day and the liberation of Paris.
“One cannot help but be moved by the colossus of our invasion. It was a bold and mighty thing. One of the epics of all history. I hope that we can rejoice in victory but humbly. The dead men would not want us to gloat.”
I don’t live in China. But I do live in another country that is often said to be authoritarian (Singapore). And what else can we say about Singapore?
It’s ranked in the world’s top five richest countries (by GDP per capita). It’s ranked among the world’s top five least corrupt countries. Its public transport system is often ranked as the world’s best. It’s also ranked as the world’s no. 6 most peaceful country. It has one of the world’s highest average life expectancies. It’s ranked No. 1 for infrastructure. Singapore is ranked the 2nd safest city in the world. Singapore students are the world’s best in science, math and literacy. Its economy is ranked the 4th most competitive in the world. Singapore has the lowest infant mortality rate in the world. Homelessness is very rare here. Singapore’s rate of death by drug overdose is 81 times lower than in the US. There hasn’t been one gun homicide in the past 17 years.
Etc etc etc. I could go on and on. Basically Singapore is a very successful country across a wide range of different indicators and criteria. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it – what exactly is so bad about authoritarianism.
Yeah, yeah, you can’t smoke pot; you’ll be caned if you are a rapist, and you have no right to utter hate speech to bully anybody. Sounds quite good to me.
You do the maths. I used to be able to buy them at HKIA for $90HKD a carton. The airport staff said you have to pay duty if you take more than 2 cartons. I said yes and filled my suitcase.
I’d take them to the UK and sell them for £35–40 a carton. I’d sell them to somebody who looked like he’d stab you in the face. First time I met him he wanted to rob me, but realised I could supply him regularly. Anyway he’d sell them for £50–60 a carton (it’s about £50 for 100 a carton is 200).
The trick was to land late at night, if you did this the customs agents were usually not too attentive and wanted to go home.
Same thing with France, I’d go for a razz now and again and come back with a car filled with cigarettes.
It was easy money and made me my seed money to get my business off the ground.
Chris Langan was born with a freakishly potent brain, having arguably the highest IQ of any living person.
Langan began speaking at six months old and went on to skip several grades. He had an adult vocabulary by age 10. He breezed through college-level tests as an adolescent. He took his SAT several years early and got a perfect score in half the allotted time and took a nap.
Today, he is a rancher. He never finished college. Most of his adult years were spent as a bouncer at a bar, and in manual labor jobs.
It all stemmed from his rough childhood. He grew up in a poor family. His mother married multiple times before he turned 12. One stepfather committed suicide. Another was psychopathic and abusive.
His stark upbringing created behavioral problems and a persisting contempt for authority. Combine this with inadequate mentorship, resources, and an absent professional network and he never weaponized his extremely rare gift.
The sad truth is that there are many like Langan, who are like the gifted child working on a 3rd world farm, born into poverty and dealt a common, cruel blow to the chance of success.
TikTok on the cost of living | RANT ON INFLATION | EVERYONE IS BROKE AND TIRED
“Hi guys, just to clarify I do not own any of these videos I just thought it would be interesting to see how people are dealing with the cost of living, sending prayers and well wishes to you ”
When I was a teenager I would explore all the abandoned homes in my tiny small town. I grew up in Western Pennsylvania; coal and steel was our life, but during this time, the factories were all closing. So the homes would be abandoned. And we would explore them.
One of my friends, not me, was rummaging around in one of the old bedrooms and found an interesting object in an ancient shoebox tucked in the end of top shelf of a closet.
It was a handbook.
He found an operation manual for a biplane! It was a World War I era instruction manual for a Curtiss JN-4. And it was cool as Hell. I loved the illustrations, and the classic format in this small leather-bound book. Totally awesome.
I have no idea what happened to this little jewel of a book, and sometimes I muse what happened to it.
I will never know, but if you see me sitting quietly watching the rain fall down, thoughts of this little book is but one of my many many meandering thoughts.
So after researching, apparently the longest anyone ever stayed awake was this dude named Randy Gardner who did it for a science fair project back in 1963.
He lasted 11 days and 25 minutes without sleep, which is insane. He set a world record, but they don’t do that anymore cuz it’s too dangerous.
We all know that sleep is super important for your body and your brain. It helps you heal, grow, learn and stay sane.
When you don’t sleep, you mess up all kinds of stuff in your body, like your hormones, your metabolism, your mood and your stress levels.
You see, you start feeling the effects of sleep deprivation pretty fast. After just 24 hours, you’re like drunk or high.
You can’t think straight, you can’t remember stuff, you can’t see or hear well, you get cranky and you might even start to hallucinate.
It gets worse the longer you stay awake. After 36 hours, you lose your motivation, your reasoning skills and your attention span.
You might also start to have microsleeps, which are like mini naps that happen without you knowing. You just zone out for a few seconds and then snap back to reality. Imagine this happening while driving.
After 48 hours, you’re in trouble. You might start to have delusions, paranoia and psychosis. You might see or hear things that aren’t there, or believe things that aren’t true. You might also get really emotional or aggressive.
After 72 hours, you’re basically a zombie. You can barely function at all. You might not even be able to stay awake if you wanted to. Your immune system is shot, your blood pressure is high and your risk of getting sick or having an accident is through the roof.
So yeah, don’t try this. It’s not worth it. Sleep is awesome and you need it to live a healthy and happy life.
The average adult needs about 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, but it varies from person to person. Find out what works for you and stick to it.
Texas Fajitas
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
Fajitas
2 (1 1/4 pound) skirt steaks, trimmed of membrane and fat
16 to 20 flour tortillas, warmed
Marinade
1 cup bottled herb and garlic or Italian salad dressing
12 ounces beer
1 large onion, minced
Juice of 3 or 4 limes
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons minced, fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lemon pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 bay leaf
Accompaniments
Mild or medium salsa
Guacamole
Instructions
Place the meat in a Pyrex dish.
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl, mixing well and then pour over the steaks.
Refrigerate the meat for 6 to 24 hours, turning occasionally.
Remove the meat from the refrigerator and drain off the marinade.
Bring the steaks to room temperature.
On an outdoor grill, grill meat to medium-rare.
Cut the steaks diagonally through the grain, into finger length strips.
Serve meat on a platter with tortillas and serving bowls of salsa and guacamole.
One of my first “real” jobs as a young man was working in a distribution center for a pharmaceutical company. I loaded and unloaded trucks, unloaded box cars and pulled orders, and I found the work to be enjoyable. I was the youngest employee in the place and the older women in the office would dote on me, which I also enjoyed immensely.
The general manager was a former college jock and I became friends with him and would play volleyball, basketball, and softball with him and his friends. After a softball game one summer I overheard him talking to one of his friends and he mentioned that the company we worked for was in trouble. He told his friend that he was afraid the DC where we worked was going to be shut down, and he didn’t want to move to North Carolina, where the company was headquartered.
I didn’t really think about it until I started noticing that the shipments we received weren’t as large, or coming as frequently, as they had in the past. A warehouse than had once overflowed with stock was starting to look barren. That’s when I recalled what the GM hold told his friend and I decided to start looking for another job.
I found a job working in a DC for a wholesaler and gave notice, but the GM tried to talk me into staying. He said I had a future with the company but I still decided to leave. Six months later the distribution center closed and the entire warehouse crew was let go. Some of those guys were in their 60s, so their only option was to take early retirement. I felt bad about not letting them know what was coming, but what if I’d been wrong? I was lucky to get out when I did.
Deserve the world
Tech hegemony name of NSA’s game — Zhang Zhouxiang
Had the Ministry of National Security not mentioned it on its official WeChat account, it would have been hard to imagine that the US National Security Agency, a key department of the US government, had invaded the server of China’s Huawei headquarters in 2009 and was monitoring it ever since.
This was at a time when the US had not even triggered trade frictions with China and “partnership” was the key word defining their bilateral relationship. That was also the time when the US was keeping a tab on allies and imagined enemies alike, such as by bugging the then German leader’s phone, as Edward Snowden revealed.
All these incidents once again prove that even when the US smiles at you, you cannot take it at face value. The US can use one hand for a handshake and the other to point a gun at the person it is shaking hands with.
It’s ironic that despite spying on the Huawei server for 14 years, the US still could not find any evidence of Huawei having “stolen” technologies from it. That is the biggest evidence that the NSA is not at all concerned about the United States’ national security, but about the US’ technological hegemony. Anything called “national security” for the US is based on the insecurity of others.
With this mentality, the US cannot become a worthy leader of the world. It can only arouse the whole world’s suspicion with its actions, as everyone knows that the US gained its current superpower status by cheating, stealing, hacking and blackmailing.
And such conspiracies won’t persist for long because the rest of the world cannot be overshadowed by the US forever. That Huawei has released its new smartphone model Mate 60 Pro, despite the sanctions, proves that the US’ blockade and surveillance don’t work.
It is time the US woke up from its own dreams.
China’s LASER Tech Achieves Yet Another MASSIVE Breakthrough
In a groundbreaking announcement, Chinese military scientists have unveiled a remarkable leap forward in laser weapon technology. The researchers claim to have developed an ingenious cooling system that eliminates a long-standing obstacle – the buildup of excess heat during the operation of high-energy lasers. This achievement, which could redefine the face of modern warfare, promises to enable these laser-based weapons to fire with unprecedented longevity and precision. Today’s episode will cover another breakthrough in China’s laser technology.
Wasting an entire tech budget on peripherals, with no computers to attach them to.
Several years ago, I worked at a school where the majority of teachers and the principal still used overhead projectors. I bought my own projector and used my own Macbook instead. When the principal saw what I was doing, she put me in charge of setting up Smartboards for every classroom.
Apparently, the year before I got there, the principal (an older woman) went to an education convention and got swindled into spending thousands of dollars on new Smartboards. Someone must have had a display where they showed all of the great things you can do with a Smartboard, so she used the school’s technology budget to buy one for each classroom.
They’d been delivered over the summer, before I was hired, and they were still boxed in the storage room when I got there.
Except she didn’t buy the computers or projectors to go along with them.
A Smartboard by itself is useless. It’s basically a large track pad. It requires a computer and a projector to work. The Smartboard is the cheapest part of the equation.
I got one up and running in my room, since I had my own laptop and projector. She was so excited that she had the janitor unbox and hang several others in other classrooms over a weekend, before I explained to her that they only worked when connected to a computer and a projector.
When I came to work on Monday, half of the classrooms looked like this:
They had nice, new Smartboards hanging there, completely useless.
Then I gave her an estimate for cheap laptops and projectors to get the other Smartboards up and running like the one in my room was.
She got mad at me. It’s the first time a principal ever actually raised their voice to me. She insisted that I could make the Smartboards work without buying extra parts, because the guy who sold her the Smartboards didn’t say anything about needing a computer or projector to go with them.
I think she was mad that she’d been ripped off. She spent literally the school’s entire tech budget on those Smartboards.
She raised her voice to me a few more times throughout the year, for leaving to get coffee on my lunch break (I’m an adult and I can do that), not keeping the students busy every possible second (I don’t believe in busy work), and not using the Smartboard in my room enough (It was a bigger pain to use it than it was worth). Basically, she micro-managed and treated me like a student, not a teacher. I left there after just one year. She ended up being forced into retirement after that year too. I suppose a lot of people complained about the way she treated the teachers, and pissing away the school’s money on pointless tech was the last straw.
Whatever your opinion may be about this man, Dan Bilzerian, he said something very true in an interview, and I would like many people to reflect on it.
In the Joe Rogan Podcast (the most famous and most listened-to podcast in the world), Rogan asked him the same question:
Joe: Hey Dan, for the people who are listening to us, and most of them won’t even make a quarter of the money you’ve made, do you think money brings happiness?
Dan Bilzerian: Money, Joe, brings satisfaction. Money can undoubtedly give you a lot of satisfaction, but never complete happiness.
When I go to a fancy restaurant, when I drive a brand new car, when I party at the best clubs, for me, that’s already normal.
But the day I can’t afford to eat at a restaurant of the same quality, or drive the latest car, or go partying, how do you think I’ll feel?
In my case, I raised the ‘satisfaction bar’ so high that I have to maintain this lifestyle forever because if I don’t, I get depressed.
Happiness, even if it sounds cliché, cheesy, or however you want to call it, comes from within, from your person. It doesn’t come from material things. Material things give you ‘satisfaction,’ but they will never give you happiness.
There’s always someone who says something like:
‘Money doesn’t bring happiness, but I’d rather cry in a Lamborghini.’
Now, let me ask:
Wouldn’t you rather smile from ear to ear in a Kia?
Regards.
If I Compare Both – CHINA is The Winner
China’s space program and Elon Musk’s SpaceX represent two major players in the rapidly evolving field of space exploration. In recent years, both entities have made significant strides in rocket development, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in terms of space travel. From the famed Falcon series to the proud and furious Long March family, both players have redefined space sector on their own terms.
The Russian military has launched small attacks along the whole frontline. A major effort is made near Andivka which yesterday was bombed to smithereens:
The headline reads “RF Army has delivered a blow of previously unseen might against the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU)”. What they are describing is an aerial bombing of Avdeevka, the heavily fortified Ukrainian town 14 kilometers away from Donetsk city, which is an urban center of more than a million inhabitants and capital of the Donbas oblast (region) of the same name. Donetsk city has been struck by missiles and artillery shells launched from Avdeevka on a daily basis from the time before the Special Military Operation, and with ever greater intensity during the SMO. Video images of destroyed homes and apartment buildings have appeared on Russian evening news together casualty figures and the testimony of victims.
The attack on Avdeevka came early in the morning when the Ukrainians were attempting to carry out a rotation of their troops. Eyewitnesses said that “the earth shook” in the whole area as a result of the bombing. … The bombing of Avdeevka today, like the reported destruction of a major Ukrainian command post by 1.5 ton bombs a couple of days ago, would suggest the “softening up” phase before a major ground offensive.
That something important was coming up could be seen it the recent Daily Reports by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The ones put out on the 8th, 9th and 10th of October showed relatively few Ukrainian casualties (655, 630, 580) and a reduced counter artillery campaign with only 6, 7 and 8 Ukrainian guns hit on those days. It was a sign that something was coming up.
Today’s report, which includes the numbers from yesterday’s campaign against Andivka and other places show high Ukrainian casualty numbers (895) and hits on some 24 Ukrainian artillery systems.
The Ukrainians seem to fight almost exclusively on foot. Losses of armored fighting vehicles have become rare. Today’s report reports hits on only 7 armored combat systems (including tanks) but also hits on 35 transport vehicles, i.e trucks and pick-ups.
Yesterday’s evening summary by Strana.news described the bad state most of Ukraine’s brigades are in (machine translation):
Reports of the beginning of massive attacks by the Russian army coincided with the appearance of an increasing amount of information about significant problems with the offensive potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As we have already written, ex-adviser to the President’s Office Alexey Arestovich called on the Ukrainian command to go on the defensive and abandon the offensive, which, in his opinion, is hopeless with the current balance of forces.
Also in social networks, a video from a Ukrainian military man was distributed, who talks about problems in the “Guards Offensive” brigades due to heavy losses and poor organization.
“I communicate with different military personnel from different branches of the armed forces and, in principle, I understand that cp@ka is everywhere. But I did not expect that in the rampant “Offensive Guard” we will meet with those mistakes that even the most meaty brigades no longer make,” says a National Guard soldier in Tiktok.
Then he describes various problems in specific teams. Let’s list the main ones:
Platoon commanders in critical areas, including on the Zaporozhye front, are appointed junior lieutenants without military experience and knowledge.
Many fighters have not received sufficient training;
Coordination at the company and battalion level is almost nonexistent. Maximum-squads and platoons;
Huge losses – “three companies enter, only a few go back”;
“One village took an infantry company in a short period of time. 120 plus or minus people,” says the military man.
The Russian Federation has many times more forces and resources – “no matter how strong you are, you will be stupidly beaten by the crowd”;
In some cases, the assault fighters go on foot – 7 km in equipment for 35 kg.
Other reports have confirmed that the Ukrainian military has long lost its middle officer and NCO corps. Smart kids fresh from senior high school are leading platoons of men mostly in 30s or 40s and 50s. Brigade commanders give direct orders down to platoons because the staff of battalions and companies in between is no longer there.
The Ukraine lacks artillery. The Russian counter battery fire has become more and more intense.
The advantage the HIMARS systems with their 70 kilometer reach had given Ukraine is also gone. The U.S. delivered HIMARS systems, which previously had been positioned safely out of reach of Russian counter-battery fire, are now easy to reach targets.
Russia’s new versions of the Lancet kamikaze drone have destroyed Ukrainian fighter planes on the ground some 90 kilometer behind the frontline.
Smaller Russian First Person View (FPV) suicide drones now come with thermal night vision.
It is pretty much over for the Ukrainian military. The only sensible action it can now take is to shorten the frontline and to retreat behind some natural defense barrier like the Dnieper river.
However, Zelensky still talks of victory and is unlikely to order such a move.
Posted by b on October 11, 2023 at 15:00 UTC | Permalink
On May 7th, 2013, Clevelander Charles Ramsey sat down in his living room, and was about to eat a Big Mac when he heard screaming coming from outside…
He opened his front door, and realized that it must have been coming from his next door neighbor’s house, so he walked over. But instead of his neighbor, Ariel, he saw a woman in the doorway clutching a child. She said that they needed to get out of the house, but that the door was secured and they were trapped. Although hesitant to break his neighbor’s front door, Ramsey agreed, and together they kicked out the bottom panel. The woman and her daughter crawled through…
But that was just the beginning! The lady said that she had been trapped in the house for years and that there were other women still inside! She ran to a nearby house and called 911 while Ramsey did the same on his cell phone. Within minutes, police and press had swarmed the street. What was going on?
The woman’s name was Amanda Berry. She had been kidnapped by the owner of the house and kept inside for 10 years, where she and two other women, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus, were kept in dismal conditions and sexually abused. They were all rescued and reunited with their families after a decade. The kidnapper, Ariel Castro, was arrested minutes later at a nearby McDonald’s. The whole city of Cleveland, Ohio, was overjoyed to learn that the missing women had been found alive after so long, and the rescue made headlines across the world!!
Ramsey gave an iconic interview with a local news station, just minutes after the news broke, and it quickly went viral.
“I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms. Dead Giveaway. Something is wrong here.” – Charles Ramsey
His candid demeanor during such a stressful episode caught people’s attention. The Gregory Brothers recorded a song by remixing his statement. Mike Epps parodied his reaction. Drew Carrey, a fellow Clevelander, personally met with him. He was skyrocketing to fame but his big break came on Snoop Dogg’s show talk show.
Snoop Dogg received an audio recording of Ramsey’s 911 call. In it, the dispatcher asked for Ramsey’s phone number and Ramsey gave it, but whoever provided the audio did not mute or obscure it to protect Ramsey’s identity. Snoop and his guest decided to call the number themselves to congratulate him, and Ramsey picked up. But they also broadcast the number to the entire world!
Ramsey received an unbelievable amount of support and praise. From across the world many sent their thanks and Ramsey was absolutely overwhelmed by the attention. As more evidence came to light, Ramsey also had some choice words for Castro and described in graphic detail how he would exact revenge on him. Talks of a reward for Ramsey abounded. He even received several marriage proposals. When a news reporter asked how Ramsey felt about all the congratulatory phone calls and texts he was getting, he replied that he now wished he had paid for an unlimited phone plan, as he had exceeded his allotted data. He eventually solved this by throwing his phone into the Cuyahoga river.
McDonald’s — whom Ramsey had referenced in his viral interview and where Castro had been arrested — gave Ramsey tons of $50 Mcdonald’s gift cards. Ramsey gave them out to children and the homeless, and when McDonald’s heard about this, they stopped giving him gift cards.
Ramsey appeared on Anderson Cooper, wrote a memoir, and since then has sought to avoid the spotlight. He met with Amanda Berry in 2019 on the sixth anniversary of the rescue, and claims that he and Michelle Knight, now known as Lily Rose Lee, sometimes see each other when out walking because they live nearby.
As I was sitting on the beach with my friend Courtney, she turned to me and said, “You know, I really love Landon. I’m going to marry him. But, if he were to leave me, I would be okay.” They had been dating for four years and her boyfriend was asking her dad that summer if he could have her hand in marriage. They were very happy and comfortable together.
It was a stark contrast to my old roommate. In the four years I had known her, she had been single less than two weeks. Every time she became single, it had not been her choice. After each breakup, she had immediately gotten a new man within days. Eventually she settled with a guy who emotionally abused her. She had eventually caught him cheating more than three times and broken up with him, but her fear of being alone had driven her back into his arms after ten days. She married that guy.
Both of these girls are wonderful people who I enjoy hanging out with. But, they have one stark difference. Courtney is comfortable being alone. My old roommate is not.
Courtney dated her share of frogs but was always able to leave if things got bad. She liked being single and was comfortable with herself. So, she found a man perfect for her who added something amazing to her life. She settled for nothing less.
My old roommate stayed in abusive relationship after abusive relationship. Being single scared her, so she’d rather stay with someone who treated her badly than face the world alone. She will depend on someone else for her happiness for the rest of her life and they will consistently fail to provide it.
Being single taught me that you’re not ready to be in a relationship unless you’re truly happy and comfortable being single. If you don’t, you make yourself very vulnerable to abuse and a life of heartache.
Learn to be alone and to depend on yourself. Don’t date anyone before you date yourself. It is the most important basis of a healthy relationship.
Filipino Girls Get BRUTALLY HONEST
As the Philippines welcomes foreign tourists back for the first time since 2020, countless interested bachelors are arriving at the shores of Davao City specifically to find a Pinay to share their life with. Known around the world as amazing women, Filipinas entice foreigners to travel halfway across the globe just to guaranty a match through face to face interactions. As more men dream of romantic connections with Filipino women, solo travel to the magic city of Davao becomes a bucket list item for countless guys.
Davao City plays host to a couple dozen foreigners several times each year who arrive to meet Pinays in one on one introductions or during group speed dating events arranged by local matchmakers. Because dating in Davao remains a foreign affair for Philippine women seeking love beyond borders, foreign guys also interested in meeting Filipino girls are once again solo traveling to this magic city to try and guaranty a match among some of the most stunning ladies in the entire world.
Know to be ultra family oriented in nature, most Filipinas are seeking traditional family life with a good man who seeks the same. While many Western men begin to adopt alternative philosophies towards domestic dating like MGTOW or Red Pill, many are simply seeking a traditional wife or what they call a tradwife within these Red Pill or MGTOW circles. While most Filipino women fit what men use to describe their tradwife, it must be recognized that Pinays are also industrious and independent completely out of necessity in the Philippines.
Most Filipinas find the domestic dating scene in Davao City to be lacking, which leads many towards furthering their educations and/or careers to make a life for themselves. Because most Pinays will want to create a family of their own, dating beyond borders to establish a WMAF ( Western Male Asian Female) relationship becomes a focus for many who are seeking such a life. WMAF relationships in the Philippines have become quite common in cities like Davao where dating often feels like a foreign affair because of the expat population and constant foreign tourists who frequent the region.
While Filipino women dream of lasting connections with foreign men, the ability to guaranty a match in the Philippines via solo travel rather than making a Filipina dating app your cupid has become the go to method for guys wanting the same type of lasting relationships.
There are advantages to dating Filipinas in cities like Davao, where an overwhelming number of Asian women are wholly open to the idea of WMAF ( Western Male Asian Female) relationships. While most marriage minded Filipino men are already starting families by their early twenties, the vast majority of bachelors are single by choice. Because countless Pinays still seek to create a family of their own, dating beyond borders with visiting foreigners becomes the most practical way to achieve the dream of loving connections that can create such dynamics.
WMAF relationships are quite common in cities throughout the Philippines like Cebu, Davao or Manila. Because the majority of Filipino women are fluent English speakers, men who share this language are able to communicate well, which expedites the courtship process for many WMAF couples. As men venture into the Philippines specifically in search of the Filipina pea to their pod, cold approach in the street scenes of Davao can seem appealing, but the most serious Filipino women often find such interactions with strangers to be unappealing.
Sure, Filipinas may say hello to you in the street scenes of Davao if you initiate this interaction, but in the less savory parts of the city, these interactions rarely signal a woman interested in starting a lifelong loving relationship. In the interest of being able to guaranty a match during solo travel to Davao City, more men that ever are partnering with local matchmaking agencies to meet serious Pinays to achieve their dream of lasting connections with Asian women. Matchmakers in the Philippines commonly organize private speed dating events for Filipinas and visiting foreign men who have a stated purpose of finding lifelong love as the key motivation for attending these events.
During speed dating events in Davao, men meet over 100 single Pinays in a matter of hours, with only a couple dozen guys in attendance. The odds of meeting 100+ Filipinas in 4 hours via cold approach becomes less likely, especially when factoring in the pre-qualification process administered by matchmaking agencies like A Foreign Affair. Because more men than ever seek to guaranty a match with Filipinas, dating agencies play a crucial role in creating lasting connections via one on one introduction or the world famous speed dating events held in Cebu and Davao.
The longest recorded continuous firing of a weapon took place in 1963, when a group of British Army armorers decided to put the venerable Vickers machine gun to its most extreme test ever attempted. Having a stockpile of around 5 million obsolete .303 British rounds, they took turns continuously firing a single freshly-rebuilt Vickers for an entire week.
The men took 30-minute shifts operating the gun, with others shoveling the spent brass and bringing more ammo and cooling water, pausing only to reload and change worn-out barrels. Amazingly, in a week of non-stop firing, the gun never malfunctioned a single time, and a follow-up inspection found it to be within design specs in every parameter.
This hardly came as a surprise, as Vickers MG was already legendary for its reliability, having been continuously fired for over 24 hours on multiple instances during WWI. In one recorded instance in 1916, a British machine gun company of ten guns expended a million rounds over the course of 12 hours to suppress a German position, at the end using their own urine to cool the barrels after all available water was expended.
What to expect from Iran’s membership in BRICS
Friday, 25 August 2023 11:24 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 02 September 2023 6:26 AM ]
Iran’s membership in the BRICS group of emerging economies is a significant national, regional and international development, which is important both to Tehran and BRICS members, including China and Russia.
In recent years, there has been a lot of focus on Iran’s membership in global political and economic organizations, institutions and groups in order to spur economic growth and provide a ballast in the face of geopolitical and structural changes.
BRICS has gained a special place in Iran’s foreign policy due to its increasing importance in the international political economy and geopolitical developments.
The Islamic Republic has good political relations with all five main members of the BRICS group consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Tehran is motivated by the international prestige, the geopolitical and geoeconomic linkage with the emerging world powers, and the regional and international status which joining BRICS can potentially bring in.
New economic partners are about to come out of the woodwork after membership in BRICS and access to new financial resources, technological findings, knowledge-based production methods in agriculture, food security and trade could enable Iran to better deal with the hobbling impact of sanctions.
BRICS is developing internal institutions for integration and increasing effective economic power in order to support development programs of its members and strengthen their regional and international position.
The establishment of financial institutions independent from Western institutions can be considered the most important success of BRICS in promoting convergence and its most important advantage in the new global economic structure.
Two financial institutions within BRICS are the pillars of the group’s power, which also offer opportunities for Iran.
The New Development Bank of BRICS is the most important economic pillar of BRICS, created with the aim of forging convergence among the members in the world economy.
The bank was established in 2014 with the initial authorized capital of $100 billion to finance infrastructure projects in BRICS countries and other emerging markets. It is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
According to the agreement, the bank “shall support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments”.
Another key institution established with the aim of strengthening financial convergence among the members is the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA).
It is a framework for the provision of support through liquidity and precautionary instruments in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures.
Although US financial sanctions make it difficult for Iran to access the resources of these two institutions, BRICS has adopted various methods under its de-dollarization scheme to provide loans and services to members, which can reduce the impact of the sanctions.
The New Development Bank uses methods such as providing loans in the national currency of BRICS powers, cryptocurrency and currency swaps.
Bear in mind that Iran’s integration into the BRICS economic framework is fraught with challenges as regards alignment with the economic policies, regulatory mechanisms and commercial laws and regulations of the main and new members.
Ensuring the coordination and synching of the domestic bureaucracy with BRICS institutions in areas such as customs, tariffs and investment regulations requires time and complex expert reviews.
Nevertheless, the geoeconomic benefits of the membership are so many that any misgivings are roundly misplaced.
As a full member, Iran would have closer economic relations with other member countries, which can gradually lead to increased business and investment opportunities.
This cooperation can include various sectors including energy, production, agriculture and technology and provide access to new markets and potential sources of foreign direct investment.
Joining BRICS would also give Iran the opportunity to diversify its economic partners beyond the current circle.
The BRICS countries have an overall population of more than 3 billion people, which potentially provides a vast consumer market for Iranian goods and services. This diversity would reduce Iran’s dependence on a limited set of business partners and increase its economic resilience.
Membership in BRICS also increases Iran’s regional influence and geopolitical position.
It enables the country to interact with emerging economies and have a say in shaping global economic and political affairs. In addition, Iran can actively participate in regional projects and contribute to the development of convergence in the region.
By becoming a member of BRICS, Iran would access the financial resources of the BRICS Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangements (CRA) to fund the development of infrastructure, energy projects and other potential priority sectors.
This can help to solve part of Iran’s development needs and spur long-term economic growth, even though access to the resources of these institutions under sanctions would be difficult.
Iran is a large producer of oil and gas and its membership in BRICS can strengthen closer cooperation on energy security initiatives.
BRICS countries, especially China and Russia, have significant energy needs. They can potentially cooperate with Iran on energy exploration, production and infrastructure development. This cooperation would improve Iran’s energy sector and provide ways to diversify exports.
Meanwhile, BRICS countries stand out for their advances in technology and innovation in the developing world.
Iran’s membership in BRICS can facilitate the exchange of knowledge, carrying out joint research projects and technology transfer, which could enable the country to increase its technological capabilities and competitiveness in different sectors.
This can help Iran’s economic modernization and reduce technological gaps with other countries.
Iran is facing the most draconian US sanctions, which has limited the country’s access to global markets and financial systems. Joining BRICS can potentially give Iran more leverage in international negotiations and potentially reduce the effects of some sanctions.
Moreover, the collective power and influence of the BRICS countries may provide a platform to defend Iran’s economic interests and reduce trade restrictions.
BRICS countries have forged increasing cooperation on agriculture and food security. Iran, with its diverse agricultural sector, can benefit from the best methods and joint initiatives through knowledge exchange with the aim of increasing agricultural productivity, production and distribution of foodstuff.
This cooperation can help Iran’s food security goals and strengthen its agricultural sector.
Finally, Iran’s membership in BRICS can activate the Russia-Iran-India corridor, facilitating exchanges among the member countries, and provide access to Eurasian resources along the Belt and Road Initiative stretching from China to Russia up to Central Asia and beyond.
In 29 Days The Internet Will Change FOREVER
Through increased legislation such as the Online Safety Bill and Google’s own repression of new emerging competitors, independent media and free speech has a fight on its hands.
“Can I trust you?” she asked me quietly as we walked in the school grounds.
She didn’t even wait for me to reply.
“My father was diagnosed with cancer. Two years ago. Of the prostate. He was under treatment since then, but these days, he’s been getting worse. And we don’t even have that much money, we’re a simple family.”
Sarah was the ‘weird girl’ in the class. Or that’s how the others saw her.
She was always energetic. So much that you’d think she was high on caffeine every day. She had a prominent personality, something so sun-bright that you couldn’t help but notice. And being talkative and making loud, obnoxiously lame jokes were a fundamental part of her.
Sarah was just so full of life. The fullest you can be. The fullest I’ve ever seen someone.
I think that’s what began, slowly but surely, irritating others in a way.
She would laugh at her own awkward jokes and people would roll their eyes. She’s so random and so extra, they’d say.
She became the class clown.
One day, during the sports class, the conversation written above took place.
And I couldn’t help but silently wonder: how/why was she so buoyant and full of life all the time?
A second later, the tone of her voice shifted.
“You wanna know why I’m so cheerful all the time?”
It’s like she read my mind, I swear. I looked her in the eye, then quickly looked away.
But what she said left me open-mouthed because it was completely different than what I expected.
“You know, I believe that you have to create what you want for yourself. As I see it, everyone has to create their own happiness. There is no other way out. I have so many things to be sad about. But that is exactly what I won’t be. I just work like that,” she shrugged.
And suddenly, just like that, I saw her in a whole new light. And I’m not even exaggerating. It was literally like depicted in the movies.
In fact, I felt guilty, on behalf of my class, that we’d been so utterly stupid.
Not to be dramatic or anything, but Sarah taught me things that I have not learned from anyone else.
I’m not gonna lie and say that since that moment, I’ve been the happiest person alive. I haven’t. It’s a slow process. But I see myself getting there very soon.
Sarah reminded me that one has to create their own happiness. You can’t rely on life or its circumstances to do that for you. She was a living example of the quote: “When life knocks you down, smile and stand up taller than ever before.”
China learnt that thinking that it should share a loaf of bread with the west is unnecessary and unappreciated. Well perhaps the west is not matured enough. So why not have the entire loaf of bread themselves.
So why not just produce the very best in everything for China and 7.5 billion earthlings and let the west decide if it wants to be up to date and advance. Or suffer a triple digit inflation and stay backwards.
Like what they say one don’t know how fortunate they are till they lost it for good. It’s a shame. For the U.S. China is willing to be a good partner to help bring about a better world but the U.S. chose its own demise.
The U.S. behaviour befits the 247 years old hoodlum mafia that they are and China need to let the U.S. grow out of puberty. Sure China prefers to work with the west and the U.S. and it will do better with them. But without some say 50–70% of worlds 30% of the market it will still do rather well.
US may need to make a million adjustments just to stay afloat. But heck. That U.S. their problem. It is their choice. They can de-risk on each other for all we care. Essentially the U.S. has decoupled with the world.
My former supervisor came to my wedding and told guests that she felt terrible, but when I got home from my honeymoon, she was going to have to fire me.
I was working at a staffing agency, and my supervisor Snowflake (for her appearance and mental condition) came to my wedding as my guest and the date of my fiance’s friend.
During the reception, she told multiple people that as much as she looooved me, she was going to have to fire me when I got back from our honeymoon. We were gone for a week, and knowing what we would be facing when we got back, her date called my husband and told him the bad news.
Talk about landing the balloon with a crash! At least I could walk into the office the next day armed and forewarned. They transferred me to another department, she was reprimanded, and within months was transferred to another office. I will never trust people like that again, and I feel for anyone who had to be involved with her in the future.
THE DURAN AND BRIAN BERLETIC ON UKRAINE’S DEFEAT SENDS NATO INTO PANIC
I will answer from my personal experience. I do trauma anesthesia and every now and then I will get someone in who has survived a shoot out with the police. I usually talk to the police during the case since they are waiting to hear if the prisoner will survive or not so they can file the paperwork. The truth is they miss more.
Last one was a murder suspect who they rolled up on as he was exiting his car. He pulled out a gun and they unloaded on him. The police expended more than 350 rounds. He was hit 3 times. One hit on the hand which took off 2 fingers, one hit in the meat of the thigh and the one that took him down was a hit directly between the eyes. But he was a lucky SOB. The police were shooting 9 mm. The shot that hit him between the eyes bounced off his skull, traveled under the scalp and exited near the rear of his head. That one knocked him out and probably saved his life.
Shootouts are a very stressful situation. The target is hiding behind obstructions. He is shooting back at you. And the distances are more likely to be 25 to 50 feet. The adrenalin is running high. Even in a perfectly comfortable range with a paper target it is almost impossible to put in precision shots at 50 feet with a hand gun. That is a pretty typical outcome in that type of shooting.
The scary part of all that is that there are 340 plus bullets traveling down range which can strike anywhere.
Unless one is blind, deaf or dumb you can conclude otherwise. Of course BBC, CNN, Fox & Sky News sing a tune that US are popular are needed or or respected. But it is no different from Nazi propaganda selling the Aryan nation and the Nazi’s view on Jews!
But let us stick to the facts. Zero nation in Latin America and Caribbean supported the U.S.stance on Russia! And that is the U.S. closest neighbours.
Take the Beijing Olympics boycott. In 2020. After a year of shuttling around the world. Convincing nations to boycott China and billions invested to demonised China. Only 5 nations agreed to withdraw uninvited officials from the games! Just 40 years ago the U.S. wanted to do likewise in the Moscow Olympics and 65 nations joined them!
US influence? It us a thing of the past. Good riddance Uncle Sam.
Originally Answered: What have you assumed was exaggerated until you experienced it yourself?
Expensive paper towels.
What the hell, Bounty? You think you’re worth twice as much as my grocery store-brand paper towels?
Oh, you’ve got “super-absorbent pockets” that can soak up that entire sippy cup’s worth of juice and then still have room for the drips the other leading paper towel left behind?
Riiiiiiight.
The “quicker, thicker picker-upper”?
Screw your fancy camera tricks and stupid, gimmicky pockets! I’m not going to fall for your crafty advertising and excessive -er-ending tagline!
Oh, what a fool I was.
Enter: the Infant.
Through drips and spills and mud and snot, the infant could take out an entire store-brand roll in a single afternoon. My discount paper towels may as well have been tissue paper against the sticky onslaught of a lunchtime feeding. Spit and mucus passed right through those weak sheets, so much so that I would have been better off just wiping my daughter’s mouth with my own hand.
Oh, “just double them over,” you say?
Ha! The acrobatic, one-handed tear needed to secure a double sheet (while holding a leaking child) would simply rip a corner sliver from those generic towels, leaving the bulk of the sheet flapping wildly off the roll and onto the floor.
In a delirious panic, I’d resort to mummifying the child and letting the mess soak through, sheet after sheet, until she was just dry enough to slip a new shirt on.
There had to be a better way…
I finally caved and bought a roll of the more expensive Bounty brand—they were on sale. I figured maybe I could stick my daughter into one of the “super-absorbent pockets” and just let her eat from there like a quilted, drooling baby kangaroo.
Dear sweet sanitary Jesus.
Those paper towels are amazing.
Yes, they can soak up the sippy cup juice, and the snot, and the milk, and the spaghetti sauce, and the toilet water on the floor, and—why is there toilet water on the floor?!—and the strange brown mess that probably isn’t that, but you’re not going to get close enough to smell it.
All of it.
And double sheets? Ha! Only if you want to clean out a frying pan right off the stove because those babies can insulate like a fiend when you need to wipe hot grease out of a pan.
Bounty paper towels are freaking magical. I buy them all the time now—though I still wait for sales. They are worth every penny, and they are every bit as amazing as the attractive hand models on the commercials imply they are.
On December 9, 1914, Thomas Edison faced probably the biggest test of his life when a huge fire destroyed his lab in New Jersey.
The fire destroyed more than half of the buildings in the laboratory complex, including many original records, prototypes, and valuable research work.
The damage was estimated to be around $7 million dollars at the time, which is equivalent to over $180 million today.
Insurance only covered $2.3 million.
How would you react if your entire life’s work went up in flames at 67 years of age?
History tells that on the night of the fire, as Edison calmly watched his life’s work go up in flames, he told his son Charles, “There is a great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”
Edison wasted no time in rebuilding. In just a few weeks after the fire, parts of the lab were operational again. Within about a year, most of the facilities were fully reconstructed.
To answer your question, what is the best way to deal with failure at everything in life?
We should learn from Edison…
Accept that failure and setbacks are just part of life’s journey.
Be persistent, don’t ever give up. If we ever stop trying, that’s when we let real failure take over our lives.
As Edison put it, “We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish. Although I am over 67 years old, I’ll start all over again tomorrow.”
Life will always throw challenges our way. But like Edison, we can choose to get back up and start building again.
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison
When you are feeling unproductive, don’t allow yourself to do anything. This means no entertainment devices, no books, nothing. It is very boring. But if you make this rule and allow yourself only to do only one thing, you will find yourself walking the plank and doing that very task.
It feels like putting yourself in time out. But you’ll find your task beats the despair of boredom.
Meditation is also extremely effective if you can’t get focused. When I’m most distracted, I close my eyes and focus on not allowing in any thoughts. It is in those moments that mental silence is most difficult. My head is full of chaotic energy and thoughts that gust and jerk around inside of me. But in the end, I feel still and focused. I am prepared to work. Start with 5–10 minutes. A little bit goes a long way.
Shoplifting was a regular occurrence at the auto parts store where I worked. Headlights were the most common thing people stole. At least once per day we’d find an empty package for a headlight on the shelf.
That’s how a lot of people shoplift, by the way… Just open the package and take the product. Chances are, if there is some anti-theft tag on it, the tag is in the package, not on the product itself.
Also, the fancy retail word for product loss through shoplifting and internal stealing is “shrink.” Now you know. My store had a pretty high “shrink” rate, because the neighborhood around the store wasn’t all that great. The last time I visited that store, about five years after I quit working there, they’d finally wised up and put most of the products behind glass displays, so you had to ask a worker to get them for you.
We’d catch shoplifters sometimes. They’d usually get loud and try and cause a scene, but then leave. None of them ever got physical. They also frequently worked in pairs… one person distracting the counter guy, while the other walked around the store and cut things out of their packaging and put them in his pockets. I got good at spotting that scam eventually, and would stare at the guy walking the aisles until he got the hint that I was on to him, and they’d leave.
But my best story was the Great Heist of 2008. That’s what I called it when I was telling my coworkers about it after it happened.
I was the opening manager that day. It was six in the morning and there were just two of us there. That was the minimum number of people we had to have working in order to be open. The first few hours every day were always uneventful, especially during the week.
This particular day, a guy came into the store and said he needed antifreeze for his car. We looked up the type he needed. He said he needed four gallons. I showed him where they were on the shelf, and he immediately complained about the price. The type his car needed was expensive… like $20 a bottle, if I remember correctly. He left the store without them.
But he didn’t go far… just to his car. He drove up next to the door, left his car running, ran inside, grabbed four gallons, dashed out the door without paying, and sped off, tires squealing and everything.
Except he grabbed the wrong thing. He stole four gallons of washer fluid:
Not even the good washer fluid either. The cheap stuff that we gave away for free sometimes. It was like $1.25 per bottle, max. This guy made off with $5 worth of, basically, tap water with a little alcohol in it.
I didn’t even fill out a report. To be honest, I felt kind of bad for the guy. I hope he didn’t put it in his radiator. That would be two boneheaded mistakes in a single day.
Unbreakable Friendship
U.N. approves invasion of Haiti, US forces already there
Redacted has confirmed that the U.S. has special forces inside of Haiti as the U.N. is set to approve an invasion. The United Nations will vote today on the United States’ request to invade Haiti with Kenyan troops. The U.S. says that a military invasion is necessary to “conduct joint security support operations as it works to counter gangs and improve security conditions in Haiti.” The force will help secure “critical infrastructure sites and transit locations such as the airport, ports, and key intersections.” The people of Haiti have been pushing back against this rhetoric and begging the United States to stay out of their politics. Redacted correspondent Dan Cohen brings us the story.
There are currently two Foxconn situations regarding India. One is iPhone production and one is a project to build semiconductors.
iPhone production in India is below the output volume and quality demanded by Apple. This year’s production in India will sold only in India and maybe in some other Asian countries. Foxconn will seek to improve the production in future. For now China will remain the primary production location.
Foxconn has broken off a JV with Vedanta on a project to build semiconductor chips in India. Foxconn decided end plans after delays by the Indian government to approve incentives for the project.
Foxconn has operated in India before and left after a few years. It knows the business situation there. It likely is aware of other prospective projects that were to receive government incentives by India that led to years of foot dragging, and decided there are other opportunities. Meanwhile India will look to attract others interested in the project.
It’s the first time this year that you are going on an actual holiday.
You booked the ticket months in advance, and have been preparing for this trip for weeks.
Today is finally the day on which you leave.
You arrive at the airport earlier than you need to, get your luggage checked in and are in front of the gate, ready to go, 2 hours in advance, when you hear this over the announcement:
“Flight 206 to Honolulu has been cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience. Have a nice day.”
Your heart sinks into your chest.
That was your flight.
You lean back in the chair you were sitting in, stare up at the ceiling and take a deep breath.
Then you pull out your cell phone, grab your carry-on and start walking.
On your way to the information desk you check various’ other flights, check hotels in the area, and when you get to the information desk you ask about alternative, last-minute routes.
Within 20 minutes you have an alternative booked, have gotten your ticket refunded, and are ready to go.
This is the difference between those that will reach success and those that won’t.
The key indicator of those that will be successful later is that they do not let their situation stop them.
They find a way, are solution oriented, and will act a hundred times more often than they will complain.
Stop complaining about your situation and stop focusing on the problem. And look at what you can do now instead.
WW2 From the German Perspective (Full Documentary) | Animated History
Texas Ranch-Style Taco Salad
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
1 head lettuce
1 onion
1 (16 ounce) can Ranch-style beans
1 package Fritos Corn Chips
2 avocados (ripe but not too soft)
2 tomatoes
1 pound Cheddar cheese, grated
1 bottle Catalina dressing
1 pound ground beef or turkey
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
Instructions
Sauté ground beef; drain well and set aside to cool.
Tear lettuce into pieces.
Dice tomatoes and onion.
Grate cheese.
Drain beans.
Break corn chips into smaller pieces.
Chop avocado and sprinkle with lemon juice, lightly tossing to coat.
Ability-track students into separate classrooms, starting at around fifth grade.
The frustration for teachers usually isn’t from an underperforming student alone; it’s from underperforming students in the same class, at the same time, as average and over-performing students.
Underperforming (the more PC term is “struggling”) students often take longer than average to learn the same concepts as their peers, and/or require different teaching methods. All of that is fine and easy for a teacher to do, if students like that were all in the same classroom at the same time, with no classmates who were too different from them, learning-style wise.
I have the same issue with my English classes every year. I always begin each year with three days’ worth of lessons on proper comma usage when writing, because so many students struggle with that. About 25% of the students understand how to use commas after the first day of lessons. Another 50% of them understand the concept well enough by the end of the third day.
But about 15% of students need longer than three days to get the concept, and 10% of them will never get it, no matter how long I spend on it. So, what’s a teacher to do? Bore the smart kids? Frustrate the struggling students by leaving them in the dust? Or aim for the middle and hope for the best?
Of course, is all of the smart kids were in one class, all of the average students in another, and all of the strugglers in another, I could spend as much time as I wanted on each concept, without worrying about boring anyone or leaving anyone in the dust. And I could use lesson plans tailored specifically to each group’s learning style.
The classes wouldn’t even have to have even numbers. I can easily teach 50 students at a time, if they’re the “average” students, while teaching smaller classes of advanced and struggling students.
There are a lot of reasons why separating students by ability isn’t popular these days. I’m not saying that they’re good reasons, or that I agree with them. I’m just saying that there are reasons that exist.
Still, it would help de-frustrate teachers to have fewer mixed-ability classes, and more mono-ability ones.
That was me. I worked for a biotech firm that was cutting costs. I was a corporate recruiter. People were being laid off. My only HR colleague left because he had to do all the firing as the big boss didn’t want to do the dirty work, he was also never in the office. That left me having to fire the employees which I hated doing but there was no one else to do it.
I had to fire the finance manager, it was year-end and we had to do merit raises and bonuses. The payroll manager didn’t know to calculate the merit increases based on the allocated budget and bonuses. The company was going to ask Ernst & Young to calculate this but the CEO rejected this as the cost was enormous. The CFO didn’t know how to calculate this so he asked me to calculate this.
this task can be done manually but it would have taken weeks as there were over 200 employees. I downloaded ADP salary data and created an Excel template using formulas to allow scenario analysis as there were lots of changes. (fighting between managers on merit and bonuses) This took a whole week but I completed it on time to pay the employees.
It was yearend and I had to fire most of the salespeople, the new sales manager cleaned house. After I fired the last person my boss called me in to fire me. He said sorry we have to cut costs, you’re a great recruiter but we won’t be hiring anyone next year.
Well, this was the first time in my life to get fired. I was very upset but luckily I found a good job in 2 weeks and I was working. A month later I get a call. They had lost key employees in the IT department and had struggled to find anyone. They wanted me to help. I had started a side business – a staffing agency so I said I will work on commission which they agreed. In 45 days I completed 2 searches and billed my former employer 45K. This took about 40 hours of my time. The fee is 20% of the annual base salary. I made more money that year than any other year.
They wanted to hire me back but I was upset that they fired me in the first place so I did not go back.
At the end of the year, they called me to ask me how to use the spreadsheet that I created. No one could figure out the formulas to change the parameters.
I said no, why don’t you call Ernst & Young?
An unfiltered conversation on why I live in china now, what china is like for indians, college, etc
“Thank you for sharing your insights. I agree with you, China is much safer for walkability and touring. I stayed 1 year in China and nobody ever gave me any problems and everyone was so hospitable and friendly. India tends to be more lawless in many ways compared to China. I still love India though! Jai Hind”
Oh, sure, it might still happen, but it is increasingly unlikely with each month. The risk and threat level has passed.
The owners of the American “leadership” realize that alternatives to a global conflict with Russia, China and their buddy nations is not going to happen, as the USA would be smashed by catastrophic blows.
We are now is the LONG-SLIDE towards reconstruction surgery of the world’s governance system. The rest of the world are puking out the Western ideals, and governance. This pooling mess of hot blood stained vomit which going to get obvious and very unsightly as time progresses.
Most of the MM readership will be spared for horrific consequences that many of the West will need to endure.
The “news” will present a real mess. But, do not fall for that.
Everything is starting to settle out. It will appear that the world is in one giant blender, but that is not the full story. There is a sorting going on. There will be winners and losers. But it will not be like many fear.
The world War 3, started in 2007 (with the breakdown of American society) and the global war that started in 2014, peaked in 2022. A bit early. Welcome to the reconstruction phase.
…
I would now like to compare what we experienced with what John Titor has to say…
American civil war and breakdown
Titor said 2004, and fought in 2011
I observe / claim it began around 2007
“There is a civil war in the United States that starts in 2005. That conflict flares up and down for 10 years.“
World War 3
Titor said nuclear strikes occurred in 2015
I claim that it began in 2014. No nuclear strikes but a biological assault on china in 2019. NATO hot war with Russia in 2022.
“In 2015, Russia launches a nuclear strike against the major cities in the United States (which is the “other side” of the civil war from my perspective), China and Europe. The United States counter attacks. The US cities are destroyed along with the AFE (American Federal Empire)…thus we (in the country) won. The European Union and China were also destroyed. Russia is now our largest trading partner and the Capitol of the US was moved to Omaha Nebraska.“
I went to Europe early this year. Paris, Rome and Barcelona. I asked my wife “Where do they hide the fat people?” Things I noticed:
I did not see anyplace that was “all you can eat”.
The food I bought in the street was fresh and delicious. The strawberries were the size of grapes but so delicious and were meant to be eaten right away meaning no steroids or preservatives. I had some Brie cheese and I could taste the cow.
Food portions were small but I never left a table hungry.
My Fitbit said I met my goals as far as number of steps taken: at least 10,000 per day. In Positano, Italy it said I climbed the equivalent of 60 floors. In the US, I barely make 3,000.
Refrigerators are small. You don’t buy two weeks worth of food full of preservatives so they still look good after two weeks. We bought everything we needed to eat each day.
You walk everywhere. Burn those calories.
Netanyahoo’s Strategic Dilemma
Israel is a colonial settler state in permanent conflict with the suppressed natives.
It thought it could survive in that state, or even extend its settlements, by deterring opposing forces with its superior military.
Hamas has breached that deterrence myth by inflicting, in one day, more casualties in Israel than it had experienced in any previous wars.
Natanyahoo is under pressure to restore the deterrence, to again provide the Zionists with a feeling of superiority.
He can not do that.
Any land attack in Gaza means urban warfare in an already destroyed city with large underground facilities. During the taking of Bakhmut the Wagener forces had in total some 40,000 casualties (dead and wounded). The other side had more than 70,000. What price would the IDF have to pay to ‘destroy Hamas’?
The other factor is of course Hizbullah and other resistance groups, which may well attack Israel from the north and various other directions. Hizbullah has loudly said it would do so should the IDF enter Gaza. It has some 100,000 missiles – more than enough to exhaust Israel’s air defenses. Its longest reach missiles can attack any major city within Israel. There have already been daily fire exchanges at the norther border.
The 2006 war in Lebanon has shown that Hizbullah is dug in and very able to defend itself. It has since gained more experience by fighting ISIS in Syria. Neither U.S. air force attacks nor a land force invasion can hinder Hizbullah from firing its missiles.
(Syria, as well as Iran, will not intervene in the war unless they are directly attacked.)
Netanyahoo must attack Gaza to restore deterrence. He can not attack Gaza because the urban warfare would cause large Israeli casualties. He can not attack Gaza because Hizbullah would then destroy the myth of the superior settler state even more than Hamas has done so far.
Israel, with the help of the U.S., has tried to push the population of Gaza into Egypt. From Egypt’s standpoint that would be a humanitarian solution, at least as long as others pay for it. But it would cause a serious strategic problem. Resistance by Hamas and others against Israel would continue indefinitely, but Egypt would be held responsible for it. It can not and will not take on that burden.
Netanyahoo’s next idea was to starve Gaza. But the world will not let him do that. At least not beyond a certain point. Even the UN Secretary General has visited the Rafah crossing. Other global organizations, like the WHO and ASEAN, have spoken up. Pictures of starving people will make it impossible for the west to support that ‘solution’.
Meanwhile Hamas fighters will continue to sit in their tunnels, ready to defend their land, and likely with enough provisions to hold out for months.
Israeli settlers, with the support of the IDF, are rampaging through the West Bank. They are killing more Palestinians and further enrage the global public against their deeds. This will escalate.
Israel’s decision making is paralyzed. It will for now continue to talk of a ground invasion but will not launch one. It will also continue to starve Gaza.
But something will soon break. At any minute there might be a new large atrocity in Gaza or a pogrom in the West Bank. Any miscalculation in the north could launch that front into a hot war. Hizbullah could start to ‘preemptively’ invade Israeli proper.
But Israel’s Jewish public is still demanding a war of revenge. It still needs the restoration of its deterrence and superiority.
But what if that turns out to be impossible to achieve?
Well. Then something else must change.
As Adam Shatz summarizes in the London Review of Books:
The inescapable truth is that Israel cannot extinguish Palestinian resistance by violence, any more than the Palestinians can win an Algerian-style liberation war: Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs are stuck with each other, unless Israel, the far stronger party, drives the Palestinians into exile for good. The only thing that can save the people of Israel and Palestine, and prevent another Nakba – a real possibility, while another Holocaust remains a traumatic hallucination – is a political solution that recognises both as equal citizens, and allows them to live in peace and freedom, whether in a single democratic state, two states, or a federation. So long as this solution is avoided, a continuing degradation, and an even greater catastrophe, are all but guaranteed.
The Steel Casings used in 60% of the Missiles on earth comes from China
It’s either Grade 7 Or Grade 8 Customized Light Steel Alloy Plate (LSAP)
It can be used for reinforcing I beams or making missile casings
Likewise the Electronics for basic primitive rockets almost entirely come from China
They can all be purchased retail across the market and can be used for do it yourself drones to basic rockets capable of 40–50 km range depending on the fuel thrust
I know because that’s the justification China gave when the West said Russia was being provided with Chinese weapons
China said – we give the steel, the basic raw materials and chips. How the Russians use them isn’t our business
They can be used to make Deep Freezers or can be used in basic rocketry
The Hamas likely buy their raw materials from China on the open market by playing secondary orders from Saudi or Turkey
Delivery comes through Jordan or Egypt
It’s just basic steel plate and basic electronics, so nobody cares what it’s being used for
Chemicals also flood through Egypt into Gaza from China.
Chemicals that can be used to make explosives but also ball point pen ink
So China never sells Weaponry to Hamas
The Hamas uses Chinese Raw Materials and makes their own primitive, crude but effective weaponry
Advanced guidance electronics come from Iran
Chinese won’t go that far to sell more advanced electronics to Hamas. These have END USER CERTIFICATES and if Jordan or Egypt sell such electronics to Hamas , they will get into a lot of trouble.
You may convince the world Hamas is making ball point pens and cheap electronic stuff
Can’t convince the world, Hamas is building EVs or High Altitude Drones right?
Plus plenty of Drones come from Iran who have a near independent supply chain and some of the finest reverse engineering on earth
Iran also supplies a lot of Missiles but that’s mostly to Hezbollah
Plus a third source is from Ukraine via the BLACK MARKET through the Balkans
A $ 55,000 box of 10,000 Rounds of 9 Ammunition sells for upto $ 400,000 on the black market without an end user certificate
Hence a Ukrainian Unit could remove 50 Boxes and sell them for $ 20 Million and pocket the entire sum
Who will audit or count the rounds every day?
$ 20 Million is CHUMP CHANGE for Saudi Billionaires or Emiratis or Qataris
That’s 500,000 Rounds of 9 mm Ammunition
That can sustain gunfire for 50 days at 10,000 rounds and day and kill at least 400–500 Israelis
A $ 1250 tagged M14 Rifle goes for upto $ 5000 In the black market , so a corrupt Ukrainian unit happily sells 1000 Rifles for $ 5 Million and claims the rifles were damaged
So
A. They buy raw materials from China and build their own rockets and other stuff like chemical explosives
B. They get Drones and Better Chips from Iran
C. They get other stuff from black markets and other war surplus from Europe
Real Texas Chili
This classic Texas chili (no beans, no onion, no tomatoes) was created by native Houstonian Carter Rochelle, a professional fund-raiser. Former New York Times food editor Craig Claiborne once pronounced this chili his favorite and published the recipe in two of his cookbooks.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Serve with pinto beans and chopped onion on the side to mix in as desired. Serve with crackers, tortilla chips, warmed flour tortillas or corn bread.
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless beef stew meat (chuck or round)
6 ounces beef suet (hard white fat), cut into pieces (see note)
3 or 4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 to 6 tablespoons chili powder, or to taste
8 tablespoons Masa Harina (Mexican corn flour)
6 cups hot water
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon or beef bouillon cubes
Red chiles, crushed or dried and chopped, to taste (optional)
Instructions
Remove gristle and most of fat from meat; cut into 1/2 inch or smaller cubes (some of the beef should be chipped or flaked).
Place suet in large skillet or heavy kettle and render it (cook until fat melts).
Skim residue off rendered suet; discard residue.
Add meat to hot fat and sauté until lightly browned.
Add garlic, salt, black pepper and chili powder. Mix well and let seasonings permeate meat a few minutes.
Sprinkle in Masa Harina and mix, stirring rapidly until smooth.
Add water, vinegar, bouillon and chilies. Reduce heat and simmer until meat is very tender; some of the meat should virtually dissolve into the chili.
If chili becomes too dry while cooking, add a little water from time to time.
Correct seasonings.
When done, skim fat from surface. (You can refrigerate overnight and scrape hardened fat off before reheating.)
Notes
Because of health concerns, many chili cooks substitute 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup vegetable oil or shortening for rendered beef suet, which is a highly saturated fat.
Originally Answered: If a startup has a great product why don’t people buy it still?
Startup mistake:
“I have a great product. Come and buy it!”
“I have the best business idea. You should invest in it!”
“My product is the best in the market. I deserve your money!”
—
I’ve made this mistake so many times, it’s painful!
It’s probably one of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when starting their business.
The challenge is to make decisions RATIONALLY, not emotionally.
Entrepreneurship is complex because we act on our emotions, but we should make all decisions with data. Without the proper guidance and discipline, it’s very easy to make mistakes.
Now, there’s no negative judgment of failures, just lessons and growth. You’d be surprised, though, how history repeats itself over and over again down through the ages. The most successful companies and entrepreneurs have learned this the hard way.
Examples:
1957 — Ford Edsel
Ford invested $400 million into the car, but Americans wanted smaller, more economic vehicles. FAILED.
1975 — Sony Betamax
Sony kept Betamax proprietary, meaning that the market for VHS products quickly outpaced Betamax. FAILED.
1985 — New Coke
The “Pepsi Challenge” ads were responsible for Coca-Cola trying to create a product that would taste more like Pepsi. FAILED.
1993 — Apple Newton
Apple’s great idea was ahead of its time. The technology wasn’t there yet. FAILED.
2006 — Microsoft Zune
The Zune was targeted to take over Apple’s iPod. It didn’t. FAILED.
2006 — HD-DVD
HD-DVD was the hi-def replacement to DVD, but Sony led with Blu-ray built into their Playstation console. FAILED.
2009 — The Nook
Amazon’s Kindle is cheaper and syncs up easily with Amazon’s account. FAILED.
2014 — Amazon’s Fire Phone
Amazon’s Fire Phone released in 2014 looked competitive. Amazon discontinued the phone 13 months after its launch. FAILED.
2019 — Google+
“Google+ was one of the most ambitious bets in the company’s history,” Eric Schmidt wrote in his book, How Google Works. It was believed that it would be a Facebook killer. FAILED.
To answer your question, if a startup has a great product, why aren’t people still buying it?
People don’t buy products or services — they buy results, benefits and solutions.
PUSHING your products and services to the consumer is a recipe for failure.
Startups commonly fail because they waste their most scarce resource (cash) on advertising and promotions. The ‘in’ reality is that marketing goes in one ear and right out the other.
Solution?
Figure out your niche in the market; DON’T try to sell to everyone.
Understand their hurts and their frustrations. Why is it that they will buy your product? Example: people don’t buy eyeglasses, they buy vision, the benefit!
Learn to feel like them to a point to deeply understand them.
Communicate their problem in their language. Listen to them, don’t guess what they want — talk to them. What you think they need is very commonly notwhat they want.
He was irritated to come out to a secretary’s desk and find she wasn’t yet seated. She was in the lounge putting away her coat and then fixed herself a cup of coffee, and she sat down at 8:36 — instead of 8:30.
It happened to be a morning of extreme stress and he really needed all hands on deck that morning. Got it, but he was very short-sighted. The 6 minutes didn’t change the course of the day, but his Memo to Staff certainly did.
He circulated a memo to all staff which said something to the effect of:
“The day begins at 8:30. Not 8:36, or 8:40, or when you found a parking space, or when the coffee was ready. If you need more time, plan your day accordingly and make your cup of coffee, and find your spot, and hang up your coat, earlier than normal. 8:30 means in your seat, at your desk, ready for the day’s work to begin. Not coming through the door.”
Okay — we got it. Well, I was a paralegal at the time, and I put in SO many more hours than the 40 hours I was paid for. I arrived early, left late, frequently delayed lunch, often didn’t take breaks on busy days preparing for trial.
His memo so back-fired, that every single employee was grumbling, not just the secretary. As it happened, I was the most affected (in a positive way, actually) by this policy memo because I was the staff member who had the MOST lost-time from working beyond my schedule. I was never late, so he didn’t have a problem with me, but he also abused my time more than anyone else. There were months where I never took so much as a coffee break. Often ate lunch at my desk while working. Seldom left at closing time. Often came in on Saturdays or Sundays to help get ready for Mondays. I just always shrugged it away and took it as “part of the industry.” A trial litigation practice is stressful and schedules need to be fluid.
He didn’t appreciate that, so we responded as a group of 16 employees with total solidarity.
We were AT our desks at 8:30 a.m. We LEFT our desks promptly at 5:30. We took our breaks and our lunch hours exactly on time.
It was a disaster.
I was the first to respond. “Sorry, I can’t help right now. My lunch is 12 to 1, and I have to stand up at 12, and sit back down at 1, so this copy project would make my lunch “12 ish to 1 ish.” I’ll start on this at exactly 1:01 p.m., when I’m back at my desk.”
I also left at exactly 5:30 p.m. I stood up, put the cover on my typewriter, and cleared my desk. He said “Can you just—-” and some paperwork in his hands.
“No, I’m sorry. My day begins promptly at 8:30 and ends exactly at 5:30. I’ll help with that tomorrow.”
I left.
Everyone did the same. All week.
“No I’m sorry, I’m required to take a 10 minute break in this hour.”
“No, I’m sorry, my lunch begins in 15 minutes at 12:00, and that’s 30 minutes of dictation you want transcribed. I’ll begin exactly at 1:00 when I’m IN MY SEAT and AT MY DESK.”
He realized the petty nature of his Memo to Staff within 2 business days, and sent around an apology memo within a week of disastrous results.
He then sent us all out for an extended lunch of 2 hours — on the house. He didn’t come.
His memo said “Go complain about your boss over a 2 hour lunch — on me.”
Oliver Anthony – I’ve Got To Get Sober | REACTION!
I had a friend who I knew smoked Marijuana among other things. I chose not to partake of any of this so he would walk away do his thing then come back. No big deal… well it had a few months since we had been able to hang out and decided to meet up at a local festival. I was having gall bladder issues at that time. The day we were to meet I was in the middle of a very severe “attack” but chose to go anyway because I missed him so much. I told him this when I arrived. After about 2 or so hours he said he wanted to go “smoke” so I sat listening to a band while I waited. And waited… and waited. Over an hour waiting on him while I was very sick and in pain. I finally left. I later found out that he decided to go drop acid instead. He forgot I was there because he was so messed up. That was the last time I saw him. If drugs are more important than our friendship then I don’t need you in my life.
David Cross: Why America Sucks at Everything – US American Reacts
I LOVE YOUR TINY LITTLE VOICE, WHY DON’T YOU SAY IT LOUDER FOR MY FRIEND TO HEAR TOO?
Drill Instructor Sergeant Ferry was the most merciless individual ever known to man. He would punish you for something as simple as not sitting properly and play mind games with recruits just to kill time. Sergeant Ferry had little tolerance for any sort of discretion and was the most hated man out of all the Drill Instructors in our platoon since he was the designated disciplinarian or otherwise known as the Kill Hat.
During Recruit Training, there was one particular class where we were educated on the benefits of knowing a foreign language then told to sign up to take the Defense Language Proficiency Test, if we claimed to be bilingual. I signed up to take the DLPT for Vietnamese and was promptly removed for one entire morning along with a few other recruits from other platoons to take the exam. The Drill Instructor escorting us to the Receiving Building where testing was held, was none other than Drill Instructor Sergeant Ferry.
While we were waiting for the proctors to set up the computer lab, Sergeant Ferry had a few remarks for us.
“If you pass this test, you will earn the chance to get paid extra money every month, and probably go on missions requiring speakers of your language.” he growled.
“Be the one to fail and I will make sure your life is absolutely miserable when you return to your platoons.”
Luckily for me, I passed the DLPT and could not have been happier as I walked back to my platoon’s squad bay alone after a well deserved lunch.
Later on that evening in a rare moment of sanity, Sergeant Ferry was loudly lecturing the platoon on the importance of being a well-rounded Marine. At some point in his speech he said, “IF YOU KNOW A SECOND LANGUAGE LIKE VIETNAMESE, YOU CAN GET PAID FOR IT IF YOU PASS A QUALIFICATION TEST AND GET EXTRA MONEY IN YOUR PAYCHECK EVERY MONTH!!”
While he did not mention my name at all, I felt that was his way of saying “Good job Vu for passing the exam!” without stating the obvious.
After completing the Crucible a month later at Camp Pendleton, the contract Private First Class Marines in the platoon were asked on which Drill Instructor they would like to pin them in the promotion ceremony that was held before our Warrior’s Breakfast. I chose Sergeant Ferry to pin me as a PFC.
As he was pinning on the chevrons onto my collar, Sergeant Ferry said in a hoarse voice, “Getting promoted to Private First Class and getting paid extra for speaking Vietnamese? I’m damn proud of you Vu”.
He shook my hand with an iron grip and I felt humbled as he walked to the next Marine.
Is China’s WhitePaper a global rescue plan or a global threat?
It’s a great question, there is a new White Paper and China is “threatening” to lead the world into a different place – who benefits and how?
I’m a nurse. When I was a mere student (many years ago now), I was doing my stint in A&E (ER for my American friends). It was a Saturday night. I had requested it specifically, as I wanted to see some “exciting” cases. I was put onto triage with a qualified nurse, to see how the system worked.
The department I worked in was in the city center, so a lot of “walk in” patients. About 8pm, in walked 2 young lads in their late teens, early 20’s. One with a broken nose, the other with a possible fractured jaw. They had been “set upon by a group of guys in the city”. They were seated, awaiting X-ray. We also informed the special constable on duty attached to the department (auxiliary police) about a possible assault case.
About an hour or so later, an old guy in his late 70’s to early 80’s walked in. He had what we call a “boxers fracture”.. basically, a fracture of the hand that is normally sustained by punching something. What we found interesting, is that the old guy was not medically trained, but came to us saying “I’ve got a bloody brawlers fracture, haven’t I?”. How did he know? He said he had been “set upon” by two young lads who had tried to mug him.
Well, I finished my shift, went home and on Monday morning heard the rest of the story.
The old man and the two young men had seen each other in the X-ray dept. The old man had started shouting, saying “those are the ones that attacked me”. The police had been called, the two men questioned and arrested.
A week later, I came in for one of my last shifts in the department and, in the staff room, there was a newspaper cutting from the local press saying something along the lines of “Hurricane Harry wins his final bout”.
The old man, at about 84, had only just stopped training local boxers. He was an ex prizefighter, had been an army middleweight champion during the war and devoted his life to boxing. Set upon by two young lads, he decided to teach them a lesson in respecting your elders haha.
China’s First 28nm Lithography Tool to Be Delivered This Year
Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE), China’s most successful lithography scanner manufacturer, reiterated plans this week to deliver its first scanner capable of producing chips on a 28nm-class fabrication process by the end of the year, reports TechWire Asia, citing newspaper Securities Daily, which in turn cites an unnamed source.
For SMEE, its SSA/800-10W scanner is a breakthrough since the most advanced scanner that the company has today is only capable of 90nm and thicker fabrication processes. A 28nm-capable lithography tool will over time enable Chinese chipmakers to rely on domestic lithography equipment for a range of mature technologies.
The move is part of China’s broader goal to achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency and reduce its dependence on foreign technology. But the question remains as to whether SMEE can produce this scanner in mass quantities, and when it can make such scanners available to substitute for machines from ASML, Canon, and Nikon.
The latest export regulations from the U.S. government prevent Chinese chipmakers from accessing tools and technologies essential for creating non-planar transistor logic chips under 14nm/16nm dimensions, 3D NAND chips with over 127 active layers, and DRAM ICs with a half-pitch smaller than 18nm. Restrictions from the Netherlands, Japan, and Taiwan that went into effect earlier this fall further isolated Chinese firms like SMIC and YMTC from advanced tools. These limitations impede their ability to produce chips using their newest manufacturing processes, notably SMIC’s 14nm/12nm and 2nd generation 7nm as well as YMTC’s 128-layer and 232-layer 3D NAND.
As a result, China needs advanced domestic lithography tools to ensure that its chipmakers can produce chips on even fairly advanced process technologies, such as 14nm. For now, it looks like Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment is on track to reveal its 28nm-capable SSA/800-10W scanner, which it will ship either to SMIC or a chip research intitute.
After it does this, it will still take some time for the chipmaker to integrate the new scanner into its production flow. However, it will only do this only if SMEE can produce a sufficient number of such tools.
There is a myth that is way popular. It’s not a myth, actually, it is a myth within a myth.
Myth-ception.
You must have heard this statement before: “NASA invested $1,000,000 to develop a pen that works in space, while Russia used a pencil.”
Why did I say this is a “Myth within a Myth” (Myth-ception)?
Here, I’ll explain:
Facts that show that the statement is a myth:
Before a proper Space-Pen was developed, astronauts from both the USA and Russia used pencil in space.
NASA never spent the $1,000,000 to develop a pen that works in zero-gravity of outer space by themselves.
Russia itself, along with the USA, uses a space-pen today.
The fact that busts the myth present within the myth:
A normal pen can work in space!
Who told you that a normal ballpoint pen won’t work in space?
Let me explain it to you properly.
In the initial days of space flight, scientists were unsure about whether or not normal pens would work in the hostile conditions of outer space. And the capsule in which astronauts were sent into space had very little space to send only the essential stuff. So, they couldn’t send some normal pens along with pencils just to try.
They couldn’t risk the situation by sending only pens instead of pencils. What if an astronaut inside the ISS (International Space Station) takes a pen but it doesn’t work? There is no stationery shop floating outside the station to buy another pen or a pencil. If the pen they took wouldn’t have worked, no instruments would be available to write.
Hence, all of the astronauts had to take pencils with them. No pen was given a chance.
In 1967, during the launch rehearsal test of the 1st Apollo mission, a cabin fire took place. This fire killed all of the three astronauts present in that crew.
After this incident, engineers tried eliminating all of the flammable items in any space mission. The pencil was one of them.
But what do you use if a pencil is eliminated?
Then NASA turned towards the man named Paul C. Fisher. This man had patented an “Anti-Gravity” ballpoint pen in 1966.
Fisher was the person, who invested his own $1,000,000 to make a space-pen, independent of any organization. NASA approached his company after the pen was launched.
Now, some people think that the pen itself costs a lot. But the thing is, the cost of a million dollars was spent to make the pen. NASA actually bought the pens for a cheaper price (around $6 per pen).
Now I will come to why we don’t use normal pens in space (even if we can).
What I think is, after reading all of this history, people just assumed that normal pens don’t work in space. But the situation is a bit different.
I did an analysis of the mechanism of all types of pens and came to an amazing conclusion.
For you to understand that, you will have to know how a space pen works. And for you to know how a space pen works, I will have to explain how a normal pen works.
Basically, pens are divided into 5 main categories:
Fountain pen
Rollerball pen
Felt tip pen
Ballpoint pen
Gel pen
Now, I will tell you the mechanism of each type of pen.
Fountain pens
To understand its mechanism, it can be divided into three parts:
The Nib
The Feed
The Reservoir
Structure of a regular Fountain pen
To know how things look in real, I broke my own ink pen:
I’ll explain the function of these three parts, starting with the reservoir.
The reservoir contains a cartridge which holds ink. This part is broad and the ink can move independently under the action of gravity. The job of this section is to hold ink and supply it to the feed.
A pipe starts from the reservoir and it sends ink to the feed.
This pipe has 4 thin channels — 3 for ink and 1 for air.
Now you would ask, “Why a channel for air?”
Well, let me make it clear with an example.
Take a plastic bottle and fill it with water. Make a tiny hole on the cap. Invert the bottle so that the cap is facing down.
Does water start flowing? NO.
That is because of the atmospheric pressure (air stops the flow from below). It is just like pressing the hole with a finger. Water won’t flow out of the hole (even if gravity is supporting you in this case).
You will have to squeeze the bottle to get water out of it.
The reason for the water not flowing out is the absence of air above. If water gets out of the hole, a vacuum will be created above (since the water level has to go down). We know that this is impossible. There must be some way, by which air will be filled in the upper section as the water level keeps moving down.
You can do this by making a hole above (on the base of bottle). Now, water will keep flowing from the hole made on the cap (without squeezing the bottle).
As water moves out from the hole, the water level keeps decreasing from above – this leads to the formation of vacuum – which, in turn, sucks air from the opposite hole.
A similar mechanism is used in the Fountain pen.
The only difference is that – the hole for air is made near the same point, where the three holes for ink flow are made (instead of making one on the opposite).
When you glide the nib on the paper, ink flows out from the three channels and air keeps getting from one channel. This air goes through the feed and reaches the reservoir. (This way, the air is filled in the space emptied by the loss of ink.)
Hence, constant flow is maintained.
Here is the structure of the feed:
Structure of the feed
The feed consists of three parts:
Wings
Fins
Post
I have mentioned the function of each in the image.
Here is the structure of the nib:
Structure of the Nib
I have mentioned the main components, with their functions, in the image.
Now, coming to the main point.
Why did I mention that there are 3 thin channels for ink in the feed?
That is because these channels introduce Capillary Action in the fountain pen. The movement of ink through these channels happen due to capillary action, and not gravity.
See, the two components that drive ink downwards, inside a fountain pen, are:
Gravity — inside the reservoir (Because it is broad, hence, no capillary action can take place).
Capillary action — inside the thin channels of the feed (Because they are way thinner).
When the ink exits the feed, it enters the slit of the nib. The slit is also very thin. Hence, the ink flows from the breather hole to the tip of the nib, by Capillary action, again.
My point here is to explain that if we use this pen in a zero-gravity spaceship, it is bound to work for some time (thanks to the capillary action). But… once the feed is emptied, the pen will stop to work. The ink in the reservoir (cartridge) will keep floating and won’t come down.
Also, there is another big disadvantage of taking a fountain pen to space.
You must remember the role of air in the functioning of an ink pen (as I have mentioned above). We know that a spaceship has an oxygen supply. But, if an astronaut takes a fountain pen outside the spaceship, the absence of the atmosphere will make the pen function-less.
Coming to the Rollerball pens:
This type is said to be invented in 1888.
The most common example of this kind of pen is Trimax.
To understand the internal structure of this pen, I had to break my own pen.
This answer required a high budget. LOL.
The upper section of my Trimax (a rollerball pen). The Feed and The Nib
You can see that this pen has a lot of similarity with the fountain pen.
To show you how all of the parts of this pen look, in detail, I used my simple microscope to zoom at each part of the Feed and Nib:
A detailed structure of a Rollerball pen. The visible parts were zoomed and pictured using my simple microscope.
You can see that the Fins part of the feed is similar to a fountain pen.
The main difference is created by the Post and the Nib.
Instead of having a pipe with four channels, the post of this pen is a porous substance, which transfers ink by suction.
This porous material was inserted in these pens, during their invention period, for easy writing on rough surfaces.
The Nib is the same as the ballpoint pen. I will explain the structure of the ballpoint Nib in the section of how ballpoint pens work.
I removed the ballpoint nib of this pen and this is what I was inside:
Inside the Nib of a rollerball pen. (Imaged under my simple microscope). It is the same extended porous material (that caries ink). Just a metal nib is added over it.
We don’t need a separate channel for air since the refill of the pen is open from above.
Talking about this pen to be used in space:
We can say that the flow of ink can happen in the absence of gravity, through a suction-based cloth type material. But the main issue is the Water-based ink used in this type of pens.
Water-based ink has a very low cohesive force. That is, the molecules in that ink aren’t attracted to each other at a large scale. So, we can’t assure a constant flow of ink. The pen may stop writing at a point.
Coming to the Felt-tip pen:
Common examples are Regular sketch-pens.
The mechanism is way similar to that of rollerball pens. The flow of water-based ink is maintained through suction, using a similar porous material.
The only major difference that I could notice was — they don’t have a ballpoint nib.
I showed you how the nib of a rollerball pen looks when you remove the metal nib. That is exactly how a nib of Felt-tip pen looks. The nib is nothing but the same continued section of porous material.
Why can’t we use these pens in space: Same reason as with the Rollerball pen → the damn water-based non-viscous ink.
Coming to the main contestant — Ballpoint pens.
These pens have a simple structure. There won’t be a need to discuss the mechanism of a refill.
The only complicated part is — the ballpoint metal nib.
The mechanism of the Ballpoint metal Nib. I have labelled all of the parts, with their functions.
In the image, I have also explained the working of the ballpoint pen.
I won’t be discussing the gel pens because they have the same mechanism as that of ballpoint pens. The only difference is in the ink. Gel pens use Water-based ink.
Coming to the main issue:
Why can’t we use a ballpoint pen in space?
Who said that we can’t? We can!
In 2003, an astronaut named Pedro Duque took a normal ballpoint pen with him, to confirm the fact. He found that the ballpoint pen worked pretty fine. He wrote 4–6 paragraphs in his diary and the pen didn’t stop!
According to my analysis, this happened because of the Oil-based ink present in the refill of a ballpoint pen. This ink is highly viscous and sticks itself pretty well. Cohesive forces (among the molecules of this ink) is very high.
So, for the pen to work, we need a small driving force that could maintain the flow of ink. The Capillary action inside the thin nib is enough for it.
See, the refill of a ballpoint pen is thick and it can’t build a capillary action. On earth, this part relies on gravity.
But… when you take this pen to outer space (zero-gravity), the small section near the nib will suck the ink under capillary action. This will drive entire ink because of the “stickiness” of that ink. It will have a continuous flow.
Now you would ask, “Then why don’t we use normal ballpoint pens in space?”
The thing is, zero-gravity is not the only issue. There are other problems like extreme temperatures (cold and hot), UV radiation, lack of atmosphere outside the spaceship.
The issue is the same: If astronauts take normal ballpoint pens with them and they stop working somehow, there is no stationary shop floating outside the spaceship. We can’t risk. Hence, the space-pen was bound to be made.
The Space-Pen:
Paul C. Fisher spent his $1,000,000 to make a pen that overcomes all of the limitations of other pens.
Every pen has some drawbacks, which pose a risk to be dependent upon. I have tried to mention all of these drawbacks from my analysis.
This pen uses refills which contain pressurized nitrogen gas inside them. The pressure forces the ink out of the nib even in the absence of Gravity and Atmosphere.
The ink used in this pen is extremely viscous (like jelly). So, continuous flow is maintained even in zero-gravity.
Also, the materials used while manufacturing is chosen such that the pen can write even in extremely hot and cold temperatures. The shocking part is that this pen can also be used to write underwater.
So, here we are. At the end of the Myth-ception.
I hope that I was able to clear all of the myths, along with the myths present within the myths.
I’ll keep it simple. The US earns 1 trillion a year and spends 2 trillion right, they make up the shortfall by printing a trillion every year – they issue T bills. In the normal course of events printing the equivlent of your yearly GDP would create massive inflation and your economy would collapse.
However. The USD is used for most of the trade on the planet so all of that money gets to share the inflationary pressure – all countries suffer the inflation and so (given that all countries are ‘inflating’) there is no inflation. All of the currencies are inflating at the same rate.
When other countries (BRICS countries and more) move away from the USD that not only takes USD out of circulation (incresing inflationary pressure on what is left) but makes those (BRICS) countries more immune to the inflationary presssure.
So the problem that the US has with it is that it’ll totally fuck the US. Which is as it should be.
My ex-fiance’s mom and I were incredibly close. We used to spend all our time together when she visited, even when her son was at work.
Then, the heart-wrenching day came when I had to break the news about his infidelity. She was nearly as devastated as I was. We had planned our wedding for six months down the road, discussing every tiny detail with excitement. She often expressed how proud she was that I would officially become her daughter-in-law.
However, her son didn’t share her sentiments.
When we split, I never got to say goodbye in person because they lived far away. Within a week, I packed up and moved back to Spain to heal with my family. We exchanged messages, and she confessed that part of her was relieved we hadn’t met to say goodbye because she didn’t know how she would handle it.
Fast forward a year, we still keep in touch on WhatsApp (her son and I definitely do not!). I’m solo traveling in Australia, and she checks on me. She remembered my birthday and even shared what would have been my wedding day with me. She continues to be my mother-in-law in spirit.
This past Christmas, she sent me a message that brought tears to my eyes. In their family, everyone had a special bauble on her Christmas tree. She told me to add one because she considered me family. I bought a simple, beautiful one.
Christmas 2018, I thought about that bauble and how life changes. Two days later, she messaged me, asking about my trip to Bali for Christmas and New Years. She sent a photo of her beautifully decorated tree, saying, “Your bauble is still on my tree, and it will be every year xx.”
I was truly fortunate to have her as my mother-in-law.
Oliver Anthony is Single-Handedly Destroying the Recording Industry
Oliver Antony chose an unconventional path to fame and fortune. In the process, he showed other artists how to break the backs of the recording industry. All you need is strong vocals, a good message, and a Youtube channel to rake in millions of dollars without any censorship of your message.
My last name is not exactly common. Especially in northeast Ohio where I grew up. In the Cleveland area, if you know someone with the last name of Breaux, they are most definitely closely related to me.
So, there I was working for Geek Squad. I arrived at a client’s house to perform some kind of repair on an older guy’s computer. I introduced myself and we made a little small talk on the way back to his office. He pointed me to the office chair and told me a little about the problem. When I booted up the computer, it needed a password so I asked him to type it in.
“I’ll just tell it to you. You look trustworthy. You might want to write it down, though.”
I grabbed my notepad and a pen and nodded to him.
“B”
“R”
“E”
“A”
“U”
“X”
I just stared at him, confused and a little freaked out. Why was this guy’s password my last name?
I must have just looked confused because he chuckled and said “It’s my middle name. Strange, I know, but I was named after a close family friend growing up in Detroit.”
My jaw almost hit the ground. My dad and grandfather were born in Detroit, my Great Grandfather had moved there in the early 1920s. I was pretty sure he was the only Breaux that moved up from Louisiana at that time.
After I collected myself, I showed him my ID badge and his eyes lit up and he got a huge smile on his face. It turns out, it was my great grandfather that he was named after. He remembers my grandfather as a child and used to play with him when their dads would visit each other. After my he and my grandfather joined the military to fight in WWII, they lost contact and never spoke again.
I may have spent much more than my allotted time at that client’s house, but I got to hear stories of my grandfather as a child growing up in Detroit. I wouldn’t have traded those stories for any number of extra clients that day.
My pops was an active duty SEAL for the first 30 years of my life. Many (most?) of his closest friends are former SEALs. Many of my friends and acquaintances were also raised by frogmen.
Note: I’m going to speak in broad strokes here, but I’ll do so with care.
*Understood Incorrectly*
Strictness Speaking generally, yes, they are tough dads. But probably less strict than most Marine fathers or the expectation many of you have. Perhaps family life is a welcome break from a day job that involves being hard.
You learn respect early. Talking back isn’t tolerated. But it isn’t extreme. Most SEAL communities are teamwork oriented, there are levels of compassion and understanding that underlie their tough outer core.
Put simply, they teach their children a lot of lessons that don’t involve kicking the shit out of kids on the playground.
Lineage Most team guys don’t pressure their kids to become SEALs.
In fact, I can’t name a single son who followed in his father’s footsteps.
Why? Well, for one, it is an extreme career path. You need to be near-born with a desire, a calling, a primal urge to pursue it. Anything less isn’t enough.
I’ll further speculate, many fathers may feel the same trepidation that a pro athlete feels when they see their son also pursuing a pro-sports career.
They know that their kid may be setting themselves up for failure. With SEALs as with a pro sports career: most are not cut out out for the task in front of them.
Also, serving screws a lot of guys up. Physically and mentally, SEALs see a lot of bad things and have a lot of bad things happen to them.
Quick tip: when you find out someone’s dad is a SEAL, don’t let your first question be, “Why didn’t you join like him?” The question is beat to death.
*Understood Correctly*
Quiet Warriors They don’t talk about what they do. Never heard anything. And believe me, I’ve asked.
Philosophy Someone who joins the SEALs has an underlying belief that evil exists in this world. And that becoming a SEAL will give them the best opportunity to help rid the world of darkness, help protect the weak from those who would do them harm.
Tangent to that, being allowed to operate with (arguably) the most elite group on Earth, is a privilege. You’re given access to high-level equipment, training, and above all, the most talented peers available. Service is, again, seen as privilege.
Consequently, humility is a strong value among team members. I’ve seen that humility frequently passed down to their children.
Values Driven They tend to pass along a strong sense of values and orientation towards right and wrong (again good vs evil). Most are conservative. Many are also religious (Christian).
Physical Fitness Most SEAL families are indeed athletic. Staying physically fit was always held in high regard, a sign of work ethic and self-discipline.
Overall, it is a great experience. I’ve only lived one life (that I know of) and given the choice, I think I’d repeat.
The Chinese government treated its people way better that the U.S. treated its own people.
Let’s put things in perspective not be foolish to repeat US narratives on CCP, China and the Chinese people.
Freedom. The U.S. has 9 times more per million in jail than China! For a nation calling itself the land of the free, this is simply shameful. US has a law that disallow its people to drink a beer on the streets but allowed lethal military weapons and today the U.S. has more mass random shooting incidents in a week than China has in a decade! Freedom to shoot and kill but not free to drink a beer on the go! China allows you to drink alcohol and beer as long as you don’t disturb the peace but one is not allowed even a 4” blade in your pocket.
Living Standard. The U.S. has stopped growing in real living standards since 1960. Today it is fast deteriorating. Your inflation is 5 times higher than your income growth since 2020! The poor is getting poorer and up to a million live in tents on the streets. And 50 million has joined the poor from the middle class. China grew real standard of living 30 times in 40 years from 1980–2020 alone! China’s inflation is a shade below 2% and its growth is way past 6%! China’s middle class is today close to 700 million or more than twice the entire U.S. population!
Disparity of income. The Rich in the US is filthy rich and the poor is dirt poor. The U.S. has many companies which is too big to fail! Not China, even the richest man will be hold accountable and even the biggest company need to be held responsible. The U.S. 1% owns almost 90% of the wealth and the 99% share the 10%. The rich influence the government and dare I say owns the government! Not in China. People comes first.
Safety. In China one can roam the streets at 3 am in the morning alone! In U.S. chances of you being robbed or rape is very high. Even shot to death is likely. Cops in the U.S. can necked you to death and shoot you all due to the colour of your skin. If the cops don’t get you the racist or the mass random shooter can kill you anytime! If you lose your mobile phone. Chinese cops get it back to you within hours!
So grow up the U.S. government don’t care about you. They take care of big pharmaceutical companies and military industrial complex and National Rifles Association and weapons manufacturers! The U.S. government are put in place by these companies. They owned the government.
Travel and tourism. Chinas has more high speed railway than the entire world put together. US failed to complete 100 kilometres line from LA to San Francisco after 20 years. During this time China put up 120K miles of high speed railway! It is cheaper and more convenient to travel for everyone in China.
Free Medicine. China offers universal health coverage for everyone rich or poor. No one dies because the don’t have health insurance. The Rich pays more and the poor lays little or none. In the U.S. 35% of Americans. Cannot get treatment because they could not afford health insurance.
Free Education. In China if you kids qualify for college. Chinese government provide it free. In the U.S. your kids get into debts just for attending college!
Chinese government is so much better than the U.S. government in China. Admittedly one cannot attack their own capital like Trumps supporters did in Washington in China. But we don’t mind.
The Best Near-Death Experience I’ve Ever Heard
“The best NDE I’ve ever heard.” Rosemary Thornton had a near-death experience (NDE) while undergoing cancer treatment. She instantly found herself on the other side in a white room where she conversed with God and Angels before going to Heaven. Rosemary’s near-death experience (NDE) showed her what happens after death, what angels look like, and that there is life after death. Her near-death experience (NDE) provides more evidence/proof of an afterlife.
It is unconstitutional for the U.S. government not to recognize its debt and pay interest on it. After the Civil War, the Supremacy Clause and the 14th Amendment established an obligation for the federal government to recognize and pay its debts, even those incurred during times of insurrection or rebellion, such as the Civil War. This constitutional principle serves as a foundational element of the nation’s financial stability and credibility. Therefore, the US government must follow its own laws to pay the bonds owned by China.
The United States has not defaulted on the principal or interest payments of its government bonds. The U.S. government has a long-standing reputation for honoring its debt obligations, both to domestic and foreign bondholders. This commitment to debt repayment is a key factor in maintaining the country’s financial stability and credibility in the global financial markets.
To default on the interest payments for bonds held by China, the United States would need to amend the constitution, a process that has not occurred since 1992, and identify which bond is held by China, a task that is impossible to carry out. In addition, these actions carry severe repercussions for the United States, including the potential for substantial economic and financial upheaval, harm to its global standing, and interruptions in government services. China could respond by liquidating its entire bond holdings, causing a crash in the bond market. Given these considerations, it would be less painful for the U.S. to meet its obligations by relying on future inflation and higher interest rates while printing more money.
A new mom boards a city bus, holding her baby in her arms. She deposits her fare, and greets the bus driver.
The bus driver asks her how old her baby is. She turns the baby around so he can see it and says proudly, “Just a week old, sir”.
The bus driver takes a look at the baby and exclaims “Wow, that’s literally the ugliest baby I’ve ever seen!”
Crushed and angry, the woman walks down the aisle of the bus and finds a seat next to a man.
The man notices she’s fuming, and asks her “Ma’am, you seem upset. What’s the matter?”
“The bus driver just insulted me saying really mean things. He was not a very nice person at all.”
The man quickly replies, “Wow, I’m so sorry to hear that! Tell you what, you should go right back up there and give the bus driving jerk a piece of your mind and demand an apology. And while you do that, I’ll hold your monkey for you.”
First Time You Realized America Really Messed You Up – Part 1 – US American Reaction
The old man was walking with his wife at the local shopping mall.
He analyzed the latest Amazon’s Pop-Up Shop and searched for music products and couldn’t find any.
He continued to walk around and has a déjà-vu, “WOW! There’s a huge opportunity here!”
“What do you see, my love?” The old lady asked with eyes of admiration.
“Imagine how many people walk here everyday… everyone loves music, and there’s NO music store in all the shopping mall! I’m going to pushour son Luigi to open a music store here!”
Oh dear, you’re old but still a visionary genius! I’m sure Luigi will love the idea!”
They excitedly hurry home.
“Son! Sit down right now and listen to me! You won’t believe the amazing opportunity I just found. Your future is guaranteed if you follow my wise advice.”
“What are you talking about, Dad? Tell me about it,” Luigi asked, taking a seat.
“I WANT you to open a music store at our local mall!” Old Mario said with authority.
“But Dad… that doesn’t sound like a good business anymore,” Luigi refuted fearfully.
“Don’t you be disrespectful to your father’s wisdom, Luigi! He’s offering you an opportunity of a lifetime!” Mom interrupted.
“But people don’t buy music at a shopping mall any more, Mom. It doesn’t make sense!”
“You listen to and obey the wisdom of your father. All those grey hairs are there for a reason! Your dad has already got a line of credit for you.”
Luigi had a bad feeling about this, but with no other choice he had to trust his parents.
He goes to the bank and takes a 100,000 dollar loan under his name and opens the music shop.
Four years of hard work and no results. Luigi is devastated. The market has changed. People don’t buy music CDs or cassette tapes anymore.
Moral of the story?
Luigi invested 4 years of his life into this venture, lost everything and now has to start all over again, but now with a financial burden of $100,000 that he must repay over time.
Mom and Dad feel deeply disappointed about Luigi’s incompetence.
Devastated and confused about his inability to make a living, Luigi must continue living with his parents while he reinvents himself to find a decent job.
How will Luigi get out of this financial mess?
Now, to answer your question, which famous career advice will be abandoned 10 years from now?
“Go to college and pay with a student loan!”
The story above is obviously a sarcastic story of what’s happening to a whole generation of young adults.
Careers are changing, and parents are still forcing youngsters to study outdated degrees.
Jobs are changing, and parents don’t understand it.
Once graduated, many find themselves jobless and parents blame their child for incompetence.
Young adults need to start all over again to find a real path into the future, but now with a financial load that won’t go away.
At nearly $1.5 trillion, the student debt problem is out of control and will soon become a problem of historic proportions.
Elites ‘are in the grip of a pseudo-ideology of control’: Former CIA analyst
Former CIA analyst and Author Martin Gurri says the world is incrementally moving towards authoritarianism as elites embrace a fragmented “pseudo ideology of control”. Mr Gurri described protests as being “hollow ideologically”. “In the end, it’s the rule of experts, the rule of science, the rule of justice, as defined by the people in charge,” Mr Gurri told Sky News host James Morrow. “You need something to be that something; you can’t be something with nothing. “You’re not going to beat a pseudo ideology of control, until you work out an ideology of freedom.”
Many years ago I drove into NYC to visit a friend for the weekend. Sunday evening I started up my car to drive home and smoke came out of the front end, which is never a good thing. I called AAA and some thingamabob was busted (I don’t remember which part) and needed fixing in order to drive the car. Being a Sunday, not much was open, but I found a car repair place that could do the work, so I had my car towed there. They said yes they could fix the car, but mysteriously all the credit card machines were broken, so I’d have to pay cash. They wouldn’t even take a check. Of course ATMs had a limit to the amount of cash you could take out per day, and the daily amount was less than what was needed, so they said I had to stay in NYC until I had enough cash before they would do the repair. I felt like they were holding my car for ransom, but there was nothing I could do. Fortunately I could stay at my friend’s place, but this meant I had to take Monday off from work. There was something about this place which didn’t seem right, but I don’t know a lot about cars and I didn’t know what else I could do.
By Monday afternoon I had amassed enough cash for the expensive repair, which didn’t take long, and got on the road to drive home. I wasn’t too far from home when the new part stopped working and smoke came out of the car again. Once again AAA towed me, this time to my mechanic. He took one look at the part and told me they had installed an old broken down part instead of the new one I had paid for. He had to pull it out and now install the actual part I had paid for. I was furious. Fortunately he knew what agencies to report this to in the State of NY and said he’d prepare whatever statement was needed to support that I was ripped off.
The next day I started calling and filing reports and claims against this shoddy repair facility in NYC. So the agency that handles such things went there to get their records and while there noticed so many things that were in violation of standards that they ended up revoking their license and shutting them down! Also turns out they had had their eye on this place and my reports were the evidence they needed to put them out of business for good.
For good measure, they also got a certified check from the place not only returning all funds that I had paid, but also including all the costs I paid to my mechanic to actually do the correct repair as punitive damages.
So for ripping off an out-of-state woman, they ended up paying for my repair and getting their business shut down. Sometimes crime doesn’t pay. Revenge is sweet.
How much longer can a group of Nations keep threatening the world and sanctioning them unilaterally?
Of course everyone will take precautions
Russia started from 2014 itself. They bore the worst brunt of the sanctions from 2014 and it cost them almost $ 1 Trillion of GDP growth
That was a much tougher sanction package because Russia was completely unprepared
By Contrast in 2022, Russia was already slowly and surely capable of withstanding fundamental sanctions, had many alternate payment systems and had a very strong trade pact with China
They had 8 years to ensure their Dollar Assets and Euro Assets were buried cleverly and untraceable. They had 8 years to ensure that every dollar of western assets in Russia was monitored strongly
The present Sanctions package was a Joke without China. If China had stood apart, Russia would be in big trouble because it had no alternate currency buttress or payment system or all those wonderful industrial supplies and components
Luckily China realized that they were next in line and decided this was the time to stand strong with Russia
Once that happened, the Sanctions became near worthless to Russia but devastating to EU, UK and USA
Simple Example :- Russia refused to export Fertilisers to UK and US and shipped their entire stock to India and China. US immediately Comandeered all of the Canadian surplus and had no issues but UK suffered a 43% shortage and it’s translated in the shelves of supermarkets
Plus Obama, Merkel, Cameron were intelligent leaders who knew restraint
Biden, Blinken, Ursula, Scholz and Sunak don’t know their face from their arse.
Putin and Xi can cook them for breakfast and run rings and rings around them
This is probably the least known fact of World War 2, that you never have heard of, which is a shame because it’s quite interesting.
During WW2 millions of Poles became refugees after Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939. The Soviet Union deported almost a million Poles and sent to freezing Siberia, where many died.
As a result, hundreds of thousands of Poles decided to flee, and they did this by crossing the Caspian Sea from Russia to no other country than Iran!
Over 116,000 Poles sailed across the Caspian Sea. The majority docked in the port city of Pahlevi, where they were fed and quarantined because many were carrying lethal diseases such as malaria and typhus.
When Polish refugees were loaded on to trucks to relocate from Pahlevi to Tehran, some Iranians threw objects at them. The frightened refugees thought they were being stoned — but they soon noticed that the objects were not rocks, but rather cookies, candies, and food.
They were warmly welcomed by both the Iranian people and government. Hundreds of buildings were built to house them, and Polish schools, businesses, and cultural organizations were established.
These refugees now had clean beds and plenty of food, after they had spent years in freezing and disease-ridden conditions.
Despite Iran being a country under occupation by the British and Soviets, and even though starvation and poverty were widespread, the refugees were warmly welcomed and witnessed the famous Persian hospitality and kindness first-hand.
The Polish refugees were nourished more by the smiles and generosity of the Iranian people than by the food dished out by British and Russian soldiers
– Polish scholar, Ryszard Antolak
After the war, many Poles decided to stay in Iran and build a life for themselves here in Iran.
Tehran also has a Polish cemetery (called Dulab) which houses the graves of more than 2,000 Poles.
I had worked with Frank for many years. we did application support for an IMS based system and Frank knew that system inside and out. when the word came that there was going to be downsizing, Frank was the least likely one to be displaced. He got along with everyone and did the job better than anyone. The manager that had to decide the person to leave picked Frank because he challenged her on some topics and he was not very subtle. So on Friday Frank was let go and got a severance package. then it was announced that they would fill the open slot via a contractor. Frank knew the head of the consulting firm and called him up. the consulting firm hired Frank Friday afternoon and on Monday Frank was back doing his old job, getting paid 30% more, was hourly instead of salaried and worked from home instead of coming to the office. That manager lasted a few more years, but eventually she was let go as well. Frank was legend and everyone loved telling that story of how he was able to turn getting let go into a huge positive.
Taqueria Guacamole
Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
1 lemon, juiced
1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1 medium fresh jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
Coarse salt
Instructions
Halve avocados lengthwise around pit. Remove pit with a large spoon, then scoop out flesh into a bowl.
Squeeze the lemon juice into bowl.
Add tomato, onion, and jalapeno.
Mash guacamole with a fork to desired consistency.
Militarily? I would say on par, I know yanks will always say they are, but I don’t think so, a few years ago? Yes, definitely, but theses days,? Not any more, if they went to war? Neither could win, they will both be destroyed, actually in my view, the whole planet would be. Because it would definitely evolve into WW3, and the nukes will start flying.
industrially? Definitely China there is no doubt about that, simply because of numbers, and work ethics, they can build rings around the USA,
in technology? Also close on par, the USA might have a slight edge, but again it comes down to numbers, China just has so many more graduates.
so over all? I guess China gets the gold medal,
that’s the main reason why the USA is so toxic against China to try and keep them down, instead of improving themselves? They prefer to squash any competition, but this time it’s not working, their boot isn’t heavy enough, and the meddlesome bug is to tough.
AMERICAN COUPLE React To Americans Living Abroad: First Time U Realized America Really Messed You Up
In my early days of work whilst on a summer internship. I didn’t actually see anything… I learned about/lived it. A guy in my office was having personality difficulties with our boss. Basically, the guy was older, smarter, more approachable and more helpful to his co-workers and the boss resented it. The writing was clearly on the wall that the boss had it out for him so when the guy was fired it was hardly a surprise to anyone, particularly not a surprise to the guy that was fired. He packed up and left quietly.
Fast forward a week… the office was starting to smell pretty rank. Everyone was checking their desks for a ‘forgotten lunch’ and orders came down from the top that the fridge and break room needed to be cleared out and cleaned or you’d lose whatever it was that you had stored there. Being the summer intern that somehow became my responsibility. Nothing overly offensive was found that could be the cause.
Fast forward two weeks… the office was uninhabitable. Everybody was sent home. I think they were about ready to bring in corpse search dogs to see if they could locate the offensive smell.
At the end of the third week (since the firing… the week after we were told to leave the office) were were notified that we would be returning to the office the following Monday (I’m not sure if it was paid or unpaid… I was an unpaid intern so I just had to do the work I was given from the local university library. Other actual employees did maintenance work from home during this time, but I don’t think a lot of work got done.)
Long story short, the cause of the smell trickled down to everyone — somebody pushed one of the false ceiling panels up and deposited a bag of fresh prawns into the ceiling cavity to sit during that hot summer. Nobody claimed credit for it and no names were given, but the fired employee’s ex-clerk received a card from the fired employee telling the clerk that he’d moved on to another job and would be happy to serve as a reference should the need arise (I think the fired employee was trying to bring his clerk with him). The kicker was the card was one of those nostalgic 1950s cards with a giant photo of a shrimp cocktail on the front of it.
Think about this simple maths. The U.S. is indebted up to 34 trillion dollars now! Within 5 years chances it’s that it’s debt level will exceed 50 trillion dollars! That is almost a certainty.
5% of 50 trillion dollars is 2.5 trillion dollars just to service you loan! That means the entire U.S. government budget by that time goes to paying interest alone!
No more money left for welfare services, infrastructure spending, healthcare services and every war it get into it will need to print and create money without basis. Americans must bear this in mind before you vote in your next president. And before you think the U.S. and fight another perpetual war!
China SHOCKED US! New LW-30 Laser Defense Tech Introduced
As China continues to invest heavily in research and development, its laser defense systems have become increasingly sophisticated, capable of detecting and intercepting a wide array of targets, including drones, missiles, and even low-orbit satellites. Today’s episode will cover China’s laser defense technology.
Some disturbing stuff going down right now. The idiots in Washington DC are Hell-bent on war, and all of us are feeling like we are trapped in some kind of cage lashed to the back of a speeding car driven by a madman.
The West has gone completely koo-koo.
No shit.
In case you all haven’t noticed, I am not “reporting” or commenting on the insanity of the Middle East. It’s all a cluster fuck that I want no part of.
A long time ago, I owned one of the first Honda Accords. I had bought it new in 1977, and around 1984, the engine had a very bad oil burning problem. I was pulled over by a Metro Toronto Police constable, who gave me the choice of a ticket for “excessive smoking” or a visit to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment testing centre.
I chose the test, filled the engine with 50 w oil and while there was no smoke, the rest of the needles went fully to the right. Busted.
I was given a chance for a repeat, but knowing I would fail that one also, I put the car on the driveway, pulled the plates and used a borrowed vehicle. About a month after the missed test, a summons came in the mail to appear at the Provincial court one morning in the not too distant future.
I showed up early, and approached the clerk to find out where I should be and when. They never tell you that on the summons, just to appear. While talking the the clerk, a man walked up and was dealing with another of the clerks. I asked the clerk I was talking to “what the fine would be” if convicted. She didn’t know, and man beside me became interested in the matter. I had no idea who he was, but we kind of looked at the summons and neither of us could see anything about a fine. There was a little conversation; I assumed he was a lawyer, and we had a friendly chat. Court was starting shortly, and the fellow left, so I also went inside, told the bailiff I was there – important to do so, otherwise they might not call you for hours – and sat down.
At the stroke of 10:00 am, someone says “all rise” and in walks the Judge, the fellow I was talking to at the desk. Before the proceedings began, the Judge asked me if I had received an answer from the clerk. I told him that I had not, and then the proceedings began.
The Crown (prosecutor) presents the charge, an environmental offence, which he obviously felt was on par with burning down a forest or killing baby seals. Looking very smug, he sat down.
I am called forth, and I told the Judge that yes, the car had failed, but it was off the road and here are the license plates in my hand proving that it was no longer driving or polluting.
The Judge then asked the Crown what the minimum fine was for such an offence. The Crown responded that “the Ministry has a range up to $5000 for such an offence and the usual fine is this case would be $100.”
The Judge asked again about the minimum fine and the Crown repeated his same line. The Judge then asked “so there is no minimum fine?”
The Crown sheepishly answered “No sir” and the Judge turned to me and asked “the car is off the road?” and I responded affirmatively, at which point he said the charges were dropped as the intent of the law was to keep polluting vehicles off the road and obviously this had happened. Case dismissed!
I can’t say for sure, but there was a bit of smile from my new friend on the bench as I walked out of the court.
We’d just celebrated a diversity milestone as part of our quarterly meeting. It was one of those corporate cheerleading events where I stood in the back resisting the painful urge to roll my eyes.
“We are far more than a team of coworkers,” the CEO said, gesturing wide with his arms to the crowd, “We are a family.”
He was such a phony. The summit concluded and I went to the lunchroom. Right as I walked in, I stopped in the doorway and noticed something obvious that I hadn’t noticed before this diversity meeting.
All the white people were at their tables. All the black employees sat at another set of tables. Three Asian ladies sat at another. It was like we were living in the 1950s. And it wasn’t confined to this office. I still see this trend so often when I walk through malls, or along the sidewalk.
A similar phenomenon was observed on the set of Planet Of The Apes in 1968. The director noticed that during lunch, the people dressed as gorillas sat with other gorillas, chimps with chimps, and humans with humans. He described feeling a chill in the air and wondered if we were already in a dystopian sci-fi future. It even happened on the set of Babylon 5. People self-segregated according to their alien skin color.
This trend has long predated echo chambers, and it’s detrimental to your growth.
The closed network problem
The trend is called homophily, where we magnetize towards clusters of people similar to us. Race isn’t the only sorting mechanism. People sort by social class, age, political ideology, and even the type of music they listen to. And the unfortunate result is that we often live in a “closed network”. We sort ourselves into increasingly tight homogeneous groups.
A closed network forms in these four steps and I suspect you’ll be able to think of a few examples as you read this (I certainly did):
Putting all moral platitudes aside, social diversity has great predictive qualities for your career and life.
Count on one hand your closest friends. I’d bet that for many of you — they are pretty similar to you across a few demographic touchpoints. It’s no fault to you. This happens naturally, but you can disrupt this habit.
By mixing up your friend group, you are exposed to ideas different than your own and stretch your thinking. Your professional network also becomes much more potent, which is especially important: Within 10 years of graduation, a majority of people won’t work in the area they majored in.
Beware of gatekeeping your network
My ex’s family was deeply conservative — which is fine on its own. People are entitled to their beliefs. But this was often a barrier to who could spend time with them.
They were constantly sizing people up and figuring out their political opinions to determine if they were friend-material. Many people do this without realizing it. These parents were just explicit about it and they had a very small town syndrome (cliquey behavior, when you forget there is an entire world outside of your own).
This introduces the other pesky problem. It’s not all that easy to make friends — especially as we get older. So what next? There are a few solutions.
A route out of Cloneville
I moved 15 times before I turned 18. I lived in California, DC, Florida, Virginia Beach, North Carolina — and every new batch of people was so different than the next. I went to an all white, deeply conservative private school in 9th grade, a liberal high school in Coronado. I was one of the only white kids at an inner city middle school in DC. It wasn’t always easy.
Every summer, I waited for the talk. My mom or dad would come to my bedroom and tell me we were moving and how I was going to love this new school and place. Early on, I realized implicitly, “OK. I need to learn to make new friends.”
I was a new 5th grader at Linkhorn Elementary. We had a substitute teacher who happened to be gorgeous. She was passing out quiz papers. Before she passed out each quiz, she did that thing where she licked her finger to grip the paper.
After she handed me my quiz, I looked across the table at a classmate Joe and say, “Hey Joe! Pssst.”
He turned to me and I pretended to lick my finger and put it down to my thigh and made a hissing sound, like bacon hitting the frying pan. It was a corny joke — but it made Joe laugh and we were instantly friends. And from there, I learned that humor was one quick path to win anyone over.
Often, it’s less about how funny a joke is — and more about the energy it establishes. It signals, “I want to play.” Think about how a dog plants his chest down to the ground while keeping his hind legs standing to get another dog to play with him. This is the human equivalent.
It says, “I like you. Let’s have fun.”
“What if I’m not that funny?”
An even better solution that is painfully overlooked is to smile. Researchers have proven that smiles motivate people to interact with you. They are seen as a “prosocial invitation”. Stand upright and give them a quick, natural smile right when you spot them. It signals you are excited to see them.
After getting to know so many types of people, I’ve realized most people just want to be accepted as a complicated human being. And if you are just nice to them, and seem happy to see them and talk to them — you’ve nearly won the battle already.
When you go to your lunchroom, consider sitting with a new group of people. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone who looks different than you.
There’s a concept called contact hypothesis whereby tension between groups is reduced when they are brought together and interact. It promotes trust and reduces stereotyping. It reminds two different people that they’re both human beings. But the only way to make different types of friends is to actually spend time with people who are different from you.
One of my close friends couldn’t be more different from me. His political views and background are a full 180. But we are both fully candid about our opinions and thoughts, and know we can do so without fear of judgement or being disliked. Sure, he says crazy stuff sometimes but that’s fine. He’s still my friend. He’s taught me a few things about the world and changed a few of my opinions, and I’d like to think the reverse is true.
My hope, is that in a world that is so divided, more people from different walks of life can share the same path. They’d expand their own perspectives. They’d have more love and understanding, and more career opportunities.
And it would save us from being fenced in with our own. Closed networks beget closed minds.
Brazil was inches away from recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital not very long ago, mind you.
Surprising split in South America nonetheless, you’d imagine they’d have a uniform stance like they had for Ukraine.
A sea of yellow in Asia with only the usual suspects in blue but hey there’s someone new this time!
India’s position sits perfectly with our new found friends and within our domestic political landscape but ought to disappoint the fellow global southerners. But tbf, it is not to be construed as a paradigm shift in our policy, our Ministry of External Affairs clarified our two state stance on Palestine only yesterday, rather bad memories getting rekindled.
Nepal lost about a dozen citizens to Hamas’ attack. Poor folks go under the radar and didn’t even get sufficient coverage.
Irans sphere of influence, man, from Caspian Sea to Red Sea. Bush what have you done?
This is a map from TRT— Türkiye’s state run broadcaster. Interesting that they construe Erdogan’s position as call for de-escalation.
Sudan’s case is the perfect microcosm of the viability of normalisation deals that Israel is pursuing. You try so hard and get so far, and then a coup happens.
Morocco, UAE understandable, but Saudi and Pakistan? Who would have thought? Not me. Only 2% of Saudis are in favour of normalisation, I wonder if that matters at all. And 2% would be too high a number for Pakistanis.
Those who follow Bangladesh’s politics ought to find Bangladesh’s silence intriguing, if not outright discombobulating, especially with Hasina up for election soon and US breathing down her neck (yeah, not making this up, US is the biggest threat to Hasina’s re-election).
I don’t get Mexico’s neutrality, they don’t even recognise Palestine.
I don’t get New Zealand’s contrarian take either. What gives? I imagined if anyone from the West was going to have a contrarian take it would be Norway. The right is on the rise in Norway, left rules New Zealand, perhaps that explains?
Ghana coming all out to condemn Hamas? With a similar religious demography split like India, I wonder if there’s domestic political considerations involved.
Foreign policy really is domestic politics with its hat on.
Given that Indonesia’s support will be construed differently then Iran’s support, Venezuela joins the “axis of evil”. But in all fairness they joined the club previously after Ukraine invasion.
DPRK has been silent?
What explains the silence of that many African countries? None of our business paradigm?
Putin tells it like it is…
Fudge Cobbler
Yield: about 9 servings
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 (1 ounce) square unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
Vanilla ice cream (garnish)
Instructions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square baking dish.
Melt the chocolate and the butter in a saucepan over very low heat. Stir often. Remove from the heat.
Stir in the sugar, flour, vanilla extract and eggs.
Everyone in the office was paid on an hourly basis and it was each person’s responsibility to keep track of how many hours they worked each day on a paper time sheet. At the end of each week each employee turned in their time sheet to their supervisor who would sign them and then give the to HR so everyone can get paid for the hours they worked. In practice, everyone showed up each day, did their work, wrote down”8 hours” on their time sheet and went home. Everyone was happy.
Then along came a new guy in management who stated that nobody was actually keeping track of their hours and just writing down what HR wanted to see. This meant that the company was losing money and productivity from people not working a full day but being paid for it. So he instituted a new digital time sheet system where each person had to log their times in and out on their computers and the system would track how many hours each of us worked.
What the company discovered was that everyone tended to come into work 10–15 minutes early, hardly ever took a full hour for lunch and often stayed 10–15 minutes late to get their work done. Thanks to the new time sheet system every employee was now getting paid for all that overtime they had been working but not tracking. This affected the company because it was added payroll expense that wasn’t budgeted. So management put out a new rule that nobody would be allowed to work any overtime without written permission from their supervisor and HR. So everyone was very diligent to log in and out exactly in time.
Except now productivity had fallen because nobody was working those extra minutes each day, which multiplied over all staff added up to an extra 60 hours per week of work. The company ended up needing to hire two more people to make up that productivity.
After Huawei released Kirin 9000S, Biden revised the bill: banning China from owning high-end chips.
So China cannot make their own, if they do, they will violate American law.
Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday the country’s switch to a dual 5G network will allow for more effective participation by China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.
Malaysia in May had said it would allow a second 5G network to operate from next year, following concerns over a monopoly held by a single state-run network.
The European Union and the U.S. had warned Malaysia of risks to national security and foreign investment amid efforts by Huawei to bid for a role in its telecoms infrastructure.
Anwar on Wednesday acknowledged concerns from some countries over the “security and capacity” of technology stemming from China, but said the decision to allow a second 5G network was made so that Malaysia could benefit from different technologies.
“We in Malaysia… and I believe rightly, decided that while we get the best from the West, we also should benefit the best from the East,” he told an event hosted by Huawei in Kuala Lumpur.
“After extensive discussion… we made the decision to allow for a dual network, and thus the decision for more effective participation by Huawei.”
Malaysia had in 2021 unveiled a plan for a state-owned agency, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), to own the full 5G spectrum, with various carriers using the infrastructure to provide mobile services, but the plan had come under industry criticism over pricing and competition.
State-run DNB partnered with Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson to roll out Malaysia’s 5G network. It is unclear how Malaysia’s plan for a second network would affect DNB’s agreement with Ericsson or other mobile operators.
WHAT THESE FILIPINAS CAN OFFER TO THEIR PASSPORT BROS!
They are generally ignorant about China and Chinese, and conversations about China are very shallow and full of misconceptions. It is not worth my time to correct those misperceptions, and there is no reward for doing it.
Chinese are much fun and interesting, and even if they have silly ideas, they are often entertaining. Most importantly, they know the local restaurants and dishes, and can introduce me to some dish I have never had before. Unlike for most westerners, dining out is a social event, not just filling the tummy.
I was age 14 in the early 1960s and living with a family who had one child around my age. On my 14th birthday, my mother said I needed to pay room and board. I decided to pay for a room in other homes where there was no violence. My rapidly increasing scoliosis was becoming a problem. I had three jobs to pay room and board — (1) feeding and washing people in a nursing home and doing laundry), (2) babysitting at the country club 1.5 miles away, and (3) stocking shelves in a dry goods store. I made $29.00 a week. My room and board was $28.00 a week. I went to high school about three days a week.
I was happy with this family. The father was Welsh and sang Welsh songs every Friday night as he walked home from the Legion. The mother was one of the cafeteria ladies at the high school. They were good to me.
Then one day, the father came home with an envelope and pulled out a Beatles ticket and handed it to his daughter.
And then he handed another ticket to me.
TO ME!
It cost $15.00. I told him it would take me years to pay him back. If I didn’t buy shampoo, pads, or deodorant, it would take me 15 months to repay him. The father disregarded this idea with a flick of his hand and a Welsh phrase I didn’t understand.
The father drove us the 80 miles to the venue, let us off and circled the building during the performance and was right there when it was finished. Not only that, but the man put up with us singing Beatles songs all the way home. We were not good singers.
Even now, decades later (and I am a retired person), whenever I do something nice for someone, I think, ‘this is for you, John Cooper, this one is for you.’
I carry such lightweight debts with me.
Pepe Escobar: China Has DEFEATED the Neocon Agenda as US War Fails Before It Starts
I don’t expect Xi or Putin to meet with Biden. He doesn’t make the decisions.
If they know how to do something, they automatically know how to do it at scale.
This is a country that builds entire new cities at one go. They produce 600,000 engineers per year. They make four out of every five solar panels in the world. They can build a 57-storey skyscraper in 19 days, and as we saw during the covid-19 pandemic, a brand new hospital in 10 days. They are the world’s biggest factory.
If they know how to make one Huawei Mate 60, they already know how to make 100 million Huawei Mate 60s.
China does not know how to think SMALL. It is unnatural and weird for them to think on a small scale. China has cities with populations larger than countries such as Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, even Australia. Thinking big is China’s default mentality.
New round of US sanctions started against Huawei! U.S. tech war enters stage 2.0!
In this episode, we dive into the latest updates on the potential second round of sanctions by the United States on Huawei. Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, unveiled its new smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro, sparking intrigue amidst ongoing U.S.-China tech tensions.
These cutting-edge smartphones, powered by 7-nanometer chips from China’s SMIC, bring 5G connectivity to the forefront.
The implications of this move are significant, causing a reevaluation of the technology blockade against Huawei and even calls for a complete halt to technology exports. We also explore China’s efforts to boost its self-sufficiency in chip production and navigate U.S. export restrictions.
But the worst part of my job is that I occasionally have to be the “male voice”.
One of my female colleagues will refer a call to me to tell a caller about some iron clad policy we have that we can never, ever overlook.
I am on the same pay level as all of them. I am not the manager. I often work in a different department. I am, however, the only one of this fairly large group of people that is male.
I tell them the iron clad policy. They shut up. End of story.
Part of the problem is that the engineering profession is still about 80% male, and so is the applicant base. They are not used to being told “no” by someone who isn’t male. It’s not like it’s just immigrants either.
Here’s the irony. The second highest ranking staff member, and the person two steps above me, is a woman. She’s had to put up with it too.
But I will tell you about my ex-colleague, boss and PEO president. She left her position as my boss to take on a five year position at the university she was hired by to get female enrollment in the engineering program up to 40%. It took her one year and she shot past the 40% goal to boot. Then she went to another university and did the same thing.
China’s LATEST Hypersonic Drone Can Destroy US F35 Stealth Fighter in Seconds
China’s hypersonic program has emerged as one of the biggest and heavily advanced sectors of the nation. In this remarkable sector, the PLA boasts having a drone in its arsenal which is capable of reaching hypersonic speeds and destroying world renowned stealth fighters that have dominated the aerial warfare sector for years. Today’s episode is covering China’s hypersonic drone and how it can be used to destroy US Stealth fighters.
Many of the westerners have been to China, like it, and see a lot of criticism of China in the western media which is based on planted information and is basically untrue, in order to drive western public opinion against China.
These westerners try to compensate for this distorted view by praising China. Their intention is to restore balance in how China is viewed.
Unfortunately, the western view of China has become so distorted that it is impossible to have a balanced view of China: either it is completely bad, or it is good.
A balanced view of China would say that there are many good things about China, and there are some bad things as well.
China is just like the US: it is just another country and society, each facing its own set of challenges.
I live in Northern Maine. My property borders a state park/forest. The state forest has a parking lot you need to pay to park in the lot although the park/forest is free to enter. Alot of people will park along the main road and walk into the park. my property is on a side road that is beside the park the park entrance is 2 mile up the main road from my road.
Some park/forest visitors have taken to pulling down my road and parking on my property and hiking across my property to enter the park. they block driveways and the road with poor parking abilities. Some pull into driveways.
My property is a farm I have many driveways used by tractors and equipment to enter the feilds for feeding livestock and tending crops. All driveways are gated (keep livestock in feilds and out of crops)
One group of annoying tourists pulled up in 3 vehicles (2 rvs and a 12–15 passenger van) All had New York plates. they pulled in blocking the access to the feilds and began hiking across my feilds. I caught up to them and informed them that they would be towed if they did not move the vehicles. The leader of the group told me to f-off while giving a one finger salute. I watched as they walked away across the feild. once they entered the park/forest I went to my equipment barn got my large green and yellow tractor hooked up a slurry spreader tank and drove over to the slurry bin and filled the tank. ( Slurry is cow manure that is mixed with water to make it able to spray) I adjusted the spray bar and drove over near the area and sprayed liquified manure (did not spay any on the vehicles) just near the road along the fence a nice heavy thick layer then sprayed more along the area they entered the forest. Since it was 85 degrees outside the smell would bake in the sun to keep it fresh I placed a water tank and sprayer/ sprinkler nearby and set the timers to run for 5 minutes every hour. After 4 hours I called and had the vehicles towed.
They returned and found me spraying slurry in my feilds as they walked across the feilds the slurry is sticking to the shoes (most wearing sandles or flip flops – Nothing like the feeling of liquid poop between the toes) They find the vehicles gone and ask me where they are. I tell them where the inpound lot is and inform them that as they exit onto the main road they should stop and read the large SIGN that says private road. I called the police who informed them that they could walk to impound as it was 20–30 minute walk down the road.
I would imagine that they found out that the oder of sun baked slurry permeates into things. (they left the widows open on the vehicles) and with what was on the shoes it must have been an interesting ride back to New York.
The problem with the EU is Josep the Chief Diplomat’s words do not represent the cohesive attitude, or indeed, policy decisions of the EU towards China. EU member states hold even more divergent and polarizing attitudes.
The fact of the matter is, the G7 does not have a China seat, but the EU gets its own seat, on top of individual EU members. The currencies of these nations power the global financial market, while the yuan issued by the world’s No. 2 economy is an afterthought in BIS reports.
Senior figures in the EU have repeatedly made rude and damaging attacks on China and Chinese interests, including the core issue of Greater China sovereignty. Entities and individuals have been sanctioned, just like their American counterparts, whose actions they mirrored.
Nord Stream is a key European infrastructure that cost billions to build. After it was bombed, the lack of condemnation for an act of war is curious, to say the least. Government findings were blocked from release, while there remains a shocking lack of blowback and demand for accountability in the press.
The EU-CHINA CAI, which is tilted in Europe’s favor, is also dead in the water, after 10 years of painstaking negotiation securing an agreement in principle. EU leaders are complaining about lack of market access in China, when it is self-inflicted.
There is also the issue of the EC, with Ursula completely at odds with Josep’s conciliatory, if shaky, diplomacy. She was given the cold shoulder on a recent visit to Beijing as Emmanuel’s invited partner. The message was clear. She wasn’t the guest invited by the Chinese state.
Who represents the EU? Who has the authoritative voice that can be trusted? How has the EU demonstrated long-term policy independence from the US?
Wang Yi, and before him, Yang Jiechi, have had regular hours-long closed door conversations with Jake, the National Security Advisor. Jake is 46, and not even elected, but he has access to top Chinese leadership that the EU can only dream of, because he is the personal envoy of Joe.
Do we really have to spell out who calls the shots in NATO, which is tied at the umbilical with the EU power structure?
During a 10-hour flight, she was heading from Seoul, Korea, to San Francisco, USA. This mother distributed more than 200 passengers on the plane a plastic bag for each one. The bag contains candy, chewing gum and earplugs as a kind of advance apology for using them in the event that her 4-month-old baby screamed during the flight.
The bag also contained a message containing (hello, I am Jan Woo. I am 4 months old and today I’m traveling America with my mom and grandmother for my aunt’s outfit. I’m a little nervous and scared. This is my first flight in my life. It’s normal for me to cry or cause some disturbance. I’ll try to stay calm, but I can’t promise you. Please use it if my voice gets too loud.. Enjoy your trip. Thank you)
Communism and Marxism is hardly an issue to the U.S. with Vietnam that the U.S. is courting shamelessly and Saudi Arabia a Islamic Monarchy hardly liberal democracy but does it bother Uncle Sam for the last half a century?
For me it is as simple as China cannot be made submissive and subservient to the U.S. that is all to it. And worst China is simply a lot lot more efficient and effective than the U.S. can ever be! In fact China has a better human rights record than the U.S. anyway! That perturb the US to no end.
But what is worst for the U.S. Is 150–175 nations out of the world’s 195 nation prefers Chinese and China way and none in the global south wants anything to do with Uncle Sam. They find them obnoxious and despicable. To me this is not due to China at all but due to the shit U.S. did to the world since 1945.
I know Americans who are mostly highly naive and hugely made ignorant to think the U.S. media or government is well liked by the world. But in truth it couldn’t be further than the truth!
Abusing nations has consequences, bullying nations turned them off, arbitrary sanctions puts nations off, they will hedge, they will stop letting you fxxk them! It does not matter what your media lies and your propaganda says. The world is no fool!
Just figure this. US the biggest murdering nation telling China in Alaska about human rights! Is totally laughable and utterly ridiculous! Chinese officials told Blinken save the advise for your dogs and slave vassal nations!
The “American Dream” is actual Slavery (It’s all a Lie)
I was an admin assistant at a department at my local university. I was just about to clock off and make my way home in a wild windstorm that eventually knocked down 20,000 trees across the city when for some reason I decided to check one of the grad student offices and discovered that the skylight had blown off, exposing multiple desks and computers, some of them running data, to the elements. I called the relevant campus department and was told that restoring electricity and clearing roads and whatnot took priority, and they likely wouldn’t get to replacing the skylight (which I’d located, but lacked the strength and roof access to lug it up myself) until the next day at the earliest. So I cracked open the earthquake kit and rigged, using tarps and duct tape, a patch, then moved, ever so carefully so as not to accidentally disconnect the computers, all six desks away from the skylight shaft, in case my patch failed.
This all took about four hours past my usual knock-off time. Everyone was really glad I’d taken the time and initiative to do it, but my supervisor refused even to consider giving me time off in lieu for those four hours because she hadn’t pre-approved them, never mind that, in those pre-cell days, I’d had no way of reaching her. So I appealed to the department head, who overrode her. She was livid, and thereafter made my life so miserable that I leapt at the first decent opportunity to leave.
People with no medical knowledge make decisions about whether a patient can have a medical procedure, overruling the attending physician.
Now, with the outsourcing of call centers, people with no medical knowledge in Jamaica, India, and Pakistan make those decisions.
Here are some typical costs in Uruguay:
Office visit: US $8.00
ER visit: US $ 10.00
House call: US $12.00.
Electrolyte blood analysis: US $7.11.
Cerebral CT Scan: US $23.29
If you call an ambulance, it arrives with a full-fledged MD, not an EMT.
Before I turned 70 years of age, I paid around US $55 per month for health coverage.
Now I pay around US $70 per month. For that, I get totally free hospital stays and all costs are free, including hospital stay, surgery, medications, doctor care, and nursing care. When you check out, regardless of what was done or how long you were hospitalized, you pay nothing.
The monthly cost for my cancer medication is around US $2.50. The same medication in the US is around $500.00.
It’s been proven China can with Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro.
Chinese companies can rival the giant U.S. tech companies like Intel, Apple and Nvidia but what takes time is building up the ecosystem to make this possible. Thousands of companies make up the support system that manufactures and supports the tools and machines for the manufacturing processes of semiconductors.
The most critical of these companies are in the design (specifically EDA tools) and packaging (chiplets) processes, as well as the lithography machines for the making of the chip itself. There are now Chinese companies with the leading edge (or close to) technologies to rival industry leaders.
Just as critical is the consolidating of resources and capabilities to have the companies to ensure adequate supply of legacy chips. These are actually the more important players because they make up 90% of demand.
U.S. sanctions have forced China to come up with its own self-siufficient semiconductor indiustry.
Chinese don’t necessarily support single party rule; they support a strong central government to maintain order.
Whether it is single party or not is secondary.
In today’s China, it is led by a single party, but it is much more than any western political party because it has 100M members who meet monthly to discuss local, provincial and central government issues, and how to solve them.
Do the Republican and Democratic parties ask their members to meet monthly to discuss how to solve social issues? I think not.
My point is not that one system is better than another, but they are very different, and talking about the ruling party in China being the same as the political parties in the US is silly and ridiculous, because China developed according to its historical conditions, and the US developed according to its historical conditions.
As Everyone’s Lοοking At Ιsrael, Something Τruly Unbelievable Has Begun Ιn America
Very interesting.
He’s saying that (it’s official) World War III is on-line.
People are imbued with cultural and religious ideas they don’t even recognize and simply take for granted.
I, an American, was imbued with the idea “I am my husband’s equal. In marriage we will have the same freedoms and similar expectations of each other. I would never shout at him for wearing shorts, so of course he will not do that to me. I don’t consider cooking his job, so I am sure he won’t consider it my job. I would always discuss a big purchase with him – and naturally he will give me the same respect.”
That sense of equality and “Don’t treat your spouse in a way you don’t want to be treated yourself” was my cultural norm.
I found that my husband had absolutely no cultural or religious norm of equality. He absolutely was willing to treat me in ways he would hate to be treated himself. He did not think a woman deserved what a man deserves.
He found it absolutely normal to expect control over me, and be resentful thst I didn’t make his life as comfortable as he believed a man’s life should be. He was constantly looking at the very unequal marriages of his (Muslim Arab) friends and resenting me for not being a submissive woman who cooked and cleaned and expected nothing but money from him.
My husband and I are in the same profession. I worked longer hours than him. I was also the one who was sometimes pregnant or recovering from childbirth.
But he could not appreciate me. He had a cultural and religious idea in his head : a man should come home from work and be catered to. Clean house, good food, obedient wife who wears certain clothes and lets her husband forbid her from certain activities or friends that do not please him. The man should be comfortable, should be served, should have things his way. (It is similar to the relationship between a dog owner and his dog. They love each other – but the owner does not think the dog should share in decisions or come and go as it pleases. A dog is expected to be happy being owned and trained and played with.)
My husband started off claiming he would love me forever.
It did not last.
But his cultural ideas of what a man is owed and how a wife must serve — those ideas will last in him forever.
Let’s answer this question using 5 Low IQ positions that the US politicians are taking –
Low IQ action 1 – Raimondo threatens Huawei before her China trip. She is simply arrogant and lacks intelligence. Who in the right mind threatens someone’s kid before visiting their home?
Low IQ action 2 – It is simply embarrassing to see a country using full state resources to bring down a private company. You brought an army to a fist fight and didn’t knock your much smaller opponent out!
Low IQ action 3 – The Western chips companies are making large profits selling products to China. And you stopped the sales and force your biggest customer to make their own?
Low IQ action 4 – You give billions of dollars of subsidies to your own chip companies to build factories. But you stop the demand from your top customer. So where are US companies gonna sell their excess chips to?
Low IQ action 5 – You take away Huawei’s access to Google and they went to develop their own operating system to threaten Google’s and Microsoft’s future dominance. You like shooting your own foot?
Irish Girl Watches MISTER ROGERS For The First Time
Oh nostalgia tv, except I don’t know who Mister Rogers is. I’ve always heard the name Mister Rogers as a reference in American tv and films but this Irish Girl had no idea who that was. Join me on a very emotional journey as I watch Fred Rogers first through last tv appearance, see him sing “I like you just as you are” and “ it’s a wonderful day in the neighbourhood” Mister Rogers Neighbourhood. Couldn’t we all do with some nice insight from a Fred Rogers right now.
I was in the US Army stationed in Germany for 3 and half years… Just turned 18. During this time I never took leave and went back. Travelled all over Europe! In Germany, I drunk my first beer, had my first kiss, and my first Girlfriend, was amazed by the people, the culture, the infrastructure, the cuisine, almost everything. I even took German courses and was proficient at least with speaking German. Anyway the day came, when i was being discharged ( I never really liked the army, andjoined for the Gi Bill) Back in the rural midwest, working at Walmart while going to community collage, I realized how much I missed Germany, the lifestyle, the urban vibe and so many things ( missed having a GF too, in the US I wasnt rich enough or cool enough to date anyone, in Germany this was never a thing at all, about money and all that. I decided if I was going to have a dull dead end life with no future, why not go back to Germany? At least have an adventure of some kind, i could always come back to the US.. 7 months after I ETSed ( left the army) I got a passport, got a cheap one way ticket and reconnected with some German civilians I knew.. I ended up staying in germany, has been 30 plus years now. I remember when the plane landed and I was disembarking, and set foot on the ground, I felt like,, this is it..the place you are meant to be.
I takes longer than that but slowly and surely it will.there is not even a speck of doubt. Tell me which nation wants to save in U.S. dollar reserve if can be confiscated away from you at the whims or fancies of the U.S? Do you want to keep your savings in a bank using a currency that the US can take it all away anytime it wants?
No one do, no want does, no one will ever want to. The fact that the US and the west can even phantom that by stealing gold from Venezuela and US dollar reserves from Russia is an acceptable behaviour tell how little the west thinks of the rest of the world.
Every nation on earth, even the US allies are figuring how to hedge against the US dollar. Direct Currency swap arrangement is very popular and it must have have grown several fold in the last year alone! Some agree on a basket of currencies, Others revert back to barter.
JEFFREY SACHS ON A HISTORIC DEBT
Israel Attacks Damascus Airport as IRAN Foreign Minister Plane Coming-in; Plane Forced to Divert
The Israeli Air Force fired missiles at Damascus Airport and Aleppo Airport this morning, just before a plane carrying the Iran Foreign Minister was approaching Damascus for an official state visit. The Iran Minister’s plane was forced to divert from the area to avoid conflict.
Attacking Syria was an illegal act of aggression by Israel. Conducting that attack while a Diplomat was approaching for a state visit is arguably an Act of War.
Damascus Airport is now damaged and closed. Aleppo Airport is also reported to be damaged and closed.
The Iran Foreign Minister plane appears to be returning to Iran.
Syrian Defense Ministry: “At approximately 1:50 pm this afternoon, the Israeli enemy simultaneously carried out an air aggression with bursts of missiles, targeting the international airports of Aleppo and Damascus, which led to damage to the airports’ landing strips and them being out of service.
This aggression is a desperate attempt by the criminal Israeli enemy to divert attention from the crimes it is committing in Gaza, and the great losses it is suffering at the hands of the Palestinian resistance.”
( HT Remark: Nothing like escalating the already bad situation with Gaza into an international incident with a foreign Diplomat. Unschooled, these Israelis. Totally devoid of class.)
According to our Singapore media reports, the cost of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail is approximately US$7.3 billion. We tentatively believe that this number is real.
So this figure exceeds the budget given by China when bidding for the project eight years ago by US$1.2 billion. The project completion time was delayed by 4 years than originally planned.
This doesn’t seem like a good number.
But compared to current plans in other countries around the world to build high-speed rail, these are two very good figures.
1. Cost per kilometer
Even calculated based on all costs after overruns (including land costs), the cost per kilometer of Indonesia’s high-speed rail is only US$58 million. The high-speed rail in the United Kingdom is US$300 million per kilometer, and the high-speed rail in California is US$200 million per kilometer.
India’s high-speed rail was originally planned to cost US$35 million per kilometer. However, it has not actually been completed yet. Only ten kilometers have been built. The cost has been doubled and the final cost cannot be estimated. Due to serious delays in construction, some experts predict that there is a high probability that the cost per kilometer will exceed US$80 million when completed.
2. Time spent
The Indian high-speed railway started construction one year earlier than the Indonesian high-speed railway and is scheduled to open in 2023. According to media reports some time ago, only 10 kilometers have been built so far. The completion date has been changed to 2028, but many experts believe that the actual completion time may be after 2032.
The first phase of the British high-speed railway is planned to build 160 kilometers. Construction will start in 2020 and is scheduled to be completed in 2029. It has now been changed to 2033. The real completion date cannot be determined.
Therefore, although the Indonesian high-speed railway experienced a 16% cost overrun and a 4-year construction delay. But this is mainly due to the virus problem over the past 3 years.
Judging from similar large-scale projects around the world, Indonesians have reached the top level in terms of project time and budget control.
I believe that for many years to come, no country will be able to surpass Indonesia’s level.
This is due to the efficient work of the Indonesian government, the unity and support of the Indonesian people, and the technology and efficiency of the Chinese. Their achievements deserve congratulations.
Star Trek – Fire On the Forcefield
America Can’t Stop China’s Rise — Foreign Policy
There’s little doubt that the American government has decided to slow China’s economic rise, most notably in the fields of technological development. To be sure, the Biden administration denies that these are its goals. Janet Yellen said on April 20, “China’s economic growth need not be incompatible with U.S. economic leadership. The United States remains the most dynamic and prosperous economy in the world. We have no reason to fear healthy economic competition with any country.” And Jake Sullivan said on April 27, “Our export controls will remain narrowly focused on technology that could tilt the military balance. We are simply ensuring that U.S. and allied technology is not used against us.”
Yet, in its deeds, the Biden administration has shown that its vision extends beyond those modest goals. It has not reversed the trade tariffs Donald Trump imposed in 2018 on China, even though presidential candidate Joe Biden criticized them in July 2019, saying: “President Trump may think he’s being tough on China. All that he’s delivered as a consequence of that is American farmers, manufacturers and consumers losing and paying more.” Instead, the Biden administration has tried to increase the pressure on China by banning the export of chips, semiconductor equipment, and selected software. It has also persuaded its allies, like the Netherlands and Japan, to follow suit. More recently, on Aug. 9, the Biden administration issued an executive order prohibiting American investments in China involving “sensitive technologies and products in the semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence sectors” which “pose a particularly acute national security threat because of their potential to significantly advance the military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled capabilities” of China.
All these actions confirm that the American government is trying to stop China’s growth. Yet, the big question is whether America can succeed in this campaign—and the answer is probably not. Fortunately, it is not too late for the United States to reorient its China policy toward an approach that would better serve Americans—and the rest of the world.
America’s decision to slow China’s technological development is akin to the folly revealed by the old cliché: closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. Modern China has shown many times that China’s technological development can’t be halted.
Since the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, several efforts have been made to limit China’s access to or stop its development in various critical technologies, including nuclear weapons, space, satellite communication, GPS, semiconductors, supercomputers, and artificial intelligence. The United States has also tried to curb China’s market dominance in 5G, commercial drones, and electric vehicles (EVs). Throughout history, unilateral or extraterritorial enforcement efforts to curtail China’s technological rise have failed and, in the current context, are creating irreparable damage to long-standing U.S. geopolitical partnerships. In 1993 the Clinton administration tried to restrict China’s access to satellite technology. Today, China has some 540 satellites in space and is launching a competitor to Starlink.
The same principle played out with GPS. When America restricted China’s access to its geospatial data system in 1999, China simply built its own parallel BeiDou Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) system in one of the first waves of major technological decoupling. In some measures, BeiDou is today better than GPS. It is the largest GNSS in the world, with 45 satellites to GPS’s 31, and is thus able to provide more signals in most global capitals. It is supported by 120 ground stations, resulting in greater accuracy, and has more advanced signal features, such as two-way messaging. Other nations have also previously tried and failed to block China’s technical rise. In the 1950s and 1960s, when the USSR withheld nuclear weapons technology from China, China launched its own “Manhattan Project” in the early 1960s and succeeded in testing its first nuclear weapon by 1964. Russian nuclear leverage over China ended that day.
Many of the measures taken by the Biden administration against China were also executed without factoring in China’s capacity to retaliate. While China does not physically construct many truly irreplaceable components of the American technology stack, they are keenly aware of the importance of their raw materials inputs (rare earths) and demand (revenue generation) in fueling the American innovation ecosystem and are now using them as leverage. In the current tit-for-tat dynamic, China will start squeezing these two critical ends of the value chain in response to American technology and capital export restrictions. China’s July ban of the gallium and germanium exports was merely an opening shot across the bow to remind America (and its aligned allies) of China’s dominance in the rare earths and critical metals space. The country has a near monopoly in the processing of magnesium, bismuth, tungsten, graphite, silicon, vanadium, fluorspar, tellurium, indium, antimony, barite, zinc, and tin. China also dominates in midstream processing for materials essential to most of America’s current and future technology aspirations such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper, which are critical for the rapidly developing EV industry globally.
While America and other neutral countries have mineral reserves of many of these materials, it would be naïve to believe that one can simply flip a switch on mining and production. It will take at least three to five years just to build the requisite extraction and processing infrastructure. This is to say nothing for recruiting and training skilled labor, or receiving requisite operational and environmental permits for such activities. Both could prove impossible. The processing of rare earths is a highly toxic and environmentally destructive endeavor. It’s unlikely such approvals will be granted. If Arizona is struggling to find qualified workers for its TSMC fabrication facility, and to address domestic union opposition to importing foreign skilled labor, it’s unlikely that America can develop similar capabilities for material processing. Along the way, China gets to play kingmaker in how it doles out access to its processed materials, likely restricting supply to American technology and defense giants. The failure to factor in China’s retaliatory capacities indicates that the United States doesn’t have a well-thought-out and comprehensive approach to dealing with China.
American measures to deprive China access to the most advanced chips could even damage America’s large chip-making companies more than it hurts China. China is the largest consumer of semiconductors in the world. Over the past ten years, China has been importing massive amounts of chips from American companies. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, China-based firms imported $70.5 billion worth of semiconductors from American firms in 2019, representing approximately 37 percent of these companies’ global sales. Some American companies, like Qorvo, Texas Instruments, and Broadcom, derive about half of their revenues from China. 60 percent of Qualcomm’s revenues, a quarter of Intel’s revenues, and a fifth of Nvidia’s sales are from the Chinese market. It’s no wonder that the CEOs of these three companies recently went to Washington to warn that U.S. industry leadership could be harmed by the export controls. American firms will also be hurt by retaliatory actions from China, such as China’s May ban on chips from US-based Micron Technology. China accounts for over 25 percent of Micron’s sales.
The massive revenue surpluses generated by these sales to China were ploughed into R&D efforts which, in turn, kept American chip companies ahead of the game. The Chamber of Commerce estimates that if the United States were to ban semiconductor sales to China completely, U.S. companies would lose $83 billion in annual revenues and would have to cut 124,000 jobs. They would also have to cut their annual R&D budgets by at least $12 billion, and their capital spending by $13 billion. This would make it even more difficult for them to remain competitive on the global scale in the long run. American semiconductor firms are painfully aware that U.S. actions against China in the chips arena will harm their interests more than Chinese interests. The U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association released a statement on July 17, saying that Washington’s repeated steps “to impose overly broad, ambiguous, and at times unilateral restrictions risk diminishing the U.S. semiconductor industry’s competitiveness, disrupting supply chains, causing significant market uncertainty, and prompting continued escalatory retaliation by China,” and called on the Biden administration not to implement further restrictions without more extensive engagement with semiconductor industry representatives and experts.
The Chips Act cannot subsidize the American semiconductor industry indefinitely, and there is no other global demand base to replace China. Other chip producing nations will inevitably break ranks and sell to China (as they have historically) and the American actions will be for naught. And, in banning the export of chips and other core inputs to China, America handed China its war plan years ahead of the battle. China is being goaded into building self-sufficiency far earlier than they would have otherwise. Prior to the ZTE and Huawei components bans, China was content to continue purchasing American chips and focusing on the front-end hardware. Peter Wennink, the CEO of ASML, stated that China is already leading in key applications and demand for semiconductors. Wennink wrote, “The roll-out of the telecommunication infrastructure, battery technology, that’s the sweet spot of mid-critical and mature semiconductors, and that’s where China without any exception is leading.”
Germany Just Warned Europe On “China’s Counterstrike Move” | Silent EV War Explodes
Simple, like the UK with Brexit, Germany should leave the EU. This will solve the problem, as Germany will then be able to distance itself from investigations implemented by the EU parliament.
Installing antennas and transmission lines on cellular towers.. Day in and day out we would climb 150, 200, 300feet and stay up there literally all day – often 10–12 hours.
Those heights were the norm, but I also did 400ft a couple of times, and then 500ft once.
And I did it because I needed a job and this paid really well. Plus I was a brand new divorcee and just starting over, so at the time working this tough, dangerous job with other guys was a very good thing for me. I made close friends, we partied and had fun, we laughed a lot, and it was just what the doctor ordered.
The end of Evergrande.
Bloomberg News has reported that billionaire founder and chairman Hui Ka Yan was taken away by police earlier this month and put under so-called residential surveillance , a type of police action that falls short of formal detention or arrest.
The surveillance doesn’t necessarily mean that Hui will be charged with a crime, and the exact circumstances of his situation remain unclear. But it’s not looking good: Evergrande has halted trading and confirmed in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing that authorities have told the company that Hui has been subjected to “mandatory measures,” due to “suspicion of illegal crimes.
The latest twist in an ongoing saga for the world’s most indebted developer has left creditors confused and concerned about what’s to become of their investments. The fate of the developer’s restructuring plans are now at risk, and the chances of a full-on liquidation have increased.
There’s a long list of victims: the hundreds of thousands of homeowners who bought into some 706 residential projects that are still being built; people who bought into Evergrande’s wealth management products, worth 40 billion yuan ($5.5 billion) a few years ago; global investors who collectively own at least $30 billion of offshore debt; suppliers and banks who are among those owed some 2.39 trillion yuan in liabilities. The company is facing more than 2,000 lawsuits, too.
I remember a time when Evergrande was still able to overcome its detractors. When a shortsellertargeted it for alleged financial mismanagement back in 2012, a Hong Kong tribunal provided vindication by saying the report was misleading and false.
But so much has changed since then: Evergrande has become a harbinger of the nation’s real estate meltdown. Its fate seemed to be sealed back in 2020, when a liquidity scare fueled by its massive debt load triggered aggressive regulatory tightening. Compounded by pandemic-related woes, the company defaulted the following year.
What happens after Evergrande? As we know, this property crisis is far from over. China’s property developers face a liquidity shortfall worth some 19 trillion yuan, or 15% of GDP, that could morph into a solvency crunch by year-end, Bloomberg analysts estimate.
Property downturns are always painful. In China, that’s especially the case because of the outsized role that the sector plays in the economy: As much as 70% of household wealthis tied to the industry.
The government has responded by relaxing property buying rules, since it doesn’t want the current distress among developers to trigger financial contagion — nor does it want to see social unrest.
Dragging out the Evergrande saga, though, has wreaked havoc among homebuyers, construction workers, suppliers and investors. And as the government has shown no intention of bailing out developers, the only certainty we’re left with is the idea that this pain is far from finished.
My ex was the CFO of one of the largest private construction companies in the world. His main role was to make sure the company stayed profitable. Simple really.
The owners’ son, who recently graduated from college and was having trouble finding gainful employment, (seems nobody would hire him to get stoned) was parachuted into my ex’s job. My ex was quickly let go.
He didn’t mind too much. Even though a little disappointed, he still was paid out fairly and started his own firm with the severance money.
A tender came up for a new skyscraper in London. My ex’s former company put in its bid and came in ahead of everyone else by millions. Turned out months into construction that the new CFO had forgotten to add the cost of electrical wiring into the cost of construction. A mistake that sent his family bankrupt.
Luckily there was one new firm with the creditor’s backing, experience and ability to jump in immediately. My ex hired a lot of the now redundant employees and bought a large chunk of his old company’s heavy equipment at a huge discount in a mortgagee sale.
The lesson here is to never kill the golden goose!
Elderly shelter cat had weeks to live. So this woman adopted him.
This woman is a saint! What she does for these cats is beyond compassion!
The Sixteenth Forum of the World Association for Political Economy (WAPE) took place from 25 to 27 September 2023 in Fuzhou, China, co-organised by Fujian Normal University. The theme of the forum was Chinese modernisaton and the prospects of world modernisation. Although unable to attend in person, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez was invited to submit a video presentation.
Carlos’s presentation, entitled Capitalist and socialist modernisation, takes up a number of questions: What is modernisation? Is modernisation desirable? How has modernisation been achieved in the West? What is China’s modernisation plan? What are the unique characteristics of Chinese modernisation? How does socialist modernisation differ from capitalist modernisation? What effect does China’s modernisation on the global journey towards development and socialism?
The video and the text of Carlos’s presentation are available below.
What is modernisation, and is it necessary?
Modernisation is a somewhat nebulous concept. It means different things to different societies at different times. By definition, its parameters are constantly changing.
In the broadest sense, it means adapting to the latest, most advanced ideas and techniques for meeting humanity’s material and cultural needs.
In sociology, there is more or less an equals sign between modernisation and industrialisation, and is generally held to begin with Britain’s Industrial Revolution. We can think of it essentially as the transition from ‘developing country’ status to ‘developed country’ status; from a predominantly rural society to a predominantly urban society; from a technologically backward society to a technologically advanced society.
Is this desirable? Beauty is of course in the eye of the beholder, but most people consider modernisation to be desirable, because it enables higher living standards for the masses of the people.
With modernised industry, production techniques, communication methods, transport systems, energy systems and healthcare strategies, there exists the possibility of providing a healthy, meaningful and dignified life to all, such that each individual has reliable access to a healthy diet, to decent housing, to clothing, to education, to healthcare, to a vibrant cultural, social and intellectual life, and to fulfilling work. In short, modernisation makes it possible to attend to people’s basic human rights.
The fruits of modernisation have thus far been divided extremely unequally: the process of industrialisation in North America, Europe and Japan has created previously unimaginable wealth for a few, but this has been accompanied by desperate poverty and alienation for significant numbers. However, modernisation creates a material basis for common prosperity, far beyond what a pre-modern economy can offer.
Specifically in the case of China, the government has set a goal of “basically realising socialist modernisation by 2035”, and has defined some parameters for this:
Reaching a per-capita GDP on a par with that of the mid-level developed countries such as Spain or the Czech Republic
Joining the ranks of the world’s most innovative countries in the realm of science and technology
Becoming a global leader in education, public health, culture and sport
Substantially growing the middle-income group as a proportion of the population
Guaranteeing equitable access to basic public services
Ensuring modern standards of living in rural areas
Steadily lowering greenhouse gas emissions and protecting biodiversity, so as to restore a healthy balance between humans and the natural environment
If achieved, these aims will constitute a significant – indeed world-historic – improvement in the living standards of the Chinese people, and will blaze a trail for other developing countries.
How did the West modernise?
But is China doing anything new? After all, it won’t be the first country to achieve modernisation.
In mainstream modernisation theory in the West, the dominant narrative is that the countries of Western Europe, North America and Japan achieved their advances via a combination of good governance, liberal democracy, free-market economics, scientific genius, geographical serendipity and a dash of entrepreneurial spirit.
Historical investigation reveals a considerably different story.
The most important precursors of the West’s modernisation are colonialism, slavery and genocide. The conquest of the Americas, the settlement of Australia, the transatlantic slave trade, the colonisation of India, the rape of Africa, the Opium Wars, the theft of Hong Kong, and more. The profits of colonialism and the slave trade were essential for propelling the West’s industrialisation, as was so eloquently uncovered in Eric Williams’ classic 1944 work, Capitalism and Slavery.
As Karl Marx famously wrote in Volume 1 of Capital: “The discovery of gold and silver in America, the enslavement and entombment in mines of the aboriginal population, the beginning of the conquest and looting of the East Indies, the turning of Africa into a warren for the commercial hunting of black-skins, signalled the rosy dawn of the era of capitalist production.”
Such is the ugly truth of European modernisation. And the story is not so different in the United States. Many of the so-called founding fathers of that country were slave-owners, and they established a slave-owners’ society. They went to war against the indigenous peoples and against Mexico in order to expand their territory.
In the 20th century, having established their domination over the Americas, they constructed a neocolonial global system that is still in place to a significant degree, imposing American hegemony on the world.
A network of 800 foreign military bases. NATO. An enormous nuclear arsenal. Genocidal wars waged on Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya. Systems of economic coercion and unilateral sanctions.
This is the global system of violence that has facilitated and accompanied North American modernisation.
Japan’s rapid rise was facilitated first by its brutal expansionist project in East Asia, particularly Korea and China, and then through adaptation to and integration with the US-led imperialist system, the much-vaunted ‘rules-based international order’.
South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan Province constitute the small handful of non-imperialist territories that have been able to achieve modernisation, but these are special cases. Their shared proximity to China and the DPRK is no coincidence; they have been inducted into the imperialist club by the US, to play a dual role as regional policemen and living advertisements for capitalism on the frontline of its confrontation with socialism. Both roles rely on at least a certain degree of prosperity for a section of the population.
There is no shortage of countries of the Global South which have attempted to apply the “liberal democracy plus free market capitalism” formula, but none have been successful in modernising. Indeed the West’s prescriptions for (and interference in) developing countries have largely led to chaos and disaster.
The contrast between the West’s success in modernising and the Global South’s failure has fed into a largely unspoken but widespread and pernicious racism: an assumption that white people are somehow inherently more advanced than everyone else.
This supremacism is allowed to fester, because in addition to dividing working class and oppressed communities, it provides convenient cover for the reality that capitalist modernisation is built on the foundations of colonialism, imperialism and hegemonism.
As Kwame Nkrumah commented, “in the era of neocolonialism, under-development is still attributed not to exploitation but to inferiority, and racial undertones remain closely interwoven with the class struggle.”
How is China modernising?
China’s journey towards modernisation starts in 1949 with the founding of the People’s Republic, the early construction of socialist industry, land reform and the extirpation of feudalism and the landowning class, and the provision of at least basic levels of education and healthcare services to the whole population.
In 1963, Premier Zhou Enlai, supported by Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yun, first raised the question of the Four Modernisations: of agriculture, industry, national defence, and science and technology. Despite a complex political environment this goal was revived in the early 1970s, and, with the launch of reform and opening up in 1978, China accelerated its pursuit of those goals, and ushered in an era of rapid development of the productive forces and improvement in the people’s living standards.
China’s journey of modernisation has evolved again in recent years with the pursuit of the second centenary goal: of building a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful by 2049.
China is on a fast track to becoming an advanced, developed country, and this process stands in stark contrast to the West’s modernisation process:
First, China’s modernisation is built on the efforts of the Chinese people rather than on war, colonialism and slavery.
Second, its fruits are to be shared by everybody, not dominated by the wealthy. As General Secretary Xi Jinping said in his work report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China’s modernisation is “the modernisation of common prosperity for all.”
Even today, not everyone in the West is able to enjoy the fruits of modernisation. Consider for example the US, where tens of millions lack access to healthcare; where over half a million people are homeless; where life expectancy for African Americans is six years less than for their white counterparts; where – according to the US Department of Education – over half of adults read below a sixth-grade level.
Third, China’s modernisation is becoming a green modernisation, fuelled by clean energy, careful not to destroy the planet that sustains us. Again quoting Xi Jinping’s work report, “it is the modernisation of harmony between humanity and nature.”
Capitalist modernisation has had a disastrous impact on the environment. With 4 percent of the global population, the US alone is responsible for 25 percent of historic greenhouse gas emissions. The simple fact is that humanity literally cannot afford for China’s modernisation to follow this pattern.
Socialist modernisation will become the ‘new normal’
The West’s modernisation path is not open to the countries of the Global South, and it wouldn’t be desirable even if it were. Today, the road of capitalist modernisation is closed, so how is China able to modernise?
China does not have an empire, formal or informal, but it does have a particular advantage of being a socialist state, a “people’s democratic dictatorship based on the alliance of workers and peasants”, to use Mao Zedong’s expression. Such a state can use its power to direct economic activity towards the goals of the social classes it represents.
Thus the specificities of China’s modernisation – the commitment to common prosperity, to ending poverty and underdevelopment, to preventing climate collapse and to peaceful development – are a function of China’s political system, its revolutionary history, and the leadership of the CPC.
At a meeting of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2016, Xi Jinping made this point very succinctly: “Our greatest strength lies in our socialist system, which enables us to pool resources in a major mission. This is the key to our success.”
Or as Deng Xiaoping famously commented in 1984: “the superiority of the socialist system is demonstrated, in the final analysis, by faster and greater development of the productive forces than under the capitalist system.”
In a world still largely dominated by capitalism – and an intellectual world still dominated by bourgeois ideology – it’s easy to forget this system’s fundamental and irreconcilable contradictions, which Marx identified with such clarity and profundity 150 years ago; contradictions which lead inexorably to inefficiency, stagnation and crisis. A political economy directed at the production of exchange values rather than use values can never result in common prosperity.
In China, the capitalist class is not the ruling class and is therefore not able to direct the country’s resources according to its own prerogatives. At the top level, resources are allocated by the state, in accordance with long-term planning carried out by, and in the interests of, the people.
This is what is enabling a new type of modernisation, which is blazing a trail for socialist and developing countries the world over.
The fruits of this process are being shared with the world, via mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative, which are creating a path for the countries of the Global South to break out of underdevelopment, even where they lack China’s resources and political advantages.
As such, China’s evolving modernisation has great historic significance, and offers valuable lessons for the world. It is an embodiment of historical materialism in the current era: capitalism has long since exhausted its ability to fundamentally drive human progress, and therefore the future lies with socialism.
Galvarino was a legendary warrior of the Mapuche people who rebelled against the Spanish Conquers who had invaded their land.
The Mapuche people were natives of the Araucana region of Chile who fought against the Spanish conquest of South America. The Arauco War was the bloodiest and longest-running battle in the history of the New World.
In what became known as the Battle of Lagunillias, Galvarino led his people in a fight against the Spanish invaders who were trying to force them into servitude.
During the battle, Galvarino and his men were captured by the Spanish. As punishment for defying the Spanish, Galvarino had both his hands amputated at the wrists and sent him home as a message to the other Mapuche tribes.
He returned home defeated and severely wounded. He showed the war council his wounds and begged them to let him lead an army against their oppressors. For his bravery, he was named commander of a squadron of men in a fight against Governor Mendoza.
With long Sharp knives fastened to his mutilated stumps, he led his army into battle against Governor Mendoza and his men. The Brutal battle lasted for an hour, with Galvarino striking and killing Mendoza’s number two in command with his modified stumps.
Although Galvarino and his men fought a brave battle, they were soon overwhelmed and captured. All the remaining captured warriors including Galvarino, were executed on the orders of Governor Mendoza.
Huawei has established the third truly COMMERCIAL Asian Tech Ecosystem from China and the eighth in Asia after Toyota, Nikon, Canon ,Samsung , BYD, Trina and Xinyi
The Huawei Ecosystem now has
The Chip
The OS
The 5G Modem
The GPU
The Networks
Yet Huawei Ecosystem is fragile because SMIC the manufacturer of the 7 nm Node depends on Advanced DUV equipment from ASML
Now SMIC has stockpiled massive orders from ASML and that will keep SMIC going till maybe 2026
However that’s still dependence, a lot of dependence on the West
So i would say HUAWEI has made a start
Meanwhile people forget the REAL WINNERS of the three companies that have established it’s own dominant ecosystem on which the West is entirely dependent on :-
BYD
BYD has:-
The Chip – The Mature 28nm Chip that only China can today manufacture cost effectively and in huge volumes
The Software
The Satellite Navigation System
The Battery
The Dynamic Unit
It’s completely and entirely Independent from Western Technology
Trina and Xinyi who have :-
The Intelligent Chip
The Micrograde Wafer Panel (That to this day no nation can produce except France but at 87% higher cost)
The Carbide micro layering etching equipment (Chinas equivalent of the EUV Lithography Machine)
The Silicon extraction process into Mono, Poly Crystalline Silicon with infusions
Yes Huawei deserves all the admiration for its clawback and fighting
Yet BYD, Trina and Xinyi actually get Proprietary License Fees from the West which is unique for a Nation that to thia day didn’t kowtow to the West unlike Japan, Israel and South Korea
Huawei to win, needs SMIC to become another BYD or Xinyi or Trina
If SMIC can achieve that, then China truly begins the challenge to the established Semiconductor industry
Lego just hit a climate BRICK wall
Lego says that it cannot make bricks from recycled material. They tried and they simply cannot do it without increasing carbon emissions. That’s a refreshing admission. Most companies take on “green initiatives” anyway, even if they prove to make the problem worse. In a similar vein, the CEO of Lufthansa admitted that“going green” would require the airline to use up HALF of Germany’s electricity. So not green at all then. Meanwhile, Ford says that it will pause construction of a $3.5 billion plant to build EV batteries in Michigan. They aren’t saying why. It just goes to show: It ain’t easy being green.
You’ve probably heard of China’s ambitious plan to connect the world with its Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI for short. It’s a massive project that involves building roads, railways, ports, pipelines, and other infrastructure across Asia, Africa, Europe, and beyond. China says it’s a win-win situation for everyone, a way to boost trade, development, and cooperation among more than 140 countries that have signed up for it.
But not everyone is buying it. Some critics in the West say that the BRI is a trap, a scheme, or a tool for China to expand its power and influence at the expense of other countries. They say that the BRI is saddling poor countries with unsustainable debt, damaging the environment and human rights, and undermining the international order. They also say that the BRI is losing steam due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the backlash from some host countries, and the changing global dynamics.
So what’s the real story? Well, if you listen to what China has to say on its official websites, you’ll get a very different picture. According to them, the BRI is not losing steam at all. In fact, it’s gaining momentum and achieving positive results in various aspects.
First of all, they say that the BRI has shown strong resilience and vitality amid the COVID-19 pandemic. China has actively cooperated with other BRI partners to fight against the virus, provide medical supplies and vaccines, share prevention and treatment experiences, and support economic recovery. The BRI has also contributed to the global efforts to build a community of health for all.
Secondly, they say that the BRI has promoted high-quality development and green cooperation. China has adhered to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, and has followed the international rules and standards in implementing BRI projects. China has also attached great importance to environmental protection, social responsibility, and debt sustainability, and has encouraged green investment and financing under the BRI framework.
Thirdly, they say that the BRI has enhanced mutual trust and friendship among different countries and peoples. The BRI has fostered dialogue and exchange among different civilizations, cultures, and religions, and has supported education, culture, tourism, sports, media, and other fields of people-to-people cooperation. The BRI has also created opportunities for poverty alleviation, job creation, livelihood improvement, and social development for millions of people in the participating countries.
So there you have it. The BRI is not losing steam but rather advancing steadily and fruitfully. The BRI is not a solo show by China but a chorus by all participants. The BRI is not a challenge or threat to anyone but a benefit and opportunity for everyone. The BRI is not a zero-sum game but a win-win cooperation for common development. That’s what China wants you to believe. And if you don’t believe it, well, too bad for you. Because China is not going to stop or change its course anytime soon. It’s going to keep pushing forward with its vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Why Australia’s Housing Crisis Is a Warning for the World
They weren’t misled by Russian trolls. They weren’t ignorant. They weren’t racist or sexist or xenophobic or homophobic. They were mad… they felt left behind and ignored by the media and the federal government… and they had a point.
They were left behind, and ignored.
For many of them, the America their parents and grandparents grew up in was a lot better. And no, that’s not because other groups were oppressed. It was because the economy was better for working-class people back then.
If your grandparents raised a large family on a single income, while the media and politicians cared about what your grandparents cared about, and now, 50 years later, you and your wife can’t get by on your dual incomes, and the media and politicians spend more time talking about transgender bathroom usage than the fact that families like yours are falling further behind each year… then yes, you have a point, and Make America Great Again makes sense.
Blueberry Grunt
Ingredients
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
Instructions
In a skillet, combine blueberries, sugar and water; bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
In a bowl, combine the next 6 ingredients; stir in milk just until moistened (dough will be stiff).
Drop by tablespoonsful over blueberries.
Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until dumplings are puffed and test done.
All terrorism in the world is linked to the United States! It is no longer a secret that the United States Government supports terrorism in South-East Asia!
US-backed Terrorism Targets Vietnam & Myanmar in Wider War on China
Two terrorist attacks this month (June 2023) in Southeast Asia have been carried out by groups backed by the United States government and its allies for decades;
This includes a singer murdered in Myanmar and a series of armed attacks carried out on police stations in Vietnam killing 9 including several civilians;
British state media, the BBC, and US government-funded media platform Radio Free Asia have attempted to spin and even justify this terrorism as part of a much wider pattern promoting and defending terrorism as a means to counter China’s rise and punish nations working closely with China;
The opposition in Myanmar has openly been backed by the US and UK for decades – fighting to reinstall Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy back into power;
In Vietnam, the ethnic Montagnards had fought alongside US invaders in the Vietnam War, and since then have worked closely with the US through the National Endowment for Democracy toward separatism;
Much of this context is omitted from Western state-media accounts of the terrorism;
Both Myanmar and Vietnam’s current governments have close relations with China. Vietnam, while depicted in the Western media as “anti-China,” has worked with China to build infrastructure within its borders and access Chinese rail projects to bring their products all the way to Europe;
Why Companies That Go Woke Go Broke
I saw the title and I instantly clicked to watch, really wanted to see a documentary about all these companies that went woke, then broke!
Well one fairly amazing thing happened in Penang. I (white Australian) was speaking to my friend (Asian Australian) in English.
An American tourist interrupted us and asked “excuse me, do you speak English?” We were both quite shocked and I said “a little.” I don’t know if she really couldn’t understand Australian English and didn’t realise what language I was speaking.
She said “Can you direct me to XYZ hotel?”
Now ordinarily two Aussies, neither of whom have ever been to Malaysia and speak no Malay wouldn’t be the best choice. But I pointed to the building we were standing in front of and said “walk about 10 yards that way.”
She was WAY out of her depth and her next international holiday should probably be to Hawaii.
However, I did the opposite in Austria. I speak no German, but if I look at a menu and plan out my sentence I can pretend to. So I asked in perfect German “Could I please have 2 hot chocolates; one with whipped cream and one with rum thanks.” She answered with something as simple as “that will be 8 euros” and I looked at her blankly and said in English “I’m sorry, I don’t speak German.” She laughed and did the transaction in English. She said I fooled her.
Pretty much the same thing in Poland, back in the days before Schengen membership. Apparently I needed a visa. So they berated me in Polish for a while, and I said I didn’t speak Polish. They went to the lingua franca of Eastern Europe and said “something something Russky.” I replied with what I’m told is an excellent accent “nye poni mayu po Russkiy.”
Here’s a guy in Lithuania, driving an Estonian-registered car, saying in perfect Russian in response to a question IN Russian “I don’t understand Russian.” I’m sure they weren’t thrilled and may not have believed me but I looked blankly at the rest of their diatribe. So eventually they wrote down my name, pointed me to Vilnius and said “visa.”’
Almost every Chinese City beats Indian Cities hollow in terms of Cleanliness, Safety and Development
There are Primarily three reasons for this :-
A. One Party Meritocracy & Funds
In China, fund allocation for Cities and their overall Urban development is based on the Urban Development Index (UDI) plus between 15% upto 46% of the revenue generated by a City is used by the Local Government of that Province and the Administration of that City to develop the place
There is no political rivalries or party based discrimination between Fund Allocation and Revenue sharing
It’s all about How much the City develops and how well maintained the City is
In India, funding is a nightmare because the State themselves have no claim over the money they generate as revenue. Everything is handed over to the Centre which then decides how much each State should get and then the State decides how much each City should get
China has 20 times the provincial autonomy than an Indian State
B. Continuous Development to prevent overcrowding
India keeps on dumping on the same city again and again for year after year. Thus every such city attracts migrants like flies and that leads to overcrowding of the worst order
China keeps developing and expanding new Cities regularly
Chengdu, Chongqing etc were small towns a decade or so ago that are now bustling cities, brimming with Prosperity
Urumqi was once a town , now it’s classified as a Tier 3 City
Thus if you notice Shanghai and Beijing both lost 4% and 5.6% of the population due to migration between 2013–2023 whereas Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad netted between 7.6% and 12% SURPLUS population by migration between 2008–2023
C. Chinas Housing Policy
Everyone living with a proper Job in a City in China MUST have housing
This is a law from the time of Chairman Mao and when it’s a Chairman Mao law, it’s enforcement is very strict
Public Housing is thus available for every single resident of the city including the poorest of them
Only Shanghai and Beijing has slums today , which existed before the 1998 law and thus can’t be torn down
If you have a legitimate job in CQ City, you get a Public Apartment of 39–52 Square Meters with indoor plumbing, heating, air conditioning and gas and electricity and drinking water for a mere 78 RMB / month
Of course many Chinese become prosperous enough to rent much nicer places and sub lease their public homes for which they pay rent of 78 RMB/ month for 400–500 RMB / month
During Covid 19, many such people were discovered and fined very heavily (30, 000 RMB plus 60 months rent or 100 Days in Prison)
A Fourth reason is the fact that Migration into Cities is heavily controlled
You just can’t come to a City that easily without housing or a job unless you are a tourist there
In India it’s the opposite
You can flood into cities and sleep on the roads and everywhere else and even defecate
It’s like a Zoo
So it’s the Chinese System
They may have their flaws but by God they have excellent City maintenance and keep themselves very clean
Their Air Quality improvement in a mere decade is something every nation takes notes on
Primarily another reason is the Chinese are proud of their country and love their country
Not the bogus love that Indians show which translates into defending India for all it’s weaknesses, glorifying mediocrities as superheroes, forcing people to stand up for the National Anthem etcetera
The genuine love that ensures they actively take pride in their development and their cities
When stray cats see this man, they compete with each other to get a place on his lap.
I had a “blood pressure” event that scared the living shit out of myself and caused me to rush to the emergency room.
The night before, we had drank three bottles of Merlot wine. Now, Merlot is a very hard wine, not so much in alcohol, but it is a heavy wine, and the next morning, I felt “very off”. That feeling of being “off” persisted well into the afternoon.
By 3:30 in the afternoon, I made up some of my herbal tea. Which consisted of “yin Yang Hua herbs (“Horny goat weed”) and GuoGe grapes. You just keep on adding hot water to the mix. And I drank about six bottles of the tea. Perhaps six or seven bottles. Maybe three liters total. It made me feel better.
It always does.
Anyways, I started to chew on some of the leaves and swallowed some of the GuoGe berries. And about a half of an hour later, I started to feel really “off”
My body felt really “wrong”.
So I went and checked my blood pressure. It is normally at 121.
I read 142. High.
High.
So I calmed down. Waited 15 minutes.
Measured it again.
158. Uh oh!
Gulp.
It was rising rapidly. Too rapidly. Too fast.
So I waited twenty minutes, and checked again.
175.
Sheeeeet!
I told ms. mm, “we need to go to the hospital now”. She started to protest, “but I have xxxxx”. I said “I don’t care.” And grabbed my keys. And the mrs and kid followed behind.
Luckily the hospital was down the street and we parked in front of the emergency room, as it was around 5 o’clock Sunday night.
I got in. They measured my vitals.
Blood Pressure = 214
Body temperature = 39.5 C
Both too high. I was admitted, and checked in. The staff took care of me.
…
Anyways, things are under control now, but I have to stay in the hospital for a while as they watch me.
My temperature is back to normal, and my BP is going down. The doctors tell me that I worry too much, high BP will not kill me. And they put me in the old people wing of the hospital due to my age.
LOL.
They nurses look at me… and then to my wife…, and four-year old and go “really?”
I don’t look like the rest of the folk in this area. And frankly, they are scaring me. Old 90 year old men on death-beds, and 80-year olds with health issues.
But I’ll get out once things stabilize.
My heart checks out fine. CT scan of my skull is fine too, though the doctor wanted to know what those seven black beads were. LOL! He chuckled at my answer, and I joked about it too.
Anyways…
Don’t fuck around with your health!
Anyways, the doctor says that my worrying about my situation only made things worse. All I was doing was drinking red wine, and taking Chinese herbal teas and that there was nothing that I should worry about.
Nothing. Normal behaviors.
Blurred vision, however. Dizziness, however… yeah… go straight to the hospital, but aside from that. Dontworryaboutit.
I’ll give you all updates as time moves on, but I have a lot of things on my plate that this particular moment in time, and I have to jiggle my medical emergency with all sorts of other personal, professional concerns. So I’m at max right now.
Huawei did a miracle, defy traditional convention and believe, it had done the impossible. It was beyond US and DOC imagination, it is still a mystery to them, they have yet to figure out how Huawei did it.
The US banned Huawei access to EDA design tool, practically cut Huawei or Hisilcon from designing the chip although Hisilcon was able to design chip of 3nm using US EDA design tool before the ban.
Therefore Huawei and Hisilcon need to come out with their own EDA tool which they did successfully in unprecedented record time.
With its own EDA tool Hisilcon can proceed to design 7nm chip that SMIC can fabricate.
The other breakthrough was the fabrication of 7nm chips with DUV machines which according to industry is not possible, DUV standard limit is to produce chip up to 14 or 10 nm. 7nm chip require EUV machine, China or SMIC was banned from getting EUV machine.
BUT SMIC with corporation from Huawei did successfully produce 7nm chips by using available DUV machines which they call them N+2 chip. It was reported Huawei seconded more than 300 engineers or scientists to jointly resolve the bottleneck of using existing DUV machines to produce the require N+2 chips, an unbelievable breakthrough.
Another mystery is how can SMIC mass produce N+2 chips, initially, market was under impression, Huawei Mate 60 pro will be limited in supply, but Huawei surprised the markets by introducing 3 more models and look like the 7nm chip had achieved mass production able to meet sale volumn requirement.
The US and allies are panic now, Qualcom sale of chips to China contribute more than 60% of their sales, may risk losing the markets, ASML is panic too, China and Huawei are likely to breakthrough on EUV machine soon. US EDA suppliers risk losing Chinese markets permanently, the biggest risk is China may soon flood the markets with competitive chips killing US and allies chip industries.
The US and allies need to worry beyond just Mate 60 pro.
The U.S. will lose considerable ground and opportunity if it continue behaving like it is doing now.
What you need is a leader like Newsom the California governor. He sets aside biases and US media narratives to visit China and sees for himself what opportunities the U.S. is missing by having senile leaders like Trump and Biden.
The U.S. can only stay strong if it takes its head out of the sand. China is not just a big market it is humongous and growing rapidly. China alone is worth more than your next 5 biggest market. These nonsense of decoupling or de risking is having the opposite effect. You are not cutting China out. The U.S. is being decoupled from the world instead.
I suspect that Americans will throw out all China and Chinese haters out of your government soon. That is the first right step for the U.S.
GLICHERY – SEA OF PROBLEMS (PHONK)
Creole Flank Steak with Sautéed Vegetables and Cheese Grits
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Flank Steak
1 beef flank steak (about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Okra and Carrots Sauté
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
16 ounces okra, cut into 1 inch pieces
Creole Grits
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup quick-cooking grits
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup jalapeño jack cheese, shredded
Instructions
Flank Steak
Combine red wine, lime juice, garlic, Creole seasoning, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper in a food-safe plastic bag. Add steak, close bag securely. Marinate in refrigerator for 6 hours to overnight.
Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Place steak on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, 11 to 16 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, 16 to 21 minutes) for medium rare (145 degrees F) to medium (160 degrees F) doneness, turning occasionally. Allow to rest.
Okra and Carrots Sauté
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots, cumin, coriander and chili powder. Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes or until the onions are transparent. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the okra and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until the okra is cooked through.
Creole Grits
In a Dutch oven combine water, milk, Creole seasoning and salt. Bring to a boil.
Slowly add grits to hot liquid stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and cover, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in butter in cheese until melted.
Slice grilled steak against the grain. Serve with vegetables and grits.
This recipe is an excellent source of Protein, Iron, Potassium, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Zinc, Selenium, Choline; and a good source of Dietary Fiber.
50 years ago, it was perfectly reasonable to have a huge house, 3 kids, a car, and go on holidays at least once per year. On a single income.
Today, working 2 jobs, living in a small room, having no kids, taking the bus, never going on holidays, but sometimes getting a latte or an avocado toast… is considered to be an extravagant lifestyle, filled with needless luxuries.
Give it another couple of decades, and random stuff like getting 8 hours of sleep will be declared to be some kind of reckless indulgence, irresponsible behavior that youngsters should avoid if they ever want to be able to afford housing.
Husband Shocks Mrs By Laying Down The Law About The Marriage, Lack Of Bedroom Fun, Etc (She Obeys)
In today’s video, I go over an email sent from a subscriber who shares his story of how his once great marriage went down the tubes after unfortunate life events caused him to stop being the masculine leader he once was.
Finally after gaining back some of his manhood, he confronts his wife about her years of bad treatment of him and makes it clear that there are going to be some immediate changes or it’s over!
This is a great story about how men need to always remain in their masculine (even when things are difficult) as well as be the leader or things will quickly go to hell in a handbasket in their relationships.
Sixteen years ago, I got a job assignment 100 miles away for one year. My newly married daughter and son in law (Andy) moved into my house and I got an apartment in the new city. I came home most weekends. Before I left, I asked Andy if he wanted to keep cable for the year and pay for it. He said no and I cancelled it. Interestingly my bill with Comcast reflected the cancellation but the house still had service.
A few months go by and now it is April 1. I call Andy and leave a voicemail. I say that the Michigan State Police contacted me. They are investigating a three state cable theft ring. They claim my home is stealing cable, there is an illegal, third party bridge device affixed to home and the device has Andy’s fingerprints on it. I am in the clear because I have not been living there. This is all fiction.
Next, Andy is out and goes to my ex wife’s house where he and my daughter had been living previous to my house. A younger daughter answers the door and tells Andy that a police officer came to the house asking for him. She gives him a name and phone number the imaginary cop left. Andy is confused and then listens to my voicemail. Now he is freaked out. He calls the number and it rings to the desk of the woman who works next to me. She sees the incoming number and answers “Kent County Jail”. Andy identifies himself and tells her a bit of the story. She says she will transfer the call to the detective.
The call rings to my desk and I answer Hi Andy. April Fools.
Everyone keeps saying “1945” but the genesis of the distrust between the Soviet Union and the United States goes back way before that, and it’s impossible to understand why the two sides got engaged in proxy wars and a disastrously expensive arms buildup without going back to the Russian October Revolution in 1917.
It’s 1917 and the Russian Empire is on the ropes due to some spectacularly bad military and civilian leadership that saw Tsar Nicholas actually trying to lead troops in the field. His government completely collapsed that spring.
However, the provisional government, led by a faction called the Mensheviks (“Minority”) made one critical error. They were dependent on Great Britain, France and the United States to prop up their finances on the condition that Russia continue their war effort. The Mensheviks were no better at trying to fight the Germans, Austrians and Turks as the Imperial forces were and Germany decided to try to destabilize the new government by allowing passage to a Communist who went by the pseudonym of “Lenin” who was living in Geneva at the time who knew an opportunity when he saw it.
Lenin managed to get the support of worker’s unions, known by the Russian name “Soviet”, and the armed forces and took power in Moscow. He then consolidated power and ordered his foreign minister to end the war with the enemy powers as soon as possible no matter what it cost them. Russia conceded massive amounts of land and Lenin planned for what he knew was coming next – a civil war with the various factions that remained in Russian territory and breakaway states.
Naturally, the Western Powers were appalled, not only by the fact they now had to fight the Germans and Austrians alone (the war dragged on for another year) but that Lenin was making good on his promises to destroy the aristocracy and redistribute land and factories to the new “Soviets”.
The Russian Civil War, which lasted from 1917 to 1923 was an absolute mess with dozens of factions getting involved in addition to the primary fight between the Bolshevik “Red Army” and the “White Movement”, a loose coalition of anti-communist forces. Into this mess jumped in Great Britain, France and the United States, who sent personnel and support to the White faction.
So, after half-a-million people were killed and another 2.5 million people were wounded, the Reds were clearly on top and ready to rebuild the country. Unfortunately, the currency was worthless and the economy (once the world’s 4th largest) was in the toilet. What made it worse was that the economy was still largely agricultural at this point, and the Soviet Union still had to feed itself.
And absolutely no-one was willing to help them. Despite the Soviet Union being the de facto government of most of the old Empire (the Baltic States and some other areas remained independent) it would be another ten years before the western governments would recognize the new government, at which point the Soviet Union still struggled to recover its economy while it made great strides in industrialization. Sure, the west would buy Catherine the Great’s diamonds, but money was scarce.
In 1924 the secretary of the party, who had by manipulating meeting attendance and taking control of the bureaucracy rose to the head of the government, was clearly in charge with his rivals fleeing the country (to no avail, he had them hunted down). Joe Steel, or in Russian, “Josef Stalin”, had been a Georgian seminary student (he was very bright) and former bank robber (to finance communist party operations) but despite his accomplishments still spoke Russian like a Georgian and had a massive inferiority complex, a suspicious streak a mile wide, and was absolutely ruthless. When he died thirty years later, his servants were too afraid to check to see if he was actually dead.
But the western powers, this time including the newly restored Nazi Germany, were still hell bent on anti-Bolshevik rhetoric. The Nazis were hardly alone in this – the U.S., France and Great Britain were also hostile to communists during this period.
And it’s in 1939 when Stalin makes one of the greatest blunders in world history – he trusts Hitler. As his foreign minister later said, Stalin trusted no-one, except the world’s greatest liar. At first, it seemed to be a good idea as Russia seized the eastern half of Poland. However, just two years later, the Germans were on the move and invaded the Soviet Union. The irony is that Great Britain had excellent intelligence and was able to pin down the date of the invasion. They weren’t stupid and passed the information onto Russia. However, Stalin thought it was a ruse to get them to attack Germany. The Tsar’s attack on Germany in 1914 was what led to the war with Germany and he didn’t think it was a good idea to repeat history.
Nevertheless, their common enemy pushed Great Britain and the Soviet Union together as the British provided what they could to the Russians. When America entered the war later that year they got in on the game too and the three sides realized they had to work together to destroy Nazi Germany.
But throughout this period the three sides still had a lot of distrust of each other, and there were even cases where the United States and Great Britain were at odds.
Russian and Great Britain’s plan to carve up Europe after the war. The U.S. wasn’t in on it.
But distrust over each other’s post war motives continued. By the time Truman told Stalin about the atomic bomb, Stalin knew about the project and even before that, had known about the potential (Russian scientists had independently hit on the idea). Moreover, during the period from 1941–1944 and D-Day, the Russians were carrying the bulk of the fight against the Germans and suffering terribly for it while the British and Americans were safely making plans in England. Stalin persistently pressed the matter about when the western powers would open a second front, and by the time they did so in June 1944 it was clear the Germans weren’t going to win the war anyway. American involvement didn’t win the war, but it certainly shortened it.
Things didn’t get better after Germany’s defeat. Russia turned its attention to Japan and Japan, in another great historical miscalculation, figured they could avoid an occupation by using the Russians as intermediaries with the Americans. Instead, the Russians moved their forces east and invaded Manchuria the same day the first atomic bomb fell.
The importance of this delay cannot be overstated as it allowed Russia to occupy Manchuria and the northern half of the Korean peninsula, both of which were under Japanese occupation. Meanwhile the Americans grabbed the southern part of Korea and Japanese occupied Taiwan. Russia’s occupation allowed safe haven for the Chinese and Korean communist parties.
Still, the Russians, Americans, British and French still worked together to get things done, but by 1949 it was clear that the relationship was severely strained. One of the big issues was the flight of European capital to the United States after the war. This was clearly against the laws of the countries where the capital flight had taken place, but instead of repatriating the capital to their original countries, the American government decided to provide replacement capital (commonly called The Marshall Plan). Stalin outright refused to participate in the plan and again blamed capitalists for the now near total lack of usable money in his sphere of influence.
The western powers managed to keep the Russians from extending their influence into Austria or Greece, but it was clear Stalin had a great plan to prevent western friendly governments from getting influence in the regions he occupied. The first was his refusal to clear Warsaw of German troops as the Polish government-in-exile in London planned to return. This gave him the opportunity to set up a new Polish provisional government. East Germany’s new leaders were found by using the easiest denazification tactic after the war – finding German communists who had been forced into exile or concentration camps.
After the Soviet attempt to blockade the western powers zone in Berlin in 1948, everyone quickly got used to the new world order with NATO in the east with the remaining democracies and the Warsaw Pact consisting of communist puppet governments in Russian occupied territory. A couple of places like Yugoslavia and Albania were both communist and mostly independent of Russia, but it was a delicate balancing act.
At the same time, it was clear the Republic of China was in serious problems and the Kuomintang fled to American controlled Taiwan as the Chinese Communist Party managed to do what the Republic of China never did – consolidate the country’s military forces into a single unit and take control over all the countryside. The Soviet Union immediately recognized the new communist government of China, but the western powers instead continued to back the Kuomintang despite the fact they no longer controlled any of the mainland.
So in the end all of this really goes back to that time in 1918 when the western powers refused to accept communism despite its immediate popularity in the new Soviet Union, and gave birth to a paranoid sociopath who could neither trust nor be trusted. The two sides continued to be suspicious of each other for the next forty-five years as both spread misinformation about the other in order to justify their tactics.
Someone attempted to return a steel entry door to the store I worked at. I refused the return.
“You have to take this door back! I know the returns policy here!”
“No, I do not. We only accept returns of unused items.”
“And how do you know it isn’t unused?”
“Okay… It’s painted green on one side. It’s painted white on the other. The tape from where someone hung a picture on it is still there. The jamb on one side is nine years older than the jamb on the other, and it’s busted out where the lock bores are. The jamb side of the hinges is a different color than the lock side. It’s warped. The brickmould around the outside is three different colors. (There are three pieces of brickmould on a door.) There’s a big dent in the area of the lockset where someone kicked it in. Which says to me that someone came in, bought a new door to replace this one, removed the parts from the new door that he needed, reassembled the rest of the parts into a facsimile of a door, then sent you down here with it to try to return it. And, as I said, I’m not going to accept the return.”
Naturally, he demanded to speak to a manager…who took one look at the door, asked the guy “you’re kidding, right?” and walked away.
On edit: Here’s one that was actually justified. In North Carolina, you can buy bales of pine needles. The product is called Pine Straw, and people use it in landscaping. A woman brought back a bale of it – something that NEVER happened.
“Reason for return?” “There’s a live rattlesnake in it.”
We called Animal Control. They sent a truck over to pick up the bale. Before hauling the snake off, they told her that next time she gets a free rattlesnake with her pine straw, she needs to call Animal Control and not try to haul it back to the store. They returned two hours later; they hauled the snake twenty miles out in the woods and turned it loose.
Second edit: A customer I knew pretty well and got along with (he was a contractor) brought in a wooden gable vent. A very, very used wooden gable vent…the house it was in was probably 50 years old. So I got called to Returns. “No. Definitely used, and we don’t sell these anyway. The cobwebs on this thing probably weigh more than it does.”
“But I bought it here fifteen years ago!”
“Sir, I can guarantee you didn’t buy this here fifteen years ago.”
“How can you guarantee that?”
“The store is only eleven years old.”
He was just fucking around; he wanted to see if I’d throw it away for him because it wouldn’t fit in the dumpster he rented. That, I would do.
I went through this myself and I was the biggest idiot in the world for thinking that maybe, just maybe, if I’m nice and give the info my “dear friend” would change his mind. HAH!! The fucker had his errand boy bother me for days about all the shit that they never fixed or gave me the correct info to fix it properly and they they denied the fact that I worked 7 days a week and only paid me for one week instead of the 2 it should of been. His piss poor excuse was that his girlfriend the office manager said I wasn’t owed it. I wonder how she would of felt if I told her about the offer of an apartment and $3k a month to be his girlfriend and how much he hated being with her and was disgusted at the thought of having sex with her. DO NOT DO IT! If you are offered payment to do it and you need the money, tell them the money has to be in your account before you tell them anything, otherwise let them look for it themselves. Basically, fuck them, they fired you and now are proving they need you. It’s bullshit!
In 9th grade, during PE class we were just sort of milling around waiting for class to start. The guys were all standing around discussing chores.
Our PE teacher was a southern blue collar kind of guy. He worked as a fixer upper worker on the weekends too, repairing homes, bathrooms, kitchens etc. This is a guy who probably earned every penny he ever spent.
And here he was stuck in a room with a bunch of spoiled rich kids.
He jokingly said something to the effect of, “Man, you guys are all spoiled. I bet your parents pay you to do chores.”
And all the guys start nodding yes. “Oh yeah, my mom gives me $20 to mow the lawn.”
Another says, “I get $5 to clean my room.”
The teacher had poorly concealed disgust on his face.
For the record, I didn’t get paid for chores. Again, I’m from a military family. Being paid for chores is preposterous.
It is cheap political propaganda that gain popularity but in reality costly to the U.S. government and the Americans livelihood.
To me and indeed the world. The U.S. is a broken nation that has tremendous internal issues to the point of being unsustainable and imploding politically and socially. There is far too many unworkable issues facing the U.S. such as racialism, poverty, homelessness, disparity of income, high inflation, bankrupt cities, random street shooting and unworkable. Health care policies.
Most U.S. politicians simply ignore those unsolvable issues and distract the attention of frustrated citizens by ignoring those problems through creating imaginary adversaries like China, Iran or Russia. Their media are used to demonise these nations instead of facing its own domestic issues.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a problem with our wings,” announced the pilot.
True story. This happened to me last week.
The plane was making its final approach to Houston Intercontinental Airport. Suddenly there were three consecutive “ding-dong” sounds in the main cabin.
I saw both air hostesses run from the back of the plane to the front and grab the phone. They talked for a few seconds to the pilot, then the pilot came on with an announcement.
“We have broken off our approach. We have a problem with our wings. The leading edge slats won’t come down. We have declared an emergency and we will be landing shortly,” he said.
“Fire trucks will be waiting for us on the runway. It’s probably going to be a hard landing because we can’t slow the plane down as we normally would. We’ll see you on the ground.”
That was it.
Immediately the air hostesses started preparing everyone for the emergency. Uncertainty filled the cabin. Everyone of us felt vulnerable and scared.
I reflected on how fragile we are. There we were, trapped inside a metal tube flying at a high speed, … nothing to be done, simply pray and trust that everything would be okay.
The wind shook the plane from one side to the other. I could sense how the pilot was trying to find the optimal speed to land, not too fast, yet enough to fight the winds.
I could finally see the runway through my window. We all braced for the impact and as soon as we touched the ground, the pilot hit hard on the brakes.
The captain did an amazing job. We cheered and clapped for his fantastic landing.
Fire trucks followed us to the gate.
It was not fun. That leading edge slat on the front of the wing is responsible for the addition of a few more grey hairs to my head.
My first — and hopefully my last — emergency landing!
You need to prove your idea carefully and defend your opinion facing a tsunami of debates, otherwise, no one believes in you, or they just took you as a psycho. Persuading Chinese people is a hard task, America tried every means to turn Chinese people to think so in past 30 years, but worked badly. And thanks to Western anti-China propaganda, Chinese people are well trained in confronting such speeches.
China has a lot of CCP-haters, Western-lickers, retro-nationalist (hate their own nationality and hoped to be colonized by the West again), they spoke much more hilarious speeches than you.
Again, if someone making speech only providing his own opinion but lacking details, usually means the speaker is less educated or lack independent rational thinking.
Why I choose to raise my child in CHINA and not the WEST
Any car that’s been written off for water damage is a car you want to stay as far away from as possible. Insurance companies know what they’re doing, and there’s a reason they declare water-damaged cars total losses even when the car looks and acts fine.
Look, Porches are expensive, temperamental, finicky beasts at the best of times, with perfect care and proper maintenance. A water-damaged car that insurance has declared a total loss? Jesus.
No. The third party is lying to you. It is not in perfect condition. Dear God no. If you buy it, you are not purchasing a car. You are purchasing a world of hurt. You are purchasing pain everlasting. You are purchasing a demon of the night, a thing that will present you with repair bills you never knew could be so high and so frequent at such totally unexpected times. Every seal, every moving part, every bit of metal on that car is suspect, and it will fail in interesting ways you wouldn’t think possible.
“Perfect condition” my left testicle. Right now, as I type this, corrosion is at work in every tiny nook and cranny of that car, eating away at its heart. As the seller hopes you’re too technically naive to realize. Don’t think of it as a car, think of it as an opportunity to saddle yourself with an expensive albatross that will be a source of the most magnificent pain for years to come.
Snowgraff – 10 Mentions Parallèles feat. José (Clip Officiel)
Israel Minister Amihai Eliyahu: Dropping a Nuke on Gaza is “An Option.”
Israel’s Minister Amihai Eliyahu says that dropping a nuclear weapon on the Gaza Strip is “an option.” Given the volume of explosives already dropped on Gaza, it exceeds the explosive power of Hiroshima.
Asked in a radio interview about a hypothetical nuclear option, Eliyahu replied: “That’s one way.” His remark made headlines in Arab media and scandalised mainstream Israeli broadcasters.
Neither Eliyahu or his party leader are in the streamlined ministerial forum (War Cabinet) running the Gaza war. Neither would they have inside knowledge of Israel’s nuclear capabilities – which it does not publicly acknowledge – or the power to activate them.
“Eliyahu’s statements are not based in reality. Israel and the IDF (military) are operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents. We will continue to do so until our victory,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Eliyahu also voiced his objection to allowing any humanitarian aid into Gaza, adding that “there is no such thing as uninvolved civilians in Gaza” and that Palestinians “can go to Ireland or deserts.”
Hal Turner Editorial Opinion
I am almost apoplectic at this remark by Minister Eliyahu.
It is unclear to me which is worse: His remark, or the reality that his country has dropped more conventional explosives on Gaza than the explosive power of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb; and Israel still isn’t winning.
Can any of us imagine a military that is so ineffective, they would have to resort to using a nuclear bomb against an “enemy” that has NO ARMY?
How pathetic must the Israel Defense Force actually be that someone would even consider using a nuclear weapon?
One wonders if Minister Eliyahu has even considered what the rest of the world might do if Israel actually did something like that? Would the rest of the world allow even ONE Zionist – including Christian Zionists – to continue living anywhere on this planet if they did something like that?
How could the world ever trust any such person to remain breathing if they chose to use a nuclear bomb against an enemy that has NO ARMY?
I think this remark by Minister Eliyahu shows a gigantic, deep-seated, severe, mental sickness. Win at all costs, no matter what.
The remark strikes me as what we get when we bring up entire generations of people with “Participation Trophies” so they “all win.”
In real life, in sports, in business, in relationships, someone wins and someone loses. It is the reality of human existence.
But those who were brought up with Participation Trophies, have never had to learn to lose. They never learn to deal with it.
And it now appears to me, this is the result: A man who is so bent over possibly losing, he is willing to use nuclear bombs against an enemy that has no army, in order to satiate his need to “win.”
This remark indicates to me, that this particular Minister (and maybe a whole slew more) is a danger to himself and to other people.
How many more such people with such maniacal ideas are elsewhere in Governments around the world?
Maybe it’s time to find out – before such a maniacal idea spreads.
Quite the opposite. One of the right side 110psi tires on my 24 foot living-quarters horse trailer blew out spectacularly on the interstate in Wyoming. It caused quite a bit of damage to the trailer. My horses were fine, though. I was alone, but prepared for that eventuality. On the side of the freeway, I set about getting it changed. I noticed a car pull over in front of me as if to help. A young man got out of the back seat, took one look at me standing there holding my four-way lug wrench, immediately turned around and got back in the car and left! What was he expecting? I was 57 years old at the time with silver hair, but not ugly or scary. I can’t imagine why someone pulling over to help would change their mind upon seeing me. Maybe I looked capable? I did get the tire changed, but getting the extremely heavy spare on was very difficult. I was very dirty (I ended up sitting on my butt on the roadside straddling the wheel, and lifting the spare up with the help of my knees) and bug-bit when I was done, and I’m still mystified as to what changed the young man’s mind.
Why Men Age Like FINE WINE in the Dating Market | Why Women Like to Date Older Men
The reasons why men age like fine wine and most women prefer to date men that are older, is because women look for a “standard”. In addition to qualities, that most men, simply do not have in their early twenties. Which makes it very ironic that women complain about this fact, since it’s women themselves, who are choosing these standards and men. Most skills that women love in a long term partner are skills and traits that only come with age and experience.
Hello, I trust that you will truly understand the whole means the this event had upon me. I was working in neibourhood office with about a dozen others, a mother came in carrying her child, who alleged had stopped breathing. Everyone stood back aghast…. Not knowing what do, several people just ran out. I had to push through the melee of useless people who were happy just to stare.. Moribid fasination! I managed to take the child from the mother and began breathing and heart compression treatment. I was very briefly trained in first aid, but only to a small degree. While I was with the child, someone called for an ambulance, which eventually arrived. They took the child from who by now was partly recovered. I heard theat very soon the child had recovered completely. All this action caused a great deal of mental worry to me and disrupted me a huge amount. Am I now over the trauma? I very much doubt it. My the lord never sho you the back of his hand.
I was on my way to Iraq. I was on a plane chartered by the Marine Corps for this, there were about 400 Marines on the flight, in uniform, with our weapons stowed under our seats. I was stationed in California, and we left from March Air Force Base out there. The first stop was in Baltimore, at the international airport there, and this is where my story occurs.
In Baltimore, we were let out of the terminal to go make phone calls and smoke cigarettes and whatever else. I called my girlfriend from a payphone, I smoked some cigarettes, and eventually it came time to get back on the plane. Now, I had put my rifle cleaning kit into my cargo pocket, without the slightest idea that this would cause any problem whatsoever. Inside my cleaning kit was this”carbon pick”.
I’d estimate that the steel rod at the end is about half an inch long by maybe a millimeter in diameter. As I emptied my pockets to go through the checkpoint, this carbon pick came to the attention of the TSA mouthbreather working there. He had decided that this steel rod, significantly smaller than a toothpick, was a deadly weapon (or something) and that I would not be permitted to take it into the terminal and on my flight. Now, mind you, I was in uniform. Flying with a military ID. With approximately 400 other guys dressed exactly like me. I told him that I clearly was flying on official military duty, and that I wasn’t wearing desert camouflage for fashion sense, and that it wasn’t a coincidence that there were all these other guys wearing the exact same outfit who were with me. He didn’t seem to comprehend this. I told him that, speaking of weapons, I had an M16A4, a select fire rifle, under the seat on my flight, a bayonet with a 7″ blade in my carry on, and everyone else on my flight was similarly equipped – except for those with grenade launchers and machine guns. He looked at me stupidly. Eventually I said something to the effect of: “you know those guys, those terrorists, that you’re trying to keep from getting on airplanes? Well me and all those other guys dressed like me are going over to Iraq to kill them. And to do that properly, I need my fucking rifle cleaning gear”. He grudgingly handed my carbon pick back and let me through. He took my cigarette lighter – I’m still convinced, 12 years later, that he did so simply to score some small, petty victory. I didn’t care, I’d left my crucial Zippo on the plane anticipating TSA stupidity.
This is your tax dollars at work, America. Outfuckinstanding.
You think that everyone thinks the U.S. is right. That is a highly flawed notion. You media gives you the impression and your politicians fooled you into thinking that way.
The truth is to tally the opposite. Very few people on earth have trust and faith in the U.S. Global media reached out to mainly to the western world. This group sound a lot but they are a small minority. In population it adds up to 13% of the world. In nation count it is at most 12–15 out of the world’s 195 nations.
I live in South East Asia. Almost everyone I meet are disgusted with American lies and western media. No one believes it. It is biased it is opinionated, it spews falsehoods and fabrications. For me I feel pitiful for the western Ignorant and highly naive lot. Please tell yourself 90% of everything written in CNN, Fox, BBC are inaccurate and lies.
I cannot speak for other nations but Chinese media focus less on opinion but you are given facts and proofs. Chinese media trust that armed with facts one can make up their own mind.
Creole Hot Dogs and Rice
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
3/4 onion, diced
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
2 slices bacon, diced
3 hot dogs, sliced
2 cups cooked rice
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes (seasoned or not)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro or basil, chopped
Instructions
Cook bacon until crisp and remove from pan to paper towels to drain.
Sauté onion in bacon drippings for 4 to 5 minutes or until onion is softened.
Stir in seasoning and sliced hot dogs and cook for 2 minutes.
Add rice, bacon and tomatoes and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until heated through.
Remove from heat. Stir in chopped cilantro or basil.
If the U.S. treated its citizens like Europe does, I might actually come home.
Leaving Media, PA for Frankfurt, Germany in 1990, I have to admit, it was hard to adjust.
When I went to the supermarket there were only ten or twelve types of soda. The bread was heavy with brown stuff and seeds. Some stores didn’t even bother to take the goods out of the carton boxes. The cashiers didn’t treat me like a king and the stores closed at 6.30 p.m. during the week and at 2.30 on Saturdays. The service was so lazy they refused to work on Sundays and everything was closed.
What a nightmare!
I went from the land of 24/7 plenty to a socialist desert.
Get this, on Sundays people walked everywhere. Gas was so expensive, that few could afford to cruise about the countryside just for fun. People took public transportation because they couldn’t afford a car or the place to park it.
Then there were the taxes. When you are young, single and making tons of money they rob you. In some countries such people are taxed at more than 40%.
Healthy I had to pay the highest premium for mandatory health insurance, and some chain-smoking unemployed father of five paid much less.
There is no better way to say it, I was furious.
I was used to a different sort of social justice.
Then something really terrible happened.
Summer came and I had to take vacation. I learned that I had five weeks with full pay. Crazy isn’t it?
How can any economy function when everybody spends so much time on vacation?
It gets even worse. Everybody gets a minimum of 20 paid vacation days! EVERYBODY! Yes, even the dishwasher, the hotel page, the taxi driver and the cleaner get paid vacation. And for a small deduction from their salary, they get unlimited health care too. And if they have smart kids, they get to go to the best schools for free.
It was then I started to understand why eating out was more expensive too.
Feeling sorry for myself I asked “Why did I go to college and study so hard if even the cleaner has the same rights to vacation, health care and education as me?”
Slowly, the answer dawned in my thick skull.
Everybody else does have the same rights as me.
Everybody has the right to health, enough to eat and a warm place to sleep…even those who don’t work. It occurred to me that that may be why the incarceration rate is so much lower in Europe.
Everybody who works hard, no matter how much they earn, has the right to paid vacation.
I woke up and smelled the roses.
I liked vacation. And I was much more productive and happy when I returned to work
I saw the clean streets, the modern buses and metros, the airports crowded with regular people returning from sunny beaches.
I learned to look forward to Sunday grill parties when nobody had to work.
I became tired of traffic jams and trying to find a parking spot for my car and read a book while on the train or the bus.
I fell from a fence and had to go to the hospital. They treated me like a king and there was no bill.
I met a girl who became my wife. We moved to France and raised four children. That was almost 20 years ago.
I still pay the highest rate for health care, but it’s not much more than I paid 30 years ago as a single. The deduction for our four children makes our income tax rate very low. If they want, all the children can go to university without breaking the family finances.
To conclude, everything I paid into the system as a young man is being returned to me in spades.
When the children are grown and my taxes rise, I will pay them without anger (I won’t lie and say happily).
Europe is taking care of me, my family, my friends, my co-workers and my neighbours.
It is not a utopia. It can do many things better.
But America can do better too. A good start would be to recognize that caring for fellow humanity is not a dirty word that ends like Venezuela.
I love America dearly, but Europe treats its normal people (that would be me) better and I will stay here until that changes.
When I was a young boy, growing up in Bridgeport, CT, my father would take myself and my sister to the butcher to buy meat. He would always buy meats that a typical 1960’s era family would buy. This would include pork, beef, chicken, and many many roasts. I am sure that he bought some occasional steaks, as well as lots of pork chops.
What I remember most from that time was the wood sawdust floors, and the fresh hotdogs that he would procure for us from the butcher there.
Today… the “local butcher” is more than likely an employee at a supermarket chain, rather than an individual with a shingle and a business storefront.
It’s a sad thing… you know, to lose something that seems all so common at one time.
In those days, the meat were all wrapped in newspaper or butchers paper, today, it’s all prepackaged in cellophane and sterile.
Appreciate what you have today. The mundane is soon to be replaced with something different. And as you get older, you will reminisce of the common day to day lifestyle that you had once taken for granted.
Today…
2nm Chips
2nm Chips: China to challenge ASML with a new technology better than EUV — Techovedas
In the race for semiconductor chip manufacturing, China has embarked on a groundbreaking venture to revolutionize lithography technology by exploring novel avenues that could potentially disrupt the industry especially ASML.
China is strategizing the establishment of an immense chip manufacturing facility propelled by a particle accelerator to challenge ASML. This technology could be a game-changer that outstrips US sanctions and make China a key player in the chip world. They’re actively pushing forward with the construction of a crucial particle accelerator to bring this cutting-edge technology to life.
This initiative is focused on leveraging particle accelerators to create a cutting-edge laser source for lithography machines, a crucial component in microchip production. Unlike traditional approaches, the Chinese project aims to localize manufacturing and bolster high-volume, low-cost chip production by constructing a colossal factory housing multiple lithography machines around a single accelerator.
This innovation could position China as a global leader in the industrial production of advanced chips, including coveted 2nm chips.
“One of the potential applications of our research is as a light source for future EUV lithography machines. I think this is why the international community is paying close attention,”
Professor Tang Chuanxiang from Tsinghua University in a report on the university’s website.
The SSMB Theory and its Potential:
At the core of this technological breakthrough is the innovative Steady-State Microbunching (SSMB) theory, proposed by Professor Zhao Wu at Stanford University and his student Daniel Ratner in 2010. SSMB theory utilizes the energy released by charged particles during acceleration to act as a light source, resulting in a narrow bandwidth, small scattering angle, and continuous pure Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light.
ASML prioritizes downsizing chip manufacturing machines for international trade. In contrast, the Chinese initiative centers on domestic production. It aims to construct an extensive facility consolidating numerous lithography machines around a central accelerator. This advancement can fuel abundant and cost-effective chip production. It positions China as a leader in industrializing advanced chips, including 2nm and beyond.
China tech Better than ASML EUV
Compared to the existing ASML EUV technology, SSMB, china tech proves to be a superior light source. It offers higher average power and increased chip production while maintaining lower unit costs.
ASML utilizes laser-induced plasma to generate an EUV source, involving the projection of strong laser pulses onto tin microdroplets. This impact crushes the droplets, producing EUV pulse light. Following intricate filtering and focusing processes, an EUV light source with an approximate power of 250W is generated.
Conclusion
China’s ambitious project aims to create a new light source for lithography machines. It utilizes particle accelerators and SSMB theory. This endeavor could reshape the semiconductor industry significantly. China seeks to localize chip manufacturing and diminish reliance on foreign technologies. The focus is on becoming a leader in semiconductor fabrication, particularly in advanced chips like the 2nm chips. The success of the SSMB-EUV light source could revolutionize chip production. It has the potential to unlock new horizons for scientific research and technological innovation. The future of chip manufacturing may very well be illuminated by this groundbreaking Chinese initiative.
Tri-Tip Stroganoff
Ingredients
1/2 small onion, diced
1/4 cup butter
1 (1 pound) tri-tip steak
7 fresh mushrooms
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1 package large egg noodles
Salt, pepper and garlic, to taste
Instructions
Melt butter. Add onions and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent.
Add steak and salt and pepper. Brown steak.
Add fresh mushrooms and cook well.
Add 2 cans cream of chicken soup. Let boil. Add water to thin a little.
Add sour cream last. Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes.
Yes. This is all very valuable data to the CCP. They really want to know how many funny cat videos you watch each week. Also, whether you really like Taylor Swift more than Beyonce. Some of you also watch many videos each week relating to your favourite sports, such as baseball, football and basketball, while others among you may be into cooking, gardening or the latest Internet memes.
These are grave matters of national security that have a significant impact on geopolitics. Therefore the Chinese Communist Party would make it their top priority to get hold of such critical data.
I wish I could explain what you mean to me. I wish I had the words to tell you what you did for my family.
Today my son choked on a sucker outside your window. Today my son turned every color of the rainbow and went limp in my arms. Today you screamed instructions and told me what to do while you ran to me.
You cared.
Today while I was in shock you remembered my oldest son witnessing this and even asked if he was okay while I couldn’t. Today you walked me through every step that I froze on. Today you saved my son’s life without even thinking about it. You called 911 when I was speechless.
Erin and Tami, I wish I could repay the favor but nothing I could do could equal what you did today. After this extreme incident, you went back to work helping people like you do every day, but today was different. Today time stood still for a moment, but you kept moving and kept helping without hesitation.
I hope this reaches you. I hope you know how much I appreciate everything you have done.
Because of you, he smiled on the way home. Because of you, I heard him giggle in his room just now. Because of you, I have time. Time to enjoy these moments.
‘Thank you’ seems like the smallest word on the planet. but has the most powerful meaning. You took just a few minutes out of your day to give me a lifetime more with my son and I will forever be grateful.
So, 10 years, that would be 2013. I had just started my job as a producer at a big game company, working on a high-profile, very well-known title. By that time, I had a few years of production experience with various start-ups and large companies, mostly doing outsourcing work or working on smaller games. But I never directly involved in the production of an AAA title. That job was my big break into the actual, “legit” game production, the kind you’d see your name listed when the credit started rolling. I was full of aspirations and unrealistic expectations about what production (of an AAA box title video game) was like, as in, video game production was like a well-oiled machine. We all do our part, and magic happens. I was very ready to give it 120%. As for burnout, what burnout? If you love video games, you won’t get burned out because you’re working on something you love, right? Right?
Oh, I have so many horror stories to tell the 2013 me. It didn’t even take long for me to get burned out. I worked for that company for 3 years and experienced burnout multiple times. The first couple of times, it wasn’t that bad. I barely felt it. It’s just a long period of exhaustion and numbness. I could usually recover, especially if there was a holiday break right after the release crunch. Then I couldn’t recover. I was in a perpetual state of numbness and exhaustion that impacted every aspect of my life, not just work.
But it’s OK, I tell myself. I wanted this. This is what it takes to ship a game.
I changed jobs and worked on a different game. I told myself it was OK. I was not doing it for the company or even the game. I was doing it for my team. They were like my family.
The other day, I read one of my older answers about game production, and I said in that answer: you came for the title. You stay for the team. And I laughed at myself. Oh, silly, silly me. Your team ain’t your family, Feifei. “Found Family” is a literary trope, not a real thing you can actually go search in real life. To think, I actually told candidates that this company was like a big family when I did interviews, not knowing it was a gigantic red flag if you’re applying for a job. I was a walking red flag of burnout, and I didn’t have the self-awareness to see it in the mirror.
I’m glad I got out of that fantasy back in 2020.
So what advice would I give the 2013 me? Nothing.
Because the 2013 me wouldn’t listen. I was stubborn and so full of myself. I knew what I wanted, and I was going to get it. Ain’t nobody gonna tell me no. I wouldn’t listen to anyone, even the 2023 me. 2013 me would tell the 2023 me that she can make a difference. She wouldn’t end up working a middle management corporate job that gets off work at 5 p.m. because that’s pathetic.
Something in life you just have to learn the hard way. You have to learn from experience. You have to learn from having your dream and aspiration crushed by being exploited mercilessly and discarded.
So, what do I say if I met my 2013 self?
“You go, girl! You can do this!”
Cambodia risks & dangers, friends death (Natalia Montoni) and No Joke Howard
One evening my boyfriend and I were going dancing and I had forgotten something at work. So I dropped by dresses in a slinky black dress and high heeled shoes. When I walked in I noticed one of the staff showing a woman her cake, as I retrieved my item I had a view of her face. When they open the box her face just fell. I walked over and asked if there was a problem. Then I saw the cake, I hadn’t been the one who had decorated it but I had seen the order a few days earlier when it had come in. I knew what she was expecting and that wasn’t it. I could see she was about to cry. Before she got there, I asked, can you me give 15–20 minutes to fix this for you.
She said yes!
So I grabbed an apron. Went to the bathroom, put my hair up and washed my hands. Since it was an ice cream cake I was able to simply slice the top off, re ice it. While it froze I custom mixed the colors to correct her order. Then I decorated it while In the freezer. I threw in a couple of extra little things to make up for the problem. Boxed in and brought it out to her. She loved it. She went home.
The next day there was a nice thank you card and a $100.00 dollar bill waiting for me when I got to work. A one hundred dollar tip in 1977 was pretty exciting.
This was July-ish of 2004 and I was flying in an official capacity, on military orders, so I had a lot of my kit with me. Anyone who has done this will tell you, your orders can give you a little extra weight allowance, but they will still be very clear on the number of bags you can check. Those of us in the military become very proficient at bag-Tetris in order to get everything we need into what limited carrying capacity we have. These skills are acquired over time, and you definitely don’t have them when you join.
The rocket surgeons at the TSA decided that my kit bags just had to be dumped and looked through. It might have been related to the Pelican case I was checking with my weapon in it, but, as I said, I was flying on orders. There were several questions about what certain items were, and implications that they were contemplating removing them from my checked bags (which would have be a lot of fun with the items which were government property). I was growing impatient, as the ample amount of time I had before my flight was rapidly dwindling, and I am sure that it was starting to show.
My guess is that a supervisor saw all of my kit on their tables and decided to swing by, because there he was, asking what was happening. I explained the situation, and he informed the TSA “agents” that a) they couldn’t confiscate any of my kit and b) they needed to stop giving me “special attention”. The minimum wage power trippers reluctantly obeyed and said “ok, you can pack it all back up.” ←that right there was the “you gotta be kidding me” moment.
I replied that they dumped it, they needed to pack it. They responded very smugly that it wasn’t their job to repack my bags, and I’d either do it myself or they’d dispose of the items as abandoned. I was now pissed and getting ready to start in to my argument, but the supervisor beat me to it. “Sorry guys, but all of that stuff is in the secured area and we can’t let a passenger past the barrier. You’ll have to get it packed back up. *looks at my ticket* And his flight leaves in 45 minutes…you’ve got less than 10.”
It was excellent fun to watch them try to repack my kit bags, looking like a monkey with a math problem, but I was getting honestly nervous about making my flight. They got it packed up in almost 20 minutes, and the supervisor made a radio call that priority bags were coming and to not button up the flight. He then gave me a golf cart escort through security and to my gate. Before he left me there, he stuck out his hand to shake mine, and introduced himself. Mr. Smith, Sergeant First Class, Retired.
Why Is The UK So Miserable?
Really good round-up man! Left UK for Thailand 9 months ago and loving it. Miss family and countryside but everyday life is just more enjoyable!
Several years ago, as my husband and I walked our dog to a nearby park, we’d pass a modest house with a boxer in the front yard. Our dog would stop to socialize with the boxer, and eventually we got to know its owner, a very nice, elderly Englishwoman who, it turned out, was a World War II war bride/widow.
A few years on, our friend suffered a stroke. As she had no family (she was childless), my husband and I looked after her property, and visited her as often as possible in the hospital and in rehab. She finally came back home, and we would stop by often and make sure she was doing OK.
After a year or so, weakened by her ordeal, she died, and my husband and I arranged for her funeral services. A few weeks later, we received a call from her lawyer, who asked me to go to her house and look for her will. I did, and found it in a lockbox in a closet.
We knew she was a strong advocate for animals, so we assumed she had left her assets to appropriate charities. Turns out that initially she had, but after her first stroke, she had contacted her lawyer, changed her will, and left us everything. Her house, her bank account, *everything.* We were flabbergasted.
To this day, I’m insanely grateful, but you know what? I wish she was still with us. She taught our autistic son how to tie his shoes, and every time I watch him do so, I think of her, and miss her.
Two Weeks ago
“Two weeks ago, my 90-year-old mother, Catherine Ritchie, was preparing herself for bed at around 9pm.
After brushing her teeth and hair, she turned around to find her bed completely engulfed in flames.
She made an attempt to extinguish the flames herself by throwing blankets and pillows on the fire.
The smoke and heat were so overwhelming that she immediately got disoriented, gave up fighting the fire, and decided to flee.
She pushed the emergency call button she wears on her necklace, called 911, and attempted to get out of her now engulfed bedroom.
She walked into the closet several times thinking it was the door that leads to the hallway. It wasn’t. She couldn’t find her way out. She was stuck. Smoke everywhere.
Across the street, 4 boys saw the smoke and reflection of flames. Not an adult in sight. 4 kids who took immediate action to save an elderly woman who they couldn’t guarantee was home and who 3 of them had never even met.
One started breaking the glass on the front door. One called 911. One went to the back door and began kicking it in. One went to the neighbors for an ax and help.
Within minutes, a door was kicked in by a 14-year-old child who found my mother in the hallway outside of her bedroom and picked her up in his arms.
Kids who are told about all the things they aren’t old enough to do saved the life of the most precious and beloved woman we know.
Courageous young men. Young men who risked their own lives, their own safety, perhaps their good standing with their parents who might have chosen for them to do otherwise, and they carried my mother out of her burning home into the street, where firetrucks and ambulances would soon arrive.
Dylan Wick – 16 years old, Nick Byrd – 14 years old, Seth Byrd – 16 years old, and Wyatt Hall – 17 years old, thank you! Thank you for your selfless acts of heroism and courage.
Thank you for not allowing this to be the tragic end to our mother’s amazing life.
Thank you for staying with her, hugging her, and helping her feel less alone until we could get to her.
Thank you for being the kind of young men who thought about another person above yourselves.
Thank you for staying safe yourselves as well. Thank you to your parents who obviously raised you in such a way that lead to you making life saving and heroic decisions on behalf of someone else.
Thank you for more than we know how to thank you for! We will forever be indebted to the time you bought for us and the example you set for us. God Bless each of you for being such a blessing to us.
Sincerely,
Michael Ritchie, Karen Ritchie Sontag, Pat Ritchie, Jimmy Ritchie, Kelly Ritchie, John Ritchie, Tim Ritchie, Tom Ritchie, Missy Ritchie Nicholas, Ryan Ritchie, and 42 very grateful grandchildren.”
San Jose, California Has Some Major Soul Searching To Do
San Jose, California. Population one million. Well, wait – there WERE a million people here a few years ago, but there have been a lot of people who have left.
For the first time since 2013, San Jose’s population dropped below a million people.
Why?
Well, there’s a LOT of people leaving California in general.
Only Illinois saw more people move away.
I mean look the highways. They’re empty. It’s so expensive here, for one. Real estate costs are outrageous, and taxes are going up all the time.
The politics here are turning a lot of people off. It’s getting more dangerous, and there’s homeless people taking over parts of town.
And people can work from home now.
Why raise a family here, when you can settle down in a place that’s just…better?
That’s not good for a place like the Silicon Valley, which has relied on talent to be HERE with their butts in seats. They’re gonna have to figure that out – cause word is out among tech workers who don’t need to be here anymore.
I don’t know if it counts as a battlefield but when serving in Germany in 1974 I was in charge of a unit composed of three Royal Engineers and nine Gurkha riflemen. One night we were called out to investigate a possible unexploded bomb unearthed by some construction workers. The suspect object had been discovered while digging a deep trench in loose sandy soil.
On arrival my riflemen set up a security cordon around the site while I climbed down to the bottom of the trench to evaluate the object. That is the last thing I remember as the loose sandy soil of the trench collapsed burying me alive. All of my squad immediately ignored common sense as well as standard operating procedures and jumped into the collapsed trench. Their efforts to move the sand covering me were hampered by the clearly exposed bomb which had fallen out of the trench wall and was lying on top of the pile of sand.
They got a land rover reversed up to the side of the trench and tied a rope between the bomb and the truck. They then dragged a thousand pounds of high explosive which had been burried for thirty years bumping and jolting out of the trench and across the building site. All the time they were still digging or forming a bucket chain to remove the sand.
I cannot ever forget the risks those men took to save me. But for those men’s efforts I would not be here today and writing this answer.
Going anonymous here for reasons that will be obvious soon.
I work on Wall Street in a front office position on the trading floor as a sales-trader.
You can already see this is probably not the “safest” environment.
I used to work in a large bank. I was constantly sexually harassed. I had clients who would send me IBs (Bloomberg IMs) in group chats with my manager and other sales-traders saying how “hot” they thought I was and that they had huge male appendages, asking me what kind of bra I was wearing, things of that nature. I’ve sat next to men who watched porn all day at work on their iPhones. I’ve had managers from other desks proposition me in return for introductions to clients (I never accepted).
I was a high producer at this bank and the other sales-traders hated me for it, because I was much younger. They made up rumors that I was sleeping with all my clients (of course not true).
I worked my ass off. I worked 12-hour days every day and then on weekends. I was out meeting clients every week. My co-workers would roll into the office at 7 and leave at 4:15 on the dot.
Now, of course, all of this is on the manager’s side.
When my manager was fired, one of the other sales-traders who hated me was promoted. His first move was to get me fired. HR (this is where they stepped in) decided to put a negative mark on my U-5. A U-5, for those not in finance, is a form for registered employees. It follows you for life. It discusses why you were fired. Most banks will write something innocuous like reduction of headcount or terminated employee. The reason for a U-5 is more for if you’ve done something really bad. Stealing from clients, hiding trading losses, something like that. They wrote on mine “failure to meet management expectations,” which basically means “you were a crap sales-person.” It’s virtually impossible to get a job after this in sales. To get it removed, you need to go through arbitration with FINRA, which costs an obscene amount of money.
My bank did this to many people for no reason, mostly to junior employees who wouldn’t be able to afford to pay for a lawyer. It’s a disgusting practice.
Update: I wanted to let everyone know. I’m not really sure *why* they did this except out of revenge. HR probably went along with it because management wanted it. Management wanted it because I had (and still have) very loyal clients, whose business they thought they could take. I took my bank to arbitration and won. It took a long time and a lot of money that I’ll never get back. I did manage to get a job after, doing the same thing at a smaller firm. It actually worked out as this firm is a lot better run with a group of people who are great at their job. (I’m also making more money… go figure!) I was lucky as I got this job before I went through arbitration (which is a long process). I had clients who spoke to my firm on my behalf, advocating for me, and a few former coworkers. I was lucky in that sense.
Update 2 (Dec/30/2016): Wow thanks for all the upvotes! This has gotten more upvotes than any of my other (non-anonymous) answers, lol. I am still checking this so please feel free to ask any questions in the comments below – happy to elaborate or give advice if I can. Thanks!
Update 3 (Feb/28/2017): More than 6k upvotes – WOW! Thanks, everyone! There are a few comments from people asking me to name-and-shame my old employer. Trust me, I would love to do that! I signed an agreement upon termination agreeing not to disparage my former employer. This is a pretty disparaging note and I’m not looking to get sued. All I will say is that I worked at a bank in NYC. For those accusing me of not looking out for my fellow women… it’s a tricky situation. Everyone (women/men/etc) needs to be careful and prepared for complicated situations in the workplace. This is NOT limited to Wall Street. Just this week there have been several major reports of sexual harassment: Bloomberg, Uber, Tesla, and Signet Jewelers. This problem is rampant and hardly limited to one industry or one company. I hope we as a people get better at treating people with respect.
Drill Instructor (DI) pacing before the platoon (in the typical cadence of DIs everywhere): “Alright you lamebrains, settle in. We have word of where you will be posted. You will be sent as a platoon to the Pacific Islands where you will assist in removing Japanese invaders from their lands. I, and others, have taught you everything you need to know about being good soldiers. Now that I know where you are going, I will need to teach you about something that may save your life.”
“You need to learn about the Hairy Water Swamp Viper. “
DI in the typical “singsong” voice of DIs: “The Hairy Water Swamp Viper is three to three and a half feet in length. An inch to an inch and a half in diameter. Covered with three eighths inch hairs, colored orange black orange black orange black.”
“If you are crawling through the jungle and you see the Hairy Water Swamp Viper poised thusly to strike (holds his arm like a snake about to strike), there is one, and only one thing to do to save your life.”
“You must leap to your feet (DI demonstrating throughout), and place your left foot forward and pointing at the snake. Place your right foot back and perpendicular to your left. Extend the left arm fully, palm parallel and facing the ground. Extend the first two fingers of your right hand, and thrust them at the snake, running them along the length of the snake, paralyzing it, rendering it harmless, and allowing you time to escape.”
The DI straightens himself up and points to one of the platoon members.
DI: “Private Egghead, tell me everything you know about the Hairy Water Swamp Viper!”
Private Egghead leaps to his feet.
Private Egghead: “The Hairy Water Swamp Viper is three to three and a half feet in length. An inch to an inch and a half in diameter. Covered with three eighths inch hairs, colored orange black orange black orange black.”
“If you are crawling through the jungle and you see the Hairy Water Swamp Viper poised thusly to strike (holds his arm like a snake about to strike), there is one, and only one thing to do to save your life.”
“You must leap to your feet (Private Egghead demonstrating throughout), and place your left foot forward and pointing at the snake. Place your right foot back and perpendicular to your left. Extend the left arm fully, palm parallel and facing the ground. Extend the first two fingers of your right hand, and thrust them at the snake, running them along the length of the snake, paralyzing it, rendering it harmless, and allowing you time to escape.”
DI; “Very good, private. Be seated.”
DI: “I will be following the platoon to the jungles in a few weeks. Good luck men, and stay safe.”
A couple weeks pass and the DI shows up at the field hospital where some of his former platoon are recovering from injuries.
First he sees Private Smith. Private Smith is missing both arms.
DI: “Private Smith, what happened to you?”
Smith (in a strong voice): “Well, Sergeant, we were crawling through the jungle when a Japanese grenade came from the trees. I wrapped my arms around it and protected my buddies.”
DI: “You’re a brave man, Private. You’ll be going home soon.”
Next the DI sees Private Jones. Private Jones has no legs.
DI: “Private Jones, what happened?”
Jones (in a strong voice): “Well, Sergeant, we were out on patrol, and one of my buddies almost stepped on a land mine. I managed to push him away, but I landed on the mine and it took my legs.”
DI: “Well, you’re a brave man, Private. You’ll be going home soon.”
The DI visits a few more of the men, and finally, in the last bed, he sees him. Private Egghead is wrapped head to toe in bandages.
The DI takes a seat beside the bed and looks crestfallen. “Private Egghead, you were my best soldier. What happened to you?”
Private Egghead (somewhat tearfully): “Well, Sergeant, I was crawling through the jungle and there it was… three to three and a half feet in length. An inch to an inch and a half in diameter. Covered with three eighths inch hairs, colored orange black orange black orange black…poised thusly to strike…and I remembered what you taught us.”
“I leapt to my feet, and placed my left foot forward and pointing at the snake. I placed my right foot back and perpendicular to my left. I extended my left arm fully, palm parallel and facing the ground. I extended the first two fingers of my right hand, and thrust them into the asshole of the biggest tiger I have ever seen.”
TikTok on the cost of living | RANT ON INFLATION | EVERYONE IS BROKE AND TIRED
That 27 year old was too right. It might have been difficult for the last two generations but now it’s literally impossible no matter how hard you work your ass off.
I walked into one of the biggest “Banks” in “America”. I had a $100 bill and asked for change. The teller asked if I had an account. I said no. She said they could only make change for customers. I stood there stunned for a second. Then I realized something and said “actually I am a customer. Every time I use your ATM I get charged a fee. That makes me a customer”. She just said “sorry, that doesn’t count”. So I walked away. Since then I haven’t used that bank for any reason. No credit cards, no mortgages, no car loans, etc. I’m sure they don’t need my business though. Which is good because they will never get it.
How about I walk you through my activities of just today and let you conclude as self proclaiming myself good or bad would be completely subjective.
Here goes nothing.
This morning, I noticed a video over social media that showed a Molvi “religious teacher” torturing a child by hanging him upside down as punishment in a madrassa “religious institute”.
The video had the caption “This incident happened in xyz town”.
Content of the video shook me, I was downright furious to no end. Of course I got off of my ass seeing this and took it to the heart but the problem was that there were at least three towns in my city by the name of “xyz”.
What do I do now? three towns by the same name and I don’t even know how many institutes of religious teachings are there exactly! How do I trace the place to capture this bearded monster?
All I had was the video that was recorded inside a room.
And the pain and empathy for the innocent victim.
That’s it.
Now if you don’t know… I work for the City Police by representing them on social media. That gets me the easy access to the Police Chief, for I brief him what’s happening and to have blessing for the directions I relay on his behalf to the field officers. That goes on through whatsapp or phone calls mostly.
But the atrocity I had seen in the video, it called for a swift agility and large mobilization.
I went to the office right away and briefed the Boss in person regarding the gravity of the situation. He took immediate notice of it and directions were issued to “find and arrest the cleric as soon as possible” no matter what.
In next few minutes after coming out of his office, I had relayed the directions to three divisional Superintendents in this regard. At least 200 cops were dispatched to find the place or die trying! And as they say,,, when there’s a will, hell yea there’s a way.
We found it!
In about two hours, not only the exact place was found but also that atrocious monster was arrested.
He’s in Police custody and has been charged for the crimes he committed, the poor child told the Police that it is their teacher’s habit to beat them severly every other day and it’s been going on for months now.
Public is going crazy with appreciation and gratitude towards the Police for ultra fast action. Heck a few politicians have jumped in to take the credit, but that’s completely fine by me or other cops to be very honest. It’s their thing to put up a show, they can have it.
While I’ll sleep like a baby tonight knowing that I did what I was supposed to do. Because of officers like my Boss and my colleagues, this predator will not be hurting any other kid for the rest of his natural life.
We’ll make sure of that!
But there’s so much the Police can do, right?
Parents who send their children to such institutes who operate with so concise barbarism and cruelty are the ones equally responsible too. I wouldn’t even let anyone touch my children let alone hurt them.
Don’t be okay with that because it’s not okay, it’s insane.
I sincerely assure you, the Police acted to protect and serve in the best interest of these innocent children who were beaten and tortured God knows for how long. Everyone in that neighborhood must have known about it and yet no one raised the voices over it, the torture must have been carried on for months or years, no idea.
On the other side,
A mere constable watched the video and voila! A difference was made.
See? I don’t think if I’m a good or bad Police Officer really.
But I’m damn good at getting the job done accordingly.
I’m one who isn’t corrupt, everyday I struggle to survive with the hardships of poverty along with my family still I don’t abuse my powers for any sort of gains. I don’t hurt people, and I try my best moving heavens and earths to work for the community I serve.
Mostly, I get cursed and demeaned anyway but then again I’m fine with that.
The Financial System Is Rigged!! You Need To Know The TRUTH!
These largely ‘non-crypto’ videos really are some of my favourites. So easy to digest and informative.
Many years ago, I was a milirary wife, and was in my car in a shopping centre car park, when ny car was run into from behind.
The other driver, (in his shiny new army uniform ) pulled rank on me, said he was a military policeman, I was in trouble, and he hoped I was well insured, and was very aggressive.
I sat quietly, until he asked for my insurance. Then I suggested he ring my husband for the details, as he was his new boss. And obviously outranked him substantially.
It was amusing to watch him deflate.
He then got called in to the office and reprimanded for pulling rank on a civilian.
Take a Virtual Reality tour of six REAL exoplanets (4K, 360° VR experience) | We The Curious
We Russians like to think of ourselves as a no-nonsense people. Vodka is a no-nonsense drink. We make a great pair.
Wine, beer and the rest of the stuff involve too much of gustatory and olfactory factors. Too cumbersome to produce, shelf life as a factor of quality, the confusion of picking the right sort. You bring in your buddies, and they drink—and someone always comments on something that is not all perfect about the taste, or smell, or color, or vintage. Neither mismatches with the food and the occasion will ever go unnoticed. This is all so irritating!
Vodka makes you free. Correctly brewed, it doesn’t smell or taste anything. Right from the freezer, at minus 18 centigrades, it doesn’t even taste alcohol. Heaven enters your body as effortlessly as the air you are breathing.
Vodka is timeless, affordable, simple. It’s the Godly promise of clarity, ease and elegance which are often too hard to come around at our place.
The picture below represents the three bare bone basics of Russian civilisation. Rug bread is the food that has been carrying us through thick and thin. The faceted glass cup is said to be designed by a Soviet woman
, when Communist-made glass turned out too brittle and opaque for the regular smooth circular cups. And of course vodka, looking like water, the baseline liquid of life—but much, much cooler!
Nope. Was making $125 K a year plus benefits, profit sharing, car and 401K. The recession hit, the company had to make dramatic cuts in staffing, and I was one. Shook hands with my boss, even gave him a lift to the airport. Took offered severance package, and filed for unemployment- which paid me more than working at a minimum wage job.
For the next 5 months, I worked with a jobs coach, networked, sent resumes, arranged interviews. At that point, my JOB was to FIND a job I wanted- and wanted me. And I worked at it every day.
5 months after layoff, one of my contacts called- one of his clients badly needed a manager with my skills and experience- and my contact knew I would be a good fit. Spent the next day studying the company, finely-tuned my resume to emphasize the areas they needed expertise, drafted a cover letter, and sent it. Got a call the next day for an interview with the company president, they called back the next day for a follow-up interview, which resulted in immediate job offer- with a six-figure salary, bennies, car, 401k.
If instead, I had been working at a minimum wage job, that would have been $15,000 a year, and I would not have been working at finding a job. PS- 5 years later, I retired from that job. Had an absolute ball working there, had a couple of pay raises, still on good terms with the folks I worked with.
Oh SH*T, they’re are actively pushing a FOREVER war against Putin
Amazing analysis by Scott Ritter , he is 100% right , he nailed it.
It’s a big deal, the Hangzhou Asian Games. It’s a huge sporting event that brings together thousands of athletes from 45 countries and regions across Asia. It’s also the third time that China has hosted the Asiad, after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010. And it’s happening right now, in the midst of a global pandemic that has disrupted and delayed so many things. But not this. Not the Hangzhou Asian Games.
So how do the participants from other countries feel about this event? Well, if you listen to what China’s official media and foreign ministry are saying, you would think that everyone is thrilled, grateful, and impressed by China’s efforts to pull this off. You would hear a lot of praise for China’s economic and social achievements, as well as its role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. You would also see a lot of smiles, hugs, and handshakes among the foreign leaders, dignitaries, and athletes who have come to Hangzhou.
For instance, on Saturday night, Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the Games at a dazzling ceremony that featured a lotus-shaped stadium, a giant LED screen, and a theme of “Tides Surging in Asia”. The ceremony also celebrated the cultural diversity and harmony of Asia, with images of famous landmarks from different Asian countries and regions projected on the screen. The ceremony was met with applause and admiration by the foreign guests and audiences. The acting president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), Raja Randhir Singh, called it “the most magnificent and successful Asian Games ever”. The president of OCA, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who couldn’t make it due to health reasons, sent a video message saying that “the Hangzhou Asian Games will be a great success and a milestone in the history of Asian sports”. And the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also sent a congratulatory message to President Xi Jinping, saying that he hoped “the Hangzhou Asian Games will be a symbol of friendship and solidarity among Asian countries”.
Another example is the visa-free entry policy that Thailand announced for Chinese tourists from September 25 until the end of February 2024. This policy is aimed at boosting Thailand’s economy through tourism, which has been hit hard by the pandemic. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha personally welcomed Chinese tourists at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on the first day of the visa-free policy. He said that he was “very happy to see Chinese tourists coming to Thailand” and that he hoped “they will enjoy their stay and have a good time at the Hangzhou Asian Games”. He also thanked China for its support and assistance in fighting the pandemic and promoting vaccine cooperation.
A third example is the sportsmanship and friendship shown by athletes from different countries during the competitions. Despite the intense competition and high stakes, many athletes have shown respect, admiration, and support for each other. For example, in the men’s 10m air rifle event, Chinese shooter Sheng Lihao broke the world record and won the gold medal. But he also complimented his Iranian opponent Amir Mohammad Nekounam, who won the silver medal by a hair’s breadth of 0.1 point. Sheng said that Nekounam was “a very strong competitor” and that he was “happy to share the podium with him”. Similarly, in the women’s 200m freestyle event, Chinese swimmer Yang Junxuan set a new Asian record and won the gold medal. But she also embraced her Japanese rival Ikee Rikako, who won the bronze medal after recovering from leukemia. Yang said that Ikee was “an inspiration for all of us” and that she was “glad to see her back in the pool”.
So there you have it. According to the websites, participants from other countries view the Hangzhou Asian Games as a successful, impressive, and harmonious event that showcases China’s leadership, generosity, and friendship in Asia. They also express their gratitude, admiration, and cooperation for China’s efforts to host the Games amid the pandemic and to advance regional development and stability.
Apple’s Latest iPhone Maker Foxconn Gives Bonus To Attract More Chinese Workers Amid US Restrict
US lost the plot decades ago when they turned their education system into a piggy bank. Today they graduate less than 500k STEM candidates at year. All of them saddled in 5-6 digit debts. China graduates over 5 million a year. With zero debt from what I understand. Who do you think is going to win in a tech race? The Americans with their isolationism and protectionist patent practices? Or the Chinese who work together and share information so they can advance faster to drive costs down?
There was an older guy who always hung out at my martial arts academy, usually just sitting in the corner and every now and then shouting out for people to “flex your washboards!” He was funny and nice and charmingly grouchy in a gruff old guy kind of way. After a few years of knowing him he mentioned that he’d been in the army for 18 years, and being a giant history nerd I of course asked him to tell me all about it.
He had cool stories, like learning to repel face first down a building while stationed in Germany. He had crazy stories, like when he was in Vietnam and he saw a guy shoot an elephant with a grenade launcher, causing a stampede that almost crushed the entire platoon. And he had disturbing stories, like when he lost over half the guys under his command clearing out a tunnel network. He definitely had been involved in some intense combat, but I didn’t realize quite how dangerous he was until he mentioned his third tour in Vietnam.
“I was there the last time on a civilian passport working for the CIA. You know what Operation Phoenix is?”
I didn’t know, so I went and looked it up. Turns out it was a program to flush out the Vietcong in South Vietnam. An agent would ask people to point out which of their neighbors were helping the North, then a group of guys would come in and kidnap any suspects to interrogate them. Not necessarily the most ethical thing ever, but maybe understandable. But the more I read, the worse it got. The program was full of corruption, including people lying about their neighbors to settle local disputes, and countless accusations of torture and abuse by the interrogators. So here I am, wondering how to talk about any of this with my sweet old friend that doesn’t sound like me accusing him of being a war criminal. The next time I saw him I tried to thread that needle.
“Hey, so I read up on Operation Phoenix. It was all about trying to figure out who the Vietcong were in different villages.”
“Yep, that’s right.”
“I, uh, did read that there was maybe some controversy though. Like, um, some of the people said they were kidnapped and tortured.”
“Kidnapped and tortured? No way.” I breathed a sigh of relief, while he looked really thoughtful. “No, all I ever did was ambush and murder people in the jungle.” Then he chuckled a little.
And that’s how I found out my friend used to be a cold blooded killer. Really nice guy though. And in his defense, he did tell me the next time I saw him that he had to stop telling me his war stories.
“I need to take a break, man. All last week the nightmares were back.”
Matt Gaetz shakes up the uniparty
American politics, and issues related to it. Good talk.
Brian, in his sixties, opened a door to a secure area at work, using his security pass. Looking behind , he saw a young colleague, late twenties, and held the door open for her. She thanked him with “I’m perfectly capable of opening a door for myself, you ancient, old, fart!”
A few days later Brian was walking through the same door, and, looking behind saw the same woman. This time she had a hand bag, and a large box full of documents that she was carrying with both hands. He let the door close (possibly helping it on it’s way, just a little).
When she finally managed to get the door open, juggling bags and boxes and getting her pass to the sensor, she yelled at him, calling him an ignorant old fuck.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Brian, “I thought you were a perfectly capable young lady”.
Being a capable young lady, she told him to “fuck off!”
Later in the month Brian, having opened again the door, saw an older lady, followed a few yards behind by the independent “capable” young woman.
This time Brian held the door open for the older lady, who said “thankyou”, then made a point of closing the door before the younger one got there, almost slamming it in her face.
A couple of days later, Brian was summoned to HR to explain his behaviour.
Which he did. Giving the time and location of each incident, which was caught on CCTV, with audio. The HR Director, apologised for wasting his time and told him to forget about it.
Brian refused to forget about it, and asked for an apology.
Which he got.
THOUSANDS Of Ukrainian Troops Surrender To Russia!
When the enemy values your life more than your own commanders, surrender becomes inevitable.
You will see the CIA hand in supplying Ukrainian weapons to Palestine.
Israel is now pinned to the wall, and they are helpless. The rest of the world are holding the darts. Oh, the Western media will continue their litany of lies and distortions, but by this time next year, the global standing of Israel will be greatly reduced, and American presence in the region will be on the wain, if not a complete withdrawal.
The jackals are out to feast on the carcass of the evil. And it is NOT going to be pretty.
As of 10:51 AM EDT on Sunday, October 8, 2023, it is confirmed that three Israeli Radar stations in the north have been attacked and destroyed. Israel has no radar to monitor into Lebanon. It is also confirmed that Americans have been killed, wounded, and captured/kidnapped inside Israel.
Overnight, after what was “Day one” of the HAMAS-Israel fight, an actual TSUNAMI of propaganda came flooding out onto the Internet and into the mass-media. The shear volume of propaganda is extraordinary. It is making it very difficult to discern what is truth and what is fiction.
There is an INTENSE effort to promote and propagate Israeli victims – and that’s OK I guess; they are, in fact, victims of an actual conflict. But there is also an absolutely unparalleled effort to suppress and censor anything factual about the Palestinians. It is almost as if the public is being manipulated into seeing ALL Israelis as “victims” and ALL Palestinians as animalistic perpetrators.
Official sources are very reluctant to provide Intel today. It’s like a giant lid has been slammed shut on factual information; only “the narrative” is allowed out.
I have had to adjust the manner in which I obtain information.
Here is what I can __confirm__:
My former colleagues in the Intel Community, from my years working with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), confirm that over a week ago, uniformed, flag-wearing, ID-carrying regular UKRAINIAN Army Troops attacked Wagner PMC Troops . . . . in . . . . . . SUDAN. You know, Africa!
I also found out that Mossad has been sabotaging/burning/blowing-up Iranian Drone Factories to stymie Iran helping Russia.
I also found out that planeloads of Israeli military weaponry were sent to Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan in the days and weeks before Azerbaijan launched another military attack upon Armenia last week, grabbing Nagrono-Karaback and forcing 100,000 Armenian Christians to flee for their lives.
What is taking place inside Israel right now, is payback. Payback from Russia for Israel helping Ukraine. Payback for the planeloads of weapons to Baku, Azerbaijan, and Payback for Israel blowing up Iranian drone factories.
It is also payback from Iran for all the air-strikes by Israel against Iranian forces in Syria for the past two years.
Lastly, it is also payback from Armenia for what Israel helped Azerbaijan facilitate in grabbing Nagorna Karaback.
The most interesting part? Iran used the $6 Billion released by the Biden administration two weeks ago, to fund today’s outbreak of hostilities!
I also found out this payback, is not going to stop.It __is__ in fact, “war.”
Moreover, I can now positively __confirm __:
This morning, the Israeli Security Cabinet invoked Article 40A of the “Law on Emergency Situations” — WAR.
So this morning, it is absolutely “official” Israel is at war. This is the first time that this Article has been invoked in Israel since the 1973 war.
Israel has decided to commit troops to a GROUND INVASION of the Gaza Strip. Door-to-Door. House-to-house.
This is going to be an absolute bloodbath.
I can also positively __ confirm__:
Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Alexander Ben Zvi told the Russian Government:
“Israel sees Tehran as one of the culprits of the Hamas attack.”
He then went on to tell Russia “This is how we quietly approached the threshold of the real use of Israeli nuclear weapons against Iran, and a demonstration of what the term “threat to the existence of the state” means . . . from the Russian “Fundamentals of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence.”
I can now also positively __confirm__:
There are some 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip. About half being men. If that half – or a good portion of it, were to come out into Israel bearing arms, the Israelis would be over run. Thus, the Ambassador to Moscow told the Russians that Israel is considering the use of smaller, “Tactical” nuclear bombs against Gaza, in case Israel is over-run. Same with the West Bank.
Finally, the Israeli Ambassador to Moscow told the Russian government that since Israel sees Iran as being primarily responsible for the ongoing onslaught, Tehran would be hit with much larger “Strategic nuclear bombs” as would . . . . Damascus, Syria, for being the Coordination point for HAMAS and Iran.
(Biblical: Damascus a ruinous heap?????)
Ergo, there is now actual and active discussion within the Israeli government of the potential use of nuclear weapons.
If Muslims begin to actually over-run Israel, where its existence is threatened, then Israel is already making known it will use the Samson Option and take a lot of people out.
HEZBOLLAH MASSING TROOPS
Hezbollah in Lebanon is already massing troops and moving rocket launchers. Hezbollah made clear yesterday that if Israel launches a ground war into the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah will attack from the north.
This morning, Israeli combat aircraft are in the skies over Lebanon all the way north to Kersewan, Lebanon.
There have been some mortars fired into Israel from Lebanon, and corresponding response with artillery fire from Israel, but these incidents do not even rise to the description of a skirmish.
RADAR KNOCKED OUT
The big news this morning is that THREE (3) Israeli radar stations in the north were successfully attacked from Lebanon and as of 10:51 AM EDT here in the United States eastern time zone, those three radar stations are OFFLINE.
For a brief time today, Israel had no effective radar coverage of its northern border. They have since moved portable, truck-mounted, military radar into new positions to restore coverage.
TALIBAN to JERUSALEM?
The Afghanistan Taliban reached a deal with Iran that is satisfactory, wherein Iran WILL allow Taliban armed forces to cross the country with the intent of entering Israel to grab Jerusalem. But the Taliban ran into several obstacles along the way.
Iraq did not respond to the Taliban request for permission to cross Iraqi territory.
Jordan flatly and explicitly BARRED the Taliban from entering their country.
So from a political perspective, the Arab states are now seen as acting as a shield for Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
IN AND AROUND GAZA
Hamas says that their fighters are still fighting in southern Israel, including in Ofakim, Sderot, Yad Mordechai, Kfar Azza, Be’eri, Yatid and Kissufim. Mind you, this is __Israeli__ territory.
“Israel will evacuate all residents living in towns near the Gaza border within 24 hours”
Israel has put itself in a bind with Gaza over the years so this isn’t so easy.
Gaza has been set up as a walled off open air prison, where the good inmates get to come out in daylight hours and do stuff like janitorial work for the chosen (their words – not mine) to eek out an existence. Then back through the gates by dark.
In theory, Israel can’t blow up a whole walled off city they created and kill every one because then everyone would scream genocide. But apparently everyone is cool with the status quo open penitentiary setup for some reason.
So the initial thinking is that Israel will just bomb here and there and level enough buildings to make everyone think they got payback and that will be that. It has always been that way. But no one is quite so sure this time. It may end up being an actual Genocide of Gaza.
The Israeli army issued orders to close all resorts near the border with Lebanon.
Most interesting this morning so far: : US weapons left behind in Afghanistan were used to attack Israel.
A high-ranking Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commander said US weapons left in Afghanistan by the Biden administration were found in the hands of Palestinian groups active in the Gaza Strip.
POLAND EVACUATING NATIONALS FROM ISRAEL
Poland has announced it intends to evacuate its nationals from Israel. Poland threatens: If any Polish aircraft is targeted or Polish nationals feel in danger after their aircraft enter the airspace.” Article 5 of the 31-nation NATO alliance will be activated and raids will be launched across all of Palestine.
EUROPE WARNED OF COMING RIOTS
Intel sources are now urgently reporting that Muslims will be on the rampage in Europe shortly; burning every major city in protest of the coming Israeli offensive into GAZA.
The authorities running Gaza know they cannot withstand a full Israeli military onslaught, so they have reached out to Muslims in Europe to have THEM cause trouble, making the Gaza problem, Europe’s problem too. The thinking is that Europe will be able to call-off a full blown Israeli wipeout of Gaza.
Intelligence sources say worst hit will be Paris, Brussels, London, and Marseille.
ON SCHEDULE
Everything is going to plan and is on schedule.
The neutering of Israel is in process.
We do not know how severe it will be, but one thing is certain; the American “military center” located smack-dab in the middle of the Middle East is slipping away…
Remember boys and girls, the “news” is not intended to inform. It’s purpose is to distract and manipulate. And upon this great backdrop of chaos a new global world is emerging. One where the evil bankers and their crazy psychopathic “leadership” have no sway. You all have a front row seat to this. Do not blink your eyes, or you will miss something important.
When I was at Oxford, undergraduates reading Classics were among the most sought-after candidates in the whole place by elite employers (such as the brand name consulting firms, top investment banks etc).
Homer
Why?
A few reasons:
Classics was widely regarded as one of the toughest undergraduate disciplines at Oxford
For starters, it was a four-year course (rather than the 3-year duration more typical both at Oxford and at English universities generally)
It had the most extensive and rigorous examination schedule of all the Oxford undergraduate programs, with the most aggregate examination hours
Reading Classics meant learning Ancient Greek and Latin (which, while no doubt preferred, were not required to have been studied in high school in order to be admitted)
It takes a somewhat singular mind to want to pursue such a subject; in particular, one that is highly analytical and enjoys tackling complex and esoteric problems.
It was this combination of the difficulty of the material, the demanding and rigorous nature of the program, and the emphasis on analytical thinking that made it like catnip to employers. Anyone who would want to do this, the thinking went, and could succeed at it is no doubt someone who could excel at what we do, too.
i made you AWARE, but you didn’t acknowledge my WARNING!
Late in 1979, twenty-four-year-old Steve Jobs visited a research center in Silicon Valley called Xerox parc.
Xerox parc was the innovation center of Xerox Corp.
During the 70’s, Xerox had the world’s best engineers leading innovation at the time.
If you wanted to see the future, Xerox parc was the place to be.
Steve Jobs didn’t miss this opportunity.
He walked into the facility with a very clear purpose in mind.
What’s the lesson of Steve Jobs’s story?
Your brain can ONLY find what it’s intentionally looking for!
Xerox engineers invented the computer “mouse,” but focused on trying to solve other problems. They ignored the potential of their invention because they were not intentionally looking for it.
Steve had his brain focused on finding an opportunity.
Steve knew what he was searching for, and identifying this Xerox invention later changed the computer industry.
Steve later said in an interview, “Within ten minutes, it was obvious to me that all computers would be like this some day.”
To answer your question, what advice do I have for young people?
Today we live in a very complex economy.
Attention is the most valuable asset in the world.
So, my question to you is:
Where is your attention?
Do you know what you’re looking for?
If you don’t know what you want, you have a huge disadvantage in life!
Why?
Because every road leads to your “goal” if you DON’T know what you want!
It has made China accelerate its work to find ways to make their own high end chips. Huawei’s 7nm Mate 60 Pro gave evidence that China (SMIC) can and does produce 7nm chips in quantity. Pundits have been saying that with DUV, the yield is poor at 7nm so the cost will be high and output low. Obviously SMIC knows something these pundits don’t. They are producing millions of these 7nm chips. Huawei’s first order was for 20 million 9000s from SMIC. Last week it ordered 10 million more.
Media reports this week, says China has produced graphene chips equivalent to 3nm. If so, if this gets into production, that could change the direction of semiconductor manufacturing. Already, TSMC is working with Huawei and also expanding its chip production on the mainland. Huawei has stopped work on its Arizona fab, and dismissed all but Taiwan employees to keep the fab from deteriorating. Intel, likewise, has stopped construction of its mega’fab in Ohio. They see demand in decline and uncompetitive in the US. Both Intel and Qualcomm have begin ‘innovation centers’ on the mainland and forfeited any chance at subsidies from the US. Ditto for TSMC and Samsung. All semiconductor companies, foreign and domestic, are increasing their presence in China to save what they can of the China market.
Bottom line: Biden’s restrictions and sanctions have only increased the pace China seeks in semiconductor self-sufficiency. Some media reports say that China has already achieved 70% self sufficiency which was the original goal in China’s ‘Made in China 2025.’
Carl Zha on Huawei, ‘Chinese Spies’ and Chinese economy on Redacted
Our crew was building a 20 unit apartment complex. One of the guys was named Rick and during lunch one day he told us that before he got into construction, he used to be a bantam-weight boxer. He showed us some moves that were really impressive. Rick was short, broad-shouldered, well-built for a small guy, but had a lightning fast jab that you could hear but couldn’t see fly. He was amazingly fast and skilled.
A few months later, a new guy joined the crew whose name was Randy. Randy was tall, muscular, good-looking, and arrogant. And he didn’t like Rick. Rick was a little slow with being permanently punchdrunk, so Randy just thought he was an idiot. Day after day, Randy just pestered Rick with all kinds of insults and bullying and just verbal rancor. Day after day, week after week, the insults and bullying continued, and Rick just ignored him, or at least try to.
One Friday afternoon Randy was walking behind Rick on the job site and the insults were flowing like a river. Finally, Rick had had enough and told him, “Randy f-ing shut up.” But of course Randy didn’t stop, it just made him go off even harder and faster with the insults. Then Rick warned him again, “Dude, you better shut up! You’re gonna piss me off.” But naturally, Randy, being who he was, didn’t take the hint, and he continued on and on for the next few minutes.
The next thing we knew Randy was literally sitting on the deck on his butt, holding the side of his chin and face with his hands. No one even saw the punch fly, especially Randy. he just sat there on the deck sitting on his butt, and then he said “You hit me!” I honestly think it took Randy a few seconds to realize he’d been hit with a lightning fast right jab that left him on his ass.
The next words out of Rick’s mouth were, “Dude, I told you to shut up.”
The next words out of Randy’s mouth were, “Ah, yea.”
Then Rick says, “Just be glad I pulled that punch.“
The rest of us just stood around there looking dumbfounded. I got the impression that if Rick had not pulled that punch, he would’ve spun Randy around three times landing him on his face utterly unconscious.
Randy never insulted Rick again. It was glorious to watch a bully get knocked off his high horse!
I have a friend who was a Ph.D.microbiologist out in Silicon Valley.
He was brilliant – He developed a rapid test for detecting resistant microorganisms that have netted his firm billions of dollars and saved countless lives.
After he completed that, his female boss refused to give him any projects to work on and wanted him to ”let the woman employees have a chance to shine now”.
For the next 3 years, he came to work, with no assignments, and just read or searched the internet for 8 hours a day. His boss told the other employees not to bother him.
He was getting bored and restless with no work and had a couple of discussions about it with his boss.
He and his husband had purchased a retirement home in Fort Lauderdale and they had been spending vacation time fixing it up for when they retire. He was not ready to retire and was still working after 65.
One time when he was in Fort Lauderdale to work on the house, his company-owned cell phone suddenly quit working, He called his boss to see what was up. She told him that they were terminating him because he was not doing anything.
They deposited his final check and a severance check directly to his bank account, They terminated his computer access (understandable, but they would not even let him have access to his personal research notes).
They hurled all his personal items from work into a box and broke some of them. It was delivered to his apartment knowing he was out of town. It was placed by his apartment door. Fortunately, a neighbor found it and saved it for when he returned. Lastly, they demanded that he send his 10-year-old cell phone back by mail right now (that is just crazy, Do you know how much a 10-year-old phone is worth?)
The worst thing they did to him was to cash out his multi-million-dollar company retirement account and stocks and deposit it into his checking account so that he was suddenly responsible for federal and California income tax in one lump sum. He was devastated! And they refused to talk with him anymore.
He is a pleasant, affable person who always wanted to help out his coworkers. We have known each other for 45 years and this was the first time I saw him cry.
He decided to bail out of working anymore.
It was a tremendous loss to the microbiology community and the lab tests that he could have brought to market to save countless people’s lives.
You Just Changed Timelines – Kyle Cease
He’s talking about “time lines”. But what he actually means is “templates”.
Triple Pepper Steak
This dish was made for meat lovers! Beef is sliced and seared in a wok, then tossed with a robust brown sauce filled with colorful bell peppers.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Marinade and Beef
2 tablespoons oyster-flavored sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 pound flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
Sauce
1/3 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 each green, red, and yellow bell peppers, julienned*
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons water
1/2 fresh jalapeno chile, sliced
Instructions
Marinade and Beef
\Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add beef and stir to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Sauce
Combine ingredients in a bowl.
Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, swirling to coat sides. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
Add beef and stir-fry until no longer pink, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
Remove meat from pan.
Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil to wok, swirling to coat sides.
Add bell peppers and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add water and stir-fry until peppers are tender-crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Return meat to wok and add sauce; bring to a boil. Add cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens.
To serve, garnish with chile slices.
Notes
* Pepper Prep: Cut off the top and bottom of the pepper. Next, make a single cut along the side, to open the pepper. Pull out and discard the central core of membranes and seeds. Now lay the pepper, skin side down, on a cutting board, spreading it out flat. Holding a sharp knife or cleaver flat against the pepper, trim away any remaining membrane. You now have a long flat rectangle that’s easy to slice crosswise.
A Slaughtered Cat Turned into a Beauty in the Hands of a Kind Girl
Suddenly, she noticed a small gray face peeking out from the dense bamboo.
When I took car of my mother (when she had cancer), I had to put a halt on my career, and just take care of my mother. Sure, I still was in MAJestic, but I operated while taking care of my mother, instead of doing corporate engineering and all that stuff…
It was mostly just being there. Oh, sure, I took care of the grounds, repaired things, and built and repaired homes on the property, but for the most part I was a companion to her. And as a result we got to be pretty close.
But “the manor” was in a rural area outside of Kittanning on Highway 422. It was isolated. And while I grew up in the area, I really didn’t know anyone, so for me it was lonely. And over time, I depleted my savings looking over her, and with no other sources of income, I was just scraping by with her charity.
Winter comes, and Christmas arrives.
The grandchildren are lavished with presents, and I fade into the wood work. Ignored. I just sat off by the fire in the back. Watching things.
But you know, I had to give my nieces something, so I scraped up the little money I had, and got a simple hackisack ball. Nothing fancy. But it was all that I could afford.
I gave it to my niece as they were leaving the house.
My brother in law, told my niece, “give me that”, and he went and threw it as far as he could. Did that right in front of me too.
Rude Ass Fuck face.
Yah. It upset me.
My mother just negated it. Said, “well, it’s his right“. She noticed that I just moped around all subsequent week. “Just let it go” she said.
It was ALL the money I had.
Gas money. Date money. Medicine money.
Discard on a whim.
I just wanted to participate. I just wanted to contribute. I just wanted to be treated as family.
…
After Winter, I went mowing the North Forty, and found the ball. It brought up bad memories to me.
I suppressed them out of deference to my dying mother.
…
When my mother died, this jackass and my “sister” were a constant pain in the ass and contributed greatly to my discomfort. And as they prospered and continued in their overt bellicosity, I started to deal with massive changes in my life as my Bazi fate forecast was pinging black…
…
Life moves on.
Let me tell you guys this, I don’t know how, or when, but bad selfish and hurtful actions will construct your pre-birth world-line template. You forge the topography that you will experience though your actions.
His, oh boy yes, will be a doozy…
Today.
Scott Ritter: THIS is Why the US Will LOSE Its War on China
Great discussion with Jack Ritter discussing the MAJOR backtracking that the USA has made regarding a war with China. I strongly recommend that you all watch it.
This is surprisingly good. Take this video to the bank. It is really, really good.
Blend cheese and sherry to a smooth paste. Make small incisions 2 1/2 inches apart on both sides of the steak, cutting only halfway through.
Pack the cheese paste into the slits; use it all, making more slits if needed.
Paint one side of the steak with kitchen Bouquet (lightly but thoroughly) and broil 3 inches below heat for 4 minutes.
Sprinkle cooked side of the steak with pepper, turn and paint the other side lightly with Kitchen Bouquet. Broil again for 3-4 minutes.
Remove to a warmed platter and sprinkle lightly with more pepper. NO SALT! There’s enough in the cheese.
To the broiler pan juices, add Claret or Burgundy. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes over medium heat to warm through, and pour over the steak.
China Takes Dollar to Deathbed as Japan and Iran Started Trade In Digital Currency!
Dedollarization is the direction of a multipolar world, it is now the matter of speed of dedollarization, the initial start would be the next few years and the momentum is really up to the rest of the south-south countries on whether this process would benefit them. Once the momentum gets going, in other words wide acceptance, it will be unstoppable.
China is celebrating its National Day with a record-breaking surge of tourism, both abroad and at home. Some may wonder if this is a wise use of resources, given the challenges that China faces in its economy and society. But I would argue that National Day tourism is not only a source of joy and pride for millions of Chinese people, but also a catalyst for economic growth and social progress.
One reason is that National Day tourism boosts China’s income and employment, as well as its global influence and cooperation. China is the world’s largest outbound tourism market, spending more than $277 billion in 2018. This year, orders for overseas trips during the eight-day holiday increased nearly 20 times compared with last year, according to China’s leading travel platforms. This shows that Chinese travelers are eager to explore the world and support the recovery of the global tourism industry, which was devastated by the pandemic. Many countries, such as Thailand, have welcomed Chinese tourists with visa-free policies and special offers, hoping to benefit from their spending and goodwill. China’s outbound tourism not only helps the airlines, hotels, and travel agencies, but also stimulates the consumption of goods and services in the destination countries, creating jobs and opportunities for local people.
Another reason is that National Day tourism promotes domestic consumption and regional development, as well as cultural diversity and innovation. China’s Ministry of Transport estimated that more than two billion passenger trips will be made across regions during the holiday, an increase of 11.5 percent over 2019. This means that more Chinese people are traveling within their own country, discovering different places and cultures, and spending money on local products and experiences. Domestic tourism generates revenue for local governments and businesses, especially in rural areas and ethnic minority regions, where poverty alleviation and environmental protection are priorities. Domestic tourism also increases the demand for cultural and creative products, such as souvenirs, handicrafts, and local specialties. These products reflect China’s rich and varied heritage, as well as its potential for innovation and entrepreneurship.
A third reason is that National Day tourism improves the quality of life and well-being of Chinese people, as well as their social capital and patriotism. Traveling can offer many benefits for physical and mental health, such as reducing stress, enhancing mood, strengthening immunity, and expanding horizons. Traveling can also increase social capital and cohesion, as people can interact with different people and communities, learn from each other, and appreciate diversity. Furthermore, traveling can also inspire patriotism and civic responsibility, as people can witness the achievements and challenges of China’s development, as well as participate in various activities to celebrate the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival. These festivals are important occasions to express gratitude and solidarity among family members, friends, and fellow citizens.
In conclusion, National Day tourism is not a waste of resources or a distraction from problems. Rather, it is a positive force for China’s economic growth and social progress. National Day tourism can help China achieve a more balanced and resilient economy in the long run, as it can support the global economic recovery, enhance China’s economic cooperation and influence, enrich China’s cultural diversity and identity, foster innovation and entrepreneurship, improve quality of life and well-being, increase social capital and cohesion, inspire patriotism and civic responsibility. Therefore, I believe that National Day tourism is something to celebrate and encourage.
This happened to my husband when we were first married. He was working (salary) 60–70 hrs a week. He worked for a company that was a family business, except my husband and the skilled field employees. The familly office staff didn’t do as much as my husband, so he asked a raise, since he was doing a higher level position than he was working. He also asked for an assistant, because he was doing that much work. My husband knew they would probably not honor his requests, so he went prepared. He had gotten a license to form his own company, and and went in with a resignation letter. When he asked for the raise and an assistant, his boss literally laughed in his face. My husband gave his notice and walked out. He had a couple of jobs lined up from other contractors whom he know from his connections other than his job, so he didn’t skip a beat in getting work.
A week went by, and his boss called him begging him to come back. My husband rightfully declined. They had to hire 3 people to fill his position there, and within 2 years, they went out of business. I’m proud that my husband did all of this with class, dignity and integrity!
Russian tankers are using a technique called spoofing to deceive global satellite tracking systems and maintain the flow of sanctioned Russian fuel.
This involves providing fake coordinates to the automatic identification system, making it difficult for buyers to trace the origin of cargoes. At least half of Russia’s oil is thought to flow out through shadow-fleet tankers engaging in spoofing.
The G7 granted exemptions for handling Russian oil and fuel traded at or below fixed levels — $60 a barrel for crude and $100 for premium refined fuels like gasoline and diesel.
On a sunny day off the southern coast of Greece last week, two aging tankers nestled next to each other while one pumped oil to the other. As far as global satellite tracking systems could tell, it never happened.
The deviation between real and electronic locations — measured in this case at over four miles — wasn’t a glitch, but a deliberate deception that’s part of a sophisticated system to keep sanctioned Russian fuel flowing, often at prices that are higher than western powers would like.
The practice of giving fake coordinates to the automatic identification system, known as AIS, is called spoofing. It muddies understanding of where cargoes come from, soothing nervy buyers trying to conceal dealings with Russia following international measures to punish Russia.
China SLAMS Sanctions Again on US Tech Giants Over Alleged $1 Trillion Debt
China’s government has recently announced sweeping sanctions against several major US tech corporations, citing an outstanding debt purportedly amounting to a staggering one trillion dollars. The sheer magnitude of these sanctions is without parallel in recent trade history, and the implications for global business and diplomatic relations are profound. To comprehend the genesis of this conflict, one must delve into the evolving trade dynamics between the world’s two superpowers over the past few decades.
If it’s the actual global community, then Xi has been more part of the Global community than anyone else in the world
Under Deng, China was top trading partner to 6 Countries
Under Jiang, it was 19
Under Hu it was 78
Under Xi it’s 137
Likewise
Under Deng, China assisted and helped build the infrastructure of Zero countries
Under Jiang it was 5
Under Hu it was 34
Under Xi it’s 96
Likewise
Under Deng, China mediated security treaties with 4 Countries
Under Jiang, it was still 4 Countries
Under Hu it was 9 Countries
Under Xi, it’s 51 Countries
Likewise
Under Deng, China averaged $ 1.3 Billion annually on trade benefits to other countries
Under Hu, this was $ 102.9 Billion
Under Xi, this is $ 436 Billion
Not to mention that under Xi , China has mediated and settled terms with 5 Countries while Hu and Jiang did nothing
So it’s evident that Xi is more part of the Global Community than either Deng or Hu or Jiang were
The Vaccines were the best example
China sent vaccines to 119 Nations with 86 Nations vaccinating their populace majorly with Chinese Vaccines Sinovac and Sinopharm
The US?
34 Nations, 12 of them for a Price like Japan and Israel and Singapore
Europe?
26 Nations like Japan, Israel, Korea and Singapore
If you say the word ‘Global Community’ means the G7 and their lapdogs then you are right
The reason is because under Deng until the 1990s, the US followed their own rules to a great extent
They weren’t hypocrites
They asked you to follow the same rules that they followed
Made sense to everyone
Later on this began changing from the INTERNATIONAL LAW to the INTERNATIONAL RULES BASED ORDER
US invaded Iraq brazenly
US passed a law that their soldiers can’t be tried for Military Atrocities outside US and such trials will lead to Sanctions
US would be immune from WTO appeals and rulings
In short, the US and by extension it’s lackeys began to dictate rules to the rest of the world BUT WOULD THEMSELVES NOT FOLLOW SUCH RULES
As China grew more and more, the US became more and more belligerent and nervous
Accusations against Huawei of Security threats
Accusations of Uyghur Genocide
Throttling Chinese companies through blacklists using trumped up charges (No Pun Intended)
So is that your ‘AIN’T BROKE’?
So Xi had two choices
Either be like a servant like Japanese, spread his legs and do what he is told to do
Pay for US technology all his life, Never develop beyond a Global Factory making low end products and then phase out and stagnate once these products leave China for other Nations and end up leaving China as an MBA question for 2040
Or
To challenge the US and it’s belligerence and use Chinas 5000 year diplomacy, 1.4 Billion People and the United States own massive problems like Social Divisions and Political Corruption against the US and spear the development an alternate Multipolar world
Xi is doing the latter
He isn’t a gutless jap is he?
A significant change in policy and let the market set the floor.
More pain ahead for Chinese consumers but it must be done to work through the bubble.
…
In recent weeks, articles appearing in state media have argued that it may be time to ditch the policies and some cities are starting to loosen them. On Tuesday, the southwestern city of Chengdu removed price restrictions for projects on newly sold land in central areas and scrapped government-guidance prices for existing homes.
A broader retreat from price floors could help developers to clear inventories of unsold properties and raise revenues to pay down their sizable debts
, setting the stage for a potential recovery.
But it could also expose Chinese homeowners to bigger drops in home prices, hurting consumer confidence when growth is weak
—and potentially destabilizing the financial system.
About 96% of urban households in China owned an apartment as of 2019, according to the country’s central bank. And for many, their home is their largest financial asset.
By comparison, U.S. home prices tumbled nearly 20% between 2006 and 2008. Markets including Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Francisco saw drops in excess of 30% at one point during the financial crisis.
Economists say China’s price floor mechanisms are helping to prevent steeper falls because many buyers and sellers don’t want to do deals when they can’t price properties at their true market value. That has left many properties sitting on the shelf.
Private data shows home sales among China’s 100 largest developers plunged by 34% in August from a year earlier, extending a decline since April. Pain from the slowdown has rippled through the economy
, depressing consumer spending and construction activity.
in the years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic. Initially, the government required developers to seek approval on listing prices before they could sell new units—a measure meant to keep them from pushing prices too high.
When Chinese real estate entered a major downturn in late 2021, Beijing ordered cities to make sure the property market continued to develop at a “stable and healthy pace.” Local authorities in many cities—mainly smaller ones—responded in part by barring developers from lowering prices too far below the original ones that they registered with the government.
While some cities set the floors at 10% to 15% below the original prices, others left the details vague, banning developers from “malicious price-cutting
” without specifying what that meant.
Recently, Beijing has sent signals indicating it is okay with cities easing or abandoning the price floors, in tandem with other steps the central government has taken to support the market, such as lowering interest rates
.
China Real Estate Business Weekly, the flagship newspaper of China’s Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ministry, published an editorial on Aug. 20 urging local policy makers to eliminate price floors.
“Developers should be allowed to carry out self-rescue through price reduction promotions in order to raise funds as soon as possible,” the article said. Other articles in state media have made similar cases.
Some industry analysts have pushed back, arguing in other media that it is too dangerous to remove the floors.
Guangzhou, a manufacturing hub in southern China with a population of 15 million, this month allowed developers to start selling apartments freely without seeking approval on sale prices, according to Chinese media reports. It also lowered the city’s price floor late last year.
10 KEY Reasons I Left The United States (and might never return)
I emigrated from The United States as a U.S. Citizen to Spain (Europe) 2.5 years ago and I give you 10 reasons why I did so.. Some move to Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, or Ecuador, to name a few, but many of the reasons are similar as to why we do.
I am a huge China fan and you know that but this is not true by any means
First
The Huawei 60 Mate Pro is using a MODIFIED 5 NM CHIP DERIVED FROM THE 7 NM PROCESS
This is now confirmed by Huawei
They also confirm this is from SMIC
Don’t get me wrong, this is EXCELLENT NEWS and something to be very proud of.
Most Nations would have lain down and surrendered by now.
China has not only fought but innovated and ensured a comparable product that can match the best product of the west using sheer backdoor innovation and technology
However this 9000S Kirin Modified 5 NM Chip has been tested by various experts and the most neutral of them say
It beats the Chip in the Iphone 13 Hollow (7247 vs 6414)
It squeaks ahead of the Chip in the Iphone 14 (7247 vs 7118)
It is quite behind the Chip in the Iphone 15 (7247 vs 8831)
It lags behind the Snapdragon 888 mildly (7247 vs 7470)
So the 9000S Kirin Chip of the Mate 60 Pro known in China as CHONGSHEYENG (Meaning Rebirth) is very good but still a generation behind the Iphone 15 Chip
Now they say something else
The 3nm Chip SUCKS
The Chip is poorly performing and is by no means delivering enhanced power and processing capabilities
It is still better than the 9000S Kirin Chongsheyeng
So you can safely say
The Kirin 9000S processor for the Mate 60 Pro has EXCEEDED ALL EXPECTATIONS
The 3 NM Bionic A17 has not delivered or performed upto expectations
However the Chips are a generation or so apart
In fact the experts say the Mate 60 Chip while very innovative, still works as a 7 NM Chip than a 5 NM Chip
Chinese win because they acknowledge facts and work to improve them
Don’t become like Indians and start with all this 1–2 generation superiority
How to Survive the End of a US Superpower
The US is slowly circling the drain, and its painful to watch because it used to be great in many ways. In recent months I’ve visited a few parts of SE Asia, what an eye opening experience. The people, the culture…..the whole vibe about that part of the world is quite different from the West and I have become very drawn to it. More trips are planned as it is now my personal first choice for a retirement location in a few years.
ASML Stock Falls as Analyst Warns of Order Cuts for Chip Equipment
ASML shares dropped on Wednesday after TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the chip-equipment maker may face cuts to orders next year.
ASML makes the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines that are critical for manufacturing advanced semiconductors. Its customers include TSMC, Samsung and Intel.
Kuo is widely followed for his checks on supply chains in Asia and the conclusions he draws from them. “My latest research indicates that ASML may cut EUV equipment shipment forecasts significantly for 2024 by about 20–30%,” he wrote in a post on social media and Medium.
ASML shares were down 1.4% in trading on Wednesday, with a noticeable drop after the report was published.
The company had no comment on Kuo’s analysis, but said it would offer a forecast on sales of EUVs when it reports third-quarter earnings in a few weeks.
Demand for advanced chips and the gear needed to make them may come in below expectations in 2024, the analyst said, citing softening sales for MacBook laptops and iPads. He also predicted that makers of memory chips may not go ahead with planned factory expansions until 2025 at the earliest, hurting ASML’s business.
Kuo is uncertain about an imminent recovery in the chip industry, saying it may take longer than anticipated.
“The current market consensus is that the semiconductor sector will bottom out in 2H23,” Kuo wrote. “However, it needs to monitor closely whether this bottoming timeline would be pushed back to 1H24/2Q24.”
It’s not just Mate 60 pro that shock the world in terms of self development in OS, chips, EDA, GPU, but showing other products that they are launching on 25/9 that sends shivers to the tech world. What Huawei said they planned to do, in building a totally new, truly fully integrated ecosystem down to networks (5–6G), satellites, servers, homes, cars & any electronic devices is on track and no Western companies are anywhere close!
Ro*Tel Pepper Steak
Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 pounds round or sirloin steak (tenderized)
1 small onion
1 green bell pepper, sliced
Garlic salt (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 can Ro*Tel tomatoes, diced
Instructions
Cube and braise steak. Add onion, sliced bell pepper, garlic salt and regular salt.
Mix gravy mix as directed on package and add to mixture.
Stir in Ro*Tel tomatoes with their juice. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
It was a sunny day. I was going to my class. Suddenly I saw a lot of people gathered at one place. I stopped my bike and saw a cow badly injured with her broken leg. She was trying hard to get up.
I just couldn’t take it!
I called a tempo and took the cow to the hospital.
There,
Doctor: it will take around 5000 rs to treat her(a big deal for a 17 year kid)
Me: I will arrange the money you start her operation.
I rushed to my home broke my piggybank and gave money to the doctor
i just saw how calmly the cow was walking after treatment i smiled and got away
after 6 days!
I was going by the same road and suddenly I lost my balance and fell from my bike
I felt like someone took me in hands and put me on road
I got no injury!
when I opened my eyes I had fallen on the road.
I saw the same cow looking at me with the bandages still on her!
I felt she saved me. I was on the 7th sky feeling the feel of karma!
The neocons are marching the world towards war. Lordy!
We are all going to die!!!!!
All these videos MUST be watched to get the FULL IMPACT of what is going on right now. It’s so insane. So crazy. So very disgusting. You have to laugh.
I have worked in the video games industry for over a decade. During this time, I introduced several Western games to the Chinese market. This experience taught me a great deal about the cultural and behavioral differences (and similarities) between Western and Chinese users.
One thing I found fascinating is how Western users and Chinese users absorb information.
The Chinese language is information-dense. Reading Chinese, you absorb a lot more information compared to reading English of similar length. There’s a reason why when Western (English) literary works are translated into Chinese, they usually “shrink” in length. Chinese Bible, for example, is thinner than English Bible.
Chinese users are very used to absorbing large amounts of information all at once. Chinese websites usually have a very busy (by Western standards) layout packed with headlines and texts. At the same time, English users are more comfortable with a minimalistic layout.
In game design, this reflects on UI and HUB design. Chinese users are very used to busy UI and packed HUB design, while Western players are more used to the “less is more” kind of design, sometimes no HUB at all.
A lot of times, when Western designers were presented with this problem, they often considered Chinese users “backward,” or “still live in the 90s,” or “just not sophisticated enough to appreciate a minimalist design.” While it was my job to explain the cultural differences, the designers didn’t always listen. They believed they could “educate” Chinese users with their “superior” design. They thought once these “backward” people saw my awesome modern design, they’d love it!
LOL.
That is not to say there isn’t minimalist design in China. It’s just what’s considered “too busy and overwhelming” style in the West is accepted or even preferred in China because of how our language functions differently than English.
USA knows the only thing it can do is to talk shit on China. It cannot out compete, out innovate and out succeed with China. It certainly cannot bomb or nuke China as it will will received the same from China. The only thing it can do is to talk shit.
UK,Canada and Australia. Are the U.S. fellow colonialist and fellow native slaughterers. They did so much shit in the past few hundred years and are scared of reprisal and reparations. They had no choice to get a mafia hoodlum to protect them. Talking shit on China is a given.
Japan shared the loot and plunder of Chinese and Asian people in the 2nd world war and refused to accept responsibility for her aggression and prefer to pay protection money to the U.S. they had to talk shit on China.
if you are smart and intelligent enough. None of these nations ever whisper a grain of truth on China. The truth hurts them too much.
MINISO’s global expansion strategies; Q3 online sales in China, and consumer reactionsAmber ZhangOct 26∙Preview READ IN APP *This post is our premium content.
MINISO (NYSE: MNSO), a Chinese low-cost retailer and variety store chain, is gaining global attention. As of June 30, 2023, MINISO operates 5,791 stores worldwide. Its annual revenue for the period ending June 30, 2023, increased by 13.8% to 11.47 billion yuan. Revenue from China reached 7.651 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 2.8%, while revenue from overseas markets reached 3.822 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 44.6%.
MINISO’s rapid overseas revenue growth has made it one of the most successful Chinese companies to go global.
(For the year ended June 30, revenue from overseas markets accounted for over 33% of MINISO’s total revenue.)MINISO is on track to reach the peak price it had since its IPO in October 2020.“一切面向海外,一切面向商品” (“Everything is oriented towards overseas, everything is oriented towards products.”) —— Guofu
Ye, CEO and founder of the MINISO [source]Expanding into global markets has always been a key part of MINISO’s strategy.
As of 2023, MINISO had already established stores in 107 countries and regions, including North Korea, with over 2,100 stores overseas. Notably, in May 2023, MINISO achieved a significant milestone by opening a store in Times Square, New York, becoming the first Chinese brand to have a presence in that iconic location.
As of year-to-date 2023, MINISO (NYSE: MNSO) has gained over 150%, despite the pessimistic sentiments towards Chinese equities.In today’s post, we will share some winning strategies of MINISO to help you understand how the company managed to succeed domestically and internationally, and whether these strategies will be sustainable.
We will also provide an update on MINISO’s domestic online sales and consumer reactions ahead of MINISO’s upcoming earnings report in November.*
Understanding the psychology of overseas consumersMINISO adopts unique sales methods in various countries to connect with the psychology of local consumers. To scale this strategy, MINISO has chosen the “agency model” by partnering with local leaders.For instance, in Vietnam, MINISO initially thought that inexpensive small umbrellas would be popular, but they ended up having an excessive amount of umbrellas in stock.
This was due to MINISO underestimating the actual preferences of local consumers. Vietnam, being a “motorbike country,” is the fourth-largest motorcycle market globally, with over 45 million motorcycles in circulation. As a result, people in Vietnam use raincoats while riding motorcycles.MINISO later collaborated with Le Bao Minh Group and specially developed arm sleeves and masks for the Vietnamese market, which immediately became popular locally.Le Bao Minh is the exclusive distributor of Canon in Vietnam and has over 200 sub-agents in 64 provinces.
With such a leading enterprise leading the way, MINISO avoided many pitfalls and reduced a significant amount of trial and error costs. [Source]The low-cost advantage has given MINISO a boost amid a slow economic recoveryAs we have previously observed, Chinese consumers are increasingly prioritizing practical purchases.
The combination of Miniso’s low-cost advantage and its creative and personalized products has given them a boost both in China and globally in 2023.Similar trends are observed among other low-cost retailers. For example, Pinduoduo is estimated to reach its target of $10 billion USD GMV for 2023, and SHEIN recorded a revenue of up to $23 billion USD in 2022. In China, there is also a growing trend among e-commerce players to adopt the low-cost strategy to remain competitive in 2023.To create a feeling of consumers “getting a bargain,”
MINISO focuses on the “golden price point of 10 yuan” in its stores.Ye Guofu, the CEO of MINISO, explained: “To make customers buy when they want to buy and use when they want to use, that’s the best thing. We must achieve this situation, so 10 yuan is the golden price point, allowing customers to have no pressure.” [source]
However, despite the growing importance of value for money to consumers, the demand for personalized and stylish products from MINISO’s main customer base of young consumers remains strong.
As a result, MINISO has made significant investments in “大牌平替” or “substituting big brands with generics” products, which are self-made products that imitate the popular themes and styles of well-known brands:
For example, from the same supplier, a water cup is priced at 379 yuan in MUJI, while MINISO is priced at 49 yuan; the same goes for socks, with MUJI priced at 158 yuan and MINISO priced at 29 yuan.
The management of MINISO stated, “The perfumes in our store are made by perfumers from Dior and Chanel, using their fragrance ingredients. The luxury brand perfumes are priced at $200 per bottle, but I only sell them for $20 per bottle.” [source]
Not me (sadly) but a guy I met when I worked at a steel mill.
It was a very big company, 17.000 employees at the time, the size of a small town with their own small hospital, fire department and armed securities with patrol cars, shops and even a gas station. So quite a big area.
I was working at the contiunous casting facility. Basically where molten irom from the blast furnace is poured into a casting unit and becomes a rectangular block of steel.
The whole company was incredibly split up in different departments each with their own hierachy and leadership. One casting unit consisted of a Foreman (which belonged to department X), 1 quality control inspector (department F), 1 guy in the control room checking all the parameters, looking at several graphs and so on (department Z) and finally 3 workers doing actual work (department A). Just to get the hang of it, 6 people working on the same unit belonged to 4 different departments. And the whole company was like that!
Like every few years some higher ups decided to reinvent the wheel and restructure the electrical maintenance department. There used to be 6 departments and after some calculations they decided to cut it down to 5 departments and integrate the workers from the sixth department into the remaining five.
It went surprisingly smooth aside from the old foreman. There was only one foreman position per department and they were already filled. Because he was 30 years with the company, starting as an apprentice and rose through the ranks after a few years they told him “We need to hold a meeting about your position but dont worry we find something for you”.
Time went on but he heard nothing at all about the meetings outcome despite several inquiries. So he simply came in his office everyday and waited for news. He had nothing to do because the sixth department didnt exist anymore so nobody could call him to fix a problem, he simply didnt exist.
But it gets even crazier. A new office building for the departments was built and he stayed in the very old 2 story building because how could he move into the new one if he didnt exist at all?
So he strolled around all day through the different units, chatting with people and drinking coffee, had an awful lot of house plants in his office, even one of those Japanese Bonsai trees he used to cut regularily (it looked like a rain forest, not gonna lie) and found himself another hobby, modelmaking. If he wasnt walking around he sat in his office and assembled those 1:24 models of planes, helicopters, cars…
It took the company 4 years to somehow recognize he is still here! But nobody could figure out how he had gone missing. HR had him listed as Foreman of department 6 and higher ups of the casting facility somehow assumed he left the company and went into early retirement or something because department six did no longer exist.
In the end, he had two years to retirement and they decided to let him carry on for the next two years. It was apparently cheaper to pay him for literally nothing than dealing with all the legal issues. Our worker protection laws are really strong and firing somebody so close to retirement means the company has to pay a massive fee to the government.
Ah. An insight into what life on other planets might look like. -MM
The obvious choice would be Socotra, that little Yemeni isle off the Horn of Africa, home to the iconic dragon’s blood tree. However, I think there’s another island which has even more interesting flora – New Caledonia. Sitting in the South Pacific, well over a thousand kilometres from the nearest major landmass, New Caledonia has been biologically isolated since the Cretaceous period.
Because of this, it has unprecedented, record-breaking levels of endemism: around three quarters of its plants are found nowhere else on Earth! Despite only being around the size of the nation of Israel, it’s home to four and a half thousand plant species.
Back in dinosaur times, New Caledonia broke off from a vast southern super-continent known as Gondwana. Because it remains remote, it still harbours the primeval flora of Gondwana, which has long since gone extinct in most mainland regions. First of all, it is the world’s only true stronghold of the araucarians.
The most famous species today is the monkey puzzle tree, which is native to Chile, but New Caledonia’s most recognizable variety is the coral reef pine, Araucaria columnaris. It has a thin, pillar-like shape, and grows directly on shallow limestone coastlines, especially on the Isle of Pines (a popular tourist attraction).
The araucarians are an ancient family of conifer trees, dating back to the beginnings of the Jurassic Period. During the reign of the dinosaurs, they dominated forests all over the world, and were the first trees in Earth’s history to grow extremely tall, as many stood over 60 metres in height. In fact, they are likely the reason sauropods like Brachiosaurus were so damn tall.
Despite their former success, araucarians have been out-competed by more advanced lineages of tree, but they persist in various parts of the Southern Hemisphere. The only place where they still predominate, however, is New Caledonia, which is home to 18 species.
They thrive in all kinds of habitats on the island, from its tropical rainforests and iconic limestone islets to its hilly “maquis” scrub and dry woodlands.
The closest relatives of the araucarians are the podocarps, which were also abundant in Gondwana long ago, and also maintain a strong presence in New Caledonia despite extinction in many other regions. The island has an especially interesting (endemic) genus called Parasitaxus.
As its name suggests, it’s a parasite – in fact, it’s the only parasitic gymnosperm plant in the world. Believe it or not, it has no roots, and does not perform photosynthesis (hence its rather alien purplish-black colouration). Instead, it grows exclusively out of the roots of a different endemic podocarp species, sucking nutrients from its host.
Another example of New Caledonia’s very unique flora is Amborella. This genus contains a single species, and it is in fact so unique that it has a whole taxonomic family and order to itself! It’s the most primitive flowering plant on Earth, having diverged from the rest a staggering 130 million years ago. It’s a pretty good proxy for what flowers would have looked like while T. rex was roaming the Earth.
Lastly, I’ll introduce you to Sphaeropteris intermedia, sometimes alternatively called Cyathea intermedia. With a woody trunk that can stand over 30 metres tall, one would think it was a palm tree, but it is in fact a fern – the largest fern on the planet. It further contributes to the exceptionally prehistoric feel to New Caledonia’s vegetation.
So, those are the most charismatic and fascinating members of New Caledonia’s flora. There are many, many, many more endemic species Mesozoic relics and the like, but I’ve just selected the ones which are of particular interest to the non-botanist.
Now, you all know me by now, so I doubt any of you are surprised that I can’t bring myself to finish this answer without going off-topic and talking about the animals. First things first, the wonderful birdies. The most fascinating of all the island’s avians is undoubtedly the kagu.
This species is highly unique, genetically – it is the sole species in the distinct family Rhynchochetidae, and shares the whole order Eurypygiforms with a single other species, the equally weird sunbittern of South America. The kagu is practically flightless, and probes the forest floor for invertebrate prey.
To prevent soil from getting up its nose as it digs around the ground, it has structures covering its nostrils called nasal corns, something not seen in any other bird. For mysterious reasons, it has around a third of the number of red blood cells most birds have, but thrice the amount of hemoglobin per cell.
Another highly notable New Caledonian avian is the New Caledonian crow, one of the world’s most intelligent birds.
In the wild, they fashion sophisticated tools out of ferns, feathers, thorns, grass and twigs, carefully trimming and folding them down to size. These are used to extract insects from trees, and remarkably, different styles of crow tools can be observed in different parts of New Caledonia. This could mean that these crows are the only non-mammals in the world which have distinct, evolving cultures.
The island is also home to a diverse array of tropical pigeons. Pigeons seem boring to us, but closer to the equator, species are much less drab. Some in New Caledonia are huge, measuring over half a metre in length, whereas others have vibrant colours, such as the cloven-feathered dove.
There’s also the crow honeyeater, a strange-looking bird, which – at over 40 cm in length – is the largest species of honeyeater in the world. Sadly, it’s now critically endangered.
Moving onto the reptiles, we have some very cool geckoes. This includes the rather polite-looking crested gecko, who’s got killer eyelashes:
And of course Leach’s giant gecko. Measuring up to 36 centimetres from nose to tail, this lumbering beast is the world’s largest gecko.
On the topic of larger-than-life lizards, here’s the dramatically-named terror skink. It’s even bigger than the aforementioned reptile, at around half a metre in length. It was presumed extinct until being rediscovered in 1933, although to this day it is extremely rare.
Then there’s a plethora of endemic invertebrate fauna, of course. The largest insect on the island is the giant coconut grasshopper, a freakishly big creepy crawly which is longer than your hand.
What are even more interesting, however, are New Caledonia’s marine invertebrates. For example, its waters are the only home of one of the only four living species of nautilus, Nautilus macromphalus.
And it has the New Caledonian Barrier Reef, which is the world’s longest continuous barrier reef, stretching across over 1,500 km of shallow sea. That’s about two thirds the length of Australia’s much more famous one, which is actually a smattering of smaller, disconnected reefs! This reef is highly biodiverse, and is home to rare dugongs.
My final words in this very long answer about a very small island will be on New Caledonia’s extinct animals, from the time of the last Ice Age, prior to human arrival. Back then, it was home to even more amazing wildlife, such as Mekosuchus inexpectatus.
Up until its extinction 4,000 years ago, it was the very last land-dwelling crocodylian in Earth’s history, the end of a story lasting hundreds of millions of years. It would have been an apex predator on the island, despite being only 2 metres long.
A possible prey item of Mekosuchus was Sylviornis, the largest galliform ever to live. The galliforms are an order of birds which include chickens and their relatives. Specifically, Sylviornis was a member of the megapodes, odd Australasian birds who incubate their eggs in huge mounds of earth.
It weighed in at about 30 kg, and its skeletal anatomy was markedly similar to that of the non-avian dinosaurs.
Other extinct creatures endemic to New Caledonia in the Pleistocene include a variety of other megapodes, flightless rails, huge hawks and several monitor lizards.
So, what was meant to be a quick answer about some cool plants ended up being an exhaustive ecological and paleontological survey of New Caledonia. If you stuck around for the full article, thank you very much, and if you didn’t, just try to sleep well in the knowledge that you’ll never know what a terror skink is.
America Compared: Why Other Countries Treat Their People So Much Better – US American Reaction
This is a very good video. Please take the time to watch it.
Irresistible Exotic allure! Russian tourists flock to China’s border city of Heihe for breakfast, shopping
It may seem surprising, but a growing number of Russians are making the trip to have breakfast in Heihe, a border city in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, before heading back home.
Heihe sits across the Heilongjiang River from the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk. The river is known in Russia as the Amur River. Since the resumption of visa-free group tourist trips between China and Russia in Heihe on Sept. 21, 2023, there’s been a noticeable uptick in Russian visitors. A simple boat ride allows for easy movement between the two nations.
Many Russians are attracted to Heihe’s breakfast offerings and shopping experiences. They indulge in local breakfast staples such as soybean milk, tea eggs, and Baozi — steamed stuffed buns. Some have even crafted a unique dining blend, pairing Baozi with beer.
Many vendors at morning markets have added bilingual Chinese-Russian signs, and some have picked up basic Russian to better serve their visitors.
Given its strategic location, Heihe has long been a nexus for China-Russia trade. It stands as China’s primary supplier of everyday Russian products, which are then distributed nationwide.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has made trade between China and other BRI partner countries increasingly convenient.
Beyond Heihe, many other border areas in China exude an exotic allure. Cities and regions such as Dongxing in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Manzhouli in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Horgos and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Mengla county in Yunnan Province have thrived due to the expanding cooperation under the BRI. These places now serve as critical ports connecting China to Southeast Asia, Europe, and Central Asia, and beyond via railways and economic corridors.
Over the past decade, these border regions have directly witnessed, participated in, and benefited from extensive cooperation under the framework of the BRI.
Meanwhile in the United States…
Texas Chicken-Fried Steak with Cream Gravy
Yield: 6 large servings (2 pieces each)
Ingredients
Steak
3 pounds 1/2 inch thick round steak
2 cups all-purpose white flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
Vegetable oil (corn, peanut, safflower oil) for frying*
Cream Gravy
1/4 cup pan drippings
1/4 cup all-purpose white flour
3 cups warm milk
Salt
Black pepper
Instructions
Steak
Trim the fat off the meat, remove the bone and cut the meat into 6 equal size pieces. Use a meat mallet to pound the steaks on both sides, until they are 1/4 inch thick. Then cut each pounded piece of steak in half (making 12 pieces total).
Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large shallow bowl. Beat the eggs and milk together well in another large shallow bowl.
Dredge the steaks in the seasoned flour, coating them well on both sides. Then use the meat mallet to pound the flour into the steaks. Dip the steaks in the egg-milk mixture, then dredge them again in the remaining flour. Set the steaks aside in a single layer on a large piece of wax paper.
Heat the oven to 200 degrees F.
Pour the vegetable oil to a depth of 1/2 inch into 2 or 3 large heavy-bottom skillets (iron skillets are best). You will have to cook the steaks in 2 or 3 batches, depending on the number of skillets you have. Set the skillets over medium heat. The oil will be hot enough for frying when it pops when you sprinkle a few drops of water on it.
Carefully put the steaks in a single layer in the hot oil and cook over medium heat until the bottom side of each steak is golden brown (about 7 to 8 minutes).
Turn the steaks over, cover the skillets, reduce the heat to low and cook until the bottom sides are golden brown and the steaks are tender (about 8 to 10 minutes).
Transfer the steaks to a heatproof platter, cover loosely with aluminum foil and keep them warm in the oven while you cook the remaining steaks and prepare the cream gravy.
Cream Gravy
Pour the remaining oil out of one large skillet into a heatproof bowl or measuring cup, but leave in the skillet any particles of batter that stick to the bottom of the pan.
Return 1/4 cup of the oil to the skillet and stir in 1/4 cup of flour. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan, but don’t let the mixture brown.
Slowly add the warm milk to the pan, stirring with a fork or wire whisk to prevent lumps from forming. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the gravy is smooth and thick.
Add salt and black pepper to taste.
Serve the chicken-fried steaks with the cream gravy poured over them.
Notes
* Beef suet, lard or solid vegetable shortening are traditionally used for cooking chicken-fried steak
In Belgium you could join up “for life” (until retirement, you can’t do that anymore) and get a shitload of perks.
You got a free apartment, free water, electricity, telephone, gas, and cable TV.
You could eat for free and you got your uniforms for free. You also got free cigarettes’, free beer, and free condoms.
Whatever else you needed you could get at substantial discounts.
When you traveled from Germany to Belgium (every weekend … yes, we went home for the weekends during the Cold War), it was on military trains where the customs officials had no jurisdiction. So our kitbags were loaded with cigarettes which we sold on the black market in Belgium.
We always used public transport as it was free as well.
You could get a free university education as well if you passed the screening tests. The better your education, the easier promotion came, the more money you made.
Basically, you could put your whole monthly pay in the bank and then some.
In the days of the Cold War, most joined for the perks. You had a good job and job security.
What did all that amount to? A free house.
HUGE BOMBSHELL! China & Russia Sign $160 Billion Strategic Project
Best ever friendship China- Russia helps to build up global prosperity.
I experienced many times when I worked as a cashier. 99.9% of the time the customer was mistaken. There was a woman who came into our store every 2 weeks and usually made a stink about some aspect of poor service , etc. We suspected her of stealing also. She was not happy unless she made a clerk or cashier cry.
Once she tried to pull the wrong change scam on me and it backfired on her. While I had a fully loaded till, I only had rung one sale that day and that customer had paid with a $20 bill that was ripped. I put the bill under the removable cash drawer so that I could tape it back together later. .
The store got busy so I opened my register. The scammer purchased a few small, inexpensive items and paid with a $50. When my drawer opened, I noticed the damaged $20 was sticking out so I lifted the drawer and stuffed it back in and also put the $50 under the drawer. I make the correct change. The customer starts screaming that I made the wrong change and that I’m stealing from her. She calls me a thief repeatedly. I locked the register down as the manager comes running over.
Customer is throwing and all out hissy fit, crying and screaming about how I should be fired for stealing from her. She also started throwing her purchases at me, hitting me in the face. I know the manager is going to pull a reading on the register and count the money in and under the drawer. I stepped away and discreetly called the police. I knew we finally had her.
Surprise, surprise. My drawer balanced. Evidently she saw the damaged $20 and assumed it was a $100 and thought she would try to take advantage of us. The police show up. I explain that she has slandered and assaulted me (I have a raised red welt on my face), I want her arrested and I will sign a complaint . My manager tells them that we have video. She also explains what happened with the customer trying to scam us financially. As the police walk her out, some items fell out of pants, so stealing was added to the charges
Long story short, it goes to court. She got community service for assaulting me and a substantial fine for the stealing. But the best was the store manager printed out the customer’s image from the store video and made a poster stating that she was banned from the store. She taped it to the entrance door. Lol Plus she made smaller versions and taped one to each register telling the cashiers to call a manager if she is spotted in the store.
The vice president of Korean Air, Heather Cho, in 2014, was so angry about being served Macadamia nuts in a bag instead of on a porcelain bowl that she forced the plane to return to the gate at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport so the flight attendant could be removed.
She also demanded that the flight attendants get on their knees to apologize to her.
Heather Cho, the daughter of the CEO of Korean Air at the time, Cho Yank-ho served five months of a one-year prison sentence after South Korean court found her guilty for violating aviation law.
The flight attendant filed a civil suit against Cho and Korean Air, asking for a total of 400 million South Korean won ($354,000).
“The Seoul western district court ordered that Korean Air pay him 20 million won for attempting to coerce him to drop the case.”
“He was also entitled to another 30 million won ($27,000) as compensation for Cho’s assaults and insults.”
In all, $18,000 was all he was able to get.
It took one and a half years for the flight attendant and cabin crew chief to get their jobs back.
Her father could have just said “yes, my daughter is batshit. Here, have your jobs,” but that did not happen.
This was a perfect example of the abuse of power that seems to be all too common in South Korea and amongst a good number of Asians even here in Africa.
There is always a better use of your high influence than using it to make people feel like a puppet.
6G is 100 times faster than 5G. Nothing we have supports this. It is 100Gb/s. I think there are fiber lines that support this. But that is in PC, not mobile.
It is a challenge to do this in the power factor that mobile phones have. You don’t have access to 300W of power.
So everything has to be done from the fundamentals and re-engineered to work in a mobile form factor.
Wired, whether copper or fiber is completely different than wireless. This is brand new territory for human technology.
Overrated?? America Compared: Why Other Countries Treat Their People So Much Better
BYD is an EV company and China sits well above the US in this field
They control
The Rare Earths and lowest extraction and process costs
The Patents are theirs
The Raw Material supply is theirs
The Technology is entirely owned by China
The Software and Electronics are theirs
You take them out of GPS, they will laugh and use Beidou in 10 seconds or Galileo
At best US can prevent their sale in US but BYD expects that anyway
The only area where US hold some away is AUTONOMOUS DRIVING
Here US holds the edge while China hasn’t yet gone full flow into autonomous driving because it’s superfluous and expensive today
The ADS for Tesla costs around $ 13000 to make in the factory and design
China will get it to $ 4600 by 2025–2026
Then my guess is Oppo and Baidu will take over the Autonomous driving revolution in China
China is immune against their development of High Speed Rail, EVs, Solar Panel, Rare Earth Extraction, Steel and Alunimum and Nuclear development and Aerospace
US can’t do squat except prevent these models from being sold in US but frankly Automobiles always depend heavily on their domestic market with the sole exception of Germany
When my son tragically died she bought groceries, put them on the doorstep, knocked on the door and left so I didn’t have to engage in conversation if I didn’t feel like it (she stayed just inside her front door in case I did want to talk).
She cooked meals I could put in the freezer for me and my daughter that I could eat (I have several food intolerances she knows about and which mean I can’t actually find ready-meals in stores).
She put our bins out every week until I could do it myself (it was one of my son’s jobs each week).
She was always there when I needed a hug. Even now, four years on, she is there to talk to, to reminisce with about my boy’s antics, to share a tear with about the loss of him. She is never afraid to bring him up in conversation and talks to her young sons about him, holding him up as an example of the type of young men they should strive to be.
I have had a lot of bad neighbours, but she is a blessing that outweighs the others a million times over
Florida Businessman Dies from Virus : Meets Three Guardian Angels (Near-Death Experience)
Bill Tortorella shares the story of his Near-Death Experience, occurring after contracting a virus at a jewelry trade show in Tucson, Arizona. During his encounter on the Other Side, he describes being transformed into a beautiful beam of light, being guided by three guardian angels, reuniting with his deceased brother, and having it revealed to him where we come from and why we are here. Bill shares what it was like to feel that he was back in his True Home on the Other Side and how the love and forgiveness he experienced helped him to live his life differently after his Near-Death Experience.
What happened to some of Hong Kong protesters who got prosecuted for breaking Hong Kong’s national security law?
The legal system in Hong Kong works slooowly… it took them 3 years to prosecute me for not wearing a seat belt on a bus. A woman who rioted in Mong Kok in 2016 went to trial in 2020.
So what’s happened?
Open court trials happened. Open court trials YOU can attend by sitting in the galleries.
Some were convicted some were not.
The trials and convictions began in 2021. Convictions and acquittals are going on as you read this on 26th October 2023. Last week 4 rioters from PolyU were sentenced to around 4 years. That means we’re likely to find out in 2024 as some of those sentenced in 2021 and 2022 of 2–3 years will be released from prison.
My guess is that they will be absolutely unemployable Yer see Hong Kong doesn’t have the rehabilitation of offenders act like the UK. In the UK if you’ve served a prison term you no longer have to declare it but it will show up on a CRB check.
As such they will likely be exploited for the rest of their lives.
You go jogging in the morning and you see old people sweeping streets. It’s hard work as I see them leaving trails of sweat. They may get jobs in those areas and the bosses? They can exploit the shit out them as they wish. What are they going to do? Quit and work somewhere else?
Those last chance employers have ALL the power.
Even the leaders of the rioters and politicians. When was the last time you heard from them? The Nathan Laws who ‘escaped’ to the UK. When was the last time he was in the limelight? When was the last time he said or did anything?
Or they may become homeless. Way back in 2021 there was a rioter who was sentenced for 8 months and was released. He was homeless and had a piece of cardboard begging for money. You can’t go any lower than that and once you get down to that level all that’s left to help you are charities.
You sweat. Especially in an M48A3 Patton tank. You’re cramped, well the guys in the turret were but the driver didn’t have it too bad though he had 30 rounds of 90 mm stacked around him along with control panel in front and to the left plus fire extinguishers.
The driver had three telescope views to the outside world. One to the front, one to the left and one to the right. In the jungle, he could barely see anything out of them but green. And he could only see about eight or so feet ahead. He had help from his TC who had a better view and told him which direction to go through the com. You can’t hear conversations in a tank unless you are wearing your CVC helmet with the com speakers in it. Tanks are very noisy. Don’t let the movies fool you. You cannot talk and hear each other normally in a tank. Not in a 48 anyway. Not unless you are wearing your ‘Bone Dome.’
Tank crews in Vietnam, especially in III Corps sweated because inside the tank the temperature could reach 130 F or 54.4 C. Without gloves, you could burn your hands on the surface steel of a tank. Crewmen wore either T shirts, no T shirts.or just flak vests, if they wanted to. And their trousers of course.
So before moving up into the tree line, or jungle, you sit there sweating and waiting and sweating and waiting and sweating and waiting. That’s the worst part of eminent combat. Waiting…..and thinking. Too much time to think. Too much time. That was the problem. You were praying to get moving. Thinking too much was not good.
So you sat and waited and listened to the chatter on the com. A big ice block could be felt in your stomach and you got thirsty as hell and gulped evil tasting warm water.
Your eyes detect everything, right down to the flies that land on your vision block and you think, ‘You won’t want to be there in a little while. Fly away little guy.’ At times you wish you could fly away with him but here you stay, seated in a 52 ton steel hot box, a hot box that is nothing but a killing machine manned by 18 and 19 year olds just out of high school. They look tough in their combat gear but take off the combat uniform and give them t shirt and jeans, and you’ve got innocent looking kids. They are the ones fighting your wars.
Then, all changes. You’re ordered to move up.
“Time to find the bad guys,” you hear your gunner say on the com.
“Or time for them to find us,” the loader chimes in.
“Cut the chatter chipmunks,” the TC says sternly. It’s not like advanced training anymore, a crew being in combat together often is much less ‘Army’ and more personal.
Moving into the jungle is not pleasant especially in a buttoned up tank. It’s nerve wracking everytime. For a new guy it’s nerve wracking because he doesn’t know what to expect. For a combat vet it’s nerve wracking because he knows.
The pack or engine of the tank is loud. All you can hear is that and the voices on the coms. Combat can happen in seconds. You have to remember you are not alone. That’s hard to do in the lead tank because it seems like you are. However there are ground troops, M113s or ACAVs and other tanks with you. You are all going through this shit together.
You do not know when it’s going to happen then suddenly, you are in it. Green tracers are steaming toward you, sometimes you see sparks then a smoke trail snaking your way and mortar explosions falling around you. If there is a lot of this happening and does not stop, you know it’s an NVA regiment and not the VC. A VC fire fight only lasts 15 minutes or so. Hit and run. With the NVA, it’s hit and hit. You know your in for a fight. Now you hear the TC’s voice on the com telling you where to drive, telling the loader what type of round to slam into the breech, usually it’s canister or Beehive if they are available which they usually are not.
In close combat the gunner is not needed, shots are eyeballed by the TC who can fire the big 90 from his cupola. Canister rounds spray shot like a huge shotgun. The gunner is on the back deck of the tank armed with either an M79 or an M3 grease gun or if lucky to get one, a Car 15. He’s watching for jumpers who usually try to climb onto a tank and disable it with packs of ChiCom grenades. Surprisingly, it is fairly safe on the rear deck of a 48 because as I mentioned, a tank is never alone.
The nervousness has left you and you concentrate on doing the job you’ve been trained to do. A good tank crew operates like a well oiled machine. Their sole purpose is to kill the enemy and get their fellow crewman back to base alive, in a month or so.
Being in combat is an experience few people have had. There is no other experience like it. It is loud, time is sometimes sped up or slowed down, there’s no time to be scared as you are too busy to be scared and some of the sights you see are locked in the deep recesses of your mind only to come out later in life to haunt you.
It is after combat that the full effect of what you have just been through hits you. Some get the shakes, some talk fast and crazily, some are too tired to move and a few joke about it to hide their true feelings. There is no exhaustion ever felt as the exhaustion you feel after a lengthy combat action. Some men are dead and some are dead tired.
Seeing your own dead you usually have two thoughts in quick succession. You feel for the guy and what his family will soon learn and nearly at the same time, you are glad it wasn’t you laying under that poncho.
I found out what “the China threat” really is–and it’s hilarious
References to “the China threat” are widely used to justify the diversion of public money to weapons makers. But what is it? Look closely and we find “the China threat” is a series of vague allegations that China is planning to impose its system on the world—evidence-free claims that no scholar believes. Yet at the same, a very different “China threat” DOES exist, and it’s not what people think!
A peace proposal was reached early in the conflict last year. But it was vetoed or blocked, only not by the Russians.
There was no Chinese involvement.
In the meantime, China hasn’t shipped weapons to either side, or provided monetary aid, unlike, ahem, Nato members. Ukrainians soldiers are being paid in US dollars, while a select group of young Ukrainians are driving brand new Teslas and German cars on the streets of Kiev, partying into the night while conflict ravages their country.
China has instituted export control of commercial drones, after these were found weaponized in large numbers by Ukrainians. WHO paid for them?
China’s consistent position has been, let’s sit down and talk this through, and overtures have been made. Unfortunately, this isn’t a bilateral quarrel between Russia and Ukraine, but with the entire NATO.
Joe the elder(ly) will have to take the pedal off the gas and walk back from escalating this conflict.
There is little China (and the rest of the world ex-first) can do, just like Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen…
The only difference this time is white people feeling the economic pain of war.
And I mean the whitest of white, not the “not white enough” cannon fodder being slaughtered and displaced in the tens of millions.
You want it that way, you can have it.
Leave Asia out of it. We have had enough suffering the horror of war, particularly the Muslims of the Middle East.
“Europe” does not accept Russia as part of “Europe”, despite Russia being sovereign over the largest piece of EUROPE.
This quarrel needs a shift in mindset, and I am not referring to the russians.
“Europe’s” problems need not be the world’s problem.
Note: Hundreds of thousands Ukrainians are dead, and more than 20m Ukrainians have turned refugee. Is Ukraine in a better position today than 2014–2015, when the Minsk agreements were signed (and reneged) TWICE? Ukraine gave the finger to Russia for 8 long years, ignoring two brokered agreements.
Zelensky and co. belong in jail.
China and Malaysia’s Rare Earth Metal Deal, Put U.S in Panic
Today’s video is a deep dive into the significant geopolitical decisions made by China and Malaysia regarding the export of rare earth minerals, which play a crucial role in driving today’s tech-savvy society.
Here are the main changes that may take within you.
Lack of sensitivity towards your own self and your own needs. – Monks and nuns are constantly under immense public scrutiny in culturally Buddhist countries. At first you feel extremely sensitive and it’s a huge pressure. But with time you get used to it. Also the lack of freedom and comforts compared to laity may make one quite selfless and tough.
Sensitivity towards others – People keep looking forward to you in their bad times and you have to act as their guardian angel. But in their good times they may somewhat forget you. You learn this nature and learn to deal with it.
Whatever you do, you do not expect anything in return – You are a public figure. Being a public figure (specially if a monk or nun) is the same as being anything public. Everyone uses you but there is no one in particular to look after you. And again this will make you very tough, independent and very strong.
Even the worst introvert can become the most outgoing person – This was the case with me. If you want to do something for the society you get so much support from the laity. It is very easy to do social service.
Develop leadership qualities – People always want you to lead them in everything so if you do not have nor develop leadership qualities you are more or less doomed. So you learn it.
Patriotism – A lot of monks/nuns in traditionally Buddhist countries gets criticized specially by the Western Buddhists for this. But as a monk or nun you have very little things to call yourself apart from your country, ethnicity and religion. So the patriotism comes naturally and it is quite inevitable.
You become very patient.
It was originally intended to be a very calm and quite solitary life style but you can also make it the busiest life if you want it to be. You have the choice. However you have very little bonds and you feel so free whatever you do.
Inner calmness.
More understanding of life and worldly nature.
The immense discipline.
Sense of family towards other monks and nuns.
Respect for the elders
As a nun I MUST specially mention the discipline of the Buddhist monks and the way they treat the nuns specially in my country Srilanka. I had been a lay person till I was 28 years old. And there hasn’t been a single day that I did not face some sort of a sexual harassment from lay men in public places. But once in the order you don’t even feel that you are a woman. Suddenly gender has completely disappeared and you all just become human beings – monks and nuns. It’s so beautiful.
These qualities may increase if you stick to the practice as well. But just being in the robe without doing a minute of meditation can make you a different person in itself.
I see it among the monks who have been in the order since their childhoods the most. Eventhough they may not meditate as a habit there is a significant patience and an inner discipline among them. The later you enter the order the lesser the change may be. Ofcourse when you keep up the practice a lot of changes start appearing but it also can go down when you stop it. And the farther you keep away from the laity and the more you stick to the company of fellow monks and nuns the more changes will take place within you.
My own experience here. Back in the 1980s when I worked in a BR (British Rail) information kiosk, I had an American couple come up and ask for a train itinerary to get up to Fort William in Scotland. They were keen to stop off at various places en route so it took a good half an hour to work out times and optimum ticket prices.
Once they had collected all their notes, the gentleman pulled out his wallet and proffered me a tenner (£10 note) whilst thanking me for my diligence.
Naturally, I turned his “tip” down and said that what I’d done for them was simply my job and that we weren’t permitted to accept such things.
Blimey, that was it! The gent was visibly taken aback then his partner launched into a very loud verbal lashing of me saying that I was extremely rude for embarrassing him in front of everyone else, adding that they were “only trying to help your poor wages”.
Somebody in the queue piped up with “we don’t need your money, pal”, at which point the couple stormed off and kicked the door on their way out.
It could be argued that I went “above and beyond” but all BR clerical staff were salaried back then and we’d be mortified to have people announce that they thought that we were poor!
Generally people in Europe are paid a living wage so we don’t need to extract a tip out of everyone at every transaction to make ends meet. We leave that to our American cousins!
This is a HUGE PROBLEM for all of us!
This is a must watch for anyone who cares about our country and We The People !
Yes in a huge way it is. Though China and the Chinese people Confucian character and ethics itself is a phenomenal force.
If the U.S. had not foolishly fought wars that achieved absolutely nothing and cost tens of trillions of dollars that literally bankrupt America that pave the way for China to speedily caught up the U.S. and overtook it in most aspect of superpower status.
Just imagine this. Korean War is to stop North Korean to being communist. Today 80 years latter it is still a communist nation. The same goes to Vietnam. After 10 trillion lost 3 million dead and most U.S. gold reserves evaporated yet today half a century is still a proud socialist nation. Iraq is fought to introduce democracy to them. After 5 trillion dollars down the toilet Iraq is as i lambic nation as it was. But worst it now ally with Iran now. Another 3 trillion dollars thrown into the money pit is Afghanistan to get rid of the Taliban after 20 years the U.S. surrender the nation back to the Taliban.
The U.S. achieved nothing but hate and a broke and bankrupt nation! But worst. During the 60 years of continuous self created conflicts while the U.S. real standard of living standard of living stagnated back to the 1960 level today in 2023. During these same duration China grew 50 times in 60 years! By 2021 The Chinese life expectancy overtook the U.S. having doubled from 39 to now close to 79 years old!
You would think the US learn lessons from this nonsense but no. But today in 2023 the U.S. is fomenting coups in Africa, doing regime change in Russia, fighting another 10 trillion dollar un-winnable war in Ukraine, seething a stage to begin another war with China doing another Tokin lie in Taiwan and South China seas. It seems the U.S. won’t stop till it is finally collapsed in a total civil war! But that is the U.S. where popularity of leaders triumph over rationality.
China is laughing all the way to the bank metaphorically and factually. While the U.S. economy is is dire straight. Ukraine requires a billion a day Chinese provocation cost another billion a day and CIA and NED activity will totally burn up their cash but heck, your million homes less living on tents can wait, your 35% of Americans without medical insurance can die without help!
Israel Has just CUT OFF Water Supplies to Gaza – Just Like Ukraine did to Crimea
NEW AL JAZEERA REPORT SAYS ISRAEL JUST COMPLETELY CUT OFF THE WATER SUPLY TO GAZA! Just like Ukraine did to Crimea.
It was a Crime Against Humanity when Ukraine did it. It is a Crime Against Humanity now that Israel is doing it.
To deny human beings water means death in as little as three days.
During those days, people will have to take a crap into a five gallon bucket and haul it out to dump it somewhere.
With THAT type of sanitation, disease outbreaks will come fast; killing many who have some water stored and are otherwise surviving.
The shear hatred between the two sides over there would be mind-boggling were it not so long in coming.
Most of us have known for years this type of day would come. Few of us thought it would be in our lifetime.
Meet Frane Selak, the world’s (un)luckiest man.
In January 1965, Frane was aboard a train travelling through a cold, rainy canyon.
At one point of the journey the train was somehow flipped off of its tracks, and tumbled into a river.
A bystander rushed to the train’s aid, and pulled Frane out of the river. Unfortunately, 17 people drowned, trapped inside the train as it sank to the river’s bottom.
A narrow brush with death.
The next year, Frane was aboard the only plane ride he would ever take.
During the flight, the plane malfunctioned, and Frane was blown out of the aircraft.
He tumbled through the air— and landed safely in a haystack.
The plane crashed in a field, killing all 19 of its passengers.
Yet another close call.
It seemed that Frane had experienced his fair share of near-death experiences, but life still had quite a lot in store for Mr. Selak.
1966- A bus Frane was aboard crashed into a river, killing four. Frane was able to swim to safety with only minor injuries.
1970- While he was driving, Frane’s car suddenly caught on fire. He managed to escape just before the fuel tank exploded.
1973- In yet another driving incident, the engine of Frane’s car was doused in scalding oil from a malfunctioning fuel pump, causing flames to shoot through the air vents. Other than singed hair, Frane was unharmed.
1995- While on a trip in Zagreb, Croatia, Frane was struck by a bus. Luckily enough, he only sustained minor injuries.
1996- As Frane was driving, he was forced to swerve into a guardrail to avoid an oncoming truck. The rail collapsed under the car’s weight, sending it plummeting into a gorge. However, Frane wasn’t wearing a seat belt, so he was flung out of his car—right onto a tree. He held on, and safely watched as his car tumbled down into the gorge.
While he’s lucky to have survived more than seven brushes with death, Frane Selak seemed plagued by misfortune.
That is, until 2003 rolled around.
Two days after his 73rd birthday, Frane purchased a lottery ticket—- and won. It wasn’t a small amount, either: Roughly $1.1 million USD.
Perhaps even better than his lottery win?
He’s gone over twenty years without being placed in a life-threatening situation.
Frane Selak truly has beaten all odds.
My Son Didn’t Want to be Born; Pre Birth Memory and Near Death Experience
“I really appreciated the whole “I want to go home” statement. I never wanted to kill myself but I have that feeling of wanting to go home all the time. My husband never understands this because I will be at our house but I feel lonely/a longing to ‘go home’”
Small things amuses small mind. To most Yanks the world stood still since 1945. That is their failure to recognised that the world has move on.
Americans stood still while China advanced beyond recognition in a space of a mere 74 years since 1949. ASPI the acronym for Australian Strategic Policy Institute coincidentally an off shoot of the U.S. Neocon group concluded that today China lead the U.S. in all 37 out of 44 most key and strategic technologies and material sciences going into the future.
Hubris, over estimation of themselves, racial bias and frown upon Chinese people, wrongful dismissal of Chinese progress and achievements. Coupled with being so full of it attitude caused the U.S. to lose all its lead in technology. While China work their guts out the U.S. simply deteriorated by by feeling entitled and foolishly ignorant and naive about their collapse going into the 21st century.
Another way to put it they slumbered into deep sleep mode till it is way way way too late. And any counter action on China hurts and harm the U.S. way more that it affects China. It hasten China’s lead. And speed up US implosion. And being full of it they did in the space Center ban GPS threat, trade war and Chip act all of which cost the US an arm and a leg. And padded China’s lead further.
I added a drug in my food which induced diarrhea and waited to catch the culprit.
I was fed up with the lunch thief. Every other day someone would eat my lunch and this was a common phenomenon happening in our class. Any day a student bring something delicious it was bound to disappear. Some students stop bringing lunch others used to carry their lunch box wherever they go. Complaints were made to the school principal but, couldn’t catch the thief. I suspected few students which included some senior students also but, didn’t dare to say anything. Then I decided to do something extreme.
I brought a local delicacy for lunch one day and invited every possible classmate to have a bite during lunch hour. The morning hours were chemistry practicals and we had to leave our bags in our classroom. I knew if the thief got news about my food, he will strike during this time only. We all went to the practicals. Nearly one hour later we heard a commotion and saw principal and few teachers rushing upstairs, immediately followed by nurses. My teacher also went outside to see what was happening and then we saw one of my seniors crying loudly and taken on the stretcher by the nurses. He was the one who tried to eat my food but, didn’t know that I had mixed a drug extracted from a plant which induces diarrhea. He ate my entire lunch went back to his class and within 15 minutes started to have uncontrollable loose motions. That class was opened only after disinfecting which took 2 days.
He was admitted to hospital for a week. Later on, he confessed that he ate food from my lunch box before falling ill. My parents were called to the school and I was asked what happened to your food and I confessed to mixing in the drug for which I got nice beating from my father.
But, that incident made me famous in my schools and students started to bring lunch without fear. I felt like a savior of the world.
Edits 1- Lot of people have commented regarding the legality of this situation. I was in 8th grade when this happened. I didn’t mix the entire potion of drugs in my food, it was few drops. The diarrhea was contained within few hours but, the culprit felt weakness and took a week to recover. To everyone knowledge, I won’t use that drug again but, if someone tries to mess again with my food…….hahahahahahahahahaha (beware)
US decrypts the secrets of Kirin 2035, Huawei did not respond. The discovery scares the U.S.
The United States decrypts the secrets of Kirin 2035, Huawei did not respond.
Yes. One of the major regrets of my life. Let me explain……
As a young single sales engineer for Digital Equipment in the early 80s I attended a european sales meeting held in a posh hotel in Majorca. We were told that junior ranks (like me) were to share rooms, so after picking up my key I went to my room and saw a suitcase on the other bed. No probs, I thought, until I took a slightly closer look and noticed it was opened and full of female underwear. Hmmm, there must be some mistake, thought I. So I trudged down to reception, they assured me the room allocations were made by the company organisers not themselves, but they sent me to another room, which did in fact have a male engineer in it.
I subsequently discovered that the female in the original room was an absolutely stunning blonde Swedish girl, also single, and the organisers (a couple of girls from the Geneva Head Office) had mischievously allocated us together hoping that love would blossom.
What a wasted opportunity, I should have stayed in the first room and seen how events played out.
My middle school was relatively clean cut. It was a private school.
Most of the kids came from good homes. They weren’t the fighting types.
There was this kid Brandon, who used to bully everyone. (There always seems to be at least one doesn’t there?)
He was one of those early teenagers who had a big early growth spurt. He was bigger than everyone.
He was angry for no reason all the time. A perpetual scowl on his face.
He’d constantly be in the face of kids much smaller than him, egging them to fight him. He’d say, “You are a pussy.”, “Do something you pussy.”, “I dare you. Push me you pussy.”
I occasionally was the target, I’ll admit.
He’d throw a 12 year old boy into a locker right as the kid was talking to his crush. It was brutal. He had no qualms embarrassing people.
Nobody in our school was much of a fighter. And most of us were smaller so we didn’t really want to test our luck.
That summer, apparently there had been a meeting with school officials where it was communicated that his tenure at this private school should probably end.
Code: expulsion.
He didn’t learn from his expulsion from our school. His ways continued.
But he would learn soon.
He went to a new public High School with the same assholish attitude, that “looking for a fight” approach.
Unfortunately, the new pool he was swimming in had bigger fish: kids from a rougher side of the train track.
One particular kid “opted in” on his invitation to fight and Brandon got himself a badly needed public ass-kicking.
My conclusion, that actually gives me some solace:
Every bully will change his ways eventually.
Or he’ll have his ways changed for him.
There’s always a bigger, badder dude out there, gladly willing to be the “vehicle of his enlightenment”.
No it does not want to be a super power. It wants a fair and just world! The U.S. can still pretends to be the superpower and spends its way into oblivion. Go right ahead. Prepare for another hundred US wars!
China just wants to make money and give its people peace and prosperity. If the U.S. prefer to see 5 million homeless in the U.S. but fund Hong Kong poor and hoodlums to pretend to protest. That is their right of the US to deprived its own people and interfere in every corner of the globe.
China wants the world to be a better place. It wants to help build a better and fairer world. The U.S. can necked it’s citizens to death in bright daylight or shoot 16 years old due to his skin colour. That is their right. The U.S. can fund another 10 Ukraines wars and cause 10 million deaths that is the U.S. right.
China knows what it needs, better roads, better high speed railway, better infrastructure better access to IT and facilities for its people to progress. China won’t do shit like the U.S. China won’t bankrupt itself over muscles flexing like the U.S. It wants to give its people better food and more food and better homes and nicer cloths. Better health care and free education.
You ask this question because you see from a western lens. China needing to over lords the world now that they are rich and successful. That is the western way. Not China not the Chinese people. They want to sell to the world. They want to make stuffs for the world. They want to trade with the world. Sure they are super duper ready if you ever threat them.
Yeah, from my dad but AFTER he’d died, when I was given a load of his stuff.
I knew my mum had left him, but we were told she left me and my brother with dad because she couldn’t take us with her as we were on our dads passport and he was in the army.
Well it turns out my dad kept the “Dear John” letter she wrote him when she left us all.
She made it clear that my dad was to stay in contact with her parents, but to not contact her about us.
The courts naturally awarded her custody in the divorce, but she never came for us.
We ended up living with our paternal Auntie, long story, and she hated our dad and did her best to ensure he couldn’t take us back from her.
She made us wards of court and sought a custody of sorts, which she won.
In the paperwork for that was a note saying our mum had a new life, spouse and a daughter with him and didn’t want to be involved with her two sons.
Reminder — she left us, she didn’t come get us after the divorce and didn’t prevent our Auntie from keeping us.
My dad never ever told me any of that, not even a hint and I had years of on and off again contact with mum before eventually going to live with her when I was 17.
He’d kept a load of her photos, original birth certificate, all the court documents from divorce and ward of court stuff, everything we’d need if we’d wanted to find her when we were older but to also show she’d left us and he’d tried his best to keep us.
He was civil to her the few times they saw each other, like when he came to visit me when I was living at hers and when I got married, but he never mentioned the past.
Even when my brother estranged himself from dad after years of our Auntie drip feeding him lies about dad, Dad never said anything about Mum and what our Auntie did to him in regards to taking his boys off him.
Dad left the Army, left his girlfriend in Germany with whom he’d settled down with after Mum left and they were going to raise us as a family when he came to get us back from his sister…he left everything behind to come and live round the corner from us and start all over again with nothing.
He had to die before I could find it out the truth, I never got to speak to him, to hear his side because he just left it in the past and was the best dad he could be in the circumstances.
I miss him and honestly the wrong parent died early in my view.
It was a Sunday morning, and I was bored, so when the phone rang, I jumped to answer it.
I forget the detail, but the first sentence spoken by the caller gave the game away.
I put on my best British upper crust accent, and demanded to know where he got the number from.
He umm’d and arr’d. I demanded again, whilst I turned around and barked an order to trace the call to the non-existent millitary staff behind me.
Tapping on my computer keyboard, for sound affects, I informed the caller that he had called a millitary number restricted for use by 10 Downing Street (and no-one else), and I continued to question him, whilst having secondary conversations with the non-existent personal behind me.
I kept the call going for 30 minutes, and I’m pretty sure that I heard the precise moment the poor guy shat himself.
In the end, I let him off with a warning and an instruction to ensure that this number was not called again.
I didn’t receive an unsolicited call of any description for more than two years after that.
Initially, I felt cruel, figuring this was just some kid in a scam call centre. That feeling wore off when I realised what a tale this guy had to tell his mates later on.
You politely say, “Are you sure you want to part with it?” Then depending on the item, you can say that you will keep and cherish it as a family heirloom, or, you can be honest and say, “While this is lovely, it doesn’t fit with my decor. I will be glad to take it and find the perfect home for it where it can be loved and enjoyed.”
The biggest fear many older people have is that after they die, people will come into their home and not respect the things that were special in their lives. My mother’s fear was that her “special items” would simply be thrown away.
While your older relative is alive, ask them to walk you through their home and tell you the history of the various items throughout their house. You may gain a new respect for those items, as well as get clues to another family member who may actually want that item or have a connection to it. You may also find out if the items have significant monetary value or just sentimental value.
Your relative may think some items have high value, such as old or expensive sets of china or some collectible figurines, but the reality is that people no longer are interested in china sets or other items and they are worth very little. Older people can be devastated at the loss of value, so if that is the case, you don’t need to tell the older person, just reassure the person that you will take those items and care for them, then you can later dispose of them appropriately. If you don’t have room to store items, it may work to say, “I know you love this figurine (or whatever.) Why don’t you keep and enjoy it, just put my name on it for the future.”
The key is to respect the feelings of your older relatives and help them care for their special items in a respectful and caring manner. After they are gone, you can do what you need to do.
Years ago, my then-girlfriend gave me a pair of Bluetooth headphones as a birthday present. I appreciated it and tried so hard to make them work. But they kept irritating my ears and always fell out. Eventually, I went back to my regular wired headphones — not realizing this would trigger a huge point of contention.
Every time we went to the gym, she’d cross her arms and lament, “It’s a shame you won’t use those $150 headphones I got you.” She brought it up for months and months and it started to feel like I’d loaned money to the devil.
Humans are strongly reciprocal in nature. Any healthy relationship is built on giving and receiving in a fair manner. When there’s a gulf in this reciprocity, it creates a power imbalance. This is why gifts are a common tool for manipulation by people who score high in machiavellianism (having a desire to control someone).
Bestowing presents is also a common tactic by abusers. Each of Michael Jackson’s accusers made similar claims of him showering them with amazing gifts. They felt a sense of loyalty to him, particularly when it was time to defend him in court.
With my aforementioned ex, we eventually reached a resolution that once a gift is given, it is released. There are no claw-backs. There is no weaponizing them during arguments or using them to create resentments. That relationship taught me to keep an eye out for scorekeeping. Anytime someone tries to lord over me that they did this one nice thing for me — just to get their way on an entirely different subject, I tend to get prickly.
Even favors can be used against you if you aren’t careful. The most advanced manipulators use them, and you can too, in a good way.
Ben Franklin had a political enemy who was making speeches against him. Franklin remembered an old quote, “He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another than he whom you yourself have obliged.” Then he asked that political enemy to loan him a rare book. Ben eventually returned it to him with a nice thank you note inside the cover. Suddenly, their political rivalry vanished and Franklin had a new friend.
Asking for a favor is a conveyance of trust and need. A person feels chosen. You’re suggesting they have something you don’t: knowledge, ability, and resources. It also appeals to their insecurities. If you don’t know the requester or are angry at them, it creates a cognitive dissonance: why am I helping someone I don’t know or whom I’m mad at?
Your brain watches you behaving in conflict and creates a subconscious conclusion: you must like the person. After all, we ask favors of people we trust and care for, right? Beware of pro bono favor requests from people who have something to gain from you.
China Just REVEALED Update Plans For NEW Moon Base
China, who has seen a dormant phase recently regarding its lunar exploration program has recently released updates regarding the continuation of its lunar exploration program. As this important endeavor continues, China is on track to land its Taikonaut on the lunar surface and achieve one of the biggest milestones in its sector.
BOOM! Turkey Enters Israel-Palestine Fight — Warns U.S. to STAY OUT
The President of Turkiye, Recypt Erdogan, has publicly come out in support of Palestinians in the ongoing HAMAS-Israel conflict and has PUBLICLY WARNED the United States to STAY OUT of the conflict.
Erdogan says that his country is “with our innocent Palestinian brothers” and explicitly warned — everyone — that Turkey is “willing to defend Palestine at any price.”
It looks to me as if he just threw down a Gauntlet. To the US. To Israel. To pretty much everyone; perhaps even including NATO!
Erdogan knows that Poland, just yesterday, said they were sending military transport aircraft into Israel to evacuate Polish nationals and that if those aircraft are attacked, Poland would invoke NATO Article 5, resulting in the 31 country NATO alliance making strikes against Palestinians!
With today’s announcement, Erdogan just dumped cold water all over Poland . . . AND NATO. Neither will be able to do anything if Turkey says no. NATO requires unanimity before the bloc can engage in military action.
This HAMAS-Israel thing is spinning out of control so fast, it’s hard for me to even keep track of it.
Frankly, in my opinion, this has “Disaster” written all over it.
They are deluding themselves. Most Americans still think they are exceptional. They are so deluded that they think it is alright for their government to use chemicals like ‘Agent Orange’ in the battle field. They think it is alright for them to torture captured prisoners with ‘Water Boarding’ and all other forms of ‘Tortures’. One picture has kept me awake at nights for a long time is the one showing a naked young girl running away and crying because she and other kids were being chased by American soldiers after they saw the unarmed civilian grown ups being tortured and killed by the American soldiers. And of course who can forget those picture showing prisoners being torture in Abu Ghraib prison, on the outskirts of Baghdad. There are too many pictures for the American Authority to deny their existence. And a former US President got the nerve to say that ‘Water boarding’ was not torture.
Another picture that come to mind is when Secretary of State, Colin Powell, a former 4 Star General, holding up a tube containing washing powder and claimed that as proof of Iraq’s ‘Weapon of Mass Destruction’. He mis-spoke. He should have said. ‘Weapon of Mass Deception’.
China will not start a war. To China it knows wars don’t resolve anything. It focus on being able to do tit for tat.
So if the U.S. talk shit and do daft muscle flexing and chest thumping like a gorilla, China will do nothing. China’s view is
It will intelligently let the US have a long rope to hang itself if that is what the U.S. wants. But if the U.S. hit China in China it will reciprocate by hitting US in U.S. if you kill a hundred in China it will kill a hundred in U.S. mainland. If you kill a thousand China will kill a thousand. If you use a nuke on China, China will use a nuke on U.S.
So if you want to stay safe stay in your shore in Florida or California. If you are loitering in South China Seas. The U.S. had 2 choices. One blow trillions for nothing. Or two, murder equal number of people in China and the U.S. or worst turn earth into a nuclear dust.
Right now the U.S. choose blowing billions like a faded and aging hoodlum flexing its muscles no one bother to pay attention to. All it needs is it swing accidentally and hit China to start a mutual self destruction. I think it is suicidal.
It wasn’t a patient, but the sister of his wife who demanded that my girlfriend tell a big lie to her patient. According to my girlfriend, it happens all the time in Muslim families.
Only a couple of days ago, my girlfriend found out that the patient was dying from bladder cancer metastasis. He did not have much time left — quality time, that is. She explained that to the family members who had come to the consultation room.
Not only his wife and children were there, but also his wife’s sister and an even older aunt, and some other family members — there was a bunch of them. The man himself was in his room. Asleep.
The sister and his wife asked — well, actually insisted — that my girlfriend would not tell the patient how bad his condition really was, and she certainly was not allowed to mention that his end would be very painful and bad.
My girlfriend kindly explained that she cannot tell this kind of lie to a patient — that he had every right to know about his condition, and that there were also the options of palliative care or euthanasia, which he had every right to think about before the pain would get even worse.
The problem is: in Muslim families, euthanasia is a no-go, and they rather have beloved uncle-husband-father patient succumb to the worse imaginable pain, than to help him go finally asleep without pain. Their way of coping with it is simply to not tell the patient.
But my girlfriend refused (she always does).
And she also told them that she had already spoken with him, and that he had dearly thanked her for telling the truth. He had suspected for a while that this was going the wrong way, but he needed confirmation — which he now had. And he planned to think about the options, now that the pain was getting worse.
His wife’s sister was furious, and exclaimed that the proposed therapies were not an option.
Yeah. But, you know, she was not the one in pain though.
I purchased a brand-new Honda Civic, which I drove very little and kept garaged. At 21k miles, I was told by the Honda dealer that the car needed brake work in order to pass inspection. I was highly skeptical, since I’m not hard on the brakes, and my previous vehicle did not require ANY brake work until around 80k miles. However, I was recovering from surgery and not able to do much myself, so I agreed to the work. I questioned this, and got a long BS story from the Service Manager about how I didn’t drive the car often enough, and as a result, the brakes were wearing. Something didn’t seem right, and I should have known better.
At 25k miles, the vehicle had other service work done, and the Honda mechanic reported that the brakes were fine. However, as I was leaving the dealership, I overheard the Service Manager having the exact same conversation with another customer about her brakes. The same BS reasons (not driving enough) were given, verbatim.
Roll forward to 31k miles, and the Honda dealer tells me they need “immediate attention”. By now, I was recovered and strongly smelled a rat. So I declined the work, and put the car up in my own garage. I was pissed when inspection showed nothing wrong with the brakes whatsoever. In fact, they looked almost new.
Since that time, I have driven the car for 2 years and over 16k miles, passing state inspection (which includes brakes) both times, without any brake work!
Took my business elsewhere, and didn’t look back. That was the 5th car bought by the family at that dealership, it will be the last.
I have a good one. I had long had a suspicion that my father was not my biological father. We looked nothing alike, not that it bothered me, but he was a 5′4″ Egyptian man and I’m a 5′9″ very white woman. At some point, my sister’s MIL gave her an Ancestry DNA kit for her birthday. Sure enough, it came back with 0% anything related to Egyptian. Both our parents have been deceased for several decades so we couldn’t ask them. At that point, I figured I should just go ahead and take the DNA test myself. Sure enough, same with me. I told my sister than I had heard a rumor from my mother’s best friend that our parents had fertility problems. I had quietly assumed that we had been a product of a sperm donation for years. My sister and I appear to be half sisters. She’s three years younger than I am so it makes sense. Sperm donors usually don’t donate for years and they may have tried to get a donor with at least some darker features. She was somewhat more shocked.
Fast forward six weeks after my results came in and I get an alert from Ancestry, I have a match. I open up the email and the first line is something like – “John Smith (not real name) is your father”. I was ready to acknowledge that I was not biologically my father’s but, for some reason, it startled me that I would find my actual biological father. I didn’t contact him. I was in my forties at the time and I imagine when he donated sperm that many years ago anonymously, it never occurred to him I’d show up.
That being said, a couple weeks later, he contacted me. After a few back and forth messages, it turns out he was a sperm donor, a retired OB/Gyn (not my mother’s for the record) and was indeed my biological father. On top of that, I have three other half sisters, the youngest of which is three months older than I am. He likes to brag/joke that he had two women knocked up at once. Of course, there may be more of us out there.
I’ve met the family multiple times. They’re a very nice group of people and my biological father calls me his fourth daughter. I look a lot like my sisters. At 5′9″, I’m actually the shortest sister. My bio dad at his tallest was around 6′5″, I think.
As crazy as all of this sounds, it didn’t really cause any identity crisis. I was in my 40’s. I knew who I was at that point and who my “real” father was, the one who had raised me. On top of that, I had fertility issues myself (just age related) and had used donor egg and sperm for my daughter. I discovered all of this after my child was born. It would never occur to me that my daughter wasn’t my “real” daughter. I gave birth to that girl and raised her and I’ve been honest with her about all of it, in an age appropriate way, of course. My mother died when I was eight so my Egyptian father was a single parent raising two girls. I still feel half Egyptian. As far as I’m concerned, I just have more nice people in my life.
Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond (Remix by Patryk Pryce)
Another fantastic remix. I really love this version.
Bluegrass rock.
Shit, I must of listened to this version about a hundred times! Damn!
China averages around 65 Billion RMB a year on Losses on the HSR and an aggregate loss of 5.77 Trillion RMB totally
Sounds huge doesnt it?
It would be if you were an American
For a Chinese system, this is a pittance
Let me explain
First
HSR is regarded as a PUBLIC SERVICE in China
Public Services are always subsidized by the Governments from Beijing to the Local Governments
So these losses are reimbursed by the Taxpayers
The estimate is the average Chinese taxpayer pays 3.77% of his tax money to maintain his country’s railway network
Meanwhile an Average Indian contributes nearly 3.11% of his annual income for a railways that’s maybe a fifth of the level of Chinese quality
This is why I keep saying India isn’t ready for a HSR
Our people are too poor today as a whole to pay for the HSR unlike China whose population is way more middle class and have larger pockets plus the fact that HSR has an entire massive hub ensuring the lowest cost of operations
A HSR of 1/10th the size of Chinas in India would cost the Indian Taxpayer 8.41% of their annual income (Around 2100 Kms length)
It’s why despite the operating losses of 65 Billion RMB a year , only 10 Billion RMB or 15.4% is reimbursed from borrowings or debt
In India, a whopping 57% is reimbursed from borrowings
In Pakistan, 77% is reimbursed from borrowings
In short the people happily pay for the losses because (a) they are capable enough to pay for the losses with a near 50% middle class (b) the amount is not that high, around 3.77% of their total tax money
Second
Intangible benefits
The HSR enables development of areas and places deemed uninhabitable a decade ago
In Shenzhen a worker pays 870 RMB for 32 m² Apartment while 240 Kms away in Guaoxi he pays 400 RMB for 60 m²
Earlier Guaoxi took 6 hours by Road
Today Guaoxi takes a mere 65 minutes by HSR, the 230 kph line, not even the 418 kph fastest line
Thus he saves almost 500 RMB a month which translates to 6000 RMB disposable income a year
The fare for the train is paid out of profits by the employer
This extra 6000 RMB can be spent on other things and thus enhance the economy
The Value of intangible benefits is estimated to be close to 7 Trillion RMB or so
Third
Asset Monetization
The Benefit of Socialism
China owns the land on which the HSR is built, valued today at close to 21 Trillion RMB and that’s not even market price but a 60% discounted government local land price
Thus the total losses are barely 33% of the Assets owned in land alone
Thus the HSR is in vibrant and excellent economic shape
Well, in my defense . . . oh, never mind. It was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. I have no defense.
Remember this excellent product, ladies?
It made our hair wonderfully moisturized and conditioned, silky, shiny, and lustrous. It comes in small tubes, and you put it in a glass or cup of hot water to heat it up, apply it to your wet hair and work it through, leave on for just one minute (!) and then shampoo it out.
Alberto VO5 products (made by a company named Alberto-Culver) are very good and inexpensive hair care products. They go back a long way; even my Grandma used them. In her bathroom was always VO5 shampoo …
and this …
And never mind “conditioner” .. we used this, Tame Creme Rinse …
I remember, when I was a young girl, wondering why “cream” was spelled c-r-e-m-e, and why a guy named Toni was making stuff for girls (?) And why the heck was Tony’s name spelled with an ‘i’ instead of a ‘y’?
Okay, sorry. I got sidetracked by nostalgia. (Love and miss you, Grandma and Mom.)
So, the dumbest thing I’ve ever done? I gave myself a “hot oil treatment” but not with VO5. Not that time. That time I did it with this:
I melted some (probably more than a tube full, but, ya know, I was putting Vaseline in my hair. What’s one more dumb thing?) in a small saucepan on the stove, applied the “hot oil” to my hair, and well – did I let it sit on my wet hair for one minute? Hell no … I let it sit for ten minutes.
Yeah, I hadn’t thought it through.
It completely congealed. Back to its original state. Petroleum Jelly. My hair lookedlike I went swimming in an Exxon oil spill.
I shampooed .. and shampooed .. and shampooed. It wouldn’t wash out. In desperation, I even called an Ask-a-Nurse hotline for advice, which was a fairly new service at the time, around ‘78 or ‘79. (I was only 21 or 22 at the time. Is that a good defense? . . . No? Yeah, you’re right.)
The nurse I spoke with told me to try laundry detergent or an astringent, which sounded reasonable. I bought two bottles of Bonnie Bell astringent. It rolled off my hair like a car windshield that’s been treated with Rain-ex.
NEXT…
Yes, I washed my hair with powdered laundry detergent. Was there no end to the dumb shit I’d try? Apparently not. That didn’t work, either. Perhaps the nurse meant liquid laundry detergent. Well, dammit. Then she should’ve specified.
Finally I spotted something that gave me hope, in the kitchen of all places. Like a shining beacon of relief from an ordeal of my own dumb doing, one I’d been dealing with for three days running. It was a fairly new product, too. One that had “grease cleaning power”, or whatever their slogan was back then. And .. hallelujah! It worked!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason nothing but this adorns my kitchen window ledge.
Have I done dumber things than giving myself a hot oil treatment with Vaseline? Oh, I’ve done a couple of dumb things since, sure, but nothing quite as dumb. My brother-in-law thought it was the funniest freakin’ thing he’d ever heard. He told everybody. I’d meet friends of his and they’d say “Oh, are you the one who put Vaseline in her hair”? I never lived it down.
The idea came from a conversation with my therapist.
“You need to find meaning outside of work,” she said. “What are you passionate about?”
And get this— Even in the *safe space of therapy* I felt awkward telling her: “I want to normalize vulnerability between men. I want to support other dads. I want to feel their support.”
“That’s a beautiful idea,” she said. “Go for it.”
So I: – Posted on a local Facebook Group – Got hundreds of likes and comments – (ironically, 80% from wives tagging their husbands)
I felt imposter syndrome every step of the way.
“Who the hell are you to start a men’s group?” “What do you even have to offer?” “No one’s going to come.” “You suck.”
But I did it anyway.
(While responding to that voice with a healthy dose of: 🖕)
And now, 7 of us meet in my basement every two weeks.
It’s: – 10% parenting advice – 90% “I need to get this off my chest” – And 100% “Why don’t men do this more often?!”
There are two things I’m trying to say here:
The first is that I have three boys at home, ages 16, 12, & 8.
I don’t want them to grow up like me: – Terrified to share their feelings – Show weakness – Be vulnerable.
Incapable of connecting with other men on an emotional level.
Because life’s short. We’re social creatures. And finding our shared humanity is one of the greatest joys of life.
The second thing is that: – The inner critic is a liar – Your comfort zone is a liar – Imposter syndrome is a liar
Each of us has unique gifts to give to the world.
But it takes stepping out of that comfort zone. Taking risks. Falling.
Getting back up. Doing hard things. Being the change you want to see.
Write Down Your Goals Twice Every Day. You cannot get the things you don’t remember you wanted in the first place.
Do Something For The Goals Every Single Day. Success and excellence only come from what we do behind the scenes every day.
Work Harder Than Everyone Else. To be the best you must work like the best. Period.
Get Over Yourself. Get over the fact that you can do this all while staying comfortable and do the things you do not like to do and that scare you.
Believe You Are The Best Before You Are. If you do not believe it, why should anyone else?
Focus All Your Energy On Improving. You are not the best yet, so you must grow into the best by improving everything you can as much as you can.
Invest In Yourself. Spend the time, energy and money required for you to become the best.
Do Not Give Up. This will take longer than you think it will and will be harder than anyone told you, but if you give up, you will never be able to reach it.
It has no effect because defense and foreign policy are not made in the Defense and Foreign ministries. These ministries are only involved with policy implementation.
Foreign policy is formulated by the Director of Foreign Policy 外事办主任。 This office is now headed by Wang Yi, who took over as Foreign Minister after Qin Gang was put under investigation in June. This means that Wang Yi is responsible for foreign policy, and is also responsible for foreign policy implementation as the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Defense policy is devised by the Central Military Commission 中央军委, of which Xi Jinping is chairman. The Defense Ministry is responsible for defense policy implementation.
China is not ruled by Xi Jinping individually, but by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, of which Xi is the face and the spokesperson. Because it is not rule by individual ego, as is often done in the west, it has no significant effect on Xi himself.
Hezbollah is waiting for Israel to start the ground invasion of Gaza then they will open the northern front. With Iran, Russia and China potentially backing this war, what will be the situation if this escalation happens?
Israel does not have the stomach to take heavy casualties nor the capability to fight a prolonged war of attrition on three fronts i.e. Gaza, West Bank and Lebanon. Israel has a Jewish population of 7.1 million, around 50% of which are of fighting age (18–55) male and female.
[1] Size of its army is 634,500 including reserves, that is around 18% of population which is in the 18–55 years bracket. With these statistics, how much casualties can Israel take? Without US soldiers to die for it, Israel will run out of soldiers long before it runs out of ammunition.
Hence the only way Israel can survive this war is if US comes in with full force to fight alongside IDF and die for Israel. Short of that Israel is in deep trouble, as it is surrounded by the ocean of Muslim world with unlimited supply of manpower ready to fight Israel given half a chance.
It remains to be seen whether American public is ready for another “never ending” war, and whether American taxpayers are willing to fund it.
Our somewhat spoiled and entitled 34 y/o son invited a couple friend of his to join us at an expensive beachfront restaurant. We had graciously picked up the tab for him and his friends on previous occasions, so we expected it to be more of the same. No big deal except that couple brought another couple we’d never met, and they all proceeded to order filet mignon. They also ordered two more to-go for their large dogs waiting at home! I whispered to my husband to keep his wallet in his pants and to order us two hamburgers. Oh how sweet it was when the check came and I loudly told the server that my husband and I would be on a separate check. You could hear the gasps and watch them all struggling and asking each other if anyone had cash or creditcards. I didn’t need to order dessert as that was the most delicious moment. Got tired of being mooched.
Typically a 3000 Km has 10 Phases of 300 Km each, which are finally linked into a single mesh network
The Chinese learnt this from Singapore & Japan both of whom work this strategy
This way, if the project is cancelled, the Phase completed can stand alone and have it’s own financial viability model
So if China quoted $ 5.5 Billion, it’s always for a Single Phase
The Whole cost will never be revealed and depends heavily on other factors
Since a Phase is around 300 Kms or definitely not more than 400 Kms, China is likely quoting $ 5.5 Billion for maximum 400 Kms
Still that’s astronomically different from Indias $ 17 Billion for 500 Kms
India is at least 250% higher
India was rather short sighted with the Bullet Train
Initially Chinas bid to India was for almost $ 4.3 Billion for 250 Kms but included Tech Transfer over 15 years
However five areas of disagreement emerged
China quoted 2.6% interest on composite terms
China demanded a 33% contingency payment knowing Indias history of delays
China insisted on having first refusal to build additional routes along the bullet train at later dates , basically saying if and when you expand, we get first choice
Chinas last condition was that their engineers felt very strongly that Mumbai to Ahmedabad was not a good pilot route due to many estimated problems that they predicted. Instead they wanted the Pilot Project between two other points rumored to be between Karnataka to Tamilnadu due to ease of terrain and other reasons.
At this time Japan who was terribly eager to get the contract offered to regard the entire 500 Km as a single phase at 0.1% interest but at double the cost
They agreed to Ahmedabad to Mumbai route
They agreed to no contingency payment
The agreed to no first refusal at a later date if India chose to expand
However they said no Tech transfer
In the end the Chinese were absolutely bang on
Proving that Political decisions never work
They perfectly predicted Delays in the whole project
They perfectly predicted that this 500 Km had a much lesser chance of becoming 5000 Km than with Indonesia Or Thailand
And Japan is stuck with the Project having had a opportunity loss of around $ 1.488 Billion to this day
An old friend of mine received 1 million dollar through a private investment savings account when he retired as a university professor. He was sixty-five at the time and had plenty of other savings, so you would think that he would do all right. Wrong.
His Chinese wife — who was a tad younger — had different ideas.
She first used part of his money to start a female clothing store in a local mall, without knowing the next thing about clothes, selling, or money management (she had a PhD in Physics and had no clue about what selling was about).
The shop went bankrupt in no time.
Some time later, he noticed that his private savings accounts were shrinking rapidly. She had gotten into investing (again, with no knowledge about it whatsoever, besides her prior dramatic clothing shop experience), and she was essentially flushing his money through the drain.
He could stop her (barely) before it was all gone.
In the end, nasal and sinus cancer hit him (very) hard when he turned eighty, and almost nothing was left to pay the very expensive surgeries and therapies — he also had a young daughter to take care of, and she came first. (His wife ignored their daughter altogether.)
He died not much later in “relative peace” (as they say), but kept worrying about one thing and one thing only till the very last seconds, as his daughter would be all alone now.
NATO has published an Op-Ed article by a retired American defense official, which calls on the bloc to fight and win a limited nuclear war against Russia. Should the US and China clash over Taiwan, the author claims that a full-scale war in Europe would likely follow.
The Op-Ed article was written by Gregory Weaver, who served as the principal nuclear and missile defense advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In it, Weaver argued that, counter to Moscow’s long-standing nuclear doctrine, Russia may use tactical nuclear weapons either to stave off a battlefield defeat or bring about a swift victory to a conventional conflict, such as that in Ukraine.
In such a scenario, Russian military leadership would assume that the West would not respond in kind, for fear that the situation would “escalate uncontrollably to a large-scale US-Russia homeland exchange.”
Instead of fearing nuclear war, Weaver argues thatthe West should embrace it. NATO should equip its fighter jets and submarines with tactical nuclear weapons to deter a tactical Russian strike, and “convince Russian leadership that NATO is fully prepared to counter limited nuclear first use with militarily effective nuclear responses of our own.”
Russian nuclear doctrine allows for the use of atomic weapons in the event of a first nuclear strike on its territory or infrastructure, or if the existence of the Russian state is threatened by either nuclear or conventional weapons. This position has not changed since 2010, and makes no exception for the use of tactical nuclear weapons (which are far less powerful than the strategic nuclear weapons that NATO and Russia would fire at each other in the event of an all-out exchange).
Despite these clear guidelines on nuclear use, Weaver claimed that Russia could launch an attack on NATO states in Europe if the US were preoccupied with fighting China over Taiwan, a scenario that he treats as possible without further explanation.
To counter this, he recommends that NATO move “more deep precision strike capabilities” to Europe, form “several modern armored divisions” in the Baltic states and Eastern Europe, and press European members to “provide more conventional capability,” while the US sends them tactical nuclear weapons.
Weaver did not mention the consequences that nuclear war would wreak on the European countries where such a conflict would be fought.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Western leaders have become so obsessed with inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia that they have lost their “sense of self-preservation.”
The writer of the NATO Op-Ed Piece is Gregory Weaver.
Filipina SHOCKED by “DELUSIONAL WOMEN” | Rubeauti reacts
I watched a recent speech by Biden in Asia. It was a press conference in Vietnam. Biden was so bad that while he was still talking, his own US press secretary cut him off halfway by muting his microphone, declaring abruptly that the conference was over; and turning on jazz music in the room so that Biden’s voice could not be heard anymore. This was damage control. The US press secretary did it, to stop Biden from continuing to ramble on spouting nonsense in front of a roomful of journalists and media crews.
The poor man is senile. He is still President, of course. But surely he is no longer making the real decisions for the USA. He is just the front, the puppet on stage – the people in charge are the ones behind the curtains pulling on the strings.
It’s pointless for Xi to meet Biden. Xi probably knows it already. Any meeting with Biden would just be for ceremonial purposes and publicity reasons. Nothing will actually come out of such a meeting, because Biden doesn’t make decisions anymore.
Xi is a busy man and I wouldn’t be too surprised if he decides never to meet Biden again. There’s not much point in such a meeting.
Is 65 TOO OLD for a YOUNG FILIPINA? | Street Interviews
Chinese Weaponry is more than capable of taking on NATO weapons
Oh don’t get me wrong. Maybe technologically, NATO weaponry is more advanced
Yet NATO weaponry has been exposed in Ukraine as woefully being inadequate for a battle with a formidable ally
They have been designed since the 1990s with the aim of maximizing profit and fighting small nations like Iraq and Afghanistan rather than design them to COLD WAR STANDARDS
NATO weapons are designed for rapid strikes and rapid breakthroughs
Their offensive capabilities, mobility, speed are their key design parameters
Yet their defense is weak, their loading rate is compromised and they are not meant for heavy use
The Leopard and Challengers are the best example
They move faster than Russian Tanks yet their load rate is slow and their external body is vulnerable due to lower weight and allows them to be crunched by a simplest cheapest $ 20,000 drone or an 155 mm Artillery Shell or an Air to Surface missile
Chinese and Russian Weaponry are still designed per COLD WAR STANDARDS
To fight NATO
To fight US in an eventual war
They are designed for slow, territorial attrition, rock solid defense and grinding the enemy
Plus their numbers are superior due to better industrial productivity
Logic says Chinese Weapons should take on NATO weapons
When there is no rival, all you need to do is to change a little to fool consumers to buy your new product.
Sometimes you purposely do not want to change too much either. Otherwise you may not have new things next year.
Huawei is different. Huawei must find a way to go around US sanctions. It is this urge to survive a harsh condition that people become more innovative & get breakthrough.
It’s STARTING! Biden Just SHOCKED The World With This Move Towards GLOBAL WAR
As Biden seeks vast new sums for wars in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, will his rambling and incoherent speech propel America hurtling towards a global war?
This video is great.
He absolutely captures the sheer insanity of this moment! I mean it’s so insane that you all have to laugh.
Psychologist, Paul Piff, ran a famous social experiment using Monopoly. They had two strangers play a game against each other — but first, they flipped a coin.
The “heads” player got double starting money, double bonuses, and rolled two dice instead of one. The tails player played the game normally.
By design, the Heads player would eventually begin winning. Then, scientists watched.
The heads player began talking louder, raising their hands to celebrate. They slammed their pieces down louder on the board as they moved them. Eventually, they were outright rude and hostile to the other player.
When interviewed about winning, they talked about their amazing strategies and tactics. They rarely mentioned the 2x bonuses they began with. They also never acknowledged those advantages were the result of a coin toss.
They were displaying the Self-Serving Bias, where people tend to seek out and over-weight information that is favorable to them (and their ego).
In sports and video games, it’s why teammates often point fingers at each other over a loss. In business, it’s why unethical managers blame employees for their own incompetence.
It’s as Upton Sinclair once wrote, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
I try to fact-check the beliefs I have against this powerful bias — because it sneaks into every minor decision we make.
This is a schematic diagram of the recent situation in the Middle East, where the armed forces of China, Russia, and the United States are located near Israel, Palestine, Iran, and Syria.
The top three countries in the world’s military power rankings are all gathered in this small region.
The reason why the US military dare not directly intervene in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is because they are unwilling and because they dare not.
No one will act recklessly.
No one wants to break the current balance.
They Just Did It! America Unleashes Economic Chaos – Shutdown Crisis Escalates
Congress has just ousted Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. This one move just ramped up the shutdown crisis to the next level. We are in for a rollercoaster ride which could lead to a government shutdown where the economy could get dangerously impaired. Here’s what you must know!
When I was out of my “retirement” from Arkansas, I was permitted to live in my home State in my home town, provided I had a sponsor.
This could be an ex-wife, a friend, a family member, or a civic institution.
Well, my ex-wife wanted to take me in, but she was diagnosed as “mentally ill”, and did not quality.
I only had two friends remaining back in the home town where I grew up. One was dead, and the other was in Jail.
My father agreed to take me in, but his (new) wife … my step-mother kicked me out.
So, I need a place to stay, and I was placed in a rehab complex for addicts, people with mental illnesses, and other issues. Initially, I stayed at a monastery, but eventually, I moved to a community that wasn’t so isolated, and I managed a group home there.
There was some six of us men living in an old Victoria style home, and working at low wage jobs to get back on our feet. We shared the budget and the responsibilities together, and it really wasn’t a bad deal.
I want to relate a story from that time.
…
We all agreed to pitch in $100 to $300 a month for food, and in so doing we would have a monthly run to the supermarket for supplies.
We sat down, and wrote what to buy, which consisted of vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, breads… you know the basics with an emphasis on “make it yourself” rather than “frozen; pop in the microwave food”. Staples. Rice. Corn. Tomatoes. Flour. Butter. Cooking oil. Things like that.
We gave the list and the money to one of our housemates. This fellow was a “strange cat”, but you know, all of us were a bit odd, don’t you know.
And off he went.
When he returned, he arrived without the groceries he was supposed to buy. Instead, had something like $800 worth of pork chops, and three cases of diet Pepsi. Nothing else. And he laughed about it.
He argued that the money was his; his responsibility, and that he could do anything he wanted with it. And he wanted pork chops.
Well, I like pork chops as much as the next guy, but not at the expense of salads, orange juice, eggs, toast, butter, and spaghetti. Not at the dearth of cereals, milk, asparagus, peppers, spaghetti noodles, and rolls. Not at the expense of coffee, and sugar. Not at the expense of peanut butter, and salad dressing.
He had quite the smug look on his face, and laughed. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, behind our backs, he related to everyone how crestfallen I was, and the others in the house was.
…
Bummed us all out, and I was pretty damn pissed. What the Hell was I going to eat?
After talking with the head of the organization we held a in-house meeting.
Long story short; yeah, we kicked him out.
I was nice about it, and I helped move him out.
…
However, I learned a serious lesson. Never underestimate what a crazy, or mentally deficient person is capable of of. He was obviously selfish, narcissistic, and had no sense of belonging.
So we removed him.
This type of action, I believe, must be replicated at the highest levels of “leadership” in the collective Western nations. Don’t you know.
Today…
Blue Cheese Stuffed Steaks
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 beef tenderloin steaks
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
4 teaspoons crumbled blue cheese
4 teaspoons plain low fat yogurt
2 teaspoons minced onion
Dash of white pepper
1 large clove garlic, halved
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
Instructions
Combine cream cheese, blue cheese, yogurt, onion and pepper; reserve.
Rub each side of beef steaks with garlic.
Place steaks on rack in broiler pan so surface of meat is 2 to 3 inches from heat. Broil for 5 to 6 minutes.
Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Turn and broil for 3 to 4 minutes.
Season with remaining salt.
Top each steak with an equal amount of reserved cheese mixture.
I was just 18, and working part-time at a local gas station, a Merit gas, with the little fishbowl in the middle of the pumps. I was in nursing school, so worked a couple nights a week.
Now, let me preface this by saying I was not by any means raised to be shy and retiring. My dad was streetwise, and made sure we were too. I knew how to defend myself and was not worried about working nights.
One night about 2am this drunk comes in, puts two crumpled up ones in the drawer, and says “put 20 on pump 3”. I yelled that he had only given me $2 but he was too far gone. I made a note of the make and model of his car, and was going to call the police about him as he was absolutely sloshed.
He comes back to the drawer and says “It only took 2$. Gimme my change”.
I explained that I did not get 20 from him.
He went back to his car and came back with a tire iron, and started to try to smash the windows. I pushed the alarm, then left the booth with a chain wrench in my hand.
Very useful as a weapon if you know how to use it, and I did. At least, I figured I did.
I went to him as he smashed the windows, and yelled some obscenities…. he turned on me with the tire iron. Just as I caught his hand with the chain wrench, and pulled the tire iron out, 4 motorcycles pulled in.
They were fully patched 1%-ers, members of a well-known motorcycle club not known overall for their sense of patience with morons.
One of the guys walked up to the drunk and said “what’s your beef?” and the drunk said “she kept my change!” I said “He gave me $2, he thought it was 2 tens, it was 2 ones”. Just then the drunk grabbed his tire iron and swung at me, but was so drunk he hit MC-Man 1. MC-Man proceeded to punch the man even more senseless than he was.
While MC Man 2 peed in his car, MC Man 3 went into the guy’s wallet and took out his driver’s license.
Just then, Drunk man gets up, and tries to hit MC Man 1. Next I know, the drunk is naked and upside down in a trash bin; he was wearing only his shoes, which had their laces tied together. MC-Men are busting a seam laughing.
Just then the Police showed up, and seemed disappointed when I explained it was not the bikers who were the problem, but the upside down naked man who had attacked me, smashed the windows, etc. The MC Men helpfully gave their version of events, with four-part harmony focused on how they had been as abused and brutalised, being as defenseless as they were, as I was.
The Police dragged off upside down naked man, and MC Man 3 said “I found his wallet, this fell out” and handed the cop his driver’s license.
Just as he was being escorted to the cruiser, he spat on one of the bikes, and was accidentally tripped by the bike’s owner, and landed right on his face. He was filth-fouling his way all the way to the cruiser. The cop told the guy he would turn him over to the bikers if he didn’t shut the f_ up. That seemed to sink in, and he went calmly from there… until the cops said a tow truck was taking the car.
Upside down drunk yelled “You C—t” at me through the open cruiser window (there were bars) but as one of his teeth came flying out when he did, it was actually kind of funny.
After the cop left, I told the bikers they could fill up on me, whatever they needed, oil, gas, cigs, anything. MC Man 1 said “No, trust me, we can pay for our own stuff, and after all the fun you don’t owe us anything….” and they proceeded to use the guy’s own tire iron to smash the glass in his car.
It wound up in court, the guy was sent to jail for a year and ordered to pay for damages.
All 4 MC Men were called as witnesses. They showed up clean shaven, in nice suits, looking like they had walked out of a Wall Street firm, and spoke about how afraid they were of “that violent man”.
You could just see they enjoyed it.
He complained in court that someone kept breaking his car’s windscreen… the Judge actually said “you better think better who you pick fights with, but I suspect after you’ve paid your debt to society, you might find your windscreen lasts a bit longer. Right gentlemen?” The MC Men just laughed…
I, like a few others, was patiently waiting in line on an early Friday nite in a little village on top of a mountain. The pompous guy behind me, dressed in the full attire as dictated by his religion, evidently thought that by hitting me in with his cart, I would be so indebted to him that I would give him my spot.
The first time he hit me, I turned around and asked him not to do that again. He waited a minute and then hit me again with his cart. When I confronted him again, he said “women in my religion know their place and it is behind all men”. I laughed and loudly said “and in my country, women know that they don’t have to stand behind any asshole”.
Needless to say, he hit me again. This time I said “ you’re right. You belong in front of me. Just back up your cart so I can back out my cart so you can get in frin of me”. So after he backed up his cart, I grabbed his cart and shoved it down an aisle….he had to chase after it and was pissed.
The other customers all laughed including an off duty cop. When the asshole threatened to hurt me, the off duty cop arrested him and escorted him out.
I understood that his religion required him to be home by sundown. Had he asked me nicely, I would have let him in front of me. But when my first contact with him is him deliberately hitting me, he can wait your turn. If observing the tenets of his religion was that important to him, he should have gone shopping earlier.
The assault charge was dropped and he was banned from the grocery store, which happened to be the only one in a 15 mile radius, off the mountaintop
I remember when I was a young man, still largely broke but I wanted to get into PCs because while I understood computers very well and had years of experience on them, it was experience on Commodores, Ataris, Apples, and even z80 based systems. But at that point, the writing was on the wall, and it was clear the IBM PC standard with DOS/Win was winning decisively and the PC XTs I had access to, couldn’t run…
So anyway, PCs were not cheap, so I went with building my own. When I was done with the initial build, it was, like our health care system, a frankenstein’s monster. It had a slowish motherboard 286–12mhz, the best sound card at the time(original soundblaster), and an 8bit VGA card which was very middle of the road at the time. It had a 40MB hard drive which was quite decent at the time. It was good enough that I could run Dos/Win, at least enough to gain familiarity with it and sell my knowledge to employers. Which was the point.
However, it was not a good system. It was nobody’s first, second, or third choice of system. but it had a couple of good parts. There was no better sound card at the time, the hard drive wasn’t the top drive available, but was considered among the better ones available.
It was, like our health care system, a collection of best I could do at the time compromises to achieve an objective, but unlike our healthcare system, it did achieve its objective. It enabled me to get into higher paying jobs(hell, that whole trajectory launched my pretty decent career), which I promptly used to upgrade the lesser parts to the point that it ended up a pretty damned good system.
A few world class hospitals in a nation of 360 million people does not make the system good, anymore than my good sound card and good hard drive made my computer system good. They were positives of it, to be sure, but it was not a very good system as a whole.
A system is a collection of parts that work together, by definition, and the quality of it is determined by the overall quality of all the parts and most importantly – How well they work together to achieve the objective of the overall system. Our health care system is not very good, overall, despite that it has some quality parts here and there.
They’re making him a HOOD LEGEND
After former US President Donald Trump turned himself in to Fulton County Jail in Georgia, the Trump Mugshot went viral on social media. But now it appears the Republican POTUS is actually gaining massive support in the most unexpected ways. Which could lead to an epic backfire for the Democrats and the liberal news media.
A dinner guest picked away at the back of one of my mahogany dining room chairs and lifted a piece of the scrollwork decorations carved in the back of the chair next to her that her husband was sitting in.
When she finally succeeded in picking it off, she placed it on the table and acted like she didn’t realize what she had done, and done deliberately. She started saying “oh they don’t make furniture like they used to”, she was so sorry, blah, blah. Yeah, right, my solid mahogany Pennsylvania House dining room set was cheaply made.
It killed me to say “oh that’s ok, I’ll take care of it” like a good hostess as I attempted to retrieve the piece she had gouged out so I could glue it back in later, but she kept flipping it around in her fingers like it was a toy. I finally told her to give me the piece of wood so I could use it to attempt a repair. She acted offended at my request and to my tone of voice.
Never invited her back, but she went to the same church I did. Her name was Sondra and she would get really agitated with anyone who pronounced her name as Sandra. So of course everytime I saw her from then on I called her Sandra instead of Sondra. Many, many times. Petty I know, but I didn’t care. Still don’t.
Mike taught me real selfless love time and time again.
When my parents learned about him they took my phone and almost all means of communication, treated me like garbage and threatened me with many things. They came to me and said “you’re an idiot if you think he’ll still be with you after things got serious. He was just toying with you”. I just had to rely on my faith in him. And one month later he was in Kuwait to see me and my family.
When I was hospitalized for my mental breakdown he called everyone in my family and constantly asked about me.
He paid thousands and thousands of dollars to come visit me every couple of months and for all the attorneys trying to bring us back together.
When we were looking up all sort of solutions to reunite. He seriously said “what if I bring you to NewYork then drive from Ontario to there everyday to spend the night with you?”. I was flabbergasted and told him “you would do that?”, he said “of course I would. That way I’ll get to see you everyday”. And I was astonished but told him I would hate that sort of situation.
When he said he’s looking for other jobs since I can’t seem to enter Canada. I know very well that he’s never had a job better than this, great pay, great people, great company and a nice environment. Yet he is willing to give it all up for me.
Every time I had an episode and started fighting violently over something very stupid, driving him up the wall, he stayed on the phone with me for hours until I calmed down and we reached a conclusion.
When my parents refused to meet him and travelled to Egypt on purpose to avoid him when he comes to Kuwait. But he booked another ticket to Egypt and said wherever they go I’ll meet them.
When he decided to start waking up at 5 a.m everyday and chat with me in the morning because that’s what works best with our time difference.
When he told me “you know Salma, other than my daughters I never called anyone but you “my sweetheart”. And he said “aside from being a father, nothing ever compares to being with you”.
I can only hope I give this man as much happiness and warmth as he gives me.
America’s NEW Tax Plan is Frightening
As General Patton said it, “We defeated the wrong enemy”.
I can’t say that what I found after my father’s death completely changed how I viewed him, but it did have a profound impact.
My father vehemently opposed my decision to transfer out of an engineering program and instead pursue writing as a career. For 25 years, until his death, he had nothing positive to say about it, despite my receiving grants, fellowships, and publishing books. His rejection of me as a writer took our relationship, which wasn’t warm before that, to absolute zero.
After he died, I found an old cassette tape recorder he had repaired. In it was a tape labeled “Al in a Pensive Mood.” He made the tape in 1978, shortly after he’d had heart surgery. In it, he reflected on many aspects of his life, but the part that most affected me was this: “I sort of miss the fact that David is in New York, but I hope that he will succeed, that he will become a famous writer, that his books will be accepted, because this is what David seems to want to do.”
He died in 1994. How different our relationship might have been if he’d shared those sentiments while he was still alive.
I was born in a family of drama queens and philandering womanizers. Everyone in my immediate and extended family divorced at least once. Everyone in my family is either upper class overeducated elitist hypocrites (on my father’s side) or greedy under-educated peasant opportunists (from my mother’s side). Everyone of them has a story to tell, everyone wanted something more out of their lives or nobody was happy. I mean,seriously, as a child, I don’t think I knew one single happy couple who actually loved each other or a happy person who was satisfied with their life.
My parents were absent ones who were too focused on their rather successful careers and their dramas. They divorced,then both remarried and both had affairs. My dad didn’t divorce because my stepmom pretended that nothing happened. My mom divorced two other times and finally settled down with some young movie director and that’s the last I heard of her back in early 2000s.
I grew up with my grandma, who had her own juicy skeletons (yes, plural) in the closet. She suffered from major depression, but she wasn’t diagnosed until much later. So there was me, isolated with my depressed grandma, watching the fabulous lives of my father and mother unfold each on their own and which I was never part of any of it. And like most absent and successful parents, they eased their guilt by giving me the best life money can buy.
As a child, I never felt the absence of anything. I had the best clothes, the best books and the best toys. I was the first in my class to own a pager, a Walkman, a PC, a cellphone or a car… I was signed up in all of the after school interests classes. I played two instruments poorly.
My family sure had high hopes for me. And I sure disappointed them in every possible way. My dad used to lament how I didn’t get my mother’s looks or his brain. All I got was stubbornness, which wasn’t a good character trait for a girl.
The irony was, being part of such a chaotic and passionate family of love and hate,romance and sex, I ended up being an introverted asexual person who wasn’t really interested in relationships or sex.
Like all good daytime TV, my family lost much of its financial means. We weren’t poor. But we were no longer filthy rich. My parents actually had to budget and buy stuff when there was a sale! Oh,the horror!
We moved to the US in 2000. I went to college and against my father’s wishes, decided to study art. I’ll have to give it to my dad, being an Asian father, he wasn’t happy that I studied such a useless subject, but he was supportive (as in he didn’t cut me off). He told everyone I studied graphic design, as if that somehow made it better than “art”.
I was never a good student to begin with. I didn’t go to the Ivy Leagues. My art degree didn’t get me anywhere, neither did art history, theater or 3D animation. I was often the best in my class, but best in a regional university is mediocre when put on a global scale. Despite being a mediocre student, I did enjoy learning new things. I still do. Learning about random things I didn’t know before often brings me great joy.
Learning things and creating things are my greatest joys in life. All that art school didn’t really make me a competitive artist. I was, as I said, mediocre at best. As an artist I was (and still am) willful, which is a bad characteristic for the commercial artists… disastrous for mediocre commercial artists. I only draw portraits. I only draw stuff I like. I do poorly with commissions. I can’t keep simple commitments.
Suffice to say, I was doomed to make a living with art. But that wasn’t my only worry at the time.
As you can imagine, growing up in such a dysfunctional family I had a lot of baggage. I went into counseling for a period of time during graduation school, that really helped me a lot. I started to grow (a bit late, I know) into my own self instead of trying (and failing) to be the person my father wanted me to be, or, more precisely, who I thought my father wanted me to be. In reality, I don’t think my dad had any expectations from me since high school.
Out of some weird turn of events, I was involved in the BDSM community for a few years. Had my one and only “serious” relationship and decided it just wasn’t worth my time.
By 2008, I was a mess. I was well into my late 20s. Other people my age would get married, have children and steady jobs and probably already bought their first house… while I was ridiculously overeducated and absurdly unemployable. I lived with my parents, I was laid off from my previous dead end job, I had one failed, completely dysfunctional relationship which I pretended that never happened, I sent out 20 email job applications every day and I didn’t know what to do with my life.
In early 2010, I finally landed my first gaming industry job. Of all the degrees and skills I earned in my nearly 10 years of college education, I landed this job because I was bilingual.
It turned out I was actually a pretty good project manager. My stepmom didn’t believe it. She had always seen me as this messy absent-minded loser who couldn’t organize anything. But I was good at organizing things, budgets and schedules. I never learned project management, but somehow it all came naturally to me. It just made sense. I mean, after all, project management really is just common sense. So… out of all of the exciting things you can do in video game industry, I ended up doing the most boring thing, basically middle management nobody likes and who doesn’t really contribute anything solid to the development.
Still, I love my job. I love what I do.
I’ve worked for big publishers,start-ups,on console titles and PC titles,web games and Facebook games (yes,I did).
Somewhere along the way, I published a book about Renaissance Italy, which… rated poorly on Douban because I pissed off a lot of people with my “white-lefty” sentiments. I’m not saying my book is any good. But judging from the comments left on my book page, obviously most of them never read it. They just came to give my book a 1 star (out of 5) because they don’t like how I talked about feminism…. and give out spoilers about Murder on the Orient Express.
Now I live in San Diego with my cat Jonesy.
I’m translating a book (which I should be working on right now instead of procrastinating on Quora). I continue to write my renaissance story (I don’t think my publisher would publish any more of that story, but I must finish it). I’m planning another story (in English).
My life so far has been pretty uneventful, especially compared to my parents and all my relatives. But perhaps I could write interesting and exciting stories, even if I myself would most likely live out my life in peace and solitude.
A book, my cat and San Diego city lights. This is my life now.
Back in the 80’s in my hometown, if a teenage girl got pregnant in our high school, she was immediately pulled out of school and they provided her with a home tutor. My mom was one of the tutors.
Mostly it was pretty basic, my mom would ignore the girl’s “condition” and the girls did their work. I should add that our town was insanely small, so my mom had known most of these kids since they were in preschool, so I imagine that it was super awkward.
During one of these tutoring sessions, one particular girl was prattling on about how she and the baby’s father were going to get married, he’s going to be a doctor, and they’ll be rich in no time. My mom is not one for flights of fancy, she is a firm believer in cold, hard reality, so she couldn’t keep quiet.
She very calmly explained how much money a baby can cost, then added in the prices of rent, utilities, food, a car & insurance, daycare, college tuition, and books. This girl did not believe her at all. My mom also let her know the failure rate of a teen marriage, as well as the adult rate. This girl obviously had never learned basic household management because she didn’t even know how to turn on the stove.
My mom never pushed the subject again, and the girl continued her lessons, until she delivered the baby. My mom never followed up with the girls, unless the school needed her to. Shortly after that, we moved to a different part of the state and mom took a job with a bank.
About 10 years ago, we were at a mall when this woman came over to my mom to say hello. My mom was confused and asked the woman who she was. It was the girl! She wanted to thank my mom for being honest with her about the harsh realities of life and had taken what she said to heart. The girl broke up with the boyfriend who got her pregnant, gave the baby up for adoption, finished high school, went to college, the medical school and now she’s an OB/GYN. She told my mom that no one had ever told her how the world works and how you have to pay for everything; she was kind of embarrassed when she said that she just always assumed that there would be food in the fridge because it had never been empty.
Now she was close to 40 and she had gotten married, was pregnant and was finally going to able to give her child the life that she couldn’t for her first (she did receive photos of the baby that she placed). My mom just looked baffled because she insisted that she hadn’t done anything special.
Walking through Cities of Europe in 700 AD: What would you have seen?
A recruiter got in touch with me through Linkedin regarding an opportunity to work for a luxury car brand. I gave her my number and asked her to call after 4 pm because I didn’t want to take the call at work.
She rang that evening, we went through my work history and I emailed her my CV. In the morning she rang back to say that the hiring manager liked my cv and wanted to schedule a phone interview.
The following day, I received a call from a gentleman who introduced himself as my interviewer. I went through my work history once again.
I answered his questions, gave examples to support my answers and explained the gap in my CV. I also asked questions about the role and the company.
“You have the skills and experience required, I like your attitude, you are very straightforward and assertive but I’m hesitant. If we hire you, once you get bored of the job you’ll probably leave just like you are doing with your current employer.”
It rubbed the wrong way and I thought it was very presumptuous of him to assume that I was leaving because I was bored. I was looking for new opportunities because I wanted to get out of a toxic workplace, I agreed to interview for the position because I already worked in the field. I had the skills and experience, they were also offering better pay and benefits.
He spoke to me for a few minutes and assumed to know the reasons I was leaving my then current employer, I guess in his entire career he never left a job for better opportunities.
“Thank you for considering me for the role but I’m no longer interested,” I said to him and ended the call.
Hiring managers are so full themselves they don’t even realise that sometimes people just leave bad bosses and toxic work environments. I can’t see myself working for someone who is so quick to jump to conclusions.
Breaded Steak Cutlets
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds round steak
Salt
Pepper
Eggs
Water
Cracker crumbs
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
Instructions
Cut 1 1/2 pounds round steak into serving pieces, removing all fat. Cube with a tenderizing hammer and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dip each piece into 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water. Dip into cracker crumbs and coat well. Fry in hot grease until brown on both sides. Drain.
Pour off grease and add 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce to pan and de-glaze pan.
Serve tomato sauce with cutlets.
Fed Predicts: Americans Will Run Out of Money By October 2023
Confession of the Day
I have been married for 15 years. I have known my wife since I was 8. We have 3 daughters together. 17, 14, and 11.
I’m tired of feeling like I’m an outsider in my relationships with all of them. I’m just an ATM and taxi service to my kids. My wife hasn’t kissed me in 6 months. She has not said that she loves me in 1.5 years. No matter how much I communicate, try to plan anything or do anything it is always shot down, forgotten, or dismissed. I don’t get angry in don’t yell. I don’t get physical.
I like to splurge during birthdays and mothers Day. I throw parties and give gifts and try to show how much I love them. I get a lukewarm, thanks, and if I’m lucky, a side hug that lasts .0001 seconds.
This week was the breaking point. Father’s Day. I wake up to an empty house. Odd. No note, nothing was written on the calendar, and nothing said beforehand. I send a text, and I get back. “I took the girls out for a spa day, don’t wait up.” Then nothing, literally nothing. Dinner time comes around, and they get home. How their say was (it was fine). I ask what they would like for dinner. “Nothing we already ate at [one of my favorite restaurants].” Cool, whatever. There is no mention of it being fathers Day. No, I love you, how are you. Nothing.
Fast forward to Wednesday. Which was my birthday. Nothing. Literally again, nothing. I suggested plans. They get shot down. I suggested food. Nope, shot down. Ask about watching a movie they are all too busy (they just sat on their phones doing nothing).
Now to Thursday night. I’m in bed. My wife is next to me. She rolls over and says in a crappy tone. “Oh, your birthday was the other day. I guess you expect to have sex.” That broke something in me(best of my memory of how it went down)
I said “no I don’t expect sex. At this point, I don’t expect anything anymore.”
Her “what is that supposed to mean?”
So I started asking her questions
When was the last time we shared a kiss? (Like a week? Nope, it was in December, and it was during her parents’ holiday party)
When was the last time we had sex? (The beginning of the year? Nope, wrong it has been over a year. She was adamant that we did it in February. I was dealing with my moms health and her passing. So I said something like, “You may have had sex but it wasn’t with me.”)
When was the last time you said you love me? (“I say it all the time.” Not to me, check your messages/you don’t say it to me face to face. “Well, you should just know I do.”)
When was the last time we went on a date? (LONG pause)
Her: You’re being unfair.
Emotions turned on fully. I was crying and raising my voice at this point.
It asks her how? She can’t answer. I asked her how wanting any sign of love from anyone in the house is unfair. If expecting anything for my birthday or Father’s Day was unfair. (She got an oh shit look) Yeah, you forgot that as well. I’m not an ATM, I’m not a taxi service, I’m not a punching bag.
She asked why this was coming up “out of the blue.” It didn’t. I have tried to talk to my family and again get dismissed or ignored. I brought up examples. I got an “I didn’t know you were serious.” “I didn’t know it was such a big deal.”
I left saying something to the point of “If you want to pretend that I’m invisible and don’t exist fine, you don’t have to pretend anymore.”
I left the house at almost midnight. On Thursday/ Friday morning. Haven’t been home since. I’m not sure what to do now. I’m finally sober enough to think, but I don’t know what to do(first time drinking in over 15 years BTW, and i’m not going to drink anymore)
I love my family. But I can’t keep this up. I don’t know what more I can do. I think they would be happier without me. They already act like I don’t exist. I can’t be the one who is blamed for everything. If I truly am the problem then me not being there should fix it. I can’t do it anymore.
I have tried to be a good provider, a good partner, and a good dad. Never missed an event of our kids. Never prioritize work. I kept good hours so I could see them more. Took on more responsibility to better our life and future. But, it is never appreciated. It is never enough. I am never enough.
I only have one message from my wife “I’m sorry for making you feel that way. We all love you, and we are here for you when you want to come home and talk.” That is it. No other messages. No calls. Nothing from the kids. I feel like if they really wanted me there, they would try reaching out more. All of the kids have their own phone. I don’t know what she told them. I’m sure they heard me raise my voice. Me raising my voice would have definitely got their attention since i never do. I’m sure they heard me leave. I just don’t know.
There is something that has been bugging me / pestering me, over the last few days. And that is the Mr. Titor saga.
I covered this time machine / dimensional vehicle elsewhere on MM.
But sure, his dates were wildly wrong, but what I want to discuss something that bugs me to no end.
When he described what 2035 looks like, Lordy… I mean it sure sounds like what the United States is shaping up to become. From the home-made videos and demise of major TV shows. To the lack of retail and big retail stores. To the emphasis on more natural and “real” music a.k.a. Oliver Anthony… it is all too strong and makes me wonder.
Certainly his ideas about world war 3 in 2008 or so were wildly off. Wrong as in catastrophically wrong. They described a world more akin to 1995, than what the world looks like today.
However…
It is his description of his vehicle, and his predictions of the future that were spot on.
…
His vehicle ran world-line slides. A crude method compared to what I was involved in with MAJestic.
And anything can happen.
And what he described… world war 3, destruction of the USA and China, and all the rest seems like it is not going to occur today. If anything, it is a balkanization of the planet into quarters, and alliances accordingly.
But the social trends are bench-marked. They seem to be occurring.
…
I am reading this as a lateral slide event.
Social and societal changes are unchanged. They are common and associated with human trend-lines.
Geo-political events, and national trends are very different.
…
You see, in all of my MAJ slides, the societal trend lines seemed to be rather constant. With some very minor changes. But the major changes were Geo-Political in nature. The factors that moved herd / mass migration events seemed to be wildly divergent.
As such, then, on this template; on this world-line base start point, we have a different frame of reference, and the United States has just gotten weaker, while China has gotten stronger…
Quite different from the John Titor narrative.
…and thus the great nuclear war was delayed with some very different outcomes manifesting.
That is what I have been thinking about.
Very different outcomes.
From what John Titor narrated to the US public in 2000.
…
No wonder Domain is in China now.
The trend lines are reaching some very dangerous cross-roads, and the switching of templates are limiting the destruction while all the evil / malevolent are trapped within certain geographical regions.
Of course. China is the cause of all of the USA’s problems.
See how the white cops keep killing black people in the USA – this surely is China’s doing.
Observe the mass shootings that plague the whole of the USA – at schools, malls, supermarkets, churches, pubs, cinemas, workplaces – this too must be China’s doing.
Did you know that the USA’s literacy rate has plunged t0 78%? (Developed countries usually have a literacy rate between 95 to 100%). China must have caused this.
Look at the ever-increasing number of homeless people living in tents in the streets of the USA. We know that this is China’s fault.
US engineers say that many of the bridges and roads and other public infrastructure in the USA are “crumbling”. Why didn’t China take steps to stop this?
In the USA, even the water pipes are leaking lead into the supply of drinking water at public schools, poisoning the children. China must be blamed!
Look at how Americans hate each other! Even families stop talking to each other, because some are Democrats and some are Republicans. Once again, China is guilty.
The average life expectancy in the USA keeps dropping! Americans keep dying at a younger age. Becauae they are more and more obese these days and; their healthcare system is too expensive. Surely China had something to do with this.
Women in the USA even have problems getting birth control and abortions! The infant mortality rate AND the maternal mortality rate in the USA have fallen to the levels typically found in developing countries. Let’s blame China for this too.
But not to worry. The USA still has more gender pronouns than China. So the USA will prevail.
Southern Style Smothered Ham
Ingredients
2 slices ham, cut 1/2-inch thick (uncooked)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 onions, sliced
2 cups sliced pared apples
12 whole cloves
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place 1 slice ham in shallow baking pan; spread half the mustard on ham.
Top with onions and apples; cover with second slice of ham.
Rub remaining mustard onto meat; place cloves in fat portion of ham.
Mix sugar and water together; boil 5 minutes.
Pour syrup over ham.
Bake for 1 hour, basting with sugar and water syrup 2 or 3 times.
The Sopranos – Breaking Balls Goes Too Far
Joking around goes too far between Eugene Pontecorvo and Paulie Jr at the esplanade construction site.
Mexico Congress reveals 1,000-year-old ‘alien corpses’
Ufologist Jaime Maussan stated that scientists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico used radiocarbon dating to obtain DNA evidence from specimens found in Peru
Written by Annesha Barua –September 13th 2023 04:05 PM
Mexico, September 13: During a public hearing in the Mexico Congress, two alleged ‘alien corpses’ were unveiled, along with videos displaying UFOs and unidentified phenomena. The small mummified specimens, believed to be 1,000 years old and found in diatom mines in Cusco, Peru, were showcased in windowed boxes.
Ufologist Jaime Maussan, testifying under oath, stated that the specimens were not part of Earth’s evolution. DNA evidence and X-rays were presented during the hearing, revealing unusual characteristics such as unknown DNA and rare metal implants, including Osmium. Ryan Graves, a former US Navy pilot, was also present.
Unusual DNA and rare implants
Jaime Maussan, a journalist and ufologist, explained that the specimens had been studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where radiocarbon dating was used to determine their age. Comparing the DNA from the specimens to other samples, researchers found that over 30% of the DNA was “unknown.” X-rays of the bodies were displayed during the hearing, revealing the presence of “eggs” in one of the bodies and implants made of rare metals, including Osmium.
Ryan graves in attendance
Ryan Graves, the executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace and a former US Navy pilot, was present at the hearing. He had previously testified under oath to the US Congress about the national security threat posed by unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).
Credibility and skepticism
While the hearing took place in the Mexico Congress, it’s important to note that Jaime Maussan has been associated with ‘fake’ claims of ‘aliens’ in the past. In 2017, he was involved in the analysis of alleged mummies discovered in Peru, which were later debunked (by whom?) as the mummified remains of human children.
Unlike the White House, the China government does not interfere with the corporate behaviour of civilian companies.
The issue is essentially that as a solidly run mobile phone manufacturer you have to choose a stable supply chain.
Before the United States launched chip sanctions against China, the United States had been dumping chips into the Chinese market!
In Q1 2021, MediaTek accounted for 37% of the smartphone SoC market in China and Qualcomm 29%. The total of the two is 66%.
In Q2 2021, MediaTek accounted for 40% of China’s smartphone SoC market and Qualcomm 31%. Total 71% for both.
In Q3 2021, MediaTek accounted for 43% of the smartphone SoC market in China, Qualcomm 32%. Total 75% for both.
In Q4 2021, MediaTek accounted for 38% of the smartphone SoC market in China, Qualcomm 30%. Total 68% for both.
In Q1 2022, MediaTek accounted for 41% of the smartphone SoC market in China, Qualcomm 34%. Total 75% for both.
In Q2 2022, MediaTek accounted for 42% of the smartphone SoC market in China, Qualcomm 36%. Total 78% for both.
Now, the U.S. chip has been unable to return to the former dumping state.
Replacing a mobile phone chip is not an easy task; its software and hardware must match. Moreover, Chinese mobile phone makers have already found a new domestic chip supplier.
Business partnerships are like marriages. Once a marriage loses trust, it can never be the same again. Because there is no guarantee that you will not have a second betrayal?
It’s like if you divorced your ex-wife and regretted it so much that you wanted to remarry, but your ex-wife has already remarried, and you still want your ex-wife to divorce her current husband? Even the most arrogant person would not be so delusional.
Once you exit the Chinese market and lose market share, it is almost impossible to come back. Unless American chips are given away for free, but can chipmakers do that at 0 cost?
Developing market share costs money.
If you lose market share, you lose market share. No one’s always there for you.
When I did a year at an English university I shared a house with girl who was from what the Brits call old money.
She dressed fashionably but never wore anything with logos. And she noticed right away that Im the same and never wear clothing with logos. She was polite to everyone from the bin man to the university cleaning staff and even if guys tried to talk to us she didn’t let them crash and burn but made it clear she was not interested in a polite way without soundy bitchy.
She always introduced me right away to her friends before getting into a conversation with them and when I had friends come over from Norway she always introduced herself using her full name which always sounded odd to me but I noticed her friends and family did the same.
She was not a girly girl either. She visited me in Norway and when my grandfather caught a salmon she grabbed the club and killed it without flinching which is very unlike 99.99 percent of British girls.
She was very observant of everything around her and used disarming charm to get people to help her with anything she needed. And I noticed it was the same with a lot of her friends from similar backgrounds.
My dads a Brit and joked to me he could smell her class the first time he visited us, I said don’t be rude and he just pointed at her wax cotton jacket hanging in the hall and said, I can smell the old money from here.
My favorite was the trader who called his mistress on his trading phone. Big things with multiple lines of which each and every one is recorded for compliance reasons, in case a trade is contested or whatnot.
But the management wanted to get rid of him (and his rather large compensation package) so they asked him to the HR office.
Management: we want you to resign
The guy: no way, we’re in France, if you want me to go, you’ll have to pay a hefty severance package.
Management: <presses “play” />
Management: (after the record finishes) We already have a delivery guy in the lobby, if you don’t sign your wife will have the record in thirty minutes. Your choice.
The guy quickly calculated that the divorce settlement would be worth more than the severance package and resigned on the spot. The delivery guy was paid, and the delivery cancelled.
That is brutal. Almost maffia like.
Edit: I must add that it was completely illegal of course, but as they kept the record, he was not going to go to the police… the place was fun we also had a guy who was so well known for sexual harassment or worse that he had a clause in his contract to deduct any settlement with his trainees and employees from his bonus.
Edit 2 : In the same company but another country, I also witnessed a fantastic boot up the arse: the top management was thinking about replacing a MD. Just about 5 people were aware of the plan, but it leaked. So, five emails with different plans were sent. Old spy stuff. One came out.
The tantrum was spectacular and the guy was carried out by security. The head of compliance was spilling the beans. He got a good yelling and was kicked out of the building without ceremony, all in half an hour.
Driver had been drinking but unbeknownst to me, he’d walked away from our County jail farm two days earlier and committed an armed robbery earlier in the evening.
The driver pulled a Colt .357 Magnum on me.
After a few exciting minutes we exchanged gunfire at a distance of about 15 yards.
I was in an open field, he had the cover of his vehicle.
Fortunately, while I came *very* close, we missed each other.
He was captured the next morning and, eventually was sentenced to fifteen years in San Quentin.
I had nightmares for several years but they eventually went away.
Secret Hidden Tunnels found 300′ below Maui, Hawaii
Always up for a adventure We take off into the depths of Maui in search of secret passageways. Hidden in the cane fields there is gate ways into the unknown.
NATO Commences Snap “Northern Coast Exercise” in Baltic Sea
Today, Saturday September 9, 2023, NATO began a snap military exercise named “Northern Coast” in the Baltic Sea near St. Petersburg, Russia.
the “exercise” involves about 30 ships and more than 3,000 NATO member-country service members. It will, for the first time, practice how to respond to a Russian assault in the region, Germany’s navy chief said on Friday.
“We are sending a clear message of vigilance to Russia: Not on our watch,” Vice-Admiral Jan Christian Kaack told reporters in Berlin. “Credible deterrence must include the ability to attack.“
Troops from all NATO countries on the Baltic Sea, plus soon-to-be member Sweden and non-Baltic allies the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, will train side by side. They will practice amphibious operations and strikes from sea to land.
It is Russia they will be practicing to attack. Even the name of the exercise, “Northern Coast” is a direct reference to St. Petersburg, Russia, as seen on the map below:
The U.S. navy will send the Mesa Verde into the drills, Kaack said, a ship of more than 200 meters (656 ft) length, designed to transport and land some 800 marines in an amphibious assault.
Securing the sea routes through the Baltic Sea is another focus of the exercise that will take place off the coasts of Latvia and Estonia.
“Finland and the Baltic states depend to almost 100% on the maritime supply routes through the Baltic Sea,” Kaack noted.
“Should the Suwalki Gap be blocked – and this can be done easily as there are only two roads and one railroad line – then we are left with the sea routes only, and that’s where we will then have to make our way through.”
The Suwalki Gap, a narrow land corridor of some 65 kilometers (40 miles), is the only connection linking the Baltic states to Poland and NATO’s main territory in Europe.
It will be the first exercise of this size that the German navy, the biggest navy on the Baltic Sea according to Kaack, will command from its new maritime headquarters in Rostock which just reached operational readiness.
Germany aims to provide the facility to NATO as a regional maritime headquarters, capable of leading the alliance’s operations in the Baltic Sea in case of a conflict.
It is vital to remember that just one mis-step by NATO during this so-called “exercise” will trigger a massive Russian defensive engagement to protect St. Petersburg.
You’ll never believe what Biden just said!
NO one is prepared for what’s coming in this economy and they are trying to hide it. The Biden administration says inflation is coming down, jobs are being created, and Bidenomics is working! That sounds like a lot of spin. In fact the data shows us something devastating is on the horizon.
Yes I did. Not necessary because I liked them as in say friends but because they were real people in a tough position. I reduced their rent by $500 a month for two years. They finally got on their feet, overcame a health challenge and began building their own home. When they finally had a roof on the place they moved their son’s small camper into the garage and lived there until the house was complete. I routinely saw this older couple at a local restaurant so we kept in touch.
Amazimgly they sent a check every month after they moved out. It took almost five years but they insisted on repaying my lost income. We had dinner together the month they had completed making the rent payments. I surprised the couple with a savings bond for approximately 60% of what they had repaid. I insisted they set the bond aside for retirement. The woman was ecstatic hugging me over and over, her husband was all tears, saying “this never happens in real life, never!” I get a Christmas card every year.
Like many people today, I was using a dating site to meet new people. I met one guy who seemed nice, we had mutual interests, and we emailed a bit back and forth before deciding to meet for coffee. We chose a very small boutique coffee shop in a mutually convenient location. Then we chose a date and time.
“Give me your cell phone number,” he messaged me.
Oh, no, hardly anyone gets that. And certainly not a guy I’ve never met. I don’t want to be changing my phone number for anybody, and it’s not that hard to find someone from a cell phone number either.
“What for?” I replied.
“In case one of us misses the other when we’re supposed to meet,” he replied.
Well, that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. We had chosen a very small place, and both of us had a lot of pictures on our profiles, there was really no chance of one of us sitting there and not seeing the other, or recognizing the other.
“You can message me here on the app if you need to,” I replied.
He told me he wanted my cell phone number, that there was no reason why he couldn’t have it. There was no need for him to have this. Him messaging me on the dating app would send a text to my cell phone just the same as if he had texted me directly. Surely any man today understands that women have to take precautions. Right? The dating site itself had pages of advice on how to stay safe.
So I gently said I doubted we would not recognize each other, or not see each other, and I preferred to use the app for now, but I looked forward to meeting him in person.
He went ballistic.
He messaged me over and over, progressing to caps, demanding that I give him my cell phone number as a condition of meeting. WHAT DID I THINK HE WAS? The messages got longer and more abusive and I sat there reading them, not responding. After I had seen enough of them, I deleted them, and blocked him on the app.
You know, if you draw a boundary, especially if it’s a reasonable one, and someone doesn’t respect it, it will never get better. Back off immediately.
The Sopranos – Uncle Philly’s reign as the King of New York begins
I think my social life peaked around age 18. I had a core group of four good friends my senior year of high school. I’d always try to make sure I hung out with at least one of them each weekend. I felt like a weekend without spending time with a friend was somehow “wasted.” I never went to parties or anything like that (wasn’t invited), but I at least drove around with Chris or went over to Bo’s house or chilled with Brandi or Ed at their places.
I only made one really good friend in college (well, besides my wife). He and I were roommates for awhile, so “hanging out” with him wasn’t especially difficult.
Time went on. I got married and had kids and my career took up a lot of my time. I haven’t spoken to that old college roommate of mine in about 14 years now. For awhile there, in my late 20s and early 30s, I still tried to find something “social” to do from time to time. But it got more difficult as the years went on.
And now, in my early 40s, I don’t give a damn about being social.
I have plenty of opportunities to be social. My church is always planning social events. So is the school where I work. Most of those social events are fundraisers, but still… I can go there and talk to people I kind of know from church or work, and feel like I’m “being social.”
I do go to them sometimes. I usually last less than an hour before I just want to leave. When I actually socialize at those events—actually talk to people—it feels more like a chore than something enjoyable.
When I was in high school, the thought that I’d have nothing to do but sit in my room alone and read or play video games or spend time online on a weekend evening horrified me. What kind of loser did such things on Friday and Saturday evenings?
Now? I’m writing this on a Friday evening, and I can think of nothing I’d rather be doing right now than sitting in my recliner, as I am now, alone in this room, taking a break from reading the book I’m reading to key out a few thoughts on Quora.
I would be perfectly happy if I never had to socialize again. If, God forbid, I end up alone in my retirement years, I think I’d be happy with it. One of my grandfathers lived alone for almost 15 years before passing away. He would go months with no human contact, besides exchanging pleasantries with the cashier at the grocery store. When I was younger, I thought he must have been really sad and lonely, living like that. Now that I’m older, I think that he was probably very content, living like that.
Remy: Rich Men North of Richmond (Federal Employee Version)
This is creative and hilarious!
“it takes one person to do my job, so we have two” Absolutely perfect, this sums up the government better than any Wikipedia page could.
1. In Taiwan, I talked about taking a shower with some friends. They found it so strange that I preferred to shower in the morning rather than in the evening. I told them that showering in the morning is quite common in America. They found it very disgusting because I would go to bed with all the day’s dirt on my body. They were actually right about that, showering at night sometimes makes more sense.
2. Another thing that some people made fun of me in Taiwan was my tendency to wear long-sleeved shirts with shorts, more or less like the style below:
I understand it was hot in Taiwan, but it was just a style that I sometimes wear and they thought it was really weird, not really gross, but still something they thought was weird (although one girl told me my fashion sense was weird/ disgusting) .
3. One thing I was told was disgusting was the tendency for us westerners to eat too much dessert. In China, desserts are usually not very sweet fruit or ice cream, they don’t like incredibly sweet and sugary things. One of my favorite things to eat is cheesecake, so I naturally gave Cheesecake to some Chinese friends (usually in the US because it’s so hard to find in China). In the photo below it looks delicious doesn’t it?
Well, my Chinese friends hated it, they said it was too thick, creamy and gross. One of them told me he wanted to throw up. I was like, “Fine, I’ll eat it all myself then.”
Douglas Macgregor: DURING RETRATING, UNITS WERE MASSACRED
Do you know that Democracy was in fact a NO PARTY SYSTEM?
In Athens:-You had an assembly of people who chose their speakers among men who were 20+ years old based on their appeal and ability and their speaking style
In short an Assembly of People, qualified by estate or property or wealth who selected people based on ability or speaking style aka MERIT
No Parties, Agenda, Propaganda
Zilch
Remind you of something?
China – An Assembly of Qualified People based on Ability and chosen by their peers from the grassroots or chosen by tough examinations
They choose their leaders based again on ability and merit
Sure they have one party and call it a party but the name is long redundant
China is thus the closest to the original Athenian Democracy
Benefits:-
Consistent Policies over several decades
Controlled Consensus
Country above everything else since there is lesser vying for Power
Drawbacks:-
Chance of becoming Rigidly Bureaucratic and Stubborn
Chances of running away with rule without opposition
I inherited two dogs when my daughter passed away. I realized after a few months that a fence would make my life with the dogs so much easier. I was out looking for the property markers and my neighbour came over and asked if I was thinking of building a fence? I said I would like too but no one was returning my calls. He had a friend who did fences as a side job. Anyway, long story short, friend came, took the job, neighbour helped him so it was less cost for me and the fence was completed by the end of the next week. The friend also threw in two beautiful flower boxes made from the same wood as the fence. The dogs are so much more content and I have privacy. These two men likely have no idea how they have made my life so much easier. I am so thankful.
They telling everyone they will bomb Russia if Russians dare attacking Ukraine in 2020.
Think about it.
1.China’s military size is three times bigger than Russia, more advanced in technology.
Chinese Navy vs Russian Navy.
2.China’s reserved military population is 260 million.
3.China produce all, even including the USA’s own bullets.
4.The first day, Russians took 40k㎡ of Ukraine’s land,and entire size of Taiwan is only 30k㎡.
5.Taiwanese speak standard Chinese.
6.American rich guy is still investing into both China Mainland and Taiwan.
7.China Mainland is still doing business with Taiwan.
8.the technology chips war between US and China, is actully between Taiwan Chinese vs Mainland Chinese, because the world chips industry was ruling by enthunic Chinese people(maybe add some Korean), it’s actully, a civil war.
Attempted Coup Against Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré Thwarted
Here is your latest African news. Attempted Coup in Burkina Faso Against Interim President Ibrahim Traoré Thwarted.
When I was 15, I started a new school on the opposite coast of where I grew up.
At my old school I was unpopular and bullied harshly, so I was very shy and socially awkward with very low self esteem. The first week of school, I sat by my locker alone eating lunch, terrified of social interaction.
One day, up walked the most bubbly, outgoing, beautiful “popular” girl with maybe 6 other girls following her. She asked “Why are you eating lunch alone?! Wth? Come sit with us!!”
No one had ever done that for me. Then a few days later I casually mentioned it was my 16th birthday that weekend and she said “What?! We need to celebrate!!” and she organized a birthday dinner at a local restaurant.
She and her group of friends brought me pink balloons and gifts, I had a very memorable 16th birthday that I’ll never forget.
I literally had only known them for a week.
Then one day soon after, she saw that I rode my bike (3miles) to school everyday (due to my single mom’s work schedule and not being able to drive me – there was no bus at this school), and again, she said “Wth?! Why are you riding your bike to school?! That’s dangerous with all the traffic!!
My mom and I will pick you up at home and give you a ride!”
They drove me to and from school the entire year and we always did fun outings in the way home.
Experiencing their kindness at a hard time in my life was probably one of the most profoundly positive things I’ve experienced in my 43 years.
She remains my best friend until this day and is an amazing mom of 3.
Definitely the most important friendship of my life.
He was a child of well-off professionals, who built a phenomenal fortune in his own right.
It’s unclear exactly how well-off he was growing up. I suspect his family’s wealth has been exaggerated, both by his detractors, and by his father, who has been know to brag about how much money he made, but it’s clear that the Musk family was never poor.
On the other hand, there’s very little indication that Musk relied on his family, either for investment or business connections, in starting any of his companies. Insofar as a billionaire can be “self-made”, Musk has built his own business empire.
But his upbringing and education and whatnot come from being part of a family that was at least reasonably well-off.
When I first entered the gaming industry, I earned around 30K to 40K a year. And I lived in one of the most expensive cities in the world, San Francisco. The hostel I lived in cost me 700 dollars per month for rent. I have to be very careful with food. At the time, my weekly food budget was 40 dollars. I work from 10 am to 8 or 9 pm in the evening.
Then things started to get better. By 2019, I was making about the industry average for a mid-level producer. Both of my parents are dead, and I don’t have family and children, so I have some disposable income—no more “40 dollar food budget”. I think my weekly grocery cost me about 60–70 dollars, and I often dine out during weekends. Being able to buy a box of Kyoho grapes for 14 dollars feels very good.
But I think more than anything, the money gave me a sense of security, and it allowed me to pursue my many interests. Both had a tremendous positive impact on my mental health and quality of life in general.
I’ve made the decision very early on in my life that I do not want to get married or have children. While I’m happy with my life choices, I’m also very aware of the risks of choosing this lifestyle. After all, plenty of people feel the need to remind me that when I’m old, I’ll be sad and alone, and nobody will visit me at the hospital or senior care facility.
I mean, are you sure your kids will visit you when you’re old and sick? You know, the kids you abused and traumatized for 20 years? The kids who couldn’t wait to get away from you? I’ve read many articles written by medical professionals. They had made consistent observations that in a senior care facility, those with children are often mean-spirited and friendless, and their children never visit, while those who are single actually know how to make friends and are liked by everyone. Do you even know how to make friends based on shared interests that fall outside “childcare, PTA, soccer practice, family”? Not to mention, do you have children just so you get to have free nannies and ATM machines when you’re old and frail? I feel bad for your kids.
I digress. Still, being single and a social recluse, I need to be better prepared for my retirement financially. A long-term care nursing home in the US currently costs about 5,000 to 8,000 dollars per month, and if you want one with a better facility and nicer staff, the cost can easily ramp up to over 10K. And Medicare does not cover long-term nursing home costs.
Since I don’t have children to leech on, I must prepare for my retirement when I can still make money. I’ve set up some investment accounts like mutual funds and bought some annuities and US treasury bonds, on top of maxing out my 401K and Roth IRA every year. I’m glad I have some extra cash I could put away for my retirement. It definitely reduced a lot of anxiety.
And I have money to spend on hobbies and travel. I don’t care about luxury goods. Most of my clothing is from Uniqlo and Muji. Most of my furniture is from IKEA. As I grew older, I found myself caring less and less about such things. I found 3 holes in my T-shirt the other day due to wear and tear, God only knows how long I’ve been wearing T-shirts with holes on them, LOL. But who cares? I certainly do not.
I spend a lot of money on personal interests. I spend money on Wacom tablets and Macs.
I’m particularly happy with my current setup.
I really like my craft studio. I need to use it more, LOL.
I also spend a lot of money on video games and game consoles. And I recently picked up the expensive hobby of Lego.
I spend money on crafts materials and courses. I mean, why do I buy this thing for 15 dollars when I can buy all the tools and materials and make it myself (poorly) for 95 dollars? That’s my motto now. DYI is NOT cheap.
On top of all that, now that my work is a bit less chaotic and less stressful, I finally have the brain power and energy to focus more on my writing. I had spent money on editors and programs such as Scrivener and Plottr to help me write.
None of these are possible without money.
Money does not buy you happiness, that’s for sure. But money can buy you security, peace of mind, and freedom to pursue your interests. While I’m acutely aware that, like many Americans, I’m one major illness/major accident away from bankruptcy. I’m much happier now than 10 years ago when I lived in a hostel and worked 60 hours per week.
I’ve since receive the same type of comments every time I talk about being single.
Me: I don’t want to have children.
Comment: Fuck you! You’ll die sad and lonely! Having children is the best thing ever! You aren’t a real man/woman without having children!
… Every. Single. Time.
Like, you people have no imagination.
Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond [REACTION)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea Chairman Kim Jong Un held extensive talks on Wednesday. Dr. Kiyul Chung explained to Sputnik why the meeting of Putin and Kim is nothing short of historic.
The Russian and North Korean leaders met on September 13 at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian space port in the Amur region.
“Now today’s historic 2023 DPRK-Russia Summit at Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia first and foremost highlights one of the most significant geopolitical and geostrategic importances,” Dr. Kiyul Chung, editor-in-chief at the 4th Media and a retired professor of Tsinghua University, told Sputnik. “The 2023 Summit itself powerfully culminates, defines, embodies, and witnesses the arrival of the anti-imperialist and self-determined multipolar world of the 21st century.”
Per Dr. Chung, the idea to hold the meeting at Russia’s spaceport symbolizes the two nations’ future collaboration in the field of space exploration and other high-end technologies despite pressure from the West.
“Both DPRK and Russia are facing all sorts of threats from the already-collapsed ‘five century-long West-dominated unipolar power’. One of the threats they’ve had forcibly imposed is the very existence of both of their nations,” the scholar continued.
Russia and North Korea: Strategic Longterm Cooperation
Vladimir Putin noted that his meeting with Kim Jong Un is taking place “at a special time”: just recently, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) celebrated 75 years since its creation. For his part, Kim thanked Putin for the invitation to visit Russia, stressing that relations with Moscow is Pyongyang’s “priority”
. The North Korean leader called his trip to Russia a demonstration of the importance of strategic ties.
“Comrade Putin and I just discussed in depth the military-political situation on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe and came to a satisfactory consensus on further strengthening strategic and tactical cooperation, supporting solidarity in the struggle for the protection of the sovereign right of security, for creating guarantees of lasting peace in the region, and throughout the world,” Kim stated during an official dinner held in his honor later in the day.
During the meeting, Kim reiterated his support for Moscow’s special military operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, stressing that “the DPRK will always stand with Russia in the fight against imperialism,” a clear reference to NATO’s proxy war in Eastern Europe. The DPRK chairman pointed out that he and his Russian counterpart will build “stable, future-oriented and long-term relations” between Moscow and Pyongyang.
The two countries have a long record of cooperation which originates in the early years of the Cold War era. Together, the Soviet and North Korean military protected DPRK independence and sovereignty against US intervention in the course of the Korean War (1950-1953). When the hostilities were over, the USSR helped Pyongyang restore the nation’s economy.
Presently, the DPRK is interested in the opportunity to cooperate with Russia in the field of aviation, transport and infrastructure, as Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday. In addition, the sides discussed cooperation in the field of joint space exploration, Putin said, hinting that Russia-North Korea military-technical collaboration is also on the table.
Per Dr. Chung, “the Kim-Putin summit first and foremost apparently intends to nullify, pacify, or ruin whatever attempts the US-led suicidal nuclear war games, specifically both in Korean Peninsula and Ukraine.”
Furthermore, the summit is openly challenging the West’s illegal sanctions, according to the scholar.
“Today’s summit in Russia is the defiant denunciation, disregard, and complete rejection of illegal economic sanctions regimes of all sorts the US-led unipolar imperial powers have unilaterally wielded for decades. By the way, the latter Russia is one of the latest and by far ‘the most far-reaching’ cases. According to the most recent news reports about the US/West-led UN sanctions against DPRK, Russia apparently intends to dismantle the [sanctions] regime by strengthening both nations’ economic cooperation at all levels,” Chung said.
The Kim-Putin meeting has stolen Western mainstream press headlines: the media has expressed unease over the summit of two leaders whose countries are under severe Western sanctions. American and British journalists particularly cited their respective government’s discontent with an alleged arms deal supposedly discussed by the Russian and North Korean leaders.
The American press also quoted US administration officials expressing fears that Pyongyang could receive technology that could advance North Korea’s satellite
Russia and the DPRK are cooperating for the benefit of the peoples of the two countries, and not against anyone; bilateral relations should not be a matter of concern for third countries, Peskov summarized on Wednesday.
“All other issues concern only our two countries, two sovereign countries, and should not be a subject of concern to third states. For our cooperation is carried out for the benefit of the peoples of our two countries, but not against anyone,” the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
The summit of Russian and North Korean leaders has demonstrated that the US’ dominance is fading, while a new multi-polar world, free of Washington’s diktat, is taking shape, according to Dr. Chung.
The scholar noted that the seeds of what is happening today were sown back in 2000, when President Putin met with Kim’s predecessor, Chairman Kim Jong Il. In July 2000, the first summit in the history of Russian-Korean relations (after the collapse of the USSR) took place and a Joint Declaration was signed.
“In that historic declaration, there is one item I’d like to highlight,” Dr. Chung said. “It’s about the number 1 Clause of that Declaration. There is a most important and historic language, expression, or declaration which was worded as in the following: ‘The DPRK and the Russian Federation …. [are] creating a multipolar world and building a new, fair, and rational international order based upon the principles of equality, mutual respect, and friendly cooperation’.”
“Today’s Kim-Putin Summit in Russia which can be interpreted as an assessment is kind of a recommitment as a rededication, reevaluation, and revelation of that historic 2000 Summit in Korea which I argue laid the most significant historic foundations of the anti-imperialist and self-determined multipolar world in the 21st century, 23 years ago for the sake of the future of the whole humanity,” the scholar concluded.
Imagine this – In a pub 200km from the nearest town, an Aussie in his 60s told me this story over a pint:
He left school at 15 and decided to train it up to Darwin for a few weeks. To experience real Crocodile Dundee territory.
After 3 weeks he was at the train station waiting for his train home.
While waiting he got chatting to another guy who was on his way to work as a chef at some remote town. Whoop Whoop probably, but location doesn’t matter. The guy said they’d been looking for staff, so if he wanted to earn a few bucks he could join.
He called his Mum back in Perth and said he’d got a job and would give it a few weeks.
Skip to the day I met him. That had been his life – travelling around Australia, working here and there, and collecting amazing stories (we talked for a while).
What a life he’d had.
The beauty of travelling Australia is it’s easy, and you’ll see and experience things only Australia can offer.
Imagine waking up on pure white sands, next to a crystal clear ocean, on a beach many miles from any pollution – even light pollution – and taking a morning swim with a school of 20+ dolphins.
That was one of many experiences I had travelling most of Australia, for many months, without a care in the world.
I bought a 4×4 in Perth which became my home, with a makeshift bed in the back, solar panel, and bare necessities.
Months later when I was done travelling and went back to “normal life”, I made a profit on the car. Enough to cover the whole trip, all the fuel, and all the food.
I saw the incredible blue waters of Esperance, experienced the Nullarbor, Adelaide Hills, Great Ocean Road, Ned Kelly Country, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, dived the Great Barrier Reef, saw whales off Hervey Bay, snorkeled at Exmouth, took a tinny boat around swamp lands of Kakadu within arms reach of crocs, went up mountains, through rivers, over salt lakes, and saw the incredible red dirt of northern WA, bumped into the Australian prime minister (Julia Gillard), and English comedic legend Ben Elton. Oh, and met and dated an Australian movie actress.
And more.
Nothing hard about it. I just got out there, did it.
Then I read answers from people on Quora saying it’s hard to travel Australia because it’s so far away.
It’s a flight away.
And those answers get hundreds of upvotes, by people who will never experience the amazing things I experienced travelling such an incredible country.
A System that has a Launcher and that has a guidance system that helps launch Rockets or Missiles on the Enemy positions.
The Rockets could be ATACMS Or Precision Strike Missiles or mostly ordinary guided Rockets
The Chinese and Russians both have similar systems
China has the PCL 191 system that has a longer range of almost 357 Miles and has even Laser guided Rockets in its latest version
Russia has its own Tornado systems that are comparable to HIMARS including the latest Tornado S which has a larger range and a 1 meter tested accuracg
It’s what China has along the Indian Border
Yet the Russians don’t use their Counter Battery System in this SMO
Many believe this reveals a lot of Russian Weakness. They are WRONG.
The Reason is simple : COST EFFECTIVENESS
This is a War where the biggest obstacle is fortifications of concrete and steel every step of the way
Every few miles you have fortifications where you have ammunition and soldiers with artillery guns
These fortifications are spread over 8–20 Kms and you don’t know where the Soldiers are Or where the Artillery Gun is
So what are your options?
Precision Rockets?
Nopes.
At $ 125000 a Rocket, you may blow off at least 20–25 rockets and spend a whopping $ 3.5–4 Million before hitting the target and even then there is a chance you miss and run into an artillery ambush when you advance
That would be at least 2000 Rockets and a price tag of $ 320 Million for Severodonetsk alone
So instead Russia use the cheaper artillery shells with no guidance and entirely range, range and range
Russia has at least 3 Million Shells available for each phase.
Instead of 25 Rockets, they use 10,000 Shells and pulverize the entire position and the Ukrops either lose their artillery gun and flee or die.
They advance and use flamethrowers and that’s a higher guarantee of death
Crude yet Cost Effective
At a price of $ 500,000 for a single fortification, that’s 1/8 the cost of using Guided Rockets like Himars
That’s around 800,000 Shells and $ 40 Million for Severodonetsk
Much more cost effective isn’t it?
That’s the problem today.
Everyone thinks Russia uses crude shells and artillery because they don’t have guided rockets or counter battery
The actual reason is Ukraine is using WWI style warfare with fortifications and trenches
Russia has to go crude to remain cost effective and yet maintain an advance pace
It’s so old fashioned it’s downright brilliant
Old Warfare at lowest cost , maximum deaths of enemy and minimum loss of own men
Who cares if the glamour is absent right??
Attempted Coup on Ibrahim Traore Fails. Who is Behind this?
Originally Answered: What have you assumed was exaggerated until you experienced it yourself?
A freegan in Singapore told me he collected 1 ton of items every month when he goes dumpster diving. I couldn’t believe it. But when I saw him collect 30+ kg of stuff every day, I believed him.
30+ kg x 30 days = 900+ kg (almost 1 ton)
When I started doing the same, I believed him even more.
This is 20kg of clothes retrieved from the dumpsters in a single hour.
When he told me that he collects so much fruits that he felt like crying because he didn’t know what to do with them, I thought he was exaggerating.
My mother and the man she’d left my father for, had taken my brother and I out somewhere and had run out of petrol, stranded on the side of the road.
This was the 80’s and in South Africa, options were limited. They called my Dad who came to our aid with a 2 litre bottle filled with fuel.
Enough to get to the closest garage (gas station). He followed us there and paid in full. My soon to be stepfather was drunk and belligerent, swearing at instead of thanking him but Dad was the perfect gentleman as always.
I was barely 5 but will never forget that afternoon and always fill up on half a tank. My dad never, ever had a bad word to say about my Mom, (who referred to him as A**hole), always answering any questions about their divorce (she’d cheated with several men) by saying all that mattered was my brother and I.
When my mom was blacklisted after her third husband embezzled and stole everything from her, my Dad, who’d stopped working due to illness, scraped together enough cash to buy her a second hand car.
When I was an adult I asked him why he’d done all these things, his response was that the best revenge is to be the bigger person but I think he just did what he believed was best for his children and by default their mother.
He simply loved his kids. I miss him.
Southern Style Barbecued Chicken
Ingredients
1 cup ketchup
2 to 3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Dash Tabasco sauce
2 to 2 1/2 pound chicken pieces
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Combine ketchup, honey, lemon juice and Tabasco sauce. Brush on chicken during last 5 to 10 minutes of grilling time.
Today, while driving, I saw an accident on the road.
A “garbage granny” (one of those old ladies that are in their 90s or so that collect garbage for coins) was “hit” by a truck in the middle of a busy intersection. Now, you all must know that these folk have a reputation of driving and waking in busy highways with the intention of getting hit, and then being awarded free medical care, and financial reimbursement.
Now, this particular granny looked fine. But she just sat there in the road next to her pile of garbage with this expression… “I’m waiting. Come get me and give me my money”.
Meaning; “Everyone knows what is going on, and why I meander in the middle of six lanes of traffic. This driver was the fool that hit me. He will now fund my life, and there isn’t a damn thing anyone can do about it.”
Ah. I shit you not.
China.
Love it, or hate it. But it is 100% unique, that’s fer sure.
The mother left her 1-year-old child in an abandoned house, but after 10 years she returns there and discovers something that makes her cry
Residents of the Russian city of Yaroslavl will never forget an incident that took place more than 10 years ago.
However, it started when a neighbor heard a baby, crying in a nearby house. He didn’t think much about it and continued with the things he had to do that day. But the next day, the baby kept crying.
No neighbor didn’t see anyone in the house where the crying came from, and the lights were never on, not even in the evening.
But at that point, the neighbors started to worry and called the police.
They came and when they entered the house, it was completely empty inside. Those who had lived there had taken everything and disappeared. The only thing they had left behind was their own child!
The one-year-old girl was found on the dirty floor and it was clear she had been there for several days.
An investigation showed that the girl’s name was Liza Verbitskaya, and her parents seemed to have entered the ground, no one could find them.
Liza was taken to hospital, where she recovered in a few days. In the same hospital was a woman, Inna Nika, who was taking care of her sick son, her mother was sitting at his head day and night, but one day she heard a scream from the next room and went to see what it was all about.
She saw Liza and her motherly instincts asked her to protect and take care of her. From that day on, Inna visited Liza daily and brought her clothes, toys, food.
One day, Inna visited the little one and noticed that she was no longer in her hospital room, then found out that she had been taken to an orphanage. She also went to the orphanage to see her, but then it was clear to her that she had to adopt her!
When the adoption documents were completed, Liza was two years old and still had problems with chewing and was traumatized, she could not stand the loud noises. While growing up, Liza had darker skin than her relatives, but now she is beautiful. She became a model and, thanks to her story and modeling career, she became known throughout Russia. People who laughed at the way she looked bit her tongue when they saw her win, as a teenager, more talent contests.
Now that she has become famous, her biological mother tried to contact her but was not allowed. Liza received the woman’s phone number, but she’s still wondering if she wants to meet the one who left her. Our respect goes to Inna, an adoptive mother who turned out to be the hero in the life of this abandoned child, but with such a special destiny!
Well seeing that they’ve built their own bank, for transactions without using the dollar, using concrete, bricks, steel and glass, that looks fairly concrete to me,
It’s certainly big enough for every member to have a representative office in the building, you can see even the building next door is connected. So it’s very big,certainly plenty of concrete,
First Time Reaction to Oliver Anthony – I Want To Go Home
In this video, TNT reacts to Oliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go Home
What is actually happening in California is actually an interesting case study.
First, the state of California is enormous – close to 40 million people. Most of them are pretty urban, concentrated around the coastal cities (Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego), with a growing number of large and mid-sized suburban and exurban areas (especially spreading east and north of Los Angeles).
For the first time in its history as a state, California lost a US House seat in the 2020 census, and has actually seen a net-net decline in its population. Many of those leaving are middle class people who, despite the plentiful jobs here, find the cost of living too daunting. I live in San Francisco, where the median price of a house recently got close to two million dollars. And for that money, you are not going to get one of the picturesque Victorian homes overlooking Alamo Square. You are going to get (most likely) a 1300–1500 square foot house that was pretty cheaply constructed in the 1940s or 1950s with three small bedrooms and a bathroom, maybe a half bath.
If you have kids, then you are most likely going to have to choose between putting them in a poor to terrible public school or shelling our more for private school (we were lucky – our son scored high enough on the tests to be admitted to Lowell High School, a ‘magnet’ school which is among the best in the state).
It’s a city where a family of four with an annual income of $150,000 qualifies for low income housing. If they can get on the list.
People are not leaving California because of the liberal politics (we could of course argue the role that those politics play in the current situation) or the taxes. They are leaving because the cost to live here – including the ambient and rising crime – is not worth it.
Some (the largest share) are actually leaving the cities for other parts of California – Sacramento, the central valley, the deserts east of LA – where a family that is solidly middle class can still (sort of) afford a traditional, middle class life. Still more are going to Oregon or Washington or Texas. Recently, many more have moved to Florida, to the glee of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
(NB: One of the answers incredibly remarks that Californians are not going to move to “Cleveland or St Louis or other MAGA strongholds,” which of course is true. The comment is laughably wrong because, of course, few Californians are moving to the midwest, because they are moving to places that economically are growing; they are not moving due to politics. And Cleveland and Saint Louis are not “MAGA strongholds.”)
They are not taking “their jobs” with them, mind you. They are taking their tax dollars and the electoral power.
But here is the hidden truth:
this is not really “new.” In fact, for close to 30 years, net domestic migration in the state has been negative.
Net-net, there are more than a million more people who have left California for other states than the other way round. Most are going (as stated) to Texas or Arizona. The outflow of middle income Californians (and Californians with families) has been hidden for two decades by waves of foreign immigration. So despite the gap of (in some years) more than 100,000 people, the state continued to grow.
Due to COVID and other factors (the growing economies of Asia, for example), this is no longer the case.
Without foreign immigration, California is going to see a significant drop in population.
What does it all mean?
First, if trends continue, what we are going to see is growth in the top (many people moving to California are doing so chasing high-end jobs, like AI engineers or medical researchers) and at the bottom (a large number are also low and unskilled workers coming to take entry-level jobs). That is going to make California’s already terribly skewed wealth inequality even worse. There will be more wealthy enclaves that can afford private security, private schools, privately funded infrastructure. There will also be more crowded sub-standard housing, crowded, poorly-performing schools, and deteriorating public infrastructure.
It’s not really too much of an exaggeration to say that the economy in California more and more looks like a third-world country, with a few super wealthy people, a lot of poor people barely hanging on, and a small number of people in the middle who struggle to justify staying here.
With such wealth and capital inequalities, I strongly suspect that the social fabric here is going to fray. The wealthy, insulated from the problems of the poor, will carry on thinking that everything is fine. Crime – especially property crime like car break-ins and home robberies – will grow, but will not really affect the rich and powerful.
The “Hollywood elite” (and other super-wealthy) will be just fine.
The other truth is, life in California is very nice if you can afford it. The weather in the coastal cities is close to perfect. The geography – coastal mountains, beaches, redwood forests – is beautiful. The diversity of people gives us incredible choices in food and culture. The state is home to the UC system (the best public schools in the country) as well as Stanford and CalTech. The knowledge industry is driven out of Silicon Valley, and the entertainment capital of the world is in Southern California.
Originally Answered: What are things you shouldn't do in life?
Don’t abandon someone suddenly after giving them attention. It kills them.
Don’t waste your time by stalking your ex on fb or checking people’s ‘last seen’ on WhatsApp. If they want to talk to you, they will. If they don’t, they won’t, even in a hundred years.
Don’t compare yourself with anyone. You and the rest are so different, that when you realize it, a comparison won’t even be possible.
Don’t ignore your body and health.
Don’t miss out on important engagements – Birthdays, weddings, your child’s first performance, your dad’s retirement party, reunions – its these events that make the fondest memories.
Don’t take things personally. Even if you know its personal, don’t take it personally. Then you win.
Don’t be rude to your parents. Or siblings. When everyone else will run for cover, its your family that will stand with you as you drench in your storm.
Don’t force someone to be in your life. Let them go, if they want to.
Don’t find reasons to be unhappy. It doesn’t pay to be sad. It pays to be joyous.
Don’t underestimate the power of people. Network.
Don’t let anyone make you feel badly about yourself. Always know your good things and your flaws. Accept them. Correct them. Or don’t correct them. But don’t let anyone else capitalize on them.
My fiance suddenly stopped breathing, went into a coma and remained that way for 10 days; after numerous hospital tests we found out there was no blood flow to his brain. We removed his life support and donated his organs.
Since he was only 35 years old when he died, and a former DJ popular in the Chicago and Detroit areas, the funeral home was packed full of people for his wake. One of his childhood friends, we’ll call him “Jack,” was in need of a kidney transplant and VERY sick, and we were able to directly donate his kidney to Jack. Due to the organ donations, autopsy and other things that had to happen prior to the funeral, the wake was scheduled a week after my fiance passed away. During that week Jack received the transplant and was able to make it to the wake.
He stood in front of my fiance’s red casket and spoke of his health issues and how he had given up hope, believing he wouldn’t be around much longer. Now, my fiance had given him another chance at life and Jack would be able to watch his 4-year-old son grow up. Jack’s son was there too, and walked up to him and held his hand during the speech.
I was already an emotional wreck, but through my tears I glanced around long enough to see that there was not a single dry eye in the funeral home at that moment. Though I questioned how I would go on living without my best friend and my lover, Jack provided a ray of sunshine during the wake that day and reminded us all that my fiance would live on in all the people he helped save with his organs.
Awesome Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
6 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds beef sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
1 package onion or roasted garlic gravy mix for steak
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, quartered
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (10 ounce) can beef broth
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
Cook noodles according to package directions-keep warm.
In a large heavy bottom pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add meat and brown.
Sprinkle gravy mix over meat.
Add mushrooms; sauté for 5 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, and stir in sour cream.
Top with parsley and serve over hot cooked noodles.
I remember my grandfather telling me the story of buying his first home, and how stressful it was. He was working as a teacher making $2,500 per year, and was trying to figure out how to budget so he could afford to make the payments on the $5,500 house he just bought.
If he had managed to get his hands on $50,000 back then, he probably would have thought he was set for life — a mere 5% return would have matched his annual salary, and he would never have to work another day.
Obviously that plan wouldn’t have worked out — what he made in a year back then is less than most people make in a month today.
Right now, $1 million is about equivalent to what $50,000 was in his day, where a 5% return would put you right at the median income. And, just like in his day, that won’t be enough for someone in their early 20’s to make it to retirement age. In another 50–60 years, one million dollars will be the median household income. Minimum wage will be $200k a year, and it still won’t be enough to support a family.
The only way $1 million will be enough to retire on is if you don’t plan on living that long.
If you think that’s impossible, just remember the story about a how a teacher from Massachusetts once mortgaged a $5,500 house on a $2,500 annual salary — a house that today would fetch about $950,000.
AMERICAN RAPPER REACTS TO -Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond
By “see around them,” I’m literally talking about the people I see here in Chicago. I’m not talking about global poverty or people I don’t literally see with my own eyes.
Compared to the majority of people in my city (Chicago), my family is doing very well for ourselves. Yet there are entire zip codes in this city where practically everyone lives in poverty.
My wealth and their poverty are unrelated. I didn’t steal my wealth from them. I’m not the one failing them. Their political leaders—none of whom I’ve ever supported or voted for—have been failing them for generations now. The concentrated poverty in parts of Chicago is the completely predictable result of political policies enacted by politicians who get almost universal support from those same areas.
There’s been a huge increase in the number of homeless people, beggars, and refugees in the parts of Chicago I travel through on a regular basis. I am actually about to run my Sunday morning errands, and I already know which intersections will have which beggars. I’m not exaggerating when I say that literally every single major intersection (where two two-lane roads meet) has at least one beggar now. Some of one at all four stops at the intersection.
Again, my relative wealth and their poverty are unrelated. The system has failed them. I am not the system.
One intersection near me has a man who begs on the street, while his wife and child sit nearby on the sidewalk. According to his sign, he is a refugee from Guatemala. Assuming he got here via the normal refugee channels, his family has been failed by the governments of at least three countries (Guatemala, Mexico, the USA), two states (Texas and Illinois), and now one city (Chicago). I did not fail this man and his family. Several dozen politicians did. My wealth, or lack of it, would not have changed anything for this man.
I give food to the homeless sometimes. I donate to my church’s food pantry on a regular basis. I never give cash directly to the homeless.
I also have A LOT of money taken from me via taxes which, in theory, should be used to help those in need. The problem is, of course, that, unlike when I give food to the homeless directly, the taxes which are taken from me go through the hands of politicians on its way to help the needy. Shockingly, very little of it ends up helping the needy.
And a lot of the “help” the needy get from the government is designed in such a way as to create dependence on that help. I’m not saying that’s intentional. I’m not saying it’s not intentional, either.
I’m just saying that when I see this:
But I also see scenes like this increasing all around Chicago:
And I think about how much the government takes from me in income, property, and sales taxes every year, I realize pretty quickly that I’m not the problem here. I should feel no shame for my lifestyle.
Taking all of my family’s wealth away wouldn’t help poorer people at all. In fact, it would likely make things worse for them, at least here in Chicago. Chicago needs all of the upper-middle class taxpayers it can get. The single worst thing that can happen to a city is for it to lose most of its wealthiest citizens.
Just ask the citizen of, say, Gary, Indiana, or Detroit how well that worked out for them, when anyone who could afford to leave town did so.
If the house was occupied illegally, the police will come and remove the occupants.
If the house rightfully belongs to a citizen and the citizen refuses to move, the City just builds the highway around the house.
This house went viral last year. The highway was located in Zhuhai in Guangdong province. It seems the government had offered the owner 8 million RMB (around 1.4 million USD) to move. The owner refused. Rumor had it the owner thought the government would give him 10 million. But the moving cost has actually exceeded the cost of the (section of the) highway itself. So the designers revised the design to build the highway around this house.
It seems that the owner had eventually moved out of this house to a government-provided location. But the highway was already built.
My First time hearing Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond
Chinese mainland suspends mango imports from Taiwan
The Chinese mainland has decided to suspend the entry of mangoes from Taiwan starting Monday, according to a mainland spokesperson.
In accordance with relevant laws, regulations and standards on the mainland, the decision by the General Administration of Customs was taken as a scientific and reasonable biosecurity precaution, said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Monday.
The mainland had informed the Taiwan side of the decision, Zhu said, adding that Taiwan is urged to further improve its phytosanitary quarantine management system.
Since 2023, customs authorities on the mainland have detected Planococcus minor, a quarantine pest, in mangoes from Taiwan. This pest could pose a serious threat to agricultural production and ecological security on the mainland.
This is Cobalt-60, the most emissive radioactive isotope currently known. As far as I know, it’s also the only one with a label that says “Drop and Run.” It’s used to sterilize medical equipment and can quite easily sterilize you within just a minute or 2 if you held it in your hand.
There is a stand-up sketch by Ricky Gervais, in which he overhears two morbidly obese American women sitting in a plane. One of them is eating a bucket of KFC chicken, and tells the other:
“This is the best chicken I had all day.”
We just spent some time in the US, and on one of the last days, we grabbed a movie in a dine-in movie theatre in Las Vegas. (The Meg 2 — don’t ask.) When a waitress came to take our order, we asked for the smallest size of popcorn they had. She had a hard time understanding the question (“why order the smallest size ?”).
She kindly explained that they only had one size, and that was a bucket.
With the three of us, we managed to eat about a quarter of the bucket, but we saw other people finish an entire bucket on their own.
I think this is one of the main reasons of America’s obesity problem: Americans eat by the buckets. In many restaurants, the portions of the food are so grossly exaggerated that it is hardly a mystery why so many Americans are (morbidly) obese. Same for soda drinks and the like.
And besides that, American food is in general much less healthier than your average European or Asian food, due to less strict food regulations and the enormous amounts of added sugar in virtually everything.
Add to that the fact that Americans stopped walking altogether (so to speak), and that more and more, the obesity pandemic is embraced instead of fought. In the places I have lived in mainland Europe, I have never seen a morbidly obese person ride around in a trolley (such as in the picture), but you see them on a daily basis in the US.
Instead of actively losing some weight, such people simply step into a trolley because walking has become too hard. The woman in the image is twenty-three, by the way.
So there you have it: Buckets, Trolleys and Sugar.
The problem is BTS.
For the People! Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond- Reaction
China hopes to do so, China is trying to do so, but it’s no longer an easy task for China to do so now.
There is an old Chinese saying, 树欲静而风不止, which means “the trees may prefer calm but the wind will not subside”, or “the trees long for peace but the wind will never cease”.
Just like the picture I took in the Summer Palace in a windy day, if the wind is too strong, how could the tree stay calm? Just impossible.
The smear campaigns initiated by the US and followed by some other Westeren nations, are the wind, getting stronger recently as Joe Biden has indeed rallied them once again.
China is the tree. Its roots are still stable in the soil, its major branches are still steadfast, but it really can’t hold all its smaller branches and leaves still. And sometimes, it has to even sacrifice some of its smaller branches and leaves if the winds are way too strong and turn into storms.
But, as long as the roots and main branches are still healthy, strong and steadfast, new branches will sprout out next year!
My grandma passed in 2022, my father had passed in 2020. In her will she had it to where my 2 brothers and I inherited my dad’s 3rd. We were also to be included in any decisions on her property. My 2 uncles thought since they were co executors that everything was now theirs and they didn’t have to say anything to us. They gave away and took a lot of her belongings before I found out. I went to a lawyer and told him what was going on. I then called my uncles and told them they HAD to include us. They said “well, our lawyer says we don’t have to.” I called their lawyer and told him what they said. He immediately went and called them and said they were wrong. My 1 uncle gave his stepchildren first dibs over us and any of the actual grandchildren. The stepchildren who wanted NOTHING to do with my grandma or our family got first dibs. Then they tried to auction off my grandma’s house and 200 acres without telling us. I found out and called lawyers, everyone knew I wanted the house and 10 acres. They were trying to sell it behind my back. Grandma did not have any debt. So they were just being stupid. In the end, they were granted to sell 190 acres. We bought the house. 114 years of family history in this house. I have not heard an apology from any of them. Our trust in them was broken. At this time, they are not allowed at my house.
A man in China has been using a club as a nutcracker for 25 years, until he realised what it was actually used for. A man living in the Shaanxi Province in China was given a gift by a friend and for 25 years he didn’t know what it was.
The mans favourite treat was Wallnuts and the gift was perfect for cracking open the shells. He figured his friend know off his love for nuts so gifted him a club to crack them open, and for 25 years he used the club thinking that’s what it was intended for.
It wasn’t until he seen the nutcracker on a Government flyer identifying dangerous, prohibited explosives when he realised the club wasn’t in fact a nutcracker, but a Chinese type 67 hand grenade. The grenade which was a nicknamed the Potato masher, was invented by the German Army during World War 1.
The hand grenade had a explosive device at the top with a pulling string running through it to a cap at the bottom. Pulling the string lights the fuse before being thrown at the enemy, but in this case it was used as a nut cracker for a quarter of a century.
The Man Who Discovered a Lost Ancient City In His Basement
A man from Derinkuyu, in the Nevsehir province of Turkey was renovating his basement. Using only a sledgehammer, he broke through one of his walls; and felt cool air coming in from the other side. Inside he found a small room-sized cave. This area of Turkey has complex cave systems so he thought he accidentally stumbled into one. He didn’t. That first small room — was only the beginning.
I was 17 years old. I was driving drunk, with five other kids in my car. It was 1970. We had bought two cases of beer (illegally, of course) and it was pretty much all gone. It was about 1 AM.
We came to the main intersection in the small city nearest to where I lived. There wasn’t a single car in sight. Oddly, there was a cop in the intersection, presumably directing whatever traffic there was. Perhaps the stoplight was not working; I have no recollection.
I stopped at the light (working or not). At which point my friend Ralph, who was 15, leaned out the back seat window, yelled out “Fucking cop,” and threw an empty beer bottle at the policeman. It landed at his feet, where it smashed into pieces.
The policeman calmly walked over to our car, at which point Ralph started yelling “I didn’t do it,” which was rather obviously a lie. The policeman had me pull over. He told all of us to get out of the car. As he did this, one of the passengers, Denise, started explaining to him that she was from another planet. The cop ignored her. He told us to take all the beer bottles out of the car and place them on the hood of the car. When we ran out of room there, we put them on the roof. There were 46 empty bottles and one full one. Ralph asked if he could please drink the full one. The cop said no. Then he had us take them all to a nearby garbage can and dispose of them.
Then came the truly amazing part. He talked to us. For about five minutes. He explained that when he was our age, he also did stupid things. But he never drove drunk. He explained how dangerous that was. He did not tell us to swear we would never drive drunk. He simply told us that he was going to let us go. He did not even say how much trouble we could be in for underage drinking and drunk driving. He did not have to.
Finally he asked if there was anyone among us who was sober and had a driver’s license. My older brother did. He had us get back in the car, handed my brother the keys (which he had taken away when he first stopped us), and told my brother to take us home.
And that was all.
Even then, I realized the officer was an exceptional cop. He gave us a second chance when he could have ruined our lives. I never properly thanked him. So if, by some miracle, Officer Roger Strickland of the Freehold, New Jersey police force is still out there—thank you from the bottom of my heart. I think you would be proud of how my brother and I ended up (I have not seen any of the others in my car that night for over 50 years). All the best to one of the best.
Bacon-Wrapped Filet Steaks Topped with Roasted Garlic Butter
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
12 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
Kosher salt
3 1/2 teaspoons chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 (6 to 7 ounce) filet steaks, about 1 inch thick
4 very thin slices of lean bacon
6 inch wooden skewers or toothpicks, soaked in water for 10 minutes and patted dry
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place peeled garlic and olive oil in 1-cup, ovenproof ramekin, soufflé dish or custard cup. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and place in oven. Roast on center rack until garlic is golden and very tender and soft when pierced with knife, about 30 minutes (start checking cloves after 20 minutes and then every 5 minutes until done).
With slotted spoon, remove garlic from bowl and reserve oil. Place garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the reserved oil, butter and 1/8 teaspoon salt in food processor or blender and process, pulsing machine on and off for 30 seconds or less until garlic is coarsely chopped and blended with butter and oil. Transfer garlic butter to small bowl and stir in 2 teaspoons of the chives. (Garlic butter can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before ready to use.)
When ready to cook steaks, oil a grill rack and prepare grill.
In small bowl, stir together 1 teaspoon kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper and thyme. Rub both sides of each filet with some of this seasoning. Then wrap each steak around its sides with 1 slice of bacon. Skewer bacon in place with wooden skewer or with 2 to 3 wooden picks.
Grill steaks until lightly charred on the outside and until bacon is cooked, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare.
When done, remove steaks from fire and place on warm serving plate. Remove toothpicks.
Top each steak with 1 generous pat of roasted garlic butter and sprinkle with some of remaining chives. Butter will start to melt and season the steaks.
I am from India and recently visited China. In india we use to blame the population for all our problems. But China had no issues of it. Atleast not in its urban areas. The people there respected rules and have high value about their culture. They take care of their health and have a proper diet. I don’t know what you mean by uncivilized. But if there are uncivilized Chinese I am sure it’s because they are exposed to western culture and those who embraced west including Indians are certainly uncivilized.
OLIVER WHAT THE F**K!!!!! | First Time Reacting To Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond!
I put in an order for tools for work. The order was for myself and two coworkers. Hundreds of dollars worth of tools, including getting one of our newbies set up with good kit so he didn’t have to scrounge for tools like myself and the other senior tech.
Toolup split the order into two shipments, which is fine I guess. The first package arrive with one wire stripper and one screwdriver. For weeks the other shipment showed “in processing”. Finally I called asking where the hell my tools were. They had no idea. After several days of calls they figured out that six weeks prior the shipper had been unable to locate a fucking Air Force base and sent the order back. Toolup refunded the purchase, but made absolutely zero meaningful contact with me about it. I’d been deluged with promotional crap, but I double checked. The last contact I had about my order was “in processing”. This meant that I missed the purchase window and funding got pulled so I can’t reorder my tools for at least a year.
So in the end they literally tripled the amount of paperwork I had to do by forcing me to amend all my prior paperwork and also process the return credit, and I still don’t have my fucking tools because they utterly failed to do any sort of meaningful follow up communication.
Personally or professionally I’m never doing business with them again.
My ex boyfriend and I dated for three years through college. He had been abusive, emotionally, physically and sexually. We had broken up many times. We finally broke up for the final time when he punched me and the RA had found out and told the college officials. It was his last year of college. I was brought into the deans office. It was up to me if he should be kicked out of college. This was a private college and in the early 90’s.
I told them not to kick him out of college. I knew if I had, he would have killed me. He graduated. One morning I woke up to find that someone had broken into my house, and my earrings that he had given to me were gone. Nothing else was touched. Then the phone calls started. Mind you he had supposedly left town to move back with his parents until he left for grad school. “Hey, I liked that flowery dress you were wearing last night.” Yes, I was wearing a flowery dress the night before. Or .”I can see you wherever you are at all times of the day.” Or “ I am sorry to hear about your cat.” Wait, what?? Only to find out my cat at my parents house was missing. And never found.
I started dating someone else. Then it was, “please tell ____ that I know all about him, and I am watching.”. We found out from friends that he would be coming to the area to fly out of LAX to go to grad school at Harvard. By this time the police had been notified of everything that had happened, and they told me that bc he hadn’t harmed me physically, there was nothing I could do, but it would be a good time to get out of town for the weekend. This is how I met my new boyfriends family. I was in hiding. They lived in Northern California.
We came back to school. The phone calls stopped and then the letters started. The anger, was now put into writing. How dare I hide away from him .He went out and bought a gun and he was looking for away to use it, etc..
I started to work as a nanny that fall. One time as I was getting the kids ready for school on a Monday, the kids went outside to wait so I could walk them to school, I had to get something for the baby inside. I came outside and as we were all walking to school the little girl who was in the 4th grade said, oh your friend says hi. I was like what friend, who knows I work here. I said oh, did this person have a name, no, he just said a friend. I immediately went into that place of panic. I kept my cool, and I asked what he looked like, and yes it was him, he had found me.
Not a lot happened to me after that. I did find out that he had gotten kicked out of grad school for raping someone, and he had been fired from a few jobs. Karma?
Oliver Anthony Rich Men North of Richmond Reaction Video
Not only one time, but every time all of my children are over for a family get together. I don’t consider myself dumb, I graduated high school with honors, I have worked hard all of my life so far, was taught to use common sense by my parents and married a wonderful, smart, and hard-working lady, and we have four children. As they grew up and progressed through school, they have each chosen their own path.
Our oldest son is an I.T. computer “nurd” and works from his home running the I.T. help line for a division of Sony helping any embedded I.T. techs solve problems they cannot solve themselves.
Our oldest daughter just received her Doctorate in Nuro-psychology from Yale University and is proving to be an innovator in the field with her front-line work to advance innovations in Alzheimer’s research.
The youngest Son is a 2018 honors graduate from The United States Military Academy at West Point, Captain, and Company Commander, in the U.S. Army, Working on his master’s degree in military history.
Any our youngest daughter just graduated with honors with a degree in teaching drama and starts her first teaching position next week.
All four are extremely intelligent and found vastly different careers, and when they are together the conversations are so far above my head I can only sit there and smile.
I smile because I look around and think to myself “How in the world did I get so lucky?” And then I realize “it is all thanks to my wife, and God.”
A few months ago I was in the Liaoning province in northeastern China. We met the CEO of a smart city there who was offering us rent-free premises for 3 years, a low interest loan [2%] and cheap electricity if we choose to build our robots there.
Chinese governments really believe that industrialization is crucial to mass employment and need to woo not just large companies but SMEs too.
In contrast, Indian general public attitude towards industrialization is often poisonous. The bureaucrats are too slow to move, the politicians often careless and the common public think “industrialists” make a lot of profits, who just needs to be taxed high.
It is far harder to start a factory in India and the interest rates are substantially high. Land prices near major cities are through the roof and the infrastructure abysmal. Thus, industrialists are not able to fully tap into India’s lower wages.
Indians often moan about the low rate of innovation in India. We moan that very few things are made in India. To really make in India, the society has to put industrialization at the highest priority. It cannot be seen as lower priority compared to agriculture and other sectors.
WHAT IN SOULFUL PAIN IS THIS?! (ADHD Reaction) | OLIVER ANTHONY – RICH MEN NORTH OF RICHMOND
You know guys, I am just accepting of my appearance. I get older, wrinkles appear. Liver spots show up, and my hair goes from grey to white.
I’ve got a bunch of liver spots on my chest, and a massive one on my forearm. And a couple of emerging pinpricks on my hands and wrists.
Its called “getting old”.
If you aren’t there yet, well… you will be.
But my white hair….
I color my hair.
Otherwise, I’d have stunningly white hair. Not grey.
White.
But for now, I perform a nice twice-weekly hair dying exercise. It’s a pain in the ass, but you know, it’s now ingrained in my lifestyle and I accept that.
I use a Chinese black hair color, and then a color formula to lighten it out. The over all look is like my natural hair color.
Now, my wife, on the other hand, even being much younger than myself (25 years younger by the way), really wants to stay beautiful. And she does a great job at it. Don’t you know.
She’s done a lot of cosmetic procedures regarding her eyes, and lids, and so on and so forth. It’s an Asian thing, and most Westerners just wouldn’t understand.
She’s also had a few nose jobs over the decades. Right now, it’s stunning. The procedures for plastic surgery are quite advanced in China. It’s an awesome nose! Last job ran $86,000 so you had best have it done right.
I’ll tell you what.
The nose is the first thing you see when you look at a face. Not the eyes. The nose. It frames the face.
Back in the day, she wanted a European nose. High up like my mother had. I thought it looked good. But alas, it did not fit her face.
So she got it redone.
It looks AWESOME! It’s just amazing what a good nose job can do, Ill tell you what.
You know, most of the cosmetic surgeries that she has had revolved around the eyes. It’s a very Asian thing. I, as a Westerner, can’t tell the difference. But, sheech! everyone around me can.
And they all LOVE it.
(shrug)
What did you know?
She had a boob job around ten – fifteen years ago. Used a nice upper-grade set of implants. Silicone. 260ml. And they were fine.
She went from a C cup to a nice big D cup, and everyone was happy.
Something sort of like this…
Now that was the older boob technology.
We paid $YUAN40,000 for that set, and it looked good. Back in 2013.
It was under the muscle. You could feel the boob as it was under the muscle as a hard piece that sat there. But overall the effect was what she was looking for and I, being a latent boob aficionado, appreciated it.
It was a textured squashed ball, that protruded her chest outwards.
Now…
When we had our child, we nursed her naturally with the implant, and my wife’s boobs went gargantuan. She was something like a triple F size or so. Damn!
I am not kidding. Sheech!
And then when she stopped nursing, her boobs deflated, and became soft and watery.
Her chest was a wreck.
Hard lump covered by bags of water. Not all that great of a look.
So, we have been wanting to have some nice corrective surgery on the chest, but life and the expensive price put it way on the back burner. At least for a while.
But, things happen.
(wink wink)
Then she went to the hospital (we are VIP don’t you know) and had the old ones taken out, and a set of new ones put in. She opted for the second best grade. The best cost $YUAN550,000 and that was way out of our budget. But the slightly lesser grade was affordable at $YUAN280,000. Ah. The price of a nice car.
It’s a Hermes-level brand and quality.
Boob technology has changed a lot over the years, and the medical procedures are new and quite modern. These new boobs (at least the better grades) look and feel like real boobs. You seriously cannot tell the difference.
The boob implant was really different as well.
She got a German brand: Freya and worked with a doctor to fix the mess her chest had become and get the biggest size that would fit her frame and look 100% realistic.
[1] Biggest that would look realistic. [2] Biggest that would feel good, and not be hard or detectable. [3] Very soft. Feels like a real boob.
No doctor wanted to implant implants that would end up looking like basketballs on a thin frame, and our surgery center was staffed with really GREAT experts.
He procured 390ml extra-soft silicone implants.
And she spent a week at the hospital after the surgery adjusting to them.
They look real. I mean absolutely real, and feel real, and they are awesome.
She is a large DD. Not some gigantic size like some girls might want, but a nice large but realistic size and they are fun. Large, but not obnoxiously so.
She looks good in clothes, but it isn’t obvious. She does not look like she has a boob-job or anything.
I stayed at the hospital with her, as did our daughter, and a few of her friends.
It’s a Chinese thing where you stay in the room with the hospital patients. And I noticed so many other gals were there getting their boobs done too. There must have been about thirty or so gals during the week we were there, and of course, girls being girls would gather and compare their boobs together.
A girl comes in, the top comes off and its all a lot of ohhhs and ahhhs, and then the squeezes and touching.
I saw so many post-surgery boobs that week in the hospital. I’ll tell you what.
They all looked great.
Being China, it’s not a taboo thing like in the USA. The gals would take off their tops and feel each others boobs, and I was there watching with amusement. I just smiled, shook my head, and went back to my computer work.
Silly.
My wife’s replacement boobs were the largest of all the gals with the typical boob implant size being somewhere between 250 and 320 ml.
Hers is 390ml.
A number of the gals wanted really small implants on the order of 100 to 120 ml, which confused everyone. That will take a flat chest to an A-cup. Maybe a B if the gal has a petite build.
One of our friends (who also had surgery that day, and was sticking around) said…
“I am as flat as a pancake, and 100 ml is nothing!”
One gal was in there and told us that she had eight (x8) surgeries all over. Eyes, lips, nose, boob, etc. They all were back to back, and done over a one month period. I thought it was way too radical, and she was complaining that her hair was starting to fall out.
Well, what do you expect? Stupid 20-year old chick doing crazy stuff all for her internet image. Becoming all plastic for what?
To get a lot of likes, or to get some “sexy projects” (hint hint). Maybe meet a very wealthy man?
Sheech!
Her first boobs were still quite nice with a 250 ml implants.
Not a gel. She got a cheaper grade.
Part of a “package deal”.
Most of the gals opted for the cheaper implants, and they didn’t look or feel as nice as ours. But they all looked ok, while ours looked and felt outstanding!
I mean it. You cannot tell the difference at ALL!
Under the armpit was the preferred insert location, and saline implants (so popular in the USA) are considered to be “backwards”, cheap and unappealing. So everyone were getting “gummy bear” style implants, and other soft gels of varying viscosity, and textures.
All in all, I like a nice set of boobs, and if you have the time and money, I urge you to consider them if you are worried about your appearance.
Remember, whether you are thin, or swat, or tall or chubby… enhancing your shape in slight ways can really make a significant difference in how your feel when you put on clothes.
I’ll tell you what.
Me?
For me, well my big issue is white hair and balding up at the top. So I have to keep my hair short, or I look really terrible. Maybe one day, I’ll get some kind of hair replacement surgery… who knows?
It is important to feel good about your body. Feel good in your clothes. To feel healthy and fit.
I will tell you all that I have been contemplating Botox… as my face is starting to show some wrinkles, but I don’t want to end up looking like Nancy Polaski. So I am a bit put off by it. But who knows, maybe one day I’ll make the leap.
It looks painful with all those needles in your face.
That’s how it is done, don’t you know. They inject this botox into your skin.
Now, in China there are other things, and other methods that are much more advanced than Botox. Different names, different means of operation. Different ways of smoothing out skin. I’ll tell you, I’m in the wrong line of business.
All these pretty gals… all ages… coming in to make their faces prettier.
But, for me… yikes!
And my wrinkles are near my eyes, I fear that it would be really, REALLY painful. Yikes!
Well, if I ever decide to try it, youse guys will be the first to know. I will report on it in great detail.
Right now… I am hesitant.
In the meantime, I am a big believer in facial care, and I use (religiously) the NIVEA brand scrubs, cremes, and facial lotions. I do so, except when it is unbearably hot out like this month.
And NO! This is not a paid endorsement.
Facial scrub and skin replenisher goes a long way to keep your skin looking youthful and clear.
Damn straight!
Todays…
Bioweapons
Suspicions have long been swirling surrounding the possibly nefarious activities going on at the Wuhan Viral Institute, as well as the Ukrainian “biolabs” the U.S. government was so concerned about falling into Russian hands. Now both the Russian and Chinese governments are accusing the United States of conducting research into biological weaponry in violation of a range of international treaties.
I moved out the day after high school graduation because I was tired of the beatings. My mother would hit me until she was so tired she could no longer lift her arm. She hit me when my sister disobeyed, when my father upset her or when the moon was full. I was the family scapegoat.
About six months after I moved out, got myself accepted to a college far, far from home and figured out how to pay for it without their help (3 jobs and financial aid), my father called me. He begged me to move home because my mother had started hitting my sister instead of me. He wanted me to come home and resume my place as the family scapegoat.
I didn’t.
Man shoots through door at would-be burglars posing as maintenance workers: video
China’s second largest Property Developer, EVERGRANDE, has filed for, get this, Chapter 15 Bankruptcy. Yes, you read that right, Chapter 15, which is ancillary to a primary proceeding brought in another country, typically the debtor’s home country.
Chapter 15 is a section in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code that was added in 2005 to provide for cooperation between U.S. courts and foreign courts when foreign bankruptcy proceedings touch upon U.S. financial interests.
The section was added in response to a United Nations recommendation for cooperation among nations on what it calls “cross-border insolvency.”
The primary goal of Chapter 15 bankruptcy is to promote cooperation among U.S. courts, their appointed representatives, and foreign courts and to make legal proceedings of international bankruptcies more predictable and fair for debtors and creditors.
As such, Chapter 15 focuses on jurisdiction. It also tries to protect the value of the debtor’s assets and, when possible, financially rescue an insolvent business.1
United States Courts. “Chapter 15 – Bankruptcy Basics: Ancillary and Other Cross-Border Cases.”
Chapter 15 allows a representative in a corporate bankruptcy case that has been filed outside the United States (also known as a “cross-border insolvency”) to obtain access to the U.S. court system. This is intended to provide an efficient and common-sense mechanism for addressing insolvencies that involve debtors, creditors, and assets associated with more than one country. The purpose of Chapter 15 is outlined in the following objectives listed in Title 11, Chapter 15, Section 1501 of the U.S. Code:2
Promoting cooperation among U.S. courts and parties of interest and the courts of other countries involved in cross-border insolvencies
Establishing a better legal foundation for cross-border investment and trade
Providing for better administration of cross-border insolvencies that protects the interests of all parties
Protecting the value of the debtor’s assets
Assisting financially troubled companies
ANALYSIS
The fact that EVERGRANDE filed Bankruptcy in China, and is now doing the same in the US, is a staggering financial catastrophe. They are the second largest Property Developer in China.
U.S. Banks have severe exposure to loans to this company. This could turn into a “Black Swan Event” for US Banks.
Notice, too, the announcement of this Bankruptcy filing in New York City, was done AFTER markets closed for the day! Seemingly because they **know** the impact this is going to have . . .
UPDATE 6:08 PM EDT —
While EVERGRANDE is China’s #2 Property Developer, it’s bigger competitor, COUNTRY GARDEN, with annual revenues of more than $70 billion, is now also on the verge of collapse.
The company’s 8% bonds due in 2024 are trading at a paltry 9 cents, signaling massive losses for the bondholders. The yield is skyrocketing, meaning nobody expects it to be paid. China’s property meltdown continues.
Thus, with today’s EVERGRANDE Bankruptcy filing in the USA, and the clearly-coming similar fate of China’s largest Developer COUNTRY GARDEN, these two financial collapses could be a “one,two-punch” to the global financial system.
I have ZERO financial expertise or formal training. Yet, as a lowly financial laymen/neophyte, even I can see the writing on the wall over this.
If my analysis is correct, then I personally __SUSPECT__ we here in the U.S. could see tumult in financial sectors for, oh, I’d say about a month. Then, I’d put it between the dates of September 16 and September 22, that the full financial sector impact will be (ahem) “painfully” evident in US financial circles. I suspect BIG . . . . REALLY B I G impact.
Watch Europe over the next two weeks. Europe will go first. They’ve already seen about five-hundred thousand (500,000) German companies go Bankrupt THIS YEAR, mostly over Russia-related Sanctions. So economically, Europe is now hanging by just a few threads financially.
As European Banks go, so will US Banks. Watch Europe closely over the next two weeks.
Do you mean all those countries that China has attacked in the past 40 years?
Such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, Yemen, Uganda, Kosovo, Bosnia and Niger?
Oh wait, those countries were attacked by the USA, not China. China hasn’t attacked any country in the world in the past 40 years.
So which countries do you mean? By any chance, are they countries whose No. 1 or 2 biggest trading partner in the world happen to be China? In other words, every day these countries are buying a lot of Chinese goods and China is making good profit out of them. And you think China wants to invade and attack them?
Or do you mean the countries where China is busy building or planning to build highways, railways, water treatment plants, solar energy plants, schools and hospitals? Which is about 150+ countries on earth?
If China planned to bomb a country to bits, do you think that China would invest billions of dollars in that country’s infrastructure? And then bomb the infrastructure to bits, causing its own investments to suffer grave losses?
Open your eyes. Use your brain. Free your mind from the lies that Western media propaganda has been feeding you.
And no, you CANNOT be the President of the USA when you grow up.
On May 30, 1832, a duel took place in Paris in which a young man barely twenty years old was mortally wounded. Much later he would become one of the greatest mathematical geniuses in history.
His name is Evariste Galois.
It’s pretty clear that in life he had some “gift” as a mathematician, but no one really understood all the “gibberish” Galois was writing about.
His essays and ideas were often rejected, he was denied entry into the prestigious École Normale Supérieure, and he was also a bit of a hothead, especially when, again, no one understood him.
He was simply too ahead of his time.
And to top it off, he was very involved in the French Revolution, and he used to spend a lot of time in jail if necessary.
Galois was a rebel both on the streets and in the math fog.
Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, he was drawn into a duel, but it is very likely that the direct cause of this duel was a breakup – some say it was with a prostitute, while others think the woman in question was married – and Unfortunately, his nemesis, whose identity remains unknown to this day, was a much better duelist than he was (Galois knows this all too well).
On the eve of the duel, Galois makes the most important decision of his life.
Instead of taking a much-needed break to give himself any chance of survival, he decides to put his mathematical ideas on paper[1] :
Galois was so convinced of his imminent death that he stayed up all night, writing letters to his republican friends and composing what would become his mathematical testament, the famous letter to Auguste Chevalier setting out his ideas, and three accompanying manuscripts. .
In his last letter[2] he laconically describes revolutionary ideas on analysis, continued fractions and group theory, a subject he had created on his own to solve one of the biggest mathematical problems of the time: how (not) to make polynomials by radicals. .
Galois group theory evolved over time to become one of the most important topics in contemporary mathematics, and also finds its place in many other scientific disciplines such as physics and chemistry, quantum theory and its applications, etc.
He was far ahead of his time.
Galois’ last written words, dedicated to his younger brother Alfred, are as follows:
Don’t cry Alfred! I need all my courage to die at twenty!
The famous mathematician Hermann Weyl later wrote:
This letter, if judged by the novelty and depth of the ideas it contains, is perhaps the most substantial writing in all the literature of humanity.
To honor Galois, I would like to say that this was indeed the case.
How To Leave Your California Residency Forever
Interesting.
But I am NEVER going back to the United States. No fucking way.
Deep Dish Hamburger Pie
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 can green beans
Salt and pepper to taste
Ketchup
2 cups mashed potatoes
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
Brown the meat and add your seasonings.
Stir in enough ketchup to suit your taste.
Add green beans and stir in well.
Place this mixture in a casserole dish and top with the mashed taters and then top that with the cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees F until heated through and cheese is browned.
Coming Back Home After 3 Years In Thailand, here are my thoughts
I am not banned from anything major, but my father got banned from the Maldives for life, due to a rather odd chain of events!
My father loves to sail, and before he got his own boat he used to sail across the seas at any chance he could find.
One day he found himself on a ship with a crew of about 8 other men that were doing a across-the-world-tour on their boat.
To his unfortunate surprise these were all rather young sailors.
The problem wasn’t in their skills, as they managed to all do their share of work without a problem, but rather that they were too poor to afford any variety in food.
After being on board for two weeks upon their vessel he had had enough of noodles for the next months to come.
He got off at the Maldives as soon as they arrived and the group only stopped to let my dad off the boat, then they sailed away towards their next destination.
My dad then proceeded to the customs office to announce his arrival, but more so he could get on a plane to depart again.
When he finally found the place they asked him with what plane he arrived.
He told them he came by boat, to which they stared at him with surprise.
After a bit of back and forth they finally found the documents for arrival by boat and asked my dad to give them the name of the vessel and where it was located.
At this point he said that he can give them the name but the vessel is not located here anymore and he had no way to contact them.
That is where the problems started for all the other sailors would have had to announce their arrival, as well as that of the vessel.
But since my dad was the only one that got off it was as though he had just appeared out of thin air… to which there were no real regulations.
All my dad wanted to do was to get out of the country, but for that he needed to be accepted in the country to begin with, as you cannot leave a country you never arrived in.
Of course no one had ever done this, so my dad was told to find a place to stay and not to leave the country (which was ironically what he wanted to do but couldn’t do).
For the next week my dad talked to the customs office every day, trying to reason with them that he didn’t care about his arrival approval, all he wanted to do was to leave!
But he needed their approval or he wouldn’t be allowed through the gates at the airport…
After about a week of going back and forth between the customs office they finally came to an agreement:
They were going to deport him.
The next day, early in the morning, two police cars and a taxi were waiting for him in front of his hotel.
With a police escort my dad traveled to the airport, at which point two armed men guided him through the gates and into the VIP lane at check-in and to the VIP lane to get on the plane.
At this point they wanted to make absolutely sure he would leave and was treated almost like a criminal.
To get out of the country he never wanted to stay in he had to be forcefully deported.
My dad now has a life-long entry ban from the Maldives and can never go there again, and only because they couldn’t lawfully prove that he even got into the country.
Yellen Stunned! China Dumps $481.3B in U.S. Bonds, Invests in 6,927 Tons of Gold
Book About Hawaii Wildfires Published BEFORE Fires Were Out!
In an an almost inexplicable manner, a new book about the Maui, Hawaii “Wildfires” was published on August 10 – BEFORE the fires were even put out! Of course, the book pushes the “Climate Change” political agenda. But how did they write and publish a book BEFORE the fires were even out? Unless they knew in advance, the fires would happen?
More interestingly, look at the description of the book on its AMAZON sales site. The description says the book offers “the harrowing experiences of people who lived through the fire” and “the heroic efforts of fire fighters and Rescuers who battled the flames.” How did they do that while the fire was STILL BURNING?
ot to put too fine a point on this, but the description of “people who lived through the fire” and the “heroic efforts of fire fighters . . . ” was published while the fire was STILL BURNING.
You’ll note in the book description it talks about “the events of August 8-11.” Look at the PUBLICATION DATE: August 10.
How did they cover the events of August 8-11 with a book published ONE DAY BEFORE the fire was even out?
Unless, of course, the book was written BEFORE the fire even started, by people who may have known the fire was going to happen?
Was the Maui, Hawaii “wildfire” a staged event? Or was it DELIBERATE, to burn-out land owners who had previously refused to sell to developers who wanted to build multi-million dollar residential complexes on some of the most beautiful – and expensive – real estate in the entire United States?
The fact that this book was published while the fires were still burning seems to some people to be prima fascia evidence the fire was actually planned. Arson.
Some wonder if the book was perhaps written to divert attention form the heinous crime, and then plug a Climate Change agenda to gloss it over.
It seems a criminal investigation is required of this fire – and of this book.
In order that YOU can verify the facts set forth in this story, here is a link to the actual AMAZON web page, selling this book: (Click HERE)
Solving Cicada 3301: Decoding the Internet’s Greatest Mystery
Not to bad mouth my fellow members of the Commonwealth, and I often talk about how tough it is to get around Canada, but Australia takes it to another level entirely.
It’s hard to get to. Australia is extremely isolated. It’s not hard to reach from eastern Asia, the Philippines or Indonesia, but it’s a long, long way from Europe and North America. It’s even far from Honolulu.
The best way to get around Australia – is by flying. The major cities and tourist areas on Australia are very distant from each other. Sydney (one of the major cities) and Canberra (the capital) are two of the closest, but they’re still about 300 km apart. Sydney to Melbourne is about 900 km. Yes, you can drive or take a bus, but that’s some long trip.
Roads are… problematic. The verdant strip running from Adelaide to Cooktown in the east of the country has roads as good as any you will find in the United States or Europe. However, the majority of the country (which has very little in the way of population) has roads that are dangerous and run through some of the nastiest desert in the world. It can be hundreds of kilometers between gas stations. Cell phone service isn’t available. Dying is a distinct possibility.
Trains are are scarce. One popular route is the Ghan, running from Adelaide to Darwin. It’s a five star trip on luxury coaches on a pristine set of tracks that runs through some of the most interesting scenery on the planet. However, the rest of Australia’s rail network is fair to middling. One of the problems is that each state set its own rail gauge. It is possible to cross Australia’s southern limit by train, but it’s not a luxury experience.
The Not So Polite Truth Behind Canada’s COLLAPSING Economy!
RUSSIA BEGINS PROCESS TO WITHDRAW FROM W.T.O. AND W.H.O
The Russian government is starting the process of unilaterally withdrawing from a series of international bodies, including the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization, the Russian Duma’s Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said on Tuesday.
“We have work to revise our international obligations, treaties that today bring no benefit, but instead directly harm our country. The Foreign Ministry sent a list of such agreements to the State Duma,” Tolstoy said. “Together with the Federation Council, we plan to analyze them and to propose to withdraw,” he added.
Tolstoy singled out the international trade and health organizations, saying that “the next step is to withdraw from the WTO and the WHO, which have neglected all obligations towards our country.”
Originally Answered: US is urging Europe not to deal with China and Russia because of human rights in those countries. Why then is US in bed with Saudi Arabia?
President Roosevelt of the United States said his famous phrase:
– Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he is our son of a bitch.
Many people know who Somoza is. I’ll remind those who have forgotten history. Anastasio Somoza is Nicaragua’s cruelest dictator. He killed 150,000 Nicaraguans – a monstrous figure with a population of only 800,000 in 1940.
In September 1956, the dictator’s enemies shot him. By helicopter the U.S. Navy took the dictator to the Panama Canal, where the best American surgeons, including personal physician of President Eisenhower, eight days fighting for the life of “our son of a bitch”. However, on September 29, 1956, Anastasio Somoza went to the next world. It’s a legitimate retaliation for a hereditary gangster.
Do you think the U.S. policy towards pathological killers and sadists has changed? You’re deeply mistaken. If you read George Orwell, you remember the phrase about equality: “All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.” So the Saudi authorities may have blatantly killed opposition journalist Jamal khashoggi in the Saudi consulate building in Istanbul. The US and the EU have called for a transparent investigation. And that’s it! No consequences, no sanctions and no expulsion of Saudi diplomats. It’s very simple: “Our business partner may be a son of a bitch, but he is our son of a…”
It turns out that being “untouchable” requires “friendship” with the United States and being a source of income for American business.
The U.S. calls on Europe not to contact China and Russia because of human rights violations in those countries. This is only a fictitious excuse. The reality is simple to the primitive. China and Russia have an independent policy and are competitors in international business. It is only natural to weaken a competitor, or better yet, to destroy it, and to appropriate assets…
“You Won’t Turn Niger Into Another Libya!” – African Leaders
Photograph of a victims eyeball after the Nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, with an “Atomic Cataract.” A snapshot of the devastating destruction of the Nuclear bomb, permanently burnt into the victims eyeball. Atomic Cataracts can develop 3 months to 10 years after exposure. The incidence of this happening is greater the shorter the distance from the explosion.
Russia Publicly Accuses U.S. “Deep State” and Big Pharma of Deliberate COVID Pandemic to takeover the world
In video below from the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russia just publicly accused Deep State actors and Big Pharma of manufacturing the COVID pandemic to take over the world.
They even listed Obama, Clinton, Biden, and Soros, of being the main “Ideologists” behind the plot.
Below, video from a Briefing by Chief of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops of Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov: “Pentagon conducts uncontrolled dual-use research in circumvention of international obligations under the BTWC (Biological and Toxin Weapons Control Treaty).”
Put sccinctly, the Russian Military officially and publicly accuses the US of releasing bioweapons to create “crisis situations”, and claims the US are planning to do it again.
This is the biggest story in human history, and yet it is somehow remaining largely unnoticed.
UPDATE 11:22 AM EDT —
Television stations all over Russia are carrying this bombshell accusation as major leading news stories.
In this Interview, Lt General Igor Kirillov goes even further in the accusation, saying the US is going to do it again:
MORE:
Russian biologist Igor Nikulin, who was presented as a former member of the U.N. Commission on Biological and Chemical Weapons, sounded the alarm in a February 27, 2020 interview on Russia Today’s Arabic-language channel where he said that he believes it is no coincidence that the coronavirus had the effect it did in China, Iran, and certain European countries.
He said that coronavirus was carefully selected to affect countries that rival the United States and that it is a conspiracy by the “global government,” which he said consists of 200 families that control over $400 trillion, that own the media outlets and Hollywood, that control the minds of humanity, and that want to decrease the world’s population by 90%.
He suggested that it may be possible that coronavirus is a targeted biological weapon, like he said Ebola and the bird flu were, that infects some people and not others, and he said that the U.S. government may be testing a pathogenic agent it began developing in 1999.
Nikulin also said that this is a warning to the non-English-speaking world that it must submit to the laws that are imposed upon it.
China is interested in resources in Africa from Cobalt to Lithium to Gold to Aluminium to Manganese to Hydro power to Farmlands to Labor (Human resources)
In exchange China delivers growth and progress – Soft Loans, Machinery, Schools, Hospitals, Bridges, Trains, Factories, Jobs etc
Yet China stays out of two core areas in Africa – RELIGION AND POLITICS
The West doesnt. The West interferes in both. Conversion and Ruling over the Africans
China doesn’t
So China cannot be colonizing Africa at all
Colonizing means treating the people as second class citizens under the rule of your own government
China certainly doesn’t do that
China simply makes trade deals which may be loaded in favor of the Chinese
China may even to a certain extent take advantage of the Africans
Yet China doesn’t Colonize Africa and Chinas Actions are maybe a 100th of what the West did
Media keeps deceiving us about China’s intentions – here’s how
Baked Spaghetti Pie
Ingredients
2 pounds spaghetti
2 pounds ricotta cheese
1/2 cup whole milk
3 large eggs
1 pound ground beef
1 pound spicy Italian sausage
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
1 pound Provolone cheese, sliced thin
1/2 cup Romano cheese, grated
Instructions
Heat oven to 475 degrees F.
In a large pan, boil spaghetti for 20 minutes; drain and set aside.
Mix ricotta, milk and eggs together in a small bowl; add to spaghetti and stir together.
Press into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan until compact and even.
Cook ground beef and sausage in a large skillet.
Drain fat, removing as much as possible.
Stir in spaghetti sauce. Spread evenly over spaghetti base in pan.
Layer slices of Provolone over meat mixture, then add the grated Romano on top of that.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Polybius | The Most Deadly Video Game in History | More Truth than Legend
Burger-Bean Spaghetti Pie
Looking for a dinner pie? Then check out this ground beef spaghetti pie packed with spicy chili beans and three types of cheese – a hearty meal.
Prep: 40 min | Total: 1 hr 5 min | Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
Crust
7 ounces uncooked spaghetti or vermicelli
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chili powder
Filling
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can spicy chili beans, undrained
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can zesty diced tomatoes seasoned with mild green chiles, undrained
4 ounces (1 cup) shredded hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese
4 ounces (1 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
Cook spaghetti to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 1/2 inch deep dish pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Beat egg in large bowl. Add butter, Parmesan cheese and chili powder; mix well. Add cooked spaghetti; toss to coat. Spoon mixture evenly into sprayed pie pan, pushing mixture slightly up sides of pan to form crust.
In large saucepan, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain.
Add chili beans and tomatoes; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Add hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese and 1/2 cup of the Cheddar cheese; mix well. Spoon evenly into spaghetti-lined pie pan. Top with remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until filling is set and crust is light golden brown.
Right now, the world is scarred, and embroiled in a puss-like situation. It’s festering with maggots and slime. It is pulsating, with pustules, and is very painful.
We cannot make out what is going on as the pain is excruciating.
But over time, maybe soon, a scab will form.
And once the scab is removed, we will get to see what the world really looks like. My guess is that it will be much different than what we have known and our lives… all of our lives will be forever changed.
…
I had a vision.
Quod Licet Iovi …
The BBC reported on August 22, 2022:
Taiwan: Two US warships sail through strait
Two US warships are passing through the Taiwan Strait, the US Navy has announced.
...
Washington says its two guided-missile cruisers - the USS Antietam and the USS Chancellorsville - are demonstrating freedom of navigation through international waters.
...
Beijing views such actions as provocative and maintains that the island of Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory.
On Sunday, its military said it was monitoring the two vessels' progress, maintaining a high alert, and was ready to defeat any provocation, Reuters news agency reports.
The US Navy said in a statement that the transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrated the "United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific".
The WSJ on August 6, 2023:
Russia and China Sent Large Naval Patrol Near Alaska
A combined Russian and Chinese naval force patrolled near the coast of Alaska last week in what U.S. experts said appeared to be the largest such flotilla to approach American shores.
Eleven Russian and Chinese ships steamed close to the Aleutian Islands, according to U.S. officials. The ships, which never entered U.S. territorial waters and have since left, were shadowed by four U.S. destroyers and P-8 Poseidon aircraft.
“It is a historical first,” said Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a retired Navy captain. “Given the context of the war in Ukraine and tensions around Taiwan, this move is highly provocative.”
...
Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the patrol was a reminder that the U.S. has entered “a new era of authoritarian aggression” and applauded the robust U.S. response.
I put a two pound tin of it in hot water to soften before use, and thought I had cracked the lid open. Apparently not.
Ten minutes later, with an impressive bang, the pressure opened the lid, and most of the tin sprayed itself all over the kitchen. Walls, cupboards, ceiling, lights, the lot. It took weeks to get properly clean, and I had to repaint.
I repeat fifty nuclear weapons that can destroy Tokyo, Kyoto, Sydney, Melbourne and allegedly even Honolulu
They have hacking skills that even Israelis fear
How do you think they became a Nuclear Power? How do you think they remain a Nuclear Power? How do you think they sustain themselves financially and trade wise given they are cut off from the entire civilized world?
CHINA!!
They played the Bishops Gambit with North Korea & you seriously seem to believe that sending F-16s to Taiwan would lead them to retaliate?
It’s nothing bigger than moving a pawn
You seriously think the Chinese are 1% worried or nervous about weapons being sent to Taiwan or Japan?
This is a Country that literally provided Nukes to North Korea to create the largest strategic chess move on the Pacific Sea
What the US are doing – Sending Pelosi, McCarthy to Taiwan, giving weapons to Taiwan etc are all petty stuff of zero strategic significance
China meanwhile has two fully armed Nuclear Allies in Asia and under the nose of the US ensured that North Korea got nukes
So dont believe the Chinese protests
The Chinese have done things of the highest strategic significance and something infinitely more dangerous than 20 Air Bases Or F-16s by the US
So why would they ever retaliate?
They like to pretend to be offended and pretend how US is dangerously doing stuff when in reality, China ensured a country is given an arsenal capable of liquidating 6 Million people
And every Idiot thinks US is the strategic player
In reality with North Korea, China won the game a long time ago.
In the picture above is Cameron Herrin, and this is the moment a Judge sentenced him to 24 -years in prison. 18-year-old Cameron Herrin, lived in Tampa, Florida, and in 2018, graduated high school and was gifted a black Ford Mustang from his parents to congratulate him on graduating.
On May 23rd, Cameron and his brother Tristan had gone to the gym and while there bumped into a friend named John Barrineau, and it was there the three decided to go for a drive. Cameron and Tristian was in the Mustang, while John took his own car. As they approached street lights both cars were side by side, and both goaded each other into a street race.
As they sped down the residential street, both cars had reached over 100 miles an hour in a attempt to keep up with each other. At the same time, Jessica and and her young daughter Lilia were crossing the road as the cars came hurtling towards them. Unfortunately for this young mother and and her baby daughter, the cars were going too fast to make it to the other side of the road, and the black Ford Mustang slammed into them.
At he same time Jessica’s husband David Robonel, happened to be driving past in his own car, not realising what had just occurred. He noticed a big crowd of people gathering to see the carnage, but he just wanted to get home and hoped no one was badly hurt. David then tried to call his wife, but she wasn’t answering and when he went home she wasn’t there either. He figured his wife must have stopped to see the accident, so went to look for them there.
Once he got there it didn’t take him long to realise what he was looking at. HIs wife and the babies stroller was right there in the middle of the street and it was that moment his world came crashing down on him. His wife Jessica passed away the same day and his daughter Lilia passed the following day, after doctors fought to save her.
Right away Cameron and John were arrested and charged with vehicular homicide. John Barrineau took a plea deal and was given 6-years in prison and 15-years probation. Cameron took an open plea, but to his surprise he was given 24 years in prison. His family were shocked at this verdict and many people believed it was to harsh a punishment.
Actions have consequences and in this case the consequences were dire for David who had his whole family wiped out in a blink of an eye. We could take into account the fact Cameron parents gave their son a powerful sportscar, at 18, your still a kid, and if he wasn’t going to kill someone, he would have killed himself.
When the Judge was sentenced him he had to take in the mitigating factors, had Cameron no history of dangerous driving the sentence would have been much different. Had it not been a mother and her young daughter, with a father sitting in the gallery contemplating were his life goes after the trial is over, then the sentence would have been different.
What punishment would have been fitting here? He will be classed as a non-violent inmate and when his parole hearing comes around after 7-years (I’m not sure how the parole system works in America, so I’m guessing) he will more than likely walk, his friend John will be out in about 3 years.
China Declares It Will Hit The U.S Hard Against The CURBS!
Ukraine Declares “Military Threat to Navigation” Against Russian Ports; Poland, Lithuania, Latvia Moving Troops Toward Belarus and Kaliningrad. Blockade to Begin?
For the first time in modern history, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia are simultaneously moving military forces to the borders with Belarus and Russia. Local observers say a land blockade of Kaliningrad and Belarus is taking shape. This comes just hours after Ukraine publicly declared a “Military Threat against Navigation” for the Russian ports of Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi, and Taman.
All three countries seem to be clearly preparing for a total land blockade of Belarus and by extension the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
Beginning to look like the start of WWII with what happened with the enclave Dantzig; only this time, the Suwalki Gap may be the tripwire.
Below from the Latvian city of Ludza, through which, allegedly, the transfer of military equipment to the border with Belarus is taking place:
Meanwhile, inside Belarus, elements from the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) send “Greetings from the Poland Border.”
Meanwhile, in Germany, the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall this week marked the construction launch of a new factory in the western town of Weeze that will produce fuselage sections for the F-35 stealth combat aircraft.
The premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, took part in a ground-breaking ceremony at the construction site, saying that “a highly modern factory is to be built here that will guarantee good jobs for decades.”
Rheinmetall is a partner of the US company Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-35 together with Northrop Grumman, another US firm.
The factory, which is estimated to cost €200 million ($219 million) and will have an area of some 60,000 square meters (645,835 square feet), is to go into operation in 2025 – unless the war breaks-out and Russia smashes it with hypersonic missiles, as seems VERY likely to anyone capable of actually thinking.
Its up to 450 workers will produce the fuselage parts for at least 400 of the aircraft, 35 of which are earmarked for use by Germany’s armed forces at a cost of €8.3 billion. Those aircraft are being purchased as part of the €100 billion package agreed by the government last year to upgrade the country’s military.
This announced planning should give readers a much better view of how current hostilities are viewed by the bigshots: They seem to be planning that the war that’s coming will literally last YEARS.
If any of us thought the troubles between Ukraine and Russia would remain a limited conflict, clearly that belief was incorrect. Very much military hardware is actively moving this morning and, day-by-day, it seems clear that an actual World War 3 is shaping up.
Get right with God.
Browned Butter Spaghetti with Mizithra
I used to love to go to the Spaghetti Factory for this. It’s so delicious! Mizithra is a great Greek cheese.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 cup butter
Cooked spaghetti, drained
1 cup Mizithra cheese, grated
Parsley, chopped (optional)
Instructions
Cut butter into tablespoon-size pieces and place in a 2 quart sauce pan. Place the pan of butter on a burner on medium heat. Bring butter to a slow boil (about 5 minutes).
When the butter begins to boil, stir constantly to prevent residue from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As the butter cooks, it will start to foam and rise. Continue stirring, otherwise the butter foam could overflow (about 5 minutes) and catch fire.
When the butter stops foaming and rising, cook until amber in color (about 1 to 2 minutes). It will have a pleasant caramel aroma.
Turn off the heat and remove pan from burner. Let the sediment settle to the bottom of the pan for a few minutes.
Pour the brown butter through a strainer into a small bowl. Do not disturb the residue at the bottom of the pan.
The brown butter can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in a microwave as needed.
Boil the pasta of choice until al dente.
Drain pasta and divide into four servings.
Sprinkle 1/4 cup Mizithra cheese over each pasta serving.
Top with 1/4 cup hot brown butter.
Old Folks
San Jose Is The Most Empty City I’ve Ever Seen | Theres Literally 0 People
A multi-multi millionaire and I were driving home after a poker game. We stopped at a Kentucky Fried Chicken. The millionaire asked to speak to the manager. When he came over he asked him what do you do with the chicken when you close? The manager said, well when we close in 20 minutes we have to throw it out. The millionaire said that we shouldn’t pay full price for what you’re throwing away, why don’t you let us have it for a third the price? The 2 of them spent 8 minutes bargaining and finally agreed on half price. When we got to the car my companion said that since he bargained the manager down, I should pay for it. I said that since I was driving him home he should pay. He looked disgusted, but eventually agreed.
Turns out my gut was wrong, in this scenario. I was closing up a coffeeshop by myself in downtown Seattle, was probably around 10:30 PM and in the winter so pitch black outside. We had a regular who always seemed nice, he was maybe 60something and was always wearing the same MIA-POW Vietnam vet hat and jacket, long grey hair, beard, the works. I tried to make it clearer and clearer that I was closing up (ie LEAVE!) but he just sat there, and kept looking at me with kind of an intense look. I started getting more and more nervous; he was a big dude. Finally he came up to the counter and I can’t lie, I was wondering what the hell he was trying to pull. He just said “I saw someone go into the bathroom, and they never came out. I really don’t want to leave you here until I know you’ll be OK. I will wait outside if you want but that’s why I’m still here”. I still wasn’t sure if he was screwing with me or what, so I went and tried to open the (locked) bathroom door. No answer. We used to get junkies shooting up, or people would just forget and lock the key inside, so I wasn’t really worried. I knock multiple times and ask if there is someone in there, no response. Then, on a whim I say “I just called the cops”…a dude BURSTS out of the door covering his face with his jacket and books it onto the street outside. I am standing there flabbergasted as this dude was pretty clearly waiting in there until I closed the shop, hopefully just to rob us but who knows. Needless to say the Vietnam vet did not ever pay for his tea from me or any other employee as long as I worked there. I still think of him as a guardian angel and hope he is doing well and happy. So, for once I’m glad I *didn’t* trust my gut
***EDIT #2***
He did not leave until I did, I had to ask him to wait outside as that was company policy when we cashed out the register, but he damn well stayed outside until I left, and even offered to escort me to my bus stop. He is a damn angel on earth.
***EDIT***: Thank everyone for your heartfelt responses. I agree, this man was and is a hero. I am not a hawk by any stretch (I’m a big ol’ anti-war peacenik), but our veterans don’t necessarily get the support they should. If you want to donate to a veteran’s charity the following are supposedly very high quality
The recent coup in Niger has left the United States in the lurch, relegating the more than 1,000 troops stationed in the African country to U.S. bases.
A pan-African response to Western (American led) colonialism.
Yes, to the multiple American military bases located in Niger, which are ostensibly being used to “fight terrorism” but in fact are just another arm of U.S. military power that stretch to nearly every corner of the globe.
They normally think 1001 times before making such a decision because they don’t want to be caught flat like the USA or EU who make all decisions in a hurry and are usually left holding nothing and end up embarrassed
All that China is doing is simply saying
Look. I took on Rare Earth processing because you decided it was too unprofitable and too messy and too unsafe for your water and your environment
I extract rare earths and process them at a profit of $ 3.95 a ton so that you guys can make your EVs at a 36% —54% profit
Now, I feel with the way you guys are treating me and harrassing me. I won’t clutter my environment and affect my people for you anymore
It’s not worth the $ 3.95 a Ton profit
I can rather use it for my domestic industries in greater quantity
I can reduce my rare earth processing and save my environment
I can sell you rare earths at $ 21 profit per Ton because I know you will process them at $ 26.50 a ton LOSS if you directly process rare earths
Its not retaliation
It’s REFLECTION
Why should China keep cluttering its environment and soil just to keep EU and US and Australia clean and pristine in their switch to EVs when these nations are so hostile to China to all the time
Is this a Blow?
Yep
A quota may be established where a maximum of 40,000 battery packs will be exported a year from China
Today it’s almost 180,000
So that’s a 70% -75% cut in the supply chain
For at least the next 10 —15 years until the production is met elsewhere , EVs made outside China and friendly nations like Russia will be throttled badly
Yet here is the silver lining
China has no issues if you keep making EVs in China and exporting them. No issues at all.
This is to protect Chinese EVs from the same trade threats as Chinese Chips at a later date
Tomorrow if EU bans Chinese EVs like they banned Huawei then China will cut all EV rare earths and throttle their EV industry for at least 2 Decades
That will keep China dominant in EV technology and a leading player
China was caught on the wrong foot for 5G and Huawei
Now China is taking precautions with its EV dominance
Gonzalo Lira ARRESTED Before Hungary Border Per Mark Slebota Journalist. BREAKING IF TRUE?
The power of these so-called internet influencers was shown in full force.
21-year-old Kai Cenat is arguably the biggest black internet influencer today. He’s largely famous on Twitch, a streaming platform.
He doesn’t make music; he plays no instruments, he doesn’t act; he has no apparent talents, and he had zero prior connection to the entertainment industry. He’s funny, he had access to the internet. That’s how he became famous.
Good on him. Life’s hard, a young man’s gotta make bread however he can.
One of the reasons why he has a huge following is that he maintains a good relationship with his fans, for instance, he does regular giveaways.
He had told them he was going to give away 300 PS5s, a largely sought-after gaming console, on Friday at NYC’s Union Square park.
Guess how many people turned up?
Around 2000 people, mostly teenagers and young adults, the perfect age group for a wild riot.
The majority of them couldn’t get close to Kai. Just to see him, they climbed cars and the train station entrance’s roof.
Eventually, they became rowdy. The mass held up traffic. They threw bottles, rocks, lit fireworks, fought with police, damaged cars.
Police slowly dispersed the crowd and arrested over 60 people, half of whom were minors.
No deaths, no serious casualties.
Kai did not notify the city before hosting such a huge event. He was taken into police custody, charged with inciting a riot, and released a few hours later.
The First Real Images Of Mercury – What We Found?
ASEAN-China Week kicks off, reaffirming cooperation and closer ties
‘Track II diplomacy’ helps in breaking down barriers, leaving less room for third parties to sow discord
By Wang Qi in Fuzhou Published: Aug 06, 2023 11:18 PM
China and ASEAN reaffirmed the importance of solidarity and cooperation in the face of challenges and vowed closer and stronger ties in the future as the first ASEAN-China Week 2023 unfolded in East China’s Fuzhou on Friday, two days before ASEAN Day 2023, the organization’s 56th birthday.
The event is co-hosted by the ASEAN-China Center (ACC) and the Foreign Affairs Office of the Fujian Provincial Government and Fuzhou Municipal Government. Over 300 senior government officials, diplomatic envoys, entrepreneurs and think tank experts from ASEAN and China attended the event that will last until August 11.
During the main themed forum on a “Forward-looking ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the New Era,” representatives of both China and ASEAN countries stressed the importance of regional peace and stability.
During the ASEAN-China (Fujian) Forum on Trade and Investment Cooperation on Sunday afternoon, three public service platforms under the China-Indonesia “Two Countries, Twin Parks” were unveiled. Strategic cooperation framework agreements for nine projects under “Two Countries, Twin Parks” were also signed.
Sessions like a gourmet carnival, ASEAN film week and an ASEAN-China symphony concert were held during on opening day. The Shangri-La Hotel in Fuzhou offered food from ASEAN countries and China for participants to enjoy, with majority of whom used chopsticks instead of knives and forks, while films from ASEAN nations were introduced on a huge screen.
Despite the complexities in the international situation, ASEAN has successfully managed to maintain peace and stability of the region and sustain good growth momentum, Shi Zhongjun, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Center, said in his opening speech on Sunday.
Shi said that ASEAN is one of the most dynamic regions and is leading the post-pandemic recovery of the world. The success of ASEAN “lies in its right choice of progress over regression, cooperation over confrontation and openness over isolation… [it] lies in its adhering to solidarity and independence, in its cherishing peace and development.”
The year 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of China’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), and the 10th anniversary of an initiative for China to work with ASEAN countries for a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and for a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
Ambassador of Thailand to China Arthayudh Srisamoot hailed the ASEAN-China Week’s role in creating more knowledge and understandings about ASEAN culture, as the Chinese public will have an opportunity to learn about ASEAN, products and meet new people through the event.
2023 also marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Ambassador Srisamoot hailed the initiative’s role in fostering connectivity between nations.
The free flow of Thai exports has enjoyed very good market access in China… the BRI provides an ideal neighboring environment for the two countries to cooperate, not only in transportation, logistics, but also in people-to-people exchanges of culture and youth between two nations, the ambassador told the Global Times.
Ong Tee Keat, senior fellow with the Taihe Institute and chairman of Malaysia-based think tank the Center for New Inclusive Asia, told the Global Times on Sunday that since the relationship between China and ASEAN has been upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership, it becomes more necessary to develop all-round and multi-dimensional relations.
Non-political sessions during the event seek to break down barriers between the people to avoid unnecessary suspicion, just in case a third party sows discord and inciting populism when there’s misunderstanding, Ong said.
Ong is former deputy speaker of Malaysia’s lower house of parliament, Malaysian transport minister and president of the Malaysian Chinese Association. He believes that the “Track II diplomacy,” which stresses people-to-people and cultural exchanges and non-official contact, is crucial for China to deepen ties with ASEAN.
ASEAN-China Week, which came after the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Jakarta in July, is viewed as an important event to promote other China-ASEAN exchanges in the second half of 2023.
The 2023 ASEAN-China Summit is scheduled to be held in September, followed by the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. The APEC Summit in November will be also attended by ASEAN nations and China.
Benito Gosiaco Techico, special envoy of Philippines president to China for trade, investment and tourism, told the Global Times on Sunday that Manila is looking forward to more investment collaboration with China, particularly in the field of agriculture, information, technology, tourism, manufacturing and renewable energy.
“The prospect is definitely positive,” he added.
ASEAN has been China’s largest trading partner for three consecutive years. In the first half of 2023, trade with ASEAN countries accounted for 15.3 percent of China’s total trade, reaching 3.08 trillion yuan ($428.96 billion), up 5.4 percent from 2022.
Carne Adovada
This is a wonderful filling for burritos or simply great served over rice with the resulting gravy. For better flavor, prepare a day ahead.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon shortening
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces (about 25) whole dried New Mexican red chile pods
4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons diced yellow onion
1 tablespoon crushed chile pequin
1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried Mexican oregano
3 pounds thick boneless shoulder pork chops
Instructions
Heat shortening in a Dutch oven, and sauté garlic until browned.
Remove the seeds and stems from the chile pods. Rinse chiles in large mixing bowl and drain.
Place moistened chiles on baking sheet and toast carefully in the oven for 5 minutes. They do not need to be completely dried out.
Remove from the oven then let cool.
Add half of the chiles into a blender, and puree with 2 cups warm water. Pour into Dutch oven with previously browned garlic and repeat with the other half of the chiles.
Add the remaining ingredients to the chile (garlic salt, oregano, onion, chile pequin)and let boil on a medium-high heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken but should remain a little soupy.
Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Remove the fat from the pork and cut the meat into 3/4 inch cubes. Stir pork into the chile sauce and let marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
The following day, heat oven to 300 degrees F. Use butter to coat large baking dish, so it doesn’t stick.
Add the marinated carne adovada with sauce into baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 3 hours, stirring once at an hour and a half into baking. At 2 1/2 hours, remove foil (to thicken sauce).
They cannot afford to maintain it and they cannot afford the aircraft for it. It serves no purpose other than to be the world’s most expensive royal yacht. In fact, nobody understands why they wanted an aircraft carrier to begin with since Thailand has no need for overseas force projection. It is the ultimate example of a white elephant.
To conclude, Thailand has too many aircraft carriers, because even just one is too many for them.
It is becoming increasingly clear to more and more people in the West that something has gone terribly wrong with the Ukraine project. Predictions and projections didn’t pan out and the West doesn’t seem to know what to do. The Russian economy wasn’t a house of cards as predicted, Russian weapons weren’t inferior as predicted, Russian soldiers and commanders weren’t incompetent as predicted, and Russian technology wasn’t inferior as predicted.
In some respects the Russians even seem to be superior to the West. Their weapons are effective and in many cases outright technologically superior, as clearly demonstrated by their hypersonic missiles, SAM systems and electronic warfare systems. Their economy appears to be surprisingly advanced and diversified and based on real wealth creation rather than financialization and debt like the West’s. Their strategic and tactical thinking also seems to work, while the West‘s clearly doesn‘t.
The whole mess is often explained as a result of a miscalculation by the western elites – they underestimated Russia and overestimated the West. The situation, however, is far worse than that. Every day that passes reveals the impotence of the West more and more and the situation is becoming outright humiliating. At this point the rest of the world either shakes their heads or simply laughs at the West and its politicians and diplomats – not to mention its crazed populations.
The dysfunction of the West is far deeper than just the situation around the Ukraine project. It’s absolutely everywhere. The West can’t do diplomacy in general, it can’t run its cities or countries except into the ground, its high-tech projects fail almost as a rule, its infrastructure is crumbling, its economies are crumbling, and all public policies seem to have a civilizational suicide as a final goal. The West’s control mechanisms over the rest of the world are also crumbling, including the dollar, sanctions, color revolutions, military interventions and threats. Nothing seems to work and everything the West does seems to make things worse.
Any rational person upon hearing a western leader, diplomat or “expert” speak, asks himself this question: “Are they just lying or are they really this incompetent and delusional?” The answer is “both” but the incompetence factor is far greater than most people can imagine.
Why has this happened? It’s clear that the cause is far deeper than the deindustrialization of the West or economic problems in general. The economy doesn’t explain the incredible incompetence shown by the West before and during the war in Ukraine.
I suggest that the cause of this unfolding disaster is a serious structural problem in the West – which Russia seems to have largely avoided. This structural problem is a necessary condition for the current western system and has been purposely created to bring it about and maintain it. This problem is the subject of this article – as well as the “mechanism” behind it. This is unfortunately a long article, but the subject matter demands it.
Human capital and its properties
The current ideologically-based power structure of the West outright requires that certain types of people be in positions of influence and certain types of people be sidelined. This applies to all steps of the social ladder; from kindergarten teachers to university teachers and corporate executives, and all the way up to the leaders of society itself. This has been progressing steadily for the last five decades or so, and has resulted in a major structural problem for the West. That problem is the obvious and massive degradation and misallocation of human capital in the West.
Human capital can be described as the quality of a company’s or nation’s workforce, or more specifically how competent the employee pool is – how well they are trained, how quickly they can be trained, how they are educated in general, and how they make decisions. In order to understand what competence really means, let’s define it further.
Competence can be described as specific or general. This distinction is extremely important and must be understood by anyone who attempts to manage human capital on a small or large scale.
Specific competence is the ability to do a certain type of work. This can be carpentry, coding, chemistry, medicine, piloting an airliner, and so on and so forth. Some of these types of jobs may require a lot of competence, training and intelligence, but what they have in common is that their scope is limited and clearly defined. They exist within clear boundaries, separate from the complexities and vagueness of the world in general. Each type of work requires certain abilities innate in the person, as well as varying degrees of training. People, of course, differ a lot in their level of specific competence within each field.
General or high-level competence is the ability to do work that is beyond clearly defined boundaries. The subject matter of those types of work exists in a complex “variable universe” and can be exceedingly vague and confusing. It requires the ability to be adaptive and be able to transfer skills between different types of work. This also applies to expertise in one field being applied to a completely different field – such as applying psychology to economics or astrophysics to climate science.
Examples of positions requiring general or high-level competence people are corporate executives, all kinds of planners and administrators, product developers, inventors, high-level consultants and analysts, military leaders and planners, diplomats, judges, political leaders, and high-level scientists and theoreticians, to name a few.
Specific and general competence types of work are not two separate things. Types of work or “jobs” can be said to range from almost completely specific up to almost completely general. Almost all types of work have elements of both but in varying proportions. To illustrate this I will take an example from a company I’m personally familiar with. This is a software company with several owners, most of whom work at the company. One of the owners is an exceptionally competent database specialist. However, when he contributes to decision making for the company as a whole, he becomes an outright problem. The management structure of the company had to be “modified” to neutralize him in that role, as well as a few others. This employee has exceptional specific competence but very poor general competence. He cannot “transfer” his specific database competence over to competence in moving the company into the future. He simply cannot operate objectively or sensibly outside his database job.
So what makes this employee have such poor general competence – or more specifically – what is general competence? General competence requires three necessary conditions: a) High general intelligence or IQ, b) the ability to be objective, even in situations where the result of your conclusions may not be to your liking, and c) the ability to reach conclusions without being influenced by others (i.e. independent thinking). The latter two conditions are a direct result of how the human brain interacts with the environment. The mechanism behind it is too complicated to describe here, but in simplistic terms it can be said that humans range in their relationship with reality from the emotional-outward/subjective to the introspective/objective. This variable, like all evolutionary traits, including IQ, is normally distributed. This has rather disturbing implications which may be difficult for some people to understand.
Let’s first look at IQ, or general intelligence. In order to be able to deal with seriously complicated work or get through a real university program, an IQ of about 125 is necessary. Only about 5% of the population in the West has this IQ or higher. This means that the pool of potentially high-level competence people is very small to begin with. Even if we use a cut-off of an IQ of 115, which is sufficient for most semi-complicated work, the potential pool only goes up to 16% of the population.
Now let’s take a look at the other variables, i.e. objectivity and independent thinking. Those two are correlated and we will, for the sale of convenience, handle them as the same variable or trait, even though they aren’t. They are normally distributed, much like IQ, with most in the middle and fewer toward the extremes in both directions. On one side of the distribution are people who, to state it bluntly, are incapable of thinking objectively about any issues that may interact with their personal views about anything at all. They can be competent in a limited field which is “neutral” to them (such as databases), but not involving anything else. They can’t run a company in a competitive environment, except into the ground. They can’t run a city, a country, a military campaign, an economy, or anything requiring general competence, except into the ground, regardless of their intelligence. These people are clearly not suitable for general/high-level competence jobs.
So, what is the proportion of the population that is objective enough and independent thinkers enough to be suitable for those jobs? That’s difficult to determine but it’s clear that it is maximum 50% of the population. In reality it’s far less but let’s be generous and say it’s 30%. What does that mean?
IQ and objectivity/independent thinking are somewhat correlated but let’s assume they are not. Let’s say that we have a pool of potentially objective and rational people that is 30% and a pool of people with IQ of 125 that is 5%. That means that the pool of high-level general competence people is 5% of 30%, or 1.5% of the population.
If we are really generous and assume that 50% of the population is objective and rational and an IQ of 115 is sufficient for those jobs, then we have 16% of 50%, which is a pool of 8% of the population.
The importance of this cannot be overstated. This group, whether we define it as 1.5% of the population or 8% of the population, is extremely valuable. This is essentially the only group in society that can reliably evaluate complex situations and make subsequent rational decisions. Without it, modern technological society simply cannot be built or maintained – let alone advanced. Let me rephrase this – if we do not identify and utilize this group, we cannot run our complicated societies except into the ground.
The western purging of competence
Modern western society is from a governance standpoint ideologically motivated and ideologically controlled. It is being pushed in a very clearly defined ideological direction, led by the European Union and the current US administration. This ideology is not the subject matter of this article, but it can be seen everywhere by any rational and independent-thinking person. For the uninformed-curious a good place to start is the website of the EU’s policy-making body; the World Economic Forum.
In order to achieve these ideological goals for the West, two things must happen: a) The right people must be put into power at all levels of society and b) any disruptive elements must be eliminated or suppressed. Since all ideological goals tend to be more or less in conflict with reality, there is no group more disruptive to them than the one who operates objectively and independently. People like that simply cannot be allowed into positions of power, and if they must be, they must be kept quiet and/or forced to toe the line.
The objective/rational/general competence group, whether it is 1.5% or 8% of the population, therefore becomes a problem rather than a resource. This is exactly the situation in the West today.
Many people have noticed that meritocracy has been systematically abandoned in the West and the relationship between competence and reward severed in giant swaths of the economy – and almost completely in government. What few people seem to realize is that this is a necessity for the West’s ideological goals to be reached. High-level competence cannot be promoted because it is a threat. It cannot therefore be rewarded.
In order to illustrate this, let’s take a look at what happens when a member of the 1.5% is allowed to gain significant power. Elon Musk is a smart man, probably with an IQ of 150 or more. He is also quite objective and realistic in his assessments, and an independent thinker. His ownership and governance of Twitter/X is a major problem for western ideological goals. Free speech is an obvious threat to any ideology and, to rub salt in the wounds, Musk belittled the guardians of the Ideology at Twitter by making fun of them, then by firing them all and only keeping the competent ones. This cannot be allowed to stand and we can already see the response. The EU is planning to use force to stop this affront to the Ideology and may actually block Twitter in Europe. Ideological champion (and suspected lizard robot) Mark Zuckerberg was even instructed to cook up an ideologically pure Twitter copy in response – but seems to have failed. We eagerly await further responses, which may range from lawfare up to more “direct” actions, and will most likely be directed at Musk personally.
The reconfiguring of western education
As previously noted, two things must happen for the ideological goals to become reality: The right people must be promoted and the wrong people must be suppressed. This process of elevation/suppression has become the main goal of the western education system – all the way from kindergarten up to university. If we look at what the education system has been doing, this becomes extremely obvious. Here are a few examples:
Evaluation of competence is being systematically degraded to avoid comparison between the competent and the incompetent. Exams are being discarded in favor of constant “projects” and students work in groups so the incompetent may hide. Schools avoid testing the individual directly as much as they can – and thereby comparing him to others. The competent ones must not be encouraged, and if at all possible, they themselves must not realize that they are above others.
Universities are increasingly basing admittance on other criteria than competence, including quotas based on non-competence variables. The most insidious selection method is the “personal essay” which applicants must submit – and is sometimes even more important than grades. All applicants know that the more they signal virtue in the essay, the more likely they are to be admitted. On the basis of the essay, the universities can pick the ideologically pure – which is the only purpose of the essay requirement to begin with.
Almost every academic subject is being turned from the objective to the subjective to assist the irrational-incompetent student. This even applies to hard subjects such as mathematics – where nowadays 2+2 doesn’t necessarily equal 4. Even intelligence is now subjective and the stupid can be as smart as the intelligent – it’s just a question of perspective, the right measuring tools, and idiotic inventions such as “emotional intelligence.”
Almost every subject has been made easier than before to help the incompetent students and even critical fields such as medicine are now graduating people who are utterly incompetent and clueless – on a large scale. This systematic lowering of standards also has the added benefit of creating disinterest in smart and rational students. A smart student performs better and better relative to others as the subject gets harder. If the subject is easy or made uninteresting, he will sink down to mediocracy – which is a part of the purpose of lowering the standards to begin with.
Disciplines which may be a threat to the irrationality of the Ideology have been massively subverted and corrupted. This applies to several fields, but particularly to psychology and history, which in their proper forms would be a massive threat to western ideological goals. Psychology has been twisted into an almost unrecognizable abomination, and history is mostly just lies these days.
Fake disciplines have been invented from the ground up for the purpose of training the ideologically pure without the need for competence or intelligence or any connection to reality. These disciplines can be found in lists of “most useless university degrees” all over the internet, but that is a misunderstanding. Those degrees are not useless at all – they elevate the ideologically pure in society by awarding them university “certification.” This certification justifies giving them important positions in society.
I could go on but you get the picture. What we are looking at here is not the failure of the western education system, but a very carefully planned “pivoting” toward new objectives. The primary purpose of the education system is no longer education. The entire education system of the West has been reconfigured to carry out a “filtration” process. The purpose of this process is to identify, instruct and elevate the ideologically pure while suppressing the dangerous 1.5/8 group. The education system, particularly the universities, has largely abandoned real education and is almost solely focused on this mission. This mission is not just carried out by the education system, but by all institutions of governments and a large part of the corporate sector. A side-result of this filtration process is the degradation of all education in the West, and subsequently, degradation of its human capital in general.
Western society, in general, has abandoned rationality and replaced it with subjectivism (formally designated as “post-modernism”). The purpose of that is not just to train and advance the ideologically pure, but to use subjectivism as an oppression tool against the 1.5/8 group and the rational part of the population outside of it. The best way to suppress a rational person is to subject him to an existence of total and constant irrationality. It is essentially gaslighting on a civilizational scale, directed at the dangerous rational group.
While the dangerous rational group is being suppressed and subverted, the ideologically pure “leaders of tomorrow” are indoctrinated rather than educated, given university certifications rather than real degrees, and finally provided with an unending amount of fake and well paid jobs in both the private and public sector. This well-paid ideologically pure group then becomes the power base of the new ideological system.
The upward migration of the incompetent
The goal of this deliberate intervention into the educational system is to create what you might call a “migration pattern” in society based on (lack of) competence and ideological purity. The right people need to be put into the right positions and the right jobs, and since they are incompetent, this needs to be managed for them. After they leave school with their certifications, government and the private sector take over and actively push them upward, while pushing the dreaded 1.5/8 group away from influence and well-paid jobs.
Two developments in the West have been godsends for these efforts: the outsourcing of western manufacturing to Asia and the virtual abolition of competition in the corporate sector. This massively decreased the complexity level of the western economy and subsequently the need for the 1.5/8 group. When most companies operate services in a protected environment, there is far less need for high-level/rational people – while in a “real economy” these people simply cannot be sidelined. Also, when you can get away with operating a fake economy based on the dollar reserve status, you can also operate a fake society run by incompetents.
Let’s take a closer look at how this upward migration of the ideologically pure is managed after they receive their university certifications – and how the 1.5/8 group is systematically blocked. There are five main methods being employed – which together form a long-term takeover process of society. These methods are the following:
Public sector filtering
Public sector stuffing
Job-creation by decree
Private sector filtering
Private sector stuffing
Public sector filtering – This describes the job selection process in the public sector. Initially the “foot-in-the-door” method is used. A few ideologically pure politicians and bureaucrats position themselves within the system and start controlling who is hired. This increases exponentially over the decades as more and more purists gain access to the levers of power. Currently the process is so overt that it is starting to become expressed in recruitment policy papers – such as the recent example of the British government excluding “white men” from becoming fighter pilots. The West has almost completely been able to exclude the 1.5/8 group from public-sector positions using this method – including its armed forces.
Public sector stuffing – As the public sector filtering process advances, the purists inside the system start creating more and more positions for their purist brethren. New departments are created, work groups and committees appear, and the public sector expands. Publicly owned companies, such utility companies, hospitals and schools are also often used as storage units for large numbers of the ideologically pure. This is extremely obvious in the West. Every unnecessary law or initiative requires more and more people – and these people are all carefully selected.
Job-creation by decree – This method is directed at the private sector, as well as the semi-public sector. Government purists start creating new laws and standards which all companies must fulfill. Those are justified on the basis of “goodness” and usually involve the environment, equality, safety and such things. This creates a large number of positions within private companies which are tailored for the ideologically pure – particularly in support functions such as human resources, compliance functions and others. This enables a “foot-in-the-door” situation in the private sector and gives the purists access to the levers of powers there – much like they already have in the public sector.
Private sector filtering – As the purists have gained access to the private sector – particularly human resources (which is the standard purist Trojan horse in private companies) – they start filtering new recruits exactly the same way the public sector does. As in the public sector, this filtering process is becoming more obvious. A significant number of companies are now specifying which groups will not be hired in their job advertisements. Since they can’t overtly say “we don’t hire smart, independent thinkers” they usually use “white men” as a proxy for that group for some reason. That group is considered to be a particular threat, although you can be sure that anyone who doesn’t follow the program will be fired, regardless of their gender or the color of their skin.
Private sector stuffing – Shortly after Elon Musk bought Twitter he fired something like 80% of its employees. That 80% was the company’s private sector stuffing ratio – quite high. Companies, particularly in sectors which can influence public opinion – but not solely, are increasingly creating a large number of positions which are either totally superfluous or intended for influence operations against the public.
Those filtering and stuffing methods are the primary mechanisms that have been used for the takeover of western societies by the ideologically pure. There are other mechanisms, such as ESG, filtering by certain banks and investment funds regarding who gets financing and who doesn’t – and the uncontrolled immigration engineered by the ideologically pure which is seen by them as a continuation of the internal migration process. However, all that is beyond the scope of this article.
The ideologically pure have systematically been moved into almost all positions of power in the public sector and a large part of the private sector – and the situation in the private sector is increasingly mirroring the public sector in hiring practices and employee stuffing. The dangerous 1.5/8 group is being kept away by all means, and with great success. The power base of the Ideology is firmly in place.
This job migration program hasn’t been cheap. Millions of unnecessary jobs cost money and it is clear that a significant part of western public debt can be attributed to this program, a fact which doesn’t seem to have been noticed by many people.
The consequences
The main thing to understand is that western societies and economies have been put on an ideological footing. Productivity, competitiveness, technology and science are simply not priorities anymore in the West. Explaining the consequences of this process for the West would take many articles, or a book of several hundred pages. Still, let’s mention a few examples.
The inverse competence crisis – The goal of this entire project has been to place the ideologically pure in all positions of power at all levels of society. These positions are, in a normal and competitive society, occupied by the highly competent 1.5/8 group. The process has now reached near-completion with most positions of power occupied by the ideologically pure. Some of those people have high IQs but they are neither objective nor independent thinkers. The Ideology they must subscribe to is simply incompatible with those qualities. This has some serious consequences.
Remember that positions of power and influence are more likely to demand general competence than other positions (as opposed to specific competence). The greater the power, the more the position demands general competence. The people in these positions now are selected by ideological fervor and reliability – so the higher you go, the more ideologically enthusiastic the people who hold them. This means that the least objective and independent thinking people hold the positions which require the greatest objectivity and independent thinking. Therefore, in the West incompetence becomes greater and more common the higher you go. As someone said – “a general is an incompetent colonel.” This can be seen absolutely everywhere except in some holdout private companies. Those exceptions are of course being addressed as we speak.
The second problem is that many of the irrational/subjective people holding all the power have reasonably high IQs. That may seem to be a positive thing but it has a major disadvantage. Moderate to high IQ irrational/subjective people are the easiest to brainwash of all people. The reasons for that are complicated and need to be addressed in another article – but what this means is that the top tier in the West is not only the most incompetent it can possibly be in comparison to what their jobs require – but are also the most malleable and delusional.
The cost and debt crisis – The migration of the ideologically pure into the ideological power base and positions of influence has created millions of jobs in western societies which create no value. These jobs are much more numerous and more widespread than most people realize, and I wouldn’t be surprised if something like 20%-30% of the entire labor force of the West could be fired without any adverse effect. In fact, the effect would be positive, especially if those people could be made to work the (mostly menial) real-economy jobs they are suitable for.
Deindustrialization has been blamed for the extreme debt levels and tax burdens of the West. That is, as far as it goes, true – but maintaining this giant group of incompetents in their fake jobs is also placing an extreme burden on the West. Western societies are now completely unsustainable and cannot be run without constant debt increase.
The competition crisis – This crisis can be explained by the following example: Let’s say there are three companies with combined 100% market share in some sector. There is no real competition between them and everybody can just relax because the customers can’t go anywhere else. These companies can get away with absolute incompetence on most levels, including in management. They don’t need to think about efficiency, safety, productivity or costs, except on their websites and in annual reports. However, if a competitor with competent employees manages to infiltrate the sector, those three companies will hit a wall. There will be an enormous crisis and one or more of them will most likely go under.
This is exactly the situation in the western economies now. Monopoly and oligopoly is the rule and the main objective of most large western companies is to prevent anyone from infiltrating their sector – usually by bribing regulators or by buying the competition. This is a necessity because a huge number of western companies are now run by incompetent management and staffed by incompetent people, particularly in support and management functions. The immortal words of the nameless Boeing employee about the 737 MAX apply to most large western companies; “this airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys.” Western companies are no longer competitive. They cannot compete with Chinese companies now and soon they won’t be able to compete with companies in general outside the West. They simply can’t function except inside an economic safe-space. In fact, the situation is such that the Chinese already do the real work for many of them and reshoring the work is problematic because of (surprise!) the human capital degradation in the West caused by the repurposing of its education system.
This also applies to western societies as a whole. The entire leadership and diplomatic classes of the West are no longer competitive against the rest of the world for exactly these reasons. They are being outmaneuvered by the Chinese, the Russians, the Indians, and everybody else at every turn. Even African leaders are now more competent than western leaders. They have consistently made decisions that are better for their people than leaders in the West – for the last few years anyway.
The complexity crisis – Earlier in this article I stated that the 1.5/8 group is extremely valuable for modern societies and without it complicated modern societies cannot be managed. In the West this group has been successfully sidelined to a great degree and a good part of it doesn’t even bother with university education anymore. The situation, however, is even worse than that. The reconfiguration of the education system and the break between competence and reward in the job market has fundamentally changed the decision making process behind the selection of university education. Why study engineering (which is hard) when you can get an even better paying job with a degree in psychology (which is easy nowadays)? The reconfiguration of the western education system has changed the reward structure, encouraging young people to pursue easy and useless education – simply because the “system” will provide them with jobs.
This has already caused a major crisis in western societies, particularly in the US. The “maintenance” of complex aspects of US society needs a large group of engineers and people with related education. This maintenance is faltering now, and significantly relies on foreign engineers educated in US universities. You see, why would Americans study engineering in a system which doesn’t reward it? If China and India could somehow recall their engineers and others with hard education from the US, the US system could probably not be maintained, let alone advanced. This will get progressively worse and we will soon reach a point where complex systems which underpin society cannot be kept running. That will require some kind of “reset” to a less complex society, with less prosperity of course.
There are far more crises than those four, but I wouldn’t want to sound like a doomsayer by listing more.
Russia and the future
So, what about Russia? Firstly, there are clear signs that the Russians have figured out what is happening in the West and are learning from it. Recently they left the “Bologna process” which is a European education standardization system. The Bologna system has the express purpose of diluting education in member states, implementing certifications rather than real degrees, and filling European societies with badly educated and generally incompetent “experts” who follow the consensus, no matter what. The Russians saw this system as a threat to their country, which it is, and have, at least partly, reverted to the older and more hardcore Soviet system.
Secondly, the Russians seem to be carrying out purges of the incompetent and corrupt within state structures, including the military. Meritocracy seems to be on the agenda, a radical concept these days. The Russians most likely see these efforts as critical to the continuation of their state and nation – and they would be right.
The situation in China is much the same and there are indications that the rest of the non-western world is catching on. Remember that one of the results of the recent Russia-Africa summit was a Russian-organized education effort in Africa. I doubt that women’s studies will be a part of that curriculum.
The current clash between the West and Russia – and increasingly between the West and the rest of the world – is becoming a clash between the incompetent and irrational and the competent and rational. The result is obvious – but what happens when an irrational person who is backed into a corner has access to nuclear weapons? That’s anybody’s guess.
By putting its societies on an ideological footing the western elite has backed itself into a corner. They can’t compete; they can’t develop their economies or societies; and they can’t go back. Fixing the problems of the West will require an economic revival, where a real economy will replace the current fake financialized service economy. This cannot be done without putting the hated 1.5/8 group into positions of power. Therefore, it will not be done as long as the current western ruling class is in power. Western societies will not survive an economic revival in their current ideological configuration. Conflict is therefore the only remaining option for the ruling class to hang on to power.
Indonesia Is Picking China Over US ; Giving The Right To Power
The US and China have taken two distinct paths for economic development: the US and the west have chosen financialization, de-industrialization and de-regulation, while China has chosen industrialization.
In the US economy, the largest sector is services, and in services, finance is largest. Finance is mainly about moving money and over time, it does not require that money. This means a large portion of the population becomes unemployed, and wealth flows to the top where wealth is concentrated. With de-regulation, capital is free to seek return anywhere. Under this system, capital becomes more important than the welfare of individuals.
Hong Kong’s economy is dominated by finance; it closely followed the US in economics. This video explains what happened to Hong Kong; the same applies to the US economy:
The great irony about China is that although it is run by a Communist party, it is much more middle-class friendly than the US is. The government understands that China’s future depends on a robust middle-class, and it does not allow the consumer middle class to be eroded the way it was in the US. Unlike the US, the Chinese government believes that finance should be a service to assist manufacturing, not the dominant sector of the economy.
The reason the US does not have good infrastructure now is because Americans voted for low taxes and a weak government and de-regulation; this resulted in capital being in the hands of a very wealthy ruling class, while the rest have to be pleased with the crumbs which fall under the table.
China has a larger and more powerful government which spends it money on infrastructure, and this modern infrastructure investment shows.
Americans chose weak government, and it shows. Now they are paying the price of their choice when it comes to competing with China.
Top 5 Lessons From A 10 Year Journey To Becoming Disciplined
No one becomes disciplined overnight. It’s a lifetime journey.
I think there’s way too much emphasis placed on “motivation” and “willpower.” Instead, I think it’s better to understand how human behavior works, and use it to your advantage.
Here are the five most important things I’ve learned about becoming more disciplined, and I hope it helps you.
Win the Morning, Win the Day
It’s a big challenge to have a productive day – That’s 24 hours. It can become overwhelming!
Instead, I only focus on two things.
I make sure I have a good night’s sleep. If I don’t sleep well, then I’m not on my A game the next day.
This means I go to bed early, I avoid screens at night, I make the room colder, etc.
Next, instead of trying to have a productive day…I laser focus on my mornings. If I get the first hour right, then the rest of my day will go smoothly.
This means a solid morning routine.
Mine is roughly wake up, use restroom, drink 20oz water, and walk my dog. That’s it. It looks simple but I’m hydrating myself, getting some exercise, and getting some sunlight.
Now I have energy to crush the rest of the day.
Vs imagine starting the day late, checking your phone for an hour, fapping, and then starting work.
It’s about starting your day with MOMENTUM.
Manipulate Your Environment
Make it easier for yourself if you want to DO an action. Make it harder for yourself if you want to AVOID an action.
I use to play my PS4 a lot more than I should. It’d be lunch time and I’d go over to my living room and play a few quick games. A 15-minute break would turn into two hours.
How did I stop? In the morning I’d simply unplug my PS4, and put it in my closet. I increased the “resistance.”
I used my phone as my alarm clock for a period of time. I’d wake up and immediately start checking my social media / reddit. That would turn into an hour, and I’d start my day distracted.
Now I use a standard alarm clock. I turn off my phone the night before and I don’t turn it back on until lunch time the next day.
I’m able to control my behavior because I slightly increase the resistance.
You can also DECREASE the resistance. I was moving to a new city and going to the gym was important to me. One of my criterias for my apartment was to have one with a really nice gym.
Before I struggled going to the gym because it was a 30 minute drive. I only went twice a week. Now I have a place that’s in my Condo. I go to the gym 5 times a week.
Nothing’s changed except the resistance.
Start Small
I’ve noticed on the internet that people literally want to change their lives overnight. That’s not the way things work.
It’s like being able to bench 100lbs and expecting to bench 1000lbs the next day. It takes time.
Don’t have an all or nothing mentality.
A few years ago I started meditating. I told myself, “I’m going to meditate 30 minutes a day!”
That’s challenge.
For the next six months I’d only hit my goal maybe 5 times a month, and I’d keep beating myself up.
And then I decided to start small. My goal was to meditate 1 minute a day. I did that. The small wins kept me motivated. That turned into 5 minutes, and now it’s 10 minutes a day.
So for the past few years I’ve meditated consistently 10 minutes a day. I checked my Calm app and I’ve logged over 200 hours of meditation.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s ok to start small.
Think of your discipline ability as a muscle. If you’ve never done an act before then your muscle is small. Small muscles gets small goals!
Keep Score
What gets measured, gets results.
If you don’t keep score then how do you know if you’re winning or not? Keep score and make it specific.
I always avoided keeping score in the past. I think deep down I was afraid of knowing that I wasn’t putting in my best effort.
Don’t say meditate in the morning as a goal. HOW LONG?
As far as trackers…don’t overcomplicated it. I like HabitBull on SmartPhones. Creating your own spreadsheet is great too.
Score can mean different things depending on your goal.
If you’re trying to save money, then track how much you’re spending on a weekly basis. If you’re trying to gain weight then track your macros. If you’re trying to read more books, then track how many minutes a day you spend reading.
A common excuse is that it takes too much time…
Keeping track of my macros takes 3 minutes a day using myfitnesspal. I keep track of every penny spent using YNAB and it takes me 10 minutes a month.
You know what takes too much time? Putting in a lot of effort and not getting any results.
Is it Optional, or is it a Non-Negotiable?
What does a non-negotiable mean? It means it has to be done no matter what.
A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to do Yoga everyday for 20 minutes. I was trying to figure out where I could get it in my schedule.
I then asked myself, how important is this? Well it’s important to me because of x, x, and x.
Then why not turn it into a non-negotiable?
That means I have to do it no matter what. I think of it like life or death. Someone has a gun to my head and if I don’t do it everyday, then I’m dead. That’s non-negotiable.
In practical terms that means I do Yoga first thing in the morning, before I start work. It means I’m not allowed to sleep and call it a day unless I do Yoga.
Guess what? I’d done it 30 days in a row because I have this attitude.
It’s not optional.
This Cat’s Love For Her Owner Is Everything We Needs
A smile for the day.
Bad “news” on Gonzalo
I was given a vision “snapshot” on late Sunday 6AUG23. I saw Gonzalo Lira. He was dead. Like, really dead. On a slab/table/gurney.
Is this real, or my imagination?
I don’t know. It came out of the blue, and surprised me.
I don’t know what it means. Was my ELF probes hacked? Is it a message from the DC, or just some entities fucking with me.
I. Do. Not. Know.
My mind tells me that Gonzalo is probably performing a “red herring” and actually has other plans. Slipping into Belarus, or going to the Chinese embassy in Ukraine. I don’t know.
But if he was stopped and picked up, he probably (more likely than not) be arrested and transported to court with additional charges.
It is unlikely that he was killed if this was the case. You get, and jail him. Tack on some additional time to his sentence. 5 – 8 years at hard labor sucks, but is not as bad as he thinks. I did five years at hard labor, and I survived. And I was 50 at the time. So, now, you tack on an additional 4 years.
So, my mind tells me that his death is truly unlikely.
Yet…
My vision? Another story. And I always question my “visions” as there’s a lot of “noise” that clouds things up and you at best, you might get a general idea of things, but you don’t know the importance as the time track is often missing.
I hope that he is fine.
And I’m sure that we will hear something, one way or the other.
Make no mistake. The Ukraine war is United States driven.
American “news”…
Silly stuff
Really silly.
China “acting” like a Global Power. Say what?
Chinese credit system
The social credit system in China is premised on an assumption that everyone starts equally … at zero.
From then on, it is the decisions that they make that increase or decrease their social credit scores, and consequences follow in the form of rewards, incentives, disincentives or punishments.
The system exists in China in the way it does because it presumes everyone from the President down has an equal interest in the social, financial and economic stability and security it aims to provide.
It has nothing to do with whatever physical attributes they are born with, and physical attributes are not a good criterion on which to base economic, social or legal equality, or access to goods and services whether public or private.
You’d deny a child the right to an education because that child is smaller than other children of the same age?
Equal opportunity is premised on the notion that people should have equal legal access to resources.
Access is not incumbent on their physical appearance or attributes (or lack of particular attributes) or on past social, economic or legal background or decision-making, depending on the context.
Hoobastank – The Reason (Official Music Video)
BULLETIN: UK To Send Depleted Uranium Ammunition to Ukraine
United Kingdom Deputy Minister of Defense Annabelle Goldie publicly stated today that the UK will supply Ukraine with Depleted Uranium (DU) Ammunition for some of the weapons systems supplied by NATO. Russia has previously warned the use of Depleted Uranium will be considered an attack by a “Dirty Nuke” and will result in a nuclear response.
Annabel MacNicoll Goldie, Baroness Goldie DL (born 27 February 1950) is a Scottish politician and life peer who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2005 to 2011 and has served as Minister of State for Defence since 2019. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), as one of the additional members for the West Scotland region, from 1999 to 2016.
DEPLETED URANIUM AMMUNITION
The use of DU in munitions is controversial because of long-term health effects. Normal functioning of the kidney, brain, liver, heart, and numerous other systems can be affected by exposure to uranium, a toxic metal. It is only weakly radioactive because of the long radioactive half-life of Uranium (4.468 × 109 or 4,468,000,000 years) and the low amounts of 234 U (half-life about 246,000 years) and 235 U (half-life 700 million years).
The biological half-life (the average time it takes for the human body to eliminate half the amount in the body) for uranium is about 15 days. The aerosol or spallation frangible powder produced by impact and combustion of depleted uranium munitions can potentially contaminate wide areas around the impact sites, leading to possible inhalation by human beings.
The actual level of acute and chronic toxicity of DU is also controversial. Several studies using cultured cells and laboratory rodents suggest the possibility of leukemogenic, genetic, reproductive, and neurological effects from chronic exposure. According to an article in Al Jazeera, DU from American artillery is suspected to be one of the major causes of an increase in the general mortality rate in Iraq since 1991.
A 2005 epidemiology review concluded: “In aggregate the human epidemiological evidence is consistent with increased risk of birth defects in offspring of persons exposed to DU.” A 2021 study concluded that DU from exploding munitions did not lead to Gulf War illness in American veterans deployed in the Gulf War. According to 2013 study, despite the use of DU by coalition forces in Fallujah, no DU has been found in soil samples taken from the city, although another study of 2011 had indicated elevated levels of uranium in tissues of the city inhabitants.
RUSSIA EXPLICITLY WARNED AGAINST THIS
On January 25, this web site reported that Konstantin Gavrilov, the head of the Russia Delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has just publicly thrown down the nuclear gauntlet to the collective west, in an official statement:
Gavrilov said that he has been instructed by his government to announce “We know that the Leopard-2 tank, as well as the Bradley and Marder infantry fighting vehicles, are armed with uranium-core armor-piercing projectiles, the use of which leads to [radioactive] contamination of the area, as happened in Yugoslavia and Iraq.
If such shells are delivered to Kyiv, we will consider this as the use of dirty nuclear bombs against Russia, with all the ensuing consequences.” (Original Story HERE)
UPDATE 12:58 PM EDT — URGENT —
Russian President Putin stated today that Russia will “Directly Respond” to the U.K. if they decide to send Depleted Uranium Rounds to Ukraine. (i.e. If The UK sends Uranium over here, we will send Uranium over there.)
During a Joint Press Conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Putin said “Russia will have to react accordingly, bearing in mind the collective west is already beginning use use weapons with a nuclear component.”
RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER: THERE ARE FEWER AND FEWER STEPS LEFT TOWARDS A NUCLEAR COLLISION – TASS
UPDATE 2:10 PM EDT —
Russia and China issued a statement from Moscow: “There will be no winner if a nuclear war breaks out.”
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Baked Spaghetti Pie
Ingredients
2 pounds spaghetti
2 pounds ricotta cheese
1/2 cup whole milk
3 large eggs
1 pound ground beef
1 pound spicy Italian sausage
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
1 pound Provolone cheese, sliced thin
1/2 cup Romano cheese, grated
Instructions
Heat oven to 475 degrees F.
In a large pan, boil spaghetti for 20 minutes; drain and set aside.
Mix ricotta, milk and eggs together in a small bowl; add to spaghetti and stir together.
Press into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan until compact and even.
Cook ground beef and sausage in a large skillet.
Drain fat, removing as much as possible.
Stir in spaghetti sauce. Spread evenly over spaghetti base in pan.
Layer slices of Provolone over meat mixture, then add the grated Romano on top of that.
In remarks prepared for the American Bankers Association, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. banking system is “sound” but more rescue arrangements “could be warranted” if new failures at smaller institutions pose a risk to financial stability. here’s the “rub” . . .
Yellen’s small bank comments were released under embargo at 7am. Treasury wanted them out before markets opened, as Yellen speech isn’t until 10am.
That tells everyone that Yellen and company still see the ongoing Banking “crisis” as dangerous, and they are deliberately trying to calm markets.
Trouble is, Jerome Powell over at the Federal Reserve has a meeting this week about raiding interest rates again. His choice is now stark:
Tucker: Zelenskyy is demanding you send your kids to war
Send Graham to the front lines in Ukraine immediately.
I am 61 years old today. Wow! Seems so weird even writing that. I don’t perceive myself to be 61; it’s like . . . . how did this happen? Where did all the years go? And how the heck did they go so fast?????
It’s like . . . . it all lasts only . . . . 5 minutes.
Yet here I am.
My son came up here to the Pennsylvania house last night. Arrived a little after 8:00.
He’s going to his job from here and will return here tonight after work.
I got a new Behringer MDX-2600 Audio expander/gate/compressor/peak limiter as a Birthday present from him and my wife, to replace the one that I’ve used since setting this house up as a backup broadcast facility after my mom died in November 2021.
The audio gear that I’ve been using seems to have suffered a strange but now recurring audio failure, causing audio levels to randomly change. Weird.
My son will install the new gear after work tonight.
It a little frustrating to be getting up in my years. There’s physical changes that I don’t like . . . at all.
For certain, the heart attack I suffered in April 2019, which forced me to get open heart surgery and quadruple bypasses for clogged heart arteries, was a big deal. But it was small compared to the SECOND heart attack I suffered seventeen months later, in October, 2020 after two of the four cardiac bypasses clogged with blood clots.
That second heart attack was very much worse than the first, and it was during that incident that I went into heart failure on the cardiac catheterization lab operating table, and felt myself dying.
I have told this story a number of times; I had never experienced “dying” before, yet the feeling is so utterly distinct, you KNOW IT when it’s happening. It’s not painful, or scary . . . it just . . . happens.
Thankfully, the Doc was able to fit a stent under my clogged left circumflex artery opening and restore blood flow. That artery had been bypassed but its bypass was one of the ones’ which had clogged with blood clots. So if he wasn’t able to get a stent to move arterial plaque away from the opening and restore blood flow, I would have been dead.
Fast forward to about a month ago, I felt the same types of “twinges” in my chest that I had felt before my first heart attack. I told the Doc, he scheduled me to go in for another cardiac catheterization and when they were in there, they saw that the walls of my left anterior descending artery were wilting inward and restricting blood flow. So they did angioplasty to open the artery, but when they removed the inflatable balloon, the artery walls just wilted closed again. So Doc said he had to Stent that, too.
So here I am, now having had two heart attacks, open heart surgery, and now two stents. WOW!
The leg from which they took veins to use for my bypass surgery, swells-up from time to time. Docs said the blood had to find a new way to get back to my heart after they took the vein, but for some reason, the leg swelled a little for a long time after the open heart surgery.
Then, my right knee (same leg) and right hip started deteriorating. It felt like the connective tissue that hold my muscles and ligaments to my bones, was just falling apart. So the right knee swells a lot almost every day now, and it makes it very uncomfortable to walk – especially if I have to do stairs. The hip hurts when I lay down. I don’t need this shit.
I’ve also noticed lately, I seem to be getting a bit forgetful. I’m having trouble instantly recalling proper nouns. I know the word I want to say, I just stop mid sentence to have to recall it. Weird.
Yes, I take vitamins, Co-enzyme Q-10, and Straus Heart Drops. No, I didn’t take the COVID Vax . . . and I won’t. Those so-called “vaccines” are clearly dangerous and worse, they don’t work. No one is putting that shit in me.
So with all that, I’ve attained 61 years on this planet. Not too shabby, I guess.
My marriage has changed a lot. After 31 years, it’s not so good anymore. That’s why I’m up in PA while the Mrs. is in NJ. I needed time away to figure out how to proceed.
The wife and I talk several times a day, but it’s just not good anymore.
I’m too old to bother coloring my hair to get rid of the gray, hit the gym and go out to stud. Been there, done that. It’s all “wrote” for me. Besides, my son tells me that women today, are all “nuts.”
I’ll take his word for it. The last thing I need is to go out to play the field and find myself with a psycho-slut-from-hell. Too many of them around nowadays.
Anyway, I just focus on my work and my show. Pay what few bills I have, and am doing my best to get right with God and enjoy the time I have left.
Given the way things are falling apart in our world, that may be a lot less time than any of us think!
And so it goes, this fifteenth day of March, 2023.
Orange-Rosemary Butter Glazed Pork Tenderloins
Enjoy this lean and delicious premium cut of pork drizzled with a sweet and savory citrus flavored butter. With only a handful of ingredients, it’s an uncomplicated dish that’s quick and simple to prepare and full of aromatic flavor.
Ingredients
Orange-Rosemary Butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) Challenge European Style Butter
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
Orange-Rosemary Butter: In a small bowl, mix together the orange-rosemary butter ingredients. Use immediately or chill (bring to room temperature before using).
Tenderloins: Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
With a knife, make slits in tenderloins and alternately insert garlic and orange peel slivers.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 2 Tablespoons of the butter mixture and brown tenderloins evenly for 5-10 minutes.
Place tenderloins on rack in roasting pan. Spread a teaspoon of flavored butter over each tenderloin.
Add broth to skillet drippings and stir. Pour broth/drippings into the roasting pan and roast uncovered for 20 minutes.
Spread another teaspoon of flavored butter over each tenderloin and roast for an additional 15-20 minutes or until center of tenderloin registers 155 degrees F (use meat thermometer).
Transfer pork to serving platter and cover loosely with foil. Temperature of meat should increase to 160 degrees F while standing.
Pour liquid from roasting pan back into skillet and bring to a boil, cooking until reduced by half. Whisk remaining flavored butter into liquid and simmer about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper.
BREAKING NEWS — UBS is reportedly engaged in meetings right now, SEEKING TO TERMINATE ITS DEAL TO ACQUIRE CREDIT SUISSE!
If UBS Backs out, then Credit Swiss will fail, enter Bankruptcy, and that will mean a Bulge-Bracket-Bank (a.k.a. “too big to fail”) has gone under.
The effects on the Global Financial System are, right now, incalculable. A Credit Suisse Default would trigger Credit Default Swaps, and would put the bank in DEFAULT on all its Derivative Contracts.
This could be a “Black Swan Event” that sets in motion a Domino effect, taking out BIG banks all over the world.
More details on tonight’s Hal Turner Radio Show from 9:00-11:00 PM eastern US time (GMT -0400)
China banned the export of 24 techs to the US. The more USA needs it, the less China will sell it.
The Worst Deal Ever – Australia To Pay U.S. For Nuclear Insecurity
The the last week’s review I mentioned the AUKUS deal. It was first announced in September 2021. Back then I wrote:
Yesterday the U.S., the UK and Australia announced that the latter one will buy nuclear powered submarines to do the U.S.' bidding against China.
...
This is a huge but short term win for the U.S. with an also-ran booby price for Britain and a strategic loss of sovereignty and budget control for Australia.
It is another U.S. slap into the face of France and the European Union. The deal will piss off New Zealand, Indonesia and of course China. It will upset the international nuclear non proliferation regime and may lead to the further military nuclearization of South Korea and Japan.
Australia currently has six conventional submarines. It had ordered new ones from France but scrapped that deal for AUKUS:
The price for the new submarines Australia will have to pay will be much higher that for the French ones.
Some $3 billion have already been sunk into the French contract.
France will rightfully demand additional compensation for cancelling it.
The new contract with the U.S. or UK will cost more than the French one but will only include 8 instead of 12 boats. As three boats are needed to keep one at sea (while the other two are training or in refit), the actual patrolling capacity for Australia's navy will sink from 4 to 2-3 concurrent submarines at sea.
The much higher price of the fewer more complicate boats will upset Australia's defense budget for decades to come.
I further suggested that blackmail may have played a role in the AUKUS deal.
A few day’s after the announcement there were new details publish which suggested that Australia would lease nuclear submarines from the U.S. because the new ones will take many years to build. It would upgrade Perth harbor to be able to handle nuclear propulsion boats:
Perth will thereby be build up into a base that is compatible with the likely permanent stationing of U.S. nuclear submarines.
These carry nuclear weapons.
The 'leased' boats, or at least their propulsion parts, would of course be still manned by U.S. or British sailors.
The Australians already have problems retaining crews for their existing submarines. The few that will be available for the 'leased' boats will not be enough to run them. The Australians would pay largely for the privilege of being guests on board of doubtlessly U.S. commanded submarines.
Australia’s overall position did not look well:
Australia's extraction boom fueled by China's rise is coming to an end. The country will have to cut its budget and will need to seek a new economic model.
But why did I call this a "huge but short term win" for the U.S.?
It is a win in that the U.S. has gained a submarine base in Australia and will get paid for using it. This looks well if the intent is to wage a cold war on China. It is doubtful that this is a necessary strategy and it is equally doubtful that it can be successful. The weapons manufacturers will of course still love it.
But it is a only a short term win in the sense that the U.S. will lose many of its current and potential future partners over it. It has degraded its QUAD partner India and Japan to second tier status. It has increased suspicion in Indonesia, Malaysia and even Singapore of eventual nefarious plans against them.
In May 2022 Australia elected a new parliament.
Labor replaced the Liberals in the government. It found that the new submarines and the whole deal was extremely expensive. That was the chance to bury it:
The answers are obvious. Ditch the whole AUKUS deal and buy the German U-boats.
The real reason for the deal might well have been the U.S. wish for a port and base in Australia from where it can send its own nuclear submarines to harass China.
The offer to Australia to buy nuclear submarines was likely only made to remove Australian public resistance to the stationing of nuclear submarines (with nuclear weapons) on the continent.
Australia will be better off without those.
But Anthony Albanese, the new prime minister, did not have the courage to push for ending the deal. Last week the three involved countries announced new details:
Australia’s nuclear submarine program will cost up to [AUS]$368 billion over the next three decades, with confirmation that the federal government will buy at least three American-manufactured nuclear submarines and contribute "significant additional resources" to US shipyards.
The Australian government will take three, potentially second-hand Virginia-class submarines early next decade, pending the approval of the US Congress.
There will also be an option to purchase another two under the landmark AUKUS defence and security pact, announced in San Diego this morning.
In the meantime, design and development work will continue on a brand new submarine, known as the SSN-AUKUS, "leveraging” work the British have already been doing to replace their Astute-class submarines.
That submarine — which will form the AUKUS class — would eventually be operated by both the UK and Australia, using American combat systems.
One submarine will be built every two years from the early 2040s through to the late 2050s, with five SSN-AUKUS boats delivered to the Royal Australian Navy by the middle of the 2050s.
Most curious is the buy of second hand Virgina class boats. A leasing agreement would have been much better. Nuclear driven submarines are extraordinary expensive to scarp. Their 60% enriched Uranium fuel will have to be guarded for a very long time. Australia has no experience with anything nuclear.
The former Australian prime minister Paul Keating has called the agreement the worst deal in history:
Paul Keating has labelled the $368bn Aukus nuclear submarine plan as the “worst deal in all history” and “the worst international decision” by a Labor government since Billy Hughes tried to introduce conscription.
The former Labor prime minister launched an extraordinary broadside against the Albanese government at the National Press Club on Wednesday, blasting the “incompetence” of Labor backing the decision to sign up to Aukus while in opposition and when it had “no mandate” to do so.
...
The $368bn being spent to acquire as few as eight nuclear submarines – Virginia class and next-generation SSN-Aukus submarines – was the “worst deal in all history”, he said, because it could buy 40 to 50 conventional submarines instead.
Keating also revealed that France, which lost a contract for conventional Attack class submarines in favour of Aukus, had offered “a new deal” for the “newest French nuclear submarines”.
These would require only “5% enriched uranium, not 95%, weapons grade” and came with a “firm delivery date” of 2034 at “fixed prices”, he said. The French received “no response”, Keating claimed.
James Acton, an expert a nuclear defense policy, commented on the deal:
(((James Acton))) @james_acton32 - 20:16 UTC · Mar 13, 2023
As @POTUS, @RishiSunak, and @AlboMP announce AUKUS submarine plan, here’s my assessment of the technical and proliferation risks.
BLUF: They’ve made serious efforts to mitigate those risks, but those that remain are real and significant.
Link to video of announcement
(1/n)
Here’s the plan (in brief):
1. 🇬🇧 & 🇺🇸 deploy SSNs* in🇦🇺(from 2027)
2. 🇦🇺deploys Virginia-class SSNs purchased from 🇺🇸 (from ~2032)
3. 🇦🇺deploys AUKUS SSNs, designed and produced with UK (starting in early 2040s)
*SSN=nuclear-powered attack sub.
(2/n)
...
Acton details the risks of the deal. They are huge.
Next to financial, technological and timing risks there are also the proliferation issues.
The deal is defying the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and should Australia get an exception for the deal from the IAEA others will make similar requests.
I responded Acton’s second tweet:
Moon of Alabama @MoonofA - 20:24 UTC · Mar 13, 2023
1. is what the U.S. wanted from AUKUS.
2. will be with mostly U.S. crew and under only nominal AUS command.
3. is way too costly for AUS and will never happen.
Australia will spend billions to upgrade naval base HMAS Stirling in Western Australia so the U.S. and UK can use it for their rotational stationing there. It will ‘invest’ more billions in nuclear shipyards in the U.S. and UK. It will pay billions for the Virginia class boats over which it will have little sovereignty.
Submarine designs are long complicate programs. It took 35 million labor hours design the first batch of Virginia-class boats and it took nine million labor hours to build the first one. The new SSN-AUKUS will have similar costs and issues. I for one expect that none will ever be build. Neither Australia nor the UK have the money for them.
Still – the political fallout will come from all sides.
With this deal Australia is essentially paying the U.S. an exorbitant price to confront Australia’s biggest customer, China. Its neighbors are unhappy. Indonesia is making noise about the proliferation risk as is Malaysia. Europe is miffed that Australia scrapped the deal with France and rejected the new French offer. The deal does not increase Australia’s security.
Posted by b on March 15, 2023 at 16:50 UTC | Permalink
Brine Cured Pork Roast
Ingredients
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup kosher salt or sea salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (4 to 6 pound or more) boneless pork loin tied with string
Instructions
Combine sugar and salt with 1 quart hot water and stir to dissolve.
Crack the peppercorns and fennel seeds in a mortar or on a cutting board, crushing them with the flat bottom of a heavy saucepan (or grind very, very briefly in spice grinder). Add to water along with thyme and red pepper flakes. Add 3 quarts cold water and the pork. Submerge the roast and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.
Remove from brine and dry off the pork.
If you have fresh herbs such as rosemary, tie them onto the top of the pork.
Put the meat on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.
Heat oven to 500 degrees F.
When the oven is hot, place the roast in it and lower the heat to 325 degrees F. Bake for 1 1/4 hours. Check the internal temperature to make sure it is at 160 degrees F. If the pork is cooked, remove it and let it stand 15 minutes before carving. If not, cook a few more minutes.
The U.S. pushing for WW3 using ANYTHING they can find
The US is preparing Australia to fight its war against China
The United States is not preparing to go to war against China. The United States is preparing Australia to go to war against China.
Thank you for inviting me to address the Salon. I am greatly honoured and somewhat daunted, given the long list of eminent scholars, analysts and writers who have preceded me.
I am not a “writer”, although I have written a lot during my thirty-year diplomatic career, much of it in relation to China. None of it published and most of it buried in government archives. All I can bring to the table is my personal interpretation of current developments regarding US and China, in the light of my past experience.
One of your previous speakers, Patrick Lawrence, advocated putting the main point first. So here goes:
The United States is not preparing to go to war against China.
The United States is preparing Australia to go to war against China.
The ANZUS Treaty
A look at the ANZUS Treaty and the way it has been manipulated over time will explain why I have come to this conclusion.
Originally defensive in concept, the ANZUS Treaty was seen by Australia from its very beginning as a means to “achieve the acceptance by the USA of responsibility in SE Asia” (Percy Spender) to shield Australia from perceived antagonistic forces in its region. It has, however, developed into an instrument for the furtherance of US ability to prosecute war globally – previously in Iraq and Afghanistan, currently against Russia and potentially against China.
The ANZUS Treaty, usually referred to in reverential tones as “The Alliance”, has been elevated to an almost religious article of faith, against which any demur is treated as heresy amounting to treachery. Out of anxiety to cement the US into protection of Australia, the Alliance has been invoked as justification for Australia’s participation in almost every American military adventure – or misadventure – since WW II.
Unlike NATO or the Defence Treaty with Japan, the ANZUS treaty actually provides no guarantee of protection, merely assurances to consult on appropriated means of support in the event that Australia should come under attack.
On the other hand, the Alliance has facilitated the steady growth of American presence in Australia, to the point that it pervades every aspect of Australian political, economic, financial, social and cultural life. Australians fret about China “buying up the country”, but American investment is ten times the size.
They are unaware or uncaring that almost every major Australian company across the resources, food, retail, mass media, entertainment, banking and finance sectors has majority American ownership. Right now US corporations eclipse everyone else in their ability to influence our politics through their investment in Australian stocks.
The transfer of Australian assets to American ownership has continued unabated: In the second half of 2021 then Treasurer Josh Frydenberg approved the transfer of $130 billion of Australian assets to foreign private equity funds, benefiting Goldman Sachs who facilitated the transactions, by multimillions of dollars. Josh Frydenberg now is employed by Goldman Sachs:
Sydney Airport – Macquarie Bank led by a NY investment banker
AusNet (electricity infrastructure) $18 billion takeover by Brookfield – NY via Canada
SparkInfrastructure (electricity) $5.2 billion takeover by American interests
AfterPay financial transaction system $39 billion takeover
Healthscope, second-biggest private hospitals group (72 Hospitals) taken over by Brookfield and now controlled in the Cayman Islands.
The USA and the UK between them represent nearly half of all foreign investment. China plus Hong Kong represents 4.2%. The 4 big “Aussie” banks are dependent on foreign capital which dictate local banks’ policies and operations.
Defence and military weapons manufacturing industries in Australia are now largely owned by US weapons corporations – Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Thales, NorthropGrumman. The deep integration of Australia’s defence industries and economy into the US military-industrial complex greatly influences Australia’s foreign/defence policies.
That, plus US capture of Australia’s intelligence and policy apparatus through the “Five Eyes” network and ASPI (which has lobbyists from American arms manufacturers on a Board headed by an operative trained by the CIA) means that the US is able to swing Australian policy to support America in almost all its endeavours.
Despite the fact that it contains no guarantee of US protection of Australia, the Treaty and further arrangements under its auspices, such as the 2014 Force Posture Agreement and now AUKUS, have greatly facilitated US war preparation in Australia. This has accelerated exponentially in the past few years. The US now describes Australia as the most important base for the projection of US power in the Indo-Pacific.
Indicators of war preparations
* 2,500 US marines stationed in Darwin practicing for war with the Australian Defence Forces, soon to include the Japanese Defence Forces
* Establishment of a regional HQ for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Darwin
* Lengthening the RAAF aircraft runways in Northern Territory at our expense for servicing US fighters and bombers
* Proposed stationing of 6 nuclear weapons-capable B52 Bombers at RAAF Tindal in NT
* Construction of massive fuel and maintenance facilities in Darwin NT for US aircraft
* Proposed acquisition of eight nuclear-propelled submarines at the cost of $170 billion for hunter-killer operations in the Taiwan Strait
* Construction, at the cost of $10 billion, of a deep water port on Australia’s east coast for US and UK nuclear powered and nuclear missile-carrying submarines
* The long-established satellite communications station known as Pine Gap in central Australia has recently, and is still being, expanded and upgraded. It is key to the command and control of US forces in the Indo-Pacific (and even as far afield as Ukraine)
The Government and right wing anti-China analysts and commentators, whose opinions dominate main stream media, accept the Defence Minister’s contention that this militarisation enhances Australia’s sovereignty by strengthening the range and lethality of Australia’s high-end war-fighting capability to provide a credible deterrent to a potential aggressor.
Many analysts and commentators outside the governing elite, including myself, argue that these arrangements effectively cede Australian sovereignty to America. This is especially because of the provisions of the Force Posture Agreement of 2014, entered into under the auspices of ANZUS.
I understand that a paper has been circulated to the Committee, expounding the details of the FPA, so in summary, it gives unimpeded access, exclusive control and use of agreed facilities and areas to US personnel, aircraft, ships and vehicles and gives Australia absolutely no say at all in how, when where and why they are to be used.
All Australian analysts, whether sympathetic or antipathetic to China, agree on one point. That is, that if the US goes to war against China over the status of Taiwan, or any other issue of contention, Australia will inevitably be involved.
The Threat
All these preparations are justified by the false premise that China presents a military threat. China has not invaded anywhere. It has never proposed use of force against other countries. It has enshrined in its Constitution the ‘Three No’s – No military alliances; No military bases; No use, or threat to use, military force. China has, however, reserved the right to use force to prevent secession by Taiwan.
It has recently rapidly increased its defence capability in response to the fearsome US naval presence and war-fighting exercises just off its coastline. Its defence budget is one third that of the US and the bases that it has constructed in the South China Sea pale into insignificance compared to the hundreds of bases that the US has ranged all around China.
So, if China is not a military threat, why is it designated as the primary systemic threat of the collective West, led by the US? The answer lies in the word “systemic”. China has expressed a determination to revamp the global financial system to make it fairer for developing countries. Kissinger is reputed to have said: “If you control money, you control the world”. The US currently controls world finance and China (with Russia) is out to change that.
The US, which played the leading part in the establishment of the post-World War II institutions, has become a leading revisionist, abandoning the UN for “coalitions of the willing”. The US has declined to join important Conventions like those on the Law of the Sea and on Climate. It has refused to accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, and has exempted itself from the Genocide Convention. It has played a leading part in the weakening of the World Trade Organisation by imposing trade restrictions on other countries, while not agreeing to new appointments to the WTO’s appellate tribunal, so preventing that body from functioning.
China is the second-largest (or by some calculations, the largest) economy in the world. It is the major trading partner of over 100 countries, mainly in the global south, but including Australia and a number of other Western countries. Hence China has the clout to undermine the “international rules-based order” set up by, and for the benefit of, the West.
China has already established an alternative to the Anglo-American international financial transaction system: – the Cross-border Interbank Payments System CIPS, (in which, ironically a number of Western banks are shareholders). In collaboration with Russia and within the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa) China is creating an alternative to the almighty dollar as the preferred currency for trade and for national reserve holdings.
It seems that the US has concluded that, since it can’t constrain China economically, it will have to get it bogged down in a long-drawn-out war to hinder its economic growth and hamper its infrastructure development cooperation with other countries. On 25 March 2021 President Biden vowed to prevent China from overtaking the US as the most powerful country in the world – “not on my watch” he said.
Nevertheless, the latest CSIS computer modelling, like previous modelling by the Rand Corporation, indicates that all involved in a Sino-US war would lose.
Proxy War
All of these analyses overlook one significant point. US determination to pursue the Wolfowitz doctrine of preventing the rise of any power that could challenge US global supremacy (neither Russia, nor Europe, nor China) has not diminished, but has morphed into a strategy of fighting its adversaries by proxy.
This has been clearly demonstrated by the war in Ukraine. A White House press briefing on 25 January 2022, before the Russian intervention, stated that “the US, in concert with its European partners, will weaken Russia to the point where it can exercise no influence on the international stage”.
Political leaders from Biden, through Pelosi and on to Members of Congress have told Ukraine that “your war is our war and we are in it for as long as it takes”. Congressman Adam Schiff put it bluntly that “we support Ukraine… to fight Russia over there, so that we don’t have to fight it over here”.
In the case of China, defined in the NDS as the principal threat to the US, the proxy of choice is clearly Taiwan. The strategy envisages:
• a world-wide media campaign (going on for several years already) to portray China as the aggressor;
• goading China into taking military action to prevent Taiwan’s secession;
• leaving Taiwan to conduct its own defence, with constant resupply of arms and equipment from the US, at great profit to the military/industrial complex;
• sustaining Taiwan sufficiently to keep China ‘bogged down’, thus hampering its economic development and its infrastructure cooperation with other countries;
• avoiding direct military engagement, in order to maintain the full capacity of US forces, while China’s would be significantly depleted; Although Biden has publicly re-affirmed adherence to the ‘One China’ principle, the US has been goading China by;
• stationing the bulk its naval power off the coast of China;
• ‘freedom of navigation’ and combat exercises in the South China Sea and Taiwan Straits;
• visits by senior US officials using US military aircraft;
• creation of a putative ‘Air Defence Identification Zone’ (ADIZ) extending well over mainland territory and then alleging Chinese violation of it;
• secretly providing military training personnel (whilst denying it);
• including Taiwan in the Summit for Democracy (9-10 December 2021), implying it is a separate country;
Many Australian politicians, (although not the present government), joined in goading China, by encouraging Taiwan to consider the possibility of declaring independence, which would trigger military action by China.
If Australia were to make good on its promise to ‘save Taiwan’, it would be devastated:
• The Australian navy would be obliterated, given the disparity between China’s and Australia’s forces;
* command/control centres (and possibly cities) in Australia could be wiped out by Chinese missiles. Australia has no anti-missile defence;
• To preserve its own assets, and to forestall the descent into nuclear conflict, the US would not engage directly in defence of Australia;
• US ‘support’ would be through massive arms sales to replace our losses – just as in Ukraine – at further profit to the US military/industrial complex;
• ASEAN is unlikely to support Australia. It has renewed and up-graded its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China. Each member country has infrastructure projects under China’s BRI, which they would not want to jeopardise in a ‘no-win war’;
• Support from India is unlikely, despite its membership of the Quad – which is nothing more than a consultative dialogue. India has security commitments to China under the SCO and gets its arms from Russia, which has a “better than treaty” relationship with China.
• Australia relies heavily on China for many daily necessities. In a war, deliveries from China would be severely disrupted.
Australians generally are more than happy for the material benefits of a trading relationship with China, which constitutes more than one third of Australia’s export earnings. But, any attempt by China to improve Australians’ understanding of China’s historical, social, cultural and scientific achievements, let alone its political systems or foreign policy, are instantly feared as nefarious attempts to infiltrate Australian politics and undermine the ‘Australian way of life’.
The increasing size of China’s economic (and, by extension military) strength, to which Australia contributes important resources and from which it derives so much benefit, is portrayed as a threat to Australia’s security. This has Australia trapped in the absurd policy paradox of preparing to go to war against China to protect Australia’s trade with China.
Recent developments in Taiwan, particularly the county and municipal elections, which caused the President, Tsai Ingwen, to resign her leadership of the pro-Independence Party, suggest that Taiwan prefers the status quo and is unwilling to be the proxy of the US in a war with Beijing.
Australia thus becomes the potential proxy.
In the name of the Alliance, American service personnel (active and retired) are now embedded in Australian defence policy making institutions and in command and control positions within the ADF. All of the American military assets installed in Australia under the Alliance and the AUKUS deal, are now “interchangeable” with the ADF, making it possible to use them as putative Australian forces against China, while the US stands aside and maintains the same pretence of “no engagement”, as it is doing in Ukraine.
This is why I said at the beginning that the US is preparing to send Australia to war against China.
Whilst these are the dangers that the ANZUS Alliance poses for Australia if the US instigates a war against China, there are risks for the US also.
1. There would be crippling expense that further exacerbates the US wealth divide and related domestic political breakdown. Supplying the weaponry and everything else required for a proxy war with China would be a bigger drain on the US budget than the Ukraine conflict. The expenditure would flow back to the military industrial complex, constituting a further massive transfer of wealth from the ordinary taxpayer to the plutocrat billionaires. It would blow out the already unsustainable national debt, and either take away from expenditure on essential services and infrastructure, or, if they print money, further blow out inflation. The political and social breakdown that the US is already suffering as a consequence of its real economic decline and widening wealth gap could only intensify to breaking point.
2. The slide into a direct war would probably be inevitable. Planning a proxy war is all very well as an academic exercise, but sticking with those plans when the fighting starts will be very difficult. There are already lunatic politicians and “experts” in the US who think American can win a direct war, so when China starts bombing Australia, and good old Aussie “mates” are dying in massive numbers, the voices of those in the US advocating direct engagement will be amplified. Combined with the already extreme polarisation of US politics in which ONLY war is bipartisan, the risk that extremists will take the US into direct conflict, and a nuclear showdown with China, is very serious.
3. The folding in of Japan into the AUKUS arrangements will increase the risk that Japan would be obliged to assist Australia in any military conflict with China. The US, because of its Defence Treaty with Japan, would then be obliged to join in the fighting, vitiating its plan to avoid direct military engagement.
A point of historical irony:
I’ll wind up with a bit of historical irony, in which I was personally involved:
In the early 70’s, we had been kept completely in the dark about the secret Kissinger visits to China, until the plan for Nixon to visit was announced. Feeling blindsided by a momentous change in US policy towards China, we produced Policy Planning Paper QP11/71 of 21 July 1971.
It recognised.. “political disadvantage resulting from the manner in which the United States conducts its global policies” and argued that this would mean that. “The American alliance, in a changing power balance, will mean less to us than it has in the past.”
It went on:
“If anything, this argument has been strengthened by recent United States actions and America’s failure to consult us on issues of primary importance to Australia. Accordingly, we shall need, now more than ever, to formulate independent policies, based on Australian national interests and those of our near neighbours…”
This is even more true today than it was in the 1970’s. For example, Australia was not consulted in the precipitate US withdrawal from Afghanistan, despite our role as ‘loyal’ supporter of the US in that ill-advised conflict. Our indignant protestations were met with Biden’s statement that “America acts only in its own interests”.
Our present predicament is due largely to the failure of a succession of Australian Governments to take this analysis to heart and act upon it. Prime Minister Fraser, who replaced Whitlam, ironically came to a very similar view towards the end of his life, which he set forth in detail in his book ‘Dangerous Allies’, but too late to do anything about it. He identified the paradox that Australia needs the US for its defence, but it only needs defending because of the US.
A couple of pertinent quotes, first from the late Jim Molan:
“Our forces were not designed to have any significant independent strategic impact. They were purely designed to provide niche components of larger American missions.”
We were, in his view, abdicating our own defence and cultivating complete dependence on the Americans.
And from Chris Hedges:
“Finally, the neo-cons who have led the U.S. into the serial debacles of Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Ukraine, costing the country tens of trillions of dollars and even greater amounts of destroyed reputational capital, will claim their customary immunity from any accountability for their savage failures and cheerily move on to their next calamity. We need to be on the lookout for their next gambit to pillage the treasury and advance their own private interests above those of the nation. It will surely come.”
An (incomplete) list of some of the commentators from whom I have drawn:
Richard Tanter – military analyst, Nautilus Foundation
Brian Toohey – author (political and historical analysis)
Mike Scrafton was a senior Defence executive, and ministerial adviser to the minister for defence
Paul Keating was the prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996.
Geoff Raby AO was Australia’s ambassador to China (2007–11); He was awarded the Order of Australia for services to Australia–China relations and to international trade.
Gregory Clark began his diplomatic career with postings to Hong Kong and Moscow. He is emeritus president of Tama University in Tokyo and vice-president of the pioneering Akita International University.
Dr Mike Gilligan worked for 20 years in defence policy and evaluating military proposals for development, including time in the Pentagon on military balances in Asia.
Jocelyn Chey AM is Visiting Professor at the University of Sydney and Adjunct Professor at Western Sydney University and UTS. She formerly held diplomatic posts in China and Hong Kong. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs.
Joseph Camilleri is Emeritus Professor at La Trobe University in Melbourne, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, and President of Conversation at the Crossroads
David S G Goodman is the Director, China Studies Centre, University of Sydney.
Geoff Miller was Director-General, Office of National Assessments, deputy secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador to Japan and the Republic of Korea, and High Commissioner to New Zealand.
Cavan Hogue was Ambassador to USSR and Russia. He also worked at ANU and Macquarie universities.
Edited transcript of a speech to the Committee for the Republic, Salon, 18 January 2023
Why the Failure of Credit Suisse is such a big deal; It was a “Bulge Bracket Bank”
To average, everyday people, the failure of Credit Suisse is simply some news headline. They have no clue at all what this means: ALERT – Time’s up. Why? Because Credit Suisse was a “Bulge Bracket Bank.” You may know it better as “too big to fail.” But fail it has.
What is a bulge bracket bank?
A bulge bracket bank refers to a top-tier, multinational investment bank that has a leading role in the global financial markets. The term “bulge bracket” originally referred to the banks listed at the top of the “league tables” for securities underwriting, but it has since come to encompass a wider range of financial services.
Bulge bracket banks typically have a strong presence in both the domestic and international markets, providing a broad range of services such as underwriting, M&A advisory, equity and debt offerings, and sales and trading of securities. They also typically work with large, high-profile clients such as corporations, governments, and institutional investors.
Examples of bulge bracket banks include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank. These banks are known for their extensive resources, large-scale operations, and high-profile deals.
What banks are considered bulge bracket?
Some of the banks that are considered bulge bracket are:
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Morgan Stanley
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Citigroup, Inc.
Deutsche Bank AG
rclays PLC Credit Suisse Group AG In fact, UBS Group AG
Wells Fargo & Co.
These banks are considered bulge bracket because they typically have a leading role in the global financial markets and provide a wide range of financial services to large, high-profile clients such as corporations, governments, and institutional investors. They are also known for their extensive resources, large-scale operations, and high-profile deals.
What would happen if a bulge bracket bank failed?
If a bulge bracket bank were to fail, it could have serious repercussions on the global financial system and the broader economy. This is because these banks are deeply interconnected with other financial institutions and play a significant role in the global financial markets.
If a bulge bracket bank were to fail, it could trigger a domino effect that would lead to other financial institutions experiencing financial distress or failing. This could lead to a credit freeze, where access to credit is severely restricted, making it difficult for businesses and individuals to obtain financing. This, in turn, could lead to a slowdown in economic activity and a recession.
To prevent such a scenario, regulators have put in place various measures to monitor and regulate the activities of bulge bracket banks. For example, these banks are subject to more stringent capital and liquidity requirements, stress tests, and other regulations to ensure their financial stability and resilience. In the event of a failure, regulators may also intervene to stabilize the financial system and protect the broader economy from the fallout of a bank failure.
Credit Suisse Failed
Those measures do NOT seem to have worked. Reverberations from the Credit Suisse failure, and the utterly vicious zeroing of Credit Suisse “Tier A1” Bonds, is starting to spread.
As this story is written at 4:45 AM on 20 March 2023, Asian Stock Markets have almost completed their trading day. They’re all in the red:
Credit Suisse, $CS, was worth $10 billion a month ago and sold for pennies on the Dollar.
The government said $CS had “serious risk of bankruptcy.”
A shareholder vote was bypassed.
Regulators knew it was a matter of hours for bankruptcy.
This deal was made out of desperation.
In fact, the “rescue” was not a rescue. UBS could only work an equity trade, they themselves lacked the cash for a real buyout! That deal was total clown world.
Stock Markets know this. Stock Holders are learning of it now. The markets will begin to react TODAY.
Europe is opening shortly. That’s where we will see some of the Credit Suisse fallout.
In the Asian Markets HSBC & Standard Chartered both down 6%…. will be interesting to watch the European markets when they open.
US markets open in about 3.5 hours. As Europe goes, so will the US.
You see, those “Tier 1A “Bonds that were Zeroed for Credit Suisse . . . they totaled slightly over seventeen billion dollars. Somebody has now lost all that money. Well, a lot of somebody’s, actually.
That loss is going to have an impact. Maybe an impact on someone big. And that may take THEM out.
Moreover, the zeroing of Tier 1A Bonds just showed bondholders all over the world, that when it comes to BANKS, their “totally secure” Tier 1A bonds, aren’t nearly as secure as they were lead to believe! People are going to start dumping those bonds, because clearly, they’re now far riskier than anyone ever thought.
When you factor-in the reality that the Swiss government changed their law in real-time, to prevent Credit Suisse stockholders from having the Statutory 6 weeks to consider a merger or buyout offer, the bondholders (and Stock holders) now know they’re sitting ducks. They have NO PROTECTION of law. The “rules” went right out the window.
As these Bond holders (and maybe stock holders) run for the exits today – and this week – their selling is going to put the banks under even MORE pressure.
In the US, here’s how fragile the banks actually are:
At the far right of the chart is this year – right now. As you can see, the banks are stuck holding Bonds that are worth LESS than their face value. In the color gold, those bonds can be sold by the banks if the banks need to raise cash. Those gold-colored (sellable) bonds are worth three-hundred BILLION dollars LESS than their face value.
As long as the banks don’t have to sell them (to raise cash) the loss on the bond is “unrealized.” But as people begin to take more money out of the banks, because the general public sees the banks as untrustworthy, some banks are going to HAVE TO sell those bonds. And the moment they do, the loss becomes “realized” and the bank is in trouble.
This week may very well be historic. We just don’t know how it will turn out.
Politicians all over the world are screaming from the rooftops that “the banks are safe and secure.” Trouble is, the public long ago learned that when they tell you things are safe, that’s when you run!
Because politicians and government officials have shown themselves to be liars, over and over , and over again. Only the truly stupid believe them anymore.
With that reality, there’s no telling what will happen this week. However . . . Calamity . . . is on the menu.
This isn’t going away.
This is not your typical msm-driven race-baiting, class warfare, type of drivel designed to distract you from real problems.
This is a real problem. They’re going to try to keep your eyes – and mind – off of it with crap like North Korea nuclear threats, Trump’s impending arrest, etc. Expect some race-fueled incident to really throw everyone over the edge.
If they can keep us worked up over things like that, maybe we won’t notice all the banks failing and the economy literally crumbling around us. Maybe.
This isn’t something they can bury and hide for long, though, but they will try to keep us in the dark as long as possible. Many won’t notice until bank failures and sky-high inflation impacts them personally.
When they know you notice the real problem, like with the Credit Suisse-UBS merge, they’ll issue some statement about how all is well and good, the US dollar is strong and we shouldn’t worry. When they say this kind of nonsense is when you need to worry the most.
UPDATE 5:20 AM EDT —
European market:
UBS – 12%
Deutsche -10%
most others -8%
people do not believe their lies anymore . . . this is a bad omen for everything today . . . .
UPDATE 5:31 AM EDT —
They just talked on Bloomberg about “the possibility of UBS walking out of the deal.”
You’ve Gotta Be F**king Kidding Me
Russell is truth teller that is so needed in society- THANK YOU! It is truly unfathomable that Wasserman is given ANY time after her known corruption. The world is upside down…
Global Times editorial
Global Times has published a brutal editorial that damns everything about this event and deserves to be pasted in full:
The leaders of the US, Britain and Australia celebrated the unveiling of the AUKUS nuclear submarine plans with great fanfare at the Naval Base in San Diego, California, on Monday. It was a public humiliation to France, which was cheated by them, and a cover-up and deceit to the Australian people, and a kind of bravado to neighboring countries. It was also a blow to the already fragile international nuclear non-proliferation mechanism, and obviously a dangerous move for the entire international community.
According to the agreement, Australia will purchase up to five US nuclear-powered submarines in the next few years, which means that Australia will become the seventh country in the world to have nuclear submarines. The peace and stability of the Indian Ocean and Pacific region will expectedly bear the impact, pressure and risks brought about by this agreement for a long time. Some American media even called it a "milestone." This obvious misnomer has produced ironic effects, but the agreement may indeed become a boundary stone for the US, Britain and Australia to drag the Asia-Pacific region into a "new cold war." It is what everyone is worried about.
In order to obtain the US' nuclear-powered submarines, Australia may have to spend nearly $250 billion. Does Australia have too many mines and is too wealthy? Australia indeed has mines, but life in Australia is not rich for most, and the current economic situation is very bad, with a huge structural budget deficit. $250 billion is roughly equivalent to about two years of public healthcare expenditure of Australia. In order to pay for this huge sum of money, Australia is bound to squeeze social welfare. In other words, the 25 million Australians will eventually have to pay the bill through a certain degree of frugality.
Another question, is Australia in danger without US' nuclear-powered submarines? Can't it survive? Obviously not. Not only does Australia not need them, but it will definitely put itself at risk by buying them. Australia, which is isolated in South Pacific and far away from other hotspots in the region, has a relatively unique geographic advantage. No country will attack or even invade Australia for no reason. Australia has had the conditions to spend its main resources and energy on improving people's livelihood.
Australia's inexplicable sense of insecurity when facing China is basically the result of being spiritually controlled for many years by the US. Australia thinks that it is the "deputy sheriff" of the Asia-Pacific region under Washington, but not to mention that it has no salary, even its police uniforms and firearms have to be bought from the US at a high price. The AUKUS agreement is actually a big trick of the US on Australia. It is equivalent to asking Australia to build a nuclear submarine base to produce its own submarines, but more importantly, to maintain and ensure the nuclear submarines of the US and Britain, and hand them over to be commanded by the US Navy, moreover, the hundreds of billions of dollars need to be paid by Australia itself. The follow-up nuclear submarine equipment, maintenance, related personnel training are an even bigger bottomless hole. Australia is at best a cat's paw which helps the US to get chestnuts from the fire, and it can be regarded as one of the most representative chump in the history of international relations.
In the English context, "white elephant" usually refers to a useless but expensive and eccentric object. It could have been better if the nuclear submarines of the US were just white elephants, but they are also a big ill omen. Canberra bought them back with a huge sum of money and will turn Australia into a haunted house, bringing risk to the whole region and making the years of efforts of South Pacific Countries in building a South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, which is protected by formal treaty, face the most serious impact. Not only China firmly opposes it, but Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia are also very dissatisfied. New Zealand directly denies Australia's nuclear submarines' access to its waters. Otherwise, the Australian Defense Minister and Foreign Minister would not have been running around recently, trying to dispel people's concerns about nuclear non-proliferation issues.
On the same day as the three AUKUS countries gathered together, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released a new report on global arms import and export. The report shows that the US share of global arms exports has increased from 33 percent to 40 percent, and imports to East Asia and certain states in other areas of high geopolitical tension rose sharply. All this is in Washington's calculations. Just look at what America is exporting: weapons to kill, crises of all kinds (the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is still brewing), and the most destructive of all is geopolitical malice, which America uses to spiritually control Australia. [My Emphasis]
Not too long ago China published a long list of Outlaw US Empire crimes and its hegemonic ways. This event will be added to it even if it’s eventually rejected by Australians who the Chinese rightfully say don’t need it whatsoever. It can be said that the Australian continent’s been invaded twice–first by the British and second by the Americans and both have partnered to chain Australians similar to their convict forebearers.
There’re a lot of good Aussies here at the bar; I’m very sorry my government has done what is has done.
If you color Russia the same as China, you‘ll get the #Dragonbear power projection in the #Arctic and #IndoPacific too. #India will be key to both geopolitical constellations.
They are suggesting this…
I think that the map should have a LOT of light RED nations to include North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey, and much of SE Asia.
The point being is that maps that originate out of the West also self-isolate China, when that is not at all a reflection of reality.
First Republic Bank Stock HALTED 7+ Times Today alone; Looks Like There’s No Saving it
Trading of the stock in First Republic Bank ($FRC) just got halted for its 7th time since the open today! Two weeks ago, the stock traded at $130. Today it is down to less than $10.
The Trading HALTS are wild; STOCK GOES LIVE AND IS GETTING HALTED WITHIN SECONDS. STOCK IS NOW DOWN 50% TODAY from its Friday Close.
We are on track to make a new record for most number of halts in a day. The regional bank system continues to lack a solution.
It appears to many observers that there’s no saving this bank. Investors are spooked and are leaving. Period. Full stop.
Over $20 BILLION in Market Capitalization has been wiped this month.
This is the Canary in the coal mine for the banking industry.
Other banks just gave $30 billion in deposits to the bank last week, to shore-it-up, and the Bank is borrowing a lot more from the Fed to stay solvent.
No business or individual with half a brain is going to keep more than 250k in their business or personal accounts in any non-mega banks for much longer. The risk of loss rises daily.
They will need to backstop all banks deposits soon or this thing is going to blow sky high.
In the time it took to write this story — FRC stock has been halted TWO MORE TIMES! Nine trading halts today alone.
We are on track to mark a record for most number of halts in a day.
You’re witnessing history.
Australia’s Defence Policy Explained
Utopia is criminally underrated.
China donated just $5.8m to assist Turkey, while the US pledged $185m and the UK $30m.
The after-effects of the tragic earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria are still being felt more than one month on, both literally and metaphorically. As a report mentions, global assistance has been provided – China donated just $5.8m to assist Turkey, while the US pledged $185m and the UK $30m.
A recent poll by Premise, a research technology and data company, asked 1,000 Turks from across the country for their views on the international relief effort, the contributions from various aid agencies and also for their views on causes of the catastrophic damage
The managing director of Premise, Arthur Soames, explained that “starkest finding in data is that China is perceived as being far and away the most valued country in providing disaster relief: 72% of our nationally representative sample had a positive or very positive impression of China’s contribution, while the US, despite providing more than 20 times as much cash, was perceived in a similar light by only 59% of the population.”
“Having invested historically in their relationship with Turkey, China has found it simple to project its influence as a high-profile presence in the disaster relief from the start. This has clearly struck a powerful chord with people. The US, on the other hand, has had to pay a vastly higher premium in return for credit from the Turkish people.”
“Qatar is perhaps the most surprising outlier to have secured a powerful, positive impression amongst Turks: 26% believed that Qatar has provided the greatest support to the relief effort, the highest figure for any country.
“A lot of this must have been due to Qatar’s decision to donate 10,000 housing units to the affected area that were left over from last year’s World Cup.
“The donation received widespread coverage in the Turkish media and clearly had a powerful impact – proof that Qatar continues to receive international and diplomatic benefits from hosting the World Cup.”
“Behind these two comes the EU. It came in third with 16% of people saying that it had provided the most support, while 11% thought it would be most capable of assisting in the rebuild.
“By contrast, the relief effort from the US and the UK does not appear to have been particularly recognised. Only 8% of the poll felt that the US had done the most. The UK falls much further behind, barely registering 1%.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said Moscow has written off the debts of African states worth more than $20 billion.
Speaking at an international parliamentary conference titled “Russia-Africa in a Multipolar World,” Putin said the trade turnover between Russia and Africa countries is growing every year, reaching almost $18 billion in 2022.
“It is unlikely that such a figure can fully suit us, but we know that this is far from the limit,” he added.
Putin also said he believed that “the development of counter-commodity exchanges will be facilitated by a more energetic transition in financial settlements to national currencies, and the establishment of new transport and logistics chains.”
He further said: “Additional opportunities are opened up by the process of establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which began in 2021, which in the future will become a continental market with a total GDP of more than $3 trillion.”
Russia, he said, is in favor of establishing ties with AfCFTA both through the Eurasian Economic Union and on a bilateral level, adding that Africa will become one of the leaders of the multipolar world.
“The states of Africa are constantly increasing their weight and their role in world affairs, they are asserting themselves more and more confidently in politics and in the economy. We are convinced that Africa will become one of the leaders in the emerging new multipolar world order,” Putin added.
He said Russia and the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America are against the neo-colonial ideology.
“Russia and African countries uphold moral norms and social principles traditional for our peoples, and oppose neo-colonial ideology imposed from outside,” he said. “Many states of Asia, the Middle East, Latin America adhere to similar positions, and together we make up the world majority.”
3 Doors Down – Here Without You (Official Music Video)
Steel barricades are being unloaded outside Manhattan criminal courthouse – TRUMP INDICTMENT?
Steel barricades are being unloaded outside Manhattan criminal courthouse as shown in the brief video below:
Numerous metal barricades have arrived outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, located at 100 Centre St. in Manhattan, New York City, ahead of a possible Indictment of former President Trump this week.
NYPD is reportedly mobilizing up to 700 Riot Cops, Ahead of potential unruly protest.
Italian Meatballs with Peppers
Chopped red and yellow bell peppers add color and texture to these savory meatballs seasoned with Italian herb mix and enriched with mushrooms.
Ingredients
1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon MAGGI Instant Chicken Flavor Bouillon
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION®
Evaporated Fat Free Milk, divided
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot cooked rice
Chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Combine turkey, onion, herb seasoning and salt in large bowl; form mixture into 24 one-inch meatballs.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs; cook, turning occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes or until browned on all sides.
Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
Remove meatballs from skillet; keep warm.
Add bell peppers, mushrooms, garlic and bouillon to skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes.
Combine 1 tablespoon evaporated milk and flour in small bowl; add to skillet.
Gradually stir in remaining evaporated milk; cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 8 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened.
Add meatballs to skillet; stir to coat.
Serve over rice. Garnish with parsley.
Prep: 20 min | Cook: 25 min | Yield: 6 servings
Peace In Ukraine Is “Unacceptable” Says Biden Spokesman
CHINA TO OFFICIALLY ARM RUSSIA IF KIEV REFUSES PEACE PLAN
China will officially join Iran to arm Russia, “if Kyiv does not accept the Chinese peace plan.”
That is the information coming directly from the China delegation accompanying President Xi Jinping during his ongoing state visit to Russia.
Xi is expected to call Ukraine President Zelensky later this week; perhaps FROM MOSCOW during Xi’s state visit!
Washington’s response was like lightning: The Free World officially rejects China peace plan for Ukraine: “China’s ceasefire initiative is an attempt to give Russia time to launch a new offensive.” – The White House.
More info as I get it. Check back
UPDATE 10:36 AM EDT —
The Pentagon may soon announce measures for the possible delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine earlier than expected, White House spokesman John Kirby said.
Putin and China just dealt a KNOCKOUT blow to the west with this move
Short and not my videos. but please start off the new year properly! Remember that your actions define your quality of life. Not just now in this life, but in all subsequent lives. Make a difference. help others.
Be THAT Rufus!
Animals That Asked People for Help & Kindness | Best Moments Of 2022 !
This poor kitten was struggling for his life in his last moments on a cold morning!
https://youtu.be/I3B-rxTCYMk
Kitten Stuck In Net Fights For His Life
https://youtu.be/iEMBXZJ8_DI
Man is ambushed by 13 homeless kittens
Best Inspiring Animal Rescues Of The Year
Bullied Cat Bursts Into Tears By A Man’s Love Who Became His First Friend
Paralyzed homeless cat makes an UNBELIEVABLE recovery! My mind was blown!
Homeless cat asks for help
Cat Abandoned When Owners Moved Jumps Into His Rescuer’s Arms
Today, this post will be one of my you-tube videos. I believe that it is critically important that everyone understand and appreciate what a Rufus is, and how it manifests. While I talk a lot about it, it means much more than heroic action. It means compassion and understanding, and to stand up for the little guy.
Many of the snippets are in Chinese, and the dialog is in Chinese, but you can guess what is going on and infer the dialog.
One is a daughter …
One is an employee…
One is a relative…
The dialog can get confusing in the translation. Translation is from the Wechat scan function, switched to translate into English.
A Rufus builds people up. They don’t tear them down.
A Rufus stands by the downtrodden and supports them.
A Rufus accepts people as they are.
The roles are not important.
What is important is whether these people are making the world a better place, or are they being selfish, demanding, uncaring and obstinate.
Watch for yourself.
Then, pay attention to the reactions of the innocent bystanders who overhear the discussion. Watch them leap into action as only a real Rufus would…
This post is by request. Actually, multiple requests by a singular individual. It’s a big and important issue with him.
Why this fixation? I guess it resonates living in SE Asia.
And so when he reads these “reports” he views the reports from the lens of his own personal experience, and that makes him concerned. Any good Rufus would (of course) be enraged.
And he, I am sure, is no exception.
"Estimates vary on the number of children who go missing in China every year. Some put the number at 70,000, others say it’s closer to 200,000. Regardless, most studies agree that only a very small number — perhaps as few as 0.1% — are ever found and reunited with their families.The country’s family planning policies and an emphasis on “continuing the family line” (and therefore the need to have children, even sometimes if they’re not actually your own) are among the root causes for such statistics, but they’re compounded by the lack of a proper system for tracking down missing children and returning them to their original families — despite China’s ever-increasing surveillance over its citizens.“In the United States, there are ‘amber alerts’ to find missing children, but China still does not have this type of system,” says Beijing-based entrepreneur Cheng Xian. “The Ministry of Public Security is actively building a ‘reunion’ system that belongs to China, but this involves a very long data accumulation process.”"
-Radiichina
Who is this group? It was set up by a Californian entrepreneur. He grew up in Palo Alto, California. He lives and operates this NGO inside of California, USA.
RADII was founded by Brian A. Wong, former Vice President of Alibaba.
Brian A. Wong is Founder and Chairman of RADII. He is a Chinese-American entrepreneur and his career has spanned decades, industries, and continents. But a desire to understand China kept him coming back.
Brian wanted to create a platform that empowers the next generation to share their own stories to bridge cultural understanding between the East and West and to provide a window into the transformations shaping one of the world’s most dynamic places on earth.
Prior to creating RADII, Brian joined Alibaba when it was an apartment start-up as its 52nd employee.
Brian is a China Fellow with the Aspen Institute, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and a member of the Committee of 100.
Growing up in Palo Alto, he is proud to say he also served as a technical advisor to HBO’s TV series Silicon Valley.
How is this group funded? Ah. It’s an NGO with income from various Davis associations, all who obtain massive subsidies from the United States government.
How is their information disseminated? Well, look at the “bubble cloud” from their website…
Every single one of them have an Anti-China slant to their reports. It’s an overwhelming negative slant.
The MM full report and article is here. It is found on my MM you-tube channel. Personally, you cannot have a “totalitarian police state” and “missing children” simultaneously. The two are totally incompatible.
Gosh. It’s a really crazy world right now, eh? I’ve really been shaken by some of the writings by the United States neocons. They are advocating limited nuclear strikes to “put China in line, and in its place”. Jesus. H. Christ. They have absolutely no idea of what they advocating. It’s horrific.
I’m convinced, now more than ever, that these people have NEVER actually ever been in a situation where they had to deal with blood-thirsty, dead-ass serious, lethal, killers with their back to the wall…
…they are fixing to discover what it is like.
‘Ghost of Kyiv’ hero fighter pilot was myth, Ukraine admits
Of course.
But, it’s nice to know that some one in the many thousands of writers for the big mainsteam media has dusted off their journalistic diplomas and doing some actual “reporting”, for a change.
Vladimir Putin has officially declared a state of emergency in the Belgorod region for 60 days. Reason: The Russian Federation is “under attack” from either foreign military, mercenaries of that foreign military, or terrorists.” Key point: Russia is “under attack.”
Machine auto-translated from image, so font size and scaling is “off.”
It isn’t hard to see where this is leading. If Russia is “under attack” they have a right to defend themselves, right? A formal declaration of war, perhaps?
Two days after Russia attacked Ukraine and the day before Vladimir Putin put Russia on nuclear alert, I wrote a little article whose first sentence was: “Not wanting to sound hyperbolic, but I am starting to conclude that the nuclear madmen running the U.S./NATO New Cold War they started decades ago are itching to start a nuclear war with Russia.”
It was an intuition based on my knowledge of U.S./Russia history, including the U.S engineered coup in Ukraine in 2014, and a reading of current events. I refer to it as intuition, yet it is based on a lifetime’s study and teaching of political sociology and writing against war. I am not a Russian scholar, simply a writer with a sociological, historical, and artistic imagination, although my first graduate academic study in the late 1960s was a thesis on nuclear weapons and why they might be someday used again.
It no longer sounds hyperbolic to me that madmen in the declining U.S. Empire might resort, like rats in a sinking ship, to first strike use of nuclear weapons, which is official U.S. policy. My stomach is churning at the thought, despite what most experts say: that the chances of a nuclear war are slight. And despite what others say about the Ukraine war: that it is an intentional diversion from the Covid propaganda and the Great Reset (although I agree it achieves that goal).
My gut tells me no; it is very real, sui generis, and very, very dangerous now.
The eminent scholar Michel Chossudovsky of Global Research agrees that we are very close to the unthinkable. In a recent historical analysis of U.S.-Russia relations and nuclear weapons, he writes the following before quoting Vladimir Putin’s recent statement on the matter. “Vladimir Putin’s statement on February 21st, 2022 was a response to U.S. threats to use nuclear weapons on a preemptive basis against Russia, despite Joe Biden’s “reassurance” that the U.S. would not be resorting to ‘A first strike’ nuclear attack against an enemy of America”:
Let me [Putin] explain that U.S. strategic planning documents contain the possibility of a so-called preemptive strike against enemy missile systems. And who is the main enemy for the U.S. and NATO? We know that too. It’s Russia. In NATO documents, our country is officially and directly declared the main threat to North Atlantic security. And Ukraine will serve as a forward springboard for the strike.” (Putin Speech, February 21, 2022, emphasis added)
Putin is absolutely correct. It is why he put Russia’s nuclear forces on full alert. Only those ignorant of history, which sadly includes most U.S. Americans, don’t know this.
I believe that today we are in the greatest danger of a nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, something I vividly remember as a teenager. The same feelings return. Dread. Anxiety. Breathlessness. I do not think these feelings are misplaced nor they are simply an emotional response. I try to continue writing on other projects that I have started but feel stymied. The possibility of nuclear war, whether intentional or accidental, obsesses me.
In order to grasp this stomach-churning possibility within the context of Ukraine, we need to put aside all talk of morality, rights, international law, and think in terms of great power politics, as John Mearsheimer has so clearly articulated. As he says, when a great power feels its existence is threatened, might makes right. You simply can’t understand world politics without thinking at this level. Doing so does not mean justifying the use of might; it is a means of clarifying the causes of wars, which start long before the first shots are fired.
In the present crisis over Ukraine, Russia clearly feels existentially threatened by U.S./NATO military moves in Ukraine and in eastern Europe where they have positioned missiles that can be very quickly converted to nuclear and are within a few minutes range of Russia. (And of course there are U.S./NATO nuclear missiles throughout western and southern Europe.) Vladimir Putin has been talking about this for many years and is factually correct. He has reiterated that this is unacceptable to Russia and must stop. He has pushed for negotiations to end this situation.
The United States, despite its own Monroe Doctrine that prohibits another great power from putting weapons or military forces close to its borders, has blocked its ears and kept upping the ante, provoking Russian fears. This fact is not in dispute but is shrugged off by U.S./NATO as of little consequence. Such an attitude is pure provocation as anyone with a smidgeon of historical awareness knows.
The world was very lucky sixty years ago this October when JFK and Nikita Khrushchev negotiated the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis before the world was incinerated. Kennedy, of course, was intensely pressured by the military and CIA to bomb Cuba, but he resisted. He also rejected the insane military desire to nuke the Soviet Union, calling such people crazy; at a National Security Council meeting on September 12, 1963, when the Joint Chiefs of Staff presented a report about a nuclear first strike against the Soviet Union which they wanted for that fall, he said, “Preemption is not possible for us.”
Such leadership, together with the nuclear test ban treaty he negotiated with the USSR that month, inter alia (such treaties have now been abrogated by the U.S. government), assured his assassination organized by the CIA. These days, the U.S. is led by deluded men who espouse a nuclear first strike policy, which tells one all one needs to know about the danger the world is in. The U.S. has been very sick with Russia hatred for a long time.
After the terror of the Cuban Missile Crisis, many more people took the threat of nuclear war seriously. Today very few do. It has receded into the ”unimaginable.” In 1962, however, as James W. Douglass writes in JFK and the Unspeakable:
Kennedy saw that, at least outside Washington, D.C., people were living with a deeper awareness of the ultimate choice they faced. Nuclear weapons were real. So, too, was the prospect of peace. Shocked by the Cuban Missile Crisis into recognizing a real choice, people preferred peace to annihilation.
Today the reality of nuclear annihilation has receded into unconsciousness. This despite the recent statements by U.S. generals and the U.S. Ukrainian puppet Zelensky about nuclear weapons and their use that have extremely inflamed Russia’s fears, which clearly is intentional. The game is to have some officials say it and then deny it while having a policy that contradicts your denial. Keep pushing the envelope is U.S. policy. Obama-Biden reigned over the U.S. 2014 coup in Ukraine, Trump increased weapon sales to Ukraine in 2017, and Biden has picked up the baton from his partner (not his enemy) in this most deadly game. It is a bi-partisan Cold War 2, getting very hot. And it is the reason why Russia, its back to the wall, attacked Ukraine. It is obvious that this is exactly what the U.S. wanted or it would have acted very differently in the leadup to this tragedy. All the current ringing of hands is pure hypocrisy, the nihilism of a nuclear power never for one moment threatened but whose designs were calculated to threaten Russia at its borders.
The media propaganda against Russia and Putin is the most extreme and extensive propaganda in my lifetime. Patrick Lawrence has astutely examined this in a recent essay, where he writes the same is true for him:
Many people of many different ages have remarked in recent days that they cannot recall in their lifetimes a more pervasive, suffocating barrage of propaganda than what has engulfed us since the months that preceded Russia’s intervention. In my case it has come to supersede the worst of what I remember from the Cold War decades.
Engulfed is an appropriate word. Lawrence rightly points to this propaganda as cognitive warfare directed at the U.S. population (and the rest of the world) and notes its connection to the January 2021 final draft of a “diabolic” NATO study called “Cognitive Warfare.” He quotes it thus: “The brain will be the battlefield of the 21st century,” . . . “Humans are the contested domain. Cognitive warfare’s objective is to make everyone a weapon.”
This cognitive warfare, however, has a longer history in cutting edge science. For each successive decade beginning with the 1990s and a declaration from President (and ex-Director of the CIA) George H. W. Bush that the 1990s would be the Decade of Brain Research, presidents have announced additional decades long projects involving the brain, with 2000-2010 being the Decade of Behavior Project, followed by mapping of the brain, artificial intelligence, etc. all organized and funded through the Office of Science and Technology Project (OSTP) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This medical, military, and scientific research has been part of a long range plan to extend MK-Ultra’s mind control to the population at large under the cover of medical science, and it has been simultaneously connected to the development and funding of the pharmaceutical industries research and development of new brain-altering drugs. RFK, Jr. has documented the CIA’s extensive connection to germ and mind research and promotion in his book, The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health. It is why his book is banned from the mainstream media, who do the prime work of cognitive warfare for the government. To put it clearly: these media are the CIA. And the issue of U.S. bio-weapons research and development is central to these many matters, including in Ukraine.
In other words, the cognitive warfare we are now being subjected to has many tentacles connected to much more than today’s fanatical anti-Russian propaganda over Ukraine. All the U.S. wars of aggression have been promoted under its aegis, as have the lies about the attacks of September 11, 2001, the economic warfare by the elites, the COVID crisis, etc. It’s one piece.
Take, for example, a book written in 2010 by David Ray Griffin, a renown theologian who has written more than a dozen books about 9/11. The book is Cognitive Infiltration: An Obama Appointee’s Plan to Undermine the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory. It is a critique of law professor Cass Sunstein, appointed by Obama to be the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Sunstein had written an article with a plan for the government to prevent the spread of anti-government “conspiracy theories” in which he promoted the use of anonymous government agents to use secret “cognitive infiltration” of these groups in order to break them up; to use media plants to disparage their arguments. He was particularly referring to those who questioned the official 9/11 narrative but his point obviously extended much further. He was working in the tradition of the great propagandists. Griffin took a scalpel to this call for cognitive warfare and was of course a victim of it as well. Sunstein has since worked for the World Health Organization (WHO) on COVID psychological responses and other COVID committees. It’s all one piece.
Sunstein’s wife is Samantha Power, Obama’s Ambassador to the United Nations and war hawk extraordinaire. She gleefully promoted the U.S. destruction of Libya under the appellation of the “responsibility to protect,” a “humane” cover for imperialism. Now she is Biden’s Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an arm of the CIA throughout the world. It’s all one piece.
The merry-go-round goes round and round.
I have gone off on this slight tangent to emphasize how vast and interconnected are the players and groups on Team Cognitive Warfare. They have been leading the league for quite some time and are hoping their game plan against Team Russia will keep them there. So far they are winning, as Patrick Lawrence says:
Look at what has become of us. Most Americans seem to approve of these things, or at least are unstirred to object. We have lost all sense of decency, of ordinary morality, of proportion. Can anyone listen to the din of the past couple of weeks without wondering if we have made of ourselves a nation of grotesques?It is common to observe that in war the enemy is always dehumanized. We are now face to face with another reality: Those who dehumanize others dehumanize themselves more profoundly.
Perhaps people are too ignorant to see through the propaganda. To have some group to hate is always “uplifting.” But we are all responsible for the consequences of our actions, even when those actions are just buying the propaganda and hating those one is told to hate. It is very hard to accept that the leaders of your own country commit and contemplate unspeakable evil deeds and that they wish to control your mind. To contemplate that they might once again use nuclear weapons is unspeakable but necessary if we are to prevent it.
I hope my fears are unfounded. I agree with Gilbert Doctorow that the Ukraine-Russia war separates the sheep from the goats, that there is no middle ground. This is not to celebrate war and the death of innocent people, but it does demand placing the blame squarely where it belongs and not trying to have it both ways. People like him, John Mearsheimer, the late badly missed Stephen Cohen, Ray McGovern, Scott Ritter, Pepe Escobar, Patrick Lawrence, Jack Matlock, Ted Postol, et al. are all cutting through the propaganda and delivering truth in opposition to all the lies. They go gentile with fears of nuclear war, however, as if it is somewhat possible but highly unlikely, as if their deepest thoughts are unspeakable, for to utter them would be an act of despondency.
The consensus of the experts tends to be that the U.S. wishes to draw the Russians into a long protracted guerrilla war along the lines of its secret use of mujahideen in Afghanistan in 1979 and after. There is evidence that this is already happening. But I think the U.S. strategists know that the Russians are too smart for that; that they have learned their lesson; and that they will withdraw once they feel they have accomplished their goals. Therefore, from the U.S./NATO perspective, time is reasonably short and they must act quickly, perhaps by doing a false flag operation that will justify a drastic response, or upping the tempo in some other way that would seem to justify the use of nuclear weapons, perhaps tactical at first.
I appreciate the input of the Russia experts I mentioned above. Their expertise dwarfs mine, but I disagree. Perhaps I am an excitable sort; perhaps I am one of those Patrick Lawrence refers to, quoting Carl Jung, as too emotional and therefore incapable of clear thinking. (I will leave the issue of this long held but erroneous western philosophical belief in the division of emotions and thoughts for another day.) Perhaps I can’t see the obvious that a nuclear war will profit no one and therefore it cannot happen. Yet Ted Postol, MIT professor of technology and international security, while perhaps agreeing that an intentional nuclear war is very unlikely, has been warning of an accidental one for many years. He is surely right on that score and well worth listening to.
But either way, I am sorry to say, perhaps because my perspective is that of a generalist, not an expert, and my thinking is informed by art as much as social science and history, my antennae pick up a very disturbing message. A voice tells me that the danger is very, very real today. It says:
The Axis powers, including Germany and Japan, were the foes of the United States and other Allied powers in World War II. Decades later, President George W. Bush chose to term some other nations — Iraq, Iran, and North Korea — as a new “axis of evil.” That was followed by a US invasion and overthrow in Iraq. Decades later, US troops remain in Iraq, and US sanctions and hostility directed at the other two nations continue.
This week, the United States House of Representatives is set to bring the Axis designation back to the big time — seeking to lump China in with Russia as the new Axis powers the US should be devoted to opposing. The movement toward a new world war — the first one with nuclear powers on both sides — grows stronger.
The House is scheduled to consider the AXIS Act (HR 7314) this week. “AXIS” in the title is the kind of ridiculous acronym that has become common in US legislation. It stands for “Assessing Xi’s Interference and Subversion.” “Xi” is Xi Jinping, the leader of China’s government.
The AXIS Act is being considered under suspension of the rules. Legislation deemed noncontroversial by House leadership can be considered under suspension of the rules in which there is usually a relatively brief House floor debate. Suspension legislation is also often passed by voice vote on a nearly empty house floor. Pressing forward toward World War III is not controversial? For many oblivious House members that probably is the case.
The AXIS Act starts off with a series of findings attempting to paint China as an aider of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The accusations included are underwhelming: China and Russia made a strategic partnership announcement a few weeks before the invasion; China abstained from voting on resolutions condemning the invasion in the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly; China has not publicly condemned the invasion.
That’s it. The resolution implicitly admits its backers cannot really tie China to supporting the invasion of Ukraine. Still the resolution proceeds, in what it states is the “sense of Congress,” to bluster that …
“the People’s Republic of China’s disinformation efforts relating to the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine make it culpable in whitewashing Russia’s war crimes, which include the indiscriminate killing of countless Ukrainian men, women, and children.”
It is the second and final listed “sense of Congress” that is the heart of the resolution and that holds the threat of increased animosity toward China and the potential eruption of World War III. It states that it is the sense of Congress that,
“if China is found to be materially supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine, there should be swift and stringent consequences for China.”
Swift and stringent consequences have already been imposed against Russia. They amount to nearly everything short of US troops fighting against the Russian military, though, with US history as a guide, it should be suspected that US troops are engaged covertly in some military actions against Russians. The US has established expansive sanctions on Russia, extensively blocked investment in and commerce with Russia, and excluded Russia from financial systems including SWIFT that facilitate participation in international trade. The US has also been funding, supplying, and training Ukraine military forces that are fighting against Russians.
In an apparent effort to justify the US treating China similarly, the AXIS Act requires the real experts at depicting other nations as enemies — the Department of State — to…
“submit to the appropriate congressional committees” within 30 days and then every 90 days thereafter “a report on whether and how the People’s Republic of China, including the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, any Chinese state-owned enterprise, and any other Chinese entity, has provided support to the Russian Federation with respect to its unprovoked invasion of and full-scale war against Ukraine.”
These reports will provide House members keen on ramping up hostilities against China with the steady stream of pro-war propaganda they desire. And have no doubt that the executive branch will be happy to provide such. The Biden administration’s interests are in the same direction as the House members raging at China. President Joe Biden has already been out using the Ukraine War as a reason for threatening China. Indeed, the AXIS Act notes one example of this:
“In his call with Xi Jinping on March 18, 25 2022, President Joe Biden communicated that there would be ‘implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians’.”
The AXIS Act is a significant step in the effort by Congress members and the Biden administration, using the Ukraine War as an excuse, to direct against China hostilities already directed against Russia, and maybe more.
Most of the backers of this effort probably expect that such actions will not lead to World War III. Hopefully, they are correct in that assessment.
Even if they are correct that the most dire consequences will be avoided, the toll of expanding hostilities against China will still be harsh for people across the world.
For what gain? None is clear.
What is clear is that there is much potential danger ahead and that US politicians are propelling Americans and the world toward it.
Chinese brainstorming…
Think about the implications of this, big picture. The stock market and economy are shaky. China may have to dump everything they own in the US, along with Treasuries. All triggered by the sanctions on Russia from Ukraine.
Chinese state regulators held an emergency conference with major domestic and foreign banks to discuss means to protect the People’s Republic’s assets should the US impose sanctions similar to those it slapped on Russia in February, the Financial Times reports, citing people said to be familiar with the situation.
The meeting, said to have taken place on 22 April, reportedly involved officials from the People’s Bank of China, the country’s powerful central bank, as well as the Finance Ministry. Representatives from every major national bank took part, as did major foreign lenders operating in the Asian nation, such as HSBC, according to the paper’s sources.
An unnamed "senior finance ministry official" was said to have kicked off the meeting by saying Beijing had been "put on alert" of the West’s ability to seize foreign assets by observing what the US and its allies did to Russia.
In March, officials from the Russian Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance reported that the United States and its allies had seized "about $300 billion" of the country’s estimated $642 billion reserve cushion, with the US alone accounting for roughly $100 billion of that. In recent weeks, officials and lawmakers in Washington and Brussels have threatened to confiscate these assets, or transfer them to Ukraine.
Yes. If China disengages from US, the US is without a prayer.
We need them far more than they need us.
For decades they sent us manufactured goods, we gave them pieces of paper called Treasury Bills. That is over.
Then they started taking businesses and land. If they can’t operate a business or make use of the land there is no reason for them to play with us.In theory US could do what it used to do and make stuff.
Before such an adjustment is made the largest part of the population would be dead.
Only reason for China or Russia to engage with US at all is to preserve stability.
When US policy amounts to throwing all the cards in the air and kicking over the table they can’t much help us with stability.-oldhippie
So the Chinese have received a wake up call- they watched as the US/UK walked away with Afghani bank assets, with Venezuelan Gold (Guido seems happy), with Libyan, and Serbian Gold, with Iranian Assets, and of late with Russian bank assets to the tune of $300 Billion.So what can be a rational game plan for the Chinese who have ? $1.5 Trillion in Assets/T bills tied up in the US.
How does one back out of this predicament, and reclaim their value, before the US preys on them???
-AParadiseLost
Caught RED-HANDED!
China recently introduced a new law and policy that discloses the IP address of all Internet users.
Now, as a result of this, many people claiming to be inside of Shanghai and upset about the Coronavirus restrictions have been unmasked.
This policy resulted in the discovery of “Shanghai residents” who have been vocally complaining about their dissatisfaction with China, actually being outside of China, and constructing narratives that paints China in a horrible light.
There are many, many “Chinese accounts” originating out of Taiwan, a handful out of Australia and Japan, and a large group from both the UK, and Canada. All of which pretend to be Chinese residents inside of Shanghai.
This has forced Chinese social media, as well as foreign social media (operating inside of China) to suspend many of these fake accounts. As a result, many of these individuals are suddenly stopping their Internet activities using China social media.
So anyone on wechat etc, will now notice that there are suddenly less rubbish materials and postings critical of China.
One such “caught” faux-Shanghai “resident”…
An Dong, an IT support staffer for the EU delegation, often expressed candid political takes and spoke in favor of democratic principles on WeChat. His account has previously been suspended “likely as a result of his political views,”per the Wall Street Journal.
Ten countries open accounts to pay for gas from Russia, Hungary says – The Frontier Post
MOSCOW (RIA Novosti): In addition to Hungary, nine European countries have opened Russian bank accounts to pay for natural gas under the scheme proposed by Moscow, Gergely Gouyash, head of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s office, told Rádió Kossuth.
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“Hungary has opened a euro account, to which the price of gas in euros is credited, and then the bank converts it into rubles… In addition to us, nine other countries do this, but they do not say that they do the same, simply because in Europe now “being good for Europe” means that the leadership of the country does not speak honestly with its people and in international life,” he said.
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The politician once again reminded that the European Union has not adopted any sanctions that make it impossible to pay for Russian gas in rubles, this is regulated by a civil law agreement between states and companies.
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Earlier, Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjarto also emphasized that some European companies importing natural gas from Russia agreed to the payment scheme proposed by Russia, but they do not talk about it honestly and spread false information about the position of Hungary with the help of Western media.
In turn, Orban noted that the country is ready to pay for Russian gas in rubles, and Szijjártó pointed out that the cessation of supplies to Bulgaria will not affect transit to Hungary.
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On March 23, Russian President Putin announced the transfer of payment for natural gas supplies to the EU countries and other states that have introduced restrictive measures against Russia into rubles in order to abandon the use of dollars and euros in calculations. Then the president si-gned a corresponding dec-ree and said that if unfriendly countries did not pay in rubles from April 1, then Russia would consider this a default on gas contracts.
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According to the new scheme, Gazprombank will open special currency and ruble accounts for foreign buyers to pay for gas. The buyer will be able to transfer funds to the first acc-ount in the currency specified in the contract for the supply of “blue fuel”, the b-ank will sell it on the Mos-cow Exchange, after which it will credit rubles to the account of the buyer of gas and from this account settlements will be made with gas supplier – Gazprom”.ARTICLE
German energy firm Uniper ready to meet Russian pay demand – BBC News
Question: What do you think is at the root of the Ukrainian crisis? What can the international community do to solve this problem?
Sergey Lavrov: When we talk about the Ukrainian crisis, first of all we need to look at the destructive policy of the Western states conducted over many years and led by the United States, which set a course to knock together a unipolar world order after the end of the Cold War. NATO’s reckless expansion to the East was a key component of those actions, despite the political obligations to the Soviet leadership on the non-expansion of the Alliance. As you know, those promises were just empty words. All these years, NATO infrastructure has been moving closer and closer to the Russian borders.
The West was never concerned about the fact that their actions grossly violated their international obligations not to strengthen their own security at the expense of the security of others. In particular, Washington and Brussels arrogantly rejected the initiatives put forward by Russia in December 2021 to ensure our country’s security guarantees in the west: to stop the expansion of NATO, not to deploy armaments that pose a threat to Russia in Ukraine and to return the Alliance’s military infrastructure to the 1997 configuration, when the NATO-Russia Founding Act was signed.
It is well-known that the United States and NATO member states have always viewed Ukraine as a tool to contain Russia. Over the years, they have actively fuelled anti-Russia sentiments there, forcing Kiev to make an artificial and false choice: to be either with the West or with Moscow.
It was the collective West that first provoked and then supported the anti-constitutional coup d’etat in Kiev in February 2014. Nationalists came to power in Ukraine and immediately unleashed a bloody massacre in Donbass, and set the course on the destruction of everything Russian in the rest of the country. Let me remind you that it was precisely because of this threat that the people of Crimea voted in a referendum for the reunification with Russia in 2014.
Over these past years, the United States and its allies have done nothing to stop the intra-Ukrainian conflict. Instead of encouraging Kiev to settle it politically based on the Minsk Complex of Measures, they sent weapons, trained and armed the Ukrainian army and nationalist battalions, and generally carried out the military-political development of Ukraine’s territory. They encouraged the aggressive anti-Russia course pursued by the Kiev authorities. In fact, they pushed the Ukrainian nationalists to undermine the negotiating process and resolve the Donbass issue by force.
We were deeply concerned about the undeclared biological programmes implemented in Ukraine with Pentagon’s support in close proximity to the Russian borders. And, of course, we could not disregard the Kiev leadership’s undisguised intentions to acquire a military nuclear potential, which would create an unacceptable threat to Russia’s national security.
In these conditions, we had no other choice but to recognise the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics and launch the special military operation. Its aim is to protect people from genocide by the neo-Nazis, as well as to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine. I would like to stress that Russia is acting to fulfil its obligations under bilateral agreements on cooperation and mutual assistance with the DPR and LPR, at the official request of Donetsk and Lugansk under Article 51 of the UN Charter on the right to self-defence.
The special military operation launched on February 24 is progressing strictly in accordance with the plan. All its goals will be achieved in spite of our opponents’ counteractions. At the moment we are witnessing a classic case of double standards and hypocrisy of the Western establishment. By publicly supporting the Kiev regime, NATO member states are doing everything in their power to prevent the completion of the operation by reaching political agreements. Various weapons are flowing endlessly into Ukraine through Poland and other NATO countries. All of this is being done under the pretext of “fighting the invasion”, but in fact the United States and the European Union intend to fight Russia “to the last Ukrainian.” They do not care at all about the fate of Ukraine as an independent subject of international relations.
The West is ready to jeopardise the energy and food security of entire regions of the globe to satisfy its own geopolitical ambitions.What ither explanation is there for the unrestrained flywheel of anti-Russian sanctions launched by the West with the start of the operation and which they aren’t thinking of stopping?
If the United States and NATO are truly interested in settling the Ukrainian crisis, then, first, they must come to their senses and stop supplying weapons and ammunition to Kiev. The Ukrainian people do not need Stingers and Javelins; what they need is a solution to urgent humanitarian issues.Russia has been doing this since 2014. During this time, tens of thousands of tonnes of humanitarian cargo have been delivered to Donbass, and about 15,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid have already arrived in the part of Ukraine liberated from the Kiev regime, the DPR and the LPR, since the launch of the special military operation.
Second, it is essential that the Kiev regime stops cynical provocations, including in the information space. Ukrainian armed formations are barbarically shelling cities using civilians as living shields. We saw examples of this in Donetsk and Kramatorsk. Captured Russian servicemen are being abused with animal cruelty, and these atrocities are being posted online. At the same time, they use their Western patrons and global media controlled by the West to accuse the Russian army of war crimes. As they say, laying the blame at somebody else’s door.
It is high time for the West to stop unconditionally whitewashing and covering up for Kiev. Otherwise, … Washington, Brussels and other Western capitals should consider their responsibility for complicity in the bloody crimes perpetrated by the Ukrainian nationalists.
Question: What measures has Russia taken to protect the lives and property of civilians? What efforts has it made to establish humanitarian corridors?
Sergey Lavrov: As I mentioned earlier, the special military operation is proceeding according to plan. Under this plan, the Russian military personnel are doing everything in their power to avoid victims among civilians. Blows are carried out with high-precision weapons, first of all at military infrastructure facilities and places where armoured vehicles are concentrated. Unlike the Ukrainian army and nationalist armed groups that use people as living shields, the Russian army provides the locals with all kinds of assistance and support.
Humanitarian corridors open daily from Kharkov and Mariupol to evacuate people from dangerous districts, but the Kiev regime demands that the “national battalions” in control of those areas do not release the civilians. Nevertheless, many are able to leave with the assistance of Russian, DPR and LPR servicemen. During the special military operation, the hotline of the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine has received requests for assistance in evacuating 2.8 million people to Russia, including 16,000 foreign citizens and employees of UN and OSCE international missions. In total, 1.02 million people have been evacuated from Ukraine, the DPR and LPR, of which over 120,000 are citizens of third countries, including over 300 Chinese nationals. There are over 9,500 temporary accommodation facilities operating in Russian regions. They have space for rest and hot meals, and everything that may be necessary. Newly arrived refugees are provided with qualified medical and psychological assistance.
Russia is taking measures to ensure civilian navigation in the Black and Azov seas. A humanitarian corridor opens daily, a safe lane for ships. However, Ukraine continues to block foreign ships, creating a threat of shelling in its internal waters and territorial sea. Moreover, Ukrainian naval units have mined the shore, the ports and territorial waters. These explosive devices disconnect from their anchor lines and drift into the open sea, so they pose a serious danger to both the fleets and the port infrastructure of the Black Sea countries.
Question: Since the special military operation was launched in Ukraine, Western counties have adopted a large number of unprecedented sanctions against Moscow. How do you think these sanctions will affect Russia? What are the main countermeasures taken by Russia? Some say that a new Cold War has begun. How would you comment on that?
Sergey Lavrov: It is true that the special military operation was used by the collective West as a pretext to unleash numerous restrictions against Russia, as well as its legal entities and individuals. The United States, Great Britain, Canada and EU countries do not conceal that their goal is to strangle our economy by undermining its competitiveness and blocking Russia’s progressive development. At the same time, the Western ruling circles are not embarrassed by the fact that anti-Russian sanctions are already beginning to harm ordinary people in their own countries. I mean the declining economic trends in the United States and many European countries, including growing inflation and unemployment.
It is clear that there can be no excuse for this anti-Russian line and it has no future. As President Vladimir Putin said, Russia has withstood this unprecedented pressure. Now the situation is stabilising, though, of course, not all risks are behind us.
In any case, they will not succeed in weakening us. I am confident that we will restructure the economy and protect ourselves from our opponents’ possible illegitimate and hostile actions in the future. We will continue to give a fitting and adequate response to the imposed restrictions, guided by the goal of maintaining the stability of the Russian economy and its financial system, as well as the interests of domestic businesses and the entire nation. We will focus our efforts on de-dollarisation, de-offshorisation, import substitution, and promotion of technological independence.We will continue to adapt to external challenges and step up development programmes for promising and competitive industries.
During the period of turbulence, our retaliatory special economic measures needed to ensure the normal functioning of the Russian economy will be continued and expanded. As a responsible player on the international market, Russia intends to continue scrupulously fulfilling its obligations under international contracts on export deliveries of agricultural products, fertilisers, energy carriers and other critical products. We are deeply concerned about a possible food crisis provoked by the anti-Russian sanctions, and we are well aware how important the deliveries of essential goods, such as food, are for the socioeconomic development of Asian, African, Latin American, and Middle Eastern countries.
I will be brief as regards the second part of your question. Today we are not talking about a new “cold war,” but, as I said earlier, about the persistent desire to impose a US-centric model of the world order coming from Washington and its satellites, who imagine themselves to be “arbiters of humankind’s fate.” It has reached the point where the … Western minority is trying to replace the UN-centric architecture and international law formed after World War II with their own “rule-based order.” These rules are written by Washington and its allies and then imposed on the international community as binding.
We must realise that the United States has been carrying out this destructive policy for several decades now. It is enough to recall NATO’s aggression against Yugoslavia, attacks on Iraq and Libya, attempts to destroy Syria, as well as the colour revolutions that Western capitals staged in a number of countries, including Ukraine. All of this came at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives and resulted in chaos in various regions of the planet.
The West tries to crudely suppress those who carry out an independent course in their domestic and foreign policy. Not just Russia. We can see how bloc thinking is being imposed in the Asian-Pacific Region. We can recall the Indo-Pacific strategy promoted by the United States, which has a pronounced anti-China tendency. The US seeks to dictate the standards according to which Latin America should live, in the spirit of the outdated Monroe Doctrine. This explains many years of the illegal trade embargo on Cuba, sanctions against Venezuela, as well as attempts to undermine stability in Nicaragua and other countries. The pressure on Belarus continues in the same context. This list can go on.
It is clear that the collective West’s efforts to oppose the natural course of history and solve its problems at the expense of others are doomed. Today the world has several decision-making centres; it is multipolar. We can see how quickly Asian, African, and Latin American countries are developing. Everyone is getting a real freedom of choice, including where it comes to choosing their development models and participation in integration projects. Our special military operation in Ukraine also contributes to the process of freeing the world from the West’s neocolonial oppression heavily mixed with racism and a complex of exceptionalism.
The faster the West accepts the new geopolitical situation, the better it will be for the West itself and for the entire international community.
As President Xi Jinping said at the Boao Forum for Asia, “We need to uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the pursuit of one’s own security at the cost of others’ security.”
Question: Russian-Ukrainian talks have attracted close attention of the international community. What are the main obstacles to the talks today? How do you regard the prospects of a peace treaty between the two parties? What kind of bilateral relations does Russia intend to have with Ukraine in the future?
Sergey Lavrov: At present the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are holding discussions on the possible draft almost daily, via videoconference. This document should contain such elements of the post-conflict situation as permanent neutrality, the non-nuclear, non-bloc and demilitarised status of Ukraine, as well as guarantees of its security. The agenda of the talks also includes denazification, recognition of the new geopolitical reality, the lifting of sanctions and the status of the Russian language, among other things. Settling the situation in Ukraine will make a significant contribution to the de-escalation of the military and political tensions in Europe and the world in general. The establishment of an institution of guarantor states is envisaged as a possible option. First of all, they will be the permanent members of the UN Security Council, including Russia and China. We share information on the progress in the talks with Chinese diplomats. We are grateful to Beijing and other BRICS partners for their balanced position on the Ukrainian issue.
We are in favour of continuing the talks, although the process is difficult.
You are right to ask about the obstacles. For example, they include the militant rhetoric and incendiary actions of Kiev’s Western patrons. They are actually encouraging Kiev to “fight to the last Ukrainian,” pumping the country with weapons and sending mercenaries there. Let me note that the Ukrainian security services staged a crude bloody provocation in Bucha with the help of the West, to complicate the negotiation process among other things.
I am confident that agreements can only be reached when Kiev starts to be guided by the interests of the Ukrainian people, and not the advisors from far away.
Speaking about Russian-Ukrainian relations, Russia is interested in a peaceful, free, neutral, prosperous and friendly Ukraine. Despite the current administration’s anti-Russian course, we remember the many centuries of all-embracing cultural, spiritual, economic and family ties between Russians and Ukrainians. We will definitely restore these ties.
Simple Cajun Seasoning
Here is a simple way to make Cajun seasoning using normal kitchen spices.
Ingredients
Original recipe yields 20 servings
Directions
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Poland and NATO: Sneaking Troops Around; Forbids Public Photos/Videos!
The Polish Government has announced that Large-Scale Military Exercises will be taking place across the Country beginning today involving the Polish Military and multiple NATO Member States. Heavy Military Equipment is expected to be seen on Highways and roads around the Country.
This, the world already knew about. What’s very different this time is as follows:
The Polish State Security Service has requested that people refrain from Photographing or Posting about Military Movements including Aircraft landings and take-offs, people who do continue to publicly document Allied Military Movements are subject to prosecution.
The Polish State Security Ministry has threatened Fines and Jail Time for posting pictures and announcing Force Movements over Social Media since the Russian Invasion of Ukraine began, though so far no Polish Citizens have been prosecuted.
There has been covert intelligence coming out of Poland which CLAIMS (not yet confirmed) that Poland and perhaps other nations are planning to put armed troops into western Ukraine as “peace keepers.” HOWEVER, along with such rumors are other CLAIMS (also not verified) that Poland intends a land grab f western Ukraine; to reincorporate what was once actual Polish territory before World War 2, back into Poland. These claims are Furiously DENIED by the Poland government.
Yet, given the announcement by Polish security services, that the public must not take photos, video or make troop movement postings on social media, one has to wonder why all the secrecy? If Poland is not going to send troops into Ukraine, why the secrecy?
It is widely believed by many seasoned observers that if Poland tries to insert troops into Ukraine, they would be immediately engaged by Russian armed forces, regardless of Poland’s stated purposes.
American Georgetown professor advocates doubling the United States defense spending so as to have a war with both China and Russia simultaneously
Current spending; United States budget is…
So it’s not enough. More military spending must occur! Double the spending. Is this even possible?
Ok. I knew that the United States was run by idiots, but this is over the top.
Russia’s chip technology is backward, why is its weaponry advanced?
2022-05-02 13:08 HKT
As we all know, chips are the soul of information-based weapons and equipment. A country’s chip level directly determines the advanced level of weapons and equipment. If the ranking is based on revenue, in 2020, the United States will account for 6 of the world’s top ten semiconductor manufacturers. , South Korea accounted for 2, Japan accounted for 1, Xiaowan accounted for 1.
If the ranking is based on R&D expenditure, personnel size, etc., the ranking is different, but without exception, no Russian company can make the list.
From the current point of view, Russia’s chip research capabilities are not strong. Compared with the United States and Europe, its chip level is at least 10 years different.
Due to this, you can’t see any popular mobile phones, cars and household appliances in Russia. Many civilian products in Russia are subject to chip technology, and there are almost no sales in the world, and of course there is no sense of existence.
Although Russia’s chip technology is not strong, its weapons and equipment are extremely advanced. This is also an important reason why Russia’s arms trade has been ranked second in the world for many years.
According to Western media reports, in 2019, the GPS system of the United States covering the Middle East was suppressed by the interference of mysterious electromagnetic waves, and it was completely paralyzed in a period of time, which interrupted civil and military communications in Israel and other countries. reached thousands of square kilometers.
The U.S. military immediately analyzed it and believed that the electronic interference was carried out by Russia, because Russia has a Khomeimim air base in Syria, which contains the Russian electronic warfare system. The U.S. military judged the distance and believed that the interference signal was the Khomemim airbase. Sent from Memim Air Force Base.
The Russian army was able to use the electronic warfare system to effectively interfere with the GPS of the US military, causing many of the US military’s precision-guided weapons to fail under the interference of the Russian army. This also shows that the Russian military’s electronic warfare equipment is still extremely advanced.
Russian weapons and equipment have always given people the impression of being stupid and clumsy, and it is difficult to create very small and delicate electronic warfare equipment.
Chip technology is listed as a key technology by the United States. The United States and other Western countries not only block chip technology from Russia, but also impose embargoes on high-performance chips. Russia’s chip technology is backward, and Russia, which does not have high-performance chips, why is its weaponry so advanced?
To figure this out, we have to figure out why Russia’s chip technology lags behind?
Russia’s chip technology and foundation were inherited from the Soviet Union, which implemented a planned economic system, and the Soviet Union divided labor among countries and regions, such as East Germany producing precision instruments, Vietnam planting rice, Ukraine farming and raising cattle, and Kazakhstan picking cotton. Belarus-made trucks, etc.
At that time, microelectronics was an absolute high-tech, and all the republics wanted to develop. In order to balance the interests of the various republics, the Soviet Union split and distributed the production of microelectronics to the republics. This led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The electronics industry is very fragmented in various republics and cannot form a complete industrial chain.
Because the Soviet Union implemented a planned economic system, all microelectronics units and enterprises belong to the state, and of course they all eat financially, so it doesn’t matter if they make money or not. The key microelectronics products must be able to ensure national defense and security, because there is no market competition. , so the efficiency is not high.
At the beginning of the Cold War, integrated circuit technology was just emerging, and integrated circuits had two development routes, namely the transistor route and the electron tube route.
As far as electronic tubes and transistors are concerned, transistors are small in size, low in power consumption and long in service life, and have obvious advantages over electronic tubes. It can be said that transistors are a more advanced form of electronic tubes.
But also because transistors are small and advanced, there are many failures, and the anti-interference and anti-radiation capabilities are weak. Under the conditions of nuclear war, the anti-radiation capabilities of electron tubes are much stronger than that of transistors. At that time, in terms of volume, transistors were smaller than electron tubes, but The technology back then was not much smaller.
Although the technology of electron tubes and transistors has developed, the development of transistor technology is faster, especially the miniaturization of transistors, and later it has developed to the nanometer level, which is probably not expected by the Russians.
The disintegration of the Soviet Union has left Russia with a mess. The development of light and heavy industries is uneven, and the semiconductor industry is lagging behind, especially in chip technology. Russia wants to catch up, but it has more than enough energy.
Compared with other industries, the semiconductor industry requires continuous technological iteration. It is not only a technology-intensive industry, but also a capital-intensive industry. It not only requires a large amount of investment, but also requires a certain market scale, and requires a long period of accumulation.
When Russia was first established, shock therapy was implemented. As a result, the economy was seriously regressed, and private enterprises were even more backward. In addition to the troubles in Chechnya, Russia was forced to launch two Chechnya wars in 1994 and 1999. Although Chechnya was eventually conquered by Russia, it also cost a fortune. Russia’s treasury is empty.
After 2000, Russia’s economy began to recover, but in 2008, it fought a war in Georgia. In 2011, the economy just turned a few years ago. In 2014, the Crimea crisis occurred again. emptied the treasury.
Coupled with the constant sanctions by the United States, a large number of scientific and technological talents have been lost, and without capital injection, most of the budding private enterprises have died prematurely.
For example, there is a Yoga Devices mobile phone company in Russia, which produces the YotaPhone series of smartphones, and its YotaPhone 3 mobile phone also won the 2018 German iF Design Award.
But the company went bankrupt in 2019. Because the Russian domestic market is limited, mobile phones from China, the United States and South Korea are very competitive, and there is not much capital injection, the Russian mobile phone company eventually went bankrupt.
The premature death of this Russian mobile phone company is just a microcosm of the development of the Russian electronics industry.
Because Russia does not have many civilian electronic products, there is not much demand for chips. Today’s Russian civilian consumer electronics market only accounts for less than 2% of the global share.
The American Semiconductor Industry Association released a research report in which Americans estimated that Russia’s semiconductor purchases accounted for less than one thousandth of the global total.
Most of today’s consumer goods require chips, such as mobile phones, automobiles, home appliances, computers, etc. It is precisely because Russia’s chip technology is backward and the United States has imposed a strict blockade on high-performance chips, which has led to the development of civilian products that require chips in Russia. If it fails, Russia’s economy can only be supported by energy and military industries.
This creates a vicious circle, and it is expected that Russia’s economy will become increasingly difficult due to chip technology.
Russia’s chip technology is backward, but why is the military industry developed? This is related to Russia’s anti-sky system engineering capabilities.
What is systems engineering capability? To use an analogy, with the same stack of wood, ordinary people can build houses, but experts can build warships, planes, and cannons. This is the ability of systems engineering.
Anyone who has watched Romance of the Three Kingdoms knows that Zhuge Liang can use ordinary wood to create a wooden cow and a horse. This wooden cow and horse can be used to transport military rations and is a means of transportation that surpasses the level of technology at the same time. Zhuge Liang’s ability to create a wooden cow and a horse depends on the system engineering ability.
We can compare the phased array radars of the United States and Russia. The signal processing part of the American Patriot phased array radar uses advanced digital chips, so the flight speed of the detection target can be quickly calculated.
Russia does not have high-end chips at all, so it replaced the chip with an “other-excited crystal oscillator”. This “other-excited crystal oscillator” is an outdated analog circuit design. Integrated circuits are smaller.
Therefore, Russia’s air defense missile phased array radar is larger than that of the United States, and it looks a bit stupid and bulky, but from the perspective of core indicators, it is at the same level as the United States, and its anti-jamming performance is stronger than that of the United States.
Americans have specially studied the Russian S300 radar, and they are full of praise for the performance of this radar. They believe that this radar is “high-performance, low-cost, and low-power consumption”, and they evaluate the Russians’ ability to innovate independently.
That is to say, Americans use the most advanced components and advanced assembly technology to create advanced equipment, while Russian components are not advanced, but relying on the system engineering capabilities against the sky, they can also create advanced equipment.
Russian equipment can be said to be cheap and not beautiful, but it is very easy to use.
Some people say that if you give the Russians a pile of scrap metal, the Americans can only sell it as scrap iron, but the Russians can become a big killer that sweeps away thousands of troops.
On September 6, 1976, Belenko, a pilot of the Soviet Air Defense Air Force, flew a MiG-25 fighter through Japan’s tight air defense network and stopped at Hakodate Airport in Japan, which surprised Japan and the United States. In front of 25 fighters, Japan’s air defense system is useless.
After the Americans got the news, they immediately sent technicians to Japan to study the MiG-25 fighter plane. The plane was disassembled and transported to the Baili Air Force Base in central Japan.
As a result, the American technicians were very surprised that the material of this fighter was very common, mainly made of stainless steel, only a little titanium alloy was used for the key parts, and the welding was done by hand, and the workmanship was relatively rough.
The radar of the aircraft has a huge power of 600 kilowatts, but the main components are outdated vacuum tube components, not advanced solid-state electronic components, so the radar volume is large, but it is more suitable for extreme high temperature, and also reduces the avionics equipment compartment. cooling requirements.
Americans looked at these backward technology and rough parts, but they couldn’t figure out how the Soviets turned it into a fighter with excellent performance. The Americans adjusted the performance parameters of the next-generation heavy fighter based on the performance of the MiG-25, and finally gave birth to the F-15 fighter.
There are two main reasons why the Russians have such incredible systems engineering capabilities:
One is that Russia’s high-end manufacturing industry is underdeveloped, and it cannot make the most advanced weapons with the most advanced chips like the Americans. Instead, it can only use less advanced chips to make weapons and equipment that can compete with the West.
This dilemma of “smart women can’t cook without rice” made the Russians have to improve their systems engineering capabilities to solve the problems, and the Russians’ systems engineering capabilities were also forced out.
Today’s Russia can make low-end chips, mainly to meet the needs of the military, because the military’s demand is small and cannot be produced on a large scale, and of course it cannot be industrialized.
Practice has proved that it is feasible to solve a specific problem with super system engineering capabilities, but after all, this is not a long-term solution. For any industry, the return on investment must be considered. Can not increase R & D investment, is not conducive to long-term development.
China’s early chip development also encountered this problem. To solve this problem, marketization can only be implemented under the guidance of the state.
Second, Russia’s super-strong systems engineering capabilities benefit from Russia’s solid level of basic theoretical research, because only by mastering basic theoretical knowledge can we support the ideas and assumptions of systems engineering.
For example, the Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci, the teacher always asked him to repeat the painting of eggs. In fact, the teacher asked him to do basic skills, and Da Vinci felt very tired at first.
The teacher told Da Vinci that eggs in the world are not absolutely the same. Even if it is the same egg, standing at different angles, the projected light is different, and the drawing is also different. Therefore, painting eggs is a basic skill. Once you have mastered it, you can draw anything.
Da Vinci, who was very intelligent, listened to the teacher’s words, and began to paint eggs carefully and patiently. Eventually, he laid a good foundation for painting and became a world-renowned painter.
The author is an engineering graduate. The author has a feeling that if you want to find a paper with a certain degree of mathematical foundation, then you can find references in the paper, and then find the references in the paper. Within five steps of iteration, it must be Russian. Literature.
Don’t look at American higher education, but when it comes to basic education, especially basic mathematics education, Russia is stronger, and basic education in the United States cannot even (?) keep up with China.
If the basic theory is regarded as the starting point and the product is regarded as the end point, only by thoroughly understanding the basic theory can we design the best route from the starting point to the end point of the product.
Russia has its own unique features in this regard, which are worthy of our study and reference, and also worthy of our deep reflection.
America Wants War with China – Why This American is Saying No!
Pretty damn good.
Cheeseburger Buns
My mom stuffs soft homemade yeast rolls with ground beef, tomato sauce and cheese to make these tasty sandwiches. They’re great leftovers, too. My son takes them in his lunch the next day. —Nancy Holland, Morgan Hill, California
Ingredients
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
3/4 cup warm whole milk (110° to 115°)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
3-1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
8 slices process American cheese, quartered
Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, sugar, shortening, egg, salt and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce. Remove from the heat; set aside.
Punch dough down; divide into 16 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll out and stretch each piece into a 5-in. circle. Top each circle with two pieces of cheese and about 3 tablespoons beef mixture. Bring dough over filling to center; pinch edges to seal.
Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes. Bake at 400° for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.
American neocon leadership advocate nuclear war with China to “put them in their place”
That will trigger a MASSIVE bludgeoning of the United States by both Russia and China simultaneously.
An e-mail from You-Tube explaining things…
RUSSIAN TV
Tonight (Sunday) Russian television broadcast a simulation of Russia launching a SARMAT missile, with its fifteen nuclear warheads, against Britain! The TV commentator says the UK – their little island – will be wiped out. Here, look:
Not only did the Russian Television network show this to the entire country, but they went even farther . . . finally admitting what has long been rumored about Russia having developed a 100 MEGA-ton nuclear drone torpedo. Look at what the Russian people were told on their TV’s tonight: Plunge Britain into the sea by Tsunami from a nuclear torpedo drone!
In the U.S., perhaps one of the most useful idiots in Congress, Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a complete political moron the best part of whom likely dripped down his father’s leg, has introduced a Joint Resolution in Congress authorizing the Use of military force (AUMF) inside Ukraine “if Russia uses chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.”
In my opinion, that Joint Resolution would _really_ be a US declaration of war on Russia. Let’s not fool ourselves with the diplomatic language.
By the time that law is passed, the USA will likely already be at war with Russia, everything else is diplomatic trifles.
A Giant Statue From Old Trash Movies Is Now Rests In Someone’s Backyard
According to a Tumblr user trulyunpleasant:
“This statue is a couple miles from where I live, just sitting in someones backyard. It was in two crappy Atlantis sword-and-sandal movies back in the 50′s/60′s. Then it sat on top of a bar (or club) for a few years, and then someone bought it for their house.”
It’s a Hell of a thing to have lying around.
Video: Col. Richard Black: U.S. Leading World to Nuclear War
Mike Billington of the Schiller Institute interviewed (former) Senator and Col. (ret) Richard Black, who served 31 years in the US Marines and Army.
Sen. Black talked about his military service in Syria, how and why Russia got involved in the war militarily, and how such involvement contrasts with the US’ and NATO’s justification for military intervention in the said war.
Sen. Black also addresses the recent Russian military invasion of Ukraine and the failure to dissolve NATO.
40.12: Colonel Black focusses on the risk of World War III.
“The decision of Peace or War is made in Washington DC,
As long as we [US government] want the war to continue, we will fight using the Ukrainians as proxies, and we will fight it to last Urainian death”
*
Good New Orleans Creole Gumbo
This is a fine Creole gumbo recipe.
"I learned to cook from my mother and grandmother who were born and raised in New Orleans and really knew how to cook. Most of the time, you could not get them to write down their recipes because they used a 'pinch' of this and 'just enough of that' and 'two fingers of water,' and so on. This recipe is a combination of both of their recipes which I have added to over the years. Serve over hot cooked rice. The gumbo can be frozen or refrigerated and many people like it better the next day. Bon appetit!"
New Orleans-style gumbo is a true taste of Southern tradition. This boldly flavored stew is bursting with fresh, filling ingredients like bell pepper, sausage, stewed tomatoes, and crabmeat. Hot sauce ad Cajun seasonings add a kick that makes this Lousiana dish a favorite amongst our community of home cooks. Learn how to make the best homestyle gumbo right here.
What Is Gumbo?
Gumbo is one of the most famous dishes to result from Louisiana’s shared Creole-Cajun heritage. Gumbo falls somewhere between a thick stew and a hearty soup and can contain ingredients such as chicken, sausage, ham, seafood, okra, tomatoes, and greens.
As varied as the recipes can be, there are a few ingredients that all gumbos have in common: homemade stock; the “holy trinity” of celery, onions, and green peppers; and roux.
How to Make Gumbo
Boldly delicious New Orleans-style gumbo is surprisingly easy to make at home. You’ll find the full recipe below with step-by-step instructions, but here’s what you can expect when you make this top-rated recipe:
Great gumbo starts with roux, a flavorful thickening agent made from equal parts fat and flour. Once the roux is a deep golden color, add diced veggies and sausage to the mix. Then, incorporate beef bouillon, hot sauce, tomatoes, and seasonings to intensify the flavor.
Let the gumbo simmer for 45 minutes before adding file powder, okra, and seafood. The result will be a lusciously hearty stew packed with Creole spice.
What Is Gumbo File?
Gumbo file, or file powder, is made from dried sassafras leaves. This ingredient was first used by Choctaw Indians and was later adopted by Acadians (Cajuns) when they arrived in the American South.
Gumbo file has a deep, earthy flavor similar to thyme and should be added to gumbo in the last minutes of cooking — it helps to thicken and enrich the stew for an authentic taste of New Orleans.
Serving suggestions
You serve it with rice.
How to Store Leftover Gumbo
Leftover gumbo can be stored safely in the refrigerator for three to four days. Let the dish come to room temperature before placing it in an airtight container to enjoy later. Gently reheat on the stovetop for best results.
Community Tips and Praise
“This is one of the best gumbos I’ve ever had and my family is from the South so that is saying a lot — just don’t tell my mother or grandmother,” shares reviewer mellie18_99. “I added shrimp, sausage, chicken, and crab meat.”
“This recipe is the real deal,” raves home cook Pat. “Don’t forget the file gumbo at the very end, it makes a big difference. You will know when the roux is done when it has the color of a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar.”
“This was my very first time making gumbo and my guests who had come over for a King Party loved it!” says Shaw Kitty. “Some of these guests were born and raised Louisianans and they gave their approval as well!”
Serve with rice!
Ingredients
Original recipe yields 20 servings
Directions
German gas contract with Russia
Even if German stop buying from Russia, German has the contracted obligation to pay $140b through to 2030 independent of Force Majure.
Apparently, the United States neocons have targeted Russia in the belief that she is an easy target to defeat. Then, once “suppressed”, the full weight of combined efforts can then move on to China…
.
That is my thought also.
Russia without China is endangered and vice versa.
I heard a saying on The Duran Channel on YouTube which has the knowledgeable and wise Alexander Mercouris as main speaker.
"Russia and China do not stand so much shoulder to shoulder but back to back."
p.s. My piece on CounterPunch and Asia Times today has drawn a lot of commentary. Many said that they felt alone and isolated in their opinion on the US proxy war on Russia in Ukraine. They felt better on reading the piece, because they did not feel alone. I think these people are a little bit more likely to speak their opinions and spread them. I feel good about the essay for that reason.
-John V. Walsh
Russian TV Is Talking Very Frankly About Nuclear War (While America Stands with Ukranus)
The Americans will push until there is a disaster.
-Leander
There are two popular clips going around on social media this week of Russians talking about the inevitability of nuclear war. They are both from Russia 1, which is state television.
Remember that RT is also Russian state media, and not really very well-edited, in terms of promoting a consistent agenda, so given the “shrug” mentality of Russians when it comes to narrative control, I don’t think it’s fair to assume that every talking point is overseen directly by the Kremlin. It seems to be more of a “just follow along with what we’re saying” situation. I am not certain of the situation, as my Russian is not good enough to just sit and watch Russian political talk shows, but I imagine there is quite a bit of leeway in terms of the editorial control of the producers and the commentariat. Certainly, they are much less restrained than analogous Western state propaganda – the BBC or CDC (or for that matter NPR, or for that matter CNN).
However, the fact that “we’re probably going to have a nuclear war lol” is now a major talking point probably means that the Russian government told them to start talking about this. Both clips do it in a sort of “lol ok” manner, which was probably also an idea from the state.
In the first clip, a Russian Duma member starts talking about the time it takes for nukes to hit different targets, and jokes about how there is nothing that Berlin, Paris, or London could do to stop a strike from Kaliningrad. As that bitch Julia Davis notes, the host does kind of push back and say that everyone would die in such a war, but the Senator goes into physical comedy and the host chuckles sensibly.
Again, it is just this kind of “hahahaha – LOL” attitude.
I don’t really know why Westerners are spamming these clips – “look – Russia doesn’t even care about nuclear war and they think it’s funny” does not seem like a good argument in support of pressing for war with Russia.
It’s like if you were trying to get someone to fight someone else and you were like “just go start shit talking that guy – he’s got a gun and he’s not at all afraid of dying or going to prison.”
That’s probably the purpose of these segments – to have them disseminated in the West and show that Russians are really blasé about nuclear war. Julia Davis and many others can’t help but do the thing.
Domestically, telling people “nuclear war is lolz” is just hilarious and intelligent. Having a population that responds to “we’re all going to die in a massive war” with “ikr, roflmao” is extremely advantageous. While the US is talking about “our values of who we are in a democracy rules based order of stolen yachts,” Russia is saying “well, we’re all going to die some day anyway.”
For the record, there is zero evidence or reason to believe that a nuclear war would “kill everyone on earth.” Primarily, this is because of the gibberish surrounding the idea of “nuclear fallout,” and even more goofy stuff like “nuclear winter.”
I like the Fallout video games series, but this isn’t real life. As the Russians say – and this is true – there is not even any evidence that if Russia started firing nukes, the West would even respond. They would more likely just start crying and looking for a safe space for their snowflakes.
American B61 Mini-nukes Deployed in Western Europe
The latest B61-12 “mini nuke” is slated to be deployed in Western Europe, aimed at Russia and the Middle East (replacing the existing of B61 nuclear bombs).
B-61-12 is portrayed as a “more usable” “low yield” “humanitarian bomb” “‘harmless to civilians”. That’s the ideology. The reality is “Mutual Assured Destruction” (MAD).
The B61-12 has a maximum yield of 50 kilotons which is more than three times that of a Hiroshima bomb (15 kilotons) which resulted in excess of 100,000 deaths in matter of minutes.
If a preemptive attack using a so-called mini nuke were to succeed, targeted against Russia or Iran, this could potentially lead humanity into a WW III scenario. Of course these details are not highlighted in mainstream media reports.
F-15E Eagle Strike Eagle Fighter for the Delivery of the B-61-12
Low Yield Nukes: Humanitarian Warfare Goes Live
And when the characteristics of this “harmless” low yield nuclear bomb are inserted into the military manuals, “humanitarian warfare” goes live: “It’s low yield and safe for civilians, let’s use it” [paraphrase].
The US arsenal of B61 nuclear bombs directed against the Russian Federation are currently under the national command of 5 non-nuclear states (Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey). The command structure pertaining to the B61-12 is yet to be confirmed. The situation with regard to Turkey’s Incirlik base is unclear.
The Prodigal.
Yeah. This is the name of the movie that the statue comes from.
This movie’s title is The Prodigal.
The Prodigal is a 1955 Biblical epic film made by MGM starring Edmund Purdom and Lana Turner. It was based on the New Testament parable about a selfish son who leaves his family to pursue a life of pleasure. The film also features James Mitchell, Louis Calhern, Joseph Wiseman, Cecil Kellaway and Walter Hampden. The dancer Taina Elg made her film debut.
The story is loosely based on Jesus Christ’s parable of the prodigal son, from the Biblical New Testament Gospels, although considerable liberties are taken with the source material, chief among them being the addition of a female lead in the form of the high priestess of Astarte, Samarra.
With the start of World War III by the United States “declaring” war against Russia by its actions in Ukraine, we have entered a time when the end of time has become very possible. I am speaking of nuclear annihilation.
I look down at my great-uncle’s gold Elgin pocket watch from the 19th century. His name was John Patrick Whalen, an Irish immigrant to the U.S. who fled England’s colonialist created famine in Ireland. It tells me it is 5:15 PM on April 21, 2022, a date, coincidentally, with a history. No doubt John looked at his watch on this date in 1898 when the United States, after the USS Maine exploded from within in Havana harbor (a possible false flag attack), declared war on Spain in order to confiscate Spanish territories – Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. One colonial power replaced another and then proceeded over the long decades to wage war and slaughter these island peoples. Imperialism never dies. It is timeless.
One hundred-and twenty-four years go by in a flash and it’s still the same old story. In 1898 the yellow press screamed Spanish devils and today it screams Russian devils. Then and now the press called for war. If the human race is still here in another 124 years, time and the corporate media will no doubt have told the same story – war and propaganda’s lies to an insouciant and ignorant population too hypnotized by propaganda to oppose them. This despite the apocalyptic sense that permeates our lives because of demonic technology and its use to transform humans into machines who can’t think clearly enough to perceive reality and realize the threat posed by that quintessential technological invention – nuclear weapons.
This is not uplifting, but it’s true. The nuclear weapons are primed and ready to fly. The U.S. insists on its first-strike right to launch them. It openly declares it is seeking the overthrow of the Russian government. Russia says it will use nuclear weapons only if its existence is threatened, which has become increasingly so because of U.S. provocations over a long time period and its current expanding arming of Ukraine’s government and its neo-Nazi forces.
The Russian President Vladimir Putin and its Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov have just warned the U.S. that such involvement has made nuclear war a “serious” and “real” risk, in Lavrov’s words “we must not underestimate it,” which is a mild form of diplomatic speech. Putin said that Russia has made all the preparations to respond if it senses a strategic threat to Russia and that response will be “instant, it will be quick.” The U.S. response is to shrug these statements off, just as it has done so for many years with Putin’s complaints about NATO forces moving up to its border. Incredibly, Biden has said, “For God’s sake, this man (Putin) cannot remain in power.”
Despite endless media/intelligence anti-Russian propaganda – “a vast tapestry of lies,” to use Harold Pinter’s phrase – many fine writers have provided the historical details to confirm the truth that the U.S. has purposely provoked the Russian war in Ukraine by its actions there and throughout Eastern Europe, which the mainstream media avoid completely. This U.S. aggressive history against Russia is part of a much larger history of imperial hubris extending back to the 19th century. I will therefore here follow Thoreau’s advice – “If you are acquainted with the principle, what do you care for a myriad instances and applications?” – since how many times do people need to hear lies such as “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction” in order to justify wars of aggression around the world. The historical facts are very clear, but facts and history don’t seem to matter to many people. Pinter again, in his Nobel Address, bluntly told the truth about the U.S.’s history of systematic and remorseless war crimes: “Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest.” Which is still the case.
So time is my focus, for the last days have arrived unless there occurs a radical awakening to the obvious truth that the U.S. government is pushing the world to the brink of disaster in full awareness of the consequences. Its actions are insane, yet insanity has become the norm. Insane leaders and a catatonic, hypnotized public lead to disaster.
I write these words with an old fountain pen, a high school graduation gift, to somehow comfort and remind myself that when we were this close once before in October 1962, Kennedy and Khrushchev miraculously found a solution to the Cuban Missile Crisis; and to find hope now, and that when my time is up and I join John Patrick in the other world, things will have changed for my children and grand-children. It is admittedly the hope of a desperado.
The last few years of the Covid-19 propaganda have served to further distort people’s sense of time, a distortion years in the making through the introduction of digital technology with its accompanying numerical time clicks and its severing of our natural sense of time that is tied to the rising and falling of the tides and the turning of the days and seasons, a feeling that is being lost. Such felt sense of time’s texture could be slow or faster, but it had limits. We now live in a world without limits, which, as the ancient Greeks knew, demands payback.
For years before Covid-19, the sense of speed time was dominant, supported by the politically-introduced state of a constant emergency after September 11, 2001 with the urgency to hurry and keep up or one would fall behind. Keep up with what was never explained. Hurry why? Fast and faster was the rule with constant busyness that served the very useful social function of leaving no time for thinking, which was the point, but it made many feel as though they were engaged. And constantly alert for “terrorists” to come knocking. Thus the long wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, etc., all of which continue via various subterfuges.
Then, presto, all this frenzied time sense came to a stop with the 2020 lockdowns, when time got very slow, but not slow in the natural sense but an enforced slowness. People were locked up. Not only was it stupefying but stultifying and an existential drag. This went on for two years with the prisoners allowed short respites only to be rounded back up and locked down again. Jabbed and jolted was the plan. When will it ever end? was the common cry, as despair and depression spread and scrambled minds led to suicides and mindless screen entertainment. This was planned education for a trans-human future in which the cell phone will be central to totalitarian control if people do not rebel.
Those behind the Covid-19 and war propaganda are fanatical technocrats who seek total control of the world’s population through digital technology. Now they have temporarily let the people out of one type of cell and dramatically sped up time with frantic war propaganda against Russia. The great English writer John Berger said it perfectly:
Every ruling minority needs to numb, and, if possible, to kill the time-sense of those whom it exploits. This is the authoritarian secret of all methods of imprisonment.
Everyone is now doing time while scrolling messages on the walls of their cell phones. A twisted, convoluted, distorted, mechanical time in which it seems that there is no history and the future is an endless road of more of the same.
Some say we have all the time in the world. I say no, that we have entered a new time, perhaps the end-time, when the world’s end is a very real possibility. Hypnotized people can agree to anything, even mass-suicide, unless they snap out of it. This can only happen with a return to slowness in the old sense, when people once felt time in their hearts’ rhythms attuned to the rising and falling of nature’s reality. Time to think and contemplate the fate of the earth when nuclear war is contemplated. Yes, “We must not underestimate it.”
It’s about time.
Isn’t it always?
Chinese Style Meat Buns
If you’ve ever been to a Chinese bakery, you have seen this type of meat buns among many other delicious goodies. These buns are also called pork buns, or Char Siu Bao which basically is a barbecued pork filled bun. They can be either steamed or baked, as in this write-up.
I love both versions, and here in Southern China the steamed buns are the most common. Up North and to the West, the baked buns are very common.
These buns are pretty easy to make. You should love them and they will turn out amazing, and they were gone in no time.
The dough is quite a simple dough with simple ingredients.
In a small bowl, mix the warm water, sugar and yeast and let it sit until it starts foaming, for about 15 minutes. In a large bowl add the flour and to it add the egg, oil, salt and the yeast mixture.
Mix it all together using your hands, if you find the dough too sticky just add more flour. Knead the dough on a floured surface for a few more minutes, until it becomes elastic. Â Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and let it rise until doubled in size, in a warm spot.
While the dough is resting we can make the filling. I used one pork loin that was about 1 1/2 lb in weight. To make the marinade, is simple as well. Cut up the pork loin in small pieces and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, add the garlic and ginger paste, vegetable oil, honey, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, wine, pepper, salt, five spice powder, and sesame oil. Whisk everything all together and add the pork to it. Let the pork marinate for about 1 hour, or until the dough is almost ready.
Heat a skillet, over medium heat and add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to it. When the oil is hot add the pork mixture including the marinade to it and cook until the pork is cooked thoroughly, for about 5 minutes. Before removing it from heat, add the green onions to it and mix well.
After all this is said and done the dough should have doubled in size nicely.
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
Using a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a disc, so that it’s about 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Place heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture in the middle of it.
Seal the bun by gathering up the edges of the disc.
Place the sealed side down bun, on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining balls and meat mixture.
Brush the buns with egg wash and bake in a preheated oven at 350 F degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the buns are nice and golden brown.
They look so good and are so delicious, you will love them.
These Chinese Style Meat Buns also known as Char Siu Bao are delicious pork filled buns, made incredibly easy and so delicious!
In a small bowl, mix the warm water, sugar and yeast and let it sit until it starts foaming, for about 15 minutes. In a large bowl add the flour and to it add the egg, oil, salt and the yeast mixture.
Mix it all together using your hands, if you find the dough too sticky just add more flour. Knead the dough on a floured surface for a few more minutes, until it becomes elastic. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and let it rise until doubled in size, in a warm spot.
Cut up the pork loin in small pieces and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, add the garlic and ginger paste, vegetable oil, honey, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, wine, pepper, salt, five spice powder, and sesame oil. Whisk everything all together and add the pork to it. Let the pork marinate for about 1 hour, or until the dough is almost ready.
eat a skillet, over medium heat and add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to it. When the oil is hot add the pork mixture including the marinade to it and cook until the pork is cooked thoroughly, for about 5 minutes. Before removing it from heat, add the green onions to it and mix well.
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
Using a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a disc, so that it’s about 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Place heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture in the middle of it.
Seal the bun by gathering up the edges of the disc.
Place the sealed side down bun, on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining balls and meat mixture.
Brush the buns with egg wash and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the buns are nice and golden brown.
These were FANTASTIC and I only used ground beef, onion, red pepper flakes, salt and extra monterey jack and mozzarella cheese. The roll is very light and not heavy on the bread like other recipes I've seen. These could be stuffed with pretty much anything. Next time I'm trying chicken and mushroom. I baked an extra 5 minutes to get the right golden color. HIGHLY recommended! YUM.
- Kristi
Clash of Christianities: Why Europe cannot understand Russia
By Pepe Escobar, posted with the Author’s permission and cross-posted with The Cradle
Under an ubiquitous, toxic atmosphere of cognitive dissonance drenched in Russophobia, it’s absolutely impossible to have a meaningful discussion on finer points of Russian history and culture across the NATO space – a phenomenon I’m experiencing back in Paris right now, fresh from a long stint in Istanbul.
At best, in a semblance of civilized dialogue, Russia is pigeonholed in the reductionist view of a threatening, irrational, ever-expanding empire – a way more wicked version of Ancient Rome, Achaemenid Persia, Ottoman Turkey or Mughal India.
The fall of the USSR a little over three decades ago did hurl Russia back three centuries – to its borders in the 17th century. Russia, historically, had been interpreted as a secular empire – immense, multiple and multinational. This is all informed by history, very much alive even today in the Russian collective unconscious.
When Operation Z started I was in Istanbul – the Second Rome. I spent a considerable time of my late night walks around Hagia Sophia reflecting on the historical correlations of the Second Rome with the Third Rome – which happens to be Moscow, since the concept was first enounced at the start of the 16th century.
Later, back in Paris, banishment to soliloquy territory seemed inevitable until an academic pointed me to some substance, although heavily distorted by political correctness, available in the French magazine Historia.
There’s at least an attempt to discuss the Third Rome. The significance of the concept was initially religious before becoming political – encapsulating the Russian drive to become the leader of the Orthodox world in contrast with Catholicism. This has to be understood also in the context of pan-Slavic theories springing up under the first Romanov and then reaching their apogee in the 19th century.
Eurasianism – and its several declinations – treats the complex Russian identity as double-faced, between east and west. Western liberal democracies simply can’t understand that these ideas – infusing varied brands of Russian nationalism – do not imply hostility to “enlightened” Europe, but an affirmation of Difference (they could learn a bit from reading more Gilles Deleuze for that matter). Eurasianism also weighs on closer relations with Central Asia and necessary alliances, in various degrees, with China and Turkey.
A perplexed liberal west remains hostage to a vortex of Russian images which it can’t properly decode – from the two-headed eagle, which is the symbol of the Russian state since Peter the Great, to the Kremlin cathedrals, the St. Petersburg citadel, the Red Army entering Berlin in 1945, the May 9 parades (the next one will be particularly meaningful), and historical figures from Ivan the Terrible to Peter the Great. At best – and we’re talking academic level ‘experts’ – they identify all of the above as “flamboyant and confused” imagery.
The Christian/Orthodox divide
The apparently monolithic liberal west itself also cannot be understood if we forget how, historically, Europe is also a two-headed beast: one head may be tracked from Charlemagne all the way to the awful Brussels Eurocrat machine; and the other one comes from Athens and Rome, and via Byzantium/Constantinople (the Second Rome) reaches all the way to Moscow (the Third Rome).
Latin Europe, for the Orthodox, is seen as a hybrid usurper, preaching a distorted Christianity which only refers to St. Augustine, practicing absurd rites and neglecting the very important Holy Ghost. The Europe of Christian Popes invented what is considered a historical hydra – Byzantium – where Byzantines were actually Greeks living under the Roman Empire.
Western Europeans for their part see the Orthodox and the Christians from the East (see how they were abandoned by the west in Syria under ISIS and Al Qaeda) as satraps and a bunch of smugglers – while the Orthodox regard the Crusaders, the Teutonic chevaliers and the Jesuits – correctly, we must say – as barbarian usurpers bent on world conquest.
In the Orthodox canon, a major trauma is the fourth Crusade in 1204 which utterly destroyed Constantinople. The Frankish chevaliers happened to eviscerate the most dazzling metropolis in the world, which congregated at the time all the riches from Asia.
That was the definition of cultural genocide. The Frankish also happened to be aligned with some notorious serial plunderers: the Venetians. No wonder, from that historical juncture onwards, a slogan was born: “Better the Sultan’s turban than the Pope’s tiara.”
So since the 8th century, Carolingian and Byzantine Europe were de facto at war across an Iron Curtain from the Baltics to the Mediterranean (compare it with the emerging New Iron Curtain of Cold War 2.0). After the barbarian invasions, they neither spoke the same language nor practiced the same writing, rites or theology.
This fracture, significantly, also trespassed Kiev. The west was Catholic – 15% of Greek catholics and 3% of Latins – and in the center and the east, 70% Orthodox, who became hegemonic in the 20th century after the elimination of Jewish minorities by mainly the Waffen-SS of the Galicia division, the precursors of Ukraine’s Azov batallion.
Constantinople, even in decline, managed to pull off a sophisticated geo-strategic game to seduce the Slavs, betting on Muscovy against the Catholic Polish-Lithuanian combo. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 allowed Muscovy to denounce the treason of Greeks and Byzantine Armenians who rallied around the Roman Pope, who badly wanted a reunified Christianity.
Afterward, Russia ends up constituting itself as the only Orthodox nation that did not fall under Ottoman domination. Moscow regards itself – as Byzantium – as a unique symphony between spiritual and temporal powers.
Third Rome becomes a political concept only in the 19th century – after Peter the Great and Catherine the Great had vastly expanded Russian power. The key concepts of Russia, Empire and Orthodoxy are fused. That always implies Russia needs a ‘near abroad’ – and that bears similarities with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s vision (which, significantly, is not imperial, but cultural).
As the vast Russian space has been in constant flow for centuries, that also implies the central role of the concept of encirclement. Every Russian is very much aware of territorial vulnerability (remember, for starters, Napoleon and Hitler). Once the western borderland is trespassed, it’s an easy ride all the way to Moscow. Thus, this very unstable line must be protected; the current correlation is the real threat of Ukraine made to host NATO bases.
Onward to Odessa
With the fall of the USSR, Russia found itself in a geopolitical situation last encountered in the 17th century. The slow and painful reconstruction was spearheaded from two fronts: the KGB – later FSB – and the Orthodox church. The highest-level interaction between the Orthodox clergy and the Kremlin was conducted by Patriarch Kirill – who later became Putin’s minister of religious affairs.
Ukraine for its part had become a de facto Moscow protectorate way back in 1654 under the Treaty of Pereyaslav: much more than a strategic alliance, it was a natural fusion, in progress for ages by two Orthodox Slav nations.
Ukraine then falls under the Russian orbit. Russian domination expands until 1764, when the last Ukrainian hetman (commander-in-chief) is officially deposed by Catherine the Great: that’s when Ukraine becomes a province of the Russian empire.
As Putin made it quite clear this week: “Russia cannot allow the creation of anti-Russian territories around the country.” Operation Z will inevitably encompass Odessa, founded in 1794 by Catherine the Great.
The Russians at the time had just expelled the Ottomans from the northwest of the Black Sea, which had been successively run by Goths, Bulgars, Hungarians and then Turkish peoples – all the way to the Tatars. Odessa at the start was peopled, believe it or not, by Romanians who were encouraged to settle there after the 16th century by the Ottoman sultans.
Catherine chose a Greek name for the city – which at the start was not Slav at all. And very much like St. Petersburg, founded a century earlier by Peter the Great, Odessa never stopped flirting with the west.
Tsar Alexander I, in the early 19th century, decides to turn Odessa into a great trading port – developed by a Frenchman, the Duke of Richelieu. It was from the port of Odessa that Ukrainian wheat started to reach Europe. By the turn of the 20th century, Odessa is truly multinational – after having attracted, among others, the genius of Pushkin.
Odessa is not Ukrainian: it’s an intrinsic part of the Russian soul. And soon the trials and tribulations of history will make it so again: as an independent republic; as part of a Novorossiya confederation; or attached to the Russian Federation. The people of Odessa will decide.
Louisiana Crawfish Étouffée
In Louisiana, there’s nothing better than this classic during crawfish season. This recipe is easy and can be substituted with shrimp when crawfish are out of season. Even better when served with hot garlic French bread! Start cooking the rice first since this is a quick and easy dish.
Ingredients
Original recipe yields 6 servings
Directions
Pretty Chinese Girl
She’s advertising clothes on a a treadmill. video 3MB
America is Preparing for Something Bigger than Russia Ukraine…
Yes. It is VERY disturbing. Especially, as I know how China will react.
Do you want more?
I have more articles like this one in my Art Index here…
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
As I have discussed on my you-tube video, the United States assaults on the united Asia continues. All you need to do is see the big picture, and look at the overviews. It’s really crystal clear.
The United States provoked a Russian military action in Ukraine.
The United States failed at a color revolution in Pakastan.
The United States failed at a color revolution in Kazakhstan.
The United States is provoking a Chinese military action in Taiwan.
The United States failed at a color revolution in Belarus.
This article collects a host of loose-end articles associated with this particular time event sequence. Just hop on in and wander around. I hope that you find one or two things of interest.
Updated on
Finland has seized more than 42 million euros ($46 million) worth of art en route to Russia under European Union sanctions after President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The art was being returned from museums in Italy and Japan where the works had been on loan, the Finnish Customs told reporters in Helsinki on Wednesday. They arrived in three shipments and were taken into custody at the Finnish-Russian border on April 2 and 3.
I was born into a normal family. I wasn’t abused. I wasn’t dirt poor, I didn’t grow up devoid of opportunities.
Physically I am a perfectly average man, around six feet tall, normal physique. I have all my hair still, got all my teeth and everything.
You could walk past me on the street and you wouldn’t have a clue that I’m a lonely man. You wouldn’t know I’m miserable.
You wouldn’t know I’m deathly shy, because if you talked to me, I could make some small talk, but if you never approached me, I’d never dare to speak up.
For all my life I have been so terribly scared of making mistakes, that I tried desperately to avoid making any, ever. I didn’t want to make any form of social faux pas, I didn’t want to do anything I would be ashamed of remembering.
The only times I could ever let go, was when I was intoxicated… that’s when I would feel human. It’s when I go the courage to actually make jokes, be funny, be friendly, be an actual person for a moment until I sobered up.
I’ve only approached very few women in my life with romantic intentions, and when I did, I would fail inevitably.
I did not even manage to befriend any, not really anyway… I had a female friend, once, who I drifted away from. She was married and her husband was also my friend, also briefly. He was a seaman and a great guy. We had some drinks together when both of us were in our twenties.
It now seems like a lifetime away, but I remember how I envied his life… he had a wife who was an intelligent and charming young woman, he himself was a handsome, tall, robust fellow. They had a lovely young daughter who was mildly disabled intellectually due to a lack of air at birth, but who was so sweet and wonderful and ended up largely growing over her issues.
Eventually this couple, my only two friends, moved far away. After five years of working for a foreign shipping company as an officer, my friend was able to relocate to another country where he moved his wife and daughter. We tried to meet several more times. But it never materialized. Just two days ago I received the news that my only friend has died. It’s been almost twenty-five years since we last had a beer together in his backyard… I loved that man and I miss him.
That’s my entire social life of sixty-four years right there. Besides my brother and his family, there is no one I interact with anymore. Co-workers and I were always cordial at best, distant, professional but reserved.
That’s my entire life… reserved. Controlled. Never let my emotions show.
Three decades ago my friend and I, we drank and talked of the good things in life… but we never let go of our emotions. I never shed a tear. I never gave him a manly hug. I wish I did. I wish I had shed a tear. I wish I had let go of my emotions. But I never did.
As I am writing this I am realizing that I really loved my friend. He was a great man and a wonderful man and he was sweet. He was the only one, in my life, who was truly sweet… his wife didn’t treat him right. I remember my friend would come to my apartment and bring food he had made.
He would prepare fish, meat, delicious dishes. The barbeque gatherings we had in his backyard were always wonderful. I wish on that one last night we shared in the house of his in-laws, when the other guests had left and it was just the two of us sitting there… I wish I had told him, right there and then, as he told me in tears of his father’s mistreatment of him and the rejection he felt, that I loved him. Because I realize now did I did.
I married at the age of fifty. I was a virgin when I married. And perhaps underuse of equipment causes malfunction, because I was unable to have a child with her. Which is why she decided to leave me. I understand it. I was broken, truly, and she saw it. I’ve been alone for too long to be with anyone, really.
And besides, to be completely honest, I did not love her and I am pretty sure she did not love me either. She loved the idea of me. Of what I could, in theory, have offered her. A house. Family. Stability and a future. But the family part was important, too important for her to give up on. She would have resented me had she stayed with me. So she didn’t.
I never loved my wife. She left me within two years, and I have never been with another soul since. Never tried, either. The will to try has left me long ago. The only one I think I ever truly loved was my friend. But he was a married man and he moved away to Europe.
Now I just want to die in peace. But my health is decent and I am not suicidal so I will have to wait a little while longer.
When I do, I hope I will see my friend again. I find the idea of an afterlife soothing, although I am not fully sold on it, I would love it to be true, so I could actually tell him what I have always felt and never could bring myself to say.
The fact that I never did will always haunt me forever. But if I had told him and he felt it too, what good would it have been for me to end a marriage? His daughter deserved better. She is married now and has a family. She never knew. And she never will. But now you do.
Don’t do what I did. Don’t be so scared to be yourself. Don’t be so terrified to take risks. Don’t wait endlessly for life to put something good on your path, because life won’t do any such thing.
Please do not grow old and let the years pass by uneventfully. Don’t wait for golden years to arrive without effort, without risk, without ups and downs and struggles.
I tried so hard to avoid struggles out of that crippling fear and anxiety I always felt, and it got me nowhere.
Gordon if you can read this from wherever you are now, I love you and I am sorry I was such a coward.
First grade military training
China first grade. I think the kids are enjoying it. video 9MB
The world needs people who act like Rufus’s
You must make the world a better place. Don’t allow the perpetually ill, selfish and mean to be part of your reality. You ahve the power of changing things. So make it so.
Shanghai Residents Rebel As Cases Surge, Lockdown Extended ‘Indefinitely’
This article is so typical of the lies that spew out of the West regarding China. It’s so much bullshit. It’s amazing.
"To be sure, the surge in cases is partially a factor of the latest mass-testing regime, but that hasn't stopped the CCP from imposing the most draconian lockdown since Wuhan (as we explained earlier, backing down would be an intolerable capitulation for President Xi and local authorities, whose careers are now in jeopardy due to factors that are completely out of their control).Following an unceasing torrent of scandals, including separating COVID positive children from their parents, covering up nursing home deaths and failing to address shortages of food and medicine, the population of Shanghai has reached its breaking point."
I never imagined that I would be writing so much about fertilizer in 2022. When I was growing up, there were only two things that I knew about fertilizer. I knew that it helped stuff grow and I knew that it smelled bad. But these days, experts are telling us that a global shortage of fertilizer could result in horrifying famines all over the world. Right now, to a very large degree we are still eating food that was produced in 2021. But by the end of the year, to a very large degree we will be eating food that was produced in 2022. Unfortunately for all of us, it appears that a lack of fertilizer will mean that far less food is grown in 2022 than originally anticipated.
Thanks to an unprecedented explosion in energy prices, we were already facing a fertilizer crisis even before the war in Ukraine, but now that war has definitely taken things to the next level.
A fertilizer shortage has added to growing concerns about the Ukraine war’s impact on the price and scarcity of certain basic foods.Combined, Russia and Belarus had provided about 40% of the world’s exports of potash, according to Morgan Stanley. Russia’s exports were hit by sanctions. Further, in February, a major Belarus producer declared force majeure — a statement that it wouldn’t be able to uphold its contracts due to forces beyond its control.Russia also exported 11% of the world’s urea, and 48% of the ammonium nitrate. Russia and Ukraine together export 28% of fertilizers made from nitrogen and phosphorous, as well as potassium, according to Morgan Stanley.
Global hunger rose significantly in both 2020 and 2021, but what we are going to be dealing with in the months ahead is going to be completely unlike anything that we have dealt with in the past.
“All of this is a double whammy, if not a triple whammy,” said Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities. “We have geopolitical risk, higher input costs and basically shortages.”
We have never seen anything like this before.
Since the beginning of 2021, some fertilizer prices have “more than doubled”, and some fertilizer prices have more than tripled…
Some fertilizers have more than doubled in price. For instance, Melek said potash traded in Vancouver was priced at about $210 per metric tons at the beginning of 2021, and it’s now valued at $565. He added that urea for delivery to the Middle East was trading at $268 per metric ton on the Chicago Board of Trade in early 2021 and was valued at $887.50 on Tuesday.
The global fertilizer squeeze exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is imperiling rice production in Peru, where the seed is a staple for tens of millions of people.Prices of the crop nutrient urea have surged almost fourfold amid supply scarcities, adding to cost inflation for growers, according to the Peruvian Association of Rice Producers.
That same article goes on to explain that many farmers in Peru won’t be able to afford to plant crops at all this year.
If that sounds familiar, that is because this is something that I have been warning about for months.
In particular, here in the United States it simply is not going to be profitable for many farmers to grow corn this year, because corn needs a high amount of fertilizer.
All over the world, far less fertilizer will be used in 2022, and that means that far less food will be grown.
“We’re talking about an erosion of food security on a scale we have not seen for a long time, and I think it will touch people in the lower income distribution in North America,” he added.
But as long as you have a decent income, you will still be able to go to the store and buy food in the months ahead.
It just might cost you a lot more.
During a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, farmer Ben Riensche warned that Americans could soon be paying a thousand dollars more a month for their groceries…
“Soaring fertilizer prices are likely to bring spiked food prices. If you’re upset that gas is up a dollar or two a gallon, wait until your grocery bill is up $1,000.00 a month, and it might not just manifest itself in terms of price. It could be quantity as well. Empty Shelf syndrome may be starting.”
Can you afford to pay $1,000 more for groceries every month?
If not, you better stock up now while prices are still relatively reasonable.
Of course there are certain things that you will not be able to stock up on because they simply aren’t there.
Shortages are intensifying all over the country, and in particular we have seen an alarming shortage of pasta begin to happen in certain stores. The following comes from an article that was just posted on All News Pipeline…
First, it was Eggs and now it’s also Pasta.The eggs have been missing for well over a week now and yesterday morning I was surprised to see the pasta was also mostly bare. Also, some of the shelves have the old COVID trick of pushing everything together and up to the front of the shelf!This is Sioux Fall SD!No eggs for over a week!Very little pasta left!
Of course the shortage of eggs is related to the shortage of pasta, because eggs are used in making pasta.
I have been trying to explain to my readers that this new bird flu pandemic is going to be a really, really big deal. As I mentioned yesterday, 28 million chickens and turkeys are already dead in less than two months, and things are already so bad that pasta is starting to disappear from our store shelves.
If things are this crazy already, what will conditions be like six months from now?
Global food riots have already started, but what we have seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg.
Like I said at the top of this article, for now we are still eating food that was produced last year to a large degree.
Just wait until we get to the end of this year and beyond.
It won’t be pretty.
Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures, and I hope that this article will give you a sense of urgency to take action.
Unfortunately, most people still assume that everything will turn out just fine somehow, and so they won’t do anything to get prepared until it is far too late.
Behaviors of Service-to-self people
They don’t care, and they make it difficult for the rest of society. It’s all me-me-me like spoiled three year old children.
Rest stop in China
This is how China does highway Rest-stops. Pretty typical. Soak it in. video 40MB
For years, there was a great debate about what the future of our society would look like. The irrational optimists kept assuring us that we would never suffer any serious consequences for decades of incredibly foolish decisions, and they kept promising that a new golden age of peace and prosperity for humanity was just around the corner. Meanwhile, others were warning that humanity would soon be plunging into an abyss filled with endless nightmares. Instead of a utopian new chapter in our history, we were warned that war, hunger, pestilence and relentless economic problems were on the horizon.
Prior to 2020, to a lot of people it seemed like the irrational optimists might be right after all.
Yes, there were lots of serious problems simmering in the background, but overall life seemed to be rolling along pretty good for most of the population.
But then 2020 came along, and everything started to change.
As I write this article in April 2022, war, hunger, pestilence and relentless economic problems have all materialized. In fact, things are already so bad in Europe that rationing has now been instituted in some areas…
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has threatened the supply of critical commodities in Europe and thrown global supply chains, which were already struggling amid COVID-19, into complete chaos.As a result, the prices of everything from wheat to oil have soared, leading to multi-decade high inflation rates in places like Germany and Spain. The supply crunch in Europe is now so bad it’s causing governments to begin laying the groundwork for rationing, with some stores already limiting supplies.
This isn’t Africa that we are talking about.
If rationing is already taking place in Europe, how bad is it going to be for the poorer nations in the months ahead?
Well, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is telling us that “the world’s most vulnerable people and countries” are heading into a “hurricane of hunger”…
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned urgently of the global consequences of the war as early as mid-March. The breadbasket is being bombed and a “hurricane of hunger” is threatening, he stated. Given Ukraine’s great importance as a food exporter, the invasion was “also an attack on the world’s most vulnerable people and countries.”
Sadly, he is not exaggerating one bit.
As I discussed yesterday, at this point even Joe Biden is admitting that the coming food shortages are “going to be real”.
But even though global leaders are openly telling us that things are going to get really bad, most people still don’t seem very alarmed.
This greatly frustrates me, because this is not a false alarm.
The world’s 45 least developed countries import at least one-third of their wheat from Ukraine or Russia, and 18 countries among them import more than 50 percent. These include Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. These are all countries that are already dependent on humanitarian aid and food supplies because millions of people are currently suffering from massive hunger.
How are all of those countries supposed to feed their people without that wheat?
I keep asking that question, and not a single person has been able to answer it.
Just look at the crisis that has erupted in Lebanon. They normally get approximately 75 percent of their wheat from either Russia or Ukraine, and so far they have been unable to procure supplies from alternate sources…
Lebanon, which obtains 75 percent of its wheat from Russia and especially Ukraine, is also desperately seeking other wheat exporters, but so far without success. The government turned to the international community with a call for help. There are now fears of rationing and sharp price increases, which will hit the already hard-pressed population hard.
Meanwhile, the global bird flu plague just continues to intensify.
The new cases mean that across the nation, farmers have had to kill about 22 million egg-laying chickens, 1.8 million broiler chickens, 1.9 million pullet and other commercial chickens, and 1.9 million turkeys.
It has taken less than two months to go from the first confirmed case in the U.S. to nearly 28 million dead.
So what will the death toll look like six months from now?
And can you imagine what this will do to food prices?
It is being reported that the price of a dozen eggs has already risen 52 percent since the start of this new pandemic…
Egg prices are skyrocketing as a bird-flu outbreak ravages commercial chicken flocks in the U.S., with the price of a dozen large eggs spiking more than 52% in just under two months.
For much more on this crisis, please see the article that I posted yesterday entitled “20 Facts About The Emerging Global Food Shortage That Should Chill You To The Core”. I wish that I had sufficient words to properly convey the urgency that we should all be feeling in this hour. We are heading into a complete and total nightmare, and I wish that I could get more people to understand this.
Mike Adams is sounding the alarm too. The following comes from an article that was published a few days ago in the Epoch Times…
Food scarcity. Food vouchers. Food riots and flash mobs.All of that’s coming—and soon, says Texas-based food scientist and “Health Ranger” podcaster Mike Adams, who sees dire events unfolding in America in the short term.His advice: people need to get prepared now.
If there’s one place one can find plenty of nicknames, it’s within the sprawling landscape of the armed forces. When it comes to the greater civilian world, there’s no historical precedent or agreed upon social norm for how someone or something gains a substitute informal title. However, given the Department of Defense’s fondness of rigid structure, it should be no surprise that when it comes to nicknames, there’s a policy for them, too.
Meet NICKA
Prior to 1975, names for military operations and projects were exclusively chosen at the behest of military commanders. As a result, within the annals of American military history one can find a diverse range of interesting titles from Operation Killer—a major 1951 counter-offensive during the Korean War—to Operation Beaver Cage—a U.S. Marine Corps operation that occurred during the spring of 1967 as part of the Vietnam War.
However, shortly after the close of the Vietnam War, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) decided it was time to formalize the use of code words and nicknames by unveiling the Code Word Nickname and Exercise Term System, colloquially known as NICKA.
For the Department of Defense (DoD), NICKA is both a set of policies governing the selection of defense monikers and a military-wide computer system that archives and prevents duplication of terms.
Important to note, NICKA is primarily used for Department of Defense-related endeavors. Many operations or programs emerging from within the intelligence community use their own separate naming system.
For example, the Central Intelligence Agency uses the Cryptonym system for developing code words and names. It is also worth noting that the National Security Agency (NSA), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) all use the NICKA system
NICKA outlines three distinctive types of monikers that can be used within the DoD:
Code Words
Nicknames
Exercise Terms
Rufus police rescues a little baby
He helps those in need like a real Rufus. video 3MB
If you only get your news from the mainstream media, you would be tempted to believe that global conditions are relatively stable right now. Yes, there is a war between Russia and Ukraine, but the mainstream media is assuring us that Ukraine is winning that war. Other than that, the mainstream media seems to think that everything is just fine. Of course the truth is that our planet is facing a whole host of extremely challenging problems at the moment. The UN has warned that we are entering the worst global food crisis since World War II, inflation has started to spiral out of control all over the world, the war in Ukraine is making our supply chain nightmares even worse and an absolutely horrifying bird flu plague is killing millions upon millions of chickens and turkeys.
But if you flip on one of the corporate news channels tonight, they will be focusing on other things.
And you probably won’t even hear them talk about the food riots that have suddenly begun erupting around the world at all.
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo announced a curfew for Tuesday in the capital Lima and neighboring port city Callao, after demonstrations across the country over fuel prices caused roadblocks and “acts of violence”.Protests had erupted across Peru in recent days due to a hike in fuel prices and tolls, during a time of rising food prices.
Is this the first time that you have heard about this?
For many of you it will be, and that is because the mainstream media in the U.S. is largely ignoring this.
In Sri Lanka, severe shortages of “food, medicine and fuel” have caused a full-blown economic collapse and tremendous chaos in the streets…
In Sri Lanka, where an economic crisis is growing, more than 40 lawmakers walked out of the ruling coalition today. That leaves the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the minority in Parliament. There have been new calls today for both the president and prime minister to step down after the entire Cabinet resigned on Sunday. Shortages of food, medicine and fuel have sparked countrywide protests, and security forces have fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters marching on the president’s home.
Most of you have probably not heard about that either, and that is because our largest news outlets are being really quiet about it.
More than ever before, our perception of the world around us is shaped by the corporate elite. Americans get more than 90 percent of the “television news” that they consume from just five giant media corporations, and so that gives those corporations an incredible amount of influence over how our society views reality.
For example, far more Americans are talking about “the slap” at the Academy Awards than about the fact that North Korea just threatened South Korea with nuclear war…
North Korea opposes war but would use nuclear weapons if South Korea attacked, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said on Tuesday, in a warning that analysts said is probably aimed at the South’s incoming conservative president.Kim Yo Jong, a senior official in the government and ruling party, said it was a “very big mistake” for South Korea’s minister of defence to make recent remarks discussing attacks on the North, state news agency KCNA reported.
The war in Ukraine is not going to be the last war that erupts. I believe that China is very strongly considering an invasion of Taiwan in the not too distant future, and a major war between Israel and Iran could literally start at any time.
I suppose that we should be thankful to CNN, because I probably never would have heard about that new flavor unless they ran that story.
Meanwhile, the number of poultry flocks in Minnesota that have been hit by the new bird flu pandemic just doubled…
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health on Tuesday reported the latest outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the state is now affecting a total of 15 poultry flocks — up from seven last Friday.
Minnesota is the number one state for turkey production, and so this is a really big deal.
Overall, the national death toll just continues to climb. The first case at a commercial facility in the United States was confirmed less than two months ago, and now the death toll has risen to nearly 28 million…
The new cases mean that across the nation, farmers have had to kill about 22 million egg-laying chickens, 1.8 million broiler chickens, 1.9 million pullet and other commercial chickens, and 1.9 million turkeys.
I am so grateful for the alternative media, because they often cover stories that the mainstream media never talks about.
For example, our friends at Zero Hedge have informed us that the price of jet fuel in New York has risen “more than 162% since mid-March”…
Wholesale jet fuel prices in New York have risen more than 162% since mid-March, as buyers at some of the world’s busiest airports, located on the US East Coast, anticipate dwindling supplies as Western sanctions shun Russian energy exports.On Monday, jet fuel prices jumped 93 cents to $7.61 a gallon, a new record high, according to Bloomberg data going back to 1988.
That is crazy.
We are seeing so much inflation all throughout the system right now. A few hours ago, I came across a post by a supermarket employee on a very popular Internet forum that really got my attention. According to this employee, workers at this particular store were given 52 pages of price changes just this week…
Tyson Chicken strip jumped up $3Eggs went up to $3.50 they were 2.2532 pack of water went to $5.50 originally 3.75There was 35 pages of price changes on the dry side and 17 pages in freezer and cooler they are planning to have that many pages or more next week also
A trip to the grocery store is going to become very, very painful in the months ahead.
But just be thankful that you don’t live in one of the poorest countries on the planet.
At this point, even Vladimir Putin is telling us that the food shortages that we are now witnessing are going to get even worse…
Putin said higher energy prices and fertilizer shortages would mean Western nations would have to print more money to buy supplies, which would cause food shortages in poorer countries.“They will inevitably exacerbate food shortages in the poorest regions of the world, spur new waves of migration, and, in general, drive food prices even higher,” Putin said in a meeting on developing food production, Reuters reported.
A full-blown global meltdown has now begun, and it is going to go to an entirely new level in the months ahead.
But the mainstream media will try to distract you with stories about Will Smith, Kourtney Kardashian and other celebrities for as long as they can.
Personally, I don’t really care that Kourtney Kardashian just married Travis Barker in Las Vegas. What I do care about is the fact that our society is coming apart at the seams all around us.
The news that you get from the corporate media has been carefully designed to promote certain narratives, and these days much of it is wildly inaccurate.
But most of the population will continue to blindly believe whatever they are told to believe by our “professional journalists”, and that is extremely unfortunate.
Video in front of MM office
This is what it is like on the road right in front of my office. video 14MB
Confessions of a Woman Who Suffers From Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality)
When did you first learn or suspect that you had DID?
The first signs that something was wrong were that she was losing track of big chunks of time, people were telling her that she had said or done things that she couldn’t remember doing, people she didn’t know were acting like they knew her, and she was finding journals, poetry, and art that she didn’t recognize.
The first signs that something was wrong were that she was losing track of big chunks of time, people were telling her that she had said or done things that she couldn’t remember doing, people she didn’t know were acting like they knew her, and she was finding journals, poetry, and art that she didn’t recognize.
What causes someone to have DID?
DID is a trauma-based disorder.
The most popular explanation for the etiology of DID is that when a child experiences truly horrific trauma, they invent other identities to cope with that trauma. The child essentially says to themselves, “That didn’t happen to me. That happened to another little girl. It wasn’t me.”
Dissociation during traumatic events is fairly common. You’ll hear survivors of car crashes say that it all felt surreal, like it was in slow motion, like they remember it as if they were detached from their body or viewing it from a detached perspective. Now imagine being in a car crash over and over, every single day. If you enter that detached state over and over again at a young age when your sense of self and your concept of identity is being formed, you develop a fragmented sense of self. Being a child, you give names to those fragments. Over time, the fragments develop their own sense of self.
Have you been diagnosed by a professional? What was that process like?
I feel really fortunate that the diagnosis process for us was shorter than most. DID is a very stigmatized disorder so it can be a slow process for most people.
At 14 we were referred to therapy because of problems at school. Our initial diagnosis was PTSD, but our therapist quickly began to suspect a dissociative disorder. Because of our young age, she chose to formally diagnose us with Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified rather than DID. She wanted to take a “wait and see” approach to diagnosis. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to continue therapy with her for long because we lost our insurance.
In college we were formally diagnosed, but by that point it was not a surprise at all. By then, we were very aware of each other and had been working on improving our communication and working together.
How do you feel about the fact that you have DID?
I guess acceptance is the best way to describe it. I don’t know anything else, so this is normal for me.
How many alters do you have? Are you comfortable describing them or any of their traits? How are they different from you?
I’ll start with myself. My name is Quin. I am not the original identity, but I think I have been around the longest. I currently do most of the fronting. I keep everyone organized and try to keep this system running smoothly.
Morgan is our original identity. Until we moved away from our family of origin, she was the one fronting most of the time. Ever since we moved away, she stopped fronting. Right now we don’t know if that’s a temporary thing or if it’s permanent, but it seems like the best decision for everyone.
Emma is a childlike alter who will tell you that she is four years old. She likes to play with toys and play Facebook games like Candy Crush.
Hailey is our other childlike alter. We think that she is emotionally about eight. She likes to watch Disney movies, but also likes to watch upsetting TV shows that are way too mature for her.
Storm has the emotional maturity of a teenager. I have previously joked about her being a little edgelord with a name to match, but that’s a bit mean. I honestly don’t know what she’s into at the moment.
Caden is a little ball of sunshine, according to one of our friends. I don’t actually know how old Caden is? He gets along with everyone. He’s silly and friendly and impossible to dislike, even when he’s being a bit of a jerk. I think he does it so that he can get away with doing whatever he wants to do.
Zoe is creative and smart. I’ve previously said she wasn’t very friendly, but that’s not very accurate. She’s not very friendly to me and she’s not very trusting, but she’s actually very social and more interested in socializing than I am. Zoe is very emotional and a little hot-headed.
Hannah is one of the most mature alters in our group. For a long time I couldn’t get a read on her and I didn’t know what was going on with her. She kept herself closed off from me for some reason, but I’ve gotten to know her more recently. She holds a lot of our memories and seems to be trying to figure out what to do with them. When she fronts, she takes care of lots of self-care type tasks and household things. She seems kind of like the mom of the group.
Carrie is an alter that I know exists, but I haven’t interacted with in a long time. I don’t really know much about her.
Arlo is one of our newest alters. They still haven’t told us if they are are a boy or a girl, but maybe they aren’t either? Arlo fronts when we are overwhelmed. They like to play video games. Arlo is extremely stubborn.
We also have an unnamed alter who exists mainly to harass and persecute us, but since they don’t front, I won’t go into detail about them.
Describe your relationship with your alters.
Our relationships with each other vary quite a bit, but I think we are a lot like a family. There’s some occasional friction and tension, but everyone has the same goal. We’re all just trying to survive.
What does it feel like to switch to another alter?
I absolutely hate answering this question every time it’s asked, so I’m going to skip it.
Do you always change clothes/hair/makeup/hats when you switch?
No, that’s really more of a media thing. I think it’s done in film and tv so that the audience can tell which alter is present. In reality, it would be exhausting to run to our closet for a wardrobe change every time there was a switch.
That said, we do have some different clothing preferences. If Zoe is planning on being in control all day long, she might dress more feminine than I would normally dress. If Arlo is fronting, they are almost always wearing their favorite hoodie. But it’s not like wearing that hoodie is a for sure indication that Arlo is currently fronting.
Do you have any abilities or skills that your alters don’t, or vice versa?
Only myself and a few others are able to do our work tasks. Hannah is a better cook than most. Only Hailey knows how to play the flute. Zoe is a creative writer.
Do different alters have different physical conditions or traits (for example, different eyesight, allergies or hand preference)?
No, and others may disagree with me on this but I personally believe that this is (for the most part) a media myth. The physical body is the physical body. The only physical differences that you can have between alters are the ones that can be impacted by emotional/psychological state, like placebo and conversion disorders. It’s not like the movie Split where one alter can be diabetic when the others aren’t. However, if the body has diabetes then different alters could have different blood sugar levels because your stress levels can cause your blood sugar to go up and down.
How frequently do you experience gaps in your memory? What is that like? How do you cope with it on a daily basis?
This really depends on how well we are coping with our current life stress. When we’re doing well, memories are shared and co-consciousness is common. When the stress level rises and we’re struggling to cope, amnesia and memory gaps become more common.
Amnesia can be really frightening, especially “waking up” some place you don’t expect to be. It’s not so bad if I’m just at home and I’ve lost a few hours, but if I’m suddenly at the grocery store and the last thing I remember is being at home in bed, it’s pretty alarming.
I cope with it by trying to stick to a schedule, journaling, using notes and calendars to keep track of everything. I try to stay really organized to compensate for everything.
How do you communicate with your alters?
This sounds ridiculous, but internal communication is as simple as “thinking at” the other alters. When internal communication breaks down, we use journals and things like Google Keep to talk to each other.
Do your alters have different relationships, i.e. friendships or romantic partners? If you’re married or in a relationship, how do your alters feel about your SO?
We basically have the same friends, but we have different relationships with those friends.
All of us have a good relationship with our SO.
Are you co-conscious with any/all of your alters? What does co-consciousness feel like?
Most of us are able to experience co-consciousness with each other. Not all of us are “drift compatible” with each other, to borrow a term from Pacific Rim.
Are you aware of an internal world or inside space?
No, we have never experienced an internal world.
Have you told friends/family about your diagnosis? Why or why not?
When we were in our early 20s we were more open about our diagnosis, but we experienced some real negative consequences because of that. People tend to see us only as our diagnosis. It’s very difficult for people to understand. It’s hard to live a normal life when people know. We much prefer that people don’t know.
What do you wish everyone without DID knew or understood better about you?
It’s nothing like (most of) the media depictions. When it’s what you’ve lived with your whole life, it just feels normal.
What is the worst or most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you as the result of an alter’s actions?
I won’t embarrass myself by going into details, but it can be hard having childlike alters. It was a bigger problem when we were younger, and things are much better controlled now, but there were some embarrassing moments.
Describe a time when one of your alters saved your ass.
I don’t give her enough credit, so I’ll use this opportunity to talk about Storm. We’ve been joking lately about how Storm is a “fire alarm” that goes off when something isn’t right, but she’s kind of a shitty fire alarm because if you don’t pay attention to her fast enough she’ll just spray gasoline in the whole building and burn the whole place down (metaphorically, of course) to make sure you are really aware of the fire.
But the truth is, Storm probably has saved my ass dozens of times and she would have saved my ass dozens more if I had just listened to her more. She’s really good at knowing when situations are unsafe and knowing when something is wrong. She’s one of the few of us who is brave enough to use her voice and really scream and stand up for herself. I’m sure that at least a few of the times she’s screamed “Get the fuck away from me!” could have turned out really badly if she hadn’t.
Has an alter ever done something illegal or immoral?
Illegal? No. Immoral? Depending on your standards of morality, absolutely. We have disagreements about moral behavior all the time. Zoe constantly does things that I find unacceptable.
Have you experienced bullying, discrimination or stigma because of your DID?
When we were open about it, yes. That’s why we have chosen not to tell most people.
Does DID interfere with your ability to have a family, a career, or to achieve the kind of life you want?
This isn’t the feel good answer people probably want, but yes.
We are childfree mostly because of DID. There are alters in our system who wanted children very badly, but we felt that having children was the wrong choice for us because of our condition.
DID also interfered with our education throughout high school and college. We were able to finish our undergraduate degree, but ultimately it did stop us from completing our masters program and working in the field that we intended to work in.
At our current level of functioning, I don’t think we could hold down a traditional 9 to 5 job. We currently work from home and are really happy with our career, but we are lucky that this is an option for us.
I don’t know if this is the case for everyone else with DID, but we choose not to drive because of the severity of our dissociation. The risk of dissociating while driving is just too much for us, so we are reliant on other people for transportation.
What are your biggest challenges living with DID?
Honestly, it’s not the DID itself, it’s working through the underlying issues that caused the DID. Unpacking all of that trauma can be exhausting and disruptive. Just when you think you’ve found homeostasis with your system, someone finds a bunch of new baggage to unpack.
What are some of the positives that have come out of having DID?
We survived.
A cat sized couch…
2022 04 07 18 52
Places where birthright Citizenship is based on land and places where it is based on blood
Very interesting.
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Pretty Chinese Girl
Very nice desert scene. China has some very large and beautiful deserts.
Warning: A NATO/Internet wide National Security Letter has been issued blocking all reporting of the alleged capture of an American general in Mariupol.
Our sources on the ground report that the last two helicopters trying to evacuate foreign VIPs from Mariupol were shot down this morning. They were sent on a suicide mission to collect Lt.General Coultier, who was, we are told, hiding in a huge industrial complex with some Special Forces staffers and about 30 Ukrainian Army, not Azov, soldiers. This hours old story from Tass is below.
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From KP.Ru:
On the morning of April 5, another attempt by the Kiev regime to evacuate the leaders of the Azov nationalist battalion and “others” was thwarted near Mariupol. Two Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters, which tried to break through to the city from the sea, were shot down from man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems, Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, said at a briefing.
Note that this is the third attempt by Kyiv to pull its war criminals from the crime scene. But it ended the same as the previous ones: the helicopters did not reach Mariupol.
Читайте на WWW.KP.RU: https://www.kp.ru/daily/27375/4568448/
Reports from our friends in the Pentagon say “something’s up” and panic has set in at the White House.
Minutes ago, the general showed up on his Linkdin account and we are told that the ranks of retirees and crisis actors (yes they exist) are being scoured for fat bald types that can be green-screened into a show and tell with Zelensky, believed to be hiding in Poland.
2022 04 07 19 19
Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are busy erasing all posts tied to this, even faster than usual. We await broader confirmation but, if Russia is holding him, they are unlikely to announce it but rather use it as a secret bargaining chip to hold over Biden’s head.
Based on this, and having seen similar issues where an Israeli general was captured in Syria (confirmed, they sent us his ID card)…and VT helped negotiate his return to his family (for millions paid to Shiite militias).
We have sources that claim Cloutier had been in and out of Syria through Turkey, working with ISIS and al Qaeda there as well and with terrorist groups in Africa.
We say “no denial can be believed…we are now in ‘new territory’”
There are numerous reports currently circulating claiming that U.S. Army Lieutenant General Roger L. Cloutier was captured by Russian forces in or near Mariupol, Ukraine, where reports claim he was assisting the Azov battalion, which is the official Nazi unit of Ukraine.
Confirmation that as early as March 7, US Lieutenant General Roger Cloutier was in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/0eiJYrAcHZ— TheRepublic (@_TheRepublic_) April 5, 2022
According to Wikipedia, Lt. Gen. Roger L. Cloutier:
Roger L. Cloutier Jr. is a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army and commander of Allied Land Command . He previously served as commander of the United States Army in Africa.
Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) formerly Allied Land Forces South East Europe
Oh boy. US General Roger Cloutier was most definitely involved in training Ukrainian soldiers, as this photo attests.Two days ago, a Bulgarian news source claimed he was visiting Bulgaria — pic.twitter.com/gOMBDRgmTQ— OldGuyOnTheMove (@old_move) April 5, 2022
(LANDSOUTHEAST) is a permanent headquarters for NATO land forces that can be appointed as needed. The commander of LANDCOM is the Alliance’s chief ground warfare advisor. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, he provides the core of the headquarters responsible for ground operations.
The command is based at Shirinya (Buka), Izmir in Turkey.
Unconfirmed sources from #Russia Military:
The #Russian army captured the U.S Major General Roger L. Cloutier Jr. Maj. Gen. Roger L. Cloutier, the #USA Africa Command HQ Chief of Staff in the besieged Ukrainian Azov camp in Mariupol !https://t.co/7Y8Jd2qU9X— Su-57 5th Gen Fighter (@5thSu) April 5, 2022
A letter to the Pentagon sent a few hours ago went unanswered, which, from a media perspective, is very unusual. If the message had been false, the Pentagon would have denied it immediately. They did NOT deny it. But there has been no official response from the Pentagon as of 6:10 p.m. EDT on Monday.
Links:
Lieutenant General Roger L. Cloutier Jr. assumed command of Allied Land Command in August 2020. Prior to this he served as the commander of U.S. Army Africa / Southern European Task Force. https://lc.nato.int/about-us/biographies/commander
Russian Defense Ministry: two more Mi-8s sent to evacuate Azov leaders were shot down near Mariupol
According to the department, this happened on the morning of April 5.
MOSCOW, 5 April. /TASS/. Two Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters sent to evacuate the leaders of the Azov nationalist battalion were shot down near Mariupol on Tuesday morning.
Igor Konashenkov, official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, told reporters about this.
“On the morning of April 5, another attempt by the Kiev regime to evacuate the leaders of the Azov nationalist battalion was thwarted in the Mariupol region. Two Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters that tried to break through to the city from the sea were shot down from man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems,”
I worked at a Juvenile Detention Facility in New Mexico. The absolute scariest thing I ever saw was a young boy, 9 years old, booked in for murdering both of his parents. There was nothing there. I fail to call this thing even human. I looked into this child’s eyes and felt more fear than I ever have to this day. This was no child, it was a monster. Pure evil, condensed and given human form.
And to clarify: I have booked and looked after murder suspects before, it was nothing new. But this kid was different. Very different. He never broke any rules and always followed commands but never, ever spoke unless directly asked something. And then it was curt, short. Just to answer a question. He never cried, either. Which is highly unusual for a 9 year old kid in jail. He was eventually tried and transferred to mental facility. But I’ll never forget the kid’s eyes. It haunts me to this day.
High school track meet
1960s obviously. But that hair! Can you just imagine?
bnse3z2rhkq81
For those who want to contribute to their community
I always tell everyone to become part of their community. Volunteer. Smile. Contribute and to have a skill or a resource that they can contribute to the rest of the community when times get hard. Like being a handiman, or a medical tech. Well, how about a home craft beer beermeister?
That could be a great skill…
Make your own home craft beer.
An image for inspiration
What is stopping you?
6rl4w6l2ifn81
A Flock Of Seagulls – Space Age Love Song
The scenes are from one of my long-forgotten mid-1990s movies. Brings back a flood of memories. Jennifer Connelly was 20 years old in this video, and it’s been 30 years since. But, yes, she was absolutely stunning here. Falling in love with her would have been the easiest thing in the world. The Flock of Seagulls song was perfect.
Scenes are from the movie Career Opportunities (1991). At that time, she was one of the most beautiful young woman on the planet and this movie captures her innocence in a very beautiful manner. She mesmerizes with her raw charm and superb natural talent throughout the film.
Conclusions
There’s a higher than average prevalence of “ready to leave” this prison complex than in the general human population. This need,; this desire, is very strong, but it is most especially difficult at this point of time of great change.
Nothing is guaranteed. Remember that the things that you desire are a function of your thoughts. COntrol your thoughts and you can control your reality. This is true whether you are in the physical reality or elsewhere.
Control your thoughts. You will control your life.
The world seems to be going down the drain. Seems to… Maybe so. Maybe not. But it’s all a perception. You must change that perception to achieve your goals.
So, just be good. Be calm. And maybe go to a yard sale or thrift store and find a treasure or two. It’s time, don’t you think?
“The Perfect Yardsale Find $13.00 In Kerrville Tx .. Beetlejuice meets Mary Poppins”
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
I can't remember a time when war propaganda has been this intense.-dwp
Crappy title regarding a strange period of time.
Well, the world is quickly switching from one uni-polar governmental operation to a multi-polar one. And we are watching it in real time. Oh, sure, the “West” is kicking up a fuss, and the United States is in hysterics, but that will fade in time.
Sometime, hopefuly sooner than later, the United States will decide to scrap the decades old RAND plans and accept a new reality.
However, that will have to be forced by necessity, and the rest of the world is waiting for that moment to come. Hopefully sooner than later, as the longer it is delayed, the larger the risk of catastrophic fiasco.
Here, we continue on our menu of current events, and toss in views of what we all used to have. It is a lfiestyle that predates the neocon monsters that have corrupted the United States government so badly. I hope you enjoy this article.
Been there. Done that.
Been there.
Young boy picks out a girl
This video has been making it’s arounds. A boy is in a Business KTV, and when the girls come out in the lineup, he runs up and picks a girl immediately. LOL video 8MB
The “news” about China
China is falling apart. Andy day now… any day now… the people will “rise up” and accept democracy™ and freedom™. That’s the narrative, don’t you know. Of course the idiots regurigating this bullshit have exactly zero experience with China. They are fine “cannon fodder”. LOL!
From Drudge Report 8APR22.
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The fiction is “off the charts”.
On the domestic side
You will only get it if you are married .
Singapore abstains from UN vote on Russia: MFA says awaiting probe on human rights violation in Ukraine
Singapore suddenly adjusted her pro US foreign policy, they now are not so trigger-happy against Russia. Abstention in UN vote: MFA says Singapore is awaiting findings on human rights violation in Ukraine
This has everything. Meat pie. Beef. beans, and taste! The key is the unique set of ingredients. But all are commonly available.
Spicy Bean and Beef Pie.
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (11-1/2 ounces) condensed bean with bacon soup, undiluted
1 jar (16 ounces) thick and chunky picante sauce, divided
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 cup sliced green onions, divided
Dough for double-crust deep-dish pie
1 cup sour cream
1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until beef is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. In a large bowl, combine soup, 1 cup picante sauce, cornstarch, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper. Fold in beans, 1-1/2 cups cheese, 1/2 cup onions and beef mixture.
On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate. Trim even with rim. Add filling. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top.
Bake until crust is lightly browned, 30-35 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Serve with sour cream, olives and remaining picante sauce, cheese and onions.
Once the go-to hangout spot for American teens and a symbol of opportunity for small business owners, diners are one of the most beloved remnants of mid-century America.
Scattered across the country, diners come in many shapes and forms, from roadside railcar-style establishments to tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the country’s biggest cities.
Here’s what diners looked like during their heyday...
American Diner.
Republica – Ready to Go (Official Video)
Big British group from the 1990s. They made a splash on the music scene and then faded away. They maintained domestic signifigance for some time, but most of the world remains unaware of them.
Good Map ever of Ukraine.
It’s from the Western leadership. So it’s really not all that accurate. But it’s a good map never the less. You can zoom in, and all that. The actual military territories and Russian locations are entirely deceptive. It seems that Russia has made no gains. But that’s not the intention. This is not World War I. Don’t “pull a Hitler” and maintain 19th century thinking.
Beijing warns of ‘forceful measures’ if Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan
It is possible that China may declare Taiwan airspace a “no fly zone”. If so, in this senario, they will shoot down any Taiwan jet and destroy Taiwan military bases that dare to fire the first shot.
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It’s possible, but not probable.
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Imagine if “Xi the great” follows “Putin the great” to declare a ban on accepting US currency. What will happen to the Western economies, their cost of living, manufacturing supply chain, currency value, and world confident in Holding US treasury debt?
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The truth is that the United States is playing a zero sum game, and blindly believe in its might with nary a second thought.
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US House Speaker is expected to arrive in Taipei on Sunday, according to media reports
Beijing says Washington ‘must be fully responsible for the consequences’ if it goes ahead
Nancy Pelosi postpones Asia trip after testing positive for Covid-19
Imagine that. What “bad luck”.
A US Congressional delegation to Asia has been postponed after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tested positive for Covid-19.
The announcement followed a warning by China that it would take strong measures if the trip included a visit to Taiwan, as media reports in the region had claimed.
Pelosi's deputy communications director Drew Hammill said in a tweet on Thursday that the planned Congressional delegation to Asia, to be led by Pelosi over the two-week Congressional break, "will be postponed to a later date."
"After testing negative this week, Speaker Pelosi received a positive test result for Covid-19 and is currently asymptomatic. The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided. The Speaker will quarantine consistent with CDC guidance, and encourages everyone to get vaccinated, boosted and test regularly," Hammill tweeted.
Railcar-style diners were modeled after rail carriages or sometimes converted from the original train cars into stand-alone eateries. Diners were constructed in factories and then shipped to their destinations, much like mobile homes, and were relatively affordable to purchase at just $1,000.
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Once they arrived, the utilities simply had to be connected. Since diners, or “lunch cars,” had to be shipped using a truck or railcar, they were designed to be narrow.
AUKUS is “Anglo-Saxon small bloc” to serve U.S. hegemony: Chinese FM spokesperson-Xinhua
It’s pretty obvious, and if you tabulate all the public speeches from the USA and from Australia, you can clearly see that the Chinese spokesperson is just stating facts. Why this is signifigant is that the Chinese government is officially recognizing that a military build up prior to an American invasion / war upon China is the purpose of AUKUS.
Until the Great Depression, most diners could be found in the Northeast.
After World War II ended and the suburbs began to boom, more and more people began opening diners nationwide.
Typical diner interior.
The small businesses could prove extremely profitable for owners. Since the restaurants themselves were so small, and the kitchens so narrow, not many employees were required.
Sneaker Pimps 6 Underground/Lyrics/Kelli Ali
A top charter in the mid-1990s. I wonder if anyone remembers this song. I think it kind of defined what it was like in those years.
Chinese democracy seems to work pretty good.
In a comparative sense. But America has “American” democracy™. That’s superior Right?
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With the implementation of cross-country highways in the 1960s, diners continued to grow in popularity.
Travelers along the new highways could stop off and grab a quick bite at the roadside establishments.
Interior of a roadside diner.
Many diners featured a row of bar stools along a counter, allowing many people to be served without much effort from the diner’s staff.
Sophie B. Hawkins – Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover
Here’s a “blast from the past”. This song was pretty famous back in the 1990s. It is about… well, you know… there is a person, a certain someone… that you really like. But, you know, there are taboos and you cannot have a relationship with that person.
I don’t think you people understand how big of a deal all this economic stuff that is happening actually is. It’s very difficult even for me to watch it all playing out in real time.
Basically, the whole world had agreed to a US-run financial system that was outside of the realm of politics. Then, the United States decided to violate international law and ban Russia from the global financial system, ostensibly because they believed that Vladimir Putin is a very mean person.
Global economies will be rethinking how safe it is to rely on the US dollar in their foreign currency holdings, the deputy head of the International Monetary Fund, Gita Gopinath, said on Tuesday.The statement comes after half of Russia’s forex holdings were effectively confiscated by international financial institutions amid sanctions placed on Moscow following the launch of its military operation in Ukraine.“We are likely to see some countries reconsidering how much they hold of certain currencies in their reserves,” she stated in an interview with Foreign Policy magazine.Gopinath said the IMF sees “increasing fragmentation” in global payments systems as one of the consequences of the current events. However, she stated that the US dollar, traditionally considered the world reserve currency, is not likely to suffer an “imminent demise.”Still, depending on how long the crisis in Ukraine lasts, there could be larger effects, Gopinath said.
I don’t know how many hardline “everything is a conspiracy” people read this website.
Personally, I’m a moderate conspiracy guy. As a rule, I only publish conspiracies that can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. In terms of my personal mind, I believe some conspiracies that I wouldn’t publish, because I understand they can’t be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
There is some gray area, of course. You can use deductive logic to conclude something without necessarily having all of the facts documented. For example: when the CIA (or one of its tentacles) releases documents admitting to doing some dastardly thing decades earlier, and then says “yeah, but we stopped doing that,” you can deduce that they are almost certainly still doing it.
The logic is:
They lied about doing it in the first place while they were doing it
They have a history of saying they stopped doing things and then getting caught still doing them
If they were doing it in the first place, and nothing has changed, they still view it as worth doing
Everything they want to do in secret is done in secret, under the guise of national security
They’ve repeatedly demonstrated that there is no consideration of any type of morality in their secret deeds
etc.
So, with for example any of the human experiments that the CIA was involved in – whether it be testing chemical weapons on the public or doing mind control techniques on patients in psych wards – you can assume with very high confidence that, given that they’ve admitted to doing these things in the past, they are still doing them now.
Viewing Everything That Happens as a Conspiracy Can Lead to Tangled-Up, Nonsensical Thinking
I am the first person to admit “conspiracies are real.” I am not some rabid person who goes around condemning people as “conspiracy theorists.” I’m always interested in hearing people out. I think I’m about as open-minded as a person can be without having a gaping hole in my head. I like engaging people in discussion of every kind of idea.
The World Economic Forum’s Great Reset is the most obvious conspiracy of the current year. I don’t “believe” in this – I know it is real, because I’ve read their publications, and seen their policies enacted around the world. However, you have to match your beliefs with facts with reality, or you end up getting sucked into a void.
There is a sect of people who think everything is a conspiracy, and use backward logic to explain anything that happens as part of the conspiracy. Again, I don’t know how many of these people there are, and I know that these people tend to be much more vocal on the internet than people who are not in this subculture. But I have seen a lot of people claim some version of “the West is using the Russia conflict to destroy its own economic system on purpose.”
These people are correct in stating that the US and the rest of the West have a plan – this “Great Reset” thing – to make basically everyone poor, jobless, living in state housing and eating state food, ultimately reducing the population so that the elite can dominate the limited resources remaining on earth. (If you follow the WEF documents and presentations, they are very big into the idea that they are going to use emerging technology to basically become immortal, extending their lives through gene therapy and bionic implants and such, so they believe they will need these resources to build an empire in outer space. They literally believe that and you can read it on their website. It’s not a “theory.”)
So, when you see them destroying the global economic system, it is easy to say “see, this is that thing.”
And indeed: they are clearly spinning this stuff in that direction. You see US officials coming out and saying that it’s time to start riding the bus if you can’t afford an \$80,000 Tesla.
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Earlier this month Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told American families to buy electric vehicles if they desire gas savings, now he’s telling them to take the bus.https://t.co/r5Iw6UA9cBpic.twitter.com/CKqrviNwDA— MRCTV (@mrctv) March 22, 2022
This is clearly part of the program, and they’re exploiting the Ukraine situation to push this agenda.
Meanwhile in France, their dictator just came out and said that he’s going to start issuing food rations when everyone starts starving because of a border skirmish in the former USSR.
However, “everything is going according to plan” just doesn’t work, because ultimately, these big decisions on the geopolitical stage regarding the dollar as reserve currency only serve to empower China.
China can’t be sanctioned because they produce too much of what America uses. China has also formed a global trade network that they could use to blockade the United States.
Diners became popular due to their large menus featuring American food staples like hamburgers, fries, and club sandwiches.
Diners were popular.
Most diners had galley kitchens that made it easier for cooks to move from one dish to another, making service quicker than in a traditional restaurant.
Do you think that I am giving enough airtime to the humble American hamburger, or is more time needed?
Here’s an accurate meme posted by a Chinese official:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that when the West talks about the "int'l community", they mean: pic.twitter.com/RZNOwDymX2— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 17, 2022
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Saudi Arabia is going to start trading oil in yuan.
Countries are going to start dumping dollar reserves.
America is going to be a third world country, while China becomes the dominant world power.
So then, if you are going to say that this is all going according to plan, you have to say that the US leadership wants to transfer all of its global power to the Chinese.
But why?
That’s where the hang-up is. It doesn’t make any sense why the US and Western establishment would be interested in transferring power to China.
In order to square that circle, you have to really start going into nutty type conspiracies. And when I say “nutty,” I’m saying that not as an insult, but as an objective descriptor. You would have to come up with an explanation as to how China is secretly on-board with the global Western (frankly, primarily Jewish) agenda.
There is no indicator of that, really at all. In fact, China’s culture is virtually the diametric opposite of Western Jewish culture.
To make it make sense, you are forced into a few necessary assertions, all of which are fantastical:
China has a secret deal with Western powers to implement a feminist-anal-tranny-Jewish slave grid
China purposefully did the reverse of the feminist-anal-tranny-Jewish agenda instead of a push for democracy (I guess as some kind of fake-out)
For some reason, China has refused all Western attempts to “democratize” (another fake-out?)
The Taiwan occupation, the Western-backed Hong Kong riots, and every other thing that the US has done to try to undermine Chinese society was part of a massive fake-out (who are they faking out? People on internet forums?)
The West has some kind of secret mechanism through which to ensure that China upholds this theoretical secret agreement, which is why they are willing to surrender all global power to China upfront, without any visible guarantees that China will uphold the secret agreement
None of this, to me, is serious in any way. People try to work backwards from what they see happening, then they hit the brick wall of these fantastical and possibly outright nonsensical assertions which are necessary to uphold the logic train they are riding.
There is no way to say this is all part of the plan without saying the plan is to transfer all power to China, and there is no explanation of why that would be the plan.
The hardline conspiracy people will then start listing off a series of allegedly unexplainable questions, rather than confront the underlying hard wall their logic has hit.
For example:
Why would the US transfer its manufacturing base to China in the 1990s?
Why would the US implode its own economy and status as a world power?
Why are the Chinese allowed to invest in Western infrastructure?
These are fair questions and worth considering. But to claim that the only possible explanation is “a secret deal with the Chinese,” despite the stated problems with that theory, is absurd.
My explanations for these questions are simpler: in general, I would answer those questions with “the West made bad decisions.” I would attribute these bad decisions by a decadent and decaying elite feebly attempting to manage complex systems they don’t understand.
With the first question – the issue of transferring the manufacturing base – this was well documented at the time. Western think-tanks explained in a virtually infinite number of white papers and books that when the Chinese quality of living was escalated, they would “democratize” and integrate with the West. Needless to say, that did not happen. Instead, China installed a new Emperor who organized a wide-ranging program to promote ultranationalism and reinforce traditional Chinese cultural values.
Samuel P. Huntington, who died in 2008 at the age of 81, is one of the globalist thinkers who disagreed with the consensus, arguing that China could, unlike Western countries, modernize and still maintain traditional culturally conservative values, which would then make it “unintegratable” into the Western order, which is based on modernist ideas.
If anyone wants to understand Huntington’s predictions further, they can read his book “Clash of Civilizations.” It’s kind of boring if you don’t have all the background knowledge, but not particularly difficult for someone with high school level reading skills.
This is the map he gave of the different civilizations that were to “clash” in the modern world:
You can overlay that with the above Chinese meme about the “international community.”
Meanwhile, China has spent the last two decades reaching out to these various other civilizations, and most of them get along very well with the Chinese. During the same two decades, the West has been engaged in brutal, pointless, and very expensive wars, serving no clear purpose anyone can explain beyond “Israeli security interests.” (Those countries could have been conquered a lot easier with Netflix and pornography, but the Jews wanted war. That’s the theme of all of this – the globalist agenda is continually undermined by bizarre Jewish psychology.)
The Chinese have also peddled a lot of influence in the West, primarily through being productive and exploiting the transnational ideology of the West.
Finally, to be clear: I don’t doubt that Western politicians have been bribed or that the Democrat Party in particular has a fair number of Chinese intelligence operatives and assets. The story of Fang-Fang the Chinese spy going around having sex with American politicians seems to be true, and that has probably happened a lot without the spies getting identified. But espionage and intelligence operations fit into my paradigm, rather than the “everything that happens wouldn’t happen unless it was a conspiracy” paradigm.
As well as being quicker to make, dishes served at diners were cheaper, too.
Items like pancakes, sausages, meatloaf, burgers, and sandwiches were typically served in the restaurants and still are in diners today.
Good cheap food was available at diners.
The meals were low-priced, making diners popular even before their rise in the 1950s. During the Great Depression, diners provided an inexpensive way for families to go out to eat.
It’s the Same with Russia
These same kinds of issues come up when talking about how Putin is secretly working for Klaus Schwab – but those arguments aren’t even really important enough to address, because at this point, Russia is a de facto proxy state of China. To elaborate: China and Russia are in a binding alliance, and China is a much more powerful country than Russia, therefore: de facto proxy state – at least as regards Russia’s moves on the geopolitical stage. If China was allied with America, Russia would already be crushed (that’s why so many people tried to warn American planners that they had to choose one or the other).
Putin and the Russians obviously have their own objectives and so on; I don’t think they are a vassal state of the Chinese. But it is clear that Putin made sure the Ukrainian intervention was approved by China, and they would not have approved it if they didn’t think it served their interests. As we’ve seen, it has very much served their interests. Frankly, I am virtually positive that the Chinese knew how the US would react and did the math on how this would play out, ultimately resulting in the collapse of the dollar, and thereby the American Empire.
Meanwhile, by every single fact we are able to observe, the decadent leaders of the West are acting as though Russia and China are Iraq and Libya. It appears that they genuinely believe they can use brute force and threats of brute force to come out on top in this conflict. (It’s also worth mentioning that the West, due to the ultra-low moral character of its leaders and the utter lack of any unifying ideal beyond anal sex, has lost the ability to cooperate cohesively as a single body in the way that the Chinese do.)
Please note: Unlike the theoretical secret deals between the West and the Chinese (or Russia), the deals between China and Russia are very much visible and are largely committed to paper.
The West started this conflict, of course. I don’t know when they realized Russia was going to move into the Ukraine, but they had ample opportunity to prevent it by simply agreeing to the previous status quo. They appear to believe that they can create a protracted conflict in the Ukraine like they did when Russia invaded Afghanistan in the 1980s. That shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the situation. Ukraine has historically been a part of Russia. There is not really any such thing as a “Ukrainian identity” outside of being a vassal state. In the west of the country, they tend to feel closer to Poland, and there is some bad blood all around with regards to the USSR. But none of this is in any way similar to fanatical Islam. The US has backed neo-Nazism as a kind of “Ukrainian ISIS,” but you can’t rally a country around cartoonish neo-Nazism (particularly while the entire leadership of the country is Jewish).
The idea of using neo-Nazis as rebels against a Russian occupation or a Russia-backed government in the Ukraine is nonsensical, and reeks of the kind of stupid thinking that led to America’s Afghan debacle. The US government pays people to lie to them, and when people tell the truth, they get fired and end up on obscure livestream interviews answering superchats. These liars are telling the decision-makers that the Ukraine is Afghanistan and a protracted conflict can be used to drain Russia, which will ultimately result in the collapse of the Putin government.
The fact that they have no idea what they’re doing is blatant in the fact that they are sanctioning the entire Russian race. Putin’s support is going up rapidly among the people, many of whom didn’t like his policies before but now feel compelled to rally around him since they are being attacked personally for their race by the West.
Diners typically operate around the clock, allowing patrons to stop by at any time for a meal.
Since diners are open all night long, many pop culture depictions of diners involve a feeling of loneliness and isolation.
Diners were open 24 hours.
Edward Hopper’s 1942 painting “Nighthawks” shows a diner and its few occupants late at night. The painting is based on a diner in New York City’s Greenwich Village.
So, China Ruling the World, Huh?
We are clearly facing down a world ruled by the Chinese. A lot of people are uncomfortable with that. But most of the discomfort comes from the idea that the Chinese are somehow going to rule us in the same fashion that the US has ruled the world since World War II. They have no such plans for us. The Chinese have a vision of conquering the world through commerce, rather than war, threats of war, and geopolitical maneuvering.
We started out on the issue of the economic dominance of the US, and that economic dominance is indeed the key to everything. However, US economic dominance was entirely a result of US military might.
The reigning US philosophy for global economic dominance has been: “we will literally bomb you.”
Conversely, the Chinese philosophy has been: “we will sell you high quality products at reasonable prices.”
Chinese people do not really even understand what white people are, and they don’t have very much interest in learning. If a Chinese person outside of the major urban centers sees a white person, they don’t register them as a person, but rather as some kind of weird exotic creature that has popped up in their environment for mysterious reasons. The reaction is similar to if you were walking down the street, and saw Doraemon float in on a cloud.
Doraemon float in on a cloud.
You might stop and look at him in awe, you might take out your phone and take a selfie, you might just ignore him completely because your brain cannot register the existence of a Doraemon floating around.
This is to say: it’s a purely insular culture, which Westerners do not understand any more than they understand us. As an example: instead of trying to trace their origins as a people, the Chinese believe – and teach children in school – that China has always existed. In their thinking, China is the “Middle Kingdom” that sits between Heaven and a mass of strange barbarians who may be interested in buying products.
When the Mongols consistently raided them, stealing their women and wealth on horseback and riding off with the booty, they said “cannot allow.” Instead of mounting an army to crush the Mongols, they built a gigantic wall, and told the Mongols that if they wanted Chinese products, they would have to buy them at the wall.
It is precisely the same logic as a Chinese immigrant family setting up a store in an all black neighborhood and covering the counter, cash register, and expensive items with bulletproof glass.
China has always been, fundamentally, a merchant empire, and that hasn’t changed. If it were not for the belligerence of the West, they wouldn’t have bothered to build up a large military at all. Historically, virtually every war the Chinese have fought has been a civil war, as they don’t look at the rest of the world as enemies or friends, but rather customers and potential customers.
China has de facto economic dominance over most of Southeast Asia and a lot of Africa. They’ve not interfered with any of these countries’ political processes, and they’ve shown no interest in doing so. I’ve repeatedly pointed out that they should have sent advisors to Burma during their (still ongoing) political crisis, given that they’ve got such a large stake in the Burmese economy, but they did not. Even when it is obviously to their benefit, and the problem would not be difficult to mediate, they stick to a policy of non-interference.
Similarly, they had huge investments in Vietnam, but made no attempt to interfere with the politics there. The locals started to resent Chinese being richer than locals. This ended up in massive pogroms of Chinese businesses in 2014. It didn’t get a lot of media attention in the West of course, but it was a pretty big deal. They burned more than a dozen factories, and were just smashing anything with Chinese characters on it (they can’t visibly tell the difference between each other, because Vietnamese people are really just Southern Chinese). They ended up accidentally smashing or burning a bunch of Taiwanese and even Japanese businesses (I guess they didn’t attack Korean businesses, because Korean characters have that circle thing that makes them really obvious).
Several people were killed. China’s response was basically “this is very disrespectful behavior. We cannot continue doing business with you.” They didn’t threaten them with a war, or try to do regime change. The Vietnamese government said they would secure Chinese investments, and then only arrested two people. (The Wikipedia page on these “protests” is not very good, but might be a starting point for people who want to look into it more.)
China pulled most of their investment, and Vietnam continued to pivot towards America, a country that they had relatively recently had a relatively brutal war with. Some Western-owned factories moved to Vietnam from China, but mostly the result of the pogroms and lack of action by the government to the pogroms just meant more money for Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia – countries where the local barbarians are more amenable to gentlemanly business practices.
Vietnam has effectively been cut out of the One Belt, One Road project, while the Chinese are doing expensive infrastructure projects and building factories everywhere else. Instead of using Vietnamese ports, China is going through neighboring Laos, Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia, then running a waterway shipping line past Vietnam.
This is why they’re going crying to the US State Department about fishing waters. I guess we’ll see how that gamble works out for them. (Obviously, at some point, they’re going to end up begging for the Chinese to come back – assuming they don’t end up being used in some kind of Western military operation.)
Note this: America still has military in Thailand. However, when push comes to shove, Thais are going to side with the Chinese, because dumping money into a country works a lot better for building stable relations than putting your military inside a country.
This little variation on Pork Chops is very, very delicious and so easy to make!
Baked Saucy Pork Chops
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 bone-in pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Brown pork chops on both sides. Transfer to a greased 11×7-in. baking dish; sprinkle with onion.
In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients; pour over chops. Bake, covered, until a thermometer inserted in pork reads 145°, 15-20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Pay attention to this;
If the West wants to fight a bioweapons war, the East can do the same thing.
Two COVID Variants Just Combined Into a ‘Frankenstein’ Virus
The first subvariant of Omicron, the latest major variant of the novel coronavirus, was bad. BA.1 drove record cases and hospitalizations in many countries starting last fall.
The second subvariant, BA.2, was worse in some countries—setting new records for daily cases across China and parts of Europe.
After Biden and Blinkedin warned China that serious consequences would occur if China failed to sanction Russia, there have been outbreaks up and down China with this second subvariant BA.2. No other actions occured (aside fromt he mysterious mid-air breakup of a domestic airliner).
Now BA.1 and BA.2 have combined to create a third subvariant. XE, as it’s known, is a “recombinant”—the product of two viruses interacting “Frankenstein”-style in a single host.
With its long list of mutations, XE could be the most contagious form of the coronavirus yet. “From the WHO reports, it does appear to have a bit more of an edge in terms of transmissibility,” Stephanie James, the head of a COVID testing lab at Regis University in Colorado, told The Daily Beast.
But don’t panic just yet. The same mix of subvariants that produced XE might also protect us from it. Coming so quickly after the surge of BA.1 and BA.2 cases, XE is on track to hit a wall of natural immunity—the antibodies left over from past infection in hundreds of millions of people.
Those natural antibodies, plus the additional protection afforded by the various COVID vaccines, could blunt XE’s impact. For that reason, many experts worry less about XE and more about whatever variant or subvariant might come after XE.
Now, it appears that a deadly variant of the BA.2 has been detected in the USA. It's now known as XE.
The subvariant hasn’t shown up in U.S. tests yet. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t reached U.S. shores. “It might not be detected by the standard analysis pipeline,” Rob Knight, the head of a genetic-computation lab at the University of California, San Diego, told The Daily Beast. Major new forms of SARS-CoV-2 can require tweaks to testing methods.
XE is a nasty bug, owing to potentially dozens of mutations to its spike protein, the part of the virus that helps it grab onto and infect our cells. And it’s a strong reminder that the pandemic isn’t over. Even with widespread natural immunity and highly effective and safe vaccines, SARS-CoV-2 keeps finding pockets of unprotected people—and opportunities to evolve.
Diners have appeared in pop culture favorites like “Grease,” “Seinfeld,” “Gilmore Girls,” and “Twin Peaks.”
“In the movies, the diner is a special kind of space, a mythic place, a zone of escape,” film critic John Patterson told the BBC.
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Suzanne Vega, who wrote the ’80s hit song “Tom’s Diner,” said, “The attraction of the diner is that it’s a sort of a midway point between the street and home.”
Trade is Better Than War
Frankly, if you read Thomas Jefferson – who was not an Orientalist – his vision for America was not dissimilar from that of the “Middle Kingdom” of China. He thought America should base its relationships with other countries on trade, rather than military or political antagonism (let alone moral lecturing).
This thinking was based primarily on the fact that the US had been a colony, and so understood the complexities of running an empire, which requires you to rule over people in foreign lands. Most all of the original American thinkers thought trade was a better way to interact with and influence the world than direct military rule.
Basically, this thinking ended with the Spanish-American war. Before that, America had wars, but they were all basically necessary (the Civil War is obviously complicated, but it was not a foreign war so doesn’t apply here). Because of the alleged sinking of the USS Maine by the Spanish – which turned out to be a fake news hoax – the US did an “intervention” in Cuba, and then “intervened” in the Philippines.
Irony of all ironies, however, the actual first “intervention” in a dumb foreign conflict was the support for the British during the Second Opium War.
The short story is: The US initially refused to get involved, and then were talked into sending a small number of troops by the British. After a few brief skirmishes, the US signed a neutrality agreement with China, effectively abandoning the British to their stupid adventure in global Jewish drug-peddling (the opium racket was run by the Jewish Sassoon family, and the entire scheme of conquering the Chinese by getting all the peasants addicted to drugs was a Jewish plan that the British went along with – the British have a proud history stretching back to Cromwell of cooperating with maniacal Jewish schemes). Then a US Navy commander went rogue and attacked the Chinese in defense of the British, claiming it was a race war, and “blood is thicker than water.” I agree with the sentiment, of course, but not in the context of a Jewish drug scheme on the other side of the planet.
So: our nation’s first stupid foreign adventure was against the Chinese as a part of a Jewish plot – and thus will be our last foreign adventure.
The Dragon’s Breath blows away the Empire of Dust.
Diners brought together people from different economic levels
Michael C. Gabriele, who wrote “The History of Diners in New Jersey,” told the Telegraph that “diners are the state’s ultimate gathering places — at any moment, high school students, CEOs, construction workers, and tourists might be found at a counter chatting with the waitresses and line cooks.”
American diner.
During the civil rights movement, diners became a popular place for activists to hold “sit-ins” in restaurants that refused to seat black people, despite many of them employing black people to work there.
In 1964, Congress outlawed segregation through the Civil Rights Act, but many diners in the South continued to segregate their establishments, afraid that “seating blacks would drive away white patrons.”
Worse Things Have Happened to Better People
It goes without saying: no Chinaman ever tried to convince my son to cut his dick off. No Chinaman ever flooded my country with immigrants and pornography. No Chinaman ever called me “goy.”
China is not going to invade America. They are going to allow it to commit suicide. Over time, a new order will be established in America, and that new order will have the option of trading with China. Probably, during the chaos of this collapse, China will buy up a lot of the resources in America, and this will mean that a new emerging order will be tied in to the global economic order run by the Chinese. That’s unfortunate, but hey – your son gets to keep his dick.
A world with China as the central global superpower will be peaceful and based on independent countries engaging in voluntary commerce. It’s sad to see people getting so fussy over it.
I get that it’s also sad that the white man is not going to be the dominant force on the planet anymore. But in truth, we haven’t been for a long time. Everything that we associate with Western dominance in the modern age is really Jewish dominance.
Basically, 80 years ago, white people had a big war with each other and the good guys lost. Everything that’s happened since then has been effectively predetermined – a series of chaotic and revolutionary events driven by the chaotic and revolutionary spirit of the Jewish race. The Jews ultimately destroy everything. They can’t help themselves.
So, here we are.
Railcar-style diners are still manufactured in factories today, but they’re much more expensive to purchase and ship.
New diners can reportedly cost more than $1 million to produce, and restoring or renovating old ones can be extremely pricey as well. Instead, many ’50s-style diners in operation today are built on-site to cut costs.
American diner.
US oil imports from Russia increase by 43%
If you are confused, well; welcome to the club.
In the past week, the US administration has increased its imports of Russian oil by 43%, reaching 100,000 barrels a day.
I have so much information to share with you today, and I will do my best to be brief. But be warned that this article is going to be longer than usual. Global events are moving so quickly now, and I believe that they are going to move even more rapidly in the months ahead. Sadly, the changes that we are witnessing will have a very real impact on the daily lives of every man, woman and child on the entire planet. As I discussed yesterday, a global food shortage has arrived. In fact, members of Congress are now using words like “famine” and “starvation” to describe what conditions will soon be like all over the world.
For example, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst just told Fox Business that our planet is facing “impending famine”…
About 40 to 45 percent of the production in Ukraine will be decreased this year because of the war and the scarcity of supplies that go into the planting season. And we know that Ukraine also supports about 400 million people around the world with its food products. So we do see that we have an impending famine. And I’ve heard from David Beasley at the World Food Bank that he’s now going to have to take from the hungry to feed the starving.
And U.S. Senator Cory Booker has previously warned that we could soon see tens of millions of people “dying of starvation”…
“Democrats and Republicans in Congress need to quickly come together and approve emergency global food aid in order to prevent tens of millions of people, including millions of children, from dying of starvation,” Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, told Reuters.
They aren’t exaggerating.
Even Joe Biden recently admitted that food shortages are “going to be real”.
The one thing that could provide a ray of hope would be an end to the war in Ukraine.
But it appears that isn’t going to happen any time soon. In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that his nation will not accept anything less than “victory” in the war…
Special Report’s Bret Baier interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday evening, touching on a wide variety of topics, including what a victory looks like for Ukraine and what Putin is hoping to achieve.Baier asked the Ukrainian leader at the start of the interview how he believes the “war will end” prompting an explanation from Zelenskyy that only “victory” will be acceptable to his country.
Good luck with all that.
Now that the Russians have pulled their forces away from Kiev to focus on the eastern front, there is a lot less pressure on Zelenskyy to compromise on a peace deal.
And the fact that this conflict has made him one of the biggest celebrities on the entire planet actually gives him an incentive to keep it going.
Meanwhile, millions upon millions of people are already deeply suffering. In Somalia, we are being warned that an “impending famine” is at the door…
What we are now seeing is impending famine similar to that which occurred in 2010/2011 in which more than a quarter of a million people died – including 133,000 children under the age of five. Although some donors have committed to fund Somalia’s Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) which seeks US$1.5 billion, not even 4% of funding required to meet Somalia’s humanitarian needs have been allocated. Like the novel coronavirus, which had impacted many of Somali households, the Ukraine crisis has driven inflation and rising costs in Somalia, particularly for food and energy, at a time when families are already incredibly desperate.
The reason why the situation in Somalia has become so desperate is because that nation normally gets more than 90 percent of its wheat from either Russia or Ukraine…
Finally, in the Horn of Africa 13 million people are already suffering from hunger. Ethiopia imports around 40 percent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine, Kenya 30 percent, and Somalia over 90 percent.
Meanwhile, the food crisis in Yemen just continues to escalate. One man that was recently interviewed admitted that he and his family “live like ants”…
Experts are warning that the world faces a historic famine. The war in Ukraine is only one of many problems plaguing the global distribution of food.In Yemen, Ghalib al-Najjar skips meals so that his children have enough food. He says he and his family “live like ants or fish…we eat what we can find.”
An ongoing wave of violent protests in Peru shows how the Russian invasion of Ukraine is affecting markets around the world, sparking unrest and deepening political divides.Rising fuel costs originally triggered the protests, which started last week, but quickly intensified into large anti-government demonstrations with marches and road blockades.
So far at least six people have died in the chaos, and protesters continue to block at least nine major roads.
In Afghanistan, it is being estimated that 95 percent of the entire population does not have enough food to eat right now…
Afghanistan has faced grave hunger crises before. Two decades ago, people in the country were so hungry they resorted to eating wild grass.But the situation in the country now is unprecedented.Exacerbated by an unusually cold winter and the worst drought in decades, the economic upheaval that came with the Taliban takeover has left 95% of Afghans without enough food.
We haven’t seen anything like this in a really long time.
The World Food Program estimates that 285 million people face starvation.The head of the World Food Program, former South Carolina Governor David Beasley, says the world food supply already faced a catastrophe before the war in Ukraine.“We’re so short of funds already, and now with Ukraine, we’ve got 50-percent rations for people, for example, in Yemen, I’ve just cut 50 percent rations for eight million people. Niger, 50 percent rations, Chad 50 percent rations. And 50 percent don’t have anything, those who are in extreme need,” Beasley said.
Of course this is just the beginning. As I specifically warned in Lost Prophecies and 7 Year Apocalypse, conditions will eventually become far more severe than they are at this moment.
Here in the United States, nobody is starving just yet, but the cost of living is escalating at a frightening pace.
According to a Bloomberg report, the average U.S. household will need to spend 5,200 dollars more just to have the same standard of living as last year…
“Inflation will mean the average U.S. household has to spend an extra $5,200 this year ($433 per month) compared to last year for the same consumption basket,” Bloomberg Economics reports.Having to spend an extra $433 per month to get the same is a hefty, even gargantuan ask for anyone — especially parents who are already struggling to keep a roof over their kid’s heads and food on the table.
And our historic supply chain crisis just continues to get even worse.
The wait times for semiconductor deliveries rose slightly in March, reaching a new high, after lockdowns in China and an earthquake in Japan further hampered supply.Lead times — the lag between when a chip is ordered and delivered — increased by two days to 26.6 weeks last month, according to research by Susquehanna Financial Group.
The system is crumbling all around us, and we really are in the early stages of a full-blown economic implosion.
Initially, it will be the poorest nations that suffer the most.
Millions upon millions of innocent people don’t have enough to eat right now, and that number will rise with each passing day.
Normally, most Americans don’t pay too much attention to what is happening on the other side of the world, but food scarcity is growing in the United States too.
So if you and your family have enough food to eat tonight, you should be very grateful, because at least for now you are one of the lucky ones.
What Chinese houses look like
You know, you can easily see glimpses of China by looking at the backgrounds in the Douxing videos. here, we have a girl dancing in the front of her home, and in her living room. I can tell you that this is normal. This is what China is like, and to all those people who mistakenly believe that the Chinese nation is going to collapse any day, well… don’t hold your breath. video 2MB
Quick Chicken and Dumplings
Using precooked chicken and ready-made biscuits, this hearty dish is comfort food made simple. It’s the perfect way to warm up on chilly nights.
1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried sage leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions
Cut each biscuit into fourths; set aside. In a large saucepan, saute onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Stir in the chicken, broth, mushrooms, bouillon granules, parsley, sage, rosemary and pepper.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; add biscuits for dumplings. Cover and simmer (do not lift cover while simmering) 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a dumpling comes out clean.
By the 1970s, the rise in fast-food restaurants led to a decline in the popularity of traditional diners.
As McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King restaurants continued to pop up nationwide, it became difficult for small business owners to compete with the huge corporations also selling cheap, convenient food.
American diner.
While there were reportedly over 1,000 diners in New York City around 30 years ago, just 398 remained in 2015, according to a Crain’s New York Business article citing the city’s Department of Health records at the time.
One way to view civilization collapse is to say that every nation dies when its marginal costs exceed potential profits. This means that each action is so encumbered — red tape, taxes, unions, corruption — that none of them are worth doing.
At that point, people stop trying to improve things and simply make do with what they have or stop using it. In this way, even technological civilizations revert to third world subsistence agriculture.
The Soviets went out hard because they imposed the burden of socialism on every action. The West has done the same with insurance, unions, high taxes, regulations, and diversity costs.
Individual industries do it too. You may notice that every software product you own is blighted with constant trivial updates, and that almost every company wants to sell you a “service” instead of a product.
For example, why own a software package like Microsoft Office when you can pay a monthly fee to use an online service “in the Cloud” (translation: on servers owned by someone else)? Makes sense, until you realize you are re-buying the software every ten years.
Microsoft realized it had a problem with Windows XP, Windows 7, and Office 2007: if you do something right enough, people will never buy another product unless forced. That means you need to downsize your company.
In other words, the end result of Microsoft would be to make a really good operating system and software, then fire everyone but five guys who answer the emails and keep selling the stuff.
Businesses need to find new horizons in order to stay ahead of this, just like societies constantly need new goals to avoid stagnation, but with all of the regulatory, tax, and affirmative action costs, they cannot afford to do that.
Instead they become rent-seekers, having built something great and now trying to extract as much money out of it as possible. Consequently they want you to pay them fifty bucks a month, however they have to justify it, so they can count on consistent profits and limit their size accordingly.
These are signs of a sick economy, and that usually means a sick society, since it has made crazy-stupid decisions to the point that it no longer operates as an economy but as a tax and rent-seeking cash cow.
All of that is extracted from the average wagie, which means that he pushes his employer to find ways to make more money in the world outside of his borders, at which point globalism — effectively created by unions driving labor offshore at the same time that democracy decided that with the Soviets out of the way, it might as well complete what it started in WW1 and take over the world — becomes a ruthless profit-seeking activity.
We saw this starting two decades ago when grocery stores began offering those little customer loyalty cards. If you got the card, you got better prices and enough coupons to keep you coming back.
As long as they got their $50 a month out of you, life was easy for them. Multiply that amount times their number of consumers times twelve and they know their baseline revenues, which enables them to keep hiring their friends and other bloat.
Software updates are another variation on this. They ship you “free” updates every month that eventually require you to upgrade your gadget because it cannot handle the bloat and waste of the new updates.
When margins overwhelm profit potential, everyone turns into a rent-seeker. “I have this title or ownership, therefore hand me things.”
Entropy wins at that point. No one can act to improve anything, and everyone forms a little hugbox dedicated to preserving the gimmedats of the status quo.
A civilization avoids this state by doing two things: first, it cuts external costs so that margins do not overwhelm profit potential, and second, it socializes mature products by granting monopolies that then cut staff.
If, for example, we decided that Microsoft Office 2019 was the best that an office suite could ever get and had no flaws, it would make sense to transfer it to another authority which would be five guys in an office with a monopoly and no interest in expanding it.
That would force Microsoft to find new fields to till, new mountains to climb, and new visions to dream instead of milking the past in a rent-seeking pattern that ends with everyone paying them a subscription fee just to enjoy normal tools.
We know that tech is grinding to a halt because it has invented nothing new for a long time. The grand visions of Google sputtered and died; Facebook has turned into Second Life; Twitter now seems like a good place to go get state propaganda but not much else.
This means that transition is on the wind. The old ways no longer work. Every time you see a service fee or update, console yourself with the knowledge that this is simply a grave being dug for worldwide democracy and the NWO.
In New York City, few original diners remain. However, the recent embracing of nostalgia — think, the rise in speakeasies — has also revitalized the typical American diner.
American Diner.
A recent addition to New York’s Soho neighborhood is the trendy ’50s-style Soho Diner, part of the Soho Grand Hotel. Other New York diners, like the Waverly Diner and the Empire Diner, have managed to keep their doors open despite changing tastes.
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CIA tries to import insects that devistate crops
China inspects all packages. It’s a 100% full scan policy. This is because for decades, the United States has been busy introducing plagues, insects, and viruses to destroy China via destruction of it’s food base, and in any and all forms. This is known as “hybrid war”.
China has not retaliated…yet.
But if and when they do, the United States will collapse like the house of cards that it is.
This is typical, and apparently it’s a common enough event. Once discovered, the Chinese then send the packages on (minus the insects) and watch who gets the packages. Then the person just disappears after their mandatory interview with the PLA. video 3MB
Unfortunately, the sanctions the US put on Russia do not appear to be harming Russia at all, even as they are furthering the destruction of the economy of the West, and setting the stage for a collapse of the dollar as reserve currency.
Russia has just announced that if Europe wants its oil, they’re going to have to pay in rubles. This will heavily reenforce the ruble, of course. Presumably, it will make up for most or all of the damage that the sanctions have caused.
Russia will now accept payment for gas exports to “unfriendly countries” in rubles only, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the government on Wednesday.The president explained that Russia plans to abandon all “compromised” currencies in payment settlements. He added that illegitimate decisions by a number of Western countries to freeze Russia’s assets destroyed all confidence in their currencies.“I have decided to implement in the shortest possible time a set of measures to change the payments for – yes let’s start with this – for our natural gas supplied to the so-called unfriendly countries in Russian rubles, that is to stop using all compromised currencies for transactions,” the Russian president said.“It doesn’t make sense to deliver our goods to the EU and the US and get paid in dollars and euros,” he added.
For those who don’t know the details: it is impossible for Europe to shut off Russian gas any time soon. They will literally freeze to death, or have to figure out some kind of wooden steam system.
People were saying Russian might just shut off the gas and let Europe deal with the situation, but this is much better.
The ruble bottomed out on March 7, and has been largely recovering. It’s only down 13% over the month of war.
If you consider that Russia is currently under the most severe economic sanctions in history by the most powerful economic entity in history – it’s not looking too bad.
That 13% isn’t going to affect anyone’s life in Russia, it only affects international trade. Not a big deal. No one in Russia is suffering from this, unless you consider being denied PornHub, Netflix, and McDonald’s as “suffering.”
This ultimatum to Europe will give it its 13% back.
Meanwhile, the Russian stock market, which was closed on the day of the incursion into the Ukraine, was reopened and is doing fine.
Russia’s stocks continued to rise sharply on Thursday as the Moscow Exchange reopened for limited trading this week, after suspending most of its transactions on February 28.The ruble-based MOEX benchmark went up more than 11% to 2,743 points. The dollar-denominated RTS index of leading Russian stocks was down slightly, to 888.59 points.The Moscow Exchange resumed trading in 33 Russian equities, including shares of Gazprom, Sberbank, Aeroflot, and other domestic firms. Oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil were both up by 20% and 16%, respectively. Aluminum company Rusal rose more than 14%, while Norilsk Nickel jumped more than 22%.
So, basically, the US operation against Russia has been like a situation where a guy breaks into your house and is waving around a gun at your family, then he goes ahead and puts the gun in his mouth and blows his own brains out. You’re going to have to clean the brains off the wall, and repair the locks on the door, but otherwise you’re going to be good. The intruder, however, is not so good. He’s just blown his own brains out.
This is all happening very quickly.
It’s hard to keep up with.
But the US has effectively committed a very public suicide in the name of a bizarre moral signaling campaign about how they are very good people and so oppose the very bad Russians.
It now looks to me as though this thing was planned over a very long period of time. Since the Maidan, Russia, presumably working with China, has set a trap for the United States in the Ukraine. They knew that after the revolution, the West wouldn’t be able to help itself, and would move NATO forces into the country, and NATOize the country, and so they planned the response – and understood the US response.
There had to be an invasion, because they had to get the US to act in this deranged way, which is the result of both unfathomable hubris and the general degrading of the culture into a state of nonstop moral panic.
The US has already lost.
Putin has demonstrated hypersonic missiles in the Ukraine. These cannot be shot down by any of NATO’s missile defense systems, meaning if NATO tries to attack Russia conventionally, Russia can strike targets across Western Europe. Moreover, there is just no way to invade Russia.
The only remaining options are to back off or start a nuclear war.
It is looking like they will do some kind of chemical attack false flag hoax in the Ukraine, but I don’t even understand what purpose that serves. The only people who will believe that are the “international Community,” which America is already dragging down to hell with them.
There are other theories. Alex Jones and others are saying that Western intelligence is planning to assassinate Joe Biden and blame Russia. That seems a bit outlandish, but I guess you never know. Still, I don’t really see what purpose that would serve. Russia can just say they didn’t do it. Then what changes?
The wheel is already turning.
The jig is up.
The Church – Under The Milky Way
Continuing with the 1990s theme, perhaps a reader or two might remember this little gem…
Family. Rufus. It’s all about a greater purpose. video 1MB
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
I made the mistake just this moment of looking at the Sydney Morning Herald (smh.com.au) to see what it was saying. There's not enough soap in the world to wash out my eyes.
Stay away from the MSM if you don't want an anger management issue.-Patroklos
Lots of things going on right now. We continue with a sitrep on the various points of confusion, and various other matters. And we highlight this article with a claim from the Bit Chute venue.
This claim argues that a false flag attack in New York City will occur on the 18th of April 2022. And it will be used to trigger a hot kinetic war between the USA and Russia.
That’s what? A week away.
Ah. Such spicy subjects we have today!
We begin with some articles that are easy on the eyes.
Russian Defense Ministry on the attempted breakthrough by the Apache dry cargo ship to Mariupol.
At 22:38 Moscow time, 30 km southeast of Mariupol, the dry cargo ship abruptly changed its course and tried to break through to the Mariupol seaport blocked from the sea by the Black Sea Fleet.
The Ukrainian dry cargo ship did not respond to the demands of the Russian border ships to contact them through the international channel and continued moving in the direction of the port of MARIUPOL.
Warning artillery fire from two border guard ships towards the ship didn’t change the course of the ship and slowed her down.
While moving to the port of MARIUPOL, the vessel was engaged in radio communication, transmitting the message “I am Maniak, coming to you. At the same time, signal fires were observed on shore.
To block the movement of the intruder ship, the ship of the Black Sea Fleet and the Border Patrol ships opened artillery fire at the Apache dry cargo ship from 22:53 to 23:30.
As a result of the direct hit, a fire broke out on the stern of the ship.
After that, the Ukrainian cargo ship went adrift and the crew communicated with the border guard ships with a request to cease fire and confirmed their readiness to comply with all the demands of the Russian sailors.
The fire did not cause any casualties among the crew of the ship. The fire was extinguished by the ship’s crew on their own.
After the inspection, the Ukrainian dry cargo ship and its crew are escorted to the port of Yeysk.
Creamed Onions and Peas
This is a wonderful recipe which calls for fresh pearl onions and fresh or frozen peas. Quick and tasty.
Peas and onions.
Dust off those old skills
It’s looking like this, eh?
vintage bomb shelter 1950s cold war
The Coming Resource Wars
The second Cold War is already a struggle among systems as well, pitting countries that focus on manufacturing (China) and resources (Russia) in the physical world against an alliance led by the United States, which for the last generation has sacrificed much of its own manufacturing and mining to specialize in global leadership in finance, services, and entertainment.
The West sacrificed manufacturing because of the destructive effect of unions. The future belongs to those who are self-sufficient.
Several dozen active NATO officers were surrounded in Mariupol.
During the ongoing assault on Mariupol, several dozen active officers of NATO and European countries, who are not officially present on the territory of Ukraine, fell into a dense encirclement. As it turned out, among the surrounded officers are soldiers from France, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, the USA and Sweden (not a NATO member – ed.).
If the US goal is to crush Russia’s economy with sanctions and isolation, why is Europe in an economic free fall instead?
The stunning spectacle of the EU committing slow motion hara-kiri is something for the ages… Like a cheap Kurosawa remake the movie is actually about the Empire of Lies-detonated demolition of the EU, complete with subsequent rerouting of some key Russian commodities exports to the US at the expense of the Europeans.
It helps to have a 5th columnist actress strategically placed, in this case astonishingly incompetent European Commission head Ursula von der Lugen, with a brand new vociferous announcement of an extra sanctions package: Russian ships banned from EU ports; road transportation companies from Russia and Belarus prohibited from entering the EU; no more coal imports (over 4.4 billion euros a year).
That translates in practice into the Empire of Lies shaking down its wealthiest – Western – clients/puppets. Russia of course is too powerful militarily. The Empire badly needs some of its key exports – especially minerals. Mission Accomplished in this case amounts to nudging the EU into imposing more and more sanctions and willfully collapsing their national economies, allowing the US to scoop everything up.
Cue to the coming catastrophic economic consequences felt by Europeans in their daily life (but not by the wealthiest 5%): inflation devouring salaries and savings; next winter energy bills packing a mean punch; products disappearing from supermarkets; holiday bookings almost frozen; Le Petit Roi Macron in France – maybe up to a nasty electoral surprise – announcing “food stamps like in WWII are possible”.
We have Germany facing the returning ghost of Weimar hyperinflation; BlackRock President Rob Kapito saying, in Texas, “for the first time, this generation is going to go into a store and not be able to get what they want”; farmers in Africa not able to afford fertilizer at all this year, reducing agricultural production by an amount capable of feeding 100 million people.
Zoltan Poszar, former NY Fed and US Treasury guru, current Credit Suisse grand vizir, has been on a streak, stressing how commodity reserves – and here Russia is unrivaled – will be an essential feature of what he calls Bretton Woods III (yet, in fact, what’s being designed by Russia, China, Iran and the Eurasia Economic Union is a post-Bretton Woods).
Poszar remarks that wars, historically, are won by those who have more food and energy supplies, in the past to power horses and soldiers, today to feed soldiers and fuel tanks and fighter jets.
China, incidentally, has amassed large stocks of virtually everything.
Poszar notes how our current Bretton Woods II system has a deflationary impulse (globalization, open trade, just-in-time supply chains) while Bretton Woods III will provide an inflationary impulse (de-globalization, autarky, hoarding of raw materials) of supply chains and extra military spending to be able to protect what will remain of seaborne trade.
The implications are of course overwhelming. What’s implicit, ominously, is that this state of affairs may even lead to WWIII.
It’s all about Marketing
Don’t you know.
kid promise hit quarter funny
Rublegas or American LNG?
The Valdai Club has conducted an essential expert discussion on what we at The Cradle have defined as Rublegas – the real geoeconomic game-changer at the heart of the post-petrodollar era. Alexander Losev, a member of the Russian Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, offered the contours of the Big Picture. But it was up to Alexey Gromov, Chief Energy Director of the Institute of Energy and Finance, to come up with crucial nitty gritty details.
Russia so far was selling gas to Europe to the amount of 155 billion cubic meters a year. The EU rhetorically promises to get rid of it by 2027, and reduce supply by the end of 2022 by 100 billion cubic meters. Gromov asked “how”, and remarked, “any expert has no answer. Most of Russia’s natural gas is shipped over pipelines. This cannot simply be replaced by LNG.”
The risible European answer has been “start saving”, as in “prepare to be worse off. Reduce the temperature in households”. Gromov noted how, in Russia, “22 to 25 degrees in winter is the norm. Europe is promoting 16 degrees as ‘healthy’, and wearing sweaters at night.”
The EU won’t be able to get the gas it needs from Norway or Algeria (which is privileging domestic consumption). Azerbaijan would be able to provide at best 10 billion cubic meters a year, but “that will take 2 or 3 years” to happen.
Gromov stressed how “there’s no surplus in the market today for US and Qatar LNG.” And how prices for Asian customers are always higher. The bottom line is that “by end of 2022, Europe won’t be able to significantly reduce” what is buys from Russia: “they might cut by 50 billion cubic meters, maximum.” And prices in the spot market will be higher – at least $1,300 per cubic meter.
An important development is that “Russia changed the logistical supply chains to Asia already”. That applies for gas and oil as well:
“You can impose sanctions if there’s a surplus in the market. Now there’s a shortage of at least 1.5 million barrels of oil a day. We’ll be sending our supplies to Asia – with a discount.” As it stands, Asia is already paying a premium, from 3 to 5 dollars more per barrel of oil.
On oil shipments, Gromov also commented on the key issue of insurance:
“Insurance premiums are higher. Before Ukraine, it was all based on the FOB system. Now buyers are saying ‘we don’t want to take the risk of taking your cargo to our ports’. So they are applying the CIF system, where the seller has to insure and transport the cargo. That of course impacts revenues.”
An absolutely key issue for Russia is how to make the transition to China as its key gas customer. It’s all about Power of Siberia 2 – which will reach full capacity only in 2024. And first the interconnector through Mongolia must be built – “we need 3 years to build this pipeline” – so everything will be in place only around 2025.
On the Yamal pipeline, “most of the gas goes to Asia. If the Europeans don’t buy anymore we can redirect.” And then there’s the Arctic LNG 2 – which is larger than Yamal: “the first phase should be finished soon, it’s 80% ready.” An extra problem may be posed by the Russian “Unfriendlies” in Asia: Japan and South Korea. LNG infrastructure produced in Russia still depends on foreign technologies.
That’s what leads Gromov to note that, “the model of mobilization- based economy is not so good.” But that’s what Russia needs to deal with at least in the short to medium term.
The positives are that the new paradigm will allow “more cooperation within the BRICS”; the expansion of the International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC); and more interaction and integration with “Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Iran”.
Only in terms of Iran and Russia, swaps in the Caspian are already in the works, as Iran produces more than it needs, and is set to increase cooperation with Russia in the framework of the strenghtened strategic partnership.
Boobie Check – Nazi Style
Those were the days.
Some nazi women boob check
Hypersonic geoeconomics
It was up to Chinese energy expert Fu Chengyu to offer a concise explanation of why the EU drive of replacing Russian gas with American LNG is, well, a pipe dream. Essentially the US offer is “too limited and too costly”.
Fu Chengyu showed how a lengthy, tricky process depends on four contracts: between the gas developer and the LNG company; between the LNG company and the buyer company; between the LNG buyer and the cargo company (which builds vessels); and between the buyer and the end user.
“Each contract”, he pointed out, “takes a long time to finish. Without all these signed contracts no party will invest – be it investment on infrastructure or gas field development.” So actual delivery of American LNG to Europe assumes all these interconnected resources are available – and moving like clockwork.
Fu Chengyu’s verdict is stark: this EU obsession on ditching Russian gas will provoke “an impact on global economic growth, and recession. They are pushing their own people – and the world. In the energy sector, we will all be harmed.”
It was quite enlightening to juxtapose the coming geoeconomic turbulence – the EU obsession in bypassing Russian gas and the onset of Rublegas – with the real reasons behind Operation Z in Ukraine, completely obscured by Western media psyops.
So I submitted a few questions to a US Deep State old pro, now retired, and quite familiar with the inner workings of the old OSS, the CIA precursor, all the way to the neocon dementia.
His answers were quite sobering. He started by pointing out, “the whole Ukraine issue is over hypersonic missiles that can reach Moscow in less than four minutes. The US wants them there, in Poland, Romania, Baltic States, Sweden, Finland.This is in direct violation of the agreements in 1991 that NATO will not expand in Eastern Europe. The US does not have hypersonic missiles now but should – in a year or two. This is an existential threat to Russia. So they had to go into the Ukraine to stop this. Next will be Poland and Romania where launchers have been built in Romania and are being built in Poland.”
From a completely different geopolitical perspective, what’s really telling is that his analysis happens to dovetail with Zoltan Poszar’s geoeconomics:
“The US and NATO are totally belligerent.
This presents a real danger to Russia.
The idea that nuclear war is unthinkable is a myth.
If you look at the firebombing of Tokyo against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, more people died in Tokyo than Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
These cities were rebuilt.
The radiation goes away and life can restart.
The difference between firebombing and nuclear bombing is only efficiency.
NATO provocations are so extreme Russia had to place their nuclear missiles on standby alert.
This is a gravely serious matter. But the US ignored it.”
The German authorities have begun to work on strengthening the bunker infrastructure in the country, Minister of Internal Affairs Nancy Feather, said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag.
“Currently, there are 599 public bomb shelters in Germany. We will check if we can upgrade more of these systems.
In any case, the dismantling has stopped,”” the interior minister said.
Hal Turner Remarks
Those of you who somehow think that World War 3 is **not** coming, would do well to open your eyes. Countries all over Europe are taking similar steps with bomb shelters, and bunkers.
Just the other day, the European Union publicly announced they are allocating hundreds of millions of EUROS for war preps, specifically, NUCLEAR war preps. (Story HERE)
The situation right now is very, VERY, bad. If a wider war breaks out in Europe, and it appears quite clearly that it will as we already see Chinese troops being deployed Saturday morning into Serbia (Story HERE), then people in the USA should EXPECT that our nation will be attacked. We will very likely face missile strikes upon OUR military bases, upon OUR ports and port cities, and upon OUR infrastructure.
Water, electric, communications, are all vulnerable to attack, and losing them would cripple society for weeks or months.
I earnestly hope YOU are prepared with emergency food, water, medicines, communications gear (CB and HAM radio), First-Aid kits, flashlights, a way to cook without electric or municipal gas supplies, a way to keep warm in the remaining months of cold weather, and so forth. Have a generator to supply electric. Have fuel for that generator. Keep your cars gassed-up at all times and have reserve fuel for each vehicle.
HAVE A BUGOUT PLAN. If you live near a military base, a port or port city, have a plan on where you will go if hostilities erupt. Know in advance how to get there. Have actual MAPS . . . . NOT GPS which will likely be attacked and unavailable. Have MAPS you can actually read; this way if the route you planned to take for bugout is blocked, you can figure out, on the fly, how to get where you planned to go.
Make plans with distant family or friends where you will go if your area is being bombed.
Don’t wait until the last minute like so many others; because if you FAIL TO PLAN, then by default, you are PLANNING TO FAIL.
I'm not quite sure that this report is accurate. But I have included it here never the less.
Serbia is very friendly with China, and the relationship between the two nations are storng.
It is entirely possible that the USA / NATO are trying to "strong-arm" Serbia into some kind of action. This action by China zeros out the possibility of that request (by the USA / NATO0 from manifesting.
-MM
2022 04 10 08 27
It began late Friday night (US east coast time) when a series of four(4) China People’s Liberation Army Y-20 Troop transport aircraft, were observed flying toward southeastern Europe. Those planes began landing in Serbia.
Shortly thereafter, the original four planes were joined by at least two additional Y-20 transport planes.
The identification numbers of the planes are as follows:
4287
427F
428A
4281
4282
4285
According to public sources, each plane is capable of carrying either three-hundred (300) troops or 110 paratroopers, each.
Flight radar shows the first four:
2022 04 10 08 28
These four planes landed in the Capital.
The final two were also seen doing “zig-zag” maneuvers at 3500 feet northwest of the Capital; exactly the type of maneuvers and altitude one might expect to see from planes deploying paratroopers.
2022 04 10 08 29
For the first time in a long time, the world is now seeing China Communist Party (CCP) force projection.
It is not known yet, why the troops have been sent, or what their purpose is.
Initial SPECULATION is that they are being sent to secure the vast Lithium deposits in Serbia, but that is just a wild guess.
Whatever is going on, the possibility of World War 3 just expanded greatly.
UPDATE 7:55 AM EDT —
Intel Circuits are blaring with UNCONFIRMED and UNCORROBORATED reports Chinese military aircraft under the guise of a joint military exercise with Serbia may be transporting Russian troops into an area (Serbia) where said troops with equipment can move into Romania and into Poland on a “Thunder Run” to raise hell and create chaos from the west. Again, this is UNCONFIRMED AND UNCORROBORATED.
ANALYSIS
This isn’t good at all.
During the Balkan war in the 90's China stated that it considered invading and taking over Serbia as a jumping point into all of Europe.
The only reason it didn't happen was that Russian troops swooped in to stop it from happening because Serbia got word that it was going to happen, so they requested Russian troops to fly in and take control of all of their airports for a certain amount of time.
If the same scenario is playing out now, then its really bad. If China is swooping into Serbia to take control and create a military jump point into Europe, it means they expect NATO to attack Russia and that China is moving in to provide backup support to Russia.
NATO bombed the shit out of Belgrade Serbia in 1999….The great people of Serbia hate NATO with a passion…
We are closer to WW3 than some realize.
There are now over 100,000 US Troops in Europe, this is unprecedented in recent times.
US/NATO Special operations have been directly assisting Ukraine forces on the ground in Ukraine helping them kill Russians. I have heard stories of US Special Forces, and British SAS killing Russians dressed as Ukrainian forces. Obviously you have to treat all this kind of stuff with suspicion, this could be propaganda. At this point would any of us really be surprised ? In the White House we have a senile dementia patient living in a Truman Show/Wag the Dog Movie.
The MSM will have us all believe it is Russia. The reality is regardless of whether you personally agree with Russia actions in Ukraine or not, US/NATO badly want a hot war with Russia.
Hence this on going information war showing Civilians allegedly killed by Russians in Ukraine. They are providing the narrative to justifiably attack Russia. If you can not see this, then you are blind.
To this backdrop we have the West/US/EU/UK overtly supplying the latest lethal weaponry to kill Russians. We Americans are already defacto declared war on Russia.
No idea what is going on with those Chinese Troops. The fact their flight path is erratic suggests they think US/NATO is capable of anything.
UPDATE 8:10 AM EDT —
Minutes ago, at 7:48 AM, the Russian Ambassador to the US warned that “The West’s actions may lead to a military confrontation between Moscow and Washington.”
Anatoli Antonov, Russian Ambassador to the USA:
2022 04 10 08 31
UPDATE 1:21 PM EDT —
Intel just received saying trains along the Trans-Siberian Railroad are loaded with “hundreds of Chinese Main Battle Tanks and other vehicles” headed northwest toward Russia/Europe Borders. Trains are said to be traveling full speed, with stops only for scheduled refueling and no other delays. The map below show the Trans-Siberian Railroad:
2022 04 10 08 31 1
Look at things as they are, not as you want them to be…
By Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted
Vast swathes of NATOstan have been corralled into behaving like a Russophobic lynch mob. No dissent is tolerated.
By now it’s abundantly clear that the neo-Orwellian “Two Minute Hate” Russophobic campaign launched by the Empire of Lies after the start of Operation Z is actually “24/7 Hate”.
Vast swathes of NATOstan have been corralled into behaving like a Russophobic lynch mob. No dissent is tolerated. The full psyops has de facto upgraded the Empire of Lies to the status of Empire of Hate in a Total War – hybrid and otherwise – to cancel Russia.
Hate, after all, packs way more punch than mere lies, which are now veering into abject ridiculousness, as in U.S. “intelligence” resorting to – what else – lies to fight the info war against Russia.
If the propaganda overdrive has been lethally effective amidst the zombified Western masses – call it a “win” in the P.R. war – in the front where it really matters, inside Russia, it’s a major fail.
Public opinion support for both Operation Z and President Putin is unprecedented. After videos of torture of Russian POWs that caused widespread revulsion, Russian civil society is even bracing for a “Long War” lasting months, not weeks, as long as the targets of the Russian High Command – actually a military secret – are met.
The stated aims are “demilitarization” and “denazification” of a future neutral Ukraine – but geopolitically reach way beyond: the aim is to turn the post-1945 European collective security arrangement upside down, forcing NATO to understand and come to terms with the concept of “indivisible security”. This is an extremely complex process that will reach the next decade.
The NATOstan sphere simply cannot admit in public a series of facts that a military analyst of the caliber of Andrei Martyanov has been explaining for years. And that adds to their collective pain.
Russia can take on NATO and smash it to bits in 48 hours. It may employ advanced strategic deterrence systems unmatched across the West. Its southern axis – from the Caucasus and West Asia to Central Asia – is fully stabilized. And if the going gets really tough, Mr. Zircon can deliver his hypersonic nuclear business card with the other side not even knowing what hit it.
Be the Rufus
Be the Rufus.
“Europe has chosen its fate”
It may be enlightening to see how these complex processes are interpreted by Russians – whose points of view are now completely blocked across NATOstan.
Let’s take two examples. The first is Lieutenant General L.P. Reshetnikov, in an analytical note examining facts of the ground war.
Some key takeaways:
– “Over Romania and Poland there are airborne early warning aircraft of NATO with experienced crews, there are U.S. intelligence satellites in the sky all the time. I remind you that just in terms of budgets for our Roscosmos we allocated $2.5 billion a year, the civil budget of NASA is $25 billion, the civil budget of SpaceX alone is equal to Roscosmos – and that is not counting the tens of billions of dollars annually for the entire U.S. feverishly unfolding the control system of the entire planet.”
– The war is unfolding according to “NATO’s eyes and brains. The Ukronazis are nothing but free controlled zombies. And the Ukrainian army is a remotely controlled zombie organism.”
– “The tactics and strategy of this war will be the subject of textbooks for military academies around the world. Once again: the Russian army is smashing a Nazi zombie organism, fully integrated with the eyes and brain of NATO.”
Now let’s switch to Oleg Makarenko, who focuses on the Big Picture.
– “The West considers itself ‘the whole world’ only because it has not yet received a sufficiently sensitive punch on the nose. It just so happened that Russia is now giving him this click: with the rear support of Asia, Africa and Latin America. And the West can do absolutely nothing with us, since it also lags behind us in terms of the number of nuclear warheads.”
– “Europe has chosen its fate. And chose fate for Russia. What you are seeing now is the death of Europe. Even if it does not come to nuclear strikes on industrial centers, Europe is doomed. In a situation where European industry is left without cheap Russian energy sources and raw materials – and China will begin to receive these same energy carriers and raw materials at a discount, there can be no talk of any real competition with China from Europe. As a result, literally everything will collapse there – after industry, agriculture will collapse, welfare and social security will collapse, hunger, banditry and chaos will begin.”
It’s fair to consider Reshetnikov and Makarenko as faithfully representing the overall Russian sentiment, which interprets the crude Bucha false flag as a cover to obscure the Ukrainian army torture of Russian POWs.
And, deeper still, Bucha allowed the disappearance of Pentagon bioweapon labs from the Western mediasphere, complete with its ramifications: evidence of a concerted American drive to ultimately deploy real weapons of mass destruction against Russia.
The multi-level Bucha hoax had to include the Brit presidency of the UN Security Council actually blocking a serious discussion, a day before the Russian Ministry of Defense struggled to present to the UN – predictably minus the U.S. and the UK – all the bioweapon facts they have unearthed in Ukraine. The Chinese were horrified by the findings.
The Russian Investigative Committee at least persists in its work, with 100 researchers unearthing evidence of war crimes across Donbass to be presented at a tribunal in the near future, most probably set up in Donetsk.
And that brings us back to the facts on the ground. There’s a lot of analytical discussion on the possible endgame of Operation Z. A fair assessment would include the liberation of all of Novorossiya and total control of the Black Sea coastline that currently is part of Ukraine.
“Ukraine” in fact was never a state; it was always an annex to another state or empire such as Poland, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and crucially Russia.
The landmark Russian state was Kievan Rus. “Ukraine”, in old Russian, means “border region”. In the past, it referred to the westernmost regions of the Russian Empire. When the Empire started expanding south, the new regions annexed mostly from Turkish rule were called Novorossiya (“New Russia”) and the northeastern regions, Malorossiya (“Little Russia”).
It was up to the USSR in the early 1920s to jumble it all together and name it “Ukraine” – adding Galicia in the west, which was historically non-Russian.
Yet the key development is when the USSR broke up in 1991. As the Empire of Lies de facto controlled post-Soviet Russia, they could never have possibly allowed the real Russian regions of the USSR – that is, Novorossiya and Malorossiya – to be again incorporated to the Russian Federation.
Russia is now re-incorporating them – in an “I Did It, My Way” manner.
Sigh. Americans.
2022 04 11 07 00
Everyone is believing this bullshit.
Shanghai is NOT starving! Sheech! People. I know. My family lives in Shanghai. Food is delivered by a very well established network organized by the local governments at all levels. It is policed. People are motivated and it is a very patriotic thing to participate in.
If you want to see what is going on, please down load the Douxing application (the parent to Tiktoc) and see for yourself. Video after video is of people helping each other throughout China. Not jsut Shanghai.
China is dealing with the Big MAJOR bioweapons attack that happened just a few days when Biden ORDERED Xi Peng to sanction Russia. He told Xi Peng, that there would be awful consequences; serious and immediate if China did not do as he said.
What were the immediate consequences?
Serious coronavirus outbreaks in all of the major Chinese cities up and down the coast with HK, Shenzhen, and Shanghai the worst. Today, in tiny, tiny Zhuhai, we go through everyother day swabs. It’s not a big deal.
It’s not a big deal.
Rufus performs random acts of kindness
Be the Rufus.
Vamos a bailar in European Puerto Rico
By now it’s also quite clear to any serious geopolitical analysis that Operation Z opened a Pandora’s box. And the supreme historical victim of all the toxicity finally let loose is bound to be Europe.
The indispensable Michael Hudson, in a new essay on the U.S. dollar devouring the euro, argues half in jest that Europe might as well surrender its currency, and go on like “a somewhat larger version of Puerto Rico.”
After all, Europe “has pretty much ceased to be a politically independent state, it is beginning to look more like Panama and Liberia – ‘flag of convenience’ offshore banking centers that are not real ‘states’ because they don’t issue their own currency, but use the U.S. dollar.”
In synch with quite a few Russian, Chinese and Iranian analysts, Hudson advances that the war in Ukraine – actually in its “full-blown version as the New Cold War” – is likely to last “at least a decade, perhaps two as the U.S. extends the fight between neoliberalism and socialism [meaning the Chinese system] to encompass a worldwide conflict.”
What may be seriously in dispute is whether the U.S., after “the economic conquest of Europe”, will be able to “lock in African, South American and Asian countries”. The Eurasia integration process, rolling in earnest for 10 years now, conducted by the Russia-China strategic partnership and expanding to most of the Global South, will go no holds barred to prevent it.
There’s no question, as Hudson states, that “the world economy is being enflamed” – with the U.S. weaponizing trade. Yet on the Right Side of History we have the Rublegas, the petroyuan, the new monetary/financial system being designed in a partnership between the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) and China.
And that’s something no puny Cancel Culture War can erase.
Young Rufus
Young Rufus.
Phil now has something to say…
The next article piece comes from Busted Knuckles. It accurately reflects how the American population feel about things right now. No. It’s not about the Ukraine. It’s not about Russia. It’s not about China. It’s about everything.
It’s about Americans being sick and tired about what the Hell is going on, and the pure insanity of it all. They want a govenrment that cares about THEM. They want a government that focuses on THEM. They want a functioning and working government that allows people; THEM, to affort food, clothing, gas, housing. They want a functional government that doesn’t fuck around with jobs, incomes, or social diversity. They want a government that is concerned about THEIR NEEDS.
We are Americans.
We don’t take shit from anybody.
The New World Order assholes are going to learn this the hard way just like the Nazis and the Japanese did.
BFYTW.
Americans are some of the most honest, hard working, innovative and compassionate people on this planet.
History has proven this time and time again.
We are also the most vicious sonsabitches this Earth has ever seen when pissed off collectively.
Also proven time and time again.
These rat clever bastards who have been yanking our chains for the last few years are just that, rat clever.
They aren’t actually all that smart.
If they were, they would have thought twice about enraging a hundred million heavily armed people who have no problems burning entire countries to the fucking ground.
They think they have this all figured out.
They haven’t bothered to take note that we literally haven’t even BEGUN to fight back.
When that switch gets flipped there will be no place on or under this Earth that they will be safe.
It will be Seek And Destroy, Terminate With Extreme Prejudice, until there aren’t enough of them left to try this shit again for a thousand years.
They have been begging for it and By God’s Grace, they are going to get it.
Remember what it is to be an American and pass that down.
The Media has already jumped the shark, they are going to be very high on the list of those who must pay for their transgressions.
The Medical system is also full of those who must pay.
The crooked politicians however are going to be Enemy Number One.
It is coming. As sure as the Sun rises in the East, the pendulum is going to swing back.
It has already swung as Far Left as it is going to and has started it’s return trip.
The signs are everywhere.
Keep you head held high and keep your damn wits about you.
They have been goading us because they think they have some clever plan to neutralize us.
I am here to tell you that unless they plan to kill us En Mass that they have very seriously underestimated just who they are fucking with.
It isn’t any coincidence that they have been testing their tyrannical ways on other countries to see what they can get away with.
The Canadians surprised everyone when they stood up and said ENOUGH EH?
These cretins behind this are acutely aware of the fact that we have enough firepower to take on Russia, without the military stepping off a base, by ourselves.
They have been walking a tightrope because of that fact and that is why they are so desperately trying to infringe on our Second Amendment at every opportunity.
Passing stupid laws that make criminals out of law abiding citizens and turning their heads when their favored Thugs mow innocent people down.
I have some news for these idiots.
Pass all the laws you want. Outlaw guns completely. Put it all on paper and send your goons to come get them.
I double dog dare you.
They might even get a few.
However, the minute that news of these raids gets out, your days are numbered from then on.
We aren’t going to take that shit for one fucking second and you damn well know that clear to the bottom of your rubbery spine.
Flap your gums and make your threats.
You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.
That, I guarantee you.
Because we are Americans.
Cream of Celery Soup
2022 04 10 11 42
Rufus Husband
Rufus Husband.
Tears For Fears – Shout (Official Music Video)
The 1980s was very big on telling you what to do…
This was a big hit back in the day. Maybe you all might remember this tune.
Meat flowers
Meat flowers.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Relax (Official Video)
I’ll say it tow times; the 1980s was very big on telling you what to do…
Very big in the 1980s. This is what was playing on the radio with wall-to-wall coverage right before I was “found” by MAJestic and sent off to NAS China Lake NWC for my probe calibration and “training”.
Rufus cat
Rufus cat.
And now for something really different…
This little gem was placed on my desk. Much of the intel rings true except the idea of a singular shared world-line. But if you don’t know better, it would be easy to confuse a shared template with a collection of world-lines.
The big “alarm bell” is the DONATE FOR MORE that is up there. As DM has so succently put it…
"...Looking glass shit is almost definitely a scam, as you thought. Asked them if i need any money to join, and you need to send bitcoin which they will "apparently" turn into more money for you. Pretty ingenius idea really. Gotta give them credit for their ingenuity..."
Anyways, this person claims a 18APR22 false flag attack in New York CIty that will be used to trigger a kinetic HOT war between the USA and Russia.
I don’t know what to think, though many of the specifics that he mentions are quite true. I am placing this here, becuase the date of “infamy” is only a week away. So yeah. Either this is all correct, or it’s all bullshit. We shall see. Won’t we?
Full Video. Available on their web page on Bit Chute.
Written transcript;
We are the Guardians of the Looking Glass. We are a group of former intelligence officers and military officials, who have come together to release classified information about future events to come.
Our knowledge comes from our work on the looking glass artifact, first discovered in Iraq, along with other discoveries in the 1990s.
During this time, the artifact was activated by the US military and connected to computers. We were able to see dozens of future timelines, and the convergence, or singularities, that led to two possible outcomes by the year 2030.
In one outcome, humanity awakens, and the current order is dismantled. An event then occurs, and instead of this event being negative, it is a positive one.
In the other outcome, the current structure remains in place, a nuclear war takes place, along with many horrible events. Then the event occurs, and instead of being a positive event, it is a negative one.
You may wonder how one event can either be positive or negative. You will learn, and it will make perfect sense to you, once it is explained.
This event is a cosmic event, something that happens in our solar system. Without the intervention by the current power structure, this event would be incredibly positive.
But due to the vaccines and a secondary plan being developed, the event will instead be turned into a nightmare.
We will explain more in a secondary video, which is being released soon, titled, "2030 and The Event," if you want to learn more about it.
Now, let's move on to the current timelines we are facing, and how we must act to change these outcomes.
Based on what we learned from the looking glass artifact, we concluded that we must release these videos at this time, so that the horrifying events that are about to unfold can be changed.
Each week, we will release a new video. Each week, you will learn of new, specific timeline changes so that you can work to change the future outcome.
We have been waiting many, many years to finally release this information.
Our video releases are specifically timed based on what the looking glass artifact revealed about how to change future events.
What we were able to see was that our videos must be released now.
Not in the past, not in the future, but on these specific dates, starting in March, 2022.
We were also able to see that the events can only be changed by the actions of those watching these videos. If these videos are spread and shared by thousands of people, the events can be changed.
If the videos are not spread and shared, then the events cannot be changed, and the most negative timeline is then solidified and set in stone.
The looking glass artifact showed this to us, that it is dependent on the actions of others to change the outcomes.
Your work and help to spread this message then becomes vital.
It will be up to you what happens.
For our first video, we will start with one future date. Future videos we will post will deal with new dates and new events.
What follows is the most recent, most important event we must act to change. The date of the first event is April 18, 2022.
On this date, a false flag attack will occur in New York City.
A bomb will be set off, killing 2000 Americans instantly and injuring thousands.
The bomb will be housed in a large van, and set off on or near Times Square, during a busy time.
This bomb has been planted by interests aligned with the West, and their agenda.
The media wants to blame Russia, so does President Biden.
They will present some evidence false, that points to Russia being the culprit, and much of the world will be convinced.
The condemnations will be swift, and then there will be military action.
Biden will order an all out attack of every Russian outpost and asset outside of her borders.
This will include all assets in Ukraine, and any Russian military naval vessel not at port. Russia's response is restrained.
Russia attacks some US assets in Europe, but avoids many casualties.
Russia manages to only kill a few US military service people, while the United States has just killed thousands of Russian military service people.
This leads to conflicting narratives.
Some say Russia looks weak and defeated.
While others rush to Russia's side, including India and China.
By this time, many begin to doubt Russia was behind the truck bombing attack. Many also see the US's response as too hasty, and too severe.
Seeing that the first false flag was a general failure, and the narrative is turning against them, the West prepares a second false flag.
This plan involves the release of anthrax all over Washington DC.
The plan will use strain 836 of anthrax, the most potent and deadly ever created.
It is a strain created by Russia in the past, and later destroyed by Russia.
However, unknown to the Russians, the strain was smuggled out of Russia by Western assets many years ago and developed in US bio laboratories.
Once it is confirmed that it is strain 836, all blame will land at Russia's feet.
It is a well-known creation of Russia.
Many will believe Russia must be behind it.
The attack will kill over 100,000 people within a few days, and spread to outlying areas.
The attack is so severe that it begins to spread to many large Eastern cities, and within a week millions are dead, and millions more a severely ill.
The military-grade anthrax is so potent, its spread cannot be contained.
Much of the Eastern US is closed off, based on wind patterns, mostly impacting New England.
The Biden Administration is moved out of DC before the attack, as they had knowledge of it.
They are moved to Denver.
Here, the United States blames Russia for the attack, and a nuclear war starts off.
The US launches an all-out nuclear attack at Russia, at every Russian city and asset.
But only 30% of the nukes reach Russia or impact. Russia's air defenses are more robust than previously suspected.
Russia's response is not forgiving this time, but rather ruthless and brutal.
She responds within minutes by targeting all US military installations and nuclear sites, but also launches nukes at 20 large American cities, and 18 make impact.
25 million Americans are vaporized instantly, as Russia decides to use its more powerful nukes.
Another 50 million suffer injuries, and another 70 million are at risk of mild radiation poisoning.
Due to false science and misunderstandings about nuclear weapons, the fallout is not nearly as severe as many believed it would be.
Both the US and Russia were aware of this for many years, but decided not to correct this false information, leading many to believe a nuclear war would lead to a nuclear winter.
This turns out not to be the case, as the radiation is mild and dissipates quickly.
However, the devastation caused by the blasts themselves is significantly more severe than the nukes used on Japan.
The weapons are now so powerful that a radius up to 20 miles by 20 miles can be vaporized.
America's defenses are not strong enough to stop all of the nukes.
The US reads her most advanced flying machine, the TR-3B, but it is not able to track the missiles due to a technology Russia developed.
The technology is a cloaking and holographic type, never before seen, and not something the US was ready for.
The TR-3Bs can track the nukes, and even fly along side them, but targeting systems fail at every attempt to destroy them.
The pilots of the TR-3Bs become so desperate they attempt to fly into the nukes with the aircraft, but even these attempts fail.
Between the nuclear exchanges, Russia survives, and the United States is completely annihilated.
Canada does not receive a nuclear strike, but instead receives countless conventional strikes, disabling her small military and devastating her infrastructure.
All commerce ceases in both the US and Canada, and a total break down of society occurs.
The world is shocked.
Many criticize Russia for the brutality of the attack, but many also note that the United States attacked first. Many also doubt Russia was behind the truck bombing or the anthrax attack at this point, as the United States evidence and claims appeared rushed and dubious upon closer examination.
Whatever the moral qualms the world feels, the world comes to recognize Russia as the victor in the battle.
From this point, Russia is able to recover, and launch more attacks on the US.
Russia stops using nuclear weapons, and instead fires thousands of conventional weapons, delivered by her hypersonic missiles, to key military infrastructure targets, to ensure the US response is eliminated.
Russia threatens Europe, and destroys some of her targets.
Europe capitulates quickly, and surrenders, to avoid further damage.
At this point, seventeen days after the first nuclear weapon is fired, the war is over, and Russia and China are now the defacto world powers.
Russia and China agree to help the United States and a cease-fire is agreed upon.
A clean up and rescue effort takes place.
One week into the cease fire, the last remaining American military officials plot to fire some of her last available cruise missiles and munitions at ships crossing the sea from China and Europe.
The attack takes place, and most of the missiles are shot out of the sky by a ready and alert Russian and Chinese military, but two reach their targets, destroying two large ships, and further preventing a rescue effort and souring sympathies toward the US.
The US and Canada fall into total chaos.
Millions cross into Mexico, creating a humanitarian crisis. Many of the cartels that control the northern part of Mexico start defending their land, and countless gun battles take place.
Americans find Mexico cannot help or house them at all, and total bedlam and chaos consumes the Northern Hemisphere.
The Mexican and Central American armies gather to create a defensive wall, between Culiacan, to Chihuahua, to Monterrey, to stop the oncoming hordes.
Many South American countries rally to join, realizing millions of desperate Americans may reach South America eventually.
The world's remaining powers continue to attempt humanitarian aid, but later conclude a military effort must take place, as the entire region has become lawless.
Chinese and Russian troops then land on American soil, and a brutal campaign of order and enforcement begins.
Both countries split the US up into regions they agree to jointly or fully control.
Many Americans, armed to the teeth with guns, stage small resistances and skirmishes.
This goes on for many years, leading up to 2030.
During this time, a new plot is underway, a plot hashed by the elites in Europe, one the Russians and Chinese share no involvement in.
The plot is to release a new pathogen to justify a new vaccine.
The vaccine is designed to interact with the existing vaccines, and graphene oxide, now coursing through the bodies of billions of people.
It is also designed to be introduced to the second and third world, through a new campaign, that will dose the rest of the planet that did not get vaccinated.
The graphene oxide is not designed to kill, but rather death is a side effect, in some.
Its true purpose is to interact with the solar event, the event to occur in 2030.
The graphene oxide will cause this event to be a horrifying one, rather than a positive one.
If one is vaccinated at all, they will experience not only a physical but also a multidimensional annihilation when the event takes place, to a point their souls, or extra-dimensional essences, will be severely damaged, and vibrational frequencies reattuned so that they align with the most negative, dark energies existing within the realm of Earth.
The positive outcome is one also revealed by the looking glass, one seen by each member of Guardians of the Looking Glass.
We were shown that as humanity steps in to stop all of these horrific events, one by one, through the help of our work, that a future emerges leading up to 2030 whereby humanity ascends to a higher consciousness, one more loving, one more aware, one more understanding.
Each individual begins to see the world as it is, rather than how it is filtered through the media, Hollywood and government.
An unveiling takes place.
The vaccines are rejected.
A cure is found for those poisoned by the graphene oxide, who regret their decision.
Each horrific event is stopped.
Then, the event takes place, and the human body, free from the vaccine toxins, is transformed through a cosmic energy burst, one that invigorates every human with new life, vitality and youthfulness, as well as higher-dimensional abilities and powers.
Each person reverts in age to about the appearance of being in their mid to late 20s.
All disease is eliminated.
The human body can live off of energy, light and water, and has no need for food, but food can still be consumed.
A new renewal and connection with the Earth occurs.
Small community governments take hold, and large international power structures and monopolies die off.
Humans can now live up to 1000 years.
New inventions come about that clean up the Earth, such as bacteria that eat plastic.
From 2030, the entire world is transformed. Old, corrupt governments are dismantled, the European elites lose all of their power, to the point some end up in the streets as beggars.
There is no campaign of revenge at all.
Humanity simply stops feeding the negative forces energy, and without that energy, they wither and fade away.
They have no power, without the power fed to them by billions of people, and once billions decide to remove that power, they are left with nothing.
This is how they are defeated, and this is how they end up, simply as beggars, or left alone with nothing.
Many of them go mad at this point, as their wealth and power is stripped away.
This is a glimpse of the positive outcome, one we will share more of in upcoming videos.
Now, to stop these events, we must first stop the attack on April 18th.
If this event is not stopped, then the timeline cannot be reversed from the negative outcome.
If it can be stopped, additional videos will describe other events that must then be prevented, over the course of the years 2022 to 2029.
The attack on April 18th is only the beginning of a series of horrific events that are to come, that one by one, must be prevented.
Over 70 events have been identified that must be changed, or the outcome will be that of the negative one in 2030.
In addition to this, around fifty or so special individuals were also identified, as being necessary in helping change the outcome.
These people will play a key role to stop the April 18th attack and all other future events that must be altered and changed.
Some of them we already have contacted, to let them know how important they are, and others will be led to us, to contact us.
Each will be given special instructions from us, actions they must take, to bring about the positive timeline and outcome.
The looking glass showed us we would come under severe attack, from the European elites and their countless minions, and we must be prepared to defend those attacks.
These attacks will range from our videos being removed, our credibility being questioned, and attempts to reveal our real identities that would lead to our murder.
We need everyone who wants to stop the negative outcome to help defend us, as these attacks take place, otherwise we will not succeed.
We are asking those of you who wish to join us to identify yourselves as Guardians.
You must then share each video, and millions must see them, or these events will not be changed, and the positive outcome of the event in 2030 will not happen.
It bears repeating, that even if the April 18th attack is stopped, there are as many as 70 additional events in the coming days, months and years that must also be stopped, each and every one of them.
We cannot succeed without your attention, dedication and help.
It’s a wait and see situation. If the event arrives and something happens, then my opinion of this effort will be enhanced substantially. If nothing happens, then I will consider it an absolute and complete hoax. There’s no grey area in this matter.
I think Baba Beijing knows it is being Western bio-attacked, likely with Han-specific variants, and as I explained, has to keep tongue-tied.
My understanding is that there were five variants in 2019: two in the US, one for China, one for Italy and one for Iran.
As far as bringing the perps to justice, I suggest constantly reminding everyone about the ICC Covid complaint,
"Seemingly, the goal is a unipolar world based on gangsterism. No one can afford to allow this."
This is an outstanding article. I strongly recommend everyone read it.
The utter insanity of the Western Media at the outset of the Ukraine War, name-calling, using video game footage to prove atrocities, ploys that grew up during the War on Terror, have created a real shift that cannot be easily corrected.
Today, tens of millions of Americans and similar numbers from NATO countries including Turkey and Canada, know there is absolutely no limit in how utterly childish and unbelievable the kind of lies their governments spread have become.
Then the truth, a terrifying truth begins to take hold.
Without Trump’s relatively successful and certainly needed debunking of US media, this door may well not be open.
American scholars can no longer state where the lying began, how far it goes and to what extent long-accepted “facts” written into the history books may well be not just “biased” but utterly fabricated.
Thus, unknowingly, the corrupt NATO-controlled media of 2022 has begun to resemble science fiction. Even armies of fake “fact-checkers” aided by warmongering Google and social media allies haven’t been able to put yesterday’s fake reality back together.
Historians have long questioned what may have been behind World War One. Reanalysis begins to support hypotheses involving secret cabals, an analysis that not only carried through to today but traces back into the Middle Ages as well.
These cabals are mentioned behind closed doors with regularity but those referencing them in the media face smears and worse.
The nightmare is this; scholars can no longer trust their own work. Accepted “facts” are no longer reliable. No document should be trusted as, with today, no photograph or video should be trusted either.
Some key takeaways. The most important being that the U.S. army admits to the following:
Russian air-defense is not only superior, but shockingly the army admits that by the time of a confrontation between Russia/U.S., “technology to overcome Russian ADA will unlikely to be available”. So they are counting on the fact that even in the distant future, they will not be able to innovate anything that can pierce Russian ADA.
Russian EW (electronic warfare) is superior and will likely disrupt American C2 (command & control).
Several other Russian systems are superior to anything U.S. has, in particular here they are referring to what I already mentioned earlier: Russia’s artillery systems are superior in every way to that of the U.S. This goes for both self-propelled units like the 2S19 Msta which is far superior to the M109, to the tube rocket and MLRS systems like BM-27 Uragon, etc. Also in my opinion Russian light IFVs are superior (though this is a more controversial view, while the others are widely accepted) due to the fact that BMP-2s and BTR-82s have much stronger 30mm cannons than American Bradley / Strykers which have 12.7’s and 25mm’s, and with higher RPMs as well. But that’s for another time.
Russian artillery outranges and outguns U.S. equivalent (see above)
In any upcoming conflict, U.S. army is to presume as a given that its C2 will be disrupted AND its fires (artillery) batteries will be neutralized (i.e. blown up by superior Russian counter-battery fire etc)
Now, of course they prescribe all sorts of antidotes on how they may still tactically overcome Russian units. But who can for a moment imagine that Ukrainian forces stand a chance in full frontal, non-asymmetric confrontation given these admissions by the U.S. Army itself about its own forces?
Also to add, this report was from 2017 and many of the weaknesses it attributes to Russian units have long been corrected or improved upon. And it’s quite ominously prophetic that they foresaw a confrontation between the super powers happening by 2025. Seems we’re ahead of schedule.
Electric traditional Chinese instruments on a Jay Chou cover done in Europe. Pretty impressive, I’ll tell you what.
Be the Rufus
Little things make big impressions.
Rufus sister.
Fresh Tomato Soup
I grew up with tomato soup from a can. However, I will tell youse guys that there is absolutely NOTHING like a fine home-made tomato soup. This simple, quick and easy recipe for homemade fresh tomato soup is perfect to make when tomatoes are ripe in gardens and farmers’ markets for a delicious summertime treat.
Fresh Tomato Soup.
One spoonful of tomato soup has the power to automatically transport you back to your childhood. The tasty soup is the ultimate comfort food, especially when it’s homemade.
This tomato soup recipe uses fresh tomatoes and will remind you of times long forgotten. It is super kid friendly in taste, and if canned tomato soup is the only kind you have ever had, you are in for a treat.
Open up your pantry and check out the label on your tomato soup. Most likely you’ll find a load of sugar or high fructose corn syrup, along with other additives. And you just can get homemade bone broth in those cans! You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make the most delcious soup!
Sure the can of tomato soup works in a time crunch, but nothing beats the delicious flavors of a soup you made from scratch with fresh ingredients. So say goodbye to canned soup forever and hello to your new favorite tomato soup recipe.
How to Make Tomato Soup
Sometimes we’re so hung up on the ease of using canned soup, that we forget making homemade soup is actually easy too. You’ll find the full recipe below, but here’s a brief idea of what you can expect from this tomato soup recipe:
Boil the Tomatoes, Onion, Cloves, and Chicken Broth
In a large stockpot, boil the tomatoes, onion, garlic cloves, and chicken broth until the flavors blend together, about 20 minutes. Run the mixture through a food mill into a large bowl. This will separate any big chunks, plus the tomato skins.
In the original stockpot, mix melted butter and flour to create a roux.
Add the Tomato Mixture
Gradually add the tomato mixture to the stockpot, whisking continuously so no lumps form. Season with salt and sugar to taste.
What to Serve With Tomato Soup
Of course, tomato soup’s best friend is a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. But if you want to mix it up, you can try a BLT, a chicken sandwich, or a ham anc cheese grilled sandwich.
How to Store Tomato Soup
Store (completely cooled) tomato soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
How to Freeze Tomato Soup
This recipe makes six servings, so if you need to freeze leftovers, that’s okay! Simply ladle individual portions of (completely cooled) tomato soup into zip-top bags and squeeze out the excess air. Label and date them, then freeze for up to three months.
Community Tips and Praise
"Loved the recipe. I did add fresh garlic at the beginning and fresh basil at the end. served with open faced baguettes topped with cheese. This recipe is easily multiplied and canned if you have a bunch of tomatoes ready for processing," says girlslovetoeat.
"I had several roma tomatoes that were getting soft in the fridge, so this was the perfect recipe to use them up. It was sooo tasty, and I liked that the recipe does not have heavy cream. I added basil and black pepper to the tomato mixture instead of cloves," according to hokiebetty.
"Delicious soup! The fresh tomato taste is wonderful. I love that there are only a few ingredients, preserves the garden fresh taste of the tomatoes," raves Kolackygirl.
2022 04 10 18 24
Be the Rufus
Be the Rufus.
Crash Positions
This is a pretty good write up. Oh, it's all extreme SHTF porn. But he is talking about soemthing that Americans needs to face. He's obviously hasn't been out of the United States. If he had, his opinions that the rest of the world is going to have an equally difficult time as the USA is way off-base. To underline / highlight areas that I strongly believe that he is "talking out of his ass in ignorance", I am highlighting that part with a cross out font. -MM
Over the past decade I’ve written a few essays on the coming economic collapse of the USA. I noted in 2013 that the on-book national debt was an estimated $16 Trillion. The actual debt using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which includes all off-book obligations (promises of future payments such as Social Security, government retirement accounts, Medicare A & B, et.al.) was $238 Trillion. Today the on-book debt is $30.3 Trillion, not quite double what it was when I last wrote about this. We can reasonably assume the total debt according to GAAP is similarly doubled, all in at $450 Trillion.
The rest of the world loaned us such vast sums, merely because the dollar was the worlds’ reserve currency. And that worked, when the USA produced things of inherent value. Oil and gas, manufactured goods, electronics, software, infrastructure products, even textiles. These days we manufacture dollar bills (or digital currency), and shoot anyone who rejects them. But these strong-arm tactics have worked up until now because we basically slapped around weak countries to keep them in line. Anyone who attempted to “de-dollarise” has had economic sanctions put against them, or invaded, or “revolutions” fomented to facilitate the execution of such leaders who would dare to challenge the dollar hegemony. THIS is the real reason for US troops in Iraq, the desire to go to war with Iran, the NATO attacks of Libya, the attempts to start a war in Syria, the destabilization efforts in Turkey. In every single example listed, the leaders of those countries had announced their intentions to bypass the dollar. Even now, when Saudi Arabia announced they were negotiating with China to sell oil in Chinese Yuan, a missile was mysteriously launched from Yemen somewhere that wiped out a huge refinery in Saudi Arabia within a few days; quite the coincidence.
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Speaking of Saudi Arabia, the country is now run by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, since the King is apparently an invalid. A source told me last year that Prince Salman had openly demanded of his generals, to buy Chinese or Russian military gear; he was told this wouldn’t be possible, due to losing support from the USA. I don’t understand the dynamics of the situation of the time, but the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle has demonstrated that the USA is a paper tiger, and undependable as an ally.
No surprise, considering our “woke” military generals, decrepit and fraudulently “elected leaders” like pedo-Joe and his sidekick “ho,” whose only apparent core skill is the ability to suck-start a J-58 jet engine. Oh, and don’t forget Nancy “box-wine” Pelosi and stolen-valor Senator “Dick” Blumenthal. Yeah, good luck in the next election. But I digress…
The point is, the Bretton-Woods-2 agreement was already on death’s door, and the intentional actions of the Deep State (who use Biden as a puppet) are destroying the credibility of the United States, have pulled the last vestiges of support for the dollar as the worlds’ reserve currency status by forcing Russia and China together… and now here we are.
BACKGROUND
I’ll be honest, I fucking HATE it when someone brags about their resume, “I’m a mechanical engineer, and I know this (*stupid*) idea will work…” But I need to give you a quick thumbnail of my background, so you understand the basis for my conclusions. It’s not because I’m bragging, because nobody really gives two shits about such things in my line of work, anyway… If you boiled it down, I’m an over-educated gearhead with a knack for crunching numbers and trying to make sense of the whole economic system as a personal hobby.
In short, I was a nuke reactor operator on fast-attack boats in the Navy, and stayed in the engineering field while I went back to school, boot-strapped my way through a Bach. Science in Managerial Economics (a “super” finance degree), an MBA and then a Doctorate of Science in Information Systems… basically data analysis.
Next… I typically hyperlink my data points so you can go look for yourself, but not this time. A lot of bloggers who make money off the “hits” to their sites often repackage the same old shit 20 times, never saying anything new. I’m not one of those bloggers; I have a job (so far) that pays well enough I don’t have to whore myself out with doom-porn.
My motives for writing this stuff are, first of all, to keep myself sane. Having studied this shit for so long, in an academic manner and predicting what’s coming, is one thing; now I’m watching it happen in real-time, and it’s freaking the shit out of me. Next reason is simply the hope that, by providing real, actionable intelligence, you can better position yourself and your loved ones to survive what’s coming. While I’m a published author in another field, I don’t make a dime off of this work, and at this point in time, I really don’t give a shit about money.
(P)REVIEW
Since I’ve laid out a lot of what matters already, I’ll ask you to PLEASE review these three posts which I’ve written over the years, and then we’ll go on…
To begin with, the shitty, corrupt system that’s been in place since 1913, which is the ultimate Ponzi scheme- is finished.
In 2015 I listed several scenarios which could torpedo the dollar:
–China announces the yuan will be a gold-backed currency
–China announces they will no longer accept dollars for international commerce
–Saudi Arabia (now heavily backed by China) announces they will no longer accept dollars for oil
–China and Russia announce they’re dumping all US debt instruments
I was wrong; our leaders created a situation where bullets 2-4 have happened, or will soon. And ironically enough, Russia just backed the ruble with gold, so bullet one is somewhat covered.
In short order, our phony leaders have basically forced China, Russia, India and even Pakistan to join up, and permanently yank the carpet from under the fiat-money banking system that the globalists base their power on.
No bullshit, that’s just the truth. You can debate about the whys, but that doesn’t have any practical value for me, so we’ll move on to what that means, what’s coming, when, and give my recommendations of what you can do to best prepare, in the very short time we have left. And yes, I’m following my own advice on all of the things listed, as my funds and circumstances allow…
DOLLAR CRASH
When the USA and its vassal states kicked Russia out of the SWIFT system, those same European countries, at the direction of the USA, also confiscated $300 BILLION worth of reserves that Russia had, violating the fiduciary trust of those same countries, AND made it so that those countries could no longer pay Russia in euros or dollars. Putin basically said, ‘you cut off our access to your currencies, you STOLE our money, and yet insist we accept your euros or dollars, through a system we can’t even access…? NO. You need natural gas, you need oil? Fine, you pay for it with either OUR rubles, or gold. We don’t run a fucking charity around here, ok?”
The net result is that Russia has been pushed straight into China’s arms, with the MIR financial system Russia has built over the last decade (they could see where this was going, and got ready). China is now using the MIR system, along with India and Pakistan. It won’t take long until poodle countries of Europe are forced to dump their euros and dollars, to buy gold or rubles, to keep their countries from literally running out of gas…
Combined with Operation Sandman, where 130+ countries are all lined up to repudiate the dollar simultaneously, it means that the rest of the world is going for a little payback for all the shit the US government has pulled since… oh, 1913? Yeah, they’re all lining up to give us a swift kick in the teeth.
What this means is that our paper currency will quickly become as desirable as Marks in Weimar Germany. And if you think that’s an exaggeration, you might want to check out the amount of money printed by the US government in the last couple of years… that grey spikey thing on the right? Yeah, that’s hard cash printed out… remember those pallets of $100 bills which were carried on C-130 planes to Iran? Yeah.
And forgive me for quoting myself, but I still stand by me earlier predictions:
“When that happens- and it will- the price of imported goods will go through the roof almost overnight, as every country will attempt to get rid of their dollars while they still can, and use some other currency for international trade.
The dollar will be dumped as the worlds’ reserve currency, in a cascade as other countries holding dollars run for the exits. When this happens, the price of products that are imported will go up by 4-5 times, almost overnight (my best guess). This is the logical result of the Cloward-Piven strategy writ large.
The price of oil- when no longer priced in dollars- will have ripple effects that will cause suffering on a scale never before seen in America. Consider the trucking industry, in a very real way, feeds the country. The food you eat, the clothes you wear, the furniture in your house… even the building materials for the house itself, were all delivered by truck. As the price of fuel skyrockets, trucking companies will attempt to pass on the costs to their customers (stores like Wal-Mart, for example), who will in turn pass it on to the consumer. Will the consumers pay so much more?
Consider that while those desperate people who live on the dole might still get their checks (or “deposits” on their EBT cards), it will no longer be able to buy anything, because the prices of everything have gone up 500% overnight. What will happen in the inner cities, when people realize they can’t put food on the table, much less put gas in their cars? Gerald Celente summarized it best: “when people lose everything, and they have nothing left to lose, they lose it.” And they will.”
Notice, I said above, that the non-productive welfare citizens might get their payments, but there’s historical precedence which indicates this might not be the case. A very close friend told me about her experiences in Russia, during the collapse of the Soviet Union.
“One night, we went to bed, and everything was fine. You had, say, 2000 rubles in the bank- enough to buy a car. We woke up in the morning, all the banks were frozen, no transactions allowed. This stays for about two months, while they devalued the currency. When they finally opened and allowed us to get our money out, 2000 rubles was enough to buy a T-shirt.”
I believe that is EXACTLY what will happen to us. It’s not question of if, only when. And I don’t think it’s going to be long, at all… In the Soviet Union, they didn’t announce it (of course, the high-up politicians knew)’ it was a sneak attack. Even the crooks- who we now call “oligarchs”- didn’t know.
In effect, the initial devaluation made the cost for everything go up by 100x. Try to imagine buying a loaf of bread for $500; how long before you run out of money to feed your family?
Later, the government switched to a new ruble to replace the old one, again devalued. Every family was allowed to convert, say, $10,000 worth of currency. Any excess of the limit they set, which couldn’t be converted, automatically became worthless after a certain date. I remember seeing photos of pallets of cash dumped in the woods, rubles that couldn’t be converted… My Russian friend predicts that the USA will do the same here, to prevent the trillions of cash dollars used to bribe people all over the world from returning to the USA and exacerbating the hyperinflationary collapse we’re already in.
It’s also important to keep in mind, there are laws now on the books where the banks can- and will- confiscate your money, during a financial crisis, to keep themselves afloat. Legally, when you put your money into a checking or savings account, it’s not your money anymore; you’re an “unsecured creditor.” And if they want to, they’ll take your money, and the FDIC will not cover the loss, because your money wasn’t stolen, as it wasn’t your money anyway. See how that works?
And do you see why Biden signed an executive order to facilitate digital currencies? If your money is digital, it can be confiscated or they can at least stop you from transacting any more (cryptos).
It’s actually quite simple; anything you don’t have in your physical possession, you don’t own. If it isn’t physical cash in your hand (or under your mattress, or whatever) you don’t own it, and it can be stolen from you in the blink of an eye (think of everyone who donated to the Canadian truckers).
How to maintain your wealth, or whatever purchasing power you have saved up? Buy gold or silver, as much as you can, as FAST as you can. If that’s not available to you, store up extra food for trade/barter, later, as everyone needs to eat. Buy chickens, build a coop out of an old shed or any scrap building materials you can get your hands on (but make sure you can protect them from thieves of the four (or two)-legged variety. Buy a few 100# bags of chicken feed from your local farm supply or co-op. Eggs will be worth a LOT. Anything physical is better than the paper notes which will soon be worth nothing.
FOOD
Due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict which NATO incited (and exacerbates to this day), Russia was kicked out of the SWIFT financial transaction system by all of America’s poodle countries. As a result, there will be no potash shipped out to most of the world- a necessary ingredient for high crop yields around the world. Food shortages, famines and starving to death are now a foregone conclusion, as the prices of food go up beyond what literally hundreds of millions will be able to pay.
Russia has been stockpiling food, and last week Putin announced to his people on Russian TV that the country had five years of food stockpiled, so they need nothing from the USA- or frankly, anyone else. China has stockpiled 18 months of wheat to feed their people, but their agents are busily moving around America buying any stored wheat they can get their hands on- by the trainload, at whatever price they have to pay- and sending it on cargo ships back to China.
The results here will be food prices going steadily up in the USA for the foreseeable future. I’m seeing 15-20% increases in the grocery stores, on a month-to-month basis, right now, and those increases will get much steeper. With no potash and already exorbitant prices for natural gas- both absolutely required to produce fertilizer for high crop yields- we’re going into a period of not just “food shortages,” like Brandon said, we’re going to be facing our own version of the Holodomor famine of 1933. Think of this starving woman with her son…
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Or this family starving in their own yard:
2022 04 09 22 36
Food prices will eventually go exponential, and finally won’t be available at any price, since fuel won’t be available for trucks, there simply won’t be any food available and even if there was, nobody wants to make a delivery to a place where there as likely to get shot as paid with the worthless money. The blue cities- hives of humanity more parasitical than productive- will face escalations of violence, famine, starvation and eventually cannibalism, as a result.
Keep in mind, this is going global. The only countries that’ll make it through reasonably “ok” will be Russia and- maybe- China. But I’m not holding my breath about the latter. The 2nd and 3rd-world countries will be the leading edge of the misery, as their populations live closest to poverty, and any significant price swings of food automatically mean they starve to death. But it will still hit here, HARD, and if you aren’t ready, there’s a good chance you’ll be relying on Brandon to save you… and then you’ll become a statistic.
My advice is to get as much food as you can get your hands on immediately. Understand, it really doesn’t matter how much food you have in your pantry, it ain’t enough. Make sure to get things that you and your kin will really eat, not stuff that will technically keep you alive, but your kids will refuse to consume because it doesn’t taste perfect. If you can get a YEAR of food stored away, you’ll be ahead of 95% of the crowd, who doesn’t have more than a weeks’ worth of food in their whole house. If you’re on city water, find a way to store it (plenty of videos on this sort of thing out there). If you have an electric well, find a way to power it if the utilities go off, or get a hand-pump if possible.
VIOLENCE
After the food completely runs out, the city parasites will start foraging out into the countryside, basically as far as the remaining gas in their cars will carry them. And with deteriorating mental capacity brought about by hunger, they’ll have lost their inhibitions about killing you for a can of Dinty Moore beef stew.
Police will too busy with attempting to “maintain order” of millions of hungry people, to worry about minor annoyances like rapists and murderers; they’ll roam freely among the weak and the desperate, predators amongst prey.
Which leads into our next subject…
WEAPONS
If you have no weapons at this point, it’s almost too late for you. Find weapons in common calibers. This means .38 Special for revolver, 9mm for semi-auto pistol, 5.56mm AR-15 rifle, .30-30 lever gun or a .30-06 bolt gun if you can find it. Stick with common calibers, get as much ammunition as you can. Even a good hunting rifle is better than nothing. Be familiar with it, know how to use it, understand gun safety protocols so you don’t accidentally shoot a loved one.
Another aspect that people don’t think about, is edged weapons. Amazon has some amazing deals on Wakizashi-type swords (like miniature samurai swords) made of 9260 spring steel, which can be wielded one-handed by an adult or two-handed by kids, if needed. They can be made razor sharp, don’t require ammo, and are quiet. Finally, they don’t require background checks. Check out K-bar knives, as well. A good knife is useful not only as a weapon, but a tool. Get one, get used to carrying it all the time.
COMMUNITY
I’ll keep this short and sweet: The old cliché remains true; no man is an island. You’re NOT going to stand watch over your home 24×7 forever, you’ll need help and a community to work with, for mutual defense. The Civil Defense Manual by Jack Lawson will help you get started on this aspect, and you need to move with a purpose, right now. (And no, I don’t make any money mentioning the manual.) Move quickly, because if you don’t, there’s a very real possibility that you won’t survive this.
CONCLUSION
An old Japanese proverb applies: “preparation does not guarantee success, but the lack of preparation guarantees failure.”
I will tell you straight up, the global famine is coming, there’s no way to stop it. It WILL happen, I am 100% certain of this. Do you remember when COVID hit, everyone finally realized they needed to hit the local CostCo or Walmart or whatever, and stock up on food and toilet paper? People punching each other out for a bottle of hand-sanitizer or a 4-roll package of butt-wipe? Or even better, the buyer behavior of people trying to get ‘deals’ on Black Friday, right after Thanksgiving? Riots, shootings, the whole shebang of crazy behavior…? Multiply that by 100, for everyone wanting to get FOOD. I figure the crowds will start to figure it out by mid-May… earlier if we’re unlucky, later if we are lucky… but the mob-mentality of people trying to buy food before the shit hits the fan, will cause the shit to hit the fan… Food riots, all of it.
I also will state with absolute certainty, that the dollar collapse in imminent. It may be within days, weeks or within a few months. I seriously doubt we’ll make it to the November elections before it really kicks off. IF the dollar collapse happens more or less at the same time people are scrambling to stock up on food, it will get to a level of ugliness that people haven’t seen since at least WW2. And not just Americans, but everyone in the Western world- having lived a life of relative prosperity- are in for a brutal awakening to reality.
Do whatever you can to prepare, while you still have time. Food, water, storing your purchasing power, and weapons to defend your loved ones. Remember, your mental fortitude will be the biggest determinant on whether you make it or not. MENTALLY prepare yourself.
This useless activity is destroying our best people and explains why the first world is collapsing inward:
Rich, college-educated people—especially men—work more than they did many decades ago. They are reared from their teenage years to make their passion their career and, if they don’t have a calling, told not to yield until they find one.What is workism? It is the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production, but also the centerpiece of one’s identity and life’s purpose; and the belief that any policy to promote human welfare must always encourage more work.In 1980, the highest-earning men actually worked fewer hours per week than middle-class and low-income men, according to a survey by the Minneapolis Fed. But that’s changed. By 2005, the richest 10 percent of married men had the longest average workweek.
No wonder they have few children. Then again, what else did you expect from worker revolutions? We are all workers now, and work is our only religion or culture. Much of this is driven by high taxes and fear of instability.
Many people in the United States are of the view that the situation between Russia and Ukraine “will never go nuclear” because, they think, “Russia would be destroyed.” Turns out, that’s not true. At all. In fact, in a nuclear simulation, because it takes so long for U.S. missiles to launch (4m 30s from the launch order) with Russia’s new hypersonic missiles, our missiles wouldn’t even get out of their silos. Put simply, we lose.
The ten minute video below was made in 1979, BEFORE the advent of Russia’s new hypersonic missiles.
It demonstrates how the US, with its safety systems designed to prevent any one man from launching a nuclear weapon, actually CAUSE our demise in a conflict with Russia. Our missiles are far too slow to come out of their silos after a launch order.
Meanwhile, submarine-launched Russian missiles, can come from either the Pacific Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, and cover so much ground, so fast, that our weapons get destroyed in the ground and on the ground.
And all that was BEFORE the creation of Russia’s hypersonic missiles.
SPOILER: We lose in less than 34 minutes.
So if you are of the delusion that the US is the most powerful nation on earth, and that Russia wouldn’t dare “go nuclear” over Ukraine or a wider war in Europe, you had better get your head out of your ass.
Ten minute version:
Full 38 minute version:
A great meme that all can relate to…
Welcome!
Be the Rufus!
Rufus actions.
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Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
I remember when I was a little child. Would you believe that I would climb out of my crib and stand on the edge, and then stand there for a moment or two before I fell and landed on my head?
Yeah. Good times.
I was normal. Not an exception.
In this post we will continue with the onslaught of major global changes that are all in full swing RIGHT here and RIGHT now. Whoa! Things are moving hot heavy.
China to restrict visas for US officials
The tit-for-tat move comes after Washington placed similar restrictions on the Chinese, citing “human rights abuses”
China has decided to restrict visas for a number of US officials in response to similar measures introduced by Washington earlier this month over alleged human rights abuses.
"The Chinese side decided to impose retaliatory visa restrictions on certain US officials who spread lies on the issue of human rights, imposed sanctions against China and harmed China's interests," stated Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Thursday. Wang said the move was made "to protect the sovereignty, security and development interests of the PRC.
The spokesperson claims that the US used, what he called, the false pretext of human rights issues to [1] interfere in the internal affairs of China, [2] discredit Beijing, and [3] put pressure on Chinese officials. Wang stated that such actions are a serious violation of the basic principles of international law and international relations.
China’s foreign ministry has so far not confirmed which exact officials will fall under these new restrictions, but the spokesperson said that those who invented the “lies” surrounding the issue of human rights and harmed China’s national interests already know who they are themselves.
The announcement comes after The US State Department imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials who Washington claims are responsible for the intimidation and harassment of human rights activists and dissidents in China and around the world.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken cited the alleged “genocide” of Uighur muslims and repression of dissidents in Hong Kong and Tibet, saying the US …
“rejects efforts by [People’s Republic of China] officials to harass, intimidate, surveil and abduct members of ethnic and religious minority groups, including those who seek safety abroad, and US citizens, who speak out on behalf of these vulnerable populations."
The US urged China to…
“end its ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, repressive policies in Tibet, crackdown on fundamental freedoms in Kong Kong,” and other abuses elsewhere.
Do you take ownership, and responsibility for your community? Or, are you going to stand by and do nothing? The future belongs to the unselfish, the members of a community that participate. video 3MB
Singapore appears to embrace the West
Remark by a Singapore friend :
Lee Hsien Loong is that piece of shit who betrayed his father and his siblings by colluding with the enemy — racist UMNO — which gleefully kicked Singapore (the little red dot on the map) out of the Malaysian Federation and caused LKY so much tears and grief!
When LKY was Singapore’s PM, he made it clear to Washington that US troops will never be allowed to make use of Singapore as a military base or a staging post in the event of a war between America and China.
Yet, the spineless HS Loong is now running head over heels to lick Yankee Joe Biden’s boots before the world press! How low and despicable can anybody get?
Poland wants to cut-up Ukraine and sever ties with Russia
Medvedev for more than the past week has leveled consistent criticism that Washington is a “puppeteer” behind modern Poland.
Earlier in the month The Washington Examiner related Medvedev’s words as posted in an essay to social media channels as follows:
The essay, posted on Medvedev's Telegram channel, claimed that Poland and Russia have a long and "common history" that destines them to work together but that the Poles had been led astray by the U.S., "their puppeteers from across the ocean with clear signs of senile insanity."
This had been followed by Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergei Andreev just days ago saying it’s a possibility that Moscow might be forced to shutter its embassy in Warsaw in response to Polish authorities moving to expel 45 Russian diplomats who stand accused of spying, or are at least under suspicion, with the Ukraine war ongoing.
In particular Medvedev’s newest comments take aim at Poland’s reneging on crucial gas contracts…
“In 2020, Warsaw imported up to 10 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, but now it intends to abandon previous contracts. The volume of gas supplies from Russia to Poland this year has already decreased by 13% compared to last year,” Medvedev explained. “Reverse supplies of the same Russian gas have been proposed as a replacement from Germany, as well as imports of LNG from Qatar, Norway and the United States. Economic benefits have fallen victim to bad political decisions.”
They keep promising us that things will start getting better. When will that actually happen? Once winter was over, the supply chain crisis was supposed to be on the way out. Instead, as you will see below, even CNN is being forced to admit that it is getting even worse. The war in Ukraine and a new wave of COVID lockdowns in China are being blamed, but those are only two pieces of the puzzle. The truth is that we are now in the third year of this epic supply chain crisis, and there is no end in sight.
‘You go to a store, you don’t have bread. We’re like a third world country. They don’t have things. You go to buy something at Tiffany, you go to buy something at a hardware store — high, low — they don’t have product.’
Of course Trump is 100 percent correct.
Throughout our entire economy, there are shortages, delays and backlogs.
Trump himself has been personally affected by this. In fact, in the interview he appeared to refer to a wait of “nine months” for something that he had ordered…
‘They say — even me, when I order things, like for furnishings, for a building or something — they say it’s going to take nine months to get it,’ Trump said. ‘Used to be like, same day service.’
Prior to 2020, most Americans never would have imagined that this sort of supply chain crisis could be possible.
But here we are.
And according to CNN, experts are openly admitting that our supply chain problems are now “getting worse”…
Problems with global supply chains were supposed to be getting better by now. Instead, experts say they are getting worse.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which cut off exports from Ukraine and put Russian businesses under sanction, has set off a series of new supply-chain bottlenecks. So has a surge in Covid cases in China, which has led to temporary lockdowns in parts of the country.
So when will things finally start getting better?
When the war in Ukraine ends?
I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.
When the COVID pandemic is over?
If you are waiting for that to happen, you are going to be waiting for an awfully long time.
And what is going to happen if another major “black swan event” comes along?
We are so vulnerable right now, and we should have never allowed ourselves to become so deeply dependent on other nations.
For example, once upon a time the U.S. had a dominant position in global computer chip manufacturing. But now the vast majority of our chips come from overseas, and the war in Ukraine is threatening to take the chip shortage to an entirely new level…
Ukraine and Russia don’t produce computer chips used by global automakers. But Ukraine is the world’s leading source of neon, a gas needed for the lasers used in the chip-making process. While some chipmakers have stockpiled neon ahead of the fighting, there are concerns about the long-term availability of the gas.“People expected the semiconductor shortage to continue. But nobody predicted Ukraine,” said Bernard Swiecki, director of research at the Center for Automotive Research, a Michigan think tank.
The chip shortage is already affecting almost every industry in America to at least a certain degree, and now we are being told that it could get a lot worse in the months ahead.
That is really bad news.
As shortages intensify, that is going to make our raging inflation crisis even more severe as well. There is way too much money chasing way too few goods and services, and that will remain the case for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, economists with Bloomberg are warning that the average American should budget an extra $5,200 this year for higher prices – or an extra $433 every month.Economists Andrew Husby and Anna Wong write that households can expect to pay thousands more in 2022 for the same basket of goods and services they used last year.
And with each passing month, money will just get tighter and tighter for hard working American families. In fact, one survey has found that 20 percent of all U.S. workers are now completely running out of money between paychecks…
Now, workers are running out of money faster, Salary Finance found.Roughly 20% of employees regularly run out of money between paychecks, up from 15% last year, according to the survey of more than 3,000 working adults in February.
Making ends meet is going to become increasingly painful, and the shortages and the price hikes are just going to intensify in the months ahead.
Some of the things that we will soon see will be absolutely unprecedented. For example, one of Steve Quayle’s readers says that the price of eggs is about to double at her local store…
I know I sent an email out to you both in regard to the warnings I was given by several different store managers. Well I have another one. Yesterday the store manager at Price Less Foods told me that the price of eggs will be doubling and there will be a massive shortage of eggs. I am lucky to live in an area where I can purchase fresh eggs from several different people who have chickens, not everyone can.
We are being hit by so many things at once, and the American people are becoming quite restless.
Just this week, a new survey found that just 33 percent of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the economy.
In April 2021, 52 percent of Americans approved of his handling of the economy.
So much has changed over the past year, and a lot of people out there think that things can’t possibly get any worse than they are right now.
But they will, because the truth is that we are only in the very early chapters of this nightmare.
Vicki says…
The shooting war has been won by Russia.The economic war is reaching the same ending, at a bit slower pace.Not that any of this is apparent in the US news reporting.
China in Africa
Business, factories, labor and economy are far better than selling F-35 fighter jets and bombs to African dictators. Don’t you think? video 81MB
Sanctionistas go shopping for rubles
2022-03-26
As the situation stands today:
1. Russia has announced that since the US and the EU have defaulted on their US dollar and euro obligations, respectively, by freezing Russian reserves, Russia will now only sell natural gas for rubles.
2. There is no other source of sufficient quantities of natural gas available; thus, the EU has no choice but to continue importing natural gas from Russia.
3. The EU has to keep the gas flowing or it will be unable to make it through next winter without shutting down all industrial production or letting the housing stock go unheated.
How will the EU get the required quantities of rubles? Good question!
The following comprehensive analysis (credit: “adventurist”) answers it pretty well.
So cute, but true. Show some appreciation for all sides and help others as only you know how. Let others laugh and make fun. You are unique. Be the best that you can be and always be the Rufus. video 8MB
Lots of startling changes yesterday. Russia announced, apparently, a gold-backed or gold-related ruble. I haven’t had time to think about all the implications. Information is hard to come by, because the US blocks Russian news in order to control the Ukraine narrative and war propaganda. The Bretton Woods system collapsed when the West seized Russian central bank reserves, and it seems that the gold ruble adds to the end of the US dollar as world reserve currency under Bretton Woods. The implications could be vast, and the Washington idiots might very well wish they had left the Russians alone. I told them over and over that Russia had had enough of them, but the arrogant idiots didn’t listen. The sanctions, it seems, have brought about regime change in the West, reducing its power and influence.
Another big development is that apparently Ukraine has agreed to be a neutral country, no NATO, no foreign bases, no nuclear weapons, and accepts eastern Ukraine gong its own way. We will see if US puppet Zelensky is permitted to sign what Ukraine has agreed. Meanwhile, Russia has stopped its assault on Kiev, and is focused on clearing the remaining Nazi militias out of the Donbass region. I think the low-intelligence governments in Poland and Romania will get the message, and the US missile bases in those countries will be closed before too long.
These are major developments with many large implications. The World Economic Forum’s “reset” has likely been replaced by a Russian-Chinese reset.
The US ran on arrogance for so long that it has hollowed itself out. The Western world’s fate is unclear. It seems no one in intellectual, business, or political leadership positions believes in freedom and civil liberty. The US certainly is busy at work cancelling itself:
Present generations of Americans will not recognize their country. Rivers, mountains, streets, schools, public spaces, even towns are losing their names and acquiring new politically correct names. Normally, this is what outside conquerors do to a country, but we are doing it to ourselves. A country that destroys its own monuments and history is lost.
My conclusion is that the days of the West are over. The West is drowning in accumulated mistakes and degeneracy. The moral fiber in the leadership ranks is gone
MM describes a local BBQ / Seafood place
Good place for some cheap food. You can eat your fill for under $15 USD. I go though the show and tell here. Enjoy video 110MB
Ukraine: US Biowarfare Labs Developed Disease Delivering Drones (DDD?)
It’s not just used in China, apparently.
Documents and other evidence from US funded laboratories in Ukraine suggest that Kiev was planning to use drones to deploy pathogens against the Donbass as well as Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
Moscow has also identified specific US officials involved in the development of bioweapons in Ukraine.
Of particular interest to Russian investigators are “documents testifying to the plans of the Kiev regime to use unmanned aerial vehicles capable of carrying and spraying deadly substances,” military spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said during a briefing.
Facts in the possession of the Russian military “prove that the Kiev regime was seriously considering the possibility of using biological weapons against the population of the Donbass and the Russian Federation,” Konashenkov added.
Russia has also identified “specific officials who took part in the creation of components of biological weapons,” the general added. He did not name any of them, however, saying only they were “the heads of divisions and employees of the US Department of Defense, as well as its main contractors.”
Een US biolab met een vreemde verzameling, Rusisch DNA.Drones om muggen die besmet zijn los te laten.https://t.co/iEcQu7TrhG— Petr@ (@Nomediocre_P) March 1, 2022
These campaigns were “directly related to the son of the current US president, Hunter Biden,” Konashenkov added, citing investigations in the Western media. Last week, the Daily Mail published emails showing Biden’s ties to the Pentagon contractor Metabiota, which specialized in researching pandemic causing pathogens that could be used as bioweapons.
Among other things, 🧵reports Ukraine documents on drones transporting biolab substances:"Regarding biological weapons laboratories, the documents that reveal the plans of the Ukrainian regime to use drones to transport and disperse substances are particularly interesting."— Pipers Creek (@piperscreekway) March 30, 2022
Hunter Biden’s involvement in the US funding of Ukrainian biolabs was brought up by Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, commander of the Russian Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces, in a briefing last Thursday.
The results of the further analysis of documents and other evidence obtained from Ukrainian biolabs will be shared in more detail “in the near future at a special briefing,” Konashenkov promised.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu Detected In Five More US States
An outbreak of the deadly strain of bird flu is quickly spreading across the U.S. The risk to humans is low, but bird flu could wreak havoc in the nation’s poultry industry ahead of Easter.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced on Wednesday that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was detected in five new states.
A non-commercial, mixed-species backyard flock (non-poultry) in Berkshire County, Massachusetts;
A non-commercial, mixed-species backyard flock (non-poultry) in Johnson County, Wyoming;
A commercial poultry flock in Johnston County, North Carolina;
A non-commercial, backyard chicken flock (non-poultry) in Franklin County, Ohio;
And a backyard chicken flock (poultry) in Kidder County, North Dakota.
According to Bloomberg, USDA data shows the bird flu has been found in 23 states in flocks totaling about 17 million birds up and down Mid-Atlantic and Northeast and across the Midwest.
Russia’s independent sociological research organization Levada Center’s poll conducted between March 24-30 showed that Russian public’s support for the actions of their president rose by more than 10% compared to the figures in January or February. It was 69% in January and 71% in February.
It happened to me also. But I did elict a ton load of sympathy from all the attractive chicks in the jewlery store when I returned the ring. Don’t you know.
Regime-ology is a new field of study so the practitioners are still working out the tools and methods for interpreting regime activity. Unlike Kremlinology, on which regime-ology is modeled, the focus is not on a hierarchical structure. The Soviet empire was run by a vertical organization that operated like a corporation. The American empire is a horizontal organization modeled on the Mafia. It is a collection of elite gangster organizations jostling for power within the elite.
With Kremlinology, events could be interpreted as either a signal from the party elite or representing internal party changes. If someone disappeared from the public eye, it meant he had fallen out of favor with the party leaders. If party media reported something hanky about a party member, it was assumed to have been done with the permission of the party leaders to prepare the public for a change. The target was being shaped as a scoundrel so he could be denounced.
Regime-ology is a bit more complicated. If someone disappears for a while, it could mean nothing more than he is having a blood transfusion at one of Google’s secret rejuvenation centers. On the other hand, disparaging information about an oligarch in regime media could simply mean that one mob family is unhappy with another mob family and this is how they are communicating it. Using the media promotes the interests of the gangster class and delivers the message.
That is probably how to interpret the sudden interest by regime media in the famous Hunter Biden laptop from two years ago. For those not interested, this was the laptop that President Biden’s drug-addled son abandoned at a Delaware computer shop, which contained a trove of embarrassing information about the family. In addition to thousands of naked selfies and pics of Hunter smoking crack and meth with prostitutes, it had details of the Biden family criminal dealings.
Regime media dutifully covered this up by declaring it Russian propaganda and going as far as to imply it was a Trump campaign dirty trick. The New York Post, which was the first to report the laptop story, came under withering assault from the Silicon Valley crime families until they dropped the story. Facebook started banning people from their site for mentioning the story. Like the people air brushed from official photos in the Soviet Union, this story was erased from public view.
This is nothing new. The power of regime media is in what they can make the public ignore and this was a typical example. They do this by framing the issue as good guys versus bad guys, which is catnip for the American moralizer. Then they declare the thing to be ignored as the black hat and let the moralizers do the rest. Anyone mentioning the laptop on-line or even in private conversation was declared a crazy QAnon conspiracy theorist by others in their circle.
For no reason at all, the laptop story is back. First the intel community told the New York Times to admit they lied two years ago about it being fake. They did not mention that it was the intel community that lied, of course. Then the Washington Post was told to write about the Biden family’s criminal dealings that were on the laptop. The Post is the official organ of the intelligence community. You will recall that the Post was instrumental in the Russian collusion hoax in 2016.
Even more interesting, the scandal ridden outlet CNN has been given the green light to unleash their nutters on the story. This is a story posted by Dean Obeidallah, a former circus clown and far-left conspiracy theorist. In addition to being a conspiracy hub, CNN is also a popular landing spot for disgraced members of the intel community. Andrew McCabe and Josh Campbell landed there after being forced out of their jobs. The FBI uses CNN to control the Antifa/BLM community.
Taken together, this new interest in the Hunter Biden laptop story suggests the intel community is unhappy with the Biden crime family. It could be a warning shot about the recent rantings by Biden in Poland. This has created huge problems for the foreign policy gangsters running the war with Russia. They have been forced to spend their time telling European leaders that Biden should be ignored. This is not a good look for the Global American Empire in the middle of a crisis.
One way to look at this is that they are preparing the way for Biden to be removed from office this year. The plan was for him to pretend to be in charge through the midterm then hand things off to strong diverse female. Team Biden has been making plans for him to run again in 2024, while he is clearly in rapid decline. The Hunter Biden story could be the leverage to force Team Biden to stick to the deal. He takes the blame for the midterms, retires for health reasons and the laptop disappears.
On the other hand, this could be the start of a plot to hang the Ukraine debacle on Biden and his crooked son. The regime media is being told to sell the Ukraine war as a smashing success, but that can only go on for another month. Reality in the ground says the Russians are slowly grinding up the Ukrainian army. In a month, there will be little of it left in the east. Whether it is by force or by negotiations, the Russians will get the terms they laid out last month.
Then there are the economic sanctions. This is proving to be a disaster for the Global American Empire. The Germans just cut a deal with the Russians to buy gas in rubles, even through both sides are pretending otherwise. The Germans will buy the gas in Euros from Gazprom, which will then convert them immediately into rubles at the agreed upon exchange rate. This is de facto acceptance by Germany that they will buy gas from Russia in rubles. The rest of Europe will now follow.
What we could be seeing here is Afghanistan 2.0. The military industrial complex, the intel community and the foreign policy establishment opposed the withdraw from Afghanistan, but team Biden insisted on it. They let Afghanistan collapse and then let Team Biden take the blame for it. Notice that no one actually responsible in the military, intelligence of foreign policy realm was fired. We could be seeing the same thing afoot with the looming Ukraine disaster.
Again, regime-ology is a new field. We do not know what we do not know, so we are left to our imaginations. Maybe Hunter Biden is so mobbed up that even the thoroughly corrupt FBI has to acknowledge it. Maybe this is a feint to distract from something much worse that is in the wind. All we can know is that Hunter Biden will never be charged and we will never know the truth about the Biden family corruption. In a gangster state like America, those things are handled internally.
Margaret Flowers: You’re listening to Clearing the FOG, speaking truth to expose the forces of greed, with Margaret Flowers. And now I turn to my guest, Michael Hudson. Michael is the president of the Institute for the Study of Long-term, Economic Trends, ISLET. He’s a Wall Street financial analyst and a distinguished research professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, in Kansas City. He’s also the author of numerous books and recently updated his book, “Super Imperialism: The economic strategy of American Empire.” Thank you for taking time to speak with me today, Michael.
Michael Hudson: Well, thanks for having me on Margaret.
MF: You’ve talked a lot and written a lot about dollar hegemony and what’s happening now with de-dollarization. Can you start out by explaining to my listeners what dollar hegemony is and how it has benefited the wealthy class in the United States?
MH: Dollar hegemony seems to be the position that has just ended as of this week very abruptly. Dollar hegemony was when America’s war in Vietnam and the military spending of the 1960s and 70s drove the United States off gold. The entire US balance of payments deficit was military spending, and it began to run down the gold supply. So, in 1971, President Nixon took the dollar off gold. Well, everybody thought America has been controlling the world economy since World War I by having most of the gold and by being the creditor to the world. And they thought what is going to happen now that the United States is running a deficit, instead of being a creditor.
Well, what happened was that, as I’ve described in Super Imperialism, when the United States went off gold, foreign central banks didn’t have anything to buy with their dollars that were flowing into their countries – again, mainly from the US military deficit but also from the investment takeovers. And they found that these dollars came in, the only thing they could do would be to recycle them to the United States. And what do central banks hold? They don’t buy property, usually, back then they didn’t. They buy Treasury bonds. And so, the United States would be spending dollars abroad and foreign central banks didn’t really have anything to do but send it right back to buy treasury bonds to finance not only the balance of payments deficit, but also the budget deficit that was largely military in character. So, dollar hegemony was the system where foreign central banks keep their monetary and international savings reserves in dollars and the dollars are used to finance the military bases around the world, almost eight hundred military bases surrounding them. So, basically central banks have to keep their savings by weaponizing them, by militarizing them, by lending them to the United States, to keep spending abroad.
This gave America a free ride. Imagine if you went to the grocery store and you just paid by giving them an IOU. And then the next week you want to buy more groceries and you give them another IOU. And they say, wait a minute, you have an IOU before and you say, well just use the IOU to pay the milk company that delivers, or the farmers that deliver. You can use this as your money and just you’ll as a customer, keep writing IOU’s and you never have to pay anything because your IOU is other people’s money. Well, that’s what dollar hegemony was, and it was a free ride. And it all ended last Wednesday when the United States grabbed Russia’s reserves having grabbed Afghanistan’s foreign reserves and Venezuela’s foreign reserves and those of other countries.
And all of a sudden, this means that other countries can no longer safely hold their reserves by sending their money back, depositing them in US banks or buying US Treasury Securities, or having other US investments because they could simply be grabbed as happened to Russia. So, all of a sudden this last week, you’re seeing the world economy fracture into two parts, a dollarized part and other countries that do not follow the neoliberal policies that the United States insists that its allies follow. We’re seeing the birth of a new dual World economy.
MF: Wow, there’s a lot to unpack there. So, are we seeing then other countries starting to disinvest in US dollars? You’ve written about how the treasury bonds that these central banks buy up have been basically funding our domestic economy. Are they starting to shed those bonds or what’s happening?
MH: No, they haven’t been funding our domestic economy because the Federal Reserve can create its own money to fund the domestic economy. We don’t need to borrow from foreign countries to fund our economy. We can print it ourselves. What the dollar hegemony does is fund the balance of payments deficit. It funds our spending in other economies, our spending abroad. It doesn’t help our economy, but it does help us get a free ride from other countries. The more dollars we spend in making a military base, all these military expenditures get turned over to the local Central Bank that turns and sends them back to the Federal Reserve or deposits them in US bank accounts. So, it’s the international free ride we get, not a domestic free ride.
MF: Okay. So are we seeing countries now, since this past week, starting to move their assets back to repatriate them because I know for Afghanistan, a big problem is that most of the government’s money was outside of the country and that has been used as a weapon against Afghanistan by seizing those assets and not allowing the Central Bank of Afghanistan to have them. Are we starting to see other countries repatriating their money and gold?
MH: Well, figures are only available at the end of each month, reported at the end of each month and then there’s a two-month delay, so we don’t have any idea what’s happening. But I’ve been talking to people all over the world in the last few days and the consensus is that everybody is now deciding the only place, certainly if you’re China or Russia or Kazakhstan or you’re in the Eurasian orbit, South Asia, East Asia, you realize, wait a minute, if all we have to do is something like Allende did in Chile or all we have to do is refuse to sell off our industry to American investors and they can treat us like they’ve treated Venezuela. So you can imagine that everybody’s watching this and there’s an expectation that as a result of the war in Ukraine, that’s really America’s NATO war, that this is going to create a balance-of-payments crisis throughout the whole Global South as their energy prices go up, oil prices soar, food prices are going to soar and this is going to make it impossible for them to pay their foreign debts unless they go without food and energy. Obviously, this is a political crisis. That is, the only result can be to split the world in two.
MF: You’ve been writing about this happening. You’ve written that the de-dollarization has been happening relatively quickly in recent years. So, are we now we’re now just seeing the end result of that? I mean, people said it could happen quickly. Is that exactly what we’re seeing right now?
MH: Yes, and nobody expected that it would happen this quickly. Nobody expected that it would be the United States itself that ends de-dollarization. People thought that, well, most of the sales of my book describing this super imperialism were bought by the Defense Department and they looked at it as a how -to-do-it book. And I was brought down to the White House and the Defense Department to explain to them how imperialism works.
I had expected that maybe China, Russia, and other countries would say, “We don’t want to give America free rides.” And yet it was the United States itself that broke all of this, by grabbing Russia’s reserves right after it grabbed Afghanistan’s and Venezuela’s reserves.
Nothing like this has happened in modern history, even in the 19th century wars. In the Crimean War in the mid-19th century, Russia, England and Germany, everybody kept paying the debts to the countries they were fighting against because the idea is that debts were sacrosanct. And now, all of a sudden, not only are debts are not sacrosanct, but countries can just grab foreign savings. I guess the problem began after the Shah of Iran fell and the United States grabbed Iran’s money and refused to let it pay its bond holders and started the whole war against Iran for trying to take control of its own oil resources. So, all of a sudden, the United States grabbing this has ended what everybody thought was an immutable morality.
MF: So that was in 1979 that the Shah fell in Iran and, and over the last number of decades, the United States has been increasingly using economic warfare against countries through what people call sanctions, but they’re actually, illegal unilateral coercive measures, has that been kind of driving and setting the stage for what is happening today?
MH: Yes, the International Monetary Fund has operated, basically, as an arm of the Defense Department. It’s been bailing out dictatorships, bailing out Ukraine, lending money to countries whose client oligarchies America wants to support, and not lending any money to countries that America doesn’t want to support, like Venezuela. So, its job is basically to promote neoliberal policies, and to insist that other countries balance their payments by undergoing a class war against labor.
The conditionality that the IMF insists upon for foreign borrowing is that countries devalue their currency and lower their wage rates and pass anti-labor legislation. Well, when you lower the currency’s exchange rate, what do you really lower? Food prices are set in dollars internationally, raw materials prices are, and prices for machinery and many goods. The only economic variable devalued is domestic labor (and domestic rents). The IMF has been using this kind of junk-economic free-trade policy as a means of keeping the wage rates in the Global South down. You could say it’s a financialization of an ultimately military conflict to promote neoliberal ideology.
MF: And you mentioned the lowering wages and things like that. And this is actually done because it’s favorable to US investors and US business, right? I mean, the World Bank actually has an index, the cost of doing business index, that helps inform large corporations about laws that countries pass that make them more favorable to businesses to come in.
MH: It’s even worse than that. The central aim of the World Bank is to prevent other countries from growing their own food. That is the prime directive. It will only make loans for countries to earn foreign currency and it has insisted ever since about 1950 that countries that borrow from it must shift their agriculture to plantation export crops to grow tropical crops that cannot be grown in the United States for environmental and weather reasons. And the countries must not grow their own food and must not undertake Land Reform or small family-based farming. So, it insisted on foreign-owned agribusiness in large plantation agriculture. And what that means is that countries that have borrowed for agricultural loans have not been loans to produce their own food. It’s been to compete with each other producing tropical export crops while being increasingly dependent on the United States for their food supplies, and for their grain. And that’s part of the corner they painted them into that is going to be creating such a world famine this summer.
MF: I definitely want to get into that as well as the energy situation and the climate crisis, but before we do that, I just want you to comment quickly on how this has also been driving countries to seek alternatives. The United States removed Russia from the SWIFT system, which is the international mechanism for doing trading and finance. It threatened China if they didn’t denounce what was happening with Russia and Ukraine to kick them out of the SWIFT system. So, this hubris of the United States is also kind of driving countries away to seek other alternatives, right?
MH: That’s the whole point. Well, fortunately they’ve been threatening to kick Russia out of SWIFT for the last two years. And so, Russia and China have been putting in place an alternative system. So, they almost pretty smoothly are shifting over to using their own currency with each other instead of using the dollar. And that’s part of what has ended the dollar standard and ended dollar hegemony.
If the way you have dollar hegemony is to have other countries deposit your money in your banks and handle their oil trade with each other by financing it in dollars, but all of a sudden you grab all their dollars and you don’t let them use US banks to pay for their oil and their trade with each other, then they’re going to shift to a different system. And that’s exactly what has ended the dollar hegemony, as you just pointed out.
MF: So, let’s get a little bit into where things are headed with this new situation, a rapidly changing situation. It may be hard to say what’s happening, but you talked about a food crisis this summer. Can you talk a little bit about more about that and does the conflict in Ukraine feed into that?
MH: Well, as President Putin and Lavrov have said, the fighting in Ukraine isn’t really over Ukraine at all. It’s a fight over what shape the world will take and whether the world will be unipolar or, as it now appears, multipolar. The US, for the last year before it began to escalate attacks on the Russian-speaking Ukraine, was trying to block Europe from, and especially Germany, from buying Russia gas and oil.
There are three pillars of American foreign policy that base American power. The first pillar is the oil industry. That’s the most powerful industry next to banking in the United States. And United States throughout the 20th century, along with Britain and France, have controlled the world oil trade.
That has benefited the United States in two ways. Number one, we are a major oil exporter because we have a big oil and gas industry. But, number two, our US companies control the foreign oil trade. So that if some country, say Chile or Venezuela, does something that the United States doesn’t like, like growing their own food or pursuing a socialist policy, the United States can simply cut off their oil and sanction them. Without oil, they don’t have energy to drive the cars or power their factories or drive their GDP.
So, the American war in Ukraine is really a war against Germany. Russia is not the enemy. Germany and Europe are the enemy and the United States made it very clear. This is a war to lock in our allies so they cannot trade with Russia. They cannot buy Russian oil. They must be dependent on American oil for which they will have to pay three or four times as much. They will have to be dependent on American liquefied natural gas for fertilizer. If they don’t buy American gas for fertilizer, and we don’t let them buy from Russia, then they cannot put fertilizer on the land and the crop yield will fall by about 50% without fertilizer.
So, the, the war in Ukraine was to make Russia look so bad by defending itself against the attacks by the Ukrainian right wing in the Russian-speaking areas that the US has said, look at how bad Russia is. You’ve got to forego buying oil and gas or grain or titanium or palladium or anything else from Russia.
And so, the effect of this war has been to lock the NATO countries into dependency on the United States because the great fear of the United States in the last few years is that as America is de-industrializing, these countries are looking to the part of the world that’s growing, China, Central Asia, Russia, South Asia. And the United States feared losing control of its satellites mainly in NATO, but also in South America. So, it sanctioned and blocked their ability to buy non-US energy. They’re blocking their ability to buy non-US food, blocking their ability to invest in or use their surplus to get prosperous by investing in China, Russia, or Eurasia.
So, this is basically a war of America to lock in its allies. Well, the result is that oil prices, now that you can’t get Russian oil, are going to go way, way up, and that is going to create a crisis for many of the Global South countries that are oil deficit countries. The fertilizer companies in Germany have already been closing down because they say, without Russian gas, we make our fertilizer out of gas, and if we can’t get Russian gas, we can’t produce the fertilizer that. So, world fertilizer prices are going way up.
Russia is the largest grain exporter. And now that grain exports are being blocked by the sanctions, the question is, what are North Africa and the Near East going to do that have been depending very largely on Russian grain exports? Their food prices are going to go way up.
You can imagine just from seeing what’s happening in the United States when gas prices go up here, food prices go up here, not only does it put a squeeze on individual family budgets, but throughout the world, it puts the squeeze on the balance of payments of other countries. And so, they’re desperate. How are they going to pay the higher prices unless they borrow even more money from US banks? And of course, that’s another arm of US policy. The US banks hope to make a killing in making loans at rising interest rates to third world countries.
And of course, arms exports. NATO in the last few days has agreed to make American arms exports to increase their purchase of arms. So, the stock market has been soaring in the last few days. They say this, the world famine, the world crisis is a bonanza for Wall Street. The oil company stocks are going way up, the military, industrial stocks, Boeing Raytheon way up, the bank stocks. This is America’s great power grab, and it realizes, when it can create a crisis and tell the Global South or poor countries your money or your life. This is how most of the great property grabs and conquests have been made throughout history.
MF: And just this week at the NATO meetings, President Biden basically said food prices are going to go up in the United States and Europe as a result of what’s happening. And that’s just the price we have to pay.
MH: Well, what he should have said, this is the price they have to pay us. That’s how the stock market took it. When he said this is the price we have to pay, this is the price consumers have to pay to the American oil companies, to the American Agricultural food distribution companies. It’s the price other countries have to pay to the United States.
This is to say to the rest of the world, you know, we’ve got you completely, I don’t know how to put it, what phrase to use, but you don’t have any choice, your money or your life. We’ve got you trapped. And he’s crowing over the fact that this resulting inflation is exactly what was intended by the war in Ukraine that has led to the isolation of Russia and other countries following a non-US policy.
MF: But more and more countries in Latin America, in Africa, are turning to countries like China for partnerships, for investment. Do you see a point coming where there is just this real shunning of the United States and turning to these alternatives?
MH: That is exactly what’s going to happen. What’s going to happen is, China’s investment is very different from US investment. US and European investment will give financial investments to countries at interest that the whole country is liable for to repay. China’s investment is taking place by means of the Belt and Road Initiative and direct capital investment in developing ports, infrastructure and railways. And instead of having a general financial claim against these countries, China has an equity claim, a property claim backed by the physical means of production that it puts in place.
Well, this summer, when countries say they cannot afford to pay their foreign debts, the United States has as a backup plan, okay, let’s write down everybody’s debts, government debts, to each other so that governments can pay the private bond holders and the banks. And they’re going to try to, essentially the US will forgive its debts so that Latin America can pay Chase Manhattan Bank and Citibank and the bondholders. And China is going to say, wait a minute, we don’t have any financial claim against these countries. We didn’t lend them dollars. We didn’t lend them our foreign currency at all. We built assets there and the assets are still in place. There’s no problem there.
So, the question is, whose debts are going to be written down to whom? And all of this is going to lead to, as you can imagine, destabilization. The United States is probably going to try to push regime change on countries that try to trade with China as it’s already threatened China with. And the more sanctions the United States imposes on Latin America, Africa and the Near East and South Asia, they will be creating a crisis, but the crisis will lead the rest of the world to treat the United States in the same way that Russia and China are treating the United States as just the enemy threatening the entire world with their neoliberal power grab. So, the United States in a way is isolating itself from the rest of the world by declaring war on it.
MF: And I think that’s not going to be good for us here at home in the United States. You’ve talked about the way that the current economy has been structured. You’ve also raised a lot of concern about the climate crisis. And of course, we have the recent IPCC report basically saying that we’re way behind in taking action to even adapt to the climate crisis or the warming that we’re going to be experiencing. So now in this new situation, how do you see that impacting the climate crisis?
MH: Here’s what Biden said, in effect: “We’re way behind in the pace of global warming.” American policy is based on increasing and accelerating global warming. That has been a central point of US policy ever since I joined the Hudson Institute in the 1970s. The United States is opposing any attempt at trying to prevent global warming because you can imagine what would happen if other countries go to solar energy and renewable energy. That will reduce their dependency on the US oil industry. If you look at American policy, it is being run basically by the oil industry to establish dependence of other countries on oil. Then obviously the last thing the United States is ever going to do is prevent global warming. So, if we’re behind in global warming, it’s that the sea level is not rising fast enough. The world is not getting hot fast enough not to lock in foreign reliance on America’s oil.
And I think you’ve seen what in the last few weeks, what President Biden has said, the fuel of the future is coal and oil. Right now, he’s in Poland. I think he’s suggesting that Polish coal, which is one of its major products, should be used in Europe instead of Russian gas. So, American foreign policy is based on the accelerated use of coal and oil, not renewable energy.
Now, that’s why I think the environmental movement should become an anti-war movement and the movement against this neoliberal dollar hegemony. You’re not going to avoid global warming unless you stop the dominance of American foreign policy by the oil industry.
MF: I think we’ve been seeing that shift over the last few years where the climate movement is starting to understand we can’t address this crisis without addressing the US military. So just in the last minutes that I have with you, what do you have to say to the listeners about where this is going for us materially as people living in the United States, a country that has been showing itself to be a failing state? The Covid-19 pandemic, I think, has really exposed that in so many ways, the financial insecurity that people are facing, housing, education, health care, all of the failures of the government to meet the basic needs of the people. How do you think that’s going to change with this new situation?
MH: Well, the United States has been getting a free ride internationally. So, much of the prosperity here has been the result of our not having to pay for our own military spending, not having to pay for many of the foreign investments that we’ve got that supply the US with low priced foreign raw materials. All that is being ended by President Biden’s policy, which, of course, the Republicans support just as much as the Democrats.
So, there’s really a political movement that is ending up impoverishing, I’d say, 99% of Americans. While the Federal Reserve saves the stock and bond market for the 1%, there’s going to be a huge squeeze that’s going to force, I think, most American families into debt leading to probably a close down of a lot of businesses just as you had the Covid crisis closing down a lot of businesses. You’re going to have the rising fuel prices, the rising food prices utterly force families into default and an inability to be self-supporting without either running into debt or selling their homes and becoming renters.
MF: And that’s a whole other problem with the buying up of the housing in the United States by these investment corporations so that they can then control those rent prices. It sounds like difficult days are ahead.
MH: Yes. Well, and nobody can really ,it’s really Uncharted Territory because nobody thought there was an alternative. The economic view was as Margaret Thatcher said, “There is no alternative.” Well, now, America’s forced the world to find its own alternative.
MF: Well, thank you for sharing that wisdom with me. I encourage people to continue to follow you and read your books and follow your writing. Where’s the best place to find you?
MH: I have a website: Michael-Hudson.com. And I’m on Patreon. I post my articles on the website and on Patreon.
MF: Well, thank you so much for taking time to speak with me today, and for the important work that you’re doing.
MH: Well, I’m awfully glad we had to talk about this, Margaret.
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Crushed ideas and hopes
It happens to the best made plans of mice and men.
It is not going to happen.
The ISS Space Station
A highly anticipated change of command ceremony between the United States and Russia has taken place on the International Space Station.
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Despite mounting tensions between the two countries, NASA has repeatedly reaffirmed that it continues to work closely with Russian space agency Roscosmos.
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Eyes have been on the ISS since war broke out in Ukraine but tensions on the earth did not reach into space.
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Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov in his handover address affirmed those on the space station were “one crew”.
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“I think ISS is like (a) symbol of the friendship and cooperations and like symbol of future of exploration of space,” he said.
The Media Is The Number One Cause Of War Since 1898
In 1895, a 32-year old entrepreneur in New York City bought a failing newspaper and hatched a bold plan to turn it around.
The newspaper industry was cutthroat, especially in New York. There were at least 16 other daily newspapers in circulation, and there was fierce competition for readers’ attention.
But the young entrepreneur had an idea: thrill readers with tales of death, destruction, and brutality in the Cuban War for Independence against Spain.
Cuba was a Spanish colony at the time, but revolutionary forces had been fighting for independence for several years. Few people in the US really cared about Cuba. But the new publisher vowed to make them care.
His name was William Randolph Hearst. And his paper, the New York Morning Journal, constantly thrust Cuba in his readers’ faces.
Their stories were full-blown sensationalism. By early 1898, Hearst’s Journal was printing outright fabrications of atrocities committed by Spanish troops in Cuba, in an effort to whip up public support for the United States to join the war.
The government played along. While ‘war crimes’ did not yet exist, US President William McKinley escalated tensions by accusing Spain of atrocities, saying in a speech that “the civilized code of warfare has been disregarded.”
Then, on February 15, 1898, a US naval vessel known as the Maine exploded and sank in Havana Harbor off the coast of Cuba. 268 sailors died.
Several investigations were conducted, and to this day there is still nothing conclusive explaining how the explosion took place. It’s entirely possible that the explosion was caused by the Maine’s on-board fuel.
But Hearst (along with many other papers) jumped to publish stories claiming the Maine was sunk by a Spanish torpedo, and they continued agitating for the US to join the war.
Thanks to the effective media propaganda, most Americans were in favor of war. The newspapers had cast Spain as the evil aggressor, and its commanding general, Valeriano Weyler, was routinely called a “butcher”.
The newspapers told Americans that the fight against Spain was a necessary one… that it was a matter of moral righteousness— a crusade of good against evil.
They finally got their wish in April 1898 when the Spanish-American War broke out.
There are a lot of similarities with the media today.
The level of trust in the media is already laughably low. There was the obvious Hunter Biden laptop coverup, which most mainstream media refused to even mention during the US Presidential election in 2020.
Then there were the outright lies in the Russia collusion hoax, for which the New York Times was even awarded the ‘esteemed’ Pulitzer Prize.
(Coincidentally, the Pulitzer is named after Joseph Pulitzer, a newspaper publisher who also fabricated lies in the late 1800s and agitated for war against Spain.)
Then there’s the case of Biden appointee Tracy Stone-Manning, who was nominated last year to head up the federal government’s Bureau of Land Management.
Stone-Manning is a former eco-terrorist who participated in violent campaigns against forestry workers in her youth.
This isn’t some wild conspiracy theory; Stone-Manning has admitted to wrongdoing, including sending violent threats to the US federal Forestry Service. She ultimately avoided prosecution and saved herself by ratting out her associates.
But a recent Freedom of Information Act request revealed that NBC News colluded with the Biden Administration to go easy on Tracy Stone-Manning during her confirmation hearing, and whitewash over her terrorist history.
This is pretty incredible…
Think about the media circus a few years ago when US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexually assaulting someone when he was a teenager.
There was no promise from NBC News (and other mainstream propagandists) to go easy on the allegations against Justice Kavanaugh that went back 30+ years.
Instead, they smeared his name and deemed him guilty.
It’s also noteworthy that, during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing, several protestors stormed the Capital and physically accosted United States Senators in order to prevent the Constitutional voting process from occurring.
Yet NBC News declined to label those protestors ‘domestic terrorists’, or to claim that democracy was ‘under attack’ because they had criminally trespassed into the Capitol.
This is the same media which acted as the government mouthpiece during COVID, justifying the public health dictatorship that took over the world.
This is the same media which watched cities burn in 2020 and said the protests were “mostly peaceful”.
And, yes, this is the same media that has routinely pushed America into war. It wasn’t just Spain in 1898.
The United States joined the Vietnam War based on a Gulf of Tonkin skirmish with the North Vietnamese which never actually occurred. But the Johnson administration and intelligence sources said it happened, so the media reported it as fact.
Then there were those supposed Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, which the media dutifully reported without question and helped push the US into war back in 2003.
Today many in the media are calling for an escalation against Russia. They want a no-fly zone. They cheer the President’s dementia-ridden foreign policy and praise him for impromptu comments that only escalate tensions.
Most of all, they force feed the war in Ukraine, 24/7, as if that’s supposed to be our #1 priority.
Forget about the economy, rising prices, and supply chain dysfunction… and forget about conflict anywhere else in the world. We’re only allowed to care about Ukraine and Putin.
Historically speaking, it is not far-fetched to think the media could help push the world into a major war… and one with potential nuclear ramifications.
It’s not inevitable, but we are closer today than any other time since at least 1962— and certainly closer than even a week ago.
That’s why it is more important than ever to be prepared for whatever the world has in store for us.
And that means crafting a rock solid Plan B to make sure you can respond from a position of strength, whatever crisis comes next.
Washington’s top diplomat in Taipei attacks Beijing for “destabilizing” the region and threatening “all democracies”
The head of the de facto US embassy in Taiwan has accused China of “provocative” military moves near the island. Sandra Oudkirk claimed that Beijing has undermined regional peace while vowing to “strengthen” security ties with Taipei.
Oudkirk – who directs the American Institute in Taiwan, the unofficial US embassy – castigated Beijing during a speech at the local American Chamber of Commerce, on Wednesday, singling out its policies toward Taipei.
“The [People’s Republic of China’s] increasingly aggressive behavior is nowhere more evident than in relation to Taiwan, where the PRC has continued to exert military, diplomatic, and economic pressure,” she said, adding that “provocative military activities” near Taiwan are “destabilizing, risk miscalculation, and undermine regional peace and stability.”
Continued efforts by Beijing to choke Taiwan’s international space, pressure its friends, and interfere in Taiwan’s democratic system represent a threat to all democracies.
With Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in attendance at the event, Oudkirk went on to voice “deep concerns” over “China’s alignment with Russia” following Moscow’s attack on Ukraine, appearing to draw parallels between the conflict in Eastern Europe and tensions between Taiwan and the mainland.
“China is already on the wrong side of history when it comes to Ukraine and the aggression being committed by Russia,” she said, echoing previous comments from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Though US officials have pressured Beijing to sever its ties with Russia and join a punitive sanctions campaign, China has so far refused to budge, maintaining a neutral stance toward the conflict while urging for diplomacy and an end to the fighting.
Oudkirk said Washington would continue to “strengthen Taiwan’s role as a regional security partner” – part of the Joe Biden administration’s increased outreach to the island. Late last year, the president declared that the US is “committed” to defending Taiwan from any potential Chinese attack, in what appeared to be a break with a long-standing policy of ‘strategic ambiguity.’ White House officials soon walked back his comments, however.
The United States has also approved a number of arms sales to Taiwan in recent months, and continues to sail warships through the contested Taiwan Strait on a near-monthly basis despite repeated warnings from Beijing to stay out of its “internal affairs.” China considers Taiwan to be its sovereign territory, though the island has long been self-governed and refers to itself as the Republic of China.
Founded as a non-profit corporation, the American Institute in Taiwan now serves as the informal US embassy and has received most of its funding from the State Department since the United States ended diplomatic recognition of Taipei with the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. Currently, only a handful of nations recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country, among them Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti and the Vatican City.
How America is viewed by the rest of the world
pay attention. This is what the next 100 years will be like… video 6MB
TRAPPED!!! AMERICAN AND UK MILITARY “ADVISORS”, PLUS FRANCE INTEL OPERATIVES WITH AZOV NAZIS IN MARIUPOL – NOW TRAPPED BY RUSSIAN FORCES
Shot down. Americans, UK, and French “advisors” were killed. The Help was brought down by an American supplied anti-aircraft missile.
At present, whatever remains of Ukrainian Army AZOV Regiment (the Actual NAZI Regiment) is holed-up inside the vast Azovstal Industrial Area in Mariupol, Ukraine. The group totaling 20 — of US andUK military advisors as well as several Ukrainian SBU (secret police) advisors—is holed up, together with Azov fighters.
Despite being offered several prior chances to evacuate Mariupol, they chose to stay. Now, they are too late to evacuate as Russian forces pummel that area to De-Nazify it.
Overnight, Ukraine sent two military helicopters to Mariupol to try to rescue the trapped US, UK, and Ukrainian Secret Police persons. Both those helicopters landed without incident, but when they took off, both were SHOT DOWN.
One of those helicopters had 17 aboard, 15 of whom died when the chopper was hit and crashed into the earth. The two survivors have been taken prisoner by Russian forces.
The second helicopter was hit several kilometers off the coast of Mariupol, and fell into the Sea of Azov. Rescue craft were sent, but no word yet on finding anything or anyone in the water.
One of the Mi-8 helicopters was shot down by . . . . . . . An American STINGER anti-aircraft, man-launched missile, supplied to Ukraine by the United States and later captured from the Ukrainian forces by Russian forces.
MORE!
From the helicopter that crashed into the earth, COVERT INTEL SOURCES now tell me, the bodies of two French Intelligence operatives, allegedly with DGSE credentials, were also said to have been recovered.
If true, this would explain French President Macron’s desperate attempts to have a French-led evacuation out of Mariupol last week! Macron’s requests to Putin were declined. If French Intelligence Agents were embedded with AZOV NAZI troops, then this is a massive PR problem for both France and for NATO.
HAL TURNER EDITORIAL OPINION
At some point, the presence of foreign military “Advisors” and foreign Intelligence “operatives” is going to transform this from a Ukraine-Russia conflict, to a NATO-Russia conflict. Once that threshold is officially crossed (and it is solely up to Russia to decide) then war is upon us all.
A bunch of US and British military men being present right on the front line would confirm not only how intricately involved with Azov the NATO countries are, but the fact that Ukraine is a US puppet state being used to wage a proxy war on Russia.
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Grandma’s Favorite Cabbage Rolls
Cabbage Rolls
No one knows good old-fashioned home cooking like Grandma, which is why this recipe for cabbage rolls is one of the best there is, period. Made with ground beef, onion, white rice and seasonings, Grandma’s Favorite Cabbage Rolls are sure to make your mouth water.
Top ’em off with a homemade sauce of tomato, brown sugar, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce and you’ll have yourself a winning dinner the whole family will love.
Even the pickiest of eaters will gobble up these delicious old fashioned cabbage rolls! Plus, this recipe is a favorite of Grandma’s because it only costs a few dollars to make. It’s one of our favorite budget-friendly recipes, and we think it will be one of yours, too.
Core head of cabbage by cutting around the core and removing as much as possible. Boil large pot of water (fill pot only 1/4 or 1/2 full — when boiling put cabbage into water and cover with top. Leave cabbage in water and every so often as leaves loosen up remove leaves and place in collander in sink to cool — when all leaves are removed turn off water and throw away — (if you have any little pieces of cabbage left at end of core, you can save them to place on top of leaves if you would like.
In a large bowl mix cooked rice, ground meat, onion, garlic, raw eggs 1/2 can tomato sauce and oregano and a little pinch of kosher salt. Mix well with your hands –.
Spray 9 X 13 inch pans with Pam. Take cabbage leaves and fill with 1/4 to 1/2 cup meat mixture (depending on how big hour leaves are). Place with seam side down in pans — Turn oven on 350 degrees. Make up sauce (depending on how many rolls you get from your cabbage and how much sauce you want,you can use between 4 to 6 cans of diced or stewed tomatoes for your sauce), if you like cabbage rolls to have more sauce, you can add a little tomato juice to your sauce. Pour sauce over top of rolls. Sprinkle with kosher salt over top of rolls.
Bake uncovered to 2 1/2 hours or until browned on top, you may need to add a tomato juice to them once in a while so they do not dry out –.
Freezes well.
Vaccine Schedule for the United States
Interesting.
Covid Vaccine schedule for American children
Fine Chinese Girl
Here’s yet another fine Chinese woman. They are all over China, don’t you know. Of course, if you believe the Western narrative, China has no girls or women. They have been all killed as the result of the one-baby policy. LOL. Only an idiot would believe that bullshit. What bullshit are you believing out of the American / UK “news” today? Eh? Video 2MB
China warns of ‘worst consequences’ over Taiwan
Beijing says nothing will stand in the way of “national reunification” with Taipei
China has warned that no foreign powers or militaries will succeed in interfering with Taiwan, cautioning that any country attempting to offer military support to Taipei will face “consequences.”
“The Taiwan question is a purely internal affair of China,” Defense Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Tan Kefei told reporters on Friday.
“No one and no force can stop” Beijing from a “complete national reunification” with Taiwan, Tan said, adding that anyone who tries to do so, “will suffer the worst consequences in the end.”
Tan said the Chinese military stood ready to thwart any outside interference on the matter. His statement came days after Australia’s defense minister, Peter Dutton, argued that it would be “inconceivable” for Canberra not to join with the US should Washington decide to defend Taiwan.
Kiev claims NATO will defend arms convoys to Ukraine against Russia
Dutton later softened his language, saying on Sunday that the Australian response would be based on “our country’s best interests.”
Last month, Australia accused a Chinese warship of pointing a laser at one of its surveillance planes. Beijing said the allegation was “false.”
While the government in Beijing insists Taiwan is part of China’s territory, the US has typically taken a non-committal position, unofficially supporting Taiwanese independence and supplying weapons to Taipei, while at the same time acknowledging China’s claim to the island.
Here’s the official U.S. narrative as echoed by the mainstream media: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked, Putin’s three-day blitzkrieg of Kyiv has failed, Russian forces are bogged down and valiant Ukrainian troops are putting up a powerful defense and regaining lost ground with the help of weapons from NATO.
In this version, President Zelenskyy is the new Churchill rallying patriots against an evil dictator. All of that is either entirely or mostly false.
Here’s the real story: Russia’s invasion is the end result of 14 years of provocation by the West, including repeated declarations that Ukraine will join NATO and a U.S.-backed coup d’état in 2014 that displaced a pro-Russian president.
Russia never planned a blitzkrieg on Kyiv. That’s a Western invention intended to make Putin look like a failure. In fact, Russia is slowly and methodically taking territory in the south and east of Ukraine in order to control the seacoasts, eliminate pro-fascist elements in Mariupol and establish pro-Russian autonomous zones in Donbas.
1/ Big Arrow War—a primer. For all those scratching their heads in confusion, or dusting off their dress uniforms for the Ukrainian victory parade in Kiev, over the news about Russia’s “strategic shift”, you might want to re-familiarize yourself with basic military concepts.2/ Maneuver warfare is a good place to start. Understand Russia started its “special military operation” with a severe manpower deficit—200,000 attackers to some 600,000 defenders (or more). Classic attritional conflict was never an option. Russian victory required maneuver.
3/ Maneuver war is more psychological than physical and focuses more on the operational than on the tactical level. Maneuver is relational movement—how you deploy and move your forces in relation to your opponent. Russian maneuver in the first phase of its operation support this.4/ The Russians needed to shape the battlefield to their advantage. In order to do this, they needed to control how Ukraine employed it’s numerically superior forces, while distributing their own smaller combat power to best accomplish this objective.5/ Land Bridge. Strategically, to facilitate the ability to maneuver between the southern, central, and northern fronts, Russia needed to secure a land bridge between Crimea and Russia. The seizure of the coastal city of Mariupol was critical to this effort. Russia has accomplished this task.6/ Control. While this complex operation unfolded, Russia needed to keep Ukraine from maneuvering its numerically superior forces in a manner that disrupted the Mariupol operation. This entailed the use of several strategic supporting operations—feints, fixing operations, and deep attack.7/ Feint warfare. The concept of a feint is simple—a military force either is seen as preparing to attack a given location, or actually conducts an attack, for the purpose of deceiving an opponent into committing resources in response to the perceived or actual actions.8/ Example of use. The use of the feint played a major role in Desert Storm, where Marine Amphibious forces threatened the Kuwaiti coast, forcing Iraq to defend against an attack that never came, and where the 1st Cavalry Division actually attacked Wadi Al Batin to pin down the Republican Guard.9/ Ukraine use of a feint. The Russians made extensive use of the feint in Ukraine, with Amphibious forces off Odessa freezing Ukrainian forces there, and a major feint attack toward Kiev compelling Ukraine to reinforce their forces there. Ukraine was never able to reinforce their forces in the east.10/ Fixing operations were also critical. Ukraine had assembled some 60,000-100,000 troops in the east, opposite Donbas. Russia carried out a broad fixing attack designed to keep these forces fully engaged and unable to maneuver in respect to other Russian operations.11/ History. During Desert Storm, two Marine Divisions were ordered to carry out similar fixing attacks against Iraqi forces deployed along the Kuwaiti-Saudi border, tying down significant numbers of men and material that could not be used to counter the main US attack out west.12/ Pinned Down. The Russian fixing attack pinned the main Ukrainian concentration of forces in the east, and drove them away from Mariupol, which was invested and reduced. Supporting operations out of Crimea against Kherson expanded the Russian land bridge. This phase is now complete.13/ Strategic Deep Attacks. Russia also engaged in a campaign of strategic deep attack designed to disrupt and destroy Ukrainian logistics, command & control, and air power and long-range fire support. Ukraine is running out of fuel and ammo, cannot coordinate maneuver, and has no meaningful Air Force.14/ Redeployments. Russia is redeploying some of its premier units from where they had been engaged in feint operations in northern Kiev to where they can support the next phase of the operation, namely the liberation of the Donbas and the destruction of the main Ukrainian force in the east.15/ This is classic maneuver warfare. Russia will now hold Ukraine in the north and south while its main forces, reinforced by the northern units, Marines, and forces freed up by the capture of Mariupol, seek to envelope and destroy 60,000 Ukrainian forces in the east.16/ This is Big Arrow War at its finest, something Americans used to know but forgot in the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan and Iraq. It also explains how 200,000 Russians have been able to defeat 600,000 Ukrainians. Thus ends the primer on maneuver warfare, Russian style.
Rufus Kind action
When the time comes, what are you going to do? Be a spectator, or take action. Your actions determine your sentience. Service-to-yourself, or service-for-others. And please don’t be a NPC service-to-another. Your actions, in this life, are a reflection of who you are. It’s binary. White or black. There is no gray area. video 3MB
Chinese community in action
This would never happen in the United States. In the USA, most people whould be inside their cars watching on as spectators. Maybe taking videos. With some slamming on their horns making noises. video 3MB
Rufus Immediate action
You don’t know when there will be a calling, but it will happen. Are your ready for it? Or will you pretend that nothing is going on? Will you sit by passively and allow others to become service-to-others sentience, while you are firmly and affixed as a service-to-self selfish, alone, greedy and “independent” asshole? video 9MB
How a Rufus Community Operates
Everyone in the community works together as one organism. If they “feel” something is wrong, they talk to others, they investigate, and they get help. In this case, we have gas station attendents, bus drivers, and construction workers working with the polcie to prevent a child abduction. video 14MB
Rufus reminder
When the world is treating others unkindly, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to reset things. Do not wait for others to take action. Do not wait for the police, fire or medical care to come. Do not wait for others, or watch while doing nothing. You were not born to be a spectator. You were born to be a participant. So act the part. God damn it! video 13MB
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Scene From By Dawns Early Light – HBO – Nuclear War – World War 3 Movie
An end of the world movie that involves nuclear launches. This is a 30-minute segment, and it is chilling how much it matches what is going on RIGHT NOW.
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
" ...the idiots running Finland... seem to have chosen the moment before the fall of the US Empire to join up with NATO, presumably in order to enjoy the descent. Its like ski jumping for politicians."
-MoA commenter on the decision of the Findland Leadership to join NATO after Russia used military-technical measures to secure it's borders from NATO
When I was a young boy growing up inside the United States in the 1960s it was a different time, and a different place. People all worked, and felt good about themselves. Families were almost all single-earner housholds, and everyone had hpe for the future. Sure, it was in the midst of the cold war, but we all trusted our government, and believed in our leaders. We viewed our lives as being special and exceptional and righeous. We would eat good and healthy meals with meats and fresh vegitables daily. The father, as the head of the family would sit at the head of the table. We participated in sports, and games, and we watched television shows that reflected out hopes and dreams for the future. Here is a fine example. You don’t have to watch the entire episode, perhaps maybe the first ten minutes, but you should all get a big kick out of this episode of “Voyage to the bottom of the sea”.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea S02E13 The Monster from Outer Space
It was pretty much standard fare for me and my siblings. My brother and I would watch these shows while we played with our erector sets, our chemistry sets, and toy guns. Maybe we too would be a hero and fight those pesky communists in the jungles of far away Vietnam. Oh, you know, we needed to do it. For democracy™ don’t you know. My mom spent most of her free time in the kitchen or the laundry room. She was always washing, cleaning or cooking. She was a machine! I only wish that I could tell her now, today, how much I appreciated what she did, and how her actions really influenced my early years in school. In the early 1960s we had a station wagon. It’s sort of like a low-ceiling mini-van, for those of you who were unaware. Us kids would love to sit in the flat back. We could spread out and stretch our legs back there. It probably would have also made a great place to make out with our (ten years later) girl friends. Alas, they went out of fashion and style. For most of my elementary school years I had this terrible crush on this really thin girl named Nancy P. I thought that she was beautiful, but I was so shy and every time I tried to talk to her I froze up. My sister didn’t help either, always constantly berating me, and embarrassing me when I started to talk to the girls in school. But times change, we age, and grow and experience life. I can positively say that the life I have led, and the experiences that I have had, bore absolutely no resemblence to the news, predictions, and movies of that time and place. And with that in mind, please remember that what you read, and experience today in the media “news” probably has very little resemblance to the actual reality that will influence your life in your future. Never the less, let’s go over some articles during this most signifigant and historical time…
MF: You’ve talked a lot and written a lot about dollar hegemony and what’s happening now with de-dollarization. Can you start out by explaining to my listeners what dollar hegemony is and how it has benefited the wealthy class in the United States?
MH: Dollar hegemony seems to be the position that has just ended as of this week very abruptly.
Dollar hegemony was when America’s war in Vietnam and the military spending of the 1960s and 70s drove the United States off gold. The entire US balance of payments deficit was military spending, and it began to run down the gold supply. So, in 1971, President Nixon took the dollar off gold.
Well, everybody thought America has been controlling the world economy since World War I by having most of the gold and by being the creditor to the world. And they thought what is going to happen now that the United States is running a deficit, instead of being a creditor.
Well, what happened was that, as I’ve described in Super Imperialism, when the United States went off gold, foreign central banks didn’t have anything to buy with their dollars that were flowing into their countries – again, mainly from the US military deficit but also from the investment takeovers.
And they found that these dollars came in, the only thing they could do would be to recycle them to the United States.
And what do central banks hold? They don’t buy property, usually, back then they didn’t. They buy Treasury bonds. And so, the United States would be spending dollars abroad and foreign central banks didn’t really have anything to do but send it right back to buy treasury bonds to finance not only the balance of payments deficit, but also the budget deficit that was largely military in character.
So, dollar hegemony was the system where foreign central banks keep their monetary and international savings reserves in dollars and the dollars are used to finance the military bases around the world, almost eight hundred military bases surrounding them.
So, basically central banks have to keep their savings by weaponizing them, by militarizing them, by lending them to the United States, to keep spending abroad.
This gave America a free ride.
Imagine if you went to the grocery store and you just paid by giving them an IOU. And then the next week you want to buy more groceries and you give them another IOU. And they say, wait a minute, you have an IOU before and you say, well just use the IOU to pay the milk company that delivers, or the farmers that deliver.
You can use this as your money and just you’ll as a customer, keep writing IOU’s and you never have to pay anything because your IOU is other people’s money.
Well, that’s what dollar hegemony was, and it was a free ride.
And it all ended last Wednesday when the United States grabbed Russia’s reserves having grabbed Afghanistan’s foreign reserves and Venezuela’s foreign reserves and those of other countries as well.
And all of a sudden, this means that other countries can no longer safely hold their reserves by sending their money back, depositing them in US banks or buying US Treasury Securities, or having other US investments because they could simply be grabbed as happened to Russia.
So, all of a sudden this last week, you’re seeing the world economy fracture into two parts, a dollarized part…
…and other countries that do not follow the neoliberal policies that the United States insists that its allies follow.
We’re seeing the birth of a new dual World economy.
MF: Wow, there’s a lot to unpack there. So, are we seeing then other countries starting to disinvest in US dollars? You’ve written about how the treasury bonds that these central banks buy up have been basically funding our domestic economy. Are they starting to shed those bonds or what’s happening?
MH: No, they haven’t been funding our domestic economy because the Federal Reserve can create its own money to fund the domestic economy. We don’t need to borrow from foreign countries to fund our economy. We can print it ourselves.
What the dollar hegemony does is fund the balance of payments deficit.
It funds our spending in other economies, our spending abroad.
It doesn’t help our economy, but it does help us get a free ride from other countries.
The more dollars we spend in making a military base, all these military expenditures get turned over to the local Central Bank that turns and sends them back to the Federal Reserve or deposits them in US bank accounts.
So, it’s the international free ride we get, not a domestic free ride.
Growing up though the 1960s and 1970s was a tale of (mostly) good eating. I must admit, however, that my mother tended to over rely on canned foods, and often used prepackaged mixes to make quick and easy meals for us kids. For sloppy joes, my mother would use a can of sloppy joe mix, and that was my sole experience with home-made sloppy joe sandwiches. Then, one day, I tried some made “from scratch” at a friends house. And, I have to tell you all, things haven’t been the same since. Give this recipe a try and see what you think. Homestyle Sloppy Joes
This classic all-American favorite tastes so much better when made with your own fresh ingredients. This homemade or homestyle Sloppy Joes are sink-your-teeth into ’em good!
What You’ll Need
2 to 2-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 sandwich rolls or hamburger buns, split, buttered, and toasted
What to Do
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef, onion, and green bell pepper 7 to 9 minutes, or until no pink remains in beef; drain off excess liquid.
Add remaining ingredients except sandwich rolls; mix well. Reduce heat to low and simmer 8 to 10 minutes, or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Serve sandwich-style spooned into buns.
This month will decide world politics for next 30+ years
What happens here (and how it happens) will determine the fate of Russia, the Ukraine, Europe, and U.S. global military hegemony (to include on the Pacific Rim) for decades to come.
If Russia is able to complete its Donbass mission by the end of April as I have predicted, then Uncle Sam’s Ukraine project is basically over—we’ll have to find another stick to poke in Russia’s side, and to keep our military-industrial lobby in the bonbons.
When I was growing up I lived in a small town of East Brady on the Allegheny river in Western Pennsylvania. It was a tiny town with perhaps 6000 residents. When I was in fifth grade I used to go forth and hike in the woods and along the railroad tracks. There, I would discover old trash dumps from a hundred years ago. And well, being young kids, we would go and dig in those dumps searching for old bottles to clean and collect. The most prized were whittle-marked bitters. A prized treasure. In the single ravine in the town was a viaduct, and at the bottom of that ravine was this old boarded up building. It was the size of a small house, and painted an off yellow. It’s painted letters were faded, but still readable. It was an old blacksmiths shop. And of course, being kids we would wiggle our way inside that old decrept structure to scrounge around for treasures and curiosities. Inside the walls were covered with one hundred year old newspapers, placards and advertisements. There were some old moldy leather pistol hosters on the walls, as well as a bunch of big crock-pots. Dust and stacks of old news papers lay everywhere. Oh, sure we hand picked a few “treasures”, at that time we knew it was wrong, but you see, we felt that we (collectors of old bottles) appreciated the treasures that we found. Not the actual owners of the objects. Of course, we learned over time that this was wrong. But maybe we were the exception. After all, look at who is running the United States and the rest of the West today. They obviously are unable to tell right from wrong…
Ukraine Bioweapons labs
Interesting. Now, the official U.S. semantics have changed. All references to the bio-labs in Ukraine has been revised.
The initial spin was firm denial that the labs produced “bioweapons” (i.e. they were public health laboratories).
That has now been corrected and updated with an additional qualifier (“offensive”):
Pentagon official: “I can say to you unequivocally there are no offensive biologic weapons in the Ukraine laboratories that the United States has been involved with.” US Defence Department $200 million program since 2005 for 44 labs in Ukraine. USA says... .
Speaking of the bioweapons labs, look what was found by the Russians…
(both were shown on the Russian MOD slides a couple of days ago). You cannot patent an idea, but you can patent an implementation. However, as soon as you implement something like the above two, you are possibly in violation of the various international treaties. Mosquitoes carrying “smallpox / aids / coronavirus” franken-viruses… You know, now that the United States is openly advancing war against Russia and China in every way except in open kenetic fighting, what do you think would happen if Asia decides to put an end once and for all to the horrible out-of-control United States monster?
Submarine 667-A Navaga scale model
Submarine 667-A Navaga scale model The model is made in the scale of 50:1, with internally illuminated compartments, and breakdown view, like all previous submarine projects. Building the model took two years by 6 people, part by part (nose, aft), collection of information and photographs took about 4 months more. The model is very large, it is 2,700 mm long. It was therefore decided to make it from two parts. Otherwise, it would be impossible neither to take it out of the room, nor to transport it. The body is made of laminated fiberglass. The materials used ranged from plastic and Plexiglas to metal, paper, and (new) sewer pipes. Next, you will find many photos and little text Figures of sailors were made of sets of pilots and airfield staff made by various companies in the scale of 48:1. They show all the flaws and shortcomings, but it is sometimes useful for work. Right in the model, one can fail to see them. The model was finished in 2013. Some “boxmakers” could see the aft part of the submarine at the Championship of Russia in 2013 at the Crocus Expo in Moscow. 0 ad15f cde0a782 orig 1 . 0 ad160 3392ecb6 orig . 0 ad162 9997c804 orig . 0 ad165 344cc3d4 orig . 0 ad16d bc8ca460 orig . 0 ad16e 57dd6e30 orig . 0 ad16f 4b9b7a23 orig . 0 ad170 98655d84 orig . 0 ad171 b63c725c orig . 0 ad172 9f7d1b69 orig . 0 ad173 88aad9bf orig . 0 ad174 e25110bf orig . 0 ad175 d4c5c166 orig . 0 ad176 7ae24345 orig . 0 ad177 96b17b4d orig . 0000 1q . 0 ad179 115b2a9c orig . 0 ad17a e992068e orig . 0 ad17b ca910974 orig . 0 ad17c 9c40ba3b orig . 0 ad17d 80e9de4c orig . 0 ad15e bd365315 orig . 0 ad17e 3960a8f7 orig . 0 ad17f 8258ac23 orig . 0 ad180 72c39f5c orig . 1111111a . 0 ad182 6d83ac47 orig . 0 ad183 db74b838 orig . 0 ad184 74f667c0 orig . 0 ad185 61e1fba1 orig . 0 ad186 6c3e70eb orig . 0 ad187 1ad34524 orig . 0 ad188 873144a7 orig . 0 ad189 409b681a orig
All this stuff about submarines…
It appears to be a subconscious theme running though MM this 4APR22. usually when MM picks up on these subconscious patterns it means that something is going on… …. be advised.
Day 36 of the Russian SMO in the Ukraine – a look at Ukrainian military
Map on April first Today, I want to comment on a topic I did not address yet: the quality of the Ukrainian armed forces. Over night, two Ukrainian helicopters flying at very low altitude and high speed flew across the Russian Ukrainian border, and in only six minutes of flight time found themselves next to a fuel storage facility near the Russian city of Belgorod. They both fired, one missed, but the second one hit perfectly and the entire fuel storage facility ignited. Not a big deal, the fire has been contained, but very embarrassing nonetheless 🙁 Another case: the night before yesterday a group of 5 Ukrainian helicopters took off from Nikolaev, flew 7 meters above the waves and landed in Mariupol. Their mission was to evacuate the leadership of the Azov force still hiding inside the Azovstal industrial facility. After they took off, two helicopters were shot down, but another three flew away, with a possible 3 helicopter ditching in the waters off the coast (unclear at this time). Why do I consider these two events very telling? Because it shows that the Ukrainian soldiers have A LOT of VERY REAL courage. Not only that, in both of these operations, a great deal of careful planning went into the preparations of these missions. So they are not only courageous, they are SMART. Yes, the Ukie Volkssturm is a joke, but not the entire Ukrainian military and most definitely not the Nazis of the Azov “battalion” (it is not really a battalion, but rather a regiment or a small brigade, but spread out in key sectors of the Ukrainian defenses). Why is that so important to realize? Because a HUGE battle is preparing in the Donbass. Quick reminder: While nobody knows the true size of the Ukrainian force surrounded in the Donbass, most observers place that force at about 60-80 thousand men. They are VERY well armed, courtesy of 7 years of mass delivery of weapons by the Empire of Lies. Their defenses are very solid, since they have been preparing them also for seven years. Furthermore, the Ukrainians are reportedly trying to bring in another major force from the central Ukraine to either reinforce their forces in the Donbass, or to help it to escape from their cauldron. On the other side, nobody really knows how many Russian/LDNR forces are being concentrated around the Donbass either. There are reports of “immense” columns of Russian forces moving towards the Donbass, including some the Russian forces which were deployed near Kiev to pin down Ukrainian forces away from the Donbass. The same feint was used by the Black Sea Fleet off the coast of Odessa. There are two ways to control a road: you can stand on the road, place a roadblock, maybe lay mines and generally by physically on top of that road. Or you can do that remotely, without stepping on the road but by being able to fire (small arms, RPG, artillery, CAS) at any vehicle driving on that road. The Russian “encirclement” of the Ukrainian force in the Donbass into 2 small cauldrons which themselves are locked in a bigger cauldron are a mix of these two techniques. In other words, the Ukrainians still have retained *some* ability to move on the ground. But only at VERY high risk. Keep in mind that the Donbass is pretty flat terrain and that the Russians have air supremacy. But, with enough luck, immense courage and determination, some APC or cars could try to move out, or reinforcements move in. Let’s look at these two options: Moving out: for a FEW vehicles, and with a lot of luck, that could still be doable. But for the overwhelming majority of the Ukrainian force on the Donbass, this not an option. Not only do they lack fuel, any big force would attract the attention of the Russians (which a 4 passenger car going at full speed in the dark might not) resulting in immediate strikes. Moving in: here the Ukrainian would still have fuel (or they would not even try, which they apparently are), but the problem is that it is impossible to hide any significant force from the Russians which could then use their long range artillery and close air support to destroy that force. I am personally very dubious as to the chances of any Ukrainian subunit to make it to the Donbass. And yet. The Ukrainian propaganda is beyond ridiculous, but we should NOT assume that if Ukie propagandists are clowns, so are the Ukrainian soldiers. The fact is that the Ukrainians never had the initiative, and they still don’t, and all their counter-attacks, including the airstrike on Belgorod, only had a limited and local effect. But that does not mean that they would not fight very hard for their lives, even when surrounded, even without air cover, with no ability to rotate forces and not enough fuel to engage in maneuver warfare. Here is what the map of the area of operations looks like today: Map on April first
The yellow circle is roughly the area where the outcome of this battle will be decided.
The small black arrow represents the likely Ukrainian effort to send in reinforcements
The big black arrow represents the move away from Kiev and towards the Donbass by Russian forces
Speaking about maps: while they do, more or less, show the military reality on the ground, they do not show the political realities the same way. The truth is that there are plenty of towns and cities which are blocked/surrounded by Russian forces, but which are still run by the “old”, Nazi, authorities. Yes, the Russians could go in and denazify these town and cities manu militari, but that would take time, results in casualties on both sides and ruin the civilian infrastructure. And the Russians sure don’t want, say, Kharkov to become a 2nd Mariupol.
[Sidebar: some of you must have heard that canard about the Russians “running out of ammo”, right? Well, local residents near the Ukrainian positions in the Donbass report that for three days the Russian artillery has been shelling the Ukrainian positions nonstop. In reality, anybody who has studied the Soviet and, later, Russian military knows that with the exception of some very modern systems which have just been deployed, Russia has huge stores of ammunition. In fact, when the Russians prepare a military offensive the expenditures in ammo, POL, and any other form of logistics required are carefully calculated. If not, then the order to attack will not be given. And, with a few exceptions, the kind of hardware and supplies the Russians are using in the Ukraine is both modern and plentiful. By the way, there are signs that the Ukrainian forces are running out of ammo, most of their shelling is directed at LDNR cities and result in scores of death and injured civilians on a daily basis]
One possible option would be to warn the Nazi authorities that while the Russian military won’t invade their city, the Russian can use special forces and means to target “just” these Nazi authorities. Yes, the Nazi will set up traps, like, say, placing the cellphone of a Nazi leader right on top of a Kindergarten, so the Russian intelligence services will have to do a lot of careful preparations and planning, or just make the threat and then wait for the Nazis to freak out and wonder where the promised missile will be aimed at. All this means the following:
The Russians need to take the Ukrainians much more seriously and if that means having early warning aircraft and interceptors on combat air patrol 24/7 – then that is what the Russians should do. A pair of MiG-31BM on constant high altitude CAP over the central Ukraine would be a good start.
While the outcome is not in doubt, the Russians need to be very careful and assume that the Ukrainians will fight with skills and courage.
I don’t like making predictions, even less so, time-related ones, but I think that we need to prepare ourselves for a major battle lasting several weeks, possibly even a month.
Have have to assume that the PSYOPs of the Empire of Lies will go in full attack mode, and since it will be very hard to make sense of what will be going on, we have to ready for a major attack on our minds.
Once that Ukrainian force in the Donbass is defeated this will basically mean the end of the 2nd phase of this Special Military Operation (SMO) and the very best and combat capable Ukrainian will have disappeared and a 3rd phase will begin, probably by an attack on the Nikolaev and Odessa regions.
Still, we need to remember that all wars are political in nature and that while the military “pain dial” is turned up quite high for the Ukrainians, the US PSYOPs are still telling the Ukrainians that they are winning and soon the first Ukie tanks will enter Moscow. The de facto fall of Mariupol (as evidenced by the desperate attempts to evacuate the Azov leaders by helicopter) is already a major blow for the Ukrainian narrative. But this blow pales in comparison to what will happen when the best forces the Ukraine has will simply disappear from the maps of the Donbass. At that point, no amount of hot air, grand statements or other lies will make a difference – such a defeat is impossible to conceal, it will make the news. Furthermore, we need to keep another thing always present in our minds: while in actual combat the Russians are facing Ukrainians, in the war itself Russia is not fighting the Nazis in Kiev, but the US/NATO/EU and their vassal states. It is also certain that the “Biden” administration does not want peace but, instead, they want that war to last as long as possible and to destroy as much of the Ukrainian population and civilian infrastructure as possible. And, of course, the Russians are not negotiating with the Nazis, they are negotiating with Uncle Shmuel via the Nazis. Big difference. Right now, some Ukrainians might be willing to look at reality and surrender just to save lives and the Ukrainian infrastructure. But they know that the Nazis will kill them or kidnap their family members (as has happened to one Ukrainian mayor). And these Nazis are taking orders only from many western “advisors” in Kiev who tell them “fight down to the last solider, then we will evacuate you“. You could say that the hardcore Ukronazis act like political commissars did during the Russian civil war. The Russians fought phase one of the SMO with a force which was deliberately kept smaller than the opposing Ukrainian force. But against an elite Ukrainian force deeply dug in in the heavily fortified defenses Russia will have to to do some combination of two things: more man and more firepower. And, by all accounts, that seems to be exactly what they are gearing up for. As many others have already pointed out, the chances of a false flag are extremely high, most likely some chemical attack, possibly in Kiev or Kharkov. Such an attack, while fake, will result in the usual hysterics of the Empire of Lies, so we all need to prepare ourselves for this too. The Empire of lies is so desperate now, that US PSYOPs claim that the Russian generals are afraid of telling Putin the “horrible truth” and that Shoigu is preparing a coup against Putin. Right now, the Ukronazis say that the Russians are on the run, but even the US Pentagon admits that the forces moved away from Kiev are only regrouping. Remember, in maneuver warfare you do not “hold terrain” anymore than you do in naval warfare, and that is what the first phase of the SMO was all about. But in the Donbass, holding terrain will become much more important and since both sides are very skilled and courageous, do NOT expect big movements on the map. Instead, expect several weeks of very severe “grinding down” of Ukrainian defenses followed by slow and deliberate movements, mostly short distance – from a few hundred meters to a few clicks. I hope that the above will be helpful once the 2nd phase is fully launched. One more thing: western military aid to the Ukraine. Most of it is in Poland. True, there is A LOT of western kit found in Mariupol or the Donbass, but that stuff was brought in long ago. Just look at the map, look at where the Polish-Ukrainian border is and then look at where the yellow circle is. In order to make a difference, western weapon systems need to get across the entire Ukraine and enter into a highly contested and dangerous area. How can such a delivery be made? Three options:
Road
Train
Air
In all three cases, if the force is tiny, say a few cars fill with MANPADs, there is a chance to make it, albeit a small one and such a “delivery” would be fantastically dangerous. But the Ukrainians have now PROVEN that they can be very tough and very smart. But such tiny reinforcements won’t make any difference. Now a bigger force might, but it would be instantly detected and attacked by Russians standoff weapons, close air support and long range artillery. So all this stuff about sending weapons to the Ukrainians really is a load of crap. It’s just irrelevant fake news. So far the Russians did not consider such a possibility as significant, hence the fact that they did not blow up any bridges, remotely mined any roads or destroyed any train tracks (that I am aware of). But if the risk of a significant reinforcements from the western Ukraine become a real threat, you can rest assured that the Russians will do all of the above, especially since there are very few towns and civilians in some parts of this track to the East. So far the Russian policy was to let the (covert) NATO forces to gather in an assembly area and only then hit them really hard. This is a very effective strategy which the NATO forces have found no way to counter (if only because NATO air defenses are a joke, even against trans-sonic and subsonic missiles and drone). Finally, the Ukrainians don’t have any air force left, and no navy, but they have proven that they still can use helicopters flying very low and fast, especially at night when local air defense operators might mistake them for a Russian helicopter (friendly fire is always a major risk in warfare). BTW – a helicopter is a hard target, not only do they fly very low, they can fly both fast (say to avoid a MANPAD) or very slow, to hide for fighters and interceptors. A slowly moving and low flying helicopter is a difficult target for fighter aircraft’s radar and infrared search and track system. A hilly or mountainous terrain makes detection even harder. Russian attack helicopters all have air to air capabilities, both gun and missile, and so they can be very effectively used against Ukrainian helicopters (which are a full generation behind modern Russian helicopters) but you need to have them ready and you need to have them fly under air cover. So that is doable, it just takes time.
Conclusion:
Phase one, pure maneuver warfare is over and it was a military success. Politically, it was pretty close to a failure, not only did the PSYOPS of the Empire of Lies totally crush the rather clumsy and primitive Russian counter-propaganda efforts, the Russians also failed to realize that they could not count on the local civilians authorities to simply do their job under a new flag. Which means that Russia failed to properly denazify even the towns and cities which were deep in the Russian rear. Now that miscalculation will have to be fixed the hard way: with more men and more firepower. Phase two of this war will be the liquidation of the Donbass cauldron and it will decide the outcome of this war (not that this outcome was ever in doubt). On a personal note, I will only add that the past month has convinced me that Russia should NOT permanently occupy more of the Ukraine than the “full” LDNR plus the entire Ukrainian Black Sea coast. But neither can Russia leave a the Ukraine like a Petri dish for Nazi toxins, so it seems to me that the optimal solution would be a breakup of the country into several successor states: neutral, with only police forces and light arms and with a clear understanding that Russia has the means to militarily intervene at any minute should the successor states attempt to violate their neutral, unarmed and denazified status. Will that happen? I don’t know, Putin has already surprised me twice with very risky operations which I would have recommended against (Syria and that “big” SMO in lieu of a “small” liberation of “just” the LDNR). Considering that Russia has used only a small fraction of her armed forces, it is impossible for me to predict what Putin and the Russian General Staff will decide after the second phase of this SMO is over. Finally, I am going to take the next two days off, barring some major developments, of course. So until Monday, then, God willing. Andrei
Japan Blindly followed the United States to Sanction Russia ending with self infected injuries:
14 Japan Power Retailers Exiting Business as Energy Crunch Worsens . The war in Ukraine is making a bad situation worse for Japanese power providers struggling with the energy crisis, forcing more companies to quit the business. In the last month, at least four companies halted power retail operations, as a surge in wholesale electricity prices makes it challenging to procure stable supply and turn a profit. At least seven temporarily halted taking on new customer
Zhao Condemns “Insane Actions” of West, Banning Russian Art and Literature, Stealing Private Property
Zhao Lijian (China) on Friday made some rather poignant statements about the behavior of the West in response to the ongoing border skirmish in the former USSR, calling it “insane.”
Zhao said:
I heard that Russian conductors were fired by orchastras in certain Western countries for refusing to condemn their motherland, and Russian movies were excluded from certain film awards. In university, the works of Dostoyevsky were banned. The display of the letter “Z” was banned in certain countries.Western politicians often talk about how literature and art transcend borders, and the same goes for music. They also say “private property is inviolable.” So, what have these writers and musicians done wrong? Meanwhile, the private property of so many Russians has been frozen or confiscated.Let’s hope that Western politicians will reflect on these principles they keep talking about. Their insane actions are not going to do anything good, and they’re not going to deescalate this situation. I hope that all parties can just calm down, and start working on peace talks, instead of escalating sanctions and tensions.
Whatever you think of either side of this conflict, there cannot be any claim that the West has not consistently violated its own supposed “values,” and it’s important to point that out.
We seriously underestimated Russia and our own propaganda is killing us.
Remember when American analysts painted a very specific picture of the Russian armed forces, and it was proven completely wrong? The media seems to have memory-holed literally everything we’ve said about Russia for the past eight years, but I remember. The Russians (according to NATO) before Feb. 24:
Only capable of defensive and limited offensive operations
Transport limited and heavily dependent on railways
Logistical problems. Any large-scale offensive would need to be paused after three days due to logistical limitations.
A hypothetical Russian invasion could be defeated by a combination of air power and guerrilla warfare.
Here’s a [quoted] segment written by Alex Vershinin for War on the Rocks last November. This is the example I chose, and almost every other NATO analysis I read more or less matches up with this one – they were all based on the same wargames and studies by RAND. RAND. Eh? The same people who laid out the Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Taiwan “pivots”, as well as the Hong Kong, Tibet, and Uighur (Xinjiang) operations. Brilliant. They have a near perfect recod of FAILURE. Well Duh! .
Comment from “Don”
Im 61, ex military (r we eva ex?).
Never seen so much media control, like a heavy fog, hence this site is valuable.
My 2 cents worth.
Never underestimate Russia, esp when run by team Putin.
Dot points.
Threat to north / Kiev brilliant magnet for drawing in UA resources away from South East.
Divide and conquor, as Ceaser did, then destroy them piecemeal.
Social meadia western armchair warriors will look more foolish as time moves on.
Western fake news will increasingly reduce western credibility as the reality on the ground emerges.
UA morale will fall rapidly like coming off two weeks of meth with only tabacco and vodka availiable.
The UA is becoming a broken failed state.
This tactic is detroying UA.
Identify troop barracks in use, destroy with precision strikes overnight.
Same therapy for fuel ammo, bases, supplies, defence industry transit routes i.e. railways.
Rinse repeat.
Let social media hype the underdog. That merely strengthens Russian resolve.
Dont they understand Russians even a little?
Meanwhile USA leadership weakness is a real eye opener.
The US empire is disintegrating before it ever became civilized.
Negotiations?
Russia will be seen to be giving them a go.
But UA will be broken up and lucky if it keeps Odessa.
Biden let it out that US troops and Poland have a contingency.
That is the west gets western UA as a neutered proxy with Nazis and Kiev.
It will be kinda like West / East Germany.
How this comes about I dont know.
With Russian permission for starters and Russias security buffer intact.
Bad ending predicted for Zel.
Thats my take.
Thats if we survive till then. No guarantees esp with team dementia, moron, dementia. 1,2,3 Biden Harris Pelosi.
Prediction?
Shit always goes down around Easter for some reason.
We'll see...
Posted by: Dom
‘Rublegas:’ the world’s new resource-based reserve currency
Rublegas is the commodity currency du jour and it isn’t nearly as complicated as NATO pretends. If Europe wants gas, all it needs to do is send its Euros to a Russian account inside Russia.
By Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and cross-posted with The Cradle
Saddam, Gaddafi, Iran, Venezuela – they all tried but couldn’t do it. But Russia is on a different level altogether. The beauty of the game-changing, gas-for-rubles, geoeconomic jujitsu applied by Moscow is its stark simplicity. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s presidential decree on new payment terms for energy products, predictably, was misunderstood by the collective west. The Russian government is not exactly demanding straightforward payment for gas in rubles. What Moscow wants is to be paid at Gazprombank in Russia, in its currency of choice, and not at a Gazprom account in any banking institution in western capitals. That’s the essence of less-is-more sophistication. Gazprombank will sell the foreign currency – dollars or euros – deposited by their customers on the Moscow Stock Exchange and credit it to different accounts in rubles within Gazprombank. What this means in practice is that foreign currency should be sent directly to Russia, and not accumulated in a foreign bank – where it can easily be held hostage, or frozen, for that matter. All these transactions from now on should be transferred to a Russian jurisdiction – thus eliminating the risk of payments being interrupted or outright blocked. It’s no wonder the subservient European Union (EU) apparatus – actively engaged in destroying their own national economies on behalf of Washington’s interests – is intellectually unequipped to understand the complex matter of exchanging euros into rubles. Gazprom made things easier this Friday, sending official notifications to its counterparts in the west and Japan. Putin himself was forced to explain in writing to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz how it all works. Once again, very simple: Customers open an account with Gazprombank in Russia. Payments are made in foreign currency – dollars or euros – converted into rubles according to the current exchange rate, and transferred to different Gazprom accounts. Thus it is 100 percent guaranteed that Gazprom will be paid. That’s in stark contrast to what the United States was forcing the Europeans to do: pay for Russian gas in Gazprom accounts in Europe, which would then be instantly frozen. These accounts would only be unblocked with the end of Operation Z, Russia’s military ops in Ukraine. Yet the Americans want the war to go on indefinitely, to “bog down” Moscow as if this was Afghanistan in the 1980s, and have strictly forbidden the Ukrainian Comedian in front of a green screen somewhere – certainly not Kiev – to accept any ceasefire or peace deal. So Gazprom accounts in Europe would continue to be frozen. As Scholz was still trying to understand the obvious, his economic minions went berserk, floating the idea of nationalizing Gazprom’s subsidiaries – Gazprom Germania and Wingas – in case Russia decides to halt the gas flow. This is ridiculous. It’s as if Berlin functionaries believe that Gazprom subsidiaries produce natural gas in centrally heated offices across Germany. The new rubles-for-gas mechanism does not in any way violate existing contracts. Yet, as Putin warned, existing contracts may indeed be stopped: “If such [ruble] payments are not made, we will consider this to be the buyers’ failure to perform commitments with all ensuing implications.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov was adamant that the mechanism will not be reversed under the current, dire circumstances. Still that does not mean that the gas flow would be instantly cut off. Payment in rubles will be expected from ‘The Unfriendlies’ – a list of hostile states that includes mostly the US, Canada, Japan and the EU – in the second half of April and early May. For the overwhelming majority of the Global South, the overarching Big Picture is crystal clear: an Atlanticist oligarchy is refusing to buy the Russian gas essential to the wellbeing of the population of Europe, while fully engaged in the weaponization of toxic inflation rates against the same population. Beyond Rublegas This gas-for-rubles mechanism – call it Rublegas – is just the first concrete building block in the construction of an alternative financial/monetary system, in tandem with many other mechanisms: ruble-rupee trade; the Saudi petroyuan; the Iran-Russia SWIFT- bypassing mechanism; and the most important of all, the China-Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) design of a comprehensive financial/monetary system, with the first draft to be presented in the next few days. And all of the above is directly linked to the stunning emergence of the ruble as a new, resource-based reserve currency. After the predictable initial stages of denial, the EU – actually, Germany – must face reality. The EU depends on steady supplies of Russian gas (40 percent) and oil (25 percent). The sanction hysteria has already engineered certified blowback. Natural gas accounts for 50 percent of the needs of Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries. There’s no feasible replacement, be it from Algeria, Norway, Qatar or Turkmenistan. Germany is the EU’s industrial powerhouse. Only Russian gas is capable of keeping the German – and European – industrial base humming and at very affordable prices in case of long-term contracts. Disrupt this set up and you have horrifying turbulence across the EU and beyond. The inimitable Andrei Martyanov has summed it up this way: “Only two things define the world: the actual physical economy, and military power, which is its first derivative. Everything else are derivatives but you cannot live on derivatives.” The American turbo-capitalist casino believes its own derivative “narrative” – which has nothing to do with the real economy. The EU will eventually be forced by reality to move from denial to acceptance. Meanwhile, the Global South will be fast adapting to the new paradigm: the Davos Great Reset has been shattered by the Russian Reset.
Its importance comes due to the fact that its author, Jacques Baud, a retired colonel in the Swiss intelligence service, was variously a highly placed, major participant in NATO training operations in Ukraine.
A literal translation appeared at The Postil (April 1, 2022). I have gone back to the original French and edited the article down some and rendered it, I hope, in more idiomatic English. I do not think in editing it I have damaged Baud’s fascinating account. For in a real sense, what he has done is “to let the cat out of the bag.”
In the past I’ve read accounts and reports that either confirm or in some way match the narrative that he offers. Some of these that I’ve written about or cited are by: Dr. John Mearsheimer, Archbishop Carlo Vigano, Glenn Greenwald, Sohrab Ahmari, Colonel Douglas Macgregor, Mike Whitney, and others. But none of these writers has offered the first-hand, in depth, and comprehensive account as Colonel Baud, clearly and knowledgeably, has done.
It is still a bit lengthy, despite my editing.
But I urge you to read and ponder Baud’s commentary. Along with the historical accounts of historian John Mearsheimer, it should be required reading for those zealous policy hawks, both in the GOP and the Democratic Party, who are pushing us into World War III:
For years, from Mali to Afghanistan, I have worked for peace and risked my life for it. It is therefore not a question of justifying war, but of understanding what led us to it. [….]
Let’s try to examine the roots of the [Ukrainian] conflict. It starts with those who for the last eight years have been talking about “separatists” or “independentists” from Donbass. This is a misnomer. The referendums conducted by the two self-proclaimed Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in May 2014, were not referendums of “independence” (независимость), as some unscrupulous journalists have claimed, but referendums of “self-determination” or “autonomy” (самостоятельность). The qualifier “pro-Russian” suggests that Russia was a party to the conflict, which was not the case, and the term “Russian speakers” would have been more honest. Moreover, these referendums were conducted against the advice of Vladimir Putin.
In fact, these Republics were not seeking to separate from Ukraine, but to have a status of autonomy, guaranteeing them the use of the Russian language as an official language–because the first legislative act of the new government resulting from the American-sponsored overthrow of [the democratically-elected] President Yanukovych, was the abolition, on February 23, 2014, of the Kivalov-Kolesnichenko law of 2012 that made Russian an official language in Ukraine. A bit like if German putschists decided that French and Italian would no longer be official languages in Switzerland.
This decision caused a storm in the Russian-speaking population. The result was fierce repression against the Russian-speaking regions (Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Lugansk and Donetsk) which was carried out beginning in February 2014 and led to a militarization of the situation and some horrific massacres of the Russian population (in Odessa and Mariupol, the most notable).
At this stage, too rigid and engrossed in a doctrinaire approach to operations, the Ukrainian general staff subdued the enemy but without managing to actually prevail. The war waged by the autonomists [consisted in].… highly mobile operations conducted with light means. With a more flexible and less doctrinaire approach, the rebels were able to exploit the inertia of Ukrainian forces to repeatedly “trap” them.
In 2014, when I was at NATO, I was responsible for the fight against the proliferation of small arms, and we were trying to detect Russian arms deliveries to the rebels, to see if Moscow was involved. The information we received then came almost entirely from Polish intelligence services and did not “fit” with the information coming from the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]—and despite rather crude allegations, there were no deliveries of weapons and military equipment from Russia.
The rebels were armed thanks to the defection of Russian-speaking Ukrainian units that went over to the rebel side. As Ukrainian failures continued, tank, artillery and anti-aircraft battalions swelled the ranks of the autonomists. This is what pushed the Ukrainians to commit to the Minsk Agreements.
But just after signing the Minsk 1 Agreements, the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko launched a massive “anti-terrorist operation” (ATO/Антитерористична операція) against the Donbass. Poorly advised by NATO officers, the Ukrainians suffered a crushing defeat in Debaltsevo, which forced them to engage in the Minsk 2 Agreements.
It is essential to recall here that Minsk 1 (September 2014) and Minsk 2 (February 2015) Agreements did not provide for the separation or independence of the Republics, but their autonomy within the framework of Ukraine. Those who have read the Agreements (there are very few who actually have) will note that it is written that the status of the Republics was to be negotiated between Kiev and the representatives of the Republics, for an internal solution within Ukraine.
That is why since 2014, Russia has systematically demanded the implementation of the Minsk Agreements while refusing to be a party to the negotiations, because it was an internal matter of Ukraine. On the other side, the West—led by France—systematically tried to replace Minsk Agreements with the “Normandy format,” which put Russians and Ukrainians face-to-face. However, let us remember that there were never any Russian troops in the Donbass before 23-24 February 2022. Moreover, OSCE observers have never observed the slightest trace of Russian units operating in the Donbass before then. For example, the U.S. intelligence map published by the Washington Post on December 3, 2021 does not show Russian troops in the Donbass.
In October 2015, Vasyl Hrytsak, director of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), confessed that only 56 Russian fighters had been observed in the Donbass. This was exactly comparable to the Swiss who went to fight in Bosnia on weekends, in the 1990s, or the French who go to fight in Ukraine today.
The Ukrainian army was then in a deplorable state. In October 2018, after four years of war, the chief Ukrainian military prosecutor, Anatoly Matios, stated that Ukraine had lost 2,700 men in the Donbass: 891 from illnesses, 318 from road accidents, 177 from other accidents, 175 from poisonings (alcohol, drugs), 172 from careless handling of weapons, 101 from breaches of security regulations, 228 from murders and 615 from suicides.
In fact, the Ukrainian army was undermined by the corruption of its cadres and no longer enjoyed the support of the population. According to a British Home Office report, in the March/April 2014 recall of reservists, 70 percent did not show up for the first session, 80 percent for the second, 90 percent for the third, and 95 percent for the fourth. In October/November 2017, 70% of conscripts did not show up for the “Fall 2017” recall campaign. This is not counting suicides and desertions (often over to the autonomists), which reached up to 30 percent of the workforce in the ATO area. Young Ukrainians refused to go and fight in the Donbass and preferred emigration, which also explains, at least partially, the demographic deficit of the country.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense then turned to NATO to help make its armed forces more “attractive.” Having already worked on similar projects within the framework of the United Nations, I was asked by NATO to participate in a program to restore the image of the Ukrainian armed forces. But this is a long-term process and the Ukrainians wanted to move quickly.
So, to compensate for the lack of soldiers, the Ukrainian government resorted to paramilitary militias…. In 2020, they constituted about 40 percent of the Ukrainian forces and numbered about 102,000 men, according to Reuters. They were armed, financed and trained by the United States, Great Britain, Canada and France. There were more than 19 nationalities.
These militias had been operating in the Donbass since 2014, with Western support. Even if one can argue about the term “Nazi,” the fact remains that these militias are violent, convey a nauseating ideology and are virulently anti-Semitic…[and] are composed of fanatical and brutal individuals. The best known of these is the Azov Regiment, whose emblem is reminiscent of the 2nd SS Das Reich Panzer Division, which is revered in the Ukraine for liberating Kharkov from the Soviets in 1943, before carrying out the 1944 Oradour-sur-Glane massacre in France. [….]
So, the West supported and continued to arm militias that have been guilty of numerous crimes against civilian populations since 2014: rape, torture and massacres….
The integration of these paramilitary forces into the Ukrainian National Guard was not at all accompanied by a “denazification,” as some claim.
Among the many examples, that of the Azov Regiment’s insignia is instructive:
2022 04 03 11 00
In 2022, very schematically, the Ukrainian armed forces fighting the Russian offensive were organized as:
The Army, subordinated to the Ministry of Defense. It is organized into 3 army corps and composed of maneuver formations (tanks, heavy artillery, missiles, etc.).
The National Guard, which depends on the Ministry of the Interior and is organized into 5 territorial commands.
The National Guard is therefore a territorial defense force that is not part of the Ukrainian army. It includes paramilitary militias, called “volunteer battalions” (добровольчі батальйоні), also known by the evocative name of “reprisal battalions,” and composed of infantry. Primarily trained for urban combat, they now defend cities such as Kharkov, Mariupol, Odessa, Kiev, etc.
Part Two: The War
As a former head of analysis of Warsaw Pact forces in the Swiss strategic intelligence service, I observe with sadness—but not astonishment—that our services are no longer able to understand the military situation in Ukraine. The self-proclaimed “experts” who parade on our TV screens tirelessly relay the same information modulated by the claim that Russia—and Vladimir Putin—is irrational. Let’s take a step back.
The Outbreak Of War
Since November 2021, the Americans have been constantly threatening a Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, the Ukrainians at first did not seem to agree. Why not?
We have to go back to March 24, 2021. On that day, Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree for the recapture of the Crimea, and began to deploy his forces to the south of the country. At the same time, several NATO exercises were conducted between the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea, accompanied by a significant increase in reconnaissance flights along the Russian border. Russia then conducted several exercises to test the operational readiness of its troops and to show that it was following the evolution of the situation.
Things calmed down until October-November with the end of the ZAPAD 21 exercises, whose troop movements were interpreted as a reinforcement for an offensive against Ukraine. However, even the Ukrainian authorities refuted the idea of Russian preparations for a war, and Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukrainian Minister of Defense, states that there had been no change on its border since the spring.
In violation of the Minsk Agreements, Ukraine was conducting air operations in Donbass using drones, including at least one strike against a fuel depot in Donetsk in October 2021. The American press noted this, but not the Europeans; and no one condemned these violations.
In February 2022, events came to a head. On February 7, during his visit to Moscow, Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed to Vladimir Putin his commitment to the Minsk Agreements, a commitment he would repeat after his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky the next day. But on February 11, in Berlin, after nine hours of work, the meeting of political advisors to the leaders of the “Normandy format” ended without any concrete result: the Ukrainians still refused to apply the Minsk Agreements, apparently under pressure from the United States. Vladimir Putin noted that Macron had made empty promises and that the West was not ready to enforce the agreements, the same opposition to a settlement it had exhibited for eight years.
Ukrainian preparations in the contact zone continued. The Russian Parliament became alarmed; and on February 15 it asked Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of the Republics, which he initially refused to do.
On 17 February, President Joe Biden announced that Russia would attack Ukraine in the next few days. How did he know this? It is a mystery. But since the 16th, the artillery shelling of the population of Donbass had increased dramatically, as the daily reports of the OSCE observers show. Naturally, neither the media, nor the European Union, nor NATO, nor any Western government reacted or intervened. It would be said later that this was Russian disinformation. In fact, it seems that the European Union and some countries have deliberately kept silent about the massacre of the Donbass population, knowing that this would provoke a Russian intervention.
At the same time, there were reports of sabotage in the Donbass. On 18 January, Donbass fighters intercepted saboteurs, who spoke Polish and were equipped with Western equipment and who were seeking to create chemical incidents in Gorlivka. They could have been CIA mercenaries, led or “advised” by Americans and composed of Ukrainian or European fighters, to carry out sabotage actions in the Donbass Republics.
In fact, as early as February 16, Joe Biden knew that the Ukrainians had begun intense shelling the civilian population of Donbass, forcing Vladimir Putin to make a difficult choice: to help Donbass militarily and create an international problem, or to stand by and watch the Russian-speaking people of Donbass being crushed.
If he decided to intervene, Putin could invoke the international obligation of “Responsibility To Protect” (R2P). But he knew that whatever its nature or scale, the intervention would trigger a storm of sanctions. Therefore, whether Russian intervention were limited to the Donbass or went further to put pressure on the West over the status of the Ukraine, the price to pay would be the same. This is what he explained in his speech on February 21. On that day, he agreed to the request of the Duma and recognized the independence of the two Donbass Republics and, at the same time, he signed friendship and assistance treaties with them.
The Ukrainian artillery bombardment of the Donbass population continued, and, on 23 February, the two Republics asked for military assistance from Russia. On 24 February, Vladimir Putin invoked Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which provides for mutual military assistance in the framework of a defensive alliance.
In order to make the Russian intervention seem totally illegal in the eyes of the public, Western powers deliberately hid the fact that the war actually started on February 16. The Ukrainian army was preparing to attack the Donbass as early as 2021, as some Russian and European intelligence services were well aware.
In his speech of February 24, Vladimir Putin stated the two objectives of his operation: “demilitarize” and “denazify” the Ukraine. So, it was not a question of taking over Ukraine, nor even, presumably, of occupying it; and certainly not of destroying it.
From then on, our knowledge of the course of the operation is limited: the Russians have excellent security for their operations (OPSEC) and the details of their planning are not known. But fairly quickly, the course of the operation allows us to understand how the strategic objectives were translated on the operational level.
Demilitarization:
ground destruction of Ukrainian aviation, air defense systems and reconnaissance assets;
neutralization of command and intelligence structures (C3I), as well as the main logistical routes in the depth of the territory;
encirclement of the bulk of the Ukrainian army massed in the southeast of the country.
Denazification:
destruction or neutralization of volunteer battalions operating in the cities of Odessa, Kharkov, and Mariupol, as well as in various facilities in the territory.
Demilitarization
The Russian offensive was carried out in a very “classic” manner. Initially—as the Israelis had done in 1967—with the destruction on the ground of the air force in the very first hours. Then, we witnessed a simultaneous progression along several axes according to the principle of “flowing water”: advance everywhere where resistance was weak and leave the cities (very demanding in terms of troops) for later. In the north, the Chernobyl power plant was occupied immediately to prevent acts of sabotage. The images of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers guarding the plant together are of course not shown.
The idea that Russia is trying to take over Kiev, the capital, to eliminate Zelensky, comes typically from the West…. But Vladimir Putin never intended to shoot or topple Zelensky. Instead, Russia seeks to keep him in power by pushing him to negotiate, by surrounding Kiev. The Russians want to obtain the neutrality of Ukraine.
Many Western commentators were surprised that the Russians continued to seek a negotiated solution while conducting military operations. The explanation lies in the Russian strategic outlook since the Soviet era. For the West, war begins when politics ends. However, the Russian approach follows a Clausewitzian inspiration: war is the continuity of politics and one can move fluidly from one to the other, even during combat. This allows one to create pressure on the adversary and push him to negotiate.
From an operational point of view, the Russian offensive was an example of previous military action and planning: in six days, the Russians seized a territory as large as the United Kingdom, with a speed of advance greater than what the Wehrmacht had achieved in 1940.
The bulk of the Ukrainian army was deployed in the south of the country in preparation for a major operation against the Donbass. This is why Russian forces were able to encircle it from the beginning of March in the “cauldron” between Slavyansk, Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk, with a thrust from the East through Kharkov and another from the South from Crimea. Troops from the Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (LPR) Republics are complementing the Russian forces with a push from the East.
At this stage, Russian forces are slowly tightening the noose, but are no longer under any time pressure or schedule. Their demilitarization goal is all but achieved and the remaining Ukrainian forces no longer have an operational and strategic command structure.
The “slowdown” that our “experts” attribute to poor logistics is only the consequence of having achieved their objectives. Russia does not want to engage in an occupation of the entire Ukrainian territory. In fact, it appears that Russia is trying to limit its advance to the linguistic border of the country.
Our media speak of indiscriminate bombardments against the civilian population, especially in Kharkov, and horrific images are widely broadcast. However, Gonzalo Lira, a Latin American correspondent who lives there, presents us with a calm city on March 10 and March 11. It is true that it is a large city and we do not see everything—but this seems to indicate that we are not in the total war that we are served continuously on our TV screens. As for the Donbass Republics, they have “liberated” their own territories and are fighting in the city of Mariupol.
Denazification
In cities like Kharkov, Mariupol and Odessa, the Ukrainian defense is provided by the paramilitary militias. They know that the objective of “denazification” is aimed primarily at them. For an attacker in an urbanized area, civilians are a problem. This is why Russia is seeking to create humanitarian corridors to empty cities of civilians and leave only the militias, to fight them more easily.
Conversely, these militias seek to keep civilians in the cities from evacuating in order to dissuade the Russian army from fighting there. This is why they are reluctant to implement these corridors and do everything to ensure that Russian efforts are unsuccessful—they use the civilian population as “human shields.” Videos showing civilians trying to leave Mariupol and beaten up by fighters of the Azov regiment are of course carefully censored by the Western media.
On Facebook, the Azov group was considered in the same category as the Islamic State [ISIS] and subject to the platform’s “policy on dangerous individuals and organizations.” It was therefore forbidden to glorify its activities, and “posts” that were favorable to it were systematically banned. But on February 24, Facebook changed its policy and allowed posts favorable to the militia. In the same spirit, in March, the platform authorized, in the former Eastern countries, calls for the murder of Russian soldiers and leaders. So much for the values that inspire our leaders.
Our media propagate a romantic image of popular resistance by the Ukrainian people. It is this image that led the European Union to finance the distribution of arms to the civilian population. In my capacity as head of peacekeeping at the UN, I worked on the issue of civilian protection. We found that violence against civilians occurred in very specific contexts. In particular, when weapons are abundant and there are no command structures.
These command structures are the essence of armies: their function is to channel the use of force towards an objective. By arming citizens in a haphazard manner, as is currently the case, the EU is turning them into combatants, with the consequential effect of making them potential targets. Moreover, without command, without operational goals, the distribution of arms leads inevitably to settling of scores, banditry and actions that are more deadly than effective. War becomes a matter of emotions. Force becomes violence. This is what happened in Tawarga (Libya) from 11 to 13 August 2011, where 30,000 black Africans were massacred with weapons parachuted (illegally) by France. By the way, the British Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (RUSI) does not see any added value in these arms deliveries.
Moreover, by delivering arms to a country at war, one exposes oneself to being considered a belligerent. The Russian strikes of March 13, 2022, against the Mykolayev air base follow Russian warnings that arms shipments would be treated as hostile targets.
The EU is repeating the disastrous experience of the Third Reich in the final hours of the Battle of Berlin. War must be left to the military and when one side has lost, it must be admitted. And if there is to be resistance, it must be led and structured. But we are doing exactly the opposite—we are pushing citizens to go and fight, and at the same time, Facebook authorizes calls for the murder of Russian soldiers and leaders. So much for the values that inspire us.
Some intelligence services see this irresponsible decision as a way to use the Ukrainian population as cannon fodder to fight Vladimir Putin’s Russia…. It would have been better to engage in negotiations and thus obtain guarantees for the civilian population than to add fuel to the fire. It is easy to be combative with the blood of others.
The Maternity Hospital At Mariupol
It is important to understand beforehand that it is not the Ukrainian army that is defending Mariupol, but the Azov militia, composed of foreign mercenaries.
In its March 7, 2022 summary of the situation, the Russian UN mission in New York stated that “Residents report that Ukrainian armed forces expelled staff from the Mariupol city birth hospital No. 1 and set up a firing post inside the facility.” On March 8, the independent Russian media Lenta.ru, published the testimony of civilians from Mariupol who told that the maternity hospital was taken over by the militia of the Azov regiment, and who drove out the civilian occupants by threatening them with their weapons. They confirmed the statements of the Russian ambassador a few hours earlier.
The hospital in Mariupol occupies a dominant position, perfectly suited for the installation of anti-tank weapons and for observation. On 9 March, Russian forces struck the building. According to CNN, 17 people were wounded, but the images do not show any casualties in the building and there is no evidence that the victims mentioned are related to this strike. There is talk of children, but in reality, there is nothing. This does not prevent the leaders of the EU from seeing this as a war crime. And this allows Zelensky to call for a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
In reality, we do not know exactly what happened. But the sequence of events tends to confirm that Russian forces struck a position of the Azov regiment and that the maternity ward was then free of civilians.
The problem is that the paramilitary militias that defend the cities are encouraged by the international community not to respect the rules of war. It seems that the Ukrainians have replayed the scenario of the Kuwait City maternity hospital in 1990, which was totally staged by the firm Hill & Knowlton for $10.7 million in order to convince the United Nations Security Council to intervene in Iraq for Operation Desert Shield/Storm.
Western politicians have accepted civilian strikes in the Donbass for eight years without adopting any sanctions against the Ukrainian government. We have long since entered a dynamic where Western politicians have agreed to sacrifice international law towards their goal of weakening Russia.
Part Three: Conclusions
As an ex-intelligence professional, the first thing that strikes me is the total absence of Western intelligence services in accurately representing the situation over the past year…. In fact, it seems that throughout the Western world intelligence services have been overwhelmed by the politicians. The problem is that it is the politicians who decide—the best intelligence service in the world is useless if the decision-maker does not listen. This is what has happened during this crisis.
That said, while a few intelligence services had a very accurate and rational picture of the situation, others clearly had the same picture as that propagated by our media… The problem is that, from experience, I have found them to be extremely bad at the analytical level—doctrinaire, they lack the intellectual and political independence necessary to assess a situation with military “quality.”
Second, it seems that in some European countries, politicians have deliberately responded ideologically to the situation. That is why this crisis has been irrational from the beginning. It should be noted that all the documents that were presented to the public during this crisis were presented by politicians based on commercial sources.
Some Western politicians obviously wanted there to be a conflict. In the United States, the attack scenarios presented by Anthony Blinken to the UN Security Council were only the product of the imagination of a Tiger Team working for him—he did exactly as Donald Rumsfeld did in 2002, who “bypassed” the CIA and other intelligence services that were much less assertive about Iraqi chemical weapons.
The dramatic developments we are witnessing today have causes that we knew about but refused to see:
on the strategic level, the expansion of NATO (which we have not dealt with here);
on the political level, the Western refusal to implement the Minsk Agreements;
and operationally, the continuous and repeated attacks on the civilian population of the Donbass over the past years and the dramatic increase in late February 2022.
In other words, we can naturally deplore and condemn the Russian attack. But WE (that is: the United States, France and the European Union in the lead) have created the conditions for a conflict to break out. We show compassion for the Ukrainian people and the two million refugees. That is fine. But if we had had a modicum of compassion for the same number of refugees from the Ukrainian populations of Donbass massacred by their own government and who sought refuge in Russia for eight years, none of this would probably have happened.
[….]
Whether the term “genocide” applies to the abuses suffered by the people of Donbass is an open question. The term is generally reserved for cases of greater magnitude (Holocaust, etc.). But the definition given by the Genocide Convention is probably broad enough to apply to this case.
Clearly, this conflict has led us into hysteria. Sanctions seem to have become the preferred tool of our foreign policies. If we had insisted that Ukraine abide by the Minsk Agreements, which we had negotiated and endorsed, none of this would have happened. Vladimir Putin’s condemnation is also ours. There is no point in whining afterwards—we should have acted earlier. However, neither Emmanuel Macron (as guarantor and member of the UN Security Council), nor Olaf Scholz, nor Volodymyr Zelensky have respected their commitments. In the end, the real defeat is that of those who have no voice.
The European Union was unable to promote the implementation of the Minsk agreements—on the contrary, it did not react when Ukraine was bombing its own population in the Donbass. Had it done so, Vladimir Putin would not have needed to react. Absent from the diplomatic phase, the EU distinguished itself by fueling the conflict. On February 27, the Ukrainian government agreed to enter into negotiations with Russia. But a few hours later, the European Union voted a budget of 450 million euros to supply arms to the Ukraine, adding fuel to the fire. From then on, the Ukrainians felt that they did not need to reach an agreement. The resistance of the Azov militia in Mariupol even led to a boost of 500 million euros for weapons.
In Ukraine, with the blessing of the Western countries, those who are in favor of a negotiation have been eliminated. This is the case of Denis Kireyev, one of the Ukrainian negotiators, assassinated on March 5 by the Ukrainian secret service (SBU) because he was too favorable to Russia and was considered a traitor. The same fate befell Dmitry Demyanenko, former deputy head of the SBU’s main directorate for Kiev and its region, who was assassinated on March 10 because he was too favorable to an agreement with Russia—he was shot by the Mirotvorets (“Peacemaker”) militia. This militia is associated with the Mirotvorets website, which lists the “enemies of Ukraine,” with their personal data, addresses and telephone numbers, so that they can be harassed or even eliminated; a practice that is punishable in many countries, but not in the Ukraine. The UN and some European countries have demanded the closure of this site—but that demand was refused by the Rada [Ukrainian parliament].
In the end, the price will be high, but Vladimir Putin will likely achieve the goals he set for himself. We have pushed him into the arms of China. His ties with Beijing have solidified. China is emerging as a mediator in the conflict…. The Americans have to ask Venezuela and Iran for oil to get out of the energy impasse they have put themselves in—and the United States has to piteously backtrack on the sanctions imposed on its enemies.
Western ministers who seek to collapse the Russian economy and make the Russian people suffer, or even call for the assassination of Putin, show (even if they have partially reversed the form of their words, but not the substance!) that our leaders are no better than those we hate—sanctioning Russian athletes in the Para-Olympic Games or Russian artists has nothing to do with fighting Putin. [….]
What makes the conflict in Ukraine more blameworthy than our wars in Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya? What sanctions have we adopted against those who deliberately lied to the international community in order to wage unjust, unjustified and murderous wars?….Have we adopted a single sanction against the countries, companies or politicians who are supplying weapons to the conflict in Yemen, considered to be the “worst humanitarian disaster in the world?”
To ask the question is to answer it… and the answer is not pretty.
Jacques Baud is a former colonel of the General Staff, ex-member of the Swiss strategic intelligence, specialist on Eastern countries. He was trained in the American and British intelligence services. He has served as Policy Chief for United Nations Peace Operations. As a UN expert on rule of law and security institutions, he designed and led the first multidimensional UN intelligence unit in the Sudan. He has worked for the African Union and was for 5 years responsible for the fight, at NATO, against the proliferation of small arms. He was involved in discussions with the highest Russian military and intelligence officials just after the fall of the USSR. Within NATO, he followed the 2014 Ukrainian crisis and later participated in programs to assist the Ukraine. He is the author of several books on intelligence, war and terrorism, in particular Le Détournement published by SIGEST, Gouverner par les fake news , L’affaire Navalny . His latest book is Poutine, maître du jeu? published by Max Milo.
Richie Blackmore / Ronnie James Dio “Catch the Rainbow (Live)”
Now this is a real treat. When I was in my Senior Year in High School, we must have worn down this album by playing it over, and over, and over again. Today, as an older man, with a great deal of “life experience” I have a completely different mindset, and when I listen to this music it affects me quite differently. Today, I view it as a work of art; an entertaining distraction, and one that showcases the brilliance of the singer Ronnie James Dio, the great drum work of Cozy Powell, and of course, the ease at which Richie Blackmore belted out those guitar solos. While when I was younger, it reflected struggle, passion and ambition. Ah. It’s amazing how one changes as they age. Anyways, I present it here as just that. A fine historical view and fun entertainment for youse guys to enjoy. Part 1
Part 2
Funeral Directors, Embalmers Alarmed by Unusual Blood Clots in Vaccinated Bodies
Normally I do not post these kinds of articles, but this is a mainstream America media article. It is signifigant. -MM
Board-certified funeral directors and embalmers are coming forward to tell tales of horror featuring vaccinated bodies with veins and arteries clogged with strange, rubbery, worm-like clots. Richard Hirschman, a funeral director and embalmer from Alabama, with over twenty years of experience in the field, has said in recent interviews that he had never seen anything like it until around the middle of 2021, after the mass injections of the experimental COVID vaccines began. He says his colleagues in the field are seeing the same thing, and the numbers are increasing. Earlier this month, Hirschman told Steve Kirsch, the Executive Director of the Vaccine Research Center, that in Jan 2022, 37 out of 57 bodies (65 percent) had these suspicious clots. Prior to the vaccines, Hirschman said blood clots in patients who died of COVID were seen, but they appeared to be more typical, and not in the alarming numbers he’s seeing now. Since Hirschman has gone public, Cary D. Watkins, a colleague from Alabama with over 50 years experience as a funeral director and embalmer, has come forward to corroborate his story, and Anna Foster, an embalmer from Missouri with 11 years of experience, has revealed in an interview that 93 percent of her last 30 cases died due to unusual clots completely filling their vascular systems. Funeral director John O’Looney of Milton Keynes, England, is also blowing the whistle on the alarming increase in number of thrombosis deaths. O’Looney said in an interview that it’s not just “a two or three-fold increase—it’s around a 500 or 600 percent increase,” and nine out of ten of these cases were vaccinated. . Much more... .
You don’t drive by slowly and film people in distress, you get off your fucking ass and help them. What’s you God damn malfunction? video 4MB
Life is too short not to be a Rufus
You can be a hero, or you can be a selfish greedy psycopathic loner. It’s your choice. video 1MB
Be the Rufus and change your life
Change your thoughts, and you will change your behaviors. That in turn will change your life. Don’t be afraid. make the changes that you so very much need. video. 3MB
Be the Rufus and make the world worth living in
Sure. You have heard this over and over and over again. Yet you still come back to MM for more. Why? WHy do you visit MM instead of Fox “news”, CNN, the BBC, or any of thousands of for-profit “news”? Perhaps it is becuase you are different. Yes. Maybe you are different; and maybe you are special. So, and if so, perhaps you are here at this place at this time to make a difference. Are you up to the challenge? It doesn’t matter what your role is, or what your job is. Do it with passion; with gusto, and with a big happy smile. You WILL CHANGE the world around you. video 4MB
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future. New Beginnings 3 .
Lots of stuff going on. Generally, the world feels strange. Like it’s the “calm before the storm”, or that there is some kind of huge under-current going on that we all can feel, but cannot vocalize. Yeah. In all of this unusualness, I am throwing out some articles, thoughts, impressions and stuff that should assist one in treading water during this great period of geopolitical upheaval.
US General
The big news is the capture of an American army general leading the Nazi Asov batallion in Ukraine. Obviously this nation was a NATO outpost in all ways and forms except “official”. We will cover this and the implications that it has for everyone later on in the body of this article.
Music, Girls, China, and other stuff
I mix up content in these articles. If I do not, then the articles and the venure is flagged for interruption, shadow banning, and other internet manipulations. Tired of trolls, add some food-related content to your articles. Watch them flee!
Trolls thwarted by content mixing
I will continue to proceed tracing the changes along with a mish-mash of other subjects. Why you might ask. Well, guys, I can positively affirm that I have 100% success in throwing off the trolls and DDOS attacks, and ‘bots since I have incorporated this methodology.
It breaks apart whatever system is in place. Whether it is a computer algorithm that matches trolls with targets, or whether it just the simple minds of trolls, is unknown. All I know is that it works. And that is just hunky-dory for me.
I hope you enjoy this article. Have fun.
Why US’ ‘sanctions threat’ to India is counter-productive on the China front
Not just against Russia, but it’s China as well. It’s not in India’s best interests.
Large scale models are simply diabolical. Models of any scale can play with your imagination, but you always know what’s real and what’s fake. When that train, plane, or car model is, say, 14 inches long–normal scale model size, more or less–your mind quickly adapts to the concept because it knows this is a model. And your mind deposits what you’re seeing into its familiar, convenient file folder called “scale models.”
But when the scale is large, your cognition wavers on the real vs. fake question. When your logical mind and eye look at a 1:2 (or 1/2, half) scale model, it will register the model as fake–but not as rapidly as with smaller scale models. It takes a second, and in that second your mind falls into an uncanny valley of questioning.
Half scale models of large objects like tanks, trucks, and cars are not common, as Fred Heim himself admits. Full scale (1:1) is common, but only with small items like guns.
Check this out…
Fred Heim Scale Model
This half-scale Peterbilt truck was Fred Heim’s first large scale model. Frame is aluminum, sides are powder coated mahogany. Since half-sized truck parts are in short supply (as in: non-existent), Heim had to make practically everything by scratch.
Without Heim and the garage acting as measuring devices, this Peterbilt could easily be mistaken for the real thing.
Pretty Chinese girl
Robust with an EMORMOUS and inviting smile. (I tell you over and over. It’s your SMILE that opens up opportunities for you.) What’s not to love? And her outfit is nice, eh? video 5MB
Sanctions against Russia hit a brick wall
A country with huge natural resources and agriculture sector with the military ability to deter the temptation of the United States preemptive strike will be the last man stand in this NATO expansionism saga.
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Putin should have realised by now his power to sanction the west is more powerful than western ability to sanction his country.
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2022 will be remembered as a historic turning point of the United States losing their notorious sanction power against Russia, and suffered greatly from their victim (Russia) counter sanction policy.
Yes. Mongolia is a very nice, if cold area. Nice people, and a beautiful landscape. video 5MB
Meet Nancy Kovack, Forgotten Siren of the Sixties
Nancy Kovack
Nancy Kovack is long retired, no need to act anymore, and firmly married to conductor Zubin Mehta. But in her day, she graced both the big screen and the cathode ray screen with her elegantly sleek looks reminiscent of Honor Blackman.
Nancy Kovack is also the one who got away. With big-star quality looks and acting chops, she was destined for greatness. Instead, she chose a different path.
The first the world saw of Nancy Kovack was in 1955, as the 19-year-old Queen of the Romeo Peach Pie Festival, in Michigan. She was tasked with distributing 50 peach pies around the U.S. to various luminaries. One pie that she delivered went to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
After that, Kovack made the usual round of Sixties-era TV shows: Love, American Style, Bewitched, Mannix, I Spy. If a casting director ever needed a beautiful face and a refined look, Kovack led the way in their Rolodex.
To compound matters–and it’s here where the faint-of-heart should clutch their pearls and avert their gaze–Miss Kovack owned a fantastically voluptuous body.
Nancy Kovack
Directly or indirectly, it’s Mehta we have to blame for taking Nancy off the screen and out of circulation. After her marriage to him in 1969, her filmography drops off to only five or six more credits before disappearing altogether in 1976.
While it seems crazy that Zubie would cheat on Kovack, cheat he did. In 1991, when Mehta was 55 years old (and Kovack about the same age), Mehta fathered a child in Israel.
An article in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency relates the rumor of “a smattering of illegitimate children from various affairs.” Mehta admits to just that one boy.
Now 86, Nancy Kovack-Mehta and her husband Zubin Mehta live in Los Angeles, where he is Conductor Emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Nancy Kovack
No choice but to pay in rubber, rmb or gold.
Meanwhile on the geopolitical scene we have the USA sanctioning the entire globe (except for itself and its toadies).
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There are few options. Not many choices. German politician warns that boycotting Russian gas could lead to mass poverty.
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The right mentality is a win-win mentality. The world should move away from the United States desire to control and make easy money from being a parasites to all none western nations resources, labours, and low end economy (allowed by the crusaders) .
Everybody needs to learn to work hard, study hard and trade with each other from a win win, mutual prosperity economic model.
Life is not that difficult if capitalism with Western characteristics that allow 0.1% to control the livelihood of the 99.9% are destroyed.
Basic human rights such as housing, public transport, water, electricity, Internet, food, Medicare etc should become affordable that ensure every citizen with a job are able to enjoy.
The aging, and young, and the sick and handicap should be taken care of.
Notorious Capitalism with looting DNA is coming to an end.
-A Chinese perspective from <redacted>
Springtime as painted by a few unknown Russian Painters
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This next one really appeals to me…
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And this one … well, you can just smell the fresh spring air…
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Robin Trower “Too Rolling Stoned”
Robin Trower is a blues guitarist who came into the public light in the 1970s. He’s still going strong and has many followers.
Trower is 75 and still touring. And still playin' smokin' guitar. One of the greats, and under appreciated. His original bass man James Dewar had such a great voice. Sadly he's gone. You have to check out several of his other tracks. Bridge of Sighs is so good. (Most people have no idea what the song is about.) And of course Day of the Eagle.
-Zabbo Daborba
I (MM, don’t you know) was introduced to him back in 1976 when I smoked a joint of “Thai-stick” in the High School parking lot with a friend. We got high, and my first exposure to Robin Trower was the song “Too Rolling Stoned”. I’ve been a fan ever since.
Honestly, I really don’t listen to him very much these days. As I prefer Chinese pop music, and American Country and Western music. But that’s just me.
Anyways, here’s two You-tube videos of the song “Too Rolling Stoned”.
All the theory in the world doesn’t prevent you from being schooled by one of the great masters... Robin is about the most underrated rock guitarists ever.
-Eddie
The first is the entire song observed by a music critic. He is now a Robin Trower fan. The look on his face, as he jams to the music is priceless.
The second, is a breakdown of his musical style (of the exact same song in a different video clip). Very interesting. You do not need to know the technical details to appreciate what he has to say. This study is done by someone who has never listened to Robin Trower before. Indeed, it seems like Michael has just turned into a fan, and Robin Trower is growing a fan base just by being alive.
Michael, Welcome to the land of Trower.
I'm 62 years old and a guitar player. I'm self-taught and first picked up the guitar and started teaching myself from cheat books and 45 records when I was around 8 years old.
my first live performance was 1966/67 in front of my class in 4th grade with two other friends.
I've played in cover bands all my life. Still do.
I've covered Trower on and off over the years since the mid-'70s when I first heard him myself.
I learned his "Day of the Eagle" classic hit from a 33rpm album (Live from Winterland} around 1974/75. Watching and learning from guitarist is just part of my DNA.
I love watching you and learning, watching you unpack "Too Rolling Stone" from Trower on video was a treat for me, Trower in the wild no less, (Live), this has truly made my day.
Your expressions in this video at times are priceless.
You kind of started with a mild approach towards the whole "Trower" thing at the beginning, and I giggled at that. and as you listened and dissected not only the song but his body movements, the Wha Wha approach, then Robin hits what I call his Jazz "Drop dead chords", modulates up a half step, then the typical shifting of gears into "Trower mode" I call it, and drops the tempo of the song to a slow blues groove that he's typically and noted for.
Such phrasings are his signature style, the look on your face and reaction was better than that first cup of coffee I was drinking for this morning.
I said out loud with a big belly laugh, "Welcome to the land of Trower teacher". my wife wanted to know who the heck I was talking to. hahha.
I say all this as someone who has done the same thing while learning Trower songs, only without YouTube video's which are worth their weight in gold themselves.
Starting and stopping a song on a vinyl record over and over is something you just have had to live through to get.
Anyway. Thank you for staying with us and continuing in sharing your passion which is also our passion. and for exploring Robin Trower. I hope you look into other great songs of his like: "Day of the Eagle" or Bridge of Sighs". any of his tunes are worthy of time.
- Charles Harshbarger
What do you think of Robin Trowers blues?
Vietnam girls drinking beer during a factory lunch
A common enough scene all over South-East Asia. It’s nice to see people enjoying freedom, instead of that pretend socially-acceptable corporate-system freedom™ that is so prevalent in the West. video 5MB
Why Propaganda is Vital In Upholding The Illusion of a Democracy
“Whenever the government of the United States shall break up, it will probably be in consequence of a false direction having been given to public opinion. This is the weak point of our defenses, and the part to which the enemies of the system will direct all their attacks. Opinion can be so perverted as to cause the false to seem true; the enemy, a friend, and the friend, an enemy; the best interests of the nation to appear insignificant, and the trifles of moment; in a word, the right the wrong, the wrong the right. In a country where opinion has sway, to seize upon it, is to seize upon power. As it is a rule of humanity that the upright and well-intentioned are comparatively passive, while the designing, dishonest, and selfish are the most untiring in their efforts, the danger of public opinion’s getting a false direction is four-fold, since few men think for themselves.”
-James Fenimore Cooper
Democracy is something that has been completely taken for granted here in the West. There is an ongoing triumph over past laurels, without paying heed to the road we have strayed from.
We criticize others for failing to uphold a standard we consider ourselves the leaders of, but democracy is not something simply “acquired” and subsequently “retained,” it is not a “possession.” This is because a system of democracy is at every moment of its existence defined by the character of its citizenry. Democracy only exists if it is upheld, and if a citizenry fails to do so, it renders itself defenseless to an ever-creeping tyranny.
For such a “creeping tyranny,” control is conditional to whether the citizenry is satisfied with an ever-growing “illusion of democracy.” Such a construct needs to give its subjects the impression that they have “free choice” in what shapes their future and their way of life, including: who will be their “friends” and who will be their “foes.”
And thus, War has always depended on a reliable system to spread its propaganda.
The Arthashastra written by Chankya (350-283 BCE) who was chief advisor to the Emperor Chandragupta (the first ruler of the Mauryan Empire) discusses propaganda and how to disperse and apply it in warfare. It is one of the oldest accounts of the essentialism of propaganda in warfare.
Propaganda is vital in times of war because it is absolutely imperative that the people, who often need to make the greatest sacrifices and suffer the most, believe that such a war is justified.
Security
As such, they will believe that such a war will provide them security. To the degree that they believe this to be true, the greater the degree of sacrifice and suffering they are willing to submit themselves for said “promised security”.
Enemy is not human
It is crucial that when the people look at the “enemy” they see something sub-human, for if they recognise that said “enemy” has in fact humanity, the jig is up so to speak.
And thus we are bombarded day after day, hour after hour of reminders as to why the “enemy” is not human like us, not compassionate like us, not patient, just and wise like us.
No doubt, war has been a necessary response when tyranny has formed an army to fight for its cause, but I would put forth that most wars have been rather unnecessary and downright manipulated for the design of a small group of people.
During WWI, on Dec 25th 1914, something rather unexpected occurred and a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front took place between the French/British soldiers and the German soldiers. Some even ventured into “no man’s land”, given its name since none left it alive, to mingle with the “enemy” and exchange food and souvenirs. There were joint burial ceremonies and prisoner swaps. A game of football took place as well. It is said that these truces were not unique to the Christmas period but that they were much more widespread during the holiday season.
These fraternisations would understandably make it quite difficult to return to combat against one another…for no apparently good reason. Some units needed to be relocated since they had developed friendships with the opposing side and now refused to fight them.
The lesson was quickly learned and propaganda was heavily pumped down the throats of the Allied countries, and by the course of just a few years, they no longer viewed the Germans as human.
American infrastructure
This is not one isolated incident. It’s everywhere. The money is being used in wars, and in the wallets of the wealthy. Not on the American citizenry. video 1MB
A beautiful girl in Hong Kong
Beautiful girls are everywhere. I have to tell you that I really like how clean and crisp that this girl looks as she hangs out in Mong Kok. video 5MB
The Battle For Your Mind
“Politicians, Priests, and psychiatrists often face the same problem: how to find the most rapid and permanent means of changing a man’s belief…The problem of the doctor and his nervously ill patient, and that of the religious leader who sets out to gain and hold new converts, has now become the problem of whole groups of nations, who wish not only to confirm certain political beliefs within their boundaries, but to proselytize the outside world.”
– William Sargant “Battle of the Mind”
Mass propaganda is the very reason why in this so-called “age of information”, we are more confused and divided from each other than ever…
It had been commonly thought in the past, and not without basis, that tyranny could only exist on the condition that the people were kept illiterate and ignorant of their oppression. To recognise that one was “oppressed” meant they must first have an idea of what was “freedom”, and if one were allowed the “privilege” to learn how to read, this discovery was inevitable.
If education of the masses could turn the majority of a population literate, it was thought that the higher ideas, the sort of “dangerous ideas” that Mustapha Mond for instance expresses in “The Brave New World”, would quickly organise the masses and revolution against their “controllers” would be inevitable. In other words, knowledge is freedom, and you cannot enslave those who learn how to “think”.
However, it hasn’t exactly played out that way has it?
The greater majority of us are free to read whatever we wish to, in terms of the once “forbidden books”, such as those listed by The Index Librorum Prohibitorum. We can read any of the writings that were banned in “The Brave New World”, notably the works of Shakespeare which were named as absolutely dangerous forms of “knowledge”.
We are now very much free to “educate” ourselves on the very “ideas” that were recognised by tyrants of the past as the “antidote” to a life of slavery. And yet, today, there is a fear of that very thing, that to “know” will label you an outcast from a “healthy” society. That the simple desire to know is the beginning of rebellion.
It is recognised, albeit superficially, that who controls the past, controls the present and thereby the future. George Orwell’s book “1984”, hammers this as the essential feature that allows the Big Brother apparatus to maintain absolute control over fear, perception and loyalty to the Party cause, and yet despite its popularity, there still remains today a lack of interest in actually informing oneself about the past.
What does it matter anyway, if the past is controlled and rewritten to suit the present? As the Big Brother interrogator O’Brien states to Winston, “We, the Party, control all records, and we control all memories. Then we control the past, do we not? [And thus, are free to rewrite it as we choose…]”
Of course, we are not in the same situation as Winston…we are much better off. We can study and learn about the “past” if we so desire, unfortunately, it is a choice that many take for granted. And thus, by our failure to ask the right questions and seek the appropriate answers, we find ourselves increasingly in the unsettling position of a Winston…we are enslaved by the very lack of our own will.
In Orwell’s “1984”, there are three main super states in the world: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia that are in one combination or another constantly at war with each other and have been so for the last 25 years.
In the case of Winston, he has only known Oceania (the British commonwealths and U.S.), he knows essentially nothing of either Eurasia or Eastasia, except that sometimes Oceania is at war with Eurasia and sometimes it is at war with Eastasia. In fact, even this memory, that the enemy is not constant, is not something Winston is supposed to recollect or acknowledge. Just by doing this very thing, he is committing a “thoughtcrime”.
Winston’s experience begs the questions, if one were born into a fascist, totalitarian state would they know it? Of course, the state itself would not describe itself as such. How would you be able to compare your “freedom” with the “oppression” of the enemy, when all you were given was what the state chose to give to you?
How do you know that what has come to shape your convictions, your beliefs, your fears really belong to you, and were not placed there by another?
We are all very sensitive to this unsettling question because ironically, that has also been placed in us. It was what started this whole business of “mind control”, you see, it had to be done…for our “protection”.
Chinese girl inside of her apartment
Yeah. This is all pretty typical. The homes are clean cool, spotless. If they have pets, they might keep them locked up in their cages for a while while the owners are busy doing other things. And dancing in the living room is normal. video 4MB
Warfare in the 21st Century
For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the pinnacle of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the pinnacle of skill.
– Sun Tzu
There are many different forms of warfare, but namely there is warfare that exists in the physical domain of aggression vs defense and warfare that exists in the mental domain of ideas.
The majority of tyrants from the ancient times to present day, have always had a network of powerful people behind them (whether they were aware of it or not) that opened up a path for them to sit on the throne so to speak. For example, we now know that there was a very direct support of Hitler coming from the Bank of England amongst other very influential institutions. That is, Hitler did not arise to power ‘naturally’ or by his mere merit.
The desperation of that economic environment in Germany was predictably formulated as a direct consequence of the Treaty of Versailles which was essentially a death sentence to the German people. And Hitler who had started to make a small name for himself was selected and endorsed as the ‘face’ of what had already been decided would be the fate of Germany.
Wars have almost always been the result of funding and organising from powerful groups with geopolitical interests, often of empire, who create an environment of disinformation and desperation amongst the people through economic and military warfare along with color revolutions.
However, once there was the creation of nuclear bombs, geopolitical warfare was changed forever.
Though we still use much of the same old strategies today, war is ever more located on the plane of ideas, and along with this the ever increasing focus on the manipulation of information and the populace’s perspective of who is good and who is bad.
The war that needs to be fought against the present tyranny is thus increasingly a mental war. In the case of the populace, all together they hold more power than they realise. The real crisis of today’s western thinking is that the people have forgotten how to think. Attention spans have gone down drastically along with a functional vocabulary. People are becoming more and more dominated by image based messages rather than content that requires more than a 10 minute attention span. Articles in the news keep getting shorter and shorter because people seemingly cannot be bothered with too much reading. Along with the serious decline in reading in replacement for quick entertainment (more successful than any book burning in history), people no longer bother to work for a comprehensive viewpoint. Information becomes an annoying barrage of ad campaigns, each yelling louder and more frequently than the other.
The solutions to our problems such as the oncoming economic collapse (in case you haven’t noticed we are doing everything the same as pre-2008), have their solutions in what Russia and China are presenting.
The initiation of war has almost always been presented as a false ‘necessity’, that is in response to the dominating geopolitical ‘balance’, which is basically meant to service the present system of empire, and the erroneous belief in zero sum game.
However, the idea that humans exist in a zero sum game, doomed to battle forever over a diminishing return of resources, was disproven time and again in modern history through the application of successful principles of national political economy. Notable examples of which include Colbert’s dirigisme of France’s 17th century (later revived during the presidency of Charles De Gaulle), the Hamiltonian system of America as exemplified by Abraham Lincoln’s Greenbacks, FDR’s New Deal, and JFK’s space program as well as its most recent expression of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
This system understands that fast money is parasitical and acts in direct opposition to the long-term investments required for projects that will revolutionise a nation’s infrastructure, including science-driver programs.
That debt for such long-term projects is not qualitatively the same as the present debt we see accruing today, and that debt towards investing for the future will always yield a higher return than the cost over time. This is why debt towards long-term investment on infrastructure and science driver projects, such as space exploration, will always be sustainable with a massive return quantitatively and qualitatively. Whereas, the gambling of fast money will very predictably lead to a collapse as was clearly indicated by the 2008 financial crisis, and which insanely has yet to be addressed with a serious bank reform.
The higher battle ground is being fought on the plane of ideas and which proposed ‘new system’ will replace the current collapsing one we are presently in. On the one side the hegemonic rule of a one world government who thinks that they can use force and oppression to rule and on the other side a multi-polar system of cooperating nation states committed to progress that will offer a real qualitative return for the future.
Little girl wants a father
Her mother is a single mom. She doesn’t have a father. She wants a photo with this stranger on the bus as she thinks that this is what her father must look like. video 5MB
Chinese girl getting ready to cook
Pretty girl. Food. Cooking…. Sheech! Oh so sexy. video 2MB
Speaking of cooking and food, let’s talk about some Chicken Fried Steak. Personally, I love it with two over-easy eggs and rye toast (with a freshly brewed cup of coffee) don’t you know…
Chicken Fried Steak with Creamy Gravy Recipe
Chicken Fried Steak
Steaks are a familiar dish on the dining table. Some people prefer their steaks roasted, and others prefer it prepared inside the oven like the classic oven-baked steak and potatoes. However, to some, steaks are a traditional culinary staple. The Southerners in America have a secret recipe, the chicken fried steak recipe. In this Southern cuisine, the steaks are deep-fried in a pan and served with creamy gravy.
But why is it called chicken fried steak when there’s no chicken? Well, the steak is cooked in a similar way to fried chicken, hence the dish’s name. This dish is made with a piece of tender beef steak that’s breaded with eggs, pan-fried, then topped with some creamy gravy.
There is nothing like this steak. People love serving it, and everyone loves to eat it! The best chicken fried steak is the one that’s cooked to golden perfection and topped with the most flavorful and creamy gravy. Using this recipe, the only difficult thing that comes is deciding whether to prepare it for lunch or dinner.
Skip the usual roasted steak. Prepare a fried steak that’s topped with creamy and flavorful gravy instead.
Use a meat mallet, rubber mallet, or rolling pin to flatten and thin out the steaks until they are less than ¼ inches thick. Season each steak with a pinch of salt.
Heat the oven to 200 degrees F.
Put a wire rack over a baking sheet, and set it aside. Prepare two shallow baking dishes.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. In another bowl, mix the salt, garlic powder, cayenne, and flour.
Dredge the steak in the flour mix one by one. Using your hands, press each side of the steak onto the flour mix.
Shake off the excess and dip the steak in the egg wash, coating every side. Repeat the process until all sides are well covered and coated. Set aside.
In a large pan, pour oil until it reaches ¼ inches deep for frying. Heat the oil until the oil sizzles when flour is dropped into it.
Lay the prepared steak one by one into the oil and cover the steak with oil. Fry for about 2 minutes until the edges turn golden brown.
When done, remove the steaks using a slotted spatula, and place them on the wire rack in the oven to keep warm.
Strain off any excess oil to get the drippings.
Gravy
Turn off the heat in the pan and pour out all but 3 tablespoons of oil and fat from the pan.
Whisk in 3 tablespoons of flour and stir constantly on medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the mixture turns light brown.
Slowly add the cream and milk, whisking continuously until the desired consistency is reached.
Season the gravy with a pinch of salt and pepper. Adjust accordingly.
Serve over the steak with eggs and mixed vegetables. Garnish.
Chicken Fried Steak
The Art of Doublethink
“WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”
George Orwell’s “1984” (Big Brother Mantra)
A truly immersive system of propaganda, which necessarily will be full of contradictions to the truth, absolutely requires that its subjects are compliant with “doublethink,” that is, the ability to accept two contradictory thoughts in your mind without acknowledging that they are in fact opposites.
Orwell identifies this under two forms of “doublethink”, which are “crimestop” and “blackwhite”. “Crimestop” meaning the faculty of stopping short, as though by instinct, at the threshold of a dangerous thought.
Orwell further states
“It includes the power of not grasping analogies, of failing to perceive logical errors, of misunderstanding the simplest arguments…and of being bored or repelled by any train of thought which is capable of leading in a heretical direction. Crimestop in short, means protective stupidity.”
“Blackwhite”, is the act of contradiction of plain facts, applied to an opponent. And when applied to the Party, it is the willingness to say black is white when the Party discipline demands it so.
As Orwell describes it
“it means the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know that black is white, and to forget that one has ever believed the contrary. This demands a continuous alteration of the past…The alteration of the past is necessary for two reasons…The subsidiary reason is that…he must be cut off from the past, just as he must be cut off from foreign countries, because it is necessary for him to believe that he is better off… [the precautionary reason] by far the more important reason for the readjustment of the past is the need to safeguard the infallibility of the Party.”
Orwell continues
“The splitting of the intelligence which the Party requires of its members, and which is more easily achieved in an atmosphere of war, is now almost universal, but the higher up the ranks one goes, the more marked it becomes. It is precisely in the Inner Party that war hysteria and hatred of the enemy are strongest.”
That is, it is the Inner Party members who are the most indoctrinated, the best at inducing “mind control” or “doublethink” on themselves, and at the same time believe that it is the best and right thing to do.
Orwell describes “doublethink” thus:
“The process has to be conscious , or it would not be carried out with sufficient precision, but it also has to be unconscious, or it would bring with it a feeling of falsity and hence guilt…To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies – all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink.”
What many fail to grasp when reading “1984” is that Orwell is not only the character Winston, he is also the character O’Brien. He is the Outer Party member-turned-revolutionary, and he is the Inner Party disciplinarian.
He is simultaneously the tormentor-programmer as well as the tormented-programmed.
Winston eventually breaks and releases the one thing that kept him human, his love and loyalty to Julia. In the end, an announcement is made that Oceania is ever nearer to winning the war and Winston looks up at a large poster of Big Brother and cries gin-filled tears of joy and relief, for he had finally come to love Big Brother.
He had become O’Brien.
Chinese girl in a Japanese sushi restaurant
These restaurants are very popular in China. Asian people do love their seafood. And China is no exception. You can see the little sushi dishes going round and round on the railroad tracks behind her. If you ever decide to go, might I suggest the warm saki with it. Yum! video 3MB
Thailand / Cambodia lunch time
A great view of a normal day in the rural inland areas outside of China and in the more impovershed South East Asian nations. The United States wants to give billions of dollars to the rulers of these nations to build American miltiary bases, and start importing all sort of weapons there.
These nations said “No!”.
Instead, the nations elected to go with China who are building trains, roads, hospitals, clinics, and setting up industry in these remote and tranquil rural areas. Sure, the Western propaganda is promoting the idea of “you’ll be sorry” for building those hopsitals, high speed trains, roads, tunnels, bridges, social and community centers, and communication infrastructure. But you know, it sure beats having the wealthy get wealthier while the people live in poverty next to American bases ready to shoot up villages, sheep and cabbage patches.
Our most base fears, desires and obsessions. The voice that whispers in our ears telling us not to believe in anything genuine or honest, that the world we live in will ultimately destroy itself and thus it is all about looking out for number one. That it is our fate to be the playthings of higher powers.
This is the voice of a prisoner of Plato’s cave, neck shackled and looking at only shadows on a wall. This is not reality. This is the voice of someone who has been enslaved for most of their life. The voice of someone who has become so disempowered that they wholly accept whatever ugly condition is imposed upon them and will even work to defend it as necessary.
There is a way out of all of this, but you will have to become an optimist in order to see the solution.
“We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
– Abraham Lincoln
Chinese girl on the street
Thin. Leggy with a nice Guicci purse. Very typical. video 3MB
Rural girls on a boat somewhere on the Laos-China border
It’s poor right now, but these times are changing. The Chinese BRI are bringing money, health and education to millions of people in South East Asia. video
China 1973
As strange as it seems, this is how many Americans and their leadership believe what China is today.
Yeah. It’s strange. But there you have it. Look at the pictures from fifty years ago, and you can easily see that this is the image that the Main Stram Media are busy promoting as to what China is. video 5MB
Rainbow – L. A. Connection (Live) HD
When I was attending university, I took a heavy course load. Seriously, 21 credits of all technical subjects is rough. Aerospace-Mechanical Engineering. And while my friends would half-heartedly attend class, and then party on, I would tromp through the Syracuse snow to go to class, and then study in the Law Library until it closed at 2am.
I had a grueling schedule. Up at six in the morning. Then, 200 push-ups, and a three-mile run, then to the house where I lived. Then it’s a nice Northern European breakfast of toast and coffee, followed by a bus ride to the campus where I would attend school. (When I wasn’t riding my motorcycle, that is.)
And even at that, I had my failures. For instance, I completely failed my “mechanics of deformable bodies” class and had to take it two times. Though, on the second time, I aced the class.
It’s called life.
You move forward, and fall on your face. Then you get up. You dust yourself off, and then try again.
If you are thick-headed like MM here, you might have to go through twenty or thirty times before you get it right.
Anyway, it was stressful. Aside from my weight-lifting, and drinking with my close group of friends, I didn’t really have much in the way of escape. I think all of us fall into this routine cycle from time to time. We work towards a goal, and we sacrifice other things to make it there. It doesn’t matter what it is, really. We push ourselves. And, you know, it’s stressful.
This video is one of the songs that I used to listen to, and do push-ups to, when I was a student attending university. I hope you enjoy my little snapshot into my life at that time.
Warning, it’s 70s era hard rock and the video is of 1970s quality. Just imagine me doing push-ups to this music, getting ready to be a Naval Aviator in a few months. Totally motivated. I had a nice body when I was in my early 20’s. I should have been using it in more sexual persuits, but at that time, I was a goal-oriented fellow, and sex with pretty girls was not on the agenda.
I missed out on a lot of fun. I’ll tell you what.
Again. Such is life.
Girl in white halter
She’s made a big impression on Douxing. Partly becuase of her following and partly for her fish shaped body. video 3MB
Be the Rufus
The answer to help you go through this period of change is to always be the Rufus. video 243MB
Western society controls us by fear
Its fear of change. It’s fear of the unknown. It’s fear of what others think. It’s fear of rejection. Don’t be afraid. Make your move. If they don’t like it, let them howl.
Numerous reports are now circulating claiming that United States Army Major General Roger L. Cloutier has been CAPTURED by Russian forces in or around Mariupol, Ukraine where, the reports claim, he was helping the AZOV Battalion which is Ukraine’s official NAZI unit.
US Army General captured leading Nazis against Russians in Ukraine.
According to Wikipedia, Major General Roger L. Cloutier:
Roger L. Cloutier Jr. is a United States Armylieutenant general who serves as the Commander of the Allied Land Command. Previously, he served as the Commander of the United States Army Africa.Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) formerly Allied Land Forces South-Eastern Europe (LANDSOUTHEAST) is the standing headquarters for NATO land forces which may be assigned as necessary. The Commander LANDCOM is the prime land warfare advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, it provides the core of the headquarters responsible for the conduct of land operations. The command is based at Şirinyer (Buca), İzmir in Turkey.
Email to the Pentagon sent several HOURS ago, has gone unanswered which, from a media perspective, is very unusual. If this report was false, the Pentagon would deny it immediately. They have NOT denied it. But no official answer has come from the Pentagon either way as of 6:10 PM EDT Monday.
UPDATE 10:49 PM EDT, TUESDAY APRIL 5 —
I received an email tonight after my radio show, telling me that the Wikipedia page for General Roger L. Cloutier has been changed to say he DIED on March 28. The images below were sent to me with that email:
Screenshot 20220405 004924
And…
Screenshot 20220405 001125
MM Notes
Everything that the Russians have dealt with in Ukraine, and all the systems that they are encountering is now present in Taiwan. Taiwan is a carbon copy of Ukraine.
All of this is going to create some very NASTY lashback from Asia.
Do not be afraid of change!
All the Western news is so filled with fear, and of course, here on MM, I also point out the various directions where the world can turn. But know this;
The primary driver for the world collapse are elites in the West (United States).
Their plans negate the influence of the collective East because their egos cannot admit that they are large, powerful, and smart.
This is dangerous as all their actions are now hurting the West, and we are just now collectively “watching the boat fill with water” in real time.
The East are lead with merit driven leaders who are determined and serious.
The East also has the backing of The Domain.
While there could be WMB detonations (keep in mind that The Domain did NOT stop any of the multiple bioweapon attacks), it will be geographically limited. It will not go full-on MAD.
The Deagal Report of the remote viewing of 2025 is approaching 100% validity.
The impression that I am getting from The Commander, is that in ten years, we all will collectively look back on this time and say “Phew! We just narrowly missed THE BIG ONE.” That’s the impression that I have, but I can be wrong.
And I want to tell everyone, the glimpses that I have of the future are not distopian.
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
There’s quite a bit going on in the world today. And if you listen to the “news”, well, it’s all very frightening. It just seems like the entire world is going to shit. Well, it seems that way, but don’t be so sure that that is the case. Actually, the people in control are actually very smart, and they live in Asia.
But the USA, well, it’s going to Hell in a handbasket.
Here we are just going to throw out some representative articles about the global Geo-political situation mixed up with other tidbits of a MM interest. I hope that you enjoy this adventure.
Rufus gets wet
You have to stop being a spectator and start participating in life. Stop watching and start doing. Here is what happens when you make that change. you become a Rufus, and your entire life changes. video 2MB
American Consumers Ditch Brand Names For Generic Food As Inflation, Shortages Hit Supermarkets
U.S. consumers’ loyalty to brand names at supermarkets is quickly evolving as they try new grocery products amid snarled supply chains and high inflation.
Top food companies like Kraft Heinz Co. and Kellogg Co. are at dire risk of losing market share as supermarket operators grapple with shortages and fill empty store shelves with lower-cost brands, industry insiders told WSJ.
American households are money-conscious more than ever as inflation hits four-decade highs and takes a bite out of their monthly spending budgets. Some consumers have broken ranks of years and years of brand loyalty only to buy whatever is on the shelf, often generic brands.
“We see people make more choices on items because they are available,” said Tony Sarsam, chief executive officer of grocery chain SpartanNash Co.
Sarsam said SpartanNash had reduced shelf space for food products from major brands because of shortages, allowing it to expand room for local brands, which had more dependable supply.
Private-label consulting company Daymon Worldwide Inc. conducted a survey between May 2020 and August 2021 and found 70% of U.S. consumers bought new or tried different brands in a post-pandemic world. This means brand loyalty could be collapsing as consumers buy what is available and the cheapest.
Even though consumers generally buy familiar brands, industry analysts show high inflation and belt-tightening by households have forced many to find a better deal to make their dollars go further, even if that means buying generic brands.
84.51 LLC, a data analysis business of supermarket giant Kroger Co., also confirms consumers are switching to low-cost brands.
Kroger’s 84.51 said that 90% of consumers are willing to try another brand if their primary brand is unavailable.
WSJ spoke with one consumer in Fort Lauderdale who has been, like many other Americans, trying out new brands because the ones they wanted were out of stock or because prices were too high.
The days of supermarkets carrying only top-shelf brands could be over as shortages and inflation open new opportunities for food companies that can deliver low-cost products.
The shift in shopping behavior is a significant warning for major brands as supermarkets are desperately trying to fill shelf space amid shortages. People are more inclined to try new brands, and many seek low-cost ones.
“There hasn’t been a lot of customer resistance,” said Jonathan Weis, chief executive of Weis Markets Inc., referring to consumers trying generic brands. “They’d rather get orange juice than no orange juice,” he added.
Your comments please.
Old-Fashioned Tangy Cabbage
Here’s something fun and super easy to make.
When was the last time that you had a side of cabbage with your meal? Probably in ages. I’ll tell you what, you are not going to get this in a restrurant as you will have to make it yourself. There is not a single fast-food establishment that will serve this great dish. But don’t worry. It’s delicious and easy to make.
Old Fashioned Tangy Cabbage
Old-Fashioned Tangy Cabbage is the perfect go-along for almost any main dish. It’s a simply delicious combination of cabbage and apples, simmered in cider and a few other great seasonings, too!
Your comments please.
What You’ll Need
1 green cabbage, shredded (about 12 cups)
2 red apples, cored, seeds removed, and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
What to Do
In a soup pot, combine all ingredients.
Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium, and cook 25 to 30 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and cabbage is tender.
People have hardships
Oh, yes they do, and a Rufus is aware of them. This is becuase a Rufus has experienced them himor herself. We know. We understand, and we are there to help. Be the helping-hand Rufus. Show empathy and understanding. video
Your comments please.
The United States should have heeded Lee Hsien Loong’s advice.
By Global Times Published: Apr 01, 2022 12:21 AM
.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is on an eight-day visit to the US. Lee mentioned many times the solidarity and cooperation of the international community.
He reminded Washington that if the US cuts off China, “the price is very high.”
He also emphasized that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework should be built “on a win-win basis,” and “as a way to engage the region and not just on strategic or security and potentially hostile basis.”
This is not the first time that Lee raised kind reminder to Washington.
He has expressed similar views many times before, including describing the two superpowers, China and the US, as “conjoined twins,” and warning that clash between the two powers would be a disaster for the world.
In addition, Lee has many times expressed the attitude that Singapore cannot take sides.
Singapore is one of the US’ closest partners in Southeast Asia, though not a formal treaty ally. Former US president Barack Obama once said Singapore is an anchor for the US presence in the region. At the same time, Singapore has significant influence in ASEAN. Therefore, Lee’s remarks are sincere to Washington and representative and symbolic in ASEAN.
“When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” This phrase is being brought up more and more frequently today, which reflects a sense of realistic anxiety. ASEAN countries are reluctant to be forced to take sides between China and the US, and they are more worried about becoming a wrestling ring in the game of major powers.
Singapore can be regarded as one of the countries that have achieved a relatively good balance between China and the US.
But with the promotion of the US’ strategic containment against China, it has become more and more difficult to maintain this balance. It is noticeable that when Lee made objective remarks on China-US ties this time, he was labeled a “Beijing whisperer.”
But in any case, even if the US covers its ears, wears a blindfold and exerts brute force, it still cannot change the reality that the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy is unpopular in the region.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi recently said publicly that the US needs a stronger economic agenda for the Asia-Pacific region, as opposed to its current focus on security issues. “What the people want is prosperity, not only security… our people will ask what is the meaning of developing the concept if [‘the Indo-Pacific strategy’] doesn’t bring economic benefits for the people,” she noted. ASEAN countries are generally aware that the US only wants to create a “bridgehead” against China in the region.
For a while in the past, some countries believed that if they made enough concessions, the US could provide enough support to them. However, it has been proven time and again that US promises are like window paper.
Washington’s “America First” agenda, which only cares about itself and not others, has made some countries suffer and made others more alert. Singapore had actively embraced the US-sponsored Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but it ended in vain, with the US withdrawing from the agreement. Today, the US is trying to promote another NATO in the Asia-Pacific and expand NATO to the region, embedding more risks of conflict in the region.
As a country embedded in globalization, Singapore cannot afford a geopolitical confrontation between major powers and attaches particular importance to the security and stability of its surrounding environment. Thus, it is extraordinarily sensitive to geopolitical risks and has a forward-looking judgment on the situation. In the past two years, Singaporean politicians have warned on various occasions that the Asia-Pacific region is moving in a very dangerous direction and have repeatedly expressed their call for the US to accept China’s rise, and that they “don’t wish to be forced into making invidious choices,” while stressing that this is also in the fundamental interests of the US. Such voices of reason, however, are often ignored by Washington.
An unavoidable reality is that though the US wants to weave a tight net to besiege China, the net cannot withstand scrutiny. Be it the Five Eyes alliance, Quad or AUKUS, none of the members are ASEAN countries. Public opinion has noticed that at the press conference after US President Joe Biden met with Lee Hsien Loong, Biden mentioned the Indo-Pacific six times, but Lee hardly used this term which is an American concept that carries strong bloc politics, and chose “Asia Pacific,” a clear indication of a gap with the US’ stance.
A just cause has many helpers while an unjust one finds few followers. No force can run counter to the trends and hearts and minds. Even though Washington can continue to fool the public opinion, it cannot fill up the hollowing out of the Indo-Pacific strategy. If Washington cannot even listen to the advice of Singapore, a close ally, reality will teach it a profound lesson.
Barry White
He has been such an inspiration in my life. Seriously. Most especially his later stuff. And unfortunately he died young. Be that kind of inspiration.
Learning about China by looking at the Chinese girls here
This is a great and a fun way to get a snapshot of another nation. You take a look at the society, and in this case, you look at the women and girls there. Of course, if all you do is watch American “mainstream media” you might think that Chinese girls are flat-chested, thin waifs that tremble becuse they are overwhelmed by the great mass of horny menfolk (due to the one child policy). Of course, it’s a massive lie, but heck. If you want to be stupid, stay that way. I just don’t give a fuck. Here’s what Chinese girls really look like. Video.
Do these girls look like they are downtrodden, helpless, thin, look like little girls desirous of American democracy?
Model Trains
About twenty five years ago I subscribed to a HO scale catalog. This was sort of my dream book. There, I would leaf through the pages in this 30mm thick (one inch think… telephone sized book) catalog with all sorts of glossy images of toy trains and homes, and buildings.
Farm supply building.
Its not that I actively had a HO layout or was involved in this hobby. Instead, it was a fantasy that I employed to relax with.
I would go to the bathroom, and take a nice dump while I would leaf though the pages. There, I would imagine the model layouts that I could construct, were I to have thousands of dollars in disposible income. Alas, it never happened, but it was a nice escape.
Though, for me, instead of visualizing trains, and train lines, I actually visualized building towns, bridges, farms, and tiny, tiny communities. All peopled with tiny, tiny people.
Used Book Store.
You can visit their web page here, and get lost in the latest in cool minitures and tiny, tiny people.
Barber Shop.
Of course, there are locomotives and train cars galore.
Box car.
Did you ever have a train set growing up? How old were you and what kind was it?
Chinese patriotism
The big lie parroted and regurgitated thoughout the Western media is that the Chinese are downtrodden, unhappy and yearning for democracy. All that needs to happen is a “regime change” and then the United States can come on into China and fix things the “American Way”. It’s a big bunch of sloppy, juicy bullshit. The Chinese approval ratings for the Communist Party are around 98%.
Here’s some glimpses of just how overwhelmingly patriotic the Chinese are about their Communist Government. video 74MB
The United States is supposed to be the beacon for the world. Why isn’t this level of patriotism experienced inside the ‘States?
Inside Info: Israeli Pay Sheet for Internet TROLLS
Israel pays people to be Internet TROLLS, and to intentionally “steer” Internet conversations and information in a pro-Israel direction. The pay sheet below shows what these TROLLS are being paid to do:
Paid Troll.
So while YOU are out on the net, perusing public opinion about issues and news, these folks seem to be out there intentionally steering content to achieve THEIR goals.
They don’t have to tell the truth. They don’t have to actually believe what they’re posting. They get paid to post.
Remember that as you peruse the Internet. There are people and groups and entities deliberately manipulating what you read to manipulate YOUR opinion and views.
As I have clearly stated, the algorithms that decide which websites to harrass are totally flummoxed by the MM systems of multiple subjects covering a wide variety of topics.
Australia’s big new move on China: Major announcement expected
A major announcement is expected to be made in response to a controversial decision involving China and a crucial Australian site. It appears the Australia is going to place a massive American logistics base near Darwin port, or break their contract with the Chinese. Why would they do such a thing?
The door has been left open to building a new port facility in Darwin port amid concerns over a Chinese company leasing the existing port.
A Defence review found there was no national security grounds to recommend the Morrison government to overturn the port’s 99-year agreement with China’s Landbridge Group.
Buried in a media release from Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was the inclusion of $1.5bn for “new port infrastructure” in Darwin.
Asked if it was for a new Darwin port, to be announced as an election commitment, Defence Minister Peter Dutton did not rule it out.
“There's a massive commitment from the government into the Northern Territory and that does look at port development and ways in which we might be able to look at support through contracts in defence for example,” Mr Dutton told reporters in Canberra.
It seems “new” and fancy. When really, it’s a flavor experiment that is really a fun thing to make up on a nice lazy weekend.
Italian Style Sourdough Melt
Sourdough bread adds a special artisan touch to this easy Italian Style Sourdough Melt. Inspired by a famous San Francisco sourdough bread, this sandwich is easily made at home.
What You’ll Need
2 tablespoons pesto
4 slices sourdough bread
1/4 pound sliced deli ham
1/4 pound sliced deli salami
1 tomato, sliced
4 slices provolone cheese
What to Do
Spread pesto evenly over one side of each bread slice. Equally divide the ham, salami, tomato, and provolone cheese on two slices of the bread.
Heat sandwiches open-faced in a toaster oven, or on a baking sheet in a 350 degree F. oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Top with remaining 2 slices of bread, and serve.
MM discusses public services
It’s a nice walk around near my house. I just chat some about public services, streets, easy transportation access. Maintenance. Public toilets. Trash pickup. Etc.
Do you like my walk abouts? If so, then tell me your thoughts.
The Euro-weenies to order China to sanction Russia
The European Union and China will hold a virtual summit today. Before the summit started Brussels has strewn rumors that it would pressure China to not support Russia. That’s not going to happen. As of 4FED22, Russia and China are one single nation; a United Asia.
China is of course rejecting any pressure and retaliates by pointing out Europe’s weak strategic autonomy:
Hours before the China-EU leaders' meetings on Friday, Chinese analysts warned that China-EU relations cannot be kidnapped by the Ukraine crisis, and Europe should no longer be abducted by the US in foreign policy, as it will greatly undermine the EU's own interests, making it difficult to ensure economic recovery and people's livelihood, and runs counter to Europe's aim of pursuing strategic independence. ...As the Russia-Ukraine conflict stretches to over a month, Europe has sustained great pressure resulting from sanctions against Russia and its over-reliance on US-led NATO security structure."The EU is now kidnapped by the US on security, but that does not conform to the strategic independence EU has pursued," [Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies] said.To avoid being caught in hot water again, the EU must take control of its own destiny. And developing ties with China provides the EU an opportunity to develop in a more balanced and comprehensive way in the long term, he said.
Its reliance on the U.S./NATO is Europe’s core strategic weakness. The U.S. has used it to infiltrate Europe’s decision making structures.
How could EU possibly consider that they have any persuasive power to dictate to China? The truth is easy to see. China shall satisfy its national interests. Nothing more, and nothing less. Meanwhile, the EU will satisfy its master’s interests; The Unittied States.
These bucco’s are all a bunch of hallucinating fruit-cases.
I am not at all exaggerating. This is the absolute definition of insanity. When you have repeatable experiences that has time and time again, proven a repeatable result, and yet, a person (or organization) insists on a different result. Sheech! Didn’t China reject Europe’s requests of abandoning Russia multiple times in the past?
>The recent failed attempt by 3 Ukrainian helicopters to evacuate troops from Mariupol was a desperate mission with very low chances of success. This raises the question why would Ukraine risk what little is left of its airforce for something so suicidal?
>Macron started spamming Putin with calls, demanding permission to carry out a "humanitarian evacuation" in Mariupol with the help of French, Greek forces.
>The head of the French military intelligence is getting fired for "failures" to "proper assess" the situation in Ukraine.So we have:
>.ua suicide mission to evacuate someone>Macron shitting bricks and begging Putin>Head of French military intelligence getting sacked
Further sources indicate the presence of two #France intelligence #DGSE operatives (both said to be dead) on board the crashed helicopter. This would explain #Macron's desperate please to #Putin as of late to organize a French-led evacuation from #Mariupol#MARIUPOL—With respect to the 2nd chopper shot down, it fell several kilometres off the coast of Mariupol, in the #Azov sea. The location is currently being investigated.#MARIUPOL—Sources indicate that, at #Azovstal, a group totaling 20—of #US (#American) & #UK (#British) military advisors of #Azov defenders, as well as several UK #SBU (#Ukraine|ian secrete police) advisors—is holed up, together with Azov fighters. They were too late to evacuate.
You get this great item of clothing on the internet, and you can’t wait until it arrives. You check the size and and put it on, and this is what happens…
Not quite ideal.
Women can add their thoughts.
Secrets
Everyone has a story to tell. Some are good, and some are not so good. But that’s life. It’s what makes us human. Here’s a story from a man that holds a secret inside that he can never let out.
A while back, I was cheating on my wife with a coworker. It went on for months, and I never really cared for the woman I was cheating with. She was super hot, though.
After a while my coworker started getting really crazy and threatening to tell my wife (whom I had a child with and a baby on the way) about everything. Obviously, I kept trying to cut things off because I realized I was making a mistake.
She lost it one night and was freaking out and texting me telling me she was going to come to my house, and a drunk driver hit her. She died instantly.
No one knows I was having an affair, and my family went to her funeral.
Some secrets are left buried. There’s no need to tell anyone about this, and there’s no justifiable reason to do so.
Oh Hell no!
Yikes!
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Your comments.
Why Chinese audiences don’t love Hollywood blockbusters any more?
A new change By Chen XiPublished: Mar 30, 2022 07:24 PM
March is coming to an end, but the three highly anticipated foreign language films The Batman, Moonfall and Uncharted have failed to inject new life into the current stagnant Chinese mainland box office.
As of Wednesday, the total box office of the three films has not been able to surpass the 300 million yuan ($47 million) mark, with The Batman, Moonfall and Uncharted grossing 117 million yuan, 74.68 million yuan and 90.31 million yuan respectively, according to China’s ticketing platform Maoyan.
The current surge in COVID-19 cases nationally has probably been a large barrier preventing them from maximizing their box office as Maoyan shows that as of Tuesday only 46.8 percent of mainland theaters are open.
Pessimistic outlook
China’s Qingming Festival holiday is set to kick off in the beginning of April. In recent years, more small and medium-budget domestic films have chosen to debut during this time because, unlike the Spring Festival, they do not have to worry about competing against big blockbusters.
For example, Sister took home 860 million yuan when it was released during the Qingming Festival period in 2021, driving the overall box office of this period to a record high.
However, due to the current COVID-19 outbreak in China, four domestic films that were set to debut during the Qingming Festival have delayed their release dates. This has allowed two foreign language films Escape Room: Tournament of Champions and Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania to take the lead in the schedule, although they may find the Chinese film market a tough nut to crack, according to a report from Maoyan on Wednesday.
The report noted that more domestic films are likely to be released in April only after the outbreak is brought under control.
Looking at the overall schedule, only one to two foreign language movies are set to be released each week throughout April in the mainland film market, including the highly anticipated The Secrets of Dumbledore, US action thriller film Ambulance and Indian blockbuster Drishyam.
Inevitable trend
Chinese film observers, however, say that the COVID-19 pandemic has only been a “catalyst” and that it is inevitable for Chinese audiences to eventually lose interest in Hollywood movies.
According to industry insiders, there are many reasons behind this trend.
First of all, Hollywood has been producing fewer original stories in recent years as the industrialization of Hollywood has caused it to focus more on movie franchises, comic book adaptations and visual effects blockbusters, Shi Wenxue, a film critic based in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
“Whether it is The Batman or Spider-Man, Hollywood only captivates audiences through nostalgia without any creative expression about the current international situation and the impact of the pandemic on human beings,” he added.
Shi is not the only one to think this way.
The hashtag “Why does the Chinese audience dislike watching Hollywood movies?” began trending on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo recently. Some netizens said they feel the main reason is that Hollywood has indeed become too commercialized, producing routine “fast-food”-like movies without any innovation by assembly line, and that the current Hollywood output is incomparable with past classics such as The Godfather, Forrest Gump and Avatar.
Shi Chuan, vice chairman of the Shanghai Film Association, told the Global Times on Wednesday that films from other countries, especially those made in Japan, South Korea and India, also pose a threat to Hollywood movies in China.
“Movies like Japanese film Shoplifters and Indian blockbuster Dangal achieved huge success in the Chinese film market, as the stories from neighboring countries resonate more with Chinese audiences. This shows that only good stories can hit people’s hearts,” he said.
He added that in the past, when the China’s economy was lagging behind the rest of the world, people only had access to simple means of entertainment, and so were naturally attracted to the technology and culture of economically developed regions. However, now that Chinese audiences are more open-minded and confident, their taste in movies has improved.
The huge successes of Wolf Warrior 2, The Wandering Earth and The Battle at Lake Changjin prove that the Chinese film market has been rapidly developing.
“We create our own heroes and most of them are adapted from real historical stories, which makes them more convincing.”
In 2020, China surpassed North America to become the world’s largest film market in terms of box office.
Shi pointed out that a deeply rooted reason for the decline may also stem from Chinese audiences questioning the US-centric ideology on display in Hollywood films, which tend to be about the American Dream or portray the ideological embodiment of US hegemony.
“Chinese no longer believe in US heroes in their stories. In the current international context, we don’t seem to need this kind of salvation, let alone fully identify with what they value,” he said.
The policy was adopted by NFL owners during their annual meeting on March 28 and requires all 32 NFL teams to hire an offensive assistant coach who is “a female or a member of an ethnic or racial minority,” regardless of whether or not the team already has a coach who satisfies those requirements among their staff.
In the Clinton 1990s, the wisdom circulated that White America was getting replaced and therefore, business needed to cater to the New Americans.
Various comically condescending attempts followed, after which point they finally hit on a solution of sorts: continue affirmative action but through private industry.
To be part of the goodthinker club in the coastal cosmopolitan metroplexes where the executives, publicists, journalists, and investors live, therefore, it seemed like a logical rationalization from precedent to start with more of these programs, even though it is steadily driving away their core audience.
It is one hell of a piss-boor business model.
The curse of the white cat.
The curse of the white cat.
White cat owners please chime in.
Why it is important to not use cheap measuring tapes
This is shocking!
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It gives “China” a bad name. Though, actually the white tape looks to be from Vietnam.
My son was very troubled. VERY troubled. If you have seen the movie “We Need To Talk About Kevin”, it will really help to understand what I’m talking about, because I swear to God when I watched that film I thought I was watching a documentary of my life, I felt like the writer must have had cameras hidden in my damn house, that’s how accurate it was. The only difference is that in the movie, the boy appears normal to his father and only reveals his true nature to his mother, with my son he didn’t have that mask. His insane behavior was the same with everyone.
From the day he was born, my son just came out wrong. He was planned, my wife and I tried to get pregnant and were ecstatic when he was born. He was wanted and loved. We showered affection on him and really tried to give him a happy childhood. But from the day we brought him home from the hospital, he was miserable. He cried for 13 months straight. I’m not exaggerating, 13 months without a break, he cried until he had no voice left and kept crying, you could see his little face scrunched up and no sound coming out, totally hoarse. There were times he would literally be crying in his sleep, I’ve never seen or heard of any other kid able to do that. We brought him to doctors, specialists, tried changing his diet, held him, rocked him, toys, swaddling, music, mobiles, everything we could think of. Nothing worked. 13 months of grating, grinding, no sleep hell.
Once he got over the crying stage, we thought we were out of the woods. But it quickly became clear that for some unknown reason, he was just angry at being alive. I never saw that kid have a genuine, joyous smile once in the time I knew him. I saw him grin a vicious, horrible grin many times, taking a perverse pleasure from causing pain or suffering or breaking a rule, but a smile from real pleasure at something nice? No, never. Not once. He had no interest in anything positive; he was fueled by hate, and everything he did was bent toward that.
As soon as he could walk, his mission in life was to destroy things. He would break or try to break anything that came in his range, smash it, chew it, throw it in the toilet, whatever he could. After a while he figured out how to get his diaper off and took great pleasure in shitting and pissing anywhere he could. After a while he figured out he could hide it, and started pissing and shitting in places we wouldn’t find right away, grinding it into carpets making it even more of a problem to clean and making the house stink. When he got older, (ages 9-15) he would piss and shit in our bed, until we got a lock on our door and he wasn’t able to get in anymore; then he’d just take a dump in the hallway in front of our room. That biological warfare started around a 2 and a half years old and he never grew out of it.
I’ll try to speed it up as I could literally go on for days about this stuff, but as he grew older, he became more and more unmanageable. He would bite, kick, scream, scratch and spit at anyone trying to do anything with him. He was kicked out of school twice before he was 9, then let him back in and then kicked him out for good, he had to change schools. The next one put him in a special class that kept him away from the other students. We had to install a door and lock on the kitchen because he would steal knives and use them to gouge the walls/furniture or chase people with them. When he was 10, he stabbed me pretty good in the hip and ass, I still have the scars. As he grew older, he grew darker. He moved into setting things on fire, and torturing local animals. There was a stray dog that hung out around the park near our house, my son blinded it in one eye with a BBQ fork. He would dip cat’s tails in gasoline and light them on fire. He became a violent, stinking, vicious beast that lived in our house. We couldn’t do anything with him.
YES, we had the kid in fucking therapy. He saw a psychiatrist twice a week, and had god knows how many different medications prescribed to him over the years. Nothing worked. Therapy didn’t work. Meds didn’t work. Nothing fucking worked. He was like a poison cloud of hate and fury lashing out at anything in his reach.
When my son was 16, my wife got pregnant again. I can’t tell you how different our reaction was. Instead of joy, we felt horror. This pregnancy had not been planned, and we really were at a loss over what to do. My son had been such an unending nightmare for 16 years, we couldn’t take the idea of starting again from the beginning. We talked a lot about terminating, but a) access to abortion was not as easy in those days as it is now, and b) my wife was very against it. We talked about many options. In the end, we decided that my wife would have the baby, and if it turned out evil we would put it up for adoption. We knew we just couldn’t do it again with another child like our son.
We had a daughter. She was normal. Suddenly we saw what our lives should have been like the whole time, how things would have been had our son not been himself. She laughed at things. She breast fed without biting (she didn’t have teeth yet anyway, but you could tell she was just trying to eat, not tear her mom’s breast off). After 4 months she was sleeping through the night. She was happy. She was NORMAL. I can’t describe the relief and happiness that we both felt, I don’t have the words for it.
This where I believe I may have started really pulling back from my son. Up until that time, whatever mistakes I made, I had always tried to do the best for my son, I am convinced of that. I tried to help him and love him and care for him, I really tried. But when my daughter was born, my wife and I both instinctively just turned toward her. She became our focus, not from malice, but just because she was so much EASIER. She was so happy and sweet, every moment we were with her was like magic. I understand this was wrong, but we honestly couldn’t help it. I don’t have a better explanation than that.
My son hadn’t given a shit about my wife being pregnant, I honestly don’t know if he really understood it, but when we brought our daughter home he started acting out even more. I didn’t think it was possible, but he took it up another notch. At this time he was 17, and we were having blow-out screaming matches daily. Usually after we fought, he would storm out of the house and disappear for hours at a time, or come back the next morning. It was a relief. I started to actually look forward to our fights because it would get him away from us for a while.
After the birth of our daughter, my relationship with my son was almost entirely gone, our only real interactions were screaming at each other. My wife was even worse with him, she just had nothing left. By that time, if our son even came in to the same room as her, she would just stop whatever she was doing and start screaming “GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY! GET THE FUCK OUT!” until he left. He started spending more and more time out of the house, which was a blessing for us. I have no idea what he got up to out in the world, but we were just happy it wasn’t being inflicted on us.
As a consequence of our son’s behavior, we had invested heavily in locks around our house. All of the cheap, thin interior doors in our home had been replaced with think, dense wood doors that couldn’t be kicked through, equipped with keyed locks that my wife and I carried keys to. I know it sounds extreme, but locks and heavy doors were the best way we had found to create safe spaces from him. I was not locking my son in rooms like a prisoner, he had free reign of the house and could come and go as he pleased. My wife and I would lock OURSELVES in rooms to protect ourselves from him, if anything WE were the prisoners in our own home.
On the day in question, I had fought with my son in the morning and he had left the house in a rage. My wife and I were enjoying some peace and quiet in the kitchen while our daughter napped in our bedroom. And then my daughter began crying. Any parent who has young children can tell you, you get used to your child’s cries and you can tell after a while what they need, they cry differently if they are hungry, or need changing, or are just restless and want to be held. Babies can communicate pretty well before they can speak. This cry was none of those things. This cry was terror. The second we heard it my wife and I were both up out of our chairs and running to the room. The door was locked of course, and it took a few seconds to get the right key and get it open.
My son was in the room. We lived in a bungalow, and the bastard had climbed in the window to get to her. He was standing over her crib with a steak knife in his hand. I have no idea where he got it, it wasn’t one of ours; we controlled our knives very carefully and always kept them in locked drawers. I think he may have stolen it from one of our neighbor’s houses. He had broken her skin twice already, once in the belly area and once on her arm. I could see blood running down. When I entered the room he was dragging the back of the knife down her face, not cutting, almost tickling her with it, teasing her while she screamed. He looked up at us and smiled.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was already moving, running to put myself between them. I didn’t think about it, I just moved instinctively. Even with that, my wife got there faster, it was like a movie on fast forward, she got to our son and bashed his hand away, knocking the knife across the room and then shoved him with her whole body weight, so hard that he flew away from the crib and bounced off the wall. I picked up my daughter and held her while my wife screened us. I could see her shaking, almost convulsing. I can remember the smell of the room, the sound of my daughter screaming and wailing. The look on my son’s face as he stood there. Just nothing. Blank, dead, there was nothing in his eyes, no emotion. He looked like an alien to me. I watched my wife take a step toward him. I could have reached out and stopped her, but I didn’t. She stepped forward again, very close to him. I could have stopped her again. But I didn’t. She waited, looking at him for maybe 3 to 5 seconds without moving. And then she punched him in the face.
Now until this point, you may have been picturing my wife as a typical woman, small frame, dainty, delicate. This is not the case. My wife does have a small frame, but dainty and delicate she is not, never has been since I’ve known her. Since her early teens, my wife has been a boxer. MMA didn’t exist back then, but karate and boxing were big in those days, and my wife was a VERY talented amateur. She was about 130 pounds, she carried a lot of muscle and she knew how to punch. I had 70 pounds on her back then, and I have no doubt that in a real fight between me and her she could have and would have pounded me flat. Neither of us had ever laid a hand on our son in anger before, but something broke in her that day, and all the years of anger and pain and sorrow and frustration just came pouring out. When she hit him his head snapped back and blood started pouring out of his nose. He hardly reacted, he just looked at her with this shocked expression like he didn’t know how to process what had just happened. She waited another second. And then she hit him again.
I could have reached out and stopped her. I could have dragged her out of the room, taken her away, calmed her. I didn’t. I just stood there and watched while she systematically started to pound him to a pulp. Every time he brought his hands to cover one part she would blast him somewhere else, body, head, body, head, over and over. He started screaming, crying out, yelling for her to stop. It’s the most genuine reaction I’d ever seen him have to anything in his whole life. But she wasn’t stopping. I watched her ramping up, hitting harder, faster, working him like a heavy bag. He tried to swing at her and she slipped him easily. She was on auto pilot, sinking down into her training. I stood there watching for a minute. Then I turned my back on them and took my daughter out of the room.
I brought my daughter to the kitchen and gave her a bath in the sink. I found that he had cut her a third time on the sole of her foot. All the cuts were superficial. I cleaned her up and held her until she calmed. I put Polysporin and Band-Aids on her cuts. In our bedroom, I could hear my son screaming, calling my wife horrible names, telling her he would cut her head off and fuck her corpse. After a while, I didn’t hear him saying anything anymore, didn’t even hear him crying out. I assumed that he must have been knocked out. But I could still hear her beating him.
That went on for a long time. Long enough for my daughter to drift off to sleep in my arms. I just sat at the kitchen table waiting for her to finish. Finally she came out and sat down across from me. Her hands were swollen and red. Her face and arms were splattered with blood. Her chest was heaving. We just stared at each other without saying anything. After a while I asked her “Is he dead?” She looked back at me and answered “I fucking hope so”. I nodded. That was all there was to say about that. I understood how she felt perfectly. I felt the same. I didn’t know what to do, so we just sat there waiting silently. Eventually my wife started crying and went to go take a shower. I just stayed where I was holding our daughter.
After a long while, I heard moaning and sobbing coming from our room. It turned out that my son wasn’t dead. I went in to see how bad it was, and it was… pretty bad. I’ve never seen a more merciless beating laid onto anyone, before or since. He was lying on the floor, rolling around with blood leaking out of his face, lying in a pool of vomit. His nose was squashed flat out across his face, both of his eyes were completely swollen shut and starting to blacken already. I could see that a couple of his fingers were bent out at weird angles and he had pissed his pants. I think he must have been missing teeth, but I couldn’t see any on the floor and I couldn’t see inside his mouth, his lips were all puffed up and swollen. From talking to my wife about it later, I know now that she had systematically beaten every part of his body, focusing heavily on his legs. She told me she kicked him in the groin repeatedly until her legs got tired, and had kept beating his body long after he had passed out.
When my wife came out of the shower, I still didn’t know what to do about our son. I didn’t know whether to call the police or an ambulance, take him to the hospital myself, I honestly didn’t have any idea what to do. After a while I realized that I simply didn’t care what happened to him anymore, and we decided to just let him live or die on his own. There was an in-law suite in the basement that we had never really used, and my wife, my daughter and I just moved down there. We simply ceded the top floor of the house to my son and locked everything down, separated our lives entirely. There was plenty of food in the upstairs cabinets, enough for a couple weeks or more, he had a washroom and bedrooms to use. We had a washroom in the basement, a small kitchenette, and a separate entrance so we just stopped going upstairs. We just decided we were done with him. I figured we’d let his food run out and see what happened.
Over the next week we could hear him moving around upstairs sometimes. I think he just spent most of time lying in bed recovering. I went to work, watching on high alert in case he attacked me in the driveway, but he never did. My wife stayed home with our daughter. She was never out of our sight. One night we heard him going ballistic, smashing things and banging. We didn’t respond. He never tried to get downstairs or get near us though. I think he was afraid that if he got near us again, my wife might finish the job on him. After three weeks down in the basement, we hadn’t heard anything from up above for a few days, and I ventured upstairs to the main floor of the house.
The place was demolished, and there was no sign of my son. He was gone. It took months to repair the damage he had done and get the main floor back to normal again. There was food and shit smeared all over the walls and broken glass on the floor, big holes in the dry wall, he had ripped the place apart. He tore up the linoleum in a corner of the kitchen and emptied an entire foam fire extinguisher into the living room. I feel thankful that he didn’t burn the house down with us in it, I’m honestly not sure why he didn’t, the kid wasn’t shy about lighting things on fire. After that, I lived in fear every day that he would come back, that he would ambush us out of the blue and try to kill us. We moved house about 3 years later and I finally stopped being afraid that he would show up again, as now he had no idea where we were. I finally felt safe from him.
All this happened a long time ago. My son was born in the spring of 1971, my daughter was born in ’88. I’m an old man now, I’ll be 70 this year and my wife passed from cancer in 2016. My daughter is 31 now, I moved in with her and her husband after my wife passed. I’ve got two granddaughters and they are the joy of my life. I see a therapist a couple times a month to talk about all this. I don’t know where my son is. The last time I saw him was when he was lying on the floor of our bedroom, bleeding and smashed. I haven’t heard from him since he left, more than 30 years now. I don’t want to.
I carry a lot of guilt from that time, and a lot of conflicted emotions. I didn’t beat him myself, but I allowed him to be beaten, and I thought he deserved it. I was happy it happened. I didn’t try to kill him, but I would have been happy if he died. I will say that I do hope he was able to overcome his demons and go live a normal life somewhere. If he wasn’t able to do that, if he stayed the way he was, then I truly do hope someone out there killed him. When I knew him he was a rabid dog, and whichever way it went I just hope he isn’t still out there hurting anyone else.
…
This entire write up has shooken me. As someone who was married to a mentally ill person, I could very much relate to the situation that I found myself in when her personality went Dr Jekkle and Mr Hyde. Comments?
MM commentary
I’m sure that he moved into politics, and is probably in a great position of power inside Washington DC today.
A great deal on a “fixer Upper”.
A great deal on a “fixer Upper”.
It looks like a lot of work, don’t you know.
‘Tattooed Lady”, Rory Gallagher performs live at Rockpalast (1977)
When asked how it felt to be the greatest guitar player in the world, Jimi Hendrex responded “Ask Rory Gallagher”. Please enjoy this section of one of the guitar greats from my youth.
This ornament has a hole for a light to poke through so it mimics the lit lighter from Die Hard.
Die Hard is a classic Christmas movie. Don’t you think?
Die Hard Christmas.
Remember to be the Rufus
It defines your sentience. When the going gets tough, the survivors are those that are members in a community. The idea that the lone-wolf can win and survive is just a Hollysood fantasy. History celarly tells us otherwise. Be that Rufus. video.
The alarm bells are ringing. Are you going to step up to the plate and participate in life, or are you going to still stand by and be a spectator? Be a Rufus. video 2MB
“Russia is Succeeding Wildly in its Objectives!” Scott Ritter on the War in Ukraine
Outstanding interview! Read this and get a fresh perspective. -MM
Transcript – Interview with Scott Ritter, March 23, 2022
Global Research: The last time you were on the show, about a month before Russia authorized a military incursion into Ukraine you mentioned that if it did happen it would not be trying to occupy the country. It would be in your words “lancing the boil.” An attempt to demilitarize and destroy Ukraine as a modern nation-state. It seems based on mainstream media coverage that it is in fact trying to occupy the country. Millions of Ukrainians are literally leaving the country as we speak, and this is not an operation that would end in days. It’s now approaching a month. Several Russian soldiers have been killed. They seem to be bogged down outside of cities. Certainly NATO is not yet going to engage them it’s true. Russia isn’t succeeding, no doubt due in part, it seems, to the resistance of the Ukrainian soldiers.
So let me ask you if you’ve changed your mind about what you said two months ago. I mean, did you err in your assessment of the Russian logistics in the situation?
Scott Ritter: NO! I’m a hundred percent correct! I mean, the fact of the matter is Russia isn’t occupying Ukraine!
Ukraine is a nation of forty one million people. Now, they say ten million of those are displaced, some internally some have fled. That still leaves thirty million people occupying expansive areas of terrain, including cities such as Kiev where you have over three million people. Russia came in with two hundred thousand troops. Military math just simply says no, you’re not occupying Ukraine with two hundred thousand troops!
So, let’s just stop that kind of nonsense right off the bat! This is politicized rhetoric, what people say, that Russia is trying to occu – because what you’ve done now is create a straw man that says therefore Russia has failed in its objectives!
Russia is succeeding wildly in its objectives! I don’t have to speculate. Russia has stated what its objectives are! There are two military objectives that will lead to one political objective.
The first military objective is de-Nazification. That is, the absolute destruction, liquidation, annihilation of the neo-Nazi and ultra-right wing nationalist military formations and the political parties that sustain them, along with any legislation that empowers them.
For instance, legislation passed in January of 2021 which made Stepan Bandera, a right wing Nazi supporting, Jew killing Ukrainian nationalist, elevated him to the status of national hero! And then went around – they passed additional legislation which named streets after him, named boulevards, named places, raised monuments and then also brought back into the mainstream people of his ilk. Nazis, people who had enlisted and served in Waffen SS units during World War II. People who had served in Einsatzgruppen that killed Jews during World War II. These people are now rehabilitated, and their names are put up in places of honour!
The Russians want to eliminate this. They want legislation passed in Ukraine which de-legitimizes Nazis instead of praising Nazis.
The Russians are doing very well on this front! They’re in the process of finishing off the last Nazi defenders of the city of Mariupol. This is where the Azov battalion, now a regiment, was headquartered. These are right-wing neo-Nazi extremists, many of whom have swastikas and other Nazi symbols tattooed on their bodies. This is where they tormented the Russian speaking population for the past eight years! They are now in the process of being killed, or captured by the Russians.
That is what de-Nazification looks like. Similar de-Nazification processes are taking place elsewhere in Ukraine anywhere where the Russian forces find a neo-Nazi national unit of Ukrainian army. So anybody who thinks that the Nazis are doing well against the Russians, think again!
The second is de-militarization! This means that Russia is going to dismantle the NATO army that had been built in Ukraine. A lot of people don’t realize that there were 260,000 active duty Ukrainian military personnel, most of whom have been trained by NATO in the past eight years to NATO standards. That means that Ukrainian military units were inter-operable with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. You could take a battalion, a NATO trained Ukrainian troops, and place them under NATO command and they would perform well.
This isn’t theory. This is reality. Ukrainian troops participated in numerous NATO-led operations around the world and in Europe. So, Russia has said that this – the existence of a NATO proxy-force is unacceptable, and that its goal is to de-militarize Ukraine.
Now, this could be done peacefully with Ukrainian soldiers staying in their barracks, while the Russians dismantled and removed from Ukraine all NATO provided equipment and oversaw the reorganization of Ukrainian military in a manner which made it no longer a de-facto proxy of NATO. Or if they wanted to resist, Russia would destroy them.
Now Russia came in a little soft handed early on. They didn’t bomb the barracks. They went out of their way to avoid unnecessary deaths among the Ukrainian troops. But the Ukrainians decided to fight!
Lets be clear here. This is a big army: 260,000 active duty, 310,000 reservists and security forces. Normally in the military if you want to launch an offensive operation, you want a three-to-one advantage. That is, for every single defender, you want three of your own troops. Russia went into Ukraine with a three to one disadvantage! Meaning for every single Russian, there were three Ukrainians. And yet, Russia is winning on the battlefield. They are advancing at a rate faster than the German army advanced during the Blitzkrieg of World War II! They are engaging the Ukrainian forces on large scale combat operations the likes of which have not been seen in Europe since World War II. And they are prevailing.
They are in the process of entrapping 60-100 thousand Ukrainian troops in Eastern Ukraine, one of the largest bedlam development cauldron type operations seen since World War II. They are doing the same around Kiev. And they are doing the same in the area of Odessa.
A lot of people will look at video-tapes that have been put out on YouTube and elsewhere showing destroyed Russian columns, dead Russian troops. This is war on a scale that people can’t imagine! It’s well beyond anything the United States and its allies undertook in Iraq and Afghanistan. When you have war on this level, there will be tactical setbacks.
Ukrainians who are extremely hard fighting, well-trained, well equipped groups are capable of limited combat success. And they are enjoying limited combat success on the battlefield. There is multiple occasions where they had defeated the Russians. Where they have inflicted serious casualties on the Russians. But from an operational and strategic stand-point, the Russians are winning and winning decisively. Ukrainians cannot sustain their defence. They lacked a logistical depth. They’re running out of gas. They’re running out of ammunition. They’re running out of food and water. Their troops are worn out, worn down, and are rapidly disintegrating as we speak. As we speak!
The Ukrainian defences in Eastern Ukraine are collapsing. They’re starting a panicked retreat westward. They’re going to be cut off by the Russians, and probably killed by the Russians if they don’t surrender to the Russians. So no, the Russians are doing quite well. People are…
GR: Did you say the Russians, I mean, put on your military and analyst glasses for a moment. Is Russia going to prevail? And how far away is the victory? IS it weeks away, or…
SR: Russia will prevail. And I believe that Russia is closer to victory than they were starting this conflict. Meaning that Ukrainian military is collapsing as we speak, and the ability for Ukraine to sustain large scale resistance is diminishing if not being eliminated.
This war’s over! It’s all over but the shouting! That’s all just a statement of fact.
GR: If you’re right about this, then what do you make of the role of Zelensky in this situation? Because he’s been speaking to governments around the world, and he’s a national hero and everything. But dies he think that he can still win this? The forces will, you know, “close the sky” and all the other things? Or is there something more going on in terms of seeing the writing on the wall as it were?
SR: Well, Zelensky knows what the outcome of this will be.
Think about it for a second. Every time he says, “if you just close the skies, if you just give us a no-fly-zone, we can win!” But what’s he really saying? That the Russians are winning the war! Okay? I mean there’s no other way of interpreting that!
GR: Yeah…
SR: He’s not saying, “hey, don’t worry about not closing the skies because we’re doing pretty well on the battlefield. We’re going to win this thing!” He’s saying that if you don’t close the skies, we have lost this war!
GR: Ahhh! Okay…
SR: And that’s exactly what’s happening. Because NATO is not going to close down the skies, and Ukraine is losing the war. He knows this. His generals know this. His troops know this. This is why at every single chance, everybody involved in the Ukrainian resistance is demanding a no-fly-zone because without this, they’re doomed, and they know it!
GR: What about the sanctions aspect of it. I mean, are they going to wear down the Russian public over time? Or will the boomerang effect of the sanctions wear down the US, Canada, and the EU first? How do you see that the sanctions aspect playing out?
SR: Well, let’s look at this strategically for a second. Joe Biden looked Vladimir Putin in the eye last June and threatened him with massive sanctions should he act on Ukraine. Sanctions like you’ve never seen before! Alright, now Putin as soon as he got done changing his pants and everything because I’m sure that just scared him to death. He had months to sit down with his inner circle and say, “how do we prepare for this?” Nothing the U.S. and its allies are doing has taken the Russians by surprise. NOTHING! They anticipated EVERYTHING! And they have a plan in response.
As for instance today, when the sanctions came out, remember Russia had 650 billion dollars in sovereign fund in reserves – foreign reserves, gold reserves – and half of that was dispersed in banks around the world. And people went, “why would you do that?” Because the West is going to freeze them, which the West did. And the answer is because Russia was setting the West up for a trap, which was sprung today.
2022 04 02 18 41
Today, Vladimir Putin gave a speech in which he said the following: “Because you froze our assets illegally, you have defaulted on every obligation you have in regard to Russia. Therefore, Russia will not only never again accept foreign currency, you know, for payment for Russian services or goods, we are going to demand from this moment on that all nations that are on the non-friendly list that is everybody who sanctioned them must now pay in Russian Rubles for natural gas.
Okay Europe cannot survive! One of the big things that came out of this economic sanctions was that the United States had been promising Europe, “Don’t worry about Russia gas! We have a plan B! We will be able to bring together resources and make sure that you have the gas you need!”
Well, there is no plan B. There aren’t the resources available. There’s not enough gas. And Europe will shut down immediately.
Now, Russia hasn’t shut off the pipelines. Because Russia was laying a trap. Russia now has confirmed that Europe is addicted. Germany has admitted right now that if Russia turns off the gas pipelines, Germany won’t have any gas for next winter. It’s over! All she wrote! Their economy will collapse! The French economy will collapse! Every economy in Europe will collapse! And there will be a rebounding effect in Canada and the United States.
So now, Europe is in the difficult position of if they want to keep the gas going, that they must keep going in order to survive, they’ve got to pay in Russian Rubles. Take a look at what’s happened to the Russian Ruble just today! IT’s rebounding! Everbody said the Ruble is collapsing. No! It’s the dollar that’s collapsing right now! Because the Russians have laid a trap. They set the trap. And this is just the first of many! The Russians have many other traps out there that they have set, and they can initiate at a time of their choosing. So, the notion that the sanctions…
Look, the sanctions are hurting Russians right now. There’s no doubt about that. But the sanctions also liberated Putin for the first time since he took power to be able to divorce Russia from the Western economy. And in doing so, eliminate in totality any leverage the West had over Russian domestic political affairs. The West used to be able to threaten sanctions. And the Russians are saying, “gosh, maybe we don’t want to do that so we’ll…” The West no longer has – the West has sanctioned everything. It’s over!
Putin has said, “thank you very much! Thank you! You’ve done me a big favour! The first thing you’ve done by freezing all the assets is that you have disembowelled the oligarchs!” You know that corrupt class of Russian businessmen that came to life during Boris Yeltsin’s ten years as a president. That Putin inherited!
Putin was able to neuter them politically by telling them that if they get involved in domestic politics he will destroy them, and he did. Several of them have been forced to flee to London and elsewhere because Putin will put them in jail for life.
The others that remained were able to retain their riches and continue to get rich, but they were not allowed to be involved in politics. But their existence has always been a thorn in Putin’s side. He doesn’t like them. He doesn’t want them. And he hates the fact that he needed them.
But now that the West has gone in and seized all their assets, they’re bankrupt and broke! And guess what! Putin doesn’t want them now! He’s told them to get the heck out of Russia! HE has no use for them! Go live where you wanted to live over there! You’re no longer welcome here!
The other thing that’s happened is about 20 percent of the Russian population that was relatively apolitical, who tended to vote for the status quo, meaning vote for Putin would have turned on Putin had Putin initiated a divorce with the West. These are the Russian middle class whose economic well-being had become so intertwined with the West that there could be no thought of breaking with the West. If any move by Russia, by Putin, by anybody, to do so would have caused a backlash that any democracy, and Russia is a democracy, would have cost the incumbent the vote. Putin would have been voted out.
But now that the West has sanctioned Russia, it is not Putin that has made the divorce, it’s the West!
Putin is now applying shock therapy to these people, seeking to rapidly reinstate their middle class status, by pivoting eastward to China, to India, to elsewhere, to recapitalize the Russian economy. And now that he has made gas based upon the Ruble standard, those Rubles that these Russians had in the bank that last week were worth nothing, they’re worth twice as much today! And this time next week, they’ll double in value again! And the middle class is going to forget the West ever existed.
GR: Amazing analysis! Scott Ritter, it’s been a pleasure hearing your unique take on this situation. We thank you so much for your time!
SR: Thanks for having me!
Do you think that Scott is right?
The United States spending tax dollars
So true.
Don’t Rely on fate
It is up to YOU, no one else, to adjust to change, and make and forge a great wonderful life to live in. That means control of your thoughts, and control over your actions. Don’t rely on others. Don’t rely on fate. Don’t pretend that somehow space aliens are going to come down and prevent a nuclear war. (They sure as fuck didn’t stop any of the bioweapons attacks, and pretending that Bioweapon World War III isn’t in process; it’s a “pandemic”, is just a childhood fantasy.) Stop living childish dreams. Now is your time. NOW IS YOUR TIME. Make a difference today.
You have to do kind, just and maningful things. Sure, it’s nice to watch heroes in action, but just smiling, buying a cup of coffee for a co-worker, inviditng a co-worker to your home for cards, or volunteering at an animal shelter are all fine Rufus actions. Make a difference. Now is that time. video 6MB
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
The world is filled with talk. Much of the talk on the American conservative media discusses prep for a nuclear war between Russia and the United States. Nah, this is not just trivial fear-mongering. There’s some real and actual concern and issues involved.
Do you think that I am kidding? Well, then you listen yourself. Nuclear war. American leadership. SHTF advice. All good stuff. I have the radio mp3 listed here. It doesn’t mean that they are right or wrong. But that people are openly talking about these things. It reminds me of a Steven King movie.
They are actually saying things that I have long recognized as being true. Both Russia and China are terribly underestimated by the American civilian and military leadership.
But Jeeze Louise! The world has many other things going on. My various business activities are flourishing in trade with the United States and Europe. Why? There seems to be a massive disconnect between business, between politics, between the Western leadership, and the Western mainstream media.
Why is there this disconnect?
Can all these concerns and beliefs coexist? Or, are the various groups all living within their own individual echo chambers? Chambers that believe that their reality is the only reality that exists? Or, perhaps is everything all lies where nothing is true, and us “little guys” are all stuck in the middle between large, enormous, rich criminal gangs that wear the mantle of government?
Here, we will go over various subjects regarding the world. There’s a lot of stuff on Geo-Political stuff, China, and Ukraine. As well as stuff about humanity. I hope that you all enjoy it.
Pepe Escobar: Say hello to Russian gold and Chinese petroyuan
Pepe Escobar
March 29, 2022
The Russia-led Eurasia Economic Union and China just agreed to design the mechanism for an independent financial and monetary system that would bypass dollar transactions.
It was a long time coming, but finally some key lineaments of the multipolar world’s new foundations are being revealed.
After a recent video conference meeting, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and China agreed to design the mechanism for an independent international monetary and financial system. The EAEU consists of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Armenia, is establishing free trade deals with other Eurasian nations, and is progressively interconnecting with the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
For all practical purposes, the idea comes from Sergei Glazyev, Russia’s foremost independent economist, a former adviser to President Vladimir Putin and the Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasia Economic Commission, the regulatory body of the EAEU.
Glazyev’s central role in devising the new Russian and Eurasian economic/financial strategy has been examined here. He saw the western financial squeeze on Moscow coming light-years before others.
Quite diplomatically, Glazyev attributed the fruition of the idea to “the common challenges and risks associated with the global economic slowdown and restrictive measures against the EAEU states and China.”
Translation: as China is as much a Eurasian power as Russia, and they need to coordinate their strategies to bypass the US unipolar system.
The Eurasian system will be based on “a new international currency,” most probably with the yuan as reference, calculated as an index of the national currencies of the participating countries, as well as commodity prices. The first draft will be already discussed by the end of the month.
The Eurasian system is bound to become a serious alternative to the US dollar, as the EAEU may attract not only nations that have joined BRI (Kazakhstan, for instance, is a member of both) but also the leading players in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as well as ASEAN. West Asian actors – Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon – will be inevitably interested.
In the medium to long term, the spread of the new system will translate into the weakening of the Bretton Woods system, which even serious US market players/strategists admit is rotten from the inside. The US dollar and imperial hegemony are facing stormy seas.
Show me that frozen gold
Meanwhile, Russia has a serious problem to tackle. This past weekend, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov confirmed that half of Russia’s gold and foreign reserves have been frozen by unilateral sanctions. It boggles the mind that Russian financial experts have placed a great deal of the nation’s wealth where it can be easily accessed – and even confiscated – by the ‘Empire of Lies’ (copyright Putin).
At first, it was not exactly clear what Siluanov had meant. How could the Central Bank’s Elvira Nabiulina and her team let half of foreign reserves and even gold be stored in Western banks and/or vaults? Or is this some sneaky diversionist tactic by Siluanov?
Hudson was quite frank: “When I first heard the word ‘frozen,’ I thought that this meant that Russia was not going to expend its precious gold reserves on supporting the ruble, trying to fight against a Soros-style raid from the West. But now the word ‘frozen’ seems to have meant that Russia had sent it abroad, outside of its control.”
Interesting too? Lend Self-Destructive U.S. a Hand
“It looks like at least as of last June, all Russian gold was kept in Russia itself. At the same time, it would have been natural to have kept securities and bank deposits in the United States and Britain, because that is where most intervention in world foreign exchange markets occurs,” Hudson added.
Essentially, it’s all still up in the air: “My first reading assumed that Russia must be doing something smart. If it was smart to move gold abroad, perhaps it was doing what other central banks do: ‘lend” it to speculators, for an interest payment or fee. Until Russia tells the world where its gold was put, and why, we can’t fathom it. Was it in the Bank of England – even after England confiscated Venezuela’s gold? Was it in the New York Fed – even after the Fed confiscated Afghanistan’s reserves?”
So far, there has been no extra clarification either from Siluanov or Nabiulina. Scenarios swirl about a string of deportations to northern Siberia for national treason. Hudson adds important elements to the puzzle:
“If [the reserves] are frozen, why is Russia paying interest on its foreign debt falling due? It can direct the “freezer’ to pay, to shift the blame for default. It can talk about Chase Manhattan’s freezing of Iran’s bank account from which Iran sought to pay interest on its dollar-denominated debt. It can insist that any payments by NATO countries be settled in advance by physical gold. Or it can land paratroopers on the Bank of England, and recover gold – sort of like Goldfinger at Fort Knox. What is important is for Russia to explain what happened and how it was attacked, as a warning to other countries.”
As a clincher, Hudson could not but wink at Glazyev: “Maybe Russia should appoint a non-pro-westerner at the Central Bank.”
The petrodollar game-changer
It’s tempting to read into Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s words at the diplomatic summit in Antalya last Thursday as a veiled admission that Moscow may not have been totally prepared for the heavy financial artillery deployed by the Americans:
“We will solve the problem – and the solution will be to no longer depend on our western partners, be it governments or companies that are acting as tools of western political aggression against Russia instead of pursuing the interests of their businesses. We will make sure that we never again find ourselves in a similar situation and that neither some Uncle Sam nor anybody else can make decisions aimed at destroying our economy. We will find a way to eliminate this dependence. We should have done it long ago.”
So, ‘long ago’ starts now. And one of its planks will be the Eurasian financial system. Meanwhile, ‘the market’ (as in, the American speculative casino) has ‘judged’ (according to its self-made oracles) that Russian gold reserves – the ones that stayed in Russia – cannot support the ruble.
That’s not the issue – on several levels. The self-made oracles, brainwashed for decades, believe that the Hegemon dictates what ‘the market’ does. That’s mere propaganda. The crucial fact is that in the new, emerging paradigm, NATO nations amount to at best 15 percent of the world’s population. Russia won’t be forced to practice autarky because it does not need to: most of the world – as we’ve seen represented in the hefty non-sanctioning nation list – is ready to do business with Moscow.
Iran has shown how to do it. Persian Gulf traders confirmed to The Cradle that Iran is selling no less than 3 million barrels of oil a day even now, with no signed JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement, currently under negotiation in Vienna). Oil is re-labeled, smuggled, and transferred from tankers in the dead of night.
Interesting too? The imperative for nuclear disarmament – Is Putin the puppet-master?
Another example: the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), a huge refiner, just bought 3 million barrels of Russian Urals from trader Vitol for delivery in May. There are no sanctions on Russian oil – at least not yet.
Washington’s reductionist, Mackinderesque plan is to manipulate Ukraine as a disposable pawn to go scorched-earth on Russia, and then hit China. Essentially, divide-and-rule to smash not only one but two peer competitors in Eurasia who are advancing in lockstep as comprehensive strategic partners.
As Hudson sees it: “China is in the cross-hairs, and what happened to Russia is a dress rehearsal for what can happen to China. Best to break sooner than later under these conditions. Because the leverage is highest now.”
All the blather about “crashing Russian markets,” ending foreign investment, destroying the ruble, a “full trade embargo,” expelling Russia from “the community of nations,” and so forth – that’s for the zombified galleries. Iran has been dealing with the same thing for four decades, and survived.
Historical poetic justice, as Lavrov intimated, now happens to rule that Russia and Iran are about to sign a very important agreement, which may likely be an equivalent of the Iran-China strategic partnership. The three main nodes of Eurasia integration are perfecting their interaction on the go, and sooner rather than later, may be utilizing a new, independent monetary and financial system.
But there’s more poetic justice on the way, revolving around the ultimate game-changer. And it came much sooner than we all thought.
Saudi Arabia is considering accepting Chinese yuan – and not US dollars – for selling oil to China. Translation: Beijing told Riyadh this is the new groove. The end of the petrodollar is at hand – and that is the certified nail in the coffin of the indispensable Hegemon.
Meanwhile, there’s a mystery to be solved: where is that frozen Russian gold?
I love Malcolm Roberts’ closing statement in front of the Aussie Senate
The truth is the Select Committee on COVID-19 has been running a protection racket for the pharmaceutical industry, and today’s vote proves it. This unprecedented betrayal of the Australian people must be referred immediately to a royal commission.
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To the Prime Minister, the health minister, the federal health department and all those in the Senate and the House of Representatives—all of you who have perpetrated this crime—I direct one question: how the hell do you expect to get away with it? We’re not going to let you get away with it. We won’t let you get away with it. We are coming for you. We have the stamina to hound you down and we damn well will.
“Enjoying the new lamp I bought for my dining room this evening”
Imagine you make a discovery of a nice lamp at a thrift store and don’t think much about it, but then when you take it home and plug it in…
Light show.
MM talks about where he lives in China
This is one of my first videos that I uploaded on to you-tube. It should stream in nicely. Obviously, I’m not an expert. But, I have been squeezing in some video editing tutorials, and you should see an gradual improvment in the over all production quality of the videos as time goes by.
Right now, You-Tube is being funny. They refuse to allow me to say that I am in China, and they have set the video quality equal to “dog shit” setting.
Quality set at “Dog Shit”.
Here, is the video on You-Tube. You be the judge…
Not to worry, here is the actual raw video 239MB as it should be; here. In all of it’s beautiful glory. Big difference, eh?
Austria, Hungary Say No Substitute to Russian Gas as Germany’s BASF Warns of Worst Crisis Since WWII
Officials in Austria and Hungary say there’s no alternative to Russian natural gas, with Budapest stressing that more costly American-sourced LNG is not a realistic substitute.
“Replacing cheap Russian gas with expensive American gas” is an “absurd” proposal, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Kossuth Radio on Friday.
“It’s not that we’ll put on an extra sweater in the evening and turn the heating down a little or paying a few extra forints for gas. The fact is that if energy supplies don’t come from Russia there won’t be any energy in Hungary,” Orban stressed.
The politician noted that 85 percent of Hungary’s gas supplies and 64 percent of the country’s oil comes from Russia, and that geography puts limits on Budapest’s ability to diversify its sources of energy. Austrian energy giant OMV CEO Alfred Stern echoed Orban’s concerns, saying that there was no LNG alternative for Austria.
“Giving up on Russian gas is impossible unless we are willing to live with the massive consequences of such a step. Some countries can do that. It cannot be implemented by Austria this year…As a landlocked country, we don’t have access to LNG. Any diversification would mean investing in more expensive infrastructure to get access to more expensive gas. (emphasis added)
‘Worst Crisis Since WWII’
Austria’s neighbour Germany, whose leaders have so far publicly refused to be “blackmailed” into paying for Russia’s gas in rubles, while privately inquiring about how such ruble payments could be made, is facing a similar dilemma, with Berlin activating an emergency plan to cope with supply disruptions and preparing to institute gas rationing. Russian deliveries made up 55 percent of the European industrial giant’s gas consumption in 2021, with Germany’s underground gas storage tanks down to 25 percent of capacity this week.
Martin Brudermuller, CEO of German chemicals giant BASF, has characterised Berlin’s plans to boycott ruble-priced gas as a “highly irresponsible experiment,” and stressed that Germans underestimate the true risks of such a step.[.]
Looks delicious. It’s a home-made dish; a take on the Subway meatball sub.
Mama Mias Meatball Bake
Thanks to a few shortcuts, you can have Mama Mia’s Meatball Bake on the table in no time. This is an easy dinner recipe that the whole family will love!
What You’ll Need
1 (12- to 16-ounce) frozen garlic bread
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1 (32-ounce) bag frozen meatballs, thawed, cut in half
1 cup spaghetti sauce
10 slices mozzarella cheese
What to Do
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Place garlic bread open face on baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese and Parmesan cheese and evenly spread on garlic bread. Place meatballs on top of cheese and evenly spoon spaghetti sauce over meatballs.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until meatballs are heated through. Top with mozzarella cheese and continue baking 3 to 5 more minutes, or until cheese melts.
Caitlin Johnstone: The Target is China
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The Pentagon has produced its latest National Defense Strategy (NDS), a report made every four years to provide the public and the government with a broad overview of the U.S. war machine’s planning, posturing, developments and areas of focus.
You might assume with all the aggressive brinkmanship between Moscow and the U.S. power alliance this year that Russia would feature as Enemy No. 1 in the 2022 NDS, but you would be assuming incorrectly. The U.S. “Defense” Department reserves that slot for the same nation that’s occupied it for many years now: China.
“The full NDS is still classified, but the Pentagon released a fact sheet on the document that says it “will act urgently to sustain and strengthen deterrence, with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as our most consequential strategic competitor and the pacing challenge for the Department.”The fact sheet outlines four priorities for the Pentagon:-Defending the homeland, paced to the growing multi-domain threat posed by the PRC-Deterring strategic attacks against the United States, Allies, and partners-Deterring aggression, while being prepared to prevail in conflict when necessary, prioritizing the PRC challenge in the Indo-Pacific, then the Russia challenge in Europe-Building a resilient Joint Force and defense ecosystem”
“The Pentagon says that while China is the focus, Russia poses ‘acute threats’ because of its invasion of Ukraine,” DeCamp writes, showing the empire’s view of Moscow as a second-tier enemy.
Ahead of a meeting with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has made some comments which clearly illustrate the U.S.-centralized empire’s actual problem with Moscow.
“We, together with you, and with our sympathisers will move towards a multipolar, just, democratic world order,” Lavrov said to the Chinese government on Wednesday.
And that right there, ladies and gentlemen, is the real reason we’ve been hearing so much hysterical shrieking about Russia these last five or six years.
It’s never been about Russian hackers. Nor about a Kremlin pee tape. Nor about Trump Tower. Nor about GRU bounties in Afghanistan. Nor about Manafort, Flynn, Bannon, Papadopoulos or any other Russiagate Surname of the Week. It’s not even actually about Ukraine. Those have all been narrative-shaping constructs manipulated by the U.S. intelligence cartel to manufacture support for a final showdown against Russia and China to prevent the emergence of a multipolar world.
The U.S. government has had a policy in place since the fall of the Soviet Union to prevent the rise of any powers which could challenge its imperial agendas for the world.
During the (first) Cold War the strategy promoted by empire managers like Henry Kissinger was to court China out of necessity to pull it away from the U.S.S.R., which was when we saw business ties between China and the U.S. lead to immense profits for certain individuals in both nations and the influx of wealth which now has China on track to surpass the U.S. as an economic superpower.
Once the U.S.S.R. ended, so too did the need to remain on friendly terms with China, and subsequent decades saw a sharp pivot into a much more adversarial relationship with Beijing.
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, Hillary Clinton admits there was an expectation in Washington Russia would have no choice but to become the West's junior partner due to the fear China could take over the Russian Far East. /1https://t.co/pJQeF0eCxf— Artyom Lukin (@ArtyomLukin) November 20, 2021
In what history may one day view as the U.S. empire’s greatest strategic blunder, empire managers forecasted [1] the acquisition of post-soviet Russia as an imperial lackey state which could be weaponized against [2] the new Enemy No. 1 in China.
Instead, the exact opposite happened.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Bloomberg New Economy Forum last year that she’d “heard for years that Russia would become more willing to move toward the west, more willing to engage in a positive way with Europe, the U.K., the U.S., because of problems on its border, because of the rise of China.” But that’s not what occurred.
“We haven’t seen that,” Clinton said. “Instead what we’ve seen is a concerted effort by Putin maybe to hug China more.”
The empire’s expectation that Moscow would come groveling to the imperial throne on its own meant that no real effort was expended trying to establish goodwill and win over its friendship.
This error has led to the strategist’s ultimate nightmare of having to fight for global domination against two separate powers at once.
Because empire architects incorrectly predicted that Moscow would end up fearing Beijing more than it fears Washington, the tandem between China’s economic power and Russia’s military power that experts have been pointing to for years has only gotten more and more intimate.
And now here we are with Russian and Chinese officials openly discussing their plans to create a multipolar world while Chinese pundits crack jokes about the U.S. empire’s transparent ploys to turn Beijing against Moscow over the Ukraine invasion:
Can you help me fight your friend so that I can concentrate on fighting you later?— CGTN LIU Xin ?? (@LiuXininBeijing) March 19, 2022
On the empire’s grand chessboard, Russia is the queen piece, but China is the king.
Just as with chess it helps to take out your opponent’s strongest piece to more easily pursue checkmate, the U.S. empire would be well advised to try and topple China’s nuclear superpower friend and, as Consortium News Editor-in-Chief Joe Lauria recently put it, “ultimately restore a Yeltsin-like puppet to Moscow.”
Basically, all we’re looking at in the major international news stories of our time is the rise of a multipolar world crashing headlong into an empire which has espoused the belief that unipolar domination must be retained at all cost, even if it means flirting with the possibility of a very fast and radioactive third world war.
This is the Hail Mary pass of the U.S. hegemon; its last-ditch effort to secure control before forever losing any chance at it.
Many anti-imperialist pundits I read regularly seem quite confident that this effort will fail, while I personally think those forecasts may be a bit premature.
The way the chess pieces are moving it definitely does look like there’s a plan in place, and I don’t think they’d be orchestrating that plan if they didn’t believe it had a chance to succeed.
One thing that does seem clear is that the only way the empire has any chance of stopping the rise of China is by maneuvers that will be both highly disruptive and existentially dangerous for the entire world.
If you think things are crazy now, just you wait until the imperial crosshairs move to Beijing.
MM comments on the article
China does not play.
Even with the best made, and laid plans, guns, bombs, money aside, you are dealing with a cohesive society. Not a “thing”. The people of one society will be in conflict with another society. Which means that the American “freedom” society will be in conflict with the Chinese “merit & hard work” society.
Seriously?
Well, then. Take note.
There will not be a United States left when the dust settles.
China, Solomon Islands ink security cooperation, deriving from need to ‘quell Honiara riots’ in past year
China and the Solomon Islands signed a bilateral security cooperation framework agreement on Wednesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed, which focuses on social security, safeguarding people’s lives and properties, human rights aid and other fields.
The cooperation does not target a third party, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at Thursday’s routine news conference.
"Pacific countries are a big stage of international cooperation, not some certain country's 'backyard' nor a venue for the competition of great powers."
The framework agreement on security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in natural disaster response, humanitarian assistance, development assistance, maintenance of social order and other fields, read a statement sent by the Chinese Embassy in the Solomon Islands to the Global Times on Thursday.
The two countries will jointly address both traditional and non-traditional security challenges, and inject positive energy and stability into the Solomon Islands and the regional security environment, the Embassy said.
Wang said that the cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands is based on equality and mutual benefit.
"This is the legitimate right of two sovereign states, which is in line with international law and international practice and does not allow external interference."
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson pointed out that the parties concerned should look at China-Solomon Islands security cooperation objectively and rationally, and stop making irresponsible remarks.
"Attempts to provoke, obstruct and damage friendly relations between China and the island nations are unpopular and will not succeed,"
In order to seek a hegemonic position in the South Pacific region, Australia and its allies have been paying attention to and are worried about China’s normal security cooperation with the Solomon Islands and other island countries, Yang Honglian, a senior researcher at the Pacific Islands Research Center of Liaocheng University based in Fiji, told the Global Times.
"Australia believes that next, China must take the step to develop a military relationship with the island countries," Yang said. "So Australia is bound to strengthen its influence on the countries and increase the deployment and construction of military bases."
"Australia wants the Solomon Islands to just follow what it says. But after all, it's the US behind all this pushing,"
Frank Sade Bilaupaine, Policy Consultant at the Foreign Policy Advisory Secretariat at the Solomon Islands Government, told the Global Times.
He pointed out that the security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands
"came about because of the riots in Honiara for the past years and Chinese business is always the victim.""So Solomon Islands government view it as since now we have official diplomatic relations, maybe China can assist in building the capacity of the Solomon Islands police," he said.
Earlier, after the social unrest in the Solomon Islands in November, China provided a number of shipments of police material assistance to the Solomon Islands upon request and sent a temporary police advisory team to help strengthen the country’s police force, which has proved to be effective and welcomed by the government and people of the country, Wang pointed out.
A Chinese businessman surnamed Lin in Honiara told the Global Times on Thursday that the Chinese community supports the cooperation on security very much. He said that the police in the island country lack professional training and their equipment is outdated.
"We hope their police force could improve after cooperation with China."
As President Reagan’s U.N. Ambassador and trusted adviser, Jeane Kirkpatrick was one of the intellectual architects of our victory in the Cold War.
But Kirkpatrick was not blinded by hubris when the Berlin Wall fell. In the fall of 1990, she wrote an article in The National Interest suggesting that the United States should become a “normal country” in the post-Cold War world.
She warned U.S. post-Cold War policymakers against pursuing a “mystical mission” that reached beyond the Constitutional requirement to protect the nation’s vital national security interests.
Specifically, she wrote that the United States should not devote itself to establishing democracy around the world.
She derided the notion that the conduct of U.S. foreign policy should be “the special province” of elites who too often do not pay its costs or bear its consequences.
Such elites, Kirkpatrick warned, often develop “disinterested globalist” attitudes couched in high-minded terms such as “internationalism” instead of focusing on concrete U.S. national security interests.The Obama administration pursued, and the Biden administration continues to pursue, a globalist agenda that prioritizes multilateral efforts against climate change; promotes nuclear disarmament; and seeks to transform our armed forces into a “woke” military concerned more with race, gender, and “white nationalism” than being prepared and equipped to win wars.
The Biden administration is staffed (as Obama’s was) with elites who appear to be committed to a “disinterested globalist” or “internationalist” agenda.
They seem to believe that they are as much “citizens of the world” as they are citizens of the United States.
The US succeeded when it offered a better option. Now it demands allegiance to a political agenda instead of achieving fundamental basic functions.
Food in Finland
To an American, such as myself, this is very funny.
In comments to the Senate budget committee on Wednesday, the Republican senator from Utah said that the spiraling costs of retirement programs had to be tackled to bring national debt under control. Romney raised the politically controversial idea of cutting benefits, but only for younger generations before they reach retirement age.
Democracy spent itself broke. These programs all rob tomorrow to pay for today. The Baby Boomers, as the largest generation, created obligations that future generations cannot pay, so now the system will crash. The politicians are just trying to keep it afloat with duct tape, bubble gum wads, and sticking plaster long enough for the Boomers to die out, since those Boomers still donate the most money to candidates.
Now for some real dancing.
Soul train. It’s what I grew up with. Look at all the funk!
United States geography and demographics are changing
Specifically, 468,426 people from the other 49 states and the District of Columbia have registered a driver’s license in one of the 254 Texas counties, as of January 2022. About 20% of these people are from California.
The exodus from high-tax states has begun. Texas hides its taxes as property taxes which pay for Supreme Court mandated public schooling, most of which has nothing to do with education and is mostly free daycare and free school meals.
A system so corrupt that the avenues of change are all blocked
Joe Mandrusiak, the Freedom Foundation’s Pennsylvania outreach director, attributed falling membership to union members not approving of how union leadership spends its funds.AFSCME 13 collected $26.4 million in dues, with $7.1 million going to the national organization. Mandrusiak highlighted some of the union’s political spending and other cost in the Freedom Foundation’s article:
$3.2 million on travel.
$373,720 on food/catering.
$2.7 million on partisan organizations.
$440,000 sent to 14 groups that call for defunding the police.
$25,000 to DEMOS (Defund the Police and Prisons) group.
$21,500 to Coalition of Human Need (to tear down the law enforcement apparatus).
$465,100 to Planned Parenthood.
Collective reward and punishment systems are Leftist by nature; conservatives prefer to reward the good, punish the bad, and ignore the unexceptional and irrelevant, allowing nature to sort that one out.
Conservatism is inherently Social Darwinist in nature, but also regular Darwinist, and does not believe in saving people from themselves, in part because if you do that, you accumulate a large pool of waste humans who are parasitic and predatory by nature.
If you join a union, you have joined the American Left. People are slowly figuring this out a century late which is par for the course with humanity.
Taiwan island ‘sponsors premeditated riots’ in Solomon Islands: nation’s media
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ByZhang Hui and Fan Lingzhi Published: Jan 04, 2022 06:50 PM
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Local media in the Solomon Islands recently reported that Taiwan island allegedly sponsored the “premeditated” anti-government riots in Honiara with the purpose of trying to pull down the government of the Solomon Islands and sabotage relations between China and the Solomon Islands.
“The acts of violence directed against the democratically-elected government of the Solomon Islands, the ethnic Chinese business community in Honiara and the majority of peace-loving Solomon islanders was at its very core a premeditated, cold-blooded and cowardly Taiwan-sponsored attempt to pull down the national government and undermine Solomon Islands-People’s Republic of China relations,” Solomon Star, a local English media, reported on December 17, quoting a writer given the name of George Belau.
The newspaper said the riots resulted in the destruction of the livelihoods of innocent people and trashing of the Solomon Islands’ economy, “clearly show Taiwan and its friends, the perpetrators of the riots are enemies of the entire Solomon Islands, not just of China.”
The writer listed a few examples, such as the “provocative raising of the Taiwan-flag” by premier of Malaita Daniel Suidani in Malaita on multiple occasions and publication of the “Auki communiqué (a blatantly anti-China document).”
The writer also said Suidani’s “unauthorized” detour to the Taiwan island in May 2021 was a “move to hatch plans together with Taiwan for future riots/civilian coup.”
“China is the only global power that has never invaded another country, never imposed its values and systems on others, demonstrated the ability to cooperate with sworn enemies, not create new ones. China is the only power that represents development and not destruction. So Malaita and Solomon Islands, who do you desire as a friend?” the writer asked.
“Certainly not Taiwan – most certainly not its agents and perpetrators of the riots. It is China for me and my people,” the writer said.
During the anti-government riots taking place in the Solomon Islands in November 2021, the Global Times conducted an investigative story about the riots and found that the riots truly reflected the scope of influence the US and the island of Taiwan have had over the region considering the island nation’s history as a “geopolitical pawn.”
Some Chinese nationals in the island nation reached by the Global Times also said that they highly suspect that Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party authorities’ influence is behind the riots.
During the days-long riots, Chinese nationals in the Solomon Islands suffered great losses with their shops smashed, burned and looted and their personal safety in jeopardy.
The Chinatown area suffered the heaviest damage with most shops looted and burned.The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, told the press in November that the crisis “is influenced and encouraged by other powers.”
He further indicated that these forces influencing Malaita ̶ the main island of the nation ̶ are those that “don’t want ties with the People’s Republic of China,” according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
In answering a query that many demonstrators were from the pro-Taiwan Malaita province and that the establishment of diplomatic ties with China may be the reason behind the riots, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a routine press conference on November 26, 2021 that the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Solomon Islands serves the fundamental and long-term interests of the Solomon Islands, and all attempts to disrupt the normal development of relations between the two sides are nothing but futile.
Chicken & Meatball Parmesan “Stoup”
When you make something special for family, loved ones, or friends, they remember it. And that makes the moment a true treasure.
NFRA Chicken Meatball Soup
If you love the Italian flavors of a meatball Parmesan, we’ve got the perfect way to change it up! This Chicken & Meatball Parmesan “Stoup” falls somewhere between a thick soup and a saucy stew. Topped with a delicious dinner roll that absorbs all the bold flavors, this recipe is perfect for sharing memories or making new ones. It’s also great if you just want a little bit of comfort on a cold night. Trust us, if you bring this savory recipe to the next get-together, it’ll be gone before you can blink!
What You’ll Need
3 cups beef broth
1 (24-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
16 appetizer-sized frozen meatballs, thawed and cut in half
2 cups frozen, diced cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
6 frozen par baked dinner yeast rolls
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
What to Do
In a soup pot over medium-high heat, combine broth, spaghetti sauce, meatballs, chicken and vegetables. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, bake rolls according to package directions. Remove from oven and sprinkle each evenly with mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and bake 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Ladle “stoup” into bowls, top each with a cheese-topped roll and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve piping hot and get ready for lots of happy faces around the table.
How Empires Fall
How does an empire fall?
It rots and rusts in the core while the liars keep putting on fresh coats of paint every year. The collapse happens gradually over the years but no one notices. Then one day a dandelion wafts over and lands on the rotten heap, and the mighty empire collapses all at once.
It sometimes collapses with a whimper, not a bang. When the Western Roman Empire collapsed, no one even noticed. No one cared.
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Chinese military training
MM readers are probably tired of these training videos. But I believe that there is so much value in teaching disipline, military skills, and fundamentals at an early age. From grade one, everyone in China gets military training. Here is a third grade mortar crew. video 6MB
Learning about China by looking at the Chinese girls here
This is a great and a fun way to get a snapshot of another nation. You take a look at the society, and in this case, you look at the women and girls there. Of course, if all you do is watch American “mainstream media” you might think that Chinese girls are flat-chested, thin waifs that tremble becuse they are overwhelmed by the great mass of horny menfolk (due to the one child policy). Of course, it’s a massive lie, but heck. If you want to be stupid, stay that way. I jsut don’t give a fuck. Here’s what Chinese girls really look like. Video.
When I was attending university, we used to listen to this blues album. This is the full song “Turn to stone” from the album. I hope it takes you back, like it does for me. The song is a John Walsh song, but does in a real shearing blues solo. Amazing stuff. Worth about three minutes of your time.
Show empathy
The leadership in the United States, and most of the collective West are psychopaths. They are unable to feel empathy.
But you can, can’t you?
See and experience how others feel. That’s the key to being a Rufus. You are able to put yourself into the shoes of others. video 51MB
The Supreme Court Uses Twisted Logic to Protect US Agents Committing Torture
American Supreme Court. No outrage. They’re too busy exporting American Liberal Democratic bombs to Ukraine.
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The Supreme Court declared last week that Americans have no right to learn the grisly details of CIA torture because the CIA has never formally confessed its crimes. The verdict symbolizes how the rule of law has become little more than a form of legal mumbo-jumbo to shroud official crimes. Why should anyone expect justice from a Supreme Court that covers up torture?
When a person is in distress they are not thinking clearly. They need help. Be the help. Be that Rufus. You WILL be called upon. You will have this opportunity. Be the Rufus and make the world a better place! video 3.4MB
Remember to be the Rufus
It defines your sentience. When the going gets tough, the survivors are those that are members in a community. The idea that the lone-wolf can win and survive is just a Hollysood fantasy. History celarly tells us otherwise. Be that Rufus. video. 5MB
When profits are more important than society, environment, or people.
It’s the American way. Here’s the United States. This is Hawaii.
When profits are more important than society, environment, or people.
Be the Rufus
The alarm bells are ringing. Are you going to step up to the plate and participate in life, or are you going to still stand by and be a spectator? Here are some fine American Rufus. It makes me so proud! Be a Rufus. video 39MB
A fine example of good, solid Rufus behaviors.
You have to do kind, just and maningful things. Sure, it’s nice to watch heroes in action, but just smiling, buying a cup of coffee for a co-worker, inviditng a co-worker to your home for cards, or volunteering at an animal shelter are all fine Rufus actions. Make a difference. Now is that time. video Rufus Compilation 21MB
Everyone is unique.
And everyone has their own unique story. Like this woman who paid a man to have sex with her so that she would have a child. Don’t judge. Show understanding and compassion.
I had a baby with sperm donated from a man who advertised on craigslist. If my very religious family found out it wasn’t an “accident” I would be completely shunned and disowned.
I am a female who is ugly. NO, that’s not the secret. But.. I AM ugly because I have a facial deformity that I was born with. I’ve never had a long term partner and only had sex a few times in my life. My biological clock was ticking LOUDLY and I desperately wanted a child – there wasn’t going to be time enough to meet someone and my odds were none existent as a middle-aged, ugly female.
I own my home, have a career – but I didn’t want to lose all my savings to pay to have it done through a clinic and sperm donation, etc. It would have been at least $15K per try. My chances of adopting were also almost none existent as any women looking to adopt her baby out isn’t going to pick the ugly, middle aged lady to adopt their baby, plus is crazy freaking expensive. I wanted the money I had in savings, etc.. to toward raising the child.
So I turned to Craigslist and got it for free.
My child is a preschooler now and I’ve never been happier or more fulfilled! I pinch myself every day because my child is in my life and I feel so fucking lucky. Every day is a dream come true and I savor each and every moment. I try to be the best mom I can be in every way. Parenting really makes you take a long, hard look at yourself and how you show up in the world. I parent from my heart.
I regularly send pictures and updates to the generous and selfless man who trusted me on a hand shake.
The World needs YOU!
You do not know what you can do. You just cannot prepare for it, but when the time comes, you will be called upon. You can either be a spectator (S-T-S) or an active participant (S-T-O) choose wisely.
Be the Rufus. It is your ticket out of this reality. video 3MB
Nuclear Monday [2018]
This is what we are all dealing with right now. It’s a well made very short (ten minute) film.
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Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
Why do we seek answers? I don’t really know, but so many people want to understand the world how it really works, and when I tell them exactly what is the situation, they go behind a curtain and throw up. They really don’t want the truth. They want reassurance. They want confirmation that the people, and the belief structures that they believe are valid and factual.
I think that this is a function of human nature. We want to believe in things that show order, control and reason. And when we do not see those things, we get frightened and afraid.
Here’s just take a slow stroll though the “news” and comments / opinions as it is presented to us today. There are a lot of things going on, and I am trying to unpack them in a way that shows meaning and substance. I hope that you all parreciate it.
Warning: This article is heavy with embeds. It's worth your while to watch each and every one. If the embed does not appear, you can click on the link above the embed to open the video in a new tab.
The Rise of the East, and the Decline of the West
During the pandemic, senior Communist Party officials conceived a new political slogan: dōngshēng xījiàng, meaning the rise of the east and the descent of the west.
The reasoning behind it included China’s belief that it has had “systemic advantages” in tackling the coronavirus, as well as a long-held belief that the country’s state-backed technological advancement will soon put it in a position to overturn the Western world order.
It is in this lens that China’s strategic alignment with Russia was born.
Putin’s last trip out of Russia before the war was to Beijing, where he attended the Winter Olympics and signed what the Chinese call a “no-limits” partnership agreement with Xi.
The agreement between the two men declared an intention to challenge the Western order, based on democracy, freedoms and human rights.
It was quickly denounced by European officials.
But who cares. It’s a United Asia, and the rest of the weeny-eurolizards can howl.
This is the end result of an accelerated historical process having lasted 4 years after [1] Russia announced to the world her new weapons on Thursday March 1st 2018, [2] China created the Petroyuan at the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday March 26, 2018. And [3] Russia and China together formed a United Asia on February 4, 2022.
US Navy Surveillance Plane Crashes Off Virginia Coast
Strange happenings in the USA. Sure there are near-routine crashes of American military planes often enough, that they hardly get a peep from MM. But this one is different.
It’s a surveillance plane. That was flying on American domestic soil.
But the thing that I want to point out, is something that I stated two weeks ago with the highly unusual crash of the Chinese domestic airliner that killed 132 people on board.
"It appears that this was the immidiate and direct consequences for China not obeying the Biden threat not to support Russia in sanctions.
If China believes that the United States are at fault in this instance...
... you can expect an equal response; a tit-for-tat response, within the next six months."
-MM
Shenzhen, China ferry port
This is what the inside of the Shenzhen ferry port (Shekou) looks like. Like all of China, it’s clean and nice. State of art and brand new. It costs about one fifth of the cost of a United States F-35 fighter jet. video 60MB
Hollywood seems to be falling apart
Well, it does.
Bruce Willis steps away from acting after years of struggle; Chris Rock tells cheering fans that he’s “still processing” but to expect some jokes soon; and did Will Smith refused to leave the Oscars? All in today’s Movie News Rundown, which you can sign up for here.
US ‘Chips Alliance’ scheme will exacerbate global chip crunch – Global Times
The US government has been touting a so-called Chips Alliance proposal to chip manufacturing powerhouses in the Asia-Pacific region – South Korea, Japan and the island of Taiwan – in apparent attempt to kick the Chinese mainland out of the global chip supply chain. But South Korean government and chip manufacturers may find the scheme hard to accept, South Korean news outlets reported on Monday.
Washington’s latest political coercion will burden South Korean semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc, because they have significant business operations in the Chinese mainland. As it is impossible to separate the supply chain and various trade and tariff issues, the South Korean government may be put in a tough situation if the US forces it to take sides, reports said.
The US has long attempted to corral Japan, South Korea and the island of Taiwan with various attempts to build a US-led semiconductor supply chain alliance excluding the Chinese mainland. Yet, South Korea’s concerns show that a harder push from the US on the “Chips Alliance” scheme will likely encounter significant pushback. Rather than cementing US semiconductor dominance, such moves could further exacerbate the global chip shortage, which will eventually bite back on US companies.
An increasing gallery of evidence is pointing to the US’ political disruption that were designed to stifle China’s chip sector is one of the major causes of the global chip shortage that could be traced back to the first half of 2020 and has rattled a slew of industries.
Against the backdrop of tight chip production capacity and soaring demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, former US President Donald Trump’s arbitrary sanctions on major Chinese tech giants like Huawei and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) have dealt at least two heavy blows to the global chip industry chain, according to some reports.
An auto component maker admitted that after it was banned to deal with SMIC amid Trump administration’s last frenzy against Chinese companies, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) couldn’t at once fill the demand gap SMIC left, said an RFI report.
The US’ chip hegemony has endangered the global chip industrial chain, prompting criticism from companies from all over the world. Since the Trump era, the US government has tried all possible means to obstruct chip makers to import Dutch company ASML’s EUV lithography equipment – a complicated machine that US policymakers view as a key lever to strangle China’s progress in the semiconductor sector. The US’ relentless political interference has overwhelmed global businesses.
Last November, US President Joe Biden’s administration obstructed SK Hynix’s plan to import the advanced equipment to its chip factory in East China’s Jiangsu Province, according to Reuters. In response to the US’ arbitrary ban, ASML CEO Peter Wennink said export controls against China will not only fail to halt its technological progress but also hurt the US economy. But Biden has apparently chosen to tone deaf to such warnings.
While US politicians are busy concocting its CHIPS Act and splitting the global semiconductor sector to stifle China’s chip development, it apparently didn’t pay much attention to the collateral damage forced upon its own economy. Because chips are one of the core components of almost every consumer goods from mobile phones to cars, the impact of chip supply shortages on the US economy is comprehensive and huge.
Data shows that the global chip supply crisis’ impacts on the US auto industry have led to skyrocketing vehicle prices – which in turn drove one-third of all of the painful inflation Americans saw in 2021, according to a US media report.
In a recent letter to US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, the US Chamber of Commerce said the semiconductor industry is global in nature and reliant on open markets and supply chains that span the world. In this inseparable global chip industry chain, China is obviously playing an increasingly important role. While the US share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has declined from 37 percent in 1990 to 12 percent in 2020, Chinese mainland’s chip production capacity has reached 15 percent of the global capacity, surpassing the US and ranking the third.
Given Asian economies’ complementary strengths when it comes to semiconductors, the US’ attempt to exclude the Chinese mainland from the global chip supply chain is unrealistic and counterproductive. If the Biden administration continues to recklessly impose the “Chips Alliance” proposal on regional economies, it will encounter backfire from economic laws and severer economic impacts from a worse chip supply shortage.
Newest psychedelic drug — is sound? How people are using binaural beats to get high
Uh oh. Perhaps the USA is going to ban it, or turn Hemi-sync into a for-profit or NSA manipulated medium.
“We’re starting to see digital experiences defined as drugs, but they could also be seen as complementary practices alongside drug use,” the study author adds. “Maybe a drug doesn’t have to be a substance you consume, it could be to do with how an activity affects your brain.”
Despite binaural beat listeners typically being younger people, the study says it’s unlikely these clips will act as a gateway drug to other substances.
“In the survey, we found most people who listen were already using ingestible substances,” Barratt continues. “But that doesn’t discount the need for more research, particularly to document and negate possible harms.”
On a positive note, audio clips like these could find a purpose in the medical world as a new therapy option.
“Evidence is mounting but it’s still unclear, which is why more research is needed into any possible side effects,” the researcher concludes.
The study is published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review.
US veteran who volunteered to fight for Ukraine describes ‘suicide mission’
Not surprised. No “plinking” of Commies fromt he comfort of American helocopters. Don’t you know.
The Georgians apparently learned that Hoeft and company had drawn a line in the sand, and were incensed.
“A Ukrainian soldier came up to us while we were having, like one of our little meetings, and he was like, ‘Hey, the Georgians know you’re not going… they’re pissed,’” Hoeft said. The Ukrainian told them that the Georgians were “threatening to shoot you in the back.”
As The Grayzone previously reported, the ratline of armaments from the West to Ukraine has amounted to “one of the largest and fastest arms transfers in history.” Yet, Hoeft was not the only foreign volunteer to describe his role in Ukraine as cannon fodder.
“I think most of the Western equipment is going directly to the Ukrainian military,” Hoeft told The Grayzone. “They want to keep the casualties of their people to a minimum. So if you have a bunch of foreigners that come to volunteer, send them first.”
Once he and his group were told that the Georgians had plans to execute them and pass off the killings as combat-related, they hurriedly gathered their gear, hid in the back of an ambulance and headed straight for Lviv. Before long, they were crossing back over the Polish border.
On their way out of the country, Hoeft said he and “two or three” were approached by “a couple of British guys that were doing other things,” Hoeft said.
Hoeft was reluctant to divulge exactly what the Brits were up to. “They took us to a secure location and they gave us contacts to, you know, American special forces guys,” was all he would say.
Hoeft recalled the British fighters warning them about a foreign legion tent near the border crossing that was full of fighters turning back anyone attempting to cross with military gear.
“They’re basically sending them back and they’re taking their passports and sending them back,” the Brits told him.
Now that Hoeft is back in the United States, he says he is determined to warn other American veterans considering taking the trip to Ukraine that this conflict is dramatically different than the more familiar counter-insurgencies of Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The last time maybe we got into something this bad could have been Vietnam, but we even had air support then,” he said. ”You don’t have air support [in Ukraine], you don’t have the superiority of the artillery. You know, Russia’s the one with the rockets, they’re the ones with the cruise missiles, they’re the ones with the jets flying overhead, drones, all that. And I just think everyone needs to carefully think about every possible scenario.”
“I just want to make sure that everyone takes that into account and knows that, hey, you’re not a Ukrainian soldier, you are a foreign fighter,” Hoeft emphasized. “They’re going to probably use you first.”
Chinese school and teacher placing a demand on the students
This would never happen in the United States. No one really cares. Not so in China. Teacher failure is students failure is national failure is Han Race failure. video 5MB
Are the White Boys Willing to Die in Defense of the Gay Disco?
As if determined to lend credence those who claim he is suffering from dementia, President Biden logged on to his Twitter account and opined:
Putin has the gall to claim that he is de-Nazifying Ukraine. This lie isn’t just cynical; it’s obscene. President Zelensky was democratically elected. He is Jewish; his father’s family was wiped out in the Nazi Holocaust.
Biden is giving expression to what could be called the a priori school of foreign policy, according to which he can deduce a statement about reality from abstract principles.
So, there can be no Nazis in Ukraine because its president is Jewish.
Another member of this school of foreign policy is Catholic neocon pundit George Weigel, who said much the same thing, dismissing any references to actual Nazis in Ukrainian army units like the Azov Brigade as chimeras evoked by conspiracy theories.
One of the most puzzling features of the current war in the Ukraine is the alliance between Jews and Nazis which makes up its current government.
MM showing the readership what it’s like in China. According to ZeroHedge, everyone in China is starving under Famine, and that it is a dark and dingy place where everyone yearns for freedom™ and democracy™. Nope. This is what it is like. Pssst. Don’t tell anyone that you see this. You will be targeted as a non-compliant free-thinker, and the thought-crime police will come after you. video 60MB
Rufus Heroic action
When the time comes, what are you going to do? Be a spectator, or take action. Your actions determine your sentience. Service-to-yourself, or service-for-others. And please don’t be a NPC service-to-another. Your actions, in this life, are a reflection of who you are. It’s binary. White or black. There is no gray area. video 2MB
Norway Grapples With Potential Windfall From Ukraine War
Speaking of Norway…
“There are times when it’s not fun to make money,” said Petroleum and Energy Minister Terje Aasland in an interview with television channel TV2 earlier in March. “And given the situation, this is one of them.”Norway produces about 2% of the global market’s crude oil, and, as the supplier of 20% to 25% of Europe’s natural gas, it is the second largest exporter to the region after Russia. Since 1996, the country has invested the revenues from the petroleum industry into its Government Pension Fund, a sovereign wealth fund designed, “to shield the Norwegian economy from ups and downs in the oil revenues,” Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said in an interview with TIME over email. “It serves as a financial tool and a long-term saving plan for current and future generations.” Although its value recently decreased because of market volatility brought on by the crisis, it is still worth about $1.3 trillion—or $227,000 per citizen.
Norway seems to be “virtue signalling” to the EU that it stands with NATO, eh?
[maxbutton id="30" url="https://time.com/6161024/norway-gas-windfall-ukraine-war/" text="Norway makes money" ]
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How China works
Facial scanning is mature thoughout China. It’s been implemented about six years ago, and many places use it. Modern systems peer though face masks and identify you immediately. Pretty cool tech. video 6MB
video. Here is a Chinese girl in a white bikini. You will notice that the pool is part of her housing complex. This is normal in China. All homes pretty much come with a pool. Also, stop getting on my case for busty girls. I happen to like all women in all sizes and shapes, and I like this girl especially. I think that it is the smile that really does it for me. A smile is your most effective and powerful aspect of your personality. Use it wisely. video 4MB
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev has recently made a devastating statement about the so-called “unipolar world.” That world, he said, “has come to an end.”
He added that “the Americans are no longer the masters of planet Earth.”[1] Medvedev also talked about “the hypocritical white-toothed smiles of politicians and diplomats who said one thing and did something completely different.”[2]
With respect to Russia being a European country, Medvedev said:“In terms of its geography and history, Russia is a European country. Also, we’re European in terms of our cultural identity, because a good part of our population represents the European civilization, which is closely linked to the Christian civilization. But we also have a lot of people that belong to the Muslim faith, as well as to Russia’s other major religions: Buddhism and Judaism.”[3] These questions and answers are from an interview that Russia Today conducted with Medvedev:
Q: Obviously, we’re not talking about geography here. Today, many Russians, including the country’s top officials – if you listen to what they are saying – feel that we setting ourselves up against Europe, as its opposite.
A: No, it’s them who are setting themselves up against us, trying to distinguish themselves from us. They don’t have a monopoly on ‘Europeanness’. The European civilization developed steadily all across the continent. Sure, we are not, in that sense, successors to the Roman Empire, unlike a number of other European countries that belong to the Germanic language group. We have our own history, but our history is just as European as theirs. So, when they say to us that we are no longer considered European, that sounds ridiculous, frankly. That’s all I have to say about our identity. That’s no reason to make any judgments – you asked me a question, and I told you that we are even more ‘European’ than they are. That’s all.
Q: The scale of anti-Russian sentiment in this situation is staggering. It’s like all of Europe, even the countries we believed were our friends and partners, are united in their deep hatred for our country, and it’s manifesting at every level.
And now Europeans, who always claimed they were so tolerant and committed to the principles of democracy, say such terrible things about Russia and Russians, about our leaders. Not to mention Biden – I don’t think we’ve ever heard any rhetoric like that from a top official of his caliber. On the other hand, if we take Poland, maybe Biden is not so bad after all.
And if I may ask a question about Poland, if we could move on for a moment from discussing the main issue – what’s your assessment of Warsaw’s position in this situation? Because it feels like Poland is not only aspiring to play a key role here, but also to have Lvov and the western parts of Ukraine as some kind of protectorate. I understand that this is two questions in one, so may ask you both?
A: The rhetoric is definitely very sharp. It’s no doubt defined by current events, and all the political forces in Europe are trying to use this situation to their advantage and achieve their own goals in terms of domestic policy. Every country has something to deal with, be it elections or a crisis, or the need to create a coalition. And so they need a target or an enemy.
In this case, Russia is the designated enemy, so I’m not surprised by the rhetoric. You’re right, though, when you say that sometimes it defies comprehension, or, as they say, goes beyond good and evil.
At an everyday level we also see this Russophobic rhetoric manifesting, although I would say it differs case by case. It also has to do with new communication methods, such as social media platforms, because the patterns that were less common before can now take root instantly.
Russophobic rhetoric is nothing new, though. Recently I quoted Russian poet Fyodor Tyutchev, who talked about how the West ganged up on Russia 150 years ago and did everything in their power to turn us into outcasts and pariahs. Tyutchev noted that this witch hunt lasted for 30 years.
I can’t help but see certain similarities between those times and modern Russia. Russia in its current form is just over 30 years old, and for these 30 years we’ve been blamed for everything, especially in the last 20 years or so. They said we’ve picked up everything from the USSR, including its ideology, even though that’s not true, and they criticize us for this and that. So the Russophobic rhetoric we’re seeing from the West now is nothing new.
From time to time, we hear absolutely astonishing remarks, but we’re polite and we never get personal. No one points out that there are some people who exhibit clear signs of dementia or old-age senility. No one talks about grandpas who lose their balance while climbing the stairs to board a plane or forget which way their office is and go straight into the bushes. No one points this out, because we’re polite and we refrain from mentioning these things. But all that boils down to ethics and good manners.
As for Poland, I did have to speak on the subject recently because of the role Poland is trying to take on now.
Poland is more than just a loyal liege subject of the United States of America that seeks to prove its loyalty every step of the way, to show that it’s the United States’ rock and main ally in Europe. In essence – in this way or another – Poland has been trying to win back hundreds of years rather than decades of its failed attempts to restore the former glory of Rzeсzpоspolita. And if it can’t do that, then to at least remind the world of the fact that Poland used to be a very serious power both in Europe and globally, almost an empire in the making. Today, the country’s elite is represented by the Law and Justice party with Mr. Kaczyński at its helm, and they have been on a pro-American and aggressively anti-Russian path for the past ten years.
I can recall a different time – when Poland and Russia actively tried to restore their relationship, especially in the wake of the tragic death of the Polish president, and it looked quite doable because there were no impassable obstacles between us. But once the opposition party I just mentioned rose to power, the country’s vector changed dramatically, it became wildly rusophobic. I cannot call it anything but political imbecility since there’s nothing more to it.
They are trying to consolidate the voters that are very anti-Russian, and it’s no secret that Poland has quite a number of such people, as there are historical reasons for that, so they’re trying to take advantage of that and put their finger in Ukraine’s affairs. Especially since Poland is now hosting a fairly large number of refugees from Ukraine, and Poland is trying to use that for its own benefit.
They are adopting some measures that do not only aim to support the refugees (because naturally one can only want to help them) but also to find yet another way to punish Russia. They are proposing some new schemes, even amending the Constitution in order to be able to confiscate Russia’s property. Yesterday, they expelled a large number of Russian diplomats.
I don’t really understand what they’re trying to achieve with all that, because if Russia were to expel a matching number of diplomats, Poland would have to close down its entire embassy. Is that good? At the end of the day, it’s up to each sovereign state to decide whether to maintain diplomatic relations or not. But this kind of policy is utterly destructive.
I’d like to recap that Polish authorities are simply trying to prove their utmost loyalty to the United States and get more points for it by way of financial and economic support, as well as to get more political support domestically.
This is all sad, and it’s not going to end well. Quite naturally, they can expect a symmetrical reaction to their actions or counter-measures dictated by international law. We will simply end up in a situation where we stop talking to each other completely. Is it good for Poland? I don’t know, it’s Poland’s decision at the end of the day.
When will the Ukraine conflict end?
Q: Of course, we are not at the General Staff, and I am not a representative of the Ministry of Defense, but I will tell you honestly, my friends and acquaintances constantly ask how long the offensive will last. But as I said, we are not on Frunzenskaya Embankment, but the Security Council of the Russian Federation is here. Can I ask you what you personally think about the course of the operation and how much it actually meets the goals that were announced.
A: The operation took place primarily because the goals that the Russian state set for itself were not achieved through diplomacy. The President said this at the start.
The course of the operation, the plans for its implementation are determined by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. According to the Constitution, it is the President. The President gave his assessments. The operation is progressing according to plan. This plan was prepared and approved by the Supreme Commander. Therefore, I will not give any additional assessments now, it seems to me that this is a completely exhaustive assessment that was given by the President.
But it is obvious that the operation will continue until the goals set by the President of the country are achieved. These goals concern the future of Ukraine; the status of Ukraine as a neutral state, a state that does not pursue an anti-Russian policy, a state that is not militarized, and a state that should be our normal neighbour.
Therefore, until the results of the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine are achieved, the operation must continue – as it was conceived by the President of the country, as it was decided.
The US thinks it’s above the law
Q: The US has taken similar actions on a multiple of occasions in the past and in the regions that are in no way part of their immediate interests. These countries are not their neighbours or a threat to the US. Take Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan. But the US’s military action has never resulted in such a massive and consolidated response from the West.
No one responded to a bombed wedding party in Afghanistan by shutting down European clothes shops in the US. There were no other repercussions, either. Why? Why are we witnessing such a powerful response to Russia’s moves that you say are fully justified in terms of our security?
A: Now this is not going to sound as an insight, but clearly the US believes it is a nation outside international law, above everyone else.
Following the collapse of the USSR and an end to the bipolar world order based on the standoff between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, the US saw itself as the winner and the sole beneficiary of the Soviet Union’s demise.
While in reality the Soviet Union broke up not because of NATO’s activities, but for internal reasons. And that’s why they behave accordingly: they believe they cannot be brought to justice, but they have the right to judge everyone, they are the ultimate decision-makers, they have the right to do whatever they want.
There are a number of drivers behind this behaviour. First of all, economically the US is a very strong country. Secondly, it issues the main reserve currency with vengeance, continuing to pile up its domestic debt. In fact, it is the whole world that is the US’s creditor. The entire world could be struggling, plunging into crises, while the Americans are printing dollars.
That is why they now feel completely unpunished in this respect as well. Exactly for that reason the US’s actions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam a few decades ago, have never come under any legal scrutiny by the international community.
However, at the time of the Vietnam War, the Soviet Union was still alive, pushing for quite heavy debates at multilateral platforms. The Soviet Union, as you know, was helping Vietnam back then. The US pursued its policy for a long time.
We all remember the way it ended. Mind you, Vietnam is thousands of kilometers away from the US. Now, it’s a fact few people remember, even in this country, because it was a long time ago, but my Vietnamese friends said the US intervention in Vietnam throughout much of the 1960s killed over one million Vietnamese.
Just think about it. Over a million! Take a look at the map and see for yourself where the US is and where Vietnam is. Still, the US went in, and over a million people died as a result.
Even then it was never widely condemned although we had the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union in place.
And after the Soviet Union disappeared from the world map, along with the Warsaw Pact, the US got absolutely out of control.
They think they can do whatever they want. Yugoslavia is a case in point. We saw utter disregard for international law, the use of the armed forces and weapons by a number of countries including depleted uranium ammunition.
Was there any uproar? No. They realized they could go ahead, concocted a justification, and got away with it. Today, some European leaders admit “Well, yes, maybe they overreacted a little”. But it does not go beyond that.
Again, the US behaves this way around the world because they think there is no longer any competition. But they are wrong. Life does not stand still, prompting new developments in international relations and new countries emerging as strong powerhouses.
It means new centers of gravity in international relations are being shaped. Take the People’s Republic of China, India, and the Russian Federation.
The unipolar world is over. The US is no longer the master of planet Earth.
Russians who left are welcome to return, but not traitors
Q: You must be aware that some Russians packed their belongings and left the country immediately after the special operation started in the Donbass. Do you think they will return, or is it a one-way ticket?
A:How should I know?
Q: What can you say to those people who decided to leave Russia?
A: Every man is the architect of his own fortune. It’s their right to make such decisions. Some people have left for the time being, as I understand. Others have left for good, fearing that the current situation may affect their lives in the future. It’s their decision. I won’t comment or criticize these people.
It’s obvious, for me personally, that a significant part of these people will return to Russia eventually. This military operation affects everyone’s psychological state, you see. People keep thinking about it. I believe this may have been one of the reasons, for some people. But that’s it.
I believe what is more important for the country is, for example, the way programmers treat current events. These businesses are international, and now they have ended up being cut off from everything – payment systems, banking operations, major foreign customers. For them the consequences are really harsh. And I can understand their motives, why they are trying to find a better place under the sun.
The government has prepared a number of proposals to this end, and the President has already signed a decree. Let’s hope that we will succeed in mitigating the negative consequences for IT specialists and keep them in the country. Let’s hope that most of them will stay in Russia. This is a real problem. And I am really sorry for these people, on a personal level, because they are in a dire situation. And although it wasn’t us who introduced these limitations, but we still have to think how to make things better for these people.
Western sanctions are uniting, not dividing Russians
Q: And if we talk about entrepreneurs, about big businessmen, do they have support amid the military offensive? Taking into account the fact that now, a huge number of measures are being taken against them. Their houses, vehicles, yachts and everything else have been taken from them. How do you feel about this, taking into account the fact that the West used to say that private property should be honored. And, in general, is it normal to block accounts and populate houses with refugees – this would be unpleasant to anyone.
A: If we talk about business, this is also a part of our society, including big business – they are, as they say, guilty without any guilt.
Let’s ask ourselves a question: in general, at least someone from this big business is – to some extent – capable of influencing a small fraction, one iota, on the position of the country’s leadership. I can tell you right away: no, no way. Because we have different tasks.
Anyone who manages the state, first of all, focuses on the interests of the whole country, on the interests of the people of Russia. One who manages his own business (this is a very important task), only does this.
Therefore, the calculations that, by limiting Russian business, they will somehow influence the authorities, are absolutely meaningless, they are simply stupid. They are also trying to influence the sectors of the economy that are behind this big business. And these are hundreds of thousands, millions of our people.
In fact, with these sanctions, the Western world is trying to influence the citizens of our country, to hurt them. And, of course, try to incite them to turn against the course of the state’s leadership, against the course of the President, in the hope that in the end, it will result in some kind of trouble, some problems for the authorities.
But it seems to me that the people who generate these decisions absolutely do not understand our mentality, they do not understand the attitude of the Russian people in the broadest sense of the word. They do not understand the incentives that when such pressure is applied (and this pressure is not on large entrepreneurs, not on big business, this is pressure on anyone and everyone), society is consolidated.
Even those who were hard done by in some way or believed that they received little support, or some wrong decisions were made, in this situation says: “Well, yes, yes, they probably made a mistake in something. But in general, in this situation, I will stand for the state”.
This, it seems to me, they are absolutely unable to understand, just as they were not able to understand 70 years ago, and 100 years ago, and during various kinds of armed campaigns that were carried out, including against our country. This kind of restrictions and deprivations – only unite people, consolidate people, but do not divide them. And this is their main miscalculation, this is the weak spot of these stupid sanctions.
The death penalty doesn’t have to come back
Q: Let’s recall that the Council of Europe tried to impose restrictions on Russia for many years. You said recently that there is not much holding us back now, particularly on the issue of the death penalty. Russia has renounced capital punishment by acceding to a number of the Council of Europe’s conventions. Since this is an important issue for our nation, here is my question: how probable is a return to the death penalty? Does Russia need it?
A: This is a very complex issue. It depends on the worldview in general. It’s a philosophical and moral dilemma. There are divergent views on the death penalty. And it is natural, it has always been the case.
There is one thing I know for sure. The Russian Constitutional Court was definitely swayed in some of its rulings by this country’s participation in the Council of Europe’s conventions. These conventions are no longer binding for us.
Nevertheless, there are legal guidelines provided by the Constitutional Court on this issue. And this is a completely sovereign decision, not a direct outcome of our membership in the Council of Europe. There is an obvious implicit connection, though.
Today, there are no restrictions in this regard. However, it is still a very thorny issue. There is not only a legal side to it but also a moral one. Even the basic, canonical sources of religions provide opposing answers to this question.
The religious view on this issue is one of the basic arguments surrounding the debate on the death penalty in any country. Europe abandoned capital punishment at some point. So did we.
Unlike the US, China, and a number of other countries. They still keep it as punishment for those who have committed particularly grave crimes, first of all, murder.
Again, today international provisions are no longer binding, but there are domestic legal provisions set out by the Constitutional Court. They reflect the current crime rate.
If it does not get out of control, I believe this legal posture could remain the same.
But legal postures are not eternal either. A shift in our society could force a revision of the legal posture. The decisions of the Constitutional Court are not sacred writ, they may change.
We’ve seen it throughout Russia’s history. The Soviet Union abolished the death penalty after the war. But it did not last long, and the death penalty was restored pretty fast. This was due to a spike in violent crimes, including murders.
I don’t know how it will pan out going forward.
Russians will remember the West’s hatred forever
Q: Mr. Medvedev, do you think a lot about the pressure that Russian nationals now have to deal with abroad? Often, they face real danger.
I saw a video online showing what happened to the Russian Embassy in Ireland – I lived there for a bit as a kid, my father was posted there – and it was covered in spray paint and a driver crashed his car into the gates. It’s just unimaginable. Something like this could happen to any Russian national abroad. Meanwhile, the UN says that a ceasefire in Ukraine would bring the levels of Russophobia down. What’s your take on that position and does this connection make sense?
A: I wouldn’t call it the UN position. The UN is an international organization comprised of more than 200 nation-states. If we’re talking about what the UN officials said, well, that may be so.
Let me openly say that recently the UN governing bodies, and Secretary-General Guterres as well, have made several statements that I would call questionable from the point of view of international law. The UN should be above conflicts instead of taking sides. Of course, the levels of Russophobia these days are through the roof, as we’ve already discussed. These are manifested in the form of attacks on the Russian people and pressure exerted on our diplomatic missions.
What is there to say on the subject? If we take diplomatic missions, the responsibility lies with the country where the diplomatic mission is located. This is the host country’s task. As soon as the host country becomes indifferent to the fate of an embassy, diplomatic ties are usually either suspended or severed. So the incident in Dublin that you mentioned is fully Ireland’s responsibility. They just have to take proper steps in response.
It happens to ordinary people, too – I see it and read about it, it’s clear from the online and social media content where they criticize Russia a lot. I guess it’s to do with current events. Some genuinely feel that way, some are doing it for the hype or because everyone else does it. It’s their own personal choice. Sooner or later the tide will subside, that’s how it works. But the memories will remain.
We will remember it, too, including the Russian people who got stuck abroad while on vacation or on a business trip. It will be etched in everyone’s memory. They say they don’t want Russians there, and it’s only natural that our people who happened to be abroad at the time will remember that. I doubt that they will think higher of Europeans now than they used to.
What about the hospitality, tolerance, and neutrality that you spoke of? All of it evaporated instantly, which means it never existed in the first place. It means there was no culture and no values. It was just a façade, and now all the filth has come to the surface, which we see in the behavior of every person spewing Russophobic ideas.
We will remember it too. We won’t forget anyone who did it – in their official capacity or just in personal interactions. These days, everything is recorded. We all have a digital footprint. That’s something everyone should remember when they write nasty things about Russia, our policies or our people. It will be engraved in our people’s collective memory forever. And I’m not exaggerating here.
International sports behaving in the ‘worst possible way’
Q: Let’s talk about something else. You mentioned IT specialists who have been gravely affected and who will get assistance, but I want to ask you about our athletes. What’s happening to them is unprecedented: they are not allowed to compete or they are forced to do so under a neutral flag, they are pressured into signing petitions and making statements.
We all know that in some sports, an athlete’s career is fleeting. Won’t Russia end up on the sidelines of international sports? Competition is very important – it’s crucial for athletes to go up against talented opponents. Now it seems that the doping scandal was just a trial run.
A: Correct. Elena, Ilya, you’re right too. First, let me say that of course, it’s tough on our athletes – same as on our IT specialists. But for the latter, the challenges started fairly recently, when our ‘friends’ started trying to restrict us in every way and erect an iron curtain when it comes to finances and law. For athletes, the situation has been dire since 2014.
You’re right, our athletes train hard, but they are not allowed to compete. If they are, they have to basically compete anonymously – no Russian flag, no Russian anthem. They are forced to distance themselves from their country, saying that they only represent themselves. This is cynical and amoral, and don’t even get me started on the IOC decision regarding our Paralympic team. It’s simply incomprehensible. It’s monstrous and disgraceful.
So our main goal is to support parathletes, to make sure they feel involved in social life on par with everyone else. But they get told, “No, your government is awful and so we don’t care about you.” That goes against any moral code. I think that the IOC behaved in the worst way possible here.
Yes, it all started eight years ago with the doping scandal. We admitted that we had a doping problem in our country, we are at fault here. But saying that Russia, I mean Russian coaches and athletes were the only ones to use doping is outrageous and cynical. Other countries did it too, but it’s Russia that everyone turned on. The objective that our ‘friends’, from the Anglo-Saxon world predominantly, set was to push Russia out of international competitive sports.
What for? Again, that was to stir resentment within Russia and incite people to do something about it. So our athletes have been suffering since 2014. We will continue to support them in every way and to organize as many competitions domestically as we can. We will seek to defend their rights in all organizations, even though that’s a huge challenge these days.
These decisions were made by specific people in the IOC, the EU, the US, and the UK, which is not part of the EU anymore. It’s clear that certain people are behind these decisions, and those deprived of competitive sports will channel their bitterness in their direction.
Moscow’s rules on using nuclear weapons
Q: President Putin has often insisted that Russia only acts to defend itself against the hostile actions of the West. And in a recent interview, you said that our country has enough ‘might’ to put our enemies in their place. This implies that Russia has considered some kind of retaliation in the event of aggression. What exactly did you mean by that, Mr. Medvedev?
A: We both know exactly what I meant. Russia is not your average country – it’s a permanent member of the UN Security Council. And, as a side-note, let me say that all the ill-conceived plans to try and remove us from the Security Council are completely groundless. This would go against the UN Charter and the entirety of international law, for that matter. We are talking about the whims of individual states. This is my first point.
And my second point is, Russia is a nuclear power with the largest stockpile of strategic nuclear weapons on the planet. Naturally, no one is threatening anyone, but you mentioned the remarks made by President Putin… A few weeks ago, our country’s nuclear deterrence forces were put on high alert. It was a simple message so that any country that tries to interfere with Russia’s foreign policy would know what to expect. They heard us and said they wouldn’t try anything.
I certainly hope this has helped cool down some of the hotter heads in Poland and other US satellites. Still, they do occasionally come up with ridiculous ideas like closing the airspace over Ukraine. Luckily, there are cool-headed and reasonable analysts at the Pentagon and elsewhere who say this is absolutely out of the question as it would lead to a direct military confrontation with Russia.
I think this will be enough, for now. Although we do have a special document on nuclear deterrence which states explicitly the circumstances under which the Russian Federation has the right to use nuclear weapons. There are several such conditions, let me remind you what they are.
First is the launch of ballistic nuclear missiles to attack Russian territory. Second is the use of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction by an adversary against Russian territory or its allies. The third has to do with an attack on critical infrastructure resulting in the crippling of our nuclear deterrence forces. And, finally, the fourth is when an act of aggression is committed against the Russian Federation or its allies – whether with nuclear or conventional weapons – which threatens the very existence of the state.
All these conditions are listed in the document which was approved by the President’s executive order. This testifies to our determination to uphold the independence and sovereignty of Russia. Let no one have even the slightest reason to doubt that we are capable of giving a proper response to any attack or encroachment on our country, its independence, or its policies.
But keep in mind that I am saying all this because you asked the question. Obviously, our position is that however complicated, any situation must be approached using diplomatic tools. And in the case of Ukraine, negotiations remain the most constructive and reasonable course of action. We realize that diplomacy does not always result in success, but this is still the right way to go.
The US had ‘more brains’ during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Q: You just mentioned something that terrifies everyone on the planet – the prospect of a nuclear war. Another scary prospect is the military confrontation between Russia and NATO. In many ways, these two scenarios are similar – in fact, they may be one and the same. Do you believe there is a risk of such a war breaking out? Would you compare the current situation to the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world also seemed like it was teetering on edge? Back then, we referred to this standoff as the ‘Cold War’. What would you call the current state of relations between Russia and the collective West?
A: Nobody wants war. Nuclear war is a threat to the very existence of human civilization. In this sense, those analysts who say, perhaps somewhat cynically, that the invention of nuclear weapons has prevented a huge number of conflicts in the 20th and 21st centuries, are right. This is true.
So obviously there is always a threat. As a former commander-in-chief, I am well aware of its scale. Our people know that NATO’s nuclear weapons target facilities in this country and our warheads are aimed at targets in Europe and the US. But that is life. We must always keep this in mind and act in a responsible manner. As simple as that.
As for the Cuban Missile Crisis, for obvious reasons, I don’t have any personal memories, I only know about it from history books. But I had a chance to talk to one of the witnesses, Fidel Castro.
Today, we live in another reality, in a different world. There is no Soviet Union, no Warsaw Pact, many illusions are gone.
A lot of things are not in place anymore, but the lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis sank in pretty well back then. It had a sobering effect on everyone, including the leadership of the US, NATO, the Soviet Union, and the Warsaw Pact.
The world was living through a Cold War then but right now the situation is somehow worse, in my view. Back then our opponents did not try to bring the situation in the Soviet Union to a boiling point so aggressively.
True, their actions may have been disguised, but no sanctions were imposed on entire industries or agriculture, let alone personal sanctions.
It never occurred to anybody to impose sanctions on Brezhnev, Podgorny, and Kosygin. They understood, of course, that it made no sense, just as they do now, but at least they had the brains not to do it then.
Now everyone is in an awkward position. They have imposed sanctions, but it is still necessary to communicate if only to prevent all sorts of undesirable consequences, including such terrible ones as, say, a conflict between Russia and NATO. It’s like everyone is under sanctions, everyone is on some kind of list.
I signed the well-known START III, or Start Treaty, with President Obama. That treaty was extended by President Putin and President Biden. Why make it so embarrassing? The treaties were signed, but it was done by individuals who are on the sanctions list. If the Russian leadership were irresponsible in this regard, you could probably say: “If that’s the way you treat us, then that’s it, goodbye.”
There is a legal doctrine known as clausula rebus sic stantibus, which means that international treaties are valid as long as the circumstances that gave rise to them exist. Those circumstances have disappeared. You are not treating us as counterparts anymore. The persons who signed the treaty are on your sanctions list. Maybe it’s time to pull out of it? I am just trying to point out that these sanctions do not make any sense, they are absurd.
This was not the case during the Cold War. And it’s a reality now. The relationship between the Russian Federation and the West, the US-led Anglo-Saxon civilization in the broad sense of the word, is probably in a worse state than in the 1960s and 1970s. There is no doubt about that.
Fixing up Yalta for new world order talks
Q: Now, about the talks with Ukraine… how would you assess the progress? It appears that some arrangements are still possible. How will these agreements be guaranteed? Will the West need to bear some kind of responsibility in this regard? Once the special operation is over, given all the factors, would we need a new Yalta Conference to formalize the new world order, which, as you say, has ceased to be unipolar?
A: It’s an unrewarding task to comment on negotiations, and it’s wrong. Talks need silence. And it’s not without reason that the sides are negotiating via videoconference, almost daily, and not in the face-to-face format that requires more time. That is why I won’t comment on the talks. I don’t want to create problems for the negotiators or give ground to excessive hopes or emotional responses that such comments on my part could generate.
The goal of these talks is clear – to solidify the results which the Russian special operation pursues, in particular the neutral status of Ukraine, its demilitarization, and the repeal of the laws driven by Nazi ideology that were introduced by the Ukrainian government. Whatever they say about these laws, they effectively divide the people by their national identity. Some are called people of the right nationality, others are practically excluded. And there are also a number of other goals Russia is seeking to achieve.
Ukraine is pursuing its own goals, of course, and hopes to achieve them in the course of the talks. They include, primarily, retaining its sovereignty and securing further development of the country.
As for the guarantees that the negotiated terms will be implemented, there are two types. Firstly, there are guarantees provided by the signatories of the agreements. In the long run, those who will sign the documents, have the authority and responsibility to see to their implementation. And secondly, there are guarantees related to various international mechanisms. I will not overstate their importance here, of course, because there are a lot of agreements that were signed but not implemented. But, in any case, this is better than legal uncertainty or repeated attempts by Ukraine to weave its way into NATO in order to create a direct threat at Russia’s borders. In that respect, an agreement and the legal guarantees it provides are way better than no agreement. And this is the way to resolve the conflict.
You mentioned Yalta. I can only say that we will be happy to welcome foreign delegations in the Russian city of Yalta for talks. The palace that was used in the past for this purpose is not in ideal state, but it can still be used to accommodate guests.
An attack on their own economic values
Q: Mr. Medvedev, one does not need to be Fidel Castro to…
A: Fidel Castro can’t be replaced, he was unique.
Q: …to talk about the events of 1998. Let me share my observations with you. Even people who were born after 1998 keep asking me as a journalist – they seem to think that I am competent to answer this question…
A: But you are competent. Journalists know everything. They know more than politicians.
Q: Thank you. So they keep asking me if we are going back to 1998. And they mention the default. We have avoided the default scenario for now, as we were allowed to make payments on our sovereign debt. But still?
A: Do you remember 1998, personally?
Q: I remember that the ruble depreciated four times against the US dollar.
A: I see. Yes, it’s a memory that is not easily forgotten.
You cannot step into the same river twice. I was not related to state governance back in 1998 and saw everything through the lens of a common citizen, a businessman if you like. But the Russian state and society were much less protected back then.
But I remember 2008 and 2009 very well when I personally had to tackle the financial crisis. I also have an excellent recollection of 2014 and all the years that followed, when I had to address the issues as the chairman of the Russian government.
Every crisis is unique, in its way. In 2008, we created G20. They want to remove Russia from G20 now. But I remember how it was born right in front of me. The decision to create G20 was collective. First President Bush participated, then Barack Obama. Everyone was delighted that representatives from so many different countries were sitting at the same table – Russia, the US, China, India. G20 was a format that was born from consensus, based on unanimity. And now they suggest removing us from G20. No, guys, you can’t do that!
You asked us to join G7, to be the eighth-member state. That’s right. But it’s different. G7 is your private club and if don’t want us to be part of it, we will go. And we did, we were “ushered out”. But this club is not important any longer. G20 is a different story. It was G20 that helped us out of the 2008 financial crisis.
Why am I talking about this right now? Because the situation we are in is different. Back then, all of us were trying to overcome the global financial crisis, caused by the financial bubble in the United States of America. Our common goal was to stand against it. And we achieved that goal, by the way.
With varying degrees of success, we pulled the Russian and global economy out of that crisis in a relatively short period of time. What’s happening now, however, is an economic war that the West declared against Russia – to quote a French minister. They declared an economic war against Russia. And they are trying to wage this war without rules.
Why? You asked, but I didn’t get a chance to answer. What’s written on the banners of any capitalist society, any market economy? Utter respect for private property rights! This is sacred! The world may perish, but justice will prevail. Everything may perish, but the private property will remain.
And what are they doing? They are blocking the assets of our financial institutions, even the Central Bank. They are even talking about confiscating these assets, i.e. nationalizing them. Listen, this is a real war without rules. What will be the consequences of this war? Destruction of the whole global economic order. This is an attack on the economic values of our planet – ironically, these values were first formed in Europe and the United States of America, in our country, and later, at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, in Asian countries as well. Now we see how the founding principles of the market economy are being rejected. What can we say then? If they don’t value these principles, let them do whatever they plan to do, but, naturally, this will force Russia to respond with symmetric measures.
But, on the other hand, this new challenge and the reaction that must follow could be very effective. I’ve said it many times before, and this is true – had sanctions not been imposed on Russia in 2014, we would’ve had a worse situation in our agriculture right now. Everybody understands it well. We stopped their imports, and now our food security is at a very high level.
I hope that even in this situation, our colleagues in the government will be able to find adequate solutions that would foster the development of our industry, including aircraft engineering, the automotive industry, and key sectors like microelectronics and IT. We will have to deal with these issues anyway. Yes, it will be harder now, but, on the other hand, there is no one else we can count on. This time we will have to do everything ourselves.
Rubles for oil was a ‘pretty obvious’ move
Q: Let’s move to a very important issue. Ironically, the West says they will cut us off everything, but they can’t cut themselves off from our gas and oil, simply because it would backfire, they would freeze. They will now try to use less energy and come up with new proposals. Nevertheless, they have so far refrained from sanctions against our oil and gas.
But going forward they say they would like to stop using gas and oil from Russia. How realistic is it? Should we just sit and wait for that to happen, or rather take some action? The Russian president announced a move to the Russian rouble as the settlement currency. How will it work out? What will it look like in practice?
A: Well, let them buy it as long as they want. No one wants to lose money, right? This is all bravado and chest-beating.
Well, it could work for the US since they have an array of suppliers, they are isolated from Europe, they are not so dependent on our deliveries.
The US has banned our oil, though it hasn’t gone that well. The Americans will keep reminding President Biden about the price of a gallon. Ukraine is very far away and gasoline prices somewhere in the Midwest are at a record high right now. Inflation is 10 percent. It’s a mind-blowing number for the US.
So this decision will haunt the US administration. Its consumers will say a big ‘thank you’ for what their government is doing to their domestic economy as a side effect of attempts to sway the Russians.
Overall, I’m philosophical about it. It’s our natural wealth, it’s our gas and oil. We have to trade it with Europeans, with Asia. Generally, there has been a global energy shift every 50-70 years. I do not know what will be the main energy source in 2050 – hydrogen or any other technology. I simply do not know. So we have to prepare for that as well.
But right now, this is a significant part of our income, and we have to get the full compensation for it. Certainly, we are looking at Asian markets in the current environment, and are figuring out ways to diversify our supplies.
Our European friends appear to be in a big hurry to give up oil and gas supplies from Russia. But in reality, it is a very challenging task. 40 percent of their gas supplies come from Russia. Russian oil accounts for about one-third of their imports.
But in any case, it is up to them. If they want to get rid of it, they will. The only question is, when. That’s something that we also need to respond to.
As for President Putin’s decision to switch to rouble settlements, I think it is a pretty obvious move. They shut down the correspondent accounts for our commercial banks, made settlements in dollars and euros impossible, and disconnected the banks on the sanctions list from SWIFT, at least some of them. What did they think we were going to do?
The only legal tender in the Russian Federation is the rouble. So it’s a simple offer: since there is no other way, you have to pay in roubles. So let them find a way to pay.
Anyway, consultations are underway. We’ll see how it works out. But it was a very intuitive decision.
Q: What about Nord Stream? The Americans are rushing to bury it…
A: They are rushing.
Q: They call it “a hunk of metal”, using some peculiar words to describe it. Do you think this project still has some potential? And if we talk about the infrastructure, how long will it stay in shape without being used or serviced, without pumping gas?
A: I am not an expert on the subject, I can’t assess the durability of the Nord Stream infrastructure. I am sure it’s durable, but I don’t know the degree – we are not talking about months, obviously. As far as large-scale economic projects go, I tend to be optimistic – despite our current circumstances and the emotionally charged context that we are dealing with when passions run high.
The thing is, there are certain laws that can’t be ignored, even if our friends are trying to violate them right now. There have been significant financial investments, this is a very important and beneficial project, profitable for all partners. Conflicts come and go, but the economy and money stay.
I think the Nord Stream 2 project has a good future. It will happen if our partners decide to start using their heads at some point and remember that they have taxpayers and voters to answer to, that there are certain social obligations that they have to fulfill. Their responsibility is not simply to hurt Russia but to solve key problems in their economy. They need to think about helping their own people, making sure that their taxpayers’ utility bills are not through the roof.
And I have to say this. What happened right after they made their decision concerning Nord Stream 2? What we said would happen. Utility bills went up to unprecedented levels. As high as two thousand euros in some instances.
Let me remind you that just recently, a few years ago, we talked about pipeline gas, not the spot market. However, anything over 400-500 dollars or euros seemed like an outrageous price. And now we see these numbers. Is it a good situation? Of course not. That’s why I tend to be cautiously optimistic when we talk about this.
Capitalism means they’ll come back
Q: Do you think we’ll see Western companies returning to Russia at some point, I mean those companies that are withdrawing or suspending their operation in Russia now?
A: Of course, we will. It’s only a question of when they will return and what it’ll cost them in terms of losses. You see, Russia is a fairly large market, some say a premium market. So if they are willing to lose a share of their income, it’s up to them. We can do without them, but the thing is they don’t want to lose it, they keep telling us that they’re waiting and hoping for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. And they keep asking us not to take over or appoint external management to or nationalize their operations because they want to return.
I think one of the press secretaries, either of the United States or another country, said that the administration had nothing to do with this decision made by major businesses – that it was solely their own decision, their civic position, that they put their heads in that noose of their own will. They wanted to give up this market – I say they need to read Karl Marx. Marx explains very well that capital will never forego a chance to increase profit.
This means that unless they were under tremendous pressure from their own governments, I mean the governments of the West, none of these companies would ever even think of giving up Russia as a market. This was a political decision. And political decisions have an expiry date. The economy is, on the other hand, perpetual.
The US is the real ‘rogue state’
Q: So, the sanctions have been applied to put pressure on every sector of our economy. It feels as if now, in contrast to the situation when the Soviet Union put up the Iron Curtain to shut itself off from the West of its own will, Russia is being forced to put that curtain up and become some sort of a new North Korea. It’s like people don’t want it, no one wants it, but the big powerful machine is already working, and someone is pushing the buttons. I’m saying it’s like North Korea because North Korea was buried under the sanctions, or it’s like Cuba where people still drive cars made in the 1960s. So maybe someone wants Russians to start going through scrap metal and repairing old ZAZ “Zaporozhets” cars to drive them…
A: What a shame that I sold mine. I used to own a Zhiguli car from the 80s. I guess I could use it now.
Q: That was probably the idea. So what do you think – as a worst-case scenario – could this kind of thing happen in Russia?
A: I think everyone understands that it can’t. Even though in the course of this interview I did question the intellectual abilities of the people who come up with all these sanctions against Russia, I must say there are different people there, and some realize very well what’s going on.
You see, all of them understand that, with all due and utmost respect to our friends in Cuba and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Russia is no Cuba and no North Korea. Russia is Russia, the world’s largest country, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a huge economy, and nuclear power, which is why all these ideas that Russia can be curbed like Cuba or North Korea once were and that it could just be kept that way don’t have a leg to stand on. It’s impossible. It’s just utterly impossible. Even if some in the political circles and elites of the West would want it that way.
Yes, there are obviously challenges and we’ll have to overcome them. Unfortunately, they exist both at the governmental and everyday levels. Still, it’s nothing new for us, and it’s not catastrophic. It pales in comparison to the hardships that our country had to go through in the 20th century. I tell you what – it’s not even in the same league as the problems we faced during the coronavirus pandemic.
Back then, we really felt uneasy from time to time, because we had no idea how this virus would behave, regardless of where it came from. Could it kill off most of humanity, like in some sci-fi books? So back then things were much tenser, I’d say. The tragedy of course is that the virus caused so many deaths.
But this is a different story, and there can be no illusions here. They are trying to put us into the ‘rogue nation’ or ‘rogue country’ category. As for its etymology, I think it was Reagan who came up with the term. The Russian translation for it is ‘outcast’, but ‘rogue’ is actually closer in meaning to ‘outlaw’.
In fact, it’s the US that’s the rogue nation here. It’s not because we don’t like Americans. It’s because the US is constantly launching wars of conquest across the world. They are the outcast and the outlaw.
[1] “‘The unipolar world has come to an end,’ Russia’s former president says,” Russia Today, March 24, 2022.
[3] “Post-Cold War world order is over, former Russian president says (FULL INTERVIEW),” Russia Today, March 26, 2022.
British “news” reports that China will use Facebook Metaverse to recruit for communism
Funny. As Facebook and Metaverse are BANNED in China. Where do they get such mind-rot bullshit?
Chinese authorities are set to build a Communist education school in virtual reality in a bid to get top party officials into VR.
According to Chinese virtual reality firm Mengke VR, the CCCP's metaverse will run history lectures and courses, host meetings and virtual events, and even let people explore virtual exhibits.
You'll be able to put down the videogames for something better, as Beijing's metaverse will include fun-filled courses such as "The Great New Era - Major Achievements of the Party and the Country Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China" and "The Code of Leadership of the Communist Party of China".
State Department will soon allow ‘X’ passport gender markers
Americans will be able to mark their gender as “X” on their passports instead of “M” or “F” starting next month, the State Department announced Thursday.
The “X” gender marker would identify passport holders who have an “unspecified or another gender identity,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement announcing the change, adding that the option will be available for other forms of documentation next year.
Non-binary, intersex and other gender non-conforming Americans will be able to use the “X” gender marker on their passports starting April 11. Americans who wish to change their gender on their passports will not need to provide any documentation to do so.
“The Department is setting a precedent as the first federal government agency to offer the X gender marker on an identity document,” said Blinken, who called the move a “milestone” in efforts to “better serve all US citizens.
But this might not be accepted as a valid gender to visit a host of other nations.
There is no excuse worthy of stopping someone from helping others. NONE. You are either a service-to-others sentience Rufus or you are a selfish slimeball who love paper and bling-bling more. video 2MB
How Mariupol will become a key hub of Eurasian integration
19377 ViewsMarch 30, 2022
By Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and cross posted with The Cradle
Mariupol was battered by Ukraine’s right-wing Azov battalion well before Moscow launched its military ops. In Russian hands, this strategic steelworks port can transform into a hub of Eurasian connectivity.
Mariupol, the strategic Sea of Azov port, remains in the eye of the storm in Ukraine.
The NATO narrative is that Azovstal – one of Europe’s biggest iron and steel works – was nearly destroyed by the Russian Army and its allied Donetsk forces who “lay siege” to Mariupol.
The true story is that the neo-Nazi Azov batallion took scores of Mariupol civilians as human shields since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, and retreated to Azovstal as a last stand. After an ultimatum delivered last week, they are now being completely exterminated by the Russian and Donetsk forces and Chechen Spetsnaz.
Azovstal, part of the Metinvest group controlled by Ukraine’s wealthiest oligarch, Rinat Akhmetov, is indeed one of the biggest metallurgic plants in Europe, self-described as a “high-performance integrated metallurgical enterprise that produces coke and sinter, steel as well as high-quality rolled products, bars and shapes.”
Amidst a flurry of testimonials detailing the horrors inflicted by the Azov neo-Nazis on Mariupol’s civilian population, a way more auspicious, invisible story bodes well for the immediate future.
Russia is the world’s fifth largest steel producer, apart from holding huge iron and coal deposits. Mariupol – a steel Mecca – used to source coal from Donbass, but under de facto neo-Nazi rule since the 2014 Maidan events, was turned into an importer. Iron, for instance, started to be supplied from Krivbas in Ukraine, over 200 kilometers away.
After Donetsk solidifies itself as an independent republic or, via referendum, chooses to become part of the Russian Federation, this situation is bound to change.
Azovstal is invested in a broad product line of very useful stuff: structural steel, rail for railroads, hardened steel for chains, mining equipment, rolled steel used in factory apparatus, trucks and railroad cars. Parts of the factory complex are quite modern while some, decades old, are badly in need of upgrading, which Russian industry can certainly provide.
Strategically, this is a huge complex, right at the Sea of Azov, which is now, for all practical purposes, incorporated into the Donetsk People’s Republic, and close to the Black Sea. That implies a short trip to the Eastern Mediterranean, including many potential customers in West Asia. And crossing Suez and reaching the Indian Ocean, are customers all across South and Southeast Asia.
So the Donetsk People’s Republic, possibly part of the future Novorossiya, and even part of Russia, will be in control of a lot of steel-making capacity for southern Europe, West Asia, and beyond.
One of the inevitable consequences is that it will be able to supply a real freight railroad construction boom in Russia, China and the Central Asian ‘stans.’ Railroad construction happens to be the privileged connectivity mode for Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). And, crucially, of the increasingly turbo-charged International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC).
So, mid-term, Mariupol should expect to become one of the key hubs of a boom in north-south routes – INSTC across Russia and linking with the ‘stans’ – as well as major BRI upgrades east-west and sub-BRI corridors.
Interlocked Eurasia
The INSTC’s main players are Russia, Iran and India – which are now, post-NATO sanctions, in advanced interconnection mode, complete with devising mechanisms to bypass the US dollar in their trade. Azerbaijan is another important INSTC player, yet more volatile because it privileges Turkey’s connectivity designs in the Caucasus.
The INSTC network will also be progressively interconnecting with Pakistan – and that means the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key BRI hub, which is slowly but surely expanding to Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s impromptu visit to Kabul late last week was to advance the incorporation of Afghanistan to the New Silk Roads.
All that is happening as Moscow – extremely close to New Delhi – is simultaneously expanding trade relations with Islamabad. All three, crucially, are Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members.
So the grand North-South design spells out fluent connectivity from the Russian mainland to the Caucasus (Azerbaijan), to West Asia (Iran) all the way to South Asia (India and Pakistan). None of these key players have demonized or sanctioned Russia despite ongoing US pressures to do so.
Strategically, that represents the Russian multipolar concept of Greater Eurasian Partnership in action in terms of trade and connectivity – in parallel and complimentary with BRI because India, eager to install a rupee-ruble mechanism to buy energy, in this case is an absolutely crucial Russia partner, matching China’s reported $400 billion strategic deal with Iran. In practice, the Greater Eurasia Partnership will facilitate smoother connectivity between Russia, Iran, Pakistan and India.
The NATO universe, meanwhile, is congenitally incapable of even recognizing the complexity of the alignment, not to mention analyze its implications. What we have is the interlocking of BRI, INTSC and the Greater Eurasia Partnership on the ground – all notions that are regarded as anathema in the Washington Beltway.
All that of course is being designed amidst a game-changing geoeconomic moment, as Russia, starting this Thursday, will only accept payment for its gas in rubles from “unfriendly” nations.
Parallel to the Greater Eurasia Partnership, BRI, since it was launched in 2013, is also progressively weaving a complex, integrated Eurasian network of partnerships: financial/economic, connectivity, physical infrastructure building, economic/trade corridors. BRI’s role as a co-shaper of institutions of global governance, including normative foundations, has also been crucial, much to the despair of the NATO alliance.
Time to de-westernize
Yet only now the Global South, especially, will start to observe the full spectrum of the China-Russia play across the Eurasian sphere. Moscow and Beijing are deeply involved in a joint drive to de-westernize globalist governance, if not shatter it altogether.
Russia from now on will be even more meticulous in its institution-building, coalescing the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU), the SCO and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) – a Eurasian military alliance of select post-Soviet states – in a geopolitical context of irreversible institutional and normative divide between Russia and the West.
At the same time, the Greater Eurasia Partnership will be solidifying Russia as the ultimate Eurasian bridge, creating a common space across Eurasia which could even ignore vassalized Europe.
Meanwhile in real life, BRI, as much as the INSTC, will be increasingly plugged into the Black Sea (hello, Mariupol). And BRI itself may even be prone to re-evaluation in its emphasis of linking western China to western Europe’s shrinking industrial base.
There will be no point in privileging the northern BRI corridors – China-Mongolia-Russia via the Trans-Siberian, and the Eurasian land bridge via Kazakhstan – when you have Europe descending into medieval dementia.
BRI’s renewed focus will be on gaining access to irreplaceable commodities – and that means Russia – as well as securing essential supplies for Chinese production. Commodity-rich nations, such as Kazakhstan and many players in Africa, shall become the top future markets for China.
In a pre-Covid loop across Central Asia, one constantly heard that China builds plants and high-speed railways while Europe at best writes white papers. It can always get worse.
The EU as occupied American territory is now descending, fast, from center of global power to the status of inconsequential peripheral player, a mere struggling market in the far periphery of China’s “community of shared destiny.”
In the United States and all across the world, millions upon millions of chickens and turkeys are dying as a result of an absolutely horrifying new bird flu plague. Considering the fact that global food supplies have become extremely tight and even Joe Biden is admitting that food shortages are looming, this is definitely something that we don’t need right now. The very first confirmed case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial flock in the U.S. was confirmed on February 8th, and in less than two months it has spread to facilities all over the nation. Sadly, we have just learned that it has now even reached the top turkey-producing state in the entire country…
For the first time, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed in Minnesota, the top turkey-producing state in the nation, said agricultural officials over the weekend. Some 14.6 million birds in domestic flocks have died of HPAI or in culling of infected herds to reduce the spread of the viral disease this year.
To me, that death toll is extremely alarming.
In less than two months, over 14 million chickens and turkeys in the United States have already been wiped out by this plague.
If things are this bad already, what will the total death toll look like six months from now?
One expert that was interviewed by NBC News says that he is anticipating an “explosion” of new cases in the weeks ahead…
The measures may do little to stop the spread of the virus, according to Henry Niman, a virologist and biochemist in Pittsburgh who has been tracking the bird flu’s spread. He is expecting an “explosion” of bird flu cases in birds in the coming weeks.“This outbreak I think is likely going to be bigger than 2015,” he said, noting that the disease is already widespread in other regions of the world, such as Europe and Canada.
If he is correct, we are potentially facing a true national catastrophe.
Of course it isn’t just the U.S. that is dealing with this. In Canada, HPAI has now been confirmed in southern Ontario…
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says bird flu has been found at a poultry farm in southern Ontario.The agency says the farm is under a strict quarantine, and the CFIA is establishing movement controls and recommending higher biosecurity at nearby farms.
Europe and Asia are being hit really hard as well. Canda and Europe are being hit.
For example, a new outbreak was just detected at a large facility in Bulgaria…
An outbreak of bird flu on a Bulgarian farm with over 177,000 laying hens has forced authorities to begin slaughtering the remaining flock, the country’s food safety agency said on Monday.The outbreak in the town of Asenovgrad is the sixth industrial farm hit by the highly pathogenic avian influenza type A in southern Bulgaria since December.
As you read this article, you may be wondering what this plague is going to do to the price of chicken and the price of turkey.
Needless to say, we are headed into unprecedented territory. Just look at what happened to the price of chicken wings in just one week…
Chicken wings averaged $3.82 per pound according to the USDA’s National Retail report last week, compared to $2.99 the week prior and $2.54 last year.
Normally, Americans eat an enormous amount of chicken and an enormous amount of turkey.
But now that we are facing potential shortages and much higher prices, both chicken and turkey may soon be considered “luxury meats”.
For our entire lives, most of us have been able to take extremely cheap meat for granted. It was always there in the grocery stores whenever we wanted it, and before the last couple of years I don’t remember ever hearing about any shortages.
But now everything is changing.
At first, U.S. consumers were willing to absorb higher prices as inflation began to ravage our economy, but now we are starting to witness a shift…
U.S. households have until recently mostly absorbed higher prices on everything from coffee to chicken to clothes, helping companies maintain fat profit margins despite higher input. But that doesn’t mean consumers were happy about paying more for the same goods, which is why the University of Michigan’s sentiment index has steadily deteriorated to the lowest since 2011.
A trip to the grocery store is becoming increasingly painful for most Americans.
If you have been lately, than you know exactly what I am talking about.
But the food inflation that we have seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg.
Let’s just hope that this new bird flu plague stays only in birds. According to the official CDC website, the death rate for H5N1 in humans can be extremely high…
More than 700 human infections with Asian HPAI H5N1 viruses have been reported to WHO from primarily 15 countries in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, Europe and the Near East since November 2003. Indonesia, Vietnam and Egypt have reported the highest number of human HPAI Asian H5N1 cases to date.The first report of a human infection with Asian H5N1 in the Americas was in Canada on January 8, 2014 and occurred in a traveler recently returning from China. Although human infections with this virus are rare, approximately 60% of the cases have died.
The good news is that authorities are telling us that it is “unlikely” that a strain will emerge that can spread widely among humans.
But H5N1 has a very high mortality rate, and the longer and larger the wave of outbreaks, the higher the chances it could mutate into a strain that is more infectious to humans. So US health officials are closely monitoring the situation.The CDC has also produced a candidate vaccine virus as a precaution.
Needless to say, this new bird flu plague that is killing millions of chickens and turkeys is only one piece of the puzzle.
The truth is that we are in the midst of a “perfect storm” which just continues to increase in size and scope.
I recently heard from a farmer that told me that many in his industry are scared to death of this bird flu.
Once it is detected at a facility, all of the birds must be put down.
If that happens, that can be financially catastrophic for a farm.
I am going to keep a very close eye on this story, because this is really big.
Of course so many big things are happening right now, and I expect global events to accelerate even more throughout the rest of 2022.
Something interesting has happened
There is this strange faith in the United States government. Why and how? video 3MB
We must work together to make the world a better place. We just simply can no longer think ME-me-me. We have to participate in community and help others. The world needs us. Are you ready? video 1MB
It teaches many things. You all might be surprised in how the Chinese school kids learn patriotic songs. Sure as Hell beats diversity training, trans-gen LGBT freedom, and ebonics.
One of the puzzles from the Great War is how the leaders on both sides allowed themselves to get drawn into the war. There are plenty of reasons why each country would want war, including the infamous one that caused a certain Austrian fellow to coin the term “the big lie.” The problem with all of the reasons is they made little sense in light of the obvious costs of war. As a result, the Great War is a great example of how events can tale on a life of their own.
The remarkable thing about that war is that once it settled into trench warfare no one realized the hopelessness of it. One can understand how the initial events would spiral into a global conflict. That is not a new phenomenon. Similarly, you can see how the initial moves in the war made a lot of sense to the leaders on both sides. This was the first industrial war, so they had a lot to learn. New weapons needed new tactics but few people realized that at the start of the war.
The great puzzle of the war is that the sides did not see the hopelessness of the situation once in settled into a stalemate. Both sides were losing tens of thousands of men with each attack, only to gain a few yards of ground. The Battle of the Marne and the subsequent race to the sea made sense. The losses were high, but both sides had hope for quick victory. Two years later the French and Germans lost over a million men at Verdun and the winner got nothing for their trouble.
A century on and we are getting some fresh insight into why the Western leaders in the Great War were incapable of seeing things clearly. The war in Ukraine is proving to be nothing like Western planners imagined. They assumed the Ukrainians would stall the Russians into a stalemate of urban warfare. The world would rally to the sanctions regime and it would quickly be a question of how long the Russians could suffer the economic consequences of the sanctions.
After just one month it is clear this is not happening. The Russians did not fight like the NATO planners imagined. Instead of rushing to Kiev, they pinned the Ukrainian army in the north, using classic maneuver tactics. Meanwhile their main army is systematically destroying the Ukrainian army in the south and east. It also appears the Russians were well prepared for the Ukrainian tactic of digging into urban areas. It is now just a matter of time before the Ukrainian army in the east is lost.
That is just one miscalculation by the West, but it should be concerning. The Russians are not doing anything novel in Ukraine. They are using classic tactics that have been used in Europe since Napoleon. Further, they are following a doctrine they evolved in the Second Chechen war. That was a doctrine Vladimir Putin created as the guy running that war for Russia. It seems that no one in the west bothered to study the man they claim is the new Hitler.
That is only one small part of the miscalculation. The decision to cutoff the Russian central bank appears to have been a massive blunder. The Russians, faced with the threat of their dollar and Euro assets being seized by Western banks have told the West they must pay for goods in rubles. Otherwise, they are forced to send product to the West but not be paid for it. Alternatively, they would have to make concessions in order to get their assets unfrozen by the West.
Why anyone in the West thought this was a good idea is a mystery. It turns out that the Biden administration did not consult with the Federal Reserve. Europe appears to have just followed along without questioning the policy. Now that Russia has countered their move, Europe is in a terrible position. They either support the ruble with massive purchases or they face an imminent shortage of natural gas. That means rationing of energy products could happen as soon as next month.
Of course, the words “shortage” and “rationing” will trigger the natural response, which is hording and price gouging. That will also mean a political response. The German political elite appear to be embracing their inner Marie Antoinette by telling the Germans to wear a sweater as they shiver in the dark. Presumably, they will tell the people to eat bugs when the food shortages hit this summer. Maybe German TV will start celebrating the Turnip Winter as a way to motivate the public.
In fairness, we have to no idea how the Russians and Chinese are viewing this thing as Western media refuses to cover that aspect. We should assume the lack of food riots and social unrest in Russia means they are not teetering on collapse. This was the prediction at the start of this war. The best and brightest in the American managerial elite predicted the Russians would have collapsed by now. They also assumed China would be wavering in their support at this stage.
The point is, we are seeing in real time how supposedly clever political leaders can stagger from one blunder to the next. Unlike the Great War, this war has one side that seems to have updated its thinking since the last century. The Russians are planning for tomorrow, while the West is planning for 1985. The Biden people actually thought his speech in Poland would be his Brandenburg Gate moment. That is the most terrifying event of this crisis so far.
There we see the best parallel to the Great War. The men moving pieces on the board were men of a prior age. They were trying to fight the old wars. Similarly, the political leaders were operating in a 19th century mindset. The trouble was they were armed with 20th century weaponry. Today, the West is led by 20th century men desperate to maintain 20th century arrangements. Their opponent is not Russian, China or the new world order, but the passage of time.
Chinese girl
video. She’s walking in a tight outfit. I really am not fond of the two blue pockets on her ass, but the rest of the outfit looks nice. This is what China is like. Nice new buildings and clean and spacious public areas, all filled with attractive people without tattoos and piercings. Video 5MB
A very attractive bigger gal
I think that she is just perfect. But some like the thinner and more fragile appearing women. I find a fine robust woman quite attractive. video 4MB
Grandma’s Tomato Aspic is a recipe you probably either love or hate. The last time that I had this was in the 1960s. It died a death well before the time when I would be able to appreciate the food.
This recipe was very popular during the 1950s along with meat aspics, in which cooks aimed to show off their culinary creativity by placing various foods, mainly savory, in a gelatin casing.
Later on, fruit aspics became staples at potlucks and luncheons. This tomato aspic will bring you back to this unique food era and evoke some nostalgia in your home. Bring this savory aspic to a potluck and see if it causes a stir among the younger generation.
Preparation Time25 min
Chilling Time4 hr
Ingredients
1 (28-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes, undrained
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
salt and pepper
1/2 lemon (juice)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 small stalk celery with leaves, finely chopped
sour cream for garnish
Girl in a Wet Market
It’s pretty typical. And she and the Wet market can be seen all over China. It’s almost the entire template found everywhere. video 3MB
Girl in grey inside of a car
I think she is cute, and I really do love her top. Video 18MB
MM eating some local food
This is in a small mom-and-pop restaurant local to where I live in Zhuhai, China. This is what local food is like. Of course, if you read American (Western) media such as the great disinfo site ZeroHedge, you would believe that everyone in China is starving, and it’s a big famine. No. LOL. You have to be a fucking idiot to believe that pack of nonsense. Here’s what the meals are like in the poor sections of China. video 40MB
You can do it. Believe in yourself. Let the rest of the world HOWL! video 13MB
Be the Rufus
Are you worthy of living on this earth? Do not laugh. Well, are you? You have to up your game, and being fat, slovenly and expecting handouts is no longer tolerable. Be the Rufus and help others. video 21MB
Another Cute Chinese Girl
I like her. She’s cute, attractive, and fun. Nice outfit too. video 2MB
Yes, that’s how it is done. A Rufus is not a spectator. A Rufus is a participant. video. 5MB
Rufus Australia
No time to waste. Take control over the situation and help out those in need. video 5MB
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The Day After (1983) film – less in 8 minutes
Let’s keep in mid of the madness that is the United States today. Watch this eight minute summary of the 1983 movie that inspired Ronald Reagan to make peace with Russia.
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A Final note…
When the shit hits the fan, your will need to be a Rufus. Are you up for the task? Or are you going to be a selfish evil fuck? video 7MB
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
Meanwhile, by every single fact we are able to observe, the decadent leaders of the West are acting as though Russia and China are Iraq and Libya.
It appears that they genuinely believe they can use brute force and threats of brute force to come out on top in this conflict.
(It’s also worth mentioning that the West, due to the ultra-low moral character of its leaders and the utter lack of any unifying ideal beyond anal sex, has lost the ability to cooperate cohesively as a single body in the way that the Chinese do.)
-UNZ
What do all these things have in common? They all are attributes of a period of time that is going though change. Some people might refer to it as an unravelling, while others might consider it the “second coming”. I think that it’s darn uncomfortable, and bothersome. It’s a period of change and it is nearing it’s peak.
Sheech!
I need a drink.
What? I’m already drinking. Oh, well. Color me silly.
This article has a bunch of videos. Most are small, but depending on your internet connection, they may or may not load. Just click on the link and watch them open up in another window. Most are really quick.
Strange stuff guys…
Strange and unusual things going on.
In China, a passenger aircraft took a highly unusual nose dive. Engines went full throttle, and the plane dove straight into the ground. It’s almost like the plane decided to commit suicide by ramming itself into the ground at full speed.
It’s not normal airplane behavior.
Don’t you know.
The unusual nature of this crash has everyone scratching their heads, and MM is no exception. Since this is Boeing plane that openly admits that the plane’s computer can override the pilot and fly itself…
So, and I do mean it … the software can take the input, decide the pilot is in error, and take over…
… so why have a pilot then?
Hum?
…
It is very concerning.
The opinions sent to me privately are running near 100% that the United States government / CIA are somehow involved in this fiasco. I would not be surprised if this is the case, but the truth is that I really do not know.
But…
You do know that we are going to flush out this issue.
Right here.
Right now.
MM style.
What I do know is that this entire event has shaken the Chinese people to the core. No one. And I do mean NO ONE wants to fly. Airline prices are now less than $5 USD to fly round-trip to Beijing from Zhuahi. It’s insane.
Just like the crash of the Hindenburg completely ended commercial travel by dirigible, it seems that this even will seriously impact commercial aviation inside of China. There will be far greater use of the High Speed Trains, and far less use of domestic air transport.
In 1936, the future looked bright for rigid airships, the hydrogen-filled, lighter-than-air behemoths also known as dirigibles or zeppelins.
The Hindenburg, Nazi Germany’s pride and joy, spent one glorious season ferrying passengers across the Atlantic in its luxurious belly. The following year, the airship era screeched to a spectacular halt when the Hindenburg burst into flames while landing in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The disaster claimed the lives of 36 people and received an unprecedented amount of media coverage.
The Hindenburg was a 245-metre- (804-foot-) long airship of conventional zeppelin design that was launched at Friedrichshafen, Germany, in March 1936. It had a maximum speed of 135 km (84 miles) per hour and a cruising speed of 126 km (78 miles) per hour. Though it was designed to be filled with helium gas, the airship was filled with highly flammable hydrogen owing to export restrictions by the United States against Nazi Germany. In 1936 the Hindenburg inaugurated commercial air service across the North Atlantic by carrying 1,002 passengers on 10 scheduled round trips between Germany and the United States.
On May 6, 1937, while landing at Lakehurst, N.J., on the first of its scheduled 1937 trans-Atlantic crossings, the Hindenburg burst into flames and was completely destroyed. Thirty-six of the 97 persons aboard were killed.
The fire was officially attributed to a discharge of atmospheric electricity in the vicinity of a hydrogen gas leak from the airship, though it was speculated that the dirigible was the victim of an anti-Nazi act of sabotage.
The Hindenburg disaster marked the end of the use of rigid airships in commercial air transportation.
Forever.
Grasshopper Pie
A staple among southern desserts in the 1950s and 1960s, this creamy mint pie sports an Oreo crust, all of which makes it strange that it hasn’t remained as popular as it once was.
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Grasshopper Pie
This American retro dessert was inspired by the popular 1950’s chocolate-mint cocktail, and it was a favorite of Southern hostesses in the 1950s and 1960s. Originally, grasshopper pie always had a crust of either cookies or graham cracker crumbs, but today it is most often made with a base of Oreos, desiccated coconut, and butter, while the gelatine-set cream filling mainly consists of heavy cream flavored with crème de menthe—a sweet, mint-flavored liqueur—and melted marshmallows.
Grasshopper pie is usually so named because of its green color, though modern recipes may omit coloring the pie green. It was likely invented in the 1950s in the United States, and may have been inspired by a drink called the grasshopper developed at about the same time. It is a chiffon pie usually made with a cookie crust.
There is an earlier grasshopper pie type dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. Some versions of this pie from the Philippines used real grasshoppers. These insects are eaten in many cultures, and they can be used in various desserts, where they may be sugared and baked, providing a crunchy, and to some very appetizing, confection. The 1950s grasshopper pie bears little resemblance to versions produced that have insects as a primary ingredient.
Chiffon pies in the 1950s were often a combination of whipping cream, gelatin, sugar, eggs, and flavoring. In the case of the grasshopper pie, common flavoring used was alcohol in the form of crème de menthe, and sometimes other alcohols like crème de cacao.
For teetotalers, mint flavoring could be achieved by using mint extracts instead, though these might still contain a tiny amount of alcohol. Green food coloring was a frequent addition to give the pie a light green color.
Most often the cookie crust is made with chocolate wafers, so that the pie has a chocolate and mint flavor. The crust is baked for few moments and then chilled. When the chiffon is prepared, usually over a double boiler, it is chilled and then spooned over the crust. The pie tends to be served cold and many love its refreshing mint taste.
There may be very large differences between classic recipes for grasshopper pie and modern ones. Since gelatin can be somewhat annoying to work with, many people now prepare the pie by melting marshmallows and blending them with milk or whipping cream, and sometimes cream cheese. Green food coloring can be optional, and when not used the pie could be called “mint patty pie” instead. Some people may prefer using a graham cracker crust, and other recipes advocate the use of specific cookies like Oreos®.
In the US, grasshopper pie tends to be most popular in the South, but other parts of the country enjoy it too. The pie rose in popularity especially up until the 1970s, but it is now served with less frequency. Many ice cream stores capitalized on the flavor of this pie by producing their own version with mint or mint chocolate chip ice cream and a cookie crust. Some ice cream stores are particularly known for their grasshopper pie variants.
-Delighted Cooking
The pie is traditionally served well chilled, topped with dollops of whipped cream, and decorated with dark chocolate shavings.
In American terms, we would refer to this “body shape
or “Body build” as “built like a Brick House”. It’s generally a nice compliment for a fine robust woman. In this case, a Chinese woman. video. 5MB
Th Saker has reproduced the transcript of a talk Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov has given three days ago. It is quite long with a Q&A at the end but it is a very good history lesson on how we got to the point that Russia felt it had to intervene in the Ukraine.
Here are just a few graphs of it. I recommend to read it all of it:
This meeting takes place against the backdrop of events now occurring in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken at length about the origins of this crisis. I would like to briefly reiterate: this is not about Ukraine. This is the end-result of a policy that the West has carried out since the early 1990s. It was clear back then that Russia was not going to be docile and that it was going to have a say in international matters. This is not because Russia wants to be a bully. Russia has its history, its tradition, its own understanding of the history of its peoples and a vision on how it can ensure its security and interests in this world.This became clear in the late 1990s-early 2000s. The West has repeatedly attempted to stall the independent and autonomous development of Russia. This is rather unfortunate. From the start of President Vladimir Putin’s “rule” in the early 2000s, we were open to the idea of working with the West in various ways, even in a form similar to that of an alliance, as the President has said. Sadly, we were unable to do this. We repeatedly suggested that we should conclude treaties and base our security on equal rights, rejecting the idea of strengthening one’s security at the expense of another.Neither were we able to promote economic cooperation. The European Union, which back then showed some signs of independent decision-making, has now devolved toward being completely dependent on the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the US. The story of Nord Stream 2 was the highlight of this change. Even Germany, which defended its interests in the project to the very end, was persuaded that the “project was not in its interests.” Germany and its people were told what their interests were by people on the other side of the Atlantic. Many other international areas were blocked despite our commitment to close cooperation on an equal basis.
Germany’s traitorous role towards Russia, especially under chancellor Angela Merkel, is laid out throughout the piece. The current chancellor Olaf Scholz, never a smart man, capitulated to U.S. demands to sanction Russia and thereby committed Germany to economic suicide.
2022 03 23 13 14
That spells death for Germany’s machine industry. It is said to see my country come down like this.
Hey Olaf, when the U.S. illegally invaded Iraq for absolutely no good reason how many sanctions did Germany apply to it?
Russia has at least cited sound and understandable, if not fully legal, reasons for its current acts. It was by the way you, Olaf, and your predecessor who have let it come to this. Why didn’t you write a letter to Putin that declared that Germany will veto NATO membership for the Ukraine. That might have solved the whole problem.
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There is some talk that Russia has screwed up its campaign and some even hope that it might be losing the war. That’s nuts.
Back when I was a military officer we ran yearly large scale ‘free running’ maneuvers. Over nearly four weeks my tank company had to switch positions several times a day and march and ‘fight’ in between. The first week was cumbersome with lots of errors made by everyone. The second week was worse. Everyone was sleep deprived and folks screamed at each other. We had several accidents and twice parts of the company missed turns and got lost at night. During the third week things became gradually better and more routine. The drivers knew where to put their tanks without much command. The camouflaging done by the loaders and gunners was fast. The food that found its way to us was still hot and maintenance was done in no time. In the fourth week it was all pure fun.
The reason behind it was that people needed to learn by doing. Before the maneuvers everyone had been ‘fully trained’. But a few days on the training range do not give the experience one needs in the real world. Driving and ‘fighting’ through real villages and cities, real camouflaging against an ‘enemy’ airforce, real dueling in the open landscape day after day are different than training range time.
Russia’s forces are now in their routine mode. They will now grind down what is left of the Ukrainian forces.
According to the Pentagon the Russian airforce yesterday flew 300 sorties over Ukraine, mostly at night. That are 50% more per day than last week. That means 300 Ukrainian weapon factories, ammunition depots, convoys and fighting position get destroyed every day, day after day. How long will it take until there are no more targets?
Andrew Milburn, a former Marine colonel, is in the Ukraine from where he reports for Task and Purpose:
The Russians are already adapting, and by doing so are narrowing the Ukrainians’ tactical edge. The one-sided culling of Russian armored columns that characterized the opening days of the war, and kept YouTube subscribers around the world happy, are a thing of the past. The Russians now lead their formations with electronic attack, drones, lasers and good-old-fashioned reconnaissance by fire. They are using cruise missiles and saboteur teams to target logistics routes, manufacturing plants, and training bases in western Ukraine. Realizing that the Ukrainians lack thermal sights for their stinger missile launchers, the Russians have switched all air operations to after dark. It may be for this same reason that Russian cruise missile strikes in western and southern Ukraine have also been at nighttime.The Russians have learned to play to their strengths. While Ukrainian soldiers mock their Russian counterparts, they are deeply respectful of Russian artillery, an asset that the Russians are using more frequently to compensate for their infantry’s deficiencies. Several snipers I spoke with recently agreed that the Russians’ indirect fire capability was the most concerning — a result of sheer reckless mass rather than technical skill. They told some hair-raising stories to illustrate their point, and one amusing one: Ukrainian soldiers defending Kyiv commute to the battle in their own vehicles. After a recent three-day insertion, the sniper teams returned to their extraction site to find their cars all flattened by Russian artillery – a contingency apparently not covered by their insurance plans.Overconfidence may obscure for the Ukrainians one salient fact about this conflict: Time is not on their side.
Posted by b on March 22, 2022 at 17:55 UTC | Permalink
Hilarious Prank Gift Packages To Surprise Your Friends This Christmas
How will you wrap your Christmas presents this year? Will you buy some expensive wrapping paper and then silently weep in the corner when you realize you have no idea what you’re doing? Or just give up entirely and pay someone else to do it? Lucky for you, one company out there is aiming to make gift wrapping a little more fun.
Pranko-O is a Minneapolis-based company that creates hilarious prank gifts, called Prank Packs. A fart filter or an earwax candle might sound insane at first but don’t worry – that’s where the ‘prank’ part of Prank Pack comes in. The products, sadly, don’t exist and are just gag boxes. But imagine your partner’s reaction when they were hoping to get a Pandora necklace for Christmas but receive a cheese printer instead – priceless!
Here’s a few for some inspiration. This is a Cheese printer. Surprise your friends!
Cheese Printer. You’ll be amazed how you were ever able to live without one!
Here’s another. It’s a “must” for every pet owner.
It’s a “must” for every pet owner.
And yet another. Fun for kids of all ages!
Fun for kids of all ages four and older.
Confirmed: Nazis are the proxy army of the US imperialists against Russia in Ukraine
The former US secretary of defense and CIA director, Leon Panetta, admitted openly that
“We are engaged in a conflict here. It's a proxy war with Russia, whether we say so or not ...”.
Referring to the Ukrainian forces, the US imperialist warhawk claimed that
"These are good fighters, they are small-unit operations, they are working well ...".
The description “small-unit operations” fits to proxy forces – mercenaries, rather than an organized national army.
As we mentioned in our previous article, for eight years, the NATO criminals and the “free” and “democratic” West, were provoking Russia by arming and training the far-right and neo-nazi militia groups who also infiltrated in the Ukrainian army and operate in East Ukraine against Russian populations. Which is something similar with what happened in the long-suffering Syria by the US proxy war against Assad. Only there, the US imperialists armed and trained some so-called “moderate rebels”, with most of the arms ending in the hands of ISIS islamofascists who spread chaos and destruction.
Panetta’s statements are essentially an official admission by the US side that this is the case.
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This also explains why the Russians are so obsessed with Mariupol, which appears that it suffered most from the war in Ukraine so far. It seems that they won’t retreat from their demand to Ukraine to surrender the besieged city. Not only because of its critical strategic importance, but mostly because it’s the base of the Azov Battalion, which is essentially the major US proxy Nazi force in the Ukrainian soil.
In March 2015 Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced that the Azov Regiment would be among the first units to be trained by United States Army troops in their Operation Fearless Guardian training mission.
US training however was withdrawn on 12 June 2015, as the US House of Representatives passed an amendment blocking any aid (including arms and training) to the battalion due to its neo-Nazi background.
However, the amendment was later removed in November 2015, with The Nation reporting that the "House Defense Appropriations Committee came under pressure from the Pentagon to remove the Conyers-Yoho amendment from the text of the bill."Azov published a media release on its website on 20 November 2017 stating that it had met with a foreign delegation of officers from the United States Armed Forces and Canadian Armed Forces on 16 November.
Writing for Jacobin, Branko Marcetic says that members of Azov have been pictured meeting with U.S. military and NATO officials.
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This is a particularly revealing information because it proves beyond doubt that the US imperialist apparatus was very well aware of the nazi nature of the Azov Battalion. And did everything to overcome any political actions that were aiming to block any aid to its members.
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Recall that new information – coming from the elite section of the US think tank apparatus – proved that the US imperialists wanted to drag Russia into a war with Ukraine since at least 2019.
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Everything we wrote back in 2014 turns out to be right:
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What was left to do, for the moment, is to challenge Putin in order to drag Russia in an endless attrition war in East Ukraine and this explains to a degree Putin's hesitation to act like he did in Crimea. Against Russian army, of course, the West will not risk to put an organized military force, but only teams of mercenaries of private armies, as already did. It is certain, however, that, despite that the global economic oligarchy has lost valuable time because of its wrong moves, it will not give up its plans for Russia easily ...
Mapping proxy wars of the last decades around the globe we also wrote back in 2015 that the Ukraine conflict is a proxy war against Russia by the West, next to the Russian borders. Behind the color revolutions, one can always find US financed organizations. The Western allies would not dare to face directly the Russian army. In the Ukraine conflict one could find private armies of mercenaries. The most stupid action by the Western puppets was to support neo-nazis against the local Russian populations. This was something that exposed their real intention, which is to encircle Russia through puppet regimes who would permit the Western military presence in their territories.
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By aiding the nazis in Ukraine, the US and the West generally, lost their last remnants of their alleged “superiority” on matters related with democracy, human rights, or, international law. West’s moral bankruptcy and cultural decline are now irreversible and mark the beginning of the end of its global domination.
In China, red is considered a lucky and happy color. I like this woman in this outfit. She is pleasing to the eye and I am sure that she would be fun to be with. video 2MB
Strange coincidences
I offer up this following graph. It shows an association between belief in the mainstream media (the United States government narrative) and number of mRNA injections.
The more mRNA injections you have, the more that you believe whatever the MSM (Main Stream Media) says.
Relationship between the official government narrative and mRNA injections.
Look over the results.
It is errie.
It could be a coincidence. It might be. But, you know, there are secrets, and secrets, and the United States is run by very selfish, sick, evil people. Something is up. But what?
What is going on?
I don’t know…
It reminds me of the old 1950s movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Imagine that you and everyone else are normal. You go to work, and you play. You go drive your car, and listen to the radio.
There’s a pandemic. Everyone must get these “special” injections.
Not a vaccine, mind you. But something “new” and “special”. And so you plan on getting one, but your entire community beats you to it. Everyone is injected with the “special” formulation but you, and so when you finally go into town to get your injection, you notice something different.
Everything is the same.
Yet everything is different.
You have a difficult time trying to describe what is do different. They all look the same. They act the same. They all have absolute perfect memories. But something is missing…
…you just cannot pin it down; you just cannot put your finger on it…
Well…
Everyone is mad. They are angry. When you bring up certain subject, you know that the person you are talking to will fly into a rage. There are simply things that you just cannot talk about.
Face masks.
Racial issues.
Russia
China.
Vacinations.
You think “everyone is so polarized”. But it’s strange. People were never so polarized. Not before. Now they are just really upset and really on a “hair trigger”.
The movie
In 1956 the movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” came out.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
The narrative’s premise is most interesting.
A peaceful town is imperceptibly taken over by an alien force: Giant plant pods, products of atomic mutation, turn themselves into replicas of people. The pods turn human beings into faceless, emotionless automatons, incapable of any feeling, be it anger or love.
Once again, the image used is that of an initially normal and ordinary town, suddenly thrown out of balance.
“At first glance, everything looked the same,” the narrator says, “It wasn’t. Something evil had taken possession of the town.” The rest of the film explores that “something.”
Called back to Santa Mira from a medical conference, Doctor Miles Bonnel (Kevin McCarthy) is greeted at the train station by his nervous nurse, Sally. Looking through his clinic’s window, everything “looks” the same:
Wally Everhard is talking someone into buying insurance, Bill Bittner is taking his secretary to launch. Yet something strange is going on. In the back of his mind, Miles senses a warning bell: “Sick people who couldn’t wait to see me, suddenly were perfectly all right.”
A general practitioner, Miles believes that, “the trouble is inside you!” thus recommending that she sees a psychiatrist.
The first “solution” to the problem is psychiatric help, with the film acknowledging the increasing popularity of psychiatry in the 1950s.
“At first glance, everything looked the same,” the narrator says, “It wasn’t. Something evil had taken possession of the town.”
Miles rationalizes his advice to Wilma by saying, “you don’t have to be losing your mind to need psychiatric help.” But Wilma is firm: “It’s a waste of time, there’s nothing wrong with me.”
Like many other films of the decade, Invasion deals with three issues: [1] the definition of normal and abnormal behavior; [2] the legitimate authority to label behaviors as abnormal or deviant; and [3] the negative effects of conformity, apathy, and complacency.
The film suggests that the town’s experts and professionals are not to be trusted. The police force, an agency entrusted with the legitimate use of physical force, can’t solve the problem. In fact, when Jack’s clone is found, they refuse to call the police, because cops tend to rely too much on logic and dry laws.
Miles represents the center of the moral center.
“At first glance, everything looked the same,” the narrator says, “It wasn’t. Something evil had taken possession of the town.”
He is a professional, but a general practitioner, not a specialist, thus able to see the problem overall, in its entirety.
Even so, Miles proves that his common sense and critical faculties as a responsible individual are more important than his narrow professional skills. Thus, when Jack first describes the problem he says: “Would you be able to forget that you’re a doctor for a while” .
For the duration of the film, Miles “forgets” his occupation.
The movie advocates independent judgment, common sense, intuition, and self-reliance, and shows suspicious toward anyone in a position of power or professional expertise.
Invasion, like Capra’s movies of the Depression era, singles out the role of an exceptional individual, a charismatic leader, in preventing society from dehumanization, from gradual transformation into an aggregate of unfeeling robots.
Sleep is the metaphor used to convey mass complacency and conformity.
The pods take over human beings when they are not alert, when they are (literally or figuratively) asleep, thus passive.
Escaping from town, Miles gives Becky and himself a large dose of pills to stay awake. “We can’t close our eyes all night,” he tells her, because “we may wake up changed.” “Sooner or later,”
Kauffman tells Miles, “You’ll have to go to sleep,” i.e. you’ll have to conform and join the majority.
But Kauffman also reassures him that as soon as he falls asleep, the pods will “absorb your minds, your memories, and you’re reborn into an untroubled world.”
The new world will be without love, ambition, grief, or any emotions, “Life will be much simpler and better.”
invasion of the body snatchers 1956
Indeed, during their escape, chased by every member in town, Becky can’t stay awake any longer and she falls asleep. “I went to sleep and it happened,” says Becky. “A moment of sleep,” narrates Miles, and “their bodies were now hosts harboring alien forms of life.”
Santa Mira is a typical small town; there is nothing special or distinctive about I; what happened in Santa Mira couldand would–happen in other towns. In most sci-fi films, the disaster first occurs on a local level before spreads all over the country.
The catastrophe begins in a small town, then moves to bigger regional centers, and finally inflicts the entire nation.
Attempting to get assistance, Miles first calls the F.B.I. in Los Angeles, but there is no answer. His call to the governor in Sacramento also fails; the circuits are busy in both places.
Invasion differs from other sci-fi features because there is no immediate confirmation of the hero’s report of the “strange” phenomenon by other witnesses; the conflict is between one individual and the entire community.
Invasion shows that the authorities, both scientific and political, are neither trustworthy nor competent.
Other films went out of their way to reassured audiences that they were “in good hands,” that politicians (or the military) and scientists would come to the rescue when needed. In contrast, Invasion’s ending is so tentative and abrupt that it provides no such reaffirmation, instead urging its viewers to be always alert.
“At first glance, everything looked the same,” the narrator says, “It wasn’t. Something evil had taken possession of the town.”
Puckering fish look
For some reason, the Chinese women like to make these puckering fish expressions, as they view them as being very cute. I don’t know about that. Really. I just like a nice big smile, myself. video. 3MB
Sanctions
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Western production depends on China no less, than on Russia. And once again, on the tip of my tongue there is a Russian proverb with a deep meaning – what is good for a Russian is death for a German.
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And what will happen to the West, when Russia imposes her own retaliatory sanctions?
Consider this article…
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Immediately (in several European capitals), they realized that those sanctions, (introduced by them), would return to them like a boomerang and more than once
The words of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the reverse effect of sanctions against Russia can be called a sensation. It seems that the West is beginning to see clearly and see what damage they inflict on the economies of their countries with their own sanctions.
After the successes of the first days on the sanctions fronts, when Western countries managed to bring down the Russian stock market and the ruble exchange rate, a process of sobering up begins in European capitals and there is an acute desire to return the situation back.
By the way, the fall of the market and the collapse of the ruble did not become catastrophic for Russia . There was no default – Russia regularly pays its bills, and the ruble is slowly, but still winning back its positions.
A funny situation can happen with the stock market. Against the backdrop of a fall in the price of shares of Russian companies, Western investors began to actively sell them for next to nothing. Now the most interesting question is:
Who bought them?
Some European experts suggest that Russian business and the Russian government took advantage of the situation and bought almost everything for next to nothing. In other words, Russian companies have become Russian again. Forever at the bottom, the shares will not be and sooner or later they will go up, but they will no longer bring dividends to Western investors. And they will no longer have levers of influence on the Russian economy.
Chancellor Scholz , of course, did not talk about these deep processes. He spoke about the need to prepare and impose sanctions very carefully. The reverse effect of them should be surmountable for Western economies. But so far everything is working out exactly the opposite.
The imposed sanctions blew up the market and the prices of absolutely everything flew up.
Inflation all over Europe
Everyone knows the situation with gas – at some point it rose in price to a completely unthinkable 3,800 dollars. Now, thanks to the efforts of Gazprom, it has been brought down to an acceptable $1,050.
Oil prices rose, followed by gasoline and all fuel in general.
Steel and cast iron, building materials. Nickel. Aluminum. Products of the petrochemical industry and fertilizers.
Wheat and all food products.
The list can be continued, but this is quite enough to understand what kind of “return line” has flown through the European economy.
French President Macron is already talking about the introduction of food checks in the country for the poorest. In the Czech Republic, wheat and flour more than doubled in price.
In Italy and Spain, pasta and vegetable oil disappeared from the shelves, and in Lithuania, salt and soda.
And all this at a record level of inflation. In some European countries it has already exceeded 10%.
The West was sure that by depriving Russia of income from the export of energy resources and raw materials, they would bring it to her knees, but it turned out that Russia’s participation in almost any area is so significant that it immediately affects the economies of Europe and the United States.
Britain
Britain banned the import of products, incl. food, from Russia. In addition to raising prices for communal and gasoline, the British can part with their national dish – fish and chips, in other words – potatoes with fish.
For British Prime Minister Johnson, it came as an unpleasant surprise that most of the fish eaten in Britain is Russian. Iceland and Norway will not be able to provide even half of the amount that Russia was selling.
Britain urgently needs to find new routes for the supply of fish, otherwise unrest cannot be avoided and this is not a joke. For the British , fish and chips is more than food, it is part of the culture, it is their genetic code.
That is why such a heated debate broke out in the European Union today on the issue of an embargo on the import of Russian oil. Everyone is worried about the consequences of this step. Will this be another nail in the coffin of the European economy?
Russia’s retaliatory measures
But even more Europeans should worry about Russia’s retaliatory measures. Nothing is known about them yet, and this is scary. Retaliatory sanctions can set the European economy back several decades, and the EU is very unwilling to do so.
I really like the Chinese girls. They are sweet, cute and they take care of themselves. Here’s a nice cute girl. video 4MB
Beef Stroganoff
Let’s talk about food.
Good. Healthy. Delicious. Food.
The story goes that this beef, noodles, and cream sauce dish exploded in America after U.S. servicemen, stationed in the dish’s homeland of Russia, brought it home after World War II.
.
Beef Stroganoff.
Meat. MEAT. I love it, I really do.
My recent visits to my Vegetarian Restaurant, aside, I love and yearn for meat. Good tasty meat. Beef. Mutton. Pork. Chicken. Turkey. Meat!
I grew up in the heart of the United States. Pittsburgh. The land of steel, coal. beer and perogies. There, the basic food groups consisted of potatoes, cream of [insert mushroom, chicken, or celery here] soup, butter (or Land-O-Lakes margarine), tall cold glasses of milk with every meal and…meat.
I had a recent craving for beef stroganoff.
Although I ate this dish frequently as a child, I had yet to make it myself. The beef stroganoff of my youth was a retro reflection of my Polish-American-Irish upbringing – a nostalgic combination of ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, condensed beef broth, and low-fat sour cream.
Although I (of course) I could have gone out and had my fill of some delicious steak, turtle or mutton, I wasn’t really feeling that desire. I wanted to create something myself. I wanted a taste from my childhood, and you just aren’t goign to get that inside of China. No matter how hard you try.
I wanted comfort food, and I figured that beef stroganoff would foot the bill.
This is comfort food at its finest.
Get your beef in some sputtering, aromatic, delicious SALTED butter. Work quickly – you’re just browning and the thinness of the meat doesn’t require much time in the pan. Set beef aside. Sauté your onions and garlic in the same pan.
After making a few (regional) tweaks to the Simply Recipes version, I came up with a winner. Gather up some easy basics: butter, beef, onions, garlic, mushrooms, sour cream (be sure to read my footnote on the sour cream!). If you have tarragon, nutmeg, and Worcestershire sauce on hand, even better.
Why would the United States decide to institute a draft? Well, it seems that there are decisions being made and systems put in place right now. If you are an American under 35 years of age, you should be concerned.
Some home movies. Actually not in my home, in various eating establishments in China. Oh, China is supposed to be in famine right now! OMG. My bad. Sorry to break the narrative.
A while back I recieved some intel from one of my spook-ish sources. Good or bad, right or wrong, I just filed it away for “a rainy day” (It’s a play on an American idiom. It means, it’s valuable and interesting, but you don’t need it now. You save it for later.)
…
It’s how I run my life.
Good or bad, right or wrong. I just take all input, and consider it. File it, and move forward. Always move forward. You just cannot drop everything and take action on some other’s time-tables. That would be like running around, from tree to tree, pissing indiscriminately.
So I took the information. Filed it both securely in my email folders, and on my hard disk. And forgot about it.
It does not mean that I agree or disagree with it. It just means that there is nothing that I can do with the information at the time that I recieved it. So I put it aside. And, instead, work on things that I can do something about.
…
Month pass by.
…
After seeing that graph that connects mRNA with thoughts and political agreement with the United States government, it triggered my memory. There was something about this dialog that really seemed to connect to the events that I was witnessing.
The (archived) intel that I was informed on was directly related to this association.
The message suggested that there were vault 7 algorithms and frequencies that worked together in association with various ingredients in the <redacted> portion of the mRNA injection “stew”.
These associations would then “hand shake” with embedded subsonic frequences transmitted along “news” messages, of all sorts. Thus making the injected person, who is exposed to the “news” messages believe them without any critical thought.
Sounds far-fetched.
Perhaps…
I filed it away, as it was something worthy of further study.
And then I saw the graph, and I sought to revisit my communication on this subject. So, like the good and investigative fellow I am, I went to dig it out of my archives.
And it’s gone.
I mean, as in GONE.
The darnest thing!
All records gone. All archives gone. All backups gone. It’s a full spectrum erase. Oh, the folder is there. But it’s empty. Even the screen shots that I took and put in a special folder… it’s gone as well.
.
What the fuck?
It could be a slide. I could be forgetting things. It could be an accident. I don’t know…
… what a coincidence.
It’s a nagging pain in the ass, that’s what.
Some more fun gag gift boxes…
I found this one funny. Perfect for getting your children to eat. Child refuses to eat? Just plop them down and watch them eat their hearts out. Children cry for more!
Oh, and Daddy won’t mind…
Perfect for getting your children to eat. Child refuses to eat? Just plop them down and watch them eat their hearts out. Children cry for more!
This one is unique. Everyone wants their home to fill with the aroma of sizzling bacon. Now it can be an everyday affair.
“Breakfast fresh scent”.
Everyone wants their home to fill with the aroma of sizzling bacon. Now it can be an everyday affair.
Who thinks up these things? “Millions of satisfied customers.”
Do you want to shake up your company? Hold a meeting where you announce that the company is going to save money by stop buying toilet paper. Instead, they will install these rotowipe devices in all the stalls. Make the announcment “dead pan” and watch the reactions.
“Millions of satisfied customers.”
A Huge Cleavage
A huge cleavage is developing between the East and West in tandem with the Ukraine ops. The US State Dept. just sanctioned some Chinese officials due to "human rights". China didn't take well to it at all. Meanwhile, India is not going along with the Western sanctions on Russia and got threatened with sanctions earlier but the US has since backed off that threat.
Victoria Nuland is in India today trying again to coerce India into getting on board the sanctions train. I dont't think it will work.
Also, it seems that China and India are making renewed efforts to bury the hatchet regarding tbeir border duspute. It really seems like a great re-alignment happening, especially taking into account all the other countries not taking part in the anti-Russia sanctions.
Russsia essentially said "fuck it" in deciding to launch into Ukraine. If the West keeps it up, China will arrive at the same point.
Interesting times.
-Woogs
Speaking of “huge cleavage”; here’s a nice Chinese girl with an impressive chest… video 1MB
Russian Foreign Minister
Here’s the entire question being used against Lavrov:
"Why was the military operation launched now and not eight years ago? At that time, a pro-Russian “anti-Maidan” movement emerged in Odessa and Kharkov, which installed the Russian flag on top of the Kharkov regional administration without firing a shot. The city supported Russia. Now these people are hiding from shelling."
I find it impossible to verify the veracity of the question. I know in Odessa the police didn’t do anything to stop the Nazis from their killing and burning. I imagine a similar performance happened in Kharkov. Russia acted to save its strategic asset, Crimea, but clearly wasn’t prepared to intervene further.
Lavrov’s initial sentence is very honest:
"A lot of factors influence developments at each specific historical moment."
I’ve read both the English and Russian transcripts, and what I see by reading between the lines is commiseration by Lavrov with the questioner, not any attempt to mislead. Lavrov says They took advantage of our nature:
"We must have trusted them because of some naivety and kindness of heart, which is something Russians are known for.
"I have no doubt that lessons will be learned."
And if you’ve watched Lavrov while speaking his recent denunciations of the West, that Russia will never again put its trust in any part of the West, you’ll see the resolve that Russia will not get fooled again as it’s now taking everything into its own hands.
IMO, some part of all Russians, especially Putin, Lavrov, Shoigu, and other leaders, was burned and died with those in Odessa and in Donbass. They pled and pled and pled some more with the Western pukes to obey the fucking law put forth in UNSCR 2022–the Minsk Agreements.
But inaction and outright refusal followed by the breaking of it all by the fucking West. And now all the rest that was uncovered with the military operation!!
I’ll bet the fucking national debt that Putin, Lavrov, et al wish they would’ve done more in 2014 but felt they couldn’t.
The Syria intervention helped to provide some solace. But it’s very clear to Russia now that the Outlaw US Empire is the #1 predator state on the planet and must be neutralized somehow without resorting to nuclear weapons.
Yes, that’s how fucking serious this is.
Lavrov knows that gravity of the situation. It’s fucking existential!
And it’s that fact the West badly wants to cover up. And just as importantly, it’s that fact that we must try to expose and broadcast.
I’m probably going to catch some flac for this, but for me – it isn’t off the BBQ. No, no, no. MY perfect steak is done on a stove top (gasp!). Classically considered a French bistro dish, Steak au Poivre is my perfect way to indulge. If you’re a meat lover, this post is for you.
Simple and clean.
I think a part of what appeals to me so much about this recipe is its simplicity. The steak is seasoned with two ingredients: salt and peppercorns. It might sound crazy to coat two steaks with 2 whole tablespoons of peppercorns, but when they aren’t finely ground the spice is much more subtle. Dressing the meat this way also lets it shine through. This is beef at its best.
What appeals to me so much about this recipe is its simplicity.
Using a cast iron pan is my second secret. These pans retain heat well and are practically non-stick. Cooking the steaks on high heat, turning ~once per minute creates an even, golden crust with no burning. Depending on the thickness of your steak, you’re looking for a total of 3-4 minutes per side for rare.
If there is a side of fat on your steak, render it down for a couple minutes by propping the steak up.
In the final minutes, we add some butter for extra flavour and to start providing the base for a delicious Cognac pan sauce. When the steaks are cooked to your liking, remove to a cutting board and tent with foil. You’ll be left with something closely resembling this:
In the final minutes…
Up last is to create a rich cognac pan sauce that sends this over the top. In your pan, we will add shallot, (more butter), Cognac, cream, thyme and parsley. After cooking and reducing the sauce, we pour it over the sliced steak. When I have this for dinner, steak is all I need. There is something ridiculous & awesome about eating just steak for dinner, I hope you try it!
Time to EAT!
Meanwhile in China
It’s a thing. Partly due to Coronavirus. Partly due to the plans for Space, and bases on the Moon and Mars. Cute. Odd. video 23MB
Digging up the e-mail
I was able to retrieve the email concerning the connection between mRNA “vaxx” and the United States government.
Now, I do not endorse the content of this e-mail. I just provide it in it’s raw form for others to muse over. Please take it as it is. It is raw information that could be from anyone.
Anyone at all.
I am using anonymous email because this is above top secret information.
You are correct that the vaccines will kill an estimated 70% of the US population due to prion disease. This is being done to avoid world problems and reconstruct world society as described by the World Economic Forum (ocean acidification, food shortages, food poisoning and job replacement by artificial intelligence).
However, what is not currently known is that the chemtrails contain a mixture of advanced nanobots along with complexed radioactive materials (germanium, indium, etc) and a shielding material that releases hard to detect bursts of radioactivity (2 sec) on the back of the spine, femoral heads, pelvis, ribs and under the chin when exposed to nanorouter EMF.
The nanorouters are powered by electric fields and local utility companies have conspired to alter their current to emit very high EMF and magnetic fields periodically to kill and injure through direct exposure to this radiation plus the activated chemtrail dust.
The US government has contracted stalking activities to private companies such as Replica.ai (Lucas in San francisco) and has artificial intelligence monitoring large numbers of people through Patriot Act hacked cell phone sim cards, cameras, hacked routers and PCs.
However, they have the ability to do additional spying due to the nanobot infestation. Nanobots around the occipital lobe allow them to steal passwords and watch vision. They also can do voice to skull transmission of voices, start terrifying abnormal dream sequences when initiating sleep, blank memories and control people through trance to commit suicide etc. Low intelligence and highly opinionated people are extremely susceptible and literally zone out and lose their memory while they are being manipulated.
The nanobots also have a slew of programmed harassments that can be extremely disabling-hyperurination due to stimulated hormone secretion, waking people up from sleep due to external nanobots, depression, anxiety stimulation, simulated Mernier's disease where the room shakes up and down. If they are active you'll get tinnitus. All of the symptoms stop once you are out of Wifi range.
The nanobots are magnetized and they are being used to shake housing structures apart. All over the US buildings are having roof collapses due to smartmeter arson from power companies plus shaking by hidden resonance frequency generators which is known as the world hum. The nanobot programs reduce the intensity of the humming so it sounds like typical noise but it is not. The building shaking can be measured on a linear accelerometer (Physics Accelerator Toolbox app).
The chemtrail dust is how they plan to kill uncooperative unvaccinated people. Planed flyovers seed beds and clothing with the dust and then it is activated and the person is slowly irradiated. Due to the short half-life of the materials it is very hard to detect however a small EMF/magnetic field detector can be used to scan the areas. As this is dust, vaccuuming and spongebathing it off is very effective before or during activation.
Resistors are also being targeted using the vircator microwave satellite targeting program as described at targetedjustice.com. It is very hard to shield requiring 12 layers of aluminum foil at the highest setting. Pointing an emf detector in the area of strongest magnetic field will show you where the satellites are. Active vircators will show high EMF up to 106 V/m.
The buffered radioactive nanobot dust is being sprayed all over the world and is being used along with NSA hacked servers to control political leaders without their knowledge.
This most likely is why Vladimir Putin has now invaded Ukraine. An invasion of Ukraine will most likely lead to an EMP strike that will damage the European illuminati. Agents I have spoke with claim that the USA is currently controlled by the US branch of the New World Order/Illuminati and they seek to damage the European branch with the EMP attack.
The nanobots are also converting prions all over the world due to NSA hacking.
You are a targeted individual and can expect all of these attacks. You need to take appropriate precautions to shield your equipment from hacking as well as from nanobot visual access (band of 10 layers of foil around the occiput with a strap works well. The irradiation can cause bone marrow edema syndrome, severe abdominal pain, skin burning and back pain.
We are in a bit of a tricky situation on this one. It probably is too late to stop the prion disease and we do need to have the European illuminati, religion and black antisocial behavior weakened however I have concerns about the excessive targeting as anyone who knows about their plans is having hits put out on them (including me) and the competency of the people running this thing. Take appropriate precautions.
Covering beds with a plastic sheet until used to shield from the dust and shielding from vircator also is important.
Given the scope of this thing I doubt there is anything anyone can do. The US Federal government is completely taken over, people are mind controlled and the population is being attacked with weapons we have never seen before. Also, if we don't allow it to happen we suffer all the world problems that the WEF describes. If we do then we will most likely be slaves to elite billionaires and forced to live in a controlled society.
<redacted>
Indeed it is far-out stuff.
It’s well beyond my understanding.
But…
It is the ONLY content that I have / possess that answers the strange graphic association posted above. Take it, and use it as you see fit. Personally, it’s way, way above my head. And I have no ideas; no clue how accurate or valid it actually is.
When I asked a person whom I greatly respect on the content of this, the response was thoughtful…
Whoever sent you that - just please PLEASE listen to the content of what the implications are for China - Xi is a WEF placement. This is NOT Unknown. It’s literally on the WEF website. He pissed off the WEF and now he is going to be removed. China has been under attack since I have been warning you. It has. A company called Blackrock - in THIS fucking world line is the muscle of the WEF.
Want to know why we did Afghanistan so quickly? BLACKROCK provided allll of the security force in Afghanistan since 2017. We drew down troops but they never left. They changed uniforms and got paid a TON of cash. Look it up. So Blackrock decides to pull alllll of the security forces outside Kabul that it paid - as a message.
Think about that - about 85% of security force outside of Kabul - gone. Like that. And all that kept the Taliban from overrunning the country was a small force. So - Biden left rather than get slaughtered.
But to my point - The WEF has a stake in a securities trading firm called Blackrock that hired mercenaries - tens of thousands of combat veterans that you see fighting in Ukraine.
Look it up.
I cannot speak about the specifics of ANY of that - at all - but I’m telling you - you hit paydirt.
And we ARE pulling out when the fight gets bloody.
Blackrock is on Chinas doorstep. And I am telling you - nothing can prevent what they are doing. THAT I know from actual friend that is IN Blackrock. As a mercenary.
This all is online. If you can’t access it through China ask someone to look it up. Also look up “Blackrock woke”. It’s fun.
And if that is AI that created that email - fucking bravo. THAT is a programmer I want to hang out with.
And feel free to post my shit - just please keep the name out of it. But I know some of your people that emailed me and I gave them my thoughts. Ask how accurate so far.
Again - I wish you all peace and happiness there - because our lights are going out soon.
Much love - <redacted>
Have you ever gotten the idea that you are somehow way over your head? Yeah. I get that all the time. It’s not that I believe everything. I listen. I learn. I drink. I move forward, and I adapt.
Everyone needs to learn, and adapt as situations permit.
Each and everytime I chat with the Domain Commander, on comm, it’s just a window into how much I really don’t know. WHile I know much, there is still so much more to learn.
Sometimes I just feel like I am a little ball in one of those old pin-ball machines. I’m just being batted around like crazy.
Although this fried crab dumpling fits in among postwar tiki culture and is often purported to be of southeast Asian provenance, it was very likely invented in America.
Crab Rangoon
It’s easy to make. Delicious to eat, and fun to try.
The United States is reposturing itself. This is occuring soon after the warning from China on a package of 2nd stage sanctions regarding Russia and Taiwan.
The US-China trade: Washington’s review of US$300 billion in tariffs cannot be ‘half-hearted’. You either do it and suffer the consequences or abandon it completely.
If everyone did small, little things the world would be so much nicer, and so much better. video 6MB
Downfall of the USD
From one of my feeds…
The best way to accelerate the downfall of the empire is to attack its Dollar Hegemony (not the same as attacking America).
I said that in my Quora posts "Trade War between China and America" and "Who will win the trade war" early 2018 at the beginning of Trump's "war by any means except guns" -- euphemistically termed trade war -- against China.
Without the Dollar hegemony, America may have to act like a more normal country. Less unilateral sanctioning, less bullying, less acting like the Mafia, less war crimes, less color revolutions, less media lies, less war budgets, less war-mongering, less bases around the world, less profligate printing of money, less plundering of other countries, etc.
Bullied countries will have alternatives. For protection, they will have Russia and for trade they will have China. All previous vassals of America, including European countries are welcome. Then we will have some peace.
Acting like a more normal country in a more balanced world is actually good for the powerless people of America.
They may learn to demand for guaranteed basic housing, food, healthcare, and education rather than asking for more shit-paying soul-crushing slave-wage jobs or one-time checks that eventually go to the coffers of the 1% money-changers and MIC, giving those miscreants more power to ravage America and the world, meanwhile the national debt of Americans increases to generate the checks and the rest of the world suffers inflation, which is of course borne by the common masses of the world.
Capitalism won't solve the problems.
The fall of the empire may help people think differently or see more clearly how some countries with so many people and so little resources can live gainfully, peacefully, and happily together in a diverse yet harmonious society.
I'll share a passage from my book under chapter title "The Dragon's Dream":
"Where is this paradise? Is it on earth or is it only in his dreams (the dreamer's name means tattoo-dragon)?Where all parents are strong and wise and capable, and all the children are happy and beloved. Where brothers and sisters neither slaughter each other, nor enslave one another, nor tell lies to everyone from morning till night, where the children love and help each other, share everything and take care of one another, and all of them live peaceful, fruitful, and happy lives.
Where is this place?
Is it China?"Does this sound familiar? It comes from a Coen brothers movie, with a couple of changes and replacing Idaho with China.
-<redacted>
Power reshuffling
China says Russia is an ‘important’ G20 member. It cannot simply be expelled by others, no matter what they might want. In short, Beijing has spoken up for Russia, describing it an “important” global member after the possibility of a major move against Vladimir Putin.
Both Russia and China, and probably India (soon), have generated an “Unfriendly nation list”. These lists catagorize nations in accordance to their behaviors and put them into catagories.
Close relationship
Friendly
Neutral
Unfriendly
Enemy
These are not meaningless lists. They will be used to determine policy. And the policy that Asia uses against other nations is determined by where it sits upon these lists.
Today, President Putin made his first move in a chess game with the West. Gas will be sold to unfriendly countries only for rubles.
Putin wants ‘unfriendly countries’ to pay rubles for gas – ABC News
In China, people; ordinary people, volunteer to help others. It is their nature to be the Rufus. They don’t ask for payment. They don’t ask for anything. They help others as it is their nature. Volunteers going to remote villiages to help others. Everyone being the Rufus. video 12MB
For the longest time I have dismissed the idea about “chem-trails” as just crazy “tin foil hat” conspiracy bullshit. Chem-trails are just water vapor at high altitude, don’t you know.
For the longest time. I believed this.
Then, I moved to China. It’s calm. It’s peaceful. It’s pleasant. It’s like walking slowly into a body-temperature pool of water.
And, do you know what?
There’s no “chem-trails”. None. As in zero.
So, maybe (I figured) that it was because that China has these stringent air pollution standards on all fuel. Except, well.. just how does that actually affect water vapor emissions? No clear answers.
But one thing is for certain; there are no vapor trails from aircraft of any kind, at any place, within China.
MM car ride in an industrial factory section of Guangzhou. video 43MB
None.
N-O-N-E.
Why? Why are there no Chemtrails in China? MM video 23MB
The Problem with the Nano-bots mRNA Vaxx and Vault 7
Ok, then. Let’s do a simple “sanity check”.
The big problem with this concept is that the American / Western “leadership” must be totally isolated from the effects of this control mechanism. How can you possibly isolate the leadership from Chem-trails, audio playing on the radio, media on television and movies, and the social networks on the internet.
Heck! They are addicted to them!
So, and the sanity check is clear, as brilliant and complex the system is, it will affect everyone within that society. No one will be immune. Sure, you might need to place yourself into isolation, but eventually, one way or the other, you WILL feel the influence of these systems. No one is immune.
The “leadership” might find a way to pretend getting an mRNA injection, but it’s a cut-throat world at the top. There can be all sorts of ways to place tiny nano-bots inside of your enemy to turn them into your pawn.
So, really…
No matter how hard they try, they will live within the very same, exact “echo box” that they subject their citizenry to. They will live inside an “echo chamber” of lies; lie that they ordered others to create.
They are boxed in, and they believe the lies. They actually believe them.
And as leaders, they will make decisions based on those lies, and the entire nation;
They will start to say things that will sound crazy, and act in ways that will seem strange and crazy. They will act so very convinced of the strangest and most outlandish narratives.
And in doing so…
…by the leadership…
…the entire system will evenually be destroyed. Leadership needs REAL intel to make decisions upon. There is no excuse. You eaither have real intel (good and most especially bad) or you don’t. And history is clear. Bad intel results in very bad results.
We call those results; fiascos.
How can anyone possibly have a leadership that…
Does not take the mRNA Vaxx injection.
Does not read, watch or enjoy American media, social networks or media.
It cannot occur.
Maybe at some time, some radicals believed that it was possible. Maybe back in the 1960s, or 1970s they might have believed this. But in todays society. It is impossible.
Simply Impossible.
Perhaps, the reason why there is such an accelerated failure at all levels in the West is becuase the “leadership” has themselves been affected by their very own poison.
I shake my head.
How can they be so stupid?
Please ponder this thought.
Let’s take a break from this to let your mind relax. New subject. New thoughts.
Chinese respect
Boy locks himself in his bedroom. The fire station is called and they go to the house to break him out…video 2MB
Here’s yet some more gag boxes…
Now here’s a jigsaw puzzle that is suitable for the whole family. Just set aside a card table and get at it. It’s a true challenge.
Want a challenge?
Plants cry for more! Amaze your friends!
Environmentially safe!
Plants cry for more!
The latest in animal entertainment!
The latest in animal entertainment!
The world needs more people skipping
If you cannot dance, try skipping. Smile. Skip as you walk down the street, and say nice things to people. While the rest of the world is on a roller coaster to Hell, you can stop that descent. Skip as you walk. video 15MB
Take care of yourself
We all might not look like this 20-something Chinese woman, but we can certainly smile and be great; we can do great things. Stop waiting. Start doing. video 3MB
Suppose you are a leader in the West
Just imagine that you are a leader of one of the major Western nations. And you best scientists come running to you; scientist that you believe and trust. And they tell you that the situation is DIRE for mankind. They tell you, convincingly that human population grown and energy depletion is unsustainable and that a major disaster lies ahead…
…and they offer senarios and solutions.
And the best one, whatever it might be, is one when a great mass of humanity dies off.
And you, as a leader believe them.
Perhaps you are an independent thinker. Perhaps you are a massive follower of social media and use twitter all the time, and are heavily influenced by Vault 7. What ever.
You believe them. In your heart; you believe them.
And their solution is to kill off 80% of the human population. ..
Insane. Unheard of. But, they present it in a clear and defined manner…
Intentionally cull the human race to 20% of it’s size … or…
Lose 100% of the human species and everyone dies.
What would you choose?
Truth or fiction
It does not matter if there’s such a real thing as “climate change”. What actually does matter is what the “leadership” believes. Because if they inherently believe that the world is going “to Hell in a handbasket”, they have the power, and ability, and the willingness to perform some really drastic actions.
Actions, mind you, that will affect you and your families directly.
Let’s eat.
Chicken Pot Pie
Likely another cost-cutting holdover of the Great Depression and World War II, this savory chicken and vegetable pie is now mostly found only in the grocery store freezer aisle. Don’t go there.
.
Make up your own. It tastes better. It lasts longer. It’s easy to make, and great and easy to reheat in the microwave. Chicken Pot Pie, why didn’t we think about this sooner?
(If) the software of the plane took over the controls from the pilot… and we con’t know that this is what happened, but if it did… why in God’s Name did it decide to aim the plane straight towards the ground at full throttle?
The black box fight recorder has been recovered. I believe investigators are considering that sabotage is involved.
Talking about evil and the United States, let’s interrupt this train of thought to explore more gag boxes…
Here’s some more gag boxes…
Have your pet treat you as a king!
Have your pet treat you as a king!
Take a nap anywhere and at anytime.
Take a nap anywhere and at anytime.
And what about the Ukraine?
Unlike the theoretical secret deals between the West and the Chinese (or Russia), the deals between China and Russia are very much visible and are largely committed to paper.The West started this conflict, of course. I don’t know when they realized Russia was going to move into the Ukraine, but they had ample opportunity to prevent it by simply agreeing to the previous status quo. They appear to believe that they can create a protracted conflict in the Ukraine like they did when Russia invaded Afghanistan in the 1980s.
That shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the situation.
Ukraine has historically been a part of Russia. There is not really any such thing as a “Ukrainian identity” outside of being a vassal state. In the west of the country, they tend to feel closer to Poland, and there is some bad blood all around with regards to the USSR. But none of this is in any way similar to fanatical Islam. The US has backed neo-Nazism as a kind of “Ukrainian ISIS,” but you can’t rally a country around cartoonish neo-Nazism (particularly while the entire leadership of the country is Jewish).The idea of using neo-Nazis as rebels against a Russian occupation or a Russia-backed government in the Ukraine is nonsensical, and reeks of the kind of stupid thinking that led to America’s Afghan debacle. The US government pays people to lie to them, and when people tell the truth, they get fired and end up on obscure livestream interviews answering superchats. These liars are telling the decision-makers that the Ukraine is Afghanistan and a protracted conflict can be used to drain Russia, which will ultimately result in the collapse of the Putin government.The fact that they have no idea what they’re doing is blatant in the fact that they are sanctioning the entire Russian race. Putin’s support is going up rapidly among the people, many of whom didn’t like his policies before but now feel compelled to rally around him since they are being attacked personally for their race by the West.
-UNZ
Perfect for the busy man on the move!
Perfect for the busy man on the move!
So what are we looking at here?
Well, as far as I can figure out, we have the following situations all moving ahead at this time…
The United States is pushing the world towards war.
They are crossing both China’s, and Russia’s red lines to provoke them.
They believe the myth of “American greatness”.
They believe that America has liberty and freedom.
They believe that a uni-polar world is necessary and there are no alternatives.
The American leadership are acting strangely.
President Biden seems to be senile with dementia.
Vice President Kamala Harris appears to be a “ding-bat, dunderhead”.
The US Senate are mostly radical neocon war-hawks.
The Coronavirus pandemic was strange.
All Western nations insisted in mRNA injections.
All Eastern nations treated it as a bio-weapon and used dead-host vaccines.
Western nations are all now “open”, while Eastern nations remain closed.
Full-scale on-going “hybrid-warfare” against the East by the West.
Military engagements, sanctions, trade restrictions on Russia.
Strange unusual events inside of China. All centering around American products, food, livestock, or systems.
A strong difference in the West vs. East societies.
Everyone in the West seem angry, agitated, and frustrated.
Thos in the East are calm, relaxed, happy.
No contrails in the East.
Hyper-inflation hitting the West.
Up-tick in some inflationary measures in the East.
But what does it all mean?
It’s not like I can just immediately agree that all Americans (and those in the west) have nano-bots, and chem-trail poisonings, and all the rest. I see strange behaviors, but I do not see any evidence that the cause is some kind of mad-scientist stew of frequency manipulation, vault 7, nano-bots, MSM algorithms, and the rest.
I have no proof.
And even if I did, I really wouldn’t know what to do about / with it.
So, in the interests of all…
We have to approach the strangeness, not with theories that suggest causes and answers but rather empirical study.
Empirical study
Empirical research is research using empirical evidence. You see evidence. You study it. You come to conclusions about it. You do not come up with theories on the causes. You just put all of the observations into one singular box.
It’s important that you put ALL of the observations in that box. Omitting one singular element can give you distorted or skiewed conclusions. So you collect all the observations…
An American-built plane had a highly unusual crash inside of China.
The plane possessed software that can override the pilot commands.
The plane is of the same make and model that had similiar crashes before.
“Conspiracy kooks” believe that this type of plane can be hyjacked remotely.
The crash came immediately after two warnings to Xi Peng (Blinkedin, and Biden) that there would be immediate consequences if China did not Sanction Russia.
It’s been one week now since the warnings. No other “immediate consequences” occurred (that the public is aware of).
You see, empirical study a way of gaining knowledge by means of direct and indirect observation or experience. Here’s another example.
There are contrails all over the West.
There are no contrials in the East.
And…
Everyone in the West are agitated, upset, angry and frustrated.
Everyone in the East seems to be calm, realxed and comfortable.
And…
While there are exceptions, the vast bulk of injections in the West are mRNA.
There are no mRNA injections in China, and few in Russia.
Empiricism values some research more than other kinds.
A measure of “happiness” is relative.
While a measure of inflation is measurable.
Empirical evidence (the record of one’s direct observations or experiences) can be analyzed quantitatively or qualitatively. And from that, you can suggest what is going on…
Until MM mixed different subjects in the articles (food, girls, China, history), there was a near constant stream of Trolls, and hacking attemps on the site.
When the mixed subjects were introducted, Troll and DDOS attacks dropped to zero.
As well as come up with theories as to why it is going on…
Trolls and hacks use some <unknown method> to select the websites to harrass.
By mixing content within articles, the <unknown method> is bypassed, and the articles are no longer harassed or attacked.
About China
An interesing quote…
We are clearly facing down a world ruled by the Chinese. A lot of people are uncomfortable with that. But most of the discomfort comes from the idea that the Chinese are somehow going to rule us in the same fashion that the US has ruled the world since World War II.
They have no such plans for us. The Chinese have a vision of conquering the world through commerce, rather than war, threats of war, and geopolitical maneuvering.We started out on the issue of the economic dominance of the US, and that economic dominance is indeed the key to everything. However, US economic dominance was entirely a result of US military might. The reigning US philosophy for global economic dominance has been: “we will literally bomb you.”
Conversely, the Chinese philosophy has been: “we will sell you high quality products at reasonable prices.”
When the Mongols consistently raided them, stealing their women and wealth on horseback and riding off with the booty, they said “cannot allow.” Instead of mounting an army to crush the Mongols, they built a gigantic wall, and told the Mongols that if they wanted Chinese products, they would have to buy them at the wall.
It is precisely the same logic as a Chinese immigrant family setting up a store in an all black neighborhood and covering the counter, cash register, and expensive items with bulletproof glass.
China has always been, fundamentally, a merchant empire, and that hasn’t changed. If it were not for the belligerence of the West, they wouldn’t have bothered to build up a large military at all. Historically, virtually every war the Chinese have fought has been a civil war, as they don’t look at the rest of the world as enemies or friends, but rather customers and potential customers.
-UNZ
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie
Although pumpkin pie and cheesecake have obviously remained popular, this hybrid, a Kraft classic, has fallen out of favor.
.
This variation on pumpkin pie comes from actress and writer Mae West. It appears in a 1933 community cookbook published by the Assistance League of Southern California, alongside contributions from several other Hollywood stars such as Carole Lombard, Norma Shearer, Constance Bennet, Marion Davies, and Cary Grant.
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2022 03 24 09 50
Unfortunately, Mae West doesn’t give us much information beyond the actual recipe. The pie is titled “Pumpkin Pie Robert,” but it’s unclear what the name “Robert” refers to – it could be the name of a person who gave her the recipe, or perhaps even the name of a place the recipe came from.
Mae West includes brandy in her recipe, which is pushing the boundaries just a little, since the cookbook was published in 1933 and Prohibition wasn’t repealed until the end of that year. She is far from the only contributor to this cookbook to do so, however, and finding alcohol in recipes from the Prohibition years isn’t at all uncommon.
The strangest ingredient in this recipe to me is the Nippy cheese called for in the topping. I wasn’t able to find out exactly what Nippy cheese is, although it looks like it was some type of cheese spread originally made by Kraft. It was apparently not the same as cream cheese, since Kraft made that too, but for lack of a better substitute I decided to go with cream cheese. Any kind of flavored cheese spread honestly sounds like it would be disgusting when combined with whipped cream, so I’m hoping that the original Nippy cheese was something neutrally-flavored.
2022 03 24 09 52
Oh that Mae…
2022 03 24 09 53
Pumpkin Pie Robert:
1 1/2 cups pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt (reduced from original)
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 oz/4 tbsp brandy
2 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
Beat the eggs until light, then add the sugar, spices, and salt and beat until mixed.
Scald the milk, then slowly add milk to the egg mixture while whisking constantly.
Stir in the pumpkin and brandy.
Line a pie pan with pastry (no recipe for pie crust is given in the book, so use your favorite recipe or store-bought).
Pour in the filling. With a 9-inch pie pan, I ended up with some extra filling; the recipe is probably intended for a larger or deeper pan.
Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn down the oven to 325 degrees and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Topping: whip the cream until stiff. Mash the cream cheese with a fork, then stir into the cream. Once the pie is cold, use a piping bag to decorate it with the cream cheese mixture.
Like many pies, this one is definitely at its best the day after its made. When I tried it on day 1, the flavors were much too strong, with the brandy in particular overwhelming everything else. The flavors melded much better the second day, although it was still a strongly-flavored pie. I did end up reducing the salt, since 1 teaspoon seemed much too salty to me.
A nice fun pie. Goes great with coffee.
I liked the cream-cheese topping, but I think I am more of a whipped cream purist. I also wonder whether cream cheese was a good substitute for Nippy cheese, or if the original cheese was something more savory. There are people who put cheddar cheese on apple pies, although I’ve never heard of it used on a pumpkin pie. Was Mae West a cheese-on-dessert-pie person? (I am very firmly not a cheese-on-dessert-pie person – but cream cheese is ok).
Overall, my verdict is that this was a decent pumpkin pie, but it just wasn’t quite to my taste. Sorry, Mae West, but Amelia Simmons’ Pumpkin Pie is still the top historic pumpkin pie for me!
Here’s some more fun gag boxes…
Perfect during these days of Coronavirus.
Perfect during these days of Coronavirus.
For ages two and older.
For ages two and older.
Now with musical Accompaniment. Choose your own theme song.
Now with musical Accompaniment. Choose your own theme song.
A unique, one in a lifetime gift.
A unique, one in a lifetime gift.
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China is still under lockdown
Do not believe the lies that China is reconsidering it’s hard Coronavirus restrictions. Maybe the West has relaxed it’s stance dealing with the “pandemic”, but China has not.
China is still under DEFCON 2; they still accuse the USA of launching bioweapons against it, and they are VERY VERY concerned about the biolweapons labs in Ukraine. They will stay at DEFCON 2 until there is no longer any threat of bioweapon attack from the West.
Here’s a viewo of some of the many many volunteers fighting on this front. video 7MB
Renegade interviews Michael Hudson: Sanctions, the blowback
Ross [00:00:29] Welcome to Renegade Inc. Whatever the outcome in Ukraine, one thing is for sure the economic reverberations will be felt by everyone for years to come as the world divides between the West and a rapidly reshaping Eurasia.
Ross [00:00:49] Michael Hudson, always a pleasure to have you on the programme, welcome to Renegade Inc.
Michael Hudson [00:00:53] Thank you for inviting me.
Ross [00:00:55] Michael, sanctions, sanctions, sanctions is all we hear now. We’re sanctioning people. The West sanction people back to the Stone Age. What are the unintended consequences of sanctions?
Michael Hudson [00:01:05] Well, one is to serve very much like a protective tariff on the sanctioned country. For instance, when America made sanctions on European trade with Russia, Lithuania dutifully stopped exporting cheese to Russia. Well, the result is that Russia set up its own cheese’s sector, and now it’s self-sufficient in cheese. If you sanction a country, you force it to become more self-reliant and across the board, from agriculture to dairy products to technology, Russia is forced to become more self-reliant and at the same time to depend much more on trade with China for the things that it is still not self-reliant in. So America is bringing about exactly the opposite of what it intended. It’s hopeless to somehow isolate Russia and then be able to go after China without Russia. And instead, what it’s doing is integrating the Eurasian core, Russia and China, exactly the policy that Henry Kissinger warned against going all the way back to Mackinder a century ago that said, Eurasia is the world island, Russia and China could be the whole world centre. That’s what the fight is all about. Well, American sanctions are driving Russia and China together, and America has gone to China and said, Please don’t support Russia. It most recently, on Monday, March 14, Jake Sullivan came out and told China, we will sanction countries that break our sanctions against Russia. And basically, China said, fine. You know, we’ll just break off all the trade between East and West now and the East, Eurasia is pretty much self-sufficient. The West is not self-sufficient since it began to industrialise, and it’s heavily dependent on Russia for not only oil and gas, but palladium and many raw materials. So the sanctions are ending up driving a wedge between the European countries.
Ross [00:03:31] Don’t people who apply these sanctions think this through? Are they so short-sighted they don’t understand that these sanctions are going to build further capacity within Russia, push Russia further towards China, make that economic alliance concrete and, ultimately, you’re not going to be able to keep the lights on in in Europe? All the while underestimating the fact that from a food security point of view – take the U.K., for instance, a net importer of food – not appreciating the fact that, for instance, Russia/Ukraine, they create twenty five percent, a quarter, of all wheat annually. The estimation this year is one hundred and two million tonnes Russia and Ukraine, wheat. Don’t people realise that there’s going to be a massive knock on effect?
Michael Hudson [00:04:23] Yes, they do realise it. Yes, they’ve thought it all through. I worked with these people for more than 50 years.
Ross [00:04:31] Who are these people?
Michael Hudson [00:04:32] The neocons, basically, the people who are in charge of U.S. foreign policy? Victoria Nuland and her husband, Robert Kagan, the people that President Biden has appointed all around him, from Blinken to Sullivan and right down the line. They are basically urging people around the New American Century. They’re the people who said America can run the whole world and create its own reality. And yes, they know that this is going to cause enormous problems for Germany. They know that not only will it block the energy that Germany and Italy and other countries in Europe need through their oil and gas, but also it’ll block the use of gas for fertiliser, upping their fertiliser production and decreasing their food production. They look at this and they say, How can America gain from all of this? There’s always a way of gaining what something looks to be bad. Well, one way they’ll gain is oil prices are going way up. And that benefits the United States whose foreign policy is based very largely on oil and gas. The oil industry controls most of the world’s oil trade, and that explains a lot of the US diplomacy. This is a fight to lock the world energy trade into control by U.S. companies, excluding not only Iran and Venezuela, but also excluding Russia.
Ross [00:06:16] So as Europe pushes towards more and more green and renewable energy and this for the Americans they must think it’s a dreadful scenario insofar as they can’t sell the oil as Europe becomes or wants to become more self-sufficient. So ultimately, and Britain net zero, whatever that means. But but going down the renewables path, going down the solar path takes America’s dependency or dependency on America out the game, doesn’t it?
Michael Hudson [00:06:49] This is exactly the point that the European public has not realised. While most of the European public wants to prevent global warming and prevent carbon into the atmosphere, U.S. foreign policy is based on increasing, and even accelerating, global warming, accelerating carbon emissions because that’s the oil trade. Suppose that Europe got its way. Suppose if the Greens got what they wanted and Germany and Europe were completely dependent on solar energy panels, on wind energy and to some extent, on nuclear power, perhaps? Well, if they were completely self-sufficient in energy without oil or gas or coal, America would lose the primary lever. It has over the ability to turn off the power and electricity and oil of any country that didn’t follow U.S. diplomatic direction.
Ross [00:07:48] So when we take your analysis here and we think about how the sanctions are going to build capacity, push Russia and China together, when we start to look at sort of piggy in the middle, if you like the EU, when we’re thinking about America, the EU has had a sort of abusive relationship with the Americans for quite some time now, hasn’t it?
Michael Hudson [00:08:06] Well, that’s that’s true in the sense that EU foreign policy has basically been turned over to NATO. So instead of European voters and politicians making their policy, they’ve relinquished European foreign policy to NATO, which is really an arm of the US military. So yes, Europe has had a decent relationship with the United States diplomatically by saying yes, yes, please or yes, thank you by not being independent. Of course, if it were independent, the relationship would not be so friendly and decent.
Ross [00:08:46] So for countries that are net importers of food, need to keep the lights on, need heating and need cheap oil. How does this pan out? What does it look like for the UK? What does it look like for the EU?
Michael Hudson [00:08:59] Well, Vice President, Kamala Harris the other day said to Americans, Yes, life is going to be much more expensive. Our oil prices are going up and squeezing families. But think of the poor Ukrainian babies that we’re saving. So take it on the chin for the Ukrainian babies. So basically the United States is presenting horror stories of the Ukraine and saying, if you don’t willingly suffer now by isolating Russia, then Russia is going to roll over you with tanks just like it rolled over Central Europe after World War Two. I mean, it’s waving the flag of Russian aggression, as if Russia or any country in today’s world has an army that’s able to invade any other industrial nation. All military can do today of any country is bomb and kill other populations and industrial centres. No nation is able to occupy or rollover any industrial country. And the United States keeps trying to promote this mythology that we’re still in the world of 1945. And that world ended really with the Vietnam War when the military draft ended. And no country is able to have a military draft to raise the army with necessary to fight to invade. Russia can’t do it any more than Europe or the United States could do it. So all the United States can do is wave warnings about how awful Russia is and somehow convince Europe to follow the US position. But most of all, it doesn’t really have to. Europe doesn’t really have a voice, and this is what the complaint by Putin and Foreign Secretary Lavrov have been saying. They say that Europe is just following the United States and it doesn’t matter what the European people want or what European politicians want. The United States is so deeply in control that they really don’t have much of a choice.
Ross [00:11:15] When does the consumer start to feel this? When does the European or British consumer start to feel the pinch when these sanctions are enacted? And what does that look like?
Michael Hudson [00:11:25] Well, it depends on how fast the sanctions work. The United States said Well, in another year and a half, we’ll be able to provide Europe with liquefied natural gas. Well, the problem is, first of all, they’re not the ports to handle the liquefied natural gas to go into Europe. Secondly, there are not enough ships and tankers to carry all of this gas to Europe. So unless there are very warm winters, Europe is not going to have a very easy time for the next few years. And that’s only for oil and gas. It’s dependent on raw materials that Russia produces. For instance, palladium is necessary for catalytic converters. Titanium is necessary to make the screws that are especially used on aeroplanes that are strong enough not to buckle and break when winds go up and down and when they’re full. Russia even produces the neon and the crypton that are necessary for making some kind of electronic uses and also for many components that go into computers and information technology. There’s a whole range of exports that Europe is highly dependent on, and the United States has provided Putin with a whole list of these exports, saying, Well, OK, we’re going to fight against Europe buying your oil and gas but you can certainly sell us your heavy oil that we need since we’re not buying it from Venezuela. We certainly need the following list of critical materials that we need, like helium and crypton. These are our pressure points. Please don’t press on them. Well, you can imagine what Putin and his advisers are saying. Thank you for giving us this list of the pressure points that you’re exempting from the trade sanctions. I think if you really want a break in the unilateral, unipolar world, I think we should break now and see whether you really want to get along without trading.
Ross [00:13:51] Michael Hudson, welcome back, second half, Renegade Inc. Wonderful to have you. In that first half we followed the money, if you like. We talked about sanctions and the unintended consequences. I just want to pull back a little further if we can and just talk about the sort of tectonic shifts that are going on in the world. I spoke to somebody from Russia recently and what he said was very straightforward. He said, now what we have to do is begin to learn to live without the West. Do you think that that sentiment is proliferating across Russia now? Is that the mindset?
Michael Hudson [00:14:22] Well, if you read President Putin’s speeches, that’s exactly what’s happening. And Secretary Lavrov has voiced exactly the same feeling. There’s almost a disgust with the West and a feeling from Putin, Lavrov and the other Russian spokesmen, how could we everhave hoped to have an integration with Europe after 1991? Europe really was not on our side at all, and we didn’t realise that Europe is really part of the U.S. diplomatic sphere. It’s like all of Europe is now backing the attack on Russia. The best to do is reorient our economy towards China, Asia and Eurasia and become our own self-sufficient, independent centre
Ross [00:15:15] De-dollarisation and the amassing of plenty of gold by both the Russians and the Chinese. Just talk us through that.
Michael Hudson [00:15:21] Well, Ross, you asked in the first half of this interview how has American sanctions worked against it? I should have mentioned what you just mentioned, the dollar. The United States just grabbed all of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves, just as England a few months ago grabbed all of Venezuela’s gold that was held in the Bank of England when Venezuela tried to spend this gold on buying medical supplies to cope with the COVID virus. So basically, the United States have said, if any foreign country holds its reserves in the United States or accounts in U.S. banks. If a country in the global south tries to pay its foreign debt by holding its reserves in US banks in order to be the paying agent on the interest on its foreign debt. And if that foreign country does something we don’t like, like trade with Russia or permit more labour unionisation or try to become independent in food, we’re just going to do what we did to Venezuela, what we did to Iran when we grabbed its foreign exchange reserves or what we did to Russia. And that means that other countries all of a sudden see what they thought was their flight to security, what they thought was their most secure savings, their holdings in U.S. banks, US treasury bill, all of a sudden, is holding them hostage and is a high risk. Even the Financial Times of London has been writing about this, saying, how can the United States that was getting a free ride off the dollar standard for the last 50 years, ever since 1971, when foreign countries held dollars instead of gold and basically holding dollars means you buy U.S. Treasury bonds to finance the US budget deficit and the balance of payments deficit. How can the United States kill the goose that’s giving it the free ride? Well, the answer is that other countries can only move into gold and there’s an alternative to the dollar because that’s something that all the countries of the world have agreed upon is an asset, not a liability. If you hold any foreign currency, that currency is a liability of a foreign country, and if you hold gold, it’s a pure asset. There’s no country that can cancel it, the Americans can’t cancel Russia’s gold supply that’s held in Russia, although it can grab Russian gold supply if it were to hold it in the New York Federal Reserve Bank or the Bank of England. So other countries are not only moving to gold, Germany is bringing its gold back from New York, the Federal Reserve, in aeroplanes back to Germany, so it’ll have its own gold just in case German politicians would do something the United States didn’t like and the United States would simply grab Germany’s gold. The United States sanctions, and it’s especially it’s grabbing on foreign reserve, has started a war that is dividing the world between the West and Eurasia.
Ross [00:18:40] A technical part to all of this because let’s face it, it is an information war and it’s also an economic war. Is it the FIRE sector that you point out – the financial, insurance and real estate sector. Is it that they want to continue the exorbitant privilege of credit creation, because ultimately, if you think about gold, there’s no counterparty risk. Gold is gold and it has been for millennia. Far from being a barbarous relic, by the way now, people are starting to realise the intrinsic value, especially as crypto falls apart. Can you just talk a little bit about this, the FIRE sector wanting the exorbitant privilege of creating credit?
Michael Hudson [00:19:19] This is really what the new world division and global fracture is all about. You’re right, Ross. If you look at after World War One, the American fight against Soviet communism, was basically a fight of industrial capitalism against the threat of socialism. But after 1991, and especially in the last two decades, America deindustrialised. So the fight is not by industrial capitalism against countries pushing their labour up. It’s a fight of neoliberalism against industrial capitalism or socialism abroad. It’s against industrial capitalism evolving into socialism. It’s a belief that, well, now that America’s be industrialised, how is it going to control the world economy? Well, it’ll control it through a financial means by being the creditor and foreign countries debt payments to America will enable it to make its military payments abroad and finance its trade deficit. But also, America’s purchase of key natural resources will give it natural resources when its purchase of takeover of real estate is going to essentially make the United States the landlord class and monopoly class, that mediaeval Europe had to hold the rest of the population in serfdom. That basically is the American strategy of neoliberalism fighting against countries that reject privatisation and financialization of their economy, and specifically financialization under the control of U.S. banks, U.S. private capital and allied satellite banks and capital from England or France or Germany. This is exactly the fight. Will banking and finance control the world economy or will other countries try to build up their own economies through labour and tangible capital formation?
Ross [00:21:27] Where do you stand on that? And I’m only asking you to predict the future, Michael. How do you think this plays out? Because the way you’ve depicted it is the rent seekers, the neoliberal rent seekers on one hand, and there are value creators on the other. And by the way, those two things don’t sit very well together, as we know. How does that play out?
Michael Hudson [00:21:51] Even though the United States is the largest debtor economy in the world, it’s a creditor vis-a-vis the global south and other countries and it uses its creditor position to take over their natural resources, real estate, oil and gas, mineral rights and public utilities and natural monopolies and that are being privatised in government infrastructure. It’s becoming basically the landlord monopoly class of the entire world. That’s the U.S. strategy, and that’s the key to why the world is fracturing globally. And in the past, the global south countries were unable to fight against this tendency in the 70s and 80s with the Vendome conference on. But now that China and Russia threatened to be a self-sufficient core in Eurasia, this is the great threat to the American dream of becoming a landlord and financier of the world.
Ross [00:22:50] How do you think this pans out?
Michael Hudson [00:22:52] Well, the question is whether the United States is if we can control the world, who wants to live in a world like that, let’s blow it up. The question is whether the United States will actually go to war. The only lever that it has left is to drop bombs and to destroy and make the world look like Ukraine. So from the U.S. point of view, Europe’s future and Eurasia’s future is the Ukraine. Look at what we will do to you if you don’t follow our policy. America has just moved al Qaeda very heavily in the Ukraine to sort of repeat in Ukraine and Europe what it was doing in Syria and Libya. And the United States says this is what we can do. What are you going to do about it? Do you really want to fight. But the rest of the world, certainly China and Russia says, Well, we’re ready to fight. So there is no telling what you. And it comes down to personalities. Putin has said, well, do we really want to live in a world without Russia? If the United States is to attack us, we might as well end the world. The United States says, Do we really want to live in a world that we can’t control? If we’re not completely in control, we feel very insecure and we’re going to blow up the world. So you have this countervailing position in a world where all the arms control has been dismantled by the United States in the last few years. The United States has withdrawn from all of the agreements that Russia and China have tried to promote. And Europe is standing by and apparently is willing to be the sacrificial lamb in all of this as Ukraine is being the sacrificial lamb. So the United States and Russia say, let’s fight to the last European. And Russia initially didn’t want that because it was hoping that Europe and Russia would have a mutual gain in trade and investment relationships. But now it doesn’t feel that way. And there may be a proxy war between the United States over the European economy, not necessarily bombing Europe, but trade sanctions, energy sanctions, the kind of disruption that Europe is going to be seeing in the next year is if it loses Russian oil and gas and minerals and also, I think Chinese exports.
Ross [00:25:25] Is there a moment where cooler heads prevail and suddenly the West and other places realise that they’re dependent from a food security point of view, from an energy security point of view that we are dependent? And is there a moment at that point that you can thaw a frozen conflict by saying, actually, if we both meet, we just take a step toward each other, actually, we can do something in a collaborative way? Now I get what you’ve said throughout the rest of the programme, and I give this a percentage possibility of about three percent, but isn’t there a strategy to say, actually, we’ve had all the grandstanding, we’ve had all the brinksmanship, we should now sit around the table and try and work something out?
Michael Hudson [00:26:03] I don’t see any cooler heads in the United States. The surprising thing is that here it’s the right wing channel, the Republican Fox Channel, is the only channel that’s taking the anti-war stand and is saying we shouldn’t be at war in Ukraine. It’s the only channel that’s talking about here is how Russia sees the world. Do we really want to take a one sided perspective or do we want to see the actual dynamics at work? So it was the Republicans and the right wing that is now primarily against the NATO war in the Ukraine. The left wing seems to be all for it, but the left wing of the Democratic Party is in office and I don’t see any cooler heads in the Democratic Party at all. And I’ve known many of these people for many decades, and they are willing to go to war for a death. There are still back in the world of World War Two when the fight was against the Nazis and anti-Semitism. They’re still living in a kind of mythology world, not in the real world. And the thought that the world can come to an end either doesn’t have a reality to them or as Herman Cain said, Well, somebody is going to survive.
Ross [00:27:29] Michael Hudson always a pleasure, a great insight. And, you know, it’s just refreshing to hear. Thank you very much for your time.
Michael Hudson [00:27:38] Well, thank you very much for having me, Ross.
On February 21 Russia announced that it would recognize the Donbas republics. A day later it did so. The ‘west’ immediately announced sanctions which in fact had been prepared in advance. On February 24 Russian troops crossed the border into Ukraine.
The Russian ruble immediately took a big hit. It has since recovered a bit.
oday’s news will bring the ruble to a new heights.
Putin instructed to convert gas contracts with unfriendly countries into rublesPresident Vladimir Putin instructed to issue a directive to Gazprom to convert contracts into rubles for unfriendly countries. In his opinion, supplying Russian goods to the EU, the USA and receiving payment in dollars and euros "does not make any sense for us." Against this background, the ruble moved to growth on the Moscow Exchange.“Both the US and the EU have basically defaulted on their obligations to Russia. And now everyone in the world knows that obligations in dollars and euros may not be fulfilled. <...> It is quite obvious that in this regard, it makes no sense for us to supply our goods to both the EU and the USA and receive payment in dollars, euros and a number of other currencies. Therefore, I have decided to implement in the shortest possible time a set of measures to transfer payments for our natural gas supplied to unfriendly countries to Russian rubles,” Mr. Putin said at a meeting with the government.The President instructed the Central Bank and the government to determine within a week the order of operations for the purchase of rubles on the domestic market by buyers of Russian gas. He claims that Russia will continue to supply gas "in accordance with the volumes and according to the pricing principles concluded in the contracts."The dollar exchange rate on the Moscow Exchange fell below 100 rubles. for the first time since March 3rd. As of 15:37, the US currency is trading at 101.55 rubles. (-2 rubles). The euro exchange rate fell by 2.85 rubles to 111.65 rubles. The maximum dollar fell to 94.99 rubles, the euro - to 109.7 rubles.The European Union, the United States, Great Britain and a number of other countries have imposed sanctions against Russia in response to the military operation in Ukraine, which has been carried out since February 24 on the orders of Mr. Putin. One of the measures was the freezing of about half of the Central Bank's gold and foreign exchange reserves ($300 billion).
To pay in ruble one first has to buy rubles. With higher demand for rubles and no change in supplies the price for the Russian currency will go up. As Russia is selling hydrocarbons and other resources for billions of dollars per day the ruble is likely to soon reach record heights.
On February 28 another round of sanctions hit Russia. The part of the Russian central bank reserves that were stored in the ‘west’ were frozen. The central bank immediately pushed its interest rate from 9% to 20% to prevent a flight from the ruble. This helped to lessen the damage but made credit expensive and has hit the future growth potential in Russia.
But with a high new rubles demand from the outside of Russia the central bank will soon be able to lower its interest rate to more normal levels. Credit conditions will ease and investment in Russia, to replace products that had so far been imported, will rise again.
Today’s move to demand rubles for hydrocarbons is only on of the many steps Russia can, and likely will take, to retaliate for sanctions from the ‘west’.
All energy consumption in the U.S. and EU will now come at a premium price. This will push the EU and the U.S. into a recession. As Russia will increase the prices for exports of goods in which it has market power - gas, oil, wheat, potassium, titanium, aluminum, palladium, neon etc - the rise in inflation all around the world will become significant.
As he heads to Europe, President Biden will press U.S. allies to help impose even more aggressive sanctions on Russia.
Biden demands that Europe suicides itself while he is protecting the U.S. industry. I hope that some people in the European capitals are still able to think clear enough to recognize the racket the U.S. is trying to run here:
Together with the economic devastation that U.S. and European sanctions on Russia are causing in their own economies this will end in regime-changes in several European countries. The U.S. is of course again protecting itself from as much as it can at the cost of others.
The question remains, why did all those who for so long foretold this war do so little to stop it, and so much to hasten the disaster Russia has now set in motion?
Indeed. Why didn’t the government of Germany guarantee in writing that it would veto any additional NATO membership? It would have solved at least half of the problem. Why didn’t any other NATO government do so?
And what are they doing now? Where are their initiatives for peace?
Wake up. Otherwise this will end in disaster. Not for Russia but for the rest of Europe.
Kids and cats
Ah. This is funny. Poor kitties, but they know that the big stupid humans can’t be helped. video 124MB
NATO'S STOLTENBERG SAYS ANY USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL CHANGE NATURE OF CONFLICT, RUSSIA MUST UNDERSTAND THAT IT CAN NEVER WIN A NUCLEAR WAR.
UPDATE 5:10 PM EDT —
NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg said that NATO has plans in place to protect all allies from nuclear threat, and that there should be no doubt about its readiness.
MORE:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned of a “direct clash” between Moscow and NATO forces if peacekeepers from the military alliance are deployed to Ukraine.
Lavrov made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking to students and staff at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in response to Polish proposals for a NATO and international “peace mission.”
“Our Polish colleagues have already stated that there will be a NATO summit now, we need to send peacekeepers. I hope they understand what is at stake,” Lavrov said, according to Russian state-owned news agency TASS.
STILL MORE:
Russian lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlyov on state TV threatens nuclear strike on Warsaw, Poland and NATO forces or any peacekeeping contingent that might try to enter Ukraine.
Hal Turner Editorial Opinion
This issue has been surfacing far too frequently of late, and there’s a very good reason for it: The West has attacked Russia economically over the Ukraine situation, and has done it so badly that Russia is in actual danger of collapsing as a country.
The West seems to think that Russia’s only option is to sit back and take the sanctions, or change its behavior with Ukraine to abide what NATO and the west wants.
The Russian’s don’t see it that way.
The West PROMISED Russia, after the fall of the Soviet Union, that they would “not move one inch eastward from the Re-unified East-West Germany” (1997). Yet NATO did precisely that in the ensuing years, to the point were NATO nations are now directly bordering Russia.
Those NATO nations have NATO troops rotating in and out of them. The West lies about it by saying they’re only there “temporarily” when in fact, as thousands leave after a few months duty, thousands more come to replace them. The result: An ever-present NATO conventional force.
Then too, there’s the missiles. US Missile Defense systems . . . now in several of the former Soviet Block nations, all aimed directly at Russia.
Ukraine was simply the latest Domino to fall in the long line of NATO expansion. The reason NATO wanted Ukraine has to do with its proximity to Moscow and to Russia’s Strategic Nuclear missile silos. If American missile defenses can be placed on Ukraine soil, they will have a flight time of only 5 minutes to Moscow, and less than ten minutes to Russia’s nuclear silos. Russia cannot defend against missiles that are so close and can travel so far and fast.
Worse, the technology of missiles has evolved and now, the very same “conventional” missiles claimed to be “defensive” can be re-fitted with OFFENSIVE NUCLEAR WARHEADS within an hour. And the re-fit can be done while the missiles remain in their launchers, so no one would know the missiles had been converted from conventional to nuclear.
These facts pose an existential threat to Russia, the very same way that Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba posed an existential threat to the USA under President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
What did Kennedy do? He told the Soviets either those missiles had to go, or . . . . the US would invade Cuba to destroy those missiles. (Gee, the exact same cause for invasion that is now seeing Russia inside Ukraine!)
Yet no one screeched to President Kennedy about Cuba being a sovereign country that could align itself however they liked. No one even questioned Kennedy’s decision that either those missiles go, or Cuba gets invaded. The reason no one questioned it is because every RATIONAL person knew Kennedy was right.
Well, guess what? Today, with the situation in Ukraine, Russian President Putin is . . . . right. He is doing in Ukraine what then-US-President Kennedy was preparing to do with Cuba. It’s no different.
NUKES
Russia knows – and has said publicly – that its conventional military forces cannot compete against the collective force of NATO. But Russia ALSO said (publicly) that they have the largest nuclear arsenal, and their hypersonic missile technology is far superior to all of NATO.
So the Russians, from the start, have made clear they fully understood what they were getting themselves into with Ukraine and the possibility of NATO involvement. Russia would be forced to use nukes. Period.
They knew this. They still know it.
NATO knows it too.
So why then, is NATO’s nitwit, Jens Stoltenberg saying today “ANY USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL CHANGE NATURE OF CONFLICT, RUSSIA MUST UNDERSTAND THAT IT CAN NEVER WIN A NUCLEAR WAR.” ?????
One possibility is that Stoltenberg knows that NATO has actual plans to get involved. The latest iteration of those plans is for NATO countries to “enter” Ukraine as a “Peace keeping force.” Russia has made it explicitly clear that if NATO tries such a move, Russia will engage NATO Troops in battle. War will be the result.
Period End.
And since it is already established that Russia cannot win against NATO conventional forces, Russia would have to “go nuclear.” Stoltenberg and the west think Russia wouldn’t dare.
Stoltenberg and the West are wrong.
Russia would.
They’ve said it publicly.
Several times.
The soyboys of the West think they can talk their way out of anything they do. This time, they cannot.
The message from Russia seems to me to be very simple: NATO cannot have Ukraine as a member. Period.
American missile defenses cannot be placed on the territory of former Soviet Block nations. Period.
If my assessment of this Russian Position is correct, then either NATO accepts that these facts are real and stops what it has been doing since 1997 by adding former Soviet Bloc Nations and withdraws NATO troops and missiles from those nations, or NATO refuses to take “no” for an answer, enters Ukraine, and it is World War 3, with nuclear weapons, VERY VERY SOON.
Those appear to me to be the facts.
That no mass-media outlets in the West are bothering to report them to the general public, will leave their citizens blissfully ignorant, until the bright, white, flashes start.
Thankfully, YOU are not being left blissfully ignorant. YOU have chosen to avail yourself of this web site and radio show and as such, YOU know what’s really going on. We are being marched directly into a (NUCLEAR) World War 3.
MAYOR OF KYIV: "WORLD WAR III HAS ALREADY BEGUN AND UKRAINE IS THE BEGINNING"
She is very, very fine. Really nice build and look at that fantastic smile! My goodness, I could just eat her up, I’ll tell you what! video 3MB
Dream griddle and alarm clock.
Wake up on the right side of bed!
Wake up on the right side of bed!
Joe Biden Speech
Interesting stuff…
“We’re at an inflection point [in] not just the world economy [but] the world that occurs every three or four generations,” the president said.“[A general told me that] 60 million people died between 1900 and 1946 and since then we’ve established a liberal world order, and it hasn’t happened in a long while.”“Now is the time when things are shifting and there’s going to be a new world order out there, and we’ve got to lead it. We’ve got to unite the rest of the free world in doing it.”
Here’s what Russia thinks…
Biden says US must lead ‘new world order’
The 46th president highlighted the role Washington would have among the “free” states.US President Joe Biden raised eyebrows on Monday after he claimed a “new world order” would soon be established and that it was up to the United States to lead it.
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During a speech at Business Roundtable’s CEO Quarterly Meeting, Biden claimed the world was at “an inflection point” which “occurs every three or four generations” and that it was up to the US to determine the outcome.
“As one of the top military people said to me in a security meeting the other day, 60 million people died between 1900 and 1946, and since then we’ve established a liberal world order and that hadn’t happened in a long while,” the president said.
The comment raised eyebrows in both the US and around the world and resulted in ‘New World Order’ becoming one of Twitter’s trending topics on Monday.
The term ‘new world order’ has historically been used to refer to an era of great global change and has been used by politicians such as former US President George H. W. Bush, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
For decades, however, the phrase has also been the subject of a major conspiracy theory which alleges a secret, elitist plot to form an oppressive global government.
Politicians and government officials have previously received criticism for using the term – most recently Dr. Kerry Chant, the chief health officer of the Australian state of New South Wales.
“We will be looking at what contact tracing looks like in the new world order,” said Chant during a September Covid-19 press conference, prompting the term to trend on social media.
Journalists and other social media users criticized Chant for using the term, with former journalist Chris Urquhart writing that “government officials would be well advised to avoid phrases like ‘the new world order’ when they’re talking at press conferences about massive limitations on people’s freedoms.”
Some comments…
2022 03 24 19 39
A Rufus has understanding
If you are not making the world a better place, you are contributing to it’s destruction. For God’s sake, be good, and kind. If you cannot. Then be neutral. But do not make others sad or hurtful. video 8MB
While the United States goes into hyper-inflation, China is stable
“They’re flying blind, and are too little, too late,” Steve Hanke says in disbelief, an Applied Economics professor of John Hopkins University. “It’s utter rubbish and nonsense” that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell sees supply chain issues as a root cause for inflation, he tells me, as we decipher the Federal Reserve’s latest official statements on the shape of the U.S. economy.“The money supply in excess causes inflation, and the Federal Reserve appears to be almost clueless,”
Hanke shares with me as we discuss last week’s conversation between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Obviously the Chinese know this,” which is why their inflation rating is less than 1%, the former Senior Economist on President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers articulates to me.
Inflation is always destructive.
I can confirm that while prices have been rising inside of China, it is in no way resembling the kinds of inflation that is being seen in America, Europe or the rest of the West. The reason is simple. China has been managing the flow of USD for payments for decades. THis managment is intentional and it insulates China from inflationary effects of the USD due to poor management of debt by the United States.
United States Inflation Rate Annual inflation rate in the US accelerated to 7.9% in February of 2022, the highest since January of 1982, matching market expectations. Energy remained the biggest contributor (25.6% vs 27% in January), with gasoline prices surging 38% (40% in January).
What happens when your QR goes orange
Everyone must take regular swab tests, and be up to date on their injections. IF you are not, your status goes from green to orange. This video shows what happens when you try to go though a tollbooth with an orange QR code in China. video 3MB
I got this easy recipe from my daughter, who lives in France. It’s become my go-to fondue, and I make it often for our family.
—Betty A. Mangas, Toledo, Ohio
What are you waiting for?
Three Cheese Fondue.
Crib Dribbler.
Perfect for hot soups, milkshakes, and energy drinks.
Perfect for hot soups, milkshakes, and energy drinks.
Europe’s LARGEST Natural Gas Storage Facility: EMPTY
Empty.
The largest natural gas storage facility in northern Europe is now EMPTY of gas.
The facility, run by (Russia’s) GAZPROM, dropped like a rock once Europe instituted economic sanctions against Russia.
With this largest facility now empty, industry will have to shut down for lack of fuel for heating and generation of electric.
With the largest storage facility now empty, the draw-down from all the smaller facilities will speed up by orders of magnitude, emptying them with ten days to two weeks.
What will Europe do when it has no gas to generate electric or to heat buildings?
Of course, all of this trouble has to do with Europe sticking its nose into the affairs of Russia-Ukraine.
Now that Europe is demonstrably running out of natural gas, watch for things between Russia-Ukraine-NATO to get VERY VERY VERY much worse, very fast.
My savvy grandmother whipped up recipes like this homey cinnamon-scented apple pudding in the Depression years. Many of us still make them today.
—Holly Sharp, Warren, Ontario
Grandma Davidson’s Baked Apple Pudding
China is FAST
So President Biden thinks that it will be easy to compete against China. Americans think that it will be no problem, because America is exceptional, and great? This echo chamber in the Untied States that gives this illustion that China is dark, dingy, dirty and backwards, while America is so wonderful is a lie. It amazes me. Becuase this is what China is like… video 21MB
Chinese weddings
The Chinese have heart. Real, honest to goodness heart. video 22MB
China rebukes US as ‘world’s biggest human rights violator’
Beijing has promised “countermeasures” if Washington doesn’t revoke sanctions over Uyghurs
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Beijing has promised to respond in kind unless the US revokes the blacklisting of Chinese officials it said were guilty of human rights violations.
Speaking at a regular press conference on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin accused the US of “smearing China, oppressing Chinese officials for no reason, violating international law… and grossly interfering in China’s domestic affairs.”
Wang said Beijing will respond with “reciprocal countermeasures” if the US does not immediately revoke its sanctions.
The statement came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the Chinese government of committing “genocide and crimes against humanity” against the Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic minority living predominately in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Region. He added that Washington has blacklisted Chinese officials who it said were guilty of human rights violations.
Wang responded in kind, calling the US “the biggest human rights violator in the world,” whose historical treatment of Native Americans “constitutes de facto genocide.” He also criticized Washington for the “long-lasting systemic racial discrimination” of black Americans.
Multiple global human rights groups have long accused China of oppressing the Uyghurs and forcing them to work in labor camps. Beijing has denied the allegations, insisting that the Uyghurs are studying in vocational education and training centers as part of state integration and deradicalization programs.
My friends and I have been getting together for "ladies lunches" for years. These vol-au-vents are the perfect no-fuss fancy food; they look complicated, but are actually simple and fun to make. Whenever I think of good friends and good company, I think of these savory pastries.
—Shauna Havey, Roy, Utah
Creamy Chicken Vol-au-Vent.
China can build
OMG! It’s insane how fast and efficiently that China can build things. You all just wait and see what happens when China and Russia build their Moon and Mars cities. video 23MB
A 737 crashed in China.
A Boeing 737 carrying 132 people crashed early Monday in China. Although Boeing’s 737 has faced extraordinarily high-profile safety concerns over the past three years, the plane that crashed Monday was a different version of the aircraft than the embattled 737 Max that shook Boeing to its core.
The cause of Monday’s crash has yet to be determined. The plane had been in service since 2015. The flight, operated by China Eastern Airlines, was flying from the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming to Guangzhou when it crashed.
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It’s crash profile; being a full-throttle nose-dive directly to the ground is highly unusual.
.
Evidence suggests any of the following;
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Intentional Pilot (and co-pilot) action to destroy the plane.
Software override of the pilot commands.
Remote operation of the software to override the pilot.
The manufacturer of the aircraft has had problems with the software. Other crashes of similiar planes has been the result of software overrides of the pilot.
We do not know (as of yet) the real cause for this crash. But one thing seems clear, somehow the plane overrode the directions of the pilot. It put the plane in a nose dive straight towards the ground and set the engines on full-throttle, full speed, as it plunged towards the ground.
Why it did so, is unknown.
Yet, the United States government black operations regarding taking control of the software should NOT be ruled out.
This reminds me of HAL in the 1969 movie; “2001; A Space odyssey”.
2001 A Space odyssey
So, Boeing makes aircraft that can override the pilot. Brilliant! Why do you need pilots? How about having full robotic planes?
Maybe it’s because no one will fly in them.
…
Isn’t technology wonderful. Remember when fully automatic self-driving cars were crashing left and right? Yeah, I do. Well, somehow Boeing things that this would be a good thing to implement in passenger planes. Who would doubt it?
Anyways, I have to ask the moronic question of the day…
"Well, with fully robotic planes, then why still have pilots, when the airplane can override the pilot?"
Well, perhaps its because you keep the illusion of human control, when the truth is that the software is in full control…
… as well as the “authorized” owner of that software who can control the plane and tell it to do whatever he/it wants. Like the United States. Hum?
Let’s talk about HAL. Specifically what it did.
HAL
HAL
From the 1969 movie…
HAL is a computer system. And it is built into the Discovery One spacecraft, and is in charge of maintaining all mechanical and life support systems on board.
HAL also has several “eyes” placed periodically around the spacecraft.
About three weeks into the flight, Hal picks up a fault in the AE-35 unit, the system responsible for keeping the satellite dish antenna aligned with the Earth, and states that it will go one-hundred percent failure within 72 hours.
He suggests that they go EVA and replace the faulty unit with a new one.
Dr. David Bowman goes out and retrieves the unit. But when he brings it back and runs it through diagnostics, they can find no problem with the AE-35.
They radio Mission Control about the problem, and Mission Control says that Hal is in error predicting the fault.
HAL
This is a bit of a surprise, as the 9000 series has a perfect operational record.
Noting that this kind of thing has always been because of human error when it has occurred before, Hal suggests that they go out and “replace the malfunctioning unit and allow it to fail.
Then it should be a simple matter to track down the problem.”
But by this time, both Dr. Frank Poole and Bowman are becoming suspicious of Hal’s behaviour. They climb into one of the EVA pods, out of earshot of Hal. Poole states that he has “a bad feeling about him”. Bowman and Poole suggest disconnecting Hal if he is wrong about predicting the fault.
Bowman and Poole suggest disconnecting Hal if he is wrong about predicting the fault.
Unbeknownst to them, Hal read their lips through the window of the spacepod.
Translating their lip motions, Hal learns of their plans for his disconnection; according to Clarke, “he (will) be deprived of all his inputs, and thrown into an unimaginable state of unconsciousness. To Hal, this (is) the equivalent of death. For he (has) never slept, and therefore he (does) not know that one (can) wake again.”
Poole goes out to replace the supposedly malfunctioning AE-35 unit.
As he drifts through space to the satellite dish, Hal takes control of the pod and rams it into Poole, disconnecting his oxygen hose and venting the air in his suit, killing him.
Bowman, obviously distraught by the loss of his friend, goes out to retrieve Poole’s body.
However, while Bowman is out on his excursion, Hal shuts off the life support systems on the three astronauts in hibernation, which kills them all.
Bowman in a pod.
After Bowman returns to the Discovery I, Hal denies him reentry into the pod bay. So Bowman has to maneuver the pod over to the emergency airlock. Unfortunately, in his haste to retrieve his friend, Bowman had not bothered to don the helmet of his life-support suit because he had not believed he would need it, making it very difficult to enter the emergency airlock, as he would have to travel through the vacuum of space in order to do so.
This, however, does not stop Bowman.
Risking the hazards of explosive decompression, he eventually gets inside, grabs a space helmet, and goes to Hal’s logic memory center to erase his memory.
There he pulls out the memory tablets that control Hal’s higher functions.
Disconnecting HAL.
As his memory degrades, Hal begins to give off information programmed very early in his life, such as the date he became operational. When all his logic is gone, he begins to sing the song “Daisy Bell.”
His final act of consciousness is to play a briefing that Dr. Heywood R. Floyd pre-recorded about the Tycho Monolith before their departure, and the real purpose of the Discovery One’s mission. As well that the insane idea that the owner / designers of HAL programmed it to lie.
Now…
Please consider that any systems; any devices; any mechanisms designed by man should NEVER have the capability to override human input.
This is well descried by the move, with the HAL computer system, and it seriously seems to be the case with all these Boeing aircraft crashes.
I can POSITIVELY tell you that one singular event resulting is one singular death would ABSOLUTELY stop the adoption of that system in other industires. It doesn’t matter what industry it is. Ceiling fans. Clothes irons. Motorcycles. Chainsaws. Rifles. One fatality, and the system is gone and will NEVER be revisited.
But somehow these systems in airplanes and automobiles are exceptions. At least in American products.
One cannot help thinking, especially if you ARE an American, that the United States is involved and WANTS the ability of the software to override the driver / pilot in the vehicle.
If you accept that notion…
…then many of the software related “accidents” of planes and automobiles with these systems are used as mechanisms of control by the United States “leadership”.
…
Remember boys and girls…
… REAL secrets are secret.
Every evidence is that this is exactly what is happening. While there might be some debate on the nuiances of implementation, the technologies and the systems involved, one thing is unmistakable…
The seriously ODD behaviors of the United States government is best explained by this exact senario.
…
Think about it.
Break.
Animal death and spirits visiting
All this talk about plunging planes, nuclear weapons, bio-weapons and everything all initiated by the Untied States government is disturbing to me. They obviously have never experienced sorry and grief.
Here are some really great examples of how much fun you can have with your cat friends. video 100MB
Amazing Cats
Cats areally are amazing. Just some great cat adventures. They are truly very special creatures. video 16MB
Happy times
Treasure the times that you have. Make them happy and share them with your friends. Cat love video 18MB
We all need each other now
Now, more than any other time in our lives, we need others. Make friends. SHare your time. Appreciate what you have. Make your life a good one. Be a Rufus. Show friendship. Show love. Show care. video 90MB
Be the Rufus
Take part in society. Stop being a spectator, and stop thinking that everything is someone else’s problem. The future depends on YOU. Take an active role in it. In every way, every day. Be the best you can be and help others. make the world a better place to live in. I believe in your. video 11MB
Make those around you smile
You will bring happiness to your environment. Smile. Say good things. Even if they are lies. Make your environment better. It’s quantum physics 101. video 120MB
Conclusions
I cannot say that one thing or the other is happening, and the causes and reasons for them. Later, I will ask the Domain Commander for some insight. However, right now, I know nothing.
Sure there might be all sorts of reasons for the observed behaviors, the strange actions by the USA and the West, and all the craziness. There’s really no way to really know the actual causes. So don’t worry about it. And believe me, as much as I want to know, the fact is, I don’t NEED to know.
I don’t know anything about chem-trails, nano-bots, or anything like that. I do know that everyone in the United States and the West are acting really, really weird. It’s like they are all having some kind of mass insanity.
After 30 years of glue sniffing euphoria, the US is now crashing.
And when it realizes it is cutting off its limbs to keep its jaundiced organs alive, it will have to make major, and costly, changes in living arrangements.
Mass transit in lieu of suburban sprawl. No more bloated military. A return to local industry and farming. Far more labor intensive cooperatives that actually do things and make stuff. Regional cultural and quasi-sufficiency. The end to industrial entertainment and woke academia. A resurgence of a proletariat based religion of hard work and respect. A return to classical literature and art.
Oh, how to pay for it all on NO budget?
America is in shambles, but the leadership doesn’t realize it yet. It’s like a family living off maxed-out credit, the family is stunned then the credit cards no longer work at the register.
That’s where the USA, and the EU are at right now.
Oh, they still have their shopping list, and two shopping carts filled with expensive steaks, groceries and all sorts of pricy items. But the cashier is there looking impatient, stamping her foot, and ready to call her manager. Oh, you have to pay in cash. She says.
Soon, very soon, the situation will accelerate to something bad.
It’s just really, really fucked up.
FUTURE
Evidence strongly suggests that the remote viewing of the 2025 by the Deagal Report is correct. It also validates the theory of Generational Turnings and the rise and fall of nations.
You will see many more strange things occur in the future.
We are not anywhere near the peak inflection point. But it is moving forward and I hope to be out of it’s way. I hope you all are as well.
BASIC PREP
Hyper-inflation is starting to hit the West. Be prudent.
Make sure that you have a garden, and a larder with lots of basics. Rice. Flour. Canned goods. Powdered milk.
Remember that one Burger King extra value meal is the same price as a massive bag of rice. Remember that one Starbucks coffee is the same prices as a massive bag of flour; and make sure that you have the tools to strain out the flour.
Learn to fish.
Own a bicycle, and use it. If you use it to ride to work one day a week, you will cut your commute expenses by 20%.
Have a solar panel to charge your phone with.
ADVANCED PREP
Have a good supply of your medicines, and lots of antibiodics. Set up a medical kit. Tell your doctor that you are equipping a sailboat for a long sea cruse, and give him a list of medicines for the first aid box. Get the prescriptions and fill it out.
It’s never too late to start. Do not plan on trying to go to the woods and forests. Those places will be crowded with the unprepaired. Your best solution is to “bug out in place”. Be mobile within your well-established community.
If you think that you can survive being alone, I’ve got news for you; that’s a fiction. Survivors are those that band together into groups. There’s strength in community. Read your history.
FUNDAMENTALS
For God’s sakes, turn off that bullshit “news”. It’s all screeching lies.
Have a skill, asset, ability, or feature that you can provide to your community that is beneficial to the community.
If you don’t have one. Get one. Learn, make, create or establish. Volunteer. Network locally.
Handiman skills.
Welding, plumbing, machining, autorepair.
Medical.
Farming, fishing, harvesting, growing.
It doesn’t mean that you will need to endure a post-nuclear fiasco. But in whatever changes that might hit your own individual communities, you will have the skills, networking and abilites to make you locally valuable.
Don’t believe me?
Ask PL. He’s doing this, and is very busy. Maybe too busy for MM here, but it’s the future. Participate. Make a difference. Smile. Socialize. stick to the fundamental basics.
Don’t get caught up in what you cannot change. It’s stressful, don’t you know.
Don’t get all wrapped up in the causes or the reasons, or the people behind the curtains. They won’t be revealed until the history books are written.
Be kind, calm and adaptable. Do your verbal affirmations. Be the Rufus. I beleive in you all.
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
This is my podcast on war! Particularly the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how it affects all of us strapped to the roller-coaster ride which it entails. It’s not really a streaming podcast as I had hoped, but rather a downloadable 6-minute movie. I explain it all in the video.
The Podcast
2022 03 14 09 5aaa0
You can watch the video HERE, or download the ZIP HERE and watch it later on.
It’s the end of week one of the Ukraine invasion. This article is just a collection of interesting tidbits, and stories that might have fallen between the cracks in the onslaught narrative. I am also including some videos of pretty girls, delicious food, and assorted curiosities.
Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky has reportedly FLED THE COUNTRY and is allegedly hiding in the US Embassy in Poland. His country is being systematically conquered despite his armed forces having a 7:1 advantage over the number of Russian forces that entered the country.
First a map.
Here’s what the Ukraine situation looks like as of 4MAR22.
2022 03 04 14 39
In the spirit of full disclose I must admit to you that Ukraine is not a perfect country. We have two main shortcomings. First, we have throughout the modern era constantly asked, and then demanded, Free Stuff from the world’s nations. Second, we never take responsibility for anything. Our self-inflicted wounds are always someone else’s fault. What I am saying is that I identify with this woman of color, and I love her.
You won’t believe this but I actually met her a long time ago. I was in NYC (doing a gig at the Improv) and she was outside running a hot dog cart. And now she represents your country to the world! America, what a country! Only in America can a wrestler and a body builder become governors, a transvestite run the military, a prostitute become vice president, and a reality star become president. God’s Grace is using America to create inclusion, diversity, and heaven on earth.
-The Burning Platform
ohhh. Powerful stuff this.
He tells it as it is, and really slams the American media. It’s a piece, by piece, take down. Suck it up.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 ― International sanctions and restrictions on Russia continue to ramp up following its military invasion of Ukraine.
The latest sanction, however, is aimed at the country’s cats.
Federation Internationale Feline (Fife), an international cat fancier society, has imposed restrictions on cats bred in Russia to punish Moscow for its military operation in Ukraine. In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Federation said its executive board is shocked and horrified over the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Many innocent people died, many more were wounded and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were forced to flee their homes in order to save their lives. We can all witness the destruction and chaos caused by this unprecedented act of aggression.”
The federation said the board has decided to impose import and exhibition restrictions on Russian cats effective March 1.
“No cat bred in Russia may be imported and registered in any Fife pedigree book outside Russia, regardless of which organisation issued its pedigree.“No cat belonging to exhibitors living in Russia may be entered at any Fife show outside Russia, regardless of which organisation these exhibitors hold their membership in.”
The federation said imposed restrictions are valid until May 31 and will be reviewed as and when necessary.
The board also decided to dedicate a part of Fife’s budget to support cat breeders and fanciers in Ukraine who are affected by the current situation.
Although some lauded the measures, the move was not well-received by several social media users who stormed Fife’s Facebook post with their comments and opinion.
A user, Melissa Heigl called the move “absolutely ridiculous” for bringing cats into the issue.
“Russian breeders should not be punished for a war that isn’t of their making.
“What does this achieve except to hurt breeding programmes, breeders and their cats?” she asked.
Another user, Gordon Chih called the decision “stupid” and said cats shouldn’t be victims of human-induced war.
“They belong to nature, not a country.”
Listen to me!
World War III is in process.
The only way we can maintain our sanity is to be a Rufus. In a way, you can refer to this as a sentience sorting activity. Be the Rufus!
What? You don’t know how?
Well, then. Watch this video so yo can see what a community is, and how it works. Be that Rufus! video 23MB
A pretty Chinese girl
The hate-hate-hate narrative out of the West is terrible. Let’s jsut enjoy life and look at pretty girls and eat fine delicious food. Notice her fine glass of wine nearby. video 1MB
Since December 2021, Russia has been receiving information about NATO plans to deploy 4 military brigades (2 land, 1 sea, 1 air) on the territory of Ukraine.
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Moreover, air brigades had the ability to carry nuclear warheads.
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NATO wanted to agree on this deployment of troops in the summer of 2022 at a meeting of the UN Security Council. Then, most likely by the end of the year, they would have provoked a conflict and launched full-scale military operations against Russia with the use of nuclear weapons.
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That is, NATO planned to unleash the 3rd world war with the use of nuclear weapons against Russia.
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The key role in this was given to the current American-controlled ruling elite in Ukraine and the nationalists. In order to prevent World War 3 and an attack on Russia using nuclear weapons, the Russian government decided to stop this situation and restore order there.
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The West presses information through social networks and other things that Russia has attacked Ukraine. They are offended that their plans were destroyed and now Russia cannot be destroyed by nuclear weapons that are in Ukraine and at the expense of Ukraine.
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By the way, Putin said that the flight time for the warheads from Kharkov to Moscow is 3 minutes, there is no time for a retaliatory strike.
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Flight time from the USA is 30 minutes, there is time to answer.
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Only today it has became possible to publish intelligence data on the preparation of a provocation followed by a treacherous strike with the destruction of the population on the territory of the LPR and DPR.
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Putin was ahead of Ukraine and NATO and actually saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the republics. A day before the start of the war to exterminate the Russian-speaking population, fateful decisions were made in the Donbass. The Ukrainian army under the leadership of the national battalions was preparing to start a military operation in the Donbass on 02/25/22.
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Vladimir Putin was literally a day ahead of the plans of Kiev and the West, which made it possible to seize the strategic initiative.
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About a week before the start of the Russian special operation, Eduard Basurin reported on a map of the attack on the Donbass that was intercepted from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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It was clearly laid out there when long-range artillery strikes would be launched. .
First there would be MLRS strikes, then there would be air strikes, then strikes by the operational tactical group (OTG), respectively “North”, “South” and “East”. OTG “Vostok” was supposed to act on the dissection of Donetsk and Lugansk. .
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They were given three days to reach the border, and the OTG “South” would act together with the Aidarovites, who, according to the plan, were supposed to play the role of a barrage detachment.
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In the north, in Luhansk, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were supposed to operate under the cover of the “Right Sector”, they were supposed to meet in the Komsomolsk region south of Donetsk and cut off the LDNR from the border with Russia.
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Within two days, it was planned to begin a “complete cleansing.”
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Moreover, Donetsk, Lugansk and several other cities they did not plan to capture at this stage, but simply surround them and block, that is, a complete blockade of settlements was envisaged, before a “complete cleansing”.
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There is a belief that this plan was developed jointly with NATO curators, since the Americans had previously transferred about 5 thousand of their soldiers to Poland, plus there was also the Polish army – according to the plan, they were supposed to block Russian Kaliningrad group, so that in which case it could not advance to the attacked territory of the south-east of Ukraine.
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The second grouping is a thousand soldiers of the Stryker brigade (armored vehicles) in Romania.
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This grouping should block Transnistria so that the peacekeepers stationed there would not be able to advance through the South to Odessa. It was all a single set of actions that were to begin on the night of February 24-25. In fact, the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Putin was only one day ahead.
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Why are they so hysterical?
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Because everything was ready to seize the territory. And then suddenly, one day earlier, units of the LPR and DPR began to actively operate with the support of the RF Armed Forces.
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First of all, airfields and runways were attacked so that it was impossible to land transport aircraft with weapons from the United States and other countries, command posts, air defense systems, radar stations, anti-aircraft missile divisions, etc. were disabled.
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The people’s militia of the LDNR, with the support of Russian artillery and high-precision weapons, launched an offensive against the Vostok group.
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And there is another interesting coincidence. Russian special military operation in Ukraine prevented the launch of two NATO biolabs in addition to the already 15 operating
BRIEF RESPONSE FROM GENERAL “BIG NICK” STUCKY (U.S.A.F., Ret.)
Dear Assklown Dictator,
First and foremost, you should be grateful that the majority of Americans forget political events more than a week old. You should fall on your knees and kiss the collective asses of every Mainstream Media person, every politician, and everyone of the social media platforms for; 1) not mentioning that Ukraine had a democratically elected government that was overthrown by your own Nazi’s and with the help of the CIA, and 2) that YOU have MURDERED 16,000+ of your own citizens.
I predict you will have an “OH CRAP!!” moment when you hear Biden’s speech tonight. More empty words and promises. You hooked up with evil and now you will wonder “What the hell was I thinking??!“
Russia will not be stopped, no matter what lies you tell yourself.
No one is coming to save you. Europe won’t save you. America won’t save you. Hiding won’t save you. You fate is sealed.
YOU could have prevented ALL of this; 1) Don’t join NATO. 2) Don’t pursue acquiring weapons that threaten Russia. How hard is that? Was it worth it? You’ll have an eternity in hell to think about it.
Lastly, a word from the Lord. Daniel Chapter 5, verse 25.
In 2008 as then-president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili realized that his attack on Russian peacekeepers and civilians in South Ossetia had elicited a Russian military response that ended up with the Russian army practically knocking on his door in Tbilisi, he infamously appeared on a BBC interview voraciously chewing his necktie. It demonstrated to the world that the plucky US-educated leader who dared take on the Russian bear for the sake of “democracy” was in fact an unhinged and unstable figure (installed into power by the US-led “Rose Revolution”) who found himself losing it upon realization that he was over his head and the US cavalry were not coming to liberate him.
During the course of the 2008 Russian intervention in Georgia, Saakashvili made increasingly outlandish and unhinged claims, including that:
– “Georgia’s ports and airports will be taken under the control of the U.S. Defense Department.”
– “Russia has lost more airplanes than in any conflict of this scale since 1939.”
And, as reported by Moon of Alabama at the time:
'What I expected specifically from America was to secure our airport and to secure our seaports,' he went on, concluding that the American presence would do so. 'The main thing now is that the Georgian Tbilisi airport will be permanently under control.'
All of these claims and many more were increasingly and laughably proven totally untrue. A Caucasian Comical Ali. And then, finally, when the hard reality smacked up against his wild claims, he tucked in to his tie.
Ukraine’s comedian-president Zelensky seems to be careening down that same path.
Perhaps Putin is the apotheosis of evil after all, and everyone who dares challenge this modern-day golem is destined for madness.
Or maybe not.
Whatever the case, Zelensky is sounding a bit unhinged of late.
No one will dispute that he’s a man of many talents…
Who among us has not played "Hava Nagila" on a piano with their genitals on stage and then gone on to lead their country against a foreign invasion? pic.twitter.com/6IlRgF83he— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) February 28, 2022
However, when the chips are down, as they are, he seems to be a tie-muncher at the end of the day.
Then later in the day, perhaps around cocktail hour, he demanded that President Biden enforce a “no-fly” zone over much of Ukraine, assuring Biden that Ukraine “can beat the aggressor if the Western allies do their part.”
At that point even hawkishly-unhinged Senator Marco Rubio had to descend from the ether of Washington’s war machine.
Sen. Rubio says setting up a no-fly zone in Ukraine would lead to World War III.“People have to understand what that means. That means a willingness to shoot down Russian planes. And that would mean World War III.”— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) February 28, 2022
Poor Biden drunk-walked across the White House lawn as reporters asked him legitimate questions about the threat of nuclear war. But the fact is quite plain: for the US to (attempt to) impose a “no-fly” zone over Ukraine would require that the United States military annihilate every single S-400 and S-500 air defense system located inside Russian territory.
In other words, were Washington to abide the fake frontline warrior Zelensky’s request it would require the initiation of a civilization-destroying World War III.
How many American sheeple who have subbed out their “Wear the damn mask!” Facebook profile pictures for “Save Ukraine” or “Pray for Ukraine” are willing to see the end of life on earth as we know it to “save” a country that nearly seven in ten Americans literally cannot locate on a map of the globe?
The editors of "Russian Spring" received a letter from a resident of Ukraine with gratitude to the Russian soldier-liberator and with a call not to stop halfway.
When Crimea returned to Russia, I cried. From happiness. I have relatives living there. I then thought: “How happy they are!”
Well, just imagine – suddenly you woke up in the morning and already in another state …
It seems to us that all this is possible only in a pipe dream. This is not a dream, this is real…
Nobody needs to be afraid. You can speak your native language and not be afraid that you will be fired from work, cursed, beaten in transport or not served in the store ….
That on May 9 you can calmly take a portrait of your beloved grandfather, who reached Berlin, and his brother, who was killed on the first day of the war, and proudly walk with a St. George ribbon along the central streets of your native city …
That you can honestly express your point of view on the forums of like-minded people, chat with friends and not get a term just for like under a photo with a red star or a review of how well we lived in the USSR …
That one can not argue to the point of hoarseness with a colleague who claims that “the Holodomor was then only in Ukraine”, and not in the whole country, when the People’s Commissar for Food Tsuryupa fainted from hunger (I would like to see at least one Ukrainian minister who is not that he fainted from hunger, but at least lived on an average pension or the salary of a Ukrainian!).
In Crimea, everything was just like in a fairy tale. Completely unrealistic. Quiet. Peacefully. No hysteria, no panic, no howling sirens, no tanks, no fragments of rockets and planes falling on your head, no war….
How lucky they are! And how unlucky we are… To all those who have not lived for almost a quarter of a century, but exist. Not living, but surviving. He doesn’t live, he suffers.
To us, born on this earth and from birth speaking our native Russian language. No, not Russian! We are Ukrainians!
For some reason, when they talk about the ban on the Russian language in Ukraine, they always mean that this applies only to Russians. They are occasionally mentioned as a national minority, hypocritically suggesting that “their rights be taken into account.”
And no one remembers that more than half speak this language, being ethnic Ukrainians. And who will take into account our rights, the rights of Russian-speaking Ukrainians, who make up the majority in this country?!
How could it happen at all that no one knows who and no one knows where came to us, to our land, to our house (although, in general, everything has long been known to everyone) and declared that we should not think and speak in our native Russian?
That we, it turns out, have a completely different native language? That we should separate from our common home – a strong and proud country that was called the Soviet Union?
That we must stumble to Europe, where no one is waiting for us? Perhaps only as a source of cheap labor, a dump of stale goods and radioactive waste.
A succession of ambitious, mediocre and greedy leaders who robbed millions, sold the country with giblets and brought it to complete economic collapse. Destroyed industry, agriculture, education, medicine … Everything that could be destroyed.
Those who allowed an unprecedented rampant extremism and national fascism… Why do we need all this? And for what? Why do we need all these foreign advisers and mentors?
I just want to say: “Well, what do you need here? Why are you all coming to us? Nobody invited you here!
What kind of freedom, what kind of democracy can we talk about when all the best people have either already gone to the grave, without waiting for a bright future, or left this territory, or became political prisoners? When political parties are banned, when for “dissent” (for simply and honestly expressing one’s views), for importing even children’s and fiction literature in Russian into Ukraine, any Ukrainian faces a serious sentence?! And this is at best.
And at worst, the prospect of being maimed or even killed by the national fascists, who, with the support of the state, created the “Peacemaker” execution list. And for one mention that in our country they speak different languages, nationalist bastards kick people on the air….
And what have they done with our youth, with our future? They never lived in a normal system. They have imposed idols, false values. They no longer know our heroes, they are already seriously claiming that the Americans won the Great Patriotic War … They are taught from the cradle to hate Russians ….
Even those who are now only 40 no longer understand where they are and where are the enemies. They, too, have already been fooled, they have been brainwashed to such an extent that they believe that they are “on their own land”, and the aggressor, Russia, has come to them.
I want to bow low to the glorious and long-suffering Russian soldier-liberator, to our Russian brothers who came to the rescue at this difficult time for us. Unlike Donbass, where there are still real men, we, the inhabitants of Eastern Ukraine, had nothing to hope for.
Yes, we are weak. The best of us have already been destroyed. The anti-Maidan in Kharkov was violently dispersed, the activists were imprisoned. And without your help, we had no chance to survive and rise from our knees. There is only one hope for you, Russian brothers!
Of course, we understand that this is a war, and there is no war without casualties. But this operation is similar to surgery. Unfortunately, since we are in the Crimea, we will no longer be able to. Much precious time has been lost. The cancerous tumor of national fascism has grown and given many metastases.
Only radical intervention can help here. Yes, healthy tissue can also suffer a little. But in the name of Life it must be done. Please don’t stop half way!
All this can only be dreamed of by our Crimeans today only in a nightmare… The scale of the catastrophe is enormous, and it will take a very long time to correct the situation. It is necessary not only to win the war, but also to win the battle for the crippled souls.
There are well known and well documented illegally built mansions at Qin Ling in an environmentally protected area.
It was not just a few, but over a thousand. It was obviously built for the wealthy and the powerful, and allowed to flaunt the laws by the locally powerful elite.
At the opening up of China to World Bank loans for technologies from the West essential to develop China (China needed USD from WB to buy Western tech that it did not have; it’s not an easy game for China to play and win, but they have played well and are winning), a compromise was made for the central government to relegate the allotment of funds to the provincial levels.
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This helped to corrupt the local governments.
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People who control the water tap cannot avoid getting wet, especially when they’re far away from the emperor’s eyes. It’s just physics.
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But once people are fattened by their position at the water tap, they begin to believe that they deserve their cheese and no one should be allowed to touch it.
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These ill-gotten gains also helped the privileged accumulate wealth and power much faster (economics: when there is a small gap of inequality at the beginning of the race, the gap will expand and inequality will become more extreme over time.
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Corollary: there is no such thing as a fair and free market). The problem was so pervasive that it was difficult for the central government to deal with. It would be like having to destroy the machine when some of its parts are worn.
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Xi was made aware of this Qing Ling problem in 2014.
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Qin Ling being in Xian, and Xian being Xi’s home province, the chairman needed to show the country that he would not provide favoritism to his province, and that he was serious in wanting to clean house.
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Despite a busy schedule, Xi visited Xian and personally issued orders to deal with the mansions.
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This repeated not once, not twice, but six times, with no action being taken other than the usual obfuscation (first investigations reported only 200 illegal buildings) and delay tactics (someone has retired, let’s start all over again).
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In 2019, Xi finally had enough and ordered to have all the mansions torn down forthwith.
The CCDI is the much feared investigative unit of Communist party members; the CCP has a different set of rules for their members which is much more stringent than civil laws; party members practically give up their civic rights. If you don’t like it, don’t join.
Mark Sleboda has served as nuclear engineer in the U.S. Navy. He has studied at the London School of Economics. He has married a woman from Crimea and now lives in Moscow as a Russian citizen. He is a frequent commentator in Russian media. Sleboda has previously criticized president Putin for being too soft with the ‘west’.
His analyses and predictions are more dire than mine but he is probably right (thread edited for readability):
Mark Sleboda @MarkSleboda1 - 8:53 UTC · Mar 2, 2022This is #theGreatDecoupling between the West and Russia. Economic linkages will be cut down to only energy and a few other commodities & chemicals that Europe is dependent on Russia for. The West controls and has weaponized their entire economy in their war to break Russia. Political, social and cultural linkages will also be severed to a high degree. Weaning Russia off this dependence will be hard and immiserating. But with Chinese and some other Eurasian support, Russia may just weather it. The entire global economy will suffer as well.But once the dust has settled and new domestic and import substitution formed - Russia will at least be economically & financially independent from the West. They will never again be able to weaponize their economic hegemony to coerce, blackmail, or wage war on Russia.The same weaponized economic war too will also soon be turned on China and the Rest of the world's holdouts from US-led Western Hegemony. The Unipolar world will truly be over, but the Multipolar world will be stillborn by US attempts to hang on to their hegemony. Instead US/Western pressure will directly result in the formation of an anti-Western bloc led by China and Russia for survival and independence. Neutrality will be difficult to maintain. A new Bipolar world is coming into being, just decades after the last ended.The Golden Age of the Global Internet is also now over resulting not from Russia closing itself off, but by censorship and exclusion by Western and the social media platforms and the internet fixtures they control - because they don't trust their own people to hear alternative perspectives and narratives and judge on their own. The world's internet will now break down into regional spheres with limited connectivity. It will be a new, much smaller, less connected, more localized and divisive world.We are of course already seeing the physical connections around the world break down - with closures of entire swathes of the globe's surface to each others' airlines and global shipping connections being severed one by one as we speak. Global distribution networks will be disrupted & chaos result for months. Because Russia & Ukraine are primary sources of so many of the world's commodities - energy & food costs around the world will skyrocket. In the First world prices will go up, in the Third - starvation.Ultimately the cause was the US-led West trying to maintain and extend their Hegemony, while they can and Russia resisting it. NATO expansion east in waves, US meddling and hybrid warfare to bring into power pro-Western/anti-Russian governments in formerly neutral, unaligned, national identity-divided post Soviet states was the endgame of this NATO expansion to geopolitically consolidate all of Europe under US-led Western Hegemony up to Russia's borders.Russia resisted this geopolitical flipping by color revolution in Georgia, Belarus & Ukraine. And now the ultimate target of this economic war on Russia is forcing regime change in Russia itself for having the temerity to resist the Hegemon's geopolitical expansion right on her very borders.The great Realist IR scholar Mearsheimer foresaw all of this. As did Kissinger, George Kennan, US Ambassador John Matlock and many others. They tried to warn what the consequences of the US trying to geopolitically flip Ukraine would be, but to no avail.For Russia the only path forward, the goal to survive is, must be - separation, autarky (self-sufficiency), and independence from US-led Western Hegemony.
A fine cup of coffee
One half of it is heavy cream. Not everyone likes it that way, but I do. video 26MB
Sanctions Seppuku: The Big Reveal: “Let them fly to space on their broomsticks”
Russia is beginning to respond to the insane sanctions, and the sanctions are insane.
“Russia will stop deliveries of rocket engines to US – Russian Space Agency chief. The Roscosmos chief added, “Let them fly into space on their broomsticks.”
And we all say OORAH!
OneWeb Pulls Workers from Russian-run Baikonur Satellite Launch Project
The London-based tech company OneWeb has removed its employees from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrone, where they had planned to send 36 Internet satellites into orbit using a Russian Soyuz rocket.
The move comes after Russian space agency Roscosmos demanded guarantees that their satellites wouldn’t be used for military purposes, and that the UK government – which owns shares in OneWeb – divest itself from the company.
The Russian (ROC) Paralympics athletes have just been banned by the Olympics Committee from taking part in the Olympics in Beijing.
But Coca-Cola will continue to operate in Russia
The ICC (International Criminal Court) is in the process of accepting the Ukraine’s complaint of war crimes or crimes against humanity against Russia and Belarus in the Ukraine. (Israel and Palestine comes to mind and also the Yemen). The complainer has to have membership of course, but the ICC has awarded a quasi membership to Ukraine from nowhere.
Russian individuals are facing hate-filled attacks, diplomatic buildings and athletes are being targeted for exclusion. Reports of Russians being discriminated against are spreading far and wide. This is similar to what happened the previous two years with Chinese citizens as a result of the propaganda against China.
There is a very dark underbelly to sanctions which are of course war by any other name. Trump called it! by calling it a Trade War, when it was against China. What the west wants, is to loot Russia from the ground up and just make them go away in some form or fashion, because they cannot take Russia by Dollar and/or Bomb.
Western governments, media, think tanks etc., are so desperate to believe their version of the outcome of the Ukraine war that they are seeing things which have no basis in reality. And their fear that things will not turn out the way they want them to, is visible. They are having Terrible Two Tantrums.
It is however filtering through to European leaders. They are figuring out that Russian sanctions are already having an impact and on them directly.
And the countries are not all in some special cahoots here. They are being threatened. We have news from India that they are being threatened with sanctions because they stood neutral in the last security council vote and did not condemn Russia in one or another fashion. Of course, they do not call it by name but rather: US weighing up sanctions against India over Russian military stockpiles (The Hill). Please be aware, this is not some game, but the stakes are high, as the sanctions war and the cyber war are all, and I mean all, western attempts at regaining its lost power and luster.
We see how Russian-owned businesses, private jets, money, and real estate are being looted. The west is just stealing it, like oil and grain from Syria. This time they want to do to Russia what they did in the early 1990’s yet again. The idea is to rape Russia again, because how dare Russia charge for their oil and for their business. How dare Russia act like a country or even people that have the right to make a business, do trade, be concerned about their security and function in the wider world. What is being tried here, is to do to Russia exactly the same as what was done to Japan, after Japan surrendered in WWII, but this time they want to do as much as they can, without waging real war (so far).
You can see an example of the looting here: Poland started seizing (or looting) Russian Property in Warsaw, including even a school building.
And then of course there was Josep Borrell saying in a fit of pique: Oh Dear, we cannot find Russia’s Central Bank Assets. They must have planned for sanctions. (This from memory as I cannot find his tweet. But then again, this is what they do! They make a big statement and then quietly delete what they said.).
This is what sanctions look like. Everything has a ‘carve out’. Sanctions do not work, excepting to pressurize and gain the upper hand in western media. This is how they think, trying to find a concerted calculated effort to loot Russia again, but the mistakes being made are not only comical but also very very serious, and perhaps not for Russia.
Here is one story:
1. On Tuesday a law was passed prohibiting Russian owned, operated, controlled, registered or flagged ships from accessing British ports – but theoretically foreign vessels could carry Russia’s oil and gas to Britain.
OOPS! BUT …
2. The UK Department of Transport confirmed that Russian oil and gas can still arrive in the country despite sanctions barring Russian ships from entering their ports, as bans only apply to the vessels not the cargo itself.
OOPS! Did we go bananas again? How does oil and gas get there without the vessel? Let’s try and fix it.
3. Well, we don’t know. We are So Confused, so how about British MPs calling for the Expulsion of ALL Russians from UK.
Japan’s JAL, canceled ALL flights to Europe – the airlines would normally use Russian airspace to make the journey.
OOPS! (This country is killing its own industry).
Bank bailouts by taxpayers due to Russian sanctions? But of course. Some shareholders of Société Générale in France are speaking about a €2.7 billion loss linked to sanctions on its Russian subsidiary Rosbank.
OOPS! How about sanctioning your own company? Please bail out the bank! They’re apparently asking for indemnities from French and European authorities.
It has become known that the US nuclear industry is lobbying to continue importing enriched uranium from Russia at low prices despite the situation in Ukraine, as it is seen as a key element in keeping US electricity prices low.
OOPS! Is it time for flying off on a broom again?
Btw, the flagship Apple Store has just opened again in Russia, with iPhones and other tech now returning with a 20-30% markup.
Is it really that simple? Are these western influences really committing economic harakiri just so they can hide their own economic fall and of course: Blame Russia?
The true colors of the west are now shown in full daylight. Their claims on a monopoly on virtue is a clear and convincing demonstration of their own hypocrisy. There is no need to listen to the West.
Russia is taking it. They are taking what they must and protecting what they must. The big reveal is how many organizations and companies are totally controlled by western financial sources. This is the biggest surprise to many of us. We truly live in a world of neo-nazis and fascists. Look, I knew they were in the Ukraine, and in spots in the world, but I never knew it was this widespread. Personally, I cannot wait for Zone B to fulfill its purpose.
And then the question. What about China? And now we see some sunshine, although it is a muted and a nuanced response but there is no failure to respond, every time!
A quote from our own Larchmonter445:
“The Chinese are learning a lesson that reality is what is shot at you by your enemies. They see how Russia was set up for destruction using Ukraine with NATO. It brings them back to Belgrade ’99 and the bombing of their embassy.Russia just got the emotional support of a billion four hundred million souls.I bet if Russia needed volunteers and they put out a call, 10 million Chinese would be there in a day.The Double Helix has history. Korean War. WWII. Harbin. Unit 731. Chinese and Russians were both used for Jap medical experiments and tortured together.It’s not all just recent alignment and coordination and cooperation.This human cohesion against the Hegemon is deep. Visceral. Existential.”
China’s action works like this:
A tranche of sanctions are announced. Vehicles, phones and whatever.
China publishes:
Chinese firms see opportunity in cars, smartphones in Russia after Western exit
Western Reaction:
Insane and stupid sanctions are announced
China publishes:
New ‘sanctions’ against Russian cats shocks Chinese netizens, trending top on social media
Western Reaction:
Sanctions Phase 4 is announced by the EU
China publishes:
Western sanctions only create more problems for the global economy
Western Reaction:
Russia gets nailed by a cyber war
China publishes:
Exclusive: US NSA launches cyberattacks against China for a decade, making citizens’ privacy ‘run naked’
Western Reaction:
Biden or some western EU stooge makes a speech
China publishes:
The US tries hard to hijack world’s view on Russia, but more countries are not buying it
Western Reaction:
Certain Russian banks are cut from SWIFT
China publishes Russian comments:
For citizens, this will be a problem only for those whose purchases and whose lives are most connected with currency, like in dollars and euros, in their consumption. The main part of the population that purchases Russian goods from the Russian markets, using Russian currency or Russian cards (ie., normal people), will not experience any significant threats to their standard of living and quality over the next few months.
China publishes:
Unilateral actions violate China-U.S. trade deal and WTO principles
In addition and it is not very visible, there is a soft process happening around China. It is the same process as what we’ve seen with Russia. The west is trying the same thing but with lesser noise.
Western Reaction:
Biden sends former Trump officials to Taiwan
China publishes:
It is to ‘offset Pompeo’ and pacify DPP.
Western Reaction:
Japan talks about hosting US nuclear arms
China publishes:
Beijing urges Tokyo to ‘deeply reflect on its history’
And so we can see the response of China to each move that the Seppuku Sanctions crowd makes. Take a look at this image. Please do so, I cannot load this on the blog. The title is Aggressive Expansion. Please take a good look and you will know for sure that China understands the issues exactly correctly.
Do you still feel conflicted? Do you still not know that this is another attempted Russia Rape?
Russian MFA: “The EU’s (…) unilateral restrictions, (…) incompatible with international law, are not directed against the Russian people. Brussels officials (…) are saying openly they intend to inflict the maximum possible damage (…) “suppress Russia’s economic growth.”
A few more images from China.
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And the Canadian Embassy in Beijing put up “We support Ukraine” sign in Chinese. Few hrs later…
2022 03 04 10 5e8
The humor in China is noticeable and there is not one Chinese source that I follow, that is not clearly with Russia.
2022 03 04 10 59
But it is different, as this time Russia will not be raped. The Ukrainian actions may be the first move and action may not stay there. In fact, I believe action will not stay there, as it was very well described by Putin and Xi Jinping, in their political manifesto. The world simply cannot continue with a small part of it Raping the Rest, because this small part is unable to support themselves without aggression and looting. Western countries have begun the process of destroying their own economies’ – Russian FM spox
Russia may be planning to confiscate western assets inside Russia and convert them to Russian assets to balance the theft. Intellectual property has major value.
Many of us are despairing as Russian news and Russian information is being sanctioned and suppressed in the free west. So, where do we get Russian news? The answer is: From the Chinese Russian News Store. Every major Chinese publication has Russia / Ukraine round-the-clock coverage.
Expectations
My expectation is that we may see the UN in its current form, just collapse. If this august body can simply ban diplomats against all norms of agreement and international law, why should it exist in its current form in its current location?
My further expectation is that Russia will be just fine economically. They’ve prepared for this. Many banks issued credit cards are inter-operable with the Chinese system. Russia says clearly that they will use the other mechanisms that were developed exactly for this. The sanctions are a massive pretense and an overreach of major proportions. They will all lead to a further de-dollarization.
Russia (along with the other BRICS nations) has an incentive to introduce a global digital currency that can be used anywhere (to export energy for example). The West has an incentive to introduce CBDCs at the national level that can only be used within a given economic zone.
This will form part of the multipolar war.
A further expectation is that these sanctions (from hell) will speed up both de-dollarization and a complete economic collapse of the west. They can do their reset. Nobody else is interested. The sanctions don’t work. They have massive carve outs with Big Headlines but in the fine print, they say: We don’t really mean that because they exclude the important things from the sanctions like gas, like oil, metals and Coca Cola.
Russian MFA: “The EU’s (…) unilateral restrictions, (…) incompatible with international law, are not directed against the Russian people. Brussels officials (…) are saying openly they intend to inflict the maximum possible damage (…) “suppress Russia’s economic growth.”
Russia Returns to Gold Standard – Government to Remove VAT (Tax) on Bullion. This bill will be submitted to the State Duma on March 4. . . .
Hal Turner Editorial Remarks
In one fell swoop, Russia just made the Russian Ruble the single most stable currency in the entire world.
Moreover, they just fucked the US Dollar and the EURO so badly, neither currency is likely to survive.
Nobody around the world will favor a US dollar, backed by nothing, from a nation $30 TRILLION in debt, versus a gold-backed Ruble.
Russia just completely SMASHED the United States and the EUROZONE.
Think I’m kidding? Think again.
When Muammar Qaddafi in Libya planned on a Gold-backed currency for all of Africa, the West went into Libya and overthrew him.
When Saddam Hussein in Iraq announced he would start selling oil in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar, two months later was Iraq War 2 – and they hung him!
The U.S. Dollar being the sole reserve currency for this planet is why wars get waged, and now Russia has completely, totally smashed it.
You watch. The U.S. that has been saying “no nuclear war” and even Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin saying yesterday “All this talk of nuclear war is dangerous, stop it” is going to change almost overnight. The US is now in an existential crisis. Our currency has just been utterly smashed by Russia’s decision to back the Ruble with Gold.
Watch the rhetoric about Russia from this moment on.
You will notice it is ratcheted-up to vilification like you’ve never seen before. Why, they’ll probably start accusing Russian troops of throwing babies out of incubators in Ukraine hospitals (like they accused Iraq) in order to justify going to war with Russia.
In my personal opinion, war with Russia is now a foregone conclusion. The US and Europe have no choice. If the Dollar and the EURO are to survive, Russia must be killed.
I hope you prepped. Food, water, medicine, etc.
Now get right with God. I mean it. The shit is about to hit the fan so badly, we’ll be lucky to live through it.
UPDATE 8:45 AM EST FRIDAY MARCH 4 — Two days ago on March 2, 2022, I recall seeing a SINGLE off-the-beaten-path notification which read simply “the EU has forbidden sale and import of EU banknotes into Russia.” I remember thinking this was odd. How can anyone restrict the movement of cash and why would they? Now, we know.
Clearly the European Union (EU) got word that Russia was going to back their currency with Gold and the EU wanted to make sure no one in Europe could sell or even bring their cash EUROS into Russia to dump them for gold-backed currency! The EU knew this was coming . . . or at least they strongly feared it.
So now, people in Europe are hamstrung; they cannot use THEIR OWN MONEY to buy some other type of money without first converting that money to someone else’s money that isn’t restricted from going into Russia. Jump through hoops to use your own cash. These Bankers ARE tyrants. Outright vicious tyrants.
Russia Prevents Washington from Unleashing Biological Warfare
In view of the unrest that US intelligence services have been actively initiating lately, whether in Central Asia, Transcaucasia or other areas bordering Russia and China, the risk of a biological disaster from multiple secret military biological laboratories deployed by the US in potentially politically and socially unstable regions is objectively increasing. In this regard, the issue of the US preparing a biological time bomb in Kazakhstan has been raised many times before. The growing risk of the Pentagon initiating biological warfare using over 400 US biological laboratories located overseas around the world and the need for a clear response to the risk of worldwide biological disaster from such secret US overseas facilities has been repeatedly pointed out. After all, these biological laboratories employ some 13,000 “employees” who are busy creating strains of killer pathogens (microbes and viruses) that are resistant to vaccines.
It is no secret nowadays that the US has set up such biological laboratories in 25 countries around the world: in the Middle East, Africa, South-East Asia. Only within the former Soviet Union there are US military biological laboratories in Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Uzbekistan.
The Americans try to deny the military nature of the studies conducted in such laboratories. However, the secrecy that surrounds them is only comparable to that of the most important military facilities. There is no accountability to the local and global public about the “work” being done there. Moreover, no scientific “achievements” have been publicly demonstrated by American biologists over the many years of the existence of such foreign secret laboratories, and the results of their research are not published anywhere in the public domain. Meanwhile, laboratories are actively collecting information on the gene pool of the populations of countries where such laboratories operate. All this indicates that the Pentagon is undoubtedly preparing to wage a biological war using biological weapons, which the US is building in such biological laboratories. It is well known that the US has already spent over $100bn in recent years developing biological warfare weapons. The US is the only country that still blocks the establishment of a verification mechanism under the 1972 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction.
However, like Russia’s demands to the West for a clear agreement on universal security measures and on the non-proliferation of NATO to the east, warnings about US readiness to unleash a global biological war have never been heeded in Washington and Western capitals.
With this in mind, one can hardly deny that Russia, like any other country, does not wish to have such weapons near its borders, thus jeopardizing the security of all.
Therefore, in Moscow’s military operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine in recent days, getting rid of the numerous US military biological laboratories on the territory of that country is an important point.
On February 24, the British conservative publication THE EXPOSÉ published an article entitled “Is there more to the Ukraine/Russia conflict than meets the eye?” It recognizes that Russia should have conducted the current military operation on the basis of its security interests and confirms that there has long been a very serious threat to the lives and health of the Russian Federation population from the territory of Ukraine. It refers to at least 16 US military biological laboratories located in Odessa, Vinnitsa, Uzhgorod, Lviv (three), Kharkiv, Kiev (also three), Kherson, Ternopil, Dnepropetrovsk, as well as near Luhansk and the border with Crimea. Such “cooperation” between the Pentagon and the Ukrainian Ministry of Health dates back to 2005. Opposition parties managed to push through the Verkhovna Rada in 2013 to end this “cooperation”, but the US-led coup d’état in Kiev in February 2014 prevented the implementation of this decision, resulting in this “cooperation” not only continuing but also actively developing at the initiative of Washington.
Many of the Pentagon’s and White House’s official secrets about US clandestine biological laboratories overseas have been revealed by Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois at Champaign (USA) and author of the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 (BWATA). As this American scientist points out, “We now have an Offensive Biological Weapons industry in this country that violates the Biological Weapons Convention and my Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989”. According to Boyle, “American universities have a long history of willingly permitting their research agenda …. to be co-opted, corrupted, and perverted by the the Pentagon and the C.I.A. into death science”. He cites as an example the group of Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin, which managed to increase the toxicity of the flu virus by a factor of 200. According to Boyle, the Pentagon and the CIA are “ready, willing and able to launch biowarfare when it suits their interests… They have a stockpile of that super-weapons-grade anthrax that they already used against us in October 2001”.
The threat to people living even at a distance from such laboratories is evidenced by an investigation conducted by USA Today newspaper, which showed that from 2006 to 2013 alone, more than 1,500 accidents and safety violations occurred in 200 military biological laboratories on the territory of the US. So what about possible similar incidents in biological laboratories in Ukraine or other former Soviet republics?
In the summer of 2019, “America’s main biological warfare lab has been ordered to stop all research into the deadliest viruses and pathogens over fears contaminated waste could leak out of the facility,” reported Britain’s The Independent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the public health authority in the US, has revoked the military bioresearch center at Fort Detrick’s license to handle Ebola, smallpox and anthrax after CDC inspectors found “problems with the procedures used to decontaminate wastewater” at Fort Detrick. In this regard, it is notable that the possibility of “deadly viruses and pathogens” leaking into Fort Detrick’s wastewater was detected shortly before the COVID-19 outbreak, which the Americans were quick to blame on China. It is also noteworthy that the Pentagon has significantly stepped up the activities of its overseas biological laboratories since 2019, clearly shifting the “work” on particularly dangerous strains and biological weapons development there.
In these circumstances, the task of terminating the activities of the US secret biological laboratories as part of the demilitarization of that country is justified in the program of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.
Against this background, it is noteworthy that the US embassy in Ukraine removed all documents about the biological laboratories in Kiev and Odessa from its official website after Moscow launched its military operation. This further confirms that in addition to the nuclear threat from Zelensky, Russia was also being prepared for bio-extinction behind the ocean. Under these circumstances, the announcement by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) on the US government procurement website last October of an addendum on “combating highly dangerous pathogens” is understandable. This document concerned the $3.6mln finishing work to launch two biological laboratories in Ukraine – in Kiev and Odessa, where machinery, equipment and personnel were already being prepared for the United States to unleash a biological war under the cover of Ukraine.
That is however far from reality. It is only true if true if you believe ‘the world’ solely exists of the 5-eye spying cooperation (U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand), the European Union, Switzerland, Japan and Singapore.
The view differs when you zoom out.
2022 03 03 09 26
biggerThe much bigger ‘rest of the world’ has not condemned Russia but understands how the conflict came about. They blame, like political scientist John Mearsheimer, the U.S. for causing the crisis. This includes, as far as I can tell, all of Africa (54 states), South America, Central America, the Middle East, and all of Asia ex Japan and Singapore.
This rest of the world that did not condemn Russia includes several notable U.S. allies and ‘partners’ like Turkey (Nato’s second biggest army!), India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel.
The case shows how much the standing of the once unilateral superpower has been diminished.
Guo Ji Leaves with Doufu
No, you can’t get it in the ‘States. It’s tasty. video 34MB
Now it’s official. Once, [1] all the notices and info were scrubbed from the US government websites, [2] the “fact checker” organizations then “whitewashed” the truth and thus [3] eliminated the reality, and [4] replaced it with the current narrative. .
Actually, this is faster than ususal.
So that MUST tell you that there’s a serious reason for the restructing of the narrative. Caught red-handed. Whoops!
The vehicles of the OSCE special monitoring mission seized by Ukrainian nationalists can be used to carry out provocations against OSCE employees and then accuse the military of Russia and the DPR. Deputy Head of the People’s Militia of the DPR Eduard Basurin warned about this on the air of the 60 Minutes program.
The DPR has information that employees of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) transmitted to the Ukrainian Armed Forces the coordinates of military facilities in the territory of Donbass, said Deputy Head of the DPR People’s Militia Eduard Basurin.
“We have always said that the OSCE mission is an organization that should promote peace. Now we have very interesting documents of the operational-tactical group “Vostok”, which indicate the coordinates, as they called it, of military targets. This is what was on the territory of our republic. Almost half of these coordinates were provided by representatives of the OSCE mission. Maybe that’s why they decided to run away from here?”, – said Basurin in the program “60 minutes” on the TV channel “Russia 1”.
In connection with the seizure of two dozen OSCE SMM vehicles by Ukrainian nationalist formations in Kramatorsk, the deputy head of the DPR People’s Militia suggested that the vehicles could be used to commit provocations against the military of Russia and the DPR.
“They can use these vehicles and then they will trumpet to the whole world that the Russian military together with us shot down a humanitarian mission in the form of the OSCE,” Basurin said.
German Automotive Industry
Uh oh. So Germany wants to go against Russia. Wholly shit!
BWM stops production, same for Porsche and VW due to missing small parts from Ukraine. Gas price hits record high. If BMW, VW and Porsche stop production, all small parts suppliers will reduces their production as well. The car industry is Germany’s backbone.
And also pay close attention to what is going on concerning Germany and it’s major employer; the Auto industry…
Cargo Ship Carrying German Luxury Cars Sinks In Mid-Atlantic
From HERE. What a bad “stroke of luck”. What a terrible coincidence.
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A large cargo vessel carrying cars from Germany to the United States sank Tuesday in the mid-Atlantic, 13 days after a fire broke out on board, the ship’s manager and the Portuguese navy said.
The Felicity Ace sank about 400 kilometers (250 miles) off Portugal’s Azores Islands as it was being towed, MOL Ship Management in Singapore said in a statement. A salvage team had put out the fire.
The 200-meter-long (650-foot-long) vessel listed to starboard before going under, the ship’s manager said.
The Portuguese navy confirmed the sinking, saying it occurred outside Portuguese waters. A Portuguese Air Force helicopter evacuated the 22 crew members when the fire first broke out, setting the ship adrift.
Burnt-out cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury cars sinks
From HERE. What a bad “stroke of luck”. What a terrible coincidence.
The Felicity Ace which caught fire on February 16 while carrying thousands of cars, including Lamborghinis and German Porsches, finally sank while being towed back to shore.
Chinese vision impared handicap flooring
Throughout China are these things that I call “handicap flooring”. They are raised dots and lines that a blind person can feel with their walking stick. It helps them get around. Watch for them in this video. video 5MB
CHINA “WARNS” U.S.- “Will Turn Your Military to Scrap Iron”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a televised “warning” to the United States today, saying that if we continue to send ships through the Taiwan Strait, and encourage Taiwan Independence, our military deterrent “will be turned into scrap iron.”
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2022 03 04 09 55
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This is a direct response to yet another group of US Naval Vessels sailing inside of Chinese waters. Honestly these incurions are a common occurance, and the retort is a common enough wagging finger “don’t do that again, or else“.
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But put that in to perspective. If the USA wants to stir up touble it will get it.
Pro-China websites being shutdown and hacked.
From my email.
A hack attack on our server sector yesterday at 2:45 pm supporting THE GREANVILLE POST has effectively disabled the site. The database is full of holes, and even the regular TGP banner (which you see below) was blown away, replaced by some silly theme placard.
The customized code to make the site look and function efficiently simply vanished, along with all the copies of that code stored in various servers.
This is not the act of amateurs.
I guess it might be another cute “anonymous” attack on a site that always supports China and Russia against the empire. During this information war, we were one of the major sites dispelling the Western lies.
A “collage post” I had done yesterday could not be published; in fact, upon clicking the “Publish” button, the site went down.
Fortunately, I had just created an account on substack.com, so I was able at least to publish a “pared down” version there.
PATRICE
SEE IT THERE IF YOU LIKE
China on Tuesday warned the US that it will pay a “heavy price” for its attempts to show support to Taiwan’s independence as a delegation of ex-American defense officials landed in Taipei amid apprehensions that Beijing may attempt action against the self-ruled island akin to Russia’s military assault in Ukraine. Yesterday, China issued a statement saying US Nukes in South Korea are “unacceptable” and it is time for those weapons to be sent home.
Taiwanese media reports said a five-member delegation headed by former US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Admiral (retd) Mullen was received by Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, raising concerns in Beijing over the US efforts to step up its engagement with Taiwan, which China firmly affirms as part of the Chinese mainland.
China in recent months ratcheted up military preparations sending hundreds of its air force jets into Taiwan’s Air Defense Zone besides beefing up its naval force keeping the self-governing breakaway island on tenterhooks.
Officials in Taiwan and the US say that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn fresh attention to China’s threat to forcibly annex the self-governing island.
Besides Mullen’s visit, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was due to arrive in Taiwan Wednesday.
Pretty Pink Dress
She’s one of the reasons why I love China so much. video 8MB
Hal Turner Editorial Opinion
What’s going to happen when China completely cuts off the US?
When 260 million Americans can no longer get their prescription medications because the raw materials for those medications come from China…
When 85+% of electronics are no longer available…
When 75+% of automotive parts are no longer available…
When 80+% of medical supplies are no longer available…We in the US are COMPLETELY screwed, we hardly make anything any longer.
It is important to note that the reason we don’t make anything here anymore is all those folks who, for years, talked-up “Free Trade.” They told us that removing Tariffs on foreign-made goods would cause foreign countries to remove Tariff’s on American-made goods, thereby increasing sales and creating jobs here in America. We bought their talk and went the “Free trade” route.
What we didn’t realize was that the “Free Trade” crowd had no intention at all of being able to sell to other countries; what they REALLY wanted was to move manufacturing jobs OUT of America, use cheap labor in third world countries, then ship the same products back here to America tariff-free. The money they saved by using cheap, third-world labor, went in their pockets as additional profit.
The only thing “free trade” got America was complete destruction of our manufacturing, and grotesque outflow of American consumer dollars to foreign nations.
Now that we __may__ be facing a World War 3 situation with Russia and China, we find ourselves with no manufacturing base to support a war, and little to no raw materials, either.
The “Free Trade” crowd got us here. The nation will be lucky to even survive if actual war breaks out.
Girl in a mall
So many, many malls in China. This is what they are like. video 8MB
More anti-China propaganda
You need waders to trudge through the lies.
“Quality of infrastructure: countries with best infrastructure 2019 | Statista”
Do you believe:
US is ahead of China in infrastructure?
Australia with extremely poor public transport system also ranks ahead of China?
Taiwan with massive power supply shortage and having partial and island wide blackout daily in the past decade, and the issue has become a problem in attracting FDI also ranked above China?
Another bloody propaganda ranking machine to brainwash the world into believing western superiority.
The vault 7 is in full activation and like mindless programmed zombies all of the West, and most especially America is now Rambo zombies ready to fight for democracy™ against Russia and communism! Ugh.
The fact is that these are service-to-another sentience. Also known as NPC.
You need to be a service-to-others sentience. It helps with sorting. you don’t wnat to be forever trapped in this Prison Planet do you? Be the Rufus.
I have to tell youse guys, Peter Mann hits the nail on the heat. Whoa!
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There is no better way to learn about the true China other than spending a short time living in China. The first thing one will learn is that all of your politicians, elected officials, mainstream media, and truth-defending journalists have been relentlessly lying about China. They will experience the so-called Rosemary’s Baby moment, when Rosemary discovers that everyone she has ever trusted, including her parents and husband, are in a conspiracy to have her give birth to the devil’s child.
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Since not everyone can visit or live in China, it may then be up to independent people with intimate knowledge to share what they know to people who want to know…
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On the other hand, I believe I have a rather unique experience in my discovery of the Western cesspool, as well as learning of China’s vast land, its people, and its long history. China has gone through seachange in my lifetime, and I am happy to have been a participant rather than just a bystander. I have been privy to a lot more than the average observer because I used to work in major national and provincial scale hi-tech projects.
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As for Xi’s achievements, I can say there have been many. Despite the West’s wanton use of insinuations and slanders, Xi cannot be a dictator. He does not come from a family clique or a regional power base or an army group. His power base is in fact the CCP.
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People who don’t understand how power works like to spew shite. Xi was trusted by the various powers in China to lead the country to the next stage. Xi was made a leader; he did not fight to become one. He also has a very difficult job; imagine top officials from his home province repeatedly ignored his orders. Can that happen with a dictator? Some of the things he has done directly impacted me when I was in China, but which I definitely agree with. Xi is really an on-going project of the party to rein in the Wild West business sector, and to clean up the corruption of the party and the PLA. For someone who has had direct experience of China since 1960, I say it’s about time.
Why is Africa pivoting to China and not the USA?
Well…DUH!
Well, here’s an African minister telling the truth for all to see. OMG! What a harsh and direct take-down. video 44MB
This sitrep does not touch on the economic war, which to my mind is the main front of this war.
In this regard, Russia and China (lets not be naive) have escalation dominance. The West may be good at producing narratives, but Russia and China produce real stuff: commodities and manufacturing goods. In both cases Russia and China can twiddle the dial up or down. This is literally the oxygen the West relies on. This is where the war is won, and I mean the total war not just the skirmish in Ukraine.
RUSSIA RETALIATES: CUTS OFF NEW ROCKET ENGINES TO U.S.A.
2022 03 04 09 48
Russia’s Federal Space Agency Roscosmos has stopped the deliveries of rocket engines manufactured by Energomash association to the United States.
Shown above, “This is the RD-180 engine in the first place, which is used for the Atlas-5 rocket as the main engine, and the RD-181 engine, which is used as the first stage of the Antares rocket,” Dmitry Rogozin, Roscosmos CEO said.
“Let them now fly into space on their brooms,” Rogozin added.
In addition, Russia is terminating cooperation with the United States on experiments conducted on board the International Space Station.
Due to restrictions, the Russian space program will have to be changed, the head of Roscosmos also said. First priority will be paid to defense satellites.
On February 24, US President Joe Biden pledged to impose sanctions against the Russian space program. The United States will block more than 50% of high-tech imports to Russia to harm the ability of the Russians to modernise their Armed Froces, Biden said.
Russian Gas supplies cut off
GAS SUPPLIES FROM POLAND TO GERMANY VIA THE YAMAL-EUROPE PIPELINE HAVE CEASED. Germany shut-down the approval process for the NordStream-2 gas pipeline from Russia, now Germany gets no gas at all, from Russia.
Russian Steel cut off to the EU
Severstal decided to completely stop the supply of steel to the EU countries. No more Russian steel for Europe!
Chinese girl performing K-Pop
She is pretty typical. Until they move out of my office building, we had three K-pop / C-pop dance studios next to my office. I would stop by (it’s all windows here) and watch them dance. They would look, well look exactly, like this girl doing their moves. video 7MB
She’s great huh?
Exclusive: China a main target of US NSA cyberattacks, with key infrastructure under threat
The US’ National Security Agency (NSA) has been launching cyberattacks against 47 countries and regions for a decade, with Chinese government departments, high-tech companies and military-related institutes among the key targets, the Global Times learned from the Internet Security Company 360 exclusively on Wednesday.
Cybersecurity experts warned that under the surveillance of the NSA, the privacy and sensitive information of hundreds of millions of people around the world are exposed, “like running around naked.”
Experts slammed the US government and politicians behind the NSA for focusing only on political self-interests. Such invasion seriously infringes on the legitimate interests of Chinese and global citizens, they stressed.
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China, key target
The NSA is an affiliate of the US Department of Defense, which specializes in electronic communications surveillance. Its main mission is to collect information from various countries, expose the communications activities of potential spies, and provide processed intelligence information to the US government.
For a long time, in order to achieve the purpose of intelligence collection, NSA launched large-scale network attacks around the world, with China being one of the main victims.
According to the company, since 2008, they have captured a large number of complex attack programs. Through long-term analysis and field evidence from multiple victim units, combined with global threat intelligence, as well as tracks to the PRISM scandal and the “Shadow Broker” hacker groups, the company confirmed that these attacks targeting leading enterprises for more than 10 years were carried out by NSA.
“We found that NSA organized attacks on targets in China, such as the government, finance, scientific research institutes, communications operators, education, military, aerospace, medical-related industries, with high-tech companies accounting for a large proportion,” a cybersecurity expert from the company told the Global Times.
According to the FOXCID server code names described in classified NSA documents, it can also be found that the attacks have been launched against 47 countries and regions around the world, including the UK, Germany, France, South Korea, Poland, Japan and Iran, covering 403 targets, the expert said.
The NSA has developed numerous operational plans to monitor global targets. The expert said that through statistical analysis of the backdoor configuration field of the NSA’s exclusive Validator, the potential attack against China is estimated to be very large. “The most conservative estimate for Validator alone is that hundreds of thousands or even millions of computers have been infected by the virus.”
Nowhere to hide
The Global Times learned that the company named the hacking group under NSA as APT-C-40 and found the NSA has been launching attacks at leading companies for more than 10 years.
These attacks, which were discovered to have started in 2010, coincide with a specific network warfare plan the NSA implemented. With diverse and concealing attacking techniques, the NSA launched attacks on key network management servers and terminals of a large number of enterprises.
The expert also revealed that the major tactics for the attacks are varied and covert, including backdoor program UnitedRake, QUANTUM attack system, and fake server FOXCID.
The QUANTUM attack system is the NSA’s most powerful attack tool and was established in 2004. QUANTUM is capable of monitoring, intercepting and utilizing data that the NSA collected from the global network communication and internet system.
FOXACID is a powerful vulnerability attack platform designed by the NSA which can allow operators with little experience to participate in cyberattacks. It is a powerful “large-scale invasion tool.”
The security expert said apart from fighting on the battleground, cyberspace is also an important battlefield for the great powers. Once the APT organization launches attacks on a country, it can paralyze its transportation, banking, aviation, water and electricity systems. In addition, the attacks can be used to damage the country’s political stability and economic lifeline.
The communications industry has been a key target of the NSA, peeping and secretly collecting personal and key data of the industry for a long time, which results in a large number of netizens’ private data, such as their identities, property, home address and even voice messages and recordings, risk being maliciously collected, abused or transferred to overseas, the expert said.
Political self-interest is the only focus for the government and politicians behind the NSA. They treated human rights as a chip for political games and their intrusion seriously infringes on the legitimate interests of Chinese and people around the world, the expert said.
Just in case you are unaware about what the FUCK China is able to do to anyone desirous of attacking it, or pretending to be “just freedom of navigation” bullshit.
Here is the park about a ten minute walk from my home. video 25MB
Listen to me!
Do not freak out. All is going according to plan, and NOW is the time for you all to be the Rufus! Seriously. That is what is going to get you though this time. It’s your opportunity to shine! video 30MB
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
This is a sitrep for the Russian / Ukranian / Western collapse in coils as of early march 2022. It’s a bit all over the place. It includes fighting updates, control of the media narrative, pretty Chinese girls, jokes from Satan himself and hamburgers. Hamburgers too. Lots and lots, and lots of hamburgers. I hope that you will like it.
We start off with some food porn; the lovely hamburger.
In fact, I will go as far as to proudly state that this article has been brought to you by the lovely hamburger (Well, in this case a cheeseburger.) and I hope that you too end up appreciating the news with a flavor for excitement!
One of the residents of one of the new Republics.
This explains so much! Guy is from one of the new provences, the LDR or the NDR (not specified) that is joyous about Russia stopping the Ukrine shelling of their homes.
“Now I am constantly among the fighters. Many of my colleagues talk about the progress of the liberation of Donbass and Ukraine, so I focus on something else: I talk about the mood of our guys.I don’t need to say that they are all on the upswing, their morale is high and they are ready to carry out the tasks assigned to them. What is important is that none of them has any bitterness or desire to fight for the sake of war.For everyone, this battle is a battle for freedom. There are many, many young men in the ranks today from among those who have a home in the territories yet to be liberated. Can this be an invasion? It’s a homecoming, as they themselves say.There are many volunteers who come without summons, at the call of the heart. And regardless of age, civilian occupation, place of residence – they are all united by the desire to liberate the Republic and Ukraine from Nazism.This is not a war for the sake of war, this is a war in the name of peace, and the civilians of Ukraine are not enemies to these guys.”
Comic of the year!
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American “news”
Heh. Heh.
"Want some comedy? Go take a look at the front page of the Drudge Report. I’ve never seen such mass propaganda in my life. How do they possibly retain a shred of creditability on anything after this. The desperation reeks."
Yeah. The American “news” is all full about the mistake Russia made and how it is now in a disastrous quagmire. Oh No! Here’s the top, highest promoted links on the Drudge Report today. Nothing is balanced. Nothing is accurate. Nothing is a view about the entire situation. It’s all emotionally driven bullshit…
LIONHEART ZELENSKY...
Yeah. The proud, brave man who is taking on Russia all by himself.
'I NEED AMMO'...Oh. Right. So the reason behind the Russian incursion is to disarm the Ukraine. And that is what the West does not want at all. They want an armed Ukraine, and a long quagmire.
UKRAINIANS RALLY TO DEFEND...Brave Ukrainians ready to die for their homeland. Actually, the truth is more like Russia stepping in and stabilizing a very unstable place. Anyone who lays down weapons can continue their lives, and return to their roles once the situation stabilizes.
But the truth remains the same; the louder the shrilling, the more obvious the defeat of Western forces is. Indeed. The more vicious the propaganda gets, the more likely it is that NATO is loosing badly on the ground. Popcorn time.
While in the United States
Yah. It’s a completely different reality. Far removed. Living life. Just bombing the rest of the world to pieces and provoking wars left and right. But in the meantime, just enjoying life. video 4MB
For youse newcomers to MM…
I sprinkle content all over the place. You have to see the big picture, and realize that everythign is connected. When you see the big picture, and break up content MM style, you disable the vault 7 influences imbedded inside of all Western electronic media. Your mind adapts quicker than the vault 7 influence.
Additionally, it serves as an easy check to see if someone ACTUALLY read the article. Hit and run commenters don’t. And if you read the articles, and not comment on the food, pretty girls, or side ventures, then I know that you haven’t read the article. Like this joker…
By Dmitry Orlov and posted with the author’s permission.
Last Thursday I reposed my “top ten signs that Russia has invaded the Ukraine” from 8 years ago when the Ukrainian regime change and civil war first started and the West continuously made claims that Russia had invaded. Well, last Thursday Russia did indeed invade.
Russia had the full legal right to invade the Ukraine from several perspectives: to defend its allies in Donetsk and Lugansk;
to defend itself against Ukrainian WMDs, which the Ukrainian president threatened to start producing at the Munich Security Conference;
and to stop NATO from continuing its advance toward Russian borders in violation of its previous commitment of “not an inch to the east.”
Russia exercised its right of self-defense under article 51 of part 7 of the UN Charter.
The Ukraine had forfeited its right to territorial integrity under the 1970 UN Declaration by refusing to honor the rights of its Russian-speaking population.
It also refused to renew its Friendship Treaty with Russia and therefore no longer had a defined border with Russia that Russia was obligated to honor.
From a strictly legalistic perspective, claims that “Russia violated the Ukraine’s territorial integrity” or that this is “an act of Russian aggression” is just pure twaddle.
From a moral perspective, the fact that the entire international community idly stood by and ineffectually discussed politics for eight years during which the civilian population of Donetsk and Lugansk was continuously shelled by the Ukrainian “anti-terrorist operation” is utterly shameful.
Shameful.
People who are now speaking out against Russia’s military action in the Ukraine need to answer a simple question: Where have you been for the last eight years while [1] the carnage in Donetsk and Lugansk was going on, while [2] people were being burned alive in Odessa, [3] while the Ukrainian government organized terrorist operations on Russian territory and [4] while the entire Ukrainian population has been forced to kowtow to Americans and to speak Ukrainian, most often against its will?
If your answer is “I didn’t know” then you have forfeited your right to an informed opinion on what’s happening there now. Please keep that in mind and act accordingly.
Now I will go through the 10 predictions I made 8 years ago and see how well they held up in light of events that have unfolded for the past three days.
A reasonable expectation would be that I got them completely wrong; if not, then that’s something of a minor miracle. Please keep that in mind also.
1. Ukrainian artillery fell silent almost immediately. They are no longer shelling residential districts of Donetsk and Lugansk. This is because their locations had been pinpointed prior to the operation, and by Thursday afternoon they were completely wiped out using air attacks, artillery and ground-based rocket fire, as the first order of business. Local residents are overjoyed that their horrible ordeal is finally at an end.
Not quite true. Donetsk and Lugansk is still being shelled sporadically, although most of the firing has been suppressed and as more and more territory is being liberated from the Ukrainian forces by the Donbass militia (with Russian forces playing a supporting role). At the same time, new possibilities for civilian carnage are resulting from the fact that the Ukraine’s Nazi battalions, under guidance from their US/NATO minders, are hiding heavy weapons in residential districts and using civilians as human shields.
2. The look of military activity on the ground in Donetsk and Lugansk has changed dramatically. Whereas before it involved small groups of resistance fighters, the Russians operate in battalions of 400 men and dozens of armored vehicles, followed by convoys of support vehicles (tanker trucks, communications, field kitchens, field hospitals and so on). The flow of vehicles in and out is non-stop, plainly visible on air reconnaissance and satellite photos. Add to that the relentless radio chatter, all in Russian, which anyone who wants to can intercept, and the operation becomes impossible to hide.
This is obviously the case. No sane person would now say that there are no Russian forces in the Ukraine. They made their presence about as obvious as they possibly could and the sight of endless columns of Russian military vehicles rolling unhindered through the Ukrainian countryside appears to be effecting a sea change in the mindset of the Ukraine’s population. Throughout history, it has always been quick to switch allegiances as circumstances and battle lines shifted, and this time will probably be no exception.
3. The Ukrainian military has promptly vanished. Soldiers and officers alike have taken off their uniforms, abandoned their weapons, and are doing their best to blend in with the locals. Nobody thought the odds of the Ukrainian army against the Russians were any good. Ukraine’s only military victory against Russia was at the battle of Konotop in 1659, but at the time Ukraine was allied with the mighty Khanate of Crimea, and, you may have noticed, Crimea is not on Ukraine’s side this time around.
Again, not entirely true. It turns out that there is a hardened Nazi embedded with each and every detachment of Ukrainian forces whose job is to shoot those who try to surrender. Nevertheless, some unknown number of Ukrainian soldiers have surrendered, signed a promise to no longer fight against the Russian army, and have been given some food and sent home. In all, the Ukrainian military is turning out to be no different from other NATO-organized, NATO-trained forces, be they in Afghanistan, Georgia, Iraq or elsewhere. All of them immediately turn out to be completely useless as soon as a real military force arrives on the scene, be it the Russians, the Taliban or the Islamic Caliphate. Also notable is the fact that the large quantities of weapons recently supplied to the Ukraine by the US have been shown to be completely useless. The Javelin anti-tank missiles, which helped line the pockets of some of the Pentagon’s top brass, have been worse than useless: by the time they can be set up to fire there is generally nobody left alive to fire them, so the soldiers don’t even bother with them.
4. There are Russian checkpoints everywhere. Local civilians are allowed through, but anyone associated with a government, foreign or domestic, is detained for questioning. A filtration system has been set up to return demobilized Ukrainian army draftees to their native regions, while the volunteers and the officers are shunted to pretrial detention centers, to determine whether they had ordered war crimes to be committed.
Not true at all. The Russian troops are not engaging with the civilians in any way, scrupulously avoiding residential districts and doing their best to see that the delivery of electricity, water and other essentials is not disrupted. As far as denazification, I am still not sure what the plan is, but my hunch at the moment is that this will be left up to the Ukrainians themselves. There is a good chance that once they realize what the Nazis and their Western masters have been doing to their country, they will do their best to round up the Nazis and hang them on streetlights. The Nazis will see this coming (some already do) and will run away to Poland or Slovenia or points further west.
5. Most of Ukraine’s border crossings are by now under Russian control. Some have been reinforced with air defense and artillery systems and tank battalions, to dissuade NATO forces from attempting to stage an invasion. Civilians and humanitarian goods are allowed through. Businessmen are allowed through once they fill out the required forms (which are in Russian).
The Ukrainian border guards along the Russian border have abandoned their posts. Some of them walked over to the Russian side and surrendered. The Russian and Belorussian borders are under control from the Russian and Belorussian sides. The western border crossings are crowded from all the people flying to flee.
6. Russia has imposed a no-fly zone over all of Ukraine. All civilian flights have been cancelled. There is quite a crowd of US State Department staffers, CIA and Mossad agents, and Western NGO people stuck at Borispol airport in Kiev. Some are nervously calling everyone they know on their satellite phones. Western politicians are demanding that they be evacuated immediately, but Russian authorities want to hold onto them until their possible complicity in war crimes has been determined.
Flight radar shows zero flights over all of the Ukraine. In fact, air traffic has been disrupted over much of Europe, with many airspaces closed and lots of new restrictions on traffic. Many vacationers, especially those from the Ukraine, are stuck wherever they are. The ones in Egypt are lucky: the Egyptian government is paying for their hotel stays while they are stuck there. The Westerners, on the other hand, having learned their lesson from the fiasco in Afghanistan, fled the Ukraine ahead of time. Since there is a long list of places for them to get the hell out of before their luck runs out, it’s good that they are getting the knack of it.
7. The usual Ukrainian talking heads, such as president Poroshenko, PM Yatsenyuk and others, are no longer available to be interviewed by Western media. Nobody quite knows where they are. There are rumors that they have already fled the country. Crowds have stormed their abandoned residences, and were amazed to discover that they were all outfitted with solid gold toilets. Nor are the Ukrainian oligarchs anywhere to be found, except for the warlord Igor Kolomoisky, who was found in his residence, abandoned by his henchmen, dead from a heart attack. (Contributed by the Saker.)
The number one Ukrainian talking head, the president-cum-comedian Zelensky, is hiding in a bunker in Lvov, Führer-like, surrounded by his Nazi henchmen. His jumbled missives to the faithful appear to have been prerecorded. At the same time, the information war is proceeding apace, with numerous new fake news items arriving daily, too many to keep track of. The real fun will start when the TV channels in Kiev get denazified and Ukrainians stir from their eight-year stupor, figure a few things out for themselves and become extremely angry at those who have been lying to them for eight long years.
8. Some of the over 800,000 Ukrainian refugees are starting to stream back in from Russia. They were living in tent cities, many of them in the nearby Rostov region, but with the winter coming they are eager to get back home, now that the shelling is over. Along with them, construction crews, cement trucks and flatbeds stacked with pipe, cable and rebar are streaming in, to repair the damage from the shelling.
This is yet to start happening. It will be a slow process, given that the number of refugees now, eight years later, is in the millions and scattered over numerous Russian regions.
9. There is all sorts of intense diplomatic and military activity around the world, especially in Europe and the US. Military forces are on highest alert, diplomats are jetting around and holding conferences. President Obama just held a press conference to announce that “We don’t have a strategy on Ukraine yet.” His military advisers tell him that his usual strategy of “bomb a little and see what happens” is not likely to be helpful in this instance.
This is definitely the case. The goal for Western leaders now is to look purposeful and strong while doing nothing of consequence. They keep talking about cutting Russia off from SWIFT bank messaging system, but keep recoiling in horror when they realize what they will mean for their energy prices (which are already dangerously high). The Russian posture vis-à-vis Western sanctions seems to be “Bring them on; we are ready!” Apparently, eight years have been enough for Russia to thoroughly prepare for this event.
10. Kiev has surrendered. There are Russian tanks on the Maidan Square. Russian infantry is mopping up the remains of Ukraine’s National Guard. A curfew has indeed been imposed. The operation to take Kiev resembled “Shock and Awe” in Baghdad: a few loud bangs and then a whimper.
Russian tanks are unlikely to enter the city center; they are concentrated on destroying military installations, demobilizing the Ukrainian military and destroying the Nazi battalions. There is indeed a curfew in effect in Kiev.
One more significant development worth mentioning: Russian forces are taking charge of the Ukraine’s nuclear installations, including the one at Chernobyl, which is now under joint Russian/Ukrainian control. This will reduce the chance that the Ukrainian Nazis will try to blow up one of them on their merry way to hell. The Ukraine has 15 nuclear reactors, and since it is virtually out of other sources of energy it has been running all of them flat out. Two of them went off-line recently because of technical issues. Russia is working very hard to make Chernobyl 2.0 less of a possibility.
I am not sure what grade I should give myself for my predictions. Russia’s political and military planners have turned out to be quite a bit smarter than me, but this is not at all a surprise. After all, they have all of the intellectual resources of a huge, powerful country whereas I am just a guy with an office chair and a laptop.
Do I care to make some more predictions about the Ukraine?
Sure, why not!
1. Donetsk and Lugansk regions will continue on their path of closer and closer integration into the Russian Federation. They are already part of the Russian currency space, their educational systems are integrated with Russia’s (same standards and procedures), their defense systems are fully integrated and diplomatically they act as a well-synchronized unit.
2. An area further west, probably encompassing the entire basin of Dnieper River and the Black Sea littoral, from the Belorussian to the Romanian border, will be part of a Russian zone. The regions within this zone will be given political autonomy within a general security and economic framework linked to Russia. The rough outlines of this area can be determined from the following language map. The areas in red and orange—is Russian-speaking and is naturally part of the Russian zone. The only two exceptions will be a Carpatho-Russian enclave (in purple) which will need to be administered separately and a Hungarian enclave (in green) that might as well be absorbed into Hungary.
3. Further west will lie a zone that will be wrapped in fancy paper with ribbons and bows and presented as an extra-special present to the EU to love to cherish and to suffer migraines and aneurisms over. Roughly speaking, the yellow area is Ukrainian-speaking and is an all-you-can-eat (please don’t choke) buffet for the West. It has relatively poor soil and high incidence of iodine deficiency and imbecility in the general population. It is also where Ukrainian nationalism comes from and where the current Ukrainian Nazi plague originated. The Russian stance should be (if I may be so bold as to recommend what the Russian government should do) along the lines of “If you like your Ukrainian Nazis, you can have your Ukrainian Nazis.”
Why the Chinese system works
Here we have a son who has a mental issue. He left home 11 years ago. But in China, everyone is monitored, and it is the duty, the requirement; the responsibility of each local govenrment to know who is in their jurisdiction. So they found this young man. And they used AI to find out who he was, and contacted his family. In this video, the mother and his sister comes to get him and take him home. It is not right for him to live hand-to-mouth on the streets alone.
I argue that it is better to drive a distressed automobile but eat extraordinarily well, than you drive a nice car and live off fast food. And you can take that opinion of mine “to the bank“.
Love her belly
I like this girl’s belly. It is appealing. Like a milkshake. video 5MB
Taiwan Leadership argues for a change in alliances
Well, it is obvious to us here, but hidden from the rest of the world. The United States does not care about you or your country, and will abandon you and leave to to rot if it is to their advantage.
Well, it looks like people in Taiwan are watching the events and wondering “what about us”?
Former Taiwan Vice President from the pro Independence Party 民进党 (The people progressive party) openly criticized her own party and current president. She now promotes discarding alignment with America, and a military buildup. She now is endorsing reunification with China. Wow.
This is obvious to me, but not so for the rest of the world.
‘Never forget the real threat to world’: Amid Ukraine crisis, the Chinese embassy in Russia slams the United States. Among the 248 Armed conflicts that occurred in 153 regions across the world from 1945 to 2001, 201 were initiated by the US, accounting for 81% of the total number.
It’s all about community. Participate. Make the world a better place. Be like the Chinese. video 6MB
Austrian Minister of Defence, Klaudier Tanner
According to SD, this might be the person who would launch World War III. Whether it is soon, or far off. This is the face of the person to initiated the nuclear conflagration.
Austrian Minister of Defense, Klaudier Tanner.
Satan has some advice to Americans / EU
Taxi Driver gives a ride for free
He’s a true Rufus. He sees a young girl carrying a baby all alone,a nd stope and gives them a free ride. What a Rufus! video 6MB
Now, let’s talk hamburgers.
This piece of work really speaks to me. You know…
Hamburgers for all.
What do the Chinese think?
Maybe a tiny percentage of netizens are very interested in the situation in Ukraine, following it constantly, but I’d say majority (95%, I guess ?) of Chinese just get on with their life and feel grateful that they can live in a contry where NATO/US & its 5-eyes allies can not come and bomb it.MSM/some people keep on posting this or that about Chinese/China’s stands on the on-going situation between Russia and Ukraine, it sometimes seems to me like a part of the Western psyop to drive a wedge between Russia and China and their supporters/sympathisers.
-Lulu
Russian SWIFT cutoff
According to the Russian National SWIFT Association, Russia has the second-largest number of users after the US, with some 300 Russian financial institutions in the system, more than half of Russia’s financial institutions.
This is not the first time US, EU banned Russia from SWIFT. So Putin is not caught by surprise.
Russia is the world second largest exporter of resources, so, by imposing sanction on Russia from using SWIFT (yet again), it will force the world hungry for Russian resources to trade through China in RMB.
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Only this time, the Chinese RMB international transaction system is established and ready to welcome the world with confidence.
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As a result, we can expect the continue rising in value of rmb, this will attract more and more investors using rmb as reserve currency, and will speed up the replacement of US dollar to rmb worldwide.
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There is always good reason behind an inevitable empire collapsed:
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US regimes are basically run by elderly who born in the 1930s and 40s, these are out of touch extreme supremacists. They are self centred, know no consequences, one leg already in the coffin; truly ugly, old folks. Their stupidly and aggression will send their country into poverty, backwardness, and disintegration. Well, it already has, but so far the decay has been hidden from prublic view.
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As the Chinese word 危机 (crisis) suggests; 危 is for danger, and 机 is for opportunity.
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So each time the West creates a crisis for China and others, China will identify the opportunities to turn the crisis into opportunity and make herself stronger.
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Each time, US and Europe push and promote aggression against China, they are actually helping to create an enemy that they cannot defeat.
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Welcome to the coming new world order with more fairness, equality, and freedom from the nasty; nasty American-lead unipolar global dictatorship.
China’s Xinghua News journalist reporting from Ukraine and Belarus
– Feb. 28th around 8: 30 local time, the same Chinese businessman of yesterday’s vido I posted, who lives in Kiev suburb, tells Xinhua News that the suburb of Kiev is quiet. It’s safe to stay at home. He also says there’s only one TV channel in Ukraine right now only reporting the war: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Ea411h7GX?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0;
No, it is not the image of a “great and wonderful white shinging building on the hill”, but rather a corrupt, third world nation that is falling down into black hole of decay and internal rot at all levels. video 51MB
Why I think that America has been taken over by Satan…
Think Hamburgers
This lass certainly does.
I thought we were reasonably free of Trump and I ignore most of his utterings. But this one – it got to me.
TRUMP: “Under Bush, Russia invaded Georgia. Under Obama, Russia took Crimea. Under Biden, Russia invaded Ukraine.”“I stand as the only president of the twenty-first century on who’s watch Russia did not invade another country.”
America’s brutalist belief system
No wonder, the bully still thinks it’s 20 years old, muscular and tough. When instead, it’s an old seniale man, with a walker. video 3MB
From the attack dogs’ own mouths—how stupid can these people be?
Why I think that America has been taken over by Satan…
Remember that China trains EVERYONE to fight
Here’s rifle training in middle school. I wonder what the American school kids learn in schools today. video 3MB
Berated about my love for ladies
Yeah. Trolls hate me putting up pictures of pretty ladies. Oh, boy oh boy! Do they hate it. It drives them bonker-crazy! But no one has yet to complain about my love for hamburgers.
Here we have a vintage lass hold a fine burger in her hands. Now, what’s wrong about that? Whoops! Mind the nipple flash. I think that it must be a “wardrobe malfunction”.
Military sitrep overview – Ukraine
At the operational level there have been mistakes such as about convoys undefended. At the strategic level things are very much on track. Russian procedure on clearing towns is excellent and was used extensively in Syria.
Step 1 approach the town and assess the chance of their surrender Step 2 surround the town, cutting off resupply. Step 3 based on initial recon begin with very targeted strikes weakening defenses Step 4 send in probes to gain a clearer picture of internal defenses Step 5 begin degrading them Step 6 open humanitarian corridors Step 7 begin probing attacks from different sides 24/7 to disturb and confuse and sleep deprive (your troops can rest) Step 8 when defenses are sufficiently weakened invade
Chinese Term ‘Wuxin Gongzuo’: Can’t Focus on Work Due to Russia-Ukraine Crisis
Chinese netizens are so focused on the Russian attack on Ukraine that nobody can focus on work (wuxin gongzuo). From HERE.
2022 03 01 15 20
A comment
The Grand Chessboard reveals all.
The purpose of NATO is...
keep Germany down in Europe,
keep the USA in control of Europe,
keep the Russians out.
With the combined factors of;
Russia’s rise and dedollarise;
China’s rise militarily and economically;
Germany’s pending approval of NS2 to increase Germany’s economic strength; Germany being the dominant economy and country in EU;
America had to find a way to scare EU and tighten America’s stranglehold on the EU.
What better way than to provoke a war in a part of Europe not exactly vital to EU?
Ukraine is going exactly to plan: it’s a win win for USA and Russia.
Russia knows its LNG sales to other countries, like Japan, will not be targeted. Can you imagine what will happen to Japan if LNG from Sakhalin is removed? The depressive effects will spark a global depression.
You can bet China is studying this Ukraine conflict very intently.
We have reached an inflection point.
The world will shift to a path different from the hegemon’s choosing. Whatever deity you choose to praise, do thank him/her for your salvation.
-Grune
Pretty girl
Here’s one of the popular girls on Douxing in China. She’s impressive. video 3MB
How about some hamburgers?
While all sorts of crazy stuff is going on in the United States, the rest of the world is fine and following plans. So don’t get too worked up about it. how about enjoying a fine hamburger instead.
Elon Musk deploys SpaceX’s Starlink Internet satellites over Ukraine after request from vice PM | Euronews
There seems to be an obvious connection between the United States military / government and Elon Musk. From the attack on the Chinese Space Station to this, it’s obviously suspicious.
Nice view. She’s a strutting down the street don’t you know. video 3MB
Oh, and don’t forget about the fries!
Sheech! I am so accustomed about eating hamburgers with french fries that I forgot how to eat a burger without them. Usually, I try to substitute potato chips, or potato salad instead.
Americans, Brits and Europeans should stop clapping with glee…
This is the latest comment from Aaron Hawkins (Storm Clouds Gathering):
“ As this war heats up you will see many cheering for one flag or the other; promoting escalations and retaliations. This is a trap.
Who exactly benefits from a major war that sends millions of young, fighting age men and women to slaughter each other in Eurasia (at the precise moment when civil disobedience with teeth was beginning to spread)?
And what do you suppose is about to happen to the monetary system now that Russia is being cut from SWIFT?
Did you consider the fact that not only does Europe depend heavily on Russian gas (that the U.S. cannot even come close to replacing), but Russia and Ukraine also happen to be the world’s two largest wheat exporters comprising approximately 30% of global production?
All of Ukraine’s exports have been halted, and with Russia cut off from the western banking system all future customers will have to work outside the dollar.
Even if the physical war were to be contained to Ukraine (spoiler alert: it won’t), the consequences of the cyber and economic warfare already underway will be devastating. Western leaders are setting their populations up for much more than just parabolic price increases. Widespread shortages and famine are on the horizon. This will not be a short term phenomenon."
Five days into the war and the first inkling of truth is presented to Americans
Watch Yevhen Karas the leader of Ukraine’s neo-Nazi terror gang C14’s speech from Kiev earlier this month. Straight from the horses’ mouth, he dispels the many narratives pushed by the Western governments, the mainstream media and the State Department.
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He claims:
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– Ukraine is being armed as pawns of the West because “we have fun killing”
– “We have started a war”
– “We have the most Javelins on the European continent”
– The European family has already collapsed
– Maidan would’ve been a “gay parade” if not for Nazi influence
America is pushing all this warfare
Keep in mind the ugly face of what he Hell that everyone is dealing with right now. The United States is NOT a happy, safe, and healthy nation right now. video 3MB
Now that’s a serious whopper!
Wow!
Great Video Speech regarding Ukraine & Russia 2014
Well, worth the watch. I watched it, was going to record it, and then Boom! No longer available in my region. Sigh! I urge everyone to watch it.
Do people seriously imagine Russia simply blundered into the Ukraine not knowing what the west would do?
You may be surprised to hear that the world is actually still spinning. All we have to deal with is the mighty Wurlitzer which is an old-style pipe organ for theaters, and also a propaganda instrument.
Allow me a moment to explain:
In 1967 the magazine Ramparts ran an exposé revealing that the Central Intelligence Agency had been secretly funding and managing a wide range of citizen front groups intended to counter communist influence around the world.
In addition to embarrassing prominent individuals caught up, wittingly or unwittingly, in the secret superpower struggle for hearts and minds, the revelations of 1967 were one of the worst operational disasters in the history of American intelligence and presaged a series of public scandals from which the CIA’s reputation has arguably never recovered.CIA official Frank Wisner called the operation his “mighty Wurlitzer,” on which he could play any propaganda tune.
Hugh Wilford provides the first comprehensive account of the clandestine relationship between the CIA and its front organizations.
Using an unprecedented wealth of sources, he traces the rise and fall of America’s Cold War front network from its origins in the 1940s to its Third World expansion during the 1950s and ultimate collapse in the 1960s.Covering the intelligence officers who masterminded the CIA’s fronts as well as the involved citizen groups—émigrés, labor, intellectuals, artists, students, women, Catholics, African Americans, and journalists—Wilford provides a surprising analysis of Cold War society that contains valuable lessons for our own age of global conflict.
Now, the Mighty Wurlitzer, exposed during the cold war, has never ended.
We see it in full swing now.
Here are a few snippets, a few items from memory (it has to be from memory as most of the Russian sites are still down, or up or down, in a relentless cyber propaganda war and this cannot be meticulously linked to source).
And you know what, the Ukraine inherited its own theater and mighty Wurlitzer, where they are designing and producing for the common man, theater productions for this current time.
Excepting now, it is all done in studio with breathless journalists playing war and running around in front of green screens.
So, while the tinny and discordant theater music sometimes drowns out even our own ability to think (it is torture, you know!) let’s look at a few realities.
Sanctions. Big Big Headlines – Russia is sanctioned for this or that and for basically everything, even Vodka. The latest is SWIFT (but only for a few banks). Take a good look at the sanctions. It is paper production for the purpose of paper production. The German sanctions on Russian banks for example have fine print. (They all have). They’re sanctioning Russia from hell, but of course, this does not apply to gas or oil payments. Those will continue, says the fine print.
Sanctions on Russia are now the latest fashion accessory. The one that can play that Wurlitzer the loudest is the one who wins. So what happens if they don’t win? What happens if they are busy shooting themselves in the heart, and not even in the foot?. What happens if the fervor to punish Russia simply accelerates their own demise?
Russia is decoupling as fast as what the West is sanctioning. A headline that comes to mind is: “European Commission: The disconnection of a number of banks from SWIFT “will actually block Russian exports and imports”.
No Einstein, it will hasten de-dollarization.
How about a plate of double cheeseburgers?
I could easily eat all of them up. WHat they do need is a fine strawberry milkshake, don’t you know.
Chinese girl
Let’s take a look at this fine Chinese lass. Here she is inside of her house. I’ll bet she is fun to be with. video 1MB
America’s Anti-Russian “news”…
This morning from Medvedev:
‘Final review’ of Russia’s relations with West now possible – former president
Dmitry Medvedev has dubbed European organizations “meaningless almshouses”.
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Western sanctions could be an “excellent reason for a final review” of Russia’s relations with the nations that have imposed the restrictions, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and former president, Dmitry Medvedev, said on Saturday.
Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, which was launched on February 24, has prompted outrage in the West and a new wave of harsh sanctions against Russia. In a lengthy post on the Russian social network VK, Medvedev called the restrictions “a myth, a figment, a figure of speech.”
“Sanctions could be an excellent reason for the final review of all relations with those states that have introduced them. Including interruption of the dialogue on strategic stability,” Medvedev wrote.
[sidebar] Take another look at that sentence – why now? It is because most of the western world do not have answers to Russia on strategic stability, so they decided to play that Wurlitzer pretty loud to attempt to hide their inability).
He added that in principle, it is possible “to renounce everything,” including the New START Treaty.
“Yes, and diplomatic relations, in principle, are not particularly needed. It’s time to close the embassies with barn locks. And to continue contacts by examining each other only through binoculars and weapons’ optical systems,” Medvedev said.
Commenting on the decision by the Council of Europe and Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to suspend Russia’s membership, the former president said that while this is a “flagrant injustice,” it could still be considered as a good reason “to finally slam the door and forget about these meaningless almshouses forever.”
This development could also be used to “restore a number of important institutions for prevention of especially serious crimes in the country,” he said, such as the “death penalty for the most dangerous criminals, which, by the way, is being actively used in the United States and China.”
He has no assets abroad and to the UK sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote:
“Neither Putin, nor Lavrov have accounts neither in Britain nor anywhere abroad. Maybe the kingdom’s government got something frozen off rather than it froze something?”
We are in a new world.
A few more:
Russia has just suspended cooperation with NASA on the international space station .. including the launch team which will not be available to the US. Russia will work with China.
Zap!
Are there any US astronauts there at the moment? I don’t know, but Elon Musk will have to get them home.
Let’s take a look at few more of Mr Putin’s actions these last days.
Russia’s President Meeting (http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67851) with Security Council permanent members
💬 Vladimir Putin: According to available information, and this is confirmed by objective monitoring – we are seeing this; Banderites and neo-Nazis are putting up heavy weapons, including MLRS, right in the central districts of large cities, including Kiev and Kharkov. They plan to force return fire by Russian strike systems vs residential quarters. They are acting in the same way terrorists act all over the world – using people as shields.
It is known for a fact that all this is being done on the recommendations of foreign consultants, primarily American advisors.
❗️ Once again, I am appealing to the military of the armed forces of Ukraine. Do not allow neo-Nazis and Banderites to use your children, wives and elders as a live shield. Take power into your own hands. It seems it will be easier for us to come to terms with you than with this gang of drug addicts & neo-Nazis that have settled in Kiev and that have taken the Ukrainian people.
President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation (https://is.gd/m8pf2L) with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The Presidents discussed developments related to the special military operation designed to protect peaceful civilians in Donbass as well as Ukraine’s demilitarisation and denazification.
☝️ Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed understanding of Russia’s actions.
The Presidents also touched upon certain current issues on the bilateral agenda. They reaffirmed their shared intention to continue the development of the Russian-Uzbek strategic partnership with a focus on implementing specific trade, economic, and humanitarian projects.
President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation (https://is.gd/322XIF) with President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.
The President of Russia gave the President of China a detailed account of the reasons behind the recognition of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic and the start of a special military operation to protect civilians from genocide and ensure the demilitarisation and denazification of the Ukrainian state. Vladimir Putin also noted that considering the signals received from Kiev he was ready to send a delegation to Minsk to hold talks with representatives of Ukraine.
☝️ Xi Jinping stressed that he respected the actions of the Russian leadership in the current crisis.
The two Leaders assessed the current international situation from a common perspective. They reaffirmed a mutual readiness to closely cooperate and support each other further at the UN and in other multilateral platforms.
Held at Kyrgyzstan’s initiative, the telephone conversation (https://is.gd/Ppnjou) between President Vladimir Putin and President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov focused on the situation with the special military operation carried out by Russia in Ukraine.
☝️ Sadyr Japarov said that Kiev was responsible for derailing the Minsk agreements and expressed his support for Russia’s decisive actions to protect civilians in Donbass. Vladimir Putin thanked the President of Kyrgyzstan for his principled solidarity.
The two Presidents reaffirmed their mutual commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership and allied relations between Russia and Kyrgyzstan in all areas.
President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation (https://is.gd/oACYDq) with Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
The Parties continued their exchange of views on the practical aspects of the implementation of the agreements documented by the November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021, tripartite statements by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on Nagorno-Karabakh, including efforts to ensure stability and security on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Some items on the current bilateral agenda were also touched upon.
The Ukraine is dancing to the music of the Mighty Wurlitzer. Don’t you do that too! Turn the music off. Zone B is way behind Zone A in playing the organ, but way ahead in creating a life friendly to human people, for this planet.Margarita Simonyan focused on the 5th and 6th columns with a devasting phrase:
“If you are now ashamed that you are Russian, do not worry, you are not Russian,” she wrote in her Telegram channel.
And in the event that you are worried about China, they just posted this from their Russian embassy. They truly understand that this time it is Russia, but for the throw of a set of dice, or a different tune on the Wurlitzer, it could have been China.
Captures
USA’s and UK’s “lethal aid” To Ukraine captured by DPR and Russian forces. SMAW-D & NLAW
It’s all so easy to get caught up. Don’t. Sit down. Settle down and enjoy life more.
Serious considerations
I imagine at this point President Putin has convened a Stavka and he and the general staff of the Russian Armed Forces are now looking at all thinkable and unthinkable situations that could evolve that would impact the safety and security of the Russian people.
The President of the Russian Federation has to prepare the State apparatus for:
1. Sustained war against Russia
2. Explain to the people what they must do and why they must do it
3. Insure all civil defense structures are ready to house and feed the masses
4. Speak with the clergy to address all military personnel and give them the spiritual confidence to fight hard
5. Seek allies including China and make them all realize they will have to engage their forces now or perish
Russia waited too long and now she will saddle up and ride as fast as possible to meet the enemy head on and at full speed. The time for principled diplomacy has ended; the shashka has been unsheathed and it will cut the beast a thousand times and stab it in its dark heart until it is dead.
The feat of the Russian special forces opened the way to Kiev –
The Russian army entered Kiev on Friday. This happened only on the second day after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, which means that what is happening can be assessed as a grandiose success. However, there is reason to believe that the entire plan of the operation hung in the balance – and everything turned out successfully only thanks to the real feat of the special forces soldiers.
The most important event took place in the north of Ukraine, in the region of Kiev. It was there, at the Gostomel airport, on February 24, that several helicopters landed with Spetsnaz commandos. https://youtu.be/rorZDGkcd54
In the video, several people, without fussing, set up a firing position on one of the outskirts of the giant Gostomel airfield to the sound of automatic bursts. The pathos of the plot was powerful and straightforward – Russian troops, just a few hours after the start of the operation, found themselves on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital. It was unthinkable to imagine something like this the day before.
The Antonov airfield (officially called Gostomel a few years ago) is the “home” airfield of the famous Antonov company. This is an airfield with a huge runway (three and a half thousand meters), covering hundreds of hectares. It operates and is equipped with everything necessary for the takeoff and landing of heavy military transport aircraft.
From a military point of view, Gostomel has a number of advantages over other Kiev airfields (Zhulyany and Boryspil). First of all, it is not used as often, it has much less staff and people in general. It is located on the right bank of the Dnieper, where the main administrative buildings of Kiev are located. It is closest to the city center. And most importantly, it is closest to the Belarusian border (only about 60-70 km), from where the Russian landing force advanced.
Apparently, special forces helicopters covered this distance over the Dnieper, which in these places, from the Belarusian-Ukrainian border to Kiev, is extremely wide. The instant appearance of a division of the Russian Airborne Forces twenty kilometers from the center of the Ukrainian capital means a knife at the heart of the Kiev regime.
Of course, the significance of what was happening was instantly understood in the Kiev military leadership. Throughout the night of February 25, there were reports of an intense battle was going on in the vicinity of Gostomel. The British Minister of Defense even announced that – “the Russian landing near Kiev failed, Russia lost hundreds of fighters.”
However, on the morning of February 25, it turned out that the skirmish in Gostomel did not subside at all – as it should have happened if the special forces had really been destroyed. On the contrary, it intensified. And in the neighborhood of Gostomel, other battles suddenly began. And there were reports of completely different tanks – Russian combat vehicles were found near the village of Vorzel, ten kilometers from the airfield.
It was, apparently, a special aid group made her way all night to the special forces soldiers surrounded at the airfield – and finally released it. Following which, there were reports of other combat groups of the Russian army approaching Kiev.
And a little later came the official message.
“On February 24, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a successful landing operation in the area of the Gostomel airfield in the suburbs of Kiev. During the capture of the airfield, more than 200 nationalists from the special units of Ukraine were killed,” said the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Konashenkov. Later it was stated that Russian troops completely blocked Kiev from the west.
We have before us an example of exceptional valor and military skill, shown to all of us in what is called real time.
You must realize why America is pushing this war against Asia…
Fight, fight, fight is all about distract, distract, and distract. The true face of what America is, is NOT pretty. I wonder why these images are not shown on CNN, BBC or FOX “news”? video
It’s about how you look at things
The end of SWIFT
China’s Cross-Border International Payments System will give Russia a lifeline and accelerate the de-dollarization of the world.
French sea police have seized a ship in the Channel that authorities suspect belongs to a Russian company in one of the first visible displays of the West enforcing sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
The cargo vessel transporting cars, which was headed for St Petersburg, is “strongly suspected of being linked to Russian interests targeted by the sanctions”, said Capt Veronique Magnin, of the French Maritime Prefecture. The ship was diverted to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France between 3am and 4am local time, Magnin said, adding that checks were being carried out by customs officials and that the ship’s crew was “being cooperative”.
The US Treasury Department has issued blocking sanctions against the vessel saying it was owned by a subsidiary of Russian lender Promsvyazbank, one of the Russian entities hit by US sanctions.
The bank’s CEO, Pyotr Fradkov, is the son of Mikhail Fradkov, a former head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, who also served as prime minister under Vladimir Putin. Pyotr Fradkov was himself included in the latest round of US sanctions. Promsvyazbank, in a comment sent to Reuters, said its subsidiary no longer owns the Baltic Leader, and that it was bought by a different entity before the sanctions were imposed.
The Russian embassy in France is seeking an explanation from authorities over the seizure, Russia’s RIA news agency quoted the embassy as saying. The embassy also said the ship’s crew had been allowed to come ashore and move freely about the port.
The United States, European Union, and other Western states this week imposed extensive new financial and trade sanctions on Russia after it sent military forces into neighbouring Ukraine. The US Treasury said Promsvyazbank was put under sanctions “for operating or having operated in the defence and related materiel and financial services sectors of the Russian Federation economy.” It was also targeted by EU sanctions.
MM comments on this article
French sea police have seized a ship
The US Treasury Department has issued blocking sanctions
The Russian embassy in France is seeking an explanation
Ergo; France is a proxy nation taking orders from the United States.
It’s about how you look at things
Just focus on what is in front of you. One fry at a time.
Chinese girl on a bed
It’s pretty typical. yah. Nice smile. Like she ate a bird. LOL
From everything we see in the news lately about all the attacks against Russia,we may actually be heading for WW3 after all.
If the EU does provide military aircraft to Ukraine, and they allow them to based in NATO countries next door…
…then they emerge from their safe bases in NATO and fly out and attack Russian forces and then scurry back across the border.
There is no way Russia will tolerate that.
What they will do is that they will go across those borders and destroy all those bases, and the weapons there.
If that brings war between Russia and NATO then Europe needs to be sure they have enough nuclear bomb shelters around, because they are going to need them.
I saw on RT that Russia was going to start evacuating their citizens from the EU.
Now just what do we think that says… eh?
An important tweet
I think that Richard Moore, the chief of MI6, certainly revealed a lot when he tweeted this…
“With the tragedy and destruction unfolding so distressingly in Ukraine, we should remember the values and hard won freedoms that distinguish us from Putin, none more than LGBT+ rights. So let’s resume our series of tweets to mark #LGBTHM2022.”
Peter Mann Comments
Not everyone knows the details and background of events happening halfway around the world, even for well educated and smart people. If they sit there and watch the mainstream news, they will obviously be victims to pervasive and well coordinated propaganda.
Confirmation bias is a strong force.
If you’re not careful, whatever you hear first becomes the truth regardless of facts. Even very smart people may be susceptible. Sometimes, arguments ensue. The first part of the comment relates to finding the truth, the second part more specifically on the current armed conflict, with a small prediction for the end game.
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No need to argue. Challenge the seeker of truth to find out.
Here is a short clip from Brian Berlectic, an ex-Marine who has been living in Thailand and has done very good work showing his viewers the sources of his information, usually directly from the liar’s mouth. This is very similar to I. F. Stone, who exposed the liars by meticulously digging through information provided by the liars. My first exposure to I. F. Stone was his “The Hidden History of the Korean War.” It is important to know who the liars are, and then never trust anything they say.
How to learn the truth? Stay smart, read widely, read beyond the superficial, read between the lines, read the fine print, learn about the writer/speaker and his organization, get into the head of the author, be careful of false narratives, reject insidious adjectives, learn about deliberate omissions and obfuscations, look in the mirror, question everything, including your own beliefs.
Liars are not hard to expose, yet people prefer to believe in liars who are known to do nothing but lie. Ask yourself why. It’s very difficult if not impossible for a hypocrite to admit that he or she is a hypocrite. Americans like to elect them for a good reason.
Here is a clip from an Ukrainian girl Masha who is from Donetsk in the Donbass, about 20 kms from the war zone. She speaks almost perfect Chinese and works as a translator for Chinese businessmen in Kyiv. Her family has been living in the shadow of war for the past 8 years. Masha has done vlogs showing the bombed out areas. American poison has been creating hell for some Ukrainians but the hypocrites do not see it. Who paid for the poison? The American people of course.
There has always been a solution for peace; it’s known as Minsk II. But it’s another lie just like Camp David and Oslo. The Palestinians are weak and divided, so they will suffer what they must. But Russia is the largest country in the world with the most nuclear arms. Its people have destroyed Napoleon’s previously invincible Grande Armee and single-handedly killed over a million German soldiers who dared to invade their country. American lies of how they have saved the world from the Nazis are laughable for people who have read history beyond American propaganda. Why should anyone be so delusional as to believe that the Russians will sit there and be bullied into submission without a fight? The stupidity of these tiny European chihuahua countries like Georgia and Lithuania are so poisoned by the American lie that they really think they want to goad Russia into war. And when they have it, where is their protector overlord?
Ukraine is of course a basketcase. It is just a puppet government installed by the hegemon, and its comedian head of state has been following the American script of forcing Russia into war. All that suits America of course. This war would not have happened if America wanted peace. The war would be easy to avert and it’s not by America imposing the mother of all sanctions on Putin (the false narrative around which the political partisans are fighting; American mainstream media has become a farce). America only has to agree to let Ukraine be a non-military zone. How hard is that? How evil is Russia’s request? Russia’s position has been very clear from Day One. If America won’t agree, then Russia will turn Ukraine into a NMZ. For some reason, many pundits refused to see it. But America does not want peace. America wants wars that Russia will be fighting with its European neighbors. It will let America put its European vassals on a short leash, get Russia and Europe to destroy each other’s economy, and create bad blood for Russia and its neighbors while providing a lot of good propaganda for America, allowing the Empire to maintain its hegemony. It is nefarious as hell. And of course, the morons of America will suddenly decide that the lying politicians and lying mainstream media are telling righteous truths. Evil Russia has out of the blues invaded Ukraine without provocation. The stock market goes up because oil goes up and the Military Industrial Complex expects big contracts. The hegemon wins again, thanks to the Ukrainian Neo-Nazis acting as America’s attack dogs.
Once you cut through the bullshit and understand what’s going on, it’s easy to predict what will happen.
These people and countries acting as attack dogs for the empire must therefore be taught an unforgettable lesson. If you don’t put down the rabid dogs, they will get up and bite you again. Therefore, Russia will not take half measures. They will not stop unless the surrender is total, and punishment for the miscreants dealt out accordingly. Otherwise, this operation will be for naught.
Why argue? There is no morality in politics. If anyone believes there is, then they’re fools. Show me a country willing to crusade for the Palestinians and I’ll show you a moral politician. In geopolitics, one does not own anything one cannot defend. The rest is bullshit and balderdash.
For the same reason, I wrote two years ago that a golden opportunity presented itself for China to summarily reunify with Taiwan without bloodshed. I suspect a well planned operation at the golden moment will only take hours, certainly less than a day. The sooner it happens, the less mayhem America can cause with its poison, paid by American taxpayers of course. The American people will starve and die on the street, but they love a good war, and will spend any amount of money to fight the Russians to the last Ukrainian. How happy they will be to see the Chinese fighting the Chinese!
Wow! Since I have incorporated my mix up of multiple subjects in articles, there was a near collapse in troll activity on MM. Of course, youse guys wouldn’t be aware of what’s going on as I don’t publish the majority of comments. But yeah. It’s all way, way down. It drives the algorithms crazy. They cannot handle dialog and it causes them to go zoomy! Whether a person or a ‘bot. They cannot handle mixed content in an article.
Quick update from the talks in Belarus:
Russians and Ukranians are trying to discuss how to end the conflict. The dude in the cap from Ukraine at the talks demands the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the Crimea and Donbass. Russia wants the end of NATO encroachment.
So don’t expect anything from these negotiations.
You will note that the Ukrainian negotiators all have their iPhones laid out on the table so that the US curators can hear every word.
Shooting at residential buildings, distributing weapons and hunting for "saboteurs" - in war, all means are good
Valentin ALFIMOV
Due to the fact that Ukrainian troops hide their equipment in cities, shells fly right into residential buildings.
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THE PEOPLE ARE THE BEST PROTECTION
“Ukrainian nationalists place armored vehicles and artillery in residential areas of cities, using the population as a “human shield,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
It turns out, indeed, that the Ukrainian warriors showed the world “innovative tactics” of combat. With a 100% guarantee, they learned how to take their technique out of the blow. Everything is very simple: you just need to brazenly stick a gun or “Grad” at the school, kindergarten or just under the windows of residential buildings. In other words, hide behind civilians:
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Here in the residential quarter of Severodonetsk, right at the school stadium, there is a calculation of 3 howitzers, a kindergarten was left behind the scenes. Ammunition is laid out next to each, the fighters are at the ready.
In a residential area of Severodonetsk, right at the school stadium, the Armed Forces of Ukraine deployed a crew of 3 howitzers
Here is a military truck on the steps of the Odessa Opera House (an architectural monument, by the way) hiding from Russian intelligence right under the roof.
Military truck on the steps of the Odessa Opera House
Here is a self-propelled gun of the 92nd brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine rested its caterpillars on the balconies of house No. 308 in the Solnechny microdistrict of Kharkov.
And there are hundreds of such photos and videos now. The residents of the cities are starting to lose their nerves – in the same Severodonetsk, people went out into the yard to drive away the Ukrainian armored personnel carrier with the words to the soldiers “get out of here, we have a full basement of children.”
But Mariupol is especially affected by this , which was turned into a fortress by the nationalists of the Azov Regiment and the Right Sector (both banned in Russia). They placed mortar crews right on the roofs of high-rise buildings!
In Severodonetsk, people are trying to drive Ukrainian armored personnel carriers away from their homes
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IN YOUR OWN EYE THE LOGS DO NOT SEE
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Due to the fact that Ukrainian troops hide their equipment in cities, shells fly right into residential buildings. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that a Ukrainian Buk missile hit a residential building in Kyiv.
The most striking example is the “Russian missile attack” on a high-rise building in Kyiv – the Zhuliany district. “The Russian aggressor is shooting at residential buildings!” – the news rushed through the Ukrainian propaganda channels and networks.
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The Russian Defense Ministry found out: “At night, there was a failure in the missile guidance system of the Ukrainian Buk-M1 air defense system and the missile hit the corner of a residential building.” And in general, “the Russian army does not strike at cities.” He doesn’t even hit the barracks, so that there are no big casualties. Only at military air bases and warehouses.
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A little later, local residents confirmed that the rocket came from where the Ukrainian units are stationed.
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Under such pressure, even the command of the Ukrainian army surrendered, they admitted that it was their missile.
But the NATO and Ukrainian media are already silent about this. The culprit has been found, but it has already been hammered into people’s heads – “Russians are hitting home.”
The icing on the cake of Ukrainian war tactics was the massive distribution of weapons. Anyone. Who wants. From trucks, machine guns are dumped on the asphalt like potatoes. Come, take it. Kiev set the trend, Kharkiv, Zaporozhye, Odessa joined a little later…
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“Political studies” for Ukrainian women and children
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From the armed people they form detachments of “territorial self-defense”, as under Makhno. These gangs have already begun arbitrariness and looting on the streets. Approximately every first one is seen as a spy. If they notice two, it’s definitely a sabotage group.
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So in Kyiv, a truck of the Ukrainian army and an anti-aircraft gun, which were driving to a shelter, were mistaken for Russian spies and opened fire on them.
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The crew of the truck fell down, and the anti-aircraft gun managed to leave, crushing a civilian car in a panic. A little later, the deputies of the Rada identified all the dead and confirmed that they were all Ukrainian soldiers. But this was already after the crowd had had time to mock the corpses: “So you, Russian saboteurs.”
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In Kyiv, the Strela-10 air defense system ran over a car driving along the road
In the same Kyiv, a family of five people who tried to leave the city were shot right in the car. They were also mistaken for saboteurs. Parents and one child died. Two more children are in critical condition in the hospital.
A family of five was shot dead in a car in Kyiv
The Nazis went wild – in order to get to Kyiv, they demand to correctly pronounce the word “Palyanitsya”. Russian-speaking Ukrainians can easily get shot for just mispronunciation.
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Women with children are trained for the same. “Political classes” are held right in the courtyards, where employees of the Security Service of Ukraine explain to residents: “Whoever has personal weapons at home, you can calmly use them to kill. Quietly, carefully from around the corner – and then dump.
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And the apotheosis of all this was the statement by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine that it was releasing prisoners and distributing weapons to them. Ukraine is rapidly sinking into the Makhnovshchina..
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ACTORS GOT PRISONERS
In general, the fight against saboteurs has been raised to an absolute level, Everyone is looking for them and everything is under suspicion. And they do catch! Packs!
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So in Ukraine, more and more fakes with Russian “captives” are being launched. They are crushed in two counts. But the enthusiasm does not subside.
.
So on one video, allegedly a Russian prisoner sits under a yellow-blue flag and lows through force: “Glory to Ukraine.” Only the director of this production grinned like a fool: this “Russian prisoner” turned out to be Panasyuk Yaroslav Fedorovich from Ternopil, a participant in the punitive war in the Donbass. His proud profile has already flashed on Facebook.
.
Allegedly, the “Russian prisoner” turned out to be Yaroslav Panasyuk from Ternopil, a participant in the punitive war in the Donbass
Another guy in the video. Users found out that he did not come from Russia, but lives in Kyiv. “Warrior” happened to be handed over by a girl – she already posted pictures with him on her page and never deleted it.
The detainee allegedly “OMON” from Novokuznetsk, turned out to be a member of the military-patriotic club from the Ukrainian Nikolaev.
In the area of the city of Gostoml, where the Russian Airborne Forces fought a hard battle for the airport, the Ukrainians shot down a Ka-52 helicopter, a local resident, Mikhail Pavlushenko, approached him. It was then that the SBU officers took him! And they managed to show in the news to report – “Russian pilot in captivity!”. Only later did it become clear that he was an archpriest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. But at least someone is already interested.
Archpriest Mikhail Pavlushenko was passed off by the Ukrainian media as a “Russian pilot”.
Meanwhile, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko addressed the population and reassured them that there were no Russian troops in the capital. And why then does the hunt for saboteurs among the civilian population continue?
.
U.S. GOVERNMENT ISSUES NUCLEAR BLAST SURVIVAL INSTRUCTIONS
It’s certainly curious timing.
USG Issues NuclearBlastSurvivalInstructions large
Hamburger thoughts on a nice sunny day
Ah. But it’s all postering. There is not way that any serious concerns are given to Americans about Nuclear War. It’s all a game of “Chicken”.
Let’s think (instead) about a delicious hamburger!
The evil communists!
Ever since Trump it’s all been a big war against “evil communists”, but sheech! What changed? China is doing well now. Russia is doing well now. The West is turning into a shit hole. video
The 10 Rules of Ikigai
They are:
1. Stay active and don’t retire.
2. Take it slow.
3. Don’t fill your stomach.
4. Surround yourself with good friends.
5. Get in shape for your next birthday.
6. Smile.
7. Reconnect with nature.
8. Give thanks.
9. Live in the moment.
10. Uncover and Follow your Ikigai.
2022 03 01 15 53
Slowing life down is a mindful and deliberate choice. While not always an easy one, it leads to a greater appreciation for life and a greater level of happiness.
ZIRCON Hypersonic Nuclear Missiles (Land Attack Missile Version) have been loaded onto tracked, Road-Mobile Launchers, and are presently on rail cars being moved publicly inside Russia.
Prototypes were test-launched from a Tu-22M3 bomber in 2012–2013.
Launches from a ground-based platform followed in 2015, with first success achieved in 2016.
In April 2017, it was reported Zircon had reached a speed of Mach 8 (6,100 mph; 9,800 km/h; 2,700 m/s) during a flight test. Zircon was again test-fired on 3 June 2017, almost a year earlier than had been announced by Russian officials.
In November 2017, Colonel General Viktor Bondarev stated that the missile was already in service. Another flight test reportedly occurred on 10 December 2018, during which the missile demonstrated that it could attain a speed of Mach 8.
On 20 February 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the missile is capable of accelerating up to Mach 9 and destroying both sea and land targets within 1,000 km (540 nmi; 620 mi). By the year’s end, on 24 December 2019, Putin stated that Zircon’s land-based version was in development.
Warhead
> 300 HE , > 200 kt tnw nuclear
INVISIBLE TO RADAR
Zircon can travel at a speed of Mach 8 – Mach 9 (6,100–6,900 mph; 9,800–11,000 km/h; 2.7–3.1 km/s). This has led to concerns that it could penetrate existing defense systems. Because it flies at hypersonic speeds within the atmosphere, the air pressure in front of it forms a plasma cloud as it moves, absorbing radio waves and making it practically invisible to active radar systems (Plasma stealth).
The final section of the missile’s trajectory will be overcome in under 10 seconds. As such, the enemy does not have time to carry out all the necessary procedures needed to even TRY to intercept it. Moreover, the Zircon exchanges information in flight and can be controlled by commands if necessary to alter course of change target.
Missiles like this could, in theory, be fired from Russia, and hit the Capital cities of NATO member countries bordering Russia.
You know, the Capital cities of countries participating in ejecting Russia from the SWIFT banking system; or other countries supplying weapons or now fighter jets to Ukraine, to be used fighting Russia. It would happen so fast, and with such Stealth, that the countries being targeted wouldn’t even know the missiles were coming until their Capitals got hit and blown up.
The 200 kiloton warheads would obliterate the cities that were hit. In comparison, the USA blasted Hiroshima with a 15Kiloton warhead.
UPDATE 6:30 AM EST —
From Russian Ministry of Defense: “In accordance with the order of the President, the duty of the command posts of the Strategic Missile (nuclear) Forces, the Northern and Pacific Fleets, and the Long-Range Aviation Command have begun combat duty with reinforced personnel.”
This means that the order Putin gave earlier, to get them ready, is now being fulfilled and they’re operating in a high alert/readiness mode. Nukes will be armed and prepared & ready to strike — if order given.
7:18 AM EST–
Russia’s top military command has ordered heavy strategic bomber flights in effort to block US and EU military aid from getting to Ukraine, per a defense statement. Russia has tried to “fully destroy” Ukraine’s airfields with missile attacks, per Ukraine MoD -Foreign Policy.
UPDATE 7:22 AM EST —
The “masses, who are asses” (in Kiev) are lining up at . . . Supermarkets . . . . trying to buy food. As usual, the overwhelming majority of the general public are so utterly stupid, they make absolutely ZERO plans and take absolutely no action to protect themselves,, even though they’re in Day 4 of an actual shooting war. Don’t be like these morons – get your preps right now. Don’t wait.
When the missiles start flying, you don’t want to be like these people. Oh, and if the missiles start flying, credit/debit cards won’t work because all the computers and communications lines will be out. No way to get authorization for any purchases. So you’d better have cash money in your possession before all hell breaks loose!
UPDATE 7:26 AM EST —
Russian Ministry of Defense — Russian Air Force has gained air supremacy over the entire territory of Ukraine as of this morning.
"There were unacceptable statements about possible conflict situations and even confrontations and clashes between NATO and Russa. I will not name the authors of these statements, although it was the British foreign secretary"
Kiss of Death?
SWISS DEFENCE MINISTER SAYS “WE HAVE CONCLUDED USE OF RUSSIAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS RELATIVELY UNLIKELY, POPULATION SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID”
(HT REMARK: When government tells you things are safe, that’s when you panic)
Deliveries of Germany's weapons to Ukraine make us wonder if the process of denazification was completed in Germany itself
- Russian Foreign Ministry
UH OH!
3:00 PM EST —
BIDEN SAYS AMERICANS SHOULD NOT BE WORRIED ABOUT NUCLEAR WAR
The US State Department said that Washington stands for the defense of the principle of non-nuclear war and does not see the need to increase the level of readiness of its deterrence forces.
Russia has not shown any interest in some sort of deconfliction mechanism with the United States over the Ukraine invasion, Pentagon says.
UKRAINE NEWS@kuringechuwa· At the moment, military pilots from Ukraine are in Poland. Today they receive 29 Polish MiG-29s. With full weapons and electronics.
(HT Remark: So Poland has now become a defacto Ukrainian military base. This won't end well. I suspect the very MOMENT those planes take off, Russian fighter jets and surface-to-air-missile batteries will be ordered to target them all and destroy them all as soon as they cross into Ukraine air space.)
No one in government seems to grasp that It’s all bait.
That’s why it’s the OLD Russian tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, trucks and stuff in Ukraine. I suspect it will only be Two or three more days.
Putin will act. He warned everyone publicly. He meant what he said. He WILL act.
I suspect Poland first.
Then US/UK. — Especially the UK. I think they’ve been severe trouble makers around the world for decades and I personally believe they need to get absolutely crushed by Russia. Mercilessly crushed! It will not surprise me at all if the very first UK strike is against the CITY of LONDON within London itself. That’s where all the contracts are. That’s where all the global financial shenanigans get decided. I hope they glow.
Possibly Germany after that, it seems, from the “de-Nazification” comment reported on this page earlier today.
4:53 PM EST —
Looks like the ground war in Ukraine is about to turn much darker. Putin is sending a 17-mile long convoy of artillery and tanks towards Kyiv with intense helicopter support and fighter jets all over it to take out any attackers.
Programming the Retards Has Begun:
2022 03 01 15 14
Could A Small Nuclear War Reverse Global Warming?
Ukraine Armed Forces says that if necessary, the planes they’re getting from other NATO countries “will be able to be based on Polish airfields from which Ukrainian pilots will perform combat missions”
BEING SUPPLIED TO UKRAINE, TODAY:
Bulgaria (MiG-29) – 16
Bulgaria (Su-25) – 14
Poland (MiG-29) – 28
Slovakia (MiG-29) – 12
Tomorrow Finland will begin a Parliamentary Discussion to join the NATO Alliance, this could take weeks or only a few hours it just depends on how the Finnish Government is feeling, NATO has already said Finland can be admitted to the Alliance within 24 Hours after a decision.
This will result in only one of two outcomes…
EITHER
[1] Putin feels the overwhelming pressure on his border, takes a win, and slowly works to try and repair the extreme damage that’s been done to his economy…
OR
[2] He’s decided that Russia will no longer cow to the threats posed by NATO and decides everything to the west of his border will be reduced to ashes.
It’s a terribly risky strategy being run by the Europeans…they’ll either wind up looking like heroes and saviors…or like nothing at all and with no one to care.
China nurtures it’s best and brightest
Meanwhile the USA does the exact opposite. School selection is determiend by lottery with attendence optional. Sheech! And all these people are armed with guns! video 3MB
Open letter to TV watching western armchair generals
Your entire life you have been trained to see a successful military operations like so:
Begin by bombing the shit of the “hadjis” or “sand niggers” with bombs and missiles, then flatten their town à la Fallujah, then move in with heavy armor and shoot everything which still moves or breathes.
Then distribute chewing-gums to a few kids while on video.
Then take the city center, drop a statue in front your embedded presstitutes, and then declare victory.
Then, after declaring victory, stay another 20 years or so (Blinken was clearly projecting!), ruin it completely, then leave it again and declare another brilliant victory.
And don’t forget to declare urbi at orbi that you reserve the “right” to bomb the shit out of them anytime you deem it is needed. And fuck their sovereignty or anybody else’s while we are at it!
Lastly, once home, don’t forget to “thank” your “veterans” for their “service”.
I get it.
Now YOU try, please!!
Now, in spite of this conditioning, please at least try to understand the following points:
First, the Russians do not see Ukrainian as Hadjis but as their own brothers.
Second many/most LDNR soliders have relatives in the Nazi occupied Ukraine.
Third, yes, Russia can turn any Ukrainian city into Fallujah, but who do you think will then have to pay for its reconstruction?
Fourth, please understand that the double goals of 1) denazification and 2) disarmament implies that any person which is not a Nazi or is not armed and hostile is not, repeat, NOT the target of the Russian armed forces.
Fifth, the Ukie military was 80% defeated on Day 1. Get that? It was gone as a coherent fighting force. THAT is why they are blowing up bridges, distributing weapons and releasing convicted criminals. NOT because they are winning! I mean – how stupid are you if you believe that? Ukie stupid?
Seriously?
Right now you are the object of probably the biggest PSYOP operation in history. If you realize that and treat these PSYOPs as you should, that is as “informational warfare from the bad guys” you will be able to tell your kind and grandkids “I never believed that crap”. Good for you!
But if you don’t, well then, just don’t tell too much about you in 2022 to your kind and grandkids, save yourself the ridicule and embarrassment…
That’s it. My very last attempt to wake you up. From now on, I will pretend like you don’t exist and instantly ban any comments parroting kind of self-evident nonsense.
Now I will quietly leave your room, switch off the lights, and let you watch your TVs.
Andrei
How is Chinese media reacting to growing tensions in Ukraine? How are Chinese citizens talking about this on social media?
During the last few days, all the western embassies in China have been releasing a flurry of statements, like never before, with the aim of pressuring the government to distance itself from Russia, and to affect Chinese public opinion on the issue. However, on social media people have been mocking this campaign and questioning why this seems so coordinated, lots of jokes and memes have arisen.
Overall, Chinese people do not see a need to comment on a conflict that isn’t theirs. Until recently, everyone understood this as a western attack on Russia, and now the discussion is about why the west feels the need to play out their conflict on Chinese social media.
I saw one comment saying that the west ‘thinks we can’t see international news because of the firewall, that’s not true’. Above all, China does not want to be involved in any kind of war and always believes in doing everything to avoid war. While the Chinese government maintains that position, the Chinese people will not feel the need to react to these kinds of conflicts.
Hamburger / cheeseburger thoughts
The Winter Olympics are now over, how do Chinese people feel about how the games went?
I think people are feeling a bit empty now that it’s all over, it was a highly successful event. It has awakened, for the first time, a huge interest in winter sports and people are buying the gear.
China performed well, winning 15 gold medals, placing them in 3rd place [above the US]. This success has been the number one tendency everyday on Chinese social media as people have been able to interact with the games virtually but without disrupting everyday life because the whole games took place within the physical bubble created within Beijing.
The Digital Yuan, a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) was adopted in a big way for the time during these games. What is it like to experience the birth of this CBDC?
The Digital Yuan was used during the games but it was not the only form of payment permitted. It is a long way from mass adoption within China, it’s being used in some zones where there are trial runs, but not on a mass scale.
China already has multiple venues for digital payments for everything, the country never really saw bank cards, it jumped from a cash economy straight to digital payment through phones etc.
WeChat and Alipay are the most prominent ways to make payments within China, so the government will have to work to promote this CBDC, which is basically a cryptocurrency, and change the habits of consumers.
China banned private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin firstly for environmental reasons. The country has strict goals for carbon reduction and mining Bitcoin is extremely harmful.
The CBDC was launched with international commerce, rather than domestic commerce, in mind. It is being launched as an alternative to the US dollar, it is very far away from achieving that, but existing as an alternative option to USD for international trade is the aim and so the US sees this as a great threat because they use the power of the dollar to enforce sanctions. For example, the US was able to sanction European companies that were trading with Iran because the trade was in dollars.
Pretty girl in a red halter
I always liked halters. Most women don’t however. They tend to keep sliding down, and so you’ve got to tug and tug and tug to keep them up high. Sheech! video
PM Comments;
Art of War, Sun Tzu. America harms Russia without suffering a single casualty. America doesn’t care about Ukraine. Its just an attack dog.
In a real fight, the attack dogs die first.
But the attack dogs can bite and harm Russia.
What about America having to spend billions to arm Ukraine so the attack dogs will have teeth? Money is nothing to America.
They print their trillions, which come from the people’s debt, while the money created goes to the elite-owned Military Industrial Propaganda Complex. Which a part of which supports the political/technology/media structure which keeps the country in perpetual war and provides unlimited budgets for war. It’s a perfect cyclical economy that supports the capitalist Big Lie that a number on a ledger created out of thin air represents wealth.
Not only that, but the rest of the world eventually helps to pay for the war budget because the USD is the worlds reserve currency.
Anyone who disagrees will be starved or bombed to the Stone Age, except for China and Russia who can defend themselves.
America prints trillions and the world suffers from inflation, not just America.
The elites don’t pay for inflation, as their property holdings will increase in value, the people who pay for groceries, rent, and daily necessities suffer from inflation but who cares.
Not only that, but distant wars actually help the American war-based economy and cause the US Dollar to rise in value against its profligate printing.
In war zones, people tend to hoard US Dollars, taking US Dollars out of circulation.
America also makes it hard for US Dollars to be repatriated.
So the hegemon wins when you are forced to fight a war against your brethren who have been turned into attack dogs for the empire; you’re also paying for it. This is a good lesson for China to not find itself in such a poor strategic situation.
What can Russia hope to achieve from this unwanted war? Russia must from now on be much more influential in the affairs of Ukraine.
All de-Russification must be reversed, including the separation of the Orthodox Church.
The Russian language will be one of the official languages to be taught at schools.
The Neo-Nazis will be deligitimized and their crimes duly prosecuted.
Ukraine must have a treaty with Russia and be a member of the federation.
Foreign media and NGOs must be licensed (actually best simply kicked out and kept out, as they are mostly disinformation agents and spies.—TGP)
There will be Russian bases. Then we’ll have peace.
Alternatively, Russia will employ FOABs (enormous bombs short of nuclear—TGP) which will kill everything within a 300m radius. It will be cruel, but such is war. Learn from Sun Tzu, do not get yourself in that situation.
Hopefully, the Ukraine side will finally come to its senses. When Russia succeeds in their operation, it will be the turn of the three Baltic states to shake in their boots, NATO or no NATO.
—PM
It’s about how you look at things
Conclusion
Look at the big picture, and then relax. The war in the Ukraine is not a sporting event. Rather it’s a catalist forcing the world to choose sides. The aftermath will be a bio-polar world rather than a uni-polar world, and those that stick with the USA are going to be in trouble.
Big picture so far:
[1] Europe threw itself off the cliff. It is Officially Game Over. All that’s left is the autopsy.
RT & news blocked,
Cultural, sports & local-carriers air travel to Russia blocked,
A separation from financial infrastructure,
Open hostility evident through support of Nazis in PsyOps and ostensible but meaningless arms.
Everything calculated for a generational rupture and impotent group-hate shriek at Russia..
Predictable results:
A near-term loss of existential 50% petroleum products,
A loss of 40%+ grain products and the withering away of Europe.
Pity. European cost of living will be Biblical come next Dark Winter.. And an exodus to Russia and other sane points likely beforehand.
[2] The “WW3 OR Sanctions” threat by Biden was actually directed at EU. It was the trigger to get the loons to leap off the cliff. How will Russia punish the deceitful USA piper, which has now wrecked the western peninsula of Asia for the next 3+ generations?
US squats, toad-like, pretending to be the whistling innocent bystander at the scene of the epic European ritual suicide. It is in the role of Annatar during the Fall of Númenor – urging the fool King Ar-Pharazôn to sail on the gods themselves.. the Sundering and drowning of Númenor itself is next on the playlist. Someone should send that memo to the AZE; Europe and Anglo-lands are now forever chained together.. https://youtu.be/nL_DcMu2KpU
[3] I saw this amusing movie with Clint Eastwood decades ago, “Every Which Way but Loose (1978).” The operative mission regarding Russia is now, “Weaken Them Every Which Way Possible.” And to destroy the gutless Europeans simultaneously is a bonus treat at the Bonfire of the Vanities.
So current calculations focus on the DAILY $700-750 million Russian export earnings. Much of these daily earnings is to Europe. They do not have time for a war of attrition this time.. It is a cold shut-down.
In part, the group hate and hysteria campaign is to “psych themselves” and convince the sane in West it’s a necessary cost, to hurt themselves to hurt Russia. Cut off your damn nose Frenchie, we have excellent plastic surgeons in the Bayou.
[4] There is no nuclear war on the current cards (Phew!). According to the Kremlin, their action yesterday was in reaction to words from Perfide Albion. They have since been put in their tiny place. Deconfliction is on between Americans and Russians. The relevant issue is the suiciding of Europe, not the longed-for first strike.
[5] China (& India) sit pretty. A 500-year Beast is making a dramatic exit from the stage. Pfizer is doubly doomed – folks are so excited in Zone B, there is no need even for Viagra anymore. What support Russia needs, be it diplomatic, financial, new business arrangements (buying that grain and extra gas), lighting a million candles, are quietly being made.
Half-cocked Korean Rocketman rattled off missiles in his no-longer-pudgy fist, to help the loonies focus fully on their Death March in the heavenly rich black soil of Novorussiya.
Indeed, this is the Last March of the Russia Haters, in commiseration with the Last of the Mohicans. And both shall soon be in the museum with the Dodo. An ongoing flood of Ukie refugees is the cherry on top. So Russia extracted the necessary concessions from Zone B partners to wield the brass knucklers on behalf of mankind.
It has the depth of support in Asia to see to the necessary dirty task.
Maybe all-in-all, maybe things will go “tits up”, or maybe not. What I do know is that now is the time to relax, regroup, and plow forward in new and exciting directions. Eat some delicious food. have a good time. Play with friends, and by all means; be the Rufus.
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
There’s no way to say things nicely. And while I want you all to remain calm, the situation is devolving. It’s horrible to see. I am sorry to announce this. Here, we present some developing events.
The collective West is on a runaway train. They are galloping towards a bridge that no longer exists, and they are carrying carloads of mad, angry, frustrated people whao are starting to kill each other in abject frustration of their hopeless condition.
But…
It’s not random.
This entire reaction from Russia was planned years ago. Yes. It was planned by people now long dead, and being carried out by idiots who have no concept about what REAL life and death are all about.
Planned yes.
But not as they think.
The Asian nations are merit driven, desperate and angry. There will not be any mercy. They are ready to kill the “mad dogs” once and for all.
And they have a counter-plan.
Keep in mind, that every situation that we are witnessing has been planned out and war-gamed to every detail. The Asian nations know what they are doing. And I just hope that the Domain Commander can maintain “little bads instead of big bads”. Because the picture, as I see it, is truly frightening.
I will not spend too much on the details on what is going on in the Ukraine. Just a little bit. That has and is being covered by others in various ways. Much of it is disinformation. This article concerns itself with NATO deciding to get involved, and thus the United States getting involved as well.
Keep in mind that Asia is fighting for their very existence; they are very, very serious. ANd when they try to communicate theri concerns they are treated horribly and ignored by appatent imbeciles.
As a result, the country was not prepared to counter the invasion by Nazi Germany, which attacked our Motherland on June 22, 1941, without declaring war.
The country stopped the enemy and went on to defeat it, but this came at a tremendous cost.
The attempt to appease the aggressor ahead of the Great Patriotic War proved to be a mistake which came at a high cost for our people.
In the first months after the hostilities broke out, we lost vast territories of strategic importance, as well as millions of lives.
We will not make this mistake the second time.
We have no right to do so.Those who aspire to global dominance have publicly designated Russia as their enemy.
They did so with impunity.
Make no mistake, they had no reason to act this way.
It is true that they have considerable financial, scientific, technological, and military capabilities.
We are aware of this and have an objective view of the economic threats we have been hearing, just as our ability to counter this brash and never-ending blackmail.
Let me reiterate that we have no illusions in this regard and are extremely realistic in our assessments.
-Putin 26FEB22
It’s pretty obvious, as long as you trun off those screeching propaganda shrills. When you do, things become crystal clear.
We start with a review of what is going on…
Today, and throughout the Western press are articles about what is going on in the Ukraine. Most are treating it like some kind of spectator sport. With much Rah! Rah! for their side. However, the lethality and devastation of war must not be downplayed as a game.
On top of it all, there is a massive psyops going on that has convinced everyone that old grandmothers are shooting down Russian jets and Russia will surrender any day now. Sheech!
The latest political maneuver by Russian president Vladimir Putin was a game-changing masterstroke to avoid the American war trap. At every step in the build-up of tensions surrounding Ukraine, Russia has foiled US enticements to attack. To understand it all, one needs to start further back in time.
9 February 1990 — US secretary-of-state James Baker promised USSR president Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would “not [move] one inch eastward” in exchange for allowing German unification.
1999 — Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland join NATO and move several inches nearer the dissolved USSR.
February 2014 — A US-backed coup in Ukraine results in a Nazi-friendly government coming to power.
March 2014 — Crimeans vote overwhelmingly in a referendum to secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia.
September 2014 — The Minsk I Agreement is signed by Ukraine, Russia, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) calling for an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons, and prisoner exchanges.
February 2015 — The Minsk II Agreement calls again for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of weapons, ceasefire monitoring by the OSCE, and the holding of local elections in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics on their future status in Ukraine. Differing interpretations have led to major disagreements over Minsk II.
2017 — Montenegro joins NATO.
2020 — North Macedonia joins NATO. It is apparent that there is an increasing eastward crawl, and Ukraine is also seeking membership.
18 November 2021 — Russia reiterates its red lines.
17 December 2021 — Russia presents its concerns about security in proposals to the US.
16 January 2022 — Putin identifies Ukraine’s membership in NATO as a red line in Russia-NATO relations that impinge upon Russian security. US secretary-of-state Antony Blinken dismissed Russian security concerns: “I can’t be more clear — NATO’s door is open, remains open, and that is our commitment.”
26 January 2022 — Russia received a written response from the US to its security proposals. Russia would not be pleased.
16 February 2022 — According to national-security adviser Jake Sullivan, based on credible US intelligence, this was the date that Russia would invade Ukraine. The date came and went without any invasion.
17 February 2022 — Russia responds to US and NATO proposals about Ukraine and European security.
There have been many provocations leading up to the Russian recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. Among them are NATO expansion, not taking Russian security concerns seriously, the arming of Ukraine, and demonizing Russia via the western monopoly media. The final nail was the shelling from Ukraine into Donbass causing the evacuation of its civilians into Russia.
It appears to be a foolhardy act by Ukraine. If Ukraine had adhered to the Minsk Agreements, Donetsk and Luhansk would still be a part of Ukraine, autonomous though they may be. Autonomy is not uncommon within countries. Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet, Xinjiang are autonomous provinces in China. Russia also has one autonomous region and 10 autonomous areas. Nonetheless, the lure of war and playing with fire has caused Ukraine to shrink a little bit more.
As I have repeatedly stated, Russia (and China) are NOT being reactionary, no matter what anyone thinks. They are following a master grand plan, just like the United States is. It’s just that the United States plan is obsolete, easily replicated, and there no longer are leaders to set a new direction.
So don’t worry too much.
Today, I am including some minor reports that I have acquired regarding some key events inside the Ukraine.
[Item 0] Why Russia is acting this way
President Putin said so very clearly in his speech on 26FEB22;
For the United States and its allies, it is a policy of containing Russia, with obvious geopolitical dividends.
For our country, it is a matter of life and death, a matter of our historical future as a nation.This is not an exaggeration; this is a fact.
It is not only a very real threat to our interests but to the very existence of our state and to its sovereignty.
It is the red line which we have spoken about on numerous occasions.
They have crossed it.
[Item 1] US to impose sanctions on Putin personally
The immediate reaction from Scott Ritter on this development does not bode well.
[Item 2] Reaction from Moscow on this development
Russia will fully break diplomatic relations with all countries that are going to sanction president Putin or members of the Russian govt. Breaking diplomatic relations with a nation is equivalent to declaring war.
Russian Foreign Ministry on new Personal sanctions on assets of Putin and Lavrov: “Neither Putin nor Lavrov have accounts either in Britain or anywhere else abroad.”
The United Arab Emerates will now fly Chiense trainers
The UAE will purchase a dozen of advanced Chinese jet trainers, a move that reflects a significant strategic shift in the country’s long-standing policy of obtaining solely Western military aircraft.
The UAE Defense Ministry will sign a contract with China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) to procure the L15 training and light combat aircraft, with the possibility of purchasing another 36 planes later, the official Emirati news agency WAM reported.
For the first time in history, the NATO RAPID REACTION FORCE has been activated and deployed. 40,000 NATO troops now moving into NATO member countries along the eastern border of Russia. It certainly is a clear signal that NATO is going to engage Russia
These IDIOTS are simply verifying Putin's greatest fears and cementing why he had to attack Ukraine in order to at least try to maintain peace.
NATO and the US are ramping things up in both rhetoric and deed.
They are mobilizing 40,000 troops to the Eastern bloc of NATO countries...in other words, WE are massing troops on RUSSIA'S Border just as we witnessed Russia do to Ukraine.
WE saw that as a provocation, why the HELL wouldn't Russia see OUR movements in the same way?)
-Hal Turner
Worse, “NATO” has just sent it’s first convoy of what they call “LETHAL AID” across the Ukraine border from Poland. Poland’s Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak shared this picture.
This is staggeringly bad on every level. Look, Putin has said something, which was very clear. He said, to not get involved, or else you and us will regret it in the end.
It was a simple message . . .
…and they managed to ignore it.
Out of their stupidity and ego.
By doing this, they are forcing Putin to stand up for what was said, otherwise he will look weak.
This just dragged the United States into a direct, hot kinetic shooting war with Russia. Now, none of us is safe. Honestly, I think this is the spark that sets the world on fire.
If we look at the history of all this, the real problem is actually NATO.
It was NATO”s broken promise of “not expanding one inch to the east” that set this in motion decades ago.
"I have felt for 30 years ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall that we have made a huge geopolitical error. We absolutely promised the Russians that we would not extend NATO to the east. But we did,"
-Nigel_Farage.
After all, it was NATO trying to bring Ukraine into itself, to position US missiles on Ukraine soil.
And now it is NATO doing precisely what Putin warned EVERYONE not to do: interfere.
How to separate and herd your cats.
You know it’s really difficult to herd cats and get them to do anything. But, you know, the Chinese have a solution to this problem.
[Item 5] Russian seizure of the Ukraine CIA / SBU building
Shootings inside a building in Melitopol, Ukraine after being captured by Russian forces.
Some report of executions taking place.
FURTHER INFORMATION: This building is the Ukraine SBU Intelligence Building and yes, there is torture and execution of Ukraine Intelligence officers taking place inside this building.
War is an ugly business.
Enjoy our differences
We have been ramrodded the idea that in a “democracy” that everyone must accept diversity, but that once accepted you must conform to the approved norm. I disagree. You should embrace the differences in the world. Like this fella (bloke?) from Australia. Yeah. This video is so Australian that it drips with Aussie.
[Item 6] Central Banks Risk Being Hit With Missiles if they Cut Russia from SWIFT Banking System
Central Banks around the world risk having their main banking offices hit with Russian missiles if they cut Russia off from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) Banking system, as some countries are endeavoring to do.
Such is information LEAKING out of Russia Saturday and is NOT yet “official.”
Says one Russian,
"If the Banks want to wage war against Russia, they should expect war to be waged back upon them - personally - in the buildings where they work."
Russia has plans to make war as personal and “in your face” as possible. All those people sitting behind their safe borders, and seas are going to experience real, FUCKING, war!
Cutting Russia off from SWIFT is a “matter of days”, according to a central bank within the eurozone according to a report from Reuters.
Inside Russia, plans are being reviewed as to what response the nation might make if the West “attacks” Russia economically.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was explicitly clear during his speech wherein he announced Russia would be moving to de-militarize and de-nazify Ukraine:
"Anyone who interferes will have consequences the likes of which they have never seen in history."
Hitting central bank buildings with precision missiles would likely fit that description.
President Putin’s exact quote was
“I would now like to say something very important for those who may be tempted to interfere in these developments from the outside.
No matter who tries to stand in our way or all the more so create threats for our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.
No matter how the events unfold, we are ready.
All the necessary decisions in this regard have been taken.
I hope that my words will be heard.”
Such action by Russia would, of course, be considered an act of war by the nations wherein the banks are actually hit.
However, a war breaking out between NATO and Russia has been a foregone conclusion since the Russian operation began.
Putin, in an earlier speech after a 6-hour meeting with French President Macron made clear:
"The military capability of Russia to NATO is incomparable. (Meaning NATO is superior)
We know that.
But Russia is also a nuclear power.
And our capability is superior to many others in this area.
If the West engages Article 5 (NATO mutual defense), you will be drawn into a war with Russia without your consent.
It will be a war that no one will win (Meaning an actual nuclear war, which is the only war that most everyone agrees "cannot be won and must never be fought.").
President Macron doesn't want that.
I don't want that."
So Putin has already laid out the cards for the whole world to see. If the West persists in interfering with what Russia is doing, it not only may trigger a direct response with missile strikes against the Banks, it may unleash actual nuclear war.
MM tries to improve the readership’s overall health
Well, at least according to this video, anyway. video 1.5MB
Last night, Russian TOPOL-M intercontinental ballistic missiles – nuclear missiles – were moving on Truck Launchers around Moscow and on highways moving toward Europe.
Terrifying new photos and video have came out of interior Russia showing road-launchable TOPOL-M intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM’s). The TOPOL-M is a nuclear missile with a single warhead of 800 kilotons (800kt) and a range of about ten thousand kilometers (10,000km)
This is not what you deploy inside of a city, or near a city. It’s something that is deployed in the countryside. Something is up.
The fact that these missiles are OUT IN PUBLIC, and moving, should be all you need to know about where this Ukraine/NATO trouble is actually heading.
As we saw with the Russian troop build-up around Ukraine, Russia does not bluff. When they move military gear, they intend to use it.
The entire world is now in grave danger from the shenanigans our governments are pulling with Ukraine.
I also want to remind everyone that both Russia and China have anti-missile systems that can shoot the ICBMs down. The West, including the United States does not.
Meanwhile, night life in Japan
Yeah. This is sort of what it can be like in ceratin areas at certain times.
From the Russian Foreign Ministry Friday night:Russia is approaching the point in its relations with the US beyond which there is no return.
Whether this converts into Russia firing missiles into the Central Banks that ban it from SWIFT, remains to be seen. Clearly they wouldn’t have to do that to ALL central banks, just to enough of them that the rest decide living is more important to them.
And if they start to see their Banker pals blown up, many people think the rest would choose life rather than choose making economic war on Russia. It’s just a matter of how many Bankers have to get killed before the rest stop their economic war.
There is no question in my mind that the complete financial “house of cards” that has artificially existed is going to be destroyed and eventually rebuilt into something different after this period of climax occurs. How it will collapse, is unknown.
[Item 9] The United States is busy deleting all information about it’s bioweapons operations in the Ukraine
The US Embassy in Ukraine has just deleted from its website all documents about 11 Pentagon-funded biolaboratories in Ukraine. They are retained on the internet by bloogers, and published all them (now deleted by the Embassy) here;
The US Embassy in #Ukraine has just deleted from its website all documents about 11 Pentagon-funded biolaboratories in Ukraine. I have published all these documents (now deleted by the Embassy) here https://t.co/Odc0ermmZe and in the thread below pic.twitter.com/benFmDwguI
SF: The Russian military special operation in Ukraine coincided with the planned launch of U.S. military biolaboratories in Kiev and Odessa. On February 26, the US Embassy in Ukraine rushed to delete all documents about 11 Pentagon-funded bio-laboratories in Ukraine from its website. All these documents (now deleted by the Embassy), you can read HERE.
In October 2021, the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) of the U.S. Department of Defense published on the U.S. government procurement website an additional agreement on “combating highly dangerous pathogens. The document concerns the final stage of work on the launch of two bio-laboratories in Ukraine: in Kiev and Odessa.
The additional agreement covers the equipping and training of personnel and commissioning of the facilities. The cost of the work is 3.6 million dollars, but some figures in the document are hidden for reasons of secrecy. According to the document, the laboratories were more than 90 per cent ready. However, the projects’ completion was delayed up to seven months from the date of signing the document (July 2021), thus to the end of February 2022:
The laboratories in Ukraine were built within the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which was launched in 1991 and was aimed against Russia and the former Soviet Union. They were funded in frame of the Biological Threat Reduction Program. Cooperation between Ukraine and the United States in this field intensified after the first Maidan revolution in Ukraine in 2005.
You can read more on the U.S. bio-laboratories, including in Ukraine: HERE, HERE, HERE.
Two new laboratories are being created on the basis of the Kiev State Research Institute for Laboratory Diagnostics and Veterinary and Sanitary Expertise and the Odessa division of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection. The main part of the Ukrainian collection of endemic strains of dangerous disease agents is stored in Odessa. The buildings of the new biolaboratories in Kiev and Odessa were built back in 2019, but were not put into operation.
The document above notice makes it clear that this project is important and urgent for the U.S. government: further potential delays are called unacceptable, and “DTRA requires the urgent completion and surrender of both laboratories to ensure the active and safe execution of the DTRA mission.”
Both facilities are owned and secured by the Government of Ukraine, but neither facility is currently performing active biological work because DTRA has asked the Ukrainian authorities not to begin work until acceptance and completion is complete, the procurement materials said.
Moscow has claimed its concern over the developing biological weapons near Russia’s borders. Russian President Vladimir Putin worried about the “purposeful and professional” collection of biomaterials of Russians by foreigners.
The on-going Russian military operation in Ukraine may stop the DTRA program in Ukraine. Anyway, the projects in Kiev and Odessa will be postponed if not cancelled. The U.S. has already spent over 2 billion dollars on such programs in Ukraine alone, and there are more in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
Now, as Russian forces are advancing in Ukraine, Kiev seems to be in a rush to hide the evidence that the USA violates the convention on non-proliferation of biological weapons. The end of the Russian operation will show.
…
Ok. Let’s chat a little about the Ukraine operation…
[Item 10] Day 3 of the Russian operation in the Ukraine
I found pretty decent maps on the YouTube channel of Iurii Podoliaka and I will do something ugly but, I hope, effective: add a few things to his maps with my thick black marker.
But first, this: it appears that yesterday Putin had ordered a temporary stop to the Russian offensive while talking with “Ze” but when the latter stop talking, Putin gave a “full ahead” order.
I will begin with an older (by a few hours) map of this:
The ugly think black lines are from me.
Starting at the top left and going clockwise here is what is important:
Kiev will soon be encircled
The Ukie forces in the Donbass are fleeing hoping to avoid being surrounded, or “cauldroned” if you wish, (look how long and narrow the red lines are around the Ukies!)
Mariupol is almost surrounded
Nikolaev is under attack
Now, another of these maps, but updated.
Again, going clockwise can clearly see the race between the evacuating Ukie forces from the Donbass and the attempt by Russian forces to envelop them in an “operational cauldron”, exactly as predicted.
Next, Nikolaev is either fully surrounded or will be very soon.
So, what does all that mean?
It means that we are coming to some kind of informational climax here. So far, in the West, that information is suppressed (even Sputnik and RT are under regular DDoS attack). I won’t even bother on the 500 foot high wave of disinformation produced by western PSYOPs in the social media. The bottom line is this, pretty soon I expect
The operational cauldron in the Donbass to lock in the Ukie forces which did not have time to evacuate
The entire coast from roughly Nikolaev to Mariupol will be liberated
Kiev will be if not physically surrounded, then at least “surrounded by fire”, which means that main axes of evacuation will come under steady Russian fire control
Notice something else. In the 2nd map, some cities in the Russian rear are circled in blue: Chernigov, Konotop, Sumy, Kharkov and Kherson. I would add Mariupol to that list. These are all cities which were cut of from the rest of the Ukie forces, but which still have pockets of resistance inside, that is especially true of Mariupol where a large Nazi contingent appears to be ready to take its last stand.
All this is to say that the mopping up operations inside bigger cities might take a while. That is normal and won’t affect any outcome.
So right now the western PYSOPs can still throw out as many claims as it wants, but pretty soon the entire narrative will collapse, at which point the Russia-hating-and-bashing hysteria will reach a new feverish pitch.
Be mentally prepared for that.
I will conclude with something quite typical: remember how yesteryear tons of weapons were distributed in Kiev? Well, overnight, various gangs have been engaged in firefights, but not against Russians (who have still not entered the city), but against each other. Some of the wannabe Ukie Volkssturm even took a group of SBU officers prisoners. Some rumors report 60 dead or so just overnight.
Let’s hope that this crazy nonsense stops and that some Ukrainian commanders will restore law and order before their entire country turns into a “Mad Max Zone”. If such commanders are found, I am sure that the Russians will not only not engage them, but will even offer some degree of collaboration.
Putin tried to reason with Ze. Predictably, this did not work.
Now the Russians badly need to find somebody to talk to on the other side. If they don’t, Russia will have to continue to take unilateral actions and turn up the pain dial on both Banderastan and the West.
I hope to be back with a summary of the day later.
Andrei
Brutal Honesty
Well, yeah. I think all of us have been there at one stage of our life or the other. video
[Item 11] Intel Drop
Great Stuff from one of my must-read blogs. HERE.
Putin, Ukraine and the Perfect Burger, an Intel Drop (updating)
VT Senior Editor Gordon Duff drops mad truth on the world about Putin and Ukraine; a must-read.
Grass fed ground beef looks like this. Smell it. .
VT: We have taken the bull by the horns here. We have entered a bitter controversy over ‘the burger’…Our suggestion…as to our ‘burger hack’… Try it. We have and have run it against the best. We used a mix of ‘Triple D’ experiences, a touch of Gordon Ramsey and apply it to available materials which can be done by anyone…in ten minutes. The results will stand against anything but a Houston based Fuddrucker…..as their meat is beyond anything in the Midwest
We should have called this ‘The Burger War in Ukraine’
…by the Senior Editor
With so much talk about Ukraine, time an expert speaks out. In the absence of an expert…I will do my best.
.
Listen to no one…the bullshit is drowning us all. Some facts:
.
– Russia was promised secure borders. I was privy to what is in the agreement that paid $365 million to Gorby. The accords have been gone over dozens of times for other reasons.
– Among those reasons was the coup in Georgia, replacing the government there, and the immediate move against South Ossetia. Our CIA director and his chief of staff explained it all to me while they were getting a flight for Tbilisi. I remember every word of it…which is a warning to some.
– The overthrow of the Russian puppet government in Ukraine was not unexpected. Russia really got blindsided there. The move, used as cover facilities in Poland for torturing innocent kidnapped fake terrorists is also a major training facility for Gladio, alive and well.
– Ah…Gladio. The new version was sold to the Bush administration…with tons of Gulf Cartel cash paid out to sweeten the pot, banked from Cuba, secret accounts in the Caymans. It is all in the recording of that FBI agent that came to us in 2012…laundering the cash…though banks tied to major US families….like those who own all those stores. We have it all…every single word.
– Running Gladio this time is “Ukrainians” and “Turks.” All are Israeli citizens. They used Gladio/Freemason trained snipers, part of the teams that trained Breivik, same place.
– Then they got their lists…and began hunting down not only Russian speakers but anyone who threatened totalitarian rule. This means eliminating media, killing off political rivals, and destroying trade unions. Remember Odessa…this was about wiping out trade unions.
– Then they stole everything in the country…and turned it over to Israelis…like the one who ran the TV network that had a show about a mindless clown.
– Then they made him Prime Minister.
– Russia was always going to move into Donbass…and the reason is simple. Ukraine has totally ignored the Minsk accords…and the US has been silent. Silence by the Israel lobby that seeks both Ukraine and Crimea as homelands and plays both…Russia and Ukraine against one another…a game they are teaching to the Turks and Saudis as well.
– There is nothing whatsoever wrong with the Ukrainian people. That they have been victimized here…by everyone…including the Soviet Union and Russia is very real. Putin lost Ukraine because he was lazy and distracted…
– Then Ukraine was used as a power base by the Kosher Nostra to put Donald Trump into office. The Russians were able to gain 100 percent control over Trump through in-place agents around him…dozens…many of whom are still working for Russia and safe to a degree under Trump pardons.
– But are they really working for Russia or are Kosher Nostra oligarchs vying for power against Putin? Spent a couple of days going over this with our intelligence officials. This is a top concern but…never spoken of.
– Russia didn’t need this and Putin doesn’t want Ukraine. He wants to stop Erdogan. Erdogan and Netanyahu first tried to go after Iran…setting up bases in Azerbaijan together, bringing in weapons through Georgia…where they make bio-weapons and poison gas for the White Helmets.
– Then they destroyed Armenia.
– What Zelensky did with the Minsk accords, Erdogan is going with Russia over his agreements to end terrorism in Idlib and to leave Syria. Instead…he has cut deals with key families in Kurdish Iraq (all people I know personally…).
– One of those deals, going back a few years, was to set ISIS on Iraq with full Turkish backing…full Kurdish backing…and the full backing of the key Sunni families in Baghdad.
– In January 2014, I led a team to Baghdad to discuss ISIS and the defense of Iraq. I met the leaders working with ISIS and told them they were making a mistake. By June, with the fall of Mosul, 9 of the Sunni leaders I met with had been executed by ISIS. ‘Told ya so.’
I could go on forever…but time to discuss something more important. I have always been displeased at the burgers I make at home. Going to local restaurants, and burgers are a $45 lunch now with tip and NO drinks…An important thing with VT…several of us are foodies.
Burgers are about prep. If you want…list any favorite food and I will do the prep to make it. If I don’t know…Mike Chester will. Mike and I have been cooking together since…well since Kennedy was still alive.
Meat Selection
When cooking at home fat can be a problem. It spatters…and though fat might make a burger…pass.
Look for a small meat store that accesses local grass-fed cattle. Use a chuck or ground beef. Hold off on those briskety (I just invented that word) blends.
If you are frying…make sure you have tons of ventilation. I have a 1200 CFM Italian thing that can lift the paper off a counter. It helps.
Tools
I use one of two things…based on factors…mostly laziness…the only real factor.
One is a 12 inch…large…even 14 Silverstone frying pan with lid. I also use a cast iron grill…which sits on two burners. I have a built-in grill…I have never used it…it confuses me. (commercial range)
Prep work
Everything is about prep.
Decide how big burgers need to be…how hungry? How old? How messy?
Lots of choices.
Prep begins with bacon…I fry 4 pieces to medium crisp for 3 burgers.
Campari tomatoes…they sell them everywhere…pricey…buy them. Use two …they are small…slice them carefully and set them aside.
Onions…if you only have cooking onions, consider frying them down with a bit of sugar….like with a “slider.”
But..currently available are Peruvian sweet onions. Pick the flattest ones. Slice half of one of these…carefully…and set aside.
Velveeta. Yes….about 3/4ths of a cup microwaved to melt…and this is VERY DIFFICULT to Time. Get someone to help you..lots of stirring.
Buns are vital. To put us on common ground here, pick up a package of Pepperidge Farm buns…Sour Dough or similar. They are pricey but hold up.
I suggest steaming the buns…and that has to be done carefully…not too much…just to “release.” No toasting. No microwaves.
Or you can use fresh and go from there.
Pickle slices are optional.
Sauce
Ah..secret sauce. A trick from Smokey Bones.
Make some BBQ sauce…
Small saucepan. Add vinegar…half a cup. Use malt vinegar if you have it. Then 1/4th cup molasses. Then one tablespoon Wrights smoke. I buy the quarts…but you can get a small bottle for about a buck.
You will need about a third of a cup of catsup/ketchup for the body. Sorry.
Oh…brown sugar…about 2/3rds of a cup. heat on low…set aside…it lasts forever…
Technique
Ah…now you are playing restaurant…but “good” restaurant.
Go to about a third of a pound for burgers…using the PF buns. Get the steamer going.
You can make a fake steamer with a medium saucepan, crumpled foil…a lid…water, and heat. YouTube probably shows you how. Buy a real one at the Salvation Army.
Make someone else do the side dishes…or buy them in cans.
High heat…season burgers with McCormick’s Montreal Steak seasoning…my choice.
Put bacon in the pan on medium heat…10 minutes there remove and set aside. Retain some fat in the pan. Heat to smoking…the put-in burgers…
Two flips and a minute or two with the lid…then check to see if they are done.
While this is going down…steam the buns…and watch them very carefully.
Don’t forget the Velveeta.
Hot buns out of the steamer on plates…then spoon hot Velveeta on each…generously
place burger on top…
drizzle a small amount of bbq sauce on the burger….you will see why
slice on onion..optional
mustard on the top bun…spoon it over the cheese.
Tomato slices…4 small ones usually.
Hold off on hot peppers and other stuff.
Now the bacon.
The final step
Eat immediately.
Compare to the best restaurant burger. Note that these cost about $4 each to make at home.
Forget about Ukraine.
How you act defines your sentience
Scenes from ambulences inside of China. AI records all videos, and license plates and knows who contributes to society and who does not. video. 117MB
[Item 11] My most popular article on MM right now
I wonder why?
Percentage drop in population in 2025. The USA has a 70% drop in population. Australia has a 35% drop. Japan has an 18% drop. While Russia and China have no significant losses.
Here’s the article for all the great juicy details…
There’s obviously a bunch of idiots running the West right now, and they have opened up a Pandora’s box that is going to change everything that we know and have come accustomed to.
Yet, how it might influence us on a personal level will vary greatly from person to person.
I will tell you that there is no doubt in my mind that all of this has been “gamed out” and planned to every detail. Things are NOT unwinding to an elaborate plan concocted inside Washington DC. Instead, a counter operation is in play. And I will never forget that feeling that I got when Xi Peng and Putin signed the joint memorandum last January during the Winter Olympics 2022.
Look at them.
Looks like both cats ate the canary.
Putin and Xi Peng in Beijing during the WInter Olympics 2022.
They completely know what they have been doing and are doing now.
Now, let’s have a look at who is leading the West right now…
Now look at who is running the EU right now…
God, they both look like gouls.
I suggest…
If you all want to be safe, and have your families safe, move to either Russia or China. They know what they are up against and how to deal with it. Look at the Deagal Forecast.
Europe is not safe.
The United States is not safe.
In general, whether it’s nuclear missiles flying, more bioweapons released, or a financial collapse, the West is going to have a hard time of it. Seriously.
Have you seen America lately?
And I will advise good prudent measures that you all must do and conduct religiously.
Be part of your community. Meet people. Talk to people. Be helpful. Volunteer.
Stock up your larder. Have supplies.
Stock up on some cheap trade goods.
Disposible cigarette lighters.
Small bottles of very cheap hard alcohol.
Duck-tape.
Antibiotics.
Vitamins.
Learn to fish.
No. Your lives will NOT be destroyed.
But everything will change around you. You will need to be firmly grounded. You will need to take up a kind, quiet strength while all the rest of the world completely goes down the toilet. Be the strength that reinforces confidence.
You will need to start eating better. That’s a start.
There’s nothing so satisfying than eating a good home-cooked delicious meal and then relaxing with freinds and family. May I suggest…
Chili Con Carne Bread Pie
Chili Con Carne was an exciting twist on classic chili taste that fell to the wayside years ago. This recipe unearths the classic and finds a way to serve it up as a casserole that leaves you stuffed. Smokey paprika, peppers, and cumin all combine to make this a knockout recipe that both you and your grandparents can get behind.
What are you waiting for? It goes great with beer (wink. wink.)
Now, being happy and well fed, let’s look at some reminders that life is not all doom and gloom. You all can omit these next few videos and entries if you want to really get all wrapped up in the “news”.
Chinese traditional clothing
This woman dons the Han Clothing fashion that is so popular in China these days, and walks around Europe and the United States wearing it. The looks on other peoples faces are precious. Now, THIS is what real “diversity” is all about.
Rufus stands up for the cleaning woman from a troll
Internet trolls are no different from cronic malcreants, litters or evil psychopaths. It’s up to the community to work together to protect ourselves from the bad behaviors of others who only desire to hurt, harm and cause grief. video
It’s programmed into humans on this eath. SO you have to ride it out. I can tell you that when the radioactive dust settles, and people crawl out of their habitats that the new world will be a much better one.
Remember; A Rufus is always there when you need help
Here, the staffing at a hospital runs to setup a testing clinic for Coronavirus when an outbreak was discovered. video 3MB
One last thing
Don’t over think.
If the SHTF goes down, the first thing that you might notice is no internet. Do not freak out. If that happens, things might be dark for a while. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. And if the very worst happens, well… I’ll see you all on the other side.
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
Ok, so the Russians make a move that they were forced into by the United States. Of course the USA knew what it was doing. Every American knows about the “Cuban Missile Crisis”.
To pretend that it doesn’t is ridiculous.
If you place, or threaten to place, nuclear weapons on the border of a major nation, you can expect CERTAINLY a series of responses.
This is exactly what happened, but of course, it’s not being reported this way in the American / British “news”. According to that “news”, the Russians are taking a beating by the proud and brave Ukranians.
So, I go on LinkedIN, and other other mainstream media, and Lordy! It’s all about the brave Ukranians fighting the evil communists. Sheech! Talk about spinning a narrative! So here, we are going to put some perspectives in place and then resume business as usual.
This is a fine meandering article hosting a wide selection of rambling thoughts and interests. Remember, don’t look at one singular issue and study it. Look at the big picture, as that is how everything is actually connected.
First, a look at a map…
Did you know that the Ukraine is the fourth-largest recipient of American equipment and weapons in the world? Imagine that.
Why? Why in Good God’s name, why?
Now, we begin with a statement that The Domain Commander made; “We are striving for little bads, so we can avoid the Big Bads”…
Andrew Korybko One World
Thu, 24 Feb 2022 20:56 UTC
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A much larger war that could dangerously escalate into World War III was averted by Russia’s preemptive special operation in Ukraine aimed at neutralizing the US and NATO’s latent, imminent, and hot threats emanating from that country. This makes Moscow’s military mission truly a peacemaking one since the Eurasian Great Power responsibly sought to prevent World War III, not spark it. Russia truly had no choice but to act now.
In short, the US and its anti-Russian NATO allies were secretly establishing military facilities in Ukraine for launching their own impending war against that neighboring nuclear power. First, however, Washington wanted to neutralize Moscow’s nuclear second-strike capabilities through the regional deployment of “anti-missile systems” and strike weapons, including one day hypersonic missiles and even eventually to Ukraine itself too. This coincided with the US’ withdrawal from strategic arms pacts such as the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and the Open Skies Treaty, all of which destabilized European security by making America’s military intentions all the more ambiguous to Russia.
President Putin’s speech from Monday evening when he announced his country’s recognition oftheDonbassRepublics saw him meticulously detail the existential nature of the threat that the US and NATO’s secret military infrastructure in Ukraine poses to Russia. He described their airfields, bases, and ports in the country that he warned will soon be used to strike his own, albeit after first presumably neutralizing its nuclear second-strike capabilities. Thursday morning’s speech compared post-Soviet Russia’s three-decade-long appeasement of US-led NATO to Stalin’s pre-World War II appeasement of Nazi Germany, declaring that “We will not make this mistake the second time. We have no right to do so. Those who aspire to global dominance have publicly designated Russia as their enemy.”
According to Russian intelligence, “If we look at the sequence of events and the incoming reports, the showdown between Russia and these forces cannot be avoided. It is only a matter of time. They are getting ready and waiting for the right moment.” “They did not leave us any other option for defending Russia and our people, other than the one we are forced to use today”, President Putin revealed, which is why “In these circumstances, we have to take bold and immediate action.” He then issued what’s widely interpreted as a nuclear warning to NATO: “No matter who tries to stand in our way or all the more so create threats for our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.”
It’s for all of these reasons that Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova clarified that “It’s not a beginning of war, it is prevention of a situation that could lead to global military confrontation.” What she meant was exactly what President Putin himself had said, namely that a much larger war that could dangerously escalate into World War III was averted by Russia’s preemptive special operation in Ukraine aimed at neutralizing the US and NATO’s latent, imminent, and hot threats emanating from that country. This makes Moscow’s military mission truly a peacemaking one since the Eurasian Great Power responsibly sought to prevent World War III, not spark it. Russia truly had no choice but to act now.
That’s because President Putin also revealed on Thursday morning that “Even now, with NATO’s eastward expansion the situation for Russia has been becoming worse and more dangerous by the year.” As he put it, “It is a fact that over the past 30 years we have been patiently trying to come to an agreement with the leading NATO countries regarding the principles of equal and indivisible security in Europe. In response to our proposals, we invariably faced either cynical deception and lies or attempts at pressure and blackmail, while the North Atlantic alliance continued to expand despite our protests and concerns. Its military machine is moving and, as I said, is approaching our very border.” It’s therefore understandable why Russia finally had to act.
After all, President Putin already made his back-up plan known on 21 December when speaking at an “Expanded Meeting Of The Defense Ministry Board“. At that time, he said that “what they are doing, or trying or planning to do in Ukraine, is not happening thousands of kilometres away from our national border. It is on the doorstep of our house. They must understand that we simply have nowhere further to retreat to.” That event coincided with Russia’s publication of its security guarantee requests to the US and NATO for ensuring the integrity of its national security red lines. Moscow asked for legal guarantees halting the bloc’s continual eastward expansion, the removal of strike weapons from Russia’s borders, and a return to the continental military status quo enshrined in the now-defunct 1997 Russian-NATO Founding Act. Regrettably, the US-led West rebuffed the last chance for a diplomatic solution.
Had Russia not acted when it did on Thursday, it’s very likely that the US would have used the pretext of the third round of civil war hostilities that it encouraged Kiev to provoke last weekend in Eastern Ukraine to deploy strikes to that country on an emergency basis under the false pretext of “defending” it when in reality it would all be about clandestinely seeking to worsen Russia’s security as explained. President Putin therefore had no choice but to commence his military’s special operation in Ukraine on Thursday morning, which arguably averted the Third World War that would have inevitably followed with time had Russia continued to appease the US, seeing as how that nuclear superpower was never sincere about respecting its counterpart’s national security red lines.
And now time for a pretty girl
I really like her top with the chain metal fringes on the sleeves. Pretty hot.
The threat of expulsion from SWIFT as a deterrent to war is a “paper tiger” and fintech helped.
The nightmare of another European war is upon us and the non-military deterrent of being cut off from the SWIFT currency transfer system seems toothless. A paper tiger.
Ever since Iran’s SWIFT cut-off in 2012 US and EU policymakers have wielded the threat of a SWIFT cut-off like a sword. Now it seems throwing Russia’s 1.7% of global GDP off of SWIFT is unpalatable.
Let’s look at why. The biggest reason is energy but the others are tech-based:
1️⃣ G7 officials made it clear that they were reluctant to expel Russia because it would make it impossible to pay for Russian energy, leaving Europe in the dark and paying more. This is the clearest and most compelling reason not to cut off Russia.
2️⃣ SWIFT expulsion is not guaranteed to stop cash flows. SWIFT is merely a messaging system, it doesn’t move money. Anyone following China-Iran trade can attest that a cut-off doesn’t stop trade, so much as make it more expensive. Iran has perfected barter and international digital goods trading off of SWIFT.
3️⃣ China’s “Cross-Border International Payment System (CIPS) started in 2015 as a SWIFT alternative. It now has 1,186 financial institutions in 100 countries signed up. Russia has access to CIPS and while not ideal there is nothing preventing Russia from using the system and RMB in lieu of dollars. China built CIPS, following Iran’s cut-off for exactly this purpose. Russia’s equivalent SPFS system is simply too small.
4️⃣ Crypto is not yet ready to take over a meaningful amount of Russia’s $670+ bn in combined imports and exports but it doesn’t have to. If CIPS and other options above are put to use crypto can likely help small businesses move money across borders to keep things running.
Stablecoin tether was already illegally used in trade between China and Russia in 2019 with flows of up to $10-30mn a day. This is new territory, but I think we should not underestimate crypto’s capabilities. They may surprise us.
5️⃣ The digital Ruble, is in testing and perhaps within a few months, it could be rushed into production. Digital yuan-ruble trade is already in discussion. Russia may convince other countries to accept a digital ruble in trade. The recipients won’t need a CBDC themselves, just a digital ledger at the central bank to avoid SWIFT.
War causes change at a shocking pace. All of these SWIFT alternatives shift money out of dollars. De-dollarization is a trend the US doesn’t want to accelerate and why the US will not push in earnest for a SWIFT cut-off.
Fintech is now a pawn in the great geopolitical game. Its role in turning the SWIFT deterrent into a paper tiger is no small feat.
A great discussion about the Ukraine on You-tube…
It’s pretty good, and it goes in great deal about the history about what is going on.
Yeah. I get it. Too many cute and beautiful girls. Well, I am in China. I can’t help it. I am surrounded by them. To understand China, is to understand beauty.
Social media users will be given new powers to control who can interact with them under a major crackdown on hate-filled internet trolls.
Platforms like Facebook and Twitter will by law have to give users the tools to block anonymous unverified accounts.
Users will also be given the option to verify themselves. The onus will be on the firms to find a suitable verification method, but it could range from taking a selfie to providing proof of a passport or driving licence.
The new measures have been added to the upcoming Online Safety Bill, which will impose a duty of care on tech companies to protect users.
However, individuals will be allowed to choose whether to join the verification process – despite calls from some campaigners to make it a requirement.
Ministers were concerned it could jeopardise the safety of vulnerable users. Online anonymity can be crucial for domestic abuse victims, activists living in authoritarian countries and young people exploring their sexuality.
The Government has also announced a measure that will force platforms to provide adult users with tools to block ‘legal but harmful content’ such as racist abuse and Covid disinformation.
This could include allowing users to turn on settings that would stop them receiving recommendations on certain topics or place sensitivity screens over that content.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the new measures would ‘put more power in the hands’ of social media users by giving them more choice over who they communicate with.
Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said: ‘Tech firms have a responsibility to stop anonymous trolls polluting their platforms.
‘We have listened to calls for us to strengthen our new online safety laws and are announcing new measures to put greater power in the hands of social media users themselves.
‘People will now have more control over who can contact them and be able to stop the tidal wave of hate served up to them by rogue algorithms.’
It comes after calls from MPs, footballers and celebrities to take action on internet trolls after highlighting the horrific abuse they suffered.
The Government has already announced tougher punishments for trolls, with those found guilty of the worst abuse facing up to five years in prison under the new Bill.
The latest measures will only apply to the biggest social media platforms deemed ‘category one’ such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as they pose the severest risk.
Watchdog Ofcom will be given the power to fine them up to 10 per cent of annual global turnover for any breach or even block the sites from being used in the UK.
A DCMS spokesman said of the new measures: ‘While this will not prevent anonymous trolls posting abusive content in the first place – providing it is legal and does not contravene the platform’s terms and conditions – it will stop victims being exposed to it and give them more control over their online experience.’
The Bill will also force social media giants to remove illegal content such as child sexual abuse imagery, the promotion of suicide, hate crimes and incitement to terrorism.
But there is a growing list of toxic content and behaviour on social media which falls below the threshold of a criminal offence which still causes significant harm.
The spokesman added: ‘Much of this is already expressly forbidden in social networks’ terms and conditions, but too often it is allowed to stay up.’ Firms will have to make tools available that will allow users to block this on news feeds.
Three ways to crack down on hate
New measures added to the Online Safety Bill today will force social media giants like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to ensure users can:
VERIFY THEMSELVES
Users must be given the option of verification. It will be up to the platforms what methods they use, but this could range from uploading a selfie to match their profile picture or providing proof of Government-issued ID like a passport.
BAR ANONYMOUS TROLLS
Tools must be provided to enable individuals to block other users who choose to remain anonymous. These could include ticking a box within settings that allows direct messages or replies to posts to be sent only by verified accounts.
FILTER HARMFUL CONTENT
Users must also be given a way to block content that falls below the criminal threshold but still causes significant harm, such as racist abuse. Tools could include allowing users to alter settings so the site does not recommend certain topics or placing sensitivity screens over such content.
And for MM here…
I am SERIOUSLY considering making everyone apply to comment. I have to verify their email, and I am considering interviewing everyone via skype as well. This should seriously, seriously CUT down on trolls.
And don’t give me that “free speech” speil. There is no “free speech” in MM land. You join a community, and we police that community. If you disfunctional, or sociopathic, we kill you off.
It’s really simple.
Here, we operate like the social clubs of yore. Like the “Polish Falcons”, “The Elks”, “The grand woodsmen”, and others. You apply to join, and you pay membership dues. And the community polices itself.
You are NOT alone. This is a community. And as members of that community, we all work together as one. Like they do in China. As this video clearly shows what happens to sociopaths and other people with strange mental illnesses.
Participation in your community is what a Rufus is all about. It is the heart beat a thumping that makes the community, safe, calm, kind, happy and secure. As this next video clearly shows…
A Rufus is not a spectator. It is not a bystander. It is not a passive consumer. A Rufus is a participant in the community. Watch how this Rufus leave the pack of bystanders and actually does something. What a Rufus!
I know this mall. It’s Coco park in Shenzhen. Some great restrurants, bars, and clothings shops. She’s nice. One of my favorites. She’s wearing a nice sweater. You can be very sexy and attractive without showing skin, don’t you know. All you need to do is feel relaxed and comfortable, and wear a big massive smile on your face.
This is war, and it is in flux. There are going to be losses on all sides. Whether one side recaptures this, or shoots down that, has no meaning. The end result is what happens when the dust settles.
However, there are those that are trying to keep score. As if war is a tabulated war game. Here is a decent enough site in a flood of websites.
Keep in mind, though, that much of the digital evidence you see online is faked by amateurs. From Gizmodo:
Gizmodo has found at least ten viral photos and videos currently being spread on social media that are completely fake. In some cases, the videos and photos are years old. In others, the images are clearly not from Ukraine. There are even two examples of videos on Twitter today that are actually from war-themed video games.
But it hilariously lists Bellingcat, the Atlantic Council’s cut-out to the Intertubes, which is a lot like putting the American Council of Pork Producers in charge of censoring fact-checking information on swine fever.
This is a community. If you are a Rufus, then you participate in it. You just cannot sit by and do nothing. We take action. For we are part of something greater. And for those who have volunteered to the Domain, know exactly what I am talking about.
Today was only day two of the Russian military operation. And yet, what a day it was!!!
First, a quick update on the progress of Russian forces. Here is a bulletpoint summary for today:
Kherson: liberated
Nikolaev: fighting taking pace in outskirts
Konotop: taken by Russians
Chernigov: blocked by all sides by Russian forces
Melitopol: surrounded
Mariupol: is under attack, street fighting
Severodonetsk: under attack
Kharkov: very heavy mopping up operation
Suma: mopping up operations
Kiev: blocked from the West and under attack, the authorities are distributing weapons
Gostomel airport has been captured by Russian forces
Zaporozhie: Russian forces expected there tomorrow
A land corridor from Crimea to Russia should be opened by tomorrow.
Odessa: big question mark – so far, not Russian attacks reported (that I know of!)
Now about Donetsk and Lugansk:
Both cities are still under fire, and that goes to show that the advance of the LDNR forces has been slow, which is hardly surprising considering that the Ukronazis had 7 years to prepare their defenses. Still, things ARE getting better. Not only that, but the LDNR air defenses shot down a Ukie Tochka-U missile aimed at Donetsk. So it sure looks like the long awaited A2/AA “protective cupola” is being extended over the LDNR.
That being said, the LDNR forces did break through in at least two directions today, which means that the life left for the Ukie artillery shelling the LDNR will soon come to an end.
But that does not really tell the full story. So I will try to clarify things a little.
A typical battalion has about 400-600 men, depending on the type. Let’s also assume that that battalion has 3-4 companies with APCs, a mortar battery, an air defense platoon, an automatic grenade launcher platoon, a signal platoon, supply platoon, and a few smaller more specialized subunits. If that battalion loses its APCs it has basically lost its most important source of firepower. If its communications are down (destroyed or jammed), then that battalion cannot operate as part of a bigger force and if its supply routes are cut, then its ability to operate (more or fire) will rapidly dwindle down. So, on paper this battalion will remain combat capable, but in reality it will have broken up and cannot be considered a truly combat capable battalion anymore.
So, to destroy/incapacitate a battalion only a few precision strikes are needed. Such strikes though, will leave most of the soldiers alive and quite capable of resistance, but not as a battalion anymore, but more like a typical infantry company or even squads armed with small arms, machine guns, PRG, mines, etc.. They cannot maneuver very much, but they can conduct small hit and run operations against the enemy force. Which means that specialized infantry/police forces must now be send to find these small forces and deal with them in potentially bloody mopping up operations.
Of course, rather than a few precision strikes, it is much more effective to strike the entire battalion with, say, MLRS strikes which will not only destroy most of the hardware, but which will kill most of the soldiers, especially if they did not prepare and seek cover. But that means 400-500 dead in one single strike. That is if this battalion is somewhere in the steppe. But if it is in downtown Mariupol such a strike will inevitably result in even more scores of dead civilians, especially since the Ukies are very careful to always position their artillery near or even on top of buildings.
Does Russia want that?
Not if there is ANY other option left.
Please keep in mind that Russia has the reconnaissance-fire complexes needed obliterate an entire battalion anywhere in the eastern Ukraine in one single salvo. They have deliberately NOT done so today (with one possible exception during the very heavy battle for the Gostomel airport, which was taken by Russian special forces and is now secured as a safe bridgehead for Russian Military-Transport aviation right next to Kiev).
Something similar can be seen in urban offensive operations. It is one thing to get to a city or town’s outskirts, and quite another to penetrate inside the city or town. If the city is lightly defended by small arms fire, that is one thing, but if the city is well defended, in specially engineered defensive circles, with minefield, IEDs, very strong building used as command posts and if the city’s houses and basements have been prepared by combat engineers, then it is much harder to take. Again, one option is to send it dedicated urban combat groups while the other is flatten any building which is used by the defenders as a fortress.
The Russian forces have the means to flatten any building anywhere in the Ukraine, including by cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, MLRS with cluster or fuel-air munition or by using howitzers, heavy mortars and even the TOS-1/TOS-1A heavy flamethrower multi-barrel rocket launch systems.
But, again, that can only be done at a major cost in human lives. Russians won’t hesitate to obliterate some Nazi deathsquads, but to massacre hundreds of regular Ukrainians, irrespective of their personal views, is only and truly a last resort option.
There is a lot of evidence that the Russian forces have moved into the outskirts of many Ukrainian towns, including Kiev, Mariupol and others. Here is how Russian military practice works:
First, approach and try to block or surrender the city
Second, suppress the main enemy firing positions
Third, make sure that the city is truly blocked (except for a few special corridors, see below)
Fourth, hold your position and reconnoiter the outermost enemy lines (by fire when appropriate)
Fifth, send in special reconnaissance groups inside the city to observe and coordinate attacks
Sixth, once the city is surrounded/blocked and once you get a pretty decent picture of what is inside you take the next decisions which might include any of the following: open corridors for civilians to flee and for military personnel to surrender and cross over, determine the main axes of attack and begin slowly grinding down the opposition with heavy firepower (artillery, air, missiles).
Seventh, once the city’s defenses have been sufficiently disorganized, begin a house to house mopping up operation by specialized forces.
Before I go further, I want to remind you that during WWII the Soviet Military freed a whopping 1’200 (one thousand two hundred!) cities from the Nazi forces. Russians know how to do this better than anybody else.
Furthermore, during both Chechen wars, the Russians always managed to take Grozny, which was extremely heavily fortified and defended by some of the toughest fighters on the planet in spite of the fact that at that time the Russian army was it its lowest and badly disorganized, especially during the first Chechen war! But even in the first Chechen, the Russian did seize Grozny, twice, admittedly a huge cost (on both sides), but they did.
That was almost three decades ago.
Speaking of the Chechen war, in the first one the Russian military lost a big part of an entire brigade which had quickly entered the city, moved into the city center only to find itself surrounded and cut off, with terrible communications, quasi-non existing reconnaissance capabilities. That debacle left a very painful memory in the Russian collective memory and if somebody was expecting Russian APCs to reach the Mariupol or Kharkov at full speed with flags and screams of “hurrah!” – they don’t understand what is taking place: the (truly criminal) mistake made by Eltin’s generals during that first Chechen war will never be repeated by modern Russian commanders.
Any defeat is always a terrible tragedy, the only and best thing anybody can do after a defeat is to understand why and how it happened, and never repeat such a (criminal) mistake again.
That is the true reason why today Russians stopped on the outskirts of so many cities.
The bottom line is this. These are things which the Russians are trying to achieve
Destroy the Ukie armed forces but kill the absolute minimum number of Ukrainian soldiers (real Nazi will probably be destroyed no questions asked). Why? Because these surviving Ukrainian soldiers and officers are the ones who will play the main role in finally cleaning the Ukraine from the Nazi scum.
Get to the outskirts of as many major Ukrainian cities and gradually begin the steps I outlined above.
Convince civilians to flee and convince Ukrainian solders to lay down arms
Delay any Russian penetration inside the cities until the moment is “just right” (not too early, not too late)
Why?
Because Russia has ZERO intention of occupying or, even less so, rebuild or police the Ukraine, that’s why. The LDNR (in its legal borders) is as far as the Russians will go (with only a few possible exceptions).
The Kremlin decided that the goal of the operation was to 1) disarm and 2) to denazify the Ukraine. As soon as these goals are reached, the Russian want to get the hell out of the Ukraine and back into the LDNR and let the Ukrainians fight their own anti-Nazi civil war. That means that:
The Russians now must identify reasonable Ukrainian commanders and/or politicians to negotiate with
That Russia needs to offer the leftover Ukrainian ground forces the same deal which the Ukrainian forces which were tasked with the control of the Chernobyl nuclear planet were given today by the Russian forces: let’s secure this facility together and keep it secure together, with no combats of any kind. The Ukrainians gladly accepted, by the way, and now they are jointly patrolling area.
The Russian might also try something which worked well in Chechnia: tell the local town/city authorities that if they guarantee that not a single bullet will be fire from that town/city not a single Russian bullet will fly back and not a single Russian solider will enter the city, unless accompanied by locals and in order to ascertain the reality of the situation. But if a city is declared “open and peaceful” and then is used to attack Russian forces, it will be simply flattened with artillery. I call that the “Shamanov ultimatum” and, after a few false starts (and subsequently flattened towns) it worked very well.
The crucial factor is this: during the two Chechen wars or during 08.08.08 the Russians never saw the local people as their enemy and, if anything, they were hoping that the locals would start their own “housecleaning operation” which was a bad joke in the first Chechen war, but worked very well in the second Chechen war, and failed again during 08.08.08.
In military/combat terms the Ukies are much more similar to the Georgians than to the Chechens, so there is a good chance Russia might have to leave unconditionally and let the locals slug it at between each other for as much as they want (which is what Russia did in 08.08.08 even though Russia Airborne units were at the outskirts of Tbilissi).
Which brings me to THE QUESTION for tomorrow: how will the Ukrainian soldiers and civilians behave?
Right now, Ukrainian losses have been minimal (considering the undeniable fact that this is a fullscale strategic offensive), the Russian forces have reached their positions on the outskirts of many towns and tomorrow or the day after will be “decision time”.
I hope and pray that Russian and Ukrainian soldiers find a common language in as many locations as possible. Those who will chose a heroic stance (hardcore Nazis mostly) will be offered the possibility to die for their ideas.
In that context, “Ze” released a video in which he offered to negotiate directly and unconditionally, even about neutrality and any other topic. The Russian reply was simple and to the point:
Russia is immediately ready to start negotiations after the Armed Forces of Ukraine lay down their arms.
The Ukraine must be demilitarized and declared neutral.
The Ukraine must be denazified.
Russia will no longer allow the Nazis to rule in Ukraine. Ever.
After that reply, “Ze” and his aides stopped communicating.
I personally doubt that he has any control over anything. And the fact that a huge amount of weapons has been distributed to whomever wanted one today in Kiev shows that “Ze”‘s handlers have given him the order to make the biggest possible mess and bloodbath before he is evacuated.
This is very sad, and utterly immoral, but there is nothing Russia can do about that: the Ukraine will be flooded by well armed criminals gangs and Nazi insurgents for years to come.
Putin today made a speech in which he suggested that Russia’s beef was only with the Nazis and their deathsquads but that Russia would seek to cooperate with the Ukrainian armed forces (well, what’s left of them, really) should they overthrow the Nazis. See his full message here.
So, today was “we get to our staging positions” day.
So what did not happen (yet)?
The operational envelopment of the Ukrainian forces along the LOC with the LDNR forces has not happened yet, there is still a corridor by which these forces can withdraw. The Russian could have shut it down already “by maneuver by fire” but, apparently, they want to keep it open for a little longer.
The Russian Black Sea fleet has not engaged in any major combat activities (that I know off, so take that with a grain of salt).
Will that happen tomorrow? Maybe, it all really depends on whether the regular Ukrainian units will agree to surrender or whether they will fight to their last solider. It also depends on how the Ukrainian civilians will react at the sight of approaching Russian forces.
So what to look for tomorrow?
A further penetration of Russian forces deeper inside Ukie territory, with cities bypassed.
The gradual penetration of Russian forces into blocked/surrounded cities
The intervention of the Black Sea Fleet in combat operations (with maybe Odessa as a strategic target, not necessarily to take, but at least to threaten and weaken).
A western false flag (some “Russian atrocity” no doubt)
One more thing:
Western PSYOPs are in “max attack mode” and they are being helped by Russian 5th columnist websites. For example, I was trying to find a halfway decent map of the combat operations today, and ALL the Russian websites which offered such maps were hardcore 5th element. Okay, I get it – 5th columnists don’t need any real facts to make their maps, while the real patriots are afraid of both getting it wrong and leaking info. Still, I remember during the first two wars in the Donbass, there were some pretty decent maps available out there.
Today I see such zero. If anybody can recommend semi-decent military maps of the combat operations I would be most grateful.
The fact that the Russian 5th column is allowed to continue to operate the way it does really frustrates me. Could the Kremlin not tell them to “zip it” at least during active combat operations?
I did not even bother checking the output of the 6th column today, I fully expect it to be indistinguishable from the output of the 5th, and so I have no interest in it.
What is certain are two things: the joint efforts 5th and 6th column efforts have had some success, especially in locations where Putin his hated and pro-western views more common than in most of Russia. The best poll I have seen says “Three-quarters of the respondents rather support the decision of the President of Russia to recognize the independent Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (73%), rather do not support – 16%, and every tenth Russian found it difficult to answer (11%).The majority of Russians – 78% – expressed support for the President’s decision to sign an agreement on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between Russia and the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.Rather, 14% of respondents do not support this decision“. Putin personal rating is at 67,2%.
My guesstimate that no more than 5% of Russian support the 5th column and not more than 15% support the 6th column. Toss in another 5-10% which is afraid and on the fence. This is only a guess following my readings of the Russian social media, not a precise figure or even one based on serious research!
Next, the main thesis of US PSYOPs today was “the Russian movement is very slow, much slower than expected” hinting at some formidable Ukrainian defense operations. I hope that while I did not post any maps today, the above will tell you all you need to know to identify this thesis for what it is: western information operations, nothing more. The problem is that there is no “smartphone confirmation” of any of that, and by tomorrow I expect the main western PSYOPs thesis to change from “no/slow advance” to “Russian atrocities” (the smartphone coverage for that will, of course, be provided by the western press corps).
So, in conclusion, and once more – the “fog of war” is real, and to read through it takes both time and experience. By tomorrow, I only expect this “fog of war” (powerfully augmented by PSYOPs) to drown us all in all sorts of nonsense, rumors and wild claims. Again, please don’t post panicked questions such as “is it true that the Ukrainian forces are already on the Red Square in Moscow” or something equally insipid.
Two quick ones just in, then I need to crash (sorry, I am exhausted).
The US decided to impose personal sanctions personally on Putin (and others) which will result in a full termination of any diplomatic relations (as Russians warned the US many times). Note: such sanctions are entirely symbolic but maximally offensive, so a full break with Russia is what the US wants.
Twelve thousand Chechens will be sent to the LDNR if needed, so promised Ramzan Kadyrov, the President of Chechnia. Actually, I think that this is a very good idea, like in Syria, the Chechens should get involved in policing and public security operations. FYI – when the “toughest” and “NATO trained and equipped” Georgian brigade heard that the Chechen battalion Vostok was approaching, they all ran abandoning all their fancy (and secret) equipment. Russia then organized exhibits of all that NATO kit.
Today, the LDNR authorities report the seizure of large Ukie weapons depots including the famous Javelins and NLAWs. This is all very good news.
MM video
I took this video from inside a DD (Chinese version of Uber). It depicts where I live in JiDa in Zhuhai, China. Sure it’s sideways, but well, not too much I can do about that now.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry says it wants to end the 8-year bloodbath in Donbass that both Ukraine and the West turned a blind eye to.
The West spent eight years ignoring the “sea of blood” in Donbass while arming Ukraine, and now claims Moscow is the aggressor when it stepped in to end the conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RT on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, claiming it was necessary to “demilitarize and de-nazify” the neighbor. Kiev accused Russia of aggression, while the US, EU and NATO have called it an “unprovoked” invasion. Moscow insists this is not the case.
In announcing the operation, Putin said the “main objective is to stop the escalation of the war that’s been going on for eight years, and to stop the war,” Zakharova told RT in an exclusive interview.
“Russia did not commit aggression of any kind,” Zakharova insisted. “This did not start yesterday. There’s a sea of blood that’s appeared over the past 8 years,” she added, referring to the conflict in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which Russia on Monday recognized as independent states.
The main aim is to stop the escalation of the war that's been going on for eight years, to stop this war
Donetsk and Lugansk broke away from Ukraine in 2014, after the West-backed coup ousted the democratically elected government in Kiev. Zakharova noted that the two self-proclaimed republics held a referendum eight years ago, saying they did not want to remain in Ukraine, but both Moscow and the West rejected this and tried to put the “broken” country back together.
When asked about President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement that Ukraine wanted peace, Zakharova wondered why Ukraine was arming itself and refusing to negotiate with the Donbass.
“If Ukraine wanted peace, why did they get all these weapons” from all over the world, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told RT, adding, “It was clear that these were offensive weapons. Who were they fighting? Their own people in southeast Ukraine, and spoke often about seizing Crimea.”
The peninsula voted to rejoin Russia in March 2014, but Ukraine and its Western backers have refused to recognize this, calling it an “annexation.”
Zakharova also noted that the top Ukrainian officials have openly and publicly brought up the idea of obtaining nuclear weapons in recent weeks, pointing out this was a fact and not something claimed by Russian intelligence.
Divisions in Ukraine go beyond Donetsk and Lugansk, Zakharova added, accusing armed groups with Nazi-era symbols – such as the notorious Azov Battalion – of having influence over much of the country.
For years, she said, Western media so concerned over human rights in places like South Sudan and Myanmar kept silent on all this, ignoring that more than 13,000 people have died in the Donbass – many of them civilians. While Russia provided them with humanitarian aid, Kiev besieged them by cutting off trade, finance, and even utilities. Zakharova noted that the water canal towards Crimea is now once again operational after Ukraine “criminally” shut it off years ago.
Community
It’s not about individual “freedom” and allowing the sick, evil and malovent to hijack a forum. It’s about community. Community. You have a choice. you can sit behind your computer in a grey cubicle and shout your opinions anomously, or you can participate in a community as an accepted member. It your choice.
Not in his entire life has President Vladimir Putin made a speech like Monday’s Donbass address to the Russian people.
Nor has he ever named the Americans to be Russia’s national enemy in such unequivocal Russian terms – American promises worthless, American intentions deadly, American speeches lies, American actions intimidation, extortion, blackmail.
“So I want to ask”, Putin said: “why, why all this, for what? Okay, you don’t want to see us as a friend and ally, but why make us an enemy? There is only one answer: it’s not about our political regime, it’s not about anything else, they just don’t need such a large independent country as Russia. That’s the answer to all the questions. This is the source of traditional American policy towards Russia.”
“The pretext for another sanctions attack will always be found or simply fabricated, regardless of the situation in Ukraine. There is only one goal – to restrain the development of Russia. And they will do it as they did before, even without any formal pretext at all, just because we are and will never give up our sovereignty, national interests and our values.”
Unlike the most famous of English and American mobilization speeches against French, German and Confederate enemies – King Henry’s Agincourt, Winston Churchill’s Dunkirk, and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg speeches – Putin didn’t wave his arms or move significantly his head, neck, shoulders, or right hand. Putin’s right hand is the operational one.
Watch and listen. The stillness of the body language, the pauses for breathing, the speech pitch, pace and modulation – these mean to all Russians: Do or die — now we do for ourselves or else the Americans will kill us.
Putin spoke for 55 minutes, 48 seconds – Shakespeare’s Henry V spoke for just over two minutes; Lincoln for less than that; Churchill for 20 minutes.
The Pentagon has been using body language and voice techniques to spy on Putin for years. Timothy Colton, the US Naval War College agent doubling as a Harvard professor, was exposed in 2015 after several years of paid secret work; read the details here.
Colton has also been the biographer of Boris Yeltsin, a work celebrated as a “masterpiece” by the US officials who once controlled Yeltsin. Yeltsin was unnamed in Putin’s speech, but all Russian listeners understand that he was meant in Putin’s accusations of “historic, strategic mistakes”, “pandering to the ambitions of the nationalist elites”; “injustices, lies and outright pillage.”
“Against the backdrop of the superficial and populist rhetoric about democracy and a bright future based either on a market or a planned economy, but amid a true impoverishment of people and widespread shortages, no one among the powers that be was thinking about the inevitable tragic consequences for the country… The collapse of the historical Russia known as the USSR is on their conscience.” For “market” Putin means the Yeltsin group, the two ranking officials who belong to it – Anatoly Chubais and Alexei Kudrin — are still alive, along with the oligarchs they created. For “planned economy” Putin refers to Mikhail Gorbachev whom he has condemned as well. For “conscience” Putin means hypocrisy.
The qualifier: “Of course, we cannot change past events, but we must at least admit them openly and honestly, without any reservations or politicking. Personally, I can add that no political factors, however impressive or profitable they may seem at any given moment, can or may be used as the fundamental principles of statehood. I am not trying to put the blame on anyone.”
Analysis of Putin’s body language and verbal cues on behalf of the secret services by Colton and his colleagues has not discouraged the hospitality which has been shown to Colton by the Valdai Club, the Kremlin-financed platform. The reason Putin has just announced openly. For the traditional American reason the Russian command believes Colton’s capacity to threaten is limited by his incapacity to comprehend.
Count Putin’s head, neck, and shoulder movements and measure them against the vertical and horizontal axes. Head movements left and right are restricted within 5 degrees of the vertical; there is almost no kinesis of the head forward or back; no neck rotation; and apart from a couple of left shrugs, Putin’s shoulders remain immobile and at rest on the horizontal for all 55 minutes. This is an unusually long time.
Movement psychologists diagnose these features as indicating on the one hand a combination of internal control and confidence in what is being said; on the other hand, the commitment to reassure the listener.
Putin does not stumble in speech, mispronounce or misread his teleprompter lines. Speaking without a glass of water for an hour, he clears his throat very rarely. His breathing intakes are short, regular, and without the diaphragmatic discipline of the Stanislavsky stage method; in short, natural. The pitch and modulation of his voice remain steady without many peaks of emphasis or emotion. But the president does something he has exhibited very rarely — he breathes out in audible sighs. This is a display of regret, sadness. For the Russian audience this is attractive because it is human.
For his emphases Putin employs as few of his moving parts as he can. This signifies a high degree of self-control without nervousness. Instead, he uses his hands, the right more than the left, to anchor his body. When he wants to underline a verbal point, there is no agitation of the arms nor tension in the fingers on the table. His gestures – either single-handed or double-handed – illustrate the military threats Putin is discussing from the US, the NATO alliance, and from Ukrainian territory.
Left: “a truly fatal document, the so-called ethnic policy of the party in modern conditions”. 2nd from left: “blackmailing the West to secure preferences by claiming that otherwise Russia would have a bigger influence in Ukraine”. 3rd from left: “we got five waves of NATO enlargement one after another….” 4th from left: “It’s called, rightly, ‘the knife to the throat’”. Right: “they are trying to blackmail us, again threatening us with sanctions, which, by the way, they will still introduce as Russia’s sovereignty strengthens”.
The last time the United States faced an enemy as calm, unmoving, disciplined, and confident was in the Vietnam War. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and deputy Victoria Nuland were less than eight years old at the time; National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had not been born.
Oh, and speaking about Taiwan…
And about China’s defenses regarding Taiwan…
AI controlled Chinese Robotic bombs are swimming independently all over the South China Sea. Collecting info, and ready to detonate upon command. Video 6MB
Chinese Naval Aviation. I wonder if CNN, BBC, or FOX “news” would ever show these kinds of videos. Video 7MB
How community works
This is what happens inside of China. It is a nation that values community, and that does not tolerate social misfits. And Trolls are mentally ill social misfits. That’s WHY they hide their true names, faces, appearance, and location.
Then (supposedly) hidden they cause saddness, interruptions and sow disgust.
This is unaccceptable inside of China, and China is very strict about putting these misfits out of society. Instead they provide them with meaningful labor, in well structured environments where their social skills are allowed to gorw and mature until one day then can return back into that community.
Community. Without it, you are just a loney, solitary misfit.
When was the last time you ate this delicious dish?
My guess is that you must have eaten at least 300 buckets of KFC chicken since then. So much, that you (and the rest of society) has forgotten that there as so many ways to cook chicken, and deep frying it is only one such way.
Chicken a la King took the United States by storm in the middle of the 20th century. But if you try to find it on a dinner menu these days, you probably won’t have much luck.
By embracing this dish, featuring cubed chicken with a cream sauce served over your favorite grain (rice, noodles or bread), you’ll get to taste what made this chicken recipe such a classic and maybe even discover your next favorite meal.
Remember the onslaught of lies trying to pin Coronavirus on the Chinaese because of unhealthy habits, filth and dirt at a Wet Market. Yet, no one ever showed images of what a Wet Market looks like. Well, here is what it looks like.
Despite possible sanctions and their hard-hitting economic consequences, the hunted Russian bear has got out of the den and is going after the hunters. Until recently, Russians, Ukrainians, and Europeans believed that there would be no war.
What we see now, however, is a full-scale Russian intervention and quite a successful one too. Where are the Russian troops going, and most importantly, why? And where will they stop?
Strengthened since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia was quite content with its new status of a leading regional power, and only verbally recalled its glorious imperial past. During the early 2000s, Russia even mulled the possibility of integrating into NATO and the EU, only to see its natural and legitimate interests repeatedly and shamelessly ignored. Millions of Russian-speakers living in the post-Soviet republics were deprived of their right to use their native language, while the Baltic countries and Ukraine profited from the transit of gas, oil, and raw materials. There was even a new “policy of gas pipelines,” when Russia was pressured into make concessions in exchange for being allowed to build a gas pipeline or simply put a stop to the syphoning off of its pipeline gas.
In fact, a resurgent Russia was gradually being presented as a “potential enemy” for the sake of reiterating NATO’s role as a defender against the imagined Russian threat. All this resulted in the 2013 events in Ukraine where nationalists came to power not without outside help, flatly refusing to safeguard the interests of the country’s Russian-speaking population, primarily in eastern Ukraine. Facing the risk of losing its naval base in Sevastopol (existing there since the 18th century) and wishing to protect the Russian-speaking people living in Ukraine, Russia, with the full support of the local population, re-absorbed Crimea and supported the separatists of Donbass. This was followed by Kiev’s ban on the use of the Russian language in the country (not entirely successful, though, since it was the main spoken language of Ukraine) and police persecution of those who advocated a dialogue with Moscow. In its effort to support Ukraine, the West introduced a series of anti-Russian sanctions, which seriously damaged the Russian economy. Still, for the past eight years, Russia was ready for dialogue. In exchange for autonomy for Russian-speakers and guarantees of non-deployment of a NATO infrastructure in eastern Ukraine, Moscow was prepared to roll back its support for the separatists and, possibly, even hold a new referendum in Crimea on its reunification with Russia.
However, during all these eight years, people continued to die along the disengagement line in Donbass, separating Kiev’s armed forces and the separatists (at the rate of more than 100 a year). Meanwhile, Russia was officially branded by Kiev as an “aggressor,” and those in power in Ukraine started to busily prepare for a big war, demanding military and financial assistance from the EU and Washington. And while President Zelensky’s predecessor, the millionaire Petro Poroshenko, was still able to maintain a dialogue with Moscow with the help of the oligarchs, the current president, who came to power on the strength of promises to seek peace and reconciliation, was trying hard to enter NATO and was threatening Russia with missiles deployed near Chernigov (750 km from Moscow). As for the Kremlin, it has spent the past six months trying to negotiate with Brussels, Washington and Zelensky himself. All that Putin was asking for were security guarantees for Russia. In fact, Moscow never really threatened Ukraine but was still being systematically pushed towards a military solution.
It should be noted that prior to the intervention, Putin explained in great detail to his compatriots what was going on, recalling how the borders of the Soviet republics had been cut and how Russian-speaking territories had been handed over to Ukraine. He also made it clear that one cannot talk about a violation of international law after the invasion of Iraq, the bombing of Serbia, the recognition of Kosovo and NATO’s move to the Russian borders.
Let’s be honest: a bear sleeping peacefully in its den was smoked out of there by being poked with a stick, and now they are wondering why it is chasing those who did that. Moscow has been pushed into a corner and is now demonstrating its strength and standing up for its interests. Now Putin will at best be satisfied with a change of guard in Kiev, and at worst, Ukraine as a state will disappear from the map of Europe. Is it possible to justify an aggression that has been provoked for a long time? This is a matter of a lengthy discussion. One thing is clear: 20 years ago, Russia could and wanted to join NATO and united Europe. However, the latter chose to make Russia an enemy…
Pick a side
I have recounted how various “experts” are advising Washington DC to sanction China along with Russia. They argue that since the USA controls the money supply and debt that countries would “of course” choose America over China. I argue otherwise. Where are people going to get things?
And concerning China…
A reminder that China DOES NOT PLAY
Like Russia, China has a ferocious military. Military training starts in first grade, however, certain kindergarden schools also start the tykes early as well. Marching, rules of organization are taught in first grade. Third grade you have field stripping of firearms, small arms training, and mortar fire.
China has a population of merit driven, determined soldiers of 1.6 billion people. Someone should slap the American neocons ont he side of the head and remind them that both China and Russia are decendents of Genghis Khan.
Today is a major day in the Russian military operation. Why?
Because Russian forces are now on the outskirts of many major Ukrainian cities. If yesterday was “standoff weapons” day, today is the first day when Russian forces can now begin to degrade Ukrainian artillery dispositions, engage Ukie armor and break through Ukrainian fortifications. Today is also the last day for US PSYOPs to try to present a counter-narrative (Ukies heroically resisting, Russian dying in huge numbers, effective counter-attacks, etc.).
Yet we live in the smartphone with camera era and picture like this one tell the full story:
What you see in this picture are immense traffic jams of folks fleeing not Mariupol or Kramatorsk, but Kiev, the capital.
Here is a quick machine translated news update from Col. Cassad:
1. LDNR – the positional nature of the fighting remains, with attempts by the LDNR armies to advance to the borders of the territories occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
2. The southern direction – the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation retained control over the bridge over the Dnieper at Kherson, repulsing attempts of counterattacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.. Fighting in the Antonovsky Bridge area continues.
A New Kakhovka is also being held. Melitopol was taken this morning and the advance towards Berdyansk began.
3. Kharkiv direction – fighting continues on the near approaches to Kharkov. Both sides are suffering losses in people and equipment.
4. Sumy direction – the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation took Putivl and passing through Sumy (the battle at the airport continued there today), advanced to Konotop, surrounding the city. Today, attempts to take Akhtyrka continued in order to reach Kharkov from the west. There are Russian roadblocks on the Sumy-Kiev highway. There is an advance to Kiev and Chernihiv. (The APU repelled the attack of the Russian Armed Forces in the Chernihiv direction).
5. Kiev – Gostomel airfield is held by paratroopers. The APU could not dislodge them from there. This morning, tank columns of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation broke through to the near approaches to Kiev and are close to establishing direct communication with the landing. The AFU is preparing a counterattack, stating that another landing will be thrown out in the Gostomel area today. The Pentagon says that Kiev will fall in the coming days. After 10 o’clock shooting was heard in the city. Also, according to the statement of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the landing was thrown to the west of Zhytomyr. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are actively undermining bridges on the approaches, trying to slow down the advance of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,
6. In the morning, strikes continued on military facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine throughout the territory of Ukraine. A Su-27 of the Ukrainian Air Force was shot down over Kiev – according to one version by the Russian air defense system, according to another – by the Ukrainian ones. The downed “Caliber” fell on a residential building in Kiev, but there were no casualties. During the shelling of Gorlovka, a school was hit – 2 teachers were killed.
7. The AFU launched a missile attack on the Millerovo airfield on the territory of the Russian Federation. Damage is reported at the airfield, but there are no losses in aircraft.
What a Chinese home is like
Yeah. It’s pretty much like this. Only, her house is not nearly as messy and cluttered up as mine. You know, having young kids is a real way to “decorate” your home. Video
And in Taiwan, a lesson for everyone
Ukraine’s crisis comic: note the flags, the texts, and the last picture : how US, UK, and EU farewell the stupid Ukraine president after giving him the weapons.
I love this Taiwan TV current affair channel. The current Taiwan regime ban them, so they go on social media.
It’s a tad too technical, on my side. You all can skim over the article if you want. Essentially, China’s AI systems detected the behavior of the USA’s NSA hacking tool. It mapped it out, and then algorithims figured it all out. The part that is NOT reported in this article is that the Chinese were able to do so as the enire system is transparent. It’s like trying to find a glass stature submerged in ice cube water.
Researchers from China’s Pangu Lab have disclosed details of a “top-tier” backdoor put to use by the Equation Group, an advanced persistent threat (APT) with alleged ties to the cyber-warfare intelligence-gathering unit of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).
Dubbed “Bvp47” owing to numerous references to the string “Bvp” and the numerical value “0x47” used in the encryption algorithm, the backdoor was extracted from Linux systems “during an in-depth forensic investigation of a host in a key domestic department” in 2013.
The defense research group codenamed the attacks involving the deployment of Bvp47 “Operation Telescreen,” with the implant featuring an “advanced covert channel behavior based on TCP SYN packets, code obfuscation, system hiding, and self-destruction design.”
Bvp47 is said to have been used on more than 287 targets in the academia, economic development, military, science, and telecom sectors located in 45 countries, mainly in China, Korea, Japan, Germany, Spain, India, and Mexico, all the while going largely undetected for over a decade.
The elusive backdoor is also equipped with a remote control function that’s protected using an encryption algorithm, activating which requires the attacker’s private key – something the researchers said they found in the leaks published by the Shadow Brokers hacker group in 2016.
Pangu Lab is a research project of Pangu Team, which has a history of jailbreaking Apple iPhones dating all the way back to 2014. At the Tianfu Cup hacking contest last year, the white hat hacking team demonstrated several security flaws that allowed for remotely jailbreaking a fully patched iPhone 13 Pro running iOS 15.
The Shadow Brokers leaks
Equation Group, designated as the “crown creator of cyber espionage” by Russian security firm Kaspersky, is the name assigned to a sophisticated adversary that’s been active since at least 2001 and has used previously undisclosed zero-day exploits to “infect victims, retrieve data and hide activity in an outstandingly professional way,” some of which were later incorporated into Stuxnet.
The attacks have targeted a variety of sectors in no less than 42 countries, counting governments, telecom, aerospace, energy, nuclear research, oil and gas, military, nanotechnology, Islamic activists and scholars, media, transportation, financial institutions, and companies developing encryption technologies.
The group is believed to be linked to the NSA’s Tailored Access Operations (TAO) unit, while intrusion activities pertaining to a second collective known as Longhorn (aka The Lamberts) have been attributed to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Equation Group’s malware toolset became public knowledge in 2016 when a group calling itself the Shadow Brokers leaked the entire tranche of exploits used by the elite hacking team, with Kaspersky uncovering code-level similarities between the stolen files and that of samples identified as used by the threat actor.
Bvp47 as a covert backdoor
The incident analyzed by Pangu Lab comprises two internally compromised servers, an email and an enterprise server named V1 and V2 respectively, and an external domain (identified as A), sporting a novel two-way communication mechanism to exfiltrate sensitive data from the systems.
“There is abnormal communication between external host A and the V1 server,” the researchers said. “Specifically, A first sends a SYN packet with a 264-byte payload to port 80 of the V1 server, and then the V1 server immediately initiates an external connection to the high-end port of the A machine and maintains a large amount of exchange data.”
Simultaneously, V1 connects to V2 via the SMB service to perform a number of operations, including logging in to the latter with an administrator account, trying to open terminal services, enumerating directories, and executing PowerShell scripts through scheduled tasks.
V2, for its part, also connects to V1 to retrieve a PowerShell script and an encrypted second-stage payload, the encrypted execution results of which are sent back to V1, which, according to the researchers, “acts as a data transfer between the A machine and the V2 server.”
The Bvp47 backdoor installed on the servers consists of two parts, a loader which is responsible for decoding and loading the actual payload into memory. “Bvp47 generally lives in the Linux operating system in the demilitarized zone that communicates with the Internet,” the researchers said. “It mainly assumes the core control bridge communication role in the overall attack.”
Links to the Equation Group
Pangu Lab’s attribution to Equation Group stems from overlaps with exploits contained in a GPG-encrypted archive file published by the Shadow Brokers – “eqgrp-auction-file.tar.xz.gpg” – as part of a failedauction of the cyber weapons in August 2016.
“In the process of analyzing the ‘eqgrp-auction-file.tar.xz.gpg’ file, it was found that Bvp47 and the attacking tools in the compressed package were technically deterministic, mainly including ‘dewdrops,’ ‘suctionchar_agents,’ ‘tipoffs,’ ‘StoicSurgeon,’ ‘incision’ and other directories,” the researchers explained.
“The ‘tipoffs’ directory contains the RSA asymmetric algorithm private key used in the Bvp47 covert channel [for] command execution and other operations. On this basis, it can be confirmed that Bvp47 is from [the] Equation group.”
The findings mark the second time hitherto undocumented malware developed by the Equation Group has come to light in as many months. In late December 2021, Check Point Research disclosed details of a diagnostic utility called “DoubleFeature” that’s used in conjunction with the DanderSpritz malware framework.
“Judging from the attack tools related to the organization, including Bvp47, Equation group is indeed a first-class hacking group,” the researchers concluded.
“The tool is well-designed, powerful, and widely adapted. Its network attack capability equipped by zero-day vulnerabilities was unstoppable, and its data acquisition under covert control was with little effort. The Equation Group is in a dominant position in national-level cyberspace confrontation.”
A most outstanding Interview
It truly is. Man, oh man. No holding back. This is THE Scott Ritter that was sent to Iraq to find WMD’s and got in all sorts of trouble by the Bush Administration when he couldn’t find any. Man, he lets loose!
This link with Scott Ritter just popped up on moa a little while ago.
I’ve had to listen twice — highly recommended.
I think he is correct — NATO is dead and gone, bar for the funeral.
The European defence process will need to rebuild a less costly, more effective framework for peaceful co-existance with the Slavic world.
And this is a key point about re-alignments at a higher level than simply nation state.
It is at Chinese; Slavic; European; Anglo-American scales — everything else is just “loose ends” from the 20th century past.
Time to wake up, folks, and smell the roses (or the rubbish in the streets) and blame our local political representitives — after all, they ARE our ‘leaders’ (so they keep saying).
Accountability is a bitch ….Lol.
“NATO Too Weak to Face Russia: Scott Ritter on Russian Offensive
17,097 views • Feb 25, 2022 ” [38min]
https://youtu.be/3GkmdCaBECs
This kind of scene is fairly common when you go to a Business KTV. The girls will dance, and feed your food like grapes, strawberries, and drinks. They will hold your arm and be playful with you. video
“We’ve seen this picture show before, ahem,” claimed Archduke Peter Von Fishburn-Waldrop III, of County Hampshire, as he took snuff. “Whenever a world war is about to break out, one of us is inevitably assassinated, ahem.”
Archdukes are contracting mercenaries, hirelings, sell-swords, adventurers-about-town, and various other soldiers of fortune to round out their security details.
“Aye, it be good for business, make no mistake. Surely none of us wish to see an Archduke what with his life-force pourin’ out of his noggin, but we got bills to pay too, mind you,” said Captain John Ninefingers, leader of the famed Free Company.
Students of history will remember that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand precipitated World War I, called The Great War at the time, fought by various European powers. Archdukes fear that with the Ukrainian crisis, it’s only a matter of time before history repeats itself.
“One day you’re collecting rent from peasants, ahem, or getting promoted in the military despite no accomplishments, and the next day, ahem, you get assassinated by a young upstart who wants freedom from your imperial empire,” muttered Archduke Yannis Belagrovstad, of the Gutenberg Province. “What nerve! What cheek!”
The motley collection of heirs-apparent is leaving nothing to chance. The finest technologies have been employed to ensure the safety of the Archduke corps throughout Europe.
“We attempted to develop a motorcar that was consistently surrounded by a moat as it traveled, ahem, but the peasants complained that it was too much digging,” mused Archduke Johannes Reberg, of the Kaiserschoten Kaserne. “And isn’t that just like a peasant?”
When asked for comment, Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, the current leader of the European Commission, said, “The safety of the Archdukes remains our number one priority. That’s why we’ve diverted troops from Ukraine to stand guard around their four-post beds throughout the night.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a press release Tuesday morning regarding the safety of the Archdukes.
“When it comes to the assassination of Archdukes, it appalls me to think that anyone could be considering such an action,” said Putin, “without me having first ordered it”.
Checkered sweater for the tropics
Here, in the tropics, it’s HOT. Then there’s the “rainy season” which is HOT and STEAMY. So how do these Chinese girls get around wearing sweaters? Is it becuase they stay inside the air conditioning all day? Well, maybe so, but also the clothes in China are designed for the environment. Here is a sweater for the tropics. Cool, eh?
The Russian operations in the Ukraine continue at a moderate pace. Some more troops were committed today. In all the Russian military may have now introduced some 20-40% of its prepared forces.
The Ukrainian military is not so much holding a line but concentrating in and around its bigger cities. It has destroyed some bridges north of Kiev to make an approach more difficult. That will slow down the Russian moves but will not prevent them. Russia’s military is famously good at setting up combat bridges.
So far the Russians have used their artillery sparsely. An exception was last night near Kharkiv in the northeast of Ukraine where a strike by multiple launcher artillery systems (MLRS) hit some area target with yet unknown results.
A 13 minutes long video from a highway drive near Kherson, a city north of Crimea, shows nearly 100 destroyed Ukrainian trucks and tanks. These are likely victims of air attacks.
If this map from a Turkish think tank source is correct the Russian troops did not attempt much deeper strikes today but mostly consolidated their frontline.
This map from Janes shows less progress. But it also has not marked the Donbas area in the southeast which is held by pro-Russian forces.
Russia’s President has called on the Ukrainian military to overthrow its government. I do not think he believes that will happen but it is a possibility so why not call for it.
Facebook now allows to praise Ukrainian Nazi groups like the Azov battalion. This was prohibited with Azov previously being in the same category as ISIS. Now these are ‘our guys’.
There are a lot of discussions of sanctions against Russia and every western country is trying to get as much exemptions for its industries as possible . The U.S. has for example exempted everything that has to do with hydrocarbons from its own sanction package. It will still buy Russian oil and will continue to sell drilling equipment to Russia.
The EU countries are still negotiating with themselves. They should be careful with what they do.
Britain has had the stupidity of sanctioning the Russian air carrier Aeroflot. In a counter move Russia prohibited British Airways from flying over Russian territory. Normally all flights from Britain to the Far East cross Russian airspace. These will now have to be redirected to other routes which will significantly increase their flight time and fuel burn.
Russia has threatened ‘inconvenient’ counter-sanctions to those who sanction it. Overflight rights are only one of the tools it can use.
NATO has said it will continue to deliver weapons, including air defenses, to the Ukraine. NATO does not have any weapons but some NATO countries seem to strive for a larger war. The U.S. seem willing to sacrifice the Ukraine to create a quagmire for Russia.
Syria was also supposed to become a quagmire for Russia when Russia came to its help. It didn’t turn out that way.
Finally, this is how we handle Trolls here on MM
"Once you cut through the bullshit and understand what's going on, it's easy to predict what will happen.
These people and countries acting as attack dogs for the empire must therefore be taught an unforgettable lesson. If you don't put down the rabid dogs, they will get up and bite you again.
Therefore, Russia will not take half measures.
They will not stop unless the surrender is total, and punishment for the miscreants dealt out accordingly. Otherwise, this operation will be for naught."
If you don’t understand this video, you must have a mental illness. Truth this.
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
Above Photo: Digging youselves out from under all the lies and bullshit.
Are you getting tired of this geo-political stuff? I sure am.
Sorry to keep bringing it up, but these are historical times that we are living in. It’s exciting, dangerous, fearful and exciting. It’s new, novel and strange. And also everything in between. So please forgive me this latest article.
Ok already!
The United States is a shambles and it’s falling apart. Just die off, and leave me alone.
Will you? Please?
"...Making thing worst, western fake democracy produce low quality, corrupt, and know no consequences politicians who care for no one except their own personal wellbeing."
This article continues with a selction of snapshots of the world relate to the United States. We discuss the rise of Asia, of course. We discuss the fall of the United States. And we also discuss the strange, strange behaviors that it seems to be taking on.
We do this instead of talking about things that matter. Like cats, cheese, wine, and cars. Sheech!
We start with this article.
Where the author is stunned that the American “leadership” and their minions / toadies believe that wars can and will be fought on the same basis as was done one hundred years ago. Let me tell youse guys something, the world is a far different place today.
Yesterday, the press secretary of the Foreign Ministry, Mariya Zakharova, made such a post on FB.
"A request to the US and British disinformation media Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Sun, etc. - announce the schedule of our "invasions" for the coming year. I would like to plan a vacation."
Here, in the flood of “any day now”, “any hour now” is this churning out nonsesne about Russia invading the Ukraine. Not one is discussing the “why, in the Hell woud they want to do such an idiotic thing?”
And you know, you DO know, that the Internet is an erasible whiteboard. Things come and then in a few years they are gone. Poof! Well, here’s what I am talking about for all youse guys who are reading this in 2030.
Two months of “any day now”. From December 2021 to February 2022. Just about every major headline was about “The Ukraine”. For me, it was a welcome respite from the “any day now China will invade Taiwan” nonsense.
But still, it is tiring…
Um. Sure.
What ever you say Jake.
Here’s another. Thousands of these bullshit articles. All clogging up my media feeds.
Invasion 1 am on Monday.
There are literally thousands of these kinds of articles and they are flooding my feed just like the Anti-China narrative doused me back last year.
All lies.
All distortions.
All fearmongering. All bullshit.
Here’s on at 3am on Wednesday.
The days come and go. The times come and go.
The lies just plow forward.
It’s all been bullshit.
It’s all shrilling nonsense.
Who are these editors? Jane LGBQ diversity-hire; spending time at a nail salon, or a perpetual evil sociopath without a brain, just doing what they are told by some kind of Reptilian evil overlord?
Which pretty much makes people scratch their heads and wonder. Like this article points out…
Next part.
I’m scratching my noggin, don’t you know.
Here’s a bunch of articles that pretty round out the massive and timultious changes that the world is going through right now. If you live inside of the United States, you will probably be only aware of eight out of the ten articles. And you know why, right?
The infernal danger is that Washington and London are pushing Europe and the world towards the abyss of a nuclear with Russia.
The Anglo-Americans are running a modern-day reworking of Operation Overlord, the June 1944 military invasion plan billed to liberate Western Europe from Nazi Germany.
This time around, the billed objective is to “liberate” the European Union from its “tyrannical” dependency on Russian natural gas.
In reality, the unspoken objective is to maintain U.S. tyrannical control over Europe.
That control is essential for upholding American hegemony and global power.
The ultimate price is economic devastation and even war for Europe which the “noble” American hegemon is all too willing for its peons to pay.
This week, U.S. President Joe Biden showed off his overlord status when he arrogantly spoke for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a White House press conference.
Biden was asked about the fate of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany in the hypothetical event of an invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Biden didn’t skip a beat to consult with the German leader. He peremptorily asserted the gas project would be terminated.
“There will be no longer a Nord Stream 2,” said Biden without hesitation. “We will bring an end to it.”
The American president was asked how this could be done given that the functioning of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is nominally under the control of Germany, not the United States.
“We will — I promise you, we’ll be able to do it,” asserted Biden without so much as a hint of seeking any kind of agreement from the German chancellor.
The assuredness of Washington’s presumed ability to over-ride European sovereignty was a revealing and disturbing display of American imperial arrogance.
It was also an excruciating display of American contempt for supposed European “allies”. Scholz, Germany, Europe, was made to look like a nonentity by Biden.
Washington and London have led the ramping up of geopolitical tensions with relentless accusations that Russia is about to invade Ukraine and jeopardize European security.
From the way the Anglo-American propaganda has contrived it, one would think that the scenario is a re-run of Nazi aggression threatening Europe for which they alone are the noble defenders.
Putin is Hitler, the Kremlin is the Third Reich, and diplomacy is appeasement, so the preposterous propaganda goes.
Moscow has repeatedly said it has no intention to invade Ukraine and that in fact it is Russia that is being threatened by the U.S.-led NATO military alliance after year-on-year expansion of the bloc all the way to Russia’s borders.
Ratcheting up the tensions further, Washington and London are demanding that Europe must adopt draconian sanctions against Moscow including the commitment to abandon the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
That pipeline took five years and a €10-billion investment to complete despite constant American objections.
The crisis over Ukraine contrived by Washington and its British flunkey have ensured that the gas supply has been suspended for the past six months despite an energy crunch in Europe.
What the Anglo-American overlords want to see finally is the entire gas project being scrapped. That’s the end-game even if it means European households freezing from un-payable gas bills.
The American overlords don’t care.
That’s why the Americans and the Brits are doing their best to scupper any diplomatic effort to calm the inordinate crisis with Russia over Ukraine.
Hence, Washington and London are funneling weapons to Ukraine and deploying paratroopers to Eastern Europe in a reckless bid to escalate the confrontation.
While visiting the White House this week, Chancellor Scholz was peppered with petulant demands to explicitly state that the Nord Stream 2 project would be axed “if Russia invaded Ukraine”.
Scholz refused to state that, although in an apparent attempt to offer a sop he claimed that Germany and the United States were united in their resolve.
There is a palpable peeved sense among the Americans and British that Berlin is not being sufficiently hostile towards Russia.
Likewise, when French President Emmanuel Macron went to Moscow this week for diplomatic talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin there was also an unmistakable sense of rancor from Washington and London that their militaristic “unanimity” was being undermined.
There’s little doubt that Berlin and Paris know that the Anglo-American bravado is a cynical provocation that is “nobly” signing a suicide note on behalf of Europe in the event of a war with Russia.
Macron’s bitter experience of France being shafted last year by the U.S., Britain and Australia over the €50 billion AUKUS submarine contract has probably helped engender a bit of healthy skepticism too. He’s also got an eye on French presidential elections in April.
The bottomline is that Washington wants to sabotage the strategic partnership between Europe and Russia for energy trade and the general normalization of relations. The objectives are maintaining U.S. hegemony, selling its own more expensive gas to Europe and of course endless sales of weapons for NATO members in a perennially agitated state of insecurity. The Brits as ever are in it for ingratiating with Uncle Sam and serving their usual function of being the geopolitical butler to U.S. imperial power.
Energy analysts know that Germany and Europe cannot survive economically without Russia gas, which accounts for at least 40 percent of the continent’s consumption. Even Biden at the White House press conference could not pretend that the U.S. was able replace Russia’s supply. If Russia’s gas trade to Europe was to be disrupted by conflict or deeper sanctions the repercussions for the European Union’s economies would be devastating. There is no way that Germany, France and the EU could survive without Russian oil and gas. For the U.S. and Britain to demand that Berlin make definitive statements about cancelling Nord Stream 2 is a form of coercion and blackmail. Operation Overlord II.
But the infernal danger is that Washington and London are pushing Europe and the world towards the abyss of a nuclear with Russia. That’s how demonic the failing Anglo-American imperium is.
…
So, we start off realizing that the entire “song and dance” about the “War in the Ukraine” is to scare Europe into compliance wiht the United States, and stop Germany from trading with Russia (and China).
It’s not successful.
So why is the United States doing this?
Well. It needs a war. It REALLY needs a war.
Every single state, all 50 of them, have enormous military-industrial factories cherning out bombs, guns, and battle gear. They employ millions of people, and without a war, there will be layoffs. And layoff right now, in this economic condition would be devistating.
What economic condition you might ask?
Article 2
The USA is a real fiasco. Sorry to say.
Make sure that your larder is well stocked and that you are part of your community. And when you have a change, just go to the local diner and eat a nice fine pie. Not that it’s the end of the world or anything like that, but rather to enjoy the little things in life.
Delicious cherry pie. Oh, and don’t forget a nice HOT cup of fresh brewed coffee to go with it.
5 New Numbers That Prove That America’s Horrifying Inflation Crisis Is Getting Even Worse
If you are less than 40 years old, you have never seen inflation like this in the United States. Despite all the warnings, our politicians in Washington just kept borrowing and spending trillions upon trillions of dollars that we did not have. And despite all the warnings, the Federal Reserve just kept pumping trillions of fresh dollars into the financial system. Now we have a giant mess on our hands, and anyone that believes that this is going to be easily fixed is simply being delusional.
Of course most Americans weren’t going to start paying attention to all of this until it started to affect them personally.
Now it is affecting all of us personally, and there are millions of people out there that are becoming increasingly frustrated about the current state of affairs.
Unfortunately, this crisis appears to be just in the early stages. The following are 5 numbers that indicate that the inflation crisis in the United States continues to get even worse…
#1 The producer price index has risen at a rate of 9.7 percent over the previous 12 months. According to CNBC, that is close to a brand new record…
The producer price index, which measures final demand goods and services, increased 1% for the month, against the Dow Jones estimate for 0.5%. Over the past 12 months the gauge rose an unadjusted 9.7%, close to a record in data going back to 2010.
Last week we learned that the consumer price index has risen by 7.5 percent over the previous 12 months. Of course if the consumer price index was still calculated the way that it was back in 1980, the real number would actually be more than double the official number that we were just given.
#2Truck trailer prices in January 2022 were 29.6 percent higher than they were in January 2021…
A shortage of parts and labor has sent the prices of truck trailers through the roof.Truck trailer prices jumped 3.1 percent in January, data from the Department of Labor showed Tuesday. That followed a 3.8 percent increase in December. Compared with 12-months ago, trailer prices are up 29.6 percent, by far the biggest one-year jump in records going back to 1980.
#3 The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is telling us that the price of used vehicles rose by an astounding 40.5 percent from January 2021 to January 2022…
According to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday, the consumer price index for used cars and trucks jumped up by 40.5% from January 2021 to January 2022. That means within a year, the average price of used cars and trucks for urban consumers has gone up by 40.5%.
#4 You may have noticed that you are paying a lot more at the pump these days. If you can believe it, the price of gasoline has actually shot up 40.8 percentsince Joe Biden first entered the White House…
Between January 2021 and January 2022–President Joe Biden’s first year in office–the price of unleaded gasoline increased 40.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That is adding to the cost of both building a new home and remodeling an older one. The National Association of Home Builders estimated the recent price jump added more than $18,600 to the price of a newly built home. It also added nearly $7,300 to the cost of the average new multifamily home, which translates into households paying $67 a month more to rent a new apartment.
Ouch.
I sure wouldn’t want to be trying to build a new home in this environment.
Pressure has been building on the Federal Reserve to take action, and it is being anticipated that the “geniuses” at the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates by 50 basis points next month…
The hot inflation readings led financial markets to price in a better-than-even chance of a 50 basis points interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve next month.Inflation is running well above the U.S. central bank’s 2 percent target. Economists are expecting as many as seven rate hikes this year.
Just recently, a reader sent me an email which pointed out that we shouldn’t have a system where an unelected group of bureaucrats gets together and determines what our interest rates are going to be.
And he is exactly right.
In a free market system, interest rates would be determined by the free market.
But we don’t have a free market system anymore.
In fact, we haven’t had one for a long time.
Of course when it comes to the economy, the guy in the White House is going to get more of the credit or more of the blame for what is going on than anyone else.
And a brand new poll that was just released has Joe Biden’s approval rating sitting at just 34 percent…
The president’s approval rating nationally sits around 40 percent, according to several tracking averages, but a new CIVIQS poll showed it sitting at 34 percent from the 165,786 respondents surveyed.
That is a shockingly bad number, and what should alarm Democrats even more is how bad Biden’s numbers are in the most important swing states…
Swing states of Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin all voted narrowly blue in the 2020 election, but the new poll shows their approval of Biden sits in the low 30 percentages.
Arizona has the biggest split with 32 percent approval to 61 percent disapproval. Georgia sits in second with 31 percent approval to 59 percent disapproval; Pennsylvania’s split is 36 percent to 57 percent; Michigan is 33 percent to 59 percent; and Wisconsin has 36 percent approval and 56 percent disapproval of Biden.
Unfortunately, Biden isn’t going to resign no matter how low his numbers go.
That means that we are going to have at least three more years of either Joe Biden or Kamala Harris running the country.
So we shouldn’t expect any dramatic policy shifts from Washington.
And the “geniuses” at the Fed are undoubtedly going to find even more ways to really mess things up. They are the ones that are more responsible than anyone else for getting us into this mess, and now many Americans are desperately hoping that they can get us out of it.
If you are waiting for them to fix the economy, you are going to be waiting a really, really long time.
I have been warning for years that the decisions that were being made would have severe consequences, and now those consequences have started to arrive.
We are on a road to national ruin, and those that are running things are even more blind than those that they are supposed to be leading.
…
Ok so the United States has high inflation. So what?
It’s more than just the price of food and a decrease in the standard of living. It’s a total collapse of everything and a President that is a bumbling puppet. The Americans are distraught, frustrated, and are waking up that they do not like the govnerment that they have right now, and thus a war of distraction is really needed…
For those of you who are unawares, the United States has been pushing and pushing for a war in the Ukraine, and Russia and the Ukraine said No.
They continued. And still nothing happened.
Now today, President Biden is declaring a “victory” by “forcing” Russia to back down and not invade the Ukraine. Silly. Can’t they see that the United States is now the laughingstock for the entire world?
Article 3
Yes, the United States is acting like a colleciton of ignoarant, mentally deranged jackasses, and has lost all global respect, but you are not part of the USA leadership. So don’t fret. No one, and I do mean NO ONE, is blaming the American people for the faults of the USA federal government. Instead they blame the fact the United States is trapped in an obsolete model of governance that has been taken over by evil and corrput wealthy individuals.
… I would think that this is some anti-US spoof, based on listening to the most discredited cliches about the USA and the kind of people who run it. It had everything, frantic flagwaving, hilarious hyperbole, Biden trying to look like Dubya who, himself, was always squinting his yes à la John Wayne hoping to look like some Sheriff at OK Corral. It also had all the mantric repetition of mind-numbing concepts like “democracy” and “freedom”, etc.
The best part was when Biden raised his voice and sternly looked at the screen.
I am sure that Putin hid under his bed, to hug a pillow and sob in abject terror before The Great American Sheriff!
Here is the deal. It’s not just Biden who is brain dead. Its also the collective “Biden”: all the do is “traffic in hot air” as Lavrov aptly mentioned it today. What we heard tonight is not just the rambling of a senile, delusional, narcissist. What we heard was the voice of the US deep state: that is what they “think” and this is how they “think”.
It does not really matter anymore how/why such individuals as Clinton, Dubya, Obama, Trump or Biden came to power or what they promised. What matters is that these are the type of folks who run the USA (well, not them personally, of course, but the interests they represent). The same kind of non-entities run the UK, by the way, just in a even more pompous and ridiculous way.
The clueless fellow below, ladies and gentlemen, is the current Commander in Chief of the most powerful military in history, this is the Leader of the Free World and his so-called “values” are shared by millions worldwide. Or so he thinks (maybe).
Here is a scary thought: there is a good chance that the next clown in the White House might even be worse! There is zero chance that anybody who could fix this awful mess will be “elected”. If the past is the best indicator for the future, then we must realize that there is only one way this will ever end: in ridicule, violence and infamy.
That also fully applies to Ze and his “European Banderastan”.
Does anybody still doubt the outcome of this abject slo-mo train wreck?
Yes?
What’s next?
Once this fiasco dies down, the focus with be a war in Taiwan “any day now”. It’s all so silly and so very predictable. I just don’t know when. A few days or a few months, but as sure as the sun rises, a “war” in Taiwan will be next on the United States agenda.
It’s all so very predictable.
It makes me yearn to chill out with a cat, drink a fine relaxing drink and eat something delicious. You know, like this…
Needs a little salt me thinks.
It makes me yearn for a simpler time, and a simpler lifestyle.
It makes me yearn for a time when a man would work, then go home, eat a great home cooked meal of pot roast and mashed potatoes, and drink his cocktail.
A delicious pot roast.
Good times. Times of substance.
City tour bus, San Francisco, California, 1956
Times when a cup of coffee costs ten cents, and was about double the cost of a five cent newspaper. Good times.
Times when there were real, goodness to gracious, families.
Times when the “news” actually reported events, and not based their operations off of payments from the government.
But that’s all changed.
And it changed into something much worse. But do not fear, it’s still changing and still evolving. There are still “adults in the room”, and many of them live in Asia. And they have a plan…
“Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on International Relations Entering a New Era and lobal Sustainable Development” 4 February 2022. (English) (Russian).
This document is the grand strategic manifesto of a new world order and there is much more to be said about it than what follows. I believe that 4 February 2022 will be remembered as the proclamation of a new disposition of world power and relationships.
It is a truly new order of things, not the old “new world order” which was based on US supremacy. And it is most certainly not the so-called Rules-Based International Order in which one side makes up the rules, breaks them when it wants to and orders everyone else to obey. (A perfect example of the mutability of the “rules” is that gay rights are very important in Russia but not at all in Washington’s new “major ally” of Qatar.)
The Russian-Chinese document speaks much of “democracy” but it’s a different vision than the one common in the West. The West today is focussed on the process of democracy – was the voting up to acceptable standards?
Did the opposition have a fair chance? were there enough candidates? was the advertising even-handed? were “administrative resources” used to shift the vote? and like questions.
Now it may well be that fifty or sixty years ago concentrating on the process of democracy was appropriate but it is very questionable whether it is today. This one graph, showing the relationship between productivity and wages and compensation shows that all is not well. Up until the late 1970s, the two curves kept step with each other – the “rising tide” was indeed lifting all boats. Afterwards, however, they diverge until today there is a considerable gap between the two “Productivity has grown 3.5x as much as pay”.
The rising tide is floating only a few super yachts.
The Russian-Chinese document speaks of the results of democracy.
The sides believe that democracy is a means of citizens’ participation in the government of their country with the view to improving the well-being of population and implementing the principle of popular government.
Note the purpose: “improving the well-being of population”. Whatever one may say about the process of the governance of China or Russia, no one can doubt that the well-being of the population has mightily improved in both countries.
We shall see for the future how this holds up but the document describes a different approach to democracy: don’t concentrate on the process and assume the results will follow – which they are not doing in the USA in particular and the West in general – but instead never mind the process, ask whether the are results desirable? Throughout the document – fifty times – we see the word “development” (“развитие” in the Russian version).
The sides believe that peace, development and cooperation lie at the core of the modern international system.
A world in which everyone has a chance to get rich. And who can doubt that the government in Beijing knows how to do that? We will see, in the coming world competition of ideas, which approach is more attractive and successful.
A second theme, repeated throughout the document is that all countries are equal and they have their own ways of doing things, it is their right to do this, no one may preach to them and no one may interfere with them.
The sides call for the establishment of a new kind of relationship between world powers on the basis of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation.
This is what might be called a descriptive take on the world rather than the prescriptive take more common in the West. To explain what I mean, let us consider Soviet-Polish relations.
Poland suffered terribly, losing 20-25% of its population and was liberated by the Soviet Army after immense destruction. Stalin then designed a Poland which, for the first time in its long history, included all of the historical Polish lands and no irredentist minorities.
Then imposed the blessing – or so Moscow saw it – of socialism and transformed Poland into a loyal ally of the USSR. Except that, the moment it became clear that the tanks weren’t coming, Poland quit the alliance, threw off socialism and turned to NATO and the EU.
All the “fraternal, socialist, ally” rhetoric turned out to be empty declarations of people compelled to say them.
In other words, the lesson is that you can’t change a country except temporarily by force or very slowly over a very long time. Moscow has learned this lesson.
Hence my use of the world “descriptive” – countries, quite simply, are what they are and outsiders can’t change them; therefore outsiders have to live with them.
It’s that simple: the prescriptive notion – we have the truth and you should follow it (we must make Beijing follow the “US-led liberal international order”) simply can’t be done.
Therefore, the emphasis throughout the document that countries are as they are and are to be treated as equals is firmly based on reality. You can’t make a particular country go along with your notions of propriety but you still have to deal with it: treat it as it is.
The West has long lost sight of this despite its numerous failures of prescription: even if the Western ideas actually were “better”, you can’t bomb Afghans into accepting them.
Therefore, this position in the document is quite simply realistic and practical.
They then regarded themselves as a pattern for others to follow – a pattern that others should follow – and the USSR imposed that pattern on many of its neighbours.
Both Beijing and Moscow have learned that exceptionalism is a route to failure. Therefore, what I am calling a “descriptive” approach to world variety is the result of the failure of trying a prescriptive approach.
This is not, therefore, a point of view adopted to gull people into acquiescence, it is one that is based on cold, bitter experience. It is a lesson that Washington has not yet learned: exceptionalism is a road to a blind alley, as Putin put it a quarter century ago.
It is, in fact, something the West should remember: “Westphalianism” is the principle of cuius regio, eius religio adopted after Europeans had torn themselves apart trying to impose religion on each other.
Not uniformity, but variety. The China-Russia manifesto is rooted on a truth that not only they, but Europe as a whole, have learned the hard way.
The Chinese-Russia relationship is described as follows:
They reaffirm that the new inter-State relations between Russia and China are superior to political and military alliances of the Cold War era. Friendship between the two States has no limits, there are no ”forbidden“ areas of cooperation, strengthening of bilateral strategic cooperation is neither aimed against third countries nor affected by the changing international environment and circumstantial changes in third countries.
Time will show just what is meant by this but it is clear that it is a relationship both deep and wide.
A complete commonality of interest which is not uniformity of interest. (It will be amusing to watch Western “experts” fail to get that distinction.) And not one to be easily split apart as some naïve people in Washington think. They trust each other and neither trusts Washington.
Finally, the new world order that they are calling for is described as:
The sides reiterate the need for consolidation, not division of the international community, the need for cooperation, not confrontation. The sides oppose the return of international relations to the state of confrontation between major powers, when the weak fall prey to the strong. The sides intend to resist attempts to substitute universally recognized formats and mechanisms that are consistent with international law for rules elaborated in private by certain nations or blocs of nations…
A new world order for all, not just those who accept “the better way”.
I would expect, as details are filled in at the “strategic” and “operational” level, that this “grand strategic vision” will prove to be widely attractive across the globe. Washington and its allies will, no doubt, concentrate on the many criticisms of its behaviour, but the manifesto is positive in tone.
People are attracted to success and the West doesn’t project that any more.
Remember who you are and whence you came from. It’s important. We all have to keep grounded as the world changes around us.
Don’t get caught up in all the bullshit.
Never forget who you are.
Firefighters in Princeton, New Jersey, 1956
Never forget who you are and where you came from.
We are all unique and we are all special. We really are. We all have stories to tell. Some are fun, some are cute. Some are romantic, and some are terribly embarrassing. But, you know, that’s life.
Don’t worry, though.
There’s always wine, and cheese.
Article 4
Here we take a look at what the Chinese government is economically. In this next article, they call it “Red Capitalism” as there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world. As such it deserves a study, as it is truly very efficient, and a light-year improvement over the best of the West.
This paper is mainly about the Chinese economy, but includes discussion of the Russian and United States (US) economies in order to provide a clearer explanation.
Comparisons
The Chinese economy is the largest in the world according to the latest CIA Fact Book, based on the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) method.
The CIA claims that the PPP is a better method to use than the nominal method (GDP) based on conversion to US dollars.
Many analysts and politicians still use the nominal method, however, which shows the US in first place and China second. (As it is their preference. They msut keep America lookign great and perfect; the “shining house on the hill”.)
China has been continually careful to claim only second place, presumably as part of its long-term strategic decision to keep its head down and not make unnecessary waves.
Second place also fits better with the significantly lower per-capita income in China and the Chinese aim to keep the status of a “developing country” for purposes of climate change response and funding.
Economic Systems
There are many labels used to describe the various economic systems around the world, most ending in “ism.”
Different authors use the same label to describe different systems, making it hard to understand what they are really referring to in real life.
In reality, most economies appear to be a mixture of various systems, as these are defined in the dictionary.
The Chinese economy is no exception.
So for the purpose of this article, it is simply called “Red Capitalism” for want of a better term.
Red Capitalism is an amalgam of many different systems combined with the so-called “Chinese characteristics.”
The first section of this article provides background information about how the various economic systems are defined by Webster’s. These definitions can be kept in mind while reading the rest of the article.
The second section describes the rivalry between two different methods of explaining and managing a national economy, using either engineering or economics, and how this rivalry plays out in practice. The discussion also touches upon issues with computer models and simulations.
The third section deals with booms and busts. These economic and financial events are a notorious problem that seems to defy a long-term solution. Even the cause(s) of economic and financial instability are lacking any agreement. Some suggested readings are provided for those who wish to delve further into the topic.
The fourth section mentions some aspects of national security which are important for analysis, such as culture and economics. The importance of these two factors in the demise of the USSR is touched upon, and whether China can avoid a similar fate.
The fifth section covers competition and monopoly in China and the US, and how the two countries have tried to deal with these issues. It incorporates many of the topics addressed in the preceding sections and applies them to the evolving situation.
Finally, a sixth concluding section points out some of the difficulties in describing a national economy using the common “isms.” National economies contain elements of various systems, as well as varieties within systems. China is no exception.
I. ECONOMIC “ISMS”
A great deal of discussion in various media concerns differing economic structures, including capitalism and socialism.
The problem with these discussions is that these terms are not defined and other types of economic organization, such as mercantilism and imperialism, are overlooked. For example, there are state capitalism, finance capitalism, crony capitalism, and numerous others.
To assure that both readers and authors were clear about what structure was being addressed, for example, the first page of such articles or books could provide a detailed definition of which capitalism is being discussed.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary states that capitalism is composed of private ownership and private investment decisions, and that prices, production, and distribution are determined by the market.
But there need to be much more detailed descriptions in view of the many different varieties of capitalism.
As for socialism, there is a similar problem of variety.
The dictionary states that socialism is the government ownership and control of the means of production and distribution. That is a start, but what if it is control, but not ownership? Or vice versa?
What about market socialism as promoted by the Swedes versus command socialism theoretically practiced in the USSR?
We could even invent a few new terms: Bankers’ capitalism and bankers’ socialism for a start.
After all, China claims to be socialist but has a central bank and numerous other banks, as do most other countries, including the US. China appears to be following the same economic advice as the US, leading to the same asset bubbles and too-big-to-fail enterprises.
As another example, the dictionary defines mercantilism as the attempt to increase the power and monetary wealth of a nation by government regulation of the economy, usually trying to accumulate gold and promoting a favorable balance of trade.
Mercantilism also supports manufacturing and agricultural development, as well as foreign trading monopolies. The campaign for “Made in China 2025” may be partly viewed in this light.
It is a national strategic plan along the lines of industrial policy to promote manufacturing.
According to some reports, China is the number one gold-producing nation in the world and all the gold produced is purchased by the Chinese government. Imperialism is defined as extending the dominion of a nation by territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other territory.
Imperialism and mercantilism support each other, especially in terms of foreign trade, protecting domestic manufacturing and collecting gold and other rare commodities.
Communism is defined in one version as “a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed.” This definition requires considerable finesse when talking about the Chinese Communist Party.
II. ENGINEERING VS ECONOMICS
Chairman Mao eventually found that he had a problem in keeping control of Chinese politics due to the development of wealthier businessmen and the growing size of the market economy.
His solution was an attempt to return to some of the features of the wartime economy.
These included a semi-drafting of civilians into the army, where they were housed in barracks, clothed in uniform outfits, put on work details in the countryside, fed in the mess hall, and moved about on public transportation.
This was in line with Mao’s experience as a general commanding the Red Army for many years during the civil war in China. This is wartime mobilization, where the generals decide on the final outputs of the economy and the engineers work out the methods to achieve such results.
During war, the civilians are put on rationing and the central plan determines which and what civilian goods will be produced and distributed.
Sort of like Henry Ford’s old adage concerning the some of the Model T cars : “Any customer can have a car painted any colour [sic] so long as it is black.”
Of course, rationing soon becomes unpopular in peacetime.
Mao’s death created a crisis in the Communist Party, with the so-called “Gang of Four” trying to continue his policies, while other officials, led by Deng Xiaoping, called for a different system.
In this system, the economists are supposed to work out the methods to achieve results.
This system could be described as part “market” and part “market socialism” and part “socialism.”
The market part involved privately owned factories and stores producing and selling civilian goods to the public.
The market socialism part involved the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) using army-owned factories to produce civilian goods for sale to the public.
In the socialism part, the PLA-owned factories continued to produce weapons for the military.
The engineering vs economics issue came up in the West at the time of the 1972 Club of Rome report, The Limits to Growth.
This document was based on computer simulations of economic growth which were very pessimistic.
The book was very popular around the world, and it and subsequent reports have been extremely influential in the debates over global warming, climate change, and other policy issues.
The critics, however, claimed the report was based on simplistic scenarios and amateur scholarship.
In essence, the critics said that the report was produced by engineers trying to model the economy without understanding economics.
In addition, the critics pointed out that the computer models did not take into account the changes in price that would come about with scarcity.
The criticism did not seem to deter the Club of Rome in its efforts to remake the world.
Perhaps the members had more confidence in engineers practicing economics, than in economists practicing engineering.
In any event, the same controversy continues to this day concerning the degree to which public policy should rely on computer simulations and models that are sensitive to a few key assumptions.
Computer simulations are well known always to be subject to the “garbage in, garbage out” phenomena, but less well known is that even with good input data, the output can be drastically different with just a few little tweaks in the assumptions.
III. MONEY & CREDIT
China has a problem with asset bubbles and potential busts, as does the US.
China has “ghost cities” and other investments that are symptomatic of malinvestment and too much easy credit.
In the US it was the ill-considered financial enthusiasms of the roaring twenties, the dotcom bubble, the housing bubble, and now the so-called “everything bubble” that have led to recessions and depressions.
There have been scholarly attempts to explain why these episodes keep happening. For example, 100% Money by professor Irving Fisher back in the 1930’s, detailed the problems with fractional reserve banking.
Fisher wrote this with the benefit of hindsight after losing his fortune in the Great Depression.
The book, however, fell on deaf ears.
Much later, in 1983, another book on the subject was published, The Mystery of Banking by Murray N. Rothbard. It had no better success.
In 2016, the former head of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, wrote a book called The End of Alchemy, about the same problem and proposed some solutions.
Nothing much was done.
The gist of these books is that fractional reserve banking is inherently unstable.
Yet this is the system used all over the world.
The national security agencies of China, the US, Russia, and others might benefit from some serious study of these books and the issues with money and banking that they explain, as these issues may be more likely to determine their nations’ economic fate.
In the US, other isolated prophets have explained the mistakes in money and banking policies, yet, again, nothing much has been done, resulting in potentially grim future prospects.
If these books are correct in their analyses of the situation, then the first country to adopt a proper solution would gain significant advantages over other countries.
IV. NATIONAL SECURITY
National security studies and analyses spend a lot of time and effort on competing weapon systems, elections, coups, revolutions, as well as on culture, space, cyber, energy, and psychological warfare.
The studies appear to spend much less effort on education and economic security issues.
Out of all these types of warfare, the USSR turned out to be grossly deficient in two important areas: Culture and economics.
Western commercial culture was simply more attractive to the Soviet public than what they had at home.
As more and more Soviets learned about the difference, the more trouble Moscow had in getting the public to believe in the Soviet system.
The question is whether China will experience the same problem.
It appears that China has plenty of Western commercial culture and its own adaptations, as well as conducting a re-invigoration of its traditional culture that goes back thousands of years.
This may help to immunize China against this aspect of the Soviet problem.
As for economics, the USSR followed a less desirable path.
There are many competing schools of thought concerning what happened, but a basic view is that the planned sector of the USSR economy got into a fight with the unplanned sector and they knocked each other out.
The USSR was not able to come up with a solution to the command vs. market problem that worked.
China studied the USSR disaster and decided to follow a different path.
V. COMPETITION & MONOPOLY
It appears that China is ahead of the US in realizing that certain policies favored by the oligarchs could be dangerous to the economy and the State.
However late to take action, China has recently cracked down on the chiefs of many giant enterprises in a move to curtail their power and influence.
They were beginning to rival the authority of the Communist Party.
There is always a potential for oligarchs to find common cause with oligarchs in other parts of the world and joining in schemes such as the New World Order, thus possibly escaping control by the national governments.
This power struggle in China will have ramifications throughout the world.
In the US, it is not even a struggle—the oligarchs are generally considered to be on the top of the heap and nothing much is even considered in the way of curtailing their power.
Considering former President Trump’s experience with them, they are way ahead in the power game and are also alleged to be behind the curtain as far as President Biden is concerned.
In the past, the US came up with the Sherman Act and the Clayton Act in order to help control monopoly power.
President Theodore Roosevelt campaigned as a trust-buster and the laws were used to break up the Standard Oil Company.
Later on when President Franklin Roosevelt was in office, the US instituted the Glass-Steagall Act to address problems which were said to have contributed to the Great Depression.
The act separated commercial banking from investment banking.
At that time, brokerage houses were a separate feature of the US economy.
These laws were also used to break up some of the concentration in the telephone industry.
However, things went into reverse during the President Clinton era, when the Glass-Steagall Act was repealed and banks could combine all forms of banking and brokerage into a single enterprise.
It was not surprising when the resulting conglomerates grew so large that they were termed “too big to fail” and had to be bailed out by the government.
In addition, the anti-trust laws did not seem very useful in controlling the very large tech companies of recent times.
Thus to call the US a “capitalist” or “free market” economy is not very helpful since the economy has had very different features at different times, as well as differing degrees of competition.
Thus a question in analyzing the Chinese economy might be to ask if China has the equivalent of the Sherman, Clayton, and Glass-Seagall Acts, and are they actually used or enforced?
Does China have other laws and regulations that promote competition or manage monopolies in the public interest?
When the Chinese first opened up the economy after Mao, there was relatively little in the way of funding for the military to pay for modernization.
The solution was to allow the military to go into producing civilian goods for sale to the public and then keep the profits to help pay for military goods.
Analysts would need to research whether the military eventually stopped producing its own weapons and purchased them from commercial industrial companies.
How is the military-industrial complex actually structured in modern China?
Who owns the armaments factories?
More recently in China, the central government has encouraged the military to get out of the civilian goods business and stick to the military side.
Again, much more detail is needed in order to comment on the Chinese economic system than to only use the generic terms “capitalism” and “socialism.”
It is even more ineffective to toss about the word “communism.”
Another example of the difficulty in pasting labels on different economies: In Russia it appears that the armament-producing factories and companies are owned by the government.
In early US times, the military arsenals and navy shipyards were also owned by the government.
Pretty much the embodiment of “socialism” in both cases.
Now, however, weapons in the US are produced in factories owned by private or non-government companies.
However, there seems to be very little real or practical competition in much of the US military-industrial complex, so maybe it would be better described as part “mercantilist” or with some other term?
Some experts have claimed that the US has already lost the arms race with Russia, so perhaps the US should try a different tack and return to having the military set up its own factories to produce the exotic weapons needed to compete with Russia?
The US has approximately six arsenals currently operating, but they do not produce the types of weapons that are made in Russia.
Would this partial return to a variety of “socialism” help the generals to get the weapons they really want, instead of the weapons that produce the most profits?
The US Army went back a century to find a design for its latest uniform, maybe the army could consider a return to the old-fashioned arsenals of a century ago.
VI. CONCLUSION
Any discussion of “isms” such as capitalism and socialism cannot shed much light unless more rigorous and detailed definitions are employed, since both “isms” have many varieties.
In addition, any serious discussion should address the extent to which mercantilism and imperialism are part of the mix.
All this gets very complex very rapidly, so it is not surprising that such is seldom done.
In addition, there is little evidence of any current investigation concerning the command versus market issue in national economies, despite its historical importance in China and Russia.
The problems with computer modeling and simulation are well known, but continue to arise in studies of economic growth, climate change, and spread of disease.
This difficulty has serious implications for China as the nation is faced with vast disagreement between engineers and economists in designing computer simulation models.
Finally, the “skeleton in the closet” that almost no one wants to address is the design of the money and credit system for a nation.
Such a look would impinge on the currently politically correct belief in the proper role and nature of commercial banks, investment banks, and central banks.
It is interesting from a national security standpoint that China has seemingly adopted much of the US and UK system of banking, despite centuries of having panics, booms and busts, recessions and depressions in the latter countries.
“Red Capitalism” is an amalgam of many “isms,” with Chinese characteristics. So far, it appears to be relatively successful, certainly more so than the system employed in India.
However, one can see the same maladies creeping into China that currently beset the US: Malinvestment, stock market excesses, interest rate manipulation, real estate speculation, and increasing concentration of wealth.
The question for the world is which country will be the first to find and implement a cure for these maladies.
…
The point herein is that anyone who refers to China as a “regime”, and that possesses a “Communist” for of governance DOES NOT UNDERSTAND modern, contemporaneous China and their article and opinions whould be ignored as noise of the ignorant.
You can quote me on that.
A rainy evening in New York’s Times Square under the neon lights of the “Black Widow” marquee.
Article 5
Now, that we know that China has developed and improving on their greatly improved model of governance, and has aligned with the Russian powerhouse, what of the United States? Is it just sitting by the sidelines, or is it in great distress, as the “house of cards” collapses all around it?
Things are turning, indeed, out there… out in the truck stops and the households fending off repossession and the small businesses struggling desperately for survivial — even in the degenerate halls of government….
Clusterfuck Nation
If the ads on the Superbowl each year are like a Rorschach test for the nation’s mental condition, then this year’s ad-roll was a cavalcade of frantic hallucinations suggesting a near-complete detachment from reality for an audience of ADD-disabled cell phone slaves locked into a Big Tech induced consensus trance. You could barely tell what these advertisers were trying to sell in their commercials, the psychotic dazzle of half-second jump-cuts was so ferocious. One interesting note, though: people of non-color (PONCs) seem to have been magically sucked out of the universe. There, that fixed things for everybody else.
Snoop Dog’s half-time house party — Hollywood’s G-rated version of a BLM riot — heralded a real riot later on in downtown LA after the Rams’ victory. Fans lit-up a metro bus and tagged it with spray-paint. The police moved in… objects were thrown at them. I’m just sorry that Snoop didn’t bring out his friend and sometime co-star Martha Stewart to twerk for the multitudes — while, say, whipping up a pumpkin mousse. That might have brought the country together after all these months of rancor. But, like I said, sorry, PONCs need not apply. Nor did Da Dawg invite onstage my favorite new pop star, Ski Mask the Slump God, composer of the hits “Faucet Failure” and “Foot Fungus.” Maybe next year… if there is a next year….
All this hearty good fellowship marks the journey of our country from a convocation of be-wigged founding fathers wielding quill pens in defense of liberty to a security-and-surveillance state of hebephrenic zombies lurching to a kind of failure that will make the fall of the Roman Empire look like a lawn sale of someone’s dead uncle’s chattels and effects. The drain-pipe beckons… but will America answer that call… or take a different turn?
Things are turning, indeed, out there… out in the truck stops and the households fending off repossession and the small businesses struggling desperately for survival — even in the degenerate halls of government, state-by-state. The armature of Covid-19 tyranny is getting rapidly dismantled by politicians close to running for their very lives. The home-folks have had enough of their insolence and they’re sharpening the tines of their pitchforks. Events also conspire to put the schnitz on the alleged Globalists’ dream of digital tyranny — if there even is such a cabal of Globalists, which I’m not sure about, or just a coterie of feckless hacks swept along by a malefic zeitgeist, Canada’s Justin Trudeau being the poster-boy for that breed.
The timing has gone all awry on them. The Covid-19 hysteria draws to a close against their wishes to drag it on forever. Even the triple-vaccinated are sick of it — and not a few of them are sick because of it. Governments and the corrupt medical establishment won’t touch this info with a stick, but the morticians and insurance execs are hopping up and down about what looks like a supernatural die-off of folks between 18 and 60 generally not susceptible to early death. Kind of worrisome, a little bit. Anybody with half-a-brain left is declining the offer of yet another booster — though Dr. Fauci was still tirelessly selling them last week.
Mainly, though, the window-of-opportunity has closed, in the USA, anyway, for anymore vaccine passport nonsense, and with that goes the dream of roping every last citizen into a corral of total social control, including central bank digital currencies that would turn everyone into a yo-yo to be jerked-around by government.
“Joe Biden” has so far failed to deliver that war with Russia over Ukraine he promised us — which would be like two Craig’s List customers fighting over a twenty-year-old Jeep Wrangler up on blocks with the engine missing. Ukraine president Zelensky is a professional comedian, of course, so one must admire his gag of inviting “Joe Biden” to visit his country, the Gem of Eurasia, “in the coming days,” Mr. Zelensky said, “which will be a powerful signal and contribute to de-escalation.” Plus, all the pierogi and cabbage the US president can eat. All this made National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan gnash his teeth for the trouble he has gone to in prepping the sore-beset American people for World War Three.
But Mr. Sullivan has, perhaps, other things to think about. Like… what are all these offstage noises Special Counsel John Durham is making in the grand jury chambers? Something about Hillary Clinton, and the helpmeets surrounding her in the 2016 election (including especially Jake Sullivan), alleged to have fabricated the Russian collusion whopper that deranged the nation for four years and disabled a sitting president. They even managed to enlist the FBI and the CIA in that task. How’d that happen? Could Hillary have been that peevish? Anyway, it looks kind of bad for the National Security Advisor to “Joe Biden” having such an epic political fraud tacked onto his resume, with perhaps an indictment to follow. Standing by on his resignation….
Our NATO allies must be enjoying the rise of natgas prices beyond the level that many middle-class households in Euroland can afford to keep the heat on in the dead middle of winter, since they have to get so much of the stuff from Russia. Maybe jamming Ukraine into NATO, as America’s Deep State has been wishing and hoping to do, wasn’t such a great idea after all. Maybe NATO itself isn’t such a great idea anymore.
If World War Three doesn’t pan out for “JB,” there’s always a global meltdown of financial markets, banks, and currencies waiting in the wings to amuse and distract everybody from the post-Covid call for a long, hard look at what the pandemic was actually about. The story, in all its multiple, gruesome levels, has gotten away from them. So many public officials are standing naked that Washington looks like a nudist colony.
…
Do You Know, In the year 1951, Libya was the world’s poorest country. Gaddafi made it Africa’s most developed country with $150 billion foreign reserves And zero debt. Under Muammar Gaddafi, Libya had one of the world’s strongest currencies.
1 Libyan Dinar equalled $0.82781 in 2011. Gaddafi wanted to give all African countries the Dinar to strengthen their economies. He also had more than 140 Tonnes of Gold and similar amounts in silver which he wanted to distribute across Africa to be used in trading.
▪️Libya under Gaddafi.
-Free health care
-Free Electricity
-Free housing, owning a house was considered a human right in Libya
-Free medicine
-Free Education in the country including for all Libyan students who were studying abroad.
-Free water, he built a river.
-Interest Free loans
-Newly weds received $50,000
-Mothers received $5,000 on birth on child.
-All citizens received a percentage of all oil sales
-Petrol was $ 0.14 per liter
-Government paid 50% of the price of your car
-Unemployed Libyans received the average salary of their profession.
▪️These were the reasons why so many individuals wanted to travel to Libya for greener pastures, but now, reverse is the case. Thanks to America bombing it into dust…
America used to be a land with so much potential. A “melting pot” of cultures, and of freedom. Why, you could have “bunnies” serving men in the open at bars, and massage parlors and no one said anything. Not today. Try that today. It will never happen.
Bunny Girls taking an order in a club restaurant in London, 11th February 1963.
Yeah. Look at those prices!
I jsut cannot control myself. I really must stare hard to see the prices and the food items in the menu.
> The U.S. intelligence briefing included specific reference to next Wednesday, February 16, as a start date for the ground invasion, three officials — based in Washington, London and Ukraine — told POLITICO. <
And 200,000 troops? Yesterday there were only 100,000. How can those have doubled over night?
There is also the question of why.
Why has the Biden administration created an artificial ‘crisis’ about a Russian invasion of Ukraine when such an invasion is neither planned nor likely to happen? Why is it claiming that a Russian invasion of the Ukraine is ‘imminent’ when Russia as well as the Ukraine deny that any will be coming.
Why does it distribute misleading satellite pictures of allegedly deployed tanks when those are directly next to the barracks where they belong? Why does it hype a ‘Russian buildup’ when that is something that is claimed each and every year?
Jack Matlock, the last U.S. ambassador to the USSR, has one answer:
Maybe I am wrong – tragically wrong – but I cannot dismiss the suspicion that we are witnessing an elaborate charade, grossly magnified by prominent elements of the American media, to serve a domestic political end. Facing rising inflation, the ravages of Omicron, blame (for the most part unfair) for the withdrawal from Afghanistan, plus the failure to get the full support of his own party for the Build Back Better legislation, the Biden administration is staggering under sagging approval ratings just as it gears up for this year’s congressional elections.Since clear "victories" on the domestic woes seem increasingly unlikely, why not fabricate one by posing as if he prevented the invasion of Ukraine by "standing up to Vladimir Putin"?Actually, it seems most likely that President Putin’s goals are what he says they are – and as he has been saying since his speech in Munich in 2007. To simplify and paraphrase, I would sum them up as: "Treat us with at least a modicum of respect. We do not threaten you or your allies, why do you refuse us the security you insist for yourself?"
The authoritative Global Times in an editorial warns that the U.S. is instigating conflict in Ukraine in order to tighten bloc discipline – to corral European States back into the U.S.-led fold. No doubt, China makes the connection that Ukraine provides the perfect pivot for shepherding Europe towards America’s next stage of requiring a united front with the U.S. for the later task of barricading-in China, behind her borders.In play, therefore, are key decisions that will define Europe for the future. On the one hand, (as Pepe Escobar noted some two years ago), “the goal of Russian and Chinese policy is to recruit Germany into a triple alliance locking together the Eurasian land mass à la Mackinder into the greatest geopolitical alliance in history – switching world power in favour of these three great powers, and against Anglo-Saxon sea power”.And on the other hand, NATO was conceived, from the outset, as a means of Anglo-American control over Europe and more precisely for keeping Germany ‘down’, and Russia ‘out’ (in that old axiom of western strategists). Lord Hastings (Lionel Ismay), NATO’s first Secretary General, famously said that NATO was created to “keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down”.This mindset lingers on, but the formula has acquired today a greater import, and a new twist: To keep Germany ‘down and price uncompetitive’ versus U.S. goods; to keep Russia ‘out’ from being Europe’s source of cheap energy; and to keep China ‘fenced out’ from EU–U.S. trade. The aim is to contain Europe firmly within America’s narrowly defined economic orbit and compelled to forgo the benefits of Chinese and Russian technology, finance and trade – thus helping towards achieving the aim of barricading China within its borders.
I find both explanations, the domestic one and the foreign policy one, very plausible and a combination of them is the most likely motive behind the plan for is affair.
The Washington Post explains how the campaign was hashed out and directed from the White House. Its headline though is misleading:
Inside the White House preparations for a Russian invasion A “Tiger Team” of administration officials has spent the past several months preparing a clear series of responses, gaming out scenarios from cyberattacks and limited intervention to an invasion of Ukraine.
A more correct headline would have been “Inside the White House preparations of the ‘Russian invasion’ scam”.
Lets look into that:
As fears grow of potential Russian aggression against Ukraine, a “Tiger Team” led by the White House is quietly gaming out how the United States would respond to a range of jarring scenarios, from a limited show of force to a full-scale, mass-casualty invasion.The White House team has staged two multihour tabletop exercises — including one with Cabinet officials — to bring the scenarios to life and assembled a playbook that outlines an array of swift potential responses, starting with Day One and extending through the first two weeks of an envisioned Russian invasion.The effort, senior administration officials said, has not only helped them anticipate possible complications, but has also prompted them to take actions ahead of time, such as exposing Russian information warfare before it’s carried out to blunt its propaganda power.
The team preplanned their daily propaganda releases step by step:
The “Tiger Team” — a term referring to a diverse group of experts who are tackling a specific problem and that suggests alertness and a readiness to pounce — was created after National Security Council officials last October detected troubling signs of a massive Russian troop buildup on the Ukrainian border.NSC officials readily admit they may be unable to precisely anticipate the moves of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military leaders. But the exercise and robust planning is still worth it, they said.“The reality is that what the Russians may end up doing is not likely to be a 100 percent match for any of these scenarios,” [Jonathan Finer, deputy national security adviser to President Biden,] said. “But the goal is for them to be a close enough facsimile of what they end up doing that the plans are useful in terms of reducing the amount of time we need in order to respond effectively. That’s really the whole goal.”
The ‘massive Russian troop buildup on the Ukrainian border’ has never happened in real life. Most of the Russian troops are hundreds of miles away from Ukraine.
It was the Washington Post which on October 30 2021 was the first to publish the claims by ‘anonymous officials’ of a ‘Russian buildup’.
(Side remark: The name ‘Tiger team’ or ‘Tiger squad’ was also used for the Saudi group that killed and hacked up a Washington Post opinion writer Jamal Khashoggi. Funny that the Washington Post piece does not mention that fact.)
The Tiger Team was officially born in November, when national security adviser Jake Sullivan asked Alex Bick, the NSC director for strategic planning, to lead a planning effort across multiple agencies. Bick has brought in the Departments of Defense, State, Energy, Treasury and Homeland Security, along with the U.S. Agency for International Development to look at a possible humanitarian crisis.The intelligence community is also involved, gaming out various courses of action the Russians might pursue and the risks and advantages of each, officials said.
While the official launch of the ‘Tiger team’ might have been in November it is clear that the whole operation started earlier when the Ukrainians were asked to take part in the sham:
Simon Shuster @Shustry - 8:29 PM · Feb 14, 2022Source close to Zelensky told me the U.S. first warned his team of a Russian invasion last fall, putting the chances at 80%. The Ukrainians didn't buy it, but they saw an opportunity -- "more aid, more attention" -- and played along. Now they have regrets. Too much attention.
The CIA has flown paramilitaries from Ukrainian Nazi groups to the U.S. to train them:
While the covert program, run by paramilitaries working for the CIA’s Ground Branch — now officially known as Ground Department — was established by the Obama administration after Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014, and expanded under the Trump administration, the Biden administration has further augmented it, said a former senior intelligence official in touch with colleagues in government.By 2015, as part of this expanded anti-Russia effort, CIA Ground Branch paramilitaries also started traveling to the front in eastern Ukraine to advise their counterparts there, according to a half-dozen former officials.The multiweek, U.S.-based CIA program has included training in firearms, camouflage techniques, land navigation, tactics like “cover and move,” intelligence and other areas, according to former officials.
These groups will be the forces to use when the U.S. decides to launch some false flag ‘Russian attacks’ on Ukrainian civilians.
As you watch it consider that every move in this is preplanned:
The playbook itself goes far beyond battlefield scenarios, looking at questions like how to address Ukrainian refugees who might stream into Poland and Romania, how to secure the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, exactly what sort of sanctions to impose on Moscow, and how to fight back against a sophisticated cyberattack.The playbook — which synthesizes nearly three dozen papers and intelligence assessments commissioned by the team from various agencies — has been distributed to the various officials, including military and civilian leaders at the Pentagon.The playbook also considers “second order” consequences, such as Russian retaliation for any penalties.
Those ‘sophisticated cyberattacks’ will most likely come from the National Security Agency which is part of the Pentagon. When the White House will claim that it has evidence of a ‘Russian cyberattack’ on Ukraine, which it is likely to do, keep in mind that anyone who claims to be able to find the real source of such an attack is selling snake oil.
Along the playbook the White House also released disinformation which claims that Russia will use such:
Among the Tiger Team’s top concerns is a Russian effort to promote the false narrative that it is Ukraine, aided by the West, that is preparing to launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine, and that Russia is the victim.In recent weeks, the U.S. government has declassified intelligence about such efforts, including a potential “false flag” plot in which Moscow would stage an explosion that kills ethnic Russians in Ukraine or in Russia itself, and then blame it on Kyiv as a possible pretext for an invasion.
The White House has declassified nothing that anyone was allowed to see. As the NYT correctly remarked:
For all the disclosures, the Biden administration has provided no evidence of the disinformation plots they say they have uncovered.
In December, the Tiger Team held two virtual tabletop exercises to road-test various scenarios and responses. The first brought together deputy secretaries and the second involved Cabinet officials. Biden has reviewed the playbook and was briefed on the results, officials said.“It’s one thing to consider each of these problems — energy, sanctions, military posture — in isolation. It’s quite another to put them all together and execute a plan on all of them,” the NSC official said. “What I saw over the course of this planning exercise was, including at the most senior levels, lightbulbs go on about the way the pieces fit together.”
The plan is integrated enough to allow for aims and achievements in multiple fields.
That is why I believe that both, Matlock and Crooke, are right in their guesses of the motives behind the ‘Russian invasion’ scam.
There are domestic aims and there are foreign policy aims and the pieces of the plan fit them together.
But that is only so if the whole thing does not unravel. In real life no battle plan survives the first contact with the enemy.
Zelensky’s much criticized unwillingness to play his part of the show may just be one of the elements that will let it all fall apart.
Then there is Russia which is always good at creating real surprises. I bet that its security demands and the draft treaties it provided where not foreseen in the playbook. They already succeeded in pressing Biden into concessions the U.S. had previously been unwilling to make. More surprises in different areas will follow. As soon as the Olympics are over China may also come to play a role in this.
Big plans make for big failures.
…
So here we are, eh?
Asia has their shit together and the USA is run by “old dinosaurs” that cannot change as they fear that if they do they will lose everythign and have to accept a new lifestyle. So they ae off threatening war…
…everywhere.
I’ll tell you, it make me yearn for the days when America used to stand for something; when it used to represent something. When families mattered.
When people… mattered.
When pets… mattered.
When food… mattered.
When life, family and friends…mattered.
Where has it gone? Well, I tell you that it’s due to the American leadership. And what evil monsters that they have become. Maybe they would act and behave a little bit differently if they had regular, and normal lifestyles. If they acted and behaved normally, and if they participated within their own open and free communities, instead of living like robber barrons on methamphetamines.
Baseball.
Yeah.
I miss the “good old days”…
When you could pull over and have a picnic without have a police car “investigate” what you are doing…
Article 7
I truly need to spend more time with cats.
I miss Leonardo. He was a good kitty.
What does Russia think about all this?
Tim Kirby
February 15, 2022
No progress can be made until the West either sees the Russians as equals or at least fears them enough to create respect like they did in the Cold War, Tim Kirby writes.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s particular take on politics has created many memes on the Russian Internet. His personal frustrations having to negotiate and deal with the West are very relatable to the Russian masses who also want to normalize relations. His crestfallen yet visibly angered words “F’n Morons” have become the stuff of meme legend throughout Russia, although few realize that it was actually said during discussions with the Saudis and not America or Britain as most would assume. But this statement so resonated with the pure frustration that Russians have been feeling, that the populace just sort of shifted the target of his words to the ultimate source of their dismay that started the Maidan Color Revolution in 2014, which has been spiraling downwards ever since. Foreign Minister Lavrov has proved not to be a one hit wonder and his recent trolling of his British counterpart Liz Truss exploded over the Russian internet. This interesting strange moment in the endless and pointless battle of The West vs. Russia is a real microcosm of the nature of how both sides see themselves and the other and demands a full breakdown.
So the situation looks like this, again an annoyed and worn down Lavrov tried to prove a point about how little the West actually understands about the Ukrainian Crisis with some verbal fencing…
MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss refused to recognize Russia’s sovereignty over the Voronezh and Rostov Regions at talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, a source close to the negotiations told TASS.After Truss’ statements urging Moscow to move its forces, located on Russia’s soil, away from the border with Ukraine, Lavrov asked his British counterpart if she recognized Russia’s sovereignty over the Voronezh and Rostov Regions.According to the source, Truss insisted that the UK would never recognize Russia’s sovereignty over these regions.
Although the Russian internet was smugly proud of this quippy achievement there is a level of pure honesty in the reaction from the British that most Russians simply are incapable of seeing. The Russians are all laughing at her answer taking it as a literal reaction, but metaphorically she told the God’s honest truth from an Anglo-Saxon perspective.
Truss clearly refused to recognize two regions of Russia as being part of Russia out of willful ignorance. There are fine lines between idiocy, ignorance and willful ignorance, but behind the latter of the three there can often be a very crafty and hateful intelligence. No truth pith-helmeted British colonizer would dare to learn anything about her barbaric adversaries, and in this display of pure willful ignorance she perfectly articulated the view of the West towards Russia – they don’t recognize any of Russia’s concerns, demands, leadership or even statehood as legitimate, nor do they need to justify their positions with facts and knowledge when dealing with Untermenschen.
The reaction of the British Foreign Secretary was an unintended act of pure and total dominance. Can you imagine, just how low she and her colleagues must view the Russians as to be charged with dealing with them and yet know absolutely nothing about their country, their geography and the nature of the Ukrainian Crisis? Discussing a situation that has killed thousands of people yet choosing to learn zero basic information is “alpha-chad” to say the least.
Truss answered like a Roman general forced to lower himself to speaking to unwashed Barbarians, who has zero concern for any details about these subhuman animals and their pathetic pseudoculture. All the Roman needs to know is that the allied Barbarians in Ukraine are right and the enemy ones in Russia are wrong. What town or river is where doesn’t make any difference. This Roman attitude of seeing the world as one of civility vs. barbarity hasn’t gone anywhere, and a true sign of a “civilized person” is having zero knowledge or tolerance for the ways of the backwards.
Although Russians may find tricking Anglo-Saxon counterparts into revealing how ignorant they are as a coping mechanism for losing the Cold War, they forget that the supposedly 80 IQ gender-queer limp-wristed twits on the other side of the line have beaten them time and again. My Russian children, living in Russia, have already asked me numerous LGBT-related questions yet have not once asked anything about Multipolarity, Traditional Values or Orthodox Christianity. Russians may find narcissistic joy in mocking the English-speaking world for being ignorant, but apparently being able to quote Pushkin doesn’t win 21st century info wars now, does it? When you’ve got Hollywood, the entire Mainstream Media, Big Tech and so on, you don’t need to know where anything is on a map. The Anglo-Saxons have plenty of knowledge, they just feel they don’t need to know a damn thing about you Russians. That is the nuance the Russians cannot perceive on their mental radar.
This trolling by Lavrov really shows that the joke is actually on Russia. The Russians continue, after years of failing, to try to reason with those who see them as subhuman animals. Perhaps we are moving towards a Multipolar World due to economics, geography and the West shooting itself in the foot, but as far as cultural/info wars are going if you look at the youth around Moscow you can clearly see who is winning.
Perhaps it is actually Lavrov’s side who is ignorant as to how to deal with the Romans from a Barbarian standpoint, and simply cannot wrap their brains around the fact that no progress can be made until the West either sees the Russians as equals or at least fears them enough to create respect like they did in the Cold War. It would also help if the Russians would wake up to the fact that they are considered Barbarians, the fact that Hitler killed millions of them due to his belief that they are racially inferior, just won’t sink in for some reason.
Russia continues to step on the same rake over and over again by seeing itself as equal to the West and believing that the stress between both sides is caused by some sort of cultural misunderstanding. The real intellectual question the Russians should be asking themselves is by what means could a Germanic Barbarian chief convince a Roman general that they are equals?
How could they make him see the villages and culture of the Rhine as just as human and glorious as Rome? This first step to this particular negotiation is really the necessity for the Russians to hack through layer-upon-layer of Anglo-Saxon cultural superiority that creates the type of willful ignorance displayed unabashedly by Liz Truss. Although it is hard to formulate a winning strategy for this problem, it surely lies in the fact that deep down the Civilized man will always secretly envy the freedom and uncastrated status of the Barbarian, but that is a topic for another day.
…
Behind all the intensifying huffing and puffing of the US in the geopolitical arena. “More than 60% of all foreign currency reserves in the world are in USD – but there are big changes on the horizon … some of the biggest economies on earth have been making agreements with each other to move away from using the USD in international trade (Image: https://lnkd.in/eAP8tF3B) … [this shift is] going to have massive implications for the US economy.
10 reasons why the reign of the dollar as the world reserve currency [may] come to an end:
#1: China And Japan To Use Own Currencies In Bilateral Trade
The 2nd largest economy (China) and 3rd largest economy (Japan) struck a deal [to] use of their own currencies. This was an incredibly important agreement that was virtually totally ignored by the US media. [Read an extract of the BBC in the article].
#2: The BRICS Plan To Use Own Currencies When Trading
A new agreement will promote the use of their own national currencies when trading with each other. [An extract from a news source in India is in the article].
#3: China and Russia Use Own Currencies In Bilateral Trade
[In fact,] Russia and China have been using their own national currencies when trading with each other for more than a year now.
#4: Use Of Chinese Currency Growing In Africa
In 2009, China became Africa’s biggest trading partner, and is aggressively seeking to expand the use of Chinese currency. At this point, approx. 70,000 Chinese companies are using Yuan in cross-border transactions.
#5: China and UAE To Use Own Currencies In Bilateral Trade
– in oil transactions with each other. The UAE is a fairly small player, but this is definitely a threat to the petrodollar system.
#6: India To Use Gold To Buy Oil From Iran
Iran has been one of the most aggressive nations when it comes to moving away from the USD in international trade.
#7: Saudi Arabia Likely to Abandon Use of Petrodollar in Dealings With China
[China] imports the most oil from Saudi Arabia. [They] have teamed up to construct a massive new oil refinery in Saudi.
#8: The UN Continues to Push For A New World Reserve Currency
#9: The IMF Has Been Pushing For A New World Reserve Currency
– published a series of reports calling for the USD to be replaced.
#10: Most Of The Rest Of The World Hates The US
Global sentiment toward the US has dramatically shifted, and this should not be underestimated.
What will happen if the USD’s reign as the world reserve currency comes to an end? It will bring very undesirable changes to the American lifestyle through:
1. massive inflation,
2. high interest rates on mortgages and cars,
3. substantial increases in the cost of food, clothing and gasoline; and
4. a much harder time financing its debt [$30 trillion and counting].
Under the right conditions, a shift in momentum can become a landslide.”
So stop with cruel sanctions and printing of new US dollars to fund senseless wars.
Life in Florida when things were affordable, and people could raise families on a single income without having to ascribe to “systems” and pay “fees” in support of “taxes” all to go to a “government” to generate more “wars of distraction”.
Ford Fairlane, 1956
Article 8
I see all of this as late-stage decay, and the beginnigns of a rebirth. Whether or not it will be catastrophic has yet to be seen, but I do remain hopeful.
As Plato observed, democracy runs through a life cycle from good feelings at having escaped oligarchy to a semi-oligarchic period until it reaches its final stage, narcissistic mob rule under protection by tyrants.
Then the tyrants import diversity to vote against the majority interest so the tyrants can rule, and then the society collapses into a third world ruin.
Modern people, who understand nothing other than human social intentions, thought the cycle did not apply to them, not realizing that it accurately diagnosed the cause/effect relationships that occur as people react to the precedent of equality.
When democracy enters its endgame, the destroyers have a leg up because they have taken over the institutions that formerly worked for the population and are now seeking to destroy that population so the foreigners can enthrone the tyrant.
As some have mentioned, tyranny is rule for its own sake, or people seeking power for their own benefit at the expense of the interests of the society. Tyrants would rather rule over ashes than be normal people in a healthy society.
Liberalization — the political arm of individualism, or the same “me first at the expense of all else” bourgeois pathology that underscores tyranny — creates inversion that eventually destroys the society.
It begins with liberating individuals by relaxing rules. These rules, derived from reality and culture, restrain individuals from selfishness and self-destructive pathologies. When they are removed, selfishness takes over.
After some time, this proves destructive, so people speak out. The inversion begins: the society bans any criticism of some liberalization, since the critics will upend the “progress” toward a Utopia of equality.
The more time passes, the worse things get and the louder the critics whine, so more stuff gets demonized, made taboo, or outright banned until all that is left are terms that praise the system as it is.
Language has become inverted at that point, as has meaning. Nothing can be said but praise of the inevitable march from Enlightenment™ to Communism, and anyone who wants to be allowed to speak in public must affirm that the “arc of history” leads toward this progress.
Eventually, however, this order inverts. The things that people praise become seen as failing or failed. The terms that were once positive become handy shorthand for describing things which do not work so well. The inverted is in turn inverted.
These civilizations die from disinterest in a wave of combined apathy and anarchy. The system sucks, but no one who says this will be allowed to be anything but desperately poor, so the “experts” form an echo chamber that agrees that things are not failing, but better than ever before!
Then things fall apart. Those who thought they were running a successful society start to see that they are running a failure. They rush to implement their tyranny before the population bails out.
Unfortunately for them, however, they think in terms of enemies only when the real threat to them is lack of belief. Conjectural, messianic, and Utopian (CMU) systems like liberalization require people to believe that things are getting better.
When anyone succeeds without them, people realize belatedly that the whole liberalization project was never needed, and life is in fact better without that overhead of management, bureaucracy, administration, regulation, and wealth transfer taxes.
At this point, no one in the real world believes in the system, but those who depend on it — celebrities, media, minorities, government employees, regulations lawyers, and academics — defend it, fooling most of the people for some time.
Then at some point, that time ends, and the average person starts to see the system as the parasite that it always was. They do not oppose it so much as withdraw their support, sort of like how people stopped watching the NFL or Netflix shows.
Those who know that the system sucks but rationalize it so that they can continue to act out positions that were once important (here, we are speaking of post-Buckley “conservatives”) keep trying to explain the bad as good and failing.
People turn away. They turn toward their homes. They cheat aggressively on taxes and buy everything through the black market. They hide any wealth they have, and most importantly, do only a perfunctory job of their work role.
The would-be tyrants, in response to this loss of faith, crack down on those who visibly protest, in doing so revealing how they have been inverted. The defenders of equality and freedom have now become favoritists and authoritarians.
“These blockades are illegal, and if you are still participating the time to go home is now,” Trudeau declared after meeting virtually with leaders of the country’s provinces.Invoking the Emergencies Act would allow the government to declare the Ottawa protest illegal and clear it out by such means as towing vehicles, Wark said. It would also enable the government to make greater use of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the federal police agency.Over the past weeks, authorities have hesitated to move against the protesters. Local officials cited a lack of police manpower and fears of violence, while provincial and federal authorities disagreed over who had responsibility for quelling the unrest.
If you blow off a summer of burning cities and violence in the name of egalitarian causes, but then crack down on those who merely want you to slow your acceleration of transfer of wealth, power, and status from the naturally talented to the rest of the “equals,” then you reveal that you have been inverted.
The good guys, who made bad=good so that society could liberalize, now have become the bad guys.
Even the numb and slumbering voters realize at this point that now they are in an authoritarian regime. You either obey the dogma and read another “The Conservative Case for Pre-K Transsexual Sodomy” article, or you become an enemy of the State.
Following the collapse of its erswhile allies in freedom with the fall of the Soviet Union, modernity expanded according to precedent, increasing each one of these things through a world financial network known as globalism.
Now it has become clear that this New World Order has collapsed from within as disorder breaks out across the globe:
Looking back at the past 14 years, it is with some consternation that Wolfgang Ischinger “cannot recall a time when there were so many overlapping crises.” That’s a reference to the challenges posed by Iran, China and the evolving Euro-Atlantic security architecture. A long list that could still encompass many other global hot spots.Indeed, the extraordinary profusion of unresolved crises is itself the central topic in this year’s MSR.The report describes a mood of “collective helplessness.” In the same way as ordinary individuals, whole societies can be overcome by a sense that they simply have no answer to the challenges they face.
In other words, people have lost faith in the system and now are reverting to pre-civilization behaviors by acting toward their own personal and civilizational interests without regard to other groups.
This means that not only has democracy failed, but the underlying belief in equality, altruism, pluralism, utilitarianism, and socially-accepted individualism has faded away.
We are seeing a crisis of confidence in that no one is betting on democracy being around much longer. The collapse of American government shows us how little people believe in the goodness of modernity anymore:
In a poll last month, 66 percent of Democrats wanted Clinton questioned, a whopping 22 percentage points higher than how many in her party demanded a probe last October, according to TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics (TIPP) research.The amount of Republicans demanding answers is also swelling, rising to 91 percent in January from 80 percent last October. Among the independent crowd, those wanting the former secretary of state probed rose to 74 percent from 65 percent.Clinton, 74, is being accused of hiring a tech term to ‘infiltrate’ servers at Trump Tower and the White House during the 2016 campaign.
Previous generations would have been shocked at this abuse of power, but in the current time, less care for the shared space of civilization seems evident. This seems to be changing.
In particular, for Democrats to know about Clintonian abuses of power — something essentially embargoed by the Left-leaning media and social media — requires them to be reading non-Left leaning sources.
This in turn means that they have already lost faith, even in their own party. The supposedly “good guys” inverted into the “bad guys,” leading people to see this as a systemic problem with the modern system.
…
I’ll tell youse guys. It all makes me yearn for a simpler time…
Playboy-style “bunny girls” serving a customer with a champagne lunch at Paul Raymond’s Bal Tabarin nightclub in Hanover Square, London, 11th February 1963.
Maybe our grandparents and our parents really knew better than us, with all of our new “progressive” ideas on life and relationships. Eh?
I’ll tell you what, they certainly ate better.
Steak Devine.
And they certainly dressed better. Not only the very attractive women…
Stunners!
But men did as well…
In style.
Sigh.
Article 9
One day, maybe twenty years from now, the United States government will rewrite the narrative and concoct some kind of illusion as to what really is going on now. But let this article stand as a reminder of this historical period of time of great change and the threat of great terror.
You may be aware of the fact that things aren’t going very well for the United States, but you may not know that things are going quite well for the Russian Federation.
You may also think that Russia is an evil force that needs to be contained, or that it is ruled by an evil dictator, or any number of such things while the US is a prosperous democracy and a superpower (whatever that means) but this makes no difference.
If you’ve been following recent events, you may be aware that Russia has recently presented the US with something like an ultimatum—demanding that the US provide it with certain security guarantees.
But you will probably be quite surprised to learn that the granting of these security guarantees will be automatic as the US continues to collapse and retreat into its hollowed-out, bankrupt shell, its rout from Afghanistan being by no means its last.
Nor would you be able to appreciate the fact that the security demands are designed to make America’s retreat from Eurasia maximally humiliating: not only will it retreat, but it will retreat because the Russians ordered it to do so.
Once that retreat takes place, Russia will no doubt be immensely, effusively grateful that America has finally faced up to its responsibilities and did the right thing by getting the hell out of Eurasia, gleefully rubbing salt into America’s wounds.
Russia will then joyfully make mincemeat of the Monroe Doctrine, spreading its influence, hand in hand with China, over the American continent, from Argentina to Mexico, leaving the US (whatever remains of it) sulking in its corner eating a pot of glue.
But there is a lot more gratitude that’s due for what’s already transpired. In fact, Russia should be thanking the US for all it’s done to make Russia a winner and the US a loser at every opportunity.
If it was a full scale war, there would not be any picures, cell phones or anything. Russia would be saturation bombing the living Hell out of the Ukraine. And, the NATO forces, and American bases would be under fire as well.
Some people want war so badly. Go to the link (opens in a new tab) and read al the great screeching details about the end-of-the-world, and Russian agression. It’s like a FOX “news” wet dream.
They have no idea what a REAL war is like.
I don’t believe it.
Some glimpses of the future
Let’s take a peek at what the world has in store for all of us if we adapt and embrace the Chinese model…
Spend time with friends and family. Don’t take your cats and dogs for granted. They need you and love you. That is precious, and their thoughts WILL influence your life.
Yes they will.
These are historic times. These are serious times, and these are times of opportunity. Do not allow yourself to be boxed in by the fear-generation mechanisms used to control, but rather rise up from them.
Carve out your own life.
Live it well.
This is a message we need to hear. Gut out the programming, and the rush-rush-rush. Hurry is the enemy of deep work, excellence, health, relationships, and the spiritual life. Period!
Live life well.
And, well, be the best that you can be within it. I beleive in you.
Do you want more?
I have more posts in my “New Beginnings 3” Index here…
Sometimes, it just seems like the United States is just one big science-fiction movie. Seriously it does. Why? Well, there are various “news” articles popping up here, and then there, that all seem to point to a dystopic future; one that resembles a horrific science fiction film.
I argue that there are two vectors that are intersecting right now. One [1] is that of a fear-based narrative; be afraid, be very afraid. And the other [2] is one of general collapse while everyone is acting crazy and running around in crazy insanity.
These two vectors create a very horrific narrative, and it is one that is now commonplace within the United States.
Here we review some of these events. And discuss what they could mean and look at them as an impartial observer witnessing a geographic area going down the tubes in insanity.
We start with…
Bioweapon tainted monkeys escape into the population…
So many movies had this theme. Remember that that was the “cover story” for “American Ultra”, and the theme for numerous science fiction movies. Such as Outbreak (1995).
“American Ultra”
Woman claims she is sick after carrying hissing monkey that escaped truck in Pennsylvania crash. The woman’s pinkeye was so bad that she checked herself into an emergency room.
Note: Biological weapon experimental monkeys escape? Check the earlier local news from Pennsylvania to know how they activate their military and police forces to blanket search for the 4 escape monkeys, and alerted the local residents to report to the authorities if they come by any monkey and not to get close to the monkeys.
The evil American country is very scary, and a constant threat to the survival of humanity and all living thing on the planet.
Remember that right before the release of the Coronavirus in the Wuhan games, that an “event” occurred where an agency closed down Fort Detrick. Of course, agencies do not have the power to close American miltiary facilities and bases. It was closed for other reasons, not for the stated reasons.
Only ONE person can close down a military base. That’s the President of the United States.
Remember that right before the release of the Coronavirus in the Wuhan games…an odd closure of the Major Bioweapons facility by the EPA.
Bioweapon monkeys, eh?
Yeah. Sure.
Right before XXXXX, an odd escaped monkey started to terrorize America.
Bioweapon monkeys eh?
The United States and rules…
Obviously the “news” is full of such bullshit, partial truths and distortions and no one knows what is really going on. most Americans are completely confused by the onslaught of lies, and many beleive them.
And that makes it easy for the USA to do what it wants.
Thus, it is not unusual for the USA to make the rules as they see fit.
[A] Laws, and rules domestically no longer have any validity, and [B] international treaties are used when it provides advantage, and discarded when they do not.
Combined, [A] and [B] clearly show a nation in chaos where there are no rules, no structures, and very little in the way of law.
As I see it, the United States is like this big thrashing monster, and it is trying desperately to cling to power and relevance. But it is failing at every level, and that is why it is engaged in World War III right now. The opening salvos hit this month, and they are concerning…
Let’s look at some of the “news” that can be found in the American, Britsh and Australian “news” media…
Supermarket tabloids
Of couse, it’s just bullshit, and made up stories. However, these things sell, and that means that there ARE people who read them. I remeber when I lived in Kokomo, Indiana, USA that my next door neighbor (a girl named Misty, a stripper by the way) would read these things weekly and believed every word written in them…
Ah.
Then we have just day to day news.
I have no doubt that this actually occurred, but think about it. Look at this chick, and note that he has convinced the police detective to investigate fifteen (15!) men of raping her.
Woman Who Falsely Accused 15 Men Of Rape Given 10 Year Sentence
A woman from West London is to be jailed for a decade for falsely accusing over a dozen men of sexually assaulting her. 27-year-old Jemma Beale, who hails from Bedfont, west London, was handed a lengthy prison sentence for perverting the course of justice and perjuring innocent men in 2017, one of whom was jailed for two years.
Now, Beale has challenged her sentence throughout the latest appeal process, in a bid to clear her name. However, the prosecution presented evidence that Beale texted her then-girlfriend, saying that she was “glorying in his discomfort” when giving false evidence against one of her victims.
Beale made her first complaint on the morning of 26 November 2010, telling police that she’d been sexually assaulted by Mahad Cassim the previous night. Cassim was sentenced to seven years in prison for rape in 2012.
According to her, all men cannot wait to rape her.
Beale had been supported by the authorities throughout her case as a victim of sexual violence, whose account was to be believed. Professionals will have been on hand to give her support, in addition to a police victim-liaison officer.
She received compensation from the taxpayer amounting to £11,000. Meanwhile, the innocent man whom she had falsely accused was rotting in a prison cell, his reputation destroyed and his life effectively over. Before his conviction was quashed, he had already served over two years of his seven-year sentence.
Beale later told police she had been the victim of two other sexual assaults that year, and allegedly fabricated similar allegations against six other men in 2013.
Commenting on the case, Lady Justice Hallett, the judge presiding over the appeal, stated:
“This case went far further then myths and stereotypes about a complainant’s behaviour. The appellant was accused of being a serial liar who fabricated accounts mostly of a sexual nature. In the light of the evidence called even if the guidance was given it would not have assisted the appellant.”
She added:
“The system of justice has suffered considerable harm – considerable resources have been spent investigating and prosecuting crimes which never happened. There has been no indication of remorse on the appellant’s part.”
…
Then we have this article. Knowing what I know of certain individuals that I have met in prison, this seems to be much more common than one woud think…
But… why?
There must also be betting, and gambling, and probably other vices as well. Don’t you know.
But you do know that maybe it’s how American children are being raised today. Consider this next article…
And when the children grow up, and they discover alcohol, drugs and influence on social media, they start to act really strange.
Like this fellow.
Why?
Well, you need to understand that the United States is fragmented, and balkenized. As this next article illustrates…
Tennessee Pastor Who Repeatedly Raped 14-Year-Old Daughter Gets Lenient Sentence Because He Was A Good Christian
A former pastor who repeatedly raped his adopted teenage daughter has been given an effective 12 year prison sentence.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports prosecutors sought the maximum term of 72 years behind bars. The judge on the case, Steve Sword, took Richards work as a pastor, the support he still receives and his role key role in leading a Bible study at the prison as mitigating factors.
During his trial in February, 41-year-old David Lynn Richards Jr. had taken the stand in his own defense and asserted his innocence.
He claimed that the victim, Amber Richards, was a defiant teenager who made the allegations of sexual abuse against him after he tried to impose stricter rules on his children.
The victim was 16 when she reported the abuse, saying it began two years earlier.
She told authorities where they could find DNA evidence at her home and said Richards had texted her about taking their relationship “to the next level.” A
uthorities said they found her mattress stripped bare and his phone factory reset, but they were able to recover Forensic evidence showing traces of Richards’ semen on his daughter’s bed frame
Amber, who has chosen to identify herself and speak out after Richards was found guilty, delivered a powerful impact statement before Richards’ sentencing on Thursday.
“I wanted to throw my body away. Not a day goes by that I don’t, in some way, think of what he did to me. … I firmly believe if given the opportunity, he would victimize another young girl.”
Despite the overwhelming evidence, many in the community refused to believe that Pastor Richards was a rapist.
Over 30 parishioners from the church came to court to show support not for the victim, but for the rapist.
Pastor David Thompson, who shared ministry duties with Pastor Richards at My Father’s House Church of God in Lenoir City, said:
I find it impossible for me to believe he’s guilty of this. His business needs him. His family needs him. Our church needs him.
Despite being found guilty, Richards Jr continued to maintain his innocence while asking the judge for leniency in the sentence.
I stand before you convicted of crimes I did not commit. … I’m not sure why I’m here. … but I assume it’s for His purpose.
Welcome to America.
You know Hollywood, and alcohol dosen’t always mix. ..
And things are even weirder in Great Britian…
But I have to tell you all that things are off-the-wall in certain parts of the United States. Consider the American “Bible Belt”.
Here’s a map of the “Bible Belt”.
Bible Belt.
And this is what goes on there as everyday fodder…
Christian TV Host: Plant-Based Burgers Are A Satanic Plot To Create A “Race of Soulless Creatures”
Rick Wiles warned on his “TruNews” program that the rise of companies that make plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products, is part of a satanic plot to alter human DNA so that people can no longer worship God.
Appearing on his program earlier this week, Wiles said:
When you go to your favorite fast food restaurant, you are going to be eating a fake hamburger. You’re going to go to the grocery store and buy a pound of fake hamburger or a fake steak, and you won’t know that it was grown in some big corporation’s laboratory. This is the nightmare world that they are taking us into. They’re changing God’s creation. Why? Because they want to be God.
Wiles continued:
God is an environmentalist. He takes this very seriously. He created this planet, he created the universe and he’s watching these Luciferians destroy this planet, destroy the animal kingdom, destroy the plant kingdom, change human DNA. Why? They want to change human DNA so that you can’t be born again. That’s where they’re going with this, to change the DNA of humans so it will be impossible for a human to be born again. They want to create a race of soulless creatures on this planet.
…
Yuppr.
Things are awfully strange in the ‘States right now.
No more fun in the sun for Jake.
…
I guess sex is a great motivator.
Consider this screen shot…
I mean, if you are hungry… well…
America is insane, and it is exploding in all sorts of strangeness.
Colorado University Warns Students Not to Say ‘America’, ‘American’ Because It’s Not Inclusive
Colorado State University has included the words “American” and “America” on its list of language to avoid because they are not inclusive.
The school’s Inclusive Communications Task Force compiled a list of words in its Inclusive Language Guide that serve to help those on campus foster “inclusion, respect, and social justice.”
The guide states that it is not about being politically correct but instead is there to help “communicators practice inclusive language” and make everyone on campus “feel welcomed, respected, and valued.”
CSU lists both “American” and “America” as non-inclusive words “to avoid,” due to the fact that America encompasses more than just the U.S.
“The Americas encompass a lot more than the United States,” the guide states. “There is South America, Central America, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean just to name a few of 42 countries in total.”
By referring to the U.S. as America, the guide claims that one “erases other cultures and depicts the United States as the dominant American country.” The school suggests using “U.S. citizen” or “person from the U.S.” as substitutes.
The guide advises students to use the words “U.S. citizen” or “person from the U.S.” instead of “American.”
Among other words and phrases on the list are:
The words “male” and “female” (because this “refers to biological sex and not gender,” and “we very rarely need to identify or know a person’s biological sex and more often are referring to gender”), “cake walk” (because it apparently has origins in “the racism of 19th century minstrel shows”), “freshman” (because it “excludes women and non-binary gender identities”), “Hispanic” (“because of its origins in colonialization and the implication that to be Hispanic or Latinx/Latine/Latino, one needs to be Spanish-speaking”), “hold down the fort” (because “the U.S. the historical connotation refers to guarding against Native American ‘intruders’ and feeds into the stereotype of ‘savages’”), “no can do” (because it was “originally a way to mock Chinese people”), “peanut gallery” (because it “names a section in theaters, usually the cheapest and worst, where many Black people sat during the era of Vaudeville”), “straight” (because it “implies that anyone LGBT is ‘crooked’ or not normal”), “food coma” (because it “directly alludes to the stereotype of laziness associated with African-Americans”), and “war” or “battle,” when used any way other than to describe a literal war or battle (because “they evoke very real tragedy that can be problematic for survivors of war or Veterans”).(National Review)
The guide does note, however, that the recommendations are not official policy.
…
What some people will do for a lawn tool.
And what some people will do for fun…
But, you know…
This kind of disconnect from rules, laws and tradition occur world-wide. It’s just that the United States is really very sick.
Consider the middle east…
Saudi Millionaire Who Said He Accidentally “Tripped and Penetrated” Teenage Girl Cleared of Rape
Ehsan Abdulaziz, a Saudi millionaire property developer, was cleared of rape charges in London after he claimed that he had tripped and fallen on an 18-year-old girl who was sleeping at his apartment after partying with him, penetrating her by accident.
The Saudi property developer said he had already had sex with the young woman’s 24-year-old friend and it was possible his penis may have been poking out of his underwear when he tripped
The Mirror reported the group had met at an exclusive West End club last year where he entertained them before offering them a lift home.
The 18-year-old claimed that after a number of drinks at Abdulaziz’s north London home, she went to sleep on the couch.
She said she woke up to find him on top of her, forcing himself on her.
“She woke up with the defendant kissing her and his penis in her vagina,” prosecutor Jonathan Davies told the Southwark Crown Court.
“She said: ‘What are you doing?’ and he said ‘It’s fine,’ indicating that her friend was asleep.
“She got up to find her friend, tried to wake her but couldn’t, she then tried to get out of the flat as quickly as she could.”
Abdulaziz said he had accidentally fallen on the teenager and that she tried to seduce him, and that was how his DNA got onto her vagina.
“I’m fragile, I fell down but nothing ever happened, between me and this girl nothing ever happened,” he said.
He also told the court it was possible he had semen on his hands after having sex with the young woman’s friend.
The jury acquitted Abdulaziz after just 30 minutes of deliberations.
They believed his excuse. He was obviouly being truthful as he was man and a “pillar of the community”.
…
Tripped.
And of course, there’s all sorts of lies on the Western “news” too.
Like this one about China.
Hey, do you see their faces? Do you see their clothing? How can you tell where this picture was taken?
Well. Look at the pavement. That’s asphalt.
It’s against the law to pave large public areas in China, only certain roads can be paved with asphalt. Only bike lanes maybe paved (and on special permission) cerain senic roads. But never large public areas. They are either cement, if in the rural areas, or dressed stone, which is the norm. This pavement is NOT of dressed stone.
My guess is that someone staged this photo in the UK or USA and wrote a bullshit story around it. It’s pretty common for American “news” these days.
Indeed.
It’s awfully strange in America these days.
Awfully strange.
And it’s not just that.
It’s everything.
Dodgeball Is “An Unethical Tool Of Oppression” And Should Be Banned, Say Researchers
Researchers in Canada say that dodgeball is nothing more than legalized bullying.
When you’re setting up the environment for students to learn, and you introduce the idea that it’s okay to slam the ball at whomever you like, even if it’s with a soft ball, the intention is there,’ Joy Butler, a professor who studies pedagogy and curriculum development said to the Washington Post.
‘When students think it’s okay because they’re being told it’s okay to do that, what do they learn? People say dodgeball is being used as an outlet for aggression or catharsis. I suspect that this is where they’re learning that.
‘Phys-ed should be an arena where teachers are helping students control their aggression and move on instead of expressing themselves through anger.’
Researchers interviewed middle-school students about their physical education classes and say the overwhelming feeling was that students hated dodgeball.
The team’s findings are to be presented at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences this week in Vancouver and will argue that the playground favorite actually ‘reinforces the five faces of oppression’ identified as exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism and violence by political theorist Iris Marion Young.
‘I think of the little girl who is running to the back to avoid being targeted,’
Professor Butler said.
‘What is she learning in that class? Avoidance?’
Researchers also noted that they had observed the more athletic, authoritative students had created their own rules and purposely stacked the teams. This, naturally made it more difficult for the less athletic or popular to compete.
‘The message is that it’s okay to hurt or dehumanize the ‘other,’
Butler said.
‘The competition is about annihilating one’s opponent, and the true definition of competition is between two evenly matched teams. Well, kids stack their teams, and they really enjoy beating the other team. What’s the enjoyment of that?’“Despite the fact that many physical educators understand their vital role in helping students develop robust, equal, productive relationships and critical awareness, their practices on the ground do not always reflect this agenda,”
they write.
“We suggest that this tension becomes sharply visible in the common practice of allowing students to play dodgeball.
They ultimately recommended that Physical Education curriculum’s focus more on health, wellness and fitness rather than just sports.
…
Next up is Brazil. I wonder how many followers he had…
Holy milk, eh?
I wonder if he told them that those that drank the “fresh milk” would get special privileges. Perhaps if they bent over, and prayed really hard…
Meanwhile in Utah…
Yuppur.
Strange things in the United States these days.
And in Africa…
Say what?
And again, inside the United States…
From the low-lives, to the high brow… all of the United States has gone insane.
Insane.
Colorado State University: Saying ‘Long Time, No See,’ ‘You Guys,’ ‘Freshman’ is Offensive
Students at Colorado State University (CSU), apparently, should no longer say “long time, no see,” “you guys” or “freshman,” because those terms are not considered “inclusive language.”
That’s according to a student, Katrina Leibee, who writes for the campus paper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian. Leibee met with Zahra Al-Saloom, director of diversity and inclusion at CSU, who showed her an entire packet of terms and phrases considered contrary to the university’s mission of fostering inclusion.
“One of these phrases was ‘long time, no see,’ which is viewed as derogatory towards those of Asian descent,” wrote Leibee.
The packet says the phrase originally mocked “Native Americans or Chinese pidgin English” without providing an ounce of historical context. It suggests saying the flaccid, unmeasured, structureless, “I haven’t seen you in a while” in the phrase’s place.
“We were told that the popular term ‘you guys’ was not inclusive of all genders, and we should instead replace it with ‘y’all,’” she wrote. “We were told to use the term ‘first-year’ instead of ‘freshman,’ because ‘freshman’ is not inclusive of all genders.”
“A countless amount of words and phrases have been marked with a big, red X and defined as non-inclusive,” she continued. “It has gotten to the point where students should carry around a dictionary of words they cannot say.”
When the CSU student confronted the campus language commissars about the fact that nowhere in the country are phrases like “long time, no see” being regulated, she was given empty platitudes about making the world a better place where she stands.
Even if the world isn’t good, you should be good,” one superior told her. “CSU abides by the principles of community, and we want to make it an inclusive space.”
And no one is immune.
Such as this “Chinese man”…
And it affects everyone.
Did you know that Gordon Ramsay had a dwarf porn double? And that he died in a “Badger Den”? And that they had Badger Dens in Wales?
I’ll tell youse guys it’s an awfully strange world we are living in.
Next up should be a “Florida man” article. But no. Sorry.
It’s “Oregon Man”.
High on life, I’ll bet.
And some things just make me cringe.
And if you think that things just cannot get worse, well then you have this…
Let’s see.
Oh, yeah. Here’s a “Florida man”…
Florida Man Arrested For Attempting To “Barbecue” Child Molesters
Osceola County police officers arrested a Florida man after it was discovered that he attempted to “barbecue all the child molesters on fire and kill them.” Jorge Porto-Sierra, 50, confessed to investigators that he had attempted to kill several people who were at a motel in Kissimmee.
Witnesses say the suspect was carrying a cigarette and shouting threats such as “I’m going to kill you, child molester,” during the incident at the motel. He allegedly poured gas on several doors, broke a window to pour gas into a room. In addition, Porto-Sierra allegedly attacked two other individuals inside a car in the hotel parking lot, first by pouring gasoline into the car through an open window. When the driver attempted to flee, Porto-Sierra got into his black Ford Focus and started ramming their car.
Deputies then arrived on the scene, where they say Porto-Sierra surrendered right away. Waiving his Miranda rights, Porto-Sierra confessed and told the authorities, “they raped kids, they are child molesters that all live here and deserve to die.”
Sex offenders in Florida are required to publicly register their home address with the Sexual Offender and Predator System. That system shows more than 20 offenders are using the Friendly Village Inn & Motel as their home address.
When deputies asked why he didn’t flicker his lit cigarette at the gasoline he had poured, the old man simply said, “You got here too soon.”
…
But at least people are starting to trust the police more.
…
What’s next?
I mean it’s all getting pretty bad.
Maybe cats and dogs will start fighting, and mass hysteria will hit new York (a paraphrased quote from “Ghostbusters”.)
Some final thoughts
Question to the reader. Sure these are interesting, and curious “news” items. But do they really improve your life? Are you better informed in the world directly around you and that with you interact with? Or, as I allude to, it is all puzzle pieces thrown on the floor in disarray…
Some are just made up lies. Like the China nonsense.
Some are news items; regional, small-time strangeness that takes place far away in areas that you have no idea about, haven’t visited, and know nothing of the culture there.
Some are government related, and of course, anything out of the Untied States govenrment is scheduled, preplanned and presented as “leaked” info to give it legitimity.
Some are stores of fraudsters, crooks, and criminals who use a new angle or technique to fleece others for money, or sex.
So I must ask again. Is your life better for reading about this stuff? Did you really learn somehting that you can apply to your life right now?
I argue that it just wasted your time.
Like sitting in a circus tent and watching clowns juggle bowling pins. A curious waste of time. Novel, perhaps, but does not improve your lfie.
So what things can you do to improve your life, eh?
Well, for starters. Do what you love to do. Seriously. I am not kidding. Do what you like to do.
Just do it and let the rest of the world scream! video 3MB
Identify who your friends are. Sure you can and should have all sorts of friends. But you need to identify which ones are REAL, the REAL DEAL friends, video 3MB
Get started right now. Do little things. Like Make Your Bed.
Great video. Listen to the great words of wisdom from a Navy Seal. video 7MB
If you start being nice and kind, irregardless to what others think, and act better and smile more, you will be the Rufus.
And if you are the Rufus you will find that your world-line template gets easier to endure. You will find that things get easier becuase instead of your mind filled with the daily garbage from the “news” you will have good things, and tangible things in yoru life… generated by the good thoughts of all those around you.
American and Western society is predicated in a civilian population of spectators. Those that are being told how great they are for doing nothing more than sitting into little grey cubicle boxes and giving 50% of everything that they make to the government.
That is not living.
But you can change all that.
Maybe not the entire society, but you can change your little part of it. Perform your affirmation campaigns. Mesure your fate forecast. Perfrom centering exercises though Hemi-sync, and be the Rufus. Your life will change dramatically.
Not overnight.
Certainly years of programming and fear-induced habits will not disappear in a week or so, but if you keep up with the exercises and do the best with what you have, it WILL change.
I promise you that.
Do you want more?
I have more posts in my “Growth as a Person” Index here…
The key actors in this genuine reality show have communicated both orally and in writing, and their nations have physically acted; yet, so few seem to be watching, listening or seeing.
Very little from Xi or Putin is kept secret aside from the usual military and trade secrets, although there is the language barrier.
The obfuscation from the West is very clear to see.
It appears they think that by staying silent their dominant position that only exists in their minds can be kept in place, which is doubly true for the Outlaw US Empire.
Chronic prevaricators do have a problem when they try to dismiss yesterday's lies to replace them with today's as honest actors will hold them to their word.
And that's precisely the aim of Russia's security proposals--Russia is calling out the West's longstanding series of lies and deliberate misinterpretations.
China for its part is doing something similar, although its context differs.
Xi announced China's intentions before Biden became POTUS--to force the Outlaw US Empire to become a law-abiding, "normal," nation--and bonded with Russia and other like-minded nations into an organization that more than signaled their intent--at least to those of us watching.
As noted by numerous observers from both sides, direct warfare between the Outlaw US Empire and either or both Russia and China is highly unlikely for the Empire will suffer greatly, a truth known by at least some of those running the Empire into the ground.Unfortunately, there's an impression that the 189 other nations on the planet aren't watching.
Well, we know that most of the NATO/EU/OSCE nations are watching and directly involved, but so too are the world's remaining nations.
And the vast majority back Russia and China because they're voicing their desires for a Law-based International Order centered on the UN, its Charter and other aspects of International Law.
Too bad a poll isn't taken of those nations to see how many agree with the Joint Statement and its Manifesto; but based on related UNGA votes, the vast majority would say Yes, we agree.Although the context is wrong, the Outlaw US Empire is acting very much like Icarus and will succumb to its hubris as did Icarus.
That the Neoliberal Parasites actually in charge of the Outlaw US Empire seek to keep their place and power doesn't mean that they will.
But for the Empire to become a normal nation for the first time in its history will require their overthrow and replacement by a far more humane, human, democratic, and enlightened polity than what currently exists.
That may seem like a tall order, but many millions within the Empire crave such a change, and they have most of the world willing to aid that transformation.-karlof1 | Feb 9 2022 0:54 utc
Our world is changing
It is on all levels, and while I mostly chat about Geo-Political issues and MAJestic, we have to realize that decay and collapse of America, or the rise of China, or the advances in Africa all consist of other shattering changes.
Consider this article from the Burning Platform…
The Terror
Guest Post by NickelthroweR
I was taking a break from cutting firewood and I sat down at my computer to see if anyone had responded to my post over at r/antiwork. I’m not a popular guy over at r/antiwork and my comments usually get downvoted into the negative. But, this was my first ever post over at the site and I was curious as to what the 4 or 5 commenters would have to say about what I had written but it wasn’t 4 or 5 commenters. I looked at the numbers in disbelief and then I looked again and that was when I felt the first twinge of terror.
For those of you that do not know, r/antiwork is a forum populated by fierce/brave Communists that wish to destroy Capitalism so that they can all receive UBI so that they can focus on being Influencers, Podcasters and YouTubers. After all, they did figure out that work is difficult, and they most certainly want to share that philosophy with everyone so as to justify their lifetime free ride of goods and services that are OWED to them.
A popular topic over at r/antiwork is the job interview process. I understand the frustration of interviewing in a bureaucratic hyper-regulated system can cause a lot of anger but the corporation has boxes that it must check in the hiring process or be sued into oblivion. You’ve got to interview every single minority group, the alphabet people, radical feminists, etc, even if you’ve already decided on promoting someone in-house. That doesn’t matter, HR still has to pretend as the bureauracy demands that it go through the motions. The Maoists over at r/antiwork do not understand that it is their own woke idealogy causing these problems but to them, it just looks like malice from an evil corporation.
By the way, if you were to take the advice given by these philosophers over at r/antiwork then you’d most certainly go to your next interview in your pajamas, make fantastical wage demands, dictate the terms of your employment to HR, and end the interview by dropping your pants and crapping all over the nearest desk. That, more or less, sums up the advice you receive from the geniuses over at that forum.
As for myself, I’m really just a lurker over at that forum as I sit there gobsmacked by what these people that didn’t get a chair when the music stopped have to say and whom they blame for their misfortunes. When I do chime in, it is to remind everyone that the solution to their problem is to open their own business. After all, genius-philosopher-influencers should have no problem opening their own businesses, right? I mean, if you don’t like that people receive low pay then open your own business and pay your employees more while still remaining competitive. Should be easy, right? If you don’t like government regulations then open your own business and ignore those regulations. Should be easy, right?
Those comments of mine are universally downvoted because opening your own business would make you a Capitalist and you’d have to take on a whole bunch of responsibility. Genius-philosopher-influencers don’t have time for any of that, dontcha know? The Revolution is Today! Get on board!
The other area where I like to chime in has to do with censorship. For some strange reason, these guys are 100% on board with censorship. It is funny to hear them repeat the talking points of corporate media that a private business “can do what it wants” with regards to censorship and if a bank, GFM, VISA, wants to cancel a customer because of their politics then that is fine too. They are also 100% on board with masks and having the corporation dictate medical procedures for its workers because a private business can do what it wants.
When I remind these guys that cheerleading that a business can do whatever it wants also means that the business can pay you whatever it wants and treat you however they please. You can’t have it both ways. Naturally, those comments get down-voted too. See, a corporation powerful enough to cancel the president must shut up and immediately allow its workforce to unionize while providing everyone a starting pay of $25/hr plus endless benefits! Is this an amazing fantasy world or what?
I find all of this fascinating because my daughter is a manager at a progressive woke grocery store. She has 4 unique generations working at her store and it is interesting to see how the different generations (and classes) function in a modern work environment. Her store was able to retain its staff during the lockdowns and isn’t having any problems filling the occasional open position. How progressive woke grocery store did this is very insightful and was the subject of my post over at r/antiwork.
According to my daughter, the ideal person to hire in 2022 is an attractive 17-year-old girl that lives at home with her wealthy parents. That is the person you want to hire. I asked her why and I’ve got to say that I was surprised by the corporate insight.
Young wealthy people are on their parents insurance. You can work them more than 29 hours a week without having to provide them with those expensive benefits.
Young wealthy people drive newer better-maintained cars than poor people. Poor people call off work when their cars break down.
People with lots of student loan debt seem to be sick all of the time. Stress is the #1 killer and people with lots of debt are depressed and call off sick more than people without those debts.
Attractive people are seen as smarter and more competent than their less attractive counterparts. Customers are less likely to “freak out” on an attractive person. (Halo effect)
Attractive people like to be seen and are more likely to view work as a social event.
Wealthy attractive 17-year-old girls tend to not be single mothers. Consequently, they are easier to schedule and do not call off of work when the child is ill.
In the same way that a bank will only loan you money if you do not need it, progressive woke grocery store will only hire you if you do not need the money. They simply do not want the drama that someone that needs a job brings to the table. I would have thought it would be the complete opposite. I was wrong.
Think of the advantage this gives to the teenager? They can live at home without rent, car payment, insurance payment, and just sock away the majority of their earnings. In a few short years, they can pay for their own schooling, travel the world, or open their own business. It puts them light years ahead of the 27-year-old guy that is a few pounds overweight and has $60,000 in student loan debt for a useless degree. That guy or gal is locked in a cage that they themselves built and may never exit.
I decided to share all of this with the r/antiwork crowd because they erroneously believe that they have Corporate America on the ropes and if just a few more of them would quit their jobs then Corporate America will give in to their demands and strip the CEO’s of all of their wealth so as to give it all to the genius-philosopher-influencers over at r/antiwork. Utopia achieved!
So, I wrote about the conversation I had with my daughter and offered some advice to those on the site that actually need jobs. I advised them to rent or borrow a new/newer car for their interviews. I advised them to look as youthful as possible. I suggested to them that if they had debts then to not broadcast that fact. “Don’t look desperate” was the point I was trying to get across. Then I went outside to chop some firewood.
When I next returned to have a look at what was going on, I noticed that 1300 other people were currently reading what I had written. On top of that, 322,000 people had read it in the last two hours, and the post had been shared 476 times. The post itself had almost 1000 comments, an 89% upvote rate and there were 306 private messages in my inbox. Like it or not, this was going to go viral.
“89% of the people approve of what I have to say so let’s read those comments”, I said to myself. Well, that was a mistake. The comment section was 90% negative with people telling me that I was a horrible person that raised a horrible daughter. Other threads within the comment section were of people working out who I was and who my daughter was so that a campaign could be put together to get her fired and me canceled. But the comment section was tame compared to what I received in the private messages.
The private messages were nearly all threats to my life. Threats to have me “swatted”. Threats to have me poisoned. Threats to reveal my identity and location. Pretty much any threat you can imagine was leveled at me for having dared explain how a corporation thinks. I read all of this for about 15 minutes and decided that I had kicked a hornets’ nest. These people could go after me, my business partner, my daughter, and my associates.
It was at this point that I felt The Terror.
I’m not weak at the knees and I certainly enjoy a good debate. Furthermore, I can defend myself against the occasional belligerent individual but how do you defend yourself from hundreds, perhaps soon to be thousands of hysterical Maoists? Like it or not, I was going to have to ride this wave to its conclusion.
Having decided that fretting about the post was not going to make it better, I got busy preparing my home for any unwelcome guests to include news outlets. After all, r/antiwork had just been featured on Fox News where one of its moderators made a complete fool of himself. Perhaps there were more fools to put on the air?
I waited a full 4 hours before I returned to the post and just as I returned to the webpage, my DM’s began going off with people wanting to know why I had deleted my post just that moment. I scrolled past 700 or so death threats to see a message from a moderator telling me that my post was removed because I used “derogatory language”. Of course, I hadn’t used any derogatory language but I was actually relieved that the post was censored. I must admit that I am curious as to what the final read tally was but that is a question that I’ll never have answered and I’m okay with it.
I am forever banned from posting or responding to posts over at r/antiwork. Pointing out to the Communists that the hostage situation they believe exists isn’t real didn’t win me any friends. Explaining how to navigate that world only made them angrier. These guys are disgusted by the inhumanity of being a cog in the machine but see no other solution than UBI. They will happily give up all of their freedoms so long as they never have to work past that of sharing their genius philosophy to the rest of us.
…
Yes. Our world is changing…
The article is part of a series of articles that will try to address the changes that the Earth is going though. It’s not just Geo-political issues, but it’s the entire nature of the various societies that exist on the earth. They all must change, as that is the ONLY way to break up many of the control mechanisms of the “Old Empire” on this Prison Planet of a fiasco.
Don’t understand?
Well, it’s about fifty principles that have to be explained in detail before you can understand it. Relax. I covered them elsewhere. And don’t get too caught up in the details. Just go with the flow and try to catch up. You can back-fill knowledge later on.
Fundamentally, there is a new changing of power structures going on (upon the globe) right NOW.
It’s easy to be afraid. That’s how the tired and old power structures manipulate. They generate fear and force you to obey, using herding techniques to achieve their goals.
Don’t be afraid.
Here we are going to discuss how change is normal and nothing to be fearful of. Not at all. In fact, change is desirable, or do you still want to be the ungainly awkward kid you were when you were pre-adolescent?
Consider the 1940’s
Women were women. Men were men. Dogs were dogs, and cats were cats. Additionally, there were several other classifications such as babies, and old men. The fashions were different, but that only added to the charm of that time.
Here’s some “bathing beauties” wearing colorful swimming attire, and showing off their fine legs. You will note that the women all curled their hair as was the fashion back then, and hid their belly buttons. Unlike Europe, America women were afraid to show off their chests and kept them covered.
Bathing beauties in vivid Kodachrome, 1944.
Was it a good time? Was it a bad time?
Well, I would argue that it depended on who you were and where you lived. Most certainly, those in Europe, Russia and in China had a rough row. But most people who lived inside the United States, Switzerland, and Canada really had a nice time of it there.
Certainly, if you were a man living in the United States during the war period, you had an easier time picking and choosing between women to date. The war tended to thin out the available male population, and it became a “target rich” environment for meeting and spending time with pretty and attractive women.
Or perhaps Algeria in the 1890s
Still, without cell-phones, cars, television, people seemed to get along just fine. People met, ate, talked, and had friends. Women were colorful and attractive, as these three women can well attest to. People gathered together and shared in delightful conversation. Sometimes over tea. Sometimes over coffee. But in all cases, the point was a sense of community and belonging.
Women in Algeria, 1899
I suppose we could continue to go backwards in time. Maybe to the Roman Empire, or to the Ancient Incas, or earlier. In each selected year, we would find that many things were different, but we would also find that many things stayed the same.
The difference in novelty is charming. It is nothing to fear.
Consider the 1970s
Below is a mechanical contraption that my grandmother had. It is a simple index machine that would allow you to place all the phone numbers of all your friends, family and business contacts in one place. You would simply write their phone numbers down so that you wouldn’t need to memorize them.
One of these right next to your phone.
Obviously, you don’t need this here today. Your phone and chat applications all provide this service automatically. In China, it’s for free, but in the United States it’s rolled into the “phone service plan” that you must purchase to use the phone.
Again, technology is different, but is it something to be fearful of? No. Of course not. It’s just different, and we all adjust to doing things differently. That’s all.
Attractive Flower Seller, 1960s
Back in the 1960s, and even up into the late 1980s, flower companies would hire young attractive girls to sell flowers on the street corners. It was common, and I’m sure that they were able to make a few sales every day.
You don’t see that today, but is that bad? Or is it good?
It’s neither. It’s just different. Personally, I like the idea of an attractive girl making some extra money selling things. But that’s just me. Though, if I were this girl, I would be wearing sandals and sitting near a big shady umbrella, with a bottle of water nearby.
Pretty girl selling flowers on the roadside, Oklahoma, 1973.
I like her cropped shirt, short jean shorts, and wide leather belt. She was a child of the 1960s, and I’m sure that she ended up living a fine and interesting life though the 1970s.
Throughout society, at every instance in time, you will see groups of people. All individuals. That seemingly coexisted with each other.
Businessmen drove their big black Lincoln’s by her, and families with their children screaming in their Pontiac sedan drove by and honked (perhaps). Was it good or bad? Neither. It was just fine and dandy for the time.
Consider Europe in the 1970s
In the picture below, we see an attractive woman in a Bistro or Brasserie. She’s braless, and wearing a nice transparent top. She’s holding a small purse with one hand while her companion, and the people behind her, all smoke their cigarettes.
It’s a scene that you will not see at all in modern contemporaneous Europe, but is that bad? Is it good?
Europe in the 1970s.
Some might argue that it is better now, while others argue the opposite. But what does it really matter? Is it something to fear, to get worried about, or to hate? No. Don’t be silly.
It was a different time, and a different place.
And there is nothing at all to be afraid about. Were you all to get into a time machine and travel back in time, I’m very confident that all of you reading this would be very comfortable and would adapt quite comfortably to the environment that presents itself.
America 1961
Let’s go back to America.
Did you realize that for many years after the 1960s, convertible top automobiles nearly disappeared from the American roads? The story as to why is certainly an interesting subject, but we will not delve into them right now, instead we will consider the idea of enjoying life in a convertible with a swivel seat.
Now, it is something to be fearful of?
No. Not at all. It’s something to be concerned about, maybe to be upset or joyful over (depending on your point of view), but it’s not something to be afraid of.
A woman experiences heaven in the 1961 Buick “Flamingo” equipped with a rotating front seat.
In the following pictures, we will take a moment to observe snapshots of life at different time periods in history. At every instance, you will take note that while they might be novel and different from what you (the reader) are experiencing now, they are not anything to be fearful of.
And with that thought realize that CHANGE is nothing to be afraid of, but rather something to embrace.
It is something to look forward to. It’s like always eating McDonald’s cheeseburgers for dinner and then switching to fresh, tasty steaks. It’s a change, and a good one.
Snapshots of life
In the 1970s we used to cruse up and down the roads. Young couples would cuddle in the front seat, and often hold each other while listening to music.
I wonder what those two are up to?
An individual is defined by his/her habits – habitual way of seeing the world, habitual way of making decisions and habitual way of doing things. Habits make it easy to function because they are default ways of operating.
We are programmed by our habits.
This is why it is difficult to change a habit. Habits tend to be replaced by other habits and not eliminated in a vacuum. The aim of positive change is to replace an unproductive or destructive habit with a good one.
And isn’t that what is going on now?
We are hopeful for the future, but fearful that things could go terribly wrong.
But if you are a child, you don’t now enough about life to be afraid of anything. So you are more accepting of things as they manifest.
Kids would be kids. Some would be fashionable. Others would be jokers. Still others would be beautiful. In all cases, they duplicated the behaviors of those whom they respected. Which was, more often than not, their parents.
Young boys strike a pose for the camera, Jamaica.
Change doesn’t just happen. Humans (habits) and organisations (cultures) by nature resist change because it is uncomfortable.
Therefore, the need to change has to be triggered for it to happen.
Something has to inspire or provoke the motivation to change. A trigger can be new information or pain/setback/loss or a pleasurable incentive/gain etc.
Consider what it was like when you were in your teenage years.
The lit up restaurants acted as lighthouses and beacons for a youth that had nowhere to go. There, they would socialize, eat cheap food, and smoke all free from the view and influences of their parents, or authorities.
A burger plate for under a dollar sounds good to me.
Let’s face it: adapting to change is hard work. For this reason, it’s not surprising that most people remain stuck in a state of fear for weeks, months, years, and sometimes their entire lives.
The danger of this is something known as the contemplation stage.
This is where a person thinks about the fact that things are changing all around them, but fails to act on their thoughts and intentions.
They acknowledge there’s somethings worth changing, but they’re unsure if it’s going to be worth all the effort and perceived costs. And this is clouded by the natural revision to change; the build up of fear.
In other words, there’s a part of them that wants to accept the changes, but there’s another part of them that doesn’t.
Simply put, Contemplation is when a person is ambivalent about change.
But I have to tell youse all, change is coming whether you accept it or not. It’s a natural part of life.
In the Mediterranean, people would sun themselves and get a fine dose of much-needed vitamin D. Unlike America, going top-less was quite common and not a big deal at all. As still is the case in many places of the world.
Girls getting some warm sun on the beach in Southern France in the 1970’s.
Don’t ignore change and wait for things to return to “normal:” When change happens, it’s natural to hope initially that things will return to the way they were. But if the world really has changed, the longer you entertain that false hope, the more difficult it will be for you to move forward again. This is not how to handle change.
Fashion changes, hairstyles change. Chairs, tables and “blackboards” change. However, who we are and how we inherit our biological interests and other features extrated from society are not. A playful boy in 1970 would often resemble a playful boy from Ancient Rome.
Change should never be feared.
School was different back in the ’70s. Students focussed on the basics.. reading, writing, and mathematics. They also learned how to write longhand, and some of them took great pride in their “penmanship”.
Don’t try to bring back the past: Sometimes people react to change by working harder in the hope they can stem the tide of change. But that approach is futile. What used to work may no longer work in the new situation.
Whether you cruse the “drag” in a camper smoking (illegal) marijuana cigarettes, or drink whiskey and smoke in a refurbished and re-engined classic car is immaterial. You enjoy the culture that you are part of and embrace it for all the lustful sensory expressions that you can acquire.
It’s nothing to be fearful about.
Cruising the strip.
Don’t complain about the unfairness of it all: When change impacts you, it’s easy to get hung up on the “unfairness” of having your work or home life disrupted. But if you get stuck on that thought, you’ll end up hurting yourself. Fair or unfair, the change has happened. Now you have to learn how to handle change.
Young co-ed eating in the school caferteria. She’s very fashionable with the plad skirt, a big collared top and a long bright orange sweater vest. She’s such a child of the 1970s. She might appear odd and strange to us today, as she seems so thin, and without “booty”, but it was a different time, and in those days no one was injecting food with growth hormones, or eating GMO food.
Back in the ’70s, the personal computer was still very much in the realm of science fiction.. hand held calculators became available in the mid ’70s, but they were expensive, and few kids had them. For the most part, students learned through listening to the teacher.. by doing their homework in notebooks, reading “real” books..
Don’t refuse to adapt: Resisting inevitable change might feel satisfying for a brief period, but staying static in the face of change could eventually lead to extinction.
Attractive men. Part of the college tug-of-war team. While they sought to work out college differeces in sports thir President and Senators preferred hot wars. And that is what happened. Often, we are manipulated by others through fear, and it could be fatal and dangerous to us. Fear is a primitive base reaction mechanism. Domn’t allow others to generate the fear within you. It’s unhealthy.
The Bowdoin College Tug of War Team, 1891.
Be prepared for change: Pay attention to signs of change in your environment, whether it’s layoffs at your workplace, new aches and pains, or strains in your home life. Consider how potential changes could affect you and develop a plan for how to handle change — for instance, by learning new skills.
A mere few decades ago, drinking wine and smoking cigarettes was as normal as eating ice cream. But others, in their quest to make the world a better place by forcing others to obey their idea of a utopia changed all that. Fear, and manipulation to achieve goals and objectives is commonplace in most Western govnerments today.
Princess Yvonne and Prince Alexander party like rockstars, Germany, 1955.
Let go of the past: When things change, move forward quickly. The longer you wait, the more resistance you build to moving, and the harder it’ll be to adapt later and learn how to handle change.
Typing class in High School. When I took the class, I did so for fun. I had no idea that eventually I would end up using that skill in using a computer keyboard. In any event the class looked a lot like this. I was eventually able to pass a typing speed of 60 WPM.
Typing class.
Adapt—Be open-minded to new things: There are always experiences and opportunities available beyond those you are currently familiar with. You might like them even more than what you used to have.
This is the kind of kitchen table that was popular throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. My parents had one, as did my uncles and aunties. Eventually it was displaced and replaced. (My grandparents all had real hardwood tables with hardwood chairs.) These vinyl cushioned, metal pieces of magnificence, tended to last forever, and you can still find them in great condition in remote tucked away used furniture stores.
1950’s kitchen table.
Imagine success: Envisioning what success looks like, and imagining yourself succeeding, can improve your attitude. When you think about what you will gain, rather than what you are losing, you realize change can be for the better. This is an important step in how to handle change.
Everyone had an afgan. I had a red, white and blue one crocheted by my paternal grandmother. It was a gaudy color and pattern, but as a child of the 1970’s I accepted it as a very cool and groovy item for my bed.
1970’s quilt.
Handle your fears: Fear can have one of two effects: 1) It can paralyze you, if you imagine all that can go wrong if you leave your familiar ground, or 2) it can spur you into action if you fear that things will get worse if you don’t do something. The second fear is productive and healthy.
Saturday Night Live was intensely popular during the 1970s. And all of us enjoyed the humor and antics of the crew there. To this day, many of the skits and humor still resonate in this topsy-turvy world that we live in.
The Saturday Night Live original cast, 1975.
Learn to enjoy change: New experiences, discoveries, and achievements are rewarding, usually more so than continuing to do the same things. This is a key perspective in learning how to handle change.
This was the most commonly used item in my parents bathroom. As I grew up, they would let me play and play and play. All alone and unsupervised, and of course I would fall, get skinned knees, cuts and bruses. And of course, they would apply this red stain of mercurochrome to it. Honestly I don’t know how we could live without it.
During the 1960’s every home had this.
Be prepared for continuous change: Change is a natural part of life. Change should only be a surprise if you aren’t paying attention, or if you’re operating on erroneous assumptions — for instance, that you’re entitled to having things a certain way.
In those days, the girls would wear comfiortable halters, and show their navels. It was no big deal, but it horrified our parents. The gals would spend hours curling their hair with these rollers or a curling iron, and then go about applying their makeup. Guys, on the other hand, just picked up the cleanest shirt off the floor and went out the door.
A nice couple.
Change is like waiting for a shot at the doctor’s office.
Frustratingly, we sit with anticipatory anxiety about what is next.
Anticipatory anxiety is like brain-freeze without the pleasure of eating heaping spoonfuls of Haagen Dazs or downing an icy margarita first.
We can’t think, all we can do is sit and wait for the gripping feeling to pass. Under that icy cap of our minds, we imagine that life after (insert your specific change here) will be wholly different, wholly unfamiliar, and that we will be wholly unprepared for those unknown challenges.
Why do we sit with anticipatory anxiety about what’s next?
Well, since we have no actual data on how the change will be— given that it hasn’t happened yet— we do what we can to bide the time.
Is there a better way than to be the deer in the headlights in suspended animation as we close the page on one chapter on our lives and haven’t yet penned the new one?
In the 1960s, the girls almost uniformly wore colorful dresses, often showing off their nice legs, while guys (if they were truly fashionable) wore plad slacks and a gold chain. Here’s a scene from some kind of school event.
Very fashionable.
Why don’t you feel good yet, even if it’s a good change?
Because you haven’t located yourself yet in your new context. You are literally in transition.
Think of transition as a place in and of itself.
You’re not totally lost and disoriented, you’re merely between contexts.
The change you’ve experienced— whether it is the higher price for a cup of coffee, a new relationship, or a change in the Geo-political alignments is abrupt— our adjustment, on the other hand, takes longer.
Regardless of the specifics, transitions have roughly three predictable stages: know which one you’re in: that in and of itself will curtail the feeling of disorientation.
Stage One: Resisting/Reacting: Characterized by doubt and discomfort as you are actively objecting and negatively comparing your new situation to your old. You’re not looking, you’re judging and it doesn’t look good.
Stage Two: Adjusting/Exploring: Characterized by doing more than feeling: You’re gathering information on how to make this work, making choices, making connections, asking questions, digging in.
Stage Three: Living Well in the New Old or the Old New: This is the stage you don’t notice because, it doesn’t feel like a stage. You’ve arrived at your new destination. You’re accepting and incorporating the new so much, you wouldn’t have it any other way: the new is the (new) old.
Would it be more efficient to just skip to that final conclusion?
Sure, but we just don’t work that way.
But by understanding how change works, you won’t mistakenly, when you are in the early stages, take your discomfort as a sign of trouble or a wrong move, you’ll simply say— “Oh right, this is just how change is supposed to feel right now.”
Oh sure, the houses might have changed and the traffic might be quite different down town, but people are still people. We love, we hate, we work, we have families and we eat. Whether one nation rules, or anotherone does, those things nver change. And you can get all upset about “democracy” or “communism”, or whatever, but honestly, whay are you so worked up about it?
Is it because you are being manipulated to be upset?
A spectacular photo from the past.
How quickly will we move through these stages? Individual results may vary, but perhaps the wisdom of the charming, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel will help us hang in beyond our many, “are we there yet?” concerns: “Everything will be alright in the end.
So, if it is not alright, it is not yet the end.”
It all comes back to the swimming pool analogy: when you first get into a pool, it doesn’t feel good. It feels cold.
You question briefly should I get out, or why did I get in, but then, anticipating what’s ahead—the refreshing feeling of floating weightlessly in water—you hang in and are greatly rewarded.
It feels good!
Why?
Did someone change the water, warm it up?
No, we adjusted.
So with change, we must be willing to feel that initial discomfort, ride it out and trust that we’ll adjust.
This is not a painting. It is a photograph. I can almost smell the spices, the grilled chicken and the hot dusty sun on my skin.
Inspiration for Orientalism in art no doubt.
Don’t Expect to Feel Fantastic at First: Expect the Opposite
You didn’t want to start kindergarten, then you didn’t want to leave elementary school, or middle school, you don’t want to start college—then it was the best time of your life and so on. So it is for adults. If you only think ahead on the unknown, you forget that you are a master at transitions. But even masters have to pay the piper. The way to be gracious (and cut down on your anguish) is not to expect that you’ll have a seamless process, but actually expect the opposite. If you expect discomfort, like slowing down slightly before a familiar bump in the road, it won’t send you flying when you hit it.
This was a staple in the 1970s. There wasn’t a person alive who didn’t know how to fill the coffee pot, and set it percolating. This is almost an identical replica of what I grew up with and what was abandoned at a yard sale when my mother’s estate was sold off. It was marked for five sents, and still no one bought it.
The tool to make coffee at home.
Fast Forward to the End and Put a Time Frame on the Adjustment
How do you think things will really turn out? Counter your anxious predictions with the facts. And while you’re at it, estimate how long you think it will take to settle into the new routine—a week? a month? a few? Even if your estimate is off, just being able to foresee the end of the adjustment curve suggests that this is possible (and likely).
This was from a time when there were only so many piers available. That was truly long ago. But, you know, with one subtraction of what we are used to living with, comes other advantages that we never consider.
Disembarking passengers.
Don’t Forget to Add Yourself to the Equation
You may feel powerless against change, but you’re in the picture too. How did all those previous changes get worked through?
You can be sure that in change in your own life, that you had something (a lot) to do with that. All the tools and experience that you bring to the situation are there for you.
Sometimes, and periodically, the social norms are turned on their head and the children rebel. Maybe they become “Beatnicks”, or “Groovy Love Children”, or perhaps somthing else. It’s easy to fear the change. But it’s only temporary and sooner or later the things that are painful, hurtful or dangerous are discarded and a new reality manifests.
A gang of young and vivacious girls, 1930.
What Changes, What Doesn’t?
We may think when we start anything new; a new job, relationship, or school year that everything is new and that we not only have to reinvent the wheel, but the whole shebang.
This will especially be true with massive Geo-political changes on the horizon.
Focus on the things that are really changing and enjoy or take stock of what is already in good working order in your life. Appreciating what doesn’t need your attention may give you more energy to face head-on what does.
Whether it is a school caferteria serving a balanced meal int he 1960s with meats, potatoes, gravy, breads and salads or a Michelle Obama meal of chicken nuggets and ketchup, it really doesn’t matter. You deal with the circumstances as they are presented to you. You confront them as they are, and not as you want them to be. You should never be afraid of change.
American cafeteria in the 1970’s.
Don’t Think, Do, and “Do Small”
How do you feel about the transition? Chances are that if you wait for the motivation to feel better—“I’ll start doing x, once y is over”— y doesn’t come.
Motivation follows behavior.
As we see ourselves doing things; acting within change, or adapting to it, we feel more confident that we can.
So don’t just sit there, do something, but do something small.
Take the big goal: what ever it takes and then just take it one call, one cup of coffee, one hello at a time. Build up from there.
Here’s two very fashionable couples in a major American city. maybe New York, but it could easily have been Pittsburgh or Portland. Those gals really had full heads of hair didn’t they? Wow! Stunning, and the guys, they are sporting wide brimmed hats. Really very awesome.
Two foxxy couples in Harlem, New York, 1970s.
[1] Humor
Change is an unavoidable constant in our work lives. Sometimes it’s within our control, but most often it’s not. Our jobs or roles change — and not always for the better. Our organizations undergo reorgs and revamp their strategies, and we need to adjust.
Fortunately, there are ways to adapt to change, and even to take advantage of it.
Find the humor in the situation. Trying to find a funny moment during an otherwise unfunny situation can be a fantastic way to create the levity needed to see a vexing problem from a new perspective. It can help others feel better as well.
This is called “hanging out”. Directionless, with no activities to occupy their time, and no social venues to participate in, the children of America roamed the streets looking for love, and adventure. But often enough just simply got into embarrassing situations and trouble instead.
In the day.
Pioneering humor researcher Rod A. Martin, who has studied the effects of different styles of humor, has found that witty banter, or “affiliative humor,” can lighten the mood and improve social interaction. Just make sure it’s inclusive and respectful.
A good rule of thumb is that other people’s strife is no laughing matter, but your own struggles can be a source of comedic gold.
[2] Be careful about vocalizations
Don’t do it. Don’t say bad or negative things. They act as affirmations.
And that is something you do not want to manifest.
One of the most common myths of coping with unwanted changes is the idea that we can “work through” our anger, fears, and frustrations by talking about them a lot. This isn’t always the case. In fact, research shows that actively and repeatedly broadcasting negative emotions hinders our natural adaptation processes.
That’s not to say you should just “suck it up” or ignore your troubles. Instead, call out your anxiety or your anger at the outset of a disorienting change so that you are aware of how it might distort your thinking or disrupt your relationships. Then look for practical advice about what to do next. By doing so, you’ll zero in on the problems you can solve, instead of lamenting the ones you can’t.
Typical high school in the 1970’s.
[3] Stress
Don’t stress out about stressing out. Our beliefs about stress matter. As Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal argues in The Upside of Stress, your reaction to stress has a greater impact on your health and success than the stress itself.
If you believe stress kills you, it will.
If you believe stress is trying to carry you over a big obstacle or through a challenging situation, you’ll become more resilient and may even live longer.
When you start to feel stressed, ask yourself what your stress is trying to help you accomplish.
Is stress trying to help you excel at an important task, like a sales presentation or a big interview? Is it trying to help you endure a period of tough market conditions or a temporary shift in your organizational structure? Is it trying to help you empathize with a colleague or a customer?
Or is stress to trying to help you successfully exit a toxic situation?
In AMeric today, and in much of the collective West, the “news” media at all levels are manifesting a toxic fear-generated narrative that is extremely toxic and very stressful
Avoid that firehose of noise.
It’s true, if funneled properly, stress can be a good thing. But only if you choose to see it that way.
Boys of the future, New York, 1970.
[4] Values instead of fears
Focus on your values instead of your fears. Reminding ourselves of what’s important to us — family, friends, religious convictions, scientific achievement, great music, creative expression, and so on — can create a surprisingly powerful buffer against whatever troubles may be ailing us.
In a series of studies spanning more than a decade, researchers led by Geoffrey Cohen and David Sherman have shown how people of all ages in a range of circumstances, from new schools and new relationships to new jobs, can strengthen their minds with a simple exercise: spending 10 minutes writing about a time when a particular value you hold has positively affected you.
The technique works because reflecting on a personal value helps us rise above the immediate threat, and makes us realize that our personal identity can’t be compromised by one challenging situation.
How did they manage to keep their hair so perfect?
[5] Accepting of the situation
Accept the past, but fight for the future. Even though we are never free from change, we are always free to decide how we respond to it.
Viktor Frankl championed this idea after returning home from three horrific years in Nazi death camps. He discovered that his mother, brother, wife, and unborn child were all dead. Everything in his life had changed.
All that he loved was lost.
But as fall became winter and winter gave way to spring, Frankl began to discover that even though he could never go back to the life he once had, he was still free to meet new friends, find new love, become a father again, work with new patients, enjoy music, and read books.
Frankl called his hope in the face of despair “tragic optimism.”
Frankl’s story is an extreme example, of course, but that’s all the more reason why we should find inspiration from it. If we fixate on the limitations of a specific change, we inevitably succumb to worry, bitterness, and despair.
Instead, we should choose to accept the fact that change happens, and employ our freedom to decide what to do next.
Two sets of keys for one single car:
[6] Stability
Don’t expect stability. In the late 1970s a researcher at the University of Chicago named Salvatore Maddi began studying employees at Illinois Bell. Soon after, the phone industry was deregulated, and the company had to undergo a lot of changes.
Some managers had trouble coping. Others thrived.
What separated the two groups?
The adaptive leaders chose to view all changes, whether wanted or unwanted, as an expected part of the human experience, rather than as a tragic anomaly that victimizes unlucky people. Instead of feeling personally attacked by ignorant leaders, evil lawmakers, or an unfair universe, they remained engaged in their work and spotted opportunities to fix long-standing problems with customer service and to tweak antiquated pricing structures.
In contrast, Maddi found that the struggling leaders were consumed by thoughts of “the good old days.”
They spent their energy trying to figure out why their luck had suddenly turned sour.
They tried to bounce back to a time and a place that no longer existed.
Although all and each of these six techniques requires different skills to pull off — and you’ll probably gravitate toward some more than others — there’s one thing that you must do if you want to be more successful at dealing with change: accept it.
Sept. 15, 1970 – Ca Mau Peninsula
Any life is a life of change. We experience transitions in work and relationships, changes in our physical and mental health, and new events in our local communities and our world. Sometimes we know a change will occur, while other times it comes suddenly and unexpectedly. Maybe it’s a disappointment, or maybe it’s a wonderful surprise.
Many people spend a great deal of time and energy trying to avoid change, but it will inevitably catch up to them. If you can learn to cope with change, you’ll lower your risk for anxiety and depression. Your relationships will flourish, and your body will feel healthier. But if you can’t cope with change, only a minor amount of stress can make you feel overwhelmed by life. You might also struggle to set and meet the goals you have for yourself.
Being able to cope with change is sometimes called resilience. Though your environment and genes might influence your level of resilience, the amount isn’t set in stone. Practicing different ways of thinking and being in the world can boost your ability to deal with change and help you create a life that is adaptive to new places and unexpected events. Let’s take a look at a few healthy practices for increasing your level of resilience and coping with change.
A couple dancing in a 1950s “Be Bop” theater as everyone looks on.
Evaluate Your Level of Control
Sometimes it’s all too easy to become fixated on events over which we have no power, or people who might never change their actions or attitude. But rather than focus on blaming others or moving the unmovable, resilient people set their sights on what they can control. To evaluate your level of control over a situation, you can ask yourself, “What can I take responsibility for in this situation?” When you look for opportunities to empower yourself and work towards change that is possible, you’re less likely to feel stuck in difficult situations.
Practice Self-Care After a Loss
Often life’s transitions involve losses, such as a death, a big move, the loss of a job, or a relationship ending. Even positive transitions, like a graduation or a job change, can make you feel a little sad. During these times of transitions, don’t push away any grief you might feel. Acknowledge the loss, and pay attention to what you’ve learned from the experience. Seek support and camaraderie among friends and family, and consider speaking with a counselor or other mental health professional if you feel you need extra support during the transition.
A group of handsome Southside Boys, Chicago, 1941.
Check Your Thought Patterns
In times of change, it’s easy for your mind to cut corners. You might see everything in black or white, or you assume the worst will occur. But if you take the time to examine your thought patterns and assess how rational they are, you might find some space to nudge your thinking towards resilience. If you’re not sure how to slow down your mind, practicing relaxation techniques, such as mindfulness or deep breathing, can help you feel more in control of your brain and how you evaluate a major change.
You can also generate more positive thoughts if you take the time to remind yourself about transitions and challenges you successfully navigated in the past. Make a list of ways you’ve been resilient in your life, and consider what traits and actions might be able to see you through the current challenge. By focusing on your strengths instead of your weaknesses, you will feel more empowered to meet what lies ahead.
Be in the Present
While it’s important to look to the past to find your strengths, sometimes you can feel too pulled into the future in times of change. When you worry about what the future will bring or what mistakes you might make, you forget to be in the present and observe what’s happening around you. To bring yourself back to the present, get in tune with your body. Pay attention to how it responds to stress, and set aside time every day to relax, take some deep breaths, and bring your focus back to the present.
Find Your Priorities
The most resilient people see change as an opportunity rather than a monster to fear. Transitions in life allow you to consider where your priorities lie. How do you really want to spend your time on earth?
What’s really important to you?
Where do you see yourself wasting your time and energy? With a clear sense of your goals and values, you will find your mind and body can be much more resilient when it comes to the stressors of change.
Above all, prioritizing your health in life’s transitions means not being afraid to ask for help when you need it. Humans are social creatures by nature, so you weren’t built to withstand every sudden event in life without the support of others.
Talk to family and friends who are experiencing similar changes, or consider finding a support group in your community.
Ask your doctor about how to prioritize your health during change, and don’t be afraid to talk to a counselor or other mental health professional about building resilience.
You can’t avoid change, but you live a life of resilience. You can embrace transition and see challenges as opportunities to thrive.
Conclusion
The best things in life come out of change, often times even the changes that are unwanted. We don’t have to embrace change by diving in to those cold choppy waters headfirst, but if we can start by just dipping our toes in, one foot at a time, before we know it, we’ll be well on our way to arriving at our new destination.
What ever it might be.
Do you want more?
I have more posts in my “Growth as a Person” Index here…
Instead of splitting Russia from China, the U.S. has unintentionally done its best to push them into a deeper alliance. It was the most severe strategic error the U.S. could make.-b
I just received a comment from a reader that said that I was “butt hurt” and hated the United States. Well, maybe I am, but I don’t hate the USA.
Instead, I simply tried to explain that I just see the bigger picture and I don’t like what I am seeing.
What I am seeing is all the makings for World War III, and the American citizenry are all actively participating in it.
Like zombies. Just going ahead allowing the rot to get worse, letting the buildings fall down, and reelecting the psychopathic to boss them into submission.
So I am going to create a parable.
It’s the parable of the three houses.
The Three Houses
Once up a time there were three houses in a town. They were all well known throughout the town as they were the biggest and largest homes in the community.
Oh, certainly there were many homes in the town. Nearly 200. But most of the homes were much smaller and inconsequential. Some were opulent, like Frans. Some were poor like little Bang A Desh. Some were complex like the house of Mex, and some were trying to fix things up like Zimmy Bob’s.
The biggest of the three was owned by a big, burly, bearded man who went by the name “Big Russ”. He was a big lumberjack and had this enormous bear for a pet.
The other two homes were roughly the same size, but one had many more children. That home was always lively and active. The kids were always playing and talking, laughing and singing.
That home was owned by a very short, quiet man named “Mr. Lee”. He was a quiet, studious man, who always spoke soft and gently. His hobby was making things, and he was always welcoming others to trade with him. When he wasn’t making things, he was always practicing his martial arts in the peace of his backyard garden.
And the last of the homes was one that sat on top of the biggest hill in the town. It was perhaps the richest of all the homes. Everyone, for years, would look up at the home and want to live there. As it was a truly exceptional home; a mansion really.
That home was owned by a man whom everyone called “Uncle Sam”.
Some History
Now, Uncle Sam, being so tall, strong and incredibly handsome, usually got his way in everything that he did. For years, he has been able to strut around the town without confrontation.
He was so accustomed to getting a “free pass” in everything that he did that he started to brazenly offend the rest of the good townspeople.
He would go inside the other homes, raid their refrigerators, take things that he wanted and sleep with the daughters. No one liked that behavior (with a few exceptions), but no one was able to do anything about it.
And over the years, being so accustomed to being the biggest and baddest person in the town, “Uncle Sam” started to believe that it was the natural order of things. He started to believe that he was able to do this because “God favored him, his lifestyle, and his arrogance”.
He believed that he was the exception to all the rules.
He believed that he could define the rules for all the other houses in the community to obey, and that he would have his own rules; his own “exceptions”.
He started to tell this to everyone.
“I am exceptional” he said.
“I have a big shining house on the hill,” he said.
The other two big houses
Now, Uncle Sam had, from time to time, visited the homes of both Big Russ and Mr. Lee. But, he wasn’t ever welcomed, and over the years they have been getting rather antagonized, and infuriated with his actions and activities.
Realizing that, Uncle Sam pretty much stayed away from those two big homes.
Instead, he preferred to frequent the smaller homes in the less affluent section of the town. This included the homes on Mid-East Avenue, and South-Am Road.
As well as all the homes of the Stan Clan.Uncle Sam has really been active there.
Which included him having to be forcefully removed from both Aff Gan, and Kaz Is’s homes.
But, that doesn’t mean that he didn’t want to go visit Big Russ and Mr. Lee from time to time. But the thing is, that when he visited, his table manners were atrocious. His body odor was foul, and his behaviors were rude and distasteful.
What ever he once was, what he is today is something different. Today, he’s a wife beater, a child molester, an alcoholic drunkard, who has a passion for shoplifting, petty crimes, and rape. When he’s not practicing arson, getting into drunk brawls, or taking “a dump” in other’s yards, he’s out having sex with their dogs.
No one really wants to have much to do with him, because as everyone knows, once you let him in your life you won’t ever be able to get rid of him.
As of late…
The children of Uncle Sam has been busy raising all sorts of ruckus. And what’s more, they have been all over the town doing so.
Mr. Lee complained about it.
He told Uncle Sam to take his children, and get out of his backyard. He told him to get off his front porch. He told him to stop peeking into his windows. He told him to stop sabotaging his car, pouring salt in his garden, and pulling up his tulips. He told him to get his dogs and chain them up. He no longer wanted to hear them barking day and night, digging up his bushes, and having his children race around and around the home in loud muffler-less motorcycles.
Big Russ complained about it as well.
He told Uncle Sam to get off his porch, stay out of his backyard. He told him that he no longer wanted those children to set fires to the neighboring yards, stealing the lawn ornaments, and playing their rock-and-roll music at all hours of the day and night.
Uncle Sam heard both of their complaints.
He thought about them.
And said “no”.
The reactions…
Well, Big Russ told Uncle Sam that there would be repercussions. But, took no overt and obvious action.
He sent his children out (in secret) to the yard of Uncle Sam. Then, he sat back and smiled. No firecrackers. No noise-makers. No barking dogs. No loud motorcycles. No. Those children all silently, and sternly, went off to the house armed with dangerously lethal ten-gage shotguns.
No “fun and games”.
And Mr. Lee, always kind and quiet, smiled and sat on his porch with an 8-gage shotgun (which, is a very large gun, don’t you know).
His children, and were told to stay in the house and practice their martial arts, cleaning their long-guns, and reading up on the book “the art of war”.
But Uncle Sam, seemingly an idiot, doubled down.
“Do as I say” he roared!
“You WILL obey me! You will listen to me, and you will pay homage and tribute to me!”
And he sent his children, and his toadies over to the house of Mr. Lee. And, now, almost all of his children are going around and around the house of Mr. Lee. They are revving their engines and making as much noise as they can possibly create. Poor Mr. Lee is really getting “rattled up” with his windows shaking, and the dishes falling on the floor. His tulips all decimated, and his gates town and broken.
And, well Uncle Sam has also started to send his other remaining children to camp out on the porch of Big Russ. There they are lighting campfires on the “welcome mat” and tossing firecrackers at all hours of the day and night. Giggling, sticking out their tongues and making rude sounds and laughing.
It was noisy for years.
Really years.
And then Mr. Lee and Big Russ held a party.
It was a big party and it was held in the dead of Winter. Everyone was invited except Uncle Sam and his “toadies”.
And at the meeting, they announced that the entire town cannot grow and live in peace as long as there is a big bully in town, and that all of the townspeople must gather together and start committing to their promises, agreements, and rules. And that they would take the lead.
Everyone in the party agreed. The welcomed the inclusiveness of it, and their equal participation in it. And of course, they too hated the rude behaviors and the bullying behaviors of Uncle Sam.
The entire town rejoiced in a defined, sensible plan for dealing with the town bully and his toadies.
Now, let me ask the reader a question…
Looking at the big picture…
What action should Uncle Sam take to defuse a tense, potentially catastrophic event train?
I would suggest, sending his kids back home. Paddling them until their butts are red and sore, and selling off all those motorcycles, barking dogs, and firecrackers.
Then apologizing in public to the community.
If you were Big Russ, what action do you think you should take?
Would it be against the children on the porch; a continuous game of "whack a mole", or would it be against Uncle Sam himself?
If you were Mr. Lee, what action do you think you should take?
Would you wait until more children arrive and get louder and badder? Or would you lay down systems to disable those motorcycles? Or would you burn down the gas stations, so the motorcycles couldn't get any more gas?
Do you think that making an announcement at that party was a goo thing to do?
Words without action are meaningless. This is a solid framework that requires tasking. Is the rest of the town up to handle the challenge?
And that is how things are.
And MM here is just trying NOT to pick sides so much as I just want the entire town to live together in peace and harmony.
I live in the house with Mr. Lee. It’s a pleasant, peaceful, kind and calm place. I want to keep it that way. Don’t you?
Please, please make the best of what you have RIGHT NOW. Maybe there are evil psychopathic people, idiots and nasty malcontents. But you are in control of your bubble of reality. You can affect your own life.
You can make the world a better place. Please do so.
Do you really spend enough time with those that you love? Do you have a family that spends happy and sad times together? Is your life rich with pets, friends and savory food?
Spend time with family, friends, or just have fun…
Likten to me.
I know it’s so easy to get caught up with work, needs, goals, objectives and all the rest. I, too, spend a lot of my time scrubbing dog shit off the floor, changing baby diapers, and fielding calls at midnight to Salesmen in Canada and the United States, but you all must start spending more “quality time” (such an overused expression)… more “fun time”.
Play a video game in full immersive simulation. video 6.3MB
You do know that the technology is really advanced in China these days. Like this. Video 2MB
We must be more than ourselves…
Yeah. Having fun is what relaxes us and adds the taste and spice to our lives. It’s really important, and terribly underutilized. Instead, it has been replaced by media, and social networking. I think that we should always look at the bigger picture.
Like what?
Food.
Tasty long cooking food (not the fast food). Delicious. Food. Like your grandmother used to make. Food. Like baked fish, city chicken, scalloped potatoes, corned beef and cabbage and Beef Stroganoff. Food. Stuff that are difficult to get in restaurants. Stuff that your wife and family members can experiment with and make signature dishes that feed and nurture.
And then relax.
Chat over the food. Talk about your day. About her day. About your friends. About what needs to be done. About hope. Dreams. Plans.
Conversation.
Not television.
Don’t wait for others to make it happen. It’s YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. Act in control of YOUR life. Stop waiting for others to do things… to agree on things… to endless debate things. Just do it.
You be the guiding light.
You.
YOU.
Start carving out a place in the table of life, and YOU start inviting others to share in your little piece of Heaven.
GOod friends. Good family. Good food and drink.
You start it. You make it happen.
Beef Stroganoff.
It will happen.
So will a nice, safe, secure home. Cozy, warm. Dry. Tastefully decorated. Your wife is in charge of everything domestic.
She’s the boss.
Like on an aircraft carrier. There is a Captain, and then there is the XO. She’s the Executive Officer, and you are the Captain. Be the Captain; steer that ship to a fine safe harbor and prosper there.
I’m giving you all the keys, don’t you know.
You will get, also, because of your lower stress and improved organization, a group of friends where you BELONG. You will get participation in life. Pets. A cat or two. Maybe a dog.
You will be invited places. You will have good walks. Good times. Great conversation, and people who make special occasions becuse…
…well…
…because (insert lame excuse here).
You will get other things as well.
A hobby. A pleasure or two.
And care about our surroundings.
Watch out for the kids, and the pets that run in front of us from time to time.
Visit historical places. Enjoy the day on the beach or a snowy mountain hike. Play with your pets, or friends. Just start getting engaged in discussions about all sorts of interesting and curious things.
Sit on the porch with an inviting porch light on. Invite neighbors over for a game of checkers, or cards. Have beer available, or iced tea.
Please know that you can make your life in a real paradise on the earth.
You really can. You just have to manufacture it.
You run your prayer affirmation campaigns and implement them in accordance to your fate forecasts. You follow the guidelines on being a Rufus, and participating in the community.
You get your home life in order. You divide responsibilities. Stop trying to run the whole world and carry it on your shoulders. Stop that egotistical nonsense.
Share the responsibilities.
The wife is in charge of all finances and all domestic, you (if you are a man) are in charge of earning money and fixing things. You earn it. She spends it. It’s the natural order of things.
You give her all the money you make, and she hands back a living allowance. Things are much calmer and better that way.
No worries.
I tell you (men) that once you do this, you will forever never have to worry about food, bills, or disputes EVER again. She will take care of everything. You won’t have those worries. Never again.
You will eat WELL. Really, really well. You will have a larder, and a freezer full of premade meals, and canned goods.
Your stress level will go WAY down. There is nothing like daily meals of good fine delicious food, good conversation and an evening of winding down in cool soft relaxation.
And you will be able to focus on your job.
And your life will really start to look like this…
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
It’s a new Chinese year. It’s a water tiger year. And it’s a fine time to remember to be the best that we can possibly be. In this installment, I offer up some fine Rufus inspirational videos that are found throughout the world and inside of China. Remember, that being a Rufus doesn’t depend on your wealth, where you live, what color of skin you have, or your career. It depends on your compassion for those who surround you. Be the Rufus. The world needs people like us.
Rufus Emergency Save
With children, it can happen at any time. You have to jump and take immediate action! video 5MB
Being a nice Rufus in the United States. Video 10MB
Rufus helps the children
The father buys the son a meal, and he eats cheap bread. The waitress gives him free food, and then the father gives the meat to his son. But the Rufus son will have none of that.
This is the whole video. Better than the abbreviated versions. I posted previously, or the segments in anthologies. Video 20MB
Rufus honors the flag
A bus driver on January first sees a flag on the road. He stops and picks it up. A Rufus always honors the flag of the nation where he lives. It’s respect. Video 4MB
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
It’s a new Chinese year. It’s a water tiger year. And it’s a fine time to remember to be the best that we can possibly be. In this installment, I offer up some fine Rufus inspirational videos that are found throughout the world and inside of China. Remember, that being a Rufus doesn’t depend on your wealth, where you live, what color of skin you have, or your career. It depends on your compassion for those who surround you.
This little bike is a hybrid bicycle / motorcycle. It supposedly gets much more from a tank of gas than a regular motorcycle because of motor efficiencies and the light weight of the bicycle. It’s a perfect hybrid solution for those that need to drive back and forth to work but cannot afford the gas to do so. video 20MB
One of the biggest innovations that China has made on the world is a branch of the police that handles corruption at all levels of the government. It has greatly added to the public perception of the Communist Party being to serve the people, and it is an important driver as to why China is so successful today.
However, the rest of the world doesn’t seem to want to copy this innovation. And when you bring up the subject, you are just brushed off as making “silly talk”. video 9MB
Rufus COVID volunteers
All those people wearing and donning the hazmat suits inside of China are volunteers. They do so for FREE. They leave their jobs, their work, their families and take on this burden for FREE. True Rufus every one. Video 4MB
A great video. The people doing the menial jobs are underappreciated and treated harshly. It’s about time that people stand up and defend them. I love this video. video 11MB
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Picture above is a rescue cat. It calms and offers kindness to any suffering animal taken to the shelter. From HERE.
It’s a new Chinese year. It’s a water tiger year. And it’s a fine time to remember to be the best that we can possibly be. In this installment, I offer up some fine Rufus inspirational videos that are found inside of China. Remember, that being a Rufus doesn’t depend on your wealth, where you live, what color of skin you have, or your career. It depends on your compassion for those who surround you. Be the Rufus. The world needs people like us.
Video of happiness and joy
Be happy. Force the happiness around you. Make the quanta in your geographic area clean, light and positive. video 15MB
Making a positive change to the world around us.
Subway artist strikes again. Looks like Shenzhen. The woman is obviously sad and distressed. The subway artist tries to cheep her up. video 6MB
The cat…
Rescue of a man in a restaurant
This stuff happens. And you all need a Rufus nearby to save the day. Be the best you can be. Be kind. Be helpful. Be supporting. video 6MB
How to deal with a dog…
I found this hilarious. Maybe you will too. video 6MB
The cat 2
Military to the rescue!
China mobilizes it’s military to rescue and help others. Not them them around the world to occupy other nations and drone kill civilians. Scenes from the mobilization of military to protect the Hunan flooding of 2021. Compare these scenes to the New Orleans flooding. Not even close. video 45MB
Progressive gay man down the street…
China, like Russia & Poland, are very traditional nations. They do not accept this “diversity” of “alternative lifestyles” that are so fundamental to the “new” America today. .And in this video clip you can see just how the normal day to day Chinese people react when they watch someone acting oh, so very… American. video 5MB
By the way, we here at MM are not poking fun at the “alternative” lifestyle choices of those in the West. Instead, we are pointing out that in traditional nations in Asia find these behaviors odd and curious, and so they react to the new and unusual in funny and surprising ways.
Everyone visiting here should be proud of who they are, their lifestyle choices, and their life. It’s NOT our place to judge.
Arguing couple saved by oranges, a cat, and some compassion
Very interesting video. Couple argues. Old lady spills her oranges. Cat (black and white tuxedo) pokes his nose in to investigate and then… video 7MB
The cat 3
Man buys a set of crutches for a stranger
It’s a pain in the ass when your cane breaks. Don’t worry when there’s a Rufus nearby. video 7MB
Dog protects a toddler
Brave dog. Will not allow the toddler to crawl on to the road. video 20MB
The thank you song
All of the people performing all the Coronavirus testing, vaccinations and everything associated with it are volunteers. They leave their jobs and their lives and do it for no pay. They often work 12 to 16 hour shifts. Such is membership in the Chinese culture / society and communist party. This little girl is performing the “thank you” song and dance to them. video 25MB
More Rescue cat…
Christmas roadblock
Regional outbreak of Coronavirus, in a regional town. These people volunteered to leave their families to man the roadblock. They were NOT compelled to do so. They volunteered. While Christmas is not as important to Chinese as CNY, it is still a holiday and the Chinese do celebrate it. Everyone except these guys. video 23MB
Police take down compilations
In China, AI monitors all activity, and identifies the criminals in real-time. Then, the police go out and get the bad guys when they are unready and unprepared. This differs from the United States where the police must catch the criminals in the act, and often results in lethal shootings. video 5MB
Beautiful HAN Outfits
I hope that these all put a smile on your faces. I love the way the dresses move. But call me a traditionalist. It’s not that these people are a Rufus, but rather that they are traditionalists and that they are enjoying life as such. They are not living in fear, afraid of offending anyone. They are comfortable and proud. They are confident. And being confident is sexy. First up video 2MB
Those that wear these clothes love it. They wear it with pride and just typically wear tennis shoes or sneakers instead of the traditional foot wear. You can see them bouncing around. Being happy and light. video 6MB
And one more HAN dress, just for the heck of it. The Chinese are proud of themselves, of their history and about what they have accomplished. They embrace it as they should with confidence and fun. You won’t find any “diversity directors” telling them that they cannot dress like this in the work office for “cultural misappropriation” or some other nonsense. Be yourself. The world needs more REAL people. video 3MB
It’s driver-less and out of control, and he is just a lowly delivery guy. video 2MB
Chinese Police Raid on Kidnapping and Child abduction group
The Chinese do not play. Rescue the little girl. video 7MB
Final Rescue cat…
Happy times!
Some of the happy moments in China during 2021. We have reunited families, Happiness, volunteers raising their hands to help other during the flooding emergency, the return of political prisoners out of the USA and much more! video 20MB
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
It’s a new Chinese year. It’s a water tiger year. And it’s a fine time to remember to be the best that we can possibly be. In this installment, I offer up some fine Rufus inspirational videos that are found throughout the world and inside of China. Remember, that being a Rufus doesn’t depend on your wealth, where you live, what color of skin you have, or your career. It depends on your compassion for those who surround you. Be the Rufus. The world needs people like us.
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Here’s some fine Rufus inspirational videos to remind you that the world needs you. It needs you RIGHT NOW. You need to participate and make this world a better place. You need to go forth and help others, to participate in your community and to add calmness and kindness to the world that surround you. Be the Rufus.
What do I mean by being a Rufus?
The term “Rufus” is well known to long time visitors to MM. It describes service-to-others (STO) sentience and the related behaviors rather than the service-for-self (STS) sentience behaviors of the vast bulk of humanity. The details on sentience selection and why it is important are sprinkled throughout the Majestic Index.
Rufus is a state of behavior. A Rufus puts the community before him / her self. They do things without a profit motive of any type. They are kind, helpful and when they walk down the street they smile at people and make them feel good.
In some ways, being a Rufus lends itself to heroic actions, but in other ways it refers to being a significant person located in a geographic region.
While the rest of the world scrambles and claws towards money and power, and leaves a destitute and stripped world behind, a Rufus nurtures the world. He / she uses their creative abilities to make the world a better place.
You can go to my RUFUS INDEX. Start at the top and start reading all the posts. If after article 75, you still have questions, I will try to explain it to you better.
Long time readers recognize being a Rufus is showing kindness to others, being a hero when necessary, participating in the community and working to make OUR world a better place to live in. Chinese members of MM will recognize it as the expectations of volunteerism required of the Chinese Communist party, but that is just a name. It’s all people working together towards a common goal.
Some of these videos might take some time to load. Just click on the "video" link and allow it to load in a new tab or window. It will load faster that way.
I have received numerous comments (that I did not publish on MM) by people complaining that I didn’t have enough Rufus videos showing people in America being kind, helping others, and doing good deeds. Well, I tried to put the ones up that I could find, it’s just that they really don’t exist much in the for-profit every-man-for-himself nations. I have tons of police shootings, black people store robberies, car jackings, and videos of poverty stricken homeless from the USA. But Rufus behaviors. Not much.
Sorry.
We start with some hard working people. Just everyday people who do the dirty, nasty work, alone. In China they give most of their money to their families who live far away, and for years they work alone, pushing and striving to make the family live a comfortable life. This first video is for you … “average Joe”.
Rufus rescue in the ice
Be the Rufus. Make your life worthwhile. video 6MB
Have some compassion and know that YOU have a purpose on this planet. Help others. Be the best you can be. Be kind. And you will find that the world around you will also become kind, calm and peaceful. Participate in life. video 32MB
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
It’s a new Chinese year. It’s a water tiger year. And it’s a fine time to remember to be the best that we can possibly be. In this installment, I offer up some fine Rufus inspirational videos that are found throughout the world and inside of China. Remember, that being a Rufus doesn’t depend on your wealth, where you live, what color of skin you have, or your career. It depends on your compassion for those who surround you. Be the Rufus. The world needs people like us.
Rufus climbs to rescue
A Rufus does whatever it takes to help and save others. video 4MB
Rufus dog stops an abduction
Be the Rufus. If this dog can be a Rufus, what is stopping you? video 2MB
Rufus’s on the bus
A real Rufus shows kindness and help when it is needed. Video 3MB
Save the Baby!
Rufus breaks into a car to save a baby left inside on a cold, cold day. Video 7MB
A Rufus is not part of the for-profit scheme. Instead a Rufus is part of the community and supports others regardless of their roles or their situations. video 14MB
Bus driver stops woman from throwing baby over a bridge
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Here’s some fine Rufus inspirational videos to remind you that the world needs you. It needs you RIGHT NOW. You need to participate and make this world a better place. You need to go forth and help others, to participate in your community and to add calmness and kindness to the world that surround you. Be the Rufus.
What do I mean by being a Rufus?
The term “Rufus” is well known to long time visitors to MM. It describes service-to-others (STO) sentience and the related behaviors rather than the service-for-self (STS) sentience behaviors of the vast bulk of humanity. The details on sentience selection and why it is important are sprinkled throughout the Majestic Index.
Rufus is a state of behavior. A Rufus puts the community before him / her self. They do things without a profit motive of any type. They are kind, helpful and when they walk down the street they smile at people and make them feel good.
In some ways, being a Rufus lends itself to heroic actions, but in other ways it refers to being a significant person located in a geographic region.
While the rest of the world scrambles and claws towards money and power, and leaves a destitute and stripped world behind, a Rufus nurtures the world. He / she uses their creative abilities to make the world a better place.
You can go to my RUFUS INDEX. Start at the top and start reading all the posts. If after article 75, you still have questions, I will try to explain it to you better.
Long time readers recognize being a Rufus is showing kindness to others, being a hero when necessary, participating in the community and working to make OUR world a better place to live in. Chinese members of MM will recognize it as the expectations of volunteerism required of the Chinese Communist party, but that is just a name. It’s all people working together towards a common goal.
Some of these videos might take some time to load. Just click on the "video" link and allow it to load in a new tab or window. It will load faster that way.
I have received numerous comments (that I did not publish on MM) by people complaining that I didn’t have enough Rufus videos showing people in America being kind, helping others, and doing good deeds. Well, I tried to put the ones up that I could find, it’s just that they really don’t exist much in the for-profit every-man-for-himself nations. I have tons of police shootings, black people store robberies, car jackings, and videos of poverty stricken homeless from the USA. But Rufus behaviors. Not much.
Sorry.
We start with some hard working people. Just everyday people who do the dirty, nasty work, alone. In China they give most of their money to their families who live far away, and for years they work alone, pushing and striving to make the family live a comfortable life. This first video is for you … “average Joe”.
You have to be part of something larger. A Rufus understands this. video 3MB
Rufus protects his young sister
Friends, family, community and country. A Rufus participates and makes a difference in the lives of others. video 1.3MB
Rufus helps a schoolkid
Who cares if you don’t know him. You help him. It’s the way of the Rufus. video 4MB
Bunny wants to be alone
We are never alone. So don’t isolate. Realize that our strength and our value comes from the community that we surround ourselves with. video 60MB
Rufus work together as a team
Just a line. But in a society, everyone must know their place. video 25MB
Commercialized cuteness in Japan
Japanese culture embraces cuteness. But cuteness is welcoming and attractive. In a weird way, it is attractive. We should spend out time planting flowers, trees, and make our little world better, prettier and calmer. It’s our duty as a Rufus. Video 11.7MB
Dog starts to maul kittens
You can see the blood on the second kitten to the far right. But Rufus mother cats will not allow it. She fights the big dog with no fear what so ever. video 20.9MB
Chinese Pioneers first grade
Discipline. Working as part of a group. Leadership. participation. Striving to be the best for your community. These are the virtues of Chinese military training. Here’s a first grade military roll call for the Pioneers. video 6MB
Discipline. Working as part of a group.
Training starts in first grade, and they are so earnest and cute. China is building a nation of little Rufus’s that are poised to remake the world into a better place where everyone can live and prosper. Discipline. video 25MB
Rufus cares about the elders
A Rufus does NOT put their parents into a nursing home unless there is no other option. Family is part of our community. We have to accept our roles within that community and not discard others because they are inconvenient to us. video 25MB
Rufus rescue of dog on the tracks
In America some jackass tied a dog to the train tracks to watch it get run over. A guy risks his life to save the dog. video 38MB
How China treats expats
The world is not “us vs. them”. It’s one of sharing and community. Here’s why many expats like MM, enjoy living inside of China. video 124MB
Be mindful of the situation and conditions of others. video 21MB
Rufus stops woman from abducting a child
Be the Rufus. If we all work together to stop greed, selfishness, and for-profit psychopaths, the world WILL be a better place for all of us. video 3MB
Be the Rufus. The world needs you. Your community needs you. Together we all can make the world a better place to live in. All we need to do is be kinder and more considerate. video 106.2MB
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Here’s a mixtures of videos describing Rufus behaviors. When I mean being the Rufus, I mean contributing to society. I mean putting it out there, being helpful. Being kind. Refraining from anger. Refraining defensively when provoked. I means being the best you that YOU can be. Be that Rufus.
The following are some videos about people; humanity and being a Rufus. Some are sad, some are painful, some are good, and some are happy. Be the Rufus. Otherwise, why live?
Be the Rufus. Be family. Be the community that cares for it’s members.
I strongly suggest you watch the videos in the order presented to get the proper "effect" that I am trying to provide.
What do I mean by being a Rufus?
The term “Rufus” is well known to long time visitors to MM. It describes service-to-others (STO) sentience and the related behaviors rather than the service-for-self (STS) sentience behaviors of the vast bulk of humanity. The details on sentience selection and why it is important are sprinkled throughout the Majestic Index.
Rufus is a state of behavior. A Rufus puts the community before him / her self. They do things without a profit motive of any type. They are kind, helpful and when they walk down the street they smile at people and make them feel good.
In some ways, being a Rufus lends itself to heroic actions, but in other ways it refers to being a significant person located in a geographic region.
While the rest of the world scrambles and claws towards money and power, and leaves a destitute and stripped world behind, a Rufus nurtures the world. He / she uses their creative abilities to make the world a better place.
You can go to my RUFUS INDEX. Start at the top and start reading all the posts. If after article 75, you still have questions, I will try to explain it to you better.
Long time readers recognize being a Rufus is showing kindness to others, being a hero when necessary, participating in the community and working to make OUR world a better place to live in. Chinese members of MM will recognize it as the expectations of volunteerism required of the Chinese Communist party, but that is just a name. It’s all people working together towards a common goal. His video summarizes it up nicely. Be the Rufus. video. 27MB
Rufus Police
The duty of the police is to help society to be safe and secure. And when crimes are performed, to isolate the troublemakers and remove them from society. And when they do good, and are helpful they should be appreciated for their efforts. video 2MB
A Rufus shows understandings
Sometimes things are not what they seem. But when understanding dawns, then the Rufus can shine through. video
AI and social Credit Scores working together to catch criminal bad guys
China is rapidly able to catch the bad guys of society as all of China is wired for surveillance by AI computers, and everything is monitored. It might sound Orwellian, but the results speak for themselves. bad guys are caught and imprisoned long before they even realize that they were caught. video 15MB
Rufus saves a kitty cat
A country cat wants to nap in the middle of a road. Lucky for him a young Rufus is nearby. video 1MB
The role of government should be to support and protect it’s citizenry. Not pit one group against the other. And it shouldn’t allow people to go without food, work, purpose and shelter. China is a perfect example of a government that cares for it’s citizens, while America is the perfect example of a selfish tyrannical nightmare. Here, we compare China with America regarding homeless people. It’s like night and day. video 96MB
Read the subtitles.
Emergency it’s all hands on deck
It’s an emergency it’s all hands on deck and the emergency save of a baby. Go get them Rufus! Video 5MB
Rufus schoolboy helps lost child
Waits for the police and then hands over the lost wayward child. Video
Be the Rufus
We need to be kind to each other, to be helpful and to care about other people If everyone would do so then this world would be a great and wonderful place. video 67MB
Rescue of a drowning person
Being a hero is but a small part of what being a Rufus is. video 2MB
Be the kind person that everyone can rely on
You are not your job, your education, your career. You are not your image, your beauty, or your wallet. you are not your family or their standing in the community. You are yourself, and that means you are pristine and special. So be the Rufus. Make your life and the lives around you better. video 15MB
Contribute and make the world a better place for all of us. Stop being so selfish, so greedy and so demanding. be more compassionate, kind and caring. be the Rufus. video 21MB
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Here’s a mixtures of videos describing Rufus behaviors. When I mean being the Rufus, I mean contributing to society. I mean putting it out there, being helpful. Being kind. Refraining from anger. Refraining defensively when provoked. I means being the best you that YOU can be. Be that Rufus.
The following are some videos about people; humanity and being a Rufus. Some are sad, some are painful, some are good, and some are happy. Be the Rufus. Otherwise, why live?
Be the Rufus. Be family. Be the community that cares for it’s members.
I strongly suggest you watch the videos in the order presented to get the proper "effect" that I am trying to provide.
What do I mean by being a Rufus?
The term “Rufus” is well known to long time visitors to MM. It describes service-to-others (STO) sentience and the related behaviors rather than the service-for-self (STS) sentience behaviors of the vast bulk of humanity. The details on sentience selection and why it is important are sprinkled throughout the Majestic Index.
Rufus is a state of behavior. A Rufus puts the community before him / her self. They do things without a profit motive of any type. They are kind, helpful and when they walk down the street they smile at people and make them feel good.
In some ways, being a Rufus lends itself to heroic actions, but in other ways it refers to being a significant person located in a geographic region.
While the rest of the world scrambles and claws towards money and power, and leaves a destitute and stripped world behind, a Rufus nurtures the world. He / she uses their creative abilities to make the world a better place.
You can go to my RUFUS INDEX. Start at the top and start reading all the posts. If after article 75, you still have questions, I will try to explain it to you better.
Long time readers recognize being a Rufus is showing kindness to others, being a hero when necessary, participating in the community and working to make OUR world a better place to live in. Chinese members of MM will recognize it as the expectations of volunteerism required of the Chinese Communist party, but that is just a name.
Rufus cat
Love or just keeping each other warm. Who knows? But it sure is cute. video 1MB
Rufus during a crisis
When things go wrong, a Rufus is always there to contribute and participate. video 1MB
Rufus saves girl in subway
Quick action, without thinking results in saved lives. Video. 3MB
Uh oh. Baby on the tracks and a train is approaching. What to do? Luckily a Rufus is there. video 1.4MB
Rufus rescue gone wrong.
Not every Rufus event ends up well. You have to try and keep on trying. You will not win every time. Just keep on being the Rufus. video 2.8MB
This is from my LinkedIN feed…
Suicide Awareness – Trigger warning.
I’ve thought long and hard about posting about this, debating on how it would be perceived by the market, however, I decided to just speak from the heart. I do a lot for women in this market and now I also want to do a lot for men, men who account for over 75% of suicides.
Yesterday my friend Rob would have turned 36, for those who didn’t know him he was possibly the best broker the freight market had ever seen. He was referred to as 'an extraordinary talent, a maverick, an occasional handful but a lovely person with a genuine heart’.
At a young age Robert Byrne was made Director at one of the worlds leading broking shops, his billings were highly impressive, he was an incredible talent and a very good friend. He had the world at his feet.
I didn’t particularly like Rob when we first met, I found him rather arrogant, however, that was the thing with Rob, he was an extrovert who always spoke his truth and in reflection what I loved about him the most. He was who he was, and he didn’t shy way or change for anybody. Like marmite, you either loved him or hated him, love or hate him everyone agreed to one thing he was an incredible gifted young man. Rob was eternally fun, there was never a dull moment. We used to love karaoke sessions and as he used to phrase it cause ‘scenes’.
That’s why it makes it all so much harder that in April 2020 he decided to take his own life. He called me two hours before it did it. I guess this was his goodbye call, I am eternally grateful that I answered the phone, but I just wish he said, “I’m not ok, please help”.
Rob did have and could of had lived the most incredible life if he got his mind right. I can’t express the loss and waste that left so many deeply shocked and saddened.
I will never get my friend back; I will never have him wind me or call me for karaoke sessions. When I went through tough times Rob brought my spark back and showed me how fun life could be again. I do anything now to return the favor.
I hate the way men are raised to be tough, to man up and not encouraged to speak up when they are suffering. Suffering with depression, addiction, and a troubled mind.
I know most people reading this will be men and will probably not want to comment because of this awful stigma that surrounds mental health. But if you are reading this and you are not ok, you have addictions or demons that you are hiding away then please seek help. Please tell someone before its too late. Its ok not to be ok. You are loved and your life is worth living.
If you need help, please reach out. Here are some links below for help.
There are physical and non-physical Rufus’s. Nothing to be fearful of. Just realize that what you fear is usually nothing worthy of fear. Accept and be gracious. video. 2MB
Rufus helps out a family
We all need each other. Stop being selfish. Help those in need. video 7MB
Rufus dog sings to opera
The only thing that I can say to this, aside that it is really cute, is that a Rufus is aware of the abilities of others. Obviously the owner is aware that the dog can hear the high pitched sounds of Italian opera. I am sure that the dog loved the performance. video 1MB
Rufus allows a sick man in a truck to pass
Single lane road. Can only pass in one direction. Video 12MB
Subway draw
Maybe you don’t have the money to donate to charity, but you have a skill. Use it to put a smile on the face of others. Like this Rufus, drawing quick portraits for free. video 6MB
Subway Engagement
If you do enough Rufus related behaviors you will attract others that are full of life, and love. video 9MB
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
You know, all these actions by the United States against China, and Against Russia remind me of this following meme…
Here is a reprint of a translated Russian article regarding the collapse of the United States, and the dragging of it’s client “Western nations” into the black hole with it.
And the USA is actually collapsing.
Actually.
In fact, it has collapsed quite a bit, but it still has a long way to go yet. It will not be over until a new nation rises like a phoenix from the ashes of the former.
It’s a good read, though I had to conduct some serious editing to make it readable for English native readers.
I do hope that you enjoy it.
Despite the running assumption in Washington for some time that democratic backslides are linked to perceived adversaries such as Russia and China, the data actually seems to point back to the United States itself.
Of all places, the news of this democratic decline was recently reported in the New York Times. According to data from V-Dem, the US and its allies (defined as countries with a formal or implied mutual defense commitment) have accounted for only 5% of worldwide increases in democracy in the 2010s while having 36% of the decreases.
In fact, it states, US-allied countries saw their democracies decline by nearly double the rate of non-allies.
This obviously raises the question: why?
Answering this is quite a tall order for even the most astute political scientists, but it’s obviously not as simple as blaming Trump. Let’s look at some of the possible reasons.
First of all, contrary to a long-running assumption, American influence does not actually lead to countries wanting to be like America. A Pew Research Center study from November 1 found that only 17% of people in their survey countries viewed US democracy as worth emulating, against 23% who said it was never a good example. Why is this?
Well, US democracy sucks.
If democracy means that public opinion is supposed to decide policies, then the US is an abject failure.
Public opinion actually means next to nothing, considering the US is a functioning plutocracy – a government of, by, and for the wealthy.
Rostislav Ishchenko develops his theme first posted here: Russian World as a global project into global multipolarity and covers why and how the West ran into a dead end, and where the multipolar situation may lead.
Please note it is a machine translation with some human assistance, and it is not a perfect document. It however makes his points clear enough, for the discussion on this massive global change.
Today we are in a unique situation – for the first time in the history of mankind, a global empire is breaking up.
Humanity is constantly living in an era of decay. At the same time, humanity is constantly living in an era of centralization.
The dialectic of history works simply: the centers of disintegration and centralization are constantly changing places both horizontally (some states are weakening, others are strengthening) and vertically (against the background of a weakening center, power in the shires is always strengthening, and the weakness of the regions leads to the strengthening of the center).
The art of leading a state is to correctly determine its internal and external state.
Accordingly, you need to move the control center of gravity from the regional level to the central level and back.
In the field of foreign policy, in an era of weakness, try not to be too active in order to suffer as few losses as possible (and it is better not to lose anything at all), while at the time of strength, try to carefully acquire additional resources.
Depending on the era, this resource can be nominated in terms of land, people, industrial power, market access, ideological leadership, information superiority, and other resources.
As a rule, several interrelated factors from among the above play an important role.
The Empire of the Collective West
Today we are in a unique situation. This has never happened before in the history of mankind.
For the first time, a global empire is breaking up.
We used to call it the American world, because after the collapse of the USSR, the United States remained the only superpower for twenty or twenty – five years (who thinks so) and became a symbol of Western dominance.
But in reality, it was the empire of the collective West.
The United States did not share the profits made by robbing the rest of humanity with Canada and Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, Japan and the EU out of a love of art or an innate desire for charity. It’s just that without the support of these vassal regimes, Washington was unable to manage the globalized world.
And, as has been known since classical feudalism, the vassal owes the master exactly the same amount as the master owes the vassal.
If a prince or duke does not dress his retinue luxuriously, does not provide it with expensive horses and weapons, does not feed it to the brim and does not drink it to the point of drunkenness, then the retinue has every right to abandon such a leader and look for a new master (the right to leave).
In politics, these relations are expressed in a change of allies.
For example, when the USSR could no longer provide Eastern Europe with an influx of additional resources (at the expense of its own population) The ATS and COMECON instantly disappeared in time and space, and their yesterday’s members lined up in NATO and the EU.
Next in line were the Union republics, which fled the Union in full confidence that they were feeding Russia and would live better on their own.
At the same time, the republics did not really think about any independence either. They took the queue “to the West” for Eastern Europeans, fully confident that they only need to join the EU and NATO and everything will be like in the USSR, only even more satisfying and better.
Some managed to join, some did not, but everyone was disappointed.
And not at all because, as some think, the West did not want to feed freeloaders.
The EU and the US were well aware of their responsibilities to their vassal countries, and they also understood that spending on their “weapons, horses, clothing, food and drink” would pay off by strengthening Western dominance around the world.
The annexation of Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet states (except for Russia and the Asian republics) was supposed to significantly improve the geopolitical position of the West, strengthen its military capabilities and make its political and economic dictates insurmountable.
When the West overestimated its strength
At first, it worked that way.
The costs of maintaining Poland and demonstrating the success of the Baltic Tigers were more than repaid by predatory exploitation of Russia.
(in the 1990s, the West established direct or indirect control over most of Russia’s resources through local oligarchs) and outright piracy in the rest of the world (Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, and after it Serbia).
Economically booming, China was unable to stand up to the collective West militarily. Russia seemed completely destroyed and only temporarily preserved the appearance of unity. At this point, the West overestimated its strength.
In any society, there are always different groups that see the purpose and meaning of existence and the direction of development of the corresponding society in different ways. And as long as there is an obvious external danger, these groups reject internal contradictions, rallying against the external enemy. If, for some reason, the authorities lose the ability to reconcile and balance internal contradictions, a catastrophe of the 1917 model occurs.
In the 1990s, the collective West believed in the “end of history”, that the world is forever Westernized, that the roles of governors and governed are assigned to different countries forever.
Being in a state of euphoria, the Western left liberals launched an ideological offensive not only on the external front, but also on the internal one, trying to make their “tolerant new world” mandatory for everyone, not only in the conquered countries, but also among those who, in their opinion, “won the Third world war (cold war).”
As long as the leftists did not dig in, the resistance to their expansion in Western society was provided by certain marginal groups of conservatives, who were branded fascists by the” new left”.
Broad strata of Western society were virtually untouched by the confrontation between these groups until the mid-noughties of the third millennium.
Moreover, the main ideological expansion of the West was aimed at the development of “conquered territories”.
It was there that the most “advanced” “public organizations” were created, spreading the propaganda of equality of norm and perversion to Western grants, even the advantages of perversion over the norm, because it “suffered for a long time”.
There, on the” new lands”, the” Soros funds ” and their many similarities worked. And left-liberal ideas, having fallen into the post-communist ideological void accustomed to the presence of a” leading and guiding ” people, were in the greatest demand. The additional appeal of these ideas was given by the fact that their local adherents, due to the support of Western funds, instantly became super-successful people against the background of the rapidly impoverished (in the 1990s) post-Soviet society.
It is difficult to say how all this would have ended if the West had had the wit and patience to wait, not to immediately cut the post-Soviet “chicken”, but to give the liberals the opportunity to demonstrate at least some success.
Then it was inexpensive.
But, having invested in a thin layer of people temporarily in power, the West decided that all the problems were solved.
The elites will cope with educating the masses.
And it was seriously mistaken.
Split in the Western family
I don’t know if Russia and China would have had a chance to stand up to the united West, which by the end of the 1990s was totally superior to them in all indicators, except for Chinese industrial growth (but it is not enough to grow quickly, you need to have time to grow), if the expansion of Western neolithic ideas would have remained exclusively external.
But the left-wing liberals, sensing that they had significantly strengthened their positions due to external expansion, launched an offensive against conservatives inside the West.
This was the beginning of the end, for” Every kingdom divided against itself will become desolate; and every city or house divided against itself will not stand ” (Matthew 12: 25).
The West faced several divisions at once. First, there were divisions between conservatives and liberals within each individual country. Second, there is a split between conservative Eastern Europe and liberal Western Europe within the EU. Third, a split has emerged between the European bureaucracy and national Governments.
Moreover, since the European bureaucracy came out from radical left-liberal positions, in the fight against it, even liberal national governments were forced to seek the support of conservatives, which weakened the position of liberals in each individual country.
An increasing amount of Western resources began to be directed not to maintain the hegemony of the West, but to the internal struggle of liberals for an ideological monopoly.
The West has lost the ability to control planetary processes, but, being in euphoria, on the wave of success, it did not immediately notice this.
When it noticed, it was too late.
The divided Western society could no longer unite and was increasingly slipping into a state of cold, and then almost hot, civil war.
The struggle between liberals and conservatives, like any struggle of roughly equal forces, began to devour almost all available resources, and the West began to feel resource hunger.
Since the opportunity to pay off the resource shortage at the expense of Russia and/or China was lost (the West thought it was temporary, but in fact it turned out to be forever), cannibalism had to be engaged: the stronger countries of the West began to redirect resources that had previously been used to support weaker and poorer countries in their favor.
Immediately, the internal split deepened.
In Europe, in addition to the division into West and East, there was a problem of “rich North” and “poor South”. These two parts of the EU had different views not only on the prospects of economic and financial policy of the European Union, but also set different foreign policy goals for themselves.
Divisions between the US and the EU, the US and Israel, the US and Turkey, Turkey and Israel, Israel and the EU, and the EU and Turkey have emerged and begun to deepen.
Washington’s position began to weaken even in the traditionally loyal monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula.
Political laws are inexorable
The West is still trying to present a united front.
In particular, the United States is forming an all-Western coalition against China and is trying to bind Russia’s forces in the European direction by forming a single pan-European anti-Russian front.
In the statements of government officials, on the paper of signed agreements and according to the estimates of expert offices funded from Western budgets, it seems to work, but not so much in terms of the self-perception of the population of Western countries, which the press is increasingly forced to reflect with minimal objectivity.
The collective West still retains a sense of civilizational unity, but in the face of growing resource scarcity, this cannot help it in any way.
Still, the strong, in order to survive, is forced to withdraw resources from the weak.
At the same time, even if the weak does not rebel, but allows themselves to be robbed to the end, the weakening of the West will progress at an increasing pace.
On the example of Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, and the former “Baltic tigers”, we see that sooner or later there comes a time when the robbed statehood loses the ability to support itself.
Starting from this period, it is necessary either to pump additional resources into it just for the sake of preserving it, or to accept that it will de facto disappear, first as an economic unit, and then as a political one, which will reduce the amount of available resources, respectively aggravating the problem.
Today, the West is already clearly divided into three clusters: the American one (the main one, torn apart in the United States by the struggle of right-wing conservative Trumpists and left-wing radical Bidenites); the European one (whose economic interests require cooperation with Russia, but the ruling elites of most countries are afraid that they will not be able to retain power if they leave the American umbrella); and the Asia-Pacific one (which has already fallen into the sphere of Chinese economic influence, but does not want to admit it for the same reason that modern Europe does not want to break with America).
Historical experience shows that political laws are inexorable.
If you try to slow down the development of natural processes, then the longer you delay, the more terrible the final catastrophe will be.
In the 1990s, the West could still win, in the noughties conclude a compromise peace, being in a favorable position, in the tenth it was still possible to talk about a compromise, but the main bonuses were already received by Russia and China.
At this stage, the West can only count on a complete and unconditional surrender. Further delay will lead to the fact that there will be no one to capitulate. People, houses and cities will remain, but the western system will disappear.
Yet the United States is trying to continue playing the game of victory, and its allies have no strength to step out of the American shadow.
Further decisions should be made in the next three to five years. Either the United States will risk starting a war against China (then it should be started as early as possible, since it may be too late), or they will have to admit defeat in the global confrontation.
For the collective West, this will be a greater shock than the one that shook the Soviet sphere of influence during the collapse of the USSR.
The wreckage of the collective West in the form of junior partners of the United States will start looking for new patrons even more frantically than the post-socialist countries did in the 1990s.
At this point, the question will arise: where is the new assemblage point, around whom will the new centralization take place?
The square trinomial and its political roots
So far, we believe that such an assemblage point can be the Russian-Chinese Eurasia based on the SCO, the EAEU, the CSTO and other structures created and being created by Russia and China.
However, China, which is trying to protect itself against a sudden (but more than likely) collapse of Western markets, has recently taken several cautious steps to establish its own control over the Trans-Eurasian trade routes under Russian control.
A possible clash of interests is in Africa and Latin America, where both powers are actively increasing their economic expansion.
Finally, while not yet obvious, but in the long run, the most dangerous contradiction is that the fragments of the collective West that fall into the Chinese sphere of influence (the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand), along with the Southeast Asian states already located there, have interests diametrically opposed to the interests of Europe that potentially falls into the Russian sphere of influence.
Plus, India and Japan are too big a prize for Beijing and Moscow to allow each other’s sole influence there.
These contradictions are objective, and whether they can be overcome depends on the collective will of Russia and China.
Today, we cannot say unequivocally that this will be achieved, if only because we do not know in what geopolitical conditions we will have to move on to building a “beautiful new world”.
One thing is clear: Washington’s belated recognition of multipolarity in the form of a statement that there are three centers of power in today’s world (Russia, the United States, and China), although formally true, cannot satisfy anyone, because the dynamics of global processes are negative for the United States, and they will still try to change it, which means that the three-member structure will not be stable due to American opportunism.
In general, [1] today the crisis is developing, [2] the catastrophe of the collective West seems inevitable, but [3] the subsequent catharsis does not promise peace.
Conclusions
What may come, may come. But don’t lose sleep over it. If you can still enjoy a fine pizza, then do so. If you can still go out and watch a funny movie then go do so. If you can go outside and play with your critters, please do so. And remember… Always be the Rufus. video. 130MB
Do you want more?
I have more posts like this in my New Beginnings 2 index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Here’s a mixtures of videos describing Rufus behaviors. When I mean being the Rufus, I mean contributing to society. I mean putting it out there, being helpful. Being kind. Refraining from anger. Refraining defensively when provoked. I means being the best you that YOU can be. Be that Rufus.
The term “Rufus” is well known to long time visitors to MM. It describes service-to-others (STO) sentience and the related behaviors rather than the service-for-self (STS) sentience behaviors of the vast bulk of humanity. The details on sentience selection and why it is important are sprinkled throughout the Majestic Index.
Rufus is a state of behavior. A Rufus puts the community before him / her self. They do things without a profit motive of any type. They are kind, helpful and when they walk down the street they smile at people and make them feel good.
In some ways, being a Rufus lends itself to heroic actions, but in other ways it refers to being a significant person located in a geographic region.
While the rest of the world scrambles and claws towards money and power, and leaves a destitute and stripped world behind, a Rufus nurtures the world. He / she uses their creative abilities to make the world a better place.
You can go to my RUFUS INDEX. Start at the top and start reading all the posts. If after article 75, you still have questions, I will try to explain it to you better.
The following are some videos about people; humanity and being a Rufus. Some are sad, some are painful, some are good, and some are happy. Be the Rufus. Otherwise, why live?
Be the Rufus. Be family. Be the community that cares for it’s members.
I strongly suggest you watch the videos in the order presented to get the proper "effect" that I am trying to provide.
Rufus father rescues
Protecting the young ones is a top priority for the Rufus. Video 19MB
Rufus Child Protects Others
Caring for the well-being of others is a top Rufus priority. video 3.6MB
Rufus child holds open the door
It starts with caring and consideration for others. video 2MB
Rufus Husband
Awareness of your loved ones is a prerequisite for fine Rufus behaviors. video 2MB
Rufus fire crew
A Rufus always welcomes others to join them in their efforts. video 4MB
A Rufus participates in their community. video 23MB
Rufus student sings about his country
The Chinese are wildly patriotic. And they associate (naturally) their friends and family with their nation. Which is the exact opposite of America where it is “us vs. them” and “every man for himself”. Here we have a student singing about China in school. video 3.1MB
MM video
This is a video that I took of a nice elementary school girl handing out brochures for her parents business. She gets out of school and hands out the brochures to help her family while she walks home. video 22MB
Rufus park amusements
When your government supports the community, then the community provides a stable and healthy environment to exist, work and play in. Part of that is having amusements and other free things for the community to us. None of which are a for-profit model. video 4MB
Rufus review
Here’s a good review of some fine Rufus behaviors. Be the Rufus, or just be a nobody. video 14MB
Let me be perfectly clear…
We must be part of something bigger than ourselves. We are not machines that eat, are entertained, and propagate. We are living, breathing entities and we need to provide and treat others the same way.
Be the Rufus. It’s our highest calling. video 26MB
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
When I was married to my first wife, she told me a story about what happened when her grandmother died. Once this 90-something woman died, the “children” all went over to her old house “on the hill” and started probate on the belongings. And there they discovered that there was a very large, and very heavy bureau that had been against the one wall for as long as anyone could remember. And when they emptied the bureau, and moved the heavy massive piece away, they discovered a locked door.
When they opened it, they found a child’s bedroom dating from the 1920’s all perfectly preserved.
Apparently, my wife’s oldest uncle told the story that when he was five years old, he and his older brother, who was six went out playing on the frozen river, and the older brother fell into the ice and died. Since he was so young at the time, he had forgotten about the older brother and the event, but the grandmother simply walled up the room. Closed the blinds, shut the drapes and never spoke of the lost son ever again.
Inside was the room just as the boy had left it. With clothing on the floor, an unmade bed. Toys about, and other things of that period such as books, cast metal toys, an an old baseball mitt and bat.
It’s a fascinating story, and one that comes up time and time again over the years.
Time capsules are purposely built to contain interesting and unique items meant to be uncovered at a predetermined date in the future. This can often be a century or more after the capsule is buried.
Unintentional time capsules are something else altogether as they are far rarer and only appear when least expected. These are places and items lost for a time. But when they are revealed, they showcase what life was like in the past.
Here we can look at some other time capsules as we explore this interesting subject.
Lost Purse From 1957 Discovered In 2019
In 1957, a young woman named Patti Rumfola was attending Hoover High School in Ohio when something terrible happened: She lost her purse. That stroke of bad luck for Rumfola turned into an incredible discovery in 2019 when her handbag was finally found by a custodian.
Unfortunately, it was a bit too late for Rumfola as she had passed away in 2013 at age 71. Still, the purse was found, and with some Internet sleuthing, the original owner was identified. The handbag was given to one of her daughters, who had the opportunity to peek into her mother’s life from 62 years in the past.[1]
The purse, which had fallen behind some lockers, ultimately became an unintentional time capsule filled with the kinds of items you might expect to find in a young girl’s handbag in 1957. There were several pristine tickets to her school’s football games, a couple of library cards, a photograph of one of her friends, a wallet, and a small amount of change. Each of her five children kept a penny from the purse to remember their mother.
The Town Of Bodie, California
Shortly before the US Civil War broke out, gold was discovered east of the Sierra Nevada mountains. By the late 1870s, the site had grown to become a boomtown called Bodie with some 10,000 residents. By 1915, the gold was gone, and people had to leave the town for good.
Bodie became an unintentional time capsule because it’s more than 2,500 meters (8,300 ft) above sea level. In the early 20th century, it wasn’t easy to get in and out of the little town. As a result, the residents left most of their possessions there as it was too expensive to have them hauled over miles of mountain trails.
In 1962, California State Parks stepped in to establish the ghost town as Bodie State Historic Park. It is preserved in an arrested state, so nothing is disturbed except for the occasional repair to ensure that a wall or roof remains intact.
The place is exactly what people envision a ghost town to be. But more than that, it’s a glimpse back in time to the Old West without the kitschy tourist traps found in places like Tombstone.[2]
Completely Intact Shoe Store Rediscovered After Half A Century
From the 1940s to the 1960s, the Fashion Shoe Shop stood as a staple mom-and-pop store. But it eventually shut down. Years later, it was bequeathed to a man who went by to see what the property looked like. He found a shoe store that had been shuttered several decades earlier.
The shop was something of a step back in time as the shoe store looked just as it had when the doors were locked years earlier. Instead of cleaning out an abandoned space, the new owner found a treasure in perfectly preserved vintage shoes. As the shoes were still inside their boxes, they were preserved without damage from dust, mold, or anything else.[3]
The time capsule was also filled with fashion from previous eras. In such well-preserved conditions, the items were worth quite a lot of money. In addition, the shop had a Victrola Credenza Talking Machine full of vintage records, a vintage stove, and more incredible finds from 40 years ago when the shop was closed.
Abandoned Home In Ontario Revealed A Link To The Past
Not every abandoned property is a decaying mess that people should avoid. Occasionally, a place will turn up something surprising, which is exactly what happened when a home in Ontario, Canada, was discovered by an urban explorer in 2013.
The home wasn’t in the best shape. But looking past the “usual smell of decay and years of abandonment” revealed a hidden gem showcasing how people lived in the 1960s when the property was abandoned.
Inside the home was a plethora of items from the 1960s and earlier, including several musical instruments, a shaving kit, a shoeshine polish kit, a cache of vinyl albums, cartons of food far beyond their expiration dates, furniture, books, clocks, televisions, a gramophone, a piano, jewelry, and two complete sets of polished silverware, which are worth their weight in . . . well, silver.
It’s unclear why the home was abandoned with everything left inside. But it helps to paint a picture of the people who lived there more than 50 years before the property was rediscovered.[4]
A Shop Boarded Up For 30 Years In Lancashire
Typically, when a shop goes out of business, its contents are sold, the building is vacated, and then it’s taken over by someone else. But something that seldom happens turned up in Accrington, Lancashire, in October 2008.
As builders were working in the area, they uncovered a shop that had been boarded up for at least 30 years. Instead of a decrepit empty space, they found a perfectly preserved corner shop and ice cream parlor. It was filled with items from the shop’s earliest days in the 1920s to products dating to the early 1970s.[5]
These included cigarette advertisements from the 1950s, a magazine that went through the day-by-day happenings of then Princess Elizabeth’s tour of Australia in 1938, old-fashioned sweet jars, and ice cream spoons. The original owners had left the property over 30 years earlier without removing the contents.
Paperwork found within the shop dated back more than 80 years. It indicated that the establishment had belonged to the Boyd family for several generations. The building was renovated, but the items were preserved by the developer.
A Victorian-Era Pharmacy Hidden For 80 Years In Somerset Village
In the early 1800s, John Wellington opened a chemist shop at South Petherton, Somerset. He also sold groceries. After John’s passing in 1845, the shop stayed in his family for more than four decades. Then it was sold to W.C. White in 1887.
White operated the shop’s chemist side until he died in 1909. Then his son and heir, Charles White, continued with the grocery business only. Charles wasn’t qualified to dispense medications, so the store’s chemist side was sealed behind a locked door.
Despite having several other owners, it remained that way until 1987. That year, the shop was sold and the locked door was finally opened. Inside was the chemist shop precisely as it had looked when it was sealed 78 years earlier.
The Victorian-era pharmacy was purchased in its entirety by Flambards Theme Park in Cornwall. The shop was moved and reestablished exactly as it had looked nearly a century before. Some items didn’t make the transition—but not because they were damaged.
Certain chemicals were now considered dangerous and deadly. They were confiscated by the British Home Office. But everything else has been perfectly maintained and preserved.[6]
A Long-Forgotten Closet Revealed A Treasure Trove Of Civil War Artifacts
In 2010, the former Carnegie Library in San Antonio, Texas, was undergoing some renovations when something unexpected turned up. The workers found a closet that had been walled up in the early 1950s. Inside, they discovered a treasure trove of artifacts dating back to the US Civil War.
More than 200 items were found in the closet. Although most were from the Civil War era, the oldest was a priceless copy of the 1615 King James Bible printed in London. Beth Graham, a spokesperson for the library system, described it as “in astoundingly good shape for being nearly 400 years old.”[7]
At least one document was dated 1861. According to Graham, another was “a proclamation by the Governor of New Mexico calling up the militia to repel Confederate raiders coming into the territory from Texas.”
Several magazines were dated 1952, which suggests that the closet was walled up before the building housed the Hertzberg Circus Museum in the late 1960s. The library staff cataloged the items and put them on display at the San Antonio Public Library.
Parisian Apartment Left Untouched For 70 Years Discovered In 2010
In 1942, as the Nazis invaded Paris, playwright Solange Beaugiron, the granddaughter of Madame Marthe de Florian, fled the city. Beaugiron left behind her apartment but continued to pay the rent until her death at age 91, almost 70 years later.
It is believed that Beaugiron didn’t return at all between 1942 and her death in 2010. So the apartment remained closed. Initially Marthe de Florian’s home, it was filled with opulent furniture and paintings. All of them remained untouched.[8]
The apartment was finally opened in 2010. Although it was an amazing unintentional time capsule of 1940s Parisian life, it also contained many valuable artifacts. One such item was a portrait of de Florian by Giovanni Boldini. It sold at auction for €3 million, a record for the artist.
Other paintings by famous artists, ornate furniture, a piano, a phonograph, and much more were uncovered in the apartment. Somehow, the place survived World War II without a scratch as did everything sealed inside.
Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Chemistry Lab Found Hidden Behind Wall
Conservators working at the University of Virginia’s Rotunda have inadvertently uncovered a chemical hearth designed by Thomas Jefferson. The discovery is offering fresh insights into how chemistry was taught over 200 years ago.
The iconic Rotunda, constructed in 1826, is located on The Lawn of the original grounds of the University of Virginia and is currently undergoing renovations. Inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, Thomas Jefferson designed it to symbolize the “authority of nature and power of reason” and the separation of church and education.
Back in 1895, a fire destroyed much of the building’s interior. But during the 1850s, the chemical hearth—part of an early chemistry classroom—was sealed in one of the lower-floor walls of the Rotunda, which protected it from the fire. Recently, while preparing for the current renovations, workers examining the cavities in the walls unexpectedly discovered the lost chemistry hearth.
Back in Jefferson’s day, chemistry was taught on the Rotunda’s bottom floor. His collaborator, professor of natural history John Emmet, taught the classes. UVA Todayexplains how it worked:
The chemical hearth was built as a semi-circular niche in the north end of the Lower East Oval Room. Two fireboxes provided heat (one burning wood for fuel, the other burning coal), underground brick tunnels fed fresh air to fireboxes and workstations, and flues carried away the fumes and smoke. Students worked at five workstations cut into stone countertops.Brian Hogg, senior historic preservation planner in the Office of the Architect for the University, said the chemical hearth may have been for Emmet’s use; the students may have had portable hearths with which they conducted experiments.“Back then, the different experiments would get different levels of heat from different sources,” said Jody Lahendro, a supervisory historic preservation architect for U.Va.’sFacilities Management. “For some, they would put the heat source under a layer of sand to more evenly disperse and temper the heat.”
According to Hogg, this may be the oldest intact example of early chemical education in the United States.
The University of Virginia will put the chemical hearth on display once renovations are complete.
Now some other stuff…
All of this stuff is interesting and a curiosity. There is no question about that. But what about today? What about your life now? What about things, people, places, food, friends, drink, pets and other interests? Well…
…lucky for you all, I have some videos that I am gonna deposit here for your enjoyment. And as you look at them remember that those relics that you read about are from another person’s time; another person’s life. But this time; this life, is yours NOW.
Make it a good one.
Please contribute. Don’t disparage.
Check out this guy who used to ice skate when he was in elementary school, and then life carried him away. Now, for the first time in 50 years, he tries to ice skate again. Not so easy is it? video
Remember!
You are not your age. You are not your color, nationality, your style, your wealth. You are not your job. You are not your career or your education. You are very unique and you are very, very special.
Never forget that.
Here’s a video where a middle-school student discovers what her dad does for a living. It’s a bit of a shock, but you know what…? It doesn’t matter. video.
What the world needs now is more understanding; more humanity; and more kindness. Help others. Be the Rufus. Show understanding, compassion and kindness. Help others. And when someone is in need, help them.
Do not be afraid to volunteer. You can join the volunteer fire department, be an auxiliary in the police. Help in the local community. Volunteer at the food pantry. Go to the local humane society and just volunteer. Be part of the community. Smile. Make friends.
Ah. I do love a good meal. I consider steak, done medium rare to be a fine delicious meal. Don’t you? Oh, and do not forget the dipping sauce or gravy. Don’t you know. It’s all around a taste treat.
A delicious steak. I like mine medium rare.
Especially with some alcohol. Most especially some fine tasty Shiraz. I like shiraz. It’s fruity, sweet, easy to drink and goes great with everything from peanuts to lasagna.
Wine. Nicely decanted. Served with fresh baked Italian or French bread.
You guys know that I have never ate so well as I am doing inside of China. This place is great. But judging from some of the comments when I post on LinkedIN, the rest of the world instead believe the hate-China fantasy.
Such as this guy…
China is short on energy, food supply and raw materials. It's fixed capital need overseas markets to break even. By geography, it is hemmed on all sides. It will suffer incredible loss of wealth and the regime will lose any credibility it may have left.
-London Desa
He’s clueless.
Just absolutely clueless.
One of the things that is going on with myself (MM for you readers) is that my meals have taken a decidedly up-tick swing in food quality.
A few “affirmation campaigns” ago, I had an affirmation that went like this…
I eat healthy, delicious and tasty foods daily.
Well, without my knowledge, my wife has this great idea to take 10,000 RMB and get a VIP account in a local high-class vegetarian restaurant. Her idea was to feed our two year old with a selection of healthy food, prepared with cleanliness, and with an eye of being tasty. This all was the direct result of a rash that broke out on my daughter after we ate some Sichuan food a few weeks ago. (All is well, by the way.)
So now, I am eating healthy, delicious and tasty food daily.
What do you know…
Ah, it’s funny how those affirmation campaigns work. Now, I long to eat some meat. You know, I am a guy. A steak lover. A carnivore. But anyways, I am fine, the kid is finally eating, and I am actually feeling much healthier than before. You would be amazed how you feel once you change your diet.
Ma Po Dou Fu
Like the one follower (Alice) who wanted youthful skin like when she was young, and ended up having zits and acne breakout. Ask her about it some time.
LOL.
Anyways, life is what you make it. If you are thinking one thing… “China is bad, people are starving, child labor”… so on and so forth it will start to manifest in your life. Well, goodness! Don’t allow that.
Think good stuff.
Here’s a cute kitten. She’s napping. Shucch!
Life is hard, then you nap.
Think good stuff.
Here’s a classic car. I always wanted one of these beasts once I watched the 1980’s comedy Adventures in Babysitting. I remember watching it while I was in training at China Lake. Did you know that it snowed that year? Yes. One inch of dusty snow on the evaporate cooler in the middle of the High Desert. Who would figure?
Think good stuff.
1950 Cadillac Series 62.
Think good stuff.
Here’s a craftsman home. It’s one of my favorite designs. I really love the nice interiors. It’s sort of a post-modern art-deco version of a “Hobbit hole”.
Laurelhurst 1912 Craftsman living room
Christmas is coming. Well, after Thanksgiving, that is. Are you ready for it? I am. MM has his tree up and little mm has her presents all wrapped up and hidden awaiting the “big day”. Though Ms. Mm can’t help herself and unwraps one every few days or so. Sigh.
Think good thoughts.
Goldie Hawn & Kurt RussellThe Christmas Chronicles 2.
Think good thoughts.
Oh, maybe I didn’t make myself clear. I really think, and believe that what you think about affects the life that you live. And thus to that end, you all need to…
…think good thoughts.
Bread done right.
This post is all about China, and it is a situation report or “sitrep” for short. Since the entire Western “news” is simply the propaganda outlet for the Washington DC monied interests, we have to perform our own investigations and sleuthing.
Not that it matters though. Our non-compliance with the approved media narratives tend to get our works banned, shadow banned, or completely cut off. But not here in MM land.
The following comes from The Saker, and it was edited for the tender sensibilities of the MM readership. As well as my “superior” editing ability. LOL. All credit to the author, the source, and the venue. I hope you all like it and appreciate it.
Here Comes China: Xi Jinping’s speech, Major geo-political events, Joint naval patrol, Shangri-La was a novel
There has been a slight pause in these sitreps. This writing became overshadowed with current events, fully covered in the Saker Blog by other writers. Because of the length, we will upgrade this one today from sitrep to guest analysis.
A shortlisting of four major events since the Sitrep paused:
The failed visit (yes another failed diplomatic visit) which resulted in this comical and humorous tweet from Escobar
@RealPepeEscobar
US-CHINA IN 30 SECONDS
Jake Sullivan – “We wanna talk about Uyghurs, Hong Kong, Taiwan, human rights.” Yang Jiechi – “No.” Jake Sullivan – “Climate change.” Yang Jiechi – “No.” “Maybe. If you listen.” Jake Sullivan – “So we’re coming after you big time.” Yang Jiechi – “Bring it on.”
Uhm, how did that climate change maybe thing work out?
Well it turns out not so well. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are among several world leaders who will not be attending the big climate summit COP26 scheduled to begin this week in Britain. The two leaders will not even give it a pretense of legitimacy.
Now, that is how to give a perfect diplomatic snub! Or is it only a diplomatic snub?
I think both China and Russia are expressing that any attempt to do productive work with a naked insane emperor is now futile.
We will probably see light speed changes from now on into multipolarity to hopefully gain a world that is now insisting on decent human values and most of all, peaceful resolution of differences.
3
The other big event was the forming of Aukus, obviously in an attempt to create a mini-NATO against first China and Russia.
AUSTRALIAN SUBMARINES are indicative of the way our wonderful country is being governed.
CANBERRA is dysfunctional with the state governments nationally and that is just a start.
Department of Defence (DoD) is clearly not thinking with logic but rather with the influence of the government of the day.
DoD appears to be doing national defence planning with votes in mind and not our national security.
From the very beginning, our submarines are a dud resource.
We were going to spend $220,000,000,000.00--- YES $220 BILLION on 12 submarines that were designed to be nuclear and we insisted they be designed backwards to be diesel. That was bad enough.
Then we discover that of the 4 submarines we have now we only have CREW for 2 in 2021???
If we can only get crew for 2 now, why are we buying 12 and who will crew them in 20 years time when they are built?
NOW We have nuclear subs from the US and UK at an undisclosed price, no plans and no idea when we will see them.
FRANCE needs CHINA a lot more than FRANCE needs AUSTRALIA so I am not surprised by France sidling up to China.
France and China have a number of daily trains from stations in France to Stations in China.
Last year there were 11,000 trains between the EU and China. That is one every 45 minutes.
That daily business is a lot more important to a nation in a pandemic than some subs half-built in Australia and half-built in France in 20 years time.
Back to the DoD in Australia. They need an UPPERCUT for the pathetic way they are showing themselves to the world via CANBERRA.
They "appear" like they could not organise a sausage sizzle at Bunnings
What do you think of this mess?
How could it have been handled better?
Will submarines be relevant in 20 years time especially with NO CREWS?
-Peter Fennel
4
At the height of all of these were and are still the Taiwan issues and we will take a look at Xi Jinping’s speech a little later in this writing.
One soon finds that it becomes almost impossible to approach China from a generalist perspective. But, we have help.
On the economics side, we have Michael Hudson.
On the historical side, we have writers such as Godfree Roberts, Jeff J Browne and many others.
On the anti-China propaganda side, we have me and a number of reliable commentators on the Saker Blog and on the social, community.
On the humanity side, we have a host of excellent bloggers, documentary makers, and distributors of information as if one is walking in the streets and in the countryside with your own feet.
And of course, China is now taking its rightful place in the world as a leader and has improved markedly in information dissemination; they are taking their place on the world stage as wolf warriors, (Uhm, no, I did not mean to write that, of course, I meant to write ..) diplomats.
Sidebar:
China is a massive country and in landmass second only to Russia. But even in this simple measurement, the West tries its quibbling (and belittling) techniques.
This is from Jim Nelson that I found in my LinkedIN feed…
It was really a precious time in China in 1991. I taught English in Bengbu, Anhui for two years before deciding teaching English was not my career. Just the same, I treasure that time.
The picture below is for the first party that the students had. They invited me and my teaching partner. They were freshman who had just finished newly instituted military training.
Coming from America, I had some preconceived notions of what a college party could be like. The event I arrived at was beyond my imagination.
They had pushed desks to the side of the room to make space in the center. There were no decorations at all. They had no alcohol. If you look closely at the picture, we had one bottle of Huang Shan Cola each and a handful of pumpkin seeds. That is the whole story on the food and drink.
Who can remember Huang Shan Cola (translated that would be Yellow Mountain Cola.) It was a local Anhui Cola, and I do not know if it could ever be found outside of Anhui. Within 4 years, this cola could no longer be found as had been bought out by Coca Cola. It was a good soda. I would never have asked for Coca Cola.
The pumpkin seeds. Oh my, I was not even a sun flower seed eater in the US, so had no idea what to do with the pumpkin seeds. I saw the students open them and eat the seed inside. I awkwardly did the same. They were completely forgettable. I have never since tried to eat pumpkin seeds. The planned activity was 3-step ballroom dancing with old style Western classical 3-step dancing music.
The girls were glad to teach me how. Once I got the basic hang of it, one girl I danced with said I danced like a soldier, 1,2,3 1,2,3 by the numbers. She was completely right. It was a sweet and innocent event so different than the US that I can never forget it.
Man. China has really changed since that date.
100 Year Anniversary
In this year, the year of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, we experience an almost complete restatement and refinement of China’s goals in our world.
We see internal nomenclature such as…
“national rejuvenation”,
“a modern socialist country”, and
“continual reformation with comprehensive plans and strategy”,
and a “peaceful and united domestic environment”.
Toward the world, we see phrases such as…
“maintaining a revolutionary spirit”,
“the courage to carry out a great struggle with contemporary features”,
“courage, and skill”,
“safeguard sovereignty”, and
“protect security and development interests”.
We hear that China intends to assume a greater role in and for the world.
Aggression and hegemony are not in the blood of the Chinese people and they will strive for a human community with a shared future. There are specific goals set out.
China will:
endeavor to improve the global governance system
engender peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom
work to strengthen solidarity of people of all other countries
engage in all efforts to oppose hegemony and power politics
What is the difference between Putin’s Optimistic Reasonable Conservatism and Xi’s Human Community with a Shared Future and moderately prosperous society?
I cannot see too big of a difference. As the qualitative values expressed are similar although the civilizational socialization is different.
As Putin expressed his non-acceptance of woke ‘values’ in his Valdai speech, so China in the last few months took real action.
China threw the feminine men out of their television programs.
The feminine men is an inheritance from Japan to a lesser degree and Korea, to a larger degree.
China does not want girly men to become role models for their children.
They pulled the rug out from underneath expensive additional schools, acting as funnels to expensive university programs, and tutoring that basically burdened the Chinese children.
They have strengthened the Chinese schools to offer all additional education necessary, in order to have consistent educational standards.
They simply stopped computer games for younger children and limited this to no more than 3 hours per week.
They increased physical programs and education to get the kids out and about with healthy activities.
And in stark contrast to the western sphere who wants to control the kids, China just put the responsibility by law, properly and correctly in the parents’ hands.
“On Saturday, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee adopted a new law stating that China’s parents are responsible for family education.”
Taiwan
On Taiwan, we see Xi Jinping expressing the following:
“The Taiwan question arose from weakness and chaos and will be resolved with national reunification, the one-China principle, and 1992 resolution”.
Regarding military action; we see even Putin expressing that Xi Jinping does not need to take military action. The verbose threats come from the US and Australia.
There are three aspects that Putin and Xi Jinping express as in one voice.
We are in a time of momentous changes in the world.
Both Russia and China are prepared and can ride the waves of change in a manner that is helpful, peaceful, and supportive in and for the world.
The UN (and it has been said a number of times that it needs to be updated) is still the only venue where world problems can be discussed. From Russia, our Law is the UN Charter and this is expressed by China as well. The rules-based concept does not feature whatsoever.
These concepts are fully supported by Putin’s speech at Valdai, and Xi Jinping’s speech at the occasion of the 50th anniversary of China’s formal joining of the United Nations.
During the years since the cold war, another momentous alliance grew almost from a grassroots level.
This is the Russia / China treaty of Good Neighborliness.
Here, with subtitles is what the Chinese office of foreign affairs thinks of this treaty at its 20th anniversary.
China and Russia are not allies, but far, far closer than allies ever could be:
'China and Russia are not allies but closer than allies' – Spokesperson on Putin's remarks pic.twitter.com/uePzp2epIf
— Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil (@ivan_8848) October 22, 2021
50th Anniversary of China’s seat in the UN
In this atmosphere of global chaos, Xi Jinping delivered a speech this morning at the occasion of the 50th anniversary of restoration of People’s Republic of China’s lawful seat in the UN:
(Translation)
Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
At the Conference Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Restoration Of the Lawful Seat of the People’s Republic of China
In the United Nations
25 October 2021
Your Excellency Secretary-General António Guterres,
Your Excellencies Diplomatic Envoys and Representatives of International Organizations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
Comrades,
Fifty years ago today, the 26th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted, with an overwhelming majority, Resolution 2758, and the decision was made to restore all rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations and to recognize the representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations. It was a victory for the Chinese people and a victory forpeople of the world.
Today, on this special date, we are here to review the past history and look to the future, and that makes our gathering all the more significant.
The restoration of New China’s lawful seat in the United Nations was a momentous event for the world and the United Nations. It came as the result of joint efforts of all peace-loving countries that stood up for justice in the world. It marked the return of the Chinese people, or one-fourth of the world’s population, back to the UN stage. The importance was significant and far-reaching for both China and the wider world.
On this occasion, I wish to express, on behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, heartfelt gratitude to all countries that co-sponsored and supported UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, and to pay high tribute to all countries and people that stand on the side of justice.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
Comrades,
The past five decades since New China restored its lawful seat in the United Nations have witnessed China’s peaceful development and its commitment and dedication to the welfare of all humanity.
— For these 50 years, the Chinese people have demonstrated an untiring spirit and kept to the right direction of China’s developmentamidst changing circumstances, thus writing an epic chapter in the development of China and humanity. Building on achievements in national construction and development since the founding of New China, the Chinese people have started the new historical era of reform and opening-up, and successfully initiatedand developed socialism with Chinese characteristics. We have continued to unleash and develop productivity and raise living standards, and achieved a historic breakthrough of leaping from a country with relatively low productivity to the second largest economy in the world. Through much hard work, the Chinese people have attained the goal of fully building a moderately prosperous society on the vast land of China, and won the battle against poverty, thus securing a historic success in eradicating absolute poverty. We have now embarked on a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country and opened up bright prospects for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
—For these 50 years, the Chinese people have stood in solidarity and cooperation withpeople around the world and upheld international equity and justice,contributing significantly to world peace and development. The Chinese people are peace-loving people and know well the value of peace and stability. We have unswervingly followed an independent foreign policy of peace, stood firm for fairness and justice, and resolutely opposed hegemony and power politics. The Chinese people are a strong supporter of other developing countries in their just struggle to safeguard sovereignty, security and development interests. The Chinese people are committed to achieving common development. From the Tazara Railway to the Belt and Road Initiative, we have done what we could to help other developing countries, and have offered the world new opportunities through ourown development. During the trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has been active in sharing COVID response experience with the world, and has sent large quantities of supplies, vaccines and medicines to other countries, and deeply engaged in science-based cooperation on COVID-19 origins tracing, all in a sincere and proactive effort to contribute to humanity’s final victory over the pandemic.
—For these 50 years, the Chinese people have upheld the authority and sanctity of the United Nations and practiced multilateralism,and China’s cooperation with the United Nations hasdeepened steadily.China has faithfully fulfilled its responsibility and mission as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, stayed true to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and upheld the central role of the United Nations in international affairs. China has stood actively for political settlement of disputes through peaceful means. It has sent over 50,000 peacekeepers to UN peacekeeping operations, and is now the second largest financial contributor to both the United Nations and UN peacekeeping operations. China has been among the first of countries to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals. It has taken the lead in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, accounting for over 70 percent of global poverty reduction. China has acted by the spirit of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and earnestly applied the universality of human rights in the Chinese context. It has blazed a path of human rights development that is consistent with the trend of the times and carries distinct Chinese features, thus making major contribution to human rights progress in China and the international human rights cause.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
Comrades,
The trend of the world,vast and mighty, prospers those who follow itand perishes those who go against it. Over the last 50 years, for all thevicissitudes in the international landscape, the world has remained stable as a whole, thanks to the concerted efforts of people of all countries. The world economy has grown rapidly, and innovation in science and technologyhas kept breaking new ground. A large number of developing countries have grown stronger,over a billion people have walked out of poverty, and a population of several billion are moving toward modernization.
In the world today,changes unseen in a century are accelerating, and the force for peace, development and progress has continued to grow. It falls upon us to follow the prevailing trend of history, and choose cooperation over confrontation,openness over seclusion, and mutual benefit over zero-sum games. We shall be firm in opposing all forms of hegemony and power politics, as well as all forms of unilateralism and protectionism.
— We should vigorously advocate peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, which are the common values of humanity, and work together to provide the right guiding philosophy for building a better world. Peace and development are our common cause, equity and justice our common aspiration, and democracy and freedom our common pursuit. The world we live in isdiverse and colorful. Diversity makes human civilization what it is, and provides a constant source of vitality and driving force for world development. As a Chinese saying goes, “Without achieving the good of one hundred various schools, the uniqueness of one individual cannot be achieved.” No civilization in the world is superior to others; every civilization is special and unique to its own region. Civilizations can achieve harmony only through communication, and can make progress only through harmonization. Whether a country’s path of development works is judged, first and foremost, by whether it fits the country’s conditions; whether it follows the development trend of the times; whether it brings about economic growth, social advancement, better livelihoods and social stability; whether it has the people’s endorsement and support; andwhether it contributes to the progressive cause of humanity.
— We should jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and work together to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity. The human race is an integral community and Earth is our common homeland. No person or country can thrive in isolation. Humanity should overcome difficulties in solidarity and pursue common development in harmony. We should keep moving toward a community with a shared future for mankind, and jointly create a better future. Tobuilda community with a shared future for mankind is not to replace one system or civilization with another. Instead, it is about countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures and levels of developmentcoming together for shared interests, shared rights and shared responsibilities in global affairs, and creating the greatest synergy for building a better world.
— We should stay committed to mutual benefit and win-win results, and work together to promote economic and social development for the greater benefit of our people. As ancient Chinese observed, “The essence of governance is livelihood; and the essence of livelihood is adequacy. Development and happy lives are the common aspirations of people in all countries. Development is meaningful only when it is for the people’sinterest, and can sustain only when it is motivated by the people. Countries should put their people front and center, and strive to realize development with a higher level of quality, efficiency, equity, sustainability and security. It is important to resolve the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development, and make development more balanced, coordinated and inclusive. It is also important to strengthen the people’s capacity for development, foster a development environment where everyone takes part and has a share, and create a development paradigm where its outcomebenefits every person in every country more directly andfairly. Not long ago, at the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, I proposed a Global Development Initiative with the hope that countries will work together to overcome impacts of COVID-19on global development, accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and build a global community of development with a shared future.
—We should step up cooperation, and work together to address the various challenges and global issues facing humanity. The international community is confronted by regional disputes as well as global issues such as terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity and biosecurity. Only with more inclusive global governance, more effective multilateral mechanisms and more active regional cooperation, can these issues be addressedeffectively. Climate change is Nature’s alarm bellto humanity. Countries need to take concrete actions to protect Mother Nature. We need to encourage green recovery, green production and green consumption, promote a civilized and healthy lifestyle, foster harmony between man and Nature, and let a sound ecology and environment be the inexhaustible source of sustainable development.
—We should resolutely uphold the authority and standing of the United Nations, and work together to practice true multilateralism. Building a community with a shared future for mankind requires a strong United Nations and reform and development of the global governance system. Countries should uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order underpinned by international law and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. International rules can only be made by the 193 UN Member States together, and not decided by individual countries or blocs of countries. International rules should be observed by the 193 UN Member States, and there is and should be no exception. Countries should respect the United Nations, take good care of the UN family, refrain from exploiting the Organization, still less abandoning it at one’s will, and make sure that the United Nations plays an even more positive role in advancing humanity’s noble cause of peace and development. China will be happy to work with all countries under the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits to explore new ideas andnew models of cooperation and keep enriching the practice of multilateralism under new circumstances.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
Comrades,
A review of the past can light the way forward. Standing at a new historical starting point, China will stay committed to the path of peaceful development and always be a builder of world peace. China will stay committed to the path of reform and opening-up and always be a contributor to global development. China will stay committed to the path of multilateralism and always be a defender of the international order.
As an ancient Chinese poem reads, “Green hills immerse in the same cloud and rain. The same moon lights up towns however far away.” Let us join hands, stand on the right side of history and the side of human progress, and work tirelessly for the lasting and peaceful development of the world and for building a community with a shared future for mankind!
To my great surprise, Xi Jinping did not say one word about Taiwan, but sketched out the past as a harbinger of the future while cementing the legal status of China, which is not the legal status of Taiwan.
I guess he feels that the contretemps with Taiwan is not important enough.
On the speeches, we may say that those are lofty ideals. But we also see practical and real interaction between China and Russia.
The two countries just completed a first joint naval patrol in waters of the West Pacific, between October 17th to the 23rd, according to the Chinese Ministry of Defense. The patrol was held right after China and Russia wrapped up a joint naval exercise in the Sea of Japan from October 14th to 17th.
5 Chinese vessels and 5 Russian destroyers and frigates accompanied by six carrier-based helicopters made passage through the Tsugaru Strait (which caused Japan to run for the Prozac).
Yet this Strait is not territorial waters, and warships from any country have the right to transit, which means the transit of the Chinese and Russian vessels was in line with international law.
What is also very interesting is that it is said that the sea lane between these two islands is specifically maintained for quick access of US submarines to the Pacific Ocean.
A Chinese expert opined as follows:
Encircling Japan, particularly sailing to the east side of Japan, is of significance because many key military installations are located on that side, including the US Navy base in Yokosuka, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times.
Many US military provocations on China in places like the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea were launched from these bases, the expert said, noting that the joint patrol by Chinese and Russian vessels could be seen as a warning to the US and Japan, which have been rallying up to confront China and Russia, serves the goals of US hegemony, and undermines regional peace and stability.
“The joint maritime patrol is aimed at further developing the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era, elevating the joint action capabilities of both nations and jointly maintaining international and regional strategic stability. It’s a part of the annual cooperation plan between the two nations …”
In bold are the most important words, and this is not a lofty ideal, but a very hard challenge to the western powers and of course Japan.
Also, if one looks at that area with a strategic eye, it breaks up the supposed ‘ring of fire’ to keep China contained.
American war-mongering neocon “wet dream” plan on “containing” China.
In addition, it is also a warning for Japan, which has been dragging its feet to come to an agreement with Russia on islands further North in the island chain.
So, we have to ask, was this a threat?
No, not at all on the surface of it, but it was a stark reminder that the so-called freedom of navigation game that has been constant in the South China Sea and the Straight of Taiwan can be played by more than one player. Not just the United States. It’s a new world and everyone must play by the same rules.
It is also notable that from 2019, air forces from China and Russia have conducted annual joint strategic air patrols over the East China Sea and Sea of Japan.
We are now seeing very visibly one of the aspects of the development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era.
Did you see that coming?
Did you see the evolution of the Russia / China treaty of Good Neighborliness to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership?
As is usual, we look at a few of the China data points and I want to remind that you the Chinese governance is always refining, always testing, and prototyping new methods and systems across the spectrum of modern life, and always this is done on a grassroots level.
"China is in trouble, clapped-out economically, and is going to bring the west down with it."
This is the message that we see with monotonous regularity.
The reality is different.
Chinese GDP expanded a whopping 9.8% in the first three quarters of 2021, and major indicators are within a reasonable range.
Evergrande
Evergrande – caused by poor management and that is all and the Chinese government will both let them burn, and also make them take responsibility to Chinese people first.
There will be no monopolies or other behemoth-type business structures in China that can challenge the state.
(Evergrande has no option but to resume work and they did so today on 10 projects. There is no quick bankruptcy for them, and certainly no bail-out).
China’s Strong Economy
Chinese banks have foreign-currency deposits of $1 trillion for the first time, an opportunity for Beijing to liberalize the country’s capital account.
A resilient economy and strengthening currency have attracted record foreign purchases of bonds and stocks while surging demand for goods meant exporters brought back more dollars.
The pace of the influx has tested the authorities’ tolerance for a strengthening yuan, with the currency now near a five-year high against a basket of its peers.
China’s exports grew 20%!
Exports grew 20% in September, up from 15.7% in August. September’s gain was higher than the median estimate of 13.3% in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Growth in imports slowed to 11% in September from 23.1% in the previous month.
Korean IC Chip Manufacturers building factories in China
China-Korea semiconductor industrial complex starts construction amid Beijing’s push for tech self-reliance. The municipal government of Wuxi and memory chip giant SK Hynix have teamed up to develop the China-Korea Integrated Circuit Industrial Park.
The city is expected to become home to 19 new semiconductor-related projects with a combined investment of US$4.7 billion.
A Herbal solution for Coronavirus
A Chinese herbal formula for coronavirus patients is undergoing clinical trials in the US for possible approval for people with mild-to-moderate symptoms of the disease. Qingfei Paidu, most commonly called QFPD, is a 21-herb formula whose name literally means lung cleansing and detoxification.
Zero-tolerance to COVID remains in place
China, which pioneered controlling Covid-19 with lockdown orders and tight border rules, will “wait and see” about adjusting its zero-tolerance policy.
“We are discussing about the new strategy in China … everything is dynamic. We are ready for any possible reassessment”.
(Please do not consider this comment and the previous as an open sesame to start discussing Covid on the Saker Blog. You all know the blog policy).
Chinese getting taller
Between 1985 – 2019, the average height of a 19-year-old Chinese increased 3.5 inches, or 9 cm, supporting President Xi Jinping’s declaration in July that the country had achieved its goal of establishing a “moderately prosperous society” in time for the Party’s centenary. This is a result of a relentless project to bring the Chinese people out of abject poverty.
Vehicular KTV
An important question in auto showrooms: Can I sing karaoke in this car? The only acceptable answer is yes, as Nio and XPeng know well. Western rivals are scrambling, “We’ve identified this as a challenge,” said BMW’s Christoph Grote, “Chinese consumers are the most demanding when it comes to digital technology in the car.”
Social Credit System
The dreaded Social Credit System which is abhorred in the West by most that do not have an idea what it is about.
China’s social credit system is more of a bureaucratic interface for existing legal and regulatory systems.
It is not the widespread Western perception of a dystopian algorithm that uses “big-data collection and analysis to monitor, shape, and rate individual’s behavior”.
Social credit includes new enforcement mechanisms.
However, it is but an extension of the law rather than an independent rule-making authority, and all data collection and penalties require a legal basis.
USA Universities moving to China
This was mentioned before but as a reminder.
When the Chinese students started being hunted and haunted specifically in the US, all the major universities opened campuses in China (they could not afford to lose the Chinese money).
For Harvard, it did not take too long to become part of the propaganda war on China and they are moving their Chinese language program from Beijing to National Taiwan University, replacing a partnership with Beijing Language and Culture University.
Harvard’s Jennifer Liu said the decision was made because of a perceived lack of friendliness from the host institution, Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU).
Just a taste
This gives a taste of what is happening in China and now we need to give the regular shout-out to Godfree Roberts’ Here Comes China newsletter that supplies these data points. Subscribe here – it is worth it!: https://www.herecomeschina.com/#subscribe
In the next few China Sitreps, I will post a selection of documentaries and information on those aspects of China’s history that remain western talking points, whether correct or not.
This is Tibet, Tiananmen, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and the border skirmishes with India as a shortlist. Today we start with Tibet.
Tibet
Tibet – if you have the romantic western mindset about Tibet, let’s revise that. Your knowledge most certainly comes from a book, movies, and a whole Shangri-La industry spawned in the wake.
.
Tibet was a dramatically brutal theocratic serfdom and never-ending debt peonage. Under the Dalai Lama in Tibet before China’s takeover:
98% of the population were serfs or slaves or kept in debt peonage.
Disobedient serfs endured torture
The 14th Dalai Lama’s family owned 6,000 serfs
95% of the population were illiterate
In 2015: 0.52% were illiterate
And in 2020: extreme poverty was eliminated in Tibet
From this documentary, you will learn that Tibetan Buddhism was not the sweet, and romantic Buddhist religion based on peace and high ideals and spinning colorful prayer wheels and praying in monasteries.
It was based on the Indian Caste System where an extreme minority controlled the vast majority and kept them in abject poverty.
You will also learn why, on the death of a Dalai Lama (meaning God on earth), the successor, the soul boy was always found and appointed from a very poor family, in order to avoid any power struggles between the very few rich families.
The connection with the Roman Catholic Pope will astound you.
And then you will see brutal sights of religious and shamanic powers whipped into inhumane forces.
You will learn that Dalai Lamas regularly fled Tibet, sometimes to flee British Forces.
Tibet was the first lever that was used by at that time British forces, and this lever was seamlessly taken over by the rest of the west, to break up China, even after some territory had to be given to Japan and some even to Korea.
You will learn how the Brits just simply carved out pieces of Chinese land from the Indian side.
This effort to break up China is still in full swing today, by the current hegemon in its frenzied dying attempts to own the whole world using weapons, war, lawfare, internal destabilization, the appointment of external presidents, propaganda, kidnapping of high officials, outright assassinations, drugs, biological substances, and poison.
Of course from the 1950s, CIA involvement around Tibet is well documented even to training ethnic Tibetans in Colorado for a planned Tibetan revolution.
You will also see one of the reasons why China will not let itself be hegemonized today, specifically with its history of never fighting a war of conquest in its 4,000 years of existence.
The population stands firm and resolute.
Never aired footage in the west will have you take part in the joy when religions serfdom and debt peonage was abolished in 1959 and the Tibetan Religious Serfs could burn their debt peonage documents.
If your stance in life is ‘Free Tibet’, which mine was, once upon a time before I did my homework, consider if you were romanticized by the CIA and a novel called Lost Horizon (1933) by English writer James Hilton.
Two movies followed (Frank Capra directing one), a Broadway play, and the world’s first mass-produced paperback, all called Lost Horizon, set in a fictional utopian lamasery called Shangri-La, high in the mountains of Tibet.
‘Free Tibet’ for you may just as wll be based on the fiction of Shangri-La.
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
When I first came to China back in the 1980’s, China was a poor land. The roads were dirt, and the cities looked very disorganized, dirty, and poor. it was very primitive. Public restrooms were horrible, the people were rural, even in the cities, and the police looked like some cross between Mad Max and a Mongolian mountain guide. And as I traveled back and forth from the USA to China and back, I saw first hand how it developed, changed and improved. It has been amazing.
Today China is simply amazing. It really is. This is true on oh, so many levels. And today we are going to talk about one of those things that no one ever addresses in a visceral way; the deep blue skies of China.
What? You might ask.
According to all the “experts”, China is a polluted wasteland of child workers, trash, poor unsanitary facilities, and gloom. Well it is not. It’s a merit-driven nation of hard workers, a harmonious culture, and society, and an enormous land with a deep and impressive culture and history.
But that doesn’t stop the Western media from continuing to bash it so relentlessly.
Do a Google search on China pollution, and you get millions of articles (all out of America and the UK) about how terrible and polluted China is. So, judging from the great magnitude of articles, it must be true. Right?
Image search “skies of China”.
CNN takes a picture of a dust storm in Beijing and claims that it’s pollution. FOX takes a picture of China in the early 1990’s and provides the impression that it is contemporaneous. Yahoo “news” bans any comments out of China to their China-hate articles. The BBC takes clips from an expat blog, uses photoshop to colorize it into greys and dark hues to give the illusion of a dirty, oily, filthy place.
And then they make all these graphs, and maps to show pollution quality. Giving the reader the perspective that the air must just be fucking awful.
China air pollution from the American company “Listverse”.
Western “news” is simply manipulated propaganda for the domestic audience. Those of us who know better shouldn’t read it. It provides zero benefit to us.
Today, we are going to compare apples with other apples. We are going to compare orange with other oranges. And we are going to compare pizza with other pizza. These days of deception, half truths and manipulation are OVER.
Well, here we are going to chat about something that had to be pointed out to me. I have grown so accustomed to the blue skies here, that I take them for granted, when I shouldn’t. And with that as an introductory lead in, I will [1] address the fact that Chinese skies tend to be pristine, and then [2] how this all came about.
China has tamed air pollution in all of it’s forms, and China today has absolutely stunning skies.
Background
It all began when I posted this article HEREabout a factory business trip that I took.I went to an industrial area, and visited some hard manufacturing factories.
People couldn’t get over how pristine blue the sky was, as that was not at all the impression that they had of China. They asked “where’s all the pollution”, “where’s the smog”, the “plumes of industrial clouds, and the forever white eye-burning skies? They asked where are the vapor plumes of the airline flights that create a network of white lines in the skies?
And that got me thinking.
As many times that I have mentioned over and over, and over that China has “cracked down” severely on pollution and enforces it with a very special of police known as the “corruption police”, people don’t get it. They don’t understand.
There are results as a consequence of these actions.
China does things, and then there are measurable and visceral results.
So when I take a drive up to visit a factory, I am used to the pristine blue skies, the brilliant and fresh green trees, the clear colors and razor sharp images. But others, who do not live inside of China aren’t.
In the following videos, please check out these embedded videos or their associated links to get the “full” experience. It’s almost as good as sitting in the car with MM getting there. video 46MB
All of rural China looks like this. It’s an entire nation of skyscrapers. This, believe it or not, is just a tiny, tiny village. video. 69 MB.
And this is what it is like. The factory sits on the edge of the tiny village, and so we just pulled in and went up to the front gate. Video. 32MB
But you know, it’s not just a trip to a factory. It’s not confined to the rural sections of China. It’s everywhere.
And I do live in Zhuhai
I know it is nice here. But I am not talking about only my city. I am talking about all of China. Video of Zhuhai. 1MB
But Zhuhai isn’t unusual. We are right outside of Hong Kong. Shenzhen is right across the bay. Combined, over 20 million people live within ten miles of my house. Which is a lot. New York City is only 6 million people! Yet, look at the skies here….
There’s rain, cloudy days, snow, squalls, fog, dust storms and other weather events that will turn the sky different than the pristine blue skies that I seem to encounter most of the time. video 16.7MB
Shanghai, and Hong Kong see a lot of fog. Overcast skies and fog seem to be the norm there. Shenzhen gets a lot of the overcast from the geographical wedging from the fog of Hong Kong and the mountains inland.
Beijing deals with dust storms.
And so on and so forth.
Some examples
Examples of blue skies, free of smog, pollution or aircraft vapor trails are everywhere. Just go onto the Chinese social media and watch the videos. Blue skies are everywhere. Seriously.
It’s like those High Speed Trains. They are common and everyday events. No one notices them.
It’s like those police drones in the sky, they are everywhere and no one notices them.
It’s like those thermal scans at all the entrance ways. No one cares or gives them any notice any longer.
It’s like paying using WeChat. It’s common and no one thinks about it at all.
But you know, we do need to take notice, and pay attention. The rest of the world do not have these kind of skies. Their cities have a dome of haze. Their suburbs are criss-crossed by airplane vapor trails. Their industrial areas have eye stinging smog and glare.
And I, for one, am going to point it out and celebrate it.
Here’s someone else driving in Hunan, China. video. 2MB
Here’s a cute BABY girl in the front of her house. Video 6MB
Here’s a ride taken yesterday from my house. I just filmed the ride as we pulled out of the building complex. video. 53MB
Here’s a nice girl being filmed at dusk video. 3MB
This looks like the mountains near Longgong, North of Shenzhen, China. video 4MB
Here’s a nice video showing the first graders getting their red scarves as part of the Pioneers. Everyone in China gets mandatory military trainings, and it all starts in first grade. video. 5MB
Here’s the Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai bridge. Video. 4MB
This girl is posing all over the city. I love these compilations with a pretty girl showing what China is like. Video. 10MB
Here’s another nice girl. Notice the sky and clarity of the air all around her. video. 4MB
Here’s a movie taken in front of my office. Video 14MB
The Chinese are so patriotic too. All of them trust their government, and the government really has earned their respect. Here’s a Pioneer. You can tell with the red scarve. video. 2MB
Yeah, it’s a non-stop hate fest against China, and while China changes, cleans up and moves forward the lies just keep a running. And the West, already ignorant, is really completely uneducated on the true and real state of things.
The crack down on pollution
China has made enormous strides in cracking down on pollution. Though you would NEVER read about that in the Western “news”. It’s all the continuing non-stop fantasy of China being the world’s polluter. If so, then why are Chinese skies so blue? Eh?
Here’s some articles about the Chinese efforts to stop, contain and eliminate pollution of all types.
Yeah, you probably saw these articles, but didn’t think too much about them. Maybe you should have read them, eh?
Yeah.
Pay some attention to the world around you and note who is doing all the complaining, and who is actually physically doing things; taking corrective measures, and actually making the world a better place. Eh?
When China says that it is going to do something, well you should take note. They actually do things. And when they say they are going to clean up China, and make it a healthy and clean place they do so.
China is very beautiful
YaoYao showing how beautiful Hunan, China is. Video 3MB
Video taken at a busy intersection waiting on our DD. Video. 12MB
Chinese first graders going through their military training exam. Everyone in China MUST take military training through their entire education system. It starts at first grade. Here’ is the first “final exam” where they are rate in their ability to compete an obstacle course. These kids are 6 years old. video. 9MB
Here’s a nice girl walking in one of the many, many parks here in China. She is wearing black. video. 3MB
Airplane vapor trails
AirPollutionControlAirpollution is arguably the most egregious environmental problem plaguing China.Thecentralgovernmenthasplaced improving air quality as a priority on itsagenda for the next several years, withChina’s Premier Xi Peng pledging in March 2017 to “bringback blue skies” and work faster to address air pollution.
But why no vapor trails in the sky above? Well it appears that the Chinese government has placed pollution controls on all the domestic airlines, and this has really caused a great deal of consternation on the international airlines that want to operate inside of China domestically.
It costs too much money, they say, and they can’t earn the kinds of profits that they need to please their shareholders. They argue that they MUST make a profit because they must answer to their owners who demand profits.
Meanwhile, China reports that the role of the government is to provide affordable, food, clothing, shelter transportation and a comfortable standard of living to it’s people. The government should not be a for-profit enterprise.
Because the foreign airlines cannot meet the tough environmental, and pricing requirements that China provides for it’s citizenry, the airlines had a fit. They then worked with the United States to “crowbar” and “strong arm” China to change it’s polices so that foreign companies can profit off the Chinese citizenry inside of China.
This girl is skateboarding near my house. The building in the background is the Zhuhai Opera House. Video. 10MB
You can actually see the Opera House from my living room. Here’s a video that I took not too long ago. Video. 26MB
Here’s one of our photoshoots. This one took place at around 5:00 in one of the parks down the street. Video. 21MB
Conclusions
96 percent of Chinese people owned their own residence. More than 50 percent of the Chinese people grow their own food and produce. They do not need to pay any property tax and any insurance.
They do not need a car in their lives. They do not pay homeowners' association fees, the fire department fees, the police protections and so on and on. Of the fifty percent of the Chinese rural population, they do not use cash that much.
Three of my sisters in China have been laid off workers of state owned enterprises for the last thirty years. Their income is only a couple thousand yuan from the state pensions every. But they all have their own houses, and have savings over one million Chinese yuan.
They eat better than I do in the USA as a professor struggling to pay for my mortgage. I have to pay out of my pocket medical care, dental insurance, home insurance, property taxes, home owners association fees, all of which the Chinese do not have.
My sisters all grow their own vegetables in their own yard. I have to buy everything from the supermarkets.
There are too much loose holes in the calculation of GDP, which is simply meaningless.
When I was growing up during the Mao era, we grew everything we ate organically, and everything was fresh. We did not have much cash income, but we had everything we needed. By comparison, how many people in the world could have organically grown fresh produce everyday in the world free of all kinds pollutants.
The Chinese people's per capita income was very low during the Mao era, about a hundred dolar a year. But Chinese people life expectancy grew from 32 years in 1949 to 69 years in 1976, more than doubled in less than thirty years.
GDP as a measurement of well being is simply a trick created by the capitalist west to cover up their management failure, with a high GDP but many homeless and hungry people.
-Dongpin
After all this, it should be clear that China is really doing things and making things happen. There’s so much bullshit and lies about China, but I will tell you what, if you come to China, you WILL SEE the blues skies. You will see the HIGH TECHNOLOGY. You will see the flower and the trees, and the relaxed pace of life. And you will see that it’s because it is a nation government by merit and people who care.
China treats those who want to change things for “democracy”, and “rule by the wealthy”, and the greedy as evil and dangerous people. They are locked up and kept away from the levers of power.
China is doing things RIGHT.
A billion Chinese have applied for membership in the Communist Party of China since 2001. 907 million of them were rejected, mostly on moral grounds. It seems that most Chinese adults would take the Party oath, to endure the people’s ordeals first and enjoy their fruits last, subject themselves to constant scrutiny, and be held to higher ethical and legal standards than non-members. Adultery is cause for dismissal. Rape is cause for execution. Nonetheless, ninety-four million members are honoring their oath pretty well.
And here’s a great image of a roadside rest area. Check it out.
A highway rest area. This one is in Inner Mongolia, Northern China. 41.5MB Video
Other possible reasons
There are a host of other possible contributors for the blue skies. May I suggest that other things can add to the overall effect experienced within China today…
A decline in domestic air flights because of the enormous network of high speed trains.
A decline in international air flights to and from China.
A severe curtailing of all factories that do not have, or plan to add, air scrubbing pollution control equipment.
A movement of the simple, labor intensive, and crude manufacturing out of China to South East Asia.
Intentional power rationing to selected geographical regions and specific targeted regions.
All in all, while China has indeed set forth impressive air pollution standards, and have implemented such, a number of other effects contributed synergistically to make the air of China noteworthy and pristine.
Oh, and a note to all the people who just stumble on MM and this article and want to shit on it…
Yes. And I do actually mean “to shit” on it.
Keep in mind that this information is going to go against your Western media brainwashing. It’s comfortable to believe the lies that face the TRUTH.
So don’t give me the normal bullshit, I delete those comments. If I wanted to read a regurgitation of FOX “news”, or the BBC, I’d read them directly myself. Though I do keep a few prize examples of stupidity for use in other articles.
Like these two comments (that I deleted from other articles that made China look better than the non-stop hate-China narrative spewing forth from the media megaphones)…
...the lies and propaganda concocted by CCP. For example, the title claims China has democracy at bottom, which is fabricated by CCP to fool people. In fact, CCP uses all of its power to crush any thing associated with democracy as it cruelly did in Hong Kong last year. CCP made it very clear that it will destroy any buds of democracy movement in China mercilessly as it did 32 year ago in Tiananmen massacre in which thousands of pro-democracy students and Beijing residents were killed by machine gun fires and crushed by army's main battle tanks.
And…
This is essentially a person staying up all night, and fantasizing about how China might be if all the consultative channels that China has erected were ACTUALLY HOW CHINA WAS GOVERNED. But they are not. Modest consultative measures might indeed help an authoritarian regime operate better, and that it probably part of China's success. But that doesn't mean, as the author seems to think, that a group of ordinary citizens makes the final decision about China's laws. It's laughable. Don't waste you time on this, and ask yourself why it is being heavily promoted.
I’m telling you what it is like.
You can absorb it in, or you can believe the nonsense being spewed at you by billions of dollars in manipulation and funding. Your choice.
But here, is the REAL deal. It’s what is going on right now. Soak it in.
And finally…
Be the Rufus
Are you making the place a little bit nicer when you leave it? Do you pick up after yourself? Do you make people smile when you are in public? Do free-ranging dogs and cats welcome you?
Are those around you comfortable that you are nearby in case anything goes wrong?
Do not be ashamed of who you are, or what you do. You are NOT your job. You are NOT what others say you are. You are unique and very, very special. Stand up for who you are and serve justice, and help those in your society. It’s your highest calling. video. 2MB
Please, be the Rufus. Not for personal profit. Not for fame, or glory. Just do it because you are a decent person and you want to make your tiny part of the world a better place to live in.
And after the explosion, the Rufus runs back into the flames to rescue others trapped inside. Video. 2MB
The world is not a bad terrible place. Spread the love around. Be a Rufus. Just be nice, give things away for free just to make people feel happy, wanted and included. It won’t cost you that much, and you will really help make the world a much better place. Be the Rufus. Like this guy does… video 5MB
Or this. Use your talents and make the world a better place. Video. 6MB
Do you want more?
I have more posts like this in my China index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
I do love a delicious baked lasagna. It’s not like I can get it often. Here in China, it’s truly a rare thing.
A fine baked lasagna.
It’s great with a fine bottle of wine. Red wine. Dry red, would be lovely.
Though I do get to eat other kinds of food often enough instead. I think that food is something that needs to be savored. You know, most people, in most nations savor their food. unlike the United States (where I grew up) which was dash, grab, smunch, and return.
Meals should be shared. They should be savored, and they should be enjoyed.
Our health is determined not only by what we do, but what we eat and who we eat the foods with. A solitary life is unhealthy. It really is. I know, I have been solitary on and off for much of my life. I didn’t like it then, and I sure as heck don’t now.
Your weight, I strongly believe, correlates on HOW you eat, WHAT you eat, and WHO you eat with. If you want to trim down, then start going out more with friends and savoring the food.
Isolation is toxic.
Most MM readers are older, and are or have been married. Never the less, every now and then I get a email or a message from someone who is alone and very lonely. I have been there before, and so I just cannot sit by and let this pass.
This is me, ol’ MM, dishing out advice.
I’m going to be straight and honest, and abrupt. And I might upset some people. I apologize for that. I guess that this is my way to plow through a bunch of fears and bullshit, and tell you all things that are truthful. I hope that it connects and changes someone’s life for the better.
Background
This article was inspired by this letter…
I’m almost 32 and still a virgin. I can honestly say I don’t feel human. I hate to admit this but suicide seems more and more like a viable option as every day goes by.
The worst thing is when I try to reach out for help. I don’t know why I am a masochist and try to get advice from my mom…. I told her that I am desperate for a relationship and can’t find one. Her answer was that I should pray to God that I lose my feelings of wanting a relationship. Implying that I should give up and not try.
She even told me that one of her friends had a relative my age and they suggested setting us up. She told me that she said to them “I wasn’t interested”…. not that I would actually want to have someone set me up with a stranger but…. really??? Most moms are dying to help their daughters with this. Mine seems to get a KICK out of sabotaging me and not wanting me to just find someone.
And I was talking to my mom last night and brought up the idea of liposuction. Cue a huge fight between the two of us. I am not overweight but I do have a few odd body proportions that I think make me unappealing…. It’s like an affront against nature for me to try to improve my chances of finding someone. Literally the world turns on me the moment I think of maybe being alluring. Almost every other woman can have her moment, but when I get ideas of trying to be pretty? It’s like I murdered someone. I am now reeling after this conversation, wondering what types of rope would be best to hang myself with.
I don’t know how to navigate life and frankly, killing myself is less of a horrible idea every day. I know that it’s a “permanent solution to a temporary problem” but my situation feels like I am trapped and there is no other way out. People reading this, can you blame me for wanting this to end?
It is unbearable being someone like me, who wants a relationship but can never have it. I am not human. I’m not even sure I should be alive.
I’d almost think of losing my virginity to a prostitute but frankly that would just be me adding to a larger problem of abuse. I’d rather not do that. Frankly, there is no future for me. I am starting to plan out suicide methods at the same time most women are planning baby showers and weddings. I am toying with the idea of going out into the snow during winter and just falling asleep. There is something dignified about just falling “asleep” in the snow. Maybe nobody would find me and it would be a mystery as to what happened to me.
I’ve lost hope.
And, it hurts.
I know it hurts. It really hurts.
So I am going to talk as a man, who appreciates women.
[1] There is a man for every woman.
The very first thing that YOU must understand is that there is a Mr. Right out there, somewhere for you.
This is a TRUTH.
This is an undeniable truth. Somewhere, out THERE, is a guy that is just like you, wanting to share his life.
It’s just that he is not available in your area, with the group of friends that you have, or anywhere near your school, industry or day to day activities.
Hell, I didn’t get to go out with girls / women (myself) until I started getting out of the male-dominated schools, industries, and societies that I frequented. I had to break out of the little close knit life that I had.
You might have to break out from your normal circle of friends to find him. You might have to go out further to find him. You might even have to employ an agency, or travel overseas to find him…
…but find him, you will.
I am convinced that there is a man for every woman simply because I have been exposed to so many men who all have such a wide array of tastes and interests. Many of the women who I wouldn’t be that interested in would really cause some of my male friends to just fall madly in love.
For instance, I am not interested in a woman who is taller than I am. It’s a personal taste. I just feel very odd looking up to a woman, and having to stand on my tippy-toes to kiss her. But that is just me. However, when I have mentioned to this to other men, I find that a goodly 25%, or one in four counter with “so what?” they argue (for the most part) that sex would be great; that our kids would be either fashion models or basketball players, and that all the other guys would think that I was a “stud” because I was with such an extraordinary woman.
I am also freaked out by Polydactylyism. But that is again, just me. It’s not that I am revolted by it, it just seems a little odd to me, and I don’t know if I can focus on the relationship if the woman had eight fingers on each hand. I’d always be wondering what our children would be like.
But on the other hand, a person’s kindness, confidence, experience, ability to communicate and participate in my interests, food, and just being fun goes a long… long way in me wanting to spend time with them.
[2] Men are attracted to a wide variety of shapes, and sizes.
I know I am.
There is NO SUCH THING as being too fat, too “thick”, too thin, too ugly, or too short. Nor is there too old, or too young.
I will tell you that, me personally, I generally have an upper limit on size for a woman that I am interested in. If she is bigger, wider or heavier than I am, I tend to lose interest. It’s NOT that I don’t like thick or fat people, it’s that I lose my interest in them as my interest lies towards smaller women than I am.
But I am not the average.
I have discovered, to my GREAT surprise, that many American men love bigger women. The urban ethnic folk call it “having booty”, and they absolutely go “ape shit” over a bigger voluptuous woman. I mean, really! And they are beyond themselves in how they react to the bigger women. And I mean it, too. The bigger… the better!
Like… really big… is really great. They just love a “pear shaped” woman.
Me, well, robust busty woman with big hair, big smile, and big shoulders are a turn-on. And I am not alone.
And I can see their point of view. I once dated a woman who was much larger than I was, and she had the nicest personality, she loved to cook and I ate well, and Lordy did she have an awesome chest. Purely amazing! So, this one woman altered my perceptions of what I like and favor in a woman. Who would have thought?
So, no matter what you size is… tiny, petite, slim, slender, curvy, athletic, rotund, bouncy… etc, you would be surprised at how others might find you to be attractive. And that is in everything. You NEVER know.
So accept yourself.
Just. As. You. Are.
[3] Stop trying to please your friends
When I was in High School there was a girl that was infatuated with me, and everyone at my work just hassled me and hassled me, and hassled me over it. They kept on saying how ugly she was. Well, I didn’t think that she was ugly, and she sure as heck had a “rocking body”, but I didn’t go out with her after the few precious dates. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her, it was that I hated the non-stop hassling at work, about how ugly she was.
She wasn’t ugly. I thought she was rather strong and handsome in a very womanly way. Like Loni Anderson.
But I listened to the asshole co-workers. Oh, how I regret that decision. Oh, how I lament my ignorance, and my piss-poor decision making ability!
Then one of those co-workers went out with her and they ended up getting married. And I remained single.
Single as in alone with no dates, at all.
Opportunist, jackass, asshole.
She wasn’t ugly. And she had a very appealing body shape. And I didn’t end up with her, even though she was really interested in me. Why?
It was because I listened to my friends and co-workers.
I often think of her. I often wonder what my life would have been if I spent some time with her. i often wonder what it would do to me, and affect my personality, but I never got that chance. I was young and I was a fool. I didn’t know any better. I made mistakes.
But I learned.
Slowly. Unfortunately.
As you get older, you learn that the opinions of others DO NOT MATTER when it comes to your own personal happiness. So shut them off, and go ahead and go after what YOU want. Stop trying to please others.
This goes to both men and women.
On another occasion, I was on a date where my (then) girlfriend brought two of her girlfriends along. I liked the girl. She liked me, but both of her girlfriends disapproved of me. And that was it. Who knows what kind of relationship we could have had. But I do know one thing, it went nowhere because her friends did not like me. I failed in pleasing three girls. I thought that pleasing one would have been enough.
Lesson learned.
Do not listen to your friends. Listen to your heart. Video.
[4] The most important thing that attracts a man is confidence.
It’s the same for women. Isn’t it?
I do not want you all to confuse being aggressive with confidence. I mean being comfortable with you you are, and what you are doing. Confidence. It’s such a turn on. In fact, many men will not ask a confident woman out on a date because they are afraid that she would say “no”.
So be very careful with this power.
You need to be who you are. Be comfortable with your good and your bad traits, and accept them. Think of yourself as a a nice comfortable pair of jeans. Just accessorize yourself as need be and as the occasions arise.
Myself, I am clearly a comfortable tee-shit kind of man, with a clean pair of jeans, and some well worn, but well tended for loafers.
Who are you?
A confident woman, would be able to throw on a dress, put on a thin foundation and some light makeup and run out the door in some low heels without a second thought. Are you that kind of woman?
Be confident on who you are, and what you are. Spend time with friends, and cherish the time with them. Share. Laugh. Enjoy a good drink and good food, and NEVER, ever, ever make a man feel uncomfortable around you. Men are attracted to confident comfortable women. That’s a fact. Video.
Ask any KTV hostess. They will tell you who the most popular girls are. They are the ones smiling, and joking around. Not the ones that are “beautiful” or who “look like fashion models”.
Fact.
This poor girl needs some confidence…
Important day tomorrow yet here I am. I would try to make myself more palatable/acceptable to people by being extra nice to them. Try to please them. At least let’s be the sweet ugly girl than bitter ugly b**ch I thought. No surprise but it doesn’t work. People just walk all over you and don’t treat you well still.
I tried to be cold, strong and someone who stands their ground but I couldn’t. The thing is, my voice gets shaky easily during confrontations and it immediately turns to full on bawling. I once lowkey embarrassed myself in public by crying like that.
So here I am, total people pleaser, doormat, someone who’s taken advantage of, always ditched, flakes out on and yet I take it without standing up once for myself. I hate it. I resent people because I end up giving more than what I get from them. I lost count the times I said sorry when I didn’t have to.
Since I never had good friendships since 17 or so, I don’t know how a healthy adult friendship is supposed to be. I don’t know what to expect, I’m in constant worry “is it okay to share this? Am I burdening this person?”. I never had friends (both online n irl) who I could go and vent to. It feels as if no one will ever understand me and support me.
I’m tired and lonely af. I feel vulnerable and weak.. I’m crying my eyes out as I write this.
Or this lovely lass. See how her personality comes out when she smiles… video.
[5] Have a Passion.
So please find out what you love. What are the things that you can go on and on talking about? Food? Dogs? Cats? Horses? Houses? Furniture? Fashion? Televisions Shows? Alcohol? Hunting or fishing? Politics?
Cast iron miniatures?
Gardening? Crafting? Cooking? Trees? Novels?
Find out your passion, and then find a man what has the same passion. You would be surprised. Yes you would.
You see, men are interested in COMPANIONSHIP.
If your passions match that of a man, then he will over look any of your (perceived) faults and really show an interest in you. You see, men are not looking for 100% perfection. They want 50%, and they will work on the other 50% to meet you half way.
You will be amazed at how they will not be able to see the imperfections that you are so worried about. And you will end up scratching your head at the things… the everyday things… that you do that really “turn him on”.
Here’s a woman who loves to cook. Being able to cook well is on my top personal requirements, and this gal is cooking bacon with peppers, onion and garlic. OMG! video.
I used to date (well we actually lived together) with a very attractive fashion model. I mean she was gorgeous. And though she was amazingly beautiful and we did eventually break up, the thing that attracted me to her was our shared love of poetry. And there she would sit listening to me read my poetry over coffee and absorb it all in.
I loved that.
Alas, she had faults that I could not bear, but that is immaterial. What attracted me to her was our shared passions.
Max was peeved. “I am so sick of boring profiles on the dating sites. The first thing people want is to hold hands and walk with someone at sunset on the beach. The second thing is to cuddle up on a couch and watch TV. Why can’t they think of something more interesting?”
I explained to Max that this yearning for sharing quality time is a universal because it reflects close companionship. This is what we all need and desire. It’s especially vital for older folks who must move at a slower pace and have the opportunity to savour shared quality time.
“But I’m not slow!”, declared Max. “At 68, I can keep up with the 40 year olds when we cycle round the bay on Sunday mornings. I want the companionship of a woman who can ride her bike with me at least for two hours into the country and pitch a tent an enjoy the peace and quiet of the bush”.
Where Max wanted active companionship, John was different. He was the film buff who enjoyed nothing more than holding hands with his woman for a film-fest and then having dinner and debriefing the film.
Both men could find their ideal companion. The significant thing about companionship is that there’s no “have tos” – it’s just time shared where you feel bonded and content.
But is companionship better than sex? It’s actually expressed in good sex!
Trust is an essential ingredient of companionship and trust is essential for good sex.
Kevin believes that love is also essential for good sex. He said, “Sex is empty without love. Sure the physical sensations are exciting and pleasurable but it dissipates quickly and leaves in its wake a sense of longing for what was missing. If loving intimacy is missing I feel both sad and upset during the act, like I’ve used the other and abused my own values – a vacuum forms and I feel it in the pit of my stomach – and in my heart. When everything is in place though and sex is love-making – there is nothing that compares!”
Seniors can be sexual in order to express affection, passion, love, loyalty and appreciation of life as opposed to merely a sexual release.
I acknowledge that some older folks become very limited in being able to engage in enthusiastic love-making. For them, non sexual touch is also magical. An arm around a loved one, a small caress on the back or a brush along the cheek with the back of hand are affirming, reassuring and reflect a partnership where the couple are caring companions.
To be truly loving, a relationship would need to work on a number of levels – spiritual, mental, physical, emotional. All of these are intricately interwoven and in balance, with caring companionship, can enhance longevity and quality of life.
[6] Change what you don’t like.
If there is something that you don’t like about yourself, don’t tolerate it. Change it.
As we get older, our faults become deeper and more ingrained. Our problems multiply, and our issues become real personality faults. Change what you cannot bear.
For some people it is their job.
For others it is their negative friends, or their over-bearing family.
For still others it is their appearance.
What ever it is that bothers you… change it.
We haven’t been taught to change things, but rather to deal with them; to accept them. And that generates anxiety and worry…
We have been worrying ever since we were little about making people angry or disappointed. These are worries that negatively affect us and are not at all beneficial for us.
Are you the type of person that thinks that they worry too much? Have you ever thought that you worry more than others? If that’s so, it’s time for you to change that situation, because you probably don’t like it, right?
Not worrying excessively doesn’t imply that we’re free of worrying, but it does mean we should learn to not give it as much importance as we currently are.
Many of the worries that currently hassle us are pretty silly. Do they really deserve all of our attention? Everybody else doesn’t give them their full attention, you shouldn’t either. Start changing today.
It’s incredible how much your life can change when you decide to change how you think. There are many things that have been instilled in us from our childhood, considerations that torment us when we become adults because something is just simply not working.
So do not worry about the things that you don’t like. You change them into something that you DO like.
If it is your weight, then you can exercise, and change your eating habits. I did not say diet. I said change what your eat, how much you eat, when you eat and all the rest.
If it is your shape, and exercise won’t do it, then sculpture your body.
If it is your outfits, clothing or whatever, you have the power to change it. Bleach away the old and embrace in the new.
[7] Don’ t force the change, embrace it.
Never force things. Always adapt to them.
Maybe you wish to be slim and petite, but you are tall, chunky and robust. No problem. Embrace it. Personally, I like robust women. But you need to know how to wear the proper clothes and how to carry yourself. Here’s some more robust girls that are fine with tight clothing.
It’s the same with me. If I wear tight fitting clothing, I need to exercise on my push-ups and sit-ups to make my frame fit the clothing. Otherwise, I look like an old man with a pot belly so big that it looks like I am nine months pregnant.
So what I do is wear bigger clothing, looser clothing. I just look like a regular guy. You cannot tell that I wear size 2xxL, instead of a M.
This trick is the same with women. Now some more robust women can wear tighter clothing and “pull it off”, but it’s difficult.
Accept who you are. Then adapt your lifestyle to fit. video
The rule is a simple one.
Tight clothes go on thin bodies. Loose clothes go on thick bodies.
The thicker, or fatter you are, the looser the clothing should be.
The girl below has a “barrel” shaped body, but look how absolutely gorgeous she looks in the nice wide flowing dress. She displays her best features; hair, eyes, cleavage, shoulders, and minimizes the things she doesn’t like.
The heavier you are the looser the clothes should be.
So maybe you wore tight fitting clothes when you were in your teens, today, being twice that size means that you must adapt with the changes and adapt to the newer, more mature you.
Don’t live in the past.
Accept who you are right now.
This is how good a plus sized woman looks when she is wearing roomy clothes that fit her. WOW! Video.
[8] Good enough is good enough
Don’t wait for the perfect relationship to come. Go forth and make friends. One day, one of those friends will end up being the guy that you would like to settle down with. For some people this is quick, but for others it takes a lot of time. Don’t rush it.
Friends first.
Then something better later on, if you want.
Don’t look for perfection. Just look for friends. Given enough friends, you will be able to find the very special person, but the important key is getting out there and meeting him.
Remember; perfection is an ideal. It is not actually possible to obtain.
Do not seek perfection in yourself or in others. It will only cause you heartache and despair. Accept things, people and situations as they are. Not as you want them to be.’
It’s called being pragmatic.
[9] Turn off your preconceived notions.
Men are men.
Women are women.
Cats are cats.
If you think that you are going to change a cat to fit your lifestyle, then you are wholly mistaken. The same is true with just about every other animal, and that includes men and women.
If you are looking for a mate then get to know them first. Over time they will change to fit your needs, and you will change to fit their needs. You do not need to force this as it will happen naturally. But what you do need to realize that in a loving relationship, there is always room to grow… to expand… and to accept.
Be realistic about what men are, how they think, and what their desires are. It is neither a 14 year old teenager’s fantasy, or a feminist nightmare. It is something else entirely.
[10] What a man REALLY wants in a relationship.
I have a post on this. And it boils down to the simple rule of “best fit”.
There are about ten major things that a man looks for in a woman. If you can meet most of those items, you can definitively snag yourself a good decent man that would make a fine husband.
But if just meet the top three, you have a very good chance at a mutually sustaining long-term relationship.
Remember this simple fact; Men play the percentages.
Not convinced? Here’s six minutes of being a Rufus, and showing compassion. video. 256MB.
Still not convinced? Here’s another three minutes of being a Rufus and showing compassion. video. 78MB
[12] Desperate times call for desperate measures
Forget about the free dating sites. (Or almost free computer dating sites.)
Go to a professional and pay the money.
Get a real assessment of your chances in obtaining dates and meeting desirable men. You will be surprised with the results. If they are good, they will help you and perform an entire “package image makeover”. They are worth their weight in gold.
The world might be falling apart, you might be ugly and have the body of a whale, but your smile will be what people will remember.
Never forget that.
Make a difference by smiling big and huge and radiating for the entire world to see.
[14] Nothing lasts
You might believe that you have found Mr. Right, and for a set period of time everything is just great. But over time, people learn, change, adapt and all sorts of things happen. For many of us, it means that often we all change. And when we change, we tend to move in different directions and our relationship might become strained.
There is nothing good or bad about this. It is just the way life is. You need to accept it, and realize that you have a window or an opportunity to get the best that you can in life. Accept what you have right NOW, and realize that things… all kinds of things can upset that perfect balance that you are living. So enjoy it. Savor it, and by all means NEVER compare yourself to another person.
Conclusion
I think that this gal is going to take some of my advice. In any event she has moved on, and MM is just a stepping stone on her life road. I hope that I performed some beneficial role in it. She said thank you and moved on. And that was that.
Don’t get caught up in the “woe is me” syndrome.
What ever you do, keep in mind that you are perfect as you are. Improve upon your perfection, and seek out others who share your interests. Get out, and go forth into the world with confidence and gusto.
Do not try to live up to the expectations of others, just know that somewhere out there is someone who understands you. Seek them out.
And know that you might have to travel a bit to find this person. Do not be afraid. Take the fist step in a journey that will continue for the rest of your life. I believe in you.
Do not try to live up to the expectations of others, just know that somewhere out there is someone who understands you. Seek them out.
According to all the “experts”, China is a polluted wasteland of child workers, trash, poor unsanitary facilities, and gloom. Well it is not. I had to take a business trip into a heavily industrial zone in the Guangzhou industrial corridor, and here’s my story and pictures. So this is just going to be another quick article on MM life, banging around some factories on a day trip. I think you all might find it interesting.
About the “Nay Sayers”
About two weeks ago, we had a jerk-off place a comment here confirming / stating the nonsense that China is ugly, filthy and corrupt. He provided his “expert” status by prefacing his comment that he taught in medical universities for ten years, twenty years ago.
Ah, that standard boiler plate; “being an “expert” because he was teaching in China for ten years”.
He’s not the first, and won’t be the last. You can make good money having a small “cottage industry” churning out hate-China articles. They pay $1000 per article as of this year. Just follow the template. But you know, I saw through all that.It’s “easy pleasy, lemon squeezy”. So simple a child could do it.
Three reasons…
Six month changes. Anyone who has lived in China KNOWS that it changes every six months. I mean it. It changes so friggin’ fast here it is amazing. If you are gone for ten years, then you are clueless about what it is now today. Heck, ten years ago people still used paper money. There weren’t any drone police, robot scanning didn’t exist, no one knew what a QR access was, and no one conducted thermal scans!!!!!
If we compare China’s 31 provinces with the 214 sovereign states that compose the “international community”, every Chinese region has experienced the fastest economic growth rates in the world. -UNZ
Talking Points. Don’t give me all the hate-China talking points. The comment read like something from the “National Review”. Mix it up some. Don’t regurgitate talking points. After all I am HERE, inside of China reading you trying to convince me of things that I can verify by sticking my head out the window.
Lonely guy. Anyone who has lived in China for ten years and didn’t find a partner and get married is a truly miserable person indeed. It’s not impossible, just highly unlikely. Which says something about your personality, personal body care, hygiene, and social skills. If you cannot build a relationship in China, after one year, you have a problem. At ten years; you just have to be one Hell of a seriously disgusting person. Especially when you are SURROUNDED by attractive marriage age university women.
The trip overview
I had to visit the factory as it is a “new” factory that replaces our normal factory for a New Zealand customer. This factory needed to be instructed on what quality points and checks needed to take place to make the part.A day trip was in order. Drive up, visit the factory and have lunch, drive back. The distance was roughly comparable to driving from Boston to Albany, New York. Not close, but not too far either. The factory was near Shaoguan. You can see it at the top of the map below…
Factory location.
The ride up to the factory
"You must live on the coast, the inland is terribly polluted."
The trip itself was pretty uneventual. We traveled for about four hours. We rode up major highways, crossed massive bridges and went through long tunnels to reach our destination. In all cases, please check out these embedded videos or their associated links to get the “full” experience. It’s almost as good as sitting in the car with MM getting there. video 46MB
Arrival into the tiny village
All of rural China looks like this. It’s an entire nation of skyscrapers. This, believe it or not, is just a tiny, tiny village. video. 69 MB.
Arrival at the factory
And this is what it is like. The factory sits on the edge of the tiny village, and so we just pulled in and went up to the front gate. Video. 32MB
What the factory does
The factory is a casting and machining operation. They cast the part out of stainless steel, then they machine it, and finally check for quality and box and ship. Casting operations are typically dirty everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you are; the United States, China, Afghanistan… a casting factory is hot, dusty, dirty and greasy. Here’s an American casting factory in Cincinnati, Ohio…
American casting factory in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Machining operations are better, but not by much. Usually they include polishing operations and the like that typically result in dust and grime everywhere. These are hard core, basic operations, that made cities like Pittsburgh and Detroit famous. But we are not in America. We are in China. And, you know, things are different here.
Out of the car and into the factory
So we parked outside the gate, and met the factory boss at the gate who did the mandatory Coronavirus QR scans, the GPS positioning history, the temperature checks, and supplied us with fresh face masks and we went inside. video
Frenzied pace at the factory
" China employs slave labor, child labor, and indentured poverty stricken people who are yearning for freedom and democracy to unchain them from their shackles..."
Here’s a video that I took from outside the QC building. Sorry it’s kind of boring, but it illustrates the pace of life here. It shows that people are not upset, worried or working a frenzied pace. They are not afraid of losing their jobs on a layoff on Friday, or having to scramble to make ends meet. The factory, by law, must provide them with three free meals a day, free housing, free wifi and television access, and free transportation to and from town. Do they look like they are all yearning for American “freedom and democracy”? video. 14MB
This and that
While my engineer took care of the details, I hung out in the office, drinking tea and smoking cigarettes. We had a nice lunch, and then continued on our work. We ended up inspecting all of the parts, and then then left satisfied for lunch.
Dimensional fit checks.
Of course, I would check in with him from time to time.
All parts must meet the specifications on the drawing, but not all the customer requirements are listed in the specifications.
Lunch
"...starvation and famine are rampant inside of China. It's just that the evil CCP regime won't allow people to see the truth."
We broke for lunch. As always, the factory hosted us and we ate in a private room (which is normal in China). I had a few beers. They wanted to give me a bottle of red wine or 52° white wine for myself, but I declined. Ugh! Then about half way though the meal, I remembered to take some pictures. Because, after all, I did want to record this visit for MM. So I took pictures of the food mid-meal. We ate well…
Shellfish.Local steamed fish in a nice peanut / ginger sauce. It’s eyes are covered by the garnish.Greens.Pigeon. Tasty little buggers, but hardly any meat.Shrimp and snow peas with sweet cashews and sesame. A real favorite of mine. The white leafy things are lotus, not onion.
Inspections
"Child and slave labor is rampant all over China."
We spent the rest of the day inspecting the product. As you can see the factory workers were inspecting and packaging the product for shipment.
Rework and inspection.Rejected parts.
Final packaging
"China only makes cheap Wal-mart junk. We don't need their bullshit."
The approved parts were recorded, marked and packaged by the ladies int he factory. Everything was 100% inspected to print from the customer. Here’s what that looked like…
Finishing up.Packing the parts.
Conclusions
After all this, we hopped into the car and drove home. I arrived home, and immediately found my home to be in the kind of chaotic shambles that only a two-year old can accomplish. So I helped feed her, clean up, bathe her and put her to bed, then I churned out a post on Affirmation Campaigns. And this was my day. When I woke up, I opened up my normal news feeds to discover that Yahoo! would not longer be accessible inside of China, but used my indexes to see what articles they were pushing. And low and behold it was non-stop hate-China fest. I guess they wanted a piece of that 300 million dollars from the United States federal budget to push that narrative. Whores for money. Sheech! But you know, there are better things in this world. Like this Rufus doggie that saves his master… video 4MB
Do you want more?
I have more posts like this in my China index here… China .
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
This article discusses what it is like for me to be who I am with the understanding that I have been modified by both the United States government, and by our benefactors (the type-1 greys from The Domain). These modifications have, of course, changed me. The closest image available to recount these modifications is from the movie series “Alien”, and most specifically a character known as “Ripley 8”.
This article came about when The Domain Commander told me that I “was not human”.
I did not want to hear that. And I am actually resentful of it.
The Commander Statement
You are NOT a normal human being.
When our agency / MAJestic installed the ELF probes, they / we / us also transformed your personality. We compartmentalized you. You know that. During your MAJestic retirement sequence in ADC Pine Bluff, you confronted various personalities that are part of you.
You are aware of the scientist, the Naval officer, and so on and so forth. However, there are other personalities that you are not aware of. Let it be well understood that it is intentionally by design. These other personalities are not anything that you want to know about, or be associated with.
Thus they are not part of your shutdown sequence. They are permanently hardwired to your personality.
You have [1] Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde, you have [2] The Wolfman (actually, the image is of a half-man, half-sabertooth tiger). You have [3] Mr. Dracula / The Mummy (image is confused and overlaid over each other.), and you have [4] The Incredible Hulk. None of these alter personalities are muted. They are all active.
They are always intended to be active. That makes you dangerous, and why you needed to be sent to prison. That is one of the reasons why they (MAJestic) cannot allow people like yourselves to be walking the (American) streets freely. You are a loaded gun with no "safety switch".
When you start to have memory triggers, event triggers, or code triggers, one of the personalities will manifest. Your "normal" personality will fade into the background and the new personality will dominate.
Most of the manifested personalities (you have experienced) this year has been of "The Incredible Hulk", and you have done a very fine job of suppressing that character personality. We are personally proud of you.
No one is harmed. At worst, your wife looks at your strange. That's it. It has been triggered by memories while you are under a lot of stress. This is normal for humans, however in your case there is a personalty change has been intentionally engineered and triggered.
There's other triggers as well.
Over the last six years the Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde personality were occasionally triggered. You don't remember those events because afterwards your memories are suppressed. But if you look back, you will see these periods of *blank*. That is when this personality was triggered.
This is due to the fact that you live next to the Zhuhai heliport. And some of the aircraft use an electrical signal emitter that triggers your personality change. Luckily, for you, the "go code" signal is never emitted. So all that happens is that you go into a "stand by for orders" mode. Then when nothing happens, you "wake up" and forget about the entire incident.
For you to turn off these programs you will have to go through the entire Pine Bluff deactivation procedure all over again. We advise you not to do that. We further advise you NEVER (emphasis) return to the United States. All scenarios where you return is problematic for you personally.
Do not listen to DZ (my brother). He's a "strange cat" with other purposes and intentions for your return.
The reasons are obvious.
However, you need to remember that many of your latent personalities can be triggered by radio frequencies at various frequencies, amplitudes, patterns and pulses. The United States has substantially changed since you were there last. The spectrum of presently emitted radiation would trigger some very lethal responses from you.
Fucking lovely. Sheech!
Oh for Pete’s sake!
First I’m some kind of troll like bureaucrat named Mades Escapleon, and now I find out that I am a cross mix of of the bad characters from all the B-grade horror movies of the 1960’s. And to top it off, I’m a gun without a safety switch.
Sheech! Can’t I ever get a break?
This is obviously false. As I look, act and think like a human, and live in a human society. Not to mention that I enjoy pizza, wine and pretty girls. Not to mention, sex, playing with cats, and watching movies. So perhaps, I misinterpreted the comm.
Q: Please expand on the reasoning behind the statement that “I am not human”.
You are not human.
You are neither a pure human archetype, nor an inmate "skin suit". You are a hybrid creation with elements of both, as well as constructions intended for utility by the Domain.
(Image of a PPT presentation showing a "free and normal" human archetype. Followed by it being "changed" into a different kind of human; an inmate "skin suit". Then, changes to it with ELF, EPB and then a number of operations. The resulting figure on the PPT looks like neither the first Human archetype, nor the inmate "skin suit".)
All of the members in your MAJestic sub-project are hybrid creations. Some, like yourself, have further refinements. While others are slightly retarded / backwards / not up to date /contemporaneous with the update software / coding / medical procedures / system enhancements.
Additionally, all volunteers to The Domain (through MM here) that have agreed to work with us have also become hybrid creatures. They are no longer "inmate" human (appearing) skin suits. They have had one significant alteration to their inmate "skin suits". Some have had two or more. The severity of the changes is equated to their current dream states, feelings / emotions / perceptions.
(I think that it means that the odder your experiences are; your feelings are; your dreams are; the more changes to your "skin suit".)
In your case, you were altered for your role in our surrogate agency / utility /division (I think he means MAJestic) and then further altered with the addition of the EBP. So you have at least three layers of alterations. Certainly you might not appreciate the alterations, but we believe that they are necessary for the successful role that you play.
Stop assuming that you are the same as everyone else. YOU ARE NOT. (It felt like he was stressing things to me like my old DI in the Navy.)
Then, what the Hell am I?
Ripley 8?
Who or What is “Ripley 8”
We now refer to a fictional character. This character is from the movie “alien resurrection“.
Ripley 8
Ripley 8 (also known as Number 8) was the eighth and almost fully successful clone of Lieutenant Ellen Ripley created by the USM.
The USM’s mission was to retrieve a Xenomorph Queen (in its chestburster cycle) from the clone’s chest.
However, subsequently the clone’s human DNA was mixed with Alien DNA there by creating a hybrid that retained much of the memories and personality of the original Ripley as well as other features.
Birth
Ripley 8 was cloned from frozen samples of Ellen Ripley’s blood, recovered after her death, from Fiorina 161. The United Systems Military knew of the Alien Queen inside Ellen Ripley at the time of her death, made several attempts to clone Ripley, and after seven failures, they finally got the process right, effectively creating Ripley 8. They surgically extracted the Queen from Number 8 and began to teach her how to use her powers onboard the Auriga. During therapy sessions, one of the scientists brought back repressed memories of Newt.
alien resurrection Ripley 8
Escape
Number 8 was later confronted by Call, who attempts to kill her, believing that she may be used to create more Aliens, but Call is too late; the Aliens have already matured and quickly escape their confinement, damaging the ship and killing most of its crew.
Dr. Wren, one of the ship’s scientists, reveals that the Auriga’s default command in an emergency situation is to return to Earth. Realizing that this will unleash the Aliens on Earth, Ripley, the mercenaries, Wren, a marine named Distephano, and a surviving Alien host, Purvis, attempt to escape on the Betty and destroy the Auriga.
Ripley 8
While escaping the Auriga, number 8 came across the laboratory containing her failed predecessors, including number 7. Struggling to speak, number 7 begged number 8 to euthanize her to end her life of agony, and number 8 complied by killing her with a flamethrower then torching the entire lab. As the group makes their way through the damaged ship, several of them are killed by the Aliens.
Call is revealed to be an android after Wren betrays the group. Using her abilities to interface with the damaged ship’s systems, they set it on a collision course with Earth, hoping that the Aliens will be destroyed in the crash. Ripley 8 then feels the pain endured by the Genetic Queen via telepathic connection, she was captured by the Xenomorphs and was brought to the Queen’s chamber.
Encounter with the Newborn
The Queen gave birth to a new lifeform called the Newborn. Shortly after birth, the newborn decapitates the Queen, instead having imprinted Ripley as its true mother.
alien resurrection Ripley 8
The newborn follows Ripley onboard the Betty, closing the jammed door and saving the spacecraft from the vacuum of space. After another encounter with Ripley, she uses one of the being’s sharp canine teeth to cut her hand. Splashing her own acidic blood onto the plexiglas viewing port of the Betty’s cargo bay, she succeeded in her attempt to breach the window and caused everything to be sucked out (along with the newborn) which caught against the glass as it tried to return to Ripley. Subsequently, it is sucked out into space piece by piece, unable to properly free itself from the vacuum of space.
New Life
The Auriga was destroyed upon its impact to the Earth’s atmosphere, taking the remaining Xenomorphs onboard along with it, destroying the last trace of the creature in existence. Number 8 later finds herself in Paris, though it is obvious that something catastrophic happened there as the city is in ruins. She then wonders what new world awaits her.
Ripley 8
Personality & Traits
Number 8 was an exact copy of Ellen Ripley but that was only partly skin deep, as her personality was much different; she is apathetic, cold and seemingly enjoyed the havoc the Xenomorphs caused.
She was also able to “feel” the Xenomorphs, but despite this she was on the side of the humans. This may not have been out of morality, but the fact that she was still a target of the Xenomorphs; as a facehugger latched on to her in the flooded section of the ship and Xenomorph Warriors tried to kill or capture her, despite the fact she was part xenomorph herself.
Ripley 8
Dr Gedimen said that she has something of a predatory behavior as she toys with the Betty crew in the basketball court.
Some of the original Ripley’s personalty and maternal behavior does reside in her though, as when a female scientist shows Ripley a picture of a young girl, Ripley smiles but then quickly becomes saddened as she remembers both Newt and her daughter, Amanda, and realizes what the memories mean. She also becomes protective of Call, almost motherly-so.
Hybrid Characteristics
Due to the crossing of Ellen Ripley and an Alien Queen, number 8 has traces of the Xenomorph genes that she continually exhibits throughout the movie. Below are a list of such characteristics:
Physical Appearance: Being her clone, number 8 looks identical to Ellen Ripley; however because of her Xenomorph genes, there are some physical differences which includes glossy metallic teeth, naturally dark fingernails, and a slightly altered skin tone.
Psyche: Number 8 displayed very violent and ferocious behavior. Her general outlook and mindset were notably vicious and obviously reminiscent of the Xenomorph behavior. Even her body language speaks of the Alien DNA she possesses, as her movements are feral and almost cat-like.
Superior Strength: Numerous times number 8 demonstrates a superior strength that is not natural to humans. Such example is just after a few drones escape their cages and begin to take over the USM Auriga: number 8 is locked in a small, barren quarters and an Xenomorph is trying to break in to kill her. Quickly acting, number 8 uses her bare hands and fists to punch through a sealed metal panel so that she can trip wires to a back door. Another example was during the swim through the flooded area of the USM Auriga, when a Facehugger attached itself to her after the group had surfaced, and after a struggle she managed to pull it off.
alien resurrection Ripley 8
Rapid Cell Regeneration: Another ability given to number 8 due to the gene crossing is her ability to rapidly heal from injuries. From her confines, she is visited by Annalee Call, who brandishes a knife in an attempt to kill her. But number 8 runs the blade through her right palm without pain, then after removing the blade, the wound heals within moments.
Jumping Skills: She is shown to be able to leap large distances.
Endurance: Number 8 is able to have a higher endurance rate than any human. An example is during the unexpected swim through the USM Aurigas decks that number 8 shows the uncanny ability to stay underwater longer. Additionally, she is never shown as having shortness of breath or any weariness during the frantic escape from the ship like her human counterparts.
Caustic Blood: Much like the Xenomorphs, Ripley 8 has acidic blood that can burn through metal, skin, clothing, aluminum silcate glass, and fused silica glass. However, number 8’s blood does remain crimson red like that of humans and is much more mild than the pure Xenomorph’s yellow-tinted blood.
Alien Empathy: Due to her half-Xenomorph genetics, number 8 is able to sense the presence of other Xenomorphs as well as their motives and emotions and possesses an apparent mental connection with the Xenomorph hive.
Genetic Memory: The Xenomorphs possesses the ability to pass on their memories genetically, and because of this Ripley 8 has “inherited” vague memories that belonged to the original Ellen Ripley as well as the Xenomorph. An example of this is when a scientist onboard the Auriga inadvertently triggers Ripley’s memories of Newt and her daughter. These confiding memories results in Number 8 suffering a crisis of loyalty until the original Ripley’s hatred for the Xenomorphs break through and she sides with the humans.
Now for the real stuff; MM
Ripley 8 is a fiction. But I am real.
My experience in MAJestic, and how I became who I am today is all documented on the many pages of MM. But this article is to say that Hollywood is a fiction. And I am real. And I just want to take a moment or two to discuss what it is like being me.
I have numerous unmodified traits that make me different from most “average” people.
My core education is in Aerospace Engineering / Astrophysics.
I was accepted for and trained as a Naval Aviator.
Those two things set me apart in education and training. How many Aerospace Engineers are alive in America these days? And how many of them are Naval Aviators? Not many. Most of the other aviators I trained with took basic humanities. Very few were STEM educated.
I also have other things that set me apart from most SAP’s in the US government.
I joined MAJestic. Which is a volunteer organization that operates within the ONI.
Which then physically modified me with seven ELF probes in my skull.
And which used MK-Ultra behavior modification to compartmentalize my personalities.
Which really narrows down my augmented skill set. How many do you figure are in the United States today that meet all of these above criteria?
And that is just for starters. Once that was completed, I was sent off-world and further modified by The Domain; our “benefactors”. Which again makes me somewhat “special”. As most of MAJestic do not have EBP installed.
EBP installed.
Physical body modified.
Non-physical bodies modified.
And then over time, with my various tasks and assignments, I have experienced a reality far different from which a “normal” human would experience.
World-line changes
World-line slides
Ability to communicate via the ELF probes.
Ability to communicate using the EBP.
And my experiences…
Married to a person who had a serious mental illness.
In a cutthroat high-tech industry that hired and fired at will.
International travel as part of my work.
Retirement as a Sex Offender.
Finally, egress and departure to live inside of China.
All told my experiences are wholly unique. All of this, by definition, makes me different.
But NOT alien.
Keeping all this real.
We are ALL, every single one of us, dealing with our own unique lives, and our own unique experiences.
None of us are better or worse than each other.
We are all different, and that is a good thing.
This article is to tell you all that I enjoy wine, pretty girls, pizza, steaks, “goldfish crackers” and “cheese-it” crackers, sex, and a nice ice cream Sunday on a hot, hot day. I like cats, dogs, and playing with things. I like to tromp in the woods, and smell the lush moistness underfoot, and rid a motorcycle though winding roads.
The human part of me is still there.
And I am getting old. I have blood pressure problems, heart problems, I drink too much, smoke too much, and am starting to have a daddy-belly (if you know what I mean).
I get happy, elated, and angry and sad. I like to read, and eat, and cook, and nap.
I think that most people here can relate to all that.
That’s because I am human.
But being different is not evident. Many people make the mistake that I am 100% of what they expect. You can see this on the occasional comments that I allow to post. Like the Jackass who asked (respectfully) why I don’t allow discussions about Jews! Jews! Jews! on my website. I mean really! Is this guy so clueless not to realize how anti-social that is? Sheech!
You know guys, anything can happen. And one day I will move on. My family will be sad and distressed. The MM site will fade into obscurity without a mention, and I will be one of those “flash in the pan” characters of limited interest to the society as a whole. Like Soopy Sales, Howdy Doody, or Jerry Lewis.
The point
Does it really matter if I am different on the inside? Does it matter if you are? Or if she is? Or if those people over there are?
No it doesn’t.
What does matter however, is our acceptance of things that we cannot change, may not like, or want to improve. And in order to accept those things, we need to be accepting that EVERY PERSON is just as different from each other, as I am from the “typical person”. We are all — everyone of us — different.
Being different is a good thing.
When I was in Pago Pago, a fellow came over to do some plumbing work on one of the hospital installations that I was working on, and we got to talking. He kept on saying that he really wasn’t a plumber, in a sad desultorily manner. And I had to correct him. He said he was a trained EMT, but that the funding for the job ended, so he was just doing what ever work he could find.
I told him that you are NEVER defined by your job. Which is a major lesson us men must deal with.
And…
You are also never what your career or your education is either. That is meaningless.
And…
Your value is never defined on how much money you make, though it will influence the happiness of your spouse.
And…
You are not what others say your are, whether lies or truth.
And…
You are not your past, your past mistakes, or your past successes.
Because, you are exactly who you are right now. PERIOD. Good, bad, ugly, dirty, clean, pristine, perfect, or tarnished. You are what you are in this very slim moment in time.
You must make this moment special, and let the rest of the world howl in frustration.
You know…
I haven’t flown a plane in years. I am tardy in my physical exercises. I could be a lot nicer. I should be making more money. I do need to take care of a lot of home projects that are falling behind, and so on and so forth…
I suppose that many of you are like me.
That’s because we ARE human. No matter what anyone else says. No matter how strong, important or powerful they are, you are exactly who you are, as unique as you are. And that is wonderful because you are SPECIAL.
Is this guy better than me because he has money…? (VIDEO)
Video
And to tell youse guys the truth, I am sure that this guy is enjoying life and having a great time, but I really don’t know if I would feel comfortable living like him. Not really.
It is how we handle our life that matters. It is the ways that we interact with others, do our best, and be helpful. These are what matters. And if you are the Rufus, your life changes. It changes. (VIDEO)
Be the Rufus VIDEO
And you know, you don’t need to perform heroic actions. You just need to be good.
Be good. Do good things.
You need to put smiles on the faces of those around you. Let them know that they are special and appreciated. Give the neighborhood cats a little treat. Tell the girl in the office that she looks good in the dress. Tell the bank teller that you like her glasses. Buy a cup of coffee for a coworker. Hold the door open to others, and smile and say Hi!
Use your talents, whatever they are. Give others “a break”. Cut them some slack. Put smiles on the faces of those around you.
Use your talents. Like this artist. He just gives people his art for free. No strings attached. (VIDEO)
There’s all sort of idiocy on the internet today, as well as very powerful forces that are trying to convince people of this ideology, or that ideology. Well, here we are going to cut through all the nonsense and spell things out plainly and clearly. And it is going to make some people very upset. But I don’t care. Truth hurts. Deal with it, and move on.
This article deals with things as they are. Not what we want them to be. It also deals with the truth as it manifests, not what we want, but what actually exists today.
This article compares China and the USA. If you cannot handle it, then leave. Your tender sensibilities are of no concern to me.
Governance
China is a meritocracy. America is a kakistocracy.
And that is the way it is. China is not communist “regime”. America is not a “free” republic, nor a democracy “on a shining hill”. And both nations are functionally different from their labels. So let’s look at what they functionally operate as.
The United States
There is a lot of bullshit floating about. When I grew up in the United States, I was taught that America was a republic, but when I asked my teacher why everyone called it a democracy, he told me that it was changed by amendment into a democracy by mandating popular elections. Republics don’t do that. Later on, in university, when studying history, I learned that all democracies evolve.
Here’s the evolutionary stages for a democracy. This is not my opinion. It is history. If you cannot handle history, then leave.
Democracy evolves to an oligarchy.
And if the oligarchy isn’t destroyed by popular revolt, it evolves into a Military dictatorship.
If unchecked, a military dictatorship evolves into a military empire.
And all military empires devolve into a kakistocracy.
And historically a kakistocracy always collapses one way, or the other.
This is where America is today. There is not a person who is alive who can deny this today.
kakistocracy = a government of a state by its most stupid, ignorant, least qualified and unprincipled citizens in power.
Now, let’s look at China.
China
Contemporaneous China was established by Chairman Mao as a Communist nation.
This changed upon his death, and there were various factions fighting for power. Eventually, under Mr. Deng, China embraced capitalism, and democracy, while maintaining a single party rule. Thus it became a “Social Democracy”.
Over the years, boundaries and limits have been placed on which elements of socialism fit the Chinese culture, as well as which elements of capitalism fit the Chinese culture.
Government participation is voluntary. To join the government (the communist party) you must contribute to society without any profit motives. As they said in Starship Troopers, “Service guarantees citizenship”.
So, if you want to vote in China’s democracy, you must first volunteer for the military, or any other volunteer government agencies. Then you must apply, and your membership is reviewed by your merit. There is a strict grading system, and your sponsor into the communist party is held personally responsible for any failings or errors you may make.
Up the chain of command, every step toward leadership roles are though merit driven avenues. Further there are police; known as the “corruption police” that root out, and punish any communist party members that take bribes, involved in graft, do bad or poor behaviors, and they are punished MOST severely.
There is nothing like this anywhere else in the world. And nothing like this ever in history.
China is an absolute meritocracy.
So to recap;
China is a meritocracy; a society governed by people selected according to merit.
America is a kakistocracy; government by the least suitable or competent.
Middle Class
Both America and China have different cultures, and different societies. But I like to judge the benefits of one society over the other by the size of it’s middle class.
In this case, we will extract the size of the middle class in a binary fashion. Saying that aside from the top 0.01%, the society can be broken down into two categories.
There is the poor. And there is the middle class.
Where within the middle class are stratified levels or layers.
But as long as you are in this middle range, you are doing well. Sure, you might not own your own private jet, but you won’t be starving either. An idealized nation will have everyone living without want or need; they would all be middle class. They would own their own home, always have enough food, medical care, and a role in society.
Now keeping things real, “Middle class” is not a measure of how many houses, or cars that you own. It’s a measure of whether or not you need the government to assist you in meeting basic needs of food, shelter, and medical care.
The “talking heads” on all the media talks up a “great game” about how America has “freedom!” as if it actually existed. Freedom is not just words on a piece of paper that can be taken away by legislation, hello!, it’s something that you live with. And since it is something that you live with, comes responsibility.
America and China differ substantially in this regard.
America is a land of “anything goes” freedom with zero responsibility. The boundaries on the use of that freedom are defined by law. Limitations on what laws can exist is supposed to be met under the terms of the Bill of Rights, but that document has been riddled with so many exceptions that it no longer is a functional document. Thus you have a society where people can do anything, just as long as they are not caught by the police in breaking a law.
China, on the other hand, treats freedom as something precious that is dished out in measured amounts to those who are responsible. This is measured by the “Social Scoring” system. If you are responsible, you are permitted great deal of freedom. If not, then you have your “wings clipped” and live a more restricted life.
America = All freedom. No responsibility, can act within the confines of law.
China = Freedom and responsibility are intertwined, and measured for compliance.
Community
I also like to measure society buy it’s communities. This measurement comes in many forms, but fundamentally it is a complex mixture of safety, social interaction with others, access to basic transportation, quality of life, costs of groceries, access to parts and public areas, and friendships.
This is all very difficult to measure. So we are going to look at this in a broader sense. We will look at the most popular community structures in China and America and then compare them.
In China, most people live in these housing complexes. These are enormous skyscrapers that are surrounded by a wall, and is secured by security police known as BaoAn’s. Within that complex is at least one park, multiple recreation areas, kindergarten and elementary schools, a police and local government administration office, a post office, and individual parking.
While homes can be rented in these complex’s, most people buy a house. Thus securing a long term residence that allow direct participation with all their neighbors. Additionally, people in the building complexes are all on social media and share thoughts, stories, issues and needs in real time, as they develop.
It is not at all unusual to see evenings filled with children playing in the open areas, the parks and the buildings. Old people walk on the sidewalks and walkways, and BaoAn’s mingle with the residence. This is normal China.
In America, most people yearn for a home. They buy a home in the country, or suburb, and (if they are rich enough) a home / apartment in a city. In all cases, they are isolated from each other. If they want to be part of the community, they must make an effort to do so. It is not automatic, and thus many people tend to stay inside and isolate. The suburbs in America are some of the quietest and loneliest places on the earth.
China = An active community of participation.
America = A nice home in isolation with little community participation.
Now, I could go on and on…
I can site facts and figures. Like the percentage of people who drive, or the percentage of people who are employed, or the effort it takes in literacy. But that’s an easy and a silly way to measure things. You just cannot take things in isolation and measure them. You need to provide a “level playing field” and then measure from there.
People use GDP, for instance. But GDP is flawed. And I will repeat my often used example…
Sally has one dollar and can buy two apples with it.
Tom has ten dollars, but can only buy one apple with it.
According to GDP, Tom is more successful than Sally.
We all need to measure our lives by our happiness. As well as by our purpose, and our relationships with the community.
If you are not happy, but instead working for money; if you don’t have a purpose other than to make money; and if you have no sense of community, then you are very likely to be living in the United States.
And of course, if you are happy, and you work as part of a community for the betterment of all, then you are probably living in China.
Reality Check
Of course, not everyone in America lives in suburbs, or in their own homes. And not everyone in China lives in these huge mega apartment complexes. And not everyone in America is isolated, and not everyone in China is part of the community. But the point is that the vast bulk of them are.
And that is what we are talking about here. As America is balkanized, you will have an occasional little oasis of community, and one of prosperity and safety. But those numbers are dwindling. And China is a homogenized nation. Everyone speaks one language, and no one is hyphenated. You won’t hear any Chinese calling themselves Hunan-Chinese, or Xinjiang Chinese.
As I have said before, we have to see things as they really exist. Not as we want them to be.
Personally
Personally I think it is a good idea to have a choice in how you can live your life in different societies. It’s like being able to choose between steak or dog food for dinner. And if you are tired of dog food, you can smell that delicious steak and eventually go to a place where there is steak every day. Yum!
Some people like to eat dog food. They eat it day in and day out. They are told that dog food is good, and that everyone knows that dog food is the best.
Me; I like steak.
Judging from the billions of pro-America articles out in internet-land, so many people love living inside of America. They have this thing called “democracy” and “freedom”. Though what it actually is, is really hard to nail down. If you ask them if the election systems actually work, most would say no. If you ask them if their representatives will represent them, they would also say no. And if you ask them if the bill of Rights is being followed, they would also say no.
So, perhaps, America is just floating along on this vaporous cloud of ignorance and hope.
Meanwhile China has “been there and done that”. They went through the changes and have arrived at a stable place. They carved out a life and made it stable, and rock solid.
America is the land of the 0.1% of people. If you can become one of them, then this place is for you. Meanwhile, the rest of the nation toils to one day be able to reach that point. Maybe you too can be come a billionaire and fly into space!
China is the land of the 90% of people. Everyone can get a decent life. Some better than others, but all within a fine band of comfort. And you know, it is possible, that one day, you will be able to fly into space. If not you, then your kids. But it is really possible.
Today in the United States, the only think keeping the masses of people from revolting and hanging the government is the free welfare checks, and the television / internet. To me, it reminds me of Rome, where the rulers provided their citizens with bread and circuses.
In China, as I have repeatedly tried to relate, it is calm and peaceful. No stress at all. None. Kids play, people talk. Nothing is frantic. Nothing is fast paced. The skies are blue. The trees are green. Flowers are everywhere. Malls are open, stores are bright and cheerful This is throughout China, not “only on the coast” as one supposed China expat said in a comment.
Now for some videos…
With this in mind, let’s look at a few videos that serve to illustrate these points.
In a MERIT DRIVEN SOCIETY such as CHINA, everyone tries to do their best and excel. They work together. They study hard. They strive. (Video)
video
Yes they do, and this idea to be the best you can be, to be kind and to be helpful comes from how you are raised. Check out this next video. This is a Chinese preschool. (video).
video
In a SOCIETY DRIVEN BY GREED such as AMERICA, it’s every man for himself. And thus you have all sorts of crime and events related to fraud and deception. (Video)
video
“Is that your bike? No.”
And so what does this guy do? He films it and does nothing. Not a community. It is just every man for himself. (Video)
video
But it doesn’t have to be this way…
If you grew up in a land with a thousand tiny hands in your wallet, a leadership that are idiots, and where every person is scrambling for a “piece of the pie”, you can change that.
No. I am not talking about revolution. Nor am I talking about leaving the nation that you are part of for somewhere else. I am instead talking about what you can do to make the world around you a little bit better.
Participate.
Meet your neighbors. Say hi. Smile. Buy coffee for coworkers. Clean up the trash on the street. Feed the dogs and cats. Make your home open, welcome and friendly.
Use the “porch light system” for invitations. Tell everyone you meet in your community that when the porch light is on, that it is a welcome for them to come on over and have a cup of coffee and to chill out with you.
You can make the world a better place. Just help others. (Video)
If everyone thought about others, their community, their purpose, and in making their little tiny part better, than we all will live a better life. Stop being alone and isolated. Reach out. Help others. Make friends. You will be surprised how much your quality of life will improve. Just participate in life.
Video
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
Here, let’s just talk about some odds and ends for a change.
What it is like living in China the real-life “Twilight Zone” episode
I swear the disconnect between what is reported in the “news” in the West and what is actually occurring is so different it is mind blowing. And to underline; to underscore this, I am going to give a few examples on just how much bullshit if being fed to the cattle in the United States and Britain. It’s pretty enormous.
Elections in China
Now, you know, China is a Social Democracy that refers to it’s self as “Communist with Chinese Characteristics”. Just like Americans call themselves a “free Republic”. So anyways, there’s been elections this week. And in China that is a big deal. Wholly automated, Use QR codes and connect to the election system by your cell phone. Of course, it is efficient and quick, but only Communist Party members can vote. Like I said in my article about China being like the movie “Starship Troopers”. Service gives citizenship. So if you want to vote, you must volunteer to participate in society.
So anyways, it’s really different from the clown show of elections in the West.
Is it being reported? No. Not one single American or Western news organization is reporting on the elections inside China. Why?
Banned news item on LinkedIN
Well, the banned comments on LinkedIN tell the entire story. There are certain subjects that the American government FORBIDS to be discussed on any American internet platform. And one of those is elections inside of China.
Which is probably why you won’t find any “news” about this in Western media. It’s erased as if it doesn’t exist, and the readership of those “news” articles continue to believe that China is a single party communist dictatorship. That doesn’t have elections.
…
The United States censors anything that shows China to be a democracy.
WiFi Dongle
Well, long time MM readers will know of my struggles with Microsoft. Finally when I purchased the entire Windows 10 package and installed it complete on my laptop… it stopped working. Told me to purchase yet ANOTHER authentic Microsoft windows OS, and disabled most of my functionality on the system. I said “fuck this”, and installed Lunix on my new computer.
And it is “cherry”. It works beautifully.
Well, only one problem, though. The company that makes the chipset core in my computer is a company owned by Microsoft; Realtek. And they do not have official Microsoft approved drivers to run the wifi. SoI have to manually install third party drivers for the blasted wifi. Which is a real pain in the ass.
I have been Learning Lunix commands and tying all sorts of work-arounds. Finally using a Ethernet dongle connected to my 5G router. And it seems to work, but it is a pain in the ass to be manually wired to systems when you carry a laptop. I need mobility.
So I devised a plan.
I would buy a Ethernet USB adapter and use it. I would use one that would be plug and play compatible with my Lunix system. So I went on the Internet and searched for “best internet wifi adapters 2021”, and ended up HERE after I selected the top pick.
And here’s the item. Cost is $44 USD or 286 RMB.
Amazon.com Wifi adapter for Lunix
Well, the delivery time from the USA is around one to two months, It will arrive in early December, but Customs will need to clear it, and that will be another two weeks easy. So this is what I did…
I went on Alibaba and looked up the factories that make the “guts”; the electronics of these gadgets. As you can see there are a bunch of them.
Factories in China that make Wifi adapters
And then I asked one of my engineers to search for the factory that make this particular “Made in America” product. Because, after all, according to Amazon.com this product is made inside of America with American know-how, American skills, and American everything. But, you know, I have been doing international trade for many decades. Politics aside, it’s all made overseas. So we went a looking.
The bottom line is that we found the manufacturer that makes the guts for this “American product”. They are in Shenzhen.
And we talked directly one-on-one with the engineer there.
They have been manufacturing the inner workings for this “American product” for years now. Generally they started as an OEM supplier, and now they do their own design and their own products.
And he told us that while they could give us the exact product that is sold in America, it would be a mistake for us to use it. The American product has special chipset modifications required by the United States government in the core PCB. He didn’t know what they were, but suspected they were “back door” access of all the signals going to and from the adapter.
So instead, he would sell us the exact module without the American chipset addons. It’s all good, it’s just a different chip and different add on (parts delete) on the board. I said “sounds good to me”.
Cost was $6 USD or under 40 RMB with local shipping.
…
The United States has electronic access via “backdoors” in all American wifi products.
Taiwan
"There is almost no scenario in which the United States can successfully intervene in a war between China and Taiwan that will not leave our country in far worse shape than it is right now; in a worst-case scenario, American territory could be struck by nuclear missiles."
-Business Insider
US officials who are ready to fight China over Taiwan don’t understand how much is at stake
Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, ret, Defense Priorities
Mar 18, 2021, 9:16 PM
Many of America’s leading military and political figures have issued increasingly alarmist warnings in recent days about the potential for conflict with China, especially related to issues surrounding Taiwan.
But before the US gets into a crisis that brings it to the threshold of war — or finds itself stumbling into one — policymakers and military leaders need to address some hard realities.
There is almost no scenario in which the United States can successfully intervene in a war between China and Taiwan that will not leave our country in far worse shape than it is right now; in a worst-case scenario, American territory could be struck by nuclear missiles.
In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, Adm. Phil Davidson, commander of US forces in the Indo-Pacific, warned that Chinese military developments looked to him like a nation planning for a war.
Davidson added that he believed China would attempt to forcibly reunify Taiwan “in the next six years.” To guard against this possibility, Davidson asked Congress to provide a whopping $27 billion in additional funding over the current defense budget.
One of the featured programs for this increase is the Pacific Deterrence Initiative. Last year Congress allocated $2.1 billion for the initiative. This year Davidson is asking for more than double that amount, to $4.6 billion.
The PDI’s main objectives will be to increase the number of ground-based cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and hypersonic missiles in areas closer to Chinese territory. That effort is already well underway.
In October the US Marine Corps completed construction on its first new permanent base in the Indo-Pacific area since 1952. The Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force have additional plans to establish new bases or expand existing ones at Tinian Island, Palau, Guam, and Australia — all along the so-called “first island chain” near China’s coastline.
The expansion is designed to enhance US’ ability to conduct “island-hopping” operations and create the ability to rapidly construct military airfields in austere environments.
The reason for this expansion, Davidson said, was to reduce or eliminate the time necessary for American military forces to engage Chinese targets.
The admiral said that right now it would take US forces on the West Coast more than three weeks to get within range of China and troops from Alaska 17 days. But the “perfect speed,” Davidson concluded, was “being there.”
Almost entirely absent from the hearing was any explanation of what’s driving the United States to elevate the risk of war by increasing the number of troops near the Chinese coast.
As a freedom-loving democracy, the United States is a strong advocate for the independence and freedom of any people, including those in Taiwan. But to that laudable belief must be added a willingness to assess the world in a realistic way.
Right now, both the United States and China are in a spiral in which one side expands its capabilities for war, citing rising threats from the other — which each then offers as justification for yet more military spending and preparation for war.
China is building infrastructure to project its power westward to the first island chain at the same time US forces are moving infrastructure eastward toward the first island chain and Chinese coast. Every day increases the chance of an accident or miscalculation leading to war.
Both the United States and China say they don’t want war, but both sides are accelerating and expanding their preparation for war.
If the United States were to one day fight China for anything other than an unprovoked attack, we would be choosing a course which would — in the best-case scenario — cause extraordinary harm to our military and markedly degrade our national security; in the worst-case, we could lose a war, putting at risk our very freedom.
It is crucial to understand that for China, the Taiwan issue is not merely a core interest, but an emotionally charged one. They are far more willing to pay extraordinary costs, sacrifice many men, and could risk it all to eventually compel unification with Taiwan.
The issue does not directly affect our national security unless we get involved.
If we eventually choose war with China over Taiwan, we will at best suffer egregious losses in ships, aircraft, and troops; in a worst-case, the war could deteriorate into a nuclear exchange in which American cities are turned into nuclear wastelands, killing millions.
America should never take such risks unless our security and freedom are directly threatened. Fighting China for any reason short of that would be a foolish gamble of the highest order.
…
If the USA gets involved in a war with China over Taiwan, the USA would lose. The magnitude of the loss is the only outcome in question.
You keep pounding on points that no one disputes but which are irrelevant. What are you trying to convince Americans to do? Admire China? Be demoralized? Why would the Chinese care what we think of them? How is insulting America going to make us admire them, anyway? If it is to demoralize, then that, too is foolish — attacking your best potential ally while leaving everyone’s real enemy untouched.
Butt-hurt because America is performing so poorly on all fronts. And all I have to say about this is that America has failed in taking care of the social issues that are fundamental to a functioning society. American is becoming more like Bangladesh than a “free and prosperous” nation.
The MM readership will know that I was homeless for a period of time between when I left the Navy and then obtained my training at NAS China Lake. During this period of time, the general treatment of homeless people all over the country was to escort you out of the town, and if they cannot do that, then lock you up in jail until a social service can take you in.
Do you want to know what they do in China?
Everyone in China has an identity. They have a card, but also biometrics. When ever a beggar is found on the streets or a homeless person, the duty of the citizens are to contact the police who will then come to the beggar / homeless person.
The police will then escort them to the local social services office. They will be immediately provided with a shower, clean clothes, a meal (or two as needed), a physical examination to include mental health, and an interview.
During that interview they will determine if that person can stay or needs to return to their home town. You see, every ID card is associated with a local “home town” government. That government is wholly responsible for that person.
If the person is mentally unstable, looking for work, transient but having difficulties, or whatever the issue, the interviewer will make the necessary arrangements to get the person help.
Typically, in many cases, but not all, the person would be escorted to their home town and handed over to the local government there. They will immediately provide them with long-term housing, food, showers, and a simple but useful job. The person then need not worry about health care, housing, food, or being alone.
This is how China takes care of it’s citizens.
America just locks them up in prison / mental hospital / or allows them to be preyed upon in the wilds of urban streets.
…
America has FAILED in providing to the needs of it’s citizens, while China has been able to handle and take care of it’s citizenry.
Yahoo!
The Internet empire Yahoo! has decided to close off China from all of it’s services. No reason is given, but I cannot help but assume that it is political in nature.
Ah, yet another wall to isolate China from the Western World.
My Grandfather’s House
My fathers’ father lived on “Polish Hill” which is a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is a hilly area, and all the houses are built on the sides of very steep hills, many actually being full cliff faces. Thus, when you enter the house, you would have a “ground floor” which consists of the living room and kitchen, a second floor which has a bathroom and bedrooms, and two to four basements.
In my Grandfather’s house, there were two basements. A “main basement” which opened up to the “laundry room” with the mandatory (middle of the room) commode (ah, it’s a Pittsburgh thing) and his workshop.
Now, tucked away in his workshop was this tiny “broom closet” sized door tucked away in the far corner. His workshop was filled with all sorts of electrical appliances and televisions that he would repair and work on, and old magazines and documents for the electronics world that he was a part of. He also had quite a large collection of pocket watches that he tried to repair, and various mechanisms that he would fix for a few bucks (money) here and there.
But when you opened up that tiny broom closet door, you would find yourself at a old rickety wooden spiral staircase going down into the sub-basement grotto. There was a pile of old hardwood that was too valuable to discard, shelves of very dusty brick-a-brack, and other long forgotten treasures that a boy of ten would find absolutely fascinating.
And I was ten when I discovered all these adventures.
Yes, I would explore those dingy and dark areas with the radio playing “Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon”, wearing bell-bottom pants, while my mother and grandmother watched Laurence Welk on the television show, upstairs.
Now, fast forward from the early 1970’s to 1981. I am living with my grandmother as I worked at a job in one of the steel mills there. I stayed with her for about three months until I could afford my own apartment.
And She was cleaning out that subbasement. She was hauling away everything. Too much junk, worthless garbage and clutter, she said.
I had picked up this dusty old mason jar (an old canning jar for home made preserves) and was looking inside of it. There were a few pennies from the 1920’s, a old faded scrap of paper with some unintelligible writing on it (in Polish no less), two or three old buttons, a few military pins, and a hand made key to some kind of a closet or drawer.
When I showed it to my grandmother, she exclaimed “So THAT’s where that key was!”
Apparently there was a drawer in one of the pieces of furniture in the second bedroom that has been locked for decades! So, my grandmother and I went upstairs and used the key and opened up the drawer.
Inside was a bunch of jewelry / bracelets, and a couple of old coins. There was a couple of combs, a couple of old straight razors for shaving, and some silk handkerchiefs. As well as a few old letters. There was a a very old and small diary and my grand mother picked it up and started to leaf though it, and then set it aside as we continued our explorations. There were some really old pictures of people that I did not know, and a really cool coin purse.
Now this coin purse was all metal. It was a metal bag like thingy like chain metal armor, with a cool 1920’s era design. And it had this cure little chain and it would open by a clasp. She gave it to me and I actually thought it was really cool. Inside of it, was a few more old coins. Which included pennies with faces of Indians on them, and a nickel with an Indian on the coin!
OK.
Now for part two.
Well, there was a penny in the purse, and I was messing around with my friends one weekend. And my brother had this metal (cast iron, actually) little bank mechanism thingy. You would put this penny in this part of the contraption (a representative of a guy holding a gun) and then press the latch and the mechanism would actuate a spring that would “shoot” the penny into a slot in the metal bank.
And so, on that fateful day, I lost the penny that was in the purse that I found at the grotto under the sub-basement of my grandmother’s house.
I never did get that penny back. I soon moved away after being laid off, and my life took on another direction. And somewhere, someone, took that bank that had perhaps ten or fifteen pennies, and opened it up and obtained that precious memory of when my grandmother and I discovered the key to her memories.
Why China is building more nuclear missiles…
From the article above…
One of the featured programs for this increase is the Pacific Deterrence Initiative. Last year Congress allocated $2.1 billion for the initiative. This year Davidson is asking for more than double that amount, to $4.6 billion.
The PDI's main objectives will be to increase the number of ground-based cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and hypersonic missiles in areas closer to Chinese territory.
That effort is already well underway...
Well, it should be obvious, for every new location where the USA places it’s missiles to attack China, China now needs to arm a nuclear salvo to rubble and glass-over those weapons sites so that they are impotent in a war scenario.
Good going, Congress!
Do not be under the impression that all the weapons are for the areas right next door to China, you God damn morons. It’s for YOU. It’s for YOUR homes. It’s for YOUR cities. It’s for YOUR country.
China is NOT reactionary. They provide reactions on a event by event basis until it become clear that it is an all or nothing situation. Then, they take the necessary step to extinguish all enemy leadership and their support networks immediately.
Jews! Jews! Jews!
Lordy! One of my posts from 2019 hit the internet recently, and landed in the lap of some hard-right folks. Aside from slowing my servers to a crawl, MM now came up (yet again) on American “watch lists”. Which is a headache in itself.
Sigh.
I have been getting a lot of comments about how “wrong” I am. And that Jews are the cause of everything! Jews started communism. Jews created Ebola. Jews are the reason homosexuality exists. Jews cause all wars. Jews, Jews, Jews!
Sheech!
I hope all this ruckus dies down soon. Because now a subgroup of “Chinese 5G is a plan to brainwash Americans to take vaccinations for a hoax virus” is starting to make the rounds. Who knows? Maybe the next thing will be “Donald Trump will win the next Presidential Election, and the China issue will be settled once and for all“.
I need a beer.
I am making more enemies than friends, it seems…
You know, in my last Q&A I post an eight part question by a contributor. And the Domain Commander didn’t answer it, and this was at a time where everyone was sending me questions to ask the Commander. So I just took one of the smaller lists and tried to ask it. And the results were posted.
Now the fellow who asked the question is upset, and doesn’t want me to throw him to the cornfield. Understandable, and now he fears that I have ill intent or beliefs about his intent.
Sigh.
Guys, Please understand that I had maybe 15 to 25 people throwing all sorts of multiple part questions at me to ask. I did not realize that I would become so famous. Some were very sincere. But some were just busy work.
Now put yourself in my shoes. You get questions, you cut and paste them into a MS Word file, and the list grows and grows.
Then you start the tasking. And it wears you out.
Imagine ten people asking 15 questions. That’s 150 questions!
Which ones are sincere? Which ones are critical? Which ones are important? Which ones are just busy work? I really don’t know.
So what I did, was I got a group from the top of the question list, and started my “flight plan”, and I printed the result in the Q&A.
Everyone, please I really sincerely want to make a difference in this world, and I sincerely want to answer your questions. If you have something pressing, please send to me at the laobanGBH@163.com email address, along with some background on the one singular question. I need to know why it is important to you personally.
As to those that asked questions that I did not answer, please wait. I am still a human, though I have many faults and cracks in my personality. Do not be offended. I just need to set up systems to handle the huge influx of questions, participants, and “noise” that is being directed at me right now.
Though, I will really get angry if someone sends me a tabulated spreadsheet of 200 multiple part questions like …
“Question 145, part 7, subpart 4, section B”
Which actually DID happen. Jeeze!
I responded back to him, but I guess he used a throw-away email address. I haven’t heard back from him.
Vaxx Stuff
For all youse guys who are into the anti-mRNA vaccination protocols, might find this article of value. The title speaks for itself…
All internet traffic to MM reached an unusually huge level and over taxed the system. Points of origination came from inside the United States, and I also received multiple DOS attacks. My system shut down, a secondary group of attacks came out of Hong Kong and overwhelmed my normal local internet as well.
Thus the two locations Metallicman…
Hosting Servers inside of America
Point of origin servers inside of China.
Have BOTH been simultaneously attacked by numerous DOS attacks. All on top of an abnormally large traffic stream.
My guess that it isn’t about my fine taste in cheeseburgers. I’ll be willing to bet that it is about my predictions, and the Commander’s confirmation, that the USA is planning a first strike nuclear salvo against China. Can’t allow the rest of the world to know. Heh. Heh.
I guess I am big stuff.
You all know that I have been battling with getting the systems up and running, but right now, I am unable to do anything. All internet access is overwhelmed locally, and I am simply helpless.
Well, as my cat taught me, “life is hard, then you nap”.
Well, no need to fret about it all. I’m just going to get some beer and chill out. It’s a nice day out. Blue skies. Pleasant temperatures. Fresh air.
So, as soon as a window of opportunity opens up, I will do what I can to get things back up and running again.
-MM
Have a good day you all and remember…
You, I, we… we all are a community. Never forget that.
We are all part of something much bigger.
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
More videos of personal heroism in China. This is the September 2021 edition. These videos all take place in China, with a few notable exceptions, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to load to get the full experience.
Video – Rescue of people trapped in a flipped over car
A Rufus springs into action and helps those in need. Are you that kind of person. If you saw this car upside down in the water would you drive on by because you were afraid of being late for work? Or, would you stop and help? VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Rufus Taxi Driver
A middle school girl has been waiting for a taxi. It pulls up and a bunch of strangers run over to it and barge their way inside. She remains outside politely. What does the Rufus taxi driver do? He kicks those people out and gets out of the taxi and helps the student in. Be the Rufus! VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Woman gives birth on a flight of stairs!
And everyone in the hallway helps. One woman covers her with her coat, another man calls the hospital. Another one gets her family. One raises her legs and another one gets water. Rufus’s work alone or part of a team, but they always work! VIDEO.
Video.
Meanwhile in Hong Kong
No video.
“Back to work today, forgot my pass so locked bike outside Cannon Street station. Left work at 6pm to find just the cut lock and no bike, resigned to never seeing my trusty stead again asked the station if they have cameras.
A guy appeared waving at me, asked me to put the code into my cut lock.
He replied ‘I have your bike’ with a smile I will never forget!!
His name is Abdul Muneeb and he works for South Eastern Railways, he was on a break and saw a guy bolt cut the lock and challenged him to give it back, he then took it inside and waited 4 hours after his shift finished to personally make sure I got my bike back.
The world needs more Abdul’s, he is a legend of a man and a credit to his employer.”
Cut lock.
Video – Collapse on the walkway
You don’t pretend that it isn’t happening. You do whatever it takes. You help others and you be the Rufus. Do what it takes. Be kind. Be considerate. Be helpful. VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Three month old baby tries to save his mother!
Sure the mother is just getting a back-rub, but the kid doesn’t know that. So what does he do? He crawls out of his crib, and crawls on the floor to the other room to “help” his father “save” his mother! Charming, and yet so very Rufus! VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Motorcycle cop drives an old woman home on her tricycle
Rufus’s NEVER say “that’s not my job”. They do what ever it takes and helps those in need. Here we have an older woman. In her 90’s and she no longer can petal her tricycle home. But the motorcycle cop sees this and takes her home on his own. Be the Rufus! VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Collapsing fence traps scores of people
So you are on a busy road in the middle of rush hour, and then a major road fence collapses on cars, bikes, people, everything. What’s a Rufus to do? I’ll tell you what. A Rufus goes out and helps everyone. VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Racing to save a boy’s life
You are minding your own business and a toddler comes racing down the highway heading straight towards on-going traffic. What are you going to do? Wait and watch the carnage? Film it? Be the Rufus. VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Skyscraper rescue
China is skyscraper after skyscraper, and many kids and children like to get on the porch and crawl over outside. Many die. And it is heart rendering. Here we have a man climb down from the sixteenth floor to rescue a child on the fifteenth floor. Just an average guy. Just an extraordinary time. Be the Rufus! VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Helping a homeless woman
Sometimes, all we need is an excuse to brighten up someone’s gloomy day. We just make an excuse and find a way. That’s all it takes to make someone’s day.
“OKAY, I just saw the most amazing thing today. I was waiting for my prescription at Walgreen, and I noticed this man is picking up his medicines.. He is asking how much they are, and starting to get nervous about the price. The total was $170 and the pharmacist asked if he would rather only get one month of his medicines instead of 3.
“THIS lady next to me, walks up to them and says: NO, he is getting all three months and pays for his bill. I was walking out of there with tears in my eyes, what an amazing woman…”
Be the Rufus.
Video – Distraught mother
It’s a risky time. Life happens and the stress and the emotions become unbearable. Don’t let it get to you. Be the Rufus. Help others. VIDEO.
Video.
Video – A woman provides CPR
Maybe it’s her husband. Maybe it’s a stranger. But a Rufus doesn’t just stand around. He / She mans the phones. Calls the ambulance. Helps the woman. Gets information to tell the parametric. A Rufus participates. VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Fire in the neighborhood
You see a house on fire in your own neighborhood. What are you going to do? Wait for the fire department to come. Well this video tells you everything you want to know. VIDEO70MB
Video.
Please compare the difference from the slovenly American firefighters taking their time walking to the burn-site, to the Chinese firefighters running for their lives to help put out fires. It’s like night and day.
Video – Barrier down, no problem!
A real community works together for the common good. People don’t sit things out because it’s their “freedom”. They participate. They help. They make their community better. They work together. Be the Rufus! VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Have some compassion
No one notices that the boy is standing out int he cold without a coat or even a light jacket. What is going on? Well, a Rufus notices everything. Something doesn’t “feel” right and so the Rufus takes action. VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Old man rescues a child in the freezing March Winter.
There’s a young girl flailing in the icy water. What are you going to do. I mean you’re in your 80’s after all. Well, you shed you clothes and your rescue her. That’s what you do. Be the Rufus! VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Public Servants
This is how the police behave when you have a society of Rufus’s. Everyone works to make the place a better one. We all need to do our part. We all need to participate. We all need to be helpful, kind and understanding. Be the Rufus. VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Saving a dog tied to the tracks
I do not know why this dog was tied to the train tracks. Maybe an accident, maybe on purpose by a busy owner. Maybe by some evil assholes. Whatever the reason, this guy goes forth to rescue it.
Good deeds, consideration towards others, rescues, and being helpful. All are traits of a Rufus. Here is a compilation of just a few of the many Rufus activities that occur every day but that are never reported. Be the Rufus. It’s our highest calling. VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Child goes over the side
Again, it’s a cold winter day. The child falls one story into the cold water below. What are you to do? Are you going to wait and call the police, or are you going to do something. A real Rufus takes action! Be that Rufus! VIDEO.
Video.
Video – Infant rescue to the hospital
Your baby is in distress. No time to get a taxi. No time to stop and think. So what do you do? You go to the traffic policeman and enlist his help. Be the Rufus! VIDEO.
Video.
Video – American Rufus’s in Jacksonville, Florida
It’s scenes like this that give me so much hope for America. Look at how everyone comes to help this poor guy. It doesn’t matter. Old or young, tall or short, big and fat or frail and skinny, Black or White. Everyone comes to help. Rufus. You are either one or you are not. VIDEO
Video.
Thank you for reading this.
God bless.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help others. It’s our highest calling.
Do you want more?
I have more articles like this in my Rufus Index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Here’s a mixtures of videos describing Rufus behaviors.
Are you being the best that you can be? Are you making the world around you a much better place? In a world of hate and strife, betrayal and trickery, the world needs people who will stand up and stand for something. Will you be that person? The world is filled with people who have been hurt by a corrupted society that uses, and discards others. These people need people like you.
Whether it is the use and discard nature of corporate America. Or the use and discard nature of American relationships. Or the use and discard nature of American culture. Or the use and discard nature of American finance…
… it NEEDS to change.
And if you are not living in America, but instead in a “Western nation”; a nation that has adopted this love for profits at all costs; like the UK, or Canada, or now Australia… then it is up to YOU to change things.
Stop waiting around for someone else to do something.
You step up (to the plate) and take a swing at life. Do you have room to adopt a neglect animal at the shelter; the one that no one will select? Will you go and buy a cup of coffee to the coworker? Will you go and say something nice to the girl that you hold the door open for? Will you “pay it forward” at the next toll-booth?
Will you do something good?
The Videos
The following are some videos about people; humanity and being a Rufus. Some are sad, some are painful, some are good, and some are happy. Be the Rufus. Otherwise, why live?
Be the Rufus. Be family. Be the community that cares for it’s members.
I strongly suggest you watch the videos in the order presented to get the proper "effect" that I am trying to provide.
What are you doing to make the world a little bit better place?
It doesn’t take much, sometimes. But other times, like with a meat pie lady, you have to break a few rules to show your humanity. You must be more than just friendly. You must go out of your way to do the uncomfortable. Sometimes it ‘s a real hassle… just to smile. But do it anyways.
Don’t judge the measure of your worth is by the size of your bank accounts.
Do not measure your value by your career, or who employs you.
You are far better than that.
I am telling you differently. We must seek out others. We must make friends with them, and form associations, build friendships and relationships and share. Never, ever forget the rule of three. Be the Rufus!
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Here’s a mixtures of videos describing Rufus behaviors. This group was inspired by a Pakistani woman who explained why China is the sole nation surviving the Coronavirus bio-weapon attack. As she explained it, and I really concur, is that when the Chinese government told everyone to stay inside and wear masks that everyone did. But it was more than that. They didn’t do it for themselves. They did it for others.
They did it for the old lay down the street. They did it for the health workers who volunteered. They did it for the elementary school filled with children. And if you go through those videos taken during 2020 you can clearly see the signs that everyone was holding up on their porches and windows. That they believed in China, and that they are all part of something larger.
This is what a nation full of service-to-others people can do.
But in Service-for-self nations, it’s every man for himself. It’s “I can do my own thing”, and “if I have to lie, cheat, or pretend to have to wear a mask, it’s my right”.
The future belongs to those who are contribute to the greater good; to Rufus’s who are part of a community. To those Rufus’s who can contribute what little they have, and make the difference. If everyone just picked up some trash at the side of the road then wouldn’t the roads be cleaner? If everyone spent more time on their porches and invited other to play card with them there, wouldn’t there be a sense of community? If everyone did little things like smile and say a cheery word, don’t you think that the world would be a better place?
Here’s about twenty or so videos. About half of them show the local community running to help a person in distress. Like antibodies fighting a cancer; fighting a virus, the Rufus goes and does what ever is necessary. Be that Rufus. Be the Rufus!
The videos
Each video opens up in it’s own tab. I hope that you enjoy them.
It’s a well known prepper axiom that you can have a ton load of guns and an unlimited supply of bullets, but unless you are a part of a community, you will be overwhelmed and killed. The “lone wolf” never survives in a conflict or an emergency situation. During times of strife, and emergency, we all need each other. One person’s strength can compensate for our individual weaknesses.
Somehow this basic, most fundamental aspect of humanity has been bleached out of the Western culture. Instead, it has been replaced with the idea that we are so much better being alone, cowering in fear inside our nice comfortable homes, and communicating by monitored electronic media. Uh huh.
And that our measure of worth is by the size of our bank accounts.
Well, I am going to tell you different. We must seek out others. We must make friends with them, and form associations, build friendships and relationships and share. Never, ever forget the rule of three. Be the Rufus!
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Here’s a mixtures of videos describing Rufus behaviors. They all occur on a public bus inside of China. There’s a few actual videos, and a number of dramatized videos. In almost every incidence, the dramatized event actually happened.
While it might be confusing for those who cannot read or understand Chinese, the videos themselves are easy enough to understand. They are presented here to show everyone to remember our humanity.
We are all part of something.
Never forget that. We are not isolated and alone.
We are part of something.
We belong. Be the Rufus that keeps the world happy, safe, and good.
Helping a young blind girl learn how to use a cane…
This is an actual video taken on a bus. The mother is helping the daughter learn how to use a walking-cane to navigate using the public bus transport system.
Mind your own business. Don’t get involved.
For the last fifty years of so there has been an assault in the West (and especially in America) of not to get involved. If you see someone being rude, you ignore it. If you see someone taking mistreatment, you look the other way.
In a real community, we treat others as family.
If you are an older man or woman, just saying “Why do you take this shit?” is often just enough to make the much needed point. As in this dramatization of an actual event that happened.
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Another dramatization that actually happened.
What happens when you lose your life (as in a fireman) to help others, and your spouse is heavy with an unborn child? What happens when others, not knowing your story, treat your family rudely and crudely?
We are all part of one great society and we all need to support each other. We need to stand up for each other, and support the weak. And we should have no tolerance for the rude and crude.
Here’s another true story in dramatized form.
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Be the Light for others to look up towards
This one is not a dramatization. It’s the real deal. A young “boy scout” is playing on the bus when a soldier boards the bus. And there is an exchange of respect and saluting. But notice what the soldier does afterwards with the young boy…
There is no excuse for being rude.
Age is not an excuse. Nor is color, race, wealth, or knowledge. We must start to accept that everyone has a story, a background and a life. And we are not the only ones with issue sand problems. This is a dramatization, but based on a true event.
Here’s what sometimes happens to a Rufus…
It can be an uncaring world out there. This is a dramatization of an actual event. A Rufus saves a little girl and then is abused by his boss, old people on the bus, and parents. Do not expect to get awards, or metals for being a Rufus. It can be very unrewarding.
Rufus event in the small town
A mother with her infant are driving down the road and she loses control. Luckily there are Rufus’s all around. Watch what happens. What would you do, if you were there?
Rufus saves girl from maniac arsonist
This video happens so quickly. The fire department are called in to put out a blaze in a house. They find a man who set fire to the house, beat up some elderly people, and is now holding a little girl hostage. Seconds count. Only a Rufus can save the day…
Show some humanity
And why not. True or false, this next video is a great example of how we all must work to make the world a better place. Titles, wealth and position is society are meaningless unless we contribute helping others. Be the Rufus.
And on the light side…
Ah. Kitties. I love them.
I hope that all of you are having a fine day today. Thank you for reading this. -MM
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
More videos of personal heroism in China. This is the late Summer 2021 edition.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to load to get the full Articles & Links
Man with disabilities gives all his money to help those from the flood
Sometimes people go way over and beyond their abilities. This man with disabilities was so upset about the deaths from the flooding during July 2021, that he took all of his money, all of his savings and bought food and sent it off to the victims to help them. A Rufus in every way…
Rescue
During the massive sudden flood in China in July 2021, everyone was caught off guard. Many people were swept away by the raging water, caught underground, in subways, and in basements, and inside of cars. Those that weren’t were out in full force helping others. When you are part of a community, you become a natural Rufus.
Singing in thanks
Sometimes you just cannot help others. But you should show your gratitude. Here we have a school singing after China has controlled the Coronavirus. This was repeated all over China. The Chinese are the most patriotic people on the planet.
Disrespectful behavior
In Chinese society, you either participate to make it better, or you are an outsider, worthy of scorn. Here we have a chap that is acting very bad. He’s pinching the bottom of a girl minding her own business. So she slaps him, and reports him, and guess what? He’s doing time.
There is no place for rudeness
Here is a rude driver that arrogantly splashes a puddle on a police officer. This kind of behavior is tolerated in America, as well as other anti-social behaviors. Not so in China. Anti-social behavior comes at a cost, and it does affect social credit scoring. If you are an ass-hole your position in society plummets.
Not so in America, where all the ass-holes thrive. They screech! Freedom!
Quick save on the escalator
You are just minding your own business and you hear some gasps and yells behind you. You look up and there is this hearing impaired grandmother standing on the steps while an enormous heavy piece of luggage tumbles straight for her. What are you going to do?
Construction crew rescues boy
The high-rise is on fire. A young boy is trapped inside. What to do? How to rescue him? Luckily, next door is a construction crew full of Rufus’s and they are going to help rescue him. You need not worry when there are Rufus’s around.
Even in the darkest American distraught cities, Rufus’s come to help
Here we have a young child and a worried mother trapped on a building. What to do? Well, as long as there is one Rufus around everyone will come to help. And look at them. They come from every corner of the street, and from every building. Rufus’s are everywhere.
A Rufus acts instinctively
You see someone in danger and you spring into action. You don’t sit there wondering what to do. A Rufus acts. No time for selfies. No time to finish your burger. No time to see what your friends think. You Act.
Baby in crisis!
When seconds count, who can you rely on? The police? The fire? the old lady down the street? Nope, you only have you and it is YOUR time to shine. Be the Rufus anything else is a waste.
The BRI in Africa
China is offering all sorts of free building projects to improve the lifestyles of the people that trade with it. As a result there are tons of good will, and open markets for trade and a growth in the middle class. Here is Nairobi. They have better rail than Americans do.
After a flood…
You are looking for survivors and see this! What are you going to do? Take a selfie, or run to see if he’s still alive? Lucky for him, this was a Rufus, not a self-absorbed psychopath.
Emergency!
Out of nowhere a flood engulfs your town. Cars, trucks float ways, bridges collapse, and everyone is helpless. You managed to get to safety, but you see someone flailing in the water…they are being carried far away. What will you do? Say safe, or be the Rufus?
There’s a reason…
Yes. There’s a reason why China has been enforcing noise and air pollution regulations, and the offenders are not treated lightly. The environment is everyone’s concern and everyone must contribute to make the world a good and just place to live. And if you aren’t with the program, well…
Rufus level innovation
All over China we have facial scanning being employed. No longer will you need to press those dirty buttons, and go through invasive pat downs. Things are getting to the point that in China everything is fast, quick and seamless. From digital money, to key locks on doors. It’s all non-contact.
Boy prevents abduction
Some guy, looks drunk, but can be a dangerous predator approaches two kids and tries to carry one away. But the young Rufus will have none of this, and attacks the man. A real Rufus! His parents should be so proud!
Society that cares
it used to be that the Chinese didn’t care about anything. Just themselves. But this has changed once the government proved time and time again, that they are working for the best interests of society. And it affects everyone and everything all across the board. Even the tiniest details are taken cared for. This is how a functional society works.
A car flies off the highway
So you are driving down the road and you don’t even see the car have the accident. But you see that the car is damaged, crashed, and that there are people inside screaming for help. What are you going to do?
Appreciation
You see this all the time. The Chinese are oh, so patriotic. They want to contribute and to help. When the government sends people into THEIR communities, they give back generously. It’s just the way people act when they have a government that represents their interests.
Di Di driver says NO!
In China, the equivalent drive share APP to Uber is Didi. Here we have a DiDi driver kicking the passenger out of his car because the guy was rude and horrible. Good going Rufus!
Rufus times two
All of us working together can make this world a place worth living. This idea of being alone; the lone wolf is a terrible mistake. In Military Strategy it is desirable for the enemy to do this, because it is easy to exploit. But not so in a healthy, functioning society. You work together. you donate your time. You help others. You be the Rufus.
Just an average person
A Rufus is just an average person, like you and like me. We don’t want fame, payments or accolades. We just want to live our lives, be happy and have friends that we can share our time with. That’s all. But every now and then something goes wrong, and a real Rufus has to take action. Like this lass here…
Kindness is within reach
All over Asia, and most especially among the Chinese-friendly nations, there is a strong impetus to start caring for each other, your community, your society and your environment. And to this end there are commercials being promoted. This is one of them. You won’t see anything like this in America, the UK, or Australia. But you will in the rest of the world. It is all changing.
An argument
We don’t know what goes on in the lives and minds of others. What we do know is that when you hear someone crying in distress, a real Rufus springs into action. They do not care about the consequences. They take action!
A talented rescue
Wow. Obviously this fellow had some sort of training. Superman or Rufus? You judge. Whatever he is, he is wonderful and he saved a life in the process. We should all strive to be the best that we can be. And in the process the Rufus inside all of us shines through.
Showing appreciation
Not only are the Chinese hyper-patriotic, but they 100% support their government, their police and their firemen. This is the welcome that the firefighters received in the flood damaged areas of China in 2021.
A young Rufus
A man is having trouble paying for his bus fare. Lucky for him there is a young Rufus nearby that wants to help. We all need each other. It helps keep the stress of day to day unexpected problems down, and generates good feelings all around. Be that Rufus. Young man, I salute you!
Emergency!
You are giving a girl a ride in your DiDi and suddenly she starts going into trouble. What do you do? Well, you must be calm and be the Rufus, and you call the police and drive her to the hospital. You don’t stop. you don’t think. You don’t do anything else. You be the Rufus.
Coronavirus staff
So many people are volunteering in China to help others. All those people assisting with the inoculations are all volunteers. They are not paid for what they are doing. They are giving and contributing in their society.
Here’s a group of hot and thirsty volunteers. They all wanted to get some energy drinks. But the woman running the register is a Rufus. She would never allow them to pay. So she paid for their drinks herself. She says that it’s the least that she can do.
A Rufus adapts
An ambulance carrying an accident victim overturns in a second automobile accident. She needs immediate care. What are you going to do? Lucky there is a Rufus nearby who owns a flat-bed truck and he helps the entire crew make it to the hospital. Be the Rufus!
Soldier rescues a downing person
You don’t know when the call will strike. You cannot prepare for it. You cannot plan for it. You cannot forecast it. All you can do is be the best you can be and when you are needed you simply go forth and help in whatever way that you can. We all need others in our lives. Be that Rufus.
Electric trike turned over
A man and his electric trike scooter goes belly up right in front of you. What are you going to do? Honk your horn like a rude American, or get the heck out of your seat and go and help him? Well I can tell you that it is the Rufus’s in this world that make it worth living.
Helping the animals
We should always help the animals around us. We must help them, and guide them. Often they can get hurt and highways are terrible on animals. From cats and dogs to horses, pigs and birds, we must help when we can. Like this fine Rufus here.
Electric wheelchair stalled in the street
So here is a crippled man on his electric wheelchair stalled in the middle of the street in the middle of a storm. Aren’t you glad that you are not him? Or not. Maybe you are a Rufus, and you leave your dry spot and help the poor guy out. Be the Rufus. Only a Rufus is worthy.
The tunnels are flooded!
During the flood of July 2021, many people were trapped in their cars, in tunnels and in subways, and as the water rose their only escape was out through the sewer drains. Here we have some survivors making their way to the surface and the Rufus’s that helped them.
Grandmother stops a kidnapping
She’s going home. Minding her own business, when she hears a commotion behind her. What? That six year old is being absucted. Not on her watch! So she springs to action. SHe things of nothing else. You go grandma! You go! A full-on Rufus
More Links
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Definition of Götterdämmerungfc: a collapse (as of a society or regime) marked by catastrophic violence and disorder
In the 243 years since American independence in 1776, America has been at war in 225 of those years.
Yet, it’s been centuries since anyone even tried to invade the United States.
So why is America off gallivanting all over the world and fighting in wars if there isn’t a need to defend the territorial integrity of the United States?
No one can provide an answer for this.
Or to put it another way, for 92.5 percent of the time since 1776, the Americans have been at war, either of their own making like the annexation of the Philippines in 1899, as an intervening force in other wars like the Vietnam conflict or simply initiating regime change wars against those they dislike by covertly fermenting insurrections in South America using groups like the Contras.
It's not a record that sits well with the mythology of a peace-loving America upholding the global world order or liberal values. America has been described by former U.S. President Carter and others as the most warlike nation on Earth and it's a description that is backed by the historical record.
No answers are ever provided.
Instead, they say things like freedom™, liberty™, and democracy™. They interject it along with other sentences equally impotent. Like “Plants love Brando because it’s got electrolytes”. And along with some grunts, and sneers are phrases like “you know…”, and “Wht?”
And then pull off their tops, stand on top of their pickup trucks and wave the United States flag shouting “Exceptionalism!” and “We’re the best!”
Woo Hoo!
It is the American elites who made deals with China at the expense of American workers. It’s not China that has failed to meet its obligations to American people: it has none.
American elites have made these deals. They did so at the expense of standards of living for American workers.
And small business owners. They did so even at the expense of national security and stability.
It is these very elites that failed to modernize the ancient, decrepit infrastructure. They failed to repair the road and bridges, and they ignored the plight of millions of Americans.
Americans as they fell into despair, and all the resulting addictions that result from it.
And they needed help. They cried for help. They pleaded for help. They demanded help.
Real serious help.
They need community. They need leadership. They need meaningful, purposeful employment. they need reasonable costs, abundant food at reasonable prices. Affordable housing, and basic no-frills or politically motivated education. They need their leadership to stop crime. Support them instead of wasting the precious resources that America used to have in abundance.
They need real representation.
They needed people who would do real WORK. People who would demolish the ruined failed systems, and put in brand new, well funded, and expertly run systems.
They need the basics. They need the fundamentals.
Affordable and healthy food.
Meaningful employment providing goods or services.
Affordable housing.
Low or no taxes, regulation, or rules.
A safe and secure environment free of crime, but not a police state.
They need to see a sizable amount of the tax money seized from them reinvested in their own lives.
And they do not see this.
And as a result the entire domestic interior of America is imploding upon itself in spectacular fashion. Today, you cannot tell the difference between Detroit and Damascus. Today, you cannot distinguish between an American “leader” from a poverty stricken banana republic dictator.
Aside from the clothing their actions, attitudes, and behaviors are identical.
Out of touch Government
Just how out of touch are the elites in Washington DC from the people? It’s pretty damn astounding.
Making U.S. Foreign Policy Work Better for the Middle Class is a sort of bipartisan report guiding the current, bewildered Crash Test Dummy administration.
One of the 11 writers involved is none other than National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
The notion that a global imperial strategy and – in this case – a deeply impoverished and enraged middle class share the same interests does not even qualify as a lousy joke.
With “thinkers” like these, the Hegemon does not even need Eurasian “threats”.
In case you all haven’t been paying attention, most American pay around 30% of their income to the Federal government, and an additional 16% (8 + 8) to it for “Social Security” promises. In exchange for this looting (46% of their paycheck) the American government has done nothing for them.
Not now.
Not in decades.
It’s just been squandering it off in far-away lands, and blowing up mud huts, machine gunning sheep, and loudly proclaiming to be doing it all for freedom™ and democracy™.
Yoo Hoo!
China may be many things, but it was the corruption and misleadership of American leadership (not Chinese) that led to the destruction of the middle-class and the imbalances in bilateral trade.
And there we have it.
At the expense of the American citizenry, the American elites are trying to rule the entire world. Not like before. But this time, they will “Build Back Better” so that no other nation dare opposes their rule.
Their plan is as clear as day, and their demands are astounding in their arrogance.
“Obey us!” they order.
“Follow our ‘rules based order’. The UN is useless and kneel before the great and almighty shining house on the hill.” they sneer.
Of course, after the last debacle in July 2020, I was truly surprised. I was surprised at the calm and composed stoniness of the Chinese.
If it was me, I would have sent the heads of those Jackasses back to the USA in a box. Genghis Khan style.
Washington trying to rule the world!
Are geopolitical analysts in the west seriously delusional enough to believe that Russia and China can be undermined?
It was only one month ago that the world found itself trapped on a fast track to nuclear war between NATO powers and Russia over tensions that had been brought to a boil in Ukraine.
Of course, it wasn’t only a Nazi-ridden Ukraine that was being used as a trigger for a major showdown, as evidence of Belarus regime change and even assassination attempts became publicized and MI6-Bellingcat antics were justifying new waves of anti-Russian sanctions across the trans Atlantic community.
These antics even led to the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic, media psyops attempting to lay blame on the Kremlin for cyber attacks on American pipelines.
Additionally, a zero-tolerance policy towards the completion of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline appeared to be a non-negotiable red line for Washington up until recently.
No matter where you looked, the spectre of nuclear war abounded for all to see and only companies specializing in the sale of bomb shelters were content with the direction of world events.
And then something changed.
Life is a drag when the (global) free lunch is over and on top of it you need to face not only the emergence of a “peer competitor” in Eurasia (copyright Zbig “Grand Chessboard” Brzezinski) but a comprehensive strategic partnership. You fear that China is eating your lunch – and dinner, and nightcap – but still you need Moscow as the designated enemy of choice, because that’s what legitimizes NATO.
Call The Three Stooges! Let’s send the Europeans to patrol the South China Sea! Let’s get those Baltic nullities plus pathetic Poles to enforce the New Iron Curtain! And let’s deploy Russophobic Britannia Rules the Waves on both fronts!
Control Europe – or bust. Hence the Brave New NATO World: white man’s burden revisited – against Russia-China.
So far, Russia-China had been exhibiting infinite Daoist patience in dealing with those clowns.
But not anymore.
Indeed. Something changed.
Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that certain power brokers among the Great Resetting crowd of the west realized that a smoldering earth of radioactive decay was not one they wished to rule over (or under).
Perhaps they realized that Russia had no intention of backing down in the game of nuclear chicken then being played.
Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Russia’s advanced hypersonic nuclear missile delivery systems were not a part of the game theory-based computer models which war game scenario planners had based their military engagements on.
And all that full spectrum dominance encirclement of Russia for the past 20 years was ineffective.
Yeah.
While a “limited nuclear war” sounded like an acceptable risk decades ago, it isn’t so today.
There’s no such thing as this fantasy.
Use one nuclear weapon, and your entire nation is engulfed in nuclear carpet bombing.
It appears, from direct statements made by President Biden and Jan Psaki in July 2021, that the decision to pull back from the precipice of nuclear oblivion was a reappraisal of the situation.
The geniuses in the Washington DC think tanks came up with an alternative method to bring both Russia and China to heel.
This new strategic equation rests on two wildly foolish assumptions:
The belief that the foundations of the Russian-Chinese alliance contains fatal fissures which can be exploited by savvy American diplomatic maneuvering. And since everyone in Washington DC are experts, and capable, there wouldn’t be any problem doing this.
And…
The belief that Russia somehow really desires to be popular and rejoin the “cool kids” of the G7 leading the international liberal order. After all, everyone in Washington DC is this way. So obviously everyone else int he world is like this. It’s “common sense” don’t you know!
For these two assumptions to shape the calculus of western logicians playing on a “great game”show just out of touch from reality these Washington elites actually are.
After all, it is believed by these ignorant sycophants that Russia, who shares a 2600 mile border with China, must certainly feel threatened by China’s “global ambitions”
Biden stated on June 16:
“Russia is in a very very difficult spot right now. They are being squeezed by China. They want to desperately remain a major power. They desperately want to be relevant.”
It is thus assumed that Russia may yet be swayed into joining a real power block capable of countering China’s imperial Belt and Road Initiative.
Oh…
…brother!
Americans can see though this farce…
They have learned, over the years, decades and even centuries that the American government has little concern for them. For their ideals. For their culture. For their needs.
The key players in the Heartland have clearly seen through the imperial propaganda fog; it will be a long and winding road, but the horizon will eventually unveil a Germany-Russia-China-Iran alliance rebalancing the global chessboard.
This is the ultimate Imperial Night of the Living Dead nightmare – hence these lowly American emissaries frantically scurrying around multiple latitudes trying to keep the satrapies in line.
Americans are ripe to start the lynchings of the elites.
We are QUICKLY going downhill. The state of Florida may be the one that secedes first. There is not one person in my neck of the woods that isn’t seriously SERIOUSLY getting ready. All you hear at night is fully automatic gunfire - not the average - let me practice with my 9mm in the back, but full auto. And I know what it sounds like versus fireworks.
...
The vibe - it’s about to fucking hit the fan - Seriously.
So look at what you have.
A nation ruled by mad-men.
A nation ruled by mad-men.
A pissed off and angry citizenry that are ready to go feral and unleash bloody Hell against the entire nation.
An entrenched group of vampires living inside of Washington DC that act like leeches and who have sucked the life-blood of America dry. And now, like some kind of parasite are looking to start a long war of “distraction” for their personal profit and (possibly) enjoyment.
And…
And…
It’s getting intolerable.
China and Russia are united against the out of control American madness
Ah.
But it won’t be a long, drawn out war of “distraction”. It will not be another Syria. It will not be another Yemen. It will not be another Panama. It will not be another Afghanistan.
As an expat in China. I can tell you that not only is China a serious, serious nation, but Lord Help you if you piss them off…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, China-Russia build submarines like there’s no tomorrow equipped with state of the art missiles – and Su-57s invite wise guys to a close conversation with a hypersonic Mr. Kinzhal.
Sergey Lavrov, like an aristocratic Grand Seigneur, took the trouble of enlightening the clowns with a between rule of law and their self-defined “rules-based international order”.
That’s too much for their collective IQ. Perhaps what they will register is that the Russian-Chinese Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation, initially signed on July 16, 2001, has just been extended for five years by Presidents Putin and Xi.
Oh…
So far, the Washington elites think of war as some kind of remote video game. They believe that it can be fought remotely with drones, cruse missiles and though use of others. While the America military is used as an occupation force on the conquered lands.
They can’t possibly imagine what the FUCK WOULD HAPPEN if the roles were reversed and both China and Russia would start doing the same thing to America…
Paying and having assassination squads against the American leadership.
Inciting riots, and blowing up American hospitals, ports, infrastructure, bridges, train stations, and warehouses.
Moving battle groups off the coast of New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Newport Beach, Washington DC, Boston, and Miami.
And that’s just for starters…
…don’t even get me fired up about carpet bombing the USA with biological weapons, kidnapping industry leaders, and inciting riots in major cities. Heck! If America can get away with it, then it is “on the table” for Chinese use.
But…
But…
Somehow, the Washington elites think that they can open up “Pandora’s Box” and be completely safe from the consequences.
Metropolis
As I said before…
American “leadership” is bat shit crazy.
Easy sailing in Asia, but the West is a major fuck-up
America today is “ready to pop”. It is ready to explode. And I am not talking about “Black anger”. I am talking about “White fury”. Not at the blacks or other races. But directed at the tier after tier , after tier of corrupted criminal “leadership” of Washington DC.
Only this time, it won’t be a few Trump “patriots” walking into the Whitehouse on a lark. It will be something much darker.
As the Empire of Chaos is incrementally and inexorably expelled from the Heartland, Russia-China are jointly managing Central Asian affairs.
In the Central and South Asia connectivity conference in Tashkent, Lavrov detailed how Russia is driving “the Greater Eurasian Partnership, a unifying and integrational outline between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans that is as free for the movement of goods, capital, labor and services as possible and which is open to every country of the common continent of Eurasia and the integration unions created here.”
Then there’s the updated Russian National Security Strategy, which clearly outlines that building a partnership with the US and hitting win-win cooperation with the EU is an uphill struggle: “The contradictions between Russia and the West are serious and are hard to solve.”
By contrast, strategic cooperation with China and India will be expanded.
New global realignments are forming. The world is growing and getting better, and that evil military empire; the United States, the scourge of the world for nearly a century is imploding.
How that implosion will occur…
…no one knows.
But it wouldn’t take much to set it off.
We all saw what happened when New Orleans levy collapsed. Imagine that happening in every single city simultaneously, and all transport routes for food, gas, and staples all collapse.
It would be really bad.
So it appears that America is really trying to start a war of “distractions”, and China is viewed to be the villain to demonize.
China said ENOUGH!
Yup.
Any meetings where America comes and continues the same old litany of bullshit will not be fruitful. So China won’t have any part of them. The door is closed. Forgetaboutit.
Yet the defining geopolitical breakthrough in the second year of the may well be China telling the Empire, “That’s enough”.
It started over two months ago in Anchorage, when the formidable Yang Jiechi out of the helpless American delegation. The piece de resistance came this week in Tianjin, where Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng and his boss Wang Yi reduced mediocre imperial bureaucrat Wendy Sherman to stale dumpling status.
This searing analysis by a Chinese think tank reviewed all the key issues. Here are the highlights.
– The Americans wanted to ensure that “guardrails and boundaries” are established to avoid a deterioration of U.S.-China relations in order to “manage” the relationship responsibly. That did not work, because their approach was “terrible”.
– “Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng hit the nail on the head when he said that the U.S. “competition, cooperation and confrontation” triad is a “blindfold” to contain and suppress China. Confrontation and containment are essential, cooperation is expedient, and competition is a discourse trap. The U.S. demands cooperation when it is in need of China, but in areas where it thinks it has an advantage, it decouples and cuts off supplies, blocks and sanctions, and is willing to clash and confront China in order to contain it.”
– Xie Feng “also presented two lists to the U.S. side, a list of 16 items requesting the U.S. side to correct its wrong policies and words and deeds toward China, and a list of 10 priority cases of China’s concern (…) if these anti-China issues caused by the U.S. side’s bent are not resolved, what is there to talk about between China and the U.S.?”
And while all this is going on, Biden wants to drive a wedge between China and Russia so that China can be left alone and vulnerable. And to this end, he treats President Vladimir Putin as “another one of him”.
With Biden stating:
“Russia doesn’t want to be known as the upper Volta with nuclear weapons’. It matters. And I found it matters to almost every world leader-no matter where they’re from- how they’re perceived, their standing in the world. It matters to them.”
To understand the thinking behind this second statement, it must be understood that a fundamental belief among all behaviorists (of which Biden is no exception being ruled by teams of them and being little more than a synthetic shell himself of impulses devoid of any actual substance himself), is that one of the fundamental drives of all soulless/blank-slates is the desire to be popular.
Being popular and adapting to the force of popular opinions works in all anarchist mobs, school yards and especially politics (which is seen as the ultimate game of popularity for any substance-free rhetorician).
The force of popular opinion will thus cause anyone to modify their beliefs, opinions, and behavior in conformity to whatever “norms” shape their environment.
While one would think it obvious that Putin was NOT the sort of individual to fall prey to this shallow definition of “practical” human nature, Biden and his handlers appear to think otherwise.
White House spokeswoman Jan Psaki amplified this view saying:
“I think the president’s view is that Russia is on the outside of the global community in many respects… what the president is offering is a bridge back. And so, certainly he believes its in their interests to take him up on the offer.”
So while the outcome of the Putin-Biden meeting resulted in some inarguably positive steps towards the creation of mechanisms to avoid blowing up the world….
Such as re-activating START, and committing to solid rules of engagement in the Arctic and other Russian border regions.
China has become the new primary target of western ire.
Of course, China is not going to stand for this.
Where Russia is defined as one among many authoritarian regimes capable of abrasive disturbances but ultimately controllable in the long run, the Chinese have been labelled a much greater threat to western unipolar hegemony.
And China is not going to accept this.
Why Russia would feel “squeezed” by this fact is an absurdity beyond belief.
After all, China is not the one who has lit fires across Russia’s underbelly, promoted a decade of shock therapy, Balkanization, NATO expansion, funded color revolutionary tactics, or corralled the world community to impose sanctions onto her.
The fact is that Russia and China enjoy a vastly increasing rate of trade now topping $100 billion annually (compared to the mere $20 billion of US-Russian trade).
These facts that unite both great nations in a solid unassailable partnership are what is keeping the oligarchs up at night.
In his NBC Interview with Keir Simmons before meeting Biden, this is what Putin said of the Russian-Chinese relationships:
“Can I be completely honest?
We can see attempts at destroying the relationship between Russia and China.
We can see that those attempts are being made in practical policies.
And your questions, too, have to do with it…
We (China and Russia) are neighboring countries.
One does not choose one’s neighbors.
We are pleased with the unprecedentedly high level of our relationship as it has evolved over the last few decades, and we cherish it, just like our Chinese friends cherish it, which we can see.”
And the message has been clear.
The point has been made: “The Chinese have long had enough of American arrogance, and the time when the U.S. tried to bully the Chinese is long gone.”
Wang Yi’s three bottom lines to Washington. In a nutshell:
The BRI
“The United States must not challenge, denigrate or even attempt to subvert the socialist road and system with Chinese characteristics. China’s road and system are the choice of history and the choice of the people, and they concern the long-term welfare of 1.4 billion Chinese people and the future destiny of the Chinese nation, which is the core interest that China must adhere to.”
[ FYI; in May 2021, the U.S. Senate pledged up to $300 million to spread information on the "negative impact" of China's Belt and Road Initiative, and develop "anti-Chinese influence" programs and a scheme to "train journalists" with the goal of censoring Beijing's successes from world view.]Chinese domestic growth.
“The United States must not try to obstruct or even interrupt China’s development process. The Chinese people certainly have the right to a better life, and China also has the right to modernization, which is not the monopoly of the United States and involves the basic conscience of mankind and international justice. China urges the U.S. side to expeditiously lift all unilateral sanctions, high tariffs, long-arm jurisdiction and the science and technology blockade imposed on China.”
[The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was based on a carefully constructed false narrative, something that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and later U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, acknowledged decades later.It is this consistent background that makes it essential that political leaders pause and independently fully evaluate the claims made by the United States and the secretive intelligence services who advise the U.S. decision makers. America's allies need to acknowledge that it has a history of violence and of the glorification of violence as a means of resolving problems.]China is a nation. Not a territory of the USA.
“The United States must not infringe on China’s national sovereignty, let alone undermine China’s territorial integrity. The issues related to Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong are never about human rights or democracy, but rather about the major rights and wrongs of fighting against “Xinjiang independence”, “Tibet independence” and “Hong Kong independence”. No country will allow its sovereign security to be compromised. As for the Taiwan issue, it is a top priority (…) If “Taiwan independence” dares to provoke, China has the right to take any means needed to stop it.”
[There is certainly evidence that China wants to protect its borders and maintain its sovereignty. This need has become more urgent as the pace of China threat rhetoric has increased. Despite the constant drip-feed of off-the-record security briefings generating China-scare stories in the Western media, there is scant genuine evidence that China wants to expand its borders. Unlike the United States, there is not a historical record of Chinese expansion or aggression.]
And while all this has been going on in the International sphere, let’s not forget the turmoil that is brewing inside of America right now…
We are the unwitting victims of a system so corrupt that those who stand up for the rule of law and aspire to transparency in government are in the minority.
This corruption is so vast it spans all branches of government: from the power-hungry agencies under the executive branch and the corporate puppets within the legislative branch to a judiciary that is, more often than not, elitist and biased towards government entities and corporations.
We are ruled by an elite class of individuals who are completely out of touch with the travails of the average American.
We are viewed as relatively expendable in the eyes of government: faceless numbers of individuals who serve one purpose, which is to keep the government machine running through our labor and our tax dollars. Those in power aren’t losing any sleep over the indignities we are being made to suffer or the possible risks to our health. All they seem to care about are power and control.
We are being made to suffer countless abuses at the government’s hands.
We have little protection against standing armies (domestic and military), invasive surveillance, marauding SWAT teams, an overwhelming government arsenal of assault vehicles and firepower, and a barrage of laws that criminalize everything from vegetable gardens to lemonade stands.
In the name of national security, we’re being subjected to government agencies such as the NSA, FBI and others listening in on our phone calls, reading our mail, monitoring our emails, and carrying out warrantless “black bag” searches of our homes. Adding to the abuse, we have to deal with surveillance cameras mounted on street corners and in traffic lights, weather satellites co-opted for use as spy cameras from space, and thermal sensory imaging devices that can detect heat and movement through the walls of our homes.
That doesn’t even begin to touch on the many ways in which our Fourth Amendment rights are trampled upon by militarized police and SWAT teams empowered to act as laws unto themselves.
In other words, freedom—or what’s left of it—is threatened from every direction.
The predators of the police state are wreaking havoc on our freedoms, our communities, and our lives. The government doesn’t listen to the citizenry, it refuses to abide by the Constitution, which is our rule of law, and it treats the citizenry as a source of funding and little else. Police officers are shooting unarmed citizens and their household pets. Government agents—including local police—are being armed to the teeth and encouraged to act like soldiers on a battlefield. Bloated government agencies are fleecing taxpayers. Government technicians are spying on our emails and phone calls. Government contractors are making a killing by waging endless wars abroad.
-John Whitehead
Yes.
To all my international readers, you have no idea just how messed up America has become.
Really messed up.
Slow motion train wreck
I think most Americans are either [1] oblivious to what is going on, [2] worried as can be, or [3] just waiting for the “blow to hit”.
And we can gauge this by looking at society.
And that means American movies and media…
Five Films About Post-Modern America
Be forewarned, these five hit hard and cover nearly everything: rape, miscegenation, drugs, abuse, you name it. But they do accurately reflect the Current Year in all its misery.
They are all depressing, disgusting, and upsetting. So I am not posting any links for further investigation. If you want to watch them, then you are on your own. Personally, I think all you need to realize is that there is a sizable Western population who’s lives resemble these expressions of video antagonism.
Climax (2018)
What might happen if you took a bunch of directionless, hedonistic, oversexed twenty-somethings, trapped them in a building, and gave them way too much acid?
Nights and Weekends (2008)
Nights and Weekends (2008)
Long-distance relationships are unbearable, and truly unique to our time. This Joe Swanberg indie hit covers the phenomenon with unbearable accuracy.
Storytelling (2002)
Storytelling (2002)
The best depiction yet of the horror of college and the misery of suburbia.
Ken Park (2002)
Ken Park (2002)
It’s relentless in its depiction of degeneracy, but as critic Lee Marshall noted, “In a weird way this is a moral film.”
The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998)
The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998)
Wonder what environments birth antifa?
Conclusion
Ok, there’s change going on.
The “West” led by either the USA or the UK, and influenced by banking interests are steering this massive colossal cultural-industrial-military-and-bureaucratic fiefdom towards conflict. The handling of it is so profoundly inept and transparent, that only the most manipulated and ignorant fail to see it.
Stuck on this massive block of rot and ruin are many innocents and good people. And due to their situation, and their knowledge their ability to change things is not really possible…
…except…
…in what they can do in their immediate reality This is their immediate area and zone of control.
Please hang on. There are other forces and interests that see this situation as it has been presented and will not allow this ruin to become the rest of the world, nor will they allow it to continue for too much longer. So hold on tight. perform your centering and prayer campaigns. Be good. Do your best, and help others in your community. You all will get through this.
Have some faith.
Alright?
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
Here, in this article I argue that the United States leadership is bat-shit-crazy. And their dealings with China confirms this. With each instance of interaction between the USA and China we see absolute ignorance, rudeness and irritating bluster that makes the entire world cringe. Why is this? Well, we will look at that right now.
Background
From MoA. The article discusses the second group of talks between the USA and China. This time taking place in China in July 2021. It was a second fiasco.
U.S. – China Talks Point To A Longer Conflict
The U.S. wants to slice and dice its approach to China. It will use all means to take advantage of China where it can, while restricting China in those fields were it can no longer compete with it.
The Chinese reject that approach.
The U.S., they say, should not see China as an enemy. It should stop lecturing China, accept it as an equal and cooperate with it in all fields.
The U.S. is unwilling to do that.
The USA is unwilling to accept China as an equal.
Its media-military-industrial complex is already primed for a cold war with China. Trillions of dollars are to be made from it.
China on the other side is ready to play hardball if it must.
Today U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman held talks with the Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Feng, She also meet with Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The later meeting, demanded to be the main event by the U.S., had already led to some squabble. Wang Yi is beyond Sherman’s rank and her main discussion, the Chinese insisted, should be with a person on her own level:
The State Department emphasized Sherman will have “senior-level” communications but a statement from China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry emphasized that Sherman “will hold talks” with Xie and after that Foreign Minister Wang will “meet her.”
Let me elaborate…
The Department of State announced that Ms. Sherman is going to meet with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and others in Tianjin. However, a spokesperson from China’s Foreign Ministry made clear on Friday that Ms. Sherman is to negotiate with Mr. Xie, while Mr. Wang will receive her afterward. ( “会见”)
For anyone who appreciates the richness of the Chinese language, “会见” can mean a meeting, but only in the context of gracing an inferior. This is the approach taken by the Foreign Ministry in the case of Wang’s meeting with Sherman.
When asked about Sherman’s visit on July 24, H.E. Wang remarked that China and the international community as a whole bear the responsibility to teach the US a lesson if the US has not learned to treat others as equals.
Accenting Sherman’s visit is China’s sanctioning of prominent US figures, including former Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The action serves as both a retaliation in the face of US warnings over Hong Kong and as a heads-up for the upcoming Tianjin talks.
From the Chinese perspective, Sherman’s Asia tour is assertive overall, as it seeks to solidify the encirclement of China.
But the Tianjin meeting will move ahead in [1] the context of China as an equal to the US; [2] that Chinese are not to be offended, and [3] the US cannot conduct foreign policy from a position of strength.
Professor Shirley Ze Yu's editors prepared a most insightful commentary ahead of Deputy Secretary of State Sherman's meeting with her counterparts ( or not) in Tianjin.
Please check out their commentary here https://lnkd.in/enBjf4i
On Saturday two ‘senior U.S. administration officials’ gave a preview of the talks:
As Secretary Blinken has said, the U.S. relationship with China will be collaborative where it can be, competitive where it should be, and adversarial where it must be.
And we expect all dimensions of the relationship will be on the table for discussion during Wendy’s meetings.
...
In Tianjin, [Sherman is] going to make clear while we welcome stiff and sustained competition with the PRC, everyone needs to play by the same rules and on the level – on a level playing field.
She’s going to underscore that we do not want that stiff and sustained competition to veer into conflict.
This is why the U.S. wants to ensure that there are guard rails and parameters in place to responsibly manage the relationship.
The second official added:
So let me also put this meeting into the context of the administration’s broader China policy effort.
Since President Biden took office, we’ve put a lot of focus on strengthening our own competitive hand vis-a-vis China through many actions that we’ve taken domestically, investing in ourselves at home.
We’ve also rallied our allies and partners, including to advance an affirmative vision of the rules-based international order.
And we’ve confronted China when they’ve acted against our interests and values while working to cooperate with China on areas like climate change and nonproliferation.
We know we’re stronger when we work with our allies. We know this makes us more effective when dealing with Beijing.
We aren’t seeking an anti-China coalition in our work with allies and partners, but rather trying to work together in a multilateral fashion to uphold the international rules-based order.
...
With all of those actions underway, we’re entering this engagement from a position of strength and of solidarity.
...
Even as we meet with our Chinese counterparts, we will also continue to hold China accountable.
These things are not mutually exclusive, and it should be clear that we are not afraid to impose costs for China’s behavior that undermines international norms.
Yup.
This describes how the rest of the world views the American position…
My opinion is…
As Peter Lee commented with his usual snark:
chinahand @chinahand - 16:43 UTC · Jul 24, 2021
"We're going to keep kicking your ass. Don't kick back, 'kay?" Our fate now that dime store Machiavellis, excuse me, generational talents, run the FP show.
The emphasized words were not welcome in China.
On Sunday Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded in an interview with an attack on U.S. exceptionalism:
“The United States always wants to exert pressure on other countries by virtue of its own strength, thinking that it is superior to others,”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday.
“However, I would like to tell the US side clearly that there has never been a country in this world that is superior to others, nor should there be, and China will not accept any country claiming to be superior to others.
“If the United States has not learned how to get along with other countries on an equal footing by now, then it is our responsibility, together with the international community, to give the US a good tutorial in this regard.”
Today, after the talk between Sherman and Xie, the Foreign Ministry published a series of strong response snippets by Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Feng:
I especially like the one about the ‘rules based international order’:
On 26 July, during his talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng made the comment that the U.S. side's so-called “rules-based international order” is an effort by the United States and a few other Western countries to frame their own rules as international rules and impose them on other countries.
The United States has abandoned the universally-recognized international law and order and damaged the international system it has helped to build.
And it is trying to replace it with a so-called “rules-based international order”.
The purpose is to resort to the tactic of changing the rules to make life easy for itself and hard for others.
As well as to introduce “the law of the jungle" where might is right and the big bully the small.
China has for the first time given the US a list of red lines and remedial action it must take to repair relations.
Including [1] lifting sanctions and [2] dropping its extradition request for Huawei financial chief Meng Wanzhou.
Chinese foreign vice-minister Xie Feng told US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman on Monday morning that...
... US-China relations had reached a “stalemate”...
... and faced “serious consequences”.
According to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
“The foundational reason is that some people in the US are treating China as an ‘imagined enemy’,” it quoted Xie as saying.
After the meeting, Xie said China gave two lists to the US.
[1] One with one remedial action for Washington to take towards China.
[2] And the other a series of Beijing’s key concerns.
...
Xie said the Chinese side also “expressed its strong dissatisfaction towards the wrong remarks and actions of the US” in relation to...
... investigations into [1] the origins of Covid-19, [2] Taiwan, [3] Xinjiang, [4] Hong Kong and [5] the South China Sea.
“We urge the United States not to underestimate...
...the strong determination,
...firm will and
...strong ability
of the 1.4 billion Chinese people to...
...safeguard national sovereignty,
...security and
...development interests,”
The state news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying.
In its summary of the talks the Associated Presspoints to the basic difference in the approaches:
High-level face-to-face talks between U.S. and Chinese diplomats on Monday highlighted sharp differences between the sides.
Although the tone appeared somewhat less contentious than at their last meeting.
...
Xie said China wants to [1] seek common ground while [2] shelving differences.
This highlights a divide in the basic approach to their relationship.
The Biden administration has said it will cooperate in areas [1] such as climate. But it will [2] confront China in others such as human rights. He described the relationship as collaborative, competitive and adversarial (at the same time).
As the U.S. is for now rejecting the Chinese offer for burying the hatchet…
… China will have to play hardball.
It will not be cooperative in the fields where the U.S. wants it to be cooperative (Iran, North Korea, etc.).
It will also be adversarial in fields where the U.S. has little ability to push back (rare earth exports, Boeing 737MAX re-certification).
The U.S. hopes that it can find and press ‘allies’ into confronting China. But Europe already rejected that. (Not happening.)
Under these circumstances I for one fail to see how the U.S. could win in a longer cold conflict.
How long then will it take until the U.S. recognizes that and steps down from its illusion of supremacy?
You do know…
America has been very public in saying that the Chinese leadership will be assassinated. That military forces are being trained to invade China and the outlying islands. That secret hidden forces are being trained to perform dangerous secretive work to sabotage China. And that every action that China does that is positive, that America will try to undo it.
And somehow, the American people are just fine with this.
Ok! China won’t fight back you know. No worries. No problem.
Right?
Crazy!
From what I see today…
…never.
The entire American leadership suffers from some kind of mental illness. They are so sick that they are beyond repair.
Today, on the Chinese television and in social media everyone is playing the clip with the government authorities have stated that America is no longer reliable, believable and worthy of interaction with.
That means…
…all negotiations from now on are zero-sum efforts. They are not possible and cannot exist.
I argue that this idea of natural superior to the Chinese derives from decades of constant reinforcement of what the Chinese are. Over time, this reinforcement gets crazier, and crazier, until today it is unrecognizable from reality.
Here is a movie that I believe represents the type of Hollywood movie fare that has shaped the political class in Washington DC today. You might read it and think “oh goodness! No one could possibly be that deluded as to believe such nonsense!”
To which I counter…
…you haven’t been to the USA lately have you?
BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH
A Chinese general goes berserk and has a system of tunnels dug all the way from China to USA, under the Pacific Ocean. The man who has discovered this is locked up because they think he is insane. US Navy soldiers go underground to repel the invaders.
BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH
The picture concerns upon Chinese communists (leader is Martin Benson as general goes berserk and who places atomic bombs) trying to destroy United States via some continued series of underground tunnels , made all the way from China under the Pacific Ocean , but some US Navy soldiers , scientists , military (Kerwin Mathews , Al Mulok , Ed Bishop) and a gorgeous geologist (Vivienne Ventura) discover the scheme and go underground to repel the invaders .
It's a pulp movie of science-fiction genre in which there are noisy action , suspense , intrigue , tension and results to be quite bemusing .
The history deals with nasty Chinese people and American patriots who fight strongly to vanquish them .
In spite of lack luster and budget is quite agreeable and fun .
The plot is almost ridiculous and senseless but it's developed in fast moving and numerous surprises and that's why it is amusing .
The movie has precedent in those films of the 30s with Fumanchu (by Sax Rohmer) and Boris Karloff as heinous starring and nearest the series of the 60s (produced by Harry Alan Towers with Christopher Lee as the Chinese baddie) in which the ¨yellow danger¨ was a fearful enemy .
The motion picture takes part of a genre which in the 80s attained splendor , thus : ¨Red Dawn¨ (by John Milius with Patrick Swayze) , ¨Invasion USA ¨ (by Joseph Zito with Chuck Norris) and ¨Amerika¨ (by Donald Wyre with Kris Kristofferson) where the communists -Russkies generally- execute invasion on America .
Rating : Average but entertaining .
Evil Communist Chinese woman using a powerful mind ray to seduce our young American hero.
The Characters:
Cmdr. Shaw – His experimental underwater laboratory imploded, so he is assigned as senior testing official, U.S. Navy Forces Out to Pasture, Ashore.
Tila Yung – I bet she gets tired of servicemen asking what a pretty girl like her is doing in a hole like this.
Dr. Arnold Kramer – Part anteater, part scientist, and all-American. He’s also mad as a hatter, though I doubt he’s ever worn a felt hat and presumably has enough sense to avoid drinking quicksilver.
SgtMaj. Mulberry – “Sir, if you call me ‘sergeant’ one more time, I am going to get Bataan on your a**.”
Cmdr. Cassidy – Computer technician who flies a desk. Because this is 1967, his computer is so big that it dwarfs his house.
Dr. Kengh Lee – You look just about as Chinese as Tony Randall.
Gen. Chan Lu – You look more like Tony Randall than a Chinese person.
So many opportunities to laugh at this film. Where does one begin? European actors in "yellowface" playing the bad guy renegade Chinese army. (Let's see here -- the bad guy in his lair always has an eccentric pet with him -- okay the guy has a parrot! Check that off the list!)
A film obviously made in Britain pretending to be a Hollywood film, which takes place in Las Vegas (unconvincing cardboard set inside a sound stage, plus some actual second unit stock footage), San Diego (England), Oregon (England again) and Hawaii (more stock footage, plus various underground tunnels (more paper mache sets in a sound stage).
Comically fake nuclear bombs. Laser guns mounted on bulldozers. Giant spinning tape reel computer banks...no wait, those were real at that time.
Bad directing, jump cuts, dropped frames, one establishing shot where the camera drops off the tripod. Awkward staging. Hokey dialog. The whole plot totally ridiculous. Well, it is like a live action comic book. So why should I take any bit of it seriously? Well, the characters seem to be dead serious about the whole enterprise. (That's good. True camp does not work if you give a "nod and a wink" to the audience...though that one scene with the slot machines in the mental hospital was perhaps a bit over the line...)
Yes, fans of The Batman or Green Hornet TV shows of this time period will be right at home here. Plenty of bright primary colors, swish pan transitions, and blaring cool-daddyo-jazz soundtrack. It's all here for the fan of 1960's camp and Cold War pop culture kitsch to treasure as an endemic artifact of its time, the likes of which we may never see again.
Thank goodness.
BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH
The Plot:
As the film begins, Las Vegas’ finest (meaning the police, not strippers, showgirls, or escorts) are called to the site of a disturbance. They find Dr. Arnold Kramer, eminent scientist, with his ear to the sidewalk, yelling about something digging underneath their feet. Arnold is not half as crazy as he appears to be. There are not giant ants making a nest under Las Vegas, even though I would happily pay money to see a movie about giant ants. What is slowly crawling below the Earth of free America is much more insidous.
Hold on, I’ll tell you what it is in a minute.
What is that sound under the ground? Dastardly Communists destroying the bedrock of society?
Elsewhere, Commander Shaw is not enjoying his reassignment to shore duty following an accident of undetermined nature that destroyed his pet project, SeaLab VII, and killed twenty-seven men. Instead of actual research or having a ship to command, the Commander finds himself testing pipes. It’s not exactly rewarding work for one of the brightest minds in the U.S. Navy, but at least he is not a guest at one of the military’s correctional facilities, peeling potatoes next to mother stabbers and father rapers. Nor is he experiencing the hospitality of a state mental institution, like Mr. Kramer. He goes to visit Arnold, because the two have known each other for years. The visit causes Shaw to think that his old buddy is as crazy as the psychiatrists say.
Later on, a random news report about a tragedy at a deep mine in Oregon gets Shaw to thinking. He takes a trip to personally investigate the mine collapse and discovers something fantastic: a mysterious medallion and an unexplained tunnel with smooth sides. Taking some samples back to the Navy lab only creates more questions. To find out what is really going on, the Commander leads two squads of Marines down into the hole. They discover a room filled with Chinese and atomic bombs! The Marines attack and easily defeat the Chinese in a decidedly one-side battle. The outcome is not surprising, since most of the Chinese are technicians who are only armed with clipboards.
BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH
What is surprising is that the Marines quickly set to work rendering the atomic weapons unusable. All of the bombs look like stainless steel milk tanks turned on their sides. Making them inert involves uncapping one end and reaching in to remove a small cylinder that is resting in a cradle. The cylinders appear to be 9 oz CO2 tanks. My trouble is knowing what they are, but not what they are supposed to be. They cannot simply be the fuse, because that would be easy to replace. Perhaps the cylinders are supposed to be the plutonium or tritium. If that is the case, then those Marines should not be handling the cylinders with their bare hands.
Deactivating an atomic bomb is not the sort of thing that you should rush. Unfortunately, the return of a Chinese tunnel-making machine means that the Marines are out of luck and out of time. Commander Shaw and his compatriots finish removing the tritium cylinders from the bombs, but then have to deal with the tunnel-making machine. While not a military vehicle, it is not the sort of thing that a Marine wants to run into in a dark tunnel. It does not have a huge drill on the front, because the tunnels are created with a super boring laser thingamajig. So, the Chinese tunneling machines look like armored zambonis. The Marines do what Marines always do when faced with armored vehicles: they throw grenades at it until it explodes.
Actually, that only happens in video games. When Marine infantry is forced to engage enemy armor, we like to use just about everything besides grenades. This makes everybody happy, except the crew of the armored vehicle. Especially thankful are the 0352 TOW gunners who finally get a chance to expend one of the missiles they have always wanted to shoot, but which are too expensive to use for training.
Battle beneath the Earth.
After conducting a tactical retreat from the Chinese tunnel, Commander Shaw returns to the laboratory so he and the other brass can plan their next move against the subterranean red menace. Gentlemen, this is not a matter for discussion. There is a Red Chinese tunnel under the United States! You should divert the Colorado River into it or else send in a lot of Marines to clear the artificial cave system room by room. Imagine how much fun a battalion of Marines would have in the Underdark. Well, except for encountering all sorts of weird creatures that could only be dreamed up by nerds with too much time. Having my skin turned into slime by an aboleth or my brain puréed by an illithid would suck (yea, mightily). On the other hand, a movie about a squad of Marines fighting beholders and cave fishers would be a lot of fun.
I know that the SyFy folks read the site, so consider the suggestion officially submitted. It will probably be made, get turned into a series, become extremely popular with a group of hardcore fans, and then get cancelled after the first season. That’s just the way the SyFy cookie crumbles. To be honest, that’s the way that every SyFy cookie crumbles.
Brave American hero easily takes over the unsuspecting evil Chinese soldiers.
Anyway.
While the Americans scramble to figure out what is going on under the purple mountains and fruited plains, the Chinese continue their tunneling activities. General Lu and Doctor Lee are only mildly concerned that the United States has finally discovered their tunnels. They are nearly ready to proceed with the final phase of their plan. The thermonuclear weapons are, of course, intended to be detonated below every major American city and military installation. I would guess that the Chinese intend to dig upwards and leave their little present inside someone’s basement, then set the timer and retreat to a safe distance until the “All’s Destroyed” signal. After the bombs are detonated, the Chinese are prepared to conduct a military invasion to overpower what is left of America’s military forces.
This tunnel stretches all the way from China to the United States. Where are they getting their fresh air? Heck, where are they getting the genuine imitation Chinese restaurant decor?
The Chinese might be master in technology, but are not a match for the American freedom and democracy!
There is one huge, glaring problem with this movie. No, it is not the general premise. Nor is it the Marines (even the Private) all looking like they reached retirement age ten years ago. It’s not even the idea that the Chinese use big vacuum tube capsules like the ones you see in a bank’s drive-through to get from one end of the tunnel to the other. The biggest problem with “Battle Beneath the Earth” is that the Chinese do not look Chinese; not even by my standards. I am talking about the two main characters, Lee and Lu. The job that makeup did on the two actors makes it appear that they are old men who have had way too much cosmetic surgery. They look more Botox than Chinese.
Battle beneath the earth.
General Lu’s second in command does look Chinese, but the general shoots him for incompetence. Meaning that we’re right back to square one. Hrumpf!
Back at the American lab, Dr. Kramer and the others are making good progress is replicating the Chinese tunneling technology. What they are having a problem doing is finding the existing tunnels. Even using the giant government computer, with its reels of magnetic tape and army of support technicians, proves fruitless. There is too much extra noise going on to pinpoint the relatively silent Chinese tunneling machines. What the scientists finally do is order the entire country to be quiet for ten minutes so the computers can listen for the Chinese moles.
Dangerous underground Communist Chinese cars!
Amazingly, it works. Mass transit grinds to a halt, construction workers stop jackhammering, farmers stop plowing, and rednecks stop fishing with dynamite. The last state to go quiet is Texas, which is probably on account of some idiot out in bumf**k digging out a stump. Stop digging for ten minutes, ya durn fool. The Chinese are coming! Nobody cares about that stupid stump. It’s almost time for supper anyhow.
The moments of silence work. The computer maps out the network of Chinese tunnels under the ocean and the United States. Commander Shaw and Doctor Kramer know where the Chinese are at, meaning that our national foundation has a fighting chance. Hooray for American ingenuity! Hooray for the big-a** computer! Hooray for all the female employees in white blouses and gray skirts!
Brave American soldiers hiding from the evil Chinese army.
Remember when science was all about big rolls of magnetic tape, pretty women in tastefully fitting skirts, and beeps? Man, I miss those beeps.
With the location of the Chinese tunnels mapped out, the Americans are finally ready to go on the offensive. Using a prototype tunneling machine built by Dr. Kramer using bits and pieces of the destroyed Chinese vehicle, the American forces intend to disrupt the tunnel at it’s most vulnerable point near Hawaii. I can hear the Marines now, “What? We have to go TAD to Hawaii? Oh, no!” Unfortunately, once the Americans descend into the tunnels things go terribly wrong. The small strike force is ambushed by Chinese troops and either killed or taken prisoner. In the end, it is up to the main characters to escape from their cell, hijack an underground atomic bomb train, and destroy the Chinese tunnel system.
Oh, and Commander Shaw hooks up with Dr. Yung, because she is hot.
BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH
Things I Learned From This Movie:
Never, ever follow any advice that you get from the sidewalks in Vegas.
The Department of the Navy has jurisdiction over all military operations that take place below sea level.
Marines are trained to defuse nuclear bombs while they are at Boot Camp.
The space race was a Red Chinese herring.
Both paper and halogen headlights beat rock.
The only tool needed to arm or disarm a nuclear weapon is a 5.5mm allen wrench.
If a Chinese person and an elf conceived a child it would look exactly like Mr. Spock.
Atomic bombs make a ticking sound when they are about to explode.
Radioactive fallout causes the most beautiful sunsets.
BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH
Stuff To Watch For:
19 mins – It’s a genuine Fu Manchu belt buckle with decoder ring! I got one of those in a box of Count Chocula cereal when I was a kid.
26 mins – “Oh, don’t shoot them.”
38 mins – Paint cans filled with soy sauce. How diabolical!
47 mins – You’d think that they would have unrolled a spool of comm wire as they went.
56 mins – Ah, back when the Air Force was so poor they couldn’t even afford paint for their aircraft.
61 mins – I would have died laughing if she replied that she had a doctorate in home economics.
68 mins – Their handheld fan technology is years ahead of our own!
82 mins – You just passed those same guys, with that same cart, a few minutes ago.
BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH
Sheech!
Where the American Diplomats Learned about China…
All evidence that they picked up their knowledge from either B-grade budget movies made during the “cold war” or they found something stuck up their ass that they pulled out.
This is the university that taught American “diplomats” how to act with the Chinese.
Ok. Ok. I know it’s a bit of a stretch…
But if someone else can posit why the American diplomats are not acting like diplomats, and instead like power-crazed bullies being rude and bellicose, I will listen. Right now I am of the mind that it must be a combination of mass psychosis, insanity, massive quantities of mind altering drugs, greed, and nonsensical illusions of their real power and ability.
Or…
The American government WANTS the Chinese to get angry. They WANT to provoke a conflict. They WANT to have a war.
American illusions are shaped by fantastical notions that have no bearing on reality.
Why would they possible want that?
There are many reasons.
There’s no other options available. A war is the only remaining option in the American “playbook” to maintain a hope of survival. The future of America is bleak and an economic bubble is going to pop, and it might be any day now.
Maybe the USA has a “secret weapon” that they will engage once China falls and takes the “bait”.
Maybe America ACTUALLY IS stronger than it appears to us. Maybe all this weakness domestically and socially will magically end once a full-scale war is initiated.
Maybe America is convinced that China can be isolated and alone, and America can gather the rest of the world together and fight it as the leading superpower.
Maybe America is ruled by an aged senile passive figurehead, and the powers that control everything wants a war because their days of economic supremacy is over unless the Chinese banking system is extinguished.
I do not know.
What I do know, is that from the “front row seat” it seems like the United States government is just fucking useless, and that the only way for America to survive is to completely and totally scrap it’s form of governance and regress back to state control without a federal government.
China is not weak. Nor is it alone.
The rest of the world is not at all like it is portrayed in the American media.
The way that America was able to drag the entire nation into a war with Vietnam, and then again towards fighting country after country was because it maintained an artificial illusion of what the world is / was for the American population to consume.
This is the primary driver why CNN, FOX, BBC and all the rest doctor the pictures to make China look like a dirty shithole, and the “news” always describe China (and the rest of the world as really terrible places to be.).
But all in all, America is so absolutely mind-numbingly incompetent that it just doesn’t realize that it’s “too late”. China surpassed the United States in capability (full spectrum) decades ago.
Decades.
And now, America looks like some mangy old toothless dog snarling and snapping at a sleek, huge panther, that is deciding what to do with this piece of shit.
America is so hopeless.
Meanwhile…
Here’s a delicious Chinese fish.
Appreciate the good things in life.
Delicious fish.
OK, so what…?
Something is seriously WRONG.
I do not know what is wrong, but something is. The United States is treating China as if it is some minor small nation, and that American is going to “kick some ass” and “bust down some doors”. And I know China. China will blast the top 50 American cities into uninhabitable rubble as a result. Why can’t the United States leadership see this?
Are they that stupid. crazy, idiotic, or insane? What is their GOD DAMN MALFUNCTION?
Listen to me. It will not be like before. Everyone has learned.
CHINA and Russia will blast the United States into the bronze age.
I mean. They will REALLY do this.
Really.
But first they will collapse the American economy.
Then they will isolate it politically, globally and through trade.
Then they set fire to all the domestic problems, and then…
… then if the results are not satisfactory they will light the fuse to the gunpowder.
We cannot control the crazy.
No we cannot.
We can control our reality.
We can only run our prayers, our affirmations and our campaigns.
Death wishes by police is increasingly common in the United States today.
We can be kind to others and control our immediate reality; our neighborhood.
Never forget there is strength in numbers. Remember the rule of three.
And you will be just fine. And let the crazies try to engage in a world that is increasingly hostile to them and their crazy selfish ideas.
Never forget the rule of three.
It just boggles the mind!
The United States can’t make anything. Aside from some basic fabrication and some high-tech aircraft for military use, that’s about it. (And they source just about everything out of the country.) And yet they want to destroy the world’s factory.
What is their malfunction?
You cannot “bite the hand that feeds you”, nor should you pretend that you can make the parts in West-bumfuck USA at the same price and quality. It ain’t gonna happen.
Maybe…
Just maybe if you set up a plan, and work on the plan… perhaps in five years you can start getting some semblance of a kind of manufacturing capability. But the first products out of that factory will have incoherent quality, and all sorts of problems. I would suggest starting with rubber duckys, then work your way up to consumer appliances.
Really?
America is a nation for the wealthy and their fellow psychopaths.
America is “top heavy” in government “leadership” and severely lacking in manufacturing ability. And yet it really wants to destroy it’s source of products, and yet… and yet… it doesn’t realize that it can’t get that ability back easily. Somehow it believe s that it “grow on trees” and factories and workers are easy to come by.
What kind of deluded folk think like that?
I only met one person like that.
He was in a mental hospital in Rhode Island. He had other strange beliefs. Like he was the king of the world, and that God granted him unlimited power, and that he could not be destroyed or hurt because he was an agent for God. He was a crazy, childish, ignorant son of a bitch.
…
Sigh.
Seriously, I do not know what will happen in the future. I really don’t. But what I do know is that (increasingly) the United State looks like a crazy person that is going to run in front of the police and say “kill me… kill me!” and the police will not want to, but in the end, they will shrug their shoulders and simply shoot the mad man dead.
Sad.
But accurate.
What’s Next
I would brace for some non-violent retaliatory actions designed to suppress some of the bellicose nature that the American leadership seems to possess. If that fails, then expect a serious , SERIOUS “bitch slap” in your backyard. Sometimes the way to deal with a crazy, out of control child, is to paddle it’s butt so that it will never, ever, again “act up”.
China, and Russia both realize this. Do not expect half-baked measures. Brace for well thought-out next actions.
If the American “leadership” (and at this stage who can serious say that America has ANY kind of leadership) doesn’t listen to all the alarm bells, flashing lights, sirens and screaming hysterical people running for their lives…
…then a “kill shot” will be necessary.
One last thought
Never forget.
The rule of three.
The ONLY way that you are going to survive this crazy period of time, and handle an insane world seemly run by imbeciles is to help others, be the best that you can be, and do great works…
Do great works.
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
More examples of personal heroism. It’s mostly inside of China as that is all that I have examples of. This is my 2021 Dragon Boat Festival edition.
I accidentally mixed up my posted videos with the un-posted so if you saw a particular video, I still urge you to re-watch it again.
These videos all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run and offer help?
Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or will you lend a helping hand?
Will you be the person who will make a difference in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser. Click on the picture and the video should pop up or appear in a new tab.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to load to get the full experience.
A kind act deserves respect
I argue that all of us must be the best that we can be, and to do everything being mindful of the kindness that we provide. That requires an understanding of the needs of others; empathy. Which is something that psychopaths, and sociopaths are unable to understand. (The Western oligarchical leadership.) Which is why it is so missing and devoid in the West.
Be the Rufus. Show your humanity.
A fisherman gets fished
Throughout China are these little fishing ponds. A guy owns some land, he has a bulldozer dig up a pond, he then stocks it with fish, and charges folk a few yuan to fish all day. It’s a nice pastime. Well, at least it is if you don’t try to get in the water when you don’t know how to swim.
Luckily there is a nearby Rufus to pull him out.
Discovery on the Beach
You are walking along, and you spot a turtle upside down dying in the hot Australian sun. What are you going to do? Are you going to continue onward, shrugging your shoulders, and saying “not my business”? Or are you going to help the poor defenseless creature?
I know what a Rufus would do.
A tri-wheeled electric truck wrecks
And it’s right there in front of you. What are you going to do? Are you going to drive by? Maybe pull an “American”, you know what I mean… slowly drive by, gawk through your window, and say “well, I’m glad it’s not me“. And then forget about the entire event while you go into a drive through for your triple-decker double-cheese deluxe super-sized mega-burger..
Nope. Life is about being the Rufus. Be good. Be helpful. Anything less is below you.
A community pulls together
A community pulls together and everyone participates. They all work as a team. Even if many are just unskilled go-gooders. A measure of a truly functioning society is the amount of contribution that an individual can provide to that community.
In America how much was my contribution? Very little. I wasn’t allowed to. I had to register to participate. I had to pay to take classes, then pay for registration. Then once registered, I had yearly dues to contribute, and a series of up-grades in skill sets.
And that was just for being a forest-fire-fighter.
In China, EVERYONE participates. And you don’t need to register, pay a fee, or yearly dues either.
We must help others
It’s not just turtles, dogs, cat, people. It can be ducks, and geese. We all need each other. We really do. Is your life so busy that you cannot stop and lend a helping hand to a mother with her chicks? Are you so all-important that you cannot slow down and be the guiding light and the shelter in the storm?
Be the Rufus.
Like this woman obviously is.
A delivery girl feeds her baby
It’s tough when you are in your 20’s. You have broken out from the parents, and are now off on your own. But what are you going to do? You need to work, and you have a six month year old baby. What do you do? Give it to daycare? No money. Have a friend or family member watch? Not always possible.
What’s a Rufus to do?
A Rufus does what needs to be done. And if it means you work with the baby by your side, you do it. A Rufus is what we should all strive to be.
Freak Accident takes down the driver
Notice how this Rufus handles himself, and how everyone else tries to assist. People, we are all part of something much larger than just scraping by trying to survived in a world dominated by psychopathic and sociopath personalities. And for us to shine!.. To really shine we must actually be the best that we can be.
We must be the Rufus. Nothing else matters.
Coronavirus B-strain takes down an officer
The COVID-19B is a very nasty and lethal bio-weapon and when it first started to hit China, it came out of nowhere. People started getting seizures and dying on the spot. No wonder trump wanted to inoculate the American population with the safe A-strain.
What would you do, if you were the Chinese leadership and you started to see this? Why you would take the most extreme measures possible. That is what you would do. China acted in unison like a Rufus.
Collapse on the street
A man collapses right then and there. People stand around not knowing what to do. The kids look on. The man goes by busy on his way to work. The old lady looks on. A teenager takes a video…
But a Rufus gets on his hands and knees and does CPR.
In this world if you are not making the world a better place; if all you care about is greed, money, lust, wealth, power… and you have no humanity what so ever… then you are not living. You are a potato.
Be the Rufus. It’s our highest calling.
Bike wreck with children aboard
So a woman wipes out while carrying three babies. The bike splatters all over the road, and she is hurt, confused, and all the kids are crying. What are YOU going to do? You don’t know her, you have businesses to run, people to meet, deadlines to deal with and an angry boss? What will you do?
I’ll tell you what I would do, I’d help her. Be the Rufus. It’s you highest calling.
Blocking the spray
The world needs people to do a lot of little things, a lot of tiny kind actions. Like this man (or woman) here. The street cleaner is spraying the road and will probably ‘take out” the motorcycle rider. But not if there is a Rufus around. Rufus will block the spray. Rufus will provide shelter. Rufus will be there.
A nation for and of Rufus’s is unstoppable.
Rescue at a car accident
A car gets into an accident. People see this and run to the car to lend help and support. This is what all Rufus’s do. But if you want to instead by the bystander, the potato…not do anything… not render help and assistance then you deserve the society that you created. The world needs each other. We must be open, helpful, caring, understanding and accepting of others. No matter what.
Which pretty much explains why the United States is in the dire mess it is today. It must change. It must.
A truck driver hit and dying
You don;t know what the day might bring. You just do not know. But you do know that as long as there is a Rufus around, that you are not alone. That you will be helped, and that others will take care of you with no questions and without asking for money.
The Rufus is ALWAYS there to help.
A car accident
When a car gets into an accident, are you the kind of person that slows down to watch what is going on? Or, do you stop everything, get out, and offer help and assistance? You action during these periods of stress and turmoil are what defines who you are.
Are you a Rufus, or are you a potato?
A man is beating up a woman on the street
You are minding your own business, checking your messages and getting ready to go out for a nice dinner with friends and then home. When suddenly you hear a woman calling for help and you see a guy hitting her, kicking her, and wresting with her. What would you do?
Would you pretend nothing is going on, and look the other way, or would you be the Rufus?
Helping a little old lady
You would think that EVERYONE would be helpful to a really old and feeble lady. Nope. Not in today’s modern age. It’s every man for himself. And “only the strong” survive. Which is why everyone in America admires the multimillionaires that rule them. Not here. You are either a Rufus, or you are a potato. There is no “shades of grey” in this matter.
Be the Rufus.
Rescue of a drowning boy
A small dot in the wide expanse of water is struggling. Others notice, but they do nothing aside from screaming and yelling. Some film the event. But no one goes out into the water. No one wants to get wet. no one cares. No one is willing to get uncomfortable in the icy cold water.
No one, except a Rufus.
Be the Rufus, its our highest calling!
A classmate is down
A guy is going down the steps, falls and hits his head. Hes out. So what are you going to do? Nothing? Call the police? Stand by. Run past… or stop and help. The Rufus in you SCREAMS help this man. Now!
Be the Rufus. Anything less is below you.
Another Drowning
And another drowning. It’s another place, at another time… Hundreds of people watch doing nothing. Not the Rufus.
The Rufus does not wait.
The Rufus does not hesitate.
The Rufus acts.
Lending a helping hand
A Rufus will contribute to make the world a better place. A Rufus will be helpful, will participate, and will be selfless. When you have a nation were everybody works for the well being of the society as a whole, the entire society wins, and everyone benefits.
Such as this Rufus demonstrates…
Yet another drowning
People getting caught up in large sudden flood happens all over the world and is far more common than one would realize. When I was a boy in Western Pennsylvania we once had a night of heavy rain, the next day, when walking to school I noticed that the trailer park on the banks of the river was missing.
At night the entire trailer park with sixteen trailers went into the river while the people were sleeping. Eight died. Another twenty has never been found.
Be the Rufus. Contribute. Be helpful.
Warning others of danger
Torrential rain has flooded the road. In the middle of it is a sewer drain. The top is gone, and if someone were to ride into it the would have a very bad accident. Someone might even get killed. The Rufus doesn’t wait. The Rufus doesn’t sit by and film. The Rufus acts.
Are you a Rufus?
Participation in Society
You are in school. Everyone gets one and only one banana. One banana doesn’t have the skin on, and so it is undesirable. Are you and your friends going to let the last person in the line get the undesirable food, or are you going to “man up” step to the plate and do one for your crew? For your friends? For your classmates? For your society?
What would Rufus do?
Rescuing a child in distress
Your baby is in trouble. Your child is very sick and you are in a complete panic. What are you going to do? Well, there is a traffic cop in the middle of the road. So you run to him. Can he help you? Will he help you? What’s the story?
No worry. He’s a Rufus.
Being “Spiderman” to save a toddler
A baby has crawled on the ledge of an air conditioner five stories up. What are you going to do? Will you call the police? Will you call the fire department? Will you call an ambulance?
Will you wait for the coroner?
If you are a Rufus, you will take action. Just like these fellows did. Be the Rufus. It’s your highest calling.
Putting out an electrical fire
A young body sees an electrical fire. What will he do? Will he go and get his parents? Will he run out of the house? Will he pretend that nothing is going on? Will he pour water on the electrical box that is on fire?
TH
Helping others
People, old ladies, children and dogs all need our help. But most people don’t care. They are just off in “la-la land” playing the “grab everything I can before I die game”. You know like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. They only offer the appearance of assistance when it serves their purposes. Like the “Buddy” the White House dog under Clinton’s. When the utility was finished, these beings were discarded like old hamburger wrappings in the garbage.
A Rufus would never do that. A Rufus is kind to all. A Rufus makes the world a better place in very small bits and pieces. A Rufus is what the world needs right now.
Rescuing a child under attack
A child is playing in their front yard near the family car. Suddenly a dog comes up and starts attacking the child. No one is around. What can the child do? The dog is about the same size with terrible teeth and a mean bite. Well, luckily there is a cat nearby and the cat protects the child.
It’s a cat Rufus.
Flooding is causing road barriers to collapse
A Rufus participates in society. It’s not “other people’s problem”, it’s all of ours. And we all need to work together to make the world a better place for all of us to live in.
America has 300 million people. For the last fifty years they all, each and everyone, sat on their asses and demanded “me-me-me”, in fact the 1990’s was labeled the “me decades”. But imagine what America would look like today, if everyone pitched in… if everyone worked together. If everyone contributed to society. If everyone picked up litter for free. If everyone volunteered to scrub graffiti, if everyone contributed their time and effort. If everyone was more understanding, and more compassionate.
Like they are in China.
A Rufus doesn’t wait. A Rufus acts. A Rufus makes the world a better place to live in. Not for money. Not for fame. Not for appreciation. A Rufus does it, because it is the right thing to do.
Be a Rufus.
Oh, and in case you all were unaware. All the guys doing this in the video are delivery guys working for “Kangaroo Food Delivery”.
Girl choking on food.
You are eating with others. Maybe schoolmates. Maybe classmates. Maybe colleagues. Maybe family. When suddenly one of the girls stands up and starts to choke. What are you going to do? Are you going to sit there, and pretend nothing is going on, or are you going to do something? Are you going to help the person in distress.
Are you a Rufus?
An old cat
The cat is 22 years old. This is ancient and equivalent to 150 “human” years. But we are guys. We have things to do, our careers, taxes to pay, emergencies to take care of. And our beloved pets get sidelined. Children come, and the pets are ignored. They get old, and forgotten. Oh, we give them food and water, but mostly let them fend for themselves.
They get old. Their bones hurt. They have trouble using the litter box, finding where the food is, seeing and smelling. They no longer can jump, climb or get around.
Rufus would never ignore loved ones. Not young pets. Not children, and not old ancient pets either. A Rufus would spend time with the loved ones, comfort them, help them and show them compassion and humanity.
Helping a stalled electric scooter
An old man is stuck in the middle of a torrential downpour. He’s old, the scooter is stalled. The rains are horrible and the multi-lane road is flooded. Its rush hour and he’s fucked. He’s in the worst place at the worst time, and everyone wants to get out of there and go home.
That is…
…everyone except a Rufus.
Be the Rufus, it’s our highest calling.
Stopping a kidnapping
Once a Rufus hears struggles, screams and cries for help they act. They don’t turn their head and pretend that nothing is going on. They don’t stand to the side. They don’t become an onlooker. They take action.
Such as this woman did.
Be the Rufus.
School boys take down a mugger
Society should act like an organism. When a cancer starts to take root, the healthy cells need to coordinate their efforts to expel the bad. That is the way the body works when fighting colds and illness. And that is how a healthy society works.
But over the years, very unhealthy society’s have grown, became famous, and teach that their sick and twisted systems as being the best, and the ultimate in perfection. It’s a lie.
Healthy societies find the bad, and expel it. Such as this group of young boys and Rufus’s illustrate.
Military reservist takes down a mugger
Maybe you were trained to be a Naval Aviator, but you are scrubbing commodes now. Maybe you have three university degrees in engineering and astrophysics, but you are on a hard-labor chain-gang break up rocks. Maybe you were a trained special forces operator, but you are now a “delivery boy” for fast food. And you see a mugging. What are you going to do? What are YOU going to do?
You be the Rufus. It’s your highest calling.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help others. It’s our highest calling.
The world needs us now. More, now more than ever.
Be the Rufus, or be a potato. There are no other options.
Do you want more?
If you enjoyed this post, please click on this link and check out the rest of my Rufus series…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Well, I have been so busy lately that I have forgotten to deal with some of my other sub categories. Here is something for the FAQ Index. It’s just a collection of unsorted Q&A that I’ve accumulated over the last year or so. I think you all might find one or two answers of interest.
Some questions and comments are in regards to my experiences in retirement, some are in regards to slides and mission parameters. Some are in regards to spiritual beings and the non-physical reality, and some are just all over the place. maybe there is something for you all to chew on.
I put forth the questions anonymously.
If you are reading this and see your questions please do not be alarmed or insulted. I put them here simply because you are not the only one. I have others, with situations very similar to yours asking the same kinds of questions. Seriously.
This is my way to make it easier for everyone to pull together and work together.
And if you are reading these Q&A and want to comment, please do so in the comment section and refer to the specific question (Question 4a…etc.). This way we all can participate in helping each other out just like a real Rufus does. Just like what and who you are.
Question 1
Can you remember any “slides” where the earth was empty of people, you were all alone on planet earth during your mission?
I have a feeling that the “elites” are getting ready to “thin the herd” of humanity, I understand that they want to get rid of around 90% of humanity so they can have the entire place to themselves (YIKES!!!)
The reason I mention it is because there’s this guy named Javier that I learned of through YouTube who claims to be trapped in an empty world in the year 2027. He has many elaborate videos on his exploring the empty city of Valencia, Spain in 2027 without a single other person around, it made me think to ask if you had experienced a similar thing in your past slides?
At least I don’t need to convince you on the nature of variable time and the theory of information existing at all points within it, you “get it” already from your past experience 😉
If you check it out, let me know what you think bud.
Now that you mention it, there were times when things seemed really “empty”. It would be maybe 4 in the afternoon on a weekend. Normally, where I lived at that time (in a trailer park) there would be all sorts of activity. Kids would be playing. Lawnmowers would be non-stop noise makers. Cars would come and go. But for some reason it would be ghostly quiet.
No big deal, you brush it off. You say “Well, maybe there is something going on. Like a school event, a game, or something.”
Empty. Quiet.
And then you drive into town and most of the fast food franchises are closed. Again, you brush it off. You say “it must be a local holiday or something”.
Few people on the roads. No one on the sidewalk. But still, the dogs still bark. The birds still sing. The one thing that strikes me (now that I think about it) was that many lawns really needed to be mowed. Not only was the grass tall, but there were long weeds sprouting up in most of them. But aside from that, it was like a quiet day at 5:00 in the morning. Not too much activity at all.
I don’t recall anything on the “news”, but at that time (in my life) I was just listening to cassettes in the car. My own family was normal. Wife and cats were just fine. And then later on around 7pm I slid to a new reality, and the world “woke up” and came alive again.
I cannot definitively state that there was a depopulated world-line reality. But then at the time it could have been. I just never looked at it that way.
Question 2
What do you think the aliens were trying to accomplish through you, their agenda (as it were)?
Are you SURE they were not also agents of The Devil, how did they smell?
Answer 2
Well, for starters there are numerous extraterrestrial species involved in the earth. Some of the extraterrestrials actually “own” the earth, and are supported by other terrestrial species that we do not recognize as such.
In general, though, I am not sure about anything.
I feel a neutral level of respect that emanates from them. I myself, personally have a great deal of affection towards them. As far as smell, I haven’t really noticed anything worthy of note. But then again, at the times when I was interacting with them personally, my senses were so overloaded with sensory stimulus and new experiences that it would be pretty easy to overlook something like a scent.
Question 3
This question is in regards to a slide to a world-line where people were dying.
Interesting, since Rush was alive in that time-frame, we can probably assume it was a jump into the recent past, (you know he died in February, right?). Maybe Covid took hold of humanity more severely in that reference frame than it did in ours, who knows?
The whole bat soup thing is just a bunch of BS to cover the actual story, namely the intentional release of the thing by the CCP, that’s my analysis. They had sick people loaded onto airliners going all over the world in late 2019, bat soup accident my ass!
Back here at home, things are weird, nobody really knows who’s in charge. Biden is too feeble, Harris is a nut (The Scarecrow and the Joker I call them) and Rice and 0bama are running things from behind the scenes. People have mostly tuned out and are trying to go about their business best they can, you know, like they always do(?).
Answer 3
Yeah, well, the slides were always a mix of the culture AT THAT TIME with other elements that were alien to it. Well, the slide took place in the 1990’s so El Rushbo was still alive then, and I used to listen to him then. So yeah, he was going on and on…
Rush Limbaugh 1990’s.
Slides are not like time-travel. You just kind of go into a different reality that is contemporaneous with your departure point (world-line).
The “sickly reality” that I experienced (in many ways) resembles a sort of mix of 1995, 2020 and something else much different. It doesn’t mean that I had an image of the future, it’s just that certain events that seem to be scheduled for decades away, seem to be placed in my (then) present reality.
Other things just didn’t make sense to me. Like the shortage of masks (in October), or my car no longer using a key to start it! At the time, these things were very odd and very startling. The slide at that particular time was a pretty long one, and went for much of the day. It was a working week-day. And the office didn’t change much. Just a lot of really sickly co-workers, and general silence in the office.
At that time in my life, the slides tended to be of rapid cycle. And so it was “normal” for me to cycle in and out of unusual things. Like the “Denny’s” restaurant chain having a drive through window, or my vacuum cleaner having a hose instead of a stand-up model. After a while you just get used to the changes, and you roll with them. It becomes normal.
The ones I remember are the ones that stuck in my head.
Question 4
You know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about that “jump” you made into the world where everybody was either sick or dying.
Consider that the mRNA vaccine (if effective, big IF) will cause your cells to produce the antigens inside your body for corona/SARs viruses so that no antibodies will be produced if you should become infected from another one, resulting in it killing you.
The Covid vaccine will DELETE your immunity towards corona viruses so that the next “accidental” pandemic release wipes out all the share of the population that got the vax. Then they’ll do the same thing over again.
What do you remember seeing during that “jump” it would probably be useful to know any other snippets of info you might have remembered about that one?
Answer 4
Good question. Gosh that (event) was a long time ago.
I well remember that I thought that it was a bio-weapon attack, but I was confused because no one was talking about an attack at all. And the people just looked sickly. There weren’t any bumps, rashes or anything like that.
In my mind, a bio-weapon event would look like small-pox, measles, or Scarlet fever.
Smallpox.
I felt “heavy” like I was well winded, and my chest felt like cement.
Everything else was normal. The radio worked and the stations were the same. There was a greater number of stores closed than what I would normally expect. Maybe about one in three were closed. The roads had less traffic, and no one was walking on the streets. The office was quiet. People were in their cubicles. The parking lot was unusually emptier. Not vacant, but maybe about 70% full. For the most part everything seemed normal.
The news was about some sports figure dying in an airplane crash. El’ Rushbo was talking about the evil bat soup slurping Chinese (which is strange as the Chinese don’t eat bat soup).
The people dressed slightly differently. More sport-shoes instead of loafers. Open collars instead of ties. But nothing to really say it was all that different. The office coffee machine was there and running normally. I think that I made a pot of regular coffee for the group. No donuts on the table though. At that time, I would say that maybe 3 out of ten days would be some kind of donuts for the group to eat with the coffee.
I guess that you could say that everything seemed like a normal everyday work day. The only thing was that everyone seemed to be very sickly, weak and very, very tired. Including myself. It was a struggle to get up out of the chair. A struggle to walk to the car. A struggle to place an order at the drive through, and a lack of desire to eat what I ordered.
I do remember drinking more coffee than I usually would. I liked the hot warmth and the energy that it seemed to give me.
Question 5
I still don’t understand why China is not defending itself against the conclusion and dissemination of ALL US-based analysts that the virus “leaked” from the Wuhan lab.
And if it had, then what do you make of all the preparations in place by the Gates, WHO, etc just before this “leak”. Are they genies who looked into the bottle?
There is no logic in all this. Are they pretty soon going to start teaching our kids in America that 2+2=4 except when…
There’s something I’m missing. Or maybe I should go back to my desk and continue to stress on this proposal I’m working on due in 2 day…
Answer 5
China did defend itself. It followed the global protocol. Which is to use the United Nations, and lodge a complaint.
As such it lodged a formal complaint and made a formal statement at the UN.
The thing is that it was NOT reported in the Western press at all. One of the big mistakes that people in the West make is the assumption (based upon the enormous volume of “news”) that everything that happens is eventually reported to the public.
This is not true at all.
Americans live within an isolation bubble. Information that you are not supposed to see is prevented from your access.
You need not worry.
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China doesn’t NEED to defend itself and go tit-for-tat with the huge propaganda onslaught. It’s not arguing for the hearts and minds of Americans or Brits.
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The Chinese are sitting from a position of strength. Real strength. Not inflated numbers on spread sheets or the idea that America has a robust economy because the stock market is artificially inflated, or that it has tons of factories that can replace the things that China makes.
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That attitude is the most stunning thing that came out the US-China talks in Alaska. The Biden team went in cocky and demanding, and China hit back hard, then went to Russia the next day and strengthened the social-economic-and-military ties with it.
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China knows what’s going on. This game of pretend has worn thin. That; American “democracy” is the best and China must adopt it. Nonsense. Or that China should not follow the UN, and instead adopt American-lead “rule based order”. Or that Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet or Xinjiang are American protectorates. It’s bullshit. It plays well to the brain-dead American sheeple, but it is not flying in the rest of the world.
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Is the greater public ever going to get a clear view of the difference behind the "rules based order" of the West (we own the money system and make the rules) and the negotiated International law based order?Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 20 2021 17:05 utc | 4
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Over the last 75 years, America has really angered the rest of the world, and the rest of the world cheered when China bitch-slapped Blinkein.
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What about your family back in <redacted>? Do they really cheer on the United States for fighting eight wars and bringing “democracy” to the world, Seriously. The social media all over Japan, and South Korea are saying (about the way China does things) “Why can’t our government do the same thing”.
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Which is one of the reasons why Blinkedin went to those other countries to talk to the leadership.
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Look. Let’s imagine that you have a nice house. It’s not the best house on the block. But it’s a good solid house. You have made sure that the foundation is strong, the roof is repaired, the windows and doors are robust, and the water and electricity works great. That’s China.
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Down the street is America. It’s an enormous mansion. But the lawn is unruly and untended. The paint is peeling, the roof IS LEAKING. And upon closer inspection you can see that the fixings are all gold-plated, not actual goal, and the windows are single pane, not triple pane like China. The sheets on the beds are all rough weaves at 300 threads / square inch, while the Chinese sheets are around 3000 threads per square inch, and the furniture is old. In fact, aside from the master bedroom, the entire rest of the house is gutted and looks like it same from the 1940’s.
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China doesn’t need to respond to the lies.
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It just continues on.
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I wrote some latest posts, no need to get upset, but the American “leadership” are just corrupted idiots. Sorry to say. So relax. Things are going to sort themselves out one way or the other.
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This is how the rest of the world sees America today…
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China is running their nation as a merit-driven leadership would naturally operate. And so they view a WIN-WIN scenario to be int he best interests of everyone. This is called, or referred to as “soft power”.
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This term “soft power” is very misunderstood in the West. And to make matters worse the Hard-Right describes it as something horrible, and insidious. Like this…
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And so now, after decades of non-stop American government propaganda that directs the thoughts of Americans towards certain objectives, we can see how this manifests. When people start taking “hard line”, and “evil combative stances” and thinking that it is normal, the rest of the world looks at them with incredulity.
Consider this little video…
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So after explaining that America is desirous to push all the Chinese into a world of poverty and corruption just so that America can be the predominant nation on the planet, and the American news anchor asks “what’s wrong with that?”
Evil has become normal inside of America today.
Question 6
All of this "news", and the Coronavirus situation, and the War-like Biden administration, the frustration, and the anger that is festering all over America is really getting people down. It's hurting people.
I have been following alternative news since this covid saga started. I have followed the development of those experimental injections they claim are “vaccines”, most likely yearly, though by their own admission, they don’t prevent infections and transmission.
I personally won’t be caught dead trusting Fauci and the Bill Gates or the CDC or Governor Cuomo who renamed the iconic Tappan Zee bridge the “Governor Cuomo Bridge”.
It has been quite evident to me that they don’t give a damn about us: To this date they are not providing their patients prophylaxis or early treatment, and HCQ and Ivermectin are not prescribed by mainstream doctors, even though the politicians including Giuliani and Trump have admitted that they have been on HCQ since the very beginning.
The recommendation is still stay home, take Tylenol, and when you can’t breathe go to the emergency room.
My cousin who lives in Cuba has told me of the Cuban government’s immediate distribution of prophylaxis for their entire population.
Yet (in comparison) I have a friend who right now is completely alone in the hospital since Saturday. They have given her pain killers and an antibiotic, that’s it.
The first few days of her illness the doctor gave her zero early treatment. She has never seen a doctor, they only talk to her once a day by phone, the nurses just about never enter her room – this is how they have killed thousand in America, through neglect. My girlfriend is right now sitting alone in terror, which is probably even more detrimental to her psyche, it might even be fatal.
Bref… to go back to my initial thought, everyone, including my cousins who are doctors, their pregnant daughters and even my own daughter in law who is a nurse and is trying to get pregnant, have jumped at the front of the line and taken the Moderna vaccine.
I’m just floored.
I love music, and arts, and nature, and travels, architecture, and peace on earth, and good friends, laughter and compassion for others. I’m just not sure I want to be around for what’s coming for us, this “new nomal” that my doctor cousins are so happy about, the kids in masks and “social distancing”, the forced vaccinations, the militarization of our lives to the point that free spirits and rebels like me will have to be eliminated…
Oh MM, I am afraid we’ve lost the battle, certainly, I have lost the battle in my own little world…
Answer 6
Oh dear…
Please do not feel that way. It’s not as bad as it appears. Not by a long shot.
One of the first things that you MUST do is stop reading “news”. Alternative, Right, Left, Foreign. What ever. Please stop. It’s got so much bullshit that no one is getting accurate and timely information.
You need to reset your thinking process.
America is collapsing, and it’s every-person for themself. Or so it appears…
There was this movie called The Lathe of Heaven. It’s based on a science fiction story by Ursula K. Le Guin.
https://letterboxd.com/film/the-lathe-of-heaven/In a future world racked by violence and environmental catastrophes, George Orr wakes up one day to discover that his dreams have the ability to alter reality. He seeks help from Dr. William Haber, a psychiatrist who immediately grasps the power George wields. Soon George must preserve reality itself as Dr. Haber becomes adept at manipulating George’s dreams for his own purposes.
So get this… when this guy falls asleep, his dreams are so strong that he switches world-lines and arrives on the reality that he dreamed about. Yikes! And of course if he has a nightmare he wakes up to a nightmare, and if he has a happy dream, he wakes up to a happy life.
Well, this guy sees what is happening and decides to hypnotize him and thus beable to manually control what the world will become… all with good intentions, don’t you know. But of course, everythign goes to shit.
In so many ways this resembles the world that we are inhabiting right now. Big, rich and powerful people are controlling things, and others are trying to sound the alarm. All of it is like a slow-motion car wreck and it’s terrifying. It really is. Our lives, our mental health, our families, our incomes are all disrupted. We dont know what to do and we are going and moving towards a panic state.
You are in this state right now.
And it is awful.
The good news is that it is all an illusion. It really is. Sure things are happening, but what is happening regarding you, and your family will not, and does not resemble the narrative that you are reading about. So the first thing that you must do is turn off “THE NOISE”. Stop the “news” feeds and all that nonsense. It’s not gonna be as bad as everyone with a microphone is yelling about.
Second thing. Go to my post about Hemi-sync. Download one or all of the files. Put them on a player, and lie in bed and listen to them.
Why? Well all this howling noise is moving your center of consciousness about. It is no longer centered on the pineal gland. It is off somewhere else. The hemi-sync will recenter it to where you need it to be.
Location of the pineal gland within the brain.
It might take two or three sessions to get the effect, but I guarantee that the first session (listen to 1-8 in a straight shot)… might take you one hour WILL ABSOLUTELY make a difference and you will see and feel the difference.
I am not saying that there is nothing to worry about. I am not saying that you need not be concerned.
What I am saying is that your family needs you right now. They need you to be alert, strong, composed and in control. You must fake it, show a good happy face. And show some leadership. You have a role and this is the time for you to shine.
When you are in a plane you don’t want to hear the airline pilot screaming into the microphone “Oh my God, we are out of control,we’re all going to die!“.
No. You want to hear “Hello folks, we have a minor technical alert. It’s probably nothing. But the policy is to land at the nearest airport. Sorry for the delay.”
Here’s my little secret. You are protected. I’m trying to make sure of it. So don’t worry too much about other things, none of the really bad things will happen to you and your family. What you need to do is turn off the noise, calm and compose yourself and realize that it’s all gonna end really soon.
Question 7
My question has to do with the events described on this site:
Where it appears as though I’ve suddenly become a Targeted Individual. I’m 63 years old and have been retired from the military for 21 years, and I have no idea why or how I suddenly became targeted at the end of October 2020, just before the elections. It is definitely some sort of energetic (scalar weapon?) attack, and it follows me 24 hours per day.
With your background in the USAP programs and your incredible ability to engage in deep research, I think you would be my best option to discover how/why I’m suddenly in the program, and maybe ways to defeat or at least mitigate the attacks.
Thank you – and thank you for your service! It sucks the way they made you exit the program, but that brought you to China and a much better 2nd half of your life. You wouldn’t believe how much life has gone south in the USA in the past year or two.
I’m 63 years old, and like I said retired in 1999 from the Air Force. I flew the F-4E Phantom, F-16C Falcon, and F-117 Stealth Fighter, and had a short stint as a Liaison with the Army in 1990-91 which was mostly spent in Iraq and Kuwait. I planned and controlled airstrikes for the 24th Infantry Division during Operation Desert Storm, which was the first Gulf War.
That went very well, and I was rewarded with my top choice assignment, which was to go to Tonopah Nevada and fly the F-117. The entire wing moved in 1993-94 to New Mexico, and another highly classified program went in to fill the hangers in Tonopah.
I think this is where my Gangstalking (Targeted Individual) story might begin.
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My time in Nevada was wonderful, and it was one of the best flying assignments imaginable. However, once we moved the entire Stealth Fighter Wing to Holloman AFB, New Mexico a number of strange things happened.
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This seemed to be the holy city for what would surface as the LGBT-QPB movement. Bizarre is an understatement!
There were openly gay people serving on active duty, long before the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” system was implemented. Top Secret documents about Space Warning (Nuclear Command & Control) and Stealth Technology were waltzing out the gate in the arms of some of the gay officers, which never returned to their rightful place in the SCIF.
My roots in the military go back to the Air Force Academy, which is known for a very strict honor and ethics code. So for a bit I was a classic Whistleblower, in a case where a fair haired gay Captain in the later stages of AIDS had taken some TS Code Word materials about the Stealth Fighter to Vienna, Austria.
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Shortly after that he collapsed from respiratory arrest at his downtown residence, spreading the TS Codeword material all over the neighborhood.
And shortly after that an F-117 pilot in my squadron was shot down over Serbia.
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I spent some time exiled to Saudi Arabia, and of course had the usual array of classic Gangstalking at the hands of some very incompetent OSI Agents.
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After I left the Air Force, I realized that the LGBT-QPB movement was part & parcel of the Deep State, and their Agenda was for a much bigger Game involving the components we now see described in Agenda 2030, and in play with such things as the COVID-19 overt/covert war with China.
To be honest, I don’t care at all about people’s individual sexual preferences. My point is that it was so far out of line with legal & regulatory norms at the time. The Air Force really needed my GIS and Airspace Management expertise after I left the military, so they actually brought me back as a highly paid contractor for about 4-5 years for a number of multi-national bombing range construction projects running into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
So I became “normal” again and found myself briefing and involved with deliberations of people like the SecDef and Secretary of the Air Force, not to mention a number of Congressional Delegates.
All seemed to be forgotten about events from the 90’s. Then shortly before the 2020 elections, maybe late October I found myself in the “spotlight” of what appears to be the 21st century version of Gangstalking (Targeted Individuals). The program is fairly well described by the web site I mentioned (https://www.targetedjustice.com/).
I’m of course not absolutely certain that is the entity/agency that is targeting me, but the description matches at the 99% rate. And I don’t have any other idea of who or why. I completely finished my contractor work with the Gov around 2006, and have been a model citizen and Grandpa since.
My only other claim to fame is that I love to read about as much as you love to write. So I voraciously read everything online and in my library, which tend to average about 1 book per day (400 pages when I measured) of reading. Likewise, I have a small group of friends that I exchange e-mails with and discuss current events and political news as well as esoteric and high tech stuff.
My friends are mostly retired engineers, credentialed professionals, and people like me. We discuss amongst ourselves topics that range from the Deep State agenda to things you write about involving off-planet technology and species.
My research includes things like Ayahuasca and Monoatomic Gold Elixirs, but perfectly legal versions and settings. I don’t ingest or smoke anything illegal or questionable, and I absolutely do NOT do any sort of
social media.
In fact I’m so private I don’t have e-mail or internet on my phone. I keep it all separate between my phone and my computers. My other passion or hobby is ancient texts and prophecy, to include the Scriptures. Absolutely no religion or dogma though, just the Science, History, Culture, and Prophecy in the ancient texts. As a very personal but critically important side note, I was the Commander of a team of Forward Air Controllers in my time spent in Iraq.
During that period I was “summoned” to an out of body meeting early one morning in Oct 1990, and on the other side of the conversation was none other than the Deity you and I know as the LORD Jesus Christ.
Very profound and life changing meeting, where I was “commissioned” to do certain things in Iraq, and warned that there would come a day with another type of “War” that I would also play an important role. That “War” is the one that started for me on Dec 21st, 2019 – and became the COVID-19 overt/covert war to install a one-world government and global banking system.
The US vs China part of it is just a strategy to create fear, which allows the Deep State to enslave, control, and of course orchestrate an economic collapse. To my family and close friends, we think of it as the period described in Revelation, called “The Tribulation” by the religious nuts.
From my prophetic research, that will start in the Fall of 2023, plus or minus a year. But it is a very small group of people that I discuss this with via e-mails. Granted, I know e-mails are read and all that, but it is just a discussion. No social media, no broadcasting or advocating.
Just very pleasant analysis that the good times are finally here! I’ve considered the possibility that my attacks are coming from the demonic sectors, but that never plays out. Even when I query a handful of gifted and Energy Sensitive friends I’ve known and trusted over the years, nothing shows up indicating the attacks are from demonic sectors.
I’ve dealt with those entities dozens of times, and have a pretty robust toolbox to eradicate them. Plus, I have friends in the Higher Realms that step in to help! This seems to be a human controlled Gangstalking system, pretty much like it is described in the Targeted Justice web site.
There might be dark entities in the mix or behind the technology, but at the wheel seems to be human and artificial intelligent algorithms. The “beam” or whatever it is called follows me 24 hours per day, everywhere I go. The scalar component can go through many hundreds of feet of solid earth, so there isn’t any place on the planet that I know of where I could get away from it.
My only solution will involve facing it head on, and finding out ways to spoof, jam, disable, mitigate, and so on. There’s a chain of events involved in the guidance and tracking systems that include GPS, evoked potential biofeedback, microwave beams that intersect to create the Scalar beam, and of course computers and sensors to aid in the tracking.
At night time the signal to noise ratio is the best, so the energetic attack is strongest. Plus it needs the person to be still for it to be the most effective. Walking around or staying in motion just keeps it chasing you but not really affecting your health.
Once I stop to work in my office or try to sleep, it locks on and goes into the “kill” mode. I’ve noticed that it tries to turn my stomach into a battery, much like a lead acid battery in a car. It “charges” it up for a few minutes if I sit still, and then triggers a release like a capacitor discharging.
If I lay down, it is much more powerful in its operation and can (I think) easily kill a person. So, I don’t lay down or get horizontal – ever! I sleep sitting up in a chair, and have done so for the past 4 months. Usually only about 20 minutes at a time in any particular location, and I’m so exhausted and sleep deprived that I go immediately into REM sleep. 15-20 minutes later I get up and move to another location. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I’ve been evaluating a number of shielding and jamming devices and materials, and have made some progress. Likewise, I’ve had to call upon my help in the Higher Realms to keep me alive, particularly on New and Full Moons, which probably has to do with Microwave Propagation (S:N ratio). We’ll talk about that more if you are interested, but I don’t yet want to pollute your research if you decide you want to go into a detailed analysis.
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I don’t know why I was suddenly targeted at the end of October. I suspect it might have something to do with the research and private e-mail conversations about the Deep State, but nothing clear in terms of what. In previous episodes with the AI Algorithms, I did notice sometimes I’d get several days of nonstop computer attacks after some particularly noteworthy (ie accurate?) research or e-mails about the Deep State Agenda. But no clear answers on why I was suddenly targeted this time with a Kill Vector, what agency is responsible, or how the system works. That’s the first level of analysis.
The deeper research of course would be how to disable or defeat the technology, which would also reveal who was behind it all. Considering there are something like 170,000 people being Gangstalked, that is definitely the end game and most noble cause. From what I can find thus far, just about all of the Gangstalked people at this level are either ex Military (or some type of DoD service), or are a serious threat to the Deep State.
Like a doctors speaking up against lockdowns and social distancing, and saying the COVID-19 is just a hoax. Let me know what you think, and how far you want to dive into this project. I suspect there is a priority list, and at the top of the stack are retired military that reach a certain age, whistleblowers, independent thinkers, and specific DNA types involving Gaelic, Cherokee, or Iriquois – with the Haplogroup X-2A gene from the original Hebrew Tribe.
There’s a spiritual component to that DNA that when activated it becomes rather powerful. I think the Deep State is scared of those people. Unfortunately, I don’t have the DNA. I’m back on the ex-military and whistleblower and fully informed critical thinker side of the list. I suspect that you will find yourself on the receiving end of the Scalar beam something in the next few years.
Answer 7
Yeah. There’s a lot of very strange things going on in the USA over the last four years, and especially in the last two years. It’s not your worries. It has been reported to me though others as well.
Obviously, you have tapped into something that has targeted you. It’s never pleasant. And you are correct that it’s a human-driven event. It’s not from our benefactors. The best way that I can describe this difference is like this…
Imagine that you are in a room, playing a Avalon Hill Board Game (Like Squad Leader or Panzer Blitz). You are playing, and all is good. Someone moves in the room and secretly, when you are not looking, changes some of the pieces around. – That is how our fellow humans might interact with you.
Our benefactors are different. One minute you are playing the game in a room. You blink, and the next minute you are sitting inside a cafeteria having lunch, and you have no idea what happened.
All technology can be thwarted. That’s the good news. But somehow you ended up getting targeted, and we need to find out how this happened, and then disentangle you from that mess.
Most people are unaware about all the slicing and dicing Trump was engaged in regarding China. One of which was Zoom. You can still use it in China, but the fees are really excessive. No fees anywhere else, but a few hundred USD for a video conference on zoom… Give me a break. When chatting to the states I use skype.
When I was “retired” the shutdown of the ELF field went though this curious cycle. And part of the cycle involved some influences on my gut and stomach area. You are describing an interesting effect for certain. I don’t know if it is like a battery in so much as an internal feedback loop.
My mystery is WTF, dude? Who the Hell did you piss off?
For the most part once my retirement was set in motion most people were very respectful to me. Almost like they were afraid of me. And these were the outsourced dudes that hadn’t a clue as to what I was, am or have done.
Now granted, the initial intention was to disable and cripple me and put me in a nursing home for the rest of my life. But that didn’t happen. I didn’t write about it because it’s oh so painful. And it only makes my unbelievable story even more outrageous. The general public is not ready for the realty of what all this is like.
You pissed off someone, and that lies the key to controlling what ever you are going through.
Pissing off the wrong people. I get the impression that the people or person who decided to retire myself, my entire cell, and others in our unit was someone like a Mike Pompeo. Brash, uncaring, pompus and full of himself. Is in control of some very important levers or power, but is unaware of the details and the depth of the “big picture”.
I get the impression that somehow, in some way, you pissed of one of this kind of person’s underlings. Like one of the direct reports to this level of personage. It seems to be visceral, and up-close and personal. Maybe you can see a promotion of someone that you interacted with; getting promoted in 2017-2018. It’s personal. Which seems to indicate (what I know about people) either a gay-person, or an alternative-lifestyle person that you have directly and absolutely PISSED OFF.
When my group was “retired” it was very cold, calculating. It was methodical and ruthless. I was targeted for “disable and discard”.
A chick came into my life. Dragged me to Arkansas on the promise of a great job and a new life, poisoned the living shit out of me with heavy metals while having me sign away on multiple life insurance policies. The neurological effects got to be pretty pronounced, and was noted by the hospital staff (a doctor and two nurses), and that is what triggered the “fall back” solution; retirement as a sex offender.
Aside from the personal angst, it really was “click off the boxes”, “ram through the system”, and “discharge” into the arms of another agency that knows Jack-shit about what the fuck is really going on.
My situation.
For you, it really doesn’t seem to be that way. It seems to me that you pissed off someone really personally. And he has never forgotten. Then when he has risen to a position of power, he uses that power to attack you ruthlessly for his own personal purposes. It’s really a totally different situation.
I would suggest you read this…
Now, for the USN, (and myself) the ELF transmission facility was shut down the same year that I (and my cell) were all retired. It’s like someone decided to shut down the program and discard the players. The facility was closed. The participants were either killed off, or exiled (such as myself). So it seems for me and in my case we were all just being checked off the list.
But yours is really up-front and personal.
Now, this activity that is going on is telling in that it does not seem like the person doing this has the ability to give a kill-order. Only a torture-order. If you get my drift.
To authorize the execution of an asset or an American citizen you do need to have some very high level authorization. Even I wasn’t killed. They just wanted me to become a vegetable in a nursing home. So the impression that I get is that someone is doing this unofficially to you.
Never the less, they have the ability to authorize a broad spectrum of irritants on you, but is afraid to make their actions noticeable to their superiors.
As long as this person is at this level of power they can probably irritate the fuck out of you. I am sorry to say, but there are limitations. At least with the USN systems.
They needed to observe me to give them feedback as to how everything was working. And this would manifest as monitoring my electronic communication and having people “check up” on me from time to time.
Nothing really bad. Just an occasional observation to see “how I was doing”. I would imagine that that is along the lines of what you are going through.
Now, if MAJ wants to re-de-mothball the ELF probes for me, they would have to fireup the broadcast station (or create an equivalent), and then have someone local (in China) to check up on me. All this is too expensive and really a big hassle for a no-body such as myself. But the impression that I get is that the AF systems are currently operational.
Question one; do you have hardwired ELF probes like I do? Or is all of this direct radiation, targeted with technology that I am unaware of? That will help determine what the Hell is going on with you.
Question response 7a
Who the hell did I piss off? LoL, that’s exactly what I’d like to know! My experiences are very similar to yours, where most people (post military service) have been very respectful of me, while there is a group or agency lurking somewhere in the background that really wants me off the planet. It might be the same people, where the local guys are respectful and the senior leadership wants me to disappear.
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My best guess (at the moment) is that I have an uncanny ability to see through smokescreens. LoL, that happens when you spend your entire career as a warfighter! But I tend to connect the dots quite well (in my world) with whistleblower & leaked information, and match it up against the true Deep State Agenda behind all the Dog & Pony Show (Propaganda).
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Said differently, what really seems to scare the Deep State leadership is when I connect Biblical Prophecy with the Deep State Agenda, and place in on a Timeline of Current Events. That’s when I’ve always gotten the most “pushback” from various Algorithms/AI that manifests in the form of computer disruptions for a week or so. E-mails shut down or disappear or do weird things, and all my computers sort of blue screen at once. Things like that.
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Nothing new there, as that has gone on for about 30 years, counting the last 10 years of my active duty time. Things seem to have changed on/around Dec 21, 2019 when the Deep State went “Active” with their plans to orchestrate a global Economic Collapse and attempt to install a one-world government and banking system (etc). Just exactly like it is described in Biblical Prophecy. Note that I don’t care which Deity or Entity created the prophecies, as in the end it doesn’t matter.
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I think you’ve described it as a four year battle, particularly with bioweapon attacks in China, courtesy of Uncle Sam. I agree, although I would describe that as “preparation of the battlefield” as opposed to actual combat.
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All of 2019 was full of events between the US and China, and every month things were heating up. The Trade War that didn’t have good optics for DJT (Trump), the 5G/Huawei corporate espionage and economic prowess war, the BSL-4 labs where the Bioweapons were making their way from North Carolina and Canada (etc) back to Wuhan, the Fentanyl problem that connected to the Chinese port in the Virgin Islands (Abaco), some bioweapon espionage events with Dr. Xiangguo Qiu, her husband Keding Cheng at the Canadian BSL-4 Lab, and so on.
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Hurricane Dorian in Sept 2019 magically sat stationary on the Chinese Port of Abaco as a Cat 5 storm for 48 hours, which took care of the Fentanyl problem the C_eye_A was having with China.
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In July of 2019 the Biowar heated up: I saw reports that somebody on our side of the ocean wanted to solve ALL of the above US-China problems with a single chess move. They did it by inserting a poison pill in the Corona Virus (gain of function) bioweapon research, where it would specifically target the ACE2 Receptor. That of course primarily targets Chinese men because they have 5x as many ACE2 Receptors.
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From what I read (and connected the dots), somebody put the poison pill version in the Canadian BSL-4 lab, knowing that Dr Qiu would “steal” it and take it back to Wuhan, as she had been doing for years with all of the other bioweapon research. Once she did that and returned to Canada (about July 2019) she was promptly escorted off the premises and sent home, along with her husband (Dr Cheng) and I think some of her interns.
Mission Accomplished to get the Poison Pill to Wuhan, and then it was a matter of getting the bioweapon released.
Not a lot of information on how/when, but it does seem to connect to the Military Games that were held in Wuhan, that started the same day as Event 201 (Oct 18, 2019). Likewise, I saw a lot of information at the time that 5G had the ability to tweak gene selection and gain of function with COVID-19, which is why areas where 5G was deployed were particularly hard hit. And again, all of that connected to the 5G/Huawei “conflicts” that had been raging between the US and China for quite some time.
Dr Charlies Lieberman (Harvard Chemistry Chair) was arrested in early 2021, which is tightly connected to this story. He had a $4 million private lab inside the Wuhan BSL-4, and was also being paid $50,000 per month by China. His specialty is nanoparticles, which is a big part of the COVID-19 and Vaccine technology, and apparently connects to 5G as well. I think Lieberman was arrested to make him disappear, as 4-5 days after his arrest Canadian Scientist Dr Frank Plumber (SARS/COVID-19 global expert) mysteriously died at a conference in Kenya.
Even with all the smokscreens, deception, conspiracy theories (etc), it was pretty obvious that the war between the US and China was heating up and about to go kinetic, which was against a backdrop of an urgent need for the Deep State to get their Orchestrated Collapse underway, so they could install their One-World Government and Banking System.
I knew from a number of sources and pointers and whistleblowers throughout 2019 that December 21st was some sort of a tipping point for things to kick off.
Consequently, everything from about July to Dec were these preparatory events to set the stage. It appears as though COVID-19 was “cooking” in China 3-4 weeks after Event 201, which means China (CCP) knew by about Thanksgiving what was going on and that they had been attacked by the US Gov with yet another bioweapon. This one targeted humans instead of pigs or chickens.
In early Jan 2020, DJT (sigh… Israel?) took out Iranian Gen Soleimani, which I’m guessing was supposed to trigger a larger war with Iran, and then bring in China to back Iran and get the US and China directly engaged. It didn’t go as planned, and DJT “allowed” Iran to retaliate by an attack on a military base where all the US Soldiers had been removed or bunkered down from ground zero.
You have written up a much more detailed and accurate description of all the COVID-19 events and back story through 2020. I was just following the military and Deep State events, primarily from 2018-2019, knowing that things would kick off in 2020. I was expecting more directly military operations and less biowar, but that part is yet to come.
There were some very interesting tidbits from whistleblowers, which indicated that the Deep State was going to start eradicating (exterminating?) US Citizens, particularly ones that were most likely to resist bringing in the One-World Government to the USA.
Those projects seem to have kicked off in 2018-19 as described in the leaked material, while the usual deception and conspiracy labels flooded the internet sources. And all the whistleblowers and leaks were “plugged” (assassinated) in June-July 2019.
This story connects to the strange fires in Paradise California, where cars and homes burned but the trees and shrubbery didn’t seem to be affected. The particular “targets” to eradicate are the ethnic group being demonized now, which is the usual playbook: white, business or credentialed people, heterosexual, family & Christian values, property and gun owners, etc. The same role the Jews had in Nazi Germany. That’s BLM & Antifa’s role.
You can see that it is a close scrutiny of the Deep State. Even filtering out the conspiracies, deception, and smoke screen efforts, news and events tend to follow that Narrative. More aligned with events since the Summer of 2019, and very tightly so since Dec 21st, that year.
What I’ve found and connected is the Deep State Timeline is driven by planetary events in the solar system. Some of which are caused by weather cycles (Grand Solar Minimum), and some of which are related to a flyby event that again connects to Prophecies and Deities in the Scriptures.
That seems to be the hot button that keeps someone or some agency in the Deep State very worried about me. No broadcasting or social media, just e-mails and conversations with a handful of close friends. Maybe 2 dozen all told, but something I’ve said or been saying seems to be rather sensitive, yes?
Question Response 7b
Hurricane Dorian in Sept 2019 magically sat stationary on the Chinese Port of Abaco as a Cat 5 storm for 48 hours, which took care of the Fentanyl problem the C_eye_A was having with China.
Indeed, the two super typhoons that hit China in 2017 – 2019 were far too suspicious.
But nothing that you have stated was sensitive enough to authorize your death. Someone targeted you on a personal basis.
Question 8
“Likewise, something doesn’t sit right with me when the Gov takes its best, brightest, and most competitive aviators & engineers, put’s ’em through a brutal career including war, implants, and obscene responsibilities, and then turns around and wants to put ’em in the garbage disposal when they go to retire. That is really bizarre. Maybe you can write more about that one of these days. “
Answer 8
Indeed. You take the best and the brightest. You do remember the battery of test, after test to qualify for the AF Academy. Then after six or seven tests, you are sitting alone in a big room with just one or two others. It’s like that.
Only a handful of people got the chance to fly Navy and be a Naval Aviator. (Of course, your view might be different, LOL), and then when you get that opportunity and you are there in your first of several briefings, you are told over and over just how special you are. The 1% of the 1% of the 1%. You just don’t throw it away.
And then, those of us who excelled and survived and surpassed our classmates, we achieved various levels of success. And we, who have (for most of our lives) been promoted through merit, raise up to a position where those who “retire” us, don’t appear to have that same kind of background.
Indeed, to me it seems like America and many of it’s agencies are run by psychopathic idiots or…
…perhaps (better yet) sycophants appointed by psychopathic idiots. It really seems that way.
You can really see the difference here in China. I wouldn’t have thought about things this way, but when you experience leadership run by merit, and people who work together as a group, and who follow the rules. It’s all really rather refreshing.
And it’s starting to become obvious…
A similar anti-China fiasco emerged during last week's ABC.net.au Q & A which devoted its last 25 minutes to Oz's trade relationship with China.
It was introduced with a question from a young graduate of the Greta Garbo School for Wayward Boys & Girls.
He was already in an emotional lather when he stood up to castigate China for torturing Uighur Slaves, and subjecting them to forced abortion and forced sterilization etc sourced, Ahem, from that Tabernacle of Truthiness the BBC!
Anyway, it was slithering along quite hysterically until a young bloke stood up and asked...
... why no-one wants to talk about China virtually eliminating poverty, and a few other praiseworthy achievements absent from Western Homeland policies.
And then whilst the bashers were digesting those assertions, a young Oz entrepreneur pointed out that he couldn't get research funding from Oz.gov or Biz for his new concept.
But he asked China.gov if they were interested in helping commercialize it?
China.gov had a look and a listen and said Yes We Can!
Come on over!
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Apr 20 2021 18:26 utc | 12
Question 9
Speaking of random images, look at the very last attachment and see if you can make anything of it. Just a random bit of evidence I scooped up on my research. The image was from June 21st, 2020.
But posted on February 16, 2020. CNY was on Saturday, January 25. So this image was originally posted two weeks into CNY.
Answer 9
Very interesting comment about the dry block of ice in Wuhan. Very interesting, and plausible. I don’t know if it is true or not, but it is certainly plausible. What many American fail to appreciate is just how technologically advanced China is, and just how many cameras are available.
When the HK “pro-democracy” color-revolution was instigated, everything was known and caught on tape.
From the US State Department chick promising “the world” to the leaders of the “pro-democracy” movement…
… to the NGO (CIA assets) being told to “light Hong Kong on fire and let it burn!“. All on tape. All on high-definition 5G.
What was surprising to me was why China let the nonsense continue for so long. They could have stopped everything immediately.
Question 10
Have you ever heard of “Project Preserve Destiny?” There is a book called Above Black by Dan Sherman that describes it.
This story is tightly intertwined with my world back in the early to mid-90’s, where my life went south after the Whistleblowing events that centered on the Fair Haired Captain that was dying of AIDS. He was the training mate or counterpart to Dan Sherman, who wrote the book. Sort of like your Sebastian character, where Sherman was going through training with the Gay Captain, but they never spoke to each other. Or, weren’t supposed to or something like that.
But they trained together and were given psychotropic drugs to boost their Intuitive Communicator abilities. The Gay Captain died in 1994, and turned my life into a shitstorm.
I’ll attach the 1.5 MB PDF, on the off chance it will make it to you. It will be more background material to chat about…
Answer 10
Curious.
The 1986 photo of Dan Sherman who wrote the book “Above Black” looks a lot like Sebastian. Funny that you would mention this. While in the Navy in training all of our hair was short and we were clean shaven, but when we met up again at NAS NASC China Lake, he had this same hair cut, mustache, and color hair. LOL.
I successfully downloaded the PDF and will take the time to read it. I have many things on my plate right now. No time this weekend for a conference chat. Maybe during the subsequent week. I think this weekend will be more cigarettes and tea, rather than VSOP and pretty girls. But you never know.
Question 11
By the way, no probes for me. I was a straight up combat coded pilot. I had people work for me that were implanted, including other test pilots that did some reverse engineering and flying of the craft. I wasn’t briefed on their program(s), so I didn’t have to be implanted.
One more level deep, and it would have happened. Likewise, when I flew the F-117A, it was a TS Codeword SAP. No direct access to off-planet species, so we got by on non-disclosure agreements and some pretty tight “monitoring.”
Answer 11
That’s fine that you didn’t have probes. MAJ is a carveout and lies embedded within the various military branches, and industry.
I do not think that it has fundamentally changed much, as I understood it, the ONI pretty much directs or funnels the funding.
My experience was that at NAS China Lake my direct MAJ supervisor was retired AF. His name was <redacted>, and used to fly the F-111 Aardvarks during the Vietnam conflict when they were having all sorts of deployment problems.
F-111 Aardvark
Curiously, he was gay (as were many people at China Lake) and was part of a “clique” with the facility. There was a lot, A LOT, of groups, internal politics and fiefdoms there. I’ll tell you what. If I was older, I might have gone running for the hills, it was that bad!
Anyways, the probes are part and parcel about access and control. The ELF probes were / are MAJ mandated and control and monitor participants. The EBP is a very special device that our benefactors install. Once you have them you are in for life.
I can understand how some of your subordinates would have it but you wouldn’t.
Question 12
LoL – sorry if I was too long winded! That’s just how I observed things setting up on this side of the ocean. It will be interesting to compare notes and see how & where your research diverges from what I can find here.
I found a used laptop today, so I’ll load Skype on it and try to get familiar with the controls.
Have you ever heard of “Project Preserve Destiny?” There is a book called Above Black by Dan Sherman that describes it. This story is tightly intertwined with my world back in the early to mid-90’s, where my life went south after the Whistleblowing events that centered on the Fair Haired Captain that was dying of AIDS. He was the training mate or counterpart to Dan Sherman, who wrote the book. Sort of like your Sebastian character, where Sherman was going through training with the Gay Captain, but they never spoke to each other. Or, weren’t supposed to or something like that. But they trained together and were given psychotropic drugs to boost their Intuitive Communicator abilities. The Gay Captain died in 1994, and turned my life into a shitstorm.
I’ll attach the 1.5 MB PDF, on the off chance it will make it to you. It will be more background material to chat about.
By the way, no probes for me. I was a straight up combat coded pilot. I had people work for me that were implanted, including other test pilots that did some reverse engineering and flying of the craft. I wasn’t briefed on their program(s), so I didn’t have to be implanted. One more level deep, and it would have happened. Likewise, when I flew the F-117A, it was a TS Codeword SAP. No direct access to off-planet species, so we got by on non-disclosure agreements and some pretty tight “monitoring.”
F-117A
Answer 12
Here’s the book and provided for reading pleasure.
Question 13
(Regarding China)
Would it be strange to say it almost has the feel, very much of an almost 50s or early 80s American upward mobility sensibility, with well appointed civic systems of order, cleanliness, and beauty!
Well done is all I can say.
Most Americans have no idea.
I am only tuned in because I have known and still known people of so many nationalities and lived in a number of countries like yourself! So that sense of civic self esteem is getting hard to see in the US but it does exist here and there in little pockets!
I love this country, it’s peoples, it’s foods, it’s sights, it’s traditions, it’s hard won formation, and it’s principles and styles of government… but I am not so pleased with the amount of evil that has become entrenched anywhere in the world.
But China does seem a bit upward mobility obsessed, almost like we all were in the 50’s, and boy we loved that car era too, and having the hottest wheels, whether power for boys, or comfort for girls, was the ticket!
Everybody had to buy their own house, everyone had to have savings, everyone.
Now it’s different in the USA, it’s very very cynical.
And it’s seems, not Pollyanna, but deeply optimistic in some ways what is going on in modern China. A force for the good, who knew, with all the narrative noise in the channel!
Answer 13
Yes. that is exactly how it is.
There’s this live-and-let-live feeling inside of China. No one bothers you. If you want to walk around the mall will a beer in your hand while you sip it, it’s totally fine. If you want to spend the night sleeping on the sidewalk, that’s fine too. But since people don’t need to do that…
…they don’t.
And in many ways, China does feel like the 1950’s and the 1960’s. Seriously. Just go ahead and compare the police for instance.
You know, the photo of the American police reminds me of a scale model that I built when I was in tenth grade. It was by Tamiya. Compare the two pictures. Then compare it to the current Chinese police force.
Question 14
My presumptuous take on it is Type 1Grey conduct themselves in a dispassionate neutral way but welcome chaos and strife as a so-called grit in the oyster growth factor for cultivating the current human species.
Basically inviting in the wave cycle sense, a dialectic antitheses or cancellation wave to close out and dissolve manifest theses constructs of reality.
This can be a great blessing to unstick a really stuck consciousnesses, OR be a curse forcing uninvited transcendence of identity.
Ego gets a full serving of whoop ass either way I suppose.
Answer 14
Yes. In the movie The Matrix, the main character Neo learns that the computer tried to create a pleasant “Heaven” for all the humans to live within. There was no hunger, no starvation, no strife, and…
…all the humans died as a result. We, as a species need to grow and learn. And that means getting out of our “comfort zone” and entering an area of distress. It’s how we grow.
In this scene Morpheus tells Neo about the real history of the world.
Question 15
On mutations yes of course I was assuming, in that negative future world line, at least 100 years or 5 generations out for such compound natural replication errors to fully emerge.
The human response will be the CRISPR the shit out of the human genome to attempt recovery, and in another 100 years that comes to stable fruition.
Neosapiens type R (will create) a whole future dedicated to global recovery from mutations caused via multiple vectors.
It’s one very negative human future to avoid that I suspect is on the actionable watch-list of any world line sentinels.
Also with these issues on the minds of the benefactors, I can see many will help, wittingly or unwittingly, to seed trim tab causal counter flows to help buffer and steer us to a better outcome.
Answer 15
You are so very close to what is really and actually going on.
Question 16
Yeah the list is long and only starts with the obvious first likely cause being that ionizing radiation from nukes or dirty nukes could do it…
… but then there are also-binary genetic toxins that could do it,
…non-ionizing radiation (NIEMR) at certain frequency and intensity profiles that could do it,
…non conventional nuke contamination events could do it,
…a really bad CME could do it (Carrington x5?),
…an exposure of mutagenic material fallen all over the globe from a passing comet could do it,
…a pure mutagenic chemical weapon or bio weapon could do it,
…much later a quantum biogenic munition experiment gone bad could do it…
…it doesn’t take much imagination to imagine a few more plausible tipping points, or crucial key causal trigger events, for such hell on Earth to come about.
Then I think why lay it all out? Lol but duh as you know so well, there is no way around the fact that for the most part most of these alternate wildcards are just that wildcards that are entirely unlikely.
The largest causal likelihood is apt to be what we agree is looming the most – the risks of nuclear exchange.
But you know somehow I am optimistic that sanity will somehow prevail and the unity of the global marketplace will derail fomenting anti-BRI military strategy.
Is blind entitled hegemony worth all our children’s lives? Obviously not, but we do live in an age of highly engineered stupidity, docility, and group think. I don’t mind healthy group think, because it can withstand logical inquiry and ethical justification.
Answer 16
There are so many avenues that can play out. And they have on many world-line, world-path, trajectories. But what matters is the “end game”; the “end result” of all this so that the human species can develop to fit within the galactic society, and there are some very tricky things that must transpire first for it to come to fruition.
OK. Enough for now. I hope you all had a chance to digest some of this and toy with it in your minds.
Question 17
You really seem to make China out as some kind of great glorious place. Sure I suppose that there are some things that China does that are better than America. But you don’t have to be so gungho about it. You need to show some balance to make yourself believable. I just cannot see it ever being as great as you say. You need to tone it down and show some balance.
Answer 17
America is so full of shit right now, that balance is impossible.
It’s gone down into the sewer and it is beyond redemption. Meanwhile China has it’s act together. To make China look a little foul, and dirty by making up things so that it would seem believable to Americans is just… well, silly.
Americans have zero idea how deep they have fallen.
I would guess that the point of divergence happened in the societies in the late 1960’s. China took one path. America took the other path. Now look where everyone is
You see, everything is expensive in America because the corrupt and the evil have taken over the “democracy” and have made it that they rigged the game. Everything flows into one hundred billion tiny pockets. Fees, taxes, regulations, approvals… all are designed to siphon money away from the government to the corrupt individuals.
This just doesn’t happen in China.
There are two reasons for it. The first is that the culture and society has adapted and changed making whole-scale corruption frowned upon. But most importantly secondly, there is a special police branch; the corruption police that will hunt you down and kill you if you try to put your “fingers in the till”.
China does not play.
So when I see America, or the UK, or Australia, this particular scene comes to mind…
You know…
America is being “really really bad” right now. It’s pushing, and pushing for war. The entire fucking world can see this.
I really don’t know what the Hell is wrong with the American leadership. China is not going to be another Yemen. Maybe they want to go out with a “bang” instead of a “whimper”? I don’t know.
One thing that I can tell you is that China is a very deathly serous nation. As the video says, it has taken over a decade for the city of Boston to renovate a fucking bridge. China does it in 48 hours.
Imagine, just imagine what China can do if it is attacked! Especially since it is allied with Russia, North Korea, and Iran. And has pretty much unified all of Asia to include the EU (minus the UK). Imagine…
Question 18
Now you may think this is a bit way out, but I share anyway. I guess you of all people can accept way way out!
I resonate with your site as you know. I also resonate with this site which I have been following intuitively for many years after an event of my own which confirmed this lady had something very special to share. It may not be fitting with your venue, or you may find it too far out which is why I haven’t added a comment. Every day I visit your site, I enjoy all the readers’ comments, sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed by the intellect and to keep saying, wonderful thank you isn’t really cutting it! But your site is wonderful thank you!
So I share because it might relate to the changes you call the big bump.
This was the newsletter for March. You can listen to her voice if you don’t have time to read all the script. It is very meaningful to me but its all down to personal experience I guess. I don’t understand all of how she puts things, but a part of me does greatly.
It is a very positive shift all the same, and light and sound are the name of the game. I connect with stones and trees and hear sounds naturally. My happy place is on the hills and loving the earth.
I will check it out and so will others that visit the MM site. Best regards and a big thank you!
Question 19
While you were in the organization, have you at any time, walked on Mars?
Answer 19
I can say that I have used the transport portal to go to other places. And they had gravity that in every case was less than the earth. At no time was it more than what I am used to on Earth.
I can tell you that I was inside of a structure that had lighting, and an atmosphere that was suited for other species other than humans, but I did not find it uncomfortable.
I can also say that I had no idea where I went. I can only guess.
That being said, I do know about a very specific facility on Mars. I know about it because that is where the “pilot” that controlled the (EBP / ELF) artifice lived. And being so entangled with this artifice, I was able to “sense” or “overlay” thoughts, impressions or images with this “pilot” entity (as long as it permitted it).
It is through these impressions that I am able to remember, specific (and very limited), images feelings and events. For me, it is almost like being there. Almost.
On a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being no experience. And 10 being the full human sensory experience. We can thus rate other forms of media and electronics to obtain a better understanding of what I have been able to capture in sensory stimuli.
Reading a story is about a 1.
Reading poetry is about a 2.
Radio and television are pretty much a 3 and a 4 on this scale.
A 4D movie with movement and scents is around a 5.
Wearing a deep sea diving suit, and walking on the ocean floor is around a 6.
And the overlay of sensory input on the experiences of this other being is a 7.5.
So, no. To my knowledge I was never physically on the planet Mars that I am aware of. Though I could have been.
But I was entangled with the Pilot of the artifice, and that provided me with some experiences that were similar to being on Mars. And so I have written about them. As strange and unusual as they seem. But what do you want me to do? Shut the fuck up about it, then die. And thus leave my experiences to disappear into nothingness so that no one benefits from it? Is that what you want?
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Have you ever suddenly came to “an understanding”, or a”realization” that what you have thought, what you have known, and what you have “felt” was all wrong?
Wrong.
This happens to all of us, at one time or the other.
We realize that what we thought at one time, was entirely wrong, or false or not at all the entire picture. Do you know what I am talking about? A realization of the way you think the world works, or how things work, or a relationship works, is not what is really going on? It’s usually a shock. Right?
You can say that about anything really.
You can say that you thought America was one thing, when it was really something else.
Or you could say that you thought China was one thing, when it was something else.
Or you could say that you thought Boston was one place, when it was something else…
But you could say that about relationships as well.
You thought he was one thing when he was really something else.
Or your friends were one thing when they were really something else.
Or your company was one way, when it was really something else entirely different.
It’s a sudden realization that what you thought existed was all a big lie.
And no. I’m not going to start delving into secret government programs, the lifestyles of the rich oligarchy, the casting couches in Hollywood, or the secrets of the Lincoln Bedroom. I’m not going to discuss how your high school text books “got it wrong” or whether or not your best friend is sleeping with your spouse. We are going to go in a different direction here…
We are going to talk about a state of mind where there are NO preconceptions of what reality is. Things are as you see them, or not. And what you might want to happen, could or could not occur.
We are going to talk about your little universe.
The picture above.
The picture at the top of this post above is pretty amazing, eh? It depicts a gladiator over his dying opponent asking the audience for guidance as to whether to kill him or not. It’s stunning. Actually. Not only in the subject matter, but also in the artistic technique.
Now. I want to conduct a thought exercise with you. Let’s go from character to character in the painting. Try to imagine their thoughts, feelings and life that day prior to that snapshot in time.
The Audience that is giving a “thumbs down”. What do you think their life was like on that day? Maybe ate a boiled egg, and some bread and looked forward to “The Games” at “The Circus”. And after the bloody gore, will probably go home and hand out with their friends. maybe enjoy the day, and perhaps do a little shopping in the market.
The Emperor. He sits there watching on. IS this what he wants? And if so why? What does the loss of this life mean to him? After the “Games” he will have a nice big meal, cavort with women, and drink enough wine until he falls asleep.
The Losing Gladiator. He struggles for his life and asks the audience for pity. What do you think is going through his head right now? What do you think he thought about the day as he was getting ready to fight? What was his morning like?
The Winning Gladiator. He’s panting. he fought hard. He is over another person like himself. But he must do what is asked of him. Does he want to do it? Is there any emotion or any compassion? What is he feeling?
In this example, you can see that there are a host of different people in this painting. All with different stories, different histories, different ideals families, passions and futures. Some experience pain. Some experience emotions – such as elation, adoration, fear, terror, and agony.
But there is one person in that painting that doesn’t seem to be showing any emotion, or any care. It is the Emperor. He sits there in numb isolation. Those people are nothing to him. Kill them. Not kill them. It doesn’t matter. Not to him now. Not to him in the future. He just doesn’t care.
He cannot feel. He cannot emote. He is typical. He is a psychopath.
Now…
…Consider this. Almost every single person in the American Government today, no matter how they appear to you in public, or though the media are psychopaths. They have no feelings, no cares, and no desires. They do what they need to do to stay within their roles, but that is it.
They put on a show, of course…
Donald Trump hugging the flag.
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Consider Hillary Clinton…
Hillary Clinton showing that she loves and respects farmers.
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Al Gore showing that he is relatable to the folk in the “rust belt” states…
Al Gore, he’s one of us, don’t you know?
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The truth is that they are all just playing a “song and dance”; a “puppet show” for all of us to watch because it’s all just a big “game” to them. To them, well they don’t think like we do. They don’t act like we do. They don’t live like we do.
And all this “stuff” is what they do (naturally) to convince us to do things for them, to give them money, power, respect, and anything else they desire. This is what they are. Their desires, and actions are not that of the humans that you see around you.
Instead they are something else…
They have evolved.
These “politicians” might look like humans, dress like humans, and talk like humans, but they are different. They are a different type of creature entirely. They have a different sentience.
They have a different sentience that the rest of us.
If you were to look at their non-physical body with the kinds of eyes that <redacted> then you would see that their appearance is very superficial. They are something else.
No they are not reptilians, or some other kind of obscene joke, they are a kind of distorted humanoid shape. And yes, you could say that their non-physical form greatly resembles a galactic quantum archetype.
Have you ever wondered why so many people BELIEVE the fantasy that Reptilian extraterrestrials, that can shape form, have taken over control of the United States?
Could it be that these people, who are in control of the levers of power, are not acting and behaving like the "normal" people that surrounds you and I?
There are several paintings that had a particularly strong impact on me and remain memorable. First is John William Waterhouse's painting of Saint Eulalia.
The painting depicts, in a startling manner, the murder of a 12-year-old girl, Eulalia, who was martyred because she refused, as a Christian, to worship the imperial Roman gods.
The 4th century Spanish poet, Prudentius, places her death in 313 AD, and tells of the miracle, signaling her martyrdom, that occurred after her death-it began to snow and doves flew out of her mouth.
He further describes her torture as being brutal, with hooks tearing her flesh and her body being burnt with torches.
Waterhouse has been inspired by this poem as is explained in the exhibit's text.
Waterhouse does something remarkable in this painting. He eliminates the gory signs of her extreme torture, and yet impresses upon the viewer the horror of what has happened.
She is partly undressed, her upper torso bare, but her lower body is covered in her torn brown-red and dirty garment. Waterhouse has taken poetic license in order to give the child dignity and yet convey the suffering and indignities she endured.
He makes a masterful use of perspective by placing Eulalia in the foreground. He uses extreme foreshortening which he accomplishes with masterful skill, a very difficult feat. Eulalia, in this foreshortened pose, is lying headfirst on her back and her image takes up one third of the large canvas.
The viewer is looking up the length of her body to her legs that are turned slightly askew to the viewer's left. Her blood red hair (a red with dark burnt umber and sepia) is reminiscent of spilt blood beginning to age. The hair flows toward the viewer almost to the edge of the canvas.
The thin layer of snow on the ground accentuates the sense of drying blood, as does her garment, which gives, at second viewing, the look of flayed skin. The snow is of course also a symbol of her virginity. The doves that have issued from her mouth are now just ordinary doves and flit about her indifferently.
This adds to the dead child's sense of abandonment.
On her left wrist remains a piece of tied rope, symbol of her torture. As your eyes move up the canvas you are met with the shaft of the makeshift cross she was roped and nailed to on your right, not far from where the she lies. Moving further away from Eulalia, the remainder of the upper canvas depicts Roman guards and a cluster of people on steps that lead to the square where Eulalia lies dead.
The backdrop is of Roman columns.
The crowd seems only to be there out of curiosity.
One figure, a woman in white robes, kneeling, head down, at the top of the steps, grieves. One wonders if it is a sister or maybe the girl's mother, forbidden to go to Eulalia by the foremost guard who holds a spear.
There is absolutely nothing sexually titillating about this painting. It takes an overwhelming stretch in a critic's mind, in order to fit this image into a predetermined aesthetic agenda, to see otherwise. The all-over coloration of the painting is in hues of white, gray, brown, gray-blue and the dark drenched reds.
This powerful image will stay with me.
-Art Renewal center
In this painting we see how a young innocent girl is hurt, tortured and killed by the uncaring machine that government has become. People do their jobs. They follow their orders. They obey their commands.
We all know about how uncaring, methodical and ritualized our governments have become. You enter the “system” and you become “processed” by it.
But you know, there are two mechanisms at play. There is a mechanism of government that favors the wealthy oligarchy in power, and one that is used on everyone else. Needless to say, it is the one used on “Joe and Suzy Average” that is harsh and brutal. But that system used against the oligarchy is trivial. Those in power live a different kind of life than you and I do.
It’s not just that they are surrounded by wealth and opulence. It’s that they, their friends and all their associations are with those of one singular sentience.
America is segregated by sentience. Not class.
Voluntary sentience segregation
Nothing that I have so far mentioned should come as a surprise. We all know how “well heeled” the oligarchy that runs America is. And we all know that they seem “off” or a little different from you and I and the rest of the people around us. But would you accept the notion that this kind of sentience segregation fits an approved galactic archetype?
The powers-that-be censoring books.
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I guess that the big shocker that I have to announce to the MM readership is that things have advanced for the human species. And while the past have always had a wealthy class and a poor class, advances in technology has moved the human species to a point of inflection. It’s a “tip over event”. It’s a point where sentience becomes established within a society, and in our cases, within a species.
Throughout the Metallicman writings I have pushed the idea that our human species has been striving to weed out the confused sentience’s, and establish a unified sentience.
What ever it might be.
And to this end, I have stated that it would take years, if not centuries to do so. In this regards, I have suggest (if not stated out right) that humans must choose between either a [1] Service-to-self sentience, or [2] a Service-to-others sentience.
However, what appears to be happening is something quite different, and my personal biases are hereby notified to stop being so “black and white” about everything.
You see, all that matters to our benefactors is that Humans get their collective acts together and work out a unified sentience. They don’t really care what it would be, just that it is unified, and that it fits (or can fit with some RNA changes) into a galactic archetype.
It has nothing to do whether they like or hate humans as a species. It has to do with the generation of the thoughts that we have, their power and our ability to entangle with other species. If our sentience does not develop into an approved archetype, then our thoughts and actions can be ruinous for the rest of the galaxy (as well as the rest of the universe).
But…
But…
But you know, there is every evidence that the oligarchy that runs the United States and much of the world are already within a galactic archetype. It’s a Service-for-self archetype.
They are no longer evolving.
They ARE evolved.
And for the world to fit within the matching schedule made by our benefactors, that means that the rest of the earth must fit within one of two (remaining) complementary sentience’s.
Service-for-self. (Where 100% of the human species has the same sentience.)
Service-for-another. (Where a caste system forms, and the rest of us serve the oligarchy.)
Or, perhaps a picture would explain it better. Consider the HG Wells science fiction class “The Time Machine“.
On January 5, 1900, a disheveled looking H.G. Wells - George to his friends - arrives late to his own dinner party. He tells his guests of his travels in his time machine, the work about which his friends knew.
They were also unbelieving, and skeptical of any practical use if it did indeed work. George knew that his machine was stationary in geographic position, but he did not account for changes in what happens over time to that location.
He also learns that the machine is not impervious and he is not immune to those who do not understand him or the machine's purpose.
George tells his friends that he did not find the Utopian society he so wished had developed.
He mentions specifically a civilization several thousand years into the future which consists of the subterranean morlocks and the surface dwelling eloi, who on first glance lead a carefree life.
In the movie, the wealthy, the smart, the powerful move underground. They evolve in that environment. They become a new kind of human; The Morlock.
The evolved oligarchy. A sub-species of humans that has fully adopted a service-for-self sentience. Scene is from the 1960 movie “The Time Machine.”
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The rest of the people stay above ground. They live in the abandoned cities, and live a pastoral life. They are the people that serve the Morloks. They are the Eloi.
The evolved human species. This is the other sub-species. This species is full of service-for-another humans. Scene is from the 1960 movie “The Time Machine”.
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Is that the direction that the world is heading towards right now? That the human species is segregating into two separate sentience’s intentionally? Or in other words, two completely different sub-species of humans?
Spelling things out...
If the human species is already at a point where a portion of the human species has decided to branch off into their own species - A service-to-self species.
Then...
That leaves the rest of us to become either [1] Like them. We too become a service-for-self species. Or [2] we take on the role of a sub-servant species of human. The service-for-another species.
And understanding this fact, will help to explain a lot of the strange and freaky (deaky) things that are going on contemporaneously.
What things?
Well…
Let’s look at this. Ok?
You know, Trump tried to suppress China. He conducted a “hybrid war”, declared himself a “War President”, he festooned his office with war-themed objects and flags, posted his “campaign coins” prominently on display and did everything possible short of nuclear war.
And one aspect of this “hybrid” war was the release of six viral bio-weapons to collapse the Chinese agricultural and livestock industries (2017 through 2018), followed up with three strains (2019 and 2020) to take out the Chinese people themselves.
I have to admit that it really bums me out. (Sigh.)
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The first assault was on CNY 2020 with the COVID-19B.
Subsequent assaults (after the six attempts of the destruction of grains and livestock) were the COVID-19. This came in numerous strains. A, B, C... and mutated into many others...
Bu the USA launched other biological weapons against the Chinese people as well.
There is the (yet unofficially named) completely new virus COVID-20. This is not a strain of the COVID-19, but yet another "novel" virus, and yes it is unusually enormous in size. This nasty virus was unleashed about a month after Trump "gave up" the "color revolution in Hong Kong. Super nasty. This was super lethal and caused death by vomiting. It lies in the gut and in the anus. It was discovered by the PLA by monitoring one of the Chinese CIA "assets" (that was involved in drone spraying of the swine flu in 2019.) This was the reason why Trump went into hiding for three days, and America went DEFCON ONE. He feared military retaliation. Not the "Trump caught coronavirus" nonsense that the "news" reported.
Drat! Trump snarled and twisted his evil long mustache. "I'll show them who's boss!"
What followed was the worst virus of all. Yet another (unofficially un-named) novel new, and enormous in size COVID-21 new virus. This nasty, nasty, horrible virus was unleashed about a month after the seven battle carrier Naval fleet left the South China Sea. Also very deadly, and with a very high R0. Also found in hyper vigilant sweeps of all imported food and visitors to China. It lies within the gut and anus and results in death by diarrhea.
Today 28JAN21, the Western media is finally reporting on the Chinese "new" swab testing regime that was implemented right after the new year during the first week in January. The new technique uses swabs of the anus to detect for viral infections. Of course, the media are perplexed. Why do this with a COVID-19 with is a virus that affects the nasal passages and throat? Why test in the gut and anus?
That is because the new test not just tests for COVID-19, but also the two new lethal viruses COVID-20 and COVID-21. Both of which affect the gut and the anus.
And part of this plan was to protect Americans from “blow back”. Meaning that he didn’t want any of the bio-weapon released upon the Chinese to end up hurting America. Which was why trump insisted that COVID-19A be spread to all Americans and that no one is to wear a mask. He wanted everyone to be immunized.
blowback
...unintended adverse results of a political action or situation.
He wanted the light strain COVID-19A to spread to all Americans and the “West” to get this virus. Why? So that they would be immune to “blow back”. This was through giving everyone “herd immunity”.
… the COVID-19A ran unchecked through America and the nations of “The West”. As it did so, it gave everyone “herd immunity” to the nasty virus; the COVID-19B, the Chinese, Russian and Iranian strain.
And don’t give me the Alex Jones / Rush Limbaugh / Sean Hannity / CIA narrative that the Coronavirus was a Chinese bio-weapon gone wrong. Sheech!
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱-𝟭𝟵 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮. The Covid virus genome was found in waste water samples in Barcelona in March 2019, almost a year before it was first reported in Wuhan China. A USA mayor said he tested to have COVID antibody as early as November 2019, meaning he was infected much earlier. Scientists at University of Milan confirmed the virus was present in Italy since November 2019.
https://lnkd.in/e4rH_eY
But…
But, suddenly the entire “news” dialog has changed.
Now everyone MUST take this new vaccination. It is very important or you will die! You must do it now! Hurry up take it NOW! Now. Now. Nowwwwww!
It seems like things have changed. The news media leads one to believe that things are different, and that things have changed.
Oh sure, there’s all sorts of warnings and alerts about new strains popping out of nowhere inside of America…
No one wants to be a casualty in a pandemic. It’s heart-rendering.
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Now, pay attention.
China, Russia and their allies are using the viral inoculation for the very nasty COVID-19B. This is a unique vaccination and is quite unlike what has been bantered about in America. This is necessary, and the Chinese version, the COVID-19B has a R0 or 15% to 20%. Much more dangerous than the “lite” American strain COVID-19A with a R0=0.1%.
But suddenly, America has a vaccination and everyone MUST take it!
This viral inoculation is very, very different from the Chinese solution, and involves changing the RNA of the person so inoculated.
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I find it very curious that there is this urgency to inoculate every America, and every citizen of a nation allied with America, with a RNA altering vaccination for COVID-19A with a very low R0. It’s very odd.
And I am not the only one questioning this either…
Now, the “news” is all filled with bullshit. So it’s pretty hard to make heads or tails out of what is going on. I can tell you the following are as clear as day…
President Trump declared war on China. And launched biological warfare attacks to that end.
The COVID-19B is real. People die from it. China locked the entire down over it, and went DEFCON ONE with armed nuclear weapons over it. This is the deadly strain.
The COVID-19A is real, and this strain was exposed to Americans almost six months prior to the release of the lethal strain in China. This is the inoculation strain.
For the Trump / Bolton / Pompeo / Tom Cotton plan to work, it is important that herd immunity be obtained using COVID-19A inside of America.
So what is going on with this sudden frantic “need” to inject everyone with a RNA changing vaccine against a mild strain of COVID-19A?
What indeed?
Right now inside America everything is a big mess. Certainly no one can disagree. The “news” or what constitutes it’s modern replacement is all over the place and fear-mongering is the norm. It’s hard to figure out what is going on.
Don’t allow MM here to be yet another tale of fear and woe.
I really don’t know what is going on in America and the West. To me, it really seems to be in a state of turmoil, where everything is upside down and there are a lot of crazy atmospheric conditions that point to dangerously dark storm clouds a brewing. And in and among all this turmoil is a sudden “change in direction” regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Recall that in January 2020 the narrative was DO NOT WEAR MASKS. It’s not as bad as the flu, and “herd immunity”.
And now, one complete year later…
In January 2021, the narrative is WEAR MASKS. It’s much worse than the flu. Take the vaccination or die!!!!
Now…
Is this just because there is a new President…? Or is it because of a bigger plan? Or is it that the United States is so confused that it is like a thrashing elephant out of control and in a rage?
I. Do. Not. Know.
What I do know is the following…
This change in direction, it’s suddenness and crazed haphazard implementation is not a comforting sign. It points to an out-of-control government and leadership system.
From the point of view of DNA / RNA, any use of a vaccination that alter genetic structure should be of concern. (Look what happened to the tomato). It doesn’t matter if the intentions are good or bad. New technologies require vetting and careful controlled trials and experimentation.
What ever eventually does happen, the benefactors are just fine with it.
And if you get the inoculation…
And the RNA does it’s work. What then? You will look human, but what changes with the RNA alter?
Could it be like the 1956 movie “Invasion of the body snatchers”…
He looks like my uncle. He sounds like my uncle. He dresses like my uncle, he acts and walks and talks like my uncle.
...but he's NOT my uncle.
The 1956 movie “Invasion of the body snatchers”.
America seems to be going the way of the former Soviet Union
Unknown to most Americans, in the 1980s and 1990s, the Soviet Union break-up created a host of changes and discomfort for the people there. Many lost their incomes, their places of employment, food supplies dwindled and everything was very “iffy” for a while. Angered youth took over a ballistic nuclear submarine, for Pete’s sake. It was a trying time.
But now things have settled out and calmed down.
All that remains of the “glory days” of the former Soviet Union are abandoned buildings…
An abandoned medical research hospital.
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And this, an abandoned space complex….
An abandoned space complex inside Russia.
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And this telecommunications station left to rot…
An abandoned Russian Telecommunications station.
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Or all these planes and aircraft in an abandoned Russian “skunk works”…
Abandoned Russian “Skunk works”.
.
Um, yeah it’s all sad.
If you liked these photos, you can find a ton lot more at this great site; https://rusue.com/. It's got urban explorers going through the bones of the old former Soviet Union. It's a great site to explore.
Anyways,
It seems like the changes inside of America are starting to manifest, and guess what? It’s not like anyone thought that they would be like. Nope. It’s not an American Civil War II – thought that is still on the table, or a scene from “The Walking Dead” and a Zombie apocalypse. It’s bio-weapons, invisible dangers, government authority, and massive control, with pockets of balkanized folk all over the place that are angry, pissed off, confused and out of their minds in blood-lust anger.
Conclusion
So we enter a state of understanding.
The war for sentience domination has begun in the United States. It is following the Former Soviet Union model, and involves all kinds of new and novel characteristics that places “common citizens” at a great disadvantage, and the ruling oligarchy at a great advantage. The only people who seemingly will survive during the culling process are those that will fit within the niche’s provided for them.
I suggest the MM readership to be aware, cautious and accommodating. But not to be in agreement. Just keep your thoughts to your selves. Do not place a big “bulls eye” on your chest. Do not flaunt disgust or anger. Be as publicly neutral as possible you need to survive thought this stressful time by keeping your wits about your and controlling your emotions.
Clan up with friends and family. Know who your neighbors are and be helpful and a participant within your own closed society. Be good. Be the kind ear to listen and the strong shoulder for other to cry upon. Remember this time WILL PASS. What it important that you pass through it unscathed.
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you.
If you enjoy what you see, it would be helpful if you could assist in hosting this forum. A donation would be appreciated.
What kind of life are you living? What kinds of friends do you have right now? What kind of significance are you making in the world around you, now? Today? Or, are you just biding your time… waiting… until life gets better?
Ah.
He was only a cat.
Just… a stray cat.
But he was beloved by the entire community.
…
What did he do that you are not?
The following is a nice little story titled “Cathedral hosts memorial service after ‘enormously popular’ resident stray cat dies” it was written by Sara Spary, for CNN, updated 1756 GMT (0156 HKT) October 29, 2020 and presented as found with no editing aside from fitting within this venue. All credit tot he author.
.
(CNN)London’s famous Southwark Cathedral is traditionally recognized for its architectural significance.But in recent years the Gothic cathedral, which stands on the south bank of the River Thames, became known for another reason — the presence of a stray cat, affectionately named Doorkins Magnificat, who made the building her home for 12 years before passing away on September 30 2020.
In an unusual move, Andrew Nunn, the Dean of Southwark Cathedral hosted a service of thanksgiving, which was live streamed on Wednesday.
“She was enormously popular and had a massive Twitter following — and was also the focus of a lot of people’s visits to the cathedral,” Nunn told CNN, adding that some people who could not have their own cat in central London even saw her as their own pet.
“When she died the response was huge, and we knew we had to do something — there was no way in which we could just ignore the fact — and why would you, we loved her, and she gave a lot to our life,” he said.
“It felt entirely appropriate.”Doorkins Magnificat — or Doorkins for short — made Southwark Cathedral her home in 2008 after visiting between Christmas and New Year in search of food.
Over the years, she became a common site at the church — whether sprawling across the pews, sauntering across the altar during a service, or catnapping in the hay of the nativity scene at Christmas time.
Doorkins, whose age was unknown, first came to the cathedral seeking food in 2008.
Celebrity status
She was even present during a visit by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012, who she looked at nonchalantly before falling back to sleep — much to the Queen’s amusement, Nunn told CNN.
Last year 2019, because she had become blind and deaf, Doorkins was moved into the home of the cathedral’s verger, a church official, who looked after her until she died peacefully.
On social media, many people thanked Nunn for the “wonderful” and “touching” service, and shared fond memories of Doorkins.
Presenter Kate Bottley said the service had allowed her to mourn her aunt, who died last month.
“I hadn’t cried yet, until today. I watched this and cried and cried and cried, because you know what?
This wasn’t about a cat.
It’s ok if you don’t get it, it’s ok if you think it’s silly, but for me this helped, it really helped,” she wrote on Twitter.
However, one bishop asked whether it was a joke, and labeled the service “insensitive,” given the coronavirus pandemic having made it hard for people to have proper funerals for loved ones.
Nunn told CNN he had “no regrets” about the service, and said he was taken aback by how many people had said they had wept watching the live stream.
“There’s such a lot of emotion around at the moment, and sometimes, something like that can just release it for people… It was heartwarming as well as emotional,” he said.
Doorkins reached people he couldn’t have done, Nunn added.
“I got used to the fact that she had more Twitter followers than I did — and that she brought more people to church than I will ever do,” Nunn added.
“People came in and they wouldn’t necessarily be churchgoers, but they’d come in to find the cat — and I think that they found themselves very welcome. Ending up in a sacred space and spending time with a cat was good for people.”
So what?
Dogs and cats and other creatures big and small touch us in ways that we have difficulty vocalizing.
But the feelings and the emotions still exist.
You just cannot ignore that fact. This little cat touched the lives of so many people, and how? By just laying there? By accepting them, as they were? Not trying to change them? By rubbing against them or purring on their lap?
What is that “thing” that this little tiny cat provided that made him so missed?
…
How are you doing? I mean, on a personal level, and you really don’t need to tell me. re you appreciated, have friends…real friends who will drop everything to lend you money if you need it, or allow you to crash in their house if things got bad? Real, honest to goodness friends…
Friends…
If you asked someone for $3,000 how would they react?
A real friend would say, “how do you want it? Can you wait a day until I can gather it up for you?”
An acquaintances would ask “why do you need it“, and ask for a great deal of explanation.
Who do you surround your life with? Are they meaningful people? Are they important in your life, and for your family?
Having a good “time out”
I believe that it is so very easy for us to get all caught up in the life that we are living. And being caught up can be magnified by television, the radio, social media or work. Not to mention, having a baby or working on an intensive project, or starting a business. We can become all caught up, wrapped up, and we forget about what is important.
What will people say when we are gone? When we are no longer around? Will they miss us?
Remember…
…people will not remember what you say, what you do, or how much money you make. People will remember how you made them feel.
Obviously, this cat, made people feel good.
…
I think that if we strive to make other feel good, in what ever they are doing, in whatever role they have…
…we will be doing a good thing.
We will be doing our community and our society a much needed service.
…
I do not know what the immediate future holds for you, your family or your government(s). But, I do know that if everyone tried to be more caring… more considerate… more empathic… more inclusive of the needs of others, then much of the turmoil and problems that we encounter in our lives will just start to dissipate.
We need to get rid of the narcissists, the pathological, the sociopaths and the psychopaths from our communities and from our institutions and start being more concerned about each other.
We, you and I, can make this word a better place to live.
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
[wp_paypal_payment]
If you enjoy what you see, it would be helpful if you could assist in hosting this forum. A donation would be appreciated.
This is a detailed response to a question that was asked of my on 1JAN20. It is not the only person who has asked this. Many people, most especially those in America are very concerned. The Trump supporters see a looming civil war, and the Biden supporters see a fractional America being town by extremism on both sides of the political spectrum. Everyone is concerned, and the news media are running just as amok as the American government. Not to mention that a sizable portion of the American population are just hopeful for a major war with either China or Russia. Naturally, people are worried, concerned and upset.
Let me try to provide insight.
This is the question…
You said in a few posts that you still have an active connection with them (Our extraterrestrial benefactors). Could you ‘ask’ or ’emote’ our problem with the elites having been gifted this technology and what their opinion of it is? Was it a mistake? Could they resolve that mistake if so ?
It’s a straight-forward question. Using what communication skills that I maintain, can I query the “other side” of the PTB about the current terrifying condition in the world? Can I ask them if the believe that they made a mistake in gifting technology to the global elite?
My Answer
Yes, I still have contact. Yes, I am still connected via the EBP. Yes. They still monitor me. I am on a list of contacts. We (all MAJestic members in my cell) still have activity that we are all involved in.
While MAJestic retired me. Our benefactors did not.
But it is not like everyone thinks.
Now there are many things that I simply CANNOT TALK ABOUT. It’s not like I took an oath or something like that. When I try to type sentences, my fingers top working, my words get all jumbled, I get “foggy brain”, and personal emergencies” crop up. Like the dog shitting on my pillow, or the water heater blowing up, or the window on the porch suddenly fractures and collapses in a heap.
And talking about the future in detail is one such trigger. Which is strange as I really don’t know much in the way of specifics.
But I can answer this question in a round-about manner. Please bear with me.
A Farm.
Imagine a farm.
And on the big farm is a wide open spaces for the cattle to run around in. It’s a massive pasture. One with many hills and low areas and ponds for the cattle to drink from. This pasture is further subdivided into smaller regions. All separated by electric fences. The farmer, and his dogs, use these fences to isolate the herd into groups.
But as big and as open it seems, it is actually all a specifically fenced in area. For around the entire farm is this massive heavy steel bar fence. It’s not like the electric fences on the inside. It is sturdy and heavy. It is made out of both steel pipe and bricks and cement.
And guess what, there are only one or two gates, and the cattle are not able to open them. Additionally there’s a small troop of barn dogs. These dogs monitor the cattle and do tasks for the farmers.
The farmers spend most of the time in their house. They rarely go out. When they do it is to check on the cattle, examine them, and see that they are healthy. The barn dogs, however, are periodically permitted inside the farm house but only when called for by the farmer.
But they are never permitted in the kitchen. The dogs can smell the food cooking, and watch the farmer and his wife and kids do things, but most of it is really incomprehensible.
Yet, when the farmer calls the dogs in, the dog automatically and instinctively knows what the farmer wants. It’s really amazing. There is this connection. No words need to be spoken. The dog is happy, and the farmer sees the dog wag his tail. The farmer is upset, and the dog put his tail between his legs.
The farmer summons the dog.
He arrives and the farmer dispatches him out to do a specific task. The dog of course, brings in the newspaper, the mail, and snaps at the mailman. But has no concept of what mail, and news is all about.
The dog sees a little what is going on inside the farmhouse, and watches the cattle. The dog dances and runs around with the cattle, but they really do not care about what the dog has to say. They know that he goes into the farmhouse. They understand that occasionally he gets the newspaper, but all that is uninteresting to them. The cattle don’t care, and couldn’t comprehend the relationship between the dog and the farmer and family.
The farmer has tracking chips on everything in the farm. The most advanced chips are on the dog collars. But all the cattle also has tracking chips. These are rudimentary GPS systems, showing ownership and location.
Now, lately, the largest bulls in the pen of cattle are starting to use their identity collars to rub up against the electric fences that border the inner fields.
This is normally not a problem. But in doing so, there is a chance that the electrical fence wire will come undone. And there, lying on the ground it could be dangerous. The wire could start shocking groups of cattle. Obviously this is not desirable. Some cattle might die, others might get damaged and become useless.
Now the dogs see this and watch this. So they start barking at the bulls. They tell them to stop. But those pesky bulls are fucking idiots. They see but don’t understand. Or maybe they think that they are invincible.
They haven’t a clue to anything, really.
The bulls, and the cattle, have no idea what they are doing or how their actions will manifest. They have at their fingertips a great power. And they think that THEY are in control. They are not.
.
Now the farmer hears the barking dogs. He knows what is going on. And he has even gone out to inspect the damage.
On numerous occasions.
In fact, the farmer knows of other farms where entire herds of cattle died off for just this kind of thing. So the farmer must go out and inspect. He sees that many of the fence posts are damaged, and are weak.
He also sees that the bulls are getting really out of control. He is concerned, maybe even alarmed. However he knows things that the dogs don’t know.
The farmer knows that after a hurricane, or big storm that the farm land is refreshed and super fertile afterwards. He also knows, from prior experience and from other farmers that when the herds are culled by this kind of electrical wire fence damage, that eventually the herd is better culled.
It is much easier to manage the herds and the cattle. The big bad bulls tend to be gone, and the rest of the cattle end up (after a long spell) stronger, more adaptable, and better. So while the dog might panic and worry, the farmer sees everything as following a path that other farms have experienced. And so he takes the necessary actions and precautions.
He starts to move the herds into certain groups. Some he keeps safe away from the wire. While others, he just lets them bang against the shabby electrical fence. All the time knowing full well and good that no matter what happens none of the cattle will ever leave the corral and the farm fields.
The dogs don’t know what the farmer knows. But they see the confidence and understanding on the faces of the farmer and the family. Especially after they have observed the damage up close. The dogs see that everything is going according to plan, and they watch the farmer take special care to groups of cattle, and to specific fields on the farm.
It is almost like the farmer has selected certain groups of cattle to be safe and tended to, while others he allows to get unruly and get into trouble. He is obviously doing this intentionally. So that most, almost all of the bad bulls, are now in a certain penned in area on the vast farm pasture. And the farmer is permitting them to run amok.
…
Of course, not all cattle are the same. There are smart ones, alert ones and the exact opposite. Many cattle follow the more popular cows. They follow behind them not paying attending where the popular cows are going. Many are just heading straight towards the downed electrical lines. And their herd of following-cows are as happy as can be. They moo loudly “Make our grass green again!”. Other cows follow other noteworthy cows. These other cows moo such things as “cow milk matters!” while they tear up the grass and shrubby.
The dogs watch this with a degree of curiosity.
Certainly, it’s a good thing for the grass to be green and healthy. And yes, it is also true that cow milk is important. But is that all going to be the result of the stampeding herd? Or is it just a mechanism for the more popular cows to obtain bull-level grass and pleasures?
Right now, the farmer and the family are not panicking at all. All is good. In fact, it is almost like they have expected this event to occur for a long, ling time. They are not buying new cattle, sending teams out to fix the fence, or doing anything like that. They are just behaving normally without any kind of concern or panic.
Just because the bulk of the herd is happily munching on grass and following the well-promoted cows-of-importance, does not mean that the MM cattle are destined for the same fate.
I like to think of MM readership NOT as the cattle on the pasture, but actually as the protected puppies of the guard dogs. I mean this in a good way and not as an insult.
The farm guard dogs have an idea what is going on and the puppies can sense this. They know not to leave their kennel and stray too far. They know to avoid the big bulls that are all a snorting and roaring. They know not to follow the popular cows to the downed electrical fence. And why they do agree that the grass needs to be greener and that cow milk is excellent, they are not willing to follow the herd in that regards.
So…
Do not worry.
Yes, [1] there will be some SHTF events in America in the future. But [2] the events will not be homogenized. They will not be uniformly distributed. [3] There will be pockets of calm, and [4] even in the areas of danger, there will be areas of peace.
Avoid large clusters and groups of people. Become known within your community. Be beneficial and significant.
.
MM readers will know by now to avoid any large collections of people or big urban areas in the USA.
Find your niche inside of the community that you live within.
[1] Know who your neighbors are, [2] obtain skills. Not just what you do for a living, but other skills that might benefit your community. Be conservative in what you do meaning [3] have a nice well-stocked larder (just in case), and [4] have a nice small garden if you can.
If you all followed this advice that I gave back in 2018 and 2019, you would have been best prepared for the 2020 “pandemic”. Wouldn’t you have? Yes?
My advice has not changed.
The situation described above still holds true. There will be good areas, and dangerous areas. There will be spewed nonsense out of the news media, and the real facts will be denied to you. The ruling oligarchy is running amok, and since there are no brakes on their behaviors, they are only going to get worse.
While it appears that there will be a SHTF, and I most certainly strongly think this will happen, it is NOT CERTAIN.
I have been musing with the thought that it will more likely resemble a very controlled implosion with some violent elements thrown in.
When the dust settles, Americans will be better, stronger for all of it. Though the resultant America might not resemble anything that we know about today. It might not even be called “America” or the “United States”. It will continue to be isolated from the rest of the world. This is a good thing – for the world as a whole, and up until the USA gets it’s collective shit back together.
…
Back to the farm analogy…
From the farmer’s point of view, the identification tags that the bulls are using to tear up the farm isn’t really all that advanced. It might be “high tech” for the bulls, but from the point of the view of the farmer, it’s just old mechanical things that they buy in bulk, apply with a tool, and forget about it. The technology is not going to permit the cattle from breaking out of the farm, or go through the outer perimeter fence. At worst it might take down some of the internal wire electrical fences, but that’s about it.
And they won’t certainly have any influence on access to the farmhouse, and the farmer and his family.
Still…
The farm guard dogs are getting nervous. The bulls are huge! They are a roaring and carrying on with crazy abandon, and with each day they seem to get stronger, more embolden, and the damage that they are making is getting really noticeable. They are doing what they have always done, only larger, nosier, and more aggressively.
So the guard dogs sit on the farmhouse porch, or even the better trained “house dogs” who actually allowed outside the kitchen (like myself) are all whimpering and shivering. And to tell you all the truth the farmer’s family has noticed, and the farmer has come out and petted the “house dogs”. He offered soothing calm, kind words, and a tasty nugget. But then he was gone. He was busy on other things that the guard dogs haven’t any concept of.
The bulls are still out there. They are really unruly, and the guard dogs are wondering how to deal with the problem. As the bulls are not afraid of any barking or really anything at all.
But now, the puppies are all worried.
As are the cats, the sheep, the horses, and the chickens on the farm. Everyone seems afraid and very concerned.
The guard dog has an idea of where the bulls are, and where the damage of the fences will be the worst. They cannot predict the future, of course, but they have a pretty good idea of the relatively “safe” areas on the farm, and where the really potentially dangerous areas are.
They are slowly telling their puppies, who are just beginning to walk, to avoid the dangerous areas, and stick to the safer areas. They tell the puppies not to drink the anti-freeze that the bulls knocked on the garage floor, and not to go snap at the legs of any of the gathering herd cows or their leadership. They tell the puppies to keep to themselves, lie low, keep a safe distance and be on their best behavior, and they tell them that everything will be all right.
The farm dogs do not have the power nor the ability to “speak directly” to the farmer or anyone in the household. But they are trained, they are special. They do have access to things and understandings that the general cattle does not have.
They have insight.
They have understanding.
The dogs have insight and understanding.
.
They might not know how the electronic devices and ID tags that the farmer puts on the cattle work. But they do know the general reason why they are there. They also have an understanding of the limitations of the farmer. They know that the farmer, if he wanted to, could walk out onto the farm pasture and shoot the troublesome bulls dead. And what’s more, the bulls wouldn’t even see it coming. The farmer would just sit on his porch, drinking his cup of coffee and shoot his Winchester .303.
The dogs know just how powerful the farmer is. The cattle do not.
Heck! The farmer could just as easily instruct the dogs to herd the troublesome cattle into a certain part of the pasture, and then load them all into trucks and cart them off to the rendering plant.
But no. The farmer is not doing this.
The farmer WANTS the upcoming turmoil to happen. And the dogs and the puppies are a little surprised at this. Doesn’t he value his cattle? Doesn’t he care for the other barnyard critters? It’s almost like the turmoil will yield a far better grade of beef, and higher quality milk. It’s almost like permitting the upcoming turmoil as a kind of passage of growth that it very important.
Like an IPO stock going public, or when the percolator pot of coffee starts to perk in the morning.
All this being said…
The dogs have some bones that they can throw out to their puppies…
Throwing out a bone
Most rural states, in the United States, those known as “Red States” are safe areas. Never the less, within those areas are military bases. Stay away from the bases that store, launch, or maintain nuclear delivery systems.
If you have a military base near you, and it is not devoted to the strategic delivery of nuclear or biological weapons, then that is a plus in your favor. It’s of great advantage to you. When (and if) the SHTF, these areas will provide a strong degree of safety when the rest of the nation goes to shit.
Make the most of your time NOW. The future is very uncertain. There are certainly dangerous trends, but you have the power to thwart the worst elements yourself.
.
Just living near a large metropolitan city is not to be considered a problem either. It really depends on the primary constellation of threats that are presently developing in the United States;
Intentional domestic civil strife or war.
The US poking either the Russian Bear, or the Panda Bear.
In other words, you do not need to live off in a cabin in the woods of Alaska to avoid any potential future chaos. You can live in a suburb of Chattanooga, Syracuse, State College, even a large city like Atlanta, Tampa, or Pittsburgh…
…provided that the local city and state governments are not pushing domestic discord like Portland, Detroit or Baltimore are, and you and your families will end up safe.
I strongly believe were any civil discord to evolve…
…avoid the areas infected. Like stay fucking away. Do NOT get involved. It does not matter which side that you agree with. Stay out of it. All of it.
I strongly believe that if the USA tries to provoke a major Asian nation…
…a flood of nuclear tipped missiles will strike the USA.
Of course, you all don’t have to agree with my assessment. The National Review, Rush Limbaugh, Hall Turner and Alex Jones most certainly don’t. They believe that the USA can go anywhere in the world and instigate a regional conflict far away, and the only impact that it will have on Americans will be a positive one; one that will help corral the citizenry towards one objective or the other.
But…
…I am telling you that the louder they promote this fantasy, the greater the likelihood of nuclear conflagration.
For Pete’s sakes, The USA has been involved in a full-scale biological warfare against China for the last four years, and you all think that the PTB aren’t going to stop; to give up now?
Some considerations
Is it really a bad thing if all the big bad bulls are blown to smithereens?
Is it a bad thing if the big fenced in pen where the big bad bulls live becomes a big crater?
Is it a bad thing if the herd of cows follow the attractive cows into an electric fence?
Is any farmer bad for culling his herd?
Conclusion
The dogs want their puppies to play, learn and be safe. Don’t get all caught up in the bullshit made by the crazed bulls. The day of reckoning is fast approaching. It’s only a precious few years away. If you are a puppy, then listen. Stay away from dangerous areas in the pasture. Ignore the Bulls, and don’t follow the attractive herds.
Play and enjoy life now.
You will thank me later.
Being happy and being active in your prayer affirmation campaigns will be your best guards against what is brewing on the horizon. Happy thoughts. Happy memories. Friendships. Productive community activities, and a feeling of belonging will do WONDERS for your personal protections against what might happen in the future.
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
And it’s not going to be available for long. You can bet on that.
Nothing on the site is password protected. It’s all gone.
Call it a “dump” if you like…
Wikileaks just dumped all of their files online. Everything from Hillary Clinton’s emails, McCain’s being guilty, Vegas shooting done by an FBI sniper, Steve Jobs HIV letter, PedoPodesta, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Bilderberg, CIA agents arrested for rape, WHO pandemic. Happy Digging!
No doubt about it: 2020—a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year for freedom—was the culmination of a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad decade for freedom.
Government corruption, tyranny, and abuse coupled with a Big Brother-knows-best mindset and the COVID-19 pandemic propelled us at warp speed towards a full-blown police state in which nationwide lockdowns, egregious surveillance, roadside strip searches, police shootings of unarmed citizens, censorship, retaliatory arrests, the criminalization of lawful activities, warmongering, indefinite detentions, SWAT team raids, asset forfeiture, police brutality, profit-driven prisons, and pay-to-play politicians were accepted as the norm.
Here’s just a small sampling of the laundry list of abuses—cruel, brutal, immoral, unconstitutional and unacceptable—that have been heaped upon us by the government over the past two decades and in the past year, in particular.
The government failed to protect our lives, liberty and happiness. The predators of the police state wreaked havoc on our freedoms, our communities, and our lives. The government didn’t listen to the citizenry, refused to abide by the Constitution, and treated the citizenry as a source of funding and little else. Police officers shot unarmed citizens and their household pets. Government agents—including local police—were armed to the teeth and encouraged to act like soldiers on a battlefield. Bloated government agencies were allowed to fleece taxpayers. Government technicians spied on our emails and phone calls. And government contractors made a killing by waging endless wars abroad.
The American President became more imperial. Although the Constitution invests the President with very specific, limited powers, in recent years, American presidents (Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc.) claimed the power to completely and almost unilaterally alter the landscape of this country for good or for ill. The powers that have been amassed by each successive president through the negligence of Congress and the courts—powers which add up to a toolbox of terror for an imperial ruler—empower whoever occupies the Oval Office to act as a dictator, above the law and beyond any real accountability. The presidency itself has become an imperial one with permanent powers.
Militarized police became a power unto themselves, 911 calls turned deadly, and traffic stops took a turn for the worse. Lacking in transparency and accountability, protected by the courts and legislators, and rife with misconduct, America’s police forces continued to be a menace to the citizenry and the rule of law. Despite concerns about the government’s steady transformation of local police into a standing military army, local police agencies acquired even more weaponry, training and equipment suited for the battlefield. Police officers were also given free range to pull anyone over for a variety of reasons and subject them to forced cavity searches, forced colonoscopies, forced blood draws, forced breath-alcohol tests, forced DNA extractions, forced eye scans, forced inclusion in biometric databases.
The courts failed to uphold justice. With every ruling handed down, it becomes more apparent that we live in an age of hollow justice, with government courts more concerned with protecting government agents than upholding the rights of “we the people.” This is true at all levels of the judiciary, but especially so in the highest court of the land, the U.S. Supreme Court, which is seemingly more concerned with establishing order and protecting government agents than with upholding the rights enshrined in the Constitution. A review of critical court rulings over the past two decades, including some ominous ones by the U.S. Supreme Court, reveals a startling and steady trend towards pro-police state rulings by an institution concerned more with establishing order and protecting the ruling class and government agents than with upholding the rights enshrined in the Constitution.
COVID-19 allowed the Emergency State to expand its powers. What started out as an apparent effort to prevent a novel coronavirus from sickening the nation (and the world) became yet another means by which world governments (including our own) could expand their powers, abuse their authority, and further oppress their constituents. While COVID-19 took a significant toll on the nation emotionally, physically, and economically, it also allowed the government to trample our rights in the so-called name of national security, with talk of mass testing for COVID-19 antibodies, screening checkpoints, contact tracing, immunity passports, forced vaccinations, snitch tip lines and onerous lockdowns.
The Surveillance State rendered Americans vulnerable to threats from government spies, police, hackers and power failures. Thanks to the government’s ongoing efforts to build massive databases using emerging surveillance, DNA and biometrics technologies, Americans have become sitting ducks for hackers and government spies alike. Billions of people have been affected by data breaches and cyberattacks. On a daily basis, Americans have been made to relinquish the most intimate details of who we are—our biological makeup, our genetic blueprints, and our biometrics (facial characteristics and structure, fingerprints, iris scans, etc.)—in order to navigate an increasingly technologically-enabled world.
America became a red flag nation. Red flag laws, specifically, and pre-crime laws generally push us that much closer towards a suspect society where everyone is potentially guilty of some crime or another and must be preemptively rendered harmless. Where many Americans go wrong is in naively assuming that you have to be doing something illegal or harmful in order to be flagged and targeted for some form of intervention or detention. In fact, all you need to do these days to end up on a government watch list or be subjected to heightened scrutiny is use certain trigger words (like cloud, pork and pirates), surf the internet, communicate using a cell phone, limp or stutter, drive a car, stay at a hotel, attend a political rally, express yourself on social media, appear mentally ill, serve in the military, disagree with a law enforcement official, call in sick to work, purchase materials at a hardware store, take flying or boating lessons, appear suspicious, appear confused or nervous, fidget or whistle or smell bad, be seen in public waving a toy gun or anything remotely resembling a gun (such as a water nozzle or a remote control or a walking cane), stare at a police officer, question government authority, appear to be pro-gun or pro-freedom, or generally live in the United States. Be warned: once you get on such a government watch list—whether it’s a terrorist watch list, a mental health watch list, a dissident watch list, or a red flag gun watch list—there’s no clear-cut way to get off, whether or not you should actually be on there.
The cost of policing the globe drove the nation deeper into debt.America’s war spending has already bankrupted the nation to the tune of more than $20 trillion dollars. Policing the globe and waging endless wars abroad hasn’t made America—or the rest of the world—any safer, but it has made the military industrial complex rich at taxpayer expense. The U.S. military reportedly has more than 1.3 million men and women on active duty, with more than 200,000 of them stationed overseas in nearly every country in the world. Yet America’s military forces aren’t being deployed abroad to protect our freedoms here at home. Rather, they’re being used to guard oil fields, build foreign infrastructure and protect the financial interests of the corporate elite. In fact, the United States military spends about $81 billion a year just to protect oil supplies around the world. This is how a military empire occupies the globe. Meanwhile, America’s infrastructure is falling apart.
Free speech was dealt one knock-out punch after another.Protest laws, free speech zones, bubble zones, trespass zones, anti-bullying legislation, zero tolerance policies, hate crime laws, shadow banning on the Internet, and a host of other legalistic maladies dreamed up by politicians and prosecutors (and championed by those who want to suppress speech with which they might disagree) conspired to corrode our core freedoms, purportedly for our own good. On paper—at least according to the U.S. Constitution—we are technically free to speak. In reality, however, we are only as free to speak as a government official—or corporate entities such as Facebook, Google or YouTube—may allow. The reasons for such censorship varied widely from political correctness, so-called safety concerns and bullying to national security and hate crimes but the end result remained the same: the complete eradication of free speech.
The Deep State took over. The American system of representative government has been overthrown by the Deep State—a.k.a. the police state a.k.a. the military/corporate industrial complex—a profit-driven, militaristic corporate state bent on total control and global domination through the imposition of martial law here at home and by fomenting wars abroad. The “government of the people, by the people, for the people” has perished. In its place is a shadow government, a corporatized, militarized, entrenched bureaucracy that is fully operational and staffed by unelected officials who are, in essence, running the country and calling the shots in Washington DC, no matter who sits in the White House. Mind you, by “government,” I’m not referring to the highly partisan, two-party bureaucracy of the Republicans and Democrats. Rather, I’m referring to “government” with a capital “G,” the entrenched Deep State that is unaffected by elections, unaltered by populist movements, and has set itself beyond the reach of the law. This is the hidden face of a government that has no respect for the freedom of its citizenry. This shadow government, which “operates according to its own compass heading regardless of who is formally in power,” makes a mockery of elections and the entire concept of a representative government.
The takeaway: Everything the founders of this country feared has come to dominate in modern America. “We the people” have been saddled with a government that is no longer friendly to freedom and is working overtime to trample the Constitution underfoot and render the citizenry powerless in the face of the government’s power grabs, corruption and abusive tactics.
So how do you balance the scales of justice at a time when Americans are being tasered, tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, hit with batons, shot with rubber bullets and real bullets, blasted with sound cannons, detained in cages and kennels, sicced by police dogs, arrested and jailed for challenging the government’s excesses, abuses and power-grabs, and then locked down and stripped of any semblance of personal freedom?
No matter who sits in the White House, politics won’t fix a system that is broken beyond repair.
For that matter, protests and populist movements also haven’t done much to push back against an authoritarian regime that is deaf to our cries, dumb to our troubles, blind to our needs, and accountable to no one.
So how do you not only push back against the government’s bureaucracy, corruption and cruelty but also launch a counterrevolution aimed at reclaiming control over the government using nonviolent means?
You start by changing the rules and engaging in some (nonviolent) guerilla tactics.
Take your cue from the Tenth Amendment and nullify everything the government does that flies in the face of the principles on which this nation was founded. If there is any means left to us for thwarting the government in its relentless march towards outright dictatorship, it may rest with the power of juries and local governments to invalidate governmental laws, tactics and policies that are illegitimate, egregious or blatantly unconstitutional.
In an age in which government officials accused of wrongdoing—police officers, elected officials, etc.—are treated with general leniency, while the average citizen is prosecuted to the full extent of the law, nullification is a powerful reminder that, as the Constitution tells us, “we the people” are the government.
What really needs to happen
The folk running the government are all really blatant with their criminal actions. They perform the crimes and do it openly and brazenly, while the rest of us do hard time for the slightest offense. This needs to end.
A Saudi execution.
Other opinions
Most websites that have the term “opin” in the title, like “Opinion watcher”, and “Opinion tracker”, and Opinseach says it NOT TRUE, or overly hyped and questionable …
Pah! At most, there will be some token legislation that will be directed at innocent civilians, and none of the oligarchy or upper class will be affected.
America today. You are fucked.
And the sheeple yawn.
The signs are all there.
An out of control oligarchy class, a nation of mind-numbed serf/slave sheeple, high technology weapons and 70 years without fighting a peer-capable nation. What the fuck do you think is gonna happen?
I’m just an old tired, pissed off grouch. So hear me out…
Random thoughts of a pissed-off citizen
Let me start with this…
America today.
.
Today, Americas are the proverbial frog in the pot of boiling water. And the frog is truly cooked.
But that really doesn’t do America justice. I think the Norma Desmond does…
America today.
.
America is truly at that uncomfortable stage when [1] it’s past the time when any realistic solutions to the problems of America can be remedied, and [2] too early to shoot and hang the bastards.
Come on!
Just look at your life now, compared to what it was just a few years ago. It is different because your matured and got older? Or is it because of society? Or is it because of the government making laws, and rules, one after another like a “tommygun”…?
Remember when?
Why is this important?
Because there just isn’t any “free press” left in America.
There simply isn’t anyone doing anything to police the crooks that run the nation.
Zilch.
And as a result the nation is wholly out of control, and careening wildly down the tracks.
The “news” is a for-profit mechanism. It is owned by the government. Alternatives to the “news” are also bought out and owned by the government. Trying to find “news” on the internet is like trying to go to the desert to find a pool to swim in. You might be lucky, but most of the time you will not.
You tell ’em George.
So.
So what is going to happen? Do you seriously think that this Wikileak is going to make a difference?
Metallicman Comments
It’s like the scene from the movie “Aliens”, when they discover this little girl named Newt. And they tell her not to worry. The Imperial Space marines are there to protect her and save the say. And she looks up at Ripley and replies “it won’t make any difference”.
Ripley: These people are here to protect you. They're soldiers.
Newt: It won't make any difference.
Newt.
.
I think that the scene is very apt.
Personally, my take on this is that it’s all too late, and at this stage in the game, it’s all just theater. It’s just spin and “bread and circuses” for the sheeple. So what if the rich and famous get caught with “their hand in the cookie jar“, or their “dirty linen is aired“, or that the “skeletons in the closet” are brought out into the open. Ain’t nothing gonna happen.
So what?
So what if everyone sees all the dirty laundry of the people who run the government. Nothing is going to happen to them.
There won’t be any big uprisings. There won’t be any outcries or public shows of remorse or hearings. There won’t even be any “blue panel” investigative committees. Nothing is going to happen. And nothing is going to change. The vector; the trajectory that the USA is on right now is not going to slow down, alter course or change direction. No brakes will be applied.
The USA is fucked.
The USA today is like an old commode that is just full of shit.
It is a thick stew of brown shit that should have been flushed away centuries ago, and not, the weight of that shit is starting to go down the pipe. You know, you can only hold just so much water before the commode just automatically flushes.
America today.
.
And it’s starting to move. With a shudder…
But it’s gonna be a long drawn out flush.
Maybe, and probably, take years….
And then the fat pig-like crapper is going to sit on it one last time, and lay a big fat load directed at some external villain or threat, and the entire commode is going to crack and explode.
Yah. That’s what’s going to happen.
There are no citizen-soldiers or patriots in the USA any longer. Just sheeple, and pretend wanna-be Rambos.
Soon. Very soon.
.
How do we know?
Just look at what Americans have become. Google “People of walmart“.
Perhaps a renaming is in order…
Maybe the United States should be renamed. I suggest “commode” might be the most appropriate. Because that is what it resembles today. One giant, filthy, full of shit, old, broken down commode.
People! Do you actually believe that this kind of news represents a healthy nation? Do you believe that the news in the rest of the world looks like this, but only in a different language? No.
No.
Hell… NO!
People, the oligarchy that runs the USA are all playing you for fools. And you are all standing around and taking it.
Grumblings continue but nothing ever happens.
The grumblings have been going on for a long, long time. It certainly pre-dates Metallicman, and everything it looked like people were going to rise up and overthrow the bastards, suddenly a war would crop up.
…
The deep-state murdered John F. Kennedy…
People started to grumble and get concerned, and stockpiles of weapons were purchased…
…and the Vietnam war happened.
You know.
For “democracy”.
…
When Bill Clinton started to break every law in the book and get away with it, numerous prepping sites discussed using code on beepers to communicate their plans. In those days it was believed that the people would rise up against a tyrannical government.
In fact, Bill Clinton clamped down on many freedoms and liberties that the conservatives held dearly. The ban on “assault guns” really upset many conservatives. So when Bush came to office…
… a war in the Middle East against Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, etc…
…
Wars are the big distraction that the oligarchy class uses to control the mob. And as time moves on, and their crimes get larger, more “in your face”, more obvious and outrageous, then the larger the war of distraction must be…
…before the grumblings become overt and dangerous.
Oh such short memories
There was a time when “preppers” readied for the “big uprising” by contemplating communicating using pagers to send messages back and forth. Of course nothing came of this, but the point is, that maybe it should have.
…
.
When you look at the bigger picture, one that spans decades, you can see that the parallels between slave and owner, between serf and overseer, and between king and subjects all exist in America today.
Of course nothing ever came of this potential revolt, but the disgust and upset runs long and deep in certain elements of American social strata. I’ve lived long enough to know that if you let the roast in the oven too long that it gets burnt to a crisp and becomes uneatable.
Let’s see just what the flash point will be.
Right now it looks like America has the flash point of water instead of kerosene.
But, you know, most Americans are too dumbed down to know or care what lies ahead…
Yah! If you think it is bad now, just keep in mind that this is just the beginning.
There is no telling what evil plans the oligarchy in Washington has planned for their slave / serf minions.
So many times, when I devote posts like this, I feel that my fellow Americans believe that I really should be talking in a language that they can understand. You know, like Dr. Lexus here…
Dr. Lexus.
The USA cannot continue like this for much longer.
Not for much longer. No it cannot.
It has gotten this far by being the sole world reserve currency, and as such, it has been printing money like crazy. Just look at the American debt today.
Meanwhile the rest of the world sees this debt with a look of horror and are taking steps to avoid the trap of the looming USD collapse…
Do you actually believe that you are insulated and won’t feel the effects of this?
Ah. Lisa.
She makes some good points.
Here’s another one of hers…
She’s good, but think about this all.
The whole, entire picture.
There is a reason why that big invasion fleet that Trump sent to China in the Summer of 2020 steamed home. And no, it wasn’t because of it completed it’s mission of intimidation” either. You have three enormous, expensive carriers with nuclear power supplies and suddenly all the electronics goes hay-wire and the nuclear systems start to SCRAM. And they just cannot. Three expensive carriers and the nuclear piles start to go into meltdown.
Not one shot being fired.
All three carriers were heading towards a Chernobyl moment.
CHINA. DOES. NOT. PLAY.
Well. Do you think that the Oligarchy learned anything…?
Not likely.
Soon it will be Russia! Russia! Russia!. .
My bet is that it’s going to get really ugly at about that time.
An observant reader…
The following is from an observant reader…
I just looked in to some of the wiki leaks on MM website. At first, I was looking as fast as I could thinking the pages would be erased. Then, it got me wondering.... if they ARE leaking top secret hush hush info, surely the US would know and act accordingly.
The more I look at them I see something off. They are all archived on the same date. The year they are archived sticks out only because it’s the year I was born, 1984. My first thought was, maybe this is how delicate info is stores and coded. But, why 1984? Then it hit me.... George Orwell’s 1984. Is this Just another political agenda-ed pawn movement?
Trump is exclaiming this was apart of his plan to expose our corrupt government. He wanted to make sure it was done while he’s still in office. If this was his shadiwork, at this point idk if he did it for the American people or he’s salty he lost. (Funny but true, Geminis are sore losers)
Observation and discernment are the keys to understanding MM. Not everything is permitted to be said, and not everything is understood.
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As I get older, I no long paint in precise brush strokes. My pallet of colors tends to run together. It becomes big globs of paint, mixes of colors, and just a messy Mélange of materials. Thus you will find posts like this one; a confused jumble of colors and textures.
Here I am going to post some long overdue stories of heroism, exceptional selfless actions and noteworthy behaviors. I do so while the United States oligarchy / plutocracy is staring the crack-up / collapse. Indeed, you cannot maintain a society that’s solely focused in farming the citizenry for every ounce of effort that they manage. You just cannot have a “for profit” society. It doesn’t work.
Society is about relationships.
It is NOT about money.
And any nation that “doesn’t get it”, that doesn’t understand that most simple concept needs to experience the ultimate collapse that it deserves.
Here-in lies the rub: Most people regardless of whatever kinds of intelligence they may possess simply cannot believe that the post-War USA is as draconian as it demonstrably is. You are correct, it would scramble their brains to consider it because deep down they have this unpleasant subconscious awareness that their trinket laden "way of life" hinges on a web of plutocracy.
In addition the means to control currency is really the bottom line.
It is simply a way to capture and monetize everything under the sun and this is exacly what the technocrats are fixing to do. Just listen to Uncle Claus, he's not one to mince words. And no, we are not allowed to leave.
"1) The Empire's policy is clear: nobody is allowed to opt out. Any success outside the system is an affront to the narrative and thus global hegemony. It is not allowed and, in fact, has been actively undermined by The Empire…an obvious and shameful point that faux patriots seem to gloss over.
2) Controlling the debt based money system allows The Empire to shamefully fund its extortive activities and give the illusion of abundance and all the consumer comforts that come with the illusion. It is hard to get anyone, including loved ones, to recognize the illusion. Too many are mesmerized by shiny things and refuse to see the moral\ethical imperative for opting out of the illusion as much as possible "
Granted I am not full of answers here, but one thing that is quite clear is that in order to "do it yourself" you need to be free of the various chokepoints that have been set up. Call me crazy, but listening to some of the vids done by Ice Age Farmer sheds light on how things could be shut down but quick! Start with food and take it from there.
-Posted by: Chevrus | Dec 17 2020 23:27 utc | 45
So here, in this post we are going to talk about being “the Rufus”. Which means to help others with no intention of profiting from it.
The videos are from China which is a nation that puts society over the individual and the self. This is in direct opposition of America that puts the individual (me, me, ME!) over society. It’s a matter of selfishness.
Service-for-myself.
Service-for-others.
I hope that you enjoy the videos and get something from them.
Why now?
Looking at all the hundreds of thousands of Americans standing in line waiting for handouts at charities across your country is disgusting and disturbing.
Watching YouTube videos of hundreds of thousands of people waiting in line to claim their food stamps less than a week away from Christmas is disgusting and disturbing.
Your country is disgusting and disturbing.
-Anonymous Coward
Have you been reading the (American) “news” lately?
I am going to start this post with a video that helps describe what the leadership of China represents. No, it’s not a charismatic union organizer (Obama), a casino boss / mobster (Trump), a Texas Oil Billionaire (Bush), or a snake-oil salesman (Clinton)…
…they don’t get into the leadership positions by their connections, great PR promotion, or graft…
..or by conning the mindless multitudes (the mob rabble) to “vote” for you…
…they get there through merit. They get there through ability. They get there through a structured program of “hard knocks”. All those in leadership positions in China, not only were at the top of their class at the most difficult university to get into, but they also had to humble themselves working hard, demeaning jobs at poverty wages to fully appreciate what work is. It’s part of a long-duration program that grooms the Chinese leadership for the future.
Jolie does an excellent job as the action heroine. When Bruce Willis makes crash landings in the original “Die Hard” movie, at least he winces in pain and it takes him a few moments to regain composure. In “Salt”, when Angelina Jolie jumps consecutively onto six moving trucks on the freeway, she’s flying right up and instantly running at Olympic record pace, sort of like the original Terminator except sporting lipstick. Throughout the movie, she decks secret service agents faster than they can graduate out of combat training if she’s not pushing out of moving vehicles going 70 mph while wearing handcuffs, although the officers forgot to put the cuffs on behind her. The idea is that she is a superbly trained heroine that is constantly underestimated.
.
The next video is of a young Chinese boy.
The Chinese are taught to calculate and be the best that they can possibly be. Check out what he does. No, this is not a fun exercise that has no practical application in the “real world”, it is a skill of processing information, under stress and duress, and providing solutions.
When Mike Pompeo strutted into China with his neocon list of demands, his porky jowls jiggled in moist anticipation that China would be forced to kneel in front of him. But he did not anticipate, nor understand who he was dealing with. to this day; to this moment, most Americans and American leadership somehow think that the Chinese leadership is just a Chinese-speaking version of American leadership.
No, they are not. They are something else entirely.
Watch and learn.
.
But what good is this?
Americans would ask, “but how can you profit from this skill?”
But that is not the point.
In China, and the Chinese philosophy, people are part of a society, and they contribute to that society. It’s not the “lone wolf” that gobbles everything for themselves. If you have something to contribute, systems are put in place to benefit from your contributions.
America = “lone wolf” = Do things yourself, become a rich man or be a failure.
China = “part of a team” = Contribute, and share in the group profits or losses.
This young man demonstrates that he has impressive skills and abilities. Abilities and skills that can (eventually) be put to great use for the society, and his community as a whole. You can well understand that the leadership will put him in a training plan that will lead towards leadership positions so that he can do great things for the Chinese society as a whole.
In American, on the other hand, we are amused at his quirky skill. We see if we can use him to obtain money for ourselves, maybe put him on a talent show, and pay him a small stipend in the process.
Societal differences
The differences in the two societies; America compared to China can result in some interesting differences. One of the biggest is in helping others, and in the motivations why you would help someone. In America it has been (for all practical purposes) outlawed.
We all have to look deep inside ourselves. Are we a Rufus? Or, are we Bystanders?
Saving a man from a fiery death
Here, in China, we have an average guy, a delivery man, who goes to save a man who had an accident and is on fire and probably dying…
Bad Guys and Good Guys
Here we have a bad man. He breaks something in a busy intersection. Instead of cleaning up his mess, he just rides off and leaves it for others to deal with. He is what we call an “asshole”.
Then we see cars and people drive past this mess. No one does anything. It just lays there inert, waiting to blow out someone’s tires, cause an accident or create havoc.
Then comes the Rufus…
Baby near death!
OMG! What happens when your tiny infant or young child is unresponsive. the poor thing is only one year old. They start turning blue and they cannot breathe! What are you going to do?
When Social Capital Becomes More Valuable Than Financial CapitalDecember 17, 2020This devaluation of financial wealth--and its transformation to a dangerous liability-- will reach extremes equal to the current extremes of wealth-income inequality.
Financial capital--money--is the Ring that rules them all. But could this power fall from grace? Continuing this week's discussion of the idea that that extremes lead to reversions, let's consider the bedrock presumption of the global economy, which is that money is the most valuable thing in the Universe because the owner of money can buy anything, as everything is for sale. The only question is the price.
Reversion to the mean is a statistical dynamic but it is also a human social dynamic: for example, once the social / financial / political pendulum reaches Gilded Age extremes of wealth/income inequality, the pendulum swings back. The more extreme the inequality, the greater the resulting extreme at the other end of the pendulum swing.
In the heyday of the postwar boom in the early 1960s, finance--banks, lending, mortgages, loans, investment banking, derivatives, futures, FX, all financial market trading, research firms, hedge funds, mutual funds, etc.--was about 5% of the economy. It now exceeds 20% of the economy, and its actual role and impact is much larger than 20%. Finance is now the dominant force in the economy in terms of wealth creation and influence.
(This parallels healthcare, which went from less than 5% of the economy to 20% in the same time span.)
While finance creates some jobs, it is essentially extractive: it produces no goods, it extracts wealth from the goods-producing economy via debt and speculation.
Thus a reversion that reduces finance back to 5% of the economy can be expected. How will this reversion to a much more constrained and modest role in the economy play out?
There is much to be said about such a complex and consequential process, but today I want to focus on one potential dynamic: the idea that social capital--our connections and loyalties to groups and other people--will become more valuable than financial wealth, i.e. "money."
The past 45 years can be characterized as the ascendance of finance: finance rules everything. Most people would say this has been true for all of human history, but it isn't quite so simple.
In many instances, loyalties, membership and devotion to causes far outweigh the influence of money. In periods of severe labor shortage, labor has more value that money, in the sense that labor sets the price of labor rather than capital setting the price.
This article caught my eye a few weeks ago: The Rich in New York Confront an Unfamiliar Word: No The pandemic is causing inequality to soar, but increasingly the privileged are discovering that they can't bend the world to their will.
The wealthy are accustomed to buying whatever they want with money, and the possibility that there might be limits on the power of money is shocking to them.
These limits might take political forms such as regulatory limits on what wealth can buy, they might take financial forms such as bans on certain speculative skims, and they might also take social forms, where people refuse to provide some good or service for cash because they've been reserved for family, friends or exchanges within trusted networks where membership cannot be purchased at any price.
Here is a simple example. Let's say I have an in-law unit adjacent to my house. It's been promised to a family member, and so when a prospective tenant offers me $1,000 a month to rent it, I decline.
In the unmoored, soulless world ruled by money, the prospective tenant reckons the "problem" (my refusal) can be solved with more money. So he offers me $1,500 a month. I decline, because the bonds of family are more important and valuable than a few more dollars.
The "problem" for the wealthy isn't money; the "problem" is that social ties, obligations and commitments are more valuable and binding than money.
The wealthy assume that "everyone has a price," a truism proven by Jeffery Epstein, who bought his way into Harvard, MIT, etc. with bundles of cash.
But as the status quo unravels, the wealthy will discover that not everyone can be bought. Indeed, accepting a big bribe might terminate all sorts of much more valuable connections.
The time has come when we need to place an emphasis on our place in society, our relationships, and our purposes in life. The soul-less pursuit of more and more “stuff” to prove how wealthy your are as an indicator of wealth not only generates and glorifies psychopaths, but it is (in itself) inherently dangerous.
You see, in America, your measure of value is how much money you have. If you are poor, or middle-class you are considered to be unimportant and disposable. If you are wealthy, you are considered to be significant and important. It’s a very clear distinction, and that is the way it is.
But that does not really matter in the big and real scale of things. This reality is associated with our current set of physical reality templates. And as such, knowing this, you all just must do your best with the “hand of cards that you have been dealt”.
A Rufus contributes and does his best no matter what!
Here we have another young man. A boy, actually, who has lost an arm. But that hasn’t stopped him. It’s not a limit on him, his ability or his dream. He pushes and he strives and he does his best no matter what.
What is stopping you?
How people in a healthy society work together
As I grew up in America there became a rising realization that if you tried to help someone you could get sued for doing so, you could end up braking some law, or rule or regulations and it would hurt you personally. So over the decades, Americans started to become less helpful of others, more self-centered, and more isolated for each other.
This was never healthy and is a sign of the decay of a culture.
"The “generous stranger” who spent over $500 on cookies so two Girl Scouts wouldn’t have to stand in the cold, has been arrested by U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency."
He violated FDA regulations.
Not so in China. You are part of a society and it is your duty to participate.
Take a look at this video and notice how everyone runs to help the man in distress. The run to help fro the East, from the South, from the North, and from the West. They all run to help. It’s what healthy societies and cultures do.
In America
This next video shows normal everyday citizens (members of the neighborhood) working together. And it takes place in America. Americans please (kindly) take note. This is how communities work. They work together.
A stranger arrives in their community. Whether he is associated with Antifa or the BLM is not specified, but he has left the urban enclave and entered the suburbia ring around the city. Inside his back pack are such things as duct-tape, wire ties, spray cans of black paint, flammable materials, fireworks and other similar items.
In an attempt to prevent the BLM riots from expanding outward from the urban centers, those that live in the suburbs have set up community groups to defend from the rioters, and the probing (recon) elements of the organizations that instigate the conflict.
Here we have one such interaction.
In my mind, when you work as part of a group, or a team, or participate in the defense of your community, you ARE a Rufus. For you are participating into something bigger and better than yourself, and you are not doing it for personal benefit, money or wealth.
A bad man
The world is filled with all sorts of people. Some are just angry and do some really bad things. Some are just idiots, or just terrible people. But what are you going to do when you meet them?
What are you going to do when they are tearing up your community, your life, and your neighborhood gas station? What are you going to do?
Are you going to stand back and call the police? Are you going to film it and post it on Facebook? Are you going to sent it to Twitter with a socially important hashtag, or are you going to drop everything and take action immediately?
Firing a guy in China
In America, over the last three decades, “letting someone go” has become so common that it has become part of the industrial / cultural landscape.
Scene from the movie “Office Space”.
The core of Office Space is the absurdity of office life. Mike Judge’s comedy wasn’t the first to seize on this, and the second-half of the 20th century is filled with examples of people feeling like meaningless drones in a corporate existence that holds considerable sway over the lives of individuals while also divorcing individuals from their individuality. Peter (Ron Livingston) chooses to meet absurdity with absurdity, becoming disconnected from a workplace that has no connection to him. But through it all, Office Space has just that—space. It’s a workplace that’s both uncaring and unpredictable, but it also functions as a home station and place of security (until Milton (Stephen Root) burns the building down).
-Collider
While it is outrageously common in the United States, it is quite different inside of China. It is not so common in China. Aside from being against the law, there are procedures that a company must follow and strict rules on what they must pay you.
Here we have a worker being let go. He carries his clothing in his suitcase behind him. As all factory workers live inside the company dorms (typically). What we see is his boss putting one years salary in a cigarette box and gives it to him. This would never happen in the USA.
The last time I was let go was on Christmas eve, right before the Christmas luncheon. No severance pay or warning or anything like that. They gathered my gear and left it on the company stoop on the parking lot and had security escort me out.
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The point of this is simple, you don’t need to be a hero saving people. You just need to be a decent human. You help others and you understand how they must feel and you help them. You don’t just spit on their CV and push them out the door, American style. You help them.
You be the Rufus in your every-day behaviors.
And for all my my long term MM readers, listen up! It will be your EVERY-DAY actions from which your will be judged upon. And yes, it’s not a religious fantasy. YOU. WILL. NEED. TO. ANSWER. FOR. YOUR. BEHAVIORS.
Speaking of the movie “Office Space”, there’s been a major shift in the American working “lifestyle” since that movie came out…
Twenty years later, offices haven’t gone anywhere, but our economy has drastically transformed. When Office Space was released, we were in the middle of the dot-com bubble, which didn’t burst until 2000, so Office Space is a story told in relative security. Peter’s job sucks, but he has a job. The question isn’t “Can we get work?” but “What is the quality of our work life?” The job is a given, and, being that it’s a 40-hour-per-week office job, Peter presumably has healthcare benefits and so forth. The film’s conflict and comedy comes from Peter rebelling against his workspace. But what happens when that workspace is no longer a given?
Office Space isn’t unrecognizable twenty years after its release, but we’re in a far different world. We’ve gone through the Great Recession and an economy transformed by the Internet in a way that was only beginning to surface in the late 90s. Initech, Peter’s company, would likely have been absorbed into a larger tech giant, and for the part of writer-director Judge, he’s gone on to explore that world in his HBO series Silicon Valley. But that show tends to explore the working world from the top down. We see it from the hustling creators of Pied Piper to the buffoons leading tech giants like “Hooli” (i.e. Google). Rarely do we see the lives of the working drones, and even if we did, it would be more specific to the Silicon Valley lifestyle.
What hasn’t really been explored is how the gig economy has transformed the lives of the modern worker. You have huge companies like Uber, AirBnB, and others technically letting the individual run their own hours, but it’s the crushing life of a freelancer who’s been abused by an indifferent system. Once again, you have the clash of the individual against the corporate life except the setting has left the office and moved into an individual’s home, car, and anything else they could possibly use for even the slightest profit while a tech giant reaps most of the rewards.
There’s definitely room here for the dark, absurd comedy that Office Space provided because while Judge’s follow-up film, Idiocracy, tends to be cited more and more, there are definitely lessons to be had from Office Space and its rebellion against a monolithic and random culture. In the world of Office Space, you can devote years of your life to a company, be laid off unceremoniously by people who don’t know you, try to commit suicide, decide against suicide at the last minute, and then get hit by a drunk driver, which results in serious injury but also a seven-figure settlement. The illusion of control that the office job—and really any job—provides, would fit nicely to the setting of the gig economy.
Of course, you can’t really call it “Office” Space without the office, and that’s okay. While the setting was obviously essential to the 1999 comedy, the larger story is one of workplace malaise and frustration. The inanity Joanna (Jennifer Aniston) has to suffer through is just as mind-numbing and ridiculous even though she works in the service industry and Peter works in information technology. The workplace is the problem, and I’d love to see a story that shows how that problem evolves when the workplace is your life rather than something you can leave at the office.
-Collider
Rescue of a child in distress.
Here we have a traffic cop, a policeman that basically helps resolve fender benders, and traffic accidents, answering the cries of a mother in distress. Her cries of terror is heart-rendering. The anguish is real.
But watch what happens.
The Rufus shows compassion
Compassion and understanding are in short order today.
The West has tossed those elements of the human nature into the trash bin, and have instead embraced a belief that the amount of money that you accumulate is a measure of your success in life. Just look at the articles in the American “news” media. It’s all about the super-rich and the super wealthy. Very few articles are about people who don’t earn a few million dollars per year.
Yet when their physical body dies, and the consciousness goes from the particle form to the wave form, and they are out there roaming in the non-physical realm, they will have to answer for their behaviors. And in that realm, the new swimming pool in their third mansion, or how they bought a fruit basket to their house maid is not going to “cut it”.
We are measured by who we are and what we do and how we treat each other. (And something else, covered later on, in this post…)
Like the humanity that is displayed in this teacher….
It is all about watching heroic actions or is something else more important here?
Ah yes. It’s great to watch heroes in action, isn’t it? But it’s not just that. Please gauge your reactions to watching the videos. How do you feel?
Do you feel pride in that someone did the “right thing”?
Or did you feel repulsion that someone was a “sucker”?
That, I strongly believe, is determined from where you come from. If you are from the “dog eat dog” streets of New York City, you might feel differently than say a person who was raised on the corn-fields of Iowa.
That should be somewhat obvious.
But is it just urban vs. rural experiences, or is it something deeper?
Or, in other words, would a person from the mega-city of Shenzhen China (14 million people), have a similar reaction to a person from the metropolis of New York City (5 million people)?
I argue that there is something much more complex going on, than the density of population where you live, having an impact on your societal behaviors.
It makes me think.
Contemporaneous Chinese POP music
Yeah. I have been thinking a lot about this lately. I believe that the music of a nation is a reflection of it’s society. And China, being a nation of nerds, that maintain an existence within a firmly specified society has their own types and styles of music that reflects these characteristics.
You can probably discount my thoughts in this matter. But you cannot deny that there is a significant difference between American music videos and Chinese, or Indian, or Japanese for that matter. I like to believe that it is due to culture and society, but to nail down the exact elements remains elusive.
Lets look at this.
There's so many different types of songs and musical styles. How in heck can you use them to illustrate that cultural and societal differences can become a window towards the way Rufus behaviors manifest?
First up – 张韶涵 – 破茧
This is so very Chinese, and there’s so many elements involved that you just need to see it yourself to try to figure out what is going on here.
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Can you figure it out?
I can’t. It seems to be a complex, boy and girl relationship along with a society of friends. Friends that are fighting forces that threaten their happiness – kind of thingy.
It’s so hard to sort out. But, over all I see a theme of relationships, friendships, working together, and fighting against something or someone that threatens their lifestyle.
…Pretty universal.
Or is it?
南征北战NZBZ – 穿越 (Live)
What makes all this difficult to sort out is that music videos are about all sorts of things. And you just cannot point to one or two and say that that is what the culture represents. For instance, here is a MV from a Chinese rap group (you probably didn’t know that they existed) singing about…
I don’t know…
…life?
Here’s the dangerous three man rap group called NZBZ. (NZBZ = 南征北战). The song is called 穿越.
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You can probably recognize the English words and phrases being used.
I think, but I could be terribly wrong, that it is a celebration of being who you are. Or something along those lines. More or less.
More…
…or less.
陈雪凝 – 绿色
This chick is one of the top pop artists of 2019 into 2020. She’s a Shenzhen girl as you can tell by the backgrounds in the video. This is one of her most famous songs. It’s about …
If it hadn’t been for you breaking into my life How can I let go of the loneliness of death? It’s false to say no pain After all, my heart is made of meat The rainbow in my heart when you left it turns gray It’s false to say no If I really didn’t love it that much Love a man without a soul The world is black If you hadn’t suddenly broken into my life How can I let go of the loneliness of death?
Love me and you’ll say it all Love me for things you don’t do
But I put sweet words When you love my body
Your sorrow is sad and I don’t break it I’ll also take what I used to do as a charity Don’t count you too much From then on you are in my heart There is only green left It’s a fake to say you’ll live soon Your name is still so profound Every word pierces my heart The distinct pain was red If you hadn’t suddenly broken into my life How can I let go of the loneliness of death?
Love me and you’ll say it all Love me for things you don’t do
But I put sweet words When you love my body
Your sorrow is sad and I don’t break it I’ll also take what I used to do as a charity Don’t count you too much From then on you are in my heart There is only green left
Call. If you hadn’t suddenly broken into my life How can I let go of the loneliness of death?
Love me and you’ll say it all Love me for things you don’t do
But I put sweet words When you love my body
If you hadn’t suddenly broken into my life How can I let go of the loneliness of death?
Love me and you’ll say it all Love me for things you don’t do
But I put sweet words When you love my body
Your sorrow is sad and I don’t break it I’ll also take what I used to do as a charity If you hadn’t suddenly broken into my life How can I let go of the loneliness of death?
Love me and you’ll say it all Love me for things you don’t do
But I put sweet words When you love my body
It’s a difficult song to translate directly. Don’t you know. Maybe a Gemini in the MM audience might be able to help decipher this complex array of thoughts, Ideas and emotions.
And that is it, isn’t it?
The differences in society and culture, in the language, and in the behaviors can really have an impact on whether you are being a Rufus within the confines of your baseline template.
So what am I getting to here?
Well, there’s a lot that must be said but the English language is insufficient for the task. So I am flailing. I am trying to use music videos to expound on my narrative.
If I were to expand upon what I am trying to say, I would argue that [1] we must be the Rufus in all cases.
However what a Rufus actually is depends upon the [1a] culture and society that [1b] your soul has established for your consciousness.
You cannot be an American (say), and try to act or behave like a Chinese woman or an Japanese man would act. That is not in “your cards”.
Being a Rufus means that you must work within the kit of behaviors that you must take on given the initial template of behaviors that you have been granted at birth. This is true, EVEN if you move to another location and another society that is different from your initial conditions.
Or, to put it better, be the best that you can be. Stop trying to copy another person, or their culture and background. Be you, but make sure that you are the best you that you can be.
To help illustrate this, let’s look at a MV from India.
Karunesh – Punjab
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So what is going on here? Well, it’s hard to tell, but you can be well assured that a person from India would well understand the complex interplay of relationships and issues that are being hinted at.
Just like you might have a difficult time understanding what is going on in the Chinese videos.
The relationships between the daughter and her father might be difficult for an American to understand, as can be the relationship between her and the young man. We can’t be an American and pass judgements on her or her family simply because the initial set of pre-birth world-line conditions between us are incompatible.
All that we can do is do OUR best in our life, and applaud others when they do THEIR BEST in their respective lives. Do not try to put them into your circumstances, and your culture.
Different places have different cultures, rules, and societal norms. For me, I find it difficult to understand the Indian culture. Because it is [1] old, [2] complex, [3] stratified with a caste system (that America is devolving into), and [4] industrialized with elements of the new intermingled with ancient tribal complexities.
A Rufus in India would operate under different conditions than a Rufus in America, or China, for example.
But I live in China, and I am an American.
So yeah, you will need to take those facts into account. What I view as Rufus actions might differ considerably from what you might. This could be especially true if you are from India, the Middle East, or Russia…perhaps.
Never the less, let’s consider this narrative in the believe that you must do your BEST no matter what, and strive forward, no matter what.
America has changed, while I have stayed the same
Did you know that the American military has eliminated the tough “basic training” in favor of a “softer”, more “gentle” training system. One that emphases the high technology needs of the American military while at the same recognizing that modern American “millennials” are often loathe to join the military. This new military is intended to be better than before and world class.
I was raised in an America where you need to push yourself to be the best. It was a land where you has “a shot” at a better life, if only you studied hard, worked hard, and found yourself a “good company” to work within. But, boy oh boy, has times changed. Today, America represents something else entirely…
Indeed even the military has changed. The days of “basic training” are over. It all has been replaced with a kinder, more sensible military. One that will be experts in servicing the very complex military hardware that the nation fields. In the new America, individual strength of character, morals, and striving to be the best you can be has been discarded and placed into the rubbish bin of history. Today’s modern America is one of socially-aware, kind and gentle folk who would have no problem pushing the red button to obliterate an enemy city, or unleash a swarm or hunter-killer drones upon the civilians in a city.
Well… I have my own opinions about this. But I do believe that we should always strive to be the best that we can be… no matter what. And that is one thing that I like about China. That basic belief is ingrained in all the Chinese people from the moment that they are born to their individual lives as they grow older.
How does this attitude manifest…
To see what [1] being the best you can be, [2] working as part of a larger whole, [3] contributing, and being helpful, and [4] being the Rufus during times of need, we can see how it manifests within China.
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And check out how road-work is done…
TWICE – Likey
But is that all there is?
Work? Superiority in sports? Or in the military? What about day-to-day social interaction?
And here’s a MV from South Korea. Yes, each and every video has a different “flavor” and a different subject matter. This is what is known as “K-Pop”. This group is an all girl group that pretty much perform the dance routines that all the dance troops in my office building do.
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It’s just a happy, up beat, and light video. Also, I like it because it is filmed in Boston. And you all should know that I miss Boston terribly.
It’s not deep.
It’s just light, happy and positive.
Does that mean that that’s all there is? No. It just means that a key aspect of our life, at least the attractive part of it, is associated with happy light feelings, emotions and relationships.
Being the Rufus should be what we do when things go wrong. But aside from that, we should always strive to be the “bright and shining example from which others can emulate”. (Shades of MAJ here!)
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After 75 years of non-stop narrative that “fighting is the last resort of fools”, and that a “kinder and gentler nation” is at hand, what has America turned into? Instead of being a male-driven patriarchal society, what has the feminization movement brought America to? Is it actually a well-behaved, respectful and fair place?
No.
No it isn’t.
It’s a non-stop sequences of cat-fights, and verbal assaults with regulations on just about every action that you could think of.
It’s true. Have you ever wondered about Social Media? Doesn’t it more resemble two teenage girls fighting in eighth grade than two grown adults having a conversation?
Well. Guess what? It’s a Western phenomenon. It is something that has occurred in nations that have adopted a progressive social structure, the r/K society has developed and all discourse has degenerated to that level. While other nations, more traditional in nature, really doesn’t have this problem.
Guess what else this “improvement” on society has created?
The Karen.
My mom is a Karen whose name is actually Karen. Simply put, I haven’t seen her in over a year because I couldn’t take it anymore. Living with her was just an exhausting nightmare.
Karen’s world revolves around Karen. Nobody else’s issues matter. If you tell her that you had a bad day, she’ll give you 20 reasons why her day was worse. You worked 60 hours this week? Well, when she was your age, she would work 80. You’re in the hospital after having major surgery? She has a pinched nerve in her arm, which is somehow worse. Your boyfriend cheated on you? She couldn’t even begin to tell you about all the heartbreak she’s experienced in her life.
She complains left and right about anything and everything. If you’re taking a week break after just getting back from college, she’ll ask why you haven’t gotten a job yet and claim you’re lazy. If you’re out to eat at a restaurant the food is always too cold or too burnt or too salty. You can only ever go to the places SHE wants to go to, because everything else is crap. My entire graduation dinner she complained about how cold the food was.
She THRIVES in getting attention and constantly seeks it, but she has very few ACTUAL friends. Facebook is her lifeblood and she’s always looking to start something on there. She’s the queen of sharing uninformed, misguided, conservative propaganda, which always starts fights in her comments. Also, if a tragedy happens in the family (like the passing of my teenage cousin), she’ll make a big scene on Facebook and expect condolences from anyone and everyone, and makes note of the people who don’t give her what she wants.
Don’t even get me started on the blatant racism. I’ve heard everything from, “watch out for black people on the subway. They’ll try to take your purse” to “It should be illegal for those Muslims to cover their faces. You should be able to see someone’s face.” One of my best friends is black and she once told me, “He’s one of the good ones. They should all be like him.”
-12 People Reveal What’s It Like To Be Related To A ‘Karen’
So, in nations that have not adopted the progressive societal structure, they are able to have more or less pretty inoffensive comment sections on social media. The people tend to be more respectful and much more polite.
Like…
Poland.
Brazil.
Russia.
China.
Japan.
Ah. America. Home of the pussy-ants pansies beta clucks.
I argue that traditional management of society from the personal level through to the government level is a very important element of the success of that nation. When you try to “improve” it by implementing change, you need to set forth a sequence of trials, and monitor their results carefully. You just don’t set up some kind of movement and force the rest of the world to conform to your madness.
America changed.
And today everything that you see around you is a consequence of that change.
And I, for one, do not like it.
I like family units where everyone has a role. I like polite discussion and discourse. I like to be able to buy something and not pay hidden fees, taxes, or read down a long list of warnings and advisement. I like a world where I can shake someones hand, look him in the eye, and make a lasting contract. I like a world where mothers are respected, and grandparents live in your house with you. I like a world where you are respected as a person.
Sigh.
Ah. There is nothing wrong with human nature, and if you all want to be passive, beta clucks. Fine. But you all will be eaten alive by very vicious, hungry wolves.
This is a great article worth a read. It’s about one of the aspects of what a man is. He’s a person who is not afraid to kick up a little bit of dust from time to time.
Just some guys talking. Right? But you know, don’t you, you know not to cross them or mess with them. Why? Is is because they are going to say things that will hurt your feelings? Is that why you don’t want to mess with them.
Everybody knows the benefits of lifting weights but it isn’t the only game in town that can build your body and mind. Learning how to fight also has a place as one of the key things all men (and wo
men) should do to get the most out of their life experience. Sound like an exaggeration? It’s really not, especially when you consider learning how to fight has been a rite of passage since the beginning of time in many dominant cultures. It is only in recent times that the practice of channeled aggression has been given a bad rap.
The practice of fighting, or learning a martial art, is especially valuable for men, for whom the acting out of aggression, the desire to dominate, the ability to look after ones’ family or tribe, as well as having the camaraderie of like-minded males, is a huge factor in wellbeing and something that modern society constantly deprives them of.
The ability to challenge others, to endure pain, and the knowledge that you can look after yourself physically, are very underrated factors that contribute to high levels of functioning in other areas of life. Learning how to fight doesn’t mean you have to go around bashing heads in but, knowing you could if you had to, can make all the difference between a timid boy and a dominant man.
If you are still not sure how learning how to fight can benefit you, the 12 reasons below should clear up any confusion.
1) Learning how to fight builds unbreakable confidence
Have you ever seen a fighter who looks timid and scared of the world?
Didn’t think so.
The knowledge of knowing you can take anyone on and, in all probability, defeat them in a physical contest can do wonders for self-confidence. You may think this is crude or uncivilized. Nevertheless, we are fighting animals that have survived because of our ability to think and defeat enemies.
Most of the giant ancient civilizations that we know were masters of violence and war, and this is still true today.
Being able to fight gives us the assurance we can take care of ourselves and the people who are dear to us. It also ensures that our confidence is not based on anything external, like possessions or material goods.
Our confidence, therefore, cannot be taken away and is literally unbreakable.
2) Learning how to fight teaches persistence
If you hadn’t already guessed, learning how to fight is tough.
Training to get into fighting shape is brutal.
The actual fighting is dangerous and extremely violent.
Even sparring is rough if you underestimate what you are up against. All of this combines over time to build your mental and physical toughness.
As you go forward and resist the urge to quit, you learn persistence and why it is so valued as the secret of success. It takes persistence to get up when you keep getting your ass kicked. It takes persistence to throw another kick when it feels as though your leg is about to drop off.
Learning to take action anyway will deeply affect your success in other areas of life.
3) Learning how to fight teaches us how to control our emotions
When we are first learning how to fight, things are not going to be rosy.
Our bodies (and, quite possibly, our faces) are going to get beaten up.
We are going to be tired beyond our wildest dreams.
One thing that fighting does during this process is teach us how to control our emotions.
We will no doubt come up against a lot of fear, anger and frustration as we master techniques and get knocked down by more experienced challengers. We may encounter some negative emotions that we have stuffed down since childhood that fighting is finally allowing us to let go of. Though this process is bumpy at best, it is cathartic. Over time, we will learn to do what we have to do to achieve our goals, regardless of how we are feeling.
This mastery of thoughts and emotions is priceless, for lasting confidence and well being.
4) Learning how to fight is a great way to relieve stress
As we mentioned above, the process of learning how to fight can be physically exhausting. Keeping your mental edge during a fight so you don’t get knocked the hell out is exhausting.
There is natural satisfaction that comes from good, honest physical work – however violent – and when we are done for the day we will feel good.
After a few hours you will be soaked in sweat, with muscles shaking, and all you will want to do is eat something and go to sleep. Over time, this routine of hard work and pushing through the pain will eliminate a huge amount of stress from your life.
5) Learning how to fight takes you a long way from your comfort zone
There is nothing more uncomfortable than being thrown into our situation you are not familiar with.
Learning how to fight is no exception in this case.
It is unlikely, upon first entering the gym you wish to train in, you will be met by big smiles and fireworks. Instead, you are going to have to earn the respect of the more experienced people in there.
You will have to work hard and show you are not another person who is going to come for two weeks and then not show up again.
Voluntarily sailing away from you comfort zone like this is courageous act and, in overcoming what you were afraid of in the first place (new people, no experience etc.), you will be rewarded with a level of self-esteem that can never be taken away from you.
Experience stepping out of your comfort zone more and more often and it will rapidly start to expand.
6) Learning how to fight will get you in the best shape of your life
It doesn’t matter how much weight lifting you do or how many miles you run during the week – training to fight is another ballgame entirely.
For one, you will need to work for many hours before you are competent at certain skills, and even then you will be nowhere near mastering all of the nuances that come with real fighting.
The training fighters do to be able to withstand punishment and dish it back out is brutal and your conditioning is going to level up as a result. Sparring or grappling for 3-5 minute rounds is no joke, even for an elite athlete. One huge bonus of all this punishment? You will actually look as tough as you are for once, rather than looking hard but running scared like a lot of bodybuilders.
With the right set of rules governing your training and nutrition, you should be able to stay in shape all year with no extra effort needed.
7) Learning how to fight teaches you discipline
The skill and sport of fighting shares this with all other types of physical competition.
Its takes prolonged discipline to see the fruits of your labor.
This means getting up early to fit in a training session, eating right, living right, foregoing too much alcohol and getting a good night’s sleep.
Having the mental discipline to stick to this routine, despite all of the obvious temptations of instant gratification around you, will set you apart from others as time goes by.
Success is not an overnight thing but, with continuous discipline, it will come to you just as sure as the hands on the clock will continue going around.
8) Learning how to fight will force you to get out of your own head
Too many of us spend days feeling self-conscious and disempowered because we spend too long in our own heads.
From birth and childhood, we have been implanted with a lot of negative beliefs that don’t serve us, all of which are going around in a continual loop in our subconscious minds.
To sit and listen to them for too long is tantamount to throwing all of our hard-earned confidence and self-esteem out of the window.
Aside from consciously practicing positivity, we also need to spend time out of our heads, doing something physical. Hitting the gym can be good. Having sex is good. Learning how to fight is a great way to do this. We have no choice but to be totally present in our bodies and to reject intruding thoughts, or else we might catch a sharp right to the jaw.
Forcing ourselves to be in the moment – rather than withdrawing mentally and emotionally – is great practice for other pressure situations that may occur in our lives, including business meetings or family emergencies.
9) Learning how to fight allows you to express yourself physically
Despite what modern thinking will tell you, men are inherently physical and prone to violence.
The great majority of the victims of this violence will be men. The physical expression of aggression and the thrill of war have long been swept under the rug as the dark side of the human psyche.
In today’s world, our violence is played out in movies, in computer games, in the board room, or in politics.
As entertaining as this, it leaves a lot of men feeling repressed and emasculated.
Learning how to fight remedies this need for challenge and violence completely. Through training and sparring you can express yourself physically in a relative safe, socially-condoned environment, which will make you finally feel like the dominant person that you are.
Don’t believe it?
Go and find out for yourself and report back.
10) Learning how to fight gives you the opportunity to compete for something
Just as men inherently crave confrontation and violence, they also crave competition for something.
In this day and age, most major competition is relegated to professional sports or business.
When you learn how to fight, and decide to fight against others in competition, you unleash that latent part of you. You will learn the reward of real competition and putting it all out there, willing and finding a way to win.
Make no mistake – we all want to win.
This is not ‘bad’ or to be punished.
It is just natural.
Fighting in proper environment can give us the buzz of competition without any unfavorable repercussions.
11) Learning how to fight forces us to take action and master ourselves
We aren’t all born with the action habit.
Some of us are never taught that no-hesitation killer instinct that sets the super-achievers apart from the crowds.
Many of us procrastinate and put things off, mostly because we fear being rejected by those who are close to us.
When we learn how to fight, we have to tackle this inability to take action head on. We have to learn to act, regardless of how we feel, otherwise we are going to get our lights turned out.
This ability to do things when we don’t feel like it is one of the secrets of really productive people that always seem to be achieving something.
Master yourself and cultivate the habit of taking action and you will see huge changes in the direction of your life. All of a sudden, you will be in control.
12) Learning how to fight puts us into contact with more dominant, like-minded individuals
There is a famous quote that states we are a combination of the 5 people we hang out with the most.
Whether this is true or not, the people we spend a lot of time have a huge influence on our thoughts and behavior. Prolonged interaction will make certain traits ‘rub off on you’, whether you are aware of it at the time or not.
Hanging out with others who are learning how to fight then, in an MMA gym or dojo or whatever, ensures you are interacting with like-minded individuals who are aware of who they are inside. Think about the people who fight – dominant, powerful, alpha individuals who set goals and get what they want.
Having that camaraderie, as well as that mindset rub off on you, is never going to hurt anything.
13) Learning how to fight makes you far more attractive
As much as women (and men) protest that they don’t like violence and hate people who fight, its mostly all lies fed by society.
The fact is, people (especially women) are attracted to those who can hold their own physically and win a fight.
This shows in many ways that they are a dominant individual who is more than capable of looking after a family – a very attractive trait.
Most fighters are also very at ease in their own skin and super-confident in themselves, which comes through in their body language and the way they interact with people. This is a far-cry from some weightlifters who compensate for their inner anxieties by building large muscles.
The fact is, women don’t care all that much about big muscles.
They want a strong, confident man who can take care of things and keep them safe.
Want to be more attractive?
Learn how to fight.
14) Learning how to fight supplies us with a powerful, positive philosophy of life that we can carry with us always
Acquiring the will, skill and attitude of the warrior is not all about physical ability.
Most fighting schools, and in particular martial arts, are brilliant for instilling a philosophy of respect, discipline and hard work upon their students.
These ancient philosophies help us keep things in perspective, keep our egos from running wild, and ensure we treat our newfound powers with great respect and responsibility.
This code of honor is not just applicable on the training mats, in the ring or in the octagon – it can be applied to all areas of life and absolutely should be.
Internalizing this philosophy gives us confidence and purpose – a mission that was perhaps not there before. This is the one thing that all mentally strong people have in common – without exception – and will serve you well for the rest of your life.
“Prize fighting is short. You get in, get rich and get out. But martial arts are for life. It’s for life.”
– Conor McGregor
Conclusion
It’s an outstanding article and very true.
Men need to be able to fight. We need that feeling of control and power. We need to feel that we are in control of our life. And when we get that feeling, it reflects upon us, and as a result…
…big changes in our life takes place.
Tony Soprano Enjoying life.
We start to eat better, we find the house tidy at the end of the day, and people tend to respect us more. No. It’s not because we threaten everyone with a punched nose. It’s because we have a self-confidence that we carry with us everywhere.
Men are not women.
Yet we are the same.
I am immensely attracted to a self-confident woman. It’s something that I just cannot control myself about. It’s like Sharon Stone in the movie Casino. Self Confidence is addictive.
For men…
…we can get this through learning how to fight and the discipline that comes with it.
And maybe, just maybe, those “Karens” in our lives would be a tad more respectful to the rest of us.
My sister AND sister in law are both Karen’s. I will show up to restaurants 15 min early to warn them. I tell them if it’s not done to their liking they WILL hear about it and they will make your shift hell. I’m just there as a warning.
I used to work in restaurants and those people made life hell. I do what I can to help. Generally my drinks are better and we get a free appetizer as soon as those two tornados walk in all hell breaks loose. Not enough ice, table is too cold, it’s too loud, etc. I also tip really big because I DON’T want to be associated with the two tornados.
I live overseas so I only see them 2 weeks out of the year. So it’s manageable. I only put up with their attitude because they could take my nieces and nephews away from me. I pick my battles. I need my nieces and nephews to know I’m always here for them and they can talk to me about anything. I can’t risk our relationship being tampered with, especially since I only see them 2 weeks a year.
Remember, being able to fight is not the same thing as fighting. It is a simple thing really.
It makes for a polite society.
Do you want more?
I have more posts along these lines in my Happiness Index. Here…
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There is a lot of movement going on regarding money and banking. Now, normally I don’t touch these subjects at all. As they are not of my interests. But, you know, just because I am not interested in it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t take an interest in me. And it has.
Here we talk about the linkage between monetary systems and sentience. It's not your usual supper-time discussion subject.
The banking system has strip-mined the American middle class.
And now, most of the former American middle class are destitute debit slaves of a magnitude many times greater than anything historically present in the past.
That’s a pretty bold statement. I know.
But listen up.
While Egyptian slaves couldn’t own cars and cell phones, they need not ever worry about food, clothing, shelter or enjoying themselves. Same with the Roman slaves, the Persian slaves, the Irish slaves and the Moroccan slaves.
Now, don’t you all get your hackles up. Sure, there were many injustices that took place. But that’s really a different subject for a different time.
Right now, I am saying as clearly as I can that…
[1] The American middle class is functionally destroyed.
[2] What remains of the middle class are debt serfs that are tied to a system of life-time servitude and jail / prison for trying to leave that system. It’s service-for-self ruling over a mixture of other sentience’s.
[3] And most importantly, do not look at the shininess of your handcuffs as an indicator of “freedom”. It isn’t. Being able to own a gun, drive a car, and eat in a fast food restaurant doesn’t make you any better than an Egyptian slave. The big difference is in “the fight”. Americans are constantly fighting to “tread water” to keep solvent. Egyptian and Roman slaves never had that struggle. They performed their work, and then enjoyed life. Americans perform their work, and then continue to fight for their right to live.
Radical statements, eh?
Yes. I get it. It’s not comparing apples to apples.
My argument is that the entire collapse of the American middle class is the result of failed monetary and banking policies. And why they collapsed is complicated and worthy of consideration. Thus this post.
Usury & Fractional Reserve Banking is an Enslavement of Mankind
(Please download this video free of charge onto your phone by clicking on the downward arrow. This allows you to watch or listen to this video at your own leisure. Please go back to watch or listen to the video a few times if necessary so you understand who really owns the world’s wealth and power).
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This excellent 3.5 hour documentary produced by investigative journalist, Bill Still, educates the public about how central banks around the world were created by private bankers who loan money to governments by way of usury and fractional reserve banking.
Banks are given the power to loan money out multiples times than what they have in reserve. Generally, 10% is the reserve requirement in the world. This means that that the BANKS CAN CREATE MONEY THEY DOES NOT HAVE !!!
It explains why most people who own homes take a lifetime to pay off their mortgages because of the payments made on interests, not on principal. This also explains why most people can never become debt free & why we cannot eliminate hunger and poverty.
It also explains why we have inflation, deflation, recession, cycles of boom and bust because the goods & services generated in the real economy are simply NOT ENOUGH to be distributed for the vast quantity of money created!
Almost all government central banks are owned by private bankers who loan money by way of usury and fractional reserve lending, where THEY CREATE MONEY OUT OF LITTLE OR NO RESERVE, loans them to governments and charge interests on these loans! While the shareholders of these private central banks become richer and more powerful, governments around the world become heavily indebted to these private money interest groups.
Fractional reserve banking is rooted in fraud, results in massive poverty & reduces everyone’s value in money.
The Federal Reserve Cartel consists of less than a dozen families who own shares in every central bank in the world, as well as private banks. This cartel also owns World Bank, IMF, ECB and Bank of International Settlement. They are more powerful than kings & queens and our politicians serve their interests!
In addition to owning central banks, this cartel also owns large shares of the oil industry in the Middle East and around the world.
Their private banks serve as havens for MASSIVE tax evasion, money laundering, narcotics trafficking & weapons trade.
Professor Carroll Quigley, one of 20th century’s most highly respected historians, whose greatest contribution to our understanding of modern history was presented in his books, The “Anglo-American Establishment” and “Tragedy and Hope”. The latter was written in 1949 but only released after his death in 1981. His disclosures placed him in such potential danger from an Establishment backlash that it was never published in his lifetime. Quigley’s evidence is considered highly credible. He moved in exalted circles, lectured at the top universities in the United States, including Harvard, Princeton and Georgetown, and was a trusted advisor to the Establishment as a consultant to the US Department of Defense.
As per Professor Quigley:
"The powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences. The apex of the system was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world's central banks which were themselves private. "
The key to their success, said Quigley, was that the international bankers would control and manipulate the money system of a nation while letting it appear to be controlled by the government.
[1:17 hour award-winning investigative documentary — Please download this video free of charge onto your phone by clicking on the downward arrow. This allows you to watch or listen to this video at your own timing.]
At the twilight of British Empire, the City of London set up a spider web of offshore secrecy jurisdictions, captured & funneled wealth from around the globe to City of London. With silent backing of USA, Britain’s offshore haven grew rapidly.
Today, it is the world’s dominant financial market. HALF of global offshore wealth is hidden in British secrecy jurisdictions. City of London is run by City of London Corporation, a PRIVATE company private mayor, private police force, private laws and a private Court.
While the sum of debts owed by ALL GOVERNMENTS around the world is approx. $70+ trillion, a staggering of $50+ trillion is hidden in British offshore secrecy jurisdictions!!!
Usury, privately owned central banking, fractional reserve banking and offshore banking deprive world citizens opportunities to healthcare, education, security, justice & better lives. It is essentially a form of oppression through illegal extraction of wealth & resources which rightfully belong to the people. We all need to unite together to fight against & to abolish this banking system. The ability to create money belong to our governments, not private individuals!
If financial corruption and parasitism are not abolished, the world’s citizens cannot truly be free!
Sources are listed below this Article
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The Bank of England was the first central bank created in 1694 by money lenders to loan money to the English Crown which used usury and fractional reserve banking.
The US Federal Reserve, the world’s most powerful central bank, was created in 1913 using the Bank of England as a model. As a matter of fact, all other central banks in the world have been created based on the Bank of England model, by private bankers using fractional reserve banking.
Who are these money changers?
[At 11:00 of video] In the Bible, Jesus called the money changers “a den of thieves” and drove them out of the temple. Historically, when Jews came to Jerusalem to pay for their temple tax, they could only use a special coin, the half Shekel of the Sanctuary. This coin contained half ounce of silver without the image of a Pagan emperor. For the Jews, it was the only coin acceptable to God.
The money changers made enormous profits on these coins because they held a monopoly over these coins which enabled them to charge exorbitant rates.
Since the 10th century, Europe was under the domain of Christianity. Christians in Europe were forbidden to practice usury because the Bible forbids this practice. This lucrative business was mostly taken up by non-Christian Jews who scattered throughout Europe because they were stateless.
Because of their astute money sense, the kings of Europe would often hire these money changers as Court Jews to look after their finances.
In 1,000 AD, the money changers who loan out and manipulate the quantity of money were active in Medieval England. By acting together, they were able to manipulate the entire English economy. These money changers were not bankers per se, but generally were the goldsmiths. They were the first bankers because they kept other people’s gold for safekeeping in their vaults.
The first paper money were merely receipts for gold left with the goldsmiths. Eventually, goldsmiths noticed that only a small fraction of depositors ever came in to demand their gold at any one time.
The goldsmiths started CHEATING on the system. They discovered that they can print more money than they had gold. Usually, no one would notice. They would loan out this extra money and collect interest on it. This was the birth of fractional reserve banking: loaning out money many times than what you have on deposits. If they had $1,000 on deposits, then they can loan out 10 times that amount ($10,000) in paper money, draw interest on it, and no one would notice the deception. By using these methods, goldsmiths gradually accumulated more & more wealth and they would use this wealth to accumulate more & more gold.
In the Middle Ages, Canon Law forbade the charging of interest because the purpose of money was to serve members of society to facilitate the exchange of goods needed to lead a virtuous life. Interest hindered this purpose by putting unnecessary burden on the use of money. Europe forbade charging interest on loans and made it a CRIME called “USURY”.
As commerce grew & opportunity for investments grew in the late Middle Ages, it came to be recognized that to loan money had a cost to the lender, both in risk and in loss of opportunities, so some charges were allowed, but not interest. All teachings condemned USURY AS FRAUD, injustice, oppression of the poor and it is clearly immoral. Fractional reserve banking is rooted in fraud, results in MASSIVE POVERTY and reduces everyone’s value in money.
The ancient goldsmiths discovered that extra profits could be made by switching from easy loans to tight loans. When they made the money easier to borrow, the money in circulation expanded, money was plentiful. People took out more loans to expanded their businesses, but in prescribed time, the money changers would tighten the money supply which made loans more difficult to get. People who could not get loans to pay off their debts were forced to sell their assets to the goldsmiths for pennies on the dollar, enabling the goldsmiths to reap enormous profits by buying up cheap assets. Today, it is still happening; we call this the business cycle or cycle of boom and bust.
[At 23:00 of video] By the end of 1600’s, England had gone through 50 years of continuously wars with France & the Netherlands and was in financial ruins. Frantic politicians met with the money changers to beg for the money necessary to pursue their political purposes. The price was high: a government sanctioned a privately owned bank which could issue money created out of nothing. It was to be the world’s first privately owned central bank: The Bank of England.
The legalization of the Bank of England amounted to nothing less than legal counterfeiting of a national currency for private gains.
Benjamin D’Israeli, former Prime Minister of Great Britain wrote:
"If the history of England is written by one who has the knowledge and courage, one would be astonished."
Unfortunately, nearly every nation now has a privately controlled central bank, using the Bank of England as the basic model. Such is the power of these central banks that they take total control over a nation’s economy. It soon amounts to nothing but a plutocracy, ruled by the rich. It is like putting the Mafia in charge of the army.
Yes, we need central banks, but not in private hands !
The central bank scam is a hidden tax. The nation sells bonds to the central bank it does not have the political will to raise taxes to pay for, but the bonds are purchased with money the central bank creates out of nothing. More money in circulation, means more inflation, which makes our money worth less. The government gets as much as it needs and the people pay for it in inflation.
THE IRONY IS, THAT NOT ONE PERSON IN 1,000 CAN FIGURE THIS OUT AND REALIZE HOW FRAUDULENT THIS SYSTEM IS, BECAUSE IT IS MOSTLY HIDDEN BEHIND COMPLEX ECONOMIC GIBBERISH.
With the formation of the Bank of England in 1694 by private bankers, the nation would soon be awash with money, prices throughout the country doubled, massive loans were granted for just about any wild scheme. Four years later, by 1698, government spending grew from 1.25 million pounds to 16 million pounds. Taxes increased again and again. With the British money supply firmly in their grip, the British economy went from a series of wild roller coaster of booms & busts, exactly what the central bank claims to prevent.
By the mid 1700’s, the British Empire was nearing its height of power around the world. Britain had fought 4 costly wars in Europe since the creation of their privately owned central bank. The cost had been high. To finance these wars, the British parliament had borrowed heavily from their central bank.
Mayer Amschel Rothschild is quoted as saying in 1791: “Allow me to issue and control a nation’s currency, and I care not who makes its laws. I care not what puppet is placed on the throne England to rule the Empire where the sun never sets. The man who controls Britain’s money supply controls the British Empire and I control the British money supply.”
With the creation of the world’s most powerful central bank, the US Federal Reserve in 1913, in the hands of the money changers, power was centralized to a tremendous extent, the money changers were ready for their First World War.
Wars proved to be the most profitable of all because of the enormous sums borrowed by governments and interests that ensued from wars. Nothing creates debt like warfare.
England was the best example. During the 119 year period between the founding of the Bank of England and Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the country had been at war for 56 years and much of the remaining time, she had been preparing for war.
In World War I, the German Rothschilds loaned money to the Germans, the British Rothschilds loaned money to the British, the French Rothschilds loaned money to the French.
In America, JP Morgan was the sales agent for war materials for both the British and the French. In fact, 6 months into the war, Morgan became the largest consumer on earth, spending $10 million a day. Other bankers like the Rockefellers also made enormous profit as well.
[At 2:13:00] Profit was not the only motive but also revenge. The money changers never forgave the Czar for helping Lincoln during the Civil War. Also, Russia was the last European nation to refuse to give into the money changers’ attempt to create a privately controlled central bank. Three years after World War 1, the Russian Revolution toppled the Czar and instilled communism. Jacob Schiff of Loeb & Company bragged from his death bed that he had spent $20 millions toppling the Czar.
Why would some of the richest men in the world financially back communism, the system that was openly vowing to destroy the system that made them wealthy, namely, capitalism?
The short answer is that the money changers had always supported many sides of conflicts to keep different nations divided. The London Wall Street axis decided to take the risk by attempting to control revolutionary communist groups by feeding them massive quantities of money when they obeyed; and contracted the money, or even financed opposition groups when they get out of control. Lenin began to understand that although he was the absolute dictator of Soviet Union, he was not pulling the financial strings. Someone else was silently in control. The Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, at the behest of the international bankers who control them were, were creating communism through debt. In case you think that the money changers created communism, got it going and then lost control, in 1992, the Times reported that incoming Russian president Boris Yeltsin was upset that the incoming aid into Russia was siphoned off straight back into the coffers of Western banks as debt service!!!
[2:18:10] It is not a wild conspiracy theory that the money changers had a short range self-serving motive for profit as well as a long range political motive of advancing TOTALITARIAN GOVERNMENTS with the MONEY CHANGERS MAINTAINING THE FINANCIAL CLOUT to control whatever politician might emerge as the leader.
[2:18:30 to ] What is the money changers’ ultimate political goal for the world?
After World War I, the overall political agenda for the money changers began to be clear. Now that they control national economies individually, the next step was the ultimate form of consolidation: A WORLD GOVERNMENT.
[2:19:50] After WWI, the American public had grown tired of the international policies of Woodrow Wilson. In 1920, Warren Harding won a landslide with 60% of the vote. His presidency led to an unprecedented era of prosperity known as the “Roaring Twenties”. Despite the fact that the war had brought America debts ten times larger the civil war debt, still the American surged. Gold had poured into the US and continued to do so afterwards.
In the early 1920s, the governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Benjamin Strong, met secretively and frequently with the Bank of England governor Montague Norman. Norman was determined to replace the gold England had lost to the US during World War I and return the Bank of England to its former position of dominance in world finance. On top of that, rich with gold, the American economy might get out of control again, just like what happened after the Civil War. During the next 8 years, under the presidency of Harding and Coolidge, the huge debt built up during World War I was cut by 38%, the greatest percentage drop in US history.
After his inauguration, Harding quickly moved to cut domestic taxes and raised tariffs to records heights. This was an economic policy which most of the founding fathers would certainly have approved. His second year in office, he took ill in a train trip in the West and suddenly died of food poisoning. When Coolidge took over, he continued Harding’s domestic policy of high tariffs on imports while cutting income taxes. As a result, the economy grew at such a rate that net revenue still increased. That had to be stopped. Just like what they had done before, the money lenders decided that it was time to crash the American economy. The Federal Reserve began flooding the country with money and increased the money supply by 62% during these years.
Before his death in 1920, former president Teddy Roosevelt warned the American people (as reported in the New York Times) what was going on:
“These international bankers and Rockefeller Standard Oil interests control the majority of newspapers to club into submission or drive out of public office officials who refuse to do the bidding of the powerful corrupt cliques which compose the invisible government.”
Just one day before the New York Times on March 26, 1922 the mayor of New York, John Hylan quoted Roosevelt and blasted those he saw as taking control of America its political machinery and its press:
“The warning of T. Roosevelt has much timeliness today, for the real menace of our republic is this invisible government which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy length over city, state, and nation… It seizes in its long and powerful tentacles our executive offices, our legislative bodies, our schools, our courts, our newspapers and every agency created for the public protection… let me say that at the head of this octopus are the Rockefeller-Standard Oil interest and a small group of powerful banking houses generally referred to as the international bankers. The little coterie of powerful international bankers virtually run the US government for their own selfish purposes. They practically control both parties, write political platforms, make catspaws of party leaders, use leading men of private organizations…
These international bankers and Rockefeller-Standard Oil interests control the majority of newspaper and magazines in this country.”
There was a dark side to this prosperity. Business expanded based on credit. Speculation in the stock market became rampant. Although everything looked rosy, it was a castle made of sand. When everything was ready, in April 1929, the father of the Federal Reserve Board, Paul Warburg, sent out a secret advisory warning his friends that a collapse and nationwide depression was certain.
In August 1929, the Fed began to tighten money. It is not a coincidence that the biography of all Wall Street giants of that era, John D. Rockefeller, JP Morgan, Bernard Baruch etc. all marveled that they got out of the stock market just before the crash and put all of their assets in cash or gold.
On October 24, 1929, the big New York bankers called in their 24 hour broker call loans. This meant that both the stock brokers and customers had to dump their stocks on the market to cover their loans no matter what price they had to sell them for. As a result, the market tumbled. That day was known as Black Thursday. Congressman Louis McFadden, chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee from 1920 to 1931 knew who to blame. He accused the Federal Reserve and the international bankers of orchestrating the crash:
“It was not accidental. It was a carefully contrived event… The international bankers sought to bring about a condition of despair here so they might emerge as rulers of us all…”
McFadden went further. He accused them of orchestrating the crash in order to steal America’s gold. In February 1931, in the midst of the depression, he put it this way:
“I think it can hardly be disputed that the statesmen and financiers of Europe are ready to take almost any means to reacquire rapidly the gold stock which Europe lost to America as the result of World War I.”
Curtis Dall, son-in-law of Franklin D. Roosevelt stated:
“Actually, it was calculated ‘shearing’ of the public by the World-Money powers triggered by the planned sudden shortage of call money in the New York Money Market”
Although the American public have never heard that the Federal Reserve was responsible for the cause of The Great Depression, it was well known among top economists. Milton Friedman, a Nobel Prize economist said in a public radio interview in 1996:
“The Federal Reserve definitely caused the Great Depression by contracting the amount of currency in circulation by 1/3 from 1929 to 1933.”
The money lost by American during the Great Depression did not just vanish, it was simply redistributed into fewer and fewer hands (Rockefellers, JP Morgan etc.) of those who had just gotten out before the crash to purchase gold.
[2:36:50] Now the stage was set for a really big war (World War II). One which would pile up debt far beyond that of World War I. For example, in 1944, the US GDP was only $144 billion, yet $103 billion was spent on the war! This was 30 times the spending rate of World War I! Equally important, every nation involved in World War II greatly multiplied their debts during WWII! Between 1940 to 1950, Japanese debt swelled by 1,348%!!! French debt grew by 583% and Canadian debt soared 417%!!!
After WWII, the world was divided into two economic camps: Communist central planning economies on one hand versus monopoly capitalist on the other set to fight it out in one perpetual and highly profitable arms race. It was finally time for the central bankers to embark on their 3-step plan to centralize the economic system of the entire world and finally bring about their global government or new world order. The phases of this plan were:
1. Central bank domination of national economies worldwide;
2. Centralized regional economies: European Monetary Union, NAFTA;
3. Centralize the world economy through a World Central Bank, ending national independence through abolition of all tariffs by treaty such as WTO.
The largest holder of gold among central banks is the IMF. It and central banks control 2/3 of the world’s gold supply giving them the power to manipulate the gold market. Before we start to look at the solution to our economic problems, let us take a look at all that gold in Fort Knox. If we do not understand that all the gold has been stolen, we will allow ourselves to be stampeded into the wrong solution: a gold backed currency.
[2:39:30] Most Americans still believe that the gold is still here at Fort Knox. At the end of WWII, Fort Knox contained over 700,000,000 ounces of gold, an incredible 70% of all the gold in the world. How much remains? No one knows. Despite that Federal laws require an annual physical audit of Fort Knox gold; the Treasury has consistently refused to conduct one. The truth is, a reliable audit of whatever remains here has not been conducted since President Eisenhower ordered one in 1953!!!
Where did America’s gold in Fort Knox go?
Over the years, it had been sold off to European bankers at $35 per ounce at during the time which was illegal for any Americans to buy their own gold at Fort Knox. There was an infamous case where the Firestone family set up a string of dummy corporations to purchase gold at Fort Knox and kept it in Switzerland despite never landing on US shores.
[2:40:47] Finally, by 1971, all the pure gold in Fort Knox had been secretly removed from Fort Knox, drained back to London. Once the gold was gone from Fort Knox, President Nixon closed the gold window by repealing Roosevelt’s Gold Reserve Act of 1934, finally making it legal for Americans to buy gold. Naturally, gold prices began immediately to soar, 9 years later in 1980, gold sold for $880 an ounce!
One would think that someone in the government would blow the whistle: The largest fortune in world history stolen! It had been 40 years in the making!
[2:42:15] Just how did the story of Fort Knox gold robbery get out? It all started with an article in a New York periodical in 1974. The article charged that the Rockefeller family was manipulating the Federal Reserve to sell off the gold at bargain basement prices an anonymous European speculator. Three days later, the anonymous source of the story, Louise Auchincloss Boyer mysterious fell to her death from the window of her 10-storey apartment in New York. How did Mrs. Boyer know about the Rockefeller connection to the Fort Knox gold heist? She was the long-time secretary of Nelson Rockefeller…
When president Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, his conservative friends urged him to study the feasibility of returning to a gold standard to curb government spending. President Reagan then appointed the Gold Commission to study the situation and report back to him and Congress.
The Gold Commission reported the shocking revelation to Congress in 1982: The US Treasury owned no gold at all. All the gold that was left at Fort Knox is now owned by the Federal Reserve, a group of private bankers, as collateral against the national debt. The truth is, never before in history has so much money been stolen from the hands of the public and put into the hands of a small group of investors, the money changers (bankers).
[2:45:50] What is the nature of the World Bank and the IMF? Are they about to create a worldwide depression? After WWI and WWII, people around the world are tired of wars. So, under the guise of peacemaking, the international bankers devised a plan to consolidate power even further. Claiming that only an international government can stem the tide of world wars, the bankers pushed forward a proposal for a world government which stands on three legs: A world central bank to be called the Bank of International Settlements, A world judiciary called International Court of Justice to be located at the Hague, Netherlands, and a world executive legislature called the United Nations.
[2:47:00] As President Clinton’s mentor, Georgetown historian Carroll Quigley who has insider knowledge of the international banking cartel, wrote in his 1966 book “Tragedy and Hope”:
“The power of financial capitalism had a far-reaching plan, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole.
This system was to be controlled in a feudalistic fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at frequent meeting and conferences.
The apex of the system was to be the Bank of International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world’s central banks which were themselves private corporations.Each central bank…
South to dominate its government by its ability to control treasury loans, to manipulative foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country.
The money lenders create a banking cartel composed of the world’s central banks which gradually assumed the power to dictate credit policies to the banks of all nations. In 1944, at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, The World Bank and The International Monetary Fund were formed. For example, just as the Federal Reserve Act authorizes the creation of a national fiat currency, the IMF has been given the authority to issue a world fiat currency, called “Special Drawing Rights (SDR)”. SDRs are partially backed by gold. With 2/3 of world gold in the hands of privately owned central banks, this means the money lenders can go about structuring the economic future in whichever way they deem most profitable.
[2:36:50] Now the world was set for a new war: World War II.
———–
[At 27:40 ] Let’s take a look at the role of the ROTHSCHILDS in central banking.
The Rothschilds are Jewish descendants who lived in the ghettos of Frankfurt, Germany since 1450’s.
The patriarch of this family was Mayer Rothschild, a goldsmith who took up the family business of money lending & coin exchange in 1763. He had 5 sons who were stationed throughout Europe in Paris, London, Frankfurt, Vienna & Naples. They all became very successful in banking & finance.
By the mid 1800’s, the Rothschilds dominated all European banking and were the wealthiest family in the world. They financed Cecil Rhodes, making it possible for him to dominate the diamond and gold fields of South Africa. In America, they financed the Harrimans in railway; the Vanderbilts in railways & press; the Carnegie in the steel industry, among many others.
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT THEIR PREDOMINANCE IN EUROPEAN OR WORLD FINANCE HAS CHANGED
Along with Theodore Herschel, father of Zionism, the Rothschilds founded the State of Israel in 1948, shortly after World War II based on Britain’s Balfour Declaration which promised to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
Today, the Rothschilds, along with other banking families such as Rockefellers, Goldman Sachs, Morgans, Warburgs, Lazards, Kuhn & Loebs, Lehmans, Schiffs and Israel Moses Seifs own & control the Federal Reserve, World Bank, IMF, ECB & Bank of International Settlement.
They own shares of all central banks around the world, as well as top 10 shares in Fortune 500 Companies, including private banks.
The headquarter of their banking empire is Bank of England, located in the City of London, an independent district from Greater London, with its own laws & own mayor.
The Rothschilds own media outlets such as Associated Press, Reuters & Economist.
The Rothschilds financed Britain’s Opium War against China and founded Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation to conduct their lucrative business dealings.
In addition to owning central banks, the Rothschilds also own private banks which control the oil industry in the Middle East. Their customers include some of the world’s major oil companies such as BP, (formerly Royal Dutch Shell), Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, Texaco & Gulf Oil.
Their private banks, HSBC, BCCI, among many others, also serve as havens for massive evasion, money laundering, narcotics trafficking & weapons trade.
According to Professor Michel Chossudovsky in his book, “War and Globalization”:
[Note: Prof Chossudovsky has been conveniently labeled as a “Conspiracy Theorist” and pro-Russian because he exposed 911 as a pre-text for the invasion of Iraq. Prof Chossudovsky’s father was an intellectual Russian Jew who left the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and became a UN diplomat for his adopted country, Ireland. Prof Chossudovsky was raised in Switzerland, emigrated to Canada and became Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa. He has nothing to do with Russia.
"...the military planners in the State Department, Pentagon and CIA call the shots on foreign policy. They are in liaison with NATO, IMF, the World Bank, WTO & Council for Foreign Relations."
"In turn, the Washington-based international financial bureaucracy, responsible for imposing deadly 'economic medicine' in the 3rd world and in most countries, maintains a close working relationship with the Wall Street financial establishment."
"The powers behind this system are those of the global banks and financial institutions, the military industrial complex, the oil and energy giants, the biotech and pharmaceutical conglomerates and the powerful media and communication giants, which fabricate news and overtly influence the course of world events by blatantly distorting the facts."
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Sources:
1. The Money Masters (money changers or bankers)
(Please download this video free of charge onto your phone by clicking on the downward arrow. This allows you to listen to or view this video at your own leisure).
2. Tragedy and Hope, A History of the World in Our Time
(Prof Carroll Quigley has insider knowledge of the bankers who are responsible for WWI & WWII. This book was written in 1949 but only released after his death in 1981. His disclosures placed him in such potential danger from an Establishment backlash that it was never published in his lifetime).
Prolonging the Agony: How The Anglo-American Establishment Deliberately Extended WWI by Three-and-a-Half Years.
The fact that governments lie is generally accepted today, but World War I was the first global conflict in which millions of young men were sacrificed for hidden causes.
They did not die to save civilization; they were killed for profit and in the hopes of establishing a one-world government.
By 1917, America had been thrust into the war by a President who promised to stay out of the conflict. But the real power behind the war consisted of the bankers, the financiers, and the politicians, referred to, in this book, as The Secret Elite.
Scouring government papers on both sides of the Atlantic, memoirs that avoided the censor’s pen, speeches made in Congress and Parliament, major newspapers of the time, and other sources, Prolonging the Agony maintains that the war was deliberately and unnecessarily prolonged and that the gross lies ingrained in modern “histories” still circulate because governments refuse citizens the truth. Featured in this book are shocking accounts of the alleged Belgian “outrages,” the sinking of the Lusitania, the manipulation of votes for Herbert Hoover, Lord Kitchener’s death, and American and British Zionists in cahoots with Rothschild’s manipulated Balfour Declaration.
The proof is here in a fully documented exposed — a real history of the world at war.
Are you overwhelmed yet? Yah. It’s a bit too much heaviness for a great fall day. But you all do need to have a grasp that all of human society is indentured to a handful of very wealthy elite that thinks that the status quo can continue on forever. And that they are setting in motion the beginnings of World War III so that China or Russia will not upset that monopoly.
How to Break the Kneecaps of Wall Street Sociopaths Before It’s too Late: Ferdinand Pecora Revisited
By Matthew Ehret for The Saker Blog
It is more than a little depressing to consider the impending systemic meltdown that immanently presses upon our current world. Since the 1971 floating of the U.S. dollar, a once proud and productive western industrial economic system has been increasingly asset stripped…
If America and the western order is to somehow find its moral fitness to survive and if a world war is to be avoided in the coming near-term future, then certain fundamental banking reforms will be needed.
Among the most important of these reforms will be a breaking up of banking activities into two categories under a renewal of the Glass-Steagall bank reform which was repealed by Bill Clinton in 1999.
These two categories would include:
1) speculative trash and illegitimate usury which must be “deleted” under a debt jubilee and
2) legitimate savings and other useful commercial banking activities tied to “real” values without which society couldn’t sustain itself.
Many readers might immediately scoff at my words, and assert that such a reform were impossible at this late stage of rot and corruption in western society but I would retort with the question: If this were so impossible, then how was it done already at a similar time of crisis only 87 years ago under similar circumstances of economic breakdown, fascism and world war? How have other national resistance movements blocked this sort of misanthropic agenda from succeeding in the past?
In this case, I speak of course of the forgotten Pecora Commission and an often-forgotten war on Wall Street which changed the course of human history.
What was the Pecora Commission?
Many are aware of the economic meltdown of October 24, 1929 that ushered in four years of depression onto America (and much of the western world).
However not many people are aware of the intense fight that was launched by patriots in both parties against the Wall Street/deep state parasite of that age…
… which prevented both a fascist coup against the newly elected Franklin Roosevelt…
… while also crippling Wall Street’s command of American life.
In spite of whitewashing revisionist history books that contaminated the past 70 years, America’s recovery from the depression never occurred without a life or death struggle and this struggle was made possible, in large measure by the courageous work of an Italian lawyer from New York. This man’s name was Ferdinand Pecora.
By 1932, when Senators Peter Norbeck (R-SD) and George Norris (R-NB) spearheaded the establishment of the U.S. Committee on Banking and Currency…
… the American economy was on life support and the people were so desperate that a fascist dictatorship in America would have been welcomed with open arms if only bread could be put on the table.
Unemployment had reached 25%, while over 40% of banks had gone bankrupt and 25% of the population had lost their savings.
Thousands of tent cities called ‘Hoovervilles’ were spread across the USA and over 50% of America’s industrial capacity had shut down.
Thousands of farms had been foreclosed and the engines of American industry had grinded to a screeching halt.
Across the ocean, the fascist regimes of Germany, Italy and Spain were growing more powerful by the day fed by injections of hundreds of millions of dollars of capital by London and Wall Street bankers.
Notable among these pro-fascist financiers was none other than Bush family patriarch Prescott, who provided millions in loans to Hitler’s bankrupt Nazi party in 1932 (and continued doing business with the party through 1942- having only stopped after being found guilty for “trading with the enemy”).
The Committee on Banking and Currency was a relatively impotent body when it began in 1932, but when Senator Norbeck called in Ferdinand Pecora to lead it in April 1932, everything began to change.
A first generation Italian-American, Pecora was forced to quit high school after his father was injured in order to support his family.
Years later, the young man found work as a clerk in a law firm, and managed to work his way through law school, passing the bar in 1911.
His unimpeachable reputation earned him the animosity of powerful NY financiers who ensured that his successes in prosecuting brokers never resulted in attaining Attorney General…
… where he made a name for himself shutting down over 100 illegal brokerage houses that speculated on fraudulent securities during the depression.
Within days of accepting the Washington job as Chief Council of Norbeck’s committee (for the meager salary of $250/month), Pecora was granted broad subpoena powers to audit banks and drag the most powerful men in America to testify in the committee’s hearings.
In his first two weeks, Pecora made headlines by auditing the books of major Wall Street banks and pulled in pro-fascist National City President Charles Mitchell (then preparing to advise Benito Mussolini) to testify.
Within days, Mitchell’s team of expensive defense attorneys could do nothing but watch in despair as the powerful financier admitted to short selling his own bank’s stocks during the depression…
… scamming depositors with purchases of Cuban junk debt…
… and avoiding taxes for years.
Mitchell was forced to resign in shame followed days later by NY Stock Exchange Chair Dick Whitney- who left the court in handcuffs.
This crackdown on Wall Street’s abuses were highly publicized and put the spotlight on the criminal schemes used to gamble with savings and commercial bank deposits on securities and futures markets which led to the orchestrated collapse of the bubble economy in 1929 (ironically much of the bubble built up during the “easy-money days” of the “roaring 20s” was centered in the housing market).
Pecora’s crackdown also set the tone for the incoming Roosevelt administration.
Unlike the previous 1911 Pujo Commission, which also exposed Wall Street’s abuses of power, the Pecora Commission was supported by a President who actually cared about the Constitution and amplified Pecora’s powers even further.
When FDR was told that supporting Pecora’s exposures of financial crimes would hurt the economy, the President famously responded with “they should have thought of that when they did the things that are being exposed now.” FDR followed up that warning by encouraging the attorney to take on John Pierpont Morgan Jr.
Rather than controlling an American institution as many believed 70 years ago and today, J.P. Morgan Jr. was actually running an operation that had earlier been created in the mid-19th century as part of a British infiltration of America. As historian John Hoefle pointed out in a 2009 EIR study:
“The House of Morgan was, in truth, a British operation from its inception. It began life as George Peabody & Co., a bank founded in London in 1851 by American George Peabody. A few years later, another American, Junius S. Morgan, joined the firm, and upon Peabody’s death the firm became J.S. Morgan & Co. Junius Morgan brought in his son, J. Pierpont Morgan, to head the New York office of J.S. Morgan, and the New York office became J.P. Morgan & Co. From its original role in helping the British gain control of American railroads, the Morgan bank became a leading force in the oligarchy’s war against the American System, using the deep pockets of its imperial masters to become a powerhouse in not only finance but steel, automobiles, railroads, electricity generation, and other industries.”
By 1933, the House of Morgan grew into a multi-headed hydra controlling utilities, holding companies, banks and countless other subsidiaries.
Senator George Norris showcasing a chart of Wall Street power
When J.P. Morgan jr. was called to testify, the banker carried a midget on his lap in mockery of the “circus of the commission”.
As the questions began however, the arrogant banker was caught off guard by Pecora’s proof of Morgan’s secret “preferred clients lists” of politicians whom the banker owned and who received stock offerings at discount rates.
Named among the thousands of traitors on this list, Pecora revealed former president Calvin Coolidge, Coolidge’s Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon (a Schacht-Hitler supporter from the start), financier Bernard Baruch, Supreme Court Justice Owen Roberts and Democratic Party controller John Jacob Raskob.
Raskob was not only a major speculator but was also the leader of the American Liberty League which tried repeatedly to overthrow FDR between 1933-1939 and worked to ally America with axis powers from 1939-1941.
Morgan’s god-like ego was brought down to the level of mortals when the flustered banker was only able to answer “I can’t remember” repeatedly when asked if he had paid taxes over the past 5 years.
As it turned out, by the end of the trial, it was revealed that NONE of the subsidiaries of the House of Morgan paid any taxes during the entire period of the depression, and were caught gambling with depositors assets from commercial accounts.
These revelations didn’t sit well with a population dying of starvation across the streets of America.
Similar displays of corruption were made of the heads of Kohn Loeb, Chase Bank, Brown Brothers Harriman and others.
Faced with these revelations, The Nation magazine famously reported
“If you steel $25, you’re a thief. If you steal $250 000, you’re an embezzler. If you steal $2.5 million, you’re a financier.”
Pecora’s ally Sen. Burton Wheeler said
“the best way to restore confidence in our banks is to take these crooked presidents out of the banks and treat them the same as we treated Al Capone.”
FDR Drains the Swamp
With the light cast firmly upon the dark shadows where vile creatures like J.P. Morgan and other financial gremlins reside, the population was finally able to start making sense of what injustices befell them during the years of post-1929 despair.
While not every banker went to prison as Wheeler or Pecora would have liked, examples were made of dozens who did and many more whose careers were shamefully ended.
Most importantly however, this exposure gave Franklin Roosevelt the support needed to drain the swamp and impose sweeping reforms upon the banks.
In the first hundred days, FDR was able to:
1) Impose Glass-Steagall banking separation (forcing Wall Street banks to break up their functions and preventing speculators from gambling with productive assets)
2) Create the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that protected citizens’ savings from future crises
3) Create the Securities Exchange Commission to provide oversight to Wall Street’s activities and on whose body Pecora was appointed commissioner in 1934.
4) Unleash broad credit through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) which acted as a national bank bypassing the private Federal Reserve, channeling $33 billion to the real economy by 1945 (more than all private commercial banks combined)
5) Impose protective tariffs on agriculture, metals and industrial goods to stop dumping of cheap products in America and rebuild America’s physical economy
6) Create vast public works, like the Tennessee Valley Authority, Grand Coulee dams, Hoover dams, St Laurence development and countless other projects, hospitals, schools, bridges, roads and rail under the New Deal that acted in many ways then as China’s Belt and Road Initiative has in our modern age. Unfortunately, Roosevelt died before this new form of political economy could be internationalized abroad in the post-war years as an anti-colonial program.
Ferdinand Pecora’s Commission shaped the dynamics of America so intensely by its simple power of speaking the truth, that efforts to run a fascist coup against FDR using a general named Smedley Butler also came undone before it could succeed.
Butler played along with Wall Street’s plans for some months before deciding to publicly blow the whistle in congress.
Butler exposed the intension to use him as a “puppet dictator” leading thousands of American legionnaires in a storming of the White House displacing FDR.
It is often forgotten today, but in the early days of the 1920s-1930s, the Legion was modeled on Mussolini’s fascist squadristi and even its leader Alvin Owsley made explicit in 1921 saying:
“If need be the American Legion is ready to protect the institutions of this country and its ideals, in the same way as the Fascists have treated the destructive forces threatening Italy. Don’t forget that the Fascists are for today’s Italy what the American Legion is for the United States.”
Butler’s startling revelations amplified FDR’s popular support and inoculated much of the population from the fake news pouring out of Wall Street propaganda agencies spread across the media.
“Under the surface of the governmental regulation of the securities market, the same forces that produced the riotous speculative excesses of the ‘wild bull market’ of 1929 still give evidence of their existence and influence. Though repressed for the present, it cannot be doubted that, given a suitable opportunity, they would spring back to their pernicious activity.”
Pecora went onto deliver one more warning which current generations should take seriously
“Had there been full disclosure of what has been done in furtherance of these schemes, they could not long have survived the fierce light of publicity and criticism. Legal chicanery and pitch darkness were the bankers’ stoutest allies.”
Today’s oncoming economic meltdown can only be prevented if the lessons of 1933 are taken seriously and patriots who actually care about their nations and people stop legitimizing the casino economy of fictitious capital, derivatives, debt slavery and anti-humanism that has become so commonplace across the governing strata of the technocratic and banking elite today trying to control the world.
This elite, just like the financiers of the 1920s, doesn’t care ultimately for money as an end but sees it merely as a means for imposing fascist forms of governance onto the world population.
In the same way that FDR’s Wall Street/London enemies sought a world government under Nazi enforcers then, today’s heirs to that anti-human legacy are driven by a religious-like commitment to “manage” a new collapse of world civilization under a Green New Deal and World Government.
So why accept that dystopic future when a brighter one is offered us by the Multipolar alliance today led by Russia and China?
We all have a choice
And that choice is simple.
We can continue on the path where all your labors are converted into physical paper. Where that paper is owned by a handful of people. And they rent that paper out to you, and utilize all sorts of systems that control how you use that paper, and how that paper works.
Or…
You can embrace a completely different system. One where there just isn’t any paper, and no one is in control of that paper. It’s a modern version of hard cold gold. You work, and you get a digital equivalent of gold.
Obviously the people who control that paper do not like the idea of others leaving their long-standing monopoly. And they are willing to institute a complete nuclear armageddon to make sure that they retain their role.
Interesting times are coming.
But I, for one remain hopeful.
And why am I hopeful?
Well, it’s a sense of community, worth and value. It’s a place and a situation where you are no longer controlled by individual forces sitting behind wood lined offices in remote skyscrapers in far away cities. Instead, where you live in a place where everyone has value and worth and contributes to the greater good.
And to get there…
…America needs two things…
[1] A civil war
[2] A conflict that will defang the “arsenal of the money changers”.
Which brings up where we are in all of this. When is this all going to happen? Is it just yet another promise [1] that “someday” things are going to change, or [2] prepare for the worst because the end of the world is coming
Which is what I have been saying all along.
People! You are all in the middle of this period of change. You are smack down right in the middle of it all. The globe is changing it’s monetary policy. One side does not like it, and are fighting tooth and nail to destroy everything around them. (Let’s not get side traced in all the roles of the various players in this), and the other side (mostly Asia) is plowing forward with the implementation of a new way of doing things.
So relax.
Change is happening.
Oh, and just in case you don’t believe me, there’s this…
Billionaire investor Ray Dalio on capitalism’s crisis: The world is going to change ‘in shocking ways’ in the next five years
Veteran hedge-fund manager says capitalists don’t divide the economic pie well, so the system isn’t working effectively for all
Ray Dalio certainly is no radical idealist, but in his frequent writings and media appearances the veteran investor consistently calls for Americans to rewrite their longstanding contract with capitalism so that it is fairer and more generous to more people.
Which is pretty much the entire point of this post.
- Metallicman
Otherwise, he predicts, life in the U.S. could become more difficult: mountainous debt that stunts economic growth; fewer opportunities for ordinary citizens to get ahead financially; and a worldwide lack of trust in the U.S. dollar that diminishes Americans’ purchasing power and could lower their standard of living.
Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge-fund firm, which has made him a billionaire. So it’s not surprising that he champions capitalism as a proven way to expand economic growth and living standards.
“Capitalism and capitalists are good at increasing and producing productivity to increase the size of the economic pie,” he says.
Then Dalio stands this tenet on its head. Capitalists don’t divide the economic pie very well, he says, and so today the capitalist system, the foundation of the U.S. economy, is not working efficiently and effectively enough for all.
“Capitalism also produces large wealth gaps that produce opportunity gaps, which threaten the system,” Dalio says — a system that has been and still is key to the health and success of U.S. business, workers, government and investors alike.
Unless the U.S. takes steps to make systemic repairs designed to provide greater opportunity for more Americans to achieve personal growth and financial security, the consequences likely will be painful for the country, as Dalio explains in this recent telephone interview, which has been edited for length and clarity:
MarketWatch: You have written and spoken about three big domestic and international problems facing the U.S. over the next five to 10 years and how a failure to address these challenges could threaten America’s standing in the world. What are these three pressing problems?
Ray Dalio: I look at it mechanically, like a doctor looking at a disease. If asked what is the issue here, I would say that it is a certain type of disease that has certain patterns which are timeless and universal, and the United States is broadly following that progression.
There are three problems that are coming together, so it’s important to understand them individually and how they collectively make a bigger problem.
There is a money and credit cycle problem, a wealth and values gap problem, and an emerging great power challenging the existing dominant power problem. What’s going on is an economic downturn together with a large wealth gap and the rising power of China challenging the existing power of the United States.
It’s a fact that there has been a weakening of the competitive advantages of the United States over the last couple of decades. For example, the United States lost a lot of the education advantage relative to other countries, our share of world GDP is reduced, the wealth gap has increased which has contributed to our political and social polarization.
But we haven’t lost all of our competitive advantages. For example in innovation and technology, the United States is still the strongest, but China is coming on very strong and at existing rates will surpass the United States. Militarily, the U.S. is stronger but China also has come on very strong and is probably stronger in the waters close to China that include Taiwan and other disputed areas. Finances for both countries are challenging, but for the U.S. more so. The U.S. is in the late stages of a debt cycle and money cycle in which we’re producing a lot of debt and printing a lot of money. That’s a problem. As a reserve currency status, the U.S. dollar DXY, -0.17% is still dominant though its being threatened by its central bank printing of money and increasing the debt production problem.
‘The United States is a 75-year-old empire and it is exhibiting signs of decline.’
MarketWatch: Focusing on the money and credit problem, excessive debt can be a killer for businesses and families, but most people don’t seem to recognize that debt plays havoc with their country’s finances as well. Government runs the money printing press, which buys time, but eventually something’s got to give.
Dalio: If you look at the history — for example, the Dutch Empire, the British Empire — both experienced the creation of debt and the printing of money, less educational advantages, greater internal wealth conflict, greater challenges from rival countries. Every country has stress tests. If you look at British history, the development of rival countries led them to lose their competitive advantages. Their finances were bad because they had accumulated a lot of debt. So, after World War II those trends went against them. Then they had the Suez Canal incident and they were no longer a world power and the British pound is no longer a reserve currency. These diseases almost always play out the same way.
The United States’ relative position in the world, which was dominant in almost all these categories at the beginning of this world order in 1945, has declined and is exhibiting real signs that should raise worries. There’s a lot of baggage. The U.S. has a lot of debt, which is adding to the hurdles that typically drag an economy down, so in order to succeed, you have to do a pretty big debt restructuring. History shows what kind of a challenge that is.
I just want to present understanding and facts. There’s a life cycle. You’re born and you die. As you get older you can see certain things that are symptoms of being later on in life. To know the life cycle and to know that these symptoms are emerging is what I’m trying to convey. The United States is a 75-year-old empire and it is exhibiting signs of decline. If you want to extend your life, there are clear things you can do, but it means doing things that you don’t want to do.
‘Wealth cannot be created by creating debt and money.’
MarketWatch: Let’s put it bluntly: Is capitalism broken?
Dalio: I wouldn’t say broken as much as I’d say it has problems that have to be fixed. As I said, I’m not ideological, I’m mechanical. I look at everything operationally like a machine and what has been shown is that capitalism is a fabulous way of creating incentives and innovation and of allocating resources to create productivity. All successful countries have uses for it. For example, communist China has chosen capitalism, which has been essential to its growth.
But capitalism also produces large wealth gaps that produce opportunity gaps, which threaten the system in the ways we are seeing now. Wealth gaps give unfair advantages to the children of rich people because they get a better education, which undermines the equal opportunity notion. As the number of people who get equal opportunity diminishes, this reduces the possibility of finding talented people in that population, which isn’t fair and undermines productivity. Then the have-nots want to tear down the capitalist system at a time of bad economic conditions. That dynamic has always existed in history and it’s happening now.
The capitalist system is based on profit-seeking being the resource allocation system, which generally works well but doesn’t always. So, capitalism and capitalists are good at increasing and producing productivity to increase the size of the economic pie, but they’re not good at dividing the economic opportunity pie. Socialists are generally not good at increasing productivity and the size of the economic opportunity pie, but they are better at dividing the pie.
We now have too much emphasis on distributing wealth and getting it from producing debt and printing money, and not enough from increasing productivity. Wealth cannot be created by creating debt and money. We have to be productive together, so we have to look at the good investments that we can make together that make total sense, like in education, and create equal opportunity in order to be productive.
We have to be in this together. The system needs to be reengineered to do this. But if we don’t do this engineering well, we’re going to spend in an unlimited way and deal with that by creating debt that won’t ever be paid back, and we will risk losing the reserve currency status of the dollar. If we get into that position — and we’re very close — things will get much worse because we are living on borrowed money that’s financing our consumption.
‘Within the next five years you could see a situation in which foreigners who have been lending money to the United States won’t want to.’
MarketWatch: About the dollar being threatened as the world’s reserve currency — what does “close” mean, and what would the decline of this status mean for Americans?
Dalio: Within the next five years you could see a situation in which foreigners who have been lending money to the United States won’t want to, and the dollar would not be as readily accepted for making purchases in the world as it is now.
We have to realize that we’re spending more than we’re earning. Every individual, every company and every country has an income statement and a balance sheet. The income statement is how much is your earnings are relative to your expenses. If your earnings are greater than your expenses, great, you will increase your balance sheet. If your earnings are less than your expenses, then you have to draw on your balance sheet.
The United States doesn’t have a good income statement and balance sheet in dealing with the rest of the world. It is running a deficit to the rest of the world that is financed by borrowing money so that we are producing liabilities. Our living standards are based on our spending, not on our income statement or balance sheet. If the U.S. loses that ability and it doesn’t force itself to be more productive, one day it will lose that ability to borrow and then will have to cut spending, which is painful.
When that pain happens at a time when you have the population at each other’s throats over money, that’s a toxic combination. People can’t take a downturn and have less buying power. So, necessarily the poor will have to be getting money from the rich and the rich are going to want to prevent that, and then if it gets bad enough, that it messes up productivity.
‘When the causes people are fighting for are more important to them than the system that binds them together, the system is in jeopardy.’
MarketWatch: What steps do politicians and business leaders need to take now to create and implement reforms that will fortify the U.S. balance sheet and the dollar’s status?
Dalio: In brief, productivity and equal opportunity are most needed. If we could at least agree that we must have these things, that would be great. What we have now is a situation in which we’re fighting each other, we are not providing equal opportunity, and we are losing our productivity gains.
One of the greatest problems is that everybody’s fighting for their cause. When the causes people are fighting for are more important to them than the system that binds them together, the system is in jeopardy. This seems to now be happening. Everybody has their cause and they’re almost losing sight of the overall picture. Democracy depends on compromise. It’s the notion of compromise and working together and being able to have a negotiation to get what the most people want rather than have one side beat the other.
You really have to take the relative parties and make them agree on what’s going to be best. The group has got to be bipartisan and they have to be knowledgeable. Bring together parties of opposing ideologies who are also knowledgeable, not just smart but who are on the ground, to come up with a plan together that all can support so that we’re productive, increasing the size of the pie and dividing it well. It would be great if whoever the president is could draw upon people from both parties and different perspectives.
MarketWatch: As Americans prepare for a presidential election in November, the three major problems you mentioned earlier would seem to be important factors for voters to consider.
Dalio: Yes. The world is going to change in the next five years in shocking ways in relation to the three big issues we have been talking about.
First, there’s a debt-money cycle — what is the value of money? What will happen to the debt? Will the dollar retain its value? The finances of this — who is going to pay for it? How? What will work? That’s number one.
Second, the wealth, opportunity and values gaps will have to be dealt with. Are we going to be at each other’s throats in a way that is harmful or are we going to be working together even if things get worse?
Third is the rising of a great power in China to challenge the existing power of the United States. Will this be well handled?
We will be dealing with these issues in the next presidential term, which will have a huge effect on our outcomes. The last time those three things existed as they do now was the 1930 to 1945 period. That’s the last time you had zero interest rates and money printing. That’s the last time you had the wealth and political gaps as large as they are today, and it was the last time you had rising powers challenging the existing world order. This and many analogous times before it help to give us perspective.
‘Worry as much about the value of your money as you worry about the value of your investments.’
MarketWatch: These and other domestic and international challenges will clearly affect Americans financially. What would be a smart, proactive strategy for investors to both protect a portfolio and take advantage of market opportunities?
Dalio: First, worry as much about the value of your money as you worry about the value of your investments. The printing of money and the debt should make you aware of that. That’s why financial asset prices have gone up — stocks, gold — because of the debt and money creation. You don’t want to own the thing you think is safest — cash.
Second, know how to diversify well. That includes diversification of countries, currencies and assets, because wealth is not so much destroyed as it shifts. When something goes down, something else is going up so you have to look at all things on a relative basis. Diversify well and worry about the value of cash.
Americans look at the value of everything in U.S. dollars, but they don’t look at the value of the dollar. You’re in an environment where you have to be cautious about that, because the easiest way out for government is to do what the U.S. just did, which is to borrow and print a lot of money. They don’t have to get it from anyone, because when they raise taxes they have to get it from somebody and that somebody squawks. The population doesn’t pay much attention to the debt and the printing of money. They all appreciate the giving of money. So you hear the population say, “I need more money,” and get angry if they don’t get it. So you’ve got to give them more money, and it’s easier not to take it away from someone else.
The following is a completed reprint from The Organic Prepper titled “Open letter to the stressed out preppers” by Daisy Luther. Reprinted as found and modified (minor editing) to fit this venue. All credit to the author.
A Personal Letter to Stressed Out Preppers Who Are TIRED of This Apocalypse
Dear Friends:
2020 has certainly been quite a year so far, and a defining one for the preparedness movement. No longer are our stockpiles of rice, beans, and hand sanitizer objects that make us strange. Our stashes of TP would make us the envy of the neighborhood if, of course, anybody knew we had it.
So many of the things and beliefs that made us figures of mockery in the past are now proving their value. We’re learning, with a mixture of relief and perhaps dismay, that we weren’t so crazy after all.
This has been a year in which so many things have occurred that proved preppers have things right that it’s positively exhausting. We’ve had a pandemic, civil unrest, food shortages, increases in crime, exorbitant unemployment, and we’re facing an economic collapse, or at the very least, an economic crisis.
And we’re tired.
Maybe everyone doesn’t feel this way. Maybe you’re perfectly fine and you live on your back 40 and have been completely untouched by any of the above-mentioned crises. Maybe your finances are just fine, you never got out much anyway, and you’ve still got 8 years’ worth of food socked away to supplement the things you grow. Maybe you’re reading this as you spin goat hair into yarn from which you’ll make this year’s mittens. Maybe you have no relatives, friends, or loved ones in the path of danger. Maybe your area isn’t prone to a single natural disaster.
If this is the case, I salute you. I really do. Good for you.
But for most of us, this is not the case. A lot of us are tired.
And I mean tired.
I’m sure there will be plenty of folks in the comments who say, “Daisy Luther is such a whiner” but whatever. I’m just going to come right out and tell you how I feel about this.
This year has been difficult.
My life changed completely. The lives of people I love changed completely. I lost some people I cared for deeply to the virus. I watched people in my family frolic around blithely ignoring the virus for which they’re in a peak risk group for death. I watched my country get torn asunder by everything from the pandemic response to racial injustice to perceived insults or losses of rights. I have a family member who lives in a riot zone but due to work and finances, can’t just relocate. (Although those folks on the internet always make it sound so damned easy to just quit your job then up and move to the boondocks to raise sheep.)
I have friends who have developed such extreme political views on either side that I don’t even know what to say to them anymore. I still love them. I still know they’re good people or we wouldn’t have been friends in the first place. But what the heck, y’all?
Then we’ve got hurricanes and the worst wildfires ever in history and floods and droughts and snow in September and murder hornets and the Olympics got canceled and there was some radiation leak in Russia and police brutality, which you will say is alleged or real, depending on your personal perspective. Oh yeah, and the US Postal Service has gone to heck, a lot of kids can’t go back to school so they’re surfing the net while they’re supposed to be “distance learning” online, and Netflix is playing a child porn movie to prove that kids are getting sexually exploited.
Our presidential candidates are (in my humble opinion) like a choice between your favorite sexually transmitted infection, syphillis or gonhorrhea. And regardless of whether syphilis or gonorrhea wins, all hell’s going to break loose (or break looser because it’s already pretty freakin’ bad in a lot of places) before and after the election that may not even happen the regular way because of the pandemic.
And we preppers who were ready for an emergency are sitting here scratching our heads thinking, “Heck fire, I wasn’t actually prepared for ALL OF THE EMERGENCIES AT ONCE.”
And it’s going on and on and on.
And that’s the other thing.
This stuff is going on and on and on forever. Ad infinitum. We are still in the middle of a global viral outbreak that we don’t completely understand and lots of places are still under major restrictions. A lot of folks don’t have their jobs back and a lot never will. We have been dealing with this particular disaster since at least February and the mental toll of dealing with the restrictions, the loss of income, the isolation, and the loss of freedom has been harsh for many people. There are folks who are just plain mad that they didn’t get the apocalypse they signed up for and they haven’t gotten to shoot any marauders and quite frankly, lockdown is boring as heck.
Lots of us have family members and people in our inner circles who are chomping at the bit to get back to “normal” when things simply are not normal. We’ve got loved ones who want to head out to parties and who want to throw caution to the wind and who flat don’t give a hoot what they bring home to Grandma. We’ve got loved ones who are using this entire scenario to say how we’ve overreacted. We’ve got loved ones who still get aggravated when we bring home more toilet paper.
When we were prepping for all this stuff most of us never expected that our families who were also prepping for this stuff might not be on board with this specific scenario. We never thought we’d have to argue with children and spouses and friends and lovers about things like quarantines and masks and not eating all five years’ worth of the good snacks like Oreos in the first 6 months. We didn’t consider that we might not be able to replace our Bluetooth headsets or that we’d need them for work or that we’d have to have our offices in our homes or that our kids’ teachers (on Zoom) might see their BB guns in their bedrooms and send the SWAT teams after us.
We can’t go to church but we can go to riots.
We aren’t supposed to travel yet mysterious busloads full of “protesters” show up in other states and that’s just hunky-dory. The borders are closed except they’re not really and the restaurants can’t serve you except they can sort of and we can’t go to the beach but we can line up for a vaccine once the promised injection, untested for long-term side effects, is ready.
This is the worst apocalypse ever because it’s so dad-gum boring and it’s going on for-freaking-ever.
That’s the thing that nobody warned us about. This monotony just goes on and on and on. It would be one thing if we were out there fighting for resources but in reality, we’re all just standin’ in line at Wal-Mart with our masks on waiting for our turn to get zapped with a thermometer to see if we are allowed to go inside. If it weren’t for wifi we’d all be crazy by now. Or – let’s be real for a moment – maybe it’s because of wifi so many people are crazy right now.
Social media is a jungle – an outright vicious and bloody jungle – and may the most audacious mofo win because those of us who still retain our human decency are not going to be able to hang with the people out there flinging wild ungrounded insults like poop in the monkey cages at the zoo.
And folks – I hate to say it but we’re still on Round One.
We’re going to be dealing with this bizarre altered reality for quite some time. This virus ain’t over yet or if you don’t believe in the virus, then consider that this government response isn’t over yet.
We’re going to have to hope our children who are going to school in personal bubbles aren’t going to have OCD and chronic anxiety for the rest of their lives. We’re going to have to learn to make do without all the imports that no longer seem to be populating stores.
We never really expected that a huge part of survival would just be waiting and adapting to the new world around us. Not this new world anyway. This isn’t one we can shoot our way out of or buy our way out of or wait our way out of. We have to adapt to the new economy, the new precautions, and the new suspicions. We have to adapt to a different type of supply chain. We have to move into survival mode as we watch civil unrest and riots break out in the most unlikely places, although it’s not really the survival mode we ever expected. We have to adjust to the nearly constant state of offense and unrest. We’re going to have to teach our children to be bold and fearless despite a system that wants them to be afraid. We’re going to have to forge a path through a labyrinth that is nothing like the one we expected when we began prepping for serious events because this event was so wildly unpredictable that nobody could have seen it happening the way it did.
But this is what we do.
We’re preppers. Preparing for the unexpected is our thing. Even when the unexpected is long-lasting, monotonous, boring, and stifling. Even when our family thinks we’re overreacting. Even when everything changes and things don’t get back to “normal.” Even when we’re just sitting there right on the edge of chaos wondering if today is the day that things will erupt in our neck of the woods.
Every.
Single.
Day.
For.
Months.
The way this unfolded isn’t the disaster any of us expected but it’s the hand we’ve been dealt. How well we’re able to handle it will tell us a lot about how mentally prepared we actually are. How we manage our friends, families, and expectations will help us determine how things might go in a future, more Mad-Max variety of apocalypse.
Take this as the learning experience that it is. And don’t be lulled by the boredom into a false sense of security.
Because this is not over. Not by a long shot.
Hang in there, my friends. Whether we have to pull our loved ones along by their collars, whether we have to buy our supplies and stash them away on the sly, whether we have to prepare all on our own, we have to deal with the apocalypse we’ve been given, emotionally and physically.
It’s going to be a long haul, but we’ve got this. I don’t know if you’re feeling the same way that I am, but just in case you are, I wanted you to know – you’re not alone.
Daisy
Conclusion
I’m throwing a bunch of stuff out there at you all. But pay attention please.
Human society is changing.
It is a sentience sorting effort.
Service-for-self people have established long-duration systems known as “banking” to segregate society into a kind of modern serfdom.
Technology, and other societies (namely Asian) have created alternatives systems to the “banking system” and are going ahead with it’s implementation.
The service-for-self people are fighting tooth and nail to maintain the status quo.
They are causing internal dissension, and conflict in the United States.
They want to start World War III internationally, and have unleashed a global pandemic to that end. (Which pretty much backfired.)
You are all at the beginning phases of this change.
It will get worse.
People will die.
But, after the dust clears in about ten years, it will be a softer, quieter world.
So be positive and hopeful. The damage will not be uniform, but will be in clusters. As long as you are part of a community that “carry your weight”, be helpful and a Rufus, you will be fine.
The future belongs to the people that make things and contribute to the good of society.
Do you want more?
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I hope that you found this post curious. Please take care. You can view other similar posts in my SHTF Index, here…
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find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you.
It’s one thing to have Alex Jones predicting that the United States is going to collapse any day now, and it is another thing entirely when an intelligence analyst says so. And thus we have this bit of shocking news. A global military intelligence website has revised it’s five year forecast to predict a massive drop in American population by 2025.
Deagel.com is apparently some sort of global military intelligence site. They have had an online presence since 2003. They report on high-level military equipment assets and keep track of military expenditures by country “with nearly impeccable numbers”. It’s very similar to Janes.
However, unlike Janes, this is not an “Industry” outlet. But rather an “intelligence” outlet staffed with retired or former intelligence and military folk. As such, it is interesting to those of us that follow the military trends in industry.
Now, since the Military-Industrial cabal has pretty much the “lion’s share” of the oligarchy control over the United States government, any military intelligence related to this should be considered important. For this level of intelligence is what industry uses to make forecasts and projects for markets and survivability of the sales generation options.
In Late August, the Internet was all buzzing about a forecast on this website…
Deagel Forecast For USA – Population Drops 70% by 2025
One aspect of their site is to “forecast” financial outlooks for countries around the world. They track GDP (gross domestic product), defense budgets, and even population (forecasts) for each country.
No one knows for sure, but I’ve read that their sources are “the ‘deep state’ with the CIA, US Department of Defense, US Department of State and World Bank contributing data for their forecasts.
According to their own website, Deagel provides news and intelligence on international military aviation and advanced technologies.
Little is known about the real owner(s). The site name is registered in France. All online information about them is “redacted for privacy”. The site hosting company is located in Old Tappan, New Jersey. Which is pretty much in a semi-rural location with some nice wooded hills and nothing much else. The only thing that I can recall (personally) about that area is the rather large contingent of Jewish establishments there.
Deagel Forecasts Massive Depopulation in the USA by 2025
They have been forecasting a huge population drop in the United States for several years. They haven’t changed their forecast. It’s been projected to decrease for a long time now. And the election of Donald trump made no difference in the projection.
Current population of the USA is about 327 million.
What this means is that the defense intelligence organizations represented by Deagel believe that there will be some kind of event or series of events that will result in a major population drop by 2025.
Deagel site projections.
From the chart above we can clearly see a number of conclusions or extrapolations that they have made.
[1] USA Population (Red notations)
According to their projections, by the years 2025, the population of the United States would decrease. It would go from 327 million people to 100 million people. This would be approximately a 70% decrease in population over a short period of time (from now 2020 to 2025 = five years).
[2] World Population (Purple notations)
According to their projections, the entire world would suffer through a depopulation event. With the population decreasing from 7,385 million people to 6.870 million people. This is a drop of 515 million people. This is about a 7% decrease in the world population.
Thus taking [1] and [2] together, we can see that they expect the United States to take the brunt of most of the population decrease.
[3] American Defense Budget (Blue Notations)
We can see that they anticipate a very drastic decrease in American military spending by 2025. From $637 billion to $32 billion. It would be a reduction to 5% of what the current budget is.
Certainly they anticipate that the American military would be repurposed to a significant extent and this budget would not be able to support any kinds of expeditionary foreign operations.
[4] Global Defense Budgets (Green Notations)
This is very interesting, while there is a slight decrease in global defense spending, the change in spending values is small (comparatively). The global spending would go from $1.7 trillion to $1.2 trillion dollars.
Obviously they believe that the rest of the world’s military would still be funded at nearly the same levels as presently shown.
What are they saying?
To look at the chart and observe the numbers, they anticipate some kind of event or series of events that will take place IN AMERICA between 2020 and 2025.
These event(s) will dramatically decrease the size of the United States population.
The global population will also be reduced as well, but not at all at the same level of catastrophic drop that America will experience. It will not be as catastrophic to the rest of the world as it will be for Americans.
By 2025, the American military would be severely scaled down to a mere 5% of what it is now (by budget). But the rest of the world would pretty much keep their military budgets as the same level.
And this all means that…
America’s GDP will collapse from $19T to $1.6T.
PPP (Power purchasing parity) would collapse from $60,000 to $16,000
The resulting America would not look like anything that would be recognizable to anyone today. Those survivors would be struggling financially, and economically. America would not longer be a global superpower or “the policeman” for the world. Most of the rest of the world would move on, and continue with their lives and societies. While Americans would be undergoing some very severe changes to it’s society and cultures.
How did they arrive at these conclusions?
No one really knows how they came to these numbers and figures. But we do know that these are the same kinds of figures that the intelligence and military agencies use to make forecasts for spending, planning and purchases.
What I can pretty much say is that these figures pretty much match up with the John Titor narrative. He claimed to be a time traveler from the future, and pretty much said all of what is being presented here. It’s just that his dates were off by exactly ten years.
You all can read what he had to say in my John Titor Index here…
But these figures pretty much agree with the Fourth Turning predictions and other predictive sources that I have mentioned in my SHTF Index. Many people are pretty much convinced that the USA is under a state of collapse. The question is not “if”, but “When” and “how bad” it will be.
And let me offer some thoughts…
Metallicman commentary
There’s much I can say, and much that I cannot. But I will throw out some things to give the reader pause to contemplate…
A 70% decrease in the population signifies either [1] massive starvation, [2] a bio-weapon (i.e. smallpox. Something with a high R0 and high lethality.) WMD, or [3] A MAD level nuclear exchange with Russia.
China is “small potatoes” in regards to nuclear weapons. Their entire military is defensive in nature. They are no slouches, and could render the top ten American cities into radioactive glass. But they are not equipped to wage this kind of war with the USA. This level of destruction involves Russia.
Many people could die in an American Civil War, but not at a 70% level.
The low estimate of 600,000 is 1.91 percent of the census population. And 750,000 deaths would represent 2.38 percent of the total population. All told, the Civil War likely claimed somewhere between 2 percent and 2.5 percent of the total population.
-What Percentage of Americans Died During the Civil War ...
Starvation
Intentional starvation is the ONLY method, short of a full-on MAD-level nuclear exchange would result in these kinds of deaths. History tells us that Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot all were very successful in this effort.
In fact, the starvation of the Eastern European peoples by Stalin is exactly the kinds of events that can result in these high and terrifying numbers…
So I would have to suggest that it might be due to starvation. This is a true and real possibility. Either through the loss and destruction of crops, or transportation and distribution channels, or by pricing the foods to un-affordable levels.
Bio-Weapons
The only nation that still maintains bio-weapon inventories and development is America. Last I heard it was under the control of neocon John Bolton.
The rest of the world just simply isn’t a threat.
Russia scaled down their operations back in the 1990’s. If the Russians still have this capability I would be surprised.
China has no bio-warfare labs, nor do they train and practice in this environment. Their only concern is defense.
North Korea might have bio-weapons, but there is no actual verification of this. Iran might also have bio-weapons, but again there is no actual verification of this.
The rest of the world just simply doesn’t have the resources to develop such weapons.
Since there is a real lack of “enemies” with this capability, it is unlikely that a bio-weapon event would ever occur. The only way that it would occur is if America used the weapons against some enemy and it boomeranged back to the United States.
Nuclear
True to form, Donald Trump has been re-configuring the military to use nuclear weapons in a strategic and tactical “humane” way. If so, this could trigger the Russian “Dead Hand” system, and unleash holy Hell upon an unprepared America.
Conclusion
How many times have you wished that you invested in Google back in the day when you had a chance? How many times do you lament not buying stock in Walmart, McDonald’s, Starbucks, or Microsoft? Well the future seems to be written on the wall…
Well, it pretty much looks like anyone who is going to remain in the United States for the next ten years is in for a very exciting and dangerous time. I do hope that it does not materialize, but it looks to me that a nice small bungalow cabin in Chile might be preferable to a penthouse apartment in Los Angles, a suburban house near Portland, or a mobile home in Kentucky.
As I have stated before, if you can…
…then leave the States. At this point, it doesn’t matter where, or how ill-prepared you are. I think you all need to start making the preparations to either shelter-in-place, or bug-out to less dangerous neighborhoods.
Those top-tier oligarchy members left for their underground bunkers in early March 2020.
Their highly-paid enablers and support “armies” are all publishing articles like this one. You can well recognize that “the writing is on the wall”, and that action should be well in process by now.
What ever happens, please keep in mind that food storage is important, as is being armed with something simple and reliable and dangerous. Like a shotgun. (Forget about those AK-47 look-alike clones. They cannot hit the side of a barn.) Learn skills like first aid, and other things that can enable you to be a well liked and well-needed person in your community. And finally, stop being a lone wolf. You work as part of a community, or you will DIE.
Good wishes.
Do you want more?
Do you want to see similar posts?
I hope that you found this post curious. Please take care. You can view other similar posts in my SHTF Index, here…
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you.
I have gotten some grief by posting things about Thailand on Metallicman. But people don’t really understand. Thailand is a very spiritual and religious land, and they view sex as something natural and pure.
Not as something ugly, evil and perverted like they do in the United States.
Anyways, here are some treasures. These are micro-videos that were written, directed and take place in Thailand. If you want to have a good look at yourself, then watch these videos and note your reactions to them.
All of these videos are very short movies. Whether they are culled from actual movies or compiled on their own accord is actually unknown. But they are rather nice and exceptional in their own regard. They are about people, situations and relationships. All very Buddhist and all very Thai.
If you want to “feel the pulse” of a nation, you look at it’s society. And for Thailand, you look at the people, the families and the relationships there. I hope that these micro videos puts smiles on your faces and an appreciation for other realities and other cultures.
This is the Thailand that I know…
The is the Thailand that I know and that is hidden by all the bad press out in the West…
This is the Thailand that I know…
I really love this next movie…
And some surprises…
And for the father…
Conclusion
My father would call these movies “schmaltz” and tell me that I was wasting my time watching them. It means “excessive sentimentality, especially in music or movies.” He told me that it’s a “dog eat dog” world out there. That I have to “fight to survive” and that I must do it alone. A “Lone Wolf” style because that is what a Man does and that it is the “American Way”. And that no one is going to come to help me. That I must either succeed or fail. And everything else is just a “waste of my time”.
He was wrong.
We are all part of a community. And if everyone contributes within that community, then the entire community benefits. The lone wolf idea is a failed strategy. For it only results in the occasional lone wolf with the rest of the community struggling and destitute.
You can see this in America today. The nation that completely and absolutely embraces the “lone wolf” society is one with a mere handful of ultra-wealthy, and the rest of the nation is unhappy, destitute and not doing well at all.
And nations like China, that embraces the concept of community first is running “rings” around America. When people work together there is a synergy that transcends the individual contribution. Which has a better defensive mechanism, a lone bee, or a swarm of angry pissed-off bees?
Community. You all should be an ACTIVE participant in your respective communities.
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
Ever since last December 2019, the news out of America has been that of constant China demonization. There is nothing that China, or the Chinese could do right. That they are evil at a level unprecedented, and the only thing good about a Chinese person is if they were dead.
Ugh!
“Neocons” believe that the United States should not be ashamed to use its unrivaled power – forcefully if necessary – to promote its values around the world. Some even speak of the need to cultivate a US empire. Neoconservatives believe modern threats facing the US can no longer be reliably contained and therefore must be prevented, sometimes through preemptive military action.Most neocons believe that the US has allowed dangers to gather by not spending enough on defense and not confronting threats aggressively enough. One such threat, they contend, was Saddam Hussein and his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Since the 1991 Gulf War, neocons relentlessly advocated Mr. Hussein’s ouster.
-Neocon 101: What do Neoconservatives Believe?
Extreme?
You bet.
But that narrative is intended to drum up support for a war against China. It is immaterial if it is true or not. It just… is all part and parcel of a propaganda campaign that is needed to get Americans on a “war footing”. And make no mistake. They want another full-on World War. They want to see it [1] unify the nation against a common enemy, [2] decimate and destroy China for personal plunder, and [3] renew America as the dominant nation in the world.
Ah. There’s nothing that I can do about that. If America is going to fight another war, there’s nothing that I can do about it. I have as much power in this matter as an ant does against a stampede of rampaging elephants.
All that I can do, is duck my head. Then scurry out of the line of fire. When people ask me what I am doing and why, I point out what I am seeing, and they immediately get their shackles up! “How dare I even think such a thing!” They demand.
Fine, I say.
Bio-weapon COVID-19. The United States would NEVER…
Micro Nuke on the BRI in Lebanon. The United States would NEVER…
Arrest of industry CEOS. The United States would never…
Drones spraying swine flu to destroy Chinese Pork. The US would never…
Ordering other nations to stop trading with China. The United States would never…
Banning 5G, all Chinese phones, Chinese Apps. The USA would never…
Cut trade, communication, and travel with China. The United States would never…
What ever.
Anyways. If you cannot see what the “end game” is with all the NEOCONS in the White House, you never will. It’s pretty blatant and “in your face”.
The only question is timing.
There is a shitload of domestic issues “on the table” right now, and the China events will figure into this calculus, for better or worse. I don’t know which, honestly. After all, it is an election year.
I talked to some close friends and relatives in the USA, all rabid Trump supporters, and they pretty much told me this…
Oh, Trump will get reelected. It's a certainty.
And China. Well, the USA will hurt China really bad, and they won't be able to do anything about it, because "we hold all the cards". Trump is playing 48 D chess. He's very smart, it's just that he has a really bad habit with social media. But, disregard that. He's really, actually a genius.
Biden is such a joke. He is actually physically living inside a closet. There is no friggin' way that he'll ever become President.
It WILL be world war III, and yes, I'm aware of that. But I'm ready, and so is the United States.
I think they are all delusional.
But, I still love them anyways.
OK. Well, I came across this article on my LinkedIN feed a ways back. I thought that it was pretty good. It comes up with other things, positive things to say about China. Which pretty much makes it completely unique. How many times have you read anything positive about China in any of the American press?
I think that the world needs to look at things in a positive way.
Don’t you?
What I Love About China
Published on March 4, 2020 by Jim Nelson, President, SHI Group Recruitment. Edited to fit this venue, and all credit to the original author.
Sentiment
against China inside and out is pretty high these days. Some trends are
concerning, but much endures for me. What I love about China is quite a
bit. I am an American and have lived in China for over 20 years. I love
America and cry when we sing “I am proud to be an American, where at least I know I am free.”
However, I have found things in China that I should mention. I know these comments are generalizations and there are exceptions, but these are things I have generally found to be true. Also, many things I find here I might also have found in other developing countries. I found them here. Finally, some of these lessons may have been things this Swedish American needed to learn more than some others from the US.
What I Love About China
1. Food.
China, Italy, and Mexico are the competitors for the American stomach for a reason. China is a food culture that I love and O, do not make them late for lunch.
2. Friends.
I never knew before I moved to China that most Americans are lonely and do not even know it. What I mean is that Americans like to talk about the weather and some highlights about our kids, but we do not go much deeper.
I have an Afrikaner friend who lives in the States. He says that just when he feels the relationship is going deeper, the American will suddenly back off relationally.
Most Americans have an invisible wall that they do not recognize that no one or almost no one crosses. Remember the Simon & Garfunkel tune that says, “I am a Rock, I am an Island. I touch no one and no one touches me.”? That is America in so many ways.
We Americans do not get personal.
For example, I can talk about religious faith or how much they earn with most anyone in China whereas you cannot touch that in America or you risk losing your friend. It seems I was open to something different when I came to China and discovered that in America we did not talk deep.
I am glad to have become a deeper person here and less lonely. (Though I never knew I was lonely before I came)
3. Be part of a group.
Americans are desperately independent. Freedom has come to mean that we do not rely on anyone emotionally or otherwise. This is related to 2 it seems.
Individualism has become extreme in America. In America, I pump my own gas and never talk to a teller at the bank.
I bought a house in China and borrowed US$60,000 from my Chinese friends and not a penny from my American friends.
Friendships have traction in China.
Americans
would rather give me some money than loan any. When I first married my
Chinese wife 14 years ago, I walked around the table to get a butter
knife right behind my wife. She called me on it immediately. “Why are we
married if you do not ask for anything?”
4. Relationship ties.
Americans give free gifts. We want no tie or outstanding debt as it were.
Chinese give gifts to create and buttress their relationships.
No one talks about a free gift here. 2, 3 and 4 are related here, and I am glad to accept this new thing. I think it has made me a better person.
5. The Chinese is a deeply emotional nation.
In 2001, the American Navy sunk a Japanese fishing boat and many Japanese school students died. No government angst was aired by Japan. The Americans apologized profusely and paid all costs for the losses. The families were upset and wanted apologies and got them. No one in Japan said we did it on purpose. It was a very sad rational event actually.
In 1999, the US bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, it was all angst and blame and harsh words all across China, and no one in China even yet believes the Americans did this by accident. No students died, but three reporters did. China declared them maryters. No sense of that happened in Japan with the boat.
The Chinese people are an introverted deeply emotional people unlike the Japanese. Chinese mothers teach Tang dynasty poetry to their small children. China has a National Holiday to honor a poet who committed suicide. America honors the guy who made someone else die.
The relation between America and China is a love-hate relationship and emotional from the top government to the bottom peasant. The relationship with Japan is not love-hate. It is more like business.
I would describe the Americans as being an extroverted audacious shallow emotional country.
I would describe the Japanese as being a rational detailed private country.
The US relationship with China is invariably emotional.
Being a naturally rational person, I gained a lot from the perspective of a deeply feeling country. I learned to live in China.
6. They study history.
The Chinese are backing into the future with their eyes firmly fixed on the past. I love history and yet my countrymen had little interest. Here everything might be seen with eyes fixed on the past. Chinese when I first arrived might approach me and say “Do you love China for her 5000 years of written history?”
I have often enjoyed talking and debating history here in a land where most people still believe the South Koreans started the Korean War. Further, so hard for China to crack the habits of its past in child raising, medical thoughts and on and on.
They seem to say “Surely China could not have been wrong all these 5000 years?” They challenged me to think more about what is true and what I believe about the past.
7. Pedestrian Friendly.
I can ride a bicycle here and never need a car.
In America we must have a car as our cities are spread out and our public transportation stinks as we are desperately independent (see 3 above).
By 2013 Chinese people had stopped riding bikes, but I still do. Then out of nostalgia they started riding rental bikes but that got old fast. I still bike everywhere and love it. China is so dense that biking and walking are practical and subways and buses can fill the rest well.
8. Appreciate everything. Now.
I have learned to not take things for granted, like clean roads, and blue skies with white clouds, and clear understandable win / win relationships.
9. Happiness is an attitude. Not a place.
Happiness cannot be bought. I have seen some of the happiest faces in some of the poorest places here.
I guess I should stop. God Bless America and God Bless China, May they each learn from the other.
Conclusions
It’s a nice article. Of course it is another person’s opinion and where you live will have a lot to do with your experience. I live in Zhuhai China and every day is fresh, clean air, and blue skies. But that came with planning and strong prayer affirmation campaigns. It did not occur out of the blue.
If you are in an industrial zone, expect dirtier and grimier surroundings and a white hazy sky. It comes with the territory.
Where we live will influence your life, and your relationships.
I spent six years in Indiana, in the United States. I had a good job there, and I was making a good salary. yet, something was missing. I didn’t realize what it was until I left Indiana and moved to Mississippi, and then to Boston. It’s the people.
Boston folk are really fine open and friendly, and they might seem a bit brash and harsh, but that’s just their way of getting to know you.
Hey! You'se got a problem with that?
I am sure that Vice President Mike Pence (from Indiana) is a very nice person, but he probably doesn’t drink, he attends church regularly, and has a nice house in an upscale neighborhood. You can probably smile at him and he probably would hold the door open for you in a store, but having a deep heart-to-heart conversation with him would probably be out of the question. It’s not the Hooser way.
It’s not that, that is bad, in itself. The point is that where you live and how you associate with people is what defines the quality of our life.
Be it blue skies, fresh air, nice people that would do anything for you (including give you the shirt off their back), and cultural and social activities.
Life is what we make it.
You do not need to be constrained to live in the same area that your parents choose, nor associate with the same friends that you made in elementary school. You do not need to be stuck in a job that you chose when you were in your early 20’s, and you certainly do not need to be stuck in a relationship that is devoid of love, care, and happiness.
If the USA provides all your needs, emotional, spiritual, cultural, social and monetary, then I say there there and prosper. If that is not acceptable, then try China. And if China is not acceptable, then try another nation. Maybe Iceland. The point is that you, and you alone, define what your happiness is.
And if others don’t understand, well…
…that’s their problem.
Do you want more?
I have more posts like this in my China Index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
Rufus is the man who helped Jesus carry the cross upon which he later died. Rufus did not need to do it. He did so out of kindness and humanity. Our world, today, is reaching the end of a growth spurt. This period of growth has been long, many centuries in duration, and is now coming to a close. It is not sustainable. Mankind needs to evolve, and there are really two, and only two courses of action. You can be a productive and helpful member of society, or you can be a user who consumes and does not produce anything. Which are you?
Here are some videos (taken within China) that illustrate the kinds of things that true Rufus-being do. You might not ever be called upon, but when you are, and how you act, will determine your spot in Heaven. Mark my words.
Conclusion
The world today is a big mess. It is in a state of turmoil, and the systems that have created this mess must change for the entire population of the earth are trapped inside a car that is charging, full throttle, towards the abyss.
And fucking idiots are driving it.
Trump and Pompeo are trying to keep the world as they desire it to be.
We simply just CANNOT keep doing this like we have done in the past. They might work for a handful of people, but not for all of humanity.
Things need to change.
All change starts locally and personally. It is one person here, it is a kind word there, it is a helpful hand over there. As long as the bulk of society works towards the common good, we will be able to survive this time period and thrive.
If, however, we cling onto the selfish, the greedy, and the desire to lord power over others “I am the biggest and best!” or “You will do as I demand, or else I will…” then we are in for a Hellish experience…
And it will be very, very Hellish.
Be the Rufus or not. It’s your life, and your community. Make the decision and be the best you can be, or be the users that consume without ever producing. You can be the person who covets tons of piles of green paper, or the person that shares their meals with friends. You can be the person that holds the door open for others and puts tips in the tip jar, or you could be the person who crashes into a store demanding things be done “their way”!
You are either a contributor to society, or you are a user of resources.
The earth can no longer sustain a nine billion population of users. It can only sustain a much smaller population. And that population must be contributors to the well being of mankind.
The Basics
Remember, the world and humanity is one where the most basic of principles are maintained…
Things are being used.
People and relationships are treasured.
Today’s Normal
In all the world, where there is confusion and strife, we can see that these most basic principles have been reversed. These places, such as America, such as England, and such as Australia have adopted a skewed vision for humanity. It is one where…
People are being used.
Things are being cherished.
It is not sustainable, and the Great Reset will no longer support this philosophy.
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
As I watch from afar, I see numerous “interests” cheering for radical change inside the USA. I can see their sentiment, and for certain there are agitators and people promoting this level of extreme change. But people(!), history tells us that there is unpleasant change, and then there is REALLY UNPLEASANT CHANGE. Please be careful what you are wishing for.
Let’s look at the French Revolution. For in many ways it mirrors what the USA is going through right now…
…in many ways.
The French Revolution changed everything. France’s kings were replaced almost overnight by the most radical government the world had ever seen. France was suddenly a beacon of freedom: “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” was the motto of the revolution.
Gosh. Really, it is still used to defend liberalism today.
But the revolution wasn’t all positive.
Thousands of innocent people lost their lives and the country was torn between different groups who used force to crush rebellion. It led France into dictatorship and, eventually, back to the days of kings and serfs…
Just like what might happen to modern contemporaneous America today.
The French Revolution (The Reign of Terror) 1789-1799
The story of the French Revolution is the story of a country collapsing in on itself.
It’s unfair to compare these events to the colonial uprising of the American Revolution. That is because that conflict did not take place at the center of power, and King George wasn’t exactly removed from the throne and decapitated.
… which is kinda how things went down in France in the 1790’s.
It was a time when the hostilities between the royalty and the common folk took on a real nasty tone.
Spoiler alert: things got ugly real fast.
Towards the end of the Eighteenth Century, France was dissected into three distinct classes / estates: the Nobility, the Clergy, and the smelly broke peasants who really didn’t count (aka everyone else).
At this time in France, people of the poorer classes were members of what was called the “Third Estate” in French legislature.
This is how things had been for longer than anyone could remember, and no one really second guessed it…
At least until a dangerous new idea came along…
The Third Estate: Other
The Enlightenment was a grass-roots movement that caused the underrepresented 99% to question EVERYTHING.
It was kinda like if Morpheus was going door to door with red pills and pamphlets about how the machines are harvesting our bodies as living batteries while we’re living our lives in virtual reality.
“No one can be told what <The Enlightenment> is, you have to see it for yourself.”
The Enlightenment, or Age of Reason, was an extension of the Italian Renaissance (meaning ‘Rebirth’), which brought new emphasis on discovery, and a search for truth and meaning through critical thinking, rather than just listening to what ‘they’ wanted you to think. This began an unprecedented drive for equality and individual rights which would ultimately challenge the hierarchy of the monarchy based government system.
The Catalysts of Change Chaos
Enter: the Bourbon King, Louis XVI (yes, that’s Louis the SIXTEENTH). Prince Louis (the 16th) was a reluctant ruler, with little to no interest in politics…
…then, suddenly he became the default king of France during the worst crisis of his country’s history in 1765.
The Bourbon monarchy reigned from the palace of Versailles.
This was Louis the 14th’s palatial estate. It was built 20 miles outside the districts of Paris, the nation’s capitol. Which was pretty handy. It was close enough for royal Kingly duties, yet far enough away from the stench of its open sewer system, and the complaints of the commoners.
This truly monstrous mansion would put every single house on MTV’s Cribs to shame.
Versailles: a 2,300 room, gold-plated, Sixty-Seven-THOUSAND-Square-Meter estate of PURE unadulterated EXCESS.
Versailles: Extravagance personified.
Not only did Louis get to be King, and live in a gigantic theme park dedicated to him…
…but he also married the young and beautiful, (albeit a little ditzy), Marie Antoinette, the Archduchess of Austria, in 1770. Louis XVI had won the lottery of arranged marriages and couldn’t really care either way.
Marie Antoinette: Madame Deficit
Meanwhile, back in the real world: France was simmering in a toxic mixture of hunger, and anger.
Enormous fiscal mismanagement
On July 11, 1789, finance minister Jacques Necker, who was already not in good standing with the King, was fired for suggesting that the royal family go on a budget to help conserve funds.
To make matters exponentially worse, the French lost against Great Britain during the Seven Years War in North America, effectively draining the bank as it were.
They took all the money in the Treasury and used it on wars, and the salaries of the military forces.
Much like how the United States has been draining the Treasury on an endless expanse of wars and military policing activities.
The French people were the ones who ultimately paid the price, starving in the streets while their privileged leaders partied around the clock like it was already 1999.
Then, when America rose up against France’s long term nemesis (they were still bitter about that whole Hundred Years War affair), Louis further bankrupted the country to send money and troops to help out the revolutionary colonists, an oversight that worked out rather well in America’s interest, but not so much for the French people.
All the while, Louis’s Queen (Marie Antoinette), ran up the credit card bills with her increasingly extravagant purchases to the point where she earned the title: Madame Deficit.
France had grown significantly in a short period of time, putting increased pressure on the government. Bakery raids, and riots swept the country. So between the food shortage, increased taxes, economic crisis, and political discourse, France was one gamma-inducing-accident away from Hulking out.
Maximilian Robespierre
That’s when a man named Maximilian Robespierre, leader of the Third Estate, came forth as the voice of the poor and disenfranchised.
You might want to consider the "Third Estate" to be the party of the "common man". It's closest equivalent would be the American Democrat Party.
Max reasonably demanded that the wealthy paid their fair share in taxes.
In his address, he blamed the royal court for their pile of problems, and essentially called Louis XVI a greedy jerk, which he definitely was.
Maximilian Robespierre
The Oligarchy refuses to listen
“A great revolution is never the fault of the people, but of the government.”
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1789: During an appeal to the courts, the nobility and clergy completely ignored their pleas.
Since legal channels didn’t work, they decided to take a different route.
The representatives of the Third Estate got up during the meeting, and simply walked out.
Well, that didn’t sit well.
After being locked out of a meeting, the members of the Third Estate regrouped outside the court house in a tennis court (randomly), and announced an Oath against the King’s authority and formed The National Assembly.
The aptly named Tennis Court Oath was basically like a French version of the Declaration of Independence.
Perhaps some compromises might help…
King Louis, unsure of how to proceed, attempted to make both sides happy, which he failed to do, on both ends.
Then as a last step, he called in troops from abroad to ‘keep the peace’. Within days 30,000 troops surrounded Paris.
Sort of like how President Trump had called up the DHS and Border Patrol troops to seize people off the streets in Portland, Oregon.
In response, The People formed a guard to fight the power!
Sheer revolt had taken hold at long last. Paris erupted into violence as the people of Paris demanded retribution. Revolution had come at last, and things were about to get fugly…
The only problem? The make-shift militia had plenty of muskets…
…but not much in the way of ammo…
The solution: Raid the Armory!!!
The French Revolt!
Spurred on by these factors, on the morning of July 14, 1789, members of the Third Estate stormed the Bastille, a political prison in Paris, in search of gunpowder.
The Bastille, though only housing seven prisoners, was a symbol of government tyranny at the time. The assault on the Bastille is now considered a flashpoint of the Revolution, and is still celebrated today in France.
“Storm the Bastille!” they cried (in French, presumably).
And so the 99% marched towards the Bastille, ready to dish out some old school justice on some fools.
The Bastille was a literal fortress. It was a tall dark fortress with an enormous dungeon that symbolized the monarchy’s absolute power, and the citizens of Paris were about to tear it apart, quite literally brick by brick!
Storm the Bastille!
“Enough is enough!” – a French Revolutionary
The soldiers stationed at the Bastille crapped their collective pants as the entire population of Paris came down on them shouting ‘Vive La France!’
Those that were too stupid to abandon their posts met a gruesome death at the hands, knives, and pitchforks of the angry mob that swarmed the castle like a colony of killer bees!
Afterwards the amount of blood splashed on the walls and pooling on the floor become a symbol for the “revolution!”.
The mob reaches the palace.
Meanwhile, ¡Vive la Revolución! had reached the gates of Versailles.
The angry mob of mothers and bakers tore into the palace, pillaging the flour storage… and royal blood!
Accounts of the time claim that more than one of the palace guards was literally ripped limb from limb.
According to an urban myth of the time, when Marie Antoinette was approached by her servants about the starving, angry, people rioting outside, the Queen dismissively pointed to the leftovers from the party, and told her advisors, “Let them eat cake.”
As funny as that is, she never actually said it.
In reality Marie was shocked.
She had no idea just how bad things had gotten, from her sheltered lifestyle in the palace.
Some claim that as she was running for her life, she may have said something in panic, along the lines of “If they’re hungry, can’t we give them some Brioche?” not fully grasping the severity of the situation.
Surrender!
King Louis XVI looked out the window, saw the torches and pitchforks, and immediately set about dipping his quill in ink to sign their Declaration of the Rights of Man, relinquishing his power.
The King and Queen attempted to sneak away, but were captured, and marched unceremoniously back to Paris in a parade of revolutionaries waving red, white, blue…
… oh and the severed heads of the royal guards on pikes.
The National Assembly took control of the system, aristocracy was thrown out for democracy (by extreme means) and a Constitutional Monarchy was established by the people of France.
Now…
Now…
If you think that’s the happy end of our triumphant story you’re dead wrong.
Now, we get to the entire point of this.
It is now 2020. America is in a state of upheaval, and the ruling Oligarchy are oblivious. The actions taken are "half-measures" and doomed to fail. Soon, one way or the other, a successful change will come about, and when it does, there will be a period of readjustment.
Consider the readjustment that occurred during the French Revolution...
The REIGN OF TERROR Begins…
The Reign of Terror.
In 1791, the King and Queen attempted an escape to Austria, disguised as servants. Unfortunately they kinda sucked at acting. They were found out, arrested, and dragged back to Paris to await trial.
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette kept their identities secret from the people of France, and only guests who stayed at Versailles really knew what they looked like. This came in handy during the Revolution as the pair tried to make their escape, but there was one flaw in the plan: the king’s face was stamped on all gold coinage. They made it as far as the border before being recognized.
All the while, Jon Paul Marat became the voice of the Revolution. As it turns out, Marat was a voice of insanity.
Jon Paul Marat
His solution to every problem was the rolling of heads.
In his newspaper (entitled, “The Friend of the People”), he claimed that betrayal was everywhere.
He was sort of the Alex Jones / Bill O Reilly of Eighteenth Century France.
Jon Paul Marat demanded the execution of hundreds, and when that wasn’t enough, he upped it to hundreds of thousands!!
As it turns out, people believed every angry word he put into his one-sided tabloid, and took up arms to carry out his will…
The September Massacre
1792: War breaks out between Prussia and Austria!
The Revolution back home in France takes a turn for the worse: The September Massacre – 1600 prisoners are slaughtered by crazed revolutionaries.
Many are given quick, biased show-trials before being hanged, or worse. Enemies of the revolution are made an example of. Criminals and aristocrats alike are killed without mercy.
A noble woman, Charlotte Corday, eventually got sick of all the death and destruction brought about by Jean-Paul Marat’s poisonous words.
So with a concealed knife she set about silencing him.
Charlotte shanked Marat (in the bathtub, mob-style) with hopes of bringing peace to her country.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way…
… seeing as who he was, he suddenly become praised as a martyr…
…which only made things much, much worse.
Jon Paul Marat’s famous death.
Eat This: Guillotine Cuisine!
Speaking of bloodshed… There was A LOT of it going around, which was not only work, but (as you can imagine) created quite a mess.
The French janitors were tired of mopping up crimson streets.
Turns out, Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin had just the invention to streamline the whole mass execution process. His shiny new killing machine was christened, ‘The Guillotine’!
The Guillotine was created as a ‘humane’ form of decapitation. I can only imagine Doctor Guillotine giving a demonstration like a day time TV commercial, “It’s quick, efficient, (effortless), and ‘painless’!” CHOP! (Thud.)
The Guillotine was placed in the center of a town square in Paris, for all to see. This unsanitary death-dealing device soon became the bloody symbol of the French Revolution, with a name that evokes a cross between a pro-wrestler and a death-metal band: “The Nation’s Razor”!!
The Nations Razor.
Maximillian Robespierre, a former adversary of the death penalty, did a 360, flip flopping with the times, and became the Guillotine’s most outspoken supporter overnight.
Robespierre would help fulfill Marat’s blood lust as the people demanded it.
By the end of the century, 40,000 would lose their heads to the dreaded Guillotine!
Peasants looted and burned homes of tax collectors and landlords in what became known as “The Great Fear.” Many nobles fled France at this time, fearful of the rebellion. This inspired the end of feudalism, which was officially abolished on August 4, 1789.
Death of the King
1793: The King is tried as a traitor. He is declared guilty of treason.
The punishment: Death.
Both King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette were beheaded during the Revolution. The king was beheaded on January 12, 1793. Marie Antoinette followed her husband to “The National Razor” on October 16, 1793. Her last words were “I'm sorry”—not to the people, but to her executioner; she had accidentally stepped on his foot.
A few argued that the death of the former King would only excuse violence as a means to happiness. Those who spoke against it however were drowned out by the savage calls for his head.
King Louis, the 16th, was led to the maroon-stained scaffold.
He turned to his people in remorse and attempted to give a dignified final speech.
The crowd toned him out, booing and throwing rotten cabbage. They had come for blood (especially those in the splash zone).
Poor Marie Antoinette was also put on trial. When she was brought into the courtroom, she barely resembled her former self, as a list of made-up charges was rattled off. At 38 her hair had gone gray while awaiting her sentencing in a dungeon.
She too was led to the Guillotine.
“Whose next?”
It wasn’t all smooth sailing: the so-called “Reign of Terror” followed the initial revolutionary events, starting from around 1793 and ending with the fall of Robespierre in 1794. During the Reign of Terror, many political dissidents or perceived enemies of the Revolution were executed. Between June 1793 and July 1794, there were 16,594 official death sentences across France.
Britain takes advantage of the situation
Then, without warning, Britain began invading and panic filled the streets! (More so then before.)
An emergency government was put in place, the constitution suspended, and a police force of spies were institutionalized.
A revolutionary tribunal – a 12 men council – the ironically titled ‘the Committee of Public Safety’ was a collective dictatorship.
The government became extremely paranoid.
The Catholic Church was abolished, religious icons and statues were destroyed, thousands of priests drowned.
People were rounded up and sent to the guillotine on the most mundane of charges. Even a lack of enthusiasm could be seen as traitorous.
The Reign of Terror was in full swing.
France becomes a dictatorship
Maximillian Robespierre implemented dictatorial powers, declared himself the supreme ruler, and made lists upon lists of people to kill.
“Terror without Virtue is disastrous. But, Virtue without Terror is powerless!”
-Maximillian Robespierre spoke before his groupies.
In 1794, Robespierre helped sponsor a cult based on the Goddess of Reason in place of Christianity.
In his free time he established a new holiday: The Festival of the Supreme Being.
During the festivities, Maximillian Robespierre symbolically descended from atop a paper-machete mountain in the clouds, clad in robes.
This was seen as a thinly veiled attempt at making himself appear divine.
Though, in general, people were convinced that he’d lost his marbles, and began to get suspicious.
Robespierre chose this moment to deliver a speech of threats, with an all new list of enemies against the Republic.
The best way to tell what side a man was on was to check out his clothing. The French nobility wore knee-length silk breeches, whereas the lower class militiamen wore long trousers, short-skirted coats, clogs, and red caps that symbolized liberty.
This (of course) backfired in his face when the people flipped out and silenced him.
He was immediately arrested, and sentenced to death before he could finish reading off his latest hit list.
While in captivity, Robespierre attempted suicide. His advisors succeeded, but Max only managed to shoot off his jaw. The revolutionaries carted him off to the guillotine to finish the job for him.
As poetic justice would have it, Maximillian Robespierre was killed by his own revolution. FAIL
Maximillian Robespierre guillotined.
Enter… Napoleon
By 1804, a guy by the handle of Napoleon had risen through the ranks from General to Emperor.
On November 9, 1799 Bonaparte staged a coup d’état that abolished the Directory, the government in power at the time; he then pronounced himself as “first consul” of France. This event ended the French Revolution proper and began the Napoleonic era in France.
France had gone full circle, trading one monarchy for another.
After the rise and fall of Napoleon, the other European powers reestablished a constitutional monarchy in France.
King Louis XVIII (the 18th) was followed by Charles X (not to be confused with Professor Charles Xavier), and Emperor Napoleon III. During this time France would go on to have a few more Revolutionary movements.
The subsequent French Revolutions were minor in comparison to the first, and were by and large unsuccessful:
The July Revolution of 1830
The June Rebellion of 1832 (which was a complete disaster – as seen in the play / multiple movie adaptations of ‘Les Misérables’, by Victor Hugo)
The French Revolution of 1848.
The last of which established the Second Republic of France, which lasted until Napoleon the Third’s coup in 1851, effectively establishing the Second French Empire.
The Second French Empire eventually collapsed…
… and the Third Republic of France was established in 1870.
Everything was peachy until of course World War II when Hitler’s Nazi Party went around their massive defensive perimeter (the Maginot Line) to invade and temporarily conquer France (1940-1944).
The *FOURTH* Republic of France that followed ended up imploding in 1958 due to the Algerian Crisis (long story) to finally be replaced by the current administration:
The FIFTH (and Final?) Republic of France.
THE (first) French Revolution may have been a bloody mess that seemingly accomplished little, but it’s arguable that it had a greater impact on the world at large than the American Revolution, by challenging the old ways, and making way for the modern era.
In the end, the French Revolution would lead to a century full of instability, with two more Revolutions taking place. The country would be governed as a dictatorship, republic, constitutional monarchy, and two different empires before reaching equilibrium.
The Beheading Louis XVI
The beheading of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette was one of the biggest events of the French Revolution, but it didn’t have to happen.
Before he was king, Louis XVI was quiet, dedicated to his studies and painfully shy. It took him seven years to consummate his marriage to the beautiful and intimidating Hapsburg heiress.
When he became king he was cautious and indecisive, eager to be loved. In another age he would have been a great king, but he was entirely unsuited to the political crisis of the time.
People around him took advantage of his weakness to seize more power.
Louis was little more than a figurehead.
It was no surprise when the new government voted to abolish the monarchy shortly after.
Some revolutionaries argued against executing Louis, but the revolution was in full swing and the public hated him. Louis XVI was killed by guillotine in January 1793.
Louis XVIguillotined.
The move shocked many across the world since Louis had always been seen as a moderate king. His death enraged nearby European countries and led to a war that might have been avoided. He faced his death fearlessly: with his final breath, he forgave those who condemned him and hoped that no more blood would be spilled.
The Toppling Of Statues
Executing Louis wasn’t enough: later that year, the rebels decided to remove all trace of the old kings from the country.
They started with the tombs of St Denis, the traditional resting place of France’s royals.
To begin with, the masons were happy just to destroy the old Carolingian statues and other symbols of royalty.
Destruction of Statues in America in 2020.
But within a month they were hammering into the old vault that held the kings from the House of Bourbon.
When they were in, they started destroying the old coffins.
Some of the kingly remains were put on public display, while others were dumped into a large burial pit, to cries of joy from the crowd.
Many people came to watch—so many that the laborers struggled to do their work. According to eyewitnesses, members of the crowd grabbed at the bodies when they could, taking stray hairs, teeth and other things as personal mementos.
These acts were later condemned both within France and across the world, but by that time it was too late.
Destruction of Statues in America in 2020.
After the Bourbon Restoration, the kings were retrieved from the pit and moved to the crypt in the basilica, but the damage was already done: many of the kings were unrecognisable.
The Law of Suspects
The revolution started because the rebels wanted everyone to be free and equal.
After they won, though, their anger didn’t come to an end: instead, they started hunting down anyone who might be a threat.
This period is now known as the Reign of Terror, and it resulted in thousands of innocent deaths.
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror started with the Law of Suspects, which granted the government the power to accuse pretty much anyone of being a rebel.
They attacked the priests, who were driven underground—for a while, being Catholic was actually illegal. In the end, anyone who might have been connected to the old nobles could be imprisoned and executed.
Over two years around 500,000 people were accused—a huge number for the time.
So many were accused, in fact, that the prisons were too full and people had to be put under house arrest.
Though most were eventually allowed to walk free, around 16,000 people were killed—and many thousands more died in prison.
Under the law, anyone whose “conduct, relations or language [showed them to be] partisans of tyranny … and enemies of liberty” was arrested and put on trial.
The city of Lyon backed the moderate Girondins, a group who were part of the revolution but were not as bloodthirsty as the others.
The rebel leaders considered Lyon a centre of royalist support, so they laid siege to it in 1793.
Over the course of the fighting over 2,000 people were killed in Lyon and the city was conquered. The revolutionaries had won, but they had further plans for the city.
In October, the National Convention issued a decree calling for Lyon to be destroyed.
Everyone who lived in Lyon was to have their weapons taken away.
They would be given to revolutionaries.
Any building “inhabited by the wealthy” was to be torn down, leaving only the homes of the poor, factories, and some monuments.
They even planned to purge the city’s name from history.
The city’s name would be erased: Lyon would be called Liberated City (Ville Affranchie) instead. They planned to build a column with an inscription on it saying: “Lyon made war on Liberty; Lyon is no more.”
Fortunately, this project was never finished.
The Girondins Executed
France’s new government had two main groups: the Girondins and the Montagnards.
Girondins – Moderates
Montagnards – Extremists
The Girondins were moderates: they wanted to build a free, capitalist, democratic country where everyone had a say in how they were ruled—regardless of who they were.
They were supported across France but the people of Paris liked the Montagnards more.
They were extremists who “wanted everything leveled”.
Anyone seen as elite had to give up their status or be executed. The groups got along well to begin with, but fell out over Louis’s death. The Montagnards wanted to kill him, but the Girondins wanted the country to vote on it. The Montagnards said they were plotting to save the king and called them traitors.
Things boiled over on the streets of Paris.
A group of soldiers and citizens surrounded the government buildings and demanded the Girondins be kicked out of the government.
The Montagnards duly did so.
Some Girondins were able to escape, but a few months later, those who were left were rounded up and guillotined.
Many Girondins guillotined.
The Drownings at Nantes
The city of Nantes was a center of revolution, but much of the countryside surrounding it was royalist. The region rose up in rebellion, leading to the Battle of Nantes. After this, the new French government decided to purge the city of anyone who still supported the monarchy.
To do this, they sent Jean-Baptiste Carrier, one of their most committed supporters.
Jean-Baptiste Carrier.
Jean-Baptiste took his job very seriously. In around five months, between 12,000 and 15,000 people were killed by his order.
Nantes lies on the Loire, which Jean-Baptiste called “the national bathtub”.
He and his men built special boats called lighters which were specifically designed for drowning prisoners.
The captives would be shackled to each other, often naked, and herded onto the boats—which had trap doors on the bottom.
The boats were then sunk with the prisoners on board. The elderley, pregnant women and children were all drowned without distinction.
In the end Jean-Baptiste’s methods were too extreme even for the revolution: he was recalled to Paris by the Committee of Public Safety, put on trial and executed by guillotine.
Jean-Baptisteguillotined.
The Law of 22 Prairial
Over the course of the Reign of Terror, thousands of people were imprisoned, some for absurd reasons. By June 1794, the prisons of France—particularly Paris—were overcrowded, so action had to be taken.
Robespierre and his allies drafted a new law which would allow trials to be concluded much quicker: they pushed this law through the Convention and it was passed on 10 June 1794.
It meant that people could be put on trial for simple things like ‘spreading fake news’ or ‘seeking to inspire discouragement’.
Citizens were expected to confront or report their neighbors if they expressed any kind of opposition to the government.
When these people were put on trial, they weren’t treated fairly: the judges and jury only had three days to come to a conclusion, and they had to choose whether to allow the accused to go free or be put to death.
This new law marked the beginning of the Grand Terror.
Executions per day increased dramatically across France, and most of those killed were undoubtedly innocent. The Grand Terror came to an end after two months, but not because people were horrified by the killings.
No, the new law had also made it so members of the Convention could now be put on trial. Looking to preserve their own skins, the members of the Convention removed Robespierre and guillotined him, bringing an end to the killings.
Robespierre guillotined.
The Massacre in the Vendee
The revolution was supposed to be a movement that freed the French lower classes and gave them liberty and security.
But anyone who opposed the new government was harshly punished, even those who were lower class.
In the early days, the church was singled out for its wealth and excess.
The revolutionary government veered between atheism and a new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, but they were united in their desire to destroy the old Catholic system.
In the Vendee, however, the people rose up to protect their priests and churches from the new revolutionary government.
When the government ordered them to form a conscript military unit, they rebelled, joining together in local militias which were collectively known as the Catholic and Royal Army. This alarmed the new government, who sent the army to tackle the problem. After a series of pitched battles, the Catholic and Royal Army was defeated.
But the government didn’t stop there.
Determined to prevent another such uprising, the government sent General Louis Marie Turreau with twelve columns of troops to destroy to Vendee. Farms, villages, supplies and forests were destroyed, and the soldiers killed without restriction.
When it was over, General Francois Joseph Westermann wrote a letter back to the government saying:
“There is no more Vendée… According to the orders that you gave me, I crushed the children under the feet of the horses, massacred the women who, at least for these, will not give birth to any more brigands. I do not have a prisoner to reproach me. I have exterminated all.”
“Scorched Earth” on the Vendee.
The Law of the Maximum
Unlike many other atrocities on this list, the Law of the Maximum was implemented with good intentions—though the government was forced to do it. One of the biggest reasons people joined the rebellion in the first place was because food was too expensive, but by 1793 even the basics were going back up in price.
The enrages, a collection of anti-elite protestors who might today be called Marxists, argued that the nobility had been replaced by greedy merchants. Action was needed to take away their wealth and help the poor.
The government passed the Law of the Maximum in response.
It set a maximum price for goods, from bread and wine to iron and shoes.
Merchants had to display a list of prices outside their stores and, if any of their prices were above the maximum, they would be fined. Instead of going to the government, the fine went to whoever informed the authorities about the illegal pricing, encouraging people to rat out merchants who ignored the law.
It had a disastrous impact on France.
While merchants did reduce their prices, it left them with almost no money.
The less honest shopkeepers began watering down their goods, disguising ash as ground pepper, starch as sugar and pear juice as wine.
Farmers in rural areas began hoarding their produce because they couldn’t get a good enough price in the cities, meaning that people in the cities starved.
The result was a black market where the rich could still buy the goods they needed, while the poor had no access to food at all.
These famines were fixed temporarily when the government sent soldiers to take food from the farmers and bring it to the city by force, but this only caused more unrest.
The September Massacres
Or, in other words, the whole-scale slaughtering of all the prisoners in all the jails and prisons throughout France…
After Louis was killed, the government fell into chaos. No-one knew who was in charge. In the meantime the Paris Commune, who were supported by the armed mob, had all the power. Chaos reigned as the new government fought over who should be in power, alongside issues like the economy, the army, and the justice system.
What dominated, however, was a fear of counter-revolutionary backlash.
The new movement had been denounced in Britain, Austria and Prussia, and war loomed on the horizon.
Meanwhile, French royalists were gathering support in other parts of the country.
The revolutionaries feared that, if a royalist army was to attack Paris, the new revolutionary government would fall.
In particular, they came to believe that the inmates of the city’s prisons would join with the counter-revolutionaries if given a chance. These fears were exacerbated when it came time for the new army to leave the city, with the people believing it would leave the city vulnerable to a prison break.
Between the 2nd and 6th of September 1792, the inmates were attacked by revolutionary mobs, with over 1000 being killed in the space of a single day.
Half the city’s entire prison population was massacred, with corpses left mutilated in the streets.
The revolutionary government sent letters to regional governments saying that conspirators in the city’s prisons had been executed. The act was repeated elsewhere: murders of prisoners took place in 75 of France’s 83 departments.
Conclusion
History can be interesting.
This is especially true if you are living through a time period that would most certainly be put into the history books.
This is 2020. A revolution has been brewing for some time, and (rightly so) many people are beginning to recognize the start of this period in America as 2008 when the banks fell, and massive financial fraud was committed. Now, the chain of events are starting to accelerate and it’s starting to look like elements of numerous historical catastrophes are starting to converge within America…
The Wall Street Crash.
The Fall of the Roman Empire.
The collapse of the Soviet Union.
…and…
The French Revolution.
Most certainly the elements are all there, and I cannot tell you what will happen. But I can paint some broad “brush strokes” for you all to ponder…
Do not expect any election to change anything substantially. It will only change form, but it will still keep moving in the same direction.
Things are going to get worse before they get better. We have not yet reached the peak.
When it appears that the old order has been toppled, and a new order is forming, that is when the REAL DANGERS will start to appear.
Expect some kind of foreign war or military action to distract attention. Expect a villainization of some nation, race or people. But note that it will not really work the way it is intended to.
The implementation of all the strife and chaos will not be uniform. It will be patchy, with some areas more dangerous than others.
Who survived the French Revolution?
Not the oligarchy, nor those that lead the revolution. Not those that were “moderate”. The survivors were those that lived outside the cities that also had strong connections with friends and families within their communities.
The American culture of “lone wolf” and “every man for himself” will be problematic at this time. I do not advise it. instead I strongly advise the formation of small tightly knit communities that share and work together.
I recommend the following…
Stay away from crowds.
Do not get involved in politics at any level.
Practice strong provisioning, and practice familial disciplines.
Be a member of your local community.
Offer your time, resources, and supplies to your community. Think of it as an extended family.
Do you want some more?
Do you want to see similar posts?
I hope that you found this post curious. Please take care. You can view other similar posts in my SHTF Index, here…
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you.
I have some things to say. So brace yourself. I’ve got some strong ideas about life, happiness, peace, freedom, and liberty. I also have ideas about property, hamburgers, beer, wine, and pizza. So fortify yourself with some strong drink and something to crunch upon. Here we go…
You know, the sole purpose of government is to protect it’s citizenry.
That is it.
Nothing else matters. It should make sure that the people are fine and living life, or as they used to say in the United States, being in the “pursuit of happiness“.
Now, this can mean many things, but most fundamentally it means that the people are protected from thieves, robbers, and hoodlums. It also means that they are protected from other nations who might which to perform large-scale robbery, rape, and crimes against people, property, and things.
Different nations handle this differently.
Some (like early America) were small, and provided only the necessities.
Others believed in a central government that controlled everything.
While others set up military empires that pretty much ran the nation through strength.
And still others have varying degrees of “democratic” rule.
All nations change over time. Sometimes those changes are gradual, and sometimes those changes are rapid and violent. But change is the norm in human society and it’s high time that America starts to experience some of the long-delayed changes that have been building up for decades, if not centuries.
America today is an oligarchy (PTB) run military empire undergoing the pains of social, financial, economic, and leadership contraction.
It’s painful to watch.
Because…
Fundamentally, at the most basic level, a nation that cannot protect its people and that cannot provide for its people is no longer a nation. It is a dysfunctional “something”. It might have a flag, and passports and colored lines on a geographic map, but functionally it has ceased being a nation.
It’s people can see this.
And when they can no longer rely on the police and the government to protect them, they make changes. They seek means of protecting themselves. One of the greatest indicators in a loss of respect and confidence in a nation is when the citizens start buying up firearms and weapons.
When the government can no longer protect it’s people, the people try to protect themselves. they purchase guns and ammunition.
Most of the citizens in a dysfunctional nation can see this.
Only those living within protective enclaves of the elite are unable to see this. Yet, over time, even they too can see what is going on, and those with the necessary means, flee. They construct safe places far away and abandon the nation under collapse.
Those that remain behind have only two options available to them…
Accept the status quo and adapt.
Or change the nation into something that is functional.
If you, for whatever reason, are unable to participate or accept these options then you must leave. Because no matter how you look at it, there is going to be trying times ahead.
And things could get… uncomfortable.
Things can get uncomfortable when there is no order, no skills, and when laws are not followed. Accidents can happen. Both accidental and intentional.
There were numerous people writing articles arguing that you should construct a “life boat” and leave before things get worse. I was one of them. Here’s another fellow named Llpoh. He wrote an article about escape a few years back, and now he revisits it with some interesting insight…
The following article is from the Burning Platform Blog. In it he revisits an earlier article that he wrote titled “Llpoh: Get Out While You Can”. This article updates it with the day to day craziness that is the norm in America today. It’s a pretty sobering look at what the USA is, or what it has become. All credit to the original author.
Llpoh: Get Out While You Can, Revisited
Just under two years ago I wrote the article that follows. It garnered a lot of comments, and I encourage you to revisit them to see how well they have stood the test of time. The original article can be found here:
If anything, I was far too optimistic in my assessment. It is now too late to get out, as you can easily see. I did what I could to sound the alarm. I told you so, and it brings me no pleasure (well, maybe a little) to say that.
Interestingly, there are a number of posters on the original thread that said they would fight when the time came. I called bullshit then and still do. Things are far worse today than then, but no fighting is happening.
None.
The other side is better organized, and they are marching armed and un-impeded wherever they choose. It looks more and more like the normal folks are surrendering without even a dying whimper. Much as I suspected and predicted. It is not a criticism, just a statement of fact. The left and the minorities have won. If the Hispanics ever join the leftist march, it is well and truly over.
Does anyone see a way out?
The $5 trillion or more yearly deficit, the loss of Liberty to the pandemic, the acquiescence of all organizations and businesses to the demands of the left, the inability to even argue with a black person without losing your job, the loss of freedom of movement, the ability of the radicals to commandeer interstate highways and cities without so much as a “that is illegal” from elected officials, the erasure of history, the inability to defend your person or property, etc., are just some of the thousands of examples that show the normals have lost.
If they are not standing up now, then it is not going to happen.
Because this is as bad as it gets.
Oh, it can get worse, but when you have reached Hell, and you have, it is just the particular level in Hell that is the question.
So the question is – does anyone see a way out? And if so what is it. Because there is nothing happening now that I can see. Please give me some hope. I sure could use it about now. I just do not see it.
This is the text of the original article, for reference:
LLPOH: Get Out While You Can
I am currently stateside. It has been a few years, and I had to take care of some business. My wife and I have revisited some of our favorite spots, and caught up with some family. We have driven through some of God’s finest works. There is no more beautiful landscape anywhere on earth than the west coast, Route 66, southern Colorado, the Badlands, etc.
That said, I say this most sincerely, and with great sorrow. Those of you who can, get out now.
Discussing what to do over drinks.
What I have seen leads me to depression, and there is no road back for the US, in my opinion.
The blinkered people, the tax collectors roadside (police everywhere collecting taxes), the tax collecting at every opportunity, the welfare state, the severe drop in service at restaurants, the tattoos, the green hair, the lard-asses everywhere, the severe over-population of great swathes of the country, the hideous media out only to inflame, and not to report, the aged and infirm working at whatever jobs they can find, the homeless everywhere, the beggars, the filth roadside, the severe health issues seen at every turn (people everywhere too fat to walk, carrying oxygen, diabetes inflicted, toothless), casinos one after another, hideous roads, etc. ad naseum, lead me to but one conclusion: the US is fucked. It grieves me to say it. It disgusts me to see it.
Of all of these things, the most serious is the blinkered people. They have no insight, no curiosity, no sense of understanding of the world, no vision of anything outside their tiny bubble.
Put together a “bug out bag”.
There are far too many people. California has 40 million, almost double that of Australia, which is more or less the size of the lower 48. I struggle to breathe around such masses.
I can feel the desperation wherever I go, but the people cannot see that they cause their own issues by living far beyond their means, with leased cars and pickups, and mortgaged to the hilt.
I spoke with many relying on pensions, who do not realize the precariousness of their positions. I ask how well funded are their plans, and they stare at me mouths agape, unable to even grasp the question.
If you have the means then use them and go to a safe place.
I spoke to many business owners, who are so angry it defies belief. To a man, they are wanting to throw in the towel. The government has choked them to death, and dealing with employees is killing them day by day. One has seven lawsuits going and has been sued 25 times. He services equipment for other companies. Whenever an idiot maims someone with the equipment he services, he gets roped into the lawsuit. The equipment never fails, but some idiot, not employed by him, runs over someone, and he gets sued, guilty by association.
The immigration policy of the US is helping destroy the country. As a reference point, Australia takes a couple hundred thousand immigrants a year, talent-based. Talent based. Compare that to the US insanity.
On and on it goes.
Pick a destination and leave.
So I say this. Get out if you can. I recommend New Zealand or Australia. Others might recommend somewhere else. These countries have issues, but they are a few decades behind those that the US has. If not that, then if possible move away from the big cities.
My Concluding Thoughts
Ai! The USA is certainly a big mess.
I know, I left it and ended up in my “life boat” in China. You might hate China, but most people who do, do so out of ignorance. They just don’t know what I know, or what China is like.
I can tell you one thing, though…
China is a functional nation, run by serious people, who do not play. They invest in their people and in their society. They honor their traditions and make sure that they are preserved. All of them, including the 80+ minority groups. It’s beautiful here. The sky is blue, the trees are lush green, the ocean is a rainbow of light blues to dark greens, and all the flowers are vibrant and sweet.
The people are relaxed, and nice. The roads are new and well maintained. The police are alert and there are many freedoms that most Americans have long given up ages ago.
But that is my story.
What is obvious is that the United States is a mess and the elite in positions of power are so “off the grid” in reality that they don’t know if they are coming or going. It can only get worse before it gets better.
If you are stuck in the United States right now, I would suggest that you fortify your home, stockpile supplies, and practice, practice and practice. While it might not end up as a shooting hot conflict, that is (after all) the historical norm. Be prepared.
I would suggest that you fortify your home, set up strong fencing, add strong metal doors, and 2×4 barricades that you can put in place. Hide your supplies and plant shrubbery to hide your home from view.
Do not expect things to get better.
In fact, I argue, that if suddenly things did get better, then I would dig a hole in the ground and hide. For it is possible that even worse things are down the road.
It’s long past the time for “temporary fixes” and “band-aides” and other “kick the can down the road” solutions.
Things have run out.
We all can see the wreck that the United States is today. We can see that the entire government is dysfunctional, that the police are either dangerous or useless, and that the leadership are nothing but greedy evil people who will sell you out in a heartbeat.
It’s game over!
It’s game over.
Things have run out. The end of the road is getting clearer with each passing day.
As the car barrels down the highway and pumping the breaks no longer work… you can see the signs on the highway that read “Dead End”, “Road Closed”, “Bridge Out”, and…
..and when your car crashes through the wooden roadblock and sprinters of the sign are all over the windshield…
… Like RIGHT NOW…
You realize that perhaps it’s too late.
Maybe you should jump out of the speeding car. Even though it is going 60 mph on a twisty and winding road…
Even though you might get scratched in the process, it will probably be far safer than getting trapped inside the car as it goes engine first diving onto the rocky shores below.
…
If you are stuck and trapped in the United States right now, I would advise living a quiet low-key life. You would need to tone down your internet presence. Keep your private home and personal life quiet. Keep your political opinions quiet. Blend in, and then only come out when the “all clear” siren sounds.
Only come out when it is safe to come out.
Do you want more?
Do you want to see similar posts?
I hope that you found this post curious. Please take care. You can view other similar posts in my SHTF Index, here…
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you.
I have been putting this post off for a while. You see, in order to explain everything, I needed to lay a pretty thick initial foundations for others to follow and track what needs to be said. In previous posts I have explained bits and pieces. I have added some connections between the various pieces, and laid the foundation for my actual role.
And now, with that foundation firmly put in place, I can finally get to the “nitty-gritty”. Those of you who have been waiting for this moment might discover it as a kind of anti-climax, but that’s the way it is. To fully understand things, you must know why everything happens as it does. Thus this post.
What did ya think?
You thought that there were no secrets held by the US government? Is that what you thought? Or that only attractive people became secret agents? Or that “important” people like Barrack Obama would know everything that is going on? Or that anything related to UFO’s involve “reptillians”, or that (of course) only vaulted humanities professors at major universities were privileged in knowing the full scope of extraterrestrial visitations? Is that what you thought?
Nope.
We want to believe that life is action packed and exciting. Sort of like how the movie "Mission Impossible" is like. But, you know, it's not like that at all. Rather it is more like the movie "Office Space" more than anything else.
Real disclosures discuss things that are far removed to what “normal” humans consider to be “normal”.
And thus you have this.
Is anything that I discussed meet your expectations? Were you expecting anything related to souls, sentience, world-line travel in the MWI, technologies that are held and guarded by engineers, or retirement by the sex offender registry?
Na. I din’t think so.
I once read a history about one of the first "white" explorers to the Polynesian islands.
The Captain was having a merry old time talking with the local chieftain. The Chieftain asked him what it was like where he came from. So the explorer told him.
He said that it got so cold that the water turned solid.
The Chieftain thought that this was a hilarious joke, and repeated it over and over as if it was the funniest thing that he had ever heard.
The Captain, a bit taken back, kept his mouth shut, and smiled.
Yeah. It’s like that.
Anything that is new, and out of your personal experience becomes fantastical and ludicrous.
And thus, no matter if I provide dates, locations, technical specifications, photographs, legal documents and MRI scans, those stuck within their own limited bubble of reality will discount everything as fiction. Why? Because they never experienced it themselves.
When I was in prison, I was transported from the Pennsylvania holding cell to the transport hub somewhere in Alabama. There I met numerous fellow inmates from other prisons all across the nation. I well remember us talking about the prisons where we were incarcerations, and I was shocked at how those from the North refused to believe what it was like in the ADC in Arkansas.
They didn't believe that the ADC did not give out fruit, served "Global" or that we slept in 100 man barracks. They had no concept of what "Hard Labor" was, and the idea of doing prison related tasks without payment was horrific to them.
You can only relate with things that you yourself has experienced.
OK. So this is what I experienced.
As such, I am unique and rare. You will not be able to imagine yourself in my shoes by reading this. That is, unless you have a very active imagination. But, this is what is going on. Like it or not. Hate it or disparage it. It is what it is.
You put ten people in a room, and ask them to watch a cat fiercely attack and eat a mouse…
You will end up with ten interpretations of that event. Some of which would be directly different from each other…
The cat was amazing!
The poor little defenseless mouse.
The mouse should of done…
The cat made this mistake, and that mistake…
If the mouse was bigger…
In America, we call this “back seat driving”.
A passenger who gives unwanted and/or unneeded directions to the driver; also, a person who interferes in affairs without having knowledge, responsibility, or authority for doing so.
For example, Aunt Mary drives us all crazy with her instructions; she's an incurable backseat driver.
This term originated in the United States in the 1920s, when it was first used for a passenger legitimately directing a chauffeur, and it was quickly transferred to figurative use.
Also see the synonym Monday-morning quarterback and the antonym take a back seat.
In my shoes
So try to figure out what is going on were to to be “in my shoes”.
What would you think? How would you describe it? In what way would you try to communicate your experiences? Or, would you be smart, and keep your fucking thoughts and experiences to yourself?
Or, alternatively would you become a drunken alcoholic sex-monger and say “fuck it” to the rest of the world?
Actually, I’m pretty close to that particular reality right now. Don’t ya know…
MAJestic – A trade deal.
MAJestic made a deal; an arrangement with our extraterrestrial benefactors.
I and a few select others, all of us tops in our class – perfect physical specimens and with high scoring in intelligence and backgrounds in science, were given to the <redacted> as their “property”. To do with as they felt fit.
In exchange, certain technologies would be provided in exchange. I do not know which technologies were exchanged. I have no specific data on that transfer and trade.
"We will give your six or seven of our top people, to do with as you like, in exchange for advanced propulsion technology."
And that’s me, ya all.
Training by MAJestic
Of course, we were unusable in our raw state. We needed to be modified, and trained.
Policemen get trained.
Firemen get trained.
Doctors get trained.
Lawyers get trained.
Bakers get trained.
IT workers get trained.
MAJestic implanted 7 ELF probes that were useful for monitoring and for other purposes regarding utilization of a fixed transport portal.
I, and others in my “cell”, used that fixed transport portal to egress to a <redacted> facility. Where we were completely overhauled. A EBP was installed, and our DNA, and RNA was altered in a complicated process. That process took one week to accomplish.
Well, for me, it took one week.
Once the process was completed, I was in MAJestic, but I exited the US Navy. I was told that I would be in MAJestic for life, but that during my active participatory years that [1] I must be aware, that [2] I was on my own, and that [3] I was not permitted to have children.
I must be alert and aware of “new things”.
I was on my own with no support group.
I must not have children.
Training by our Benefactors
After I was discharged, I spent a number of years out of the Navy, without direction or control. I lived in extreme poverty, while all the time, I was being trained by our benefactors in <redacted> and <redacted>. I was involved in this really odd and strange training for many years. Then, one day, it all ended.
Suddenly, I was called upon to go to California.
ELF Calibration in the High Desert
This continued until I was called to the China Lake NWC in the middle of the High Desert in California. Where my ELF probes were calibrated, and (I assume) EBP monitored.
Completion of the Calibration and start of mission parameters.
Once my calibration sequence was completed, I no longer needed to go to the ELF testing facility, and I was set free. Situations arranged themselves in such a way that I was free to conduct my “mission parameters” while I lived a boring typical middle-class lifestyle.
Mission Operations
I lived a normal boring middle-class life. This is what our benefactors wanted. My life was typical. I was in the middle of the bell-shaped curve. I was so typical, it was nauseating.
That is because I was not “normal”. If I was “normal” I would have still been hauling coal, smoking dope, and quaffing beer in the hills of Western Pennsylvania. If I was normal I would still be living in a mobile home off a gravel road next to some rolling farm lands and state game lands. If I was normal, I would be married to a rather porty wife, with four bratty children that would each have their own pickup trucks and shotguns.
But I was not “normal”.
I was different.
And as such, I was a “square peg” in a “round hole” that did not fit in at all.
IQ test from the movie “Idiocracy”.
Meanwhile I experienced all sorts of “slides” and other strange events where I moved in and out of different world-lines. All of these slides and other events were coordinated with a benefactor at Oxia Palus.
For me it didn’t make any sense.
One minute I am eating country-fried steaks and eggs, and then the next second, I am eating a bowl of rice soup with fish heads and tentacles. What way could this possibly benefit anyone? How did I benefit from this switching? How did the human race benefit?
Country fried steak and eggs meal.
Over a period of time, I noticed a series of themes that seemed to agree with “statements” from my “pilot” at the Oxia Palus facility. It had nothing to do with me, at that time, personally. I was just the “vehicle” for our benefactors to accomplish certain tasks.
Human sentience needed to be "corralled" or "anchored" in such a way as to help the human sentience evolve.
So, for the longest time, I have pretty much accepted that as my role. And at that, it was good enough for me to recognize that I had a role, no matter how strange or peculiar it appeared to be.
I mean, you adapt, right?
Maybe your job is to flip burgers. It doesn’t pay much, and it’s hot and greasy, but you adapt. you become the best burger flipper in the world. You accept your role, and that is that.
Retirement
MAJestic retired me.
Aside from physically going to prison and entering a monitoring program for the rest of my life, all ELF communication ended. It was like someone turned off one of those old vacuum tube television sets. It just went out and then disappeared as a long thin “line”.
Turning off an old television set.
Once I finished my initial five years in “rehabilitation”, I was free to leave, and so I left and moved to China.
I knew that that would be the safest place on the entire planet. And so far, it seems to actually be the case.
The Benefactors had a say…
Well, they do not recognize “retirement”. I don’t even think that they understand what the word means.
My mission parameters for the ELF probes and the Oxia Palus facility might be over, but I don’t even think that they understand what the word “retirement” means. From their point of view, MAJestic stopped working with me, and that was that.
I no longer conduct “slides”.
My world-line is pretty well fixed and established.
I am permitted natural human migrations.
I can live life as I choose.
It’s all pretty straight forward, Right?
I’m “out of the game”.
My mission parameters for the ELF probes and the Oxia Palus facility might be over, but I entered a new kind of role. You must understand, our benefactors do not recognize the idea or concept of a “retirement”. So I am still active, even though I am actually retired from MAJestic.
I am permitted to disclose what I know and have learned. I can speak. I can “teach”. I can explain. I can lead. I can serve as an example. I can advise.
There are limitations, of course, and what I cannot speak about is made obvious to me. Mostly it deals with the MAJestic organization itself. I have few limitations on what the benefactors themselves provided to me.
And suddenly, out of the blue, I am now permitted to have children. (At my age! WTF?)
So…
Ripley 8 from the movie “Alien Resurrection”. She is a hybrid of Alien DNA and human DNA, with unexpected strengths and abilities.
So…
Putting it all together…
The human species is involved in a sentience sorting activity. I (and my companions) had a role in this with some “anchoring” activity. Now the earth is ready for a push to a new kind of sentience.
I don’t know what it is.
What I do know is that once the sentience is established, the approved sentience will have their RNA / DNA correct, improved or adjusted just like mine was. Just like Sebastian’s was. Just like the rest of our cell was.
And those who will have their DNA / RNA “upgraded” will…
Be able to live a life with one foot in Heaven and the other foot in the physical universe. They can live and explore world-lines at will, while all the time being fully cognizant of their realities within the Heavenly realms.
Be able to communicate with others of the same sentience using a kind of mental telepathy. It’s trans-species communication, and will become prevalent.
Be able to communicate with other species that are extraterrestrial in nature.
Perhaps that is why I am permitted to have children now, eh? To pass on my DNA / RNA improvements, just like what happened to other species in the past.
Like this…
Do you want some more?
I have more posts on this issue in my MAJestic Index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
It’s stories like this that remind us of our humanity and our place and role on this planet. We should be helping others in need, not trying to grab handfuls of cash at the expense of others.
Be the Rufus.
It’s our highest calling.
Recently, photos taken at one Istanbul hospital’s emergency room made a round on social media. The snaps that were shared by Merve Özcan on Twitter show a mother cat bringing her sick kitten to the human hospital. The paramedics can be seen surrounding the poor mama cat and petting her.
Luckily, the Turkish people are known for their love and respect for stray animals and they provided the cats with the necessary help. The kitten is now fine and no CAT scans were required.
Recently, in Istanbul, a stray cat mom took her baby kitten to the ER
In Turkey, the paramedics wear clothes that looks like they belong on a soccer field.
Shared by thousands of people on Turkish social media and liked by more than 82k people on Reddit, the story made many’s hearts warm. In the photos shared on Twitter, a baby kitten is seen carried by its mama to the human emergency room.
“Today we were in the emergency room of the hospital when a cat rushed to bring her offspring in her mouth,” Merve Özcan, who originally shared the photos, wrote.
The photos that made a round on social media show paramedics huddled around the cats
The mother cat carried her kitten into the Emergency room directly and down the hallway to the ICU.
Local media writes that while the baby was being cared for, the medics gave its mother some milk and food to make her more relaxed and comfortable. The Turks have long been known for their love and care for stray animals, with many leaving out food and water for them on the streets.
After the intervention of human doctors, the two cats were directed to a vet
The mother cat carried her kitten into the Emergency room directly and down the hallway to the ICU.
Luckily, as Turkish media reported, both cats seemed fine, but were still directed to the vet just to be sure that the mother and kitten duo are in good health.
The event was all over Turkish news outlets and social media
The mother cat carried her kitten into the Emergency room directly and down the hallway to the ICU.
People on Reddit praised the paramedics and hospital staff at the Istanbul hospital for their kind actions. Some also remembered stories of their own where people helped animals in need. “This happened in my hometown with a birthing cat. She had problems and walked up to the hospital and started to meow. They helped her and she is now the pet of the doctor who called the vet,” one Reddit user shared.
Here’s what people on social media said
The cat makes friends within the hospital.
Do you want more?
I have more uplifting posts in my Rufus index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
I have been informed by various people that there are others “out there” in internet land who sound like me, that say that they live in China / Asia and post (seemingly) “disclosure” type information. And thus I am asked, is that me?
No.
I only post in one place.
That is right here and right now.
Accept no wooden nickels.
A wooden nickel is a worthless or counterfeit coin. A wooden nickel is a person or thing that only vaguely appears to have any real value, but is ultimately worthless. A nickel is worth five cents, thus already being worth very little.
-Don't take any wooden nickels
Details
Please take special note. I do not comment or post on any other forum.
However, there are two exceptions.
The first exception to that rule is LinkedIN. I have posted some topical links to metallicman in the comment sections of my feed from time to time. People who know me personally, and have connected to me professionally are the only ones that can see that feed.
The second exception is the posting of entire metallicman posts on Free Republic in 2016. I did that until I was banned. The situation behind the banning was my accurate contention of suggesting the NID was behind the “pro democracy” movement in HK. I am now perma-banned and will never return.
That is it.
So, if you read, hear, or someone that seems to be me on any American forum, please realize that they are not me. No matter how much of what they say seemingly appears to fit within this dialog.
Rules
I do not trust American-based social media. So I do not use it.
Do you want to know why?
Perhaps it is my experience with the American police state, when armed black-clad assault troops poured into my home as I was leaving for work. The event left scars. And, I will never forget how I was treated, and the absolutely ease at which they went though my personal papers and household belongings.
I talk a little bit about it here…
And while I am at it, you might want to check this out. They do go hand-in-hand, don’t you know.
Additionally, please take special note that I live in China.
I live in China
Most access to American social media and software is banned in China. That means that you cannot use it because your computer cannot even find it. There was a time when you could bore through the firewall with a VPN, but that ended in 2016.
The Chinese internet presence is much larger than what is available in America. There is a greater selection of websites, software, applications, and larger audiences by a factor of ten compared to anything in the United States.
Once you get adjusted to the differences, you pretty much appreciate getting all that nonsense out of Politically Correct California off your home computer.
Trust no one who says that they are in China, yet posts on American media platforms. They are lying.
The following social media sites are IMPOSSIBLE to access from within China;
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Gmail
Snapchat
Pinterest
Tumblr
And there are many others.
Do not believe anyone who says that a VPN can bore or tunnel through the “Great Fire Wall of China”. An occasional lapse in the wall might happen from time to time, but it is not consistent, nor stable. Certainly the best that I have been able to accomplish was a seven minute “window of opportunity” for my ProtonMail account back in the Summer of 2019.
It’s a situation that allows brief and temporary access to banned Western websites and APPs, but prevents practical and substantive long-term utility.
Do not be confused
There are well meaning people out there who earnestly want to spread the “gospel” about our benefactors and other things that I discuss. They mean well, but they are not me.
Since they are not me, their experiences are not mine and not shared. Thus they will say things that I not only disagree with, but that I know is absolutely false. Keep in mind…
Solar systems with large stars, hot stars, variable stars, and young stars are pretty much devoid of civilization.
MAJestic is an American organization.
“Reptilians” do not exist. It’s a fiction.
There is no prohibition on drinking alcohol, doing drugs, having sex, or eating certain kinds of foods by any of the species that I encountered. Those are human fabrications.
This does not mean that I am the sole guardian for “the truth”. I am not. I only know what I know. No more, no less.
So read what you see from others and absorb it in, but know that it is not me, and I cannot validate any information that they might have provided to you.
Accept no wooden nickels.
At that, please have a great day! Be safe, and make the day special in some way.
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
The United States was set up as a Republic way back in 1776, and over the years “improved” into other things. First it was a “democracy”, then into an “oligarchy”, followed by “empire” in the 1960’s and now exists as a military Empire controlled via oligarchy. It’s a real mess. It’s ungainly, corrupt and dysfunctional.
And, it is handling this COVID-19 emergency outrageously bad.
In fact, the handling of it is so incompetent, and unfathomably bizarre, that it would probably be best not to have a government at all. Just let the sheeple graze on the “fruited plains” freely without any “assistance” from Big Brother Government.
Seriously, it’s time to demolish the old, and look towards new horizons.
Is It Time for a New Direction?
This article was written by Jacob G. Hornberger on April 10, 2020. Edited to fit this venue and all credit to the author.
If Americans are not doing some serious soul-searching in the midst of this crisis, they need to start. Where America goes from here is not some sort of esoteric debate. What we do at this point has life or death consequences. Get it wrong, and suffer more death, suffering, and impoverishment. Get it right, and America moves toward life, health, liberty, peace, prosperity, and harmony.
What everyone needs to recognize is that they are facing a choice of systems, not a choice of people. Either stick with the same systems or switch over to new systems. That’s the choice now facing the American people.
Let’s examine four systems under which we currently live and have lived for decades.
America’s economic system
This is a centrally planned and centrally managed system run by the federal government. Its central aim is to “wage war on poverty” by forcibly taking money from everyone and redistributing it to people in need, such as the elderly and the poor. It is based on massive confiscation of income and wealth by the Internal Revenue Service, in the form of income taxes and payroll taxes.
America’s healthcare system
This too is a centrally planned and centrally managed system run by the federal government. It is based on big, powerful central planning agencies like as the Centers for Disease Control and the FDA, as well as massive socialist programs like Medicare and Medicaid, both of which are responsible for foisting a never-ending healthcare crisis onto the American people consisting of ever-increasing healthcare costs that have bankrupted people or sent them into deep debt.
America’s monetary system
This too is a centrally planned and centrally managed system run by the federal government, specifically the Federal Reserve. From its beginning in 1913, its job has been to print up ever-increasing quantities of paper money to enable the federal government to fund the ever-increasing expenditures of the welfare-warfare state way of life.
America’s system of empire and foreign intervention
This too is a centrally planned and centrally managed system by the national-security branch of the federal government. Its job is to wreak death and destruction among foreigners and, in the process, bring ever-increasing amounts of taxpayer-funded largess to its army of well-heeled “defense” contractors, which are composed of former members of the national-security establishment.
Consequences of central planning
How are all these systems working out? Most, if not all, people would agree that they are not working out well at all. Together, they have either bankrupted people through taxes or debts or left millions of people without even enough savings to get them through a couple of months of unemployment.
And guess who is now paying the biggest price for the coronavirus crisis — seniors and the poor. That’s because the FDA, in all its central planning wisdom, prohibited the private sector from producing test kits that would have, without any doubt, significantly reduced the coronavirus infection rate.
How can they lower the infection rate if they don’t know who has the virus, especially since people who have the virus are infecting people for about a week before they show any symptoms? A massive number of cheap testing kits would have enabled people to ferret out quickly and early who was infected, enabling everyone else to continue working.
Given that their dysfunctional healthcare system has totally failed to stem the crisis, they have resorted to tyranny and oppression through a mandatory shutdown of the economy, sending millions of people into unemployment and even bankruptcy.
To relieve the financial distress from their destruction of people’s livelihoods, they are resorting to their dysfunctional monetary system. The Federal Reserve is now printing money like it was going out of style. Does anyone really believe that printing trillions of dollars is a way to relieve economic distress? It’s just another form of taxation, one that plunders and loots people, specially the elderly and the poor, through the massive devaluation of their money.
Meanwhile, their fourth dysfunctional system is ensuring that the national-security establishment will suffer no budget cuts whatsoever in order to enable to maintain its oversees machinery of empire and intervention.
Isn’t that ironic? Their four systems of central planning and management are responsible for massive death, suffering, and impoverishment not only here at home but also abroad.
A different direction
If you like how all these dysfunctional systems have worked out, are working out, and will continue to work out into the future, just continue supporting their existence.
But make no mistake: There is a choice to be made here because there are four systems that are opposite to the four systems under which we are are suffering. These four systems are as follows:
A free-market economic system
Under this system, everyone keeps everything he earns — 100 percent, which enables everyone to save lots of money. No income taxation and no IRS. It’s a system based on 100 percent voluntary charity. This was America’s founding economic system for more than 100 years. It produced the wealthiest and most charitable society in history.
A free-market healthcare system
Under this system, the private sector and the free market are entirely responsive for healthcare. No more having to get permission from federal bureaucrats to produce test kits or anything else because the federal government will play no role whatsoever in healthcare. A total separation of healthcare and the state, just as our ancestors had the wisdom to separate church and state. This was America’s founding healthcare system and last for more than 100 years. It produced the finest healthcare system in history, one in which healthcare costs were cheap and affordable and in which doctors and hospitals treated the poor for free on a purely voluntary basis.
A free-market monetary system
Under this system, the free market determines the currency that is going to be used. No more Federal Reserve and no more legal-tender laws. For more than 100 years, America had the finest monetary system in history, one based on gold coins and silver coins. A free-market monetary system would improve upon that concept.
A limited-government republic with a small, basic military force.
No more national-security state and no more foreign military bases and foreign interventionism. No more sanctions, embargoes, invasions, occupations, wars of aggression, torture, state-sponsored assassinations, secret mass surveillance, and other destruction of civil liberties. America was founded as a limited-government republic, which lasted for more than 100 years.
The same old direction versus a new direction
So there you have it: Four completely different systems from which to choose. Americans should choose wisely. Your lives, health, and financial well-being and those of your loved ones, friends, and neighbors depend on it.
Do you want to see similar posts?
I hope that you found this post curious. Please take care. You can view other similar posts in my SHTF Index, here…
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you.
As most American are “sheltering in place”, and the cloud of COVID-19 is slowing evaporating from China, I think that many people are stressed, and feel uncertain about their lives. I really do not think that the $1000 gift from Trump in the $2 trillion dollar emergency bill is going to amount to anything Mostly it’s the rich bankers that are going to pocket millions of dollar. Most Americans realize this. So this results in fear and uncertainty.
It need not be that way. There was a time when America was self-reliant and self-contained. Men went about and conducted their business freely. They never had to ask permission, report their actions or pay taxes to the American government. They were on their own and self-reliant.
They were heroes.
Here are some videos of normal “everyday” people performing heroic actions. I do hope that they can inspire you to be the best that you can be.
Important Note on Video Loading Problems
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Boy helps old man.
An old man collapses while crossing the street. But a young boy goes forth and helps him up. This is a good story and a great lesson that we all need to take heed of. Good going son. Good going.
Here’s a woman who braves the engulfing fire that has trapped young children inside a car. Does she pause? Yes, but then she steel’s herself and brave the heat, the fire and the smoke. She does what ever she needs to. She must go and save the baby. It’s her sole purpose and focus.
Purse snatcher tries to make a get away. Unlucky for him that there are others in the parking lot who are aware and ready to deal with this miscreant properly. Nothing like a spare shopping cart to take care of problems.
Firemen rescue trapped family.
Firemen are all heroes. Here we see some Chinese firemen rescuing a family that is trapped inside a burning building. This is why they exist. This is their job, however that does not mean that they are not heroes. They are and their actions are heroic.
Rescue of a boy in the street.
This is a head-slap event. What the Hell is this kid thinking? He’s going to run out in the middle of an 11-lane super highway? Lordy! You need to keep your eyes on the children at all times, that’s for certain.
Emergency CPR.
An old man collapses on the sidewalk. A stranger sees this and immediately starts emergency CPR on him. It’s all captured on film. This is what heroes do. They don’t get on CNN and talk about how great they are. They live quiet lives and help others when the need and time comes.
Climb up to rescue the children.
Bravery is what we see in hindsight. True heroes react immediately without thinking. Here we have a man crawling on his 6th floor porch to get to the apartment above to rescue some screaming children.
Prevent an accident.
Kids do the strangest things. Like perhaps riding out into a busy traffic road. What are you going to do? Allow him to get squished and turn into jelly, or are you going to do something about it, eh?
Catch a falling child.
OK. So you are walking down a sidewalk and you hear frantic screaming up above you. You look up and it seems like someone is outside the building scrambling, but that they might fall. What are you going to do? Maybe call 9-11? Maybe pretend nothing is going on?
I hope that you enjoyed this post. I have others that are similar to it in my Rufus Index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the U.S. sees the Communist Party of China as the “central threat of our times” and that the U.S. must “ensure that the next century is governed by … Western democratic principles.”
- Coronavirus panic stoked by anti-China media, politicians: Myth vs. fact
Well, it was bound to come out sooner or later. Though, I pretty much expected it to come out in 70 years, like the JFK assassination did.
The facts involved here are all pretty straight forward;
At the White-house, the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo admitted that the COVID-19 event was a biological weapon “exercise”. The moment that he made the statement, Trump took a double take and responds “I wish you would have told us”.
Pompeo stated;
“This is not about retribution, this matter is going forward — we are in a live exercise here to get this right.”
For those of you who are confused what this simple sentence means, check out the English meanings…
"Exercises" mean military weapons, training, events, and systems.
"COVID-19" is a currently out-of-control biological virus that is lethal and disrupting national economies. This is the subject subject matter that Pompeo was discussing at the time of the conference.
"Live" means being active, engaged, and in-process.
"Retribution" means punishment inflicted on someone as vengeance for a wrong or criminal act. When Pompeo refers to vengeance on someone or something, he is referring to China. As, after all, that is WHY he refers to the COVID-19 as "Wuhan Virus", and "China Virus".
"Get Right" means to correct something in error. To win in a conflict. Or in the case of United States geopolitics, to keep America as the dominant global leader over the rest of the world.
"Going Forward" means something that is in process presently and on a time-line.
So to rephrase the sentence into a form that non-American English speakers can understand, without idiomatic confusion, he said this…
This action we have taken, is not about punishment of China. The COVID-19 bioweapon event is continuing and unfolding. – We are currently in an active military operation to set the United States as the supreme dominant sole powerful government in the world.
So it appears that the “deep state” neocons inside the Trump Administration unleashed a biological weapon, the COVID-19, as a “live exercise” intentionally.
For after all, military exercises are always planned, and never accidental.
If he did not mean this, he chose an outrageously poor selection of words.
For, if he was referring to the governments action regarding a pandemic, we would use phrases such as "dealing with", "handling", allocating resources", "supporting", "adjusting", "reacting", "handling" and "controlling".
The phrase "live exercise" is only used in military and para-military operations.
For those paying attention, they did this against China, who is a economic rival to the United States to suppress it.
The “live exercise” using bio-warfare backfired terribly, and is now tearing the United States apart, brick by brick.
This excerpt is from “Mike Pompeo Admits COVID-19 Is a “Live Exercise,” Trump Retorts “I Wish You Would Have Told Us”” By Shepard Ambellas Global Research, March 23, 2020 Intellihub 21 March 2020. Edited to fit this venue and all credit to the authors.
Can someone please explain exactly what is going on here?
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a slip of the tongue while addressing the American people from the White House when he stated that COVID-19 is a live military exercise.
“This is not about retribution,” Pompeo explained. “This matter is going forward — we are in a live exercise here to get this right.”
With a disgusted look on his face, President Trump replied: “You should have let us know.”
Well, Pompeo obviously has a higher security clearance than the president does.
For those of you who are confused…
Military Exercise meaning (from Wikipedia):
“A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the combat readiness of garrisoned or deployable forces prior to deployment from a home base.”
Walk-Back. Expect a “walk back” from this statement. It will be mitigated as a minor “misunderstanding” and nothing more, and the mainstream media will bury it in a flood of other news. The Alt-Right, bombarded by months of anti-China narrative will twist this to mean something along the line of “oh, he’s just referring to China and their lies…etc, etc.” Then the statement will have zero coverage and the media narrative will continue unabated against China.
Geopolitical Implications. Meanwhile, Russia and China knew this information all along. They do recognize that the USA is quite dangerous and out of control. This will reinforce this belief and they will begin to look at the USA like a chaotic mess that it is. Instead of a sane economic rival with a different culture.
People, what do you do if there is a rabid, out of control dog, in your neighborhood?
What do you think that proactive nations, and nations run on merit, would do and plan on doing regarding the United States being the governmental equivalent of a "mad dog"?
Personal Implications. What this means to you (dear readers) is that the American government is completely out of control. The “deep state” is running amok and risking world war III while they operate as mindless zombies on the levers of power. People (!) this cannot be good by any stretch of the imagination.
Just keep in mind that Pompeo admitted that the COVID-19 Coronavirus was a “Live Exercise” at the White-house. It’s not a reaction to an event. Reactions are never “exercises”. It’s also not an event in itself.
As such, we know what it is not…
It was NOT a natural virus.
It was NOT an accidental release of the plague from a facility.
It was NOT a Chinese-developed and deployed bio-weapon.
It was NOT a stolen bio-weapon used by China on it’s people.
What it is…
It was an American “system” that was deployed as a “Live Exercise” by the American neocons inside the American “Deep State”. Furthermore, President Trump was unaware of any of this.
You will discover that this most news-worthy report will get very little traction in the mainstream and Alt-Right, Hard-Right propaganda outlets.
If you see Rush Limbaugh, or Townhall.com, or Hal Turner, or Alex Jones talking about this please tell me. My guess is that if they do, they will defend it as a “slip of the tongue” as the USA can do no wrong in their eyes.
To find out what is going on and other reports on this subject, go to my China Trade Wars Index, or my SHTF Index. Both have many articles about the subjects listed herein.
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
This is a complete reprint of a most excellent article that I (personally) 100% agree with. In short, regardless as to the events and causes related to the virus, the way that China has handled it and the global reaction to it has been overwhelmingly positive. This and similar trends are pointing in positive directions for China. This article discusses the “fall out” from this event.
This article was published on February 10, 2020 by Fionn Wright – 仁飞扬 and can be found HERE. The only changes that I made was add section headers, and added some illustrative photos. I strongly suggest that the reader visit the original source, and (if possible) follow the author as he has other articles of worth.
Could the Coronavirus make China Stronger than Ever? 10 Trends that Indicate it Will.
The
virus is hitting China’s economy hard, but this is likely only
temporary. China’s immune system is fighting back — building hospitals
in record time, completely locking down a city and most importantly the
entire nation uniting as one voice of support and solidarity.
Mario Cavolo called out the global response to the Coronavirus in his post “Something’s not right here folks” which originally went viral on LinkedIn and then subsequently all over Chinese social media. He compares the media response to Coronavirus with the H1N1 outbreak in the US, saying, “it’s not a conspiracy, it’s just a tragedy,” and “this vicious, political, xenophobic racist attacks and smearing of all things China needs to stop.”
What doesn’t break you only makes you stronger, and the Chinese people are resilient and will find ways to rise out of this crisis, likely coming back even stronger than before. How long that will take no-one yet knows, but the Chinese spirit is not even close to being broken, and we’ve seen how Chinese ingenuity in a time of crisis has led to entirely new operating models…
Remember how Jackie Ma became a billionaire…
During the SARS outbreak in 2003, because everyone was
afraid to go out, Liu Qiangdong, founder of JD (Jing Dong, one of
China’s largest online retailers), moved the physical stores in
Zhongguancun to an online store. Ma Yun saw the demand for e-commerce
and set up Taobao (Alibaba’s B2C commence platform).
Comparison with the 2003 SARS…
To make a comparison with SARS, China’s GDP was 12 trillion yuan in 2003, but 17 years later China’s GDP has reached 100 trillion yuan, so China’s overall anti-risk capability has increased nearly 10x since then.
Interestingly, a few industries are actually booming, from medical to online education to food delivery. The altered ecosystem during the crisis is forcing people to find new ways of accessing what they need.
Short term vs. Long term.
Despite
the short term effects on many industries across China, it is unlikely
to have a long-term destabilizing impact on China’s economy, which is
already in the midst of a major adjustment, and this event will in many
ways accelerate the pace of adjustment towards adaptability and
resilience.
Many of the concepts below are inspired by the famous
Chinese blogger Shuimuran (水木然) and much of the data and research I have
found through Dr. Shirley Yu, Political Economist from Harvard and the London School of Economics.
1 – Off-line Shopping is Over
Although people in China have already formed the habit of online shopping in the last few years, there are still a few types of products that people still prefer to buy offline.
These last few remaining products are likely to virtually disappear in the coming months after this outbreak. For example, before the outbreak people used to go to the market for fresh groceries, but now buying groceries online has also become the norm.
Shopping on-line has been a staple of Chinese life for the last fifteen years. What has changed is that many “untouchable” items like lettuce and snacks are now being bought on line.
Since shopping is done online, the physical store of the future is no longer centered on “selling products”, but with a shift through New Retail to “providing experiences”.
If the physical store is still designed as a place to sell, then it will lose relevance.
No matter what kind of enterprise, it must have an ability to capture customers online, the traditional way of getting customers, such as cold calls or traditional advertising, have less and less power, and will cost more and more.
As New Generation China Expert Michael Norris has been predicting for years, more and more things will start to be free, and more and more things will start to be infinitely closer to zero direct profit, so businesses have to find alternate ways of generating income streams.
Advertising can be charged more, or partnerships can be created to package and bundle products and services, driving people towards what they are most interested in even if its not your product, but making money by doing so.
Human attention is now the most valuable resource on earth.
2 – Online education will start to replace offline education
Suddenly a whole new possibility has opened up. While before online education was used to supplement offline education, we will begin to see online education starting to replace parts of offline education.
Home schooling via computer will displace more traditional teaching methods.
New models of doing this more effectively are being realized at this very moment, and people are beginning to realize that the time it takes to commute is actually valuable time that could be used to learn.
Just as the internet has changed the circulation path of products, it has also changed the path of knowledge transmission.
Online education democratizes superior educational resources, and this is exactly the core problem of solving Chinese education. Previously, each teacher could only teach in front of dozens or at most hundreds of people, but now a single teacher can reach tens or even hundreds of thousands of people online, and these students come from all over the country, including undeveloped areas that have internet access.
Working remotely will become the norm rather than the exception.
The office leasing market in 2020 will likely drop, with the potential exception of co-working spaces despite the WeWork fiasco.
Online office software will accelerate in popularity, especially the office software that can realize collaborative work. What follows is the online office model. An online China is coming, and China will become the global benchmark for a new kind of office.
Entirely new collaborative tools and features will be released and updated at lighting speed.
Areas of the developed world, such as in Africa, will leapfrog the developed world in adopting these as they have done with digital currencies, and thus in some areas become more competitive.
4 – A More Health Conscious Society Based on Biotech
Chinese people will begin to move their focus away from making money, sacrificing their health for money, seeing the limitations of the 996 work schedule.
Physical and mental health will be the key indicator of a person’s value in the future, and Chinese people will make more conscious decisions about their lifestyles.
The identification, judgment and response of the virus will promote the breakthrough of the whole medicine and medical technology, especially to enhance the awareness and attention of the whole nation on the power of biotech.
This outbreak has shown us the importance of a scientific medical system.
At least initially, the news from Wuhan was all about the shortage of medical resources. The core of medical problems lie in the effective allocation of medical resources, the scheduling ability of medical resources at critical moments, and the coordination and sharing of medical resources.
The social credit network tied to surveillance for safety and security will expand to include health of individuals.
The government will know who is sick when, and sometimes before the individual may even be aware of it themselves. This could come directly in the form of infrared cameras to capture people within a crowd with a fever, or indirectly in the form of the types of products that people buy, predicting health indicators based on big data of others who regularly consume those products.
Thanks to the virus, infrared cameras are now monitoring people at all cross-roads and place of population density. This is useful in the quick and rapid determination of who is sick and who is not.
The healthier one is, through healthy eating, buying health related products and perhaps even exercise equipment or classes, the more likely one is to perform well and be less of a burden on society. This is tricky to measure but as more data rolls in and is analyzed, conclusions can be tested, measured and implemented in rapid iterations.
5 – Accelerated Integration of Smart Cities
Wuhan
is a city with a population of over 11 million, has nine provinces and
was locked down during the Spring Festival travel rush, the largest yearly migration of people on planet earth.
If the situation of every citizen in Wuhan is known, every person can
be accurately tracked and every outflow can be located, then we will
deal with it in a more orderly way.
Facial recognition and social scoring (all tied to police records) is now automatic in Chinese cities. This coupled with video monitoring of dissidents are a powerful tool to combat crime. As was illustrated during the HK riots when the Trump administration officials were tracked, monitored, and recorded cutting deals, and training the “pro-democracy” terrorists.
China’s futuristic smart cities include: traffic management, logistics supply chain, emergency preparedness, and information traceability, which will be fully data-based, and even equipped with artificial intelligence disaster preparedness prediction.
This reflects the management level of the whole society.
With smart cities, China will have more data-backed scientific means of governance.
Modern governance is more and more based on data, with the health and security of the people as the first consideration.
Chinese monitoring software.
After this outbreak, the country will learn from experience and lessons learned, analyze what worked well and develop new systems to build the learnings into the fabric of society.
After this outbreak, we will have the speed of strategic coordination, the speed of wartime research and development, and the speed of public security response.
The advantages of China’s logistics have been fully demonstrated, and supplies in Wuhan have been quickly replenished. Even scarce medical resources have been deployed efficiently across the country, which is truly a miracle of modern logistics.
Alibaba has set up a special fund of 1 billion yuan for medical supplies, which is used to purchase medical supplies at home and abroad.
In addition to the company’s global resource search, Chinese people around the world also launched a global procurement, a batch of supplies from different countries from different flights to China.
The seemingly “frozen” China is actually engaged in epic strategic material allocation. After this outbreak, we will see China’s strategic material coordination capacity not just in crisis but throughout the entire business world.
7 – China has Contingency Plans for its Contingency Plan
In the annual Central Economic Work Conference report formulating economic priorities for 2020, China has emphasized the necessity to be ready for a “contingency plan” for 2020.
This contingency plan would in no way be framed on the basis of a liberal market model, in the event that the “China Model” failed to deliver on what was intended.
In 2019, strategic relationships were developed between Alibaba, Tencent, and the largest state infrastructure and telecom organizations, to help the state upgrade its technological competitiveness as it develops the Belt and Road Initiative.
The “contingency plan” proactively drives China’s economic independence from the US.
This contingency plan is not about market liberalism, but rather increasing state control.
The trade war directly impacts China’s labor market, as manufacturers move out of China. China is recalibrating its global supply chain routes, primarily focusing on its Belt and Road Initiative as well as the EU, to compensate for the loss of trade-related jobs.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The guiding principle from President Xi for China’s booming real estate sector, that properties are for living (within) not (for) investment, will continue in 2020.
There are currently 400 million middle income class (people) in China, and by 2035 (this) is expected to double to 800 million.
In order to drive sustainable consumption in China, structural reforms will need to happen in its healthcare, social welfare and pension systems so the middle class can afford to save less and spend more.
The participation of individuals, enterprises, public welfare organizations and Chinese at home and abroad has formed a systematic collaboration on a scale the human species has never seen before.
China built this second hospital in Wuhan in another ten days.
This creates a global ecosystem of Chinese that can support one another in times of crisis and cooperate when things settle down.
There is also an increasing realization that China is speeding ahead of the rest of the world…
… and it’s verified by Chinese who live or regularly travel abroad, constantly sharing memes of how backwards and slow the “developed world” actually is in many ways.
San Francisco, USA.
This strengthens national pride and solidarity within China, even though they see the benefits of being abroad like healthy air, safe food and uncrowded scenic nature sites.
9 – Chinese Companies will Push to Expand Abroad
Chinese companies will start looking more actively to do business abroad to diversify their markets the same way a wise investor diversifies his portfolio to dampen the effect of a crisis.
Huawei is leading the pack here swimming upstream against a lot of pressure, and doing remarkably well despite the international controversy. But Huawei is just the first of many Chinese companies that will expand beyond its borders in the next decade.
Not all companies have the resilience or reach of Huawei and will direct their attention more towards developing economies who are more open to Chinese products.
We’ll see more examples of Chinese companies like this that leverage the advantages of the Chinese tech infrastructure and applying them to meet the unmet needs of markets outside China, particularly developing economies.
The familiarity and integration with these forms of infrastructure will give them an advantage that will make it difficult for Western competitors to compete with. This will be similar in the same way that it has been difficult over the last decade for Chinese companies to compete with the likes of Google, Facebook or Apple. Of course, due to market penetration and foundational platforms that gave them the edge.
Huawei influence map.
Of the 195 sovereign nations recognized by the UN, Huawei currently has contractual relationships with 172 countries, engulfing the developing world.
The top strategic priority for Huawei will be to capture the developed world in 2020.
American proxies; independent nations in name only.
Whether Huawei’s push through Europe can succeed will be a fundamental test of China’s technological power as well as a test of the increasingly fragile relationships of the West.
The UK, against the will of the US, has now partially let Huawei in to develop their 5G infrastructure, but is doing their best to keep them out of areas that may compromise national security.
One challenging event at the beginning of 2020, while it has slowed China down, is not going to stop China from reaching its goal of being a fully developed country by 2050.
Girl takes a selfie with a Chinese robot.
Seen on the scale of decades, or the Chinese long-term view of centuries, the coronavirus crisis will be but a blip on the radar.
Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has encountered a host of disasters, and yet remains an indomitable nation, rising from abject poverty in the last few decades, returning to reclaim its place as one of the most powerful countries on earth.
This outbreak is an opportunity for China to evolve. It will be a test of China’s economic and social relations, its people and government relations, and China’s relations with the world.
China has already impressed the world with its ability to rapidly mobilize at scale to build the hospitals in Wuhan, and these moves are but a small taste of what is to come.
Let’s support the Chinese people in this time of crisis. The #ChinaDream starts in China, but will end up supporting the dreams of those all over the world.
With love and gratitude,
#Fionn
_______
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My Conclusions
You will not see anything like this on the American media. Whether it is the main-steam media, the Alt-Left or the Alt-Right media. But just because the media will not provide similar articles does not mean that the events are not occurring.
This is what is REALLY going on.
American media is designed to control, corral and manipulate the American citizenry. Much like the old former Soviet propaganda was used against the Russian people. You can see this when the media is reporting on events that you, yourself, are witnessing with your own two eyes.
But, you know, Americans do need to see the world as it actually is.
Some of it might be pleasant to observe, while others are ugly.
Some like the Uighur situation are “opportunities” for great wealth-building. If you are educated, and aware of what is really going on, you can become filthy rich, instead of the force-fed anti-China narrative and hide in fear about “re-education camps and the poor abused Muslims”.
Others, are signs of danger that you must take heed of, like the risks of hiring “diversity experts” (in a company) instead of talented experienced engineers, scientists and designers. (You know, for diversity, and to fight “white privilege”.)
For Americans to survive the growth pains of a new global situation, they must be educated through sources no longer tainted by the manipulative oligarchy. I do hope that you learn something in what I have to say.
The world is not a horrible, deep dark place, but there are under-currents of events that are transpiring that only the strong, the well-equipped and the flexible can survive.
So be strong. Be flexible. Be well equipped.
Take care, and BEST REGARDS.
Metallicman ready to take on the coronavirus.
If you enjoyed this post, fell free to check out some similar posts on my China index…
You’ll not find
any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
As 2019 year of the pig is drawing to a close, and the 2020 year of the rat is starting to happen, I would like to post some videos of China that are just cool, interesting, or special in one way or the other. These videos are unsorted, and each one has a brief narrative describing what it’s all about. Some involve heroes, like our good friend Rufus, while others are just WTF. Please, all these are just fun postings. Please kindly enjoy.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
Video 1 – Child Labor in China.
You know, I have been working in manufacturing for decades, and I have hardly ever saw a child working in China. Though, if you believe the British media, it is commonplace. It’s just another reason to bash the Chinese. Those dastardly bad Chinese…
Well, you can see children from time to time, working. They do so alongside their parents. They do so helping the family in the family business. And, I’ll tell you what, when I see it, it makes me feel glad. For there is nothing better than spending time with your family and working together so the family flourishes.
Here’s a video of child labor in China…
Child labor inside of China.
Video 2 – Traditional Family Life
In the next video, we have a son bringing his girlfriend to his father to introduce them. The father, being widowed, makes a meal for them. But it’s pretty modest. The girl, looks it over, and shows her disapproval.
But you see, China is a traditional nation with traditional values…
So what does she do? She goes into the kitchen and cooks. She explains that she needs to take care of the family and do her part so that everyone can be healthy and happy.
Traditional families are not something out of the “Handmaids Tale”, it’s about roles and shared responsibilities. It’s about respect and care and concern. It’s not “every man fend for himself” that is the norm in America today.
Check it out…
Son brings girlfriend to his father.
Video 3 – The importance of mass transit
Mass transit can be found in almost all the major cities. This includes America, the EU, Russia and China. Where China differs from America, is that there are many levels of public transport. Often there are buses, rentals, scooters, trains, monorails, subways, and everything in between. The only thing missing are horses.
In the USA, mass transit is generally limited to buses (unless you are in a very big city).
This following video clearly shows, in a few seconds, why mass transit is preferable to privately owned automobiles in a Chinese city…
Mass transit in China.
Video 4 – Girl proposes
In a traditional nation, everyone has roles. But China, being Chinese (of course), has traditions with “Chinese characteristics”. In the Chinese environment, the woman and the man both can reverse roles.
So instead of the man working and the woman staying home to tend the family, it can be reversed. Or, switched from time to time, or shared with shared responsibilities. It all depends on the family.
Here is a cute video. A girl proposes to the boy she wants to marry. I personally think that it is great.
Girl proposes to a boy.
Video 5 – Tough Chinese girl
Yeah, I have to admit that I love Chinese girls and women. I love the beauty, the intelligence, and the work ethic. I also greatly admire their toughness. They are like cats. They ain’t afraid of shit.
Don’t fuck with them.
Tough little girl.
Video 6 – Strangers rescue an infant locked inside a hot car.
We think that we can lock an infant inside a car, that it would be safe. Sure, it’s hot and sunny out, but we left the engine running and the air conditioning on. You’ll only be gone for twenty minutes… more or less. What could go wrong?
You could be delayed and the car can automatically shut off.
That’s what.
Here we have strangers trying to rescue an infant from a steamy hot car… on a beach parking lot… in 100 degree weather. The baby is passed out and unresponsive.
What would you do? What would Rufus the hero do?
Rescue of an infant from a hot car.
Video 7 – Helping a woman under attack.
These stories of heroes and “Rufus” are my favorites, and I just cannot let a day go by without posting one or two of them. Here is another video. In this video a woman is under attack by a man. Lucky for her other men, all around her, come to her rescue and subdues the assailant.
You’d never see this in the United States, where it is customary to allow the crime to happen and you don’t get involved. Least you be sued by the person, or arrested by the police, not to mention fired from your job for bad behavior.
Watch these heroes spring into action…
Helping a woman in distress.
Video 8 – This kid can’t drive fer shit!
Here’s a kind of funny video. This kid somehow thinks that the purpose of roads are to drive upon. So, what does he do? Well he hops on his little scooter and takes to the streets. In the process, he crashes into just about every car around. Yikes!
Can’t drive for shit.
Video 9 – Beautiful Chinese girls.
Here’s a video showing the ideal Chinese idea of beauty. Personally, I find all these ladies quite attractive. Now, aren’t they just lovely?
Beautiful Chinese girls.
Video 10 – Uyghur Muslim arrested for killing Chinese school children in Xinjiang.
This video is very interesting, but it needs to be seen. This is an interview with an Uyghur Muslim in prison. He discusses why he killed and hurt others, and his expectations of going to live in paradise with seventy black-eyed virgins.
According to the American mainstream propaganda, and the alt-right propaganda machine, there are millions of Muslims in China under detention and unfairly arrested.
Well, it’s a big ol’ lie, and I have covered this elsewhere.
One of the reasons why the Western press can get away with such lies is because the Chinese do not like to promote the violent acts. They believe that it should be kept hidden from the general populace. That is to day, it is the business of the government to protect the people from the acts of barbarism and savage behaviors of these individuals.
In 2019, the Chinese government began releasing some of the videos depicting why these people are in prison. This one in particular is very interesting. He’s one of the men that the NED propaganda machine is promoting as an “innocent” Muslim that is unfairly locked up. China, in response, posted videos of his terror spree, and his confession.
Funny how the American (and British) media ignores the retort.
The individual shown in the video is one of the people that is trying to be released to America and claiming that the Chinese are being too brutal to him. Yea. Right. What about the brutality that he unleashed on the poor fella in the video?
As if the brutality that he did in the first few frames of the movie isn’t brutal enough…
Meanwhile in Thailand, watch how this pachyderm comes to the rescue of a man being carried away by monsoon floodwaters. You go my large enormous friend! It’s a feel-good video to make up for the nasty Uyghur Muslim business preceding it.
Elephant rescues a downing man.
Video 12 – Cute girls meets cute boy.
Life is too short not to spend some time on cute things. I like this video. It’s cute and is a way for one girl to get a date for her girlfriend. Granted that it might not work every time, but in this video it works. And you know what? Maybe that’s all that matters. Eh?
Cute match-up.
Video 13 – The “real deal” sings in a restaurant.
Imagine that you are minding your own business and enjoying a nice meal in Pizza Hut. Then sitting right next to you is a famous actor who comes up to you and starts talking. Like Robert De Niro or Tom Hanks. What would you do?
In China, many restaurants have a microphone where you can sing. So, if the mood strikes, a person can belt out one or two of their favorite songs. Actually, many times they are actually quite good. The Chinese view singing as a popular pastime and something worthy of doing.
Check out this video. It’s the real deal you all.
Real Deal.
Video 14 – Rescue of a trapped cat under the road.
Here we have a cat, or a cat with a litter of kittens that is trapped inside a narrow storm drain crevice. The entire community gets together to rescue the kitty. It’s a great story and full of feel-good vibes. I hope you all like it and enjoy it as much as I have.
Save the kitty!
Video 15 – Happy CNY you all.
I am posting this post on Chinese New Years eve. That is 24JAN20. The year of the Pig is ending and it is going into the year of the rat. Already my family, my friends, my business colleagues are all eating these never-ending enormous banquets, drinking and quaffing enormous types of alcoholic beverages and passing out thick “red envelopes” of money to each other. It’s a great time and very festive.
Fireworks are exploding all around the house to shake away and scare away the bad “unseen” spirits from affecting our life and future prospects. The kids are playing and having fun, and KTV parties are very common. Everyone is posing their fun on Wechat and Tictok, and it’s a great time.
The only thing different this year is that the sickness outbreak in Wuhan has everyone wearing masks. Heck, even I wore a mask to the airport. LOL! (They are sold out everywhere. Don’t you know.)
Have a wonderful new year everyone. Let’s have a great prosperous years, and great times with our friends and families! Meanwhile, this is what my CNY looks like…
Enjoy!
CNY KTV party.
I hope you all enjoyed this. Have a great and wonderful new year!
If you would like to see more, please go to my General Chinese index…
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Let’s start 2020 off right. Let’s look at how average people… people like you and I… can make a difference in the lives of others. Let’s look at how people are being kind, rescuing others, and helping people in distress.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Woman tries to kidnap a child
Yes, they try to kidnap children all over the world, and they do so so expertly. Often, a bystander wouldn’t know what is going on.
In this case, a woman thinks this child is alone, and just grabs her / his hand and starts to walk off with him. Luckily the mother was right there. She stopped her and called the police. Smart move woman.
The woman who tried to kidnap the child has two children already. One is one years old, and the other two years old. She wanted to get another child for them to play with them.
Except… she had no intention of registering this child with the government (you can only have two or else pay enormous amounts in taxes), and had no intention in providing the child with schooling. In China, you need to pay for it out of pocket.
She’s average looking… but a demon inside.
Video 2 – An honest beggar returns money.
Here’s a guy who is begging on the streets. He has some mental issues and is unable to hold a job. Yet, a friendly stranger gives him some free food. And, inside the bag is some money for him to have.
The beggar doesn’t know what to do.
He takes the money to the police. They immediately size up the situation and buy the beggar some more food and supplies with the money.
Video 3 – Beggar rescues a baby from inside a hot car.
Speaking of beggars. Here’s one who is rooting around in a trash can. He can collect plastic and glass bottles and get the deposits back and live off that money that he collects.
He hears a baby crying inside a locked up car.
Watch what happens as he tries to save the baby…
Video 4 – Catching a girl that jumps from a building.
You can try. Right? I mean, breaking the fall of any person falling from over three stories high is going to kill both of you. But it doesn’t matter. You need to try first. A real Rufus reacts. He doesn’t think.
And when the girl plummets below, you do your best to break her fall.
Video 5 – Cat saves boy from a dog attack.
People do not understand, but a cat will defend it’s humans. It will do so aggressively. As this video so clearly illustrates. A wild dog starts to attack a five year old boy. Lucky for him the cat will not allow it…
Video 6 – Creepy old man tries to kidnap a girl, bystanders stop him.
Yup. Creepy old men are everywhere. This fellow is trying to seduce a young girl to come with him. He promises more toys and more dolls in his van. Good thing that the bystanders protect her.
Video 7 – Doing your part for the community.
We share the world together. Shouldn’t we do our part to make it a better place?
Video 8 – Drug dealer arrested. In China, this is a death sentence of “death plus three”.
In China, selling and dealing drugs is a very, very serious crime. Doing drugs will land you in a two-year rehab. But selling drugs will get you death plus three. That’s three years of organ harvesting and then death. Here’s an arrest in progress…
Video 9 – Emergency CPR on the street.
This happens enough, and when it does happen, are you ready to save a life? Consider it. These are other people with friends, family and loved ones. You can make a big difference, not just by saving a person’s life, but with the entire family. Be the Rufus.
Video 10 – Emergency ride to take the baby to the hospital.
Here we have a policeman taking a baby that has stopped breathing to the hospital. Minutes matter. Yet, he speeds along and saves the baby. He’s a real Rufus.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you
wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference
when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help
others. It’s our highest calling.
If you enjoyed this post, please click on this link and check out the rest of my Rufus series…
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More examples of personal heroism in China. This is part twenty one.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Man has a seizure
Here’s a guy that is having a seizure while waiting for an elevator. What would you do if you saw this happening? Would you just go your merry way and do nothing, or would you try to get help or yet… try to him him yourself? What would YOU do?
Video 2 – Man threatens to send baby into the river.
Stresses of life can get to you and can make you do strange and dangerous things. Here, we have this man with a young child threatening to jump into the river. If he jumps both would die. He holds his young daughter. What to do…?
Video 3 – Scooter accident.
Yes there is an accident and the rest of the world moves on. No one cares. But then there is a Rufus… a hero that comes tot he rescue. The guy is not moving. The accident is in the middle of the road and this intersection is a big intersection. Maybe six lanes or larger. What would you do?
Video 4 – Old man in crisis.
There are so many old people in China. Many of them are in their late 80’s and 90’s. They are moving about and buying groceries and such, but they often have a difficult time with things. Many times they need help. Will you be the Rufus and help them?
Video 5 – Muslim terrorist has hostage in elementary school.
Here we have a Muslim terrorist that is convinced that he will go to Heaven as a martyr if he kills innocent children in a kindergarten. All he needs to do is should “God is great” and start slicing necks. Then he will be killed in the act and be rewarded by Allah with 70 black-eyed virgins. Yup. He actually believes this nonsense.
How would you handle it?
Video 6 – Man having trouble while driving – asks policeman for help.
You are driving the car and suddenly you start having trouble. Your body is not reacting right and you cannot drive any longer. Lucky for you that you see a police car. So you flag it over and they help you…
Video 7 – The most emotional and moving video ever!
A woman dresses up as a nurse and steals a new born baby. This is the same thing that has happened time and time again before. In fact, in video 18 or 19 I have a video where the stolen baby was reunited with his real mother… 30 years later.
Anyways, this woman dressed up as a nurse and stole the baby. The mother is horrified, but you know what? They found the woman and raided her home…
Check it out!
The baby is returned…
The baby is returned to it’s moma.
Video 8 – Man stops a purse snatcher on a motorcycle.
Innocent bystanders can become a hero in an instant. While the lady two blocks down the street is screaming her lungs out, this young fellow takes action. He stops the motorcycle rider dead on the spot. A real Rufus!
Video 9 – Man helps a dog cross the street.
Dogs, as great as they are, sometimes need help. The smarter dogs know that trying to cross a street is dangerous. So what are they going to do? Well, good thing that there is a Rufus near by to help.
Video 10 – Rescue of a woman from a submerged car.
She is drowning. Hurt, and under very muddy water and the car is sinking fast into the mud. What are you going to do? Be the Rufus!
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you
wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference
when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help
others. It’s our highest calling.
If you enjoyed this post, please click on this link and check out the rest of my Rufus series…
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More examples of personal heroism in China. This is part twenty.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference.
When the calling strikes and an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Rescue of a baby trapped in a car that overturned and is in the river.
What would you do if you watched a car go off the side of the road, then land upside down in the dirty brown water below? What would you do when you rush over to the side and hear a frantic mother screaming, a baby crying and a man trying desperately to open the door? What would YOU do?
Video 2 – Husband freaks out his wife.
This guy is so bad. But, I like the video because it shows how a loved one would react (emotionally and physically) to an emergency regarding their loved ones.
Video 3 – Confused old man needs help.
There are tons and tons of old people in China. Many are in their late 90’s and they go about, doddering about in their daily chores and activities. Totally, in many instances, rather oblivious to the world around them. They are not thinking clearly and need help.
Video 4 – Emergency CPR at a roadside rest area.
This is a roadside rest area. They are common in China, just like they are along American highways. The roadside rests have public restrooms, and a few convenience stores and maybe a restaurant or two. Here we have a situation, caught on camera, of a man who collapses inside a restaurant.
Video 5 – Emergency going up…
All malls in China have escalators. They are very common. There are a a lot of old people and little kids, and because of the large numbers of people, there are often a higher percentage of accidents that can occur. Here we watch what is going on…
Video 6 – Helping children cross a flooded road.
Rufus helps Jesus carry the cross. Real heroes come in all sizes and shapes, and will do things that will soon be forgotten. This is my tribute to them…
Video 7 – How to tie a tie.
This video is a set-up. It illustrates just how helpful Chinese people can be. This actor pretends not to be able to tie a tie. (I can’t blame him. I hated wearing the things.) And we can watch how others react to helping him or not…
Video 8 – Muslim take-down outside of a school.
The radicalized terrorist Muslims are all over the world. Unlike the United States, China has ZERO tolerance for them.
So when you see a Muslim carrying a knife or butcher chopping cleaver towards a kindergarten or an elementary school, you call the police, and get ready to defend the children. The Radicalized Muslims love to kill babies so they can get into Heaven and cavort with their seventy virgins.
Video 9 – Police arrest a Muslim extremist.
Speaking of radical Muslims, here’s another video.
They believe that they will go into heaven if they can commit horrible crimes while shouting the words “God is great”. Silly ? Yes, but that’s just the way it is.
Video 10 – Police clear a path…
When emergencies strike, where will you be. Will you be recording the event on video or taking the time to participate and do the good work by saving and helping others? It’s your life, and how you handle it will forge your future in the Heavens.
Here we have an infant that is collapsing and is having trouble breathing and will not regain consciousness. Obviously the mother is terrified and in Shock. What would you all do?
Thank you for reading this.
God bless.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you
wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference
when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help
others. It’s our highest calling.
If you enjoyed this post, please click on this link and check out the rest of my Rufus series…
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More examples of personal heroism in China. This is part nineteen. THis is a collection compiled the day after Christmas in 2019. We’ve got some nice micro-videos to start the new year off with.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Mother and son reunited after he was kidnapped in 1989 at 4 years old.
Stealing children, especially young kids, is a problem all over the world. Sometimes they are sold off for sex slaves, but more often than not, it is just a person that wants to have a young son to call their own.
This man was four years old in 1989. He was stolen and snatched. His parents thought that he was long dead.
Then imagine their surprise when he got a routine gene DNA test. They are becoming rather common in China. Like when you want to have a child, you need to have the DNA approved by the government. So he submitted his DNA and low and behold, he is not who he thought he was!
This is his reunion with his real natural mother.
His father died the year earlier, broken hearted, believing that his son was forever gone.
Video 2 – Boy collapses in an icy pool.
Life is like that. Everything seems nice and fine. Quiet and eventual. Just some small puddles. It’s a little chilly out, not arctic temperatures. SO the boy wants to climb about and just be a boy. Then the unthinkable happens…
Video 3 – Bystanders stop and capture a robber that preys on old people.
This is a robber that accosts older men and women. Often in their 90’s, and often feeble. Both in mind and body. Only this time, a pair of Rufus’s notice what is going on. They go after the thug, chase him down and give him a real tongue lashing, I’ll tell you what!
Video 4 – Fire alarm in a kindergarten.
Everyone in Chinese schools must be able to evacuate quickly and simply. It can actually be amazing to watch. No one wants a repeat of 411. Check it out.
Video 5 – Man saves a dog trapped with a waterfall.
This man is saving a dog that is trapped in a waterfall. Watching this makes me feel good inside. I am reminded that there just might be hope fo the human species after all.
Video 6 – Preventing a sled riding accident.
This kind of things (I’m sure) happens all over America in the Winter. I think it must of happened to me more than a few time. Boy and kids being what they are, are always getting into trouble. Lucky for them, an adult is around to save the day.
Video 7 – Tackling a purse snatcher.
Purse snatchers can think that they can get away and not be caught Little do they realize that there are “watchers” all over the place and it’s up to us, as individuals, to keep the peace and right the wrongs. Be the Rufus!
Video 8 – An entire village pulls up a car.
In China, no one is alone. This can come and be a real problems at times. But, there is a plus side to it. People, friends, community all pull together. They help each other out. It’s not at all like the “lone wolf” mentality that is so persistent in the United States.
This is not a submarine. It’s a car that fell into the icy river below.
Video 9 – Woman helps a heavily loaded motorcycle.
People helping people. I love it!
I love this chick, and man does she have strong legs. But what really attracts me to her is her willingness to help others. What a gal! She for certain put a big old smile on my face.
She didn’t have to.
She could have just kept minding her own business, don’t you know.
Video 10 When chemistry goes bad.
Anyone who has had haz-mat training and MSMD training in industry know that you must respect chemicals. Out-gassing is dangerous, as is the chemical reaction when incorrect quantities are combined. It can suddenly go South very, very quickly.
Like in this video…
Thank you for reading this.
God bless.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you
wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference
when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help
others. It’s our highest calling.
If you enjoyed this post, you might want to check out the index of these types of posts. Please kindly go here…
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More examples of personal heroism in China. This is part eighteen. I’m posting it on Christmas Day 2019. There’s some good stuff here.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Policeman helps a young girl cross the street.
It’s difficult to cross the street in China. Very few people will yield or give way for you to pass. Sometime the timid can just stand there trapped for a long, long time. It takes a special person, a Rufus or a hero to break things up. Here we have a police man taking the girl across the street.
Video 2 – Daughter insists on helping a man who fell on the ice.
Ah, the father doesn’t want to get involved. You know. However, the daughter has better ideas. She’s the Rufus and she’s going to help the man who fell on the ice. And she does. She breaks away from the father and helps the man down on the ice.
Video 3 – Car runs over a man and he is trapped under the engine.
And what do you think happens? People just let him die there? Nope. Everyone comes running to pull the man out. But he’s trapped. No time to lose. So then everyone comes and lifts up the car and pulls him out.
Video 4 – Dog takes an orphan kitten home.
I’ve posted another video on this event. The other video, however didn’t show how the dog picked up the kitten, and helped it up the stairs into his master’s house. So cute. That’s dogs for you. Being man’s best friend.
Video 5 – Firemen help the little old lady cross the street.
Unlike America, there are some very, very old people walking about in China. These folk are in their 90’s and while they might be ambulatory, they aren’t thinking right. They need help. The Chinese aren’t the kinds of people to lock their elders away into a “retirement home”. They move in with them and take care of them and when they go out, well, they can be a little befuddled.
Video 6 – Rescue of a boy who climbed out of his window and got stuck.
Lucky for him that his parents had installed child-proof bars. But, you know, boys being boys, just want to be free. So the kid, thinking that he is invincible, decides to try to climb out of his 6th floor window. Never, of course, realizing that if he falls, that he will go SPLAT!
Video 7 Bystanders capture and hold a man who tried to attack a girl.
Some things are not tolerated, and when this fellow tried to take advantage of this young lass, these two men decided to step in and stop the assault. Both of them are true heroes. Real Rufus. The real deal.
Video 8 – HK “Pro-Democracy” Antifa tries to assault a police man and run away…
But, he wasn’t paying attention. As he ran, a bystander set out his leg and the running Antifa “Pro-Democracy” terrorist tripped. He went flying… right off the mall floor and plunged a couple of floors down…
Video 9 – Man stops a truck from crushing another fellow.
Notice this guy. Man! He sees what is going on and hops up and down trying to get the truck driver’s attention! What a real hero! What a Rufus!
Video 10 – Girl in distress.
Here’s a chick that somehow got trapped on top of an awning about 14 floors up. I don’t think that she intended on killing herself, but unless someone helps her soon, that is exactly what will happen. But people are there to help. Real, 100% Rufus. They are not going to allow her to fall. No way. No how.
Bonus Video – Rescue of a mother and her son.
Often you don’t realize that a person is in distress until it is too late. Time is strange. You can go from “everything is fine”, to “OMG we are in the shit now!” within a half a second. Watch what happens in this crisis situation…
Thank you for reading this.
God bless.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you
wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference
when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help
others. It’s our highest calling.
If you enjoyed this post check out the other posts here…
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More examples of personal heroism in China. This is part seventeen.
This continues earlier posts and presents some new and curious situations that only a real Rufus will know how to handle.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Never give up on your training.
Sure, you might be a martial arts expert, but your day to day job is as a common laborer. That means nothing. Nothing! You are not your job. Nor, are you your career. People need to stop identifying themselves by those antiquated measures.
Here we have a common laborer practicing GongFu while he is sweeping the street. The Rufus is always on point.
Video 2 – Off duty policeman stops a hold up.
The Rufus is always ready to take action at a moment’s notice. here we have a normal (everyday) police man going inside to grab a coke (or pack of cigarettes) and minding his own business. When three teenage youths decide to rob the store. Bad move, kids…
Video 3 – There are three kinds of people in the world.
Yup, this video is pretty funny. So the father decides to pretend that he is ill and see what his triplet girls react to it…
The one girl take the candy out of his hand and leaves. Mission accomplished.
One girl freaks out. Gets all emotional and screams and cries in panic.
The last girl tries to find oout what is wrong and goes to help the father.
Yuppur. There are three kinds of people in the world.
Video 4 – A sense of community.
In rural and small town America you have a sense of community. People help each other out. They visit each other and offer gifts and support to the fire and police. Well, it is the same in the rest of the world also. This is especially true in China where people are hyper-patriotic about their nation and their race.
Here we see just average people giving some “good will” gifts to the local fire departments.
Video 5 – Saving a boy from drowning.
Here is a video that I might have pasted before, but this is the better, longer and more detailed version. A boy falls (jumps?) into a deep pool and then discovers that he cannot swim. Yikes!
The people nearby all freak and run around trying to do things. Notice that one doesn’t care, and just jumps in immediately to save the boy. A real hero. Rufus is in all of us.
Video 6 – Rescue before the car goes off the side of a cliff.
Yikes! You are driving along and then suddenly your car starts to slide off the road and down the sharp and steep cliff side. What are you going to do? Well, if you are the Rufus, you spring into action and help pull the people to safety. That’s what!
Video 7 – Alert Stop n’ Go employee.
China is filled with gas stations, and fast food quickie marts. Here we have a motor-trike that catches on fire. Luckily the station attendants are all well trained, and immediately spring into action. Time her actions. Within three seconds there is a fire extinguisher being sprayed on the fire.
The Rufus comes in all sizes and shapes!
Video 8 – Truck driver shelters disabled motorcycle rider.
This poor motorcycle rider is in distress. His bike konked out, in the middle of a very busy super highway and cars are racing left and right. Lucky for him that the truck driver decides to use his enormous rig to shelter the bike from the on-coming cars. This is a pure Rufus action. Heroes. They come in all sizes and shapes. They are people like YOU!
Video 9 – Rescue of an old man on the escalator.
When the unexpected happens, Rufus comes to the rescue.
Video 10 – Takedown of a radicalized uyghur Muslim with a machete.
So you are in China and this guy is threatening everyone in the parking lot. He’s got a large machete, and screaming “God is great!” in some kind of strange language. What are you going to do?
Thank you for reading this.
God bless.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you
wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference
when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help
others. It’s our highest calling.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
This article discusses the current preparations for war on going in the state of Virginia. This is a war between conservative patriots, and progressive Marxists. It’s a war between then the urban cities and the rural areas. In many ways, it is shaping up to resemble the Bosnia civil war in general scope with elements of the Rwandan genocide being planned for in the urban areas.
It is my sincere hope that things can be diffused shortly. However, the build up of tensions is proceeding unabated, and it appears to be intentional.
America today. We are at a point of no return.
First, the sides
The sides have already been established early on. One one side you have the conservative, traditional patriots. They reside in the predominantly rural areas and typically vote Republican and voted Trump into office. They fiercely defend free speech, free association, and the right to bear arms. They are very, very tired of progressive Marxism being rammed down their collective throats, and it appears their angst has reached a breaking point.
They follow and believe in the Constitution, both State and Federal, as written.
“It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government.”
—Thomas Paine
Advertisement catering to the American patriot.
On the other side you have the progressive socialist Marxists. They voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. They have been funded from enormous cash donations out of state, and even out of country. They have big business, and big government, and big landholders and the big oligarchy on their side. They pretty much reside in the urban areas and the richest and wealthiest counties.
The progressive activists come in different shapes, sizes and an amazing array of names. They go from democrat socialists, to communists, to liberals, to progressives, to social activists. They have armed groups that range from the Black Panthers, to the BLM and the Antifa. They all believe in replacing the United States Constitution with a more malleable document where they can control everything.
The break down between these two groups can easily be illustrated on the 2016 election map, by country, for Virginia in 2016.
The break down between these two groups can easily be illustrated on the 2016 election map, by country, for Virginia in 2016.
Second, the violations of Rights
Expert Tip – Never hand in your weapons to the government.
Well, after intense funding from outside the state, and a lack of interest in the Republican “wishy-washy” candidates, the progressive socialist democrat Marxists took control of all the levers of power in Virginia.
This newly elected democrat majority wants to ban the majority of firearms in the state. They want to ban everything about firearms. They want to ban ownership, transport, training and even mentioning having a gun.
The German genocidal events are well known to most Americans over the age of 40. Not so well known to the younger generations. The Nazi Germans "purged" the German society of "undesirables" which included just about EVERYONE except the "chosen" Arian race.
Hitler gun ban meme.
As such the newly elected socialist / Marxist democrats wasted no time “rubber stamping” pre-written anti-gun legislation…
Four
years after the government passed the anti-gun ownership legislation,
the Christians were all collected and rounded up by armed militia,
soldiers and local police forces. They were collected in the schools,
town centers, and formed into groups. Then they were either killed
outright, or sent on death marches into the hot barren desert.
They want people to turn in their weapons, New Zealand style, and barring that go house to house to search and confiscate the weapons. Those that do not comply will be arrested and given felony convictions.
It’s a scene right out of the 1984 movie “Red Dawn”.
FEMA camp scene from the 1984 movie “Red Dawn”. Where people were rounded up because of their association with weapons. Here, Harry Dean Stanton gave the legendary line, “AVENGE ME!”
Why this is contentious.
The political “talking points” is that all this is “common sense gun control”.
However, the real reason is to wrest control of the United States from the people. This is a long-duration effort that has been on-going for over a century, and now the only thing standing in the way of this takeover are clusters of armed citizens.
The idea is to disarm the citizens and begin the standard socialist takeover of the nation. Already, [1] the socialist Marxists have gained control of almost every government institution, and has molded it in their image. They have also [2] taken over many of the largest private institutions as well. In addition, they have also [3] been funding and arming socialist Marxist agitators.
Everything is falling into place.
Antifa receiving weapons, logistics and strategy training under the CIA alongside the ISS fighters in Syria.
For those of you that don’t know what this means, I’ll tell you. It means complete and utter genocide of the opposition.
It’s “common sense” genocide.
Like this… (Opens up in a different tab.)
In case you, the reader, think that I am exaggerating, read up on this subject. I have a six part study of this, and it is very important to read. The first post will take you into the series. Click on the link below, and it will open up in a different browser tab.
Oh, and don’t think that you will be able to sit this one out…
Ahhh, but don’t listen to me. Listen and get a second opinion, like this…
Gun Control “wet dreams”. Here is a second opinion on this subject.
Our protections…
Aside from a direct violation of the second Amendment in the Bill of RIGHTS…
Right to Bear Arms
Passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791. The first 10 amendments form the Bill of Rights
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
It is also a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Bill of RIGHTS. For these laws talk about going house to house, searching for firearms and seizing them, and arresting the people in the house for good measure.
Search and Seizure
Passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791. The first 10 amendments form the Bill of Rights
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Another opinion…
There isn’t any “due process” in any of these Democrat actions on gun control.
To these people, it’s as if the Bill of Rights does not exist, and that elected officials can make what ever rules and laws they want, selectively enforce them and the people; the citizens have absolutely zero say in the matter.
The American Bill of Rights does not exist if the government does not protect it.
This subject is also covered here (opens up in a separate tab.)…
Tazewell County has formed an official active militia.
Tazewell County has formed an official active militia as per the Second Amendment to the Constitution. This is in response to the actions of Virginia lawmakers that (immediately upon election) passed a very draconian gun control bill. A bill that is in violation of both the Federal and the Virginia Bill of Rights.
Tazewell County has formed an official active militia as per the Second Amendment to the Constitution.
The foundation and the authority for Tazewell County to take this action is the Constitution itself;
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
"To all of those who like to mock gun owners and ask if they’re going to fight tyranny in a militia, Virginia’s answer is a clear and adamant “yes.” That’s exactly what they’re planning to do."
Background
Daisy Luther has been tracking this issue aggressively on her website The Organic Prepper. I can find no source finer and better researched than hers on this issue…
After the most recent election, the state’s House and Senate are both Democrat majorities and they haven’t wasted a moment in attempting to gut the gun laws in what has historically been a permissive state.
The so-called “assault weapon ban” is SB16 and has that perilously vague wording we all know to be incredibly dangerous. In some interpretations, this law, if it passes, could make illegal the ownership or transportation of any semi-automatic gun because extendable magazines are available for it – and you don’t even have to have the extendable mags. (source)
I personally do not know if the progressive Marxist democrats in the United States realize that they are going to experience some “push back”, or if the “triggers” are intentional to start open warfare. I just don’t know.
Maybe they just think we are all stupid, dumb hicks that will obey what ever they tell us because we are not as bright and enlightened as they.
The Reaction
In a series of rapidly changing developments, Virginia is undergoing wholesale rebellion by rural and even suburban counties, rejecting the oppressive gun control agenda recently revealed by the new incoming Democrat-controlled legislature.
Gun owners all across Old Dominion have been up in arms since anti-gun forces took the House and Senate in the recent election and are now preparing to resist having their arms taken from them in any way possible.
-Gun Rights Watch
That’s pretty much it.
You can chip away at every Right in the book , but when you start taking away the 2nd amendment… the very last roadblock to mass slaughter, genocide and tyranny, patriots will put their foot down.
And they have.
Counties across the state quickly organized into Second Amendment sanctuaries.
The speed at which they reacted is a testament to how furious they are that their state government now wishes to infringe on their rights.
An even dozen counties have passed gun owner sanctuary resolutions already, with new ones coming on a near-daily basis.
-Gun Rights Watch
The idea behind this is that the counties, as Second Amendment sanctuaries, would disregard any law that violates either the Federal or State Rights protecting firearm ownership, use and training.
The county-level defensive tactic that began originally in Oregon close to a decade ago, then popularized in Illinois, has spread to over a dozen states. It comes as no surprise that with few other options and little to lose, many communities in the state are vowing not to take part in any gun confiscation schemes or enforcement of unconstitutional laws designed to make private citizens less able to defend themselves.
Now, compare this map to the 2016 election map at the first part of this post. Obviously the battle lines are forming and the progressive tyrannical democrat Marxists want to disarm all traditional conservatives.
Then they have other things that they intend to do. It’s the historical norm. Don’t you know.
Other things…
South Africa. Once the socialist Marxists gain control, they purge all opposition by using military armed police. Do you think that those dead bodies on the ground had firearms? Do you think that they were trained in how to shoot, and oppose the ruling Marxists in power? This is what a Marxist progressive socialist utopia looks like. It is South Africa today. The disarmed people are turning over their farms, vehicles, and property for an increasingly hungry Marxist government.
The Reaction from the Tyrannical Marxists…
This reaction of taking proactive steps, as opposed to the nearly uniform sheep-like behavior of the past few centuries took the Marxists by surprise. Their reaction was totalitarian.
What?!?!
The sheep (serf-slaves) won't obey us? Well, that just won't go. Jeeves, please fetch me my jewel-encrusted phone. Yes. Now, quickly, don't you know, my masseuse is due in five minutes...
George. George Soros, please. Yes.
What should we do? The plantation is in open rebellion. What would you advise?
Oh, yes. That's right.
Kill the fuckers. Show them who's boss...
State Representative Donald MacEachin (D) was the first to suggest calling up the National Guard to squelch the rebellion…
McEachin also noted that Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam could call the National Guard, if necessary.
“And ultimately, I’m not the governor, but the governor may have to nationalize the National Guard to enforce the law,” he said. “That’s his call, because I don’t know how serious these counties are and how severe the violations of law will be. But that’s obviously an option he has.” (source)
This reaction was historical.
Which is to say, it follows the model of a tyrannical takeover predictably and unequivocally. It’s historical and follows the same tried and true application of seize, suppress, repress and implement tyranny.
There is no fucking way that Americans are going to allow the government to take away their rights, and implement genocide on them and their families.
There is no fucking way that Americans are going to allow the government to take away their rights, and implement genocide on them and their families.
No. Fucking. Way.
The progressive Marxists are delusional to believe that it will ever happen without a fight.
So they began to contemplate calling in the military to disarm, arrest, and subjugate the citizens of Virginia.
Adolf Hitler addressing his military telling them that they need to round up Jews, and undesirables, disarm them all for the good of the nation.
The National Guard’s Response
Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia’s National Guard responded rather vaguely via Twitter.
We have received multiple questions regarding proposed legislation for the 2020 General Assembly session and the authority of the Governor of Virginia to employ the Virginia National Guard in a law enforcement role.
We understand and respect the passion people feel for the U.S. Constitution and 2nd Amendment rights. We will not speculate about the possible use of the Virginia National Guard.
— Va. National Guard (@VaNationalGuard) December 13, 2019
The responses in the Twitter thread were very interesting and suggest a firestorm is brewing…
A militia is forming in Virginia
Tazewell County, a county on the mountainous West Virginia border, is taking this threat to the Rights of citizens very seriously. In their minds, the government has completely failed them that that the time has long past for passive acceptance of tyranny. They believe that they need to take strong, unequivocal, and proactive measures to assure that their Rights will remain intact and in place.
The militia is constantly made fun of by the mainstream American media, however there is nothing wrong with demanding that people obey the Constitution. When the government stops following it, and then starts to break every single law in the book, true patriots will not allow it to pass. They will fight back and wrest control back to them.
So, not only did they pass a Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution, but they’ve also officially begun to form an armed, and active militia.
Just this past Tuesday, on December 10th, the Board of Supervisors from Tazewell County passed two different resolutions in light of controversy circling those who are pro-gun.
The first resolution declared the county to be a second amendment sanctuary. This is not at all surprising to see, as 76 out of 95 counties, 9 out of 38 independent cities, and 13 towns have adopted second amendment sanctuary resolutions.
The second item on the agenda was the proposition of establishing a militia in the county. When both of the resolutions passed, the crowd cheered loudly in support of the decisions.
Also, the resolutions didn’t exactly pass by a small margin; the votes were unanimous, with more than 200 citizens standing by in support.
-Law Enforcement Today (source)
County Administrator Eric Young explained why the county has opted to form a militia.
“Our position is that Article I, Section 13, of the Constitution of Virginia reserves the right to ‘order’ militia to the localities.
Therefore, counties, not the state, determine what types of arms may be carried in their territory and by whom. So, we are ‘ordering’ the militia by making sure everyone can own a weapon.”
Thus, if anyone from the state (government) tries to remove the Sheriff from their elected office because they refuse to enforce unjust laws, those state officials will be faced with a lawful militia composed of citizens within the state.
- Tazewell County Administrator Eric Young (source)
Arming up and readying for battle
This article explains the extensive training being offered by Tazewell County to its citizens. This is being done in order to make sure everyone is acting safely and responsibly.
“Coincidentally,” there’s an anti-paramilitary bill on the table.
It’s probably no coincidence that at the same time militias are forming, there’s also a bill to make them illegal. The anti-paramilitary bill SB64 has thrown kerosene on an already brilliant inferno.
This bill, once it becomes law, will make learning how to shoot a weapon a felony. It will be equal to that of rape of a child, or selling hard drugs to infants.
The future of anyone who has any association with guns, gun organizations, shooting, shooting clubs, or hunting. This is a scene from the Bosnia conflict. Take note that all these rounded up men, every single one in this picture, was killed and found buried in a mass grave five years later.
Obviously, the radical progressive Marxists want a conflict. They do so, obviously in the belief, that they will persevere and win this conflict.
Here’s some of the text of that bill.
§ 18.2-433.2. Paramilitary activity prohibited; penalty.A person shall be is guilty of unlawful paramilitary activity, punishable as a Class 5 felony if he:
1. Teaches or demonstrates to any other person the use, application, or making of any firearm, explosive, or incendiary device, or technique capable of causing injury or death to persons, knowing or having reason to know or intending that such training will be employed for use in, or in furtherance of, a civil disorder; or
2. Assembles with one or more persons for the purpose of training with, practicing with, or being instructed in the use of any firearm, explosive, or incendiary device, or technique capable of causing injury or death to persons, intending to employ such training for use in, or in furtherance of, a civil disorder; or3. Assembles with one or more persons with the intent of intimidating any person or group of persons by drilling, parading, or marching with any firearm, any explosive or incendiary device, or any components or combination thereof.
-(source)
Obviously, this is not a coincidence.
They predicted how rural Virginians would respond to their gun-grabbing actions. Their plan all along was to confiscate guns and turn any organized resistance into a felony.
The “fall back” position is to “register the guns” instead of an outright seizure. But that is just buying time. The truth is that history tells us that ALL registration of weapons WILL result in collection efforts, followed by the obligatory genocide of the disarmed. Gun registration is the “Albanian method” of genocide.
The Virginia Legislators are committing treason.
There could hardly be anything more unconstitutional than SB64. When you violate the Constitution you commit treason.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
They are violating their oath.
This is the pledge these legislators swore:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon me as ………. according to the best of my ability, (so help me God).”
-(source)
Every person in the government who has sworn this oath yet supports these unconstitutional bills should be immediately recalled as well as tried criminally. This is long overdue, and because of this lack of policing of the elected officials, we have found ourselves within this mess.
When the government stops policing the very structure of the national Constitution, the door opens wide for the usurpation by people with evil intent.
This strategy was orchestrated by someone with a lot of money and power.
Daisy Luther framed this situation quite presciently. She said…
This is something that has been thought through, perhaps even by gun control advocate and presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. The reason I’m suggesting Bloomberg specifically is that his PAC donated millions and millions of dollars to turn the legislatures of 24 states to a Democrat majority.
His millions worked in 21 of those cases, and Virginia is one of them. Packing the state legislatures with allies would help his agenda should he actually become the next president. Records filed so far show that organizations controlled and funded by Mr. Bloomberg spent more than $41 million on 24 House races, much of it on eye-catching ads rolled out on social media and broadcast on television in the crucial final days of the campaign.
And while it’s impossible to conclude that any one factor tipped the balance in a race, Mr. Bloomberg appears to have reaped the benefits of his millions in giving.
Democrats won 21 of the 24 races he sought to influence. Of those, 12 had been considered either tossups or in Republican districts. “The mission was to flip the House. Success or failure would be defined by that,” said Howard Wolfson, a senior adviser to Mr. Bloomberg. (source)
Bloomberg is rabidly anti-gun and has said that ending “the nationwide madness of U.S. gun violence” is the impetus behind his run for the White House. If he were to be elected, may God help America, because he will destroy everything for which our nation has ever stood.
Here’s the summary on what’s happening in Virginia
It’s funny because it is so very true. Girls and guns. So very funny.
Let’s look at all these facts together.
With Michael Bloomberg’s help, the Democrats took over the Virginia state congress.
There’s an anti-paramilitary bill that would disallow armed people
to gather or teach others how to use firearms or any technique that
could cause injury or death.
There’s a bill that would make semi-automatic weapons illegal.
Nearly the entire state (aside from the highly populated areas that
elected these yahoos) has balked and formed Second Amendment
sanctuaries.
A legislator threatened the sanctuaries with the National Guard.
The sanctuaries responded by activating an organized militia.
The only real way to prevent bloodshed and save face for the congress and governor is for these bills not to pass.
What happens when only the government has guns.
That would be difficult, though, given the fact that Bloomberg dumped
millions of dollars into getting people elected who promised to pass
strict gun control bills. If they suddenly vote against the bill, they
will have to face their angry constituents and the wrath of Bloomberg.
Rural Virginians seem unlikely to back down and are willing to fight.
They have another month to get organized to defend their communities.
Remember that in situations such as these, the rumor mill works overtime. There are a lot of reports that are exaggerated.
The truth is bad enough that we don’t need to add far-fetched theories to the mix.
History is terrible enough and crazy enough that all you need to do is read the “lessons learned” from the handful of survivors of Socialist / Marxist genocides.
This article is a very good, common-sense breakdown of fact vs. fiction, although some vehemently disagree with the assessment that the government will not turn off communications and power for the sanctuary areas.
It’s certainly not impossible to imagine that drastic measures could be taken.
Very Puzzling.
What will happen next remains to be seen, but it is no exaggeration to say that the future of our country is now riding on the response of Virginians, should these unconstitutional laws pass.
Conclusion
These articles will either pass or not.
If they pass, there will be “push back” from the conservative patriots against the Marxist democrats.
If they do not pass, then there will be a short (perhaps two to three years) while the progressive Marxists regroup and rethink a strategy that will enable them to attain their goals to their benefit.
And that is the way it is.
This is when the bullet meets the bone.
Thus, the first volley into CWII and SHTF is in progress. Make sure that you have achieved all your prepper goals, mapped out strategies and have back-up plans in the event that things do not go in your favor.
There
is a direct link between gun collection and genocide. It is the
historical norm. However, most people are ignorant of history, and
others don’t care. They openly want genocide… against their neighbors.
They never think that it could be used against them.
Best of luck, and God’s grace.
If you liked this post, you can find other similar posts on this link here. It will take you to an index of similar posts of the same general venue.
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More videos of personal heroism in China. This is part sixteen.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Boy helps man after being hit by a hit and run driver.
This is why China has cameras everywhere, and facial recognition. The hit and run driver was caught and tried and is doing hard time in a Chinese hard-labor prison. You do not hit a person and then speed off…
Video 2 – Girl being dragged forward on an escalator.
Big kudos to the hijab wearing woman that rushes to save her! Do not allow the inherent biases of the radicalized Muslim elements to color your views on everyone else. There are good people everywhere. Rufus’s abound. You just don’t know who they are.
Most times they don’t know either.
Video 3 – Taking a beating.
Sometimes we are our own heroes. We take the beatings of life… unfair, uncalled for, undeserving and we move onward. We continue and we push and we strive. Sometimes, being a hero… being a Rufus is to just keep being excellent when the entire rest of the work is pushing for you to give up.
Video 4 – Emergency run to the hospital.
When there is an emergency, the baby is sick and cannot breathe… what are you going to do? In this case we have a terrified mother and a baby with difficulty breathing. The child needs to go to the hospital immediately…
Video 5 – Allowing people to pass.
Being the best that we can be often means being helpful, kind and considerate of others. This can be helping a person, or doing more than that. What ever, you time on this planet, in this body is a short one. Make the most of it.
Be good and kind to others and don’t ever expect any kind of payback.
Video 6 – Being the Rufus.
Being the Rufus means being an everyday hero. It means being the best that you can be, helping others, and not being manipulated by the wealthy, the media or the powerful. It means doing things on your terms in your way.
Be the Rufus.
Video 7 – Young boy wants to meet his hero.
This is a cute video and shows that the players care about their fans. And yes, the kid did not need to interrupt the interview and the bodyguards shooed him away, the football player showed that he had heart and was supportive of his fans. He’s a true Rufus.
Video 8 – Not all heroes wear capes.
But what they do actually do is be the best that they can be. In every way, you must strive to be the best of who you are. Your rewards will be many. Check out this young girls writing ability.
Video 9 – Train track emergency.
Check out the Rufus that drops everything and comes to the rescue of this motorcycle rider who spilled right on top of the train tracks. He’s a real Rufus, that’s for sure!
Video 10 – Community.
We are all part of a community. You have your immediate family, then your friends, and then your local community. We need each other and that need is a a real and important one. Take care and embrace it.
Thank you for reading this.
God bless.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you
wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference
when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help
others. It’s our highest calling.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More videos of personal heroism in China. This is part fifteen.
Some people find these posts interesting, others boring. I find them inspirational. They how the best of what we are and why that matters.
It matters.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Help an old lady cross the street.
Here is a video of a little old lady making her way across the street. The intersection is a six-way, and totally confusing to the pedestrian folk of all ages. SO she’s going her way, at her speed. The cars are zipping by. But you know what?
One guy stops for her. Then a motorcycle gets in front of the the other lane and stops the traffic there. And then again, yet another car takes the lead.
Rufus. We are everywhere!
Video 2 – Rescue a man from a train.
What in the world is this guy thinking? What could be so interesting on the railroad tracks? Well, what ever it is, he is totally and completely absorbed in it, and the train is coming at him with lightening speed. He’s only got seconds before he is squashed into jelly.
Lucky for him, a Rufus sees him…
Video 3 – Catch a thief.
Thief’s are able to rob people and get away with crimes because no one comes after them. But that is changing. In China, when you take down a criminal, you help someone, you give a person CPR, you will not be sued. The police won’t arrest you Berkley, California style, or sue you for saving their life. So people are permitted by law to be heroes.
And that means catching crooks…
Video 4 – Help take down a terrorist.
When a policeman is trying to take down a terrorist, innocent bystanders might want to assist. Here, we have a Uighur Muslim in Xinjiang, China wielding a knife and shouting “God is Great” while stabbing passers by. Unlucky for him the police and the locals won’t tolerate his nonsense.
Video 5 – Helping a homeless man.
This fellow helps a guy down on his luck. Or, maybe he is mentally disturbed, or has other issues. In any event, he tries to help him. He buys him food, and gives him the shirt off his back. He’s a real Rufus…
Video 6 – Standing for the National Anthem
You would NEVER see this in the United States, but it is common in the rest of the world. When the national anthem is played, everyone stops and faces the flag and gives it their undivided attention.
Personal pride, respect for your country, your community and your school is what defines our local relationships. Without it, we are just mindless cogs within a machine.
Video 7 – Businessman gets bad news.
It’s not only emotionally distraught young women that throw themselves infront of speeding trains, it can be men as well. Sometimes the news can be so overwhelming, so out of control, and so damning that we just (out of emotion) plunge ourselves into the dark abyss. Luckily for this fellow, Rufus was nearby to help.
Video 8 – New rescue technology.
This is pretty cool. I don’t know how effective it would be, as the motor and technology would have to be checked regularly, but it’s a useful application of inventive technologies and worthy of mention.
Video 9 – A cat saves a boy from a dog attack!
This is another favorite video. It’s exactly as it appears. A dog attacks a little boy, and a cat races to the rescue!
Video 10 – Man robs a woman in a bank and then changes his mind when he sees how little she has in her account.
This kind of thing has happened more than once in China, and I am at a loss to understand why. Maybe the Chinese have a understanding of things that are different than what you have in America.
Thank you for reading this.
God bless.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you
wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference
when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help
others. It’s our highest calling.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More videos of personal heroism in China. This is part fourteen. This one has some of my favorites. The cat and the dog heroes really put a smile on my face.
Please watch those videos.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Stranger saves an infant from getting run over!
So you are minding your own business. You turn around and there is a car heading straight for you at Indy-500 speeds. What’s more, there is a little infant standing in the way! What are you going to do?
You snap into action – that’s what! You become the Rufus and you rescue the child.
Video 2 – A crazed motorcyclist decides to go after a middle-school girl.
Being in China, you get to see some really strange events. One of which is apparent crazed violence from out the blue. I think that it is due to the Chinese nature; they keep all their emotions pent up inside of them for decades. Then, every now and then, something snaps and they just go berserk.
Here, we have a crazed fellow and he decides to go after some (normally) pretty harmless middle-school girls. Bad move guy. Bad move…
Video 3 – Rescuing a distraught young girl.
It can be really difficult growing up. You have the expectations of your parents, the trials of the school and the pains of growing up in a community of your peers. As a young girl, your emotions and hormones are raging and things don’t always go the way that you want. So you can get very sad, and even suicidal.
Here we have a concerned bystander getting a local policeman involved and he chats and helps the young girl.
Video 4 – Cat stops a toddler from falling off the edge of the porch.
This is one of my favorite videos.
You know, in China, every apartment has a porch. Some can be as high up as 60 floors high. And to make matters worse, young children and toddlers often climb out onto the porches and plunge to their deaths to the streets below. It doesn’t matter if it is on third floor or the sixtieth floor. A fall would be fatal.
This cat knows this, and will absolute not allow the toddler to go anywhere near the edge of the porch. No way!
Video 5 – Girl on crutches carried by a stranger.
China can be rude sometime. There are rude people everywhere, and insensitive people. There are sociopaths, and psychopaths and they exist in every society. They are all bad people.
Here we have a girl on crutches and a rude driver.
Luckily we have a Rufus nearby that that carry the girl to safety…
Video 6 – Car intentionally hits another car to save a life.
Another favorite video.
Watch it carefully. This car is going to run over some people crossing the street. It’s a mother with two small children. The car, were it to hit them would most certainly result in deaths and damage.
Yet…
Yet.. another car sees this. He “floors it” and rams the other car. Preventing it from hitting the family.
A true Rufus Hero!
Video 7 – Three workers rescue a girl.
It’s late at night. Two thugs try to accost a pretty girl alone in a park. Hey! China is not New York City! People do not stand for that kind of unhealthy evil behavior.
Watch what the workers sitting on the bench do.
Video 8 – Dog defends his master.
So here is a burglary inside a home. The burglar does not expect anyone to be home, but suddenly a 20-something girl in a bathrobe comes out. Shes wearing nothing except a robe. He quickly decides to go after her, and some bad things could result.
Luckily she has a live-in Rufus to protect her!
Video 9 – Rescue of a child in the water.
Some things define explanation. Who knows why this young kid decided to jump into the water? But he did, and panic ensues. What will happen to him? What do you think?
Video 10 – Helping others.
You don’t need to save lives to make a difference. Just being helpful and kind is all that is required.
Today, just say a kind word to someone. Tell that girl that she looks good. Complement someone on their outfit. Buy someone a cup of coffee at work, Pay it forward at a parking meter or a toll booth.
Make a difference.
It’s the way of the Rufus.
Thank you for reading this.
God bless.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you
wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference
when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help
others. It’s our highest calling.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More stories of personal heroism in China. This is part thirteen.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Chasing down a hit and run driver.
Here we have two drivers that witness a hit and run accident. They chase after the guy, and run him down. Then call the police. Be the Rufus. It is our highest calling.
Video 2 – The dangers of being a fireman.
I strongly believe that we are not giving firemen the credit they deserve. It is their job to plunge head-first into danger. They do so even though it means that their own life is on the line. Be the Rufus.
Video 3 – Returning a woman’s purse.
Just be good. Do good deeds. Help people in need. Support others and be kind. It’s not about greed, or climbing the social ladder. It’s all about being true to our inner convictions.
Video 4 – Elementary students help an old lady.
Yup. Even children can be the Rufus. Do good. Help others. It’s a human calling.
Video 5 – Old lady collapses on the street.
There are a lot of old people in China. There are! The often reported statistic that the average longevity of Chinese is 60 years old is sorely, woefully, and terribly out of date. Most Chinese men and women today live into their late 80’s and 90’s. (Well, officially it is in their late 70’s. But here in the Macao / Hong Kong area, it is much, much higher.)
As such, they move about. The walk around… but not so well. Being in your sunset years isn’t a walk in the park, don’t you know.
What do you do when one of these elders collapse in front of you? You be the Rufus.
Video 6 – Nurses spring into action.
Rufus is not gender dependent. It is not race or species dependent, either. Here we have a nimble nurse doing what ever it takes to rescue man in distress.
Be the Rufus.
Video 7 – Rescue a drowning man.
Don’t just stand there and point. The real Rufus springs into action. He does what ever it takes. He’s not afraid. Not at all. He takes the leap… on faith… without thinking.
Are YOU up for the calling?
Video 8 – Stranger saves a man simply.
Sometimes we are guided by the supernatural. We all have a guardian angel and yes, they can materialize and help us out…
Video 9 – Young men clear the way for an ambulance.
Traffic can get really terrible in China. What are you to do when there is an ambulance in need, and grid-lock for miles? You be the Rufus, that’s what! You go car to car. Knocking on windows as you go. You get people to move out of the way.
You do it Rufus-style.
Video 10 – Rufus springs into action.
Sometimes you are just minding your own business, walking down the road, and you confront a crisis situation. You just don’t have seconds. You must react then and there. Lives are at stake! Are you up for the challenge?
Be the Rufus.
Thank you for reading this.
God bless.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you
wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference
when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help
others. It’s our highest calling.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More stories of personal heroism in China. This is part eleven.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Baby left inside a locked car.
So, you are walking down the street and you hear a baby crying. You look inside a parked car nearby and you see that there is a baby locked inside. It is crying and you are worried. What are you going to do?
Pretend nothing is going on?
Or will you be the Rufus and spring into action?
Video 2 – Young child hops on a farm truck and takes it for a spin…
Except that he’s not so good at driving and crashes it right into a bridge. If you watched this, what would you do? Why, if it were me, I’d spring into Rufus mode…
Video 3 – Child falls into a pond and is drowning.
You hear screams and cries. You look over the railing and there is a small boy flailing his arms trying to keep his head above the water. What are you going to do? Call the police? Call the fire department? Or, as in this case, you kick off your shoes and go in and save the child.
You be the Rufus!
Video 4 – Small boy wants to meet his football hero.
Ok, so the bodyguards chase him away. No big deal. Famous people always have to deal with adoration of the mobs. But not this time. The football player (Soccer player, in American English) calls the boy over and chats with him a spell and sends him on his way.
Video 5 – Granny is trapped in the ice and is fading fast.
That’s right. It’s not just little children that can get into trouble. Somehow this grandmother fell through the ice and is having a dickens of time getting out. You can tell that she is fading fast and cannot move her arms very well. Who knows how long she has been in there? But you are the only one available in this small rural community. You need to save her and you need to act fast. Are you up to it?
Video 6 – Car hits a mother with her son.
Not only that, but you have to deal with a furious little boy. What are you going to do, and how are you going to handle it?
Video 7 – Husband helps his pregnant wife.
Been there done that. Yup, this is China, and this is the kind of things that a husband will do for his wife heavy in pregnancy.
Video 8 – Bridge rescue.
Flood waters have carried a man off and down river. He’s a goner for certain. Yet, there is a bridge across the river. Maybe if everyone rushes to the bridge they can save him. And that is what happens, the entire town rushes there…
Video 9 – Being the good guy.
You know, giving your seat, or place in line for the needy is a good thing to do. It’s a Rufus kind of thing. It shows character, worth and value. Be the Rufus.
Video 10 – A Tribute to the workers of the world.
Not every job is 9 to 5, sit within a cubicle, and stare at a computer screen of spreadsheets and emails. There are people who actually perform dangerous tasks daily. They risk their lives every single day, and no one notices or cares.
Here’s a tribute to them.
Oh, by the way, this first video of the man in the steel mill was a job that I actually did. It is hot, hot work and terribly exhausting.
Thank you for reading this.
God bless.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you
wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference
when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help
others. It’s our highest calling.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More stories of personal heroism in China. This is part nine.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Save the little kitten.
Kittens and little children (and puppies) don’t know the dangers of roads. Plus, the drivers often cannot see the little critter and thus it can be quite dangerous for them. Here we have a Rufus stopping a truck so that the kitten can be saved…
Video 2 – Young boy returns a wallet.
Rufus comes in all ages, races, sizes and dispositions. Here we have a little boy returning a wallet. Well, he’s trying to, at least. He’s a good boy, and I would be proud of him were he to be my son…
Video 3 – A split second to save a girl.
Sometimes, you react without even thinking. You just reach out and save someone from a terrible accident…
Video 4 – Rescue from the ice.
Here is one of the most terrifying of rescues; trapped in the ice. When I grew up in Western Pennsylvania, there were many of my classmates that died from walking on an ice-frozen river and fell through the thin ice. It’s not just that the water is cold, but that you can easily sink down and get trapped under the ice with no way to break out.
Here we see Rufus running to the rescue.
Video 5 – Rescue from drowning.
But it’s not just the water and ice. Even int he middle of the summer people can get hurt in and around the water. I well remember on Cape Cod where people would just be standing in ankle deep water and a wave would crash over them, and a under-tow rip-tide would wash them out to sea.
Dangerous and horrifying.
Video 6 – Stop the car and get that pickpocketer.
What would you do if you were in a car driving along and see someone committing a crime? Would you stop and help the person being stolen from or would you ignore it and just keep walking… NY city style? What would you do?
Video 7 – Giving birth in the hospital lobby.
OK, so you are pregnant, and you start going into labor. You hop into the car and you make it to the hospital, but uh-oh… it’s too late the baby is coming out right there and then! Yikes!
What do you do?
Video 8 – Here’s to all the workers that take shit with a smile.
This is a tribute to all the workers who take shit as part of their job. You are not alone, many of us has had the exact same situation.
Video 9 – Bus driver emergency detour to the hospital.
Here’s a bus driver that sees and emergency and then takes a detour from his regular bus route to save someone. Be the Rufus. Even if it might cost you your job.
Video 10 – Help with an overturned wheelchair.
Talk about bad luck. This poor sap is stranded in the middle of a busy intersection and is unable to do anything. Would you go forth and help him?
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference.
Help others. It’s our highest calling.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More stories of personal heroism in China. This is part eight.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Dog saves a little girl.
A dog is man’s best friend. Well, also little girls as well…
Video 2 – You can be the first responder.
When things go wrong what are you going to do? Call the police? Wait a half an hour until help arrives, or will you be the Rufus?
Video 3 – High stakes save in an apartment building.
This little tyke in his terrible twos (obviously) thought that it was a good idea to climb over the railing in his high rise apartment. Lucky for him, that a number of Rufus’s were nearby to come to his aide.
Video 4 – Young driver going the wrong way on a busy road.
Well, you have to give the kid credit. He’s not going to wait around and learn how to drive in school. He’ll just go out on his own and make his own way in the world. And so he does… just about breaking every rule in the book and being a danger to himself and others.
Lucky there is a policeman nearby.
Video 5 – Rescue of a man in a wheelchair.
This crazy guy tries to take his wheelchair down an escalator. Oh my goodness! Well, it doesn’t work out well and everything falls apart rather quickly.
Lucky for him that Rufus was nearby…
Video 6 – Preventing a train accident.
Of all the places to break down… why does it have to be on top of railroad tracks? Well, that’s the kind of thing that happens from time to time and when that happens, it’s pretty much “curtains” for you and your vehicle. But in this case, he was lucky. Rufus was nearby…
Video 7 – Tribute to firemen.
Here’s a tribute to firemen. Whether you are in China or the Untied States, Africa or Russia, the firemen are always there to help you, save lives and risk their own for the betterment of society. They are all the RUFUS.
Video 8 – Emergency Police ride to the hospital.
Emergencies happen when you are least expecting them. And when you need help you run to the people that can help. Here, in China, it is often a motorcycle police officer. In this case the infant needs to be rushed to the hospital. There is no delay, when the calling shouts at you…
…you take action…
Video 9 – Police helps and old man.
This old fellow needs to cross six lanes of a typical city highway. Yet he is slow and pokey as can be. I’ve seen snails and turtles go faster. Yet, no one helps him. That is until a police man steps in and offers a helping hand.
Video 10 – Rufus cleans up the street.
You do not need to rescue people, or fight fires to make a difference. You just need to be helpful, positive and good. Smiling helps as does doing your own very small part int he community. Take the leap and just make the world a little bit nicer for you, your family and the community that you are a part of.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come. However, when it calls, you must take action.
It will not make you wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference when you are judged upon death.
Be the Rufus.
Make a difference. Help others. It’s our highest calling.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More stories of personal heroism in China. This is part seven.
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Baby trapped under an oven.
Here we have a rural area. It’s a poor home, and the mother is hysterical. The toddler has somehow crawled under a lit blazing hot coal-fired stove and is trapped. Unless they can get him out, he will be roasted alive.
Seconds count.
What would you do? Would YOU be the Rufus and help him?
Video 2 – Emergency CPR by a stranger on the street.
It happens. You are minding your own business and suddenly you find yourself trying to help someone that has collapsed right in front of you. What are you going to do? What can you do?
You do everything that you can.
That’s the way of the Rufus.
Video 3 – Stranger gives a ride to the hospital.
There’s a hysterical woman ont he side of the road. She’s waving you down. SO you stop and ask what is going on.
She needs help and an emergency ride to the nearest ER for emergency medical assistance. What would you do? Would you say “no, no”, or would you help her and take her to the hospital?
Video 4 – Food delivery man has a limp. Hospital staff run out to give him free treatment.
Sometimes you don’t need to be in the middle of an emergency event ot be the Rufus. You just help those around you.
Here is a delivery man. This is common in China where everyone has food delivered to them via the many phone APPS in China. IN this case, the food delivery guy has a limp. And he carries the food and delivers the food to a guy (or gal, I don’t know which) in the hospital.
Well, the nurses notice that he has a limp.
So they run out after him, and they take him in and take a look at him. They patch him up. Give him some free care and some free medicine and set him on his way.
Rufus. Men and women doing their part to make the world a better place.
Video 5 – Rescue of a drowning victim.
When someone is in the pond and in distress, what will you do? Would you rescue them on the sport, or would you call the police and wait by silently? It’s you; be the Rufus or not.
Video 6 – Saving a man from getting hit.
Heroes come in all sorts of sizes and packages. Mostly, it’s a matter of reacting without thinking to dangerous situations that occur around us. Be the Rufus and help others.
Video 7 – Fish delivery truck helps put out a fire.
OK, well there is a vehicle on fire. The police need help putting it out, and the fire trucks are stalled in traffic. No worries, though. You have a Rufus driving by with a load of fresh fish.
The hero uses the water that the fish are staying in and being transported in to help ut out the fire. Event though it might result int he lost of his day’s profits.
The Rufus.
Video 8 – Saving a person that is in distress.
When things go wrong you must take action immediately. There just isn’t any time to waste. You must react then and there or not…
Video 9 – Woman trying to kidnap a child.
Evil people are all around us. Often they do not look evil. They just look like an auntie, or a bland stranger. Here, we see an auntie try to steal a young child out from under the noses of her mother in a clothing shop.
Video 10 – Saving a child from a crazy man.
Sometimes you have to get hurt saving people. While all the other people run away, the child is begging for you to help her. She is looking at you, and begging for YOU to save her. What would you do. What would YOU do?
He has a knife and a hammer and he is belligerent as all fuck. What would you do?
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come. However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference when you are judged upon death.
Be the Rufus.
Make a difference.
Help others. It’s our highest calling.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More stories of personal heroism in China. This is part five.
I have just posted parts 3 and 4 and almost immediately were besieged by a few trolls that thought that I was "unpatriotic" because all the videos are from China.
Well, the videos are from China because that is where I live, and that is what I have.
If you are in the United States and have USA videos that are not copyright protected, then you can certainly go ahead and post those ones. Please do so.
I would welcome them, and so would the rest of the world. We need to see that there are good people all over the world!
People! There are good people all over the world. And you, yes YOU! are one of them!
Here are some more videos of personal heroism. These videos
all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday
people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and
an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run
and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or
will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference
in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the
background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly
note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to
view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your
browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Child stuck while egressing from a window in a residential apartment.
There are a reason why there are bars on the windows in many Chinese houses. It is to keep the young children from climbing out the window and plunging down 10+ stories to their deaths. Never the less, the children don’t really understand fear, and pain and death. They don’t know, and they can really get into trouble if not attended to.
Here, we have a small boy that tried to climb outside of his barred window, and luckily got stuck, instead of plunging to his death.
What would you do if you witnessed this? Would you walk by? Play on your cell phone, or wait for the police? Or would you be the Rufus?
Video 2 – Dog defends a woman from a mugger.
Here’s a local village dog. Minding his own business. Probably doesn’t know this woman at all. He’s just going about his way, smelling things, eating trash and prowling for other dogs to play with. Then suddenly he sees another woman being mugged.
What does he do?
Watch…
Video 3 – 14 year old boy saves an infant.
Being a hero can happen at any time to any one. It might be big and important or not. You might be ready or not. You might know what to do or not.
Here we have a 14 year old boy who volunteers to save a tiny baby stuck in a very tiny hole in the ground…
Video 4 – Accident in front of a police station.
Accidents are terrible things. People die. Or you could get wounded in a way that your life is forever changed. Well, what happens when you smash up in front of a police station…?
Video 5 – Cleaning up after protestors wreck the street.
Everyone in the Western news knows about the “pro democracy” protests. They want “freedom” from China. Except that is not at all true. They are protesting because their future prospects are collapsing by a handful of super-wealthy people that own all the property in HK, and are slowly turning into serfs. It’s a legacy of Britain, and China has inherited it.
Anyways…
Most people deeply resent the protestors, and view HK as their home, where they live, and where their friends and families live. They do not want it destroyed by some teenage punks. So they help clean things up and set things right.
Like this businessman…
Video 6 – Rescue of a baby that rolled on to the train tracks.
This is like one of those old Hannah-Barbara cartoons turned into a real-life nightmare! A baby in a stroller rolls off the train station and onto the tracks where a High-Speed Train is fast approaching. You only have seconds. What would you do?
You’d be the Rufus.
Video 7 – Rescue of a girl being mugged.
China is a very safe nation. One of the reasons for this is that the people are empowered to take action. They will never worry about being sued by some high-priced lawyer for helping someone, or risk arrest because they broke some obscure law.
Here we see a girl getting mugged, and a businessman, who takes action!
BE . THE . RUFUS !
Video 8 – Woman tackles a dog that decides to attack a small child.
No dog is going to attack any child in my town, I’ll tell you what. It is unacceptable behavior and whether or not you love that rottweiler is of no consequence when the well-being of a child is of concern…
Video 9 – Woman collapses in a parking lot.
When someone is in distress, what do you do? Would you stare into your cell phone and keep walking? Would you pretend not to notice? Would you worry what your boss would say when you arrive to work late?
You be the Rufus.
Video 10 – Guy falls out of a window and needs immediate rescue.
It’s not just children that fall out of windows, it can be adults as well. We do not know what the story is here, but obviously the fellow is in distress and needs immediate assistance.
Good thing that Rufus is around.
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come. However, when it call, you
must take action. It will not make you wealthy, rich, famous, or
attractive. But, it will make a difference when you are judged upon
death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help others. It’s our highest
calling.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
More stories of personal heroism in China. This is part four.
Here are some more fine videos of personal heroism. These videos all take place in China, and show examples of how average, normal, everyday people (or dogs and cats) can make a difference. When the calling strikes and an emergency occurs, will you be the one who turns their back, or will you run and offer help? Will you be the one who stays playing on the cell-phone, or will you lend a helping hand? Will you be the person who will make a difference in the lives of those around you, or are you just going to fade into the background.
Make a difference. Be like Rufus!
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
These are all micro-videos of very short duration. From ten seconds
to three minutes. I would suggest that you, the reader, allow them to
load to get the full experience.
Video 1 – Child collapses on the train.
What would you do if your child isn’t feeling well. He has a fever, and suddenly he collapses, on the train. He has zero life signs and it looks like he is dying right before your eyes. What would you do?
What would a father do?
Be the Rufus. You run over and you save the baby!
Video 2 – Child falls between the tracks.
Children can get into all kinds of trouble, and often we might not even notice what is going on until it is too late. We need to act quickly and offer and lend our support. We need to do this. Lives are at stake!
Be the Rufus!
Video 3 – Daughter misses her daddy.
Do not think that you are never appreciated. Your family and your children need you more than you realize. Their feelings and their emotions are real. When you are gone, on a business trip or for other reasons, they will miss you. It will hurt, and you will need to show them that you care and love them very much.
Video 4 – Help on the stairways
China is a nation of escalators. Millions of people use them daily. Since they are so often used, it is normal to see accidents and problems around them. So what would you do if you notice some people having trouble on top of a moving mechanical contrivance? What would you do?
Video 5 – Help on the stairways – 2
Helping someone might be the last thing on your mind. But suddenly, you look up, and people are screaming. They are terrified, and things have gone wrong, terribly, terribly wrong. The only one nearby is you. You and you alone. What would you do?
Be the Rufus.
Video 6 – Help on the stairways – 3
Here we have a problem on the stairs. A man who is disabled cannot use the stairs himself and collapses. What can you do?
You be the Rufus.
Video 7 – Taxi driver speeds a child to the hospital.
You’ve got to rush the baby to the hospital. Here, a normal taxi driver got more than what he planned for. A hysterical mother cradles her baby and they must rush the child to the emergency room in the hospital. Did he ask for specifics? The hospital, etc. Nope. He went into emergency Rufus mode…
Video 8 – Taking down purse snatchers.
Purse snatching is a problem in some parts of the world, and can be a potential problem in rural China.
Here we see what happens when a normal man, goes after the purse snatchers on a moped. He uses a bike. He chases after them, and tackles them and fights them to get the woman’s purse back.
Be the Rufus!
Video 9 – Toddler climbs out of the 6th floor window.
This is a problem in China. So many skyscrapers, and so many children. When you hear cries from up above… what are you going to do? Wait for the police? Wait for the firemen? Wait for the building security?
No, you spring into action on your own and you take matters in your own hands. You be the Rufus.
Video 10 – Child waits for mommy.
Here we have a little girl waiting for her mommy. The volunteers in the subway station come over and comfort her while she is waiting. Be the Rufus, you help others and tend to the scared, the frightened, the young and the needy.
Video 11 – Wheelchair help.
When a vet is trying to make his way, with no legs… in a wheelchair, what do you do? Are you like everyone else? You look away, you mind your own business. You don’t get involved?
Or, are you the Rufus?
Conclusion
We do not know when the calling will come.
However, when it calls, you must take action. It will not make you wealthy, rich, famous, or attractive. But, it will make a difference when you are judged upon death. Be the Rufus. Make a difference. Help others. It’s our highest calling.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
This post describes some stories of personal heroism. Included are some micro-videos that depict some acts of heroism. I personally believe that inside all us, we all can be a hero. We just need to take on the mantle when needed and go forth and do what is necessary.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
Emergency in route to the hospital.
Sometimes it’s part of our job. Like when you are a hospital worker like a doctor or a nurse. Sometimes it isn’t. You are just an innocent bystander minding your own business. But when you are called, what are you going to do?
Neighbors
Sometimes it’s just you and a neighbor down the street is in crisis. You need to go out and forth and help them out. Ar you up for it? Can you lend a hand to the best of your ability. Or will you try to cover your face so you can ignore the problem like a coward.
You get friends and you all work together. You help. You do what ever is necessary. Be a man!
You alone
Sometimes you are alone. No one is there to help you out. You are on your own. What are you going to do? Seconds matter. Are you going to wait on the sidelines. What would you do?
Notice the others, totally oblivious to what is transpiring next to them.
Rescue a person in distress
You are at a train station, or a stop. You check you phone and are waiting for the train to pull in, when you see someone crawl onto the tracks to kill themselves. What are you going to do? Let them die? Or are you going to risk your own life to save theirs? Be the Rufus.
Notice the others. Too little. Too late.
Baby fallen into the icy cold water
What will you do if you see a baby in icy cold water in January? Would you pull out your phone and call the police, or dive right on it and save the kid? A hero would stop thinking and risk his own life to save the baby.
Notice the others milling around with their hands in their pockets. Useless.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Life is about living and obtaining experiences. It really and actually is. If you are not out “there” living life to it’s fullest, making friends, helping others, and raising a little bit of “Heck”, then you are wasting your life.
Here, we look at others who are making their life count. They are making a difference in the lives of those around them. They are contributing and participating in life. They are the heroes.
When life SCREAMS out your name, will you answer? Will you answer the call, like these people did?
Rufus was the name of the good Samaritan that helped Jesus carry his
cross up the hill. In life, there comes, from time to time, an
opportunity or a task that SCREAMS out YOUR name. You drop everything
and you go out and help others.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
Little girl trapped in the middle of a frantically busy street during rush hour…
Like this man. He’s driving along the road on his way to work, when
suddenly he sees a lost and terrified child in the middle of a busy
intersection during rush hour. What would you do?
Watch what he does.
Your reality is all up to YOU.
Be the Rufus.
A tale from World War I
The following story appears in Eugene Rogan’s Fall of the Ottomans. It reinforces an idea I have long subscribed to, which is that the fates of men are linked by the Chain of Fortune.
Private Robert Eardley was serving at Gallipoli with the Lancashire
Fusiliers. In August 1915 his unit conducted an attack on Turkish lines
near the Krithia road; he survived the attack and managed to reach the
Ottoman trenches relatively unscathed. Leaping into the enemy trench,
he saw a British soldier with bayonet fixed standing over a fallen,
wounded Turk. The soldier was hot with the heat of battle, and wanted
to plunge his bayonet into the man. “Here, you get out of my way,” he
told Eardley. “He has killed my mate and I am going to stick him.”
Eardley, feeling pity for the fallen foe, was persistent. He managed to
talk his comrade out of killing the wounded man. He said: “Put
yourself in his place, chum. One never knows…Don’t do it. That’s a
good fellow.” The soldier eventually accepted this argument and
relented, storming off with a scowl. Eardley remained with the wounded
Turk in the trench.
The two of them could not speak each other’s language, but they did
manage to communicate in a primitive way. Eardley dressed the enemy’s
head wound, gave him some water and tobacco, and propped him up in the
trench with his coat. “I could see by his eyes that he appreciated the
kindness,” he would later write.
Soon afterward, however, the tides of battle had turned. An Ottoman
counterattack drove the British back to their original lines. Eardley
was left to cover the retreat, but was captured by Turkish infantry as
they retook the trench. As he looked over the parapet of the trench, he
was pierced by the fixed bayonet of an attacking Turk. He wrote: “I
felt a sharp piercing sensation—a burning feeling at the back of my left
shoulder. I knew I had got the bayonet…I distinctly felt the thrust
and drawing out.” He passed out from loss of blood as dozens of Turks
overran his position. When Eardley regained consciousness, he found
himself surrounded by enemy soldiers with fixed bayonets, their eyes
ablaze with hate.
They began to lower their bayonets and move steadily toward him. He
was sure that he had come to the end of the road. Then, suddenly, he
heard a voice crying out from among the enemy gathered before him. A
Turkish man with a bandaged head, jabbering unceasingly in his native
language, leaped between Eardley and the rest of the soldiers. Although
he was still weak, he wrapped his arms around Eardley, covering him
with his body, while gesticulating wildly with his comrades. In his
dazed state, Eardley finally realized: this was the same man whose life
he had saved in the first attack.
A Turkish noncommissioned officer finally arrived on the scene, and
the wounded Turk explained the situation to him. Eardley could not
understand what was being said, but it was clear that the Turk he had
saved was now trying to save his life. After a few minutes of
discussion, the noncommissioned officer said to Eardley in broken
English: “English, get up. No one will harm you. You would have died
if only for this soldier. You gave him water, you gave him smoke, and
you stop bleed. You very good Englishman.” He then patted Eardley on
the back.
As he was being led away into captivity, Eardley shook hands with his
savior, with whom he could not communicate. But all that needed to be
said was said with their eyes, and with their physical touch. “I shook
hands with this Turk (and would give all I possessed to see this man
again). As our hands clasped, I could see he understood, for he lifted
his eyes and called ‘Allah’ and then kissed me. I can feel this kiss
even now on my cheek as if it was branded there or was part of my
blood.” The two men parted, and never saw each other again.
In such ways, and through such fortuitous interventions, are the
fates of men linked by the all-powerful Chain of Fortune. It links all
human affairs with its own unfathomable logic, which we dare not
disregard.
Baby has his hand caught in the escalator…
It’s a crowded mall, people go up and then down the escalator. They you look over and you see a “commotion” on the escalator. You only have seconds. What do you do?
You be the Rufus.
Every escalator has an off button at both the top and the bottom of the machine. Look for it. Know that it is there. If something goes wrong, you spring into action. Make no mistake, it’s your time.
When your time is called, be the Rufus.
Man has a heart attack in the car, and passes out with his foot on the gas…
When things go wrong you don’t know what is happening. You don’t know the reasons. You don’t know the causes. All that you know is that something is terribly wrong. Really, absolutely wrong.
You be the Rufus.
You spring into action. It’s now YOUR time.
You do not think. You do not reason. You react automatically and you take action.
Imagine for a second that you get a text from your brother saying
that he’s inside a mall that has been attacked by terrorists. He expects
to die any second. What do you do? If you’re Abdul Haji, the answer is
grab a gun, drive to the mall, and single-handedly take on those terrorists.
A Kenyan of Somali ethnicity, Abdul unwittingly charged headlong into
Kenya’s ongoing battle with Al-Shabab militants from neighboring
Somalia. The terrorist attack in question was the infamous Nairobi
Westgate Mall assault in 2013 which killed 67. The death toll would have
been even higher were it not for Abdul.
A businessman with a pistol license, Abdul took his weapon to the mall and opened fire on the Islamic militants with no thought for his own safety. At the time, security forces were nowhere to be seen.
Abdul was joined by a handful of plainclothes officers and some
medics from the Red Cross. Their ragtag group went from floor to floor
of the mall. They gave cover to trapped civilians and helped them to
escape.
At one point, Abdul managed to save a four-year-old girl and her
mother who were hiding literally inches from the jihadists, shielded
only by a single table. He even managed to find his brother, who
miraculously survived the attack. To this day, the modest Abdul denies
being a hero.
Car catches on fire in the middle of the road…
So, it’s a normal day. You are driving along. Suddenly you notice smoke coming out of a van and the driving is erratic. What would you do? Would you take control like this lady does?
Would you be the Rufus?
She does what she can, you know.
In China, most doors auto-lock if the car is in drive. So if the driver is incapacitated, you cannot open the doors to rescue him. Not so for the rear hatch doors, though.
She springs into action and opens up the rear hatch. But there is already boxes on fire. What to do, what to do?
You be the Rufus.
Police in “Hot Pursuit”, do you stand by as a spectacular or do you assist?
So, you are in an airport or train station. You look up and see a police woman running after a young man dressed in black. What do you do? Do you stand and watch idly by? Do you try to assist?
What do you do?
You, be the Rufus.
Yes. You be the Rufus.
It is our responsibility as men; as humans. It is what a “good Christian” does. We are responsible of our life and we should be helpful and protective to those around us in need.
On Being The Rufus…
We need to stop judging others, and live our own life to the best of our ability. We need to realize that we can make a great difference in this world if we just concentrate in bettering the life immediately around us. That means that we turn off all the negative news, and isolate ourselves away from the negative people.
We need to stop looking at the outside, and study the insides of the people that has the great impact on our life, and the lives of those we care about.
In the above, the term “auntie” means “low-paid worker”. It is a title of respect given to un-skilled or under-paid workers. It’s difficult to read, but the translation of the dialog is in white characters in the video.
Yes.
Be the Rufus.
Screen capture from the movie “Unbreakable”. It describes an everyday man who is the hero; the Rufus for others.
Terrorist bad guy pinned to the ground by heroes. Be the Rufus.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are
some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you
might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up
in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have
broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones
actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little
different, in subtle ways.
Funny Pictures
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.