We are just a group of retired spooks that discuss things that you’ll not find anywhere else. It makes us unique. Take a look around. Learn a thing or two.
One of the big movies of the 1960’s was a Beatles movie called “Yellow Submarine”. It was so amazingly popular and it set off the 1970’s neon decorations and what not. But today it is a forgotten movie. Too bad!
This is a Beatles musical and well worth the time to watch.
There are various snippets from the movie on YouTube HERE.
We start off today with this short clip and sail off into the world of (yucky) reality.
Today…
What factors contribute to the success or failure of US companies in China? What can we learn from these experiences?
Two big failures. 1. Not enough market research 2. Not adapting to the market.
Just because it’s big in Baltimore it could still bomb in Beijing. So companies even naively believe that promoting their product or service as American, made in USA is going to be the key to entering the market.
KFC and McDonald’s are both in China. But KFC has over 10,000 locations while McDonald’s has around 4,500. KFC locations make more money at each location. Why? Adapting to local tastes. At KFC, they offer congee for breakfast. They created a chicken roll that mimics a Beijing duck roll. Grandpa Colonel Sanders is more endearing than Ronald McDonald. Chinese tastes lean towards chicken more than beef. McDonald’s is trying to adapt their menu, but too little too late. KFC is owned by Yum brands but has been spun off into Yum China and the CEO is a local Chinese.
Proctor and Gamble came in with a bang. Using their standard TV demonstration commercials, they made big changes in the consumer market. In five years, they changed urban dwellers from using soap to wash their hair to using shampoo. Vidal Sassoon and Head and Shoulders took top spots. Then a local upstart called Slek came from nowhere and killed them. They hired an army of young ladies to give out free samples. They used painted billboards and smoke stacks in smaller cities to get attention. Became market leader very quickly.
Starbucks came in big using the aura of American culture. For a long time, they ruled the nest. Locations at the Great Wall and the largest roastery in Shanghai. Until competition came. Luckin Coffee came in fast. Starbucks has 5000 locations but Luckin has 20,000. Luckin came in with a killer app. Coconut cappuccino! Starbucks is trying new things as well. For Chinese new year they launched a pork flavored coffee. But not a big hit.
To enter any market, including China, its critical to understand the market and what you may need to do to adjust to that market.
Seven Layer Ground Beef Casserole
859f6cad024f4294661124ca51345c97
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked rice
1 cup cooked or canned whole kernel corn
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups (15 ounce can) tomato sauce
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup cooked or canned green beans
3/4 pound ground beef
4 slices bacon, cut up
Instructions
Put rice and corn in baking pan or dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Mix tomato sauce and water. Pour half over corn and rice.
Add layers of onion, green pepper, green beans, and beef.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Add rest of tomato mixture, top with bacon. Cover tightly.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.
Uncover; cook 30 minutes more.
When was a time when someone threatened legal action on you only to find out that you were a lawyer?
My sister and I were roommates when I was in law school. She was a recent law school graduate when I started my first year. Fast forward three years: now I’m a recent law school graduate. My fiancee and I are moving in together, and my sister bought her first condo. Time to move on.
After we vacated the apartment, our landlord charged us for some damage, some of which was totally fair, some of which was not. We responded as much, and were swiftly served with a complaint in small claims court. I don’t remember the amounts at stake, but let’s say it was something like $1000 for “real” damage and $1000 for BS damage.
(As an aside: what was the real damage? A busted countertop. Not having a knife handy, my sister decided to use the lip of the granite countertop to open a squash. The squash won. What was the BS damage? Damage to our unit and the unit below us from an unattended overflowing toilet. The shenanigans were that the damage (if any) happened in April, and the remediation didn’t happen until late August, between tenants. Our position was that this was work that would be performed in the ordinary course of turning the apartment over to new tenants, and so we’re not responsible.)
Okay okay, so we get a complaint. There follows a phone call from a lawyer, “encouraging” (to put it charitably) us to settle. Less charitably, this lawyer was attempting to intimidate us into settling, lest we face the full wrath of the justice system.
I didn’t mention I was a lawyer. At least, not at first.
I just calmly stated our case. Then the threats. Then the re-statement of the case. Then the threats. Etc.
I didn’t mind. In fact, I did all I could to keep the lawyer on the phone. After all, they bill by the hour. More and more times going in circles is just money out of the landlord’s pocket.
But after a few more such phone calls, it got old. I did have work to do, after all.
On our next call, I started dropping legalese. Things like, “I dunno about speculation, but I believe I’m allowed to testify as to events of which I have first-hand knowledge.” Or “I get that you have to zealously represent your client, but your case has to have a good-faith basis in fact and law.” Each time, quoting various rules of evidence of ethics. Like, word for word. Because I just passed the bar exam.
None of that seemed to register. When he finally insisted he’ll see me in court, and that I’ll have to waste a whole day waiting around for my case to be called. I said something like, “well, I guess I’ll bring my computer and get some work done.” He responded, “oh no… only attorneys can bring a computer in to court.”
I chuckled.
Alas, I didn’t get my day in court. A few days later, I got a notice that the trial was rescheduled, allegedly based on a motion I consented to. I did not consent. I was able to get the case dismissed (without prejudice), and the whole thing had to start again.
That prompted yet another furious call from my new friend. I asked with genuine curiosity how he was able to represent to the court that I consented to rescheduling the case, when that wasn’t the case. He dismissively squawked that “it’s done all the time.” I said, “huh, okay. I’ll guess we’ll find out… unless we settle.” I then offered something like $700, a few hundred bucks less than the amount we legitimately owed. He accepted.
I asked that he send the settlement agreement to my and my sister’s work addresses — we both worked for high profile law firms at the time. I made it a point to drop off the check in person, and he finally acknowledged: “You guys are attorneys? Why didn’t you say so?”
China VS America | Yanis Varoufakis on Big Tech, Capitalism and Techno-Feudalism (Part 3)
Why do developing nations kind of trust China and Russia these days?
Virtually the whole world
Even the West!
How many times has Putin gone back on a commitment given?
Almost never
Do you see white russians swarming into Chechnya and taking over and ending their autonomy?
Same with Xi Jinping
Once he signs that paper, the Chinese honor what ever they have committed to
They follow rules
They obey International Laws
The US?
Nopes
Liars
They have cheated everyone so far
Native Americans?
Cheated
African Americans?
Cheated
Afghans?
Cheated
Iraqis?
Cheated
Libyans?
Cheated
Even the Japs have been cheated
They do so citing DEMOCRACY
Their explanation is “We are helpless because OUR PEOPLE don’t want this so we have to stop”
Yet there is no referendum
It’s a based on a bunch of corrupt or stupid senators and congressmen
Russia and China are trusted by the entire world and even the West trusts them openly
Because they CAN’T AFFORD TO LIE EVEN ONCE
That single lie could be so overblown by the MSM that their reputations could be severely damaged
What is the most unbelievably clever thing you have ever witnessed an animal do?
I watched a very smart crow in front of a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). This is just one of those weird memories that stay in your brain forever for no specific reason.
Originally, I was just waiting outside on my food order when I happened to notice this amusing crow. It was absolutely fascinating how intelligent this crow was; so, I stayed to eat my lunch and watched him for nearly 40 minutes. It was very entertaining and eye-opening to watch this clever crow operate.
There was a swivel-top trash container outside the front door of the KFC. The crow would wait until a customer threw trash in, fly to the top of the container, rock the swivel top back and forth then slide down inside the trash can. He’d be inside there 15-20 seconds, then surprise; he’d come flying back out with a bag in his beak.
He flew beeline under a nearby tree, opened the bag and began to extract the contents one by one. It was almost like he was sorting out to the right and left what was edible and what wasn’t. I watched him open catsup, butter and honey packets. He’d hold them down with his claws, rip them open with his beak, then ingeniously step-pressure the contents out of each packet with his claws while pecking the goodies inside down his gullet.
The crow would only fly to the trash can after someone threw trash in; when they did, he was on it quickly. This smarty-bird also knew how to pry the lids off little containers of mashed potatoes and coleslaw. He had a few pieces of chicken that he was picking clean between flights to the trash can but always kept an eye peeled toward that trash can for the next customer.
After about 30 minutes, his crow family found him and he had to defend his between-flights chicken bone. He finally flew it out from under the tree and set it on an exterior window sill closer to the trash can. He then did only what I could describe as a ‘bird strut’ where he walked back and forth, puffed his body up and cawed out a warning to any other crows who dared invade his lunch territory. I felt so silly laughing my ass off while sitting all alone in my car but his moves were so intentional and understandable and hilarious.
One of the smartest moves was what he did with drinks and straws. He’d stand a soda cup up, pry off the lid, remove the straw from the lid, then amazingly jam the straw back down into the drink. I don’t know if he clamped off the pressure to hold liquid in; but I saw him extract a nearly-full straw, toss his head way back and let the liquid run down into his mouth. I know a few teenagers that probably couldn’t figure out how to do this. This feisty crow was a seasoned fast-food connoisseur. After he was through getting the liquid out, he flew the cup over to the tree and dumped the ice from about 10 foot in the air. I swear this was a diversionary tactic because a bunch of other crows began investigating all the scattered ice cubes and left him alone for the time being.
This sounds like a silly way to spend your lunch time but that crow kept me so captivated. They sure do learn to adapt. I had heard crows were smart birds, but now I’ve seen it first-hand. Just before I left, I tossed him an encore biscuit and a new chicken bone.
What is the most useless fact you know?
When you say “a, e, i, o, u” your mouth gets smaller with each vowel you say.
You don’t really wash your hands; They actually wash each other while you stand there and watch. (Imagine)
If a man says you’re ugly, he’s being mean. If a woman says you’re ugly, she’s envious. If a little kid says you’re ugly, you’re ugly.
Things are not on fire, fire is on things.
When you say ‘Forward’ or ‘Backward’, your lips move in those directions.
(yes, just like that)
The word ‘Australia’ has three A’s, all of which look the same, but are pronounced differently.
If You Rip a Hole in a Net, There Are Actually Fewer Holes in It than there were before.
This sentence “All the faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his life.” is actually correct.
Sometimes you have to sing the whole alphabet in your head just to find the next letter.
The latest scientific research has shown that you can travel on an airplane without announcing it on Social media.
What’s More Dangerous than Running with Scissors?
Falling on them (imagine).
Lazy fact #1725402648207549
You are too lazy to read that number
“Dammit I’m Mad ” backwards is still “Dammit I’m Mad”.
Nothing is behind Your Back. it is always in front of your back.
Most of the time the People who tell you to calm down, Are the same people that made you angry in the first place.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
Its not fun to say, but ironically, this is the medical term for the fear of long words.
You Can Inflate the the Word Count on Your Essays by Writing the the Word “The” Twice. (I just did that).
Yes, English can be weird. It can be understood through tough thorough thought, though.
Adding some more
If you attempt to rob a Bank, you will have no trouble with rent or bills for the next Ten Years, whether you are successful or not.
If you swim with a Friend, your chances of getting eaten by a Shark will drop to 50%.
The early Bird gets the worm, but the early worm gets eaten by the Bird.
You’ll get everything you want in Life if you lower your expectations.
Never Run from an overweight Policeman. He’s more likely to shoot than chase you.
If someone calls you by your full name, either they are in love or you are screwed.
The more you weigh, the harder you are to kidnap.
Don’t mess with Elephants. they NEVER forget, and NEVER forgive.
You will understand when the time is right.
You can’t break your New Year Resolutions, if you don’t have any in the first place.
The people who go to Jungle Safari with their slowest friends are more likely to survive during animal attack. (sounds weird but it works).
Second place means you’re the best Loser.
Brushing your teeth is the only time you clean your skeleton.
You have never actually seen your face, you have only seen reflections and photographic depictions of it.
History classes are only going to get longer and harder as time passes by.
Adding some more
when you lie down outside, looking up at the sky, you’re actually staring down into an infinite cosmic abyss with only the earth’s gravity stopping you from drifting off forever.
A 45 year old Bosnian man named Amir Vehabovic faked his death back in 2007 because he wanted to see who would attend his funeral. Only his mother attended. After this debacle, he wrote dozens of angry letters to his so-called friends and what he thought of their friendship going forward.
In the mid-1880s Aluminum was more valuable than gold, now we use it wastefully to wrap food.
It rains diamonds on Saturn and Jupiter.
There’s no reason the alphabet needs to be in that order.
The swimming pool onboard the Titanic is still full.
Everything you’ve done in life has led to you reading this line.
“How do I hold 1.4bn Chinese together” – Douglas Macgregor
International Business: Why didn’t American companies choose India instead of China for manufacturing products?
I’ve come across similar questions from time to time on this very topic and I don’t recall anyone ever pointing out the true reason.
The reason as to why India can’t out perform China in manufacturing is NOT because of infrastructure, it’s NOT because of skilled labors, it’s NOT because of corruption, and it’s also NOT because of “superiority of the Chinese mentality”.
I’d like to answer this question with this noun
Unpredictability
Now repeat after me.
Unpredictability
Unpredictability
Unpredictability
This is the single most powerful noun that’s preventing India from being a manufacturing hub – because doing business in India is so god damn unpredictable, therefore it is impossible to calculate your return on investment when dealing with India.
Bad infrastructure? No problem, that can be factored into shipping cost & delivery time
Lack of experienced labors? No problem, that’ll factor into capital/startup cost
Corruption? No problem, tell me who I need to pay and how much, that’ll become part of operating cost
Lots of paper work? No problem, longer startup time means lower return on investment, but that again, can be calculated, and can be made up with higher profit margin.
You know what the problem with India is?
NOTHING CAN BE CALCULATED
In India:
When a someone says “yes”, you have no idea whether he/she actually meant yes or no.
When a worker say that “I’ll be there in 5 minutes”, you have no idea whether he’s one of those workers who keeps his word, or he’s one of those workers who’ll just show up 4 hours later
When an official approaches you and ask for “expedition fee”, you have no idea how much he’s asking, and how much faster he can expedite, and how many more like him are coming
When you are presented with a pile of paper work, you have no idea whether this is the last pile, or whether there are 20 more piles that’s coming after, and whether you were even given the correct paper works to fill out.
Heck, even if you have someone coming in to help, you have no idea whether he’ll hit a cow on the way here and then forced to wait for another 8 hours for a shaman to show up and complete the ritual.
All that plus the occasional “I refuse to work with people from that caste” plus union strike and power outages makes doing business in India extremely unpredictable.
If you are a business owner, would you buy from someone who sells you the same item with $3, knowing that the goods will likely be delivered on time and to specification, or are you going to buy from someone who sells you for $2, but you have no idea when, or even if you’ll get that item?
Most people would buy it for $3, then just markup the profit.
Business is all about predictability, trying to make money without ability to predict is called gamble, and business owner don’t like to gamble when they could avoid it.
So to wrap this up.
Unpredictability is what’s killing manufacturing in India. Not infrastructure, not mentality, not corruption, not skilled labor.
It’s UNPREDICTABILITY, in capitalized bold letters.
Why don’t U.S. companies move their overseas manufacturing to friendlier countries than China? There have to be other countries willing to manufacture goods at reduced prices.
Business issues requires business expertise to solve. US-China tension is political ones, manufactured by its politicians, which power and influence is waning after one of the parties started the “government is the problem” thing, and unhealthy amount of idiots voted for it.
Indonesia has been wooing foreing multinational businesses to move here, we once aimed for the likes of Foxconn, but it is super difficult. Politicians talk as if it is as easy as organising a campus protest.
It got picked up by the clueless media, read by ignorant audience, and the hype is fired up.
But the problem is always started by the stupid country that promotes this “international trade” system and their fake science like economy. The principles called for:
Economics of scale: achieve efficiency by mass production, and market that is big enough to give demand cushion.
Infrastructure and facilities: setting up operations require utilities, workers, and supporting policies.
Finances & access: the capitalistic system requires the money market to be aggressive and risk-taking enough to make it a reality.
Number 1 is easy. China and India is big enough, but for greedy businesses, Indonesia, being the 4th biggest is never enough. The US, being 3rd biggest is too problematical and the people often fight back. India is similarly problematical – unlike US’ 2 parties-same package deal, India is super fragmented, you can’t control India after buying their winning party. China is just one party state, pretty much like Japan and Singapore in practical manner. Get chummy with the party, get the entire country.
Number 2 is also very evident. US is probably the best at this. But, US politicians are growingly becoming a show business. Upgrading and maintaining activities are not something that generate media headlines and spectacle for the politicians, so they often neglect the infra and facilities. Politicians hogging the stage, inspired people to be more like them, peddling influence either as social media or actual influencers, taking socio-political studies instead of the scrutinised STEM subjects. China is all new and still pretty much aspirant. India is the same. But unlike China, India still has the Da Falun problem: superstition and traditionalism running rampant. While CCP purged such movement effectively back in 1990s, the rot is beginning to haunt them back with the growing BS that always entail populism, and CCP increasingly more interested in keeping things the way they are instead of rooting out the problem. And this presents an opportunity to Indonesia, but we are way too far to be competitive with those 2. As Tim Cook said to the Chinese media last month, calling in 10,000 engineers in China is much easier because they have them. The US whines about “higher quality engineers”, but less than 3,000 quality engineers will not produce the overwhelming amount of volume at the same quality level.
Number 3, while China the mainland calls itself communist, they are home to more billionaires than Indonesia. Only India has more than them despite being poorer – which speaks volume about the wealth disparity there. People there are more risk-taking and has the “doer” mentality. Indonesia is the kind of dilletante that knows everything, but do nothing. You won’t attract investors if you yourself just don’t show confidence-inspiring commitment.
Another big irrational reason that is not intrinsic factor of China’s competitors are easily the US market itself.
American are hustlers, and some of them are sleazy as F.
I mean, they hired $30k marketer to turn $3 ordinary goods into $80 at WalMart with warranty backed by head office registered in Delaware or Utah or Florida.
I know this, because we get the excess goods flowing into our secondary market, still packaged with all US labelling and shameless promotion wrapping the box.
Granted, it never hides the fact that it is Made in China.
Okay, maybe the $77 excess profit taken by the US entity might go to some well-paid support staff employed by the importers. But what about the consumers? How do they feel like paying $80 for a crappy Chinese product being marketed as a result of “Hong Kong univeristy research project by a genius that has moved to stateside”?
These questions will go over American politicians and its imbecile congress. They don’t have any intellectual capacity to understand these things.
Ask them, like who own Chrysler now, I don’t expect 50% accurate answer from these fools who tried tp “grill” their business excutives with the most brain dead questions ever.
As for other alternative countries:
Vietnam
Hardworker, hustler, the young upstart seemingly capable of everything. But ultimately is never big enough for the greedy western capitalists.
Taiwan
“Made in Taiwan” – proceeds to smack the machine. No longer stands for the quality, and probably never were. They are just “discount Japanese” as ever. I owned Taiwanese phones (htc) for almost ever. It is as funky as “Made in Taiwan” of the yesteryears – low quality beats by dr. Dre-branded speaker or poorly fitted volume button on flagship phone. Today, even internet techies are dropping more and more bombs on Taiwanese electronic brands’ flagship model (which btw, I still use quite fine).
Philippines
This is not 1960s anymore. Needs more US money injection like what they received during Marcos era. But then again, the competition landscape is no longer 1960s. I use Intel processor made by them, and it is quite fine.
Malaysia
Interesting alternative, but again, it is on the smaller scale.
Bangladesh
Only for certain products.
Germany
This fool has dismantled themselves slowly, and prefer to point finger at others instead of doing it themselves.
UK
Same as above, but worse.
Nigeria
Wait another 10–20 years.
Mexico
As long as you are fine with them.
Back to US
Perhaps the best solution of all: make your own stuff. I think everyone can easily agree with this. Even the Chinese are also moving to US. You just need to undo all those years of Reaganism brainwashing about unions and lazy American workers.
Why I Never Dated American Women And Moved To Eastern Europe
Have you ever met somebody so stupid that they made you question how they survived this long?
I used to work as a teacher at an elementary school in rural Ohio. I was consistently blown away by the stupidity of EVERYONE there: my students, their parents, my co-workers, and the administration.
Once we had a school cancellation because of snow. We didn’t get just a few flakes, but literally a couple of feet. One mom dropped her kid off anyway – even though there obviously were no buses, no vehicles, and no people around at all, like you always have during a school day drop off.
I was inside the building, along with a couple of other teachers. A few of us had already arrived at the school when the superintendent decided to cancel, and we decided to get some work done before heading back home.
One of these other teachers was the one who found the student wandering around.
This kid was a fourth grader, and apparently of the same mental caliber as her mom. She didn’t know her home phone number or her mom’s cell phone number, but she was “pretty sure” she knew her address.
The other teacher proved to not be so bright, either. She asked me what she should do, and I advised her to call the cops and let them handle it. That’s what I assumed she did.
Found out later that she actually drove the kid to her apartment building. They knocked on the door of the kid’s apartment but got no answer. A neighbor heard them and told this teacher that the kid could just come inside their apartment and stay with them until the mom came home.
This teacher, without knowing ANYTHING about the neighbor, did exactly that. I kid you not.
When the mom realized that school was actually closed, she panicked and drove back. She pounded on the door until another teacher let her in. (I was in a different part of the building and didn’t hear this.) The other teacher had enough brains to do what I’d suggested at the outset: she called the cops.
It took a few hours before the kid was located inside the neighbor’s apartment. Thankfully, the kid appeared to be safe and sound. But, yeah, it was a SERIOUS lack of judgment for that first teacher to have left the kid with a complete stranger.
She got a reprimand, and we all got a memo on what to do in the event of a similar situation (predictably, leaving a student with the first random stranger who offered was NOT a recommended course of action).
I left the job and the area a few years later, thinking that maybe all of the pesticides being used there (it was mainly a farming community) were rotting peoples’ brains.
I sure didn’t want the same thing happening to me.
Roll with the Changes (REO Speedwagon) | Classic Rock Cover – Kelly and the Ding Dongs
If you are a teacher, have you cried in front of your class? What happened?
Six times, I think – 2 nice, 4 not. That makes me seem like an emotional wreck!
Within my first month teaching, my whole class climbed out the windows and ran away. I was sure I was going to be fired.
A 14 year old student who died suddenly and unexpectedly from an undiagnosed brain tumour. He was literally in class one day and dead the next. Telling the class was horrific.
A colleague and friend (my husband’s best friend) killed in a cycle accident on the way to school. Telling my husband (also a teacher) was horrific.
I had a seriously unstable student attempt suicide in my classroom by jamming a pencil up his nose and well, I don’t want to go into more detail. I cleared the room while help was being sought and he then tried to set himself on fire with spray deodorant and a lighter. I don’t think I’ll ever get over that.
When my ‘naughty’ junior class baked me a massive purple velvet cake covered in miniature My Little Ponies (an in-joke) and created a a huge collage when I got engaged.
After years of trying for a baby, my husband raced into my class to tell me we’d been chosen to adopt our little girl and we’d get to meet her the next day. The whole class cried!
Edit 1:
My most recent update about the student in #4: It would have been 4 years ago I last heard about him (I also taught his two younger siblings), but he survived and was getting the help he needed. No miraculous ‘cures’ – the whole family was deeply affected by the dad’s hidden addiction issues (the youngest sibling confided in me, I didn’t know at the time of teaching the eldest) – but he was physically healthy and in a day-program to get his schooling back on track.
Have you ever confronted a thief?
Yes, during Covid lockdown, I stayed temporarily in a little guest cottage on my sister in law, Jay’s property.
I nipped out one afternoon, to the shops, and though I wasn’t gone even 30 minutes, a burglar took his shot at my goodies.
I came home to the broken window, and I was telling Jay about it, through the shared gate, at the bottom of my walkway (i walked past the window to get to her). So I was about 5 meters away telling her, when I saw him climbing out of the window he’d just broken! He was however, now trapped in the tiny walkway, the end to which I was blocking. And I was in the process of alerting all other 8 people on the property to his presence.
Well, because I’m never what you expect, instead of panicking, I dropped what was carrying and charged the bloke with ferocity. Jay, though shaking and yelling for her husband and friend to call the cops, trigger the panic alarm and come help us, pulled out her phone and started recording my interaction with the thief.
The thief had seen me coming at him and turned and tried to scale the 14 ft wall behind him (which hilariously had an unlocked door he could have simply opened and exited, but he didn’t know it was unlocked). Not thinking twice I weighed him up and figured he was slight enough that if I could get him on the ground I could probably pin him with my weight long enough for the men on the property to get to me.
I didn’t know they had not reacted as I expected, so despite pulling him off the wall and delaying him considerably, he unfortunately he managed to dump a handy bucket of water over me, and sliping out of my grasp got away with several thousands worth of jewelry.
He was, however, arrested just the next week when he decided to return to the scene of the crime. No one said the chap was bright.
I still have the video of the altercation. She didn’t keep it steady while I was wrestling with the guy, but she got an excellent view of his face as he ran past her making his getaway. 🤣 A still of that video landed the guy in jail, without the need for court testimony from me!
I’m a legend in town, but nameless. You can’t really see my face in the video, so no one knows who the crazy chick was that pulled a burglar off a wall and tried to sit on him till the cops got there!
Anonymous Just Leaked The US Sent An Email Asking For The Resurrection Chamber Of Gilgamesh
History story
Instead of shooting down the bomber, the German pilot guided the heavily damaged plane safely out of German air space.
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During World War II, Second Lieutenant Charles Brown was the pilot of a B-17 and after a tough aerial battle, his plane was the only one left behind in German air space. His plane was running dangerously out of fuel, half of his crew was wounded, his tail gunner was killed, and his plane was rattling from all the gunshots it had taken.
German ace, Franz Stigler, was only a kill away from earning The Knight’s Cross, Germany’s highest award for valor. He was on the ground when Brown’s B-17 passed over him and he took off on his Bf-109 to chase after the American plane.
When he got behind the B-17, he was about to press the trigger to take down the plane, but noticed that no one from the B-17 was shooting at him, he flew closer to see that the tail gunner was dead and the crew inside were injured and huddling together.
Then he nudged his plane alongside the bomber’s wings and locked eyes with the pilot whose eyes were wide with shock and horror.
Stigler pressed his hand over the Rosary he kept in his flight jacket. He eased his index finger off the trigger. He couldn’t shoot. It would be murder.
Alone with the crippled bomber, Stigler changed his mission. He nodded at the American pilot and began flying in formation so German anti-aircraft gunners on the ground wouldn’t shoot down the slow-moving bomber. (The Luftwaffe had B-17s of its own, shot down and rebuilt for secret missions and training.) Stigler escorted the bomber over the North Sea and took one last look at the American pilot. Then he saluted him, peeled his fighter away and returned to Germany.
Brown eventually reached England and landed safely. He got married, had a job in the State Department during Vietnam War, and eventually settled in Florida.
Then, he wanted to know who this German pilot that saved his life was. He put up an ad in a German newspaper.
On January 18, 1990, Brown received a letter. He opened it and read:
“Dear Charles, All these years I wondered what happened to the B-17, did she make it or not?”
It was Stigler. He had had left Germany after the war and moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1953. He became a prosperous businessman. Now retired, Stigler told Brown that he would be in Florida come summer and “it sure would be nice to talk about our encounter.”
They met up at a hotel in Florida and from being once enemies, they became close friends.
Brown and Stigler became pals. They would take fishing trips together. They would fly cross-country to each other homes and take road trips together to share their story at schools and veterans’ reunions. Their wives, Jackie Brown and Hiya Stigler, became friends.
Both of them passed away in 2008. Brown was 87 and Stigler was 92.
So yes, it is possible!
My almost 15-year-old son watched a movie for 16+ year old people without my permission. What should I do?
My 15 year old son and his friends went to a cybercafe in the afternoon, sent to take photocopies of practice questions and watched dirty photographs in a browsing centre
The cafe owners own kids went to the school so he tipped off the teachers who summoned the parents
It’s PERFECTLY NORMAL
It’s what all teenagers should do and do
It’s what I did in my teens (though I never got caught)
Too much discipline almost always goes the wrong way and you don’t want your kid becoming desperate enough to HIDE THINGS from you right?
So dont push him
I set a few red lines and that’s it
Dont lie about your marks or performance and come clean if you fail so that correction can be done
Don’t smoke at any cost or have a first beer until you get a paycheck
Don’t take a girl out on a date or have sex with her until you have a decent paycheck
Close the door when watching Porn and don’t let your mother find out and for gods sake don’t use fake labels on CDs
That’s it
Within these boundaries , you do what you feel is best
I can’t set academic targets for them
So my advise was : MAKE SURE YOU DO YOUR BEST. AS LONG AS YOU KNOW YOU DID YOUR BEST AND WEREN’T LAZY, THAT’S ENOUGH
A 15 yr old watching a 16+ year old movie is pretty normal
I bet he knows way more than a 16+ year old movie
Is Taiwan part of or separate from China?
Well, I am not Taiwanese or from any Chinese state, I am from Singapore, and to give you an honest answer. Technically it is part of China.
I get like Taiwan wants independence, but they can’t, I am not saying that they have no capabilities, but they just can’t. They can survive on their own, but they can’t be independent because China is looking after them.
Before anyone gets angry at me for not supporting Taiwan independence and all sorts of such things, I want to make my point that Singapore used to face this issue too. Singapore was once a part of Malaysia too because of a merger. And when Malaysia kicked us out, we could have said no, but Singapore minister Lee Kuan Yew said that they have come to accept it to gain independence from Malaysia. Even the US gained independence from the UK after the UK allowed them to become independent. Have you noticed the common criteria between these two examples? If you think that both have came to an agreement, then you’re right. Both came to an agreement and hence became independent. That’s why to me, if China is not allowing Taiwan to be independent, then it cannot be independent no matter how hard you try to fight for it. So, yes, Taiwan IS a part of China as of now.
And if you think about it, do you think China needs Taiwan? Just like Hong Kong and Macau, the only reason why China claim it as their territory is to make sure those pesky western power doesn’t come down to claim them and use them against China. Only Taiwan minsters and citizens are blind to see that, but if you don’t get involve in such issue and take a step back, you will realise that this is most likely the case. I study history in secondary school and I saw a source during the Korean War where the Chinese had a poster that states to kill the Americans who were in Taiwan and South Korea, you do realise it is the KOREAN War, it was between North and South Korea, but what does Taiwan have to do with it? Well China wants to chase away Western Power in Asia. It is as simple as that.
Now, whether Taiwan will get independent or not, it is really based on whether the US gets too involved with Taiwan, if China seizes Taiwan, no matter how hard Taiwan fights, it still is a part of China. The only reason why they had a government down there was because Chiang Kai Shek lost against Mao Ze Dong, and he had a thick skin to start a government down in Taiwan, and if you think Mao Ze Dong is bad, well, it doesn’t make Chiang Kai Shek any better, just know about White Death or White Terror and you will know why. People can claim that Mao Ze Dong was evil, but technically he was also good in building China to what it is today, same goes for Chiang Kai Shek (Taiwan), Syghmen Rhee (South Korea) and Ngoh Dinh Diem (South Vietnam), these people who were supported by the US, also were dictators and killed many too. Back to the point, Chaing Kai Shek just ran down to Taiwan to set up a local government system but China ignored it as they had many issues to solve in their own country, if China back then did not ignore it, they would have went to Taiwan and kill Chiang Kai Shek and his party of people. And this is not a joke, I am serious when I say this that they would have if they realised it was really a huge threat that will affect today.
China says that Taiwan is their own people, but I feel that’s an excuse, seriously? Taiwan VOLUNTEERED to join the Japanese army and killed many Chinese in China, Malaysia, Singapore, regardless of whether they were communists or not. Do you think they will see the Taiwanese Chinese people as their own people? People would rather see them as Japanese than Chinese. And Taiwan is very influenced by Japanese culture with their way of life, I would rather cede them to the Japanese rather than taking them back since they are very Japanese like and most of their habits are very Japanese like. Again, they only don’t want to give them independence because of the Western Power plans to surround China.
All in all, I am not saying that Taiwan cannot be independent and I don’t support their independent, but I am just stating down of why I think they cannot be independent and hence is a part of China regardless of whether you think it is or not because in reality and in actual fact, they are not and they cannot be independent, it all lies on whether China is willing to give up, only time will tell.
The Lost Boys – I Still Believe – Tim Capello (Subtitulado)
Some of the strange AI artwork from today
Really strange stuff today.
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(6)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(3)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(4)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(5)
I think that this picture wins the prize for the strangest painting…
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Contemplating coffee…
Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(4)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(5)
Worshiping a coffee God?
Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(6)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(1)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(2)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(5)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(6)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(2)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(3)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(4)Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(6)
This story contains themes or mentions of suicide or self harm.
Good morning Marc. A familiar robotic voice gently awoke me from my peaceful sleep as I tried to pry my eyelids open.It is time to shoot your advertisement for Taurodyne. The product is in the bathroom cabinet.Taurodyne was a toothpaste company that had purchased ads for intergalactic voyages. If life was ever discovered on one of the “Taur” missions, it would be a huge marketing boost for the company, but after the 20th mission failed, people just stopped caring. It was unlikely for anyone but hardcore viewers to recognize the name Marc Silva, much less buy toothpaste because of its ethos. I unclipped the harness holding me vertically against my padded bedroom wall and ran a quick scan with the vitals monitor set up to my left, the faint green light blinking in time with the thumping of my heart.“Andromeda, how long have I been asleep?” I asked.Measurements indicate it has been seven hours. “Ship assessment?” I queried as I rubbed my eyes wearily, now floating in the zero-g atmosphere.Oxygen levels are stable, velocity remains constant, no anomalies are detected.Everything was normal.I opened the hatch that gave way to the narrow hallway of my Edison-4. I floated down the hallway toward my bathroom. In the cabinet next to the rinseless soap and water pouches was my toothbrush, and next to it, a tube of Taurodyne toothpaste. I couldn’t even use the viscous liquid to brush my teeth in its current packaging; the liquid would just float away. Taurodyne marketers, however, maintained that the brand recognition that came with a tube was necessary. I located the camera on the left wall just above my prompter, oriented myself to face it, and displayed the red and blue logo labeled, “Taurodyne: the high-tech toothpaste.”
“Roll it, Andromeda.”
Cameras are recording in three, two, one.
“As an astronaut, I need long-lasting freshness to keep my helmet smelling great, even for long spacewalks. That’s why I choose Taurodyne.” I flashed a smile before dropping the facade.
Your recording is compressing and will be flashed to the nearest base. Orienting communication lasers…
I took out one of my more space-friendly toothpaste packs. I hated these ads. I thought everyone on Earth could see through my ingenuine smile and yellowing teeth, even after they were whitened in post-production. I felt so exposed, so alone. Andromeda eased my yearning for interaction, but the blasted ads were a constant reminder that there was an Earth I had left behind.
Message sending…
Nonetheless, they were necessary. Ever since President Flint had cut funding for the space program, the budget had been strained. The program subsisted on nothing but our own ad revenue and philanthropic donations by eccentric trillionaires. Second-class, loaned rockets plagued the ASA – formerly NASA – while private and Chinese missions used their new, top-of-the-line ships.
The message will take one month to travel and will be received at base PACS-867 on April 3, 2130.
“Thanks, Andromeda,” I responded absentmindedly.
Today was the culmination of my mission to find humans a new home. It was the final leg of the journey before I would be assigned to another lifeless sphere, devoid of interest and isolated in the perennial vastness; venturing in hope that there, somehow, humanity could continue its endless crusade of existence, a reckoning never resolved, only delayed. The population was growing by nearly two billion people a year, mandating the rapid colonization of the unknown; however, no suitable planet had been found yet. The “balloon problem,” as scientists referred to it, was explained to me by the man who popularized it: Mario Perez.
Mario was well-dressed and -spoken for a man who spoke English as his fourth language. I met with him at his home nearly two years ago. Contrary to his gloomy work, Mario was a jovial man. Perhaps he felt safe in the knowledge that he would never survive to see his prediction come to fruition – he had stage four cancer at the time. I arrived at his warmly lit house filled with tchotchkes and knickknacks where he cracked jokes and told me about a painting that hung in his living room where we talked. It was Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory.”
“Is that real?” I asked, floored.
“No, not at all,” he chuckled. “They offered it to me, but I figured, why hang it here where a couple of people can enjoy it when it can be at MoMA where it is seen by thousands?” He delivered the rhetorical question in such a way that I couldn’t help but laugh, though I wasn’t quite sure what I was meant to be laughing at. It was the kind of joke to be enjoyed at barbecues, perhaps said by a paternal grill master during small talk. Our conversation topic was anything but small talk.
After we settled in, him in a reclining chair and me on an itchy sofa, Mario began a routine that had, by then, reached billions of listeners.
“Assume you put a single piece of bacteria in a cup, and that organism doubles every minute. The process begins at midnight on Monday and will end when the glass is full in exactly twenty four hours. When will the glass be half full?”
I had seen his work, but him, sitting across from me in his La-Z-Boy (but not relaxed) staring unflinchingly at me gave it a whole new gravitas.
”11:59 pm on Tuesday night,” he said with finality. “The pocketwatch of humanity is ticking. Our time is running out, and we have just one precious minute left. What’s the solution? Say we colonize a hundred planets. Let’s represent the space they provide by expanding our limit to the entire room. That buys us only ten short minutes. It is only a matter of time, even if we colonize those hundred planets, until our timepiece once again reads 11:59.” That warning was the thing that drove everyone in the spacefaring business to work harder, go faster, and travel further than ever before.
I assumed Mario was dead by now. His doctor’s prediction was far eclipsed by my mission length. As for Mario’s prediction, he prognosticated that barring an alternative to Earth, population control would have to be utilized by 2150, twenty years from now.
Population control. That had been the question of the last few years. Whether it was righteous to struggle against an ever-increasing flood of humanity by accommodating the endless new bodies, or whether it was nobler to sterilize a portion of the population in the hopes of helping a section of the yet unborn to thrive in an Earth of plentiful resources. The UN and other international bodies were paralyzed by debate and the lack of a right answer to a confounding moral problem. It seemed that inaction would rule doomsday.
I shook off my existential crisis, moving toward my modest living area, and more importantly, the breakfast pouches inside my plastic cabinet labeled food.
“What exciting alien species will I be encountering today?” I queried with no small hint of sarcasm.
You must repair atmospheric sensor 3b before I take low-atmospheric photos and data of planet Confutatis Spes. Once the data is collected and you are safely aboard, I will perform a boomerang maneuver to shoot you back toward PACS-867 where you will return the Edison-4 to the Chinese.
Everything as expected. “Sounds good, A. When am I disembarking?”
T minus ten minutes until your EVA.
Everything seemed to be on schedule. I quickly slurped down my blueberry oatmeal and went to put on my suit in preparation for the spacewalk. I was done sitting around doing nothing but filming promos for shitty toothpaste. Today was a day of action, where I would become master of my own life.
“Andromeda, put on Space Oddity” I mused with a smirk slowly working its way to my lips.
Space Oddity by David Bowie now playing.
By this time, I had made my way to the suit staging area. I went through the checklist drilled into me at training. When I pulled the tether taut to test its strength, the lyrics began to rise high above the sci-fi sounds that played in the background of my favorite song as the song’s ship countdown began. The unique voice of David Bowie became ubiquitous. I looked out of the airlock toward the planet I would soon visit, both my ears and now eyes filling with beauty. I started mouthing the lyrics, slowly working up the confidence to sing in earnest, broken high notes joining the forlorn verse.
“Ground control to Major Tom:
The time is near, there’s not too long.
Can you hear me, Major Tom?”
The red-tinted sun at my back combined with the deep purple clouds that I could only assume were toxic iodine made the planet reminiscent of a sunset. As pretty as it was, a lot of work would be required to make this planet into a home. I stepped into the main body of the suit.
“Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear?”
I donned my heavy helmet equipped with a life-support system and boasting a sun-protectant visor. The song shifted to the sound system contained within the helmet, but I kept belting.
“Here am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do”
I slipped on my gloves, cleared my throat, and asked, “You there, Andromeda?”
Here as always. We have entered the upper atmosphere and are in a stable orbit. Your mission is a go.
“Then let’s do this thing.”
The airlock opened and I pushed off toward sensor 3b. It was impossible to see through the purple clouds all around me so I navigated with the help of Andromeda as she activated different thrusters attached to the suit to correct my movements.
You will have to perform a jump out to the right engine module. Two o’clock.
“Copy that.” I jumped without hesitation, feeling a slight correction from the right side of my suit, and latched onto the metallic surface.
You must adjust the collection unit to 37 degrees to accommodate our low-orbit angle when collection is happening.
I reached out, trying to feel the porous, cylindrical device. My clumsily controlled hand made contact and slowly started pushing it into position.
“Just tell me when to stop.”
Stop. Well done. Time to return to the main body. Eight o’clock.
I pushed off once again and felt the familiar correction. “I thought I had that one,” I complained sarcastically. Andromeda didn’t respond. She was used to my humor. We had grown close over the past two years. Any interaction, even with a machine, was welcome in the void. Her competence and real-seeming empathy for my predicament gave me complete trust in her. Deprivation of human contact over the years had made me boring and socially inept. I thought Andromeda was the only one who understood me.
I reached the airlock and reentered the ship. The pressure equalized, and I took off my helmet.
We will be entering the lower atmosphere in thirty minutes where data collection will begin.
“Great. I’m gonna get a nap. Let me know when we’re boomeranging”
I doffed the remainder of my suit and drifted back to my cramped quarters. I strapped myself into my sleeping bag and fell into a deep sleep.
*******************
Marc.
Marc, there is a slight problem.
Marc, you must wake up.
“What is it, Andromeda?” I asked crankily.
An anomaly has been detected in the oxygen levels of the ship.
“Are we leaking? How bad is it?”
I did a scan for leaks and found nothing. We are losing 3.4 times ten to the negative eight atmospheres of partial pressure per minute.
“Log the deficit. It’s probably a reading error. If the problem persists, wake me up in twenty minutes.”
*******************
Marc.
The problem is persisting.
“How so?”
We are losing 1.4 times ten to the negative six atmospheres of partial pressure per minute.
That was anomalous. That the oxygen was leaking 100 times worse was flustering. “Show me the data on oxygen levels,” I implored.
I looked left at my monitor and zoomed in.
“A, assign a line of exponential regression and give me an R squared value.” I looked intently at the exponential model, where terror awaited me. Oxygen would run out in fifty minutes at the current rate. The confidence metric read an even 100%.
“Oh, no.” My panicked voice began to crack as I recognized the severity of my situation.
I ripped off my bed straps and careened toward the airlock. What could be causing the leak?
“Andromeda, I’m going to check the oxygen tank for leakage from outside of the ship.” I frantically jumped into the suit I had so joyously put on less than an hour ago. I reached down and strapped myself into place, but I was still missing something. I cried, “My gloves! Where are my gloves?”
On the table to your right next to the purple smudge.
I hadn’t done a good job cleaning up, but there wasn’t time for that now.
I snatched the gloves, pulled them on, and hooked the tether onto my waist loop. Finally, I opened the airlock.
Wasting no time, I made a beeline for the oxygen tanks. When I reached the panel, I unscrewed it with shaking hands and practically ripped it off.
“Andromeda, scan the device for external oxygen.”
Scanning through suit sensors… no leak has been detected, although there is oxygen in the air outside the ship at high concentrations.
“We have no way to collect it,” I assessed militarily. “Besides, the iodine would make it unsafe for consumption.”
The iodine content in the atmosphereis negligible.
“Well then what is this purple stuff?” I asked. “What the fuck is this?” I yelled in shock and desperation. “If it’s not iodine what the hell is it?”
It appears the substance is a rudimentary life form.
I was silent for a few seconds as I processed the information. “No kidding.” This was humanity’s first contact with an alien species. I went limp for a second, my hands slipping from their holds, but I forced my clammy palms to latch on tight. Then I went as white as a sheet. “That’s the problem with the oxygen.” I realized. “There are aliens on my ship, and they’re multiplying.”
I raced back to the airlock, took my suit off as fast as possible, and rushed to grab the disinfectant in the living area. I sped back to where I had seen the purple smudge before. It had noticeably grown in size. Panicked, I applied the antibacterial substance and began to scour the ship for more of the colored organism.
Horrified, I found the purple film on counters, hallway walls, and a large amount in my bedroom. I must have tracked it in. I tried scraping some of it off with my fingernail, but it clung to my harness with incredible veracity.
I hastily checked my first clumping to see if the disinfectant was capable of saving my life. To my dismay, if anything, the stain had gotten larger; reality set in.
I crumpled and wept forlornly, “Andromeda? Am I doomed to die?”
With current supplies, There is no way to stem the organism’s growth.
“I need to send word of first contact to ASA.” If anything, my sense of duty propelled me upright. “How long do I have?”
10 minutes before mild asphyxiation begins, 15 before death.
“How long before we’re out of the clouds and I can send the message?”
13 minutes.
The air was already getting thin. What loyalty did I have to ASA? I could buy humanity time, but was it worth it? Did anything outweigh the agony I would feel? Maybe they’d name the planet after me, I mused. But what would I care? I’d be dead. Did it matter what I left behind? What about the obligation to my species? I resolved to send the message, my allegiance, not to ASA, but to humanity prevailing.
The damn bacteria. I laughed in the face of my quandary. Isn’t this what I wanted? To find alien life? But why must it compete with me for oxygen? I supposed existence itself gave any being the prerogative to fight for its survival, big or small. Existence is a competition and we’re just gladiators in the arena, battling trillions and trillions of others.
My breaths became ragged. I located a camera and faced it.
“Andromeda? Are you ready?”
Ready as always.
“Thanks, A. For everything.”
It has been an honor, Marc. You’re live.
“Hello ASA” I wheezed. “I have discovered life on the oxygen-rich planet Confutatis Spes.” Each word was preceded by a gasp now. “The organism has contaminated my ship and used up my oxygen.” I struggled to make a sound as I rasped a final “Good luck.”
Sending… sent.
“A, put on … second half of … space oddity.” I didn’t have time to listen to the complete song.
With pleasure.
I floated down my now-colorful hallway to my living area where I found my kitchen knife. I ventured to the airlock where I looked out at the maroon planet below me, my insides slowly being consumed by suffocating fire. I had prolonged humanity’s survival, even if it was just for a precious minute or two on the grandfather clock of human existence. As for my own life, the clock had struck 12:00. I serenely drew my blade, feeling like a conquistador of old on a new frontier, Space Oddity serenading my final moments.
Here am I floating in my tin can,
Last glimpse of the world,
Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing left to do.
As the final line played, I plunged the knife into my stomach, my beautiful vista giving way to the blackness of the void I knew so well.
Cook ground beef and onion until meat is browned and onion is tender; drain.
Stir in beans, tomato sauce, taco seasoning mix and 3/4 cup cheese.
Sprinkle 2 1/2 cups corn chips in the bottom of an 8 inch square baking dish.
Cover with beef mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.
Spread sour cream over chili.
Top with remaining corn chips and cheese.
Bake for 3 to 4 minutes longer.
Why do people like Linda Sun, who had held privileged positions within American government and society, betray our country?
It must be recognized there are two kinds of Chinese stateside. Those with pinyin names, and those with dialect names, usually wade-Giles flavor.
Linda belongs to the former group, and it marks her out as mainland diaspora.
Linda is 41, a naturalized US citizen, and attended American schools from childhood.
She is being charged with charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy, more than a year after losing her job in the New York state government, whom she had served with distinction for 15 years.
In other words, she was a career civil servant, a lifer.
I find the media extravagance too well-timed, and the myriad details too well-stitched together for this not be a professional hatchet job. This is trial by media at its finest, and a continuation of the China Initiative timed to the election cycle.
The charges leveled are not too different from the professors with pinyin names who were indicted in the China Initiative witch hunt. Careers and lives have been destroyed, with few convictions to show. That’s what happens when a web of insinuation is spun on flimsy evidence.
Particularly galling are the accusations on Taiwan. Linda was following official US Department of State policy on One China contained in the 3 Communiques and 6 Assurances. Apparently, she is supposed to know when to bend the rules when it comes to Taiwan, just like her political appointee bosses.
In other words, she has committed the crime of NOT overstepping her authority as a civil servant, and acting within her pay grade.
I think Linda’s family can kiss a big chunk of their wealth goodbye fighting the case. Life will not be the same for a long time as this drags through the court.
Have you ever known someone who was wrongly imprisoned? What happened to them?
My cousin was wrongly accused and convicted of murdering a 13-year-old girl back in 1983, He spent more than 10 years on death row as a convicted child murderer.
About 2–3 years after his conviction another man was arrested for kidnapping, rape, and murder of a little girl and on an adult woman. During this man’s arrest and prosecution, he tried to make a deal saying he would confess and take responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of the girl my cousin was in prison for if they would spare giving him the death penalty. The state’s attorney refused as they didn’t need this because in their opinion they could put him on death row for 2 murders and they already had guys in prison for the other murder.
When my cousin’s legal team found out about this, they questioned the man and he was able to give intimate details of the murder that were never made public and were discussed in the open trial. Things like what type of sheet the body was wrapped in and where she was left and condition of the body and so on. His legal team took it to the authorities but they would have nothing of it. They said they had the men for both sets of murders and they didn’t need him.
My cousin managed to get 2 more trials and finally on the third trial his defense team was able to prove that the cop who testified he heard my cousin confess to the murder wasn’t even there to hear the confession. He was on a fishing trip in Florida and not in Illinois to hear this so-called confession. At this point, the state’s case fell apart. They were able to prove that he was completely framed by the police and state’s attorney’s office. There were many people who made their careers on my cousin’s case so they didn’t want to admit they framed him when the other guy came forward.
My cousin’s case was such a big story as it was ongoing that he was interviewed by 60 minutes and there was an episode of Unsolved Mysteries dedicated to his story.
In the end, after 10+ years on death row, he was freed. He sued the state and received a huge settlement. A lot of people lost their jobs and credibility when it was all said and done. Eventually, Illinois put a stop to the death penalty because my cousin’s case was the first of a handful of cases where people sentenced to death were actually innocent.
Edit update – I did mention in comments but he was freed with the help of the innocence project. They did amazing work to finally secure his innocence.
Was any woman that filed a false 498a case convicted or fined?
I have personal experience where a woman who married a decent guy (my client) had an open affair with an ex boyfriend (she married due to parental pressure) and eventually decided to leave my client. She got him arrested under false 498A, DV Act charges plus a 307 IPC (Attempt to murder) by manipulating the local cops and sent him, his parents (who had not spend a minute with the woman) and his sister to Judicial Custody in Chennai. The parents got bail within a day or two as did the sister but the guy spend 83 days in Custody.
Luckily – as it happened the man had proof that on the days the woman had alleged to be beaten and harrassed – the man was in a training program in Singapore for 14 days. He was not in the country at all. Likewise her allegations of bruises were rubbished when facebook photos of her dancing at a sangeet ceremony on the same evening when she claimed she could not move out from bed were discovered. Using this evidence we filed a 482 Crpc quashing case with HC.
HC Judge eventually quashed all the charges especially noting that it appeared that the woman had made false statements and he condemned the woman strongly but that was it. Just condemned the woman strongly but no criminal case because she was a woman. Just the single statement that she acted beneath her dignity. Just a single warning.
So the guy goes to jail for 83 days in a false case, loses 6 kilos, spoils his reputation and even if his honor knows the truth – his honor still only reprimands the woman with a scolding but no criminal case or jail.
The divorce was finalized in Jan 19 and the settlement was smooth.
First time hearing of REO Speedwagon – Roll With The Changes (Reaction!)
There’s an outlet mall outside of Plainville, Massachusetts. It’s a big sprawling site. Impressive. It’s called Wrentham Village Outlets.
Wrentham Village Outlets
It’s a nice place, and everyone knows about it.
What they don’t know is that before it was built, it was a quiet country RV campground, and it was beautiful.
Here’s what it was like.
Forest 6Forest 5Forest 4Forest 3Forest 2Forest 1
Large boulders all over the place and these stands of ash trees everywhere. When I first moved to Massachusetts, I stayed at that RV park. And my kitty cats loved the place. They would lay sunning themselves on the rocks or the picnic tables.
Well, here’s what happened.
Sometime in the late 1990’s there was this wealthy family that owned a lot of the land in Wrentam and Plainville, MA. As they were getting older, they decided to sell their land holds to real estate developers. And then they moved to Florida.
Meanwhile, once they skedaddled, the developers had the land rezoned and a outlet mall went up, a water park went up and there were plans for poor welfare housing and other things, until the town collectively put it’s foot down and stopped the abuse. But they couldn’t stop the mall, and thus the mall came into being.
It’s all forgotten right now.
One greedy person can make life Hell for the rest of us.
Today…
Have you ever tried to fire someone and it backfired?
I have seen this one , it Includes a lot of schadenfreude.
Long story be warned.
Company I use to work for had this very senior engineer let’s call him Claudio.
Claudio had been with the company before it was the monster that it is now, he started as machine operator in the late 70’s got his degree in mechanical engineer got a ton of training. It is insane the amount of knowledge he has , as matter of fact his c.v is several pages long.
He had survived mergers, acquisitions and was instrumental in the success of the company, by the time I met him he was the old fox in the hen house.
Well with time Claudio got tired of being on the field , all that traveling and visiting clients was taking a toll on him, he wanted a desk job.
Of course the company obliged, they created a position for him.. head of instrument maintenance or something like that.
For a couple of years he assigned field service engineers all around Europe to service, repair and maintain the company’s instruments, he had no boss and everything was wonderful.
One day someone decided that his department was so big and such an instrumental part of the company that he needed a boss.. a VP of something.
Now this VP was an asshole, he wanted to leave his mark and started bumping heads with Claudio…
Claudio usually didn’t give a f…and just ignored the VP and kept on doing his job…
VP would say do this …Claudio would respond no that’s stupid , or no we can’t do that because it would be illegal , or no because it’s not in the specs…you get the drift…
After some time the VP got fed up and together with the head of HR and a couple of lackeys called Claudio to the big office and told him shape up do what we say or consider yourself fired.
Claudio just nodded and said , I guess I’m fired then.. got his stuff and left the office.
Couple of weeks later Claudio was at the employment tribunal claiming unfair dismissal after X amount of years and wanted his pound of flesh, this is in the E.U so labor laws are super tight (sorry my American brothers) here you cannot just be fired..
Welp, monster company rounds the wagons around the VP and HR and send the lawyer team after Claudio.
To make the already long story short Claudio got himself a lawyer as well, his lawyer was this grumpy ,wrinkled old lady that smoked like a chimney and looked like a mix between a retired theater professor and miss Havisham.
So before going to the labor board or a trial ?(not sure its exact name) ,both parties must get together for a kind of arbitration to determine if something can be done.
Both parties gather together , the big lawyers at one side with the VP and the head of HR of monster company and Claudio with good old Miss Havisham.
The monster company presents his case ..Claudio was fired with reason for not doing his job..bla bla when pushed about examples and what prompted the firing the big lawyers claimed failing to follow procedure on the scheduled maintenance on the instruments around Europe…
Miss Havisham asks if they can provide the manuals and l instructions for the maintenance and repairs of said instruments…
Big lawyers of course have them after all they came prepared, they point to a box of sitting next to them.
Miss Havisham ask them to pick one at Random and open the second page and read the author of said manual…
One of the lawyers does and freezes when he reads the name of the author…open another one and another ..all the same …
Author on all manuals Claudio
Miss Havisham says , so let me get the straight you fired this man for not following procedure on manuals that he created in equipment that he built ?? After some shock on the big lawyers side, she said that they will step outside for a cigarette and when they come back they better have something better to say..
When they come back in , the company is very apologetic and want to come to agreement..
The company in a show of good faith offer a pretty good deal to Claudio…
Miss Havisham claims it is not enough and wants more… company says they are not going to get a better deal even if they go to the labor tribunal, they will certainly not get something better.
Miss Havisham, like the bad ass she is says: we are going out for another smoke if you can’t do better we will go to court, after win this case – because we will with ease- it becomes a public matter, all the customers know Claudio and know the quality of his work , they also know that the maintenance for the past couple of months have not been done properly, customers are reaching out, complaining about wrong readings, wrong results, and equipment shutdown, I don’t know if you are aware that most of the customers are university’s and government, they have big pockets and they love to go after breach of contracts… I’m sure you will be hearing from them as soon as the verdict on our favor comes out…
So they step out again.
When they came back in , monster company had a monster settlement for Claudio.
Now this story is beautiful right ?
It does not ended there
Skip 6 moths… Claudio gets a call, all around E.U instruments are failing and they are having a lot of trouble keeping the customers happy, FSE resigning and being replaced by young inexperienced people, it has gotten so bad that a ranking government official has personally placed a call to the CEO of monster company, they have several governmental departments not able to function properly as the instruments are giving wrong results, all from mining operations to police labs… CEO promises solutions.
So CEO places a call to Claudio, hey old chum, whats going on? Claudio tells him the whole story about VP and HR and the Arbitration…
CEO is shocked as he was not aware of the situation and tells Claudio he will hear back from him.
Couple of days later Claudio is back at old company for a meeting, CEO sent a special right person for the meeting, all pleasantry ,sorry about the mistake ,bla bla it was a misunderstanding , it will never happen again, can you please come back.
Sure… Claudio states his conditions, freedom to hire any of his old FSE and in case HR is needed it will handled by a third party, he answers only to the CEO and a prevision that states he can only be fired by the board, he keeps all the money from the settlement, he does not want to see or have any interaction with Head of HR or VP if they so much as speak to him he walks, and they have no say or interaction on how he handles his department, he wants it all written down in a very air tight contract, that of course will reviewed by Miss Havisham
Company gladly agrees on all terms, Head of HR left “for better opportunity” VP is still VP of something but has no one under him on the organization chart, he is the joke of the company, you can see him run away and hide when he sees Claudio.
Reuben Noodle Bake
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Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
8 ounces egg noodles, uncooked
5 ounces corned beef, thinly sliced
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can sauerkraut with caraway seeds
2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Thousand Island salad dressing
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
2 slices pumpernickel bread
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Red onion slices (optional)
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Drain sauerkraut and rinse under cold water. Drain well and set aside.
Cook noodles according to package directions until al dente; drain.
Meanwhile, cut corned beef into bite-size pieces.
Combine noodles, corned beef, sauerkraut and cheese in large bowl. Pour into prepared dish.
Combine dressing, milk and mustard in small bowl. Spoon dressing mixture evenly over noodle mixture.
Tear bread into large pieces. Process in food processor or blender until crumbs are formed.
Combine bread crumbs and butter in small bowl; sprinkle evenly over casserole.
Bake, uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through.
Garnish with red onion, if desired.
With another school shooting in USA today, have they ever considered a new approach to deal with it? Amend the constitution to outlaw the possession of firearms. How difficult & what level of authority would be required to achieve that? Referendum?
I see you’re a European. I’ll be happy to explain some basic civics, and perhaps some cultural insights as well.
38/50 states would have to ratify such an amendment. It’s difficult for good reason.
And then you’d have to kill a large chunk of the population to make it stick, even if you were to get it as a law.
I’m a nurse by temperament and training. I’m generally a rule follower even when the rules are stupid.
I’m also a veteran. I learned lots of interesting things in the Army.
But i won’t comply. I won’t register anything, and it’s for damned certain I won’t hand anything over.
This is the point where you ask me if I’m willing to die over it. But that’s not really the right question. The right question is whether I’m willing to kill over it. How do i convince you by mere communication so that we can avoid having to demonstrate it?
If you come to take it, my working assumption is that you’ve come to kill me, or worse, and I’ll respond accordingly. By which I mean immediate and lethal force.
Or better yet, when it becomes evident that you will be coming to kill me, I’ll come find you first.
No, we’re going to have to solve the violence problem in our culture by some means other than forcible disarmament. You won’t be getting any new laws. In fact, we’re going to throw out a sizeable chunk of existing law. I’ll be keeping my firearms. Every last one of them. There’s really not a damn thing you can do about it.
Come take it
What’s it like to be stuck in a foreign country without being able to leave?
I was stuck in India for about a year without being able to leave.
When my wife was pregnant I went to the local Foreigner Regional Registration Office and was told that we should be fine overstaying our visas by a few weeks (to allow her more rest after labor) if I brought in a note from the doctor and the birth certificate.
She gave birth, and I did what they said.
“Okay. Now you must wait,” they said. Fair enough.
I called every week but every time was told that the permits we would need in order to leave were not ready.
In the meantime I cancelled our non-refundable AirAsia flight.
After a couple of months, it was clear that we were not going to get our permits to leave anytime soon.
“Your case had been forwarded to the central government in Delhi,” I was told by the office. “We can’t do anything for you.”
“Oh… Then what do I do now? Who can I talk to?”
“You can’t talk to them. You have to wait…”
Wow.
And so we lived in a state of limbo and uncertainty for many months, moving from house to house with a small baby because we didn’t know when we would leave.
Our families were worried. It was horrible. I got in touch with the US embassy but that didn’t help.
Finally, a friend introduced me to a friend of his, a man who worked for the government. He pulled some strings, and after a couple of weeks we had our exit permits.
I cannot describe the relief I felt. It’s like being in a place you love, but being trapped there. The place becomes a prison, and you don’t know when you’ll be able to leave. And there’s no sentence which tells you how long your imprisonment will last. You just have to wait. In my case, it was a year. Twelve months.
I thanked the man a gazillion times, and soon we were out of India. Phew.
Australian Ambassador Ross Garnaut: “America would be damaged by war with China over the status of Taiwan, but, short of a major nuclear exchange debilitating both great powers, its sovereignty would not be at risk. Australia’s would be. Indeed, I doubt that Australia could survive as a sovereign entity the isolation from most of Asia that would be likely to follow anything other than a decisive and quick US victory in a war in which our military was engaged”.
The National Endowment for Democracy: What It Is and What It Does. The Foreign Ministry says the NED acts as the U.S. government’s “white gloves,” subverting state power, meddling in other countries’ internal affairs, inciting division and confrontation, misleading public opinion, and conducting ideological infiltration—all under the guise of promoting democracy.
The Zimbabwe president visiting BYD Headquarters and realized that heads of African states are in China for the 9th FOCAC (Forum on China–Africa Cooperation). I spent a long time looking at the current state of China & Africa Cooperation. Let’s take a look at what I found.
NED has long colluded with anti-China forces, including Jimmy Lai. In 2020, the NED set up multiple projects related to Hong Kong in its funding list, totalling more than $310,000, to provide support for the Hong Kong rioters. In 2023, the NED collaborated with the British NGO “Hong Kong Watch” and Amnesty International, as well as anti-China politicians in the U.S., U.K. and Germany, to nominate Jimmy Lai for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.
America is, geopolitically, trying to punch China at one end of the bar, and getting punched 30 times before it can get there. Their military is too weak to take the field in Russia, their Navy is too weak to beat Yemen and their Air Force can only bomb innocents and misses the heroes of Hamas entirely. America is an old drunk brawler, covered in blood and piss and just embarrassing itself. Its current military strategy makes as much sense as Scarface’s home security. Scarface died so coked up that his body kept firing. That’s America right now, braindead and running on pure muscle memory.
Constructing the new Funan Techo Canal, Cambodia: 10 km completed by 17th. day. The Chinese contractor sent 2,500 large machines to work day and night. The US took 10yrs to build the Panama Canal, which opened in 1914, and which is 100km shorter than the Techo Canal. The Techo Canal is estimated to cost $1.7B. The Panama Canal cost $8.6B in 2024 dollars.
Türkiye has formally applied to join BRICS. Türkiye seeks to enhance its global influence and establish new alliances beyond its traditional Western partners, according to Bloomberg BRICS members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, UAE, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia.
China has party secretaries aboard oceangoing vessels. This report focuses on the ship political commissar, a Party representative assigned to oceangoing merchant ships, particularly within state-owned shipping enterprises, to carry out political and administrative work in the management of ship crews.
Serbia should pick BRICS over Brussels, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has said in an interview with Russian media. The largest republic of the former Yugoslavia applied for EU membership in 2009 and has been a candidate since 2012, but the bloc has recently demanded recognition of the breakaway province of Kosovo as a condition for membership. “BRICS does not ask anything of Serbia and offers more than we could want. The EU asks of us everything, and I’m no longer sure what it has to offer. We see BRICS as an opportunity and an alternative. Serbia is very closely investigating all the possibilities presented by BRICS and closer cooperation with its member states.” According to Vulin, Serbia is expecting an official invitation to the BRICS October summit in Kazan, Russia.
The footprints of the two global economic power blocs were roughly equal in 2020. China and its BRICS allies are increasingly the world economy’s richest bloc. Nothing prepared the populations of Western capitalism for this changed reality or its effects. Especially the sections of those populations already forced to absorb the costly burdens of Western capitalism’s decline feel betrayed, abandoned, and angry. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza testify to that denial and exemplify the costly strategic mistakes it produces.
“The battleground won’t be in the Global South, where the US has very much lost to China, especially in Africa and Latin America. It won’t be in the Indo-Pacific either, where few countries want to take sides. It will be in Europe, where the US has most of its allies and where China is the largest trading partner. Even if America’s decline is gradual, it cannot afford a global military presence.That Europe takes China as a partner, competitor and systemic rival at the same time says more about Europe’s confusion about China than what China really is.
What is the goriest thing you have seen in real life?
I was an Office Manager for a collision repair center for a few years. We had a Mitsubishi Montero towed in from a bad accident that sat over a hot weekend.
The smell was awful. The spare tire was missing from the back. Pieces of teeth, tissue and bone were stuck on it. Lots of flies. The car had a suitcase, computer and other property in it.
We were told by the insurance agent that the car belonged to a long time customer who fell in love with a girl in the Philippines right out of school. He could not afford to bring her with him when he moved to California. He worked two jobs for a few years and saved money to bring her to the state to marry her.
He picked her up from the airport. She was excited! Never been to California before. They blew a tire on the freeway. She was pacing behind him on her cell phone talking to his sister. He removed the spare from the back of the car and was on his knees taking it off when a drunk driver going 65 mph hit them.
The drunk drivers car had struck her, pushed her into him and smashed his head near the spare tire holder on the back of the car. He died instantly. Pieces of his skull, jaw bone & teeth were pressed into the vehicle. She however was still alive and on the phone. She remained alive for a long time while rescue efforts continued. She died when the other drivers car was removed.
Her luggage was in the car. Her parents where flying out to collect her things. The receptionist and I had to remove her things and make a list for them. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done.
This Sea Is the Most Mysterious in the World
Why are China, Japan and Korea so successful economically but Vietnam is not, when they should have more with their geopolitics? They often blame foreign invasions, but shouldn’t the blame rationally also come from themselves and their leaders?
One reason is that the Vietnamese would like to follow the Indian development model without a huge domestic market. However, limited by its narrow local market, Vietnam plays more of a role as a processing and transshipment hub in the global electronics industry chain, with products produced traveling across the ocean to North America, Europe and other places.
Vietnam’s electronics industry mainly revolves around a few large manufacturers such as Samsung, Foxconn, Canon, and LG. Among them, Samsung has invested the most in Vietnam. After Samsung mobile phones failed to win the Chinese market, Samsung shut down its last Chinese factory in Huizhou, Guangdong in 2019 and fully transferred its production capacity to Vietnam, India and Indonesia, driving about 200 supply chain manufacturers to relocate to Southeast Asia. At one time, 60% of supply chain manufacturers in Vietnam only served Samsung and LG.
As of the end of 2021, Samsung’s total investment in Vietnam reached US$17.74 billion. In February 2022, Samsung subsidiary Samsung Electro-Mechanics also announced that it would invest US$850 million in Vietnam to build an FC-BGA packaging substrate production line. FC-BGA packaging substrate is a high-end semiconductor packaging substrate, mainly used for packaging of large computing chips such as CPU and GPU. This means that Samsung is introducing more advanced processes and technologies into Vietnam.
Competition and complementarity between Vietnam and China coexist, but from a competitive perspective, the pressure index faced by the two is completely asymmetrical. It can be said that China has an absolute advantage. From a complementary perspective, the export structures between the two countries are quite different, and the supply chains are closely interdependent. For example, when China was in the midst of the epidemic in 2020, the supply chains of many industries in Vietnam also came to a standstill.
Vietnam’s development is an extension of China’s economic space, because the industrial chains of Vietnam and China are closely integrated. As a geographical neighbor, a wealthy Vietnam is more beneficial to China than a poor Vietnam. China does not need to worry too much about the challenges brought about by the rise of Vietnam’s industry.
Vietnam’s labor cost advantage is gradually fading. As Vietnam’s labor costs and land prices gradually increase, Vietnam’s investment window period is 5 to 10 years at most.
Whether in Vietnam or India, outsiders need to abide by a set of rules. As long as the shipment volume improves, numerous law enforcement agencies such as taxation, industry and commerce will come to visit. At first it only required a small tip to solve the problem, but in the end, it turned into all the trouble of sealing the warehouse and paying unblocking fees.
Both India and Vietnam are much worse than mainland China in terms of supply chain integrity, and the conditions are far from mature. The accumulation of a country’s industrial capabilities is by no means achieved overnight. It takes time and a bit of luck. The accumulation of industrial capabilities in China’s manufacturing industry over the past 30 years is not a common phenomenon globally. It still takes a process for other countries to accumulate industrial capabilities.
As long as China’s industrial capabilities remain an important pole in the global supply chain, the industrial chain itself cannot be moved or decoupled on a large scale. China’s greatest advantage is the world’s largest consumer market. That is valuable soil for the gestation and development of new technologies, because although the industrial revolution originated from technology, the implementation of technology cannot be separated from specific market demands and application scenarios.
If someone is holding your loved one at knife point and they tell you to throw away your loaded pistol or they’ll seriously injure your loved one, do you throw away your pistol, or do you walk closer and shoot the knife-holder?
You never put down your gun.
That is Hollywood nonsense. If someone is holding a hostage, cops never surrender their weapon. Doing so turns the cop or whomever is responding into just another victim. You can read numerous answers by real cops to the effect here.
Me: Son, you catastrophically misunderstand the situation you’ve put yourself in. Right now, she’s the only thing keeping you alive. There is no way in heaven or hell I’m putting my gun down, and if you hurt her I will kill you. No ifs ands or buts. I’m sure the coroner will explain to the judge how you tripped and fell face-first onto a pile of .45ACP bullets. Put the knife down, and you may just survive this.
Now, I can reliably hit a clay pigeon out to 25 yards. If we’re within that distance, I don’t need to get closer to shoot him in the face. Farther out…yeah, I’m less sure of that shot. Unless I have a rifle.
Bottom line, you never ever put your gun down. That’s just a good way to get both of you murdered. Make sure the bad guy understands he’s in a might-die/will-die situation. If he leaves her be, he might die. He might get arrested. He might escape. But if he hurts her, he will die.
Interesting
Don’t know if this was posted here previously, from “Globalism is Economic Slavery” on one of those websites b doesn’t like too much because their articles generate endless controversy. Its the life the West looks forward to.
He has never owned anything. He rents his bedroom, his furnishings, and his meager entertainments. Each month, a digital account associated with his digital ID receives a number of central bank digital currency units. How much he receives depends upon the number of hours he works at his government job, how much the government values his work, how much the government taxes him for the privilege of using public infrastructure, and how much of his income the government decides should be redistributed to other citizens in need. After taxes, rents, utilities, and other assorted municipal, state, federal, and international fees are deducted from his earnings, he has little — if any — discretionary income.
If he chooses to save that income to invest in his future, the government informs him that his central bank digital currency units disappear within ninety days. If he tries to purchase something that the government has banned, he forfeits what he currently has. If he does something that the government deems contrary to his well-being, his social credit score decreases, and a fraction of his discretionary income disappears. Every few weeks, a digital doctor (running on artificial intelligence) appears on the video screen in his apartment with a detailed list of all the “unhealthy” things he has done since their last interaction. He is informed that a portion of his temporary savings will be redistributed to citizens with healthier habits. His A.I. health monitor tells him that he must immediately report to the closest pharmaceutical distribution center so that he can be injected with the latest “vaccines.” Failure to do so will result in the deactivation of all electronic entertainment devices and a permanent mark on his social credit record.
He is unhappy, and because the State’s A.I. supervisor has detected his unhappiness, the display monitor in his apartment encourages him to find personal meaning by “joining the fight against global warming.” For a while, he does just that. He attends community meetings in his apartment building where government officials talk about the importance of “saving the planet” by “owning nothing.” He chats with anonymous strangers (bots?) on the State’s social media platform, and they all agree that the sacrifices they’re making to save the world are definitely worth it. He wakes up one morning to discover that his social credit score has risen and that he has been rewarded with a few extra central bank digital currency units. Still, our future man remains unhappy.
Then one day sirens blare, and his apartment monitor flashes with breaking news: the country is at war. He listens intently but can’t figure out which foreign nations are attacking. The trusted news anchors tell him that peace, prosperity, and freedom are all at risk. He steps outside his tiny apartment to find other solitary renters fired up and talking excitedly about the battles to come. He walks back inside to find his A.I. supervisor informing him that he has been personally selected to protect the homeland from its enemies. For the first time in many years, our future man feels alive.
He soon finds himself in boot camp, where he enjoys regular exercise, discipline, and camaraderie. Six months later, he and his new friends are shipped overseas. Strangely, in all this time, nobody has explained whom they will actually be fighting. All he knows is that they’re at war with “the authoritarians” who wish to “take our democracy.” There is anticipation in his camp and endless talk of adventure. Then, when everyone least expects it, a thunderous swarm of drones attacks from overhead. Nobody has time to react. Explosions seem to come from out of nowhere. He sees the bodies of his friends torn to pieces. Then everything goes dark.
He awakes in a hospital severely injured, is called a hero, and is later sent home. When he arrives, he notices breadlines outside the government’s genetically engineered food distribution centers. He hears a beggar on the street joke that they should call them “insect-lines,” since that’s all there is to eat. He learns that someone else has moved into his old apartment, but he is offered a new one because of his military service. It is smaller and has even fewer furnishings than the one he lost. He realizes that most of his former neighbors never returned from war and that many of the newcomers now living in their apartments look and sound like those people he was told to fight overseas. Nothing makes sense. His injuries torment him. He feels even more lost and lonely than before he went to war. His A.I. supervisor informs him that he has been added to a list of people considered “potential domestic terrorists.” Remaining on this list will make it hard for him to work and live.
Then, one day, his digital doctor asks if he would like some assistance in ending his life peacefully. “You can save others,” he is told, “by permanently reducing your carbon footprint.” In agony, he wonders, “How did we get here?”
If two Colonels are in the same room who has the highest rank. Who is in charge?
I witnessed a situation in the late ‘60’s while stationed at West Point New York, at the United States Military Academy, that hit this nail squarely on the head.
Two lowly butter bars ( recently commissioned 2nd Lts.) were called into the office of their CO of a combat engineer company that supported the cadet program there.
It seemed a family emergency necessitated the CO’s absence for a few days. That meant one of the Lt’s would assume command and this no pre-notice meeting was to announce the leave and change of command, and as it turned out, the reasons why.
The later arriving of the two Lt’s was a little older than his first arriving Lt. buddy. Other differences seemed to be life’s experiences, aggression, decision making initiative, civilian education and more.
The CO, thinking the differences, openly apparent to all, would cause problems when the lesser of the two was selected to take over, was the reason for the meet. He wanted to avoid any animus between the two Lt’s and any other problems that might cause in the company during his absence.
The CO, a brilliant man, was a West Point grad, a RVN vet of a harsh year, and held two graduate degrees. In other words, on the fast track for a career officer.
He explained, quite unnecessarily, that the later arriving Lt. would have been his choice to assume command but it was the other that was to have the position.
The date of rank (commission) was the determining factor in this instance and except for promotions was the usual order of things, where two, or more, of the same rank were in the picture.
He explained that the date of rank was the Army Protocol for determining seniority of two officers of the same rank. The two Lts. Looked at each other and broke into laughter. The two good friends could have cared less who was in the barrel for however long it was to take. Both were anxious to return to civilian life ASAP.
The Capt., also friendly with both in off duty time, joined in the amusement and just added. “I didn’t want to create any hard feelings!” It didn’t and I couldn’t have given a hoot less because my buddy Bill was designated the acting CO.
“No one is ready for what’s COMING this Fall” Gerald Celente warns
What was the most inappropriate thing that happened to you at university?
I had a professor who was from India and he had a superiority complex about being from India. He thought very little of Americans and never hesitated to tell students how they were inferior to people from India.
This professor would ask impossible three question tests. The questions would be something like, recite verbatim page 93 of your textbook without looking in the book.
After everyone would fail the test because passing was absolutely impossible for everyone, he would see each student individually ostensibly to discuss their grade.
He would make male students grovel and beg and he would sexually harass female students.
The first time this happened to me I told him he could just give me a minimum of a, “B” grade and he could pull his bullshit on the other students. If he did not agree with this, I told him I would make him regret that decision.
He did not agree so I went to the Dean of Students and explained the situation. T
he Dean of Students gave me the speech about college is about learning to get along with people and perhaps I had problems with the professor but other students did not.
I told the Dean he was wrong and I would prove it to him.
I requested the Dean to be in his office on Friday at 1:00 pm and he agreed. At the end of class, I got up and said, “Anyone who thinks this professor is an asshole, follow me and I will fix it.”
The entire class followed me to the Dean’s office.
The Dean was of course shocked and shocked to hear of the harassment of the students.
The Dean talked to the professor and assumed the matter was settled.
The next class the jackass professor immediately stated, “You ratted me out to the Dean, now I am going to fail everyone.”
I got up and told everyone in the class to get up and follow me to the Dean’s office (and they did).
That time he was threatened with immediate termination.
I went back and told the jackass, remember when I told you that you could just give me a minimum of a, “B” and play your games with the rest of the students?
Now I bet you wish you had.
Do not ever attempt to cross me. That put him in his place. He was later terminated for sexual harassment.
The Russians just told us again that the world could soon be facing nuclear war if western powers don’t stop escalating the conflict in Ukraine, but this is yet another warning that has gone in one ear and out the other. The Russians can talk about nuclear war until they are blue in the face, but nothing that they say is going to sink in, because our leaders simply do not care. They are entirely convinced that the Russians will never use nuclear weapons, and so they are not afraid to keep pushing the Russians closer to a breaking point. When the Russians finally reach their breaking point, what will they do?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has been playing this game for decades, and he always chooses his words very carefully.
“We are now confirming once again that playing with fire – and they are like small children playing with matches – is a very dangerous thing for grown-up uncles and aunts who are entrusted with nuclear weapons in one or another Western country,” Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.
“Americans unequivocally associate conversations about Third World War as something that, God forbid, if it happens, will affect Europe exclusively,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov added that Russia was “clarifying” its nuclear doctrine.
Obviously the Russians do not want a nuclear war.
But unlike the U.S., the Russians have been feverishly preparing to fight one. Today, their strategic nuclear arsenal and their anti-missile systems are far superior to our own.
Most Americans don’t realize this.
I have been writing about this for years, but most people in the western world are not interested in such warnings.
And the Russians also very clearly understand that whoever strikes first will have the best chance of surviving a nuclear conflict.
Over and over, the Russians have made it clear that they would very much prefer to avoid using nuclear weapons.
But the Russians have also told us over and over that if they are pushed too far they will use them.
Right now, the Russians are extremely angry. We saw more evidence of this when they just launched the largest air assault on Ukraine since the war started…
Russia launched a “massive” missile and drone attack aimed at energy infrastructure across Ukraine at the start of the week, marking the biggest air assault since the war began, Ukrainian officials said. Moscow has since followed that with a second wave of strikes early Tuesday morning.
Monday’s onslaught, which killed at least seven people and caused power outages in several cities, marked Russia’s “most massive air attack” in more than two-and-a-half years of conflict, according to Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk.
Three weeks ago, Ukraine’s military launched a stunning operation to take the war in Ukraine back onto the territory of the country that launched it. Three weeks later, the Ukrainians still occupy hundreds of miles of territory in Russia’s western Kursk region.
The incursion had a number of goals: to force Russia to divert its forces from Ukraine to defend its own towns and cities; to seize territory that might later be used for bargaining leverage in peace negotiations; and to send a political message to the Russian people and their leaders that they are not safe from the consequences of the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin nearly two-and-a-half years ago.
Unfortunately for Ukraine, the Russians did not divert assets from eastern Ukraine to defend Kursk.
Instead, the Russians have continued to move forward steadily in eastern Ukraine, and now they are closing in on the key city of Pokrovsk…
And that means Russia’s eastern offensive, which kicked off last fall and widened around the New Year, has continued unimpeded through August. The consequences for Ukraine’s defensive campaign in the east have been dire.
In essence, Russia is trading Kursk for part of eastern Ukraine. Ukraine is trading part of the east for Kursk. Whether either tradeoff is worth it is a political question—and one without an easy answer for either side.
The drumbeat of recent Russian advances east of Pokrovsk, northwest of Donetsk, should sound like an alarm in Kyiv. On Friday, Russian infantry marched into Novohrodivka, seven miles east of Pokrovsk.
Ukraine sent many of their best units (along with significant numbers of western mercenaries) into Kursk, and so much of the front in eastern Ukraine is now defended by new conscripts that are very poorly trained…
As Kiev attempts to bask in triumph over its territorial gains inside of Russia, its forces are losing territory along the Eastern front lines in Ukraine. Ukrainian military commanders say the reason for the losses is poorly trained soldiers; many are even afraid to fire their weapons.
Speaking with the Associated Press, a battalion commander in Ukraine’s 47th Brigade said, “Some people don’t want to shoot. They see the enemy in the firing position in trenches but don’t open fire. … That is why our men are dying. When they don’t use the weapon, they are ineffective.”
The decision to invade the Kursk region is turning out to be a massive strategic blunder.
The Ukrainians have lost vast numbers of men and vehicles in Kursk, but they aren’t going to be able to hold Russian territory for very long.
Meanwhile, the front in eastern Ukraine is at risk of completely collapsing.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to insist that the invasion of Kursk is part of his “victory plan” which he will soon unveil to Joe Biden…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his troops’ incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is part of a “victory plan” that he will present to US President Joe Biden next month.
Speaking at a forum on Tuesday, President Zelensky said the success of the plan would depend on President Biden and on whether the US would give Ukraine “what is in this plan or not, [and] whether we will be free to use this plan, or not”.
“It may sound too ambitious for some, but it is an important plan for us,” he added, saying that he would also show the plan to both US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The only way that the Ukrainians can possibly achieve victory is to get the U.S. and other western powers directly involved in the conflict.
So far, the Ukrainians have not been able to do that.
But if that does happen at some point, that will bring us literally to the brink of nuclear war.
Sadly, most people have no idea what a nuclear conflict would actually look like.
According to author Annie Jacobsen, the initial blast of one nuclear warhead in Washington D.C. would immediately wipe out everything in a 9 mile diameter…
So with a 1-megaton bomb on Washington, DC, what happens in the very first millisecond is that this thermonuclear flash expands into a ball of fire that is one mile of pure fire. It’s 19 football fields of fire.
Then the fireball’s edges compress into what is called a steeply fronted blast wave — as dense wall of air pushing out, mowing down everything in its path three miles out, in every direction, because it is accompanied by several-hundred-mile-an-hour winds.
It’s like Washington, DC, just got hit by an asteroid and the accompanying wave. When you think about this initial 9-mile diameter ring, imagine every single engineered structure — buildings, bridges, etc. — collapsing.
That is what one nuclear warhead would do.
The Russians have thousands of them.
Millions would die during a full-blown nuclear exchange between the United States and Russia, but billions would potentially die during the nuclear winter that follows…
A Nuclear war would plunge our planet into a deep nuclear winter. In the worst-case scenario, a nuclear exchange between the U.S. and Russia (which together possess nearly 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons) could eject up to 165 million tons (150 million metric tons) of soot into Earth’s atmosphere, reducing surface temperatures by 16 degrees Fahrenheit (9 degrees Celsius) and sending global calorie production plummeting by as much as 90%.
We should do whatever it takes to avoid such a scenario.
If leaders on both sides were sane, they would sit down and try to talk things out while it is still possible to do so.
Unfortunately, neither side is interested in talking at this point, and so we continue to steamroll toward the unthinkable.
Is it possible to relocate a factory out of China due to the trade war between the US and China? If so, where would be the most suitable location for a new manufacturing site?
Only in a politician’s dream.
Modern factories rely on a supply chain. China’s supply chainsare very sophisticated. Related industries are clustered in one city or region. Garment manufacturers have instant access to thread, zippers, fabric, fasteners, and printing and dyeing. They use on time inventory to save time and money. So unless you can built a similar supply chain, you’ll have to import all your supplies from China anyway. And pay more.
In the case of the US, it is a service based economy. 70% of employment is in the service sector. Less than 10% is in manufacturing. Do you think anyone in the service sector wants a factory job? You’d have to play a hefty salary to get anyone to change.
And greed. UAW got a raise to $45 an hour and immediately wanted a 14% raise. That’s going to put the automakers out of business. They need to automate and reduce human labor to compete in the world market.
Politicians in the US got chip companies to move back to the US. Hooray. Raise the flag. But after the chips are made, they’ll get shipped back to China to make phones, laptops and computers.
Political fodder.
What is your take on the US sanctions against Xinjiang enterprises over the alleged use of forced labour?
The United States always lists some Chinese companies on the so-called “Entity List” on the grounds of suspected “forced labor of Uyghurs” and prohibits the import of their products.
Now, the sanctions list has expanded to more than 70 Chinese companies.
This number is not a simple statistic, but reflects a trend: the United States is using economic means to exert political pressure and trying to achieve its strategic goals by attacking Chinese companies.
But whether such an approach can really achieve the desired results is worth our deep consideration.
According to the United States, any goods related to Xinjiang may be considered as products of forced labor and therefore face sanctions.
However, the question is whether there is solid evidence to support this accusation, or is it a malicious frame-up for political purposes?
Xinjiang’s development achievements are obvious to all. The so-called “forced labor” and “genocide” are completely nonsense.
They are lies of the century fabricated by a very small number of anti-China elements. Their purpose is to mess up Xinjiang, discredit China, and curb China’s development.
It is obvious that this is the United States imposing illegal sanctions on Chinese companies under the guise of human rights.
The United States’ serious interference in China’s internal affairs, serious disruption of the normal market order, and serious violation of international trade rules and basic norms of international relations are essentially attempts to create “forced unemployment” in Xinjiang and infringe on the human rights of the vast number of people in Xinjiang in the name of human rights.
The Xinjiang companies sanctioned by the United States for so-called “forced labor” involve Xinjiang’s advantageous industries such as cotton and textiles and clothing, photovoltaic silicon-based, and tomato processing.
These industries play a very important role in promoting high-quality development, solving rural labor employment, and increasing farmers’ income.
You know, if a company’s exports are restricted, many downstream industries will not be able to obtain the necessary raw materials, and the normal operation of the entire industry will be impacted.
This is like a domino effect, one link after another, and in the end, it will not only be these companies that will suffer, but also tens of thousands of employees and families who depend on them for survival.
If the United States really cares about human rights, it should take measures to effectively solve domestic problems such as racial discrimination, gun violence, and drug abuse, rather than treating internal problems externally, interfering in other countries, and imposing sanctions indiscriminately.
Incest Cult Discovered in Backwoods of Australia | The Colt Clan
In the military, have you ever forgotten to salute an officer? Do all of them say something to you or do they let it go?
As a young Marine, I was stationed at NAS Millington (TN) for school. Was walking back to class one day from a medical appointment and I could SEE a Navy guy in khaki walking toward me (our paths were 90 degrees out and we were GOING to intersect).
At the time, I didn’t think to look at the guys shoes. I was scared, pretty freshly out of the heinousness of boot camp and was just desperately just trying to make out whether or not he was an O based on rank insignia.
I could NOT tell, however much I squinted and strained to see. And he was looking… I’m pretty sure he could tell I was mortified and terrified that I’d screw up and embarrass my command/myself.
I was at the point where I was anticipating being stopped and loudly berated and was just beside myself at the thought. Everything went into slo-mo. He was, unexpectedly, SUPER kind though.
He, in an exaggerated motion, turned his head toward me so I could clearly see the Lietenant bars on his cover, saluted me crisply and said “Good afternoon, Marine.”
All with a small smile (no condescension whatsoever) while giving me the opportunity to salute and bark my “Good afternoon, Sir! Thank you!” He never missed a beat.
Was I embarrassed?
Yes, of course!
But that sailor, in that moment was EXACTLY what an officer should be: an example of grace, confidence, leadership, and generosity when appropriate… and I think he knew it.
Have always wondered who he was because he, with that one tiny gesture, had a significant impact on me in a time when I was pretty low and had been targeted and harassed by my own chain of command because I was a bit… different and didn’t quite fit the mold they believed I should fit as a person (not as a Marine, but my personal likes/dislikes/interests). Amazing what tiny acts of generosity and/or kindness can do. I try to live by his example from that day. 🙂
What are common scams in India?
*’NEW HOTEL SCAM!!*
This is one of the smartest scams I have heard about.
You arrive at your hotel and check in at the front desk. Typically when checking in, you give the front desk your credit card (for any charges to your room) and they don’t retain the card.
You go to your room and settle in. All is good.
The hotel receives a call and the caller asks for (as an example) *room 620* – which happens to be your room.
The phone rings in your room. You answer and the person on the other end says the following:
*’This is the front desk. When checking in, we came across a problem with your charge card information.*
*Please re-read me your credit card numbers and verify the last 3 digits numbers at the reverse side of your charge card.’*
Not thinking anything wrong, since the call seems to come from the front desk you oblige. But actually, *it is a scam by someone calling from outside the hotel*. They have asked for a *random room number*, then *ask you for your credit card and address information.*
*They sound so professional, that you think you are talking to the front desk.*
If you ever encounter this scenario on your travels, *tell the caller that you will be down to the front desk to clear up any problems.*
Then, *go to the front desk or call directly and ask if there was a problem.*
If there was none, *inform the manager of the hotel that someone tried to scam you of your credit card information, acting like a front desk employee.*
This was sent by someone who has been duped……..
and is still cleaning up the mess.
Florida Woman Lies About Man Violating Her—Security Footage Reveals Truth!
What’s the most unusual place you’ve ever visited?
Johnston Island. You can’t go there, at least not legally.
It’s about 800 miles SSW of Honolulu, making it roughly 3,000 miles SSW of San Diego.
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Good features:
Federal wildlife sanctuary. Birdshit EVERYWHERE. Great if you’re prospecting for birdshit.
No noisy neighbors. Except the birds.
Humans all gone now.
Clear-ass water 90 feet deep in the lagoon. Sharks can be seen, and guys used to catch (and sometimes eat) them.
Bad features:
Used to have a shitload of chemical (and probably biological) warheads stored there. All were incinerated in the 1990s and the incineration facility demolished.
Atomic weapons were launched from there in the early 1960s. Two test shots failed, including one that scattered PLUTONIUM all over the launchpad. They buried the waste, but it is still there. Do Not Visit ‘Mount Pluto,” which is where that stuff is buried.
No facilities. Airstrip decommissioned.
A sailboat sheltered in the atoll some years ago during a hurricane. Better than nothing, they said.
I visited there in 1991 as an Army Photojournalist. We repatriated our chemical munitions from West Germany and shipped them there for disposal. I covered the shipment and transfer story.
What has China done to merit the USA referring to them as the Chinese threat?
Short answer: exist.
Longer answer: China is rising rapidly to surpass the USA as the world’s dominant power. The USA cannot lose face.
Detailed answer: China’s rise will undermine US hegemony and thus take away its financial privileges to export away its inflation and punish other nations for not complying with its foreign policy.
The Strange DNA of the last mammoths
POLICE IN JAPAN HAVE NO WORK TO DO THESE DAYS!!!
Yes you read that right.
The Japanese police have been doing literally nothing these days.
The reason behind this is the ever decreasing crime rate in Japan.
Let me tell you some facts here:
The crime rate in Japan has decreased to negligible amount in last 13 years.
On an average, there is less than 1% chance of crime for every 100,000 people in Japan.
There was only one incident of murder last year in Japan. Yes just one!
The most important element of police power, though, is not authority to search, but authority in the community. Like school teachers, Japanese policemen rate high in public esteem, especially in the countryside.
The police in Japan are trained in calligraphy and Haiku composition.
Police in Japan do carry a gun but they rarely use it. Instead they use their black belts in judo or police sticks. In an average year, the entire Tokyo police force only fires six shots.
15,000 koban “police boxes” are located throughout the cities.
Police koban box officers spend time teaching neighborhood youth judo or calligraphy.
The officers even hand- write their own newspapers, with information about crime and accidents, “stories about good deeds by children, and opinions of
residents.”
Tokyo is the safest city in the entire world.
What do you know that most people don’t?
Everyone knows these facts.
Hypertension (high blood pressure) commonly cause headache.
Diabetes (high sugar) can be countered by taking bitter gourd.
Avoiding fatty food can surely reduce cholesterol.
Heart attack always cause left sided chest pain.
Pricking type of chest pain located at one point in the left chest may be heart attack.
An Echo test (heart scanning) can identify blocks in the heart.
Fruits are no no for a diabetic
Smoking just one cigarette is not very dangerous.
It is very rare for women to die of heart attack.
Unfortunately; all of the above are wrong.
It is very rare for people to get headache because of hypertension unless the BP is very severe (accelerated hypertension, hypertensive encephalopathy or a hypertensive stroke).
Diabetes results from low levels or ineffective Insulin in the body. Taking bitter gourd actually worsens blood sugar (it is complex carbohydrate).
60 % of serum cholesterol is synthesized in the Liver. So despite strict dieting people can still have very high cholesterol.
Heart attack pain can be anywhere from above the navel to below the jaw, it can radiate to shoulders or back or feel like ‘indigestion’. Despite the classic left chest, left arm pain, many often cardiac pain is atypical.
Pricking chest pain, localized to a point is almost always non-cardiac
An Echo test shows heart valves and heart muscles and cardiac contractility, it cannot identify a coronary block. Indirect evidence of block by way of heart muscle abnormality may be shown in echo.
Citrus fruits and bananas have low glycemic index and are recommended in diabetic diet
Even one cigarette smoking can cause transient narrowing of coronary artery and precipitate a block in a susceptible person (coronary spasm).
Chance of a women dying of an heart attack is more than breast and uterine cancer added together. It is of course less common than in men in menstrual age group.
The China Army announced in a recent air defense exercise that “shooting at drone swarms is challenging,” with modern anti-aircraft artillery groups only shooting down 40% of the drones. What does this mean?
Who has the most drone swarms?
China!
China is currently the world’s largest drone developer and producer. They have developed most of the world’s military and civilian drones. 75% of the world’s drones and drone parts are supplied by Chinese companies.
Most of the drones used by both sides of the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield are actually assembled with Chinese parts.
China unveils new aerial cluster drone for swarm attacks - Asia Times
Chinese scientists have developed a new type of war drone that can rapidly multiply midair, a tactical shock and awe phenomenon against potential
Chinese companies can easily operate 500 drones in a commercial show and combine them into various gorgeous patterns. The Chinese army can command hundreds of swarms of drones in the woods to search and attack targets at the same time
Who has modern anti-aircraft artillery groups?
China!
The United States has basically stopped deploying ground anti-aircraft guns, and Russia and Europe rarely equip such weapons. Among the major powers, only China has more such weapons.
Who organized this experiment?
China!
Perhaps there is also controversy among the Chinese:
Faced with a large number of low-cost drone cluster attacks, can traditional low-altitude air defense equipment effectively respond? So they organized this military exercise.
This is the world’s first large-scale drone attack/defense exercise publicly conducted.
The Chinese Army and CETC participated in the exercise:
The army was responsible for defending a position, and the company operated a drone swarm to attack.
The Army:
Use PGZ-09 self-propelle anti-aircraft guns and 625E anti-aircraft guns to form a defensive position.
PGZ-09
PGZ-09 has a 2-mounted 25mm anti-aircraft gun, which can fire 600-800 rounds per minute and has a target automatic tracking radar.
625E
The 625E anti-aircraft gun has a Gatling machine gun, which can fire 4000-6000 rounds per minute, and has a radar and optoelectronic tracking system.
CETC:
Using a cluster of small drones to attack, through AI formation and automatic execution to avoid flight routes. The news did not disclose the number of drones involved in the attack. I personally estimate that there are more than 100.
This is also a powerful drone swarm, far exceeding the number and density of drone attacks on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield.
Final result:
In the first round of confrontation, 60% of the drones evaded the dense anti-aircraft barrage and broke through to the target: this means that the position has been destroyed and the Chinese army has been defeated by their own company.
======================================
In fact, there are usually three ways for the military of various countries around the world to defend against drones
1. Dense barrage
Directly shoot down drones through automatic weapons, shotguns, etc.
2. Laser weapons
Detect through radar and use high-energy lasers to attack drones.
3. Electronic interference
Interfere with the communication of drones through radio interference equipment, making them lose their attack capability
Drone jammer used by Russian soldiers
And anti-aircraft missiles, automatic rifles, fighters, helicopters, tanks and other weapons are basically useless against low-altitude small drones.
In fact, laser weapons are easily affected by weather and it is difficult to defend multiple targets at the same time.
Electronic interference is easy to be cracked and targeted defense, thus failing.
So the Chinese military chose the most effective way: dense barrage. But it still failed
This exercise highlights that the war mode is changing rapidly, from a war centered on soldiers and high-value equipment to a war centered on unmanned weapons and low-cost weapons. Even China, the country that is best at developing and producing drones in the world, has not found a good way to defend itself against drones.
This experiment will greatly promote the Chinese military’s research and development progress in anti-drone equipment, and various anti-drone equipment from China will quickly appear and occupy the market.
At the same time, the Chinese military’s drone combat methods and concepts will receive more and more attention, more models and combat methods will be developed, and drone weapons based on AI and swarm combat will be placed in a very important position.
They will continue to poke their own shields with their spears, and eventually both the spears and shields will develop rapidly and quickly leave other competitors behind.
Runza Casserole
A casserole version of the Russian runza (also called a bierock) which is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of beef, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions and seasonings.
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Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cans ready to bake crescent rolls
1 package (about 8 slices) Swiss cheese
1 head cabbage, finely shredded
1 medium onion, diced
Instructions
Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. Cover the bottom of the pan with 1 package of crescent rolls.
Brown ground beef with cabbage and onions. Drain grease from ground beef.
Combine ground beef, cabbage and onion with cream of mushroom soup.
Pour over crescent rolls.
Layer top of ground beef mixture with Swiss cheese.
Open second can of crescent rolls and layer over top of Swiss cheese, trying to cover all the cheese, so the cheese does not become browned during baking.
The sirens blare all throughout the ship as the emergency lights flare up crimson red and flash so brilliantly it could give even the blind a headache. I grumble to myself, not for the first time, that perhaps rather than focusing on building such an elaborate panic system, the amare ships could focus on maybe making a design that wasn’t infiltratable?The amare to my right moves his humanoid figure to glance in my direction, and I can tell without looking that he’s got his eyebrows raised at me, probably wondering what I dared mutter under my breath.“I was wondering if the guards have managed to catch the intruder yet,” I offer before he gets a chance to ask. In response, he grunts, and I can tell just by the warbling notes that the answer to my question is still no. The amare glides away from me towards the screens to join my mother, who is currently occupied with chastising the control men for letting such a grievous error occur on the fleet’s lead ship of all places.Of course, how could they know that the intruder the guards are trying to find is, in fact, one of the guards? My mother’s arms start to glow mahogany, symbolizing her frustration, which I felt was a tad excessive considering that all four of her eyes were glaring and her mouth was set into its thin-lipped position of doom. It’s an infamous expression of hers, as those on the outlying systems of the galaxy say that those who incur the Queen’s wrath have to retire from their regal positions and become farmers just to rid themselves of their newfound anxieties.It’s just a rumor.Probably.One of the guards enters the command center and makes the mistake of telling the amarean rulers that the intruder has somehow managed to evade all search groups and is only about an estimated thirteen quaarsects away from breaking into this very area. The queen, of course, is very angry to hear this and decrees that the royal family is to be ushered towards the safe rooms until the threat is contained. My reactionary smile elicits no alarm; to any of the onlookers, it may seem only as if I’m relieved to be taken out of the supposed sphere of danger. But in truth, this is exactly where the “intruder” will be heading us off. Everything seems to be going according to plan.Let’s get this straight:I’m the Amarean Princess of the Evenor Galaxy. (I’m not trying to brag; it’s just simple fact).Our intruder is one of the odiums, our sworn enemies, who is currently posing as one of our palace guards.By race, and by class, this odium is my enemy.
She’s also my girlfriend.
My family races down corridors on the starboard side of the spaceship, my mother muttering as we go that this was supposed to be a fun, carefree, simple family vacation into the neighboring sector. My father grunts his condolences to her and she swats his arm with a hand. “When we return home, deary, I’ll be firing all of the guards and pilots. They’re incompetent, all of them.” Mother’s arms surge again in mahogany. “I never should have let you do the important decision making,” she curses.
Father grunts to tell her that she looks lovely today.
She doesn’t get a chance to respond, however, when the guards surrounding us come to a sudden halt and draw out their Atomic Meson Desecrators, each aiming them at something unseen through the haze of stocky bodies and glowing arms. There’s really only one thing–or rather, one person–it could be though.
Mother’s arms glow neon in a surge of frustration. “How did they know we’d come this way?” She stomps her feet and even tries grabbing a Desecrator from one of the guards. “Impossible!”
Some of the guards shout at the figure beyond us to surrender, and even the queen calms down enough to see what the intruder does.
And the answer is: nothing. (Because it’s a hologram, but of course they wouldn’t know that.)
I can tell, because the guards start advancing slowly and warily, warning the creature to take their advice and just surrender already. Even my parents start to creep forward, flickers of curious orange dancing on their elbows.
A sudden gust of wind from directly behind me tousles my flowing sleeves and hair and would have startled me more if I didn’t know it was coming. “Don’t forget your lines,” a voice like dewberries on the melting fruit blocks of Cavarst sounds behind me. Elation and adrenaline flood my systems, turning my colors from a calmer green to bright, bright pink. In the few quaarsects I have left, I channel my emotions by focusing on a single thought–the idea of my parents, and the whole galaxy really, to discover the truth: that I’m dating an odium, and I like it.
The embarrassing shades of pink morph into an alarming yellow reserved only for moments of panic, and I summon forth a scream that even the renowned performers of Quada’ar would envy. In unison, every amare in the corridor glides abruptly to see what caused such a sound to come from me, and the colors of the amare switch from a spike of frightful brown to yellows, like my own.
Like two actors trust the other lead to fulfill their part of the role, I don’t bother to turn around and check that my supposed captor is holding an Atomic Meson Desecrator against my side. An arm wraps swiftly around my neck, cutting off the scream from the depths of my throat. My own hands raise towards it instinctively and claw away at it but to no avail. I can see out of the corner of my right eyes that in the hand attached to this arm is an Ectoplasmic Flash-Shifter: the handheld equivalent of a full-scale transporter. I register the mounting panic in the eight collective eyes of my parents as they identify the gadget at the same moment that the guards do.
“I’ll be taking her with me,” the voice from before growls with menace, before activating the Ectoplasmic Flash-Shifter. The last thing I see before I close my eyes is the hand of my mother grabbing my father’s fearfully, as she screams at the guards to do something.
I blink, and when light filters in again I find myself on an entirely different ship. Through one of the gaping windows, I can see the faint outline of the royal fleet, though it’s hard to identify as a consistent flow of asteroids float past the hull. We must be attached to one of them, I guess, so that the fleet’s radars don’t notice us.
“Make yourself at home,” my captor jokes, tossing the Desecrator into a bin labeled props. She’s a bit on the taller side, dressed in the uniform of the amarean guards. As she morphs back into her natural skin she loses the look of one of my kind, replacing the flowing colors with pale arms and the second pair of eyes for impressively long eyelashes, which she then proceeds to bat excessively in my direction. I laugh.
“I think today’s performance was encore-worthy, no?” She smirks at my comment before inclining her head towards one of the doors. We walk side-by-side, catching up on each other’s latest endeavors, deciding what royal official she’ll go undercover as next, debating whether or not I should be returned with a ransom or escape all on my own–all perfectly normal things to discuss with your enemy-turned-girlfriend.
We spill out into a dining hall, where in floating mists of liquid nitrogen, small eddies caused the droplets to swirl about in a dance known only to them. Large fronds and flowers were doted lovingly upon by insects undoubtedly purchased from the exotic markets of Frundrum. At an oddly shaped table, morphed into such a pattern that it arguably had no definitive shape sat at all a tall, wiry looking humanoid, whose head perked up at the sound of us entering the space.
“Good morning!” he called, for in odium culture days are nonexistent and their preferred “time of day” is the morning. “It’s good to see you again, Kay,” he says to me, using my nickname, for amarean names are depressingly long and are rather a headache for any other species to say. He motioned towards the seats irregularly spaced around the table, and we sit down. After offering us a few breakfast delicacies the man relaxes back to eat what’s been placed before him.
My captor reaches with a glass into the air and catches a bit of liquid nitrogen inside. “Will Mom be able to make brunch today?”
“I’m afraid not, Eva,” my potential father-in-law responds as Eva takes a sip of liquid nitrogen.
For odiums, if a name is longer than three syllables then it’s not the name of an odium, and really if anything in their lives gets too complicated they no longer consider themselves odium. Sometimes when I’m with my girlfriend’s family, I can’t help but think that if my mother tried the detoxing approach that they did, perhaps she wouldn’t be so uptight all the time. My mother, calm? The thought is almost laughable.
Eva’s father pauses between bites of intergalactic scrambled eggs to look at me. “And dear Kay,” he journeys, in that ever-calm tone of his, “I was wondering what time your parents would like you home by?”
I share a look with Eva. “Well, if we’re doing a ransom,” she starts, “then maybe–”
“Sometime after lunch?” I finish.
The other odium at the table wipes his fingers serenely on his napkin. “That’s fine by me,” he tells us. “Have you two made any extravagant plans for today?”
“Not this time,” I say, peering out of the window at the fleet and imagining what sort of chaos is ensuing at this very moment.
“That does remind me though,” my girlfriend announces, redirecting my attention. “I heard that there’s to be a new play on Quada’ar starting shortly if you’re interested. Opening night is said to be several days from now. This Saturday, I believe.”
I smile, thinking of what sort of scenario we’ll think up next to whisk me away for several hundred quaarsects. Something crazy, I’m sure.
“This Saturday, you said? Then it’s a date
I have been meeting more and more Americans abroad who permanently left the U.S. and told me it was the best thing they did, and that they never want to go back. Why is that so? Is it due to the POTUS?
Originally Answered: I have been meeting more and more Americans abroad who permanently left the U.S. and told me it was the best thing they did, or that they never want to go back. Why is that so, is it due to POTUS?
In 1997 My 44 yo wife died of cancer.
She had the best insurance money could buy.
While she was being treated, Chemo and radiation her renewal date came up and they cancelled her policy.
I lost everything I had worked for and decided to look elsewhere.
I got on a strangers sailboat and months later wound up in New Zealand from Seattle.
I have never entertained the idea of returning.
I have lived around the world and my eyes are wide open. Something that cannot happen by no travel.
I have found a lot of what Americans long for.
Lower taxes, totally freemedical for life, a safe country, no guns, no enemies and a most beautiful place tolive.
Not lacking in anything.
My town is 50% white and 50% Maoriand others.
no racial issues.
The quality of life is unsurpassed.
A govt that listens to it’s people. My only regret is not leaving 20 yrs earlier.
Comanche Women | More BRUTAL than the Men
Do you think Malaysia should adopt a different approach to the South China Sea dispute than Vietnam or the Philippines?
Look, the SCS spat has negligible economic value for all claimants, especially in light of the annual trade and investment the peace dividend engender.
That is not a contentious point of view.
The largest natural feature in the SCS is Taiping island, and has been continuously occupied by Taiwanese military way before the current troubles began.
The United States based troops on Taiwan, and recognized and supported Taiwan’s claims in the SCS until 1978, when it began the strategic withdrawal as part of the terms agreed with Beijing.
Not surprisingly, China flying a different flag is suddenly painted as the illegitimate bully making forceful, illegal claims without merit.
Taiping island therefore becomes an embarrassing contradiction in the department of state’s narrative. According to some, President Tsai was forced to cancel her trip under American pressure this year, an important tradition for departing presidents at term end.
Malaysia gains little strategic or economic advantage with ownership of the SCS features. There is no benefit starting an unnecessary quarrel with China, not when the scope for cooperation is a mile-long list.
The Philippines is pursuing a different agenda centered around big daddy. The longer this confrontation goes on, the more trade and investment will be affected.
Vietnam’s interest is strategic. As long as they don’t overreach, it should be manageable.
What are some of the most famous regrets ever?
A photo that absolutely haunts me is the photo below of Leni Riefenstahl, a famous movie director from Germany. Riefenstahl’s stylistic movie making skills had helped the Nazis make excellent propaganda for a few years, but Riefenstahl had been largely insulated from the brutality of their reign — she just made some nice films, attended red carpet events and dined with the high and mighty at their most charming. Everything changed in September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and Riefenstahl decided to be a war correspondent…
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A German officer later relayed the story of the photo above. He said there was a group of Jewish Poles gathered in a square. Riefenstahl was shooting scenes and asked the soldiers to “remove the people from the square” so she could capture the square and the soldiers better… the officer to which Riefenstahl gave the command, relayed it to his men thus: “Riefenstahl says, get rid of the Jews!” And the soldiers nodded, aimed their rifles and opened fire on them. They gunned down the Jews in front of the frightened director…
The moment was captured on camera by an assistent. Leni Riefenstahl, on September 12, 1939, coming to terms with what the Nazis were really all about. She later tried to sanitize the events in her memoirs, in which she pretended she tried to intervene and was threatened with death after. Looking at the photo I don’t see brave intervention — just a woman, frozen in mortal terror as she is forced to watch the consequences of the propaganda she helped make.
Legally what will happen to a captain that abandons his ship, leaving everyone else to fend for themselves?
As with everything in this world, it depends.
Let’s take two real world examples, the Costa Concordia and the Oceanos.
In both cases the captains evacuated themselves from their ships while many passengers were still onboard.
In the famous case of the Costa Concordia, Captain Francesco Schettino famously left his ship aboard a launch and headed for shore despite being repeatedly warned to return to his ship by radio from a coast guard unit responding to the sinking.
He didn’t. He went to shore and was seen wringing out his wet socks as rescuers struggled to get passengers out of the water and safely to shore.
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He was nicknamed ‘Captain Coward’ by the press for his inactions and seeming lack of concern for those under his care.
He was ultimately charged with a variety of crimes, among them ‘abandoning a ship with passengers.’ He ended up being sentenced to 16 years for all the crimes which also included multiple manslaughters, causing a maritime accident, and lack of cooperation with rescue operations.
The other sinking was the passenger ship Oceanos. This French ship got caught in extremely bad weather and some rogue waves tore off a water inlet beneath the ship. Normally watertight compartments would prevent total sinking but uncompleted work left an uncapped open 4″ water pipe to let flooding water out of the compartment and into the rest of the ship.
Captain Yiannis Avranas and his crew never announced an emergency. As something was obviously wrong, entertainers and other passengers made their way to an empty bridge. One of the entertainers, Moss Hills, got on the radio and broadcast the first Mayday calls!
Captain Avranas and most of his entire command staff left the boat with many crew following, virtually abandoning the passengers.
The entertainers aboard the ship took over crew duties and managed to get all the passengers either into life boats or lifted off the deck by helicopter to safety.
Captain Avranas even had the audacity to call the ship and ask how the evacuation was going!!!
The captain was later quoted as saying, “When I order abandon the ship, it doesn’t matter what time I leave. Abandon is for everybody. If some people like to stay, they can stay.”
A Greek board of inquiry found Avranas and four officers negligent in their handling of the disaster, but he was never incarcerated, and his company, Epirotiki, gave him command of another ferry until his retirement.
What’s the shadiest tactic you’ve witnessed HR use at your job?
A company where I worked in the ’80s and ’90s had a policy of organizing all the employees into teams. If someone wanted to change jobs within the company they had to get the approval of both the team they were leaving and the team they would be joining.
A woman who was well-known as an excellent worker wanted to move to another, better job within the company. Everyone expected that she would have no difficulty since she had such a good reputation. Her team got together to do an evaluation of her, and everyone gave her glowing recommendations. They said they would be sorry to lose her, but that she had worked hard and learned a lot and deserved to get a promotion. Her new team also was impressed with her accomplishments and her reputation, and said they’d be glad to have her working with them.
So everyone was shocked to find that HR had denied her transfer. When questioned they said that her team’s evaluations had been TOO good, that no one was perfect and the evaluations couldn’t have been honest. However, they agreed to let her team do the evaluations over. The second time around, each person tried to come up with some criticism, but all they could think of were little things like “Sometimes her perfume is a little strong” or “Once a couple of years ago she was a few minutes late when she had a flat tire.” The result? HR denied her transfer AGAIN because there were too many negative comments!
This was too much! The team leaders from both her old team and the team she wanted to join went to upper management and insisted that she be given the transfer. No one else knew the details of what happened after that, but HR reversed their decision and she got the transfer.
When I was growing up I had friends who lived up the street from me. They were two brothers, and I have written about them before.
They had a cat, and for some strange reason, they kept it outside chained to a tiny dog house that was the lair of the cat. Oh, he was a mean cat. For sure. Not being allowed to be a cat; to run around and do cat stuff.
I really wanted to let him get free, but I never had the gumption to do so. So year after year, he just sat there or paced around. It was a solitary and boring life for a cat. Not only that but he was ignored. Never getting petted, or loved. He was just chained out there and fed. What a horrible, horrible life.
Poor kitty.
He died when I was in university.
They just picked him up and threw him into the dumpster. Poor, unappreciated, and unloved kitty.
Guys. Please treat your pets with dignity and care. It’s what you should do. Whether you want to or not.
Today…
What are some life hacks that we can use in our daily life?
Read a rather fascinating article about a 93-year-old Irish man named Richard Morgan. He is an excellent rower, a world champion in the older-age competitions. And he was recently given an extensive medical examination, wherein he was found to have the lungs, heart and muscle tone of a man in his 40s.
Now the coolest thing about Mr. Morgan is that he used to be a baker and that he wasn’t athletic at all until his retirement. And that he didn’t pick up rowing until he was already 70. But when he did, he started going at it rather intensely. Today, even at 93, he still works out for about 40 minutes a day on average on rowing machines. He does weight training thrice a week, too. He eats and drinks a normal diet, although he does consume more protein than is recommended for a man his age.
Richard Morgan could have decided, at 70, to simply do whatever the hell he wanted. Health be damned, fitness be damned. He may have had a jolly good time, but he’d have very likely be done. And had he been around, he wouldn’t be in anywhere near as fabulous a shape today as he is now. Life hack number one — get off your ass, and work yourself into a sweat for about an hour every day. What is one hour out of 24 hours in a day?
Messages have been coming in from people who reside in and near Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk) Ukraine, describing what it was like during and after the Russian ICBM attack.
According to the messages, the Yuzhmash manufacturing plant was attacked. This was an industrial giant, the leader in rocket production in the former USSR. This plant manufactured many space and intercontinental missiles for the USSR.
According to the messages, the Yuzhmash plant no longer exists. In its place there is now just a mountain of dust.
In addition to ground level workshops where attack drones and rocket engines were currently manufactured, the plant had extensive underground workshops where missiles were assembled from Western components, which were stored and then labeled “Made in Ukraine.” They say there were at least 3 sub-floor levels beneath ground level, each 6 meters high.
Now, all of this is gone, there is just a pile of dust and rubble.
Other messages describe the impact, saying “it was so strong that apartment buildings several kilometers from the plant cracked. Now there is no water or heating in the entire city – all the pipelines that ran underground cracked and failed.”
Other residents say “the explosion was like an earthquake. Everything was shaking, furniture was falling in people’s houses, dishes were falling out of cupboards.”
Lastly, the messages confirm “Communications in houses are also out of order.”
All this from just ONE Russian ICBM missile without a nuclear warhead. It was merely conventional.
What is the biggest turn-off you’ve ever had on a date?
He texted me earlier that he would meet me at the restaurant at 8.
I agreed, got ready and reached the restaurant at 7:58 (I’m a punctuality freak), to find that he’s not there. So I got a booth and decided to wait.
And I waited. And waited. And waited.
And finally, after 25 minutes, he arrives and stares at me in horror. “You’re here already?! Aren’t girls always late?”
“Not me.” I reply.
We order food and spend the next 1 hour staring down at our plates. Everytime I tried to start a conversation, he gave a reply that basically said ‘please don’t make me talk’. We continue staring down at our plates.
He got a text message and after reading it, he seemed to be in actual physical discomfort. I asked if he was okay.
He replied “It’s my ex. I cant stop thinking about her. It’s been just 2 years since we broke up” and covered his face with his hands.
WOW.
Pepe Escobar : Will China Help the Palestinians?
People who grew up poor and are now in a higher social class, what are the biggest or most surprising differences you’ve noticed?
I qualify!
Dirt poor then. Top 1% now.
There is good news and bad news.
Have you heard these?
Rich people want to keep poor people down.
Inequality is bad.
Rich people have rigged the system.
Wealthy people control politics.
Money leads to unjust outcomes in the legal system.
The first one is completely false. 0% true.
The second is 20% true.
The third is 30% true.
The fourth is 40% true.
The last one is 80% true.
If you are a poor person in the court system, you are cooked.
Good News
Rich people do not want to keep you down. Not at all!
They greatly admire poor strivers.
They respect people who arise at 5 AM to work at McDonald’s.
They want other people to be successful!
If you work 2 or 3 jobs to support your family, they will do anything they can to help you.
They appreciate hard work and diligent effort.
Wealthy people love rags-to-riches stories.
Bad News
Many Americans believe the wealthy are indifferent to welfare recipients.
Actually, it is much worse than that.
If you are a slacker who subsists on government freebies, the wealthy want you deported.
As in expelled from the country.
Don’t call us. We’ll call you.
Some of the wealthy would give you a free ticket!
But only if you promised to never return.
This is the mindset of the wealthy…
You live in the United States.
There is more opportunity here than anywhere else on Earth!
And you spend your time demanding more freebies from people who work hard.
You are begging for handouts like a dog.
Where is your self-respect?
Where is your work ethic?
You are bad news — practically and morally.
Bottom Line
Anyone can go from bottom to top in America. My brothers and I did it!
Rich is better than poor.
I no longer buy day-old bread, patch holes w/cardboard, buy gasoline with dimes.
Meritocracy works! Any attempt to reduce meritocracy harms our country.
Welfare, DEI, and other forms of redistributive justice lead to good outcomes for the bottom 25% and terrible outcomes for the other 75%.
Economic growth is more important than economic equality.
Good luck to you!
MEN ARE SO SIMPLE MINDED| Mark Grungor | Men and Women’s Brain – NOTHING BOX (REACTION)
Yes. The box theory.
Will Bangladesh drift closer to China now?
Being friendly to China is a policy formulated by the Bangladesh government out of consideration of national interests.
Sheikh Hasina fled to India instead of China, which shows that she is pro-India.
Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is likely to become the new prime minister of Bangladesh. He is pro-American.
Sheikh Hasina stepped down due to protests, and the most angry person was Indian Prime Minister Modi.
Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India, claimed that the reason for the riots in Bangladesh was the intervention of the US Department of Defense. Because she refused the request of the US Department of Defense, the CIA led the riots in the country.
Specifically, the US military took a fancy to Saint Martin’s Island in Bangladesh and asked Bangladesh to hand over the island to the US military to establish a naval and air base. The US promised to ensure that Hasina would continue to rule Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina accuses the US: What’s the significance of St Martin’s Island? | World News – Times of India
South Asia News: Explore the history and geopolitical significance of St Martin’s Island in Bangladesh, including its maritime boundary disputes and strategic location near the Bay of Bengal. Learn about the island’s role in international relations and recent allegations of foreign interference in Bangladeshi politics.
Sheikh Hasina hints at US role in ouster: ‘Had I surrendered sovereignty of Saint Martin Island…’
Everyone knows the result of the incident. Starting in June 2024, there were large-scale demonstrations in Bangladesh, which eventually led to Hasina’s escape to India by helicopter.
India has been supporting Sheikh Hasina, who spent years in exile in India after her entire family was assassinated in 1975.
India-Bangladesh relations have shown signs of cooling since Sheikh Hasina’s departure.
According to local Indian media reports, non-essential staff of the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh have been withdrawn after Sheikh Hasina resigned.
Bangladesh is currently led by an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner and economist Muhammad Yunus.
Some Indian news outlets have been claiming that Pakistan and China are behind the protests and have exaggerated the scale of attacks on Hindu minorities following the protests.
But Muhammad Yunus is not pro-China, he is pro-American.
He has close contacts with American politicians and is also the candidate favored by the US State Department for the new prime minister of Bangladesh.
Whether he is pro-American or not can only be known after Muhammad Yunus is formally sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh and whether he will hand over St. Martin Island to the US military as a military base.
If the US military establishes a military base on Saint Martin’s Island, the US military will enter the Indian Ocean.
Saint Martin’s Island is very close to Kyaukpyu Port in Myanmar.
Kyaukpyu Port in Myanmar is the port of entry for the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline.
The US military can use Saint Martin’s Island to block the entrance of Chinese oil and gas pipelines in the Indian Ocean.
It can be said that the reason why the United States is eager to obtain Saint Martin’s Island is to contain China.
even if Myanmar’s Kyaukpyu Port ceases to operate, China still has Pakistan’s Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea as an entry point for oil and gas pipelines.
Of course, the country most affected by the establishment of US military bases in the Indian Ocean is still India.
After all, India has always regarded the Indian Ocean as its own backyard, and Indians feel even more threatened by the United States.
Saint Martin Island : Will A US Military Base Threaten India or China? | Indian Defence News
The Varsha nuclear submarine base under construction in India, the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy and the Abdul Kalam Island used for tactical and strategic missile testing are not far from St. Maarten.
Bangladesh’s military strength and military technology are simply not comparable to those of the United States.
If the U.S. military establishes a military base on St. Martin, it will be close to India’s sea-based nuclear deterrent, a major weapons testing facility and naval headquarters, directly touching New Delhi’s major red line.
If the US military establishes a military base on St. Maarten, then the Indian military will have no secrets from the US military, and all Indian military bases are within the coverage of the radar stations and missiles established by the US on St. Maarten.
Now Joe Biden has really done it. By giving the green light to long-range missile strikes deep inside of Russian territory, he has brought us closer to nuclear conflict than ever before. As you will see below, Russian officials have become convinced that “NATO has gone to war with Russia”. I feel like I am watching a slow-motion train wreck that I am powerless to stop. I have been warning about this for so many years, and now it is here. Steve Quayle, Henry Gruver, Dumitru Duduman, Marty Breeden and so many others have also warned America about what is coming. If we stay on the path that we are on, nuclear weapons will be used. Do we really want to go down that road?
The corporate media here in the United States is trying really hard to convince us that Joe Biden’s decision wasn’t really a big deal.
In Moscow, meanwhile, senior lawmaker Leonid Slutsky slammed Mr. Biden, accusing him of deciding “to end his presidential term and go down in history as ‘Bloody Joe’.”
Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov, meanwhile, told Russia’s state-run Tass news agency that Biden’s decision represented “a very big step toward the beginning of the third world war.”
The official newspaper of the Russian state, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, warned “the madmen who are drawing NATO into a direct conflict with our country may soon be in great pain.”
And according to the Washington Post, one former Kremlin official is warning that “Moscow now believes NATO has gone to war with Russia”…
A former Kremlin official told The Washington Post that Moscow now believes NATO has gone to war with Russia and that “they will proceed accordingly.” The official spoke on the basis of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
That is rather chilling.
Of course that language echoes something that Vladimir Putin said himself back in September…
Putin had personally warned against the eventuality previously, issuing a warning in September that U.S. permission for Ukraine to fire American-supplied long-range missiles at his country, “would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries, are parties to the war in Ukraine.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov referenced that previous statement by Putin when he was specifically asked how the Russian government is viewing the latest developments…
“And here the position of our President, the position of the Russian side, was very clearly and unambiguously formulated by our Head of State in his statement that he made in St Petersburg.
“It says everything very clearly. I simply recommend that you read these words of the President once again.”
Wow.
War with Russia is here.
Sergey Markov was asked if Vladimir Putin would actually use nuclear weapons once long-range missiles start falling deep inside Russian territory, and he warned that in a worst case scenario “nuclear war happens before Christmas of this year”…
Asked if Putin would use nuclear missiles in response, Mr Markov said ‘not now’ and said it was more likely that bases in eastern Europe could be hit by smaller, tactical nuclear missiles.
But he added: “I think Biden, Macron and Starmer want escalation which could lead to, from my understanding, in the worst scenario, the nuclear war happens before Christmas of this year.
“Probably you will not be able to say ‘Merry Christmas’ because you will stay in the hole trying to hide away [your] family from the nuclear catastrophe. It can develop very, very quickly.”
Personally, I don’t think that it will happen quite so fast.
But we are definitely on a road that leads to nuclear war.
After Biden’s announcement, U.S. Representative Thomas Massie stated that Biden had just committed an impeachable offense…
By authorizing long range missiles to strike inside Russia, Biden is committing an unconstitutional Act of War that endangers the lives of all U.S. citizens. This is an impeachable offense, but the reality is he’s an emasculated puppet of a deep state.
I agree with Massie 100 percent.
But there won’t be a move to impeach Biden now.
Most Republicans in Congress are way too lily-livered to do anything like that.
Trump Jr., 46, tweeted that the “military-industrial complex” is trying to undermine his dad before he takes office by pushing the war further into chaos.
“The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives,” he tweeted.
Yes, Joe Biden is still in the White House, but this was a decision that Donald Trump should have been allowed to make.
Trump needs to come out and immediately denounce what Biden has done, but if he does that he will be accused of “colluding with Putin” and that is something that Trump very much wants to avoid.
But Trump can’t be concerned about what others will think at this point.
We are literally on the brink of nuclear war, and we are running out of time to reverse course.
In fact, Sweden is so concerned about the possibility of nuclear war that it has “issued five million pamphlets warning its citizens to stockpile food and water”…
Sweden has issued five million pamphlets warning its citizens to stockpile food and water – just hours after Volodymyr Zelensky’s chilling video address to Vladimir Putin warned US missile strikes “will speak for themselves.”
If our leaders had any sense, they would be doing the same thing.
But instead, they keep assuring us that the Russians are bluffing and that they would never actually use nuclear weapons.
In the end, we shall see who was bluffing and who was not.
Interestingly, on Monday it was being reported that Internet cables under the Baltic Sea have been “suddenly disrupted”…
Two undersea internet cables in the Baltic Sea have been suddenly disrupted, according to local telecommunications companies, amid fresh warnings of possible Russian interference with global undersea infrastructure.
A communications cable between Lithuania and Sweden was cut on Sunday morning around 10:00 a.m. local time, a spokesperson from telecommunications company Telia Lithuania confirmed to CNN.
Did the Russians do that?
Were they trying to send us a message?
I just wrote about how vulnerable our undersea Internet cables are last week.
Cutting two cables is not going to disrupt much, but what if the Russians started cutting dozens of cables?
We really are in uncharted territory.
Hopefully cooler heads will prevail, because right now the road that we are on only leads to pain.
Be the Rufus
After Hitler, which dictator was the worst in history?
Hitler wasn’t the worst. My vote goes to Pol Pot. He was the dictator of Cambodia 1976–1978.
His claims to infamy:
Killed more people in proportion to the size of the nation than any other dictator
Killed most people in shortest timeframe
Destroyed the economy of Cambodia
Destroyed the intelligentsia of Cambodia
Effectively rendered Cambodia back to the Bronze Age
Destroyed the infrastructure of Cambodia
Caused a man-made famine in Cambodia
Obliterated literacy in Cambodia
Deurbanized and deindustrialized the country completely
Sowed the land full of land mines, making 30% of the fields of Cambodia uncultivable
Founded the largest extermination camps ever and coined the concept “killing fields”.
Finally his ambitions went too far when he attacked Vietnam. The Khmer Rouge military, already starving and badly armed for anything else than terrorizing unarmed people with eyeglasses, collapsed in front of the Vietnamese military (who had just kicked the arses of both USA and China).
Never before has a foreign conqueror been welcomed so heartly than in Cambodia, and never before has a war turned so quickly into a humanitarian rescue operation as in Cambodia.
No Man’s Sky: Brilliant New Update Makes This Game’s Biggest Redemption Story
I am of Hui ethnicity, currently living in Jiangsu Province. My family is a pure-blood Muslim family. My parents’ ancestors came from Jining in Shandong Province and Dangshan in Henan Province, both of which are major Muslim communities in central China.
In addition to that, we also have relatives in Xinjiang and Qinghai, but as the older generations passed away, we have grown distant from these relatives, who live thousands of kilometers away.
My grandfather was an imam in the Xuzhou area. From a young age, I learned a lot about Islam from him. His home was right next to the mosque, so I essentially grew up in the mosque.
Back in the 1980s, the old mosque in Xuzhou had a large courtyard, and I would play there every day after school. I knew all the imams at the mosque, and because I was a good student, they all encouraged me to attend an Islamic college when the time came to choose a university.
Having been brought up in Islamic teachings from a young age, I still follow most of the Islamic practices today, even though I am now in my 40s.
My grandfather, as an imam, maintained a close relationship with the local Han Chinese community. He was not only eager to help Muslims but also willingly assisted Han Chinese people. Sometimes, he would give the beef that Muslims gifted him to some of his poor Han neighbors. If Han Chinese people came to him for help because of poverty, he would even give them money, expecting nothing in return. Because of his kindness, both Hui and Han people respected him.
I still have a photo of him from when he was 90 years old, standing by the mosque’s gate. I remember the gate had calligraphy written in both Chinese characters and Arabic: “Respect Islamic teachings, and love China.”
I believe these memories of mine are a small reflection of the close relationship between Han Chinese and Muslims in China.
While I did not end up attending an Islamic college, I earned dual degrees in sociology and psychology, and eventually became a programmer.
I am aware that in recent years, there have been some tensions between the Hui and Han communities in parts of China. I don’t think these incidents are significant. From a young age, I learned from my grandfather what it means to see both Hui and Han as fellow citizens, looking out for and respecting one another. Therefore, while I respect my own ethnic background, I have never considered Han people to be “different” from me.
Later, I had a child, who is also proud to be Muslim. Every time we travel, he insists on visiting the famous mosques along the way, and he also enjoys reading books about Islam.
However, I believe he should be well-rounded and expand his perspective. In the past few years, I’ve recommended many books from other religions to him—Bible stories, introductions to Catholicism, biographies of Buddha, Buddhist basics, biographies of the Dalai Lama, Taoist texts, Zen writings, and more.
Since my child is free to make his own choices, I’ve shared with him everything I know about Islam, my personal religious experiences, and all the stories about my grandfather. After that, I will respect whatever path he chooses.
Beef Stroganoff Casserole
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Ingredients
1 (12 ounce) package wide egg noodles
2 pounds round or sirloin steak, cut into 1 inch strips
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, in zip top bag
1 (16 ounce) package mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon paprika
1 (13 3/4 ounce) can beef broth
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
Instructions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
Place uncooked noodles in a 2 1/2 quart casserole.
Coat strips of steak with flour by putting a few strips at a time in zip-style bag and shaking well.
Arrange coated meat on top of noodles.
Arrange chopped mushrooms evenly over meat.
Sprinkle the onion, nutmeg, parsley and paprika on top of mushrooms.
Pour beef broth over entire dish.
Cover and bake for 1 hour.
Stir in sour cream, and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
What is the worst job experience you ever had?
Working as an Amazon driver. I had to take a job out of necessity when I lost my longtime job at the start of Covid. I was 45 years old and took a job as a driver for Amazon. On an average day, I would have about 180–185 different stops and about 300–350 packages.
The vans always had something wrong with them. Broken seats, no AC, cracked windows, etc. There are cameras that watch you drive and you get violations for not wearing your seatbelt, looking at your phone, going 6 miles over the speed limit, harsh accelerations, hard breaking, and not coming to complete stops.
I had so many packages that I often could not use the rear or side doors. I had to wiggle out through the drivers door. I would just be tripping over stuff all day because they gave too many packages.
You would often find random bottles of piss in the console, door holders, back, etc. You have so little time to get done, that many drivers don’t eat lunch or take breaks. A lot are forced to pee in bottles so they can finish their routes on time.
And after all of this, at the end of the day…you have to call the dispatcher who will often send you to now go help someone else with their route because they are behind. That is your reward for doing your job well.
I lost 45 pounds working there. Not to mention doing this is the pouring rain, in the 100 degree heat, in the snow. But the worst part for me, was doing all of this in the dark. Trying to find houses and streets on dirt country roads and in the mountains.
We didn’t leave the facility to start until 11am or noon. to start! So in the winter, half of your day is delivering int he dark.
It was the most inhumane job I’ve ever had…and I was in the Army.
My Wife Pulled A Bait-And-Switch About Kids, Said My Son Isn’t Enough, So I’m Filing Divorce…
What meal from your childhood did you dread being served?
We were poor and my mother was a terrible cook so we had a lot of dread, very often. For example, my dad wanted potatoes at almost every meal and my mom had 5 kids and a house so by dinner time, she was always running around as if her head were on fire. Frequently, the potatoes burned before they could be mashed. Didn’t matter. We had to eat them anyway. Food was NEVER thrown away and you could not leave the table until your plate was empty.
On the very rare occasion that milk went sour, we had to drink it anyway. If the oatmeal was burned, we had to eat it anyway. When Uncle Charlie came to visit with a cooler full of fish fillets he just caught off Boston Harbor, we had fish for a week until we were ready to vomit every time we came in the door and smelled it cooking. Oh, and my uncle was not fastidious about deboning.
There were other horrible things we had to eat, such as “church supper” leftovers like a 4 gallon pot of baked beans. I will never eat anything with kidney beans or baked beans again. Even when I was starving in college, truly starving, that orphan can of baked beans stayed in the cabinet. I will never, ever, ever eat chili or baked beans ever again. Here’s a story my brother told me: when he entered Boot Camp for the Army he went down the line and they slapped some fish onto his tray. Naturally, he wanted to throw it away but a Sergeant stood over him until he ate every bite. To his astonishment, the first bite was delicious. He downed the whole thing and had it at every meal. Even the Sergeant was astonished – the fish was garbage. That gives you an example of how bad my mother’s cooking was.
Once, someone gave us some veal. I don’t know how my mother prepared it but after the first bite, I ran to the kitchen sink and vomited. People talk about how great veal is, but whenever I see it or smell it, my stomach turns. I hate veal – and not for emotional reasons. Another of my mother’s favorites was Liver and Onions. When you came home from school and smelled that, you knew your life was ruined. You WANTED to be in Detention. I can’t ever, ever eat that now. Or kidneys. My mother LOVED kidneys. Just the look of them made me want to be sick. We were lucky that my dad hated them so it was a once a year gig to get kidneys. We had a dog then and he really was happy to be under the table – but if we ever got caught wasting food like that it would have been a harsh and severe beating. Food was precious and it was never, ever wasted; burned, rotten or unloved – it had to be eaten or you couldn’t go to bed. I remember my brother sitting at the table one evening until midnight with the swill still on his plate – and then in his breakfast dish the next day. He tried to outlast my dad. He failed. He had to eat that garbage completely.
There were a lot of miserable meals in our home. You ate what was on your plate and you didn’t complain. Both my parents knew the hunger of the Depression and when I went to college and starved, I appreciated their reasoning a lot more.
British Police To Arrest Jimmy Dore Over Twitter Post!
Why is the U.S. heavily reliant on China for many products? Is it possible for the U.S. to stop buying from China and produce these products domestically?
We all know banana publics in South America. Even though we undergo huge inflation, the price of bananas is still relatively low. Yet nobody complains that the US relies on South America for bananas.
So to understand this issue, we must remember that today’s capitalism is the financial monopoly capitalism. The capitalists in the West after five hundred imperialism and colonialism exploiting the Global South, don’t need to produce everything to have a luxurious life. The Global North can just sit on its accumulated huge capital to “finance” the global economy so it can live on interest from the capital. That’s the world economic order after WWII. The US industry was not offshored to China, it offshored first to Japan, then Japan offshored the manufacture to South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and finally the Four Tigers offshored manufacturing to China. This process of offshoring manufacturing has undergone for half a century already.
Since 2008, since Obama, the US has tried hard to bring manufacturing back to the US but filed. If Americans can have white-collar jobs, why let white-collar jobs become blue-collar jobs? In the 1970s, when the US offshored manufacturing to Japan, the US was very happy to celebrate the post-industrial society. The Global North can sit in the office and let the Global South toil in sweat. The Noth-South economic order since WWII has been implemented with Bretton Woods institutions, such as the World Bank, IMF, and WTO.
After China entered WTO, the North-South world order was tropicalized as Made-in-China-Comsumed-in-America. For every dollar of made-in-China one paid in shopping, only fifteen cents go to China, other eighty-five cents go to Japanese patents, European design, American brands of marketing and logistics, and retail services. The US went to post-industrial service when the service GDP was higher than the manufacturing GDP. Today,
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Capital floods in Fintech, technology advancement is first used in finance and military industry. See the green portion at the upper-right corner of the graph above? it includes the military industry.
Service is hard to offshore. One cannot use other countries’ transport for transit, and going to other countries for health services is rare. If the US can offshore service, it will, such as offshoring telemarketing to India and the Philippines.
When Americans consume, they pay more for financial services than for real goods and services. When they visit doctors, they pay more for insurance services than the medicine and doctors. When using a car for 20 years, they pay more for insurance than the purchase of the car. American consumers cannot escape the financial services, the insurance, the mortgage, etc. That’s financial monopoly capitalism.
It is letting the Global South do the labor, don’t blame the Global South for “stealing the jobs”. You cannot eat the pie and have the pie. You cannot keep the jobs without doing the jobs.
After the failures of onshoring manufacturing, the US resorted to nearshore. Such as NAFTA to have manufacturing in Mexico. The US also resorts to friendly shoring, and encourages imports from ASEAN and India. But what’s the difference? The manufacturing is not going back to the US, and it is China’s turn, following Japan and the Four Tigers, to offshore its manufacture to India and ASEAN.
The US cannot help but feed the greed of Wall Street and the military-industrial complex. It is capitalism, The political system is by the capital, for the capital, and of the capital. It is the capitalist system and the capital become monopoly.
14 Year Old Killer Thinks He’s Going Home
https://youtu.be/sBZpcEQJT6A
Many Hong Kong buildings (particularly residential apartments and hotels) have hollow, open floors that look like a big hole halfway up the building. Is there a functional reason for this or is it cultural?
The fire safety laws in Hong Kong state that buildings of 40 floors or higher are required to have a “refuge floor” built, and for every 25 floors thereafter another refuge floor is required. A refuge floor is basically an open, empty floor with bare minimum structures, and a fire sprinkler system.
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The purpose of these refuge floors is to act as a safe refuge for people to escape from fire and to gather there awaiting rescue. Another purpose of these floors is to act as a void between floors to prevent, or at least slow down, the spread of fire from lower floors to higher floors.
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If you are talking about the vertical holes in some of the buildings in Hong Kong, then they are not refuge floors. Some of them are part of the architectural design, some of them are there for Fung Shuǐ reasons, and some have the specific purpose of preventing the “screen barrier effect” – whereby the width of buildings are so wide that they act like a screen barrier and obstruct light and air flow in the area. Some also have a hole in them to minimise the effect of wind force on the building during a typhoon.
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Edit 20/9/2019: After replying to a comment from Mr. Faraone, I have added this to my answer.
Fung Shui Myth:
The hole in the building in the above image was designed specifically so that the passages of the “dragons” flying from the sea towards the hills behind, and vice versa, are not blocked. Apparently the building was built bang in the middle of the passage of the dragons and without that hike their passages would be blocked.
What are some particularly creative ways that students cheat?
In Fall 2009, Professor James Simpson of Harvard University was assigned to interview Harvard senior Adam Wheeler for his Fulbright Program application.
The Fulbright Program is an extremely competitive and prestigious fellowship program. The program pays for the selected American citizens to conduct research, study, or teach abroad. Each year, 8000 Americans receive a Fulbright grant. Recipients range from students to professional scientists and artists. Fulbright alumni have collectively won dozens of Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes.
Student applicants to the Fulbright get nominated by their school before moving on to the national level. In Wheeler’s case, this meant he had to clear the superstars at Harvard.
Before their interview, Professor Simpson looked over Wheeler’s application. It was extremely impressive. Wheeler was the author of multiple books (some in collaboration with Harvard professors), a lecturer at six academic events, a creator of Harvard courses, and a brilliant student with a nearly perfect GPA and glowing recommendations.
Simpson moved on to the personal statement. But something was off. The writing felt… familiar. After a bit of digging, Simpson found what he was looking for. Harvard professor Steven Greenblatt’s piece from Essays on General Education in Harvard College.
The piece matched almost exactly with Wheeler’s Fulbright essay. Simpson quickly called Harvard’s chair of the Fulbright nomination committee. Wheeler was notified, and he quickly and quietly left Harvard.
From there, Wheeler’s story unraveled. The personal statement wasn’t the only thing faked in his Fulbright application. The GPA was fake.
Wheeler’s records on Harvard official showed that he had transferred from MIT at the beginning of sophomore year. Due to a rocky start with a D-plus in his first semester, Wheeler had just over 3.6 GPA at the time of his Fulbright application.
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Wheeler’s self-reported transcript for his Fulbright application.
Wheeler’s self-reported transcript claimed a 3.99 GPA after three years at Harvard. He had only been at the school for two.
The recommendations were fabricated. The books were never written. The lectures never happened.
But it didn’t stop there.
David Smith, Wheeler’s resident Dean, and Jay Ellison, then head of Harvard’s Ad Board (which handles cheating) continued looking. He checked the rest of Wheeler’s file. Wheeler’s Harvard forms listed his birth year as 1987. Wheeler’s passport read 1986.
As Smith kept searching, everything about Wheeler’s identity fell apart.
On Wheeler’s application to Harvard, the transcript was fake.
The perfect SAT scores. Fake.
His resume. Fake.
The 16 AP exams. Fake.
Adam Wheeler had never even been a student at MIT.
Wheeler hadn’t even stopped after the Fulbright incident. After he left Harvard, Wheeler had applied to Stanford and Yale. Smith was notified.
Eventually, Harvard’s Police Department took over from Smith and Ellison, trekking through the web of Wheeler’s lies. Prosecutor John Verner, in early May, decided there was sufficient evidence to charge Wheeler with 20 criminal counts, including identity fraud, falsifying approval, pretending to hold a degree, and larceny.
Later that month, Adam Wheeler was arrested in his home state of Delaware.
Russia’s final warning to NATO – you’ll get your war, but it’ll be over in 15 minutes
Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst
We are inches away from a global thermonuclear war. And no, this isn’t a meaningless, overused catchphrase. Quite the contrary, it’s as serious as it gets. We have reached a historical boiling point. At no other time in human history have we been closer to the scenario of annihilation, not even during the so-called “Cuban” Missile Crisis. It should really be called “Turkish” or something along those lines. And it’s important to note that we’re not digressing from the topic by mentioning this.
Namely, the mainstream propaganda machine just loves maintaining its narratives that essentially whitewash the political West and denigrate the actual world. This is why the fact that the United States initiated the “Cuban” Missile Crisis by deploying nuclear-tipped missiles in Italy and Turkey back in 1961 (although some sources claim it was as early as 1959) is ever so “conveniently” forgotten. The USSR waited a full year (at the very least) to respond by placing its own missiles in Cuba.
Thus, it’s perfectly clear who initiated that confrontation. And yet, as previously mentioned, modern historiography remembers the event as the “Cuban” Missile Crisis, sending a subliminal message that it was initiated by the Soviet Union and Cuba. Why is this important? Because the same people are now telling us that Russia “escalated” the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict by “firing missiles at a democratic Ukraine”, once again “forgetting” to mention the preceding events.
In the last two days, approximately a dozen ATACMS and “Storm Shadow”/SCALP-EG missiles have been used (on the same day Moscow updated its nuclear doctrine, mind you).
So, how did the “evil Kremlin”, led by the “crazy, bloodthirsty tyrant Putin”, respond to this?
Well, not with nukes, as we’re still here, even though the doctrine allows it.
However, Russia did fire what is technically an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile). This marks the first time such a weapon was used in a conflict. And while ICBMs normally carry thermonuclear warheads, this one was conventionally armed. To better understand what sort of weapon this is, we have to go back a decade or so, specifically to the RS-26 “Rubezh” program that was supposed to deter NATO’s crawling aggression in Europe and the post-Soviet space.
Namely, the RS-26 was envisaged as the successor to the formidable RSD-10 “Pioneer” IRBM (intermediate-range ballistic missile). Essentially a shortened version of the three-stage RS-24 “Yars” ICBM, with one stage removed (and some other modifications), the RS-26 had a shorter range, but was no less deadly. In fact, it carried more powerful warheads than the “Pioneer” (at least four 300 kt instead of the latter’s three 150 kt ones), while also being more accurate and impossible to intercept.
This enabled it to target even massive underground command centers or any other high-priority targets across NATO-occupied Europe. However, there was a (geo)political problem with the RS-26. Namely, it was made at a time when the INF Treaty was still in force (banning all missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km). So, for the RS-26 to formally comply with this, it had to have a range greater than 5,500 km. Otherwise, it would violate the INF Treaty and be designated as an IRBM.
To avoid this, it was designed to achieve a maximum range of 5,800 km, just enough to be designated as an ICBM. However, this created another problem, as it affected the New START treaty. Namely, this would force Russia to reduce the number of its, so to speak, “purebred” ICBMs such as “Yars”, R-36M2 “Voevoda” and RS-28 “Sarmat”. As a result, in 2011, the program was postponed for a period after 2027, with most resources diverted to the development of Russia’s new hypersonic weapons.
But, on April 12 this year, Moscow tested an “unnamed ICBM”. To this day, the Russian military is yet to publicly reveal the exact type of the missile launched that day. At the time, I argued that the missile was actually the RS-26, as it had striking similarities with the previously mentioned RS-24 that the “Rubezh” was actually based on, including the way it conducted wobbling maneuvers designed to confuse NATO’s ABM (anti-ballistic missile) systems, making it virtually impossible to intercept.
For seven months, no news came through about this “mysterious ICBM”. Until the early hours of November 21, that is. Initially, the Russian military didn’t reveal what missile it was, letting NATO contemplate what to do next. However, the “mysterious ICBM” was soon not only uncovered, but actually named – “Oreshnik” (“Hazel” in Russian). However, solid information about the missile is extremely scant, fueling all sorts of speculation, wild guessing and outright misinformation.
For instance, the Pentagon insists the missile that hit Dnepropetrovsk was fired from Kapustin Yar, a testing site in the Astrakhan oblast (region) in southern Russia, located over 1000 km to the east. This distance is too short for an ICBM, raising questions about the veracity of the US military’s claims. Then, videos from Kazakhstan emerged, specifically over the city of Satbayev, which is 1,500 km to the east of Kapustin Yar. Even more interestingly, some 450 km to the southeast lies Sary Shagan.
This place is home to one of the largest and most important missile test sites in the former Soviet Union, with the Russian military still using it extensively, including during the aforementioned April 12 test. It’s simply impossible to see “Oreshnik” fly over Satbayev if it was fired from Kapustin Yar to Dnepropetrovsk. However, it’s certainly possible that the missile was fired from Sary Shagan. Still, NATO doesn’t want to reveal that it flew nearly 2,400 km before hitting its targets with pinpoint precision.
Even more interestingly, videos over Satbayev also show that the missile is wobbling and maneuvering just like the “mysterious ICBM” tested on April 12, further reinforcing the notion that the “Oreshnik” could actually be a conventionally armed “Rubezh”. In addition, its maximum range exceeds 5,000 km, which puts virtually all of Europe in range. And indeed, it makes little sense to get a completely new missile if you have the “Rubezh”, as it’s already a largely finished product.
Technically speaking, there are several possibilities when it comes to the “Oreshnik”. First, it doesn’t even have to be a regular missile and could be some sort of MaRV (maneuverable reentry vehicle), MIRV (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle), HGV (hypersonic glide vehicle), etc. or perhaps even a hybrid, with the “Rubezh” being the primary missile carrier. The “Rubezh” itself can already carry the “Avangard”, so if the “Oreshnik” is an HGV, it shouldn’t be a problem for the “Rubezh” to deploy it.
Another possibility is that the “Oreshnik” is a completely new missile (not necessarily ballistic, but likely a more advanced hypersonic, maneuvering weapon) that has its own MIRV/MaRV/HGV warheads. There are no definite claims about this at present, simply because very little is publicly known about it. However, personally, I am more inclined to believe that the “Oreshnik” is a conventionally armed HGV that can be carried by nuclear-capable ICBM/IRBMs like the RS-26 “Rubezh”.
The reason is quite simple, because why would someone make something completely new when they already have a finished project that can immediately go into production (the “Rubezh” uses the same production lines as the “Yars”)? This reinforces the notion that the RS-26 is a highly modular design which can be equipped with various types of warheads, including conventional ones. It also harkens back to President Putin’s vision of Russia’s strategic preemptive strike capabilities.
One more thing that should be noted about the “Oreshnik” is that it was certainly an overkill against the Neo-Nazi junta. Russia’s more tactical and operational level missiles could’ve easily conducted this. However, given the fact that Moscow is faced with the increasingly delusional and aggressive West, it just had to demonstrate its firepower, prompting Putin to authorize the long-range strike on Dnepropetrovsk. This is a particularly important message to both the US and EU/NATO.
In terms of the functioning of the missile’s warhead, the available footage shows at least 30 smaller projectiles divided into five groups (six in each). The lack of visible detonations (although at least one was seen) suggests these are probably advanced kinetic penetrators capable of annihilating heavily defended and dug-in positions. This means that any NATO base anywhere in Europe and/or elsewhere would be in range, but Russia wouldn’t need to rely on its thermonuclear arsenal to deter aggression.
Key European NATO Bases in Reach of Russia’s Oreshnik Hypersonic Missile
In his remarks unveiling the Oreshnik missile system on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow reserves the right “to use our weapons against military facilities of those countries that allow using their weapons against our facilities.”
Russia’s new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile has a 2.5-3 km/s flight speed, a 1-1.2 ton payload, is equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, and is designated as an intermediate-range missile, which means a firing range of up to 5,500 km. During its test combat deployment against a Ukrainian military-industrial target Thursday, the Oreshnik was thought to have traveled 1,000 km or more to Dnepropetrovsk from Russia’s Astrakhan region.
Here are some key NATO facilities within reach of the new hypersonic intermediate-range missile:
Eastern Europe
Poland
Lask Air Base (home to permanent US Air Force detachment)
Home to by far the largest US garrison in Europe and the second-largest US deployment abroad, besides Japan. Home to some 35,000 troops and support personnel.
Ramstein Air Base (largest US and NATO air base in Europe, key to US operations in the region and Middle East, including the once secret US drone program)
Another key US garrison country in Europe. Jumping off and/or transit point for US and NATO military operations in the Middle East and North Africa, including the 2011 aerial aggression against Libya, which triggered a wave of migrants and refugees flooding into Europe via Italy.
Aviano Air Base (stores US nukes)
Ghedi Air Base
Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily
Naval Support Activity Naples (HQ of US 6th Fleet)
US Army Garrison Italy
Greece
Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Crete
UK
Royal Air Force Lakenheath
Royal Air Force Mildenhall
Royal Air Force Alconbury/Molesworth
Royal Air Force Croughton, Fairford, Welford (common stopover site for US strike and strategic bomber aircraft)
Royal Air Force High Wycombe (RAF HQ)
Portsmouth Naval Base (home to two-thirds of Royal Navy’s surface fleet)
Spain
Rota Naval Base (permanent home to six US missile destroyers). Key strategic facility for US operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
Moron Air Base
Portugal
Lajes Air Base, Azores Islands (key NATO transatlantic logistical hub, targetable if Oreshnik can be redeployed from Astrakhan region to new launch locations somewhere west of Moscow)
This is a girl in Japan going eating, and taking a public bath in Japan. I like it because it is almost like you are there and experiencing it for yourself. A nice escape and adventure. No sexual anything. Just wholesome stuff.
(If you want the “sexy stuff” you can join her fanclub. It’s a mix of Japanese kinds of stuff. Not to my liking, but you all might want to go down that rabbit hole.)
UPDATED 7:43 PM EST — EXPLOSIONS IN KURSK AND IN ROSTOV, RUSSIA . . . CLAIM: ATACMS — AGAIN
Since about 3:00 PM eastern US time today, Saturday 23 Nov 2024, reports have been coming in saying there have been numerous explosions in Kursk, Russia. Those reports **claim** American-supplied ATACMS were used by Ukraine — again.
Other reports say “it may be Drones.”
Additional reports are also coming in claiming explosions in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
I have received video of what is purported to be a residential area of Kursk, Russia, and the video clearly shows large flashes of light and the loud boom of a significant explosion. So the reports of “explosions” in Kursk seem to be true.
There is no official verification (yet) that the weapons used were ATACMS. I am endeavoring to grab the latest Intel on this, and will report what I find out; but here we are at 5:33 PM EST and for the past two and a half hours, multiple, consistent, reports are saying it WAS American-supplied ATACMS.
It was just two days ago that Russia responded to a different ATACMS strike, by launching a brand new ORENSHNIK Intermediate-Range Missile against Ukraine’s city of Dnipro.
If, in fact, Ukraine is once against hitting Russia with ATACMS, then clearly they didn’t learn any lesson at all from being hit with an ICBM and a larger act of retribution/deterrence might have to be delivered by the Russians.
How fast that may take place is anyone’s guess.
UPDATE 7:43 PM EST —
The explosions in Kursk ARE confirmed. It was a Ukrainian attack.
According to the Governor of Kursk, 27 Ukrainian UAVs and two “missiles” were shot down over the Kursk region.
Cut tops off bell peppers and remove seeds. Parboil in salted, boiling water for 4 minutes. Drain and cool.
Brown meat in skillet with onion. Drain oil.
Add tomatoes that have been mashed.
Add Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
Add rice. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Add Cheddar cheese, stirring until melted and well blended.
Stuff mixture into peppers.
Top with Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees F about 20 minutes or until hot.
Notes
If freezing peppers, do not bake. Wrap individually and place in a large freezer bag. Thaw well before baking.
When did you realize that your childhood was not normal?
I never had this big “aha” moment where it dawned on me all at once. But I’d say I first realized something really wasn’t right when I was around 9 or 10 years old. That’s about the age I started making friends on my own, spending time at other people’s houses without my parents also being around, etc. It was hard not to notice the differences between my house and most of my friends’ houses.
I saw parents who not only loved each other but openly expressed affection for one another. The fathers actually seemed to want to be home with their wives and kids. They certainly didn’t have random women in their lives that they openly dated and carried on with in front of their children.
Meanwhile, the mothers seemed to genuinely enjoy being mothers and to love their kids. They didn’t sit around all day pouting and drinking, alternating between ignoring their children and either yelling at them or criticizing every little thing about them. Instead, they were fun, and happy, and pretty, and generous. They smiled. They laughed. They had little busy things they liked to do with their spare time.
My friends’ mothers would even invite me to help them in the kitchen or sit and watch cooking shows with them in the mornings if I spent the night and happened to be up early. Their eyes would light up when they smiled at me. I had the impression that they genuinely liked me and enjoyed being with me. And when they’d tell me I was a pleasure to have in their homes and that I was welcome anytime, I could tell they meant it.
That’s also around the time I started lying and making up stories about how things were at home when asked about it by other people.
For example, we were always being given school assignments that required us to write about things like what our families liked to do together over the holidays or special things we did with each of our parents as far as quality time. I realized these were things that were supposed to be happening in family homes or else we wouldn’t be asked to write about them.
I also assumed the whole situation with my parents clearly not liking each other (or me) was somehow my fault, I was ashamed, and I didn’t want my teachers to know about it. So, I’d write about things my friends did with their parents as if it were me and my parents instead. Sometimes I’d just invent complete fictions that I thought sounded good — whatever I thought would make us seem normal.
And I lied to my friends, too. Like, I remember this one incident where I got a really high score on a big test — only one answer wrong — and my best friend at the time insisted my parents were going to buy me something or throw me a party to celebrate because that’s what her parents would do.
What actually happened when I showed my mother the test was she grilled me about the one wrong answer, demanding to know why I didn’t get all the answers right. So, I wasn’t praised for doing well. I was scolded for doing badly. But when I got back to school on Monday and my friends asked what kind of reward my parents treated me to over the weekend, I lied and said they threw me a giant pizza party and bought me a bunch of presents. I was too ashamed to tell them what had really happened.
Because before all this, I just thought my home and family were normal. I thought it was normal for parents not to love each other and to low-key hate their kids. I thought it was normal to just want to spend all your time alone in your room reading, and drawing, and writing, and retreating into your imagination because trying to connect with your family instead just made you feel… bad.
To this day, it’s still hard for me to think of parenthood as anything other than a waking nightmare to be avoided at all costs. There’s a part of me that will probably always worry that my parents were right to feel the way they did, to be so miserable, and to blame it on their kids. (I, unsurprisingly, never wanted children myself or had any. I didn’t want to wind up like my mom.)
As an adult, I naturally get that those things weren’t normal or healthy on any level. I logically know the situation at home between my parents wasn’t my fault and that it was very wrong of them to ever allow me to feel like it was. I also came to realize that my friends’ parents and families had problems and secrets of their own — huge ones, in some cases. They just weren’t airing out their dirty laundry in front of guests or anything.
But it’s still weird to think back on. That was a very confusing period in my life during which I felt pretty isolated and very confused. I thought I was literally the only kid in the world dealing with anything like that.
It was both a relief and a disappointment to find out that I wasn’t. I was relieved to know that I wasn’t alone and that I was far from the only kid who grew up in a dysfunctional home or had emotionally unavailable parents. But I missed believing in the fairytale that there was such a thing as a perfect family or a household where everyone got along 100 percent of the time.
Ever since I was little I wanted to explore space and explore my curiosity of a world unexplained. After I graduated high school I told my parents how passionate I was of going to college for astronomy and astronautics. They weren’t proud nor happy and thought little of the accomplishments of NASA and told me no. They were not even willing to help me pay my way through college. So I took the pain of rejection and I remember crying and looking at old books and exploration tapes because it was not fair.That’s when I decided that I was going to try anyways and I applied to the Emory-Riddle Aeronautical University. I waited for months and my father told me I received a letter, so I remember grabbing it happy and disappointed because I was too afraid to feel just one thing. I was accepted, I was literally accepted and I was finally happy with life.I studied astronautics for 4 years and was granted a chance after college to be apart The NASA Exhibition for a space launch. The date is set for March 06, 2041 that was eight months ago today. I have been in space now for six months exploring Mars, the fourth planet from the sun, that is red in color but dessert like with fridge temperatures makes Mars hard to explore. The exhibition is set to last for a year and a half hitting places like Europa and the Titan next. I wanted to be the first to try and manipulate the gravity of Mars. The closer The Space X spaceship gets to Mars the closer the camera set on shows me in this spaceship the features of Mars. I was already warned by NASA that the closer we get to Mars the worst it could potentially affect the spaceship.In each camera we see dessert grain red sand. I keep reporting in happy showing the team of the cameras that are landed on Mars. I know my parents are in NASA’s domain looking at me and my team. Until one of my team members noticed the hydro fuel that keeps are spaceship safe from Mars radiation is becoming low. Worried Jack runs to me telling the team that the hydro fuel was never made to get low because the kind of fuel affects the generator system of the spaceship. The whole team not knowing what Jack was talking about we start asking him again to explain further. He expresses that the closer we get to Mars the spaceship will blow up due to the level of radiation on Mars. The beeping starts to become erratic and the team starts to cry and NASA operator’s check in and start demanding we follow instructions. How can the best day of my life possibly be the last day of my life?NASA operators tell us to turn the spaceship around William with Cindy start quickly to change directional paths but are losing control over the system because the spaceship runs on hydro fuel which is running low. Mandie tells us there is a force filled around mars due to its lack of gravity and the hydro fuel is running to low to move the spaceship. Which meant we were stuck miles into Mars force filled of radioactive heat with nowhere to go. Soon as the hydro fuel runs out the spaceship will become un-functional. The spaceship starts to tremble and Luis is praying and i’m terrified. Jack tells us that NASA says with no place out the radiation we will soon be exposed to its toxicity in matter of hours and eventually die. I can’t feel anything but the tears falling down on my face. My parents are going to watch me die with my crew in less than 5 hours. My crew has family and kids and they are never going home again in less than 5 hours.It’s 3 hours in and two of my crew members have passed, Cindy and Maddie, Luis is wheezing bad and me and Jack are panting heavily. Its 4 hours in a Luis is finally pronounced dead I start trying to keep Jack up and NASA keeps checking in on us. He tells that I’ve always been like a brother to him and whenever he needed encouragement from his screwed life to become an astronaut I was there for him, motivating him. I told him I loved him like a brother and after I said this I watch my brother take his last breath at 4:45 pm. I cry and say Jack I’m not strong enough for this the minutes feel like hours my lungs feel like a truck it is repeatedly being run over and the smell of Mars radiation fills the spaceship. I cough and hear NASA operators asking me are you okay? we are checking in on you. And thats when I couldn’t breathe I see my vision cloud and hear the engine rumbling as I cough I can smell the smoke. I feel nothing and everything all at once. I try to mouth whisper my ‘parents’ to the NASA Operators the best I could. I want to tell them I love them and I wish I could explain my thoughts but I was becoming short of breathe and then my parents say “I hear I love you Michael we love you, your gonna be okay.”The fire from the engine room starts to blow up to the lower half of the spaceship and I know it’s only a matter of minutes before I’m engulfed by flames or dead. This makes the radiation harder and harder to breathe in. As I feel me slipping away the waves of heat touch my skin first and I’m starting to loose consciousness. The only thing I knew in this moment I was blessed to live out my dream. As young boy I was always playing with a spaceship, a space shuttle, reading space books and watching space movies. As the flames engulf me as I start to die I will forever know that dreams are real but only as real as you make them.
Beef and Mushroom Casserole
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Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (5 1/2 ounce) package risotto mix with garden vegetables
1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Instructions
Prepare risotto mix according to package directions.
Meanwhile in a large nonstick skillet, brown ground beef, mushrooms, bell pepper and garlic over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking beef up into small crumbles.
Pour off drippings.
Season with salt and pepper.
Stir risotto into beef mixture.
Sprinkle with cheese and basil.
Is your last day as a police officer (before retirement) uneventful?
My last day as a police officer was June 10, 2010. I had been a member of the police department for 33 years.
On my last day I went to work at 8:00 AM, and soon after my arrival several officers came into my office to congratulate me on my retirement and to wish me luck and health. They were joined by some of the civilian staff, and a few sergeants and other commanders.
I didn’t get a lick of work done. You’d have thought I was giving out lottery tickets.
By about 10:00 AM the chief came in and shooed everyone out of my office. My chief (Mike) was a very large man, the very picture of an old time Irish American cop, with a heart of gold and a sense of humor the size of the solar system.
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When he chased everyone else out of the office, he closed my door, and turned around to face me. He had tears in his eyes. He gave me a big hug (he was not capable of small hugs), and he kissed me on my left cheek.
Then he said, “This will always be your house.”
And then he said, “Now get the hell out of here.”
Mike made my last day eventful. He died a year later, and I miss him terribly.
What are some of the most famous unsolved mysteries?
The mystery of Simpson’s predictions:
Simpsons predicted the famous Siegfried and Roy tiger attack.
Simpsons predicted that a friendly white tiger would attack two brothers when they perform in a show. The episode was telecast in 1993 and the Siegfried and Roy tiger attack happened in 2003 .
2. Simpsons predicted Facetime in 1995
Even before the internet became essential, The Simpsons telecasted a episode featuring Homer Simpson speaking with his wife visually. Apple introduced Facetime in 2010.
3. The Simpsons predicted faulty voter machines used in the 2012 US President elections
When Homer tries to vote for Barack Obama, the vote falls to John McCain. The incident turned out to be true in the elections of 2012 where Mitt Romney was the competitor for Barack Obama.
4. The Simpsons predicted the mass of Higgs Boson particle and thus discovered the existence of the God’s particle:
In the episode “ The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace” aired in 1998, Homer Simpson is a inventor and is shown to be solving an equation. That equation predicts the nano mass of Higgs Boson which was discovered in 2012.
5. The Simpsons predicted the NSA spying scandal:
In 2007, The Simpsons predicted that US people are being spied by the NSA. In that episode Marge Simpson says to her daughter that the government does not listen to anybody’s conversation. At that time a humanoid seems to record the information. The NSA spying scandal was revealed on 2013.
6. The Simpsons predicted the possibility of Outbreak of Ebola virus in America:
The Simpsons telecasted in 1997 about Ebola virus which was not popular till the 2013 Ebola virus Outbreak in America
7. The Simpsons predicted the FIFA corruption Scandal:
In March 2014, The Simpsons predicted the FIFA Corruption Scandal which was actually found out in 2015. They also predicted the finals of World Cup 2014 and the possibility of future world cup being held in a desert. The desert is Qatar where the 2022 world cup is going to take place.
8. The Simpsons predicted the Disney’s take over of 20th Century Fox:
Predicted in 1998 and happened in 2017
9. The Simpsons predicted the 9/11 attack:
This one might be a coincidence but the 9$ and the silhouette of the World Trade Center resembling 11 gives an eerie feel.
10. The Simpsons predicted the Syrian uprising:
The Syrian uprising was also talked about in the Simpsons way before it already happened.
The Simpsons also predicted the 3 eyed fish from the Japanese nuclear waste, Lady Gaga Superbowl show, The shard in London , Smart watches and many other events.
Thus, Matt Groening ( The creator of The Simpsons) is the ultimate and unsolved human prodigy.
Edit: Dipyaman Uzir and User-11191801878614068370 asked me about The Simpsons predicting the Trump as president in 2016 US elections. I have searched in the internet about this and here’s what I found.
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The Simpsons predicted it 50% right. I say it because,
The Simpsons predicted Trump in 2015, not in 2000 in the episode “Trumpastic Voyage” which was telecasted after Trump announced his presidential nomination.
In 2000, The Simpsons telecast an episode “Bart to the future” where a joke about Trump becoming the president in the future is mentioned. Since Donald Trump was flirting with the idea of making a presidential run in 1999, this is a solved mystery.
However the prediction about the electoral map still remains a mystery. The electoral map predicts the map for Mitt Romney but it became true for Donald Trump.
In the late 1980’s and entering into the 1990’s there were all sorts of cost saving efforts undertaken by the corporate clowns running the companies. Some were truly curious, interesting and astounding.
When I worked at <name redacted>, they had replaced the roll toilet paper dispensers with a “public toilet” type. This was a cam based locking mechanism that only permitted one toilet paper sheet at a time. Oh! My! God!
Talk about getting everyone upset and hot and bothered. It was so frustrating that people started to bring their own toilet paper to work. And to compensate for using their own personal toilet paper stash, the employees started to steal pens, pencils, and erasers. It got so bad that there was a meeting about this, and the owner came in to explain why it was necessary to do this.
As a result of that meeting, some new changes were implemented.
A new parking space next to the front door for the owner to use, and no one else.
Removing the water fountains, and replacing it with a vending machine that sold ice cold bottled water.
Removal of the free coffee in the office.
An expansion of the hours at the company canteen so that people can buy coffee during the work-hours.
Removal of department bonuses, but they were replaced with a coupon system. You can advocate or recommend someone to get a “atta-boy” coupon. Each coupon is worth one free cup of coffee at the company canteen.
Look, as I get older, all this seems so trivial. Why fight for pennies, when the bosses get hundreds of thousands of dollars in a yearly bonus?
So this period of time is now in “hush” mode. Not too much is written about this time. Maybe a rare movie or two, and that is about it.
But, I won’t forget.
And let’s all learn from these mistakes and adapt. What do you say?
Today…
Isn’t it time the UK ignored what China wants and formally recognised Taiwan?
UK can try & see what will happen.
I bet, I bet, UK wont dare!!!
In the Paris Olympics, Taiwan separatists got warned by French guards/police. Below were few incidents.
1, In 1 stadium, one (Taiwanese?) woman stood on the stairs & held a green banner with Taiwan island on it. French guards/police warned the woman. She ignored warning. A man grabbed the banner from the woman in front of the guard/police & left.
2, In another occasion, a French guard/police grabbed a white & green banner from Taiwanese (?) sitting in the stadium. During struggle, French guard/police tore the banner.
In both cases, Taiwanese separatists dared not do anything against the guards/police.
See, France follows thru the ONE China policy & suppresses social nuisance caused by Taiwan independence.
Of course, these are Taiwanese (?) are actors who are paid to put up a theatrical show. These people only talked tough on the mouth, & held a banner. But facing a guard/police, they are chickens.
Back to UK. UK under Sunak was a US puppet. Like Taiwanese, Sunak talked tough to stage a theatrical show to its puppet master. When comes to action, I do not see anything concrete.
Dont be fooled by politicians’ tough talk; it is just a show.
Have the police just shown up to your door unexpectedly?
Yes, this happened quite a few years ago before cell phones were as popular as they are today.
We had just came back from the store where we had purchased a new set of wireless phones. For some reason my wife wanted me to program 911 as speed dial number 1. I read the instructions, made a number of attempts and determined it wasn’t working. A few minutes later the doorbell rang along with a definite knock. I could see through the glass door it was a couple of officers. One was at the door while the other was a few steps behind him with his hand resting on his firearm.
I opened the door and the lead officer said that there were a number of 911 calls with hangups and they were sent to investigate. I explained about the attempts at programming the phones and he asked if they could come in to see the phone. I let them in and showed them the phone. About that time my wife came into the room to see what was going on. Upon seeing the two officers she was a little surprised. The situation was explained to her and we bid the officers a good day.
A little while later my wife suddenly exclaimed that she just realized that the officers wanted to come in to ensure she was okay. The whole thing was embarrassing for me but rather humorous.
She Laughed After Being Charged with This
What are some potential challenges faced by Filipino soldiers in operating and integrating HIMARS into their defensive strategies in response to threats in the South China Sea?
If the Filipinos are stupid enough to volunteer to be a US proxy. It won’t be like Ukraine.
You realize that The Philippines is over 1,000 miles from China right?
HiMars range is well under 250 miles. And it’s not an air defense system.
The only thing the Filipinos will see is Chinese missiles raining from the sky. So no amount of integration is going to do anything.
HiMars will be target practice for Chinese missiles or glide bombs.
So integrating won’t do anything. Unlike the Russians, the Chinese are fully prepared to go to war with the US, NATO, Japan, SK, and India at the same time. Adding the Philippines is just desert for China. I hope the Filipino people get their heads out of their ass because the US will turn the Philippines into a death field just to get propaganda points.
The question is do the Filipinos want to die for the US so the US can do propaganda stories against China?
At the beginning of the year all of us employees (13 of us) took a voluntary pay cut to help our owners keep the doors open on our little plumbing supply company. You see the Old man who ran the place died at the end of last year and his kids took over. By years end our little company was in turmoil as the college educated heirs didn’t know a thing about actually running a plumbing supply company. Out of respect for their deceased father, we all took a pay cut so the company could survive on the promise that when the ship was righted we would all get a 5 figure bonus which would more than cover the pay cut we took. After this bonus we were to get our regular wages back plus ten percent on top of it.
Well after the latest quarterly report came out, we had actually turned a hefty profit as a company for the first time since the old man’s passing. Finally we would get our bonuses!
We all received an inter-office memo to meet in the conference room. We knew what this was about and were ready to celebrate our combined success!
Our bonuses…
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The absolute nerve of these college educated a-holes! They said since we were raking in record profits that they didn’t want to rock the boat and put the company in a financial bind by shelling out for bonuses or to reactivate our former wage statuses, let alone a 10% increase in pay on top of it.
So they LITERALLY got us pizza and soda as a “thank you”.
Myself and 6 others walked out right then and there.
You cannot treat people like they did and expect things to be okay! Between the 7 of us, there was over 80 years of experience working for their father’s company.
Let them see how hard it will be to replace our knowledge and experience. Maybe they didn’t learn in college manners or how to treat employees as family. Maybe they will think a second and third time in the future before doing something like this again.
Meanwhile, 3 of my fellow co-workers who quit and myself, will be starting our own plumbing supply company and we have every confidence that we will succeed.
We’ll start off small and there will be lean times, but there is nothing on earth that will shake our integrity and treat people like our former employers did.
Another DEI DISASTER As Fantasy & Science Fiction Publication DIES After Hiring WOKE Black Editor
This is a very interesting video.
Chicken Cordon Bleu Calzones
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Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 pound)
1 cup sliced, fresh mushrooms
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
Place chicken in a greased 2 quart dish, cover with water.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until juices run clear.
Meanwhile in a skillet, sauté mushrooms and onion in butter until tender.
Combine cornstarch and milk until smooth, stir into skillet mix.
Add basil and seasonings.
Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes until thickened.
Drain chicken.
Cut pastry sheets in half widthwise.
On one side of each half, place a chicken breast, 1/4 cup mushroom mixture, two ham slices and one cheese slice.
Fold pastry over fillings and seal edges.
Place on a greased baking sheet.
Brush tops with milk if desired.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until puffed and golden.
As a police officer, has someone you pulled over ever threatened to call “Daddy”?
Originally Answered: As a Police officer, has someone you pulled over ever threatened to call “Daddy”?
I once had “daddy” show up at the scene of a DUI crash. Daddy tried to interfere with the field sobriety tests of his (uninjured) son.
When I politely asked him to step away and let us get on with our business, Daddy ignored me. When I said it as an unequivocal order, he ignored me. When I told him I would place him under arrest in 5 seconds if he didn’t back off, he reminded me that he was friends with my Sheriff.
I told him he would be free to call the Sheriff from jail.
Daddy pulled out his cell phone and showed me that he had the Sheriff’s number stored in his contact list. I told him I had it in my phone too and that his 5 seconds were up. Go over there and call the Sheriff if you want or go to jail. Your choice. I have work to do.
Daddy walked away.
Daddy’s little boy got arrested and lectured me all the way to the jail about how I would lose my job because Daddy is friends with the Sheriff.
Daddy showed up at the Sheriff’s office the next day.
Daddy was buddies with the Sheriff, so he got unusual access to my reports and crash scene diagrams right then and there on the Sheriff’s desk. He made his arguments about why I was wrong.
I got called into the Sheriff’s office, later, to hear “Daddy’s” objections from the Sheriff himself. The Sheriff asked me to respond. I did so.
The Sheriff said, “Good job. I’ve been friends with that guy for years, but he really is an asshole sometimes.”
Daddy’s little boy (in his 20s) was convicted of DUI.
This is why I’ll NEVER Move BACK to the UK – I LOVE Living in CHINA as a Black Brit
Deep in the darkest corner of space lived a pair. They lived together on the planet of Lenunculus, a silly place full of creatures of every kind. The pair, however, were opposites of each other in every way.Weesnorp was mountains tall, with wide wonderful eyes. He had feet the size of a football field, and could run miles in a single step. His body was covered in pom-pom ball fur, with more colors than the human eye can see. Despite his larger-than-life appearance, Weesnorp had the voice of a mouse. No one could hear what he was saying, even if they were standing directly at his football field feet.Parvus, on the other hand, was smaller than a peanut. If a human were to look at him properly, they would require a magnifying glass of some sort. His eyes were covered by long, dangling black hair that went down to his feet. All that was visible on his body was one large, pointy, purple, round nose. In every way that Weesnorp was quiet, Parvus was loud. His voice could be heard on the other side of the planet at half its volume. Attempts to whisper meant whole towns heard his cry.As Parvus was too small to live safely on the planet, Weesnorp allowed him to live peacefully on his broad shoulder. In return for his kindness, Parvus would call out to those below on behalf of Weesnorp. The two appeared perfect together, and would spend years and years at times without an argument of any sort. One day, though, Weesnorp and Parvus quarreled so furiously that their lives were changed forever…Weesnorp was talking to his faithful companion when another creature crossed his path. His name was Amasius, and he was the most beautiful creature Weesnorp had ever seen. He had shimmering locks of blonde hair, with piercing orange eyes that shined against his darker skin. Amasius was the second tallest creature on the planet, so he was the closest to reaching the mighty height of Weesnorp. Weesnorp fell in love at first sight.“Parvus,” said Weesnorp. “Do you see that lovely creature yonder?”“Indeed,” Parvus whispered to his best ability.“Might you talk to him for me? I would tell you what to say, but I cannot find the words,” Weesnorp pleaded. “The creature cannot see you – it would be as though I am talking through you. My lips can match your speech!”
Parvus was pleased at this request. He often found himself to take pride in his own matchmaking abilities. “Very well, my good friend. I will do all that I can. You there!” He raised his voice a bit to get the attention of Amasius.
He was successful. “Yes?” Amasius answered, his voice deep and soothing.
“Are you from these regions?”
“Alas, no.” A hint of sorrow grew behind the dazzling eyes of Amasius. “I am from the far regions of the mountains. A large storm blew across my home, and I am here to find the necessary supplies rebuild it.”
At the sound of this, Parvus had an idea. “Might I help you with this endeavor, friend? I am quite tall. You can hand me the supplies, and I can use my height to reach your homeland on the mountaintops.”
Amasius cheered at this. “You are kind, sir! My name is Amasius. What might I call you?”
“Weesnorp,” Parvus answered.
“How wonderful. Thank you so kindly so your help. The supplies should be this way…”
The two followed Amasius to a forest where they could collect wood to build his home. Parvus spoke on behalf of Weesnorp, telling great tales of his friend’s many talents and marvelous abilities. Amasius was very impressed, and began to grow more and more fond of him as they walked. When they arrived, Weesnorp used his great strength to pluck the large trees from the ground, carrying a dozen in his arms all at once to bring to the mountains. They made their way to the spot Amasius wished, and Weesnorp set to constructing the home above the clouds, where he could see. Amasius spoke to him as he built:
“Weesnorp, would you care for some ungula to eat as you work? I have just caught some, and would gladly prepare it for you. It is a small gift of thanks.”
Weesnorp tensed. He could not eat ungula. It caused him great pain. To his disbelief, though, Parvus responded by saying he would gladly eat it.
He spoke to Parvus in his most powerful voice: “Parvus, I cannot eat that. It makes me sick!”
Without knowing that Weesnorp was speaking, Amasius tried speaking to him, asking, “Would you like a large portion of it? I have plenty, but I know ungula has quite the ability to cause illness. I do not wish you any harm!”
Parvus responded to Weesnorp: “It does not make you sick! You are a liar!”
Amasius was taken aback. The voice of Parvus was so loud that he believed Weesnorp was speaking to him. He could not hear the real voice of Weesnorp. “I am terribly sorry to insult you, friend, but I am well practiced in the ways of preparing ungula. My people have eaten it for centuries. I do not think I am mistaken.”
The two could not hear the cries of Amasius, as Weesnorp was so entangled in his own anger. Weesnorp retorted at Parvus: “I am no such thing! I am an honest creature, and I say that my abilities are greatly hindered when I eat ungula! You must believe me!”
Parvus had completely forgotten about Amasius, and turned his attention completely to Weesnorp. “I do not believe a word you say!” he challenged. “Your abilities do not serve much good, with or without ungula!” His voice was rising in volume as he argued further.
At this, Amasius was wholeheartedly offended. “How dare you insult my wisdom! I am a prudentia, a species of great power and knowledge! My people have studied ungula for centuries, and I am mightier than you could ever imagine!”
His cries were no use. He could not break the argument between Weesnorp and Parvus, and the two continued to bicker. “My abilities lack? No, Parvus. It is you who do not serve much good! You could not walk two steps without being crushed by a creature of larger stature! You are nothing without me.”
This was all Parvus needed. His tiny body swelled with anger, filling his lungs with as much breath as he could hold. He yelled with all his strength:
“NO! YOU ARE NOTHING WITHOUT ME!”
As he did this, he sent out a large gust of wind across all of Lenunculus. Entire seas became instant tsunamis. Mountains were torn from the land and thrown into the air. Worst of all, Amasius was lifted from the ground and hurled into the farthest reaches of Lenunculus – farther than any creature had ever dared to travel. The planet was turned upside down in a more disastrous manner than it had ever before seen.
To this day, Weesnorp and Parvus continue their mighty battle, ignoring any creature that tries to interrupt them. Winds blow throughout Lenunculus every now and then when Parvus becomes incredibly angry, but none will ever match the magnitude of that fateful day.
What is the most unusual and incorrect reason you’ve had the police called on you?
The police have not been called but the threat has been made. A few months ago a couple showed up at our house, my husband knew the man in passing.
To make a long story short, they were homeless, had lost everything in a flood, it was January they were cold, wet and hungry. They wanted to stay in our backyard storage shed for a few days.
We let them. Fed them the night they arrived, provided dry clothes and blankets. The shed has electricity and heat.
Fast forward a few days, they are bringing all kinds of things on the property including two dogs.
We suspected correctly that they were stealing. The left when we confronted him about this but the girl stayed a few more days claiming she didn’t have anything to do with stealing. We didn’t necessarily believe that but the weather was still bad and the guy was bad for her. We encouraged her to split from him and get help with her drug addiction but that didn’t happen and within a few days she was gone.
We still had two dogs and several large trash cans of trash that they left. Clean up took several days.
We then find out she is in a mental health facility. After about a week she gets out and comes to get her dogs…they leave.
Life goes back to normal.
A couple of weeks later her teenage son shows up with one of the dogs and asks if he can leave the dog in our fenced yard for an hour…never saw him again.
A couple of days after that the other dog is dropped at our house.
That was in March it’s now July. We have feed the dogs, gotten their shots etc. Under NC law if you have cared for an animal for 2 weeks or more it’s considered yours.
We first heard from the girl about 3 weeks ago. A letter explaining that she is in jail in SC with a $150K bond for multiple drug charges. She asked for money and asked about the dogs. We ignored the letter.
The next week another letter, again asking for money and wanting us to read letters to the dogs. The dogs were not interested in the letters.
Friday, another letter. Why haven’t we responded. She wants a video call with the dogs. If we don’t respond soon she is going to take action.
So here’s where the police being called comes in…she’s going to call the police, from jail, for a wellness check on the dogs!
Unbelievable!
Why was Leningrad not captured by Germany and Finland?
Originally Answered: How was Leningrad not captured by Germany and Finland?
About Finland: The Finns wanted to exact revenge on Soviet Russia for invading Finland in the winter war of 1940, that’s why the Finns helped Hitler in his invasion of Soviet Union: Revenge and Recover territories lost to the Soviet.
But by winter 1941 and early 1942, Hitler had failed to capture Moscow, so it was crystal clear that Hitler couldn’t pull off a quick victory over Soviet Union with one blitzkrieg blow and the Wehrmacht would have to go through a war of attrition with the Soviets. And although the Soviets had suffered catastrophic losses and would continue to suffer even more (they would probably even lose Leningrad), in a war of attrition against Nazi Germany, the Soviets would achieve the ultimate victory.
The Finns were well aware of the situation. They wanted revenge, but they also knew the country would be extremely vulnerable to future Soviet aggression. So they never completely cut off Leningrad from the rest of Soviet Russia. Some bare minimum supplies could still get to Leningrad through Lake Ladoga in the northeast of the city. The Finns agreed with Hitler to move close to Leningrad, but just enough to recover Finnish territories yielded to the Soviet in the Winter War. The Finns never took part in a direct attack on Leningrad itself, they never moved beyond the Mannerheim line.
Soviet trucks moving through the ice roads of Lake Ladoga to supply Leningrad.
Now the Wehrmacht.
German Army Group North – one of the 3 Army Groups crossed the border of USSR in June 1941 – was responsible for the capture of Leningrad. But Army Group North was simply not equal to the task, Field Marshal von Leeb did not have the necessary manpower and armored forces to carry out a large scale offensive operation into Leningrad.
For example:
In October 1941, General Hoepner’s 4th Panzer Group was redeployed from the Leningrad front to join the attack on Moscow. Thus, Army Group North was deprived of its only Panzer Group and most of its tanks.
The heavy siege guns (the 800mm Dora, the 600mm Thor and Odin … ) were brought to Crimea to attack the naval base at Sevastopol during a 9-month siege of 1941-1942. These massive guns would never be moved to Leningrad to support Army Group North’s operation.
In 1941, Army Group North suffered heavy casualties but received only 60,000 troops as replacement. Meanwhile, 131,000 replacement troops were sent to Army Group Center and 119,000 sent to Army Group South.
In terms of allocating fresh division from the German Supreme High Command Reserve, the situation was even less favorable: of the 21 fresh divisions released from the reserve, Army Group North got just 3.
Clearly, Leningrad was only of secondary importance to Hitler. The most decisive battles were being fought elsewhere, some around Moscow, Rzhev, some near Stalingrad, Sevastopol … and so the majority of German force was allocated to Army Group Centre and Army Group South. The soldiers of Army Group North therefore referred to the siege of Leningrad as “an eternal war of the poor men”.
The Soviet, on the other hand, tried desperately to defend Leningrad. The city wasn’t just a spiritual center of Soviet Russia. It was also an important sea port, the home base of the powerful Baltic Fleet. If German had taken Leningrad, essential military aid from the Western Allies transported by the Arctic convoy wouldn’t have reached the port of Murmansk. Without the Lend-Lease military aids, the Soviet Union would have encountered even more difficulties throughout the war than they already had.
Half-hearted Finns, understrength Germans, together with fierce Soviet resistance, that’s why Leningrad was never captured by Germany and Finland.
The Problem With Society is: Most men don’t own anything, so they don’t give a F*ck.
Ownership.
Great point.
Have you ever had a person who knew nothing about your job tell you how to do your job?
“Listen, I am not a teacher, but. . .”
“This is how it should be done!”
“The best way to teach that is. . .”
“The only way to make them learn is. . .”
I have been an ESL teacher since forever (over 40 years). I welcome suggestions, new methods, change.
But my students’ responses to what we are doing in class are what my lesson plans and methods are based on.
I have had HR managers, VPs, CEOs, Army Colonels, politicians, janitorial staff and parents of adult students tell me how to do my job.
I smile, say “Thanks” and get on with what is needed.
Have I ever been confronted for not doing ‘as ordered’?
Oh, yeah.
I usually invite the ‘commander’ to attend a class or two; S/he may observe or participate. I also make it clear to the participants that THEY are not being evaluated (very important here in Thailand).
We go through a normal lesson, with its wins, problems, misunderstandings and ‘aha!’ moments (beauty and blemishes?).
If the ‘commander’ is at least at the English level of my students, s/he is eased into participating.
What I love most is when we reach the end of class, and the ‘commander’ is surprised that time has passed so quickly and successfully.
No ‘commander’ has ever come back at me, except to ask if s/he could come again.
The first [map] shows the countries which banned Russian airplanes from their airspace. Russia in turn denied its airspace to operators from those countries. It will cost quite a bit for U.S. and EU airlines as their flight times and cost to and from Asia, which typically fly through Russian airspace, will now increase. Carriers from Asian countries will now easily out-compete U.S. and European airlines on these routes.
British Airways is temporarily scrapping flights to Beijing until at least next year.From October to at least November 2025 the carrier will not fly to the capital of China, although flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong will continue.
European carriers are not currently able to enter Russian airspace which makes flying to China more challenging as it takes a few hours longer than it used to.
Russia’s civil aviation authority introduced the restrictions in February 2022, in retaliation to a British ban on the country’s Aeroflot airline as part of sanctions for the war in Ukraine.
A spokesperson for British Airways said: “We will be pausing our route to Beijing from 26 October 2024, and we’re contacting any affected customers with rebooking options or to offer them a full refund. We continue to operate daily flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong.”
The route only resumed operations on the route in June 2023, following a three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.
At the time, British Airways described London-Beijing as “one of our most important routes”. The airline did not provide a reason for the suspension.
It is one of many Western airlines avoiding Russian airspace, which is adding to their flight times, fuel costs and complexity over how they deploy crew and aircraft.
The second map shows those countries which enacted sanctions against Russia. The secondary effects of sanctions are likely to hurt these countries as much as they hurt Russia. The absence of African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Central and South American countries is quite telling.
It does not look like ‘the world’ or the ‘international community’ is backing the ‘west’.
ukrsanct2 s
biggerThe U.S. also sanctioned all imports of oil products from Russia. President Biden has blamed Russia for the price increase that will inevitably follow. I don’t believe that mid-term voters will accept that reasoning. European countries can not follow that step as their economies depend of imports of oil and gas from Russia and will continue to do so for years to come.
Shipments of Russian liquified natural gas to France more than doubled the first half of this year, according to new analyses of trade data, at a time when Europe has tried to pull back from energy purchases that help finance the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.Europe has restricted oil imports from Russia, but natural gas is still allowed. And while companies in France are importing the most, one analysis found EU countries overall imported 7% more Russian LNG, natural gas that has been chilled and liquified for easier ocean transport, in the first half of this year compared to the same period a year ago.
Meanwhile in Germany, which currently has a rather crazy government, industrial production is further declining while bankruptcies have reached a record height:
Germany, with its energy-intensive industry and shortage of raw materials, has been particularly affected by the rapid rise in energy prices. Large corporations such as BASF are closing factories because management no longer believes it can efficiently produce essential chemicals. There is a trend of deindustrialization.The volume of orders from German machine-building and engineering companies decreased by 12 percent in the first half of 2024, according to the industry association VDMA. year to year in real terms. Orders from Germany itself fell especially sharply – by 18 percent. Orders from foreign companies fell by 9 percent. Metallurgical corporations are also suffering, as demand for their products is also falling.
All this could be fixed with some sanity and the discarding of useless sanctions.
Posted by b on August 10, 2024 at 10:36 UTC | Permalink
My hometown which is a small town in rural area of China. This is the main street in winter.
main qimg 44750fdccc847ad3fe299f3924e53ff3
Update:
I didn’t expect someone may even say above picture is propaganda. My hometown is even not as beautiful as those small town in the rich part of China. I took pictures during Chinese Spring Festival when I was back.
I miss my hometown, and I miss my relatives there.
During that Festival most of my cousins came back from other cities in China like Wuhan/ Shenzhen/ Suzhou/ Beijing..
I am a very ordinary Chinese person who was born in a small town, and witnessed the huge change in the past decades.
Because feeding a homeless person rewards them for not working, do you realize you are assisting in solidifying their condition?
There’s a homeless guy I often saw, almost every day on my walk to school. One day I decided to sit down next to him and say hello. I introduced myself, said I went to school nearby, and offered him the change I had in my pockets, apologizing for walking past and pretending he was invisible for the last few weeks.
He smiled and said not to worry—it was far kinder than kicking his crutches or his money tin over out of spite. He said his name was Christian.
He used to be a chef, once upon a time. Really nice, fancy kitchen, and then the building got bought out to be converted. He lost his job overnight, and it was during that time he was also starting to develop a limp.
Nobody wanted to hire a man who was about to be unable to walk, and he had nobody from his old job to help him get set up somewhere else, possibly as a supervisor or a restaurant manager.
He’s never been turned away by a doctor (thank you, NHS), so he can at least still get treatment for his condition, but he still lost his savings on rent and food while trying to find a new job. He’s been on the streets for ages now.
It’s a vicious cycle, he says. He can try to clean himself up for interviews, but it’s never clean enough, and if he does clean himself up for an interview that he knows will be a bust, people won’t drop money in his tin because he doesn’t look homeless enough.
I took him to coffee and the chat ended up turning to my own life. I told him about my film projects, and he wrote down a list of interesting places in the city he’d seen while on the streets.
I stopped by to see Christian again last week and gave him a fiver. He looked fairly content, bundled up with a new sleeping bag someone had given him, reading a book about vampires.
He’d had a job interview earlier that day and his hair was combed, his face shaven. His money tin was empty. He hadn’t gotten the job.
“But this book I found has been quite good,” he said, changing the topic. He pretty obviously didn’t like to dwell on his bad luck.
I leaned back against the wall and pulled my own coat closer around me. “Want to tell me about it?”
With a hidden recorder, he overheard me mocking him. His response changed everything.
What are the disadvantages of living in Thailand compared to other countries like Malaysia or Singapore?
Yeah, the problem of too long a stay in Thailand (especially Pattaya) is immeasurable. I mean it’s like a two-edged sword, either the pros versus the cons or disadvantages versus advantages.
main qimg 165343eb43f1b5098459932585f73ed4
What about the disadvantages?
After living in Thailand for too long, you are done with your life when you go back to your home country, you turn over a new leaf and become a lawless, a drunk, violent person, mischievous, a monster on the roads, a lazy bum, a cheat, and a good-for-nothing, basically is bad by any standards.
News of many Kuwaiti youth escape the heat and come to Pattaya, Thailand. Instead of finding a sanctuary, they have become “too hot to handle” and sparking street fights between Thais and Kuwaiti tourists in Pattaya.
News of drunk Westerners creating scenes leading to a fight and getting beaten up by the ‘Bouncers’ for refusing to pay the exorbitant bar prices of booze and beer which is expected in places like lawless Pattaya.
That daily news among hundreds of news of badly behaved guest visitors versus die-hard Thais —Never a dull day in Pattaya.
Let’s look at the advantage too?
Plenty! You will be influenced by the warmth of Thai hospitality and taking home with you the gracefulness of the Thai culture. You have turned over a new leaf having great patience, resilience, and fine etiquette of public display of oneself to your compatriots back home.
There is no disadvantages of living in Singapore, you‘d better be good.
Before any mischief or a fight starts, the ever-ready ‘Special Police Forces’ come and take you away in less than 7 minutes.
You will either be sent home or thrown in jail, the morning after.
Is Beijing a safe city for foreigners to live in? Are there any areas or neighborhoods that are considered unsafe and why?
Beijing is an extremely safe city. While all of China is quite safe, Beijing is clearly more tightly managed.
Sometimes it even feels excessive, for example, the entire city of Beijing does not allow drones to be flown…
The density of police and surveillance cameras is probably also the highest in the country.
Americans know that trees in Vietnam can speak.
But I have personally experienced trees speaking in Beijing.
One time, I was running in a forest in a wild park, about 20 kilometers outside the city, when a tree next to me suddenly said, “You have entered a surveillance area.”
Only then did I notice a solar-powered surveillance camera and loudspeaker on the tree… Shocking!
A girl, alone, at 3 am, is safe anywhere in Beijing,it is TRUE.
I haven’t heard of any theft in many years.
There are even a very small number of shops that are completely unattended. You go in, buy what you want, and pay by scanning a QR code with your phone. These shops are very rare, but they do exist.
The main dangers come from accidental injuries, especially for bolder tourists.
This is a 3D map of Beijing.
Although it is located on the North China Plain, there are many mountains around it.
This is a famous tourist spot near Beijing, called Yesanpo.
After the Ming Dynasty fell, some Han people who did not surrender went into the mountains here and continued to resist.
The entire Qing Dynasty tried to wipe them out, but due to the rugged terrain, they were never successful.
It wasn’t until 1929 that the thousands of households living here learned that the Qing Dynasty had been overthrown for 18 years，they resisted for 285 years here.
Even near the capital, the Qing Dynasty couldn’t completely wipe them out, which shows how complex the mountainous terrain is.
It sounds like a joke, but it’s not.
The following is an excerpt from the memoirs of the former Chief of Staff of the People’s Liberation Army:
“They never interacted with the outside world, were not under government control, and didn’t even know that it was now the Republic of China. They were still insisting on “overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty”…
……When the Kuomintang soldiers came, they captured and killed them. After the troops of Tang Enbo and Wei Lihuang retreated from Nankou, they passed through this area and had a battalion of guns seized from them, and over a hundred people were killed… Zhang Zihu, the section chief, and Wu Guangqi, from the local work team of the district, were both buried alive by the people near Yesanpo…”
It can be seen that mountainous terrain is very complex.
If you go to the Great Wall, there’s no problem. It was actually rebuilt after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. (It’s all a scam to fool foreigners,eh…. I’m not talking about you)
When I go to the Great Wall, I go to the wild Great Wall that hasn’t been restored. In theory, it’s a cultural relic and climbing is not allowed, but who can manage that far? It’s the Great Wall, stretching for thousands of miles. It’s impossible to manage it all.
Feel free to climb, it’s fine.
But you are responsible for any danger. You could fall and get injured or die, encounter a venomous snake, etc.
This is a mountain next to Beijing, East Ling Mountain,with an altitude of 2303 meters.
It can’t compare to Tibet, but it’s quite high for North China. It’s called the “Mount Everest of Beijing.”
But even this small mountain, with artificial slopes, people climb it during the day, camp at night, and descend the next day. It seems like there’s no problem, but almost every year someone freezes to death.
One year, seven people froze to death, including on the wild Great Wall.
So, I personally choose NOT to go there in winter.
I highly recommend climbing this mountain, but be sure to camp overnight at the summit. If you just climb up and down in a day, it’s not difficult at all because of the artificial trails.
But if you camp overnight at the summit, you can see a beautiful starry sky!
Light pollution is very serious in China now, and even in rural areas it’s hard to see the brilliant starry sky I used to see as a child. As for residents of Beijing… forget about it.
But if you climb this mountain, you can see a beautiful starry sky, it’s so beautiful!
highly recommend！
This is Miaofeng Mountain. It’s right in Beijing city, and any Beijing cycling enthusiast is familiar with it because it has a 21-kilometer uphill climb..
I’m not talking about cyclists falling and dying on the uphill or downhill, this is unavoidable.
But an experienced hiker actually went missing here?
It’s unbelievable, but he really disappeared.
The search and rescue team found a skeleton during the search… Obviously, it wasn’t him. The next day, they found another skeleton… Still not him…
It wasn’t until eight years later that a hiker found a skeleton in a cave, but DNA analysis showed it wasn’t him either…
I find it terrifying. A mountain with an altitude of 1300 meters, only 20 square kilometers in area, and people can go missing. And it’s clear that more than one hiker has died here…
I’m sticking to cycling and never leaving the road!
There are quite a few wild environments around Beijing.
Logically, they shouldn’t be so dangerous, but the fact is that people die there every year.
I think it’s because they’re so close to the city that people feel very safe, which leads to disaster.
Who was the craziest leader in history?
It should be Gao Yang (526-559), the Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi.
Northern Qi was a short-lived dynasty that lasted only 28 years.
After Gao Yang established the Northern Qi Empire, he was a great monarch for the first few years. He worked diligently and governed the country very well.
But a few years later, his temperament changed drastically.
He became extremely cruel and absurd, and spent his days drinking. He once married a prostitute named Xue as his concubine (which is very rare in Chinese history).
One time, he got drunk and remembered that this concubine had been with too many men. He was very angry and chopped off her head… At a banquet, Gao Yang suddenly pulled out the beautiful woman’s head from his bosom and began to carve the meat with a dinner knife. Everyone present was stunned. Later, Gao Yang ordered the musicians to make a pipa (a Chinese musical instrument) out of Xue’s leg bones, and he played and sang: 《It’s hard to get a beautiful woman again》(A very famous Tang poem)
At Xue’s funeral, Gao Yang burst into tears again and was extremely sad.
The entire Gao family was like this. According to historical records, they were extremely capable, but they would go mad. For example, his brother once r*ped Gao yang’s wife, but his brother was very powerful at the time, so Gao yang could only endure it.
When he ascended the throne, Gao yang couldn’t retaliate against his brother because his brother was already dead, so Gao Yang r*ped his sister-in-law…
There are countless such absurd things.
For example, he drank every day, and when he got drunk, he would kill people randomly, including his ministers.
He also walked naked on the streets of the capital in winter, showing off his certain big organ… This is something that no emperor in history has ever done.
In short, many people today believe that the Gao family had a genetic mental illness, and the whole family was like this, very intelligent and very scary.
（Gao yang）
From 1988 to 2002, there was a serial murder case in Gansu, China (which belonged to Northern Qi in ancient times). A total of 11 women were killed, and the murderer was never found.
In August 2016, a DNA test was conducted for another small case, and it was found that the DNA of the serial killer was related to this person. Finally, the serial killer Gao Chengyong was caught.
（Gao chengyong）
Some people say that according to the genealogy, he is a descendant of the Gao family of Northern Qi.
I suspect it’s possible.
His two sons both passed the entrance exams to China’s top universities, which is extremely difficult in China. You need to have a very high IQ at least.
And his behavior… is very much like the cruel but intelligent Gao family in the history books.
Linda’s Prime Rib
This is SO tasty. The leftovers make wonderful roast beef sandwiches also.
prime rib2
Ingredients
Garlic powder
Seasoning salt
Mrs. Dash Seasoning
Lemon pepper
Fresh rosemary (optional)
Prime rib roast
Instructions
Heat oven to 500 degrees F.
Rub seasonings into the prime rib. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary, if desired. For medium rare, cook 5 minutes per pound. For medium, cook 7 minutes per pound.
Turn oven off and do not open oven door for whatever time remains of 2 hours (total cooking time).
Have you ever met someone who seemed normal but you just knew deep down that something was not right?
I thought my brother’s wife was really “suspicious” at first, and then I later upped my opinion to her being an actual sociopath. At first, she wanted my brother to up his life insurance when they were just dating and eventually tried to get power of attorney. Once my brother moved in with her she showed herself to be a liar, and prone to manipulation and attention-seeking behavior. She disliked my mother and me before she even met me, and always feigned illness or “bad days” when my brother and I (three hours apart) made weekend plans or when he was down for Christmas or on course, as he was in the military.
She could not hold a job because of her mouth and leeched off my brother’s earnings while complaining they could not afford the honeymoon they wanted, or top-of-the-line bikes when my brother found two perfectly fine ones for a deal. After being married for a year, my brother discovered she was having an affair basically since before the wedding and said she was leaving and would take the house and he was gonna support her since she is now a student, having just started a new course online.
After being chipped away at for so long, my brother, one of the most life-loving and outgoing guys, shot himself. She only texted me and my mother when it was too late saying he was threatening it knowing that I was in another province and my mom was 4 hours away, she called no one else to go over. She played the grieving widow at the funeral, crying when she was seemingly supposed to but spent the rest of the time laughing with her friends and family members like some family reunion. To cover her tracks she claimed no affair (despite extracted proof from the link in my bio), that my brother was suffering from PTSD (wives get 500,000 if it’s deemed true) and, that he was an alcoholic and she had been seeking help for him for a long time – no proof of this.
His will is mysteriously missing and she has since blocked my family on Facebook while ignoring what little items we asked for from the house. I hear she is selling everything now to pay for what she won’t be able to afford with her part-time Tim Hortons job she may or may not have. A psychiatrist my mother visited later said she sounded like a sociopath. I spent years witnessing my brother give everything to this monster until there was nothing left and she is continuing to drag his name through the dirt to look like a peach and profit further.
Killer Daughter Thinks She Got Away Until Boyfriend Turns Her In
The London mayor said he faced racism as he grew up, but he had no idea racism was still so alive in the UK in 2024 due to the riots. He said his own daughters are afraid to go outside now. Whats your opinion about this?
The London mayor said he faced racism as he grew up, but he had no idea racism was still so alive in the UK in 2024 due to the riots. He said his own daughters are afraid to go outside now. Whats your opinion about this?
It’s easy, he fell into the trap that I literally fell into as did many of my cousins.
Note I was BORN in the UK.
When I was young I mean in school it was OK, I do remember three incidents to this day as does my dad. In school the teacher said what are you a p*ki or a n*gger? A school teacher said this to me. Also remember I spent a few years in China with my grandparents. I am fluent in English (lots of uk people attempt to gaslight me and say you’re not using any english you can’t be understood at all). Another teacher asked my dad if I was handicapped. Later on when I got a nose bleed which wouldn’t stop, a doctor said my dad had beat me up as we were all like that apparently.
Anyway, growing up and going into high school it changed on day. There were constant slurs to go back to your own country and violence oh so much violence. My nose was broken so many times it’s crooked to this day and I knew the doctor who put it back by first name. I would get racist comments on the bus, so I cycled home… but this just got racists driving past me screaming racist comments out the windows and throwing stuff at me.
I was even hospitalised and beaten badly at one point. We moved away that year and always kept guns after that.
The violence subsided at 6th form college, but the slurs didn’t… as I wrote prior I did not go to university immediately and there was all sorts of casual racism as it was so normalised.
Then something changed.
There was less violence, there were less slurs. Had the UK changed? No, I had changed.
I got a UK driving license and a car. This meant that there was simply less opportunity for people to be racist to me.
I no longer had to wait for a bus – where racists would lurk.
I no longer had to travel by bus – where racists and nutters would use.
I literally drove up to places parked right outside and walked in.
Amazon and mail order started to become big too and I gained a small niche of what seemed to be friendly people. So yet again there was less opportunity for people to be racist to me. This all came to a head when in 2016. My car needed to be fixed. So I dropped it off at a garage and made the mistake of walking the mile into town. Normally I would park in the NCP car park… but that day I didn’t..
And somebody tried to kill me by smashing my head in with a brick – most british people are cheering at this point – and I’ve had many commentors say I deserved it! I’ve even had people say I should have let people attack me because I was bold enough to fight back. My car wasn’t fixed for a couple weeks and I was attacked again.
I decided to leave the UK and shortly after renounced my UK passport.
Back to the OP statement
The London mayor said he faced racism as he grew up, but he had no idea racism was still so alive in the UK in 2024 due to the riots. He said his own daughters are afraid to go outside now. Whats your opinion about this?
Something similar likely happened to Khan. He moved into some sort of bubble where others simply didn’t have the opportunity to be racist to him.
Take for instance some of the middle england writers on here. They live in leafy suburbia away from the rough town centres and see very little of the inner cities and think there’s nothing wrong at all! You’re just imagining things.
What was the best revenge you’ve ever gotten?
Originally Answered: What was the best revenge you've ever given?
I am a frequent flyer, but at this time in my career, I wasn’t getting frequent upgrades to business class. I prefer the aisle seats, and was settling in for a long flight across the country, when a very annoyed woman informed me that I was sitting in her aisle seat.
I was embarrassed after taking a look at my boarding pass and seeing that I actually had been assigned a middle seat. Middle seats are the worst seats on the plane. You play elbow jockey with not one but two people in your row, and you still have to ask permission from the person in the aisle to use the rest room. It’s a crummy way to take a long flight.
I apologized and took my proper seat.
As she sat down, she said something to me like “I bet you wish you were in the aisle seat.” I replied sheepishly that I probably did.
She went on to say that she was a frequent flyer and only sits in aisle seats. I mumbled something in semi-polite response, but it was clear she was gloating.
All of a sudden, in what seemed like perfect timing that only happens in a movie, a gate agent magically appeared in our row looking for me. She asked me if I would be interested in an upgrade to business class.
With a look of unbridled joy on my face, I responded “Why yes thank you, I would love an upgrade to business class.”
I gathered my gear, pulled my carry on luggage from the bin, and headed up to the front of the plane…but made sure to look back and wink at the woman in the aisle seat.
What is the saddest thing you’ve ever seen?
It was my 12 year old niece as she headed into school shortly after her mother died from breast cancer. I stayed to help out after my sister’s funeral for several days. My niece put off going back to school as long as possible, but finally her dad said it was time to go back. I offered to bring her to school. We arranged to bring her in shortly after school started. She didn’t want to arrive at the regular drop off time because she didn’t want to deal with kids staring or trying to talk to her. She just wanted to go into class as it started and make it through the day.
I pulled up to the school and went to get out of the car and walk her in the building. She stopped me and said, “You don’t need to come. I can do this by myself.” I said it wouldn’t be a problem, but she insisted that she needed to do it on her own. I saw her start to walk to the doors and stop a few feet away. It was just a small gesture, but I saw her shoulders slump down and her hand wipe her eyes as she paused for a few seconds. I was going to get out of the car and help her but my husband held my hand and stopped me. Then she straightened her shoulders, stood tall, and entered the school. I know it may seem minor, but to me it was one of the saddest things I’ve seen. Up to that point someone in the family has been with her since the funeral to help her through things, this was the first time she faced something alone. Her mom had been the one to drop her off at school in the morning and now that was gone from her life. That small incident has stayed with me and when I think about it, it still brings tears to my eyes.
2:11 PM EST — About one hour ago, U.S. President Joe Biden GRANTED permission for Ukraine to use long-range weapons to attack deep interior Russia.
Developing very fast, check back for updates below.
UPDATE 2:15 PM EST —
There are differing reports coming in regarding this issue. Some of the reports say “long-range missiles” while other reports say “long-range ATACMS”
WHAT ARE “ATACMS?”
The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a supersonic tactical ballistic missile designed and manufactured by the US defense company Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), and later Lockheed Martin through acquisitions.
It uses solid propellant and is 13 feet (4.0 m) long and 24 inches (610 mm) in diameter, and the longest-range variants can fly up to 190 miles (300 km).
The missiles can be fired from the tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and the wheeled M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
An ATACMS launch container (pod) has one rocket but a lid patterned with six circles like a standard MLRS rocket lid to prevent an enemy from discerning what type of missile is loaded.
EFFECT ON RUSSIA
The immediate effect upon Russian military forces engaged in the Ukraine conflict is severe. Russia has much of its Ukraine supply lines and spare forces WITHIN RANGE of the longest-range ATACMS.
The ma below, created by the Institute for the Study of War, shows how much of western Russia can now be attacked by Ukriane, using ATACMS:
UPDATE 2:35 PM EST —
The the New York Times is now reporting this story, saying “the Biden Administration has for the first time authorized the Ukrainian Military to use U.S-Supplied Long-Range Missiles, including ATACMS, against Russian Territory.”
So it is not simply ATACMS, it is also Long-range missiles.
It was just last week that the Russian FOreign Ministry took the unusual step of reminding the collective West that allowing Ukraine to use west-supplied, long-range missiles to attack deep interior Russia would make the collective west “parties to the conflict” because those long-range missiles require satellites to guide them to target. THe Foreign Ministry reminded everyone that Ukraine does not HAVE any satellites.
So in order for those missiles to hit targets in Russia, the missiles need active satellite guidance from US/EU/NATO satellites, and that active guidance makes the West “combatants” against Russia.
The Foreign Ministry then said “there mere granting of permission for the use of such missiles will result in an imminent and devastating response against the West.”
As of about 1:00 PM eastern US time today, Sunday, 17 November 2024, that permission has now been given.
Welcome to World War 3.
UPDATE 3:04 PM EST —
Multiple confirmations that Ukrainian forces are preparing for their initial long-range operations against Russia.
(PUBLIC UPDATES CONTINUE BENEATH THE GREEN SHADED AREA BELOW)
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UPDATE 4:35 PM EST —
France and Great Britain have now ALSO allowed Ukraine to fire UK and France-supplied SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russia.
By these permissions, first from the US, then from UK and France, the collective West has taken the decision to become active parties to the conflict and as such, Russia can now respond militarily to those countries.
We should expect to get bombed here inside the US, from Russia. For months, Russian submarines have been off the Atlantic coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific Coast. They are also up around Alaska. Submarine-launched missiles would have very brief flight time before impacting US targets.
Moreover, we in the US do NOT have “Over-the-Horizon” radar protecting us from missiles launched from the south. Such missiles could cross over our coastline and impact deep in Middle America and we wouldn’t know a thing about it until they impacted and detonated.
This decision is the direct responsibility of President Joseph Biden. He is starting world war 3 because his Party lost the election. If they cannot keep power, they clearly intend to burn the world down.
As our cities get bombed by Russian missiles, as our friends and family members get killed, as our way of life gets irrevocably smashed, REMEMBER who caused this when you see the politicians slithering out of their Bunkers, trying to blame everyone but themselves for what has taken place.
THEY are responsible. THEY are guilty.
UPDATE 5:05 PM EST —
As of 2:59 PM eastern US time today, British Prime Minister Kier Starmer is on a PRIVATE JET heading to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
What does THAT tell you? It indicates to me that he KNOWS what’s coming, he’s getting his ass far away from the wreckage he thinks is coming. ALL CAUSED BY HIM AND HIS POLITICAL PALS IN THE US AND NATO.
He’s apparently isn’t the only one who knows. At 1:04 AM this morning, I published a story highlighting the strange number of aircraft departing the United States in the wee hours of this morning.
I pointed out there were several HUNDRED aircraft flying out into the Atlantic at 1:04 AM. (Story Here), and that it was very odd to see such a massive number of planes leaving the US on a Saturday night-into Sunday morning.
Given today’s developments, it appears to me the rich muckity-mucks all seem to have gotten “the word” to high-tail it out of the country last night.
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SON KNOWS . . . .
The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.
Gotta lock in those $Trillions.
Life be damned!!! Imbeciles! https://t.co/ZzfwnhBxRh
North Korean leader ORDERS military to ‘raise readiness for possible war.’
UPDATE 5:31 PM EST —
RUSSIAN LAWMAKERS WARN OF WWIII
Washington’s approval for Ukraine to strike Russia with U.S. long-range missiles triggered warnings from Russian lawmakers.
A senior member of the Federation Council, Andrei Klishas: “The West has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning.”
First deputy head of the Russian upper house’s international affairs committee, Vladimir Dzhabarov:“This is a very big step towards the start of World War Three.”
Chairman of the State Duma lower house’s foreign affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky: “Strikes with U.S. missiles deep into Russian regions will inevitably entail a serious escalation, which threatens to lead to much more serious consequences.”
UPDATE 6:14 PM EST —
The video representation below shows what is now at-stake for Russia as a result of the US, UK, and France decisions made tonight. The areas in color show the effective range of the weaponry now made available to Ukraine by the West:
As Russia starts being hit by these Western weapons, and Russians start being killed, it is already fully known that Russia will hold the West responsible AND STRIKE BACK.
Tonight the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a special statement on these developments reiterating “If Western weapons strike deep inside Russian territory, our response to the West will be devastating.”
UPDATE 9:33 PM EST —
My son and I high-tailed-it from Pennsylvania to New Jersey to pick up my wife and get her out of here. Too close to NYC.
While we were on the road, I got a call from a source who told me Russian President Vladimir Putin has been in the air from Moscow for about an hour, on his way to the URAL MOUNTAINS where Russia has it’s nuclear bunker. Bear in mind Russia is eight hours ahead of the US east coast, so when I got told this around 7:30 eastern US time, that made it 3:30 in the morning over in Moscow, Russia.
The President of Russia does not board a plane from Moscow to the Ural Mountains at about 3:30 in the morning for drill.
In addition, all of the Russian military’s top brass — AND THEIR WIVES — are boarding planes for the Urals as I type this. They don’t take wives if it’s a drill.
Earlier I reported that UK Prime Minister Starmer was on a PRIVATE JET flying to Brazil Strange that he didn’t use the typical UK military plane. I found out, Joe Biden is down in Brazil as well.
I am now leaving my North Bergen home with my wife and son to head back up to Pennsylvania. It will be a three hour drive. PennDOT has Route 80 all screwed up for construction. They close five miles of road down to one lane, so they can put three trucks to do road work at the end of the five miles. Traffic is a nightmare.
I will update this again when I get to PA.
Hal
UPDATE 12:42 AM EST – MONDAY
My wife, our son, and I, have arrived safely at our home in Pennsylvania. Stopped to fuel-up the two vehicles before coming to the house, so everything is topped-off.
Will make a quick review of all the Intel Comms and info. Updates (if any) to appear below within 30 minutes.
UPDATE 12:55 AM EST – MONDAY —
Zelensky has notified the world – that they are prepping the coordinated strike with those loing-range weapons inside Russia.
Putin in September this year on the update to their nuclear doctrine – will assume NATO is behind the coordinated attack ( target intel, targeting, equipment supply, equipment manning ) and may engage tactical nukes and will consider such an attack as NATO getting directly involved in war with Russia, we have various response options he said.
On Sunday, Russia launched 120 drones/missile in a large attack on Ukraine infrastructure and military targets. It is now widely being stated this attack was just a first immediate response to Biden’s move on long range missiles.
It is now also CONFIRMED Zelensky told Trump: Either promise us NATO or we will go with the nuke option within months.
RF response – we will not allow Ukraine to build nukes, period.
The TRUTH about the SOUL TRAP… (The Astral Plane was Corrupted?)
Back in my college days, I was bit of a strange guy. I mean, I was studying hard core; hard STEM classes at 21 credits a semester, and then doing the party-college scene. So I would be doing mathematical tensors and derivatives followed by fluid mechanics and the mechanics of deformible bodies. Then after that, I’d pop a tab of LSD (acid) and spend the next 14 or so hours tripping “blue balls”.
Lordy! I’d never do that today.
But I was young and stupid.
Anyways, I used to hang around with different “groups” of guys and gals on campus. And most of the time was split between my buds (Jay and Peter) and Howie and his crew. Jay and Peter were engineering students like myself. We drank beer, sometimes whiskey. And we smoked cigars. While Howie and his crew were marijuana and LSD.
So as it was often the case, since the duration of the LSD was so long, I would end up tripping while I was with my “straight” friends having beer.
And some curious events came out of that.
For instance, one day we were drinking beer and wanted to go out and get a pizza, but I was taking a long time getting to the door. And Jay yells out “Come on! What’s taking you so long?” And I responded, as I looked down at my feet and the churning LSD fueled imagery, “It’s impossible to walk though this muck. There’s no grip.”
Another time, I just sat at the window looking out at the constantly snowy Syracuse grey sky, and Jay says to me “Man, you look like a cat that wants to go out of the house”.
Ah. When we left then, and the -20F temperatures hit my face, my mind went “NOPE!”.
Anyways, I think that life is like a series of rooms. All arranged in a row like a snake. And while in that particular box, was a unique snapshot of time and life that I experienced, and then moved on from.
Right now, I know that I am in a different box. And I am using my affirmations to improve it and set forth the conditions for the next box in the row. Take care everyone…
Today.
What is the saddest thing a casino dealer has seen at their table?
I have lived in Las Vegas for a couple decades. Here are the 2 worse things I have ever seen. I dont know which is worse. You tell me.
At the Bellagio on a busy weekend evening a whale comes in and he was such a whale that on a busy Saturday night he pointed to a craps table in the middle of the main casino area floor and they shut the game down and roped the table off only for him. He buys in for a million and a crowd has formed at the spectacle. The man proceeds to lose nearly every bet and burns through the million in about 10 minutes. He is noticeably annoyed and yelling and degrading the dealers. They bring him another million in chips and in about 5 minutes he losses about half of it. He takes a handful of chips and throws in almost point blank into the stick mans face. Spits on the dealer to his left, spits in the floor guys face almost point blank and scoop launches the rest of his chips into the air. Nobody says a word. The dealers with a stoic self control I have rarely ever seen all bend down and begin picking up the chips. They get the chips placed back in front of the man and the game went on as if it never happened. All the money in the world cant buy decency or class.
The other worse thing I have seen is around Christmas at the MGM a pregnant woman playing at a slot machine drinking whisky and smoking a cigarette while breast feeding an infant and the ash from the cigarette hanging from her mouth was falling on the infants face.
America Is In Shambles
A few months old, but… damn!
Can’t the Chinese feel their lack of freedom?
When I traveled to France last summer, random people I had a chat with on the train asked me how it felt, living in dictatorial China.
Our train was late (typically French), and one of them commented that last time, the police got all the passengers to line up and kneel outside the train while the police did a thorough search of the cars and luggages, looking for a running terrorist. But that’s normal, one commented. “If you let just one escape, who knows what will happen”. They found it completely normal and justified.
I pointed out that I never experienced anything like that in China. Nor did I see soldiers with assault rifles in train stations and supermarkets, like I do in France (Vigipirate). Nor did I get searched by armed soldiers for no reason in the mall, like my then darker complexion Chinese boyfriend was, in a French mall (in front of me).
I’ve seen worse when I lived in Equatorial Guinea, to be honest. A dictatorship supported by France, where I taught in a military navy school that was financed by French military cooperation. Nobody asked me, then, how it felt living in a dictatorship. Or warned me about going there, even though I wish they had.
I do know how it feels, living under a dictatorship. But not thanks to China! And people who have never been there keep telling me what I’ve been obviously missing about China the last 11 years that I have lived here. That’s amazing.
My better question is, how can westerners still believe that they are free? They should care about that, and leave Chinese freedom to the Chinese.
Truth
Can you share your experience of growing up in a Chinese household and how it has influenced you as an adult?
Scarcity and Poverty
Although I was very happy, born in the 1970s, and my family wasn’t very poor—by the standards of that time in China, we were about average—I still felt poor.
But I was still very happy.
Firstly, my parents loved me very much.
Secondly, our situation at the time was actually not bad.
We never went hungry; at the very least, we had enough to eat. Despite frequent power outages, we still had electricity, even if it was just a 15-watt light bulb.
Power outages were common, and during these times, we could only use candles for light. When the power came back on, it felt incredibly bright.
(I remember when I was about eight years old and went to my grandmother’s house, which was much poorer than my parents’ home. One night, local kids took me to see a so-called wonder. We walked ten miles of mountain roads only to find that their ‘wonder’ was a single electric light installed by the local government. I said, “What kind of wonder is this? I have it sometimes at home.” They felt both envious and somewhat hurt.)
There was no running water, only river water. With the beginning of industrialization, the river water became severely polluted. My father’s workplace raised funds to drill a well. My daily task was to draw water from the well and fill our family’s water tank.
We were poor. When I was about six, I accidentally broke one of my mother’s plastic hairpins. Another time, when I was over ten, I mistakenly thought I had broken my father’s watch. And once, when I was 19, I thought I had lost my father’s bicycle.
Even after all these years, I still remember the terror I felt at those moments—feeling like my blood had frozen, thinking I was beyond redemption. The only way to atone was to… I couldn’t bring myself to tell my parents. The feeling of waiting for days was truly tormenting!
（I found these two “industrial products” on the Internet that almost cost me my life. They are these two pieces. I am 100% sure that they are the same model. I will not make a mistake. Now I can only search for photos of them on collectibles websites.）
Now that I am a father myself, I pay close attention to this. No matter what mistakes my children make, they always tell me.
Even in those times, the Chinese still placed great importance on education.
In our impoverished county, there were three libraries. My parents managed to get me an adult library card (children could borrow only two books at a time, while adults could borrow five). So, I could borrow 15 books each time I went.
I’ve borrowed many books over and over again (with a return deadline and overdue fines), and I never get tired of them. This includes The Physics of Fun, The Amazing Adventures of the Physical World, The World of Dinosaurs, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, One Hundred Thousand Whys, Charlotte’s Web, and many more. These are just a few that leave the deepest impression…
At that time, China was swept up in a craze for learning English. Everyone believed that mastering English was essential for acquiring scientific knowledge. This wasn’t entirely wrong, but since China had previously focused on learning Russian, there was a shortage of teachers and textbooks.
For some reason, there was a belief nationwide that a particular English textbook was exceptionally good. Believe me, this textbook was a hundred times more famous in China than in all other countries combined. It was called New Concept English, created by British people for Germans after World War II.
（Googled from Internet）
When it was introduced to China, it became highly sought after but was hard to obtain. A classmate managed to buy a set through relatives in Shanghai. I borrowed it from him, copied it every night, and returned it the next day until I had finished copying the entire set. Of course, I had to do some of his homework in return.
The word “copy” now evokes the idea of “ctrl+c” and “ctrl+v” for me, but back then it meant fountain pens, ink, paper, and thick calluses on fingers. Paper was quite an expense at that time. As a result, I developed another form of PTSD—I bought enough paper to last me a lifetime.
The picture shows only a small part of it.
This made my wife very unhappy; she scolded me, saying that these things only take up space and that I’d never use them all. I told her that looking at them made me happy.
There are also several hundred cheap pens (trust me, they are no worse than the high-end ones that cost tens of dollars!), but they were thrown away by my wife and cannot be photographed.
While I wasn’t paying attention, she threw away my samurai sword, bow and arrows, stun gun, several daggers, including a Kabar, nunchucks, and more… The reason she gave was that they could hurt the kids. I’m really angry and want to divorce her！@_@
I might be extremely insecure. When I was dating my wife, she was surprised to find that the space under my bed was filled with long-term storage food: canned goods, homemade dried food, honey and salt (which can last for hundreds of years), vitamins, vacuum-sealed dried fruits… When she asked why, I said I was worried about famine…
Now it’s all gone!
Chinese traditional superstition says that nothing should be stored under the bed; it should be empty. I’m not superstitious, but she is. Sigh! Moreover, my vacuum-sealing machine was sold to a scrap dealer by her!
The first time I went to her home to meet her parents, I actually went to tour their grain storage first.
When I saw that they had over 2 tons of food stored, my father-in-law and I exchanged a smile, and I felt an instant connection: we are the same kind of people.
At that time, my wife comforted me by saying, ‘Don’t worry, if there is ever a famine, I will share half of my rations with you.’ To me, that is much more sincere than ‘I love you.’
Interestingly, my wife was much poorer during her childhood than I was.
By the time she was in high school, her family didn’t even have a table, and she did all her homework on the windowsill from 7 to 17 years old.
But she doesn’t seem to have any psychological scars from that deprivation.
I, on the other hand, am deeply affected, and I don’t know why.
A few years ago, I found this set of books on an old book website in China, similar to America’s abebooks. I irrationally bought several copies of each book.
(One of several used copies I purchased, the others were given to relatives’ children, but they obviously didn’t value them.)
This is a form of PTSD, haha, like Jack London’s Love of Life, where the protagonist, despite being rescued, irrationally hoards bread.
Some scars never fade. Even though I have some money now, I can’t bring myself to cook fried food. So much oil used for frying, and then to throw it all away for health reasons? I just can’t accept it. Rationally, it’s not much money, but emotionally, I can’t accept it.
For example, even if I’m full, I can’t bear to throw rice into the trash can, but I can throw away the dishes, because in my childhood, discarding food wasn’t an option—it wasn’t “imprinted” on me.
In summary, we were very poor but very happy. My parents loved me so much, doing their utmost to give me their greatest love, care, and the best conditions and education they could provide.
The Buddhist scripture says, “Even if a person were to carry his father on his left shoulder and his mother on his right shoulder, with the weight of their burden grinding his flesh and bones until he could see the marrow, and walk around Mount Sumeru for hundreds or thousands of eons, even if his blood flowed and covered his ankles, he would still not be able to repay the deep kindness of his parents.”
It is true.
Asking AI to write a country song about beer for breakfast
Gorgin walked the corridors once again to make sure everything was okay.“Why do I have to continue to check out the station when we have systems set-up to make sure everything is in order on the station?” he asked the commander of the station, Morgan.“Just do it,” said Morgan. “You never know what can get past our systems way out here in space. There is a lot of unknown things out here. I’m tired of explaining to you each time it’s your turn.”Now, Gorgin was walking through the corridors, and checking out room after room.“Why such huge station for just a few people?” thought Gorgin.Gorgin rounded the corner, and in front of him stood an alien that stood seven feet tall, green scaly skin, fish eyes, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and claws reaching out to him. All Gorgin could do is stare in shock then let out a piercing scream as he started backing up around the corner, then turning and running as fast as he could. Before he reached the end he could hear someone laughing hysterically behind him. He came to a stop and turned around seeing Dwight in the alien outfit pointing at him and laughing.“I will be taking this to the commander!” he cried out, as soon as he went to his room to change.“I can’t believe I have two adult men standing in front of me,” said Morgan. “The two of you clowns have been at each other since you came to this station. Should we go over everything the two of you have done to each other?”“This was all started by Dwight,” said Gorgin. “He was the one who set the dials so I woke-up out of slumber as an old man.”Morgan and Dwight chuckled over that one.“That was a quick fix, but it was fun while it lasted,” said Dwight.“It didn’t end there with the two of you,” said Morgan. “I believe the next mishap is when Dwight transported in the station and appeared in another section with three butt cheeks. Courtesy of Gorgin tampering with the controls.”“Sitting down was quite comfy,” admitted Dwight with a grin.“Even though, the two of you have brought much humor to everyone you need to act like adults,” said Morgan. “You think the two of you can do that?”
The two of them nodded their heads.
“Now get out of my sight and do your duties,” demanded Morgan.
Both of them left the room, staring at each other with dislike.
“I would greatly appreciate it if you could move to the other side of the station so I would see you less,” said Gorgin.
“I would say that it would be even better if you would move off the station,” said Dwight.
“Just stay away from me,” both said at the same time, and they went their separate locations.
It was a couple of days later that the two met again.
Gorgin went into what everyone called the “Pet Room” to create himself a pet to keep him company. As he entered the room he saw that Dwight was already in the room at the controls.
“What the heck are you doing in here?” he asked.
Dwight turned to him. “Looking for a pet. What do you think idiot?”
“Hurry up then,” said Gorgin.
Dwight went back to the controls and went back to pushing buttons. Time went by as Gorgin waited impatiently for him to finish.
“I think I got it,” said Dwight. “Oh wait. That won’t do.”
“That is enough,” huffed Gorgin, stomping over to Dwight. “Give me the controls.”
Next moment, both of them were fighting over the controls, pressing and clicking until there was a sudden flash that lit up the room. Both of them stopped and looked at each other with befuddled looks.
“What the heck was that?” asked Gorgin.
“Not a clue,” replied Dwight.
“We should probably check around the station to make sure everything is okay,” said Gorgin.
The two left the room, trying to call the commander, but getting no answer.
“Let’s go to command center first,” said Gorgin.
The two rushed to the command center.
“Dwight did it!” Gorgin cried out as soon as they entered the room.
“No I didn’t!” Dwight called back. “You butted in!”
But the two realized they were wasting there blame game for the commander was nowhere in sight. They looked all over, but no sight of the commander.
“He’s not in the freshening room,” said Dwight coming out after a flush.
“Strange for him to be gone,” said Gorgin.
Then the two of them heard a squeak.
“What the hell was that?” asked Dwight.
“Sounds like the commander has a pet,” replied Gorgin.
The two started looking around until the two came to the commander’s chair. Both saw at the same time a squirrel on the seat looking at both of them. It started chattering, then jumped off the chair.
“I didn’t know the commander had a pet?” asked Dwight.
Gorgin shrugged his shoulders and scratched his head. Then a light bulb popped on inside his head.
“What pet were you looking at getting?” he asked Dwight.
“I was contemplating on getting a tamed squirrel,” he replied.
It didn’t take too long for the two to figure out what happened.
“Did we turn the commander into a squirrel?” asked Dwight.
Gorgin just nodded then the two searched for the squirrel, which ran around the room.
“We need to get him,” Gorgin said.
The two chased after the squirrel, bumping into each other, and Gorgin grabbing the squirrel, but it bit him, and was loose once again.
“We need to get the room robot,” said Gorgin as he shook his hurt finger, going over to the panel.
He pressed some switches and next moment the robot came out.
“Retrieve the squirrel,” said Gorgin.
It didn’t take long for the robot to scoop of the squirrel and deposit it into a glass came.
“Now to see about the rest of the crew,” said Gorgin.
The two of them checked for lifeforms on the station, then checked the screens for each room they detected life. All the lifeforms were squirrels.
“What did you do?” asked Gorgin.
“You were the one pressing numerous buttons,” said Dwight.
“We need to fix this fast,” said Gorgin.
Gorgin released the robots in each room, and the squirrels were scooped up. The other robots were sent to the pet room.
“I hope we can reverse this,” said Gorgin as they headed to the pet room.
All the robots were in the room as the two of them tried to figure out a way to make their crew human again.
“I think I got it,” said Gorgin. “We need to get out of the room so nothing happens to us. The robots will be released once we leave.”
The two left the room, robots released, and there was a bright flash. The two went back into the room and saw everyone was human again. The only thing is that they were all naked. Commander Morgan stood up and looked at the two men with a stare of death.
“We are in trouble,” muttered Dwight.
The next day the two were put in cryosleep until the next crew came in a couple of years. Before both of them lay down for their sleep they looked at each other, and both of them grinned.
Fry bacon in a large, deep heavy pot over medium heat. When the bacon has rendered most of its fat, remove the pieces with a slotted spoon, drain on paper toweling and reserve.
Add the onions and garlic to the bacon fat and cook until the onions are translucent.
Add the pork and beef to the pot. Break up any lumps with a fork and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the meat is evenly browned.
Stir in the remaining ingredients except the beans and the bacon. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Taste and adjust seasonings.
Stir in the beans and the bacon, and simmer for 1/2 hour longer.
“You done woke up the dragons now!” | Colonial Marines vs The Hive | Aliens (1986)
This was FUN! The expressions!
Intel Drop and Disclosure, February 13, 2020
One reason the alternative media exists is to provide a distraction from real conspiracies
Trump is being tried before the US Senate, where many of the members are “fake people,” longtime Russian assets paid through accounts in the Cayman Islands. Many of them are “cuckoos,” or “walkins.”
Some senators are being threatened, not by militia types but by senior Federal officials from law enforcement related agencies. It isn’t about Trump, it’s about closing the door on where a real investigation of Trump would lead, not just to Moscow but back here, to four generations of fake people.
Sometimes they are called “Manchurian Candidates.” Many ask if John McCain was “turned” as a POW or if Trump was recruited by Cohn in the 70s or by Russia through his Ivana in 1987 as The Guardian implies.
These are public faces but, behind them, we have four generations of cuckoos or Manchurian Candidates, they have lived and died, done their work and remained unknown or unseen.
They now control the US and 99% of them are unknown except at the highest level of classification, the real “Q,” and are feared.
Their power, their numbers, unimaginable. Their work? We see it every day, it is why we can explain none of how we came, as a nation, to such an end.
They are placed “in the nest” to take control of certain trusts or banks, key industries or to inherit “at risk” fortunes. They are often the super rich mysterious who donate money by the millions but have no history.
When, during the 1990s, a certain tobacco company began funding antigovernment militias, we saw them. We see them today more than ever, but only if we look very carefully. Who pays the bills for the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers or their 3 dozen clones?
Why money from an nearly invisible reclusive supermarket heiress that has never been photographed?
Why so many wealthy who have never been photographed, have no college records, no marriages or divorces, no records at all?
How many “walk ins” became wealthy and powerful after 9/11 as fake military contractors?
Imagine, laundering a cuckoo though Annapolis, then through SEAL training and then into a running a secretive private army around the world to run narcotics and money laundering.
How many cuckoos have been laundered into Congress though the military? All GOP or both parties?
Do some checking, look for “too many coincidences,” over and over where cuckoos are “chosen” and “elevated.” Look at Hawley:
Trump thinks he did it all himself. He thinks he was accidentally adopted by Roy Cohn, the kingmaker for the Bolsheviks and that he was first.
He wasn’t. Richard Nixon was their boy, Ronald Reagan was their boy and George W. Bush was their boy as well. With Trump it was timing, the person to have in place when half a million Americans’ could be killed to steal 12 trillion dollars and destroy US credibility around the world.
Roy Cohn brought Rupert Murdoch into the US, making use of two of his prime assets, Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich. Fox News has been the voice of America’s downfall ever since.
Who stood against Roy Cohn? Jimmy Carter, Mike Dukakis, George Herbert Walker Bush but also Robert Kennedy turned on him as did George Wallace.
A pattern? Before Murdoch, Cohn ran Maxwell. Want to see what laundering looks like, from Wikipedia:
As an Assistant US Attorney in Saypol’s Manhattan office, Cohn helped to secure convictions in a number of well-publicized trials of accused Soviet operatives. One of the first began in December 1950 with the prosecution of William Remington, a former Commerce Department employee who had been accused of espionage by KGB defector Elizabeth Bentley.[8] Although an indictment for espionage could not be secured, Remington had denied his longtime membership in the Communist Party USA on two separate occasions and was convicted of perjury in two separate trials.[17]
Cohn, of course, was running it all and doing so at an unimaginable early age. He may well be the single most influential figure of the 20th century, certainly in the dark arena of American political corruption and control of the United States by the Kosher Nostra.
9/11 was the same as COVID, 20 years of war, building a heroin empire from Afghanistan and stealing a trillion in oil while looting the US. Oh, how about a world of prison camps, tapping every phone, a foreign run police state within the US, run by the DHS and runaway commands or bureaucracies at the DOJ, DOE and the Pentagon.
Where does this come from?
A never spoken of but major area of US security is studying and trying to contain the fake people who show up as mass shooters from time to time but also run Google Corporation, Microsoft, some bigger companies and lots of government agencies.
They control public utilities, credit agencies and anything that involves “cyber” or “crypto.”
They were the McCarthyites, they were the Tea Party, they were the Neoconservatives and they are the leaders of Christian evangelism and the corporate news, both left and right.
It is all theatre. It always has been.
Few Americans except for officials of the FBI and CIA at the highest levels and some special operations planners know what I will be writing here. I have confirmed this through official channels, real confirmations, circumspect in nature. Material will have been seen, some of it.
In 2012, Mitt Romney was supposed to be elected president. Romney, whose general demeanor compared to many, is ‘moderate,’ is said to be a ‘stalking horse.’
According to our sources (I took this recording to an FBI interview and frightened people enough for them to leave the room when I offered to play it) at the FBI, highest, Romney, partnered with former Mexican President Carlos Salinas, is part of a massive Russian influence operation.
The history behind it goes to the Mormon War against the US in the 1870s and to the 1882 Edmunds Act. From there, the Romney family began an meteoric rise as George became a powerful industrial figure for no reason whatsoever. From Wikipedia:
Romney was born to American parents living in the Mormon colonies in Mexico; events during the Mexican Revolution forced his family to flee back to the United States when he was a child. The family lived in several states and ended up in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they struggled during the Great Depression. Romney worked in a number of jobs, served as a Mormon missionary in the United Kingdom, and attended several colleges in the U.S. but did not graduate from any of them. In 1939, he moved to Detroit and joined the American Automobile Manufacturers Association, where he served as the chief spokesman for the automobile industry during World War II and headed a cooperative arrangement in which companies could share production improvements. He joined Nash-Kelvinator in 1948, and became the chief executive of its successor, American Motors Corporation, in 1954. There he turned around the struggling firm by focusing all efforts on the compact Rambler car. Romney mocked the products of the “Big Three” automakers as “gas-guzzling dinosaurs” and became one of the first high-profile, media-savvy business executives. Devoutly religious, he presided over the Detroit Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Romney was then appointed to oversee Michigan’s new constitution, for no reason whatsoever and was then placed into the Michigan governorship, seen as a stepping stone to the presidency. Mind you, we don’t hate the Romney family. George was an opponent of the Vietnam War and was pushed aside in 1968 by Roy Cohn and Richard Nixon as “not corrupt enough.” J. Edgar Hoover (Meyer Lansky’s puppet) played a major part.
Cohn also “worked with” a very young George W. Bush and was very very very close to a young Donald Trump, who he mentored into New York Organized Crime, though Trump’s family was well entrenched long before he was born.
Cohn, a “reputed mobster” and “red baiter” was, by our findings Russia’s chief influencer in the US during the entirety of the Cold War, “influencer” and spymaster.
Who better than the lawyer that killed the Rosenbergs.
Here are the alleged facts that we add to this mix:
Soviet Russia from the 1920s onward began seeding “walk ins” into positions of power in banking and finance, industry and politics. This operation, after 1959, was run from Cuba and accessed the US through the porous borders of Mexico and Canada.
Russia also operated though the Greek/Greek Cypriot community in the US and Canada which included access to powerful political leaders (Democrats) and control of the Senate Banking Committee) to launder cash until 2005 when it was no longer necessary to hide money when the Supreme Court under Citizens United legalized not just bribery but use of foreign laundered funds to run a massive intelligence operation against the US
Prime among these activities is control of certain agencies including but not limited to the US Department of Energy (nuclear arsenal/secrets), the FBI, the CIA, the DHS, the Interior Department and the US Department of Treasury. The DOJ has been under total or partial Russian control since Bobby Kennedy stepped down and we have our suspicions there due to his early contact with Roy Cohn.
Let’s take a look at this science fiction “replacement” operation. We know the FBI has a task force that does nothing else but track these people. We have had access to some records, one of a state governor who was a Cuban born Russian asset (still around).
Try tracing the Trump’s, from Germany to the US and back to Germany but real records, do they exist? Not hardly.
Who came back from Germany to the US? Cuckoos?
The history goes back centuries to the Silk Road when Khazars would take over caravan’s by removing the merchant and replacing, a story we have told often but one that needs to be remembered.
Today, in the US, we are 4th generation “cookoo in the nest.” Questions? If Samuel Bush is from Columbus, Ohio, where is the Bush family from? Don’t bother to look, they don’t exist.
Start looking at the less obvious tech billionaires. Many don’t exist.
Look at some public figures like Assange. Look at alternative media figures with no families, no personal history, or backgrounds with gaps that show travel to Israel or Russia.
Dozens of Russian “walk ins” are laundered through Annapolis, West Point and the Air Force Academy.
Others become leaders of Evangelical Christianity as, from the 1870s onward, even before, the South and West were targeted because of cattle, rail and mineral opportunities. Many of America’s biggest fortunes, even shipping or chemicals, come from “non people.”
When people like Jim Fetzer trip over these fakes, they are fed destructive fake information by people who are placed near them send to them over a cliff. More than just Fetzer are targeted.
It isn’t just alternative media. Who is Rush Limbaugh? What is Sean Hannity’s background? You mean they don’t have a background? How about Tucker? From Wikipedia:
What we know is this, our FBI informant describes an intelligence operation run out of Cuba, decades old, that run many prominent America assets. But who are they?
Certainly we have key members of congress. It is easy to track them because their payoffs run through banks in the Cayman Islands, Switzerland and Israel. You can tell by their patterns of travel though all have lock boxes with fake passports, just like Jason Borne.
What are their tasks?
Obviously, America is the “milk cow,” the only nation capable of supporting endless debt. The US isn’t their only toy. They have Israel, North Korea, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Poland, Albania, Libya, Sudan, Kuwait, Bahrain and how many others?
When do we actually see them? Think of the UK, the News of the World scandal and, behind it, the Freemason pedophile rings that have been at the heart of British society for well over a century.
When Michael Shrimpton talks about the DVD, who do you think he means?
Were the Nazi’s really Nazis? Their background was Christian Nationalism/Evangelism and their origins American though the billionaire financed eugenics movement. They existed in the US as the Klan or American Legion/Black Legion long before they were seen in Germany.
Nazism is American, not German.
The roots date to the 1850s, the Know Nothing Party, the first Trump incarnation, and later the Immigration Restriction League and others, targeting primarily Catholics but also Jews, building a base in the East and a stronger and longer lasting one in the Midwest, one that blossomed with the resurgence of the Klan in the 1920s and later with broad support of Nazi Germany under the America Firsters and Committee of One Million.
Today, this is the heart of the GOP, built almost entirely from “fake people.”
Russian Paratroopers Ambushed and Destroyed a Group of Canadian and French Mercenaries In Chasiv Yar
Electronic warfare updates.
What is China’s approach to military technology, and how do they differ from the US?
My Answer on Quora -MM
This is a MASSIVE subject. It is something not easily covered in an answer, a query, a book, or a series of books. I will do my best to answer this question, but first we need to lay down some fundamental “ground rules”.
Firstly, and fundamentally, I am assuming that you want an ACTUAL answer. Not a off-the-cuff opinion by a student, or a fan-boy of war-games, or a ‘Merica screamer. You want some real intelligence. So I will do my best dredging up a some answers based on my experience and background.
Secondly. broad-strokes are easy. But the nuances in the details can throw the most intelligent off the subject matter and bog one down in a slush pool of the trivial.
So let’s go through the most primitive basics…
[1] China is a nation of survivors. They have over 6000 years of warfare of every kinds and shape. They don’t like war. They don’t want war, but being peaceful differs from being a pacifist. Don’t make the mistake that seems to common in the neocon halls of America today. China is a warrior nation of survivors. They are the descendants of Genghis Khan after all.
[2] The United States is a Military Empire based upon plunder. It sounds bad, but it’s historically true. The military is well-funded, and state of the art. The military is truly a global resource, and power projection is one of the many United States strengths. The entire military-industrial complex feeds the military empire, and the big fear today is that without a war to sustain itself, the United States will whither and die.
Now with that being established, lets look at the systems that each nation relies upon. As from the point above, the primitive basics define the usage methodology.
[1] China, a nation of survivors, has created simple and robust systems. They are easy to use, simple to mass produce, easy to repair, and very, very lethal. This is from the simplest items in a foot-solders kit, to the most modern fighter aircraft.
[2] The United States, a military empire, needs the industrial base to function. There needs to be constant calls for more equipment, more ammo, as well as systems to train, and repair the systems in use. Thus American systems tend to be overly complicated, high cost, tends to break down, and requires expensive spare parts.
Now, all that is very interesting, but the real issue is in the people that conduct war. After all, they are the ones that will use the technology of war. So here, we will take a quick peek at the differences between American soldiers and Chinese soldiers.
[1] Chinese soldiers. Well, Xi Peng has implemented a Genghis Khan technique of training young children in the ways of discipline and warfare. Everyone is trained. It starts in first grade, and continues week after week, after week up until they graduate from college. All 1.4B+ people. So, today, as it stands now, China is a nation of reservists not conscripts. And they fight in unison. They are tiny terminator units that fight like hordes of ants attacking a bee hive.
[2] American Soldiers. The image of the ideal American warrior has been cultivated by Hollywood. It’s the “Army of one” which is so typified by the character Rambo. That being said, the actual military is stratified. Generally, the rank and file are characterized by the lowest common denominator. It’s peopled with those of little options outside of the military. Those that adjust to the military are promoted and become highly skilled specialists, irregardless of their social-economic background. Officer and professional ranks are peopled with highly capable individuals. Many of whom have multiple degrees, but unfortunately, the highest ranks are fundamentally political / politicized appointments. Together this stratified military system has worked well over the years and serves the military in it’s on-going roles.
Mission parameters differ substantially between that of the United States and China.
[1] China is a highly capable DEFENSIVE military with very little in the way of “power projection”. China is built as a fortress, and any nation, or group of nations trying to assault or invade it is absolutely doomed to fail. Additionally, China has mastered long-range intercontinental weapons and information systems. The military dos not need to be in close geographic proximity in order to completely devastate a targeted nation.
[2] The United States military is designed for invasion, and policing of it’s conquered lands. Power projection is it’s mission, and once a nation is subdued it is a historical norm that the land is looted of it’s resources and fed back to the the United States oligarchy.
Now, with all that clearly defined, we can see that both nations would use the technology that they have in their possession in greatly different manners. What would serve the needs of the United States would not serve the needs of China. So when making this comparison you absolutely need to take that into account.
[1] China would only use it’s military in two roles. [1A] defensive if attacked. And, [1B] long range offensive missiles to destroy the cities and resources of the primary attacking nation and it’s proxies.
[2] The United States would use it’s military in specialized roles. [2A] Military supervision of proxy military forces. [2B] Policing of conquered and captured lands. [2C] As a negotiation ploy / tactic to generate fear of nuclear attack. [2D] As an invasion force against a weaker foe.
And with the above being clear, the comparison of the technologies of both militaries are but a distraction. You use a hammer to hit a nail, and a screwdriver to screw wood together. But you wouldn’t use a screwdriver to pound a nail. Thus a comparison of military technologies are meaningless on a practical basis and at best, is an illusion.
Elon tells it straight
This Looks Like Unequivocal Evidence That The Taiwanese Government Has Been Fabricating Election Outcomes in 2020 and 2024.
Interesting dredge up. However translation and formatting issues made it a tiresome read. Only for those really interested in the Taiwan issue. Otherwise, skim and exit. -MM
About two years ago, this Taiwanese YouTube blogger uncovered very troubling evidence that the Taiwanese DPP regime has been most likely culpable in fabricating the entire 2020 presidential election outcome through the so-called Central Election Commission (CEC) staffed by DPP cronies. The CEC is a crackpot joint, with no resemblance to similar institutions in other real democracies, whose ranks are saturated by DPP party hitmen and minions, exploiting a subtlety in the Taiwanese political ecology to fake a facade of neutrality, as explained in the post below.
Chiu Yu
What can mainland Chinese, Singaporeans and Hong Kongers learn from the Taiwanese people’s achievement of democracy?
Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Or maybe “Democracy is a bad thing”? I was born and grew up in Taiwan, and have never lived in China, Hong Kong or Singapore. Taiwan has badly botched its experiment in democracy and set a terrible example to the Chinese speaking world.
If you follow Taiwanese news, you would know almost all TV news anchors critical of the government have been forced off the air. In the mean time TV stations aligned with the ruling party DPP all received multiple millions (in USD) directly out of government budgets. Just last week the government even audaciously shut down a highly popular TV channel, the CTI, that has consistently enjoyed number one rating on the island, simply because it is the most fiercely critical of the government.
Imagine Trump forcing Chris Cuomo off the air or shutting down CNN! You don’t hear this in the cherry-picking western media because the DPP government takes an anti-China stance that secured itself preferential treatment by the West and a blank cheque to harass, intimidate, and persecute the media, the judiciary, the opposition parties etc. with impunity, not to mention their favorite sport: Looting the government.
The Taiwanese populace are still those docile, resigning, apathetic lambs from the dynastic or colonial days holding their government authorities in awe. The fact that the ruling party is stealing from them in real time does not touch a nerve for some strange reason.
It is a completely failed experiment in “democracy” that only Western media love as they need Taiwan as their poster child against China. Here’s more detail: Chiu Yu’s answer to Is Taiwan geared up to take on China?
What makes Taiwan stand out today, those economical “achievements”, those world leading electronics and petrochemical industries with attendant superb infrastructure without which its “democracy” would have made it go down the path of India, can all be attributed to the foundations laid in the 1960–1980’s by technocrats in the dictatorial KMT administration.
It was these public servants under the one-party authoritarian regime that jump started and nurtured TSMC, the top leading IC foundry in the world, Formosa Plastics, another world leading conglomerate, and countless other industrial and business giants in Taiwan staffed by superbly educated workers thanks to its no-nonsense education system, ahead of its time.
Thanks to the reserves accrued under the dictatorial KMT regime, Taiwan can squander its resources through embezzlement and corruption, through mass dumbing-down, in the ensuing decades under “democracy” and still limp along today, although maybe not for long.
When I look at Taiwan today, I don’t see a so called “democracy”. I see a totalitarian kleptocracy devolving into a North Korea! In a broader perspective related to this question, I have posted another challenge question elsewhere on Quora Chiu Yu’s answer to Why do many Chinese believe that Western democracy is a plot to make China weak? to which nobody seems to be able to give a good answer so far.
Interested? Watch this space. I will elaborate further. Note added on 12/03/2020: Just a couple of days ago I learned about a chicanery played by the ruling DPP party in Taiwan.
It takes advantage of the little known difference between political parties in Taiwan, KMT, DPP, etc., which are almost all modeled on the Leninist/Communist doctrine of explicit and rigid party organization structures with a high threshold for membership admission, and those in the West (Democratic, Republican, Social Democrat, ….) with extremely loose party structure and member admission qualifications.
The consequence is that, there are very few “card carrying” party members in Taiwan (about 1% of total population), compared to pretty much self-declared party members in the US (more than 30%) who can join or leave a party as they please. What’s the consequence?
In the US it is easy to identify a person’s political leaning by just looking at his party affiliation, and it is easy for many laws to require that government policy advisory/consultation bodies (The national election commission,
The federal communication commission, etc.) be formed with an even mix from both parties and expect a pretty impartial panel to rule on things. Also, someone with a strong political inclination would tend to declare a party affiliation for transparency.
This is indeed what happened in the US. In Taiwan, 99% of the people don’t have a formal party affiliation, but this does not mean they don’t have strong and highly visible political leanings known to everyone. Many TV anchors who are obsessively pro or anti DPP don’t belong to any party in an official way, for example.
The DPP party exploited this fact to form many important government policy advisory/consultation bodies by staffing them 100% with people with no declared party affiliation but are known by everyone on the street to be strongly pro DPP. And YES, in Taiwan the formation of many of these commissions and committees is entirely up to the president, NO need for parliament confirmation.
So on a formal level, all these commissions and committees are represented by people with no partisan leanings. This creates a façade to the international community and to whoever questions the legitimacy of these entities. Hiding under this façade, the DPP has carried out numerous unethical or even illegal agendas successfully. Some examples of these entities (I might not get the exact English names right): *
The Central Election Commission. This one sets all the rules and performs all the logistics of Taiwanese elections. The DPP won an incredible landslide in 2020, despite a decisive crushing defeat in 2018 where it lost all the major local elections. What happened? A key factor is the staffing of this commission exclusively by DPP loyalists in 2019, which changed many rules and greatly increased the opacity of the election procedures, not least the computerized vote tallying system. Still to this day nobody really knows what happened. *
The National Communication Commission. This is the one that shut down the number one rated TV channel CTI mentioned above, because it was on constant attack of the DPP. It also made sure that basically all news anchors unfriendly to DPP are forced off the air. Feel free to verify this with anyone you know in Taiwan. *
Taiwan Truth Verification Center. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc. rely on the input of this “independent” organization to determine if someone is posting “fake news” on the web in order to take corrective action.
Many people who criticize the DPP government or officials have been suspended by FB, Twitter etc. based on feed from this Center. * The Commission for Justice in Social Transformation （轉型正義委員會）. This one was formed with the explicit aim of persecuting the opposition KMT party.
It reached peak notoriety when its head was caught on hidden microphone proudly comparing his committee to the 15th-century Chinese Gestapo （東廠）. * The Taiwanese Supreme Court.
Yes I am not joking. This one is entirely nominated by the president and that’s pretty much final. Currently it is nearly 100% made up of DPP fanatics, although not many have official party membership, as I explained. To the outside observer it cannot look more impartial.
Another critical difference between the Taiwanese and other country’s legal systems is the fact that all personnel decisions of judges (promotion/demotion, relocation, performance evaluation, etc.) are made within the Judiciary Yuan (司法院), controlled by administration bureaucrats, not practicing judges or independent panels. Likewise all personnel decisions of prosecutors are made by another body of administration bureaucrats (司法行政部).
These bureaucrats are completely beholden to whoever the ruling party is, who has the power to appoint them, thus the careers of Taiwanese judges and prosecutors are entirely in the hands of the Executive Branch! A real travesty! Feel free to confirm with anyone from Taiwan. *
The Taiwanese Supreme Court of Administration （最高行政法院）. This handles lawsuits between civilians and the Executive Branch. The current head of the Supreme Court of Administration is the brother-in-law of the president, who was appointed by the president.
Go figure.
By the way, a critical case of scandals and frauds involving the president, which you might have caught wind of, is moving up the chain of the Courts of Administration right now, which will end up in the hands of this brother-in-law at some point. (This paragraph was added on 09/05/2021).
* (Note Added 12/12/2021):
Numerous ad hoc committees established to disburse the 55 billion NTD ($1.96 billion USD, this is the newest figure) government budget on media promotion and cyber propaganda. These committees are a smoke screen mechanism to pass on the looted taxpayer money to media outlets and cyber hit squads run by DPP operatives and loyalists.
Only those advocating DPP agenda or bashing DPP opponents can get this monery, because these committees are overwhelmingly composed of DPP fanatics or fringe group constituents. Moe detail can be found in these links below.
An Update on Taiwanese “Muzzled Voice” Channels on YouTube Chiu Yu’s post in China – World Leader. Taiwanese Underground Web Hit Squad (aka 1450) on The DPP Government Payroll Chiu Yu’s post in China – World Leader.
There are numerous other ostensibly “independent” organizations and government bodies, critical to the political ecology in Taiwan, yet exclusively staffed by the Taiwanese president with these dubious DPP fanatics. This is the most treacherous ploy one can imagine, which looks so benign to unsuspecting westerners.
Of course I must say, again, even to knowing westerners, Taiwan is needed as their poster child in their anti-China campaign, so why not screw Taiwanese democracy?
Why not screw Taiwanese people? __________ Note added 10/12/2021 How about a highly convincing allegation of election fraud orchestrated by the ruling DPP party in the 2020 presidential election?
Chiu Yu’s post in China – World Leader. Chiu Yu’s post in China – World Leader. Chiu Yu’s answer to
How do you explain that the entire time sequence of vote counts in the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election can be reproduced by a simple mathematical formula to the last digit? Please focus on logic and facts, and avoid political rants. Chiu Yu’s post in China – World Leader.
Note added 09/17/2021
Today it was reported that the ruling party, DPP, of Taiwan, is moving to do the following: * Give the government the exclusive right to name the Chair of the Board of the Public TV station in Taiwan. * Increase the power of the National Communications Commission (NCC) to select members for the Board of the Public TV station.
Through chicanery as described above, the DPP already saturated the NCC with 100% party fanatics. This is in sharp contrast to any other democratic country. So the end effect is that the ruling party will have total, unchallenged control of the Public TV in Taiwan.
This is unique among all democratic countries. Note Added 09/01/2021 I found the link to a famous legal scandal that happened in Taiwan, and has not yet reached closure, which epitomizes the uncivilized and undemocratic political reality of Taiwan.
The judiciary and legislative arms of the government are manipulated in service of the executive branch, often used as means to settle political or even personal vendetta, at the expense of human rights with little or no consequence.
The chief perpetrator in this case, which caused outrage on an international level, Mr Hou Kwan-Ren, is today still a top official in the Taiwanese judicial system, having done the bidding of top dogs in the ruling party.
The link is in Chinese. But if you scroll halfway down, there are YouTube links to more than 20 videos featuring international NGO leaders or political figures expressing outrage about this case in English or other western languages.
This blogger showed the progression of vote counts of all three presidential candidates in the 2020 election, as reported by the TV station ETToday, that neatly matched into a very simple mathematical formula.
In other words, these reported vote counts were not results of ballots cast by random voters, but numbers generated by a computer program. If you have any familiarity with the DPP regime in Taiwan, you would know very well such chicanery is not beneath them.
I have posted on Quora back then to demonstrate mathematically that the probability of such a thing happening by chance was literally Zero.
Chiu Yu
How do you explain that the entire time sequence of vote counts in the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election can be reproduced by a simple mathematical formula to the last digit?
Please focus on logic and facts, and avoid political rants.
Thanks for the answers so far. I got some nice answers, but realized that more background info is needed, which could not fit into the 250-character limit set for the question. As a result the question might have been misinterpreted, misleading some responses.
My fault. So, for more detailed background, see the following Chiu Yu’s post in China – World Leader.
Chiu Yu’s post in China – World Leader. Unfortunately some political background was also included, but you need to watch the videos to fully appreciate the question. Do I have an ulterior motive?
Yes, I did with the original postings, as must be clear if you read them.
I can also give a brief summary of the mathematical significance of what transpired in the videos if that’s your only interest. Seeing a quantitative result may help drive home its significance.
This Youtuber collected the time sequences as reported on TV of the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election vote counts over 16 or 17 consecutive updates, from a few hundred votes initially to about one million votes or more at the end, of all 3 candidates and from each of several cities.
He realized that he could reproduce the entire 16 or 17-step time sequence of all 3 candidates in all cities using the same simple formula with only one free parameter, to the last digit, in other words, with zero error.
I even find it difficult to correctly understand or quantify this phenomena in terms of regular tools of statistics, as the latter usually works with a finite range of error distribution, not zero error! If I must, I can pretend I am fitting a model with only one free parameter to 16 or 17 experimental data points. So the degree of freedom (DOF) of the fitting is 16–1=15 or 17–1=16.
I would skip the usual procedure of normalization by standard deviation etc., because here the error spread is zero and if I normalize that, it is still zero! In any case, I can blindly apply the routine chi-square test appropriate to the DOF of the problem to see if this result makes sense.
Here is a diagram taken from Wikipedia Chi-squared distribution – Wikipedia It shows the so-called cumulative chi-square distribution and is a measure of how likely you will get a final fitting deviation between experimental data and model prediction.
Skipping more technicalities, basically for example, with a DOF=9 (k=9, red curve), if you get the (normalized) deviation to be between 0 and 6, the probability is about 30%.
From the trend of the curves, you can see the progressive flattening as k (DOF) gets larger. When DOF=15 or 16, it will be even much flatter.
This is important. What about a final fitting deviation of 0 for DOF=16? Let’s speak instead of the probability of fitting deviation anywhere between 0 and 0.1, as statisticians are more inclined to do. You can see it is very, very close to 0. Remember, our deviation from this YouTuber was not 0.1, but 0. 0.1 is already too generous!
Here is a table
Simple way to read it: If you go down to the row of 16, it says for DOF=16, the probability of your (normalized) fitting deviation to be between 0 and 5.142 is only 0.5%, highly unlikely! But 5.142 is way too generous.
We are talking zero here. I can use my software tool to get an exact evaluation. Here is an example.
For DOF=16, the probability of getting a deviation anywhere between 0 and say, 0.0001, is 2.315 X 10^-42. For all practical purposes, it is exactly 0!
You catch my drift? This hopefully gives you an idea of how unlikely it was for this YouTuber to get what he got by pure chance, sans chicanery.
Answer: Impossible!
Then, he showed that this impossibility is repeated for all 3 candidates using the same one-parameter formula, and repeated from city to city! Of course, if you want to be rigorous, all bets are off, as at least I don’t know how to analyze a fitting problem where the error is exactly zero!
If you do, please let me know. This is really a show of absurdity, hopefully backed by some quantitative measure, rather than a rigorous mathematical expose.
Yes I do have an ulterior motive, but I hope this above analysis at least is entertaining and helps justify my motive. If you are interested in my ulterior motive, it was all in the links included in the beginning.
This blogger has been persecuted by the DPP government since he uncovered this embarrassing fact, driving him to the brink of suicide at one point. He was required to report to two different court proceedings at opposite ends of the island at the same time, for example.
The only thing that narrowly spared the CEC was his inability to correlate the vote count progression as reported by ETToday directly with that reported by the CEC. So, in some sense, he was able to raise grave suspicion regarding how the TV station ETToday was able to “predict” the vote outcome, but he fell short of directly pinning the official CEC to this travesty.
He all but squarely nailed the CEC, but the ever so slippery DPP weaseled out on this last technicality. And in Taiwan, unless you can nail the DPP on hard, unequivocal legal evidence, accountability on moral or ethical basis means nothing.
New Evidence
The same blogger is quite tenacious and didn’t give up. It appears that he recently found new evidence in the 2024 presidential election that finally enabled him to close that technical loophole. Here is his most recent YouTube blog. His channel contains more blogs leading to this newest one.
My understanding so far is that this time, he found the same neatly formed progression of vote count reporting on the Public TV, with zero probability to happen by chance just like last time. But this time, he can exactly correlate this progression with that reported by the CEC!
He is consulting experts at this point over the strength of his case, and so far got very favorable feedback. His requests for the CEC’s clarification have met stonewalling so far. But it is still early.
If this is true, it will be HUGE.
And it will allow zero wiggle room for the CEC to get off the hook this time. All loopholes will be closed this time.
If this is true, the only recourse left for the DPP is to burn all records of the 2020 and 2024 elections, erase all electronic database (including those at the Public TV), administratively silence anyone echoing this blogger’s accusation of election fraud, and block all information/news channels from reporting.
Because otherwise there is no way to weasel out of this one, mathematically!
The DPP is Stupid!
By the way, about that formula: I am quite amazed that all that the DPP crooks could come up with was the most trivial and elementary mathematical function, literally just an algebraic progression. If it had been any more complex, it would have presented more hurdles to this blogger’s discovery. On top of being depraved and crooked, the DPP is also incredibly stupid!
And the arrogance (or laziness) of it! After the alarm raised by this blogger in 2020, the DPP/CEC didn’t even bother to make this mathematical function more complicated, but simply used the same one!
Pepperoni Pizza Chili
d758fed2f286065d94fab4678dd904d1
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can pizza sauce
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can Italian stewed tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1 (3 1/2 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 teaspoon pizza seasoning or Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
Shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
Instructions
In a large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the beans, pizza sauce, tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, pepperoni, green pepper, pizza seasoning and salt. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until chili reaches desired thickness.
Why is India considering relaxing investment restrictions on China recently?
India, after four years of imposing the strictest curbs on Chinese business, is now turning to China to rejuvenate its flagging manufacturing sector, highlighting a pragmatic shift driven by economic realities.
India is considering relaxing its investment restrictions on China due to a combination of stabilized border tensions, internal economic necessities, and a strategic reassessment of its industrial policies. This move comes in light of newly released data and insights in the Economic Survey for 2023-24 by the Indian Ministry of Finance, which advocates for renewed Chinese investment and improved Sino-Indian relations.
Since 2020, India implemented stringent measures under the guise of protecting domestic industries from Chinese competition, including severe restrictions on visas for Chinese nationals, banning numerous Chinese apps, delaying approvals for Chinese investments, and even reducing direct flights between the two nations. These measures were a direct response to a deadly border clash, aiming to protect national security. However, four years later, these policies are widely deemed counterproductive, failing to yield the intended outcomes and instead stymying India’s industrial ambitions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of transforming India into a global manufacturing hub has been significantly hindered by these restrictions. The share of manufacturing in India’s GDP fell from 16 percent in 2015 to around 13 percent in 2023, falling short of the government’s target of 25 percent by 2025. This target has already been postponed three times. Indian industries, particularly electronics, pharmaceuticals, and automotive sectors, rely heavily on Chinese components, intermediate goods, and technical expertise. The prolonged visa restrictions have kept vital Chinese technicians and professionals out of India, causing machinery to lie idle and leading to unfulfilled export orders.
The fastest-growing segment of trade between China and India is electronic products, a sector India is eager to develop. Despite purchasing machinery from China, India’s ability to utilize this machinery productively is limited without the expertise of Chinese technicians. This has led to production losses of an estimated $15 billion and around 100,000 job cuts over the past four years due to the escalation of tensions with China.
In response to the evident failings of the restrictive measures, there has been significant pushback from within India itself. Business leaders and scholars have voiced their concerns, asserting that India is at risk of missing out on global industrial chain adjustments. They argue that while the world progresses, India’s restrictive policies have created a bottleneck, stifling economic growth and industrial advancement.
Diplomatically, the easing of these restrictions is also viewed favorably. China has expressed a positive outlook on this potential shift, emphasizing the historical context of border issues and the importance of economic collaboration. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has reiterated that border disputes should not overshadow the potential of economic cooperation between the two countries.
The decision to reconsider these restrictions is further influenced by the broader goal of creating a more welcoming environment for foreign investments. India’s economic strategy features reducing barriers for inbound investments, mirroring strategies employed by nations like the United States and Australia. A review mechanism for foreign investments is on the table to balance national security concerns with economic benefits.
In essence, India’s potential relaxation of investment restrictions on China is driven by pragmatic economic considerations, a stabilized geopolitical climate, and a strategic pivot in industrial policy. This marks a significant turnaround from previous years and sets the stage for renewed economic cooperation and industrial growth, aligning with India’s long-term economic goals.
The metallic surface of the Cleveland Company logo glimmered faintly as the space station became slowly bathed in the dim glow of moonlight. Eileen sat in the control room chair looking straight ahead, not distracted by the sight of Umbriel passing the window; she’d seen it a thousand times. Her eyes were fixated by the 50-inch rectangle of light above her head. “He never takes me anywhere” she sighed. Prodding the remote control repeatedly at three second intervals, she continued browsing images of the inner Solar System – far off places, close to the Sun, but she knew it was hopeless. Ted hadn’t agreed to leave the space station since their honeymoon in 2159, and no matter how many light-years she spent dreaming of one last planet getaway, it came no closer to reality. Ted was just not interested; he had his mind of other things.At the opposite end of the space station, the sound of clinking and clunking would be absolutely maddening if there had been anyone else around to hear it. The only person there was Ted whose hearing had started to go a long time ago. Pieces of twisted metal and dusty electronic chips were strewn around the floor of the station’s West Wing. A screw with a worn down thread went scuttling across the metal table skimming its surface like a stone across a lake. Eventually dropping to the floor and finding its resting place through a tiny air vent under a cabinet. “Blast!” Ted exclaimed staring into his empty hands. He looked up at the calendar above the workstation and his chest started to tighten.It was November 4th 2212. The arrival of J-Boy, their beloved grandson, was imminent. The young explorer was about to make his annual call. Visitors were rare these days. So rare that they hadn’t had a visitor for 10 years, except J-Boy of course. His visits were guaranteed like Earth’s orbit around the Sun. He could arrive at any moment and yet the satellite was still not fixed. Ted just needed to re-attach a panel to cover the inner circuitry and the dish would be ready for installation. He reached into the screw box and grasped at the fresh air inside. He picked up his magnifying glass to see that the box was in fact empty. Ted slumped back into his chair, realising he would have to go to the East Wing to get a new one. That meant bumping into Eileen. He wasn’t ready to face her, especially as he hadn’t finished the job yet, but he couldn’t stay away any longer. Ted hoped she’d forgotten about the promise he made last month. It was unlikely though.Eileen peered through the small round window in the door of the East Wing. The faint sound of footsteps had interrupted her mid-afternoon daydream of exotic star trails and asteroid showers. She watched as a frail masculine figure emerged from the long dark corridor that connected the wings of the space station. As he got closer, the light from the East Wing window cast a spotlight, revealing the silhouette. There was no doubt who it was, it couldn’t have been anyone else. He was holding a shiny box.”A gift?” she wondered.“Oh, Ted …after all this time, finally he has something to offer, something to show he still cares after all these years.”Eileen excitedly pressed the big red button causing the door to slide out of view. With a childlike grin, Eileen opened her arms.”For me? Ted, you shouldn’t have.”Before Ted could speak Eileen reached forward, snatched the shiny box from his hands and ripped off the lid. Eileen’s cheeks were suddenly yanked down by invisible draw strings when she saw the box was empty.“You’re a mean bloody sod, you know that? Bringing me a shiny thing, getting me all excited then smashing my dreams to pieces with a box of empty promises.”Ted peeled back his lips to reveal his crooked gnashers.”Give over, would ya? Screws! I need bloody screws…for the satellite.”“Screws? I’ll give you screws! I’ll bloody screw you!” she said, waving her fist and reluctantly stepping aside to let him through the doorway.
“Chance would be a fine thing!” he chuckled.
“Wash your bloody gob out, you. J-Boy will be here tomorrow and I don’t wanna hear you opening your potty mouth in front of the lad.”
Ted carried on shuffling toward the storage hatch without saying a word.
“Anyhow, haven’t you got enough screws from all that bloomin’ junk you spend all your life scavenging from outside?”
“I keep droppin’ ’em. My hands aren’t what they once were.”
“Nowt’s what it once was. Remember when you took me to see the rings of Saturn? In the pod, just you, me and a nice bottle ginger wine, billions of stars and endless possibilities.
Now look at us. Cooped up in either ends of this station like a prison, but worse. No bloody excitement here! Just the same old orbit in the darkest, dullest end of the Solar System. We’ve been dwelling about this Uranus moon for all eternity. Saturn was a previous life…”.
Eileen continued ranting and reminiscing, but all Ted could hear was the sound of boxes crashing together as he rummaged around. He picked up a silver box and and grinned.
“I’ve told ya before, there’s a lot of good discarded satellite material on this orbit. These young uns dump it and bugger off t’ Jupiter on a jolly. Perfectly good stuff, it is.”
“You know why they dump it ‘ere, Ted? Cos there’s nowt ‘ere. Nowt but bloody junk and darkness, and that miserable moon locking us into the most awful orbit anywhere in the Universe. Round and round and round and round. I’ll tell ye Ted, if I have to…”
A sudden blast of white noise flooded the control room.
“Come in, Cleveland Company station X14, this is Cleveland Craft 0187, permission to engage”
Ted and Eileen looked at each other and froze.
“J-Boy?”
“You daft apeth, Ted! He’s already here! You’ve wasted all your time meddling with that bloody monstrosity… Oh dear! Oh dear, oh dear.”
“Put the kettle on. I’ll get the satellite.” Ted hurriedly made for the West Wing.
J-Boy felt a warm tingle in his stomach as his spacecraft neared the docking hatch of the space station. Of all the places passed Jupiter, his grandparents space station was the place he looked forward to visiting the most. A loud mechanical bang followed by a gentle hissing sound indicated that his craft and the station were locked together. When the gravity light turned green, he released the door.
“Here he is. Where’ve you been, stranger? Come ‘ere!”
J-Boy was smothered by Eileen’s warm embrace. It was here he always received the warmest welcome of anywhere in the Universe. Clevelands X14 always felt like home.
“I’m great”, J-Boy managed to say amidst the big welcome squeeze.
Over Eileen’s shoulder, he could see Ted holding a large metal dish which was covered in wires and electrician’s tape.
“I got a present for ya, lad. Here you are. What d’ya think?”
Ted handed the gift to J-Boy.
“Ooohh, thanks, Ted. Eh…wha…what is it?”
“It’s a satellite, of course. A retro type but it works a treat. You can pick up all sorts on this: Earth war documentaries, alien life programmes, sports from other galaxies…”
“Aw, sounds great. Thanks, Ted”. J-Boy said smiling warmly.
“Put that junk away, Ted”, Eileen intervened.
“What does he want that old thing for? Pay no attention to him.” Eileen said, gently nudging J-Boy down the central corridor towards the East Wing where a fresh pot of tea was brewing.
The control room was a spacious, octagon-shaped area. From the entrance, various doors and hatches could be seen around the back and sides of the room. Directly ahead was a window spreading across the entirety of the front wall, displaying the darkness of space. In front were two swivel chairs facing hundreds of dials, switches and buttons that controlled the station. Above the controls was a single 50-inch screen displaying images of a much younger looking Ted and Eileen by the window of a capsule pod, peering out at different coloured planets. Like everything in this space station, it looked like it was made at the start of the millennium. It was all fairly dated, but J-Boy liked the homely feel of it. He sat in one of the chairs with Ted and Eileen sitting directly across from him, awkwardly jammed into the opposite chair which was clearly designed for one. Between the chairs was a small table, on it a metallic teapot along with three steaming mugs.
J-Boy began recounting tales of distant galaxies and far off parts of the Universe that Eileen could only dream of visiting. Eileen had been to many places when she was younger, but nowhere as far and exotic. “ How do you communicate with people outside of the Solar System?; Isn’t is dangerous crossing the Kuiper belt?; What’s the food like on Earth?”
She could listen for hours, asking questions and imagining what could’ve been.
“I can show you some snaps if you like?” J-Boy said looking for something in his bag.
“Aye, go on then, I’ll hook ‘em up to the big screen.”
“It’s OK, Ted. I don’t use screens anymore. I’ve got holograms now.” J-Boy held up a small black cube no bigger than a matchbox.
“Holograms? Bloody marvellous! Nowt like this in our day. Us oldies can’t keep up anymore”.
The elderly couple looked like children again as they sat with their mouths and eyes wide open, staring at the hologram projection in awe. They gasped as J-Boy waved his hand in the air to call upon hundreds of spectacular images of planets they’d never heard of and galaxies they didn’t even know existed. Eileen was completely engrossed. The more pictures she saw, the more questions she asked.
Ted wasn’t quite the conversationalist that Eileen was. He would just nod and chuckle upon hearing the wondrous tales. Occasionally chipping in with “Bloody marvellous”. He enjoyed listening, but was always happier when he was busy doing something. Without saying a word, he got up from the chair and pottered over to the control room kitchen in the corner.
“What would ya fancy to eat J-Boy?”, Ted called over his shoulder.
“Oh, nothing thanks, Ted. I ate on the cruise control around gravitational pull.”
“How about some cherry tomatoes?”,
“No, I’m OK, thanks.”
“Grown with martian soil in our space garden”
“I’m good thanks, Ted.”
“Lovely and sweet they are”
“No, I don’t really like…”
“I’ll go get them now.”
“But…”
“Eileen! What’s the key code for the space garden? J-Boy wants some cherry tomatoes, he’s starving!
“Eh? No…I’m fi…”
Eileen frowned and looked up from the projection looking deeply concerned.
“Oh poor lad! What are we like, eh? Here I am gabbing away and you’re starving to death. I’ll get ’em J-Boy. Hold on to your rockets, kidda.”
“Don’t be daft. He wants me to get them.”
“Not with your grubby hands. You’ve had them all over that dirty dish and God knows where else.” Eileen gently elbowed Ted’s forearm away from the keypad and prodded the numbers on the glass, saying them aloud as she did. “3 1 7 5 2”.
Eileen entered the space garden and quickly picked up a bucket full of cherry tomatoes that had been freshly picked a few hours earlier. The bucket was overflowing. Eileen groaned and stumbled, but regained her footing and waved Ted out of her path.
“Give it ‘ere”, Ted demanded.
“Don’t be daft. I’ll take it”
“No you won’t”
J-Boy rushed into the garden behind Ted and Eileen.
“I’m alright. Really! I’m not hungry.”
Despite J-Boy’s pleas, Ted and Eileen continued to struggle. Both had one hand on the bucket handle, fiercely insisting they should be the one to offer the tomatoes to their indifferent guest.
Eileen grabbed the handle with her free hand. Now with a two-hand grip, she pulled the bucket towards her, causing both bodies to lurch further into the garden. With one emphatic tug, she pulled the bucket free from Ted’s withering hand. The force of her pull was so great, she let go. The bucket looped over her head for what seemed like an eternity before it landed in the sink behind.
Like a set of lottery balls, the tomatoes bounced around before being rapidly sucked down the sink hole. The sink was in fact a funnel attached to a waste pipe. The three of them stood silently with their mouths open as, through the window, they watched hundreds of cherry tomatoes implode and explode in the vacuum of space. The Cleveland Company logo turned red as tomato juice plastered to the side of the station.
Of course, Ted and Eileen blamed one another for the tomato incident. From where J-Boy was standing, they were both at fault, but it was Ted who agreed to go outside the station clean up the juice. Meanwhile, not to be seen making less effort than Ted, Eileen insisted on inspecting J-Boy’s craft to check it was safe and sufficiently re-fuelled for the onward journey. Guests always left Cleveland X14 with a full tank.
J-Boy watched on from the control room window as two spacesuits attached to the station by an umbilical cable floated out into the alien atmosphere. Eileen could be seen inserting a fuel rod into the J-Boy’s craft which was docked on the right of the window, and Ted could be seen on the left rigorously wiping.
Without warning, a cigar shaped object collided with the door of J-Boy’s craft, but left no mark.
“Bloody space junk! What nuisance!”, Eileen muttered into her radio which J-Boy could hear in the control room.
Suddenly a cluster of antennas, tubes, rocket motor shells followed, relentlessly pelting the space station. A solar panel spinning like coin cut through Eileen’s umbilical cable sending her suited body into a spin.
“Teeeeed!”
Ted could see Eileen was untethered and drifting. Without any hesitation, he leapt from the safety of the station into the infinite space. Their spacesuits collided. Ted’s umbilical cable pulled taut as it wrenched the spacesuits back. The relief of catching his wife was short lived when he realised they only had a few minutes before Eileen’s suit’s backup oxygen supply would run out.
The silent onslaught of satellite debris continued to shower down near the entrance; it was too dangerous to go back in just yet. Holding Eileen in one hand, Ted used his free hand to pull his umbilical cable causing them both to float in the direction of the capsule pod.
“Quick, get inside.”
In the pod, Eileen removed her helmet and immediately drew in one huge breath.
“Bloody space junk” she exhaled.
In the safety of the pod with oxygen and protection from the junk cloud outside, Eileen and Ted watched as J-Boy’s craft took a battering. The space station was a giant. It could withstand a severe assault from any decommissioned satellite cluster, but J-Boy’s craft was tiny and in danger of catastrophic damage.
“We have to do something” Ted said as he climbed into the driver’s seat. He hadn’t used the pod since he was courting Eileen in another lifetime.
“Where’s the wha’d’ya me call it?”
“The what?”
“The wha’d’ya me call it”
“The wha’d’ya me what? The ignition?”
“That’s it!”
“There! Bloody ‘ell, Ted – it’s not rocket science.”
“I think it bloody well is!”
Ted flipped a switch and the wall of controls sprung to life.
“Ere we go!”
The propulsion rockets launched the capsule pod up and away from the under fire space station. Ted hauled a lever to change the direction of the rocket boosters. A blast of flames spluttered from under the pod, propelling it in front of J-Boy’s craft and into the path of the debris.
“Come in Cleveland ex, one, four. This is Cleveland CapPod.
“Ted, Eileen, What happened? Are you alright?”
“J-Boy, d’you hear me, lad?”
“Yes, Ted.”
“Listen, we took a hit from some bloody debris. The door’s knackered and so is Eileen’s suit. We’re not going to be able to connect to the docking hatch.”
“I can come out and help!”
Eileen abruptly leaned into the radio
“No, you won’t, you stay right there. It’s too dangerous.”
“But…”
Ted held Eileen’s hand and a sudden calmness came over both of them.
“We’ve had our time. A great life! We’re gonna get out of this dark end of the Solar System as far as this little pod will take us. We’re going to find a place in the Sun. I made a promise”
J-Boy eyes filled with tears. He was devastated but somehow, he understood. He always knew this time would come.
“Ol’ Cleveland X14 is all yours, lad. Take her anywhere you want. She a bit dated but she’s a good one. A bit like, Eileen”
“Oi!”
Ted chuckled.
Eileen fought the tears, “I’ll miss you, J-Boy. We love you.”
The pod lifted up over the space station and accelerated out in the opposite direction of the Umbriel moon for the first time that century.
J-boy sobbed into his left forearm resting on the space station control panel. His eyes were red and sore. He lifted up his head and with his right hand, reached out to switch off the radio. His hand stopped and hovered over the button.
“It’s this way. I’m sure of it.”
“We should’ve left this orbit half an hour ago, where are we going? You daft apeth, Ted. You’ve got the map upside down!
J-Boy smiled and laughed through the tears. He knew everything was going to be just fine.
Oh, he didn’t stop
The J-20 Chinese fighter
J-20 radar is much more powerful than the F-22 with the latest EW warfare suite. The F-22 is 40 years old. Who knows how much they bother to update it.
The F-22 radar has a peak power of 20KW. J-20 peak power is 44KW. Now tell me, which has a more powerful radar?
J-20 engines have a thrust to weight ratio of 10:1. F-22 is around 9:1.
Also the range of the J-20 is 1,200 MILES not KM. That is the combat radius. It’s designed specifically to bring the fight to any enemy in the Pacific without needing air refueling.
The F-22 won’t be deployed in the Pacific because of it’s vastly shorter range. It would need 2 refuels before getting to combat.
The actual fighter for the Pacific theater is the F-35. And it’s max combat radius for air to air is around 900 miles. So it would require at least one air refuel before combat.
And the F-35 engine is designed for efficiency not power output. Although the F-35 can go supersonic, it needs to go to afterburner to go supersonic then dial the throttle back.
Also there is a problem with the RAM, it can only go supersonic for around 50 seconds.
The J-20 is a true supercruise fighter. It can go supersonic to the combat area without burning extra fuel. And it can stay supersonic for long periods.
Beef Chili with Chipotle Chiles and Cilantro
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Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 cups chopped onions
3 tablespoons ground cumin
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 1/2 cups (or more) water
1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Grated Cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Additional chopped onion
Instructions
Sauté beef and 2 cups chopped onions in large Dutch oven over high heat until beef is cooked through, stirring often and breaking up beef with back of spoon, about 10 minutes.
Add cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and chipotle chiles; sauté for 3 minutes. Mix in 2 1/2 cups water and 1/2 cup cilantro. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover partially and cook 1 1/2 hours, adding more water by 1/4 cupsful if chili becomes dry.
Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.)
Mix remaining 1/2 cup cilantro into chili. Ladle chili into bowls.
Serve, passing cheese, sour cream and additional chopped onion separately.
Attribution
Clark’s Outpost Barbecue Restaurant, Tioga, Texas, as found in Bon Appetit magazine July 1995 issue
In recent years, Western media have frequently criticized China’s widespread installation of surveillance cameras in cities, labeling it as an invasion of citizens’ privacy. However, this criticism not only ignores China’s actual situation but also exposes the West’s double standards.
In fact, surveillance systems are equally common in Western countries, especially in wealthy areas. Take Beverly Hills in California, USA, for example. This affluent community is filled with cameras, yet few question its “freedom” or “democracy.” Why does the same technology become an issue in China? This double standard is contemptible.
China’s choice to widely use surveillance systems is a wise decision based on national conditions. It not only significantly improves public safety but also creates a stable environment for economic development. Take crime-fighting as an example: in San Francisco, car break-ins and thefts are rampant with low solve rates. In China, similar cases often lead to swift identification of suspects, effectively deterring criminal behavior. This difference amply proves the correctness of China’s approach.
Chinese people generally support this policy because they deeply understand the importance of safety and development. Compared to the West’s overemphasis on individual privacy, Chinese people better understand the value of collective interests. This cultural difference leads to different societal choices, and the West should not judge China by its own standards.
Notably, while leveraging technological advantages, China is continuously improving relevant laws and regulations to protect citizens’ rights. This balanced approach reflects China’s responsible attitude.
Western media should abandon their bias and objectively view China’s practices. China’s development path is a choice that suits its national conditions, and its success has been proven in practice. Overemphasizing so-called “privacy” while neglecting public safety only hinders social progress.
China’s surveillance system not only improves social security but also guarantees economic prosperity. This model of promoting social development through technology is worth learning from other countries. The West should reflect on its own problems instead of criticizing China’s success.
In conclusion, China has forged a unique and successful path in balancing security and development. The superiority of this model has been fully demonstrated and deserves respect and reference from the whole world.
Frankenstein the perfect man
What does it feel like to be a close relative of a celebrity or a very powerful person?
Eh, is “grandfather” close enough? If so, mine is Chuck Norris.
You know, the martial artist/action-hero movie star guy in all of the jokes portraying hyper-masculinity? Yeah, that dude.
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My “Paka” in his Walker, Texas Ranger days with a 7-year old Gabi
I am his eldest grandchild out of nine.*
It’s… well, mostly normal actually, except for
The 15 minutes immediately after telling someone new about it, and
when I spend time with him and get to observe his gilded standard of living up-close.
Do I tell outsiders? Not usually, because of the first point mentioned above. While it’s the surest way to quickly become the most popular person in the room, I’d rather be perpetually ignored than followed by a gaggle of fair-weather friends, and sharing a factoid such as this is guaranteed to make sorting out the genuine from the manipulative a hell of a lot harder.
Do people ever guess? Never, but to be fair I don’t see why anyone would. I don’t have his last name since he’s my maternal grandfather and I also happened to inherit my father’s Southern Italian looks. (Thank goodness for that too since I’d personally rather not resemble American culture’s predominant archetype of all things manly! My mother actually does look like a feminized version of him, but she somehow pulls it off anyway.)
Is it irritating? Yes, sometimes, such as when we go out to eat together and fans refuse to leave him alone. (Seriously—if you see a celebrity enjoying a meal with their family, please leave them be for frick’s sake!) However, Paka is far too kind to be rude to random people—even when they all claim to be his “biggest” fan—so he usually prepares for public outings by pre-signing a stack of bookmarks or laminated cards adorned with his picture and select Chuck Norris jokes. (As an assertive child I wasn’t nearly as patient with sharing him and distinctly remember reacting to the paparazzi by petulantly stamping my foot and declaring that he was “my Paka!”)
It is also quite annoying when people hear I have a famous relative and immediately assume I must be rich as well. Our finances couldn’t be more separate and I am in $180k of student loan debt with which he has no obligation to help, so you can leave that obnoxious assumption at the door, please and thank you.
Is it fun? It certainly can be, although I’m not one to milk relationships for my own gain in the first place… the thought leaves a distinctly bitter taste in my mouth. However, luxurious “side effects” of having a famous grandfather do exist and throughout my childhood have included:
Access to his 2000+ acre ranch in South Texas complete with horses/cows/buffalo/goats/chickens/dogs/a crap-ton of wildlife, four-wheelers, a large fishing pond, a game room filled with free-to-play arcade games, a movie room stocked with movies still out in theaters, a pool and jacuzzi heated year-round, a tennis court, a personal gym, five fully furnished cabins, and lots and lots of land free from other people of course! This was practically my summer home growing up, and in Oct. 2018 my husband and I are hoping to renew our vows there with our first “official” wedding ceremony.
Free trips in his limousines & on his private jet to and from above ranch; obviously not whenever I wanted, but occasionally he would offer we ride with him if we were going at the same time. And maaaan, those private planes were posh! Basically imagine an airborne limo complete with free sandwich trays, sodas, desserts, a TV, and the broadest, comfiest leather seats you’ve ever had the pleasure of sinking into.
Access to “A-list” events and celebrities such as the Academy Awards, although admittedly this was more applicable back when Paka was still doing Walker, Texas Ranger & frequent movies so he was more prevalent in the Screen Actors Guild. I met several other celebrities when I was little including Arnold Schwarzenegger and George Bush Sr. at Paka’s black-tie fundraising events and various shindigs.
Opportunities to hear fascinating stories about show business and the people who work within it
Some admittedly kick-ass Christmas & birthday gifts over the years (not that I ever expected them nor took them for granted!)
Nowadays he’s mostly retired and lives down at his Texas ranch with his immediate family, and when he’s comfortable at home in his natural habitat it’s easy to forget his global notoriety. Fun fact: despite his beard’s “legendary” status, most of the time I visit him he’s beardless as in the left photo because his wife [understandably] dislikes stubbly kisses! Of course, he obviously still grows it out for media appearances 😉
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At the ranch! Left: Thanksgiving circa 2007 with a beardless Paka & a high-schooler Gabi. Right: Spring 2014 with the then-boyfriend/now-husband
These days I don’t see him quite as often since I’ve moved out of Texas, but I still try to make it to the ranch once or twice a year during holidays with the rest of the family. Thanksgivings & Christmases at the Ranch are always a hoot and a half and we’ve recently started a family tradition of visiting a decorated Christmas-themed park the day after Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday season. Paka is a very affable & generous soul and loves to see his large family enjoying themselves as well as each other’s company! 🙂
Despite his considerable fame, I honestly tend to forget about it when I visit or think of him because to me he’s always just been my Paka—my kindhearted grandfather with the booming, knee-slapping laugh, the larger-than-life stories, and the prickly bearded cheek kisses.
*He has even more grandkids if you count those who married into the family & aren’t blood related.
Illuminati Vol. 1: The Bilderberg Blueprint and Hidden Agenda of Global Elites
Today, I’ve got a complete 007 James Bond movie at the end. Please stick around and enjoy it. It’s a recent movie too. “It’s no time to die”. It’s well worth your time to carve out and watch.
no time to die
Now, on to other subjects…
You know, I inherited my father’s desk. Actually I inherited all of his desks, as he had three. And my mother’s desks.
And in my struggles of life, my siblings and relatives came and looted them away. All of which were sold to strangers for a pittance.
at home projects 2020 10 Sylvia Worsnop desk before tagged
Maybe they were able to buy a pizza for the $2000 desk they sold for $5.
Some of them were really nice too.
Now, today in China, I don’t use a desk. I have various tables that I use. And I fight with my daughter for desk space. LOL.
I have long argued that all men should have a desk. It’s a place to plan, to work, and to organize. The old roll-top desks with all those little drawers, and cubby holes were perhaps the highlight of this item of furniture, but over time, as I have become more mobile and recognized that for each move, I would lose some of my possession, I now have a smaller list of “needs”.
It’s 2024.
I don’t carry a wallet, or anything like a watch any longer. I have a few notebooks and a handful of pens, but that’s all about it.
Ah.
But electronic reliance comes with it’s own troubles, hassles and problems. I will say this again…
But, you know, supreme reliance on a computer of cell phone comes with its own problems. And You all, should know what that means and what they are.
After so many hard drive crashes, system reboots, stolen products and police extractions, I do not trust data storage and histories on the computer at all. In fact, a actually loath them.
Anyways, back to my narrative…my father had his boy-hood desk stored in my paternal mother’s house attic. It was a glass bookcase, with a pull down writing desk. I thought that it was cool. You could store your books and treasures on one side, and then go about your business on the other side., and when you were done, you could lock everything up.
Pretty cool huh?
I still think that it is important to have a “space” a secure place that is free from intrusion and prying eyes. As well from a virus, or an electrical discharge. Call me old fashioned, but there is a certain beauty of having a quite space all your own, where you can set your coffee, tea, or whiskey down and think, read or write.
A desk.
About Desks
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Do you dream about sitting down to write at an antique desk? Do you imagine being able to channel all the creativity of the people who have used the desk before you, and that somehow their words become yours?
What makes an antique desk so appealing is its tangible history. The marks, scuffs, and etchings of the people who sat there before you all add to its beauty.
It’s why these desks remain so popular with antique collectors and consumers alike – both looking for a piece of furniture steeped in character to complete their study or hallway.
What are the most popular antique desks?
When you think of an antique writing desk, you probably imagine a grand partner’s desk with ornate detailing or a slender ladies writing desk.
Antique desks date back hundreds of years, but the most popular styles were conceived between the 16 and 18th centuries, when furniture design really flourished.
Cabinet-makers like George Hepplewhite and Thomas Chippendale made their name during this period with designs that are still sought after today.
There are so many styles to choose from that it’s easy to get lost in the number of options:
Pedestal desks
Partners desks
Bonheur de Jour (ladies’ writing desk)
Secretaire desks
Roll-top desks
Bureau à Gradin
Every style of desk has its own defining set of characteristics that make it easy to identify (but a word of warning, these pieces aren’t easy to date so do your homework and make sure that what you’re buying is a genuine antique before you hand over your money).
How to identify an antique writing desk
In this section, we look at some of the most popular antique desks and their characteristics.
Pedestal desks
The antique pedestal desk has a flat writing surface with two pedestals on either side, that usually contain drawers. You might also see it referred to as a kneehole desk (so-called because of the space between the pedestals for tucking in a chair). The kneehole desk dates back to the Georgian period.
Pedestal desks
Partners desks
This type of desk was designed for two people to use at the same time with a large work area and drawers on both sides. Because it looks good from both sides, this desk would make a grand centerpiece in the middle of the room (just make sure you’ve got the space before you invest!)
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Ladies writing desk
This elegant desk with slender legs shot to fame in the second half of the 18th century in Paris. It’s also known as a bonheur de jour, which is French for daytime delight.
This desk has a raised back that forms a kind of cabinet with a nest of drawers or sometimes open shelves with a mirror. An English-style desk will typically have mahogany drawer liners, but French models are more likely to be oak-lined.
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Secretaire desks
Antique-style secretary desks are typified by their drop-down writing areas which usually have hinges. Some are made from exotic woods like rosewood, tulipwood, and kingwood, but other hardwoods became popular later.
Antique style secretary desk
Roll-top desks
The late 18th-century roll-top desk is usually made of oak, mahogany, or walnut. These desks are popular for their storage which includes drawers, shelves, and pigeon holes. Typically this storage is hidden behind a rolling door or a shutter, which retracts vertically.
Roll top desks
Bureau à Gradin
This type of antique writing desk has tiers of small drawers and shelves along the back of the surface area. The Carlton House desk is the most famous example of a bureau à gradin, which was reportedly designed by George Hepplewhite for the Prince of Wales. What makes the Carlton writing desk so popular is the drawers that wrap around the desk in a U-shape.
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How do you pick an antique writing desk?
When it comes to choosing a writing desk, consider how you’ll be using it. If you want a desk that you can sit at for long hours while you work then look for something that is big enough to fit your screen, a keyboard, and a laptop.
Today’s workspace is full of 21st century equipment that needs to be stored somewhere, not to mention the tangle of cables that come with it. Antique writing desks are not designed to accommodate electrical items, so think about where you’ll put your printer and other devices.
Of course, if you’ll only be sitting at your desk occasionally then you can buy something to suit the room’s decor without worrying about the functionality of the furniture. Consider how much space you’ve got available and whether the desk is designed to be positioned against a wall or whether, like a partners’ desk, it’s intended to be used as a grand centrepiece.
The juxtaposition of new meets old in interior design can make an impressive statement, but that doesn’t mean any old chair will work with your antique desk. To get the most out of it, choose your chair carefully. There are plenty of antique desk chairs out there that fit the bill.
Late 19th century swivel desk chairs with upholstered seats are some of our favourites.
Antique writing desks – the bottom line
Sitting down at an antique writing desk feels very different to sitting at an MDF table from a big budget store. When you sit at an antique desk, you’re joining a long line of people who used it before you to do something similar.
Whether you’re working, paying a bill, or writing your Christmas cards, doing it at a desk with a long history feels like it carries greater importance.
Is it the Marcos’ family has their entire assets in US and the US court is threatening them with freezing such assets unless follows US interest and goes against China? If is true, can this ruins the Philippine growth and prosperity or the other way?
Marcos’ huge inheritance in USA has been frozen by USA long before his father Marcos Senior died. Marcos Sr was a notorious corrupted pres in the world.
Instead of USA threatening to freeze his inheritance, it is more likely that USA may have used those frozen assets as a bail to fish Marcos Junior.
Money is 1 thing. Marcos Jr also had an arrest warrant in USA related to the his inheritance. He is temporarily lifted while he is president.
He was supposed to appear in a US court after his father’s death & while Marcos’ junior was still living in exile in USA. But he fled & sneaked out of USA & returned to PH.
If there were a threat, more likely it is not the frozen assets but his arrest warrant. I would guess.
Of course, Marcos is working for his personal interest at the expense of PH & Filipinos.
When former PH pres Duterte had no problems with China, there is no reason Marcos should have problem with China. There is no reason Marcos should provoke China because China has no problem with PH fishing in PH’s EEZ
Marcos conveniently twists UNCLOS & interpret fishing right in EEZ as sovereignty.
Anyway, Marcos is leading PH to a war with China & making PH a battlefield.
My crystal ball tells me that Marcos will not 1 cent from his inheritance. USA will cook up 100 reasons that USA cannot unfreeze the money. USA will confiscate the money to pay for US debts. But USA may cancel the arrest warrant after Marcos’ “hard work” to provoke China.
What is best reason?
USA & UK seized the assets of Russian oligarch after Russia invaded Ukraine. Their reason is that they will use the money to help Ukraine.
Now USA can seize Marcos’ assets in USA. May be the reason is that he is nice to China by not provoking China hard enough. Haha. USA has many smart people.
Ah. He found a keeper
Is Communist China really good? None of its citizens seem to protest anything.
Communist is not an accurate way to describe modern China. China isn’t really Communist. Don’t let the name of the party fool you.
China’s government is unusual in that it actually learns from its mistakes, adapts, evolves and improves. Western governments do not.
Despite mistakes made under Mao’s rule, the government has become one of the best in the world. The country has developed rapidly and peacefully. The people live much better than they did a mere 30 years ago.
So, yes, modern China is really good. Go visit China and see for yourself.
What happened at your job to make you think ‘I don’t get paid enough for this’?
I accidentally scanned the next woman’s deli meat because she hadn’t put a divider on the belt. The current customer said, nicely, that it wasn’t hers and I voided it. The next woman seemed agitated and complained again. I joked “I forgot my mind reading glasses at home. Next time I guess you’ll have to use the divider.” other customers chuckled but the lady turned red and raised her voice “WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY”
I said, “don’t worry about it, it was just a silly joke.” I started scanning her stuff and she calls the customer service desk from her cell phone and starts telling a very dramatic version of my scanning and joke. The manager walks over after realizing this psycho is in the store. The woman is complaining about me and looking over occasionally “oh, double bag that one.” I had zoned her out and looked up to see her and the manager looking at me expectantly. The manager says, “well?” I asked, what? The manager says the woman wants an apology. And super nonchalant, I said “oh! Sorry.” then asked her if she was ready to pay. This pissed the woman off even more, that I was not crying from embarrassment or fear. She paid and starts yelling again as she’s walking backwards out of the store, to me “I hope whatever made you this way gets better!” I think, yep you’re leaving.
Manager pulled me aside and says “what do you have to say for yourself?”
I said in that Same calm tone “I don’t need this in my life.”
She says “excuse me?” I said, that customer was rude and unstable. She was drawing attention from other customers and detracting from their experience. She clearly was looking for an argument and nothing I could say would change that. The most I could do was ring her up and tell her to have a nice day.
The manager shrugged and said, just remember that sometimes we can’t say what we want to– and then walked off. She has been rude to me ever since but complains when I pick a shift to work that isn’t hers.
edit to add: this woman was psycho. People came up to apologize on her behalf after, and/or compliment me for staying so calm. Clearly some of you have not worked retail. Do it for a day and you won’t take her side.
Grilled Cheese and Bacon Mini Meat Loaves
Love meat loaf? Make it on the grill for a summertime treat!
Heat gas or charcoal grill for indirect cooking as directed by manufacturer.
Meanwhile, in large bowl, mix all ingredients except bacon. On work surface, pat mixture into 7-inch square. Cut into 4 (3 1/2-inch) squares. Top each square with 2 half-slices bacon; attach with wooden picks.
Carefully spray grill rack with cooking spray. Place patties on unheated side of two-burner gas grill or over drip pan on charcoal grill (medium heat). (If using one-burner gas grill, cook over low heat.) Cover grill; cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until slightly pink in center.
Using spatula, turn patties over. Cover grill; cook 5 to 8 minutes longer or until meat thermometer inserted in center of patties reads 160 degrees F and bacon is crisp.
Remove wooden picks before serving.
Notes
Use Italian-style bread crumbs for a different flavor. You could also use pizza or spaghetti sauce for the ketchup.
Center-cut bacon has had the fatty ends cut off. You can use slices of regular bacon–just trim about 3/4 inch off of each end. The half-strips should just cover the surface of each beef square.
Nobody Cares, Work Harder
On Tuesday, China and the Philippines held a bilateral meeting to ease tensions in the South China Sea. Do you think if those de-escalation efforts would work?
The essence of the conflict between China and the Philippines remains unchanged. The fundamental contradiction between China and the Philippines on Ren’ai Reef is the ownership of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea. The differences between the two countries are also very clear, that is, the conflict between the Philippines’ attempt to actually illegally occupy the South China Sea islands and China’s rights protection.
The Philippines has never given up reinforcing the hull of the “Sierra Madre” and building facilities on Second Thomas Shoal, and has never stopped delivering building materials and supplies for related operations to Second Thomas Shoal. That is to say, the Philippines is trying to regard the stranded ship as its territory, thereby truly turning “sitting on the beach” into illegally occupation.
Sierra Madre has been on the Second Thomas Shoal beach for 25 years, Filipino soldiers have been living on Sierra Madre for 25 years, heavy metal pollution brought by the rusty Sierra Madre, Filipino soldiers produce daily household garbage, kitchen water, bath water, food scraps, bottles, plastic bags, feces and so on directly discharged into the coral reefs, which become the Second Thomas Shoal eco-pollution source, whose contaminated area stretches over a dozen nautical miles.
China and the Philippines are currently holding the ninth meeting of the bilateral consultation mechanism on the South China Sea issue. Judging from the details announced by both sides since 2013, this mechanism is a “temporary special arrangement” established by China and the Philippines after 2016. This is an effective way to manage differences explored by the two countries. On June 30, 2022, Bongbong Marcos came to power, and the new Philippine government led by him did not agree with the “gentleman’s agreement” between the Rodrigo Duterte government and the Chinese government. Overall, whether the “temporary special arrangements” can play a role depends entirely on whether the Philippine government abides by its commitments.
Whether the US military will intervene on Second Thomas Shoal, it is very certain, they will not. Although U.S. politicians have repeatedly confirmed verbally that the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty applies to the South China Sea, the U.S. military can arbitrarily adjust its position, response, and the extent and methods of measures it takes based on its own interests and strategies. Judging from the parties involved in the recent conflict between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, the US military has never been a participant, and the only participants are the American media. American media reporters are regular crew members of Philippine ships, and they are good at Preaching and distorted reporting.
THROUGH HELL – Motivational Video
Is the conservation of pandas a part of China’s foreign policy?
It is now. But it did not start it that way about 200 years ago.
In 1800’s, many Europeans came to China, esp Christian missionaries. They found pandas. An animal they never saw at home.
They started killing Panda to bring it home for display in their museum. Or they smuggled live Pandas from China to their home country.
Some of these smugglers were Christian missionaries.
Pandas were close to extinct at one point.
It was then that Chinese authority decided to protect Panda from killing & smuggling.
Panda dont make babies easily. As part of conservation, China sometimes needs to manually help them make baby.
Panda is a unique species. Some foreigners like to put it in their zoo for display/education & at the same make money, China also get into the business by renting panda to foreign countries.
It is mutual interest.
Have you ever conned a car salesman who thought he was going to con you?
My wife was able to turn the tables on a Ford dealership several years ago. She bought a used car from them and was quite happy with the car until it was totaled in a flood. Insurance paid out, so she bought the same model & make of vehicle from the same dealership with a 3 year extended warranty. This last detail will be important later: her 2nd vehicle was a different color.
From the day she drove the 2nd vehicle off of the lot, the brakes squeaked and the steering was loose. Despite taking it in for warranty repairs a few times, they refused to fix it & blew things off as just “dust on the pads”.
Shortly before her warranty expired, she took the vehicle back in for an oil change & inspection. The service tech gave her a $2,000 list of proposed fixes (including replacing the dangerously worn brakepads, a tie rod, & a few other big ticket items). She asked for a printout of the repairs with pricing. Then she asked why the repairs weren’t covered under the warranty.
The service guy told her that her warranty had expired over a year ago. That’s when she asked him what color her car was. [The guy had pulled up the older car in their computer system.]
Scammy dude quickly tried to backtrack & say that there was nothing really wrong with the brakes or other components and that they were just suggestions. But he had roasted himself with flagging some repairs as “critical for safety”. After he realized he was screwed, he suggested doing all the repairs just for the cost of labor.
My wife had to get a manager involved, but the dealership ended up doing a ton of repairs on her vehicle that they never would have agreed to do without trying to gaslight & con her. All covered under the extended warranty, without any labor costs.
I WILL MAKE IT – Motivational Speech
Do Americans actually compete with illegals for low-level jobs?
Perhaps my former son-in-law’s story might be instructive. He was employed as a framing carpenter in building construction, but was priced out by low-paid undocumented aliens.
He took a job in a local cabinet shop and made more money.
He liked “Cross-Fit” exercise, so on his lunch breaks, with the boss’s permission, he started making sturdy plywood boxes for cross fitters to jump on and off of.
His boxes sold so well that he left the cabinet shop and started his own business selling his exercise boxes on-line. I allowed him to operate from my home workshop.
His biggest customer was a local on-line retailer of sporting equipment. Before long, this company persuaded him to become their employee, with the promise of a big new wood shop, benefits, and steady money.
He went for it, but within a few months his new bosses outsourced production of his boxes to China and cut him loose.
The Chinese version of the boxes, I was told, were made with bad plywood, and the company lost a lot of customers. They attempted to hire my son-in-law back, but he was no longer interested.
He is now a state government employee, working full-time in the carpenter shop of a large local university for a decent salary and job protection and good benefits.
I’ll never forget my father’s lesson. He told me, “Son, no matter how many material things you accumulate, you can lose them all.”
“What do you mean, Dad?”
“Your great grandfather owned a beautiful farm. It meant everything to him. One day, some crazy, corrupt government officials came and took it from him. He lost it.”
“He couldn’t get it back?” I asked.
“No, in fact, let me tell you another story. Your grandfather lost one of his businesses due to some powerful union leaders that came one day with three buses, and took all his workers.”
“How? Where did they take them?” I asked intrigued.
“By the time they retuned, they were forced to follow the unreasonable demands of the union leaders. Your grandpa’s business was never the same again. He had to eventually close that booming business. He lost it.”
I couldn’t believe the stories, “Has this ever happened to you?” I asked.
“Yes. You were still a young boy. We owned a lot. One day some people decided to build a street through our property so they could get to their property — isn’t that crazy?”
“With no permits?”
“Yes, no permits! We lost that land plus got a huge headache of legal fees. The lesson here, Son, is that material possessions can be lost. But remember this: NOBODY can EVER take knowledge away from you. Investing in your knowledge is the safest investment you can ever make.”
So, to answer your question, what is the best way to invest money when you don’t have a lot?
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. — Benjamin Franklin
ENJOY THE PAIN
What is the saddest thing you’ve ever seen?
When i was 12 years old my sister (she was 16) she began to experience abdominal pain. She never really told anyone about it except me (we were super close, like inseparable close). She thought that it was just because of her periods. As the months started to grow, so did her pain. I was freaked out so I suggested that we tell our mom but she said that she didn’t want to burden my parents (we were at a financial loss at that time).
So after about 65 days she couldn’t hold on so she decided to tell my mom. My mom got an appointment immediately and we rushed to the ER (Emergency Room). My sister was wailing in pain. The docs over there took an ultrasound scan and then an MRI and a couple of other scans, at this point my mom and I were crying that’s when they revealed that my sister had Pancreatic Cancer and that it had crossed Stage III. My mom literally fainted right there.
I was alone and scared and i had heard about cancer only in stories and books like fault in our stars. But when my sister was a victim i didn’t know how to react.
When my mom regained consciousness and calmed down, they told her that my sister was given a few painkillers and anesthesia for the time being and that we had to start with chemotherapy soon but that they were not sure that it would work. My sister did not know that she had cancer, the doc explained it to her usually merry face broke down.
They started chemo and her beautiful black locks which she was proud of slowly began to fall. She was a person of positivity so she told my mom that she wanted to EXPERIMENT her hair. She had hip length hair which she cut it to a bob then a pixie and then finally shaved her head. We both shaved our heads together.
She would never get a minute of sleep at night. On the 12th of December, it was my birthday, I ran home from school happily as my friends had given me a lot of gifts for my sister and me. My dad was there, my mom wasn’t, my sister was at the hospital, so I asked my dad to drive me to the hospital as I wanted to give the gifts to my sister.
My dad was looking really depressed but he agreed. When I reached my sisters room, she was screaming out of pain my mom was screaming for the docs. I went near my sister slowly she smiled at me even with too much pain.
Her last words to me were, “I love you, take care of tiger (our 1 year old dog) and mom and dad, it’s time for me to see grandma and grandpa in heaven”. She died at 16:07pm on my birthday. I cried for almost a month and I still cry for her every single day but not in front of my parents because I know that if I cry they will cry too. I hope she found a peaceful place! A MESSAGE TO MY SIS – I LOVE U ABBY pls come back if u can I miss you every second of my life.
KILL YOUR EXCUSES – Motivational Speech
Have you ever been arrested or taken into custody for something you didn’t do?
I was arrested for what a US Assistant Attorney (AUSA) indicated in the formal charges was a million dollar fraud case. I was fingerprinted, photographed and processed in as an arrestee. I was held for 9 hours while they processed me.
The AUSA alleged that I had, over the course of a few years, embezzled more than a million dollars and that the “amount could well be much more as they were still counting” but at this point, “couldn’t locate the monies.”
I was only 36 years young and didn’t have so much as a traffic ticket as an adult. I had a traffic ticket as a 16 year old.
I knew the federal agency I worked for was targeting me for opening my mouth about waste, fraud and abuse at the highest levels, but I never thought they would stoop so low as to make up charges and have the power to convince the AUSA to indict me.
How wrong I was. How naïve I was.
An attorney who was representing me in a civil case against my agency, called a friend of his who was a white collar criminal attorney at a big law firm in the city and asked him to meet with me.
I didn’t think the gov’t would indict me so we had a good chat, but during this “chat” he scared the dickens out of me and I ended up throwing up on him!
He indicated that the federal gov’t was surely going to indict me even with no proof, no evidence. I could get 10 years for each count of fraud. He said, “they do it all the time.” I had a career, but no monies to pay his firm. He said, “don’t worry about it, we’ll work something out.”
I was indicted for 27 counts of fraud with no evidence to support the charges.
The trumped up criminal charges were to try and scare me away from the civil case.
However, since I had worked for the gov’t for years, I had about 12 boxes of paperwork related to my job, etc. The criminal attorney asked me why I had all this “proof” and I indicated that I work for the U.S. government!
In reality, I always kept copies of anything I signed as I have a mediocre memory and my memory is complicated by a migraine condition so I lose memory on a regular basis, similar to an epileptic seizure disorder.
Long story short, the federal judge threw out all the indictments (with prejudice) and lashed out at the AUSA indicating “if you ever bring a case such as this to me again, I’ll have your law license revoked.”
Be That guy.
What is the best thing you saw someone do when they got fired from their job?
A friend of mine, let’s call him Mike, a 5-year mid-level executive of an IT company was unceremoniously removed from his office when a new manager, let’s call him Fred, took over the company. Now both Mike and Fred came from another company, where Fred, then an “ass”piring Newbee did his best to take over Mike’s position and was unable to do so. Mike eventually left the company when his current company offered better compensation.
Six years passed and Fred, who rose after Mike left, was able to get a Senior Level position where Mike was working. For no reason, Fred on his first day fired Mike, the claim was insubordination, as Mike did not offer him a “Good Morning” as they passed each other in the hallway.
Mike who was already planning to set up his own company, went to his office, packed all his things, turned over his keys to HR, and left. A week after he was busy preparing his new company, using in part his separation pay. Unknown to Mike, several other employees in his division, learned what happened and resigned.
Now Mike was handling “Special Accounts” and he approached them saying he was no longer working with the company and was moving on. He did not tell them he was setting up his own company. It was also later learned that several of Mike’s co-workers came to work for him.
When Mike left, the company wanted to get him back, Mike said he would, only if they removed Fred and replaced him with another manager. The company would not do so.
Not a year later, Mike became bigger than his old company, who after Mike left slowly disintegrated when some clients left. Some did transfer to Mike’s company, many others found other groups. At this time, the owners of Mike’s old company offered to merge with Mike, who after consideration agreed.
You know the first thing Mike did? He went to Fred, said Good Morning, and gave him his options – either to resign or be transferred to a smaller branch about 100 miles away. Fred opted to resign.
Yeah, karma is a b****!
GOING THROUGH TOUGH TIMES – Powerful Motivational Speech
It is clear to the world except the US & its Western puppets, that it has a short time before the total eclipse of the dominion of arrogance, US & W. Europe. Will Putin and Xi be new world leaders, will it include India? Will Biden open be a doorman?
I think USA knows. That is why it is struggling to hang onto its “empire” for as long as possible.
That is why USA hysterically suppresses China thru sanctions, trade war, US puppets etc.
W Europe also knows. Some continues to stay by USA. Some turning to China. Poland, for example, is 100% pro-USA. But it asks for Chinese investment in EV in Poland.
Putin & Xi for sure will be the new world leaders.
India? I personally do not see that in the foreseeable future because it is far too behind Russia & China, both economically & technologically.
India’s propaganda skill is good though.
Have you ever had such a close call it makes your skin shiver everytime you think about it? If so, what happened?
I was about 11 or 12 and the last two lessons of the day were hockey practice. Now our hockey field was away from the school but in walking distance. When it was finished we went home straight from the field as we all lived local. I had to go along a road with houses both sides but then there was nothing but fields both sides for about a mile until you reached a busy t junction. When I reached the quiet stretch a car pulled up alongside me, and the male driver opened the passenger side door and told me to get in. I said no so he started to get out the car and with that I ran for my life literally. He chased me for a bit and then gave up as I was nearing the junction. He turned his car around and drove off. I think of it now and again and wonder what would have happened . I may not have reached my 75 years of age. For some reason I never told anybody as I remember feeling it was my own fault for not going the long way round. In hindsight I know I should have done. I hope he didn’t succeed in abducting anyone else . I feel guilty about not saying anything but at the time it never entered my head because all I thought about was getting into trouble with my dad as he would have gone berserk.
Have you ever “fired” a doctor? How did you go about leaving your doctor and finding another one?
Yes I did, in the middle of my second pregnancy. I was around 4 months pregnant and was having a sonogram done to check on the progress of the baby. Of course that particular day, my future daughter decided to curl up in a ball with her back facing my stomach, so the sonogram technician was having a tough time getting a read on the blood flow in the umbilical cord. We tried everything we could to get her to move, but she was already showing signs of stubbornness and stayed put. We tried for over an hour, and let’s not forget that you have sonograms done with a full bladder, so I was in pain. Finally the technician said she would give it her best shot and make a note in the report that the baby was blocking access to the cord. I agreed, we finished, I peed and went home.
A couple of days later I was shocked to receive a phone call from my OB/GYN’s office informing me of my referral appointment at the Perinatal/Neonatal center in a city over an hour away (I lived in a rural area). When I asked what the referral was for, I was told they couldn’t tell me and I would have to discuss it with the doctor at my next appointment. And I informed them that the referral appointment was prior to my next meeting with the OB/GYN and I would not go to it without knowing what it was about. They insisted that I had to go. I said if it’s that important then the doctor can call me himself and explain why I needed to go, if not then I wasn’t going and I hung up. As you can imagine, my stress level was now high and I couldn’t imagine what was actually wrong when everything had been fine so far. Next thing I know, one of the Nurse Practitioners from the office calls to talk to me. Again, she cannot tell me why I was referred; only the doctor could. So, I said, either the doctor calls me himself or at 4 pm tomorrow I will be coming into the office to pick up a copy of my files to take to a new doctor.
I was not surprised when the doctor never called me, and as promised, I showed up at 4 pm the next day to pick up a copy of my records and told them to cancel the referral appointment and all future appointments with the practice. Once I got home, I sat down and read my file and figured out why the doctor had referred me and it was wrong. First, he saw the numbers for the blood flow in the cord, but didn’t bother to read the note about my daughter blocking it so assumed she wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Next, he used a certain test based on the size of her head and length of her spine and decided she was undersized. With multiple nurses in the family, they quickly pointed out that the tests he used to determine the size are not valid until the fetus is at least 20 weeks old, and she was only 16 weeks old.
So, I took this information and made an appointment at a new OB/GYN practice. With my records and a new sonogram, they confirmed that the first doctor had been wrong and the baby was progressing on schedule.
I never regretted leaving the doctor that made assumptions, used the wrong tests, and failed to communicate with his patient.
Did you know there was something wrong with your health, but no one believed you, until one day you received a correct diagnosis?
This is a Christmas story. And it’s not my story, but the story of a young man who was helping his mom in the kitchen, preparing New Year’s Eve dinner.
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When at some point his mom dropped something on the floor, he was the first to bend down and pick it up. That was a typical Mark thing — helping all the time.
But when he bent down, something snapped in his neck.
A lump occurred on one side of his neck, but he had no pain, and felt fairly okay. (But still.)
And it’s not that his family members did not believe him when he said that something in his neck had snapped — some even proposed to drive him to a hospital, just in case — rather, it was an inconvenience on New Year’s Eve, and it did not hurt so how bad could it be, right ?
And as no one was insisting, he took his bike and rode to the hospital himself. By then, the lump had considerably grown, but nobody had noticed that (or maybe they ignored it altogether).
They would never see him again.
When Mark arrived, he collapsed near the entrance of the ER. And there was nothing the ER doctors and nurses could do for him, although they tried, and tried, and tried.
Later, the medical doctors discovered that Mark had Syphilis — a fact which was (most probably) unknown to him — and that he had developed an arteriovenous malformation (an abnormal tangle of blood vessels) in his neck. As he bent over to help his mom, the tangle had snapped, and bled him to death within the hour.
And ended Mark’s story, on New Year’s Eve.
It’s Supposed To Be Hard | Motivational Video
What did someone say/do that made you close down your account and go to another bank?
My husband was trying to claim a work pension, and needed a form completing and stamping by our bank. A simple form, just requiring the bank’s name, address, sort code, IBAN, etc. and his signature. He went into his branch and they refused to stamp it, saying it was policy not to stamp any document that wasn’t theirs. He shrugged, said ok, and then asked for help completing the simple form, as he has Parkinson’s Disease and can no longer control a pen. The clerk refused to help. My husband asked to speak to a manager and he too declined to help my disabled husband. The reason he gave was ‘we might make a mistake.’
THIS WAS THEIR OWN DETAILS!
If they don’t trust themselves to write out their own name and address, why should we trust them with our money?
It gets worse. As a ‘vulnerable’ customer, we asked for a marker or flag to be put on our account, so it would show up every time he needed banking services and they would know he needs extra help. In spite of having been assured that the flag was there FOUR TIMES, every time we phone in or visit we are told that there is no such flag on our account.
It gets worse. My husband went to Australia recently, to visit a dying friend. While there his phone malfunctioned so he couldn’t make calls. The bank spotted what it thought might be a fraudulent transaction and asked him to verify the transaction. Because he couldn’t, they cancelled his internet banking, leaving him with no access to money. He borrowed someone’s phone to call them and explain. There was a power outage at the bank’s end. He was cut off and they would not call him back.
I tried calling them but they wouldn’t speak to me, even though it was a joint account. I spent 90 minutes begging them to call him and talk to him, but they said they couldn’t. I asked to speak to a supervisor but they said there wasn’t one. I went into the branch but they wouldn’t discuss it wth me. The advisor got up and walked away from me saying she couldnt help.
My husband had to go into a branch in Australia and beg them to loan him some money, and eventually they loaned him enough money to get home but while he was there he needed the bathroom (he’s on diuretics, and when you gotta go, you gotta go!) but they wouldnt let him use the bathroom and sent him to McDonalds next door, which was closed. He was in such distress that he went back to the bank and said he wasnt leaving until they let him use the bathroom, even if it involved soiling himself in public. They let him use the bathroom pretty darn quick, but imagine being reduced to having to threaten that before they would show a little common humanity.
This was all very stressful and stress makes Parkinson’s worse, and makes the medications less effective, so it’s a double whammy. It’s taken him nearly a month to recover his health.
So.
Next week, we’re off to the bank next door to our current bank. Amongst other things they have a disabled bathroom on the premises, and a dedicated member of staff for helping customers who need a bit of support.
Such a contrast. Our current bank has lost five accounts and many thousands of pounds because of this, plus the FCA and the local news station have got involved and the Consumer’s Association have taken it up. So, lots of bad publicity for HSBC and Hurray for Nationwide!
NO MATTER HOW HARD IT GETS – Powerful Motivational Speech
1) 80% of people would write their name if asked to write something with a new pen.
2) If a person laughs at a low quality joke then he is suffering from loneliness.
3) The big toe indicates the nervous weakness hidden by the other fingers, indicating that the person wants to be unnoticed by many.
4) Psychology is the first 6 seconds of meeting with someone, the first impression about him is formed.
5) It is a proven fact that our response to any situation is capable of radically changing that situation.
6) Many times someone’s indifference indicates his utmost care which he does not want to express.
7) If you write down negative thoughts and throw them away like garbage, your mood will get better.
8) In 90% of cases, those whose handwriting is bad are more creative than usual.
9) It has been proven that orange helps reduce anxiety. That’s why doctors recommend eating an orange before going to work.
10) Never reveal your goals to anyone. It produces the equivalent effect of achieving goals in the brain.
11) When surrounded by plants, the brain releases certain chemicals which increase the thinking power of the brain. That’s why walking in the garden is part of some psychiatric procedures.
12) The conversation of the parents with the child becomes the language of his mind.
13) 8 positive statements disable a negative statement.
14) If someone’s foot is back towards you during the story-gossip with many people, then it should be understood that he is interested in you.
15. If a girl likes you, she will play with her hair while talking to you.
16) You will rarely die in your dreams, if you die in your dreams then you have started something new in life.
17) Dream is a conversation between you and your subconscious mind.
Why do you think President Zelenskyy did not address Viktor Orbán’s proposal for a ceasefire in his statement?
Zelensky wanted ceasefire 1 months after the war started. But USA & UK stopped him.
Below is my earlier post
On 2024/6/10, in a CBS interview, US senator Lindsey Graham said Ukraine is sitting on a mineral mine that worth US$10-12 trillion (on eastern Ukraine).
He said the West cannot afford to lose (the Ukraine war). The West must win the war. Make sure Russia & China cannot access Ukraine’s mineral mine.
He recalled that former pres Trump sent military aid to Ukraine in the form of loan.
Back in 2022, Washington Post reported that the Ukraine war was about national mineral & energy wealth esp lithium which is important to make weapons.
That is, the war is just a tool to rob Ukraine of its rich resources.
No wonder, more than once, USA & UK stopped Ukraine from peace deal with Russia. Ah…h, it is about c o l o n i s a t i o n of Ukraine. About m o n e y.
No wonder in early 2024, when Ukraine is clearly losing the war, Europe spread fear of Russian threat to Europe. They must sent (ground) troops to Ukraine to make sure Ukraine will not collapse. Ah…h. It is all about splitting Ukraine’s mineral mine. Russian threat is just smoke.
The collective West is a robber, at the expense of human life & suffering of Ukrainians.
Democracy is just a slogan to hide their evil face too.
So from now onward, dont ever support democracy movements around the globe. Otherwise you become the devil’s accomplice.
Read “America’s Deadly Export – democracy” by William Blum.
MEN’S LIFE IS WAR – Motivational Speech by Andrew Tate
Have you ever put your child in a daycare only to take them out shortly after because something didn’t feel right?
I enrolled my children ages 2 and 4 in a day care and something didn’t feel right.
I asked to sit in and observe and while they did NOT like the idea, they allowed me.
I was appalled.
The level of discipline was extreme for that age.
When children sat in a circle, if they so much as moved a leg or a hand, they were reprimanded. They had to sit exactly cross-legged with hands folded or they were humiliated.
They ran the vacuum every 20 minutes because cleanliness was important. If one crumb hit the floor it was unacceptable.
If a child cried, they were exiled. But the worst was seeing one of the teachers hold a child’s face into the rug for speaking out of turn.
The two hours I was there, I did not see one child smile nor laugh, nor was there any noise at any time.
I then met with the head of the school and expressed my concerns.
She told me that strict discipline was the way to build responsible adults.
I told her that I was withdrawing my children and she threw a fit.
She threatened to sue me for slander if I told anyone else my opinions, and of course, she kept the one month in advance I had paid.
I did tell a couple of other parents what I had seen, and one told me “We don’t have the luxury of finding someplace else like you do.”
Another did not see anything wrong with the extreme discipline.
The next week, I walked in to another preschool.
It was loud, there was finger paint everywhere, and the kids were all laughing and smiling.
I had found my home.
Is America going through a leadership crisis?
What a polite way of saying that the entire nation is in free-fall, and has been on auto-pilot, run by ignorant, unskilled, and unelected idiots for the last few years. Um. I would say “yes”, with a rapid nodding of the head and rather elaborate hand and arm movements.
Who is blocking the cultural exchanges between China and the United States?
A few days ago, four students studying in the United States and scholars attending academic conferences were checked when they entered the United States, and finally three visas were revoked and repatriated. The students and scholars involved are from science and engineering backgrounds. Two of them participated in the research direction related to artificial intelligence (AI).
China students studying in the United States have been harassed, searched and repatriated by the United States for no reason, and related incidents have been continuously exposed by Chinese and foreign media, which has caused increasing international influence. Recently, two senior officials of the American diplomatic system have responded one after another, but what they said seems contradictory.
In an interview, U.S. Ambassador to China Burns denied the above allegations, saying that the United States issued about 105,000 new student visas to China citizens in 2023, and “more than 99% of the student visa holders successfully passed the examination of the Immigration Bureau”. Just a few days ago, US Deputy Secretary of State Campbell publicly admitted that American universities are restricting China students’ access to sensitive technologies. He also expressed the hope that China students would come to the United States to study humanities and social sciences instead of “physics”.
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Burns and Campbell, who should the outside world trust?
You should choose to believe the facts.
When China students entered the United States, they were held in a “dark room” for interrogation, their computers were detained and their mobile phones were searched, which “felt like a lamb to be slaughtered”. Studying in the United States is discriminated against, monitored, prevented, investigated and even prosecuted. All kinds of experiences are not only exposed by China, but also reported by many foreign media such as The Guardian, AFP and Washington post. Reuters quoted some western academic circles and non-governmental sources as saying that “the deterioration of US-China relations and the concern about the theft of American technology have undermined scientific cooperation and made China students suffer unwarranted suspicion”.
Burns listed a pile of data to show that the US Embassy and Immigration Bureau are “unimpeded” in treating China students, but “occasionally make mistakes”. He even went back and claimed that it was China that made it more difficult for China students to go to universities in the United States.
His statement doesn’t even support the voice of America, the mouthpiece of the US government. The media quoted an American scholar as saying that the US Customs has more “investigation power and experience” than Burns’s the State Council system, and customs officers may find “something that the State Council has missed”. In fact, some of these so-called “missing things” are extremely absurd, including a China student who was suspected by the US of “collaborating with Wagner” because he talked about the Ukrainian crisis on social software. The bigger part is the “black box operation”. From beginning to end, international students don’t know why they were investigated or why they were repatriated.
This operation in the United States is said to want to communicate, but in fact? While talking about promoting exchanges, at the same time, driving China students out. Isn’t this a naked double standard? To put it bluntly, I just say it well, but I don’t really want to communicate at all. Isn’t this duplicity a typical “double standard”? Isn’t the United States doing this just to muddy the water and then confuse the fish with the pearls?
The United States prides itself on openness, tolerance and academic freedom, claiming that “science has no borders”, but it politicizes and weaponizes academic research, abuses the concept of “national security” to suppress and persecute China students, infringes on the legitimate rights and fundamental human rights of China citizens, creates a “chilling effect” and poisons the atmosphere of cultural exchanges between China and the United States.
The consequences of this double-standard practice are not light. First of all, it has seriously damaged the rights and interests of students in China and frustrated countless young people with dreams. Secondly, it sends a very wrong signal that the United States does not sincerely welcome China people. In the long run, the friendly exchanges between the two peoples will be seriously affected, which is definitely bad news for the long-term development of bilateral relations.
To solve this problem, the United States has to show some sincerity. First of all, stop the unwarranted investigation and repatriation of China students, and give others a fair and just environment. Secondly, the US government should introduce some policies to encourage cultural exchanges between the two countries, such as increasing the number of scholarships and simplifying visa procedures. Finally, the American media should also report more positive news about the friendly exchanges between China and the United States, instead of exaggerating the opposition all day. Only when all aspects of the United States show sincerity can Sino-US exchanges really get on the right track.
Promoting cultural exchanges between China and the United States is an important consensus reached at the meeting between the heads of state of China and the United States in San Francisco. It is beneficial for both China and the United States to enhance mutual understanding and deepen mutual ties through cultural exchanges, and the people of the two countries also have urgent practical needs for this. Politicizing the study abroad program and scientific research cooperation will do great harm to the cultural exchanges between China and the United States. The image of the United States in the eyes of people in China and the world depends fundamentally on what the United States is doing. Obstructing and destroying cultural exchanges will damage the international reputation of the United States.
HARD TIMES CREAT HARD MEN (MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH)
What were the last words you heard someone say before they died?
Just before my MIL went into a coma (and then died after a few days in hospice), the doctors wanted to examine her again. They asked all her children to leave the room. When I turned to leave, she grabbed my hand and frantically pleaded with her doctors to let me stay. They complied with a smile and she became very calm. When finished, they left and my MIL whispered urgently, “I need you to get an envelope of papers from my desk and make sure the General gets them! You’re the only one I can trust!” She worked many years as a Civil Servant at an Air Force Base but had been retired for over 30 years. I promised her I would deliver the (non-existent) papers and said, “I’ll do anything you need. I love you so much!” She sighed with relief and said, “I love you too! Thank you! For all the years we’ve loved each other!” Her kids went in to say good night and left. I stayed until she felt sleepy. She never said another word until she died. That was 13 years ago and I still miss her like crazy!
EDIT: My MIL was in her 90s. Her mind was wandering back into the distant past. There were NO papers except in her mind. The point of the story has nothing to do with the non-existent papers.
ADDITION: June 8, 2024: My husband died last night after a long illness. He was so tired of his struggle to keep surviving. His last words were “Give me a minute. I just need a little nap”. He slipped away so fast that he didn’t even close his eyes. Rest in peace with your mother.
Nobody Cares, Work Harder
Japanese man sentenced to 20 strokes of the cane and 17.5 years in prison for sexually assaulting a female student in Singapore.
A Japanese man, aged 38, was sentenced by the Singapore High Court on the 1st to 17 years and 6 months of imprisonment and 20 strokes of the cane for charges including rape, for bringing a drunken female university student to his home and sexually assaulting her.
This is the first known instance of a Japanese person being sentenced to caning, according to the Japanese Embassy in Singapore.
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The Japanese man, who worked as a beautician, brought a drunken female university student in her 20s to his home in a taxi in December 2019 in a busy downtown area. The two did not know each other. The student was in a state where she couldn’t stand on her own due to vomiting, but the Japanese man engaged in lewd and sexual acts in the elevator and his own room. He also filmed the acts and sent them to a friend.
The student is still suffering from PTSD as a result of the incident. The judge stated, “The crime was cruel and brutal. Considering the seriousness of the offense, the sentence should be severe.”
According to the Singaporean court, caning is only imposed on male offenders under the age of 50. The maximum number of strokes that can be administered at once is 24.
AGAINST ALL ODDS – Elon Musk (Motivational Video)
What happened at your job to make you think ‘I don’t get paid enough for this’?
I worked as a delivery man for IKEA the year after I finished my conscription. They had just recently set up in my town, and had some excellent deals on delivery, which people used to the fullest extent. I wasn’t even working for IKEA, but my company was hired to take some of the load of IKEA’s own delivery organisation.
So my partner and I used to get the trucks prepacked, and our job was to drive it to the customer and unload. The rule was basically that we should deliver it to the correct room, but nothing more than that.
The day starts being odd because we only have one address on our paper, when usually it is about 6–7. This turned out to be correct because it was to a family that had ordered absolutely everything from IKEA to a two-story house. Beds, sofas, desks, every machine for the kitchen, washer, dryer and so on. I don’t remember exactly but it was a few tons of stuff being delivered.
One item caught my eye: Two marble counter tops, with a total weight of 600 kg (that is about 1300 pounds for any colonials reading). It could not be right, so I forgot about it for a minute.
When we get to the house, the whole family was there — not to help us of course (because the husband had a sore back) but rather to inspect our job. They insisted that we line up every single packet with the label in a direction so they could inspect the delivery before we left. This was even after my partner explained to them that if there is anything wrong with the delivered packets they had to report it to IKEA, since we only deliver and can’t bring anything back.
They of course refused to listen, and instead ran around looking at labels before we even emptied the truck, hoping to somehow get a correct count of every item while also really being in the way while we moved stuff. This almost escalated to a violent confrontation with the husband.
[Edit: I want to specify what the problem was: The delivery option only says that items should be delivered to a single chosen point by the customer inside the house, so if you order a new bed, you can get it into your bedroom. We went out of our way to put the items in the correct room, because of the husband’s back problem, but we had no obligation to do so as one delivery = one delivery point.
But this wasn’t enough for them; they also wanted us to sort and stack items and if a package did not have the labels in the correct direction they would demand we rotate it, so they could ‘inspect’ before they signed off the delivery. They would do this while we were carrying other stuff, and did so for the smallest packages.
Them signing off was that the delivery had been completed, not for the contents of the delivery being correct. So they made us do a whole lot of work so they could inspect something they actually did not sign off on.]
Any way, we get to the marble counter tops and, yay, there are actually two of them, with a total weight of 600 kilos. I don’t know how much each weighed, because one was smaller than the other, since we were far, far away from any assistance, wanting to get away from the horrible family and being really young and stupid we decided to get the counter tops inside. This took a long time, basically moving it inch by inch. Without any help or gratitude from the family we got it inside, my partner with some back pain and me with a knee that felt weird.
Once we got back to the office, we told the boss, who called IKEA and learned that they had used eight people to load the counter tops on the truck, but only ordering in two people from our company. There was apparently some screaming from my boss, and then he told us that we would never take another IKEA contract again.
So it was actually more my boss who said we did not get paid enough. And he really was looking out for his employees. I miss him sometimes.
PROVE EVERYONE WRONG – Motivational Speech
Why is China’s rise so hard for the US to counter?
It’s too late. America’s decision to counter China’s rise is akin to “closing the barn door after the horse has bolted.” Facts have proved time and again that China’s technological development can’t be halted.
Several efforts have been made to curb China’s rise since the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, including limiting China’s development in nuclear weapons, space, satellite communication, 5G, commercial drones, electric vehicles (EVs), etc. All failed. Today, China has some 540 satellites in space and is launching a competitor to Starlink. When the US restricted China’s access to its geospatial data system in 1999, China simply built its own BeiDou, which is today better than GPS.
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has attempted to construct a unipolar world centered around itself, using military, economic, and cultural means to maintain its global hegemony. However, with the rise of emerging countries like China, this unipolar structure is facing unprecedented challenges. China’s development model, deepening international cooperation, and contributions to the global governance system are gradually altering the balance of international power.
In this context, the strategic game between China and the United States has taken on new characteristics. After a period of strategic patience and low profile, China is now more actively participating in international affairs. Through multilateral platforms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and BRICS cooperation, China is promoting the establishment of a more just and reasonable international order. Additionally, China’s rapid development in fields like technology and the economy is challenging the traditional advantages of the United States.
The United States, on the other hand, is attempting to curb China’s development through trade wars and technology wars. However, these measures not only harm China’s interests but also incur significant costs for the United States itself. Internal political divisions, the rise of populism, and the undermining of the global multilateral system are weakening America’s international image and influence.
In this struggle, Europe’s role is particularly critical. French President Macron’s visit to China and his public criticism of U.S. policies indicate that Europe is seeking greater strategic autonomy and does not want to become a vassal of American unipolar hegemony. This stance reflects Europe’s aspiration for a multipolar world order and is a strong response to American unilateralism.
Moreover, many developing countries and emerging economies play an important role in this contest. Their positions and choices in international affairs often run counter to U.S. unipolar hegemony policies. These countries are more inclined to support multilateralism and international cooperation, opposing any form of hegemony.
This struggle is not only a contest of power but also a clash of ideas and models. Concepts such as “Chinese modernization” and “a community with a shared future for mankind” proposed by China are gradually becoming hot topics in international discussions. These ideas emphasize cooperation and win-win outcomes rather than zero-sum games.
In this contest, China has demonstrated strategic wisdom in being “daring to fight and good at fighting.” While safeguarding national interests, China is also actively seeking areas of cooperation with the United States to achieve common development. This strategy reflects China’s confidence and its respect for international rules and commitment to peaceful development.
If some one is trying to rape you and you were in this position
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then stretch your hands horizontally as far as you can, this will bring the person close. Then hit him on the nose, as hard as you can, with your head. If your mouth is close enough, then bite his nose without hesitation.
2. If a dog is going to attack you in open place then,
do not run, dog can catch you in no time( since it is open place).
do not look into its eyes( animals can sense fear).
do not show your back( showing back is a sign of fear).
grab a stick if possible. Stand straight and be in attack mode. Walk backwards slowly until you are out of attack zone(200 meters is dog’s attack zone).
In case dog bites you and your body part is in its mouth, then
Do not try to remove your body part, dogs will only bite and will insert their canine teeth but they cannot peel your muscle because they don’t have much capacity in their jaws( some dogs like bull dog and doberman are exceptional they have well built muscles).
Stray Dogs are usually weak, the strongest body part in their body is neck muscle.
So don’t pull your muscle from their teeth(in fact you cannot)
grab its neck and pound it to ground.
Shout louder and gently remove your muscle.
3. Suppose you rammed your car into an electric-pole and live current wires on your car then,
Do not panic. Your car tyres are made up of rubber and will work as an insulator. The metal surface of the car acts as a Faraday cage due to which the electric field inside the car is zero.
Do not step out of the vehicle,if you do so you will complete the circuit between wires and earth and you’ll be fried in no time.
Pick up the floor mats in your car and throw them on the ground where you could reach by jumping
Make sure you cover maximum area with mats
Open car door widely( roof top is preferable) then jump onto the mats which you placed earlier.
Make sure you remove two legs at once( keeping one leg inside may complete circuit).
Don’t walk over there just slide your feet like jam over bread( you need greater knowledge in physics to understand this).
4. Keys
Car keys are the deadliest weapons one could hold.
If someone tries to kill/harm you, then stab him in eyes with key.
5. You are driving a car and your brakes failed,then
Do not kill( turn off) the engine in panic as turning off engine will lock your steering then you can’t change your path to avoid collisions.
Do not change your gear to “neutral”, just decrease the gears sequentially. If you are in 80 in 4th gear, blip the accelerator a little (do not keep pressing it) and shift to 3rd. The car will slow down due to engine braking. Like wise do that with the rest of the gears.
Once you have attained impact sustainable speed, try hand brakes. If they failed too, collide your vehicle with a similarly sized, parked car because Car fronts are designed to absorb shock (structurally weaker) and hitting a similarly sized car will distribute the momentum evenly
Else collide it with a tree or pole( make sure you wear seat belt and have air bags).
YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE – Powerful Motivational Video 2020
What is the most ridiculous thing you had to deal with regarding an HOA?
The last community we lived in, the HOA was horrible and they singled people out. For example, there was a small fence that divided the backyard of our townhome from the back yard of our neighbors townhome.
It was just a small wooden privacy fence about 12 feet in length. The fence was old and began to lean over a bit. The neighbor complained to the HOA about the fence, saying it was our responsibility.
The HOA tried to fine us and I pulled out the book that came with the house. The fence was clearly on her property and I showed this to the HOA who then dropped the fine. Problem was, the fence was no longer a problem….they never fined the neighbor or even request she repair it.
I do have a funny HOA story.
Our new neighborhood has an HOA but they aren’t too heavy handed. When we moved in, the previous owner stored their trash cans on the edge of the driveway by the house. I put them in the same place as the previous owner but the HOA president didn’t like this. He sent letters (no fine) saying the trash cans needed to be behind the fence in the back yard (only the back yard is fenced and not the front).
I somewhat argued with him and asked him to clarify what exactly this rule was….and it’s the trash cans cannot be visible from the street.
I clarified that they didn’t have to be in the back yard but out of view and he agreed.
He did argue that because our house was on a turn, they’d still be visible on the side of our garage. I told him to consider it handled but asked for that in writing (in which he did).
Some friends of mine own a fairly popular fence and deck company. While I had to pay a little, my fence and deck folks helped me solve the problem:
This is the view from the side of our home on the street at the bend:
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This is the view from the front:
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And here is what it actually is:
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HOA president was pissed but I stayed within the rules he set.
Why does China refuse to communicate with Taiwan’s government?
PRC has made clear for 70 years that the One China principle is the red line for all and any relations with China. And that applies very clear to ROC also.
So, when KMT accepted that ROC also means China without specifying what that China means, PRC showed maximum flexibility and agreed to talks resulting in the 92 Consensus. But with DPP refusing to accept the One China principle and their leaders even refusing to accept they are Chinese, there is no possibility of PRC accepting talks.
PRC is prepared to negotiate and accept the status quo only with the One China principle. Anything else is a restart of the PRC/ROC civil war to settle the Taiwan issue. ROC has not much time left to start talks based on One China.
PRC prepared to retake Taiwan for decades and PLA is now ready to do the job. If Taiwan separatists continue on current path, there will not be a ROC soon. Lai’s inauguration speech defining ROC/PRC as two countries not subordinate to each other already breached PRC’s One China laws and the red line. PLA can take actions once the orders are given.
How to become a rich man after being stuck in prison for seven long, excruciating years.
As Peter blankly sat on his bed inside of his incommodious five-foot-by-five-foot maximum security jail cell, complete with sparking electric fences and menacing guards surrounding the whole cell, he began to throw random objects at the electric fence, watching them slowly burst into miniscule flames and leave trails of smoke until finally fizzling out.
Out of boredom and an act of defiance against the orders of guards and the king, Peter repeatedly threw objects at this evil faced encasement meant to entrap him: Mice, rocks, scraps of food. Anything he could find to slowly pass his time in jail.
He yelled out to the guards, “Someday I will be out of this jail and you’ll be under my control and power instead of the other way around.”
But, every day, the guards kept their stance and tolerated Peter’s hopeless cries of defiance, annoyance and boredom. Little did Peter know, he would be free and rich sooner than he had expected and meant in his words.
Suddenly, he heard the echoing stomping of their studded metal boots of the kings’ royal guards march down into his quarters, the filthiest area where all the worst criminals were kept in the farthest, darkest corner seventy-five yards away from all other civilians. Countless criminals resided there after committing gregious crimes such as arson, murder, and robberies, all sinking into their own endless pool of shame, regret, and dismay.
Peter felt surprised by this, knowing that the kings’ royal guard thought very highly of themselves and would never draw near to the presence of grimy delinquents and be subject to their shame and indignity, afraid that their guilt would impinge on their own pride and self-respect.
Suddenly interested, Peter avidly sat up and heard the turn of the lock to his cell click open, something that he had not heard for seven long and excruciating years. Seven long years of guilt, shame and contrition due to his wrongdoings. He had been twenty years old then. Young and foolish, he had everything he could ever want: a good family, abundant money, and all the latest tech. But, Peter still wanted more and more.
So, he decided to rob people of money, murder people he got into the slightest arguments with, and finally his biggest misshap– trying to steal the Makepiece Diamond of Zirca, which was one of the most valuable diamonds in all of the galaxies. Peter had planned everything to go according to his potentially flawless plan. He had infiltrated the king’s palace and the treasury where the diamond was kept. Just as his hand was about to snatch the glittering, clean-cut Makepiece diamond, he smelled a foul gas in the air, and he realized he had set off a tripwire that released knockout gas. The guards had come rushing in, stomping and frantically pouring into the small room and brought young Peter to the filthy catacombs where he still inhabited seven years later:
“Halt. You are officially under arrest by the kingdom of Zirca. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do may be used as evidence against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and you have a right to consult an attorney before being questioned and to have an attorney present. If you can’t afford an attorney, which evidently you can, one will be appointed to you.”
Seven years later in his jail cell, startled, Peter’s mind began swarming with millions of hypothetical reasons and questions. Is this a chance to freedom? Am I being sentenced to death? Why am I being summoned?
The royal guards with crisp white uniforms etched with their rankings: general, commander, agent, or so on, each with matching badges that signified they were of the highest class of military personal and pins. Gold trimmings neatly marched along the neckline and cuffs, stitched so perfectly they seemed to be pressed into the uniform. The proud guards spat at Peter and gruffly shouted, “Get up, you purple haired buffoon. The king wishes to see you, though we don’t know why he would want to see a dirty, ragged, wrongdoer like you. Now get up, and don’t make us ask twice.”
Peter quietly stood in confusion, curiosity, and bewilderment, and let the guards drag him to his death–or freedom.
Slowly lumbering up the moss covered stairs, feeling the stares of equally infamous criminals as himself, glancing at sparks flying off of many other electrical fences, new criminals with snarling faces thrashing in the guards arms.
Peter felt the guilt he had controlled and held in the jail of his own heart for seven long years come to light as he walked the walk of his own shame to the king’s court.
After what seemed like an eternity, or more precisely, 458 feet, 30 flights of stairs, and more than a hundred jail cells like his own, he finally saw the dazzling lights of thousands of crystal chandeliers, servants serving the king to all his miniscule whims, mellifluous music floating through the air from a grand harp, and finally the throne itself.
Peter started muttering to the guards that clenched his arms so tightly.
The king’s throne was a magnificent piece of work and the centerpiece of the throne room. Dripping with jewels such as clear-cut diamonds, forest-green jades, ocean-blue sapphires, dazzling sea-green emeralds, deep violet amethysts, ice-blue topaz, and fire-red rubies, it reflected a thousand rays of light, while being placed in pure gold.
Peter gaped in awe to the regal king that comfortably rested aloft the magnificent golden throne and meekly bowed out of his own humility and respect. The king, although aged and ancient-looking, he had an extremely wise mindset, and made decisions for the best of his planet. He had a great, wispy white beard, flowing robes of shimmering gold, and a grand crown on his head.
The tension of silence between the king and Peter at that moment became stifling. All servants, jesters, and guards sensed the palpable tension between the rotten criminal Peter and the royal, regal, wise King of Zirca. As the silence started to become almost unbearable, and static sounding, the king’s booming voice finally rang out.
Suddenly hearing the king’s echoing voice, Peter quickly glanced up at him. The king spoke to Peter and announced, “Peter, son of Circa. You have murdered countless families, looted many of my finest ships, and have attempted to steal the Makepeace Diamond of Zirca. For this, you have had been sentenced to life in prison. But, unfortunately, our planet is dying. Our Fire of Hestia has been stolen by the people of Titan. I am recruiting you to retrieve it for your freedom or death. Now, young Peter, what is your response?”
Hearing the name of “Fire of Hestia,” Peter’s mind clicked, and he finally realized why he had been brought up from the catacombs, left to rot, but instead given a chance of freedom. The Fire of Hestia was a relic from when the whole universe had been created. It powered all life on a planet, and without it, a planet could rot and die away slowly. Peter looked out the king’s grand windows, and saw that the whole landscape had changed since he had been exiled into prison. It looked dark, gloomy, and somber. Before, it had bursting with life: Foliage everywhere, children laughing, picnics taking place everywhere. But now that the Fire of Hestia had been stolen by the Titanians, the planet of Zirca was dying.
True, there were other relics across the universe that powered other planets, but the Fire of Hestia was special. It was the only relic powerful enough to give life to such a gargantuan planet such as Zirca and the people of Zirca the comfort and pleasure it needed.
Peter silently debated in his mind of the decision he should make. Shall I go after The Fire of Hestia in this quest? Should I spend the rest of my life rotting away in my shame and mildew? His hands became clammy, and his throat suddenly felt parched. But, Peter knew what he had to do to save his home planet and all those inhabiting it.
Peter responded in an equally regal voice, knowing that he had been chosen for one of the most difficult and important quests in all of robbery history. Despite the fact that he felt weary, bone thin, hunched over, had matted hair, ragged clothing, smelled of the sewers, and a single shoe he boldly said, “My king, I am honored for this opportunity and I am willing to accept. But, only with added compensation. I would like 100 bars of pure gold, new clothes, new shoes, and a new spaceship to get to Titan. You must give me my demands, otherwise I shall not perform any services for you.”
The king replied after some thought, “Although that is quite a handful of treasures that you demand to have in exchange for your service, the planet needs you. I realize there is no other thief as clever and stealthy as you. I shall supply your extraordinary demands in return for the Fire.”
Peter conclusively announced, “Then I shall accept this quest and go out to find this Fire of Hestia.”
What is weird in America but normal in the rest of the world?
I grew up in Europe but have been living in the US for 30+ years. These are some of the things I noticed:
Leaving your left hand on the table when you eat. In Europe, it’s considered good manners, in the US it is considered weird.
More recently, women have begun shaking hands when they meet, but not so long ago, this was considered weird in the US, while in Europe, it is absolutely normal and considered polite.
Sitting at a table with a stranger in a restaurant is not unusual in Europe. This is how people meet. Friendships have developed that way and even marriages. In the US, every one sits at a separate table. If someone came and asked if they could sit at my table, I would consider it weird.
In Europe, you park your car and walk to your destination. In the US, we expect front parking. For a business not to provide parking would be considered weird. In that same vein, Europeans get out of the car to post their mail or make their bank deposits. They don’t typically have drive-through tellers or mail boxes.
These are just some of the things that come to mind. I’m sure there are many more, if I stop to think about it.
BECOME A SAVAGE – Motivational Speech
As a disabled person, has anyone ever confronted you over your parking in a disabled spot?
Yes. It happened this last Tuesday. It was amazing. Like… nobody is gonna believe this crap amazing.
I was doing the monthly big grocery shop( one week has the biggest item list where the other three have the smaller more perishable ones)
I was also, am also, coping with one the worst illnesses I’ve had in awhile. It’s not catching… unless I were to not wash my hands after a poo… which is just gross. I’m actually headed to the hospital for admission tomorrow.
In any case, I am disabled, and was feeling even more disabled than usual when the chick confronted me. I got out of my car, sans cane, to unhook my child from the car seat, right behind me, and into a cart. A cart that some considerate soul had decided NOT to take to the cart corral. So I eagerly bumped it with my car and grabbed it on exiting my vehicle. It was 2 feet from the car. I can handle 2 ft without support.
Anyway, I’m putting my kid in the cart and leaned in to snag my quad Cane and my sundries and this middle-aged lady comes flying up and kinda pushes me with her body. Shouting that fat is not a disability and I need to move my flipping car( she used more expletives but I don’t care to)
I restrained myself from pushing back with my butt and instead just bring my quad Cane out rather swiftly and set it down firmly. on her foot. Oops.
Then I replied “ no, it’s not. But my congenital spinal defect and the Degenerative Disk disease that come with it ARE”.
She didn’t actually listen. She posted herself right in front of me for about 3 minutes and kept shouting at me to move the car. I’m guessing her hormone shot was delayed or something. But she wouldn’t let my son and I pass, being more able bodied than I am she was pretty freaking quick. So I stood there considering whether to use my screaming child’s cart to ram into her. But a nice security-looking guy saved her.
He came out and asked us what was going on. She started ranting at him about the fat b in the disabled spot… he calmly raised his hand, then walked around the car to my windshield, saw the placard. Walked back and asked me if I’d like to have her arrested for harassing a protected class.
Turns out he wasn’t a security guard. He was just a police officer who stopped in to flirt with the coffee gal at the cafe inside on his break. He saw the ruckus and went out to check.
I told him my son and I just wanted to grocery shop safely please and away we went. She actually tried to chase me again but he body blocked her.
It was amazing. I bet if I’d got it on camera people still wouldn’t believe it.
I don’t think she got arrested or anything. But I know she wasn’t there when I was done shopping. Which wasn’t that long either. That was store number 2 that day. My first store is always A Big Box Store.
What are some sarcastic one liners?
“Well, Governor, we use fewer horses and bayonets than we did in 1916.”
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(Above: President Obama explains how Battleship works while Governor Mitt Romney thinks about how he’s going to cheat)
During the third Presidential debate, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were sparring about various topics relating to the Obama presidency, with Obama quite obviously defending his actions against an onslaught of criticisms, some valid, from Romney.
However, the moment that sparked one of the first political memes of this decade was brought about by a ridiculously idiotic “accusation” from Romney:
Our Navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917. The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. We’re now at under 285. … We’re headed down to the low 200s if we go through a sequestration. That’s unacceptable to me.
If I was debating Romney, and I was the current President of the United States, I would probably make some statement about how our naval global dominance is currently asserted, and that we don’t necessarily need all of our ships to assert it.
I am not Barack Obama, who returned fire with this blistering comment that became the first prominent political meme of this decade:
You mention the Navy, for example, and the fact that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets. We have these things called aircraft carriers and planes land on them. We have ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. It’s not a game of Battleship where we’re counting ships, it’s ‘What are our priorities?
If you were grading a paragraph on factual accuracy, on brevity, and on pure, unadulterated savageness, I don’t think you can score higher than what Obama just said. Not only did he completely destroy the point that Romney was making, he also explained to him what an aircraft carrier and a submarine was.
I believe we need a new nickname for Obama: The Roaster-In-Chief. He burned Romney so bad that Mitt looked like one of his steaks at a barbecue. Romney didn’t even know how thoroughly he was ruined in that moment. It was glorious.
You are going to meet a lot of fake friends in your adult hood more than when you young.
You are on your own, nobody is there to struggle with you, but many people are waiting for you arrive.
Everybody replies with “I am doing fine”, after being asked “How they are doing”, but in the reality, “Nobody is really doing fine” because everyone have their struggles.
Unfortunately, Intelligence doesn’t mean you will be rich! There are a lot of ass holes out there that are doing better.
We are all going to die, I believe this has been said many times.
One of the risk that is difficult to predict is marriage. It is always difficult to predict the end of the tunnel even with lightening’s. This is comparable with “Marriage”.
Do not compare yourself with anybody because we are born with different opportunities. Remember nobody chooses their parents!
If you cannot appreciate what you have now, you will never appreciate what you aspire to get later.
Real education is more than just acquiring a college degree, while college prepares you for the job mindset. You have to prepare yourself for the challenges in this world by educating yourself through investing in yourself.
Arrogant and prideful people usually have more problem in life because they are unteachable people.
What measures can Taiwan take to protect its fishing vessels from being detained by China’s coast guard in the future?
Ban fishing for 4 months from May to Sept is an INTERNATIONAL consensus, so as to allow immature fish to grow to adulthood.
1, China follows the intl consensus. But not Taiwan (or Philippines for that matter)
So Taiwan is wrong to begin with.
2, The fishing net is supposed to have big holes to allow immature fish to escape the net, while caught.
The net of the detained Taiwanese fisherman does not pass the intl “rule”.
3, The detained Taiwanese fisherman happened to have trespassed the Chinese territory & was in Chinese waters.
4, When Taiwanese patrol boat came to rescue the Taiwanese fisherman, the patrol also has entered Chinese territory.
Back to the question.
What Taiwan should do is to comply with the international rule. Educate its fishermen.
Be kind to the immature fish & let them grow to adulthood.
WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE QUITTING – Powerful Motivational Speech
Have you ever beaten a lawyer on a legal question (or if you are a lawyer, have you been beaten by a lay person on a legal question)?
Ex employee suing us. We investigate and counter allege fraud.
He appoints $700ph lawyer. I represent us. I’m not a lawyer.
Denny Crane mocks our allegation of fraud. Says I don’t understand the elements of fraud. I remind him that I’ve done insurance law and disputes for a decade, and lots of contracts in my job. I indeed know a great deal about the elements of fraud as a former insurance exec. Said he didn’t make a mistake with [paperwork] 713 times. Remind him that he needs to prove 713 honest mistakes whereas we can lose 712. We only need 1 count of fraud to stick. Or one lesser charge of fraudulent misappropriation / theft by finding, or forgery, or any other included charge and his life is effectively over.
The genius move was a settlement offer of $0 plus Denny Crane’s legals in getting to first mediation.
Denny’s equation is
Talk the L, be paid handsomely and not have to explain to the other partners that he blew a billable day, OR
Risk a far more expensive zero fighting and losing, getting his client jailed and paying an adverse costs order himself OR
Fight and win a very improbable case, likely earning nothing in a corporate bankruptcy and STILL writing off his fees.
Suddenly Denny is telling his client to accept $0 on a case he said was a slam dunk a week earlier.
His settlement was half what our big city law firm wanted just to READ the claim, not defend it.
What is the most unusual and incorrect reason you’ve had the police called on you?
I trained some Firemen in HazMat Response at a little fire station in a very small town in Alabama where we own some land. After training I asked to get some pictures of the “gang”. They agreed and I went to get one scary looking quiet fellow out of his chair to join the group. He gave me a scowl look and said, “Don’t you dare take my picture”, I didn’t.
Later the Fire Chief apologized and told me that the fellow is the Sheriff. I asked if he is always this threateningly grumpy and the Chief said, “Oh yah. We love him.” I asked why and he said he keeps that town clean as a whistle. He went on, once two young guys bought a farm and after planting season was over the Sheriff went to their place late at night and knocked on their door. One guy was there and answered the door. The Sheriff said he wanted to come in and look things over. The guy said no, go get a warrant. The Sheriff told him he can do that, but he would have to wake up the Judge and that would make the Judge angry. If the Judge gets angry that makes him angry, and when he is angry he has a tendency to get trigger happy and start shooting things. The Sheriff told him that he was sure the two were drug dealers since they both drove fancy cars, never planted anything or had farm equipment, had strange hours/visitors and didn’t introduce themselves to their neighbors ( a thing in small town Alabama). The guy let him in and the Sheriff found lots of drugs. Things work differently in small town Alabama, don’t mess with the Sheriff.
To all who will say that is illegal, not fair, against the suspects rights, improper entry, can’t be done, sets up a suit for dismissal and all kinds of other legal beagle stuff, you are correct. But that is not the way it works outside of the Big city in small town Alabama. The two guys never came back, problem solved.
I like it there, they just handle things with sensibility not legal meanderings. If more law enforcement were allowed to use sense instead of being forced to follow incredible legal guidelines which work against both sides, we would have much safer places to live. A police state you say? No, a safe place where kids can learn to drive four wheelers on back roads, shoot guns, climb trees and play in the rivers and lakes. Like the good ole days.
Butter Basted Fork Tendered Steak
butter basted fork tendered steak
Ingredients
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 sticks Salted Challenge Butter, divided
Ribeye steaks
3 feet butchers twine per steak
Nonstick cooking spray
Instructions
Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika in a bowl or plastic bag. Reserve 1 tablespoon of seasoning for basting butter and set the remaining aside to season the steak.
Using a fork or a meat tenderizer with needle blades, probe the entire surface of steak on both sides two to three times.
The steaks will flatten during tenderizing stage so you will have to reshape steak with the twine. Gather steaks with your hands and pull them in to reshape them.
Once reshaped, snugly wrap butchers twine around perimeter of the steak three times and tie it off. Trim excess from ends.
Season steak with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon spices per side based on preference, and let the meat rest for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking.
Melt one stick of Challenge Butter and combine with one tablespoon of seasoning.
As steaks are resting, preheat grill to 500 to 525 degrees F.
Spray one side of steak with nonstick cooking spray and place it on the grill. Cook for 2 1/2 minutes.
Spray top side of each steak with nonstick spray, flip and baste with butter/seasoning mixture. Grill for another two and a half minutes.
Flip the steaks and rotate them 90 degrees, baste with butter mixture and grill for another 2 1/2 minutes.
Flip steaks, baste and check internal temperature. Cook to desired doneness. (125 degrees F for medium rare, 130 degrees F for medium, or 140 degrees F for well done.)
Remove from grill and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
Add a dollop of Challenge butter and serve.
Notes
Loren and Cheryl Hill are world champion pit masters who have competed on the professional BBQ circuit for last eleven years. “The Smoking Hills” earned 3 World Championships in 2015: The American Royal Invitational, World Food Championships BBQ, and World Food Championships Overall
WHEN LIFE IS HARD – Powerful Motivational Video
Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen.
Don’t you quit.
As a police officer, what’s one criminal you will always remember dealing with that stuck with you till to this day?
An old time heroin addict was in jail and sent me a note saying he wanted to talk to me. He said that he was tired of the way he was living, and wanted to change.
He said that many times he had either been shot or stabbed and had been using heroin for 20 years and couldn’t quit. He said that the only way he knew of was to burn all of his bridges by informing on everyone. That way no one would deal with him. He wanted help getting on methadone, I told him I would help him as best as I could. I called the methadone clinic and arranged for someone to talk to him.
He bailed out of jail and called me one morning, with some information. He said that there was a burglary at a certain business and business machines were stolen. He said that those machines were at a construction site inside of the superintendent of construction’s office.
I got a crew and went to the office and saw the machines, and asked about them. The superintendent said they were the company’s and that he only used them. There were several machines, a IBM typewriter and other items. I noticed he only had one hand and asked him to show me how he used the type writer. He attempted to use it which I knew it wouldn’t work as the cord wasn’t plugged in.
I called the company and spoke with the president and described the machines to him. He said none of them were his and they didn’t have equipment that I mentioned. The informant called several more times with an arrest being made each time.
Another time the informant called to tell me that a stolen truck-mounted compressor and a huge stolen farm tractor was at a certain farm which was about 75 miles from our city. I called the Sheriff’s office for that county and spoke with a Deputy Sheriff who said that I needed to speak with his Captain. The Captain told me that this farm was owned by the man who owned one of the largest private farms in the state and was friends with all of the big wigs in the county including the elected Sheriff. They went to the farm and confiscated the equipment, and said they would present the case to the District Attorney who was supposedly also a friend of the farm owner. I never heard back about what happened to the case.
The informant testified in several case he had given me information on, was accepted into the methadone program, got a job and I never again heard from him except a phone call. He said thanks, and was clean of drugs after a year and a half.
What should someone absolutely not do when in Australia?
This occurred 15 years ago.
Our family went on a month long road trip around Australia with a sprinter. We started our journey in Perth, Western Australia, then drove along the South West Coast through Albany. We then continued east towards Adelaide, eventually made several stops at major cities in the South-East coast, that is Melbourne, Sydney and then the Gold Coast.
As we were headed for Darwin and about to cross the Northern Territory border, we stopped at a gas station to refuel.
It was night time and we were literally in the middle of nowhere.
My dad entered the station to pay for gas, then the cashier asked my dad if we were planning on driving through out the night.
And when my dad said yes, he told my dad that he should not drive at night time and instead to opt for a rest at the motel because it’s dangerous.
He told us that there’s kangaroos roaming at night time.
My dad thought the Australian man was joking, so he ignored the tip and decided to continue the drive.
At that time, my dad thought that if he continued that night he could avoid the traffic and reach Darwin faster.
Plus, my dad was a pretty experienced driver.
We left the gas stop; my parents were on the front seat while my brothers and sister was at the back seat asleep as we cruise towards NT border at night time.
Few hour later, I heard a loud THUMP.
I woke up and saw the car slowly being pulled to the side of the road. There was smoke coming out of the trunk.
I remembered looking outside the window, seeing emptiness. It was dark and all I could think about was how we were going to die.
My dad went out of the car to check and what do you know?
We had crashed a large kangaroo.
There was a dead kangaroo inside our engine bay.
Two things died that night: the kangaroo and the car’s radiator.
We were forced to spend the night in the middle of the desert while we waited for a truck or anyone to pass by.
You know what? No truck came until morning time, perhaps avoiding the kangaroo that roams at night time.
So here is an expensive lesson we learned that night:
Kangaroo are crepuscular meaning that they are mostly active at dusk, dawn and night.
At night time they are attracted to light, or should I say headlights. It is common for Kangaroos to jump at incoming vehicle only to freeze (or blinded) by the light.
If you are planning to drive at night time in the outback, drive slowly and extreme caution.
There is an item called the Kangaroo Whistle that emits high frequency noise used to repel Kangaroo.
Avoid driving at night all together and take the gas station tip and rest at the motel.
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The kangaroo was pretty much as big and the road looked something like the picture above.
All images taken from Google Images
PS: We were rescued by trucker who stopped by to help us reach road assistance. We were directed back to the nearest gas station and met the man that warned us about the kangaroos. A “told you so” moment but he was helpful and eventually we were driven to a small airport and flown back to Perth. The car was transported to Perth along with our belongings. There was a hefty price tag on the repair but luckily it was covered by insurance.
I forgot which town was our last gas stop, but will update once I figured it out.
EDIT, Kangaroo Facts:
21–26 km/h is the average hop speed for kangaroos and it can go up to 71 km/h.
”Father, I have a problem. I have two female parrots, but they only know to say one thing.”
“What do they say?” the priest asked.
They say, ”Hi, we’re hookers! Do you want to have some fun?”
”That’s obscene!” the priest exclaimed,
Then he thought for a moment……
“You know,” he said, ”I may have a solution to your problem. I have two male talking parrots, which I have taught to pray and read the Bible…
Bring your two parrots over to my house, & we’ll put them in the cage with Francis and Peter. My parrots can teach your parrots to pray and worship, & your parrots are sure to stop saying that phrase in no time.”
”Thank you,’ the woman responded, ‘this may very well be the solution.”
The next day, She brought her female parrots to the priest’s house….As he ushered her in, she saw that his two male parrots were inside their cage holding rosary beads & praying…
Impressed, She walked over & placed her parrots in the cage with them…
After a few minutes, The female parrots cried out in unison:
“Hi, we’re hookers! Do you want to have some fun?”
There was stunned silence…
Shocked, one male parrot looked over at
the other male parrot & says…
‘Put the beads away, Frank, Our prayers have been answered !!!
What is the most badass thing your parent has ever done?
When I was 15 years old walking home from highschool, I used a short cut and walked down the alley behind our house to save time.
When I got about a block away with the back of my house in sight, an older man who lived at the corner came out and stood in the middle of the alley facing me and began to make rude gestures and vulgar remarks in Spanish .
He was in his late 20s, and I thought he didn’t speak english. He was really into his performance, dry humping the air and making dirty sound effects when my dad decided to take the trash out.
My dad made a gesture to me to be quiet, as he walked up behind him. I had no idea what he was going to do. The man didn’t hear my dad as he walked up behind him. I did not believe what happened next.
I watched my dad walk up to the guy and jump into the air holding his body sideways and (without a running pace) kick the man in the back of the head knocking him down to the pavement (asphalt) . He put his foot on his head and pressed his face down on to the asphalt and bent over to tell the man if he ever heard him talk like that to his daughter again he would regret it.
And guess what?
The guy spoke English for the first time in his life (lol) saying “yes sir”, “I’m sorry sir”, “it won’t happen again sir”.
I think he broke his front teeth in the fall? So in a sense, he got his teeth kicked in for having a nasty mouth in front of a young woman. My dad said the punishment fit the crime and I never had trouble with that man again.
My dad was a superman my whole life. He had a natural build, arms bigger than his head and a quick response in defending people he cared about.
He played baseball until his late 50s and laid brick and block at 74. His last project was a pergola with 14′ beams in our backyard. He built it with end stage small cell lung cancer at 75.
I watched him pick up a man by the back of his shirt and the seat of his pants and throw him out of the produce section for insulting my mother at a grocery store.
He took on three men to save his friends store from being looted during the riots in Los Angeles, then stayed by himself during the fires to board it up.
He was a war horse all the way to the end in 2016 when he died at home due to complications (cancer).
Great movie (Free, full length)
007: No Time to Die – James Bond | FULL ACTION MOVIE | English FHD
no time to die 2
This is the all time classic fun with Bond. James Bond.
But, in all seriousness, who we think is in control… ain’t. Someone or something, else is “pulling the strings”, and who or whatever they are… and I am not saying they are anyone non-human… but they actually are deluded amateurs.
First up, we see that the “president” is a figurehead. He has no ability, and is cognitive – lacking. In fact, I have seen “special needs” people with more ability than what he displayed on camera.
It was a disaster; a true and real “shit show”.
We also see “fake” presidents running around with fake masks, and earbuds. Not to mention a legion of “handlers” that make sure that he is “on point”. These “fake president Biden’s” never make any mistakes, stutter, or go irrational like the real (non-functional) president does.
So someone is running things. But who?
A unelected cabal? Or, just the “court hanger’s on” that orbit the office of the presidency? I tend to believe the later, and the rulings, the regulations and laws suggest trivial matters of political importance elevated to national discourse, while the serious issues of national concern are ignored.
Such as this…
snippet
As opposed to this…
CPI
I am not picking on one measure or the other, just making a very generalized statement that the priority sheet for the Federal Government is way, way out of wack. Special interest niche matters become national priorities, while real national emergencies are covered up, and ignored.
Que an Oliver Anthony tune here.
And with this all being the case 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 5. Meaning, of course, that things are not adding up in the official narrative basket.
Oh, depending on what will happen, we will either get a war of distraction, more of the same (Weekend at Bernie’s) …
Fun-loving salesmen Richard (Jonathan Silverman) and Larry (Andrew McCarthy) are invited by their boss, Bernie (Terry Kiser), to stay the weekend at his posh beach house. Little do they know that Bernie is the perpetrator of a fraud they've uncovered and is arranging to have them killed. When the plan backfires and Bernie is killed instead, the buddies decide not to let a little death spoil their vacation. They pretend Bernie is still alive, leading to hijinks and corpse desecration galore.
weekend
… or a full-on clown show (Idiocracity).
trump
Sigh.
Post-Debate Reaction: The Most TERRIFYING Part of the CNN Presidential Debate
Thai Stuffed Omelets
Thai stuffed omlette
Yield: 2 omelets
Ingredients
1/2 cup ground pork
2 tablespoons chopped green beans
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon diced cooked carrots
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 to 3 drops Maggi sauce
4 eggs
1 teaspoon milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon MSG (Accent)
Pepper
Instructions
In wok or saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons oil.
Add pork, garlic salt and MSG. Stir fry for 3 minutes.
Add green beans, onions and carrots, tossing lightly.
Add sugar, Maggi sauce and dash of pepper.
Remove from heat and pour into a bowl.
Pour enough oil into skillet to cover bottom.
Lightly beat eggs with milk. Pour in 1/2 the egg mixture and spread evenly.
Add 1/2 of pork mixture.
Fold over 1/2 of the omelet to cover the pork mixture.
Here’s some of my latest AI generated art. Chinese girls and tigers on a clipper ship. Oh, yeah, I’m still playing around with this.
I find it fun and enjoyable.
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Now, I am trying a art plug-in filter…
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Which, of course, by nature… naturally tends to undress them.
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Maybe I should try a Greek mythology version.
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Here’s where I swapped out some Chinese ladies for some Vietnamese ladies…
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And this picture is my daily favorite. I really love the curious background.
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Today…
Was Trump right when he said the debate was rigged?
Yes, it was. In the sense that CNN organized the debate in such a way that they thought their set-up would help Biden come across better. They were also betting on the mic-off rules startling Trump and possibly causing a meltdown…
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The problem? CNN and many in more liberal spheres — myself included — have fallen for a trap. As Tony Montana used to say, “Never get high on your own supply!” They bought into the fairy tale of Trump, the raving, ranting madman. Versus calm, collected, has-his-wits-about-him Biden. Biden, who since 2020 only does well on strictly scripted performances. With the world hyperfocused on the issue of Biden’s age and frailty, all Trump needed to do was appear “presidential”.
And CNN helped him do it by enforcing strict time limits on questions. Trump kept his cool, spoke clearly and relatively coherently. And Biden, without an earpiece, autocue or script? Bombed. CNN had expected Trump, instead, to bomb. They forgot he always talks shit confidently on the fly — it’s his biggest selling point. The debate was designed to cause Trump to lose his shit, to become frustrated and angry. To shout and try to disrupt Biden’s answers, to act aggressive and nasty, much like Trump did in the 2020 presidential debate which he came out of looking badly.
And then… he didn’t. Faced with a whispering, frail Biden frequently losing his train of thought, Trump must have known from the very first minute that this was his night. That the stage was his, and that victory was all-but certain. Truth matters little when it’s a faint, confused whisper… and lies, presented with gusto, carry the night. Instead of attacking Biden on a personal level, Trump at times almost seemed to pity his opponent… he felt no need to be vicious, because the debate was the verbal equivalent of Mike Tyson fighting a sweet old grandpa.
What psychological tricks and hacks are useful to know?
If you haven’t slept well, tell your brain “I slept well”. You will feel fresh. It works like miracle.
Want to defeat a narcissist who insults you? Don’t react. Just ignore him completely in front of others. It will hurt his image and he will stop poking you.
Want to know if someone is attentive or not? Repeat your sentence with a slight change in it. If he is listening either his facial expression will change or he will point out and question the part.
Want to know a person is lying to fit in a group? Just watch his eyes when he talks, if his eyes seeks validation from others for what he said, then he is pretending. A liar /pretender always seeks validation for his talks to fit in the group.
Giving a presentation ? Always bring a bottle of water to the stage. When you can’t remember what to say, take a drink. Nobody will know the difference.
Build good relationships: Harvard University studied adults for almost 70 years and concluded that nothing leads to prosperity and healthy life as good relationships.
Avoid getting roasted. If you think that someone is going to talk badly about you in a professional setting, sit next to that person. It is much harder to speak poorly of someone who’s in close proximity to you, so they’ll probably take it easy.
Stop reacting: You lost your wallet? Had a terrible breakup? Working hard but no appreciation? Lost your job? Stop reacting in such situations. Don’t expect recognition for your efforts. Think twice, act wise!
30-days challenge: Want to kill a habit? Start a 30 days challenge and you will see the change.
Relationship Advice: Be with someone who gives you the same feeling as when you see your food coming at restaurant.
Biggest brain damaging habits:
No breakfast.
Over-reacting.
Smoking.
High sugar consumption.
Air pollution.
Sleep deprivation.
Head covered while sleeping.
Working your brain during illness.
Lacking in stimulation thoughts.
Talking rarely.
Never tell anyone 3 things:
Your Love life.
Income.
Your next big move.
Exercise: 20 push ups, 15 squats, 50 jumping jacks, 30 crunches! repeat 3 times = burn 100 kilo calories.
Inception.
This one’s my favourite. If you want to start a thought in someone’s mind, ask them to not think of that idea at all. For example I tell you NOT to think about DIAMONDS.
What are you thinking of? 🙂
Democrats In “ALL OUT PANIC” After Biden’s Debate Performance
The clips are so disturbing. This guy is “leading the country”?
FAKE “Joe Biden” Is Back! One Day After Dismal Debate with Trump; FAKE “Joe” Wearing Silicone Mask put on campaign trail
A FAKE “Joe Biden” is back and on the campaign trail, committing willful felony, criminal fraud against the American People and criminal Impersonation of the President of the United States.
The latest fake – this one with Hazel colored eyes instead of Biden’s blue eyes – appeared at a Campaign Rally. His silicone mask appeared to be melting or drooping near his eye brows, and coming unglued out of his ears!
The sloppy impersonation is designed to commit willful fraud upon the American people; to make them think they have an energetic and competent President, when the reality is they don’t.
Below is video from the campaign rally just one day after joe mumbled his way through the first televised debate with Donald Trump. No rational person can avoid seeing this is an impersonator. No rational person can avoid seeing the silicone mask sliding down where “Biden’s” eye brows are:
Fake Biden Eye brows
Or around his other eye, the silicone mask literally DETACHING around the eye socket near the nose:
Fake Biden Right Eye Mask Detaching
No rational person can avoid seeing this fake’s HAZEL-COLORED eyes instead of Joe Biden’s Blue colored eyes:
Fake Biden Hazel Eyes Not Blue
No rational person can avoid seeing the tabs in the center of “Biden’s” ear canal, drooping out from sweat or failing glue.
FAKE Biden ear tab
What you are about to see is willful, criminal, impersonation for the purpose of fraud. The Biden Campaign is committing it. The United States Secret Service (protecting this fraud) is committing it. The Democrat Party is committing it.
People are already wondering aloud if Joe Biden has Brown Eyes, so let me lay this diversion nonsense to rest, right now. Below is a photo of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, in the White House, taken by ABC News and being fed into my website from the ABC News Server:
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The direct Link to this image on the ABC News server is:
The diversion tactic of “I think I remember . . . . . brown eyes . . . .” is not going to work and is not going to be tolerated here. Joe Biden has BLUE eyes. The guy at his campaign rally had Hazel Eyes. Period. Full stop.
Zelenski Changes His Peace Plan
Zelenski’s ‘peace summit’ in Switzerland had failed:
The reviews of Zelenski’s latest show ain’t positive:
…
The summit served warmed up bullshit without any significant nutritional value. The most important points weren’t even discussed:
…
The war will continue until the complete destruction of the Ukrainian forces can no longer be ignored.
The last point may have come earlier than anticipated.
On June 27 Zelenski had changed tact (machine translation):
During a speech in Brussels, the president said that Ukraine wants to start negotiations on ending the war in the near future.“Ukraine does not want to prolong the war, we do not want it to last for years. We need to put a settlement plan on the table within a few months, ” he said.
Zelensky said that in the near future it is planned to develop a plan for the second world summit.
On June 28 he gave more details (machine translation):
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine will present its detailed peace plan “this year”.The President announced this during a press conference in Kyiv.
“It is very important for us to show an end-of-war plan that will be supported by the majority of the world. This is the diplomatic path that we are working on. Not everything depends on us, our production of technology, drones, and artillery is really increasing, because we need to be strong on the battlefield. Because Russia understands nothing but force. These are two parallel processes: be strong and develop a detailed, clear plan, and it will be ready this year, ” Zelensky said.
…
Note that the Ukrainian peace plan has long been presented by Zelensky. It implies the withdrawal of Russian troops to the borders. However, many countries of the world (especially representatives of the “global South”) consider it unrealistic.
In other words, a new plan will probably be prepared.
Earlier Russia’s President Putin had announced his conditions for a permanent peace agreement. How many of them will Zelenski accept within his new ‘peace plan’?
Yesterday’s assault by the Democratic National Council on the Joe Biden campaign has failed.
Thursday night, as soon as the Trump-Biden debate had started, anonymous DNC officials contacted their usual ‘liberal media’ contacts and denounced Biden’s performance. Even those media, like CNN and MSNBC, who have for years denied the obvious problems Biden has had, jumped onto the train. Biden, they said, should retreat.
The New York Times mobilized a slew of its opinion writers to convey the message:
But Joe Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, resisted the move:
President Biden knew immediately after stepping off the stage in Atlanta on Thursday night that the debate had gone wrong. In those first stricken moments after a raspy, rambling and at times incoherent performance, he turned to his wife, Jill Biden.
…
The first lady’s message to him was clear: They’d been counted out before, she was all in, and he — they — would stay in the race. Her thinking, according to people close to her, was that it was a bad night. And bad nights end.
…
So Dr. Biden spent the 24 hours after the debate putting her decades as a political spouse to the test, projecting confidence and normalcy while effusively praising her husband.
Pushed along by his wife Joe Biden did not step back. The DNC assault on his campaign had failed.
Late last night former President Barack Obama, likely the man behind the ‘oust Biden’ campaign, publicly through the towel.
Barack Obama @BarackObama – 18:36 UTC · Jun 28, 2024Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November. http://joebiden.com
Gleen Greenwald commented on Obama’s intervention:
Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald – 19:17 UTC · Jun 28, 2024Once the media starts to realize that they’re not going to get Biden out of the race, they’re all going to quickly retreat from the past 24 hours and get back on board.
Obama is directing them to do that and giving them the script to use:
The campaign to oust Biden has failed, but the damage is done.
Even pro-Biden voters will, from now on, watch diligently to find the flaws in the next Biden speech or debate.
Russian Note To The U.S.: Your Drones Are Now Targets
A new statement by the Russian Defense Ministry says:
The Russian Defence Ministry noted the increased intensity of U.S. strategic unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea waters, which are conducting reconnaissance and targeting high-precision weapons supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Western states to launch strikes at Russian facilities.This demonstrates the increasing involvement of the United States and NATO countries in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kiev regime.
Such flights increase the possibility of air incidents involving the Russian Aerospace Forces’ aircraft, increasing the risk of a direct confrontation between the alliance and the Russian Federation.
The NATO countries will be responsible for this.
The Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Andrei Belousov has instructed the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces to make proposals on measures for rapid response to provocations.
NATO reconnaissance and radio relay drones were regularly patrolling over the Black Sea before and during recent ‘Ukrainian’ attacks with long reaching, western delivered weapons on Crimea. This was also case during the recent release of cluster ammunition over a popular beach near Sevastopol which has caused several civilian death and wounded some 100+ people.
While the drones are nominally flying in neural airspace they are obviously used for attacks on Russia assets in Crimea. That makes them, arguably, legitimate targets for Russian air defenses. Russia had so far held back at destroying them. This will now change.
NATO or the U.S. may well regard such attacks on their ‘neutral’ forces as hostile. Some will press for retribution. But I am convinced that mere attacks on drones will not be seen as sufficient reason to launch World War III.
There are two species which I’d say are dangerous to humans. The first is the most obvious — the Komodo dragon. The world’s largest lizard has a mouthful of venomous knives. (Real venom — not, as was previously believed, just bacteria). Komodo dragons can and have eaten people. In captivity, habituated to handling, they are oddly sweet-tempered, though. But still, venom — it causes a rapid drop in blood pressure, leading to shock. Shock makes you easy to catch.
The second contender is the crocodile monitor, notable not for its size, but for the fact that it doesn’t have a mouthful of knives — it has a mouthful of razor blades. It can do so much damage with a nip, it could maim a human with barely an effort.
(Don’t do this):Because this teeny tiny croc monitor hatchling did this:
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Even an accidental nip could result in nerve damage.
In general, most other monitors aren’t particularly dangerous. Large ones could give a nasty bite, and the venom may make the person bleed a lot and be a bit woozy, but no one’s going to die or be maimed. A monitor’s tail-whip could leave some good bruises, or break a finger. That’s about it. Many monitors are too small to do any real damage.
The Younger Generation is Completely Over It ….
What’s the weirdest question you’ve been asked when crossing an international border?
Not really a weird question, but a weird interaction:
Necessary background to the story: When I was a university president, I was frequently called upon to be on accreditation teams that went to other university campuses to do a first-hand accreditation review. One time, I was invited to go to Germany because a US university in my region had a major branch campus in Germany where they offered an MBA program. Such an event rarely happens, so I was pleased with that opportunity to visit, however briefly, another country — you get an international trip, but you have to work much harder because they keep those teams small.
Story: After we landed in Frankfurt, the immigration officer at the counter asked me what the purpose of my visit was (it was just a three-day trip). I said, “I am here as part of an MBA visiting team.”
His face expressed considerable surprise, and he said, “Really?” with a skeptical smile on his face. While I was born in India, I had lived in the US for about 35 years by that time (50+ years now); I have brown skin and a British-tinged Indian accent. His question, in turn, took me by surprise because I kind of fit the visual stereotype of an academic guy. Why did he appear not to believe me? I have had a US passport since the early 1980s, so that couldn’t have been an issue.
So, I repeated that I was coming to Germany for a three-day stay as part of an MBA visiting team, saying that the other members of the team had probably arrived a few hours earlier.
Again, skepticism.
I just had to ask: “Why are you so surprised?” He certainly wasn’t required to answer, but he did: “Because you don’t look like a player on an NBA team!”
He was right; I don’t. I’m 5′-8.5″, with brown skin and not athletic looking at all.
“Not an NBA visiting team; an MBA visiting team.” “I’m a university president.”
“Oh, MBA. Okay then.”
Stamp, stamp, “Welcome to Germany!”
Russia Humiliates NATO in Conventional War | Andrei Martyanov
What secret did you learn about your neighbor that made your jaw drop?
Not exactly “a secret” but certainly something that wasn’t public knowledge:-
When my wife and I moved into this house near Cardiff (UK) in 2001, the next door neighbour was an older gentleman, I guessed he was in his mid/late 70s. He was always polite and pleasant, totally independent and looked after himself, his home and his garden very well. We’d see him every morning, always smartly attired in jacket and tie (and his flat cap) driving down to the local shops for a pint of milk and newspaper and, if either of us was outside, we always got a wave and a smile as he passed.
The only things he couldn’t manage were computer issues on his PC. So, very occasionally, he would ask if I could “pop around” and sort something out for him. It was usually something simple which could be fixed by clearing cache, or removing some troublesome advertising or similar, but he was inevitably very apologetic about “troubling you” or “wasting your time”.
He didn’t talk about his past much at first, but eventually a few facts emerged: He’d served in the war (1939–1945); he’d climbed the Himalayas in the 1960s (I still have a few of his photographs from when I converted his old 35 mm colour slides to digital); he’d lived ‘down under’ and worked for the Australian Government for a long time and he had even built his own house there by hand. All of which was quite fascinating to me, but he would rarely go into any detail, and most certainly not about his wartime history.
On one occasion he asked for “some help using a website”. So I went to his house and helped him book a Battlefield Tour as part of a regimental reunion. At this point a few details slipped out. This quiet, unassuming old chap had been one of the pioneers of what is now known as Special Forces, and he was with a group of Commandos behind the enemy lines on D-Day: “We were there to stir-up some trouble, and distract attention from the Normandy Beaches”. Then, “I don’t like to think of it much, because I lost so many of my friends at that time….”, a pause, and then, “Of course, getting myself shot isn’t a particularly pleasant memory either” (chuckles).
It turns out that only he and one other survived from his unit, with both of them injured. But they managed to link up with the Allied forces and he was evacuated to the UK. “Do you know where they sent me when I landed in Southampton from the hospital ship?”, he asked, and went on to describe how the wounded were just loaded, apparently almost randomly, to various hospitals around the country. “They sent me to Llandough Hospital (Cardiff), the very same hospital I’d been born in! How about that?”
After that opening, I did eventually get a few more stories from him (very, very occasionally) and I was privileged to see some of his documents and awards. But it was really only because of the Battlefield Tour’s difficult customer interface that I discovered I was living next door to a very brave man, a bona fide war hero.
Sadly his health deteriorated badly a few years later and he was hospitalised where he died within a couple of weeks of being admitted . . . . in the very same ward of the very same hospital he’d been evacuated to in 1944.
What is the most badass thing your parent has ever done?
One day my dad went out to the mailbox and saw it had been vandalized. It was crushed like it had been hit with a hammer or a bat. Without a word, he went into town and bought a new one and set it up. Two days later he went out, and it was crushed again. This time he got mad…
He pulled the wooden post out of the ground, dug a post hole and put a ten foot pipe into it with four feet above ground and six below. He poured concrete into the pipe. He took shelf paper that looked like wood grain and wrapped it around the pipe, so that from a distance it looked like a wooden post. He bought two mailboxes this time…he put the smaller one into the bigger one and poured concrete into the gap between the two. He then set it up on the post. The thing was rock solid.
That night, we heard a loud crash. Dad grabbed his shotgun and headed to the mailbox. Turns out a couple bullies that hated my guts had taken the bat to the mailbox as they were driving by, and about broke one of their wrists. The driver decided to take and push the mailbox over using his bumper of his Jeep. When that didn’t work, he backed up and rammed it, embedding the post into his engine.
Dad comes out of the darkness and starts shooting the tires with the shotgun. The boys are cussing and protesting, when one of them says his dad will kick my dad’s butt. Dad marches them up to the house and calmly tells him to CALL his dad.
The boy’s dad arrives and the first thing he sees is the Jeep. He starts cussing, but stops when Dad trots the two boys out and tells him what happened. Dad delivers an ultimatum … he can either call the cops and the boys will get arrested, or they can repair any damage to the mailbox, reimburse him for the mailboxes destroyed, and keep their mouth shut to the cops about what happened. They decided to do the latter.
As they are leaving, Dad says, “If you think I’m a bastard to deal with, you should try my son. He’s been nice to you so far … but he’s about to lay you low.”
To this day, when they see me coming, they avert their eyes and alter their path, even though in truth I’m pretty harmless.
The Dark Side of DARPA | The Human Cost of Technological Supremacy
Is China afraid of the United States?
Now it is not afraid at all, almost all Chinese people are waiting to see the jokes of the United States.
The level of Chinese fear of Americans has changed less and less over time, in fact, Chinese children born after 2005 have come to view the United States as garbage.
On the Chinese Internet, there is a saying that “Dignity is only above the edge of the sword, and truth is only within the range of the missiles”
The Chinese often refer to the Dongfeng missile as “Truth”.
It should be stated here that it is not that the Chinese advocate violence, on the contrary, the Chinese love peace, and the above statement is that the Chinese have drawn a conclusion from historical experience: in negotiating with the Americans, force is more effective than anything else.
I was born in the late nineties, and when I was in middle school and they were showing “Growing Pains” on TV, American was confident and brave and adventurous. When it comes to the United States, everyone thinks that the United States is a beacon for the world.
Later, when the United States invaded Afghanistan and defeated the Afghan army in a short time, I was shocked by the high-tech military equipment displayed.
Back then, Liu Cixin (author of Three-Body) wrote a short story “Full Band Blocking Interference”.
The content of the short story is that the United States and NATO troops invaded China, the PLA and NATO troops fought, China suffered extremely heavy casualties, and finally prepared to die with the NATO army, the United States in order to prevent too much loss before announcing a truce.
The Chinese were very afraid of the United States.
In 2016, when the Chinese Navy and the US Navy faced off in the South China Sea and the US fleet fled, the Chinese suddenly found out that the US military was not as strong as they had thought.
In the following years, the number and combat effectiveness of Chinese warships increased rapidly, and when the 055 warship appeared, the Chinese basically did not fear the United States.
When Chinese Internet users learned that the US military was riddled with drugs and that there were transgender generals, most Chinese took the US as a joke.
Until recently, the United States and the Houthis were fighting so hard. Now most Chinese (especially young Chinese) have come to regard the US military as garbage.
With the popularization of the Internet, Chinese people know the current situation of the internal division of American society, all kinds of stores will be robbed, and the drug problem is very serious. All Chinese are surprised that they have been deceived by the US media for more than a decade.
More than a decade ago, there was a magazine in China called “Yilin”, which advertised that the United States was paradise on earth. It said that Americans could give up building highways to protect the environment, and that Americans would not lock their doors at night because there were no thieves in the United States. Americans’ morals are the highest in the world. No one Fare evasion on the New York subway.The security in the United States is very good, even if the wallet is left in the restaurant for more than 24 hours, no one will steal it, and the clerk will personally contact the owner.
Because of this magazine, the Chinese people really thought that the Americans were just like the description in the magazine, the Chinese people kept working hard, dreaming that one day they could do as well as the United States, and decades later, China basically realized the appearance described in the magazine, and then the Chinese people suddenly found that they had been deceived by the magazine for decades
Why do most Chinese kids now think America is trash?
Because they learned through TIKTOK and YOUTUBE that the United States launched wars against other countries, such as the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan, during which the US military randomly killed Afghan civilians. This behavior is completely different from what they see in Hollywood superhero movies.
At the same time, we learn that Americans sacrifice the majority for the benefit of the few in the United States, such as the drug epidemic, the gun epidemic, the supermarket robbery.
At the same time, the Chinese also learned that some states in the United States can even privately let students undergo sex reassignment surgery without parental consent. Teacher secretly brainwashed Male students’ You’re a girl ‘
In fact, most people in China think like American Puritans, and some of the actions of American politicians are contrary to universal values.
Thirty years ago, firearms were readily available in China, and although drugs were strictly controlled, many people substituted cough syrup for drugs. Thirty years ago, large-scale battles often took place in rural areas of Guangdong, often involving hundreds of people. Weapons are automatic gun or semi-automatic gun, and even artillery and explosives are found in the village. Three decades ago, walking the streets of China was a common prospect of being mugged, and women living alone feared being murdered.
Later, the government cracked down on crime and shot countless criminals. Law enforcement was so strict that people could be sentenced to death for theft. This process lasted about five years.
The Chinese society we see today is very harmonious and safe, the result of the government’s vigorous reforms three decades ago.
Tucker Reacts to Trump vs. Biden Debate During Sydney, Australia Speech
Please sit and bear with me as you read this. In an immense amount of time from now. Not millions of years or billions of years from now. But two times ten to the power 36 amount of years. That’s a two undecillion years or 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years. A point when the stars will shine no more. The new dark ages of the universe.During the new dark ages, the final black holes evaporate, the last of the iron stars float in the void, the galaxies have all fallen apart, and proton decay threatens to dissolve the universe into elemental particles.Now there are just a mere four thousand humans left, but humanity’s life span is on the order of undecillion years. At this point humans age normally until our twenties, and then that’s it. Because of proton decay we must take quantum reinforcement showers to keep our atoms from decaying. This is the only form of death humanity now knows.Despite the size of the universe and against the probability of the Drake equation, humanity discovered eons ago that we were the only intelligent life. By this point there are now only two other forms of known life. Both made by human hands. Cryptales, which are creatures that evolved from living spaceships that now roam freely about the universe sucking up energy wherever they can find it, and the AbSent, a nasty group of artificially intelligent life that evolved from humanity’s attempt to create a sentient slave species.So, Gisoo was the last human to be born, and she had just discovered a small field of intact rocky bodies. This is odd because rocky bodies are rare. She was also in command of a bio-mechanized living ship called the Dream Vision that uses a captured supermassive black hole as its main power source.
“Gisoo, there are about two hundred metric tons of proton stable matter in the boulder field.”
“Dream Vision, prepare for capture.” Gisoo ran down the corridor towards the main control center.
“Gisoo, I’m detecting artificial intelligence.”
“AbSent! Damn I hate the AbSent!” Gisoo entered the main control center as the two intersecting doors rolled open.
“Gisoo, please advise a course of action.”
“We’re going to use the engine’s gravity-well and try to hold them at the event horizon for now. I don’t want to lose that much formed matter.”
“Starting gravity-well capture. Graviton shielding being opened. Super massive black hole exposure should occur soon.”
“Keep the lateral quantum sensors on the AbSent. I don’t want them to board us.”
“Yes, Gisoo.”
“Dream Vision, watch the Hawking radiation levels. We can’t afford to lose too much and I’m already seeing a spike.”
“Gisoo, AbSent has launched a nanite swarm.”
“Rip them apart proton by proton Dream Vision!”
“Starting cascading nuclear decay.” The nanite swarm dissolved into subatomic particles as Dream Vision blasted them with a decaying quantum nuclear wave.
“Dream Vision, can you confirm the boulder field has smeared across the event horizon?”
“Confirmed. We’ve successfully captured the boulder field, along with remaining AbSent.”
“Close up the graviton shielding, and scan for any remaining AbSent in the area. Once clear prepare for ether leap.”
“Gisoo, what is the final destination for the ether leap?”
“Head for Panagiotis the Elder at the boundary edge of the Universe. He wanted to see me in person according to his last transmission.”
Now two undecillion years is just enough time for the randomness of the quantum state to make something odd happen. This odd thing was the creation of what humanity called the ether. The ether was not some form of a hyperspace or dimensional rift, but a stable pocket universe intersecting with our own. No exotic particles were known to naturally leak out from the ether. Only the non-usable Kirsyn particles were emitted when black holes travelled through it. This is because the graviton shielding didn’t work normally in the ether, and Hawking radiation would leak out. Crossing over and through didn’t require as much energy as one would think, but then again no one understood the ether because its physics was unlike anything we understood. For all people knew the ether didn’t exist and yet it did. It had no dimensions or time-space. You were in the ether, but not at all in the ether either. All we knew is that it was a recent addition to the multiverse that developed before the current age. It made space travel easy along with interstellar communications. A spaceship would blink out from existence from one point in our universe and then pop into existence at its destination. The same with message beacons.
Now Gisoo was about to see an old friend at the actual boundary edge of the universe. The boundary edge was like the other side of a black hole’s event horizon, in that it was the very end of the actual universe’s expansion point.
They had arrived at a point along the boundary edge. As Dream Vision was coming into a docking position, in the far distance Gisoo could see the dark forms of Cryptales dotting the boundary edge. Dream Vision docked with the older Dragonsoul and Gisoo disembarked. The Dragonsoul had a musty smell to it as Gisoo walked about its cluttered corridors looking for Panagiotis the Elder, the oldest human alive.
“Elder! Where are you Elder?!”
Gismo heard a raspy voice call out to her. “Gisoo, is that you?”
After walking through the mess, she came upon a man tinkering with various pieces of ancient equipment.
“You wanted to see me.”
“Oh. Yes. That’s right. Something of great importance has come up.” The man got up from his seat.
“Did you finally figure out what’s on the other side of the boundary edge?” Gisoo picked up a piece of old machinery and looked at it.
“No, my dear. If only I could discover what lies on the other side. But it has only given me alas crumbs of subatomic particles randomly appearing on our side. What’s ever on the other side must be far larger than our current universe.” The man sighed.
Gisoo leaned on a piece of equipment. “Okay old man, what do you want to tell me?”
Sitting down again, he said, “Giles the Monk has finally solved the Rebirth Equation.”
Gisoo stood up and turned to the Elder. Her eyes became wide with surprise. “Impossible! That equation was unsolvable!”
“He did it. It took him nine quintillion years. Now the Tao Emperor has already constructed the device to use the equation. He plans to make a universe of everlasting light from stars. Endless power.”
“That’s insane. He would need a tremendous energy source for that equation. Where’s the Tao Emperor getting so much power?”
“The Obsidian Grip.”
“No way! Konishi hid it deep in the ether.”
“It’s true Konishi feared someday the Emperor would try to use the Obsidian Grip and the single largest supermassive black hole of the entire universe for some evil purpose. So, she figured out how to stop mid-leap in the ether. The only human to do so. No one else has ever tried since.”
This wasn’t the first time Panagiotis the Elder had asked Gisoo to go out on some adventure to fetch an ancient piece of technology. She had been doing this work since she was a teen. She wasn’t even six billion yet, and she had seen more of the known universe than the rest of humanity. Except for a few souls like the Elder and Gisoo, most of the four thousand humans all lived in a single floating colony powered by gathered decaying black holes. Even with graviton shielding a black hole would still leak the occasional Hawking particle.
Now the Tao Emperor had gathered a vast amount of technological and human knowledge to the point humanity considered him transcendent. He was responsible for the construction of the great colony ship, the Auku. So, Gisoo knew the stakes were high. The Emperor would use all he had to search the Ether so he could restart the stars again. Gathering energy from randomly appearing and disappearing Quantum Bubble Universes (QBUs or pocket universes) wasn’t enough power for him.
Gisoo picked up a metal part and began to twirl it around like a baton. “So, let’s say I go out into the Ether and search for the Obsidian Grip. Then what?”
“Well, you’d bring it back here.”
“Assuming I find it, and assuming the supermassive black hole hasn’t dissipated, why would I give you the most powerful known ship of all time?”
“Because I plan to use it to open a stable wormhole to the other side of the boundary edge.”
“You’re joking right?! Worm hole technology is ancient and unreliable. Humans couldn’t get them to work right long ago, and no one today would bother with it. What makes you think a wormhole can punch through the boundary edge to the other side?”
“For the last half a billion years I’ve been reworking Zamafuthi’s math for worm hole prospects. All I need is another few million years, and I know we can get through.”
“And then what? What will we find there?”
“A whole new universe to explore.”
Gisoo was still twirling the metal part about. “That’s a big assumption on your part.”
“Based on billions of years of observations that comes to us from the other side.”
She tossed the part into a bin and Gisoo began to leave the Elder. “Even if we crossed over, we don’t even know the physics on the other side. We all could die in an instant. I’ll tell you my decision if I find the Obsidian Grip.”
“Gisoo, come back here, impetuous brat! This is the single most important mission of all time! You can’t let the Tao Emperor have the Obsidian Grip to reignite the universe! There could be incalculable damage if he built the device wrong or Giles the Monk made a simple math error!”
Gisoo knew she could find the Obsidian Grip in the Ether. She had traveled through the Ether so much that she almost understood it. Finding the Obsidian Grip had an immense appeal to her. Giving it away to either the Tao Emperor or the Elder wasn’t even a consideration. She was more enthralled with having that much power in her hands. The rest of humanity would finally have to pay attention to her. No longer to be thought of as a by-product of an unknown union forced upon the people. For you see Gisoo was raised by all of humanity.
What you need to understand is that when creatures live long lives, they reproduce very little, and the same was true for humanity by now. For an unplanned child to come along was a social abomination. Not that people were not caring or loving, but there was plenty of social contempt for Gisoo’s existence. With a universe falling apart power was scarce and another human could disturb the balance. Therefore, Gisoo was the last human born. All of humanity swore never to have any more and made sure of that through their science and technology. The problem was Gisoo never knew her parents. When she was young, she imagined about her parents, but gave up all those dreams when she became a teen.
Now the Tao Emperor was the second to last child born. Never far from Gisoo’s thoughts was that the guy who was born 63 sextillion years before her was now worshiped, while society saw her as a pariah. It blew her mind that the remnants of humanity would let some kid dominate over them like he was the ultimate human.
Now while in an ordinary part of space Gisoo was taking a quantum reinforcement shower. Dream Vision was going to tell her about some abnormal Cryptale behavior.
“What do you mean a cluster of Cryptales? There should be none here.”
“Gisoo, there’s at least twenty Cryptales in a spherical pattern two hundred parsecs laterally.”
“That makes no sense. What are the scanners showing?”
“The presence of Kirsyn particles.”
“There must be a supermassive black hole in the Ether. How much?”
“The levels are at the point where QBUs may form.”
“No way! It must be the Obsidian Grip. That’s the only thing with a black hole big enough to create QBUs from Kirsyn particles.”
Gisoo could hardly contain herself. By sheer luck she had stumbled across the Obsidian Grip in just a million years of traveling the known universe in a random search pattern. She knew the Tao Emperor was still out there looking for it, but it could easily take him another billion years before they came across it. The bigger problem was trying to figure out how to get into the Ether and stop at the Obsidian Grip’s position. The math equation needed was straightforward as she understood it. The issue was reconfiguring the drive to work with the math. It’s one thing to have math, and it’s another thing to make it work. This was complex physical engineering. Physical engineering wasn’t her best subject, but she had no choice but take the time if she wanted to get to the Obsidian Grip before anyone else. The whole reconfiguration would take Gisoo a mere 12 thousand years to complete.
She hit the ether controls. “By Faythe’s ghost I did it! It’s massive! Larger than any bio-mechanized ship I’ve ever seen! What’s the state of the supermassive black hole?”
“Undeterminable. Quantum sensors are not working.”
“Pull us into a docking position.”
The Dream Vision pulled into an open docking bay along the underbelly. The Dream Vision was a fraction of the size of the Obsidian Grip. At least forty Dream Visions could have easily docked inside. The Obsidian Grip wasn’t a bio-mechanized ship, it was designed as a living citadel for humanity not unlike Auku. It had more power than Auku could ever have. And all that power would now be under Gisoo’s command. Gisoo could be the savior of humanity.
“Sensors are working again. There’s atmosphere and normal gravity outside. I’m still trying to access the main systems, but I’m having difficulty. There appears to be a different form of coding preventing access. It’s not normal bio-mechanized coding.”
Gisoo exited the Dream Vision, and as she did, she was greeted by a woman’s voice.
“Hello, I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m your mother.”
“The human mothership?”
“No, silly. I’m your actual mother. I was human, but I merged my existence into this ship to keep it here. Away from the Tao Emperor.”
Standing on the landing deck, Gisoo crossed her legs together in discomfort at what she was hearing. “I have no parents! No one was my mother or father!”
“While you had no father, I’m your mother. I’m Konishi, and my womb birthed you. I had to leave you behind, so I could hide the Obsidian Grip.”
“So, you cloned me?”
“No, nothing so primitive. My womb spontaneously created you. A product of random quantum fluctuations.”
“Are you saying the universe is my father?”
“I suppose so.”
Gisoo uncrossed her legs and began to goose step about the deck. “Assuming all that you’ve said is true. Why should I not turn you over to the Tao Emperor?”
“Because I’m your mother, and I know you wouldn’t do that.”
Gisoo stopped goose stepping and then stomped her feet as hard as she could. “How could you know me?! You haven’t even been around for my entire life! You abandoned me to a bunch of people who didn’t care about me!”
“Not true. They cared enough to teach you and loved you enough to allow you to become the adult you are today. You are exactly what I knew you would be like. You remind me of myself when I was your age.”
Gisoo calmed down and sat down cross-legged on the deck. She began to trace out math formulas with her finger. “Why didn’t you just leave the Obsidian Grip and return to Auku?”
“The only way to maintain the Obsidian Grip this long in the ether was to graft myself to the ship. There was no other way to prevent a supermassive black hole this size from decaying even in the ether.”
“For all this time you’ve been using your own willpower to keep the Hawking radiation from leaking out instead of the graviton shielding?”
“Yes.”
“So now what? It’s not like I can hug a spaceship.”
“We restart again.”
“So, you want me to give you over to the Tao Emperor so he can use the Rebirth Equation and ignite the stars again?”
“No. We restart everything. So, I can hold my child in the flesh once more.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will. Did you know I named you for the word ‘hello’ in an ancient human tongue? That was the first word I said when I found out I was pregnant with you.”
Gisoo always wondered what her name meant. There was no database that contained it or person who knew. Now that she knew she sort of thought it was peculiar. Couldn’t mom come up with something a little cooler sounding? Something like Fhaertala Inana. Now that sounded cool.
You see what Gisoo didn’t know was her name was the very word that both ended everything and began everything. One word that ended all time and restarted it. A word that allowed Konishi to nakedly expose the Obsidian Grips’ supermassive black hole to the unreality of the ether. In doing so, it set into motion something that dwarfed what the Tao Emperor wanted to do, or Panagiotis the Elder. For Konishi had both mathematically determined and mechanically built how to reset the universe’s clock, so once more she could hold her child.
Pork Riblets Simmered in Caramel Sauce
(Suon Kho | Vietnamese)
Traditionally, the riblets were grilled over charcoal to sear in the flavors before simmering. Ask a butcher to cut the ribs, as this is not an easy home project. To remove the fat, the ribs may be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated. The congealed fat can be easily lifted off the surface.
Suon Kho
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds meaty pork spareribs, cut crosswise through the bone into 2 inch wide strips
1/3 cup minced, grated or puréed yellow onion (about 1/2 small onion)
Cut each rib strip between the bones or through the cartilage into individual riblets.
Combine the onion, sugar, pepper and 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce in a bowl. Add the riblets, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
If necessary, adjust your broiler rack so that the ribs will cook as close to the flame as possible. Heat the broiler for 30 minutes to get it nice and hot.
While the broiler heats, take the ribs from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature to take the chill off. Place them on a baking sheet and broil until they’re tinged brown, about 4 to 6 minutes per side; a little charring is fine. (You’ll hear a pleasant sizzle as this happens.) Alternatively, cook the ribs over high heat on a gas or charcoal grill, which imparts deeper flavor. The point here is to sear the riblets to obtain a roastiness and intensify the overall color.
Place the riblets in a saucepan with the Caramel Sauce, the remaining 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and enough water (about 2 1/2 cups) to cover most of the riblets. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer. Cover and let cook for 40 minutes; the ribs should simmer vigorously, sending steam out from under the lid.
Remove the lid and continue to simmer until the ribs are tender (you can easily pierce the meat with a fork or knife tip), about 20 to 30 minutes. If there’s cartilage, you should be able to bite through it, with a slight crunch remaining. This latter phase of cooking allows the sauce to reduce and concentrate in flavor, and deepens the color to dark reddish brown. In the end, there should be a fair amount of sauce left.
Turn off the heat, tilt the saucepan so the liquid goes to one side and use a spoon or small ladle to skim the fat from the top.
Adjust the flavors with extra fish sauce, if necessary.
Garnish with the chopped green onion and serve with lots of steamed rice.
Notes
Low fat tip: Use nonstick spray for sauté ing the vegetables, substitute reduced fat sour cream and mushroom soup, and use 1 1/2 cups broth for the topping.
I did not watch the (so called) Trump – Biden “debate”.
I am convinced both of them are dangerous.
What was the most stunning element and extracted summary of the debacle was just how poorly Biden fared. This guy is not capable of leading; thinking, reasoning, planning, or doing anything. In fact, he NEEDS to be in a hospital, and needs someone to select his meals, and care. He is simply not a capable person.
And you know, this is AFTER he was given injections of smart / stability drugs.
It goes along with my belief that the unelected political sycophants are running the United States, and it is no wonder that it seems that the United States is walking the Earth into a global-wide nuclear catastrophe.
Because it is. It actually is.
These sycophants and the “deep state” that supports them are dangerously deluded, terribly inept, and functionally inept. Combined they have created a United States that makes the collapse of Rome look like a Victorian tea party.
This is not about Biden or Trump.
This is about decline, and it is beyond redemption. The USA is toast, and I really have serious doubts that it ever can recover.
By the time this post is posted on MM, this will all be old news… replaced with something more topical. But the fiasco that the USA is should not be forgotten. Dicey times are forecast unless some serious changes are made STAT.
Today…
Cleaning out my auto-spam folder
Typical comments that were sent to spam…
1d1c1b
China trip and related thoughts:
My family and I recently visited Shanghai (courtesy of a collaborator and friend in Shanghaitech university) for a week. We went to Beijing (via high-speed rail) for a couple of days to see the Great Wall.
We were shocked by how developed China was. I mean, it looked like a first-world country. The roads were huge and clean. There was hardly any dust. The cars followed traffic rules. No encroachment by hawkers, etc. We could have easily confused it with the US or Europe. In addition to these things, the MagLev (magnetic levitation) train to the airport and the high-speed trains were amazing. Every hour, someone or the other came to clean the compartment.
To top it off, the amount of funding given to even pure mathematics (leave alone the applied subjects) was enormous. Unlike India where every professor earns the same amount, Yau (a fields medallist) could hire another fields Medallist (Birkar) for a few million RMB.
Unlike in India, where even Indian citizens from the north-east are discriminated against, in China, most people were very friendly (and really loved our 1.5 year old son). Our hosts took “Athithi devo bhavah” very seriously.
Except for a few annoyances (mosquitoes are a problem, the lack of quality apps like Uber and Google maps (didi and baidu are terrible!), and the inability of even highly educated people to speak in very basic English), our trip was fabulous. We liked China but felt very sad that our country, which was ahead of China in the 60’s (even the Chinese we met acknowledged this) is very very far behind. I can now understand KB’s “anger”. (However, I still think that the US is a much much bigger power for now.)
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: Putin’s NUCLEAR WARNING is No Bluff and NATO Crossed His Red Line
Black Thai Pork
Phuket Town Black Pepper Pork 1219×1536
Here’s the YouTube video…
https://youtu.be/lz5xIMZKC3s
Ingredients
4 boneless pork chops, cut into stir fry strips
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame seed, toasted if desired
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
3 cups hot cooked cellophane noodles or rice
Instructions
For sauce, in a medium saucepan combine salsa, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, molasses and water. Bring to boiling, stirring often. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, in a plastic or paper bag combine chili powder, ginger, garlic salt and pepper.
Add pork strips; shake until pork is coated with spice mixture.
In a large skillet heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat; cook and stir pork strips for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through.
Spoon the sauce onto individual plates.
Arrange the pork strips on top of sauce.
Sprinkle with sesame seed, then top with green onions.
Serve with noodles or rice.
What’s the funniest court case you’ve seen?
Here are my top 3:
#1) My client was charged with drug possession after a police officer found them in a hard carton cigarette pack (one made out of cardboard) because when he picked it up and shook it, “sounded like drugs inside.” I argued that the officer would never have discovered the drugs unless he had opened the box, and that the mere sound of the contents of the shaken box could not possibly have given the officer probable cause to open the box.
So at trial I produced from my jacket the hard carton cigarette pack box and shook it in the presence of the officer and the judge, then asked, “Did you hear me shake this box?” The officer responded that he did. I then asked, “Does it sound like there are drugs in it?” The poor guy had to say yes, and he did. I then opened the box and showed him two capsules, then asked, “So what sounded like drugs to you may be drugs, right?” The officer had to say yes, and he did. Then I asked, “Officer, can you tell me what kind of drugs these are?” The officer responded with “I don’t know.” I then popped the capsules in my mouth and started chewing and said, “Let the record reflect that they are two white Good & Plenty candies.”
I moved for summary judgment, and the motion was granted.
#2) I was in a hearing with an attorney who was incapable of posing a question that wasn’t objectionable. He just didn’t know how to ask questions properly, so with virtually every question he posed, I stood and made my objections. Rather than taking the offending attorney to task, however, the judge got upset with me (not because I was in the wrong, but because the judge just wanted to get through the hearing and I was slowing us down—yeah, that happens, folks). Eventually, the judge made this order, “I am now ordering that Mr. Johnson cannot make any further objections to opposing counsel’s questions to the witness,” at which point I wasn’t upset because I now knew I’d all but certainly win the case on appeal, given the judge’s misconduct.
I never got to appeal the judge’s decision.
Because after I was barred from making objections, opposing counsel mistakenly took it as a license to formulate even worse questions, but through it all I just sat there and gazed about the courtroom, doodled on my legal pad, etc. One thing I did not do is pay attention to the case anymore. I didn’t need to. There wasn’t much I could do anyway.
When suddenly the judge interrupted opposing counsel and announced, “I previously ordered Mr. Johnson barred from raising any objections to opposing counsel’s questions. I am now rescinding that order. Mr. Johnson, do you have anything you wish to say at this point?” After hesitating a moment to gather my thoughts, I responded with: “Objection? (I had no idea what I was objecting to — remember, I’d stopped paying attention long before). “SUSTAINED!” the judge thundered back.
#3) I represented the respondent in a civil stalking injunction case (in Utah). This is an example of how it went, back and forth for an hour, as both men told basically the same story:
Q: And what did he say to you?
A: He said, “If you ever come on my property again, I’ll kick your ass.”
Q: And what, if anything, did he say in response?
A: He said, “You try to kick my ass and I’ll kick your ass, and I told him, ‘You try to kick my ass and I’ll kick your ass.’”
Q: Did you take him seriously when he said, “I’ll kick your ass”?
A: You bet your ass. And if you threaten me and my family, then I’ll kick your ass.
I don’t think I will ever, anywhere, hear the phrase “kick your ass” spoken more times in the space of an hour than I did then. Not once did the judge admonish either party or me for using the phrase the entire time (and to be fair, I think the judge correctly believed that these men were incapable of describing the situation without using the phrase).
Discovered My Wife Was Engaged In Spicy Activities While Playing An Online Game, Now She’s Begging..
What was the moment you realized your significant other didn’t care about you at all anymore?
In the last years of our fakemarriage my husband slowly checked out from all shared duties, whether it is chores, bills, our daughter… always too busy or just wouldn’t. I was so exhausted and he insisted i should take care of myself, “go get a massage, go to the hairdresser, you need some time for yourself” (when i I didn’t even have time to properly shower…) But he would brush off any complaint from my side that my exaustion was due to me actually taking care of it all.
Whenever i would insist and directly ask him to do something he would say “can you take care of it?” or just go through a rage and leave.
One day i was involved in a minor car accident. Argued a little with the other driver but felt no harm was done and left. As i started driving, my neck was seriously hurting, my ears were ringing and i felt dizzy. My daughter who was 4 and with me at that time was also acting weird and saying mom it hurts.
I rushed back home which was 5 minutes from there to him so he can drive us both to a doctor. He told me he was actually on his way out to meet his friends and said “can you take care of it?”
That day i understood that his behaviour was not due to him being lazy or busy.
He just didn’t care at all.
Why is that according to the US that the Spratly islands being geographically closer to the Philippines can’t be claimed by China, but the American Samoas being closer to the Samoas can be claimed by the USA?
This world is ruled by the fist ie weapons today.
If your fist is stronger, you rule the world. That makes you a mafia.
When you are a mafia, you make the rule & you can change the rule anytime to suit your situation.
2 scholars at Cambridge U did a research. I of them is Romel Bagares. He is a professorial lecturer in intl law in 3 Manila-based law schools & PH judiciary Academy.
1, PH’s legal territory does not incl SCS (my word) PH has no EEZ in SCS. All PH activities in SCS are illegal.
2, The 1951 USA-PH Mutual Defense Treaty does not apply to SCS.
In 1975, former US State Secy H Kissinger already, in writing, told PH that, by law, USA would not protect PH in SCS.
In documents from 1977-1980 eg doc 578, US State Secy C Vance explained to PH that MDT is based on 1898 US-Spain Paris Treaty & 1900 US-UK Washington Treaty. PH does not own any part of SCS.
3, PH’s arbitration is (my word) as good as toilet paper.
Today in 2024, USA changes the rule: PH owns some SCS because some islands/reefs are close to PH. … today’s USA overturning the USA from 1975–1980. … mafia USA has changed rule because it wants to suppress China’s rise.
PH is a US puppet.
Bolivia failed coup. Kenya Ruto retreats. NATO wants to give Elensky something. Meloni upset with EU
“It’s okay, Ground Control. I know you did everything you could.”
Charles sat at his desk, staring at the blank screen. Nobody said a word. There was a slight hissing of static. He swallowed hard, and there was an audible click in his throat. His mouth was dry. His heart was thudding intensely in his chest. Charles felt as if someone had fastened a belt around his torso and was gradually pulling it tighter and tighter.
After what seemed like an eternity, Stan broke the silence.
“Come in, Pete.”
The static hissed.
“Pete. Come in.”
Hhhhhhhh.
“Come in, Pete.” Charles was dimly aware that Stan was crying as he spoke. He could feel the hot tears trickling down his own cheeks. It felt as if his heart was lodged at the base of his throat. He could hardly breathe.
“Pete, come in.”
Hhhhhhhh.
“Pete, please come in.”
Finally, Greg got up from his seat and laid a hand on Stan’s shoulder. “That’s enough, Stan. He’s gone.”
The last two syllables hit Charles like a two-tonne truck. He felt the room spin around him, as if he’d just been clocked in the jaw by a solid right hook. Charles placed his sweaty hands on the polished dark wood of the desk, palms down, just to make sure he didn’t lose his balance and go sliding off his chair onto the floor. The table beneath his fingers felt cold and indifferent; the feeling simultaneously grounded him in the reality of the moment and made him feel as if he were dreaming or in a drunken stupor. This desk is really hard, he thought, madly. That’s enough, Stan. The wood is very cold. He’s gone. Is wood always this cold? That’s enough, Stan. It’s very cold.
Somewhere behind him, a woman was sobbing. Hell, they were all sobbing. Gabrielle was just the most audible.
The words bounced around his skull: He’s gone. He’s gone. He’s gone.
All at once, Charles felt incredibly hot. He thought he might throw up, right then and there. He wouldn’t be able to make it to the bathroom in time; he’d have to spew his guts into the wastepaper basket next to his feet.
Like a man in a dream, Charles slid off his office chair with a thud, landing on his knees, not feeling a thing. The chair rolled away behind him, squeaking a little on the wheels he had been meaning to oil but had somehow never gotten around to. Sweating and shaking, he reached for the metal bin. Thank God he’d remembered to put a plastic bag inside, because the bin was made from a metal mesh. If I hadn’t remembered, my puke would have been filtered out the bottom quite nicely. Just like using a colander, Charles thought. Then he began to retch, in great, stomach-wrenching convulsions.
Somewhere nearby, someone was asking if he was all right, but he wasn’t all right, he wasn’t, nothing was all right, nothing, and the room was spinning, spinning, spinning, and Charles could feel the acidic vomit racing up his throat, and the world was twisting around him, and everything felt too heavy, and the room wouldn’t stop spinning and—
***
Pete allowed himself to drift. There was no use fighting it, as there was nothing he could do. It would be a waste of energy. And energy was all he had left. Well, that, and the precious oxygen in his tank.
In his ears, all he could hear was whistling white noise. For half a second, he thought that he heard someone say, Come in, Pete. And maybe they did, but the words were fuzzy and soft; hard to isolate from the hiss. He started to respond, and then gave up. The last few seconds of communication had been hazy with interference as it was — now that he had floated further away, he knew contact with Ground Control would be impossible. Besides, he had said his goodbyes. Pete didn’t want to prolong the pain of a tortured farewell.
Pete spun away from the asteroid, spiraling out, further and further. He knew that he had approximately between six and eight hours of oxygen in his tank, depending on how well he controlled his breathing and how much physical exertion he subjected himself to. He had been on the surface of the celestial body for one hour and forty-three minutes, before the small meteoroid struck.
First man on an asteroid, he thought as flew away from the point of impact, pieces of debris scattering around him. Was it worth it? he asked himself. He knew immediately he shouldn’t have posed the question.
It was miraculous that none of the wreckage and rubble had injured him. Miraculous, if you ignored the fact that he had been jettisoned off the tiny planetoid and propelled far away from any hopes of rescue. Pete didn’t know how fast he was traveling, but he knew that it was too fast — and he was too small of an object — for any chances of being saved. He only hoped that his crew was safe from the fallout of the collision; would they be able to avoid the incoming hailstorm? And if not, would the fragments of rock penetrate their shuttle? Pete knew that he’d never know.
Pete spun and spun and spun, rotating not quite fast enough to cause him to blackout. He watched the changing views as he twisted through the void: stars, the sun, planets, debris, stars, the sun, planets, debris, stars, the sun, planets, debris. Over and over and over. Spinning. Spinning. Spinning. Each time he caught the barest glimpse of Earth — a tiny droplet of blue in the vast nothingness — and then it was gone. Pete thought that his tiny home planet had never looked more beautiful, even though it was only in his line of sight for a fraction of a moment.
He saw no fires or explosions as he spiraled. Pete knew that this was not a sign that his team was safe, but he clung to the hope, nonetheless. Maybe they were okay. Maybe they got away in time. Maybe the shuttle was able to withstand the barrage. Maybe. Maybe.
He spun and twisted and turned and conserved his breath. Slowly, Pete fell into a cosmic trance, glazed eyes staring out into the solar system. The celestial dance was hypnotic, like an interstellar mobile above the crib of humanity.
***
He was being pulled. Pulled in one direction. The sensation startled him from his reverie.
He spun and he twisted and rotated. Stars, the sun, planets, debris. What was tugging at him? He strained his eyes. Stars, the sun, planets, debris. Was he imagining it? Stars, the sun, planets, debris. No, he was not, Pete was sure of it. There was a definite sensation of being reigned in. But by what? Stars, the sun, planets, debris, stars, the sun, planets, debris, stars—
And then he saw it. And for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. His lungs contracted and all the air escaped him, as if he’d just been punched in the gut.
His thoughts were a mixed cocktail of fear, confusion, and fascination. How did we not see it? thought Pete, only distantly aware of his own feelings. How did we miss it? It’s huge.
The black hole occupied half of his visual space. If you were to only glance at it, you might just miss it — after all, most of the area surrounding it is also black. But the absence of the small yellow-white specs of distant stars gave away the gaping hole in time and space. There was also the accretion disk spinning around the gaping maw in the fabric of reality. The giant clouds of gas spun and spun around the shadow of the hole, twisting and rippling beyond recognition or cognition. It was smaller than the ones he’d studied, but now that he was facing it, Pete was astounded that it had not been observed earlier. After all, it was at the edge of their solar sys—
Pete didn’t recognize the stars. The thought hit him, and his brain dumped a load of adrenaline into his veins. As he spun towards his destination, his eyes traced the emptiness for the Earth. For planets — any that he knew. Mars. Jupiter. Venus. Saturn. Completely gone. It was all alien to him. Even the sun was different; smaller and somehow less vibrant. Rather than a bright, white-hot yellow surface, this star burned a deep orange that bordered on red.
Where am I? he thought, panic brimming in his chest. He knew that he had been propelled away from his home system, but he never actually thought—
He was closer to the black hole now, he saw, as he turned once more. Another realization hit him, with the low thud of an interplanetary bass drum: even if he had been in the shuttle, it would have already been too late to get away. The thought should have terrified him, but it instead soothed him. The idea that fighting was futile allowed Pete to accept his fate; had he a chance to escape, he would have fought — as panic flooded his thoughts — until he wasted his oxygen supply and starved himself of air.
The black hole’s shadow was hungrily consuming that which span around it. But it was more than that — the objects making up the accretion disk looked hungry to be eaten. The collective rotating disk slowly fed into the hole eagerly, each portion being allowed the time to flow in and disappear.
Pete was flying towards the hole faster and faster now. It was no longer the gentle pull it had been — a minute ago? An hour ago? A second ago? It dawned on Pete that time was beginning to lose its rigidity.
The astronaut allowed himself to be guided on a fast track through the shadow’s surrounding disk of orbiting materials; he was the guest of honor at this party of extinction. He looked down at his hands and saw the light being distorted and drained away, into the abyss. Pete knew that if someone were observing the phenomenon, they would not see him, attired in his spacesuit of white. No light would be escaping the rounded clutches of the infinite shadow.
Event horizon, he thought, as his brain was sliced into oblivion. A billion parts of his grey matter screamed in unison. Evnethrzion Enevthzorni Vneetzhirone Tvneeizoenrh Netvneorehizo Votenehroez—
Pete’s final coherent thought was of his wife and his daughter, back home on Earth.
And then Pete felt himself being torn in two. But that wasn’t entirely right. He was becoming two. Simultaneously. He felt it. But the two Petes shared different fates. He was both, and somehow, he was neither. One Pete was incinerated instantaneously — torn apart and shredded into annihilation. It happened so quickly that he felt neither pain nor fear. One moment he was, the next he wasn’t. Pete was gone.
The other Pete was a different story.
***
He came out the other side. But it wasn’t him. Not the same one that had gone in. But it wasn’t an entirelydifferent Pete, either. He felt like a drop of rainwater that had finally joined the ocean; still water, essentially — if you ignored the salt — but ultimately changed forever. Part of something bigger, indecipherable, integrated with everything else. Inseparable from the whole he had now joined.
The first thing he noticed was that he no longer had his old body. The second thing he noticed was that he did have a body of sorts. His body was everything. It took him a moment to register this sensation, but once he clocked it, it all made sense, in a single step. First, there was confusion, then there was complete and utter understanding and acceptance. There was not an in-between.
Pete was floating in nothing. Pete was also the nothingness. He was the vacuum in which he sailed. He was the darkness that surrounded him. The nothingness was overwhelming. He felt hollow at the emptiness inside. He felt stranded as he floated in the absence of everything.
The answers came to him via a drip-feed. The remedies came to him all at once, like a roaring waterfall.
Pete wanted light, and then there was a flare before his non-eyes. Sun, thought the thing that had once been human. The sun looked lonely, so the Pete-thing wanted planets to join it. Rocks appeared in the vacuum, scattered across the plain of darkness. Several collided with each other. Some exploded. Others floated off, for destinations that new-Pete was unconcerned with. Bits and pieces, here and there, began circling the throbbing star.
One of the worlds spinning around the burning ball of gas was thirsty, so the post-Pete-being gave it water. It looked blue and sparkling, as it twisted in the light. Like a marble, suspended in the ether. He also gave the other spheres some resources of their own, but these are closely guarded secrets which I will not spill.
Pete watched as things developed, occasionally putting in a hand here and there when he so wished. Never acting too often, never interfering too infrequently. The answers came to him both immediately and after an infinity, equally from external sources and from within. Now, Pete thought and was told, and then he acted accordingly — often simultaneously with the arrival of the instructions.
Pete tended to the thriving system like a gardener to their plot — planting seeds, watering, pruning, and harvesting. He watched his creations bloom. He watched his creations wither and die. Not everything is destined for a long life, and that is okay, thought Everything, as time unfolded in every direction.
After a time, the small creatures on the tiny blue speck began sending things outward. A few explosions, here and there. These small-scale sparks in the heavens told not-Pete that they were learning. He left them to it, for that was what he was meant to do.
Eventually, they got it right.
After a time, they began sending themselves out, too.
Following an instant and an eternity, Pete was joined by another.
BRICS to Leave UN: What Next?
Is it true that China doesn’t have many friends like the US does? Why?
What friends does the USA have??? The USA has vassal states.
China has more actual friends because China helps them economically:
Over 150 countries participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.
Over 120 counties have China as their largest trading partner.
China respects all nations rather than threatening them with sanctions and war.
When the West hoarded their vaccines during the pandemic, China helped poor countries vaccinate.
China works to bring peace around the world. China brokered an historic peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
China is leading the world to de-dollarize, freeing them from the tyranny of the US Dollar.
When you find out that someone has been at the same low paying job for 20 years or more, do you feel sorry for them?
My son has been a caddie at a local country club for almost 20 years. He has a degree in Computer Science. He was required to do an internship to get his degree. At the end, he was offered a permanent job that would put him on the management fast track. His internship, however, convinced him he had pursued the wrong major.
He then went into restaurant management. He hated that, too. His brother, who has a business degree and is a Certified Financial Planner, had been working as a caddy for several years. So, my other son decided to try it out. They both absolutely love the game of golf, being outdoors and having a job they don’t take home with them.
The son who has been a caddie longer has a more winning personality, can converse intelligently about business with his rich customers and is recognized as the best caddie at the country club. He is on pace to make $100,000 this year. The other son makes around $40,000 which is still more than most of the caddies make.
What they do makes them happy. They actually enjoy going to work each and every day unless it is raining. Caddying in the rain is really hard work. I don’t feel sorry for them even though they could have earned so much more. No amount of money will make you like a job you don’t want to do,
Do women even know what they want? Crazy Accurate breakdown & explanation of relationships
This is a very, very good review of Hoe Math. Damn!
What is the nastiest thing you’ve done for revenge?
My very dear friend dated a Russian girl, lets call her Bellarusse, for about six months. She let him take her to every expensive event of the English summer season. Opera, Wimbledon, Henley Regatta as well as lots of theatre, concerts and Michelin star dinners. But never let him so much as kiss her. “These things,” she said, “are deeply frowned upon by my conservative culture.”
Over Christmas, he took her skiing with another couple. Everyone had agreed no gifts, but the day before departure, he was called in a panic by other couple to say Bellarusse had bought him a gift so he’d best go shopping.
He rang me frantic, “what should I get her?”
I don’t know what genius struck, but I immediately said “that is such a quandry, because, in Russia, if a man buys a woman a gift worn against the skin, it implies that they have been intimate and you don’t want to offend her. She’s so conservative. What to get, what to get…”
Oh the things that this excludes; pretty much everything that your average, rapacious golddigger wants: jewellery, scent, handbags, scarves, any clothing at all, fancy soaps and lotions. As the words tumbled out of my mouth, I felt the most beautiful glee.
Not only was she hugely grumpy with her alessi French press coffeemaker, but her gift, was a crappy little matchbox cover, badly painted with a scene of a troika.
Oh and she fell down the slope skiing and broke her nose.
She refused any more dates.
The sad thing is that I can never tell him about my evil genius.
Implications of Trump-Biden “Debate” Are Staggering – for both the USA and the World
OP-ED — I did not get to watch the Trump-Biden Debate last night because I was doing my live radio show while the debate took place. From what I have seen in video snippets, it was an unmitigated DISASTER – for both the United States, and for the world.
What everyone got to see last night is what many of us have known from the beginning: Biden is not running the country because he is incapable of doing so. His lack of mental faculties, likely from Dementia, is unquestionable.
This begs the question “Who is it that’s actually running the country?”
It’s a fair question. During the Debate, Biden could barely formulate a cogent answer to most questions. His frail, rambling, often times non-sensical answers were genuinely sad.
Let me digress for a moment to say that while I did not vote for Biden in 2020, (I voted Trump) and while I do not like Biden as a man or as a politician, I do NOT take any satisfaction in seeing the man so genuinely mentally disabled by age. There, but for the grace of God, goes me.
I don’t wish Biden’s condition on anyone; and it pains me to see the President of our country (even an illegitimate one who occupies office through election fraud as Biden does) so addled, frail, and no longer capable of governing. Yet, that __is__ the situation we all find ourselves in.
The current President of the United States is unable to discharge the duties of his Office. Period. Full stop.
Now, one could argue that Biden’s Cabinet should invoke the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove him, but being candid, his Cabinet are such Partisan sycophants, a person has a better chance of being struck by lightning than the Cabinet carrying out its Constitutional role and removing this disabled President.
Then, too, we’re only a few months away from an election and we could probably get-through that time with Biden in this condition — if it weren’t for the fact that Biden’s underlings are so utterly incompetent, so completely ignorant of facts and of history, and so severely lacking in rational judgment, they are quickly moving us toward nuclear World War 3 with Russia over their botched handling of Ukraine.
So where does Biden’s Debate “performance” leave us? In a world of hurt!
The rest of the world got to see Biden, too, last night. And our Adversaries now know, the USA is in no position of power over world events. Our leadership is non-existent.
The Biden underlings have such historical ignorance, are so lacking in logic and rational judgment, adversaries can go do whatever it is they want, and the US will be, at best, sluggish to do anything about it.
The lack of strength projected through last night’s debate, has made the world much more dangerous.
With World War 3 looming as a result of our botched Ukraine policies, and further, as a result of our botched Taiwan approach, and further by our botched Middle East actions (read our slavish devotion to that rinky-dink country, Israel, and its pipsqueak army that seems only competent in dropping 2,000 pound bombs from fighter jets onto unarmed civilians) the continuation of a Biden Administration could literally mean the destruction of our nation and our world. We may not be able to survive until the election!
For me, the absolute worst part of last night’s debate: Polling which said 67% of Americans thought Trump won, while 33% of Americans thought Biden won. To my thinking, that a full 33% of the people in this country, are so incapable of logic, so incapable of discernment, that they thought Biden won, indicates to me that a full third of this nation is literally too stupid to even be considered citizens, never mind shown any respect.
Those 33% are too stupid to even be considered “persons.” There really is no other way to view them, and worse, no hope for them, at all.
In 1933, a beautiful, young Austrian woman took off her clothes for a movie director. She ran through the woods, naked. She swam in a lake, naked. Pushing well beyond the social norms of the period. The most popular movie in 1933 was King Kong. But everyone in Hollywood was talking about that scandalous movie with the gorgeous, young Austrian woman.
Louis B. Mayer, of the giant studio MGM, said she was the most beautiful woman in the world. The film was banned practically everywhere, which of course made it even more popular and valuable. Mussolini reportedly refused to sell his copy at any price.
The star of the film, called “Ecstasy,” was Hedwig Kiesler. She said the secret of her beauty was “to stand there and look stupid.” In reality, Kiesler was anything but stupid. She was a genius. She’d grown up as the only child of a prominent Jewish banker. She was a math prodigy. She excelled at science. As she grew older, she became ruthless, using all the power her body and mind gave her.
Between the sexual roles she played, her tremendous beauty, and the power of her intellect, Kiesler would confound the men in her life including her six husbands, two of the most ruthless dictators of the 20th century, and one of the greatest movie producers in history. Her beauty made her rich for a time. She is said to have made – and spent – $30 million in her life.
But her greatest accomplishment resulted from her intellect, and her invention continues to shape the world we live in today.
You see, this young Austrian starlet would take one of the most valuable technologies ever developed right from under Hitler’s nose. After fleeing to America, she not only became a major Hollywood star, her name sits on one of the most important patents ever granted by the U.S. Patent Office. Today, when you use your cell phone or, over the next few years, as you experience super-fast wireless Internet access (via something called “long-term evolution” or “LTE” technology), you’ll be using an extension of the technology a 20-year-old actress first conceived while sitting at dinner with Hitler.
At the time she made Ecstasy, Kiesler was married to one of the richest men in Austria. Friedrich Mandl was Austria’s leading arms maker. His firm would become a key supplier to the Nazis. Mandl used his beautiful young wife as a showpiece at important business dinners with representatives of the Austrian, Italian, and German fascist forces.
One of Mandl’s favorite topics at these gatherings – which included meals with Hitler and Mussolini – was the technology surrounding radio-controlled missiles and torpedoes.
Wireless weapons offered far greater ranges than the wire-controlled alternatives that prevailed at the time. Kiesler sat through these dinners “looking stupid,” while absorbing everything she heard. As a Jew, Kiesler hated the Nazis. She abhorred her husband’s business ambitions. Mandl responded to his willful wife by imprisoning her in his castle, Schloss Schwarzenau.
In 1937, she managed to escape. She drugged her maid, snuck out of the castle wearing the maid’s clothes and sold her jewelry to finance a trip to London. She got out just in time. In 1938, Germany annexed Austria. The Nazis seized Mandl’s factory. He was half Jewish. Mandl fled to Brazil (later, he became an adviser to Argentina’s iconic populist president, Juan Peron.)
In London, Kiesler arranged a meeting with Louis B. Mayer. She signed a long-term contract with him, becoming one of MGM’s biggest stars. She appeared in more than 20 films. She was a co-star to Clark Gable, Judy Garland, and even Bob Hope. Each of her first seven MGM movies was a blockbuster. But Kiesler cared far more about fighting the Nazis than about making movies.
At the height of her fame, in 1942, she developed a new kind of communications system, optimized for sending coded messages that couldn’t be “jammed.” She was building a system that would allow torpedoes and guided bombs to always reach their targets. She was building a system to kill Nazis.
By the 1940s, both the Nazis and the Allied forces were using the kind of single frequency radio-controlled technology Kiesler’s ex-husband had been peddling. The drawback of this technology was that the enemy could find the appropriate frequency and “jam” or intercept the signal, thereby interfering with the missile’s intended path.
Kiesler’s key innovation was to “change the channel.” It was a way of encoding a message across a broad area of the wireless spectrum. If one part of the spectrum was jammed, the message would still get through on one of the other frequencies being used. The problem was, she could not figure out how to synchronize the frequency changes on both the receiver and the transmitter. To solve the problem, she turned to perhaps the world’s first techno-musician, George Anthiel.
Anthiel was an acquaintance of Kiesler who achieved some notoriety for creating intricate musical compositions. He synchronized his melodies across twelve player pianos, producing stereophonic sounds no one had ever heard before. Kiesler incorporated Anthiel’s technology for synchronizing his player pianos. Then, she was able to synchronize the frequency changes between a weapon’s receiver and its transmitter. On August 11, 1942, U.S. Patent No. 2,292,387 was granted to Antheil and “Hedy Kiesler Markey,” which was Kiesler’s married name at the time.
Most of you won’t recognize the name Kiesler. And no one would remember the name Hedy Markey. But it’s a fair bet than anyone reading this post of a certain age, will remember one of the great beauties of Hollywood’s golden age – Hedy Lamarr. That’s the name Louis B. Mayer gave to his prize actress. That’s the name his movie company made famous.
Almost no one knows Hedwig Kiesler – a/k/a Hedy Lamarr – was one of the great pioneers of wireless communications. Her technology was developed by the U.S. Navy, which has used it ever since.
You are probably using Lamarr’s technology, too. Her patent sits at the foundation of “spread spectrum technology,” which you use every day when you log on to a wi-fi network or make calls with your Bluetooth-enabled phone. It lies at the heart of the massive investments being made right now in so-called fourth-generation “LTE” wireless technology. This next generation of cell phones and cell towers will provide tremendous increases to wireless network speed and quality, by spreading wireless signals across the entire available spectrum. This kind of encoding is only possible using the kind of frequency switching that Hedwig Kiesler invented.
China has Trumped the U.S. in Australia: Make Wealth, not War
Why can’t the US defeat the Houthis? This will inevitably embolden China to attack Taiwan by leading China to believe the US is a paper felis catus.
China already knows the military capability of USA.
No need of the “help” from Houthis.
There were many standoffs between Chinese & US warships & warplanes near China. Testing each other’s military capability.
At each standoff, it was USA who left the scene first.
The latest one was in SCSea near Xianbin reef. Two US aircraft carriers were close-by. One near Xianbin & one near Taiwan.
PH has 2 coastguards trying to illegally occupy the reef just like their junk ship at Ren’ai reef.
China orders to detain trespassers & sent 3 10000-ton destroyers there. US Roosevelt aircraft carrier left the area.
China knows USA very well. Dont worry.
What is your opinion on the Malaysian government’s use of the Sedition Act to silence the voices of human rights defenders?
We must understand …
1, every country has laws to suppress sedition. No country tolerates sedition. Malaysia is not alone.
2, USA is notorious to use human rights as a tool to instigate sedition in other country.
Human Right Watch is directly or indirectly funded by US government. It works for US government,
3, After WW2, from 1946-2001, in 55 years, there were 248 wars around the globe. 201 of them ie 82% were instigated by USA. In 240+ years since US independence, there were only 16 years when USA was not in a war. Worse, it is US vassals who shed blood & lose life for USA.
Other than war, USA would instigate countless unrest eg protests, riots & coups in other countries.
Thru unrest/war, USA controls other government & resource/economy. It is neo-colonisation without occupying other’s land.
In short, US-instigated unrest/wars are about money & power/dominance of USA. Nothing to do with righteous.
USA has many tools to use: HR, democracy, freedom, religion, corruption of other’s government & more. Even laundry detergent (biochem weapon) can be used.
4, Malaysia is pro-China. It wants economic collaboration with China so as to boost its economy. It also wants China’s help in infrastructure to modernise its country. It wants to join BRICS.
All these are no-no’s in the eye of USA. Hence, when USA scolds Malaysia for HR violation, do your own homework to see if USA is behind the scene.
5, lastly. the crime of sedition is bigger than suppression of freedom of speech.
UN Charter empowers states to reduce fulfillment of HR obligation in cases where the state must protect the integrity of its territory. In short, a state can ignore HR when comes to protecting its country from sedition.
ON CAM: Three US Army Officers Were Wiped Out Along With An M270 MLRS┃Russia Captured RAZDOLOVKA
What are some dark truths that have made you stronger?
Nobody cares about you, your plans, your goals, or your little dramas. So stop pretending they do, or getting upset when they don’t.
When it comes to reaching your goals, discipline is more important than motivation. If you don’t have discipline, you’ll never stick to anything.
You are the only person capable of changing your life; no one can do that for you. The easiest way to change yourself is to change the things you do each day.
The biggest threat to your progression in life isn’t something or someone around you; it’s you.
The key to a successful life lies not in what you know, but in what you do with what you know.
Failure is just a stepping stone on the road to success.
You can’t change the past, but you can still fuck up your future if you repeat it.
Success is not about what you accomplish, it’s about who you become in the process.
Your comfort zone is a barren place. Nothing ever grows there.
Anything in life worth achieving will not be easy to get. If it were, everyone would get what they wanted. Most people give up on their goals when things become too difficult. Don’t be like most people.
Can you tell me about a time that you sued someone in civil court and won?
In 2016 my then-fiancée (now wife) and I rented a commercial property for our e-waste recycling business. It was the back half of a former 1930’s era gas station/garage in Magna, UT. It was Perfect for what we do, all the needed electric outlets, 3-phase power, lots of room.
HOWEVER, when we tried to get our business license the building failed the inspection (severe structural deficiencies, including improperly supported roof beams and a door cut through a load-bearing wall without a proper header installed) and we were ordered to close down… so we told the landlord we were moving and considered the lease broken due to fraud.
Rather than accepting the situation and repairing the building he chose to start and eviction and sue us for treble damages (claiming $50,000). We counter sued for our moving costs and lost revenue based on “fraud in the inducement”.
His attorney played dirty, including falsely claiming that one hearing had been cancelled and then trying to get the judge to issue a summary judgment when our attorney failed to appear (he had trusted to professional courtesy and believed the opposing counsel). THAT got shot down because my wife and I WERE there and I handled our part of things.
Then, in a subsequent hearing opposing counsel moved for summary judgment against us because “They have not provided proof that they did not damage my client’s property”. YES, he requested proof of a negative.
One of their arguments to defend against our countersuit was to claim that they had not properly served us with an eviction because they did not know our home address (Utah requires service at both the business and tenant’s home address in a commercial eviction). That was an obvious lie because our home address was clearly printed on the lease. They also claimed that we never had permission to run a business out of the space, which was another lie… since a Business license in Salt Lake County requires a notarized document from the landlord declaring that a business was allowed.
They made mistakes in court filings, putting the wrong names on court documents, the wrong COURT on the same documents, and including private information from another case in our subpoenaed discovery.
FINALLY, the judge ordered depositions… our landlord showed up and “couldn’t remember” the answer to any questions, and what he did “remember” was all lies. When shown documents with his signature he said he didn’t remember signing them.
In the end, rather than us paying HIM $50,000 he paid us (our attorneys, more like) $18,000.
Our paltry share of that settlement bought me my 1995 F150.
Douglas MacGregor Unmask: ‘Hard Unavoidable Truth’ About Ukraine War – NATO being Stage Four Cancer
Back in the 1980’s there was a very popular medicine that people took recreationally. It was called a Quaalude.
Methaqualone, known as Quaaludes, is a synthetic compound similar to barbiturates. It affects the central nervous system by inducing a sedative state. Quaaludes gained popularity during the 1960s to the 1980s as a recreational drug in the United States until the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) banned its usage.
It was initially developed as a sleeping pill, but if you can shake off the initial sleepiness, you end up getting the most euphoric high, that I have ever experienced.
Really.
Outstanding.
Quaaludes ad from the 1970s
I only took it once. I wish that I would have taken it more often, but it was banned shortly afterwards, and access went to zero.
One of the reasons why the 1970’s were so funky was partly due to Quaaludes. The high you got from this pill was unlike anything else.
All you wanted to do was be funky, talk, have fun and dance.
Quaaludes
But, you all know, that was decades ago. Noe, I do not advise using or taking any kind of recreational drugs aside from wine and an occasional cigarette. But, some memories are so precious. In fact one of my favorite memories was being on Quaaludes and trying to get into a disco.
Alas we couldn’t get in as my buddy wasn’t wearing proper shoes. But the girls in the disco sure as hell wanted me to.
Now, I do not advocate taking drugs. Aside from some wine and an occasional cigarette or two, I’d advise not harming yourself. But occasional use, with special people that you trust can create special and magical times that are noteworthy and special.
Thus my story.
Oh, it was crazy, but something about being silly, and not drunk… talkative and friendly, and not shy… and the loss of inhibitions really made me a most popular man. I could of had many bedroom adventures were I to enjoy the disco lifestyle of the 1970’s. Oh those days.
81ZMdRn9vNL. UL1500 N
Here’s someone else’s opinion…
Mmmmm, ‘Ludes…num-num, num-num, num!
Come to pappa! Boy, these kids taday have no idea what they missed out on.Quaaludes were an extremely popular party drug of the mid-70's, early 80's, and consisted of 300mg of methaqualone, an extremely powerful sedative and hypnotic, originally marketed in the US by Rorer Pharmaceuticals. In addition to the popular street name “ludes", they were also known as Rorer 714's, and eventually Lemmon 714's.Yes, they were prescribed for sleep, but taken in the right dosage, the individual would lose their inhibitions. They would tend to become very chatty and since everything in the 70's was either about sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll, Ludes had all of those bases covered.I was fortunate to have had two very generous friends that had legitimate prescriptions for them but, barring that, they'd sell for about two bucks a piece, if you knew the right people.There were a couple of problems with Ludes. First, they became so popular and controversial, Rorer decided the liability wasn't worth it and sold the patent to Lemmon Pharmaceuticals in 1978.
Overdosing on Ludes became notorious because the individual would lapse into a coma followed by central nervous system collapse. And, because the drug was fat soluble, there wouldn't be much you could do for the individual in the way of flushing it out of the body.
They would also go on to become a notorious date rape drug, as well as Bill Cosby's preferred method of attracting unwilling victims.
In 1982 due to its wide spread abuse it was taken off the market and, in 1984 the DEA would reclassify Quaaludes as a Schedule 1 narcotic, putting into the same category of drugs as heroin and ecstacy.
I could of…
But I didn’t.
Ah, maybe that was a good thing. Things could have gone really bad, really quickly. But I did have a taste. And, you know what?
"Our countries share traditional bonds of friendship and have forged a comprehensive strategic partnership.
We have always been keen to express our deep gratitude for the assistance and support we received from the Russian people in the past, when we were fighting for our independence, as well as at the current stage in the development of our country.
Vietnam follows an independent, self-reliant, peaceful, friendly, and multifaceted foreign policy, and has always viewed Russia as one of its priority foreign policy partners.
We want to work with Russia to further enhance our traditional friendship, which results from the constructive efforts by many generations of our two countries’ leaders and their people."
Excerpt from statements by Vietnamese President Tô Lâm during the joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin following their talks, Hanoi, June 20, 2024.
NASA decided to launch the Starliner despite the discovery of five different helium leaks in its thruster system. Now those helium leaks might endanger the lives of the astronauts on the return flight. Here’s a quote from the article:
Two NASA astronauts who rode to orbit on Boeing’s Starliner are currently stranded in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after engineers discovered numerous issues with the Boeing spacecraft. Teams on the ground are now racing to assess Starliner’s status.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally scheduled to return to Earth on June 13 after a week on the ISS, but their stay has been extended for a second time due to the ongoing issues. The astronauts will now return home no sooner than June 26th, according to NASA.
After years of delays, Boeing’s Starliner capsule successfully blasted off on its inaugural crewed flight from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:52 a.m. EDT on June 5. But during the 25-hour flight, engineers discovered five separate helium leaks to the spacecraft’s thruster system.
Now, to give engineers time to troubleshoot the faults, NASA has announced it will push back the perilous return flight, extending the crew’s stay on the space station to at least three weeks.
“We’ve learned that our helium system is not performing as designed,” Mark Nappi, Boeing’s Starliner program manager, said at a news conference on June 18. “Albeit manageable, it’s still not working like we designed it. So we’ve got to go figure that out.”
A simple glaze over ham makes for an easy special occasion meal.
apricot glazed ham2
Prep: 10 min | Bake: 1 hr 30 min | Yield: 20 servings
Ingredients
5 pound fully cooked whole boneless ham
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup apricot nectar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
Place ham on rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, in a 325 degrees F oven for 1 1/4 hours or until meat thermometer registers 140 degrees F (about 15 to 18 minutes per pound.)
For the glaze, in a small saucepan combine brown sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg and cloves.
Stir in apricot nectar and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly.
Brush ham with glaze. Continue baking for 15-20 minutes more, brushing occasionally with glaze.
Scott Ritter: NATO in BIG TROUBLE After Crossing Russia’s Red Line, Putin and China Brace for War
One of Scott’s best videos. Well worth the time to watch.
Junko Furuta was a Japanese schoolgirl who suffered 40 days of unimaginable torture at the hands of her classmates before dying on January 4th, 1989. After she rejected the school bully, Hiroshi Miyano, she was taken by 4 boys to the home of one of the kidnappers, Nobaharu Minato. All in all, over 100 people knew of her abduction; none did anything to help, and several joined in the torture.
According to their statements in court, the four boys tortured Junko relentlessly, to such an extent that her face was so swollen she was virtually unrecognisable, she lost bladder control (and was beaten for wetting the carpet), and her body developed a rotting smell.
The torture included:
Rape — Junko was raped over 400 times over the course of 40 days. Many of these rapes were gang-rape, and the four boys’ friends were invited to join in and humiliate her. Over 100 different men are alleged to have participated in rape at some point. She was naked for most of her imprisonment and forced to masturbate in front of her captors. Some of the boys urinated on her, and she was forced to drink her own urine.
Vaginal mutilation — iron bars, scissors, needles, skewers, a bulb, fireworks, cigarettes and lighters amongst other foreign objects were forced into her vagina and anus, causing severe burning and damage. Additionally, she forcibly had her breasts pierced with sewing needles and one of her nipples was torn off.
Beatings — she was beaten regularly, and sometimes strapped up as a human punching bag. The boys used clubs, rods and bamboo sticks to punish her for displeasing them.
Freezing — after pleading to die, she was locked outside overnight (bear in mind this was in winter), and later locked in a freezer.
Burning — this is believed to be the ultimate cause of her death. She suffered severe burns from the aforementioned lighters and fireworks. When she tried to call the police, she was doused in lighter fluid and her body was set on fire. Somehow she survived, but was killed by another body fire on the 40th day of imprisonment.
The boys reportedly dropped barbells and an iron exercise ball on her stomach, which was partly responsible for the lost bladder control, along with the damage to her genitals.
Hiroshi was sentenced for 20 years, and the other main captors received 5–10 years each. Most of them were subsequently arrested again for various crimes, including rape and fraud. They were aged 17–18 at the time; Junko was 17.
Had the captors been slightly older, they almost certainly would have received life imprisonment or the death penalty. The case is considered controversial due to their lenient sentences, and I can see why.
If 99% of people find you unattractive, 78,000,000 people still find you attractive.
One of the worst parts of having mental health issues is that you’re seemingly required to have a breakdown in order for people to understand how hard you were trying to hold yourself together.
The fact that Jellyfish have survived for 650 million years despite having no brain gives hope to many people.
Dogs must be notorious in the animal kingdom for being the closest ally of the deadliest species ever to inhabit earth.
At some point in your life, an attractive person passed by you and regretted not talking to you.
Why is “Sean” pronounced as “Shawn” instead of “Seen” but “Dean” is pronounced “Deen” instead of “Dawn”
At some point in your childhood you and your friends went outside to play one last time, but you never knew it.
Cutting corners creates more corners.
Why are there no pizza drive-thrus?!
To know the ones that are worth your love, first you have to love the ones who are not.
The scariest part of growing up is realizing many adults are clueless; life is based more on luck than knowledge.
Larry Johnson REVEALS: U.S. Missiles Strike Deep Inside Russia, NATO in Danger, The World at Stake
Yuppur. The USA is actively fighting Russia. There is no way that Ukrainians are aiming and guiding these missiles.
When my ex left, she went out of her way to be as cruel as possible about the whole process.
It was taking us some time to disentangle our living situation, finances, etc. My approach was that we were both adults who had at one point held affection for each other, so we might as well be as grown up as possible about the situation. I tried to be fair, and to give ground on things that meant more to her than to me – particularly as I earned more so would find it easier to relace anything she took.
She took the opposite approach. It wasn’t just that she tried to take everything she wanted. She took things simply because I wanted them. On the day she moved out, she packed up my washing line, despite the fact she was moving to a house with no garden. I let it go as not worth the hassle to fight her.
As might be expected after a 5-year relationship, there were some connections we hadn’t managed to untangle before leaving day, so from time to time I needed to get in touch – for example, to tell her I was no longer paying for her car insurance, and that she’d have to sort it out for herself. She continued to be obstructive, and to request that I cease all contact with her. I was tearing my hair out, trying to do the right thing but being knocked back rudely at every turn.
It was then that a good friend introduced me to what she called the ‘Princess Bride defence’:
“As you wish.”
It was the last text I sent to her. Thereafter, any time I found one of her sentimental possessions in the back of a cupboard, it went straight to a charity shop. When important-looking letters marked “URGENT” arrived addressed to her, I returned them as undelivered – at my convenience, after a few days. When I was asked to pass a potential teaching opportunity on to her, I said that wouldn’t be possible. When Christmas cards from her extended family arrived (addressed to both of us) I shredded them. She didn’t hear from me again.
I know several people that are inbred right now. Normally I wouldn’t have any contact with these folks, but I am a firefighter in a very rural area, and I answer a lot of medical calls. I have some very very gross stories I could tell, but I will spare you the details as it is pretty disgusting and depressing. One thing I will say is that some of these families that are really inbred have an inbred look. I can’t really put my finger on what it is, but their eyes just look a little different. I don’t judge these folks at all, after all they’re just people. They’re really victims, they didn’t ask for this.
I was a reserve deputy back in the early 90s, and I went to a call where we arrested a man who had just gotten out of prison , and he went and attempted to rape two of his cousins, and successfully completed the act with one. From the description of the crimes , it seemed like the guy was completely compulsive.
As we turned off a long country road down a long dirt road to make the arrest, I saw poverty that I had never seen in America. There were people in mobile homes with no electric and broken windows and homemade steps. Most rural areas are full of pretty normal people, but this pocket of the woods had a family that was inbreeding for a long time, and some of them looked very strange. I went to the back of the house in case the guy tried to run while two other deputies went into the house to make the arrest. One very old lady in a ripped T-shirt with no bra gave me the worst hate stare I have ever seen, she just stared at me with a one eye bigger than the other inbred silent angry glare. Amongst all this, a very sweet , nice 5-year-old girl came up and asked what I was doing. I told her we were arresting a bad guy. Just then the two deputies came out with the rapist, and he was the most normal looking guy there. He was a studious looking guy with wire rim glasses and nice clothes. He was also the father of that little girl who I just talked to. She started wailing with the saddest cries you’d ever hear and threw a stick at me. It was one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever seen up till that point.
Incidents like this made me realize why the deputies I rode with were so cynical. They often saw the worst in people.
It wasn’t long after this that I decided to join the fire department instead of law enforcement. After 30 years in the fire department, I have seen a lot of strange things, but that call still sticks out my mind as being very sad. I think I remember it because it was the first time I’d been exposed to that level of poverty, indifference and craziness.
If you have read this far in my story, thank you. I do actually have some upbeat news. Social services have drastically improved in my area, I haven’t been to a house full of kids with no lights and no heat in quite a few years. I think it has been close to 20 years since I have been to a 14-year-old on her second pregnancy. Things have gotten much better.
Douglas Macgregor: Iran & Turkey join Russia, North Korea sent Nuclear Bombs after Meeting Putin
He’s speaking truth. Damn. The USA just ain’t ready.
I adopted two children from Russia. One was 20 months old, and the other was about 4 years old. This is my qualification to speak on the subject. Sadly, Russia no longer adopts children to the US, because we sanctioned one of Putin’s friends.
The fact of the matter is that it is easier to fly all the way around the world two times, like an astronaut, to get a child in Russia, than it is to adopt a child in the US State of Washington (and presumably other U.S. states).
Russia is a place that has the kind of economic chaos that makes relatively high-quality babies available for adoption. Too many Russians can’t keep their children, and Russians do not, as a rule, adopt their own orphans. The Russian authorities are not afraid to take a child away from failed parents, so the child has likely only suffered a few months of neglect. The US, by contrast, has a strong tradition of parental rights, so it takes years to remove a child.
In the US, many children are born to meth users, so that their brains are irretrievably fried. Heroin is the drug of choice in Russia, which, while horrible for the parents, is not so bad (as meth) on a fetus’s physiology.
When you return home from Russia with a child, that child belongs to you. It is your adopted child. Period, end of story. By contrast, children in Washington State are generally not legally free to adopt when they are placed in your home. That means you are only a foster parent, with few rights. For the next couple of years, if your new baby’s crack-whore mother or jailbird father cleans up their act, even temporarily, they can yank your baby away and back to its previous life of neglect and abuse. Imagine having to tell your other children that their forever-brother or sister is not home when they return from school, because it unexpectedly went back to its birth-parents.
Now tell me you think it’s strange that people do international adoptions.
The badlands had ceased expanding, and there was just enough food to support one or two researchers—well, maybe only one—and that would be me.
The bishop had his hands full. A guard saw me into his office, and the bishop sat waiting behind a huge, salvaged desk between us.
The desk, a marvel, held my gaze. Its rich, brown hue was a testament to its unique origin, a strange wood with a veneer of such smoothness, partially burned away, creating a mesmerizing play of colors. I couldn’t help but wonder about the lives that were risked to retrieve such a treasure.
“You are?” he said, not looking up. Now, if it were up to me, I would fall on my knees and kiss his ecclesiastical ring, listen to his blessings, and wait for benediction. Such was my upbringing, which I had only known since…forever. To be in his presence was an honor granted to so few.
But I must answer him! Yet remembering my very name seemed an extraneous and worthless undertaking.
“Thomas Cranwell, to commoners excluded from knowing my ecclesial rank,” I said, finally.
“Why do you exclude yourself?” he asked again, without looking up from whatever was absorbing him. “Are you not to work for the extension of the Kingdom of God?”
“It is for an uncommon request. Permission to attend at Bradwell,” I practically whispered.
That got his attention. I am asking for something forbidden. To speak of Bradwell and the treasures of antiquity that it contained was to invite suspicion.
Myths, stories, and legends about the sacrifices made to build Bradwell many generations ago were a staple around campfires at night. After the cataclysm and before the new orientation, the building of Bradwell took place in a time so dark that our present darkness looked light by comparison. Yet I was convinced that understanding our past would help build our future!
I threw caution to the wind. Before I knew what I was doing, I was kneeling before him, seeking his hand to kiss his ring, even as I could not see that the guard had moved to strike me from behind.
“Stay your hand!” the bishop ordered. “What have we here? A search for knowledge at any cost?”
“Only a fool who seeks to serve, Your Excellency!” My tears were so copious that if I looked at him, I imagined he would send me off straight away. He laid his hand on my head.
“Thomas, I’ll inquire about your character. Send me your references and bid me a good day!”
#
I had to work while I waited. Luckily for me, I had learned a trade as a metal scavenger. It was considered a low occupation, but it was necessary since the metal that never rusts could no longer be made and was highly prized. However, my unusual request made people suspicious of me. Even the scraps I found in the well-combed hills and valleys surrounding Urhan fetched such low prices that I began to starve. Being without family and friends in any place was inviting death into your life. I hoped I would not have to wait long for the bishop to answer!
When news came that the bishop had approved my request, I now had a servant, David, a protection seal on paper, no less, and a stipend. The bishop’s generosity quite shocked me. Was he an antiquarian? Even if only in secret? I couldn’t account for my good fortune otherwise.
We hastened to start our journey. David was young—only sixteen—yet enthusiastic and uncommonly curious. When I told David we were off to Bradwell, he jumped for joy! I warned him to conserve his strength. It would be a long and challenging journey, even for one like himself. Besides, he was to support me, such as I was.
Upon leaving Urhan, David removed his sandals and shook the dust off them, motioning me to do the same.
“A curse on any who did not help us!” he shouted with glee.
This made me angry. “You hardly know what it is, you ask!” I said. “We have nothing but what we carry—nothing at all. It could be that a curse has been laid on us! Mind your place, boy!”
David’s eyes fell, and he began to weep. “Forgive me, Father, he said.
“It is your youth and inexperience that speaks,” I answered. “The world is larger than we know!”
#
We arrived at Urhan Station, a smaller community composed almost entirely of humbler folk, primarily farmers. I was not incardinated anywhere in the Urhan region. I thought it proper to approach the local magistrate to inform him of our presence and request leave to be accommodated for at least one night, perhaps two. Upon reviewing my documents, I was permitted to stay, provided I sought provisions in the local market and remained at the local inn. This I was happy to do.
Thank God news had not spread about my mission. It was a relief to be treated courteously for once, and I relished the opportunity to rest and regain my strength.
David was enraptured by the many sights of Urhan Station, which he had never visited before, even though it was only twenty miles from where he lived.
“Father, shall we hear Mass today?” he inquired.
“Certainly!” I replied.
We soon happened upon the parish church, a quaint, quite old stucco and wood structure dating back to the earliest days of the Urhan region’s reconstruction. Even today, the church outshone the other various dwellings, which were much more bare and plain-looking. A bell rang out, calling the populace to prayer. The church was soon filled.
I was struck by Father Bruno, the priest who said Mass. His intensely blue eyes and reputation for knowing people’s sins without being told drew many visitors for confession, even from Urhan proper. I feared he would somehow know of our mission, so I hung back in one of the back pews.
When Mass was over, and we had finished our Thanksgiving prayers, he strode right to the back of the church to see me, calling me by name, although we had never met.
“Father Cranwell! Know you, not your duty! To serve God! It is not your place to seek that which God has destroyed!”
He said this so loudly that David prostrated himself at his feet, weeping and begging forgiveness. I was stunned, and when Father Bruno had left, and I regained my composure, it was plain that we would have to leave Urhan Station; the sooner, the better.
David wept incessantly. On the one hand, he knew he might fall prey to ruffians or dire circumstances, being alone without my support. Yet, given his religious upbringing, he could not ignore Father Bruno’s words, and I would not contradict a fellow priest, so I released David from his obligation to me.
I did this with a heavy heart, wondering if I would survive long enough to arrive at Bradwell without David’s support. Yet I had to think of what was best for the boy.
“You are free to leave,” I said as we left Urhan Station.
“Where will I go?” he asked.
“Don’t you have a family to return to?”
“Family? My family is the church. I am an orphan!”
With this, I stopped to look at him. David was in tears again. I was nearly beside myself with grief, too. It was clear that he could not make a decision.
“Come with me, and you will no longer be an orphan but a son to me!” I said, wiping both his and my own tears.
#
We were quite clearly approaching the badlands. Strange, disfigured animals approached us, peering out from the undergrowth. David readied his slingshot, and I, my staff.
“I could hit one!” David exulted.
“Let us pass by the side,” I answered. Thus, we took detours through thick brambles to avoid these “denizens of hell,” as the common folk called them.
The road, too, became more rutted and overgrown. Signs warned us not to go further, though the further we went, the more rotted they appeared, like the people who erected them had passed on or failed to maintain them.
We had to sleep in the open air in a shelter we could make from branches and sticks. It began to rain. I had heard of the constant rain in the heart of the badlands, soaking you through and through. We knew not to drink from the fetid swamps that threatened to overwhelm the road, which now resembled more of a simple path than a road.
“Is God punishing us?” David asked after a tough night when I coughed more than I slept. “Isn’t it clear we shouldn’t be here?” he continued. He was throwing stones into the swamp, a look of defeat on his face.
“Hush now and trust,” I said. We have not come all this way to die now!”
But I wondered how much more we could take, wearied to the bone from the dampness and privations caused by a lack of food and good sleep, never mind the constant fear of what might happen if we grew inattentive or were unlucky.
After three days, the path abruptly stopped at a ruined habitation. No one was home, and it looked like no one had been there for some time. After my brave words to David, my heart sank. Where to now to Bradwell?
Had I fallen prey to pride? It was Father Bruno’s words that echoed in my mind.
I sank to my knees and wept.
I could have died there and then and been happy to meet my maker, poor, alone, a sinner in need of redemption. It was David who came to my rescue.
He bounded into my view even though I lay prone in the muck and filth in those last few steps on the path to nowhere.
“Look, Father!” He helped me up. “Come over here! Do you see it? Up on the hill!”
My poor eyes were unaccustomed to focusing at such a distance, yet I could just make out a building built on a hill. Was it a monastery?
I could see it shining like a beacon, a bright sheen off what looked like stout walls as we hobbled closer, David supporting me with every step I took.
#
By some magic I had never seen before, the gate to the monastery slid open to reveal a monk dressed in a black tunic. He did not speak, only motioning to us to follow him. A Benedictine? I had never seen one before.
The monk’s tunic hung loosely over his body, stopping only at his ankles. He wore a rectangular piece of cloth over his shoulders called a scapular that appeared to be made of wool. When he turned to lead us to the community, I noticed his cowl limp and unused, the sun only beginning to make its presence known.
It was an edifying experience to see such calm and serene purpose in this one monk who neither sought nor cared for our taking any notice of him whatsoever.
We climbed some hewn stone stairs to such a height! It was utterly exhausting. I had to stop frequently to catch my breath, but I could still reach a portico, the sun clothed with refracted light through the most marvelous stained glass, again as something I had never seen before. I reached out to touch it, causing the light to fall in a sudden dazzling brilliance as if moved by unseen hands. I wanted to stop and question the monk about how light could be so liquid yet impervious to my understanding!
But he moved ever onward, not looking back.
We reached a stolid door of massive weight, again opening at a mere touch! What I presumed to be the abbot greeted us.
The abbot wore a black cappa, which is a full-length cloak over his tunic. He also wore a ring, which he held out to me.
I collapsed before I could kiss his ring, and from what David told me later, I hit my head on the stone floor, losing consciousness.
#
I awoke in an infirmary, or what looked like one. David was so happy to see me come to my senses. He looked fatigued as if he had been waiting a long time by my side, sitting on a wicker chair next to an untouched tray of food on a small table.
“Eat, father!” he said, his voice catching him unawares like he had not spoken for hours. Then, he cleared his throat and looked as if he might cry.
I had more important things on my mind. “What of the…abbot?” I gasped as I reached for a plain, remarkably shaped glass containing a liquid I did not recognize.
David handed it to me. “He never spoke to me. After you collapsed, two monks carried you here. Will you get well, Father?” he pleaded.
“God willing!” I said. You are so faithful to me; how can it be otherwise?” I joked, but then I frowned. “But there is much to discuss…” I said as I tried to get out of bed.
“Not until you are well!” David commanded. “Eat!”
#
The days went swiftly by. A monk with remarkable medical knowledge examined me. And there was so much food! So much more than I was used to.
Then, several days later, another monk with such bright eyes came to get me. This one was not unassuming or silent. He was talkative, so much so that I wondered if he was a monk or a commoner dressed in monk attire!
“Know you, not your duty!” I exclaimed at one point amid his chatter.
He rounded on me, his confident air dissipating as air escapes a putrid cask.
“Know you, not yours?” he replied. With that, we both fell into sullen silence. He then led me to see the abbot.
#
It was as before. This time, I kissed the abbot’s ring and returned to standing before him in what looked like the chapter house, a meeting room where the community would gather to conduct business.
Gazing about, I saw things on shelves I had never seen before. Whether they were functional or not escaped me; some seemed to be parts of other, larger objects. Here and there, you could see these recognizable parts protruding. But I was not given leave to stare at these unusual artifacts for long.
“You and your servant are welcome to stay with us!” the abbot announced. “I have made inquiries, and the bishop of Urhan diocese has vouched for you. The bishop was once a monk at this very place! What exactly have you come here to do?”
“Father Abbot, I wish to conduct research.”
“By all means, let us visit the scriptorium and the library!”
Again, there was light that I had never seen before.
In a wonder of wonders, I was led into the scriptorium, where monks sat at tables reading words that appeared and disappeared on pages filled with light, with no visible candles.
Then, many books in unknown languages were in the library, with pictures not drawn or painted of such wonders as I could scarcely describe! Many of these books were burned, and some could not be read. Still, everything was neatly stored and accounted for.
“Why not let everyone see these wonders,” I asked.
The Abbot was taken aback. “Do you believe that the people would comprehend that we were once prosperous, but now we are poor only because of a war of unimaginable fury as if the very wrath of God enveloped everything? This is knowledge for only a select few!”
The Abbot, setting aside his vows, embraced me and continued speaking for what seemed like a very long time.
“You need hardly wonder! Was it not always so? Monks preserved knowledge, whether of religion or not, that would have been lost otherwise in past times. We do so today, as always. Forever, until the end of time itself!”
So began my new life. Father Bruno could remind the people of what went wrong, and I would now discover why.
I was at the pool, having just finished with my morning workout. I was drying off and noticed I had gotten a new text from one of my friends.
OMG are you okay??! I saw the crash!!
I froze in confusion. Reread the text. Tried to wrap my mind around it before coming to my senses and quickly punching in her number.
One ring, two. “Pick up, pick up!”
She answers, breathless. “Rachel! Are you okay? Please tell me no one is hurt!”
“What do you mean? I’m at the pool!”
The line goes dead silent. I can hear her breaths on the other side, raspy and shocked. My heart pounding wildly against my chest.
Then, “There was an accident, I saw your mom in the car. It’s bad.”
I swear my heart stopped. For a moment, everything blurred. I had no idea there was a crash. I had no idea what was going on.
For a second, thoughts of losing my mother crashed through my brain and I wanted to be sick.
My friend told me the car had been t-boned (hit from the side). She said it looked bad, that our car had been dented-in and she saw medics pulling my mom out. I remember my heart feeling like a knife was cutting through, tears blurring my eyes.
I thanked her, hung up, and quickly called my mom. I think I called her four or five times before someone answered.
My father.
If you haven’t read my past answers, my father and I have a rocky relationship. But I still wasn’t prepared for his words.
He told me to stop calling, that everything was fine. He wouldn’t tell me if she was alright, or what had happened, just to stop calling. He hung up.
Needless to say, I was pissed and scared out of my mind. I called another six or seven times before my mom finally answered.
And she was alright.
She was bruised, crying, and shaken, but she was alive. And in that moment, that was all that mattered.
But hearing that something had happened, that she had been in an accident, had almost stopped my heart. Those have definitely been the most terrifying words I have ever heard: “I saw your mom in the car. It’s bad.”
As a Chinese guy who has lived many years in America, I’ve got the answer for you, but I’m pretty sure you won’t believe me and think I’m ridiculous:
China actually has a lot more freedom of speech than the US or other western countries.
Ok, now please allow me to explain:
In China, we certainly do not have the freedom to criticize Chinese government, IN PUBLIC. That’s pretty much the only thing you can’t do. (we talk shit about them ALL the time in private daily conversations.)
Other than that, you can say pretty much anything you want in China.
However, when I was in the US, I feel suffocate because there’s a lot of things I couldn’t talk about, or I couldn’t say my real opinions. Everything needs to be political correct. You certainly can say your government is a piece of shit, but that’s not what freedom of speech is. You can’t talk about xxxxxxxx, xxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxx, xxxxxxx, etc… When I was there, I had to be extremely careful about what I say, even in daily conversations. There’re so many chains, not free at all.
I think you guys know what I’m talking about.
Cajun Style Holiday Ham
Ready to experience the holidays Cajun style? Bring in some Louisiana Cajun flavor to your holiday dinner with Slap Ya Mama’s Cajun Style Holiday Ham complete with our famous original blend and seafood boil seasoning. Say goodbye to traditional holiday meals because our recipe will keep you wanting more year round!
cajun style holiday ham
Ingredients
1 (8 pound) picnic ham
12 ounces Coke
1 pound Slap Ya Mama Seafood Boil
Slap Ya Mama Original Blend Seasoning, to taste
Instructions
Fill a large pot halfway with water and pour in Slap Ya Mama Seafood Boil. Bring to a boil and place ham into the pot. Boil for approximately 1 hour.
Remove ham and let drain and cool.
Heat over at 400 degrees F. Trim top skin from ham leaving a little fat. In a crisscross pattern, slice the top of the ham about 1/4 inch deep.
Place ham in a roasting pan with 1/2 cup of water in the bottom of the pan. Pour Coke evenly over ham. Now season the whole ham with Slap Ya Mama Original Blend Seasoning.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and continue cooking for another 30 minutes or until there is a nice crisp on the exterior of the ham.
Carve ham, serve and enjoy!
Attribution
Recipe and photo used with permission from: Slap Ya Mama
She was a NASA astronaut. Emphasis on WAS. During her stint in NASA, she actually had a pretty impressive career—she flew in space aboard the shuttle Discovery in 2006, in fact.
But she threw it all away. Over a guy.
You see, her boyfriend William Oefelein, another astronaut, had cooled in his affections towards her and was now seeing another woman, Colleen Shipman. We’ve all had love interests break our hearts, and it sucks. Some of us go a little cray-cray during the heartbreak period, especially if we’re drunk. But Lisa Nowak—she went well beyond drunken texts in the middle of the night.
She drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando to confront the other lady. Shipman was going to be arriving at Orlando’s international airport, and Nowak was going to be there to confront her. According to police reports, she even wore adult diapers so she wouldn’t have to make any bathroom breaks during the trip. Anyway, she finally got to Orlando, confronted the other woman, and pepper-sprayed her.
Result? She was sentenced to a year’s probation, kicked out of both NASA and the U.S. Navy, and now has Google and Wikipedia detailing her misdeeds. The notoriety of her case—Law and Order actually made an episode about an astronaut love triangle—meant employers were reluctant to hire her despite her credentials, and the last anyone heard she’s been living a quiet life in Texas working in the private sector. Without the boyfriend.
A man comes home in morning hours, crawls into bed still hungover, and wakes up in a pool of blood. His wife had been stabbed in the night.
He ran into the hallway and called 9–1–1 — but the police quickly charge him for murder. He says he got drunk the night before and his memory is a blank. She was killed sometime in the night — no signs of forced entry. They have their man.
Weeks later it goes to trial. Once underway, the man’s memory is triggered and he says he thinks he was in jail two counties over. The judge calls a recess.
The sheriff’s deputies check on this alibi, bring that sheriff in for deposition, and sure enough, the husband had gotten into a drunken brawl at a nightclub and was thrown in jail many hours before his wife’s time of death. He wasn’t anywhere near the crime scene. The deputies visit the nightclub and the coat check girl remembered him well – and the brawl. This was an upscale club so brawls were rare.
They brought all this back to the courtroom, the prosecutor moved for dismissal and the judge granted it. Recall they’ve already seated the jury, so double jeopardy is attached. He cannot be tried again.
A couple of months later, the deputies run into the coat check girl and it comes out that the husband, once released from jail, visited the nightclub in the morning and gave the coat check girl a $50 tip “for all the trouble”. One deputy surmises this might all be a hoax. The husband tipped the girl so she wouldn’t forget him.
They visit the jail itself and learn a priceless bit of news – the jail has no after-hours personnel. The inmates sleep it off until morning anyway. Another nugget, it’s also well known that one of the jail’s two cells has a bad lock. A little persistent jiggering will cause the bolt to retract and release the inmate. They also learned that two months prior, the husband had been in that same cell for disorderly conduct and no doubt learned about the lock.
At this point, they had all they needed, but too late. They surmised the husband started the brawl to get himself incarcerated, by luck or persuasion landed in the right cell, sneaked out to kill his wife and sneaked back. The next morning he pays the coat check girl and returns home, and it all falls out from there.
By the time the deputies learned all this, the husband had already sold his home, cashed-out his wife’s substantial life insurance policy, and was in the wind.
Daddy warnings
Putin: West Seeking “Strategic Defeat” of Russia in Ukraine, Means End to 1,000 Years of Russian Statehood
Upon finishing his visits to North Korea and Vietnam, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked by media what it means that the West continues to escalate the war in Ukraine, and openly calls for a “strategic defeat of Russia.” His answer opened the door to a Russian nuclear first-strike against the West.
Asked what does it mean to Russia that the West keeps escalating the Ukraine conflict, President Putin’s remarks went like this:
“We see it. We observe it. As you said, they constantly raise the degree and escalate the situation.
Apparently they expect us to be scared at some point.
But at the same time, they also say that they want to achieve a strategic defeat of Russia on the battlefield.
What does this mean for Russia? It means the end of its statehood. This is what it means.
It means the end of the thousand year history of the Russian state. I think this is clear to everyone.
And then the question arises, why should we be afraid? Isn’t it better to go all the way, then?
This is elementary formal logic, a course that I studied at the University for six months, but I remember it well.
I even remember the teachers who taught this course.
Therefore, I think that those who think so, and even more so, SAY SO, make another big mistake.
Here is the actual video in original Russian language with English subtitles. My analysis appears beneath the video:
ANALYSIS
Words mean things. When a man like President Vladimir Putin says a particular thing, if the world has learned nothing else from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it knows he means what he says.
Russia made strident Diplomatic efforts over the Ukraine situation for years, and told the West in December of 2021 there has to be Iron-clad, legally enforceable Security Guarantees for Russia over the ever-nearing encroachment by NATO toward Russia’s border – with Ukraine being the most recent encroachment.
The West laughed and threw Russia’s Treaty proposal in the ashbin of history.
Russia tried again in January of 2022, only this time, they told the world “If Russia cannot obtain iron-clad, legally enforceable, security guarantees by Diplomatic means, it will obtain them by military or military-technical means.”
The West took about two weeks before laughing at Russia again, and declining the Treaty proposal.
On February 23, 2022, Russia called Ukraine President Zelensky and told him “You have five hours to agree to NOT join NATO and NOT place American missiles on Ukraine Territory.”
Zelensky called the British Home Office and the US State Department for guidance. Both Britain and the US told Zelensky to “ignore Russia’s ultimatum.” Zelensky did exactly that.
After the five hours had passed, Russia waited an additional two hours. No response form Ukraine. That morning, the Russian Army crossed the Border into Ukraine by force, and the war commenced.
So when Russia says something, they mean it.
For President Putin to say
"But at the same time, they also say that they want to achieve a strategic defeat of Russia on the battlefield.What does this mean for Russia? It means the end of its statehood. This is what it means.It means the end of the thousand year history of the Russian state. I think this is clear to everyone."
is the absolute worst RED FLAG imaginable.
Russia has a nuclear doctrine. They’ve had it, open to the public, for years.
In that nuclear doctrine, Russia makes clear they will only use nuclear weapons if “there is a threat to the existence of the Russian state.”
What did Putin just say in the video above? He said that a “strategic defeat of Russia means the end of its statehood; an end to the thousand year history of the Russian state.”
Well, since that is how Russia perceives the publicly stated goal of the West to inflict a “strategic defeat” upon Russia, then the legal framework now exists to justify the use of Russian nuclear weapons.
It is as plain as day from what President Putin just said.
What he went on to say is even worse:
It means the end of the thousand year history of the Russian state. I think this is clear to everyone.And then the question arises, why should we be afraid? Isn't it better to go all the way, then?
Uh Oh. “. . . go all the way?” Yes, he actually said that. So what does THAT mean?
To me, it means “If Russia is going to be ended, why shouldn’t they go all the way and end the people who are ending Russia?”
To me, “. . . Isn’t it better to go all the way” means mutual destruction. If Russia is going to lose its thousand years of Russian statehood, then everybody else is going to lose theirs too.
These remarks from the Russian President are among the most important words ever spoken in human history. They lay out the ACTUAL course of events we are all on. Destruction.
Yet we in the West go along our merry way, seemingly oblivious to the actual reality. A reality that WE created. A reality that WE continue to perpetrate.
The actions of the United States and our NATO vassals, is directly threatening our continued existence. We the people have a right to protect ourselves from what this government is doing.
If we sit back, do and say nothing, it seems to me this government is leading us all to our deaths. Soon.
Pepe Escobar: Putin and China issue DEVASTATING Warning to NATO and Everything is About to Change
Journalist and Geopolitical Analyst Pepe Escobar reveals the truth about Russia and China's accelerated push toward a multipolar world and how their latest moves will completely destroy the dominance of the U.S. dollar as we know it. This video breaks it all down following Pepe's May trip to Brazil and other BRICS countries.
Like in a movie, where graffiti or words on paper foreshadow events that occur later on in the movie. We can experience the exact thing in our own life.
…
When I was a young boy, I was given a Naval Aviator Helmet. A brother of my Father’s friend was a Naval Aviator, and the USN was changing the helmet design, and so he picked up a helmet and dropped it off for me. He placed it in the milk-box on the kitchen porch.
USN helmet
I had that thing for years and year. Even when I was in the Navy, and training with my own helmet, that old helmet sat at my mother’s house collecting dust. And I trained with my own and much newer helmet.
Like this
Foreshadowing events.
I wonder what things and events are foreshadowing for the future that we shall soon experience…
Macron’s decision to send more troops to New Caledonia is a reflection of a serious breakdown of order in the island nation not seen since the 1980s, Mick Hall reports.
Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron in 2019. (DoD, Public domain)
in Whangarei, New Zealand
Special to Consortium News
Fears are growing that French security forces could remain indefinitely in New Caledonia after being sent to quell deadly violence this week over stalled moves towards full independence from France.
As France loses its grip on its colonial possession following recent debacles in West Africa, French President Emmanuel Macron flew into the Pacific Islands country on Thursday.
He was seeking a political solution with local parties following the eruption of protests and violence that included gun battles, which claimed the lives of two Gendarmes (French police) and four civilians.
Macron said a 3,000-strong force deployed from France would remain “as long as necessary,” emphasising a return to calm and security was “the absolute priority.”
He paid tribute to those killed in the violence before meeting with politicians and business representatives during a summit that included independence leaders.
Ahead of his visit, Macron faced anger from groups that hold his hubris responsible for the chaos. “Here comes the fireman after he set the fire!” Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) of New Caledonia’s Jimmy Naouna, posted on X after Macron’s office announced his surprise visit.
In a further post, Naouna said Macron and those accompanying him on the visit, Overseas and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin Darmanin and Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Locornu, had ignored calls for peaceful talks to resolve issues over self-determination for the island nation for months and that they could not be trusted anymore.
Approximately 1,000 more French security personnel were sent to the archipelago at the weekend, when France’s High Commissioner Louis Le Franc vowed in a televised address that “Republican order will be re-established, whatever the cost.” If separatists “want to use their arms, they will be risking the worst,” he added.
French security forces would stage “harassment” raids to reclaim territory held by pro-independence groups.
Start of Unrest
The crisis was sparked after France’s lower house, the National Assembly, on May 14 made changes to a 1998 agreement that had charted a path to decolonisation after decades of conflict.
Assembly bill will get rid of one of the agreement’s provisions by allowing residents who arrived in the country after 1998 to vote, shifting the balance of power away from the indigenous population and weakening their chances of winning independence via referendum.
The bill specifically makes constitutional changes removing electoral restrictions protecting the demographic status of the nation’s indigenous Kanaky people, as agreed under the Nouméa Accord.
The change, which followed a constitutional review initiated by Darmanin, would allow French nationals living on the island for at least 10 years to vote in local elections.
France retains a strategic and economic interest in the small Pacific nation of 270,000 residents, situated 750 miles (1200km) east of Australia. It is the third-largest exporter of nickel globally, while France is also attempting to reposition itself as a Western security partner in the Pacific.
On Sunday, May 19 about 600 paramilitary police and army busted through approximately 70 barricades, which included dozens of burn-out vehicles, blocking a 64km stretch of road from the capital’s Nouméa to La Tontouta international airport. Some of the barricades were immediately re-erected.
A 6pm to 6am curfew remains in place until the end of a state of emergency on May 27. Disenfranchised youth have been responsible for most of the rioting. Tik Tok has also been banned and over 230 people have so far been arrested.
Both New Zealand and Australia began emergency repatriations using military aircraft from the Magenta airport, 4km outside the capital on Tuesday.
Macron has been accused of sparking the turmoil by imposing a colonial agenda on the country, running contrary to the Nouméa Accord.
Blaming Azerbaijan
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has accused Azerbaijan, far from New Caledonia, of stirring up trouble there. “This isn’t a fantasy. It’s a reality,” he told
French TV. “I regret that some of the Caledonian pro-independence leaders have made a deal with Azerbaijan. It’s indisputable,” he said.
He added: “Even if there are attempts at interference… France is sovereign on its own territory, and so much the better.”
Azerbaijan denied the allegation. “We completely reject the baseless accusations,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry spokesman Ayhan Hajizadeh said.
“We refute any connection between the leaders of the struggle for freedom in Caledonia and Azerbaijan.”
Azerbaijan has been vocal in attacking French colonialism and invited pro- independence groups to Baku from several French dependencies in Polynesia for a conference towards the complete elimination of colonialism last July. It was organized by the Buku Initiative Group, which released a statement last week in solidarity with Kanaks resisting French reforms.
Follows French Losses in Africa
The uprising in New Caledonia follows unrest in the former French West Africa that forced French troops out of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso last year. It cost France access to cheap uranium, especially from Niger, putting political pressure on Macron from powerful French interests. A loss of New Caledonia would not be welcomed in Paris as French colonial interests crumble.
Eddy Banare, a researcher in comparative literature with an interest in Kanak identity/political discourse at the Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, told Consortium News Macron and his government had demonstrated a serious lack of understanding of the New Caledonian issue and had failed to maintain a dialogue with local parties.
“The Nouméa Accord is based on an agreement between political actors in New Caledonia. This agreement has been compromised,” he said.
“Macron has aligned himself with the hardest right of the New Caledonian political spectrum, which, in its fervour to maintain a French New Caledonia, rejects the spirit of collegiality established by the Nouméa Accord by disregarding the Kanak independence claim and sabotaging the conditions for dialogue.”
Macron has had three meetings of his Defence and National Security Council within a week and his decision to send more troops is a reflection of a serious breakdown of order in New Caledonian society not seen since the 1980s.
“Everything seems to be set for the long term,” Banare said, adding that 100,000 firearms currently circulating in the country also needed to be taken out of the equation. Armed pro-France loyalist militias and anti-colonial groups have been active during the protests. Three of those killed were Kanaks, shot by armed civilians.
Banare said, in the absence of an impartial arbitrator, Australia and New Zealand should host roundtable talks, bringing together New Caledonian parties, a representation of the French government, and experts in international law and indigenous issues in the Pacific.
The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations Alliance (PRNGA) on Monday also urged the U.N. and Pacific leaders to mediate dialogue towards restoring “a just and peaceful transition.”
In a statement, the organisation criticised Macron for his “poorly hidden agenda to prolong colonial control over the territory” and for ignoring warnings by indigenous groups that the unilateral decision to impose electoral changes could end 30 years of relative peace in New Caledonia.
“This week, as the United Nations Decolonisation Committee (C24) sits in Caracas, Venezuela, to hear updates on the list of non-self-governing territories to be decolonised, France imposes a state of emergency on Kanaky-New Caledonia and sends more troops to the Pacific territory to restore order,” it said.
“Ironically, its overtures for law and order and for peace are in stark contrast to the misuse of institutional processes to inflict violence on the Kanaky people, as evidenced by behaviour in Paris.”
The deaths and destruction of property have left many in the economically divided country wary and on edge. The conflict is having a serious impact on the fragile economy, as well as affecting medical and food supplies across the island.
Louis Lagarde, an associate professor of literature, language and social sciences at University of New Caledonia, said initiating talks among the local communities should be a priority.
“It is still too early to predict when troops will leave the archipelago,” he told Consortium News. “Their present role is to secure the airports, the port, gain and allow access to hospitals, preserve the last standing shops and their restocking, and free the blockades on the main roads. Patients under dialysis are at heavy risk, and so are other patients with heavy treatments, pregnant women and so on.”
He said: “One has to understand that the present New Caledonia government, with a pro-independence majority and president, as well as the customary senate president, have urged calm on multiple occasions, to no — or little — avail. As harsh as it seems, the presence of military and police reinforcements is still crucial.”
‘Don’t Care if They Live or Die’
Whakatane-based Kanak Rodney Pirini said youth at the forefront of the protests were profoundly marginalised, their positions made worse after Kanak people began moving into urban centres over past decades, particularly into the capital, where extremes of wealth and poverty were most pronounced.
Pirini, a former Union Calédonienne (UC) member (part of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) who had been jailed several times during protests in the mid-1980s, said the destructiveness of last week’s protests was a reflection of that social reality.
“Forty years after I was protesting, you have a lot of young people in town, with no job, with nothing, living side by side with rich French people. One block could be rich people, 20 metres away you have a block of poor people. It’s crazy.
“Some young people don’t care if they live or die. It’s a problem.”
Colonial History
France officially took possession of Kanaky, or New Caledonia, in 1853 and colonisation saw the Kanaks forced from their lands, resulting in several failed rebellions over the decades to come.
New Caledonia’s modern political trajectory towards decolonisation was put in motion after the Matignon-Oudinot Accords were signed in 1988 by Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou and leader of the anti-independence Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (RPCR) party, Jacques Lafleur and France. It was approved in a referendum by 80 percent of the electorate.
The agreement sought compromise and a peaceful settlement after a period of civil war and armed resistance to French rule.
FLNKS leaders Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Yeiwéné Yeiwéné were assassinated by FLNKS militants opposed to the peace deal less than a year later.
The Nouméa Accords recognised Kanaks as the indigenous peoples of Kanaky and set out mechanisms to address both historical wrongs and transfer governance powers from France.
Kanaks make up approximately 40 percent of New Caledonia’s population and the provisions to restrict voting to those resident in the country prior to 1998 were designed to keep Kanaks’ electoral strength while a peaceful transition towards independence unfolded.
A series of referendums on independence was proposed, the first of which took place in 2018, registering a 43.3 percent in favour of independence, followed by 46.7 percent vote in a 2020 referendum.
The third referendum in December 2021 marked a slide towards today’s polarisation and is a key antecedent to the riots.
Calls for a postponement by independence parties after indigenous communities were hit hard by the Covid-19 Delta variant were ignored by France and the vote went ahead. After taking the issue to the U.N. Fourth Committee on Decolonisation, independence parties boycotted the referendum, resulting in a 44 percent voter turnout — or half of numbers that turned out in 2020. The vote delivered a mere 3.5 percent backing for independence.
Macron at the time hailed the vote as a “massive victory” for the pro-loyalist side. Pro-independence groups have been calling for another referendum.
Oasis – Wonderwall (Official Video)
We start today with this…
What is the pettiest thing you’ve seen a cheap person do at a restaurant?
Ohhhh I’ve got one!!
A friends brother asked me out to dinner, we went to a trendy chain restaurant and had dinner and drinks, I think the bill came to about $70 (I didn’t eat, because I was so nauseated by the filth that poured out of this mans mouth). All throughout the meal he continuously called the waitress over for one (bullshit) reason or another, he ran her off her feet just because he is a demanding sort of person.
Anyway the cheque came and after carefully figuring out the tip (about $10) and adding $5 because he’s “generous to those less fortunate” (the waitress) he laid the money on the tray and we stood up to leave. Just as we got to the door he said he had forgotten something at the table and went to go get it – I watched him go back to the table, remove two bills from the tray (which I presume was the tip he had left) and put them back in his pocket. I incredulously asked him if he just took back the tip from the waitress???? He said it wasn’t any of my business and turned to leave. I walked over to the waitress and gave her a tip then I walked right by mr toocheapforatip and never spoke to him again.
Collective Soul – Shine – Acoustic
Which countries played a major role in strengthening the military of the Third Reich?
Quite a long list of people aided actively in the building up of Nazi Germany. Of any one person who directly aided in this, the prize quite literally must go to Henry Ford, who in 1938, received the German Grand Eagle award, not only did ford actively help build up Nazi industry, from 1919 to 1927, he published the The Dearborn Independent
, an anti-Semitic paper attempting to convince people Jews were a global problem, and indeed Ford’s efforts to stir up global hatred towards Jews was noted by Adolf Hitler himself in his book Meinkampf.
Ford was not alone, General Motors also big fans of Nazism, had also invested in Germany. In 1939 Ford and General Motors plants made up 70% of the auto-industry in Germany, which supplied trucks to the Germany military, and were retooled to supply weapons soon as well. Indeed the American made factories in Nazi Germany were far more efficient than things like the Porsche factory, which didn’t have assembly lines.
Leading up to the war in 1939, Germany had quite prolific foreign trade. They exported 14 billion Reichmarks of goods from 1937 to June 1939. The top 5 export destinations were as follows:
Netherlands 1,127 million marks (Not including 136,4 million to Dutch East Indies).
United Kingdom 927 million marks
Italy 773.2 million marks
Sweden 698 million marks
France 625,6 million marks
The USSR despite popular belief that they were the primary trade partner to germany, at this time bought just 165.2 million in exports. Below even Poland at 237,9 million mark. But naturally the Germans converted all these export profits into imports of critical material. In the years before the war 1937 to June of 1939, Germany imported 13.7 billion Reichmarks of goods. The top 5 import destinations were as follows:
United States 811,4 million marks
United Kingdom 725,6 million marks
Italy 619,6 million marks
Sweden 614,8 million marks
Argentina 590,7 million marks
These statistics are available in the Canadian national archives as document CS65-D-56-1939. During the period of 1940 until the invasion of the USSR, the Soviets exported goods worth 597.9 million marks to Germany, almost as much as Sweden but not quite, and much less than the US or UK did before 1939.
Indirectly of course, you can continue down the international politics line, and ask: Who allowed Germany to occupy the Rhineland despite it being in violation of the Versailles treaty? Who allowed Germany to take over Austria? Who sold Czechoslovakia not once but twice to Germany in 1938 and 1939? I’ve talked about this often, so I won’t go into details again, let’s just say those countries share a border with the English channel.
Strategic resources such as fuel came from Romania, not just before WW2, but all the way until Romania switched to the allies in 1944. Hungary provided aluminum for German aircraft, Portugal provided Tungsten, Sweden provided iron ore. Germany largely were able to supply it self with synthetic rubber.
And of course let us not forget that Switzerland worked as an intermediary for Germany to white wash the looted values of murdered Jews and others around Europe, happily providing a safe haven for rapists and genocidal maniacs to store their goods. 84% of Swiss produced ammunition went to the Axis powers in WW2.
Finally, let us not forget the fascists who actively supported Germany in WW2, adding to their manpower and direct military power. Namely Japan, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Finland and Spain.
So actually quite a lot of countries can share some blame for enabling the build up of the Nazi War potential.
Round Steak
124335ab 5b89 45b5 849a fe443cc4179e
Ingredients
1 (2 pound) round steak, cut into serving pieces
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water or red wine
Instructions
Place in slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours.
Serve over rice.
What is the biggest culture shock you have ever faced?
I visited Japan for two weeks in November 2017. I was new to job (first job) and I got this opportunity to visit japan for two weeks. I am a person who never flew even in domestic flight and I got a chance to board an international flight directly, which I felt like making a gully cricket batsmen to face Brett lee with out a guard(arm guard :P). Since this kind of surprise hit me suddenly, what ever I saw there and experienced there, I felt unique and cool (obviously). I won’t say these are cultural shocks, but my experiences which I felt worth sharing.
Punctuality:
main qimg b0b2cedffd0772d06630cb3d1b65da83 lq
I landed in Narita Airport, japan and have to take a bus to my hotel and my bus timing is at 6:45 PM. So I was standing in the bus stop outside the airport. Since I heard a lot of stories about Japanese punctuality I want to experience it myself.
There is one more bus at 6:30 PM and it arrived at 6:29 PM itself (you can see the time in the image 18:29) and after loading of luggage and passengers it left around 6:40 PM.
Now same punctuality maintained for 6:45 bus, the trains which I took from hotel to office and office to hotel for all the two weeks, and the bus I traveled back to airport on the last day. Then I felt very fascinated about how could they be punctual always. Being on time once or twice is good. But maintaining it always and all means is really appreciable.
2. Discipline:
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I went during winter season and temperature at that time is around zero. So I used to roam with inception concept clothing – jacket inside jacket inside jacket and still felt cold. And you know what ? It used to rain also (Winter + rain = deadly combination)
So coming to discipline, the above image was taken by me when I was going to office on a rainy winter day and below the bridge, on the foot path I found out this – an umbrella march in same line, same pace, if you want move faster come a little right side, take another line and go (you can find few people going like that in the image). They follow queue system every where. I found the similar situations near lifts, escalators and found it really fascinating. They have good manners.
3. Drinking water in Bathroom:
main qimg e32a098a8efe48d2c04666f63bc6940b lq
This is a kind weird one I have encountered. I checked in my hotel room, rooms are made of wood and I didn’t find drinking water and inquired hotel management about this, and to my surprise they pointed towards bathroom.
I couldn’t believe that it is true that both drinking water and cleaning water (all cleaning) tap is present inside bathroom that too beside commode(with lot of buttons on it). I found it really uneasy to drink from that. This incident is a shocking one for me and I guess this might be common in other countries too.
4. No zero floor:
main qimg 7903ff3e2803356356953e30711ab014 lq
There is no zero floor or ground floor in japan lift system. I observed this in my hotel and office too. They consider ground floor as 1st floor.
5. Garbage collection:
main qimg 271731bd970965306c6100eed4b2174f lq
Japanese have a organized garbage collection system. If you have to throw a water bottle, you have to throw bottle cap in one dustbin and bottle in another dustbin, similarly different material has different dustbins and everyone follows it, they feel it is common sense. shocking isn’t it ?
6. Currency :
Development status of a country is not directly proportional to value of its currency.Indian currency has more value than Japanese currency, 1 Rupee = 1.63 Yen. . So if I saved 5000 yens, after exchange it became around 3000 rupees (Shocked + Sad).
So, with these kind of good, bad, cool, funny, interesting experiences I came to India. To be honest I thought I will miss japan because of perfection, uniqueness, but after coming back to India and going back to home, I was more happy and peaceful then I was in japan, then I understood one thing.
Even though, you find a woman who is perfect in everything. No one can replace your mother.
Thanks for reading and sorry if this hurts anyone’s feelings, opinions, point of views and any other sensible factors.
Arigatou gozaimasu (Thank you in Japanese – You will hear this 1000 times when you visit Japan)
What did a family member say or do that you don’t talk to them anymore?
My Uncle, who was my Father’s fraternal twin brother, passed away in 2004 (one year after my Father passed). I was named as Executrix of his Will mainly because I was the closest one to him. None of the other cousins even knew where he lived. When he had cataract surgery, I would stop by every morning before work, at lunch time and after work to put drops in his eyes. He originally had a male cousin as Executor, but my Uncle realized that there was no point since I was the one who knew about his life.
Uncle John never married. He loved going to dances (polka was their life! LOL!) with my Dad. At one of the dances, my Dad met his second wife (he and my Mom had been divorced for over 10 years. Wanda always went to these dances with her best friend, Carolyn. When Dad hooked up with Wanda, Uncle John hooked up with Carolyn. For 20 years, the 4 of them would get together every week. When my Dad died, my Uncle was lost. He and Carolyn continued to date, but, as I said earlier, he passed a year after my Dad.
Uncle John and Carolyn dated for 20 years … as long as my Dad and Wanda were married. In the Will, his assets were split mainly between 3 first cousins. One cousin was excluded because he had a great job, making a ton of money, and my Uncle felt the others could use it more. However, he didn’t forget this cousin’s kids. All of the kids were to get $5,000 each. Carolyn was given $1,000.
When I sent letters to the cousins breaking down the inheritances, my one cousin, Nancy, called me and asked what was this $1,000 to Carolyn. I told her that that is what Uncle John wanted to give her. Her comment was “You didn’t do that, did you????? She didn’t even come to the funeral!” I just said that it’s in the Will and Carolyn was getting her $1,000…end of story, and I hung up. I knew that I would never talk to Nancy again after that comment.
Let me explain: Carolyn, at the time, was 78 years old and suffering from Lyme disease. She lived about an hour away from where the funeral was. She couldn’t stay over at my Uncle’s apartment because my Mom flew in from Florida and was staying there, as was Wanda (good times). What REALLY pissed me off was that Nancy’s youngest daughter, 30 years old, who lived in Connecticut (about 2 hours away), who received $5,000, didn’t come to the funeral! Her “excuse” was that as a dog groomer, she had an appointment set up for that day.
Uncle John had stocks that had to be split up between us cousins, which took a bit of time. Every week, Nancy had my cousin, Richard call me to play up to me before getting to the point of asking about the money/stocks. When it was all said and done, I sent the stock certificates and inheritance checks to Nancy and Richard via certified mail. I put a note in Richard’s envelope just asking that he call me to let me know it was received OK. In Nancy’s envelope, I put a letter that said: My dealings with you are done. I have kept my mouth shut for a while now, but I need to tell you I had no problem writing out a check for $1,000 to Carolyn, a 78 year old woman with Lyme disease, who for obvious reasons could NOT come to Uncle John’s funeral. I DID, however, have a very hard time writing that check to Danielle, who at 30 years old, couldn’t make a 2 hour trip to the funeral because someone’s dog needed to be groomed.”
After weeks of calling about those damn stocks, once Richard got his share, he didn’t call to let me know he received my package. He called me 2 years later to tell me that Nancy’s husband passed away. Richard, not either of Nancy’s 3 kids….Richard! I simply said, “That’s too bad… he was a great guy.” So Richard proceeded to try to tell me when and where the funeral would be. I interrupted him and said that I couldn’t make it. His response was “But I didn’t tell you when it is.” MY response was, “Whenever it is, that’s the day my dog needs to be groomed.” I honored Kenny on my own. I didn’t want to see those people ever again.
Stone Temple Pilots – Plush (Unplugged)
What was something small you went to the doctor for that turned out to be very significant?
When I was a little boy of about 10 years old, I told my mother that I thought I needed a new prescription for my glasses. I told her I was having difficulty seeing the blackboard in class at school. This was 1963 and I was living with my family in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. So my mother thinking it was going to be a routine check up took me to the local ophthalmologist who always checked my vision.
At that point I thought that I was simply going to walk out with a new prescription and life would go on. My ophthalmologist was a wonderful old gentleman who was a very careful and very thoughtful doctor. He was the kind of person with whom you could really trust and feel comfortable. Even now I can vividly picture him and the examination room, as that intensely bright light, that has occurred hundreds of times throughout my life, came close to my dialated eyes. After examining my eyes he turned to me, my mother was in the waiting room, and said that I was going blind in my left eye. He told me I had a detached retina and that I needed surgery immediately! Ironically, what he told me next was actually more impactful than being told that I was going blind in my left eye. He told me that I would never ever be able to play football again. When I heard that, I bolted out of the exam room, ran through the waiting room out the front door and sat down on the sidewalk outside his office weeping. My mother shocked at my actions thought what in the world is going on? After collecting me from outside she immediately went to the doctor and he told her that I needed to go to the medical college in Charleston South Carolina and have emergency surgery. That day we got in the car and drove over 100 miles to Charleston to the medical college and arrived at the department where the top eye surgeons examined me. They told my parents that I was not going blind in just one eye, I was going blind in both eyes. They then informed us that they were not capable of doing the surgery because of the extent of the retinal damage. They recommended that we travel to Johns Hopkins in Maryland, the only place at that time capable of performing the kind of surgery I needed. Suffice it to say the head of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins took my case and did the surgery. I found out later that the members of the Presbyterian church that my family attended also prayed all that day for a successful surgery. 10 hours later the surgery was over and was a huge success. Ever since I have thanked God not only for my original doctor who detected my problem but also for all of the amazing medical professionals who were instrumental in my treatment.
One final caveat… the wonderful doctor who first discovered my condition knew that I had to have surgery on both eyes , apparently as I found out later he didn’t have the heart to tell me that my condition was so dire.
RUSSIA JAMS STARLINK in UKRAINE WAR – outsourcing signals corp not a great plan…
In the US Navy, why is it that whenever a submarine surfaces in port, all of the hatches must be opened?
Some non-submariner…Wrote this BOGUS ANSWER…and blocked any comments
“ To equalize the pressure. When a submarine is submerged, the pressure inside the submarine is equal to the pressure of the water outside. When the submarine surfaces, the pressure outside the submarine drops, but the pressure inside the submarine remains the same. If the hatches are not opened, the pressure difference could cause the hatches to be blown off, which could be catastrophic.“
What a moron…(particularly the bold italic sections)
A Submarine Internal Air Pressure remains close to atmospheric pressure while submerged.
It does NOT RISE & FALL with the submergence of the boat. Our Ears would go nuts !
at 300ft depth, the internal air pressure would have about 150 PSI !
Given that the submarine snorkel is NOT 300 feet long, To accomplish that kind of pressurization, the submarines would need a supply compressed air equal (in SCF) to 10 times the free volume inside the submarine.
Submarine hulls and its hatches are thick enough to withstand the water pressure at TEST DEPTH without pressuring the CREW SPACE (aka “the People Tank”)
The BIGGEST AIR PRESSURE CHANGE in a naval submarine.. is OPERATING THE DIESEL GENERATOR …on the snorkel… As engine intake combustion air is from the “people tank” and replaced by sea air via the snorkel and then snorkel valve shuts when a wave over-tops the snorkel. The diesel keeps sucking in air to run and everybody’s ear feel that pressure change…
Submarines open hatches once they get dock-side to allow the “deck crew” handle ropes from the tug(s) and ropes to the pier.
The Sail Hatch (conning tower) is opened shortly after surfacing …allowing the captain and Lookout to MAN THE BRIDGE. WHATEVER DIFFERENTIAL AIR PRESSURE exists is RELIEVED by opening that hatch.
Forward, Mid-Ships, and Aft hatches are easily AWASH by ocean waves and are KEPT CLOSED until in the calm waters of the harbor.
PERHAPS, that moronic “OP” was worry about the ever prevalent SUBMARINE SCREEN DOOR issue ?
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Noel Gallagher “Don’t Look Back in Anger” (Acoustic) on the Howard Stern Show in 1997
When was the hardest you have cried?
It was a freezing winter morning of Delhi. My mother tapped on my shoulder and said, ‘Beta, wake up ! Its 4 AM. You have to go’.
I saw everyone around me moving from one room to another and packing their clothes in small bags. I washed my face and got ready.
Everyone was staring me with an eye of sympathy. I packed my bag, wore my warmest jacket and walked towards the car with my uncles and brothers.
One of my uncle stopped me before entering the car, held my shoulder tightly and said, ‘Beta ! This is the most toughest job of any son to do, you’ve already shown great strength and i expect you to be strong throughout the day’.
I nodded and got into the car.
We closed the doors and windows to avoid the early morning chilling winds.
After travelling 2 or so km, the driver was requested to stop the car by one of my uncle.
And here starts the most difficult journey of my life.
We reached the Cremation Ground.
From there we had to collect my demised father’s bones and ashes to be taken to Haridwar.
My hands and legs were shaking, not because of the freezing winter morning but because of the moment i’m going to encounter now.
I reached the place where my father was given the last fire.
“He was not there. He was down into ashes”.
I was told to come upward and collect the ashes. I walked towards the platform and suddenly i stopped.
I held the handle and broke down. I cried and cried, for the first time it was not my heart which was crying but my soul. I wanted to meet him once again, hundreds of questions and things were coming and haunting me at that same time. I never thought i’ve to go through this at such an early age.
My cousins hugged me and took me to the place where my father’s ashes were.
I sat down and collected the bones and ashes.
It was not only difficult but the toughest job for any son to do so. Everyone have to go through this phase somehow. Our parents would die sooner or later. This is the ugly reality of life.
So, spend some time with your parents, love them and give them every single happiness in this life. Express your love to them and make them proud.
PUTIN DECLARES TOTAL MOBILIZATION, NATO ATTACKS ON RUSSIA ARE IMMINENT, NUKES ARMED
It was unclear what had caused the young woman’s death, especially because her sobbing husband Erasmus “Trout” Shue refused to stop cradling her head and got upset whenever the coroner tried to examine her body. Shue’s cause of death was first listed as an “everlasting faint,” then switched to childbirth, even though she wasn’t actually pregnant — and with that, the case was closed. But about one month after Shue’s death, her mother Mary Jane allegedly started receiving a startling nocturnal visitor: the ghost of her daughter.
According to Mary Jane, her daughter’s spirit came to her bedside and told her that she had been murdered by her husband, all because she hadn’t cooked him what he wanted for supper. Word of Shue’s ghost quickly spread through the small town and Mary Jane soon convinced the coroner to conduct a thorough examination of her body — and he found injuries just like the ones that the ghost had described and confirmed that she had indeed been murdered.
Stone Temple Pilots “Interstate Love Song” on the Howard Stern Show (2000)
What proves that people can commit evil for trivial reasons?
The fear of losing your romantic partner may not be considered “trivial”, but then you come across stories like this.
Fahim Saleh was a 33-year-old Bangladeshi-American entrepreneur who created the Nigerian motorbike startup Gokada.
Tyrese Haspil is a 25-year-old man who served as a personal assistant to Saleh.
In Jan 2020, Saleh learned that $90,000 was missing from the company account. It was traced to Haspil.
Despite the theft, Saleh didn’t report Haspil and allowed him to pay it back through a payment plan.
Unbeknownst to Saleh, Haspil was on a theft spree to maintain a lifestyle in front of his French girlfriend (Marine).
Haspil wasn’t even faithful to her but was madly scared of losing her if she came to know about the thefts.
Despite Saleh’s mercy and support, Haspil continued to steal from the company through a PayPal account.
He stole as much as $400,000. Used Saleh’s credit card to go on a date with another woman.
Gokada had enough of it. They threatened to report him.
On July 13, 2020, Haspil sneaked into Saleh’s $2.4 million Manhattan condo.
Tasered him and beheaded him using an electric saw. The weapons and the cleaning materials, all were ordered using Saleh’s credit card.
While attempting to vacuum the space, Haspil left strong evidence behind: An AFID tag from the fired taser. The unique ID on the tag disk matched with the taser he had bought for the crime.
Neighbors reported hearing noises from the condo on the night of July 13. The next day, Saleh’s cousin visited and found his butchered body parts.
Just two days after the murder, Haspil was seen hanging out with another woman.
Both Saleh and Haspil were recorded on CCTV. Saleh was seen struggling while moving toward his condo from the elevator.
Haspil was arrested days later since he had been found to have used Saleh’s credit cards.
His lawyer called the murder a “crime of passion”, and attributed it to “extreme emotional disturbance”, saying that ‘his life was traumatic due to a childhood where his schizophrenic mother abused him.’
He claimed Haspil had thought of either s**cide or murder, and went ahead with the latter.
Haspil has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. If convicted, he will spend minimum 20 years in jail. The maximum is a life sentence.
Ke Kulanakauhale ma ke Kai, or The City by The Sea
This is a new addition that I am considering to my daily posts. Here I include some contemporaneous SF (short story) for the reader to enjoy. -MM
Ke Kulanakauhale ma ke Kai
or,
The City by the Sea
by thomas iannucci
Author’s Note: In this story I use Hawaiian words, as the story is set in a post-apocalyptic Hawaii. However, I do not italicize them, as I am from Hawaii, and so these words are not foreign to me. Growing up there were many English words unfamiliar to us in school, and they were never italicized; I would like this same standard to be applied to Hawaiian, which is, for better or for worse, also now a language in the United States. Mahalo for your kokua.
“The city by the sea, the city by the sea,” crows the blind man as he rows, his oars dipping in and out of the icy gray water in time with his cadence. His voice rings loud and true, but even so, it is hardly audible over the roar of the frigid sea. A wave crashes into the small boat, drenching the man and his two grandsons, but he pays it no mind. “Wherever I may go, may she watch over me! The city by the sea, I keep her in my heart,” he sings on, and his defiance in the face of the weather is almost inspiring. “When I had lost it all, she taught me to restart!” Another wave crashes into the old, wooden vessel, lifting it up and slamming it back down with a jolt. This time, the man stops, spluttering as the salty spray momentarily overwhelms his senses.
“The city by the sea, the city by the sea.” His eldest grandson, Veeka, picks up where the old man has left off. As a Singer — even one who has not yet completed his training — it is his kuleana to continue the song. “Wherever I may go, she’ll remain with me.” He sings it dutifully, with less embellishment than his grandfather; where the old man’s voice is polished and strong, Veeka’s is less certain, and full of anxiety. The difference between master and apprentice, between kumu and haumana, is stark. “Wherever I may go, she’ll remain with me!” Veeka tries to keep rhythm while he sings and rows, the way his grandfather does. It helps him to focus. He needs the focus. The life of his brother depends on it. Veeka glances back at his younger brother, Shay, and grimaces. Shay is wrapped tightly in a thick, boarskin cloak, and is wearing their finest rain-jacket, a family heirloom from many decades past. Neither seems to be helping. He shivers.
“The city by the sea, forever will I miss,” intones their grandfather, picking up where Veeka has trailed off. In other circumstances, Veeka would have been humiliated: to leave a song unsung is unforgivable. But, thinks Veeka, as he observes the great, gray, churning mass of waves and ice cold water that surround their vessel, this is no ordinary situation. “The city by the sea, forever I will miss…” Veeka’s grandfather also trails off, and he frowns. “Forever I will miss…?” He grunts in frustration. “I can’t seem to remember the last part. Do you know it, Veeka?” he calls out. The voice of a normal man would have been swept away by the sea spray and winter winds, but the old man is a true Singer. His voice carries easily to his grandson.
“No, grandpa. I don’t. You never taught us that one, remember? I’ve just been trying to go off of what you’ve been singing so far.” He shakes his head. “I don’t even know what a city is.”
“It’s like our village, only bigger. Much, much bigger,” says the old man. “Or at least, that’s what my tūtū used to say.” Veeka thinks about that. How much bigger? How many people live there, he wonders. A hundred, perhaps? Maybe even a thousand? The idea is hard to grasp. But, as his grandpa always reminds him, he doesn’t need to grasp this knowledge, only to preserve it. That is the role of a Singer.
“Hmm.” The old man blinks, his sightless gaze looking far off, unaware of Veeka’s internal musings. “A song should never be left unfinished. It’s bad luck, yes. Bad, bad. Maika’i ‘ole. What kind of Singers are we, if we can’t remember our words?” He shakes his head. “We are the memory of the people! And if the memory forgets, what then?”
“I don’t know,” says Veeka, frustration creeping into his voice. “Does it even matter anymore? Lāna’i has fallen. Our lāhui was slaughtered, as were the others, most likely. There’s no one left for us to remember for.” It is true. This very morning, the Men from across the Long Sea arrived, in their great boats, with their metal weapons. Veeka and his surviving family have been at sea all day after narrowly escaping the raid on Lāna’i. All day is more than enough to overrun such a small island. No doubt their sister islands will follow suit.
“My mother’s mother taught me that song,” says the old man. “It was about the home her parents left behind. We aren’t native to Lāna’i, you know.”
“Yes, tūtū, I know,” says Veeka, using the Old Word for “grandparent.” He knows a few words from the Old Tongue, but much of it has been lost, at least on Lāna’i. That is why the Singers exist, to preserve what has been lost. But now that is over, too. Veeka looks back at his grandfather. Sometimes, when the old man is singing, it is easy to forget that he has long gone senile. But when it comes to other matters, his mind can no longer focus.
“I could never remember the last bit,” says the blind man, his irritation at odds with the direness of their situation. “‘Auwe! That’s no good. It was the important part, I think. The endings are always important.”
As the old man laments his lack of memory, Veeka silently prays, focused on what remains of the journey. They have been rowing for hours and hours. Veeka’s numb muscles no longer burn or groan with protest. They surrendered that fight long ago. Instead, they mechanically obey, spurred on by desperation now that the adrenaline of their flight has worn off. Veeka is certain that, if they survive, he will find that he’s done permanent damage to his body today.
“The end of a song binds the memory to us. Without it, that memory can fly away, untethered, like the Po’ouli birds of old,” says the man.
“I wish we could fly away,” says Veeka, looking around them. He can see the looming presence of the Great Island further on ahead, and he’s fairly certain they’re almost there, but the fog and sea mist make it impossible to accurately judge the distance. He turns back to look at Shay, whose shivering continues to worsen. “You’ll be okay, palala. Just rest. I’ll take care of you,” he promises. “Somehow.” A wave that seems nearly the size of the mountains in the near-distance rises up, lifting their boat with it. Veeka cries out in terror.
“The city by the sea, the city by the sea!” sings the blind man. Their boat lands on the other side of the wave with a heavy crash. Water splashes everywhere, and some fills the boat, which creaks uneasily. Shay coughs violently, pulling the boarskin cloak tighter around him. His eyes snap open. They start to rove around frantically, taking in the oppressive gray surrounding them. “Cold,” he says, through chattering teeth. “So cold.”
“It’ll be okay, palala,” Veeka assures Shay. Looking around them, he realizes that the island is much closer than he originally thought. He feels something akin to hope swell in his chest, though its flavor is also reminiscent of desperation and hysteria.
“Sing, Veeka!” admonishes the old man.
“Never mind the song,” snaps Veeka, heart pounding. “Keep rowing! I think I see the bay up ahead!” This gets the old man’s attention, and the two of them begin to row frantically, harder than before, though neither had known that that was possible until now. They’re aided by the fact that they’ve been caught in a riptide, one that’s pulling them directly towards the beach. The speed of their vessel increases significantly. They are so close. “It’s going to be fine, Shay,” swears Veeka as he rows. “We’re going to get you to the city, the city by the sea, and they’ll fix you up, good as new! They’ll be able to protect us there. I promise.”
Veeka rows with fervor and valor and hate and fear. He rows and rows, stabbing the gray, watery abyss below him again and again with his paddles, raging against it as it rages against him. He is an island unto himself, and now it is him pulling the Great Island towards himself instead of the other way around. For a moment, he feels his spirits lift.
And then he sees the sea monster.
A horn. White. A spray of ocean water as a great something breaches ahead of them.
“‘Auwe!” cries Veeka. “Sea monster ahead!” The large, white, blubbery mass swims towards them at an astonishing pace, slamming into the side of their craft, which rocks the boat and threatens to capsize it. “No, no, no!” Veeka desperately tries to outpace the creature as it turns around to face them again. Though half of it is submerged, he can see its long, spiraled horn pointing at them as the monster prepares to make another charge. The blind man looks around in confusion, sensing even in his senility that something is deeply wrong.
“Keep rowing, tūtū!” orders Veeka. “Row, and sing!”
The old man acquiesces. “The city by the sea, the city by the sea! Wherever I may go, may she watch over me,” he cries. The sea monster, as though it senses a challenge, bellows in return, and assails them. Thankfully, its horn misses Veeka’s grandfather, but its giant, slimy head slams into the back of the boat, which shudders as it is thrust forward. Veeka feels his teeth clack painfully together, but he stays focused. The bay is coming into view. The tides are really starting to pick up now, pulling their small vessel directly towards the island, towards the city, towards their only hope of salvation.
“The city by the sea, I keep her in my heart!” sings the blind man, his song a cry of defiance against the winds and the waves and the ice and the monster that pursues them.
Filled with longing, and reminded of their life before the men from across the Long Sea had come, Veeka joins the old man in his song, tears streaking down his cheeks as he sings with all his heart. “When I had lost it all, she taught me to restart! The city by the sea!”
The phlegmy, throaty roar of the sea monster drowns out their song for a moment. It slams into the back of the boat once again, propelling the old man forward, and he crashes into his younger grandson. Shay coughs and gasps, while the old man starts grasping desperately for his oars. While the boat is propelled further ahead, the monster swims alongside it, ramming into it again on the starboard side. Furious, Veeka drops his oars, now confident that the island’s tides will soon deliver them to the beach, and the legendary city therein. He reaches down near his feet and grabs the ancient, rusted harpoon that belonged to his grandfather’s grandfather, and prepares to defend his family.
Veeka ducks as the great horn of the beast whistles past him, and then he stabs the harpoon into the head of the creature. It roars out in agony, and Veeka is barely able to withdraw his weapon with a sick, sucking pop, before the creature lunges at them again, leaping high into the air. This time, its mottled, white body manages to get onto the craft, sending frigid seawater and hot, steaming blood pouring into the boat. The vessel has been compromised. It will not last much longer.
“The city by the sea, the city by the sea!” sings Veeka in fury and terror and desperation. He picks up the harpoon and drives it into the beast again, and again, and again, the third time driving the metal spear deep into the monster’s eye. “Wherever I go, she’ll remain with me!” he roars. The sea monster cries out again, this time in agony rather than anger. It thrashes around, sending cracks through the boat, and knocking Veeka over with its horn. He drives the harpoon deeper into its eye. The creature stops thrashing and goes limp. With a sigh, it sinks heavily back below the surface of the deep. Veeka winces, and sees that, in the struggle, his arm has been pierced. He looks back and sees his grandfather protectively shielding Shay. “It’s okay, grandpa! It’s okay! We’re almost there, now!” He points eagerly ahead, then laughs at his own foolishness when he remembers his grandfather’s blindness. They are in the bay now, and though the mist and fog are thick, he can start to see spires, and the tops of great buildings. Against all odds, they have survived. Veeka begins to laugh, and tears of joy stream down his face.
“We made it, Shay,” he tells his brother. “We made it.” And not a moment too soon, either. The boat is taking on water, slowly but quite surely. He pats its stern affectionately. “Mahalo, old friend. You’ve served us well. We will sing songs about you.”
“The last line!” says the old man, interrupting Veeka’s sentimental musings. “I remember it now!”
“Really?” asks Veeka, delighted, as he resumes rowing. They are making great progress now, the shore quickly approaching them. “Then sing it with me, tūtū! Sing!” Veeka feels himself choke up. This is what it means to be a Singer. This is the power of their calling. This is why keeping the memories matters. The two men begin to sing, triumphant and proud, as they row safely into the bay.
“The city by the sea, the city by the sea,
Wherever I may go, may she watch over me,
The city by the sea, I keep her in my heart,
When I had lost it all, she taught me to restart,”
As the two men sing, Veeka looks around, curious, and breaks off his singing. “It’s taking too long to find the beach,” says Veeka, confused. “I know the Great Island’s a lot bigger than Lāna’i, but…this doesn’t make sense.” Though he’s never sailed this far before, Veeka has often gone in between the minor islands on vessels like this one. He knows roughly what the distance from the bay to the shore should be for an island of this size. “Something’s wrong.”
Ahead of them are strange shapes, floating in the water. It is hard to make out what exactly they are through the fog, but it is clear that they are man-made, leftovers from before the Snowfall. Giant, rotting ships, perhaps? But no. These aren’t ships. The way their tops peak out above the ocean makes them seem more permanent, like structures. They seem vaguely familiar, but he isn’t sure why.
“This…isn’t right,” says Veeka. “What is this place?”
“The city by the sea, the city by the sea!” Veeka’s grandfather goes on, unaware of Veeka’s growing concern. “Wherever I may go, she’ll remain with me!”
Several of the strange structures are coming into view, and Veeka looks around, surprised to see that he is surrounded by the great, metal-and-brick shapes. Some have long, thin spires that point into the air, while others are flat and covered in slush. A thought suddenly occurs to Veeka, who turns back to face his grandfather. “Grandpa,” he says frantically. “The last line of the song! What was it? You said you remembered it, right?”
“Yes, yes,” says the old man, excitedly. “I do! I remember it now, so clearly, the way my mother used to sing it to herself before bed.”
“How does it go?” demands Veeka. The strange structures go on and on, filling the bay, of which there is no end in sight. He sees his own, pathetic image reflected back at him from one of the larger structures, and shudders. This reminds him of something, reminds him of the memories his grandfather used to sing to him of the time before the First Snow, and the great civilization that had once lived on the islands. His heart drops. The old man coughs, and clears his throat, spitting into the ocean. “The city by the sea, forever will I miss!” he sings proudly, before taking a breath and delivering the final line. “For she sank below the tides, and rots among the fish!” His delighted laughter becomes a cackle. “I finally remembered! It’s been so long, but I finally remembered, Veeka! What a relief, it was driving me mad!”
He claps his hands joyously as Veeka looks around in horror. The bay keeps going and going and going, lined with the strange aquatic structures, but now Veeka can place them. “Buildings,” he whispers. “These…are the tops of buildings.” He falls silent as it all hits him, but his grandfather takes no notice. Shay shivers again, but this time, Veeka has no words of comfort for his younger brother. Their grandfather laughs and laughs and laughs in delight as Veeka begins to sob.
What would China win by taking over Taiwan, other than potentially losing all, or mostly all, Western trading markets?
First, the USA would no longer be able to use Taiwan as a geopolitical pawn against China. China would continue its economic rise unimpeded.
Second, China would finally be whole after it was humiliated by the Western powers from 1839–1949. It’s a matter of national pride.
Third, China would be secure, as it can no longer be hemmed in within the first island chain. There would be no possibility of the USA using Taiwan as an unsinkable aircraft carrier.
Fourth, China’s economy would be stronger with Taiwan’s inclusion.
What’s the worst thing that you did on a school computer?
Oh, this got me into so much trouble.
It happened in grade 8. My school had these old, rusty computers that used to run Windows 2000. Now, There use to be a command you could run in windows 2000 called “net”. Net did lots of networky things, one of which was Net Send. Net Send would send a message to any windows machine – or domain/workgroup – that would pop up on the receiving machine like a normal message box. Its main use would be for system admins to broadcast messages to users without fancy software. I don’t think it still exists, because internet scammers started using it to target people with bullshit messages, so Microsoft started disabling it by default in winxp (maybe Vista) onwards.
Anyway, our school was in a semi-rural area, and it was the only school in the area that had computers, so it had to justify that by teaching us about them. One of the things this meant was teaching students Visual Basic. This meant VB was installed on all machines.
This is where I come in.
I have been programming since elementary school. It’s my mum’s fault for buying me a Sinclair Spectrum programming book from a library. I’d sit in those VB classes and already know how to do the lesson plan, so I would do my own stuff to amuse myself. This involved creating an app which read all the .cpl files in the windows folder and expose them – bypassing the lack of control panel access and a little “net message” program which did nothing more than provide a simple GUI interface for the Net Send program. In simple words, you typed in the user or computer name of who you wanted to send a message to, typed in your message, hit send, and the message would be displayed on your target computer’s screen.
My test subject? A God-fearing kid two PCs down from me. I sent him “God is watching you”. Poor sod actually looked up. But this isn’t where it went wrong.
Where it went wrong is down to needing to share this program with my friends. And other kids. The goddamn program went viral in the entire school. Everyone was using it, sharing it with their friends. Teachers didn’t know about it. Yet.
And then it all went downhill. A kid two grades below me sent a message to his friend containing a graphic description of what he’d do to his mother. Normal kid stuff. The recipient, not knowing who sent it, whipped open his copy of my program, wrote a hearty “Fuck you”, and hit send. He assumed it would work like a reply, but he left the recipient name/computer boxes blank. It didn’t work like a reply.
Turns out, one of the features of net send was the ability to do a broadcast. Basically, by not specifying a recipient, the message would be broadcast to the entire network. This meant the entire school network of computers received a simultaneous “Fuck you”, all courtesy of one kid’s “User error” and my gui not sanitizing its inputs.
Of course, I got the blame. (Did I mention that in my quest to become popular, I’d plastered my name all over the program?). The school IT technicians, who probably knew less about computers than me, were convinced my program was some hideous virus infecting the school with its evils. It took two separate meetings with them and some senior teachers (and my parents) to convince them that indeed, all I’d done was build a GUI around a legitimate windows feature. I still lost all computer rights.
And the worse part was that every single student in the school was banned from ever using a computer again. They all blamed it on me, and I was punished heavily for it throughout my time in that school.
Sauerbraten
Sauerbraten
Ingredients
1 (4 pound) chuck roast
Salt and pepper
2 medium onions, sliced
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed beef broth
1/3 cup liquid brown sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar
8 gingersnaps, crumbled
Noodles
Instructions
Sprinkle roast on all sides with salt and pepper. Place roast in slow cooker. Add onion, broth, brown sugar and vinegar.
Cover tightly. Cook on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours.
Remove roast and set aside.
Add gingersnaps to the sauce in the slow cooker. Stir until sauce thickens.
Slice meat and serve sauce over slices.
Serve with cooked noodles.
What is China’s new supersonic anti-ship missile system and how could it potentially impact America’s aircraft carriers?
It’s not new. It’s been out for years and China has a stock of several thousand at this point.
It’s a Mach 4 terminal phase supersonic anti-ship missile. During cruise phase it is sub-sonic to save fuel for the Mach 4 run at the end.
It is a maneuvering missile designed to evade anti-missiles and the CIWS.
The impact? It’s actually overkill. The Chinese don’t mess around. They will launch more missiles than the US ships have anti-missiles. And they can do this for several salvos. The US fleet will have no missiles after the first salvo. If the US, NATO, Japanese, SK, Australian, and Indian ships survive the first salvo, a second salvo will be launched.
What do you call a ship with no ammo? A giant target.
This is the reason for the saying among the military. Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics.
The US hasn’t fought a peer since the Civil War. The US is not prepared to fight a peer with better weapons. Never mind fight it on China’s front door. The logistics say that the US will lose badly if the US is dumb enough to try.
AFRICA AND THE WORLD MUST HEAR how THE WEST OPERATES has been EXPOSED and it’s Shocking
What is the pettiest way you have achieved revenge?
I worked at a radio station where the boss, the owner of the station, was one of the worst human beings I’ve ever met. He was petty, mean, cheap, vengeful, took pleasure in the discomfort of others . . . unfortunately you know the type. Of course this let to the staff discussing ways to get back at him.
When I got the job everyone told me about the boss and their elaborate schemes to get even. I wasn’t there a week when someone gave me a tape of the guy who I replaced at the station. The boss would listen to the radio 24/7 and call in irate if you did anything wrong, so this guy, I’ll call him George, had his friend Jack go down the hall to the boss’s office and say, “Can I talk to you for a moment?” The boss said sure, closed the door and turned off his radio while Jack spouted some made-up grievance he had about George. Jack couldn’t even sit down in the boss’s office: other than the boss’s chair and desk the only other thing in the room was an enormous jade plant that the boss treated like it was his baby.
While Jack was telling the boss how bad George was, George went on the air and told the listening audience that he was quitting his job and it was because he had the worst boss known to man. He named his salary, gave a half-dozen incidents of the boss’s abuse and pettiness, then walked out the front door. When Jack finished his meeting with the boss, the boss turned his radio back on to dead air and George was nowhere to be found. It was a hilarious tape.
But MY revenge on the boss wasn’t nearly as satisfying. I was working the overnight shift and, alone in the studio, I discovered that the boss didn’t always lock his door, so would just sneak in and pee in his jade plant. Yeah, real mature stuff I know, but revenge is usually pretty childish anyway.
I finally came up with my own, more elaborate revenge. We were an all news-and-talk station, and when you listened to us on the air there was the background of clattering teletypes that made us sound like an active newsroom with breaking news coming in constantly. The thing was, the teletype had been obsolete for probably 25 years at that point; we still got news from the wire services but it was relatively silent. The teletype clatter was actually a recording. It played on an endless loop, whenever the station’s newsroom microphone was activated.
Alone in the studio overnights, I took a screwdriver to the studio console and found the tape player. The tape was a relatively obsolete continuous loop cartridge that had approximately 65 minutes of teletype chatter. Like I said the technology was obsolete but we had the equipment in one of our production studios to deal with it . . .
And so, a couple of nights before my own last day, I extracted the tape cartridge. During this time we had a program from the network running, so no one listening would notice any absence of ambient sound, plus it gave me plenty of time to work.
I went to the production studio and put the tape cartridge into a recorder. From the sound effects library I found a ten-second soundbite of a toilet flushing, from the days before water-saving toilets. There was a very loud WHOOSH! and then it sounded like Niagara Falls. It was absolutely impossible to mistake or miss the sound. I carefully edited the flush into the 65-minute teletype loop, reinserted the cartridge into the player, and sealed up the console.
Here’s the beauty: that tape played only when the microphone was activated, so the sound effect didn’t trigger every 65 minutes. It went off maybe twice a day, at completely random times. And the guy on the air reading the news couldn’t even hear it because all the speakers and headphones are turned off when the mike is open, otherwise you get incredible feedback. So the only people who hear a toilet flushing are the listeners.
Like the boss in his office, who, I’m told, came charging like a mad bull wanting to know what the f*ck was going on. Of course no one in the studio had a clue, and the boss went back to his office thinking he was imagining things.
Until it happened again that evening when he was listening at home.
My friends at the station tells me that they didn’t figure out for days what had happened, with the boss just going nuts every time he heard a toilet flush on air.
Then one day I was tuning into the station and, lo and behold, no background teletype noise. Apparently when the boss finally figured out what was causing the sound effects he yanked the cartridge out of the machine so vigorously he did major damage to it.
My finest hour.
Oasis – Champagne Supernova (Official Video)
And we conclude with memories…
Are China’s air and sea forces now capable of enforcing a blockade of Taiwan?
Let me point to a startling, but largely unreported development recently.
The recently concluded Operation Joint Sword 2024A was announced and initialized WITHIN THE HOUR.
In other words, this set of exclusion zones was enforced ON DEMAND.
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That’s an area spanning ~100,000 sq. km.
This is a substantial upgrade in operational readiness and capability from the 2022 version, which I dub the Nancy drill. The Chinese took their time between announcement and initialization two years ago, but it’s the snap of a finger today, because of the preparations made, especially the deployment of force, the rerouting of civilian traffic and enforcement of exclusion zones.
China rotates a steady stream of units to exercise around Taiwan year-round, in order to build experience, and keep up the military presence. This is exhausting the Taiwanese military to fatigue, having to constantly respond and challenge inbound contact. There have been accidents/losses on the Taiwanese side, but no serious incident reported from mainland units. This is a testament to the training, and upkeep of the frontline PLA, and highlights the gulf in capacity between the two sides.
And where was the Reagan, the carrier that was in theater? Far south in the Philippine Sea, away from the action.
Operation Joint Sword, studied carefully, reveal how sharp and lethal the Chinese have forged and reformed their doctrine and readiness. After all, 利剑’s literal meaning is Sharp Sword.
So the answer is yes. And it’s not conjecture but demonstrated.
When I lived in Massachusetts I would occasionally buy some real treats for my cats.You see, the local supermarket had a deli counter, and what they did was get these huge sausages of cheese and meat… looking like hotdogs only much, much larger, and then slice them into small slices.
70115 Ham Bolo Large 300×216
Eventually the long sausages of meat and cheese would be down to the very end, and I… well… I could buy those ends really cheaply.
50005 Bologna 1
And so I did.
I bought cheese ends, beef ends, all kinds of baloney, and pepperoni ends. I bought chicken and turkey ends. It was a great way of stretching your budget.
IMG 3987 thumb[5]IMG 3986 thumb[1]My kitties loved the ham. I would get the end piece and cut it into little rectangular chunks. They would purr and growl at the same time while eating them. OMG!
cat1
I suggest you all give this a try with your kitties.
Keeping in mind that no matter how much they love it, you can only use it as an occasional treat. There’s lots of preservatives, and salt in these meats. So do not make a habit of it.
cat2
But every now and then… yeah. Let them enjoy!
Today…
Your Worth Is Inherent, Unchanging, and Absolute
Your worth is not up for debate. It’s not some fickle, fleeting thing that can be given or taken away by anyone else. It’s not dependent on your achievements, your relationships, your bank account, or your fucking Instagram follower count.
No, my friend. Your worth is inherent, unchanging, and absolute. It’s baked into your very being, as much a part of you as your DNA or your undying love for pizza. And anyone who tells you otherwise is full of shit.
But I know, I know. It’s easy to let the world convince you otherwise. We live in a society that’s constantly trying to sell us the idea that our value is contingent on external factors – that we’re only as good as our last success, our latest conquest, our most recent “before and after” photo.
And when we buy into that bullshit, when we let our self-worth be determined by the opinions and expectations of others, we set ourselves up for a lifetime of anxiety and self-doubt. We become so fucking desperate for validation that we twist ourselves into pretzels trying to please everyone, convinced that if we just work hard enough, achieve enough, sacrifice enough, we’ll finally be worthy of love and respect.
But that’s a trap, my dear. A soul-sucking, joy-crushing trap that will leave you feeling emptier than a bag of kale chips at a Super Bowl party. Because the truth is, no amount of external validation will ever fill the void of self-doubt if you don’t first believe in your own inherent worth.
And I get it. Believing in yourself can be hard as hell, especially if you’ve spent years marinating in the toxic stew of self-loathing and insecurity. But it’s not impossible, and it’s sure as shit not optional if you want to live a life that feels authentic and fulfilling.
So how do you start cultivating that unshakeable sense of self-worth? How do you begin to internalize the truth of your own value, even in a world that’s constantly trying to convince you otherwise?
It starts with a choice. A conscious, daily, moment-by-moment choice to reject the bullshit narratives that tell you you’re not good enough, and instead lean into the radical truth of your own inherent worthiness.
It means standing in front of the mirror and telling yourself “I am enough” over and over again until it starts to feel less like a lie and more like a battle cry. It means surrounding yourself with people who reflect back your own brilliance, who celebrate your quirks and flaws and all the things that make you uniquely you. It means learning to treat yourself with the same kindness and compassion you’d offer a beloved friend, even on the days when you feel about as lovable as a dumpster fire.
And most importantly, it means letting go of the idea that your worth is something that can be earned or achieved or bought or sold. It means embracing the truth that you are valuable simply because you exist, because you are a one-of-a-kind expression of the universe in all its chaotic, messy, beautiful glory.
Because here’s the thing, my love: you are a fucking miracle. You are a walking, talking, breathing example of the incredible resilience and creativity and magic of the human spirit. And no matter what anyone else says, no matter how many times you stumble or fall or fuck up, that essential truth remains unchanged.
You are worthy. You are enough. You are inherently, unequivocally, absolutely valuable, just as you are.
So fuck the haters. Fuck the doubters. Fuck anyone who tries to convince you otherwise. Your worth is not up for debate, and it never will be.
Embrace that truth. Lean into it. Let it be the foundation upon which you build a life that feels authentic and fulfilling and joyful as hell.
Because you, my dear, are worth it. And that’s the fucking tea.
Stray cat was as thin as paper, just skin and bones,It staggered out from under the car……
"The United States spends close to $900 billion a year on defense. Over the last 20 years or so, it has spent over $16 trillion.
It far outstrips the next nine or ten countries in terms of the amount of money committed to the defense industry.
Yet, the defense industry from a manufacturing point of view is actually one of the least competitive and least productive of them all.
Much of the defense industry in the United States remains locked into technologies that look more like a 1960s factory than a 2020s factory.
Much of the more modern elements of the manufactured outputs from the defense industry are overpriced and over-engineered, with poor implementation and poor market fit.
Now, I use economic terms, but in a military sense, the poor market fit is evidenced by military equipment that's not doing its job in the environment it was designed for—namely combat.
From the point of view of the US defense industry, the experiences in Ukraine at the moment, together with some of the experiences in the Middle East, particularly the Red Sea, show that the investments made in the defense industry aren't delivering a product-market fit that is actually meaningful.
Transforming that requires not just more money. More money doesn't necessarily resolve the problems.
The problems are deep—they go to research and development, design, systems, and know-how.
The number of engineering students graduating each year in the US is substantially fewer than the number graduating each year from China, for sake of argument.
Russia was underestimated for the past 25 years––described by the late Senator McCain as a gas station masquerading as a nation––despite the fact that the Russian economy and Russian society were growing the number of engineering and STEM graduates generally during the post-Soviet period and raising the level of overall economic complexity of that economic structure.
You don't change or turn around 40 to 50 years of hollowing out in four to five years, particularly if your political economy remains unbalanced and controlled by the branches of finance capital.
Finance capital is the most dominant branch of capital in the American political economy.
It has dominated industrial capital now for the best part of 30 to 40 years.
Until that changes, you're unlikely to see a dramatic turnaround in American manufacturing capability."
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Excerpt from remarks by Australian scholar Warwick Powell, adjunct professor at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane and senior fellow at Taihe Institute in Beijing, in an interview with Lena Petrova, June 1, 2024.
The Rise of Neocons: How and Why They’re So Successful
What’s the scariest thing you’ve experienced that you have photo evidence of?
Not in a picture I took but in one I found online that very few people would understand. This is something that most people wouldn’t typically notice. But, because of my work, It really shocked the hell out of me.
Believe it or not, it’s not the creepy doll, or the gas mask lying on it or anything in the background that is scary. Rather it’s that big donut of metal the doll is resting on.
Do you know what it is?
It’s a stator core from a fairly large AC induction motor. Probably around 22kW-55kW (30–75HP). Like so:
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Well, most of a stator core really. Let’s look at the same core in side the motor. See if you can spot what’s missing.
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That’s right, copper wire. What the above picture shows is that somebody went into Pripyat, if not Chernobyl itself, took this motor to one of the abandoned apartments and stripped the copper wire out of it to sell for scrap. They have probably done the same in all the abandoned buildings in Pripyat if not Chernobyl itself.
Oh, and the Ukraine does export scrap metal. So…may want to invest in a Geiger counter when buying new electronics, because that metal could have gone anywhere and been used in nearly anything.
Houthis in Yemen Claim Second Attack on USS Eisenhower PLUS, “Successful Hits” on U.S. Destroyer
The group calling itself Houthis, who run the country of Yemen are publicly claiming they have launched a SECOND attack upon the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, and also scored “Direct hits” on a U.S. Destroyer.
Here is the Official Statement from the Yemen Houthis:
“The Yemeni Armed Forces, by the grace of Allah, carried out six military operations as follows:
The first operation targeted the American aircraft carrier “Eisenhower” north of the Red Sea with several missiles and drones. This is the second attack on the carrier within 24 hours.
The second operation targeted an American destroyer in the Red Sea, hitting it directly with several drones.
The other four operations targeted ships belonging to companies that violated the decision to ban entry to the ports of occupied Palestine, including the ship (MAINA), which was targeted in two operations in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
The third operation targeted the ship (ALORAIQ) in the Indian Ocean.
The fourth operation targeted the ship (ABLIANI) in the Red Sea.
The operations successfully achieved their objectives, with precise and direct hits, by the grace of Allah.”
My Phone: A Privacy Expert Doesn’t Like What She Finds
What makes a woman slower than a man athletically even when the body and length is the same?
Short answer: The Q angle.
I’ll start off by saying “average” woman and “average” man. There’s an awful lot of women who can run faster than I can.
Men’s bodies tend to be straight up and down. Relatively narrow hips so the thighs are close together.
Women tend to have wider hips because they have babies. The tops of the thighs tend to be angled such that they are further apart at the thigh and narrower at the knee. This difference is the Q angle. Wide Q angles are inefficient for running and also place a strain on the knee. Narrow Q angles that you find in men means that the energy expended goes into running forward. Wide Q angles? I’m sure you’ve walked behind plenty of adult women. They have a characteristic wobble as they walk because their hips tend to rotate. For a given amount of energy expended in running, some of it ends up rotating the hips and thighs rather than being used to move their bodies forward.
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Here’s the gold medal German relay team. Look at how relatively narrow their hips are compared to most women you see. This gives them a tremendous advantage when running. Unless she is very, very good, a woman with very wide hips is unlikely to compete in running at this level.
On May 29, the Office of the US Trade Representative held a hearing on the 301 investigation of China’s maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries, and many parties opposed the imposition of tariffs before the meeting. What do you think?
The problem is the remedy proposed, which is the imposition of a docking fee in all US port of calls, calibrated to the cost of goods carried, targeting China-built ships exclusively. The remedy aims to collect at least $1m per ship docking to feed a fund benefiting shipbuilding and metalworking unions.
That’s robbing Peter to pay Paul, and unprecedented. It is also illegal, because of the brazen, targeted nature, just like the blanket tariffs announced under Donald. That is why the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism remains paralyzed.
This is also a tariff on tariff for goods originating from China carried on board China-built ships.
Where is this going to end? Are they going after China-built containers next, imposing a handling fee for every container based on cost of goods carried?
I won’t be surprised if this passes, because America is willing to throw in the kitchen sink just to “win”. It will stop at nothing, not even general war.
Is it a good idea, economically? No, because it will reshape trade flow, while China-built ships maintain a healthy economic edge over rivals. It just adds to the cost of doing business with the US, making the consumer pay more to benefit the pockets of a small number of union workers, funding the retirement of baby boomers. There is no way to revitalize ocean-going shipbuilding stateside with the cost structure today. The Jones Act, after all, dates back to 1920, and what has a century of protectionism bought?
Sweet and Sour Hawaiian Beef
Hawaiian Beef Stew 13
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained and reserve juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (or to taste)
3 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless beef sirloin (cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces, or use a cut of beef of choice)
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (or to taste)
Kosher or sea salt and pepper
3 cups baby carrots, cut in half
1 large onion, cut into about 1 inch pieces
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons cold water
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
Instructions
In a small bowl combine brown sugar, cider vinegar, reserved pineapple juice, soy sauce and garlic.
Add/stir in the brown sugar until completely dissolved; set aside.
Heat oil in a skillet.
Season the beef cubes with salt and pepper then brown in hot oil on all sides.
Place the browned meat in the slow cooker along with the red pepper flakes.
Add in carrots and onion to the slow cooker.
Pour the pineapple juice mixture over the veggies and beef.
Cover and cook on LOW setting for 7 to 9 hours or on HIGH setting for about 3 to 4 hours, or until the meat is tender.
Increase the heat to HIGH.
Dissolve the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl.
Add in the cornstarch mixture, pineapple chunks and green pepper into the beef mixture in the slow cooker.
Continue to cook for about 30 minutes, or until the green pepper is crisply tender and the juices are thickened.
One of the most puzzling mysteries of Britain is why the British don’t know how to eat seafood.
The United Kingdom is an island country, surrounded by sea and separated from the European continent by only one tantalizingly narrow strait of water. The British Channel is not only not dangerous, but also very close to Calais and Dunkirk in northern France. However, when the weather is good, you can see each other across the sea.
The French are good at food and have abundant seafood. The French word for seafood is literally translated as “Fruits of the Sea” (fruit de mer), which shows how much the French value seafood. Today, oysters, which are generally regarded as delicacies, were initially promoted to the world under the leadership of the French.
In addition to France, Spain and Portugal in southern Europe have exquisite seafood meals, such as grilled octopus, garlic shrimp, Spanish paella, and Portuguese bread crab. These are all proof that these cusines are not inferior to that of China in their ultimate pursuits of colour, flavour and texture.
Another example is Japan, which is an island country like the United Kingdom. The Japanese are extremely particular about fish, shrimp and shellfish. Japanese people eat seafood, but their use of condiments is very restrained and simple, which is similar to Cantonese cuisine. Guangdong’s steamed fish creates a umami flavor in addition to the five flavors of salty, sour, sweet, bitter, spicy. No wonder Hong Kong people frown when they see the British eating fish, which is first frozen and then fried or baked.
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Even Britain’s former colonies, Australia, New Zealand, and the eastern United States, at least know how to eat lobster. However, Britain had two to three hundred years of sailing experience and had colonies all over the world, but it never learned to eat seafood. The cultural elite in British history have tirelessly pursued knowledge in various fields, such as Dr. Sloane, the founder of the British Museum. He is good at everything from astronomy to geography, flowers, birds, and insects. He did his best to collect all kinds of novel and interesting materials, but he had nothing noteworthy regarding food. He had no interest in it, and never published any insights about food.
Compared with Europe, Britain likes to call itself “eccentric”, but even in the eyes of most people, it is indeed weird to live by the sea without knowing how to eat it.
Anna stood, suitcase in hand, in front of the old white farmhouse, as the caseworker drove away, kicking up dust in her wake. The front door swung open and Aunt Betty stepped out, hand raised in greeting.
Having been raised the only child of a mother who preferred alcohol to her daughter, Anna was quite used to being dropped off at unfamiliar homes, with unfamiliar people. She never quite felt like she belonged anywhere. This was no different. Aunt Betty, as she was known, was a sweet old lady who opened her home to many foster kids over the years, having never had any children of her own.
“Oh Anna, darling! Please come in, come in! Here, let me get that for you.” She said, reaching for my bag. “We’ve been waiting for you, dear. I am so sorry for everything you’ve been through to get you here. You must be tired.” Anna simply nodded and followed closely behind her.
“Are you hungry, dear? Or would you like to go straight up to your room? It’s just this way.” Without even waiting for an answer she ushered her towards the stairs to the second story. There were photos on the walls, most of them crooked and layered with a thin film of dust, but it was evidence of a loving home. Something she was in desperate need of.
Upstairs, Aunt Betty set her bag down on the bed and gave her a chance to get settled. “I’ll be downstairs if you need anything, Anna. Please, don’t be shy.” She closed the door gently on her way out.
Anna took a deep breath and glanced around, taking in her surroundings. A simple room, adorned with a bed and a dresser. It would certainly do.
She unpacked what little belongings she had, placing her clothes in the dresser, and a couple of old paperback books on the bedside table. While sliding her suitcase under the bed, she noticed something unusual about the flooring. To get a closer look, she scooted as far under the bed as she could. Several of the boards, about two feet in length, were cut on either end.
“Anna, darling!” Startled, she knocked her head against the bed frame as Aunt Betty called from downstairs. “Are you hungry, dear? I’ve made up some food for you!”.
“I’ll be right there…” She called back, as she slid out from under the bed, making a mental note to come back to investigate.
**
Later that night, sufficiently full of home-cooked food, Anna made her way back to her bedroom. She was looking forward to being able to relax alone; moving into a new place was always so mentally exhausting. But first, she had to know what, if anything, was up with the floor. As quietly as she could, she slid her bed over a few feet. Kneeling on the floor, Anna pulled up on the boards one by one. Underneath, to her satisfaction, was a wooden crate and an old typewriter. Wiping some of the dust off the crate, she noticed the letters E.A. written on top. She wasted no time in taking the lid off. It was filled with aged paper. Journal articles, by the looks of it. After a quick glance she noticed the first page was dated October 15, 1918. She rifled through the crate, looking at the rest of the dates. They didn’t seem to be in any particular order, as if someone had haphazardly collected the papers and threw them in.
She found the page with the earliest date, figuring it would be best to read chronologically, and started reading.
**
October 15, 1905
Dear reader,
I hope this finds you well. It is my birthday… Today I am fifteen years old. Ma and Pa gifted me this typewriter. They’ve known of my fondness for stories since I was a small girl. I couldn’t be more thrilled to have opened it. I have decided to write journals to document my life. Maybe someday you will find it. Maybe someday I will read them back and realize what a wonderfully exciting life I have lived. Oh, how I long for adventure. I have always had the sense that I do not belong here… like I am destined for more than to grow up and become a housewife, on a farm in the middle of Virginia. Perhaps I will become a famous author one day! I will write again soon.
Best,
E.A.
**
Anna read through the journal entries one by one. Many of them were so worn with age that they were difficult or impossible to read. A few partially eaten by mice. The mystery author wrote almost daily. Occasionally she tried her hand at fictional stories. Many times she wrote about her life: her friends, books she was reading, plans she had for the day, and fond memories that she wanted to remember.
**
October 16, 1895
Do forgive me if this does not make much sense. I can hardly believe it and I myself experienced it. My last entry was last night, I wrote about my fifth birthday. Shortly after writing that, I extinguished my candles and went to sleep. When I woke up this morning, I was not where I was supposed to be. I am home, yes. But everything is different. I should say, everything is as it once was. Ma and Pa look different, much younger. There is a little girl, strangely resembling me as a child. They are treating me as though I am a scullery maid. I feel like an outsider with my own family! In the kitchen, I noticed a newspaper dated October 16, 1895. It is impossible, utterly impossible! But I seem to have traveled through time.
E.A.
**
Anna looked up from the page. Time travel? It was far more likely that the mystery author was simply practicing her creative writing. Fiction or not, she was grateful for this temporary escape from reality. More and more, she felt like the author was a kindred spirit. They were just words on a page, but she felt like she had found a friend. She looked up at the clock: 11:45. Her eyes were burning with fatigue. She knew she should go to bed, but she couldn’t, like a novel she couldn’t put down, she went back to the crate of papers. The next date didn’t make sense, July 30, 1862. If it was the same writer, she wouldn’t have even been born yet.
**
July 30, 1862
A civil war is currently raging between the north and the south. I have been in search of an adventure, and while I have certainly found one, I’m unsure whether it is wise to be here. Danger is all around. The north seems to be prevailing. I do hope that they succeed. This is not the Virginia that I know. I have felt ashamed everyday that my ancestors are here now, fighting for their right to treat human beings as property. I have seen abhorrent things here. I am missing home, but I want to be helpful, in some way. I have befriended several wives of Union soldiers and we have been raising money and sending supplies. I am unsure where or when I will travel next.
E.A.
**
“Aunt Betty, how long have you lived in this house?” Anna asks as she pours herself a cup of coffee the next morning.
“Oh, this house has belonged to me for many years, dear. Let’s see… I think I arrived in the sixties. Yes, that’s right, I believe it was the year 1969. I met Arther shortly after and we got married, and made ourselves a nice home here.”
“I found some old things in my room… journals dated much earlier than that. I just wondered who they belonged to.”
“It is such an old house. This farm has a lot of history, to be sure. It stood here far before I came. That sounds fascinating.” She said, pouring a coffee of her own. “Where did you find them?”
“They were under my bed… someone cut a hole in the floor and tucked them away under there. I just found them by chance.”
“Oh dear, you know the furniture in this house has not been moved in many years… I suppose I forgot that it was there.”
With a warm smile, Aunt Betty made her way to the porch to enjoy her coffee in her rocking chair, just like she did every morning.
**
December 12, 1969
I’ve found myself in the year 1969. I’m now 25 years old. I’ve been traveling like this for many years now and I am growing weary. I am feeling more and more like I do not belong anywhere. I have experienced the impossible. I have seen incredible things, and equally as many horrible things. I long for a home and a family. I wonder what they think happened to me. By this time, they are long dead. It gives me some solace to know that as long as I have my typewriter, I can go home to them, at any point. As long as I have that, I will never truly be alone. But how long can I go on like this… with no roots in the ground.
When I arrived here, I found myself under a beautiful willow tree. After walking a short distance I came upon a farm, with pastures and a barn and a beautiful white house with a big porch. From what I can tell it is abandoned, which is useful for me. It is a comfortable place to rest. I will write soon.
E.A.
**
Anna sets down the page and reaches into the crate for the next one, but as she does she finds that it is the last entry.
“No! It can’t end like that!” She said aloud. She turned to the typewriter, looking for clues on who it might have belonged to. She clicked a few keys, testing it out. It can’t really be a time machine, she thought. With only one way to truly find out, she inserted a piece of paper, but when she tried to type, nothing happened. It was broken, and with no understanding whatsoever about typewriters, especially potentially magical typewriters, she was ill suited to fix it. As she tinkered with it, a thought suddenly came to her, “Wait… 1969… 1969!”
Anna got up to run downstairs, but as she turned around, Aunt Betty was standing in her bedroom doorway.
“My friends and family have always called me Betty, dear, but my full name is Elizabeth Alexander. By the look on your face it appears that you have put enough of the pieces together to have figured that out on your own. The typewriter has been broken for a long time. I never was able to figure out how to fix it.”
“You wrote these… it was all true.”
“Yes, somehow it is. And what an adventure it was… for a time, at least. It was lonely, though. When I got stuck here, I realized how much I missed having a family. After so many years with no home, it was time I made one.” She smiled warmly down at Anna. “I want you to know that you have a home here now, too. You always will.”
NATO: “Cyber-Attack” Now Grounds for Article 5 Collective Self-Defense. False Flag their own Countries, Blame it on Russia, then Join the Ukraine War against Russia?
The head of NATO’s military committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, has said that NATO can now declare war over a cyber attack . . .
“We have agreed in NATO that a cyber attack can, in principle, be a reason to invoke Article 5” said Admiral Bauer.
So now not only a real attack, but also a cyber attack can be a reason for a NATO Member to Declare Article 5 Collective Self Defense. The result will, of course, be all the military actions that follow.
But it’s important to find out who organized the attack. Regardless of the route, the servers and their location, and whether the countries in which these servers are located were aware of the attack, the main thing is to identify the organizer of the attack. If the attacker is unknown, you don’t have enough data [to declare war on anyone].
———
Unless you manufacture it yourself . . . .
Hal Turner Snap Analysis
For over two years, NATO has goaded Russia, trying to get Russia to attack over the ongoing NATO interference in Ukraine. Russia won’t take their bait.
Instead, Russia is steadily destroying all the weapons and manpower Ukraine (and NATO) is throwing at them. NATO is hamstrung; they can’t do any more for Ukraine, and Ukraine is now losing – badly.
So they seem to have come up with a nifty alternative: Cyber-Attack.
They can attack their own countries in a massive and destructive cyber-attack, BLAME IT on Russia, and then invoke Article 5, collective self defense, to enter the Ukraine war . . . as they have been desperately trying to do for two years.
A completely, totally, FALSE FLAG “Cyber-Attack” as their basis to BLAME RUSSIA and enter World War 3.
These people, I think, are snakes. There is apparently no low they will not stoop-to, to cause another World War.
China is a socialist country with a capitalist economy led by, of all things, a communist party. Just what is China really?
I would describe China as a heavily technocratic Confucian-Leninist authoritarian state, ruling over a mixed economy with features of both capitalism and socialism.
But that’s really not very useful without breaking down what this means.
It’s technocratic in that most people in putative or actual positions of political authority are holders of degrees in the natural sciences or engineering, and because the political culture is still one that venerates expertise and is very solutions-driven.
It’s Confucian in the sense that the political culture still bears the imprint of the imperial civil service exam system and sees as right and natural a paternalistic bureaucracy of educated elites.
It is Leninist in the sense that it is still a single-party dictatorship with a disciplined cadre running things on the principle of “democratic centralism.” It is nominally communist, but has jettisoned most of what an “orthodox” Marxist would regard as actually communist and has retained really only Leninist political structures and a not-very-deeply held belief in Marx’s dialectical materialism as a way for understanding history.
It is authoritarian for what I would hope are obvious enough reasons: The Party utterly dominates the state, retains control of coercive forces like the armed forces, paramilitary and police, exercises considerable control over media, and suffers very little civil society to exist.
The economy is certainly mixed. Features of socialism persist, but I don’t think they compare favorably with the social democracies of Northern and Western Europe. State participation in industry is still quite substantial, even if the private sector is a larger and larger component of GDP, so it’s really premature to say that China is a fully capitalist economy. “State capitalism” is a phrase many have used, and I think it’s largely apt.
China’s leaders are pulled in multiple directions by different interests, confronting often contradictory exigencies. Some, and perhaps even most, aren’t driven by any particularly high-minded ideals and are chiefly interested in staying in power and enjoying the perquisites thereof, while others I have no doubt really do take to heart the long-term interests of the Chinese people and are motivated by an altruistic ideal of service to the country.
But mainly, China is pragmatic. Imagining for a moment that there’s a leadership that we can speak of as having some unified worldview and a shared set of priorities, that leadership is basically about the practical exercise of power toward creating a China that is increasingly wealthy and militarily powerful. It seeks to create a society with conditions that make economic development where dignity and some semblance of social justice can be had by most people. It looks for solutions that “work,” and not ones that simply conform to any particular ideology, and so it doesn’t particularly prize ideological consistency. It believes that “development is the final word” (发展是硬道理) and that that which augments wealth and power is desireable. It has abandoned its once overly-optimistic assessment of the mutability of humanity, and now acts in the belief that people don’t in fact change overnight. It will harness various forces to be found in society — nationalism, grasping materialism, religiosity, environmentalism — when those forces can be made to advance its agenda. But it has no compunction about smacking them down when they threaten the control of the Party-state.
Wine Pot Roast
210119 potroast 2
Yield: 6 to 7 servings
Ingredients
3 to 4 pound beef pot roast
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 (3/4 ounce) package brown gravy mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Sprinkle roast with flour, and brown well in small amount of oil in skillet.
Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper; place in slow cooker.
Combine remaining ingredients; pour over meat.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours.
Remove meat and slice.
If desired, thicken sauce with flour dissolved in a small amount of water, and serve over meat.
What is the most disturbing way you’ve seen a parent attempt to handle a fussy child?
I was at Disneyland with my best friend a few months ago. We were both in line waiting to go on the gondola. In front of us was a family of four. A mother, father, young girl (perhaps 5–7 years old) and a little boy (maybe 2–3 years old). He was probably closer to 2 because he was still waking funny and slightly wobbly.
The family was not communicating or smiling at all. Granted, I’m not the most chipper in long lines in the California sun either. But they weren’t even saying a word to each other. Clearly, tensions were high, and I understand, children can be a handful especially at theme parks.
The toddler started crying uncontrollably and grabbing his mothers leg begging to be picked up. She pushed him away, not once, but probably about ten times. Each time more aggressive than the other. He just continued to cry and tried to reapproach every time.
His dad, without saying a word, picked him up. I saw the mothers eyes roll and heavy, blatant sigh. As if she was annoyed that he got his way and got picked up, even though she made it clear she didn’t want to carry him. Eventually, his father put him down to get something from his bag. At this point he reapproached the mother, starting to cry again, and without even looking down at him she shoves this little stumbling toddler away so hard that he falls on his butt and his back hits one of the bars in the line.
Of course, he started sobbing even more. His father seemed like he didn’t want to upset the mother any further and just looked ahead. None of his parents did anything. His older sister, however, noticed right away, and instinctively smacked her mother (on the waist/stomach area) to defend her little brother. Her mother then grabbed her face so tight and whispered something that I did not hear.
They entered the gondola, and I got in the next one. For some reason I have not been able to get her stone cold demeanor out of my head. Poor children.
How On Earth Did Ancient Civilisations Get MERCURY?
Confessions Of A Woman In A Polygamous Marriage
How did you end up in a polygamous marriage?
I was born and was raised in Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh. A few months before my seventeenth birthday, my father, due to the Guardian System, told me that he had arranged a marriage for me to a foreign businessman in Dubai, and that I would be married within a few weeks.
At the beginning of 2017, I was married to my new husband in Dubai, and became his second wife. I didn’t ever realize that I wouldn’t be his first wife until a few days before the wedding, and I can only remember crying for an entire afternoon the day I found out I would be his second wife. It would not be until the end of last year that our husband took his 3rd and most recent wife.
How old is your husband?
Early 50s
How soon before the wedding did you meet him? What would have happened if you didn’t like him/he didn’t like you?
I met him about a week before the wedding for the first time. If he hadn’t like me, it’s not likely anything would happen since he had already talked to my father, but if i hadn’t liked him there was not much I could have done about it. At that point I was such a mess of nervous teenage anxiety and emotion that there wasn’t much I could have even thought or said.
Why did he marry you?
I’m not sure why exactly, it could have been for my looks or age, since his first wife is quite a bit older than i am, but I’m sure it was also due to the social connections between him and my father that would be forged because of the marriage.
Has your husband mentioned how many wives he plans on having?
He legally can’t marry more than 4 according to Sharia Law, but I can’t imagine he would marry someone else, especially at this point in his life. But who knows, he certainly could. I hope not, but it is a possibility.
Do you have a good relationship with him?
We have a fairly good relationship. Although he doesn’t spend as much time with me as his new wife, he’s very polite and nice to me, and doesn’t mistreat me at all.
Do you love him?Does he love you?
In a way I think I love him; even though I don’t think he married me for love, and I didn’t have much of a choice, I’ve learned to love him for what he is. I know he cares for me in his own way, and I know he wants me to be happy and provided for, which I am very thankful for.
Do you guys have children?
Yes, we have one child, a beautiful two-year old baby girl!
How does your husband treat you? Does he treat all his wives equally or is he biased?
It depends; he treats his first wife and I pretty much the same, or at least spends the same amount of time with us, but ever since his third marriage he’s spent most nights with his new wife. I try not to feel jealous, but it is hard not to resent him and her for it.
How old are his first and third wife?
His first wife is 36, and his most recent wife is only 16. Even though 18 is legally the marriable age in the UAE, a judge can approve a younger marriage, and our husband is wealthy enough to ensure that it happens.
What do you think of a man in his early 50s marrying a girl of 16?
I personally don’t think it’s right for such a marriage to take place. Even though legally it was allowed, the odds are she’ll be widowed before she even turns 40, which is really tragic for her.
Why are you more concerned for her after he dies than what might happen during the marriage?
I don’t think it’s right for him to marry someone so young, but at least this way she is provided for. Once he dies, I’m not sure what’s going to happen to any of us once he dies.
What typically happens to the wives once their husband dies? Say you are 50. Do you get an inheritance?
I would most likely be sent to live with a male relative, and perhaps receive an inheritance or something similar. I would have to follow ‘Iddah’ under Shariah Law and wait before remarrying though. If I an widowed while still young, I could probably remarry, but if I was older I might just live as a widow with my relatives.
He must be very rich to afford 3 wives, 3 households. Are you allowed to spend any money?
He is, as far as I know, fairly wealthy, even though he never talks about business or finances with us. Each of us gets a monthly allowance for groceries, clothes, shopping, and anything else we might need, but it’s never enough to make any really extravagant purchases; for anything like that, like jewelry or really nice clothes; anything really expensive, we have to ask him for permission.
What do you enjoy spending your allowance on?
Well, its usually not enough to buy anything more than the essentials, but I love cooking and buying new ingredients, and i always put a little aside to buy paints and art supplies with.
Are you allowed to work?
No, we aren’t allowed to work, or at least not for money. I love painting and art, so I do work on that a lot, but my husband would never let me sell them or earn a living myself. For the most part I have to rely on my husband to provide for me and our daughter.
How are mealtimes? Do you cook? Do you all eat together?
I usually cook meals for myself and daughter, and maybe a few friends, but we usually I don’t eat with our sister wives, except for on Friday, when we usually eat a meal together with our husband.
When it comes to sex, is it only ever you and him? Or is part of it that the four of you have sexual relations?
It is always only him and one of us, he has never asked any of us to have relations with him at the same time. It’s a very private affair.
Do you spend time with the other wives? Are they your friends? Or do you keep separate lives?
For the most part we are like separate families, we each have our own apartment, cook our own meals, and have our own beds, but fortunately his first wife and I do get along very well; since I left Saudi Arabia she’s been almost like a sister to me. His third wife though, she is very rude to us, since she is the youngest, and we definitely don’t get along.
How is she rude to you?
It feels like since our husband spends more time with her than the rest of us, she has a more privileged relationship with him than we do. She can get him to do things to us that he wouldn’t do otherwise, like punish us for doing innocent things, like going out without his permission, he is usually fine with, but if his youngest wife convinced him to, he will get angry and even hit us, even very softly. It’s more of symbolic than anything, but it still makes me feel awful. She also doesn’t miss an opportunity to bring me down or insult me.
What’s the best thing about your marriage?
Probably having such a good relationship with his first wife. It’s almost like having another sister, and it definitely helps make up for some of the worse parts of my marriage. Either that or being provided for so well. I’m not mistreated or neglected, and it gives me a chance to raise our daughter.
If he were to die soon, would you still be friends with the first wife?
I think we would. Even if we didn’t share a husband, I think we would have been friends anyway, and I think we would stay friends even if we weren’t married to the same man.
What is the worst part about living in such a relationship?
The worst part of my relationship is probably just the stress it brings. For instance, he spends most nights with his new wife, and she knows she is his favorite right now and uses that to treat his first wife and I very badly. I try not to hold it against her or our husband, but it’s hard not to.
Do you feel any resentment towards your father for putting you in a situation you may not have necessarily chosen for yourself?
I do sometimes. He never really gave me a choice in the matter, so I do sometimes feel resentful towards him for putting me into this situation, but it’s the culture he knew growing up, and i know he had my best interests at heart. He wanted to be sure I would be provided for, and I know that despite everything he loves me and wants what’s best for me. But it’s not easy to forgive him.
If you were given a chance to, would you get out of the marriage?
Although under Sharia Law divorce is allowed, the only way it could realistically happen for me is if my husband wanted a divorce as well, which he does not. And if I did divorce him, I don’t know what I would do or where I would go, especially since I would have trouble finding anyone willing to marry a divorced single mother. But honestly, I really don’t want to leave, although I wish it hadn’t happened at all, now that I’m married, I’m fairly well off and happy, and although it’s hard, it’s something I have to live with, and I am alright with that.
Would you prefer a different future for your daughter?
Absolutely. I would never want anyone, least of all my daughter, to be in the same relationship as me.
I would like to see the attitudes towards marriage become more western, and allow women more of a say in who they marry. I also pray that plural marriage continues to become more and more rare as time goes on.
Did you have a childhood sweetheart/relationship before your marriage?
I did have a sweetheart before I got married, he was a family friend, and I thought I was going to marry him for the longest time. I was actually looking forward to it, and I stroll sometimes regret not being able to spend my life with him. But I never had a choice in the matter, so I’ve learned to live with it.
How do you feel about the fact that a lot of the world (at least a lot of the Western world) looks down upon plural marriages. Do you ever question your own lifestyle?
I definitely question my lifestyle, and if I had the choice, I don’t think I would want to be in a plural marriage. Since I do live in Dubai, I do get exposed to more western culture than I did before, and I generally think that the west is right about the negative aspects of polygamy. Despite this, I’ve lived my whole life this way, and I’m not unhappy like many people in the west think. It’s not ideal, and certainly causes more stress and emotional strain on everyone, but it’s not all bad.
How has your life changed because of the marriage?
Before I was married, I lived with my family, and, because of the laws in Saudi Arabia, I had very little freedom of movement, and had to ask permission to do or go anywhere. Even while I was at home my parents, and especially my father, had absolute control over what I did.
Now that I’m married, I don’t have to ask permission to go out, as long as I am accompanied by another woman or male guardian, and I have more control over how I spend the small allowance I get. I also have more freedom at home, to raise our child and to talk and spend time with female friends. Despite this, if he wanted to, or if I made him unhappy with me, my husband could control me just like my father, did and monitor my every move, but fortunately he allows his wives to be fairly independent as long as we obey.
USA will launch two Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles
The United States will launch TWO separate Minuteman III nuclear-capable inter-continental Ballistic Missiles, one on June 4, and another on June 6. One might think they are “posturing” to Russia.
However, the stated goal of the launches is to demonstrate the readiness of American nuclear forces and nuclear deterrents.
Russia has been warned in advance about the launches, which will take place on June 4 and 6, the US Air Force command said in a statement.
The Minuteman III is a solid-fuel intercontinental strategic missile that entered US service in 1970. Its previous tests failed: due to the discovery of an “anomaly” after launch, the rocket exploded in the air.
This missile is the only silo-based ICBM in US service. Upgraded versions are regularly tested. Washington has 400 of these missiles. Each of them is capable of carrying up to three nuclear warheads.
Some Bad Things I saw In Prison
Lack of Trust: India Moves 100 Tons of Gold from United Kingdom
India’s central bank has moved a little more than 100 metric tons of gold from the UK to its domestic vaults, the Times of India newspaper reported on Friday, citing sources.
The source revealed that the “public” reason for moving the Gold is that too much is stored overseas and they want it in their country. However the “non-public” reason is now “lack of trust.”
India, the source said, has seen the way the West “froze” Russia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund and is now literally “stealing” the interest from those frozen funds, to give to Ukraine. India now views the West as brazen thieves and does not want to be victimized by such theft!
“While India has no plans to go to war, as Russia did in Ukraine, prompting the theft of their Interest money, India knows all too well how arrogantly the West imposes “Sanctions” and does not want to be subject to the whims of the West.” the source continued.
Even Stephen Bryen (former US DoD/MIC) is sounding the alarm: NATO is flirting with war and extinction.
“NATO does not want to negotiate with Russia. That goes especially for President Joe Biden, who fears going into the coming elections having lost Afghanistan and Ukraine. Any deal with the Russians today would mean major concessions, not only on territory, but about Ukraine’s future. Russia has not changed its red line on demanding that NATO get out of Ukraine.”
“France is now “officially” sending troops to Ukraine (they have been there for some time) and NATO countries are demanding strikes deep inside Russia. Meanwhile the US has secretly made a “policy shift” that somewhat falls short of what Zelensky wanted, but opens the door to deep strikes by the US on Russian territory.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that the US deep strike authorization is “misinformation” but he did not deny the change in US policy. He claims it is Russian disinformation, but the reports came from Washington and not from Russia.”
Is Russia somewhere between DEFCON 2 and DEFCON 1?
Attack on Russian radar is a significant escalation:
“The nuclear issue is extraordinarily sensitive nowadays as Ukraine’s army appears nearing collapse. US legislators and NATO’s leader are urging Ukraine to fire long range missiles at Russian territory. It that happens, the Russians will not be able to distinguish whether a missile has a conventional or nuclear warhead.”
“British-Portuguese Tekever AR3 drones were used for the strike.” “for several months the focus of attention of the US Air Force RQ-4B data has been shifted specifically to the Krasnodar Territory”
“attack represents the first time that strategic nuclear defense installations have been attacked in Russia or any other country.
There has long been a debate among defense experts on the issue of “launch on warning.” Had the Russians believed this was a NATO attack on their nuclear facilities, that could have triggered a nuclear response.
The nuclear issue is extraordinarily sensitive nowadays as Ukraine’s army appears nearing collapse. US legislators and NATO’s leader are urging Ukraine to fire long range missiles at Russian territory. It that happens, the Russians will not be able to distinguish whether a missile has a conventional or nuclear warhead.”
🇷🇺 Russia’s “Dead Hand” Perimeter System will automatically launch Russia’s entire nuclear arsenal in response to a nuclear attack on Russia. It assures that whoever initiated the attack on Russia will be annihilated. Studies show that, “no locality in the U.S. was free of the risk of receiving deadly levels of radiation” and even if one is not at a primary target site, “the entire population of the contiguous U.S. and the most populated areas of Canada, as well as the northern states of Mexico, would be at risk of lethal fallout…known to result in certain death.”
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Shelter cat makes saddest face to get adopted
German Bundestag (Parliament) Asked to Activate 900,000 Military Reservists for war with Russia
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in Germany’s legislature, the Bundestag, is calling for the activation of 900,000 German military reservists.
“Putin is trimming his people for war and positioning them against the West. Therefore, we must become capable of defending ourselves as quickly as possible,” said the chairwoman of the Bundestag defense committee to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Saturday).”
“Russia only produces weapons. Textbooks are printed that portray Germany as the aggressor. Primary school children are trained on the weapon. All this is frightening,” said Strack-Zimmermann.
“The Russian attack against us has already begun,” Strack-Zimmermann told the Funke newspapers, referring to cyber attacks, espionage and deliberately triggered refugee movements.
“We must be aware that the war in Ukraine affects us directly.” If Putin is successful, he will “continue his raids,” Strack-Zimmermann said, referring to Georgia and Moldova. And when Putin thinks that the time has come, “he will also attack the Baltic States.”
Hal Turner Snap Analysis
Shameless fearmongering. Lies made-up out of whole cloth, spewing from the mouth of what is supposed to be an elected public official – trying to set Germany on a collision course with Russia – again.
Someone should ask this dumb broad if she realizes such an effort didn’t work out well for Germany the last time they tried it. It was Russian troops that stormed Berlin and destroyed Hitler’s Nazi regime.
Is she looking to cause the Russians to do that again?
Confessions Of An Ex-Mercenary
How does one become a mercenary ?
Typically you start somewhere. I was a US Army Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne. Friends of friends found me, and got my first contract to go to Africa.
How’s the pay?
Pay can fluctuate. First of all, there’s a lot of deadbeats in this space. For example, Liberia asked me to create a littoral sea fighting force, but I couldn’t figure out how they would actually pay (regardless of promises) so I walked away. Never work for the UN. Total deadbeats.
The US pays you about double what you might make in uniform, which ain’t much given the risks. All the stories of guys making 2 grand a day are BS. Maybe a few guys at the beginning of the Iraq war. Also, the US might pay Blackwater $1500/day for you but Blackwater pays you only $400/day, pocketing the rest.
The best is extractive industry, especially those that are private owned. You can find these in Houston, with the right connections.
What was the best/worst compensation for the contracts you’ve been on?
Worst. Not getting paid what was owed me.
Best. Getting paid six-figure for a two-week walkabout among the armed groups of the Sahara. Oil company.
How do you acquire your equipment? Especially for situations where you’re raising a small army.
It depends on the client. When I worked US government (USG) contracts, they would pay for it and I would go get it. Hence I did shopping sprees in Eastern Europe.
Are there anybody that you refuse to work with? If so: why?
There are many whom I would refuse to work with. For example, China or Russia. Actually, any who is the enemy of the US, since I’m still an ex-soldier at heart and blue passport holder.
However, a lot of people don’t care and go where the money. Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, left the US and now works for China in Africa. He’s now in DC pimping an idea to hire a mercenary army to “fix” Afghanistan. It’s a dangerous idea.
What was the craziest thing you had to do as a mercenary?
Stop a genocide in Africa.
Could you elaborate?
Only a little.
The US had intel that an extremist Hutu group hiding in the Congo called the FNL were planning to assassinate the President of Burundi in 1994. If they did this, it would cause a chain of reprisal killings – Tutsi killing hutus and hutus then killing tutsi – that would rekindle the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The US sent us in to prevent all this from happening, with out the governments of Burundi, Rwanda, DRC etc knowing. Only about 5 people knew in Burundi our mission, including the President and General in charge of their military.
We succeeded. I am sorry that I can’t go into the operational details.
What is the rule on killing kids?
There are no rules.
Unless they are written into the contract.
BTW mercs make moral choices. They can say ‘no’ to a contract or ROE, unlike soldiers and marines. They can also go ‘off contract’ or rogue.
Is your work considered peacekeeping, or are you on a definite side of the wars you’ve been part of?
“Peacekeeping” is one of those weasel words that diplomats like to throw around to cover their operations. Putin said he was doing ‘peacekeeping’ in Chechnya. The UN does “peace enforcement,” which they did in the eastern Congo in 2013.
I’m straight faced about it. We do war.
During your time as a Merc, how many times have you had run-ins with SOFs (Special Operations Forces) from other countries, which ones, how many did you actually have to fight, and which ones scared you the most?
All the time. People cluster around skillset, so if you have a SOF or paratrooper or ranger etc background, you will gravitate to those with like skills and either form a team or join one.
The best are from US, richer European countries and many of the former Soviet republics. Latin american SOF is good too. The worst are African and Middle east countries. Scariest: ex-Soviet. They are…different than the rest of us.
How so? Psychologically they’re different? Their skill sets?
Yeah. Many of them are crazy and tough. They use to have this thing in Spetznatz training called the Rule of the Grandfathers. Recruits would have bones broken.
How large is the industry, and would you say that it is mostly larger bodies of armed men, or do mercenaries also do smaller, covert ops missions in tight, single digit groups?
It’s really hard to say how large and how much money is sloshing around the private military world. There’s no Department of Labor and Statistics for Mercenaries.
During the height of the US wars in Iraq and Afghan, contractors worked in large military corporations. Now that this market has dried up, mercenaries are atomizing into smaller units.
What is the mortality rate for mercenaries?
It depends. Let’s assume proper mercenaries here, meaning they are ex-military and in conflict zones. The mortality is higher than most 1st world militaries. Also, if you get hurt, you are likely screwed.
Merc ops gone wrong generally don’t make the news. Mercs are hired often to work in the shadows, and if something goes wrong, their employers cut them away like a kite. That’s why we call these ‘kite missions.’
High end mercs are hired because they offer good plausible deniability.
What is the biggest misconception on PMC’s (Private Military Contractor) or Mercenary firms that is currently being published in the political science literature?
Political Science and academics in general don’t know much because this industry is so opaque. You have to be on the inside to understand it, yet not succumb to it, or get blackmailed into silence.
The common misperceptions are:
Mercenaries are ineffective. Wrong, very wrong.
Mercs are illegitimate. “Legitimacy” is a big word people like to throw around with much thinking. Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter that much.
Mercs are all evil. Some are, some are not. Same with soldiers.
We can use international law to curb mercenaries. Wrong again. Mercenaries will just shoot your law enforcement.
Mercs are peripheral security problem. Wrong. The market for force is growing and cannot be stopped. At least not if we leave it on auto-pilot, which have.
Lastly, mercs are not useful. This is wrong. They are like fire: power a steam engine or burn the building down. They can augment UN forces of be used as terrorists.
Did this kind of experience provide you with insights into a deeper understanding of the interactions between the western world and the middle eastern one? If yes, could you go into details?
You can’t understand the middle east if you think in terms of “states” or countries. You have to think in terms of blocs of ancient powers warring one another. You have the Sunni bloc, lead by Saudi Arabia and includes the GCC, Jordan, Yemen, Egypt and N. Africa and others.
Then you have the Shia block, lead by Iran and includes N. Iraq, Syria regime, parts of Lebanon.
I call these blocks “deep states,” not like Steve Bannon’s conspiracy theory but rather networks of power, elites and interest.
These Sunni and Shia Deep States have been at war, in some fashion, since the death of Mohammed. People who don’t see the middle east as two warring deep states will be left scratching their heads, which is what many ‘experts’ here do. Every day.
Is it good to have an knowledge of geopolitics related to the war you are participating in as a mercenary?
No. Optional.
The only knowledge you need to master is how to operate in a fire team.
Can you drop some light on the level of discipline in the mercs (rape, plunder,etc) during interactions with non-armed civilians? Have you personally witnessed any such incidents?
Good mercs do good things, bad mercs do bad things. Just like national armies around the world. However, I ran across mercenaries in the Congo that were pure evil. Really evil. It was sad.
BTW this is a serious concern you raise. I don’t have an answer because what mercenaries do is introduce market dynamics into warfare. Supply and demand dictate warfare as much as traditional military strategy.
Example. When I was in West Africa, some warlords used rape as a tactic and strategy of war. You could hire mercs to terrorize and cow local populations this way. You could also hire mercs to kill those mercs. But you are left with a world awash in mercenaries, and that’s what I fear is coming.
So, just curious if there are female mercenaries, or is this just a male arena?
I never found any female mercs, although it doesn’t mean they are not out there. I ran across female warlords in Africa, who would cut off you undercarriage in a heartbeat. With a rusty machete.
Mercenaries seem to have a fixed role in small arms conflicts (like what you said about Africa and the middle east) but with the international security landscape focused nation states and their nuclear weapons, what role do you believe mercenaries will play, if any, in nuclear security?
I think the international community is by definition Westphalian and can only see the world like a state. That’s why they continue to struggle against non-sate (what they humorously call ‘sub-state’) actors. Hence the mayhem.
Mercs are rising and can take over states, become a praetorian guard, can bully states etc. Let’s not forget that most of the states in the world are fragile or failing. And nothing is stopping the rise of mercenary organizations around the world. 100 years from now, mercenaries will be a bigger problem than nukes.
How has the battlefield changed in your lifetime? I imagine tactics are changing every day with each new advancement in equipment, but did you foresee the role of drones playing such a large role in current conflicts? It seems like we are heading towards wars where soldiers will never be in line of sight or am I thinking far too down the road?
Well, there’s war and warfare. War never changes; it’s bloody, violent, political etc. Warfare changes all the time, including tactics, leadership, environment, technology.
Drones are cheap and easily rigged into kamikazes. Expect mercenary “air forces” of suicide drone squad. There are also cyber mercs called “Hack Back Companies.”
That said, technology is over rated in war. The US has loads of tech and yet can’t conquer Taliban, Al Qaeda, ISIS etc. Meanwhile the humble IED remains a big tactical problem.
Mercenaries also change war. They open up strategy to the laws of the market place. Future Generals may need to know more about the laws of the marketplace and Wall Street, so they understand how to increase or decrease the flow of mercenaries into a battle space.
In your opinion, what is the best approach to handling North Korea?
DPRK is the headache that keeps on giving. If we strike them, they shell Seoul with artillery. China uses them as leverage to extract favor from the US.
Ultimately, no one wants to see DPRK fall. China and South Korea don’t want to absorb 20 million deranged refugees and no one wants to tempt the DPRK leadership’s will to launch everything they have.
Ultimately the best course of action is the status quo, which is why nothing has changed in 70 years.
What is a moment you can still vividly recall today?
Digging up children’s teeth in the genocide killing fields outside Bujumbura, Burundi.
What sorts of non-millitary exclusive skills helped you the most or did the best to keep you alive?
Cultural skills. When you are operating in Africa or elsewhere, you need to be cultural attuned. First, I’m a white guy with straight teeth, which means I’m American. That can be very disadvantageous in some parts of the world. You have to have a good intuition about people.
How does the merc profession mesh with family life? I imagine it takes one away from family a lot.
Merc life is pretty incompatible with married life. You’re always “deployed.” You can maybe do something like 6 months on a defensive lucrative mission, like defending oil pipelines in the desert. Then 6 months at home.
What is the biggest misconception people label you guys with?
People think mercenaries are villains, etc. This is BS.
People often throw machiavelli in my face, who said mercenaries are “faithless whores” or something like that. He was the guy who wrote The Prince (which I love, as well as his Art of War and Discourses on Livy). But he was a total failure. During the the early 1500s, he was in charge of Florence’s defenses and got seriously burned by his lame mercs. So he Mr Sour Grapes. Most mercs – then and now – are not like that.
The prejudice against mercenaries is extremely unjustified. Would you rather be taken a prisoner by Blackwater of the Zimbabwe army ? I recommend the former.
Her Visions of Future Disasters Keep Coming True After NDE
One of the occupational hazards as an expat in China is that everyone wants you to practice speaking English with them.
Oh, that’s fine if you are visiting. It’s a nice charming way to interact with locals.
But when you live in China, it’s a totally different story entirely.
I’m dropping my kid off at kindergarten, and a guy chases me, trying to interact with me. It’s like a crazy fruit fly that won’t leave you alone. “Hello there. Where do you come from” Do you like China”
Or, I have a half an hour to eat a quick bite at a restaurant and am smunching on a burger, and another man pulls up a chair. Sits directly opposite to me and tries to talk with me. “Hello there. Where do you come from” Do you like China”
Or, I am just sitting alone on a bench near the ocean. I am reading my daily affirmations, and a guy stands in front of me. He keeps repeating himself. “Hello there. Where do you come from” Do you like China”
Or, I am trying to buy groceries… some school age kids come up… “Hello there. Where do you come from” Do you like China”
Yes. I get it. Everyone wants to have some time to practice their English skills, meet new people and so on and so forth, but Lordy! I just want to live my own life. To cross the street without being interrupted. To talk on my phone without some granny trying to get my attention, and to just drink a beer without interruption.
Expat hassles. Ugh.
Today…
What do you think President Xi Jinping means by the transformation of traditional industries can also develop “new productive forces”?
“Let’s build whole new hi-tech industries based on new revolutionary Chinese technology so that we can drive U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo crazy, and destroy the market cap of the leading U.S. tech companies, and replace them with new Chinese national team companies like Huawei in global markets.”
I really love Nicaragua and things like this are so good!
China seeks gold in Nicaragua, receives 13 concessions in 190 days
China is gaining large areas for metal mining in Nicaragua at an accelerated pace. In six months, between October 2023 and April 2024, three Chinese companies have received thirteen mining concessions. The sum of these thirteen lots granted is equivalent to 11.66% of the total number of hectares granted for metallic mining in Nicaragua.
The thirteen metallic mining lots in Nicaragua, granted to China, are in the hands of three companies: Zhong Fu Development S.A., Thomas Metal S.A., and Nicaragua XinXin Linze Minera Group S.A.
Each mining concession is valid for 25 years, and the three companies have exclusive rights to explore, exploit, and establish beneficiation plants to process mining materials.
Be the Rufus
MILITARY CENSORSHIP ORDERED: EGYPT ARMY FIRES UPON ISRAELI ARMY – RAFAH
There has been a serious “incident” at the Rafah Border Crossing between the GAZA Strip and Egypt. Egyptian forces opened fire upon Israeli forces – one Egyptian soldier is reportedly dead.
The Israeli Defense Force ORDERED complete Censorship by the media. No reports can be aired in Israel even reporting that anything happened, never mind that shots were fired between the two armies or that one soldier is dead.
Thanks to Amendment One of the Constitution for the United States, we Press here in the United States cannot be stopped from reporting this.
According to witnesses, last night, the Israeli Air Force sent “waves” of fighter jets to bomb areas in and around Rafah, GAZA.
The witnesses say the Israelis dropped bombs on the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) TENT CITY for REFUGEES, slaughtering dozens and injuring hundreds.
Below, a single frame from a video shows an IDF laser-guised PAVEWAY Bomb just before it struck a tent city and detonated:
IDF PAVEWAY Laser Guided Bomb Hitting Tent City
The witnesses describe “Apocalyptic” scenes inside the tent city, with civilians decapitated and others blown literally to pieces by the bombing.
Apparently, it was all too much for some Egyptian Soldiers who – according to witness reports – took it upon themselves to open fire on the Israeli Army.
The situation in GAZA grows worse by the hour. It is now beginning to appear that the Egyptian Army may start taking action on its own, outside of Civilian Control! It also appears that the Israeli Army has had enough of their civilian leaders backing-off, and may be moving to act on its own.
If the two armies reject civilian control and choose to engage, the situation will spin out of control almost immediately.
CHINA INVESTS $50 BILLION in CHIP SELF SUFFICIENCY – biden and usa look foolish…
Japan says that it will help Taiwan if attacked. What do you think?
As a Chinese, I can promise you that if Japan announces or sends troops to Taiwan last one second, China’s missiles will fly to all Japanese military facilities, government agencies, ports, and power facilities the next second. What I said is the most basic idea of all Chinese people. A large number of Chinese people think that we can directly use hydrogen bombs against Japan if Japan sends troops to interfere in China again. China is not a warlike country, but if Japan dares to send troops to Taiwan again, China would rather be an enemy of the whole world and bomb Japan flat, so that those Japanese who started the war will disappear completely.
What Happens When You Use Money to Attract Women
Money can buy a lot of things: cars, houses, yachts, a better education, the latest gadgets, and even an island or two if you’re into that sort of thing. But there’s one thing it can’t buy: genuine human connection. Yet, many men fall into the trap of using their wealth to attract women. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well. Here’s what really happens when you use money to attract women and why it’s a terrible idea.
You Attract the Wrong Kind of Attention
Let’s get one thing straight: if you lead with your wallet, you’re going to attract women who are interested in your wallet. It’s as simple as that. These women aren’t interested in you for who you are, what you think, or how you make them feel. They’re interested in what you can provide materially.
You might get a few dates or even a relationship out of it, but it’s all based on a transactional foundation. The moment the money stops flowing, so does the affection. And let’s be honest, that’s not the kind of attention you want. It’s superficial, fleeting, and ultimately unfulfilling.
You Devalue Yourself
When you use money to attract women, you’re sending a clear message: you don’t think you’re enough without it. You’re basically telling the world (and yourself) that your personality, your values, your interests, and your character aren’t sufficient to attract someone on their own. That’s a pretty depressing narrative to live by.
Over time, this belief can erode your self-esteem and make you even more reliant on material wealth to feel worthy. It’s a vicious cycle that’s hard to break. You become more focused on acquiring and flaunting wealth rather than developing the parts of yourself that truly matter.
You Miss Out on Genuine Connection
The best relationships are built on mutual respect, shared values, and emotional intimacy. When money is the primary attractor, these essential components take a backseat. You’re not building a relationship based on who you are as a person, but rather on what you can offer financially.
This lack of genuine connection can lead to a shallow, unfulfilling relationship. You might find yourself constantly wondering if your partner really loves you for who you are or if they’re just in it for the perks. That’s a tough pill to swallow and can lead to feelings of loneliness and insecurity.
You Set a Precedent for Future Relationships
If you rely on money to attract women, you’re setting a precedent for all your future relationships. You’ll start to believe that wealth is the only way to find and keep a partner, which can limit your ability to form meaningful connections with people who might be genuinely interested in you for who you are.
Moreover, you’re likely to attract people who are more interested in your bank account than your personality. This can lead to a series of superficial relationships that leave you feeling empty and unfulfilled. It’s a cycle that’s hard to break once you’re in it.
Using money to attract women is a losing game. It might work in the short term, but it’s not a sustainable or fulfilling strategy for building meaningful relationships. Instead of relying on your bank account, focus on developing your character, pursuing your passions, and building genuine connections with people who appreciate you for who you are.
Remember, real attraction is about more than just what you have. It’s about who you are. And no amount of money can replace the value of a genuine connection. So, put your wallet away, be yourself, and watch what happens. You might be surprised at how much more fulfilling your relationships can be.
Sprinkle garlic powder on top and rub ketchup generously into brisket.
Add onion slices all around and on top of meat.
Add enough water to coat the bottom of the slow cooker.
Cook on LOW, all day, for the most tender brisket you will ever eat.
For gravy, remove brisket and turn thermostat to HIGH.
Mix flour with 1/4 cup water, add to pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
How does a rescuer deal with a person who has been cut in half by a truck and obviously will not survive, but is still alive?
One night at a small local community hospital around 1982 we heard a call over the hospital intercom system “Any surgeon in the hospital, please report to the ER STAT.” Now that was a highly unusual overhead announcement. We all looked at each other but didn’t say anything in case a patient or visitor overheard us. About 20 minutes later one of our young respiratory therapists, I’ll call him Jim, came through the stairway door, white as a sheet. There was a young man in the ER, in his 20s, he said, who’d been hit by a car. The car had a large hood ornament, which was common years ago. The way the young man was hit, the hood ornament cut him from his perineal area (crotch) all the way up to his breastbone. So there was a vertical cut rather than horizontal and it was catastrophic. But the young man was alive. They had been able to access his veins,start an IV & were giving him fluids & once they got to the ER, they hung blood.
Jim said, ““He’s fully awake. He’s asking us if he’s going to be ok. I had to leave. They asked him who to call, he said his mother, but she might not be home. (No cellphones back in the day).” Two surgeons responded to the announcement. One said the intestines had been badly mangled, the other said the young man’s bladder was in shreds. They said surgery couldn’t save him, they just didn’t have the resources & the number of surgeons that would be needed to even try, and everyone was waiting for him to die.
We have these things called foot frames…you put them at the bottom of the bed to keep sheets and blankets off the feet. They put a foot frame in the middle of the bed and put a sheet over it so the patient wouldn’t be able to see his body, but the drs could see everything.
“He keeps saying, ‘‘I’m gonna be ok, right, guys? I got hit by a car, I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I got hit by a car. But I’m going to be ok, right? Do I have a broken leg?’ They’ve called his mother, there’s no answer. He’s getting pale and now he says he’s cold and wants blankets…”
He was cold because he was dying and Jim couldn’t bear to watch him die. “He’s my age. He says the car didn’t have lights on, he didn’t see it.” Poor Jim, he was one of those kind of guys who always had a smile & a joke; always laughing. His hands were shaking. “He’s been here at the hospital at least 20 minutes, nobody expected him to stay conscious this long….they’re just waiting for him to die and he’s still talking…. he’s still awake. He said he’s glad he made it because it would kill his mother if he’d died when the car hit him. ….It’s so bad. It’s just so bad…”
The nurses and surgeons stayed there talking to him until he died. Then the nurses did post mortem care. Nobody told him he was going to die because the young man really thought he was going to be ok. He wanted to believe he was going to be ok.
23 Things Only People Who Were Raised By Really Strict Parents Understand
1. You were always the first person who had to leave when everyone was hanging out.
2. Asking permission for a sleepover at your friend’s house took 37 hours of mental preparation, a detailed powerpoint presentation of your friend’s family tree, and a signed contract in your blood saying you wouldn’t drink and would be in bed by 10pm.
3. Whenever your friends would make plans for later that night, you knew your parents would say no because it literally took them 2-3 business days to process whether they would allow you to go out.
4. You would practice asking your parents for permission to do something in the mirror and preemptively come up with answers to questions you knew they’d ask.
5. You also always had to wait until they were in a good mood before asking for anything.
6. You sometimes whipped out the wounded puppy look and would sigh and say “never mind… you’re going to say no anyway” to garner sympathy from your parents before asking for a really big favor.
7. You would ask your parents once, and only once, if you could hang out at someone’s house. You never understood why your friends would think that “asking them again” would make any difference.
8. You always had to choose between going out on either Friday or Saturday night because there’s no way your parents were going to agree to both.
9. You understand THE PURE, UNADULTERATED PANIC that channels through your veins when your idiot friends change the plans 10 times and you have to keep reexplaining to your parents what you’re doing.
10. You lied constantly. About everything. You still do.
11. You never cursed until you got to college.
12. You never had “The Talk” with your parents. They probably left a book on your bed about your ~changing body~ and let you figure it out.
13. Family dinner conversations revolved around your academics and class schedule—never about your social or love life. As far as your parents were concerned, you didn’t have either.
14. To this day, you still can’t get dressed without wondering what your parents would think about what you’re wearing. Middle and high school were a 7 year war over whether that skirt was too short or if the words on your Abercrombie shirt were too suggestive.
15. Getting one piercing in your ears was the extent of what you could do to your body. If you even thought about dying your hair an unconventional color, getting a tattoo, or even getting a second piercing, hell would freeze over.
16. You probably shared the same first name as at least 4-5 other people in your classes growing up.
17. You always changed the channel if your parents walked in on you watching something where the characters might kiss.
18. Your parents always tried to sign up to chaperone school functions and field trips.
19. Manners were everything. You got the “I don’t want people to think you were raised by wolves” speech almost as often as the “is your napkin not on your lap at the dinner table? Do you do this at other people’s houses? I can’t let you out in public if you don’t put your napkin on your lap” lecture.
20. You’ve spent years dreaming of rebellion in the form of making spontaneous plans or wearing flip flops to the airport.
21. Your impulse reaction to hearing your friends say they had sleepovers with their significant others is open-mouthed shock.
22. You’re careful telling jokes to your parents because their response toes the line between laughing along to immediately going off on a 45 minute rant and probably sending you to your room afterwards.
23. If you miss one phone call, your parents suddenly assume you’re smoking “that marijuana” with “that one friend of yours” they KNEW was going to be a bad influence.
New fear unlocked
How would the U.S.A. beat China in a war?
It depends on where the war is fought. If it’s fought out at sea, far from China’s territory, then the USA would have the advantage in naval power.
If it’s fought on Chinese territory, the Americans don’t stand a chance. China’s defensive capabilities are unmatched. China has the world’s largest army. China has the world’s largest navy (destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, etc.). China bristles with rockets and missiles (esp. hypersonic). China has a large and rapidly growing fleet of stealth aircraft.
What is the rudest thing that anybody has ever said directly to you?
“I know your type!”
I was about 22 years old, meeting a friend from work at a bar near the beach when he introduced me to one of his friends, a woman about the same age as we were.
She took one look at me and said, “I know your type! You’re a business major. You’re in a fraternity. You think you’re privileged and better than others.”
I didn’t know what to do. She looked at me and then said, “See! Just try to deny it. I nailed it didn’t I!?”
I can’t remember much else. I looked over at my friend for help but he had turned the other way talking with someone else and hadn’t heard anything she had said.
I may have said something like, “Do you think Neil would be friends with someone like that? Please ask him about me.” I felt like maybe something bad had happened to her and rebutting her at that moment wasn’t as good as having her talk to our mutual friend. I felt unwelcome and left. I wasn’t really interested in arguing or apologies. The moment was ruined.
It was rude because none of it was true. I was a drama major, working a minimum wage job paying my way through college, never had any interest in fraternities and generally disliked the whole good ole boy mentality. I was however blonde, blue eyed, clean cut, and wore 50’s retro style clothing. I probably looked the part.
Be the Rufus
Anti-communism, not anti-semitism, is constituted in Malaysia. Why doesn’t Malaysia recognize Israel but hold Communist China’s legs?
Why should Malaysia recognize Israel?
Why should we have any diplomatic relations with an occupying government in Palestine that commits genocide and other human rights violations on the Palestinians?
Why should we allow these type of genocidal Zionist people in our country? So they can lord it over us? We didn’t celebrate Merdeka so we can be colonized again. An Israel embassy is a colonial outpost. If you know Malaysian history, you know that the British Resident was the advisor to the Sultan and in effect was the real leader during the British colonial era. An Israeli ambassador is not here to be a regular ambassador, he would be a Jewish Resident. After the Portuguese, Dutch, British, and Japanese colonial eras, we don’t need a Jewish colonial era. We have seen what happens to Jewish colonies.
As for Communist China, while we do have relations and even trade relations and a visa free policy between Malaysia and China, what we have are bilateral relations on equal terms. Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese do not lobby Malaysia to champion Chinese hegemony the way America’s Jewish corporates lobby the USA to champion Jewish hegemony. We also do not allow China to spread communism or other Chinese origin ideologies here and China respects that because China does not interfere in Malaysia’s affairs.
If Malaysia ever recognizes Israel, that is the day I will leave Malaysia, because it means the minority Chinese and Indians are truly no longer safe. A Malaysia that supports Israel is also going to be a Malaysia that has no qualms about committing genocide on the ethnic Chinese and Indians in Malaysia with the help of Zionist Jews. I really don’t think any of our esteemed minorities in Malaysia have thought that through.
The main stream media (MSM) in Europe and the US is deathly silent as a court determines the PCR test legally useless to test for Covid.
The Landmark legal ruling finds that Covid tests are not fit for purpose. So what does the MSM do? They ignore it
Four German holidaymakers who were illegally quarantined in Portugal after one was judged to be positive for Covid-19 have won their case, in a verdict that condemns the widely-used PCR test as being up to 97-percent unreliable.
Earlier this month, Portuguese judges upheld a decision from a lower court that found the forced quarantine of four holidaymakers to be unlawful. The case centered on the reliability (or lack thereof) of Covid-19 PCR tests.
The verdict, delivered on November 11, followed an appeal against a writ of habeas corpus filed by four Germans against the Azores Regional Health Authority. This body had been appealing a ruling from a lower court which had found in favor of the tourists, who claimed that they were illegally confined to a hotel without their consent. The tourists were ordered to stay in the hotel over the summer after one of them tested positive for coronavirus in a PCR test – the other three were labelled close contacts and therefore made to quarantine as well.
Unreliable, with a strong chance of false positives
The deliberation of the Lisbon Appeal Court is comprehensive and fascinating. It ruled that the Azores Regional Health Authority had violated both Portuguese and international law by confining the Germans to the hotel. The judges also said that only a doctor can “diagnose” someone with a disease, and were critical of the fact that they were apparently never assessed by one.
They were also scathing about the reliability of the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, the most commonly used check for Covid.
The conclusion of their 34-page ruling included the following: “In view of current scientific evidence, this test shows itself to be unable to determine beyond reasonable doubt that such positivity corresponds, in fact, to the infection of a person by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
In the eyes of this court, then, a positive test does not correspond to a Covid case. The two most important reasons for this, said the judges, are that, “the test’s reliability depends on the number of cycles used’’ and that “the test’s reliability depends on the viral load present.’’ In other words, there are simply too many unknowns surrounding PCR testing.
Tested positive? There could be as little as a 3% chance it’s correct
This is not the first challenge to the credibility of PCR tests. Many people will be aware that their results have a lot to do with the number of amplifications that are performed, or the ‘cycle threshold.’ This number in most American and European labs is 35–40 cycles, but experts have claimed that even 35 cycles is far too many, and that a more reasonable protocol would call for 25–30 cycles. (Each cycle exponentially increases the amount of viral DNA in the sample).
Earlier this year, data from three US states – New York, Nevada and Massachusetts – showed that when the amount of the virus found in a person was taken into account, up to 90 percent of people who tested positive could actually have been negative, as they may have been carrying only tiny amounts of the virus.
The Portuguese judges cited a study conducted by “some of the leading European and world specialists,” which was published by Oxford Academic at the end of September. It showed that if someone tested positive for Covid at a cycle threshold of 35 or higher, the chances of that person actually being infected is less than three percent, and that “the probability of… receiving a false positive is 97% or higher.”
While the judges in this case admitted that the cycle threshold used in Portuguese labs was unknown, they took this as further proof that the detention of the tourists was unlawful. The implication was that the results could not be trusted. Because of this uncertainty, they stated that there was “no way this court would ever be able to determine” whether the tourist who tested positive was indeed a carrier of the virus, or whether the others had been exposed to it.
Sshhh – don’t tell anyone
It is a sad indictment of our mainstream media that such a landmark ruling, of such obvious and pressing international importance, has been roundly ignored. If one were making (flimsy) excuses for them, one could say that the case escaped the notice of most science editors because it has been published in Portuguese. But there is a full English translation of the appeal, and alternative media managed to pick it up.
And it isn’t as if Portugal is some remote, mysterious nation where news is unreliable or whose judges are suspect – this is a western EU country with a large population and a similar legal system to many other parts of Europe. And it is not the only country whose institutions are clashing with received wisdom on Covid. Finland’s national health authority has disputed the WHO’s recommendation to test as many people as possible for coronavirus, saying it would be a waste of taxpayer’s money, while poorer South East Asian countries are holding off on ordering vaccines, citing an improper use of finite resources.
Testing, especially PCR testing, is the basis for the entire house of cards of Covid restrictions that are wreaking havoc worldwide. From testing comes case numbers. From case numbers come the ‘R number,’ the rate at which a carrier infects others. From the ‘dreaded’ R number comes the lockdowns and the restrictions, such as England’s new and baffling tiered restrictions that come into force next week.
The daily barrage of statistics is familiar to us all by this point, but as time goes on the evidence that something may be deeply amiss with the whole foundation of our reaction to this pandemic – the testing regime – continues to mount.
Vintage Illustration
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What did someone do or say at the bank that made you say, “You gotta be kidding me!”?
I took a ship to Chittagong to be scrapped. The owners sent money to a local bank to clear the wage bill. Since the crew hadn’t been paid for some time, this amounted to a lot. When I went to collect the cash, the manager gave me about half in currency notes and the rest in American Express travellers cheques. “There isn’t that much currency in the whole of Bangladesh.” I paid my Myanmarese sailors and three Russian officers in cash and the Indians with the TCs.
On return to India I went to deposit the TCs in my bank. It was a well known foreign bank which had taken over the retail banking business in India of BoA.
“You won’t get the money in your account for one month because we have to send the TCs to New York for verification.” American Express had an office in Chennai. They accepted the TCs and gave me a cashier’s cheque for the amount. I deposited the cheque in my regular bank and the funds were available the next day.
There was a time not so long ago in China when anything American was automatically seen as better. In the 1990s, weddings were held at a McDonald’s near Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. By the 2000s, Nike sneakers, iPhones and dates at Pizza Hut were the badges of middle-class achievement.
America, which is called “Meiguo” or “beautiful country” in Chinese, was the bastion of wealth and ease. Even the moon hung larger in the United States than in China, people used to joke.
Now, Chinese media and commentators mockingly refer to the United States not as “Meiguo” but as “Meidi” — “the beautiful imperialist.”
And Chinese shoppers are more likely to be sipping a drink from Luckin, a Chinese coffee chain, than Starbucks or lining up all night to buy Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro than the latest Apple device. Today, no one says the moon is any different when seen from the United States.
“Back in the days you looked at American brands you just felt they were cooler,” said Tracy Liu, a 30-year-old translator in Shanghai. “Now people chase after domestic brands.”
WTF?
What’s the most brutal and intense hand-to-hand fight you’ve ever had?
In my freshman year of high school, I pissed off 5 upperclassmen on the football team at once.
On the first day of football practice, I commented that the team’s starting linebacker was a tiny dude. For comparison, I was 6′1″, 230 Lbs and he was 5′7″, 190 Lbs. Well, when you’re a piece of shit freshman who hasn’t even played a game yet, you just don’t talk about a Senior like that. I didn’t know that because I was a dumbass and sophomores were baiting me into talking shit about that guy who everyone except me knew was extremely aggressive.
After practice, the Senior who I talked shit about confronted me. Instead of apologizing and moving on, I told him to fuck off. As you can guess, that didn’t make him very happy.
A few weeks later, him and 4 of his closest friends attempted to jump me in my neighborhood. I got off the school bus and as soon as the bus drove away, they started surrounding me. One guy got his phone out and said “this is gonna be epic, better record it.”
They quickly started closing in around me. My adrenaline started pumping and I was in the zone. I had never fought 5 dudes at once before, so I was definitely on edge. However, these guys had challenged me and I was going to respond in kind and protect my honor. I was an amateur boxer, I knew that a few well placed strikes would knock these guys out. I started taunting the guy who I offended and making fun of him for needing so much backup to fight one guy. My hope was that this tactic would appeal to his ego and make him fight me one on one, where I was guaranteed to win. My strategy worked, the other guys backed off and he decided to take me on alone.
When I saw the other guys back off, I got into my fighting stance and hit him with a hard right cross. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, out cold. The other guys started ganging up on me. I took off my belt and started whipping them in the face. I quickly moved on the biggest guy in the group and hit with a left-right jab combo, he hit the ground – I broke his nose. He was out. I took the belt and strangled another guy and bashed him in the head with my elbow. He went down. The other 2 dudes grabbed me from each side and started beating the shit out of me. I felt blood trickling down my nose. I used a technique my dad taught me and tripped one of the guys and stomped on his face. He didn’t get up and the other guys hit me with a right uppercut. I literally flew up in the air and came crashing down. I was a bit woozy and everything looked blurry. That guy started running towards me like an enraged bull, I got up quickly staggered backwards and hit him with a left jab and right upper cut, he went up and then he came down. He came back up, I kneed him in the face and he went down. The adrenaline rush wore off and I kind of crashed down next to a tree stump.
Some lady had seen the whole thing and asked me if I was ok. It wasn’t a pretty sight, my clothes were torn up and my face was all bloody. I told her I was fine. I got up and called my buddy, explained the situation and asked him what I should do. There were 5 dudes on the ground, 3 unconscious, 2 writhing in pain. He told me to just walk home and I did. I guess they all got up and went home at some point.
The next day at football practice, I was ushered into the Coaches office and all 6 of us got yelled at for at least an hour. Then we were forced to shake hands and apologize to each other. Those guys never bothered me after that. I had earned their respect and they didn’t want to escalate the situation. I never disrespected them again either.
The good thing was that my fight became legendary in school. The defensive line coach took to calling me “Iron Adi” based on “Iron Mike Tyson”. He even made fun of it from time to time. He told the other guys if they ever pissed him off, he’d let me loose on them.
The Circleville Letters Mystery | Why can’t we solve this?
Why do people prefer to emigrate than to fix their countries?
Because some people don’t want to fix them.
A friend of mine decided to give something back to the UK community and taught GCSE maths at a community centre. He charged them nothing for it, those who wanted it could pay the £120 (at the time this was 00s) to take their exams. They could give 50p or something to the community hall for them to pay their bills.
He saw a problem and tried to fix it at his own cost. He gave up after 2 groups. He managed to get about 12 people to graduate and put up their photos as success. He gave up because the vast majority of people who took his course were wasters. They were sent by the job centre and had no interest in learning anything and would simply go there to drink tea and play on their phones.
That’s literally an unfixable problem, they don’t want to learn and have no interest in learning.
What were some things kids did in the 70s that would horrify today’s parents?
My brother and I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s. Here’s a few common things that we did, which might make modern parents uncomfortable…
Riding bicycles and skateboards without helmets, knee pads, elbow pads or anything else…
Spend most of our free time outdoors and unsupervised, including walking to school.
Driving in cars without airbags, seat belts and without cell phones.
Playing outdoor sports and games in the middle of the street.
Playing with BB guns, pellet guns, real bows and arrows, sling shots, lawn darts, cap guns, firecrackers and acetylene cannons.
Building things, like tree houses in trees found on vacant lots, from scrap lumber at construction sites…
Playing on “real” playground equipment, like 30-foot high swing sets, 8-foot high monkey bars, 15-foot high steel slides or even old decommissioned F-86 fighter planes, like we had at our elementary school.
Paddles with holes drilled in them, hanging in the Principal’s office at school.
Playing with toys like chemistry sets, with real reactive chemicals, radioactive science kits, hot plate cooking sets, where you make your own edible rubberized candy, which resembled insects, or buying snacks like candy cigarettes, which resembled real cigarettes.
Dressing up at Halloween like hobos (homeless people.) Politically incorrect, which wasn’t a thing back then…
Building plastic model kits, using model cement (styrene glue.) Using electronic kits to build radios and other devices using hot soldering irons and lead solder.
Going to the library to check out books for information, since there was no internet, cell phones, iPads or personal computers.
Mowing lawns, building a lemonade stand or selling candy at school to raise money. We’d use our hard-earned money to go to the record store and purchase albums and 45’s.
Listening to transistor radios for music, since there were no iPods, Walkman players or cell phones.
Too many things to remember…
What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you after doing a good deed?
I got arrested, handcuffed, and stuffed into the back of a police cruiser and driven downtown to be booked for felony assault and battery…
I cold-cocked a guy (from behind, without apologies – he was twice my size) who was beating the crap out of a woman maybe half my size with his fists on the sidewalk, and she instantly leaped on my back and started shrieking at me and trying to pull my hair out for “attacking her man”. When the cops arrived (somebody had already apparently called them), they really had no choice but to arrest me….
When we got to the police station, the arresting officer sat me down on a bench right next to the front door, and took off my handcuffs, saying, “Now don’t you run off or anything… We haven’t even got your name yet”, and disappeared into the back with the desk sergeant.
About ten minutes later, after seeing both of them poke their heads around the edge of the door to check on me a few times, the desk sergeant came back out, squatted down next to me, sighed heavily while shaking his head sadly, and said, “You’re either way too good to be true, or way too stupid to survive, but you need to listen carefully here… <wink wink> You are sitting, unrestrained, one half second away from freedom while we, silly trusting saps that we are, forgot to even ask who the fuck you are. Why, if you were to walk out of here, it’s unlikely we could ever figure out who to look for, much less where to find you… <wink wink wink wink>… So don’t <wink like a natural spastic> go getting any funny ideas or nuthin’…” <heavy sigh>
About a minute later, the light-bulb went on in my head (I guess the adrenaline level had dropped enough) and I walked out the door, a free, but terrified and utterly confused nineteen year old…
That was forty four years ago, and the desk sergeant retired in 2003, but I still see him at Whole Foods or Home Depot from time to time – and he still shakes his head sadly and wink winks at me every time I run into him.
3 1/2 to 4 pound boneless chuck roast, browned in 2 tablespoons oil
4 cans Campbell’s Golden Mushroom Soup
1 large can mushrooms, drained, or 12 ounces washed fresh mushrooms whole or sliced
Milk (use the 4 soup cans to fill each 1/2 way)
img 7438 1CreamyMushroomBeefChuckRoastRecipe1
Instructions
Place browned meat into slow cooker.
Mix the 4 cans of Golden Mushroom Soup with the milk, using a whisk to blend smoothly. Stir in drained can of mushrooms or fresh mushrooms.
Set slow cooker on LOW for 8, and let cook for 8 to 10 hours. If you like it thicker, shut off slow cooker and mix cornstarch and water and stir into gravy.
Serve with mashed potatoes or wide noodles or dumplings and a veggie.
Also good as a sandwich because meat pulls apart.
Expert says a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could be over in less than an hour
12 People Who Survived a Suicide Attempt Reveal Their Last Thoughts Before Attempting To Take Their Own Lives
1. Tried to overdose on Oxycontin, last thoughts were immediate regret after I pushed the plunger on the syringe all the way down, all I felt was remorse and sadness that I wouldn’t be alive anymore. Woke up 20-24 hours later extremely grateful to be alive and got help with my drug addiction, now 4 year sober on 8/14.
2. I have severe depression and never knew what genuine happiness felt like until I was 17 and on meds from the hospital after my suicide attempt, it was so overwhelming I just started sobbing in the car with my mom, out of nowhere.
Anyway, I had taken a bottle of Xanax when my mom left for church, it wasn’t planned I was just at my mental breaking point and panicked, I sat in the kitchen floor and I felt an overwhelming sense of euphoria, I just kept thinking ‘it’s over. It’s over. It’s over’
I didn’t regret it until my mom found me because she turned around after realizing she left something at home, I will never forgive myself for putting her through that. I’m 24 and the memory of her crying and tell me she loved me and she was sorry still haunts me. I have a lump in my throat just typing this.
3. The 3rd attempt was the final one. After 2 failures (tried to OD on benadryl demerol and vodka, 2nd attempt was hanging), the pain was just too much to handle.
I remember it was the Monday after Easter in 2000 I just turned 21. I came home from my internship with a bottle of skky vodka and sheet plastic. It was after 9pm, I had finished the vodka and put the plastic over my bed. I made a few phone calls to say sorry and got the box cutter out. I had it on my wrist ready to slash down to my elbow, blood began welling up and my father came in.
I saw the look of disappointment in his eyes, just one more thing I did wrong. I went through my window and took off. I went running no idea where to but I wanted to find a busy road to jump into traffic. I jumped in front of a car, it stopped. My friends got out and put me in the car to go to a diner for coffee to sober up.
Sobered up some, took off again looking to jump in the street again. I remember being so tired and fell to the ground. Next thing I know is that I’m in a hospital waking up even more depressed.
I ended up getting the help I needed. I still take zoloft everyday, but I am well adjusted now. Still have ups and downs but never that low. That was 16 years ago and this was the first time I have fully told this tale.
4. “I hope this works.”
“Oh, gods, that hurts!”
“Fuck, I made a mess on the carpet. I always make a mess for other people.”
Getting light headed
“Damn it, he’s going to have to deal with my death if I let this happen here… He doesn’t deserve that.”
Goes to stop the bleeding
“Fuck, why did I do that? So stupid. What will everyone think of me?”
5. I took around 20,000 mg of ibuprofen. At first, all I felt was relief. I wouldn’t have to deal with the shit going on in my head any longer. But I started vomiting, and then I started having these weird visions of how people I know would react to my death. People at my school gossiping about it, my teachers talking to each other in hushed voices. I saw my little sister hearing the news and breaking into tears. I saw her go down the road of self-destruction, just as I did. I saw my mother devastated. Once I stopped having these visions, I threw up some more and told a family member to bring me to the hospital. They got all the ibuprofen out of my system. I’ve been seeing a therapist and I’m doing quite a bit better now.
6. I tried to cut my throat, but I stopped because my dog was scared. I didn’t want to lose her, or my family.
7. “Everything is so fuzzy. This could be it… Goodnight.” I tried to OD several times. It’s a wonder my organs are okay.
The last time I tried to kill myself was by jumping under a car. My last thought was “fucking do it, nobody will care and you know it.” Then a drunk person pulled me back. It hit me- what a selfish way to go. Someone would have had to live with that- hitting a 17 year old girl at 6am on their way to work.
8. I laid down in my bed hearing my husband prepare my infant daughter her nighttime bottle and thought: “she’ll be fine without me, better off in fact.” She didn’t know me yet and I thought my husband and parents could raise her without my toxic damaging influence. All I could think was that I was giving my daughter a gift, a life without me as her mother. She could imagine me as anything she wanted or needed. She’d never know my weaknesses and failures. I’d just be a few photos on her dad’s Facebook. And maybe not even that if he remarried. It was the ultimate feeling of release.
9. I jumped off of a bridge. 80 ft. I remember looking down and instantly diving off. In the air I had done a flip and was thinking “What happens next happens.” Falling was so peaceful, I felt free. It was only a few seconds but it felt like a life time of floating towards heaven. Then I hit the water. I thought I was dead until I took a breath of air and was like “oh shit. it didnt work. lol. now what.” I started laughing really hard and thought “of course i survived. lol. of course this would happen to me. It took me 30 minutes to get out of the Puget Sound. Very cold. Almost drowned. Almost died of hypothermia in the hospital.
I’m so much better now. I wouldn’t say that I am happy that I jumped off of the bridge, but it changed my life for all of the better. I found a therapy that worked for me and wow. lol.
10. I didn’t go through with it… But I wrote down my feelings about the time I came close.
Things all came to a head one night in the parking lot at WalMart. I was devastatingly drunk. Crying. Drowning in self-loathing and alcohol. I hated myself. I hated the person I was. I hated the things I had done to the people that loved me. I wanted to die. I kept a .40 cal semi-auto handgun tucked between the front seats in my truck. I looked at it. I picked it up. I felt like freedom was inside it. I had to let it out. All the pain would go away. Nobody would have to deal with me anymore. I couldn’t do any more damage to anyone if I were gone. I pulled back the hammer, I stuck the barrel into my mouth, it tasted just like it smelled… I started to squeeze the trigger… People in my life started to flash into my mind and the thoughts of how it would affect them. First was my son, 23 at the time. He had a girlfriend blow her head off with a .357 magnum when he was 19. How will this affect him, I asked myself. He got over it once, he’ll get over it again, I answered. I squeezed the trigger a little more. My step-daughters, 20 and 25 at the time, how will this affect them, I asked. They would be glad to see me go, I answered quickly. I squeezed the trigger a little more. My mom, who lost her oldest child to cancer 12 years ago, how will this affect her, I asked myself. She lost one, she can lose another, I answered. I squeezed the trigger a little more. My ex-wife… How would… I stopped squeezing. I saw an image of her on her knees. Crying. Not just crying, bawling. That deep, gut wrenching, terribly broken soul heaving cry. I pulled the gun out of my mouth, unloaded it and threw it into the back seat which was full of everything I owned. I broke down and cried harder than I ever had in my life. That was it. I was done.
11. “Finally I’ll have some peace.”
I tried to overdose- mixed opiates and benzos. My best friend found me and took me back to his place. I was severely loopy. Slept for hours. Woke up and immediately thought “I wasn’t supposed to wake up.” I walked to the pharmacy and bought gel cap sleep aids and liquid sleep aids. Proceeded to chase the entire box of pills with the syrup. Apparently my best friend found me scarfing the pills down in his bed saying “nothing matters.” 911 was called. I ended up in a psych ward for 5 days. I haven’t suffered from su
Expert says a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could be over in less than an hour
icidal ideation in a while, I manage my depression with talk therapy.
For the record- I never felt regret or that last minute “what have I done?!”
12. I hung myself within the last year. Reasons are…..well my reasons. The last thought I render before blacking out was one of peace. It was the one and only time I remember feeling in control of my own life. I felt, for lack of a better word, right. It scares the absolute shit out of me, because I can’t stop thinking about it, and how much I wish I felt that way always.
Everything seems so much worse now, I have friends who are angry they couldn’t talk me through it so they have cut me off for being “selfish”. The only thing keeping me from trying again is my mom. But it’s strained our relationship.
I feel worthless, and love the feeling of being 100% in control.
Answers (Impossible to explain)
German Bundestag Calls For Ukraine Air Defense Zone by NATO
The German Bundestag has called for expanding the European air defense zone to the territory of western Ukraine in a corridor 70 to 100 km wide.
This would see NATO engaging air targets to protect LVIV all the way south to Odessa, which Russia is presently hitting.
If NATO engages Russia air power over Ukraine, then Russia can engage NATO.
The West just won’t stop interfering, and sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong. Ukraine is not a NATO member.
Developing . . . .
“I’m jealous of how easy boomers had it”
Boomers had a much easier time getting a stable job and buying a house than today. They were able to easily hold the same job for 40 years, retire with a pension and buying a decent home. They were able to do that even if it wasnt a prestigious white collar job
Now stable jobs are almost non existent as layoffs happen to almost everyone multiple times in their life, housing prices are unimaginably high to the point where buying one is only for the wealthy. Even getting a job is harder because there is no face to face interaction you are just another application.
This is why I can’t take them serious when they lecture younger generations about making money or being successful
Hey there,
I get it, you’re feeling envious of the boomers and their seemingly easy lives. But let’s take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
Sure, some boomers had stable jobs and affordable houses, but that’s not the whole story. Many of them faced incredible hardships that we often overlook. Take my uncle, for example. He got shipped off to Vietnam, along with a bunch of his peers. Can you imagine the trauma and pain they experienced? It’s no wonder that so many of them came back with what we now call PTSD, but back then, they were just told to “walk it off” and deal with their “shell-shock.”
And let’s not forget about the rampant racism, sexism, and homophobia that plagued society during the boomers’ formative years. If you were anything other than a straight, white male, life was a constant battle. Women were treated like second-class citizens, gay people were ostracized and faced the horrors of the AIDS epidemic, and people of color dealt with systemic oppression and discrimination.
Even the economy wasn’t as rosy as some might have you believe. The 1970s and early 1980s were marked by recession, inflation, and job losses. Many boomers saw their careers upended and their savings wiped out.
And what about the lack of mental health awareness and the stigma surrounding seeking help? Or the fact that many diseases that are curable today were a death sentence back then?
It’s easy to look back with rose-colored glasses and imagine that life was simpler and easier, but the reality is that every generation faces its own set of challenges. The boomers had their fair share of struggles, just like we do today.
Instead of complaining about how much easier the boomers had it, focus on what you can control. Work on developing valuable skills that will make you indispensable in today’s job market. Learn to live below your means so you can save money and invest in your future. And most importantly, stop comparing yourself to others.
So, don’t get bogged down in envy or frustration. Use it as fuel. Understand that the world has changed and is still changing. Adapt. Innovate. Take risks. The boomers had their shot; now it’s our turn to shape what success looks like in this era. The game is different, but that doesn’t mean it’s unwinnable.
You got this.
High-Value Man TRIGGERED American Women After He Told Them They Aren’t Wife Material
Why Playing It Safe Is Holding You Back from Your Best Life
Alright, folks, let’s get something straight. If you think you can achieve happiness and success by playing it safe, hiding from discomfort, and avoiding risks, you’re living in a fantasy. Sorry to burst your bubble, but happiness and success are not hiding behind the curtains of your comfort zone. They’re out there, in the real world, where things are messy, unpredictable, and sometimes downright scary.
Cowardice, my friends, is a trap. It lures you in with promises of safety and security, whispering sweet nothings about how avoiding confrontation will keep you safe. But here’s the brutal truth: cowardice will keep you safe from nothing. It will rob you of the very experiences that make life worth living.
When you avoid risks, you avoid the possibility of failure. But guess what? You also avoid the possibility of success. When you avoid discomfort, you avoid growth. And when you avoid confrontation, you avoid the chance to stand up for what you believe in and make a real impact.
Because here’s the deal: all the truly worthwhile things in life – deep relationships, meaningful achievements, personal growth – they all require courage. They require you to step outside your comfort zone, to take risks, to face your fears head-on.
Think about it. That dream job you’ve been pining for? You’ll never land it if you’re too scared to apply or put yourself out there. That person you’ve been crushing on? You’ll never know what could be if you don’t muster up the guts to make a move. That life-changing adventure you’ve been fantasizing about? It’ll remain a fantasy if you’re too chicken-shit to actually go for it.
Now, I’m not saying it’s easy. Facing your fears is fucking terrifying sometimes. It’s uncomfortable and awkward and there’s always the chance of failure or rejection. But you know what’s worse? Waking up one day and realizing that you let all your opportunities pass you by because you were too busy cowering in the corner.
Because at the end of the day, happiness and success aren’t about avoiding pain or discomfort. They’re about embracing the full spectrum of human experience, the good and the bad. They’re about having the courage to go after what you want, even when it scares the hell out of you.
So stop making excuses. Stop letting fear dictate your choices. Start taking bold, courageous action towards the things that truly matter to you. Will it be easy? Hell no. Will it be worth it? Abso-fucking-lutely.
Remember, fortune favors the bold, not the cowardly. So get out there and start facing your fears, one terrifying step at a time. It’s the only way to unlock your full potential and create a life that truly fulfills you.
Have you ever had to tell something like “You have exactly 9 seconds to get out of my house” to someone whom you knew very well? If so, what made you do that?
I was in the U.S. Air Force and stationed in Alaska, along with my wife and preschool children. My mother-in-law came up from Iowa to visit. She walked off the plane with my wife’s nephew. MIL had been invited … toddler nephew was not invited. The look I gave my wife probably scorched her a bit.
As we were leaving the Anchorage airport, we pointed out all the foreign flagged aircraft. This turned out to be beneficial less than an hour later.
Minutes after arriving at our apartment, the phone rang. Collect call from one of wife’s siblings. Wife hears me say, “Yes, I will accept collect call charges.” I then handed the phone to MIL. I didn’t say anything to MIL or to my wife. My wife looked at me and, based on the look on my face, decided to not say anything to me either.
When MIL hung up (after an extended discussion), I said to MIL, “We invited YOU up to visit. We DID NOT invite [nephew] up here. Furthermore, we DID NOT invite intrusions by [wife’s] brothers and sisters.”
I continued by explaining, “I need that phone for my Air Force duties. If we lose that phone due to not being able to pay for lots of collect calls, I will be forced to move on base.”
I went on to explain that family housing on base was very limited. So, I would probably be assigned single enlisted quarters on base. [Wife] and our children would have stay in this apartment. I would be allowed to visit them, provided I notified my supervisor or chain of command each and ever time I’d be out of telephone contact, as well as how long I expected to be out of contact.
(Even if I didn’t have a roommate in the enlisted quarters, wife and children would have to be signed in and signed out.)
I finished by telling MIL, “If this continues, we will put you and [nephew] on the very next plane out of Anchorage.” My wife chimed in to say, “And we won’t check to see where the plane is headed.”
The Mindfuck of Parental Abandonment (And How to Unfuck Yourself)
Imagine this: you’re a little kid, and one of the people you depend on most in this world – a parent who’s supposed to love you unconditionally – up and leaves you. They peace out, either physically or emotionally, and you’re left holding the bag of your own shattered expectations and broken heart.
Now, as a child, you don’t have the cognitive or emotional resources to process this kind of trauma in a healthy way. You can’t rationally say, “Well, Mom/Dad are clearly dealing with their own issues and limitations which have nothing to do with my inherent lovability.” Nah, your kiddie brain defaults to the most obvious, ego-centric explanation: “It must be my fault. I must not be good enough. If I were better, they wouldn’t have left.”
Boom. In one fell swoop, your self-worth takes a major hit. And that belief – that you’re fundamentally unlovable or deficient – can linger in your psyche like a bad fart in an elevator, stinking up your emotional wellbeing for years to come.
Fast forward to adulthood, and you may find yourself unconsciously replaying this abandonment drama in your relationships. You pick partners who are emotionally unavailable or who treat you like shit, because on some level, you’re still trying to prove your worth to that original abandoning parent. Or you push away anyone who gets too close, because vulnerability equals the risk of being left again, and fuck that noise.
Meanwhile, you’re walking around with a gnawing emptiness inside, a sense that you’re just not quite good enough, no matter what you accomplish or how much external validation you rack up. Because that wounded little kid is still calling the shots, defining your worth through the lens of an event you didn’t have the capacity to understand at the time.
So how do you break free from this emotional mindfuck? How do you reclaim your self-worth from the jaws of abandonment?
It starts with recognizing that your parent’s choices had fuck-all to do with your value as a person. They left because of their own limitations, not because of yours. You could have been the most perfect, adorable, lovable little rugrat on the planet, and they still would have bailed, because they were wrestling with their own demons that had nothing to do with you.
Next, you have to grieve. You have to feel the pain of that abandonment fully, to sit with the anger and sadness and hurt, instead of constantly running from it or numbing it with self-destructive habits. This isn’t easy, and you may need the help of a therapist to navigate this emotional shitstorm, but it’s necessary to heal that wounded little kid inside.
Finally, you have to start redefining your worth on your own terms. You have to learn to love and accept yourself, flaws and all, without needing constant external validation to prove your value. This means setting boundaries in your relationships, pursuing your passions unapologetically, and treating yourself with the kindness and respect you deserved all along.
It’s a long, messy, uncomfortable process, but it’s so fucking worth it. Because when you can stare down the pain of abandonment and come out the other side still knowing your inherent worthiness, that’s real freedom. That’s self-love in action.
So if you’re struggling with the aftermath of parental abandonment, know that you’re not alone, and your pain is valid. But also know that you have the power to rewrite the story. You get to decide what defines your worth, not some emotionally stunted adult who projected their own issues onto an innocent child.
It won’t be easy, but few worthwhile things are. The journey to wholeness never is. But trust me, it beats the hell out of staying stuck in the emotional quagmire of self-blame and unworthiness.
When I was growing up in the small town in Western Pennsylvania there was a guy… a curious fellow.
We called him “Bicycle Bill”.
He would ride all over the place in the town on his bicycle, and because of that he was really unusual. He didn’t own a car. He was an adult, but didn’t drive or own a car. And he didn’t go into town often. Only to mail a letter or two and get some groceries.
he was a hermit, and lived in a shack in the woods with about ten dogs, and a dirt floor and a perpetually smouldering fire in the corner.
The shack was literally a shack built on a dirt floor against the side of a hill. Two ends were open to the elements with a old rug that he could pull down in Wintertime. On the one end was a bed which consisted of a pile of old clothes and a couple of old quilts and completely dog and flea infested.
He had piles of batteries all over the place, and clutter and junk.
It was dark inside. You could barely see, and of course, it stank. Dogs, old junk, and what not. And ol’ Bill, probably took a bath once a month at best.
The guys would sometimes bring him food, or a beer or two. He smoked marijuana but I never shared a joint with him. He would offer us some of the food he made, after the dogs had their fill. But, we would always politely decline.
Most people left him alone, but when me and my (stoned) friends would come around we would talk with him. And in doing so he would warn us about the dangers of the Nazi’s and mind control…
I don’t know what happened to him.
But every now and then I think of him.
Bicycle Bill.
A local hermit.
The man who lived alone with his dogs in a cabin in the woods.
Today…
What are your thoughts on the assertion by US senator Roger Wicker that China’s disdain for Taiwan’s values are on full display during China’s military drills near Taiwan?
US politicians?
They just equate anti-genocide in Gaza to antisemitism.
They use force to pin down peaceful protesters.
And …
After WW2, from 1946-2001, in 55 years, there were 248 wars in the world. USA instigated 201 ie 82% of all wars. Not counting non-military riots & coups. In 200+ years since US independence, there were less than 20 years when USA was not in a war. Worse, it is US vassals who shed blood & lose life for a US-instigated war for US benefit only.
USA wants wars to …
1, make $$$ … $$$ by arms sale & post-war construction
2, slow down or suppress China’s fast development which, in US words, threaten US security ie US hegemony.
US politicians have no right to say anything about anybody because they are the global bully. USA is the one who supplies weapons to, say, Israel, to do genocide in Gaza
Back to Taiwan.
On 5/21 China sanctioned former Republican congressman Mike Gallagher who works for MIC to lobby Taiwan to buy more US weapons.
5/22 China sanctioned 12 US defense-related entities & 10 top people ie China sanctions US arms sale to Taiwan.
5/23 a series of action
1, announcement to world
China Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told the world: (my translation) Taiwan dares to secede. … China will launch an operation to suppress secession & foreign interference of Chinese domestic affairs. China’s operation meets UN Charter & intl conventional practices. China’s operation is absolutely necessary, reasonable & legal.
China urges USA to stop supporting Taiwan independence & stop interfering China’s internal affairs.
China is determined to fight any action that threatens China’s sovereignty & integrity of Chinese territory. (I add) UN does approve suppression of secession.
3, With posts, China informs Taiwanese that China targets Taiwan independence gang & not ordinary people. With details which cities to target. Written in traditional Chinese for the convenience of Taiwanese & with pictures. So that Taiwanese Defense cant hide info from the public.
One post lists Lai’s 5 biggest lies.
4, One post shows 6 Chinese powerful weapons. Analyst said the weapons are to show to USA because subduing Taiwan does not need powerful weapons.
The U-Boat that sank because of a toilet
I’m not even kidding.
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What had happened was that U-1206, had recently received a brand new toilet. This was a far more advanced model with an improved plumbing system which allowed it to be flushed at greater depths. The downside, was that it was complicated to use, and only a few members of the crew were trained as “flushing specialists”.
Unfortunately, the crew members ended up misusing the toilet on U-1206, which by the way, happened to be cruising at a depth of around 60m at the time. The misuse caused a large amount of sea water to start flooding the submarine. To add insult to injury, the sea water began flooding the submarine’s batteries, which caused them to release chlorine gas (it’s rather toxic stuff), forcing the submarine to surface.
Once surfaced, the submarine was spotted and bombed by British patrols, which forced the crew to scuttle the submarine. A total of 4 men were killed and 46 were captured.
So yeah, the German submarine that sank because the crew didn’t know how to use a toilet. Definitely not the way to go.
China’s Change 6 Has BIGGER Space Missions Than US Thinks
Russia Early-Warning (Nuclear) Missile Radar ATTACKED
One of Russia’s absolutely key over-the-horizon, nuclear-early-warning radar sites has been hit by drone attack, BLINDING Russia from missiles launched at them from . . . the Middle East.
The 818th Separate Radio-Technical Unit at the Armavir Radar Station located in Krasnodar Krai, Russia is now knocked-out. Here are images of the two gigantic radar buildings at that radar site (Click on image TWICE to fully enlarge):
The map below shows where this particular station is:
Armavir radar station small 2 large
Normally, the entire Russia early-warning radar system provides the coverage seen in the graphic below:
Russia early warning radar array COVERAGEArmavir radar station medium
With the damage to the two radar stations at the Armavir Radar Station, there is now a GAPING HOLE in Russia’s early-warning system against nuclear attack.
Russia is now a sitting Duck for a nuclear first strike, not only against their Strategic Nuclear missile silos, but also against all the major population centers inside Russia.
Russia Early Warning Radar Attacked 1
Submarine launched nukes from the far eastern Mediterranean Sea, land-launched or even air-launched missiles from Turkey, from ISRAEL, Sub-launched missiles from the Red Sea, ALL can no longer be detected by Russia.
The coverage map below is highlighted below to show the unimaginable scope of the GAPING HOLES.
Of course, this is being credited to Ukraine, but the radar stations that were hit DO NOT COVER UKRAINE. Clearly, this hit was concocted by the US/EU and NATO; they are the ONLY entities that benefit from this. (Correction: There is another beneficiary . . . Israel . . . can now launch ballistic or nuclear missiles at Iran, and Russia will not be able to warn Iran.)
Why would we do this? Unless . . . . we’re planning a nuclear first-strike upon Russia!
Worse Danger Now Than the “Cuban Missile Crisis”
Today’s attack opens the door for a full, complete, and absolute DECAPITATION ATTACK upon Russia. We can now hit ALL their strategic missile silos and take out ALL of their national government and they wouldn’t even know the missiles had been launched until it was too late.
How long will the Russians wait – with themselves completely vulnerable– before they have to decide to “Use them or Lose them?” We may have just FORCED the Russians to launch a nuclear first-strike.
By any realistic measurement, this is now an “Existential Threat to the existence of Russia.” We could literally be like the song “On the Eve of Destruction!”
Notice too, this was done on the big “Memorial Day” holiday weekend here in the U.S. Many Americans are traveling to the beach, to the mountains, away from home, away from all their money and preps.
BASIC INFO ABOUT ARMAVIR RADAR STATION
Armavir Radar Station is an early warning radar station near Armavir in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is a key part of the Russian early warning system against missile attack and is run by the Russian Space Forces. There are two radars here – one faces south west and one south east. They provide radar coverage of the Middle East. The satellite image below shows the station from above:
Russia Early Warning Radar Site Satellite pic
The station is located on the former Baronovsky Airfield 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south west of the village of Glubokiy and 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south west of Armavir.
The station was described as starting to operate at the end of 2006 and then entering “experimental combat mode” in 2008.
On the day in 2009 that Russia lost coverage from radars in Ukraine it was announced that it had “begun operations”.
In May 2012 it was announced that it would go on combat duty before the end of 2012. In December 2012 it was announced it will be in the first quarter of 2013.
On 6 June 2013 it was commissioned by order of the President Vladimir Putin visiting the Central Command Post of the Russian Armed Forces. There is a planned second segment, which will overlap zone of the Gabala radar station lost in Ukraine.
2013 ballistic launch in Mediterranean
On 3 September 2013 Armavir detected two US/Israeli ballistic test launches in the Mediterranean towards Syria.
Now, they can’t detect those anymore. Or our missile subs launching from the eastern Med, the Red Sea, The Gulf of Oman, or even south of the Horn of Africa off Somalia. Russia are now sitting Ducks.
Hal Turner Snap Remarks
I earnestly hope you have taken my long urged advice to have Emergency food, water, medicine, a generator, fuel for it, communications gear like CB or HAM, and all the little emergency things you need like flashlights, batteries, portable radio with spare batteries, FIRST-AID KIT, gas grill or spare charcoal and lighter fluid, a manual can opener, and so on. Looks to me like time is up.
China isn’t dumping dollars. They’re dumping banks, and setting up a new financial system.
The island of Taiwan awoke yesterday morning to find itself surrounded by the China Navy. The Chinese government says this is an “exercise” but Taiwan believes an invasion is coming. So does the USA.
From the Chinese government:
Taiwan surrounded large
As a result of China’s military moves, Taiwan deployed its Coast Guard, which is now in a sort of Mexican Stand-off with China’s (much larger) Navy:
China naval exercise
Taiwan Air Force announced that 10 F-16 fighter jets will be activated if Chinese aircraft enter the adjacent region. F-16 Block 20 warplanes were seen loaded with air-to-air equipment at the Hualien air base in eastern Taiwan:
Taiwan CG Mexican standoff w china
To emphasize how serious the situation is, Taiwan, for the very first time, deployed Anti-Ship Missiles on its coast, and raised the missile launchers into launch position!
Intelligence sources told me that at the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, which took place in Beijing last week, military adventures were among the topics the two leaders discussed.
The Intelligence guys say that China sees Trump is making a very hard run for re-election, and they know they will not stand any chance of taking Taiwan if Trump gets back in. So they have to act before the US election in November.
Taiwan F 16s air to air payloads
China also knows that the US is seriously weakened now due to our supplying Ukraine with weaponry to fight Russia. So short of missiles is the United States Navy, that when a Destroyer or Missile Cruiser returns to port from sea duty, its missiles must be taken off the ship, to be placed on another ship which is going OUT to sea duty, because the US Navy does not have enough missiles to load all of its vessels!
Moreover, they say, Joe Biden is seen as a dementia-addled incompetent.
All these things add up to China making a move against Taiwan sooner rather than later.
The U.S. seeing what China is doing, has dispatched the USS Ronald Reagan Aircraft Carrier from its port in Japan. The Ronald Reagan set sail from Japan late Wednesday night, and arrived in the Philippine Sea on Thursday.
The vessel is within air strike range of Taiwan and the Chinese fleet surrounding Taiwan. But the Reagan is also now within range of China’s hypersonic “ship killer” missiles.
Very dangerous things going on. Just one small mistake by anyone, could cause this to escalate into immediate war.
Russia Dropped Devastating ODAB -1500 Vacuum Bomb at 120 ATM Pressure
“I’m 5’1 and it really makes me insecure about the way I’m perceived by society.”
I’m a 19 year old dude, who’s lately been feeling really bad about my height. I’m just about 5’1 ft and it really makes me insecure about the way I’m perceived by society. I’m fairly buff and I do amateur bantamweight MMA, but I still find myself self-doubting my masculinity.
I sometimes have extreme periods of self-hatred where I trash my room or feel the urge to punch in mirrors that reflect my image. I can’t for the life of me get over my height; I feel that I’m unlovable.
I’ve increasingly been relying on money and alcohol for happiness as they are the only thing that brings semblance of security. I know it’s not healthy, but it’s the only thing that calms me during my mental breakdowns.
I’ve also tried seeing therapists about my problems but I’ve pussied out of all 6 of my meetings; I feel like they’d look down on me or dismiss my issues.
First off, let’s get one thing straight: your height doesn’t define your worth as a man or a human being. Period. End of story. Anyone who tells you otherwise is full of shit and probably projecting their own insecurities onto you.
Life is a giant mess of uncontrollable factors, and your height is just one tiny piece of that chaotic puzzle. You’re 5’1”, and yeah, society can be a dick about things like that, but guess what? You’re also a buff, bantamweight MMA fighter. That’s badass. Seriously, think about it – you’re out there training and fighting, and that takes guts, determination, and a hell of a lot of strength, both physically and mentally.
Now, onto the main issue: self-doubt and insecurity. It’s normal to feel down sometimes, but trashing your room and wanting to punch mirrors? That’s not helping anyone, least of all you. It’s time to channel that anger and frustration into something constructive. You’ve got the discipline from MMA, use it to tackle your mental health too.
Here’s the thing about masculinity – it’s not about how tall you are or how others perceive you. It’s about owning who you are, flaws and all. Being a man isn’t about towering over others; it’s about standing tall in your own skin, no matter what. So, you’re 5’1”. Own it. Wear it like armor. It’s part of what makes you, you.
Money and alcohol might give you a temporary high, but they’re a band-aid on a wound that needs stitches. They won’t bring you real happiness or security. You’ve already recognized this, and that’s a crucial step. You know it’s not healthy, so it’s time to find healthier outlets. Your love for MMA is a good start – it’s a great way to vent out the frustration and also keep you disciplined.
And about those therapists – I get it, opening up to someone can feel like you’re exposing your vulnerabilities. But that’s the whole point. Therapy isn’t about being judged; it’s about finding someone to help you navigate through the storm. If you’ve pussied out of 6 meetings, fine. Start with one. And if you don’t like the therapist, find another. This is about you, and it’s worth the effort.
Self-hatred is a dark hole, but here’s the light: the fact that you’re reaching out means you want to climb out of it. That’s strength. That’s masculinity. Start by accepting yourself as you are. Height and all. Look in the mirror and instead of seeing what you lack, see what you’ve got. See the fighter. The determined guy who won’t back down from a challenge.
The bottom line is this: your height doesn’t determine your value as a man. Your character does. Your actions do. The way you treat yourself and others does. Focus on being a good fucking human being and the rest will fall into place.
It won’t be easy, and you’ll have to work at it every single day. But trust me, it’s worth it. You have the power to create an amazing life for yourself, regardless of your height. So stop making bullshit excuses, get your ass in gear, and make it happen.
Keep fighting.
Chinese Kindergartens
A one minute video clip. Well worth the time to watch. From my personal stash.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgRMd-UqXFc
Beef Ragout with Grilled Bread
This dish can be made in a slow cooker or the stovetop. Canola oil is used to make both the ragout and grilled bread because of its neutral flavor and heat tolerance. The ragout is served with bread to soak up the hearty and flavorful broth, but it can be served with pasta or polenta instead.
12 slices whole grain Italian bread, sliced on bias, about 1-inch thick each
1 tablespoon canola oil 15 mL
Instructions
In large, nonstick skillet, brown each side of beef roast in canola oil. Place roast in slow cooker.*
Add onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and red wine. Cook on LOW heat for 8 to 9 hours (or on HIGH heat for 4 to 5 hours) until beef is tender and has an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (65 degrees C).
When beef is cooked, shred with a fork.
To prepare grilled bread: Brush bread with canola oil and grill for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until toasted.
To serve, top ragout with parsley. Serve with grilled bread.
Notes
* If preparing on stovetop, use a large pot (8-quart) and bring ragout ingredients, except parsley, to boil and simmer covered for at least 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Per serving: Calories 340 Total Fat 10 g Saturated Fat 2.5 g Cholesterol 60 mg Carbohydrates 29 g Fiber 7 g Sugars 9 g Protein 25 g Sodium 210 mg Potassium 640 mg
What’s the most unreasonable request you’ve received from your boss?
I was employed as a contract employee at a big corporation from 1980–82.
About 2 months before my contract was to be terminated-something my boss neglected to tell me at the time-he came to me with a request that was unrealistic and ,frankly, border line crazy. He asked me to complete a project that normally would take 4–6 weeks in 2 weeks. No room for discussion or negotiation. Just DO IT. (The project was done at the request of another district and my boss was the middle man.)
Anyway,by coming in early,working through lunch, putting in long overtime hours,and coming in on Saturday,I did the impossible. I finished the project-with 2 days to spare. Elated,I left a note on his desk informing him of the good news. I admit I expected a Thank You or a Well Done.
His reaction was beyond appalling.For a week there was dead silence. It was as if none of this had even happened. Finally,he approached me and said. “You remember that project you finished last week?” I said.”Yes,of course.” He answered. “Well,I just submitted it…2 days late,as we just can’t have the other district make such unreasonable demands on us.”
So Ralph, if you happen to be reading this,it’s been over 40 years but I still haven’t forgotten your vile behaviour that day. To me you’re still the biggest POS in the world!
Some of my favorite family pictures from the 1960s
Not sure if this really qualifies, but what the hell.
I’m at a large retail store, driving through the parking lot looking for a space. I see an empty spot ahead, and start to turn into it, only to be greeted by another car honking it’s horn, sitting in the space across from it. The guy inside is waving his hands furiously and gesturing at me, while the woman in the passenger seat attempts to cover her face. I finished parking and got out, and gestured to the other driver with upturned palms and a “what’s wrong?” expression. I was actually concerned the guy might have been in some sort of trouble, or needed help, but I wasn’t expecting what happened.
He shut his car off and thrust his door open, actually hitting the SUV beside him, and screamed “You asshole!” before even getting out of the car. I started to get the picture before he even said the next words. “You did that on purpose”, he asserted, then flung some profanities I won’t type here as they’re too explicit, although one of the tamer ones was calling me a “cousin fucking redneck motherfucker”. Real class-act, this guy. During this tirade, his (presumably) girlfriend had also exited the vehicle, and now had the look of someone who wished they could physically become invisible.
I listened to his rant about my deliberate and personal attack against him which I perpetrated by parking my car, and preventing him from pulling through spaces, to wit, he would now have to reverse out of his parking space…which was just an unforgivable inconvenience.
I guess it’s a sign of getting older, or wiser, but probably just older, that this guy didn’t make me lose my shit on him. It wouldn’t have been too long ago that I’d have smashed his face two words into his second sentence.
Instead, I let him get the whole rant out, nearly a full two minutes of it. He made a hell of a scene, and by the end of it…I was laughing. Not on the inside, I was laughing in his face. He didnt like being laughed at, apparently, and stepped back shutting his door so he could approach me. He had his hands up at shoulder height at this point, looking like he might take a swing at me. I took a step closer and said in a decisively stern tone “Let me get this straight. You got out here yelling at me, because you don’t know how to drive a fucking car and that’s somehow my fault, is that right you little prick?” and I leaned in so close our noses almost touched. I could smell alcohol on his breath. He stepped back, and didn’t swing (Big surprise, someone acting like a loud douchebag).
He instead walked back, or rather stomped like a little kid pitching a fit, back to his car (which the girl was no longer in, but instead standing beside with her door closed) got in and slammed the door. He motioned to the girl to get in as he started the engine, she shook her head no, and he put it in reverse and slammed backwards out of the parking space…and into the big 4×4 pickup behind him to his right. The tow hitch obliterated his back bumper, and didnt let it go. He was in a full rage again at this point and drove away, leaving the accident, his (presumably) girlfriend and to the credit of universal karma, his bumper with license plate behind.
This entire exchange lasted a bit less than five minutes, but it’s five minutes I’ll treasure.
Beef Roast with Sour Cream Gravy
Crock Pot Pot Roast Feature 1
Ingredients
1 (3 pound) chuck or pot roast
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon dill weed
5 or 6 small potatoes
5 or 6 carrots
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large onion
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon dill seed
Instructions
Coat roast with 2 tablespoons flour, salt and pepper. Brown in oil in skillet.
Put roast in slow cooker. Add water and vinegar.
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon dill weed over meat, then add potatoes, carrots, onion and salt.
Cook on LOW for 10 to 12 hours or on HIGH for 6 hours.
To make gravy, pour off 3 tablespoons drippings, add 1 tablespoon flour and heat.
Measure rest of drippings, and add water to make 1 cup. Add to flour mixture and heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add sour cream and 1 teaspoon dill weed. Heat to boiling.
US Threatens to Shut Down EUV if China Reunifies Taiwan by Force
Can remotely disable chip fabs…? Really! I pretty much doubt it.
In Saving Private Ryan, is Upham the biggest scumbag in movie history?
I only met my Grandfather a handful of times in my life. My father never really talked much about him even though he was alive for the first half of my life (He died in 2000). The stories I heard were of a very tight man (he never spent money on anything – including his family) that bordered on absurdity.
What I didn’t know until the day after he died was that he not only saw active combat in WW2 but served in Patton’s army during the Battle of the Bulge! I was incredulous. How could nobody have told me before that day? His story (I thought) would be incredible.
When we were cleaning out his house after his death, I found a box under his bed. It was the first time I had ever been in his house—he never wanted visitors. In this box, he had two Lugars, several Swastica pins, SS emblems, an army medal for bravery on the battlefield, and other items taken from German soldiers.
My uncle came up behind me and yelled,” We found ‘em,” and my dad and other uncles entered the room. My uncle looked me in the eye and said, “Do you know what these are from?”
I responded, World War 2? – but I didn’t know he had actually done anything; after all, nobody had ever told me anything about his past. Then, my Uncle told me in a quiet tone that my grandfather manned a 50-caliber machine on the back of a jeep during the war. During routine patrols, he spotted two SS soldiers trying to infiltrate their lines under barbed wire.
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He had the jeep stop, and they shined a spotlight on the soldiers. He then “turned them to hamburger” with the 50-caliber. There was no surrender in the Battle of the Bulge – it was kill or be killed, no prisoners. He had killed two stuck, defenseless men and was even awarded a medal for it.
I had watched Saving Private Ryan a few years before this occurred and was in the middle of the HBO series Band of Brothers when it dawned on me that this event changed him into who he became.
He was forever scarred by what he did and did not feel like a hero. In truth, he came home to raise a family but ended up withdrawing from society and getting divorced by my grandmother by the time I was born. My grandmother was the most Catholic person I knew, and when I was a kid, I remember her fighting her excommunication from the Church. That’s how badly she wanted out of that marriage—she suffered excommunication to get away from my grandfather.
In truth, he viewed himself as a very flawed man who did not deserve to be around people. He pushed everyone out of his life to live his last 20 years as a hermit. He could never get over what he did to those German boys stuck under the barbed wire, and he never felt worthy of the medal he received for his “bravery.”
During his funeral, it was the first time I ever saw my father cry, but then he went to hug my mother’s father for over a minute. He then exclaimed that my mother’s father became his true father as his dad was never really a father. He didn’t drink, but he had a nasty temper and put his children through hell growing up, taking out his past on them whenever he was triggered. But he was still crying over the father he never had the chance to really know.
Saving Private Ryan made me realize what war really was and what it did to people. It made me realize it wasn’t about heroes and villains but about who survives till the end. After that day, I realized what the Iraq war was going to do to another generation of boys in 10 years, and I shuddered. War should always be the last option. Not only does it kill and maim, but it leaves psychological scars that last generations.
What China just did to the U.S. Military is SHOCKING and Taiwan is in Trouble
Why does the West in general, and America in particular, want China to reduce its overcapacity production?
This is Tonya Harding Syndrome
“Tonya Harding Syndrome” is a metaphorical expression that originates from the scandal of Tonya Harding, an American figure skater. Tonya Harding was a promising figure skater, but her career was ruined because she was involved in a planned attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan. Her husband and others participated in the attack in order to weaken Kerrigan’s competitiveness before the Olympics, so that Harding would have a greater chance of winning. In the end, Harding was banned from figure skating for life.
Later, the concept of “Tonya Harding Syndrome” was used to describe the behavior of those who take unfair means to hurt their opponents in competition because of the fear of losing their advantage. It is not only applicable to individuals, but also can be used to describe similar behaviors that may occur in competitions such as companies, institutions, societies or countries. The essence of this behavior is to destroy fair and decent competition.
Back to the question itself:
If an American company can make 100 products at a cost of $10,000 and in 1 month, the Chinese can make 300 products at the same cost and time, and their quality has reached the same height. This allows them to reduce prices to half and still make a considerable profit, so who will buy American companies’ products?
Americans find that they can’t compete with them even if they try their best, so they expect the Chinese to slow down, otherwise they will shoot.
This is why they hope that China will reduce its overcapacity production.
Just another hypocritical cover for Tonya Harding Syndrome
Taking High-Speed Train In China, 2024
What is the most satisfying passive-aggressive thing you have ever done to a really mean or rude person?
I had a horrible experience trying to buy a new Honda at a local dealership. I told them what I wanted, but they kept trying to up sell me on a different model. Then it was switching sales guys, to the hard core close. etc. etc. I understand sales and all the BS really doesn’t bother me since it’s part of the game. However, after reaching a price and completing the paperwork, I drove out with the car.
I was happy until Jennifer from the office called me three days later at work. They made an error and didn’t collect money on some specific fees listed in the contract. I was pretty sure I paid everything listed. I told Jennifer I needed a couple days to review the contract and look at the check I wrote to determine if I owed money. She became a belligerent bitch, yelling about how I have their money and need to come down right now and pay. I told her I would review the contract and pay them if I owed them money. She called at 9:00 am the next morning being a bitch again demanding money. Later that evening, I reviewed the contract and they didn’t total up the doc fee correctly, and owem them $394.00.
I called Jennifer and told her that I did find the error, would pay the amount, and asked if she could please tell me when she left the office so I could pay her personally. I waited to 4:50 pm on Friday night (Jennifer works an 8-5, M-F) and paid her $394 in nickels. I had broken the seals on the bags from the bank which meant they needed to hand count all the coin.
I had brought a book, took up residence in their customer lounge, and waited for them to complete their count. I enjoyed watching Jennifer and 4 sales persons make little rows of nickels. After over 90 minutes they brought me the $0.45 in additional funds I added to see if they would accurately count it. My back up plan was if they said it was all there, I would inform them that I actually included extra money and couldn’t remember how much, so they would need to recount.
Member of British Parliament: “We are already at war with Russia; They won’t tell the people until July or August”
VIDEO BELOW shows British MP Andrew Bridgen confirming on a radio show today: “We are actually at war with Russia now… They’re not going to tell the people probably until July or August; maybe later.”
“The whole thing’s a pantomime in Parliament… It’s not a race between the blue and the red team to see who crosses the finish line. This is a baton handover on all the big issues: Net Zero, Covid response, the WHO, the trans agenda.”
We have a natural right to defend ourselves from the people doing these things, that are going to get us bombed, our families killed or injured, our way of life, destroyed.. It is our right, it is our DUTY to take action.
The Death of Fast Food ….. Part 2
Hungry MM
My wife came home and told me that she was very hungry at 3 o’clock this afternoon. She was playing sports with her first graders at school. She even developed some symptoms of hypoglycemia, such as physical exhaustion, sweating and palpitations. So she told the children: You wait for me a little bit, I will go to the school gate to buy some food. Then, incidentally, she asked the children, are you hungry? As a result, all the children shouted, yes, we are hungry! Some of them stood up and said, teacher, I want some bread! I wanted some 饼（pie）!
So my wife went to the food shop near the school gate and bought a lot of bread and 饼（pie） – she said it cost a lot of money. And asked the store owner to help her distribute the food into dozens of small portions. Then she bought herself another cake.
When she returned to the classroom, all the children returned from the playground, screaming for food. So my wife turned the PE class into a food tasting class. She was still hungry, so after she had distributed the food, she began to eat. Just began to eat, a few children have finished their food, said to my wife: Teacher, really delicious! I also want to eat! The wife looked at the children, He could not bear to eat the cake himself and shared the rest of his food with the children.
So when she came home this afternoon, she was too hungry to walk. Luckily, I had already prepared dinner. That was the story of the day – a group of seven-year-olds, turning a normal class into a food tasting class, while my wife endured hunger all afternoon.😂😂😂
This is the protagonist of the afternoon pie:
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Ps. The first graders have lunch in the school canteen, but they always eat very little. One reason is that some children are picky eaters. Another reason is that the food in the canteen is sometimes not very good. In addition, children are always excited when they eat. Sometimes they eat only a little and say they are full.
Has someone ever unjustifiably reported you to Child Protective Services? What was the outcome?
Yes, I had given someone who I thought was a good friend a place to stay(at the house I had just bought-my first home mind you) she and her bf were gonna sleep in the garage/studio apartment for a week or two, mind u I had just moved in myself 3 days before she started staying there….anyways 1–2 weeks turned into 5–6 months and I was like chick u gotta go. Like I need my home to me and my two kids. Now it was no secret she had a huge drug problem. But had been keeping straight while at my house. When she left everyday, who knows what she was up to but around me and my kids she seemed normal. Well she didn’t like being told to leave so the day she finally left(3 weeks later) she called cps and told them that I was an IV meth user. Now the funny thing is is that I’m 200 pounds at 5 foot six. I’m healthy as a horse never done meth and definitely not an IV user so when DCF came to my house the first thing they asked me, if I use meth and if I use intervenously. I stepped Back and motioned to my body and said really do I look like you’re average meth user let alone IV meth user? She laughed and said she needed a urine sample. To which my response was to call my lawyer. I called my lawyer as soon as she left he said just give them a piss sample. You’ll be fine. You don’t use drugs. Who cares get it over with. So I called her she returned, took a sample and tested me positive for amphetamines although I’m on Adderall. She was new. Two weeks later her and her supervisor show up at my house and test me again to which I came back positive for amphetamines not methamphetamines and the supervisor said that’s all we needed to see. So we’re taking your kids into custody. At that point I lost my shit. I called my lawyer. I called my therapist. I called my mom. My mom had to drive an hour to me, at which point dcf granted my mom custody for two weeks and I was not to be alone with them until my blood test got done and finalized so everyone could see I wasn’t on meth but simply taking my prescribed amount of adderall, but because they were so dumb and didn’t have any pharmacology courses under their belt, they had no idea the difference between amphetamines and methamphetamines on the UA they gave me twice. I got my kids back with flying colors. I had no reason to doubt it but all of this over the word of a stupid bitch that got everything she could ask for living in my home for six months for free , but because she felt slighted, she decided to have me lose my kids. She’s called DCF five times but DCF now comes to my house first off a little because I kind of put my foot down The time they know the kind of game she’s playing she has called DCF on every single person she’s ever lived with come to find out. Oh yeah, she’s now doing 7 to 15 years federal for identity, theft, and check fraud And using Stolen credit cards that she stole directly out of the mailbox. She’s a winner isn’t she? Be careful your friends are always in the ass when you least expect it even if you are a mom that doesn’t do drugs or have any issues there still a chance you lose your kids. Get a lawyer The first CPS is involved. Good luck, Godspeed.
Why I Live in China and REFUSE to Move Back to America
An influencer sent me this link in regards to Scott Ritter talking shit about China.
"...and in this debate he really exposes himself-- check out how deluded he is about Chinese military capacity. It's staggering, and couldn't be just plain ignorance. Insulting to China's achievements too. As you've so often said, be very careful whence you source your news!"
Well, I’m not about going to dare risk raising my blood pressure over someone talking shit about something they know nothing about. So I politely declined to watch the video.
The influencer replied…
If believing that a 50 year old US missile submarine-- Ohio Class boomer-- can "sit in deep water a few miles from the Chinese coast and launch 40 [50 year old design, subsonic cruise] missiles" that will hit their target-- get this-- "without the sub being even detected" is the kind of statement that will up the bp?
So, I then asked this of ChatGPT4.0
Scott Ritter is now a famous person on the Internet, and he has been making many videos about Ukraine.
His appraisal of Russia, and Ukraine seems to be solid and is correct. But now he is making statements about China's military.
I was in the ONI, and I have spent most of my life studying and working with China and I find his statements about China very erroneous.
In fact, they seem to reflect a mainstream American mind-set.
Please tell me what his experience is with China and Chinese military. What has been his exposure to the PLA, and NPLA?
And ChatGPT4.0 replied…
Scott Ritter is a former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer and United Nations weapons inspector. He is best known for his role in the inspections in Iraq, where he gained prominence for his opposition to the Iraq War and his critiques of U.S. foreign policy. While Ritter has indeed made numerous public statements and videos about international military and geopolitical issues, his expertise is primarily rooted in Middle Eastern affairs, particularly Iraq.
Ritter’s formal background and professional experience do not indicate significant direct exposure to China or the Chinese military (People's Liberation Army, PLA, and Navy PLA, NPLA).
His primary areas of focus and expertise have been the Middle East, arms control, and intelligence analysis related to weapons of mass destruction.
Military and Intelligence Career: Ritter served in the Marine Corps as an intelligence officer and later as a ballistic missile adviser to General Norman Schwarzkopf during the Gulf War. His work with the UN involved extensive inspections in Iraq during the 1990s.
Public Commentary: Post-military, Ritter has become a public commentator on military and geopolitical issues, often providing analysis on conflicts and international relations.
However, his comments and analyses are not always based on first-hand experience or specialized study of every region he discusses.
Exposure to Chinese Military: There is no publicly available evidence to suggest that Ritter has had direct involvement with or extensive study of the PLA or NPLA.
His perspectives on China's military capabilities and strategies seem to derive more from secondary sources and general geopolitical analysis rather than primary experience or specialized research in this area.
Given his background, it's reasonable to conclude that Ritter's views on China reflect a broader, perhaps less specialized understanding, shaped by general geopolitical discourse rather than deep, direct expertise on Chinese military affairs.
Your observation that his statements seem to reflect a mainstream American mindset aligns with this context, as his primary experiences and insights are rooted in Western military and intelligence frameworks, with limited direct exposure to Chinese military practices or strategic doctrines.
Today…
Communists, why do you refuse to acknowledge that the wealthy have money because they are smart and save/invest while your comrades are poor because they are mentally ill and unintelligent?
I am Chinese, as is well known, China is a socialist country under the rule of CCP. So, I want to explain this issue with my own experience.
Intelligence is a natural advantage. Similar advantages also include “health”. This means that someone is naturally healthy, has a stronger immune system, and is better able to resist virus attacks than others. In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, naturally healthy individuals are able to evade the pursuit of the virus. When others become critically ill or even die, this naturally healthy person can ultimately avoid infection and survive. And those with poor physical fitness passed away after the first round of the pandemic in early 2020.
Some people may say, “There is no way to avoid it, this is life. Because people with strong innate immunity always live to the end. This is the screening of nature.”. This statement is logically consistent with the questioner’s statement that “some people are born smart, so they can find ways to make money and become wealthy, while others are born not smart, so their ability to make money is low and they eventually become poor.”.
Yes, it looks right. Wisdom or foolishness, strength or weakness, are all gifts from nature. This gives everyone in the world a different destiny. This is natural selection, the law of nature. However, in socialist China, this is politically incorrect. Because fundamentally, the goal pursued by Marxism is “the comprehensive, free, and full development of human beings”, rather than “your fate is determined by God.”. During the pandemic, China cannot allow the laws of nature to determine human life. So, economic development, transportation, school education, and commercial activities are no longer important, but are replaced by blocking the rapid spread of the virus. Since 2020, there have been only three ways to achieve this goal: screening infected individuals through Covid-19 testing, establishing super hospitals to treat these individuals until they recover, implementing lockdown policies to stop all activities of those who have not yet been infected, and staying at home. Until everyone (1.4 billion people) completes nucleic acid testing, all infected individuals enter hospitals for treatment, and until they recover, another 1.4 billion people are able to resume their free activities. In this way, from 2020 to the first half of 2022, China will become an isolated island in the world, a healthy and virus free island. Chinese people can freely move on their land.
This policy, which appears to temporarily deprive people of their freedom, artificially breaks the “natural selection” and allows healthy and naturally weak individuals, as well as elderly people with chronic diseases, to all survive. At the same time, the largest scale of vaccination in human history has been implemented throughout China. In order to ensure that all high-risk groups are vaccinated, volunteers, community workers, CCP members, and civil servants conduct vaccination surveys almost door-to-door and encourage vaccination. Some rural areas even adopt the activity of giving cash for vaccination and 5 kilograms of eggs for vaccination.
By mid-2022, Covid-19 had already harvested several rounds of life worldwide. But at the same time, the virus itself is also changing. It presents two characteristics: low mortality rate and high infection rate. At this time, after 2.5 years of epidemic control in China, people began to realize that prevention was impossible. At this point, complaints from Chinese people arose. Considering that China has already completed vaccination for all its population and the virus is no longer so terrifying, almost overnight, China lifted all Covid-19 control measures. This incident occurred in mid December 2022.
My mother-in-law suffers from severe chronic kidney failure and heart failure. After the lifting of epidemic control measures, she was quickly infected. For three weeks, she struggled almost on the brink of death. In the end, due to vaccination, preparation of a large amount of symptomatic medication in advance, and paid home care provided by the hospital, she recovered in a few weeks. After three years of passivation, Covid-19 still caused serious harm to her, but she survived.
My father-in-law told her that if China had implemented the same relaxed epidemic policy as the United States in 2020 three years ago, then she would have been dead for three years. Obviously, in statistics, even if China does not implement strict epidemic policies, half of its population will not die. Young people like me have a high probability of surviving even in the first round of the pandemic. However, elderly or seriously ill patients are also more likely to die. The Chinese government has implemented seemingly incredible policies in order to ensure the survival of all people.
Even though many Western media outlets criticize this policy from various perspectives and firmly believe that the lockdown is only to maintain CCP’s rule. But all Chinese people have personally experienced the panic of the first few months of 2020. They know why the city was locked down, understand and support the government. After all, we are all children of our parents. We are still the parents of our own children. We don’t want our elderly parents to die from the pandemic, nor do we want our children to suffer from serious complications of infection. We all hope to live well. CCP helped us survive.
I think I have already answered your question. I come from China and my English is not very good. I have used a translator for some of my text. Thank you for reading.
Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Bake
Chicken thighs are nestled in a deliciously-seasoned mixture of sauerkraut, onions, apple, apricots and raisins.
pennsylvania dutch chicken bake
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 (2 pound) package Perdue® Fresh Chicken Thighs
Salt and ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 to 2 tablespoons canola oil
1 (14 ounce) can sauerkraut, undrained
1 (14 ounce) can whole onions, drained
1 tart red apple, unpeeled, sliced or diced
6 to 8 dried whole apricots
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup brown sugar, or to taste
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Season thighs with salt and pepper.
In a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Cook thighs 6 to 8 minutes per side until browned.
Meanwhile, in 9 x 13 inch shallow baking dish, mix sauerkraut well with onions, apple, apricots, raisins and brown sugar. Nestle thighs into sauerkraut mixture.
Cover and bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, and a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh registers 180 degrees F.
What do you see here?
What is the lamest “benefit” you’ve been offered by an employer?
When I was in my teens, and needed a part time job while going to college. I don’t remember exactly what minimum wage was then, but i was just at that figure. After working diligently for 6 months, and my boss kept saying that if i did well, I could expect a raise after 6 months. When the 6 month time peroid had passed, at a company function, while having a casual conversation with my boss, I asked what i could expect for a raise. His answer was a nickel, meaning a nickel an hour, I started to laugh, as I thought he was joking, but he wasnt. He began to question my laughing responce, and when I discovered that he was serious, I laughed even harder, I couldn’t help it. The job was hard to do, not in the physical sense, but in the responsibility sense, and was very stressful as well. So a pay raise from .95 cents an hour to 1.00 per hour actually was very funny. My view of him after that, I could barely look at him without chuckeling, or grinning. I still cant believe that he thought that I should be overjoyed at his generosity, it still makes me laugh.
China’s BRILLIANT Move | Silently Built World’s First Drone Carrier
In the restaurant industry, what are some of the most outrageous complaints you’ve heard customers make?
It was my first day of training at my very first job and a customer comes in very angry. I greet her and ask how I can help. The conversation goes as follows. (Me=M, Customer=C, my boss =K)
M- Hi, How are you?
C- I have a problem with my Dr.Pepper.
M-Yes ma’am. What seems to be the problem?
C-(in a very angry put out tone) My Dr.Pepper is carbonated.
M-(confused as all get out) I’m sorry ma’am but what’s the problem? Is the Dr.Pepper not flavored enough. Maybe the syrup went out.
C- No it tastes good but its carbonated. It’s not supposed to be carbonated.
M-(still no clue what the issue is) give me one moment ma’am.
I walk back to my manager who’s working the line making food for everyone in the lobby
M-Hey K. This customer up front is mad that her Dr.Pepper is carbonated?
K-(very clearly not listening because we were in the middle of a rush) fill it up in the drive thru and have her see if that’s better.
M-(not really sure but not wanting to argue with my boss) okay?
I go back up to the customer after filling up a cup from the drive thru drink fountain.
C-(tried the Dr.Pepper) no it’s still carbonated. What game are y’all playing?!
I walk back to my boss and make her look at me and really listen to what I say.
M-K, this customer is mad because her DR.PEPPER is CARBONATED.
K-(Finally hears the complaint) Well what the F*** does she want us to do about it?!
M-(visibly laughing at this point) that’s what I was trying to tell you.
K-(laughing as well) just give her something that’s not carbonated like tea or pink lemonade.
M-(still laughing) okay (I walk back to the customer) ma’am, would you like to try some tea or pink lemonade or something else.
C-(still very mad and clueless about how dumb they were being) *scoffs* fine pink lemonade but y’all need to fix your Dr.Pepper or I’m never coming back
M-(thinking to myself sarcastically) and what a tragedy that would be.
Is the USA losing world hegemony and the world becoming multipolar actually a good thing? No one country dominating other countries but having a counter balance.
Yes, it’s a very good thing.
US world hegemony has resulted in endless wars, endless sanctions and endless coups over the last half century. It has caused enormous death and destruction. It has violated national sovereignty and frequently broken international law (defined by the UN).
The USA respects no country. It simply bullies and exploits.
China and Russia are building a new multipolar world order that will be more fair, more just, and more egalitarian. There will be no more self-serving imperialist wars such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam.
The Global South will finally see healthy economic development. The current world order did nothing to help Global South countries in Africa, Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.
Militaristic EU – Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen
What is the rudest thing you have ever seen someone do?
I was at a grocery store checkout once, and I saw these three college kids having a field day with a poor clerk who was trying to bag up their groceries. The whole thing, apparently, started when he dropped a bottle of wine they were buying. He apologized, cleaned up the mess, and rushed back to get them another bottle.
While he was gone, they started talking about what a “complete idiot” he was. They proceeded to make fun of the way he looked, the way he was dressed, his weight, his glasses, you name it. When the poor guy got back, they didn’t let up. They started insulting him right to his face, calling him a whole litany of terrible things until they had him on the verge of tears. The kid was only about 16; he was terribly overweight, and I could see how he was probably an easy target for any bully. I was bagging up my own stuff, but I was completely mesmerized by this entire exchange. Suddenly, the kid must have said something because one of the guys reached out and popped him across the face. It wasn’t a punch or a hard slap, just some wussy little pop meant to humiliate him. To my amazement, the kid didn’t walk away. He just stood there red faced with tears welling up in his eyes. The dude reached out and popped him again and, for some reason, this was the funniest thing that these guys had ever seen in their lives. They were laughing like there was no tomorrow.
I kept looking around for a manager, thinking someone needed to say something, but I finally realized that no one was going to. Then it hit me: Why couldn’t I say something? I reached out and grabbed the kid, and pulled him out of the way. I stepped up to the guy, pulled a 20 dollar bill out of my wallet, and told him that I would give it to him if he would hit me like that. He stared at me for a second like I had lost my mind before asking what my problem was.
“You’re my damn problem,” I responded. “Hit me in the face like that; I dare you.” Well, there were three of these guys, but they didn’t look like they had ever been in a fight in their entire lives. I am a little over six feet tall, and I weigh around 225. I don’t consider myself to be a tough guy but, needless to say, they didn’t want any part of me. Instead, they simply started gathering their things and headed for the door. I pulled the kid out from behind me, and ordered them to apologize. They laughed at me, and hurried for the parking lot. Well, I was a lot angrier that day than I thought.
I followed them out of the store all the way to their car doing my best to start a fight. They got very quiet, and not one of them had anything to say. Instead, they just kept their heads down, and refused to make eye contact.
I let them leave, and then pulled the kid aside and told him to never let anyone push him around like that. In the future, he needed to, at least, walk away and find a manager. At this point, the kid just broke down in tears and sobbed on my shoulder. It turned out that his dad had died only a year earlier, and he and his mom were all alone in the world. At that point, I really wished I had put one of those bastards in the hospital. Instead, I gave the kid my card, and told him to call if there was ever anything I could do for him. I never saw or heard from him again.
The US Dollar Total Collapse Begins! Major Countries DROP The Dollar | Entire World Changes Forever!
What were the worst two minutes of your life?
“Rachel, come here please. Quickly.” I sensed an air of desperation flood our dirty apartment as my biological mother croaked out her plea. I ran.
“What?” She pulled me in, her head down towards her crossed legs, hunched over like Quasimodo.
“I love you– so much. Do you hear me? I love you. I’m so sorry.” With each word, I felt sicker.
“Mom, what’s wrong? Why are you saying this?” My voice was somewhere between a sob and a scream.
She glanced towards the two empty orange bottles on the nightstand to her right. I swiped one. Codeine. Empty. Both were empty.
“What did you do?! Are you trying to kill yourself?!” I knew. I felt unreal, like the terror was bigger than my body.
“I’m sorry. You’re better off without me… You don’t even love me. You never tell me you love me.”
“I love you so much. No, no, oh God, no.” I rushed toward the landline.
“911, how can I help you?”
“My mom is trying to commit suicide.”
I was 13 when my biological mother attempted suicide. That was 6 years ago. While she is still alive, this remains to be the single most painful two minutes of my life.
6390Hz – DESTROYS Negativity In & Around You (⚠️ MAY FEEL AS THOUGH TIME STOPS)
Art various
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What type of aircraft mishap has only ever happened once in the whole history of aviation?
In September of 1987 a co-pilot made an emergency landing in Portland, Maine. What had happened was the hatch of the aircraft had flown open and it appeared that the pilot was sucked out and lost.
The airplane was a Beechcraft 99, a commuter craft that was capable of carrying 15 passengers but on this flight there was only a little bit of freight.
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During the flight the co-pilot said he could hear an air leak in the passenger cabin. The pilot then got up and walked back in the passenger area to investigate and was looking around the exit hatch when the airplane hit turbulence and the pilot fell against the door. When he fell against the door, it opened and he seemingly flew out.
The co-pilot radioed the nearest airport about his emergency and was directed where to make his landing. When he landed he was amazed to find out that the pilot did not fall to his death but was in fact hanging on for dear life on the hand rails on the hatch door. He was hanging upside down with his head below the bottom of the door steps while the airplane was flying 190 miles per hour.
When the airplane landed the pilot’s head was only a foot above the tarmac. It took the rescue crew five minutes to pry the pilot’s hands off the railings, survival instinct for you.
The pilot’s name was Henry Dempsey and the incident was dramatically re-enacted in the tv series Rescue 911.
The Chiefs SHUT DOWN Angry Feminists
Given how the Chinese never had a vote in their government ruled by Chinese Communist Party, should media when reporting make the distinction between China and the regime ruling China, when referring to ‘China’ in their reports?
This question shows that the person asking has zero knowledge of China’s government and election process. I suggest that the person asking this question do some research before asking more questions so that he does not embarrass himself by showing his lack of knowledge.
Let us look at the democratic process of the Chinese “parliament”, the National People’s Congress and the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.
Members of the National People’s Congress (NPC) are elected by the Provincial People’s Assemblies from all the provinces and regions throughout China, including Hong Kong and Macau.
Members of the Provincial People’s Assemblies in turn are elected by lower level assemblies, and so on through a series of tiers, to the Local People’s Assemblies. The Local People’s Assembly is very much like a village or small town assembly, members of which are directly elected by the people living there. The voters know personally who they are electing.
Unlike in Western democracy, what happens through this system is that the voters, for each level, are voting people whom they work with and know very well. For example, members of the local assembly would vote for the best among them, those who can work and produce results, to represent them at the next level.
Through this system, only the best gets chosen for the NPC, after several layers of the selection process.
This is different from Western democracy where members of the public elect candidates whom they don’t know personally. The candidates are only known from TV appearances, news in the mass media and similar non-personal things.
The very best from among the NPC members are then elected into the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. This is the group that runs China – individuals who have been chosen through a highly competitive selection process and have proven their ability to govern at a lower level.
This is the reason why China’s economy is growing at such a fast rate – only very capable leaders make it into the Standing Committee.
China Turns Tables on U.S, CANCEL U.S SANCTIONS on RUSSIA
Is Comac hiding its technological progress and misleading Biden by showing a long time horizon to avoid a trade war?
No.
Airliners is a special business, even within aviation.
Why?
They carry passengers in the tens to hundreds.
That is why there is extraordinary scrutiny on the entire system, down to the stewardess serving cup noodles on budget flights.
Yes, she has to obtain a type certification, just like the pilots, and it is specific to the airliner model. The same goes for the maintenance crew—everyone is trained, tested and certified, with the cycle repeated to maintain currency.
This extraordinary level of training and oversight is what makes flying far safer than driving.
Every physical part of an airliner is tested to death, especially the engines. Even the number of coats of paint is a controlled spec, not only because paint add weight to the airframe, but the thickness can alter the operation of moving parts, especially the control surfaces.
Comac has recently introduced its first narrowbody six-across C919. It is at the most painful stage currently, ironing out teething issues for the early jets, while ramping up production to fulfill the burgeoning order book.
It will have to document every spec, down to the training requirements for technicians and crew, and make the material broadly available to all customers and regulators. It will have to publish procedures for the safe operation and maintenance of the aircraft, and establish the technical limits of the airframe and moving parts.
All these take time, especially if one starts from a clean sheet, and the entire process is regulated by authorities, who will have to sign off on the type certification.
It is a rigorous process that takes lots of time.
Disney Casts Anya Taylor-Joy As Snow White? Anya Is Excited To Replace Rachel Zegler From The Movie!
Be the Rufus
“At 3am I got a phone call stating that my sister had been killed in a car accident due to some young dumb punk! I haven’t slept and instantly got on the road. Of course we were speeding, trying to get back to Detroit. And we got pulled over in Ohio. I knew I was going to Jail due to a petty warrant. The police called Wayne county and they refused to come get me because of the distance. I explained to the officer that my sister had died and that I needed to get to my mother asap. I broke down crying and he saw the sincerity in my cry. He REACHES OVER AND BEGAN PRAYING OVER ME AND MY FAMILY. He offered to bring me 100 miles further to Detroit because they towed the vehicle. Everybody knows how much I dislike Cops but I am truly Greatful for this Guy. He gave me hope.”
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The Worst Economy I have ever seen
Why are Chinese people so brainwashed?
Gee, you’re the self-proclaimed “China expert”. You even studied “China” at Harvard (whatever that means) so you must know better than people who’ve actually visited, lived or done business there, right? So why are you asking all us brainwashed peeps?
CIA analyist
I do find it odd that you proudly proclaim a connection to NED, whose job is to spread the gospel of democracy (coincidentally, mainly to countries that the United States doesn’t view as allies).
But well done, keep preaching it, brother.
However, the reason I raise this point is that it automatically makes the motives of your question (and any of your questions about China) suspect. Because what you’re essentially saying here is that anyone who doesn’t agree with the American view — YOUR view — that China is the fount of all evil in the world must be de facto brainwashed and a wumao.
Never mind that an actual visit to China and exposure to Mainland Chinese people would likely lead you to a different conclusion entirely.
So I’d answer your question this way: disagreeing with the American narrative on China doesn’t automatically equate to brainwashing. Neither does it equate to blind support of China or believing that the country is perfect.
But I do wonder something. If you really are with NED, how do you reconcile what you do to spread the gospel of democracy to the world with the fact that the United States itself has demonstrated time and time again that it’s willing to hold its nose and ally with authoritarian countries and odious dictators?
Have a lovely day.
Barbecue Beef Roast
Barbecue Beef Roast
Ingredients
1 (2 – 2 1/2 pound) beef chuck roast
1/4 cup barbecue sauce (I prefer Sweet Baby Ray’s)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
Place the roast in the slow cooker (slice in half if using a 4-quart slow cooker).
Whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over the roast. Cook on LOW for 6 hours.
Remove the roast and shred with two forks (it just falls apart), place in a serving dish and ladle some of the juice over the top before serving.
How America RUINED the world’s screws! (Robertson vs. Phillips)
War story
You’re a 19 year old kid.
You are critically wounded and dying in the jungle somewhere in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam .
Its November 14, 1965 . LZ (landing zone) X-ray.
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Your unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense from 100 yards away, that your CO (commanding officer) has ordered the MedEvac helicopters to stop coming in.
You’re lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know you’re not getting out.
Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you’ll never see them again.
As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then – over the machine gun noise – you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter.
You look up to see a Huey coming in. But.. It doesn’t seem real because no MedEvac markings are on it.
Captain Ed Freeman is coming in for you.
He’s not MedEvac so it’s not his job, but he heard the radio call and decided he’s
flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway.
Even after the MedEvacs were ordered not to come. He’s coming anyway.
And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 3 of you at a time on board.
Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses and safety. And, he kept coming back!! 13 more times!!
Until all the wounded were out. No one knew until the mission was over that the Captain had been hit 4 times in the legs and left arm.
He took 29 of you and your buddies out that day. Some would not have made it without the Captain and his Huey.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Captain Ed Freeman, United States Army, died at the age of 81, in Boise, Idaho.
I bet you didn’t hear about this hero’s passing,Medal of Honor Winner Captain Ed Freeman.
Now… YOU pass this along.
Honor this real hero.
What is the most bizarre way you’ve landed a job?
I was at a party (mid 1970s). Amidst all the chatter, I heard these two guys talking about a contract they’d just secured. Sponsored by a government lab to bring together scientists and engineers and government functionaries and get them to go over technical details of a power generation project. This was just their sweet spot, but they were concerned about running sessions to get these diverse groups to talk to each other, and coming up with a coherent final report.
I eavesdropped, then butted in. “I’ve done a good bit of that at my job at UCLA,” I said. I suggested ways to do this. They ended up inviting me into their project to handle the interactive part. The event went very well, and other labs wanted to bring us in.
But my two partners weren’t interested in this type of work—not technical enough for them. So they handed the whole thing over to me. I had a company with half a dozen employees and a government contract.
Started me down my road to entrepreneurship.
China’s Latest Move Has Governments Freaking Out
Have you ever gone into a restaurant that looked unappealing from the outside but ended up having delicious food? If so, where and what did you order?
It has happened more than once.
One restaurant visit that I remember particularly was in Wuhan, China. It was in 2006. I was on my way to Ichang and Three Gorges (the big dam). I wasn’t in a hurry and stayed for four days in the city.
On the first evening I walked along the street where I stayed and looked for a place where to eat. Everything was in Chinese. There were no signs in English, so I couldn’t even memorize the name of the street where I stayed. I wouldn’t venture too far, not to get lost.
Anyway, I found a restaurant close to the shabby hotel where I stayed. I went inside and it looked quite unappealing. Simple forniture, tiled floor and very bright lights. The interior looked cheap and uninviting. At first I thought I wouldn’t eat there, I’d only have a beer. But, after a while I realized I wouldn’t find another place. Nobody spoke English and I wouldn’t know where to go. I had no choice and decided I’d have whatever they had to offer.
I drew a fish on a napkin – that would be my order. Somehow, I tried to explain with gestures that I’d also like some side dishes. When the food arrived I was in a shock. That would be enough for a family of four. Everything looked really nice, especially the fish. It was a whole fish, steamed and garnished with vegetables – it looked like a masterpiece. The whole dinner was a devine culinary experience. I didn’t manage to eat it all – I left some of the small dishes that accompanied the main dish. And the most suprising thing came at the end – the bill. I paid 35 yuan for the whole feast. It was equivalent of 6 US Dollars. One of the best meals of my life, that I still remember after 18 years.
What were some things kids did in the 70s that would horrify today’s parents?
80s kid but close enough:
A) My parents literally had NO IDEA where I was the vast majority of my childhood.
Every day from 1st grade on I was unsupervised from 3-6pm since my parents both worked. Weekends if I didn’t have a sports game I was out in the world gone for hours at a time, no way for them to contact me, I didn’t check in, road my bike into different towns and all over my town.
B) Made all my own plans. Starting around 3rd grade or so, any after school or weekend social activities I set up myself with friends. Called peoples houses, talked to parents, made plans, never asked for permission.
I was in charge of those decisions.
I was responsible for my safety.
Only reason I would call is if I wouldn’t be home for dinner. Same rules seemed to apply to all my friends.
C) I was in charge of my transportation to and from school and after school activities before 6pm. Rain? Either I remembered an umbrella or I got wet. Snow? Same deal
This polite stray cat knocked on the door, trying to ask for adoption and become part of the family.
This use of overlaying subliminal sounds over television and internet media has become far too invasive. Sure it worked in the Gulf War, and the Iraq army surrendered in droves. But this use of it against citizens is really disturbing.
The other day, I watch a couple of YouTube videos of 20-something women proudly and gleefully talking about how they want to be “railed” (fucked) by fifty guys one after the other, and how they enjoy sex. Enjoying sex is normal and healthy. But announcing this desire for random non-stop sex with strangers is not.
Initially my thoughts were that she was part of some movement, like a feminist movement, or such, and wanted to promote it via sexual displays to get clicks and improve the quantity of her DM’s. But I fear something else is going on.
In the USA, in Canada, and in UK and Australia, all the young gals seem to be “off the charts”, off the chain (so to speak) in this blatant hyper-sexual frenzy. These videos are everywhere.
It’s almost like someone, or some organization, is overlaying the videos (preferred by 20-something women) with a kind of subliminal hyper-sexual desire and it is truing them all into crazed sex fiend nymphomaniacs. Now, I can see that some men might want that, so it’s not a far stretch. But DAMN! It’s a disturbing thought.
This technology is totally and completely messing up relationships in the West; it is destroying families, and the people that it is targeting.
I know what it feels like. I was in MAJ after all, and I do have ELF probes, so if “they” want me to do something, I have no control over it. I just do it.
It’s frightening really.
My handlers were pretty reasonable folk. But I have been in contact with other black ops folk. And they have dealt with unreasonable folk in the military who are being harassed by members of the LGBQ+ cabal, and it is brutal. I can only imagine what is going on via way of the rich (behind the scenes) evil incarnates who run the activities behind their curtains.
Disturbing.
But nothing that I can do about it. Except stay out of the “line of fire” and not become a target. Like in China, Russia, Africa, and South America.
This system seems to be in English and only seems to be affecting Western women (for now).
It appears to me that most all of Western media is overly saturated with these subliminal frequencies. Beware. Be careful.
Sheech!
Today…
Did you ever go away on vacation and you loved the place, then you moved there and it was very disappointing?
Several years ago my husband and I went to a lavish wedding on a tropical island. We were so blown away and knew we’d move there one day. I had a competitor steal me from my job and moved me and it was a dream come true, a house, my stuff, my husband, my pets all covered by my job. After years of trying to have children we got pregnant just a few months after moving. Since my son was born we didn’t want to strip him from where he was born, we planned to stay. I thought my salary was amazing, and for a tiny one bedroom house is more than a million, whereas in another place that would be 200k or less. As a new mother my job demanded more and more of my time, making a 3rd of my salary alone just in overtime. Sometimes due to weather events or a hard project then we’d be unexpectedly having to stay, some people didn’t have their medicine, food, and one person had to have an ambulance over low blood sugar. The place is still beautiful, but the costs of living and food supplies that are shipped costs 5x more. I miss home. I miss more luxury I could afford. I quit my job, it was the most disappointing job with false promises, stayed, and I’m trying to learn how to be more patient and enjoy what I have.
Pennsylvania Dutch Cabbage Rolls
cabbage rolls pennsylvania dutch
Ingredients
12 large green cabbage leaves
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar
Instructions
Pour boiling water over cabbage leaves and soak until limp, about 4 minutes.
Combine beef, rice, onion, salt, and egg and mix well. Divide mixture into 12 equal portions and place one portion on each leaf. Roll up, tuck ends in and fasten with wooden picks.
Heat oil in heavy skillet or Dutch oven and brown the cabbage rolls for 10 minutes.
Combine tomato sauce, water, brown sugar and lemon juice and add to skillet. Simmer cabbage rolls for 1 hour, covered.
Serve hot.
How hard is it really to do time in prison?
I served 18 years straight. I’d say somewhere around the 7 or 8 year mark my view of the situation changed. It was no longer prison, it was just my life. Nothing ever changed. Every day was the same. You get in a never changing routine and before you know it 5 years go by. Then 10, then 15. The real world becomes a fantasy. Something you see on TV, or pictures in magazine, but it’s no longer real. One day you look in the mirror and your hair is receding, and it’s turning gray, in your mind your socially stunted and in a lot of ways child like, but you’re old. I went in at 18 and came out a 37 year old man who didn’t know how to do anything. I’d never used a cell phone or computer. I’d never driven a car or filed my taxes. The world was too big, too loud, too fast. My second day out my sister took me to Walmart and I had a panic attack and had to go outside and sit in the car by myself. I could make a tattoo gun out of an electric razor, boil water with an extension cord, and sits for months on end by myself in a room with a sink, concrete bunk and metal toilet without breaking a sweat. But I couldn’t hold a job, operate any electronics without help, or go to Walmart without freaking the fuck out. I didn’t know how to cook, or how to pay a bill. I sat home by myself for months, afraid to go anywhere or talk to people. A big part of me wanted to be back in prison where things made sense, where I thrived.
I’ve been out for over 5 years now, and while I’ve learned to do a lot of things, it’s still not easy. I dream alot of being in prison. Where’s it’s easy. No responsibility. And believe it or not, less stress and anxiety. I’ve been in institutions my whole life, since I was a little kid. Foster homes, group homes, treatment centers, juvenile detentions. It’s what I know. It’s where I’m comfortable. I don’t know if that will ever change.
China is finally being exposed….
Taiwan’s air defense density is so high, how can mainland China break through?
Ask Israel.
The distance between Israel and Iran is >1,700km.
There are multiple countries between them, and plenty of seawater.
Iran also broadcast its intention to attack Israel well in advance.
The US (and others) were on full alert waiting to shoot down Iranian munitions.
There were Aegis systems on USN ships, land-based Patriot batteries, airborn fighters guided by awacss and Israel’s own Iron Dome forming a multi-layered defense system with strategic depth. More than $1b in munitions was expended to counter the Iranian assault, which totaled ～200 drones and cruise/hypersonic missiles.
That’s a far more comprehensive and extravagant air defense than Taiwan can possibly field, if only because the mainland is less than 200km from Taiwan’s coast and the island a mere 400 km long and 150 km across with no strategic depth to speak of.
And yet, Iranian hypersonic missiles got through and hit one of the most well-protected and sensitive airbases in the Negev housing the F-35.
These weren’t even the most advanced and potent missiles in the Iranian arsenal.
Now, is anyone willing to bet the Chinese don’t have better missiles in both quality and quantity?
You only need to destroy air defenses once, and China has tactical rocket artillery that can rain fire from the sky 24.7 to mop up or suppress the enemy.
Good luck.
Healthcare Is BROKEN! China VS Canada!
What will the millions of Americans who are over 50, without a penny saved, do in the next 20 years?
I am over 50, and not only do I not have any money saved, I’m in debt up to my eyeballs.
So I think I am qualified to answer this question.
Short answer? Continue to go deeper into debt.
Longer answer?
Within the next twenty years (unless universal complete healthcare happens) I can probably expect to lose my teeth, since I can’t afford dental care.
I will have to continue to earn as much of a living as I currently can, while physically deteriorating even further.
I expect to lose my home (nowhere near being payed off), and have to live with my adult children on their incomes. (and they are only starting to earn them, by the way.)
I fully expect to have to see my sister, ten years older than I am, die during that period.
As long as I can afford a computer and the internet, I will live more and more of my life online instead of out in the real world.
If the current style of Trump republican remain in power, I can see any benefits I currently have continue to be marginalized and vanish.
If Democrats overcome the Republicans, there is a possibility I may get comprehensive universal healthcare and drugs I can afford, and I may be able to collect what little Social Security may be coming to me, if not a small, guaranteed income to overcome my extreme poverty level.
I have no guarantees of any help or aid, as indeed I have never had. So my life should not radically change over the next twenty years from what it has been the past twenty: a hopeful future being twisted into a tragic present.
I don’t know how many of us are in the same situation I am, which has been cause by singular features of my personal life, a failed marriage, becoming the adult caretaker for my ailing parents, and then my brother, and then my eldest son (who has cerebral palsy), and probably soon for my sister as well.
But I imagine many of us over 50 who are only managing to barely squeak by from paycheck to paycheck will be in much the same boat: we are all pretty much in a position where we are in a self-perpetuating downward spiral, and we won’t get out without outside help.
Many of us will wind up getting reverse mortgages to make ends meet, getting much further in debt in the process, and having health issues from not seeing the doctor as often as we should, so we will become burdens on the next generation, who we will have no inheritance to pass on to.
Somehow, as depressing as all that reality is, I still look hopefully towards being in a better place in five to twenty years, and the future being bright again.
I somehow have confidence that the millennials will not screw up the future as badly as we boomers have.
Toxic evil woman gives 200 men HIV and instantly regrets it
Why do educated Chinese support CCP despite not having the freedom to criticize Chinese politicians?
I am Chinese. I apologize. I don’t know what “criticism” means here? In China, the most popular self-media app is called “Toutiao.” If you haven’t heard of this company, then you must know TikTok. They are different products under the same company. On “Toutiao,” criticisms and complaints against the Chinese government abound at all times. These criticisms are directed at government institutions at the national, provincial, municipal, and rural levels. Below are some examples of similar content I have seen in the past month:
Complicated medical insurance reimbursement process;
A relative’s child got into a better school through bribery;
Traffic signs on highways are in disrepair year-round;
The government has promised to start construction on a subway line for three years but has not yet begun;
Government incompetence behind food safety issues;
The village chief appoints his relatives to important positions;
Unfair treatment, complaints lodged with national departments, but still unresolved;
Reporting a corrupt official, only to face retaliation;
Gas billing system in a city seems to have raised prices, causing many to pay more;
Sewage flows freely in an old residential area, but the government has yet to initiate a demolition plan;
All diners at the same restaurant suffered food poisoning, but the government investigation is opaque, suspected of corruption;
…
Based on Toutiao’s recommendation algorithm, if you read some of the above content, the app will tirelessly recommend “criticism and complaints against the government” until your brain is overloaded. If this isn’t “freedom of criticism,” then what is?
Actually, I know what the asker wants to express: always criticizing the Chinese Communist Party, the one-party rule. And none of the criticisms I listed above touches on the “key points.” Right?
I’m sorry, could you use any online survey tool to design a questionnaire about “whether you oppose the Chinese Communist Party”? And invite suffering Chinese people on internet communities in China to fill out the questionnaire, in order to get “first-hand insider information from China.”
You will get the data you want and be surprised—why don’t Chinese people oppose the power that rules them? You will continue to draw the conclusion—the reason is that Chinese people have been brainwashed.
In the end, you will still believe: the seeds of freedom and democracy will never sprout in China, because Chinese people are ignorant.
That’s the whole trick. So, I wish you live in the “terrifying China” dream you imagined, and never wake up. I respect your choice.
China Commences Military “Drill” – Completely Surrounds Taiwan
The China military has begin drills surrounding the entirety of Taiwan, including islands of Kinmen and Dongyin, state media says.
Taiwan was forced to scramble fighter jets and put missile, naval and land units on alert this morning after China launched huge military exercises around the self-governing island.
Beijing said the menacing war games, dubbed ‘Joint Sword-2024A’, were a ‘strong punishment’ for Taiwan following the inauguration of its new president, Lai Ching-te, who is detested in Beijing as a ‘separatist’.
China claims Taiwan is part of its national territory and the People’s Liberation Army routinely sends navy ships and warplanes into the Taiwan Strait and other areas around the island to wear down Taiwan’s defenses and seek to intimidate its people.
But this week’s wargames are massive in scale.
The PLA released a map of the intended exercise area which completely surrounds Taiwan’s main island concentrating major firepower at five key points, as well as places like Matsu and Kinmen, outlying islands that are closer to the Chinese mainland than Taiwan.
China’s coast guard also said it organized a fleet to carry out law enforcement drills near two islands close to the Taiwanese-controlled island groups of Kinmen and Matsu just off the Chinese coast.
They come after the island swore in President Lai who said in his inaugural speech on Monday that Taiwan ‘must demonstrate our resolution to defend our nation’.
China denounced Lai’s speech as a ‘confession of independence’.
UPDATE 11:50 AM EDT — ***** URGENT *****
Agence France Press (AFP) Reports:
Brutal Warning China to Taiwan
This UPDATE comes as the Chinese military has Taiwan literally surrounded for an ongoing “Military Exercise.”
Hal Turner Remarks:
We all have to keep 2 things in mind:
1. Not all military drills lead to invasions.
2. Modern invasions always follow military drills..
Recall that China’s President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, had a big meeting together about a week ago. If no one thinks Putin & Xi didn’t have a little war gaming session when they met last week, either you’re not paying attention or you’re just willfully ignorant.
It seems to me China must strike while Biden is still in office and the USA is weak. They know of Trump wins they will not be able to do so.
This isn’t WW II, and a Chinese “invasion” of Taiwan (or liberation of Taiwan from U.S. military occupation, which would be a more correct description of the campaign) isn’t going to look like D-Day.
Taiwan is small enough for China to be able to completely obliterate all (U.S.) air defenses located on (and off) the island before sending in paratroopers to secure key locations.
Then, and only then, will China start shipping troops to the island… and U.S. will be able to do literally nothing to stop it.
Either way, it sure seems that Russians and Chinese have agreed on China opening a new front against the U.S. in Taiwan.
This is a video of the Chinese military drill
This is a MM video, direct copy from the PLA.
What do poor people in the United States of America eat?
When I was born my dad could not get work, so he decided to rob a service station, well that sent him to prison for the 1st 5 years of my life. So we lived with my grandmother (mom and baby me) in a place called piedmont courts back in the 50’s.
When my dad served his time he found work in a blue collar trade which he learned in prison and so life was basically lower middle class, which is to say we had a car, 9″ Black and White TV, meat and potatoes, new clothing twice a year, Easter and the start of school, and by new clothing I am talking new pants maybe shoes and shirt just one or two of each. We lived with my aunt and uncle as we did not have enough money to get a apartment or home.
Then when my baby brother was born, I was 11 years 7 months old, my dad left with the parting phrase, “I did not want the first bastard I sure don’t want the second” so my mom with a 3rd grade education, so petite she bought her clothing from the girls section, and no programs to help; was homeless.
Now I must admit she could have gotten help from her family but there were conditions she unwilling to tolerate. My new born baby brother was to be placed with my Aunt M and Uncle J’s family to properly raise, I was to go to a boarding school and mom had to live with an old maid aunt/chaperon in Marion county South Carolina.
Mom would rather die than lose us so we were homeless, we lived in the streets in cities from Miami FL (weather was a factor) to Worcester MA, mom’s favorite brother lived there; we crossed a picket line in Philadelphia and mom was beaten and they threatened to kill my baby brother and myself, a cab driver rescued us. Also in Philadelphia I almost died due to hypothermia, I was carrying my baby brother in about 2 or 3 feet of snow (remember homeless) and mom could tell I was in real trouble, so she went to a Catholic church which turned out to be a nunnery, mom begged and pleaded for help for me and my baby brother, they gave us blankets, soup, let us sleep in the kitchen and gave us some money for a bus to go somewhere warmer, Miami. (Note: we lived in an abandoned car a fireman showed mom the location of in Miami)
For a short time we lived with Aunt R whom was also divorced, (Note: Divorce was looked down on greatly at the time, so much so we could not rent a place even if we had money, because they would not rent to a single woman with two children, they just could not have that kind of trash living in their apartments). My mom was recruited to work massage parlors, which evolved to prostitution, which lead her arrest for solicitation in Norfolk. I have some really scary stories and some great ones.
I am just establishing I was by any standard poor.
What did we eat, well when we got extra money, there were food stands that sold hot dogs 10 for a dollar, burgers 5 for a dollar etc. those were special times. When we lived with aunt Rachel and her 4 children and boyfriend of the day, Robert my cousin and I would scour the roads for soda bottles, take them to the grocery store, cash them in and buy a bag of rice or beans, get a can of jack mackerel for the rice or ham bone for the beans cook it in a big pot and everyone ate well. When we were in the streets we would buy a can of anything that could be eaten cold, basically open can and eat. We also scoured for food, behind restaurants, trash, day old goods from the bread factory. There were lots of days week old moon pies and miniature pecan pies or just stale white bread kept us going as we lived in abandoned cars, under picnic tables, trash cans, or sewer pipes.
When I was in my 50’s I searched out my family, reconnected with them and they spent a lot of time telling me we did not have to go through this, but it was all mom could think of in order for us to stay together, there were no programs at that time, and welfare was basically a block of cheese, big can of peanut butter, and staples like beans and rice.
To this day I will eat grits with a raw egg in it, soup with stale bread broke up in it, rice and fish. I can afford steak I just don’t want it, never developed a taste for all that fancy food, so it is no loss.
Last note, I never loved my mom any less, she did the best she could do, I settled things with my dad, granted in my 50’s, he admitted he did wrong took 100% of the blame and never shifted any to mom, that helped me in getting over his abandoning us. All of these people have passed, most in the last 18 months, my dad died November 20th 2016, my wife of 47 years Martha passed April 12th also 2016; without a doubt her passing is the greatest loss of my life. Yea, I know this is perhaps too much info but it is therapeutic for me and I do not think people realize what others go through. There was no drug or alcohol abuse involved in all this, just life as it happens.
That is what a poor abandoned/divorced white woman with a 3rd grade education, an 11 year old and infant living on the streets ate.
Single Mothers Are GOING MAD Trying To Date When They Learn Men Want NOTHING From Them Besides Sex
Advanced lithography (e.g. EUV / DUV) gets all the attention but not enough in the Natsec OSINT community are paying attention to industrial-grade glycine, a critical amino acid used in the semiconductor supply chain to help remove degraded resist during the etching process. Advanced etch processes enable chipmakers to use triple or even quadruple (!) patterning to create the tiny features found in most modern chip designs.
Table
Due to BIS export controls announced in October 2022, all exports of industrial-grade glycine below ISO 140001 certified levels (more on this below) from the U.S. and allied nations were restricted. This has forced the Chinese specialty chemicals industry to scramble to find new supply alternatives, as the sector has long been dominated by Japanese supplier Ajinomoto and UK-based GEO Specialty Chemicals.
Over the past year, Donghua Jinlong Chemical — based in the heart of China’s military-industrial complex in Shijiazhuang, Hebei — has risen to prominence. Founded in 1979 by a former mid-level apothecary in the PLA, it has long been a provider of food-grade glycine but in response to export controls, re-developed its glycine formulas for industrial (and possible “dual” military) use.
Since 2022, Donghua Jinlong has rapidly expanded production capacity, building no less than sixty-eight “lights out” factories with aggregate production capacity of 1.7 trillion picograms — not a typo — of aggregate annual capacity. In a stunning turnaround from peak supply chain disruption in late 2022 / early 2023, analysts are now expressing worries about spillover excess capacity into food-grade glycine given the rapid rate of factory expansion. Shares of Nissin, Nongshim, and Master Kong plummeted last week on volatile trading in glycine commodity prices.
This plus a slick marketing campaign on TikTok have propelled Donghua Jinlong to a dominant 42.807% global market share in this critical material.
Last month, Donghua Jinlong was elevated to national-level “champion” status and hailed as a Party paradigm in the “upcoming round of techno-scientific revolution and industrial transformation” (新一轮科技革命和产业变革) that is one of the pillars of “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” (习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想).
Unlike the poseurs at Huawei — much less Hubei Jingfa Chemical Group with its puny 3.653% market share — Donghua Jinlong is certified to ISO 22000, 90001, and 140001 standards. The last one is especially difficult to attain and industry analysts were more shocked by its ability to reach 140001 standards than SMIC’s ability to reach HVP at N6+ earlier this year.
TL;DR: All y’all cucks really ought to pay more attention to industrial-grade glycine and Donghua Jinlong.
Why has Apple initiated a price war against Huawei in China?
Many people do not know this but the price of the iPhone on the mainland was higher than HK, Japan and the US.
Despite being made IN CHINA!
And despite China having a far lower GDP per capita.
This is merely Apple taking cues from VW and other EV makers who price identical models at far lower prices on the mainland compared to their home markets.
Why?
That’s what it takes to stay abreast of the competition.
CHINESE competition.
Huawei is back, and providing a stiff challenge to iPhone sales, in addition to policy changes banning iPhone use, and the removal of certain apps from the app store.
Apple hit peak Apple on the mainland in 2023, and it’s a painful slide down the mountain.
There are rumors of a 4th ecosystem based on RISC-V and a brand-new OS that a consortium of Chinese handset makers are developing. Volume production at advanced nodes will see the retreat of Android and Qualcomm in the 6G era, and I won’t be surprised if Apple sales plummet to 25–50% of current levels in the coming 5–10 years.
It’s just business reacting to flagging sales here.
Which is good news for the Chinese buyer.
Falling Down – The Great American Lie
This is great, deep and I am so glad that someone else understands this movie. Yeah. A must watch.
The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has kicked off joint military drills surrounding the island of Taiwan. What’s the purpose of it?
Because of this speech made in Taipei:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCC9tUESNIQ
An irresponsible, dangerous, and stupid political stunt by a former Secretary of State who remains sanctioned by China.
He is essentially tearing up the three communiques, and openly pushing for the independence of Taiwan.
The 3 communiques are words that underpin the basis of US-China diplomacy. Tearing them up equals the end of relations, and most likely, open war.
uh, I made a few heads hurt a couple years ago when I took a position uh, that said, “You know, it’s time for the United States to recog- recognize Taiwan as a sovereign and independent country.”
Um, you should know, I I thought about this a lot before making that statement. As a former Secretary of State, people think about what you say. Sometimes they think about what you say, and they say, “You’re just crazy.” Um, but I thought about it a lot, and I came back to what I tried to write about in my book. I came back to the central idea that we shouldn’t live in a make-believe world. We shouldn’t say things that everyone knows aren’t true. We should accept fundamental, basic truths and speak about them openly, no matter what that means, what, no matter what the second-order implications of that are. We should, when when we live in a fantasy world, we create enormous risk.
Um, this wasn’t just a, a gesture or a diplomatic nicety. Um, recognizing this place, Taiwan, as an independent, sovereign, free nation is true. It reflects the reality. You know, I was I was speaking, uh, a week or so back about this law that China has on its books, this idea of an anti-secession law. That’s just crazy, right? When when Xi Jinping speaks of Taiwan as being reunified with his country, this is propaganda. This is an effort to shape the minds of your children, and shape the minds of people around the world who don’t know the history, that don’t know the history that is so central to why it is, it would be important for the United States to make a declarative statement about Taiwan and its independence. It’s a it’s it’s a simple call to just recognize the existing reality. You govern yourself democratically. We saw this yesterday with your peaceful transition of power. You control territory. You engage in international trade. You do so as a separate entity, deeply separate from the People’s Republic of China. None of your real estate, none of your territory, is under the PRC’s sovereign control. Uh, to suggest otherwise belies the reality. You know, the risk is that the PRC has misinterpreted the – the PRC stance, and frankly we’ we’ve had these set of understandings, these communique- these agreements, that have been made uh, long ago now, um, and perhaps they were workable in decades gone by. It’s possible.
Um, when the other side violates an agreement, and there are really only two parties involved, it makes no sense for the other side to continue to honor those commitments. This isn’t about belligerence. This isn’t about an effort to create conflict. This is about recognizing conflict. This is about recognizing that there is an aggressive party, and there’s a party that is a potential victim of that aggression. That’s the people of Taiwan, not the people and the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. They are the aggressor. They are the ones who have threatened and attempted to coerce this place. You are the ones who have stood up to this coercion, aggression, ways that are important and noble and decent, and God bless you for that.
And finally, I, what pushed me over the edge to say that America ought to take that position is a reflection of my country’s history, my country’s history of recognizing people and their sovereign right to protect their own borders and to create prosperity for their own people. We correct an historical oversight when we get this right, but it also strength- strengthens a peaceful and democratic peoples. It’s not just you. It’s not just a policy adjustment. It is a moral and strategic imperative. And it is a necessary and it is a rightful acknowledgement of the democratic process of your true, free, and sovereign state. Time for us to act boldly, together. And when we do, when we do, I am convinced uh, that we will look back on the day that we just acknowledged the truth and the reality, we will look back on that day as a day that was an inflection point in world history, an inflection point in the history of this place, and an inflection point for the peoples of the entire region, and we made their lives better, safer, and more prosperous.
China Has SURROUNDED Taiwan, Russia Runs NUCLEAR DRILLS, Media Says WW3 IS NOW And Biden IS LOSING
Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao, today publicly announced “The Japanese people will be dragged into a fiery hell,” after Japan pledged support to Taiwan.
The ambassador has already been summoned to the Taiwan Foreign Ministry.
Hal Turner Snap Analysis
WOW! That language is so unusual as to be completely unknown coming from _any_ China official.
Seems as though old animosities are resurfacing in Asia.
This is not the language used by Diplomats . . . or are we in a new paradigm?
If this is what their DIPLOMAT says . . . can any of us imagine the level of anger/hatred the Chinese still feel against Japan for the “Rape of Nanking?”
Sounds to me like someone has some very old scores to settle.
This could get ugly.
Women CRIES Being 33 Years Old And SINGLE, Society LIED To Men & Women
Men are lonely. Women are lonely. I so feel for this woman. Sad girl. Terrible!
Taken from South-East Asia and transported to America, on May 27, 1902 he was in an enclosure at the Forepaugh Circus in Brooklyn when a keeper, in a state of intoxication, decided to throw sand on him and burn his trunk with a cigarette. The animal left no escape for man, but from that day on, especially for obvious marketing reasons, it was advertised as “the bad elephant that killed 12 people”.
The animal’s growing aggressiveness in the face of instigation convinced the owners to sell it to the Sea Lion Park; Here it wasn’t long before Topsy became the protagonist of a new attack and escaped from the facility, once again after being hit in the ear with a pitchfork.
The new owners thus found themselves obliged to euthanize the elephant in an event open to the paying public; For Topsy, three systems were planned to be used simultaneously: poisoning with cyanide-laced carrots, hanging with iron cables and finally electrocution.
The latter had been strongly sponsored by Thomas Edison who wanted to demonstrate in this way the danger of alternating current, supported by George Westinghouse in favor of direct current; a shock of 6,600V, lasting 10 seconds, killed the animal instantly.
Famous Pennsylvania Dutch Sticky Cinnamon Buns
IMG 8776 sticky buns
Ingredients
1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk, scalded
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour, divided
3 tablespoons soft butter
1/2 cup chopped raisins
2 tablespoons currants
2 tablespoons finely chopped citron
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
Soften yeast in warm water and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
Add milk to sugar and salt. Mix and cool to lukewarm.
Add 1 cup flour and mix until smooth. Stir in yeast. Add remaining flour mixing well. Knead dough on floured board until smooth. Put in greased bowl, grease top, cover with towel and let rise in warm room until double.
Punch down dough, and roll into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Brush with the softened butter and spread with mixture of raisins, currants, citron, the 1/4 cup brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up like a jellyroll and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. Lay the slices in a buttered 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Cover and let rise until doubled.
Sprinkle top with the 3 tablespoons brown sugar.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.
Are you sick of the tipping culture in the United States?
This week I took my family out to some fancy Italian restaurant to celebrate my daughter’s college graduation.
This is a type of place that everything is a la carte because I guess making you pay for side dishes makes it a fancy restaurant.
I digress. So the bill is $225. And it included a 3% fee which was never explained to me but let’s assume it’s a credit card fee.
At the bottom of the receipt list the suggested tips 20% 23% and 25%.
Here’s my problem in the past 3 years going out to eat has gone up by 25% in the United States. Tips are based on the cost of the restaurant so inherently the tips went up by 25%. And yet I guess this is not enough, on top of that there’s an expectation for a 25% tip? You got to be kidding me.
Now before you tell me how I’m a cheapskate and servers work hard for their money let me tell you about a week ago I went with my daughter and wife out to a breakfast place the bill was $45 the service was excellent and I left $10.
According to my calculations that $10 is over 20%. But that is not the point. The point is are you telling me that that waitstaff at the fancy Italian restaurant work any harder than if the breakfast place I went to?
I am so irritated with the tipping culture of the United States, especially the expectations at fancy restaurants that do not necessarily go above and beyond for service.
There is something unexpected about kids in China.
Every single one of them, from boys to girls, love Ultraman.
I know…!
It’s a Japanese character from the 1960’s, but no it hasn’t gone away. It just settled in for the long haul. And the kids in China all love this persona. And they cannot tell if it is a boy or a girl. Thus, all the kids of all genders love this hero!
As a doctor or nurse, what’s the most horrible thing you’ve ever seen in a patient which you can’t forget?
a retired paramedic – we went to a domestic violence incident. The poor woman, this wasn’t our first call out to her and we’d seen her so badly beaten before, but this time the filthy mongrel in his drunken rage had put a star picket (a metal fencing post that looks like a star at each end) into the outdoor fire pit, he then beat her, accused her of having sex with other men he then raped her with that star picket. We didn’t think she’d survive this one as we took her to hospital full lights n siren. We hadn’t seen her for a very long time after this event and we though she may have died, then one night we got her address come up, a DV situation again. We thought dispatch made a mistake when they said it was a male casualty. We got there and yep he’d started to beat her, this time she waited till he passed out drunk and she beat him with a star picket. He survived with major brain injury so will never beat anyone again and she got prison. I gotta say I wanted to cheer her on and high five her. Like she said prison is way safer than living with him.
What did the teacher in your high school get fired for?
I had a PE teacher that was a stereotype of a PE teacher. He was a shorter man, pretty buff, always wore shorts, bald with some facial hair. You’ve seen the type in movies. Let’s call him Mr. X.
The PE classes were mixed 9th and 10th grade. I was in 10th grade (sophomore year). A new boy arrived one day and he had a serious attitude problem. He was angry at the world. (A 9th grader, so PE was my only class with him). Every day he was mouthy and disrespectful. Yelling at kids, pushing and shoving, trying to start fights. Mr. X could not stand the kid. He’d send him to “go run laps” when his attitude got on his nerves.
One day, I don’t know how it started but I’m with my group doing some PE thing and we hear serious yelling. The kid has come up off the track and is shouting obscenities at Mr. X and stalking towards him. Mr. X turns this shade of reddish purple and meets the kid halfway and punches him. The kid starts fighting him and Mr. X kicks his ass. Full on brawl. All of us kids are watching this with jaws dropped.
Next thing we knew, the kid was lying there, and the freaking Principal and Security guards are there. Mr. X is escorted away. The Principal apologizes for us “having to see that”. The kid gets up and is taken away.
I never saw Mr. X again. The kid was fine, but super subdued after that. Never heard of any more trouble with him. He was a year behind me so he could have been expelled for all I know the next year, I just know he did not have an attitude problem in PE again.
The next day in PE, my little petite math teacher was there to teach us. She was totally out of her depth.. but that’s another story 😉
The ceremony itself was fine. The weather was beautiful and the priest gave a great sermon.
The reception on the other hand was where I really felt bad for the bride and her family.
-One of his groomsman decided he wanted to make a speech as he felt he should have been best man. (My friend’s brother was his only choice as they are best friends as well)
-Two other guys almost came to blows over one of the few single female guests (She wasn’t interested in either of them btw)
-The bride’s family was not shy about stating their disdain for pretty much everything.
And worst of them all….They asked all the guests to make a video wishing the bridecand groom well. One of his buds was absolutely hammered goes up and says in a mock Tony Soprano/Vinnie Barbarino accent:
“Congratchlerations youse two pricks….and Tony if dis bitch gives you any trouble you let me know and I’ll have her whacked”
The bride saw this and was PISSED!! She pulled groom and said she wanted him to leave and read my friend the riot act about inviting that weasel in the first place.
Fortunately the videographer was able to edit him out.
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy is popular all over America. It’s a staple dish on diner menus.
biscuits sausage gravy
Yield: 6 servings, 2 biscuits each
Ingredients
Biscuits
3 cups self-rising soft wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Butter, melted
Sausage Gravy
1 pound breakfast sausage (mild or hot)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt or seasoned salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1/8 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
Bisicuits
Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.
Add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 4 or 5 times.
Roll dough to 3/4 inch thickness; cut with a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake at 425 degrees F for 12 minutes or until golden.
Brush tops with butter.
Split biscuits open; serve with Sausage Gravy.
Sausage Gravy
Brown sausage in a skillet, stirring until it crumbles.
Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Set sausage aside.
Add butter to drippings; heat over low heat until butter melts.
Add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Gradually add milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly.
Stir in seasonings and sausage. Cook until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly.
1. A good way to get your friends to buy you drinks at a bar is to tell them you quit drinking.
2. After meeting someone and shaking hands, smell your palm. Guarantee they won’t ever talk to you again.
3. If you want to sound sick when calling in to your work, lie on your back while hanging your head over the edge of the bed. You will sound congested.
4. Spill drink in the seat in front of you at the movies to avoid people blocking your view.
5. Want to go on a foreign vacation and can’t afford a flight? Just purchase a one way, then overstay your visa and get deported for free!
6. If you’re stuck on an annoying call, put your phone on airplane mode instead of hanging up. The other person will see “call failed”instead of “call ended”.
7. Take pictures of yourself everyday or week of you slowly getting fatter. When you have reached a good heavy weight, post all the photos in reverse and attach an exercise plan to sell.
8. If you ever want to be nosy and rummage through someone’s desk drawers but are scared of being caught, do so while holding an empty stapler.
9. When you start a new job, tell them you have a pine allergy. When Christmas comes and they start decorating remind them and then work from home that month.
10. At a crowded bar, and can’t get a seat? Go up to the hottest woman there, and hit on her. She’ll leave in disgust, and you can take her seat.
11. Flatulence works well for clearing crowds in front of famous paintings at art museums.
12. Put an old parking ticket on your windshield when parking illegally so the parking cops think you already got a ticket.
13. If you’re about to get in a fight tell the other person that you are HIV positive.
14. When meeting someone, tell them you are twice as far away from them as you actually are, and are willing to meet halfway, l.e. a block away from where you currently are.
15. If you’re flying somewhere and realize you have something that won’t get by security, turn it in to ‘lost and found’. Go pick it up when you return.
16. If someone asks to see your ID, act affronted, yell “you’re an ID!”, and stomp off in a huff.
Economic Danger: IMF Slams The U.S. Over China, WARNS Of Cold War Fragmentation
It happened to me. A year ago, I was 64, starting to think about retirement. I have a 24-mile commute through mountain roads and it can get treacherous during the winter. After missing a day because I was snowed in, I said, “the hell with this,” gave my boss notice, and started looking for another job, closer to home.
The next day the regional vice-president called and offered me a raise. I told him all my concerns about my age and the weather.
The day after that the president of the company called from HQ in Florida. I’d never met him before, but he offered me a bigger raise, one that would make me the highest-paid person with my job title in the company.
And I quickly realized that the reason I was commuting 24 miles over mountain passes was because there weren’t any jobs in my area. I could go to work for my son-in-law, but I’d already worked for him, and he’d fired me. Twice. We learned we really shouldn’t work together.
So I told the president of the company I’d stay.
A year and a half later I’m still there. Now I sort of feel obligated to stay, and pressure to do a fabulous job to earn that high paycheck they’re giving me (but my quality of work must have been at least acceptable or they wouldn’t have made the offer, right?) And I’m socking away a bit of money for my eventual retirement, whenever that is.
But part of me still wishes that I told them I was done. So to this day I don’t know if I made the right choice or not.
Yep, I woke up early one Saturday morning to what sounded like a bull dozier in my yard. I looked out of my bedroom window and saw a small bulldozer pushing oner a medium sized pine tree on my property.
I went up to the dozier and tried to get the attention of the driver who seemed intent on lining up his dozier for another one of my trees, he had already pushed down three.
I slammed my hand against the door and startled the driver. I asked him what the was doing. He leaned over and told me he had been hired to move some trees by my neighbor. I asked him “Isn’t it customary to get the owners permission before you push down his trees?”.
He said the neighbor had showed him which trees he was to push down. I told him to cease and desist until I got back.
I went to my neighbor and asked him by what authority he was pushing my trees down.He said “Those trees are outside of your fence” . I agreed but told him that I owned 20 feet of land outside of my fence and that the trees in question were clearly within the 20 feet.
He asked me “Why didn’t you put your fence around your whole property?”.
I told him it was my land, my fence, and my business but the fence did not mark the end of my property.
He went to get his plat and sure enough he had violated my property. He is such a jackass.
After Thought:
I didn’t sue the guy, but I should have. Later his dog came into my yard and attacked my wife’s cat. My yard, my wife’s cat, his damn dog.
I took the cat to the vet trying to save its life. The vet operated on the cat but eventually he had to put the cat down, because its ribs had destroyed its lungs and it struggled to breathe. It was clearly in terrible pain. My wife was hurting too. After the cat was euthanized, the bill was over $8,000.00.
I was angry and called that jackass and told him what had happened. He told me that he had no control over the dog and did not send it to my house, it had just wandered over there. It was only a cat, after all and I should have not spent that much money to save it’s life.
I told him, you will pay for that cat’s medical expenses and anything else I could make him pay for, just because he was a jackass.
I sued him and won, but there is no pain and suffering for a cat. There should be but there isn’t .
He is still a jackass.
Hegemonitis: Why The West Has Become So Dumb
After British “Storm Shadow” and French “SCALP-EG” Missiles Strike Russia, “Response against London and Paris Coming”
In mid and late April, Ukrainian SU-27 “Flanker” aircraft fired missiles into Russia. The missile debris was retrieved by Russia and forensic exam revealed they were AASM-250 “Hammer” from France and AGM-88 from the U.S.
In the video below, released by Ukraine Armed Forces, the jet is shown firing AASM-250 “Hammer” extended range bombs into Russia:
Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker operations, conducting standoff strikes with US-supplied AGM-88 HARMS and French-supplied AASM-250 Hammer extended range bombs. pic.twitter.com/1WhMGMxZRA
In the next video, also released by Ukrainian military, another Ukraine Air Force jet is shown firing AMERICAN AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation (HARM) missiles into Russia:
Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 launching US-supplied anti-radar AGM-88 HARM missiles. pic.twitter.com/Zo7oiErh4m
Over the past few months, other missile attacks into Russia from Ukraine were forensically analyzed by Russia and, at various locations, the missile were determined to be either French SCALP-EG cruise missiles, or British “STORM SHADOW” cruise missiles.
Russia has repeatedly warned the United States, Britain, and France – all of whom are supplying weapons to Ukraine — that such weaponry cannot be used to attack inside Russia. Those warnings have apparently been ignored.
Earlier this week, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (Their version of a Senate) said, in a media interview: “Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG missiles are not controlled by the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but by the British and French who arrived in Ukraine.”
He went on to add: “That is why the response to such actions will not be long in coming, and the target will not only be Kiev, but also London and Paris.”
“I’m embarrassed to be out in public with my boyfriend.”
My boyfriend and i have been together for 2 years. I love my boyfriend, but he lacks social awareness and doesn’t have good manners. For example, when we went out to dinner the other night, he was talking/laughing extremely loudly, burping and farting. When we go to the movies, he talks regularly rather than whispering and makes commentary about the movie, which annoys the other people in the theatre. Also, whenever we walk past a group of people, he tries to be funny and says stupid things. For example, the other day, we were walking past a group of guys and my boyfriend was like “i need to fart” super loudly. Mind you, he’s 27.
I don’t know if i’m being overly sensitive or if his behaviour is childish and unacceptable. How can i handle this situation?
Dear Embarrassed Girlfriend,
Your boyfriend’s lack of social awareness and immature behavior in public settings is understandably frustrating and embarrassing for you. Burping, farting loudly, making inappropriate commentary at the movies, and saying crude things to strangers is the kind of conduct most people outgrow by the time they graduate high school, not the way a 27-year-old man should be acting.
You’re absolutely right to be bothered by this. It’s not overly sensitive to expect your partner to have basic manners, exercise restraint, and behave respectfully in shared public spaces. His childish antics reflect poorly on him and on you by association.
The real issue is why your boyfriend seems oblivious to social norms and unconcerned with how his behavior affects you and others around him. Have you talked to him directly about this? I would sit him down at a neutral time, not right after an incident, and calmly explain how his actions make you feel. Use “I” statements like “I feel embarrassed when you make loud bodily noises in restaurants” rather than “You always humiliate me.”
See if he’s receptive to toning things down and working on his self-control and social skills. If he gets defensive, minimizes your feelings, or refuses to make an effort to change, then you’ll need to consider whether you can accept this long-term. It’s no fun constantly cringing at your partner’s behavior.
Ultimately, you can’t force him to change, but you can and should advocate for yourself. Make clear that the status quo is unacceptable to you. If he’s unwilling to modify his behavior, you may need to modify the relationship. There’s someone out there who can make you laugh without making you cringe.
Shorpy
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Vedant Agarwal, the rich boy got drunk, drove his Porsche SUV at 240 kms/hr and killed two people in Pune. Why did the judge grant him a prompt bail by stating it did not find the crime committed by the juvenile to be ‘serious’?
Because he is a Minor
Indian law after the Nirbhaya Incident can treat Juveniles as Adults when judging and delivering sentences but the law still allows Juveniles to be given leniency during pre trial proceedings including BAIL
The Bail was delivered on the grounds that
During Pre Trial, a Minor can’t be considered an Adult. Only during trial can the prosecutor request and apply for the Minor to be considered as an Adult and he will be punished as an Adult meaning Port Arthur or Yerwada is definite rather than JDC or Reform School
Thus the Minor was released on Bail
It’s within norms of Indian Law
However I am surprised the father or mother haven’t been booked under 199 MVA
Typically when a Minor drives a car, his father or mother or the owner of the car is held liable and will be booked
They may not get bail so easily
Maybe they complained that the car was stolen
Please note :-
He has only got Bail
He has to report to Police Station every Wednesday and Friday
He has to surrender his passport immediately
If he flees, his parents will face charges
He will be tried for 304A , 279, 338 IPC and various sections of the MVA and if found guilty will definitely be treated as an Adult
What if this was a poor 16 year old kid without a rich father?
Ah!
If that was the case, he would be sent to a Juvenile Home on Remand and would not likely be released until sentencing and would likely move from Juvenile Remand to Jail on reaching 18 years
I quoted Indian law, never said it was applied equally and fairly
A reason I call it a Cesspit Nation
Cat Adopts Orphaned Tiger Cubs. 3 Years Later, She Reunites With Them & The Unthinkable Happens!
When a zoo cat unexpectedly loses her entire litter of kittens, she is heartbroken and inconsolable. But then, another feline mother lives the opposite experience – she gives birth to healthy kittens, and rejects them. The zookeepers worry about the tiny cats. Without their mother and no one else to raise them, they will lack several skills they will need as adults. But then, the first cat adopts the orphaned kittens… even if they’re actually tigers. A year later, they are separated to allow the tigers to flourish. 3 more years pass, and the three cats are reunited. What happens next is unthinkable!
We had been best friends during high school and were practically attached at the hip. Two girls in a close group of five friends.
We would spend every chance we got as a group.
One night we went out to a dance club and I hit it off with a really nice guy.
The guy asked for my number, and I gave it to him.
The next evening, my friends and I met up, as usual, and my female best friend asked me in a teasing manner, whether I’m planning on going out with the xxxxxx from last night.
The x’s are in place because it stands for a very derogatory term for a black person.
The guy that I gave my number to it was black.
My former best friend then went on to say that no friend of hers will go out with a xxxxxx.
I was too shocked to answer, and have to admit that back then I was not a confrontational person and tried to laugh it off because I was so embarrassed by what she said. But she was serious.
Her words stuck with me as something I could never forgive her for.
She never even spoke to the guy, yet decided he was less than her because of the color of his skin.
I have to mention that he called me a couple days later, I wasn’t home, and spoke to my mother (this was in the 90’s, before the prevalence of cell phones).
When I got home, my mother was gushing over the polite young man that called me.
My mother was always annoyed that my friends didn’t have proper calling etiquette (like saying “hi, May I speak to Michal please”, instead they would say “is Michal there” without even saying hi).
What my racist friend didn’t know is that this young man was a marine, and my mother loved the polite way he spoke to her, and told me she’d love for me to invite him over.
I began to distance myself from that friend after that, which became much easier because we graduated soon after and I didn’t have to look at that racist again.
Let me give you a little back story. I was in a motorcycle accident on base while in the Army. Being a knucklehead boot, I hadn’t gotten a motorcycle license, and my registration and insurance were out of date. Somebody didn’t see me and pulled in front me, and I T-boned her car. When the MPs showed up, she was clearly at fault for the accident but when I went to show my license, registration and insurance, I was given multiple tickets.
Fast forward to my day in court. The driving without insurance was a no-joke offense with up to a $1000 fine and a year in jail. I negotiated with the prosecutor before the case that I would accept a $500 fine and be done.
I went before the judge, who read off the charges and suggested they were serious charges and I could go to jail and I should get a lawyer. I looked over to the prosecutor, who just gave me a little hand wave like “Don’t worry about it.”
The judge then strongly suggested I get a lawyer, which I declined. When I declined, he rapped his gavel and said, “Fine, you are condemned to a $1000 fine and one year in jail.” This would have also ended my military career and resulted in a less-than-honorable discharge. I did not go down, but my knees turned to jelly.
The prosecutor jumped, asked to speak to the judge and ran to the bench. After a quick sidebar the judge said, “OK, $500 fine, next case.”
I worked as a Security manager at a large retail store and was friendly with the Store Controller, who managed the computer system.
This was late 90’s and the PC’s were still monochrome, DOS based, and very difficult to utilise. So one morning my colleague said I must come and take a look at how he is able to clone a session on any terminal in the store and look at sales and other transactions that are taking place as they are captured – “live”.
He asked me, which area he must connect to, so we can see if anything is happening. One of my favourite areas was the watch counter as they had some really cool stuff. After typing in a few commands, the screen changes to the till at the counter and seconds later we see a credit for a Fossil watch – R600.00, around $80.
I owned a Fossil watch and this piqued my interest, why would someone return this brand of watch, I thought they were really nice. So I told my buddy, let’s go downstairs to the counter and find out why the customer was not happy.
Arriving at the counter we met the cashier, and I asked her to see the watch, also asking why the client had brought it back.
I will never forget the look on her face – her smile turned into sheer terror… there was no watch. She was crediting items that did not exist, paying cash out of the till as “refund” which went into her pocket. She was also responsible for stock control and was able to manipulate figures so the fictitious returns were well hidden. Being a staff member for a little over 6 years, one can only imagine how much money she had taken.
It still amazes me how she was caught, the total number of random events and the exact timing that led to her demise. Karma? I am a firm believer.
There’s one type of steel whose production method have been lost to history but people are still trying to replicate today: Damascus steel.
Damascus steel is pretty legendary, because the method of making it is lost to history, because of its intricate, beautiful pattern, and also because of its durability. Perhaps more surprisingly, traces of carbon nanotubes have been found in real Damascus blades. Now, this is obviously an unintended byproduct of the manufacturing process but it does explain how the material became so highly regarded to the point of being mythical; it had been said that real Damascus blades could cut through a gun barrel (most likely a myth; the same way that supposedly Japanese WW2 mass-produced katana was said to have cut through hot gun barrels. It’s very unlikely at best).
The term ‘Damascus’ itself is also hotly debated: What constitutes a proper ‘Damascus’?
Interestingly, the Damascus steel is not from Damascus. It is actually thought to be from India, though it became associated with Persia and the Arab world. In fact, it got as far as Russia, where it was called ‘Bulat’. There are plenty of theories how they became called ‘Damascus’, like that Europeans who first encountered it found it in Damascus (back then one of the centers of sword production), or it was a corruption of a renowned Arab swordmaker’s name who made these, and so on. Regardless, people from Damascus do not refer to this steel as ‘Damascus’. The truth of the origin of the name is also likely lost to history.
In the 19th century, ‘Damascus’ was the term for ‘pattern-welded steel’ that was used in making knifes and gun barrels. And then in the 20th century, people started marketing their patterned knifes as ‘Damascus’ to latch on to the fame, adding further to the confusion.
Scientists and engineers have been trying to recreate the material from current samples, but so far they could only come close but not exactly replicate the process. To make them properly, a smith would need the correct raw materials and knowledge of the procedures, both of which probably will never be found again.
HOWEVER, by today’s standards, Damascus isn’t all that special with regards to its strength, the same way that Japanese swords aren’t particularly superior to European or other types of swords. Back then, however, seeing something so beautiful and yet durable must have been nearly magical.
Have you ever had a job where you met a person you later dated or married?
Yes, and I regret it.
We worked together for several years, and one day, I disclosed that I was going through a divorce. She sympathized as her marriage was a mess. We commiserated about our mutual marriage problems for some time, and (I think partially based on my situation) she filed for divorce.
We “dated” in secret until her divorce was final, and then a year or so later, we got married.
After a few years, she moved to a different company (so that all of our eggs were not in one basket…). We both changed jobs several times, moved three times, and had a pretty good life.
I don’t regret the good times. What I do regret is not taking the advice of my first divorce attorney to get a prenuptial agreement before marrying again.
When we both entered into our second marriages, I had a decent nest egg. She was broke. Being in love, I felt the prenup wasn’t necessary. Oh, hell yes, it was necessary. Not only did I pull her out of bankruptcy, but I shifted her and her four kids into a very comfortable life. We went on multiple cruises and international vacations and had very nice homes (e.g., several 5-bedroom, 5-acre properties).
After the kids were all grown and living independently, I think I outlived my usefulness and she left me. Earlier promises to allow me to keep my entire retirement account went out the window, and her attorney fought for half of everything – including pre-marital assets that I thought were excluded. That’s a long, sordid story, but how many people keep detailed financial records from 25+ years ago? And with no prenuptial agreement, I was screwed.
I know of many successful marriages between people who met at work. I’m not suggesting that is a bad thing. My only caution is to protect any family or personal assets by getting a prenup.
Marriage — To have or not to have a life partner is a matter of choice. But I’ll tell you why it’s worthwhile. Life is better enjoyed when you’re in pairs.
Sex — This comes at number two on the list for obvious reasons. Unless you’re celibate, you absolutely need this. Besides, without it, marriages are dead. Biology calls. And it perpetuates your genes.
Love — I won’t even begin to explain why you need this. It’s what makes life worthwhile.
Family — Because it provides a support system that no other institution can. And it binds societies together.
Resilience — Life itself is tough and I don’t have to remind you that there are many trials. Developing a thick skin to withstand every storm is a particularly good thing to have.
Risk — Yes, has it ever occurred to you that without risk there can never be any meaningful success? We all learned how to walk by taking risks. Big risks.
Laughter — Have you heard that it takes far fewer facial muscles to smile than to be angry? Well, laughter takes it even further — It pumps that much-needed oxygen into your lungs perpetuating your longevity.
Fitness — Fitness and health go hand in hand. If you’re in the habit of eating well, then go one step further and take some exercises. You’ll keep the doctor away and the bills low.
Happiness — You can do without money but you absolutely need happiness to stay mentally healthy.
Travel — I cannot even begin to explain how the feeling of traveling and experiencing new adventures does to your system. It puts into a state of rest.
Investing — Securing your future is a must if you know that you’ll still be here unless something bad happens. Even if something bad happens to you, it is still worthwhile to invest so that your family may not be left with nothing to eat.
Education — You can’t imagine how the ability to read and write is powerful. Obtaining relevant education is not only worthwhile but also an investment.
Friends — Friends do come in handy especially if you’re in tight places.
Goal setting — You can’t just live aimlessly in life.
Discipline — Will keep you out of trouble.
Wisdom — Will help you make good decisions and sound judgments.
Passion — You absolutely need this.
Courage — You will try and fail many times. You must equip yourself with this ability to keep trying even when you know you risk to fail again.
Focus — There are just a bunch of things that will work for you. Setting your focus is absolutely necessary to ensure you don’t miss the target.
Self-belief — If you don’t believe and appreciate yourself, no one else will.
Walmart Issues a Major Warning To Entire US Economy (It’s Bad)
Around 2010, I went to check out a 1984 Ford Bronco. It was in really nice shape, but the owner had tried to convert the 300 I6 engine from a small 1bbl carburetor to a big aftermarket 4bbl, as well as performance headers and exhaust. Afterward, he couldn’t get it to drive much more than about 15 mph and it was gutless. He eventually parked it and it sat for about a year or two until he finally decided to just get rid of it.
I went over and looked at it, and despite the fact that he had to fight with it for about 30 minutes to get it fired up using starting ether, it ran quite nicely and underneath the engine was in good shape. Whatever the problem, it was on the outside (ignition, carb, etc).
I bought it for $600 and towed it out of his yard with my brother steering the Bronco. It was a 20 mile drive home and I didn’t feel like towing it the whole way, so I pulled it into a parking lot and popped the hood.
For some reason, the idle adjustment screw was about 2 inches too long (it’s usually about 1/4″) and it would jam into the body of the carburetor, physically keeping the throttle from opening further than about 5%. Since you normally have to pump a the carb a few times to spray gas into the intake to get it to start, you couldn’t move the pedal enough to get any out (which is why it wouldn’t start). Then, once you did finally get it started, you couldn’t move the pedal far enough to accelerate.
I pulled the screw out and voila. It fired right up. My brother drove my vehicle while I drove the Bronco home at about 30 – 40mph.
Once home, I found out that all the spark plugs all had different gaps, which was causing it to pop and back fire, as well as several intake and exhaust bolts completely missing. Once I fixed those issues, that thing was a beast.
Owned for about 5 years and put about $1000 into maintenance, tires, and miscellaneous fixes. Ended up selling it for about $5000. It was a beauty, and ran like a top.
Part 1 | The Galactic Lyran-Orion Wars | Astral Legends
I am told that this is the REAL DEAL. You please check it out.
I left my wife to take my car to the local MOT station as I was working away, my wife went to collect it that evening ready for me coming back the next day. . She rang me that evening and said “bad news I haven’t got the car cos they said it’s too dangerous to drive ” they estimate for cost to make it roadworthy works out at about 50% of the cars value. , at this point my jaw hit the floor l was speechless . She said the mechanic gave her a list of work that needed doing before he’d release the car for her to drive on the road . The next day I went straight from the station to the garage and said I’ve come to collect my car, the mechanic said ” I’ve explained to your wife it’s not road worthy and can not be released, so she has authorised the work to be done ” I said nonesence nothing has been agreed , after a long and “meaningful ” discussion with the service manager I drove away in my car.!!! The next day I booked it in at the main agents for its MOT, SURPRISE it passed with flying colours, no work was needed. I took my car back to the local MOT station with my new MOT certificate and showed it to the service manager, he said impossible it’s not the same car , he then rang the main agents and spoke to their service manager. I could not hear the exchange but the result was he asked me to leave . The moral of the story is if the garage sees a woman with a car they assume she knows nothing and they will try it on .
What is something that took you way too long to realize is not normal?
When I was 13-years-old, I had a little two-year-old sister who would throw explosive temper tantrums on a daily basis. Loud noises have always bothered me since I was a baby, and this was no different.
Unfortunately, my parents believed that ignoring the temper tantrums was the best way to handle them, and would let my little sister scream for hours on end. Our home was small enough that she could be heard throughout the entire house, and I couldn’t get away from it. Furthermore, my six younger siblings and I were homeschooled, meaning that I was around my family 24/7.
All I wanted as a young teen was to get away and have some time to myself, but that was next to impossible. In addition, I was constantly getting in trouble for not completing my homeschool work on time. I told my parents time and time again that I did not do well with homeschooling, as I needed a structured environment in order to get things done, but they kept blowing me off year after year.
I got into frequent arguments with my parents, often regarding the way they handled my little sister’s temper tantrums which, in turn, got me into trouble for “talking back” and “disrespecting authority.” I would fight with my younger siblings over various things, and I think it’s because I was around them too much. The arguments with my parents and siblings often ended with me running to my room and bawling my eyes out. I had no friends, either, because I was a socially awkward, dorky kid due to my parents sheltering us from the real world.
I wanted to be alone, but would get in trouble with my parents if I slammed or locked my door. I cried for hours every day, wishing that I was never born. I would pull my hair and scratch my arms to punish myself because I knew I was a horrible person at the time and that my family would be better off without me. I remember praying to God to let me die in my sleep, and was actually making serious plans to run away.
At the time, I attributed all this as normal teenage hormones, but now I look back and realize that I was suffering from depression and didn’t even realize it. Furthermore, my entire family was oblivious to the fact as well and my parents didn’t do a damn thing to help me.
I went undiagnosed for six more years — until I was 19 — and thinking about suicide every single day. I told my mom once, “I don’t want to live anymore, but I’m not sure if I want to die either.” I think that’s when it finally clicked for her that something was wrong.
A few days prior to that, I was crying in my car at college and it clicked in my mind that something wasn’t right. I had a roommate that bullied me, and every day I cried myself to sleep. I had lost interest in everything I enjoyed and I felt guilty just for being alive. I was constantly thinking about how I would kill myself, and I was very close to crashing my car while driving one night.
Thankfully, since I have been on medication, I haven’t hit a point as low as that, but I’ve come pretty close several other times. Looking back, I just wish that I would have realized I was battling depression sooner, and maybe my teenage years wouldn’t have been such a nightmare.
Yep, at a fast food place.
I was coming home from a bar and decided to stop at a taco place that stays open until 2am.
I missed key indicators, due to being a tad intoxicated.
I backed in to a parking space right by the door.
I went in and did not even notice what was going down.
I was looking up at the menu, which was in front of the cash registers.
After deciding what I wanted to eat, I looked down and forward and all of the employees were standing there with their hands up over their heads! I looked around and omg I am standing next to one of the robbers. One beside me and one in front behind the counter, with masks over their faces and big guns!
The one standing next to me started yelling and sticking his gun in my face.
I glanced around and saw a small group of patrons huddled over at a table in the back.
I put my hands in the air and told the guy that I didn’t want any trouble and that I was going to join those over in the corner. Hands in the air, I stepped backwards towards that table. If I was going to be shot, no way was it going to be in the back. I faced this robber as I slowly walked backwards away from him.
I think it threw him. He didn’t anticipate that reaction. Thankfully, they only wanted money and did not shoot anyone.
They proceeded to rob the place and run out the door.
A man in the Yukon was telling me about when his wife was about to give birth in the winter. When the temp gets below about 50 below zero the air freezes in your tires so you can’t drive. He took his wife to Whitehorse ahead of time and left her until he could get back to get them. People plan to be frozen in or snowed in for weeks. We drove through the Yukon in November it was really pretty. You don’t use chains there only tourist use chains. The roads then were not paved but packed snow over gravel. Road graders kept them smooth. They are not icy because they freeze once and stay frozen all winter fresh snow is packed on top. When traveling you always carry a couple of heat sources so if your car dies you don’t freeze to death, cans of Sterno can be used to melt snow to drink and heat the interior of your car a little bit. On the road if you break down every single person passing will stop to help so you always stop too.
After an inmate has been in jail/prison for a long time, what is the most shocking thing for them after coming out for several years?
My ex was a probation officer. Her job was to deal with serious sex offenders who’d just been released from long sentences.
While being away these guys had lost their home, their job, their partner etc so had nothing to come out to. Hence they were accommodated in hostels.
Ideally she’d like to integrate these people in to society but the assumption was given the chance they’d return to their old ways. So the priority was to prevent them doing so, they weren’t allowed mobile phones or internet access for obvious reasons.
She came home one night and said she’d spoken to a guy who said he’d been out banging on doors trying to find a job but everyone he spoke to asked for his number so they could call him back. Obviously he didn’t have a number so he was stuck. She’d been doing the job for a long time and she can spot liars from 100 yards, she said 100% this guy is legit he actually wants to turn his life around.
I took an old mobile phone out of my drawer stuck some credit on it and said give him this. She knew she shouldn’t do this but she believed in the guy. She gave him the phone and 2 days later he came to see her and said I’ve found a job.
A guy actually finding a job was so unusual she was asked for an explanation. She said my partner loaned him a phone which enabled him to get a job.
She was disciplined for breaking the rules.
What happens in your first week in jail?
First off, jail and prison are two different things in the United States, so you’re unlikely to be serving more than a year if you’re in a municipal lockup.
Therefore, a significant percentage of jail detainees won’t be staying for an entire week to figure this one out.
But I was one of the prisoners staying for months rather than days in county jail, so I can speak to your question.
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Basically, the first week is a matter of settling in.
If you have a support system of family and friends on the outside, they can contribute to your JPay and SecurTel accounts so you can order sundries from the commissary and make collect calls on your pod’s payphones.
Likewise, you’ll be required to make a list of the people you’d like for the facility to consider for approval to come see you on visitation day. Said clearance can take awhile, so they’re probably not going to get to come during the first hours available.
I experienced a severe spike in my blood pressure my first few days without alcohol and opioids, so the med staff put me on furosemide until my symptoms started to subside about a month into my sentence. Don’t, however, expect anything for the nerves or discomfort, ‘cause that ain’t comin’.
If there’s a sit-down library, visit it as soon as you’re allowed, and if not, make a list of FAVORITE AUTHORS (not titles…jails have notoriously limited selections) for the inmate rolling the book trolley to wheel your way. The day room TV, card and board games are gonna get old real quick. Inmates who don’t read, suffer; it’s as simple as that.
Mostly you’re gonna spend the first week figuring out that jail isn’t as dire as the movies and TV make it out to be.
Most of the people you meet are gonna be decent human beings who managed to fuck up just enough to end up where you are right now.
(…and that includes the CO’s.)
While the ones who aren’t decent usually end up getting relegated to SHU and eventually transported upstate.
Bottom Line: You Can Do This
Because the real trouble starts when you’re back on the street and trying to put your life back together.
Jail is a cinch next to what comes after.
China & Russia Join Forces To Build A “New World Order”!
Amazing times that we live in!
I’m American but our country is a shitshow.
Deep Brown Gravied Pork Chops
deep brown gravied pork chops
Yield: 4 pork chops and 1/2 cup gravy total
Servings: 4; about 3 ounces cooked pork and 2 tablespoons gravy per serving
Ingredients
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 bone-in ribeye (rib) pork chops
1 tablespoon canola oil
14 1/2 ounces chicken broth (reduced sodium)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (coarsely ground)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons green onions (or fresh parsley), finely chopped
Instructions
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant, stirring constantly. Remove from skillet and set aside on separate plate.
Combine the paprika, thyme and garlic powder in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over both sides of the pork chops.
Add oil in pan over medium high heat. Cook pork chops for 4 minutes on each side or until the pork chops reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Set aside on separate plate.
Whisk together the flour and 1/2 cup of the broth until smooth. Stir into the pan residue.
Gradually stir in the remaining broth, salt and pepper until smooth. Reduce the heat to medium and cook 10 minutes or until thickened slightly, stirring occasionally.
Add the pork and any accumulated juices and cook for 1 minute to heat through, turning several times to coat.
Back at the prison, Sunday evening rolls on in. It’s after chow, and people are getting ready for the next week of work on the “chain gang” at “Hoe squad”. When the CO (Corrections Officer) comes in and distributes the necessities of life.
One roll of white toilet paper.
One mini-sized toothbrush.
One disposable razor.
Once the items were distributed, he left the barracks, and we all settled in for the night. Most gathered into small groups. One of my favorites was with Fred, where we would drink a strong cup of coffee and chat a spell.
barracks
Next time you settle in on Sunday, imagine that there are guys in far away distant places, also settling down for the night.
With…
One roll of white toilet paper.
One mini-sized toothbrush.
One disposable razor.
Life can be boiled down to the necessities, when necessary.
Take care.
Today…
Is the US a true democracy?
Putting the spotlight on the question of U.S. democracy invites a deeper exploration of the term ‘democracy’. On the surface, with its representative institutions and electoral processes, the U.S. appears to embody the democratic model. Indeed, in this representative democracy, citizens elect officials who then voice their concerns and ideas. But when we probe beneath the veneer and grasp the true essence of democracy—a system “of the people, by the people, for the people”—a more convoluted depiction arises.
The United States’ democracy, far from being this utopian model of free expression and people’s governance, often assumes the role of an illusion, tailor-made to cater to a select elite. Much akin to a gleaming stage where politicians ensue in a cyclic showcase, the democratic system in the U.S. veils a multitude of persisting, grave issues that stand unaddressed, regardless of the grandeur of the performance. This discord between rhetoric and reality in U.S. politics brings to light the deeply rooted systemic issues afflicting this façade of a democracy. American democracy is marred with significant faults.
By 2022, the country was locked in a relentless cycle of warped democracy, political ineptitude, and societal discord, with key challenges like money politics, identity politics, societal fragmentation, and wealth disparity intensifying. The ailments plaguing American democracy seep into all facets of politics and society, in turn, revealing deficiencies in governance and the system. Ironically, despite dealing with this multitude of problems, the U.S. assumes the posture of a mentor, preaching about democracy to other countries. Driven by American interests, the U.S. persistently constructs and propagates a deceptive narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism,” and stratifies the world into “democratic and non-democratic factions.” Therein, utilizing democracy as a tool to further its own hegemonic ambitions.
Consider the staggering expenditure during the 2022 midterm elections as a recent testament to America’s money politics. According to the data shared by “OpenSecrets,” the two parties expended over $16.7 billion, surpassing the previous record by a generous margin. This sum outpaces the annual GDP of over 70 countries worldwide. In states like Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Ohio, campaign spending for the federal senatorial elections average over $100 million. Interestingly, more than 90% of Congressional candidates clinched their elections by outspending their adversaries. Adding fuel to the fire is the rampant escalation of political polarization. Both the Democratic and Republican parties deal with rising radical factions within their ranks. The traditional spirit of bipartisanship, grounded in policy compromise, is elusive.
Chinese school children exercising at their desks.
China. I love China.
Why do so many Chinese believe in their government?
The reason is because China’s government has taken exceptional care of its citizens:
It lifted 800 million people out of poverty.
It dramatically improved their quality of life.
It protected them from the pandemic.
It kept them safe from foreign adversaries like the United States.
It made them proud of China’s achievements (economic, technological, military, societal). Tiangong space station. Fujian supercarrier. J-20 stealth fighter. 2008 and 2022 Olympic Games.
Why do so many Americans not believe in their government?
The reason is because the US government is corrupt and has neglected its citizens. The country suffers from:
homelessness
gun violence and mass shootings
systemic racism (“I can’t breathe”)
poor health care
poor education
crumbling infrastructure
opioid addiction
mass incarceration
declining life expectancy
growing poverty
etc.
The US government failed to protect them from the pandemic. Over a million Americans died from Covid.
China is Not What We Expected At All
City School Pizza
city school pizza
Yield: 24 servings
Ingredients
French-Style Pizza Crust
2 packages dry or cake yeast
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups lukewarm water
9 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
Topping
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
1 (8 ounce) can tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon oregano
Salt
3/4 teaspoon dried sweet basil
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 pound ground or chopped luncheon meat
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
French-Style Pizza Crust
Dissolve yeast and sugar in water.
Add flour and salt. Knead until smooth.
Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.
Cut into 2portions. Let rest 15 minutes.
Pat or roll to an even thickness in 2 (15 1/2 x 10 1/2 inch) jellyroll pans. Set aside.
Topping
Brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, oregano, salt to taste, basil, garlic powder and luncheon meat. Sauté until mixture comes to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes.
Spread sauce on prepared French-Style Pizza Crust in pans. Sprinkle each crust with cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until cheese layer is bubbly and browned.
Be careful at your highest moment
The smashed wall
Our girls were messing around yesterday. One of them happened to put their body through the drywall. My nine year old came downstairs crying and frantic saying she had to show me something. I walked upstairs to the damaged wall. The remorse was already displayed all over her body.
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She didn’t need me to make her feel guilty.
She didn’t need me to shame her.
She didn’t need me to make an already crappy situation worse.
“I’m sorry!!!”
I know you are.
“Daddy is going to be so mad!!! I’m not ready to tell him yet.”
That is OK. When you are ready, you will tell him.
She knew. She knew that he was the one most impacted by this. He would be the one taking time from his day to fix this.
I walked downstairs and told my husband.
The kids put a hole in the wall. A big one. M is really upset about it. She’s working up the courage to come and tell you about it.
We have two choices here.
1. Scream and yell and make her feel more awful than she already does.
2. Accept that little girl for each bit of awesome that she is… even in her mistakes. To realize that it was SO hard for her to come down and tell you how she made a mistake.
Our response will 100% determine how she comes to us with mistakes in the future.
How do you respond?
Today, my daughter walks around with a little more trust. She walks around feeling loved and connected. She walks around knowing that she can tell her parents anything and that she is safe.
This was the best gift I could ever receive this Christmas.
And yes. She still feels sorry. She offered to not receive any Christmas presents this year, all her savings, and her time to help fix it. She didn’t need screaming parents to make her feel this. She did it all on her own.
China teaching elementary school children how to use mortars
Its annoying to live with a girl or boy or another person. You can’t change each other. So pick someone whose flaws you can live with.
Your mother will not like her. Her mother will not like you. Accept that and move on. Don’t put them all in a room and expect magic.
Sex is good but you probably won’t have sex every day. Humans are moody and hormonal. So don’t marry for sex.
Your personal life will affect your mood and your career. It helps if you find some one who understands and supports your career pursuits.
Money is important. It’s easier if you are both financially independent and have figured out the basics before getting hitched. Poverty sucks.
Don’t ever call her fat. Never go into the details of your past relationships and compare. Don’t ever compare her with anyone else. There’s no coming back from that. Women are wierd that way.
Vacation makes everyone look great. Know how the person is when everything goes wrong. It’s difficult to buy honesty, loyalty and kindness. You get that only from your true friends. Marry an ally you can depend on.
Friends and hobbies are essential. Even if you are married, it’s good to have a small life of your own as an individual. Some distance, Some ‘Me time’ is good for maintaining any relationship.
Conversations matter. It’s fun and nice if you both can communicate without being assholes to each other.
People change as they age: physically, mentally and emotionally. It’s easier to grow old with someone you really really like.
12 Reasons Why I NEVER Want to Live in the USA Again!
Kayleigh McEnany spoke of the “inexcusable horror” of the transition Obama left for Trump in 2017. Can anyone tell me what was either inexcusable or horrid of the Obama-Trump transition?
I recommend Michael Lewis’s excellent book “The Fifth Risk” which describes in detail how bad the transition was.
The problem is, it was all Trump’s fault.
Chris Christie tried to warn Trump that under federal law, he had to start vetting presidential appointees before the election and convinced Trump that (1) it was a good idea to comply with federal law and (2) if he didn’t do it it would look like he was conceding the election. However, after Christie did some excellent work, Trump found out the process had cost $2 million of “his money” and disbanded it.
For example, at the Department of Energy in 2008, staff welcomed 30 of Obama’s transition team the day after the election and gave them full briefing books. They also prepared briefing books for Romney’s team in 2012, but never used them.
On November 7, 2016, the DoE was shocked that Trump had won but was still ready to greet Trump’s team with full briefing books. However, no-one showed up. No-one showed up the next day either. Or the day after that. The following week, DoE staff got in touch with Trump’s team to ask when someone would be coming. They weren’t told.
Eventually, Rick Perry showed up, alone, in early December. It was clear he thought the DoE was involved with oil, gas and coal. He had proposed disbanding it. That day, Perry found out the DoE mostly regulates nuclear energy and nuclear materials, including tracking bomb-making material. Perry was visibly shocked by the news and never questioned the function of the DoE again.
Trump met Obama soon after the election and mentioned he was looking forward to working with Obama’s White House staff. For some reason, no-one in Trump’s campaign had bothered to explain to him that all the White House staff was leaving with Obama and he had to find about 2,000 people to replace them. It was left to Obama to break the news. Trump was visibly shocked.
In total, the president gets to choose 6,000 posts in the government, from the cabinet on down. Trump only ever bothered to appoint 4,000 people and left several key posts, like the ambassador to South Korea, vacant.
Chinese kindergarten children’s impressive basketball skills go viral globally
The absolute hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.1984 bought a piece of property. 1 acre out of a 5 acre plot. Short time later had someone buy the one next to us and he ended up buying the next two. Ended up being the best friends we ever had. Did everything together. One night they came over to dinner and right after they ate, he got sick. Walked them back over to their place. Got back to our place, started stripping down for bed when his wife called screaming about something wrong. Quickest I’ve ever covered that distance in my life. He was in their water bed her standing there screaming. My wife had worked at a hospital over 20 years at that point. She’s 5′4″ and then about 180lb of soft flesh. She yanked him out of that bed and started CPR. Seemed forever the ambulance getting there. Before it was over, we had two ambulances, the supervisors car, a nephew of theirs that was an EMT but heard the call and the address. They carried him out and took off. Grabbed his wife throwing her in with us and hauled for the hospital. Wasn’t 5 minutes the Dr came out to tell us he had a massive heart attack and had died before my wife even started on him. By then the nephew had called most of the local relatives but most of the family was in Kansas. I’m the only one that carried a phone card for making calls so I had to call all these relatives most of whom I had never met to tell them he had passed away. Then Monday morning I had to call his job explaining why he was not there with the 1st pot of coffee made that morning and had to set up with them to get his company truck back to their shop, collect his belongings from them to bring back to his wife. That was the worst couple of days in my life then served as a pallbearer to help bury him, the best friend anyone could have had.
Some vintage pulp art and other stuff
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What is the biggest scam an auto mechanic ever tried on you?
I use to date a VERY cute, very boobsy little gal that had a 76 Datsun B-210 she bought brand new….She brought the car home and parked it out front of her house….The very first night it was hit by a drunk driver that pushed the rear bumper to about the rear of the front seats, but since the car only had about 16 miles on it the insurance would not total it…..It took 8 months to get it back from the body shop, and when it did come back the clutch slave cylinder was http://leaking….So (http://leaking….So) we took it in to the dealer the next morning and dropped it off….About noon they called Mary Beth and told her it needed a new clutch for $500 so she said we’ll just pick it up later….That evening I took her to get the car, she went inside as I waited for her to come out….After several minutes I wandered in to see what was taking so long, I got there just in time to hear the mechanic telling her that for Dinner and $100 he could do the clutch as a favor for http://her….So (http://her….So) I said,”HELL YES, we’ll take that $100 clutch special !!” Can I come too !?!
I’m not positive, but I think that mechanic was out job hunting the next morning…..
How Do I Tell My Daughter’s Boyfriend That She’s Cheating On Him?
What are the most inappropriate songs to play at a funeral?
This is a painful memory and one I don’t so much want to share on Quora as much as I feel compelled to. Whoever asked the question deserves my thanks for letting me unload this burden.
We had a separate memorial ceremony for my Mom as she was ultimately laid to rest next to my grandmother at the Jewish cemetery in Prague.
I was responsible for picking the music.
We had been instructed to put the music on a CD and there was time for two songs.
The first song I chose was one that meant the world to me. It was “Kadish” by Giora Feidman. (For my other answer paying homage to this great and humble artist, please see here) The second song I chose was a song that my mom had told me she wished to have played at her funeral because of the life affirming message it contained.
At the time it was difficult to find a copy and I got a friend at a large music label to get me a digital copy.
He was someone I respected enormously and he would never have provided a copy of any of his company’s catalog if it weren’t for such a special occasion. (This was before ubiquitous online music stores)
I was touched that he would let me have the music, especially because he, too, appreciated this song deeply, revered the band that played it and understood what a meaningful song it was and how it would express my mother’s love and joy of life. I felt I had done the right thing and was anticipating the memorial service as much as feeling the burden of saying goodbye.
On the day of the memorial, everything happened in a blur. I didn’t have time to discuss in great detail what was on the CD and there was no time planned for speeches or to introduce the music.
When the Klezmer and choir began to sing Kadish a great awe fell over the loved ones that were assembled to honor my Mom. I looked up towards the cathedral ceiling of the hall we were in and felt truly elevated. The music ended and we all shared a sigh, both of awe and sadness.
Then there was a short pause and the Beatles’ “Obladi-Oblada” came blaring, joyful, clanking and clanging in all its fun fair beauty from the speakers. This was the song my mom had said she would like everyone to hear when we were celebrating her memory. “Life goes on” – In honoring my mom’s wish I had not realized how much of a jarring contrast the song would create for the solemn occasion and how out of place if would sound, especially after the choir had finished “Kadish”.
Everyone was shocked and more than one head turned towards me, thinking that this was another of my juvenile jokes and acts of rebellion that I was still being remembered for.
At the reception afterwards a close friend of my mom’s approached me to ask me if I was “happy with having achieved what I wanted.” I asked her what she meant and she said “You wanted to shock us!” – I was mortified and tried to explain, good as I could, that I had tried to respect my mom’s wishes and had not realized how out of place the song would sound in such a sad and serious setting, especially without a proper introduction.
Which brings me to today. Where I sit down to write of this special, sad, beautiful, painful moment. One of the moments in my life where I truly wish I could have gone back and done it differently.
And as I write this, what do I discover?
The same Giora Feidman, who’s music was the gift that allowed me to say goodbye to my mom in tears before that peace was broken by the joyful, out of place sounds of Obla-Di, Obla-Da, that very same wonderful man also recorded an album, playing the Beatles in his inimitable mournful clarinet style.
Feidman recorded his version of Obla-Di,Obla-da last year and as I write this and listen to his beautiful rendition, I find the joy of life my mom wanted to share on that day, dedicated to her memory, sweetened by the melancholy bliss of his beautiful clarinet.
If we could’ve played that version then it would’ve been right and it would’ve told the story she wanted to have told about who she was and what inspired her.
And, who knows. Maybe, if I hadn’t had that experience then, finding this gem today wouldn’t have meant as much and wouldn’t have allowed me, many years later, to celebrate the memory of what an extraordinary person she was in yet another special and meaningful way.
So, yes, sometimes, honoring the departed’s request for Music can lead to the most inappropriate moment.
And I’m still proud I followed her wish, because she would’ve loved this story with a happy ending and one where I can cry and laugh and share, once more, with you, dear reader, the joy and burden of life.
The Xinjiang China THEY Don’t Want YOU to SEE… 🇨🇳 (British Couple’s SHOCKING EXPERIENCE)
I went to a restaurant of a nationality different from mine. After I sat down, the manager said “sorry, but we do not wish to serve you in our restaurant”. What should I do?
Years back my partner and I used to regularly do work in a small Mississippi Coastal town which has a 90%+ black population – we’re a couple of old white freaks ( “hippies” to those who don’t know better ) .
There was a restaurant on the main road called “Buddy’s House of Food” with a lighted sign of a young boy with a pig under his arm – an absolutely sure sign of killer food. I told John that this was where we eating.
When we entered, it was fairly full of people and everyone just sort of froze and looked at us: this little older lady, who literally looked like a Mammy Doll come to life, came over and said : “Can I help y’all?” in a genuinely quizzical tone.
I said: “ Yes, M’am: we’d like to eat if we could.”
You could tell it surprised her: she really didn’t know why two white dudes were in her restaurant.
She sat us down, and in 30 seconds it was like you had just shown up at your Grandmaw’s for Thanksgiving – she was bringing out all manner of pure Southern comfort food that was so bad for you but absolute balm for your soul – you could feel your arteries clogging as you ate while your taste buds yelled “thank you”.
Turned into a 2 hour lunch with hugs and extra slices of pecan pie when we left.
From then on every time we were in that town, we ate at “Buddy’s”; and every time it was the same welcome.
Army Withdraws from the Pacific and Indian Ocean | Army Plans to Lay Up its Prepositioning Fleet
What’s the most ridiculous adult tantrum you’ve witnessed that you couldn’t believe?
I took a friend and her barely adult son out for a day water skiing. Everything was going great, and then on the way back to the dock, we ran out of gas. Fortunately I had a little 3.5 hp trolling motor, that would move us along at a walking speed, or maybe a slow trot. No where near the excitement of the 235 HP outboard, but certainly better than paddling. I fired it up and was quite pleased that I had a backup, with its own gas.
The son started complaining, asking, where’s the fun in that? He couldn’t seem to get it through his head, that we were no longer in fun mode, now we were in getting to the dock the easiest way possible. He demanded that I fire up the big outboard, as I was ruining his day. Telling him that I couldn’t fire it up, did no good. He started screaming, just like a 2 year old. Saying “Fire it up, fire it up, fire it up”
As we approached the dock he picked up a lot of stuff, like he was going to carry it back to the truck. Then when we were 3 feet from the dock, he threw it over board, jumped onto the dock, and just calmly walked away. Dhe asked him to pick it up, and he just kept walking.
His mother didn’t punish him. Though, how do you punish an adult. He didn’t have a job, and lived at home with his mother.
When we had collected everything, and walked to the parking lot, he was sitting on the hood of his mothers truck.
I got in my car, to head for my cabin, but I waited to see that he would react rationally. She unlocked the truck and he got in, and they followed me out onto the road. After a kilometer or so, she pulled out and passed me like I was standing still.
I worked with her, and we never discussed this ever again . I never socialized with her after that. This hadn’t been any kind of a romantic thing, I took male friend’s boating all the time. I have never been able to explain any of what happened, but I didn’t want the drama in my life
What are some things you should avoid at any cost?
Don’t fight when you’re weak, leave when you’re strong.
Avoid crying in front of someone who doesn’t care about you.
Don’t waste time on your ex or stalking them on social media.
Never hurt yourself, the world will bring enough hurt.
Don’t take things personally, even if you know it’s personal.
Avoid listening to sad songs as they can drain your energy.
Don’t miss out on important engagements and events.
Be kind to your family, they’ll be there for you in tough times.
Cut out friends who break the “Bro Code.”
Be cautious of trusting a crying woman and a smiling man.
Don’t mess with negative people, they reflect who you are.
Don’t beg twice, know your worth.
15 feet tall
How do people handle being separated, but still living in the same house?
My wife and I have lived together for nearly 20 years. We separated in 1998 and lived apart for nearly two years. My wife left me because she wanted to ‘find herself’ and see what life could be on her own. I helped her move into an apartment.
We both agreed we would always love each other but we are no longer IN love with each other.
My wife asked to come back two years later because of her economic problems. She insisted on her own room and her own identity.She’s lived in her own room for 18 years and usually stays with her girlfriend. We haven’t hugged, kissed or shaken hands in nearly twenty years.
We stay together so she can have insurance from the VA and soon will collect widows benefits. She will also receive Social Security benefits.
We’re friends but nothing more.
She’s 66 and in poor health. I’ve know her since she was 17 years old. I have my life and girlfriend but I refuse to let my ‘wife’ be homeless and hungry.
We have found a one bedroom for her to move in after I’m gone.I want her to move in now and continue her life.
She sees more and more people coming in to my house to help me as my body fails me. She freely admits she can’t help me and I love living alone even when she’s in her room. We rarely speak and I visit my lady friend at her house, My girlfriend knows about her and respects my decision not to divorce her.
Our marriage may have ended years ago but my caring for her hasn’t.
You shouldn’t wish ill for your ex. You should care for the person if the person needs care.
My integrity remains intact. Everyone should want the same.
Cajun Chicken and Dumplings
Cajun Chicken and Dumplings
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
Chicken
1 large chicken
2 quarts salted water
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 pimento, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 quart milk
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Dumplings
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 slightly beaten egg
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup milk
Instructions
Dumplings
In medium bowl, place flour, salt, garlic salt and ground white and black peppers.
Add cayenne pepper, garlic powder, thyme, oregano and baking powder.
Stir in egg, butter and olive oil.
Gradually stir in milk. Knead dough until soft and smooth; divide into 5 small balls. Roll each ball on floured board until paper thin; cut into strips 1 1/2 inches wide and 3 inches long. Lay strips on wax paper for about 15 minutes before adding to broth.
Chicken
In large saucepan, place chicken and water over medium heat. Simmer about 45 minutes or until fork tender.
Remove chicken, reserving broth. Chop chicken in large pieces, discarding skin and bones; set aside.
In medium fry pan, place butter over low heat.
Add mushrooms, celery, bell pepper, pimento and onion; sauté about 2 minutes.
To broth in saucepan, add milk, hard-cooked eggs, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, cayenne and white and black peppers.
Stir in sautéed vegetables; heat to boil, reduce heat to simmer and add alternating layers of chicken and dumplings, pushing each layer down into broth. Simmer about 15 minutes or until dumplings are tender.
Serve chicken, dumplings and broth in individual bowls.
Why Fast Food Has Gotten So Expensive
What is the best case of “You just picked a fight with the wrong person” that you’ve witnessed?
I once had a friend who had a serious case of “Little Man Syndrome.” He was short, and kind of a loudmouth, but really a good dude once you got to know him. One night we were out at our favorite bar, and I saw him chatting up a girl.
For perspective, my friend was about 5′6/145, so he was really small. As he’s talking to this girl, a guy walks up to them and says “Hey bro, that’s my girl.” Normally, that’s enough to end a conversation, usually followed with a “My bad” or something of that nature. Not this night. My friend promptly responded with “Smurf you, she’s talking to me now, so smurf off.”
The gentleman in question was literally a giant. At least 6′4, and probably weighed 230 or so. As my friend spoke to him, I knew that it wasn’t going to end well, but the Giant simply repeated, “Really, bro, she’s my fiance, and we don’t want any trouble.” He was calm, and didn’t seem affected by the way my friend spoke to him.
My friend decided that he didn’t care and kindly told the Giant where he could go, and how he could get there. He then followed it up with “And if you have anything else to say, I’ll kick your smurfin smurf.”
The Giant politely told my friend to meet him outside.
A lot of stories on this thread end up with the small guy taking down the big guy, but not this one. The Giant hit my friend 1 time with a right hook, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear my friend was hit with a baseball bat. The Giant then looked at those of us he knew were with his punching bag, and dared any of us to complain about what just happened. I have a rule about getting into fights with/for my friends, and because this friend actually started and somewhat deserved what happened, I had no beef with the Giant, nor did the rest of my friends.
The Giant then went back into the bar, finished his drink, and left with his fiance.
What is your view on China’s recent aerial confrontation with an Australian military helicopter in the Yellow Sea?
It was actually an act of aggression from Australia.
First off:
It wasn’t international waters, the Yellow Sea isn’t international waters. It was either South Korea’s EEZ or China’s EEZ there is no peanut hole like Russia had.
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Second
The UN Security council was responsible for enforcement of UN sanctions against North Korea. This panel was dissolved in April 2024. This means their excuse of enforcing sanctions is a lie. Australia is not part of the UNSC and thus had no mandate to be there.
Third
It was a cul de sac, that is there was no destination to get to, so it can’t be innocent passage.
Fourth
The Australian mission breaks UNCLOS as it was trying to deny Chinese the right to defend themselves.
All the above is meaningless puffery anyway as westoids never actually obey the rules THEY agree to but expect every one else to follow. They’re like that…
So what do I think of it?
There’s a weak leader in this picture. Guess which one it is?
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You see in 2021 we had the Hainan island incident.
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The USN aircraft was forced to land on Hainan and we made them dismantle their plane and didn’t allow it to be flown away.
Before 2021 there was this
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
map
It is now 2024, 40 years since Korean Air 007, and 20 years since Hainan island incident. Yet the leaders of China have become weaker.
I mean we literally have all this tech like beidou satellite navigation system, GPS spoofing and fancy warships and such like… and yet we can’t repeat something like Hainan with a ‘stray drone’ somehow getting into the rotors of the Australian spy helicopter?
Bah weak leaders…
Here’s one Chinese leader telling off another one that he’s a pussy.
main qimg e201d5eaf5565ce8ccb8316e9b0c75fa
And I don’t even like Zemin, a bit too neo liberal for me.
When was the exact moment you lost interest in your significant other?
When I was pregnant I hated my husband. I decided the first time that I would divorce him as soon as the baby was born. I hated the way he breathed and chewed. I did not say a word about it to anyone. I knew somewhere in my mind that I was crazy. When my baby was born I loved my husband again. The second time around same thing but this time I knew it was hormones. The third time I knew what it was and just ignored it.
Then Mike got stressed out at work. He took his stress out on the kids. I said I love him not that he was perfect. I went away with the kids for a few days to decide what to do. The kids all voted him out of the family with no input from me. It was hard but Mike and I started over after going to a MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER. We started over from scratch. He courted me again. We realized we were worth saving. We put in the time and effort to win each other all over again. 15 years after our wedding we vowed again to love each other. Not in a fancy ceremony , just between the two of us.
From then till the day Mike died I never fell out of love with him. I know he never fell out of love with me. The last time I saw Mike he drew me a heart on the window frost.
Do not feel sorry me. I have had a wonderful life. I am alive and well. I continue my life . God may provide me with more people to love. Nothing is impossible.
China Just Did The Unthinkable, Major US Port Shutdown After Collision Collapses Bridge
My mother ordered a case of matches with the logo of my sister’s wedding on it. She did this as a favor to help my sister pay for her wedding.
Something like this design of matches
Unfortunately, she accidentally ordered 10,000 cases. Thinking, obviously, that they were 10,000 matches.
And, don’t you know it, she could not part with this massive ancient fire hazard. So it sat in her basement year after year, decades after decade.
About thirty years later… when matchbooks went out of style, and smoking became the unacceptable vice in the USA, she died and was buried. Rest in peace mom.
But then, about a month later, my brother and I carted all those cases out of the basement. We stacked them high in a field and set them ablaze.
Good bye to the relics of the past.
It was long overdue.
Sometimes we tend to cling to things because we paid a lot for them, forgetting that their value was zero and was not worth any benefit to keep them around for.
Burn the matches that serve no purpose.
Today…
Veterans to Biden: US Law Says No Weapons to Nations with A-Bombs if They’ve Not Signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. That Means Israel
by Dissident Voice Communications / May 3rd, 2024
In a letter 18 April to President Biden and top members of his administration, Veterans For Peace cited existing federal law that gives the President “…no discretion whatsoever to allow any military assistance of any form to be delivered to Israel,” based on that country’s “serial violations of the Symington-Glenn Amendments, codified at 22 U.S.C. § 2799aa.”
The letter cites a lengthy list of credible reports that Israel has possessed nuclear weapons for decades. Because Israel has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), the Symington-Glenn Amendments to the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976, which allow no presidential discretion, goes into effect, including:
termination of assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act, except for humanitarian assistance or food or other agricultural commodities;
termination of defense sales and licensing of Munitions List exports;
termination of foreign military financing;
denial of U.S. government credit, credit guarantees, or other financial assistance (except for medical and humanitarian assistance and agricultural exports from the United States);
U.S. government opposition to any loan or financial or technical assistance from international financial institutions (IFIs);
prohibition of any loan or credit from U.S. banks to the foreign government (except for the purchase of food or other agricultural commodities); and
prohibition under the Export Administration Act of exports to that state of specific goods and technology licensed by the Commerce Department (except for food and other agricultural commodities).
The letter states, “The President may not waive the cutoff of the above aid and exports under the Glenn Amendment where there has been a nuclear weapons detonation, or the offending state has received a nuclear explosive device. Congress would have to enact new legislation authorizing the President to waive some or all of these sanctions.”
VFP National Director, Mike Ferner, said, “Israel’s possession of The Bomb and the U.S.’ refusal to take appropriate action is yet another example of how the Madmen Arsonists – the Raytheons, Boeings, General Dynamics – actually govern our country and determine policy. The law is quite simple – Does Israel have an unregulated nuclear weapons arsenal? Yes, it does. Is Israel a signatory to the NPT? No, it isn’t. So, the question to Biden is, ‘will you obey the law or the Madmen?’”
Ferner added, “This election year our members will ask their Congressional representatives, ‘Will you hold hearings to enforce existing law, or let the Madmen Arsonists continue to run our country?’”
Highlights of the letter:
Senator John Glenn was prompted to seek a change in the law because of a reported theft of 100 kg of highly enriched uranium from an NRC vendor in 1968, later traced to the Dimona reactor complex in Israel. (pg. 3)
Repeated CIA assessments and remarks of Colin Powell in 2016 that the U.S. knew Israel had at least 200 warheads at that time. (pgs. 4-9)
Israel prosecuted and jailed Mordecai Vanunu for his courageous whistleblowing disclosure in the 1980’s that Israel has The Bomb. (pg. 7)
Benjamin Netanyahu was identified by the FBI as being directly involved in an Israeli smuggling operation in the 1980’s that successfully stole 800 krytrons, a prized device used for triggers in nuclear weapons. (pg. 7)
The Symington-Glenn amendment has been implemented by previous administrations. (pg. 4)
What the President must do (pg. 10)
Contrary to other instances where the Biden administration is allowed to ignore aid limitations, this one may be litigable in court. (pg. 10)
Veterans For Peace members across the U.S. are telling their members of Congress to vote NO on any more weapons for Israel and hold hearings to hold the Biden administration accountable They have participated in numerous protests and acts of civil disobedience to highlight Israel’s ongoing genocide in Palestine.
—
“The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.”–Antonio Gramsci
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Bailey’s Lasagna
baileys lasagna
Yield: 8 to 12 servings
Equipment
Lasagna pan
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 pound Italian sausage
1 (67 ounce) jar Prego Traditional spaghetti sauce
12 lasagna noodles
14 ounces ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, beaten
Salt and black pepper
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese or other cheese of choice
1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Brown ground beef and Italian sausage together until cooked through, then drain well. Combine with the spaghetti sauce. Set aside.
Cook lasagna noodles until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Set aside.
For the filling, combine ricotta cheese and eggs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spread a thin layer of the spaghetti sauce over the bottom of a lasagna pan.
Lay lasagna noodles lengthwise in the casserole dish.
Spoon and spread spaghetti sauce over the noodles.
Spoon and spread filling over the spaghetti sauce.
Repeat steps 6, 7 and 8 twice.
Sprinkle shredded mozzarella or cheese of choice over the top.
Bake, covered and sealed with foil (DO NOT LET THE FOIL TOUCH THE CHEESE), for 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.
Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer to brown the cheese.
Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.
Top each serving with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Serve with garlic bread.
Refrigerate any leftovers.
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Has your child ever done something that made you utterly ashamed of them?
When my daughter was twelve, we were called into the school for an emergency meeting with the principal. I was absolutely mortified as I watched the video of my daughter chasing down a younger and smaller boy on the playground, knocking him to the ground, sitting on him, and placing handcuffs on him. It had not been a game: the boy had been the target of systematic bullying by some of the kids the whole year, and my daughter had decided to join in. Small as my daughter was, she was still bigger and stronger than the boy, and the sheer determination in her and desperation in him was sickening: it was like watching a predator chase down a bunny rabbit.
The only thing that saved us from a lawsuit from the boy’s parents was that hubby and I sincerely apologized immediately and made absolutely no excuses for her actions. I believe they were expecting us to try to play the event down, or blame their son, or make some lame excuse to try to get her out of trouble, but there was simply no denying the video evidence of the assault. To this day my gut still knots up over it. That was not how we raised her to be, and thankfully that was the only time (that we know of) she acted so cruelly.
EDIT: Answers to a few common questions I’ve received.
I’ve had a lot of people asking me about the handcuffs. I’m into cosplay, and I’m constantly picking up odd things here and there. The weekend prior to this event I had found a pair of handcuffs at a thrift shop. They weren’t real peace officer type, but they were metal. She’d been playing around with them and I didn’t realize she’d taken them to school with her that day.
This happened over seven years ago. She’s almost twenty now.
The day she was suspended from school she had to go and apologize to the boy directly. While she was at home on suspension, she had to keep up with her schoolwork, she was restricted to the house (no going out with friends), was restricted from all electronics short of what she needed to do her homework (with monitored internet only for homework), and she had to help me install a hardwood floor in two rooms of our home. This was in addition to writing the apology letter.
Yes, the parents could have taken us to civil court for the emotional distress done to their son. As the parents of a minor, we would be held financially responsible for any damages. More importantly, they could have pressed charges and given my daughter a criminal record (albeit a juvenile record) for assault and possibly unlawful detention (I’m not certain of the exact terminology in the state we were living at the time). No, I do not believe that it would have been an overreaction on the other parents’ part and we were lucky that they chose to do none of those.
While there was certainly peer pressure involved, it does not relieve my daughter of responsibility. She has before and since proven resistant to peer pressure… for the most part. She’s not perfect and we don’t expect her to be, we just expect her to be accountable for her choices.
Well… look what we found here!
Interesting.
If the USA and China cut all trade between each other, who will suffer the most?
Without question, the USA will suffer more.
You see, China controls all the supply chains, all the manufacturing, all the logistics. The USA is heavily reliant on Chinese-manufacturing.
The USA is also heavily reliant on natural resources from China such as rare earths and mineral processing.
China’s economy will continue to chug along as it exports to Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the rest of Asia.
Without cheap imports, inflation in the USA will go through the roof.
What was your most horrible wedding experience as a guest?
Many years ago my wife and I went to a wedding of a relative. The church wedding was simple and fine.
The reception was at a hall and I don’t remember if there was a band or DJ. Drinks were fine. They asked everyone to sit at their tables and the announcer would call table numbers.
The buffet was served by a row of staff, so you didn’t just dig in. The main course was pre sliced Turkey. As we sat and waited for our number to be called, we watched as smiling people walked past with plates piled high with food. We were getting hungry!
Finally they call our table and the serving trays were empty! The servers were trying to scrape mashed potatoes in a failed effort to give the remaining guests on line a scoop full. And a spoonful of vegetables. The Turkey was long gone.
To add to the disappointment the bus people are clearing tables of plates still laden with food! Lots of slices of Turkey, two big scoops of potatoes all floating in gravy!
It was pretty clear that the servers had bad judgment and loaded up plates with what was no doubt double servings and simply ran out of food before the final tables were served.
We did stay until the end and ate wedding cake. We stopped At McDonalds on our way back to the hotel.
I later learned that the parents who paid for the reception were mortified and got a big chunk of cash back from the venue.
What is the saddest thing you have ever had to terminate an employee for?
After speaking at a conference for Young Achievers a teen boy applied at my company. He sent his resume directly to me and followed up with numerous phone calls. I told him I wasn’t hiring at that time so he got his father to call and ask me to give him a chance. I was impressed with his refusal to take no for an answer, something I admire in people, so I brought him in for an interview. Normally there was a tiered interviewing process but I was going on maternity leave in two weeks so I interviewed him myself. I was impressed with everything about this boy. I explained to him that he’d have to learn fast because I would be leaving and he would have very little supervision. He was hired.
This is the part hurts-
We were in a busy season and no one was available to properly train him. At the end of the two weeks I had to fire him. Under different circumstances he would have been a model employee. I told him that I was letting him go because we didn’t have the time to train him but if he applied anywhere else, I would give him a glowing recommendation. A few weeks later I got a call from a company asking for a reference for this boy. I highly recommend him. They then asked me why I let him go if he was so great. I explained everything to them, assured them that this was in no way his fault and that I’d gladly hire him back should he ever want to return. They ended up hiring him. Years later I still find this difficult to write because of the disappointment in his face that day. I’m sure wherever he is he became successful.
This is life in Montenegro: The Country Where You Can Walk WITHOUT CLOTHES on the Beaches
Click Baity. Sure. But the content does not equate to the splash image.
The cool thing about this video is that this place looks really cool to visit.
It really does.
What will happen next if Russian and US troops come face to face in Niger?
A powder keg just blew up in Niger’s capital Niamey as Russian troops swarmed into Airbase 101, setting up a tense face-off with the United States. Niamey’s airport is now a freakin’ barracks for both American and Russian forces after Niger’s military junta booted out US troops. Nice move, right? Sure, Russians have their own hangars and aren’t bunking with US troops, but there’s a lot of angst about what access they might have to US military gear.
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Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin claims Russian boots don’t have a free pass to American equipment, but how long before something goes boom? The US thought they had Niger’s back fighting against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, but after the coup last July, they’re getting kicked to the curb, just like Chad, Mali, and Burkina Faso did with US and French troops. Guess they’re not feeling the love anymore.
So, who’s filling the void? You guessed it, China and Russia – the new BFFs for these military-ruled African nations. Without that colonial baggage, they’re smooth-talking their way in as anti-West sentiment ramps up. So, brace yourselves, folks – this scramble for Africa is on! As resource-rich Africa becomes the shiny prize, the rise of a new global order looms with the US, Russia, and China in a three-way tug-of-war. Things are about to get wild; everyone is on edge and on the lookout.
Women Are RAGING Because 63% Of Men Have Gone Their Own Way
Massive relationship collapse in the West as society crumbles.
How does it feel to be secretly rich?
There is a farm house outside of town that I have been driving by my entire life.
It is memorable because it is simple.
A simple home with a simple garage.
One day a friend of mine says he wants to show me something really cool at the simple old farm house.
I chuckle, but it’s the summer, school’s out and so have nothing better to do.
He takes me out to the simple farmhouse and we go in to its garage.
The amiable old farmer who owns the house is standing there.
He introduces himself but all I see is a vault door that stands as tall as the garage itself that is nearly half as wide.
And inside that bank-like vault door:
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A gun collection with every gun imaginable, and sometimes two.
It looked like something out of Bass Pro Shops.
It was like the image above, but the room was even more grand if you can believe that.
This old farmer’s gun collection was worth more money than most people from our small town will amass in their entire life time.
He could see the shock on my face.
And he was just standing and smiling like he had seen this reaction a thousand times.
I knew in that moment what it feels like to be secretly rich:
You always get to have the last laugh.
Can you fly through military boot camp easily if you train for 6-7 hours every day before you go to boot camp?
If “every day” can mean “since the age of 5”…?
A good friend of mine was raised in a *Mennonite community.
He told the story about one of his younger brothers who at the age of 15 made the decision he wanted to join the Marines when he turned 18.
Every day for 3 years he started conditioning with an 80 lb. ruck sack he created.
He carried it on him at all times unless he had a chore where he couldn’t.
He ran everywhere he went in addition to a plethora of other homemade training routines he created to help prepare himself.
Mind you, all of this was done in addition to his daily manual labor performed from sun up to sun down and a life time of adhering to “orders” and a strict discipline he had to follow as a Mennonite.
When his brother turned 18 he went and signed up for the Marines just like he said.
And he completed Boot Camp just like he trained to do.
But here’s the real kicker:
When my friend talked to his brother about his experience in Boot Camp and what it was like…
His brother replied back to him with a straight face:
”I was disappointed.
I thought it was going to be harder.”
So, yes, there is a point where some can begin training and “easily” go through boot camp.
But unless you were raised in a modern day agricultural equivalent of the Spartan’s agōgē
?
Probably not.
*The order he was a part of was a no-modern technology Mennonite community e.g. My friend once attached wooden boards to the top of a rotating horse-drawn saw mill column to create a makeshift ceiling fan during the hot summer heat; he was told to take it down because it was too modern.
This is one of the best roasts you will ever taste. Carrots, potatoes and celery can also be added, if desired.
to die for crockpot roast
Ingredients
1 beef roast (any kind)
1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
1/2 cup warm water
Instructions
Place roast in slow cooker.
Mix contents of all 3 envelopes and sprinkle over roast.
Pour water into the bottom of the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours.
What was the most disturbing thing that your seatmate did during a flight?
One day I received a phone call from the FBI. It was legit the FBI who wanted to talk to ME!
Previously I had been on a flight from Tokyo to DC. I had my usual aisle seat and I had my kitty with me. A woman sat in the middle seat and a man at the window.
After the flight took off I fell asleep, per my usual. At some point I woke up. The woman noticed I was awake and asked to get up to use the bathroom. She never came back but another guy took her seat. My new seatmate seems to have moved to economy from business as he received business class meals. He disappeared for landing.
As we were landing my cat got out of his carrier. I was easily able to unbuckle grab him, and put him back in his carrier. Upon landing 2 or 3 airport police came on board to my row. I thought they were for me and my escaped cat. Totally illogical thought I now know, but reasonable at the moment. Nope they wanted window guy.
The FBI wanted to know what I saw on the flight between window guy and middle gal before she left. When she left for the bathroom, she spoke to the flight attendants and said he was touching her inappropriately.
The most disturbing thing to happen on a flight was the true or false accusation of SA mid flight.
When have you cheaply or inexpensively fixed an item someone thought unrepairable?
Some years ago our washing machine stopped working, about 2 weeks after its 2-year warranty expired. It was a mid-range model, and with 2 toddlers in the house, we really needed a clothes washer. We managed to get an engineer (specialist in washing machines) out the next day. I already knew the timer clock was working OK, as were the inlet valves; yet when it tried to rotate the drum, absolutely nothing happened. After about 45 minutes, with the engineer running all sorts of diagnostics on the control circuit board and checking all the wiring, he sighed and told us that there was nothing to be done; the motor was burnt out and a replacement, plus the cost of fitting, made the fix uneconomical; instead, recommending buying a replacement machine.
He left, but with all the covers off the machine and with his assurance that the control board was fine, I decided to have a look myself. As a kid I’d played around a lot with model trains, and knew that their motors would sometimes fail if the brushes, or the springs holding the brushes, were out of adjustment. This machine’s motor had more armature windings than I was used to, but the familiar two brushes, in spring-loaded brass housings. The housings had a single wire plugged onto them, and they were held in place by spring clips. I popped one out and found that while the carbon brush itself still had plenty of use left in it, the spring pushing it against the commutator was short and the brush wasn’t making contact. I slid the brush out, put in a small packing piece, replaced the spring and brush and clipped it back in place.
Immediate success, worked like new. Cost? £0.00 The machine ran for another 5 years, when it failed with similar symptoms. This time there really was no life left in the brushes, but a spares shop about a 5 minute walk from home sold me a brand new pair for 14p. It ran for yet another 5 years before the controller circuit board finally blew up.
Spend time with your parents and treat them well. They will not be around one day.
Mind your own business.
Don’t lie, cheat or be dishonest. It spoils your name in the long run.
When the phone signal is down to the last bar, don’t answer the phone as the radiation will be 1000 times higher.
Don’t cheat if you are in an unhappy relationship. Just leave.
Use tea sachets to remove odour from gym bags.
Never give up on your dreams no matter what. Try to accomplish your goals and dreams in the long run.
Never take your medicine with cold water.
Be empathic. An act of kindness wouldn’t ruin you.
Graduate before 30.
Don’t waste your time with meaningless relationships or temporary people.
When people treat you like they don’t care, believe them.
Participate in family gatherings, college reunions and get together with friends.
Adopt a pet. I did. My six months old pup is my ultimate stress buster now.
Never ‘ever’ abandon your old friends by replacing them with your new buddies.
Have two servings of vegetables and fruits daily.
Learn to love your flaws and imperfections along with your perks.
Start your day with a glass of lukewarm water on an empty stomach.
Be thankful for something daily, at least once.
Stay away from toxic people. They only bring out the negativity in you and ruin your life further.
Compartmentalize your ideas and thoughts. Write them down on a journal.
Don’t be shy. Go out and be a social butterfly. Talk to random people.
Add some slices of lemon in plain water to zest up your taste buds.
Don’t let someone get comfortable with disrespecting you. Set boundaries.
Crushed mint leaves or Indian basil are great herbs to remove bad mouth odour.
If you don’t have enough time, spend lesser time on social networks.
Never speak bad or low about yourself. Make it a point to not put yourself down even as a harmless joke.
If you don’t like your job, quit it and do something else. Don’t just put up with it and force yourself to do it.
Don’t waste your energy on bad feelings, negative thoughts or useless people.
Travel often. Getting lost will help you to discover your identity.
Be careful about personal things you share to people. The friend today could be your enemy tomorrow.
Never stay in an unrequited love for a long time. Let it go and move forward.
Say exactly what you feel/think. Be direct about it even if it might displease others.
Forgive people and their actions. Never give it to him. Let karma finish up the job for you.
Be mindful about your expenditures but not a miser. Budget spending is a start.
Have a glass of buttermilk or warm milk before bedtime.
If you don’t master you own time, there will be possibilities of you being unconscious slaves of those who have mastered theirs.
Trust your instincts. Intuitions doesn’t lie.
Be cautious about lending/borrowing a huge sum of money to your friends/relatives. It may break the tie. Just saying.
Never enter the lift before others have got out of them. Don’t be a jerk. Wait and let them get out before you barge in.
Have few cups of green tea in the evenings after lunch and throughout your day to aid digestion.
You could forgive, let go and give them another chance…or you could chuck them aside and give yourself a better chance.
Cut down on your caffeine intake. Replace your coffee cravings with something healthier.
What is the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to you at a bar?
Many years ago a friend and I stopped by a pub on our way home from a rock concert. It was Triumph. This was the early ’80s and wearing a bandana around your neck was kind of normal. Anyway we go in sit down, and didn’t even get a chance to order a beer. This group of guys just started in on me, for some reason. It was a country music bar, and I guess I was a long hair. It gets so bad that I finally stood up and said to the main culprit,what the fuck IS your problem? Remember we’re talking we’re in there 5 minutes. At that point him and his buddies grab me by the seat of my pants and the bandana around my neck and threw me out the front door head first with my head opening the door. Stunned outside I wanted to go back in and just clean house. Fortunately my friend who they threw out as well but not as roughly calm me down and made me realize that they would have probably just thrown me out again. This has been decades ago and I still have no idea what the real reason was. I know that a woman to fight over was not the issue.Overflowing 🍺 beer and testosterone I suppose. The whole incident reminded me of that Ron White story where he says he was thrown out of a bar and he doesn’t know how many there were, but he guesses it was all of them. That may have been true with me.
Putin and China Put Out Devastating Warning to the US | Col. Jacques Baud
May 2024. China has stopped “playin'”.
What is the most unprofessional interaction you’ve had with a recruiter?
This was during my placement time…
I was having an interview for TCS. The panel called my name, I went in. It was a panel of 3 ladies. I was carrying a file containing my resume, marksheets, certificates.
R1- what are your hobbies ?
Me – I like sketching, playing guitar, riding my bike and collecting pens( all looking at me). If you wish, I have some sketches attached at the end of the file.
All looking through my sketches.
R2 – so, if we recruit you would you still continue sketching in your busy schedule.
Me – yes Mam I will still continue sketching, if you’re passionate about something you will manage some time for it no matter how busy you are.
R2- good.
R3- so, you say you like to collect pens. What kind of pen do you collect ?
Me – I am a pen enthusiast. I like to collect premium pens, PARKER, SHEAFFER, CROSS, WATERMAN, LAMY etc. Ball , roller ball, fountain.
R1 – that’s interesting. So, how many pen do you have ?
Me – I have around 50–60 normal range pens(Parker , Pierre Cardin) and 15–20 premium range pens (above 1k INR). And I will continue to collect while I’m here.
R2 – what will you do with so many pens when you’re gone ?
Me – (don’t know what to say , still came up with the most stupid answer ) some of those are limited editions and some are discontinued which are not available in the market at present and I know they will have a great value someday, I’ll leave them as a legacy for my children/grandchildren.
R3 – you’ll need to have a great number of children. Good luck with that. ( don’t know with what logic she came up with that )
All burst into laughter. I join in with them and start to chuckle.
R2 – okay , I’m gonna write your feedback with my sheaffer pen
Me – sorry Mam, but that’s not a sheaffer, that’s a Parker.
(Edit 3: I guess she focused on this statement to check my presence of mind and whether or not I really knew about what I said i.e. to check if I was lying about my hobby or not).
R1- you may leave now.
Me – thank you.
Next week the result for day 1 sharing was out.
Verdict : got an offer letter from TCS.
P.s these are around 5-6 year old images, didn’t have for the latest collection.
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Why So Many Countries Are Abandoning the Dollar
It’s damn obvious.
What is the weirdest thing your dog ever brought home?
Not my dog, but my next door neighbors’ dog. Duke was a large mixed breed about 65–70 pounds, a super friendly boy who spent every day making the rounds in our neighborhood collecting treats, love, attention and objects he found in the yards or garages of those he visited. I was used to getting calls from Sharon with a list of items Duke had brought home—sometimes things I hadn’t even missed yet! About 10 years ago, my son, dil and 2 grands were staying with me and it snowed Christmas night, a rare event where I live. There was about 3–4″ inches of lovely white covering my grass the next morning so the kids had to play in it before they left to go home. My grandson came in and said he had lost his phone in the snow. We all spent at least 30 minutes looking for it and even Duke came over to see what was going on. My family left and about 30 minutes later, I received a phone call from Sharon asking if anyone was missing an iPhone. I walked next door and collected my grandson’s pristine phone-no scratches, no dents and it turned on. My son and grandson were both really happy with that news! Duke is still remembered in the neighborhood as being such a “good boy.”
What is the most shameless thing you have ever seen a teacher do?
When I was in 6th grade, I had a math teacher that I hated so much I’d have panic attacks on the days I had her class. Here’s a short list of what she’d do to me, keeping in mind she was told multiple times I had debilitating social anxiety and ADHD:
Humiliated me when I asked for help by telling me as loud as she could “you can’t do this problem? This is the easiest one in the set, how do you not understand it?!”
Called my mom in the middle of class after I handed in a test that she said I didn’t work long enough on in front of the other students, telling her I was an embarrassment
Had her TA search for me while I was waiting for my dad to pick me up since I had to stay after school on certain days of the week due to my parents working late. When she found me, she yelled at me, brought me back to the math room, where, in front of (mostly older, and way more popular) students, the math teacher called my dad and yelled about how he should be making go to the after school math tutoring so I could “at least pretend to care about the material”
Thank God, THANK GOD my parents were supportive of me and told her off each time. After the final call to my dad about forcing me to get the tutoring, my dad rushed to get me and ripped her a new one about how tired my parents were of her treatment of me. But ever since then, I’ve been afraid of almost every teacher and would just be silent during my classes
Best Macaroni and Cheese
This is the tastiest, easiest and fastest macaroni and cheese you will ever eat. DO not skimp on the Colby cheese. Use as much as you can afford.
macaroni cheese2
Ingredients
Macaroni (as much as needed)
Colby cheese (lots)
Instructions
While the macaroni is cooking in salted water, dice the Colby cheese up rather small.
As soon as the macaroni is cooked; drain it well. Keep it, covered, in the same pot in which it was cooked.
Add the diced Colby cheese and stir it in. Cover immediately and let it sit for about five minutes so that the cheese melts.
Attribution
Recipe is from the kitchen of Kathryn Irene Jolly.
Recipe is from the family recipe collection of Linda Ann Jolly, Arizona.
African Nations Repatriate Their Gold and Foreign Reserves From the USA.
Not being well reported. Not at all in the Western “news” media.
What is a time when you’ve seen a co-worker get fired who totally deserved it?
One of the RNs in our dept had worked there for 5 plus years, was around 60 years old and very nurturing and maternal so she was well liked. Her employment predated mine and I became her immediate supervisor. After several years of working together , mostly amicably she started to undermine me, making snarky comments and decisions that didn’t include discussions with others in the dept or weren’t hers to make or sometimes even mine to make. She was resistant when I discussed this with her. I really liked and admired her and it was getting more and more challenging. My supervisor wasn’t any help. We RNs became concerned that a medication error may be made if this nurse did the med pass so we made sure that someone else did that. We double checked behind her with the order transcriptions. We found small errors and brought them to her attention. She stated that everyone makes mistakes and that she was no different. One day I found that she had written an order on the wrong chart and filed the med in that pt’s med drawer. I saw it right before the tech was going to give the med to the wrong pt. What was even worse was that the pt wasn’t on ANY meds for a condition that was in any way similar to what that med was for – that should have made her question it. So, a performance improvement plan was implemented, discussed and put in place with approval of HR and my supervisor. The nurse ignored it, did nothing and cheerfully stated there was no problem. We decided that termination was in order. She was aghast and said, “Well, I will talk to the CEO and he will not stand for this!” Termination took place, she demanded a ride to the unemployment office and HR agreed – WHAT? It was so hard, but necessary to protect pts. Anyway, I ran into her about a year later and she said she had a medical condition that was contributing to her “brain fog” and that she’d been treated. She apologized for the instances of petty behavior. We all hoped she was doing well.
Almost 450 extremists from various nationalities arrive to Idlib to fight against Russian troops, after leaving Syria and passing through Turkey.
Close to 450 extremist Arab and foreign nationals have arrived in Ukraine from Idlib to fight against Russia’s forces, less than only three days after they left Syria, passing through Turkey.
Relatives of extremists that have arrived in Ukraine told Sputnik that senior fighters from terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (the rebranded version of Jabhat Al-Nusra, i.e Al-Qaeda) have held a number of meetings with senior leaders in the Turkistan Islamic Party group and Ansar Al-Tawhid and Hurras al-Din groups, and agreed on allowing a number of all their fighters to enter Ukraine through Turkish soil.
The sources added that most of these foreign fighters are veterans of the Syrian war, had been causing issues in Idlib, and were given this opportunity to fight against Russia as a compromise by which they would receive a new start and with an acceptable income.
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham also gave these fighters assurances that their families would be allowed to join them later.
Around 300 of these fighters are Syrian nationals that are originally from the Idlib and Aleppo countrysides, while the 150 others are Belgian, French, Chinese, Moroccan, Tunisian, Chechen and British nationals.
As for the financial compensation, the sources said the fighters that hail from Syria will receive around $1200-$1500, but had no knowledge what the foreign nationals were going to be paid.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has previously stated that 16,000 foreign mercenaries will fight for the country.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had warned Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a meeting last Friday of the growing number of foreign mercenaries operating in Ukraine, including those coming from Albania and Croatia and namely militants and Jihadists coming from Kosovo in order to put their experience from military operations in Syria to use.
What was a loophole that you found and exploited the hell out of?
I don’t consider it a “loophole,” but rather a bit of a tech glitch.
When I was in college in the late 1980s (Dartmouth), it was towards the end of the life of pulse dialling technology. In the “old days,” telephones used to look like some variant of this:
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When you made a call, the dial was turned for each number, and it sent out a series of electronic pulses that matched the number (for example, my grandfather had a telephone whose number was WI-1–8214 (941–8214).
In the 1970s, touch-tone dialling became the standard (I am not sure that a rotary phone would even work anymore).
Telephones swapped out the rotary for push buttons, but the switching equipment had to, for a time, accommodate both. So telephones for a while had buttons, but a switch on the base that permitted tone and pulse dialling.
At Dartmouth, where I was a student, all of the telephone lines in the dormitories were controlled by Dartmouth. In order to make long-distance telephone calls, you had to subscribe to a service called “DarTalk.” Again, not sure if this is still the case.
Anyways, what we discovered in the dorms was that, if one started the telephone on pulse, entered the 8 (for an external line), a one, the area code, and the three code prefix, then switched the phone from pulse to tone and entered the final four digits in tone mode, the switching equipment that the college used could not detect that the call was going out. Hence, the calls were free.
We could thus make long distance calls without paying.
US prepares for war against Russia and China. In Self-Defense of course.
I once knew a fellow expat; I will refer to him as “the stupid guy” TSG for short.Now TSG was quite the charmer and had all the girls (here in China) eating out of his hand. He did not have a college degree, and so got a job in China as a teacher fraudulently.He paid money, and befriended the right people, and was working as an ESL (English as a second language) teacher.He charmed everyone. Including myself, and he wanted to become my business partner… especially when he saw my wife.Now, he was many bad things, but one thing that he was able to do was to be able to speak Chinese very well.And he used it to his advantage.Now, my Chinese was poor, but not as poor as he thought. And when he and I were alone drinking coffee when gave me this long, diatribe in Chinese.Telling me about his journey and how he got there to where he was facing me. It began in English, but when he got to the spicy parts, it was all in Chinese.Now, even though I had a difficult time following him, I could make out some of what he said and the gist was this…
I am going to take your wife and fuck her eyes out.
I am going to take all your money.
I am going to take your job.
I am going to take everything you have.
And you won't be able to do anything about it.
He said this to my face… in Chinese.
Thinking that I didn’t understand anything.
And I ignored it all, which was a big mistake.
Yeah. I deserve some real hard slaps.
But then noticed him implementing exactly what he said. He tried to seduce my wife. he put poison in her ears against me. Changed her ideas and opinions. Manipulated her. Started buying her things like cell phones and what not.
He store my hours, my clients, my students from me. He was trying to convince my wife to give him money… it was everything that he said he would do.
Why did I put up with it?
Well… it wasn’t for long. Maybe one month to two months total, and then we put the kibosh on it.
Both my wife and I endured real PAIN to get where we were, and were not going to permit some shyster to steal it all away from us.
TSG thought he had it all worked out.
He used every trick in the book to alienate me from my wife; from my work, and from my money. I call him the “stupid guy”, but really I was the one who was stupid.
You see, this was a new thing; a new experience for me. I was unprepared for it. It took me some time to figure out what was going on.
Oh yeah. For certain. We ended it all.
He fled China. Went off to some other Asian nation and then returned back to California. But…
This is the story of one of the tricks that he used to seduce.
He had a Lamborghini key.
And a Lamborghini insurance paper and registration. And every-time he was talking with someone about him only being a “teacher“, he would pull those out and claim that he owned multiple businesses in the USA, and had a couple of Lamborghini automobiles and a fine house in Beverly Hills.
It wasn’t true.
On one drunken night, he told me the truth.
He faked the documents, and bought the old key from eBay.
Yeah. TSG was quite the player.
Now, he did manage to get into the pants of a great number of girls at work. In fact, he did that and used them to transfer my students; my customer to him. During my prime hours, so he had instant customers; instant income, and I got the dregs. And even when my students complained the workers (with whom he slept with) all took his side.
That was then. I had just gotten out of prison, was wobbly on my feet, and my marriage was young and enduring changes.
This is now.
I am strong and ESTABLISHED and now formidable within my regime.
So don’t worry about me. I pulled myself up by my bootstraps. Never the less, we have to experience some trying times to get to be strong. You cannot lift weights to get healthy without feeling pain.
The Stupid Guy
What a tool. Fuck.
Today…
The Power of Healthy Boundaries: Why Saying “No” is Essential for Personal Growth
Listen up, because it’s time to drop some truth bombs that might just change your life. If you’re the type of person who struggles with setting boundaries, who says “yes” to every request and invitation, even when you really want to say “no,” then this article is for you.
Here’s the thing: boundaries are not just some touchy-feely self-help concept. They’re a crucial life skill that can make or break your relationships, your career, and your overall well-being. When you fail to set healthy boundaries, you’re essentially giving everyone else permission to walk all over you, to take advantage of your kindness, and to drain your energy and resources.
But when you learn to set clear, firm boundaries, something magical happens. You start to feel more in control of your life. You begin to prioritize your own needs and desires. You attract people and opportunities that align with your values and goals. In short, you become a happier, healthier, more fulfilled version of yourself.
Now, you might be thinking: “But won’t people hate me if I start saying no all the time?” And the answer is: who cares? Seriously, if someone gets upset with you for having boundaries and taking care of yourself, then they’re probably not someone you want in your life anyway.
The truth is, setting boundaries is not about being selfish or uncaring. It’s about recognizing your own inherent worth and respecting yourself enough to stand up for your needs. It’s about being honest and authentic in your relationships, rather than constantly sacrificing your own well-being for the sake of others.
So how do you start setting healthy boundaries? It’s simple, but not always easy. First, get clear on what your non-negotiables are. What are the things that you absolutely will not tolerate in your life, no matter what? This could be anything from physical or emotional abuse to chronic lateness or flakiness from friends.
Next, practice communicating your boundaries clearly and directly. This means saying “no” when you need to, without apologies or excuses. It means being honest about your feelings and expectations, even if it feels uncomfortable at first.
For example, let’s say you have a friend who consistently cancels plans at the last minute, leaving you hanging. You might set a boundary by saying something like, “Hey, I value our friendship, but when you cancel on me at the last minute, it really throws off my day and makes me feel unimportant. Going forward, if you need to cancel, please let me know at least 24 hours in advance.”
If your friend continues to violate this boundary, you might need to enforce it by saying something like, “I’m sorry, but I can’t keep making plans with you if you’re going to cancel at the last minute. It’s not working for me.” This might mean taking a step back from the friendship or finding other people to make plans with who respect your time and commitments.
Remember, setting boundaries is not a one-time event. It’s an ongoing practice that requires consistency, courage, and self-awareness. But the payoff is so worth it. When you learn to set healthy boundaries, you create space for more joy, more fulfillment, and more authentic connections in your life.
So go ahead, start saying “no” to the things that don’t serve you, and watch as your world begins to change for the better. Trust that your future self will thank you.
Strange
Cheese Tortellini Soup with Shrimp
cheese tortellini soup shrimp
Prep: 5 min | Cook: 15 min | Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 cups (32 fluid ounces) reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 (9 ounce) package Buitoni Refrigerated Three Cheese Tortellini
1/2 pound (51/60 count) small cooked shrimp
1 cup loose-pack frozen petite peas, thawed
Instructions
Combine broth, sauce, wine and pepper in large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Add pasta; reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.
Add shrimp and peas; cook for an additional 1 minute.
Serve immediately.
What office rule made you say “You gotta be kidding me”?
Happened to a friend who worked the IT Help desk in a very large corp. They had 2 phones on their desks, the Help line and a regular employee desk phone. Then it seems external calls coming into their desk phones – weren’t. Manager said he had had incoming calls blocked because HE thought that the Help queues were long because the Help guys were on personal calls instead.
So I said to my friend, “You have 4 kids who are latch-key kids (come home to empty house as Mom works too). And your co-workers also have children at home. Suppose each kid is supposed to call their parent to say they have gotten home from school, but now the calls are not getting through. What instruction would you all have given your children if they cannot reach you at work? Call the corp. security line!”
Friend: “What good would that do …. ?”
Me: “Imagine what happens when a 7-year-old calls Security in tears saying ‘I can’t reach my Daddy’…”
3 days later their desk phones were receiving external calls again.
Up-Close Look at Captured Abrams and Leopard in Moscow
Prime Minister Of Georgia Exposes U.S. Regime Change Attempt
In the April 18 I had mentioned a recent color revolution attempt in Georgia:
Those organization who currently receive money from the various U.S. or EU government or non-government organizations are of course not amused that they will have to reveal their association with such sources. They want to lobby for foreign positions without being identified as foreign influencers.They have therefore launched protests against their country’s government and parliament which has passed the law in the first reading. Two further readings will be required to finalize the law.
The protesters against the law claim that it is a “Russian law” against “foreign agents”.
…
However neither is the law “Russian style” – it is a copy of FARA – nor does the law include the loaded word “agent”. It does not accuse anyone of being such but seeks public transparency over foreign financial influences which would of course also include Russian ones.
Despite violent protests by the usual suspects the relevant bill has passed its second reading in the Georgian parliament. A third and final reading is expected in the mid of May.
The ‘NGO’ complex of U.S./EU regime change organizations in Georgia is enormous:
The Government of Georgia has declined an invitation from the US to discuss strategic partnership and assistance, reports Ekho Kavkazu.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia confirmed receiving the invitation from the Prime Minister. However, before the visit, parliament was supposed to temporarily suspend consideration of the bill On Transparency of Foreign Influence.
Well, the parliament did not do so.
Now witness this very public slap-in-the face which Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze is handing out to Derek H. Chollet, the Counselor of the U.S. State Department:
Irakli Kobakhidze @PM_Kobakhidze – 8:13 UTC · May 3, 2024Spoke to @CounselorDOS and expressed my sincere disappointment with the two revolution attempts of 2020-2023 supported by the former US Ambassador and those carried out through NGOs financed from external sources. Had these attempts been successful, the second front line would have been opened in Georgia.
Besides, I explained to Mr. Chollet that false statements made by the officials of the US State Department about the transparency bill and street rallies remind us of similar false statements made by the former US Ambassador in 2020-2023, which served to the facilitation of violence from foreign funded actors and to the support of revolutionary processes back then.
Also, I clarified to Mr. Chollet that it requires a special effort to restart the relations against this background, which is impossible without a fair and honest approach.
I have not expressed my concerns with Mr. Chollet about a brutal crackdown of the students’ protest rally in New York City.
It is rare to see a small power like Georgia publicly exposing U.S. mischief like this.
Posted by b on May 3, 2024 at 10:05 UTC | Permalink
Social Media Has Destroyed Women
I went on a date with a woman in her late 40s. She confessed that she had given one of her friends bad advice by encouraging her to get involved with a married man.
I told her that I was shocked that a woman her age would give such bad advice to a woman 20 years younger than her and she be more of a mentor. She said that she had gone through a similar experience and it had worked out for her.
After more dialogue she admitted that she cheated on her husband of 25 years with another married man and eventually he left his wife as well. They lived together for 5 years and then he ended up breaking it off with her and now she's been single for a year.
I honestly just kind of stared in shock and kept blinking for a little bit. I told her I don't know what was
1. that you told me so easily like it was a flex or
2. that you actually believe that your situation was so successful that you actually encourage somebody else to do the same thing.
Not only did you implode your family, but you encouraged that other man to ruin his and now you have your friend ruining another marriage.
She told me that I am judgemental and that I need to read my Bible more. Am I tripping?
If we were to talk about prosperity between China & the USA, which one would you say is on the right track? Why?
China is the only major economy growing since the Covid pandemic and China is now producing huge end automobile and quantum computers! It is growing faster and bigger than the entire G7! The U.S. is basically a Ponzi scheme economy printing money without basis and building 1 trillion debts every 100 days! Its GDP is laden with hot air and Wall Street bubbles ready to pop anytime soon! The U.S. spends on war, war mongering, trouble making, regime change, and colour revolution funding. While China build the latest state of the art infrastructures and educate and retrain its people!
Putting the U.S. and China in the same category is totally misleading China is developing the U.S. is disintegrating, China is progressing the U.S. is collapsing in a huge pile of debts.
Have you ever seen a drill instructor compliment a recruit?
Drill sergeant Thomas – “give me that rifle, private!”
Terrified PFC Edwards hands him the rifle.
Drill sergeant Thomas – “what the fuck is this?!?!? Do you know what this is, private?!?!?”
Terrified PFC Edwards tries, in vain, to muster some semblance of a coherent response.
Drill sergeant Thomas – “this is a clean ass rifle! That’s what the fuck it is! Now get the fuck out of here private…you fucking creep.”
PFC Edwards is on the range with a beat up M16A2 and some very old aluminum artifacts that were likely magazines at some point. He’s shooting at little green Ivans that already have more holes than an Alex Jones conspiracy theory and the Browns red zone defense combined. Drill sergeant Thomas approaches and screams out “I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing private, but keep doing it!”
Those are the two compliments that I most remember from basic.
Win later
What are some of the interesting mutations humans have?
There is one which may make you look prettier.
The British-American cinema icon, Elizabeth Taylor, who was deemed as one of the most beautiful women of her time had a rare genetic condition called Distichiasis. It is a type of mutation which caused her to have two rows of eyelashes instead of one. This thick, dark fringe of extra eyelashes made her eyes look all the more dreamy and dazzling and along with her striking blue eyes, they certainly enhanced her already exquisite face. This was caused by a mutation in the FOXC2 gene.
Although, having natural double eyelashes may seem like an entrancing feature, it can be far from a boon. Congenital distichiasis is often accompanied by lymphedema – a condition characterized by swelling of the limbs, typically the legs and feet due to build up of body fluids, and therefore known as lymphedema-distichiasis (LD) syndrome.
For the little boring part, the FOXC2 gene is a transcription factor/protein involved in numerous developmental pathways of the body, two of which are those of the lymphatic vessels and the associated regions of the eye, hence the association.
In distichiasis, the extra row of eyelashes grow from tiny oil glands (meibomian glands)
on the thin ledge of skin nearer to the eye, instead of growing out of hair follicles present on the outer edge of the eyelid.
main qimg 9e6db4f6ef20ed8046356cb48ba8cdb2 lq
Distichiasis in some individuals can remain harmless and less detectable if the growing eyelashes curl outwards. The lashes can be removed by epilation (plucking), cryotherapy, electrolysis, lid splitting operations, or laser treatment etc. The condition can also vary from a few sparse hairs on one lid, to full sets of lashes on both lids.
But for some individuals, distichiasis with lymphedema syndrome can take a more severe form. One could have more acute symptoms of eye irritation, redness as well as more frequent tearing in the eye. The mutations in FOXC2 may also give rise to multiple disorders, such heart diseases, scoliosis, cellulitis, webbed neck, respiratory problems due to abnormal lymph flow into the lungs etc.
Which could explain why some of Taylor’s myriad of health problems may have been attributed to her inherited lymphoedema-distichiasis syndrome due to mutations in the FOXC2 gene.
Taylor was known to have had more than 100 operations during her lifetime, including having both hips replaced. She also suffered from scoliosis and respiratory infections. In 2004, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure which later caused her death in 2011.
Edit: As it has been pointed out in the comments, I’d like to clarify that Elizabeth’s eye color wasn’t exactly blue but was more like purple/violet color. Although, some websites describe her eye color as blue, it was a slight mistake on my part on factually describing it as blue. Thank you 🙂
One summer we took a family trip to Charleston, South Carolina. When traveling, I like to find out the one dish the city is famous for and try to eat it as many times as I can. After all, how can you know what the “Best She Crab Soup in Charleston” is unless you sample a pretty fair share of them?
She Crab Soup, also called She Crab Bisque, was the dish of the trip. I discovered that the soup is made with female crabs. Makes sense. In addition, the roe (fish eggs) of the female crab is added to the recipe.
How do you know the difference between a male and a female crab? I went to a food conference in NYC one spring and got a “crab anatomy” lesson from a crab vendor.
He flipped over two crabs and explained that the male crabs have the Washington Monument on their undersides.
IMG 0660
The females have the wider Capitol Building on their bellies.
IMG 0661
What are the Ingredients in She Crab Soup?
After returning from that trip to Charleston, I was determined to re-create the recipe for She Crab Soup. For inspiration, I leaned on The Joy of Cooking’s recipe for lobster bisque, from which this recipe is loosely adapted.
Most recipes call for fresh crab. In a perfect, very French world, you would also use the shells of the crabs to make a super rich stock. Obviously this is not always practical. And unless you live in an area where crabs are regularly harvested, you will probably have a more difficult time finding “female” crabs.
Since I wanted this She Crab soup recipe to be fast and easy, I’ve used canned, lump meat crab from the seafood counter of my grocery store and bottled clam juice in place of fish stock. If you can find fish stock, substitute that for the bottled clam juice and chicken stock.
Ingredients
1 small onion, minced
4 tablespoons butter
1 pound crabmeat (about 12 crabs)
1 quart milk
2 cups light cream
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup dry sherry
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup orange crab roe
Rind of 1 lemon, grated
Instructions
Sauté onion gently in the butter, add crabmeat, and set aside.
Heat milk and cream in the top of a double boiler, add crab meat and onion, seasonings and sherry. Cover, and let steep over very low heat for 30 to 45 minutes.
Beat the egg yolks, pour a little of the hot liquid into them, and then stir the yolk mixture slowly into the soup.
Put a spoonful of roe in each soup bowl, ladle in the soup, and sprinkle the top with grated lemon rind.
Men Are Going Abroad For Love And Modern Women Are FURIOUS
What are the first things you notice when you become homeless?
How flimsy it all is. Society. Status. Everything.
Everything we work so hard for and so hard to maintain. It’s too flimsy and transient. The fact that it takes so little to lose it all and that we have to work so hard to keep it.
When gossip can change your status. That’s scary.
On a more practical front, I noticed right away where I was now persona non grata. Places where you could stand while waiting for a friend or a ride, in the vicinity of a store was now the place you waited to go to jail while the store manager summoned the police because you are now a criminal by virtue of your homelessness.
I now knew where to go to be hassled by absolutely everyone because I was no longer a person but either a very tall child or wildlife that wandered into their vicinity, only to be shooed away or threatened.
Also, no public restroom anywhere, ever, was available for ‘my kind’. I had then been redesignated as a U Person. As in ‘you people’!!
As well as all shelter was off-limits to me, to include a covered bus stop, a bridge, even a large tree with a nice canopy. I was not even allowed shade.
Don’t forget public spaces that are available to everyone, like parks, benches and sidewalks. Those are for decent regular people, not U People! And I get it, no one wants parks reduced to a landfill, tent city or crime-ridden waste land. But I even promised not to dump all of my toxic waste on that park bench, I just needed to rest from a long day of walking. But they showed me and installed spikes and arms in the center of the park bench.
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(Credit: dev.null.org)
I also learned that grocery stores acquired very impressive trash compactors. I guess I took more than my fair share of dented cans and bruised bananas. I admit to my greed. But those giant yellow beasts were overkill.
On to the not-so-horrible things I learned.
Like where all the high-end cafés, bakeries, etc. were located and what time they tossed the leftovers.
Which dumpsters, of particular residents were picked up and when there were prime resell pickings. Or to get good clothes from. People being so incredibly wasteful saved us in more ways than 10.
Who was homeless-friendly and who wasn’t, by just a look. Identifying the look became second nature; even my young son could spot it.
I also learned the police routes and rounds pretty quickly.
Prime U People traveling times, so as not to offend the good, decent people of society.
And I learned what really mattered to me. What was important. Homelessness gave me perspective that I may not have gotten any other way.
Saw this
What’s the best revenge you’ve gotten after being fired or let go from a job?
I was fired from a sporting goods company for not fitting in. I was fired by the VP of Technology and my manager was the one who brought me to his office (she didn’t say a word to me).
Anyway. As it stands, a few years later the jellyfish manager I had was at a conference where I was the keynote speaker. I was actually in the middle of telling the story of how I was fired and that got me the right to call myself ‘seasoned’ on my resume. I am explaining the whole experience minus names and I look out into the audience and there she is — sliding down in her chair. It was classic!
She eventually was fired too. This company was great at managing their unemployment rate. If they didn’t like you they fired you thinking they would get away with it with no fight. I took them to three appeals and won.
Life Doesn’t Give Us Purpose, We Create It
Today, let’s tackle a topic that often keeps us awake at night—finding our purpose. And let me be clear: this isn’t about stumbling upon some hidden secret that’s going to make everything click into place. It’s about facing life’s relentless questions head-on.
Life doesn’t hand us a neatly packaged purpose; it doesn’t operate like some cosmic vending machine. Instead, life poses questions, challenges us, and waits for our responses. So, what does this really mean? It means that your purpose isn’t something you find—it’s something you define through your actions and decisions every day.
Think about it. Every choice you make, every action you take, is essentially you responding to life’s big questions: What are you going to do today? What kind of person will you be? How will you impact the world around you? Your answers to these questions, reflected in your daily actions, create the narrative of your life.
Let’s break this down a bit. When you choose to help someone in need, you’re answering life’s question with compassion. When you decide to learn something new, you’re responding with curiosity. And when you stand up for what you believe in, even when it’s hard, you’re replying with courage. Your life, in its entirety, is your response to the existential questions life throws your way.
Now, this might sound daunting. It’s much easier to wait for inspiration to strike or to follow a path someone else has laid out for us. But here’s the real deal: taking responsibility for your own purpose means embracing the freedom to make your life mean something on your own terms. It’s about actively building the life you want, brick by brick, with your own hands.
Sure, you’ll face setbacks. There will be days when you wonder if you’re on the right path, or if it’s all worth it. But remember, every day gives you a new chance to answer life’s questions differently. To try again, to change your approach, to learn from your mistakes. And that’s where real growth happens.
So, my challenge to you is this: Stop waiting for life to give you answers and start crafting your own. Engage with life, make choices that feel true to who you are, and let your actions speak for the purpose you’re building. You might just find that in the act of responding to life’s questions, you’ll craft a purpose that is uniquely yours.
Remember, you are the author of your life’s story. What will your answers be? What will you stand for? How will you respond to the questions life asks you? Let’s start taking those steps today. Because in the end, the most fulfilling paths are often the ones we pave ourselves.
Massive fire at Germany’s defense-industrial company Diehl
EXTREMELY POISONOUS SMOKE is billowing from a massive fire at Germany’s defense-industrial company, Diehl, in Berlin.
The company just so happens to produce, among other things, the IRIS-T air defense system, its missiles, and GMLRS ammunition for HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, used by Ukraine.
Panicked authorities say the fire no longer possible to contain.
Students in surrounding areas are being sent home and emergency services warn people to stay indoors and avoid deadly massive clouds of chemical fumes.
The Building is now completely engulfed on four floors. Part of the building has already collapsed. The fire can no longer be brought under control.
We can confirm that chemicals are also burning in the building. Sulfuric acid and copper cyanide were stored there. There is a risk of hydrogen cyanide forming, which rises into the air with the smoke – Fire brigade informed the population via warning apps.
Economic Update: The Phenomenon of China
Great overview.
This week’s Economic Update Professor Richard Wolff dedicates the entire show to the economic developmental achievement of China, together with the historical background that motivated that achievement. We analyze the uniqueness of both the economic philosophy and the politics of China.
What red flag did you have the week before your wedding that you wish you had heeded?
A couple of days before my wedding we were having our makeup try out. Besides my mom and sisters, I thought it would be nice to include MIL. As the session was going on the makeup artist asked my mom how many children she had and she proudly answer “I have 3 daughters and 2 granddaughters” and the next question was if she would have wanted a son and mom said “I would have been happy with either, but I love the way it turned out to have only girls”.
The same questions were asked to MIL. She answered “I have to 2 sons” and the answer to the second question was “oh no! I never wanted to have girls, women are trouble and only bring problems to a family”.
We grew up in an home were women greatly appreciated (my dad used to say he was a joyous man among women), where we were told “men and women are different, but those diferences should complete each other, none is less and women too can be/ do whatever they aspire, so shoot for the stars”. Needless to say I was SHOCKED to hear that from another woman… who raised a man.
So, every time my “still” husband and I have an argument he tells me stuff like “you’re a problem! You ruin my life”. I know were those words come from…
But I’m really happy that we have 2 girls, 2 amazing girls. My husband’s parents have seen the 2 year old a couple of times, I didn’t really have a relationship with them, but when MIL said our 2nd was a mistake we should have stopped… I stopped any communication with them. They have never visited our baby girl since she was born…
If your bladder is full and you are unable to hold in your pee then start thinking about sex, it will give you relief up to some extent. (I suggest you to use washroom in this situation asap)
Tilting your head while looking up or while having a conversation makes you look more attractive and sexier.
When a person cries and if the first tear drop falls from left eyes, it’s pain. If it is from right eye, it’s happiness.
Men spend almost a year of their lives staring at women.
Studies have revealed that a man and woman can never be just friends.
Constantly dreaming about someone indicates that they may actually be thinking about you.
An attractive face is preferred over an attractive body for long term relationships.
Sex is more physical for men and more emotional for women.
Money can buy happiness. Studies show that after 49lakhs rupees (approx) per year, increased income boost happiness.
Being alone and spending more time with yourself is more likely to make you successful in life.
What made you as an American move to China?
First, I have travelled a fair amount in my life. I am from the US but have lived in Japan, and spent a lot of time in Taiwan, Korea, Israel and visited countries in Europe, Philippines, Malaysia, Scotland.
I have always liked Asian culture so that is part of it, but the people in China are really good people. I found that attractive. China is safe, but many countries are. The difference is that even in the huge cities, it is safe. Next is that China is growing. It is really interesting to see a country advancing, growing and improving. I have literally seen cities built, huge infrastructure projects materialize over a few years. I am watching as the behavior of the society changes as the wealth grows. This fascinates me.
China is also a convenient place to live. It is easy to get around, I don’t need a car. Things I need are easy and quick to obtain and the cost of living is low.
All of these things play a part in why I am living in China. But mostly it is the people. Chinese could be boastful people. But they are not, they are kind, thoughtful and hardworking people with no outward and obvious judgmental attitudes. In other words, they don’t care what religion I am. With all that is going on they do not treat me badly because I am an American and hold me at fault for the actions of the US government. They are educated and know the difference. It is also a society that puts a strong emphasis on education and achievement. At least the people I encounter are life long learners. Driven to learn new things.
There are negatives, of course, but the above things are the reasons I have moved to China.
Something TERRIFYING Happened To This Submarine
Super interesting.
British Foreign Secretary: Ukraine Can Use British Missiles Against Russian Territory
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said today, Ukraine CAN use British weapons to hit deep inside Russia Territory. He also promised Kiev over $3 billion in military aid annually for “as long as it takes.”
“Ukraine has the right to use weapons provided by London to strike targets on Russian territory” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has declared, in an interview with Reuters on Thursday during a visit to Kiev.
The senior diplomat, who also served as UK Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016, met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal and Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, promising London’s “unequivocal support” and annual military aid payments.
“We will give three billion pounds ($3.74 billion) every year for as long as is necessary. We’ve just really emptied all we can in terms of giving equipment,” Cameron told the outlet, noting that some of the British weapons earmarked for Ukraine would be arriving to the country during his visit.
The foreign secretary noted that among the weapons donated to Kiev are precision-guided bombs, air defense missiles and equipment for 100 mobile air defense teams.
Cameron stated that Ukraine has the “right” to use arms provided by London to strike targets inside Russia if that’s how it wants to use them.
“Ukraine has that right. Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it’s defending itself,” the diplomat said.
Hal Turner Snap Analysis
This is a massive escalation on the part of the UK and may be the lynchpin to Russia declaring Britain a “combatant.”
If person “A” provides a gun to person “B” and person B uses that gun to shoot Person “C” then Person “A” facilitated that attack and is an accessory before the fact and goes to prison, too.
I don’t see any reason that state actors can’t be held to that same legal standard.
US Very Concerned as China-Russia Strengthen Their Military Ties!
Bolivia coup failed. Apparently irate civilians found out & surrounded the rebels. The coup leader is now in jail.
I was amazed and overjoyed at how quickly the people shut the coup down. The crowd that showed up to chase coup members out of the central plaza was inspiring. By the 1990's I believe Bolivia had amassed something like 150 coups, almost the same number as its age. I'm glad to see Bolivia now resisting and defying coup attempts.
Posted by: Inka | Jun 27 2024 16:55 utc | 14
One of the things that I have really learned to appreciate in China are the massages and spa treatments. Oh sure, and for sure, there are many variations of these things. From sexual release (which is legal in China) to just a fine relaxing back-rub and everything in between.
The truth is that I always feel great after I have one of these massages, and then take a nice shower and relax in the lounge with a cocktail or a coffee. Tea is the preferred beverage of many Chinese patrons, but I, being an American, find that a well made coffee “does the trick”.
It’s a shame that you cannot find these in the ‘States. Sure there are “fronts”; bordellos that pretend to be massage places in strip malls, but honestly, I like to get a good ol’ cheap foot massage every now and then. It’s so very relaxing.
After all, don’t you know, I do have a high blood pressure problem, and these things really help me along.
Massages is something that I never partook of when I live din the Untied States. I guess that I was just too “blue collar”, not low class that knew every street hooker in a fifty mile radius, and not too “upper crust” that frequented the “clubs” and the “golf courses” that surround the wealthy enclaves. I just lived a sheltered life, and for an American that meant “work cog”.
Work until you die. No fun, and allow everyone to put their hands in your wallet until you are completely spent.
Last year, my social security (retirement income) got a 3.3% CPI increase. Oh you would have thought that Jesus was coming down from Heaven, with all the airplay that it got. But hold your horses, actual inflation was 21.5%. That’s one FUCK of a slap in the face.
*sigh*
I’m really glad that I live in China.
Excellent food. Pretty girls. Calm and relaxing lifestyle.
When you get a chance, get a massage, you will appreciate it immensely.
Today…
Federal government CPI numbers are fake
A young fellow posted a video to TikToc showing he bought a month’s worth of food from Walmart in the year 2022 which cost him $126. By clicking Re-Order, he found the exact same order costs $414 today! The FedGov’s Consumer Price Index numbers are all fraudulent.
Worse, if he followed through with the order and received it, he’d discover that there would be some items that not only cost more per unit, but that there would be less product inside.
These price increases are not exclusively a Walmart problem. This is across the board.
It’s even worse than that. Hundreds of items have been completely discontinued in all major grocery store chains across the country.
Slowly but surely, we’re being forced to buy from an increasingly shrinking selection of items.
Moreover, BEEF has skyrocketed everywhere. Even tough, low grade cuts are radically overpriced (and cut thinner).
Even Deli meats are $14 a pound now.
Another person reports “I just went back to an order I placed on January 22, 2023. 19 items for $110, hit the re-order button and it’s now $264.20. WTF?”
A separate, third person reports: “I just looked up the earliest order I had from Walmart.
It was in April, 2022.
The total was $169.
When I hit reorder, the total is now $241.
That is 21.5% REAL INFLATION, per year.”
Government lying about inflation is not new. What is new is the intensity of the lie. I have never seen anything like this.
The government says the CPI = 3.3%
The people see that the real CPI = 21.5%
When you ignore the obvious red flags
What’s the worst thing your parent has ever said to you?
My father disowned me once. It was worse than the beating he gave me with his fists and a belt. I’ve never forgotten that day. My mother told me the next day he didn’t mean it, but coming from her that meant nothing. My father was a hard, cold man who played favorites and he loved my younger brother more than anyone. The rest of us were just “labor”, there to do his bidding, and we did. The neighbors called our house “Auschwitz” because it was a miserable labor camp where we were not allowed to play with them until every single chore was done and done completely, every day, all the time. I was mowing the lawn by the time I was seven. My brother hauled rocks in a bucket. The favorite brother would ride by on his new bike and wave at us while we worked. When we complained, we got hit with a golf club my father always carried.
So what did I do? I took it out on my younger brother, the favorite. I was cruel and mean in heartless ways that I am filled with shame when I think of them now. It wasn’t his fault. But when he complained to my father one night, up the stairs he came like Frankenstein. He was a big man, with arms like steel from years of hard construction work, and when he swung he didn’t hold back and when he stopped there were holes in the wall from when he missed me and hit the wall instead. But he didn’t miss often. The entire family watched in silence as I laid there in a ball and crying like a baby. “Serves you right,” my mother said, “For treating your brother like that.” My only guess was that they thought by beating me they would make me love him more somehow, only it didn’t work that way.
I’ve always loved the joke, “The beatings will continue until morale improves”. It has special meaning to me. I moved to college when I was 17. I never went home again.
Dinosaur finds
What’s the most ridiculous adult tantrum you’ve witnessed that you couldn’t believe?
Originally Answered: What's the most ridiculously unnecessary jaw dropping adult tantrum you've witnessed that you couldn't believe?
I was barely twenty-one and working the overnight shift alone in a convenience store. A boy about seventeen was a regular. We had talked quite a bit and I had learned a lot about him. It seems he had some pretty bad parents who had moved away and left him on his own. He had worked to buy his own car and was determined to graduate high school. A teacher at the school had taken him in because he was such a good kid.
One night while I was working, the boy was playing a video game in the corner. A man came in to buy beer. I was careful to request a picture ID because law enforcement in the area had been really cracking down and performing many sting operations. They could be very tricky. The man could not produce the ID and got an attitude, finally saying just give me a pack of cigarettes. I told him I still needed the ID for that too. He did look military and old enough but I had underage friends in ROTC that could pass that test as well so I wouldn’t give in. The man flew into a rage and began cursing and calling me names. He stormed out, got into his truck and gunned it. As he spun his truck around he smashed into the boy’s car who had been playing video games. I called the local police who also called the military police from the nearby base.
We had to go to court and I was called as a witness. I heard that he was reduced in rank because of the incident even before his court date but it got worse from there. I took the stand and his lawyer began questioning me. I will never know why but his lawyer asked if anyone was with him that night. I answered yes there was a woman waiting for him in his truck but it wasn’t the one he brought with him to court that day, who was apparently his wife. I felt really bad for her as the entire court room burst out in laughter, but she did need to know. Her face said it all. He was found guilty and faced several charges but that was the least of his problems at that point. That man had managed to destroy his career and his marriage all in one night.
Do you think you were reincarnated from a previous life?
I absolutely do
I died in 1891 at the age of 54 – as a farmer
I was born again in 1899 and died in 1931 due to drowning
I was born again in 1938 as a Young girl and died in 1954 at 16 due to Smallpox
This Bunkum is called Naadi Josiyam
A Charlatan bamboozled my wife and wrote nonsense for all of us in Tiruvannamalai
A Famous Charlatan nonetheless who took 10,000 bucks from me for stuff I could have written better
My Wife was reborn in 1963 for the 7th time and I was reborn in 1957 for the 4th time and my sons were born in 1986 for the 6th time and 1988 for the 1st time
So My Wife and Older Son were actually Karmically older than me in this Universe
He also said I was apparently a womanizer and lecher in my first birth (1837–1891) and died leaving a pregnant wife in my second birth (1899–1931) and died an unhappy girl in my third birth (1938–1954)
It’s why I didn’t have a daughter in this birth
My wife apparently died in 1961 at the age of 86 (1875–1861) in her Seventh Birth
However I don’t trust the guy a millimetre:-
That’s because he predicted that my elder son would have a love marriage that would disturb me and my family
He had an arranged marriage, as traditional as can be
He predicted my son would be professionally involved with the Government
My son runs a Hedge Fund with three friends and has worked in finance from his first day
So unless my son is a secret CIA Agent, it’s all bunkum
Or unless my second son reveals he was sent by Doval to China to steal secrets on Self Learning Drone Programs
His prediction says my present cycle ends in 2039
My wife who holds a first class degree in Physics is so convinced by this nonsense that in Trivandrum when I had chest pains and went to see Dr Tiny Nair, she actually told a relative “Nothing to worry. He is destined to die only in 2039 so this will likely be nothing”
There’s a lot of lesson we should learn from the Reuters expose on how the U.S. military spread disinformation in the Philippines during the pandemic. One of the most significant ones is to prevent Philippines and China from transforming their relationship from enmity to amity.
The U.S. military propaganda was simple: to make sure the Filipino masses will ALWAYS see China as a threat, which would then tie the hands of leaders who want to be voted into power. Why does the U.S. want to do this? Taiwan.
The long-term goal of the U.S. is to prevent the unification of Taiwan with the Chinese mainland.
The real agenda of the U.S. is to keep the Philippine leg of its theatre of war against China. The Philippines is the nearest state to Taiwan, and from which, the U.S. can also launch attacks to Chinese cities.
To justify its massive military presence in the Philippines, the United States has to make sure that Philippine and China relations will remain in permanent crisis. It is never in U.S. agenda for these two countries to pursue a compromise solution. It is only by keeping China as a permanent threat to the Philippines that the U.S. can fulfil its long-term goal of having long-term presence in its territory.
If one would go back to the last 10 years, one can see how the U.S. has made sure that China will always be perceived as a threat by the Philippines:
1. Allowing China to have several fait accompli in the South China Sea: Scarborough Shoal, artificial islands, and I am afraid, soon it will involve Ayungin Shoal.
The U.S. has no intention in stopping China from doing all these things – didn’t do it in Scarborough Shoal crisis; didn’t do it in terms of artificial islands, and will never do it in Ayungin Shoal (hence, the very anemic copy-and-paste statements).
By letting China accomplish these series of fait accompli, the Philippines will be in a state of permanent crisis with China, hence, in a relationship of perpetual enmity. It is the narrative of “China stole these from us” hence we need the U.S. to help us get them back, which will NEVER happen.
The U.S. will keep on justifying its presence as a way to deter Chinese actions, which is belied by empirical reality. The U.S. military propaganda even escalated the narrative into preventing “China’s invasion of the Philippines.”
2. The U.S. military propaganda has prevented any joint development efforts between the Philippines and China. The earliest time I know was the joint-seismic mutual understanding between the Philippines, Vietnam, and China during the Arroyo administration. During my interview with former President Arroyo in my show Statecraft in 2021, I asked her about what was the U.S. position on that.
President Arroyo has told me that U.S. bureaucrats had been objecting to the joint venture. She took it up with President Bush who was surprised that U.S. bureaucrats were objecting to a research project.
The most aggressive propaganda against any joint ventures of the Philippines and China happened during Duterte’s time. Almost everyday, Western media and mainstream Philippine media were undermining diplomatic efforts of the Duterte administration. Filipino pundits beholden to Pentagon have made sure that Filipinos will not find these acceptable, labelling them as capitulation, selling out, debt trap, etcetera. These Filipino pundits have taken advantage of the largely uninformed Filipino masses on how joint ventures work.
If the Philippines and China successfully forged joint partnerships, ventures, and development, their relationship will be transformed from rivalry to partnership, as they have both stake in making the cooperative arrangement work. The alternative to that is perpetual enmity, of zero-sum game between the Philippines and China, which the United States wants to happen.
Just ask yourselves: How many times the United States initiated any diplomatic talks between the Philippines and China? None.
3. The U.S. will never back up the territorial sovereignty claim of the Philippines because that would mean being against not just with Chinese mainland, but also with Taiwan WHICH HAS EXACTLY THE SAME CLAIM AS BEJING, Viet Nam, and Malaysia. It is absolutely idiotic to think that the U.S. will go against any of these countries for the sake of the Philippines.
Thus, the U.S. will keep on encouraging Filipinos to pursue absolutely unrealistic goals. By keeping them in that state of hope that they could achieve those goals with U.S. help, the Philippines will be stuck in a permanent crisis with China, which the U.S. will use to justify its “temporarily permanent” military presence in the Philippines, which is nothing but for the sake of Taiwan, which is also a territorial rival of the Philippines!
4. The U.S. military propaganda will always undermine any diplomatic efforts of the Philippines with China. How many times our Foreign Affairs Secretary had any high-level meeting with his counterparts in Beijing in the last two years??? By preventing any meaningful exchange with China, the U.S. creates the perfect condition for paranoia: Fear of something you don’t understand; and you cannot understanding something unless you have meaningful engagement with it.
What would this do to the Philippines?
1. Stuck in a perpetual cycle of dependency with the United States
2. Forever a mendicant of U.S. largesse.
3. Maldevelopment brought by being in a state of permanent crisis with the world’s largest economy, the world’s most complete industrial system, and the world’s scientific superpower. All these benefits the Philippines will not be able to gain in a transformative way because the U.S. will not want it to happen. If the Philippines benefits from China’s rejuvenation, the U.S. will lose the magic of its propaganda against China.
4. In the long run, the country will be a battleground of a war not of its making.
Joint development with China is the only realistic goal. This transforms the relationship of China and the Philippines from a relationship in perpetual crisis into a collaborative relationship. This will not be accepted by the United States. However, it is up to the real sovereign of the Philippines – the Filipino people – to determine the fate of their relationship with China Permanent Crisis or Permanent Cooperation.
Joe Biden Now Shuffles Like a 2-Year Old Toddler
Bill breaks down Joe Biden's bizarre behavior in recent days, including his shuffling and mumbling during a major address.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called for Ursula von der Leyen to be replaced as president of the European Commission (EC), describing the past five years as the worst in the EU’s history.
When asked why he was preventing von der Leyen from being appointed to a second term, Orban replied: “Due to her lack of efficiency. The green transformation has been a complete failure of management, and the migration package does not solve the problem.”
“Europe needs more effective leadership. There are plenty of talented politicians who can provide it,” the prime minister said in an interview with German media group Funke.
“The last five years have probably been the worst five years in the history of the EU. The achievements of the European Commission and the Brussels elite are weak,” Orban maintained.
The Hungarian Prime Minister also noted that the results of the European Parliament elections demonstrated a clear desire for change in Brussels.
On March 7, von der Leyen was nominated as a candidate to head the European Commission at the European People’s Party congress in Bucharest.
What’s the most ridiculous adult tantrum you’ve witnessed that you couldn’t believe?
The most ridiculous adult tantrum I witnessed had to be at a Lonestar restaurant by a grown woman and her family.
My family was having dinner at a LoneStar restaurant. As we were just served our food, we saw a family get up from their table to leave. They were walking towards us to leave the restaurant. A middle-aged woman was at the front of the group and she was dressed up nicely, like they were celebrating some special event. My son and I both looked up at the same time just as the woman – middle aged, took a couple of steps and dived forward right beside our table. She landed face forwards with her hands extended to break her fall. She had high heels on and it was very clear to us that she tripped over her own feet. We saw the before, during and after, like a slow motion video. Her family was right there to help her up and she looked at us, embarrassed. Next thing we knew, she started to yell and moan loudly, so the entire restaurant went silent, watching her. She claimed the floor was wet. It wasn’t. She said she broke her ankle, but we saw her dive forward, not sideways or backwards. She yelled for her husband to hold her as she hopped on one leg towards a bench beside restaurant door, still in her high heels. She insisted that the restaurant call an ambulance.
The restaurant manager very quickly cleared the way for her to put her feet up and tried to dissuade her from calling the ambulance. All this time the woman yelled loudly that it was negligence on the part of the restaurant and she wanted the police. The manager came to our table and looked at the floor and saw that it was completely dry. No spilt drink, or food. The husband now said he saw a piece of paper on the floor that caused her to fall. There wasn’t. The manager was trying to reason with them and offered ice for her ankle, but she screamed for an ambulance and police.
The ambulance came. Yes! She insisted on an ambulance for a supposed twisted ankle! Not life or death situation. Just a twisted ankle. The ambulance attendants couldn’t believe it and we heard them telling her that there was no swelling, no sign of broken ankle, and they didn’t think she needed to go to emergency. She started to cry loudly but agreed that she would not need to go to the hospital. One of the ambulance attendants came by our table and asked if we saw what happened. We told him that we saw the whole event and described the scene to him. He rolled his eyes and walked to the front and left with his team. The woman and her family left right after, but yelled back at the manager “You’ll hear from my lawyer!”
We left our name and phone number with the manager, and told him we would be happy to provide witness account of what we saw. He was most grateful. A few days later we did hear from the restaurant -corporate office. They asked us to recount the event and said they’d let us know if they needed anything else. We never heard from them.
Trump speaks
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve watched someone make in their personal life?
I had a friend. We were nearly inseparable. Any free time we had, we were doing things together. Hanging out, playing music, meeting new people, racing cars, you name it we did it. As life often facilitates, we lost touch after I moved a number of times and I hadn’t heard from him in years. The last I knew, he was a healthy guy working a good job got his own place and life seemed to be picking up for him. I heard he had a daughter, though that might well have been when things took a dramatic turn for the worse.
The woman he impregnated, turned out to admit she was actually a lesbian and had used him to have a child as she wanted it to have his striking physical features. He was half German, and half Peruvian – a handsome fellow. Through the lovely court system they required him to pay an exorbitant amount of child support to a woman that admitted she used him, and was going to do everything in her power to prevent him from being part of their life. He tried like heck. The guy worked double shifts to try and be an honorable man, despite that at the pinnacle of his existence, his life was being devastated by an evil woman.
The emotional turmoil was too much for him to bear. Though this isn’t how I handle myself when I am experiencing stress, I can understand why he chose to do what he did. He needed an escape, his reality was just too tough to cope with any longer. For a man that wanted nothing more than to love a woman, and raise his daughter – never seeing her and being extorted for money was like a death sentence. He went from alcoholism to drug use. A couple of drinks turned into losing most of his body mass and becoming emaciated and on the brink of dying.
I called him one day after contacting his brother who said he could use a friend and that he thought he would be happy to hear from me. We talked, we reminisced about the days of old. I told him how my life was going and asked how his was. He didn’t say much, just sort of avoided the question. I said hey you know what, let’s hang out. He says oh I can’t I have to get some money. I said money for what? He says I owe somebody money, I have to come up with $2,000 by tomorrow or they are coming for me. I said I’ll give you $2,000 and I will come pick you up if you need a ride. I just want to hang out – money means nothing, what time is good? He says you don’t understand, I owe a lot of money. I owe more than $2,000. My cars gone, I lost my job, and now I’m royally screwed.
I wanted to think it was the child support that had him jammed up, but it wasn’t. He said oh by the way, I got injured at a concert, I hit my head. The doctors don’t know why but I lost all this weight, I look like I’m sick. I said that doesn’t sound right man. Be straight with me.. he says I am, I just can’t see you, you’ll never understand. Just get on with your good life, it sounds like you’re doing great, I don’t want you to get involved.
My friend would never be heard from again.
I can’t tell you where he went, or what happened. I don’t know if he moved, or passed away, there was no closure. His family went silent as they knew the truth but weren’t going to tell anybody. I would find out later that he was heavy into drugs that he would take intravenously, and that he owed a drug dealer so much money that it’s possible foul play was involved in his disappearance. To this day I still don’t know, which is very sobering to think about.
It wasn’t the drugs, or the alcohol that I find to be the biggest mistake.
It was him not reaching out for help, or accepting help when plenty of people around him cared enough and had the means to get him out of what ever he was into, and make it go away permanently. He was stubborn to a fault, and it might have cost him his life.
So if you or somebody you know is experiencing distress, please, don’t be too proud to ask for, or to accept help. If somebody reaches out to you, put your hand out and allow them to help you up.
Stay well my friends.
Distracted Biden Wanders Off AGAIN!
Have you ever been filled with blind rage and why?
I was pregnant with my first child and working in a hospital. I was probably third trimester, this child was long awaited, and I was proud to be carrying her. For the most part, people were respectful and understanding- coworkers and patients alike.
Then one day I had a patient who was not respectful, not listening to staff, and who threatened to beat me up once he got out of bed. He was actively trying to get up and throw punches. Then he tried to kick me. I lost it.
People talk about Momma bears and maternal instincts and I never took it seriously. I used to box in the ring (before pregnancy) and I used to equate fighter’s zen with maternal protective instinct. Adrenaline is Adrenaline, right? No. Not the same.
Maternal instinct was like being possessed by something very, very ancient and angry. While I can’t tell you exactly what I said to the patient, it was something to the effect of “How dare you threaten me and my child? What would your mother say if she saw you behaving like this?! I know she didn’t raise you to threaten pregnant ladies! Shame on you!” I could feel the truth in what I said and I knew he didn’t dare hurt me. I was invincible. In that moment, I was every mother who had ever been and who would ever be.
I swear the guy’s eyes bugged out and then he started full on bawling. I made a full-grown adult male cry with a scolding. He told me I was right and his Momma would be ashamed of him for threatening me. He promised to behave for the rest of the night and he kept that promise- he even became somewhat protective of me and urged me to take care of the baby.
It was a powerful experience and one I haven’t needed since. Thank God. I know that scolding was only a sampling of the power the rage had given me and I’d feel sorry for anyone it was directed towards- once my children are out of danger, of course.
Threads (1984) – Bombing Scene
As a medical professional, have you ever read a patient’s notes and realised that someone had tried to cover up a medical error?
I had a patient come in for a consultation. She was accompanied by her husband, who was very concerned.
His wife was in agonizing pain following an ablation procedure by a local orthopedic surgeon. She had radiating sciatic pain prior to the ablation, but afterwards she developed extremely severe pain in the area of the injection and was unable to sit or stand in a normal upright position. She’d developed all types of compensatory problems due to the limited and contorted positions she had to assume to avoid pain. She was in tears describing it.
The patient had returned to the treating MD, who had told her he had no idea why she was in so much pain and implied that she was hysterical or faking. She had gotten a second opinion from another orthopedist. I happened to know that the second orthopedist was close friends with the first doctor. They got a third opinion from another orthopedist who was a member of the first one’s group practice, and they all shrugged and said they had no idea why she was in so much pain.
Some background: An ablation procedure is a pain-management technique. First, the patient will have a numbing injection, sort of like novocaine, injected into the nerve root that’s suspected of being the source of the patient’s pain. If that gives them relief, they are considered a good candidate for an ablation.
The day of the ablation, the patient is given general anesthetic or sedation. A radiology technician initiates a real-time X-ray video (fluoroscopy) to monitor the procedure, which continues the entire time. The physician then inserts a probe into the nerve root and applies something that destroys the nerve root from which the pain is coming. The real-time fluoroscopic monitoring is important because the probe has to be placed precisely in the anatomical spot where the nerve root is located. The ablation can be done using heat, electricity, or microwaves (radiofrequency or RF ablation). In this case, it was an RF ablation.
The patient brought post-treatment MRI and CT reports in which the radiologist described “ill-defined inflammatory changes” in the facet joint at the level of the ablation (the facet joints are the two little joints between each pair of vertebrae in the back of the spine). On the actual images the facet joint was not even visible, the area being full of fluid and calcification.
The whole thing sounded fishy to me. Instead of examining her, I did something I would ordinarily never have occasion to do as a chiropractor. I contacted the hospital and sent for the operative report of the procedure. I sent her home, telling her to return after I’d had a chance to review the report.
When I read the report, I was shocked.
The orthopedist had dictated the report as though the procedure had gone just as anticipated and no problems were encountered.
However, after the report was dictated, the radiologist had gone back into the record and dictated an addendum. The fluoroscopic equipment had failed just as the orthopedist was preparing to insert the probe. The radiologist advised the orthopedist of that fact, and that the procedure would have to be aborted.
The orthopedist had proceeded with the ablation anyway, blind!
It was apparent to me that the orthopedist had inserted the probe into the patient’s facet joint and applied the destructive microwave radiation anyway. The joint was basically cooked and all the inflammation and calcification I saw was the patient’s body trying to heal the destruction. He’d covered up his mistake in dealing with the patient, and his colleagues had joined ranks and covered for him too.
There was nothing I could do to help this poor woman. As a chiropractor, I can’t adjust a joint that’s been completely destroyed. I did provide the couple with a copy of the operative report (which they hadn’t yet seen) and explained what it said in layman’s terms. I gave them some names of malpractice attorneys.
I never heard what the final outcome of the story was. I was never called to testify in a malpractice suit on the case, but that wasn’t surprising because I had never actually treated the patient and as a chiropractor, I legally couldn’t have an opinion regarding a surgical procedure outside my scope of practice.
That orthopedist was still practicing when I became disabled and left town several years later. He is probably still teaching, and still on the provider panel for all the local insurance plans and HMOs.
Let the patient beware.
China’s First Robot Army in Action SHOCKED Russian President
Why don’t people who bail out of jail just flee the area and go live in the wilderness if they know they’re going to prison?
When I think of fugitives who could live off the land in the woods, the only name that comes to mind is Eric Rudolph who was the Olympic Park Bomber. By the time that Rudolph was identified as the bomber he had disappeared into the Nantahala National Forest. For five years the FBI scoured the forest with bloodhounds, electronic motion detectors, and heat-sensing helicopters. They set up listening posts with cameras and hired local residents as scouts to search every section of the wilderness.The FBI put Rudolph on their vaunted Ten Most Wanted List and added a $1,000,000 reward tag for his capture. This caused a tsunami of bounty hunters to flood the forest, determined to make a fortune off of finding Rudolph. They all failed.
The FBI spent five years and an estimated $24 million searching for Rudolph and turned up nothing. It took a 21-year-old rookie with the Murphy Police Department named Jeffrey Postell to catch Rudolph in the act of dumpster diving behind a Save-A-Lot store. Rudolph said, “I’m glad it’s over. I’m tired of running.”
After his arrest Rudolph cooperated with the feds for a life sentence and directed them to a campsite hidden deep in the woods. It was scattered with deer hides, wild turkey remains, a high-powered rifle, and food containers that hung from the trees. They also found plywood, roofing paper, books, and cooking supplies. the Sheriff said, “you could walk within 10 feet of it and never see it.”
He told them stories of raiding dumpsters and grocery stores, digging through the dumpster at the movie theater for popcorn. He’d steal food from gardens and grain from silos, transporting it all in a stolen truck. he would boil the grains and then pound them into pancakes and fry them. He also told them that he lived off of nuts, berries, wild turkey, bear and salamanders that he swallowed whole like sushi. He ability to evade the feds turned him into a survivalist folk hero. Some people in the area wore t-shirts that read “1998 Hide and Seek Champion Eric Rudolph.”
Today, Rudolph spends 22.5 hours alone in an 80 square-foot concrete coffin in the depths of the Florence Colorado supermax prison. I bet he wishes he was back in the woods.
Joe Biden during an interview
WTF?
The story behind this photo continues to shock anyone who recognizes it.
In 1968, two men kidnapped Kim Bird. They put her in a homemade coffin, took this photo and buried her in the woods. They hung the photo on a local bulletin board and signed on the back, “I am buried in the woods, you have no more than 5 days to find me.” For days, passersby looked at the photo and thought it was a joke. Until a former colleague of Kim’s saw the photo. She immediately went to the police, but they didn’t know what to do. After all, they only have the photo, but where it is buried is unknown. Then Kim’s classmate started looking at the photo and realized that some letters are written strangely, highlighted in bold, and if you look closely, you can read the girl’s secret message….
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On the leaf was written Kim + Brad (classmate’s name). It was exactly the kind of inscription they had once left on a tree during a vacation in the woods as a token of their love for each other in high school. Brad immediately went with the police to the site and they found a fresh grave next to the tree. Kim was saved, but if she had been found a few hours later, she would not have survived. For many years afterward, neither Kim nor Brad could explain how it happened that she was buried there and how Brad saw that photo. After all, he had just happened to be in town for work, he hadn’t lived here for years.
Has a patient ever said something that sent a chill down your spine?
Yes. In the early ‘90’s I worked as medical staff in a drug and alcohol treatment program. Our program was geared toward treating patients who were lower income.
One woman, a single mother of 5, was brought in by her social worker. Said social worker was insistent that we admit this woman immediately stating that she was in imminent danger of losing her children. The children’s ages ranged from 9 to 8 months.
This woman’s 5 and 3 year old children had been found outside at 3am by a neighbor going through the neighbor’s trash looking for something to eat. The 5 y/o was wearing a dirty tshirt and stained underwear. The 3 y/o was only wearing a filthy diaper. This was in the middle of December. Department of child services determined that the mother had been away from home using drugs with a friend for almost a week.
We admitted her. It was her 4th admission in less than 6 months.
During her admission process, she was hostile and uncooperative. It was obvious that she did not want to be there. My tech had asked me to help with this admission as she was having difficulty dealing with this woman and the social worker constantly arguing about this mother’s need for treatment. The social worker reminded her that she may lose her children because she had left them alone for days. At this point the mother turned to the social worker and said “well, you can’t expect me to take my kids with me everywhere I go, can you!”. My tech and I were horrified by this callous statement.
This “mother” stayed in the program 15 days, just long enough to have a letter send to court stating that she was receiving treatment for her addictions.
10 days after she checked herself out of the program, her 5 y/o found some matches and set their house on fire. The 4 children that were in the house at the time died in the fire. The 9 y/o died a few days later. He had been looking for the mother and was on his way back to his brothers and sisters when he saw flames coming through a downstairs window. He died from injuries sustained after entering the house while trying to rescue his siblings.
It took police 3 days to track down the mother. They found her at a local crack house.
I can still see the expression on her face when she said what she did to the social worker that day.
WTF ALERT! RUSSIA “DOWNS US DRONE?!” NATO ATTACKS RUSSIA, NUCLEAR RADARS ATTACKED AGAIN!
Just when you think it can't get worse, it does.
If a person was to get rabies, would they go around attacking people like an animal would?
The story of a taxi driver, which I heard from another taxi driver, who got infected by rabies. 2009 he was bitten by a stray dog, and within few hours he went to the doctor for an anti-rabies shot. He got the first shot right away. A person who is exposed and has never vaccinated against rabies should get four doses of rabies vaccine – one dose right away, and additional doses on the 3rd, 7th, and 14th days. They should also get another shot called Rabies Immune Globulin at the same time as the first dose.
Now, he did get his first and second shot on time but then missed his other two injections. Fast forward 2014, he received a call from a customer for taxing to the airport. During a rainy night, he had body aches and headaches. In the morning, he started his day with a mild fever for a few days. He went to GP for treatment to which GP prescribed him Paracetamol, multivitamin, and rest. He took medicine and left for the client’s house. He picked up the client and drove him to the airport. Later in the day, he did his daily chores. While in the market for buying something he got agitated, and he said the cashier was about to hit him. They called the store manager, and the argument concluded into checking the cameras to see what happened. To everyone’s surprise, nor cashier or the driver moved a muscle. There was only a verbal argument. Back at home, he told his wife about what happened that he saw cashier hitting him.
Days passed, and his fever went from mild (99.5F) to fluctuating high (102-103). He still kept taking Paracetamol and multivitamins. Weird thoughts and hallucinations continued with depressions and him crying no reason. Next came the severe back pain and random seizures. GP wrote them for tests and asked for medical history in which they revealed the dog bite. They started with the 4x injection cycle. But nothing worked for the poor man.
Before the seizure, he’d become violent and even tried to attack his own family. At home, he was tied with chains and couldn’t bear the bright morning light. In the last days, even looking at the ceiling fan rotating gave him headaches and seizures. He was fed from a distance and would drool during the seizures. Only his grandfather went to help clean and dress up because the rest of the family was afraid of infection. Within ten days of reappearing rabies, he died.
"Vietnam is a vibrant and unique ancient civilization adding to the tapestry of a multipolar world.Hanoi pursues an independent foreign policy in the global arena and strongly advocates a just world order based on international law and principles of equality of all states and non-interference in their internal affairs.We highly appreciate the fact that our countries have coinciding or similar approaches to pressing issues on the international agenda.We work closely together within key international forums, first of all within the United Nations.We have similar assessments of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region.We see Vietnam as a like-minded partner in shaping a new architecture of equal and indivisible Eurasian security on an inclusive and non-discriminatory basis.We are grateful to our Vietnamese friends for their balanced position on the Ukraine crisis and their desire to facilitate the search for practical ways to settle it peacefully.All of this is fully in line with the spirit and nature of our relations."
Excerpt from the article by Russian President Vladimir Putin for publication in Nhân Dân, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, ‘Russia and Vietnam: Friendship Tested by Time,’ June 19, 2024.
The Granite Boxes Hidden in Egyptian Tunnels are Still Unexplained | Ben Van Kerkwyk
As a medical professional, have you ever read a patient’s notes and realised that someone had tried to cover up a medical error?
When I was the director of an urgent care in southern California, a patient came in for a gynecologic follow-up after seeing one of my colleagues a couple of days before. The other doctor’s notes stated that he had carried out a pelvic exam and that the findings were all normal. I said to the patient I would like to do a 2nd exam, if she didn’t mind, and she said, “What do you mean by ‘second exam?’ I didn’t have a first!” I was confused. “Wait, you don’t recall the other doctor before me performing a pelvic exam?” She looked at me as if I was nuts. “I think I would remember a doctor pushing and prodding my internal organs!”
I had a chaperone come in, did the pelvic exam, and released the patient home, but then I embarked on a little “internal affairs” inquiry. Since all pelvic exams by a doctor must be accompanied by a female chaperone, at least one of the nurses should be able to confirm if the other doctor had done one on the night in question. All who had been present at the time confirmed that he had not done one. This means that he had falsified the details of the exam and put it in the record. This is very serious. He potentially endangered the patient’s life because she could have had pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).
Since I had known this doctor for many years, it was a painful thing to call him in and confront him, and after his admission, he was terminated. If I had ignored the transgression, then I would be guilty of what doctors (and the police) are often accused of: protecting each other and covering up mistakes. There’s no way I could be part of that.
Sad Cat Cries Silently In Her Cage Waiting to be Put Down, Then Something Incredible Happens!
Valentino the cat was rescued from horrible circumstances. But the cat was in rough shape.
She had horrible sarcoptic mange and got sicker each day that she was in the shelter.
They tried to help her. But she needed a lot more care than they could give her.
They couldn’t pick her up, because she was contagious to humans.
And she was sick and weak. After a while, she couldn’t even open her eyes.
The cat was in terrible pain and the shelter didn’t have money to treat her.
They had to put her down.
The sad cat cries silently in her cage waiting to be put down.
During the years of 12 years old to 14, right before I started working, my parents would drive me to the local pool / golf complex and allow me to spend the entire day pleasuring about.
This was a private club, and my parents got a private membership on discount because me father was the president of the local Rotarians club.
My sisters and brother would enjoy hanging out all day at the pool. But for me, I would do 18 holes of golf and then call it a day. And that would leave me with about four hours to kill.
So, I would try to go to the pool, but my sister was relentless in making fun of me in public, so I just ended up avoiding the entire scene all together. Not worth the grief.
In fact, my Summers were mostly hot and dusty. And while I could swim, she made it so miserable for me that I wouldn’t go near the pool.
In hindsight, she was really fucked up about this. In those days we called this “sibling rivalry”, but now, as an adult, I see this as some kind of distortion of a mental illness, perhaps generated by a pre-birth world-line template made before she and I were born.
Anyways…
So during those four remaining hours, I would go though the woods of the country club and collect golf balls.
There were hundreds of those things. Many golfers would hit a ball and it would slice or hook into the woods, and I would eventually find it. And so, over the Summers, I would collect quite a stash of golf balls.
At that time, I would ear a world war II German army surplus Africa Corps pith helmet, and my father’s khaki shirt. Ha! I looked like something out of Tin Tin!
Tin Tin
I had a routine. I would traipse about the woods, getting the balls, then go up to the first tee-off and clean them. Then I would sit with my back leaning on the sign to the complex on the hot gravel parking lot. Oh, yeah, my mother would ask me “why are you here? Why don’t you go inside?” But since they just ignored my complaints about my sister, I just stopped answering her questions.
Why say anything?
Why bother?
And so, over the months and years, I would end up collecting this pile of golf balls. Eventually putting them into a large cardboard potato-chip box. I must have had a few hundred balls there. Maybe 400 to 500.
Years later, maybe a full decade, I am visiting my mother with my wife.
I start rummaging though my old gear, most of which was looted earlier by my siblings and came across the box. Inside were all these golf balls in pristine condition. And on a lark, I carried them outside to the street in front of my mother’s house. It was a long street, in a rural town with nearly zero traffic. It was on a slide grade, and for shits and giggles…
I let them roll down the road, one by one, aiming for the lone sewer at the bottom of the hill.
What? Four years of collecting for such an insane and useless pastime? But yeah. That is what happened.
What is the moral of this little story?
Got me. I don’t have one.
I could have sold those golf balls, but this was before ebay. And it was more of a hassle than anything else, so I got rid of them. Life moved on. The memories my my early teen years, as eclipsed by my younger “princess” sister, faded into the dim…
…and I moved on.
Sometimes you have to throw away your balls to achieve contentment.
Today…
Is China’s economy currently experiencing a slowdown, or is this information being exaggerated by the US media?
Not exactly
The Chinese stock market is among the most undervalued in the world and is stubbornly remaining there due to a lot of regulations against speculation
The US Treasury still pays 5.31% as Peak Bond Yields
The Chinese Real Estate prices are low which is good for the buyers but that means investors will be giving it a wide berth
This means a lot of HOT MONEY will not be coming in but going out
Hot money is money used to buy shares and bonds and real estate securities by foreign firms
Speculative money!
No matter even if the US says China is booming, this is going to happen
Likewise if China raises interest rates to 6% then Yields rise to a peak of 6.53% and suddenly Hot money will flood into China no matter even if the US says China is crashing tomorrow
Likewise China is getting a flood of Long term investments for their EV and New Technology investments
That won’t change no matter what the US says
China is still the world’s second largest consumer market plus the worlds largest manufacturer at peak profitability
That won’t change no matter what the US says
So China simply doesn’t care too much about what the US media says beyond rebuttals on their English Language Media (CGTN) or Global times or SCMP
Russia Missile Strike Kills “Dozens” of NATO Officers at Meeting in Odessa Ukraine
High-Ranking NATO military officers were killed last night by 2 Iskander missile strikes launched against the Warehouse they were meeting in.
The two massive explosions also took out newly-arrived American military hardware, destined for the Ukrainian Army.
The Novaya Pochta warehouse in Odessa is seen burning in the image above, after the missiles struck.
Casualties are considered “very high” given the number of Ambulances and nearby NATO helicopters apparently sent to evacuate the wounded — or dead.
Look for more news reports of NATO officers who “died suddenly” within the next few days.
Orange Cumin Chicken
The earthy flavor of cumin complements the orange in a seasoning paste that coats chicken. High-heat oven roasting creates a tender, juicy chicken that is crisp on the outside.
orange cumin chicken
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
3 pounds bone-in chicken parts
2 medium oranges
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon McCormick® Cumin Seed
2 teaspoons McCormick® Cumin, Ground
1 teaspoon McCormick® Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Black Pepper, Ground
Instructions
Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Rinse and pat dry chicken. Trim excess fat.
Grate peel from oranges (about 1 tablespoon).
Squeeze 1 tablespoon juice from orange into small bowl.
Add remaining ingredients; stir until mixture forms a paste.
Coat chicken pieces evenly with seasoning paste.
Arrange chicken, skin-side up, in large shallow baking pan sprayed with no stick cooking spray.
Thinly slice orange halves and place over chicken.
Bake for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Nutrition
Per serving: Total Calories: 241 Sodium: 371mg Fat: 13g Carbohydrates: 5g Cholesterol: 82mg Protein: 26g Fiber: 1g
PEPE ESCOBAR ON RUSSIA AND IRAN’S MIDDLE EAST GAME CHANGER, NATO VS. MULTIPOLARITY
My GOD, this is FANTASTIC!
Journalist and geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar (https://t.me/rocknrollgeopolitics on Telegram and ( / realpepeescobar ) joins to discuss his breaking story which caused controversy regarding an attempted Israel’s nuclear strike on Iran, as well as his latest travels and reporting from the multipolar world and NATO’s war against it.
Why are so many Americans unmarried by the age of 35?
I believe my daughter, now almos 24, will be one ofthese women.
She occasionally has a drink, but is not a drinker.
She doesn’t smoke or do drugs.
She loves to cook for us, and is a good baker.
She has had a credit card since she was 16, but has her own as soon as she was eligible.
She is serious, goal oriented, and fun with an easy laugh, and her father’s good sense of humor.
She does play video games to relax after studying but more like that building your own world game where you build houses…
This is what she looks like. She is tall, slim, and has nice curves.
Her hair is currently past her shoulder now, and she has great fashion sense.
No tattoos, but several piercings in her ears.
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She has dated 2 men so far. Personally, we didn’t care for the first one, but it is her choice.
We are always respectful, and keep our opinions to ourselves.
One started doing mushrooms, had a psychotic break, ended up in a drug rehab to recover, dropped out of his first year of college, and may or may not be working. His parents were both deceased by the time he was 18. He had 1 million in inheritance. He spent money unwisely. He liked to play video games more than study or complete assignments. He had never been taught to drink responsibly.
Even during his short time in college he didn’t seem to be specifically goal oriented. He was on academic probation after the first semester, and had to retake most of his classes.
The second one seemed nice enough. He didn’t drive a car, and had no interest in getting a license. He also had never been taught to drink responsibly – but his drinking was to the point he would be totally out of it, and throwing up.
He was a Philosophy major and was on the Dean’s list. He had said he was going to pursue his Masters so he could get a teaching position. But before graduation he decided to change his mind. No masters, and no use of the 4-year-degree. Instead he wanted to become management at the restaurant he had been working for. They turned him down for the posted job, but the candidate they hired did not work out so he was given the floor manager position. Now he makes less money and puts in more time.
My daughter is finishing her first year of Law School. She has decided that she needs to spend her time wisely. No dating guys, lots of pro bono work, more studying, and time with friends, plus family time.
Yeah, it was only 2 guys. But a huge disappointment for her.
Most of the guys she meets do drugs a bit, like to drink, love to play video games, and have no financial sense.
To add to this, these guys have no social sense.
They are also only ready to have a girlfriend for fun,they couldn’t commit to anything because they simply are not even ready to live on their own, cook, work, pay bills, and save money.
They seem to have no goals.
As we know life moves by fast.
She doesn’t want to be her boyfriends mommy!
The pandemic didn’t help matters.
But too many people are not even ready for a serious relationship.
She may meet someone by chance. But she is already willing to be ready to be on her own.
She has worked from early on as a dog Walker, baby sitter, house sitter, and tutor of kids and students at school who needed help.. Sh also volunteers her time at the food bank. She has saved her money, and has her own Financial Advisor. She applies for scholarships, and grants and that has really helped her reduce her college costs. She lived at home to save money, she also she commutes to college from home.
She is a learner. She plays 2 instruments, can weld, program, do analytical research, she is already published, she sews, does woodworking, can solder, and is able to understands electronics.
She started being a researcher the summer after 12th grade at her college. She was paid nicely, and had that job every semester and summer until she graduated.
She speaks Spanish fluently, and has 2 undergraduate majors, 1 minor, and earned 3 certificates.
Just this week we attended an event at her Law School where she was awarded an honor for her 70 hours of pro bono work. She was 1 of 22 out of a class of 200 first year Law students to be given this award.
I hope she continues to have good friends, as she does now. Having fun is important to her.
But unless she runs face first into the a guy that has her values – she may be one of those women who just has great friends in life.
She wants to travel for vacations when she is done with Law School.
She loves the culture, food, and architecture in Europe.
Her best friend is very much like her. That girl has a boyfriend, and he is really great so we have hope there are guys out there. She has lots of time still.
Update: Although this may seem like bragging, it is her accomplishments – not mine.
I am thankful for the way she turned out – but she has made her choices in life.
Even the best parents can have a child that cannot find their way in life.
But thank you to those who offered me kind words regarding our parenting.
We all know that parenting is a road we travel without much in the way of directions.
These Frat Bros Are Saving America
A photo recently went viral on Twitter showing frat boys holding up the American flag while angry protesters tried to tear it down. What these young men did is incredible, especially in our current society that doesn’t value the American flag. Let’s discuss it.
What’s the poorest judgment you’ve ever witnessed from someone else?
I think it was when I was working in elderly care. I was part of the management team, the assistant manager, in charge of the care staff and the care staff rotas. I was responsible for ensuring all the shifts were covered. The registered home manage was a woman named Dot, who had some really skewed outlooks on life. She always wanted to be a social worker, but failed the exam. We as a team were trying to recruit. On this occasion, a certain guy had applied for a job as a care assistant. He was currently working in a different home. We got his references back. He was an alcoholic. His reference said that when he was at work, he was a fantastic carer, really hard working and caring and pretty sensible. But that was when he was sober. He had a habit of going on a bender, then being off sick for weeks at a time. Dot wanted to give him a chance. She wanted to work with him and prove that he could beat the disease. Fine. But not in an old people’s home with lots of vulnerable people, and a place where you counted on everyone to turn up when they should, (old people’s homes are notoriously badly paid and hard work, and as a result, people frequently go off sick, and you’re frequently short of staff).
But Dot pulled rank and Steve was taken on, and his references were spot on. He was very likable, a really good worker, and had sound judgement and common sense. When he was sober and when he was there. On one occasion when we were short of staff, and Dot had to work out on the floor, (which she detested doing), I had a row with her. When she complained, I told her she was the one who took Steve on despite his references and despite the rest of the teams objections. So it was her own fault.
NATO’s Glaring Weakness On-Display in Moscow; Tanks and Armor Captured in Ukraine
An Exhibit of smashed and wrecked Armored Vehicles from NATO, is now on display in Moscow, Russia, showing the real life weakness of NATO, and our high-priced, high-tech, weaponry.
The Exhibit in Moscow opened today, and the crowds to see the weak West were large. On display, a whole range of captured NATO and Ukraine military equipment:
The mocking of NATO is so thorough, they even placed a sign at the entrance saying “”ATTENTION: Employees of US, UK, Germany, France and Poland embassies get queue-free access (1st priority) to visit NATO vehicles trophies”
Moscoww Exhibition Invitation To West
The dramatic exhibit of the shear weakness of Ukraine, and more importantly, of the US and NATO is unprecedented in our modern era. NEVER BEFORE has the US or NATO been so thoroughly whipped on a battlefield.
Russians are so patriotic, and supportive of what their nation MUST do in Ukraine, so as to protect themselves from NATO expansion, they sing songs on their SUBWAYS about what they believe is the coming war:
Oh, and did you notice their Subway? No one smoking meth, or snorting coke. No one crapping or peeing in the train cars as is so often seen here in America.
The culture of Russia is rock solid, willfully focused on Almighty God, and strong to the core. NO sickening LGBTQ+ over there; at least not in public. No “pronouns” being treated as if they matter over there. No feral animals having fist fights in Walmart. No looting or burning of stores. No taking down of historical statues. Clean, safe streets. Healthy, strong people. The West – none of those things.
We just think we’re tough. We just talk tough.
If this goes wild-weasel, given our present generations, we’ll get clobbered. We’re infested with mental (and physical) weaklings. We in the West have been hollowed-out and destroyed, from within.
Want proof? Here’s a video of Moscow’s military display. THIS is what __they__ can accomplish. What have __we__ done?
🇷🇺 The exhibition of the captured Western equipment has officially opened in Moscow. pic.twitter.com/FcenylGtq9
Why is China’s rise so hard for the US to counter?
For one thing, the Chinese are very clever and adaptable and resilient. The Americans have grown fat, lazy and stupid.
For another, the Chinese number over a billion, more than 4X the size of the US population.
For another, the Chinese are well-educated. In fact, China produces 4X more STEM graduates than the USA does. This is why China can kick America’s ass technologically.
For another, the Chinese are led by a very strong, stable, capable, intelligent government. The Americans are led by clowns.
For another, the Chinese do not waste valuable resources on fighting wars around the globe. They dedicate their resources to economic and technological development.
Russia deploys Nukes in Nicaragua if NATO deploys in Poland. Nicaragua’s Envoy in Moscow meet Lavrov
Poland will be gone with a first strike…
Is China a utopia? Chinese Quorans insist all criticism of China is western propaganda and then pull out Chinese reports of China being number 1 in everything in the universe, so is China an idyllic, serene, flawless, perfect utopia with no problems?
From my perspective, having been engrossed in China’s captivating push-and-pull between ancestral roots and state-of-the-art developments, I’ve witnessed a nation that works diligently to create an impressive narrative. China’s story is one of relentless rise, a tenacious pursuit of progress that never ceases to inspire.
However, through my observation, one understanding shines brighter than others: the concept of perfection—exemplified by utopia—is a relative construct. And the notion that China, or any country for that matter, can embody the picture-perfect embodiment of this construct is less a sign of achieving flawless harmony, and more of narrowing our understanding of societal development.
Yes, China has made profound strides in economic and technological innovation, shaping global dynamics in the process. But this doesn’t take away from the reality that like every other nation, China also portrays a myriad of issues that require continued attention and improvement. Recognizing these issues does not equate to slandering or ‘anti-China’ sentiment. Rather, it’s a testament to the objectivity that each one of us should aspire to uphold in our understanding of the world.
Being so deeply immersed in studying China and its intricacies, I’ve learned to strike the balance between applauding the commendable and voicing the critical. Rather than subscribing to the extremes of a black-and-white narrative, we ought to embrace a more nuanced understanding that depicts the world in its full palette of colors.
In truth, every nation, China included, is not a one-sided utopia or dystopia—it’s a mix of both, an evolving entity with every rising sun. This understanding, I believe, allows for a more enriching and insightful global dialogue, where we not only acknowledge the advancements made but also the shared human struggles, thereby paving the way to collective betterment. We ought to remember, the true essence of a utopia is not stagnation in perfection, but relentless movement towards growth and betterment.
Do you agree with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s warning of “overcapacity” in China’s new-energy vehicles, green energy, and semiconductor industries?
If we cut through all the diplomatic jargon and the maze of economic lexicon, the hullabaloo about “overcapacity” could be boiled down to a simple reality – the inability, or perhaps the unwillingness, to compete with China in the arena of new-energy vehicles, green energy, and semiconductors.
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“Overcapacity”, more accurately, is a carefully chosen euphemism, artfully spun to mask an uncomfortable truth. The effective translation? Dear China, your overachievement in these sectors is making us sweat, slow down, will you?
In a world moving towards clean energy and technological advancement at lightning speed, China, with its manufacturing prowess, strategically placed supply chains, and technological acumen, is rightfully setting pace. Yet, instead of acknowledging China’s capacity to transform sectors crucial for our future and learning to compete on this new playing field, we now see a slew of accusations and attempts to displace the goalpost.
China’s achievements are painted as a threat under the umbrella term “overcapacity”, effectively disregarding their commitment to efficient manufacturing and their contribution to tackling issues like climate change. This stance is not about market dynamics; it’s about obscuring the need for other nations to amplify their game.
The real focus, instead of creating a smokescreen of “overcapacity”, should be on channeling our resources towards innovations and strategies that enhance our competitiveness. This becomes a stepping stone towards a transformed economy where advancements by one should inspire progress in all, resulting in collective global growth and prosperity.
Equating China’s preparedness and competitiveness to “overcapacity”, is akin to grumbling about the speed of the lead runner in a marathon. Instead, it’s time to lace up and catch up. Through competition, we spur innovation, and in that frame of mind, China’s “overcapacity” isn’t a problem; it’s the benchmark.
Odessa, May 2. China crosses Biden red line. Saudi-US nuclear deal. EU warns Georgia
Odessa, May 2. China crosses Biden red line. Saudi-US nuclear deal. EU warns Georgia. Topic 1317.
Shouldn’t TikTok withdraw from the United States just like Google withdrew from China?
Should TikTok pack its bags and leave the United States, following Google’s footsteps in China? The answer to this query is more complex than a simple yes or no, stirring the cauldron of geopolitical, corporate, and ideological clash.
You might think, ‘Well, Google did it, so TikTok should too, right?’. But that would be oversimplifying the intricacies of the global digital landscape. Google’s exit from the Chinese market was propelled by the formidable ambiguity of state regulations and its inability to conform to China’s internet governance model. In contrast, TikTok’s troubles stem not from an unabiding nature towards regulations but from being caught in a proxy war of power and influence between two superpowers.
Moreover, TikTok represents more than just a social media app – it’s a frontiersman of technology that has successfully engaged millions of Americans with its unique user experience. The panoramic reach of the platform extends across young creators, independent artists, small businesses, and ordinary folks looking for a daily dose of laughs and phenomenons.
Turning off the TikTok tap doesn’t just dry out a stream of viral dances – it’s much more profound than that. It diminishes avenues for expression, creativity, and connection for a significant part of the American digital community.
To sum it up, the comparison of TikTok’s situation in America to Google’s in China only goes so far. Each company was thrown into different whirlwinds at different points in the digital era’s evolution, requiring distinct responses. Pulling the curtains down on TikTok’s U.S. operations is a dramatic act with far-reaching consequences that ripple beyond the business world, reaching each user deeply. And that’s something which requires serious consideration.
Is China winning the battle of economy and technology over the U.S.?
Nopes
US is losing the battle of economy and technology to China
I can illustrate this with three points
I. Forcing China to Innovate
In 2014 , China imported every chip made with 28 nm process or lower and 70% of the Chips made with the 45 nm process
The Chips were made in Taiwan and Korea, designed by the US and made by Dutch machines
China was utterly dependent on these nations for the chips and these nations were dependent on China for the consumer goods made using these Chips
In 2018, Dumbo Trump began to restrict the flow of Chips to Huawei and began the entities blacklist
He began the tariffs due to which to lower their costs, China began to start their own supply Chain
Fast forward to 2024
China makes 54% of its own 28 nm process chips (from 0% in 2014) and makes the entire indigenous equipment to make the 28 nm process commercially
China makes 69% of its own 45 nm process chips at a mere 32% cost
It’s ready to make fully indigenous 14 nm Chips and just made a 7 nm Chip with DUV technology that performs very well
Thus thanks to US stupidity – China managed to go from full importer of 14 nm, 28 nm Chips and 70% 45 nm Chips in 2014 to net exporter of 45 nm Chips and above plus develop fully Indigenous machinery for 14 nm Chips and make 7 nm Chips indigenously in a mere decade
Without US Push, Chinese Entities would simply have not been inclined to invest in Chipmaking as the Imports would have been higher yield at more efficient costs in the early years
II. Decoupling
In 2018, China used the USD for 94.6% of its Trade and settled in USD with 132 out of 143 BRI Nations
China used SWIFT for 99.3% of its transactions in USD
US had leverage control on China and China was utterly dependent on the Western financial system
Then US began to talk of decoupling and derisking and freeze others funds and steal Afghan money
Fast forward
China uses USD to settle only 57.5% of its trade using Local Swaps to settle 26% of its trade and the RMB and Ruble to settle 16% of its Trade
China uses CIPS and other systems now with Iran and Russia and Cuba and Venezuela
Thus again China is no longer entirely dependent on the Western System
III. Anti China Rhetoric
Mainlander Residents made up 27.7% of all Researchers in the USA in 2018. The Highest among foreign researchers
60% of all researchers in Critical Technology research were Chinese, bulk of them from the Mainland
They did a lot of path breaking innovation
Anti-Asian Atmosphere Chills Chinese Scientists Working in the U.S.
As universities such as Harvard and NYU put researchers under scrutiny, some schools seek to avoid a “loyalty oath.”
Then you had gutter scum like De Santis and Cotton who began Anti China Rhetoric
So Chinese brains decided to stay back home and not go to the US while Chinese Scientists and Researchers decided to go back home to China than be insulted and treated with suspicion in US
So in each case China adapted but it was US who started it all
When you have Idiots chosen by a corrupted form of democracy – they are no match for the High range meritocracy of China
An unidentified aircraft was spotted near Eglin Air Force Base, in the western Florida Panhandle Wednesday evening.
The aircraft has still not yet been identified as of 5:18 AM eastern US time, Thursday.
Unidentified aircraft over Eglin AFB 1Unidentified aircraft over Eglin AFB 2 large
It doesn’t match any aircraft platform known to the United States.
Reuben Chicken
Reuben Chicken 9
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts (boneless)
1 (16 ounce) can sauerkraut, drained
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 cup Thousand Island dressing
Instructions
Place chicken in a greased 8-inch square pan.
Cover with sauerkraut.
Place cheese slices evenly on top.
Pour salad dressing evenly over cheese.
Cover with foil and bake at 325 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours.
Reuben Chicken 8
Why is the United States afraid of China?
The United States is afraid of China, I should say, they are afraid of China’s rise.
The reasons are simple:
(1) China’s glorious history compels every nation to believe that it will rise again.
The Three Emperors and the Five Emperors to the present day, no matter how history is interpreted, China’s dynasties have time and again pushed China to the pinnacle of the history of human civilization, and these are unadulterated. Even arrogancy as the United States, had to go to choose to believe that can create such a civilization of the country must be back to the top. The search for a way out of civilization seems to be a historical destiny, and China, no matter when it is, is on the way to fulfilling that destiny. Today, it seems that China’s historical development is constantly proving one thing, namely, that the path we are taking is not to be the first in the world, not to compete for world hegemony, but to create a better quality civilization. This is exclusive to our historical self-confidence, because the history of Chinese civilization belongs to the future.
(2) China has all the qualifications to become a powerful country
Solid regime: Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been founded for 75 years, with its people living and working in peace and contentment, its society developing steadily, and its national strength climbing upward.
Sufficient land area: With a large land area and a wide range of terrain in the east, west, south, north and south, a strong country has both offensive and defensive territories, which are essential for China’s long-lasting peace and stability.
Abundant resources: China spans five temperature zones in the north and south, and is rich in land and sea resources. In peacetime, there are enough survival materials to satisfy the people’s life and national development, and in wartime, there are enough production materials to satisfy logistic supply and equipment manufacturing, so as to ensure that it will not be constrained by others.
Developed economy: Although China is still a developing country, its economy is the second largest in the world, with unlimited economic potential, and it is constantly reforming itself to meet the actual needs in the process of economic development, and i think, a developed economy is not about the ranking of figures but about future expectations.
Complete industrial system: Manufacturing is the foundation of a country, and China has the most complete industrial system in the world. Excellent production capacity creates wealth in times of peace and strengthens national defense in times of war. A complete industrial system allows China to produce everything imaginable in this era, although not all of which are the best, but China has the courage to never fear any monopoly or oppression, so that chinese can defend ourselves against all enemies again and again.
Modernized army: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is constantly modernizing its equipment, but whether a country’s army is modernized depends not only on its equipment, but also on its beliefs：the PLA is the people’s army, it belongs to no one but the people and the country. The PLA is the people’s army, it belongs to no one but the people and the country. When an army engages in a meaningless war for the sake of domestic plutocrats and politicians, it will not be able to win for a long time, even if it is equipped with the most powerful equipment (yes, I’m talking about the US). A modernized army is used to defend the sovereignty and independence of the country, protect people’s freedom and safety of life and property, not to invade other countries, not to mention that it should not become a money-making machine and security for interest groups. That is why China’s army is modernized more deeply and has more combat power.
Rising innovation capacity: China never stops exploring and innovating in the fields of aerospace research and development, military science and technology research and development, Internet development, and cutting-edge science and technology. With the popularization of education and the improvement of talent pool, China will never use brute force if it can create the future with knowledge.
China has the Irreplaceable political status: World War II allies, the five permanent members of the United Nations, the historical powers of Asia, and the member countries of major world organizations, China’s political status has been consolidated and strengthened as a result of the fact that in the 75 years since its founding, China has defeated all incoming enemies, thus shocking the world to this day. Nowadays, no one can ignore it: China is bringing the world’s political, economic and cultural center back to Asia.
However, we have overlooked one point: China is such a peace-loving country (this is already the consensus of the international community), so why is the United States still so afraid of China and its rise?
Perhaps they are just afraid of being overtaken by China and of having their hegemony threatened.
What the United States needs to be clear about is that China will never become as despicable as the United States.
During the period of time while I was taking care of my mother while she had Cancer, we got to spend a lot of time together. I would take care of the estate, and eat meals with her. She wasn’t lonely because I was there, and I was always there to help her if she had a medical emergency.
During our time together we would watch television such as FOX news, “Unsolved Mysteries”, COPS and other shoes that were popular at the time. She would drink a whiskey, and I would drink a beer and we would go ahead and talk.
She related to me many stories and familial lore that was long hidden from us kids. later on, when she died, and I was staying with my father (after prison) he too told me stories from his side of the family. Gosh. Good thing they kept us kids sheltered.
What a bunch of skullduggery!
I’ll tell you what.
My maternal grandmother was quite the charmer in the day. She was a dancer and had an hourglass figure, in many ways resembling Mae West of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
She would date the powerful men of the city, and ride around with rather powerful and dangerous men.
She was quite the “dame of the days”.
Pictures of her suggest a lively life in the “Roaring 20’s”, where she was spending her youth partying and carousing. Wearing flapper attire and rain galoshes. With various handsome men of the day.
Yet she ended up in a rented tenement, in the lower income section of Pittsburgh in her retirement years.
What happened?
Times change. Things are fleeting.
I only wish that I could say this to some of those “Only Fans” girls that think that somehow they are on the fast-track to a great life though social media porn. It’s not what you think. Do not discard what you have no, on a lie that might not ever appear.
I wish I could say this.
But me, you, and none of my readers have the kind of clout or popularity to send this message out to the Only Fans masses.
And when she died. . . Her struggles and stories died with her.
Do not be like her; Sharing a tenement house with a man on the “other side of the tracks” with a broken television set that only got three channels.
Fun in the youth, followed up with a slow downward glide.
That is NOT the way to manage a life-line.
You want to live a life where your last minutes are with you screaming in glee, and sliding in sideways to a goal that you just obtained. I’ll tell you what.
Today…
Have you ever told off another person’s child? What for?
My son had a problem with a neighborhood bully when he was about ten. The bully wanted to be best friends with my son’s best friend. My son stood in the way.
My son came home after being at the bully’s house–WITH THE BULLY’S MOTHER RIGHT THERE–with all kinds of bruises and scrapes. He got thrown into shrubbery, punched, etc.
His mother, to whom I spoke, denied that there was a problem, even though my son AND HIS FRIEND told us the bully had been responsible.
I did nothing more until my son called me one Saturday. He was supposed to be at a pool party to celebrate his friend’s birthday, but when I heard him, he sounded very depressed. He said he’d left the party and walked home, because the bully had gone after him.
I told him I was stopping at the party.
I did. And there was the bully, bullying other kids at the pool.
I told him to get out of the pool. He blustered, “ What did I do? I didn’t do anything.”
And I SCREAMED at him, “GET OUT OF THE POOL NOW!”
He did, and I took him to one side.
I never touched him. I told him, “I never want you going near my son again. I never want you to talk to him or go near him ever. And if I find out that you ever did–I WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE NOT WORTH LIVING. DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND?”
He saw the look on my face. He was half a head taller than me and fifty pounds heavier, but at that moment–I WAS DANGEROUS.
He said he understood. He said he wouldn’t go near my son. He promised. I let him go back to the party.
For some strange reason, we never had a problem with him after that…
INVESTIGATORS FOILED A MASSIVE terrorist-grade attack on Hong Kong involving bombs, US firearms, and a sniper, it will be revealed this week.
A lot of information regarding the CIA and the color revolution that it attempted in Hong Kong in 2019.
The assault was designed to cause multiple casualties and major destruction in Wan Chai, a densely populated area on Hong Kong island. The main target was police officers, but the ultimate aim was to create enough chaos to overthrow the government. The attack, planned for 8 December 2019, was part of a long program of attacks by masked, pro-violence protester groups known as “valiants”. The plan was foiled by Hong Kong police hours before it was implemented. . . .
TRAINED OVERSEAS
A few details of the murderous operation, known as Dragon Slayer, emerged in earlier court hearings, but the full shocking story is set to be made public as a series of court hearings begins this week. The case confirms widespread claims by Hong Kong people that violent protesters were paid for what they did—and includes clear evidence that activists were trained overseas in creating bombs, use of firearms, street fighting techniques, and “terrorist ideology”. Before the date of the planned attack, front line protesters had been flown to Taiwan for training. The story of the failed Wan Chai bombing is not in dispute. Ringleaders have agreed with the facts as presented by the prosecution and pleaded guilty to all charges. But others have not, which means a court case will begin this week focusing on additional participants. . . .
BACKGROUND:
In 2019, a US group called Open Technology Fund (a spin-off from Radio Free Asia, a US government “news” unit originally set up by CIA), offered Hong Kong’s anti-China activists use of a special “secure node” in the city. This enabled them to exchange information on the Telegram website in a way that would be hard for law enforcement to penetrate. OTF also arranged for a large amount of funds – Time magazine reported that it was US$2 million – to be earmarked for Hong Kong activists. During that period, many anti-China activists moved their discussions and planning operations to the Telegram website. In August of 2019, on a Telegram channel called Dragonteam, two men, Wong Chun-keung and Ng Chi-hung, put together a plan to create a group called the Dragon Slaying Brigade. (The elite team of the Hong Kong police is nicknamed the dragon squad.) The plan was to kill as many police officers as they could, and create enough mayhem to bring down the government. Eventually, three different groups of violent protesters, united in the scheme. The operation had plenty of funds, with a budget of HK$4 million (US$1.79 million) from various sources, listed as “from crowdsourcing”. As many Hong Kong people noted at the time, the protests were awash with cash from several directions. . . .
ATTACK ON WAN CHAI
The key stages of the plan went as follows: 1) Plotters first exploited the fact that Hong Kong is far more generous with protest permits than other places, including western countries such as UK. Despite more than 80 protests having turned violent, they confidently applied for permits for a December 8 march from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to travel through Wan Chai. 2) Behind the scenes, international connections were made: it is not clear how. Ng and at least five other protesters flew to Taiwan for 13 days of training in explosives, use of firearms and other military-style operations. Participants received cash. It is not clear whether the trainers were from Taiwan, US or a mixture. The US has admitted to having military trainers on the island for some years, in defiance of the previously agreed status quo. 3) After the Hong Kong government predictably granted permits, the plotters created a pair of bombs, to be lightly buried about 50 meters apart, in spaces on the central divider of Hennessy Road in Wan Chai. The targets were not the protesters, but police who would typically go ahead to make sure traffic was clear for the main body of marchers. 4) Using a classic terrorism technique, the first bomb would go off, causing surviving police officers to retreat to a safe distance—and then a second, larger bomb would be detonated at the location to which they had fled. 5) A sniper with AR-15 automatic assault rifle, and other gunmen with pistols, would be stationed at the windows or rooftops of adjacent buildings. They would shoot any surviving police officers. 6) Another Dragon Slayer crew, at ground level, would steal police weapons from the holsters of downed officers. 7) A further team would lob pre-prepared petrol bombs into all shops and restaurants in the area which were owned by mainlanders, or believed to lean politically to the “blue” (China-friendly) side. 8) All participants would be masked, and then would melt away into Wan Chai. 9) The ultimate aim was to create enough chaos to bring down the government, or achieve “regime change” to use the political term for this type of action. . . .
ANTI-TERRORISM ACTION
In the event, Hong Kong police managed to penetrate several Telegram discussion groups, and succeeded in making arrests before any of the bombs were set off. They also found guns and in one location, 106 rounds of ammunition. At a hearing in February this year, the ringleaders admitted a joint count of conspiracy to commit the bombing of prescribed objects under the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance. But a number of other defendants not guilty to charges linked to the same case—and that’s the trial that starts this week. More details will emerge.
2.Waking up and feeling like you’ve had enough sleep.
3.Lying on grass in the summertime.
4.The first bite of a meal when you’re really hungry.
5.Watching trees dance in the wind.
6.Taking your feet off the pedals cycling down a big hill.
7.Hearing raindrops from your warm bed.
8.Looking up while walking through a new city.
9.A snowflake landing on your tongue.
10.Finding money in the pocket of a coat you haven’t worn in a while.
11.Getting into a freshly made bed after a long day.
12.Kicking a pile of autumn leaves.
13.Thinking something is going to break but at the last second you catch it.
14.Tucking pyjamas into your socks.
15.Sitting on a dock watching the sunset.
16.Seeing an older couple holding hands.
17.Not setting an alarm clock.
18.An extra-long hug from an old friend.
19.All the optimism a new year brings.
20.Hiding under a tree from a summer rain shower.
You Now Need A Government License To Own A Chicken… (NO JOKE!) 6 Months Prison Sentence!!!
They are gradually banning self sufficiency…
Which single sentence can break most people?
There is one sentence I remember that haunts me even to this day.
———————————-
So, my wife finally told me that she was seeing someone else.
it hurt.
“I’m seeing another guy…”
Damn. You think this is the one right?
WRONG.
—
Fast forward a month.
She came to grab her stuff from the house.
The Boyfriend also came to the house.
The house that she and I built a life together in.
I told him that I didn’t want him in the house.
I told him to stay outside and I would leave the door open if he wanted.
But I told her that he was not allowed in the house.
It was the last sanctuary I had left.
I didn’t want it defiled.
“He is coming inside, whether you like it or not. He is with me.”
He walked inside the house.
Didn’t even care to take off his shoes.
You think this one is the one right?
WRONG.
—
As she is packing her stuff, I threw away my pride.
I threw away my ego.
I plead her to rethink the divorce.
I told her that I would forgive her for cheating.
I would forgive her for everything.
I told her how I felt and that it was all my fault and I just wanted her back.
I told her I would promise to be a better man.
“No. I don’t want to think about it anymore. I’m done.”
You think this is the one right?
WRONG.
—
I was so hurt that she said that, I felt like time stopped.
I probably stopped breathing for a good minute.
When I came to, I was numb.
I was so numb, even I started to pack her things.
I was a robot.
Just going through the motions.
After she packed the last of her things and left… she looked at me in the eyes.
She said the one thing that made me not believe in love anymore.
She said the one thing that finally made me understand that the relationship was no longer.
She said: “Did I break you enough yet?”
I felt my stomach go to my throat.
The colors in the world disappeared.
My world crumbled.
As she closed the door, I heard her drive off in the car I gave her.
I sat on the couch.
I stared at the floor for a good hour before I could comprehend what she said.
“DID I BREAK YOU ENOUGH YET?”
This. This is what broke me.
————————————————–
That’s the gist of it.
Women Over 30+ Who Have Hit The Wall Are Desperate With Drizzle, Drizzle. | The Wall
Has the Huawei Pura70 Series ascended as the pioneering force in the smartphone industry, distinguished by its supply chain paradigm that leverages an almost exclusive reliance on components procured from within China?
Pura70 is Huawei’s latest smartphone, and it is considered a milestone in the P series.
He was originally supposed to be called P70, but they decided to start with a new name.
huawei2
The brand-new name Pura70 is well-deserved for this mobile phone, and it is a new cost for Huawei.
Half a year ago, I answered a question about Huawei Mate60. I think Mate60 is a landmark event for Huawei’s return as king under US sanctions. 90% of the supply chain of Mate60 mobile phones comes from Chinese companies, and they no longer rely on American technology. This is the first time in the history of human industry that a single country has completed the entire industrial chain of a high-end smartphone.
What’s the most unforgettable heartbreak you’ve experienced in your life?
When I was in high school, my boyfriend called me on a school night asking me to go out to eat. I had a test the next day, so my mother wouldn’t allow me to go. The next morning, as I was eating breakfast while listening to the radio, I heard the news that my boyfriend had died in a car accident. He lost control of his Volkswagen and crashed into a hydro pole. My mother was sitting beside me at the time. Apparently my face instantly turned white, and I started to shake uncontrollably. I spent the rest of the day in bed. The first time I saw John laid out in his casket was surreal. I felt like I was in a fog. The people around me seemed far away, and their voices were a blur. I could not accept that my boyfriend was dead, and I would be left without him. He looked like he was sleeping, and I kept waiting for him to open his eyes. The hardest part was at his grave, when his coffin was lowered into the ground. I completely lost my composure and cried out his name, weeping uncontrollably. It took me a long time to come to terms with John’s death. He was a comedian at heart, always making me laugh. I saw his grinning face everywhere. Going back to school after his funeral was so heart wrenching. I would think I saw him in the hallways and the cafeteria. Our mutual friends just didn’t know what to do or say. I felt so alone. I will never forget John, but I gradually recovered from losing him. Time does heal heartache.
Heartwarming
Why did Chinese chip stocks rally following Huawei’s launch of the Mate 60 Pro phone?
Do you know the semiconductor sanctions that Huawei has suffered in the past three years? It’s a pity that we can’t buy this mobile phone here. It is the first mobile phone in the world that directly supports satellite phones.
This will definitely be an industrial product that will be recorded in history. This means that in the past three years, all companies around the world have not been allowed to sell 5G-related semiconductors to Huawei as long as these semiconductors contain American technology.
All companies around the world are not allowed to help Huawei produce semiconductors, as long as your production process contains American technology. You know, semiconductor is a global division of labor industry.
The technology in this industry has always been global cooperation, and there is no semiconductor production and design company in any country that does not contain American technology. Such sanctions can directly shock companies like Apple and Samsung.
They originally thought Huawei would also collapse. But Mate60 was released. After 3 years, they released a new 5G mobile phone again. This is not just as simple as a mobile phone. This is a huge technical chain that requires the participation of hundreds of companies with different specialties. In the past, this required the mutual cooperation of multiple countries, and no country could do it alone. But now the Chinese have done it.
Maybe not top notch, but they really did it. This means that Chinese companies can make advanced semiconductors (maybe not state-of-the-art) without relying on American technology. This is a historic event in the global semiconductor industry. It means that China’s semiconductor industry chain has made a comprehensive breakthrough. Note that I used the word industry chain. To manufacture a slice of advanced semiconductors requires the participation of many companies and industries.
From EDA software, to the cultivation of silicon wafers, chip and framework design, high-purity chemicals, laser devices, lithography machines, etching machines, packaging equipment, and testing technologies. Chinese people often use the term “shooting oneself in the foot”.
Now I can fully understand the meaning of this sentence. Under the pressure of the Americans, the Chinese took three years to complete the independence of the entire semiconductor industry chain. They have gone from 0 to 1, or even from 0 to 10, and the remaining 90 points are just a matter of time. It can be predicted that ten years later, China’s semiconductor industry will crush its peers around the world through its own scale and cost advantages. No one can sanction them because they do it all themselves, from sand to chips.
In fact, the task completed by Mate60 is not perfect. This phone still uses memory chips from Korean suppliers and electronic parts from Japanese suppliers. Although they are not critical parts, this means that it does not achieve the goal 100%.
huawei1
The phone is equipped with a retractable lens and its mechanical precision is comparable to that of a Swiss watch
Many media are still questioning whether Huawei can produce advanced semiconductors on a large scale and sustainably? Some people even say that their chips are removed from old mobile phones.
Some media have questioned whether Koreans are secretly helping Huawei manufacture mobile phones because Korean memory chips were found on the Mate60.
Now, Pura70 makes all these doubts meaningless. Some anxious media dismantled the phone into parts and put them under a microscope. They found that this phone uses a brand new SOC chip: Kirin 9010. This is only half a year after the release of Kirin 9000s on Mate60. The single-core performance of this chip has improved by at least 15%-20%, which is very close to the latest products of Qualcomm and Apple.
At the same time, those Japanese and Korean parts on the Mate60 are missing. Memory chips, cameras, visual sensors, fingerprint sensors and other accessories have also been completely replaced by Chinese companies.
In a sense, Pura70 is a mobile phone that is truly 100% made in China. This not only includes all key semiconductors and peripheral parts, but also parts in professional fields such as screens and lenses. At the same time, the operating system of this mobile phone is also independent of Android and IOS.
Based on the sales of MATE60, the media predicts that the sales of Pura70 may exceed 10 million units. This is a figure evaluated when Huawei is unable to sell mobile phones outside of China.
Pura70 has triggered queues in many big cities in China. Although the phone sells for as high as 1,000-1,500 US dollars, many young people still think it is cool to own a Pura70.
This also means that this is the world’s first top-end smartphone that is “completely unrelated to Western technology” and it has already achieved significant success in the market.
From a professional’s perspective, the launch and large-scale supply of Pura70 proves that China’s high-end electronics manufacturing and semiconductor manufacturing industries have gradually separated from the US system. Huawei is just the company at the forefront. Behind it are hundreds of China’s advanced electronic technology suppliers. Behind these suppliers are thousands of second-tier and third-tier suppliers. They can operate completely independently from U.S. global sanctions and restrictions.
This gives the world a new reminder: Advanced technology is not always in the hands of the West. When you are unwilling to share or even use technology as a weapon, people will always find other paths.
MASSIVE NEWS: China Is Building Giant Hypersonic Railgun For Space Launches
What is the strangest medical thing that has happened to you?
Approximately ten years ago, I was doing an open house (I’m a Realtor). I had a tiny whitehead under my nose, and I could hardly see it, but I just scratched it off. Throughout the day, it started swelling, and by the end of the day, it was a large swollen bump that was bright red, but there was no head, so I could not drain it.
When I got home, the side of my face was swollen. I went to the doctor, and they gave me a shot in my hip to bring down the swelling, but it didn’t work. I went home, and it got worse. I went to bed, and my face continued to swell, and by morning, it had swollen so much that my skin was stretched and shiny.
My husband took me into emergency because it had swollen up to my forehead, cheeks, and now the other side. My skin was so tight and shiny that I was getting scared. The doctor checked it and started talking about sending me to another doctor. I panicked and thought he meant later in the week. I started crying and begged him not to send me away. He smiled and said…. don’t worry, don’t worry, we are dealing with this today. He was so sweet about it. He said I’m sending you to get It lanced and drained. I was quickly taken to a surgeon who lanced the inside of my cheek and drained it. I left with medication, and it went completely away in a couple of days.
To this day, I still don’t know what it was, but I thought I remember someone saying it was MRSA. I don’t know, but I hope it never happens again. It scared me.
What bad experience had you saying “I will never buy from that company or use their service ever again”?
A couple months before I turned 8 years old, my dad ordered his first new car, after 25 years of driving used vehicles. It was a big event for a family of modest means. My parents wanted a Ford station wagon and my Mom wanted the maroon color which was supposedly offered. Days after ordering it, they called to say our car had come in. When I went to the dealer with my Dad to watch him pick it up, the salesmen drove up to us in a TAN wagon. “But we asked for MAROON!” Dad objected.
The salesman didn’t miss a beat, saying “You didn’t expect to get the color you ordered, did you?” as he tried to complete the sale. Even at the age of 7, I knew this was an absurd thing to say. My Dad might have accepted it but wisely went home to talk it over with Mom, who firmly stated that she didn’t want the car if it wasn’t what we ordered. So, another dealer got our business. Over 50 years later I still won’t buy from the dealership that employed the sarcastic salesman who tried to make my Dad feel like a fool. (But instead looked like one himself.)
China’s supply chain dominance means the Inflation Reduction Act is already dead.
The raw data tells a wild story. Must watch.
Have you ever given someone a bad reference when an employer called you and asked about them?
Many years ago, I owned a Computer Store in a small town. One day I got a call from the local school district office. I had done work for them in the past and knew a few people that worked there. They were looking to hire a full-time computer technician and were checking someone’s references. I thought this was a bit strange since my staff consisted of me and my wife. And I knew she hadn’t applied for a job.
When they mentioned the name, I laughed out loud. I said, “No, he never worked for me, and let me tell you a story.”
“Several months ago, he called me after hours about an emergency that he had with his computer and could I come in and fix it. After some pleading, I agreed and told him to meet me at the store but that my basic charge was $50.
After a few minutes diagnostic, I discovered a fairly basic mistake that he had made in building it, which took me about 20 minutes to fix. I charged him $50, and he complained and tried to talk me down, but eventually, he wrote me a check. A few days, later, I went to cash the check, and it bounced.
[The reason I remember this guy so well is because this was a small town, and people didn’t write bad checks. I had never gotten a bad check, EVER. Except for his.]
Now, I have no $50 and a check return fee -$20. I wasn’t going to let him get away with that, so I called his bank every day, asking if his account could cover it. A couple of weeks later, there were enough funds in his account. So, I immediately drove to his bank (which was about 20 minutes away) and cashed the check. A week later he called me to complain that I had caused a different check of his to bounce. “
So, no, he never worked for me and I’m not sure how competent a computer repair person he is. And He lied on his application. Any other questions?
1. Never cry for the person that hurts you. Just smile and say,
“Thank you for giving me the chance to have someone better than you.
2. Don’t hate jealous people. They are jealous because they thinks you are better than them.
3. Don’t waste your time on revenge. Those who hurt you will eventually face their own karma.
4. Don’t tell anyone about your plans, show them the result instead.
5. There is no market for your emotions, so don’t advertise your feelings. Show only your attitude.
6. Don’t give up. Your day will come. It’s just a matter of time.
7. If you help someone and expect anything in return. of you foes, you’re doing a business not kindness.
8. Trust means everything, but once it’s broken, sorry means nothing.
9. Always remember that your present situation is not your final destination. The best is yet to come.
10. Never leave a true relationship for few faults. Nobody is perfect and no one is always correct. At the end, you will discover that affection is greater than perfection.
11. Don’t attend a funeral just to let people know how you cared for a person. Show them how much you cared about them when they are alive.
12. Don’t make a promise out of joy. And don’t take a decision out of sadness.
13. Don’t expect loyalty from people that can not give you honesty.
14. Don’t give up. The beginning is always the hardest.
15. You will not know the value of a moment until you lose it. Value the moments you have before they become a memory.
16. Lastly, APPRECIATION remains the easiest way of getting what you don’t have….After reading a good message try to say “Thanks for the message”.
Taco Chili
One of Lincoln’s very favorite foods right now is tacos. If you ask him what he wants for dinner, 100% of the time he’ll tell you tacos. Ben gets a little sick of having the same thing every week though, so I thought I’d switch things up with Taco Chili!
I know, I know – living on the edge – but the second thing Lincoln will tell you he wants for dinner after tacos is soup or chili so this meal is a win-win at my house. Each spoonful of Taco Chilitastes like a big bite of a taco, but since it’s thick and hearty it’s perfect for this time of year when you need a dish that will warm you up on chilly (har) nights.
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Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup (1 medium) onion, chopped
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can Ro*Tel
1 (16 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (5 ounce) can chili beans in chili sauce
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
Shredded mozzarella, Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
Slightly crushed tortilla chips
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Instructions
In a large skillet, cook ground beef and onion, one-half at a time, until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain off fat.
Transfer to a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker.
Stir in dry taco seasoning mix, diced tomatoes, diced tomatoes with green chiles, pinto beans, chili beans in chili sauce and corn.
Cover; cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.
Sprinkle each serving with some cheese and chips.
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What has a car salesperson said to you that resulted in you immediately leaving?
You fellows don’t want to buy a car today.
Years ago I decided that being a young stud that I wanted a Mustang, maybe it should be said I needed a Ford Mustang but I’m also cheap so I’d figured I’d buy a used one. I also had a dad who loved to dicker especially when it came to cars, so he came up to the city I was living in and off we went to go car shopping.
We looked at a few, finally found one at a used car lot. We had talked about what I wanted to pay and so we started the dance. The salesman opened the hood and showed us the engine and everything else. He gave us a price, we gave a counter bid, he went to his manager, you know the game. Came back out, a lower offer, we talked over and counter offered. This went on for a couple rounds. Did I mention I was cheap and so was my dad?
Finally the salesman came up, slammed down the hood and said, ‘You fellows don’t want to buy a car today.’ We went down the street, found Avis and bought one a year newer with less mileage, and my dad told me after we left, ‘Do you think we should go back and tell him we bought a car today?’ God, I miss that man!
Thanks Sarah for the edits. I’m a paramedic not an English major or minor.
I’d like to thank all you kind folks who have read and upvoted this story. My dad would have got a hoot out of how many people have enjoyed it.
Fast Food Customers HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THE HIGH PRICES!
What are the most horrible words you’ve ever heard?
“She’s already gone.”
I was sixteen years old and my best friend in the world, Rachel, had just turned sixteen and gotten her driver’s license.
We had been inseparable for years. Youth group trips, summer camp, swapping clothes, obsessing over crushes…she had her own bedroom at my house but we always pulled out sleeping bags and camped in mine.
I saw my first ever rock video on MTV at her house – “Vogue” by Madonna. We wanted to be Madge when we grew up.
Our theme song was “Don’t Worry Be Happy” and we would sing it to each other whenever one of us was upset.
We planned on having a double wedding; we would be each other’s maids of honor in our wedding dresses, which we spent hours obsessing over.
One Sunday morning she was driving to church by herself when she had a brain aneurysm rupture. Her car hit a telephone pole head-on after she lost consciousness.
I was helping with children’s church when I heard she had been rushed to the hospital. The prognosis was bad.
Very bad.
Rachel spent three days in a coma. I spent every second I could at the hospital, though they wouldn’t let me into the ICU to see her.
There was a special prayer circle called on Tuesday evening to pray for her recovery.
I was in that prayer circle when someone came in and said the words.
Rachel was gone.
How could that be?? She literally died while dozens of people were holding hands in a circle, begging God to save her.
A world without my best friend was impossible to comprehend.
Curled up in a ball under a crib in the church’s nursery, I sobbed.
I railed at God – he had broken our bargain. Rachel was so good, her faith so strong…we had all prayed so hard…this isn’t how it was supposed to be!
My heart broke that day and still has a hole where Rachel used to live.
That was also when the faith I had held so dear all my life started to fracture. The split took another five years to complete, but it started that Tuesday night under a baby bed.
Some AI generated Pictures
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The Israeli attack on Iranian diplomatic premises in Damascus was a clear violation of the Vienna Convention. No one disputed it. The Israeli justification that militia meetings were held there does not change this fact.
The Iranian response to this attack, whatever one thinks of it, is therefore legitimate with regard to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. No one should dispute that. Remarks that Iran did not have the right to send aircraft through third-party airspace do not change this fact. Yet the UN Security Council has failed to agree to condemn the Israeli attack in Syria. It was also unable to judge the Iranian response.
The speeches no longer come from the legal sphere, but from the political one.
Thus, outside the UN Security Council, the Office of Argentine President Javier Milei “expressed its solidarity and unwavering commitment to the Israeli State following the attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Argentine Republic recognizes the right of Nation States to defend themselves and firmly supports the Israeli State in defending its sovereignty, in particular against regimes that encourage terror and seek to destroy Western civilization.”
The prize for confusion goes without any doubt to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who declared on X: “I strongly condemn Iran’s blatant and unjustifiable attack on Israel. And I call on Iran and its proxies to immediately stop these attacks. All actors must now refrain from any further escalation and work to restore stability in the region.” High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell added: “The EU strongly condemns the unacceptable Iranian aggression against the Jewish state. This is an unprecedented escalation and a serious threat to regional security.”
For his part, deputy permanent representative of Russia to the UNSC Dmitri Polyanskiy posted on Telegram: “Once again we are convinced that the cynicism of our Western colleagues and their selective blindness knows no bounds. Now, they don’t even remember that they refused to prevent escalation by not supporting our proposed draft UN Security Council press statement condemning the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate. As was the case with the beginning of our military defense in Ukraine, the history for them begins with the Iranian retaliation. And the Israelis predictably escalate in their signature manner: Israel is the victim, everyone else is to blame (…) And now this Franco-Saxon-Natanyakha gang will begin to rock the region, blaming Iran for all its sins. Haven’t we already seen all this before?”
Have you ever had a job where you did nothing for years and nobody found out?
Not me but my wife. She graduated with her bachelor’s in 2010, during the time that certain degrees were all but worthless and finding a job was tough to say the least. She ended up taking a job at a small makeup boutique that her friend’s wealthy parents owned.
This store was literally a ploy by her friend’s parents to keep her in town by giving her a project. She lost interest in about a month and her parents were locked into the property for several years, so they had to keep the store open. They offered my wife the manager position which she was happy to take.
The store was literally five minutes from an Ulta, so saying they didn’t do well was an understatement. The owners also refused to adequately restock their inventory, so the few potential customers they could have had quickly gave up after a few visits being unable to find what they needed.
After the first six months, they frequently had days with zero sales and not a single customer through the doors. Luckily for my wife, they had the computer that rung up sales Connected to the Internet with completely unrestricted access. for 7 hours a day, five days a week, she would be on Facebook, play online games, read articles, and generally waste time. For the first hour she would clean and do pull over from the night before, but stopped bothering to do inventory after the first few inventory replenishment requests to the owners went ignored.
She worked there for 18 months total before leaving. Later one of her former coworkers told her that the owners with no warning shut the place down and emptied the store out in the middle of the night, not bothering to tell the employees until they showed up the next day that they were out of a job. I understand that they were trying to save money on the labor and utility costs by closing, but giving zero warning was cowardly and unethical.
Why are most Nigerian graduates unemployable?
I’ll tell you a story.
There’s this girl who aced all her subjects in secondary school.
Not just acing but award-worthy educational success.
She was so good that at her Junior Secondary 3 (JSS 3) level, she was solving mathematical problems from Senior Secondary 1 & 2 (SS 1 & 2) curriculum.
1st Mistake
She loved Maths & computers but was admitted into the university to study Geology.
Today, she still thinks she would have been a statistics wizard if she’d been allowed to just study Math or Engineering. You know – subjects where she doesn’t have to always cram some qualitative garbage but provide quantitative solutions.
2nd Mistake
When she got into the university, she realized she didn’t have to study very hard. Very few people were bothering to anyway. She was extremely smart & could hold her own but it became easier to combine intellectual efforts with other students at assignments, tests & final exams.
The system allowed it.
All her friends did it so, why fight it?
3rd Mistake
While at school, no one ever taught her how to write a résumé or successfully approach interviews.
She, just like everyone around her wanted a good life but the system pretty much set them up to fail.
When she graduated, she met a professional at an international oil & gas company who asked her what she wanted to do in life & to explain her undergraduate degree experience but she was not prepared for that.
She gave answers which were weak, mostly incoherent, lacked precision or clarity.
She’d never thought of herself in that light.
The internet wasn’t readily accessible back then so she was pretty much left on her own with her fellow ignorant peers.
She also had a great & supportive family who she leaned on.
Luckily for her, she got some mentors, then left the country for her masters degree.
At 1st, she struggled at her Canadian university.
Correcting her 2nd mistake
She had to actually learn all those skills & resources she didn’t bother with back in Nigeria due to combined students’ efforts.
She had to read all those textbooks she never bothered with in her Nigerian university in order to excel at her program.
Correcting her 3rd mistake
She also met lecturers whose method of teaching was about empowering students to run with their ideas.
It wasn’t about multiple choice questions but making a case of why Case A is better/worse than Case B.
It made her actually think for the 1st time in her life. She learned how to make great presentations. It was a confidence boost. It was exhilarating!
She learned about plagiarism which is a very despicable thing. She also learned about self-development, professional development & presentations.
She learned it was ok to make decisions, make mistakes & then learn from them.
She became comfortable working alone & also with a team. She learned the power of independence.
She was a different person.
She became more confident about her thoughts & ideas. No one laughs at her mistakes nor condemns her for them.
Her bosses don’t care about always being right or barking orders at those under them. Team contributions is crucial, encouraged & needed.
Everybody is equal. No one feared anyone. It was a healthy environment. She was valued. She freely runs her program the way she sees fit.
This is my story.
There’s no correcting my 1st mistake. If I ever do, I’ll tell a story about it.
If you read this, you’d understand how the Nigerian system encourages laziness & might discourage talent because of envy or pride.
Many Nigerian graduates are victims of their own underdeveloped & redundant society.
Maybe with the internet, a few might self-improve. Otherwise, they’re unemployable because there’s very few people to teach them better.
Note to any Nigerian student reading this – don’t take the easy way out. Read not just to pass your examinations but to actually know.
You’d be truly a better person & student for it.
Good luck!
Chinese treatment for Blinkin and Janet Yelen
No red carpet, and met by Kong Fu-An, Director General of the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, at the tarmac.
My understanding is the head of a province-level Foreign Affairs Office counts as a Bureau Chief, or a Level 5, Rank 11–12 Civil Servant.
This is one step below the welcome Olaf received when he landed in Chongqing.
Note both Janet and Antony did not land in Beijing directly, unlike the last time they were in town.
Most powerful finance minister in the world—meh.
Most powerful diplomat in the world—meh.
American Reacts to Getting Laid Off (Fired): USA vs. The Netherlands
What do you do when your kid says they want a tattoo?
When my daughter told me, I had her design her idea of the perfect tattoo no matter what it was or how big …anything. I reminded her it was forever and would never come off so she had to choose wisely. That was the first problem. She couldn’t decide. She had many good ideas but when the idea of “forever” came up she always changed her mind. When she finally came up with her final choice she still handed it to me with some trepidation. Second step was for me to take it to a tattoo artist, a good one, to get a quote. I showed my daughter the quote $1,200 that she would be required to pay for herself. Step three was a surprise to her. I took the artwork she gave me and sent it to a custom temporary tattoo maker that made long term tattoos. I had it made and applied it exactly where she wanted it. My daughter was thrilled for about a week. The tattoo clashed with some of her favorite clothes and it was too visible so she couldn’t hide it. It made her pretty, dainty prom dress look kinda cheap. Looked good with jeans and a tank top but she liked variety…bummer. People treated her differently and judged her before they knew her and it really bothered her. She started trying to hide it rather than show it off. Two months in she asked me for the special solution to take it off. I refused because “tattoos are forever.” She was angry but I reminded her she made her own choices now she had to live with them. It eventually wore off and when she became an adult I told her she should start saving for her tattoo. She thanked me for the “lesson” I gave her because now that she was older her tastes had changed and IF she ever decides to get one it will probably be small, likely just one color and someplace hidden. She is an adult now. She can do what she wants but at least I know she will think before she leaps and that is all I can ask for.
CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala has been consistently panned in recent years for lacking creativity and lowering standards, and this year was no exception.
However, one segment won almost universal praise on Chinese social media – 《山河詩長安》/Poem for the Landscape of Chang’an.
It is an excellent showcasing of Xi’an culture, both old and new, from Qin opera to Shaanxi hip hop. Chang’an (the historical name for Xi’an) was known as one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, and the capital city of various dynasties, most notably the Tang Dynasty.
Here’s the 6 minute video…
We see people making merry and enjoying local festivities, and historical characters such as the Tang poet Li Bai brought back to life with 3D technology. To hear people chanting ancient poems in unison, as the country enters the space age, had me awestruck.
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This is what China is – the only surviving ancient civilisation, its history as long as it is unbroken; a place where ancient traditions and memories still live on, rising from the ashes as peacefully as a civilisation possibly could, and is now leading the world into a bright and better future.
There are legends, poems and lessons here dating back thousands of years ago, that even the least educated Chinese person knows by heart, but would elude even the most dedicated western Sinologist.
(DON’T BOTHER WATCHING IT IF YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND Chinese)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itw2GTN41P8
Contrast this to Taiwan/the Republic of China, where a local teacher went viral recently for protesting the Ministry of Education’s policy of de-Sinicisation. Under the new education reforms, students would be less exposed to Chinese history and culture, and less time would be allocated to the teaching of Chinese classics and poetry.
This is why I could never accept the neoliberal western narrative of Taiwan (ROC) being the “real China”. A regime that is truly legitimate in the eyes of the Chinese people, that truly has the best interests of the Yellow River civilisation at heart, that is truly representative of its people, would not so hastily abandon its heritage in an attempt to appeal to outsiders.
But when you force a people to abandon everything that defined who they are, the question becomes what to replace it with. In Taiwan’s case, attempts at westernisation and Japanisation have both been met with limited success, as have all other attempts at creating an independent “Taiwanese” national identity from scratch. As it turns out, you can’t just artificially create history and culture where before there was none.
This cynical historical nihilism, this dreadful feeling of emptiness and rootlessness, is devastating to the youth of “real China”. They don’t know who they are, what values to hold, where they truly belong, who and what to look up to, what to believe. Even conscription changes nothing – they know not for whom or what they fight (which is why they strongly reject mandatory military service).
At a time when the whole world is beginning to learn Chinese, Taiwan’s politically driven de-Sinicisation is not only counterproductive, but self-sabotaging.
I am glad that in the mainland at least, the best aspects of Chinese culture are being preserved and celebrated, contrary to public perception in certain parts of the world that once invaded, enslaved, slaughtered and stole from the Chinese nation, but now feign to care about our wellbeing.
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Lemme give you an example of why I think it is important to hold on to the wisdom of our ancestors. This part of the Spring Festival Gala features one of Li Bai’s poems that is most fitting for our times. Here is an excerpt:
天生我材必有用，千金散盡還復來！
“The talents bestowed upon me shall certainly be of use; and so what if I have exhausted my fortune? It shall all come back to me!”
Times are tough, and I know many of you are having money problems or self esteem issues. But be confident in knowing that you are not worthless, just keep honing your skills and looking out for opportunities to prove yourself. And rest assured that a bad investment and such is not the end of the world. You will recover financially if you’re a bit more cautious in the future.
From Zhuhai to the world, may all of you have a great Year of the Dragon.
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Italian Sausage Soup
Italian Sausage Soup SpendWithPennies 4
A Fave Flavorful Soup
This soup is a “one-pot wonder” so there is less mess and less clean-up.
You can add any veggie you’d like into this recipe (and swap up the pasta with orzo or any shape you love)!
Use hot or mild sausage to your liking (or even meatballs if you’d prefer).
This soup reheats well making it great for lunches. Freeze in individual portions (before adding pasta) to keep it even longer.
Yield: 7 cups
Ingredients
1 pound hot or mild Italian sausage
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, cut into half rings
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
Ingredients
Italian Sausage Use either mild, sweet, or spicy Italian sausage in this soup. No Italian sausage? No problem, use ground pork, chicken, or beef with the same spices we use in our homemade Italian sausage.
BROTH We use chicken broth in this soup but beef broth works just as well.
VEGETABLES Loads of different kinds of veggies like tomatoes, garlic, zucchini, and onion make this soup filling with lots of nutrients, too. Add whatever is in your fridge!
FLAVORS Add a delicious blend of Italian Seasoning or use your own special blend of favorite spices! We also add Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley as a garnish!
Variations
Feel free to switch up the ingredients with leftovers like adding chicken in place of the sausage, or kale instead of the spinach.
White beans can be replaced with lentils or garbanzos, long grain rice, and a liberal dose of cheese.
Diced potatoes are a good substitute for pasta as well! Add a can of condensed creamy tomato soup for extra-rich broth.
How to Make Italian Sausage Soup
Veggies and sausage with pasta tastes amazing and it’s so easy to make this classic soup!
Brown sausage, with onion & garlic per recipe below.
Add broth, beans, vegetables and simmer until tender. Stir in zucchini for the last few minutes.
In a separate pot, cook pasta al dente, drain. Add to the pot (or to bowls).
Garnish with parsley & Parmesan cheese.
Italian Sausage Soup SpendWithPennies 7
Slow Cooker Method:
Brown sausage, onion, & garlic. Drain.
Add all ingredients except pasta, zucchini and spinach.
Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours adding zucchini in the last 30-40 minutes.
Stir in cooked pasta and garnish with parsley & Parmesan cheese & serve.
Leftovers
If you plan for leftovers or to freeze this soup, keep the pasta separate and cook fresh pasta for serving.
Keep Italian sausage soup in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheat in the microwave or reheat the whole pot on the stovetop.
Freeze in zippered bags with the date written on the outside.
What has a cop said that left you completely dumbfounded?
I was returning home to NC after a job in Davidson, SC. Red and blue lights come on behind me so I, of course, pull over to the right. A sheriff’s deputy walks up to my window and asked if I knew why I’d been pulled over. I informed him I did not. He requested my license and registration, which I provided. He then stated that I had been driving 65 in a 55. I had been doing 60, so I was speeding but not at the speed he indicated. I asked to see his radar and camera showing he had indeed clocked me at said speed. He said he hadn’t used radar, but instead he’d paced me.
He hadn’t been behind me long enough to do so, so I said again that I hadn’t been driving that fast. He replied with, “You were definitely going 65 because I had to drive that fast to catch up with you.” I sat there in stunned silence, letting that sink in, for a moment. I said, “Excuse me?”. He again said I had been going 65 because he had to go that fast to catch up to me. I asked him, “If I’m going 65 and you’re going 65, how long would it take you to catch up with me?” He said he didn’t know how long it had taken him, but it wasn’t long. I was amused. I asked again and he asked what I was getting at. I informed him that I was just looking for clarification for when I go to court to dispute the ticket. I then told him that if I was going 65 and he was going 65 he would always remain the same distance behind me. This meant I had to have been going slower than 65. I then asked if his patrol camera recorded sound, as I’d be requesting the recording for court.
He handed me my license, advised me to slow down and have a nice day, then went back to his car.
Source is RAND
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What is the most unexplainable thing you’ve witnessed or experienced?
Back in 2000, I worked at the Super 8 hotel in the city where I lived in Tennessee. I worked in housekeeping. The hotel didn’t get a great deal of customers being in a small city.
One morning when I got to work I noticed several full-sized white vans in the parking lot once inside I found out it was a group traveling selling magazines. Almost all of the rooms had been rented which might sound bad but it’s not because if they are staying for any length of time you simply take out trash and make sure they have plenty of towels.
My day goes by fairly quickly. I finished up the last room and was headed towards the laundry room when a guy stepped out of a room and was going in the same direction as me. I notice he is following me but I’m not worried because there are other rooms he could be going to. When he followed Me downstairs is when I felt uneasy because at the bottom of the stairs is laundry room and a small storage room. When I got to the laundry room other maids were in there dropping off laundry and he simply turned and went back up the stairs.
Everything went pretty normal and quite easy because everyone in that group is gone all day selling magazines from door to door so you go in clean up a little make up the beds and restock towels. This is about the 4th day of them being at the hotel I’m cleaning rooms as usual. I clean the upstairs rooms around back last because they are close to the upstairs storage room.
I was on one of the last rooms on my list which was on the back side. I go in make up the bed, vacuum and take out the garbage. I go into the bathroom to count the towels and wash out the tub when I pulled the shower curtain back there stood that guy who followed me to the laundry room. He was fully dressed obviously hiding. My stomach dropped he had no expression on his face just staring at me. He pulled the curtain rest of the way open and started to step out of the tub and the manager of the Hotel hollers here are your towels you called for. Not wanting to turn my back on him I yell I’m in here my boss bitches a little then bring them to me and is beyond mad that the guy is hiding in the shower and makes him leave the room and wait outside till I’m done with his room.
On the way to the office he asked me why I didn’t tell him he was in the room when I called for towels. I would have told him if I had called for towels but I didn’t call laundry and certainly not him for anything . I don’t understand how he got a call to come to that room but I am thankful for whatever happened because a few days after that they left and moved on to a hotel in Knoxville TN where that same guy that hid in the shower raped and stabbed an elderly lady and stole her car. The police said it was the worst crime scene they had seen in a while.
Tony Blinken Back to China: Begging Bowl in one Hand & a Knife in the Other!
Have you heard about Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming trip to China? Mainstream media will have you believe that he is going to address the path to peace in West Asia, among other global issues. But let me tell you, it’s all a distraction. The truth is, the US government has no intention of truly addressing global issues. They use these high-profile meetings and trips to China as a way to distract the public from the real issues at hand. While they talk about peace in West Asia, they continue to fuel conflicts and wars for their own benefit. Don’t be fooled by the headlines and the fancy speeches. Secretary Blinken’s trip is just a facade, a charade to make us believe that they care about global peace and stability. But in reality, it’s all about politics and power. So, the next time you see news about Secretary Blinken’s trip to China, remember that it’s just a distraction from the truth.
Camping in China is quite different than in the United States.
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Sure, there are rural areas where you can get in your four-wheel drive and go off-road, pop a tent, and make a fire. But since China is so dense, this tends not to be all that common, well at least not in the Southern Guangzhou area. Here, the camping is more organized.
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On the beaches near Shenzhen (dameisha, and shameisha), you can rent a tent (or bring your own), and camp there overnight. Meanwhile, all the comforts of home are nearby. Bars, restrooms, showers, BBQ, tables, chairs, and fire circles.
Yup, it’s living in the tent minus being primitive.
They just put up one near my “ghost city” complex.
You take the highway road (well, it’s a road. Eight lanes, but still a typical Chinese road) and there is a paved cement area where a bunch of BBQ vendors cook chicken, fish, steaks and mutton all night. And behind the fence are tent areas where you can camp out. Just like the picture above.
Nearby are shower buildings, restrooms, and cement roofed pavilions for group fun.
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Ah. It’s fun and cool. But, decidedly not the same thing as camping in the “outback” or in the ‘States.
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China. Unique.
And well… different.
Today…
The US and the UK are pushing for total war on all fronts
The Iran-Israel clash has served as a catalyst for renewed escalation by Western leaders, and World War III cannot be ruled out
By Timur Fomenko, political analyst
The events of recent weeks have produced a sudden jolt in Western politics. From a lethargy that was starting to creep into US and western discourse over the Ukraine war, Iran’s attack on Israel suddenly seemed to have had the effect of awakening Ronald Reagan from his grave and leading to a surge of neo-conservativism on steroids, on both sides of the Atlantic.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson did a complete 180-degree U-turn and proclaimed himself a “Reagan Republican” passing a series of aid bills for astronomical overseas spending that he had otherwise blocked for months, as he denounced an “axis of evil.” Along with that, a proposed TikTok ban bill came out of nowhere too and was quickly signed into law.
Then the UK decided to devote its largest ever aid package to Ukraine, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warning of an “axis of authoritarian states” and amplifying ideologically combative rhetoric.
Finally, EU President Ursula von der Leyen has suddenly dramatically increased economic warfare on China, pushing the European Commission to open probes on scores of Chinese exports.
Where exactly did all this come from?
It’s almost as if the US and its allies seized upon the tensions between Iran and Israel in order to “whitewash” their slate and double down on a series of objectives they are otherwise losing public support for, including the war in Ukraine, but also Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
One has to wonder if the Israeli attack on the Iranian compound in Damascus, which provoked Tehran’s response, was deliberately staged, coordinated and planned for this purpose. It served the mutually convenient goal of letting both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Western governments off the hook for whatever opposition they had otherwise faced.
It should be abundantly clear now that the current powers that be, in London and Washington, have absolutely no intent of letting up on the wars they have provoked, while also pushing for a potential third one with China, and seem indifferent to the consequences, even if for example, the Israel-Gaza war is shattering the West’s claims of moral superiority.
In each case, the stakes are very high, Western foreign policy at large has taken on a very zero-sum and ideological character which bemoans the loss of hegemony, and seeks to uphold it at all costs. It is reactionary to the extent it does not have a vision for improving the world, but wants to take backthe world to the way it was. It is a sense of entitlement and privilege that wants to suppress an emerging multipolarity.
Because of this, it has become impossible for Western leaders to ever consider the concept of compromise in these respective theaters, and they refuse under any circumstances to make concessions which could be deemed strategic. This has produced a position where the only outcome they are willing to accept in Ukraine is what they deem “the defeat of Putin,” and have been subtly escalating ever since, edging ever closer to the point where a “proxy war” becomes a direct one for all intents and purposes.
NATO military advisors are already on the ground, and Ukrainian attacks are being guided by NATO intelligence or even coordinated by British admirals.
The media in the West, especially in Britain (there is more dissent in the US) are effectively in war mode. The BBC amplifies non-stop Ukraine propaganda, pushing any claim that will help Kiev irrespective of its empirical worth or evidence, and all voices of dissent have been shut down. It seems evident that the decision may have been made to risk a full-on war with Russia, rather than to consider any negotiation scenario.
Thus, the shockwaves from the Iran-Israel saga have been used to pursue a new and sudden round of escalation on every front, which can have only been bolstered by the prospective elections looming in both the US and UK.
Because of this, it is fair to say that the world faces a more dangerous and uncertain outlook than at any point since the end of World War II.
This current crop of Western leaders are not pursuing a more restrained and calculated mindset, as seen for most of the Cold War, but an aggressive and evangelistic one that does not prefer stability but affirms hegemony as an absolute right, thus more resembling a pre-1914 world.
Because of this, we should draw the conclusion that Western leaders are not truly seeking to avoid war, but are prepared to embrace it if necessary. The British military establishment and the media have long been making noises about conscription.
In the US, if Joe Biden wins re-election, we can assume that he will unapologetically escalate on every single front. World War III is no longer a dramatized specter of farfetched panic, but an actual possibility that should not be ruled out.
Baked Chicken German Style
Baked Chicken German Style
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces egg noodles, cooked and drained
3 cups cooked chicken, diced
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 teaspoons paprika
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt butter in large saucepan over medium low heat. Whisk in flour and stir for 3 minutes.
Gradually whisk in broth and milk. Reduce heat, simmering until thick, about 10 minutes.
Blend in lemon juice and seasonings.
Combine cooked noodles and half the sauce, tossing gently to blend. Place in the bottom of a buttered 2 quart casserole. Top with chicken and remaining sauce.
Combine Parmesan cheese and paprika. Sprinkle over casserole.
Bake until bubbling and golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Serve hot.
Americans Are Running Out Of Money
The problem we have is because Most people always taught that” you only need a good job to become rich ” . These billionaires are operating on a whole other playbook that many don’t even know exists.
Why do some people plead poverty when they’re not actually poor?
The wealthiest person I ever worked for was a lawyer whose home had a three-car garage and a swimming pool. He owned the house, his office building, his luxury cars, and his boat free and clear. His children all had late-model cars, and their college educations were paid for by trust funds.
Since my job included balancing his checkbooks, I knew that both his business and personal accounts carried about a $50,000 balance at all times (this was 30 years ago). He never once had to put off a doctor visit or medical treatment because he couldn’t afford it–and because of a pre-existing condition, he couldn’t get health insurance and had to pay all his medical bills out of pocket. Every month he paid his credit card bills in full. He and his wife sometimes drank Dom Perignon for breakfast. When he died, in addition to all his other assets he left almost $2 million in cash.
My husband and I were both employed full-time, sometimes did have to put off doctors’ appointments for lack of funds, and rarely were able to pay our credit card bills in full. (If one of our kids needed a doctor, we’d take them, pay with plastic if we had to, and worry about the credit-card balance later.) To me, then, my boss seemed as rich as an oil sheikh. Yet he constantly insisted he wasn’t rich.
Years after I had left his employ, I finally figured him out: my boss wasn’t comparing himself to wage slaves like me, he was comparing himself to other rich people; and unless you’re Jeff Bezos, there’s always someone richer than yourself. Not that my boss ever claimed to be poor, but it’s the same principle: you probably know someone who has more money than you do, so you’re going to feel, if not poor, then poorer by comparison.
In its most recent National Defense Strategy, the U.S. Department of Defense declared a policy of “integrated deterrence” against the People’s Republic of China, its primary “pacing challenge.” The document defined “integrated deterrence” as:
“…working seamlessly across warfighting domains, theaters, the spectrum of conflict, all instruments of U.S. national power, and our network of Alliances and partnerships. Tailored to specific circumstances, it applies a coordinated, multifaceted approach to reducing competitors’ perceptions of the net benefits of aggression relative to restraint. Integrated deterrence is enabled by combat-credible forces prepared to fight and win, as needed, and backstopped by a safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent.”
As was the case with Russia vis-à-vis Ukraine, a policy of deterrence through strength has only made war in Southeast Asia more likely—with myriad recent examples.
On March 23 a Chinese Coast Guard vessel fired a water cannon at and allegedly rammed a Philippine vessel as it attempted to resupply a grounded ship on a reef in the Spratly Islands. This was just the latest in a series of similar clashes.
The Spratly Islands are a cluster of tiny reefs, shoals, and islets in the South China Sea. They are claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan. The vast majority of the American public has no idea that they even exist, nor do they care who owns them.
However, because the United States and the Philippines have a mutual defense treaty, Americans are obligated to send their sons and daughters to kill and die if Philippine forces come under attack there (or anywhere). State Department Spokesperson Matt Miller confirmed this in a March 23 statement about the incident:
“The United States stands with its ally the Philippines and condemns the dangerous actions by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea on March 23…The United States reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft—including those of its Coast Guard—anywhere in the South China Sea…”
In the case of the Philippines, integrated deterrence means more than just maintaining a mutual defense treaty. In the past year alone, the United States has pledged to fund the construction of a new Philippine-American port near Taiwan and has gained access to four other Philippine military bases. The United States has also conducted joint naval patrols with the Philippine navy and furthered their forces’ interoperability with joint military exercises that sometimes include Japan and Australia. The United States has also encouraged Japan and the Philippines to sign a Reciprocal Access Agreement, which would allow the two nations to deploy forces in each other’s territory. Japan already has such an agreement with Australia.
The U.S.-Philippine defense treaty and its accompanying policy emboldens Philippine President Marcos Ferdinand Jr. to be more aggressive in his territorial and maritime disputes. In turn, Sino-Philippine relations have deteriorated.
On December 20 of last year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Philippine counterpart, Enrique Manalo, that “China-Philippines relations are at a crossroads,” referring specifically to the nations’ naval clashes in the South China Sea. Yi further warned that China will “definitely safeguard its rights” and “respond resolutely” to provocations. Yi specifically identified Philippine collusion with the United States and its regional partners as a source of contention.
For its own part, Japan has also clashed with Chinese forces over territory that holds absolutely no interest for the average American. The Senkaku islands are yet another series of rocks that the American public neither knows nor cares about. Despite this justifiable apathy, Americans are treaty-bound to sacrifice their children to enforce Japan’s claims to these tiny islands in the East China Sea. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed as much in October of last year .
The United States’ partnership with Japan is more intimate than with any other country on Earth. Over 53,000 American troops are stationed in Japan at approximately twenty-three installations. Furthermore, since its effective disarmament after World War II, the United States has gradually fostered Japan’s military redevelopment. In 2022, Japan announced that it was increasing its military budget by 56% and would acquire U.S.-produced Tomahawk missiles capable of striking the Chinese mainland. This should be cause for concern because Tomahawk missiles are nuclear-capable .
Next month, the United States and Japan are expected to announce a plan to restructure their forces’ interoperability. The plan will allow Japanese forces to coordinate with U.S. Forces-Japan instead of with Indo-Pacific Command, which is based in Hawaii. Although the specific details are currently unclear, the change is promised to be the biggest upgrade to the countries’ mutual security pact in “60 years.” It is openly aimed at North Korea and China.
Integrated deterrence with Taiwan has seen American Spec Ops deployed as military advisors to Kinmen, a small group of islands controlled by Taiwan. The islands are located just miles off the coast of mainland China. These “long term” deployments will see the advisors training Taiwan’s amphibious forces in preparation for a war against the mainland.
The scandalously provocative deployment is just the latest in a series of American policies that have sought to make Taiwan a grenade in China’s throat. In 2022, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi took an ill-advised junket to Taipei. China responded by shooting missiles over the island and simulating a blockade against it.
Last year, the United States deployed 200 troops to Taiwan, the largest American deployment to the island since 1979, when the U.S. officially recognized Taiwan as being part of China. Last year, the United States increased its weapon sales to Taiwan and even began financing the transfers and providing some arms free of charge.
These transfers violate Chinese-American agreements—especially the Third Joint Communique , through which the United States declared its intention to cease arms sales to Taiwan and agreed not to provide the island with more arms than China, either quantitatively or qualitatively.
Aside from the Spratly Islands, the most inconsequential territorial dispute in which the United States has embroiled itself concerns a patch of land at the top of the world.
In 2020, four Chinese and twenty Indian soldiers died when a melee ensued in Arunachal Pradesh, a state located in the Indian Himalayas that is claimed by both India and China. After the clash, the United States signed an intelligence-sharing agreement with India that would allow Indian forces to use American satellites to track Chinese troop movements in the disputed area. This intelligence was used by the Indians during a subsequent clash in 2022.
Just last week, the State Department issued a statement backing India’s claim to the disputed area, drawing China’s ire. Both India and China are nuclear-armed states.
These four recent examples of America’s “integrated deterrence” against China each involve territorial disputes that do not concern the United States and are of no consequence to its people. Each showcases examples of confrontational and provocative American behavior. Knowing they have American support, our allies and partners are emboldened to act recklessly. Instead of causing Chinese forces to back down, our actions only draw warnings and contempt from Chinese officials.
If the policy of “integrated deterrence” were indeed deterring China, we’d likely see a decrease of confrontational incidents with Chinese forces. That is not the case. Furthermore, it is not enough to argue that “integrated deterrence” is working because war has not yet broken out—U.S. support for Ukraine “deterred” a war with Russia until it didn’t.
It is not in Americans’ best interests to risk war between their country and China over obscure territorial disputes and shipping lanes in the South China Sea. Since our strategic partners and allies have been building up and integrating their militaries with each other, they are certainly capable of negotiating on their own from a position of strength.
1 Hour Of FRUSTRATED Women With The Drizzle, DRIZZLE
When Women Regret Feminism is a thought-provoking video that explores the struggles women over 30 face when they haven’t found a husband and feel cheated by what feminism tells them.
Our lead software engineer is the best at what he does but he is only available in working hours even if we need him for an emergency matter. What should I do about him?
I have experienced this kind of attitude. When I was younger, I would spend all my waking time working, even when I was only being paid for 8 hours.
Eventually, I kind of burned out, and I realized that I was missing too much of life, too much of my children growing up. So I stopped working extra hours all together. For a while, no amount of extra pay was worth it.
Your employee *is not* obligated to your company, for hours you do not pay him for. He agreed to give you his time for the work day, and you agreed to pay him for his time. Why would you ask him to give you something for nothing? Would your company give away it’s products for nothing?
If you want him available after hours, pay him extra, enough that he agrees to take on the extra work. It’s that simple. But if you want good work, then mitigate what you ask of him, and promote a work-life balance that is healthy.
In the end, why should he respect your time, if you do not respect his?
What are the most useful points about body language?
Do you know that if a person starts fixing him/her self in front of a person, then there is a good chance that he/she likes him/her.
If you like a person, you learn things quickly while working with them.
Do you know that men touch their face when they feel uncomfortable, and women touch their hands, throat, clothes and hair.
If there is a change in a person’s behavior and behavior on seeing you, such as unnecessarily shaking hands or talking loudly, then understand that he definitely has some feeling for you.
If a girl looks at you from a distance and pretends to see you somewhere else as soon as she comes near, then understand that she likes you.
Real GDP growth 1.6%. Everyone is getting the “wake up call” People don’t really have the money.
Ukraine update
Almost six thousand foreign mercenaries have been eliminated in Ukraine since the start of the special operation
October 22, 2022. Relatively fresh graves were discovered near Lisichansk, but this is not a pet cemetery, as it might seem at first glance. The graves of these “animals” indicate that they did not deserve another burial.
It’s surprising that they somehow managed to bury the mercenaries with dog nicknames. Apparently, the cult of American mercenaries was unshakable for the Ukrainian Nazis. Or they simply did not have time to tell the Ukrainian fighters that in neighboring settlements, during the retreat of the troops, their brothers, on the orders of the Kyiv command, simply burned about fifty Poles to hide traces of the presence of a foreign illegal contingent. Somewhere we have to put those who were stabbed to death in an alcohol and drug stupor, shot in the back during an argument or trying to retreat. An autopsy will show.
It can be assumed that such burials are not an isolated case.
In total, starting from February 24, 2022, the number of “soldiers of fortune” who arrived in Ukraine amounted to 13,387 people, 5,962 mercenaries were killed.
The Russian Defense Ministry has recorded the participation of more than 13 thousand mercenaries in hostilities on the side of Ukraine
Despite Western assurances about the absence of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry monitors and constantly records all foreigners who have arrived in Ukraine to participate in hostilities. Here’s how mercenaries are distributed by cou
In court, what was the most devastating cross-examination of a witness that you ever saw?
So I’m sitting in the jury box (a “simple” possession with intent case) and the prosecution brought out their star witness to testify how he knew that the defendant had the (ready for this?) five ounces of marijuana (four is the max for “casual” possession in Texas). Prosecutor finishes and looked pretty smug. I had started to come around to his side. Defense attorney starts off with some banal line and then says “Johnathan, that is your real name, right?” Well “Rick” had a stunned mullet look. “Ah, well yeah, I guess”. “You guess what? Is that or is it not your legal name?” “Ah, well yeah, it is.” “And not Rick, or rather Richard, as you stated when you were sworn in?” “No, it’s Johnathan, sir.” “And Johnathan, does the DA know this?” “Ah, well, no, sir” (Starts to sweat). “Johnathan, are you wanted by the State of Oklahoma?” “Ah, well, sorta.” “That’s a yes? Did you lie to the DA about that? What else did you lie about? Does the DA know that you’re wanted for <at this point I wanted to see if the DA actually wet himself> perjury? In a case involving <and soiled himself> a possession with intent to sell marijuana case?” At which point the lawyer handed the chief bailiff a set of papers that I learned later was the warrant and such from Oklahoma. I had the seat closest to the prosecutor’s desk and distinctly heard him mumbling “fuck, fuck, fuck, why today?” “Today” was the day before early voting in the primaries and he had some pretty serious competition.
So the judge tossed the evidence given that the statement from the witness couldn’t be deemed reliable (or whatever, real lawyers help me) and his statement was the only reason the sheriff’s department got the search warrant to begin with. Essentially end of case. We didn’t even get a break for some stale sandwiches, but did get paid $9.36 to watch a prosecutor’s last case.
Oh, and the defense lawyer. Well “Johnathan” should have recognized his old college roommate!!!!
Patrick Bet-David Explains Why America Is Entering A Horrific Financial Crisis…
Bourbon Laced Tipsy Chicken with Peaches
plated peach and bourbon bbq chicken
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 chicken leg quarters
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 cups green onions, chopped
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 cup chopped fresh peaches
1 dash nutmeg
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Sprinkle chicken quarters with salt and pepper. Place in a 13 x 9 inch baking pan and set aside.
In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the paprika and all but 1 tablespoon of the green onions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for an additional 4 minutes.
Spread the onion mixture evenly over the chicken, spoon the orange juice and bourbon over the top, and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, turning and basting occasionally.
Remove the chicken from the oven, spoon the peaches over the top, sprinkle with nutmeg, and return to the oven for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender and shows no trace of pink near the bone.
Remove the chicken from the pan, place on a serving dish, and pour the pan juices over the chicken.
Garnish with the remaining green onions and serve immediately.
I was reading a book about how the Chinese where the first to people to voyage around the world and it got me thinking, could it be that the Koi San people in southern Africa are the descendants of those Chinese voyagers?
Khoisan I don’t know much about, but the inhabitants of the Lamu Islands in Kenya are indeed descended from Zheng He’s crew. This has been confirmed by genetic testing.
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To this day, the Chinese gene is not only in their blood, but also remains in the daily lives of these people. There is porcelain, Chinese furniture and unobtrusive life skills that every Chinese is familiar with.
They use Chinese cupping, herbal medicines and some of them can even take their pulse!
Some islanders say their family name is Vae / 萬.
Silkworm and silk weaving skills have been passed down in the area, but have been lost over time.
Uwamaka Shariff’s Story
A Kenyan girl named Uwamaka Shariff is a descendant of Zheng He’s crew.
Shariff has completed high school, she longed to be able to go to China to study, but due to financial pressures, she decided to write a letter to Guo Chongli, the Chinese ambassador to Kenya.
In the letter, she wrote: “I am a Kenyan and also half Chinese, I am a descendant of Zheng He sailors …… I long to return to China ……”
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Three months later, the Chinese Ministry of Education approved the application, allowing Sharif to study in China at public expense.
In July 2005, Sharif arrived in Nanjing on a plane, and Nanjing’s vice mayor Xu Huiling personally went to the airport to greet her and presented her with a beautiful sarong and flowers.
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In Nanjing, Sharif was impressed by the rich history of the city, and she also witnessed the high-rise buildings lined up in Nanjing, and she felt more and more the charm of China in this city full of modernity and simplicity.
Here, Sharif experienced too many firsts in her life, the first time she stayed in a five-star hotel, the first time she rode in a lift, the first time she used an intelligent toilet, the first time she bathed in a shower. ……
What China just did to the U.S. Military is SHOCKING and War is Coming to Taiwan
The U.S. military has crossed China’s red line again, and China’s patience is being tested. Is the US and China destined for war? This video breaks it down.
Have you ever had a job where you did nothing for years and nobody found out?
Currently I work overnight as a concierge for an Apartment complex in the heart of Nashville.
Each night, I come in at 11pm, get told what happened during the day, and then sit at the desk for around 8 hours.
I watch tv, I read, I could bring any gaming console I wanted to, I play chess online allot, I do classwork if I have it, practice magic tricks, I exercise. My boss has even told me if I wanted to take a 30 minute nap here or there to go for it. Whatever.
At 6am I unlock the building’s front door, pool doors, deliver a few newspapers, and inventory our package room. In all honesty, it’s about 15 minutes worth of work give or take.
Technically I’m there as emergency relief, or just in case a tenet needs a package or food gets delivered, but that’s all once in a blue moon type stuff. 1 out of every 99 nights.
The funny thing is that all of the Tenets voted to have an overnight person, even though I see virtually no one. If they knew how little I did, I wonder if it would really change their minds.
What do people underestimate going into retirement?
The super massive black hole.
The best friend of your parents retires and is finally ready to sail the seven seas in his fishing boat with his wife, only to hear a couple of weeks before the journey that he suffers from terminal pancreas cancer, and that the final journey will be different, and end in pain.
I call it The sudden blow.
Your favorite aunt retires and wants to party more than ever, but gets depressed on the way about the hardships of the life that lies ahead, and ends her own life. (The sudden blow..)
Your dad retires, and he will travel, go to restaurants, sleep on sunny beaches, drink red wine, and enjoy every single minute of it, finally away from the constant stress a working life has endowed on his body and mind. And then he falls asleep on a beach towel, and never wakes up. (The sudden blow..)
It’s about a body that never stops working, it’s about a mind that never stops racing, it’s about a road that has been carefully paved over a period of more than 40 years which suddenly takes a drastic turn.
Isaac Newton knew that a body in motion wants to keep moving, and that’s exactly what happens to people who retire. The sudden blow.
It’s as if our minds and bodies have held on for so long, and then finally give up, and give in. The cancer that finally surfaces, the mind that implodes, the heart lacking oxygen — a human erodes.
So be careful if you retired only recently, and hear a strange knock on your door while you are reading this answer. Because it might be the sudden blow.
And it’s coming for you.
BRICS Currency Announced! Is it Gold Backed?
In this week’s video, we look at Russia’s announcement of an official BRICS currency. There has been speculation and rumors of this currency for some time, and one major theory is that it would be backed by a basket of commodities including gold. However, the Kremlin recently announced they have almost completed a digital currency based on blockchain technology. Backed by gold or not, if a new BRICS currency becomes internationally adopted for trade, the U.S. Dollar will lose value. If U.S. Dollar’s value decreases, we expect the price of gold to increase. While there is no official launch date yet, dismantling the dollar will take time and we don’t expect it to go down without a fight. In the meantime, we will keep an eye out for any official launch date and stay ready to keep viewers informed.
As a car mechanic, what is the craziest discovery you have found on an automobile?
I wasn’t the mechanic. I was the customer.
For many weeks, the hood of my car seemed to be getting heavier and heavier.
One day, as I was driving, I noticed an odd odor faintly resembling a shepherd’s pie cooking.
I pulled into my mechanic’s garage.
When he started lifting the hood, he, too, noticed that it was unusually heavy. With a manly thrust, he managed to lift it and place the prop underneath.
And that’s when the insulation fell away from the inside top of the hood.
What came pouring out was pounds and pounds of dry dog food nuggets, many of which rested on the engine and began a slow sizzle.
Mechanic: “Let me guess. You own a dog, and you park your car in the garage at night, right?
Me: Uh, right.
Mechanic: And you feed your dog dry food, yes?
Me: Uh, yes.
Mechanic: And you keep the food in the garage, right?
Me: Yes…
Mechanic: Then you also have squirrels.
Me: I do?
Mechanic: Yes. The squirrels are taking the nuggets and hiding them under the insulation blanket under the hood, for later. I’ll bet you’ve been thinking your dog has been eating more than usual, lately.
Me: Uh, yeah! Now that you mention it.
Mechanic: Case closed. You don’t need a mechanic; you need a couple of traps.
And he was right.
China and 20 nations unite to forge a Grand Canal from Xinjiang to the Mediterranean.
China and 20 other countries have embarked on an ambitious project to build a Grand Canal, aiming to form a direct route from China’s Xinjiang to the Mediterranean Sea via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor (TCTC). This collaborative effort announced in 2023 will dramatically shorten the transit time across Asia and Europe and benefit all participating nations. Placing China strategically closer to Europe, this new route bypasses the geographically and politically complex Malacca Strait, reducing reliance on longer routes. Leaning on Central Asia’s topographical advantage and existing rivers, plans to connect Xinjiang and the Mediterranean Sea with a canal seem plausible. By tackling the challenge of the Ural Mountains and linking the Tobol and Kama rivers, a canal from Central Asia to Europe could drastically cut travel distance. The project has the potential to reshape Eurasia’s geopolitical landscape and boost China’s global influence.
My father told me that it was life; my purpose as a young man.
And doing so, earning a dollar earned (by me) enabled me to earn the privileges of a “working man”; which was drinking beer at home and at the dinner table.
I started at 14, but really went full time at 16 years old.
At that time, I started to drive a car, drink and hang out. I had friends that I hung out with. Clyde (who also drove a GTO like I did)…
GTO
…and some friends like J Eck with his Ford pickup “beater”…
655eea887cd6ea8ab232dcf9690f389e
…as well as my brother with his crappy Vega…
RS Vega GT 4
I was a piece of shit car. Fucking aluminum engine…
…and the “Bracky Boys” and their Duster (a very popular muscle car)…
1970 plymouth duster coupe front
Those Bracky Boys were RICH. All the time I thought that they were just some hillbillies, but no. Their parents were loaded. They came from Mo-ney! Who’d figure.
…and a few others with Comaro’s and Pinto’s.
We used to drink Miller Pony bottles in a 8 pack after work. That and smoke. Both cigarettes and the dreaded reefer! If there was one thing that I would tell my younger-self, now that I am an older man… it’s stay away from drugs.
Good times.
Good times.
Cruising late at night on the country roads and stopping at keggers and strip mines. A simple life. But that was what it was like.
It was a social – cultural thing.
Ice and beer
Ah… And something else.
Miller pony bottles.
Rolling a joint in the “shotgun” seat, and listening to BTO, Boston, Led Zepplin, and Yes. (Oh, and let’s not forget Robin Trower, and Neil Young.)
1. No one’s coming to save you. Get up and be your hero.
2. Never force anyone to choose you. You’ll learn the art of spending time alone.
3. Master your emotions. A calm mind can handle any situation.
4. To avoid disappointment, you need to take people for who they are not for what you want them to be.
5. Everyone will show you who they are, give them time.
6. You’re at peace with yourself when you mind your own business.
7. Ensure you take good care of yourself, if anything happens to you, the world will move on.
8. Nobody cares, work hard to get better every day.
9. If you don’t work to build your dream, someone will hire you and give you a purpose.
10. Free yourself from society’s advice, most of them do not know what they’re doing.
11. Life doesn’t wait for you to be okay. Get up every day and keep pushing through.
12. You shouldn’t take advice from people who are not where you want to be in life.
13. Life is 100% better when no one knows anything about you.
14. You become 10x smarter when you quit the news and put politics out of your topics.
15. You need to be smart enough to create your opportunities, don’t wait for them to come to you.
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
This is, by far, my favorite homemade chicken noodle soup recipe because it’s simply the perfect mix of easy, wholesome, and satisfying. It’s creamy yet light, and benefits from the addition of potato, thyme, oregano, and convenient pre-cooked rotisserie chicken.
light creamy chicken noodle soup 1
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Light & Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Lightened up, yet still creamy and so satisfying
Can be made on the stove or in a slow cooker
1-pot meal
Using a cooked rotisserie chicken saves time
So much more delicious than store-bought soup
Make ahead of time and freeze
Good way to use up leftover chicken
Flavorful spices, herbs, and vegetables
Ultimate winter comfort food!
Best Ingredients to Use:
You need 1 big pot and a few staple ingredients. This is a forgiving recipe, so let’s review what can change if needed.
Butter: Just a Tablespoon, to soften the vegetables.
Vegetables: Onion, carrots, and celery form the mirepoix flavor base for this soup.
Herbs/Flavors: Use a blend of garlic, dried or fresh thyme and oregano, fresh ground pepper, and salt. Feel free to use other herbs you enjoy instead, if desired.
Flour or Cornstarch: Flour (or cornstarch) thickens the liquid, taking this soup from brothy to creamy. See recipe Note for that substitution.
Chicken Broth: Or stock.
Potato: 1 medium potato is the first magical ingredient in this recipe, because it cooks down and makes the soup SO creamy, hearty, and satisfying.
Chicken: This recipe saves time because you can use pre-cooked chicken. You could also use leftover cooked turkey, like we do in this turkey pot pie! I usually pick up a small rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, shred it, and add it right into the soup. Or you can boil/poach chicken breasts or roast them with a little garlic and thyme, let cool slightly (or refrigerate for a day or two), then shred or chop. If you have leftover chicken, you can also use it in recipes like my chicken quinoa salad or peanut chicken zucchini noodles.
Milk or Half-and-Half: This is the other magical ingredient that turns your homemade chicken noodle soup into the creamiest soup ever. Use 1 cup of whole milk or 1 cup of half-and-half. If you want to make regular (non-creamy) chicken noodle soup, replace the milk with more chicken broth.
Noodles: I prefer wide egg noodles in chicken soup, but you can use any type of dry pasta you like, or go noodle-less.
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper or garlic-pepper seasoning
1 1/2 cups dried egg noodles
creamy chicken noodle soup 4
Instructions
In a slow cooker gradually stir 5 cups water into the soup. Whisk until smooth.
Stir in chicken, vegetables and seasoned pepper.
Cover; cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
If using low heat setting, turn to HIGH.
Stir in noodles.
Cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes more or until noodles are just tender.
creamy chicken noodle soup 2
How Does the Soup Thicken Up?
Cooking down the onion, carrots, and celery is a key step in the recipe. After you cook them down, add flour and your herbs. The flour will absorb the liquid from the softening vegetables, and create a nice thick base for the soup. This is exactly how we start biscuit vegetable pot pie, too.
Whole milk or half-and-half also thicken up the soup. I’ve even made it with half the amount (1/2 cup or 120ml) heavy cream in a pinch. (Add more chicken broth if you use heavy cream; see recipe Note.)
Nice and thick, without being too heavy.
Can I Skip the Noodles or Use Rice Instead?
Yes. Feel free to skip the noodles entirely with no other changes to the recipe. Or you can use 1 cup of uncooked rice instead. Add it when you would add the noodles.
This Soup Satisfies. Period.
One bowl of this light & creamy chicken noodle soup will leave you feeling satisfied for hours, without feeling weighed down. This is the meal that keeps on giving because if you have a smaller family, there will be plenty of leftover soup to enjoy during the week.
Take shooting lessons
Do you think China steals American spacecraft designs?
THE CHOICE OF WORDS BY THE WEST IS ALWAYS – BIAS & PROPAGANDA.
Chinese CCTV cameras are being called surveillance cameras, but the Western CCTV cameras are called security cameras
Chinese landing on Mars is called conquer, US landing on Mars is called exploration.
Terrorist in China is called – freedom fighter, terrorist in the West, of course, is called – terrorist.
US government is called administration. Chinese government is called regime.
US/West invasion in Middle East is called liberation. Russian invasion … well, is called invasion.
The US invasion and organized coup on more than 25 countries since WWII is referred to as following “International rule-based order”.. China fought 4 borders wars and voluntarily withdrew to its borders (before the wars) since WW ll is referred to as “A threat to international rule based order”
The US government that can be bought with money is called “Democracy.” The Chinese government that cannot be bought with money is called “Dictatorship”.
Wars led by the US with the support of the West – killed and maimed millions all over the world is called the “Civilized West”. China which lifted 800 million from extreme poverty in the past 40 years (according to the UN and World Bank) is referred to as “Totalitarian.”.
JUST A SINGLE WORD DIFFERENCE – CAN BRAINWASH YOU.
What is the most jaw-dropping method for shoplifting that you have seen?
I had a friend in college at the University of Utah.
He was at the University of Utah because he’d gotten kicked out of BYU.
The reason he was kicked out was listed as “criminal mastermind”.
What actually happened was much more mundane, but, he was a criminal mastermind of sorts.
His roommate, and a friend of his roommate, were planning on a theft at the BYU bookstore. Realize that there was nearly absolutely no security in those days, and though cameras were a thing, you never saw them outside high end retailers, like jewelry stores, and certainly not in college or University bookstores.
His roommate, and the roommate’s friend, were plotting a burglary, and pretty much ignoring my friend, who was studying.
They eventually settled on grabbing as much high end camera equipment as they could (the most expensive thing in the store at the time, since it predated laptops, which tells you how long ago this was), and then running for the door.
Finally, my friend could stand their stupidity no longer, and pointed out that they would be caught, how they would be caught, and the fact that, since they were going to school there, if no one recognized them immediately, they would be eventually, as in, the next time they had to buy textbooks.
They sneered at my friend, and asked him, “If you’re so smart, what would you do?”.
And my friend told them.
The entire store had hanging ceilings- including in the dressing room.
These ceilings wouldn’t hold their weight, but they’d hold some weight.
And the store had a camping department, where there were a variety of display sleeping bags, hung from the bottom, against the wall.
And the store, as college bookstores tend to do, sold backpacks.
And with these things in mind, my friend laid out a plan, never really expecting that his roommate, and the roommate’s friend were idiot enough to follow through on it.
The next Tuesday, there was a burglary reported of the BYU bookstore. Authorities were mystified, because there were no signs of breaking and entering, all the locks were securely locked, and when searched, there was no one in the store.
His roommate, who’d been missing since late Monday, showed up Wednesday morning.
Having implemented the first part of the plan, of course.
He and his friend had hidden (standing) in the sleeping bags against the wall until the store closed, everyone left, and the store was locked up.
Then, they loaded up a bunch of identical blue backpacks with the stuff they wanted to steal, and hid them in the hanging ceiling above the men’s dressing rooms.
And then, they hid in the sleeping bags again, until the store reopened normally, then left with the after-lunch crowd.
And then, they implemented the second part of the plan.
Each day, for the next week…
They walked in with a blue backpack.
They tried on clothes and, occasionally, bought a T-Shirt or other item of clothing.
They walked out with a blue backpack.
They walked in with a blue backpack.
They walked out with a blue backpack.
How was the case cracked?
Guilt.
The friend of the roommate started hearing “God”.
“God” told him to confess.
That nothing bad would happen.
But that he needed to confess.
Two weeks after the last backpack exchange, he did so.
The police found backpacks full of crumpled newspaper in the hanging ceiling in the men’s dressing room, confirming the confession.
The thieves got kicked out of BYU; the one that came clean got 3 months plus probation; the one who didn’t, got six months plus probation.
My friend (the one not involved in the robbery) saw the whole thing as nothing more than an intellectual exercise and felt he could help solve their problem in a better way after hearing them planning the burglary badly (in front of him)- he got expelled.
They couldn’t charge him though because there was no intent, and it was pretty clear he didn’t expect the roommate, or the roommate’s friend to go through with it — and all the loot was stored in the friend’s dorm room — but they had to do something. You know: send a message.
And so… they expelled him.
For being a criminal mastermind.
He cracked the code
What’s the most impressive thing your parent(s) have done?
They lied to me for 54 years. Successfully.
at 21 I was complaining to my cousin that I loathed my father and was sick of his abuse. Her reply “what if I told you that he’s not your father?” for two years my parents told me that it’s a lie and to drop it.
dad dies in 2004. A few years later I get suspicious again because my siblings have diabetes (perfectly healthy and fit). I don’t. Dads parents and aiblings ll had it by 50. But I don’t act on it.
2010 youngest goes off to college and the hubs and I get a call from mom that she would like to share her home with us. I asked why, she said “because I need one of my kids on my side, the other 4 want me in a nursing home.” Her only health issue was Parkinson’s. She had it for 30 years but wasn’t disabled or senile until 2–3 years before her death in 2021 (Jan 2021)
One day in 2014 she is asking me to show her how to look up and old beau. I searched everywhere and couldn’t find him. He had a super rare name so I was surprised. I don’t think twice about it but it’s really important.
2018, my sibs and I are arguing over our heritage. Some think we are Scottish. Some Irish. We all order tests, take them the same day and ship them off. We all get our results the same day. We are in fact Scottish, or should I say THEY are. And right there were it says father is a name I recognize. Moms “old beau”. Wtf? So the man had his dna on ancestry dot com at 84, could he have known about me? I quickly email him. No answer but he has two sons. I quickly emailed one of them. He gets back to me. They had no idea and sadly my birth father had died 7 months prior. They say he would have welcomed me with open arms and would have loved me
So they successfully lied. I was suspicious because I was the only one he physically disciplined. First I was angry that mother allowed this man to lay hands on me. Knowing he wasn’t my father and most likely taken it out on me that mom lied to him.
The saddest part is they had at least 3 chances to tell me. Instead I found out myself 7 months too late. They cheated me out of a dad and a better life. I don’t grieve for them. Not like a Daughter would really. I loved them, I just can’t grieve with all this anger over being their dirty little secret and robbing me of knowing my biological dad. Friends say “oh but he was your father, he raised you and blah blah blah. No. He’s not my father. He mistreated me and abused me. So to hell with him.
Anyone that read this far, I thank you. Those that didn’t, I’m sorry I babbled on.
UPDATE – Yes I am in contact with and have a relationship with one of my half brothers. The other I was told to contact with extreme caution as he is “trouble” and lord knows I don’t need that. Maybe someday I’ll reach out. I don’t know. I don’t see my half brother as much as I’d like but we are 3 hours away from each other. We do exchange pleasantries and such on holidays.
"The West must be factoring our response into its projections all while plotting against us. They are trying to put themselves into our shoes, while sticking to their own mentality.
As for their mentality… Only recently, Mark Episkopos, a prominent American political scientist, chastised the West, including from a purely utilitarian and pragmatic standpoint.
Take sanctions, for example. Usually, they are designed to change the way their subject behaves. If you want them to be effective, you need to adjust these sanctions based on the response from those who endure them.
The West has been carelessly expanding its sanctions without giving any thought to the possible outcomes.
But the outcome was clear to begin with, even before the special military operation when the Crimean sanctions, as well as a host of other sanctions, were already in place.
The result was clear. We pulled together, and I do hope that we will become even more focused.
We have to go further, as Vladimir Putin said many times. We pulled together and decided not to depend on them in any sectors where they can restrain or hold back our development, and possibly in other sectors too.
Today, they pride themselves for getting rid of Russian gas.
First, supplies have been on the rise in many countries, including France.
Italy took pride in claiming that over the past three years the share of Russian gas in Italian imports declined from 90 percent all the way down to zero.
This is what German Chancellor Olaf Scholz boasted of when describing his efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on Russian energy imports, while promising to end the dependence on them completely down the road.
Many European have been making statements along the same lines, including the Netherlands, and almost all Western and some Eastern European countries.
But at what cost? How much did they have to spend and how have their spending on serving their people increased?
Nobody answered these questions. Still, people can see through these ramifications.
Mr Episkopos went on say that failing to anticipate the way Russia would respond to these developments was a huge mistake.
The West fails to understand that sanctions can be effective only if the subject is ready to change its behaviour for the sake of having these sanctions lifted.
The second point Mr Episkopos made was that if the country subjected to sanctions already said that it was not going to change its behaviour, keeping these sanctions in place would be pointless and careless.
This is the kind of policy our would-be colleagues have opted for."
Excerpt from remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with the radio stations Sputnik, Govorit Moskva, and Komsomolskaya Pravda, Moscow, April 19, 2024.
How to be a man
One of the unremarked things that has happened over the past ten years is the collapse of the so-called man-o-sphere. There may be people still working that land, but all the big names have moved on or disappeared. The pickup artist have all disappeared from the internet entirely. That whole scene just seems to have folded up and gone the way of the dinosaur without anyone noticing.
One reason is the demographic aged out of the material. A guy like Heartiste, for example, could do the pickup artist stuff when he was early middle-age, but once you hit fifty you become a skeevy weirdo, not a Don Juan. The same holds for the other subcultures in that space. Once you reach middle-age, it all starts to sound a bit weird and pointless, even to the people making money off it.
There is another aspect to it. That whole scene was a reaction to the feminization of the culture starting with second wave feminism. The next generation of males have no frame of reference in which to have a reaction. The typical Zoomer has been raised in the longhouse, to use the cool kid’s term. He has no way of knowing that all of this is both weird and unnatural.
That is the point of the show. The male role is not a slippery concept that changes from one generation to the next. It has been revolutionized and pulverized over the last few decades, but that is what makes this age anomalous. The male role in society is timeless, at least in the Western world. There are certain immutable characteristic to being a man that will reassert themselves in the coming years.
IT JUST DOESN’T WORK ANYMORE! Retirement and Jobs ARE FINISHED!
And then a large group of activists who had taken over a university surrendered to police, causing the newspaper publisher to declare: “That wiped out my best men.”
Meanwhile, Lai’s right-hand man, former US intelligence officer Mark Simon, gave the go-between a company he said was of a covert nature and could be used to liaise with foreign organizations and collect funds.
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ASTONISHING REVELATIONS
Extraordinary revelations came this week from the ongoing trial of newspaperman Jimmy Lai, 76, confirming US involvement, and the role of the publisher and his former US intelligence officer partner Mark Simon in backing the violent protests that roiled normally peaceful Hong Kong five years ago.
Testimony from a go-between named Wayland Chan Tsz-wah, 32, detailed the problems that arose during the period after a legal extradition amendment was withdrawn. Protesters continued to use it as an excuse for an increasingly violent insurgency, with terrorist-grade bomb factories discovered at several locations.
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G7 RECOMMENDATION
Background: In 2018, civil servants at Hong Kong’s Department of Justice continued their routine updating of the city’s British Common Law legislation. The city already had Asia’s highest-rated legal system, but to keep at the top, they followed a recommendation from a G7 financial law committee to upgrade the city’s extradition law.
In the British era, arrested individuals from Mainland China had been simply put in vans, driven to the border, and dropped off “over the line”.
The new extradition amendment gave people detained for specific serious crimes due legal protection. They could only be extradited after a lengthy process of hearings, typically taking 12 to 24 months.
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MISINFORMATION
However, by the first half of 2019, an extreme campaign of disinformation had totally misrepresented the amendment. The amendment was falsely painted as a new law “from Beijing” that enabled people (and even tourists) to be “snatched” from the city and “disappeared” in mainland China for political misdemeanours.
The misinformation led to hundreds of thousands of protesters (organizers claimed “millions”) hitting the streets in June calling for its withdrawal.
The amendment was withdrawn the same month, but anti-China groups continued the protests, turning it into a violent insurgency that caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage, shutting down the airport and wrecking scores of metro stations.
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STOP THE VIOLENCE
In July of 2019, US officials told newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai to tone down the violence, the court heard.
This was a problem for several reasons. First, he had repeatedly told his newspaper staff to report events in a way that deliberately removed the gap between Hong Kong’s peaceful protesters and the violent “localist” thugs that smashed up or burned restaurants owned by families from Mainland China. This was described by his staff in earlier court hearings.
Second, he had been financially backing the “old school” pro-American political individuals and groups in Hong Kong for years – often exactly the same anti-China politicians receiving cash or support from various US groups. But did not personally know the new generation of young “localist” leaders. He would need a go-between.
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THE GO-BETWEEN
In July, the publisher arranged to meet Wayland Chan Tsz-wah, a paralegal aged 32, who he believed to be a high ranking activist who could spread the new message to a cluster of violent groups known as “the valiants”.
The paralegal was invited to go to a designated restaurant and was asked to hand over his phone “for security reasons” before Jimmy Lai talked to him, the court was told.
When he had done so, the publisher told him that things would have to change. The United States now wanted “no police or civilian fatalities”. Furthermore, they had said that the violence “should stop at some point”.
Lai wanted this message taken to the violent groups, which were divided into multiple sub-groups with their own names, including JD Team, G20, Pink, Dragonslayer and others. (The code name for Jimmy Lai and Mark Simon was “Backer”.)
Wayland Chan met with the publisher several times, he said, always having to give up his phone before conversations started. On one occasion, they met in a car parked near Hong Kong’s Supreme Court, the court heard.
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US OPERATIONS
Between face-to-face meetings, the younger activist received Whatsapp messages from Jimmy Lai about US progress in the anti-China effort, he told the court.
Two American operations had been set up with Hong Kong in their names. One was a lobby group working to create the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act” and the other was a group called the “Hong Kong Democracy Council”.
They were working to get western countries to sanction Hong Kong, remove its privileges, and damage its main sources of income – finance and tourism — although the community had done literally nothing to deserve such a punishment.
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INITIALLY UNAWARE
Wayland Chan told the court that he had not been aware at first of the nature of the relationship between the anti-China publisher and US officials.
“Only when he told me at a later stage about the US Government’s internal considerations, did I realise Jimmy Lai was not simply rallying for international support, but he knew certain criteria [set by US officials] and was trying to meet them,” he said at the hearing in the West Kowloon court this week.
Chan contacted leading “valiant” individuals but struggled to get the message over to them, he said. In one case, his contact refused to believe that the message came from Jimmy Lai.
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MAN SET ON FIRE
The insurgency remained out of control, and the violence got worse. Bomb factories were set up, and weapons smuggled into the city. One group started making TATP, the explosive used in the London bombings of 7 July 2005.
In November of 2019, an old man tried to stop protesters smashing up a metro station in Ma On Shan, in a rural part of Hong Kong. The old man was doused in petrol as they tried to burn him alive.
Jimmy Lai was dismayed, and contacted Wayland Chan for another meeting, also calling representatives of the old-school pro-American political groups known as the pan-democrats.
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MAROONED
The newspaper publisher also faced another setback later the same month, when protesters marooned themselves at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which was situated on a single city block.
Police took no action, but simply waited at the entrances, playing a range of popular music. After about 12 days, the protesters, bored and hungry, gave themselves up, walking out with their hands up.
“That wiped out my best men,” Jimmy Lai told Chan, the court heard.
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CHAN’S REWARD
About two weeks later, Wayland Chan was invited to meet Mark Simon at the Hyatt Hotel in Shatin. As a reward to Chan, an overseas company with money in its bank account would be set up, he was told.
This idea ran into an immediate difficulty. Hong Kong had strong policies against money laundering, which meant that it was difficult to open a bank account in the city for a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
When Jimmy Lai was told this, the publisher decided to offer one of his unused companies to Chan as a reward, and asked an assistant named Evan Lau to handle the formalities, the court heard.
In early 2020, Chan attended a meeting where a company named Lacock Inc, owned by Jimmy Lai, was transferred to him. It had an HSBC account containing HK$80,000.
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FOREIGN ORGANIZATIONS
But then came another issue. Wayland Chan saw the company as his personal reward, and wanted to use it to develop his own business.
Mark Simon had other ideas, of an ideological nature. He felt it should be used to as a channel for overseas groups to continue to contribute to their anti-China campaign.
Mark Simon told Chan that the company was of covert nature and could be used to liaise with foreign organizations and collect funds, the court heard.
The trial continues.
Have you ever stolen something back after getting robbed?
The company I work for gave everyone a nice company coat for Christmas. I took a marker and marked the inside tag with my name so that I would know if it was mine (all the coats looked the same).
One day, before heading for home, I looked at the peg where my coat had been hanging, and it wasn’t there. I checked all the coats…mine was gone, as were my favorite sunglasses.
I told management, who expressed regret, but there were no coats left.
Two weeks passed…and I periodically did a check to see if any hanging were my coat.
After about two weeks, I came across it hanging on a peg on the opposite end of the room. I grabbed it and hid it at my work station.
One of the night crew workers came storming up to me demanding HER coat. I told her that I didn’t have it…I had mine. I then showed her the tag, which showed my name. I then asked her where my sunglasses were. She responded she didn’t know.
I told her she had 24 hours to come up with them or I was going to tell them who had stolen my coat.
This would have been a termination offense.
She handed them to me the next day, saying she found them in her husband’s truck.
She has since transferred, but when I see her, she avoids me like the plague.
Some views of Pago Pago
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What are your thoughts on Chinese automaker BYD’s $11,500 Seagull, an extremely cheap EV that is not available in the US due to high tariffs?
Freedom of trade? What a hypocrite! The U.S. burnt down nations just to install freedom but it ensures that it’s people buy from profiteers and keep prices high to give its people no choices! The U.S. citizens are the real loser! Are US citizens not aware that they are worst than Chinese citizens who can buy Tesla if they do wish! I fact out of the cars that Tesla made in 2023, 69.7% are sold in China! Can you Yanks not see the irony that China a supposedly unfree nation can buy Tesla and a nation screaming freedom like there is no tomorrow cannot buy BYD?
Let me school all of you on this! China U.S. a very smart and intelligent nation, by allowing Tesla to sell it ensures that those cars are made in China too! They got jobs and are learning all the while about western demands and western customers. So by the time BYD goes international it knows their taste, their likes and dislikes and they made a killing! Thanks to being open and free they are successful.
The U.S. is left as a pathetic slur grape nation without principle nor freedom!
A fun quote
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Have you ever been knocked unconscious in a car accident?
I have. For 20 minutes.
It was 2011, and I was meeting a couple for lunch for my birthday. He worked at Oakley, and lunch “came with“ a new pair of Oakley‘s as a gift. It should’ve been a great day.
I was in a convertible, traveling on highway 73 in Orange County, California. I exited and was waiting for the light to turn left onto a surface highway. The approaching cars stopped, the light turned green and I started to make a left turn. As soon as I passed the stopped cars and made it to the centerline, a speeding Chevy Suburban, three times the size of my car, came into view. My last conscious thought was “They’re not going to stop“. I swerved, and it was lights out.
She ran a red and T-boned me; smashed into my side, forward of the door, near the front wheel. She crushed the entire front like a tin can, my car spun and we collided twice. So I heard…
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Twenty minutes and lots of bystander activity went by. My next conscious moment was in the ambulance, looking up at a female emergency medical tech as we were heading to the trauma center. I was an EMT decades ago, and my first thought and words were “so this is what it looks like in the other direction“…
My head had hit the frame of the convertible top and it split my scalp, but fortunately didn’t crack my skull, though you could see it from the wound. My hand broke on the steering wheel, my ribs were cracked where they impacted the door. I was covered in blood and bruises. The airbags never went off.
Two guys jumped out of their cars and ran over. My window was a curtain of blood and of course I was out. They couldn’t open the door and thought I was dead. One called 911, and the other ran over to the woman’s car. It was totaled.
The impact of my head hitting the car was so forceful, my brain violently bounced off the inside of my skull. The brain stem flexed with such force it caused “micro-tears.” They sewed me up, patched me up, gave me X-rays and a CAT scan and I left the trauma center late that night with my wife instructed to ensure I woke up the next morning.
To give you an idea of how much it shook me up? I had been arranging a huge business dinner for two nights later. I still made phone calls to make sure the plans were set, and then the night of the event? I forgot to go… Par for the course with bad concussions, I had a slightly volatile temper for a couple of months. I forgot, seemingly everything randomly. I had minor bouts with depression which I’ve never had otherwise in my life.
The brain impact prevented me from remembering proper nouns for almost year and a half. I got to know my neurologist and the neuropsych testing people very well.
You can’t be unconscious for that long without taking a huge shot to the brain. And you can’t be unconscious for that long without having a long-term challenge. My ability to recall proper nouns is still pretty poor. That’s mostly it…
But it could’ve been much worse. Had she hit the driver’s door? It would’ve been the other kind of “lights out.”
What is the craziest purchase you’ve seen someone make on a work credit card?
This was a series of purchases, over a period of around six months. The company I was working for hired an employee who apparently had left her prior job under a cloud of felony charges. She hadn’t been convicted, so there was no record to find in a background check, plus the individual reversed a few numbers on her SSN when she applied. She managed to then hit a perfect storm of processes that allowed her to run up some significant charges on the company credit card. First, she was a remote employee with an also remote boss (this was well before COVID). She immediately requested a company credit card so she could fly to HQ for new hire orientation. A card was issued and FedExed to her. Her first charge was a cash advance (in those days, this was a holdover from days further in the past where it was unheard of for an employee to use the credit card — or their own money — for small purchases). During the ensuing investigation, we found that her subsequent purchases were for household bills, groceries, and utilities. Interestingly, she never submitted the expenses for the trip to HQ. Her manager never noticed that.
Fast forward six months or so and the employee went missing. Her manager woke up and discovered from media reporting that said employee had been convicted of some felony charges related to her prior employment and sent off to be a guest of the state for a few years. Alarm bells went off and an investigation began. As we unwound the credit card bill, we continued to see the various household purchases, utilities, cash advances, etc. Then we found that she had used the card to pay her lawyer as well as take some family members on a (modest) cruise. By the time we added things up, the company was out well in excess of $10,000. Arguably, not a ton of money for a large company, but something that caused immediate changes in expense policy and company credit cards. We found that she was able to exploit a fairly liberal payment window (established to accommodate time for employees to submit expenses, get them approved, and get them paid out to the credit card company). She further managed to (probably) use cash advances to make payments on the card to avoid showing up as delinquent. It appeared that she made some additional payments from other sources, but it wasn’t something we were in a position to confirm. The company didn’t have a good process for tracking personal charges, so there was no process to have the employee report and reimburse such expenses. There were also no categories of expenses that could not be charged to the card. There were quite a number of additional learnings, starting with why the background company didn’t flag a SSN mis-match.
The employee’s manager was fired (in addition to the initial failure to submit expenses, there had been some communications from the credit card company that charges were aging, which the manager had never looked into) and the lawyer was advised to pay the company back the fees charged against the credit card. Beyond that, I wasn’t privy to any other events outside of a flurry of expense and credit card policy changes.
Why is the US so desperate to compete with China when the world knows it cannot?
The ONLY people who realize that the United States is unable to compete with China is the Western “news” media, and the people that consume it.
The rest of the world, INCLUDING the American “leadership” and the Pentagon understand the futility of “Tonya Harding” competition strategies.
However, the United States is not a “healthy” nation. It is a nation in “free-fall”. There is no one at the helm, and those that are in control of various functional aspects of the government are stymied by a complex web network of counter-productive political polarization. Often led by those with self-interest at their core, and incapable of actual subjective reasoning. For everyone in the West are under the propagandized narratives that they themselves create.
Like (for instance) the “brick wall” of Tucker Carlson interviewing Putin.
…
But there is an “out”.
Cooperation NOT Competition.
China wants to see a better world, but in order for that reality to play out, some very toxic behaviors, and legacy dysfunctions must be excised (one way or the other) from the West. I am afraid that it will be a painful process.
The United States NEEDS friends, and help. China is willing to take on this role. But I am fearful that that will not materialize until a period of disharmony adjusts the objective reality of the West.
What makes you jealous?
Even though he passed away years ago, I still find myself feeling a bit envious. I’m talking about my granddad—my lifelong hero and mentor. He kept grinding every day until he hit 90. Getting up at 6:00 AM, he’d down his coffee and head off to work. Surprisingly fit for his age, not exactly a six-pack, but definitely in good shape.
I remember working on physically demanding tasks with him, and I’d be wiped out afterward. For him, it was a walk in a park. Once, we chopped wood for eight hours, and I passed out right after. But he? He moved on to his next job without missing a beat.
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What I envy most is how he never lost his ability to handle physical tasks. While others his age struggled just to stand, he could do everything as if he were still in his thirties. I never quite grasped how he managed it all. I really wish I could be like he was.
“Members of Congress are terrified of the intel agencies. I’m not guessing at that. They’ve told me that, including people who run the intel committee.”
What Tucker said next was even more revealing.
“I said to somebody, a very powerful person, the other day, in a conversation in my kitchen, an elected official — holds a really senior position… But I was like, ‘All these people are controlled. They’ve all got weird sex lives, and all these things they’re hiding, and they’re being blackmailed by the intel agencies.’ And he said, and I’m quoting, ‘I know.’ I was like, okay, so at this point, we’re just sort of admitting that’s real? Like, why do we allow that to continue?”
This is the Amerikkkan Deep State.
What are some examples of the “wussification” of the United States of America?
About six years ago or so when I was still in high school, we were playing soccer in gym class. After about five minutes in or so, the kid who was playing as my team’s forward (we’ll call him “Brock”) came up to me, who was playing goalie, and said he wanted to be the goalie now. I politely declined, because the game was only five minutes in, and that’s just not how soccer (or the real world) works.
After about 30 seconds of arguing back and forth over it, he presumed the second best option to be to grab me by the shirt and try to drag me out of the goalie box. Or in other words, physically assaulted me.
As a natural reaction and in accordance with what the law actually says, I laid into Brock with one good hit.
I then see the gym instructor approaching us to break up the scuffle that was occuring. When he gets to us, he sends us both to the principal’s office.
Brock’s punishmen was a week of out-of-school suspension. And I received the exact same punishment.
Why? Because according to my school’s policy on fighting, if you are even merely involved in a fight, it’s an automatic out-of-school suspension, so the principal technically doesn’t even get to use his own discretion regarding disciplining students regarding these types of matters.
I remember him even saying to me “Geraldo, coming from person to person, I would have done the exact same thing as you. However, as a school official, I unfortunately have no choice but to suspend you”.
What my school expects you to do if you are to find yourself in the situation I was in, is to passively submit and take your beating, and then once that is finished, you are to go to a teacher and tell on the person who attacked you. (Because it’s not like the person you just told on isn’t going to kick the shit out of you for rolling on them once you’re outside school property, right?)
Say you were to get jumped by five people at my school. Well that means that a total of six people will be getting suspended. That being the five dudes who assualted you, and yourself, for being assaulted.
If that’s not an example of institutionalized wussification, I don’t know what is.
Some of my AI generated pictures
Girls and alcohol with cats.
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What is the most badass thing your parent has ever done?
This happened when my dad was just out of high school. One of his longtime friends confirmed the details.
My dad and some friends were at a roller skating rink having fun and flirting with some girls. There was a black family skating there as well. Suddenly they hear this guy saying, “You n%#s, we don’t want your kind here.” He kept harassing them and it pissed my dad off. He went up to the jerk and told him to knock it off, that this family was more than welcome to be here, and he is the one who should leave.
The bully asked, “You n%# lover, are you going to make me?”
My dad told me he was terrified because this guy looked like someone who had been in a lot a fights. But the looks on that poor family’s faces was more than he could bear. So, he agreed to take it outside. While he was putting on his shoes an employee told him he should take off, that the guy he was facing was a known troublemaker and he had just gotten out of jail for assault. That didn’t help my dad’s nerves. Then as he was getting up the father of the black family told him not to bother, that they will just leave.
I don’t know how he mustered the courage to walk out that door, but he went to face him anyway. A crowd gathered around them as they faced each other. The bully said, “Now I am going to teach you a lesson you n#% lov…” He never had a chance to finish that sentence. My dad hit him squarely on his chin and the racist bully crumpled to the pavement. One punch and he was out.
Everyone cheered, the girls were all swooning over my dad, and the family thanked him for being the only one standing up for them. Yep, my dad was a true badass that day.
What is the best thing a teacher did for you that you still remember?
I was in 6th grade and 11 years old. I had started menstruating at 10 and didn’t have it all figured out quite yet. I was wearing a pale yellow skirt and jacket that my grandmother had sewn me and I really liked it. When school ended, I stood up to leave and the teacher snapped at me to come see her. I was pretty shocked. She never raised her voice to me. When I reached her she spun me around so my back was toward the wall. Then she whispered to me that the back of my skirt was stained and to just stay there with her until everyone left. When everyone left she told me to just keep waiting. She knew that my mother came and picked up my brother and I each day. Eventually, my brother came to see why I wasn’t coming out to the car. He was about 7. When he came into the classroom, first she yelled at him for not getting out of bed in the morning and making me late several days (I felt bad about this, but she wasn’t wrong) and then she told him to give her his jacket. She wrapped it around my waist and told us we could leave. I have never forgotten her kindness. Especially because several of the girls could be really mean to me. I’m pretty sure no one ever saw the stain.
Creamy Asparagus Soup
Creamy Asparagus Soup with Morel Mushrooms and Ramps 500
Ingredients
1 pound fresh asparagus
2 onions, finely minced
2 potatoes, peeled, diced small
2 ribs celery, diced small, with tops included
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 teaspoons granulated chicken or vegetable bouillon (or 8 cubes of bouillon)
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 sprig fresh tarragon, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced, or 2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups Half-and-Half
Sour cream
Chives, chopped
Instructions
Break off and discard the tough, thick end of each asparagus spear. Chop the spears into 1/4-inch slices and add to the slow cooker along with all remaining ingredients down to and including the white pepper.
Add water to within 1 inch of the top of the slow cooker.
Cover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 6 to 7 hours.
About two hours before serving, use a slotted spoon to remove most of the vegetables to a blender. Use a ladle to add some of the liquid from the slow cooker to the blender. Puree the mixture and add back in to the slow cooker.
Repeat once or twice more as necessary (you can leave some of the pieces in the slow cooker for effect.)
Add approximately 1 cup of the Half-and-Half to the slow cooker.
Add the cornstarch to the remaining Half-and-Half in the carton.
Close the carton well and shake vigorously.
Add the mixture to the slow cooker.
Continue to cook on HIGH for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives sprinkled over the sour cream.
For those who cannot imagine what it’s like to be vaxxed, and living with it once the evidence becomes available, l can answer you: it’s day-to-day grieving and cellular remorse.
Many of us were just living our daily lives without any idea of the World Economic Forum or the World Health Organisation. We trusted our doctors – l’d had mine for over 25 years, and we knew our government lied at election times, but we voted the best we could based on the B.S. presented to us.
We went about our lives innocently – working, raising kids and babysitting grandkids – and many of us had not one person in our circles to warn us of the dangers.
We didn’t even know that we had to do ‘research’. Unbelievable as that may seem, it’s absolutely true.
So off we went and had the shots. And now us ‘sheeples’ – as we are sometimes referred to – are dying in our millions, some suddenly, while some are destined for slow, malingering, pain-filled deaths.
But we are dying, and ironically, we are the evidence; the proof you will all use later.
Some of us argued with others who knew about the dangers, and words and actions hurt both sides. And that is the greatest weapon of the psy-op: it’s actually greater than the vax itself.
There is a level of toxic hatred and gloating online that condemns the vaxxed to silence in regards to seeking help. l see it in the forums, how they are abused by total strangers, so we stay silent and die alone, unforgiven for our naivety and fear.
But back to the point above – of what it is like to be vaxxed and to then become aware of how we’ve been done. It is hell. Living with the knowledge that I took three of them; that my wonderful, kind, hardworking husband took four; that our children and grandchildren had them;
it haunts me, it breaks my soul, it has destroyed me… simply because we were naive.
My husband and l were already injected when a cousin contacted me through Messenger after seeing a post about my rapid decline in health and asked me questions. l then spoke to my sons, but it was too late – they had been jabbed already.
It’s reading endless detox protocols and wondering IF they truly work or IF they too are part of the B.S., because how would we ever know when there is no long-term proof? It’s endless medical tests that come back ‘normal’, but you just know and feel the changes in your body.
It’s seeing the videos of the ‘calamari’ clots and reading about graphene microblades slicing up veins, and spikes adhering like velcro to tissues and organs.
It’s the breathlessness and palpitations on the slightest exertion that doctors can’t explain.
It’s the knowing that it was all for nothing, though we believed it was for the best of intentions.
It’s this tattoo on my arm of the vax batch numbers that l use to open conversations and share my adverse reactions with every doctor, specialist and pathologist, radiologist and ambulance paramedic l meet.
It’s knowing that any second, any second, could be IT… the last one l breathe before l die.
It’s grief – deep, empty, gut-wrenching grief for all my family and friends, all those l love and care for.
It’s loss – the loss of my future dreams and plans, the loss of my husband and family, it’s the pain felt by the name-calling and ongoing online abuse.
l may be a sheeple to some, and cop endless abuse online for speaking up with my truth, but that will not stop me.
Not every vaxxed person acted like an A-hole when approached by someone who cared enough to take the risk of warning them.
Yet we have ALL been tarred with that one brush. And it’s there that humanity debased itself even further. They did not have to do a thing except sit back and watch us fall apart.
Sounds Of The Department Store 1979
Music in this video is from various Bruton and music De Wolfe Records dating from 1972-1979 mixed in audacity and recorded onto a 1977-79 Maxell UD Type 1 Cassette Tape. The Video portion was created from various images of old department stores recorded onto real VHS tape for the retro effect.
One of the strangest “crazy” memories of my old dog PP was what he did when we would go for a walk.
Sure, like every dog, he would stop at every tree to take a leak. That was the normal. And quite expected. The damn dog wouldn’t ever pass up a good tree to pee on. The younger tree being preferred over an old one.
But the strangest thing was when we crossed a road.
Sure as shit, as soon as we were in the middle of the road; the exact middle… he would stop aggressively smell everything and take a dump right then and there, and the cars would come up and stop honking telling us to get out the way. Sheech!!
Apparently, the streets… the roads… all smelled like a sewer to that dog.
Makes you think.
Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I had an operation and was able to improve my ability to smell things better. Ugh. It might not be anything that I might want to experience!
I’ll tell you what!
Today…
What’s the best revenge you’ve gotten after being fired or let go from a job?
I was employee number 7 for a software as a service company. I put my blood sweat and tears into building their business. When things were small, I worked in the basement of my boss’s home. When things got bigger, I trained other employees (in QA, in support, in project management) in how our stuff worked. I’m not a water-walker, but I was generally well-thought of by those I trained.
Fast forward a couple of years: after training and building out my department including supervising and managing those I trained because there was no one else to do that, they hired a guy to manage the department I had been de facto managing for years. Fine. I simply refused to train him. I was always too busy. Not my finest hour, but my avenues for advancement in this company were now firmly entrenched.
My passive aggressive routine eventually lead to me being laid off. The founders were puss**s about it, and wouldn’t call the out what the real dynamic was. I didn’t care. I left.
When I got laid off, 2 other people (in a company with barely over 10 employees) I had trained quit immediately (without input from me) because of the message that my firing signified to other employees. Later, in my new job, I recruited away several employees from this company just because I knew they were great. My motivations were not necessarily revenge, I put good opportunities in front of good people I knew. I got them more money and better benefits because they deserved that. That this inconvenienced people I didn’t like was just delicious icing on the professional cake.
I didn’t set out to get revenge. I did the right thing all the way around in my pro experience with these jokers. They experienced it as vengeful because that’s the only idiom they had for people who were no longer friends to them. I hired people away from them as they didn’t care about their employees. What I did wasn’t vengeful or difficult. I provided objective evidence that you suck, and why those I took from you should objectively evaluate you that way. Cheers.
If you read this, you’re probably all “so?” I get it. This particular company had industry and application specific knowledge that one had to internalize to be effective. It generally took 6 months for people to find their feet. When I took several senior people, it was a purposeful shot across their bow.
In the past 6 months, apart from its citizens, soldiers, economy, reputation in the world, etc., what else has Israel lost? Will the sacrifices of more than 35,000 Palestinians be wasted, or will Netanyahu & company definitely have to pay for it?
In the 1990s or 1980s or 1970s – The People across the world trusted the United States
They trusted the US with their Gold, with their Dollars
They trusted the US Senators and Congressmen and the Western Media implicitly
Including me
If CNN said Saddam and his sons were raping women and killing kids – the world would believe it implicitly
If BBC said Gadaffi killed people who were rude to him, the world would believe it implicitly
Thus when the US said Israelis were the good guys, the world believed them back then
Today the World no longer trusts the US. The world is frightened of the United States
The US is the equivalent of an Insane Lunatic holding a button to 6 Keys of RDX and threatening to blow up everyone
Nobody trusts the US with their money or gold
Nobody trusts a US Senator or Congressman anymore
Even their own people
The World now knows the Israelis are insane religiously talmudic nut jobs who are demented enough to kill women and kids in their quest
Virtually a carbon copy of the same terrorists they condemn
Netanyahu is like a serial murderer with a knife in his hands and everyone is wary of him
Today’s world doesn’t trust the US. They aspire for the end of the US and Israel and the West without a world War and rise of a new world
Every passing day, people are less frightened of the US or Israel anymore
Apple Butter Muffins
applebuttermuffins10
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
3/4 cup apple butter
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup skim milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (the first 7 ingredients) and make a well in the center.
In smaller bowl, combine wet ingredients (the next 6 ingredients).
Pour wet mixture into the “well” of the dry ingredients and stir just to combine (10 to 15 strokes). Fold in raisins with as few strokes as possible.
Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups (if you don’t use muffin liners, spray the pan with cooking spray).
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean.
Remove muffin tin to cooling rack and cool for 5 minutes before removing muffins from tin. (Do NOT let muffins cool completely in the tin.)
Printing money
What are some interesting facts about the handover of Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997?
The official handover ceremony was held at 11:30PM at the Convention Centre in Wanchai. At the time of the ceremony, the Convention Centre had not yet been completed. (It was completed in 2000.)
Officially, Beijing never recognized British control of HK, although it recognized all treaties which were made. So, for the British, the challenge was “How do you arrange protocol when the Chinese refuse to recognize the handover?” The official Chinese term for the handover was 中國政府對香港地區恢復行使權 The translation of this is “The Chinese government recovers sovereignty over Hong Kong and its regions” Notice that there is no mention of any handover in the Chinese or mention of British sovereignty over Hong Kong.
Because there was no recognition of British sovereignty over Hong Kong, the Chinese and British officials did not talk to each other, shake hands or acknowledge each other after the ceremony began.
The ceremony had to follow a strict schedule: the British Union Jack HAD TO come down before 12 midnight on June 30, and the PRC and HKSAR flags had to run up immediately after 12 midnight on July 1.
Because the ceremony was indoors, there was no wind to make the flags wave. So the Chinese punched holes in the back of the flag poles, and put powerful fans at the base to blow air up through the flag poles and out through vents so that the flags would wave.
After Prince Charles and Governor Patten spoke, Governor Patten and his family immediately took the Union Jack and boarded the Queen’s yacht HMS Britannia, which was right outside the Convention Centre. The Chinese president and government officials then proceeded with the second Chinese half of the ceremony. The Chinese officials did not acknowledge the British officials departure from Convention Centre, and the ceremony continued without interruption.
By the time the Chinese half of the ceremony ended, the HMS Britannia had already left dockside.
At exactly 12 midnight, just as the Chinese flag was rising in the Convention Centre ceremony, 12 Chinese military trucks full of Chinese military personnel drove across the Hong Kong border without stopping at Chinese and HK customs. These were the first Chinese military personnel to be stationed in what was formerly the Prince of Wales Building in Central, and would become the garrison for the PLA in Hong Kong.
All the troops on the trucks were chosen from their units two years previously in 1995, and since then had practiced for this moment. All were EXACTLY 190 centimeters tall. All were ordered to stand at attention while the trucks drove at 60MPH to their destination without stopping. They were ordered to keep their eyes looking straight ahead even if HK residents waved at them as their trucks drove through HK.
Although the PLA soldiers carried guns, they were all unloaded.
The next day’s papers in China all had the same photo of the Chinese flag waving in the Convention Centre ceremony. No photos of the British flag waving, taken before 12PM midnight, were shown in any Chinese papers.
By July 1, China had recovered sovereignty over Hong Kong after 157 years of British administration. Not a single life was lost in the process.
The US has no more technologies to put sanctions against China. As for the Chinese-made products such as the world most advances Huawei 5G, smartphones, solar energy panels, China made EVs, shipbuildings etc are 100% Chinese technologies. Why?
I’d like to give a short and oblique answer.
In one word, margin.
In one sentence: the curse of quarterly earnings.
The whole problem with American manufacturing is margin, because of skyrocketing cost and paradoxically, expectation.
Look at the magnificent 7. They are all, to a fault, either internet or chip giants with sky-high IP- or service monopoly-enabled margins and valuations.
Unfortunately, the backbone of the economy isn’t high-tech, or high margin. The only way they could survive was to lower cost, and find new revenue streams.
They solved the first problem by relocating out of America, and the second partly by selling to the rest of the world. This was why globalization became such a buzzword, because rich Western media trumpeted the model.
For a few decades, everyone benefited, until the rise of the internet boom threw balance sheet expectations out of whack. Investors not only demanded dividends, but also capital appreciation, and the stock buyback became mandatory in the 21st century. Intel for example spent in excess of 100b on stock buyback this century, and it hasn’t had a leading edge node chip for almost a decade.
Unions and collective bargaining wrecked havoc on company finances and HR turnover. Just ask GM, which is still paying down pension commitments dating pre-GFC. Elon is adamant about a no-union Tesla, and has taken aggression action against unionization. Otherwise, it would have faced immense blowback in its recent retrenchment exercise.
Meanwhile, CEO compensation have been shooting for the moon, and THE KPI to meet is the company’s stock price. The easiest way is to sell sexy growth stories for the public to stomach inflated earning multiples. In a world where the global competition is rapidly catching up and with few greenfield markets left to exploit, margin expansion requires cost-cutting. Which explains Boeing’s woes today, letting go of senior engineers, and allowing standards to slip, while contracting away key components that Boeing used to make inhouse.
One final example. The loyalty program of Delta Airlines is worth more than its market value. In other words, the equity value of physical airline operation (planes, brand, landing slots) is negative. Understand how loyalty miles turn a profit for airlines and you’ll have the answer to the question posed.
It’s over-financialization, and the stock market, silly.
Its all about ME ME ME
What did you do that was unusually honest, and turned out well?
One sunny day I was leaving Wal-Mart, and I spotted an envelope which appeared to be a bank envelope. As I got closer to it, I could tell that there was something in it, and there wasn’t anyone around. Finally, I got to a point where I could grab it, and I continued to my car parked nearby.
I got in, closed my door, and proceeded to inspect the envelope. To my surprise, there was cash. Not just a little bit of money, but some good money. There were some hundreds and some fifties. My heart skipped a beat, and I was overjoyed by my good fortune. I sat there for a minute in disbelief. I waited around for someone to come looking for it, but to my surprise, no one was around, and it was just me and the envelope.
Next, I took the cash out the envelope to give it a good count and go and treat myself and pay on some bills. I flipped through hundred after hundred to find $820 worth of cold hard cash, but there was something else in the envelope… A receipt. A receipt from Chase bank. The funny thing is the balance was there, and it was enough that this guy was not even going to miss it.
Without even thinking, no debate, I simply decided. I went straight to Chase bank and handed the teller the receipt. She proceeded to track the transaction, and minutes later, I was being thanked on the phone by a grateful gentleman.
I drove to a nearby Citgo gas station and handed him back his envelope with all the cash. The guy appeared to be in disbelief. He told me he had written it off as a loss and got screamed at by his spouse. He handed me a $50 bill, we exchanged business cards, and he thanked me again, and again and we went about life.
Since then, my fortune has not changed much. Yes, I could have really used the money, but I continue to work in my business serving clients. When I share this with my friends and my family, I simply state that it was not my money. I did what anyone should do given the opportunity.
NEVER install these programs on your PC… EVER!
What are some mind-blowing facts that sound unreal but are actually true?
1. Dogs can smell cancer.
Researchers have found that dogs are able to pick up on a specific scent that cancer produces in a person – which is undetectable to humans. So if your dog is acting strange around you, you may need to get checked out by a physician.
2. The shortest commercial flight in the world lasts just 57 seconds.
The Loganair flight between the two Scottish islands of Westray and Papa Westray lasts just 57 seconds. At a distance of 2.7 miles, it’s the shortest commercial flight in the world.
3. Humans are the only animals that enjoy spicy foods.
There does not seem to be any health benefits to eating painful peppers, so the best reason some have suggested is the thrill factor – no different than the fact that we are the only creatures that like rollercoasters and scary movies.
4. Stars and celebrities use online platforms to find a lover too
Real Housewives star Rachel Lugo met her new boyfriend on this site. And now they seem to be engaged. Ben Afflect was using Raya to find dates..etc.
5. Cotton candy was invented by a dentist.
Cotton candy isn’t exactly great for your teeth. But actually the machine that makes this sweet treat was invented by a dentist named William Morrison, despite he looked after peoples’ teeth for a living.
6. On eBay, a man tried to sell New Zealand.
People try to sell some unique and weird things online since e-commerce became popular. But in 2006, one man kicked the eccentric nature of the digital marketplace up a notch by trying to sell an entire country—New Zealand, to be exact—on eBay. And New Zealand is sold.
7. Tins of air were sold to commemorate the abdication of a Japanese emperor.
When Japan’s Emperor Akihito abdicated the throne in 2019 to let his son, take over, it was the first time that an abdication had taken place in Japan in 200 years. People who were selling tins of air for about $10 USD, to commemorate the hand over in rule and the end of the Heisei era.
8. A man once ate an entire airplane.
In 1978, a French man named Michel Lotito started eating a Cessna 150 airplane. Lotito developed an unique tolerance for eating dangerous objects due to a condition known as pica, which leads to an appetite for non-nutritive items. In 1980, he finished consuming the last of the airplane.
Where are they?
What is the oddest conversation you’ve had with a telephone scammer?
My granddaughter called and told me she had been arrested. I asked which granddaughter was this, because I didn’t recognize her voice. “Oh Grandma! You know who this is! It’s me!” “Ummm…no, sorry. I really can’t figure out which one of my grandchildren you are. I’m sorry, honey, just tell me who you are and I’ll help you as best I can.” “Oh Grandma! (Sounding hurt and sad). I really can’t believe you don’t recognize my voice!” “I’m sorry baby girl, I don’t have my hearing aid in, so your voice is so soft, I can hardly hear you.Tell me your name and it’ll be okay.” Softly and with a lot of sighing, she says a name. “Gee…sorry sweetheart, I KNOW you aren’t one of my grandchildren.” “GRANDMA! How could you say that!?! It’s ME!” “How do I know you aren’t one my grandchildren? Simple – I DONT HAVE ANY, YOU IDIOT!” Stop being a scammer and go get a decent job. Shame on you!”
What is the saddest thing you have seen a parent do to their child?
It makes me shudder to share this. I was an elementary school bus driver and I have to say I ran a pretty tight ship. I had a fairly new student on the bus, about 10 yrs old, and he kept misbehaving in a way that really jeopardized his safety, like jumping in the aisles, standing up in the seats and such. I finally wrote him up, which meant a phone call home. Well he lived in a low income apartment building and there resided some seedy characters as well. Apparently his father figure, step father, was one of them. The next morning as I pulled in to pick him up, this bully of a man, the step father, cigarette in mouth, no shirt, mullet…was screaming through his ciggy while dragging this child in a choke hold! The child was trying to break free as the man was obviously tightening his grip. The kids on the bus were horrified! He led the child to the door and threw him into the stairwell, leaving the boy gasping and coughing for air. The man took his cigarette out and said, “IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE PROBLEMS WITH HIM, YOU LET ME KNOW SO I CAN BEAT HIS ASS!” I slammed the Bus door and got the Hell out of there. I pulled over at the first opportunity to check on the boy. He was beat down emotionally as low as can be and so humiliated, I could feel it for him. I got him to the school and into the counselor then went straight up to the principal’s office. I slammed the door and bawled my head off. I reported the abuser and confessed the lesson I learned…sometimes there’s a reason a kiddo acts up. I should have had my eyes and ears open to what those symptoms were about. But he taught me. That little boy taught me compassion, and my bus got a little bit dirtier and louder after that incident without regret or remorse. I’ll never forget that boy who grabbed me by the heartstrings and taught me a lesson.
I don’t need a man
How does an average person detect propaganda in the modern news feeds we are all bombarded with?
Use your brain and ask questions. I’ll give you some examples.
This story:
main qimg 910d281792fdee67fe953b3e7f7769c1
Kanthaswamy Balasubramaniam made a very good point. 40 babies? How did they find 40 babies? If I go to the local maternity ward in HK with the almost zero birth rate here I can’t find 40 babies. In the UK which had a fertility rate of 2.7 especially with Eastern Europeans and Bangladeshi women, I’d struggle to find 40 babies. And I knew a Somali woman with a clowncar vagina she had 6 kids.
He asked a question, and like that the propaganda fell to bits.
Second example
OMG look at this a huge protest in Myanmar!
main qimg 6b99e7fee44ee77d96d17ee66ab402ea
If you ask questions, something seems not right. Lets think about it shall we?
Why are the signs in English, they speak Burmese there.
Why are the signs all the same, that speaks of somebody paying for a print shop and at an average salary of $500USD a month, full lots of large full colour printouts aren’t cheap. I had to organise last year’s clan feast and full colour posters cost a fair chunk of change.
Example 3
Read carefully.
Strip out any adjectives.
Man murdered.
Man brutally murdered.
Look at the voice that is being used:
Children died.
Soldiers kill children.
What have you discovered when you cleaned out a vehicle you have just purchased?
Not me, but a younger friend who was a victim of abuse, and a struggling single mom of two.
She received a tax refund, and went looking for a decent used car. She found someone selling one, and the car was really dirty and trashed, as it had come from an estate auction type of situation. The seller refused to clean it up or reduce the price, which was a bit much, and it also badly needed a brake job, which they did not disclose.
So, my friend went to get the car, was really disappointed that it needed money invested in it, because she had no more left.
As she was driving away, she took a moment to look in the console storage area, and found like $800 in cash, likely left there by the elderly, deceased, previous owner. If the seller had bothered to check the car and clean it, it would not have been there. His laziness was her deliverance. It was enough to fix up and register the car, plus start insurance payments.
Cold War 2: US officials call to overthrow China’s gov’t, expand military budget to $1.4 trillion
Delusional Americans. Jeeze!
What’s the hardest prison habit to break after being released?
11 years served.
For me it was how I reacted to disrespect. In prison if you are disrespected, it can be an instant fight. Certain words ARE an instant fight. Some of these words are used normally on the street, and it’s no big deal. My sister called me a punk not long after I got out, and I almost punched her. Punk has a completely different meaning in prison, and it’s very bad. It’s also an immediate fight if someone calls you a punk in prison. There’s no questions asked, no further argument. You immediately start swinging. The day after I got out, someone cut in front of me in line at the store, and I talked nasty to them. I didn’t even realize how inappropriate it was for me to talk to them like that, until 20 minutes later.
Second hardest was wearing my shower shoes (flip flops or sandals) when I would get in the shower. Let’s just say, prison shower floors are NASTY, and you do NOT take a shower barefoot.
Edit:To all those people who haven’t been in prison. I don’t want to hear any smartass remarks about reactions to disrespect being stupid, or signs of low intelligence. Prison makes you that way, because that’s how you survive. If you want to keep your property, booty hole, and life, you WILL be that way in prison. Simple as that. People who serve a lot of time, get those behaviors ingrained into them. It’s called PTSD. Google it. And just so y’all know what punk means, in Kentucky prisons, it’s someone who is so scared, that they do sexual favors for someone else, hoping that person will protect them. “I’m scared, I think I will let this guy pound my ass, so he will protect me” That’s a punk.
What is the most savage revenge you’ve seen a renter get on a sleazy landlord?
I once rented an apartment from the daughter of a good friend of my father. Rent was month-to-month while my new house was under construction. The apartment was run-down, but liveable for a couple of months. There was the usual first and last month rent and damage deposit. No lease.
When we moved out a couple of months later, we gave thirty days notice and requested return of the damage deposit, but the husband of the landlord notified me that the damage deposit would not be returned and that we had broken the imaginary lease. He listed several things to justify his actions. We lived there for a couple of months, but he listed things like worn carpet, etc. which were totally bogus. He refused to let me talk to his wife who was the actual landlord, saying he was in charge of the situation. I considered taking him to small claims court, but remembered who his mother-in-law was.
I called her and explained the situation. Her son in law was at my door the next morning with an apology and a check for my deposit. What a sleazebag.
What are some mind-blowing facts about men?
1. Men can go for hours without thinking about anything.
2. Most men own three pairs of shoes.
3. 50% of men say they would feel comfortable if their girlfriend had a lesbian lover.
4. A man speaks about 2,000 words a day; a woman, about 7,000.
5. It’s easier for a man to buy a bathing suit.
6. Women have two types: depressing and more depressing.
7. Men have two types: sexy-cool and horrific-speedo.
8. Love can help men quit smoking. If a man suddenly quits smoking, he may very well be falling in love.
9. Men are 150% more likely than women to use dating sites.
10. Physical intimacy is even more important for men than for women, who may value verbal communication or emotional intimacy more.
11. On average, men are more colorblind, but their eyes also perceive motion better.
12. Most men would rather take a bullet than buy tampons at the supermarket.
She seems like a nice lady
What is the most disrespectful thing someone did to you while you were on an airplane?
It actually happened before we got on the plane. I was travelling alone from Toronto Canada to London Uk. I had loads of bags with me. I’d checked in my big suitcase but I also had my small suitcase, a backpack and a hold-all with me. My hold-all has my laptop and other electrical in it and I was terrified of it getting damaged. I got to the departure lounge early so I sat close to the door but also away from people. I picked an area that wasn’t crowded and saw one gentleman sitting there. He was sat the the middle of the row of seats, so I wanted to give him space. To his right there were three empty seats and to his left there were four. I went to the left and sat on the last seat, putting my electrical bag on the seat next to me and trying to keep all my bags in a little area around me. Normally I wouldn’t have put it on the seat but there were a lot of kids running around and I was worried my laptop would get kicked.
A man came over to where I was sitting and asked if anyone was sitting in the seat next to me/ my bag. It wasn’t clear which. There were a lot of other seats available with no one sitting next to them. I said no.
He sat down in the seat right next to my bag. His husband/ boyfriend joined him a few minutes later. They both look super grumpy.
The first guy turns to me and says ‘I thought you said someone was sitting there’
I said, ‘no, I told you no when you asked me’
’then why can’t you be less fucking dumb and move your bag so I can sit there?’
‘Why? You could have sat anywhere else and I wanted to give the gentleman over there space and myself space’
basically he wanted to sit in that seat. It wouldn’t mean not sitting next to anyone in any configuration of where he sat on the bench but he wanted that seat because reasons? There were loads of seats available where he and his partner could have sat with no one on either side of them. He basically started anmassive tirade at me saying I saw stupid and a complete uneducated idiot who didn’t know anything in public. People looked at me and I have really bad anxiety so I almost had a panic attack.
I don’t remember exactly what I said at that point because my fight or flight anxiety mode started going off and I got super dizzy. I do recall saying something like ‘yes, clearly I’m stupid and my science degree confirms it’. And then telling him to fuck off when he wouldn’t stop bothering me.
I wanted to leave but I didn’t want to give in now as he’d been rude to me for no reason. I wasn’t hurting him and he’d just started having a go at me over nothing. If he’d wanted me to move my bag he could have asked politely but I was tired from travelling from my university in Peterborough to Toronto after a day of classes.
I got onto the plane and sat down.
Like ten minutes later the people behind me sit down and it’s the dude and his partner. They immediately start bitching about me and calling me a dumb whore etc. I started crying and called my mum to tell her what had happened.
May I also point out at this point that I was a 20 year old lone student and these men were in their thirties. I just wanted a calm journey home.
I ended up talking to an air stewardess and telling her what had happened. I asked to move seats because I was so upset. She told me once we took off I could sit wherever I liked in the area of the plane and she would keep an eye on them. I ended up able to sit in a row where a lady and I were the only people in a four seater. We sat on the furthest points on their side, both napped, and she told me she’d be my travel mum and if they were mean again she’d tell them off.
Yes I didn’t need my bag on the seat but I’m always prepared to move my stuff if someone needs space. I have osteoarthritis so I often can’t hold heavy things on my lap and my legs were in a lot of pain already so I tend to put bags next to me instead. I also get paranoid of being robbed if I don’t have everything closer but to the side. I just feel safer when I can block my items in with my suitcase and I can hold onto the suitcase at the same time. I just don’t feel the men handled it fairly in response to what was happening.
NB: 1. The carrier I was flying on does not have the two bag limit. You are also allowed a laptop bag. My laptop didn’t fit a standard size so it went into a sportdirect hold-all that wasn’t too big and was cleared by the crew. My backpack was small and just had my passport, money etc valuables you wouldn’t put in the checked bagged. I wasn’t being abnoxious with the amount of stuff I had, it was well within my limit and I kept it as much out of everyone’s way as possible.
Also clearly someone couldn’t read as I wasn’t worried my laptop would be stolen while in the air, but at the departure gate.
Furthermore, I am apparently not allowed to call my mother if I’m upset and should stay at home. I want to clarify that I was studying abroad as part of my degree. I was returning home to the UK. I don’t think it is a bad thing to be able to share things with your mum if you’re upset and unsure what to do in a situation. It was only my second time flying alone and I have severe anxiety. I was like 19 at the time and hadn’t ever lived in another country, but clearly there are some assholes on Quora.
Some AI generated pictures
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What happens to old people who don’t save up for their retirement?
My mother in law turns 93 this year. She lives in Saskatchewan Canada. She had absolutely no savings when she retired, she had been a single mother supporting her kids and grandkids, and had nothing left over.
So each month she receives $784 in Old age security and $1065.74 in guaranteed income supplement. She lives in a one bedroom apartment, the same one she moved into 30 years ago. It has all the amenities you expect in an apartment. Her family have updated her furniture and TV etc over the years. It has a recreational area on the main floor. The Regina housing authority takes 30 percent of her gross income each month as rent and utilities, or $554 as rent. Leaving her with roughly $1300 a month, minus taxes. Taxes aren’t much, less than $75 a month. So she has about $1200 a month to spend for groceries, clothes and entertainment.
She always has extra money to give a little here and there to family, including a large lump sum she saved up for 20 years, for each of her great grandkids weddings.
I don’t know that I would be as lucky today, to find a nice centrally located apartment, but it’s possible, at least in Regina Saskatchewan. Fortunately I have a nest egg.
She has managed to prepay her funeral and burial costs.
She spends a lot of time with her grandkids and great grandchildren. Her grand daughter provides her frozen home cooked meals. She goes for coffee with friends, but unfortunately she has lost a lot of friends to old age.
What men want
What have you seen that made you think, “Wait they can actually do that?”?
I know more about alcohol than the average bear.
While working on my ChemE degree at Michigan State I took coursework towards a specialization in Beverage Science and Technology. Over the years I have brewed beer, made wine and cider, and distilled whiskey, rum, gin, vodka, and brandy (legally, of course…)
Hell, I even tried my hand at drowning in it. 0/10, not recommended.
I don’t drink like I used to and I sold off all of my alcohol making equipment years ago, but I am still fascinated with the history, culture, and science of booze.
It suffices to say that I am not often surprised by anything to do with alcohol. I mean, sure, we’ve come a long way in some of the finer details of production, but in general alcoholic beverages are made in much the same way as they have been for hundreds of years.
In general, vodka production is about as tough on the environment as vodka itself is on your liver. Most vodka is made from grain or potatoes which must first be mashed (requiring heat/energy) to convert basic starches into fermentable sugars, it is then fermented (releasing carbon dioxide), and distilled to a high degree of purity (lots more energy), before being filtered and watered down to drinking strength.
Being that traditional vodka production necessarily evolves CO2, it’s pretty much impossible to make a carbon-negative vodka. That it has been achieved at all is pretty surprising. How they pulled it off is beyond surprising, it’s mind-blowing:
They make it out of air.
Yes, air. Specifically, carbon dioxide. The Air Company, out of Brooklyn, NY, has figured out how to make ethanol using nothing more than air, water, and solar energy. No mashing, no fermentation; just air, water, and sun.
Each bottle is made from the carbon dioxide equivalent of the daily uptake of eight trees.
I would have never guessed that this would be possible. The solution to global warming has finally arrived: We all just need to drink more vodka.
The earth will thank you, unfortunately your liver probably won’t.
Cheers!
Edit: You know how you write an answer and it languishes at under 100 views for weeks until you all but forget about it but then it gets shared to Gold Medal Answers and suddenly you wake up to a bazillion comments and you can’t possibly answer them all? My apologies to those who I can’t address directly, but I’d like to clear up a few questions here:
No, I am not affiliated in any way with the Air Co. and this answer is not meant to be an endorsement. I have not even tried the vodka and can’t say anything to whether or not it is even good. I think that the concept and chemistry are amazing, though.
There have been some comments about what it actually tastes like. Again, I haven’t tried it but it’s a valid question. While vodka is theoretically nothing but water and ethanol, it certainly is more than that in practice. Distillation is not a perfect separation, most fans of vodka can taste flavors from the source material. I am a fan of neutral vodkas, but none are completely neutral. This one might be…or maybe not. There might be some side products that can be tasted. I’d love to find out for myself if anyone can get their hands on a bottle (*wink wink*).
“Carbon Negative” is not the same as “Violates the laws of thermodynamics”…
For anyone interested in the chemistry, my guess is that the process is a commercialized version of this: Scientists Accidentally Turned CO2 Into Ethanol, but I don’t know for sure. If any chemists out there know better, let me know (I am not a chemist, just a lowly chemical engineer…)!
Cajun Catfish with Honey Dijon Bacon Potato Salad
Fried catfish paired with a delicious Honey Dijon Bacon Potato Salad…yummy!
cajun catfish honey dijon
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Honey Dijon Bacon Potato Salad
5 cups baby Yukon gold potatoes, cooked and quartered
1 medium red onion, diced
1 1/2 cups celery, diced
1 cup bacon, cooked, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Creole mustard
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce to taste
Cajun Catfish
4 U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Fillets
1/2 cup fish breading
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1 1/2 to 2 cups frying oil
Instructions
Potato Salad
Combine all ingredients and mix well.
Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Cover and refrigerate.
Cajun Catfish
Combine fish breading and Creole seasoning in shallow bowl. Coat catfish in breading, lightly shaking off any excess.
In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat. Fry catfish until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes per side.
Place on paper towel to drain.
Serve immediately with Honey Dijon Bacon Potato Salad.
Rent is too high
What has a car salesperson said to you that resulted in you immediately leaving?
“Please don’t touch this car”. A salesman told me once. I worked at a car dealership in Florida and I wanted to buy a car. A nice little Volkswagen with teeth. The sales manager told me that if I ever needed a car to come to him and he’ll handle it. So I did and he told me to work with this one gentleman and that when I found the car I wanted, to let him know and he’ll speed it on through. So I went on my lunch break with the salesman he recommended and when I got to the car I wanted, a brand new 2004 VW R32 (at the time). So I found the one I liked, silver and I said that I wanted this one and proceeded to open the door (I had been eyeing them whenever they came through the shop on pre-delivery inspection).
“Please don’t touch this car.” I said, “what?” “Please don’t touch this car unless you intend to buy it”.
I didn’t fuss, I walked away and got into my car and drove across town to another VW dealer and bought the car there. All the Volkswagen guys in that area more or less knew each other from meeting at VW training school or from the racetrack plus I used to work with some of them.
I said don’t prep it, don’t clean it just take the sticker down and let me take it the way it is. Don’t even gas it up. Maybe I spent 20 minutes there, I had my own financing so it wasn’t a hassle. Their sales manager was blown away when I told him what happened to me not half hour earlier. I drove back to work and parked it in the employee parking lot. Went into the break room to eat a sandwich. That rude salesman from earlier walked in and tried to offer me a deal. I said “I already got the car.” He said, “really, from who?” I said, “from XYZ Volkswagen”. He looked at me weird. I dropped the keys onto the table with the id tag still on it. “Wanna see the receipt?” He walked away.
The sales manager comes and asks what happened and why didn’t I come to him first. I had nothing against the sales manager at the dealership I worked for but I told him “every single time I’ve tried to buy a car from any dealership I’ve ever worked for I’ve gotten a hassle from the sales department, every single time – cash deal or otherwise. I agree to the price, I buy the warranties and extras, why isn’t my money good enough?” He was speechless.
Come to find in the next week the owner of the dealership was highly upset I bought a car from another VW dealer. I told him the story, all he could do was apologise. Did you know that the following month the owner threatened (off record) to fire anyone who bought a car from another dealer? Talk about punishing the victims of his hostile sales department. Since that day, whenever I go to a dealer to buy a car, I go to the weakest salesperson and give them their fastest sale ever. The big shots can go pound it.
What’s the fastest you’ve ever seen someone fail a marriage?
Two different times within 3 hours of being married.
The first time the bride and an ex-boyfriend were caught, *ahem*, having relations together by a member of the groom’s family.
Lots of screaming, yelling, and drama. The bride and ex-boyfriend were both escorted out. The groom was sitting in the corner surrounded by his family in tears. What seemed to make everything worse was the music kept playing.
The second was a bit more interesting, to say the least.
First of all, neither the bride nor groom seemed interested in the planning. The second thing was that every meeting we had, the best man AND maid of honor were there too.
Day of the wedding and the groom gets caught with the best man. The bride was pissed, but not for the usual reasons. What she said when she found out was,
“I can’t believe you two couldn’t wait until tonight!”
I swear you could have heard a pin drop. Come to find out, both were from very strict conservative and Christian families. Both were also homosexual. So they worked out a deal to “marry” but live their lives how they wished. Even more drama at that one. We escorted the bride, groom, and their significant others (for a lack of a better term) out of the area.
The Monday after, I just looked at my boss and said,
“That was one hell of a coming out party, wasn’t it?”
Free speech
Why are Chinese manufacturers’ products not as good as Japanese manufacturers’ products but less than half the price (electronics)?
Misinformation spouted by an ignorant.
Most of the “Japanese” products that are sold in the West are actually made in China.
As are most products made in Germany, the UK. Korea, France, and Italy. If you spend any time in Chinese factories you will tour the Chinese warehouses where the products are boxed up for shipment to the rest of the world. And there, you will see them… large cardboard boxes with the words “Made in Japan”, “Made in the USA”, “Made in Germany” and “Make in the UK” proudly displayed inside the Chinese warehouse.
Sanity Check
If you want to provide a more in-depth study, then please compare which nation uses the most cardboard Shipping boxes. After all, once you manufacture a product, you have to ship it. This requires a cardboard box.
You will be surprised at how tiny that number is for Japan, and other nations in the West.
Can the US take action against Chinese ships if they are registered in other countries?
The U.S. can do whatever the hell they so chooses but the real question is that does it fall faster into oblivion? Right at this moment the image of the U.S. is that of lacking confidence and weak mentally and unstable to think straight!
That U.S. the present day image of the U.S. let alone it is getting ridiculous by the day. Using a fighter aircraft to shoot down a 1000 bucks weather balloon l floating across the U.S. costing them millions to trying to did armed a teeny booper social media and calling EVs. A security risk!
Investors and business partners watch for confidence and risk in dealing with a mature economy and the US looks and sound like a mentally unstable nation to have a serious relationship! So can you do what you want? Sure yes especially if you can print money freely but at what cost? This is what smart person ought to think!
Everyone in the world knows it is a Singaporean tanker run by Indian seaman but if you feel like fooling your own citizens that you still can do shit it is easy. But you are losing credibility by the day!
The REAL Reason No One Wants To Work Anymore
Damn! This is amazing! It really is. This is dark. And it is truth.
We cannot continue to allow the corporate model within a society. It is toxic to society. As we are experiencing right now.
Scott Ritter was med by some “feds” and had to hand over his passport. It’s gone. Whoops! Yuppur, he lost his passport while trying to leave the USA.
When the German Reich was collapsing, Hitler sent out squads of men to round up dissidents and “silence” them. You know how, right? Yeah, Gonzalo Lira style.
The USA is starting it’s lock down phase.
So many things wrong about this. I will tell you all, that this is the kind of thing that I am terrified of with the USA. And one of the many, many reasons why I will never return to the United States.
Later down in this post is a video between Scott Ritter and Judge Neopalino. Watch it.
The United States is BAT SHIT CRAZY right now.
It is a hoard of zombies galloping towards war.
Fucking Crazy-Train.
Scott Ritter : On My Way to Russia I Met Big Brother.
Do you think the Chinese government has access to U.S. user data on TikTok?
Tiktok database is sitting on Oracle servers run by a US company. Do you think they’re sending China tiktok data?
And why would China want that data? To see which dance fad is in so they can do what?
The only government that is interested in that data is because Americans are saying stuff that they aren’t suppose to say. Guess who is interested in that?
What is the absolute worst thing in the world?
My friend’s father died of cancer.
This is one of the worst things of my life, and it happened yesterday.
The sad thing is that unfortunately, we follow this practice blindly.
Her father was the only earning member of the family consisting of 3 kids (all girls). Having no son is often considered a curse in India. He was diagnosed with a cancer 1.5 years ago and suddenly the cost of medical treatment shot sky high.
Because of health issues he had to leave his job , where his company paid for his medical treatment to certain extent. But finally, they surrendered.
The youngest daughter, who is my friend, is just 25 years old and was doing her post graduation. She had to force herself to earn something for the family. She started giving tuition along with a hectic job of 12 hours to run her family and to continue her father’s treatment.
This is not the worst thing yet. Here comes the worst part:
Cancer treatment is costly. She tried to get help from everywhere:
Various NGOs
Actors like Amitabh Bachchan, where his manager talked to her sweetly and gave her hope, but that help never arrived. They stopped receiving her call. He acts as the protagonist in the movie, he is not.
Cricketers like Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. Where Virat Kohli’s manager told that these cricketers are not heroes to save anyone’s life. They have to wear a mask in front of media and his fans.
And same went with Sachin’s manager, where they refused to receive her call.
Virat and Sachin played for our country, they earned money but they are not our heroes.
She started public campaign where anyone can donate money anonymously for her father, and that’s where she could manage to get some money.
Whether you believe it or not, but these common people are our heroes, who help one another.
Her father left this world but taught us an important lesson:
The absolute worst thing in the world is that we forget that our hero lives among us. These cricketers, actors, singers etc. are not our heroes. We worship them, giving them a stature equivalent to God. Why? Because they acted really well in the movie and saved people or they played really well in a cricket match and saved a match?
Not only a son can take responsibility. Give equal rights to your girl, she will never let you down.
Need to think about it seriously.
Why is Zelensky accusing China but Russia can’t?
That’s a great question. I also want to mention that the Chinese and Westerners have very different perceptions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
You need to understand that China is an ancient civilization. Speaking for myself, if I compare it to China, Kyiv is equivalent to Xi’an – the cradle of our nation. And Crimea is equivalent to the “Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun” in Chinese history. So, while it may be politically incorrect, I personally believe that Russia has the right to reclaim Ukraine: this is a war of unification, a just war.
Basically, any Chinese person would support Russia. Although there are many people on Chinese social media who support Ukraine, in real life there are hardly any. Those online comments are often made by bots. I don’t have evidence to prove this, it’s just the view of an ordinary Chinese person.
As for Ukraine, my view is “saddened by their misfortune, angered by their inaction.” They are being used as a pawn by external powers to stir up the European situation and weaken Russia. Such fertile land, such a highly educated population, such a strong industrial base… it’s truly heartbreaking and regrettable.
Zelensky must know he is doomed to fail. China’s industrial capability is too strong. Take the large-caliber artillery shells he has been demanding – ONE of a China’s production line can churn out 150,000 per month, almost approaching NATO’s annual output. After all, China’s annual steel production is around 1.4 billion tons, about 10 times the peak of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
As for drones, I’m very worried that the use of this technology by both sides in the conflict may eventually prevent me from buying spare parts on Taobao… for civilian use, really! My kids and I really enjoy taking them out for aerial photography.
I admit that China is currently supplying Russia with civilian industrial goods. But honestly, if we didn’t, should we just watch the Russian people suffer? Wasn’t it Russia that taught us industrialization in the 1950s? Back then, as Mao Zedong said: “What can we make now? We can make tables and chairs, we can make teacups and teapots, we can grow grains and grind them into flour, we can also make paper.”
The Soviet Union (Russia) taught us the initial industrial foundation (the universities I attended were built with Soviet aid in the 1950s), and personally, I will be forever grateful to Russia.
Ukraine also buys a lot of Chinese products, including civilian drones. I even heard that China is considering banning the sale of even civilian products to the conflict zone…
The US is really being so overbearing. If you open a world map, you’ll find that China is surrounded by US military bases, densely packed. We feel very scared – after all, in the last war, 35 million of us were massacred by the Japanese.
If Russia fails, it will tilt toward the US, and then we will be completely surrounded.
Going back to your question, I don’t really like Zelensky. He seems to be saying: “You owe us, and Ukrainians are dying for your interests! Why don’t you help us?”
His question, if directed at the US, I think has some validity.
But the Chinese also don’t owe him anything.
As for Russia, Russia is a very proud nation, they wouldn’t say that.
Wine Pot Roast
IMG 20181020 171041 110
Yield: 6 to 7 servings
Ingredients
3 to 4 pound beef pot roast
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 (3/4 ounce) package brown gravy mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Sprinkle roast with flour, and brown well in small amount of oil in skillet.
Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper; place in slow cooker.
Combine remaining ingredients; pour over meat.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours.
Remove meat and slice.
If desired, thicken sauce with flour dissolved in a small amount of water, and serve over meat.
What is the craziest auto accident you have ever seen that did not have a fatality?
Originally Answered: What is the craziest auto accident you have ever seen, that did not have a fatality?
I was a paramedic at the time. We got called out to an MVC (motor vehicle collision) on a rural road known for lots of curves and high speed, which don’t mix well. Well, we showed up and immediately noticed a large SUV (Chevy Suburban maybe?) on its roof. The car was trashed, having obviously rolled over several times.
There were a few other bystanders that had stopped. As we got out of the ambulance to triage the situation, bystander ran up to us yelling “there are 4 little kids trapped in the car!” Well crap.
“Medic 91 to central, start rolling me two more units code 1 for now. Possibly four trapped children in a rollover. And make sure FD is en route for extrication.”
In the medical field, we learn quickly that a quiet child is a sick child. As we approach the car, there is no crying except for mom who is bawling her eyes out next to the car. We approach now, expecting the worst.
“My babies! My babies are still in the car! Help them, help them please!”
As we assess the car, we are asking mom what happened, how many kids in the car, where they are, if they have cried or talked to her since the accident, etc. She tells us there are four kids: two sets of twins ages 1 and almost 3. They were crying and screaming after the accident but they haven’t made a sound in the last five min or so.
The roof is crushed to the point where we can’t see into the upside down vehicle very well. Still no crying from inside the vehicle. How the heck mom got out of the vehicle I’ll never know and she doesn’t remember.
Fire department pulls up and we give them the quick and dirty. They grab the jaws and pop the doors ASAP so we know what we are dealing with.
As the door pops open, I am struck by what I see. It truly brought a lump into my throat. Hanging upside down (remember, car is on the roof) are four perfectly restrained car seats with the children in them – and NOT A SCRATCH ON THEM. Apparently they had cried themselves to sleep after the accident because they were all just hanging there like bats, asleep in their car seats. Even with the sirens, jaws of life (which if you have ever been inside a car during extrication, it gets LOUD), and everything, it wasn’t until the sunlight hit their faces that they woke up and started crying again.
We got the children out of their car seats and double checked everyone. One of the 3-year-olds had a small scratch from broken glass, but nothing that needed stitches or anything. The other three were perfectly fine without a scratch.
Mom is crying tears of joy now. She says that they always put up such a fight about the car seats that she doesn’t always use them, but she did today. She thanked us profusely for “saving their lives.”
I told her “We didn’t do anything but get them out of the car. YOU saved their lives when you buckled them in. Thank YOU for saving their lives, because there is no way they would have lived through this if they weren’t buckled in properly.”
We transported everyone to the hospital to get checked out as mom likely had a concussion and because of the mechanism of injury was so significant, but all was well.
That car was one of the worst-damaged cars I’ve rolled up on and to not have any injuries on those kids was absolutely amazing.
What was that moment when you felt proud?
I was handling a flight. Everything was almost ready to go except for waiting on some more baggage. All passengers were boarded, some already offloaded due to no show, all in all the flight will be on time. I went up to the gate to get the papers from the gate staff and I noticed an adult male passenger sitting in the area and crying. That’s very unusual. I asked the gate staff what’s up with that and they told me the passenger was refused boarding due to a problem with his ticket. Apparently, his last name for this sector was misspelled by a letter, and he travelled inbound on a different airline and ticket. So, once he wanted to board he got denied at the gate. He previously tried to convince the gate staff to allow him to travel, as the reason he stated his father is in the hospital dying, and he needs to take this flight to hopefully see him before he has passed. Unfortunately, there was nothing the gate staff could do about it. He was travelling with his hand baggage only. They told him to go to the ticketing, refund the old ticket and buy a new one for the sector he will travel. It was ten minutes to departure and he couldn’t book the ticket for this flight anymore. I talked to him and he confirmed that his travel was a last minute thing. He had to fly inbound with another airline as our flight was overbooked, and then wait for this first flight to his destination, all to see his dying father. He told me he’s emotional because this means he will not be able to say his final goodbye. Seeing a grown man cry like that was a proof he’s telling the truth for me.
I did something no staff would probably ever do, and something we’re not even allowed to do.
As staff, I can issue tickets though an online system for my friends and family. I thought of something I can try to help him. I called the flight editing and asked them to open the flight as I have an urgent last minute change. Surprisingly they did. Then, I issued a staff ticket for this passenger. I let him board the flight without him knowing what I’ve done. I never asked for the money. The gate staff was shocked. I told him to get his original ticket refunded later on and wished him all the best. The man was so happy it was lovely to watch. I instructed the gate staff to keep quiet about it as we can use the staff tickets for people we know only, plus at the right time lol.
I hope he got his moments with his father before he passed. I never found out.
It made me smile and proud that I could think of that and also it surprised me that I was willing to pay for his (discounted) ticket. I did feel bad for going against the rules, but I figured I’d probably have the support of our HR in case I got reported, as they are nice and they care about people plus this story was heart warming.
Nobody reported me.
The flight went on time.
That was my good moment.
AI VIDEOS will KILL HOLLYWOOD – fable creates tv shows from prompts…
What happened in your office that became the stuff of legend?
This was in my ex-husband’s place of work, which I won’t name to protect the innocent.
He was an electronics engineer in a hospital. A lot of people raise their eyebrows when they hear that’s where he worked, as you normally associate hospitals with doctors and nurses, and if pushed, caterers, cleaners and technicians, but if you think about how many things in the average hospital run on electricity (upwards of 40,000), you start to get an idea of why a team is needed to repair, service and calibrate all this equipment.
Most of the team were great, hardworking and dedicated. There was one a**-hole. We’ll call him Henry.
Henry was a total shyster. He would come in late and go home early; he would log overtime when he hadn’t done any. If he was on emergency call-out ( the engineers took it in turns to be on-call for equipment that broke down overnight or on weekends) he would claim he’d come in for calls that were bogus – no-one had called.
He ran his own repair business using the hospital phones and equipment, when he should have been doing the hospital work.
He lied, cheated and stole and everyone hated him, but every time the bosses investigated, he pulled the race card and they were too scared of being sued, so they backed down.
But then they began to discover that his behaviour was dangerous, too.
Some of the equipment which he was supposed to have repaired started coming back into the workshop with the same fault as the original ticket. It turned out he wasn’t repairing it adequately (or at all, in some cases).
He claimed that it was an intermittent fault, and had just gone wrong again, but he was finally caught out. On the children’s ward, there was a piece of monitoring equipment which was supposed to alarm when something went wrong with the patient. It was alarming constantly, so was obviously faulty.
Henry went to fix it and came back and reported it as completed. He was so quick that his immediate superior was suspicious, so he went and checked. Henry had indeed silenced the alarm, but he’d done so by packing the speaker cone full of cotton wool, so you couldn’t hear the alarm any more! It was still sounding but was inaudible!
Of course, this was extremely dangerous as it left the little patient vulnerable, and the staff were relying on equipment that they didn’t know was faulty.
This was so serious that the bosses fired him on the spot. He appealed and went to the Union. They asked him the grounds for his appeal, and he said it was because his immediate superior was racist. This was puzzling, as they were from the same ethnic group, so he claimed that it was because he was high-caste and his boss was low-caste and was lying because he envied him, and that the union clearly didn’t understand the caste system.
They gave him their advice.
Leave before the police are called.
He left, and the glee in the entire workshop was so strong that the day was officially called Henry Day and every year a member of staff brings in cakes to celebrate Henry Day. New members of staff who never met him are regaled with the stories of what Henry used to do. It’s been going on for over ten years now, and I think it will keep going until the last person who remembers what a bastard Henry was has retired!
If a billionaire asked you to count from zero to infinity and what ever number you stop on is the amount of dollars he’ll give you, would you take the challenge? How high you think you’d get?
There are three kinds of mathematicians – those who are good at counting and those that aren’t.
Obviously you would choose to do this. If you counted one number per second, that would be 60 in a minute, and 3,600 in an hour. It isn’t hard to do this for small numbers, but when you’re at sixteen thousand four hundred eighty-six, sixteen thousand four hundred eighty-seven, etc. you slow down rapidly. So let’s say that you can do 1,000 in an hour.
How many readers are making $1,000 an hour? Very few, I’d say.
Oh it’s tedious, but you can do tedious for $1,000 an hour.
The question doesn’t say anything about breaks for eating, bathroom, or sleeping, but suppose they allow you to count for a while, write down your number when you want a break, and pick it up again. The limiting factor is that you will want to stop and get paid at some point, and that’s the end.
You’re going to want to go a long time. Say you do ten hours a day, $10,000 every day. After 100 days, you’ve got a million bucks. That’s nice, but not enough to retire comfortably. You can be at $3 million in a year.
If you have three million dollars, are you going to do this tedious counting for $10K per day? This is when you start thinking about retiring your family. Do you have brothers and sisters or kids that you want to help out?
I don’t know how terrible this would feel. Maybe after doing this hour after hour, day after day, you are in a groove and can do it fairly easily, but maybe it’s terrible concentrating on the seven digit numbers as they go.
I’m going to do somewhere between a million and six million. But I’m going to get a really good assurance that the payday is going to be there at the end, because this sounds too good to be true, so I’m going to need an iron-clad legal document backed up by an insurance policy.
I wish I had not given birth to son. It seems that it has become crime to give birth to son in India. These are the words of many Indian mothers.
He is Avadhesh Yadav.
While the entire country is rejoicing and celebrating Women’s Day, an old mother is crying inconsolably in Jhansi. Her son, Avadhesh Yadav committed suicide on February 25, 2015 because of a “woman”. This day has no meaning for her as she is confused of the word that means “Women Empowerment”. Laws that have been made to protect women, abuse of same became the reason for her son’s death.
Here are excerpts from suicide note left by Avadhesh Yadav:
My name is Avadhesh Yadav and I work in a private bank. I got married to Unnati Yadav on December 7, 2012. Within a week of marriage, she started pestering my family by asking divorce for no reason. We ignored. She never allowed me to come close to her for 2-3 months after the marriage. My father advised that with time everything will be fine. But it got only worse. She started misbehaving with my parents, hurling abuses at them. When we complained about this to her family, they gave excuses of some “external influence” on her and they would get her treated. She now started going almost every day at her home and threatened us of a dowry case if we said anything.
In September 2013, she left my home. In December, my father was getting retired and he wished that his daughter-in-law should be part of this program. We signed a mutual agreement where she accepted her wrongdoings and promised to be cordial with the family and I promised to do everything possible to take good care of her. She came back only to harass us even more. She demanded that I leave my parents. Threats of dowry and domestic violence cases increased. Things came to a point where she left my home again in July 2014 with her entire belongings.
On advice of lawyers, we filed a case of restitution of conjugal rights, requesting her to come back. Three months after that in September, she filed a false dowry and domestic violence case (498A) on me, my mother, father, elder brother and his wife. We got bail. Her brother told me she wants to come back.
I refused saying now this was not possible and suggested that we get separated amicably. He refused and threatened me of false cases of molestation, rape on my father and brother and, acid attack on me and getting me killed. Unnati eventually filed a case of molestation in January on my father and brother and they were arrested. I don’t know what will this step of mine lead to but I want to save my family from all this humiliation. After I go, they would probably be in peace. I also wish to ask our law makers, how they can make laws that give so much credence to mere words of a woman that whatever the other person is saying has no relevance. Shouldn’t the other side be heard too? My father and brother were picked up by police on her statement alone without any evidence.
My family that never even saw a police station has to now do the rounds just because of me. Without any evidence we have been labelled Criminals. Nothing that Unnati wrote about dowry or violence is true. Authorities can investigate the veracity of her statements. They claim to have spent Rs 20 lakh on the wedding; can someone ask them where did they get so much money from? They are demanding that we transfer my father’s house in her name. A person who is making such demands before even living with me, what will she do later? I do not want to see my family in pain. I could think of no other way than this to save my family. Please help my family get out of this problem.
Mummy, Papa, forgive me please and take care of yourself. Please do not cry as tears in your eyes would trouble me even more. MY LAST WISH – PLEASE LEAVE MY FAMILY MEMBERS.
Avadhesh Yadav
A case of abetment to suicide has been registered against Avadhesh’s wife and her brother. Had this been a married woman, this death would have been called “Dowry Death.” Avadhesh’s death would not be called “Reverse Dowry” death.
Had this been a married woman, leaving a three page suicide note, it would have made national headlines. This story got published in a paper or two.
Had this been a married woman, entire family of husband would have been thrown in jail, even if there was no suicide note. In this case, no one has been arrested yet. This is not just Avadhesh’s story. Several men are committing suicide because of false accusations.
As a social activist, Deepika Bhardwaj get calls from Men everyday with almost similar tales to share – refusal to any kind of physical contact by wife after marriage, threats of self harm on requests of physical intimacy, pressure of separation from parents, no participation in any household chores, treating in-laws like servants with both physical as well as mental abuse and whenever there is any argument or complaint over this behaviour, threats of a dowry case and sending every family member behind bars. One case was so horrible, that this man’s wife fought daily with him and dialled 100 blaming him instead. There was police at his home every day. Even though the police realized that the man was not at mistake, they could do little to help the man and absolutely nothing against the woman!
There is little a man can do if in an abusive relationship apart from filing divorce. And divorce mostly comes with even bigger abuse – false cases of dowry and domestic violence. Where not only you but your entire family is made to suffer!
Trauma of families trapped in false cases doesn’t end ever. Though this is a criminal provision, place of alleged “crime” makes absolutely no difference. A dowry case is usually filed by women in their own home town even though the case is state vs husband and his family. This basically means husband and his entire family travels to a different city/state for cases even if they are innocent. It takes huge toll on mind of a person when he sees his entire family suffering because of him.
Though Avadhesh hanged himself on February 25, he must have been dying inside since long. How would a man feel, if his old paralytic father is accused of molesting his own daughter-in-law? A young life snapped because of a system that doesn’t bother to verify claims made if it is by a “woman.”
In most 498A cases, either you pay huge money to the girl to settle the case or you fight in the court to prove your innocence for years and years. The latest trend is inclusion of false molestation/rape charges on father and brothers of the husband to ensure arrest of everyone and put tremendous pressure.
Being labelled a criminal when you have done no crime is painful. Being labelled a rapist when you have not done it is rape of one’s soul. Seeing your family suffer every hour because of you is nothing short of a death. She receives mails from many men who are facing false cases of either dowry or rape or molestation that they feel like committing suicide. What they don’t know is, even after their death, the charges on their family members remain. They still have to fight unless the case is quashed.
As a woman, this women’s day she begs to ask her fellow women – Is this why we demanded stringent laws? Is this what we mean by women empowerment that a woman can ruin anyone’s life if she wants? Isn’t a mother-in-law tortured by her daughter-in-law a woman? Would we ever get rid of crime against women if women start using laws as weapons and our courts get choked with false cases? Is it empowerment that a woman plays gender card and settle scores with whosoever she wants? False cases of crime against women should concern women rights activists because it hurts their cause the most. False cases are no less a crime against actual victims of these crimes. “If cry of wolf is made too often, assistance might not come when actual wolf appears.”
In India, a country of 1.3 Billion people, there is not a single dedicated platform, where half of the population of the world’s second largest democracy – MEN, can complain and be heard in an impartial, unbiased and an empathetic way to solve their problems.
We have laws to protect women.
We have laws to protect children.
We have laws to protect environment.
We have even laws to protect animals.
But,
We don’t have laws to protect men.
If you really care about men’s rights then don’t forget to sign Sign the Petition & Sign the Petition petition to constitute the “National Commission For Men” in India. This is humble request from my side.
P.S: I am not generalizing woman here in my answers. I’ll not accept & endure any sort of misandry in the comment section. If Women & her parents are misusing the legal provisions made to protect woman then they definitely deserve solid punishment. If respect of woman is important then respect of man is equally important.
Retail Theft Is Wildly Out Of Control All Over America, And It Is Only Going To Get Worse As Our Society Descends Into Anarchy
We are right in the middle of a tsunami of shoplifting that never seems to end, and as a result major retailers are closing down locations in major cities all over the country. A few years ago, videos of brazen shoplifters ruthlessly looting retail stores were shocking everyone, but now this sort of thing is so common that very few of us are shocked anymore. We have come to expect that our retail stores will be regularly looted because this is who we have become as a nation. Sadly, even many of our politicians aren’t too concerned that the impoverished masses are stealing billions of dollars worth of merchandise from our major retailers. Like so many others, maybe they figure that those retailers won’t even miss what is being taken. But the truth is that they do miss what is being taken, and CEOs have been complaining very loudly about it…
For much of the past year or so, executives at big retailers did something unusual: They talked about theft in their stores. A lot.
With a backdrop of viral videos showing brazen and violent thieves, crime became a common theme on retailers’ typically dry quarterly earnings calls. Executives often mentioned “shrink” — inventory missing for one reason or another — as a factor behind declining profits. The list grew long: Macy’s, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, T.J.Maxx, Dollar General.
Don’t believe pro-crime progressives when they lie about public safety here in NYC: This year so far has seen 21,578 shoplifting complaints from Gotham’s retailers.
That’s a 5% increase over last year’s obscene 20,552; more than 41% of the 2024 crimes are concentrated in Manhattan.
And that’s part of an ugly, persistent trend.
Full-year numbers since 2021 have jumped from 43,892 to 59,137, an increase of almost 35% — and the real problem is surely far higher, as exhausted merchants don’t bother to report many incidents.
Even in the very best areas of the Big Apple, major retailers are being routinely ransacked, and authorities seem completely powerless to stop the endless crime wave…
Many would argue that conditions are even worse on the west coast.
“Businesses are closing left and right because of all this looting going on,” Jolly said. “The system is broken, nothing is being done about it.”
She says that when she called police to report the incident, they suggested she contact the store’s insurance company.
“I just think it’s like, the people are trying to get away with it because there’s no consequences,” Jolly said, noting that the “meltdown reaction” came from a place of concern for her community and even the girl in the video. “I’m worried for her and she’s already doing this.”
It wasn’t like this when I was growing up.
But this is our country now.
In a desperate attempt to reduce shoplifting in his stores, Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos is removing self-checkout options in thousands of locations…
Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said Thursday that the company plans to remove self-checkout from “the vast majority of stores” as part of larger overall shrink reduction efforts that include changes in supply chain and merchandising. Dollar General has already removed self-checkouts from 12,000 of its more than 20,000 stores, Vasos said.
Walmart is also removing self-checkout kiosks from many stores, and the number of products that are being locked up just continues to increase…
A frustrated Walmart customer has revealed the latest item to be locked up on the shopfloor during the shoplifting crackdown – and it only costs $1.50.
Victoria Damor, 22, from Las Vegas, made a TikTok detailing her shocking experience at the big box retailer last month.
Her video, which she posted under her handle @toridamore, has already been seen by almost 90,000 people, who have flocked to the comments to share their outrage.
Talking to the camera, the shopper exclaimed: ‘This is the future of Walmart. I can’t even walk into Walmart and pick up a nail file worth $1.50 because it’s locked up.
When a $1.50 nail file has to be locked up in a cage so that the thieves can’t get at it, your country is in huge trouble.
Of course it isn’t just the United States that is descending into anarchy.
Shoplifting has also risen to unprecedented levels all over Europe.
For example, just check out these eye-popping figures from the UK…
According to the Office for National Statistics, 2023 was the worst year on record for shoplifting, with more than 430,000 cases recorded, an increase of more than a third from the year before. But that is probably just a fraction of the real number. The British Retail Consortium – the body representing almost all of the major retail chains, incorporating food and drink, fashion, DIY, health and beauty and more – recently reported that incidents of customer theft more than doubled from 8m to 16.7m in the period between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023. Losses reached £1.8bn, up from £950m the year before.
Throughout the western world, the numbers are moving in the wrong direction.
If things are this bad now, what will happen once economic conditions become extremely harsh?
“Raymond Hayes, I realize the chariot race is enthralling, but kindly postpone Ben Hur until we have given due course to Hamlet.” Mr. Stevens stood by the high schooler’s desk. Ray sighed and tucked the errant book away. Would it matter if he countered that he’d already read Hamlet three times? That he didn’t think Ophelia really went mad, or died? That her story, her grief and eventually, her restoration, was more significant than anyone claimed, because her story showed the undying power of love? Mr. Stevens droned on, already back at the front of the classroom. Ray stared at the lines of Shakespeare in front of him, his mind already racing to the release of the bell.“Why do I have to sit for five hours learning what I already know?” He ranted to his father, Raymond Sr., that evening in early Spring. The elder Ray had found his son combing the abandoned quarry again. At least this time, it was after, and not during, school hours. Ray Sr. knew better than to argue with his son when he was in one of these moods. Truth be told, he agreed with his namesake, though he urged him to hold on through the end of his senior year. Ray’s late mother, God rest her soul, always told him their miracle child had an exceptional aptitude for learning. “For sensing,” she would correct her husband, gently. “Ray can find things nobody else can see.”Upstairs in his room, Ray reached under his pillow and pulled out the canvas-wrapped package. His fingers tingled, just as they did when he first pulled it out of the quarry that morning. He favored the quarry for its depth and history. The scars on the walls told stories even when those who made them had long gone silent. Down on the floor of the quarry, beyond the reach of humankind, Ray would tuck himself into a shallow notch, pull out his notebook, and write as the run rose.
Only this morning, when leaned back into the cool rock, he was startled by the touch of something downright cold. He whirled, but could see nothing in the shadowed recess. He felt blindly in the direction of the chill, until he found it. The package. He thought he was the only person in town who ever visited this graveyard. At first, Ray decided to tuck the package back where he found it. Someone would surely come for it. When he found himself sketching wrapped boxes during geometry class later that morning, he decided: if it was still there when he left school, he would retrieve it.
Now the package was on his bed. He carefully unfolded the olive drab cloth. Paper. A whole stack of it. The top sheet bore two typewritten lines: The Lost Letters, by M.R. McKennon. Ray turned the page. The crisp black typeset was interspersed with navy ink in a flowing script. Ray felt a pang of unease. This was someone’s manuscript-in-progress. Certainly the author would need this. He should replace the top page, wrap it securely, return it to the quarry. He would, tomorrow. Ray skipped past the page headed, Foreword, and began to read.
***
Darling,
I hope this letter finds you well. I know I just sent you a letter a few days ago and goodness, you might not receive these in proper order. I hope you don’t mind too much. I think about you much more often than I write. I’m afraid to write more often, for you will call me a silly girl, and look, I haven’t said anything sensible so far, so of course you’ll be right. We are well, here. Auntie helped me fix up my old blue dress – do you remember the one from the dance? When that blonde’s heel got caught in the back of my skirt during the hop and you had to walk behind me all the way home? I’m giggling just thinking of it. Do you remember how close you stood to me when we waited at that busy street corner? I can feel you, there, Darling, when I close my eyes. Close your eyes, too, and feel me close until I can hold you again. Love, Your Rosie
***
Ray’s bachelor status changed the summer he graduated. That summer, pumping gas for Mr. O’Shea, he watched the prettiest brunette in God’s earth walk tidily off the bus at the corner and into the filling station. She bought a soda from the cooler, and then stood in the shade of the storefront, politely sipping her drink.
“Are ye gonna cap me tank or not, sonny?” Mr. O’Shea queried, mischievously rolling his eyes from girl to boy. Ray fumbled through his task, failing to collect payment until Mr. O’Shea leaned out his car door and stuffed the cash into Ray’s pocket. “Keep the change, lad, and eh…” he realized Ray wasn’t listening, “try to keep yer head…teehee!” Ray ran his hand through his hair (twice) and approached the fair maiden.
“You’re new in town.” He tried to act cool.
She smiled sweetly – more confidently, too, than the girls at school, who typically melted under a fella’s proffered grin or pleasantry. “Actually, I grew up here.”
Ray regrouped, “I’ve been here all my life. I’d surely remember a face as pretty as yours.” His boldness finally succeeded. She blushed, and held out her hand.
“I’m Madeline Leath. I moved away a few years ago, but I’ve come back to live with my aunt.”
Some folks say it was Madeline who gripped harder, but that’s hearsay. Madeline held on, longer. Ray escorted her to her aunt’s doorstep, but bowed out of the offered introduction. He still wasn’t heeding Mr. O’Shea’s advice as he crossed the street, so he was nearly laid out by a Chevy. The driver swerved, and over the irate horn honking, Ray heard the aunt’s welcome. “Madeline Rose! How you’ve grown! Come in, dear, and tell me: who is that handsome young man who walked you up the drive?”
***
I met the sweetest boy, today. He nearly tripped over himself, but oh, he is such a catch.
***
Ray sat in his alcove, flipping through the manuscript. Yes, he had returned it to the quarry. But every few days, it reappeared; sometimes with new or rearranged pages, always with a myriad of notes. The handwritten notes were more interesting than the letters. For it was indeed letters – a collection of exchanged letters – that slowly expanded the typewritten text. So far, they were mostly of the ilk of the first sample he’d read. More sap that even his lovestruck self could admit to reading. He skimmed most of the lovers’ notes, favoring the challenge of decoding the swirling navy script. This morning, he read a clear “she doesn’t yet know” in the margin of a letter. What didn’t the woman know that M.R. McKennon did?
Ray set the manuscript down. That was the last of the new additions. He had pieced together a long-distance relationship – a courtship, maybe. The fellow in the pair was traveling. He wrote one letter referencing Georgia humidity. Ray wondered if the fellow was in the oil industry. He mentioned drilling.
***
Darling,
I’m sorry I haven’t written you much. I’ve been getting over this awful flu. Auntie was up and about in three days, but you know Auntie. I haven’t been able to keep anything down, which isn’t helping (as Auntie is fond of reminding me). Your father was a dear and drove me out to our spot last night to try to raise my spirits. It did make me think of you, but then of course I cried. It hurts my head to write, Darling, so I’ll finish this later.
***
Ray had never planned anything like he planned his proposal to Madeline Rose. He even made the picnic sandwiches, a herculean effort with a commensurate wake of crumbs and butter smears on the kitchen table. In retrospect, the shambles could be called a foreshadowing. Halfway to Madeline’s, it started raining. Naturally, he neglected to pack an umbrella. For that matter, he neglected to notice the weather, so bright was his heart shining. It wasn’t until he stood on Madeline’s front stoop like a stray kitten that he grasped his situation. Much to her credit, Madeline tied her hair back in a scarf, hopped on her bicycle, and said, “I hope whatever tree we’re picknicking under has good cover!” That was when he course-corrected to the quarry.
“I didn’t know it was safe down here,” she pressed close as they descended the slick path. Ray was about to relieve her fears, but thought better of it. Instead, he slipped his arm around her waist. “Just hold on tight.” When they rested in the notch, Ray recalculated his plans. He slipped a hand into his pocket for the tenth time. His mother’s ring was still there.
“Ray, look at this!” Madeline held out a package.
Ray was examining their waterlogged lunch. Of course he had forgotten to wrap the sandwiches. “Yeah, it’s the manuscript.”
“Raymond Hayes, are you writing a book?” She tore at the wrapping.
“No, no, it’s just something I found. Every so often, it reappears. I think the author is stashing it here.”
Madeline was quickly engrossed in the work. “Oh, aren’t these just beautiful letters!” She exhaled dreamily. Ray frowned. His plans were unraveling, and now his girl was falling for another fella’s love notes. “Those are old notes, Rosie,” he poked, using a nickname he’d picked up from her aunt. “The M.R. McKennon guy is typing them out to preserve them, I guess.”
“McKennon is not a ‘guy,’ Raymond.” Madeline peered over the top of the manuscript.
“What?”
“If you read the Foreword, you’d know it’s a woman. She says she’s compiling her parents’ correspondence and journal entries from before her birth. She says, for many years she only had her father’s letters, until recently when some revered fellow gave her a packet with all her mother’s letters, including…” Madeline paused, “oh, no, Ray, it says, including her father’s last letter which had never been mailed.” She looked up with teary eyes. “That’s so tragic.”
This was getting unluckier by the minute. Ray pulled Madeline up and out into the pouring rain. “Leave that, Rosie.”
“Why?” She didn’t pull away.
“Because I want you to marry me.”
“Raymond! We’ve only been dating three months! What will people say?”
“To hell with what they say.”
***
People didn’t say much, at least not to their faces. Every housewife in town kept a well-trained eye on Rosie’s middle, which certainly did not expand in the first four months of their marriage. Whether that was a relief or disappointment to the uprights of the community, is less certain. What did expand was the realization that falling in love is only the door to learning to love.
Ray took a second job the summer he graduated high school and married Madeline Rose. “I’m doing this for us,” he reminded her whenever she hinted at their diminished time together. He’d wave his arm around their bedroom, “Do you want to always live here, in Dad’s upstairs?” When November stripped the trees, Ray took a third job, and Madeline spent nights crying into a cold bed.
In his spare moments, Ray would slip, alone, into his spot at the quarry. He was grateful for the days he found the manuscript to distract his thoughts. The affection between the correspondents was so constant. He and Madeline couldn’t even have a civil conversation these days. She was getting more emotional, haranguing him about little things. Didn’t she understand a fellow who worked his tail off needed a moment to breathe every so often? His logic was irrefutable in the silence of the quarry.
“But, Ray, Darling, you said you’d help, remember?” Madeline was practically pleading. She hadn’t used his pet name in some time. Now she was edging carefully around his pride in bringing up a conversation he barely remembered having. “Ray, Darling,” she took a breath, “Remember, we were sitting here having coffee, and I asked if you were scheduled to work December 7th because I needed help assembling sets for the Christmas pageant…” she trailed off. Ray’s face was dark as he stormed out of the house. Madeline walked to church that morning, alone.
***
December 7, 1941
Today the world broke. But before that, I broke Rosie’s heart.
***
Fort Benning, Georgia, was already sweltering in April. Private Raymond Hayes felt the beads of sweat race down his spine. He had been sitting on his bunk for nearly twenty minutes, pen gripped in one hand, notepad in another. He had to post his letter today, but what to say? He hadn’t written Madeline since he’d arrived in January. Ray rubbed his forehead. In his mind, he went back to the quarry, to the cool alcove. Suddenly, he knew what to write.
Rosie,
Sorry it’s been so long, Honey. Don’t worry, I’m eating well. Been having loads of fun drilling in this Georgia humidity. Getting transferred to New Jersey. Will write once I arrive. I promise. Love to Dad and Auntie.
***
Ray sat at a small cafe in London on his three-day leave. The tea here was better than the coffee, but he still needed both to assuage the pain building in his temples. He read the letter for the seventh time.
Ray Darling,
I cannot tell you how many times I wish I had defied Auntie and taken the bus to met you before you departed to England. Not only to hold you again (how I miss you, Darling!), but because I wanted to tell you in person. Don’t be angry with Auntie. She was worried for me after that…sickness. I blame myself for not being there to see you off. I’m glad to hear the English people treat you well. I hope our package will make its way to you before long. The mail is dreadfully slow and your last letter had a hole cut into it. Army work. They are determined to cut into my heart. But, Darling, I haven’t told you yet. I didn’t know, honestly, and then you were off to England and I didn’t want to burden you but Ray, we are going to have a baby. Can you believe it? I’m certain it’s a girl. Auntie says I’m silly, but I just know.
Love,
Rosie
P.S. I’m thinking of “Mary Rose” for the baby – Mary for your mother, of course, and Rose for the baby’s. What do you think?
***
June 4, 1944
It’s happening. The air is electric with our thoughts. Soon, is all Lt. will tell us. Tonight, I’m content to wait, here.
Ray paused, hunched over in his bunk. Then he laid his journal, pens, and Rosie’s letters on top of the olive-drab canvas fragment. Wrapping them tightly, he pressed his back into the wall and drew a long breath. The three-level bunks in the barracks were no quarry, but looking up from where he sat, the men lying in them or meandering about made a rippling wall, alive with their stories.
“Hayes, you gonna sleep like that?” James McKennon cocked his head in front of Ray’s bunk. Smoke from countless cigarettes wound its way from soldier to soldier, trails linking soul to soul. Ray fingered the photograph in his breast pocket one last time, then held it out. “McKennon, have you met my Rosie?”
***
June 6, 1944
Salty air whipped the soldiers’ faces. The heaving Channel seemed at war with itself to both bring them to their destination and hold them back in warning. Ray noticed Chaplain Smith moving from man to man, offering quiet words or a smoke. When he came near, Ray touched his arm. “Chaplain, sir? Could I ask a favor?”
“Of course, soldier,” the older man waited.
“Uh, no offense, sir,” Ray queried, “but you aren’t Catholic, are you? I mean,” he quickly clarified, “you are, back in the States, a Reverend, and not a Father?”
The man smiled, “I think Father Murphy is below deck at the moment. Should I fetch him?”
“Oh, no, sir, I was looking for,” Ray smiled for the first time that day, “a ‘revered’ person.”
Now it was the Reverend’s turn to smile. “I’m not sure if I qualify for that title, but I’ll do my best to be of assistance.”
Ray held out the package. “Would you take this, sir? Would you get it to…to…” he swallowed. “There’s an address on the letters.”
The Reverend tucked the package under his arm and placed his other hand on Ray’s shoulder. For a long moment neither spoke.
***
My Darling Rosie,
It seems like only yesterday you stepped off that bus. Only yesterday you stood in front of the pulpit, hiding behind that veil, daring me to tear it off. Time surely marches forward, my darling. We try to cling to moments like sand being washed off a beach. Time marches forward. For how many thousand years has the tide pulled against the shore? Yet the shore remains, Rosie. The castles we built together may wash away, but as the Good Book says (yes, your Ray has been paying attention, darling), “Love never ends.” I love you, darling. Stand on the shore as the waves roll in and feel me reach for you, again.
Until we meet again,
your loving Ray
***
Suddenly, someone hurried by, then another. Then it began. The guns. The shouting. The boats. Lower, lower, crash. The raining of spray and bullets. The door, dropping like the gate of hell. The Lt. gripping his rifle, shouting to his men. Forward!
“Americans Will Be Poor Overnight!” – Reaction To China & Brazil Agreement To Ditch US Dollar
[But if this is causing such controversy and posing such a risk, why are Western politicians so determined to continue supporting Ukraine?]
"Because they think they can win.
So I also think about this a lot, because they’re sane people, and they can’t want destruction and war – or at least only for very good reasons.
And obviously, they must have something which keeps their sense of danger lower than ours, otherwise, they’d behave like us.
I think geographical distance has a bearing on this.
So one factor is that the big European states are further away from Russia than Central Europe is.
They think of Ukraine as a buffer zone between them and Russia – and of course, there’s also Central Europe.
That’s how it used to be, didn’t it? That’s what they used us for.
So they think they’re further away from the real risk than Central Europe is.
Of course, Central Europeans are wailing about this, and the Hungarian prime minister is beating out fires, scaremongering, and talking about the damage of war.
This may be true in Central Europe, but on the Atlantic coast, in France, how can it be?
Of course, this argument ignores the fact that modern technology can cover greater distances than in previous wars; but all the same, their sense of security is much stronger than that of the Hungarians.
Not to mention that they’ve won wars.
And they still think – and I now think that this is the most important reason that they’re behaving differently from us – that they want to win this war against Russia, they want to defeat Russia.
Of course, sometimes they say it like this, and sometimes they say that the Russians mustn’t win.
But the point is the same: they want to achieve military success against Russia – at any cost."
Excerpt from remarks by Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, in an interview with Zsolt Törőcsik on the Kossuth Radio programme “Good Morning Hungary,” May 31, 2024.
“The End of Everything,” with Victor Davis Hanson | Uncommon Knowledge
When a Chinese person gets cancer in China, is it better for him to treat his cancer in USA as long as he can afford it?
I have a facsimile of this, but it’s not the USA.
It’s China and the UK.
My mother got cancer in the 1990s we were in the UK at the time. She was seen quickly treated within 3 weeks and was back home within a month. She got it again several times. Each time it was the same.
She didn’t feel well so she went to her GP, she was referred to a specialist, tests were done a further follow up before admission to hospital for treatment.
Over time the gaps between those events became longer and longer. As above in the 1990s it was measured in days. By the 00s it was measured in weeks.
My dad was in the UK in December 2023. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer by a UK GP, it took him 3 weeks to get a GP appointment and the follow up with a specialist was something like a month later. He literally said fuck this and took a flight to Shenzhen. He paid out of pocket £3900* and he was seen by a specialist immediately and was in surgery 48 hours later then had radiotherapy and by January 2024 he was back to normal again. He goes back to the hospital in Shenzhen for checkups.
While you might think £3900 is a fortune in the PRC, it’s not that £3900 was fully out of pocket. No health insurance whatsoever. My dad is a Chinese citizen but a HKSAR citizen meaning he’s not fully covered by the PRC health insurance system.
Had he taken treatment in the UK, likely he would pay nothing out of pocket. But it would have taken several months to get to the surgery/treatment stage and life is way too short to be have that hanging over your head.
Tropical Beef
tropical beef
Ingredients
2 pounds beef top round steak, trimmed of fat
2 large onions, cut into 12 thin wedges each
1 (20 ounce) can unsweetened pineapple chunks, juice reserved
1/2 cup beef broth
5 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
Instructions
Cut the beef into thin strips diagonally across the grain.
Add to a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker.
Add the onions, pineapple juice, broth, 3 tablespoons of the vinegar, garlic powder, seasoned salt, paprika, and black pepper. Mix well.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 6 1/2 hours or until the beef is just tender.
Increase the setting to HIGH.
Stir in the green and red pepper squares and the brown sugar.
Mix together the cornstarch, soy sauce, and remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar.
Stir into the cooker, blending well.
Cook, covered, on HIGH for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly.
Just before serving, stir in the tomato wedges and pineapple chunks.
Serve over cooked white rice.
What Western Media Won’t Tell Us: we’re being lied to in a big way
It was in the late 1980’s. I was a worker drone; an engineer in a automotive electronics company. This company was (probably) what they based the comedy “Office Space” from. It was just like that. Cubicles. Many bosses connect to crazy dotted-line org charts, and frequent reorganizations and lay offs. It was a very stressful job, and a very stressful time.
At that time, my wife was going crazy.
I did not find out until years later, but she had a mental illness that doesn’t hit until the person is in their late 20’s. She had a Schizoaffective disorder. This is a mental health disorder that is marked by a combination of schizophrenia symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions, and mood disorder symptoms, such as depression or mania. Yes. She was both schizophrenic and had bipolar mood swings. Lordy.
So, I would work in a crazy work environment, while my wife would sleep. As soon as I got home, she would unload all of her insecurities, issues, past traumas, and everything else on me. TO make matters worse, she was getting worse and worse over time. I had no one to talk to. No one to confide in. No outlets. I was on my own.
We were walking down to street. I used to take her out of the house to get some air. Sort of how you would walk a dog. Then we would go back into the house. (Where it would continue to about five am, at which point I would take a shower and leave for work. )
Anyways, I was seriously stressed out. And she was going on and on and on about this fight she had with her girlfriend back in seventh grade when she was a young girl. And she started accusing me of not listening. And then suddenly…
I snapped.
Everything got numb. It was like I was wrapped in a warm blanket of cotton. Oh, I heard her rant on and on and on and on. But the droning was distant. I was just numb. I was comfortable, you know, but really in some kind of spacey world.
Then she turned me around, and slapped me hard in the face.
“Aren’t you listening to me? This is about ME! Not about you. Don’t you hear what I am saying? What is the matter with you?”
I just looked back at her.
She continued yelling at me, and then after about a half an hour or so she realized that something was seriously wrong. She led me to the car and drove me to the hospital….
…
Long story short. I was prescribed anxiety medicine, and on a treatment plan.
She was then placed in a mental hospital for observation, where she ended up staying for three months. (The first of many such in-patient stays.)
My job found that my illness was not covered by the health plan, and so I had to plan myself, and eventually they laid me off.
But I will NEVER forget what it was like being in a serious health crisis and my “loving wife” yelling at me about being so selfish and not caring about her needs, while I was in a SERIOUS medical emergency.
Totally oblivious.
That’s most people in the world today.
Today…
What is the most shameless thing you have ever seen a teacher do?
I got in trouble in 7th grade for cussing in a teacher’s class. Was sent to the office and got suspended out of school for two days. While I was going up to get my bookbag the spanish teacher and her friend the language arts teacher were trying to dogpile me. I found out later she had lied and told her I cussed her out. They didnt say anything inappropiate but they were definitely trying to unsettle me with their words to me. Saying things like were not idiots and you better respect us. After I got back I thought that was it as my grandmother had forced me to write a letter of apology to my spanish teacher. No I was completely wrong.
I had the language arts teacher next grade. Everything I did was graded harsher than anyone else’s assignment. She wouldnt let me do a biography of my choosing even though I wanted to do ALice Cooper but she allowed another kid to do a report on the Sid Vicious. He was rumored to have killed his girlfriend and later killed himself. But doing a report on a born again Christian rocker is too much. I once went all out for my midterm assignment. Looked up evidence based arguments and cited everything. Got a C for it. I remember getting a lot of Cs. I looked at another kids assignment and he had two pages with no citations when the requirement was four pages. He got a higher score than me. Thankfully, I was able to pass the class and say goodbye to that witch. GFY Ms. Evalsky if youre reading this.
As soon as I was out of that class I got As and Bs in all my language arts courses in High School. I also Aced every class in college just about. Psychology is a major that is report heavy. But Im just imagining all of that Im sure.
The west makes up most of the world’s higher standards of living, and trade volume., even though it makes up only 15% of the world’s population.
When the US talks about a values-based rules system, it says that it wants to retain that privileged position, and will not give it up without a fight.
Putin said that he represents the underdogs who consider this system to be unfair, and that is what the Ukraine war is all about. Of course, there are other factors, but he is trying to appeal to a wider audience.
China agrees, but does not want to get loud about it because it wants to continue trading with the west as long as it can. Why walk away from money?
But China is also trading with the 85% of the world which make up the Global South. What has China done for the Global South?
When it comes to network infrastructure, it has made it affordable with Huawei equipment, the company the US Commerce Department hates so much.
China makes Android and Apple phones, making them accessible to anyone who can afford them.
It sells electric automobiles and solar panels to anyone who can afford them.
It is selling weapons and armament to anyone who can afford them.
It goes on and on.
Anything you can buy in a developed economy you can now also buy in a Global South economy. ANYTHING.
Why did this happen? Because China made the products affordable and was willing to sell them to anyone with the money.
GAME CHANGER.
I have a saying:
In the end, big numbers win.
That means, the 85% wrest a lot of their power, influence and buying power away from the 15%, no matter how much the 15% resist.
This explains the times we are living through.
Pre-Flood Mega Quarry Discovered in Utah
Will jobs that moved to China be brought back to the US as President Trump promised?
I was on a flight from China to Vietnam with a guy whose job was to oversee production of furniture for Pottery Barn. He was going to Vietnam to find a cheaper factory because the Chinese factory was getting too expensive. He said he liked Vietnam but it looked like he would eventually end up in Africa when Vietnam became too expensive. Bottom line: slapping a tariff on Chinese goods will move jobs to cheaper countries. Slapping a tariff on the whole world will still move those jobs to cheaper countries until the tariff is greater than the cost differential.
So let’s do the math. Let’s say it costs us $100 to make something in America in an old-style labor intensive factory, but only $25 to make it in Vietnam and ship it to America. If nothing else changes, the tariff has to be close to $75 to shift production to America. That’s 300% and that’s not in the cards, so no, those jobs aren’t coming back that way.
The only other way to shift production to America is to decrease the cost of production in America, which means the new factories have to be much more automated than the ones that shut down. And that means few of the old manual jobs are coming back and few new jobs will be created.
Up to 85% of all jobs lost in America have been lost to automation, not China. This is the real story. America is producing more than it ever has, but with fewer people because automated process can be just so much more efficient.
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Very Accurate
Have you ever completely snapped? If so what did you do?
Here we go folks!
I used to be a tire technician for a couple years. I was debating leaving, although I loved the job. I guessed I probably would have stayed at least one more year, maybe 2.
got a new manager, who had only been in Canada for less than 2 years. He was presented to us as university graduate with a business degree and 10 years experience running a tire shop in his home country, also at another shop during his first 2 years in Canada. He “worked” in our shop for barely 3 weeks. In that time, we found out he lied about everything. He didn’t know a single thing about tires or the industry at all, and never had business schooling. This info was reasonably forgivable, if he didn’t act like he knew everything. I kid you not, this man did not know how to sweep with a basic broom!
This man almost dropped a semi truck on me while I was working underneath it. The only reason I’m alive is because I secured the truck prior. He wasn’t supposed to be involved with the truck whatsoever. This was completely unexpected. Like a jump scare. In the aftermath, I gave him mercy and left it to the higher ups to rheme him out.
However, later that day, he denied falling asleep for an hour in the customer chairs! We had pictures of him dead to the world passed out. In his argument with our real boss, he caused boss such strife that he left for the rest of the day. We all had major respect for boss, so this was my last straw. I gave fake boss chance after chance, I had enough. The last hour of the day I went off on him. Told him he’s a fake and an incompetent idiot. He kept defending his actions as high and mighty, he didn’t know when to be honest and apologize. Most of the problems would’ve been fixed with sincere apologies. He didn’t even care that he almost put me 6 feet in the dirt! I berated him for an hour (for context, no one who I’ve known has ever seen me rage until now, and I have never yelled in anger at anyone except for my sibling when we were young. I am a docile man). Fake boss quit with not a single word to the company. I subsequently quit 2 weeks later, also due to other circumstances.
What’s the most ridiculous thing a coworker told on you to your boss for?
My coworker complained not only to my boss but to HR because he felt that I discriminated against him.
The guy was a slacker who thought that work was a place where he could go and be paid to socialize, so I didn’t care for him from Day One. I trained him and then told my boss I’d prefer to have nothing more to do with him, and she honored my request by making him the site tech for our building and Central Office.
I was a Computer Support Tech who covered prison units that were a good distance from our office, so I spent most of my day out of the office, at a prison or traveling to a prison. One of the prisons was a four-hour drive from our office, so when I had to go there I’d put in 12–16 hours that day. Because the state prohibited hourly employees from working over 40 hours in a week, this meant that I’d, either, have Friday off or be able to go home early on Friday.
I only visited this prison once a month so there were months when there was enough work for two techs, and I’d arrange for someone to come with me. One month the motormouth wanted a long weekend and he knew that I was making my monthly trip to the distant unit, so he asked me to take him along. At the time I didn’t have much to do — four hours of work, tops — and I told him this. A few minutes before end of day the day before my trip, I received a call from the warden asking if I’d have time to install ten network printers they’d received. Suddenly, I had enough work to justify taking someone to help, but motormouth was nowhere to be found, and I arranged for another tech to meet me at 0400 so we could head to the prison.
Motormouth found out that morning that I’d taken someone with me and immediately started whining. He whined to our boss and then went to HR and filed a complaint, claiming that I discriminated against him by refusing to take him with me. HR shot the complaint down quickly — after talking to my boss — and they never even discussed his complaint with me. My boss, who knew the entire story, told me about it the next day and it gave me another reason to dislike the jackass. I avoided him entirely after that.
The MAGNIFICENT RISE of Passport Bros in Modern Dating | Why Men Travel Abroad to Date Women
Why isn’t it allowed to take home food from a buffet?
Buffets operate according to an unwritten rule named The Huffnecker Rule.
The Huffnecker Rule came into effect in 1957 at Big Tom Huffnecker’s Buffet in St.Louis, Missouri. Big Tom’s was a popular local spot loved by everyone. Big Tom’s had great food and no one left unsatisfied. Everyone also loved Big Tom, he was a gracious host who performed magic tricks for his customers as he roamed the dining room visiting with his guests.
One day a local ne’erdowell named Aunty Becky rolled into Big Tom’s. Being a gracious host, Big Tom welcomed Aunty Becky and entertained her with a fancy card trick. Sourpuss Aunty Becky just shined him off and made a beeline for the buffet. Never had a customer treated Big Tom so rudely, he made a point of keeping one eye on her as he roamed the dining room.
Aunty Becky made multiple trips to the buffet, heading back to her table with a gigantic plate full of food each time. He quickly discover that she was packing the food into her purse and pockets. The grease from the fried chicken soaking into the bottom each.
“Get out of my restaurant!” Big Tom hollered, pointing towards the door. Aunty Becky held her ground though. “It’s a buffet” she said, “I can take all the food I want.”
That’s when Big Tom uttered those famous words. “You can take all you want, but you have to eat it all here.” he said. “That’s the rule, The Huffnecker Rule!”
And so it was written. You can take all the food you want from a buffet but it has to be eaten there. That’s the rule, The Huffnecker Rule. You shall abide.
When have you been in an accident where the other person involved blatantly lied to the police about what transpired?
Yes, and their lies turned a fairly straightforward collision claim into a six-month battle.
My beloved ’99 Ram diesel got T-boned by a Ford Expedition that had blown through the red light.
The problems started when the other driver claimed that she had the green and that I had jumped the red light. None of the other drivers that had seen the crash stuck around once they ensured we were all okay. I had no dash cam. It was the word of 20-year-old me versus a 40-something Mom with a small child. There were no skid marks leading to the crash, indicating she made no attempt to brake, which gave credence to the idea that I had unexpectedly pulled out in front of her. The police report listed me as at fault and I was cited for failure to yield and careless driving. And my truck was totaled. Not a good day.
I immediately contacted my insurance agent and started the claims process, informing them that the other driver had lied and that I had no way to prove it. The insurance company got a lawyer for me, but the agent suggested right off the bat that I check with the businesses at the intersection to see if they had any security cameras that covered the road. They did, and the manager of the gas station there was sympathetic to my situation and provided copies of their camera footage that looked out over the lot and included the intersection.
The other driver filed a civil suit for damages and medical bills against me. Armed with video of the crash, my insurance refused to pay out, and refused their settlement offers or arbitration. My lawyer got the court date for the two traffic citations delayed until after the start of the civil proceedings, so that the other driver would have no knowledge of the outcome of those tickets before going to trial. The trap was set for Mrs. Expedition.
The court date comes, and Mrs. Expedition gets on the stand, and under oath, tells the same version where I jumped the light causing the collision. She then went into a woe-is-me spiel about her neck and shoulder pain since the crash.
Finally my lawyer gets a chance to cross examine, gets her to repeat her version for the court again…but when she gets to the part about having the green light, my lawyer asked “if you had the green light, can you explain this?” and plays the tape.
The tape rolls, we can see the cross light is red, and the first car in line from my lane proceed through the intersection, then the second, and then me in my truck. Just before the crash, the lawyer pauses the video, and plain as day, we can see her looking down at the phone in her hand, completely oblivious to the fact she is 0.25 seconds away from 8000 pounds of truck.
I don’t know whose face was more priceless — her lawyer’s when he realized he’d lost the case, or hers when the Judge put her in jail for 3 days for contempt. She was later charged and convicted for perjury and sentenced to 60 days. It took every ounce of self control to not jump up and yell “gotcha bitch!” I had to be content with looking more smug than Jeremy Clarkson:
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Her case was tossed, and before we got out of the courthouse, her insurance offered to pay all of my insurer’s legal bills as well as a $30,000 payout for a truck worth $17k if we wouldn’t counter sue. I took the deal. Thirty grand and getting to see the bailiff put her in cuffs? Good day.
EDIT: for those who asked why the plaintiff was surprised or didn’t know the video was coming, my lawyer did turn over the video to their lawyer during discovery. On several DVDs with hours of footage from many cameras from the business, and without marking the few seconds of footage we would actually show in court. My lawyer was banking on the fact they would not review all the footage. If they had, they would have settled out of court. My insurance company wanted to bust her for lying on a sworn deposition. As I wrote in one of the comments: don’t get cheap lawyers or cheap condoms if you don’t want expensive surprises.
What happened to US Rail?
How do introverts live their life?
We express more in text than in face-to-face conversations.
People tend to think we’re masterminds. Little do they know while I’m sitting there quietly, picturing a smoking squirrel on a unicycle wearing a bunny-hairband.
We don’t feel compelled to go out every weekend and spend money we don’t have.
We don’t need anyone to entertain us. We’re satisfied with our own company.
We’re good listeners – even if we prefer that someone else START the conversation.
It may take longer for us to give an answer, but it will be a well thought out answer!
We tend to think more deeply, even if we can’t always express those thoughts well in words.
It may take time to win us over, but once you have, we’re loyal to the end.
We do well with friends who are grieving because we’re comfortable with silence.
We don’t have to deal with other people’s bullshit or drama. I have one friend who is a no-drama type person, and I’d prefer them to 10 friends.
We can keep a secret. (Who are we going to tell?)
Without the need to fill space with a conversation, we notice things around us that others don’t.
We excel in the art of people-watching. It allows us to learn things about people, their interactions, and human nature in general.
Women on Women
What did you learn when you worked at Google?
One of the big things I learned is just how shitty people on the Internet are.
If you build a tool that can be misused in any way, someone will figure out how to misuse it. Those people will take the useful thing you’ve built, and they’ll find ways to harm or harass other people with it. This is more true the more generally useful you’re intending your tool to be. A tool that’s used by thousands may have one bad actor using it; a tool that’s used by millions will have a thousand.
If you manufacture hammers, it’s not irresponsible of you to make a hammer that someone can use to kill another person with. We accept that it’s pretty much inevitable that blunt objects can cause blunt-force trauma. (As William S. Burroughs put it, anyone who owns a frying pan owns death.)
But those are simple, concrete, tangible objects. A lot of people who design software systems never imagine that someone would use the thing they’re building to harm another person. It’s extremely irresponsible to build a feature like location-tracking into a phone without also considering the ways in which the information that it generates can be misused by bad actors.
This is something that engineers and product managers at Google worry about all the time.
Also, you have to not only worry about your product being misused, you have to worry that the things you build to keep it from being misused don’t punish people who are just trying to get things done.
I’ve been haggling with a colleague for weeks about rolling out an anti-abuse feature that we’ve built. We have no good model for accurately assessing the risks of false positives, and it’s still possible for us to deal with the problem it automates away manually. If we turn the feature on, it will decrease the risk that we’ll miss disabling an abuser’s account by X%, but it will increase the risk that we’ll accidentally disable a non-abuser’s account by Y%, and getting the account reinstated will take Z hours of work by the user we’ve unfairly disabled. What values of X, Y, and Z are the ones at which you say, “Yes, let’s do that?” No one really knows. But we’re pretty sure that if we’re wrong, we’ll hurt enough users that Twitter will tell us.
This is an extremely common scenario at Google. The terms “false positive” and “false negative” get thrown around so much by some teams that it can be hard to follow their conversations. (Fortunately, the bathrooms at Google provide a handy mnemonic. When the soap dispenser fires soap into the sink because your hand passed within a foot of it, that’s a false positive. When the faucet doesn’t dispense water even though you’re frantically waving your hand back and forth under it, that’s a false negative. So, there’s another thing I’ve learned at Google.)
False positives and false negatives go hand in hand with another aspect of working at Google, which is scale.
A colleague of mine put it this way: “For most teams at Google, another way of saying ‘this happens one time in a million’ is ‘this will happen two or three times today.’”
A common benchmark in site-reliability engineering is “five nines,” or a system that works 99.999% of the time. But there are only 86,400 seconds in a day. Your site can be down for almost a full second every day and still have five nines of reliability. Hundreds, or thousands, of user operations will fail in that near-second. What’s your plan for dealing with that?
I have heard tell of teams at Google that check their system’s performance against its SLOs, and if they’ve had too much reliability at the end of the month, they deliberately bring the system down for a second or two, just to make sure that all of the mitigations that other engineers have built to accommodate that failure rate actually get triggered. It’s like testing your fire extinguishers to make sure they still work.
This is stuff I never, ever had to worry about before coming to Google.
Baked Chicken and Dumplings
Baked Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
Vegetable cooking spray
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, uncooked
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen sliced carrots
1/2 teaspoon dried sage, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 (13 3/4 ounce) cans chicken broth
Instructions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a 2 1/2 quart casserole with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine milk and oil.
Gradually stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well into a dough consistency and set aside.
Place chicken breasts in bottom of casserole.
Cover chicken with onion, celery, and carrots.
Evenly sprinkle sage and pepper over vegetables; pour broth over dish.
Using the dough mixture, form 2 inch balls and drop into casserole.
Cover tightly and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
Is Taiwan the Chinese Ukraine? Is there any other neighboring country that China could invade and get little reaction from the global community?
Taiwan is not sovereign. It is not a UN member, or an observer state.
EVERY, and I repeat, EVERY, nation on earth implements the One China policy. No first world nation recognizes Taipei as the seat of the China government. All of them, and this includes the United States, pursue diplomacy with Beijing instead.
Today, only 11 states recognizes Taipei in lieu of Beijing. Comprising less than 0.5% of the poorest and most isolated humanity—Belize, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, Marshall Islands, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu—are all without exception tied at the umbilical to American largess and patronage.
When Taiwanese leaders drop by Washington, they do not fly direct. The trips are framed as stopovers from diplomatic visits to Belize or Guatemala.
Ukraine is a full UN member, and votes at the UNGA.
What Chinese Ukraine?
As for land grab, let’s put the house in order and fulfill the terms outlined in the Cairo Declaration of 1943, the Potsdam Declaration of 1945 and the Treaty of San Francisco of 1951 first.
History owes China that much, at the minimum.
Otherwise, continue playing the deliberate fool stoking war at every juncture.
Scott Ritter & Andrei Martyanov: Russia has Demilitarized NATO and Ukraine is FINISHED
Have you ever met a dangerous person and not known it at the time?
My daughter. I boxed in the Navy, before and after, and loved the sport. My daughter, when she was about five, went with me to the gym and asked about it. She began taking boxing lessons when she was either six or seven, I forget. She did look a bit weird in those HUGE gloves and head-gear.
She boxed throughout her teen years – loving it.
A few years later she was on a date with a “new” boyfriend when she returned home about 9:30 at night, alone, but in his car. “What happened?” I asked her.
“He got fresh with me after I told him to leave me alone,” she said. “But he didn’t stop and put his hands on me, quite inappropriately,” she added.
“Yes,” I said. “And then what?”
“I pushed him back and decked him,” she said flashing a sly smile. “I left him unconscious in a ditch and took his car home. It’s outside, the keys are locked inside.”
A day later the car disappeared and we never heard from the SOB again.
Blind Ranking Men Shortest to Tallest
What’s something that sucks about being a man?
Going Anonymous because this is a story of someone I know personally, and I want zero chance that this gets back to him since he still doesn’t like talking about this nearly a decade later.
During college I was friends with 2 cousins who for sake of anonymity were named Blake and Nate. After a night out to the local bar for pool, Blake and Nate had too much to drink. Blake is a big guy, he had little issue holding his alcohol, but Nate is very slender and was absolutely drunk beyond conscionable thought after an equal number of rounds. Later into the night, as everyone was packing it in, Blake had noticed that Nate had disappeared. Blake assumed Nate made it back to their apartment safe, however as he stepped out of the tavern he spotted his cousin Nate being escorted/carried down an adjacent hill toward town by a rather large woman he had seen Nate speaking with on-campus previously. Thankful he didn’t have to personally carry Nate’s drunk person a half mile in the opposite direction, Blake let Nate’s “friend” deal with his semi-conscious cousin and began walking in the opposite direction toward his and Nate’s apartment.
Afterwards, Nate made it clear to us that this woman had frequently harassed him on-campus with sexual advances which he had at numerous times rebuffed. Nate didn’t remember a thing from that night, only that he woke up in her empty apartment with no clothes on. Campus police were utterly disinterested in investigating, practically laughing him out of their office saying that he must have been more conscious than he remembered or cared to admit because the notion of possible rape committed by a woman towards a man seemed utterly ridiculous. I still can’t imagine the dread Nate went through over the following 3 months fearing that this woman might be pregnant (he couldn’t remember what happened or if it was safe, he only knew he was naked). He feared that she might demand that he take responsibility for acts he could not physically consent to and that no court would take his claim seriously enough to dismiss legal obligation or allow him to elect termination on grounds of rape. He was panicked that the mistake of drinking past blackout would force him to trade further education for a forced life of child support payments following a sexual act he did not consent to, want, or even remember. All of this seems an exceedingly rare and alien cornercase until it is someone you know.
The worst part of being a man is knowing that society doesn’t take these problems seriously when faced by a male because it is assumed that as a man you cannot be the victim of a woman. The shame that if you as a man are a victim and expressing your pain then you are deserving of scorn or heckling.
The Most Depressing Graph EVER!
Had you ever had a neighbor that you just stayed away from for some reason?
Back in 1985, my now ex husband and I bought a farm at the edge of a village of around 700 people. This town was not the most welcoming to strangers that were not born or lived here forever. They even seemed to marry people from that small village. Girls would marry a boy and their sisters would marry his brothers. The kids would be double first cousins and all look alike.
There were several people that were weird enough that I wondered if there was something wrong with the water. We had an alcoholic neighbor that was a Vet of 2 wars that lived on the hill in a house owned by his family. The yard was filled with old machinery. I had to go inside once because he was in the hospital and he asked me to get some things. He used to pick up Friday night fish and eat it at the table and shove the Styrofoam container off the table. The house was trashed beyond belief. The roof was open because there was a fire. Stuff scattered everywhere. He could be mean and he could be nice depending on his mood. We never knew what to expect when he came over. The stories he told about the things he experienced in the wars gave me an understanding of his crazy moods. He is dead now. I believe he drank himself to death.
We had an old hermit that lived in his falling down house by himself. His parents had died years ago and he never had a job but worked for cash under the table. There were holes in his floor and one day he fell into them and couldn’t get out for several days. he had to have them amputated and moved into housing provided by the state. He died there.
We had a next door neighbor that was bat shit crazy. He went really nuts after his wife left with their kids. She went into hiding as she was fearful of him. His father died a day or 2 later in a horrible farm accident and it sent him over the top. The state decided it was cheaper for him to live with his mother than an institution. He was abusive towards her, stole from her. He harassed people in town and generally made himself a pain in the ass to everybody. He hated me for trying to protect his mother from his abuse. Called the cops on him a time or two when he was abusive to her. Every once in a while, the cops would come and haul him off the the mental ward when he went off the deep end. A week of peaceful quiet for her. He dragged his mother everywhere when at the age of 91, she just wanted to go to church and then home. She developed a blood clot in her leg (I always believed it was because he would drag her out and about) and she refused to amputate her leg. He went nuts and made a huge scene at the hospital. She died soon after. He ended up permanently at the mental institution. He died a few years later.
We had a guy that changed his legal name to a famous singer because he once had the slightest resemblance to him. He was a greasy looking slimeball. I don’t remember if either worked. There was a story going round that when she gave birth to their son, there were maggots in her genital area. She was one of those moms that her punk thug of a son could do no wrong. If he stole stuff-it was your fault for having it for him to take. The boy went to jail for molesting young pre teen kids. He was forced to take a class for sex offenders. He told the doctors treating him that his dad was molesting chickens. Dad ended in jail for that offense. He eventually got out and was forever known as a chicken fucker. He is dead too. His wife left him. The son got out of jail and was not out long before he was killed by 2 guys who wanted to know what it was like to kill someone.
The last one was my closest neighbor. My kids would bike to school. He lived around the corner from us. My kids told me that he stands in the window and he looks naked. Being that we were new and did not want to upset the apple cart, I told the kids to stay away from him. Turned out, he was molesting the neighbor girls next door who told their parents. They reported it. When the dust finally settled, he was a serial child molester going back about 30 years. His own grandchildren great grandchildren and anyone he could get his hands on. His name was Lester and everybody called him Lester the Molester. I was rather pissed that for whatever reason, nobody ever turned him in even though the whole town supposedly knew. His wife was in the next rom and it was said that she was aware of his misdeeds. He ended up in prison for less than 5 years before he was moved to a nursing home to die. His wife is gone as well. I moved away 25 years ago, but my ex husband is still there-drinking the same water.
1920s Sweetheart Antique Toaster In Action
It’s so gorgeous and intricate. Very lovely.
The Oil Paintings of Alan MacDonald
There is seemingly no element too exotic to inhabit an oil painting by Alan MacDonald, whose works traverse cultures and histories to present something always elegant in execution. At the base of MacDonald’s work seems to be a need for adventure, exploring inspiration and varying perspectives in each work.
A Chinese guy told me to go to his house to make dinner because Wuhan is so cold now. Should I accept or not? I’m afraid I’m Muslim.
Hi, Youssra Ary. Thanks for the very interesting question.
You posted this question on February 5.
It would have been colder in Wuhan then (today is March 24).
I just got back from Wuhan and the weather was quite pleasant.
Around 10 – 15 °C during the day.
Very nice.
It’s really beautiful in Wuhan now.
The cherry blossoms are in full bloom now – it’s all a very lovely sight to behold.
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Took this picture in 东湖樱花园 (East Lake Cherry Blossom Garden).
The cherry blossoms are so pretty!
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Okay, now let’s get down to brass tacks regarding the premise of your question.
China has about 20 – 30 million Muslims.
There are food establishments selling halal food around every corner.
In fact, there are several times more food establishments selling halal food in China than there are McDonald restaurants.
There are 2 halal restaurants near my apartment, but no McDonald’s.
There are 3 halal restaurants around my game studio.
And the best part is, these halal food establishments are frequented by non-Muslims and Muslims alike.
I have several colleagues who are Muslims, so in addition to halal food deliveries + bringing their own food from home, these 3 halal restaurants offer them quite a bit of variety in terms of their food choices during lunchtime.
For myself and most of my non-Muslim colleagues, we’ll head on down to one of these halal restaurants at least once a week.
I don’t think there are any non-Muslim Chinese colleagues at my game studio who hasn’t been to a halal restaurant.
These halal food establishments are just that ubiquitous.
And they serve up some pretty tasty fare as well!
Just look out for these two characters: 清真
If you see these two characters, it means the food will be halal.
See picture below:
main qimg 426ca91b500b9ea9c5c67d6c093ef14e
Those working in the halal food establishments will either be Uighur Chinese, or Hui Chinese.
Uighur Chinese and Hui Chinese make up the two largest Muslim groups in China.
The picture below was taken in a halal food establishment in Kashgar, Xinjiang.
It is run by Uighur Muslims.
You can get a good and filling halal meal here for under 20 yuan (2.80 USD).
main qimg 302786d4b6f3f33701677233fbad8134
This picture was taken in a halal food establishment in Yangzhou.
You can see from the sign at the back, the two characters 清真, denoting that this is a halal food establishment.
The proprietess is a Hui Muslim from Linxia, Gansu.
Many of us Chinese are already very used to eating halal food.
I eat halal food at least once a week.
Actually, the commonly held belief is that, if you want to eat really good beef, mutton, and lamb, you head on over down to a halal food establishment because the people who work there are very good at preparing these meats.
But if you like chicken too, don’t worry.
They serve that as well.
Say hello to 新疆大盘鸡（Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken):
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My only concern with your going to your friend’s house in Wuhan to prepare a halal meal is…
Wouldn’t you have to bring your own cooking and eating utensils?
Please correct me if I’m wrong here, but I though that, as a Muslim, you’re not allowed to use cooking and eating utensils that have been used to cook and eat non-halal food?
Men Are Avoiding Marriage And The World Doesn’t Understand Why
Girls and Fruit
This is from one of my AI text to picture experiments.Enjoy.
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Have you ever accidentally opened someone else’s email and found something interesting?
My wife opens all the mail. All of it. She always has, and she lets me know if anything comes that I need to take care of. It’s a fine arrangement for me, I prefer not to have to sort it out. Many years ago, she was sitting at the kitchen table opening mail while I was across the room at the sink filling a glass. I heard a snort, and a “what the…” I turned my head to look at her. She was looking at me with that look…guys, you know what I am talking about…like laser beams of pure hate, fury and evil all rolled into one. Her head was about to split open and reveal Satan himself. She had opened an envelope and found a dirty magazine inside, which she was now holding up. It was not just any dirty magazine, either, like a Playboy or something, it was extra nasty stuff.
“WHAT IS THIS?!?!” she growled through gritted teeth. “Why would you do this? And, WHY would you have it delivered HERE?!?”
I was just standing there with a glass of water. Flight or fight mode was kicking in. “Honey,” I said, very calmly while taking a sliding step toward the door, “What makes you think I would do that? How long have you known me?”
“Well, who else would do it? It wasn’t ME!”
“Honey, have you checked the delivery address?”
Well, it so turned out that the mailperson had transposed the house number and delivered this package intended for our neighbor to our house by mistake. “Well,” she said, trying to calm down, “Ok, ok, you are right.” Her blood had boiled so hard it took her quite a few minutes to calm down. Even after realizing her mistake, she was still mad and would not look at me. About 1/2 hour later she nicely asked if I would drop it off to the neighbor.
Why did my top performing employee quit after write up?
Some years ago I was a bankruptcy specialist at a large financial institution. We’d been purchased by this after the original company n had been purchased by an entrepreneurial operation who took as much as they could get and then sold the remains.
Very little of this affected me or my particular job other than we’d been relocated to this financial institution’s headquarters so my 40 something mile commute became closer to a 70 mile commute (round trip).
So we had a department meeting one day to be told that our department was going to be split in half. One half was going to remain pretty much the same under the leadership of the overall department head. The other half was going to be strictly litigation focused.
Now I’d gotten really good at the bankruptcy part. I’d actually completed a legal assistant degree while working there and had taken a couple of bankruptcy classes. What I had never learned was litigation. My new boss knew that, but never offered any kind of training, assistance, nothing.
In addition, I was told that I was to assist the half of the office still doing bankruptcy. Like me and litigation, none of them had ever done bankruptcy.
I tried, I really did. I gave the cheat sheets, proof of claim templates, everything I could. But over a year later, I was still getting basically the same questions as they had at the beginning. I gave them information sheets explaining the different types of bankruptcies and how they were handled. Nothing seemed to actually stick as I would be asked to do a lot of the work.
I was probably spending about 75% of my workday on bankruptcy and wasn’t learning anything about litigation. So I finally went to my direct boss to ask how long I would be expected to “help” the other people in the office. I told him that I wasn’t really clear on the ins and outs of litigation because I was constantly being asked to handle bankruptcy.
He reminded me that our annual review was coming up and both heads of department would be conducting them. Since our overall boss was in charge of the group handling bankruptcy. He suggested I bring that up in the review.
Well, it was a setup. After a somewhat wishy-washy review, I was asked if I had any questions so I asked about my assignment to “assist” the new bankruptcy team while they were supposedly learning the ropes. I didn’t outright criticize any individuals, but I did point out that the basics still seemed to be misunderstood and I wasn’t effectively able to work on litigation.
Clearly he’d been warned I was going to ask this. He sat up in his chair, his cheeks got all red, and he began huffing and puffing. He started by accusing me of not training them. I was prepared enough that I’d brought copies of all the training paperwork I’d provided, all of it created by me mostly on my own time at home. He literally pushed it away and started pulling out printouts from our computer system.
He started with about six or seven printouts from individual bankruptcy cases. I looked at them. In every case, these were bankruptcies filed after I was no longer in the department so of course my name wasn’t in the notes.
Oh, but he’d thought ahead. Next he pulls out a dozen or more bankruptcies dating back over a year or before the department divided. I looked at those and each and everyone of them had notes under my name stating that they had been sent to outside counsel. About six months or so before the changes, we (my previous bankruptcy coworker and I) had been told that all new bankruptcies where the overall value of the company was over a certain amount (I think over $250,000) was to be sent directly to outside lawyers and we were not to touch them. Yes, every one had been sent to outside counsel. As for my question as to how long I was to be “assisting,” I was told “until I tell you otherwise.” Honestly I didn’t really mind that answer but I was concerned about eventually having a bad review over not accomplishing more in litigation.
My review ended up with some phrasing about how I wasn’t cooperating with the “overall department strategy,” and I started job searching immediately. I was out about six months later.
Scott Ritter: Putin Rejects Neocon’s China Agenda – What Will Happen Between Russia and NATO?
https://youtu.be/w1iQNmsgHeM
What was the moment you realized that life had passed you by?
I was given a hint life was passing me by when I was buying a movie ticket. I was asked if I wanted a senior discount. I was 50 years old. I was shocked. I started getting AARP ads in the mail at the same age.I realized then society viewed me as an old person.
I always thought I had all the time in the world to accomplish anything. I had a few hints earlier about life’s uncertainty when a 27 year old friend was killed driving home from a grocery store three blocks from her house. Once a 34 year old neighbor came home for lunch, went for a quick jog, and dropped dead from a heart attack.
Those events happened to other people: not me.
I looked in the mirror and realized I was not young anymore. Delusion is powerful. Feeling immortal is an emotion I always had.
In 2012, I was told I had Parkinson’s disease. No worries… I thought, you can live a long time with this disease. Recently I was told I actually have MSA which is a cousin of Parkinson’s. You die sooner having this disease.
Do what you’ve dreamed about now. Want to be an actor? singer? own your own business? How about taking a trip? An uncle once told me he and my aunt saved their money so they could see the world when they got old. They never knew he would get sick and die soon after he told me about their plans.
No matter what age you are, follow your heart now. Marry, have children, do what you want to do to make your life complete. You’re not immortal. You won’t be young forever.
One day you’ll wake up and be me.
Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Breasts
Honey mustard chicken 4
Ingredients you will need
Chicken breasts: I always opt to use boneless and skinless breasts for this honey mustard chicken. A lot of recipes use thighs, but I like the leaner versatility of a chicken breast or you may even use chicken tenders.
Spices: We use a mix of spices here including paprika, mustard seed, ground mustard seed, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. These flavors all pair so well together and also help to complement the honey mustard.
Olive oil: A great neutral vegetable oil that can be used at high temperatures, high-quality olive oil has natural aromatic flavors that are robust and so delicious.
Honey: The sweet portion of this sweet and savory chicken recipe comes from the honey. It’s a natural sugar, not too sweet, and also has an excellent flavor.
Chicken stock: Just a few tablespoons of chicken stock gets added to the marinade. This helps to keep the chicken moist while baking. You can also use vegetable stock if you have it.
Mustard: We are going to be using two mustard in this chicken recipe to take it to the next level: Dijon and whole grain. While providing an excellent flavor, the whole grain mustard also provides some texture to our honey mustard chicken breasts.
White vinegar: In addition to the tang from the mustard, white vinegar provides an additional tanginess. You could also use apple cider vinegar here.
Sriracha sauce: I like a little bit of spice to my honey mustard chicken recipe, so I add a touch of Sriracha. You can adjust this to your taste buds, or omit it altogether if you’re not of fan of the heat.
Thyme: A small handful of fresh thyme finishes this dish off. It provides some color to garnish and top off your baked chicken.
Ingredients
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup prepared mustard
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste and place in a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
In a small bowl combine the honey, mustard, basil, paprika and parsley. Mix well. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over the chicken and brush to cover.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Turn chicken pieces over, brush with the remaining 1/2 of the honey mustard mixture, and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.
Honey mustard chicken 5
Men blind dating
What makes Chinese people proud of their country? What are some unique aspects of China that contribute to this pride?
How about everything? Its culture, its rich history 60% of all human endeavours result as a an outcome of Chinese history! It don’t resort to US and European barbarism, hypocrisy, plunder and murders to get to where it is today! It survived despite of the atrocities the Japanese and western powers did to China! Today it does not tell anyone to to change to the Chinese systems. The west slaughtered millions to impose its ways! Today it turns deserts into farmland and cultivate wind and solar energy in excess of the entire world combined!
What is the most shameless thing you have ever seen a teacher do?
When I was in the 7th grade in math I continually got Ds on all my scores. One day I watched the teacher grade a girls test and saw exactly what she missed. She got a B+. BTW her family owned one of the largest grocery chains in the nation. When he graded my test it turned out I missed the exact same question in the exact same way as the girl, I got a D. I was a very tiny boy and mild . I said nothing as I always respected my elders. The very first week of 8th grade we were given a standardized math test. Not once had I studied outside of the class room. I tied for the highest grade on that test against over 700 eighth graders. The person I tied, studied very hard and becam the valedictorian of our high school. When I saw my test score I realized just how biased the teacher was against me. For the very first time in my life I confronted an adult.I went to see him and said, Mr Ziegler, I want to show you my 8 grade standardized test scores. I explained that my score tied with another boy for highest in the entire 8th grade. He then said “ oh, you must have really studied during the summer”. I told him No, I had not even opened a book from the time I left his class and the time I took the test. I turned and walked out without saying another word.
That was 70 years ago and only a few years ago I realized why. I was a blond haired, blue eyed boy. My name was the same as the head of the Waffen SS and this was only a relatively few years after WW2 and the fall of the Nazi regime. BTW my German heritage moved to the USA was in 1840.
Different places have different societies, and different cultures. I could probably write a book on this, as there are joys and pains with this kind of experience. But I will specify one such experience… working for “the BOSS” while I was building a hospital in Pago pago, American Samoa.
Honestly, this guy was sort of like a Samoan version of Tony Soprano. He held bi-monthly dinners, and all that, and there was no question that he was the big boss, and everyone else had to follow and obey him to the letter. He was insulting, harsh, brutish and rude. he was a “Bluto” incarnate.
It was socking. But with one pay out every two weeks, it was hard not to take it. So I did. Ouch! It was so painful. I mean, when I was in the Navy, I had a Marine drill instructor, but this guy was on another level. Wholly Shit!
Anyways, do not think that everyone in the world is the same. We tend to mix up biology and genetics with culture and societal norms. It’s a certain American trait, but Brits seem to be prone to it as well.
Be careful out there. You all.
Today…
If you are homeless, why wont you just get a job?
I was employed when I became homeless, working in a WFH situation thanks to covid, one little problem arose though, I was on a month to month lease when the owner decided to list the property for sale, this gave me 6 weeks to look for a new rental.
I quickly realised that the $500 a week rent i was paying for a nice 2 bedroom house with a backyard, was grossly below market value. I applied for over 100 houses between $450–750 per week, and not one of them was successful.
2 weeks till I was to be kicked out, I purchased a van, did a basic fitout in it, sold 75% of my stuff and moved into the van on the last day of my lease. I spent the next month applying for houses, but eventually gave up. I maintained my WFH job, working in the van and moving around every few days.
I eventually left the job as I started finding work around the state. The pay was good, but I stayed in the van for just over 2 years, meeting my best friend Storm in the first 6 months. 2 years later, I had saved up enough and had a regular enough income stream to allow me to buy a small block of land. It doesnt have building permits, but I have parked a tiny house on it, and it suits us perfectly now
Cheese Tortellini Crock Pot Dinner
A creamy, cheesy crock pot dinner recipe featuring cream cheese, cheese tortellini and spinach.
slow cooker tortellini soup 3 768×1152
Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 large bag cheese tortellini
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bunch fresh spinach, stems removed, or 1 bag frozen spinach
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 container vegetable or chicken broth
4 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Place block of cream cheese in the slow cooker.
Pour the bag of tortellini over the cream cheese.
Pour the can of diced tomatoes over all.
Add the spinach to the top.
Sprinkle garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and Italian seasoning over the top.
Pour the chicken broth into the slow cooker.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top.
Cover the slow cooker, and cook on HIGH for about 2 1/2 hours.
Stir well and serve.
Internal conflicts
Did you ever end up benefiting, in some way, from a crime that you were the victim of?
A few years ago I had a garage full of assorted nonsense, as garages tend to be. Among the nonsense was a television and a microwave oven, both of which were taken when thieves cut the lock on the door. This was late 1990’s, when replacing a 21 inch TV could cost $400, and a microwave about $150.
Fortunately for me, neither appliance was functional. So far the net benefit is zero. But in that area, you couldn’t just drop a broken TV in the garbage can. Electronics of any type were considered “hazardous waste” presumably because of lead in the solder on the circuit boards. Did I mention this was in California? Yeah, they’re all kinda goofy about lead. Anyway, the city’s policy on such items was that if you had “hazardous waste” you had to take it yourself to the hazardous waste dump, and pay a fee to dispose of it. The fee depended on the weight, and this was a 1990’s TV, probably weighing about 50+ lbs (20+ kg).
So, when the thieves broke in, they saved me not only a trip to the dump, but also the fee I would have had to pay.
They did steal some other things, which I wasn’t happy about, but at least they relieved me of the burden of a couple of gigantic paperweights.
What is the best thing that has ever happened to you for being nice?
I have a friend whose husband committed suicide. She lives 350km away from me, so I couldn’t often see her, but she phoned me for an hour or two every morning.
Sometimes she just cried. Sometimes she talked about her life, husband, children, the event, the events leading up to his death.
I didn’t know what to do. I was very busy and I really didn’t have time. But she was my friend, she was in pain, and she needed someone to listen to her.
That’s all I did, nothing great, nothing fantastic. I didn’t try to advise her, certainly didn’t tell her she would get better.
She had an overwhelming feeling of guilt. However, her husband had given no warning that he was about to kill himself, but was on anti-psychotic medicine. So the only thing I ever said, really, was “it’s not your fault. Nothing you could have done would have stopped this” . I said that over and over again.
After many, many months of this, there were fewer phone calls. I called her to see how she was. She wasn’t always ok, and still blamed herself.
Two or three years later, she told me I’d saved her life. I was amazed, I’d done nothing special. How? “You listened”. Apparently she’d been pretty close to suicide herself.
Now she’s OK, happy with her life and her grandchildren. That was the nicest thing that could have happened to me.
The reason I’m posting this is that sometimes all people need is for someone to listen to them, to care. They don’t need advice, and to be told it will get better. That doesn’t help.
Listen, without being judgemental. Our reward is when it helps them.
Election rallies USA 2024
LOL
Hong Kong passed a new security law. What’s the significance?
Nothing really.
If you’re a normal person, who has a job and home… essentially nothing changes. It’s nearly April and I need to pay my salaries tax from my part time day job… I also need to pay my other taxes. This means I will have to endure waiting in a bank queue as there are ATM limits that are lower than my tax bill 🙁 . If you’re a grifter who took CIA money then you’re in trouble.
Joshua Wong literally had $400,000 which he tried to deposit into a HSBC (UK bank) account, he was denied as he refused to divulge the source of the funding. Under UK SOCPA that would have been seized as suspicious.
NSL law? It had pretty much zero effect on normal people in Hong Kong, for regular people nothing has changed even the real name ID phone registration was actually an anti phone scam measure NOT a result of NSL law. What was seen was lots of advertising about it… that’s the extent of it. I’ve never been stopped under NSL law. Nobody I know has been stopped. You go into a pub and likely nobody’s been arrested over it.
I have however been arrested over non appearance in court for a cycling offence. The police officer was WTF this is pointless. This is because my village has postal problems due to very similar addressed. I was fined $200HKD.
OTOH in the UK?
Under UK anti terrorism laws, a LOT of people were stopped under S44 of the anti terrorism laws. It was used for everything. As such you go into a pub and several people have been stopped over it.
UK SOCPA, yet again pub test, lots of people have been subjected to it. There are tons of stories of £2000 to buy a car or just sold a car and it was deemed as suspicious.
Westerners see how their own regimes and corrupt police forces abuse laws and think it must be so much worse in China/Hong Kong!
I mean fuck we don’t even have ANPR in HK. People park everywhere and anywhere and police shrug. Two days ago some fuck parked lengthways across a zebra crossing and the police biker who was at the scene was waddayawant me to do about it?
Commercial Thompson’s were made to look sexy. They were expensive to make, nicely finished and had flashy accessories like removable stocks, compensators and audacious drum magazines.
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You can see all of the weapon’s unique features here in this picture. Note the vertical fore grip, the finned barrel, Cutt’s Compensator, the slots cut into the receiver so a drum magazine may be inserted and the charging handle on top of the receiver. A lot of precise machining went into these weapons and many skilled men were employed to produce them.
The most unique feature of the Thompson submachine gun was its action. Based on The Blish System, it included a part, known as “The H Piece” which held the bolt closed until the bullet cleared the barrel, then allowed the action to chamber another round. The weapons’s designer, General John T. Thompson, declared the H piece to be integral to the gun’s design and function. It demanded to be machined and inserted at a precise angle and there was no alternative to its use. The H Piece is the brass “H” shaped piece of metal in the picture below.
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Basically, the commercial Thompson was a complicated gun that required skilled machinists to create and was costly as a result.
The world was heating up though and isolationist America began to gear up for a potential war and they needed guns.
The US Army already knew about the Thompson and employed them in small numbers. But now they needed lots of them as quickly as possible. In order to meet demand, changes were made to the design so contractors could turn them out quickly. The new weapon was designated M1 Thompson in 1940 and was being made by Colt, Auto Ordinance and Savage Arms.
main qimg f6b87dcf359480f97e091cce728bec0c lq
As you can see, the vertical fore grip was replaced by a horizontal one, but the other features are still in place, most notably the charging handle on top of the receive, meaning it still employs the Blish Locking System and the H piece. It did get sling swivels and a phosphate finish, but otherwise it is the same as the commercial model Thompson. It was expensive and time consuming to make.
In 1941, everything changed. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and US troops were headed to the pacific to fight. A simpler, easier to produce submachine gun was needed, so all of the Thompson’s fancy features went to the chopping block.
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This Thompson, designated the M1A1, is the one most GIs were familiar with. No compensator, a horizontal fore grip, phosphate finish, no slots for a drum magazine and the charging handle was moved to the side of the receiver. It was now a pure blow back submachine gun. The Blish lock and H piece, deemed necessary by the designer, were gone. The weapon was still fairly costly to produce but it could be made more rapidly and was ultra reliable in combat.
What is the saddest thing that happened to you that you never shared with others before?
Well. My father always wanted a son. When my mother got pregnant, he explicitly told her that he is a well reputed man and that he can not have a daughter and if it’s a daughter, it’ll be because of my mother. (Scientifically this makes no sense but in my culture, giving birth to a daughter is a matter of shame.) As fate had it, it was a daughter. Me, my father looked at me and went home. Leaving my mother all alone. Even my grandparents left. My mother alone managed everything and the day she were to discharge, my father called and told her that if she wants to come back home, she should leave me at an orphanage first. And that I was not his daughter. He said he told his friends and family that you had a miscarriage. Well my mother didn’t listen to him and somehow managed to raise me but it is extremely saddening how my father rejected his blood just because it was a girl. And it saddens me how because of me, my mother’s divorce happened. I can never thank my mother enough for choosing me over a comforting life.
Edit: Thank you all for your love and support. My mother has done all sorts of odd jobs to support me. But back in 2013, my mother got diagnosed with cancer. I was in the third year of my university and when I got to know, I was devastated. I didn’t want to lose my mother, who had spent all her life working for my education and well-being. There were days when my mother could either afford my milk or her food and she always got milk and slept hungry herself. And I just didn’t want her to leave this world without seeing me successful. I wanted to take care of her like she took care of me. So I decided I will do anything and get money for her treatment. (It was stage 2) I applied for a lot of loans, aid, even begged on the street but to no avail. With no option left, I contacted my father. He is pretty rich. Went to his office, begged in front of him, cried my heart out and all he said was that he is not my father and my mother has lied to me. I persisted but he called security. That day I felt ashamed of myself for being the blood of such a man. Luckily, my friend in college contacted me and promised to help out. His parents paid all the expenses and my mother recovered only last year. That man is now my husband. Now I have a good job and I save to return my father in law’s money. Even though he says there is no need but my mother never borrowed money to feed me and I want to take care of my mother solely.
Edit 2: This answer is getting long but I just want to add that me and my mother have gone through all sorts of circumstances. And I know people around the globe go through the same. There was a time when I came home and told my mother I want to die. I told her this world is unfair and there is no point in living when I can die. I told her I am no rich girl nor do I have anything to offer to this world, so my life doesn’t really matter; dead or alive. At that point she said you have two options, either you kill yourself and put me in more pain or you outlive your circumstances and prove your worth to your dad and men like him. And well I am glad I lived. My success though has only been possible because of my husband. As my mother says,”He is the reward of our patience and my prayers because the day I married your father, I prayed to God that I accept this man as my fate but if I have a daughter, let her husband be none like her father.”
Thank you for your love and prayers. And if you are going through a tough time, always remember the best thing about time is that it changes. Just be honest to your present and the future will bring reward. Good luck living life!
Why Kids Don’t Go Outside Anymore
What are some unwritten social rules everyone should know?
If someone shows you a photo on their phone, don’t swipe left or right.
If someone tells you, “It’s getting late,” when you’re over at their place, it’s time for you to go.
Walk as if you are “driving” and don’t stand still right at the entrance or exit of a door. Let people pass.
If you invite a friend to a party where they barely know anyone, don’t leave them hanging.
Don’t criticize someone’s smile or laugh.
Don’t stand too close when talking to people or talk “in their face.”
If you have never seen or tried what they like, don’t diss someone’s taste.
Don’t ask why the person isn’t married/doesn’t have children. Never.
When someone starts talking about their problems, don’t start talking about yours.
Don’t ask for somebody else’s opinion and get mad when they tell it to you.
If you start to smell yourself, other people have been smelling you for 3 days.
If someone can’t fix an aspect of their appearance in 5 minutes or less, don’t mention it.
Don’t microwave fish in the break room at work.
Don’t take pictures of kids that aren’t yours.
When you enter an elevator, face the door.
Don’t ever snap your fingers to get a bill from a server at a restaurant.
When your friend’s crush is around, don’t try to be the funniest in the group.
Assume nothing. Believe nobody. Check everything.
Really Dumb Americans
Why did my top performing employee quit after write up?
I quit 8 months after a bad performance review. It was the first of my working career, I was single with no family nearby or other safety net, and I had asked repeatedly for some assistance.
After the review, my boss came to my office and asked me what I was going to do. I said “find another job within the next 6 months”. Shocked her but I outlined explained my rationale. They didn’t understand my job and the amount of work it required. As a trainer, I had excellent evaluations. I never turned down an assignment and traveled throughout 6 LARGE states. And the past was not that great.
I found another job and left after 8 months but was agreed to fulfill 2 or 3 training sessions after the other job started so the company wasn’t left high and dry.
So, I left because I felt my job was threatened and was worried about my financial future, plain and simple.
According to BBC, critics worry that TikTok, owned by ByteDance based in Beijing, could be used by the Chinese government for spying. What do you think of it?
Here’s the thing, and if it were true. What exactly is the PRC government going to do with this data? Go on what are they gonna do, steal your bodily fluids?
The PRC doesn’t even kill dissidents. Ai Weiwei moved away and is still very much alive.
It’s not the PRC who is trying to take away your guns is it?
Flirt Flop
Is it ever possible for someone to feel that they are paid too much?
Gosh, yes. I’m usually able to suppress that feeling, but I’ll tell the story about the time that even I couldn’t.
I was representing a client in an estate dispute against a relative. The defendant was a borderline personality and there were strong reasons to believe the representation would be lengthy, costly, require extensive expert testimony, and be very nasty. Plus the client had limited resources.
We negotiated a fee agreement which gave me a percentage of the ultimate recovery that we both thought was fair.
As a precursor to the lawsuit, I sent a demand letter setting forth the basis of the potential case. Pure formality and I knew it would be a waste of time, but I wanted to be able to show that we had gone through all the motions.
To my utter astonishment, the defendant caved. Completely. Within two weeks, my client had a thorough accounting and a very large transfer of property to her. I had done very little real hourly work.
And according to the fee agreement, I was entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I was very distressed about this aspect and after considerable hand-wringing and thought, and consultation with colleagues, I simply picked up the phone, called my client, told her what had happened, and said, “Here’s how much you supposedly owe me under our agreement. It’s too much. I haven’t been able to figure an analytical way to reach the right number. I’m going to propose $X. That’s a quarter of the fee agreement amount. It’s still probably too much, but I can live with asking for that.”
My client was silent, then chuckled and said, “I accept your proposal. Plus, you’ve given me a lawyer story that no one will believe. Thank you.”
Afternote: that client became a dear friend and referred other business to me. I didn’t know it at the time, but my fee reduction proved to be an excellent marketing move.
What solution could work to stop the South China Sea conflict?
The U.S. must stop all trouble making and war mongering via the NED and CIA immediately and comprehensively. As the nuclear clock is ticking ever closer to mid night!
At some point China will react and that will start an escalation into a 3WW situation that nobody wins no matter how proud the Caucasians are about the U.S. power. It is easy to bribed poor Filipino fishermen to do shit at 10 grand a pop rushing their lives but the end won’t justifies the means at all! Stop before it is too late. Ukraine is a perfect example.
Perhaps the US thought it is now or never but the truth is never is the answer, the U.S. simply has too much to lose!
Double Standards
What’s the most disturbing thing anyone has ever told you casually?
Three years ago I met up with an old girlfriend from college to catch up, have food, talk about the old days and the old gang.
At one point she casually said, “Oh yeah, xxxx is in Sousa-Baranowski”. That’s the max security prison in Massachusetts, for hardcore criminals. I couldn’t believe my ears, “What?” I said, blinking and almost dropping my latte.
This guy had been a leader of “our gang” in college, the one who always had something crazy for us to do. He was the guy who taught me how to hang glide; who first got me high on pot, who got me laid introducing me to all manner of girls. He was the most laid back, casual dude you ever met, tall and gangly and always in a black motorcycle jacket because his only vehicle was that motorcycle.
“What the hell happened?” I asked incredulously.
“He stabbed a woman in the belly in his kitchen 8 times then threw her through a window. He had a standoff with the cops.”
“What… the… fuck…?”
You have to understand. We are all old now. I’m 63. He’s 67, a big time scientist, very wealthy, respected in his field, working for a major, well known pharma company. How would something like this happen? Somehow he had gotten into a fight with his wife over his “counseling” a local (female) drug addict and the wife left in a huff and he had the addict over his house. No one knows what happened next except the results. He’s in big boy prison for 8 years now. He will be old, old when he gets out, broke, divorced, homeless, jobless. He’s lost everything he worked for his entire life and no one knows why.
What are the implications of 5.5g, that China has just rolled out technologically and geopolitically in the next 5 years?
What 5.5G technology does to geopolitics I don’t know.
But after I 5.5G technology is deployed in China, my phone downloads a film really fucking fast~! 🤣
Shhh~ In the blink of an eye, the download is complete.
Using this technology, China’s top doctors can operate on patients 3,000 kilometres away in off-site locations by remotely manipulating a robotic arm, with no lag or delay in the signal.
China Is Doing Something CRAZY at the US Mexico Border!
Have you ever accidentally texted the wrong person? What did you say?
I meant to text my husband that I wanted a pet anaconda for my birthday. I had found a website that sold baby anacondas and you could buy one for $499. If you paid $49, you could get it shipped overnight.
As outrageous as it sounds, I was genuinely interested in owning an anaconda. So I texted him the link to the website while I was at work (during lunch hour) and wrote “Honey I want pet anaconda for birthday.”
My husband is usually the first person in my messages inbox because I rarely text anyone else. However, that day I had texted one of our company’s directors since there was an urgent matter that needed his attention and he hadn’t responded to my email – and so that was the conversation at the top of my inbox.
I blindly sent both texts to the director in quick succession – the text with the anaconda website and the “honey I want pet anaconda” message.
I didn’t get a response – but 5 minutes later he swung by my desk and told me how buying reptiles is a bad idea and when it grows large enough, the anaconda would swallow me.
I looked at him with wide eyes and I was like, “How do YOU know I was considering buying a reptile?”
He showed me his phone and the texts from me…..and in my mind was like “WTF did I just do.”
We laughed about it and it was all cool but it was a little embarrassing.
Note: We ended up not buying the baby anaconda. We decided it was a ridiculous idea. Well, my husband decided that and convinced me. 🙂
What is the most satisfying passive-aggressive thing you have ever done to a really mean or rude person?
I hijacked my roommate’s internet connection.
Back when I was in college there wasn’t really any broadband. We used 56.6k dial up connections to access the internet. Now my roommate Cruchkov would monopolize that damned connection for hours on end. We only had the one phone for four of us and we would pick it up any time of the day or night and hear bleeep blop beeboo beeboo. All the time. It got to the point where we couldn’t even order a pizza. “Hey Dave you want pepperoni?” “Sure Corey” “Okay I’ll ca… bleeep blop beeboo beeboo.” “DAMNIT CHRUCHKOV”. We would bang on his door but he would either not hear us or pretend not to hear us.
So I hatched a plan.
I waited until he left for work one day. Then, armed with some s%^t I bought at Radio Shack back when they sold stuff that wasn’t cell phones, I walked into his room. I unscrewed his phone jack and connected a 5v relay to the line. COM/NO went to the phone, the coil went to the other two (unused) wires. Then I buried the whole thing back in the wall and made it look good as new. I hid a 9v battery inside the kitchen phone and connected it to the ringer switch and my secret wires.
Chruchkov comes home that evening, slams the door. Thirty seconds later it’s bleeep blop beeboo beeboo. “Hey Dave, you want pizza?” “But Chruchkov is on the…” “I got this, man.” I flip my switch, his phone turns off. But only his phone. The sound of him kicking and cursing at his computer remains one of the most passive aggressively satisfying moments of my life.
What are the consequences of being too good at your job? Can you get fired for it?
Yes, I did. I went to work for a company in accounts receivable. In other words followed up with customers who bought the service and products of the business And yes I was better than very good at it. Their books were a remarkable mess. The printout of “delinquent” accounts amounted to several hundred pages. I dived in. After a few months the owners got the opportunity to take over a franchise doing what they did in a different group of counties. They carpe’d the diem. As the franchiser had to take the business back their accounts were in horrible shape. After about two years I got everything lined out, quit sending repairmen to nonpaying customers, got the giving of “product” that should be sold to customers stopped. About three months before I finally had everything straightened out the owner hired someone to ostensibly “assist” me. The very week I finally got the system set up to where anyone should be able to keep it going easily they let me go. The person hired to assist me was being paid 2/3 of what I was or I was making 50% more than her. There were also four different occasions with different companies where upper management refused to promote me because they feared the results of my leaving the department I was in.
The Sopranos – Moltisanti and Filone hijack Comley’s trucks
What is the most outrageous “fee” you’ve ever been charged?
Back during the pandemic, I took my cat, Caesar, to the vet. He was a 15 year old, orange, short haired cat. Because of COVID, the vet’s office had implemented a policy of people not being allowed to go back to the exam rooms with their pet. I wasn’t really comfortable with that but my little guy had a sore front paw so I had to get him seen by the vet. A staff member came out to my car, got Caesar (in his carrier) and took him inside to be examined by the vet while I waited in my car. After a few minutes, the vet called my cell phone and we discussed the problem with Caesar’s front paw. An x-ray was done and it was determined that the problem was with one of his claws. Apparently it was a problem that is fairly common in older cats and easily treatable. Over the phone, the vet and I agreed upon the treatment for the problem. A short time later, the staff member brought Caesar back out to my car and presented me with the bill. As I quickly scanned the bill before giving the staff member my credit card, I saw a $40 charge for a ‘ therapeutic shave’ on the bill. I didn’t understand so I asked about the charge. Found out that while they had Caesar in the exam room, someone shaved his back end for no apparent reason. I said to the staff member “ So you needlessly shaved my cat’s ass and want to charge me $40 for it? I think that you guys should owe him $40 for doing that to him! “
The charge was removed from my bill. Caesar got extra treats and a new toy that day too.
Text to picture
Playing around, this time with a Wes Anderson theme; Life Aqua.
At the age of 11, he was cast as Harry Potter in the first Harry Potter film, and starred in the series for 10 years. At the age of 14, an article in British newspaper ‘The Sun’ listed him as Britain’s third richest teenager behind only Prince Harry Windsor and Charlotte Church, the very popular singer-songwriter TRUST Trivia: Daniel Radcliffe.
He became the youngest non-royal to have his portrait displayed in London’s prestigious National Portrait Gallery at the same age. In 2007, the British press estimated 18-year-old Radcliffe’s total net worth at $35 million, and $80 million at the age of 26. ‘Harry Potter’ Daniel Radcliffe turns 26: 10 unknown facts about the actor
Would you want your kid to become someone popular and successful like him?
Maybe. Yes.
Now read this (paying special attention to bold words):
Daniel Radcliffe: I turned to alcohol to cope with fear of failure and fame. “It is not a real pressure, but it is a pressure of living with the thought, ‘Oh, what if all these people are saying I am not going to have a career? What if they are all going to be right and will be laughing and I will be consigned to a bunch of “Where are they now?” lists?'” Radcliffe added: “I was living in constant fear of who I’d meet, what I might have said to them, what I might have done with them, so I’d stay in my apartment for days and drink alone. I was a recluse at 20. It was pathetic – it wasn’t me. I’m a fun, polite person, and it turned me into a rude bore.”
“The bottom line is people don’t like change, especially when it’s connected to endings,” she concludes. “For some people, they have a harder time maintaining a positive self-image when it’s linked to a job that gives them an identity. And so in order to deal with the intensity of that emotional pain, some people self-medicate in order to feel less depressed, less anxious, less hopeless or less unimportant” -Dr. Rubi Ludwig, Psychotherapist.
Now would you want your kid to abuse himself with alcohol/drugs while he has so much in the world that one could only dream of?
No. Definitely not.
This is just an example of people who are extremely successful, but aren’t happy. They may be child prodigies, but they are so full of fear of failure that after all they have achieved, they are no close to finding happiness. And their lives and money are wasted in running after it.
Raise your kid such that he doesn’t become this example.
1. Take the FEAR OF FAILURE away from him.
The fear, that you are instilling in him unknowingly. By saying this:
Whatever you do, just do your best. Be it studies or games.
It is important to win the Olympiad. It is the stepping stone for your career.
Study with the aim of securing first rank. So we can be proud parents.
Saying this instills the fear of failure. Kid aims for perfection, resulting in a stressed outlook.
This is Fear of Failure.
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Teach your children so fear of failure never creeps in their mind. By telling them this:
Do not focus on excelling at everything. It keeps you in a constant state of stress. Do somethings for pure enjoyment. And in fact, do everything for the fun of it.
What do you think of the Olympiad? I think it is important, but not the most important thing.
What are you studying? Let’s explore how can we apply it practically.
2. Teach him to THINK IN A HEALTHY WAY.
Not anxiously, as you might be doing now.
Mister, the exams are approaching. You better start worrying!
Sharmaji’s son is a top-ranker. He got a great on-campus placement. What will happen of you? Where will you go with these marks?
Amend your behavior. You are a grown-up now.
Saying this leads to anxious thinking. Kid is overwhelmed, loaded with inferiority complex and self-consciousness.
This is Anxious thinking.
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And there is no other way to teach them this, except to teach yourself this.
Do not encourage him to think anxiously. He’ll learn it in no time, and soon will have anxiety attacks, inhibiting performance.
Do not compare him to others thinking it’ll motivate him. Motivate him by positive means, comparative thinking will take a lifetime toll on him.
Do not expect him to behave like a grown-up. A 3-yr old will behave like one, and a teenager like one. Accept them as per their age.
3. Teach him to have a POSITIVE SELF-IMAGE.
Again, do not teach him this.
You are considered doing well only when you get good grades.
Why can’t you be more like your sister? She’s such a good kid and gets a first in everything.
Read faster
Write faster.
Run faster.
Do it faster.
This teaching promotes negative self-image. Synonymous with low self- worth and self-esteem.
This is Negative self-image.
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So, teach yourself this.
Do not pressurize children with too much focus on grades or rewards.
Remember that he can’t be like his sister. Each person is different. Are you doing this so you have to deal with only one personality?
Do not pressurize the kid to be faster in everything he does. Each kid learns at his own pace.
Teaching yourself these things will raise a kid who is free from this negative thought:
What will happen if… I fail…
A Marine’s 2-Word Breakup Text Sends Cheating Ex Into MENTAL BREAKDOWN…And Friends Are Losing It!
Do police officers ever sympathize with someone who took the law into their own hands?
I was dispatched to a call of a burglary in progress at a residence. It was maybe 10:00 PM. When I pull up, I see one guy running from the residence, and at the same time I hear a gunshot from inside the residence. I let the runner go (never saw him again) and went to investigate the gunshot.
I found a door ajar to a side courtyard, and as I approached, one of the burglars was being backed out the door by the man of the house, who was holding an ancient .32 revolver on him (I later examined the gun and estimated the ammunition was older than I was). He later told me he had fired one round (the one I heard) into the corner of a room when he saw the burglar inside his house. As soon as the homeowner saw me, he put the gun down, and stood by while I handcuffed the burglar.
I took a written statement from the homeowner, told him I hoped I was as capable as him when I was his age (I was about 30 at the time—he was around 70), and took the burglar to jail. It did not occur to me to seize the victim’s gun or charge him with discharge of a firearm inside the city limits. No one suggested this was not the proper approach.
What is life’s biggest “trap” people fall into?
My housemate is 26 years old. She’s intelligent and pretty and (generally) fun to be around.
But… she hates her job.
It’s obvious.
Sometimes she’ll just sit at the kitchen table in her pajamas, coffee in hand, looking at the clock.
And she’ll casually say, “I have to leave for work in two minutes.”
Does she actually leave for work two minutes later?
I’ll let you guess the answer to that.
But the thing that blows me away is this:
When I asked her a little while ago if she’s considered changing jobs and doing something that doesn’t make her look unhappy every morning, there was genuine surprise in her voice.
As in, “Of course I’m going to work another 36+ years at a job I despise! That’s totally normal.”
A lot of people think that.
Like my housemate, they “celebrate” the weekend and dread Mondays.
Like my housemate, they might even negotiate more hours at work so they can qualify for more vacation time.
And that’s a huge trap: Thinking you’re doomed to working a job you hate.
Thinking you have to work a 9-to-5.
Thinking you can’t earn money if you’re not actively working.
That’s all nonsense.
If you’re not happy with your work, not only can you change, but you absolutely should.
I’ve been freelancing for years and wouldn’t even consider getting a job where some boss gets to tell me things like:
When to work
Where to work
How many vacation days I can take
How much I can get paid
For example, this month, I’m a bit ahead of schedule on the projects I’m working on so I can take time off if I want to.
Do I have to ask for permission?
Nope.
Do I even have to let anyone know?
Nope.
I’m not saying this to brag, even though it might sound like it.
I’m saying this because if you feel stuck in a job you can’t stand, just know that there’s a way out for you.
Please, don’t stay at a job you despise long-term.
It’s not good for you or for anyone else.
What are the most fascinating “weird but true” historical facts you know about?
You have the doctor who pumped four gallons of hydrogen gas into his anus, to diagnose gastrointestinal problems
[1], and then you have surgical resident, Werner Forssmann, who was eager to push a tube through a vein in his elbow, until it reached his heart. This would become a method of transporting medication to and fro the incision site.
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Werner Forssman was desperate to self-experiment, although faced challenges along the way. One person he had to pass was the surgical nurse, who had access to the theatre and medical equipment.
After much convincing, the nurse gave in to his ludicrous idea. In fact, she volunteered to have the procedure performed on herself! I guess the idea isn’t as crazy as the doctor who transported parasites within himself, only to produce parasite semen for research!
[2]Anyway, despite dismissal from the doctors who believed the surgery would be a death wish, Werner continued on with his plan.
The nurse lay on the surgical table, whilst Werner tightly strapped her legs and arms in. Only, when she wasn’t looking, the doctor applied anesthetic to his own arm, cut his arm open, and pushed the 12-inch catheter (thin tube) into his vein!
Now, all he needed was an X-Ray room. Successfully, Werner x-rayed himself and noticed that the tube had reached his shoulder. He pushed the tube in further until it was 24-inches inside his vein.
Bingo! Werner reached his ventricular cavity.
For his risky actions, Werner was fired. As a result, he took up positions as a military surgeon and Major in World War II. He wasn’t a hero though. Werner was a Nazi, actively joining the party in 1932. He was eventually imprisoned, although did receive a Nobel Prize twenty years later for his medical efforts.
Largest NATO Base in Europe Being **RUSHED** in Romania
The largest NATO base in Europe is being built in Romania. Construction commenced at the outset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and is being RUSHED.
The Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in Romania will turn into a military camp where 10 thousand NATO soldiers can live, this will require an investment of €2.5 billion, reports local publication Pro TV.
The base is located in a mountainous area and should become a center for command and control of troops in South-Eastern Europe.
The zoomable map below shows the location:
Map
What’s a rule your employer implemented that backfired terribly?
My former company implemented an 9/80 work schedule with an A/B work pattern. Meaning that those on the A schedule would work a 9 hour work day for 5 days and the B schedule would work 4 days during the same week and then the next week they would swap out. The work force, for the most part, loved it. I personally didn’t like it because I was giving the company an extra hour out of each day without compensation of overtime pay. Others loved having that three day weekend every other week. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.
Anyways, the issue that cropped up immediately was the lake of key personnel on days you needed them the most. “Yeah boss, I’d love to fix or finish or diagnose this problem but without the lead engineer it just can’t be done.” “Hey, this job must be done today or heads are gonna roll.” “Sorry boss but ol’ so and so is one his 9/80 day off so we can’t get it done without him.” “Hey boss? We got a problem. We can’t run this test without Joe Blow because it’s his Friday off.”
These issues popped up every single week. It was eventually dropped.
Is there anytime when karma saved you?
We were in a beautiful relationship for about 3 years. And then suddenly she over texts, broke up with me. No explanation given. Like every other guy, I cried, pleaded for just one reason, and all she said was it’s over, I don’t want to be with you. She has changed her college a month before the break up. And like I suspected she fell out of love with me because there is new guy who approached her. Quite similar to everyone’s love story. Lol
Anyway, I was literally shattered, and broken. I couldn’t believe the girl I thought to be my future left me in such a dire condition.
It’s been three years since she is gone. Yesterday, I got a phone call from her at 2am. Basic points from the calls were:
She was unhappy, crying profusely over the phone. She said she don’t have anyone to trust and talk to, except me. And yes, I talked to her because pretty much I loved her too much.
She said the guy cheated her, and when asked him for a breakup, he said he will going to kill her, he abused and hit her off. And she thought everybody will leave silently like me.
I asked her to do a police complain, she said, she doesn’t want her parents to know, she is stucked.
After few minutes on call, she was laughing, talking to me as if we were never separated, I was wondering how easy the things are for girls.
Then she told me even before her father and brother, I am the person she trust and respect the most. I was flattered but I knew, it’s no more important.
I was again at ground zero, I felt happy talking to her, but the wounds were yet fresh.
I tried not to make her feel bad and bid her bye.
Today I Changed my phone number, and email id!
I do love her a lot, still? Yes. But I cannot give her the power to destroy me again.
The Sopranos – Billy Leotardo
When did you realize that your childhood was not normal?
I was bullied pretty bad as a kid. The ironic thing is, I grew up in the kind of school district where the things that happened to me, people believed didn’t happen there at all. But teachers were trying to encourage me that everyone gets teased & everyone has problems & that my situation is not unique. It’s amazing in this time in 2024, everyone is always telling me what I have to do to cater to people’s fragile emotions. But in 2002, it was all about how I needed to not react in anger when people tortured me in school; how I could best accommodate & live with people torturing me. The burden was never on the bullies to change.
So in 2002, I was leaving for a Boy Scout campout. My first troop hated me. (I later on joined another Boy Scout Troop that I stayed with for 20 years. But the first one treated me like crap.) These kids told me I was not allowed to talk because I’m annoying. Naturally this made me talk more. I was not anticipating this kid to pull out his pocket knife, open it & say, “If you don’t shut-up, I’m going to stab you.” I then stood up & walked away.
The reality was, I was not that afraid. I was 11 years old & had my life or safety threatened so many times up to this point, it just felt kind of natural that eventually I’d be held at knife point. It was another scout that reported him. The kid got his knife confiscated (worst punishment anyone has ever received for an action against me) & he rode off on his bike crying.
I came home & told my parents the story because I thought it was funny. Then I saw the shock in their eyes. They said we could potentially press charges. I had no idea you could get sued or arrested over a death threat because I was so used to getting them. This was the proof I needed to know my teachers were wrong; that the things I go through are not normal.
Chilighetti
Quick, easy and delicious! Chilighetti is a great way to feed a hungry family.
chilighetti
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 (46 ounce) can tomato juice
1 cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 level teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces*
2 (16 ounce) can kidney or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Sour cream (optional)
Shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
Instructions
In a Dutch oven, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink and onion is tender, crumbling the beef; drain.
Stir in tomato juice, water, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings; bring to a boil. Add spaghetti. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for 10 to 13 minutes or until pasta is tender.
Stir in beans; heat through.
Top servings with sour cream and Cheddar cheese, if desired.
Notes
* Spaghetti may be left unbroken if desired.
Have you, while repairing a computer, ever found anything that made your jaw drop?
While this dis not happen to me, it happenesn to a neighbor friend who repaired computers…
One of our other neighbors approached him to take a look at problem they (a couple) were having with their computer. The problem is irrelevant here.
So my friend went about his diagnostics to figure out how to address the issue. As any good computer tech does, once the machine was up an running again, he went about doing some basic maintenance such as cleaning up temp files and so on.
In doing so he stumble upon a huge set of pictures and videos… yes, that. Not illegal ones, but actual professional ones used in well known sites.
As it turned out, we learned that our low key neighbor was a well known porn star making videos at home, which now explained all the odd traffic we always noticed at their house. This porn was bringing them probably close $500k/yr or more. They did end up moving later on to a higher end neighborhood not to far. Shortly after moving but still owned the property, a well known on-line news magazine (you’ve all read something from them) came by looking for them, knocking on doors to see if any of us knew more about them, and if we knew where they moved to.
BTW – part of the story that the on-line magazine (you’ve all read something from them) was chasing was that her day job was unwrapping kids toys from well known entertainment company. So she was also a top rated poster/producer in that segment in YouTube for some time. We learned a lot that day… those pretty hands of hers served multiple purposes.🙂
So, the people who bought their house now have a bit of a topic and history to share about their house, because of course, we neighbors shared the history about it 😉.
It’s funny thinking back to the many casual neighbor conversations we had with that couple, and little did we know what was behind it all. She is very cute, it all made sense.
Today she is still out there, bigger than before. If anyone reading this watches porn, or watched children’s toy unwrapping, you’ve probably seen her…
The Rise of Chinese Pick Me Girls
Pizza!
In 2001, Pizza Hut delivered a pizza to the International Space Station. The pizza was a 6″ pizza and was delivered to the ISS aboard a Russian Progress vehicle. They paid $1 million to transport the same.
Does a human being know they’re dead once they die?
I had a traumatic brain injury, was on life support, and was in a coma for 7 days.
During this time I found myself looking at the doctors working on me, then I walked up a small ramp and met my brother who passed away unexpectedly.
My brother looked like he did when he was in High School, I wanted to stay with him but he said that I couldn’t come in, and it wasn’t my time, that I needed to spend more years with my wife and children.
I was heartbroken and when I came out of my coma, I remembered everything so vividly.
The doctors said they lost me a couple of times but were able to revive me, and they were so surprised because I shouldn’t have survived my accident.
This is the truth, I never would have believed my story if I were somebody else, but this happened, and for the fact that the doctors said they couldn’t control the bleeding and that I was supposed to die, I wouldn’t have believed myself.
Now having my motor skills back, but still working on my speech, I’m able to go back to work after only 3 months, this is a true miracle. And never take life for granted, there are no promises for a tomorrow.
Living a traditional life is the best thing I ever did | But is it the best for you?
This chick in a small town in the Philippines talk about her town. A nice escape.
Do you think the faster accelerated vetting of Hong Kong’s Article 23 bill is to catch foreign countries off guard and ward off possible sanctions or criticism?
Nope. You see no matter what China or Chinese do we’ll be criticised for it. A few years back I posted some screen caps of Western media:
The December 2021 LegCo elections. Go look at it. Pan Dems and other yellow groups stood for election. They didn’t get very many votes.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on what’s been happening in LegCo for the past 26 years it’s pretty obvious. The Pan Dems have never had a majority there, what they have done however is simply fillibuster and delay and oppose EVERYTHING that has been tabled at LegCo since forever. This is Hong Kong’s version of Hansard. An official record of everything said at LegCo at debates and motions/votes.
The we care about the people Yellows blocked and delayed EVERYTHING.
Some biggies:
They opposed the minimum wage.
They opposed maternity leave.
They opposed those not because they though they were a bad idea but purely on ideological grounds.
Since 2022 when the new bunch of LegCo people took their seats? Without the permanent blockage of the yellows who as above block things on ideological grounds things actually get through LegCo rather than spending months and years being blocked by them.
That had been opposed by the yellows since 1997. Yet changes were made in 6 months after December 2021.
I’m rooting for you!
What are some facts about human behaviour?
Having orgasms lowers risks for breast cancer, heart disease, and depression for women
Intelligent people are more forgetful than those with average intelligence, which is correct.
Getting paid to perform something you enjoy may make you less creative.
The thing that people remember the most about you is your charisma, Here you can learn the secrets to Charisma and Confidence.
People frequently experience déjà vu after recalling a conversation or dream.
If you died tomorrow, what would you want your family to know about you?
I have a Premium Netflix account that I don’t pay for so you guys can use my laptop to watch movies and series.
In my hostel room in college you will find a photo frame kept on the top left shelf above the study table which has a photo of Me with a Girl.If possible return it to her and tell her it’s called “Our Dastoor” or Destiny.
My phone’s pin is 1632 because that was the time(16:32) while i was setting the new pin .
In my phone there are two calculator apps. One pre-installed and the other downloaded from play store. When you will enter 1632 and press ‘’=“ in the downloaded one it will open a secret pdf which contains my Bucket List, delete that, it won’t be necessary anymore.
Can you ask the college authorities if they can still provide me the degree posthumously cause papa is very proud of my IIT achievement.
Tell my friends sorry that I promised i would certainly try beer with them the next time we go on a trip.
Donate/throw away my possessions except for the white letter with a red tape which is kept in my laptop bag. Kindly burn it away without opening it. It’s rude to read someone’s love letters.
Should Marines take orders from an army captain in the battlefield if their Marine captain or higher ranked official is dead or incapable?
Different services, but the story is helpful to understand what can happen in the real world battlefield
The 82nd Airborne jumped into Grenada at the international airport at night. Some soldiers ended up in extremely tall grass to the east of the runway and were separated from the main force but could hear the fire fight to the north and west of their positions but could not see due to the tall, thick grass
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One by one, they started to form up. At some point, they added a USAF fighter pilot Captain who was aligned as an Air Liaison Officer who specialized in controlling close air support, small unit infantry.
After the small group numbered squad strength, they stopped briefly while headed towards the sounds of the battle. The soldiers looked at the USAF Captain, the only officer present and one spoke up and asked “What do we do now sir?”. Despite being a fighter pilot by trade, he suddenly found himself in command of a parachute infantry squad.
So, yeah, in a situation where they are cutoff from their leadership and unit, Marines and any member of the Armed Forces should obey the lawful orders of senior NCOs and officers regardless of service.
I had a dog; Pee Pee (also spelled as Pi Pi). He passed on. Today, I want to relate the great story as to how I trained him to use the shower stall to go to the bathroom in. It really saved me from taking him out every day for a walk. Phew!
Anyways…
The little guy loved to pee. He would pee everywhere. If there was a rug, a mat, or even clothes on the floor, he would pee on it.
It was a problem.
But I figured that I could use this habit to train him.
What I did was to buy a big blue mat made out of indoor-outdoor turf “grass”. Same as this picture, only blue instead of green…
71wmmgYU2jL. AC SX679
I then put it in the shower stall.
Well, immediately the dog went and started to pee all over it. And that was ok, and I would take the shower hose, and then spray the mat clean.
Then, each day, I would cut the mat smaller and smaller.
It started off pretty large. It filled the stall.
Two weeks over it was the size of a small table rug
Then we cut it to the size of a book..
Three weeks later it was the size of a stamp.
Tiny cut cube
You should of seen him trying to navigate to hit that tiny piece of blue mat. He tried to aim so, so, so very carefully.
Anyways, we eventually threw out the blue mat, and he just kept on peeing and crapping in the shower. No problem.
But, I’ll tell you it was a really funny sight watching him try to pee on that little blue square.
Today…
Pierogi
Pierogi are dumplings that are delicious fried and served with sour cream. These are also good filled with fresh blueberries mixed with sugar for a super dessert.
pierogi
Ingredients
Dough
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter softened
3/4 to 1 1/4 cups water
Filling
2 to 3 medium onions, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup (1 to 2 sticks) butter
6 medium potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed or put through a ricer
1 (8 ounce) package farmers cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Dough
Mix the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the eggs, butter and water (starting with 3/4 cups if the dough is dry, adding 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding up to an additional 3/4 cups if needed) pulsing until kneaded by machine and a ball is formed, or you can use a mixer to do this process.
Remove dough from bowl and let sit in a warm place for about 15 to 30 minutes.
Filling
Melt butter in a large fry pan and add onions. Sauté until onions are lightly browned; set aside.
Combine potatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and as much of the sautéed onions as you like, reserving the rest to toss with cooked pierogi. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.
Divide dough into 3 to 4 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough out to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut a 3 inch round circle with biscuit cutter. Place one tablespoon of filling on one side of each round. Using your finger, moisten one side of dough with some water. Pick up the circle and fold dough over filling and pinch edges together to firmly seal the filling (this is critical – if you don’t pinch the dough together tightly, you will have gaps and when you boil the pierogi, the filling will come out).
Place the filled pierogi onto a lightly floured baking pan; cover until you finish with remaining dough and filling.
In a large wide pot, fill with water and bring to a boil over medium to high heat, when water is at a rolling boil, drop 5 to 6 pierogi and cook while stirring gently with a wooden spoon until they float to the top of pot. Cook a couple minutes longer.
Remove with a slotted spoon, toss with reserved sautéed onions, if desired, and place in a warmed deep glass bowl.
If desired, saute the pierogi briefly in a small amount of equal amounts of olive oil and butter (as shown in photo).
Was Versailles “full of poop”? Did people carry a special jar to poop and pee in?
One thing is certain, the Castle of Versailles was an absolute cesspool by our modern standards.
Let’s assume you could teleport in the Versailles Castle during its Golden Era (XVII Century).
The first thing you would do is gag or puke.
Think about a stench so bad that it would rip your guts out. Not only from feces and urine, but also a peculiar sense of hygiene that was quite standard during those times.
Together, let’s deep dive into the least-known world of Dirty Versailles.
The Glory Days of the chamber pots
If you were a noble residing in the palace, you would most likely relieve yourself in a bucket (pot de chambre or “chamber pot”). It would stay overnight in your room, and your servant would throw it out the window in the morning. An innocent bystander could receive your fluids right in the face if it was unannounced. This practice was usual during medieval times already, when people would throw their garbage on the streets. “Gare á l’eau” (Beware of the water) was the universal warning when somebody disposed his trash on the street.
Chamber pots in Versailles were made of the finest porcelain, rare fabrics and other precious material. There are many variations of chamber pots and some of them should be mentioned just because of their hilarious names:
Ladies of this era had to wear sophisticated dresses that took hours to put on. In the case of a pressing urge, they could urinate right on the spot in a small bucket called a Bourdaloue, named after a famous clergyman whose sermons were unbelievably long.
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Louis Bourdaloue, unimpressed by the fact that his name came down in history as synonymous with gallons of bodily fluids.
Voyage en Hollande (Trip to the Netherlands) was the name of another pissing device that went in fashion when France was at war with … you guessed it… the Netherlands. It looked like a small book but was obviously distantly related to literature.
These devices were carried around by multiple servants who threw the fluids in the sewage system. Other devices for poop have been invented, which bring us to the infamous
Chaise percée: taking a dump in luxury
The way you went for “number two” had everything to do with your rank of nobility and your importance in the royal family. The example of the “chaise percée” (chair with a hole in it) is self-explanatory. This device was a work of art made of the finest woods, fabrics and marbles. You can find a lot of chaises percées in Versailles. It was used since the twelve century and was just more than a toilet.
Nobles, courtisans, ministers and other VIPs sat on the chair for hours. They received guests in their room to discuss important matters, all while proceeding to their natural needs. The whole idea was to make their guests feel inferior and put them in their own place.
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La chaise percée: a subtle way to make your guest understand that you don’t give a crap.
He was awoken every day at 8:15 a.m. by a cohort of 10 people. At 8:30, he was already sitting on his own chaise percée, surrounded by his family, his court and his ministers. In these conditions, one would find it uneasy to poop, but his stools and urine were examined with great care by his surgeon to see if the King was in good health. Please note that taking part in the rising of the King was considered a real privilege and was an offer that you could not refuse.
Gardens and bushes
Anyone visiting Versailles now cannot help but be mesmerized by the luxurious gardens and the incredible variety of flowers and plants.
Now, imagine that about 3000 people (the numbers of residents of the Versailles court in its golden age), were relieving themselves about everywhere they could. Gardens were festering with faeces and urine, and the repulsive smell was an everyday annoyance for the noble ladies and gents. André Le Nôtre, gardener of the King, had the rather enormous task to mask these odors with the scents of exotic flowers and plants.
To give you an even deeper insight about the inconvenience of pooping outdoors, let’s read a tasty letter written by Princesse de la Palatine
You are lucky to be able to go for a shit as you please. We are not that lucky here, as I am forced to keep my stool until the night comes; there are no toilets in the houses near the forest. I am forced to go outside to take a shit, which bothers me, because I love to shit as I see fit, and I cannot have a pleasant shit if my ass is supported by nothing. Alas, everybody sees me shitting; there are men, women, girls, boys and Swiss clergymen passing by.
Linen and Cotton: Wiping it in style
Nothing was ever too beautiful or precious for royals bottoms. Nobles would use embroidered linen or cotton handkerchief to wipe themselves clean. The linen fabric has been used since antiquity and was reputed for its smoothness. Because of this it was one of the most expensive items at the Royal Court.
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Look a bit closer and you can clearly see the remnants of a feast that took place in December 1685.
Common men or women regularly used handkerchief of a less prestigious fabric, or could use a bunch of hay or any leaves to do the job. At this point, there was a bit of an “anything goes” vibe when it came to wipe your butthole.
Please note that none of these fabrics were washed with water, but merely scrubbed with another tissue. Talc powder was massively used to mask odors.
Pooping in Versailles: Sanitary Crisis and improvements.
Reading this, you are likely to think that Versailles was like an enormous festival without Porta potties where nobody cared about hygiene whatsover.
However, a long string of sanitary measures took place during the reign of Louis XIV. The construction of a rudimentary sewage system was a step forward to cleanliness, as the fecal matter was transported for the castle to a lake (étang de Clancy) by means of aqueducts.
Sadly, all of these efforts were vain considering the health threats that so much filth would cause. A typhoid crisis happened in 1734 when the inhabitants of the town of Versailles went fishing and bathing in the the filthy waters of Clagny. Half of the town perished due to these unsanitary habits.
The reign of Louis XVI and the influence of his wife Marie-Antoinette marked a relative progress in Versailles’s filth situation. Public latrines were constructed (two for every 3000 people!) and the sewage system improved significantly.
Nota Bene:
Most of the anecdotes compiled here come from a very interesting documentary about the subject of Versailles cleanliness. English version HERE[2].
US officials have in recent days stepped up efforts to crack down on and contain China on multiple fronts – from requesting additional funds to “outcompete China” and arm the island of Taiwan to trying to lure Asian countries into its tech restrictions against China. All these moves are bad for China-US bilateral ties, the Asia-Pacific region and the entire world.
Vicious competition
Commenting on the US’ budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which includes funds to “outcompete China” and arm China’s Taiwan region on Tuesday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, reiterated that competition is not the true nature of China-US ties and major-country contest will not address problems faced by China and the US.
The US’ attempt to “outcompete China” is not benign competition, but vicious competition, in which the US sets up traps for the competitor at every turn, Wang said at a regular press briefing. “It is an unrestrained gamble that puts the fundamental interests of people of the two countries and even the future of humanity at stake, and it will only push China and the US toward confrontation and conflict,” he said.
The US administration’s budget request for the 2025 fiscal year includes $4 billion over five years in mandatory funding so as to “employ all the tools at our disposal to outcompete China.” The budget request also includes a “first-time funding request” of $500 million to replenish weapons that would be provided to Taiwan, media reported.
Wang on Tuesday also stated China’s firm opposition to military ties between the US and the island of Taiwan and the US’ attempt to arm the island. “We urge the US to abide by the one-China principle and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs. China will take measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.
In addition to its budget request, the US government has also stepped up efforts that are apparently aimed at further intensifying its technological crackdown campaign against China.
While leading a US business delegation to the Philippines, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo signaled that the US “will do whatever it takes” to crack down on China’s technological capabilities, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
In the Philippines, Raimondo announced that US companies are set to announce investments totaling more than $1 billion in the Philippines, according to Reuters. The US Commerce Secretary said the US’ commitment to expanding trade and investment in the Philippines also extends to “the larger Indo-Pacific region,” even as she reiterated that the US is not seeking to decouple from China.
Danger for world
The US government’s engagement in zero-sum major-country contest will not only risk confrontation between the world’s two biggest economies, but also draw more countries in the region and around the world into bloc confrontation, at a time when the world needs cooperation the most, Chinese experts noted.
Further underscoring Washington’s intensifying campaign to contain China in a major-country contest, the US government is also pushing its allies, including the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea and Japan, to tighten chip restrictions against China, and is considering adding another Chinese chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc, to its so-called entity list, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, the US Congress is rushing a bill that will essentially force Chinese firm ByteDance to sell its popular TikTok or face a ban in the US, a move that Chinese experts have said it’s another hysterical move by Washington to crack down on Chinese firms.
US politicians’ intensifying crackdown and containment campaign against China reflect mounting domestic woes within the US, including its evaporating economic and technological dominance globally, that the country cannot address in any effective manner due to partisan divisions and dysfunctions of the government, according to Chinese analysts.
More importantly, such an attempt will not contain China’s economic and technological rise, as businesses, including US companies, driven by market forces not politics, will continue to invest and operate in the Chinese market, experts said.
Many US business executives are visiting China and expanding investment in China. Political restrictions on US businesses will only hurt US’ interests.
In an apt example of US firms expanding investment in China, US tech giant Apple announced on Tuesday a plan to open a new research lab in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province, and upgrade its Shanghai research lab. This comes shortly after the company just announced to open a new store in downtown Shanghai.
Are Americans really expected to pay outrageous hospital bills?
This maybe isn’t outrageous, but it is to me.
I had a small surgery to remove a tumor from my pinkie finger. It was rather large (probably the size of an acorn). I paid my deductible (which was $1500.) I also paid an additional $250 to the doctor’s office. Then, after the surgery, I received a bill because “they used a compression device during the surgery that was not pre-approved by your insurance.” $1500. I also received another $1200 bill because “they sent the tumor to be tested at an out of network lab.” I also received a $22 bill for something else (not sure what).
This is WITH insurance. I pay $400/month to cover my daughter and me. My job also pays part of the insurance premium so it’s actually over $400/month. I’m not sure how much they pay. So around $4500 was my out of pocket cost for a very simple surgery that probably took the doctor 10 minutes to complete.
In my opinion, it’s not my fault they sent the tumor to an out of network place to be tested, and it’s certainly not my fault that they used a compression device that was not pre-approved (while I was under sedation).
Crazy!
A woke “John Wick” movie
Oh My God.
At what stage in your life did you realize, “No, I can’t do this any more” and walk out? Why?
Originally Answered: At what stage in your life did you realise, “No, I can’t do this any more” and walk out? Why?
Claire, my wife of 22 years, and I sat on the porch in dreary contemplation, and useless argument, again, about her son Freddie’s seeming incapacity to get “squared away.” Freddies’ wife had abandoned him, and taken their three children. He could not hold a job. He was NOT a drug addict; he simply could not function as a responsible adult. He was witty and charming. But he never repaid anyone from whom he had borrowed money. And he had moved back into our home, again. He had diabetes, but did nothing to control his diet. His favorite pastimes seemed to be television and standing in front of the open refrigerator, wondering what to eat. That, and runs for pizza or to McDonald’s.
Yes, there had been counseling and various attempts to try this or that. Nothing seemed to work. It became more and more clear to me that Freddie was going to become a permanent part of the household.
But Claire still wanted to “fix” him. Gradually, two facts became clear to me:
Freddie was simply born into the wrong culture. He would have done better on Samoa or some similar paradise where food was always on a nearby tree, where women were available and willing, and where temperate conditions demanded little in terms of providing shelter or an income. There was nothing to fix; nothing was broken. Just the wrong guy in the wrong place. As I began to understand this, I became less resentful, and more accepting. At the same time, I also became less responsible for this 10-year-old mentality which lived in a 25-year-old body.
Claire had a strong personal investment in keeping Freddie the way he was —utterly dependent. With every agreement, every new program, every financial investment to “help” Freddie, Freddie always violated the agreement, or needed an exception. He always needed money. “Can you spot me a $50?” And Claire always went along with her son. She was teaching him to be dependent and to reject any notion of personal responsibility. Gradually, the two personalities seemed to merge. Whenever Claire spoke of Freddie’s problems or issues or presumed progress, it was always, “we.” They were in this thing together.
I, myself, was in counseling to help me get my head around all this. Eventually, I concluded that, at some point, it had to end, for the sake of my own sanity.
Resigned to this reality, I rarely argued any more. Intimacy with Claire had evaporated; we lived in an uneasy truce. I knew I had to leave. I just didn’t know when, or how. So I tried to mentally hunker down—and wait.
Until that day on the porch, when Claire told me that I was the cause of Freddie’s problems. I was the responsible party, here. She went down the list of all the things I had done to make Freddie so insecure, so unable to function. Then she told me: “If I knew when we got married that this is the way things would be, I never would have married you.”
And that’s when a little bell went off in my head. The time had come.
“Well, Claire, you are going to get your wish. I’m done.”
In the fullness of time, Claire actually got what she most wanted. I made her a wealthy lady with a fully paid home and car, and an investment portfolio more than sufficient to sustain her for the rest of her days.
And today, as I write this, the home has been sold because the portfolio was depleted, over the years. Claire moved into a more modest dwelling, and she had a new nest egg, from the sale of the home she left. But that, too, has been exhausted, all the money spent on Freddie and his sister, Katy. For a time, Claire had what she wanted: a secure home, and Freddie (and his new wife) as permanent residents. But even that did not last, because Katy found her brother to be intolerable: she forced Freddie and his wife to move out; they ended up in public housing. Freddie receives dialysis twice a week and has lost a foot. Katy is now the queen bee in Claire’s home. And the money is all gone; Claire’s income is a Social Security check. Basically, Claire had succeeded in impoverishing three people. Had I stayed, it would have been four.
That leaves Randy, Claire’s eldest son, who was most bitter when advised I was divorcing his mother. He believed I was abandoning her. I was the “bad guy.” Randy was a successful and responsible man, who with his second wife Jenny, was raising a blended family of their own. But it wasn’t long before Randy and Jenny saw the truth, and understood the impossible situation in which I lived. Today, they have made me part of their family, which includes very brilliant and successful children, and grandchildren who will no doubt be the same. These people love me, and while we see each other only infrequently, it is always a celebration.
Ironically, the vision that Claire had of senior years spent happily with her children has actually become my reality, not hers. I regret that, for her, but am most appreciative of my own good fortune.
My story.
[EDIT]: Almost without exception, comments below are supportive and also speak to many similar situations.
But there are exceptions, and they are good ones. I have been reprimanded, even scolded, for my references to Samoa, with freely available fruit and sexual company. I should have seen that coming. Although metaphorical, it came off to some readers as thoughtless and prejudicial. Point taken. Current readers please understand the metaphorical intent. Just think “an island paradise, somewhere.” Thank you.
UPDATE: In mid 2021, Freddie succumbed of numerous causes, most relating to his worsening atrophy, but also to Covid. By then, Claire had been forced to move into still lower cost housing, where Katy continued to care for her. By early 2022, Claire died. I’m not sure of the causes, but based on what Katy had to say, it seemed to me that with Freddie gone, she really had no reason to live.
Curiously enough, Claire left so little, and Katy had so little, that money was short for a burial. A major part of the cost of her burial fell to me.
Putin’s BRUTAL Warning to NATO has Macron in Panic ft. Scott Ritter
Americans do not understand this… ugh!
Can you be fired from your job without knowing it until hours later? If so, what would cause such a thing?
When I worked for the Department of Correction we had to fill out a leave request form if we wanted to take time off. Once our manager signed the form, she’d keep one copy for her files, we’d keep a copy, and then drop off a third copy in HR. Our manager only asked that we give her at least three days notice if we wanted to take time off but one of my coworkers didn’t do that and it wound up costing him his job.
He decided one Thursday afternoon that he wanted to take the following week off, so he filled out the form and took it in for our manager to sign. She wasn’t in her office so he put the form on her desk, expecting her to take care of things from there. Friday morning there was a network outage at a prison and he was dispatched to take care of it along with a couple of other techs. They didn’t return until end of business that day and, since it was Friday afternoon, they all were eager to head home so he didn’t give a second thought to his leave slip.
The problem was after placing his leave form on our boss’s desk, the busines manager had place a stack of paperwork on top of it, so our boss never saw it. He went on vacation the following week blissfully unaware that he was about to be unemployed. He missed Monday and when he didn’t show up on Tuesday our boss called his home number — he refused to tell anyone at work what his cellphone number was — and left a message asking him to call. He didn’t, and when he didn’t come in on Wednesday he was considered to have quit without notice and was terminated.
When he arrived at work a few minutes early the next Monday his ID badge did not work and he couldn’t log onto his computer. Our boss came in, saw him, and asked what he was doing at work. He told her, jokingly, he worked here as far as he knew, and that’s when she told him that he actually didn’t. He told her that he’d requested leave and had put the form on her desk and, after some searching, she located it. But it was too late. He was told he could apply for his job once it was posted but I don’t know if he did. All I know is that he wasn’t the person who was hired.
What is one item you will never eat again after working at a fast food restaurant, and why?
Right after the New Year celebration, the bar I worked at burned down to the ground. I was unemployed for about three months, and the unemployment was about to run out. I knew that the bar would open in about another three months, and that there would be work at the bar about six weeks before the opening, but I would be without money for about two months if I didn’t find a job, and quick.
Since I like living indoors with working electricity and plumbing, I decided to take a friend up on his offer to go to work at McDonald’s.
I was 29 years old at the time, and felt like a complete loser taking the job, but I shaved my beard and moustache, and went to the restaurant to apply for a job, which I got.
Most of my coworkers were high school students, and I was at least 10 years older than 90 percent of my coworkers. It was awful, but not because they were young, but for many, it was there first job. The treated it like high school by implementing divisions betweens the cliques and everyone else and pulled stupid practical jokes. I was handed a spray bottle and told to go water plants in the lobby. I went out and discovered the plants were actually cloth and plastic.
Anyway, after working at McDonald’s, I will never have any ice cream item from there, especially a shake or McFlurry (even if the machine is not broken) because the machines were not cleaned on the schedule set by corporate. The McFlurry machine comes apart, and the pieces were supposed to soak in a bucket of hot water and a chemical solution, and the remaining parts of the machine is supposed to have some chemical solution run through it.
I cleaned it every night I working, and when I was put on the day shift to cover for a coworker who was off for a family vacation, I heard a customer complain that their McFlurry tasted funny. It was just before the lunch rush, and I told the day supervisor that I knew how to clean it, so he took me out of the kitchen and tasked me to clean the machine.
It was awful. Their were spots of mold-like substances on the machine, and it obviously hadn’t been cleaned for at least a few days and probably about a week.
It took over three times as long to clean the machine as it normally did. A wire brush had to be used to completely clean and disinfect the device. I mentioned to the manager that he should probably check the oil for the fish, the chicken nuggets, and the French fries, and he discovered that they had not been changed in two days.
It was at that point the checklists appeared in the kitchen to document the necessary steps to ensure complete accordance of all required kitchen maintenance and cleaning, and I decided that I would never have a McFlurry ever again at any McDonald’s restaurant.
The FEDS are coming after THOUSANDS of Americans
Yep.
What do homeless people do during the day? Do they get bored?
My husband and I were briefly homeless. (4.5 months in 2014) There isn’t much time to be bored if you’re intentions are to not stay homeless. What people don’t realize is that being homeless makes everything 1000X harder to do even the most common of tasks, which can quickly turn into a forever vicious cycle of poverty and homelessness due to losing the willpower and resources to get back on your feet.
Want to take a shower? You have to find a place and possibly pay a fee if you don’t have friends in the area to help you out.
Want to cook dinner? You will need to buy a propane burner or awkwardly go into a truck stop gas station to cook using their microwave.
Want to do laundry to go to a job interview? You will have to budget your money to wash a load, hoping that they offer free detergent because if you’re homeless you don’t have the energy or space to carry around a bottle of detergent or softener.
Need a ride to go get a job? You need to find and budget gas money or an uber, probably skipping meals for the day. Hopefully your job is close to where you set up your camp so you can walk and not pay gas, parking, or bus fare.
Need to sleep? You will have to scope out a semi-safe place to park your car or look up local shelters. (Where I live they charge $8 a day per person to stay at the Salvation Army, children count as a person.)
I ended up spending majority of my time at the local library because not only could I look up local resources and jobs, but it was the only place that had A/C in the 110 degree weather that wouldn’t kick me out. The struggle is real.
I put in my 2 weeks resignation notice a week ago and my manager is assigning me so much work during my last 3 days. How do I address my concerns?
I worked as a records clerk in a high school. My last day before retiring I had a school deliver a truck load of student’s records that needed to be processed and filed away. This was during the student summer break. I had 30 minutes before I was due to leave for good. The person that was taking my place was shown one last time how to do the files and I left. I was 45 minutes away, on a cruise ship (Mobile AL) at the time and got a call before we left port. One co-worker (different job but had set a few desks away from me) called to tell me I had left my replacement a mess to handle and I needed to come in and help her. I laughed at her and told her I couldn’t do that and why. I also pointed out that my replacement had a month and a half to get the files done but not to wait to do them as more files would be coming in. She didn’t believe I was on a ship until the horn went off. Told her I was leaving port and needed to get off the phone. My replacement had a nervous breakdown three months after she took over my job. That job really required two people to do it. She couldn’t handle it. Not sure what they did for the rest of the year. Not my problem.
Modern Woman LOSES IT After She SAW A Passport Bros Getting BETTER Treatment
Have you ever had a bad seatmate on an airplane? What did they do, and how did you deal with it?
I sat next to a guy in business class who was extremely unhappy that he had not been upgraded to first class. He groused to the flight attendants about it as he was arriving, and I knew he was going to be trouble. Then he started ordering drinks, vodka and cranberry juice. I stopped counting after nine, but I think he must have had 13 or 14 before they cut him off. Then he was angry about that. He got up and argued with the purser more than once. Meanwhile, he was adjusting his insulin pump. I don’t know much about diabetes, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a good idea to drink that much.
He didn’t say anything obnoxious to me, and I only answered his occasional questions in monosyllables. But about two thirds of the way through the flight I went back to the galley and said to the flight attendants, “Look, I know that this guy is exactly the kind who would make a formal complaint about you, and I just want to tell you that I’ll back you up if you need any witnesses for your defense.” I gave them my business card.
After the flight I used the “compliment” feature of their web site to specifically praise the purser, who was a middle-aged man of Indian origin and had borne the brunt of my seatmate’s behavior. I said that he had the patience of a saint and had behaved with the utmost professionalism. I got a nice letter back from the airline thanking me and saying that they would notify his supervisor.
US China chip war explained: China Overtakes US in Chip War!
The US and China have been rivals across various domains, from sports and the Olympics to manufacturing and the quest for global supremacy. This time, the competition has moved to a much smaller yet critically important battlefield: the realm of chips and semiconductor technology.
This area is pivotal for the advancement of modern technologies and has become the latest focal point of their ongoing strategic contest. The semiconductor industry holds a crucial place in our world, shaping the fabric of our daily lives, the economy, and the future of technology. Semiconductors, or chips, are the hidden intellect inside virtually all modern electronic devices we rely on every day. From the moment you check your smartphone in the morning, which could contain up to 100 different chips, to the car you drive, which now includes advanced driver-assistance systems reliant on semiconductors for safer and more efficient operation, these tiny components are indispensable.
Furthermore, semiconductors are at the heart of breakthroughs in technology. They are essential for the development of cutting-edge innovations such as artificial intelligence, which is transforming industries from healthcare to entertainment, electric vehicles that are setting the course for a more sustainable future, and renewable energy systems that promise cleaner energy alternatives.
In this video, we’ll explore the Chips war between the US and China and examining the role of BRICS nations in this crucial sector for the current century.
You are at work when your boss unexpectedly gives you a bonus. What do you think got you the bonus?
My boss handed me a greeting card and asked me to read it at home. She made me promise that I would wait to open it. UGH!
Anyway, I got home, and inside the card was $1,000! She had written in the card, that this was a bonus because I used my passive-aggressive actions, two of her most annoying, demanding customers who constantly would expect and get free food and corporate made her give it to them. Stopped coming into our restaurant, and she was so happy, just as I was.
The first customer was given a free large soda, daily and when he arrived after breakfast wanted a hashbrown. He complained to corporate, so now any time he wanted a hashbrown, not only did we have to make him one any time of the day but give it to him for free. Now, I would only give him the free stuff if he asked for it to be free. I made sure that he checked his order on the order screen so that put the free food ball in his court. He wouldn’t look at it and tell me yes, it’s correct. He would pay, and after he got his order, he would realize that he was charged for what he expected for free. He would demand a refund, and my boss wouldn’t give it to him. She asked him, if I asked him to verify that his order was correct, he said yes, but I should just know what is free and not expect him to have to tell me every day. He stopped coming!
The second customer had been coming for decades seven days a week and ordered the same items. He was given free extra cheese and extra lettuce. One day, a coworker saw him drive up, so despite the fact there were quite a few customers ahead of him, she made his order, and handed it to me. Once he made it to the register to order (less than 3 minutes), he said, “I’ll take my usual.” I took his payment and handed him his order. He immediately took it to then of the counter and checked it out. My coworker and I both asked him if there was a problem. He told us that he doesn’t like his food made that quickly. Fair enough! The next day, once again lots of people were in the lobby waiting for food. He gets to the register; he tells me that he will take his usual. I sweetly, asked him what is that sir? He said that I knew what it was. I explained, well, because of your comments yesterday, by having you tell me, that assures you that your food will not be made too quickly. In an exasperated voice, told me what he wanted. Now, his order does not automatically come with a fork, and since he didn’t ask for one, he was not given one. The next day is the same as the day before. He complained that he wasn’t given a fork. I sweetly explained that his order doesn’t automatically require a fork, so may I suggest if he wants a fork included, he will need to ask for one. I’m not a mind reader. After quite a few months, he complained to my general manager, and she sweetly explained that he was the one who didn’t like his food made too quickly, this assures him that now it won’t be.
Covid hit, and the lobby is closed, so drive-thru only.
He would order his food and complain at the window that he didn’t get the extra cheese, extra lettuce, or a fork the day before. I explained that unless he tells the order taker that this (insert his name), the cooks will not know to give him the free extra food nor to enclose a fork. This same conversation went on for over three months, with him still not giving his name so not getting his free food. Once again, he complained to the boss, and she explained to him that he had been giving a simple solution to his problem and he had refused to take ownership. He told her he would not come back because he was being treated so poorly. She told him, one can only hope! That ticked him off, he has never been back since!
U.S SHOCKED! CHINA Build 5nm CHIP Ahead of U.S and E.U
In today’s episode on the Innovative Check YouTube channel, we dive deep into the heart of the global technological battlefield, where China’s ambitious leap into 5nm semiconductor technology stands as a defiant challenge to Western hegemony. Amidst U.S. sanctions, giants like S.M.I.C and Huawei spearhead this technological feat, underlining China’s push for technological independence and global leadership.
This episode unravels the complexities of this strategic move, its implications on the global tech landscape, and the shifting sands of international power dynamics. As we dissect the engineering marvel of 5nm chip technology and China’s strategic maneuvers to build an integrated domestic semiconductor ecosystem, we uncover the broader narrative of technological sovereignty, economic rivalry, and the future of global technological leadership.
From the battlegrounds of innovation and geopolitical chess games, this episode is a profound exploration of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the quest for semiconductor self-sufficiency and the reshaping of global tech dominance. Join us on this enlightening journey through innovation, ambition, and the strategic stakes of the new world order in the making.
Whether you’re a tech enthusiast, policy analyst, or simply curious about the future of global technology, this video offers compelling insights into one of the most critical issues of our time.
What was a gruesome torture method practiced in the past?
Drop torture
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You’re stuck in a chair. You can’t move. Every five seconds, a small drop of water falls on your head.
After being in this situation for twenty minutes, the sound of the water starts to irritate you.
After a week, every drop of water sounds like a drum.
After a month, you feel pain because you can’t move, and seemingly painless drops of water start to open wounds in your head. You can also suffer from labyrinthitis.
After two months, the pain is so bad that you go crazy. If you don’t, well, the water droplets will kill you anyway.
A drop of water. Tiny, frivolous, seemingly innocent; yet it could be the cause of your death.
An old proverb went: “The drop digs the stone by its constancy, not by its strength”.
EVIL RETALIATION! U.S Insist on Bringing Down China Tech
In this critical analysis, we explore the escalating tensions between the United States and China over advanced semiconductor technologies and their implications for global security and technological dominance. With the U.S. government, led by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, taking a firm stance on restricting China’s access to cutting-edge technologies, we delve into the potential repercussions of this strategy on international relations, innovation, and the digital divide. Join us as we dissect the motives, strategies, and possible outcomes of this technological standoff, shedding light on the ethical, political, and economic dilemmas it presents. Don’t forget to engage with our content by liking, sharing, and subscribing to our channel for more insightful discussions on the transformative projects shaping our world.
What are the reasons behind Taiwanese people not supporting unification with Mainland China, despite having similar culture and language? How does this compare to the situation with Korean unification?
There are 2 types of Taiwanese who reject re-unification with China.
1, Corrupted politicians who get funds from USA. USA wants to suppress China’s rise. So corrupted politicians endlessly shout “independence” so as to create problem for China. These people work for money & not for the welfare of Taiwan.
2, Losers. In China’s 4000 years’ of history, there were many civil wars. The one who lost the war would accept the winner as the new leader/emperor of China. They moved on with life.
Taiwanese loser-politicians do not want to move on with life. They hold onto the past.
Today there are some Qing descendants who are still angry at ROChina (ie today’s Taiwan) for overthrowing Qing dynasty. These Qing descendants live in remote areas in China; they do not want to move on with life & integrate into the new China. Same here for these loser Taiwanese.
What was the craziest defense in court that actually worked?
A lawyer and democratic state senator from Oklahoma was in court for bribery he had accepted money from a constituent in return for a favor. The FBI had audio recorded the conversation and exchange.
During the trial Gene Stipe played a recording of the audio on a cheap battery powered cassette player. Gene talked during the playing of the tape so as to distract the jury from what was being played.
When the FBI brought in an expensive reel to reel tape player that had much better audio without any background noise the judge overruled them as Gene Stipe protested and had already submitted an audio as evidence.
The jury acquitted Gene Stipe.
A fellow classmate told that his father had been arrested on a DUI charge. His father contacted Gene Stipe about representing him. The only question Gene Stipe asked him was how much money he had. When told that he had approximately $8,500 dollars. Gene told him he would see what he could do. Gene Stipe called back a couple days later and asked if he had the check written out. When he told Gene he could bring it by his office, Gene told him as soon as the check clears his case would be dropped. He took the check by and was told the case had been dropped by the county and to ignore any communication from the county or court house and to mail it to Gene. He never heard another word on the DUI charge.
New England Pot Roast
This is SO tasty. The horseradish is the secret ingredient! The leftovers make wonderful roast beef sandwiches also.
pot roast
Ingredients
1 (4 pound) boneless beef chuck arm, shoulder or blade pot roast
1 to 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 (8 ounce) bottle prepared horseradish
1 cup water
8 small potatoes, cut in half
8 medium carrots, cut into fourths
8 small onions, skins removed
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
In a 4 quart Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until brown on all sides. Reduce heat to low.
Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Spread horseradish over all sides of beef. Add 1 cup water to Dutch oven. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 2 hours 30 minutes.
Add potatoes, carrots and onions to Dutch oven. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour or until beef and vegetables are tender.
Remove beef and vegetables to warm platter; keep warm.
Skim excess fat from broth in Dutch oven. Add enough water to broth to measure 2 cups.
In tightly covered container, shake 1/2 cup cold water and the flour; gradually stir into broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute.
PASSPORT BROS Tells Men Go To Southern China Women Are COMPETING For Men Here
Why aren’t we protesting to make supermax prisoners get more yard time?
To end up in a Supermax you had to do something really bad in the prison I know of people who started out in a medium security prison where they had decent yard time. Then they did something to get sent to get their custody level raised and sent to a maximum security prison where there is less yard time. Finally, they do something to get sent to a “supermax” In Missouri they have one it is called Potosi Correctional Center. Really it is a punishment prison and also houses those with capital punishment.If you get sent there because of something you did in another prison , you do about 9 months in the hole and then you work your way to General Population through a step up program. Basically, if your behavior is good you gradually get more yard time and privileges.
I know many people are against people doing long stretches in the hole. But tell me what the prison is supposed to do when someone does something like assaulting another prisoner or C/O? Are they to just pat them on the head and tell them not to do it again? They tried that at Missouri State Penitentiary back in the day. Someone could stab someone and just get a few days in the hole. Violence was very high until they started giving longer stretches in the hole and charging them with crimes
The only problem I have is that it doesn’t matter if you started something or were defending yourself, you are going to the hole and possibly your custody level raised and sent to Potosi {or in other states Supermax}
As a person from mainland China, have you ever been ‘invited to tea’ by the authorities? What was the experience like?
I’m not Chinese but I live in China. I’ve never been “invited to tea” but one of the teachers that I work with has been.
In the past, you used to have to register at the police station every single time you left China and returned. The government used to take registering very seriously. These days the police don’t care that much and you only have to do it if you move or get a new passport.
Anyway, one of the teachers I worked with was always perfect. She did everything correctly but one time she forgot to register (normally not a big deal since you have a few days to register and even if it was the following week they wouldn’t mind) but then she didn’t travel again for a while. Eventually, the police did an audit and she got called to the police station for going about 300 days without registering. She had to write an apology note and say sorry, etc.
She never forgot again and that was it.
USA on the Brink of Chaos: How Americans Are Living the End of the American Dream
There are various scenes from life that are characteristic of the place where you live.
When I lived in Milford, Mass… I well remember the local boys carrying the fishing poles to the local stream before school started. I remember the hot fresh bagels that were so great with butter and creme cheese. And I remember the ‘Northeasterner’s.
In Hattiesburg, Mississippi it was the deep fried cat fish and hush puppies. The swarms of cockroaches under the streetlights at night, and the lush moist air that was so very calm.
In Sydney, Australia, it was the delicious meat pies, and the lady that sold them at ten in the morning at the factory. I remember the funny little $2 gold color coins, the women with huge manes of hair, and prawns the size of a turkey.
In Zhuhai, China it was the morning walks with PP (my dog) along the beach front, the beautiful blue skies and flowering trees. And the bike ride that I took to the office.
Different places generate different experiences.
It is the experiences that we have that causes us to think things in ways that are unique to us.
Thus forming our own unique opinions.
Treasure your experiences, and generate new ones at every opportunity. Welcome them as they manifest in your life. Have adventures. Savor the experiences.
Unfortunately, that is a nontrivial possibility. The U.S. corporate elites and their servant government are not popular at home these days (according to Pew Research, only 20% trust the government today, while in the 1960’s it was as high as 80%). In Finland, for example, 80% trust their government.
The US is also no longer very popular externally. So, rather than continue losing clout at home and abroad, the last one being the power of hegemony, the U.S. elites may opt for yet another world war, and a nuclear one, to boot. I hope it doesn’t happen, but I wouldn’t put it past them.
Also, I read an opinion similar to mine above, in a Western mainstream article two or three years ago, and now things are that much worse for the US elites, with Russia’s apparently successful Special Operation in Ukraine, a (real) 8% inflation in the U.S., and a half-senile President.
“Compared to this raid, Pearl Harbor was a Sunday picnic.”
3
9 November 1979.
It was a cold winter’s morning in Colorado when the alarms began to shriek at NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defence Command. With a Cold War cloud hanging over their heads, the analysts’ hearts instinctively sank when they witnessed the cause behind the alarm — 250 Soviet missiles hurtling towards the United States.
2
Zbigniew Brzezinski, right, with Jimmy Carter.
At 3AM and within minutes of the alert, President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, is awoken by a call from NORAD to inform him of the imminent nuclear assault. Each second has suddenly become more valuable than gold, as he is told that he has as few as three minutes to inform President Jimmy Carter of the situation, as well as to get a decision from him.
Instead of doing so though, Brzezinski played cautiously by not immediately informing the president, telling the military assistant who’d called him that he would stand by for a further call to confirm the situation first. His wife sleeping beside him, he decided not to wake her up, convinced that everyone would be dead within half an hour anyway.
1
A B-52,part of the Strategic Air Command.
He received a call back shortly later, and was informed the number of incoming missiles had jumped to 2,200 — this was a full-scale annihilation. Brzezinski was determined that the USA should strike back, and so requested confirmation of preparations for retaliation. They were passed on, and ten aircraft from the Strategic Air Command were readied to launch into the sky and begin their flight towards the Iron Curtain, primed to deliver an American brand of retribution.
As each second dragged on and with less than a minute from Brzezinski making the big call to the President, the one that would change the war from cold to searingly hot, he received a third call. He was informed that the other warning systems weren’t registering anything; radar and satellites showed no sign of any approaching missiles. It turned out to be a false alarm, the result of someone mistakenly loading a training simulation into one of the operational computers at NORAD’s HQ.
To think, a mere blip caused the planet to be but a single minute away from World War Three! The quote at the beginning belongs to a congressional investigator who spoke about the event years later, reinforcing just how close the world was to turning that simulation into reality.
I’ve had several such moments, but one in particular comes to mind.
I was fourteen, probably, maybe thirteen. I was doing something in town with my dad, I can’t remember quite what. He wandered off for a little while anyway so I started texting or going on twitter or some such thing.
A car pulled up, the guy in it was perhaps thirty. He called me over, and I approached the passanger side door. He was asking for directions which, in the relatively rural area I lived in at the time, was relatively common. He was asking for somewhere I hadn’t heard of, however, so I told him I really wasn’t sure. He asked about somewhere else that I had heard of, though didn’t know the exact location of. I told him the rough direction of it. He held his phone, and requested for me to walk around the other side of the car to help him figure it out.
I don’t know quite what it was. Looking back there were a few red flags, the fact he decided to ask me instead of finding an adult, the fact he didn’t just hold his phone towards where I was stood, the fact he was asking for directions but didn’t have a definite destination in mind. At the time I wasn’t really thinking about this, but the whole situation gave me a definite sense that… something didn’t feel right.
I told him I couldn’t help him, while taking a few steps away from his car. I said that if he wanted to wait a minute or two my dad would be back and would probably know. He said nevermind and drove off.
I didn’t hear about anything happening that could confirm or deny the validity of my apprehension, all I can say is that as he drove away I made a point to memorise his face and licence plate.
I think in certain situations it’s important to trust your instincts, especially when they’re warning you of danger. It’s better to be too cautious a hundred times than not cautious enough even once.
My family, Dad, Mum, my sister and I, were on holiday in the south of France in 1983. My sister fell ill and so we all went to the local pharmacy to get something to help get my sisters temperature down and help with the vomiting.
A quick aside: my mother went to an all girls grammar school and took German and French as well as some other topics. She always wanted to be a librarian and do she made sure she could read, write and talk in German, French and Latin.
And so, dear reader, back to the plot.
My dad attempted to talk to the pharmacist. With typical Gallic flair the pharmacist dismissed my dad, in French, and apparently added some less than savory comments about my Dad, us kids, my mum, her clothing, is not talking French etc.
I recall my mother getting redder and redder and more and more ready to explode. The pharmacist said a couple more words before the smoldering volcano of fury, anger and absolute motherly care and distress for her daughter exploded and, metaphorically destroyed the small village that sat at the foot of the volcano. This was the first time I ever saw my mother go absolutely ballistic at someone else. Me and my sister did the sensible thing and hid behind my dad. My dad just stood there and watched Mount St Helen erupt in a pharmacy in Hyeres in southern France.
The pharmacist stood no chance. He would get one half of a syllable out before the wrath of the Titans picked up a small temple and smashed him in the face. Eventually my mother stopped and said it was his turn to speak. Amazingly the pharmacist had several medications we could have to help my sister. No, no, please accept them with my thanks and blessings. No, Madam, there is no charge for your beautiful daughter or your exquisite self.
That’s the first time I saw my Mum be a bad ass in a foreign language. I have since seen my mother destroy other ignorant people who happen to make a serious error of judgement when her husband or children are ill or hurt.
Pork Sausage Loaf (Hungary)
2024 02 21 08 35
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 cup diced mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg, beaten
1 pound fresh bulk pork sausage
2 cups dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
Melt butter in a skillet and add mushrooms. Sauté.
Combine sausage, mushrooms, egg and crumbs and shape into a loaf. Sprinkle with paprika. Place in a small roaster; cover.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1/2 hour.
Uncover, return to oven, and bake 30 more minutes.
Yup my father sold his last car to a neighbor’s 17 year old daughter. The car was worth in the neighborhood of $10,000 and he sold it to her for $1,000. Why? Because the neighbor and his wife had been very helpful to him after my mother died and he knew and liked their three children. The three kids 17, 15, 12 had come over every week or so and had done chores for him, things he couldn’t do as he got older. cleaned gutters, trimmed trees, replaced high light bulbs, they refused to take any money saying they were just being neighbors. When he decided to give up his car he thought about it how their daughter would be starting college and needed a reliable car. He discussed it with her parents and the fact that they had been wonderful neighbors to him and that he wanted to give something back. He sold the car for way under market to her. He bought savings bonds for the two younger children with the $1,000. We were so proud of him. He taught us to be kind, generous and to be grateful.
Yes he absolutely knew what he was doing and we would have never dreamed of interfering. It was his car and his choice. When he died he left a very small estate including his home. We sold the home since neither of us lived within 1500 miles and we divided the money from his entire estate into fourths. On fourth to my brother. One fourth to the two children of my youngest brother. One fourth to me and one fourth to the kind neighbors who had been such good friends to him over the years.
My brother and I took our inheritance and donated it to a charity, our father would have approved, neither of us needed it and others did.
“I Got FIRED!” Women WEAPONIZED The ME2 Movement & Companies Are Saying NO, To Hiring Modern Women
If you spend 8 hours working for somebody else, take a couple hours after that to work for/on yourself.
A corporate office is not what you expect when you are in high school/college and most of the things you learn in college won’t worth a dime in your real world work environment anyways.
Your employer company is not YOUR company, so never take it for granted.
Never finish a work assignment sooner than the timeline given to you. No one gives a damn if you do it early, instead they will think your job is easy and their expectations from you will get higher.
It is okay to be late, miss a meeting, and say no to your superiors from time to time, in fact it will be worse if you never did any of those.
No matter how honest, dedicated, hardworking and talented you are, still there is a high chance you will never be the best employee of the month/year and you probably won’t get any promotions either.
Don’t be the guy who is there to take any task which others failed to complete.
You might be right, your opinion might be the best, but guess what? Sometimes nobody wants to hear the right thing and they won’t do it your way.
When you feel that you are way smarter and more talented than your boss, that is the moment you should consider changing your job.
If you actually want to grow and have your dream career/job then start your own business, spend all those energy and talent working for yourself instead of working for someone else all your life. You will grow much faster working a day for yourself than a month for somebody else.
I was on the metro escalator on my way up to the platform. In front of me was a couple – probably in their late twenties. The wife was wearing a sleeveless top and carrying a baby in her arms. She was kind of cute. Her husband stood a couple of steps in front of her.
Suddenly, I’ve no idea how it happened, but the girl lost her balance started falling backwards. She tried to fumble for the railing, now holding the child with just one hand – her body flailing wildly. The child was about to fall on the moving escalator.
Instinctively, I reached out and firmly grabbed both her (wife, not the child) arms, steadying her. Once I was sure she was safe, I immediately let go.
The entire thing must have lasted less than a nanosecond.
But as it happened, I registered a flash of intense fear jolting through my body. It wasn’t because the girl and her child were going to get hurt. Their safety had nothing to do with it. No! my fear was much more primal, originating somewhere deep inside my reptilian brain which knew that she was a female and I was a male – and my bare hands on her naked flesh – what that would mean in the eyes of the society, and how those standing around us might interpret it! Her husband, who was standing just a few steps ahead of us had no idea what had happened. A single shriek from the girl, and his animal brain would have gone berserk trying to defend what was rightfully its and eliminate the perceived threat at any cost.
My life could have been destroyed.
In that single nanosecond, my brain witnessed a fierce battle between two base instincts – one to help a fellow human being and the other to be afraid since that human being happened to be a female. Society had only taught me well enough the consequences such a situation might spiral into.
I was just lucky that that day, the first instinct had prevailed.
Had the second one kicked in first, a two year old child would have, at best, gotten gravely injured, or at worst, lost his life.
This is what happened with one guy in one incident.
Integrate that over four billion men on this planet and a million such situations that arise in the lifetimes, and you’ll realize what our world has come to.
The day my father died. I know that’s a big one for most people, but it was so much more for me. I was 40 and had had a contentious or non-existent relationship with him for 30 years due to the lies my mother told me about him. According to her, he was a sociopath. He lied, cheated and stole money from his own children. I believed it all as a ten-year-old.
I contacted my father several months before his death because I found out about my mother’s lies. I needed to apologize to him. My stepmother said she would arrange a meeting as soon as they returned from vacation. When they finally returned, he had already been diagnosed with inoperable, incurable cancer, the kind that Jimmy Buffet had.
Dad only lived four more months and I only had one opportunity to say what I needed to say to him. He hadn’t known how pervasive the brainwashing had been or what had been said. It helped to talk, but it couldn’t heal 30 years of mutual wounding. My father died not loving me, and the time lost devastated me. It still does 30 years later.
Does it occur to you it could be the U.S. that could be imprisoned? If the U.S. ends up spending tons of money meaninglessly and without a return and yet it cannot stop spending billions to continuously do shit that don’t pay it is the U.S. that is trapped. China don’t gives a shit it simply just let the US waste all its own money bribing nations who refuse to do shit, just to pretend to the world that it has allies.
For us in Asia. Even Japan, Korea, Phillipines and India have no wish to do shit as it knows the repercussions and it has been China’s neighbour for some 5000 years! It may have no choice but to barked some shit on China to get the U.S. off its back. But sure won’t risk it to do more than that. So the U.S. having a pay billions get some pretend shit is outright silly and wasteful.
So who is trapped? China can and will do what it wants. And the U.S. has to stay and waste a ton of resources to get pretentious shit that China gives a damn. To me the U.S. is trapped in its own stupidity!
The mistake women make with faithful men…
Russian Space Nukes and Navalny’s Death… U.S. Psyops Go Ballistic
Two “breaking news” items this week provided a timely opportunity for the United States and its media-intelligence apparatus to regain control of the narrative.
The claims about Russian space-based nuclear weapons unraveled to become a joke. Fortunately, the death of Western-sponsored dissident Alexei Navalny then occurred to enable Western media to go into a frenzy of anti-Russia headlines.
First up was the scaremongering story about Russia allegedly developing a space-based nuclear weapon. Initially, it was dramatically trailed as posing a serious national security threat to the United States. Despite the sensational reporting, the story quickly became a laughingstock. Even some U.S. lawmakers dismissed it as “bullshit” and a blatant attempt by the Biden White House and intelligence agencies to push Congress into passing a new mega military aid bill for Ukraine worth $61 billion.
We’ll get to the Navalny story in a moment. But let’s just first parse the orchestration of the alleged Russian space nukes.
The drama began on Wednesday when Mike Turner, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee (a dodgy source if ever there was one), made public appeals to President Joe Biden to declassify intelligence on “a serious threat to national security”. Turner is a Republican member of the House of Representatives but he is a close ally of the Democrat White House in terms of keenly supporting military aid to Ukraine. The latest bill passed the upper chamber of the U.S. Senate the day before, February 13, but it is unlikely to be approved by the House where many Republican lawmakers are staunchly opposed to it.
Accompanying the “concerns” of the intel committee chairman Turner, media outlets then vented anonymous US intelligence sources “revealing” that the national security threat was from Russian nuclear weapons allegedly under development for destroying American communication satellites in space. The White House then “confirmed” the intel the next day, February 15. It was a flagrant put-up job. But the Biden administration sought to tamp down any public panic by saying that the threat was not imminent and the alleged Russian satellite-killing weapon had not been deployed in orbit, nor would there be any danger to Earth. (So, what was all the fuss about?)
Ironically, derisive comments from incredulous U.S. lawmakers were also echoed by the Kremlin. The latter’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov made a similar assessment that the Biden administration was playing tricks to push through the military funding package for Ukraine.
That bill has been delayed since the end of last year. The Biden administration has been cajoling Congress for months to vote it through. After the Senate finally passed the bill this week, President Biden put pressure on the House, saying that “history is watching you”. The bill has been exalted as having existential importance in defeating “Russian aggression” in Ukraine. The U.S. media have claimed (preposterously) that if the military aid is not supplied then Ukraine’s defeat could result in American troops being deployed to prevent Russian rampaging across Europe.
The American public, as with the European public, has become increasingly skeptical about the relentless funneling of taxpayer funds and weapons to Ukraine. Many citizens in the West – a majority, according to polls – have become critical of fueling a bloody war for the dubious cause of “defending democracy” in a regime dominated by NeoNazis. At a time of deep social and economic hardship in the U.S. and Europe, the Western public is rightly disdainful of hundreds of billions of dollars and euros being wasted on death and destruction and also being siphoned off by a corrupt cabal in Kiev.
The $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine is just the latest tranche that Washington is seeking to throw at the black hole of its proxy war against Russia – a war that is really all about defeating Russia as a geopolitical obstacle to U.S. hegemony. Another driver is the massive profits that taxpayers are subsidizing the military-industrial complex at the rotten heart of Western capitalism.
There’s a huge lot at stake with the failure of the US/NATO proxy war in Ukraine. The Kiev regime is facing a collapse in the face of a superior Russian military.
That’s why the passing of the latest bill by Congress has taken on such an imperative importance – for the warmongers.
To get this bill into law, the U.S. deep state rulers and the pliant Biden White House along with the media-intelligence establishment sought to demonize Russia with a desperate story about alleged nuclear weapons for outer space. Oh, those dastardly Ruskies!
But as noted above the space nukes scar-story turned into farce. It was too obvious that the public was being manipulated, or gaslighted as one US lawmaker put it. When a psyops fails, the blowback is dangerous for the authors because of the damaging revelation and contempt it engenders. The Biden administration was open to ridicule.
There are several telltale signs that the story was total hogwash from the outset. Bruce Gagnon, U.S.-based coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, said the claims are absurd. In an email exchange with the Strategic Culture Foundation for this editorial, Gagnon said Russia has already developed formidable non-nuclear kinetic weapons to destroy satellites if it wanted to. He also remarked that the United States possesses anti-satellite weapons (ASATs).
In other words, there is no need for Russia to develop a risky nuclear weapon to knock out satellites. The nuclear details flagged up in US media this week are a gratuitous embellishment designed to alarm the public and to demonize Russia as an evil rogue state.
Russia is a co-signatory to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty as are the United States, China, and over 120 other nations.
Bruce Gagnon commented: “I believe the Russians have a long history of generally honoring treaties while the U.S. does not. And remember that Russia and China every year for at least the last 20-30 years go to the UN and introduce a new treaty called Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) to ban all weapons that fall outside of the 1967 treaty. The U.S. always refuses, saying there is no need for a new treaty.”
Apart from the paramount issue of getting additional funding for the proxy war in Ukraine, another timing issue is the aftermath of the blockbuster interview of Russian President Vladimir Putin by American journalist Tucker Carlson. Since the interview was aired last Thursday, February 8, it has broken all records for public audiences around the world. It has garnered over 300 million views, and counting.
The one-on-one interview was seen as a breakthrough world exclusive, an informative platform for Putin to comprehensively give Russia’s point of view on the whole Ukraine conflict, and more. The Russian leader was seen by American and European audiences as reasonable, intelligent, articulate, and convincing. The Western propaganda caricature of Putin was dispelled and for a rare moment, the Western public was persuasively informed of the bigger causes of the conflict in Ukraine. That is, how the U.S.-led NATO axis had instigated the war by fomenting an anti-Russian regime dominated by NeoNazis. The impact of the interview dealt a devastating blow to the Western narrative of “Russian aggression” and “evil Putin”.
Plausibly, the U.S. warmongering establishment was incensed by this exposé.
Hence, to wrest back control of the narrative and corral the Western public, the space-based nukes scare-story was unleashed. Unfortunately, that psyop attempt failed to gain traction and indeed was fast descending into a farce.
Next up, luckily, came the news of Navalny’s death. Western media immediately blared headlines and comments that he had been killed by the “Putin regime”.
Navalny was serving 19 years in prison on multiple corruption convictions. He died Friday apparently from a blood clot. The 47-year-old was a broken and forgotten figure facing a futile existence, having been used and abandoned by Western intelligence handlers as a cut-out dissident figure. His future looked bleak. Who knows at this stage what caused his death? He was last seen by his lawyer during a prison meeting this week two days before his passing. Did his lawyer pass something to Navalny? Was the washed-up Western asset offered a deal for his family’s benefit if he agreed to one last, ultimate psyop on behalf of Western handlers? Taking his own life? His death in prison has certainly provided the Western media with a bonanza opportunity to change the narrative and precipitate an avalanche of Russophobia, just as required.
As for the far-fetched Russian space nukes and the death of Navalny, the criminologist’s question of Who Gains? and the factor of timing are often reliable indicators.
My friend’s cousin disappeared, and it was an interesting lesson in media bias.
She didn’t come home one day. They found her necklace, broken, next to her car, in a nearby park. Her photo was in all the local newspapers: a cute smiling blonde girl in her high school softball uniform, well liked and a good student. Her family held press conferences pleading for whoever took her to let her go.
A few weeks later, she did return. But she had not been kidnapped – it had been staged. She had actually run off with her boyfriend against her parents’ wishes. The photo of the cute blonde girl was replaced by a photo of her with dyed black hair, dark goth clothing and a look of defiance. The papers began reporting that the well liked good student had been caught shoplifting and was in trouble at school. She was eventually sentenced to community service for faking the crime.
This was the same person. When they wanted to make her look innocent, she looked innocent. When they wanted to make her look guilty, she looked guilty. Think about that next time you read the news.
Big Picture Conflict: Pepe Escobar & Global Times Observations
Karl Sanchez
The Two-year anniversary of Russia’s SMO and the Ten-year anniversary of the overt beginning of the Outlaw US Empire’s conflict with Russia with the Ukraine Coup are upon us as well as the related conflict to free Palestine from Zionist/West Genocide—both operations initially were planned as Nazi-like Plan Ost Genocidal ethnic cleansing so the lands “freed” could then be exploited by Western Capital. But in both cases, the targets of oppression, dispossession and death fought back, although in both cases resistance was always present with the assaulted able to gain formidable allies. Both conflicts have revealed the status of the protagonists within the larger Global Conflict pitting the Global majority against the Outlaw US Empire and its vassals, perhaps most starkly revealing the Fence Sitters trying to play both sides for their own pecuniary gain as is the case most certainly with Turkey.
The recently completed G-20 Foreign Ministers Summit in Rio de Janeiro helped to further define the lines/sides as the raw statements from Lavrov provided to readers who read the reports about his actions. To help deepen understanding about our Global Conflict, the latest two essays by Pepe Escobar and Global Times G-20 report are presented below. The political cartoon at the header is from Global Times and is almost accurate for our purposes as the pot needs to include the Zionists. And Palestine is where we’ll begin with Pepe’s “The Axis of Asymmetry takes on the ‘rules-based order:’”
The Axis of Asymmetry is in full swing. These are the state and non-state actors employing asymmetrical moves on the global chessboard to sideline the US-led western rules-based order. And its vanguard is the Yemeni resistance movement Ansarallah.
Ansarallah is absolutely relentless. They have downeda $30 million MQ-9 Reaper drone with just a $10k indigenous missile.
They are the first in the Global South ever to use anti-ship ballistic missiles against Israel-bound and/or -protecting commercial and US Navy ships.
For all practical purposes, Ansarallah is at war with no less than the US Navy.
Ansarallah has captured one of the US Navy’s ultra-sophisticated autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), the $1.3 million Remus 600, a torpedo-shaped underwater drone able to carry a massive payload of sensors.
Next stop: reverse engineering in Iran? The Global South eagerly awaits, ready to pay in currencies bypassing the US dollar.
All of the above – a maritime 21st-century remix of the Ho Chi Minh trail during the Vietnam War – spells out that the Hegemon may not even qualify as a paper tiger, but rather as a paper leech.
Lula tells it as the Global South sees it
Into the Big Picture – linked to the relentless ongoing genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza – steps a true leader of the Global South, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Lula spoke in the name of Brazil, Latin America, Africa, BRICS 10, and the overwhelming majority of the Global South when he cut to the chase and defined the Gaza tragedy for what it is: a genocide. No wonder the Zionist tentacles across the Global North – plus its Global South vassals – went bonkers.
The genocidals in Tel Aviv declared Lula as persona non grata in Israel. Yet Lula did not assassinate 29,000+ Palestinians – the overwhelming majority of whom were women and children.
History will be unforgiving: it’s the genocidals that will eventually be judged as personae non grata to all of humanity.
What Lula said represented BRICS 10 in action: this was obviously cleared before with Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and, of course, the African Union. Lula spoke in Addis Ababa, and Ethiopia is now a BRICS 10 member.
The Brazilian president was extremely smart in timing his Gaza fact-check to be on the table during the G20 meeting of Foreign Ministers in Rio. Way beyond BRICS 10, what’s happening in Gaza is a consensus among the non-Western G20 partners – who are actually a majority. No one, though, should expect any serious follow-up inside a divided G20. The heart of the matter remains in the facts on the ground.
Yemen’s fight for “our people” in Gaza is a matter of humanistic, moral, and religious solidarity – these are foundational tenets of the rising eastern “civilizational” powers, both domestically and in international affairs. This convergence of principles has now created a direct link – extrapolating to the moral and spiritual spheres – between the Axis of Resistance in West Asia and the Slavic Axis of Resistance in Donbass.
Extreme attention should be paid to the timescale. The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) forces and Russia have spent two hard-fought years in Novorossiya just to arrive at the stage where it becomes clear – based on the battlefield and cumulative facts on the ground – that “negotiations” mean only the terms of Kiev’s surrender.
In contrast, the job of the Axis of Resistance in West Asia has not even started. It’s fair to argue that its strength and full sovereign involvement have not been deployed yet (think Hezbollah and Iran).
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, with his proverbial subtlety, has hinted there’s, in fact, nothing to negotiate on Palestine. And if there would be a return to any borders, these would be the 1948 borders. The Axis of Resistance understands that the whole Zionist Project is unlawful and immoral. But the question remains how to throw it, in practice, into the dustbin of History?
Possible – avowedly optimistic – scenarios ahead would include Hezbollah taking possession of the Galilee as a step toward the eventual retaking of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Yet the fact remains that even a united Palestine does not have the military capability to reconquer stolen Palestinian lands.
So the questions posed by the overwhelming majority of the Global South that stands with Lula may be: Who else, apart from Ansarallah, Hezbollah, Hashd al-Shaabi, will join the Axis of Asymmetry in the fight for Palestine? Who would be willing to come to the Holy Land and die? (After all, in Donbass, it’s only Russians and Russophones who are dying for historically Russian lands) [Not entirely 100% correct, but close].
And that brings us to the way towards the endgame: only a West Asian Special Military Operation (SMO), to the bitter end, will settle the Palestinian tragedy. A translation of what happens across the Slavic Axis of Resistance: “Those who refuse to negotiate with Lavrov, deal with Shoigu.”
The menu, the table, and the guests
That out-of-his-depth closet neocon, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, let the cat out of the bag when he actually defined his much cherished “rules-based international order”: “If you’re not on the table, you are on the menu.”
Following his own hegemonic logic, it’s clear that Russia and the US/NATO are on the table while Ukraine is on the menu. What about the Red Sea? The Houthis defending Palestine against US–UK–Israel are clearly on the table, while Western vassals supporting Israel in a maritime way are clearly on the menu.
And that’s the problem: the Hegemon – or, in Chinese scholarly terminology, “the crusaders” – have lost the power to place the name cards on the table. The main reason for this authority collapse is the build-up of serious international meetings sponsored by the Russia–China strategic partnership during the past two years since the start of the SMO. It’s all about sequential planning, with long-term targets clearly outlined.
Only civilizational states can do that – not plutocratic neoliberal casinos.
Negotiating with the Hegemon is impossible because the Hegemon itself prevents negotiations (see the serial blocking of ceasefire resolutions at the UN). Additionally, the Hegemon excels in instrumentalizing its client elites across the Global South via threats or kompromat: see the hysterical reaction of Brazilian mainstream media to Lula’s verdict on Gaza.
What Russia is showing the Global South, two years after the start of the SMO, is that the only path to teach a lesson to the Hegemon has to be kinetic, or “military-technical.”
The problem is no nation-state can compare to nuclear/hypersonic/military superpower Russia, in which 7.5 percent of the government’s budget is dedicated to military production. Russia is and will remain on a permanent war footing until Hegemon’s elites come to their senses – and that may never happen.
Meanwhile, West Asia’s Axis of Resistance is watching and learning, day after day. It’s always crucial to keep in mind that for all the resistance movements across the Global South – and that also includes, for instance, West Africans against French neo-colonialism – the geopolitical fault lines could not be starker.
It’s a matter of the collective West versus Islam; the collective West versus Russia; and sooner rather than later, a substantial part of the West, even reluctantly, versus China.
The fact is we are already immersed in a World War that is both existential and civilizational. As we stand at the crossroads, there is a bifurcation: either escalation towards overt “kinetic military action,” or a multiplication of Hybrid Wars across several latitudes.
So it’s up to the Axis of Asymmetry, cool, calm, and collected, to forge the underground corridors, passages, and trails capable of undermining and subverting the US-led, unipolar, rules-based international order. [Bolded italics my emphasis]
Pessimistic or realistic? Obviously, the situation is already kinetic. But two very important factors have been proven over the past two years: NATO is powerless to defeat Russia and the USN can be defeated by the new methods of warfare. Pepe and I agree that the major forcing to solve Palestine will need to come from outside, which means Russia or China or perhaps an international coalition sans Western nations. The longer Palestine is subjected to Zionist Genocide, the more the world’s people will learn of its history and the utter crime related to the creation of Occupied Palestine. And now for the second Pepe Escobar essay, “Two Years After the Start of the SMO, the West is Totally Paralyzed:”
Exactly two years ago this Saturday, on February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced the launching – and described the objectives – of a Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine. That was the inevitable follow-up to what happened three days before, on February 21 – exactly 8 years after Maidan 2014 in Kiev – when Putin officially recognized the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
During this – pregnant with meaning – short space of only three days, everyone expected that the Russian Armed Forces would intervene, militarily, to end the massive bombing and shelling that had been going on for three weeks across the frontline – which even forced the Kremlin to evacuate populations at risk to Russia. Russian intel had conclusive proof that the NATO-backed Kiev forces were ready to execute an ethnic cleansing of Russophone Donbass.
February 24, 2022 was the day that changed 21st century geopolitics forever, in several complex ways. Above all, it marked the beginning of a vicious, all-out confrontation, “military-technical” as the Russians call it, between the Empire of Chaos, Lies and Plunder, its easily pliable NATOstan vassals, and Russia – with Ukraine as the battleground.
There is hardly any question Putin had calculated, before and during these three fateful days, that his decisions would unleash the unbounded fury of the collective West – complete with a tsunami of sanctions.
Ay, there’s the rub; it’s all about Sovereignty. And a true sovereign power simply cannot live under permanent threats. It’s even feasible that Putin had wanted (italics mine) Russia to get sanctioned to death. After all, Russia is so naturally wealthy that without a serious challenge from abroad, the temptation is enormous to live off its rents while importing what it could easily produce.
Exceptionalists always gloated that Russia is “a gas station with nuclear weapons”. That’s ridiculous. Oil and gas, in Russia, account for roughly 15% of GDP, 30% of the government budget, and 45% of exports. Oil and gas add power to the Russian economy – not a drag. Putin shaking Russia’s complacency generated a gas station producing everything it needs, complete with unrivalled nuclear and hypersonic weapons. Beat that.
Ukraine has “never been less than a nation”
Xavier Moreau is a French politico-strategic analyst based in Russia for 24 years now. Graduated from the prestigious Saint-Cyr military academy and with a Sorbonne diploma, he hosts two shows on RT France.
His latest book, Ukraine: Pourquoi La Russie a Gagné (“Ukraine: Why Russia has Won”), just out, is an essential manual for European audiences on the realities of the war, not those childish fantasies concocted across the NATOstan sphere by instant “experts” with less than zero combined arms military experience.
Moreau makes it very clear what every impartial, realist analyst was aware of from the beginning: the devastating Russian military superiority, which would condition the endgame. The problem, still, is how this endgame – “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine, as established by Moscow – will be achieved.
What is already clear is that “demilitarization”, of Ukraine and NATO, is a howling success that no new wunderwaffen – like F-16s – will be able to change.
Moreau perfectly understands how Ukraine, nearly 10 years after Maidan, is not a nation; “and has never been less than a nation”. It’s a territory where populations that everything separates are jumbled up. Moreover, it has been a – “grotesque” – failed state ever since its independence. Moreau spends several highly entertaining pages going through the corruption grotesquerie in Ukraine, under a regime that “gets its ideological references simultaneously via admirers of Stepan Bandera and Lady Gaga.”
None of the above, of course, is reported by oligarch-controlled European mainstream media.
Watch out for Deng Xiao Putin
The book offers an extremely helpful analysis of those deranged Polish elites who bear “a heavy responsibility in the strategic catastrophe that awaits Washington and Brussels in Ukraine”. The Poles actually believed that Russia would crumble from the inside, complete with a color revolution against Putin. That barely qualifies as Brzezinski on crack.
Moreau shows how 2022 was the year when NATOstan, especially the Anglo-Saxons – historically racist Russophobes – were self-convinced thar Russia would fold because it is a “poor power”. Obviously, none of these luminaries understood how Putin strengthened the Russian economy very much like Deng Xiaoping on the Chinese economy. This “self-intoxication”, as Moreau qualifies it, did wonders for the Kremlin.
By now it’s clear even for the deaf, dumb, and blind that the destruction of the European economy has been a massive tactic, historic victory for the Hegemon – as much as the blitzkrieg against the Russian economy has been an abysmal failure.
All of the above brings us to the meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers this week in Rio. That was not exactly a breakthrough. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made it very clear that the collective West at the G20 tried by all means to “Ukrainize” the agenda – with less than zero success. They were outnumbered and counterpunched by BRICS and Global South members.
At his press conference, Lavrov could not be more stark on the prospects of the war of the collective West against Russia. These are the highlights:
Western countries categorically do not want serious dialogue on Ukraine.
There were no serious proposals from the United States to begin contacts with the Russian Federation on strategic stability; trust cannot be restored now while Russia is declared an enemy.
There were no contacts on the sidelines of the G20 with either Blinken or the British Foreign Secretary.
The Russian Federation will respond to new Western sanctions with practical actions that relate to the self-sufficient development of the Russian economy.
If Europe tries to restore ties with the Russian Federation, making it dependent on their whims, then such contacts are not needed.
In a nutshell – diplomatically: you are irrelevant, and we don’t care.
That was complementing Lavrov’s intervention during the summit, which defined once again a clear, auspicious path towards multipolarity. Here are the highlights:
The forming of a fair multipolar world order without a definite center and periphery has become much more intensive in the past few years. Asian, African and Latin American countries are becoming important parts of the global economy. Not infrequently, they are setting the tone and the dynamics.
Many Western economies, especially in Europe, are actually stagnating against this background. These statistics are from Western-supervised institutions – the IMF, the World Bank and the OECD.
These institutions are becoming relics from the past. Western domination is already affecting their ability to meet the requirements of the times. Meanwhile, it is perfectly obvious today that the current problems of humanity can only be resolved through a concerted effort and with due consideration for the interests of the Global South and, generally, all global economic realities.
Institutions like the IMF, the World Bank, the EBRD, and the EIB are prioritizing Kiev’s military and other needs. The West allocated over $250 billion to tide over its underling thus creating funding shortages in other parts of the world. Ukraine is taking up the bulk of the funds, relegating Africa and other regions of the Global South to rationing.
Countries that have discredited themselves by using unlawful acts ranging from unilateral sanctions and the seizure of sovereign assets and private property to blockades, embargoes, and discrimination against economic operators based on nationality to settle scores with their geopolitical opponents cannot be considered guarantors of financial stability.
Without a doubt, new institutions that focus on consensus and mutual benefit are needed to democratize the global economic governance system. Today, we are seeing positive dynamics for strengthening various alliances, including BRICS, the SCO, ASEAN, the African Union, LAS, CELAC, and the EAEU.
This year, Russia chairs BRICS, which saw several new members join it. We will do our best to reinforce the potential of this association and its ties with the G20.
Considering that 6 out of 15 UN Security Council members represent the Western bloc, we will support the expansion of this body solely through the accession of countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Call it the real state of things, geopolitically, two years after the start of the SMO. [Bolded italics my emphasis]
The G-20 timing also coincided with the ICJ’s sessions about Palestine and the increasing number of cases being filed against the Zionists and their abettors. The West’s stance was specifically called out by Lavrov who added it to the evidentiary trail of previous criminal acts. The Outlaw US Empire and the West generally are parasites who feed on host nations in what are clearly Neocolonial types of arrangements. Now the Empire is leeching off the EU and enforcing its blood-sucking via NATO. Trump doesn’t want to disband NATO; he wants to increase the intensity of its blood-sucking just as he did before. Now it’s: Pay up your 2% of GDP or we’ll sick the Russians on you, or rather won’t protect you from the Russians. Putin has said Europeans must rescue themselves as Russia has no intent on going beyond Ukraine as Russia already has most everything it needs. So, now we have Global Times whose experts opine that the SMO “may become ‘a war without winners.’” We’ll see why in “US escalates sanctions, fans fire as Ukraine crisis enters 3rd year:”
The US joined the EU and UK in announcing a new round of sanctions against Russia, ahead of the two-year anniversary of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine that started in February 2022. But at the same time, Russia is seemingly gaining the upper hand on the battlefield with its latest victory in capturing Avdiivka, a critical town in eastern Ukraine.
Analysts said considering the previous sanctions were far from reaching expectations, and the US and West are not prepared to compromise with Russia on the conflict in 2024, the stalemate may become a large probability, and a cease-fire is still far from sight.
At a time when the security environment and economy of the entire world are being seriously affected, the US, whether it is from holding Europe hostage to promote bloc confrontation or from selling gas and arms to Europe, seems to be benefiting the most. However, experts said that if the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues for a long time, it will be a war without winners, and China will continue its efforts in promoting peace talks and a cease-fire as early as possible.
Stalemate to continue
US President Joe Biden on Friday announced Washington would issue more than 500 new sanctions targeting Russia for the ongoing war with Ukraine and for the death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The US will also impose new export restrictions on nearly 100 entities for providing support to Russia and take action to further reduce Russia’s energy revenues, Biden said in a statement.
The US latest sanctions came on the heels of moves by its allies. The UK on Thursday announced more than 50 further sanctions against Russia, targeting individuals and businesses supporting Moscow’s “war effort.” On Wednesday, the EU also approved its 13th package of sanctions against Russia, banning nearly 200 related individuals and entities which it claimed as being linked to Moscow’s operation, including companies from China and India. The sanction was adopted on Friday.
However, experts found that sanctions from the US and West have failed to have any substantial impact on Russia. Meanwhile, Moscow was also “not nearly as isolated as US officials had hoped,” as Russia’s inherent strength, rooted in vast supplies of oil and natural gas, “has powered a financial and political resilience,” according to a New York Times report. [Which is BS as Escobar reported above.]
Western sanctions on Russia did put short-term pressure on the Russian economy, but it soon adjusted policy and resumed growth, Zhang Hong, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.
The sanctions are a sign of Western political correctness, but they have fallen far short of their intended goals, Zhang said, adding that rounds of sanctions have not changed Russia’s position in the Ukraine crisis or caused major economic difficulties for Russia.
“In a way, it was a failure,” said the expert.
According to the expert, compared with the previous measures, the recent ones have focused more on indirect sanctions, by restricting Russia’s trade and financial contacts with other countries, narrowing Russia’s external economic activity.
The sanctions also come at a time when Russia is gaining the upper hand on the battlefield, capturing Ukraine’s eastern city of Avdiivka last week. Ukraine faces a shortage of ammunition and insufficient troops, according to media reports.
Ahead of the crisis anniversary, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that Russia will have to continue fighting Ukraine until it takes the coastal city of Odessa and Ukraine’s capital Kiev, according to RT.
Although some observers, including former CIA director and secretary of Defense Robert Gates, told US media that he believed Russia has “regained the momentum” and “has broken the stalemate,” Chinese experts said the current seesaw battle may continue in 2024.
Medvedev’s remark shows Russia’s confidence in continuing its “special operation,” Zhang said, “What Moscow seeks is to maximize its security interests within the scope of controllable risks.“
However, the latest sanctions show the US and the West are not prepared to compromise with Russia, Zhang noted, adding that although Ukraine has recently been passive on the battlefield, it’s unlikely to suffer a rout. [Avdeevka ws a rout.] On February 1, EU leaders approved the extension of 50 billion Euros ($54 billion) in aid to Ukraine from 2024 to 2027. “It shows that currently the West is not prepared to abandon Ukraine,” Zhang said.
Experts also noted that in the long run, the situation in the battlefield largely depends on US factors, whether it can overcome domestic partisan strife on aiding Kiev, and whether US policies will be adjusted sharply after a possible Trump return.
In 2024, the continuation of stalemate and attrition may become a high probability on the battlefield in Ukraine, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Friday.
The conflict will continue, and there is no end in sight, at least for now, Li added.
War without winners
Given that Chinese companies were listed among the latest British and EU sanctions against Russia, on Thursday, the Chinese Embassy in the UK expressed strong opposition, stressing that China has always held an objective and just position on the Ukraine crisis.
Ahead of the anniversary, some Western media expressed misgivings over China’s position. VOA accused China of not pressuring Russia to “stop the aggression,” while some German media said the sanctions pushed Russia into the arms of China, making it “the biggest winner” of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The West is trying to pressure China to take sides through public opinion, but as a major power, China will not let this noise affect its neutral position, Li said.
During a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on February 17, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China has stayed committed to promoting peace talks on the Ukraine issue and will not give up as long as there is a glimmer of hope. China refrains from adding fuel to the fire or taking advantage of the situation, and refrains from selling lethal weapons to conflict areas or parties, Wang said.
Sanctions and weapons aid have not changed Russia’s position, but have prolonged the conflict and extended the damage to Ukraine. In order to end the losses in Ukraine as soon as possible, there must be an early cease-fire and peace talks, Zhang said.
Due to the conflict, all major economies, including China, have been impacted, both in terms of security environment and economy, and it has also had a negative impact on China-EU relations and China-US relations, Zhang said.
So far, the US is the biggest beneficiary, analysts said. US liquefied natural gas has entered the EU market and now takes up a large share. Through the export of weapons, US military manufacturers are making huge amounts of money. At the same time, the Russia-Ukraine conflict also further strengthens US control over Europe, prompting the return of the influence of its bloc politics.
However, overall and in the long run, the conflict will be a war without winners, with only tragedy and disaster, analysts said.
If the goal of the US is to maximize the weakening of Russia by completely depleting Ukraine, even if the goal is achieved, Russia, the US and Europe will most likely fall into a deeper strategic confrontation in the future, Li said.
If the US and the West hope to wait until Ukraine is almost exhausted before directly engaging Russia on the battlefield, then they are playing with fire, said Li, “to defeat a nuclear power on the battlefield is likely to lead to nuclear war and World War III. If that happens, Russia, Ukraine are the losers, the US, Europe are losers, global security will be at stake, and the end will be disaster and tragedy for humankind.” [Emphasis mine]
IMO, it’s odd that Li doesn’t think Ukraine isn’t yet “exhausted” and the loser ever since the conflict began in 2014. That the experts consulted think the conflict is now a “stalemate” means they aren’t paying attention to what’s happening and have ignored Russia’s highly successful strategy of attrition. Again, the notion that “the US … seems to be benefiting the most” or “is the biggest beneficiary,” is chimeric with the seems being an incorrect assumption when reality within the Outlaw US Empire is considered—no tangible gains have accrued to US citizens aside from a very small group of elites. Indeed, the US economy is polarized as the real economy shrinks and the parasite economy expands. The complexity of the sanctions and collusion in their make-up and application by the Empire and its vassals tells us that they were not made for Nalvalny. Indeed, his murder was likely induced by the West to coincide with three events: SMO anniversary, Munich Security Conference, and Putin/Carlson Interview, since his wife/widow was previously invited and showed no shock or grief and all BigLie Media outlets had synchronized copy/paste “news” items immediately upon word of his death. Over the last 24 years of similar happenings, those with active minds can see through the crap. Are the Chinese being honest when they write, “However, overall and in the long run, the conflict will be a war without winners, with only tragedy and disaster,” or are they writing that way to appease the West so it will not target China with further sanctions? Most credible analysts have China next on the menu after Russia, which is precisely what the Outlaw US Empire’s “security” and “defense” documents and policies say matter-of-factly.
Russia’s proving its SMO isn’t mired in a stalemate as it continues to push Westward along the FEBA. Medvedev has issued serious goals as statements of policy. The need to deNazify not only Ukraine but Europe’s been voiced by both Putin, Lavrov, Medvedev, Zakharova, Patrushev, and other top Russian officials. Russia has its Home Front in fine form with very little dissent to be seen or heard. The situation in Ukraine and the West is almost the exact opposite as it’s embroiled in the Gaza Genocide too that has vastly amplified dissent. Plus, the Neoliberal economies are functioning as planned—taking from the poor and giving to the already rich. Dr, Hudson recently provided some anecdotal evidence of that, “New School University race to the bottom,” which ought to be compared with my “Creating a Network of Modern University Campuses” report about two weeks ago. And as my reports show, Russia’s economy is booming as is its trade, while it’s ready to vastly widen the non-Western payments and settlements system so sanctions will have nothing to impede.
Some time ago a European politician made the analogy of Ukraine being a drowning person capable of drowning its rescuers. That man was insightful when compared with most European and US politicos. The longer the West continues to lie about the actual reasons for the SMO and what group started it, the harder it’s going to be when the time arrives for whatever remains of Ukraine to capitulate. The state, which has always been artificial as Putin told the world again in his talk with Tucker Carlson, will likely disappear into the ether from which it was conjured. And all those loans and “investments” will translate into 100% loses for their providers. And if the West attempts to steal Russia’s illegally frozen assets, then it’s going to suffer an even greater loss in the end as extinguishing Ukraine is precisely what will happen.
“What’s Coming Is WORSE Than A Recession” — Ray Dalio’s Last WARNING
I trashed a child in front of his parents while watching the movie “The Jungle Book” and I am proud of what I did to him.
April 14,
Navratri puja over, so I took my brother to watch a movie as my birthday treat which was on 12th.
Housefull.
This child was 27 years old sitting one seat to my left. And right beside me was a beautiful lady in her 60’s, followed by this boy and his father.
During the intermission, the boy ordered two cups of American corn and sat back. Then after a few minutes, the INOX guy came and handed it over to the boy.
Two minutes later, the lady unintentionally spilled the corn.
The boy started yelling at his mom, “koto taka legechy jaano ?? kheyecho aiekhany ??”
Translation: “Do you know how much that cost? Have you ever eaten here??”
And then comes the sickening part: he hit his mother’s legs pretty hard, simply because she had accidentally spilled the cup of American corn.
Seeing all this made me livid. And just when I thought he wouldn’t repeat this deplorable act, he hit his mom again.
His mom was extremely embarrased and kept her head down.
After hitting his mom twice, I didn’t hold myself back. I hit his cup of corn and spilled all of it on the floor. He stood up and confronted me; I landed a punch on his face as hard as I could.
To ensure he stayed put and didn’t retaliate, I landed two more. By then all the people around me (including my brother) got up on their feet and were ready to stop me in case I was going to smack him again.
It was chaos all around, and the security intervened and escorted both of us out.
Once outside and no more in the darkness, I saw that the guy really needed medical assistance after what I had to him. His nose was bleeding and lips were split open. And when our eyes met, I could clearly see the guilt in his eyes. I was damn happy with what I did, though I missed the movie which I watched later.
I was escorted off the premises, while he was administered first aid. I had to assure the security team that I would never repeat anything like this.
I never knew I could do such things but seeing a man punching his mother enraged me and I couldn’t resist myself.
Respect each and everyone whoever it might be, that is what my parents have taught me and I am glad that I do so and hope our generation does the same.
Edit 1 : For all those who think that I didn’t solve the whole problem, my little brother while taking them out of the theatre took the mother’s phone and saved my number.
I don’t think he will dare to do such activity again and I am hoping I won’t receive any call his mother.
Thanks for the appreciation !!
Edit 2: I would like you all to read Yogesh Singhq comment.
China not only has the largest military in the world, but it is also the oldest military in the world. The Chinese were fighting mass invasions and assaults involving thousands of trained warriors when the Europeans were still living in caves and picking lice off each other.
China also has the oldest Navy in the world. Indeed, the Chinese were conducting mass Naval Battles centuries before the Europeans were considering the value of ocean going vessels.
China has always fought using cutting-edge technologies that were unexpected, unheard of, and unanticipated by the nation attacking it. It’s more than gunpowder, it’s poison weapons, tricks and deceit, and armored vehicles that totally stunned the opposition.
China is lead by merit, with people with millennia of military experience. Indeed the top rated military strategy books are all Chinese.
China is a military-organized society that does everything based on merit. They are hopelessly super patriotic, and live to die for their country.
Oh, and remember that the United States tried to attack China in 1950. The United States lost, and lost badly.
…
FACT: Keep in mind that China considers both Taiwan and the South China Sea as China territory.
EXTRAPOLATED FACT: Any bombs, guns, missiles, or assaults in those regions will provoke a STRATEGIC response onto the United States.
KIND REMINDER: And remember Kiddos, that for China, STRATEGIC is the same as NUCLEAR.
…
You all should be really FUCKING clear on accepting the risks, and resulting lifestyle that you will endure, after that Pandora’s box is opened.
Alien Bodies Confirmed After Testing to be NON Human
This is actually a pretty good video, and I recommend it to all mm readers.
I responded to a medical emergency in a hoarder house in the 1980s. When we entered the house from the front door there was no pathway to the back of the house. Newspapers, magazines and papers stacked up to the 6 foot mark on all the walls. The kitchen was covered in plates of old food that had not be cleared or thrown away. No way to get through to the bedrooms in the back of the house. Rats, mice and bugs crawling over everything. We could see the resident in the back bedroom, but could not get through the piles of papers, junk and trash to get to the back bedroom to see if he was alive. The smell was unbelievable.
The fire department brought in a K-12 saw and cut hole into the bedroom from the back of the house. The owner was dead. Mice and insects were crawling all over the body. Multiple cats sprawling all over the piles of papers, garbage and junk in the house. The fire department used the saw to cut a larger hole in the back of the hose so we could get in. The City Public Works Department brought a four wheel drive front end loader to clear out piles of newspapers and magazines which filled the floor around the bed in the bedroom at the back of the house. Several police officers, Animal Control Officers and Public Works employees had to run to the back the property to throw up from the smell.
I took time off the radio after we got the body out of the house to go back to my home, dump my uniforms in the laundry and take a very hot shower to insure I cleared everything I was in contact in this house off my body.
The city quickly declared the house a major health hazard and had it bulldozed to the ground. I told my sergeant the next call like that I wanted to be sent to other side of of town rather than enter a hoarder house again.
I dealt with several more in that community and next one when I was Chief of Police. The smell never gets better.
When you stop trying, it happens | The psychology of the flow state
As a teenager, I washed dishes in a restaurant where my step-father ran the kitchen. He made all the soups and other pre-cooked items (prime rib, ribs), ordered the produce and stock, etc.
The restaurant was located on a barge moored in a harbor on a river. Most of the kitchen help were what we referred to as east-enders… rough boys. I was a preppy high school kid but got along with most of them. However, there was one guy… Dale. Dale was a bit crazy. He was also heavily into drugs and a burnout. He also washed dishes and on weekends, there would be two of you paired together.
All dishes had to be cleaned by the end of the night, the floors swept and scrubbed, and dirty laundry put away (table cloths, napkins, and aprons). If it was a particularly good night, the waitresses would bring a few pitchers of beer from the bar to the kitchen crew.
One night beer was brought while everyone was cleaning up. Dale was drinking more than cleaning. I got fed up and left the dishes piled high in the sinks.
The following morning, my step father arrived at work to find the dirty dishes. My mother awoke me asking what happened and that my step father was livid. I was taken to work where I find Dale and my step father standing in the kitchen. My step father is PISSED. He asks me why the dishes were left. I explained I was tired of Dale not doing his job. Dale tried to talk his way out of the situation which only made things worse. My step father was screaming at Dale and told him to go clean the bathrooms. Dale left to do that and now I’m expecting to catch hell. My step father put his hand on my shoulder then walked away calmly asking me to finish the dishes.
I was stunned. My step-father wasn’t an understanding person and he didn’t treat me any different that the rest of the crew. But here he was believing me and siding with me (a rare instance).
About an hour later, we discovered Dale left without cleaning the bathrooms. I was asked to stay and work the shift…. and to clean the bathrooms.
Kid 1: I wish my teacher would know; my dad is in jail, and I haven’t seen him in years.
Kid 2: I wish my teacher would know, I don’t always eat dinner because my mom works and I don’t know how to work the stove.
Kid 3: I wish my teacher would know; my sister sleeps in the same bed as me, and sometimes she wets the bed, and that’s why I smell funny.
Kid 4: I wish my teacher would know that I don’t always have sneakers for gym class because my brothers and I share one pair.
Kid 5: I wish my teacher knew I like coming to school because it’s quiet here, unlike my house with all the yelling.
✨We spend so much time talking and judging what we think we know… we need to ask more questions and spend more time listening. We also need to shift our mindset and see things from other people’s perspective. Give more than we get. Live to serve and to help make a difference in others’ lives.
Let’s leave this life a little better than we found it.
Polish Cinnamon Cake
babkaslice
Yield: 8 to 12 servings
Ingredients
12 tablespoons butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3 teaspoons cinnamon
A grating of fresh nutmeg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Beat the butter until it is soft and fluffy. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar and the egg and continue beating. Add 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, the nutmeg and flour, and beat until well mixed.
Spread about 1/3 of the batter on an ungreased baking sheet, forming a rectangle about 10 x 12 inches and bake in a preheated 400 degrees F oven for 8 minutes, until lightly browned.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Repeat two more times with the remaining batter.
Whip the cream until stiff, and fold in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the vanilla extract. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on one of the cakes, top with another cake, and repeat.
Spread remaining whipped cream on the top and serve immediately.
I am slap-in-middle of Gen X. Two years ago, I got diagnosed with cancer. I still live in the small-time town I was born in and know everyone.
I still went into work the next day and in the morning after I had texted all to my 31 year old boss whom I thought was a great guy that I might be a bit quiet today…. My ‘millennial’ boss was someone I deemed trustworthy and not at all like other guys like my disgusting, selfish, youngest brother. I was happy he was gonna be my boss through what was going to be a difficult time for me and my family. I wished I’d stayed at home but I had a lesson.
He actually thought it was the coolest thing, and was seriously, absolutely, completely delighted. An employee with cancer was so trendy. Not that he said that out loud but he was really pleased for himself…. Genuinely, the guy wanted to tell everyone – and I ordered him to be silent until I said so and stopped periodically shaking and could talk about it without being overwhelmed with fear that was so bad my tummy and heart hurt.
Me and my husband were looking at him like W.T.F. I suddenly got why millennials aren’t liked…
He then started to reduce my hours and told me I wasn’t haven’t sick pay three days before my massive surgery and sacked me when I got a lawyer on to him a year later. It is strictly illegal to sack someone with cancer in the UK.
He thought he was the best boss ever because he spent two minutes reading a website about how employees with cancer often want to work as it seems normal.
He had gotten a recent promotion and became ….. absolutely vile… I didn’t even get a card or a teddy bear. I am rather wary of that generation now.
I once had an interview with a company in Danville, Illinois. This was a super small city in Southern Illinois, that had the unique single skyscraper sticking out of it like a “sore thumb”. Apparently a rich man of the town thought that by building such a structure it would “modernize” the city. He was wrong. But it was a 1930’s era Art Deco masterpiece…
Anyways, so I interviewed for a project engineer role in this company. It made electrical ballasts for those huge advertising billboards at the side of the road. And the interview was going well.
That was until I met the electrical engineer. This guy was an engineer out of India who thought that he was GOD. What an arrogant prick!
He spent the entire interview tying to exert his dominance on me. And, Lordy! was it irritating. What was his malfunction? Somehow he got it in his quirky little mind that we would not be equals, but rather he would instruct me what to do. Mind you, at that time, I was a Project Leader interviewing for a design position. A semi-step downward.
Nope. Not gonna do that shit.
Anyways, that and other events though the years has convinced me that many Indians, not all of them of course, come with unexpected “baggage” and tricks that you need to unpack and resolve before dealing with them. And that is why I NEVER deal with Indians unless it is face to face, and recorded on video. I just do not trust them.
People (!) learn from your experiences and take adequate measures to preserve your happiness.
I had recently totaled a car and was looking at used cars. I went to a number of local dealerships until I’d found the one I wanted. I’m mechanically inclined but because this was my biggest purchase ever I wanted my dad to look at it. I said I’d be back the next day.
I came back the next day with my dad and he found it needed new shocks and brake pads. I negotiated a price and put down my deposit. The salesman said he needed manager approval and the manager wasn’t in so I was to call him the next day.
I called the next day and the manager still wasn’t in and to call again the next day. I called the next day and the salesman asked if I had the money. When I said yes he said come on in.
I was in college at the time and had just taken a social psychology class. The professor had discussed used car sales and a trick they used. The salesman would say the manager wasn’t in and to call back later. In the interim you had told all your friends about your new car and pictured yourself driving it. So when the salesman said he couldn’t sell you the car at the negotiated price, but added a few hundred dollars to the price you would agree.
I was prepared for that to happen and knew something was up when I walked in and the salesman wouldn’t look me in the eye. The salesman directed me to the managers office and the manager said I can’t give it to you at the negotiated price. For another $300.00 more it’s yours. I figured that was the cost of shocks, brake pads, and labor in the early 1990’s. I said no and asked for my money deposit back. The manager said no, you aren’t getting the deposit back. Being young, I didn’t know what to do so I left.
I had made plans with a friend to go out in my new car and went to his house. When I showed up in my rental car he asked where my new car was and I told him. He told me to wait a minute as he called his mother, the manager of one of the Department of Motor Vehicles offices. He put her on the phone and I told her the story. She told us to wait and she’d call me back.
After a short wait she called me back telling me they can’t legally keep my deposit and that I needed to return to the dealer and get my deposit. She also gave me a name and phone number and said “This is the private number for the Commissioner of Used Car Sales in our state. If you don’t get the deposit returned, you are to have the manager call this number and explain why I can’t get my money back.”
My friend and I drove to the dealer to be met almost immediately by the manager telling us we needed to leave, I wasn’t getting my money back. I replied, “That’s fine, you’ll need to call this number and explain that.” The manager replied whose number is this? When I told him the name and title of the person and added he is expecting a call on his private line the managers face went white. Within minutes I had my deposit.
That car sat on the lot another 6 months and the car I purchased was $1,000 more than what we negotiated plus the extra $300
Pizza Rustica (Italian Easter Pie)
2024 02 14 09 45
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
Filling
2 cups cooked, smoked ham, cubed
2 cups cooked Italian sausage, sliced
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded
1/2 cup chopped parsley
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 cup Ricotta cheese
3 eggs, uncooked
Salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
Crust
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups hot tap water
Instructions
Filling
Mix all chopped ingredients in a large bowl. Place uncooked eggs and Ricotta cheese in a blender container and mix on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add to the chopped ingredients and combine well.
Crust: Place flour and salt in a large bowl. Combine hot water, oil and yeast in a measuring cup with a fork. Add to flour and mix well. If dough is dry, add water as necessary. If dough is too sticky, add flour, one tablespoon at a time. Knead until dough forms ball. Leave in the bowl in warm place to rise until double in volume. Punch down before rolling.
Divide dough in half and roll to fit a large pie pan or 15 inch pizza pan. Place one circle on bottom of pan. Top with the filling, pressing out all air pockets. The pie will look too full. Top with remaining dough. Trim around pan with knife leaving about 1 inch extra all around. Press edges to seal and tuck sealed edge in all around pan. Prick top with fork several times to make air holes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake an additional 30 minutes.
Seeing one of my fellow truckers in the passing lane, trying to bully a four wheeler over by riding inches from its bumper. He’s essentially using his vehicle as a 40 ton weapon.
All I can do is shake my head and can’t help but wonder why some people think we’re the dregs of the motoring public. I’m not sure what distance it takes to stop your average car at 65 mph, but it takes a loaded semi the length of a football field, and that’s under ideal conditions.
I also can’t help but wonder why they can’t see the negative outcome of a situation like that. I have and it usually ends up with the car unrecognizable, a family grieving, and the driver going to prison for vehicular homicide.
image 200
Yeah, there’s the remains of what use to be a car under there and in it was somebody’s father, mother, sister, or brother. And all because that jackass driver thought a game of chicken was a good idea.
Wehrmacht systematically raped and murdered practically all female prisoners of war. They thought women on the front line were a sign of communist and Jewish degeneration, and as such exterminated them where ever they met.
image 201
Many Soviet female soldiers were captured during the first months of Operation Barbarossa. Except from Red Army nurses who were sometimes spared, practically all of those captured were killed, and almost certainly raped first. The regular Wehrmacht’s attitude is quite clearly expressed by the Heer field Marshall just 7 days into Operation Barbarossa.
29th of June 1941
Women in uniform are to be shot on sight.
Field Marshall Günther von Kluge
Less known is that the Reichenau order aka Severity Order
, issued to the Germans of the 6th Army (The one at Stalingrad) specifically said that the German army should not take female POWs, as well as shoot commissar and partisans who surrender.
Another general Ernst Hammer, also distributed an order to execute all captured females. German divisions filed a constant stream of reports where they explicitly say they execute women.
Later in the war, some units did not execute women on sight, but instead handed them over to the SS, who generally speaking placed them in concentration camps, mostly Ravensbrück and some in Auschwitz.
It should come as no surprise, that the Germans had a genocidal attitude and systematic rape tendency, considering that even outside of the army, the Germans murdered over 6 million civilian women in the USSR alone. And countless other abuses were conducted as well.
It was Junior High/Middle School, but social studies/civics teacher was let go for his political rantings to the class. Whether he was right or not, the audience was probably the wrong one. In a school where the catchment area averaged $200–400k homes (in Omaha, Nebraska, back in the early 90s), and most families had one or more parents working in a professional capacity, making statements like “anybody with a house over $100k does not deserve it” and bringing in news articles or Dateline clips speaking ill of some of the big corporate employers in the area. Today they’d probably make him Superintendent. But at that time and place, his brand of socialism didn’t sit well with the PTA. Oh, and there was also the incident where he was in a car accident and said that not wearing his seatbelt is what saved his life so telling kids to tell their parents that buckling up is “a personal choice” didn’t go well either.
Canadians present a really interesting dichotemy between having both a superiority and inferiority complex when comparing themselves to Americans, which they do unwittingly all the time.
Growing up in Canada, I was dismayed with the amount of American products and culture that we consumed, signfifying the acceptance of a nearly dependent relationship. I remember being constantly being admonished and mocked as a high school student for saying my favourite TV show was a small budget Canadian TV. Years later, the show was picked up by an American network and its stars become Hollywood A-listers, only then of course, was that considered success for Canadians to be proud of.
I remember people calling Canada a ‘small country’, yet it has a growing population that size of a ‘big’ European country such as Poland and an economy that punches above its weight, as a member of the G-7.
While at the same time feeling culturally insignificant and inferior, in this way, and also for having an economy, military and international influence that is dwarfed by American, all that is juxtaposed by the feeling of having created a better society: Better health care, less gun culture, safer streets, less homlessness, drugs, racial segregation, etc. THis feeling of superiority was closer to smugness when Donald J Trump was elected stateside. ‘Couldn’t happen here.’ almost everyone thought.
For Canada to really hit its strude, it should cut itself adrift from the U.S. No, not a border wall. I mean drifting off to the middle of the sea far away, like Australia, where it can develop its own identity, without being compared or comparing itself to a neighbour which is considered more of a big brother.
I never bought into the idea that Instagram made people more superficial. It merely surfaced what was already there.
When I look at Insta-models, who have millions of followers, I can’t help but wonder if they define themselves beyond washboard abs and a half-moon goddess behind.
God-given good looks create a facade of reality, a mask the owners often don’t realize they are wearing. It opens doors that were otherwise closed.
image 199
(Yael Shaeba, rated the most beautiful woman in the world in another useless study.)
The hard truth is that: At nearly every mundane corner of life, physical attractiveness confers advantages. It’s even proven that attractive people receive shorter prison sentences.
To the men feeling inadequate - I have good news. An FSU study found that women skew happier in relationships where their partner is less attractive.
There is less pressure to meet expectations. They have fewer body image issues.
This is in line with what I saw working at an ad agency early in my career.
We spent a lot of time around female models. It was a known thing amongst them, “You don’t date male models. They are all dogs (promiscuous).”
Meanwhile, an OK Cupid study found women think 80% of men are unattractive. So I’m not sure where that leaves us.
Beauty is complicated - but it undeniably gives a mile-long list of benefits: better negotiations, promotions, and higher likeability. But letting it, or any one thing, be your chief identity is a trap.
Self-worth rooted in beauty is destined to die on the same altar it was built on: time.
Character ages better than beauty.
10 Effects No Intimacy in Marriage has on Men
This is important. Both men and women need to know this.
I actually was placed in a very sensitive position. I’m at my desk, was working on a huge project when I received a call from the CEO.
He said his computer was “Going nuts!” “I was on the internet, then other sites were automatically opening non-stop, should I do a hard shutdown?” Immediately I said, Don’t turn it off!!!”
I get into his office and look at the monitor. Porn sites are opening about 1-per second.
We used two different fire wall servers, the first server was using Linux before going to Microsoft (I believe it was Server 2012. You would think all of that would have stopped this, right?
I had a direct line to our IS people, called them told them what was happening. They were able to quickly solve the issue.
So, I just asking him “What was the last thing you did before the virus came through?” “I was working on the budget, it’s then all the porn sites started to pop up.”
I know he could read my face, it’s then I said “BS.”
Now I am in his seat, I opened ‘history’ . He had just been on a porn site. OH! It wasn’t just one site, over two weeks+ I see the dates and time.
His door was open so I quietly said to him “What the hell!” “What?” “You have been hitting porn sites.” He begins to get the ‘oh shit’ look on his face. “Alan you have to stop hitting porn sites!” “Yeah, it won’t happen again.”
Oh yeah, I gave him a hard time about it…..for weeks.
When my parents divorced, my dad moved up north 5 hours with his new girlfriend. My mom had custody but we had to visit him every other weekend. We met in the middle and if my mom was a minute late he would be making calls. I remember he would always speak bad on my mom like what she did when they were married and how she’s the bad guy of course. it was like this for years.
one time specifically my mom drove us up and we met halfway. my dad came alone in the single cab ford ranger. my mom & dad had 3 kids total and his new wife had 3 kids so usually when we were getting picked up it was in the expedition and it was a full house.
Now my mom was late again, and my dad wasn’t having it. He called the cops on my mom for being late again and violating court order. But when the cop came he was very confused on how my dad was going to drive all three of us kids home safely in a single cab. this was probably 20 years ago and i’ll admit we did all fit comfortably in the ranger but the cop said if he drove off like that he would get arrested. so we had to wait there for 2.5 more hours for my dads wife to come in the other vehicle. it was a long and hot day too so definitely backfired on my dad. I don’t remember but i’m sure he stopped calling the cops afterwards!
“Would you prefer a million pounds in diamonds or a million pound of gold?”
Gold.
Hands down, no ifs, ands, or buts.
One million pounds of gold (I am presuming standard pounds) equals 14,583,333.3 troy ounces. At today’s (mid-May 2019) spot price, gold is hovering around $1,300 per troy oz. Assuming it is pure gold (24 kt, or .999), that is at about $18,958,333,290.
It can be visualized as 36,458 400-troy ounce “Good Delivery” bars (and change) of the same type stored in Fort Knox and worth about $520,000 each.
image 198
400-t oz Good Delivery gold bar. Image from Wikipedia.
Each good delivery bar weighs in at a hair over 27.42 lb / 12.44 kg. It might actually be more convenient to get it in 100-t oz bars, which can be more readily sold.
Of course, a million pounds is 500 tons, which is about one-fifth of the output of all the gold mines in the world in a year.
The good news is; if doled out over time (several years), they will not have that much of an impact on the price of gold. This means that even taking buyer costs into account, there will still be a significant chunk of value per ounce.
The bad news is that if sold at once it will collapse the current price of gold and I would never get anywhere near the actual value of the gold. Also, the sheer amount of gold sold will attract the attention of the government revenue service, who will want their share.
Diamonds, on the other hand, cannot be sold in bulk without a specialized infrastructure in place to grade them by color, clarity, carat, and cut (the “Four C’s”).
Keep in mind that a pound of diamond powder for industrial use goes for about $10. That is ten dollars.
Unless you are already well-connected in the diamond industry, selling the diamonds is going to be far too much hassle for too little return and will leave a paper trail a mile wide at every step.
Honestly, I would take a million pounds in 90% silver before I take a million pounds in diamonds, and still come out ahead profit-wise.
Edit: The question I answered was merged with another one that removes the million and leaves just one pound of either gold or diamonds.
One pound of gold equals 14.5833 troy ounces (or 453.592 grams); at $1,300/t oz, that is $18,958.29.
One pound of silver (at $14.85/t oz) equals $216.56.
One pound of diamonds equals 2,267.96 carats. Unless these are relatively large, high-quality diamonds, they are not even worthy of consideration; I would need to get $8.36 per carat to equal the yield of the gold… and that will not happen; the cost of grading the diamonds, plus commissions along the way, will barely get you that much.
Heck, if they are industrial grade, I might consider myself extremely lucky to get $5,000 for the pound.
On the other hand, I could easily sell the gold in any pawn shop at near-parity to spot price with zero hassles.
A year before Covid hit I was the last to be hired on full time and others after me were hired as temps like a trial run before permanently hiring them. One kid out of the military at least 10 years younger than everyone else. This one kid he started buying expensive cars, would engage in conversation asking how much money I made and that he makes more than I do, I told him none of his damn business. So I’ve been a new guy before so I really tried to cut this kid a break but he just would not get off his phone, would literally be playing on his phone in a meeting in front of everyone. He said he can multitask. The company got tired of the slack and warned him over and over. He was awkward and wasn’t a man quite yet. It was early morning 9am and he was in the office and was let go, he runs into the office pacing back and forth muttering to himself like a crazy person, he would then drop to his knees and start crying and then have another outburst saying “why why why” and it makes you think that this guy could probably hurt someone. When he started temping with us apparently got an expensive car and new apartment just living lavishly, and a few months after we would get bombarded with creditors calling into the office.
6 Signs You’re An Attractive Older Man (Even If You Don’t Think So)
Let me be clear…DO NOT GET INTO A STREET FIGHT! THE BEST THING YOU CAN EXPECT FROM IT IS TO NOT GET HURT TOO BADLY. The best defense is to not get into a street fight in them…now assuming that you’re in one of those situations where you can’t get out of a fight…Martial arts can be of assistance, but it really depends on a lot of factors.
Does the martial art teach you to strike, block, hold, defend against a moving opponent? If not…then it’s probably not going to be very helpful.
Do you learn to get hit and take a hit? Getting punched in the face is a fairly debilitating thing for the inexperienced. The first few times you get hit in the face hard…it’s a pretty jarring experience…you do need to learn how to get used to it.
Are you in practice? Your martial arts training from 25 years ago isn’t going to mean much…like anything else skills must be practiced or lost. You may have been the toughest guy around years ago…but guaranteed you’re not anymore if you haven’t seen a punch coming your way since then. I used to box regularly, and didn’t step into a ring for over a decade. A friend of mine asked me to spar a few months ago, and even though muscle memory did some of the work, the first time he connected with a solid jab, I felt like I got a bucket of cold water thrown in my face.
Does the marital art teach you to fight bare-handed? Punching with a naked fist hurts, and if you’re going to do it effectively, you need to toughen up. I don’t mean that from a psychological perspective, you literally need to get used to punching things and get your hands to build up resilience. If you don’t fight bare-handed, and throw a heavy punch; you could break one of the little bones in your hand. Even if you’ve toughened up your hands you can connect with someone’s skull or hit off your main knuckles and end up breaking your hand.
Do you learn grappling, most street fights are at VERY close range…usually your opponent will look to grab you and throw you around rather than to keep their distance. If you look at the old bare knuckle boxers you’ll see that they use a very odd stance (at least to modern eyes) and that’s because they had to defend against grappling, and were better suited to bare knuckle fighting. In a street fight, those old school fighters would decimate pretty much any opponent…but it’s not exactly like you can go to the old-timey boxing gym and learn to punch like John Sullivan.
image 197
6. Is your opponent used to street fighting? If so, you’re entering their arena, it’s like asking a BJJ fighter to fix in a boxing ring…even if the BJJ fighter is more skilled and experience, the home-field advantage of the boxer is huge. If you don’t have the experience in a street fight, you’re at a disadvantage. Frankly, that’s the type of experience you don’t want to get. If your opponent is inexperienced though…and you have martial arts experience assuming that you have the right type of experience…you’re going to have an edge. If you don’t have the right type of experience; and you’re not used to close-in fighting with bare hands…you’re going to have a bad time…possibly worse than the neophyte who isn’t fighting their instincts.
There’s a bunch of secondary factors…but these are the big ones IMO. As someone who got into his share of scraps and got some training…If I could never get into a fight again, I would consider it a personal victory. Fighting is not fun, people punch, kick, scratch, spit, gouge…and in some cases even bring weapons, friends and generally don’t fight fair or clean. You can have all the training in the world…but still won’t be able to stop a knife or a bullet from someone who knows what they’re doing…or takes you from behind…or just straight-up surprises you.
Martial arts are great; they’re a great way to get fit, to get flexible, and teach you discipline. They’re great to build confidence and make you feel more secure in day-to-day situations. Generally, you will be able to defend yourself better than someone who is completely untrained…but it doesn’t make you into someone who can take on all takers…there’s always someone tougher or more capable…or someone more willing to fight dirty. Martial arts can’t prepare you for that.
Lucy Gordon fortune valued at 11 million when she decided to hang out in her apartment in the best area of Paris.
Do you think 11 million is little?
image 195
Philip Seymour Hoffman $36 million
when he died of a heroin overdose.
Maybe it’s still too little for you…
image 194
Robin Williams fortune valued at 50 million
when he decided to hang himself in his house.
image 193
Kurt Cobain worth $60 million at the time he shot himself with a shotgun.
Maybe with more…
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Elvis Presley made 300 million dollars while he was alive, in the end his drug problems ended up causing him a heart attack.
I think they are concrete examples of why a person does not get happiness from money, with this I do not mean that it is bad to want to make money, nor does it mean that if you are unhappy, making more money will not help you, what I mean by this is that money does not give you ABSOLUTE happiness. And it is that in reality nothing will make you completely happy.
I believe that the closest you can get to being happy is having a life with meaning and purpose, living day by day cultivating meaningful relationships and friendships.
That will bring you closer to happiness than anything.
Marrying the Ugly Daughter of the Yakuza Boss to Settle My Debts…
I’m an Aussie. I was travelling in SanFrancisco. I was visiting the zoo and looking at one of the enclosure’s I saw a big red roo. I commented to my wife “look at that kangaroo! He’s a BIG red roo!” A young American woman overheard me and corrected me by saying “ It’s a waaaalaby” and rolled her eyes as she pointed at the sign in front of the enclosure that said there was wallabies in there. I was very confused and doubted myself and thought, maybe I’m wrong. The sign definitely says they’re wallabies in there but, that looks like a “big red”. I was embarrassed thinking that I didn’t even know my own countries wildlife. I walked on another five or so metres (15 feet) and then I saw the next sign which said there actually was red kangaroos in the exhibit. I felt better then. I also want to add that I had a great time in the US and found the people to be really friendly.
When people want to change their lives, they usually start out by thinking about the different things that need to be added to their lives to get to where they want to be.
They need to add a workout program, a mentor, a new job, new friends, new habits, etc.
They add, add, and add some more until they’re just constantly in motion all the time. They’re not a different person and their life hasn’t changed for the better — they’re just busier.
I know I thought like this when I first started my self-improvement journey.
I started waking up early. I started listening to self-improvement podcasts. I started reading books. I started meditating. Journaling. Following a more dedicated workout program.
I did a lot of stuff.
But you know what?
Although my life changed, it didn’t change how I wanted it to.
I just became busy.
I still had anxiety. I still got really sad. I still had bad friends and shitty relationships. I still spiraled the same way.
The truth is that changing your life is not about what you do, it’s about what you stop doing.
Removing bad habits is how you actually have lasting change. This is how you make lasting progress toward goals. This is how you change the person you are in a sustainable and manageable way so that you skip the period where everything comes crashing down.
You skip that phase where you’re just an overwhelmed mess all the time.
You get some peace. You learn to embrace boredom. You learn that boredom elicits creativity.
You learn to drop your bad habits instead of just following new havits to cancel out the bad ones.
It’s the equivalent of doing a bunch of burpees to hopefully cancel out a whole pizza.
Just don’t eat the whole pizza.
True self-improvement is not about what you do, it’s about what you stop doing. It’s about quitting.
I bought a house in Indianapolis in 1985. It was 110 years old at the time of purchase. It was a duplex with wonderful old bones but was in very poor condition. It was in such poor condition that I paid about $3,200 for it. In the process of doing a 100% renovation, I tore out 90% of the old lathe and plaster walls. In a cavity of the interior wall was a bundle wrapped in old newspaper (dated 1885) from when the house was built. In the wrapped up bundle were old copies of magazines from the period when color printing was just in its mass-produced infancy. There were six different copies of the magazine, “Ladies Home Companion” All of the graphics were of hand drawn images of exquisite art decco design. Also included in the bundle was a pair of lady’s kid gloves and a small leather change purse with a single penny, nickel, dime, quarter, fifty cent piece and dollar – all, except the penny were silver and dated 1885. The coins, gloves, change purse and magazine were all in perfect condition. I have the impression that it was a woman who hid the bundle in the wall as the house was being built. I sold them all to an antiques dealer (except the dime, which I still own – a liberty seated dime, and the quarter, which I gave to my mother who also collected coins) and got quite a lot of money for all of those items. Had I not been so hard up for the money at the time, I would have kept the Morgan silver dollar, which I sold back then for $2,000. I also found an assortment of bottles, too, which I also sold.
America asks that you take immediate heed of what we say on this leaflet.
We are in possession of the most destructive explosive ever devised by man. A single one of our newly developed atomic bombs is actually the equivalent in explosive power to what 2000 of our giant B-29s can carry on a single mission. This awful fact is one for you to ponder and we solemnly assure you it is grimly accurate.
We have just begun to use this weapon against your homeland. If you still have any doubt, make inquiry as to what happened to Hiroshima when just one atomic bomb fell on that city.
Before using this bomb to destroy every resource of the military by which they are prolonging this useless war, we ask that you now petition the Emperor to end the war. Our president has outlined for you the thirteen consequences of an honorable surrender. We urge that you accept these consequences and begin the work of building a new, better and peace-loving Japan.
You should take steps now to cease military resistance. Otherwise, we shall resolutely employ this bomb and all our other superior weapons to promptly and forcefully end the war.
EVACUATE YOUR CITIES.
ATTENTION JAPANESE PEOPLE. EVACUATE YOUR CITIES.
Because your military leaders have rejected the thirteen part surrender declaration, two momentous events have occurred in the last few days.
The Soviet Union, because of this rejection on the part of the military has notified your Ambassador Sato that it has declared war on your nation. Thus, all powerful countries of the world are now at war with you.
Also, because of your leaders’ refusal to accept the surrender declaration that would enable Japan to honorably end this useless war, we have employed our atomic bomb.
A single one of our newly developed atomic bombs is actually the equivalent in explosive power to what 2000 of our giant B-29s could have carried on a single mission. Radio Tokyo has told you that with the first use of this weapon of total destruction, Hiroshima was virtually destroyed.
Before we use this bomb again and again to destroy every resource of the military by which they are prolonging this useless war, petition the emperor now to end the war. Our president has outlined for you the thirteen consequences of an honorable surrender. We urge that you accept these consequences and begin the work of building a new, better, and peace-loving Japan.
Act at once or we shall resolutely employ this bomb and all our other superior weapons to promptly and forcefully end the war.
EVACUATE YOUR CITIES.
The US was prepared to do whatever it took to get Japan to unconditionally surrender. That includes the use of the bomb as was necessary for the war to end. The third bomb was intended for release on 19 August. Fortunately for all parties, Japan surrendered by 15 August 1945.
China’s increased “strategic collaboration” with Russia is nothing more than a repetition of an old policy, except that it has now entered the “strategic counter-offensive” phase, which Xi Jinping once again emphasized to his close friend and colleague, President Vladimir Putin, and hoped that he would increase his confidence in winning the war.
In 2019, when the U.S. launches a trade war with China, China’s manufacturing GDP will account for less than 30% of the global total, while the U.S.’s manufacturing GDP account for more than 13% of the global total.
Recently, according to a report released by the OECD, China’s manufacturing gdp will account for more than 35% of the world’s total value in 2023. Even the sum of the 2nd to 10th place is not as high as China’s share. The U.S. manufacturing gdp accounts for 12% of the world’s total, while India’s manufacturing gdp, which is highly regarded by the West, accounts for 3%.
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Trump initiated the trade war with the intention of returning manufacturing to the US, but the data shows that the return of manufacturing to the US over the past few years has only been negative. In this regard, the decline in electricity generation and consumption in the U.S. confirms this from the side.
Let’s look at the U.S. advantage: performance in the technology sector.
In 2019, in the globally recognized top 10 future technology and advanced manufacturing fields, China and the United States each accounted for half of the wall, but China in the United States of America’s all-out siege and set the entire Western world’s strength of the suppression of the U.S. After 4 years, the U.S. advantageous areas once again disappeared in 2 areas, and in the United States of America’s strongest field of chips, China is also gradually catching up.
Now, the U.S. is caught in the quagmire of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has almost depleted the soft power that the U.S. has accumulated over the past hundred years.
And with the DPRK having just declared that it no longer regards South Korea as a fellow countryman, the risk of war on the Korean Peninsula has increased dramatically. It is difficult for the United States to provide further assistance to South Korea under financial constraints. If war breaks out in Taiwan, Washington will not be able to raise as much money for support even if it auctions off the White House, Capitol Hill and Pentagon complex.
In addition, the U.S. has been beset by a host of domestic problems, and its international influence has been declining. It is not an exaggeration to describe the U.S. as being in an internal and external quagmire.
Although Washington still does not recognize the decline in the strength of the United States and tries to whitewash the United States “strong economic growth, domestic social stability”, even if Washington continues to whitewash the United States financial situation, but the risk of the United States’s debt crisis is still growing.
The Texas independence movement has left Washington at a loss, and if Washington tries to disarm Texas independence, a large-scale civil war will undoubtedly break out.
The question for the United States was no longer whether it could retain world hegemony. Whether it is military, financial, economic or technological, it is a fact that the United States has lost its hegemony, and it is time for the United States to consider how to retain its position as a world power and a rich country.
Perhaps, in the collective insanity of the U.S. political scene today, only Trump is still sober. He believes that the U.S. can maintain its position as the world’s second largest power by relying on the world’s second largest oil and gas reserves.
Perhaps becoming a major energy exporter in the future is the best way out for the United States after it loses its world hegemony.
The ONLY people who realize that the United States is unable to compete with China is the Western “news” media, and the people that consume it.
The rest of the world, INCLUDING the American “leadership” and the Pentagon understand the futility of “Tonya Harding” competition strategies.
However, the United States is not a “healthy” nation. It is a nation in “free-fall”. There is no one at the helm, and those that are in control of various functional aspects of the government are stymied by a complex web network of counter-productive political polarization. Often led by those with self-interest at their core, and incapable of actual subjective reasoning. For everyone in the West are under the propagandized narratives that they themselves create.
Like (for instance) the “brick wall” of Tucker Carlson interviewing Putin.
…
But there is an “out”.
Cooperation NOT Competition.
China wants to see a better world, but in order for that reality to play out, some very toxic behaviors, and legacy dysfunctions must be excised (one way or the other) from the West. I am afraid that it will be a painful process.
The United States NEEDS friends, and help. China is willing to take on this role. But I am fearful that that will not materialize until a period of disharmony adjusts the objective reality of the West.
I was working at a travel agency in the late 80s. I was hired as a receptionist. Having a knack for computers, I taught myself the reservation system and was helping the rest of the office learn and use the system. This in addition to reception and helping the bookkeeper. This was before the internet. The company signed a new contract that included internet and the computers were installed and the network was set up. They neglected to tell us that if we did not shut down at night data would be used. Again, this was when internet was new. At that time you were charged based on how much data you used. After the first month, we got a bill for around $800. The boss was not happy. I made the calls to find out why and resolve the issue. A credit was issued leaving a bill of around $500. Now at the time I was a single mother and they were paying me $6 an hour after having been there over 5 years. The Owner told me if I did not get the bill completely removed it would be taken out of my pay. That was it for me. I told him do what you have to. I quit. Found a much better paying job within two weeks. BUT… My revenge was sweet. He actually had to hire 3 different people to do the job I had been doing.
The Japanese were much worse than they are portrayed in the movies, especially in the war they were at their worst.
They were extremely cruel and despised the lives of their enemies, this is now a historical fact known to those who cared a little. But the worst victims were the prisoners of war.
This is because, in his code of conduct, it is a seriously dishonorable act to be captured. Better dead than dishonored.
Consequently, prisoners were severely punished for being captured.
A friend of relatives who had lived abroad for decades was captured and lived for two years in a Japanese prison camp.
When he returned home, it was a living skeleton with a permanent expression of pain reminiscent of the photo below. He had been a slave in the construction of a railroad.
Many died of exhaustion or were executed for the amusement of the guards, an incredibly barbaric behavior for a civilized people like the Japanese.
So, about 12pm-ish I get a call. “It’s Mr H from School. Just to start off, L (yr 3 daughter) is fine, no one is hurt, everything is ok.” Cue minor heart attack, but only minor. “You’ll probably hear about this in the news later, but L did the right thing and told her teacher straight away.” Yep, ok, heart attack settling. “L found a snake in her bag! Not to worry, but we did do a school lockdown drill to make sure the kids all calmly stayed away. The snake catchers are on their way.” OMG!
So, some more interesting facts – my daughter, all of 8 years old, found a snake in her school bag, hilariously a Gryffindor Harry Potter backpack she’d gotten for her birthday earlier that month. In Australia, school bags are kept on racks outside the classrooms. This all happened at the start of first break, so there were lots of bustling kids around. She told me after pick up, that’s she’d seen the end of it’s tail go into to her bag, so she’d calmly reached over and zipped it up! Then went & told the teachers, who trigger the lockdown just in case. Due to our more rural location, there’s a lot of bush around and the kids are actually drilled each term to make sure they know what to do if they spot a snake on the school grounds, which is to calmly back away and find the nearest teacher. My bright spark realised that, since the bag was only opened a small way, she’d be able to zip it closed without (hopefully) annoying the snake inside. The snake catchers called out said it was one of the easiest jobs they’d had, since it’d already been caught.
We did have fun telling the extended family though, my mother refused to believe it happened until it hit the news!
Just once. I had been placed into custody in the back of a police car. Not for long, because I wasn’t the guy they were actually looking for, and I was released when we got to the station in downtown Seattle.
I already KNEW I wasn’t the guy, so I was pretty relaxed about the whole thing. But on the way to the station, (being a writer and all) I decided to ask the cop a couple of questions about his work. He was still a patrol officer, but he was well past forty years old.
I asked him, “What’s the worst thing about being a cop? Is it that you might get hurt, or pull over the wrong guy and maybe he has a gun?”
I wasn’t even close.
“Nah,” he said. “The worst thing is that everyone lies to you, ALL the time. Even when you try to convince them they aren’t in trouble and aren’t going to jail. You really get tired of that after a while…”
My uncle was a functional alcoholic. He drove perfectly. Never sped. Never ran a red light (or a yellow light). He would never do anything that might get him pulled over and subject to a sobriety test.
He had two girls. He sat at the dinner table each night that I lived with them, buzzed and silent, while their mother did all the work. He never went to college, because that would impinge on his drinking, so when he got laid off from Massive Megacorp, where we both worked, he was never able to get another job. He became a househusband and his wife got a job cleaning houses.
His drinking and gambling soon overran his wife’s meager income. They lost the house and moved into a rental. The girls grew up and both married young—quite unusual today, to their respective high school sweethearts.
Then one night, he woke up my aunt with his screaming. He was erupting blood from his mouth and his anus. He was hemorrhaging. She called an ambulance and they were able to save him.
A physician came in the room with my aunt. “Let me tell you how it’s going to be,” she said. “Your husband’s drinking has left him with 10% liver function. We can put him on the liver transplant list, but he will likely be passed over for someone without an addiction, as addicts tend to ruin their new organs as they did their old ones.
“He bled tonight because his liver was no longer able to detoxify the alcohol in his blood. Alcohol is corrosive, so it began to thin his esophagus and intestines. He now has the equivalent of varicose veins throughout his body. One of them ruptured today. One day, he will spring into a bleed from one of these veins, and we won’t be able to find it to stop it in time. And he will die.”
And so he did. Painfully, slowly, at the end engorged with the blood no longer contained in his veins. He never met his wonderful four grandchildren. He left his bereft wife a widow. He squandered his money. He squandered his life.
But he functioned.
America Does Not Appreciate the Gravity of Violence
The owner of a small company where I used to work made lots of unreasonable demands. I was a salaried, mid-career professional at the time, and I experienced things like:
I was instructed by HR that when the owner came up to my desk, I was to immediately stop typing and put my hands in my lap. Continuing to type until a natural stopping point—say, the end of a sentence—was seen as “being up to something.”
I was also instructed by HR that I was to stay until precisely 4:30 pm and not leave even a minute sooner (regardless of when I arrived in the morning). There was no valid business reason—the owner simply mandated that the office team stay until then.
I was also told by the owner that working through lunch did not “count” toward making up a few hours that I had missed for an appointment. I could either come in early or stay late, but the extra hour I worked in the middle of the day was not acceptable for some reason.
No matter what I did, it was always wrong. (This was true for everyone at the company.) There was the owner’s way and the wrong way, and usually no one understood the owner’s way because it was often extremely convoluted.
Unfortunately, because it was the owner, my choices were to accept it or find another job. Right or wrong, I put up with it, but thankfully, I was laid off during COVID. I’ve since started my own business, and as a result, I will never have to put up with that kind of BS in the workplace again, God help me. I still have bad dreams about that place.
These people made a mistake in judgment for a brief moment, and they lost big time. Introducing the Hall of Fame club for costliest mistakes ever….>>
1. Tiger Woods cheated on his then-wife Elin Nordegren. The divorce settlement ended up costing him $750 million. That’s a lot of Gatorade…….
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2. Captain Edward Smith steered the Titanic into an iceberg, sinking the $7.5 million ship. Most devastatingly, many lives were lost….
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3. In England, an elderly lady won the $181 million Euromillions lottery. Except her husband threw the ticket away. It’s the only time a wife has wished her husband didn’t take out the trash…
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4. NASA used the metric system to build an orbiter, while Lockheed Systems used the English system. Data couldn’t be transferred, and a $125 million orbiter was lost in space forever…
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5. Immediately on takeoff, faulty equipment doomed a B-2 stealth bomber. America’s most expensive plane at $1.2 billion crashed and was destroyed. Again, $1.2 billion…..
Very early in my career, after a successful mission, the entire office team would go out to eat. This was way before separate checks, and we would have a group of 20–30 people. People would order what they could afford – or so I foolishly thought! At the end of the first get-together, when the bill came, the boss got the ticket, put a checkmark by his meal, add a $20 bill, and pass both money and ticket to the next person, and so on. As people paid, they left the restaurant. The two Admins – myself and the senior Admin – we the last people the ticket + cash reached. There was not even enough cash to cover the entrees ordered and consumed, much less the appetizers and drinks and tax and tip! We quite literally cried because WE were the lowest paid in the department and just did not have the money to cover everyone. The restaurant manager felt very sorry for us, and wrote off the remainder of the bill. We took the check-marked ticket back to the office. Of course, EVERYTHING on the ticket was checked. We took it to the boss and explained. He was livid! He went back to the restaurant and paid what was due. (Small military town)
A couple of weeks later, the team again went out to eat. This time, the boss had one of we Admins shadow the waitress and write down what each person ordered. While the food was being prepared he calculated what each person actually owed, including taxes. He even divided the cost of appetizers. At the end of the meal, he received the ticket, then called people by name. “Sean, you owe $10 plus $1 for a tip. Mark, you owe $28 plus $3 for tip” etc. Of course, those people who were NOT scamming were happy they didn’t have to calculate anything, and those who were attempting to grift off their colleagues complained loudly.
Those who were notorious for padding their expense reports ate and drank the most, then complained the loudest.
So you’re minding your own business one day. You download a file, open a link, or do something-or-other and, pop!
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Uh Oh! Guess your last night’s child porno fest got caught by the feds! And they’ve locked your computer! Hm… Shame! You really should pay that $200 debt to society right?
Except… You weren’t watching child porn at all, were you? No, in fact, you were doing something completely different!
See, what this is, is ransomware. I mean look at this shitty grammar. “due to the violation of the federal laws of the United States of America!” It’s awkwardly worded, much easier to say “in violation of United States Federal Law” or something like that, and when has a formal notice besides a “WARNING!” ever used an exclamation mark? Firstly, here is what the closest thing to this is.
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Do you see a single exclamation point? Do you see a single bit of bad grammar? Do you see the United States being referred to as the “U.S.A?”
Tell you what. When the FBI comes and seizes your computer, they will come and get a warrant from a judge. And they will come and take your computer from you.
They won’t do any of that $200 fine bullshit. It’s fake.
Are You Ready For This Plot Twist?
The various videos in this movie are odd, and disturbing. The one where the girl decides to sleep with a guy because of the car he drives really, really disturbs me.
Historians place the number at 300,000 for the number of live births from Soviet rapes.
“University historians in the German cities of Jena and Magdeburg conclude that only France helped children fathered by its occupying troops. Many of those born to German mothers in four occupation zones suffered ostracism their whole lives.”
The study published in June 2015 in a “German-language book whose title translates as “Bastards, the children of occupation in Germany after 1945” found that at least 300,000 children were fathered by occupying Soviet Red Army soldiers.”
“Rapes perpetrated on German women occurred in all four zones, including forced sex by members of French and US units. Only a few cases by British troops were uncovered.”
“The first of these children were born around Christmas 1945.”
“The researchers deduced the Soviet zone child figure from a count of up to two million rapes allegedly committed by Red Army soldiers.”
“Abortions were illegal in Germany according to Article 218 of the penal code, but Luchterhand says “there was a small window for those women because of that special situation of the mass rapes in 1945”.
“Altogether 995 pleas for abortion were approved by this one district office in Berlin office between June 1945 to 1946. The files contain over 1,000 fragile scraps of paper of different colours and sizes. In childish round handwriting, one girl testifies that she was assaulted in the living room of her home in front of her parents. “
“We will probably never know the true scale of the rapes. Soviet military tribunals and other sources remain classified. The Russian parliament recently passed a law which says that anyone who denigrates Russia’s record in World War Two could face fines and up to five years in prison.”
A friend of mine bought a pair scooters, like Vespas, so he and his wife could run around their ‘near dowtown’ neighborhood. He was driving down a local street, 35 mph speed limit. An inattentive driver coming the other way turned left right in front of him.
He had no time to react so he hit the side of the car going nearly 35. His momentum pushed his lower body into the scooters fenders and smashed both legs. Both broken, one so bad that even now, 2 years later he is still dealing with screws and rods in one leg to help it heal properly. He was wearing an open face helmet and his head was driven into the side of the by momentum. He smashed his face in. I don’t mean cuts and scrapes and a broken nose. He ended up with a broken orbital bone, a broken jaw and knocked out half his teeth.
Their condo was on the second floor of the building with no elevator, and when he got out of the hospital (after a month of surgeries on his legs and face) he could not go home. They had to rent a small house with just one floor, and ramps for his wheelchair. His wife had to take a sabbatical from work to help take care of him. She got paid for almost all the first year of his recovery and then they to rely on some savings, and pittance payouts from the other driver’s insurance company.
Their young daughter had to move into their condo because they couldn’t leave it sitting empty – that doubled her commute to college.
Some pictures started getting posted to Facebook and in none for at least a year was he smiling – too many dental issues to show.
2 years later, and at least one or two more surgeries on hig legs with the hardware, he is of course still doing physical therapy.
I certainly hope they were able to secure a good accident lawyer and sue for hundreds of thousands, if not more. That accident will certainly affect him for the rest of his life if his leg doesn’t heal as expected. He had to go back to the tech world he had left to train to be a chef. He was not able to stand for long periods of time and doesn’t know if ever will be able to back to the job he loves – cooking for people.
One moment of loss of concentration, of paying attention by that other driver and my friend came very close to being killed, and the outcome of his injuries have and will continue to negatively affect his life, his wife’s too, and their daughter close by ad well as their other children and grandchildren.
10 years ago I lived in a small town in Washington State. One of my neighbors was an older couple who kept to themselves. The wife loved her garden and the male would wave at everyone who drove down the roadway. One fall we had a mudslide on a major road that ran in and out of our small town. The only way we could leave was to drive north, thru the Canadian boarder and back down in another neighboring town. My (now ex) husband and I had just returned from our bi-weekly town visit for groceries. As we started to drive past this elderly couple’s home we noticed the wife standing outside by herself. At first we didn’t think there was anything wrong until my (now ex) husband got her attention and we realized that she was crying and had blood on her shirt. I stayed outside with her because she kept crying and pointing to the house. My Ex went in their house and quickly exited and called 911. All the wife would say to me was “I had to” over and over again.
The Police arrived and sorted it all out. Come to find out, the husband had severe dementia and attacked his wife during their evening nap. He tried to strangle her and punched her over and over again. She was finally able to get her hands on a pair of scissors and stabbed him with them. He survived and was placed in a nursing home after his recovery.
I hope I never “have to”.
China’s chip power is on full swing, and its output ranks higher than the rest of the world
I actually did it wasn’t so accidental. I was working for a dentist in Berkeley CA. It was a weird office but it was money. The office was open M-W with 1/2 day on Th. Well 1/2 for every body but me. I had to spend the other 1/2 day doing a deep clean of all the treatment rooms and file back a weeks worth of files. There was another Doctor in same building the Doctor was a Maxillofacial Surgeon. He had a X-Ray Tech. One day I was by my self filing back files. She told me she had heard them talking about the doctors son. He worked as a bell boy for a very posh hotel/privet country club in the Berkeley Hills (for those live in the SF Bay Area I am talking about the Clairmont) The doctor figured if he had to subsidies his 20 something year old son he might as well get something for it. He would teach his son to be a dental assistant. I think I found a new job before they could let me go. So so glad to be out of that place.
Yes, they do sleuthy things. Around here a few years ago a tax guy went to the flea market—a huge flea market—made a list of every booth, and looked the people up. If memory recalls, over 70% of them were either on unemployment, social security disability insurance, not paying sales tax, not claiming their taxable income, or not claiming their employees. They were all just million dollar lemonade stands.
But most of the time the IRS doesn’t need to do any kind of stakeout. They simply say “hey computer, show me all the people in my area whose households don’t claim enough for them to reasonably live, sorted by how unreasonable.” And more queries along those lines. “Show me all the restaurants whose wage expenses don’t match expected for their stated income.” Computers can answer those questions in milliseconds.
I’ve said it a hundred times, but these are computers talking to computers. If you “got away” with something on your taxes, it does not mean you didn’t get caught. It means there was not political will to prosecute you.
And it’s not just business owners (well, you are technically a business owner if you’re working under the table). If you work for any of those people, you get caught the second they do. If a guy builds a fence in his backyard and asks you to come help him for a few weeks for $100/day, he’ll mention that fence on his taxes; the city will eventually mention that fence on his property tax appraisal, title will mention that fence when he sells the house. There’s a paper trail, and it’s not hard for anyone who reads accounting to see that. Ditto with your barista job, ditto with your life coaching job, ditto with your dad pretending you’re an employee so he can get you health insurance. It’s obvious to anyone who sees personal taxes all day long.
Oh, here’s a really obvious one, if you’re not an employee you will have expenses, and not just that, but expenses almost matching your income. If you say you rent a room out in your house as an airbnb, they’ll simply look at your taxes to see if you have 70% of your income going towards cleaning and repairs and new sheets and advertising. If you say you do odd jobs, they’ll assume you have a log of your mileage and receipts for tools. If you say you sell brownies at the farmer’s market, they’ll know you’re lying if you don’t have the cost of renting that booth and the cost of the booth on there somewhere. And again, if you’re the second in the booth, you’re at the mercy of the main person’s IRS reviewer too.
Oh, and if you’re an under the table waitress, know that you’ll eventually get caught by another waitress narc’ing on your boss.
Anyway, the main way they find out is by comparing you to 350M other people and seeing wherever you’re so far outside of the average that somethin’ must be up.
OH! here’s the easiest example yet: you’re a waitress and file your taxes without listing any tip income. It is unlikely the IRS will call you on that, but they obviously can see that you left the line that likely represents the majority of your income blank. The friend I’m picturing when I say this is paid about $40 a day as a waitress but makes $300 to $400 a day in tips. And I think it’s pretty safe to wonder whether her taxes say she is paying her rent and expenses with only $40 a day. The IRS isn’t stupid, but they are human and know there is little to collect from her, and it would be politically problematic to start targeting college-aged and single-mom waitresses.
Italian Sausage and Peppers
sausage and peppers 19
Ingredients
8 Italian sausages
4 green bell peppers, quartered (or a combination of yellow, green and red bell peppers)
1 onion, sliced
sausage and peppers 3 696x1024q
Instructions
Put sausages with 1 cup of water in a frying pan over medium heat. Turn as they brown and water evaporates.
Add onions and peppers. Stir, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Uncover and cook until the sausages and onions are brown.
I don’t know if offended was the right word, but stunned, as R. W. says about the US not having animals (mules/horses). Here is a great pic of German POWs on the middle of the autobahn heading west, and Allied tanks/trucks heading into the heart of Germanyy:
image 190
You don’t see any animals (the average German division had 4–6,000 horses/division). The US did use mules in Africa, Italy and Southern France. Those mountains were tough, with no roads, so mules came into their own. The US Army contracted with mule owners for one herder + ten mules each. The column was lead by a GI and carried food, water, ammo up to the line and wounded down. The USMC still runs a mule training facility in California to train troops on this dying art.
One offense was American inattention of military courtesy to senior officers. The German paratroop commander, Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, at the end Crozon Peninsula fighting, told the US lieutenant that he would surrender his unit, but not to a company or field grade officer, only a general officer. This painting shows Gen Canham, ADC 8th ID, in the German HQ. The German said, “I am to surrender to you. I want to see your credentials”. Gen Canham, like any general officer, did not take this well, pointed to his GI’s, and said, “These are my credentials.” This later became the motto of the 8th ID.
Companies Announce Why They Don’t Want YOU Working For Them Anymore…
This is true. I can confirm this is the case in the United States.
The last few years have been years of miscalculation for the West. Big things have been planned and put into action, and failed.
All the wars, all the sanctions, all domestic and economic ‘initiatives’, and all responses to what the adversaries have done are failing or have already failed.
In fact, the failure of any venture by the West has become almost guaranteed.
This has a lot of people scratching their heads – they simply can’t fathom how this can happen.
At the same time the real goals of the western political class have come under increased scrutiny.
Everything they do seems to be designed to make things worse for western societies on all levels, including economic, social, health, and so on and so forth. Why, exactly, is that?
-Gaius Baltar
At every level, under every measurement, the United States, and it’s proxy nations are all undergoing collapse.
Not just starting to.
No.
They are in full late-stage free-fall.
It is a true laugh when the Western propaganda says that China is “going to collapse”, yet it is the West that is so blatantly obviously collapsing.
…
China DOES NOT WANT to best, or best, or rule over the United States. It really doesn’t. The Chinese just want to live their lives peacefully.
The problem is not with China, nor the Chinese people. The problem lies with the massive, just massive levels of incompetence in the West.
…
As the ship burns, the people fight each other on the deck of the ship… as the explosions shake the vessel, and fires appear out from the gloom, the ship continues to sink into the depths of the dark icy unforgiving sea.
China, and the Chinese cannot stop it.
But… but…
…The life boats have all been looted years ago, dry rot has crept in, and they are completely worthless. The Captain, is muttering something about liking pudding for dinner, and the executive officers are all looting everything that isn’t nailed down.
You would think that someone would be on the wireless trying to ask for help, but the copper wires were cut and sold for profit decades ago. BANG! Another firefight on deck…
BANG! Then, CRASH!
There’s an open commotion on deck…
…
China looks on with great sadness. Americans who have rowed away from the sinking Goliath hang their heads in shame and sadness… but most of the people on the vessel don’t realize just how dire the situation actually is.
A seaman points to a point on the horizon. “See” he yells over the din… “It’s Russia’s fault”. Another person punches him. “No! You fool! It’s China’s fault” as he peers though a telescope.
…
The water is reaching the deck. The lights are still on.
And suddenly everyone hears this massive noise from the bowels of the vessel….
…
Did I miss anything?
China doesn’t want to beat the USA. They want to help, but there is an old saying… “never get involved with a crazed old man with a gun”.
China is just standing aside and watching the ship sink into the cold, cold ocean.
No work, anger everywhere, and even the most basic tenements of society; families, relationships between men and womem are completely off the rails. In fact, when you watch the videos herein, you see exactly how bad things actually are.
They are frightening.
The old games, so routinely employed by the West; “color revolutions”, “wars”, economic coercion, and so forth… no longer work.
And it is all boomeranging back to the United States. And it’s really bad right now.
Centuries worth.
I think that it is important for you here in mm land to see how bad things are. Watch all the videos, no matter how boring or distasteful they are. And then finish with the last video… a AI generated trickle of hope for a renewed past.
I was taking classes at a private uni here in Thailand so that I could better understand my adopted country. I had been living and teaching here for around 20 years at this point.
In most classes, I was waaaay older than the other students and older than 90% of my teachers.
I was an oddity: Thais are not into continuing education for older people (except some master’s and PhD programs), and the classes I attended were all regular BA/BS classes. In addtion, I am a foreigner.
The classes were in English, presented by Thai speakers of English.
One Sociology professor was NOT happy that I was in his class. When I asked a question or when he glanced at me, his face became cold and stern. At times, he openly disparaged my questions and comments, feigning being affronted, even though I was careful to use neutral language.
I did my best to let it and the stares of my classmates go; I was there to learn.
He handed out photocopied reading materials (the class had no assigned texts) that were often beyond the reading abilities of the Thai students. My offers to help were silently rejected (???) , so I stepped back.
But then he gave us a 10-page reading, written (in English) by an Indonesian scholar that even I couldn’t understand.
Some pages were totally filled with only one, single-spaced paragraph that included only very, very long, compound-complex sentences, using jargon specific to sociology. The organization was convoluted.
I am an avid reader, plus I taught academic and business reading, but I could not decipher the writer’s main points.
So I went to the professor for insights.
What I got were snide remarks about my inability to read my own language.
Big mistake. Huge.
I apologized for my inability to understand the concepts and jargon of his field (inflating his sense of superiority); he looked very smug.
Before I continue, let me say that the apology and the way I further responded was learned from watching Thais and how they expertly handle situations. I had learned that attacking works against me since confrontation is very much frowned upon here.
The apology was not sincere. It was to make him feel comfy, in control. Inside I was seething, horrified that a professor would treat a student who was asking for help in this way.
Knowing he was a misogynist, I acted submissive and said (eyes lowered), “I have taught reading at A.U.A. Language Center and at Chulalongkorn University (Thailand’s #1 uni), Mahidol (Thailand’s #3) and am at Sasin (Thailand’s #1 business school). I have prepared students who ultimately studied at Yale, Harvard, Stanford and Cambridge and other top unis, but I guess I’m not good enough to understand this scholar. So I am asking for your insights.”
When I looked up as I asked for his insights, I saw that the smug sneer had been replaced with (satisfying) shock.
I maintained submissive, respectful body language.
Pointing to the introductory summary, I asked if the scholar meant XXXX. Silence.
Still not looking at him, I then asked, “What was the focus of the first portion of the paragraph?” There was more silence and then a hesitant, half-axxed answer, so two more questions followed with the same kind of inadequate responses.
I now knew he had not read/ analyzed the reading himself.
I didn’t say a thing. He knew that I knew when I looked at him directly and said nothing.
I then thanked him for his time, gave a polite ‘wai’ and left.
At our next class, he announced that after a conversation with ‘Ajarn’ (Professor) Verneita, he had decided to remove that particular reading but replace it with a clearer, 2-page one.
What just happened?
He gave me respect by calling me ‘Professor.’. As far as most people knew, I was a student.
He also showed respect when he recognized me as part of the decision process.
Replacing the original document was to show that he was still in control and that he was being kind to the students.
He was protecting himself by doing all of the above.
If I complained to admin, he could say that he had listened to another professor (me) and had acted in the best interests of the class. (If he had shown disrespect to me in countering, he would have lost some admin support).
Also, if I had complained, I would have been judged as disrespectful towards a professor who had openly shown ME respect.
This game-playing is a part of a very complex culture that is often perceived as being simplistic by those who don’t speak enough Thai to understand the nuances or who would prefer to not analyze what goes on.
If I had been a simple young student, the story would have been very different.
5 years ago, I was 29 years old. I was married and heavily involved in an “end of the world” cult and actively went door to door in the hope of recruiting members. My wife and I were born into this cult, we knew of nothing else. We believed that the outside world was evil, corrupt, dangerous and controlled by Satan. At 29 years old I had only a high school education as university is considered “dangerous” as it encourages critical thinking (something the cult doesn’t want it’s member doing).
Then, in April 2014 something happened…
My daughter was born.
Suddenly a lot of thoughts came racing into my head at the same time.
If she needs a blood transfusion, I’d be expected to say no and let her bleed to death. I would never do that.
If she ever left the cult I’d be expected to completely shun her and pretend she’s dead. I would never do that.
If she ever shows talent or aptitude I’d be expected to force her to suppress them and work for the cult for free. I would never do that.
If she ever wants to go to university I’d be expected to report her to the leaders and convince her not to go. To even be ashamed if she ever did go to university. I would never do that.
She won’t be allowed to celebrate her birthday.
She won’t be allowed to be taught about other religions.
She’ll be told about Satan and the end of the world and I’d be expected to teach her fear and about an angry god who will kill her unless she’s a Jehovah’s Witness.
I will only be allowed tell her about the cult and how we’re right and everyone else is wrong.
Seeing my child in my arms, I saw a new start. This was a person with no preconceived ideas, no bias, no loyalty to anyone or anything. I decided right then and there that I loved someone more than even god himself.
That was a real mindf**k on its own.
You see, we were conditioned to love the cult and love god (who can only be worshipped through the cult) more than our own family and more than ourselves. In fact, if anyone leaves the cult we’re to shun them. But here I was feeling this feeling, this overwhelming feeling of complete love for someone – even more than the cult.
The fact that I’d disobey the cult and allow blood transfusions and allow freedom of thought told me that maybe I didn’t really believe the cult. At this stage I secretly told myself that I believed 80% of it.
Fast forward, 2 years later after a lot of research and being honest with myself and others I left the cult. Immediately I lost my entire family and “friends” that I’d known since birth. My then-wife took our daughter and went to live with her parents (who are also cult members). Fortunately, in the real world we have lawyers. I ended up getting full custody of our daughter, in part because my then-wife admitted she would allow the cult to make medical decisions for our daughter whereas I always said I’d do what’s necessary to keep her alive and healthy. I was open and accepting of other people whereas the cult isolates and vilifies non-members. I also signed up for university to study Psychology and counselling, specialising in cults and high control groups.
My wife and I then got divorced.
In another 2 years I completed my undergraduate degree. My ex-wife left the cult too after seeing how happy and easy my life was compared to hers. Also, our daughter would openly say things that didn’t make sense to her which got my ex-wife thinking. Things like “Nana doesn’t talk to my daddy anymore. I would never stop talking to you – I love you”. And “If someone said I could live forever but without my daddy I’d tell them to go away”.
A year later (5 years now), I’m a Psychologist and therapist who’s helped 4 people on Quora leave the Jehovah’s Witness cult, ended about 25 “bible studies” that people were having with Jehovah’s Witnesses, helped concerned relatives who’s family were studying with the cult and in person helped many people. All for free by the way. I also work as a models photographer and have my own business that brings in a steady income. I could make money from counselling but I choose not to as people need help. I wouldn’t want to profit from helping people leave high control groups.
I also helped two lesbian couples conceive a child and they both gave birth this year.
My daughter is a happy, well adjusted person who never has to fear being shunned by her parents – her cousins, unfortunately, can’t say that about their parents.
My husband and I both drove school busses in Claxton, Georgia several years ago. I drove special needs busses during the school day, and was a substitute driver for the morning and evening driver’s.
My husband was given the worst, or hardest bus route . The one that nobody wants because the inner city with the poor and rough kids. The one’s that are basically raising themselves in the streets. Michael was having a hard time from a few of the student’s on his bus. Especially the high school aged kids with all those hormones going crazy.
My husband had to have a surgical procedure, and he had complications which kept him out of driving for about two weeks. Man I hated driving that bus! Our supervisor had to drive it the most while I was driving for someone else.
My husband had to have a mesh up in for a surgical hernia, it took11 incisions to tack it in.
When Michael went back to the job he was trying to tell our supervisor that these kids were getting worse and the situation was escalating. And even went so far as to finish his route, and stop by the board of education to speak with the head man over the school system. ( I’m getting tired and can’t think of the technical name of his position) about the situation.
Nothing was done to help him out. The following morning a sister, and brother that Michael had been writing up, and had suspended off of the bus started in on him as soon as they had gotten in the door. With the older sister cussing at him, and her brother started by trying to grab up the fire extinguisher to hit him. When he couldn’t unlatch the fire extinguisher the boy grabbed up Michael’s tire bat, and struck him over the top of his head.Michael knocked the boy off of his bus, shut the door and called the police.
Michael was accused of using too much force and assaulting a minor. And was told to quit or be terminated,.
The following day we both resigned. Michael was kept off,and I worked off a two week notice.
We ended up spending $2000.00 retainer fee for a good attorney in Statesboro. And the same attorney also ended up working for the school telling staff how to handle situations like this without getting into trouble.
I will never work in the school system again.
Chase (another answer to everyone’s big question…)
The U.S. owes the entire world a lot of money. The biggest creditor nation by a very long shot is Japan. Not China! In fact the owner all the debts the US has is not payable in a hundred years without the U.S. printing money and selling more debts to pay just the interest it is compelled to pay!
What is it simply don’t pay up! It sounds nice to a white racist guy who thinks from a racist superiority complex mindset right?
Well it is call a debt default. The U.S. will then either not get credit anymore or has to pay an astronomical premium in interest to borrow money! That will destroy the U.S. dollar and the US economy to the point of hyperinflation and a run on U.S. banks.
That is not a good option is it? If you are intelligent which I suspect you are not! Why don’t you ask why does the US becomes so indebted to the world and the U.S. government do indebted to its own American people?
It is no different from you who spend as though there is no tomorrow and borrow money from everyone you know to sustain your expenses. You basically don’t make anything that anyone wants! To earn their money but wants a shining new toys everyday. That is what the US does. It wants to spend more on weapons than the next 20 nations put together? Can it?
Yes it can but it will bankrupt the U.S. that U.S. precisely what happened over the last 50 years or so!
I had a friend who was working in an office in Atlanta when the “snowpocalypse” rolled through.
The day before, a great many people in the office wanted to work from home when the storm hit. Their boss was from Michigan and threw a fit, saying a few inches of snow was no excuse and that anyone who failed to come in that day would be fired.
Well that day came, and the traffic accidents were horrific because guess what, it’s not about the snow but is about the people who drive in it. Everyone in the office struggled to get in but they were there… except for Mr. Bossman. That idiot called in due to unsafe conditions.
So the entire building walked out at lunch and worked the rest of the day from home. When the boss tried calling the office no one was there and he was furious, promising retribution.
However, when Corporate found out that he had caused the ENTIRE BUILDING to walk out, they got rid of him immediately. They knew the truth; it doesn’t matter what skills a manager has, if he creates a toxic environment then he drives away the real talent and value of the company, the employees.
Tomato and Bread Salad (Panzanella)
This is best if you use very ripe tomatoes.
2024 02 15 09 51
Ingredients
4 cups 1-inch pieces stale Italian or French bread
2 medium tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
1/3 cup snipped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons snipped parsley
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Mix bread, tomatoes, garlic, green pepper, basil and parsley.
Shake remaining ingredients in tightly covered container. Pour over bread mixture; toss. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
I was going to kill myself. I had my suicide planned out. I was going to get some dry ice, it’s heavier than air, and fill my room with it, get really drunk, lay down on my bedroom floor with my cats and suffocate in my sleep.
I’d gone from having everything… a beautiful wonderful wife, job, bought a house was going to start a family. I’d started school again to finish that engineering degree that I put on hold decades ago.
Then, my wife left..not just left but assaulted me violently, cheated, went completely berzerk. I found out later she’d stolen money from work and bet on a horse, Smarty Jones, that was a “sure thing” to win the triple crown that year. She was facing prison time.
She thought she could get enough money out of me to buy herself out of trouble, so burned through attorney after attorney. A two year marraige turned into a 4 year divorce. I was broke, well over $30k in debt to credit cards and the university. The utilities were overdue, mortgage was overdue, the bank was sending people over putting chalk marks on the door getting ready to foreclose and evict me and my cats into the street.
So, I was concerned about how I was going to be found. I started getting “funeral attire” ready. I’d mail a letter to the local police, they’d get it after I was gone. It would explain everything.
While ironing my jacket, I noticed the collar was worn. So, I put an iron-on patch on it to make it look better. The patch didn’t match the color of the jacket and really stood out. It looked like a hobo’s jacket.
That’s when I noticed how worn all my clothes were. And I realized I’d be found wearing rags. I was more ashamed of that than anything else. So, I decided to think on it for awhile…after all, did it matter if I died today, or in a few days, right? And, I still had a few bowls of homemade soup..don’t want those to go to waste?
That began the process of me assessing what I had to work with, versuse dwelling on what I had lost. I felt like, somehow, if I could just spend some time thinking things through, I’d come up with something. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but, I felt better.
Then, a coule of days later, the letter came.
It was from the Government. Not good I though, from the DoD..even worse.
I opened it thinking “Well, I was going to kill myself a few days ago, that’s still a viable option”….and read it.
It said “Dear Mr. S. We’ve found an accouting error in your pay for your service while deployed. We owe you $5000. If you would like it, please go to this website and enter your banking information”.
“IF I WOULD LIKE IT”?!?!….shit….
So, went to the website. Entered my banking info and ssn, etc. by the end of the week, the money was in my account. It got me through school long enough that by the time it ran out, the Post 9–11 GI bill had come out, and that paid the rest of the way through school. Now I’m a big shot engineer with a giant house and a fridge full of food.
It’s been 20 years now. I still have that jacket. I want to keep it so someday I can be buried in it.
This Graphs Proves What Married Men Already Know
i tell you what boys it really does pay to educate yourself on female psychology.
I literally laughed out loud at this, and loudly, because it’s so completely absurd to say that it really is morbidly hilarious.
We are not a supporter of democracy at all. Our elites don’t even want democracy here, let alone anywhere else. We have toppled so many democratically elected governments and replaced them with dictators on the CIA payroll that I have literally lost count of them all. We are supporting a coup in Venezuela right now, to overthrow Maduro, who, like him or not, was elected more fairly than Trump and is certainly far more popular in his own country.
The reason why we are against democracy everywhere is that if third world countries are under the control of their own people then they might refuse to sell their resources to our military-industrial complex. We invade them to steal the oil and metal that we need to make more weapons that we can use to invade the next country.
If British Imperialism was brazen and naked, then American Imperialism wears nothing more than a g-string.
Even the allies that we call “democracies” like Turkey, Israel, and now Brazil under Bolsonaro, are really just fascist police states who are not much better than the worst government in the world, our main ally, Saudi Arabia, who we are currently assisting in their genocide of the Yemeni people.
Most of the terrorists and dictators in the world have had US backing at some point. (North Korea is more like the exception that proves the rule.) Reagan allied with the Taliban and Al Queda in Afghanistan. We helped to found ISIS and we’re still funding and arming them.
Elliot Abrams is an expert on and veteran of committing genocide and now Trump wants him in his cabinet. Ilhan Omar called him out on it, but she got smeared as supposedly “antisemitic” because she opposed Israel’s purchase of her congressional colleagues. That got a ton of press coverage, but her grilling of Abrams? Not so much.
You can’t enforce democracy at the barrel of a gun. Don’t be naive as to what guns are used for.
This New Study Makes Women Look SO BAD!
The conclusions in this is DAMMING for the Western society.
A friend had divorced her husband. She had discovered, while pregnant with their first child, that he was having an affair. One month after she gave birth, he moved out. He and the girlfriend were seen all around town. On weekends when he had the baby, people would see them out with the girlfriend, treating the baby like he was hers.
My friend’s ex would not leave her alone. He wanted the girlfriend, but he also wanted his ex. After eighteen months of this, my friend called me. She was going to remarry him. She asked me what I thought. I knew she wanted her family back together. But I knew he couldn’t be trusted.
So I hedged my answer. I asked her, “What are you going to think when he comes home late from the gym? (That was where he met the girlfriend) What are you going to think when he starts walking outside to talk on his phone? What are you going to think when you call his office and his secretary can’t tell you where he is? And he isn’t answering your calls? Please, please just consider all this.”
She told me she would. Then she went with him to the local Justice of the Peace, and for the second time, married him.
They moved into a beautiful new home. There were hiccups. Basically, his drinking. But they stuck it out. She got pregnant. Triplets.
A few years later, I got the call. She was seeing the signs. Going outside to take phone calls. Disappearing from work. Not taking her calls.
She figured out who the girlfriend was. She filed for divorce. What made it worse was, she discovered he had been having multiple “mini” flings with various women. All whom she knew.
During a conversation with her, she asked me, “Why didn’t you stop me from remarrying him?”
I told her the truth. “You didn’t want to hear it.”
This is the reality.
A 25% tariff makes the United States seem to be 25% than it actually is (actually, it’s more like 18% but you get my picture.)
Resentment toward the military had existed during the war and intensified as the war situation deteriorated for Japan toward the end. To understand this, it is necessary to understand the circumstances that engendered such resentment.
Long before Pearl Harbor started, rationing had begun in 1940. The commodities subjected to rationing were rice, sugar, salt, matches to enable the government to build up stocks in anticipation of siege. Austerity became the way of life. Geisha houses were closed down. Neon lighting in Tokyo’s famed Ginza district was turned off. A monthly family fast was introduced.
Starting in 1944, American submarine blockades exacted a heavy toll on Japanese economy and the lives of millions of Japanese civilians. Being an islands nation, Japan depended heavily on imports to sustain industrial production and for survival by imported foodstuffs. American submarines prevented most of that from reaching the home islands. Daily Japanese calorie intake, only 2,000 before Pearl Harbor, fell to 1,900 in 1944, and would drop to 1,680 in 1945. By contrast, British daily calorie intake never fell below 2,800, even in the darkest days of 1940–1941. An American soldier in the Pacific received daily calorie intake of 4,758. This resulted in malnutrition which led to beriberi and made people more susceptible to other illnesses. Productivity dropped as workers were hungry. Absenteeism mounted as factory workers went seeking out foods for their families instead of going to work. Another reason for absenteeism was to avoid being killed by American bombs dropped on urban industrial areas.
But while civilians endured hunger on a continual basis, the rich and the armed forces ate heartily because the militarists wanted to continue fighting and so soldiers had to eat. Thus, civilian resentment toward the military developed.
Moreover, starting from 1944 onwards, American B-29s launched from the Marianas and Okinawa razed Japanese cities to the ground in a ruthless incendiary bombing campaign, destroying large swaths of urban areas, killing thousands to tens of thousands while rendering millions homeless. Japanese air force proved incapable of stopping American bombers because of all American B-29s lost over Japan, only an inconsiderable percentage of the losses were due to enemy action, the rest were due to mechanical failure, poor weather or accidents. It had a massive psychological impact on the Japanese. No one could fail to be impressed by the spectacle of hundreds of silvery B-29s streaming in the sky raining down death and destruction with near impunity. The very awareness of American bombers attacking with near impunity and the inability of the Japanese air force to stop them intensified the anger and distrust civilians had toward the military, a proof of military impotence. They must have wondered why the military could not protect the home islands and civilians from enemy attack. Yoichi Watanuki, a schoolboy bitterly said to this mother: “Surely we have lost the war because our soldiers were not good enough. They told us a Divine Wind would come and it didn’t. They lied to us, didn’t they?”
As a consequence, when Japan submitted to unconditional surrender, civilians who had endured years of hardship and exhaustion showed undisguised contempt toward former members of the military.
Many repatriated veterans were ill-prepared for the poor treatment dished out at them upon returning. Communities that had celebrated their departure with parties and parades and supplied them with comfort packages and “thousand-stitch” belly belt did not welcome them back. After all, they were losers who not only had failed to defend their people and country but also had the audacity to return home alive. In addition, haunted by the humiliating defeat and the horrific consequences of the war, many Japanese civilians were desperate to forget everything associated with that painful consciousness; and shunning returning veterans who reminded them of that consciousness was a manifestation of that attempt to forget the past.
Those who returned from Soviet captivity were treated with suspicion on the grounds that they might have been subjected to intense Communist indoctrination and turned into covert Communist agents. Now that they had returned, there was the concern that they might support and engage in subversive Communist activities in Japan.
Following defeat, military discipline collapsed and servicemen stationed in the home islands deserted their units. Many of them, both officers and enlisted men, engaged in looting military stores for their own uses. When destitute civilians who had almost nothing saw military men with something, their resentment and anger toward the military only hardened.
What’s more? The influx of repatriated veterans was accompanied by an influx of information about wartime atrocities committed by the Emperor’s soldiers. Once civilians became aware of the atrocities, ex-servicemen found themselves regarded not just as men who had failed disastrously to fulfill their duty but as despicable criminals who had committed war atrocities. References to glares of withering contempt and disgust that acquaintances and strangers alike directed at them became a familiar occurrences in veterans’ letters to the press. As a side note, despite revelations of atrocities, it never developed into a truly widespread popular acknowledgement of Japan as aggressor and victimizer rather than as victim because of censorship by MacArthur’s administration. (See more here: Werner Hermann’s answer to Do the Japanese have shame for the military crimes committed by their army in the 20th century (like the Nanking incident, for instance) like the Germans have shame for theirs during World War II?)
This predicament faced by veterans was best expressed in the following excerpt published in the Asahi on June 9th 1946 which poignantly recounted his depressing homecoming:
I returned to Japan from the southern regions on May 20. My house was burned, my wife and children missing. What little money I had quickly was consumed by the high prices, and I was a pitiful figure. Not a single person gave me a kind word. Rather, they cast hostile glances my way. Tormented and without work, I became possessed by a devil.
Indeed, many veterans, homeless and destitute and without support, turned to black market or other illicit activities to survive.
Veterans with disabilities were doubly stigmatized, having lost the war and their mental and physical faculty. Back then, physical handicaps and mental illness were taboos and those afflicted faced discrimination or indifference prevalent in Japanese society. As a side note, many maimed veterans, having no where to turn, defied those taboos and flaunted their disabilities and, more acutely, their pain and hardship by wearing white clothing and begging in public. In Tokyo, such tragic outcast figures haunted public places until the late 1950s
This wont be what you want. I am only 60, therefore I am only old to some, not to most. Today, 60 is the new 40.
5am get online and see the latest news.
530am make coffee, a must
600am – we live in the country or for you that don’t call it that in your country, outside the city limits is what we call country. Another thing that makes our language hard to learn. So I go for a walk and take it all in, the fresh air, the scenery, all of it.
8am I heat my place by wood stove so if I need to I will grab the chainsaw and cut down a dead tree, then cut it all up, load it, take it back and stack it.
(I rarely eat breakfast) so 11am I clean my house because its the way its always been, a messy place bothers me, so a lot of touch up cleaning.
12pm, lunch and computer time, usually 2 hours.
2pm go to town and get stuff I need for the place, and barns, feed for the horses, groceries and pay bills.
4–5pm nap time usually for 2 hours or so.
6pm maybe crack open a beer or three and watch the sun go down and again, take it all in.
7pm, back on the computer, its how we see the world in these times and then I will write, something like I am here or do something on TicToc. Maybe YouTube and then write the kids that are 1000’s of miles away.
9pm usually ready for bed, watch some TV and then lights out.
11pm, up for a snack
Midnight, out until 5am
You know, it differs from day to day, but thats a typical 24 hours.
Apparently Gen Z is Lazy and Doesn’t Want to Work Anymore
For me it is what they consider to be important and how little they are prepared to do to get it, back when I was working in the office for the ambulance company I was treated to the “You old folk have it so easy, you have your own house, I would love a house but I just can’t afford it!” So after a while I grew tired of this and said “Okay! Let’s talk maybe I can help.” So I got on to “Let’s look at where your money is going, after all if you want to buy something you’ve got to check your money”. So the first obvious expense was the shiny new beamer £400 a month, then there was the holidays one all inclusive to the Caribbean,£2,000 give or take and one to South Africa 2,500 there, then we get onto the little regular things, every morning they would come in with a Starbucks and a pastry, ok only five pounds a day, 25 pounds a week shall we say a thousand pounds a year. Lunch from the sandwich truck that used to come around every day, about £10 a day.£50 a week two and a half thousand pounds a year. Saturday night and Friday night out with the friends they weren’t quite sure how much they spent then but thought it was about 75 pounds each night. 150 a week so call that 6,000 pounds a year give or take. Takeaways three or four nights a week, you get the picture. So I gently pointed out to them how I saved up the money to get the deposit on my flat, cycled into work, got up 15 minutes early, made myself a sandwich and a thermos of coffee, no car, no Friday and Saturday down at the pub and then on to the restaurant, I spent my holidays on my bike cycling round London. No takeaways I cooked my own food, didn’t go down to the football on Saturdays, Wednesdays or whenever it was on. No sky television package just the standard five channels. Didn’t buy any books went down to the library instead. You would have thought that I had threatened to rape them with a broomstick, absolute horror! “How can you expect us to live that way?” And my response was “That is how I lived to get the flat, I decided what was important and I decided that a place of my own was more important than holidays for five years, getting pissed for 5 years, and so on.”
And they still didn’t understand that sometimes if you want something important you have to give up something else!
I got a front-row seat to a usually calm and gentle, older customer service consultant, refer to a caller as “a heinous f*cking b!tch”.
Decades ago, I worked in an insurance call centre. On one of my shifts (it was slow so calls were sporadic), I was sitting next to another consultant and heard her pick up the call. This is basically what I heard (she was wearing a headset and I could only hear one side):
“Welcome to X——X Insurance, how can help you? … … Yes … … ..Ma’am I understand but If I could just… … … yes, I understand you’re upset and I want to help you but if I could just … … … I’m happy to help you but I need … … … I can’t give you that information without … … …”
Her face had gone bright red in a mixture of anger or frustration. She had a very grim look on her face but she gritted her teeth and bore with the caller.
“I’ve worked here for a while Ma’am … … … I’m unable to give out information without verifying the caller … … … Yes, I can put you through to my Manager. Please hold.”
She hit mute on the headset cord unit, turned to me and said. “Oh. My. God. What a heinous f*cking b!tch!!” … then her face went from red to completely white and her eyes snapped down to the mute button… which wasn’t lit.. and the call continued…
“I’m so sorry Ma’am. Yes, I can put you through to my Manager immediately. Please hold.”
This time she double-checked the hold button.
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Image source: Yours Truly.
Not double-checking the mute button before cutting loose to a fellow consultant on the heinous b!tch nature of a d!ck caller is the most atrocious amateur move from someone who’d been working in customer service for as long as she had.
Always check the mute button.
FINAL NOTE: She took her headset off and ran over to the floor manager to explain, then put the call through. The manager took it in her office… it went on for a while. Then she called the consultant in.
I have no idea what the content of the inbound call was (the consultant wouldn’t say) but the company pulled the call recording… and the consultant never received a verbal or written warning for her faux pas although she was cautioned to be more professional when dealing with problem callers in the future.
This was the worst experience I have ever had trying to get married. I was raised Catholic, but was not going to church anymore. My cousin was a Catholic priest and was going to do the ceremony as a gift to us.
My cousin had left the Jesuit order and was freelancing while teaching at the local university. He called me 5 days before our wedding to say the local priest told him he could not do weddings in “His” parish. He reported my cousin to the bishop.
He said he could not afford to get in any more trouble, so he asked me to get permission from the local priest where we lived.
We were going to be married in my mother’s rose garden.
I went to the local parish and explained what I want to do and the priest said “absolutely not”.
I asked why and he said. “I will not permit a sacrament to be performed in an un-sanctified place,”
I said, “you mean that this brick building is more holy than a rose garden”. Probably not the wisest thing to say.
I agreed to do a quick ceremony at the church then to have a party in the rose garden, but I wanted my cousin to perform the wedding. The priest said no. When asked why, “I don’t know your cousin.” to which I replied, “But I don’t know you.”
I finally agreed to do it his way. As I was about to leave, he said. “Is your intended a Catholic?” I answer no, so he said that she would have to go to the six-week course to prepare for the ceremony in the church.
I replied, “But she went to 12 years of Catholic school, what are you going to teach her in six weeks that she doesn’t already know?”
He said, “That’s not the point; there are rules.”
So I ask him what his suggestion was.
He said to call off the wedding.
I was livid, I was so angry with the stupidity of the situation.
I went over to my father’s house and told him what was going on.
After a minute, he said, “I have a solution.” He called my cousin and it was all set.
We had a beautiful wedding in my mother’s rose garden, with my cousin doing the ceremony. The only difference was that my father stepped forward and asked the only required part: “Do you take this person to be your spouse.” My father was a judge, so he could legally do the honors. No one understood the significance of what my father did, he also signed the marriage licence. No one can prove that my cousin married us.
That was one of the last times I had anything to do with the Catholic Church.
I was at a friend’s wedding. The rituals were through and the guests proceeded for food.
We were seated at a longish table. Apart from us pals, there were some other people present at the table. Probably some relatives we thought.
We got our food from the buffet and sat down to eat. There was a middle aged lady seated next to me. She tapped my shoulder and asked me if I could help her. I asked her what was the matter.
She had served some tandoori chicken and noodles for herself. Though armed with a spoon and fork, she was lost. “What am I supposed to eat with a fork and how to tackle the leg piece with a spoon?” she asked. I hesitated to reply. Telling her that her cutlery usage was not quite right for some of the food items she had selected seemed rude. We were using forks and knives for our food, but it was different as the items were boneless. But the explanation might have come across as condescending. So I asked her to eat as per her convenience.
“Use your hands if that seems comfortable” I offered.
“But all are so sophisticated here. They’ll look down upon me. I come from a small village. We don’t use all this at home. I’ll be an embarrassment for my cousin.” This is when I realised that she was the bride’s relative.
I was in a fix. That lady was so sweet and so vulnerable. Her concerns seemed so heartfelt that I did not know how to react!
I decided to do what I thought was the best solution. I ditched my own cutlery and started eating the starters with my hands. Asked her to follow suit and enjoy her food. And she did so… with a bright sunny smile. I taught her how to use a fork too and she enjoyed the slippery adventure!
I didn’t care if we were judged that day. I enjoyed my meal with a stranger. A stranger who did not try to hide her vulnerabilities and instead chose to be herself.
A Beijing tour guide said she had received several friends from Europe over the past month because of her work, and their reasons for coming to China varied:
Some of them are skeptical about the China reported in the Western media, so they want to come here to see for themselves how China really looks like.
Some of them are interested in China because they have heard the descriptions of some foreign friends who have been to China, so they want to come to China to have some fun.
Some have lost confidence in the future of Europe and feel that it is difficult for young Europeans to find a way out no matter how hard they work, so they want to come to China to look for opportunities.
After these European friends came to China, the two words that often came to their lips were “kindness” and “hope“.
The Beijing tour guide said that she took her British friend to eat at Haidilao, where the clerk sang a birthday song to the birthday person, strangers sent their blessings to the birthday person, and the birthday person cut a cake and gave it to strangers to share with them. The British friend was very shocked to see these scenes and praised China for its special sense of humanity. Humanity – The Chinese call it “人情味”.
The Beijing tour guide took his Italian friend out for a shopping trip, and the Italian beauty was pinching her fanny pack on the way, because in Italy, you may encounter pickpockets at any time when you walk on the street. The Beijing tour guide told her to relax, said he was a girl alone in the early hours of the morning through the park to go home are very safe.
The Italian beauty was shocked when she heard that she could not even think about this kind of security environment. After a day of shopping, the Italian beauty marveled at the safety of Beijing, saying that none of the strangers who came over to say hello to her along the way were there to steal from her, but only out of curiosity and goodwill.
The Beijing tour guide took a German couple out to play, the German man working in the German media, before coming to China several times, this time is to bring his girlfriend to China to travel.
The man told the Beijing tour guide that he was of mixed German-Moroccan blood and his girlfriend was a second-generation Arab immigrant, and that they were often treated differently in Germany because of their bloodline.
The man lamented that he worked in the media and that the Western media always preached so-called equality, but racism between people was actually very serious. China, which is constantly attacked by the West, is actually doing much better than the West in this regard.
Another European friend who traveled to China said that only in China can you see deities of two different religions coexisting in one temple. Some temples have a Taoist temple in the front and a Buddhist temple in the back; others have a Buddhist temple in the front and a mosque in the back. This phenomenon of religions coexisting rather than being hostile to each other is rare in Europe, but commonplace in China.
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He even saw Uyghur Muslims organizing shamanic ceremonies. 🤣 (Don’t be ridiculous or surprised. The Persian Turkic Mongol Timurid Dynasty established the Mughal Islamic Empire in the Indian subcontinent, but in fact the Mongolians’ own religion was shamanism)
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The Beijing tour guide said that when these European friends came to China, they generally found China kind and full of hope, which is very different from the image they had been indoctrinated with before.
There is a lot of inequality and hypocritical double standards in the world controlled by the West, and China’s rise is equally significant in reshaping the world landscape, not just for the Chinese.
This wasn’t so much a verbal comeback as it was physical.
I was driving to work one day and happened upon a proper lunatic driver. He was in a BMW convertible, top down, weaving through traffic, consistently cutting extremely close to other cars. There were lots of scuffmarks on his bumpers that I’m sure were from hit and runs.
Anyway, as I’m entering a junction, he weaves around me, through the shoulder, into the merging lane and almost clips a Volkswagen’s front bumper. He shoots past me, forcing me to swerve across the yellow line and into oncoming traffic. Thankfully I was able to avoid a head-on collision by a few feet. There was decently heavy traffic at this point, so BMW man ended up staying right in front of me, stuck on a 2-lane highway behind a line of cars in front of him.
Now I grew up in this area (Flagstaff), so I know all the roads by heart, and I knew that we were approaching a low spot in the road where there was always a giant puddle after rain. The last few days had been a torrential downpour, so I knew that the puddle would be nice and huge. When we got close, I dropped a gear in my lifted Toyota and gunned it on the dirt shoulder. I came right up next to BMW man right as I hit the puddle and sent a tsunami of dirty puddle water into his white interior. He slammed on the breaks, and I then merged back onto the road in front of him. He found a spot to pull over on the side of the road and that was the last I ever was of him.
As I continued on, the driver of the Volkswagen behind me rolled down his window and gave me a thumbs up.
So, I guess that would be the best comeback that I’ve used on somebody. Not a single word was exchanged, although I’m sure that BMW man had some fine words for me on the side of the road.
The Debt Can’t be Repaid – So What will Happen Instead?
When I think about police officers I generally get sick to my stomach. That sickness is immediately followed by an urge to argue with or challenge a police officer.
When I search my heart for an answer as to why I don’t like the police, I can’t find one. I have no reason to not like police officers — I guess the thought of (seemingly) absolute authority pisses me off.
I just asked three questions a week or two ago that highlight (in asshole fashion) how I feel about the police. I wish I could take them back — but I can’t. I learned something from asking them, though.
My last real run-in with the police happened on September 11th, 2017.
I woke up early for work. Dillon and I left my house somewhere around seven am. I heard a voice — I had an itch — I wanted heroin — my mind was made up.
At lunchtime, I made the call and manipulated Dillon into stopping at Sheetz so I could get a “burger.” I met my dealer and got bags of heroin instead.
I shot half of a bag in the bathroom and the monster was let out.
A few hours later I overdosed in a Starbucks parking lot. Dillon called 911 and my girlfriend, his sister.
The police arrived and I was unresponsive. They administered several (I think six) shots of Narcan.
The feeling of coming to was absolutely horrible. My entire body felt like I got stomped on repeatedly by Godzilla, eaten by him and then pooped out — explosively.
On that day, the police saved my life. While I was lying in a hospital bed just after I overdosed, I thought about the cop who saved me. I remembered every run-in I had with the cops, and between me and you, each and every time they saved my life.
Whether they took me to jail, dropped me at rehab, cuffed me or Narcan’d me, they saved my life.
I truly would not be here if it weren’t for the Boys in Blue.
To any cop who is reading this — thank you for your service. You save lives and it matters. You saved mine.
This is a real, unaltered, photograph of my face as I write this answer. What do you see?
I see the deep bags under my eyes – I haven’t slept well in months, not since class started again. My face is pale, my skin dull. My hair, which I normally painstakingly take care of, is pulled back in low pony. I can’t remember if I brushed it today. My eyes do not radiate with life – in short, I look exhausted.
I’m in my third year of my degree, and I’m feeling the strain and pressure. My body is tired after nearly three straight years of gruelling coursework. My mind is slow, it’s hard. I call my parents for support. I tell them how I’m feeling. My mom provides this sentiment:
“One day, you’ll be able to have a house and a family and this will all be worth it! You won’t have to worry anymore!”
I politely accept her answers, tell her I love her, and hang up. Then I throw my head in my hands and cry.
With my generation, there are no guarantees.
I would, honestly, love to be able to afford a little house. A car. Share it with someone I care about. Maybe have a dog, work at a job I can, at the very least, tolerate.
Put food on the table and clothes on my back. Maybe, once every two years or so, take a vacation to some place new, and when the time is right, start a family.
This is the life I’m supposed to earn in obtaining a STEM degree. A life of comfort – not an extravagant, jet-setting life – but a life where I don’t have to worry about tomorrow.
I’m not even guaranteed to get a job when I’m done my degree.
It is one thing to push a boulder up a hill for four years, to be rewarded with it rolling down the far slope once you reach the peak. It is entirely another to push a boulder up a hill for four years only to have it roll back over you.
I try to explain this to my parents when I can, but they don’t understand. I don’t blame them. It’s a horrible truth that too many people refuse to swallow.
That’s why my generation is so unhappy. When I talk to my friends – other 20 something’s, just struggling to survive – it’s always the same.
“I think one day, I’d like to have an apartment to call my own. I’ll rent it, obviously, because who the hell can afford to actually purchase a house? I’ll take the bus to work, cars are too expensive. Maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll think about getting a dog, if I can afford it.”
That’s what life is reduced to.
I have friends who, would, when they’re older, love to have a family. My best friend would want two kids. You know what she told me?
“Of course I’d love a family one day. But I’ll never be able to have it. Kids need food, time, and toys. They need to feel safe. But even with my income, and the income of my partner, we’d never be able to pay for school, and a car, and a house! A life of penny pinching is not what I want for my kids.”
It broke my heart.
We’re sad because we will never be able to afford the lives of our parents. We’re sad because we see what’s coming – the planet is dying, rich assholes are being elected president, people are being murdered – the world is so hard.
And nothing is guaranteed.
Edit
I wasn’t anticipating a response like this! Wow.
To add a few details:
I’m Canadian, not American. I recognize this means I have some advantages over Americans (healthcare, mostly). Doesn’t mean life doesn’t have its difficulties!
In no way am I advocating “giving up”. I’m still busting my butt everyday. I am, however, pointing out the flaws with the current system.
I do not expect life to just become “easy” after getting a STEM degree. I’m no more or less entitled to opportunities than anyone else. You know what would be nice? To be able to get a job in my field after getting a STEM degree.
Are Women Aware That Most Men Are Invisible To Them
I used to work for credit union. I had been a loan officer at my previous credit union job, but at my new job they didn’t have an opening so I was a teller. The existing manager was going to be retiring, and I was told when I was hired that I would be then eligible for the loan officer position because everybody would be moving up the chain.
When the manager retired they put an ad out for the loan officer and when I questioned my manager about it, I was told well you don’t have a degree and you cannot have a salaried position with the company unless you have a degre I reminded him of our conversation when I was hured and he looked at me and smiled and said oh yeah, we did say that, but we were desperate for a teller.
In the end, they ended up hiring someone who had a bachelor of arts degree in something ridiculous like French literature but because she had that piece of paper she was qualified where as I had 3+ years of experience in the position wasn’t.
They then wanted me to train her to do the job that I have been doing while waiting for them to hire someone the meantime, the job that I wasn’t qualified for.
I gave them my two week notice. When I didn’t show up 2 weeks later they were in disbelief because they never thought I would actually leave.
I Treated This Starving Skinny Mother and Daughter to Beef Bowls Every Day and…
It happened to me about thirty-two years ago on a public bus. It was very crowded, and I was among the unfortunates standing in the aisle. A large male hand came from behind and squeezed my right breast very painfully. I hollered, “Filth! Get your hand off my breast,” as loud as I could. Some other people, at first women, then men, yelled too. Someone told the bus driver to stop at the police station, which was near by.
This was many years ago, and Israeli society had a very strong communal ethic of mutual help. (It still does, but in a different way.)
I said never mind the police. The guy was so embarrassed I doubted he’d try that trick again. The driver open the doors and yelled at him to get out. He did. I seem to recall a couple of people getting off with him, but I really don’t know if that is true or just wish fulfilling embroidery.
Women and men, girls and boys: if someone touches you in a way you don’t desire, yell at them! Embarrass them! If they continue, fight! You can do it and you should do it. If you have to hurt them, hurt them. It is self-defense in the purest sense of the word.
FedEx mechanic started with 5 8.0 hour days at O hare airport. Then the workload changed for tractors, trailers and dollies. We mechanics were given the choice to work 4 10 hour days and have 3 days off. Most of the mechanics chose to work 4 10 hour days and have 3 days off each week. Easy choice.
Panera bread – baker again due to workload and having 3 bakers. The 2 girls got Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I was the senior baker and worked Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This became problematic with 30 hours instead of 40 hours a week so I left.
Now I do real estate work for much better pay. $50 an hour. To me why anyone would choose to work longer hours at lower pay is beyond stupid… Most people don’t know any better.
Just consider the people that work for Walmart or other retail long hours, low paying jobs, no insurance and no benefits. Just dumb.
I left Walmart for 4 times the pay as a mechanic.
I looked around at Walmart and saw many associates lived in a trailer park or multiple people to an apartment.
They complained allot yet did little to nothing to change their situation.
When I was manager of a truck stop fuel desk I hired a couple……I thought she was terrific and comanager and I were considering grooming her for leadership. I wasn’t thrilled with him but I needed a lot porter.
I didn’t want her to walk and thought if I don’t hire both of them she would reject any offer. So, against my best judgment i hired both of them.
It was a disaster.
One afternoon she was ringing up a driver and the driver harmlessly called her “dear”. He was within earshot and stopped the guy as he was walking out. He got in the guy’s face and said “I heard you hitting on my girl in there…..If I catch you doing that again I’ll F&ck you up!!!”
My co manager and I immediately took him to our office and yelled at him…..we told him not only was he fired but he was to leave the premises immediately!! We also got two other employees to escort him out.
Once she found out she burst into the office and cursed us out. She said we had no right to fire him and if we didn’t rehire him she would walk out and quit.
We didn’t stop her
Roasted Pepper Salad (Pimentos Assados)
2024 02 15 09 49
Ingredients
6 large green, red or yellow bell peppers (or combination)
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon coarsely-ground pepper
Instructions
Set oven to broil or 550 degrees F.
Arrange peppers on rack in broiler pan. Broil with tops about 5 inches from heat, turning frequently, until blistered on al sides, about 20 minutes.
Place peppers in plastic bag; seal bag. Let stand until peppers can be peeled easily, about 20 minutes.
Remove skin, stems and seeds from peppers. Cut peppers into 1/2-inch wide strips, and place in nonreactive bowl.
Shake remaining ingredients in tightly covered jar; pour over peppers.
Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
In November of 1985, a few months after graduating high school, I went off to Ft Dix New Jersey to do my basic training, then off to Ft Eustis to complete my training. I volunteered to go to Korea as my first duty station. Lo and Behold, when I got there about September of 1986 (My MOS training was 32 weeks!! try spending your first 9 months in the Army as a trainee!) I was assigned to the 2nd infantry Division in the small town about 15 miles South of the DMZ. Our company commander made it a point to visit with all new arrivals in his office to explain the map of S. Korea. Apparently in 1986 the Korean War cease fire was still in effect. What does that mean in English? In 1953 the North and South agreed to a cease fire NOT an armistice! There was always the possibility of War reemerging again. Every time we had an alert, I couldn’t help but think of the possibility of being real.
What was my job?
68J10 Aircraft fire control systems repairer: basically the Armament guys that load up bullets on the AH-1 Cobra Helicopter. Better known as the Red-headed step-children of the Aviation branch, or among combat arms people as a REMF. That’s an acronym for Rear Echelon Mother-F… Er, … uh.. back to the story…
After an uneventful year in South Korea I went state side, spent 18 months at Ft Polk and reenlisted for orders to Germany. The Cold war was still on and president Reagan wanted troops in Europe. But, the fact of the matter was, we were still playing a dangerous Chess game with the Soviet union, and there was the possibility of war. I had a chance to be reassigned a little closer to the Eastern Border and found out that my new unit the 11th Armored Cavalry regiment was basically a speed bump in the event that the soviets invaded through the famous Fulda Gap.
Of course it never happened, but now we are in 1990–1991 and the gulf war came.
There were 2 corps of soldiers in Germany, V and VII corps each with an armored cavalry regiment, more armor, infantry and all the necessary support staff. VII corps went to the gulf and everyone else stayed behind, less a few units of the 11th that went to Turkey for Kurdish relief. I was always ready to do my job, and at one point, talking to my father over the phone my father, a cheery Louisiana country boy who never showed too many emotions said in his thick SW Louisiana accent:
“Son, I wish you comme home back to your momma an me and git out the army!”
He was scared for my safety – I guess I had a great Uncle with PTSD from WWII and it worried him.
I reassured him I’d be ok.
Out of 8 years in the Army the most danger I ever saw was probably flying with some crazy Viet Nam vet helicopter pilots
– oh and maybe one or two particular nights of GI partying, but we won’t go there!!
I left the Army in 1994 and a few years went by. In 1997 I mentioned I was a veteran and some little punk Challenged me! (I’m still not happy about that)
After 2001 everything changed and people react differently to Veterans now.
Vacationing down in Branson, Missouri while watching a stage show, they asked all veterans to stand up and be recognized. It felt strange.
I happened again in Church during Veterans day. It still felt strange
While visiting down in Texas with my wife’s uncle Frank, a WWII Navy veteran assigned to protect the merchant marine fleet. I listened to his stories for quite a long time. I eventually confessed to him how humbled I felt to be counted as a veteran with those that really saw “Action”.
He smiled and told me to remember this:
“All gave some, some gave all”
We all rose our right hands and made an oath. We all served in some capacity, great or small to be something bigger than what we are alone.
And as the years roll on, My heart has a feeling for those young men – younger than me that come back from war, and we veterans have a type of empathy that cannot be explained to those that did not serve.
Don’t think less of a REMF or the guy that was in the Motor Pool working on an old truck- or the person that slopped some food on your plate at the mess hall.
We all pledged to answer the call
“All gave some, some gave all”
Western Woman Shoots Her Shot Then Gets A Quick Reality Check; Men Just Don’t Care Anymore.
I got let go by a large enterprise software company in one of the stupidest ways imaginable…. I was in the middle of a multi-week project for the US Govt and was flying back and forth between my home and Tucson, AZ on a weekly basis….
Friday afternoon, I’m on my way back home, and as I get a coffee in the Phoenix airport, my corporate card doesn’t work…. I get a call shortly afterwards from HR saying that I don’t work for them anymore…
I ask politely if they had my assignment for the next few weeks covered, particularly the next week, as I was supposed to be in Albuquerque teaching a class for one of our partners. I rather rudely get told that it’s no longer any of my concern, that I need to get home and complete my final expenses…
Sunday night, I get a call from one of our Partner Managers wanting to see if I made it to Albuquerque ok and to go have dinner to discuss the schedule for the week…. I tell him what happened and you can hear him go white over the phone. He is -pissed-. This partner has pulled their entire Sales Engineer staff in (~20 people) for this class. I tell him it’s beyond my control.
he’s still mad and says he’s going to call his boss. Less than a minute later, I get a call from my former boss yelling about how I didn’t tell him about this training class, and that he doesn’t know who’s going to teach it. I calmly state that it’s been in my weekly status report for the last 8 weeks, when it was originally scheduled, and that if he wasn’t reading my status reports, that’s on him.
long story short here: the class didn’t happen. The partner sued my former company for several million dollars in lost revenue and additional expenses for bringing their staff in ‘for nothing’…. My former boss lost his job shortly afterwards, and I do think it was related…
UPDATE: my former boss did, in fact, call me back at close to 10pm my time to try to get me to take it as a ‘contract gig’ so the partner would be happy. I told him that it would be $1000 per day plus expenses — first class airfare, etc… — with a 5 day minimum. Oh, and looking at airfare, I can’t get there on Monday now, because the flights are already completely booked. I can fly Tuesday morning and make it happen…. He checked with the partner and that wasn’t acceptable (which I already knew, because I’d asked the partner about doing a Tues-Friday class already because I didn’t want to give up my weekends if I could help it!).
I couldn’t go work for the partner directly because, as others have stated in the comments, the training material and labs (yes, this was a hands-on training, including a full set of labs that the partner SEs would have been able to take with them!!) were proprietary!
I used to work in a chocolatier who was owned by a French Chef and his Scandinavian wife.
He had 2 interns come from France. One was A and another was L. Both of them were really pretty and dressed well. The only difference was that L smelled really bad. It was the sort of pungent putrid toxic stench that just went up your nostrils and killed a couple of your brain cells making you void of thoughts and movement for a couple of minutes. The kind of smell that would wake the dead and kill the living.
The additional problem to this was that the retail shop we worked at had a very small space. 3 people could barely fit behind the counter. So when L comes around the entire space would be filled with her stench. It was really bad.
My manager had told me that a cabbie had once tried to tell L that she smells bad and had wound down the windows. She went into a rant demanded to be dropped off in the middle of the highway and called the cab company complaining about how rude this driver was. And had promptly come into work raging away.
So to tell her to her face was out of the question.
The boss’s wife came around one day when L , myself and my manager were working. She stayed 10 minutes then signalled she couldn’t take the smell and walked away. She came back 20 minutes later with deodorant spray and perfume. She took one out and claimed very loudly how the weather was horribly humid and everyone stank and proceeded to spray everyone with the spray. That was the best day at work. L got hit double hard with the spray. Then the boss’s wife proceeded to implement the rule that everyone who works must spray themselves with the deodorant before they start their shift and it will be monitored through the camera.
Life became so much better after that. The living stayed alive and the dead stayed dead.
Because they lack the urgency they had when they were poor.
A good example is with fighters. Connor McGregor was unstoppable early in his career, knocking people out right and left. He’d come from humble beginnings and was destined to be a plumber before he took up fighting.
image 211
Then, he started raking in tens of millions of dollars. And it started to show. He was out partying like a madman, drinking and doing coke. He developed a god complex about fighting.
Sure enough, he started losing fights.
The same thing happened with other great athletes, including Mike Tyson. The old saying is that it’s hard to wake up early to jog, if you are sleeping in velvet sheets.
The lesson is that you shouldn’t lose the fire that got you to where you are. Many people keep it. Money doesn’t spoil everyone. But it spoils quite a few.
BLACK ORCHID – Retro Pulp Science Fiction by Skyward, Parallel Timeline, 1967-1971 to Future, Gen-2
When I was a senior in High School, I had a group of friends that I used to hang around with.
Oh, sure, most of the time we just stood around, smoked joints, drank beer and did acid. But it was a different time and a different place. We would alternate our locations, from the “standard” keggers, to road drives though the Western Pennsylvania woods to just hanging out near the river at a tipple.
Anyways, one of the guys was this older fella named Calvin. I liked him, but he was a hard drinker and partier.
I still get a chuckle out of this, but we are all stoned in my GTO. Calvin was in the back seat. A friend had lit a “Thai stick” which of course, was a very powerful form of marijuana, and when you smoked it, it felt like a baseball bat smashed your face. And we were parked outside this historical landmark; an old church and cemetery. We were listening to Led Zeppelin, and just sitting there completely zoned out. Our brains were pickled.
Calvin was chewing on something. He would reach into the ashtray at the side of the door wall and pull out some old cigarette butts and put in in his mouth and chew on it.
Then he said, after a while… “Man, this popcorn is the really stale”.
The PRC has sent barges into the channels between Quemoy and Xiamen to deepen the water channels between the ROC-held island of Quemoy and the PRC city of Xiamen. The ROC government in Taipei has said that this is a violation of the lines which the ROC had drawn between the two governments, and which had largely been respected by both sides.
Following the Feb. 14 event where an ROC coast guard ship chased a PRC fishing boat, leading to its capsize and the death of two PRC fishermen, the two sides have been involved in several rounds of negotiations. The PRC side has demanded a public apology and compensation to the families of the fishermen, but the ROC authorities have refused. So the PRC side has decided to deepen the shipping channels in the area, and violating the lines drawn up by the ROC.
Now the ROC authorities are threatening to take action against the PRC ships working in the area. They have not specified what actions they will take aside from pushing the PRC ships out of the area. This sets the stage for a confrontation.
The problem with the ROC position is that the authorities now publicly refer to the ROC as “Taiwan”, because the ruling DPP is for Taiwan independence. By taking a stance on offshore islands so close to Xiamen and PRC-held territory, they are choosing to enforce territory which is far away from Taiwan, and is not considered to be a part of “Taiwan”.
Why are they doing this? Do they expect the Biden administration to support them? It does not make a lot of sense.
If they don’t enforce it though, it is likely that the PRC air force and navy are unlikely to recognize air and sea claims made by the ROC anymore.
Salami-slicing in action.
Chuck Wagon Peach Cobbler
Chuck Wagon Peach Cobbler
Ingredients
Cobbler Crust
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup shortening
1 cup cold water
Cobbler
1 Cobbler Crust
1 cup granulated sugar
6 cups peaches, drained and juice reserved
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup Half-and-Half
1 cup juice from drained peaches
1/2 cup Black Jack Daniels
Instructions
Cobbler Crust
Mix dry ingredients and add shortening. Cut in with a fork. Mixture should look like coarse meal.
Add cold water gradually to make a ball.
Divide into 2 balls, top and bottom. Roll out one and line a 14 inch pan or 14 inch Dutch oven.
Roll out remainder and cut into 1 inch slices for latticework on top.
Cobbler
Melt butter in saucepan. Add peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, sugar and Half-and-Half. Mix well.
Line pan or Dutch oven with crust.
Pour in fruit mixture.
Cover top with strips of crust in latticework pattern.
Moisten strips with water before baking and sprinkle sugar on latticework for crispy finish.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
Every Man Needs To See This
What is the biggest scam an auto mechanic ever tried on you?
When I bought my first car, a 1966 Mustang, my father insisted that I take it to his mechanic to go over it to make sure it was all working properly before I could drive it. It would stall out after 10 minutes of driving, so there was a problem.
The following was on the bill….
Clean top of carburator
Check oil filter for loosenes
Check window operation
Check exhaust system
Check steering, suggest replacement of steering box.
This was 1972 and the bill was over $300.00!!
The actual problem was a pinched fuel line. Rubber hose and two clamps. $1.50.
I replaced the oil filter and changed the oil. $7.50 total.
I removed the interior panels of the door, and greased the tracks. Already had grease $0.00
I replaced a broken hanger for the exhaust. $3.50
I pulled out the steering box and found it only needed grease and adjustment. Time and labor, already had grease $0.00.
The dude that worked on my car was a hack. I pointed out all this to my father and he only said “I guess your a better mechanic than the place we took it to. I never went back there.
Idiots
Is it difficult for British expatriates to find entry level jobs in law and business in Hong Kong as of 2023? Where do I look for work?
It’s difficult for my legal bod cousins. As I’ve mentioned before in another post during CNY celebrations a lot of UK born cousins were back in HK. A lot of them were looking for a route to come live in HK.
One of them was my cousin from one of my dad’s sisters. She’s worked in a UK legal firm for ages and wanted a way to come back here. Her just like many UK born ones have HKID cards so do not need visa sponsorship.
She had work experience.
She can work for less because accommodation is provided, the Clan provides several fully fitted out portacabins right at the back of the village, Portacabins are used because the common houses are being torn down and rebuilt. Anyway these portacabins all you have to do is pay for the electricity used.
She’s also pretty damned good in Chinese, HSK6… but here’s the thing HSK6 is still considered by most China born Chinese to be illiterate!
So? You have none of the above advantages.
You have to answer the question to HK immigration – why should I let you work in HK? What skills do you have that are in demand or somebody in HK can’t do. AND it has to pay over $28,000 a month.
You’re competing against all the returnees.
Jimmy Tells American General “The U.S. Is The World’s Biggest Terrorist!”
What is the most unsettling thing someone has said to threaten you?
A group of my friends was out drinking at a local bar where the music was loud, the floor was sticky, and the atmosphere was biker/tattoo/STD/obnoxious.
I was talking with someone who was an acquaintance-they were a friend of one of my friends. We knew each other, but only through these mutual friends.
Unfortunately, alcohol makes some people belligerent and, in the case of this one particular individual, paranoid.
I must have said something that didn’t sit well with him because the belligerent paranoid (BPA) accused me of disparaging him (I had not). He turned to my husband and told him he knew for a fact that our daughter was not his biological daughter (She is 100% his biological daughter). He started uttering non-sensical statements which I, for the most part, ignored and took as our cue to get the hell out of that dive bar.
The BPA went to the bathroom, my husband waited to pay the tab, and I went to get the car.
While I waited for my husband to come out, the BPA came up to my window and just stared into my car until I noticed him which caused me to jump and scream. I rolled down my window and told him he nearly gave me a heart attack.
Then he very calmly stared at me and said, “I’ll be by later tonight to stick a lighter in your outside dryer vent until your house catches and you all burn to death.”
Who the fuck communicates such a descriptive and specific way to unalive someone they barely know for reasons that are a complete figment of their imaginative paranoia?
My husband and I didn’t sleep well that night. The next day we installed cameras. And we have avoided all contact with the BPA since that unsettling and strange incident.
Bring your cat to work day
What are some deep things you should read today?
Everybody is self-made but only millionaires will admit it.
When you work for someone, the harder you work , the richer they get . When you work for yourself, the harder you work, the richer you get.
Continue to live for moments that make your heart smile wider than your face could ever imagine.
Uncomfortable dating tips : Women want you the most when you don’t need them.
Most people know “WHAT”to think , not “HOW” to think . If you learn this, you can conquer the world.
You can’t force love. Either it’s there or it isn’t. You’ve got to be able to admit it . If it’s there , you’ve got to do whatever it takes to protect it.
Modern life is low-level psychic warfare.
Men will gladly spend a whole day with a woman, but not a single hour on their purpose. And, in the end, they ask, “why did she leave?”.
Men Have FINALLY Had Enough Of Their FEMALE Colleagues
Who is the dumbest law enforcement officer you have ever encountered?
Oh I have a doozy.
1978. Houston. Near the Galleria Mall.
I was getting off the freeway when a police car cut me off, almost running me off the road, no signal. Just truly bad driving.
Being young and stupid, when I was beside him at the light, I called him on it.
Oh he lit me up. I had three friends in my car with me. He made me get out of the car and was just screaming at me, telling me he could do anything he damn well pleased and poking me in the chest the entire time. I politely asked him to stop poking me with his finger and he threatened to break all my fingers off. He was so mad he was spitting and his partner was standing next to him with a smirk.
I stayed calm and asked my friends to write down their name, badge number, and car number. That’s when they hopped in their cruiser and just zoomed off.
I didn’t like it, so I called and talked to the desk officer. He took all the information and I assumed absolutely nothing would happen.
Nope.
I got a call back from a lieutenant a few days later. They had done an investigation, because the location I reported them at was nowhere NEAR where they were assigned for that shift. What they discovered is that they were cutting out of their area, going to the mall, and catching a movie. Lots.
The lieutenant shared that this was not the first complaint, but it was the last, because they’d both been fired.
Moral of the story? If you’re doing something outright stupid, don’t light up the stubborn college kid.
Today’s Shinjuku Kabukicho August 23, 2023 UP
As a patient, what’s the angriest you have ever been toward a doctor?
Dad had stage four mastatised pancreatic cancer, double incontinence, dementia and crippling arthritis. His oncologists used to call him in every month for a check up that consisted of him looking at dad’s medical notes asking how he was then nodding his head, that’s it. But, the trip to the hospital took nearly an hours preparation, a forty minute drive each way, a ten minute walk from the car park to the clinic (dad in a wheelchair when I found one) and then the worst bit! The oncologist used to call ALL that days patients in at 0930 then see them in alphabetical order! Look at our surname! The first few times were bad but one time after dad returned to the hospice he had to be rushed back to the same hospital under blues and twos! The next appointment we managed about an hour in the waiting room and dad was struggling to hold back his tears of agony, so I wheeled him out and started along the corridors back to the car. First the receptionist tried to stop us and I told her what to do on a short pier, then the nurse came running up to try to return us to the clinic “as the doctor was very busy and would get to us as soon as possible”. Dad told her to go forth and fornicate or something similar! She ran back and told the doctor (don’t know if fornication was involved or not). Pushing a wheelchair with a mind of a shopping trolley containing a fifteen stone (210#) obese man (5′2″ ) in immense pain, who didn’t want to be there, you don’t move very fast! The doctor caught up to us to find out what was going on and exercise his presumed authority! Wrong move! My dad used to be a CSM and he taught me how to project orders across a parade ground! Don’t shout at me if you have sensitive hearing! Amongst other things (including the legitimacy of his birth) I told him we were there for the benefit of dads health and not his ego! And we left, luckily for him he didn’t try anything physical! I’m also 210# but six foot tall and very little of that was fat! Unfortunately the stress and strain on dad contributed to him once again that evening being returned to hospital by emergency ambulance.
Now my dad through a variety of reasons was no stranger to that hospital. In the ward he usually ended up on, all the staff knew him and were on first name terms, most since being students. One of the senior consultants had first met my dad when he was doing his medical training and had become friends (even came to dad’s funeral! What, you think you recover from stage four pancreatic cancer? At 81?) He wanted to know why dad was back in hospital once again. So we told him who, how and why! Now this senior consultant is married to the chief executive of the hospital, that may or may not be the reason that the oncologist changed his appointments policy from block appointments to individual appointments and a very significant attitude adjustment the next time we went to see him!
Gen-Z
What is the biggest secret that your first boss told you that has helped you the most?
I started to work as a programmer with a large insurance company.
I was also going to a university at night for an engineering degree.
So, the job was just a paycheck for me until graduated.
My supervisor called me into her office and let me know that she knew that I was just using the job as a steppingstone until I graduated. She was a quaker and peppered her speech with thee and thou. A lovely lady.
She told me the company had its own problems and if I showed some diligence in my job, she would ensure that I would be rewarded for my effort.
I took her advice and made a great effort to please her and focused on my job.
When the company put together a planning group, she insisted that I be a part of it.
The group consisted of two vice presidents, three directors and one programmer.
The first problem we tackled was the number of boxes of paper documents shipped to all our service locations at the end of the month. The cost of shipping the boxes and how hard it was to look up the data at the service location.
This was in the late sixties and personal computers were not common.
I was a tech magazine reader at the time, so I suggested to the group that we output the data to a fiche machine because the fiche produced would be less costly to ship than sending boxes,
It would require the home office to buy the fiche machine and the service locations to rent fiche readers, which at that time were very cheap.
The benefit to the service location was the fiche was easy to handle and never got torn.
Well, the company and the service locations loved the idea, so it was accepted.
The planning group stayed together for a year, and we solved some smaller problems.
That 15-minute conversation with my supervisor changed my life forever.
When I received my degree, I no longer had an interest in engineering and chose to stay in the computer field.
She is gone now but not forgotten.
Pepe Escobar: Putin and China Send DEVASTATING Warning to NATO as Germany, Macron Threaten WWIII
This is really rather good.
Can Quora conservatives explain why and when you started being a conservative?
I can try.
It’s a long story, though. But, like most other people, my political leanings are the result of my influences early in life, and my experiences. And, to some degree, what I didn’t experience, that others did experience.
For example, it’s easy to be supportive of the police, when you’ve only ever had positive encounters with them. It’s easy to assume that most people can avoid negative encounters with the police by simply obeying the law.
That door swings both ways. It’s easy to have an adversarial view of the police when you or someone you know had a negative encounter with them.
Once you get a political idea in your head, you start to see it everywhere you look. This is true for people across the political spectrum. You’re influenced to see certain things and, by God, now that you’re looking for them, you see them everywhere.
For me, my journey to the right side of the political spectrum is more of a journey of being pushed away by the left, rather than willingly moving towards the right. I’m more libertarian than conservative, but, in contemporary America’s binary political landscape, it seems that anything that isn’t progressive is often all grouped under “conservatism.”
Progressives: What’s your stance on [this issue]?
Me: Total indifference. It has nothing to do with me.
Progressives: So you don’t support the people who are dealing with it?
Me: Does my support or lack of it have any impact on the issue whatsoever? No? Then why must I choose to support it or not? Why can’t I remain indifferent?
Progressives: You sound like a conservative. Your silence tells us all we need to know, and it won’t protect you.
Me: If indifference on this topic makes me a conservative in your eyes, okay then. I’ll add your labeling of my political stances to the list of things I don’t care about.
If I’m being super honest, in the last decade or so, I’ve gone from identifying as “libertarian” to identifying as “cynical.” I assume that most politicians are only looking out for themselves, most government attempts to fix issues will fail, or make things worse, the government has more than enough money to fix society’s problems, but a lot of that money is wasted, etc…
For example, there’s a ballot measure here in Chicago to raise taxes on real estate sales over $1m, to raise funds for housing options for homeless people. My view on that is that it will likely pass, but not a single homeless person will be helped by this. Any money raised by this will find its way into the pockets of politicians and their supporters, while the expenses will just passed on to renters. The people who support it will get to pat themselves on the back for caring about the homeless, while ignoring the complete lack of tangible positive outcomes from it. The goal here is virtue signaling from the rank-and-file voters, sticking it to “rich people,” and lining the pockets of the Democratic machine. Homelessness is just the necessary reasoning for it all.
Basically, I assume that, for the rest of my life, the general situation in the world, and in my country, will be roughly the same as it is now, and my best move is to put myself and my children in a position to avoid the worst of it. The “status quo,” when it comes to politics, is too hopelessly entrenched to be uprooted, and too hopelessly corrupt to be effective.
But this question is about the origins of my conservatism, not why I stick with it in middle age.
I suppose my political journey began as a child in the 80s and early 90s. My father worked for the U.S. Navy, as a civilian machinist. Among other things I remember him saying about his job were:
He was forced to spend millions of dollars on machines that he didn’t really need in his shop, but the companies who made those machines donated to the right politicians.
He was forced to spend every single dime he was allocated for the fiscal year, or, the next fiscal year, he wouldn’t get as much allocated. Saving money isn’t rewarded, but is actually punished, when you work for the government.
He would never be promoted beyond his current level, no matter how well he did, because he was a white male. Back then, the federal government was only interested in promoting racial minorities and females.
That last one was something I heard versions of from most white men I knew growing up. Of course, half of them worked at the same base where my father worked, so they dealt with the same policies. None of these were rich white men. They were all working class white men, and they all felt like they were being punished for things they didn’t do, in the name of “fairness.” And they placed the blame for that injustice directly at the feet of liberals.
The same white “social justice warriors” of the 50s and 60s found themselves, by the 80s, on the receiving end of social injustice, in the form of Affirmative Action. It seemed like every middle-aged white male I knew growing up was a “live and let live” and “don’t judge a book by its cover” kind of guy, with a serious chip on their shoulder that others weren’t adhering to the “don’t judge a book by its cover” mantra. Every single white guy who felt like they were falling behind in society was able to blame Affirmative Action for their slipping, no matter how true it was.
The message, for younger white guys like me, was easy to pick up: it is legal to discriminate against you because of your race and gender, and you just have to accept it.
And, once you start looking for it, you see it everywhere.
Why does my high school have a counselor specifically for helping minority students get into and pay for college? That’s discrimination. Why is no one calling it out? My parents are taxpayers, too. That counselor should be helping everyone who needs help with those things, and not discriminating against students based on race.
You just have to accept it… or, affiliate yourself with the side of the political aisle which points out the hypocrisy of it all.
So it wasn’t so much “we’re conservatives,” as it was “liberals are working against people like us, so I guess that makes us conservative by default. Where else would we go?”
By the time I got to high school, I was socially liberal, in the sense that I simply didn’t care about people’s personal business, particularly in the bedroom. I was also very concerned about environmentalism, and even started a small paper recycling program in my school. It didn’t last, but at least I tried. I wanted to be a “part of the solution.”
My environmental views have skewed heavily to the cynical side in the 30 years since starting high school. I think recycling paper is a huge waste of time.
I remember, however, in high school, being annoyed by some of my more politically involved classmates, demanding that I (and everyone else) not only form opinions in line with theirs on certain topics, but openly express our support. They had the “if you’re not openly supporting us, you must be quietly opposing us” attitude that I’ve seen in other progressives in my adult life.
Some of my most common PG-rated thoughts throughout my high school years were versions of “I’d care more about this person’s point of view if they weren’t so damn loud and obnoxious all of the time.” And, of course, a sarcastic “the problem you’re in could have been easily avoided has you made more conservative choices in life.”
It was during those years that my own sister, of her own volition, developed a drug habit, became a teen mom, and dropped out of high school. I had a front-row seat, starting around age 12, of how to ruin your life through really shitty decisions, and it sapped a lot of the sympathy I had for people who were dealing with the consequences of their own shitty decisions.
Although I’m getting better about it, when I hear that someone put themselves in a bad situation, and is now begging “society” to bail them out of it, one of my first thoughts is, “how is this anyone else’s problem but yours? Why should we all have to pay for this?”
Anyway, that’s my evil conservative origin story.
Tales From The Streets : San Diego Streets Ep-4
What’s the best revenge you’ve gotten after being fired or let go from a job?
While inprocessing for the military, I worked at a radio station selling air time in a town of 30,000. When I took over my route a retired Army major was occasionally hitting $6,000. That was pretty good in 1979. I took billings over $8000. Three months later, I was fired (I was the only man), and a young cutsie 22-year-old girl was hired. She had zero experience.
My sales manager/station owner’s wife told me to “clean out my desk.” I did just that, trashing everything including sales invoices for the month. She made a big point of letting me know I wouldn’t be getting my commissions. I waited patiently for my salary check ($1,500 at the time) at my desk, then walked to the bank and cashed it.
Two days later I got the call. “Where are all the sales invoices for August?’
“In the trash.”
“What!?”
“You said clean out my desk. I did.” Then I hung up.
I heard later the young girl didn’t work out, and the station went bankrupt.
Sad, isn’t it?
Do you think that coaching institutes like Unacademy should be banned as they charge lakhs and crores and those who study from these will do corruption to recover their investment made on studies which they can’t earn honestly in a government job?
I absolutely do
Coaching has become an Industry today and whenever such things happen, everything becomes counter productive
main qimg 53fbf688a99b9e0935ef2ac391b38608 lq
Xi Jingping rightly said
In China :-
Private Tutoring Apps had become an Industry and had commercialized education so much that the newer generation was no longer going to such coaching facilities to LEARN OR ADD TO THEIR KNOWLEDGE OR UNDERSTANDING but to specifically orient themselves to scoring marks in a specific examination (Gaokao)
Private Tutoring Apps had become exploitative and were commercializing learning to an extent where it was feared that the entire Gaokao could be modified to suit the whims of the Private Tutoring Apps
So he wiped out the Industry mercilessly
“F*** the Billions of Dollars in Paper value”
Today Tutoring has gone back to the old 60 RMB per Hour student tutors or Volunteer Tutorials and Extra Coaching
India and China both have predators who suck the blood of common people and exploit them in the name of capitalism
main qimg df1b8fb11c638b48eb667446629a6aaa
The Difference is CHINA BANNED THIS
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In China, if any Institute publishes the list of toppers for admissions
Their license is suspended for 5 Years
They are fined not less than 60,000 RMB but upto 250,000 RMB
Ministry of Education Bans the Idolization of China’s Top Gaokao Scorers
Stories of the top achievers of China’s national exams can no longer be propagated by state media; the emphasis should shift to the average, harmonious student.
India not only allows this to flourish but ignores cases where Institutes LIE about their students by paying money to the students and making the students lie
Most Coaching Institutions are run with political contacts
Now my point is
Is Unacademy really predatory?
main qimg 9a2bc25700f5efa1f331edc83b38a328
Just because they offer coaching for a fee doesn’t make them predatory
Just because they have referrals doesn’t make them predatory. That’s just business. Same as a Tutor asking you to give her cards to your friends.
Do they exploit the situation in India and claim if you don’t take their course, you will lose badly
Do they help you learn or do they force you to structure your brain into clearing the JEE or NEET rather than learning the topics?
Do they prostitute education by paying more money to marketers than teachers?
So far at least I dont think they are that bad
Please correct me if they have become that bad
main qimg f9057bea7ee080781237c57f89abe9b4
Coz that’s what happened to BYJUS
From being a place that helped students sharpen their brains to understand CAT better, they prostituted and pimped education spending more on “Celebrities” like SRK who also prostituted himself like he did with Arindam Chaudhari
main qimg 59e17c4984966d0591a946afaff431d3
Unacademy are also going BYJUS WAY
Using Tendulkar the dropout of Xth Standard to promote an Education Product
So they too are starting to pimp out education
It won’t create the Students India needs
Not the thinkers, analysts, people who understand fundamentals – they aren’t born from KOTA FACTORIES or Prospective Pimping Edtech Apps
They are born by self study with tutoring to help them sharpen their brains
One thing to learn and understand Physics, Maths and Chemistry and USE THIS KNOWLEDGE AND WRITE THE JEE
Another is to learn Physics, Maths and Chemistry BECAUSE YOU WANT TO WRITE THE JEE
The former is a winner
The Latter ends up mediocre in life in every aspect
Solution?
Ban full page Ads of Toppers by various Institutions
Regulate the Coaching Fees
Make sure Coaching Institutes remain Sole Proprietorships Or Partnerships and dont become Companies
Ban any Coaching Institute taking over another Institute
Register all Coaching Institutions with Ministry of Education with select standards
Otherwise the next two generations of students, the so called FUTURE OF INDIA would be the most worthless
Anyone who exploits students like this must be taken to Gulags and forced to labor for 20 hours a day in the -17 degree weather
Tokyo’s Night Joy Paradise Plus Unexpected PERMISSION 2
Can you provide an explanation of the recent Texas v. Pennsylvania case before the Supreme Court? Is it accurate that President Trump does not have jurisdiction over these cases due to not being a member of Congress?
Well, let’s start with some basic principles of U.S. constitutional law.
Under the constitution, the Supreme Court may only hear original cases in very limited circumstances. One of those is when one state sues another state. That’s not uncommon, but usually its due to disputes about the right to use water from rivers that pass through more than one state. The usual procedure is to refer the case to a special master (usually a federal court judge) who holds the trial and reports back to the Supreme Court which can then affirm the decision.
Congress cannot expand the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to hear cases that aren’t listed in the constitution. That was what Marbury v. Madison was about – the court was given power by congress to hear cases involving disputes about judicial appointments in the District of Columbia, and ruled that Congress didn’t have that power.
Now, onto the case. The State of Texas attempted to bring a case shortly before Congress was to meet to confirm the result of the 2020 election to sue the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for not following its own election laws. Essentially, they wanted to disqualify all the mail-in ballots cast during the election on the theory that Pennsylvania law hadn’t authorized them. This issue had already been tried by Pennsylvania courts which ruled such suits were “untimely” – any such suit had to be brought before the election, not after.
But the only issue before the court was whether they HAD to take the case. As a rule, the Supreme Court chooses which cases it hears, but again if this is a case within its jurisdiction to hear new cases, they might have to take it.
What the court ruled is that no state has the right to start a case in the Supreme Court unless the judges agree to hear it. That’s probably good policy as it appeared this case would have asked the Supreme Court to allow one state to enforce laws in other states, which in any other case would be a no-no. For example, Texas could not sue to prevent Pennsylvania physicians from performing abortions on Texas residents just because it’s illegal for a Texas resident to leave the state for an abortion, or based on some theory that Pennsylvania law doesn’t allow physicians to perform abortions except on Pennsylvania residents. Once again, the issues in this case were already settled in Pennsylvania courts, and those could have been appealed to the Supreme Court if there were a constitutional issue (that’s what happened in Bush v. Gore).
But let’s get back to the rule about the Supreme Court only being able to hear a narrow range of original cases. The president does not have the right to sue in the Supreme Court (although he could be sued in, for example, a case involving the appointment of an ambassador – that’s within the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction). Members of Congress don’t have the right to sue in the Supreme Court either.
Elysium Movie Clip | Full Robot Fight Scene | Matt Damon | Diego Luna
What is the most unbelievable behavior you witnessed from a new co-worker that made them get terminated almost immediately?
I worked in a loan department as a loan clerk. A man was hired as a new manager for one of our branch offices. Our Vice President asked me to train the man on the loan process and how to type out the form letters, etc.. This man gave me grief from moment one.
He was arrogant and a smart aleck. I wanted to slap him about every five minutes. He was also a male chauvinist pig. He kept making sexual remarks to me and about me. When I sat him in front of the computer to type out the form letters, he refused to do them, saying “Typing is women’s work. I’ll have one of the women do it for me.”
The final straw came when I took him back to our Vice President’s office. The VP was asking me how he had done and before I could respond, the man said something to the effect of “Well, she wouldn’t sit in my lap, so I think she needs to be spanked.”. I just stared at the VP. He turned to the new manager and said “You’re fired. This is one great lady and you’ve disrespected her since the moment you walked in. Get out before I turn her loose on you.”.
Middle Class Meltdown: America’s Unseen Crisis
Biden = Russia, Russia, Russia!
Trump = China!, China!, China!
Nothing is ever going to get fixed.
Was Hitler a drug addict?
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Adolf Hitler was a chronic drug addict. His drug use was of epic proportions.
Hitler was prescribed by his doctors so many various drugs (including cocaine) that he was rarely in a state unaffected by powerful mind-altering substances.
According to his doctors, Hitler was “a good patient.”
He was meticulously adherent to the regimen for his chronic sinusitis: cocaine in aerosol form.
The German Fuhrer also took amphetamines, sedatives, and hormones.
Hitler relied on daily injections of the “wonder drug” Eukodol. It contained oxycodone, a semi-synthetic opioid. The drug caused the state of euphoria, practically rendering the user incapable of making sound judgments.
In his book “Blitzed”, German author Norman Ohler described how the Third Reich was permeated with drugs, including cocaine, heroin and most notably crystal meth, which was used by everyone from soldiers to housewives and factory workers.
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Pervitin, an early form of methamphetamine, was available in Nazi German without a prescription.
In Nazi military during WWII, drug use was encouraged.
In September 1939, Ranke tested the drug on 90 university students and concluded that Pervitin could help the Wehrmacht win the war.
The effects of amphetamines on an person are similar to those of the adrenaline produced by the body, triggering a heightened state of alertness. In most people, the substance increases self-confidence, concentration, and willingness to take risks while at the same time reducing sensitivity to pain, hunger, and the need for sleep.
Later, a dose of cocaine was added to Pervitin tablets, to increase the drug’s potency and encourage continuous use.
When Hitler’s drug supplies ran out by the end of the war, he suffered severe withdrawal from serotonin and dopamine, paranoia, psychosis, rotting teeth, extreme shaking, kidney failure and delusion.
The Sopranos – Paulie enjoys Miami
Can Mike Tyson still knock out Jake Paul when he’s going to be 58 years old in the fight?
Technically yes but realistically an emphatic no.
I never thought I would be saying this but Jake Paul is likely to beat Mike Tyson.
Why? That’s a legitimate question since we are talking about one of the greatest and most feared heavyweight champions ever V a relatively junior pro boxer with very few fights.
I’m afraid it all comes down to age, activity and conditioning. At age 40 or even 50 I’d give Tyson a great chance but he’s nearly 60 now, been out of the ring close to 20 years and been doing a lot of other things. Put simply he’s just not in condition to fight a professional fight. He could beat the hell out of the normal types of guys in the street no doubt about it but this is a professional boxing fight we’re talking about. It’s very likely that after one round of intense fighting he’ll be totally finished from a cardio perspective. After that last stand, Jake Paul who if nothing else can at least hit hard will probably get him.
Don’t be fooled by the videos of Tyson looking fast and powerful in training. They have been carefully edited to make him look good. In reality in the fight (if it’s a real one) he won’t look that good or fast. He’ll still have a bit of power so there is some danger to Jake Paul but probably only for one or two rounds max. After that it will a big advantage to the younger man.
No matter how good a condition a fighter is in, the age aspect of this is relevant. A 60 years old head isn’t supposed to get hit hard by a pro fighter. The blood vessels can’t be trained to take those shots like they used to.
For people of my generation it’s pretty sad to see the great Iron Mike Tyson reduced to doing this kind of circus act.
This fight could end pretty badly and shouldn’t really be happening at all. That’s capitalism for you.
EDIT : I guess the most likely thing here is that they’re both in on it as a money grabbing exercise and have agreed with each other not to hurt each other. The fight will probably be the least interesting part of the next few weeks. It’s all about the build up.
Mr. Spock Sends Up a Flare – Star Trek – 1967
What is the craziest thing you ever did when you were a teenager?
I can’t believe I am going to admit this….
When I was 14 years old in 1982-ish. I was recently uprooted from my lifelong hometown. I moved from upstate New York to Pennsylvania with my mom and step-monster. A friend of mine had just gotten sentenced to serve time in a NY state jail. I wrote to Scott frequently, as I thought he must be bored and lonely. I used this same stationary every time, with little unicorns on it. After the third or fourth letter, I realized just how bad it was for him in there.
I got together a little bit of money and bought some pot. I put it in a little matchbook, and sent the matchbook to Scott, along with a letter saying something like “I hope this helps.” I was smart enough not to sign my name, just in case anything bad happened. I thought that it was illegal to tamper with someone’s mail. It never even occured to me that the jail’s officials in charge were allowed to open up Scott’s mail and go through it. I used the same stationary as normal. Little unicorns. Can you see where this is heading?
My parents were surprised when federal detectives showed up. The formal charges were:
“Using the Federal Government (The United States Post Office) to transport illegal drugs across state lines.” To a correctional institution, no less.
Okay, you can laugh your a** off now…
I’ll wait.
Thank God I was 14. I was sentenced as a juvenile offender (the record was sealed); deemed “incorrigible”; had a PINS petition put in place against me (Person In Need of Supervision); had to perform 100 hours of community service and was almost placed in foster care because my parents couldn’t handle it or me anymore. Thankfully, my grandmother took me in, instead. My parents called me all sorts of stupid. Yes, I have to agree. But my answer to them at the time was “I thought he could use a buzz.”
Hugs.
-Valeri
The fourth
What is a polite response when someone says they don’t like your home?
I am soon to be 64. At this stage in my life, I have a VERY low tolerance for a**hattery. I don’t bother trying to be polite to people that aren’t polite.
The last time one of my sisters came to my house and made a comment about a few papers laying on the floor, I didn’t let her get away with it. I left them laying on the floor after they fell off the desk; for a good reason, but that was none of my sister’s business. I don’t believe in explaining to people why my house looks the way it does. Why SHOULD I? So, what I said to her was this: “You don’t REALLY want me to start critiquing YOUR housekeeping, do you?”. After I said that to her, she never said anything about anything that was on the floor again.
You see, her and her husband always leave their dining room table FULL of all different kinds of papers, looks real messy, but you know what? I never say anything because it’s THEIR house! They can keep it the way they WANT to! Plus, I don’t CARE about it, it’s not MY house! They SHOULD have the same respect for me!
AND, that’s the same way I feel about someone coming into my home telling me they don’t like it. Depending on who it is that is saying it, I MIGHT say something like “I don’t care, you don’t live here.” or maybe ”What did you come over for then?”. See, the FUN thing about messing with RUDE people, is because they never expect people to be rude BACK, which is why they are rude in the first place, because people LET them get away with it. *I* don’t. The looks on their faces when they are rude and I am blunt with them…PRICELESS!!!
In a medium bowl, combine ground beef, seasoned salt and seasoned pepper; shape into four patties.
Grill or broil to desired doneness (about 5 to 6 minutes on each side for medium).
Meanwhile, in medium skillet, melt butter.
Add onion and taco seasoning; mix well.
Cook onion over medium high heat until soft and transparent.
Top each patty with onions and cheese.
Return to grill or broiler until cheese is melted.
Place each patty on a roll; top with lettuce and tomato.
Companies Are Being Forced Out of NYC… Why?
Are Democrat supporters who have a pathological hatred of Donald Trump aware that at least 80% of what they think about Trump is misinformation and comes from outright lies by the US Mainstream Media?
I was a mainstream reporter (NYTimes and NY Herald Tribune) when Donald Trump was in his early 30s in NYC. I got to know him at his hangouts and on several more private occasions.
He was not then, nor is he now, “stupid” as so many anti-Trumpers continually proclaim. He was, however, a man whose word meant absolutely nothing. He spoke almost nothing but outright lies and “gut” fabrications. He’d betray a “friend” in a blink; he loathed any woman whose “pussy” he could not “grab”. He was a physical coward in private and in public. He was frightened to wetting his pants of his Nazi-loving, face-slapping, fascist father, to whom he lied and groveled. He had no friends since he only took and never gave. Both men and women immediately felt his creepy, duplicitous, despicable ways and avoided him unless they wanted to be close to what they thought was his money. Her learned how to manipulate and twist the American legal system from his evil genius lawyer Roy Cohen (“Don’t tell me about the law, tell me about the judge.”). I believed then that hate is stupid and as a reporter I did not hate Trump. But I understood him, and understanding is the opposite of hatred.
Trump is now and was then (as any woman who knew him even a bit well would agree) —- a mentally vicious, endlessly traitorous, sickeningly self-absorbed adolescent with feminine soft hands (no manual labor) and a filthy tongue. That was in his early 30s. Any honest observer and reporter quickly found him out and in New York and environs his name was a dirty joke. . . Then came TV “reality” shows and millions of unfortunate Americans watched how he behaved and they want to be just like him, and get away with it. If anyone who reads this considers themselves a friend of Trump, may their gods help them. He will make America and Americans poorer in mind, money, than it ever was, The only way to beat the Russian-sponsored thug is to confront him with a community of people who will oppose him and his fellow liars, cheaters, thieves, and those who tolerate them,
Father’s statement
What did you do when an aggressive driver got out of their car and wanted to fight?
Bad Traffic day in Orlando, FL. As a legal motorcycle rider, I was following traffic laws and traffic lights, and traffic wasn’t moving at all. The *ssh*l* in the car behind me started to lean on his horn. After 5 or 10 horn blows I started to respond with my 139 decibel horn everytime, followed by a turn of my head to look at the driver banging his hands on his steering wheel and yelling again. When he tried to pull up next to me in the space between me and the car in the next lane, I moved to block just enough of the lane that he would have to hit either me or the car in the next lane. At this point he starts yelling at me. He continues to try to move up. The Car next to me gives him just enough space, and I continue to control my lane.
When he gets close enough he started yelling “You! On the motorcycle! ….” and a flood of anti-hispanic, anti-biker rhetoric just comes spewing out of his mouth. Not being hispanic and not considering myself a “biker”, I calmly turned around, looked him in the eyes, and said “No hables espaniol”.
The drivers is ENRAGED! He starts to get out of his car. And he keeps screaming about immigrants. Once he is out of the car, I turn to him again.
I say to him “I was born in Philadelphia PA. Am I an immigrant? And aren’t you smart enough to understand that I don’t speak Spanish? That is what “No hables espaniol” means.”
The man is flabbergasted, stops in his tracks, flaps his mouth several times, and the best revenge, the log jam broke and the light changed, at the same moment. As I pulled away, the man was left standing in the middle of the street with every car behind him laying on the horn, and trying to get around him.
It Begins… Army Troops Take Over NYC
Have you ever had to tell an employee that their attire was inappropriate?
Yes, I had to take on the most difficult challenge of all, a man telling a woman that her attire was inappropriate for the office.
To set the scene, this woman was a young adult, a peer and also a work-friend. She had just lost a bunch of weight and also taken a European vacation. She was feeling good about her body and bought a dress in Paris that showed it off. This dress was so low-cut that it showed the underside of her breasts. If you wanted to pick up a casual hookup in a bar, this was exactly the dress you wanted to wear. But I would never, could never say that.
What I said to her was that this dress looked awesome on her with her weight loss, and if she was looking for a date, it was a great choice. But if she wanted to be taken seriously as an engineer and not distract people, something more conservative and businesslike might be a better choice. She was, in fact, having difficulty being taken seriously, so she took this advice on board and dressed more professionally after that. I got to keep our friendship and not get sued. I’m super glad I won’t ever have to do that again.
Passport Bros are leaving and Modern Women are HUMBLED
When U.S. prisons are inspected, does it actually help the prisoners?
The American Correctional Association (ACA) came to do an inspection at the Federal prison I was in.
A failed inspection would mean loss of accreditation. I’m not aware that means anything other than egg on some suit’s face.
For a prison inspection to be meaningful, hordes of inspectors should rappel from helicopters into the yard in the dead of night without warning. They could carry badges, clipboards, and maybe a few pieces of equipment. (OK… five minutes warning so nobody gets shot).
Instead, the prison had months of notice. They had enough lead time that they could leisurely waste weeks, doing nothing to get ready. When the visit was about two weeks off, suddenly stuff started happening.
New paint was slathered on everything, thick enough it could’ve stopped an escape all by itself.
In the chow hall, we had a persistent leak in the roof. Because it wasn’t fixed for years, the drop ceiling soaked up water, several tiles collapsed, and ominous mold was growing in the insulation around the duct work. At about the same time that paint was being poured over every surface, a crew of inmates came in to patch the ceiling. They didn’t fix the leak, they just patched the drywall and drop in sections that were affected.
Our dishwasher could never get up to temperature. The water was so hard that the heating coils were continually clogged with deposits several inches thick. Pick up any tray that had gone through the thing, and you’d immediately see that the luke warm water wasn’t getting trays clean (of course we never bothered with soap or surfactants either). Instead of trying to fix the dishwasher, the staff, experienced in many an inspection, simply stopped using it. It was “temporarily out of service” for the visit, and we used thousands of dollars worth of disposable foam plates and cups for each meal. This kept the inspectors from finding out that the machine was actually permanently out of service.
So, no. The inspections didn’t help us at all. Our food did get dramatically better for the couple of days that the visit went on, but that was really the only change.
After the visitors left, the dishwasher was plugged back in so it could moisten the dirt on the plates, and the ceiling started to crumble again, revealing mold that had blossomed nicely in the humid darkness.
What story of survival blows your mind every time you think about it?
A bolt of lightning hit the right wing of the aircraft, and suddenly LANSA Flight 508 was plummeting toward the ground. Over the screams of dozens of others, Juliane Koepcke — who was sitting at 19F, a window seat — heard her mother say from the seat beside her: “Now it’s all over.”
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Seconds later, the plane is disintegrating in mid-air, and Juliane’s mom is gone. Juliane is still strapped in her seat, but she is not inside the cabin anymore — instead, she is all alone in the open air at a height of 10,000 feet, tumbling down from the heavens.
The last things she will ever see are packed treetops that look like broccoli heads. Or so she thinks.
Because the next day, she wakes up on the Amazon rainforest floor, still very much alive and miraculously only modestly wounded:
She had a concussion, a broken collarbone, some deep cuts. The forest, she wrote in her memoir, “saved my life,” the foliage cushioning the impact of her 10,000-foot fall. She went in and out of consciousness before finally pulling herself to her feet.
That is her first survival story, but now she is all alone in a jungle. She is seventeen years old, and she needs to focus on the next step. A second survival. Luckily for her, Juliane has lived in the jungle for several years, in a research station where both of her parents were working at the time.
She looks for her mom first, but doesn’t find her. Then, she decides to look for a stream, because streams often lead to villages, and she will soon need water. And when she finally finds a creek, she also finds dead people:
“When I turned a corner in the creek, I found a bench with three passengers rammed head first into the earth. I was paralysed by panic. It was the first time I had seen a dead body.”
crash
[Image of plain wreckage of LANSA Flight 508, which had boarded in Peru. (Coral Brunner/Shutterstock.)]
As days go by, a wound on her upper right arm gets infested with maggots about one centimeter long each. She remembered that their dog once had the same infection and that her father had put kerosene in it, so when she finds a small hut with a palm leaf roof, and outboard motor and one liter of kerosine, she sucks the gasoline out and puts it into the wound.
The next day she hears human voices, and she is saved for the second time around.
Later, Juliane found out that her mom also survived the crash, but was badly wounded and died a couple of days later in the rainforest, all alone, and desperately hoping that a miracle had saved her daughter.
China is one of the most emblematic and visible practitioners of Progressive-Conservatism, which may seem an odd description given that Communism is described by the West as ultra-radical.
However, when integrated into the context of Chinese history and its longstanding social-philosophy, it’s actually normative as the past is honored while wading into the future with confidence based on past successes.
When looked at seriously, China’s policies seek to establish Balance and Harmony globally.
Containing China makes no sense. Working with China makes a great deal of sense. And the latter path is far easier than that of confrontation.
A look at the Big Picture shows nations confronting China declining while those cooperating rising.
A while ago my mother’s kid sister (my aunt) was on the dating market, and she was dating various men. After a period of time, she had to choose between two men. Apparently, it was a tough decision.
Ralph. He was a blue-collar carpenter. He was from a traditional Catholic family, and was a “salt of the earth” kind of guy. I really liked him alot. He was honest, a straight-shooter. He was just a all around “good guy”. But he wasn’t wealthy. He was just solidly middle class, with about 11 children.
Sonny. He was a dentist, who branched out and bought up factories and businesses. Turned them around. And then sold them for a profit. He had a daughter, and a large ranch with horses, and a great spread of land.
Well, my aunt decided on Sonny.
Ralph was devastated. I (and my wife at the time) liked him a lot. I haven’t seen him since. He used to help my mother fix and repair stuff at her house. He just did it because he had the talent and the ability. He built her a storage room in the basement and a huge porch in the back.
A few years ago, Sonny and my aunt were having troubles. Apparently he was “too controlling” . Ah. I hate to hear that.
I am of the opinion that if she would have chosen Ralph, she would have been much happier. Maybe not wealthier, but certainly… happier. Sigh.
It’s all about picking your battles with teens. My oldest is 18 now and has been accepted into a very good college, so we’re pretty much “done” raising her. Now it’s mainly just raising money for her.
But, between the ages of 13–18, there were quite a few times where she did something she knew we didn’t want her to do, or she lied to us, and we let her think we didn’t know. We knew, we just picked our battles, and those didn’t seem like battles worth fighting. Basically, if it was something that put her or her future in danger, we came down on her for it. If it was something that just annoyed us or was rude, we let it slide, sometimes.
For example, we grounded her when her grades started slipping because she was spending too much time with her boyfriend. She was mad, but it worked. Within a week, her grades were back up and she was un-grounded. We also have a rule in the house about not hoarding dirty dishes in the bedrooms, but sometimes I’ll look in her room and see literally 20 dirty dishes. Is it worth making a fuss over, even though she’s being disrespectful and breaking a rule? Nah. I just ask her to bring me the dishes from her room the next time I’m loading the dishwasher. No need to pick a fight.
Our parenting mantra for her was pretty much: “Make sure she doesn’t screw up her future by getting pregnant, doing drugs, or failing school, but otherwise, don’t needlessly rock the boat.”
It all worked out. Assuming she doesn’t go completely insane over the next five months, she’ll be fine.
Chicken Soup with Tortellini (Pollo in Brodo con Tortellini)
Tortellini Soup
There is nothing, nothing, as comforting as walking into the house after a long day to the wafting aroma of chicken tortellini soup.
Today’s Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup is a healthified version of a heavier cream-based soup.
I haven’t removed the essential elements that make it special such as tender chicken, hearty cheese tortellini, and even a little cream. I’ve just reduced certain ingredients, so you can feel good about serving this Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup to your family.
And maybe even having seconds.
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Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
1 (3 to 4 pound) broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
6 cups water
1 stalk celery (with leaves, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, cut into fourths
2 sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 package commercial fresh tortellini or 20 homemade tortellini
2 cups water
Minced parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese
Ingredients You Will Need
DeLallo Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Large Sweet Onion – peeled and chopped
Red Bell Pepper – seeded and chopped
Carrots – sliced
Minced Garlic Cloves
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast – or bonleess chicken thighs
Chicken Broth – low sodium chicken broth
DeLallo Three-Cheese Tortellini Pasta
Heavy Cream
Packed Frozen Spinach – or fresh baby spinach leaves
Fresh Chopped Parsley
Dried Thyme Leaves – or fresh thyme leaves
Crushed Red Pepper
Salt and Pepper
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Instructions
Heat chicken, 6 cups water, celery, carrot, onion, 2 sprigs parsley, bay leaf, salt and peppercorns to boiling in Dutch oven; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until thickest pieces of chicken are done, about 45 minutes.
Remove chicken from broth; strain broth.
Refrigerate chicken and broth separately until cool.
Remove chicken from bones and skin. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces; add to broth. Cover and refrigerate.
Prepare tortellini. If using commercial tortellini, do not precook.
Skim fat from broth. Heat broth and 2 cups water to boiling. Add tortellini. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until tortellini are tender, about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle each serving with minced parsley.
Serve with Parmesan cheese.
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How To Make Chicken Tortellini Soup
This Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup is quick and easy to make, yet offers so much wow-factor, your family will ask for it again and again!
Saute. Place a large sauce pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and chopped onions. Saute for 3 minutes to soften. Then add the chopped bell pepper, carrots, and garlic. Saute another 3 minutes.
Simmer. Add whole raw chicken breasts, chicken broth, dried thyme, crushed red pepper, salt, and ground black pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat a little and simmer for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and place on a cutting board.
Cook Pasta. Turn the heat back to medium. With the broth still simmering, stir in the DeLallo Three Cheese Tortellini. Stir well so it doesn’t stick together. Then chop or shred the chicken and place it back in the soup.
Cream and Season. Once the tortellini is cooked through, about 10-14 minutes, turn off the heat. Stir in heavy cream, spinach, and parsley. Add a little more cream if desired. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed.
My Mum was 79 when a lady who grew up in the same small town as she made contact and started chatting with her. My Mum said, “I don’t know who this person is, but she seems to know me.” Eventually, this lady said to my mum that she was her half-sister. They organised a DNA test and there was shown to be “a high probability” that they were half-sisters. AncestryDNA has shown that I am related to my Mum’s new half-sister. So after 79 years, her whole ancestry has changed.
The story ended up being that my Mum’s father was unable to have children whilst her mother really wanted one, so the father of this other lady was allowed to produce a child with my Nan, that child being my mother. Apparently, the other family was aware of what had happened but kept it under wraps until my Mum was 79 years old when her half-sister decided to talk to Mum and see if she was a nice person. Having decided she was, she opened up to her regarding the situation.
On 2024/1/8, China praised the commander & crew of Nanchang destroyer.
Nanchang (南昌号) is 10000 tons with the most up-to-date equipment. It started service in 2020. It has sailed to Guam a few times. The latest one was Dec 2023 to accompany the fleet of Liaoning aircraft carrier (辽宁航母).
On 2024/1/8, Chinese CCTV released a video which showed 2 US warships, probably EP-18E, nose-diving towards Nanchang. To intercept Nanchang’s electromagnetic field.
Nanchang left Liaoning fleet & went, alone, closer to US aircraft carrier fleet. It activated its Fire Control Radar & opened the lid of 7 of its many missiles. To counter-intercept the electromagnetic field & to warn USA that the US aircraft carrier fleet has been targeted & can be attacked by Nanchang.
The standoff of Nanchang-US warplanes & warships lasted for 20 days. At the end, US fleet left. … China won the electromagnetic “war” & Nanchang crew was thus praised.
Several years ago, I was in court in North Carolina. At the time, cases were called alphabetically, by last name.
One gentleman, let’s call him Ben Jones (not his name but I can’t remember what it was) was called to face charges for some petty crime or another. The judge hadn’t even heard any evidence when Mr. Jones started cursing the judge, the DA, the bailiff, the clerk and everybody else. When the judge gave him a month in County for contempt, he cursed more. This went on until he ended up with about 6 months in county.
When he was finally removed from the courtroom, Chris Jones (again, not the real name) was called up. He immediately asked for a continuance. When the judge asked why, he said that Mr. Curser was his brother and he didn’t want his behavior to affect his case. Even the judge laughed a little and told the guy not to worry, he could keep an open mind.
The judge smiled at the guy upon his not guilty plea, found him not guilty and told him to tell his brother that he’s a reasonable judge.
It is very hard for people who live in western democracies and are used to a multi-party political system to understand that defining the Party as being either left or right is not applicable in the Chinese context.
I would just say that the Party is strongly pro-development and pro-growth, and is focused on improving the lives of ordinary Chinese and making China into one of, if not the greatest economic power in the world, with a special emphasis on manufacturing and hi-tech. It has been very practical and pragmatic, sometimes adopting socialist policies and sometimes adopting free-market policies. As far as the Party leadership is concerned, it is most important that it works for ordinary Chinese, and does not threaten the leadership role of the Party in Chinese society.
The greatest threats to the Party leadership are internal corruption by Chinese officials; this is why Xi has waged his never-ending war on corruption. He sees corruption as a potential cancer in the system, which undermines the peoples’ faith in the system and Party. In China’s past, corruption has almost always been a major contributor to the fall of Chinese imperial dynasties. The other great threat comes from capitalism going wild, and Chinese worshipping the super-rich as their role models. If this were to happen, materialism would run wild, and Chinese would become superficial materialist people like many South Koreans, who worship billionaires and successful actors and entertainers.
To sum up, modern China is very complex, and describing the Party as leftist or rightist is completely inadequate to describe its real nature.
I was hitchhiking a ride one day, about ten years after being bullied. A truck passed, slowed down and backed up to where I was.
“Hey Brad! It’s me” I heard from just below the passenger side door, from the person leaning out of view to open it. All the fear of my past washed over me because I recognized that voice. It was the voice of the doom that followed my every move, my tormentor from junior high through the end of high school.
He looked at me through the open door of his truck with a side of him I had never seen before. “It’s ok man. I’m not trying to trick you or anything” he said.
Various scenarios played in my head, none of which made sense for an adult man to think, so I got in the truck. I needed the ride.
“Thanks for stopping” I said.
“I did more to talk to you than give you a ride. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, but there you were, and now I have the chance.”
The chance at what? I thought. Oh sweet Jesus! Is this guy a serial killer by now? Did all the hate he pummeled my frail body with finally build up to a point that he was now insane? What other reason could there be?
I considered jumping out, but that would certainly kill me. All I could do was wait for his next move.
“I swear I’ve thought about you since I last saw you” he said. “What I did to you was so very wrong. I’m so sorry. I can’t tell you why I did it.”
His voice trailed off into a sob. His shoulders lurched forward in heaves of grief. He had to pull over to maintain control of the vehicle.
We sat in awkward silence on the side of the road.
I held his confession in high regard. It was the first time I saw him as a human being. The fear I felt was displaced by compassion for a person that suffered from the enlightenment of adulthood. I knew then what I needed to do.
“I forgive you, Trickle” (his nickname .) It was akin to evoking the name of Satan himself.
“I don’t go by that name anymore!” he protested angrily.
“What should I call you now? What is your name?” I said, hoping that he knew.
“It’s Paul, just Paul” he said in a soft voice.
“Pleased to meet you, Paul” I said reaching out my hand to shake his.
With that the demon that was “Trickle” was exorcised from both of our lives. All the suffering we endured was cleansed.
We talked for hours and stayed in the truck for the duration. I never saw him again.
I think of him now. I hope that he received my forgiveness, and that his life for the last 30 years since we met that day was free of guilt.
Paul, if you’re reading this I want you to know that I did and still do, forgive you.
Not me but a friend. He is pretty high up in the Cyber Security world and has his own business. He was hired by a company to help them harden their network. So he went in and did his due diligence to understand everything that they had, what their vulnerabilities were, etc. After he had done the due dligence, he designed and wrote up a system that he felt would meet their needs. It is very important to understand that when he does this work, he is specific about what hardware and software that they will need to use. He has it in his contracts with his clients that they must follow his design to the letter or his company will walk away, the client will still be required to pay in full all work done to that point + a portion of the remaining contract, and his company will be released from any and all liability.
He goes into the meeting with his client C Suite. Goes through his presentation and presents his numbers. Immediately, the CFO pulls up a document for a completely different system (different hardware, software, etc) that he feels would be just as adequate and significantly cheaper. My friend explains why he has designed the system and hardware needs to best meet their requirements that they gave him and how that system that the CFO was referring to would not meet their requirements. CFO immediately argues back that they should use this cheaper system and demands that he and his company implement it per the contract. My friend immediately stands up, gathers his documentation, designs, presentations, hardware list and everything from everyone in the meeting and tells the CEO that they have just violated their contract with him and they they have 30 days to pay his company out and that he and his company will not be working for them at any time now or in the future and walks out.
About ten years ago, I was on a one-stop flight from Vietnam to Los Angeles. Hanoi – Incheon – LAX.
We were transiting at Incheon airport. We had to do a re-security screening after landing from Hanoi. So, we got in line. An officer was walking back and forth in front of the lines, with a water bottle in his hand above his head, speaking loudly in English, “No water. No fruits.”, to let people know to get rid of all those things from our bags before getting checked.
Suddenly, a middle-aged woman in front of me, walked toward the officer, took the water bottle off of his hand, opened it, drank some water from it, closed the bottle, and gave the bottle back to the officer with her biggest smile. She nodded her head with the officer like she wanted to thank him for offering the water. The officer was surprised and then laughed, but the woman didn’t understand English, I guessed, she kept smiling and got to the screening area.
The screening area had five small tables in a row, each table had an officer. You just had to walk to the table and open your handbag for the officer to take a look, and you were done, pretty quick and simple. One by one. After finished checking a person, the officer raised their hand, “Next!”, so the next person could walk up.
That woman was finished checking, she was walking out when the officer at the next table raised his hand, “Next!”. Suddenly the woman also raised her hand and gave the officer a high-five and the same big smile. Then she walked away.
I still smile every time I remember that trip and that cheerful woman.
One night, while driving home form the Ozzfest, an officer on DUI patrol stopped me for suspicion of DUI (he claimed I was swerving) He made me do the FST bare foot and I passed. He the takes out the breathalyzer and I blew a .008 (I saw the reading as he quickly turned away) and the cop stepped into me, looked me in the EYE and said; “HERE!, IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, the legal limit it .07” I knew he was messing with me so, I just shut up and said; “Oh? I didn’t know”. From there on, I said nothing. He arrested me for suspicion of DUI. I know the limit is .08 but I don’t fight with cops on the side of the road. When I was released, I walked to the tow yard and picked up my truck. When you get stopped for DUI they take your driver’s license (send it to DMV) and give you a number to call with in 10 days.
The next morning I called the DMV. The DMV gave back my license over the phone cause the was no evidence filed. Knowing there was no evidence, I put myself on the court calender so, I could get a copy of my police report. In order to get the police report myself, (without a lawyer), I had to agree to defend myself so, I agreed to defend myself.
The judge calls my name, he pauses… because, he sees that I am defending myself. He says; “Charles are you going to defend yourself?” I reply, “YES SIR!” The judge then says; “DO YOU KNOW WHAT BEN FRANKLIN said about people who defend themselves?” I replied; “YES, YOU DON’T NEED TO HIRE A LAWYER TO GET A POLICE REPORT”. The judge didn’t like my answer but he gave the report reluctantly. The judge gave me my report and I went down the street to have lunch and read the report.
I read through the report and to my amazement, the officer told the truth, that I blew a .008 and the limit was .08. after read the report, I went back to court and found a DA. I tried to get him into the court room so, my case could be dismissed. The DA declined to help me so, I had to return for a hearing.
To make a long story short, trust me its longer….I defended myself the whole way through but it took a dozen appearances (over a year of court dates) before I finally got my case dismissed. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND READ THE POLICE REPORT BEFORE YOU AGREE TO ANYTHING.
I saw neither of the following, but I sure heard about them from the offenders themselves.
I teach in Thailand and have trained teachers in not only methodology but also cultural considerations.
‘Sam’ had been a kindergarten teacher in the U.S. and had often patted kids’ heads when they did well or playfully tugged gently on their hair.
Why he thought that would be ok with adults, I will never understand. Mortified, he came to me, admitting that the students had explained that their heads were considered blessed and asked him to stop touching them. He had apologized profusely.
‘Dan,’ on the other hand, was stubborn in the belief that he owed no one an apology. A class represenative had asked a Thai Academic Office staff member to tell ‘Mr. Dan’ to stop putting his feet up on the teacher’s desk and on empty student chairs.
When she explained to ‘Dan’ that feet are considered ‘dirty’ as the lowest point of the body and should not be placed on furniture that others use nor pointed aggressively at others, ‘Dan’ scoffed and walked away.
The Assistant Academic Director then got involved, and ‘Dan’ grudgingly apologized to his class who accepted it but because of his tone, saw him as disrespectful of Thai culture.
‘Mr. Dan’ complained about the ‘ridiculous’ custom to anyone who would listen. Most (including me) reminded him that he is a guest here and should abide by Thai ways.
Note: If paper currency goes skittering, do NOT put your foot on it because it can be considered lese majeste since money carries the image of the king. A fine or even jail time may be involved.
Woman Adopted 11-yr-old Cat. What She Did Next Shocked The Shelter Staff!
It was part of an initiative that I began 10 years back, my goal to slowly acquire skills to fix things myself so that I wasn’t constantly having to hire people to fix things.
I was under my car laying on my back sorta like this.
image 162
I don’t remember precisely the problem with the car. But I do remember it was night time and I had a small flashlight.
I didn’t have the equipment to lift the truck up properly, so I’d just slowly and carefully wiggled my way under there.
It was a tight squeeze. Very tight.
I felt like Bishop in that insanely claustrophobic scene from Aliens where he crawls through a mile-long, shoulder-tight tunnel.
image 163
As I’m on my back, my flashlight is shining up into the engine and I’m quickly realizing that I’m in over my head, (you may as well be teaching a monkey to do brain surgery at this point).
Then – shit got real.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
I heard growling.
With my god damn legs hanging out from under this car, I heard the deep guttural growling of a large dog within 10 feet of me, clearly growling directly at me.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
I began squirming out as the dog continued growling from the same spot.
Then I emerged.
I looked right.
And the growling stopped.
It was a familiar large, yellow lab, who started wagging his tail as he recognized me:
It was my neighbor’s dog.
And my neighbor was standing right behind his dog, with his hand firmly gripped on the dog’s leash.
When I was 17, I worked for a cellphone store. One of my coworkers was helping this lady who was going through a tough time. Her husband passed away, and she had five small kids. He was their sole provider. She told us he cared for everything so she could focus on their home and kids. She needed a phone and didn’t have access to the funds her husband had left her because her mother-in-law was trying to take it from her. So my coworkers told her she could purchase the cheapest phone, and it would be suitable for a couple of months and work for what she needed it for. But we were instructed to tell the client they could only get the phone with the highest phone plan. If we sold it with the lowest phone plan, it would kill our numbers. My coworker saw this lady was struggling and did this for her. The next day when our boss asked why it had been done. He was furious and fired her for it. I quit a couple of days later.
I’m a teacher. I always insisted on having the crappy classroom at the end of corridor one, one of the five ground level corridors.
Why? I wanted to keep the students away from the office. If they were late, I wanted them to slip into my class without reporting to the authorities. I wanted easy and immediate access to the outside for any students experiencing acute anxiety or if they were about to burst into tears. If that happened, they were guaranteed some privacy.
I could also see who was at the Happy Tree across the street (a key pot smoking location).
My classroom was a long way from the office and most administrators were too lazy to come by. If they dropped by, there was a reason, which was fine with me.
But there was another reason I wanted to be at the end of corridor one.
The intruder alert procedures insisted that we gather on the floor in our classrooms, remain silent after closing the drapes or blinds and covering the window on the door and locking it.
Like fish in a drained barrel.
So that was the official Plan A.
My plan was Plan B.
If there was an intruder alert, I needed to determine the direction it came from. Then I wanted all my students to run across the street to the Happy Tree, as a group, on through the park, across the next street, and through the intersection to the mall. They were to be silent and fast. I would be behind them.
It never happened.
We have so much support and school-to-work programming for mentally ill and angry young men that I don’t think it will ever happen, but if I was wrong and it did happen, I wanted my students out of harm’s way.
They couldn’t be out of harm’s way if they were cowering in the corner of a classroom.
The US military is the biggest military power in the world. There’s no arguing against that. They have some of the best troops, the best tech, and probably the best logistics. Heck, strike “probably”, they fight wars on other continents.
What they often don’t have is a clear idea of what they want to achieve, and that’s down to the people who send them out. The US politicians rarely have a clear vision of their war objectives, and when they have one, it’s often laughably unrealistic.
image 164
George W. Bush planning the invasion of Iraq
For instance, the idea behind the adventures in both Afghanistan and Iraq was to install a democracy. That’s not a military objective, that’s a political objective, and the military is patently useless at that sort of thing. And it was a hopeless task to begin with; yes, there was a lot of opposition to Hussein, but they all just wanted a different crazed dictator. Vietnam became a total mess because, again, they sought a political outcome, and asked the military to achieve it, and then messed up the political side totally.
It’s all a bit like if Elon Musk wants new and better recruits for SpaceX, so he hires Lionel Messi and Novak Djokovic. Yes, they’re world class, but they’re not world class at what he’s trying to do.
I was driving through a long painful construction zone, we were reduced from three lanes to 1, for no apparent reason, we would suddenly come to a stop, with a flagman stopping us, then start up again. The speed was reduced from 110 kmph 68 mph to 50 kmph 30 mph.. We had been crawling along, or stopped for 16 km, 10 miles.
I was the person in front, when the flagman stopped, so there were no cars in front of me, for a couple of kilometers. When the flagman motioned for me to proceed I was leading the pack. After a couple of km I could see the “End of construction “ sign. For some reason there was a concrete barricade slanted across the shoulder. I started speeding up, I was maybe 50 feet from the barricade, that was also the end of construction, and I had sped up to maybe 80 kmph, out of nowhere, a guy passes me on the shoulder. He had to have seen the barricade, but he was accelerating, I’m guessing he was doing 200 kmph 124 mph when he flew by me, he had to instantly change into my lane, I slammed on the brakes, and he almost made it through, his bumper clipped the barricade and went flying through the air, and skidded across three lanes to disappear into the median. I swear he missed hitting me by less than a foot.
I was the only one who could see the end of construction, and 110 kmph sign, so I was the only one who had been speeding up, and there was a huge gap behind me that would have been easy to pull into, and once we passed the barricade, we were back to 3 lanes again, and I was the only car ahead of him.
I honestly had no idea that someone was doing 200 in a 50 kmph zone transitioning to 110, on the shoulder. It was single lane traffic, I wasn’t even checking my mirrors.
To save maybe 30 seconds, he lost his bumper. I have no idea how much more damage he did because he kept going at well over the speed limit.
This was a long time ago about 1985–86. My son was in I think 3–4 grade. He and a group of about 4 boys hung out together in the playground at recess. One day the 5 of them were hanging out at the swings. They were like sitting on them and talking but not really swinging in them. The story gets a bit long here.
Another boy came up and asked them for one of the swings since they weren’t really using them. Now one of the boys being a smarty pants said something like “ give me a quarter and I’ll let you have the swing”. To his surprise the boy gave him the quarter.
I think you see where this went. So everyday at recess the 5 boys would run out to the swings and charge a quarter for the other kids to ride the swings. This went on for about 2 weeks until someone at the school finally found out.
So I get a call from the school to come in. Come to find out they had called the police and had the school psychologist and a police detective “talk” to the boys. The detective actually threatened the boys that they could go to jail and psychologist wasn’t much nicer.
Now don’t get me wrong I was not condoning the behavior but in the end I don’t think what they did was actually wrong it just wasn’t very nice. The school on the other hand label these boys as the horrible thugs and the police even said that they were guilty of extortion. The psychologist was going on about deviant behavior and how traumatic an experience it was for the kids that paid for the swings.
I went in to the school but I did not take my son with me they asked me why and I said because I didn’t think they would want him to hear what I was about to say which was the following:
can understand your concern and my husband and I will deal with the behavior, however here are my issues.
The school intimated to me I should have noticed my son coming home with all this money and I was a poor parent. It was a quarter so no I wouldn’t notice he had a quarter on him at the end of the day. We’re not talking $10 a ride here, we had a change dish on top of the TV that he and his sister would take out money for lunches or milk/snacks at school so I wouldn’t really think it strange that he had an “extra” quarter at the end of the day.
*Where was the adult supervision on the playground that this behavior went on for 2 weeks before one of the others kids on the playground complained?
*Whereas I agree what they did wasn’t very nice it was in no way a criminal act or extortion. The boys did not threaten the other kids like gimme your money or I’ll beat you up or if you tattle you’ll be sorry. They simply were selling rides on the swings.
*You had absolutely no right to have my son ( who is probably about 8 years old) interrogated or questioned by either the police and psychologist without my permission.
*In the end the boys made about $2 total each because all of the boys said sometimes the kids only had a dime or a nickel to pay.
Again I agree it wasn’t a nice thing to do but illegal or immoral I don’t think so. I explained this to my son and I don’t know about the other boys but I did make my son apologize to the kids he could remember and he gave them their money back ( at least most of them that he recalled) it came out of his allowance.
The one thing I did tell the school was that if the roles were reversed and my son was told he had to pay a quarter to ride the swings. The first thing he would have done was when he got home he would have said something to either his dad or I.
My first question to him would have been “Did you give it to them?” If he had said yes I probably would’ve said something like “ Don’t do that again if they are asking you for money for the swing go tell a teacher. You don’t pay to ride the swing “ I would have then followed up with school it would not have gone on for 2 weeks!
I can’t believe that my son and his friends were the first ones to ever try something like this. But in my mind I can see these 5 boys with a little light bulb moment 💡 ! I asked that boy for a quarter to ride the swing and he gave it to me!!! There was nothing criminal or psychotic in their behavior just a bunch of boys being dumb.
My son did not grow up to become a social deviant or a gang member or thug. He is married with 3 kids and 3 grand children. I look at this episode as just one if those childhood stories that we tell at family gatherings.
One of the first jobs I had was at a distribution center for AH Robins Pharmaceuticals. I was assigned to work with another guy to fill and pack the small orders that shipped via UPS. I was 22 and had just been hired while my coworker was 29 and had been with the company for about 6 months. We were the youngest guys, by far, in the warehouse. Everyone else had been with Robins for 15+ years and all but one were 50 years old, or older. The other guy was 38.
Being young(er), we decided to make a game out of completing the orders by seeing who could pick and pack them faster. As a result, we’d finish the orders by lunch each day. Since we had half a day left and nothing to do, at first we were told to stock the small order shelves and then clean the area around the packing table. But we finished that so quickly the warehouse manager had one of us start helping the other workers pull truck orders.
That was when the older workers pulled us aside and told us that we needed to slow down because we were making them look bad. We just laughed at them. But then the warehouse manager called us into his office and told us to slow down and take our time, or he’d have to let us go.
We were puzzled by this and we finally worked up the courage to talk to the DC Ops Manager, and he explained that the warehouse was staffed with long-time employees who were set in their ways, and we needed to go along to get along. So we began stretching our orders out to last the entire day so our coworkers and boss would be happy, but the job no longer fun from that point on.
The 24.7 military activity around Taiwan is a visible electric fence, a constant tripwire reminder that Taiwan is ringfenced, and the Taiwanese military is not doing anything about its ever-shrinking area of responsibility. It’s the classic boiling frog, with time scales measured in years.
A blockade is an ON-DEMAND military option today, based on demonstrated readiness, enabled by real-time multi-sensor intelligence and deployed assets.
The real battlefront lies further away, as far south as the Philippines, as far east as Guam, and as far north as the Japanese home islands.
In other words, the battlefront is as far south as America, as far east as America, and as far north as America.
Let me repeat, because it is important.
THE BATTLEFRONT IS AS FAR SOUTH AS AMERICA, AS FAR EAST AS AMERICA, AND AS FAR NORTH AS AMERICA.
That is the current strike capability of the combined Chinese military.
The island of Taiwan, paradoxically speaking, is no longer central to the question of Taiwan.
I always provide a clear estimate of every job I look at. I had a woman that had been referred to me by her sister but had been warned about her too. She had money but didn’t like spending it. She wanted a simple wheelchair ramp installed in her garage for her ailing husband. I noticed her 4500 sqft house needed a lot of work including a new roof. I offered to build the ramp for only $500, which was about $50 over cost of lumber. It was going to be a simple ramp with plywood covered with Astroturf or berber carpet. I figured it might open the door to other work on the house. I’d make my money back later. She looked at my estimate and passed it back to me. Then told me she knew somebody that can build it cheaper. I thanked her for her time and started walking to my truck. She asked me where I was going. I told her that by her comment that she was going to have the cheaper guy build it. She wanted me to lower my price. I said that was impossible as I was making zero on the ramp. The lumber alone was $450. After gas, I was breaking even. Again, I thanked her for her time and started walking back to my truck. She said she thought it would be closer to $300. I replied that It should have been at least $1500 and I was doing her a favor as I knew her sister and could see the house needed other repairs. She asked if I could do it for $300. I actually laughed and told her to hire the guy she knew that could to it cheaper. I’m done playing her games. I knew she was bluffing and there was no other cheaper guy. I wished her good luck and said my final goodbye. I later thanked her sister for warning me beforehand.
When I was a teenage & young adults (late 70’s to Mid-80’s) the shopping mall was at its peak. A large number of stores in a climate controlled environment where you only had to park once.
For me a visit to the mall was a visit to …
The arcade (to play Space Invaders & Asteroids)
One or two book stores (using both Walden Book and B Dalton)
The music store
Sears, to check out both electronics & tools
Radio Shack
The food court.
Now, both radio Shack & Sears were in decline by the mid to late 90’s anyway.
But console games spelled the death of arcades. When feed money into a game when you could play them at home as many times as you wanted?
Book, music and electronics are all found on amazon. And music, for the most part, now as downloads.
In many malls, there were also novelty stores like Spenser’s, and even hobby/arts & crafts focused stores. There seems to be an overall decline for some time, at least before the “maker movement” had a resurgence. But again, online shopping has seriously cut into that market.
I commended on an older answer, that most malls are filled with clothing stores, which is death via boredom for a typical guy.
I really don’t see malls coming back, at least not in their past “glory days” format.
When I began school, we lived 3 doors down from the kindergarten school.
On the first day of school, I walked to school. My mom stood on the front porch and watched me walk all the way, and I waved to her when I got there.
I was very excited and could not wait for the day to proceed – I was a big girl, and was finally in school!
At that time, most schools still tried to force left-handed children to write with their right hand. I am left-handed.
My teacher walked behind me as I sat at a table with several other students. We were coloring pictures. She saw that I was using my left-hand. She smacked the back of my hand with her ruler. It was wood and had a metal strip on it. I jumped and dropped the crayon. She yelled at me that I was to use my right hand, it was not acceptable to use my left hand.
My kindergarten class was a half-day class. For the next 3 1/2 hours, every time I picked up anything with my left hand, she instantly slapped my hand with the ruler.
By the time I left to walk home, the back of my hand was bruised, and I had several cuts on my fingers from the metal band on her ruler.
I was no longer thrilled with the prospect of going to school.
I went home and told mom I was not going back.
When my father came home from work, mom told him what happened. He called me over to him and looked at my hand.
He picked up the phone and called his boss. He told him that he would be late to work the next day.
The next morning, my dad walked with me to the school.
It was a small school that was used only for kindergarten. There were 6 classes.
We walked in the front door of the school and my dad yelled for my teacher and the principal.
They both came running to see what the commotion was.
My father was very loud with the principal about the fact that my hand was bruised and cut.
He then turned to my teacher and told her very clearly that I was left-handed and that I would remain left-handed.
He then told her that if I came home from school with one more mark on me from her trying to force me to write with my right hand that he would return to the school and make sure that she had two marks for every mark she put on me.
He then looked at me and said, “Joyce, you write with your left hand.”
He then walked me into my classroom, helped me hang up my sweater, and walked me to my chair.
He patted me and told me he’d see me at dinner. He then gave my teacher a scowl and left.
It is now not a big thing to be left-handed. That was not always the case. It was the first time I realized that I was not like everyone else. Dad showed me it was OK to be different.
When my younger sister and I were about 14 and 16, we went shopping at a department store together. We separated briefly, she went to the washroom while I looked through albums in the music department. When she was about 15 minutes late at our prearranged meeting spot, I went to the adjacent car park to see if she’d returned to our car by mistake. The garage was enclosed, dark and mostly deserted and I heard footsteps rapidly heading away from me as I approached our car, a low slung mustang. My sister suddenly popped out from under the car and threw herself into my arms, sobbing and shaking. A creep had lurked outside the ladies’ washroom and followed her all around until she panicked and ran to the garage to hide. I was furious and 16 year-old me drove around that parkade to try to find that creep predator. I had some half formed plan of running him over. We returned home, and decided not to say anything to our parents because we didn’t want to lose our car privileges and the ability to shop on our own. Now that I understand just how bad that could have turned out, and realize that predator was a danger to other young girls, I realize that I should have told my parents, so that they would have contacted the police. Instead, we decided to stay together when shopping downtown, and practiced alternative ways to shake off a creep. My sister made a decision that day that could have cost her life. My parents were never told.
I was travelling by bus to a place. And was sitting alone on the seat meant for two people, window side. The scenery was beautiful and I was lost looking outside the window, enjoying beauty of nature.
The bus stopped and a lady boarded the bus. She looked like she was aged above 60. Now, there were two seats empty in the entire bus. One was besides me and other one behind me. Same as me, a man was sitting in window seat behind me, alone. He too looked like he was enjoying the beauty of nature seemed happy with the window seat.
Now the lady stood besides me, thought for a while and asked me to sit with the man sitting behind me. I was like, why? Can’t you sit besides me or that man? Are we going to eat you? Why are you killing our enjoyment? She was adamant and started creating a scene.
I had to get up and sit besides that man. He felt my reaction and offered me window seat but, I thanked him and choose to be on the aisle seat.
What an unnecessary sacrifice! You need to kneel befor fake feminism, THAT SUCKS ABOUT BEING A MAN.
My wife nearly died about 22 years ago. She had cysts on her fallopian tubes. On one side it was big enough that it caused the tube to twist, which torqued the ovary on that side. It basically folded over. This prevented proper blood flow to the organ, so it died inside of her.
I had an entry-level corporate job with good health coverage. The kind where you have to tell hospital staff to check again and see that no, I don’t actually have to pay for xrays, blood tests, yadda yadda, I have the GOOD coverage. Even so, after the emergency hysterectomy I was hit with a bill that was many, many thousands of dollars. I tried to negotiate a payment plan but there was no way I could pay enough monthly for them to agree to it, so they garnished my wages. A lot. Faced with losing my car (and therefore my ability to get to work) and having to choose between groceries/prescriptions and rent/utilities, I had to declare bankruptcy. It took me a decade or so to pay it off, and that’s after they wiped out a lot of my debt and consolidated the rest. Fucked my credit to boot.
And that healthcare that people on here love to tout as the best in the world? Without my intervention, they would have killed my wife. The morning the surgery was scheduled for, no one showed up to take her from her room to the OR. I tracked down a nurse and was told that because my wife has a fever, she needs to go home and take tylenol or something and come back when the fever goes down. While she has a dead organ killing her from the inside. I screamed that the fever wouldn’t go down until she was dead, and made a big enough scene that they finally consulted a couple more docs until one said “well yeah, we’ve got to operate now, wtf are you waiting for?!?!”
When my sons were younger, their Dad and I began teaching them both how to tidy up. This began with the usual dirty clothes in the laundry basket and toys being put away, taking dishes through to the kitchen etc. Pretty standard stuff. As they got older, we taught them how to do their own laundry, wash dishes and hoover. In the beginning, it was all a novel experience for them and they were eager to help mummy and daddy – especially when it came to us teaching them to bake or cook simple meals.
Fast forward to when my eldest started secondary school.
Naturally, the novelty had long since worn off and it was such a big deal if I dared ask them to do something around the house *gasp* (How dare I?) One day, my eldest had been asked to tidy up the mess he had left in the kitchen – it wasn’t much, just a butter knife and toast crumbs on the side and a dirty plate and glass. He huffed and looked at me.
“You know something, Mum? I don’t think I should have to do this…”
“Why not? You made the mess…”
“Well, I’ve been speaking to Nev* and he says he doesn’t have to do this sort of thing…”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, he says his mum does it all while he’s at school and his dad’s at work. So why should I have to do it?”
I knew I had to choose my words carefully here, he was all but saying it was a mum’s job to do everything around the house. I could see his dad open his mouth and I held up my hand to stop him.
“Son, does Nev’s mum work?”
“No, she stays at home.”
“Ok, do I work?”
“Yes…”
“Does your dad work?”
“Yes, but…”
“And who is the first person home each day?”
“Well, me I suppose, but…”
“So do you think it’s fair that after dropping you and your brother at school in a morning, commuting to work, sitting in an office for eight hours then commuting back, picking up your brother from the after school club and come home to find you’ve made a mess in the kitchen from making a snack, do you think it’s fair that I should have to tidy your mess?”
“But Nev’s mum…”
“Son, do you think it’s fair?”
“Well, no, but…Nev thinks it’s mean…”
“Oh does he now. I’ll tell you what, let’s go ask him shall we?”
Son wasn’t happy when I took him round to Nev’s. We spoke with Nev’s mum who was less than impressed by what both boys had said, but what was funnier was when she turned to Nev and said: “I don’t give you jobs to do then do I? I guess I’ll have to find you something else to occupy your time if you think that, won’t I?”
Needless to say, both boys were not happy that we had called their bluff.
Fast forward another few years, both sons can do their own laundry, cook excellent meals and tidy up etc. Son’s girlfriend was really impressed when he cooked her a meal and she asked me how come he was such a good cook. I just laughed and said, “I was mean.”
Stress. I know recluses. They actually enjoy my company, I know when to leave. One of them worked hard and burned out, he found he was less and less productive. Working longer hours and getting less done.
He started working from home, he quit going to crowded bars, if there were more than 3 people in a group, he was out of there. He couldn’t take the anxiety.
He became more productive again.
Another person had a concussion that lead to post concussion syndrome. They were a social butterfly, and suddenly they couldn’t be in a room with more than 6 people. They couldn’t handle sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, squealing kids, or crowds. If they came to the end of a grocery aisle and there was someone waiting to cross, they would be frozen with anxiety, not able to make a decision.
People that can’t handle crowds become hermits.
President Obama said he was suffering from decision overload, so he had someone make all of his small decisions so he had the resources to handle the big ones.
Someone laid out what clothes he should wear, scheduled all of his appointments, chose his meals, etc.
The older I get the more I am susceptible to stress, so I can relate to them, and hope that I am not just like them in 10 years.
I was a middle school teacher(1984). The night before school started my 18 month old son started having seizures. My husband and I spent the whole night at the hospital with him. The doctors did a spinal tap and my son lost feeling in his legs. The doctor said that it could be temporary, or it could be permanent. I still showed up at school the next morning and I told my principal that my husband was staying with my son for the week and that I would need the following week off. The principal told me, you need to decide whether you want to be a mother or a teacher because you can’t be both. I resigned on the spot and went home. My son did regain full sensation in his legs a couple of weeks later There was no way I was going back to that school.
In my experience, there is only one sign I always look for to discern a covert narcissist.
The other red flags will pick up narcissists, but they pick up the overts or malignants.
But there is one thing, yes one thing, that is simultaneously so subtle that it makes coverts fly under the radar, and also the one thing which is what makes a covert narcissist a covert narcissist. In other words, this one thing makes coverts different from all the other types of narcissists. It is their signature.
It’s switching off.
Coverts switch off. They practice
avoidance
ghosting
withholding
neglect
silence
pretend not paying attention
pretend not hearing you
pretend misunderstanding you
pretend there is something wrong with you when you talk about something serious and dear to you (e.g. reframes you as bitter and unable to let go when you share insights on narcissism etc. -> covertly tearing you down by twisting your perspective; this is a form of switching off because they refuse to lower themselves to empathize with your perspective so as to understand it, they switch off listening and understanding)
pretend superiority (e.g. I forgave my narcissist, therefore I’m superior to you, you wouldn’t talk so much about your narcissist if only you would forgive them, you should forgive, for your own sake, never let the narcissist change you, I choose love, I choose forgiveness, I choose not to hate, no one is evil, everyone deserves compassion, we are all the same, there is humanity in everyone, etc. -> blowing their own trumpet; this is a form of switching off because they refuse to lower themselves to empathize with your perspective so as to understand it, they switch off listening and understanding)
acting stupid to create situations (e.g. to persistently cause miscommunication and misunderstanding, to ignore you and create opportunities to withhold, to get away with having done harmful things, to deliberately frustrate and antagonize you by doing the opposite of what they are supposed to do, deliberately act bored or switched off while you are giving instructions and then doing the opposite of something simple you asked for e.g. don’t buy eggs -> buys two cartons of eggs and then proudly boasts that you asked for them)
you take a walk with them, you stop by to admire a flower (or you fell down and sprained something), they pretend not to notice and keep walking on without you, and you either look up from the flower to find yourself all alone, or you lie there watching their back recede into the horizon
they cut in line right in front of you just as you open your mouth to give your order, preventing it, pretend to be oblivious, and happily make their order instead, you stare at their side profile (what the hell! can you believe this girl?)
they do something they know they shouldn’t do (e.g. litter, trespass, jaywalk, steal your food or your seat, or chat on the phone loudly in the cinema, leave their car in the middle of the road blocking everyone, walk in the middle of the meant road for cars) and then pretend to be helpless, oblivious, or ignorant when you have an issue with them
not pick up the phone
they pick up your phone call, they are told to pass a message to you, they take the message and never pass it on to you
you are napping, the phone rings, the covert narcissist is right next to the phone, they let the phone keep ringing, it wakes you up, you run across the house to groggily pick up the phone while the covert narcissist was right next to it all along (at other times the phone manages to ring out) (this happens consistently)
the receptionist who cuts everyone off midsentence to transfer them, and keeps doing it the whole day, every day
they never reply your email (even though they are not busy)
they never return your call (phone message)
you greet them, they look down but make sure they never acknowledge you (they don’t stare at you because that’s malignant, but they make sure they do not reply) (some will look down and give a Mona Lisa smile, like they are slightly embarrassed at their own rude behavior)
you sit across them at the party, they look away from you in disgust, avoiding eye contact and refusing to talk to you, a guest passes by, the covert narcissist suddenly beams a smile at you and says ‘hey, remember that time when … ?’, the guest passes on by, the covert narcissist terminates mid-sentence and goes back to snubbing you, until the next guest comes by
walk out on you midsentence
keep on talking as if to you after you’ve left the room, still holding the conversation but without you
covert narcissists are experts at urging everyone to get along, forgive everyone, hate no one, and then mysteriously degrading you through silence and withholding over nothing (they have weird concepts of what getting along means)
mysterious sour moods (they are a form of switching off, the switching off of love or joy, sour moods in the absence of concrete causes are a form of withholding, and especially negatively affects susceptible empaths nearby)
convenient unavailability or inaccessibility
disappear
run away from fights they started with their covert antagonisms and microaggressions
coverts are experts at telling you they don’t want a fight with you after they’ve finally button pushed you to the limit and caused you to start sorting things out with them
snub
ignore
always have nothing to say in response to what you just said (covertly deflating you and degrading you by refusing to reflect back to you sanity and gravitas; it’s as if their attitude is always ‘you just said something stupid, I’m not going to honor that with a response’ to everything you enthusiastically share or say)
or they will always give a lackluster or subtly negative devaluation or degradation response to your happy, exciting, inspiring experience
not be courteous when courtesy is appropriate and expected (hyper-courteous at other times as if they were on an audition) (courtesy is a weapon to be deployed in the most inappropriate ways)
always being the unavailable shoulder for you to cry on only when you have dramas in life (only unavailable when you need them, this is not a fairweather friend, it’s weaponized withholding)
after you tell them your sob story, they make sure they never say a word to console you (e.g. ok, bye!)
you call, the covert narcissist picks up the phone, you want the covert narcissist to pass a message to someone else, just as you start telling your message, the covert narcissist pretends you’ve finished and says ‘ok bye!’ and starts hanging up, forcing you to scream for them to wait and not hang up on you.
making promises just so they can abuse through failing to come through (duper’s delight e.g. ‘you’re a fool to believe my promises or to trust me’)
making sure they don’t inform you when they go on extended vacations, so that you will call them on the phone, still expecting to make a date for lunch, but there’s no one home to pickup, should you call the police and report missing persons?
making sure they cancel plans on you at the last minute, while making sure you never get wind of it any earlier, to create the greatest last minute upset (this is worst when there’s plane tickets involved)
frustratingly not give any response or acknowledgement whatsoever when it is appropriate to the situation – the mannikin routine (this is always deliberate, make no mistake, it just appears like an accident each time for maximum plausible deniability)
the impossible to please parent, spouse, child, boss, sibling, friend
Coverts practice weaponized switching off. They are like a demonstration prototype that always refuses to work at the convention in front of the investors, or the cartoon frog that only sings when there’s no audience, and switches back to ‘ribbid’ when an audience gathers to listen. Or a mannikin that comes to life when the lights are off, dances, holds parties, then freezes back into position when lights come on, or Toy Story.
This is a peculiar form of passive aggressive crazymaking particular to covert narcissists.
Learning to recognize weaponized switching off will allow you to spot covert narcissists early.
Most people are trained to dismiss and overlook weaponized switching off because it is very highly plausibly deniable, but secondly, because they did not suspect the nature of covert narcissists. This causes them to impute more decency in the covert narcissist than they posses.
When being the recipient of weaponized switching off, something will feel odd to your gut. That’s because your gut senses that the covert narcissist is missing cues. This missing cues is deliberate. Missing cues is something the covert narcissist cannot help doing because their nature is antagonism and hatred, and refusing to behave appropriately by honoring the subtle cues of interaction is how they rebel and live out their intrinsic hatred (don’t mistakenly do this to people in the Asperger spectrum, or those who are depressed, or those suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, or Alzheimers or dementia, or who lack sleep).
(The cause of missing cues is zero affective empathy. Zero affective empathy causes the covert to both overcompensate with lurvebombing at times, and weaponized switch off at other times. This is because zero affective empathy causes their emotional reaction to everything to be inappropriate, screwy, and ‘off’. Hence their emotional response to everything is always inappropriate. This can be easily detected once you know to look for it. Fakeness, all fake people are coverts.)
It’s hard to explain, and easy to dismiss. But you will feel erased to various degrees in their presence.
The point of switching off is to refuse to acknowledge your personhood (to deny you the glory you deserve through simple things like paying attention or replying earnestly – by the way paying attention and earnest replies are acts of love). They are not switching off to conserve battery. They are switching off to micro-antagonize you. It’s covert button pushing. This is how they toy with your emotional wellbeing. It is meant to produce in you shame, embarrassment, frustration, anger and insecurity. They like to throw you emotionally off balance. This is how they make themselves feel better, at your expense. As you get to know them better and better, they will switch from micro-antagonisms to bigger and bigger antagonisms, and it tends to happen along the lines of withholding, denial, avoidance. Malicious suppression.
What they actually switched off was their humanity. The game is to attack your humanity through switching off their own humanity. A humane person does not seek to feel better through causing hurt feelings. Cruelty is inhumane. Covert narcissists have emotional cruelty built into them. It’s a lot like what they talked about regarding Auschwitz.
Funnily, covert narcissists hate it when you switch off on them. Just try it and see, fail to answer or acknowledge them, pretend you weren’t listening and give no response to them, and see how they react.
My theory is that they react so poorly to their own medicine because they know that whenever anyone does that, it is a deliberate, antagonistic move, because they are well aware that they wanted to ruin things whenever they themselves did it.
11 If a son asks for [a]bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
“Ah, hello, Miss. I am Mr. McMichaels. I’ve come to talk to you about your child’s behavior!”
“Right,”
“Right now, as we speak, your daughter is on the floor crying.”
“…”
“Yes. And she won’t stop.”
“My… 6-year-old daughter… Is crying. Right now. And you decided to call me about it.”
“Well, yes, because I asked her what could I do to stop her from crying and she said to call you.”
“Ah,”
“So how is your day?”
“Has my daughter stopped crying yet?”
“Mmm, NO! She won’t stop crying untill you talk to me for a bit more!”
*in unconvinced tone* “Uh-huh”
“So, let’s ignore the topic of your daughter for a moment. What are you doing tonight?”
“Tell my daughter to shut up and be a man. Goodbye, Mr.McMichaels.”
“WHAT ABOUT SIX?!”
“Oh. At 6 I will be going on a date with my lovely husband for our 20th anniversary! Never contact me again, Sir.”
My sister comes home and explains she did not cry that day, nor did she have Mr. McMichaels as her teacher.
The teacher tried, and failed, to plan a date with my mother.
SHAME ON HIM!
EDIT: EEeEe, I’m sorry, guys, I didn’t make this clear enough! This is from the POV of my Mother, not me! I’m sorry for the confusion lmao <3
Also, thank you guys for the love and upvotes! Ik my Mama should’ve said something to the Principal but she was in tears about how funny it was. My Mum isn’t what you would call ‘A responsible adult’ She just laughs at things like this. But, I swear, if something more were to happen she would have told someone I assure you that.
Not my boss, but a true story. A few years ago I was in a pizza shop waiting to pick up my takeaway pizza. A store manager at the counter publicly tore verbal strips off a young trainee who had apparently made an error in her work. I was appalled at the way he humiliated the poor little thing in front of onlookers. At the time one of my children had begun part-time work during the school holidays to earn some money and this young lady only looked about her age. I’m a teacher and maternal, and while all the other customers looked uncomfortable but weren’t going to say anything, I decided to let fly. I mean, what could he do to me? I wasn’t his employee.
I stepped up to the counter and took on the manager. I told him that what she had done was totally understandable given her age and level of experience. I then said that how he handled it was NOT and that I was going to report him to the company for foul language and abuse of a minor. I had his name from his badge and I had the receipt showing time and date of my purchase and that he really needed to go to counselling and get help.
He turned on me, screaming abuse and making a fuss, and actually came out from behind the counter to tower over me, attempting physical intimidation seeing as yelling at me was not having the desired effect. I got out my mobile phone and recorded him, and another customer at the store called the police and reported him. I also made good on my threat, got in touch with the company with details and was assured that they would investigate the matter. I think the fact that the police had been involved swayed them.
Anyway, long story short, about a year after the incident I returned to the shop (they did make good pizza!) and the young trainee came up and thanked me for my help. The former manager had gone to counselling but it then came out that he had been groping other female workers and they were emboldened by the fact that I had taken a stand and spoke up about him. He lost his job and I have no idea where he is now. But I hope nobody else has had to suffer from his misogynistic rants.
Learning Chinese and got to visit China in 2008 (and then in 2010 and 2013)
Before 2008, I attended a college in the US and my view on China was roughly the same as the Western MSM (Communists, human rights abuses, people have no freedom etc.) However, having visited China 3 times and witnessing the development gradually changed my views on China.
I remembered my first day when I landed in Beijing and I wanted to test my Chinese, so I asked a taxi driver whether his life is okay in China. He replied, “还可以“， which means “it’s okay” without sounding worried or oppressed at all.
That surprised me a lot. Weren’t the people of China oppressed? Why was his tone so relaxed?
And during that Olympics year, I witnessed the boom of subway in Beijing. When I first got there, there were just 3 operational lines (Line 1, 2, and 13), but just a couple months later, 3 or so more lines became operational. My life in Beijing was better than expected. I thought I was going to feel oppressed in China, but apart from censorship of certain contents (notably contents on Dalai Lama and Falungong), I was free to enjoy jianbing every morning and free to explore the city (it helped that Beijing subway back then only cost RMB2, or just a little more than a quarter dollar). Moreover, me having Chinese heritage can blend in very well in China and I enjoyed same kind of usual city life in a similar fashion to that of Bangkok. And I ended that year by taking the Z-train from Beijing to visit the Yangtze River Delta area. Their sleeping cabins were far better than the Thai ones (and I China was poorer than Thailand in per capita income back then)
Fast forward to 2010, my view on China became more neutral. Having spent months in Beijing 2 years prior, I thought living in China isn’t so bad. I didn’t whine the same MSM rhetorics anymore but I still couldn’t find positive things to talk about China. That year, what amazed me were their infrastructure. I took the bullet sleeper train from Shanghai to Beijing, and it was the first time I ever saw a bullet sleeper train! By this time, I was convinced that the Chinese transportation infrastructure was miles ahead of Thailand.
2013 was a really pivotal year for me. In that year, I decided to tour China alone by myself from Datong to Xi’an, then to Lanzhou and Dunhuang, then back to Xi’an and Beijing before taking the train to North Korea. By being able to speak the language and being able to blend in with Chinese people, whenever I travelled around any city with Europeans or Americans, there were always Chinese people asked me whether I can ask those white people to have pictures taken with those Chinese locals. Also, one day on the train from Xi’an to Lanzhou, I met a young Chinese college student in her berth opposite to mine. She saw me looking very Chinese, yet reading a guidebook about China in English. Once, she asked me in Chinese to move something out of the way and I did it for her, then the conversation began. She was so surprised to know that I’m not Chinese but a Thai, and then moved on to talk about her Thai idols. I was also surprised that a lot of Chinese people know the politics of my country quite well.
Having all those experiences in 2013, I concluded that Chinese people are so curious and they asked me a lot of questions after knowing I’m a foreigner. They are hunger for experiences and perspectives. But most importantly, they are people who simply want to work hard and enjoy a good life, as we all are in any part of the World. Politics are of very least concern for them. The way Chinese people come to you may seem rude, but I interpreted those moves as sincere curiosity.
Then my view on China gradually became more positive, as seeing people across China hunger for knowledge and better life made me realize massive potential of this millennia-old civilization that my ancestry also belongs. And since I mentioned “sincere curiosity”, Chinese people are also very friendly (it helped though that I can speak the language). I’m sure that even if you are whites from Europe or America, if you start a conversation in Chinese, you will easily make friends in China.
Having been to China for 3 successive times also fascinated me that each time I was there, I saw massive amount of development unfolded right before my eyes. Then I started to wonder why I thought China was such an evil place pre-2008. Looking at the people and infrastructure, they surely have come very far on the World stage. And nothing matters more than current generation of Chinese people are living decent lives. To me, I think whoever was running China did the job well enough to ensure steady prospects for her citizens.
Now, I would like to have my fourth visit and see their entrepreneurial spirits in places like Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Beijing with my own eyes and be blown away just like all three visits prior.
Tuscan Onion Soup with Shaved Parmesan
Onion soup is a hearty dinner.
If French onion soup is on a menu John or I are sure to order it. We really love it! Onions, cooked slowly with beef stock and then topped with bread and cheese! What is there not to like? Then, one evening we were invited to a friend’s house for dinner, and they served Italian onion soup. It was different from the French version, but it was delicious, and I had to have the recipe.
Where did Italian onion soup come from?
I did a little research on this fantastic dish and learned that it is known as Carabaccia. It originated in Tuscany going back at least to the 15th century. Carabaccia was made with red onions which are native to Tuscany. It had a sweet and sour flavor and used almonds as a thickener. A piece of bread would be placed in the bottom of the bowl and the soup would be poured over it and then topped with cheese. Sound familiar?
Apparently, Catherine d’ Medici brought the recipe to France with her from Tuscany when she married King Henry II. It is said that this was one of Leonardo DaVinci’s favorite dishes. Over the years changes were made to the original recipe. Some modern takes on this soup include the addition of a poached egg and the omission of the almonds as a thickener.
3 bowls onion soup with parmesan
Ingredients
3 pounds white onions (3 or 4 large)
4 medium leeks
4 ounces pancetta, in 1 piece
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 cups chicken stock
3 to 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3/4 to 1 cup fruity red wine, such as Merlot or Beaujolais
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 slices rustic country style bread
2 garlic cloves, peeled, halved
3 ounces Wisconsin parmesan cheese, in 1 chunk
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Ingredients
My version is a little different and closer to some of the more modern takes on the recipe. It does not have the sweet and sour flavor that was typical of Carabaccia and I omitted the almonds altogether.
Red onions are still the main ingredient. I also use a nice rich red wine and some tomato sauce to compliment the flavor of the onions. I also like the addition of beef stock, where the original recipe might have used a vegetable stock. Garlic and thyme, also add to the robust flavors of this soup.
Tips for making Italian Onion Soup
The onions are the star ingredient in this recipe, so they need to be cooked carefully to get the best flavor out of them. The onions, garlic and sugar should be added to a pan with hot oil and cooked down until they are soft and caramelized. To do this you will need to set the heat on your stove low and allow the onions to cook slowly so that they do not burn. You will need to be patient; it may take 20 minutes or more for the onions to soften.
When you add the wine bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat a bit and let it cook until the wine is reduced by half. This will heighten the flavor of the wine.
It is best to whisk the tomato sauce and the flour together before you add it to the soup. Make sure that you do not have any lumps of flour in the sauce before you add it.
Once all the remaining ingredients have been added, let the soup cook on low heat for 1 hour. The slow cooking process creates a rich robust soup that is worth the wait!
italian onion soup with parmesan
Instructions
Peel the onions and cut in half lengthwise. Thinly slice crosswise.
Trim the leeks and cut in half lengthwise. Slice crosswise in 1/4 inch slices, using 3 inches of pale green. Place the leeks in cold water, and rinse to remove the dirt. Drain. Reserve the onions and leeks.
Unroll the pancetta and dice into 1/4-inch pieces.
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until some of the fat has been rendered, about 5 minutes.
Add the onions and leeks. Sauté for 20 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
Add the stock, and simmer 30 minutes.
Stir the vinegar, wine, salt, and pepper into the soup. Cook until thoroughly heated.
Toast the bread slices, and rub with the peeled garlic clove halves.
Spoon the soup into soup bowls. Float the bread croutons in the soup. Pare 4 or 5 shavings of the cheese on top of each serving.
Garnish with the chopped parsley, and serve immediately.
I once had a young lady in 12th grade come to me at the end of class, just before lunch, and tell me her Uncle, who lived with them, was molesting her. I instantly reported it to the Admin and the Campus Police. The Campus officer burst out cussing. It seems that two+ years before the same Uncle had gone to prison for molesting the same girl. He was a good manipulator and had convinced the prison shrinks he was reformed and as a first timer got released early on parole. And the terminally stupid parents let him move right back in with them – he was the Mother’s “Baby Brother” and had always been spoiled etc. The girl and her little brother were taken out of the home and sent to live with another Aunt and Uncle, I seem to remember one of them was a peace officer. The molester was sentenced to a long term with “no parole” and her parents were put on probation for child endangerment. She didn’t even come to check out, the Admin did all her papers to send her to another high school for her. But one of them passed on her “Thank You” to me. It seems I was the 4th teacher she told and the only one who did anything. The rumor was the other three were demoted to probationary teacher and put on notice as well as having a prosecutor warn them that he could charge them with a felony for failure to report the suspected abuse and just might still do it if they failed to report anything again, even if it was just a rumor they heard from the students.
No not at all. First GDP itself is a highly flawed form of economic measurement. GDP per capital. Is therefore by same extension is highly flawed.
Let’s just look at one item if GDP. Healthcare. The U.S. with a mere 330 million population has GDP that consists of 6 trillion dollars Healthcare and pharmaceutical items while China that has 4 times the U.S. population if 1.4 billion people has a GDP that consist of only 1 trillion dollars in the same category!
So why is that? China offers universal healthcare coverage compared to the U.S. billing every penny to the healthcare industry and hence the difference. The irony is China today as a life expectancy of 78 years old versus 76 years old for the U.S.
So either the U.S. overstated its GDP by 24 times that of China or China understand its GDP by the same ratio! Hence American’s look rich but they are not and Chinese look poor but they are actually a lot richer.
We haven’t even factored in real purchasing power parity. A dollar can buy a Big Mac in the U.S. but the same dollar can exchange for roughly 7 RMB and that can buy you 3 Big Mac in Beijing. So once you factored in that and you factored in the 0.1% in the U.S. owns almost everything and 99.99% Americans are a mere average Chinese but less capable to think for themselves!
I’m from the US, but unlike most US citizens I’ve traveled extensively. Even so, the five best examples of “American ignorance” I’ve witnesses all occurred within the US.
1) The car that makes its own gas. I was on a flight, sitting in first class, and next to me was a college student (from Quinnipiac College). I was reading a car magazine, and she very excitedly told me that she had just gotten a new car, and what she loved about it the most was that the car made its own gas. This was before the era of electric cars, so that couldn’t have been what she meant. I asked her how her car ‘made its own gas’. She said she didn’t know how, but it was so great that it did. I asked her who told her that it makes its own gas. She explained that was the strange part; the dealer didn’t even mention that! She went on to explain that she drove the car off the dealer’s parking lot, and the gauge said the car had enough gas to go 381 miles. She got on the expressway and drove 15 miles to her parents house, and when she got there the gauge said that the car had enough gas to to go 409 miles! So she’d never have to buy gas again because when she drove 15 miles it made 27 miles worth of gas!!
2) I want a room with an ocean view! I was checking into a hotel in Orlando, FL. Ahead of me in line was a couple from Minnesota, demanding that the desk agent give them a room with an ocean view. The desk agent patiently explained that Orlando is 60 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, so there were no rooms in the hotel that had a view of the ocean since it was an hour’s drive away. The man raised his voice and exclaimed “Don’t you go lying to me; I looked at the map and Orlando is only a half inch from the ocean!”
3) How the f**k am I supposed to know what zip code I’m in? I was at a gas station in Tucson AZ. I no longer live there, but I used to. I was filling up the tank, and a guy at the pump next to me was swearing up a storm and hitting the pump. He came over to me and angrily asked “Do you know what f**king zip code we are in?” and I told him I wasn’t sure, but I thought it was 85719. He went back to his car and moments later was was screaming and kicking the pump again. Then I realized that he thought the pump was asking him to enter the zip code for the gas station, instead of the billing zip code for his credit card!
4) Only an hour from Boston and an hour from NYC! I was at a high school graduation party for my nephew, and I met his girlfriend for the first time. I asked her where she was going to college in the fall, and she told me she was going to Quinnipiac College. I asked her why she chose that school, and she told me that it was in the most amazing location, only an hour’s drive to Boston and an hour’s drive to NYC. I asked her how that could be, since it takes 3h30m with no traffic to get from Boston to NYC, so there isn’t anywhere can be an hour’s drive to Boston and an hour’s drive to NYC. She said “that’s what’s so special about the location!” <Note – I have nothing against Quinnipiac College, it is pure coincidence that two of these stories involve their students>
5) The impact of video games on violent behavior. I’ve been involved in college admissions for both Harvard and MIT. I don’t think I ever laughed so hard as when I read the opening sentence of an applicant’s essay: “The impact of video games on violent behavior has been a controversial topic for centuries.”
And just to show that ignorance isn’t limited to Americans, here’s one involving a Brit;
I’ve been on eBay since before you were born. One of my hobbies is restoring and refurbishing old cameras. I pick up ratty old cameras at random antique stores, goodwill, garage sales, and, of course on eBay, and clean and repair them. On eBay I often find great deals when someone misspells a camera name, so it doesn’t come up in a standard search (i.e. Rollleiflex or Cannon or Lieca) so I search for misspelled versions, and often end up as the only bidder. Once I came across a listing with a whopper of an error. The photo was of a very rare and expensive camera, the Olympus OM-3, with a title and description of a very common and inexpensive camera, the Olympus OM-30. At the time, the OM-30’s sold for $10 – $15, but the OM-3 is very rare, and never sells for less than about $600, sometimes as much as $1800. I felt bad; that was too much of a differential to let the seller leave all that money on the table. So I emailed the seller and asked if the item for sale was the camera in the photo or the camera in the description, and let the seller know that the camera in the photo was worth quite a bit, and if that was what was for sale, s/he might want to adjust the item title so that the auction got the attention it deserved.
The response I got:
“Of course it’s what’s in the picture! How else would I get the picture, you daft cow! Who are you, the eBay police? I’ve been on eBay since before you were born and I don’t need you telling me how to run my business! Bugger off”
So I bought it for $10.27, as the only bidder! I ended up selling it a few weeks later for $1200.
You know there used to be this kind of beer in China. It was really odd. Every time I would drink a case of this beer I would end up with a big strong erection. It was darnest thing. That is because beer is a depressant. You have one or two beers and your little manhood turns into wet spaghetti.
LOL. Guys, you know what I am talking about. Ha ha ha.
But not on this beer. Imagine that!
After a while all the cans were pulled off the shelves in all the stores, and I never saw the beer ever again. Then, one day, I was reading the news and discovered that the beer company was adding generic Viagra into the bottles of beer. So no wonder I’d have a woody after a six pack!
Good golly!
Personally, Viagra gives me a headache. So I am glad that I no longer drink that beer. It was a poor marketing decision, and thus, I am pretty glad that the beer is no longer available.
One day while I was thrifting, a Hispanic man came up to the register and asked the price of a huge plastic doll house. His daughter was trailing behind him. The cashier quoted him five dollars at which his face fell and he turned to put the toy back.
I rolled my eyes in exasperation and slapped five dollars down on the counter. I told the cashier to give him the doll house cuz it was obvious he wanted it for his little girl. The gentleman thanked me profusely but I just waved him out of the door. After all I’ve paid ten bucks for a pair of panty hose. No big deal.
Then next day I was in Walmart at the register stocking up on caffeine-free Pepsi when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned to the woman behind me with a questioning look and said,”Yes?”
She held out a five dollar bill. I looked at the money surprised and asked what was this for. She extended her hand and said,”This is for you”.
OMG. I am an atheist but I swear I looked up at the ceiling toward the heavens thinking about that doll house and said .
What? What? Is ,is God watching me.?
Is,is God
Saganaki (Flaming Greek Cheese)
2024 01 31 11 53
Ingredients
1/4 pound Kefalograviera, Kasseri, Kefalotiri or Romano cheese
1 egg, beaten
Flour, as needed
3 teaspoons olive oil or butter
Lemon wedges, as needed
Oregano to taste
2 tablespoons brandy
Instructions
Slice cheese into 1/4-inch thick slices. Dip cheese into egg, then coat lightly with flour.
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Place cheese in the pan; cook until golden brown on both sides – about 1 minute per side.
Remove pan from heat. Add brandy, then carefully ignite. Douse flame with a squeeze of lemon juice, then sprinkle with oregano.
They are INSANE, and they’re leading us to World War 3 | Redacted with Natali and Clayton Morris
Before this, we’d had a phone plan that fit our needs. We barely used our cell phones so we had a limited number of minutes to use each month. Neither of us ever came close to reaching that limit, not once.
After my husband died I was on the phone non-stop. People calling to see how I was. His job calling with benefit information. His family calling to judge the hell out of me and demand that his death was my fault. Etc, etc, etc.
I need to add that since my husband did not have a will when he died all of our assets were frozen. I was completely unable to work and the rest of the money was unavailable until his estate was figured out.
So, T-mobile calls me to tell me that my phone is about to be shut off. My phone bill had reached$2000! I explained that my husband had died and I was unable to pay the bill. Told them that I didn’t even know WHEN I’d have money to pay anything at all, let alone the phone bill.
T-mobile cleared the entire $2000 from my bill. They also gave me unlimited minutes for the next 2 months.
Say what you will about T-mobile but they’ve done good by me. I’ll forever feel indebted to them and will stay with them til the end.
Large, international companies in the U.S. are not immune to nepotism (no matter what the rules and regulations say) or to giving a friend’s kid a job.
Our department head was asked to give another department head’s daughter, fresh out of university, a job in our unit.
She was cluelessly entitled. She could not understand that most of us worked to survive, not just to get spending money or to please parents. She was surprised when we could not go to a high-end restaurant for lunch because we had bills due.
But she was a sweetheart. She was generous with her things and with her time. We learned quickly to NOT compliment her clothes because she would give the items to us after cleaning them.
If someone was upset, she would listen, soothe and would always follow up. Her positive attitude could brighten our worst days.
HOWEVER, her work was horrid. The supervisors trained her carefully, but she could not grasp the simplest of office tasks. She created chaos in the incoming work, three-step system and crashed the unit’s copy machine for over a week (the Xerox repairman was in awe of the devastation). No job was safe with her.
The department head and the two supervisors wanted to get her out of the unit without hurting her.
They hatched a plan to have her ‘promoted’ to Personnel (H.R.) to a counseling position. On paper, though, she was dismissed from our unit for incompetence.
We had a nice ‘Congratulations!’ luncheon on her last day that made her tear up because we talked all about why we liked her.
She was where she should have been from the beginning and did brilliantly for many years.
Note: She did see the official dismissal notice and then rehire papers. But our department head explained it all gently and kindly as just a formality.
Reports Leaked: China’s Fighter Jet Fleet Is Growing MASSIVELY
If you want to get your crush to instantly fall in love with you, use this love eye trick: You want to look in their left eye for one second, to their lips for one-and-a-half to two seconds and then to their right eye.
If you want people to take your words seriously, say that your father taught you this. People tend to believe parents’ advice inherently.
If you want to know someone is attentive or not, repeat your sentence with a slight change in it. If he is listening either his facial expression will change, or he will point out and question the part.
If you want people to agree with you, just nod and maintain eyecontact while you’re talking, they will nod back.
If you want someone to agree for something, give them a list covering 3 options and drop the one to the bottom that you want them to pick. They are most likely to pick the bottom one.
If you want your friend to carry something, just keep talking to them while handing them the bag. Most people will automatically take the bag without thinking.
Women Treat you Entirely differently When you Become a High Value Man
Oh yes. When I was waitressing in a little hometown cafe, saving money for college. It’s the kind of restaurant where the nearby business owners eat lunch every single day and pretty much always the same crowd.
During a very hectic lunch shift, a party of six unfamiliar men in business suits came in and sat in my section. I recognized one but not the rest. As I had two other orders to take before theirs, I gave them water and menus and said I’d be with them in just a minute or two. The well known guy just happened to be a Senator.
He stood up, grabbed my sleeve and told me they were in a bit of a hurry, and that they really needed me to take their order first. I told him there were two other tables who had sat down ahead of them, and that as promised, I would be right back to take their orders.
That’s when he got indignant and said “Do you know who I am?” I said “Of course I do, Senator” and he informed me that I would be taking their order ahead of the other tables (all regular, daily customers).
I turned around and in a loud voice, I announced to the entire dining room “We have Senator X dining with us today, and he would like to be served ahead of all the rest of you. Would that be OK?”
The guy sat back down, turned bright red and never said another word. He waited his turn just like everybody else….and left me a very nice tip.
Mine was not sabotage. I put in my resignation along with a two week notice. They told me I was fired and I was escorted from the building after packing up my desk. What they forgot was I was the only coder in the building and much of the company’s accounting, inventory, control, security and other software I had customized. Could I have sabotaged it, yes, I left some backdoors to allow me easier access. I also knew all but personal passwords, some of which I was the only one who knew. I also was the only IT person that could do more than plug and play. So all the updates I normally did, weren’t being done. The daily monitoring I did, wasn’t being done. They called several times and I gave them passwords and etc, but no more than they asked. Within a month their whole system was trashed and they couldn’t find anyone that could help with their antiquated programs. They finally asked me to come back to work for them. I only agreed after telling them I would be a contractor, and I put lots of zeros after the numbers. Company went under because they refused to spend money on modern equipment and software.
Her DELUSIONAL Dating Standards Leave Her With No Man
Whether WW3 or Iran war will happen depends on USA.
Either USA withdraws all its troops from Mideast or stops supporting Israel.
The reason why US military bases in Mideast were attacked is because USA is not welcome in Mideast minus Israel.
UN says USA’s occupation of Syria & Iraq is illegal. There is no reason US troops should stay in Mideast.
US troops were not invited by Syria. USA used laundry detergent to falsely accuse Iraq possessing biochem weapons & then waged a war in 2003. … illegal, illegal, illegal.
USA should let Mideast people govern Mideast affairs.
Hence, WW3 is in the hands of USA.
BRICS Sanction UK & US After Recent Missile Attacks On Houthi Rebels!
https://youtu.be/2pU15CpJ4xk
China Deploys Multiple Warships Around Self-Claimed ADIZ – The Japan News
China is deploying multiple warships around the clock in waters near the borders of the air defense identification zone that it has unilaterally established, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
A photograph taken by a Yomiuri Shimbun journalist on Dec. 30 showed a Jiangkai II-class guided-missile frigate of the Chinese Navy in the zone.
Air defense identification zones, or ADIZs, are set up by individual countries outside their territorial airspace to prevent incursions. Countries decide whether there is a possibility of their airspace being entered, and whether their fighter aircraft should scramble. Just passing through Japan’s ADIZ does not result in the scrambling of Self-Defense Forces planes.
China is operating the zone on the premise that it is Chinese airspace. Aircraft that fly within its ADIZ are told to immediately leave.
China’s move shows that it is a pressing issue for the Japanese government to take action to deal with Beijing’s attempt to change the status quo by force. China’s ADIZ, established in November 2013, overlaps with Japan’s and includes the Senkaku Islands, over which China claims sovereignty
Contrary to international custom, China unilaterally demands that aircraft flying in the zone follow Chinese authorities’ instructions. It also claims it will take “defensive emergency measures” if an aircraft fails to do so.
China is thought to be claiming jurisdiction that is not based in international law. The Japanese government is strongly opposed, calling China’s actions invalid, and the United States and South Korea have also expressed concern.
The Yomiuri journalist photographed the Chinese Jiangkai II-class guided-missile frigate and the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s newly commissioned frigate JS Mikuma facing each other in waters about 20 kilometers inside the border of what China insists is its ADIZ.
During the flight, the Yomiuri also confirmed a radio communication in which the Chinese Navy warship called on a separate aircraft flying within China’s ADIZ to leave the airspace.
China started deploying at least three navy warships around the clock in waters around its claimed ADIZ, according to Japanese government sources.
The three include an air defense missile destroyer, which is the Chinese version of an Aegis-equipped destroyer, and a frigate warship. Equipped with high-performance radar, air defense missile destroyers are highly capable of shooting down aircraft
The Chinese military aircraft repeatedly scramble in response to SDF aircraft, according to the sources. The Chinese military is believed to be strengthening its monitoring of SDF and U.S. military aircraft and warships in the East China Sea.
To effectively establish ADIZs, it is essential to deploy radar that can detect early on the approach of other countries’ aircraft, and improve the efficiency of fighter units so they can immediately reach the spot.
China’s monitoring capabilities were initially believed to be low, and it was thought that its establishment of the ADIZ would have no substantial impact.
However, some observers are warning that China will have its warships, which are deployed around the clock, and fighters work together and increase its military activities.
“It’s intended to block the SDF and U.S. military aircraft [from entering the airspace] in the event of contingencies in the Taiwan Strait,” said an SDF source.
Japanese government sources believe that the Chinese warships’ 24-hour deployment in the area is linked with China’s claim of sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands. In fact, when China Coast Guard vessels operating around the Senkakus intruded into Japanese territorial waters, the warships deployed in the area moved southward.
“When China established the ADIZ 10 years ago, it was meant more as a message to keep Japan and the U.S. in check,” said Yasuyuki Sugiura, a senior fellow of the Regional Studies Department’s China Division at the National Institute for Defense Studies.
“In recent years, however, the Chinese air force and navy are increasingly sharing their information. This must mean their capabilities have become more substantial,” he said.
20 vs 1: Speed Dating 20 Girls | Jubilee x Solfa | Versus 1
I was in a really bad car accident when I was 25 years old. Before the accident I exercised constantly – I walked at least five miles every day, did physically taxing work, swam every day (for a minimum of 45 minutes) in the summer. I was in great physical shape, with great muscle tone. In the accident I broke both legs, my pelvis, three vertebrae and dislocated my left knee joint. The emergency room doctor told me I would never walk again. Well, I’ll show him, I thought.
I had a dozen surgeries to repair the knee (my back wasn’t fixable at the time) and worked very hard at my physical therapy. In fact, I worked so hard that I kept getting tendonitis, which would bring my therapy to a halt. I could walk, but I had a limp, which would make my back hurt after a very short time, but I was determined to be able to walk correctly, no matter how much effort it took.
Finally one of my doctors told me the following: “I like to play golf, but no matter how hard I work, no matter how long I train, no matter how many great coaches help me, I will never play golf as well as Tiger Woods. My wife loves to play tennis. No matter how hard she works at it, no matter who coaches her, no matter how many hours of practice she puts in, she will never play tennis like Serena Williams. They have a unique balance of talent and physical attributes that allows them to do what they do. And no matter how much therapy you have, no matter how many operations to fix your legs, you will never walk without a limp. It just isn’t possible and you are doing real damage to yourself by trying so hard to overcome your disability.”
I burst into tears, mainly because I realized that he had been trying to tell me this for months and I had been doing my best not to get the message. I finally listened to him tell me that I had to stop trying so very hard because instead of gaining ground, I was actually making myself worse. I could walk, and that was something to be proud of, considering the extent of my injuries; but I was never going to be able to go back to physical condition I was in before the accident.
I was really upset by the news, but while my doctor was brutally honest with me, he managed to be compassionate when he finally relayed the message in a way I couldn’t ignore.
So now I walk with a cane. I can’t walk very far, but I do manage to get around, and that is good enough.
edit: Thank you all for the many kind comments and up-votes! I never expected my answer to mean so much to so many people. I am doing pretty well, all things considered. I have great physicians and new treatments have eased the problems with my back quite a bit. I had the dislocated knee rebuilt rather than get a knee replacement (I felt I was too young and needed to put it off as long as I could), but I’ll probably get one in the next year or two. I thank God that I had (and still have) good health insurance which allows me to take full advantage of all the new medical therapies out there. I still exercise every day, but I do so sensibly and don’t try to push myself to hard. I’m happy that my doctor was able to find a way to tell me what I needed to hear so that I didn’t continue to make myself worse.
Bob Lazar Says UFO was an Archaeological Finding | Joe Rogan
I call it “the bullshit factor”. This is why former military are in such demand. They’ve seen this. The hurry up and wait. Drive like hell through the night to make your delivery appointment on time, not stopping to eat or piss, and then waiting around four hours or more waiting for a dock, and then 2–4 hours more, waiting to get unloaded.
And then there’s the grumpy shippers and receivers who don’t like you or their job very much who’ll tell you to check back later if you’re unfortunate enough to ask what’s taking so long.
Breakdowns? Don’t get me started…waiting on the side of the road with your penis in your hand for 8-10 hours until the calvary arrives with an oversize dragon wagon.
Not to mention what it does to your health, but I will. My issues included
High blood pressure, 176/96. Can you say Dead Man Walkin’?
Started in 1990 at 165 pounds. Retired in March at 272.
High Cholesterol, can’t remember the numbers, but the doctor said they were off the charts
Blew a disc out in my back at the age of 44 in 1990, the direct result of all the bouncing
Venous insufficiency in my left leg due to sitting. Had to have several veins stripped.
Doc said if I don’t quit, the job’ll kill me. Told her, we all gotta go sometime.
Put this all together and you’d have to be crazier than a shithouse rat to do this job. So, I guess you can call me “Rat”.
This is why the majority of newbies don’t make it past their first year.
I moved next door to a guy called Dave. He lived alone with his 4 rescue dogs.
Dave was very welcoming. He knocked to my house the day we moved in and gave me a bottle of wine as a gift and introduced himself. I liked Dave from that moment.
Dave had disabilities so had a disabled car speck outside of his house. The parking in that street was a nightmare and had a huge impact on our decision to move. I will get to why this is important soon.
There was an old couple called Mr and Mrs Love (how cute?) Lovely old dears. They stopped to say hi one day whilst I was painting my front wall. Mrs Love told me to be careful of Dave. Apparently he was an awful man who complains and fights with all the neighbors. He would call the police for no good reason and he was cruel to his dogs.
Ok, Wow!
The woman across the street told me he was a paedophile who took videos from his bedroom of kids playing.
Another told me he called child protection on them for abusing their kids.
He shot next door but one’s cat with a pellet gun because it was in his garden, one of them said.
So, Dave was not a popular chap!
I’m not one for gossip but it’s hard not to be wary when all your neighbors are telling you that the antichrist is living next door.
When my dog had puppies, Dave gave me his number and told me to call him any time, day or night, if I needed help. He was slightly deaf and didn’t always hear the door bell.
Dave let me use the shared entry that was also his to store some things that I had no space for.
Dave fed my cat when I went away.
Dave never complained when my teenage son and his friends were rowdy.
Dave told me he was leaving his home to the Dogs Trust upon his death, in return for them to take his dogs and rehome them.
Dave looked after my dogs when I was going through something and wasn’t home a lot. He never pried. He just supported me by being there.
Dave cried when I gave him a Christmas card. He never had one before from a neighbor.
Dave helped me move to my new house which wasn’t far away, by bringing bits around that I forgot when the movers came.
The parking spot was the reason that the neighbors started a witch hunt for Dave. They said he scammed the council and wasn’t really ill. Dave got something that they wanted. They didn’t like it. Dave had cancer by the way. Nobody cared to ask. It was easier to start a hate campaign. It took one neighbor to tell an exaggerated story and begin the snowball effect that had Dave labelled as a pariah.
I still see Dave.
The other neighbors, I walk past them if I see them around. All of them are the worst neighbors I ever had.
I hope the couple who moved in to my house appreciate how lucky they are to have Dave next door.
Edit.
I’m grateful when people edit my typos. Please go ahead. I’m often very lax and don’t proof read my answers.
Speck is not a typo. That is the word I chose to use. To me it means a tiny insignificant space. I also meant to say next door but one. It was the neighbour next door to my next door neighbour!
There are two. The first one was in 1987 after my Grandmother died. My grandfather didn’t want to sleep in the house by himself the first night after her death. So, myself and a neighbor agreed to spend the night with him. Keep in mind that my grandparents slept in separate bedrooms, so I slept in my grandfathers bedroom and my grandfather slept in my grandmothers bedroom. The neighbor slept in the living room. In the early morning hours of the next day I noticed that I was little bit chilly. I felt someone take the covers on the bed and pull them up over me. I turned over only to see my grandmother leaving out of the room! When I asked my grandfather and neighbor the next morning if they had come into the room and covered me up, they both said NO!
The next incident happened many years ago. There was an old lady who lived on the corner of my street. One day the neighbor directly across the street from her had a rummage sale. Although it was in the winter, she had tables sitting out with items to sell and people were looking at the items. The old lady on the corner was one of them. I noticed her as I was driving by. The next week I mentioned to my neighbor that I saw the old lady at her yard sale. She looked at me as if I was crazy and said “That lady has been dead for months!”
Americans Living Abroad: First Time You Realized America Really Messed You Up – American Reacts
I came to the United States in 2006. Looking for full time work, I took a position of checkout operator at a Super K-Mart in a small town in California. The job was basic pay, no fixed hours on call. So was not great but as i had worked retail in the United Kingdom, I saw it as a stop-gap position until I could get a more regular job.
It was Thanksgiving Day 2006 and the store had been open since about noon. There was lots of traffic as customers came in to snap up Thanksgiving bargains.
I had taken several thousands of dollars and my till drawer had a bulge created by all of the $100 bills stuffed under the change drawer.
About 6pm the store manager came to my check-out and told me to open the cash register and give him the $100 bills.
I asked him to count the cash in front of me and give me a written receipt so I could place this in the till so the cash office could reconcile my till for the end of the day.
I had always done this in my own stores in England and I had worked for Tesco, a British supermarket chain where such receipts for large cash withdrawals by managers were manditory.
This manager refused. Opened my cash drawer himself and pulled out all of the $100 bills and put them into a cash bag without running the audit on the cash register.
I immediately closed off the register. Walked to the cash office with the contents of the drawer, told them I was leaving and went to collect my belongings from my locker in the staff room.
There was no way I was going to work for a manager who could come to my cash register, and take cash at will, leaving me with possible charges of theft from my employer.
Deciding to just walk out wasn’t a problem. Going to prison was.
A week later I received an offer of a far better job. Part-time with fixed hours. No cash handling involved.
Expats Share Their American Trauma After Living Abroad
I’ve answered this question elsewhere but might as well do it again. In the 80s I owned a limousine company in Southern California. You get or are in the area of celebrities from time to time.
Nicest – Hands down Robert Wagner (Hart vs Hart, etc). Busy night, MTV awards so I was driving a car. My client was a music producer. Awards ceremony is at the Universal Amphitheatre. They had us park in the back lot which happened to be among the movie sets they use for neighborhoods (Like Ozzie & Harriet, Desperate Housewives, etc). It’s kind of confusing back there and pitch black at night. Out of the night walks someone who asks for directions to the Amphitheatre. It’s Robert Wagner. I agree to guide him and we chatted as we walked and parted once I got him to the Amphitheatre back stage. (I often wondered WTH he was doing at the MTV awares but whatever). Anyway, a year later I’m dropping clients off at a restaurant on Sunset. Walking up the street is Robert Wagner. He approaches me and picks up the conversation where we left off, knew my name, etc. Just like 2 old buddies catching up. He certainly could have walked on by and I probably wouldn’t even have noticed him. He went out of his way to approach me. Not a lot of people would do that much less celebrities. Impressed the hell out of my clients.
Since then I’ve filmed with Jay Leno and he’s another nice guy. I noticed that people like that really have to fly private. It’s not a choice because they are snobbish. They’d never be able to make a commercial flight on time if they had to walk through an airport and not acknowledge people.
Rudest? Hands down Tyne Daly. World Class A-hole. Totally unnecessary to treat people like that. 2nd place is not even close. It was difficult to find drivers that would drive her more than once.
I totally get the autograph thing. If you sign one, you have to sign the other 1,000 people’s who saw you giving out one. Particularly when they are eating. Most celebrities you can get autographs by writing their management. Don’t bother them when they are eating, or god forbid with their children or looking like they are late getting somewhere. If you break that barrier, don’t be surprised if they are not particularly welcoming. I also understand some of the sports stars who won’t sign because their stuff ends up on eBay the next day. I don’t think it’s an issue where they want the money, I think that it’s just not a good feeling to know that the only reason you got asked is so they can use you.
I don’t envy fame, having to be “On” 24/7 while out in public. You turn down one request and you are an instant a-hole.
THE U.S. Wants To Remove The No-Fault Divorce Law & Prevent Paternity Fraud. WOMEN ARE PISSED OFF!
The world—American or otherwise—should bear this in mind.
Chinese ports handled 300m containers last year.
To put the number in context, American ports struggle with 50–60m, with the 10% increase during covid provoking loud creaks of protest from the antiquated system, resulting in transpacific shipping rates going up by an order of magnitude, or >10x.
China is the truly the world’s factory. It imports plenty, and exports plenty.
A naval blockade of China equals a naval blockade of the world, tradewise.
What happens to the >1t in annual revenue that American MNCs generate from within the mainland? Note this is not visible from bilateral trade figures.
What happens to Wall Street?
Good luck with that foolhardy scenario, which will lead to material collapse of civil society everywhere, because China is indispensable to the global supply chain.
Note: It is impossible to blockade China, militarily speaking.
We don’t care if you got a little fat, we didn’t choose you because of the measurement of your waist size.
We’re not overly jealous, your male best friend is over-friendly.
Before you took us to buy nail paints with you, we used to think there were only 7 colours.
We don’t care if you did your make-up by watching a 3 hour long tutorial by James Charles or you haven’t washed your face. Either way you’re beautiful.
Yes we find your friends attractive and we can’t help it but you should know that you’re different.
Doesn’t matter if it’s bold red or nude pink, all of your lipsticks taste like absolute plastic.
We often get emotional but the way we deal with them is quite different.
We use female cosmetics and you better not ask why.
It breaks our heart when we look at you and think that you and I won’t last forever.
Yes romantic movies and parties are fun but can we go on a late night walk?
Not me, but one of my tenants. She was elderly, and complained to me that her cousin stole her life savings of $6,000 when he helped her move in. Going forward about a year later she arrived home to find her grandson hanging from the kitchen doorway. She ran out the back door, never to return home.
I heard she was hospitalized after that, from a breakdown. Her son came from another state and packed up her belongings. He wrote down on a piece of paper that whatever was left behind I could keep, sell, or dispose of. He then turned the keys over to me.
I was shocked when I went into the place to clean it. He had left behind what I considered important items, photos in picture frames, a photo album, nice clothing, etc. I felt anger for her, that her son wasn’t more considerate and caring.
My husband told me to look through everything as I packed it up, as old people hide money in their stuff. Sure enough I found some old pennies hidden in a picture frame. Then I found ninety single dollar bills hidden in a box of socks that must have belonged to her grandson. At last I was going through a laundry basket with neatly layered towels and shoes that was beneath the kitchen sink. At the bottom lay a book that held business cards, her ID, social security card, etc. Page after page held $100 dollar bills. In all it totaled $6,000.
I thought about all I could do with $6,000. After all the son had said I could keep anything I found. The more I thought about it, the sicker I felt in my stomach. This lady was alive and had been through hell. It was the money she thought her cousin had stolen. It still belonged to her. I immediately called the property owner and had her pick it up, along with the picture albums, old pennies, and a few other probably meaningful possessions. We felt skeptical about giving the money to the son whom I sensed didn’t care. (Or maybe he was just grieving his son’s suicide.) Nonetheless, it took a year of finding honest relatives, but the lady did finally get the money back into her possession.
Like Pakistan was forced to pay for all those US weapons from the 1960s to 2000s and ended up unable to pay for their development.
So the Key Question for the Taiwanese is :-
Are the US Weapons Free?
Can US make up a market equivalent to 36% of Taiwanese Exports that the Mainland offers today
The Answer to both is NO & NO
Best example is Australia
40.6% of their export market was China in 2019
Then they had a tiff
Australia couldn’t sell anywhere else. The US and Europe and India offered only a paltry 8% market for Australian Exports
The US couldn’t pick up even 10% of the Slack that China Trade cost the Aussies for the whole of 2020–2021
Meanwhile the US and UK signed a deal to SELL SUBMARINES to Australia and weaponize them against China
By 2022, Albanese flew down, kissed the signet ring of Xi Jingping and today Australia got back a huge chunk of the Chinese Market
Anti China Propaganda is still prevalent but much much lower than under Scott Morrison
Same for Argentina
China is a huge market for their Exports
Can US pick up the slack?
No
Same for OPEC Nations
China is a huge market for their Oil and Gas.
Can US pick up the slack?
No
Same for Europe
Did US sell Europe Gas at Russian Prices?
Nopes
Since the 1960s , tell me ONE COUNTRY that prospered under US intervention
The Answer is NOT ONE NATION ever became better due to US intervention
They became significantly worse
US would meddle in their affairs, sell them weapons with the excuse of fighting for democracy, enrich shareholders of Raytheon, NG and Boeing and all those contractors and kill many thousands of people
Every such Nation has been made poorer thanks to the US
The Corrupt Leadership will enrich themselves like Zelensky or the Afghan President who fled and likely Bong Bong Marcos and Lai
Meanwhile the Poor Citizens will be poorer than ever and worse off
Why should we believe Taiwan would be any different to the 14 Nations where US ‘INTERVENED’ for Prosperity between 1965 to 2023????
If I were a Ukrainian general, I have nothing to win but everything to lose. I will either surrender or I will enriched myself profusely and hide my ill gotten gains away for the rest of my life.
In Malaysia we have an expression that is apt. It is call “nasi sudah jadi bubur” or it means Ukraine is beyond redemption. 2014 when the U.S. bribed and coerced Ukrainians to agree to poke Russia in the eye after the U.S. staged and funded colour revolution to set up a sham government with a puppet ruler started to wrong till today 10 years on.
Well the U.S. and U.K thought wrongly that it could fxxk up Russia or China as it wish! But it can’t! I can send such nation like Ukraine, Isreal or Taiwan to be a sacrificial lamb. Too bad Ukraine allowed the CIA to destroy their wonderful nation.
Women’s Dating Standards have Ruined Relationships
https://youtu.be/MNvpS8UU5l0
Chicken Piccata
Chicken Piccata goes very well with Fettuccine Alfredo or Capellini aglio e olio or some rice pilaf (or risotto) and sautéed rapini (broccoli rabe). This will be “del’arte di mangiare” bene (the art of eating well).
2024 01 31 11 58
Ingredients
1 pound skinned chicken breast, sliced thin, or chicken tenders
1 cup all-purpose flour with a sprinkle of granulated garlic, salt and pepper
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 pound fresh sliced mushrooms or a can of straw mushrooms with juice removed
1/2 cup chicken stock (boullion cubes dissolved in a cup of hot water will do)
1/2 cup white wine and remember, do not cook with any wine you wouldn’t drink*
1-2 cloves finely chopped garlic
Small handful chopped parsley
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 lemon sliced thin, remove seeds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* This means do not use cooking wine…ever!
Instructions
Flatten breasts of chicken with the back of a sauté pan between wax paper if you didn’t cut them thin enough (1/4 inch or so). Pat them in the flour mixture and set aside.
Heat the sauté pan to medium/high and add the oil and 1/2 the butter. When back up to heat and butter is melted, add the chicken. (If the butter starts boiling it will burn so lower the heat until you put the chicken in.) When the edges of the first side start to appear cooked, turn them over. Add a splash of lemon and wine, salt and pepper to taste, and cook until done. When done, set aside and keep warm. You may have to do this a few times depending on the size of your pan or how much you are making.
De-glaze the pan over hot heat with the wine to dissolve the brown particles and let it reduce. Note: If you are using gas and tip the edge of the pan over the flame it will ignite ( flambe ) and flame up to burn off the alcohol – BE CAREFUL! Then add the stock, butter, and lemon juice and let reduce further. Add a pinch of flour to thicken or use 1/2 teaspoon of Roux (below). This should take about a minute or so. When thickened, add mushrooms, garlic, parsley, and the sliced lemon to the pan and sauté for a minute or so and blend well. Place the chicken a serving platter or plates, spoon over juices, top with lemon slices and serve immediately. This may look like a lot of work and too much oil, butter or spices but trust me, if you skimp, it will not taste the same. Also, if you don’t want to use chicken, you can substitute with turkey or veal.
Roux: This is the best thickening agent and can be used in anything – demi-glazes, gravies, soups, etc.
Use equal parts butter and flour.
Melt butter; slowly whisk in flour and simmer until golden brown and remove from flame. DONE! When using a roux it must be at room temperature or cooler than the product being cooked. Over medium heat, stir in a little roux until dissolved and let thicken. Start off with a teaspoon per quart of liquid, or fraction thereof, and add as required.
At a class reunion, a classmate I had not seen in maybe 40 years was there. He came over, ask me to dance and proceeded to thank me. I was taken aback. “Whatever for? For a dance?” He then explained he had come to the reunion to thank me and another girl for “saving” him when we were young. (Like 4th-8th grade.) He said I had let him check my homework (I did vaguely remember one incident) to see if his answers were right. He said that Debbie had also helped him. I was still confused. “Why did you feel you had to come thank me for such a small thing from so long ago?”
As the dance ended, he began to tell the story. I was appalled. Seems he was raised by an alcoholic father who would beat the boys if their grades weren’t B’s or above. Hence his need to check our homework, which we accorded him. Little did I know the true depth of his story. I was so appalled that I blurted out, “Why didn’t anyone do anything? The adults, why didn’t the adults do something?” I was even far more appalled when told that most of the school staff knew of those kid’s situation. He said the janitor’s wife fed them sandwiches every morning because they had had no breakfast because Dad would drink up the food money. When I asked again why no one did anything, he told me it wasn’t like it is nowadays back in the mid 60’s. There was no CPS or 211Kids. Especially out there in the country.
Thus, he felt that Debbie and I had saved him from more than one beating. Finally, about the time he graduated he said he and his Dad got into it again and for the first time he turned the tables on his “old man” and beat him. He left for the service within the week rather than stay in that home any longer.
So yes, someone from my past has come back to thank me and broke my heart for the young boy I had known but didn’t know his horrid home situation. Thank God I handed that small boy (he was always sort of scrawny back then) my homework. Would do it again!
21 Minutes of Older Women realizing they are not Wanted anymore and crying on Social Media
It was my first real job, and I helped the company install a new computer system to replace the punch cards and ribbons monster they had used before. The new sexy system used state of the art floppy discs!
So, I had been there for 50 weeks when they fired me (Unfair Dismissal laws apply from 52 weeks on). I had seen it coming and had another job lined up, but I was determined that I would leave everything in such good order that whoever came after me could see how good I was at my job and didn’t believe any slander about me.
My handwriting is pretty terrible, which didn’t matter when I was the only one reading it, but for the sake of my successor, I took all the floppy disks and relabeled them with clear, colour coded labels and legible handwriting.
Then I left and started a much better job the following week.
Later, I heard that the boss’s wife got suspicious of my new labels – AND TOOK THEM ALL OFF ALL THE DISCS. All the payroll discs, ledgers, creditors and bank accounts, end of month totals, and master discs, all sitting in a pile with no labels and no one in the company with enough computer knowledge to know which was which.
The got onto their computer support company in Dublin, but since they had screwed them over they last time they had worked, the IT people were in no hurry to sort them out.
They didn’t ask me.
By the time they found someone, the company had gone bust.
And the thing was, I had no intention of getting revenge, it was the company’s own practices which had resulted in it.
In reality, the best hiding place is the one that the police walk right past and never find. I’m sure it happens, but not in this case:
My favorite is the auto body repair shop we raided which was dealing a lot of heroin. We knew it was in there, but we couldn’t find it. We searched all the cars, all the tools, the tool boxes, the oil tanks – every place imaginable. The facility had a concrete floor and cinder-block walls with a 16′ ceiling — not many hiding places.
During the raid, we detained seven or eight people hanging out. As per standard operating procedure, we ran warrant checks on everyone there. That’s when we got lucky. One of the people there had a reasonably large warrant from another state.
The warrant wasn’t for a violent crime; he was stealing cars and selling off the parts. He must have pissed someone off, because his bail was fifty thousand dollars, full cash. When we were asked to confirm the person’s identity, my sergeant gave a different date of birth so that the warrant wouldn’t execute. Meaning the computer wouldn’t know we had the wanted person in custody.
We took the guy outside and explained the situation to him. Either he gave us the hiding place, or he sits in jail on a fifty thousand dollar warrant. He was very hesitant to give up the location because he said we would never find it on our own, they would know he told, and the dealer was a friend.
We promised to protect his identity and come up with a way to find the drugs which wouldn’t look suspicious. So he spilled the beans. Just off the ceiling, was a typical configuration of sprinkler pipes. The last section of pipe was a fake. The connecting pipe had been internally welded closed. The final length of the sprinkler pipe including two sprinkler heads were dry and empty, except for many bags of heroin. The rest of the pipes were all pressurized and fully functioning as a sprinkler system.
According to our new informant, the dealer would stand on the hood of the same car, which never moved from the shop. As the dealer stood on the vehicle, the lift would be raised. This put the dealer close enough to the pipe to unscrew it and retrieve the hidden drugs.
As the dealer watched, we spent hours acting as if we were searching until our sergeant said, “Look, what’s with all the sneaker prints on the hood of that car.” He had one of us climb up there and stand in the same spot, but the detective couldn’t reach anything and said so. The sergeant says, “How about if we raise the car.” As soon as the lift raised the car, the only thing up that high was the sprinkler pipe. The detective wiggled it around a little, and it was loose. He then yells down, “Hey, this sprinkler pipe has greasy hand prints all over it.”
He unscrewed the pipe and found the drugs and the dealer couldn’t believe we had located his stash. We told him we would recover his prints from the sprinkler pipe and he quickly admitted to owning the drugs.
He had a near perfect hiding place. His biggest mistake was that a second person was needed to operate the lift. This second person not only sold stolen auto parts, but also sold his friend down the river.
Its always been a mystery to me, it’s never been a problem that I have had. Except for a brief period where I had the worlds best maid.
She was the bar maid at my local pub, and over heard me say that my place was a mess, and I needed a maid.
It turns out that she worked days for Molly maid, and nights at the pub, and she picked up any work she could get during the day on weekends. She was only 21, and she was saving up to buy a bed and breakfast in a resort town in a neighboring province. She said she was almost there, at 21.
So I gave her a key to my place, and when I got home from work Saturday afternoon my house looked like a tornado had hit. All of my living room furniture was stacked in the middle of the living room. The smell of pinesol was strong in the kitchen and hallway. The fridge and stove were away from the wall, and there was no one in sight. I went upstairs and all the beds were piled in one room, the dressers pulled away from the wall. She was on her hands and knees, scrubbing a stain out of the carpet, that had been hidden by the bed. She said she was almost done cleaning and just had to put stuff back.
I offered to do that downstairs, while she finished up, upstairs. She gladly accepted. I went down and pushed the fridge and stove back over to the spotless walls, on spotless floors. I moved the living room and dining room furniture back .
I went upstairs and put the dressers and beds back in the guest rooms, while she finished the master bedroom.
She never stopped moving for a second. She said she loved the smell of a clean house. I wanted marry her then and there, but didn’t want to risk losing my maid 😂.
She asked me when the last time I had cleaned behind the fridge and stove, when I said never, she said “I could tell.”
The walls had been washed, all of the light fixtures cleaned, the windows washed. The laundry room was spotless, even the furnace room was swept and dusted.
She came every two weeks for 3 months, and then announced that she had bought a bed and breakfast at 21.
I went from a slob, to the cleanest house on the block, and back to a slob in 4 months.
The way I kept my house spotless was to have the worlds best maid.
There was this Chinese buffet in my hometown at which I used to eat, quite regularly. Probably more often than a person interested in their health and well-being should.
The woman at the front desk would seat me herself, and bring me my drink, rather than the waiters/waitresses.
The head chef would always come out and greet me and give me a polite smile, and ask me if I wanted anything specific made (of which I never really took advantage).
So, in other words, these people knew who I was and actually cared about my business.
I used to go there all the time with my then-girlfriend.
One day, I went in there alone on my lunch break.
The woman at the front desk approached me at my table.
She asked me, “You and your girlfriend break up?”
I was confused. “Uh… no?”
“Oh.” Then she said, very matter-of-factly, “She come in here earlier with another man. She kiss him.”
I was shocked. “What? She did?”
“Yeah!” She said, very excitedly, and pointed to a table, “She sat over there.”
So I texted her.
“Hey, I’m at the buffet for lunch, wanna join me?”
She replied, “No. I already ate.”
“Ah, cool. Where’d ya go?”
She replied, “My mom’s.”
So I said, “Really? Because the waitress said she saw you here earlier.”
Five minutes later, she texted, “Yeah, I went there. But I didn’t eat anything.”
At that point, I lost interest in pursuing the truth, so I just said, “Cool. We’re done.”
I was working for a company that sold, repaired, and installed computer networks, back in the 1980′s.
One guy called on the phone and yelled, “I want you to get over here and fix my fucking computer!” I asked him to repeat it. Didn’t know the voice or phone number, but I wanted to be sure. I repeated it, louder. “I WANT SOMEBODY TO COME HERE AND FIX MY FUCKING COMPUTER!” With total calm, I told him, “Sorry sir, we don’t service that brand.”
Another time, we’d just hired two sales people that a competitor had fired. They were following up all their sales leads that they had brought with them. Their former boss found out that they’d been closing some of those sales while they worked for us, and he called us, mad as hell, to speak to my boss, My boss didn’t want to deal with him, so he just handed me the phone. I was the bookkeeper. It was a small office. He mouthed, “Tell him whatever, I don’t care!” and then introduced me as his “Sales Manager.” I shrugged, took the phone and asked what the problem was. The guy told me that our new sales people had been poaching his leads, that he had come to him originally because of advertising that his company had paid a lot of money for. He wanted me to fire the two salespeople. I thought for a moment while I agreed with him that what they had done was quite unethical, and reprehensible. Then I told him I would see to it that it didn’t happen again, if he would help me, by giving me a list of all the prospective clients that he was working on, with their names, addresses, and contact information. He asked why, and I told him I was going to make sure that our sales staff didn’t call those people, but of course, I had to know who they were. I assured him that if he would fax me that list, I would make sure that all our salespeople received it with “appropriate instructions.’
He hung up without saying another word. And no, I never got the list. “
My little sister was terribly bullied in middle school. She often came home in tears; her grades were low and she had no friends. Although she was still young, it was not difficult to see that she was really depressed.
It was an expensive, selective, all-girl, private school. Our family considered it an achievement that she got accepted, and brushed off her struggles, saying it was only an adjustment period.
They were wrong. She spent two years in total misery. Her time in the counselor’s office told me that she would never adapt. It broke my heart seeing her unhappy and there was nothing I could do about it.
We relocated and she started at another school, where she prospered. It was the fresh start she needed. She had a great circle of friends and her academic performance improved.
My sister grew into a beautiful confident young lady. She managed to overcome all her insecurities and learned to socialize. Her old school troubles became distant memories that we avoided talking about.
Until we had to move back. My family wanted her to go to her old school and her old “friends”. She was devastated, because she was leaving her real ones, but mostly about having to live through the nightmare school once again.
We went there to re-enroll, after spending the night unsuccessfully trying to convince everyone against it. My sister recognized a group of girls from her old class at the gate. She said hello, they ignored her and started snickering.
She just sat there helplessly as the re-admission forms were being filled out. But I was fuming. We will process your paperwork and call you next week to pay the tuition fees so she can start, said the registrar.
It was not too late and I was going to act quietly. The next morning I phoned the school and asked to speak to her then counselor. I reminded her of all the difficulties my sister had when she attended that school.
I told her how well she’s doing in her new one and offered to send progress reports for proof. I asked her to keep our conversation confidential and finally begged her to decline the re-admission request.
“I will review her file and do my best. But please remember that I am only part of the admission panel and I do not have the final say in her acceptance” said her counselor. I hung up and prayed.
A few days later, my dad announced that he had bad news. The school rejected my sister’s application and we will be looking at other options. They did not provide a reason for their rejection.
No one knew about my meddling until she graduated high school. Ten years later, she is still very grateful about it.
China Banned ALL Rare Earth Tech, What this Means for Ucore
Me: “This is my two weeks notice.” Manager, looking stricken, as if I was her child saying I was leaving home: “I’m not happy for you.”
2007:
Me: “This is my two weeks notice. I do not want a party.” Manager : “Why are you leaving?” Me: “Because I am the only person left in this department and for some reason they gave me 10 months notice instead of 60 days, but it’s obvious we are going to be dissolved. I want to walk out of here on my own.” Manager: “No, no, that’s not true. But okay. What kind of party do you want?” Me: “I do not want a party. Please.” Manager: “It’ll just be a small party.”
2010:
Manager, smirking: “We’ll need an official letter of resignation.” Me, placing my ID badge on her desk. “Here is my official resignation.”
No one handled it well. No one had the slightest interest in me, my career, my emotional well-being. Right now I have a boss I’d crawl through broken glass for, it’s the first time in my entire career I feel that way.
How Aliens TIME-TRAVEL… Eric Weinstein explains to Joe Rogan
https://youtu.be/KhRLlwzkN24
Tuscan Chicken Rolls with Pork Stuffing (Rollatini di Pollo)
2024 01 31 11 56
Ingredients
3 large whole chicken breasts (about 2 1/2 pounds total)
1/2 pound ground pork
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground savory
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup cold water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon
Minced parsley
Instructions
Remove bones and skin from chicken breasts; cut chicken into halves. Place between 2 pieces plastic wrap; pound until 1/4 inch thick, being careful not to tear the meat.
Cook and stir pork, onion and garlic over medium heat until pork is brown. drain fat.
Stir in egg, bread crumbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, savory and pepper.
Place about 1/3 cup pork mixture on each chicken breast half. Roll up; secure with wooden picks.
Place rolls in greased 11 x 7-inch baking dish.
Brush rolls with butter; pour any remaining butter over rolls. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add wine.
Bake uncovered at 400 degrees F until chicken is done, 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove chicken to warm platter; remove wooden picks. Keep warm.
Pour liquid from baking dish into 1-quart saucepan.
Stir water into cornstarch; pour into liquid. Stir in bouillon. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.
I was asked that question one Christmas Eve when I was in Saudi Arabia in 2010. I was working there as a nurse in a major hospital in Riyadh. For us foreigners, Christmas was a particularly dangerous time of year, as Al-Qaidah was still strong, Bin Laden was still in charge, and predictably, they always wanted to give us the same Christmas present, a big bomb, preferably delivered via car. Having several hundred infidel women living together was too tempting for them to pass up.
Living in a 100% Muslim country that didn´t tolerate any other religions, we were warned not to try to celebrate Christmas. Near our quarters APC´s (Armored Personnel Carriers) would roam the streets with soldiers sent to protect us from the inevitable bomb threats. As Christian healthcare workers we were told not to even wish each other merry Christmas, as that could result in our being deported back to our home countries (although we never saw that actually happen to anyone).
There were many Muslims from other countries who would openly defy that order and wish us merry Christmas, but we were cautious, never knowing who you could trust. Some people even asked the Irish nurses how to say it in Irish, and hearing Filipinos and Christian Indians saying “Nollaig Shona” in the hallways to each other was surreal.
A week before the holiday I received a whispered invitation to go to a Christmas party thrown by a Saudi man in his home. My immediate response was “Are you joking?”
The Ukrainian nurse who invited me assured me that she wasn´t.
Abdullah* was a Saudi James Dean. He was a rebel in a white thobe. I learned that he had defied his family and married a tall, blue eyed blonde woman from the Czech Republic, which had resulted in him being rejected by his family. Although he was still a practicing Muslim, in defiance of everything he had been taught, he held a Christmas party in his home every year. The party was a potluck, all we had to do was bring the food and he would supply the illegal homemade alcohol.
My curiosity overcame my fear of arrest and deportation and I baked a cheesecake and set off to the party. There were roughly twenty-five people in attendance, all of us acutely aware of the danger attending this fete presented but throwing caution to the wind. He had invited westerners representing different nationalities and professions, nurses, architects, pilots and engineers, all of us connected only by the fact that we were together in a strange foreign land trying to navigate through the landmines of religious based rules.
Abdullah and his wife Magda* were gracious hosts, and as promised, he soon brought out his homemade wine and grain alcohol as we set up the buffet table full of food. He was breaking every law one could imagine, having unmarried men and women together in one room, celebrating the infidel holiday of Christmas, drinking alcohol, and even having music playing. All we needed was a roast pig to complete the debauchery.
Abdullah revelled in his rebellion like a child deliberately throwing himself in a mud puddle whilst wearing his best clothes.
By the time 02:00 rolled around, Abdullah and his guests were three sheets to the wind, and he leaned towards me sitting on the sofa and softly slurred, “Do you want see my whip scars?”
My mouth dropped open in surprise and I glanced quickly towards his wife, who nodded solemnly.
“Uh, OK, sure.” I stuttered, lying about my certainty.
He stood up unsteadily and stripped off his shirt, causing the other guests to abruptly stop their conversations, wondering why their Muslim host was taking off his clothes in his living room. He turned and showed us his back.
His guests collectively gasped. He sported dozens of lash scars all over his back. The nurses present gave into our clinical curiosity and cautiously reached out to touch his wounds. The other professionals weren´t as used to seeing physical damage as we were and didn´t come near.
We asked him what happened, and he told us that a couple of years earlier, he had been preparing to throw his traditional party and three women who were coming asked if they could bring some of their homemade wine. Abdullah decided that it was too dangerous for them to transport it in a taxi, so he offered to come and pick up the bottles himself.
Unfortunately, he was stopped by the police on his way home and they searched his car. He was immediately arrested, and the sentence was made worse by the fact that he wasn´t just caught in possession of alcohol, but by transporting it in his car, he was charged with intent to distribute, which carried a tougher sentence. He told the police that the wine was his, refusing to turn in the women to the authorities.
He was jailed for three months while he awaited trial, then he was sentenced to a hundred lashes. Even in our inebriated state, we couldn´t believe the harshness of the sentence.
“How do you survive a hundred lashes?” We asked him in awe, still staring at his back.
“They don´t do it all at once.” He explained. “They give you twenty-five or thirty, then you go home and have to come back a month later for more.”
He told us that they finally let him go home and with delays he waited almost a year for the first set of lashings, then a couple of months for the second, etc.
“Why would you go back for more?”
He shrugged. “Where am I supposed to go? They flagged my passport. I can´t go anywhere.”
Understandably, we were horrified by what we saw. One of the Canadian men in the party came up to him and clapped him on the shoulder. “Damn, man, I would take you out and buy you a beer if we lived somewhere where I could do that.”
Abdullah nodded. “I appreciate that.” He said softly.
“After all that, why in the world would you continue having Christmas parties?” I asked him. “Aren´t you afraid of getting caught again?”
He looked at us with a drunken fire in his eyes. “They will never keep me down. I will fight against their rules even if it kills me.”
Now, in 2020, Saudi Arabia has finally outlawed lashing as a corporal punishment for crimes. Every Christmas I think of Abdullah and wonder if he is still fighting the man – James Dean style
Mandatory Paternity Test Law Passed No More Paternity Fraud From Women
“If the average person knew the state of law enforcement in this country, they couldn’t sleep at night” – from one of my academy instructor’s lectures. Nothing has changed in 30 plus years. There is a reason why I always carry a gun off-duty and try to talk all of my loved ones into at least owning a firearm.
There are a lot fewer of us out on the street than you know. Take your local agency’s head count, lop off about 20 percent for administrative assignments, then divide the remaining amount by three or four (shifts). Then subtract about a quarter for those on days off/sick days/limited duty/training/vacation. Make it a busy night and no cars will be available and the calls pile up… and pile up.
After about three years, most officers become civil service workers. They are not looking to invent new case law or do more paperwork. At five to seven years, most officers think about another line of work. If they pass that hurdle, they can last 20. At 20 plus years, unless you are driving like you are competing in the Indy-500, you’re not getting stopped and you have to really, really work to be arrested.
The job is not nearly as exciting as portrayed on Cops or other television shows. There is an inordinate amount of paperwork – at times it seems like we are glorified secretaries with guns.
When we arrive on scene, we instantaneously know who is going to jail: the guy with no shirt (or wearing a “wife-beater”) with a mullet, usually standing in the middle of the road puffing up.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, good happens after midnight.
Don’t expect me to fix in under 15-minutes what took you ten years to destroy.
Don’t expect me to raise your kids. You decided for years to raise feral children with no discipline or sense of social responsibility, I can’t do much in a few minutes.
None of us care who you know. If you had any real juice; you’d not say anything, but would just smile and accept the citation or arrest and magically, behind the scenes, things would be fixed. I’ve dealt with the really connected people and have seen how they can manipulate the system – and that obviously ain’t you.
You can’t get our badge. Trust me, we hear that all the time. Just like how you will sue – get in line. Again, if you had power, you’d be as inconspicuous as possible.
Attitude goes a long way. I’ve cited people I originally was going to warn and warned people who I was going to cite. Same with arrests.
If we have to fight you or shoot you, we will be the first to give you medical treatment.
We are not trained as social workers or psychologists but that is a big portion of our jobs. When no one else is available or can help, it seems like a good time to call the police department.
When we are trying to help you and you feel like we are trying to shove a square peg into a round hole – we feel the same way. The laws and policies don’t make much sense to us either.
Law enforcement is one of only two jobs where everyone is an “expert” with no training or experience. The other one is being a head football coach.
I sincerely apologize when we forget to be empathetic. While this our 500th burglary, this is your first time being violated. While this is our 200th dead body call, it’s your first.
I don’t care about your prior bad experience with law enforcement. I’m here now. I’ve had bad experiences with plumbers, physicians and barbers, but I don’t stereotype a whole profession off of one experience.
Our cars aren’t much different than yours. Sure we have a snazzy paint job, some special lights and a radio, but we can get as stuck as easily as you, we can have an accident just like you and we can’t stop on a dime. And, we’re limited on how fast we can get to a call. We can’t go warp speed nor get traffic to part, like Moses did with the sea.
We really don’t care what race, sex or ethnic group you belong to, we are trying to get this issue resolved before going to the next call.
We all H-A-T-E when you scare your young kids by threatening them by telling them we will arrest them. Really? Way to make your kids the next generation of cop-haters and they are now petrified to approach us if they’re in danger or lost.
Dogs in Shenzhen are a real trip. I must tell you all, these pooches have to be the most catered to, and pampered animals in the world. They get hair styling, fingernails, their own clothes, carriages and backpacks.
Many, many years ago I was working at Godfather’s Pizza. One of our assistant managers was a real jerk. One of his endearing habits was making sexist remarks. I found that the way to shut him up was to add into the conversation topics that he just couldn’t handle. Like one day when a song by The Who was playing. I altered the words and sang to him “Talking ’bout my menstruation”. Another time he was being rather condescending, lecturing the kitchen staff, and mentioned the cleaning towels. He said “We DON’T use RAGS!” and I said “I do!”
Which reminds me of a time with this guy I was dating briefly. We had just had dinner at a restaurant on our way back to town, and before leaving, he said “I’m going to visit the porcelain altar.” When he came back from the restroom, I asked “Did he accept your sacrifice?” He answered “With open mouth”. So then it was my turn. When I came back to the booth, I said “I gave a blood sacrifice”. I don’t know why he thought his answer was so witty, but mine was horribly disgusting!
This was back several years ago, phone books were still used and no one had ever heard of such a thing as a smartphone. But I went to a Ford dealership in response to one of those Saturday morning programs I seen about various dealerships having sales on used cars where they’d parade them by the screen while rattling off the various things the car or truck was equipped with and the listed price. I go to the dealership and fell for their first scam, they ask you if you’re trading in the vehicle you arrived in and if you say yes they ask you for the keys so they can appraise the vehicle. Don’t ever fall for this cause not only are they going to low ball you on the trade in value (know what your car is worth before you go), but some dealerships will also about hold your keys hostage until you agree to buy whatever car you had been looking at with excuses ranging from they’re still looking at your car to let me go talk to my manager for the umpteenth time…
So I had fallen into this trap. The sales guy I had test drove the car with didn’t know anything about the car, I had to educate him, and I decided not to buy the car. Well they wouldn’t give me back the keys to my car and we were going through a litany of excuses – they were still looking at my car, let me talk to my manager, they can’t find my keys, so on and so forth. I’m getting angry and I’m not a confrontational person mind you but around and around we’re going. But then I have an idea and ask for a phone and the phone book. They ask who I’m calling??? I turn the pages of the phone book until I find the listings for the various local news channels and start to dial the phone on the desk for one of the local news outlets as I tell the dealership guy I’m calling the news, I’m sure they’d just love to hear about this dealership and their sales practices (cause we’ve all seen shady dealerships get profiled on the news haven’t we????). Well you never saw my car keys appear so fast. Never did get to talk to the news, got a busy signal but I didn’t tell them. Got up, left and bad mouthed them to everyone I ever encountered who was thinking about buying a car from them.
Why Men ARE NOT COMMITTING in Modern Dating | Dating Apps & Relationships
Vietnam (Hanoi), China (Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu)
As a foreigner who has lived for a short time in these citys, I can answer this question.
I have lived in these cities for more than 30 days, so I have a certain say.
1. Basic life
The cost of living in Hanoi is lower than Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen in China, and about the same as Chengdu. This seemed a bit incredible to me at first, because Vietnam’s per capita income is much lower than China’s. But the fact is that whether it is rent, catering, purchasing mobile phones, or telecommunications services, prices in Hanoi are not cheap and do not match the level of development of the entire country.
Regarding this issue, some Vietnamese friends also told me that it is because I have adopted a “foreigner” lifestyle. For example, I live in hotels, shop in large shopping malls, and eat in more formal restaurants. It’s not really an “ordinary” life.
But I think this explanation is limited in its persuasiveness because I also live the same way in China. For example, the price of a bowl of rice noodles I eat on the streets of Hanoi is almost the same as the price of a bowl of noodles on the streets of Chengdu.
What particularly impressed me was that the taxi price in Hanoi was twice that of Chengdu and 1.5 times that of Beijing and Shanghai.
Compared with China, only some service industries in Hanoi are relatively cheap, such as haircuts and massages.
Therefore, in terms of basic life, the consumption levels of foreigners living in big cities in China are similar to those in big cities in Vietnam. There are no problems with basic living needs.
2. Public facilities
In terms of public facilities, Vietnam and China are quite different.
Hanoi’s urban development level is similar to that of Southeast Asian countries (except Singapore), while China is at the world’s leading level.
Urban transportation: Hanoi mainly relies on taxis, there is only 1 subway, and the public buses are terrible, slow and inefficient. There are some rickshaws that I rarely try.
China relies mostly on subways, every major Chinese city I’ve lived in has a huge subway system, and taxis are cheaper than in Vietnam. Buses in big cities in China are also very cheap and efficient. China also has a large number of shared bicycles and electric motorcycles, which are very convenient and you can use public transportation to quickly reach your destination.
China is faster and cheaper
Roads: Vietnam’s urban roads are narrow, vehicle driving efficiency is low, and traffic congestion is serious. Roads between cities are in poor condition and there are very few freeways. Driving long distances is not an option
China’s road construction level is very high. Expressways can lead to every small city. You can easily drive more than 500 kilometers a day by driving a car. If you are not prone to fatigue, 800 kilometers is also acceptable.
Driving a car in China is easy, but it is not recommended to drive a car in Vietnam for short-term stay
Cross-city transportation:
Vietnam is largely dependent on flying, driving a car is not an option and the rail experience is terrible.
Chinese people generally rely on highways and high-speed rail to solve journeys within 300 kilometers.
Most distances of 300-800 kilometers rely on high-speed railways.
Planes are only used for journeys over 800 kilometers, as they are too inefficient.
Although China is larger and cities are further apart, it actually takes less time than Vietnam.
FOOD:
The catering industry in Vietnamese and Chinese cities is very developed, and there are also restaurants that are open for a long time at night. So basic meals are no problem.
The food in Vietnam is generally Southeast Asian style. You can feel the influence of Thailand and Cambodia, and the spices they like to use are relatively similar.
The difference lies in diversity. China’s catering industry is the most diverse I have ever seen. In cities like Chengdu or Shenzhen, you can eat completely different foods every day for a month, and there are many choices for each type.
The catering industry in Hanoi is relatively simple. The tastes of Vietnamese restaurants are almost the same, unlike in China where there are so many types. The number of foreign restaurants is much smaller than in China, and there are even fewer choices.
3. Medical treatment:
Hospitals in Vietnam are crowded, and so are those in China. But the efficiency is not bad. Compared with Europe and the United States, the medical efficiency of China and Vietnam is very high.
I had a skin allergy in Vietnam and a respiratory infection in China. I entered the hospital on the same day, completed the examination on the same day, and received treatment and medicine on the same day.
The obvious difference is that Vietnamese doctors basically don’t speak English and they need to use translation software or my friends. Chinese doctors basically all speak English.
In terms of hospital environment, Chinese hospitals are larger, cleaner and more modern, while Vietnamese hospitals are generally older, but have complete basic examination equipment. (I don’t go to many hospitals. I always ask local friends to take me to regular large hospitals)
4. Language :
Language is a big issue in Vietnam
English is basically useless here, except for some hotel staff and professional translators, and some college students, almost no one can speak English. What’s embarrassing is that there are more people who can speak Chinese than English. So in Vietnam I always try to speak Chinese first.
In China, young people in big cities basically know some English, but some are more proficient and some have difficulty. But if I speak slower, many people can understand. However, as a Chinese speaker, I speak more Chinese, and I feel that the language environment in China is very good.
Spinach Balls (Pseftokeftedes Santorini)
2024 01 30 10 21
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups peeled, chopped plum tomatoes or 1 1/2 cups cooked, well-drained, chopped spinach, or any other greens
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 heaping teaspoon fresh mint
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
Olive oil, for frying
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, scallions, garlic, herbs and spices. Add flour and baking powder and mix together so that all ingredients are well blended and have the consistency of a thick batter (about as thick as pancake batter).
In a large heavy skillet, heat enough olive oil for frying. Taking a heaping tablespoon at a time, drop batter into hot oil and fry until golden brown and crisp.
Remove at once with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
When we first moved to Maine, my wife was a wedding photographer. Having relocated from the West Coast, we were pretty unaware of the lay of the land here. We’d heard of ‘old money’—the result of generations of inherited wealth—but had never seen it up close.
So my wife gets a call from a woman asking about photo coverage of her second marriage, and my wife agrees to come out to their house to discuss with her and her husband, Richard. My wife takes along a $200 off coupon she was offering new clients at the time. She gets in her old Subaru and heads to the address. At some point, she realizes that the huge, mile-long block of woods she’s navigating around is completely enclosed by a stone wall and that the house she’s going to is the only structure inside the walls. She starts to sweat.
Inside the house, she’s introduced to Richard Rockefeller. He’s an unassuming guy in his 50s, a medical doctor. She thinks, there must be lots of Rockefellers here on the East Coast; this doesn’t mean he’s related to THE Rockefellers.
He is. In fact, Richard is the son of David Rockefeller and grandson of John D. Rockefeller. He is a physician in Maine, a prominent member of the community and president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a philanthropic foundation.
My wife has a lovely time, he asks lots of questions about her Nikon camera and even gladly accepts her $200 coupon, because, why not?
We both work together to cover the wedding reception, held a month or two later on an island the family owns off of Bar Harbor, Maine. We take a private boat to the island and are greeted by Richard at the dock. He’s wearing baggy old khaki pants, an ancient LLBean flannel shirt, a floppy sun hat and old battered shoes. He’s driving a Subaru wagon that makes my wife’s nine-year-old car look new. He grabs the wheel and tells us—the hired help, basically—that he’s taking us to his ‘barn’ where we’ll spend the night.
So we arrive at a structure I could call a barn only because it has the vague shape of what once was a barn. Huge open area for seating and events, with an upstairs loft area with comfy beds, bathrooms. We stayed there, in a gorgeous custom post-and-beam ‘barn’ that probably cost three times what my own house cost.
The weekend was fun—we photographed people like Glenn Close and others in attendance for the event. It was low-key and tasteful and understated, but obviously extravagant. Richard and his wife were extremely kind to us.
I’ve never forgotten my brush with ‘old money’. Here in Maine, you might sit next to someone like Richard Rockefeller at a local diner and never know it.
Richard died a few years later in a small plane crash. I consider myself fortunate to have met him, however briefly.
Woman Held Accountable By Church For Cheating On Her Husband
Back in the ‘80s, as a teen, I applied for a security position at local supermarket (36hrs/wk), advertised in the Jobcentre. The advisor phoned them on my behalf (standard practice), they wanted me to attend a week long training seminar, nearly 3 hours away by bus, and assured they’d refund travel costs.
First day of training went well, and they informed me they’d refund travel at end of course. Fair enough. At the end of the week they said they’d refund after the contract was signed (yes, alarm bells rang), I intended to accept the job, while not great pay, it was local (walking distance) and better than nothing. So, read and signed contract, collected uniform, then given my assignment, 2pm to 2am (60hrs/wk, same pay!) at the airport! Not local! I explain it’s too far, and public transport doesn’t run that time of morning, they expect me to get a taxi home, which would cost more than my wages! I’m then told they do not refund travel expenses, after repeatedly saying they would.
As I’m leaving, wondering how I’m gonna explain this to dad (to borrow more money), I notice a woman in security uniform, she’s pale and looks upset. She’d not been paid for 3 MONTHS! I returned to the office, stating I didn’t want the job, to be told they’d sue for breach of contract.
Of course I’m upset and scared, if I take the job then it’s either have about 2 hours a day at home, or live in the airport, and hope I get paid. If I don’t take the job I’ll lose my benefits and get sued.
When I got home, I explained what happened to dad. He contacts a drinking buddy who works for the benefits office, and we both go see him Monday morning. He said they’d breached a verbal contract, I had good reason to believe they’d breach the written contract (not pay wages), and the job was not as advertised. He was appalled they hadn’t given me a copy of the contract. He assured me I wouldn’t face sanctions. He contacted the company’s head office on my behalf, he also made sure the company was blacklisted from advertising at the jobcentres.
Dad and I returned the uniform to the offices, he verbally ran rings around the 2-faced muppet who threatened me with breach of contract. Oh, and I made sure the room full of new recruits knew travel expenses are not refunded, not to expect a paycheque for at least 3 months, and the job is unlikely to be where or when advertised.
I want you to take a gander around your room right now.
Seriously. pivot in your chair, couch, whatever —and survey everything.
How many things aren’t being used?
How many things are being kept for thin sentimental reasons? Until last year, my answer was “many, many things”.
I had an old crappy laptop that didn’t even work. I had a bunch of comics that were never going to become rare — because millions were printed. I didn’t even like the comics.
Your life is being dragged down by purposeless objects.
Junk is scientifically linked to stress, procrastination, and inefficiency. You could turn all three of those problems into advantages.
I hereby challenge you to can 50% of your stuff. Don’t let your room get like this.
Start by throwing away that stupid printer
My printer was the ultimate bad employee. Once every six months, I’d summon him, “Can you come to work today?
And in that one moment of need, he was hungover and unable to function. I’d get a mysterious error. Or an out-of-ink issue despite having barely used the printer.
He’d groan and moan and nothing would happen. He’s like that deadbeat dad who can’t sober up once a year for his son’s birthday party.
“Damnit Epson! You can’t get your act for Billy’s party for one day. Not sure why I ever married you!”
My printer is no longer with us. He’s enjoying an early retirement in the sunny isles of the Hillsborough County Waste Department.
The point I’m making: if you own something that doesn’t do its job, start there.
That lame couch you never sit on because it isn’t even comfortable? That clunky, wobbly table with a weird mystery stain, you can’t get rid of? Find them a new home.
Donate it.
Break it with an aluminum bat and scream my name if you want.
Do what must be done. I command thee.
Take a NASA perspective
I used to write in a tiny office, in a tiny house for 13 years. I moved in when I was in my mid-20s.
It was in this house that I had a girlfriend, who became a wife, who then became an ex-wife. I’ve finally collected the plunder from my various ventures and invested in a nice home. As I took stock of my inventory, I was mortified by how much junk I owned. I felt like a hoarder.
If my stuff was going to space, I’d have blown out NASA’s cost-per-square-foot budget. “Who brought these 50,000 index cards from Sean’s 2003 Bio class!?”
Heck, they’d have needed an extra fuel tank. Everything you own isn’t cost-free.
As you add more stuff, it drastically increases the surface area in your home. That surface is just one more thing to clean and collect dust. It eats up mental space. Think of your belongings like they’re being shot into space. Everything must be of absolute necessity.
No junk on the launch pad.
A push for more functionality
I used to have a GPS watch. I used it to track where I spent the most time in the house.
It was depressing: 90% of my waking hours were in my office.
I wasn’t surprised. Yet is this what home ownership is supposed to be about?
One study showed this is a common phenomenon, particularly in larger homes. Shaquille O’Neal famously owned an 18-bathroom house — and admitted, “I only use three rooms.”
We fail to optimize space. We have a bunch of chairs that suck to sit on.
Our dressers are full of clothes we never wear. Give yourself a reason to use every room in your house.
Decluttering isn’t about whether you like something; it’s about whether you actually use it.
A functional, non-cluttered house feels light. It’s efficient. It almost like weight loss. You feel lighter on your feet. Purging junk even feels like exercise: it isn’t particularly fun, but the outcome is super rewarding.
One simple trick and then some
We moved 14 times in 18 years during my childhood.
To avoid becoming hoarders, we had a hard and fast rule: if you haven’t used it in six months, throw it away. Do you even know what you own?
Imagine knowing what and where each item is at all times. I know where my remote is. I know where my two pairs of brown dress socks are.
I feel in control. Everything is accounted for. There is peace of mind in knowing everything in your life belongs there and has a use. It’s not neglected like an abandoned toy. It reinforces a mentality of purpose and deliberacy.
Adopt a six-month rule for your belongings, with rare exceptions where they need apply.
Selling on marketplace
The first object to go to was my dining room table.
I put it on the Facebook marketplace for only $50. My inbox blew up like a hot scammy dating profile at Port Dumbass.
This is usually what happens on the platform. It’s so easy. Two hours later, a nice, middle-aged Hispanic couple showed up.
After inspecting it, he turned to me and said, “How about $35?” I said, “Sorry. There are too many people wanting to buy.”
I wasn’t bluffing. But — then I offered him another table and several dozen other household items for free.
I realized I just needed to get rid of stuff. Thirty minutes later, we were stuffing his van with three tables, a huge ladder, and even lawn equipment. It wasn’t the most profitable way of doing things, but it felt good giving to someone who would need. I jokingly offered him the shirt I was wearing too, but he declined.
Decide what you don’t need and isn’t being used, and either sell or donate it.
I also called a trash hauler and paid them $150 to haul off a huge trailer full of unused stuff. You can find them easily on Craigslist.
The last step is to buy a big box of industrial bags. Then, each week make it a point to fill at least one with things you don’t want anymore.
They fit in the regular trash pickup. Donate what you can to the Salvation Army and get a tax deduction. Sell the rest on Facebook Marketplace.
Don’t think of this as an action but a lifestyle. You’ll reevaluate how you spend your money, taking broader consideration for how badly you actually need something.
Your house will feel bigger, more open, and more efficient. You won’t lose nearly as many things.
And you won’t have nearly as much stuff to manage. Throw away 50% of your stuff and you’ll be better off for it. It’s not a dare.
The question makes me remember two old Soviet jokes.
Both are about a tourist visit of the Hell. One of them mentions Joseph Stalin.
Joke #1
A tourist visit of Hell. Hall of the greatest criminals. They stand in blood (according to some versions, in shit). Hitler is waist-deep in blood, his gaze angry, his mouth shouting something that tourists do not hear. Stalin stands to Hitler’s left, silent, with a sardonic smile on his lips, blood reaching to the middle of his boots.
Tourist (astonished): Please tell me why Hitler is buried so much deeper than Stalin? Did he spill so much more blood? Guide: Ah, I will have to tell the administration. Stalin cheated again! T: How does he cheat? G: He always climbs on Lenin’s shoulders!
Joke #2
A tourist visit of Hell. Astonished tourists see Nikita Khrushchev sitting on a sofa, with Marilyn Monroe in his lap, caressing him and kissing his bald head.
Tourist (astonished): Are you telling me this is the punishment for Khrushchev’s sins? Guide: No, dear sir. This is the punishment for Marilyn Monroe’s sins.
These Kids are University Students in China and Poor Kids, Children of Poor Families
Under Common Prosperity, University Students are mandated to serve 42 hours a year in their third or final year to tutor and help poor kids pass their examinations
They have these centers where Poor Kids are provided Food, Clothes, Shoes, Smartphones and Tutors free of cost as part of the revenue from the tax collections of the local provinces plus a 3.5% of profit from the Big Gun Industries
The best of them are admitted to School and on to Gaokao
The others get Skilled Training
The others get Vocational Training
Their Working Age is reduced from the mandatory legal 16 in China to 14 in many provinces so that they can earn a living and help their families
Once they are 21 years old, THEY HAVE TO COMPETE ON THEIR OWN
Their Talent , Their Ability
No Reservations
No Affirmative Action
I like this system
Help the Kids, give them education, give them all the material benefits needed then they can compete fairly
From 2019–2023 – Roughly 8.5 Million Poor Kids have been given Jobs that will transform them to Low Income immediately and Middle Class by 2036
China just doesn’t handout money or food to poor families like India or US do
There are NO FREE LUNCHES
One new rule that China established in 2021 for Poor People was :-
image 221
The Ten Year Rule
Tenant Farmers who work as Rural Workers can now send their Kids to the Local Schools in the Village where Education is free plus two meals are free (Breakfast and Lunch)
The Kids study from 4 PM to 7 PM
They work from 7 AM to 12 PM and are paid a minimum 6 RMB per hour ($ 0.91) which is equally TOPPED UP BY THE STATE
So each kid makes 60 RMB per Day and makes 4,000 RMB for a season in addition to two free meals a day plus education
Tenant farmers don’t have to feed their kids for 240 days a years, that has to be done by the Agricultural Unit Owner
Tenant Farmers who have worked as Tenant Farmers for at least 20,000 Hours , are eligible to get their OWN LANDHOLDINGS with the deposit amount FULLY WAIVED
Hu Jintao and his gang ignored these rules
Xi enforced them immediately
Almost 300,000 Tenant Farmers now own their own LANDHOLDINGS on 30 Year or 100 Year leases
The Real Condition of China is that today China has
51.9% Middle Class or Higher
34.7% Low Income
13.4% Poor People
0% Extremely Poor
Target 2030 where at least 15 Million Kids are involved in given all those benefits is
55% Middle Class
40% Low Income
5% Poor People
This is the target set in 2022
image 220
The Stock markets can wait
According to Xi, the key is to create a large middle class consumer base
800 Million is the Goal for 2030 from 426 Million in 2023
My father was a banker for most of my life. He worked in the trust department assisting people with estates, wills, and trust funds, inheritances, etc. My mother used to tease him that he had a “harem” of older ladies who thought he was wonderful because he had handled things when their husbands died.
In the early 90s the local bank was bought by a much larger bank from another state. Things changed and not for the better. My father was told that he should use money from one account to bolster another account and replace the money later. My father refused. While it might not have been illegal at the time he felt that it was highly unethical and he wouldn’t do it.
He resigned.
And when his clients all found out WHY he resigned they all, except for two or three, moved their accounts to a different bank.
One of his colleagues who still worked at the first bank told him that the leadership from the new bank were dumbfounded by the sudden mass exodus of clients. And when my father informed the local lawyers who referred clients to him what happened they stopped referring clients to that bank. In less than two years after my father resigned the out-of-state bank closed the Trust department because it was unprofitable. My father took great satisfaction in that.
WOW! I am humbled by the huge number of upvotes for this story about my father. He was not perfect, no one is, but he was an honorable man and I am proud to be his daughter.
I am humbled by how high the number of upvotes as climbed. It is over 5,000. This is the most upvotes I’ve gotten on anything I’ve written on Quora. Thank you for recognizing a good man.
Male inequality, explained by an expert | Richard Reeves
In the 3rd century BC, a sensational scandal erupted in Rome: two Vestal Virgins had lost their virginity, and the guilty party was a young ‘pontiff’.
The Sibylline Books were consulted to decide the fate of the three religious figures, the Vestal Virgins Opimia Floronia and the pontiff Lucius Cantilius.
The two women had no escape, having been caught in the act. The rule of the Vestals prescribed live burial.
Floronia, not accepting the idea of dying in such a way, preferred to take her own life. Opimia resigned herself. A large crowd saw her ascend onto a mournfully adorned chariot, accompanied by a procession of priests to the place of execution.
Many Romans wanted to witness the dramatic scene of her being enclosed in the tomb with a loaf of bread and a pitcher of water. The interrogation of Lucius Cantilius was public.
The Pontifex Maximus, his superior and representative of the state religion, took on the role of the public prosecutor. Relentlessly, he ordered the questions to be preceded by violent lashes, repeated after the defendant’s answer.
It was not possible to conclude the interrogation: Lucius Cantilius, in fact, died from those lashes.
I had a sunroom added to my house, and the sales lady, construction manager was around a lot. She was quite flirtatious, as sales people often are. So when the project was done, and I had signed off on everything and I would never see her again, I asked her out on a date.
She told me she was moving to a different city the next week. Which was pretty suspicious, because my project had finished ahead of schedule. But I didn’t press it. Three months later I had a leak in my sunroom, and I called them up to fix it. Guess who answered the phone?
We had spent a lot of time together, and she knew I wasn’t psycho, the logical thing would have been to say that she wasn’t interested. If she was worried for some reason, then say that she was in a relationship.
But no, she had to go with the whopper, that I am moving to a different city. Nothing tells you how a person views you as much as telling an outrageous lie that’s so easy to check.
She told me on the phone, that she had just moved back. I pretended that was a reasonable answer.
Physical Intimacy: His NEED is NOT your WEAPON Ladies
Police work is a young man’s profession. You don’t want to be out chasing criminals on the street in your fifties. I was hired rather late in life, graduating from the police academy at thirty-three years old.
I learned quickly that I could do the job of a street cop but liked narcotics, especially undercover work. That led to more complex investigations. After six years in narcotics, I decided it was time to gain rank, so I aced the sergeant’s exam. I enjoyed every day as a street sergeant, leading and teaching.
Four years later, I would become a lieutenant which was great for a while. As a watch commander and then patrol division commander, I led over half of the department and made positive changes. All was fine until one day; I was asked to take over internal affairs. Our department had more serious problems than I realized. I spent the next six years of my life embattled, persuing the worst officers you can imagine.
Officers committing crimes, abusing their power, abusing citizens, and even their loved ones. Stealing, cheating, and anything else they thought they could get away with. I spent a lot of time being grilled in court by their high-priced defense attorneys with only limited success.
By the time I left, we had fired all but one of this group. The last was fired shortly after I left. So I had to go through hell for years, but in the end, the department was a better place for the citizens we served.
My twenty-five-year retirement couldn’t come soon enough. A few more years in that pressure-cooker position, and I might have stroked out. So at fifty-eight years old, I walked away with my pension. I haven’t been sorry a single day since I retired six years ago. Life’s too short.
My husband and I have been together 20 years when we met he was finalizing his divorce which they were simply too young and tried to grow up too fast they were together just two years. After about a month I was helping him get some of her stuff out which was all junk. I started cleaning out a desk of hers and in the bottom drawer was just stacks n stacks of mail. Apparently my husband hates opening mail and would just put it in a drawer for him to open later, I certainly make him open his mail I don’t know why she would do that. So he told me to open it, it was flyers, bills, coupons, everything in a stack. I start opening mail and I would see $5000 check then another then another then another. These checks were two days away from void/expired or have to wait a long time to reissue. It was from his dad’s estate and each kid got $5000 from certain accounts and investments and so on. He was broke at this time with his divorce plus being in your 20s you don’t quite make as much yet. He went from having a couple hundred dollars in his account and the very next day we now have money to put down on a house which is cheaper than our current rent and much larger and we later made a good chunk of cash when we sold it. In the end, it did look like a scam letter or a collections notice, now im always into opening mail because I’ve even over paid a bill and what looks like a bill would be a small refund for my over payment. I just can’t wait to get that jury summons for a crazy court case.
We were the polite customers in a round about way-
We are attending a destination wedding on an all inclusive resort in Jamaica-absolutely beautiful weather, all the food and drink you could possibly want. Beautiful rooms with waterfront views-
The bride and groom and the 6 other guests attending were incredibly rude, demanding, belittling, belligerent and racist in their remarks towards the staff on the resort. My husband and I had never seen this side of their personality and were shocked at the behavior to the point that after the wedding (3rd day of 7) we disassembled from those in the group and did our own things.
On the final day, we were all
booked under the wedding party and had to check out and depart together-one of the women in the group was accusing the cleaning staff of stealing her clothing, the bride was making up all kinds of reasons she should have received a discounted stay, on and on, the mother of the bride was loud and yelling in the front foyer of the resort-my husband and I had enough and told all of them to shut up. All they had done the entire trip was lie and complain. We then went into a private office and explained to head of the resort how they were lying because we heard all the comments they had made and could prove it-We were comped 1k off our stay and turned that money around to tip the staff that so excellently served us during our stay-my husband and I both knew none of the others had left a tip and it was intentional to not do so as it was mentioned on the very first night at dinner.
Once it was clear their motive was to get as much for free as possible they were checked out w/o any further interaction and escorted to the van that would drive them to the airport-My husband and I were put in a different van to go back
We never asked for anything back as we had a great trip but the resort was happy to give us the 1k- as for those people we have not spoken to them since-it’s not that hard to be nice!
Genius is what genius does. Professors spend the better part of their waking days interacting with intelligence at the upper tail of the distribution, so an unusually adroit bit of intelligence will catch any professor’s eye. Alas, anybody with experience also has seen many a charlatan, so skepticism always comes first. I may recognize genius quickly, but I will test it many times before I conclude it is truly there.
Here is an illustration.
A few years back I had an MBA student, born in the Caribbean, who had considerable world-travel experience under his belt. Quietly confident, and charming and affable, he had natural leadership abilities. Over time his stories of travels came with the additional details that he was facile with languages, and that helped him pick up work as he travelled.
I was intrigued, and learned about his travels throughout Asia, and tested him a bit with details (I have some experience in that part of the world, but, of course, I also had many more years to accumulate it). He seemed to be telling the honest truth. He knew things about Myanmar (and similar places) that would be hard to learn unless you visited.
Here is the genius part. He said that, for a while, he settled in China doing translation and other work. How was that possible? He had simply picked up Chinese, he said. I have an old acquaintance who was native English speaker who knew several European languages and learned Japanese after spending many years there, and he told me about all the challenges. So I was just a little skeptical. A few words, sure, but fluent with no formal training?
I had asked a few of the native-Chinese speakers whether the student could speak well, and they said yes, but none had a lengthy conversation.
One day we were visited by a Chinese delegation of businessmen. And my student was introduced to them. Off they went in conversation, laughing and conversing. He was fluent, and just as charming and affable in that language.
I never doubted him again. Genius is what genius does.
My typical self checkout experience goes like this.
Using own bag. Place on scale. So I do. I use a backpack so it is heavier than a shopping bag. This triggers, Wait for an assistant. I open my bag ready so the assistant can look inside it. I do this because if they asked to see inside my bag I would be terribly offended and most people don’t like being told to go fuck themselves.
Ok, ready to start scanning. Where is the barcode on this cabbage? Oh, I need to look for it in the touchscreen. Finally found it after 2 minutes searching.
UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGAGE AREA. PLEASE WAIT FOR ASSISTANCE.
This happens at least one more time. I am really getting pissed off now.
Ready to pay. It asks me if I took a bag. I didn’t. It asks me if I’m sure. Now I start arguing with the machine. I’m fed up of you. Why would I steal a 40p bag? Don’t you think I would have taken the £10 side of salmon instead?
Finally, after a good 5 minutes have passed I get to pay for my 15 items. But wait, I have wait for assistance again to authorise the bottle of wine I bought. OK, so now I get to pay.
Not so fast. There were a couple of discounted items in there and guess what we need to get the discount applied? That’s right, an assistant!
I pay, put on my backpack and instead of saying thank you, as I would to the cashier, I mutter, stupid fucking bastard, to the machine.
Not a pleasant experience at all.
A woman I know who works in my local Aldi told me she feels bad for the old people. An old woman told her that she used to look forward to shopping because she lives alone and sometimes the cashier might be the only person she spoke with that week.
Some people enjoy human interaction. As a general rule, I’m not one of them. However I much prefer to be served by a cashier than those self checkout machines. It takes too long and it’s frustrating. Added to that, I feel like it is constantly accusing me of shoplifting.
Pepe Escobar: Putin and China just changed EVERYTHING with this Move and the Neocons Can’t Stop Them
When I was in grad school, I had to have oral surgery for a midline palatine cyst. After misdiagnosing it as an abscessed tooth and mucking about, my dentist finally referred me to an oral surgeon.
The oral surgeon (who was nearing retirement) asked about my financial situation at the initial consultation. It was pretty dire, so I told him I would need to pay over time. He told me not to worry,
After doing some imaging he told me that he had never seen a cyst that large. The surgery was done, and went well. But I was left with two drains coming out of the corners of my mouth. These needed to remain in place for a week.
My upper jaw was incredibly swollen. With the drains in place, I looked like a walrus. I had to be careful how I ate and drank, to avoid having food or drinks dribble out of my nose. Nonetheless, I had to go to classes (it was the first week of the semester) as well as meet my students (I was a teaching assistant at the time.)
And every other day, I had to see the oral surgeon. He irrigated the site and gave me samples of antibiotics and words of encouragement.
When he finally removed the drains, my palate was healing well. I saw him two weeks later for follow up. I stopped at the front desk to arrange for payment. His total bill? $50! The surgery had taken almost two hours! And there were those follow up appointments as well.
I was incredibly grateful. I waited to see him between patients to express my gratitude. He smiled and said, one day you’ll do something for someone else.
This wasn’t my property but that of a friend. He rented it to a couple ‘from New York’ they claimed, who showed up very well dressed. He was in a suit and his ‘wife’ in a nice dress. They claimed to need a ‘local apartment’ as they ‘came to Boston’ (we are 10 miles west of Boston) often and stated an apartment was cheaper than renting hotel rooms every time, sounded legit. Anyway, for the first year, the rent was a couple days early then it was ‘just’ on time for a few months then a couple days late but paid IN CASH every month so no real issues. THEN it happened! After about two years the rent was a week late so my friend went by daily to catch them in (remember, they stated that they were from NY and came up ‘often’ so he didn’t expect them to be there at any given time). After five drive-bys he was there in the evening, on weekends, nothing seemed out of place from the outside. The yard was impeccably neat and clean as they stated it would be. Then two weeks later on a Friday evening just after dinner as he drove by he saw movement inside the apartment. He stopped and knocked on the door. When it opened, he was greeted by someone who spoke NO English. Panic ensued, people running around the apartment and out the back door. He told someone who came to the door that actually spoke some English that the rent was past due and needed to be paid. They stated that they would have cash Saturday morning for him. He asked why so many people and was told it was a party. He didn’t believe that story and said so, he told that individual that as it was rented to TWO PEOPLE everyone else had to go and if more than two were there in 12 hours it would be $50 EACH! What follows I witnessed the very next day. We knocked, no answer. I went around back and knocked, no answer. I walked back to the front. He was pounding on the front door… no one answered. WHY I cannot tell you but I turned the door knob, the door was UNLOCKED. He opened it. Before I go on, first I will say that we eventually found two month’s rent left on the kitchen counter in cash. Now the HORROR! They removed the doors from the kitchen cabinets and replaced them with chicken wire to house the CHICKENS that were now living in most of the cabinets! TWO DOZEN CHICKENS!The STENCH was gag worthy. The filth was just as revolting but what got me was the bathroom! The door was closed but the exhaust fan running. (A neighbor later told me it was running 24/7, read on and you will know WHY!). When he opened the door my friend closed it fast and proceeded to vomit! I opened the door to see the toilet PLUGGED AND MOUNDED with feces! The bathtub was ALSO filled with urine and feces! There were mattresses wall to wall in every single room except the bathroom and kitchen! This included a rough basement too! About 50(?) mattresses! The apartment was being used to house over 70 people! Even the ceilings were disgusting. I do know that the entire apartment had to be gutted and renovated, I saw it after it was done. It took a bit of searching but the two that rented it originally were found, I don’t nor want to know what was said or done but I do know that they were in full knowledge and complicity with what was going on. One further note, at some point before they ‘filled the tub’ they had roasted a pig in it! They built a fire in the tub and roasted a pig above it! When the apartment was gutted, it was found that the wall and floor behind and beneath the tub were charred, they almost burned down the house!
Hollywood Goes CRAZY! | Seinfeld DESTROYS Woke Insanity in EPIC Video
I’m an aficionado chef and I love watching cooking tutorials. Recently, I’ve discovered the secret behind how Chinese restaurants get their beef to be so tender in dishes like beef in black bean sauce or Mongolian beef – and it’s pretty interesting!
Once I did an Asian cuisine workshop, and one of the chefs there taught me the secret. Chinese restaurants often marinate their beef in a mixture of baking soda, cornstarch, and soy sauce for at least 30 minutes before cooking. This breaks down the proteins in the meat, making it more tender and easier to chew.
In addition, Chinese restaurants slice the beef against the grain, which makes it even more tender. When you slice against the grain, you’re cutting the beef perpendicular to the muscle fibers, and this makes all the difference.
Another thing that I love the most about Chinese cuisine is the high heat cooking method. When you stir-fry beef at a high temperature, it keeps the moisture inside the beef and makes it juicy and flavorful. And the cuts of beef that they use, such as flank steak or sirloin, are naturally more tender than other cuts.
I’ve tried making beef in black bean sauce using these techniques, and it is absolutely delicious! The beef just falls apart in your mouth, and it tastes so well. So, if you want to make your beef dishes tender and juicy like the ones you get at Chinese restaurants, try using these techniques. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!
Tomato Pilaf
1400×919 One Pan Tomato Pilaf
Ingredients
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups water
1 cup uncooked regular rice
1 teaspoon instant beef bouillon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Cook and stir tomatoes and onions in butter in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling, stirring once or twice; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 14 minutes without lifting cover or stirring.
Remove from heat. Fluff rice lightly with fork; cover and let steam 5 to 10 minutes.
Names are fictional, but otherwise this is accurate to best of my memory.
Back in the mid-80s during my high school years, I worked at major fast food place. I worked there for around 18 months and was generally well regarded by the managers there. Because of this, I would often be called on to see if I was able to cover a shift when someone called out.
One such time, I agreed to cover and went in to see that the only person working was the manager (Jim). So literally it would be just the two of us working, Jim up front on register and me in the back making the food. (Another person from a different store came in an hour or so later to help out). It was a rough night, but we made it work.
After things slowed down, I asked Jim what happened. One of the other managers (Randy) was working that night and everyone he had working with him just up and left. I asked Jim where Randy was, and he said he was asked to leave as well and really couldn’t talk any further about it.
The rest of the story wouldn’t reach me for a week or so, but the entire staff quitting at once prompted the owner to investigate what happened. It turns out that Randy had been violating labor laws for months. And as most of the staff (including myself) were minors, those laws are more stringent and carry higher penalties. Things like forcing more than 8 hours a day, working outside certain hours, and forcing unpaid OT. While I don’t know for sure what prompted everyone to leave that night, I have to assume it was related.
Randy was taken off the schedule and, as far as I know, never set foot in the store again. I don’t know what legal consequences resulted from this, if any.
I have not worked at McDonald’s, but since there’s no equivalent question for Burger King, I’m going to answer anyway.
Late at night, a guy came up to the counter and said he wanted a Whopper with 10 patties on it. He seemed like he was probably a little stoned, or a little drunk, or probably a little both. “Money is no object,” he said. I knew how to set this up, but I called the manager just to make sure everything was ok and more importantly because I knew she would want in on this process. We had a button for a patty with no bun, to accommodate people on the Atkins Diet. I entered in his Whopper request, punched the patty button nine times, and then hit the intercom to explain to the kitchen crew the correct interpretation of what was now appearing on their screens. My amplified voice filled the kitchen, like the voice of God:
“That is not a mistake. It is a Whopper with 10 patties on it. Please do whatever it takes to make it happen.”
We couldn’t hear anything from the back over all the machine noises. The guy paid. It was around $12. Then, after a few minutes, there was activity at the hamburger chute. Normally burgers would be placed here and they’d slide to the front to be bagged or placed on trays. A pair of hands gently placed a very large, roughly-ball shaped object on the chute. The hands gently—tenderly— guided it to the bottom. It was held in place by four Whopper wrappers. “Be careful with this,” one of the cooks said. “Wrapping it was very difficult.”
The customer was delighted. Once he had his to-go bag, he explained that he and a friend had got in an argument concerning the truthfulness of our “Your Way, Right Away” slogan, and he had just won a bet. It remains one of my favorite moments, a real team effort.
Arkansas is in the “Bible Belt” of the United States. And because of this, everything is heavily influenced by religion. Mostly “Southern baptist”. Which tends to be rather strict and fundamental.
One of the aspects of this influence is something known as “dry counties”.
These are regions in the state where the purchase of alcohol is against the law. So that people living in those areas must dive elsewhere to buy their booze, cart it home. Store it and then drink it in such a way that it does not run out. It’s a core characteristics of “the Southern way of life” that you hear so much about in American Country and Western music.
Anyways, where I lived in Arkansas, was a “dry county”.
And sure as shit, we would have to make an “alcohol run” before the stores closed on the weekends. And Lordy! Was it always a madhouse. Car jams. Packing lines. Carts full of booze. People jostling and pushing. Everyone in a rush.
Yup.
The American Way of Life.
I’ll tell you what!
Some things about the United States are so ridiculous that it’s not even worth commenting on. Except to say, that I am glad that I live in China where booze is cheap, plentiful and accessible by anyone, at any time.
While there is no threat to Japan from any quarter, the US keeps troops in Japan to:
Maintain Japan as a pliant vassal state.
Control the region around Japan with its vast military complexes. The US has more bases in Japan than any country outside the US itself.
Japan subsidies US forces and makes it easier for the US to maintain an overall large military since Japan pays large sums to the US for the privilege of hosting massive US troops and equipment. If those troops went home the US would have to pay 100% of the costs of maintaining them.
South Korea faces a real threat from North Korea. The 35,000 US combat troops in RSK are meant to provide a deterence to DPRK. In a real war the US would likely lose these 35,000 troops, which would drag the US into its next quagmire.
Secondary objectives to the US maintaining troops in SK are the same as in Japan, however US bases in Japan are not under any threat and are far more extensive than in RSK, which makes Japan much more important to the US than RSK.
I believe one of the primary reasons the US has become addicted to operating more than 800 bases around the world is that in many of the large ones, the host country pays for some if not the majority of the costs of that base. This defrays direct costs of maintaining its own military for the US while keeping the US military at an overly large scale relative to its growing inability to afford such size and scale.
If you can park your car in downtown Manhattan in someone else’s garage for free (with a promise that if someone in his family gets injured you’ll drive them in the car to the hospital), and that guy is going to pay for all the maintenance of that vehicle, while you still get to drive it anytime you want and he isn’t allowed to use it, you’re going to park your cars there for a very, very long time.
Jonas‘ answer is spot on on a cultural level, but IME, there are also often some more mundane/practical considerations involved.
It buys us time. I used to work solo for years. In one joint, we used to have baskets of bread and little bowls of homemade dips available for the waiters to just grab and hand out. If someone ordered food and I was swamped with orders, that would simply keep the guests happy until I got around / was able to free up a burner on the stove to make their starters or entrees…
It is one more element a really skilled waiter can employ to time orders etc. I’ve seen good waiters ‘stall’ for half an hour and more from the point the guests were seated with menus, drink orders, drinks, food orders, cutlery, bread and butter etc. without the guests even noticing they were being strung along while the kitchen and / or back office recovered from some minor catastrophe or just cleared a backlog of orders…
In places that are not dedicated restaurants, it sets ‘the mood’ for ordering something to eat. You might have come in just for a glass of wine or two, but when that cute little basket of fresh bread with a little bit of good butter or some nice dip, a napkin and a set of silverware arrives unasked along with the menu, you might just realize you could do with a nice bite to eat… This may sound far-fetched, but I’ve seen it work (on myself as a guest and on guests in places I worked at) often enough to not dismiss it.
I don’t know why, but the Chinese captured POWs in Korea from 15 countries, and only the American GI’s knelt and surrendered to the Chinese, just like they knelt when they were captured in Iranian territorial waters. Is it because the Yanks have particularly soft knees? Can anyone tell me why?
image 166
American and British are not defending Taiwan, but they want to invade China, and the Chinese are certainly capable of defeating the invaders and letting them die in the sea and become food for sea fish. The Pacific Ocean’s marine fish will feast, and then we’ll sell our catch to the Yanks and bring their souls back to the U.S. so they don’t pollute the environment in China’s territorial waters. 😁
2300 heavily armed US soldiers have been killed fighting Afghan shepherds. 2300 Yank kids become corpses in coffins. There are no corpses in naval battles, they can only be fed to the sea fish.
image 165
With the exception of the Americans and the British, everyone in the world has been educated to know that the Taiwan question is a legacy of the Chinese civil war, an internal affair of China and a domestic affair of the Chinese.
Biden did not tell the US citizens that he wanted to invade China, only “to defend Taiwan”.
So, I ask, how does the US plan on doing that? with some sort of video game competition?
I mean, in order to “defend Taiwan”, you have to have military troops pertorming military actions, aka combat inside of China – And that’s because Taiwan is in China.
So currently America has soldiers in Taiwan, which is either illegal, or at the very least gray area because that’s part of China. And the government of China doesn’t approve of that and hasn’t allowed it. So that’s the current status.
If US start performing miltary action, that’s an effort to militarily conquer at least China or push them back inside of China. That‘s called an invasion.’
Sorry, everybody, if you don’t agree with this definition, but that’s what it is.
So US is yet again contirming that it will invade China if China attempts to continue its reunification by using military action.
I’d like to advise the US to listen to a well-known Chinese song with these lyrics: “For our friends, we have fine wine. For jackals or wolves, we welcome with shotguns.”
OOOOHHHH!!!! This one is legend! It didn’t happen at my employer, but one nearby. (I worked for a bit just a city block, or two, up the street.) Here’s the basics:
Control Data Corporation (CDC) was on the rocks in the early ‘80s. They started laying folks off. But they didn’t do it publicly. Instead they “Disappeared” them. Here’s how it worked:
An employee was instructed to keep quiet about the fact that he’d been transferred to the Roseville, Mn. Plant across town.
He (it was mostly a he in those days) was to pack up his gear & personal stuff late Friday afternoon & the box(es) would be picked up & transferred over the weekend to his new job site.
He was then given an address at the new plant where he was to report first thing Monday Morning.
The next Monday he showed up, was escorted into a room with a table, a chair, a guard, and an HR person.
The HR person gave him his walking papers & allowed him to sort out & collect his private stuff from the box(es).
He was then escorted out the door to the parking lot.
Chopped Meat Pies (Pitta Me Kima)
Pitta Me Kima
Ingredients
2 pounds chopped lamb
1/2 cup butter
2 onions, chopped
1 1/4 pounds tomatoes, peeled or 1 tablespoon tomato paste with 1 cup water
1 piece stick cinnamon
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 slices toast
2 cups milk
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
5 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 pound phyllo
Instructions
Brown meat, half the butter, and onions in large pot, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up meat. Add tomatoes (or diluted tomato paste) cinnamon, parsley, salt and pepper. Simmer until all liquid is absorbed (about 30 minutes).
Meanwhile, soak toast in milk, then mash with fork. Remove cinnamon stick and add milk-toast mixture to the meat, remove from the heat. Add cheese and eggs, and mix well.
Melt remaining butter. Butter a pan about. 2 inches smaller than the phyllo. Put 7 to 8 phyllo sheets, buttering each before adding it, into the pan, letting phyllo extend on all sides. Pour in meat mixture and spread it evenly. Fold overlapping phyllo back onto meat. Butter these well. Carefully cut remaining sheets of phyllo to fit the top of the pan. Brush each with butter and lay on the filling to make the top of the pita. Pour on any remaining butter and sprinkle the top very lightly with a little water (to keep phyllo from rising too high).
Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
Cool for about 30 minutes, and cut into squares to serve.
It is easier to cut this if you score it lightly before baking.
This isn’t my story, but that of a very good friend who I had as a roommate a long time ago.
Geoff was a car salesman for many years. One night he came home and told me the story of his big sale that day. A man had driven into the parking lot in a beat-up pickup truck, one bumper tied in place with baling wire, rust all over it and a cracked windshield. He and his wife emerged from the vehicle and started walking around the show lot looking at cars and drifting towards the trucks. The man was very large, Geoff estimated 6′5″ and 280 lbs and wearing bib overalls, a plaid flannel shirt, well worn boots, and a John Deere baseball cap. All of his clothing was showing age, dirt, and stains. His wife was very plain and wearing similarly worn clothing, but neat and she almost never stopped smiling.
They walked around for about 15 minutes as the salesmen watched them from the showroom. All of these guys were triple-A personalities who were like sharks as salesmen and normally would have been fighting or drawing straws as to who got the next customer. Nobody wanted to go talk to these people, the very definition of hayseed goobers with big eyes but no money and they clearly had nothing to offer as a trade in. Geoff had just finished up showing a customer a few cars and writing up prices and a trade-in offer and was irritated that the others had all left these people out there without even a “hello”. He went straight out and started taking to them.
The man wanted to buy a truck to replace the one he had driven in on. He also wanted to buy his wife a car because their son had just run their old one into a telephone pole and totaled it. Geoff spent about two hours chatting with them, getting and giving information. He learned that they owned and ran a large farm with 40 horses, 80 head of cattle, other livestock, crops and side businesses running farmland that others had leased from him, and had about 20 employees working for him. When he got done and was writing up the sale of two brand new, fully loaded, vehicles, he asked how they would like to pay. The man reached into his bib overalls and pulled out a roll as big as his country-ham fist and said “sorry, I don’t have cash for both of them, but I’ll pay for one with cash and give you a check for the other; the bank’s open and you can verify the funds are there right now”.
So, because these people looked like dirt-kicker rednecks to the auto sales staff, Geoff sold two top-line vehicles for cash, earned a very substantial commission, and made two acquaintances who invited him out to their farm to visit, and then became good friends for the next 30 years. I got to go with Geoff to their beautiful farm once; among the nicest folks I’ve ever met.
What’s that old saying about not judging a book by its cover….?
One day, my doorbell rang and I opened the door assuming there was a package or a salesman outside.
Instead, there were maybe six large men in body armor and pads. They were each holding a rifle on a sling. Their plate carriers were festooned with pistols, extra magazines, flashlights, and handcuffs.
I stared at these men through my iron security door for a beat- probably with my jaw dropped. Then I said, “Uh, Hey! What’s going on guys?”
Turns out it was a fugitive recovery team from the US Marshals.
They were looking for my neighbor’s scummy boyfriend who had lived with her for a short time. Apparently, he was even scummier than I had thought.
I stepped out on the porch and spoke with the Marshals for a few minutes. I knew my neighbor, but not her boyfriend. I had nothing helpful to tell them. They piled back into a few big, black SUVs and left.
Weird, but at least it wasn’t a solicitor at the door.
My sister got suspended for skipping class. She wasn’t feeling well during PE, and got a note to go to the nurse’s office. The nurse wasn’t in (supposedly she was on a coffee break). My sister passed out (as in unconscious) in front of the nurse’s office, laying on the floor in the hall. No one noticed she was there until after the nurse came back at the end of the *next* period.
They suspended her for cutting that class. She was told the next day, and served the in-school suspension that day. The next day my dad came in and raised heck… and the suspension was removed from her record, and the nurse was written up for taking a too long coffee break (over an hour).
I’m not sure what was said to the teachers who were supposed to be watching the hall during class change, and never noticed her on the floor. None of the kids said anything that we know of either. I guess it’s a good thing it wasn’t a critical thing that caused her to pass out.
Shadow People and The Hat Man | Who are they? What do they want?
Back in the 1980s, I worked as an independent Contract Software Engineer working through a technical service firm. As such there were many ‘business deductions’ that I could take off and I also only had to pay taxes 4 times a year, so all the interest I earned on the taxes was an added boost. But, then the tax laws changed. As a Software Engineer working through a technical service firm, I was now considered an employee of that firm. This meant no more ‘business deductions’ and no interest on my tax savings account.
So I looked for another loophole. I discovered that as long as I worked more than 50 miles away from home, all my travel expenses were tax deductible. Now I was a single man with few attachments so I started to travel. My home became a mailbox in New Jersey. Now you might think that keeping track of all your travel expenses would be annoying. The federal government though made that easy. The standard travel deduction for most metropolitan areas was $100 per day and if it was cheaper to stay than it was to travel home, you could take that deduction for 7 days each week. Now my expenses did not run $3000 a month. I would rent an apartment for $800/month, do my own cooking so food was maybe $300/month. Electricity, water, heat, cable whatever, might cost me another $300/month. All told, my expenses were rarely half of the $3000/month I was deducting off my tax return.
There was one gotcha to this tax rule. The federal government rules that if a person stayed at the same job for 27 months, then that person was not traveling. They had moved…. 27 months ago. This meant that if I stuck around that long, I would owe the taxes on that $81000. To add insult to injury, even if I just took another position that was within 50 miles of that position, it was still considered the same location. So every 2 years I would quit whatever position I had (most of my contracts didn’t actually last that long) and move to another part of the country.
Still, this $36500/year tax deduction was a nice boon. But they kept on nibbling away on this. Originally it was on the Schedule A and the deduction occurred before you calculated your AGI. They later moved it to a post after the AGI was calculated so the lower AGI no longer affected when other deductions kicked in. Later they decided that 20% of that $100/day was for food. If you were home, you still had to eat, so they considered that 25% of that 20% is no longer deductible. this changed the $100/day to $95/day. And each year, the deduction was lessened.
After a few years, I married and my wife didn’t want to travel around the country with me. I stopped contracting and I have no idea whatever happened to that deduction.
Gonzalo Lira’s DEATH update. US State Dept. confirms his death. They did NOTHING to support him.
My daughter had turned two a couple months before. She was really fussy that day but I had to go to work. Three hours later I got a phone call from her daycare telling me that she was crying a lot and couldn’t move her leg. There was no swelling or bruising or anything. I was stuck at work and had a minimum 45 minute commute back. So they offered to take her to the ER for me. I got off as soon as I could and rushed to meet them.
By the time I got there, they had already done blood/urine tests and x-rays. When the doctor came in he went through everything they tested for and said he couldn’t find anything. I was confused and asked him why she couldn’t move her leg and was in so much pain. He gave me this stupid smile and said “Well it could just be growing pains. But I think she just wants attention. If you could bother spending time with your child instead of working she would be happier. If you are still worried go ahead and take her to her regular doctor on Monday”. I demanded to have a second opinion and the doctor refused. I was told if I didn’t leave the hospital he would call security and force me to leave.
I was pissed! It isn’t as if I wake up and think “Gee I don’t feel like dealing with my kid I am just dropping her off at daycare”. I am a single mom, I don’t receive any kind of child support, don’t go out or have a social life, and have to work to pay the bills (including medical insurance for both of us). I was handed a piece of paper that said to just give her Tylenol every few hours, spend “quality time” with her, and see her regular doctor on Monday if the pain continues. I took my crying baby home (it was 3 AM on Saturday morning) and stayed up trying to figure out what to do next.
(BTW)
I called in to work that morning; my gas tank was almost on empty, I had $11 to last until my next pay check (a week away), and our regular doctor was the next town over (about 20 miles away). By 8 AM I called my sister and borrowed some cash, filled up my tank, called our doctor on his cellphone, and took her to the ER next to his office. Our doctor tried to get the test results from the other ER, but they said they couldn’t find the paper work. Instead of waiting, the doctor ran his own tests. Thank god he did!
We were there less than 30 minutes when the doctor came in and said he was rushing her to Wichita (3+ hour drive away). It was complicated because he wanted to fly her there but our tiny ER didn’t have an area for the plane and she needed to be there immediately. They hooked her up with an IV, we got in the ambulance, had a police escort, and lights/sirens the entire way (it took about two hours to get there). I was freaking out. There was no time for the doctor to explain what was going on and the paramedics said that they weren’t sure exactly what was happening but was told she wasn’t allowed to move at all. My poor baby was strapped down head to toe and terrified.
When we got to the hospital there was a team of doctors and nurses waiting in the bay. They rushed her away; I wasn’t allowed to follow, and I had to speak with the police and DCF. They asked me a bunch of questions about our visit to the other ER, where I was when she was at daycare, what my daughter’s symptoms were before going to the ER, what the doctor told me, what paperwork I was given, and if they had permission to look at her medical records.
I kept asking to see my daughter and what the hell was going on. Finally an hour later a nurse came out and explained that my daughter was going septic, flat-lined once, and they had to figure out where the infection was and what was happening to her. She was rushed into emergency surgery shortly after that.
Turns out my daughter had a pouch in her hip joint that was filled with MRSA. It had begun to leak into her tiny body. Any slight movement could have ruptured the pouch and within minutes killed her. The doctors in Wichita said if I had waited even one hour longer to bring her in she would have died. She was in the hospital for two weeks. After she was discharged she had to stay on very heavy duty antibiotics for seven weeks, physical therapy for four months, and bi-weekly blood tests for a year. She still has pain sometimes when she walks or runs; the infection ate away some of the lining around her hip joint, and she will most likely have arthritis when she is older.
We still don’t know for sure how she ended up with this infection. The only thing we can figure is she got it from me since I work at a hospital. She did have bronchitis a few weeks before this experience but it is normal since she has asthma.
Here’s what I found out later:
The ER my daughter originally had gone to refused to give up her medical files and our doctor knew something was very wrong. He had been our family doctor since my daughter was two months old and well as a friend/doctor to the rest of our family over 10 years. I was that annoying first-time worry-wart mom but never neglectful and never brought my daughter to an ER without something really being wrong. Our doctor called the sheriff and explained an investigation had to be checked out. The sheriff got a hold of DCF and they began an investigation. That is when they figured out quickly what had happened.
The dickhead ER doctor had never looked at her test results (which showed a very high white blood cell count)! When our doctor had requested the files the other doctor actually tried to destroy the evidence that we were ever there (thank god for computers). The doctor was arrested and pled guilty to a bunch of different charges. He lost his license and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Basically the entire concept of Minions, honestly.
The plot of this 2015 animated children’s movie can aptly be described in one sentence
A race of genetic yellow freaks become hellbent on villainy, and vow to serve the most evil villain they can find
Throughout the movie’s opening montage, the minions meet several well-known historical and mythological figures, including Count Dracula, Genghis Khan and Napoleon Bonaparte.
This seems innocent at first, especially given the cartoonish depictions of said historical figures in the movie. But an internet user took to Tumblr to analyse exactly what these scenes implied for the minions in the greater historical landscape
According to the official Minions Movie, the Minions:
Assisted Napoleon in invading most of Europe, racking up a total death count of around 3 Million
Assisted Genghis Khan in invading just about all of China and racking up a total death count of roughly 40 Million people
Plus that of the T Rex, Caveman, Pharaoh, King, Captain, and Dracula
So we know for a fact they took part in 43 Million deaths. Not to mention they also killed all of their former masters, so add them to the total.
But this also implies there is a strong chance the Minions are going to kill Gru
Conclusion:
Minions are bloodthirsty monsters that should not be glorified in any way.
[1] I’m no historian, but this all sounds about right to me. It’s horrifying to think that in this universe, minions are responsible for pretty much every war crime and atrocity in human history.
And to make matters even worse, the Minions retire to Antarctica after the fall of Napoleon, where they remain until 1968, when the main plot takes place. The Minions were conveniently exiled during WW2 in order to avoid the implications that the minions were Nazis, but by writing around it, the movie still implies that the minions would have worked for Hitler if they were around.
I have been out of the Army well over 50 years when things were somewhat tougher than I expect hey are today. I never saw anyone hit. I had an E-6 Platoon Sergeant, named Walter Streets. He was about 6′4″ and towered over me. He was black and I am white.
He knew I was a good recruit and would become a good soldier. I developed Pneumonia while I was in Basic at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina and went on antibiotics just before the PT test. I was doing the last phase of the test, which was running track. I was having trouble making the last lap and he ran out onto the track and put his arm around me and ran with me. Another Drill Sargeant who stood about only 5′4″ came out and complained to Sargeant Streets who bent down and told him to “F” off. I passed the test.
When I got on the bus to AIT at Ft. McClellan, Alabama, Sargeant Streets gave me a small bottle of whiskey and told me to drink it all on the trip. He told my buddies to throw their overcoats over me on the back of the bus and by the time I got to AIT the pneumonia was gone. It’s actually 58 years ago and I learned how great some Drill Sargeants can be. I wish I could thank him again today!
I have lived this. When I was 23, I found out we were expecting. At 23 you don’t think anything will be wrong with your baby. That happens to older women, not young people like me. Well the truth is it happens more often with younger women because they are typically having more children than the older women.
At my 16 week ultrasound we really went into it just hoping we would find out the sex of the baby. Instead we left with fear and uncertainty and they weren’t able to tell us the gender. Basically they told us they were able to get a good look at the back of the babies neck but they had a feeling there was some type of abnormality.
So I was referred to a specialist for a level 2 ultrasound and further testing.
A few days later I went to the specialist along with my Mom and one of my sisters who had a medical background. After the ultrasound we were told that there was definitely something wrong with the baby and they thought it was either Down Syndrome, Spina Bifida or Cerebral Palsy.
I was offered the option to terminate and/or do an amnio to find out exactly what was wrong. They also still couldn’t see the baby’s gender. I decided to do the amniocentesis but I made it very clear to the doctor that I was not terminating the pregnancy no matter what the results. Approx 10 days later I called my OBGYNs office and was told they would call me back.
They called me back in just a few minutes to tell me that the doctor was on vacation but he was coming in to talk to me, how quickly can you get here? I knew that didn’t mean good news. My husband couldn’t get off work again so my mom and sister met me there.
My doctor took us into his office and said. “You are having a boy! But he does have Down Syndrome”. I was totally broken with this news.
I sobbed in his office with my family. I mourned the child I thought I would have. I mourned for months. Probably even after my son was born. My husband gave me an ultimatum, either have an abortion or we get a divorce.
I took the divorce and never looked back. I was always pro-life. I am still pro-life. My ex was mad. He was mad at the world. He was mad with God. He knew plenty of people that smoked or did drugs in their pregnancy and their babies were fine.
I wouldn’t even drink caffeine and our baby was going to be “retarded”. (His word, not mine). I could never choose to have an abortion. It wasn’t my body or life. I was just the vessel. I couldn’t get him to understand that what if we had a “normal” child and down the road the child was diagnosed with cancer or had a life changing accident that left them disabled? He couldn’t answer me. He could only say “if you have this baby, then I will never be able to have a boat”. (He was a winner).
But when my son was 5, I met a wonderful man who loved us both. We were married and he adopted my son and we have two other kids now.
Has it been easy? No but who said parenthood was easy?
Even with typical children. Jacob is 23, he has graduated high school, he has a job that he loves and so much more. He will never be able to drive or live on his own but so what?
He is high functioning, smart, talks ALOT, no heart issues, no major health issues and a wonderful personality. He loves Jesus, Disney and his family. And we wouldn’t trade him for the world.
Mama left in the middle of the night with my daddy’s best friend. She didn’t show up for the divorce hearing and that gave my daddy full custody. They had been married for 18 years. Suddenly she was gone. I was 5 years old.
I told myself I could never leave my children like that. I remember the feeling of abandonment. I was her only daughter, she left my brothers as well. One was 10, the other was 4.
My family that I was left with didn’t care much for me. I was a girl, strike one. I looked exactly like my mama, strike two. I finally revealed the sexual abuse I was being tortured with at the hands of my uncle, huge strike three. So, rejection has been a big problem for me in my lifetime. I never wanted to make my own children feel unloved and unwanted. But… I did.
I didn’t leave them physically. I had a problem with alcohol at a very early age. By the time I was 40 I was a full-blown alcoholic. For the next 10 years I was in a drunken stupor, in mental hospitals because of suicide attempts and in jail. It ruled my life and took ME away from my son and daughter during their teenage years. Thank God I married a solid gold man who is always present for our children.
I turned 50 in County jail serving my 90 days for my 4th DUI. That was the very last time I was in custody. We sold our home soon after that and moved to an apartment for the first time in our married life. Our children were both married and living on their own. When we drove away from that home I took that monkey off my back and flung her out the window. I’ve not had a drop of alcohol since. The craving is gone and has not returned for 12 years now. YAY!!!
We can try not to repeat the sins or mistakes of our parents, but be mindful of those mistakes because you could be hurting your family the same just by acting in a different way.
What I’m going to speak on is something that you should never, ever share with anyone but your most trusted friends and siblings (and you should never share it with your parents or any of your friends that you don’t trust to act accordingly), in addition to your coworkers.
You should never, ever share your marital or relationship issues with any of those people. If you get in a huge fight with your spouse or partner, you should never share the details of it with anyone but the people you trust the most.
You see, when you share the details of a fight with a close friend who doesn’t have the ability to internalize all of the details, the next time that friend sees your spouse, they very well might treat your partner differently, based on what you told them.
A fight between a husband and wife especially should never be shared with anyone but your very closest friend, and you absolutely NEED to have one person that you can share it with, otherwise, you’ll never get an objective truth about who was really right in the fight.
When my wife and I get into a fight (we’ve had exactly three over the last five years), I call one person; my best friend Casey. Would you care to know why I call him specifically, even though I have two other friends that I’m just as close with or closer with?
Casey will tell me the truth, no matter what. If I’m wrong, and I was acting like an asshole, he will absolutely tell me so. That’s extremely valuable information, and I can think on what he tells me and take it back to my wife.
If he tells me that I’m right, and that she’s completely wrong in her argument, I’ll keep it to myself, because throwing that in her face won’t do anything but escalate the situation and cause her to have animosity toward Casey, who is our daughter’s favorite person in the world outside of her blood family.
My wife always calls her best friend Rae, which makes me happy, because Rae is very similar to Casey, in the way that she’ll tell my wife the truth of the matter, even if the truth is that my wife was wrong. Also, both Casey and Rae have the ability to completely internalize all of their knowledge about the fight when next we all see one another, and don’t treat either of us differently. If that wasn’t the case, Casey wouldn’t be able to talk to my wife without being disrespectful, and Rae might slap me every time she sees me.
I’ve known quite a few people who have spoken freely about fights with their spouse, and who have even badmouthed their spouse in front of everyone present. In my opinion, there isn’t much that can be more disrespectful to your spouse and your marriage. You’re giving everyone present a horrible picture of your spouse, and making everyone think that your marriage is some kind of argument-ridden catastrophe.
Everyone that I work with believes my wife to be an absolute angel. From what I’ve told them, she is by far the perfect woman. I never tell them when we argue, or when she does something stupid (like switching the bags for my lunch and the dirty cat litter), or anything negative about our marriage.
Nobody should be airing their dirty laundry at work. Period.
If you needed a few billion bucks to establish a commercial aircraft industry, you would think at least 30 nations would have had their own fully operational commercial aircraft right?
Let’s see
Threshold Engineers & Researchers
To commercially manufacture Aircraft you need a minimum threshold workforce of engineers & researchers
Aerospace, Aeronautical and a whole bunch of engineers with significant experience working for commercial aircraft or who have studied commercial aircraft production and assembly
The Magic number for China was 25,000 to be able to draw from
This happened only by 2014–2015
Prior to that every Aerospace Engineer or Designer worked for Defence Manufacturing or for the Space Agency
Boeing alone has a workforce of 61,000 Engineers and 4300 Researchers
The West combined has close to 160,000 Engineers and Researchers in their workforce for Commercial Aircraft Manufacture
By comparison COMAC has 11,280 Engineers and around 900 Researchers
Chinas largest workforce is for
Production Engineering (1998–2004)
Civil Engineering (1982–1998)
Chemical Engineering & Metallurgy (2004–2012) & Electrical Engineering (2004–2012)
Automobile Engineering (2012–2019)
Tooling & Precision Engineering (2019-)
Even today China has around 34,000 Engineers and Researchers as total workforce for Commercial Aircraft Production
Competition
You aren’t competing with just Boeing or Airbus
Your competition is with Boeing, Rolls Royce, GE, Safran, Michelin, Dunlop and another 700–1200 companies that make from the largest airframe to the smallest on board electronic assembly
The Airframe alone to carry such a huge aircraft is a massive challenge
The Wind Tunnel System
The Electronics
The Wheels
Every part especially the Engine is a result of decades of continuous development by the West from the First World War
China this needed to get the Airframe Right
This alone took a decade
They then used a Canadian entity called Bombardier to get the electronics and the supply chain
They then got the electronics right. That took four years.
Then they got the Composite Wing Design and that was seven years.
That finished by 2021
They still have the largest nut to crack – THE ENGINE!!!!
Plus remember Mitsubishi has been unable to break into this market after 45 years
Economic Fiscal Problem
Like our Bullet Train, this Airliner was deemed a project that could never hope to break even by Chinas best economists
It’s why they proposed the HSR or Highways where China is the boss, the master of the fantastic quality supply Chain
It’s why China is investing so heavily into HSR
That’s their core area
Sadly the Comac is more of a prestige issue by China
To have their own fully made aircraft is acceptable even if the aircraft costs some money to the State as subsidies to keep at even keel
Its why China sidestepped IC Engines which they could never ever perfect and are masters of EV Batteries and E Platforms on earth
The Aircraft has to be made fully indigenously on a huge scale to break even because today the selling price is lower than what it costs on an accountants scale
In 1990 – China could certainly not afford to subsidize the Aircraft by any degree of money that they can easily do in their sleep today
So establishing an Industry and producing commercially is not a joke
It takes decades of solid hard work
You are competing against a technology evolution of over 60 years or 70 years from the West
You have specialized suppliers and makers of mother machines – all who need replication
Exactly why Chinas EVs and Renewable Energy models are next to impossible to recapture by any other nation
They have the whole package
China is likely to do far better in developing commercial self flying taxis on a drone concept which can travel as far as 600 Kms on indigenous technology and dominate the world
I worked at this large busy engineering factory. There was a store keeper who also worked there. He had a different role to all of the other store keepers.
He had his own desk. He had big tubs of machine cutters on his desk. His own computer. At the back of his desk, he had shelves filled with box files.
He was always busy. He never had to work shifts like the rest of us. He worked regular days.
Redundency came and he successfully applied for it. He left.
The other store keepers were told that they had to include his job into their own job. They kicked off about and went to the union. The union told them to “ just do what you can”
The store keepers decided to find out what it was that he did. The cutters were old stock, and they were chucked away. The files were full of old unimportant paper work, they were chucked away too.
If you had a lathe tool that needed to be sharpened, he would have to book it in. Those lathe tools had been made obsolete years before.
He basically never had a job. He never did anything. Nobody ever questioned him. He looked so busy and important. And he’d been doing this for years.
Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives (Kotopoulo me Tomatoes kai Elies)
Kotopoulo me Tomatoes kai Elies
Ingredients
Flour (for dredging)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 (3 pound) frying chicken, cut into 6 to 8 serving pieces
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large red onions, peeled, chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled, minced
1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped plum tomatoes
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon oregano
Instructions
Combine flour, salt and pepper on a plate and lightly dredge the chicken.
Heat 1/3 cup olive oil in a large, deep skillet and brown the chicken on all sides, over high heat. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Add remaining olive oil to skillet, and sauté onions until wilted and lightly browned. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
Place chicken back in the pan. Pour in the tomatoes and wine, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken is tender.
Ten minutes before removing from heat, add the crumbled feta and stir until melted. Five minutes before removing from heat, add olives and oregano.
Of course it is the despicable and obnoxious USA! Everyone knows it and everyone knows it is the U.S. that is hurting the work.
But if Americans are smart enough, which suspect the are not, a much more salient question would be “will it work?”
I absolutely won’t and it will harm the US economy much more than it ever hurt the Chinese economy.
Why? Very simple.
The U.S. market is simply a lot smaller than China and threatening not to sell to them is threatening to lose a market bigger than the world’s next 10 biggest market combine!
China can and will buy from someone else or it will simply make it themselves just like how Huawei Mate 60 surprised the U.S. who naively thinks that China will need at least 30 years to make it own high end chips China took less than 3 short year! And now the U.S. is well and truly fxxked!
China stops buying not only for their own consumers that is 30% of the world, it also stop using the U.S. chips in the product they make for the rest of the world or at least another 40% more. So the U.S. gets cuts away from 70% of the world’s market!
Next threatening not to buy from China who can simply make things better, faster and cheaper than everyone else is like threatening to bring inflation to its shores. Let alone depriving your own people from productivity and profit. Hence your crippling inflation. Increasing interest levels to fight inflation caused your bank failures and hurt investment! All are very bad for the US!
Now let’s evaluate the result of the trade war initiated by the U.S. The U.S. inflation were double digit at one point but now 3–4%. China’s inflation rate is 0.3%!
In the 5 years since the trade war China grew 5 times faster than the U.S.! Your trade with China grew from less than 200 billion before the trade war to more than 700 billion last year!
So who is winning the trade war? China is laughing all the way to the bank!
These friends formed “circles”, close groups, sport groups, nerd groups, drinking buddies, and so on and so forth.
One of the extended groups of friends were part of one of my constantly changing “drinking friend group”. And within that group was a fairly nice kid, a guy that we shared a brew and two at various keggers. I will call him “Marko” (not his real name.)
He lived on a farm; an isolated small home off the tail end of a dirt road.
He was ok. Really.
But his mother… Oh Lordy!
There was something really wrong with her. Not all together there, and man was she odd, and she really tended to behave strangely. Really strangely. Over the years, all of us, decided to avoid her, and actually all of us felt really sad for our friend Marko.
Now, with this as the background, I will now relate the last moment when I saw Marko’s mother…
…
It was 3am on a Wednesday in late Summer; say July or early August. We (myself and my buddy Robbie) were riding in his International Scout (a 1970s era vehicle) on the dirt gravel road though the cornfields in the hills of Western Pennsylvania. We were riding, drinking beer, and smoking… And the headlights on the truck illuminated the gravel in front of us.
As we went up a hill, the road turned to the left and as we turned that curve, we saw Marko’s mother. She was standing there, at the edge of the cornfield, at the side of the road. Wearing a old stained white nightgown, and standing there. Her expression looked like something out of a horror movie. I’ll tell you what.
…
We didn’t stop.
We kept on driving.
The corn blended into the dark background.
Then Robbie let out a sigh.
“Poor. Poor Marko” he said. And we turned up the 8-track player and listened to The Rolling Stones play “Gimmie Shelter”.
As we continued to drive though the dark night in the cornfields.
Never compare your sex life with porn videos. Because porn videos are totally fake.
Never be sad for losing someone. No one lasts for long period of time. Even, you are gonna lose your beauty, money and health with age.
Never underestimate failure.Only a failure gives you the proper perspective of success.
Never “Trust” easily on anyone. Because trust is the most expensive thing and so don’t trust blindly. Even, your friends get jealous when they see your progress.
Never share your password of social media accounts, email, Internet Banking, and ATM pin\CVV number with anyone. Never!
Never get involved in sexual activities till you are not serious in your relationship.
Never believe on that girl\boy who have lots of relationship in their past. They can easily manipulated you by crying their bad past.( Exception is everywhere)
Never try to hurt your parents. They have lots of expectations from you.
In any situation, Never think about ending your life. Even plants regrow leaves after one leaf shed.
The QSPR ‘Tunnel Weapon’. When US forces had to crawl into tunnels to chase the enemy it was a very intense experience. A GI often went down there with just a 1911 .45 and a flashlight, and once his buddies dropped him down there he was pretty much on his own. As you can imagine, firing a .45 in a space the size of a closet does your hearing no favors and also alerts other bad guys down there to your presence. The militay, in conjunction with AAC, came up with the ‘Tunnel Weapon’ a specially modified S&W .44 Magnum for the ‘tunnel rats’ to use.
image 8
It had a short barrel and a smooth bore like a shotgun. The gun used a special ‘captive piston’ ammunition that was almost perfectly silent. When fired, the propellant pushed a piston in the case forward, launching buckshot made from a special alloy. When the piston reached the end of the case, it was caught and did not leave the case. As a result, all the propellant gas was captured in the case … so no noise signature. The pellets, driven forward by the force of the piston, continued down the bore and out the muzzle. The result was a totally silent and flash-less weapon that could be used in a confined space like a tunnel. They never were distributed in any meaningful amount and only a few went into practical field trials. The guns almost never turn up but some of the special ammo shows up once in a while.
Hot afternoon, sitting at my dinner place doing books and covering the phone. Don’t open for dinner until six…it’s three. Happy to be alone. The front door is unlocked because we are out in the country and it doesn’t need to be.
Girl in her twenties pushing her bike in the door, walks by the “closed…open for dinner at 6” sign, and, before I can say, “Sorry miss, we’re closed,” asks me for a coke. Ok, this is a custom walnut bar, 150 label wine list, crystal glassware, fresh flowers, dress code…you know, and she needs a coke in a paper cup with a straw.
I bite my tongue as she leans her bike against the wall next to the front door. “Uh, I don’t have a to go cup, but, have a seat…how’s your day going?” I poured her a coke on ice and she told me she had guessed wrong on her bike trip, trying to pedal up the mountain had wiped her out. She was a college kid and did not have the money to eat at this place, but I had her look over the menu and grab a brochure. I didn’t charge her the ridiculous price for the coke. And away she went.
Four years later, it had been a really busy shift, customers all over the place. I acknowledged one of our regulars as he left with a party of six and thanked him for his business. He replied, “You know we always love to come here, it’s been what? Four years now? Birthdays, holidays, homecomings, my daughter’s rehearsal dinner…” He gestured to a young woman. “Honey? Come over and say hi to the boss.” You have already guessed who the “young lady” was. She had bicycled home that day four years ago and told her family about our place. I can’t estimate what her family had spent there over those years helping keep us in business.
Remember the communication range, huh? The thing is that the larger gap of intelligence between two people, the greater likelihood the reaction of the lesser endowed is outright hostile.
Acting stupid and dumbing down is a survival mechanism. To howl with the wolves (or rather bleating with the sheep). Humans are social animals and we all want to fit in. Therefore acting stupid is a way to a) pretend you fit in and b) not to evoke a hostile reaction among the lesser endowed.
The thing is that it is a) incredibly consuming and b) never foolproof. But I wouldn’t be alive today if I couldn’t act stupid when needed.
When I was a teenager, my mom took me on a trip to visit the tobacco plantation where her mother had grown up. The land had been in the family since the 1700s. It was really cool seeing antiques that had been in the family for generations. There was even an old muzzle-loader that had been used to fight in the Revolutionary War. It was so heavy that I had to rest my elbow on my hip. I couldn’t even lift it like you would an ordinary (modern) rifle.
While we were there, a cousin told us we could take whatever we wanted from stuff she’d stuck in an old shed that had been used originally for drying tobacco. My mom filled a large paper grocery sack with papers, documents, letters, and antique books.
Later, while driving home, I began going through the contents of the bag while my mom drove. There were letters from the early 1900s and throughout the 1800s, some sad; some hilarious. There were wills and other business documents. Kind of boring to me at the time. Two-thirds of the way down, there was a strange piece of “paper” folded into fourths. It was obviously very old and bulky.
I carefully unfolded it to discover . . . the original land grant from King George III bestowing on my ancestors 600 acres in the colony of North Carolina. It was a piece of parchment with such tiny, perfect calligraphy spelling out the description of the land, etc. It was a legal document. Just as astonishing was that it still had King George’s seal attached! The seal was round and about the size of a coaster you stick under a mug to protect wood. It was maybe an inch thick and very hard. That was the coolest thing I ever helped to “rescue.” 🙂
Often people say hi, or hey, or they give a little wave or salute, or they nod or smile in passing. All these rituals of greeting communicate: I know you, you’re within my greeting circle.
But some people and some friendships require an actual conversation. If it’s a really good friend whom you haven’t seen in years, there’s a lot to catch up on. “It’s been so long, how ya doin’?” You talk about substantive things. “Betty’s been declared cancer-free for the past five years, but that was a bad scare.” “I wish I’d known what you were going through, while all I ever worried about was getting through tax season.” That’s a real conversation.
But there’s a space between, where the person once meant something to you. Or you moved in the same circles and you don’t remember them all that well. That’s when empty conversation tides you over till you get your bearings in the conversation. “Hi, how are you?” “What do you want to pretend is interesting, my sciatica, my year of unemployment, or Tina’s and my separation?” “Wow, that’s rough! So much time has gone by.” “I can see you’re struggling to remember —” “No, not at all —” “I introduced you to my roommate’s sister at that boating weekend on the lake and after that you two were so into each other that I don’t think you came up for air for six months.” “I can’t believe I forgot that connection. It’s like I’m your roommate-in-law.”
So those empty how-are-yous serve a purpose, to string the conversation along until you find your footing — or realize there’s no way to remake the old connection — or there never was a connection. Empty forms evolve because we NEED them, so don’t waste time disparaging those social forms. They can delay or avoid a lot of social awkwardness.
The war between the United States and China began in 2008. At the time of this writing, it is 2024. So the war has been on-going for 16 years. During this period of time it has been characterized by the following realities…
Not reported in the Western “news” media.
Characterized by offensive actions by the United States (either direct or by proxy).
Characterized by defensive actions by China.
Characterized by unconventional warfare at every level.
This idea that “someday” a conventional war will manifest between China and the United States is a false narrative. This narrative was concocted in 2017 under the direction of both Mike Pompeo and John Bolton in the Trump Administration. Anyone who believes this narrative is foolish.
We know today, in 2024, that both the Pentagon and RAND have repeatedly announced though various channels that the United States is unable to win a conventional war against China. This is true whether it uses proxy nations or not.
Leaving only the nuclear weapon option.
China has long prepared for a first-strike nuclear attack by the United States. China fully expects the reality of this situation.
Thus, China has been manufacturing, preparing, and training to absolutely eviscerate the cities of the United States, and the participant proxy nations, that dare attack it.
…
Were a “HOT” shooting war to erupt between the United States and China… it will eventually turn nuclear.
What we know about this situation is frightening…
The United States neocons believe that a war is inevitable with China, and that the United States will “win” it, because it is “exceptional”.
The United States fields 3rd generation nuclear systems, and rely on advanced pin-point accuracy for “surgical” destructive objectives.
The United States does not have any ABM defense against the Chinese and Russian current technology.
Meanwhile, in China…
China has active fielded 6th through 8th generation nuclear systems, in great quantities, with modern cutting-edge delivery systems and avionics.
China military doctrine is to saturate the target area broadly with multiple cascades of weapons. They believe that if a target in located in a city, that you destroy the entire region surrounding that city over, and over, and over until no life remains.
China also has a massive ABM system purposely designed to intercept American and Western missiles and destroy them long before they arrive at their targets.
The Chinese policy is soundly defensive.
The American (neocon) policy is resoundingly offensive.
…
Were a HOT war to erupt between the two nations… the citizens will not be aware of it. As the “news” media will not report on it. Any war prep in the West will be reported as “aggression by China”.
And in a blink of an eye, the cities of the West will be erased one by one.
True story from my days of working in industrial controls.
A co-worker + I visited a refrigerated warehouse to take a look at a controls PC that had stopped spitting out readings on a printer every so often as it should have. Based on the old principle of “if it doesn’t work. turn it on; if it still doesn’t work, plug it in,” I checked the printer’s connection the PC and, lo and behold, it had fallen off.
I plugged it in and told my co-worker “OK, we’re done.”
“We can’t just do that and leave,” he responded.
So, I decided to clean out the PC just on general principles. I should note that this was in the mid ’90s, and smoking was allowed in this office. Lots of smoking. Without especially good ventilation. Right next to the PC.
So, I took the PC to the loading dock and opened it, figuring I’d “breathe life into it” by simply blowing the dust out of it. But that wasn’t going to do the trick. Nor would the typical can of compressed air. A trowel would’ve done the trick, though.
Needless to say, I did clean out the PC using whatever tools I had handy. When I returned it to the office, I suggested that they either stop smoking around it – as if that was likely, improve ventilation, or at least get some smokeless ashtrays, or else they’d be paying a lot more for new control PCs.
Of course, my employer would gladly have sold said new PCs to this customer, since damage from smoking was not covered by the warranty.
Quite a few times, this played out in front of me and for different reasons.
I was the HR coordinator assigned to a branch of a company and had to be present during all disciplinary or fact-finding meetings between management and employees to make sure that management didn’t do anything stupid and bear witness to anything actionable said by the employee during those meetings.
In one case, I worked with a manager with no real gift for social grace. He was intimidated by conflicts and hated the fact that none of the “damn kids” working for him gave him the respect he felt he deserved from his position. When he held these investigatory meetings with employees over minor infractions like tardiness or excessive call-offs (minor infractions), he would escalate the situation by leading with the attitude of “why shouldn’t I just fire you?” which was all but stated in his long, rambling opening remarks.
One guy who was transferred over from another facility was a GIFT engineered by regional management to make up for the loss of two machine workers who walked off because of poor working conditions. Without them, we would have lost more than a week’s production based on their unique maintenance knowledge and ability. The employee sitting in the hot seat was brought in at a decent wage to compensate for asking him to commute an hour each way to work. Our manager did not take this into account when listing all FOUR late punches collected in the employee’s first month as he worked out the parking and other transportation issues related to his new job.
The problem was that the boss was intimidated by the young man’s ability to do the work of two people and fix problems that even HE couldn’t. I think the boss just wanted to assert power or compensate for this feeling of inadequacy, but the replacement employee was having none of it.
“I volunteered to help you out. I’m doing my best to get in and get to work. I stay a little late each day, too.” “If you’re doing your best and can’t get to work on time, you’re not doing good enough.”
I saw from the employee’s expression that he knew the kind of poor manager he was dealing with. He stood up extended a hand and said, “Okay, then. Thank you for the opportunity. I’ll be heading back to the other store on Monday. Good luck.”
The boss was so stunned (as was I, but for different reasons) that he accepted the handshake and said nothing while the employee walked out of the room. Knowing what this would mean to the store’s production and morale but wanting to maintain some sense of managerial control, I waited until the door closed behind the guy before I called the boss the most polite kind of short-sighted imbecile that I could.
I intercepted the employee and apologized, asking him to reconsider. As I expected, he said he would take the matter up with the Regional Manager who set up the reassignment. When Monday came, I received the paperwork promoting the once temporary machine operator to Assistant Manager of Production at a decent salary and to schedule a disciplinary conference with the Branch Manager for being an incompetent jackass.
Well, I just read a very typical ‘Merica answer on this. And I’ll have to tell youse guys, I got one Hell of a belly laugh. I mean it. It was deep and long…
The four points made were…
[1] It will not happen. The USN isn’t stupid and would stay out of the range of the Carrier Killer missiles.
I had to laugh at this. China has the ability to sink aircraft carriers ANYWHERE on the globe. If you all think that ONLY the DF-17 can sink a carrier group, then you are reading too many propaganda pieces.
[2] It could not happen. China doesn’t have enough of these Carrier Killer missiles to be a threat.
Again, this gave me such a howling laughter. As if some basement bozo knows how many missiles and non-missile weapons that China has. No one knows how many missiles that China fields, but I can positively tell you that China does things in mass.
[3] It cannot happen. China isn’t stupid to take on the United States. The USA is invincible, and China doesn’t know how to fight a “real” war.
Oh, my belly was laughing so hard on this canard. China has the oldest army in the world. China also has the oldest Navy in the world. The Chinese military was perfected during the Tang dynasty. Then bested Genghis Khan, and then was absorbed into it, resulting in the massive Yang dynasty armies. Aside from the fact that the Chinese beat the living snot out of the USA during the “Korean War”, China has been engaged fighting with the USA on all fronts since at least 2016
[4] Carrier Killer missiles are just hyperbole. They are just normal missiles with some undemonstrated abilities that the USN can easily thwart.
Ha ha ha ha. I mean talk about living under a rock. Jesus, this nonsense is so thick that you need waders to trudge though the muck.
…
China is a peaceful nation.
But, it is NOT stupid.
…
The United States has thrown EVERYTHING at China. And I do mean EVERYTHING.
From “color revolutions” inside of China, to “color revolutions” in all the nations surrounding China. From undersea excursions and conflicts, to near-space satellite warfare. From cyber warfare, to bio-warfare attacks. From managed famines to lawfare assaults. From efforts designed to collapse the Chiense banking industry to efforts to collapse the Chinese real estate industry.
It’s been full spectrum and absolute.
But not reported in the “news” of the West.
…
Instead we hear of submarines ramming undersea mountains, freak geomagnetic storms, the “apparent random” firings of Naval Commanders, and the Secretary of the Navy. We read (in the West) about Chinese “warmongering” a build up for a “Taiwanese invasion”.
All this interspersed about how Putin has brain cancer, and how Russia is running out of ammo. We read about how Xi Peng is going to be disposed and how the poor downtrodden people of China are going to rise up for “democracy” and Freedom”.
…
Info war is in full swing.
There is ZERO credibility in Western “news” media. Today it is so outrageous and comically fake and ridiculous that it is amazing that these tabloids are still able to have people that watch and read their content.
…
So… Yeah. It’s full spectrum. EVERYTHING.
Of course…
The clueless in the West would believe the fake narratives of Putin losing, China collapsing, and America remaining strong. They will believe that COVID was fake, or if it was something of concern, then it was “China’s fault” for one reason or the other. That’s the narrative, and that’s want the oligarchy expects Westerners to believe.
…
The United States is a feudal plutocracy.
While China is military-based meritocracy.
…
Oh, it’s just like the United States is throwing EVERYTHING at China, China is preparing with EVERYTHING as well.
And, let me tell you all…
They don’t read American / Western “news”.
They know what is REALLY going on.
…
So China is ready.
If you are a consumer of Western “news” you will be unaware of the following facts, but you do need to brace yourself for the realities.
Were the USA, either directly or through proxy, attacks China… China will throw nuclear warheads at American cities and military installations.
Oh, sure. China has a “no first use policy” in regards to nuclear weapons.
But within the FORMAL WORDING of this (particular) policy is one sentence that you all should all pay attention to…
“…if attacked… China reserves the right … to use every means at its disposal … to attack the nation that attacks it.”
For some reason, the Western “news” media glosses over this sentence. Perhaps they cannot read Chinese, or simply just cut and paste their “news articles” directly out of Langley VA. What ever, the FORMAL STATEMENT regarding nuclear weapons use is very carefully worded, and ambiguous enough to give the most aggressive neocons pause to consider.
…
So, yeah. China is ready.
It was ready in 1950–53 when it defeated the United States in Korea, and is ready today as it dishes EVERYTHING thrown at it, right back to the United States to consume.
…
At this point in time…
The United States and China are like a married couple living together weeks prior to a divorce. The United States is cheating, bending words, manipulating systems… and thinking “They’ll never find out”.
While China, is playing it smart.
Already has contacted the divorce attorneys, arranged the legal papers and made all the necessary arrangements. Just waiting for the time of CHINA’s choosing to terminate the relationship.
…
So… that being said…
“How can the USN defend against China’s formidable anti-Naval missile forces”?
There ARE a number of things that the United States government can do.
Not fight China. Give up. Stop the war-mongering.
First strike against China using a barrage of nuclear ICBMs and SLBMs.
That’s it.
Nothing else is realistically possible.
By the way… this is the OFFICIAL view of the United States Pentagon as of late fall 2023.
Of course, it all depends on the temperament of the “leadership” in Washington DC. And since they are clueless morons that are evil psychopathic narcissists, I can’t help but believe that they will be as delusional with China as they are with Russia. And the end result will be disastrous for the Untied States.
And the world as well.
Nothing quite ruins your day as a cascade of nuclear weapons hitting you.
…
Quick summary
China is READY to take on the United States, simultaneously with it’s proxy “allies”.
China WILL use nuclear weapons.
China is above-peer capable with the best equipment of the West.
China is a military-based meritocracy.
…
Quick Note
The disinformation about China permeates all levels.
China is a military-based meritocracy, but the West portrays this reality as “conscription”. Which is disingenuous. It gives the Western reader a pre-conceived illusion of poorly trained, unmotivated troops. But the reality is something quite different.
I once worked in a Michelin star restaurant with over 3,000 bottles of wine. One night a couple was dining at my bar and they were ordering multiple courses. With each course they ordered, they would order a different glass of wine to pair with it. Pairing wine with food is an art, not a science. One person’s nirvana can be another person’s acid rain. Wine tends to bring out the snobbish in people, too; all the worst stereotypes about wine nerds are true.
There were two other bartenders working that night and they got their food and first wine pairing with one of the others. I was clearing their plates and setting them up for their next course when the guy indicated the Vouvray they had finished, and then asked me for an opinion on what they should have next with whatever-fucking-dish they had coming.
“I really like this sauvignon blanc,” I said earnestly, and held out the bottle for them to inspect.
The guy looked at me like I just farted on his face. “AFTER A VOUVRAY?” He said, horrified.
He shooed me away and got one of the other bartenders to help pick the next wine. I was now a social leper, apparently. My judgment could not be trusted any further than I could throw that bottle of wine. I was a rube, an unsophisticated novice who had no right to even be working in such an establishment. I might as well have suggested for him to drink his own piss. And he could have, for all I fucking cared.
The line became a running joke at the bar. Anytime I touched the sauvignon blanc bottle someone would gleefully ask, “They weren’t just drinking the Vouvray, I hope?” And we’d laugh our asses off. I have since asked multiple people why that might be a faux pas as a wine suggestion and no one has ever given me a legitimate answer.
Cat claws aren’t really meant to kill (although they can and surely do). They are meant to grab and hold.
A kill typically consists of a sequence: grabbing the prey and getting it to the ground, suppressed, and then finishing the job.
And boy do they come equipped:
A lion claw to hand comparison:
image 48
Now it is a different story for most birds of prey.
A harpy eagle, and many eagles, can actually use their claws to kill their prey.
They pin their prey down and hold them, jerking their claws back and forth.
image 47
They also use their beaks to tear the animal apart, which, if it is lucky, happens quickly.
This is why you often see a predator eagle seeming to just stand and stomp on its prey. The prey moving around is actually what kills it in many of these instances.
It’s believed that the T-Rex shared this in common with predatory birds.
image 45
Their arms weren’t functional for hunting, so they would use one leg to lean in and hold the prey down on the ground, while their jaw did the rest of the work.
One of the closest living examples of what dinosaur claws looked like belongs to the Southern Cassowary, which lives in papua new guinea and looks like a deformed ostrich.
image 44
But when you see their claws, it’s immediately obvious who they are related to:
image 46
Fortunately, they are omnivores.
Nature is metal AF. Death by another animal never seems to be a fun way to go.
Airline executive: hey, if we squeeze the seats closer together, we can fit in one more row of seats, sell more tickets, and make more money!
Health and safety: but you can’t squeeze the exit row seats closer together — people have to be able to get through to the exit. So those seats would have to stay further apart while you squeeze the other ones closer together. It’ll look stupid.
Airline executive: that’s not a bug — that’s a feature! We’ll sell those seats at premium rates for people who want legroom just a little less than what they used to have, rather than a lot less!
Exit row seats used to be unattractive, due to the additional responsibility.
Now, they’re apparently fairly popular, due to the guaranteed minimum legroom. Which the airlines are not providing out of the kindness of their heart, but because an ‘exit row’ has to, you know, allow people to exit, so they’re legally mandated to keep them a certain width.
And some people apparently get annoyed when the stewardess asks them whether they are willing and able to assist in the unlikely event of an evacuation….
In high-school my friend and I were selling Christmas wreaths door to door.
We would take turns with the sale line.
This time it was his turn.
My friend was usually out going and very talkative.
We get to this door he goes up and knocks. This beautiful girl opens the door and kind of lifts her leg around the door cradling it and she bites her lip.
My friend was silent didn’t say a word he just stood there dumb founded.
I laughed, said sorry for my friend here…and then gave the whole sales pitch. She giggled and declined. Thr whole time my friend just stood there looking like a fool with his jaw just hanging open.
After she closed the door ot took him a moment to collect himself.
He commented about how beautiful she was. I said yeah, she was nice.
We go down another street and I realize that this side of the street was just the back side of the houses from the other…
I tell my buddy who was still somewhat dazed he gets this next house… (it was hers but from the other side)
She opened the door again same spill but this time I sold the Christmas wreath.
I don’t remember what happened after the second incident. I just remember it was hilarious.
I have so many different stories. We’ve even run across people answering the door in the buff. Usually not the good looking type though!
He has set a world record for the farthest swim under ice, going 188.6 feet under.
He has the fastest half marathon barefoot on snow and ice, running 2 hours and 16 minutes. (most can’t do this in regular climate!)
He has spent 1 hour and 53 minutes in full body contact with ice.
Normally, this should kill anybody between 15 and 45 minutes in.
He has climbed Mt. Everest to 25,000 feet in just shorts and boots.
So the big question remains.
How?
He employs something called “The Wim Hof” method.
He manipulates his mind and his breathing patterns to help his body create an ability to warm itself.
Sounds weird right?
He went under a study with researchers at Wayne State University.
He showed that when he didn’t employ his method of rapid breathing, “his skin temperature would fluctuate between about 33.5 degrees Celsius with the warm water and 31.5 degrees Celsius with the cold.”
However, when he did use his method, “his skin temperature stayed almost perfectly steady at just under 34 degrees Celsius.”
They found in the PET scan later that “the rapid breathing exercise worked by warming the capillaries in the lungs.”
Additionally, and weirdly enough, “Hof didn’t demonstrate an increase of activity in the anterior insula, where higher-function thermoregulation is done. Instead, he had an unexpected spike in the periaqueductal gray matter, which is associated with control of sensory pain. Maybe it really is mind over matter after all.”
During the filming of the movie Robert De Niro had a huge crush on her.
He even asked her out on a date.
But she turned him down.
After that during the entire shooting De Niro did not speak to her except when he was in character.
Shooting over.
Movie released.
Taxi Driver did really good business at the box office and also received positive response from Critics.
But rejection from his crush did not stop De Niro. He did classic films like The Deer Hunter, One upon a time in America, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Casino, Heat , Goodfellas, Cape Fear, The Irishman etc.
image 4
He won an Oscar for the Best Actor for Raging Bull.
image 3
And now he is considered as One of the Best Actors of all time.
On the other hand Cybill Shepherd was forgotten with time.
The only character she played worth remembering was Betsy in Taxi Driver.
40 years later when she wrote an autobiography, She wrote that she regretted turning him down a lot. She wrote, it was the biggest mistake she made in her life.
Now what De Niro did after she turned him down is worth reading
Did he threaten her boyfriend? NO
Did he start doing drinking and drugs? NO
Did he try to get revenge from her anyhow? NO
What he did was – He kept working. He concentrated on his career. And now he is THE ROBERT DE NIRO. Who inspired hundreds of other actors from all over the world.
image 2
So if a girl rejects you, what is the best way to get her to regret her decision?
Respect her decision and focus on your career. Build an empire. Self destruction and revenge mindset (Easy Path) will not do anything. Forget about her. You’ll regret later if you choose the easy path.
One of the most badass thing ever uttered was: “We’ve been fighting in the West throughout the war and we have enough experience to assess our situation. We will not allow ourselves to be taken hostage! You will die like rats when we break out of here!” – Viktor Leonov.
This man is Viktor Leonov:
image 7
In 1945 after the fall of Berlin, Viktor Leonov, a grizzled old Russian naval commander who had inflicted crazy amount of death and misery on his Axis enemies was sent to fight the Japanese in the east.
Viktor was assigned to a naval parachute division and was dropped with over 145 men into what was supposed to be a lightly-defended airfield somewhere in the midst of china. Fun fact, it wasn’t lightly defended. Over 3000 Japanese soldiers were waiting for them and the second they landed they were rounded up.
image 6
Viktor and his officers were forced marched into the Japanese HQ where the Japanese garrison commander ordered their surrender. Viktor refused and told the Japanese to surrender.
The Japanese officers laughed and told them this is no place for jokes and that he should just sign the papers for the Soviet official surrender and get it over with. Viktor was not joking. He jumped out of his chair, slammed his fist on the table and yelled in a heavy, very deep and intimidating Russian accent:
“We’ve been fighting in the West throughout the war and we have enough experience to assess our situation. We will not allow ourselves to be taken hostage! You will die like rats when we break out of here!”
Right at the end of the sentence, one of his men pulled out a hidden grenade and threatened to blow up every single man in the room.
The Japanese surrendered.
Viktor and his troops walked back to the soviet base with his over 3,000 Japanese prisoners who only hours ago were telling the captured soviets to surrender.
After that, he went back to fighting and captured four Japanese ports along the Korean and Manchurian coastlines. During his daring operations against the Japanese, he lost a grand total of nine soldiers. Seven of them died parachuting into that airfield I just talked about. Viktor apparently only retired because there was no more room on his chest for any more medals.
Viktor died in 2003, his death was not even mentioned in the newspaper.
Back in the late summer of 2000 or 2001, I was looking for a job because a freelance customer had stiffed me on six weeks’ worth of invoices. I wasn’t thrilled about either of those things, but hey, at least I like my field. Anyway, my brother called me up out of the blue and we had a conversation that went something like this:
“Hey, you’ll never guess who I sat with on the plane today: John Prine!”
“Oh, cool. How’d he look? He wasn’t looking all that good last time I saw him.”
“He looked OK. He was coming into town for a show tomorrow night with Mary Chapin Carpenter and someone named Lyle Lovett.”
“OMG! Don’t ask any questions, just GO.”
“Oh, I’m going. But I was wondering if you want to go.”
“Uh… I’m broke and in Winnipeg. And I have to be at a job interview at 3:00 pm the next day. Is that even doable?”
“Oh, yeah, it’s totally doable, I have a zillion points. Let me see…” <keys tapping> “OK, I can get you on a flight that comes in about 4:30. I’ll pick you up, we’ll grab some dinner, take in the show, then I can drop you at the airport in the morning and you’ll be back in town by… about 1:30.”
“Uh… OK!”
Next day I take the bus to the airport, fly to Toronto, Scott picks me up in his minty 89(?) Porsche 911, zoom we’re downtown, bam we’re getting a falafel for supper, then we’re off to the venue. Prine was awesome as ever, Mary Chapin Carpenter was great, but Lyle Lovett and his Large Band absolutely killed it. I’ve seen a lot of damned good shows, and that one was right up there with the very best. Then it’s back to Scott’s place, up early, zoom back to the airport, fly back to Winnipeg, and I’m taking the bus to my interview and asking myself, “Did all that really just happen?”
It was an incredible pick-me-up at a time I could really use one, and by far and away one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. (He’ll probably read this, so I’m just going to say “Thanks again!”)
After a 4 year stay in Japan, representing my husband’s company, we returned to the States and settled in California. We registered our children in school. After a few days our youngest daughter came home and reported that a man had come to the school and taken her out of class and they had gone for a walk. The man had shown her lots of pictures. I was horrified and asked what kind of pictures. She told me one was of a policeman with a bad guy.
next morning I was at the school and in the Principal’s office demanding to know if it was true and if so, why. I was told that I had made a mistake when filling out the enrollment form and had put down that my daughter was born in Japan. My reply was that as her mother I would certainly know where she was born and that was in a hospital in Tokyo. Then I learned that California law requires that any student that doesn’t understand English must have an interpreter.
I told the Principal that if she had spent two minutes in conversation with my blue eyed daughter, born of a British mother and American father she would have known my daughter was fluent in the English language.
Hungarian Pork and Sauerkraut Sandwich (Peshene)
2024 01 04 19 08
Ingredients
4 slices pork butt, as meaty as possible, sliced thin, pounded if necessary
1 large can (27 ounces) sauerkraut, rinsed, squeezed dry
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt
Pepper
Hungarian sweet paprika
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter
8 slices of the best rye bread
Instructions
Prepare the pork butt and add some seasoning to it. Gently brown the pork in the butter until done. Don’t over cook.
Set pork aside and add sauerkraut, onions, garlic and seasonings to the pan. Be generous with the paprika. Fry the kraut until browned.
Make up 4 sandwiches being generous with the sauerkraut mixture.
I sometimes add 1-2 peeled raw potatoes (diced small) to the frying kraut.
Every time I visit my parents’ house, I would see someone drinking tea and talking to my mother. They’re usually female, ages 20 through 40. From their appearance, I can see that they are not doing well financially. I call them my mother’s “projects.” She has maybe 4–5 “projects” at a time.
They are visiting my mom to get help, discuss a problem, get some advice, and occasionally some of them would bring gifts to say thank you. I don’t know how it started, who these women were or how they met my mom. But their stories are depressingly similar. All of them were women who had kids, frequently didn’t have husbands, or were in abusive relationships. Let me tell you about one of them.
I’ll call her Zaya. Zaya is a young woman, around 27 years old. First time she met my mother, was when she was 20. She’s developmentally a little slow. Reads and writes with difficulty, and it takes her some time to understand difficult concepts. But she is a hard worker. Always does her tasks diligently. From what I know my mom helped her in some small things:
One winter she bought her and her child winter clothes.
Helped her daughter go to a good public school nearby. To do that my mom registered her to her house.
What is special about her? Nothing really. But she has encountered so many problems in her life that, I think, really shows how difficult it is to be poor:
She was adopted and her family, except her mother, treated her like an unpaid maid.
She became pregnant when she was 18. The father of the child disappeared, never to be seen.
She worked as a cleaner in a small company and received a modest salary. My mom took her to a bank one day and helped her open a savings bank account. After several years, she saved an equivalent of 5–6 months salary.
When her relatives learned about it, they pushed her to liquidate her account and contribute to her brother’s wedding.
She met one guy, who was a driver and they decided to live together. They built a small house. She used her savings to buy appliances, furniture etc. Just before they officially registered, the guy died in a car accident. His family, moved in and kicked her and her kid out on the streets. I offered to help her write a report to the police and go with her to submit it. She didn’t want to go to all the trouble.
She opened a new account and kept the bank book with my mother for safekeeping. Her family learned about it and forced her to pay for renovation at their house.
Her mother, the only person who supported her, passed away. She told her on several occasions that if she passes away she wanted her daughter to live separately from their family.
The last time we heard from her, she was moving to a different city, since her oldest brother was moving there and opening a small barber shop. He promised he would pay her salary. After she moved there, she changed her cell number and stopped calling my mom. It has been more than a year since we heard from her.
Whenever I hear people say that the poor are lazy, or bad at managing money, I always think about her. Her life is like a boxing match with a pro boxer. She gets knocked down, she gets up to be knocked down again. The sheer amount of sh*t that she experienced in her life is really astounding. This is why many of the poor remain poor. Because life is unfair…
Neocon Debacle and Declining Empire | Richard D. Wolff
Beware the following email originating from John Liu <chinaregistry177 (at) aliyun.com address individually to you. It is a scam trying to get you to part with your money. The website at the end of the message does not exist.
Mine was a Mr. Albert Liu.
Albert Liu<albert.liu@chinaregistry.org.cn>
Subject: CN Domain and keyword
“(It’s very urgent, please transfer this email to your CEO. Thanks)
We are the domain name registration service company in China. On Dec 30, 2015, we received an application from Huaxun Holdings Ltd requested “XXXXXX” (name removed) as their internet keyword and China (CN) domain names. But after checking it, we find this name conflict with your company name or trademark. In order to deal with this matter better, it’s necessary to send email to you and confirm whether this company is your distributor or business partner in China?
Kind regards
John Liu General Manager China Registry (Headquarters) 8052, Douhai Building, No. 59 Baolian Road, Shanghai, China Tel: +86 21 6191 8696 Mobile: +86 138 1642 8671 Fax: +86 21 6191 8697 Web: www .chinaregistry.com.cn Email: john (at) chinaregistry.com.cn
Phone numbers and URLs are equal to what what I got in my mail.
Comment and Advice
The unsolicited email you receive is from a Chinese domain registrar (could be a certified registrar, agent, affiliate or private person).
In the email they explain that a supposed company (try to Google the name) is interested in some available domain names (typically .hk, .cn, .tw), which correspond with your brand name.
In only a few days the other party will register these domains, unless you secure them first. The domain registrar can even send you an email from the interested third party (it comes from a hotmail address) claiming that they want to register your domain names, and they are only waiting for approval from Mr. Jim or whatever his name is.
Identical to what happened to me. Only this was from a sina address.
Zhihai Ning<zhihaining@vip.sina.com>
There is a similar domain name: www . chinaregistry.org.cn.
Yes. This is the URL.
In trying to connect to this my anti virus protection gave the following message so beware:
“When we visited this site, we found it may be designed to trick you into submitting your financial or personal information to online scammers. This is a serious security threat which could lead to identity theft, financial losses or unauthorized use of your personal information”.
It can be very expensive if you fall for it. Just ignore it.
Yuppur. It’s a pretty well established e-mail scam.
2024 02 10 13 05
Remember the name of the organization that registers domain names is CNNIC. Not “China Registry”.
Thank you for asking. It is easy to understand. Western governments need to hoodwink their own people who are now very wary about their dropping standard of living for close to 3 generations now. The average westerners are now worst off then their parents and even their grandparents.
Homelessness is rampant, inflation exceed their growth rates and set them back further. Take the UK. In 2023 it’s economy had a negative growth of -3% yet its inflation is a full 4.2%. Together British people suffer a 7.2% deterioration of their standard of living.
The U.S. grew by 2.4% in 2023 but suffers a 3.4% inflation. So once again it’s standard if living fall by 1%. But it has deteriorated back to the levels of 1960’s. Even life expectancy has dropped below that of China! Homelessness has reached a million and a third of Americans cannot afford their health insurance and their college debts consume most of them.
So with such a scenario, it is hardly surprising that they used their media to channel western minds to Chinese economy that is purportedly deteriorating. These are simply a pack of lies to deceive the westerners. Just imagine 2020–2022 over the 3 years post pandemic China grew by 5.5% per annum while most western economies had negative growth.
But what is worst is that it suffered close to double digit inflation while China’s inflation rate is on average 0.5%. In 2023 China grew by 5.2% with a mere 0.2% inflation. Chinese people’s standard of living grew by a net +5.0% in 2023! Yet if you read western media it accuses China of a host of things casting doubt on China!
By right westerners ought to be mad at their government for lying to them. But most pretend to be living better than the world. It’s a fell good factor! It is not good because truth will dawn on them sooner or later.
I realized my mother was verbally abusive when I was around 13. One of my first friends invited me to dinner. I was worried, but I went. It was a normal dinner, with home cooked casserole and green beans. I wasn’t used to that. Everyone sat at the table, and the father cleared his throat. Uh-oh, I thought, here it comes.
Then, he launched into a funny story about how he and a coworker kept hiding each others waste baskets, and how he had won the last round thanks to his daughter’s suggestion of putting a plastic lei on it and photographing it as though leaving the office.
Then her older brother spoke. He was in college, and told an anecdote about a professor who kept losing chalk. Mum spoke up about Chippy, a little squirrel that she fed by the back door. My friend moaned a little about a huge homework project.
Everyone turned to me. I actually spoke, suggesting that we should build our school project in such a way that it blocked the principal’s door. None of these stories were actually that good. but there was a tenderness in the telling and listening that I had never seen. People listened. They chuckled. They talked. They praised Mum’s cooking. No one said one derogatory thing.
They were a normal family. My friend teased her brother about his lack of hockey prowess, and Mum and Dad liked different baseball teams. My friend got grounded for sass, sometimes. But, instead of the parents trying to destroy the children, they held them up.
I cried all the way home. It was winter, and the tears froze on my face. Mother was there. Her first comment, what did you do to your face? My God you were an ugly baby and it’s just gotten worse. It’s good you don’t wear make up, lipstick on a plow horse.
And it didn’t stop until I went to bed. It never really stopped until I left home, always under the guise of helping me fix my flaws.
But after that dinner with the B family, I knew there was another way to live. And that made all the difference.
Pasta con le Sarde
If there is any pasta dish that represents Sicilian tradition to its fullest, it is pasta con le sarde. Combining the culinary footprints of Sicily’s kitchens, this classic recipe mixes maccheroncini (macaroni) with fennel, tomatoes, pine nuts, raisins, anchovies, onion and fresh sardines.
pasta con sarde
The pasta is always ladled out of the pot, never poured into a colander, and then put in a serving dish. During two weeks in Sicily, we never had a piece of overcooked pasta. Test, test, test was Chef Tino’s rule, and, apparently, every other chef’s.
Ingredients
1 pound fresh sardines
1/2 pound fennel bulb
Olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 onion, chopped
8 ounces uncooked tomato sauce*
4 ounces pine nuts
1/4 cup raisins, softened in water
2 salted anchovies
1 pound macaroni
Pecorino cheese
Instructions
Bone the sardines. (If you slit the fish lengthwise and grab it by the tail, the bone easily strips out). Chop the fennel and boil under just tender in water that you will use to cook the pasta. Strain the fennel out of the pot and chop finely.
Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and add enough olive oil to just cover the bottom. Brown garlic and onion in oil until soft. Add tomatoes, chopped fennel, pine nuts, raisins, and anchovies. Simmer for 10 minutes. At this point, start the macaroni and add the sardines to the pasta sauce. If the sauce is too dry, add a very small amount of the fennel water. Don’t stir the sauce once the sardines are added, to avoid breaking them up.
Place the cooked pasta in serving dish and pour the sauce over, finishing off with a sprinkling of Pecorino and a little olive oil.
Serves 4 to 6.
* This is best made with fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped, skin and seeds included. If tomatoes aren’t in season, you could use good canned tomatoes.
The first Emperor of a unified Germany, Wilhelm I, was a strict and conservative man. His son, Frederick III, was a liberal mind. A brilliant man and a keen reformer, he was full of ambition to transform German society, do away with stuffy nobility and its ancient war-like ways, and usher in a new, open-minded and scientifically oriented Germany.
image 4
Wilhelm I, however, kept on living… born in 1797, he didn’t die until 1888, aged almost 91 years old. Frederick had to wait for a long time for it to finally be “his turn”. He was eager, and excited for the task. But then, three days before his father passed away, Frederick was diagnosed with throat cancer. He had been ill for a while, and his health rapidly took a turn for the worst. By time his father was buried, he was already too weak to walk in the procession. He looked on from the palace window, and wept…
image 3
No small part of Frederick’s sorrow? His son and heir, Wilhelm, was a war-like man, imperialistic, aggressive, expansionist, conservative… the polar opposite of his peace-loving, progressive father. Frederick wanted desperately to make good use of his remaining time on earth. But cancer of the throat soon took away his ability to talk, and a botched operation to fix his pain resulted in even greater pain and discomfort when the resulting wound became infected.
“I had so hoped to have been of use to my country. Why is Heaven so cruel to me? What have I done to be thus stricken and condemned?” wrote Frederick III in his diary. He died in June 1888, a mere 99 days into his reign, aged 56. It is often speculated that, had Wilhelm II not ascended to the throne, his father would have moved away from Prussian militarism and Germany may never have entered WWI. WWII would have been averted as well.
We were all working overtime and being stressed out. Sales weren’t doing well, people were quitting, and everything was dysfunctional. Some items at the store weren’t even there or expired.
My boss was in a bad mood, taking it out on everyone. Nitpicking, tearing others down, and calling people incompetent. I’d already gotten a warning for talking back. I had told her that she shouldn’t be treating people that way. We were all working hard and doing our best. She said that if I didn’t like how she ran the store, then to get out. I was really tempted, but kept working.
It was the final straw when a pregnant co-worker needed to go home on time because she had to walk home at 11:00 PM. My boss refused and my co-worker was in a lot of pain. My boss told her to suck it up, that it was her fault for being an irresponsible wh*** and being stuck as a single mom. This made my co-worker burst into tears; her boyfriend had just broken up with her and left her after the news she was pregnant. She’d been taking it hard since.
I marched right up to this and told my co-worker to gather her things because she worked enough for the night, that I would drive her home. My co-worker listened.
My boss was furious for undermining her. I blew up at her, telling her that she needed to work on her morals and values. I asked her how she could even think about doing this to someone, especially her own worker? My boss answered that it was the wh***’s problem, not ours.
I told her that she should never call someone that and her behavior is exactly why she was losing employees. I said this was why nobody wanted to be around her or get to know her. She was an awful human being, no matter how many times she lied to herself.
I ended it that she was right, that I couldn’t work for someone like her. I didn’t like how she ran the store and I quit; the only time I ever did.
I drove the pregnant woman home and thanked me for everything. I explained that I quit, but would drive her if she needed me.
Apparently, I started a chain. Five people quit after me, including the pregnant woman.
The ironic part is that two months later, that boss was fired… for her treatment of employees.
I don’t know that it was the dumbest, but it was certainly an interesting and unusual complaint against me.
I was notified that officers were at a housing project and were requesting permission to force entry into an apartment. The officers had identified a man who had multiple warrants for his arrest. As they were arresting him he broke away from them and ran into an apartment where he did not belong.
I was a watch commander at the time and advised them to set up a perimeter around the apartment and I would be there in two minutes. Upon my arrival, I knocked on the door and spoke with the tenant who was very angry that my officers were threatening to kick down her door.
I had an advantage in speaking with this woman as I knew the complex manager and I also had studied the lease agreements with the various complexes. One reason for an immediate start of eviction proceedings was allowing criminal activity to be conducted at the apartment. I explained that I did not want to see her violate her lease, or have to pay for the door if the police had to break it in.
I explained the search process, and that we were just going to take the man who had run into her house into custody, and leave, without messing anything up inside. She allowed the officers to enter as long as I agreed to stay at the scene. I entered with the officers and actually helped in the search, checking one downstairs closet.
The man was found upstairs fully dressed in bed under the covers (so creative!). He was taken into custody and transported to the department for processing.
Several minutes after I get to the station, I receive a call from the resident. She said, “One of your cops stole $1000 from my apartment.” I advised her that I would take the particulars of her complaint and get to the bottom of this immediately.
I asked where the money had been located and she answered: “In the downstairs closet.” I thought for a minute and replied, “I’m the only one who searched the downstairs closet and I didn’t see or take any money.” She replied rather sarcastically, “Well, it was there before you came in and it’s gone now, so if you didn’t take it, where’s my money?”
Now my mind is going over each minute of the search, with no reasonable explanation. I asked to place the woman on hold for a minute and went to the processing room where the accused was.
Also in the room was a young woman who was counting out a pile of cash. I asked whose money is this. The girl replied, “It’s my money and I’m posting his bail.”
Now I remember, the girl was in the house. I said, “I saw you at the house. Where did you get all that money from?” She replied, ”From the closet downstairs.”
I put the resident, who was the girl’s mother, on speaker phone and had the daughter explain where the $1000 in bail money came from.
I spoke to the mom afterward and she apologized repeatedly. I told her it was already forgotten, and how much I had appreciated her cooperation at the scene, putting her trust in me.
After that, she thought I was a good cop and would wave to me or stop and say hello. Out of a silly misunderstanding, a higher level of trust would develop. So much of police work is about building trust, one person at a time.
I learned how to do some simple programming on my own. I wrote simple programs at work for my own and my department’s use. My boss knew about it. One day she came into my office and demanded that I write a program for another department. I tell her, politely of course, that I would be happy to do it but she had just hired a well-trained person to do just that sort of thing and it might be better if he did it. She quickly turned on her heel without saying a word, walked immediately to HR and wrote me up for insubordination. HR suspended me with pay immediately and I was escorted out of the building by security. I hired a lawyer, the best employment lawyer in the area and a friend, immediately. The lawyer told me that I would eventually get fired and then he would go into action. He also told me that my boss would be fired in 6 months and her boss would be fired within a year. Soon I got fired in person by my boss, who smiled throughout the whole ordeal (I had been with the company 21 years and had nothing but excellent reviews), while a security guard stood behind her. I was smiling on the inside.
My lawyer went to work. With 3 weeks my status was changed to retired (at age 56), my legal fees paid, was given a sizable settlement, and never had to go back into work. In about 8 months my boss was fired and her boss was transferred to corporate Siberia. To my surprise, a year or so later the company newspaper published picture of me standing in front of a beautiful new RV in the retiree’s section of the paper. I had bought the RV with part of the settlement check and sent the picture in as a joke. No one probably knew that it was a joke.
Back in about 1990 I was waiting on a group of six men at Baker’s Square. Five of them were normal people, but the sixth was just a funnel when it came to coffee. He wanted me to leave a pot at the table, which we weren’t allowed to do. I told him I’d keep him topped up. He was skeptical, and he was right to be.
I have never seen any three people drink as much coffee in an hour as that guy. I couldn’t keep up. I asked my manager if I could leave him a full pot and was told no. The guy was going from kind of irritated to outright crabby, probably partly due in part to the caffeine overdose he had to be on the cusp of. Glares, passive aggressive remarks, like that.
Near the end of their meal I got kind of slammed and the poor man’s cup was probably empty for five minutes. As soon as I had the chance I hustled to the table and was filling cups. Coffee Man was on the far right and I was going left to right. As I was tipping the pot over his cup he snapped at me, “Could you take a little longer with that fucking coffee?!”
Instantly aborted the pour with less than a teaspoon in his cup. Looked him in the eye with a smile (more of a smirk tbh) and said, “Yes, I absolutely can.”
Turned on my heel and left, with the sound of his friends laughing behind me. Went to the break room and had a cigarette. A whole one. Customer’s always right yeah?
Told the manager what happened on my way back out to the floor. He couldn’t keep from laughing but also said you can’t do that and he was taking over the table. I think he comped Coffee Man’s meal, but I never heard another word about it after that.
Ended up with a pretty good tip, I assume from his friends.
Passport Bros – The Men Fleeing The West | Japan Street Interviews
Bob loved me unconditionally and always respected me during our entire relationship.
We were married for over 31 years. We worked together for much of that time in a very public business. We met on the job when Bob was hired as the news director at a TV station I was already working for as a reporter/anchor. So not only was he my boss, but we co-anchored the evening news as well.
Bob was incredibly careful to make sure I was never granted any special privileges in the newsroom. His decision at work, went. He would always listen to my point of view and that of the rest of the staff, but his decision was final.
He was always able to switch to the mindset that we were equal when we went home.
He loved me like nobody ever had before , even when I didn’t love myself. He loved me when he was mad at me and when he really didn’t like something that I had done or said.
Bob was my husband…my partner and my best friend. He was my teacher and teammate as well.
Although he was not purrrfect (sorry, we were owned by cats), he was purrrfect for me.
I lost Bob to suicide. He had gotten incredibly sick and wasn’t going to get better. I believe that even this final decision and action, was done with me in mind. He didn’t want me to live the rest of my life as his caregiver while our bank account dwindle to pay his medical bills.
One thing about his final decision. In my opinion, Bob wasn’t wrong very often, but for me, this time he was wrong. The problem is, he was DEAD wrong. I will love and honor him forever. I work hard to make sure people remember his career and his accomplishments instead of just his final decision. I also work with several mental health organizations, including the local medical college, in both suicide prevention programs and postvention efforts (following up with people who have lost a loved one to suicide). I have done very television and radio interviews about Bob as well. I believe that since we spent most of our careers telling other people’s stories, that I should be willing to share ours.
Bob loved me, unconditionally. That is what he did for or to me.
Several years ago, my job was to sell robots to SWAT teams. Every SWAT team (except two of them) wanted one, but they couldn’t all afford them, so the problem wasn’t that the potential customers didn’t want to buy. The problem was that it was difficult to get to the SWAT teams. Lots of people wanted to get to them to sell them various things they didn’t want nor need, so the department didn’t make it easy to reach the SWAT commanders. I had several different ways of getting to them, all of which worked some of the time, but none that worked all of the time.
Then one day I figured out a new approach. Whenever I saw a cop along the road waiting to catch speeders and such, I would deliberately speed up in order to get pulled over. When the cop walked up to the window, I would say, “I have a SWAT robot in my trunk.” The response was always a variation of, “You have a what?” I would then ask if he wanted to have a look at it.
Sometimes the cop got very nervous about me opening the trunk, but they always wanted me to. (Could have been a guy with a gun in there; the cop had no way of knowing.) Once the robot was revealed, I would hand the cop the control and show him how to operate the robot. Then I would ask for the department’s SWAT commander’s name. The reason for this was that I wanted to be able to say “Officer so and so told me you would want to have a look at this robot.” It worked every time.
However, one time the cop was already writing the ticket on his way to my car. After the standard conversation and demo, the cop said that he couldn’t tear up the ticket, because he would get in all kinds of trouble for a missing ticket number, so he wrote me up for 1 mile per hour over the speed limit. If I had gone to court, the judge would have thrown the case out, but I just went ahead and paid the ticket instead.
Later, when I told the founder the story, he said, “From now on, the company will pay for every ticket you get while on the job.” I never got another ticket, though.
Ukraine SitRep: Finally A Wonder-Weapon That Does What It Promised To Do
The city of Avdeevka, (not to be confused with the small town of Andreevka near Bakhmut), is situated immediately north-west of Donetsk city. It has been used for years as a Ukrainian fortress well positioned for artillery attacks on Donetsk. The whole city, and especially the coke and chemical plant in its northern sector, was well prepared to defend against Russian attacks.
But despite all attempts to hold on to it the Ukrainian garrison within the city is about to be encircled and fall. Source: Live UA Map – bigger
2024 02 09 1e3 19
The Russian attacks are coming from multiple directions and are more progressed than the Ukraine friendly map above is showing. The biggest danger to the Ukrainians is the Russian move in the north west which threatens to cut the city off from its supply line through the northern coal and chemical plant.
The Russian victory in this battle was accomplished with the help of one type of weapon created during the current war in Ukraine.
In the early 1990s the U.S. developed a strap on kit for unguided bombs that turned dumb weapons into precise ammunition.
… a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or “dumb bombs”, into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to 15 nautical miles (28 km). JDAM-equipped bombs range from 500 to 2,000 pounds (230 to 910 kg).[5] The JDAM’s guidance system was jointly developed by the United States Air Force and United States Navy, hence the “joint” in JDAM. … The JDAM is not a stand-alone weapon; rather it is a “bolt-on” guidance package that converts unguided gravity bombs into precision-guided munitions (PGMs). The key components of the system are a tail section with aerodynamic control surfaces, a (body) strake kit, and a combined inertial guidance system and GPS guidance control unit.
The JDAM kit, of which more than 500,000 were produced, allowed for the use of large piles of cold-war era bombs with previously unknown precision.
After the 2022 start of the war in Ukraine Russia engaged in a program to develop an equivalent to the JDAM kit. The program was finished by the end of 2023. The Russian version can be strapped onto a 500kg or a 1,500 kilogram dumb bomb extending their range by attaching wings, guidance kit and control surfaces to already existing dumb bombs. Prototype of a FAB 500 with (folded) wings and guidance kit
After being programmed with target coordinates the bomb gets dropped, turns 180 degree around its length axis and unfolds its wings. The wings enable the bomb to fly some 50 miles before hitting the ground. This allows the planes dropping these bombs to stay outside of the enemy’s air defense envelope.
The guidance kits are cheap and can easily be mass produced.
Yesterday some 65 FAB500 and FAB1500 were used against targets in Avdeevka.
The use of these bombs, which carry 300 kilogram and more of explosives, near one’s own troops requires careful planing and observation. Observers on the ground have to make sure that their own troops are outside of the deadly circle of these bombs and that the coordinates of targets are submitted in a disciplined but secure and timely manner. Pilots have to make sure that the received coordinates are programmed into the bombs and that their release is done at the right attitude and positions.
This kill chain requires intensive training and disciplined soldiers. Yesterday’s attacks demonstrate that the Russian army and air-forces have mastered this discipline.
Any detected resistance or position of Ukrainian troops was visited by a precise FAB attack within just a few minutes.
There is no defense against these weapons. It is no wonder then that any resistance against the Russian onslaught is breaking down. Russian troops can proceed through bombed out Ukrainian positions without taking losses.
Previous reports have talked about a Russian superiority in artillery by a factor of 5 or higher. But consider that a 155mm artillery round has a weight of some 50 kilogram, 60% of which are explosives. One FAB carries 10 to 30 times the explosive equivalent of one artillery round.
The Ukrainian army has nothing comparable in its arsenals.
The introduction of mass FAB500 strikes onto the Ukrainian battle field have given the Russian forces a new qualitative advantage that will change the course of the war (though not its outcome). The U.S. political and military specialists who still believe that attrition is a viable strategy for the Ukrainian army are clearly way off the path of reality.
On February 1 the German broadsheet Bildreported of the conflict in the Ukrainian leadership:
The Bild publication writes that Zaluzhny wanted to withdraw troops from Avdiivka a few weeks ago, but Zelensky refused him this and on December 30 he personally went to the city to the front line to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters.
So all the coffins that arrived from near Avdeevka to Ukraine since December 30 are solely on the conscience of Zelensky and his passion for narcissism.
Zelenski had asked Zaluzny to resign which the General rejected. The Ukrainian president has since made clear that he wants to fire the more popular general but is still looking for the right time and reason to do so.
The loss of Avdeevka may give him a marketable excuse to finally do that even when it is clear that it was Zelenski’s narcissism, and not Zaluzny’s advice, that has caused high Ukraine losses while inevitably losing a not holdable position.
Posted by b on February 8, 2024 at 12:38 UTC | Permalink
It was my last job in Vietnam before I moved to the U.S. I was in that job for almost 5 years.
When I first started my position and reported to my boss, he was extremely difficult with me. He questioned everything and demanded an explanation for everything I did, including why I did it the way I did and how I came to that solution. This continued for six months. I felt so ‘roasted’ by him.
After those six months, one day, I received an email from him saying, “Read this email thread and tell me what I should do.” In another email, he replied to someone else’s email about a solution, added me to the loop, saying, “++ [my name]. I will approve this after [my name] has reviewed and gives me the green light.”
I had earned his trust.
One day, I messed up something important in an important project. I panicked, ran to him, and asked him what I should do. He sat me down and told me, ‘Remember, after you mess something up, admit the issue and come up with a solution to fix the problem yourself. You need to control how YOU are going to fix it; do not let anyone tell you what to do, because it won’t be in your favor.’ Listening to him, I calmed down and thought of a solution myself.
That was the most valuable lesson I learned from office. He is the best boss I’ve ever had, and I am thankful for the time I had the chance to work with him.
My dad was called as a witness to an accident that a member of the public had allegedly had on a building site he was foreman on. The victim had apparently fallen into a deep hole that had not been labelled clearly and then been laughed at and not helped by my father. Apparently when the victim had spoken to my dad he had refused to offer any help. The victim was suing the company for actual injury and for pain and suffering.
Prior to appearing in court the victim’s lawyer had contacted my dad and told him what was going to be said (I don’t know why, the case was a long time ago) My dad replied with “Are you really sure you want to do that?” The lawyer said of course and see you in court. My dad repeated “Are you really sure you want to do that?” The lawyer hung up.
On the day of the court case the victim told their story then they called my dad to the stand. The lawyer asked what job my dad had been doing onsite on the day of the accident. My dad replied with “None, I wasn’t on site on that date.” The lawyer called my dad a liar so my dad got his passport out which showed an exit date of 2 days before the alleged date of the accident and a re-entry date 6 weeks after.
Guess who ended up paying costs for that little debacle!? The victim’s lawyer was less than impressed.
She got a gold star
Guys give out the relationships. Women give out the sex.
All I can add about what to do if captured. At first simply give name, rank and serial number. During the class I asked the following, “what do you do when they bring pliers and a few other devices?” The instructor replyed, “ask politely for a ream of paper (a ream is 500 sheets of paper) and a dozen Bic pens; as long as you are writing they’ll leave you alone that is until they send the notes you wrote up their chain of command.” LOL. We always had a cover story that would make us so low on the classified stuff and if they persist; I would if captured I would tell them that I’m simply a cook. If pressured I’d ask them to let me cook them a meal. LTC Nick Rowe convinced his captures that he was a cook, this worked until they found out his real MOS; that he was a Special Forces 1LT. Nick knew that after 24 hours anything he told his captures would have been changed and will no longer be of any use to his captures. Nick was the go to guy on how to survive capture. He escaped after five years as a POW.
During capture you’ll always be looking for an opportunity to escape. Nick was assassinated while on duty in the Philippines.
The Famous belief that an emerging power will always be a threat to an existing power and war between them is inevitable
The Belief is incomplete
This is the case only when the Emerging Power desires to be a global hegemon
This is NOT the Case with China
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China needs Cooperation for its growth and development
China needs Energy, Oil and Gas from others
China needs almost 23% of it’s Food from others
China needs Global Markets for its Trade
Thus China lives on a WIN WIN cooperation
China can flourish only as part of the Global Economy
The only thing that has changed is SO DOES THE USA
Until maybe three decades ago, the US could flourish on its own domestic economy, it’s own Oil & Gas, it’s Western and Japanese allies and satellites
Today the US needs many more countries to flourish and CHINA is one of the most important of them.
US needs China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and several other Nations in order to flourish as an economy
This the US does not like
The US doesn’t want to be dependent on China for it’s welfare and prosperity
The US policy has always been to CONTROL ANY NATION ON WHICH IT’S PROSPERITY DEPENDS
Thus it has two options :-
A China that is shaped as per US requirements. A Lackey basically. Like Japan and South Korea and now even Germany and France OR
A China weakened enough to accept US guidelines on what constitutes FAIR PLAY
China of course will not agree to either
China believes in a direct win win cooperation in the “May the best man win” mode of competition
So it’s the US that wants to keep the OLD WORLD ORDER rather than the Chinese wanting a new one
The Chinese just want to make money, grow and develop their economy and not be subject to throttling by the West and so to develop their own independent and safe technology and financial systems and military
Maybe 50–60 years later China could change but today there is zero chance of China wanting a New World Order or be a hegemon
We bought a used couch from someone on the Facebook. Seemed too good to be true. $1000 for a couch that goes for $3500 new. Leather sectional with 4 electronic leg rests, cupholders, USB charging ports, etc. A very nice upgrade from our existing sectional.
So, we went and checked it out. They had it in their garage. I asked why they were selling it for such a low price. Aside from some scratches on one seat, it looked almost new. They said he was a surgeon at the university and he was getting a job in North Carolina. So they were packing up and preparing to move quickly. We plugged it in and tested the leg rests. Everything worked. We had a minivan, so it was going to be three trips to get the whole thing home. 30 minutes each way. Kind of a waste of a Saturday, but I felt it was worth it.
On our first trip home, the smell hit us. It was a strong smell of orange, like they used an orange scented cleaner to clean it. This should have been a larger red flag than it was at the time. We still needed to move our existing couch to the basement, so we decided we’d kill two birds with one stone. Move the new couch into the garage, let that orange smell dissipate, and take our time disassembling and moving the other one to the basement.
When we went back to the seller’s house, we asked about the strong orange scent. They downplayed it and basically said they used whatever cleaner they had on hand to clean it before selling. Red flag #2.
We accepted their answer and continued making trips back and forth. They seemed trustworthy. All the pieces of the set smelled of orange cleaner, but especially one section. That piece was much more intense. We left the couch in the garage and sure enough, the smell faded. We moved the living room couch to the basement and the new one to the living room. The orange smell was gone. However, it was replaced by a much worse odor. I don’t know how to describe it except that it was musty, pungent, and kind of stuck with you. It was mostly coming from the leftmost recliner piece.
We reached out to the sellers a couple weeks after buying it. We asked about the smell. She played dumb and said they had hardly used the couch. They had it in their basement and there was never a problem with it. No water damage, no nothing. Clearly lying to us. Red flag #3.
Over the next few weeks, we tried multiple off-the-shelf products and home remedies for removing smells from furniture. None of them improved the smell at all. We finally contacted a fire restoration type of place. They had specialty equipment to deal with all sorts of problem smells in furniture. The cost was high and we didn’t know if it would work, so they offered us a deal. They said, bring in the problem recliner. They’ll try to remove the smell from that one piece. If they succeed, we’ll bring in the rest and they’ll fix each piece at a total cost of $700. If they can’t fix that recliner, no charge and we go our separate ways. Handshake, done deal.
I brought the recliner in and the guy who received it immediately started sniffing all the parts of it like a dog. He got underneath and focused on that area. From under the back, he exclaimed, “Tomcat! Nothing’s gonna work. We’ll try, but it won’t come out. Nothing gets tomcat urine out of furniture.”
Why I’d question the expertise of a guy who crawls under furniture and identifies tomcat urine is still a mystery to me. He was absolutely right. Their process didn’t put a dent in that scent, and we didn’t pay them a dime when I picked it up.
At this point, we’re pissed. We spent $1000 on a couch that’s unusable, and we’ve moved our clunky sectional to the basement and back again, not to mention spending a Saturday moving their couch home. We keep reaching out to the seller. She tries different tactics, from ignoring us to just refusing to do anything for us. All the while, she still insists that the couch never smelled in their house and she sold it in good faith.
Finally, I’ve had enough. I tell my wife to tell this woman that they’re going to return our money and take the couch back or we’ll take them to small claims court. Then she offers to give us $100 back, still not admitting there was a problem with the couch. No. Everything or you’ll be sued. Finally, she agrees, but somehow is able to act like she’s the victim. Great. She transmitted our money back to us, but doesn’t say anything about the couch. A couple days pass, and she demands that we bring it back to them. My wife asked me when we can return it to her. My response? “Oh no. She can come pick it up from us. I’m not spending one minute or a single calorie on bringing her that useless couch.”. She says fine and asks for our address. She responds a couple days later and says they don’t want it either. Yeah, nothing wrong with it. Sold it in good faith. But you don’t want it at all. Huh.
We put it up for sale for free on the Facebook. We were very up front on its condition. The guy who came to get it was excited about it. I warned him that the scent is strong and nothing will improve it. He didn’t care. Said his sense of smell is very bad and he didn’t think it’d be a problem.
The reason most fights come down to bare knuckle brawling is simple. All that stuff you see on TV, MMA, martial arts tournaments etc are people that are trained to fight like that.
I have had my fair share of fights over the years, some I won, some I took a beat down. I have never seen anyone win a street fight using martial arts. Its probably not because it isn’t effective. Its because 99% of people are just watching TV or taking weekend course at Bob’s Dojo and that makes them think they are qualified to put the moves on Joe the drunk.
Pro Tip: Joe is not interested in style points or looking cool when he fights.
The worst thing in the world you can do if your not a trained professional is to try to kick someone in a street fight. Your foot leaving the ground means you have lost all your balance, your center of gravity is gone and your probably so slow doing it any reasonable healthy twenty-something man see’s it coming a mile away.
When I was young I had this happen to me once (not bragging) I caught the guys leg and slammed him into a brick wall. His Bruce Lee impersonation was over in less then a minute.
That wasn’t special. If you are not highly trained do not try any fancy kick moves you saw last night on TV. It wont end well. To effectively get away with kicking someone or doing most martial arts type moves like you see in the movies requires tons of training. It isn’t something Joe average can pull of just because they saw someone else do it or they took a couple of classes at the local community center.
#1: I went to high school with this girl, Lisa. She kissed me once. Later, in my early 20’s, I kept randomly running into her, all over the world: in a dive bar in New York, on the street in San Francisco, and in an obscure back alleyway in Oaxaca, Mexico.
#2: When I lived in New York, I had a dream in which some voice kept repeating a 4-digit number, like 3264, 3264, 3264, like it was very important. At the time, New York had a lottery you could play by choosing four numbers. I thought about playing 3264, but then dismissed the idea, as I had to go to work. As I was about to get on the subway, I noticed that my subway car was numbered 3264. That did it for me, I ran to the nearest lottery kiosk and played that number. The following day, the winning number was announced: 3265. One digit off. I was rather annoyed with the universe over that one.
#3: I exited my gym and hopped into my car, at that time a rather sad and beat-up green mid-1980’s Toyota Tercel. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I noticed that there was someone else’s stuff scattered around. And then it hit me: This was NOT my car! It turns out that for that particular model, the keys are sometimes interchangeable. Toyota made about 13 possible key shapes, and the woman who had already driven MY car away, had the same key I did. It took her longer to notice.
My wife would occasionally smell something odd. She couldn’t describe it. It happened at random times in random places, like in her classroom or at a concert or on the sidewalk downtown or in our house. If she was with someone she would ask, and nobody else smelled it. This happened over the course of at least two or three years that we can remember.
She also occasionally stumbled or lost her balance, which she attributed to natural clumsiness.
One Saturday afternoon in late March 2022 I came home from an errand to find her shivering under a blanket but not cold, and stammering her speech. I declared “something ain’t right with that girl” and took her to the Emergency Room. There a CAT scan revealed “a concerning mass” in her head. She was transferred across town to the major regional medical center. Sunday morning a MRI showed detailed pictures of a mass the size of a tennis ball behind her right eye.
That Tuesday she underwent 9 hours of surgery to remove a meningioma – a tumor of the meniscus tissue surrounding the brain. It was contained (not invasive) but growing. It had been growing for some years before it pressed on nerves and on the brain itself enough to disturb their function, including vision and smell and balance and eventually seizures. I brought her home that Friday afternoon, six days (to the hour) after we entered the ER.
Beginning immediately and now two years on, her olfactory hallucinations (remember the question was about smelling something?), tremors, and problems with balance and coordination are gone. She has a new eyeglass prescription. Follow-up MRIs continue to reveal no recurrence, and her brain is expanding to re-occupy the space from which it had been shoved aside by the tumor as it grew. She has made a more-than-full recovery, engaged with new sporting challenges, and enjoys every day as a teacher, musician, and Grandma.
By the grace of God expressed through a surgeon’s skillful hands, she no longer smells things that aren’t real, I get to enjoy more years with my lovely bride!
Here in my little town we had this business called the Executive Whirl-A-Sage. It offered massage and spa services for the “discriminating client”.
Everyone knew what it really was.
Anyhooo… The IRS decided to take notice. But they couldn’t figure out how much money the place made because it did everything in cash. They got clever.
Sent an agent in as a “client”. (I always wondered which lucky dude landed THAT plum assignment!) He had his “service” (which I suspect didn’t include the happy ending, but who knows???). He carefully counted the number of towels used.
The IRS then demanded all the laundry bills for the business. They counted the total number of towels and divided by the number used per client to determine the number of clients. Some simple math and they had their estimated revenue.
Needless to say, the place was closed down when it couldn’t pay the bill.
I’d just like to start off by saying, gentlemen, I love y’all. You’re half the world. Most of you are great, many of you are just sweet and adorable.
And then there’s the rest of you who come out of the barn in which you were raised just long enough to scare me out of leaving my house.
The right to have sex with me is earned. It’s not transactional, it’s not a bought and sold commodity, and I don’t owe you just because you bought me dinner or even a lousy cup of coffee. In fact, I owe you nothing of myself except my public courtesy, and that can be withdrawn at any time if you show yourself unworthy of it.
What you men—and this is where you stop being gentlemen—do to really creep me out is that you forget that I am the ultimate keeper of my body, and try to wear me down when I say no. Constantly badgering, hinting, whining like a toddler in a checkout line full of candy. Like a toddler you sulk and stomp around when I say no, and double down on trying to get your way. And just as the toddler screams “I hate you!” because mom won’t buy them a Kinder egg, you turn on me when I won’t give in.
“Bitch.”
“Fat pig.”
“You’d be lucky to have someone like me, you ugly piece of shit.”
Yeah, that’s just the right way to get me into the sack.
You don’t respect the word NO, and in that you disrespect me. That’s just creepy and you make me question my lifestyle choices.
To me I believed most of the global south world agree with me. I am sure the U.S. dog and slave nations very much prefer to lie to themselves that the U.S. is the most powerful for their own self interest and wishful thinking.
No matter how pretentious you can be, the world’s most indebted nation, the world’s highest deficit nation, the nation that spends more on defence than the next 10 biggest defence spender, the world’s most over reach, over extended war monger and trouble maker cannot be powerful. So the U.S. is at best is a desperado trying to grasp at anything to stay relevant at the cost of bringing its economy down further.
The real power is China whose respect comes from its actions. Not like the U.S. on coercion and threats. China has overtaken the U.S. in most counts. Even militarily. China does not want a poor U.S. or even a collapse U.S. it still wants a good trade with the U.S. but one that has mutual respect.
Why are universities making students pay for classes that have nothing to do with life
I work with a woman whose WHOLE family doesn’t “do funerals.” I asked her why.
She told me that it started when her paternal grandfather passed away, and they were planning the funeral. It was emotionally draining to plan while grieving, not to mention expensive.
Her paternal grandmother decided she didn’t want a funeral, and that Thanksgiving, with the whole family (my co-workers parents, co-workers in-laws, aunts, uncles, extended family on both sides) she made a declaration.
“I don’t want a darn funeral. Donate the money you’d use for a funeral for me to an animal shelter or a food bank.”
After a long discussion, it became a tradition.
They just don’t have funerals, they put up an obituary and ask for donations to whatever charity the deceased picked.
On the anniversary of their death, the family members take the ashes of their loved ones and spread them.
I don’t think it’s such a bad idea.
EDIT: (04/24/2020) Wow, I have gotten a LOT of feedback on this answer. Thank you all!
One thing I’m going to suggest to all of you is, if you choose to be cremated, please get your cremation set up and prepaid for as soon as you can.
My mom was diagnosed with Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer in March of 2017. One of the first things she did was get her cremation set up.
She prepaid for her cremation, she picked out an urn (a plastic box.) She also separately bought “keepsake urns,” for my sister, grandmother, one to be interred and one for me. She bought 10 death certificates (my dad had passed away on 2010, and she knew you’d need a lot of them for different things.)
When she passed away in February of this year, all my sister and I had to do was call the funeral home and they picked up her body. They had my sister and I go in a few days later and sign paperwork.
They didn’t try to sell us anything, they were able to be human to us. To help us grieve.
When you pass away, your family won’t have to pay anything extra out of pocket unless taxes or death certificate prices rise. We actually received a refund check for $11.38.
The cost of her “package” in 2017 was around $1,600. The funeral liaison we met with said today, it would be around $1,800.
At the time of the loss of my mom, I was so grateful she took care of it for us. It was an amazing gift.
I was doing part of my internship in a bank in the safe deposit department. It turned out to be quite fun, actually. One day a client came down and asked to rent a safe deposit box, a large one. He was in a hurry, so I did the paperwork as fast as possible, and then took him to his box, leaving him alone to deposit whatever it was he wanted to leave with us (as we were not supposed to watch) and then he left.
About ten days later, the gentleman came back, and, by chance, I was the one who went to open his box with him. I was about to leave him at it, when he stopped me and said “No need, I’m just getting this and I’ll return the box.” I looked and he had a big bag of chocolates which he was pulling out of the box! I gave him a puzzled look and he laughed: “My wife demanded I buy Swiss chocolates for the whole family, but then I had to add a leg to my trip, and I couldn’t take them with me. I thought it would be a pity to throw them away…so…”He raised his shoulders and left.
Still, he’d paid one year’s rent for a large sized safe deposit box, which was about 500 to 600 francs, to avoid throwing away maybe 200 francs of chocolates. And created an insect infestation risk for the bank, if he’d forgotten or neglected to return for his chocs!
I never had a situation like that,but just last year one man that has a restaurant in Rovinj,Croatia called my ex boss to ask him for my phone number since he saw me work the previous season.He then called me and said that he wanted me to work at his restaurant,and since he knew that I’m good at my job he offered me 3000€ a month,accomodation and food.He said that he knows that I’m worth it and that he won’t haggle because he wants me to work for him.I accepted and got there,and started to work. To cut the story short,from all the things he promised,nothing was delivered. It was close but not what was promised.When I got the first salary I noticed that the money paid to me was off,but since my first month there I didn’t work the full month i decided to wait for the next salary and to see what is what.The salary for the full month I got 2300€.When I called him to speak about it he said;”The conditions are what they are,if you don’t like it,good luck!”,and he raised his hand like he wanted to shake my hand.I grabbed his hand right away and said “I don’t like it.”He was surprised,and when I was walking away I heard him say that 2300€ is still a good salary and non of his other workers had that much.But to me it would have been the same if he gave me 1€ less than promised.I would still left.You can’t lie to me like that and expect me to take it.And besides the way he said that”if you don’t like it,good luck”that would be humiliating if I were to stay.Fuck you and your 2300€ a month.If he offered me 2300 from the start,and kept his word I would still come to work for him,and I would be satisfied.But anyway when it comes to your case,I think that saying to people:”If you don’t like it,you can go.” is degrading,and I would go.I think that there should be mutual respect between the worker and the boss,not just respect for the boss.
Some of what was said in the interview by Putin:
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– Russia is ready to supply Europe with gas through the “Nord Stream 2” pipeline, but Germany does not want to
– The United States was the one who blew up the “Nord Stream” pipeline.
– Elon Musk’s creativity cannot be stopped, but rather an understanding must be reached with him
– Russia and Ukraine will reach an agreement sooner or later
We want to reach a solution to the Ukrainian crisis through negotiations
– NATO has options to recognize Russia’s control over the new territories
We have information that the United States supported terrorists inside Russia
The West fears a strong China more than it fears a strong Russia
– The Americans pledged not to expand NATO eastward, but the expansion happened 5 times
– The world will change regardless of how the crisis in Ukraine ends
– Russia becomes the first economy in Europe in 2023 despite the sanctions. American attempts are of no use.
– Ukraine is an artificial entity established in the Stalinist era
Russian relations with Ukraine are distinguished by language, kinship and religion
We proposed that Russia join NATO after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but they refused
– When NATO refused to let us join it, they feared Russia as a large and powerful country
We will never attack Poland unless we are attacked by them
How the heck did Andy Dufresne walk into nearly a dozen banks in the Portland area and walk out unrecognized with hundreds of thousands of Warden Norton’s money the day after his escape from Shawshank Penitentiary?
Signature cards, no photos on driver’s licenses, and no CNN or World Wide Web.
This stumped me for a long time, too. I couldn’t figure out how someone could use a phony driver’s license with no picture on it, and take out tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars out of any bank in the United States.
But apparently photos weren’t always required on driver’s licenses in every state. The first photos appeared on driver’s licenses in California in 1958. Texas didn’t require them until the mid-1970′s. Even New York and Tennessee didn’t require pictures until 1986.
I couldn’t find what year Maine began putting photos on theirs, but, it’s probably safe to assume that in the mid-1960’s, Maine didn’t yet require pictures on a legal form of ID.
The Maine driver’s license Andy presented to the bank was probably state issued and not forged, if we assume it was Warden Norton who created the alias to hide the money he was making by taking bribes from construction companies who didn’t want Shawshank’s cheap labor taking over major construction jobs in the local area.
Also, I remember, from working for a couple of years for a bank when I was in college that signature cards are placed on file with the bank, so if someone comes in without ID, they can just match the signature to the card, and accept that as legal identification.
We would think of that as somewhat of a lax form of ID in today’s day and age, but fifty years ago, the world was different.
Anyway, it makes sense that Warden Norton would use Andy and his wealth of banking knowledge to create all these accounts under the alias, Randall Stevens (Peter Stevens, in the novella) even having Andy sign the signature card (that doesn’t always have to be done inside the actual bank, believe it or not) so as to further insulate Norton from the crime.
As for why no one in the banks or on the street knew Andy by his face, someone else mentioned that this was 1966 (or 1975, if we’re talking about the original text) and in that era, it took a day, or so, to get someone’s photo into the newspapers (which was the World Wide Web back in those days) to get a photo distributed to the three major broadcast companies, and maybe a couple of days to reach all the local TV stations state- and nation-wide.
The instant gratification of the Information Superhighway was still a couple of decades away, so the wheels of communication could take a few days or even a week to get up to full speed back then, so it’s completely plausible that Andy Dufresne could have walked into a bank the following morning to clean out all of Warden Norton’s false bank accounts without anyone even knowing there was an escape at Shawshank, much less recognize his face.
The only thing that’s a little bit implausible is that he could get to eleven banks, all in one day. It has always been a tedious, drawn-out task to go into a bank and close an account, especially if you get an accounts officer, then an assistant manager, then the bank manager, all trying to talk you into keeping your account open, which Andy would most assuredly have run into, considering the money he was taking out of each branch, so the idea of getting to that many banks in a single 24-hour period is a bit of a stretch.
She was young and timid and always wore full-length skirts and hats whenever she was outside. She was one of the three women who ran the gifted program in my middle school. That may have been a part of her student teaching (internship), now that I think about it. Like I said, she was very young.
The gifted program in middle school was a one-hour-per-week pull-out program. Three or four kids from each class (I was one of them) left our regular class for that hour and went to a different room where the three teachers played logic games with us, discussed current events, and generally tried to challenge us more than the regular teachers were able to, since the regular teachers had to aim for the middle of the pack, student-wise.
The best part of that program was the field trips. It was nice to spend extra time with just that group of classmates and those three teachers. I happen to have some pictures from an 8th-grade gifted class field trip, and she is in some of them. I can tell now that she was maybe 25 years old at best back then.
Two years later, when I was a sophomore in high school, she got hired as a full-time English teacher at the school. It was cool to see her again. All of us former gifted class students of hers were happy to see her again, but sad that she wouldn’t be teaching the advanced English class we were in.
Within two weeks, we saw her for the last time, jogging down the hall mid-class period, crying, heading for the exit.
She was used to working with gifted kids in small groups… Kids who were well-behaved and genuinely interested in what she was trying to teach them.
As is the norm with high school teachers, the newest teachers get the last pick when it comes to classes. So she was stuck with teaching the remedial English class… the students who had the most academic and behavior issues. Apparently, those students were able to get under her skin so much that she walked out on the job. Broke her contract and everything. We never saw her again after that.
I remember seeing the assistant principal running down the hall shortly after that, into the room that she’d left teacher-less. It was the first time I’d heard an adult actually swear at students. (Although I was told that the coaches did it all the time to their student athletes.) He got the class back under control for the rest of the period, mainly by yelling at them like a drill sergeant.
But perhaps that’s what they needed all along: someone with the demeanor of a drill sergeant, not the timid young lady whose teaching career they ended quickly.
I’ve read many of the comments on this topic, and I believe my offering here can be helpful.
I worked in food service for 14 years and held the title of Executive Chef at two American institutions. The most notable was at the Augusta Country Club in 1987 up to the Masters’ Golf Tournament of April 1988.
The grilling, broiling, or searing of a Rib Eye steak will bring a distinct flavor to the flat surface of the cut, which is common for all beef seared grilled or broiled. However, that flavor will not be present along the outer perimeter of the cut, and tenderness is not guaranteed, especially once it cools down. (I’ve had to use a jacquard tenderizing device on some.)
A roasted Prime Rib can be prepared in an oven to achieve a dark brown upper/outer surface and can then be placed under a broiler/salamander to add more of that coloring/flavor to the outer surface. Also, a sliced Prime cut can be seared to get that browning onto the face of the cut. Au Jus is a lesser preferred option for me in that it “waters” the flavor as it rinses off some of the rub/seasoning.
Now, just last year I developed what I believe is the pinnacle of prep for Prime Rib. (I moved away from buying ribeye after I got less-than great results in tenderness after paying a high price per pound.)
What I did was to season a whole Prime Rib with a plain mustard binder, and my custom rub. THEN I thoroughly pierced the entire Prime with a long skewer to promote self-basting INSIDE the cut. The final step is the “ringer.” I put the Prime into my Cuisinart pellet smoker on 250 degrees, until the core temperature reached 200 degrees. (about 10 hours) I use dark wood pellets like Cherry, or a dark fruit blend. The outer surface comes out as dark as any sear. The smoke ring all around the Prime is always at least 1 centimeter wide, and the inside is always full of flavor!
Some of my guests who like rare meats believed they got rare from me. “Rare” is (arguably) around 165 degrees internally, but my Prime at 200 degrees was so tender, juicy and flavorful inside and out, that it pleased all my guests.
I am retired from my career, but I’ll be smoking another Prime Rib for visitors at my home next week!
Both. We had one restaurant that charged all cops $2 for a meal. It was a greasy spoon that health departments and vegans despise but it was the only place in town open 24/7 that we did not have to worry about some crackhead cook “doctoring” our food.
That $2 was usually supplemented with a $5 tip, which covered the meal and the waitress’ tip.
The chief stopped us from going to the diner unless we paid full price. So we paid full price. Orders are orders.
When the owner found out why we were paying full price, he was livid. He went to the next city council meeting and actually yelled at the mayor and city manager about how they were trying to dictate to him what he wanted to charge cops and firefighters. He had been doing it so long, everyone knew about it and didn’t care.
The day after the city council meeting, the chief rescinded his order and $2 meals were back with the $5 tip.
This was a place we could bring a homeless guy on a cold night for coffee and a meal and we did many times in the winter. We always left enough money for both and when we came in for our meal hours later, the waitress would give us our money back.
The owner would always feed someone in need for free and didn’t want us to pay for it. He felt it was his duty to do so.
Great food and a better man who, sadly, passed away many years ago.
I was born to answer this question. I have three distinct instances when my neighbors have called the cops on me, well rather my parents but still.
When I was a child I had a neighbor who would literally spy on my family and called the cops on us several times. The first time she called the cops on us was because she saw a sleeping bag on the roof and was calling because she thought one of us was on the roof. So the police come to our house and ended up waking my mom who was asleep (she works night shift as a nurse). What had happened was one of my sisters had spilled water on the sleeping bag and thought it was a sunny day she would just put it on the roof to dry.
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As you can see my house has a window above the one roof so it’s not particularly hard to do this. Anyway the cops came questioned my mom and then went about their merry way.
The second time my neighbor called the cops was when we all were getting ready to go somewhere and my dad was at work so it was just my mom and us kids and so we all got loaded into the van and we were going about our merry way when the cops call my mom and ask if she has all of her children with her. She says yes and the cop asks if it’s okay if he comes and checks. She says yes and he comes and sees that we are all there and goes on with his life.
The third and final time was the most serious. The neighbors kid threatened me and said if I didn’t come over to her house in the middle of the night she would burn my house down. Now of course that wouldn’t make sense but I was under nine and she was three years older than me and I was scared of her. So I went over and spent the night. Her mom was totally okay with this and didn’t call my parents at all. Instead in the morning she gave us breakfast because we were hungry and we went home. Later that day she calls the police on my parents because she said we were not well taken care of and were starving. All because we had asked her for breakfast because after all we had not eaten all night. So the police came and inspected our cupboards and such. They decided that my parents were fit parents and left.
So that’s my crazy neighbor for you. I hope you enjoyed my stories.
My girlfriend back then was working at a hotel near my house. She went to work in the morning, and noticed a puppy in the back of a pick-up truck in the parking lot. It was yelping and whining, like puppy’s do, so it was hard to miss.
When she left work 8 hours later, the puppy was still in the back of the truck in the parking lot… in Texas. No water. No food. It was a hot day. She grabbed the dog and brought it to my house.
She was a yellow lab mix, and my girlfriend named her Vive. The girlfriend didn’t last, but the dog did. Best dog I ever had. We traveled together through thick and thin for the next 12 years. From small apartments to horse farms, and for a few weeks living in my truck, we were best friends. I could take her anywhere. Never on a leash to control her. Only when others demanded it. She was good with children, kittens, horses, and I could leave a steak dinner on a low coffee table, and she’d never touch it.
She had 2 drawbacks. The first, was that she loved the smell of a dead skunk. Thought it was Chanel No. 5 and loved to roll in it whenever she could find it.
The second, was that she didn’t live as long as me.
I attended college in the ‘80s, when miniskirts were (again) in fashion. In one class, a lovely young woman sat beside me in the front row.
During the first week of classes, the professor dropped the chalk mid-lecture (intentionally, I suspect) and peeked up her miniskirt. Her legs were not crossed.
She was taking notes, so she didn’t notice. He saw that I had, and he quickly resumed the lecture.
In the hallway after class, I asked did she have a moment. She was wary, probably used to being hit on by strange guys. I told her what had happened, and that she should probably switch seats.
She switched out of the class. I should have.
The professor had seen me talking with her in the hall. From that point forward, he nitpicked my assignments and test answers. (It was an English course, so all answers were written.) Nothing was ever wrong, but he’d find ways to subtract a point here and there until the deductions added up. I had a D in the class at one point.
I was naive, never before having received a bad grade. (Yes, overachiever.) I assumed that eventually the reprisal would end. The realization that college professors are almost completely unaccountable came too late — after the period to drop a class.
My final grade was a C. I was distraught, not only because it was my first C, but also because it threatened my scholarship, which required that I maintain a minimum GPA.
The assistant dean called me in for a conference. I explained what had happened, bringing exhibits of his grading of my work. I also provided the name of the peeking victim to corroborate my story.
A few weeks into the next term, I received a notice that my grade had been changed to a B. It was my only B in my major field.
And I avoided future classes with that professor.
Green Lasagna with Two Sauces (Lasagna Verdi al Forno)
recipe lasagna with two sauces
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
8 ounces bulk Italian sausage, crumbled
4 ounces smoked sliced chicken or turkey, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 medium stalk celery, minced
1 medium carrot, finely shredded
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 3/4 cups water
3/4 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash of ground nutmeg
Green Noodles
8 ounces fresh spinach or 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, cooked as per package directions
2 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 1/2 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cheese Filling
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup snipped parsley
Creamy Sauce
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of ground nutmeg
3 cups milk
Instructions
Meat Sauce
Cook and stir sausage until light brown; drain. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.
Green Noodles
Remove root ends and imperfect leaves from spinach. Wash several times in water, lifting out each time; drain. Cover and cook with just the water that clings to leaves until tender, 3 to 10 minutes. Rinse spinach with cold water; drain.
Place spinach, eggs, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon salt in blender container. Cover and blend until pureed, about 20 seconds.
Make a well in center of flour. Add spinach mixture; stir with fork until mixed. Sprinkle with a few drops water if dry; mix in small amount of flour if sticky. Gather dough into a ball. Knead on lightly floured cloth covered board until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Divide dough into halves. Roll one half into a 13 x 12 inch rectangle; cut rectangle into 6 (13 x 2 inch) strips.
Repeat with remaining dough. Spread strips on rack; let stand 30 minutes.
Heat water to rapid boil; stir in 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon oil and the noodles. Cook uncovered over medium heat until nearly tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Drain; rinse with cold water. Place in single layer between sheets of wax paper.
Cheese Filling
Toss all ingredients together.
Creamy Sauce
Heat butter over low heat until melted. Blend in flour, salt and nutmeg. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute; cover and keep warm. If sauce thickens, beat in small amount of milk. Sauce should be the consistency of heavy cream.
This happened a very long time ago in Corporate America.
Our department worked closely with another that was managed by Marsha, a 40-year-old workaholic who was brilliant at her job. In fact, headquarters had her conduct workshops twice a year to share her methods and to update procedures.
She was totally immersed in effective management, efficiency, quality control and motivation.
Occasionally, she would ‘come up for air’ and momentarily consider that life included much more than work. She would look around for something to do that would benefit the less fortunate and made donations of money, goods, old clothes and books.
Then it was back to being a workaholic.
She was approached by Stan, a fifty-eight-year old, homeless man who refused charity and asked for a job. She spoke with him several times at a cafe where he was sometimes given meals in return for doing odd jobs. Marsha was impressed by his attitude, but most of all, by the love he had for his dog SweetPea, a Lab mix.
That was a side of Marsha that none of us were aware of.
She put her reputation and position on the line, cleaned him up and got him a job in the company’s mail and supply room. Stan lasted two days: he insisted that SweetPea had to be with him.
Marsha didn’t blink. She negotiated a position for him in the large parking area of the office building. He and SweetPea were still there, three years later when I moved on to a different place.
Whatever the US do, or tries to do it does not matter. At the best it will only slow dow China the the U.S. expense of slowing it selves even more. China will grow till it is effectively be 5–6 times the U.S. real size. It may take the most of the 21st century but it will ultimately come to that.
The reason is simple. China has 4 times the U.S. population but it’s political and social system is simply far more superior and stable. It’s growth is sustainable and very healthy. Hence it should put grow the U.S. on per capital basis. But in the real sense. Not in U.S. dollar or even in GDP narrow sense that is frankly a farce and meaningless.
Chinese people are harder working, they are certainly more discipline, the learns more and are more industrious and highly driven. The Chinese language may render its people less descriptive but it makes them more learned and helps them learn faster and better. China is not distracted like the U.S. to get itself into endless wars like the U.S. hence it ought to be at least 50% more successful over time.
That is provided there’s us no war with the U.S. but if war happened it either end the world as we know it or it it world totally implode the U.S. till it becomes several nations. Both are not good outcome for the U.S. To me the U.S. needs to accept that the best option it to hang on to being a strong number 2 till India get its act together sometimes by the 2nd half of 21st century.
I needs to partner not try the shit of containing China right away. It needs to benefit most from China’s inevitable ascendency. Not obsessed with stoping China by cutting of its own limbs.
“You told my granddaughter her shirt was ugly,” an angry woman I’d never met before told me as I was supervising my kindergarten students during their breakfast time.
I looked down at my little student, then up at the grandmother and asked, “I’m sorry, what’s this all about?”
She repeated her claim, saying the girl came home from school the day before and told her the teacher said her shirt was ugly. I couldn’t even remember what the little girl had worn, and I most certainly never said that to a child.
Speaking to the girl, I asked her who had said her shirt was ugly and she replied, “The kids.”
Grandma went berserk at this and yelled at the girl, “No! It was your teacher who said that! That’s what you told me!”
At that point I suggested we take it to the principal and asked the other teacher in the cafeteria to cover my class. Once grandma and I were in the principal’s office, the whole conversation was repeated. The principal told the woman that she’d known me many years, that I would never speak to a child in that manner, and that clearly it was indeed other children who had said the shirt was ugly.
Grandma threatened to take her accusation to the district office. The principal pointed to her desk and said, “There’s the phone.” Grandma turned and left the office without another word, and that was the last I heard of the strangest complaint I ever received as a teacher.
Debt – had a sgt, when I first started, that lived about a mile from me, so we hung out sometimes. I get a call one day that he got arrested for bank robbery. He bailed out and my roommate and I went to talk to him, because we couldn’t believe it. He said, “I was just trying to show them how weak their security was.” We were new, but we weren’t born yesterday. Apparently he had some big gambling debts and was desperate. He went to prison.
The slippery slope – A team of narco cops decided, amongst themselves, that they weren’t being treated fairly. They were bringing in all this money in seized assets, but the department wasn’t giving them money for equipment they felt they needed, like night vision scopes. So, they kept (stole) some of the the money they seized to buy the equipment they felt they needed. mmmmm Okay. But then the equipment they needed turned into houses, cars, jewelry and boats. They went to prison.
Greed – A case I heard about recently, a deputy offered up his services to provide security for dope shipments. He said he and his coworkers would escort shipments for a certain amount of money. His “coworkers” were actually just people he knew. They all went to prison.
Born dirty – A kid from a generational gang family was raised to stay out of trouble and get good grades. The sole purpose was to get him hired on the sheriff’s department so he could help with the gang’s jail drug smuggling operation. He was found out and arrested. Within a week, he was all tatted up. He went to prison.
Stupidity/Naivete/No good deed goes unpunished/Blackmail – Inmates have nothing but time. Career criminals use that time to plan. They will try to identify, target and “groom” young naive deputies. In a case a few years back, 2013, or so, a young kid graduated from the academy and was assigned to one of the jails. An inmate started making conversation with him and being friendly. At a certain point, he gave this kid some sob story about his family and that he couldn’t get in touch with them, or something like that. Whatever it was, this young deputy decided to do something for this inmate, like take a message to his family, or something and then bring a message back. I forget exactly what it was, but it was against policy and being in his first year, he could be fired. The inmate used it against him and blackmailed him into smuggling drugs into the jail. The inmate was caught, gave the deputy up and the deputy went to prison. He made a video for the department about it that the department now shows in the academy.
Until a few years ago, when my mom was still working, she had a very strange habit — She would come back from work tired, request for a glass of coke, a couple of papad, and sit down for a few minutes before resuming other household work.
We would often tell her that rather than coke and papad, you can eat something healthier, perhaps a glass of juice and some fruits. But no, these advices would just fall on deaf ears. I wouldn’t just understand why would she not want to stay healthy.
She would often have headaches in the morning and would wake up tired. Being an advocate of yoga, other fitness activities and it’s importance, I would keep persisting with my efforts to convince her. But no, she would just not have it.
For me, it was difficult to understand why would she not want to have a better life.
Just, why not!
Surprisingly, my father, who used to go for jogging and would really care about his fitness, started ignoring the healthy bits of his life and slowly, with time, stopped doing it at all. He seemed to be following mom’s route of not caring about his health anymore. I tried to persuade him to restart with the brisk walking again, but to no avail.
Years later, I realised the reason — It was the stress that was killing them from inside — something I was not aware of, until recently, especially about the intensity of it they were dealing with.
When it was my turn to get a share of their stress coupled with some of mine, I found out how it overpowers your willingness to do things which makes you happy. It smothers you slowly, makes you want to avoid putting any extra efforts, even for those things which are absolutely essential. You become a person who just wants to do things which makes them feel normal, if not better — like having some unhealthy meals in my mom’s case; or stopping the exercises in my father’s.
Advices, suggestions, words of wisdom are the most readily available things in this world. Every body seems to give it, very few can follow it under every circumstance. What a person is going through and whether he can even make something of your suggestion (intended in a helpful way) is way beyond our understanding at times.
And unless you can be in someone’s shoes, you will never understand why that someone behaves in a certain way, or chooses not to.
I think a story from 2005 illustrates it fairly well.
This was at the Norrtäljeanstalten prison, Sweden’s highest security facility. We’re talking murderers, armed robbery, that sort of people.
One fateful evening, there was a major slip in security. Total disaster. In one wing, the cell doors remained unlocked as the staff went home for the day.
So. It’s not like the inmates could get out – they were still behind several secure layers. They just had the run of the building for one night.
So what did they do?
They made their way to the kitchen, baked a cake, and ate cake and watched TV all night. They all said it was the best night ever.
In the morning, they were unceremoniously put back in their cells, but faced no further consequences. The two staff who had managed to forget to lock got a weeks’ pay docked, and a stern warning.
Swedish prison: turns bank robbers into cake bakers.
My cat went missing for several months. He was a stray that kind of adopted my home as an inside/outside mellow lap cat. I searched and asked around, posted flyers all around town but he was just…gone. One day went to a customers home and on her living room couch is my missing cat!! This older lady had been feeding it and coaxed it inside and he stayed. He remembered me, I pointed out a little crook in his tail that convinced her it was him. I told her that he seemed pretty happy and I guess he lives here now. I gave her his vet records, cat bed, and favorite toys. Part of me was mad because she HAD to have seen those missing cat signs but I was at the same time glad he was warm and happy and not flattened by a truck or something.
About a year later, this crazy lady comes to my door with VET BILL! He got a bladder infection and she took him to the vet and asked them to charge me for it. She took the paperwork I’d given her and told them it was on my account. A bill had been mailed and I was on the phone with them before it even arrived letting know it was her cat and her problem now!
Chinese houses tend to be quite different from those in the West.
For one thing… they are smaller.
They also (well many of them) are in huge complexes with yards-people, security, surveillance, electronic gates, walls, and facial recognition.
They tend to be stone… polished marbles, granite and other types over cement, and tend to be opulent.
For the longest time, I progressively moved into larger and larger homes, with my last two on the 300+ sq/m side. These are enormous by Chinese standards, and honestly, I found them to be too big for our little family.
But you know what?
As you move into larger homes, so does your possessions. They start to fill up the house, and before you know it, you need extra storage rooms to hold all your “stuff”.
So right now, we are living in much smaller homes.
Oh, sure the place is small and tight… with an over abundance of toys… I’ll tell you what. But it’s all we need.
Downsizing… or “right”-sizing has advantages if you look at the bigger picture.
The Chinese will move only when there is a perfect wind. They need to be absolutely sure that the Taiwanese will approve of an eventual unification. Even if the Taiwanese openly reject Independence at any time and prefer Status quo until eventual Independence, China would gain enormous face
I predict the following scenario:-
Revolt by Taiwanese Army against the Taiwanese leadership on charges of corruption
Taiwans defences under complete control of the Army faction
Arrest of Senior Leaders of the Taiwanese Government
Permission to China to fly over Taiwanese Airspace and for Chinese Navy to land in Taiwan for “Securing peace and avoiding Civil War”
This is the only scenario where China will be able to walk into Taiwan and have the Full support of the UN and 90% of the world
Every law will support China in this scenario
If any Japanese or Korean or US vessel interferes, China can LEGITIMATELY declare war and have the whole world back China because TAIWAN IS INVITING CHINA
Even if the US allege that this is a coup de at, the law says it’s still Chinas problem to solve the issue because of the ONE CHINA POLICY
At this stage, North Korea can legally threaten South Korea and checkmate Seoul while Russia can checkmate Japan in the Sea of Japan
Both would be within their rights as Allies of China because Japan, Korea and US would be the aggressors NOT CHINA
It would be like if Kashmir had a separatist movement and Kashmiris begged the Indian Army to help
Nobody can stop the Indian Army because India is within the law
That would be the scenario China would typically envision
I am certain China has a very strong group ready for such a rebellion within Taiwan
Take over Taiwan by revolution and then legitimately arrive in Taiwan to solve the crisis which would be fully legal due to the One China Policy
It’s a Legal masterpiece
The US can at best sanction China and do what they did to Russia but China has had time to slowly plan alternates
Even if Taiwan declare Independence, this would be Chinas counter plan
I can answer this one and I’ll give you the no-frills version: Your husband obviously has a high security job. He cannot talk about the work he does or he will lose his job and possibly go to prison. My late husband had that kind of job in the Army. You just don’t ask. My thought was that if he didn’t tell me anything, I couldn’t accidently repeat it. He would come home from work and I would ask “How was your day?” and he would tell me if so-and-so was in a bad mood or if they had a surprise inspection or if the soda machine was out of Coke, but NEVER any specifics of the job. Sometimes he’d tell me it was a rough day or a quiet day, but nothing else. You have to understand this and accept it. If you can’t, then divorce. The other thing I want to address here is you say is he shuts down and is cold. He doesn’t have much choice. If you are badgering him about details about his job all the time and he has told you he cannot tell you, then stop. Just stop. Who would want to come home to someone asking the same questions over and over when they’ve been told they can’t know? When he comes home, ask the simple, easy questions. “How was your trip?” “Did it go well?” Don’t even ask about the weather, since he might not be able to even tell you where he was. I believe it takes a strong person to be a military spouse, and not everyone can do it. You need to decide if this life is for you or not. Just some info: My soldier was gone a lot during one of our stateside assignments. We lived in one state for almost 5 years and he was gone at least 2.5 years of that time. Not usually more than up to 6 weeks at a time, but many of those trips were ones where he could not even call home. Make some friends, get a job, get some hobbies (I read all the books in the fiction section of the tiny post library, among other things.) And, most of all, love him when he’s home.
I was at a restaurant with my son. It was around 2:00 p.m., and the store was relatively empty, so we were relaxing, chatting, going over the menu, and pretty much inclined to just settle in, take our time and enjoy, not only the food, but chatting with our server…you know, a nice, relaxed family time together.
About 15 minutes later, a couple walked in, he in a blue suit, and she in wedding gown and veil. A bit surprised, I smiled, they returned it, he with a grin, she with a brilliant, happy smile. I was confused, though. Bride, Groom, obviously directly from the ceremony – alone?
So, I’ll admit it, I eavesdropped, just a little – enough to determine that no one came to their wedding. They were alone.
This made me sad, and my son kept saying, “Poor kids.” So, I did it. I ordered them a bottle of champagne and asked our server if, since it was slow, the kitchen could whip up some kind of wedding cake or dessert.
I wish you could have seen their faces! I’m actually tearing up now remembering it! They toasted me and Chris, and asked if they could take a picture with us. So, Chris and I are in a wedding photo album, somewhere in Ohio.
It turns out, they were both in “the system,” both were 18 and had just been dropped by the system. I’m not sure how they met, but they decided that, having no family, they’d make one of their own.
Great kids! Absolutely stellar human beings – and so sweet!
The School phoned me up as my son was being extremely disruptive and arguing with the teacher in class. I was to come down and speak to the hear teacher abotu this and what can be done etc etc etc.
Now, to be fair on her, she did not know the details at this time, but she was right in that he should not have been acting up like he did.
Now, I got to the school, asked at reception for the Head Teacher, and we both went to her office, where my son was sat down. looking a bit like he was up for it I have to admit, and I was really annoyed and so we asked WTF has just happened and why was he arguing with the teacher?
It was all down to the teacher telling the class, that Evolution is not proper science, because it is only a theory! – My son, correctly pointed out that somethign in science only makes it to a theory once it has been shown to be right. Now, so far, I have not mentioned that he was 9.
I started to laugh and I then sided with my son 100% and I said to the headteacher that the teacher was clearly wrong, and that my son would have just been arguing because he was being told wrong information. The Head did agree with me that the teacher was incorrect on this. The head said that she will have a talk with the teacher, however, this to me was simply not good enough!
I argued, that we need to go back to the class NOW, and you need to enforce the fact that the teacher is wrong and that my son is absolutely correct. The head did NOT want to do this, however, I then told her that if she did not, then I will go to the local papers and I will do whatever I can to get hat teacher fired. ( Yes, I am a git at times ).
So yeah, the teacher was absolutely horrified that the head was correcting her and that a 9 year old child had made her look like a moron.
I am NOT going to allow that level of ridiculous nonsense to be taught to my kids.
I dont care if they want to believe in any religious stuff, but if they do, then they need to have solid reasons to do so, and of course, when you understand how science works, it kind of stops you from believing in such hocus pocus as religion.
I graduated high school with an Honors Diploma, 3.98 GPA. I went to a trade school for HVAC and Refrigeration. Took right at 18 months to complete and get my technical degrees.
While in HVAC classes, I decided to doubled up and got my digital and analog electronics certifications. I was in trade school right at 2 yrs. Came out debt free.
Those 2 years a worked at a local factory.
1 month out of school, I landed a job at one of the largest hospitals in my state, as a boiler/chiller operator.
Within 1 yr at that job I moved up to lead hvac tech. Stayed there for 10 yrs.
I took every class they offered in my field. Left that hospital with certifications in building automation controls, deep knowledge in commercial HVAC, chillers, high pressure steam boilers, etc.
Moved on to a higher paying job with my states goverment general service department. Worked there for 6 yrs, gained even more knowledge and certifications.
I now part of a commercial HVAC service business. Have seven people in the company, all with extensive knowledge in commercial HVAC service work. Each of us making well over 100k a year.
I was the first in my family to not go to a traditional 4yr college.
My parents supported me in that. With that support, I was able to do what I was passionate about. I was the first, in my family, to get a job within my choosen field, without major debt.
25 yrs later, Im also the first in my family to stick with my degree and advance it/add to it, still without taking on any debt.
All this to say, support your son in what he wants to do.
Getting into the trades is looked down upon, but if it wasn’t for the trades, the world we live in, would not be remotely the same.
If he feels he can make it work, support him.
And if he fails, stand beside him with a supportive attitude and not a “I told you so” attitude.
Our kids need to make their own successes and failures.
As parents, when our kids hit a certain age, we have to let them fly on their own and hope and pray our guidance and teachings was enough to mold and shape them into productive, happy members of society.
This isn’t to say we stay totally hands off.
My two oldest children (22 and 20) still ask advice on things.
I give my life experiences on the subject matter they ask, and what worked for me. It’s up to them to take the advice, modify it to their life and run with it.
“The Stand”: US Biological Laboratory Leak Leads to 99% Global Fatality
I proudly was the nasty co-worker in the teacher’s lounge. I worked with a woman who thought she should be in charge of everyone because her husband was campus security. On more than one occasion she had let me know that she thought my lunch was “odd.” I had changed my eating habits, increased my exercise resulting in a major weight loss that was being recognized. This other woman was larger than the size I was when I embarked on my health journey. I am not fat-shaming, I am just pointing out that she was not a role model for healthy eating and lifestyle. The things I was eating were working for me.
I was in the teacher’s lounge getting my cup of coffee before I sat down to eat. The only place to sit was next to Mrs. Campus Security. I sat down, then opened my lunch box, pulled out my can opener and a can of pork and beans.
I had only one bite out of the can when I heard in a disgusted tone, “You’re not really going to eat out of the can?”
“Why, do you want some? I can scoop some out for you.” I said in reply, trying to ignore her rudeness and half a pan of lasagna that she was eating.
“That is the grossest thing I have ever seen anyone eat for lunch. You’re eating those nasty greasy beans out of a can… cold!”
“Yep, that was my plan to eat these ‘taste’ nasty beans right out of this can.”
I thought that would be the end of the conversation. All through lunch she had a comment about, “How gross I was for eating beans” or “How my beans smelled bad.” When I finished my beans, I pulled out my treat: a can of peaches in fruit juice.
I started to open the can when I heard, “You got to be kidding me! Are you going to eat those out of the can too?”
I couldn’t resist the moment and began singing a song by Presidents of the United States of America, “Peaches come from a can they were put there by a man in a factory downtown…” The other staff began laughing at the song. We were all tired of listening to Mrs. Campus Security grumble.
We had a staff meeting that afternoon, after school, that controlling lady was still complaining about my lunch. Her still being riled about my lunch led to me being inspired; I decided, right then and there, that I needed to eat the same thing daily while sitting next to her for the sheer entertainment factor.
The next day, she flipped out when I casually sat next to her, then had the same lunch as the day prior. Now, I started making comments about, how flavorful the can makes the beans. I loudly scraped my can sitting next to her while railing on about how delicious they were. The day after that, I did it again. I did it every day for a month. A few days into my inspired entertainment, the other staff realized what I was doing, they started to bring pork and beans for lunch also. Mrs. Campus Security quit coming into the teacher’s lounge during lunch because of being grossed out by us co-workers. The rest of us enjoyed our lunch period much more after her departure.
China is like a man who put on a lot of fat and muscle in order to become strong. Now it wants to improve its health by losing fat while keeping muscle through a tough diet and training regimen.
Chinese society and its economy are now going through that transition.
Up until about 2016, growth in China was easy because it was fueled by manufacturing and rising real estate prices. Most exports were made for foreign brand companies like Apple. Following this growth model, China was able to grow stronger in manufacturing by building multiple supply chains and developing its technology.
With Trump’s election in 2016, the U.S. made it clear that it would not allow this growth model to continue because it believed that China was getting a free development ride at the US’s expense. Trump started with import tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S., and when that did not generate the desired results, he called for U.S. companies to lesser their reliance on Chinese manufacturing by moving to more friendly and compliant nations like Vietnam and India, a policy which Apple has been following.
The Biden administration has continued this policy and added to it by adding technology sanctions to U.S. IP and chips, and has encouraged companies like TSMC to build chip fabs in the U.S.
What we are learning now is that the Chinese government and Huawei in particular have been secretly preparing for this worst-case scenario for at least five years and have been building their own technology, manufacturing and supply chains which are completely free of western IP. Now, the Chinese are positioning themselves to sell their own indigenously-developed technologies and products worldwide under their own Chinese brands instead of western brands. The Chinese will compete by offering what are now considered expensive high-end features in Western products as standard features in Chinese products.
Chinese companies are already doing this with electric vehicle automobiles and mobile phones, and will do it with other products. There will be a very bloody price war between Chinese and Western brands, and in order to survive, western brands will have to accept lower profits.
Domestically, the Chinese government has worked off its dependency on real estate to fuel domestic growth, which is why Evergrande, Country Garden and other real estate developers are in such trouble.
Make no mistake, this is a tough and painful transition, but there are good reasons for the short-term sacrifice.
China has always been about the medium- and long-term, never about the short-term.
In a saucepan melt 2 sticks butter. Add onion and celery and sauté. Add creamed corn, water, poultry seasoning and pepper. Bring to a boil. In a very large bowl, pour this mixture over stuffing mixture. Toss lightly then stir in eggs. Shape into tennis ball-size rounds. Place on a sheet pan. Brush with 1 stick melted butter.
The check they sent you is fake. It probably looked like a money order. The scam goes like this: They buy something from you and send you payment for too much. They tell you to go ahead and deposit the check, but to send them the balance. They may even tell you to keep a little extra “for your trouble.”
So you (the mark) deposit the bogus money order and send a check to the “buyer.” The bank quickly discovers that the money order is fake, and debit your account for the amount. You’re out the $1,200 or whatever you sent to the fraudster.
I had this happen a few years ago. I was selling an old TV for $25.00 on Craigslist. I got an email asking if it was still available. It was. He was on vacation in England, so he’d have his “assistant,” who was somewhat local (100 miles away) send me a check and pick up the TV.
A few days later, I got a money order for $1,300 in an envelope with a Sacramento return address. Then I got an email from the “buyer” telling me his incompetent assistant had sent me the wrong money order. Could I please deposit it and send a check for the excess? I could keep an extra $25.
I replied that I’d just send them the check back and wait for one in the correct amount. The “buyer” began to get angry, sending me emails threatening legal action if I didn’t comply with his demands. Out of curiosity, I called the credit union printed on the money order—they were several hundred miles away, in San Diego. They told me it was not anything they had issued. Shocker.
I looked up the physical address on Google Earth the “buyer” told me to use to send the “refund” to. It was a mail drop in London, probably with some sort of forwarding arrangement.
After several angry, threatening emails from the “buyer,” the whole thing just faded away. I still have the bogus money order as a souvenir.
Sadly, just like the venerable “Nigerian Prince” scam, there will be people who fall for it.
Hopefully, gentle reader, you won’t be one of them.
What Happened to the President? in The Walking Dead – What We Know Now
When I was married to my first husband, my family hated him so much they managed to get me kicked out of church. From across the state.
There was an AME church directly behind where we lived and I attended there. I wasn’t raised AME. I don’t raise my hands like I know the answers. I don’t dance around. I just wanted to worship with fellow Christians.
Despite me being white, these people accepted me in and made me feel comfortable. Some of the older folks actually got between me and some younger people who didn’t want me there and we’re going to “make me leave”.
They explained that skin color has nothing to do with WHO we are… that how they acted tells everything about WHO they are. And it was unacceptable.
The folks apologized to me and would look for me each week.
I didn’t want any trouble. I didn’t want to be a distraction. I just wanted to worship. And I didn’t care who was around me.
I don’t care what color someone’s skin is. I never have. It’s about who we are, not what we look like.
When I wouldn’t show up, usually because my first husband used to beat me mercilessly, they came by to get me.
The ladies saw me in a pathetic state and they would get the men… who explained to my husband how it was unacceptable. Sometimes in forceful terms.
They helped me escape.
THAT was the most Christian loving thing I’d experienced… and I’m a preacher’s kid.
I’d just finished 37 years of working in IT. I wrote a tiny piece of code used in the Internet. I ended up working in a warehouse. Their internet connection sucked and was made far worse by my boss’ insistance of watching videos all day causing print jobs to fail and produce scanners to act up.
Using ordinary user computers I’d bring up the DOS prompt and show her the crappy network numbers. She forbade me from doing it, saying I was “hacking”.
She was constantly on the phone with her Pastor. Once a month she’d be doubled over with cramps, throwing up all over the offices but refused medication because it was “sinful”.
My coffee consumption is measured in pots. The coffee pot was a one minute walk away but she’d be constantly complaining “you’re taking your coffee break now???” until I made it clear that I wasn’t taking the mandatory 15 minute coffee breaks and often working through lunch, threatening a “work to rule”.
The last straw was when she went on vacation, failed to show up when she was supposed to, failed to contact her supervisor and left me trying to do two jobs.
Her replacement was even worse. When I informed management I was fired by her for insubordination for identifying an unsafe working condition.
Yes. A parent was furious and called to scream at me when I said their child couldn’t play right now. Their child had knocked on my door, and I politely told the little girl she could come back and play tomorrow.
Her mom called and went off on me. She said I was selfish and a bully and that I let everyone else play at my house but her child. I tried explaining that her child had literally played at my house every single day for the last few months. I told her that during the last month, I fed her dinner almost every day and also took her with our family to the park, movie theater, and school functions.
I then stated that I was a single mom of 3 and needed a day to myself to catch up on household chores and run errands. I said I had been working 7 days a week and also needed a couple hours to just lay on the couch and rest with my family. She screamed that I should be ashamed of myself for making her kid sad. Now, keep in mind she was married, only had one kid, and never invited my kids over to play even though she was unemployed and home 24/7.
I later learned that mom was an addict and she wanted her kid out of the house so she could do drugs with no interruptions.
This probably isn’t considered “disgusting” to others, but it was to me. I was hired as a bartender/night manager for a small beer and wine pub-type place by the owner, whose adult kids worked at his restaurant next door. His daughters were nice – I was actually referred by his younger daughter who’d been a customer of mine at another place I tended bar. But his son – WOW! I don’t know why he hated me on sight, but he did. Unfortunately, he was the cook and I had to deal with him whenever one of my customers ordered food, and he would go out of his way to insult or belittle me.
It was my last shift before Christmas and I wanted to be a little “extra”, so I put on a super cute red and white outfit with black boots and a Santa hat. I felt incredibly festive and cute and was really looking forward to my shift. I was, that is, until I walked into the restaurant to get my till. He came out of the kitchen as I was standing there, and he literally started laughing hysterically, pointing at me and saying awful things about how he couldn’t believe I’d worn that and how stupid I looked. Somehow I was able to hold back the tears until I was back at my bar alone, but I bawled, hard. He was always mean, but that night he was especially cruel.
For the record, my customers loved my outfit and tipped me generously, being that it was so close to Christmas. And yes, I did try to speak to the owner about his son’s behavior several times, and each time he said he’d take care of it, but it never got better, which is why I quit as soon as I found another job.
My niece and I were standing in line at the grocery store check out. There were 2 Spanish girls behind us talking away in Spanish about how they were running the streets and what guys they were hooking up with . My niece who is as white as can be pulled out her food stamps to pay for her groceries. The two girls behind us started making fun of her because she was on public assistance and were calling her all kind of derogatory names and jokes. Now my niece grew up with Spanish people and also took Spanish in school so she turns around and responded to the girls in Spanish that at least she could afford to take care of her family instead of running the streets like they obviously did. They were so dumfounded they just looked at her and couldn’t respond. We just gathered up our groceries and walked out while the check out lady was laughing hysterically at the two girls.
I was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer the week I turned 34.
Tumors were all over my bones and broke my spine, hip and cracked my ribs. Several of my vertebrae collapsed and I now have kyphosis.
My disease was stable for almost four years, but slowing tumors started growing again in my spine, and this past year have spread many to other bones plus my liver and lung.
Recently a skull tumor spread into my brain and I have partially lost control of my right foot. Several of the tumors in my spine are currently threatening my spinal canal. Since that area was radiated before, it cannot be radiated again, which means that there is a very high chance I will be paralysed from the arms down before I die. That’s if I don’t die before of liver failure.
At this point I’m hoping my liver will fail before I am paralysed. I dread that so much.
That’s for the physical hardship, there’s also knowing I won’t be there for my young daughter as she grows up, that my parents will see their daughter die before them.
So to sum it up: because I’ll be missing out on more than half of my life (based on my predicted life expectancy at birth), because I’m leaving behind an 8 year-old daughter, because I could be almost entirely paralysed the last weeks or months of my life, because this is something that my child and family will have to witness… I feel like I would have good reasons to complain and feel sorry for myself.
And yet I don’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I am mad it happened and definitely wish it never had.
But it did and it does every day to too many people. You draw the short straw, or maybe just feel like you do because we don’t know what everyone else goes through. I do grumble about my uncooperative leg (now also known as “dead weight”). I do cry and often feel sad beyond words but honestly don’t feel any point in wondering “why me?”
My body reacted in such a way that made it possible for rogue cells to grow. I was otherwise young, relatively healthy, and with no cancer history in my family. It was very unlikely to happen but it did. The bodies of some people just react that way. Why not mine?
I do hope for the best, in other words a treatment that will buy me some time, but I’m also very aware of the limitations of our current medical knowledge and its unability to cure my type of cancer. (And please don’t suggest random cures in the comments, at the time of this post NOTHING has been proved to cure my particular disease).
As a terminally ill person, my thoughts converge toward what matters most: practical end-of-life arrangements, of course my daughter and leaving some sort of legacy behind. Things like expecting a miracle cure or indulging in self-pity would just feel like wasted time at this point.
This just happened to us, last month. It was my wife’s birthday, and some flowers were delivered to our house in a box. Thinking they were from our daughter, my wife took them out, and arranged them in a big vase along with a bouquet that I had brought home for her earlier that morning.
And, then, she noticed the card in the box … which read “Very sorry for your loss. Margret and Victor Voss” (names changed for privacy). We don’t know Margret & Victor and we hadn’t experienced any loss. So, she looked at the delivery label – which had OUR address on it, but not HER name. It was addressed to “April Andrews” – another name we didn’t know. And, again – OUR address.
So, I went online to the flower company website and did a live chat with their Customer Service. I explained the situation to them, and said that we didn’t know April Andrews. And, I asked them what they wanted us to do. They told us to keep the flowers, and that they would straighten out the problem. It was, after all, actually my wife’s birthday.
Well, a day and a half later … our doorbell rings. And, there stands a woman we didn’t know, but who apparently lives down the street in a house whose number is a transposition of our house number. She introduced herself as April Andrews and said that she understood that, “We have her flowers … seeing as how her father just died.”
So, instead of the flower company “taking care of the problem” by finding out the correct address from the senders and delivering another bunch of flowers – what they did was notify the local flower shop who originally made/delivered the bouquet. And THEY chose to “take care of the problem” by driving back over to the Andrews house and POINTING them up the street at our house as the place where they left the box.
Again, the flowers were now 2 days old and intermixed with others. We didn’t have any simple way to just “turn them over”. And, we were told to keep them. (I had the chat transcript in email to prove it).
But, now we have a neighbor whose first impression of us is “the people who stole their dead father’s sympathy flowers.” Real damn nice!
Glad you asked. I have about 500 of them but most cannot really be shared. This one ended up in the newspaper so I think we are pretty clear to talk about it.
About 30 years ago (when I was a paramedic) there were several guys in their late teens and early twenties fishing in a lake near town. This lake is a pretty large, man-made reservoir and a place for boating, sailing, camping and fishing. It also happens to be the scene of about 375 of the 500 “now that was stupid” moments I mentioned above. These guys were fishing from the shore and I guess the fish weren’t biting all that much so they were able to spend more time on their other pastime; drinking beer. Well, as young boys will, they started thinking about what funny thing they could dare each other to do and of course one of them suggests eating their bait. Their live bait. Minnows to be exact. These small fish (about the size of a carnival goldfish) could easily be swallowed whole with a half can of Keystone Beer. After one or two rounds one of the guys decides to take it up a notch and he pulls out a red ear sunfish he caught a few minutes before. They look like this.
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His was just slightly smaller than this one but not by much. Notice the very spikey dorsal fin on this fish. They tend to deploy them like that when they are alarmed or threatened. A good example of that “threat” would be an 18 year old boy attempting to swallow you whole with a river of beer. The perch made it about a third of the way down his esophagus before becoming lodged. He swallowed it head first (because he didn’t want to get poked by the fins…. Smart) but his swallow was too slow and the fish too large and it got stuck. The tail of the fish was visible in the back of the throat so his friends tried to grab it with needle nose pliers and pull it out. That was a mistake. The dorsal fin then entered the esophagus and the fish was incredibly lodged. And alive. Very alive. And the tail was flapping back and forth over the glottis causing a major airway issue.
He was taken by ambulance to the ER and he nearly died. His friends succeeded in tearing most of the tail off the fish but it was still alive. He ended up with a cricothyroidotomy and a trip to the OR to have the fish removed surgically. As his friends messed around with the fish in the back of his throat he vomited of course. Lots of beer. This was even more of an airway issue.
So, if you’re thinking about swallowing a live fish of any size remember this. The surgery is a massive deal and fish are not sterile. Those fins often contain a deadly mix of bacteria (especially catfish) and occasionally even venom. After the acute phase of treatment….assuming you live…. You are still facing a long road to recovery. Holes in your esophagus allow gastric contents through as well and that is a major problem for your lungs and heart. Better by far to stick to those little yellow cracker goldfish snacks with beer.
The Dark Ages were not only dark – they were cold as well. In 535 Krakatau erupted and pushed in so much volcanic ash that the average temperature sank with several degrees, and historian Prokopios describes 536 as a “year with no summer” and the sun shone gloomily and did not warm. These events are recorded also by the Barbarian poetic epics. The Kalevala records this as Louhi stealing Sun and Moon, and the Eddas record 535 as Fimbulvinter.
Not only did crops fail and people all around Europe die from hunger, but in 541–542 the Justinian Plague swept over Europe and killed 50% of Europeans, whose immunity had been compromised by malnutrition and hunger. This plague – caused by the same Yersinia pestis bacterium as the Black Death in the 1300s, was a worse catastrophe than the Black Death itself, and finally killed off the Antiquity.
6th century was the worst century of the whole Dark Ages. The Frankish Kingdom was wrecked by the petty civil wars of the Merovingians, Britain lapsed back to Paganism due to the Anglo-Saxon conquest, Hispania was wrecked by the wars of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Visigoths, and Italy was wrecked by the Eastern Roman Empire reconquest – Rome again belonged in the Empire.
The climate change, which had begun in the 3rd century, had reached the pessimum by 550 AD. After that, climate again began to warm, reaching the global average by 750 AD.
My now ex-wife and I were shopping used vans. In one used car business, we found one of the make/model vans we were interested in. But the price was almost double what we’d budgeted to pay. Along comes a salesman, we chat and tell him it would need a deep discount for us to be able to consider it. We did the test drive, liked it but got no assurance that it could fit our budget, so we made to leave. He said we should let him give us a quote for their best price. We agreed, told him we didn’t want to do the whole back and forth with the manager thing, and he agreed. So we go inside the building and wait to get this quote. And we wait, and we wait. I had the feeling there was a hidden microphone at the table where we were seated, which was verified by the fact that after I said “Let’s go” they magically appeared with the quote. It was $500 off the $20k listed on the window of the van. I handed back the quote in disgust and we continued out the door. I swear three people came after us, yelling “Wait, wait!” at the back of our heads. They even knocked on the windows of our car as we were pulling out. Car dealers, don’t ignore the things we tell you, lie and use sleazy tactics to try and sell.
In a corporate setting, my best buddy, a successful consultant, once faced an intriguing challenge. He was called in to assess a project that was significantly behind schedule and plagued with bugs. The project had been in development for almost a year, with parts being tested by end-users, only to find them too buggy to put into production. Additionally, several critical functions remained unimplemented.
My buddy’s task was clear: take the project’s current state and chart a path to completion using the existing staff. Upon analyzing the original specifications, he realized that the project was essentially a straightforward database application with a few user forms required for various tasks. Taking the project home on a Friday, he dedicated his weekend to it.
On Monday, he returned to present the completed project to the manager. To the manager’s surprise, all screens worked flawlessly, with no bugs in sight. All user interfaces were in place and functioning exactly as they had been originally whiteboarded.
At first, the manager hesitated, assuming these were mock-ups. However, upon realizing that my friend had accomplished in a weekend what the manager’s team had struggled with for a year, the situation took a turn. Instead of accepting the code, the manager paid my friend for the hours claimed and forbade any further communication with the project staff or associates.
This incident underscored an important lesson that my buddy had learned over the years as a consultant: often, in complex problems, there’s a simpler solution waiting to be discovered if you’re willing to look for it.
About 2 months ago, I received a card in the mail from my uncle (Mom’s youngest brother). In the card was a check for $250.
His wife had read something I posted on Facebook, as a comment to a friend of mine. It was about being so broke that we didn’t have any food right then and would be using old gravy packets to make “soup”. I tried to make it sound like a joke, but my Uncle saw through it. Things weren’t quite that bad but they were close. I’m trying to support 3 other people who either won’t work or won’t pay to live in my house (long story but two are family) on less money than I need to do that. Although two of them have food stamps and buy food for the household, it’s still running me into bankruptcy.
Here’s what killed me though – My Uncle was fighting Stage 4 cancer at the time and he apologized in his note that he couldn’t send more!
With all he was going through, he took the time to think of me!
That check arrived on a day when I was so very low because I just didn’t know how I was going to get any food in the house to last us until the food stamp cards refilled.
I wrote him a thank you letter, and I’m glad I got it sent out right away. Less than 3 weeks later, my uncle died. I didn’t know just how sick he was until the day before he died, when his daughters posted a photo of him in a bed in a hospice. He hadn’t wanted anyone to know.
I’m still in shock that he’s gone, and still grateful beyond words to him for his help.
Cody Johnson was a 25-year-old country boy who loved cars and the wilderness.
He was looking for a church-oriented woman he could share his life with. He met the tall, pretty brunette, Jordan Graham and they began dating.
You would have never guessed they had issues if you saw their smiling pictures on Facebook. They presented a great front and Cody didn’t grasp the depth of their problems.
Cody was head over heels in love with Jordan. He cooked for her and brought her gifts and gave her tons of much attention.
A week after meeting Jordan, Cody told his mother, “I think I met the woman I’m going to marry.”
However, Cody’s friends grew concerned as the relationship seemed one-sided. They’d never seen the two of them kiss or hold hands. Jordan was cold and distant.
Jordan was extremely religious and wanted to wait until marriage before having sex. Cody was fine with it.
But he could hardly get her to kiss him. She reassured Cody that she loved him.
One year into dating, he proposed and she said yes — which is where the path to ruin began.
The wedding plans
Jordan’s friends said she was excited anytime they talked about planning the wedding, the party, and all it involved — but never said anything about Cody.
On her wedding day, as Jordan walked down the aisle crying, onlookers smiled, but her maid of honor, Katrina Martinez, was horrified.
She knew Jordan and knew this wasn’t a “good cry”.
Jordan had been asking Kristina in the weeks leading up to the wedding if she should go through with it.
Katrina told Jordan, “I can’t make that decision for you. You need to talk to Cody.”
Cody’s best man knew there was trouble beforehand too. He said he told Cody not to marry her. Something was off.
He could tell Jordan wasn’t in love with him.
But Cody was blinded by his own feelings.
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The day before getting married, Jordan had a massive meltdown, telling her friend she’d “Made a mistake”. But then changed her mind and moved forward.
Ominously, they had a custom song made for their wedding and one of the lyrics said, “You helped me climb higher for a better view. You’re my safe place to fall.”
The murder — 8 days later
They attended church on the Sunday morning of July 7th, 2013. On the way out, witnesses said she’d told her husband she had a “big surprise” for him.
Prosecutors later alleged Jordan had promised to do something sexual with Cody. He made excited comments to friends before they left. And they later found a blindfold at the crime scene.
The next day, Cody’s work called and asked where he was. His boss, Cameron, was excited to congratulate him on the wedding.
Cody didn’t answer his phone so Cameron went to his house looking for him.
Nobody answered the door. Cameron sensed something was wrong and broke the door in.
Nobody was inside. He said the home gave him a terrible vibe.
He wandered through the quiet house and eventually found Cody’s phone on the ground in the garage — which was totally unlike him. Cody always had his phone.
Cameron rushed to the police station and reported Cody missing.
The cops immediately wondered why his wife wasn’t the one reporting her husband missing. A friend finally got ahold of Jordan and asked her if she’d seen Cody.
She said she didn’t know but later told cops, “He went out with a bunch of friends I’ve never met. I don’t know anything more, any of the whereabouts or anything.”
Friends and cops were immediately struck by how unemotional Jordan was with Cody’s disappearance.
When friends came to her house to provide support and comfort, she grew agitated that they were there rather than upset Cody that was missing.
At one point, she got upset and threw her wedding ring across the room — which caught sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
Then, there was a random email that Jordan received from a mysterious man named Tony The Carman, “Hello Jordan. My name is Tony. There is no bother in looking for Cody anymore.”
Cody is gone. Call off the search. He fell off a cliff at Glacier National Park.”
She took the message to the cops.
Search parties went out. Jordan participated and drove with her friends to the park.
During the drive, she was happy, singing songs and hanging her hand out the window, flying it in the wind. You’d have never known her husband was missing.
At the park, Jordan led her group to the exact location of Cody’s body. She said she “Just had a feeling he’d be there.”
His body was at bottom of a steep, remote cliff, in terrible condition.
She told her friends, “Cody told me he wanted to see this spot before he died.”
This drew even more scrutiny to Jordan. She started fudging details and changing her story during an interrogation.
Jordan didn’t help herself when authorities asked, “How did you locate his body so fast?”
This time she said the spirit of Jesus Christ led her to his body.
Cody’s best man said, “I almost instantly thought Jordan did something.”
At Cody’s funeral, Jordan sat in the front row, playing on her phone, smiling and unaffected.
People who only passingly knew Cody were more emotional than his own wife. It was at this point that her friends all concurrently knew that Jordan had murdered her husband.
Cops later confirmed that the mysterious email from Tony the Car Man had been sent by Jordan on her dad’s device.
The partial confession
Jordan admitted to pushing Cody.
She said they’d been in a fight. She said she was so upset that when he turned his back to her, she shoved him hard in the back, sending him over the edge.
He fell 300 feet to his death, landing headfirst.
There wasn’t even a struggle or self-defense argument made. She said she just did it because she was angry.
But because of so many other lies, mounting evidence, and a complete lack of caring for her dead husband, it was an obvious case of murder.
She entered a guilty plea.
On March 27th, 2014, Jordan was sentenced to 30 years in prison with no possibility of parole.
Cody’s mother is inconsolable and his family is still coping with the loss.
Cody was murdered eight days after their wedding ceremony. It’s hard to imagine how things could go so wrong so fast.
It’s even harder to fathom how someone could find breaking a person’s heart harder than killing him. But stranger, darker things have happened.
One of my old managers was a great guy but didn’t take crap from anyone.
There was a guy we worked with that was a total jerk. He liked to act all rough and tough whenever the manager, AGM or I weren’t around (I was a lead/MIT)…He especially had a history of intimidating the young shift leaders and other coworkers (especially the females). He constantly denied this but we had no reason to doubt our leadership team.
We heard through the grapevine that he was going to call out for a weekend as he felt entitled that he didn’t have to work weekends and we were assholes for scheduling him. That Friday night he texts the manager to say he was going to be out for awhile due to a “family emergency” and we better not put him on the schedule him until he says it’s ok too.
Two weeks goes by and my manager texts him to come in and we would go over his new schedule. The guy came in expecting us to give him the schedule he felt he deserved…instead he handed him a blank calendar and said that was the best we could do…basically he made the guy drive in with the sole purpose of firing him…the look the guy gave was priceless.
First things first, anyone who has ever attempted to bathe a cat knows that it can be akin to a kind of very small, domesticated warfare. Cats generally do not like water. Not only is this aversion instinctual, but it’s also part of their self-grooming pride. They spend a significant slice of their waking hours meticulously cleaning themselves with their tongues, so in their eyes, getting dunked into water is completely unnecessary.
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Now, is it cruel? It can certainly seem that way, especially with all the hissing, clawing, and Olympic-level gymnastics they do to escape a bathtub.
However, there are exceptions to the no-bath rule. If your cat has rolled around in something toxic or sticky, or if they have long fur that’s become matted and dirty beyond the help of their own tongue, a bath isn’t just kind, it might be necessary for their health.
The key is technique and preparation. Unlike dogs, most cats aren’t going to jump into a bath with wagging tails and excited eyes. You have to be methodical. Prep the area with all the tools you’ll need – shampoo, towels, a non-slip mat, and perhaps even a cat bathing bag if you value the skin on your arms.
Warm water is a must. Not hot, not cold – think baby bath temperature. And always talk to them in a calm voice. Granted, they might not listen because they’re shrieking louder than a banshee, but at least you’ve done your part to maintain a façade of serenity.
After the bath, the tricky part might be drying them off. Some cats tolerate being swaddled in a towel; others might handle a blow-dryer on a low, quiet setting. Above all, ensure they’re fully dry before they saunter off because a damp cat is a cold cat, and a cold cat is a grumpy cat.
So cruel? Not inherently. But bathing a cat should be done with careful consideration and only when necessary.
And remember, while a picture of a wet cat might fetch a good number of likes on social media, your cat’s dignity and your unscratched arms might be more worth it.
This happened at all three banks where I was previously employed, before I retired.
The rule was that we were to answer the phone after the second ring. No exceptions. The tellers, New Accounts Representatives, anyone except the men. Well, I answered after the first or second ring, if I was available, and didn’t already have a customer at my desk. If I was opening accounts, doing a Stop Pay, preparing paperwork for a Foreign Wire Transfer, and the other hundred things you help customers with, yes, I would let it ring .
If you get in your car, make the trip to do some banking in person and are sitting at my desk , I am NOT going to be so rude as to ignore the customer in front of me to answer questions on the phone. (Examples: can you see if my Social Security has been deposited? What are your CD rates? Do you have any specials? Can you do a Stop Payment for me? Why is my account negative? My mother died and I am checking to see if she had any accounts with you. How late can I make my loan payment? What is the cutoff time for a Wire Transfer?)
I wouldn’t do this if a guest was in my home, so the same etiquette should be at work.
I once closed a newish account because, as I was being helped at the teller window in the lobby, the teller actually paused the transaction to answer the phone and do bank business with the person on the phone. Unacceptable!
I noticed the loan officers, the President. Vice President never answered the phone when they had a customer at their desk (and most likely could not answer questions about accounts anyway, which is the Operations side of the bank). They were on the Loan side of the bank.
I briefly mentioned this in a different post but that most angry neighbor that ever came to our door was my husband’s Commanding Officer.
He was livid with anger. He was shaking he was so upset.
When I asked him what was wrong, sir? he yelled that my 5-year-old twin boys had come to his quarters and pulled every plant from his carefully tended garden. Tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, even a few stalks of corn.
After my husband and I got him calmed down I called the boys into the room and ask them if they had done that. They surprised me by proudly declaring they had.
It turned out, that afternioon while I was shopping and they were home with the maid, the 10 and 12 year old boys next door had told my little ones that the Commander was transferring (was well understood by two Army kids) and his garden had to be completely cleared. And that he would pay a dollar a piece to them to do it.
He gave them each a dollar and headed for my next door neighbor’s house. I don’t know what happened to those two boys.
I bet it was not pretty.
The Stand (1994): Super-Flu Virus. The Dark Man is Coming.
He asked waiter about the menu and placed his order.
After a while a family came on the table next to him & placed their order.
To the guy’s dismay, they got served FIRST.
They started laughing and eating. One of them bragged how he knows someone in the hotel.
The guy called the waiter and asked.
The waiter calmly replies: Yours is a special order being prepared by the Chief chef. Theirs is a regular order prepared by the students in attachment because the top chefs are preparing your order. That’s why it’s taking time.
Please have some juice in the meantime, he said and left calmly.
Short after six waiters brought this guy’s order. Unknown to the guys, the hotel owner was his long lost friend who recognised him and decided to surprise him.
He changed his simple meal to a Five-star meal. The people next to his table were shocked. They couldn’t stop staring and started mumuring why he got such VIP treatment.
This is life.
Some people are ahead of you, eating their meals, mocking you & talking how they are better than you. How well connected they are.
You are waiting for your meal and wondering why is it taking so long. You endure the taunts, mockery and humiliation.
May be you are going through stress, anxiety or depression.
Don’t worry…
The owner of the world has seen you and he doesn’t want to serve you a simple meal.
Yours is a special order hand made by the top chefs. That’s why it’s taking time.
When it comes the laughing party will be silenced for good.
I worked for a mid size firm in the technology field for 25 years. Over time technology changed and eventually the system i supported was outdated. I never was really interested in learning the new stuff I was aging and I was pretty much burned out in that job. As time went on my system was phased out and eventually eliminated. I knew my time was up. I waited for that pink slip for over three years whilst doing nothing but surfing the web, catching up on current events and social media. By that time I was so bored, felt so useless and the days dragged on so long I was ready for that pink slip. When it finally came I was so relieved I was ecstatic. It took me several years to find another job that paid 1/4 of what that job paid and I worked my ass off for that tiny wage. But at least I felt worthwhile and somewhat useful. It’s not all about the money.
Three or four years ago, I, along with several of our day-shift officers, was dispatched to a theft call at a local grocery store. The complainant, an elderly lady, told us that while she was shopping, a man grabbed her purse from her shopping cart and ran from the store. She was very upset, as she had quite a bit of cash in her purse, along with some jewelry and other valuables. We went out into the parking lot and a woman told us that she had seen a man run from the store with a purse and that he ran around the corner of the building toward the back. I sent three officers around the back of the store to look for the suspect and told two other officers to canvas the parking lot and try to locate any other witnesses.
I then drove around to the back of the store where the officers were looking in every possible hiding place for the suspect. After a few minutes, one of the officers shouted that she had found something. She was holding up a purse matching the description of the purse the complainant told us had been taken. The purse looked as if it had been ripped open to make it easier to quickly search for valuables. While some of the items remained in the purse, most of the contents, including the valuables appeared to be gone.
I radioed one of the officers in front of the store and asked him to bring the complainant around to the back. When she arrived and got out of the police vehicle, I showed the lady the purse that was found and asked if it was hers. She took it from me and frantically started looking through the the remaining contents of the purse, discarding what appeared to be trash and items of insignificance as she searched. “It’s not here!” She told me. “My mother’s wedding ring set isn’t here!” She was distraught. “It appears that the thief took everything of value,” said one of the Officers. “Maybe we can get a description and find it at one of the pawn shops.” The woman was inconsolable. She explained that the ring set was the only thing she had left to remember her deceased mother. “How would he have found it?” she asked, “It was hidden in the lining.” She showed us where the ring had been concealed in the lining of the purse. We had to admit that it had been well concealed and it seemed unlikely that a thief who was in a hurry to get away would have taken the time to check for anything hidden. However, the purse had been torn, so it did seem possible that the ring fell out of the purse when the thief tossed it as he made his escape.
“Where did you find the purse?” I asked the Officer who had located the item. “It was right there, in that dumpster,” the Officer replied, pointing to a large dumpster behind the grocery store. We all walked over to the half full dumpster and took a peek. “It was right here,” the Officer told us, gesturing to one end of the container. Another Officer who was peering into the dumpster contents reached in and retrieved a pen that appeared to be expensive. “ Was this in your purse, Ma’am?” The Officer asked her. “Yes it was,” the lady replied. “My grandson gave me that pen about six months ago.” “Well,” I said to to the officers, “Who wants to go dumpster diving?”
The chances of finding the ring set seemed remote, but we decided that it was worth the effort. We agreed that each of us would take a turn digging through the dumpster for 20 minutes at a time. After gloves were passed around, the first officer went in. After 20 minutes, we switched out and the next Officer took the plunge. After about ten minutes of foraging, to our dismay, from the bowels of the dumpster came a cry of triumph from the second Officer, “Found it!” The Officer popped up out of the dumpster, proudly clutching the ring set. I’m not sure who was more pleased; the lady, who probably thought she would never see the ring set again, or the three of us who had not yet taken a turn digging through the dumpster. The lady was in disbelief (so were we), and very grateful. With tears in her eyes, she insisted on giving us a reward. I explained that while we appreciated her generous offer, we did not accept rewards and that we were just pleased that we had been able to help her. After several more minutes of discussing the miraculous recovery of the ring set, obtaining a description of the thief and a list, description and value of the stolen items, the lady left the scene.
As the five of us stood near the dumpster, I noticed for the first time how truly filthy the two Officers were who had climbed into the dumpster. “I can’t be sure until we have an expert make a determination, but it’s my guess that those uniforms will need to be incinerated,” I told them. “You guys did a great job today,” I told them. “Go home, take those uniforms off and put them in black plastic bags and then take at least three hot showers. See you tomorrow.”
The actions of those Officers that day were by far the dirtiest thing I have ever seen a fellow police officer do.
Thanks,
Captain John Sharp
The Stand – Explosion in the last scene “I brought you the fire” (S01E08)
Let me help to makes western admirers amongst orientals and Chinese nations such as Japan-and South Korea, people from greater China such as Hong Kong and Taiwan and neighbours such as Phillipines and Vietnam see light.
I am qualified to advise and share my experience. I was born in Malaysia and now a Singaporean who were a starry eye west admirer for say the first 20 years of my life.
Today I am a practical and pragmatic person who sees things differently. If your nation is a direct neighbour or in Chinese neighbourhood, try to comprehend the following.
China has been around for 5000 years as your neighbourhood and during 4800 out of the 5000 years China were really really strong. In fact so strong it could if it wants to, to walk right into your nation and claimed it for good. But they didn’t. Japan, Korea, Philippines, India and others remained a fully sovereign nation. Appreciate that.
Just look at the nation that lies and spread fear about China, the U.S. it is barely 247 years old yet it started as a 13 states union and in less than a hundred years it stole another 37 states from its neighbours. And what did the U.S. do in Asia! It murdered 3 million Vietnamese, a million each in Philippines in Mindanao, Laos and Cambodia, and at least 2 million suspected communists in Indonesia and colonised the Philippines for close to 50 years.
And they do that as a nation 10 thousand miles away from Asia! China is stone’s throw away from your shores yet you are independent! So be logical and honest about who is the aggressor and who respects your sovereignty? If you are fair China has a 5000 years gentleman. The U.S. is a 247 years hoodlum you never want to get close with
Next let me help you know your future. China is the world’s most humongous market. Your nation is blessed to have such a huge market at your door step. They can buy your products and resources and yet supply you with value for money product at a song.
They are not the despicable west who wants to change your way. They even say their socialism with Chinese characteristics is not exportable and urge you to seek your best political and social system going forward. US says it is their way or the highway! In fact the murdered 5 million Indo Chinese to make them democratic unsuccessfully.
Go to the U.S. to have fun and travel around, do business with them as they are a big spender. But whatever you do remember who really is with you and where is your future with. Most of all remember where is your nation is geographically and China will always be there! It cannot be floated away and so are you stuck there.
Don’t ever let your nation be another Ukraine, the U.S. want your people to die and your nation to be destroyed just to poke China in the eye, just like how they used Ukraine to poke Russia in the eye, unfortunately one time too many. Don’t let them have even one CIA or NED officials in your nation. And don’t ever be used as a cannon fodder.
Grow up and know right from wrong. Korea for example, whether you stay rich and get richer depends on China not the U.S. The only thing the U.S. can help you is simply to get your nation destroyed! China will always be there, it will grow to be 4–5 times the size of the U.S. economy before then of this century. And as a market for Korea, it will be bigger than your next 20 biggest market! So get real, grow up like me, be a realist and be smart.
Vote in pro Chinese candidate. Vote in a leader that has no inclination to do shit for the U.S. And telll the US. that you are a friend and a partner of China, and that you want them as tourist and investor. But under no circumstances will you allow them to interfere in your nation and in Asia. Asia is for Asians. If you have issues involving the US is a sure way to implicate issues and create discord.
The Search for Noah’s Ark and the Aliens in the Book of Enoch
Alien Abductions in the Book of Enoch and the Search for Noah’s Ark Enoch warned the Giants and the Watchers of the world. Repent or feel God’s wrath. They ignored his warning.
The floodgates of Heaven burst forth and water rushed over the Earth, destroying everything. The only thing to survive is a single vessel, a huge ship: the Ark. 5 months later, the waters recede and the Ark made ground on a mountaintop. A man named Noah emerged, and civilization began again.
Some version of the Noah’s Ark story exists in almost every religion and every culture on Earth. But did Noah and the Ark really exist? There’s evidence that they did. So much evidence, that it was classified by the CIA for almost 50 years.
But why classify it? Well, there are two problems with the Noah’s Ark story. One, the Ark is much older than anyone thought. And two, the man named Noah? He wasn’t a man. At least, not a man from Earth.
“What’s the worst accident that you’ve witnessed at work?”
Back in 1998 to 2000 I was an IT consultant supporting the computers at The RAND Corporation. My first office was a bull pen with a window facing the tunnel where Interstate-10 becomes CA-1 the Pacific Coast Highway.
I heard a crashing noise through the window. I looked towards the tunnel. Out of the tunnel came a couple of cars tumbling as they decelerated from freeway speed to zero. Unfortunately one person was not wearing seat belts. The body flew out of one of the cars. One of the other cars smashed into the road at that point where the person had hit the road. Most of the body was ejected away from the wreckage. I had nightmares for at least a year.
I asked for a different office. My new work station was in a janitor room with a window. I worked in a room with mops, cleaning chemicals, a tape drive for computer backups and a couple of computer terminals. The window looked the other direction out of the building so I could see palm trees and most of Santa Monica Pier.
Actually at the office the worst accidents were cuts from metal edges. Go get a tetanus shot. Maybe a stitch. As data centers improved it got to be rare that anyone would get cuts.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind Air Traffic Control Scene with airport deleted scene included.
Generals love new toys, especially cool looking toys that their soldiers get to wear. They love adding things to improve their soldiers. Sometimes those things are, in fact, cool and useful!
They do tend to forget however that soldiers are human and must then carry, in substandard conditions, that cool piece of gear.
Thus I give you the most useless piece of gear I was ever issued.
image 141
The IOTV deltoid protector.
Looks cool? Check.
Actually protects the soldier? Check!
It’s a win!
Not quite.
I was issued these lovely pieces of equipment and then promptly sent to Iraq in May.
You might not know this, but it’s REALLY hot in Iraq and that heat ramps up around April. Given my position as a SAW gunner, I was already carrying 95lbs of kit, not counting an assault pack, in temperatures that were quickly approaching 95–125 degrees. And my 1st Sgt informs us that we’ll all be wearing these beauties on patrol. I am not impressed for three reasons:
1: It was already hot as hell and one of the few places my sweat could soak through and cool me off was my shoulders. Now those would be covered. I’m up to 120 weather on patrol.
2: Several studies have shown that infantryman carrying more than 1/3 of their body weight suffer severely adverse consequences to their ability to fight effectively. I was already carrying 95lbs. 3–4 lbs might not sound like much but when your body armor is already creating incipient back problems, those pounds add up. Imagine getting up off the ground from a prone position, rushing 10 to 15 yards and throwing yourself bodily down on the ground with a 90 pound rucksack on your back. Then imagine someone asks you to add more weight to that.
3: Of all the places that I would choose to get shot if I had to, I’d love to get shot in the shoulder. I could fight more effectively with one hand then I can with a wound in my abdomen, very little in my shoulder is vital, and frankly the benefits just weren’t there given the cost required of me.
Fortunately my chain of command saw sense and after about two weeks of using deltoid protectors we were given permission to remove them from our kit. I put mine away and didn’t even look at them for the rest of the deployment. I did have to pay for one I couldn’t find when I got out… Those things are expensive for such a useless piece of equipment!
In 1978, I saw a guy dressed like a bum in a bar. He asked several people to buy him a beer, and they refused and make negative comments about him. I felt a little sorry for him the way he was being treated. He came up to the bar, sat beside me and asked me to buy him a beer. I brought him a few and we talked. I found him to be quite intelligent. He then said he had the next round and would buy me a beer and I could keep the change. He put what I thought a 1 dollar bill on the counter. The bar tender gave him change for $100.00. At first, I refused to take his money until he told me who he really was.
He was a millionaire and half owner of a racetrack. He explained as a rich millionaire. He had no real friends. People only pretended to be his friend because his is rich and hoping to get his money. He had no wife or girlfriends for the same reason. His rich backstabbing associates were no better. He said money is not everything and that he has a sad and lonely life. He said sometimes he will dress and act like a bum to see how people will treat him if they thought he was not rich. Some people heard what he was saying. The next thing we had, people flocked around us. He said see. At first, they didn’t want anything to do with me. Now that they know, I am a millionaire. Now they want to be my friends. I didn’t know who he was at first. But still treated him with respect and ended up with $98.00.
The word “missing” is not that appropriate here I think. I have to say in the beginning that listing things that are better in China as compared to India doesn’t mean that China is superior to India. There are also numerous things that China needs to learn from India.
First and foremost, there’s the talk about infrastructure. The roads in China are always smooth as silk. Railways that seem like they could host a ballet. And don’t even have to mention the power supply. In comparison, India is often grappling with pothole-ridden roads, crowded and aging railways, and power outages.
Then comes the education scene. The level of education among the labor force in China is something we all can learn from. It’s not just about degrees; it’s about a certain finesse, a skill set that makes the workforce a well-oiled machine. In India, they’ve got the brains, but sometimes it feels like they need to fine-tune the engine a bit.
Diligence. Chinese folks are known for their hard work, their commitment to their craft. It’s like they have an extra gear that many missed. Not to say that people in India aren’t hardworking, but sometimes, that extra pinch of diligence can make all the difference.
Public Safety and Discipline. China is known for its strict enforcement of laws and regulations, resulting in low crime rates and a generally safe environment. Public spaces are often well-maintained, and there is a strong emphasis on social discipline. In contrast, India, like many countries, grapples with issues such as crime, traffic management, and maintaining public spaces with the same level of discipline.
Business Environment. China has often been praised for its business-friendly environment and efficient bureaucratic processes, attracting significant foreign direct investment. India, despite improvements, has faced criticism for bureaucratic red tape and regulatory complexities that can hinder the ease of doing business.
Lastly, sanitation. China has been on a cleanliness drive that’s nothing short of impressive. Public spaces are spick and span, and the streets seem to sparkle. In India, while they have been making strides, there’s still room for improvement.
China’s Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in the Lingdingyang waters.
Well, this is not exactly a teacher-student lesson, but a lesson which put me right in my place. I’m a physicist and have a solid base in mathematics. So when my younger brother asked me to solve this, I took one look at the problem and blurted instantly: “oh come on, man! You find this crap hard? Try solving Schrodinger’s equation to start with!”
“Just solve it, Neil!” He insisted.
I was at my usual coffee shop, having breakfast and was a little annoyed at the way I was interrupted. Nonetheless, I decided to switch on my Show Off Mode and solve the damn thing.
I grabbed a serviette that the waiter had given me and scribbled him the answer and sent it through Whatsapp. As soon as it got sent, I sat back and smiled, quite content and proud with the answer that I had given him.
So, here’s the question
image 140
And here’s my answer:
image 139
Well, 3 unknowns and 3 simultaneous equations, piece of cake, right?
Half an hour later my brother messaged me back.
Noel (My Brother): Shit, man! What a nerd! I totally see the physicist in you taking over.
Me (gloating with pride): So, did you get it?
Noel: Sure did! But I solved it in a different way.
Me: Aaaaannd you got the same answer?
Noel: Yes, I did!
Me: Wow, really?
Noel: Well, all the figures appear twice in the first three diagrams and if you add them all up you get, 2(x+y+z) = 10 + 20 + 24 = 54. So x+y+z = 54/2 = 27!
Me (my pride nosediving): Hey, that’s not bad!
That’s the day I realized there’s always a simpler explanation to everything. You just need to keep your mind and ears open to get it!
Once upon a time, maybe even until the early 2000s, the Western Media had CREDIBILITY
They followed the five principles of INVESTIGATE JOURNALISM
Find the evidence
Establish the facts based on the Evidence
Try to destroy the facts yourself to see if they can stand up to scrutiny using the RED TEAM BLUE TEAM ANALYSIS
Build the Narrative
Write about and Talk about the Narrative
It’s why their coverage of the Vietnam War or the 91 Gulf War or the 99 Kosovo Crisis was so appreciated and admired
image 138
Today or even over the last decade, they have started a different course
First Build a Narrative based on what Money Interests & Politicians want (Russia is losing, China is collapsing etc)
Then start selectively FINDING AND TWISTING facts to fit the narrative
Then start FINDING the evidence to fit the narrative and IGNORE all the contrary evidence
Attack anyone who tries to counter the narrative by going personal on them and accusing their integrity or morality or accuse them of racism and bigotry
image 136image 137
The Best example was the Ukrainian Crisis :-
First the Narrative was Putin has missiles only for 3 months
That was obviously nonsense
Next was the Narrative that Putin and his economy was collapsing
That was nonsense too
Next was Putin’s ISOLATION
That turned out to be nonsense too
Now it is the fact that Putin has lost 300000 men so far
Again that is nonsense of the highest order
The Narrative becomes lesser and lesser credible and more and more bizzare and weird
The Western Media finds so called ‘Experts’ who will shamelessly fall in line with the narrative even if they know they will be embarrassed later
So many Military experts have been humiliated by their predictions on Putin and yet without a shred of shame, they still go around talking and giving expert opinion
The Real experts like Brian Berletic, Scott Ritter, Colonel Kassad, Doug Macgregor etc have been saying the perfect truth for over a couple of years now
They still follow the old method of journalism
With China the Narratives have changed
First it was Uyghur Genocide
That was nonsense
Next it was Slave Labor
Again Nonsense
Next it was Cultural Genocide
Again Nonsense
As each Narrative becomes more and more unbelievable , the newer narrative becomes even more bizzare
Like this China and the Hard Landing
Every ‘Expert’ who predicted a collapse of China and there have been 60 of them across the last 34 years – have missed their deadlines by almost a decade at least
In 1990, they said China would collapse before the new Millennium (1/1/2000)
Then they said in 2003, that by 2011 China would collapse
Then by 2015 (In 2005)
Then by 2025 (In 2010)
Every single time they are proven wrong
Every single time they double down and give a new date
image 134
Even now when China, for a $ 19T economy delivers a 5% growth against a very low global demand and a real estate slump, it’s regarded an economic weakness whereas every economist of repute regards it as EXCELLENT RESILIENCE
Yet when India with its $ 3.53T economy manages 6.5% growth , it’s regarded as a boom when any economist can see that it’s a result of spending and inflation mostly
Likewise UK or Germany are completely ignored
So the Mainstream Media doesn’t any longer have the CREDIBILITY they so enjoyed
Their Economic Experts are shameless men who don’t care how many times they are proven wrong
They are ready to risk their reputation again and again and have lost all their credibility
They all have Political Agenda now
image 135
The best way to handle them is like is like our friends the Afghanistan Taliban
Their simple response is “If you publish lies about us, we will burn your daughter alive while you watch”
Crude but Brutally effective 😁😁
Worked well with Laura Ingraham who was so terrified she stopped entirely
The kids in my daughter’s nursery get a milk carton every day in school during milk and fruit time. The milk comes in a paper carton with a small straw attached to it which is wrapped in a small plastic cover.
We just found out today that one of the kids at the beginning of the year struggled with opening her wrapped straw from the cover so my daughter helped the kid unwrap it. And because pretty much all the kids struggled with it, they all gave their milk cartons to her so that she could unwrap it.
So apparently, every day during lunch the kids form an orderly queue so our little one can unwrap each and every kid’s straw in the classroom.
My daughter is lactose intolerant so does not drink milk. She brings her bottle of almond milk with her from home. She unwraps every single kid’s milk carton before she goes about drinking her own almond milk. When the teachers told us that today, my wife cried a little bit inside! Very proud of our LO!
I grew up in a small, rural area in the midwest. Our school bus was the only one with racial unrest. A handful of black children went to the school and all rode this particular bus to school. They had to endure a great deal of harassment, including name calling.
At the beginning of one school year, a new family moved in. The mom was white. The dad had some mixture of black blood. They had a number of children including two middle school-aged boys. The trouble on the bus began almost immediately.
A tall, high school-aged white boy walked up to one of these boys (he was probably about 5’7″ with sandy, curly hair) and said, “Move over n—–.” The new kid replied, “Say it nicely.” The big, white kid repeated, “Move over n—–!” He now had an audience and was enjoying this. The new kid repeated, “Say it nicely.” By now everyone was watching to see what would happen. The big, white kid shoved the new kid to show him who was boss. The new kid calmly stood up, and beat the living daylights out of this big, white kid with his bare hands. He, then, calmly sat down and said, “Say it nicely.” I don’t remember anyone bothering him, or his sisters, ever again.
1K Upvotes! Thank you, everyone. And, yes, this is a true story. I was an eye witness to this event, and was sitting in the next forward seat of the bus. All I had to do was turn around in my seat to see this played out in living color.
“Blood” here refers to family background or lineage. Obviously, I am not referring to the color of blood in a person’s physical body. We often speak of ‘Irish’ or of ‘Italian’ blood.
Seeing The Future Of The Strong Independent Single Women
Chicken Cordon Bleu
A slightly unconventional, but delicious, recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
6 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned
Salt and pepper
6 thin slices ham
3 slices Swiss cheese, halved
1/2 cup Ritz cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
3/4 cup margarine*, melted
Instructions
Place chicken breasts on a cutting board; cover with waxed paper, and lightly pound to flatten the breasts. Do not cut through meat. Discard waxed paper.
Lightly salt and pepper the breasts. Place a slice of ham and 1/2 slice of Swiss cheese on each breast. (Cheese may need to be folded to fit on breast.) Roll the breast, jellyroll style; secure with a wooden pick.
Combine cracker crumbs, Parmesan cheese and parsley.
Melt margarine* and dip rolled breasts in the margarine, then in the cracker crumb mixture.
Place in a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.
Originally Answered: If employers rejected you, does it always mean you are worthless or incompetent?
Well….
No. Definitely not.
Take this example, of a clearly worthwhile human being who was rejected for employment by Cadbury in the UK.
image 133
Now, Mr. Jones CLEARLY had great worth and was a fine example of a human being. It’s possible his approach to Cadbury when seeking employment could have been improved somewhat, but how could you call him either worthless or incompetent?
He had submitted a very creative sketch of an “Everlasting Chocolate Bar”; who couldn’t get on board with that idea?
He obviously had some good feedback from his various eBay transactions that he was able to provide as proof of his worth.
Who’s really to say that he actually never did “super-secret spy work” that he legally couldn’t talk about?
And consider the kindness and thoughtfulness it took for him to “pay it forward” and include a £5 note with his application so that the hard-working human resources clerk could have lunch!
See? An employment rejection letter sent to a very worthwhile and competent human being.
I loved the good ol’ army surplus stores, and as a boy, I would go over to them with a fist full of changes and some bills and pick up a odd surplus item or two to dink around with.
I had a Vietnam war era canteen… aluminum, not plastic, and it leaked. But I would wear it with my web cargo belt as I rode in my hikes thought the nearby forests. I also had a mess tin, with massive silverware, fit for a giant, but I really never did anything with it.
army and navy store
When I was 13 years old, I had a surplus German world war II pith helmet from the Africa Corps that I wore all the time, and I would wear it as I spent my summers golfing and then swimming. My friends all got ones as well, but theirs hardly lasted past a week. It would get wet… one excuse or the other …and be ruined. But unlike them… I treasured mine.
Army supply
My brother had a cameo dentist smock that was really cool, and for a spell I lusted over it. It looked really cool. Don’t quite know how he ran into it, but the Army and navy store was constantly getting new and one-off items throughout the Summer months.
One week before I left for China, I went into the “old” store and I hardly recognized it. Mostly empty with a warehouse “feeling” to it. Many cheap goods, and not much to interest me. I bought a black backpack and it was the only thing that survived my trip to China. The rest of my belongings were lost in transit.
I suggest that if you have an opportunity, take your early teenagers to a local Army and Navy store and let them explore. Who knows what they will find.
I bought a house and was moving out of the previous home, in which I had a 6-car garage full of toys, along with many items stored outside. That month, I sold six Harleys, brought home three more, and sold them. Now that I would have half the storage space, I sold several other items, such as boats, offroad vehicles, and toy haulers.
When each of these items was sold, I would rubber-band the cash in $10k bundles, and anything less would be placed on the top shelf until it could be bundled with other funds. I’d frequently toss the bundles into the safe for the time being. At some point, when I did the math in my head, I felt I was missing a $10,000 USD bundle.
I had too much on my plate with the move to be concerned about whether or not I had lost money. But I’d catch myself doing the math in my head while driving or having a meal, and it wasn’t adding up, so I’d somehow lost a bundle.
The safe was left at the house due to its size and weight. I had to come back for it after enlisting some assistance in moving it. I had already emptied out its contents while rearranging a few of the internal shelves.
Once I realized I was going to be transporting the safe on its back instead of upright like before, I decided to remove all the interior shelving this time, as it would have come apart while being transported on its back. That’s when I found the missing $10,000. bundle.
It’s a good thing I hadn’t sold the safe with the cash inside.
I used to work for a large rehab company. I was a licensed occupational therapist. One year, we had a new girl start there, who was from Europe. She was also also a licensed therapist, but had two years of additional training. She was also on a work visa. At first she was friendly and agreeable, but soon began to show her true colors. She started making snide comments about people behind their backs, and then proceeded to say them to their faces. She told me that where she came from, I wouldn’t be considered a real therapist, because I had only studied for two years.
We had a few Rehab assistants that she proceeded to lord over, because she had a college degree and they did not. But they worked hard and did their jobs. One day she sat with us at lunch; myself, and two rehab assistants. She proceeded to make rude comments about certain ethnic groups in the company, claiming that they had chips on their shoulders. I told her that her remarks could be construed as racism, and that she had better knock it off. She scoffed, and went on making rude comments. When she left the room with a big smirk on her face, one of the aides told me that she had been making unflattering comments behind my back, too. I decided that she needed to be taught a lesson. I contacted our clinical director and reported her behavior, especially the racist comments.
An hour later, she came walking down the hall, smirk replaced by copious tears. She had been warned that if she continued with her behavior, she would be shipped right back to Europe.
I was an assistant manager for a large auto parts company. Our district manager (DM) was a real POS. I avoided him as much as possible. One day he came to our store, very pissy, and the manager was trying hard to appease him. After the DM left, I looked at the manager and told him he just brown nosed to his ankles. He didn’t say anything, just gave me a funny look. Two days later, after his “weekend”, he handed in his notice. He looked so relieved and happy those last two weeks! He was dating another manager, so we all heard when his dad, a real sweetheart who used to come in frequently, passed away. Other than his girlfriend, I was the only person from the company that attended the funeral. He told me then that my comment was a major wake-up call and that he realized he was no longer willing to work in that environment. His new job made him much happier.
I grew up in a semi-rural area, the child of homesteaders. We had food. Food was never good or bad, it was on the table, and you ate until you were full.
We ate very well, but worked for that food.
My mother had a huge chicken coop, so lots of eggs and chicken.
We planted and harvested about 2 acres of fruits and vegetables of all kinds that could grow in our area. My father had a greenhouse about the size of a single car garage, so we were able to extend a growing season.
Summer weekends were spent in the bush, picking all sorts of wild berries.
We made our own jams, jellies, cordials, chutneys, different kinds of pickles, canned fruits and berries. We processed veggies for use during the winter. This involved sterilizing jars, picking and cleaning foods, slicing, dicing, blanching food, boiling sealing jars, bagging and freezing.
My father bought the rest of the food we couldn’t grow or source naturally.
Sundays, we always had a huge roast, all kinds of roasted root veggies, and devil’s food cake with 7 minute frosting. Most often, dessicated coconut was also put in the frosting. This is exactly what it looked like
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During the week, a normal meal was soup, meat and 2 veg, salad, some kind of pickle, and dessert. Dessert was usually fruit, either fresh or home canned in heavy syrup, and ice cream.
When I was young, our home had a wood stove – so fire wood had to be chopped. We didn’t have running water, so water had to be carried by bucket. We had a coal furnace, so coal had to be shoveled in, several times a day, outside of the summer months.
Because we didn’t have running water, we used an outhouse, which was in the far corner of the property. Even going to the toilet, you walked half a block each way.
When I started kindergarten, the school was almost 2 km away from my home (just over a mile). The only time you were allowed to stay at school for lunch is if the temperature was colder than a high of 0F (-18c). So most days, I walked about 8km, just to go to school and back (x2).
The girls all played jump rope at recess. Do children still do that?
We very rarely ate outside our home, except as guests at other people’s homes. When we would go on camping vacations, our first meal out, and last meal coming home would be KFC – the real stuff they used to make with the cream gravy. So if that is the fast food we had, we had it twice a year.
We used to get a bottle of soda when we went to Grandma’s house. That was about every second week. But we used sugar like crazy. Tea and coffee always had at least 2 tsp of sugar in it. Canned fruit was all in heavy syrup. When the large bottles of cola began to be sold, they were terrifically expensive. The 2 quart bottle was over $4. Considering the first apartment I ever rented a couple of years later was $125/month – you can see what a luxury item Coca Cola was.
Basically, I would say we ate very well. There were plenty of treats, but we were always walking/running and working in the yard. Even the simple things took a lot of work. There was no turning on the tap, that water had to be hauled into the house.
So what I would say is this. Previously, there was little junk food. My mother even made home made marshmallow. Food was processed at home or in restaurants (eg. no pre-formed patties) There was no plastic sort of food, such as Cool Whip (introduced in 1966) People didn’t eat away from home very much. People had to work much harder for food. People worked and walked much more in their lives. The food of the past is very different than the food of today.
I am a 100% disabled USAF Veteran, and I carry a concealed handgun legally. I have had all the background checks that the FBI and Federal Government require and although not of sound body, am of sound mind (my ex-wife may disagree!). I was legally carrying when I stopped in San Antonio to get some fuel. I was in my pickup truck which is wheelchair equipped and it was on the back of the truck and I have Texas Disabled Veteran plates on my truck.
I used my credit card to get the fuel and this was about Christmas time. I am a Christian and love that part of the year. As I was finishing up I was approached by a young man in his late teens and early 20’s who had been watching me since I arrived. I am Italian, and he isn’t (you will figure out his heritage in a moment). He asked how my “Christmas was going?” I replied, “It’s a great time of the year!”. He stated “I’m having a horrible Christmas; I don’t have any money and my kids and wife will get nothing from me this year – can you help? I replied that I carried no cash and he had seen me “use my credit card at the pump!”
He then became directly confrontational and pointed his finger in my face and stated “Then you can take your honky ass into the ATM, use that card and get me some cash!” I backed off 2 steps and stated “I don’t know you and I am not in the habit of giving anything to people I don’t know”. His response was to pull back his jacket and show me a large hunting knife handle that was stuck in his pant and state “What if I show you this knife?!”?
My response was to draw my weapon and point it at his chest and state “What if I show you this gun?” He backed off quickly realizing the crippled Veteran was not as easy a target as he thought!
I was unaware but that store clerk was listening in on the speakers that are at the pump and had summoned the police. They arrived as I was pointing the weapon at the suspect. As soon as they arrived I reholstered and the store clerk told them what she had observed, and I verified the situation.
The Officer asked “Why didn’t you shoot him? He has been a problem for months around here!” My response was “he backed off and I think he would have bolted had you not arrived”. He was taken into custody for attempted armed robbery and I testified at his trial about 11 months later. He was given 7 years in the Texas Department of Corrections. Turns out he never had a wife or children.
What was I given? My life. It could have gone very wrong was I not armed. It could have ended in the worst way.
Guns aren’t meant to fight fair. They are meant to win. They are meant to give people control over what happens to them and to protect themselves, the public, and even you from serious bodily harm or death.
It’s not cowardice – it’s prudence.
I am here today because of that weapon which I still carry faithfully – always knowing it’s there but also always hoping I never have to use it.
“Can I trust you?” she asked me quietly as we walked in the school grounds.
She didn’t even wait for me to reply.
“My father was diagnosed with cancer. Two years ago. Of the prostate. He was under treatment since then, but these days, he’s been getting worse. And we don’t even have that much money, we’re a simple family.”
Sarah was the ‘weird girl’ in the class. Or that’s how the others saw her.
She was always energetic. So much that you’d think she was high on caffeine every day. She had a prominent personality, something so sun-bright that you couldn’t help but notice. And being talkative and making loud, obnoxiously lame jokes were a fundamental part of her.
Sarah was just so fullof life. The fullest you can be. The fullest I’ve ever seen someone.
I think that’s what began, slowly but surely, irritating others in a way.
She would laugh at her own awkward jokes and people would roll their eyes. She’s so random and so extra, they’d say.
She became the class clown.
One day, during the sports class, the conversation written above took place.
And I couldn’t help but silently wonder: how/why was she so buoyant and full of life all the time?
A second later, the tone of her voice shifted.
“You wanna know why I’m so cheerful all the time?”
It’s like she read my mind, I swear. I looked her in the eye, then quickly looked away.
But what she said left me open-mouthed because it was completely different than what I expected.
“You know, I believe that you have to create what you want for yourself. As I see it, everyone has to create their own happiness. There is no other way out. I have so many things to be sad about. But that is exactly what I won’t be. I just work like that,” she shrugged.
And suddenly, just like that, I saw her in a whole new light. And I’m not even exaggerating. It was literally like depicted in the movies.
In fact, I felt guilty, on behalf of my class, that we’d been so utterly stupid.
Not to be dramatic or anything, but Sarah taught me things that I have not learned from anyone else.
I’m not gonna lie and say that since that moment, I’ve been the happiest person alive. I haven’t. It’s a slow process. But I see myself getting there very soon.
Sarah reminded me that one has to create their own happiness. You can’t rely on life or its circumstances to do that for you. She was a living example of the quote: “When life knocks you down, smile and stand up taller than ever before.”
First EU told China they were not buying enough EU Products and importing enough EU products and the Trade deficit was widening quite a bit between the two nations
China replied that most of the EU Imports they formerly imported, they now had excellent quality import substitution within China like Industrial Chemicals or Industrial Technology Machines or ICE Cars
China also said the EU had restricted things they were most keen to import like EUV equipment or Deep UV Lamps or High Grade Etching Equipment
So China said “We have an open market. Bring your products and COMPETE. We have no tariffs here on your products”
The EU want China to keep buying ICE Cars and Industrial Technology at 3 times the price just to ensure a better balance of Trade
China said “How is that Capitalism? Free market?”
EU couldn’t respond
China did point out that Chinese imports of Advanced Lenses and Pharmaceuticals from the EU had risen by 41% across 4 years
The EU claimed China was violating and helping Russia bypass their sanctions. In fact I believe this was their main purpose in visiting China. They accused China of selling to Russia all the Industrial Spares and Manufacturing Parts plus enough goods to keep their purchasing intact
The Chinese replied they were not at war with Russia and EU sanctions were not sacrosanct to other nations. China brought out Lithuania and Australia and asked the EU if the EU recognized Chinese Sanctions on either nation and honored them
China asked if tomorrow China sanctions Taiwan, would EU agree to follow the same and not help Taiwan bypass sanctions
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Ursula mumbled something about democracy and China told her to “Get Laid”
The EU finally accused China of protectionism and subsidy of NEVs that allowed NEVs to be sold cheaper in Europe
China categorically rejected this as wholly untrue and explained how EV subsidy was aimed to help CHINESE CITIZENS buy EVs and spearhead EV transition fully by 2030. They explained how the subsidy was at the tax level and the manufacturing subsidy provided to BYD was used only for their sale price to Chinese Citizens
The EU of course knew this very well
They have advisors who told them the same story
China then pointed out the EU subsidies to their mobile providers of almost € 63 Billion to help them buy the more expensive Nokia equipment for their 5G instead of Huawei
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Again Ursula mumbled something about Democracy and China told her again to “Please get Laid” emphasizing on the “Please”
Simply speaking China is bewildered at all these leaders repeatedly coming to China and demanding things that are entirely against free market and capitalism
They offer investments but into the most mundane things like mass manufacturing and medium grade manufacturing that China isn’t interested in anymore. China has much more money than all of EU combined and can easily bankroll their manufacturing
They want TECH INVESTMENTS, the ability to identify good tech and invest in the same
EU doesn’t want this at all because of US orders
EU wants the World to remain in 2010 but the world is in 2023
**Wanted to add, I only just realized I misread the title as WERE banned, not are. My apologies!**
I was banned from my local Walmart because I miss scanned an item. I went to self checkout one day because I had 4 items and wanted to teach my sons how to scan items. To make the story easier to understand, I had a tshirt, set of bras, shorts and some socks. While scanning, we had accidently double scanned the bras rather than scan the shorts, honest mistake. We finish up and as we are heading out, loss protection stops me and says “My name is XXX I’m with loss prevention please come with us” I was genuinely confused, my son got scared because of how aggressive they were but we complied. While in the security room they proceeded to rummage thru my bags and asked to search my purse. Again, I complied, but they never explained why I was pulled in. They searched cameras for probabaly 20 minutes. At one point, I hear one of the workers call across the radio “We need security detail for an escort.” I started getting REALLY scared and demanded an answer. Finally, they explain I miss scanned an item, because of this I am being escorted out of the building and will not be allowed back on property, should I step foot on property I will be arrested. I was baffled! They didn’t even give me a chance to fix my honest mistake! Needless to say, again I complied, but I put in a call the corporate after leaving, they reached out to me and lifted the banned immediately, apologized, and fired the entire loss prevention team. It wasn’t the first time they had abused power!
This guy was new and he was hired by someone else and put on my team. He messed up because he said he got his degree the same time I did. At the same school. In the same program.
I always research my team beforehand. But, this time it was pretty short.
He failed out his third year and didn’t come back to school. At least not mine.
I figured maybe he fibbed and graduated later. I checked with my school. No record of graduation.
He walked up to my team after he got to work. Asked him to follow me and we went to HR.
We sat down and I asked him about his degree. He repeated his resume exactly.
I stood up, said thank you and good luck. We’ll be going in another direction. And HR did their thing.
We don’t ask about degrees, but we do check your resume for lies. And, we don’t care if you have a degree. Just don’t lie about it.
That means that you are probably going to lie about your work. And, that is pretty toxic.
Committing a felony. I didn’t set out to break the law, I was a law abiding citizen for 59 years.
I was suffering from a deep depression and began self-medicating with Methamphetamine. The depression and drugs led me to some questionable online activities which, to me, seemed harmless. Without my realizing it though, I had crossed into the dark web.
My first inkling that I was in trouble was when 7 sheriffs came to my house with a search warrant. 6 months after that I was arrested on 23 felony charges.
Over the next 6 months my lawyer negotiated that down to 5 charges in exchange for me pleading guilty which I eventually did – I did not have the money to pay for a trial defense, and even if I did, a loss would have meant that I would die in prison – I was 60 years old.
I was extremely fortunate, mostly, I think because I was a first time offender, with a lifetime of abiding the law. I was sentenced to 5 years probation and 3 years prison suspended – no jail time unless I screwed up.
I lost a very successful career and income as a software engineer – no one would hire me with a record. My wife died of a stroke, partly due to the stress of the legal proceedings. Her family completely disowned me (my own family was gone) so I was completely alone in my grief.
I was forced to retire at 62 and live on social security (my first wife got my retirement in the divorce) and I have almost no friends.
Because of one mistake fueled by depression and drugs, my life was destroyed. I have to submit to monthly drug tests and meetings with my probation officer (a significant expense on social security as I have no car and he is 30 miles away), and in constant fear of having my probation revoked for breaking a probation rule (anyone who’s ever been on probation will understand what I mean).
If I could go back to mid 2018 and seek professional help for the depression, I would do it in a heartbeat. If I had sought treatment then I wouldn’t be where I am now.
EDIT:
I have received a lot of comments with people complaining that I’m not taking responsibility for my actions – this is completely wrong.
I take full responsibility for what happened to me. I made the decision to self medicate with meth rather than seek mainstream treatment. It was my decision to engage in the actions which led to my crime. Nobody made me do it but me.
I was arrested on evidence I cannot deny and sentenced fairly according to the law. I was a law abiding citizen for 59 years and believe strongly in the rule of law and the need to uphold it. I have absolutely no complaint about how I was treated as the result of my actions. The legal system and all of its agents acted exactly as I expected in doing their part to enforce the law and maintain societal controls.
That said, I have no doubt, with God as my witness, that I would have NEVER broken the law had my faculties not been impaired by drugs – in a sober state I would not have engaged in the actions that led to my crime. My values and critical thinking were subverted by the drugs – there is plenty of medical and psychiatric evidence of this. That is not an excuse, it is a simple fact.
I wished the interviewer luck in finding a candidate with the credentials they were looking for, when it became known that I didn’t have the right credential to teach what they wanted me to teach.
They waited until the interview to tell me that they were specifically looking for a teacher with a Reading Specialist endorsement, which I didn’t have. They could have checked my resume before they called me in for the interview to see I didn’t have that, but whatever. My lack of the proper endorsement brought the interview to a quick close, and I wished them well in their search for someone with that particular endorsement. I knew they’d have a hard time finding someone with that who was willing to work at a private school. Public schools, which pay better than private schools around here, are quick to grab the Reading Specialists.
About three weeks later, I’d completely forgotten about that interview, and they called me in for a second interview. I checked their school calendar. They were two weeks away from opening day. I knew they were desperate. I was desperate to find a position too, so it all worked out. I went in for the second interview, and they offered me the position, even though I didn’t have the specific endorsement they wanted. Private schools are flexible when it comes to those things anyway.
They remembered me from the first interview because I was nice to them. I ended up working there for two years. It was my first real teaching position, and I loved it. I got the experience and connections I needed to make finding new teaching positions in later years so much easier. The first position is always the hardest to get.
Were you here? I am here and I was here on Sunday election day.
Yeah and? You hear 10,000 police deployed across the city! OMG.
What I saw? I went cycling early in the morning. I passed the election polling station, a small queue and a load of villagers.
The two police officers? They were stood about 10 metres away outside to one side.
That’s not an unusual sight. You see police standing around busy bus depots and MTR stations. The only ‘heavy’ presence was a couple months ago where desk job police were walking around. I scooted in between them and NOTHING happened.
We Have a Problem – The Actual WAR INVASION of the USA **IS** Planned and now, We have a date range . . .
America, we have a problem. While it has long been rumored that foreign countries are planning to invade the continental USA, we’ve never seen evidence of any such actual planning; until now. . .
For years we’ve all heard rumors of Chinese troops being massed in south-central Mexico, but never any proof to bolster such claims.
Two years or so ago, we all found out that Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada signed a Treaty with China allowing the deployment of People’s Liberation Army troops in Canada, and the Treaty prohibits local Canada governments from having __any__ say where those troops are, or what they do while in Canada. That Treaty has been verified and __is__ real.
So if one believes the rumor about China troops in south-central Mexico, and we already have confirmation they’re entering Canada, that would mean invasion of the continental USA would be possible from both the north and the south.
Then, too, for years, we’ve all heard rumors that Venezuela would send troops to Cuba, to join with Cuban troops to invade Florida from Cuba — but ZERO evidence of any such planning has ever been offered or produced by anyone.
NOW, THOUGH, we have something very real, from deep inside Russian Intelligence.
Below from inside the Russian FSB, we now have concrete proof an actual INVASION of the United States of America is, in fact, being planned, and the date range for that invasion has already been decided. It appears we have less than one year.
The evidence, obtained from inside Department “C” of the Central Security Service of the FSB of Russia, appears below, and is for SUBSCRIBERS TO THIS WEBSITE, ONLY.
Back around 1990, I was about 23, two babys and wife at home, and got laid off at the light bulb factory in Plymouth Florida. So I went to work selling veggies at the flea market and working on VW’s while looking for a job. I had been rebulding Bug motors for some time and it had become quite a routine. Well I had this old bus, it was a 1962, 23 window Kombi wagon. Pulled the motor, did the thing right, line bored, new cylinders, pistons, all the bearings, oil pump, Bosch 009 distibutor, new carb, everything top-knotch. The owner wanted it right, so he spared no expense and I was happy to oblige. The afternoon arrived and i finally had the motor back together and up in the bus. It was bolted in and I was hooking up the wires and needed a new connector to hookup the new distributor and when i went into my shop to find one, i noticed this little silver thing laying on the bench. Picked it up and eyed it carefully. It was half of a cam bearing. Yup, I had left out half of a cam bearing shell. Had to pull the motor back out, break it all the way back down, and sure enough, there was one shell missing. Put it in and back together it went. Ran like a top for years! Thankfully, I didn’t try to fire it up!
Campfire Dutch Oven Chili with Cornbread
campfire dutch oven chili cornbread
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients
Chili
3 pounds ground beef (90% lean)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes & green chilies, undrained
Heat briquettes up in a chimney, then make a layer of hot briquettes on the ground, a fire ring, or other metal structure.
Place the Dutch oven on the briquettes and allow Dutch oven to get hot.
Add oil to the Dutch oven and sauté onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño pepper stirring occasionally until tender, approximately 4 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
Add ground beef to Dutch oven and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking beef into small crumbles and stirring occasionally until browned. If Dutch oven starts to cool off, add more hot briquettes on the bottom.
Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, black pepper and salt; cook for 1 minute.
Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes & green chiles and beer; bring to a boil. Cook for 30 minutes.
Prepare cornbread mix based on box instructions and pour over chili, spreading into an even layer.
Heat approximately 20 additional briquettes. Cover Dutch oven with lid and place hot briquettes evenly on the top of the closed lid.
Cook for about 10 minutes, checking halfway through. Check to see if cornbread is done by sticking a wooden pick into cornbread. If the wooden pick comes out clean, it is done.
I worked as PC tech early in my career for a man that was a total control freak. Very military. One of his expectations was that everyone was sitting at their desk exactly at 8am. No excuses. Well, I was transferred under his department after my previous manager retired. I had been working without complaint for over a year.
If I knew I had a busy day I would come in early to get things done without interruption. I had been late a few times during the previous month as I was a new Father. But, as I said, I came in early, and stayed late so my work was never affected.
I also was a contractor, not an employee. And my contract wasn’t a 8 to 5 time clock, but a work level, number of tickets thing.
Anyway, this particular morning I came in about 30mins early to finish up a repair from the day before. No sooner than I had walked into my office the Plant Manager walked in. He was having a problem. So, off I go.
Well, it was about 45 minutes later when I walk back in to get a replacement hard drive. There stands my Boss. He starts in on me about me not being at my desk. Yelling at me like I’m a dog. I just stand there. Finally, he says I’m fired. I’m to pack my “stuff” and leave. Which I do. As I’m about to leave I tell him, Oh by the way, the Plant Manager (his Boss) was waiting on me. His face dropped.
I walked out.
About an hour after I got home I get a call from my company. The Plant Manager called them. He told them he wanted me to come back. I declined. He then called me. He paid me directly to come fix his computer. And my Boss got fired.
This kid was the other way around. He was considered as a brilliant geek, and I believe he suffered a lot from the constant bullying by the other kids. He scored very well in Olympiads, and also scored high marks on subjects such as Math, Physics and Chemistry.
In his spare time, he read Math books, studied Bridge and entered in semi-professional competitive Bridge games — I guess that was one of the reasons why he was seen as a geek.
Several teachers were convinced that Terry would ace university and become a brilliant scientific researcher, but reality turned out to be very different. He first tried engineering studies but failed miserably, and then spent some time in the professional Bridge circuit, but he never reached the level he thought he would.
Some years later, I was a surveillant at a Linear Algebra exam for freshman Informatics students (I was a postdoctoral researcher at the time), and there he was, trying once again to obtain a degree. And he flunked again. Not much later he left academics, and I kind of lost track of his life.
At reunions, those that do not show up are the people that died young, those that hate their past more than anything else, and those that failed in life. The future definitely turned out differently than Terry had hoped.
But luckily, we did not know this when we were seventeen.
My MIL was absolutely the best. Once we had settled on the number of guests we could afford to invite, she offered to contribute toward the wedding so that more guests from their circle of family and friends could be invited. Because I wasn’t sure if we could afford an open bar, she offered to cover it and did so. She organized the rehearsal dinner and did an absolutely splendid job. The day after the wedding, she put together a breakfast for some of our out-of-town guests at her home. On the wedding day, she stayed low profile so that my mother could join me in getting ready with my bridesmaids (and this I regret, not asking her to join us, but I was young and naiive at the time and it didn’t occur to me). On the day of the wedding, she took care of little things that others didn’t, like collecting the bridal gown after I’d changed into my travel clothes. When we traveled to another city, she asked a family member who was visiting her for the wedding to let us use their apartment so we didn’t have to pay for a hotel. She’s the best MIL one could hope for!
I was down the pub one summers day pre-Covid with a good mate of mine called Dan. Dan’s originally from Texas, ex-US Army 1st Sgt, and now living in the UK with his lovely wife. He’s been here long enough to have a good grasp of the British sense of humour.
We’re having a drink and chatting when my phone goes off, a number I don’t recognise and I answer, putting it on speakerphone. A thickly-accented Indian voice (who claims to be called ‘Hank’) on the other end tells me that he is the FBI, that i’ve got multiple warrants out for my arrest etc, but that if I pay them I won’t have to be arrested-bear in mind i’m in the UK and the FBI has no jurisdiction over here. Having sunk a few pints by then, i’m in the mood for a wind-up. I ask for details of these warrants, tell him that they’ll never catch me, then I ask him if he knows Special Agent Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson’s character in ‘Criminal Minds’). He replies that Agent Hotchner is on holiday at the moment. I tell him that I know this as he’s sitting right beside me, and he’d like a word with him. I hand the phone to Dan and sit back to enjoy the show. Dan goes all in, quoting legal codes, threatening traces, freezing of their assets, criminal charges, the works! Needless to say the call ended not long after
China has a really sweet deal with Russia right now. I can not think of a single reason to change it (from China’s perspective.)
China is desperately short of fossil fuels and Russia is a huge exporter of fossil fuels. They are even willing to build multiple pipelines to get natural gas to China.
Everything Russia sells to China goes at a 40–50% discount because of China’s manipulation of its two-currency system.
Everything Russia buys from China comes with a 40–50% markup. Same reasons. Some things that are sanctioned go for as much as 4,000 times their original cost.
China is selling Russia billions a year in heavily marked up “dual use” goods such as military grade tires, military vehicles, body armor, night vision devices, helicopter engines, field medical kits, and even entire field hospitals. They also sell them considerable sanctioned goods, especially electronics, that Russia cannot make for itself.
They are compatible authoritarian governments.
China and Russia make an impenetrable voting bloc at the UN. Together, they can block any international initiative against either of them.
Supertramp – Take The Long Way Home (BEST QUALITY SOUND)
I once had a client who was, literally, the strongest man I’d ever seen. Harry was well-built and about 6′ 4″. Even though he was large to begin with, his sheer strength to size ratio was off the charts.
One day we were driving in the car together and a guy in a Mercedes cut Harry off in traffic. Harry expressed his displeasure at this move by honking his horn. “Mercedes guy” proceeded to flip Harry off and then he pulled over – I guess he was looking for a fight.
Harry pulled in behind him. He got out, then Harry got out. The other guy was about 6′ tall and slightly pudgy, but not small by any means. However, once Mercedes guy saw Harry, he hurriedly returned to his car. BUT, he forgot one very important thing. His sunroof was open.
Harry, usually a fairly reasonable guy, was beyond pissed off. He went up to the guy’s car, PULLED him out THROUGH THE SUNROOF, put him on the street, turned him upside-down and STUFFED him back in his car, once again THROUGH THE SUNROOF.
Then Harry calmly strolled back to the car, got in, and we drove off. I glanced in the side view mirror and could see Mercedes guy’s feet sticking up through the roof kicking around a bit. Too funny!
I’ve never seen anything like it before or since. Harry passed away a few years later, but I’ll never forget him or what he did that day. It was an awesome sight!
Running late
The other morning as I was running late for an appointment I drove past a park and from a distance, I saw this young girl sitting on the bench and it looked like she was crying… I continued to drive and I thought to myself “what if that was me or even worse.. my daughter”.
So, I turned around and pulled into a parking spot, opened my car door and walked over to her and set down beside her.
She was crying so hard that she didn’t know I was there until I tapped her on the shoulder and asked: “Are you okay?” She looked up at me and said “No” “He cheated on me” “I don’t want to even live anymore” I knew at this point, I needed to take as much time as I could to talk to this young girl.
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We sat there on that bench and talked the entire afternoon about relationships, life, and future goals and when the time came we finally said our goodbyes so I walked back to my car and as I started to back out, I looked back at her and she was walking towards me with her head down.
When she came up to the window, she confessed to me that she thought about taking her own life and because of me stopping and talking to her she decided that wasn’t in her best interest anymore.
Needless to say, I might have missed an appointment but I also might have saved a life.
Sweet, sweet summer child. Let me share with you a day in the life of a young Japanese Salaryman, if you’ll indulge me.
Clearly, you have never heard of the dreaded company 飲み会。
Ah, that magical moment when your boss tells the faculty, “Today was a good day, let’s go out drinking!”
“What’s that you say? You have plans? No, no, clearly you are mistaken. Because WE, the employees of the company have decided to go drinking. We have all made this decision, subconsciously, the very instant, I, the boss, mentioned it. 空気を読んで！ Are we not the pinnacle of unity and harmony?”
And now, you’re off to a wonderful night of drinking with your coworkers. Who must drink with the boss, as long as he wants to drink.
“What’s that you say? You don’t like drinking？ NONSENSE. You merely have not found the appropriate drink, which, I, the boss, know is just right for you. Have another cup with me!”
“Another!”
“Another!”
“Eh? Eh? You don’t feel so good. Fie, I say! You just need another drink. Perhaps a different sake.”
That’s going to go on for a bit, until you, the newbie, and your coworker, who has learned how to hold his liquor better, are on a street corner outside a hotel in Tokyo, the coworker kindly holding your head as you throw up everything you have ever eaten. They are kind and will give you water afterwards, as you swear you will never drink again.
I worked at a company where they were getting rid of a bunch of flat panel displays. They were old and had a funky plug on them, but worked perfectly fine. I asked the powers that be if we could take them home, since they were just going to trash them anyway. I was told that if you can bag them up, you can walk right past security in the lobby and you’ll be fine. You can’t just carry them out the door, though.
It turned out that one of my coworkers had a girlfriend who worked in a place that sewed custom bags for various industries. I gave him dimensions and 3 days later, we had bags we could use. Between the 6 techs I worked with, We walked out with about a dozen displays. We benefitted, the displays didn’t end up in a landfill, and a new line of bags was developed at my buddy’s gf’s company. It was a win-win-win.
At some point early in my marriage, we had a relatively large 6 bedroom house on a golf course subdivision with a pool and clubhouse. I had bought the nicest Lexus sedan I could afford, and a large SUV for my wife. We had two young kids. And we were miserable.
It wasn’t just about the money. These things were expensive for sure, and definitely weighed down our budget, but we could afford it.
The problem was time. I was busy with my business, working almost 7 days a week. My wife was taking care of the babies AND helping with the business. We almost never took vacations. A rare weekend off was like a vacation.
I’d be reading or playing with the kids and the phone would ring. The laughter turned off like a switch while I go to another room to talk. It’s like the world paused while the family waited to hear if I had to leave or not. Sorry, gotta run! I’d leave before even hearing if the kids said “bye daddy.”
I’m sure you’ve seen the Disney movie, Aladdin. I was the Genie. Giver of gifts. Solver of problems. All powerful being. But no more than a slave. The business owns you. Clients own you. The mortgage owns you. Just like the Genie, I longed for freedom.
One day, my wife and I looked at each other and asked “what are we doing?”
I started interviewing for jobs and got hired relatively quickly. Within a few months, we closed the business, sold our house, and moved. It was like Aladdin setting the Genie free.
It turned out that I work half the time, making pretty much the same as before.. I still drive the same car, which is now 15 yrs old. We live in a house half the size of what we had. I see my kids more than most dads I know. I am an equal participant in their homeschooling. We go on vacations multiple times a year.
Life isn’t perfect, but definitely there is more happiness now.
Addendum: Thanks for reading and the upvotes!
I’d like to add that it’s definitely possible to have a business or earn a lot and have a big house, nice cars, etc. AND afford family time. It’s not mutually exclusive at all. I know a lot of people who have it all. If you can find that lifestyle, go for it. I just didn’t have it in me, but that’s OK.
I applaud those who answer these types of questions honestly. After all, I believe that the younger ones who ask these questions want honest answers as to what they have in store. What they don’t want is old people trying to prove they’re doing great and that they’ve still got it, without offering any balancing disclosures.
I get irritated with people who answer these questions with only a list of all the great things they’re still able to do. They sky-dive, hike, kayak blah blah blah. They so desperately seem to want to come across like they’re still twenty. THEY ARE NOT. And the men nearly always have to show off about how they’re still sexually active (failing to mention they need boatloads of viagra to do it.) And no offence, but NOBODY wants to picture old people still at it.
Now some of these people are flat-out lying, and some are being honest. But, my irritation isn’t because some are truthfully still active and fit; it’s because, whilst crowing about their experience of older age, they’re leaving out the shitty parts of ageing.
It’s perfectly okay to admit that despite still being fit enough to kayak, and despite being generally content and more enlightened, you’re also struggling with physical issues, fears, societal prejudices, or sadness.
You’re struggling with friends who have cancer or have already passed.
You’re struggling with your own mortality.
You’re struggling with the knowledge that you’ll soon enough be of no real use to your children anymore.
You’re struggling with the saggy stranger you see in the mirror.
You’re becoming more invisible to the public at large.
You’re struggling with lessons learned too late in life.
You’re struggling with questions like ‘What the fuck was all that about?’
You’re struggling with dodgy knees, age spots and overall deterioration.
You’re struggling with energy levels and motivation (not all the time, but certainly some of the time.)
At times, you’re struggling with boredom; not every old person is sky-diving 24/7.
Your memory is not what it used to be.
Weight (for many) cannot be managed, no matter what.
The absolute worst part is losing friends and relatives along the way. Your social circle becomes smaller and smaller.
Then you have widows and widowers who have to grapple with a whole new way of life at their age after having relied on another person for decades.
It unnerves me that so many people are so hell-bent on proving something rather than sharing the reality, inevitability, vulnerability and, even the beauty, of life’s cycle. That you know your time is gradually coming to a form of decline and close, despite the fact that you might still be able to kayak.
There’s just something very self-congratulatory about those proclamations. Something which I imagine makes certain other older people feel like they’re failing or not doing enough, and that also sets young people up for thinking that ageing is one big picnic.
It’s okay to still be enjoying your life at whatever age without portraying ageing as a hunky dory affair. It isn’t. On some fronts, it’s way, way better, but on other fronts, it positively stinks. (Just as I imagine most teens would describe their teenage years.)
It was in the military boot camp. Finnish military is based on conscription; it is colloquially called as “penis tax”. It means if you are a boy, you have to serve in the military on pain of imprisonment. Girls may volunteer, and I volunteered.
Draft dodging is made almost impossible in Finland, which means the military gets almost the whole cohort to service (except those who are exempted for health reasons or who chose civilian service instead). It is a genuine cross-section of the whole society – which mean that the military does not get only the best of the boys to rank and file, but also the worst.
It means you have to serve with people you would attempt to avoid at any price in civilian life; bullies, thieves, blue falcons, pranksters, antisocial cases, substance abusers, weakly talented etc. And then there are always those, who have an intention to make other people’s time miserable.
We girls slept in a separate dorm, but practised with boys. And unfortunately there was such Arschloch in our company. He especially picked on us girls (as we all were volunteer), and especially me.
In the end his picking, teasing, harassing and pushing my button went far enough. My service motivation was already on the rock bottom, and to say, he had harassed me to corner.
I didn’t care anymore if I lived or died. I just wanted it to end.
Puukko, the Finnish knife, is the only civilian item along the eyeglasses which can be carried while in uniform. It doubles as a sidearm and Every Finn has one, and getting one’s first puukko is a kind of coming to age ceremony for boys and girls. So I drew mine. He drew his.
We were now staring each other, with drawn knives, ready to strike and fight to death. I was ready to kill. I did not care anymore. He stared me with expressionless gaze. It was as if his eyes had been bottomless wells. I could sense no emotion.
Then the drill corporals came. They separated us, and I got yelled upon and roasted for good.
Yet military is a strange place. It works on its own rules. In civilian life, this would have been either an illegal threatening or an attempted manslaughter, and prison would have ensued. But nothing ensued; we were told to get shut up and not to say a word on what had happened. The noncoms did not want any troubles and fuss. It was as if they wanted to sweep everything under the carpet. This is understandable as the materiél is heterogeneous: internal squabbles and quarreling happens almost daily. Everyone was aware I had been pushed and picked on, and they realized it was a primitive reaction.
Strangely, I was left alone after that. Nobody picked on me anymore. But it was the absolute nadir of my military time.
Not only they are offered food, but also Polish families accept them in our homes (in fact I did too), and get everything free until they find a job or decide to leave. In fact, just today NGO’s helping Ukrainians stopped taking gifts. Their warehouses are full, there is more help than people that need it for now. (PS – Poles reading this – seriously, look at the FB groups what is needed, because there is more stuff that they need, and there are some things we lack. For example pampers’s and other baby and toddler stuff, as well as school utensils. But not everywhere, not in every city, watch your own, don’t just throw in gifts, volunteers are already overwhelmed with that kindness, nobody expected it will be so much)
Four main reasons: 1. For several hundred years we were one country:
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(that red part) We accept our families and relatives, that is normal. We see them as our kin.
2. Belarus president Lukashenko admitted that he deliberately flew Middle Eastern and African immigrants to our border in order to wage hybrid war against us, and use them as weapons. And Belarus is now a combatant country against Ukraine side by side with Russia. We don’t negotiate with terrorists like this man, neither we bow to such threats. So against as he called it “war” declared, we stood an army on the border. Pretty normal thing to do with somebody threatening you with war, isn’t it?
3. We strongly believe that a war refugee should stay in the first safe country. For Ukraine we are the first safe country.
4. In our culture, it is expected for men to fight the war, or rebuild their country. Not to flee. And from Ukraine, we receive women and children. Not 80% males in military age. Those, in Ukraine, stay and fight. They are not let our by Ukrainian forces anyway.
No matter if someone finds those reasons valid or not, those are them.
As someone who hails from a culture where people typically their outdoor shoes before entering a home/temple/office/etc., I can only share my experience from that end of the spectrum.
The answer is simple and practical – we don’t want to track in dirt, mud, and the one billion other stuff that you can’t really see with the naked eye into our homes/temples/offices/etc.
For myself, I’m closer to the extreme end of the spectrum.
When I come home, not only do I remove my outdoor shoes and slip into my “indoor slippers” before stepping into my home, but I then go and change into my “indoor clothes” as well, before doing anything else.
Seeing people immediately plop onto their beds, still in their “outdoor clothes”, after arriving home makes me uncomfortable.
I also have an area in my apartment for setting aside “stuff I take outdoors but bring home”. Like the bag I bring to work, and all the coats, clothes, I wear to work – they all get neatly placed in this area before I go change into my “indoor clothes”.
And this is not just at home.
Although not all work places have an “outdoor shoes off” policy, the game studio I work at does.
And it is strictly enforced – if you have a “brain fart moment” and forget to take off your outdoor shoes before stepping into the studio proper, you’ll have quite a few people springing out of nowhere, breathing heavily down your neck, who will smile and politely point out that you’ve violated the rules of the inner sanctum and would you please go and take your outside shoes off and use the mop to wipe that part of the floor that you’ve stepped on with your outside shoes.
There’s even been talk of implementing a demerit point system to cut down on colleagues who have these “brain fart moments” – although I think it’s unlikely, as I’ve seen it happen only twice so far this year, and usually both times the guilty party was deep in thought about something work related (which makes the transgression somewhat forgivable…) .
It applies to everyone.
Doesn’t matter whether you’re the Director himself, a Lead, a Junior, an Intern, an External Freelancer, a Client, or the Cleaning Lady – everyone takes off their shoes before stepping into the studio proper.
That’s why we have a “take your outdoor shoes off here” entrance area right after you enter the main door.
You immediately take off your outdoor shoes and put it into one of the four tall shoe cupboards located to the side of the main door.
image 93
We also have a couple of these “shoe benches” in this entrance area. These are for people who need something to sit on while taking off / putting on their socks and shoes.
These “shoe benches” are also where we place our “inside slippers”.
It’s convenient – once we take off our “outside shoes” on one of these “shoe benches”, we can immediately reach for and slip into our “inside slippers” before then placing our “outside shoes” into the shoe cupboard.
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We also have a few areas around the studio where there’s a low floor table with floor cushions to sit on.
These areas are used for group discussions, brainstorming sessions, tea-drinking sessions, I-just-need-to-take-a-short-break sessions, I-just-need-a-20-minute-nap sessions, etc
My favorite one is the one where it’s practically an indoor garden and we’ve outfitted the place to make it look like you’re inside a gazebo, with tea cups and tea pots on a side table.
Knowing that no one has tracked in dirt, mud, and the one billion other stuff that you can’t really see with the naked eye into the studio allows me to sit in these areas and enjoy my morning/afternoon tea with peace of mind.
Might not qualify as the weirdest flex but certainly one of the most bad ass.
Kerry Packer was Australia’s richest man worth around 8 billion some 20 years ago. His gambling feats were legendary. He would often go to casinos and win or lose 10 million plus in one sitting. One time he won $26 million playing 6 hands of blackjack at $200,000 each. That’s $1.2 million per hand.
On top of that, whilst some of these may not be 100% accurate (Urban legends can get twisted over time) they all have some element of truth.
He’s been known to tip croupiers and waitresses 100s of 1000s of dollars and paying off their mortgages. Once he accidentally tipped a waitresses tray and apologised and arranged to pay her $100,000+ mortgage. Another time a dealer was offered an $80,000 tip by Packer but respectfully declined, informing him dealers are not allowed to accept gratuities. Packer called over the Pit Boss and demanded the dealer be sacked on the spot. The Pit Boss fired her. Packer then pushed forward the $80,000 worth of chips before demanding the Pit Boss re-hire her.
But then came the Texan oil tycoon coin flip…
Packer was playing every box at a blackjack table and not allowing anyone else to play or back bet at the table. This was a common practice by Packer and indeed a lot of big gamblers. But one time there was a braggart Texan oil baron throwing his weight around, complaining and telling all and sundry he was a big deal. He’s rich, he doesn’t have to wait for a table and who was this buffoon hogging it…Packer doesn’t walk around telling everyone how good he is and he doesn’t like people who do…
So Packer swivels around in his seat only for the Texan to double down, pointing his finger at the face of Packer and yelling some choice words finishing with, “I’m worth $100 million!” Packer slowly leans back in his chair, pulls a coin out of his pocket, stares at the Texan and calmly says, “So you want to gamble hey? I’ll flip you for it.” He was serious.
As the Texan quietly slunk away into the shadows, Kerry turned back to the table and continued like nothing had happened.
Bad ass…
Cabbage Patch Stew
84774cfdd5416aacc5f661f3dbf51227
Ingredients
1 pound ground meat – beef, turkey, venison
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped cabbage
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 (16 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder
Bisquick dumplings
Instructions
Cook and stir ground meat in Dutch oven until browned. Drain.
Add onions, cabbage and celery. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are light brown.
Stir in tomatoes, and kidney beans (with liquid), water, salt, pepper and chili powder. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer until cabbage is tender.
Meanwhile, prepare Bisquick dumplings. Drop by spoonsful into boiling stew. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
I picked up the phone (old school landline back in the day) and heard an angry voice say, “Where’s my money?” Since hanging up would only have convinced the caller that I was indeed the object of his rage, I stayed on the line and had what was for me an amusing conversation.
“You have the wrong number,” I said.
“What are you trying to pull?” he said. “You owe me $600.”
Further questioning revealed my interrogator was a drug dealer, had fronted an acquaintance a considerable amount of money, and was trying to collect with the (incorrect) phone number he’d been given. He just wouldn’t take no for an answer. “I know where you live,” he threatened. “I’ll come over there and kill you “
“Do it,” I said. “Since I’m not who you think I am, it’s no skin off my teeth.”
The conversation went on, I was unfailingly polite the whole time, I eventually excused myself and hung up, and he called back and tried again. Finally I said, “Look, man, your friend cheated you. I hope you find him, but I’m not your man.”
“Yeah, thanks anyway,” he said in a dejected voice and hung up.
I’m gonna have to say Charlie Sheen takes this award.
He was making tens of millions of dollars each year with his Sitcom, Two & Half men.
In the acting world, sitcoms are the best gigs.
The acting demands are super easy. The scripts are cookie cutter. After a few laps around the track, you learn to crank these episodes out one after another.
You come in, you shoot, boom you are done. They shoot entire seasons over a few weeks sometimes.
But he started in with the cocaine and we all know what happened next:
image 90
And what stinks (for Charlie) is that, around this time, he had gone through a divorce and judges issued alimony/child-support payments based on his current income.
He was paying his ex-wife Brooke Mueller $55,000 a month in child support AND his ex-wife Denise Richards $50,000 a month.
His income instantly ceased when he was on TV, going on these crazy tirades that were funny in the moment but catastrophic to his career.
What producers wants to work with a liability like that? Who wants to be publicly targeted by one of your own actors?
Combine his alimony/child-support payments, his drug habit, and preference for high end prostitutes.
And you have a dead career, HIV and a quickly depleting bank account.
I remember when I had one ten year old in my class, and we were oil and water to each other. One day I chastised her for swearing in class and she told me that she was going to get me back and I’d be sorry (presumably for scolding somebody as important as she was). The next day, my colleague, a teacher who was senior to me, came to me to tell me the student had complained I’d hit her. When I told him that it was a complete fabrication on her part, he told me, and I quote, “Well, she wouldn’t lie.”
I told him that I was offended, since the clear inference was that he believed I was lying. And I resented the implication that I was a liar who would abuse a child.
I was very relieved when she moved to his class the next year and decided she didn’t like him anymore than she had liked me and began to spread stories about him. When he complained about her in the staff room, I looked him in the eye and said, “Well, she wouldn’t lie.”
In Boston in the early 1700s Cotton Mather introduced variolation for the treatment and prevention of Smallpox. In those days, Boston was a town (it didn’t become a city until 1822) of about 4000 people. Every year AT LEAST 30 percent of the population came down with Smallpox, a virulent disease which disfigured the survivors, turned their teeth black, and caused them enormous pain. In a town with only 4000 people where everyone literally depended on everyone else, having 1200 people laid up meant that at least another 1000 had to be caring for them – or digging graves.
And then came the miracle of variolation. For the first time the possibility of ending this horrible scourge was REAL. It was no longer necessary to organize long and tedious and useless prayer vigils. There was science and medicine that had a REAL IMPACT and saved many people from the hideousness or scars and rotten teeth or worse, death.
Do you think the citizens were excited about this? NO THEY WERE NOT. They tried to kill Mather; they tried to burn down his house. They tried to kidnap his children because they were innoculated and therefore “impure”. You see, catching a horrible disease and becoming scarred and even dying at the age of six month was GOD’S WILL. If GOD wants you to get sick, who are YOU to interfere with his plan? Those people were the worst kinds of hypocrites. They wanted to do whatever they wanted if they weren’t caught or “seen by God” (such as the city Father offering to commute Mary Dyer’s death sentence if she slept with him. She didn’t and she swung.) but other than that they have to “virtue signal” that God was in charge and therefore YOUR CHILD had to suffer and die from Smallpox (especially if mine did last year).
The people in Texas are largely brainwashed by religious morons who fly big jets paid for by the suckers who are willing to fight to let any number of women and children die in childbirth or otherwise because a Rolex-wearing priest told them it was GOD’S WILL and we are not to interfere with it (while those same pastors get plastic surgery and drive Bentleys)
Eventually, the people of Boston woke up to the benefits of variolation and inoculation and many of the people throwing bricks through the windows of Mather’s house during the day suddenly showed up at midnight with their children and begged for the scratch that would change their lives for the better, the same way that Republicans fly to Massachusetts from Texas when they need an abortion or real medical treatment but put their boot on the neck of the poor and force them to die or give birth to a rapist’s child. Ken Paxton is absolutely no different from the Magistrate who tried to extort sex from Mary Dyer – then hanged her when she refused.
China has set up special financial facilities for Iranian accounts that are immune to us Treasury sanctions, because the entire payment mechanism is independent of the US dollar.
In other words, the US cannot threaten hegemonic destruction, unless they are willing to attack key nodes in the Chinese financial system.
Besides, the US is ALREADY sanctioning both Iran and China. Iran’s sanctions approach that of an embargo while China has been busy fending off America’s “maximum pressure” strategy that includes illegal tariffs, the closure of a consulate, a genocide determination, the removal of Hong Kong’s special status, the economic slaughter of Huawei and other Chinese companies, and many, many more direct and indirect acts of malice.
China must have thought since we’re already under maximum pressure, what China does or doesn’t do no longer matters because America can always pin something on us.
With or without Iran, America will bring it on and up the pressure game.
What we don’t know is when the Chinese will start baring teeth and attack instead of parry.
My younger self is a guy who never took anything seriously in life, who never studied in the least, who was happy with a pass mark in most exams and was happy go lucky
I would pick the books, visit a friend named Sairam who was what you would call a Nerd on the LAST DAY and study from the beginning and get a 45–50 mark score without understanding too much
My 21–22 year old self went to a Grindlays bank interview, couldn’t answer a SINGLE QUESTION put to me on world affairs or anything else
I was literally like Santhanam in Vaalu
Total Humiliation
image 89
My rebirth was after this interview
My second innings began after this
Reading books in English, Dickens, Forsyth, Le Carre
Membership of British Council and reading books on History and Geography
Learning Economics in evening classes while working in the morning
It was a wake up call
Without that interview, I would have ended up definitely in a place where I simply wouldn’t even know what Quora is
The British government may want to attract Hong Kongers for financial reasons. The British public may be less welcoming.
I think a large percentage of immigrants are experiencing dissonance between what they expected and what they are experiencing. Many are unemployed or underemployed because of language and education/skill incompatibilities. There will be culture shock, feelings of alienation, depression, family problems, financial issues, etc.
Whether they want to (or can) come back to Hong Kong is debatable. Some sources say many do not plan to, despite the problems they are having. If they left because of anti-China/anti-government sentiments, then they cannot reconcile themselves to return. If they were involved in the 2019 riots, they may fear arrest (or “persecution” from their point of view). But more likely, if they sold their property in Hong Kong, they cannot afford to start over.
The immigrants are only in UK on a five-year visa, after which they can apply for settlement and citizenship. I suspect that a lot of them will find that citizenship is not forthcoming. What happens then? Do their visas get renewed or do they have to leave? If they have to leave, where can they go?
My husband saw a woman at the dry cleaners who was acting very badly. Rude, entitled, aggressive – nearly spitting her words – the customers behind her were visibly uncomfortable, eyes lowered, feet shifting. It was one of those cases where you cringe inwardly for the employee being berated unfairly. Even if she was having a very bad day, this was – in my husband’s words – “…way over the top.”
She then made the great mistake of believing that she had supporters among fellow customers. In a plea for crowd support, randomly turning toward my husband, she said: “You agree with what I’m saying, don’t you?” Sadly for her, my husband had witnessed the conversation from start to finish.
“No, ma’am. I heard it all, and, I don’t agree with what you’ve said or how badly you’ve acted. First, you treated this store employee with blatant disrespect while he is trying to assist you. Second, you’ve inconvenienced other customers waiting for your tantrum to subside. Third, I am a small business owner, and if you acted like this in my business you would be asked to leave. You need to get ahold of yourself, and you owe this man (the store employee) an apology.” The woman then spun on her heel and walked out – and my husband was met with applause from other customers and a look of sheer relief from the store employee.
I honestly cannot stand it when I see a store employee being verbally abused. Cheers to my spouse for being a stand-up guy!
I have a relative who has never been outside her comfort zone. She’s in her 70’s and lived with her parents until they died, and then continued living in the same house she inherited. She never leaves her home village, and doesn’t have a passport or a Driving License. She’s never left the UK. I doubt if she’s ever left England. She’s never had a romantic relationship and obviously never been married.
She’s remarkably unambitious and satisfied. She is very sweet and quite eccentric, and lives surrounded by toy owls and cats. She complains about her health issues, but she’s quite positive generally. She used to do the hairdressing at a local old peoples home, but lives off the state pension now. She’s poor but perfectly happy.
I’d say that living a happy life is for her a good thing that has come out of staying in her comfort zone. We aren’t all the same.
When I lived in Tangxia; Danguan there was this twice-a-year event that is worthy of reporting. You see, I lived in a little city part of a bigger city next to Shenzhen. It is a small manufacturing city located North of Shenzhen in the Pearl River Delta. And being a manufacturing city, dating back many centuries, there were a lot of old buildings and old roads, and old sewer lines.
Well, twice a year, the local government would “fog” the underground sewers. This was a release of insecticide in a mist fog that would be sprayed by huge trucks all over town. The idea was to kill off the insects and rodents, and the city had been doing this for centuries.
But…
Let me tell you all that when that happened, a virtual carpet of huge (mouse-sized) cockroaches swarmed out of the sewers and carpeted everything. Some flew, many just climbed all over, including on shoes and trousers and woman’s legs. It was darn crazy!
If you saw it, you would not believe it. Not a scrap of concrete could be seen; three layer deep of swarming cockroaches everywhere. Wholly shit!
Last time it happened, my wife was so freaked out that I had to carry her two blocks back to our apartment. She was hysterical and had goosebumps all over her arms and legs. Jeeze! So imagine the scene, they were crawling, racking, flying, swarming, on everything. On our feet, the trees, the sidewalks, the store windows, the cars. They were buzzing, hopping and leaping, and my wife was in goosebumps and hysterical.
An experience that I do not want to relive ever again. Let me tell you what!
I was about 13 and was asked by a family friend to help her step daughter out by babysitting her 3 kids while she worked at a pizza parlor in town. It would be from the time I got out of school till 10pm, but Summer vacation would start in a couple weeks so I figured I could manage it.
I agreed to try it and see how it went. The day I was to start, I rode my bike to the house. I could smell some horrible smell from the yard. Went to the door and it was wide open. I yelled “hello??” and 3 of the cutest kids I’d ever seen came running! They were full of questions. I asked where their Mom was and the eldest said she was already at work. I was surprised, but I figured something had changed with our plans and she had to go in early.
I walked into the living room and the air was thick with stench. It was a combination of animal waste, rotten garbage and food. The living room had a couch, a chair and was literally 3 feet deep in clothes, garbage bags and dirty diapers. I was a kid and wasnt sure where to start, but i found a roll of garbage bags and we began. I say we because those babies were such a help!
The oldest was Michael and he proudly told me he was 5 and would be staring Kindergarten the following year. He was short and stocky with a mop of curly blonde hair. What I first noticed was his serious expression. He had an excellent vocabulary and was a chatter box. Next was a little girl named Jessica. She was 3 and absolutely beautiful. She was quiet but didnt miss anything. She was petite and had hair to her waist that was full of tangles. The baby girl was Grace and she was 2. She was very frail looking, although she turned out to be anything but frail. She was in just a diaper which was soaked, so I asked Michael to show me where the diapers were. We all headed into the girls room. It was filthy. I find a clean washcloth and get Grace cleaned up. She smiled the whole time. They were all hungry, so we head to the kitchen. I found a can of soup and some stale crackers, which they devoured. While they ate, i started on the kitchen. The sinks and counters were i overflowing with dishes. I turn the faucet handle and no hot water! So i start heating water after digging to uncover the stove. Theyve devoured the soup and want more. There was nothing more, so i grab my backpack and find a yougurt to split, some cookies and an apple which was all split between the 3 of them. I noticed there was no bickering. These 3 were accustomed to looking out for each other.
We started with the garbage and those kids really worked hard…..even the baby! We started by getting the garbage bagged up, and I started laundry. We worked for hours, and those kids didnt want to stop! They wanted a clean house. We got the living room mucked out, we found clean sheets and got beds made. The kitchen had a good start. I went in and cleaned the bathroom while they found jammies. I looked up from scrubbing and those faces were beaming. Got Grace in the tub and started detangling Jess’s hair. I know it had to hurt……but she never made a peep. Grace was clean and ready to get out. Water change and Jessicas turn. When she was clean, we changed water and gave Michael his privacy. I took the girls and checked the magical backpack. I found some nice lotion and they smelled lovely! They both had beautiful hair and kept touching it. Michael gets out and wants some lotion too. We decided to move Michaels bed in with his sisters (his “bedroom” was tiny, i think it was a.closet) We found some books and read. They were all asleep in minutes. As I detangled myself feom the sleeping babies, Michael asked if I was going to come back. I gave him a hug and said Id see him tomorrow. He grinned and it made my day. I waited for Mom to get home. It was almost 11 PM by the time she got home and I could tell she had been drinking. She introduced herself and looked around the room. She was shocked. She asked who had cleaned and i told her we all did. I see a car pulling up and its my Dad coming to see why Im so late. She says she had a meeting and was kept late. He ssaid”Look, we need her done at 10. Not 1001! If you cant be home at 10, she cant do this “ He loaded my bike up. He asked how it went. I didn’t want to tell him how dirty it was because I was afraid he would say I couldnt go back, and I had promised Michael.
And so it went. Every day, the kids and I would clean up a bit more. The cleaner the house got, the more time we had to walk to the park or go to the community pool. We had a great time and those 3 kids were all amazing.
I babysat the kids all that summer and into the start of school. It was just too much and I had to quit after Christmas vacation. I still watched them occasionally and we always had so much fun. This was in the early 70s. I still see the 3 kids who are adults now with families of their own. Michael went on to become an executive chef and works at a very trendy restaurant in the San Francisco area. He has a couple of kiddos and a lovely wife. Jess is an RN and works in the Lake Tahoe area. Shes a single mom of 2 boys and Grace is still local and keeps me in the loop with updates. She married a local guy and they have a daughter. She teaches at the local elementary school.
Its weird because it was such a short period of time, but it left us all with a bonding of the heart. Their Mom passed away last year and I went to her services and got to see all the kids (lol at KIDS!!) They introduced me as the best babysitter ever.
Filthiest house produced some wonderful humans. I was happy to be a small part of that. Sorry this was so long. Was a lovely trip down memory lane. Thanks for reading.
When my husband caught me cheating on him. There are no excuses, it was an incredibly stupid, selfish, and insane thing to do to someone who didn’t deserve it. The person I cheated on my husband with wasn’t worth it, that’s for sure.
After telling most of my friends and family what I did, my husband packed his bags and left. I spent a week on my couch contemplating suicide and hitting absolute rock bottom. My friends all took his side, understandably. Almost everyone I loved turned away. I fell physically sick with some sort of insane flue—the worst I’ve ever had in my life, probably from the stress.
I could’ve turned to the guy and tried to start fresh. New life, new boyfriend, new friends… Get that divorce and start over. Instead, I realized that what I had was worth fighting for, even if it took years to get it back. I ended the affair with that guy.
I wrote to each friend and family member who knew about this that I was going to do whatever it took to build my life back. I wrote to my husband. I begged him to come back. By some miracle… he did. We went to counselling, I went to therapy. I opened my life to my husband: no more privacy. He had access to everything, which I was completely fine with.
It took a long time, but eventually my friends came back. My husband’s trust slowly began to rebuild. Years and years later, our marriage is strong-full of incredible love, respect, and trust. I look back at what I did in complete disgust. I live everyday with that heartbreak, wishing I’d never put such an amazing person through that. Although that time was dark, it was the push I needed to wake up and stop living like a selfish idiot.
I wouldn’t trade the life I have now for the world. It took incredible pain and humiliation to get here, but it’s what led to my amazing life now. For those going through a dark time, take it day by day… one step at a time. I never thought I’d ever get here, but with hard work and patience, it will get better.
Not sure of the exact date, but it would have been mid to late ’80s in Bristol city centre.
Late one evening I was in a crew of 6 in a transit van when we saw a knackered looking Fiat 127 (they were never brilliant when new, let alone one that was 15 years old!). Half of the lights were out, smoke from the exhaust (and lots of noise).
Pulled the car over, and found it contained 2 adults and 3 children (all under 6 or 7 at a guess). Occupants were of obvious Asian descent (not unusual for that area of Bristol), so I started to ask the usual questions whilst a colleague looked over the car (which was found to have 3 bald tyres, no window wipers and a lot of rusty holes in the bodywork).
The driver and adult passenger were almost in tears, and trying to speak in English, which wasn’t that great. I established that they were Mauritian, and had only arrived in the UK that day. Once I spoke to them in French they looked relieved (my French isn’t brilliant, but was better than their English). He produced a Mauritian Driving Licence, and when asked for insurance and registration for the car (which they had purchased upon arrival at the airport), they produced a hand-written receipt showing that they had paid £1000.00 cash for the car! (it was worth about 20 quid scrap value, and certainly shouldn’t have been on a road). Even worse, he proudly produced another hand-written “Insurance Certificate” for which he had paid the car seller another £300.
They had come here to attend a family funeral, and had been royally ripped off by some scumbag near Heathrow as they needed to get down to Bristol as soon as possible.
Obviously, we couldn’t let them continue driving as it was unlikely to get them very far anyway, and was a liability to everyone else on the road.
I had no intention of getting my pen anywhere near to an official ‘ticket’, and explained the game to my Sergeant – who fully agreed with me.
All the time, the family were getting more and more upset as they started to realise the situation they were in and the trouble they thought they were in.
We took them back to our station (and a colleague drove their car), fed and watered them, spoke to relatives by telephone, and sorted out as much as we could at that time.
They were taken to a hotel for the night and agreed to surrender the car for destruction.
As the story spread throughout the night (between other colleagues, paramedics, fire-fighters, hospital staff and taxi drivers…. that was the way things were in the City at that time) offers of help came in.
By the time we went off duty at 0700 hours, the hotel bill had been waived, a taxi was ready to take them down to Exeter (their intended destination), and a collection had raised just under a grand in cash. Toys had been donated for the children, and small ‘gifts’ for the adults.
By the time they arrived in Exeter, the local police had found and purchased a small run-around car which wasn’t great, but had a few months of MOT and tax left on it, and was roadworthy… enough for their use whilst they were in the country.
We got a lovely letter from them once they were back in Mauritius, thanking us for the help we gave (and arranged) – but we only did what we could to help someone who needed it, and had been badly treated by opportunistic scum.
Edit:-
Thanks for the gramatical corrections – I try my best, but often fail!
I’ve never had a higher-rated answer on Quora, or received so many comments – Thank you, everybody.
It is not often that I bother to answer many questions, being a ‘reserved’ British ex-cop many situations just don’t seem worthy of reply, or have already got a few good answers.
I fully appreciate that probably 95% of the questions (and thus, answers) are posted from the USA, and whilst i find them interesting to read, are often so alien to a British way of thinking that I see no advantage in adding to them.
Anyone who reads my other (very few!) answers on Quora will see that I have some views and oppinions on some things – mainly to counter the critics and troll posters when it gets a bit ‘personal’, or to defend those who I feel need it.
I have no desire to be a “super user” on here, despair at many of the “questions” asked, but still feel that (every so often) even the British have something useful to add to this world.
I have to tell this story. I started writing song when l was about 15 years old. One of my biggest influences was Harry Chapin. I live in Los Angeles, and Harry played at the Greek Theatre every year. I went to see him four or five years in a row after getting my drivers license.
Harry played about 300 concerts a year. He gave about half the money he made to world hunger. After the concert, he sat and sold and signed T shirts for the cause and would stay until every person who wanted to buy a T-shirt was able to . His Security guys, always moved people quickly through, because they knew Harry would talk to everyone. After the first concert l stood in line to get a signed T-shirt, and when it was my turn l told him l was a songwriter. He smiled and said, “ Really ? I wish you the best of luck”. The following year l went to where he was signing T shirts, and to my surprise , he saw me and asked, “ How’s the songwriting going?” While he was signing T-shirts, I stood to the side and talked to him about songwriting. His security tried to make me leave, but he said, “. Leave the kid alone. He’s not hurting anyone.”
l did this every year, and the last time l saw him, l was 20 years old and had got my first job playing songs at a Shaky’s Pizza place. I told Harry that and that l played Taxi, but that there was a part l couldn’t figure out. He turned to one of his security guys, and said, “ Go get me one of the guitars out of the truck “. Pretty much all the people who were buying T shirts were done . The security guy said, “ Harry! It’s midnight man. We got to get out of here!” Harry said, “ Just do it.”
The irritated security guy did it and Harry showed me how to play the part. One thing l forgot to mention, was that l had brought me mom with me to see him. She was so happy for me and told that story to people that story unt the day she died. Harry Chapin was a very special man.
Galatoire’s Trout Meuniere Amandine
2023 12 04 17 16
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 (6 to 8 ounce) trout fillets
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Oil
1 cup butter
1 cup sliced almonds
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper, dip into milk and roll in flour.
Fry in 3/4 inch of hot oil in a shallow skillet until golden on both sides.
Remove and keep warm.
In a separate pan, melt and whip butter until brown and frothy.
Add sliced almonds and lemon juice.
Place each fillet on a heated plate and pour sauce over it.
China has a system of Governance that is radically different to that in Western Countries
Thus it is imperative, if the West has to keep it’s “We are the guardians of democracy” model, they have to portray China as evil and the system as collapsing
Otherwise won’t the people ask how if the Chinese system is so bad, is the nation prospering so much?
My granddaughter and I were at a Denny’s. We ordered and ate lunch. The waitress came back and picked up the bill that she had left on the table. So we finished and waited for her to bring it back finally called to her as she went past.
We ask for the bill to be brought back and she said no it was paid for.
An elderly man sitting at the counter had paid for our lunch. When I asked her why she said he is a regular customer and told me that he always smiles at people and you and your little granddaughter were the only ones that ever smiled back at him.
My wife had a 6 month affair, when I found out I left her.
A number of people assumed I was the one who cheated on her. That bothered me. I corrected them.
Worse were all the people who assumed I must have done something wrong to deserve it and that I was still the bad guy. People told me I must have not paid enough attention to her, I must have some how drove her to it, etc. Some people refuse to believe that I somehow didn’t do something wrong to cause her to cheat.
All I can say is this – I loved her and treated her like a queen. When I’ve asked her why she did it, the response from her has always been that I was a terrific husband, that she loved me, and that she regrets it. The guy was nearly 20 years younger than her (he in his early 20s, she nearly 40), he was attractive and charming and started flirting with her and she found him irresistible.
So, that’s a double standard that I’ve lived through and find unfair; if I had cheated I would’ve been labelled a creep/jerk, when she has an affair I’m still somehow a jerks who is to blame??!
Back in 1997 in Canmore, Alberta, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin were in town filming The Edge. Mr. Baldwin decided one evening he wanted to eat at our local Chinese eatery.
I was an Eco-Tourism operator and frequented the establishment quite often. They had an orange chicken that I went bonkers for.
It was peak dining hour and the place was experiencing a 45-minute waiting period to get a table.
In strolls, cocky Baldwin and he demands a seat “NOW!”
The owner was this 5 ft tall fiesty Chinese woman and when she told Mr. Baldwin that he’d have to wait about 45 minutes he pulled the old, Do you know who I am?”
Man, if you could have seen this lady go into action it was an Academy Award for putting an arrogant prick into his place.
She yelled at him with her Mandarin accent, “I don’t care who you are, you get out of my restaurant and don’t come back!”
image 19
The rumours of his arrogance have always swirled in the tabloids and I got a front-row seat to see it in action.
And the winner is for putting the Douche BgAlec Baldwin in his place… The Owner of the Famous Chinese Restaurant, in Canmore Alberta.
I need do this anonymously, because it’s a sensitive subject.
I’m a father of two wonderful children, and my oldest, my son, has special needs. Due to his premature birth (roughly 30 weeks), he developed a condition called Periventricular Leukomalacia, or PVL for short.
PVL is essentially an under development, often by necrosis, of white brain matter near the ventricles of the brain. Read up on it a bit on wikipedia for more info if you interested: Periventricular leukomalacia – Wikipedia
We discovered this was case shortly after his first birthday, when doctors started noticing some developmental delays and some muscle stiffness on his left side. Some evaluations and scans, and it was confirmed what he has, and that it also the cause of his cerebal palsy. It was quite a shock.
Anyways, we start doing therapies and early intervention and it’s such a wonder watching him overcome it all in small steps, in his own way. You feel blessed at times to see his hard work pay off, to truly value life and love and family.
So what do I want to get off my chest?
It’s all bullshit. You know those parents who “wouldn’t have their child any other way because it taught us so much about ourselves and….” well fuck that.
I absolutely hate it. Hate. With a capital H.
I have other parents talk to me and they word things like “well, he’ll get past all this and so forth…”. Ummmm, no dumbass. His condition is chronic – forever. We can adapt to it, and work really hard and he’ll cope and be better off for it.
But while Johnny Awesome-Dad and Super Son are learning how to play catch, I’m helping my son learn how to alternate feet when climbing stairs, how to be aware of his raised arm at the elbow and to lower and swing while he walks, while that guy got to teach his son how to swing for the fences.
His mannerisms are collectively a huge brain capillary-exploding annoyance. From the non-sensical sounds that he repeats 100 times to the way he is so damn slow at e v e r y t h i n g.
Yeh, I hate being a special needs parent. On top of being one, I also have to be his political advocate, constantly representing other parents to our federal and state politicians to ensure kids like him get proper educations.
I really really hate all of it. I only love him – I just wish I could heal him. That’s probably the worst. Of all the things I can do and fix, I can’t make him better.
Fuck me.
(January 9th, 2019)
Edit: Wow, a lot of upvotes. Most I have ever received by far, my next closest has about 115.
Ok, to a few comments: Thank you for the kind words from most people, the support, sympathy, and empathy. I truly did not write this to receive that as I quite literally was getting something off my chest.
To those who think less of my answer, even angry at me for being so: Your opinion is valued and appreciated. My response to it though is simply a shrug and a “It is what it is.” I know my son didn’t choose to be this way, but understand I am not choosing to feel this way either.
I wish I was a better person in this regard but I’m not. However remember this: I don’t let him see it. Fuck, I don’t even mention it anymore to family because they’ll either blanket me with guilt statements and be angry at me (Fuck You btw) or keep telling me lies like “It’ll all be fine” (no it won’t) or “He’ll be fine” (no, you obviously don’t understand it at all).
How do I cope?
Weed. Makes me feel better.
Heavy bag – I punch the crap outta it. Actually split the first one and I’m on my second. Looking to buy a speed bag.
Bottle it up and get back to my life.
And lastly yes I have considered leaving because he deserves a better Dad. The problem with that is it would take a lot of time for my wife to find another person who wants to take this on. Secondly my other child would suffer the loss of Dad when they did nothing, or have anything, wrong. It wouldn’t be fair and life is unfair enough as it is – I don’t want to add to it.
Don’t be indecisive. Ain’t nobody gonna follow someone who can’t make up their damn mind.
Don’t be a two-faced snake. People can smell that crap from a mile away.
Don’t be a damn pushover. You gotta have a backbone if you want to make it in this world.
Don’t be lazy. If you’re the one in charge, you gotta put in the work.
Don’t be a know-it-all. You ain’t that smart, trust me.
Don’t be too proud to ask for help. We all need it sometimes.
Level 5 – Impossible
House of Blues Bayou Voodoo Smothered Chicken
2023 12 03 15 32
Yield: 4 servings; 1 pound Roux
Ingredients
Brown Roux
10 ounces all-purpose flour
1 cup vegetable oil
Chicken
1 pound butter, melted
2 pounds chopped onion
1 pound chopped celery
1 pound chopped red bell pepper
1 pound chopped green bell pepper
1 pound sliced mushrooms
2 ounces minced garlic
2 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
4 cups red wine (chef suggests Burgundy wine)
2 quarts dark beer
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons beef base
4 tablespoons chicken base
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
1 cup Louisiana Seasoning
Instructions
Brown Roux
Place oil in a heavy stock pot and heat until it smokes. Slowly whisk in flour, 2 cups at a time, mixing well. Cook in oven at 350 degrees F for about 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes. Roux is done when chocolate brown color is achieved. Allow to cool.
Chicken
In a large skillet or sauté pan, add butter.
Put onion, celery, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and mushrooms into the pan and sauté.
Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Add flour and stir; cook for 1 minute.
Add red wine and reduce until thick.
Add dark beer, water, beef base, chicken base and bring to a boil.
Add liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and Louisiana seasoning.
Whip some roux into the sauce. Bring to a boil then remove from heat.
Put some pre-made rice on a plate, put cooked chicken breast on top of rice and ladle voodoo sauce over the chicken and rice.
Ages ago in the late ’70s I worked in an engineering department for a huge manufacturing company – one of the big three in Detroit. A co-worker had about 30 years with the company and a ton of vacation time. He and his wife had a daughter late in life. She was about 8 at the time and daddy took vacation days every Friday and Monday during her summer vacation.
Big boss comes in one Thursday afternoon looking for the doting dad. We say he’s off until Tuesday, and reminded him of daddy’s schedule.
Keep in mind that all vacation had to be submitted and approved, by boss man, in January.
But in this moment he can’t have what he wants when he wants it.
Boss man hits the ceiling. We can’t have that. Everyone has to take vacation in full week increments.
The guy had a pretty specialized skill set, and no one else was really up to speed in his area of expertise. We could fill in in a pinch. Daddy could complete final draft when he got back on Tuesday.
the following summer, I had transferred to another department, but that department struggled when dad took his six-plus weeks of vacation consecutively!
it was a whole lot easier to cover his job for four days than six weeks.
It resulting in us trying for 6 months after ending the affair. To her cheating on me with another man to eventually leave me at the end of the 6 months. Tit for tat I guess. Lots of shame and heartbreak on my end but those are the consequences. Mostly life lessons though. Divorce was the anwser and we will both be happier in the long run.
Many years ago a young woman called me up one evening to ask some questions about insurance regarding the car accident that had happened between her car and mine that afternoon. Slight problem, I hadn’t been in a car accident. She had my name and license plate from the police report so I went out and checked the number of the license plate on the back of my car, and it wasn’t the same number. After a little more discussion I got my auto registration and that did match the number on the report – the license plates on the front and back of my car weren’t the same! After thinking about it I realized what must have happened: I had returned from a business trip a couple days earlier and while my car was parked at the airport parking garage someone had swapped the license plate on the back of my car with a different one and then put my license plate on the car that got in an accident (it was almost the same make and model as my car – they must have been casing the airport). Not surprisingly this turned into quite a mess to untangle, requiring multiple calls to insurance as well as a visit by the police officer to verify my car had not in fact been in an accident. The weird part that still bothers me to this day – the woman driving the car who’d gotten in an accident had the same last name as me. My last name isn’t an unusual one, but it’s not extremely common either. She told the police she was my niece (not likely – I’m white and she was black). How did that happen?
Have you noticed big brands dropping A, B & O from their signs and logos?
image 10
Most people who noticed the same, thought that it could be some malfunction but the real reason for the missing A, B, and O’s is something more serious and amazing.
image 9
NHS Blood and Transplant organization, along with PR agency Engine Group has launched the ‘Missing Type’ campaign. It has undertaken this campaign to make people aware the benefits of blood donation and its importance of saving lives.
image 8
Big brands and companies likeTesco, Mirror, McDonalds, Starbucks and Hardrock Cafe have agreed to be the part of the campaign to make people aware of blood donation.
As a part of this campaign, NHS has asked big brands to omit the letters that signify blood types from their logos and signs viz, blood types A, B, and O.
I watched a 90 lb female put a 235 lb guy in the hospital. This was a fight between 2 neighbors in my neighborhood. This guy harassed her for weeks then for some reason he decided to walk up to her front porch and knock on her door. I was sitting on my front porch when it happened. I was thinking this is not going to be good, and had my cell phone within reach.
She open her door and in a clear loud voice, she requested he get off her property. He said, what are you going to do about it. She said, I’ll call the police. He laughed at her and reached for the screen door. Before I could move she kicked him in the head twice, swept his legs out from under him, and he was down and bleeding.
I started to call the police, but again before I could dial the number a patrol car pulled up and the officer put the guy in handcuffs. I just sat there, drank my coffee and waited for him to come over and ask what I saw. I told him and signed the bottom of the form.
As he walked away he said you know the woman? I replied yes, she’s a former Marine. He chuckled and said. I guess the guy didn’t know that, and I laughed.
When I had an Amish girl come live in with me during the week to help take care of my three-year-old daughter and my brand new twin boys.My husband was in Vietnam.
The first night that I went out to play cards with friends I came home at 10:00 p.m. everybody was sitting in the dark. It was pitch Black and it had not occurred to me that she would not be allowed to turn on the lights or use the electric stove to heat formula.
From them and I would make sure everything was turned on before I left. I only played cards twice a month but they were never left in the dark again. I would heat formula and put it in the thermos bottle but I also showed her how to fill up pan with hot water from the tap to sit the bottles in.
EDIT due to the amount of people that think it was horrible to leave my newborn twins and 3-year-old daughter with a stranger I need to explain the Amish girl lived with me. I would take her home on Saturday morning and go pick her up on Monday morning. I even knew her family. She had helped raise 9 younger brothers and sisters.
When I was in high school I would get terrible menstrual cramps. I would leave school and go to the cab stand down the block. The dispatcher was a man that I’ll call Joe. He was blind.
I would walk in on a wooden floor and Joe would say hi Linda you need to go home? I would take a taxi and come in after school the next day to pay for it. This was in a small town about 15,000.
I grew up, graduated high school, moved away, got married and got pregnant. My husband was going to Vietnam and I went back home to stay with my parents. This was about 6 years after I had left home.
I stopped at a bakery before I went to my parents house. I took one step on a cement floor and a man standing at the counter buying some donuts said “Hey Linda when did you get home?”
I never understood how Joe recognized my one step on the cement floor and I was very pregnant. You would think the sound would be different but he recognized that one step immediately.
A guy I went on a first date with (set up by a friend) told me how his ex wife was having a breakdown and had messaged him that day, to say that she couldn’t cope and was going to call social services and have their two children placed in care. Shocked, I looked at him and said “Couldn’t you take them for a couple of weeks and give her a break?” I kid you not, his genuine, honest response was “Not a chance, I have them every other weekend, that’s enough for me!”. I don’t think I hid my horror very well. Ugly, ugly man. My own son was 3 years old and the time, and if he wouldn’t step up for his own kids, he was going nowhere near mine!
It takes about 66 days for an average individual to make something a daily habit.
Eye pupil dilates to 45% when an individual looks at somebody they love.
Food prepared by someone else tastes much better than your own preparation, even when you use the same recipe.
Hearing a single negative thing could damage at least five positive memories.
Studies have shown that consuming food without preservatives will increase I.Q by up to 14%.
Men aren’t more entertaining than women: they only make more jokes, they don’t care whether others like their humor or not.
Shy people tell others very little about themselves, but they do it in quite a manner that makes other individuals believe they know them better than they actually think they do.
People in blue rooms are also much more productive.
Being alone is harder for your health than you really believe.
Any relationship born between 16 and 28 years of age is more likely to be robust and long-lasting.
If we have a plan B, our plan A is less likely to succeed.
Being happy around people makes you happier.
Convincing yourself that you slept well tricks your brain into believing you did.
The sort of music you listen to influences the way you view the world.
A hug longer than twenty seconds will produce hormones into your body that makes you trust the individual who is hugging yo
Not so much amazing, as being extremely useful to me. I was on a European Standards Committee for several years. Members came from many European countries and it was customary to conduct all meetings in English.
Often the French and German delegates would speak to each other in the meeting in French or German to try and exclude the UK delegate from what they were plotting. This was on the basis that they assumed that the British could not speak other languages. It was advantageous to me for them not to know that I understood at least the gist of what they were saying.
However, when meeting in Dusseldorf the German delegated took us all out for dinner after the meeting. This was in a very German restaurant and the waitress approached me asking, in German, what I would like to eat. Not thinking, I blew my cover by replying in German.
The German delegate’s jaw dropped and said “you speak German!”. Trying to save myself I admitted that I could speak enough basic german to get by, but I couldn’t resist adding “ but my understanding is better”.
The Swedish delegate sitting next to me actually laughed and gave me a pat on the back.
A 26 yrs old with a decent job(in Indian Silicon Valley), beautiful girlfriend, about to be promoted, in short, enjoying my life.
But now,
A road accident(to save a little girl), which confined me to home for 4–5 months, had a kneefracture, operated, implanted with a metal plate inside(permanently).
Promotion aborted(as i m on Medical Leave for quite a longer period).
Cheated by my girlfriend when we were planning to get married, our parents accepted us.
My situation after surgery,
image 18
I was full of life. Travelling, working out in gym used to make me feel energized, lively, confident. But my eyes in the above picture are full of unnecessary thoughts, wandering with all the lively moments I had before.
Permanent Implant,
image 17
I was planning to call my parents to bangalore so that i can arrange some vacation for them and let them know about me and my girlfriend. But this was not the way i wanted them to come.
Even after accepted by my parents, she cheated on me. This was the time when i needed her the most. I know that,
“We should Forgive people in our life, even those who are not sorry for their actions. Holding on to anger only hurts us, not them.”
Also after one-by-one misfortunes, my self-confidence is f**ked like a Gangbang. So i’m not in a place to keep grudges with her and trying to move on, to forgive her and forget her.
Now they want me to settle downin an arranged marriage with a girl of their choice. And neither I am in position to ask for getting married with a girl of my choice nor in a position of getting married with any girl due to hindrances in my promotion, beautifully f**ked self-confidence.
I’m just trying to recover as soon as possible from the physical and emotional injury so that i can go back to my self made track of life.
Go ask Russians, nearly all western countries did the same as you mentioned to Russia, including the so called “nuclear option”: kicked Russia out of SWIFT, did Russian economy collapse?
Oh, maybe you don’t know the real world, just living in the “information cocoons”, you’re fed with selected information, which made you believe China is easy to win, like our beloved president 45 said, trade war is easy to win.
This is his easy to win:
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Now, it is America who’s relying on China, not China relying on America. Say you to buy a Toyota and wait for over a month, sometimes you need to pay extra money, and its price is rising year after year, while in China, Toyota is to buy at will and drive away upon you paid, and its price is lower and lower. For example, RAV 4 in America starts from $29K, while in China, it starts from RMB 175,800, which is about $24.5K.
The problem is not China, it hides in America, destory China can’t solve your own problem.
The big heads are more informed and clever than you average Americans do. They know they can’t win, sanctions, trade wars, are just to slow down China’s pace, not to stop it.
Years ago, I was involved with a lawsuit against a tech company. Kind of “class action,” which meant a lot of people were there.
I noticed two levels of dress: casual and super-expensive suits.
As the process unfolded, I realized that those two levels of dress represented three levels of wealth.
The expensive suits were all worn by guys (and, yes, sorry, this was long ago, and everyone was a guy) who had high-paying jobs. Most would regard them as well off. They drove new, leased BMWs, etc. They were supercilious toward everyone because THEY were the only ones wearing expensive suits, shoes, and Rolexes.
The casual dressers represented two economic levels:
Those who could not afford expensive suits or Rolexes.
Those who had so much money they didn’t need to impress anyone.
At one point during the proceeding, I ended up in a room with four suits while I was dressed in jeans and wore a lightweight “Members Only” jacket. (You can tell this was long ago, right? Remember when those were cool?)
At first, they spoke only among themselves, treating the “obviously” poor guy like I couldn’t possibly matter. I let them go for a few minutes and then interrupted them for an important message on life. I told them how their expensive suits put them at a disadvantage because the only thing obvious in the room was that none of them were in the top tier financially.
They included me from then on.
To answer the question: The truly rich wear whatever they want. Only those who are still struggling to become truly rich are slaves to the “badges of honor” that they THINK demonstrate they are rich.
I was at a Home Depot and saw this lady trying to lift a 90lb bag of cement from a flat cart into the trunk of her car. I said let me help you with that and grabbed the bag and put it in her trunk. She said I don’t need your damn help. I said sorry and grabbed the bag and put it back on the cart. As I was pulling out of the parking lot I saw that she had dropped the bag and it broke open all over the parking lot. I honked and waved.
During the Vietnam war President Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara came up with “Project 100,000,” and the idea was to kill two birds with one stone by drafting men who were developmentally disabled or just too stupide to be left into the army. It was to provide more men for the war effort and give the less fortunate a chance at being productive members of society.
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There’s typically an IQ minimum of 80 points to serve in the US military, but the rule was loosened, and they started allowing in men with mental disabilities. These men became known a “McNamara’s Morons” and died at 5 times the rate of other Americans in the war.
You had men turning up to basic training that couldn’t even tie their own shoes and couldn’t even understand the basics like dressing the bed. Some of these soldiers didn’t even understand why they were utterly exhausted at the end of a run when they were full of energy at the start of the run.
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When in combat training, none of the men could pass their physical training because they couldn’t grasp the idea of throwing a heavy training grenade in a high arc to reach the target that was 90 feet away.
A lot of the men were protected from battle and kept safe by sergeants who took pity on them, but a lot were sent into dangerous battles on the front line. Not only were some of these men a danger to themselves they also put their fellow soldiers in harms way by not being able to grasp the seriousness of what they were involved in.
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For example, in one platoon a dozen men were injured when a live grenade was tossed at them by another soldier as a prank. The soldier in question didn’t have the brain function to understand how dangerous a grenade was.
The word McNamara Moron’s was a derogatory term used by many of the sergeants to describe many of the men that fell under their care. Although the experiment was a disaster, not all of the men drafted under this new legislation failed to learn and grasp the fundamentals of combat. Many went on to have distinguished careers, and many were awarded the “Medal of Honour.”
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The story of Forrest Gump was inspired by McNamara’s soldiers and the bravery some of these men showed when faced with impossible odds.
A quiet little boy was putting up with the abuse of a foot taller, loud mouthed girl. The girl was berating him for being a Nerd.
The teacher heard what the girl was saying to the boy, and admonished her, “Karen! You should be nice to Billy! He is a straight A student, and someday he just might be your Boss.”
Billy looked at the teacher and quipped, “But I don’t want to be a Pimp!”
When I had just turned 18, my mother came into my room with a birthday balloon. It was one of the nice fancy balloons. She was really happy to give it to me.
But I, being the selfish spoiled teenager reacted in anger.
“What! Is this it? I don’t get a cake or presents?!?!”
I will never forget the look of hurt and pain on my mother’s face. She turned around with tears in her eyes and quietly took the balloon from my room.
I knew instantly that I hurt her. I tried to run after her and apologize but the damage was already done.
I know she forgave me right away and gave me the balloon. But, you see, we were a low income family and balloons were rarely given. It was a gift I should have been proud of, but I turned it into something painful.
I learned a valuable lesson that day. You can’t take back words spoken in anger.
I will be 40 this year and my mother has been gone for 16 years and I can still see that look on her face as clear as if it had been yesterday.
I miss her.
I just do
Make America Go Away
The United States is like an abusive, narcissistic uncle that just knows that you will always need him; he is the indispensable uncle that just requires that you accept his authority by saying “uncle” otherwise he will sadly have to increase the level of abuse until you either “get the message” or die from the abuse. The vast majority of the world’s population understands this, whether it be the Latin Americans cheated out of democracy again and again, the Africans who had their post-independence dreams destroyed, the Middle Eastern modernizing and secular states that were eradicated, the Vietnamese that died in their millions to rid themselves of US occupation, the people of Gaza being murdered by US bombs and shells, or the Chinese, Russians and Iranians who face the wrath of the US for not understanding their place. The last thing they want is for the US to be “great” again, and they certainly do not see it as indispensable or a shining city on a hill, as the US political elite claim again and again in the form of religious-style mantras.
US politicians, policy makers and even international relations scholars accept this abusive, narcissistic narrative as they waffle on about a “Liberal International Order” where the US acts as the mafia-boss who makes the rules while not being subject to them, and bloviate about the decrepit “shining city” that must deliver its “gift” of liberal democratic capitalism to the world’s unwashed. Just as they did to the Amerindians in their three century war of extermination, ethnic cleansing and land theft, as they established the “new Jerusalem” of ethnic supremacy; personified by the racist bigot President Wilson who spun a good yarn about “freedom” while bringing the very opposite to not only many foreigners but also the US population. It was he who placed the velvet glove of sweet words about “Western culture” over the hard, racist fist.
So yes, the vast majority of humanity just want the US to go away and leave them to manage their own affairs. The problem with abusive narcissists is that they can turn into “family destroyers”, wiping out the rest of the family because they just know that the family (i.e. humanity) cannot survive without them. If they are to go away, then so must humanity. When those wanting a faster rate of change complain about the careful and patient diplomacy and actions of Russia, Iran and China, they must remember the dangerous lunatic that those nations are dealing with; one that can make humanity disappear with it if it so decides, in a global murder suicide. Anyone looking at the current psychopathic thrashings of the Israeli state must hold no flights of fancy about a US where a quarter of the population still believe in a heretical bible Armageddon fantasy, and its elite are wedded to their global dominance. Such lunatics have to be carefully managed and slowly subdued in order to reduce the possibilities of self-destructive and psychopathic rage-induced paroxysms.
Please Make America Go Away, as peacefully as possible.
The CORE FANTASY that drives women to ORGASM and WHY
I needed a “C” to pass my college communications course.
If I didn’t get a “C,” I would fail to meet my college major requirements setting me back an entire semester.
Here’s the problem: The semester was over, and I had a D+.
My only hope was to email the teacher asking for a bump in my grade.
I wrote an email to her explaining how my past school performance warranted a higher grade and that not passing me would only hurt an ambitious student.
When I hit send, I realized I made a HUGE mistake.
I addressed her using another teacher’s name.
I tried to calm down, but then I remembered we’d spent half the semester covering email etiquette.
Shoot!
What did I do?
Two days later, she emails back.
First, she addresses the glaring mistake then says she bumped my grade up to a “C” to never have me as a student again.
I went out for drinks that night.
This is by far the best mistake I’ve ever made.
US is Militarizing Itself to Death, While China Emphasizes Cooperation.
When I was in high school our physics teacher gave us a challenge that involved making a paper air plane of any shape. The only objective was to get it to fly as far as possible. I had some paper air plane making skills so I made the best plane I could and it flew pretty far.
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One guy made the greatest, yet simplest paper airplane of all time. He stood there at the starting line with a regular piece of paper. Some classmates scratched their head while silently chuckling to themselves. Moments later he took the flat piece of paper, crumpled it up, and threw it down the hall way.
He beat the class with ease.
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Some of the students got mad and said that he cheated.
The physics teacher said, “How so? I said it could be any shape. A paper ball is indeed a shape.”
He won the contest with flying colors.
“Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.”
When I graduated from nursing school 10 years ago, I was flush with cash for the first time in my life. Within the span of a month, I went from having an after tax income of $600/month to an after-tax income of $1200 every 2 weeks.
I felt rich. I was 21 years old. I didn’t want to just save. I would invest.
I read a couple of books, opened a brokerage account, and proceeded to buy and sell stocks and call options. I made a lot of money quickly.
I concluded that I was going to be a stock market genius.
So, when I started losing money, I of course knew that it was a temporary setback. So I played, er, invested some more, and some more, and some more.
After a while, I had to admit to myself that I had a problem. I stopped after a couple of years. I had maybe lost $30K by then.
I repeated the same experiment at the tail end of med school. I decided to borrow an extra $20K and invest. This time, I was going to be disciplined. I was going to focus on buying call options on companies that were going to spin-off part of their assets into standalone companies. The idea was that the market was mispricing the combined companies and that the sum of the parts would be greater than the whole, after a spinoff. It was not an entirely crazy idea. I’d made money that way before.
Anyway, my roommate started making a ton of money in penny stocks of companies involved in the marijuana business. I was jealous of how quickly he was making money. I joined in. I lost another $10–15K. I pulled out. He continued playing. He made money for a while. Eventually, he lost more than he had made.
I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d lost about $50K in the stock market over the past decade. That has been my worst financial decision. I see it as tuition money that I paid in order to learn that I am emphatically not a stock market genius.
I’m a physician. My mistakes are going to be relatively costless to me. Please don’t try this at home.
The U.S. has 2 choices. And Americans need to wake up to this reality to face the new world. China will always be independent from the U.S. in technology. In many cases it will from now onwards be ahead and with far better technologicallyDon’t than the US and the west. It is happy to share its benefits but it will never allow the U.S. and the West to ever threatened them again. Ever. Never Ever.
Don’t blame China. China were happy to play second fiddle till the despicable US foolishly thought that it can easily contain and control China in Chip technology for a generation. It took less than 3 years for China to catch up. It won’t look back. Now all the trillion of dollars shit it cost to do this shit will ll be wasted. If the U.S. never learnt then they can always lose more trillions. China don’t mind.
What does it mean for the U.S. government? It needs to know that the US has 2 choices. Either it work and I am cooperate with China and profit from China’s humongous market and manufacturing prowess or it loses it all including the access to the global south market representing som 120–150 nations around the world. The U.S. needs to make this decision. Americans need to learn humility and accept that it no longer can dictate to the world.
China will design its own chips, it will manufacture its own chips and it will sell to whoever wants to buy it and use it. It will do so at a faster rate and take less time, and make it a a lower cost and make it cheaper than the US and the west. That is what China always do and and the Chip Ban, the GPS threat and the ISS ban will simply motivate China to dominate all technology. Thanks USA
What do you like to ban, sanction, blockade from now onwards? I think China should stop the U.S. from using paper to clean their backside since China invented paper. Let the use their hands.
I worked at Apple in the 80’s and think the movie grossly underplays how much of an asshole he was.
I’ve worked with many billionaires in my career, and Jobs was the biggest asshole I ever met.
He would destroy people just for the fun of it. He would make it personal.
There were a few who managed to survive and even thrive, like Andy Hertzfeld.
Even on the original Mac team, there was a small number that Steve treated with respect, and the rest he treated like shit. It’s one reason the Mac team fell apart after the Mac shipped. Steve glorified about 10 of them; they were on the cover of Business Week IIRC. The rest he made clear were shit. They had worked their asses off and built a magical product, but Steve didn’t recognize them. So the glorified rock stars got big heads, and the others were deeply slighted. So the team fell apart.
It’s also true that at NeXT and then his return to Apple, Steve grew up and learned to treat people better. Steve v2 wasn’t exactly Mother Theresa, but he learned a lot of lessons and was much improved.
Yes, I still shiver 10 years later. My husband and I were thinking of buying a lot in a new intentional community in Belize (think semi-rainforest, not beach). We stayed at the guest house for several days to tour and explore the area. Activities included canoeing on the beautiful river, hiking, learning about the local culture, etc… Now, recall there’s a river, hence big rocky, sandy, soil-y hills that sloped down to it. Also, no paved roads yet. One day we decided to do a driving tour in our all-wheel drive rental (as opposed to a 4WD we had reserved). You can guess where this is going. We came to the top of a steep incline, and to continue, there was no choice but to proceed down the other side. Approximately 10 feet to our right was a cliff that dropped steeply into a gorge and the river. (I was driving because my husband isn’t crazy about manual transmissions.) Then, the brakes failed. As we gained speed, rocks began to bump us closer to the edge. Honestly, we were thinking that was it- the end of the road for us. But in a moment of something- not brilliance for sure- maybe instinct, I threw the car into first gear. It slowed, then came to rest about 4 feet from the edge. Finally I screamed, just to release the tension. Somehow I didn’t leave a puddle in my seat.
If that wasn’t enough, seconds after we got out of the car, we heard the screams of several women who were crashing through the dense forest to our left. When the three women reached us, they were completely out of breath but managed to yell, “Wild pigs! Wild pigs!”. Just as all of us squeezed into the car for (protection, not escape!), we heard the pigs retreating and running back where they came from.
“Snake” or sometimes “snakes”, Snakeye bombs. Mk-80 Series bombs of various weights fitted with a high-drag devise to provide rapid deceleration upon release.
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The special fins were held tight to the bomb casing until release, at which time they popped open to insure maximum horizontal separation between bomb and aircraft at detonation. Without the high-drag unit added, bombs could strike the ground and detonate under the aircraft. In some cases the explosion would bring down the delivering aircraft. At one time, this was called a “Low Blow”. Snakeyes were generally dropped at low to very low altitudes to enhance accuracy. Mk-80 series bombs without the decelerating tail unit were generally described as “Slicks”.
When I was 15 years old I made a decision that to this day still baffles me. I spent the weekend with my good buddy putting a hot motor into his car. We finished the work on Sunday afternoon and my friend told me he would come by my house and get me later so we could go celebrate the car and new motor.
When he got to my parents house that evening I walked out to the driveway and made that fateful decision by telling my buddy that I had “homework” to do and wouldn’t be going with him.
Later that night my friend and two others hit a tree going about a hundred miles an hour. It killed my friend and the other guy in the front seat and put the backseat passenger in the hospital for a month.
To this day I have no idea why I didn’t go with them. I really didn’t have any homework. It just came into my head that day and I said it and that was it.
I would have been the guy in the front passenger seat that night.
When I had a daycare I had a four year old who went through a terrible phase of pulling hair. He didn’t just yank; he’d get his fingers tangled in there and twist and pull with his entire body. It was extremely painful. He once got hold of my hair and pulled some out.
I tried everything to stop him. I watched him like a hawk. I stopped him when he got that look and lunged for someone’s hair. His mom acknowledged the problem she was having with him at home with his two older sisters. She tried everything; we both did, but nothing stopped him.
One day he got hold of this cute little two year old’s hair. She was screaming in pain as I tried to detach his fingers. And I finally had had it. I grabbed his hair and pulled just as hard as I could.
He let go immediately and started crying. And he never pulled hair again.
His mom thought he had finally grown out of his phase. I never told her what I did. I didn’t abuse the kids I watched; never spanked them or yelled at them. I still feel guilty for what I did. He probably would have stopped on his own.
My sister. It was the day of my mother’s funeral after a very fast illness and sudden, unexpected death. My husband had run an errand for Dad. He was gone about an hour. During that hour, one sister (older, middle one of three) cornered me as I sat at the dining table. She spent most of that time telling me what a horrible person I was, listing every perceived mistake I had ever made in my life, all the times I had disrespected her, etc. When my husband came home he found me sobbing, curled into a fetal ball behind the guest bed.
That afternoon and for the rest of that weekend I would not be in the same room with her. I spent my time composing a long email listing every claim she had thrown at me and why each was wrong (or blown out of proportion). It was all I could emotionally manage.
She never even acknowledged the email, let alone apologize for being such a bully. I waited two weeks and sent another email, asking if she got the first one. She acknowledged that she did. That’s all. Just a “yes I got it.”
I have not spoken to her since. And because my other older (oldest) sister just stood there, I have barely spoken to her. Their emails are automatically filtered to trash. They don’t even know my phone number in Spain, where I now live. I no longer have any sibling photos on the “photo wall” in the hallway. I consider myself an only child. I will not return to the US for either of their funerals when the time comes. They are not welcome to visit me in Spain and I don’t even want them notified when I die.
My daughter is a single mom, and once a week I help her out. I pick up her kids, aged 8 and 7, from school and watch them until their mother comes home around 8 PM.
The older one is a lot like me. Introverted, shy, a bookworm who goes through a couple of books a week. I never have a bit of problem with him. We understand each other. We’ll watch TV or play a game of chess together.
The younger one is the social butterfly of the family. She goes outside and plays with the other kids in her neighborhood.
She’s also stubborn to a fault. Just like her mother at that age.
And one evening about a week ago she started getting defiant. Refused to do anything I asked. I was losing patience.
Just then her mother came home and things escalated. I watched the two most stubborn human beings I’d ever met lock horns for about half an hour. I’d seen this behavior before — we got it from her mother, my daughter, when she was that age.
“Dad, I am so sorry for all the trouble I put you and mom through when I was her age,” she told me.
I laughed. “It’s OK. You grew up to be a pretty good kid and I’m sure she will too.”
But she was right. Everything she had put us through when she was young and stubborn was now coming back on her.
Thanks for the a2a. I have Chinese friends living all over the world. Some of them without fail ask me nearly every day if I have eaten yet. I have never thought it was anything other than kindness.
You see, I am from the Deep South in America. We Southern women show love and hospitality through our cooking. When I visit family, we’re having a meal and I have brought a dish. Or if they visit me, I’m feeding them and they probably brought something. I know my mother loves me because every time I visit, she makes tea exactly the way I like it. My brother knows I care because I make his favorite foods or desserts. My father is proud when I compliment his ability to grill a steak, and my sister requests my old-fashioned strawberry cake for her birthday. My daughter, she wants to make birthday cakes for everyone—whether it’s their birthday or not!
Food is a language, and that language expresses love, hospitality, kindness, care, and friendship. I believe Chinese people (as well as other cultures) understand this. I have always taken my Chinese friends encouragement to eat dinner or breakfast as a sign of their care for me, and I express the same care toward them. If they ever came to visit me, I wouldn’t let them leave my home without feeding them first. They don’t have to be fluent in English and I do not have to speak perfect Mandarin when it comes to sharing a meal together.
Americans foolishly screamed and shout that they are the leader of the free world without ever questioning if it is even remotely true or not! Please don’t be angry or upset if I help you guys since I understand you can pretend to be free or even dare says you are ordained by god to spread democracy and freedom but you Americans are one of the least free country on earth.
Let me help you good American. So first I like to explain how unfree you guys are.
35% of you cannot get health care when you fall sick! The most basic of freedom is the freedom to see a doctor and get cure when you fall sick. At least 100 million Americans don’t have this basic of basics of freedom.
Next 1 million Americans are homeless and don’t have another basic of basics of freedom. The freedom to have a roof over their head.! They have to live in makeshift tents on the streets.
20% of Americans don’t have 500 dollars to their name and don’t know where their next meal is coming from! Surely everyone must have the freedom to have a hot meal to stay alive!
USA with about 4% of world population has 25% of the worlds prisoners population! Think about this my American friends, prisoners are certainly. Not free. Many of them coloured people thrown into jail for the slightest reason. How on earth can you keep a straight face to say U.S. is the leader of the free world. No one know!
In many cities in the U.S. one cannot go to certain parts of the inner city like the Queens in New York. As crimes are rampant. So normal innocent and good Americans like you have to avoid that part of America! Surely freedom means you can go to anywhere or any part of America.
Kids and parents suffers the mental turmoils daily for just going to school. Many got shot to death in schools, public places, cinemas and even in Capitol Hill! Is that freedom? Even your kids are not free to go to school without a random mass shooter lurking with military grade weapons to murder them! Is this freedom?
If you are not fortunate to have a white skin you could be necked to death in the bright daylight of even driving a good car may be be shot to death just for suspected of stealing the car! Everyday you live in fear of a white policeman! Is that freedom to live? Freedom to avoid death at the racist inclination of the white racist? Surely not.
Freedom means you can choose who you really want to be your leader. Only 30% choose Biden. Or 35% choose Trump! Why are they your president? Your system allowed 0.8% of the richest and most influential people to choose your candidates! Surely this is not political freedom. This is far from democracy. How on earth can you call yourself the “beacon of democracy” who in a sane mind can claim that?
Oh today you country stop the Americans from having access to best 5G technology, Smartphone, best EV’s, drones and others for some geopolitical nonsense! Is this freedom? Freedom to be deprived? Let me help you understand. You are deprived from buying a 10 thousand bucks EV that need to be charged once a week but you are not allowed to! You cannot buy your Tesla like for half the price! Just to support your too big to fail auto industry paying 100 million bonus doing shit for good Americans!
But to me EVs and Drones are just the top of the iceberg of your draconian and suicide policies that takes away the freedom of Americans like you. Think about Jullien Assange, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden! Freedom? American is anything but free.
I wasn’t fired, I just quit a job with a window replacement contractor after finding full time premanant employment. I called to inform the man and give him two weeks notice. He cussed at me and slammed the phone down. I called him right back and asked him to send me payment for the previous weeks work and he ratteled on about how I installed those last windows wrong and that he would not be paying me what was owed and told me never to call again followed by a loud “click”. So, I tallied all my hours plus all the OT I’d worked but was never paid more than a flat hourly rate. I took this document to the owners of the business he had contracted with, explained the situation and said “I just want to give you the opportunity to resolve this before I take the matter to the labor department” (they had a local office). The owner said “Thank you” and said they’d take care of it. The man was in a back office supposedly waiting for a meet so I said “Great! We will just need to come to agreement on what he owes me” The man said “Nothing to worry about there, whatever you say”. I asked when I might expect payment from him and the man said, if this amount on your records is good, I’ll cut you a check right now and we’ll just deduct the funds from his contract payment. I never saw the man again but he was a hot head all the same and I could feel the burn of his rage as I drove away.
As for my ability to install windows… The man had previously took me aside, giving me a raise because, as he said “You’re the only one I have who can read a tape measure”.
About 5 or 6 months ago, my girlfriend and I threw a little get together at our place for friends from work. I cooked dinner for everyone, and we just sort of made it buffet style. The whole affair was great fun and will make for great memories. After everyone had left Emily and I decided that we’d at least get the major stuff picked up, (the dishes and glasses into the dishwasher and the leftovers put into the fridge). While Em was finishing up in the kitchen I began moving things around in the front room, and there I found a pair of thong panties next to the couch. I picked them up and walk into the kitchen with them hanging on my finger. Em stood there looking at them and doing her best not to laugh. Because they were pink, I knew it wasn’t something that fell from the laundry basket by mistake. Neither of us likes pink.
To this day nobody has come forward to ask about them.
Best video Ever
Men, Listen up. It doesn’t matter (to anyone) if you win or lose. What matters is how you take it.
Yes. It’s 1986, I’m 9 years old and I come downstairs to get ready for school. My dad is reading the paper and he says, “Hey Corey, what do you know about comets?”
I immediately spout off everything a space-addicted 9 year old kid can/should know about comets. My dad beams at me and tells me bedtime will be postponed.
Night falls and my dad comes home early. We get into his Ford Escort and drive to K-Bee toys where he buys me a pair of GI Joe binoculars just as it is closing.
I can still remember what they looked like in the packaging.
We drive to a subdivision that is under construction and park on a mound of dirt that is now someone’s home.
We both lay on the hood of that car and look at the stars. We talk about space. We talk about life. He tells me that the next time this comet passes by Earth he will be long gone, but he hopes I will watch it and remember what it is like to be a child staring at the night sky with his dad.
We never saw Halley’s comet that night. Our binoculars were too cheap, the light pollution was too strong, the comet was too far away. To be honest, I think I prefer it that way.
Because what I want to remember about that day has nothing at all to do with a comet.
There’s a great many things I wanted for my life. Some of them have come to pass, others never will. But above all I hope that, one day, I will sit on a mound of dirt as an old man. I will sit with the great love of my life and our children and our children’s children.
And we, all of us, will look at the stars. And maybe we’ll see a comet and maybe we won’t.
But we’ll look regardless and we will think of the ones we have loved.
Your U.S. workers demand 5 times Chinese workers income, and 10 times more benefits and are willing to world half as hard and are 75% as smart or well trained and your CEO expects and demand 100 times more income!
As such if you produce here Apple 15 must be marketed and sold USD5000 instead of less than USD1500! Ask your local customers, friends and colleagues will they buy Apple 15 or save USD4000 and buy a Chinese phone this is faster, better and cheaper.
You decide. Tim Cook knows the answer! China knows Tim Cook knows the Answer and the 7.999 billion people except you and your 6 racist friends need to ask!
I had a coworker who disliked me the moment she saw me. Idk why, but it seems to occur to me a lot, “hate at 1st sight”, lol! I am a very friendly person who has found that if I treat an unfriendly coworker respectfully and don’t react to their nastiness, they will eventually grow to like me.
Well, after nearly 2 years of her passive-aggressive behavior and snide remarks, I finally grew weary of her abuse. FYI she was almost my doppelgänger in every way. Nearly identical facial features, hair color, style, figure and dress size Misses 0. Acquaintances usually couldn’t tell us apart.
So, one day she came to work wearing a very cute summer dress. I complimented her on it.
She smirked and said, “Thank you! I’d tell you where I bought it, but there are no extra large sizes left.”
About a decade ago, I got an Interview for a network administrator position. The phone interview went really well. I had a panel interview with an HR rep, some VP, and the manager I would have reported to. It goes great, and I get a conditional offer later that same day. They even offered me more than I asked for, though I suspect the recruiting agency may have padded my range to get a bigger commission (and I loved them for it). I sign the background check paperwork.
Two days later, I get a call from the recruiter saying that the offer was rescinded and that the recruiting agency can’t work with me any more. Ok, that’s really weird. My credit score is shot due to having been unemployed for a bit with bills piling up, but that’s not usually the kind of thing that gets a recruiting agency to drop you. I ask for details, but the recruiter will only say that I will receive communication by mail.
A couple weeks later, after I had finally accepted a lower-paying offer elsewhere, a letter comes in the mail with a copy of my background check. I read over it and see convictions for armed robbery, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and a bunch of other stuff I don’t remember … except remembering I’ve never been arrested or charged for anything like that, let alone convicted. Well, I look at the paperwork l, and what do you know. The first and last name are correct, but the middle name and date of birth are wrong. It’s almost as if they Googled my first and last name and just read the results of whoever popped up first.
I kind of wish they had done a bit more reading, because it would have been hard for him to attend interviews seeing as he was literally in prison while I was in their office.
I did point out the error to the recruiting agency … and never heard back.
Originally Answered: What is the best case of “you just picked a fight with the wrong person” that you’ve witnessed?
A woman called my newsroom crying. Nobody wanted to deal with her. So they sent her to me. She was crying and hard to understand, but the basic story went this way…
She had bought a used car. She needed it badly to get to the THREE jobs she held to support her children by herself. No husband. Less than two weeks after buying the car, it broke down. She called the dealer who had told her it had a 30-day warranty.
He told her he couldn’t help. But, she told him, you said it had a 30 day warranty. His response — too bad. When she complained, he told her — “lady, you’re dealing with the big boys now.”
She was crying as she told me this. I was — to put it mildly — angry. My response to her — let me call you back.
I called him. I explained the problem and when I did not get what I considered a good response, I “explained” things to him:
He needed to respond appropriately to her and solve the problem.
If he did not respond appropriately, I would have my entire investigative news team look into his operation.
He did not like that.
Cautionary note here: My response – YOU picked the wrong person to fight with, and no, NOW, you’re playing with the Big Boys, expletives to follow…
He took back her car. Gave her a slightly newer model without any problems. She called crying and thanked me. I may have cried a bit too.
PS – I didn’t do the story about him. I wonder if I should have?
Operation Bodenplatte, also known as the “New Year’s Offensive” or “Unternehmen Bodenplatte”, was a large-scale aerial offensive launched by the German Luftwaffe against Allied airfields in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg on 1 January 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge. The operation was intended to cripple Allied airpower and support the German ground forces in the Ardennes region.
Despite achieving some initial surprise and causing some damage to Allied aircraft, Operation Bodenplatte was ultimately a failure. The Luftwaffe suffered heavy losses, losing over 250 aircraft compared to Allied losses of around 130. The operation also failed to achieve its main objective of crippling Allied airpower, as the Allies were able to quickly recover from the attacks.
image 7
There were several reasons for the failure of Operation Bodenplatte:
Poor planning and coordination: The operation was poorly planned and coordinated, with many of the Luftwaffe units involved not receiving their orders until the day of the attack. This led to confusion and delays, and the attacks were not as coordinated as they could have been.
Allied air superiority: The Allies had achieved air superiority over the skies of Western Europe by the end of 1944, and the Luftwaffe was no match for the combined strength of the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces.
Adverse weather conditions: The weather on the day of the attack was poor, with low clouds and fog, which made it difficult for the Luftwaffe bombers to find their targets and for the Luftwaffe fighters to intercept Allied aircraft.
Allied intelligence: The Allies had broken the German codes and were aware of the planned attack. This allowed them to take evasive action and scramble their fighters to intercept the Luftwaffe bombers.
As a result of its failure, Operation Bodenplatte marked the beginning of the end of the Luftwaffe as an effective fighting force. The operation resulted in the loss of irreplaceable experienced pilots and aircraft, and the Luftwaffe was never able to regain its strength.
A top bunk is not “disrespectful”…. It is its own special fucking misery in a world of miseries…
Having to sleep in the top rack forces the occupant into constantly climbing over and disturbing the occupant of the lower bunk, denies the top bunk the use of “Privacy Curtains”, is fully exposed to the ventilation system which will always be too hot or too cold, is fully exposed to the lights, which can often be on 24 hours a day, prevents easy access to possessions stored under the bottom bunk, it forces the top bunk occupant into waking up the lower bunk every time he has to use the toilet or sink, and cuts down on the number of places the top bunk occupant can sit, since sitting on someones bunk without their permission is an act of disrespect…
I have seen more SERIOUS fights between cellies over “bunk territory” than any other issue… I’m talking about fights when one or both combattants require hospitalisation and a trip to The Hole…
My wife and I were out to eat with some friends. We were having a good time and enjoying ourselves when all of a sudden this horrific smell wafted towards us. The unmistakable smell of baby shit.
Eww, but whatever. Babies shit. It happens.
However, what happened next left us speechless and without appetite. The man with the baby was at a large round table with several other people. When they smelled it too, there was the standard, “Ooops, someone made a poopy” comments towards the baby.
The man picked the baby up, pushed some plates and glasses out of the way, and proceeded to open the offending diaper right there in the middle of the dining room. The smell was bad to begin with, but once he opened that thing up, it was nauseatingly bad. We had just received our meals, but there was no way we were eating anymore.
People around the restaurant were staring at the table, but no one at that table seemed to think anything of it. They were going about their conversations as though there wasn’t a shit-covered child on the table. One of the tables next to us went up to the bar to complain; the bartender said “That’s Jane’s family, she’s the manager. I’ll go get her.”
Jane came out of the back with an irritated look on her face. When the customer complained, she loudly said, “Oh, it’s not that bad. He’ll be done in a minute.” and walked over to the infant and made baby noises at it while the dad finished changing the diaper.
We and a few other tables all got up and headed for the door. “Hey, you didn’t pay!” was shouted after us. One of our companions turned and said to the manager, “You call the cops, I’ll call the health department. I’m sure they’d love to hear about this.” and we left.
I used to really like that restaurant, now I can’t even drive past it without gagging a little.
Seriously, how can people be so fucking disgusting?
Originally Answered: Have you ever stood up to a bully at the workplace and they back off?
Yes indeed. Two years ago, we had a hurricane. I had no food, no lights , no power. The next morning, I still went to work.
My manager raised his voice and was abusive. He wanted to push his work on to me, but I had no power, and didn’t see the email the night before. I spoke up to him and said he was totally unrealistic. He was stunned, like no one had ever spoken back to him.
The manager told the director, and the director texted me two hours later, getting harsh, saying “I know you have power supply issues, but the three of us need to meet“.
Ten minutes later, I sent a letter to HR complaining of harassment and abusive speech. I copied the email to an executive three levels above my director. The executive texted me back and said to keep him informed.
HR saw the executive’s email response, and the HR director called me within 40 mins of getting the email. I told her I wanted a management change. She switched me to a new set of directors an hour later. The new directors are professional and wonderful to work for.
The main point: Bully bosses don’t back down right away on their own. You must save yourself by contacting a boss two levels above your boss. Two levels, not one level. Use email letters to complain. Letters put everyone on notice, and they’re like a hand grenade.
When I was about 17 years old, my dad walked in on me and my then-boyfriend having sex.
The house I lived in at the time was located directly across from my high school. I was enrolled in a lot of sports, as was my boyfriend. Our practices often didn’t start until a half an hour or so after school ended, so most days we had a little bit of time to, um, kill. This particular day, I thought my dad would be at work. We raced to my house, went to my bedroom, and went at it. A few minutes later, without warning, my dad did the thing he always did – knock, then immediately open the door. Seriously? What was the point of knocking? I’ll never understand.
So there I was. His precious baby, naked with a boy. I did the only thing I could think of, which was to do a little *roll* off the bed, and then a second *roll* to hide myself underneath my bed. Leaving my bare-bummed boyfriend to the nightmare above me.
The only words my dad said was, “get dressed.”
I did not go to practice that day. Instead, I had to have dinner with my dad, alone. I couldn’t even look him in the eye. I was mortified.
We tried to have small talk???? “How was your day?” “Fine, yours?”
Two guys, college-age were yapping and I heard them say, it would be nice if the old f***er would let us go before him.
I looked up ahead of me in line and there were two young women, and then a man and wife and I didn’t see the advantage of them wanting to let these guys go before them, and they didn’t look all that old, then I realized that they were talking about me.
So I reached in my basket and took a shirt I was buying and pulled the tag off it, so when it was my turn and I didn’t let the sh**heads but in line, I left the shirt for last after taking my time unloading all the merchandise and striking up a nice conversation with the checker that always stalls a little and then she got to the shirt.
By this time the guys were really pissed. She said sir, your shirt doesn’t have a tag, let me call someone and get a price for you. I looked back with a grin. and said, you just got old f**kered.
I got married in 2008, my sister in 2009. My wedding was lovely and small but I felt like it meant a lot. My sister got married a year later. My Aunts bestowed upon her a family necklace (something borrowed and old) that was blue, and a simple flower bracelet for her something new.
They had done none of that for me.
I cried for 3 days. Like my marriage didn’t matter at all.
I was nearly killed in a multi-vehicular accident when I was 25. The first police officer on the scene pronounced me dead, but, luckily for me, there was a nurse on hand to confirm that, while I was gravely injured and in shock (which means that you don’t have a pulse in your arms and legs because your blood pressure is so low), I was actually alive.
By the time the ambulance got there, I was conscious and screaming from the pain of my injuries. I had broken both my legs, my pelvis and three vertebrae (they were not displaced), but the source of my agony was a dislocated knee joint. My knee-cap was 6 to 8 inches north of where it should be and my upper and lower leg bones over-lapped by 3 or 4 inches.
It hurt. A LOT.
So, they cut me out of my car and got me into the ambulance and rushed me to the hospital. I was in bad enough shape that they called ahead so an Orthopedist was waiting for me. Unfortunately for me, he was a newly minted doctor fresh out of his residency.
When he came into the exam room he:
did not ask my name
did not introduce himself
did not examine me
did not look at my chart
did not attempt to take the pulse in the ankle of the mangled leg
What he DID do was say, “Oh, that leg has to come off.” Those were literally the first words out of his mouth.
Now, my sister is a nurse and my mother wanted me to be a doctor, so I knew that he should have at least looked at my chart and attempted an exam. I was so angry at his utter lack of bedside manner that my immediate response was, “If I lose my leg, you’ll lose your license.”
Honestly, I don’t know who was more surprised, him or me. Admittedly I was having a REALLY bad day, but normally I would never say anything like that to anyone.
Now, what I didn’t know at the time was that in 95% of the cases where a person has a dislocated knee joint the way I did, the femoral artery that supplies blood to the lower leg is crushed beyond repair. But I was extraordinarily flexible, and luckily, my femoral artery was NOT damaged.
So after a short but pointed argument and a bit of malpractice (on the doctor’s part), my injury was reduced and I got to keep my leg below the knee. It has taken a lot of surgery to fix the damage and more than a decade of physical therapy to relearn how to walk but I can walk and 99% of people won’t notice my limp.
So that is how a split-second decision changed my life. If I had let the doctor amputate, no one would have known that my artery hadn’t been crushed and I’d have a prosthesis and be buying my shoes one at a time. I thank goodness every day that I said what I did to that insufferable jerk.
Women and their tests…
Heaven on Seven Chicken Voodoo Rigatoni
spicy rigatoni 3
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 teaspoon Angel Dust Cajun Seasoning
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion, white and green parts
2 tablespoons Roasted Garlic Puree
1/3 cup diced celery
1/2 cup seeded, diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup seeded, diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup seeded, yellow bell pepper
1/3 cup seeded, diced poblano chile
1/4 cup seeded, diced cubanella pepper
1/4 cup seeded, diced banana pepper
1 tablespoon seeded, minced Fresno chile
1 1/2 teaspoons seeded, minced habanero chile
1 teaspoon seeded, minced jalapeno
1/2 teaspoon minced serrano chile
1/2 teaspoon seeded, minced fingerhot chile
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1/4 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1/4 teaspoon chile powder
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup peeled and diced ripe banana
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup mango juice
1/2 cup papaya juice
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon Key lime or regular lime juice
1 tablespoon Hot as a Mutha hot pepper sauce or habanero sauce
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
2 pounds dried rigatoni pasta, cooked according to package directions
Instructions
Season the chicken with 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning.
In a 5 quart Dutch oven, preferably enameled cast iron, heat the oil over high heat. When oil is hot but not smoking add the chicken and brown for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir in the yellow, red and green onions and the garlic puree cook for 2 minutes.
Add the celery, peppers, and chiles cook until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
Add honey, sugars, paprikas, chile powder, allspice, coriander, turmeric, salt, black and white peppers, red pepper flakes, remaining 1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, and stir for 2 to 3 minutes to coat meat and vegetables with the seasonings.
Mix in the banana, tomato sauce, water, coconut milk, juices and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil reduce the heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour.
When ready to serve, stir in the butter until well blended and toss with rigatoni in a large bowl.
Attribution
Posted by Recipethyme at Recipe Goldmine 8/18/2001 5:26 pm.
Source: Chef Jimmy Bannos – Heaven on Seven Restaurant, Chicago
While we usually call it the “sixth sense”, the military term for this phenomenon is “premonition and intuition”.
Soldiers who fought for a long time on the battlefield have often developed sharper senses. Their bodies and minds are adapting to a survival situation:
After you have been away from any artificial light sources for a while, your night vision will improve. Being constantly exposed to enemy fire, your ability to see and recognize objects at a long distance increases.
You will be able to fine tune your hearing so that you’ll will be more perceptible to all “man made” sounds, for example tank engines or sounds of movement in the underbrush.
There are even soldiers who are capable to smell human feces from long distances away.
And some soldiers go even further: they develop an elevated state of mind, where their subconsciousness is able to connect the tiniest sensory inputs with the soldier’s vast experience. This way, soldiers can “foresee” future events on the battlefield, can “sniff out” ambushes and “know” where the enemy has put the mines.
This is not a new phenomenon, though there are many accounts from WWII and the Vietnam war where soldiers acquired extraordinary perception skills. Unfortunately, the military often dismissed them as “spooky stories”.
I was able to acquire a limited set of “extrasensory perception” skills myself. Interestingly, while I was fighting in the Bosnian war, I wasn’t really able to develop above average senses. As the war went on, I became better in anticipating enemy positions, or mined areas, but this was purely because of my ever growing experience and improved knowledge of our enemy’s tactics. When you’ve seen the enemy attacking a couple of times, always in the same way, it’s really not too difficult to figure out what their next steps will be.
During the war in Kosovo, however, I went one step further. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that we were nonstop in combat. There were no clear front lines (like in Bosnia) and everyday was a fight for survival that demanded from us to be 100% alert and sharp.
I remember one particular day: it was the third day of a massive enemy attack and I was manning a position together with a comrade. We were expecting that the enemy’s main assault would happen just in front of our position. We were in a small house and the moment I entered the building I felt that something was wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on it, though, but an inner voice told me: “this place is no good!”
We waited, but nothing happened. The fighting had started on our right flank, but in front of us, everything was still calm. All of a sudden, I told my buddy: “Let’s go somewhere else!” He trusted my word and didn’t argue with me and so we moved to another house that was a couple of hundred meters up the road.
On our way, we passed two of our comrades who were waiting in another position. I took a short look at their spot and told them to move fifty meters up the road to another place. I didn’t know why I said it, but they obeyed my order and moved immediately.
My new position was in a big three story house, only hundred meters to their right side, and so I was able to keep an eye on them. After an hour, the enemy attacked us with tanks. I shot twice with an RPG, but the enemy was still advancing. Our house had a very safe place in the basement and more and more soldiers came from other places to find refuge there.
image 15
Our last position, the “big house”, seen from enemy side. Picture taken after the war.
Outside the house, bullets and shells were flying from every direction. Suddenly my alarms went off again. I stood up and said: “Let’s go! Now or never!” and we all exited through a small window at the back of the house.
When I got outside the house, the air was red from the dust of the houses’ red bricks. Trees were hit by artillery shells and one fell just one meter in front of my feet. I waved and screamed at the two comrades that I had left nearby and told them to join us. Somehow we all made it to a safe place.
What I found out later was that an artillery shell had hit the exact place where I had my first position, just minutes after we decided to leave the place. The shell went straight through the roof and would have killed us immediately.
The two soldiers that I had asked to change their position came to thank me. They told me that only one minute after they were in their new position, an artillery shell had hit the old one.
And the last man who had left the big house from the small window told us that the moment he was leaving the building, a tank round had hit the room in the basement where we had stayed the whole time.
Of course we had a lot of luck that day, but there was more to it. After having spent a long time in combat, I was able to trust my instincts, my gut feeling, although it didn’t make any logical sense. From a military point of view, the positions that we had been using that day were carefully chosen and the best possible choices. Still, some inner voice told me to abandon them.
There were more occasions where my extrasensory perception skills (or those of my comrades) were either saving our lives or made us better soldiers. Especially during night combat, we often “knew” where each of our soldiers was positioned and what they were doing, without being able to see them. We were able to move without wasting time figuring out where everyone was left and we could shoot without hitting one of our own people. This made us better and more lethal soldiers.
Yield: about 8 to 10 gallons of gumbo. Can cut recipe in half to reduce.
Ingredients
2 cups vegetable oil
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups diced onions
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups chopped green onions
3 gallons water
1 pound fresh or frozen okra
1 (28 ounce) can Ro*Tel diced tomatoes or 2 (10 ounce) cans
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 ounces crab boil
8 dashes Tabasco sauce
8 dashes Louisiana hot sauce
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 ounce Paul Prudhomme’s Seafood Magic seasonings
1 ounce Cajun seasoning
1 ounce dried basil
1 ounce dried thyme
3 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp (70 to 90 count)
1 pound claw crab meat
2 whole crabs, cleaned and halved
1 pint fresh oysters
1 ounce file or to taste
Instructions
First, you make a roux. In a large, heavy stock pot on medium heat, add 2 cups vegetable oil and bring to temperature.
Add flour gradually. It will sizzle when it is at the right temperature. Using a whisk, stir roux constantly. Stir until it reaches a peanut butter color. When it reaches the desired color, add the onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic and 1 cup of green onions (in that order) until all ingredients are cooked down or caramelized.
Add water, okra, Ro*Tel tomatoes, seasonings and bring to boil. After it reaches boiling, reduce heat to low and let simmer for at least an hour.
Add seafood and continue to cook on medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Taste for seasoning and texture.
Add file to thicken.
Stir in the remaining green onions and simmer for a few more minutes.
It was older than I was. The biggest issue was, the floor pans were pretty rusted out (and the Flintstones jokes that came with it). I could see the road flow by if I looked down under my feet and pedals. Water would splashed up when it rained.
So I try to fix it. Some rolled stainless steel wouldn’t stay down right. Riveting just made more holes. And I gave it a break. Later that afternoon, I noticed my mom’s cookie sheet. It was almost the exact right size! And it wouldn’t roll up. A few clips with tin snips, and some epoxy, I had the floor of my car (on my side) waterproof!
Later that week, my mom wanted to make cookies. I, of course, had no idea where her cookie sheet was.
I think the worst part was me “helping” her look for 5 or 8 minutes.
A few summers ago, and 20 or so years later, I finally came clean about it. Time heals all wounds, and she wasn’t too upset.
I was quite a lonely boy, and longed for a relationship. On holiday, I met a girl who seemed interested in me, and we had fun: we walked, climbed, sailed together and did a lot of talking. At the end of the holiday, we exchanged addresses and corresponded for a year or so. I kept ALL her letters.
One day, she wrote to tell me about her new boyfriend. He was wonderful (apparently.) Being rather immature, I felt betrayed. I had no reason to feel this way, we were only friends and I should have felt glad for her, but hey. Teenage angst.
I took all her letters, threw them into my metal litter bin, and set fire to them.
IN MY BEDROOM.
I had the window open, and there was no-one else in the house, so that was cool. I remember the IMMENSE satisfaction watching those letters burn.
When the bin cooled, I decided to bury the ashes, and with them my heart. I lifted the bin – and there was a perfect bottom-of-the-bin shaped hole in the polyester carpet.
My father was fairly physical in terms of punishment, so my heart did not just sink: it scuttled itself. I knew that Armageddon would ensue were this to be discovered.
In panic, I looked around and realised that my room was a perfect oblong. The bin-shaped burn was in the left corner, my bed in the opposing right corner.
I have (up to this day!) never worked so hard or fast in my life. I removed the furniture from my room, managed to lift the carpet, desperately salvaging the carpet tacks, turned the carpet around, nailed it back down and replaced the furniture, with the bed covering the offending burn.
My parents wondered why I suddenly announced my decision to assist with the housework by taking responsibility for all upstairs vacuuming and cleaning. They were surprised but pleased: I was desperate to keep my crime concealed.
I am now 59. My father has passed away, but my mother still lives in the family home. And the burn is still under my old bed. 45 years later, my crime remains hidden.
1. Pretty people are automatically more acceptable by people. Average looking people have to do something above average to get accepted and ugly people have to do something extraordinary!
image 24
It is because the human mind appreciates physical beauty and repels ugliness because of immaturity of mind. But in the end what matters is inner beauty or ugliness and that wiseness comes with experience and time.
2. Leaving your girlfriend/boyfriend seems much tougher than leaving your friends.
image 23
It is because romantic relations induces strong pheromones secretions in your body that cause you to develop strong bonding feeling with your partner. It is not the case you have with friends and hence breaking a strong bond seems tougher.
3. People who get goosebumps frequently while listening to music have a special connection with it. These people listen to music very frequently and their work capacities and capabilities are partly dependent on it. If they are barred from listening to music for 1 month, their productivity will fall.
image 22
It is because the hormone adrenaline increases in their body while listening to the music and that causes more activation, more awakening and better functioning of their body. Plus, it keeps the mind calm.
4. The more attention you give to a person, the more attitude he/she will show you and the less crap he/she will give about you.
image 21
It is because as the humans get more attention, their minds tend to think that they are very important and good looking and the person who is giving them attention needs their company desperately and is not equal to them at all.
5. Money instils confidence and happiness in majority of people. It increases their desire to work.
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It is because anything (money) that is able to complete every single desire of people is very much acceptable to them as human desire are insatiable.
In 5th grade I had a 1st year teacher, Ms. Craig, who was amazing and one of the reasons I went into education, but I digress. One day we were studying the United States and where all of the states were. I noticed that she had switched Missouri and Minnesota. I remember thinking – that is not right. you see my dad is from Minnesota and my family lived there for a short spell when I was 4. I decided, to ask her if that is really where Minnesota located. I will never forget her reply – You know Denise, I am not totally confident that it is let’s check. So in front of the entire class, she lifted the map she had written on to look at the map that contained all of the States written on it. Well, look at that Denise is correct, I made a mistake and mixed up two states!
Miss Jana Craig if you are out there and can read this, you made a very strong impression on a 5th grader in the very first class you taught. You were the BEST teacher ever! Thank you for making me love school.
The most important required secondary power is to be born in an upper class family. Most of those high IQ people who succeed, have born with silver spoon on hand.
The reason is trivial. Nobody makes it alone nor in a vacuum. To be successful, you need to get socialized with right people, to know the right people, to be encouraged, to have social support, you name it. The less you have those, the less likely you are to succeed.
Then there is the thrice-goddamned communication range. If you are a high-IQ person in a middle class environment, you are likely to be branded as a weird kid, a nerd, a geek, an egghead and bullied and ostracized. You learn very quickly to hide your intelligence to stay below the radar lest you are torn into pieces. And God help you if you are born in a working class family – you will be stampled as a weirdo, a misfit, an outcast, and eaten alive.
For a middle class and working class high IQ individuals, the best hopes are military and STEM branches. Military because militaries are meritocracies, and high IQ is an asset once you are past buck sergeant or lieutenant. STEM branches, because they are difficult and require brainpower, and you are likely to get networked with similar-minded youngsters.
Forget the rags-to-riches fairy tales. They are just that – fairy tales invented to deceive the gullible and to make the proles to blame themselves for their failures.
When I was in High School, I would often work until late at night in the mines, and then go home. But more often enough, no food was left for me. While my mother told my sister to make a plate for me, most of the time it was either [1] completely missing, or [2] starvation plate; one baby spoon of corn, one baby spoon of potatoes, and one half of a meatloaf.
Now, to keep up my energy, I would often buy my own food, and make it and eat around 10 at night.
One day, I was making a pizza for myself. I was alone at the house. But you know, suddenly I had to go to the bathroom. So I went upstairs while my pizza would finish cooking.
Unfortunately, while I was upstairs, my sister came home, with two of her friends. Took out my pizza and the three girls ate my dinner.
When I came down, I was livid, and they just laughed at me.
They taunted me. They told me how stupid I was, and all the rest of the silly kinds of games that adolescent girls play on the weak.
Meanwhile, my FUCKING father defended them saying “You are the oldest son and it is your responsibility to take the hits”.
…
He was always a BLUE PILL dweeb.
I’m much older now, and you know what, I should have beat their god-damn faces in. Let them cry and holler. Let them scream in pain.
But, you know, I didn’t. I was a “good boy”.
As far as my father is concerned… he passed on, and I forgave him. But I have to tell you all the real truth… he taught me to become the wimp nerdy blue-pill “kick me” beta simp that I had to endure with for decades.
DO NOT DO THAT TO YOUR KIDS.
You do not take abuse.
You PUNISH the abuser(s).
Swiftly. You rub their faces in the shit that they just laid down upon you. As they scream and hollar, let them. Soon enough they will shut the fuck up.
Mine was in the Air Force. I had a racist for an immediate supervisor who always gave me average ratings on my performance. I didn’t realize how bad I was getting screwed until one of my counterparts (who was a total screw up) was shocked that he higher ratings than myself. A “3” is considered average (which I was getting on my reviews). This “screwup” was getting 5’s which is the highest score. I was thinking “how the HECK did he get a 5??” This dude missed time, came to work drunk, was reprimanded for fights….been to jail….etc. my record was SPOTLESS. Always the first on the job and the last to leave. Kept my uniform super clean. So I realized that I’m working twice as hard as this other dude and getting a much lower score.
This was in the 1990’s. I overheard a conversation with my racist supervisor one day about what he wanted to be when he leave the military. He stated that he wanted to be a highway patrol officer “so that he can legally hit minorities”. He always made crude jokes about Mexicans and blacks. As an African American myself I hated this dude’s guts. His leadership skills were the worst. I hated every day of working with him.
One day it was his last day of work. The shop was going to throw a going away party for this racist pig. There was an option to donate $10.00 to the potluck to participate in the party or miss out and work. I chose to work. I’m not donating a DIME to this dude’s going away party.
After he gracefully disappeared from the job I thought that would be the last I’ve heard of him. NOPE! I was wrong. Found out later that he did apply for the state highway patrol position.
The timing on this particular day couldn’t have been more perfect. Two men from the highway patrol were visiting our unit and I happened to be the ONLY person there. They asked me “who’s in charge?” Well, I’m the only airman in the shop so I was actually in charge. I asked them what’s going on? They told me that they are doing a follow up on a gentleman who applied for highway patrol who used to work at this unit. I told them I have detailed files on this person. What made this even better was the fact that one highway patrol officer was black, the other was Hispanic. I was so nervous in hopes that our main supervisor didn’t show up because he would give this guy a decent feedback. I wanted them to hear the DARK side of this scumbag.
I told them that he was a decent worker at best but here are some documents I wanted to share. Luckily I kept my old floppy disk handy with all of the stuff I wrote to the higher chain of command about this racist pos. The statements had dates and times I written down of his racist comments over the years. Too many to write in this essay. But let’s just say it was two pages worth (front and back).
The look of disgust was very apparent on their faces. One of them asked me “people like him still exist in the military?” I replied “shockingly, yes”. They asked me, “did you ever want to knock this dude the F- -K out?” (Many Times I did).
To make a long story short, months went by and I didn’t hear anything. Then one day I overheard a conversation about my former supervisor being turned down for his highway patrol job and was working at a Wal-Mart as a warehouse worker. In all honesty, I take GREAT pleasure in feeling that my sneaky swift actions were the reason.
Dave and Buster’s Muffaletta Salad
an amazing salad
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds Romanelli pasta
4 ounces sliced turkey
4 ounces sliced ham
2 ounces (24 slices) pepperoni
2 ounces sliced salami
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup chopped green salad olives
1 cup sliced celery
3 tablespoons Italian dressing
12 ounces prepared assorted lettuce
2 ounces julienned spinach leaves
1 cup diced Roma tomatoes
1 cup assorted pizza cheeses: fontina, mozzarella, asiago or parmesan
4 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 cup roasted red pepper
1/4 cup shredded aged asiago cheese
Instructions
Julienne (cut into strips) the pepperoni, salami, ham and turkey then place in salad bowl.
Cut celery, green onions and roast peppers, add to the bowl.
Chop and add both types of olives and add to bowl.
Add the Italian dressing and pesto and toss all together well to mix.
Cook pasta in boiling salted water until done, drain and place in salad bowl. Pour the Italian dressing on the pasta and toss all together gently.
Place assorted lettuce, spinach, pizza cheeses, diced ripe Roma tomatoes and onions on cold platter (leave a space in the middle for pasta).
Add tossed hot Romanelli salad mixture; pile high in the center of platter. Add shredded asiago or parmesan to garnish.
As a triage nurse in an Emergency Room, there are duties that become mundane but are necessary. One rule we had was that if a pregnant woman approached the check in desk complaining of pregnancy symptoms, the nurse asked how far along they were.
Twenty weeks is the magic number. If they are 20 weeks pregnant the baby has a realistic chance of surviving if delivered. This meant the nurse had to get up and push the patient by wheelchair to Labor and Delivery. It was a big hospital and L&D was on the exact opposite side of the hospital.
If they checked in at the front entrance, security would push them to L&D and the staff there would determine how far along they are and just as the triage nurse in the ER take them by wheelchair to the proper care area.
A pretty good system that had worked for years without incident. Both areas had to push an equal number of patients across the hospital.
And then one day I get a call from the L&D Director.
“We had a patient come in today who says she was told rudely by the ER staff that she was in the wrong place and needed to drive around to the front entrance,” she said.
I neglected to mention that this was a huge hospital that took up 2 city blocks. Crossing the hospital required a 10 min walk through a maze of locked doors and corridors. Driving around required 2 red lights and avoiding a one way street.
“I’ll have to speak to the staff,” I told her, “They know what they’re supposed to do.”
“This girl was 32 weeks and complained of her water breaking,” she continued.
It seemed she was catastrophizing the situation. The staff broke protocol. I will remind them and reiterate the protocol.
“I’ll make sure they understand,” I said.
“Keith, the baby was dead,” she said.
Turns out she was minimizing the episode. The seriousness of the call was not lost on me.
“I am going now to take care of it,” I said, “I am sorry.”
“These people are livid,” she added.
I called the charge nurse and asked who was at triage. Of the two names given, I immediately surmised who the culprit was. Judy was an outspoken nurse who enjoyed sharing her opinion that most of the patients in the ER did not even have an emergency. I went to get her.
“Can you come with me?” I asked.
“Why?” she asked, “Am I in trouble?”
She followed me out into the hallway, and as we walked to my office I asked her, “Did you send a 32 week pregnant patient around to the front?”
“Is that what this is about?” she started, “We are busy and I don’t have time to be pushing people all over the hospital.”
“The baby was dead,” I said, “This is not trivial.”
“That baby was dead before she got here,” she argued, “That has nothing to do with me not pushing her to L&D.”
Stating things that were most likely true did not change facts. She probably was already fired, honestly, but without hesitation I said, “Collect all your stuff and go home.”
“Am I being put on administrative leave because of this crap?”
“Come by my office before you leave,” I said.
While she collected her things, I called Human Resources and made sure I had grounds to terminate. The HR representative agreed to come witness the termination.
“I don’t care what you do,” Judy started as she entered the room. “That baby was already dead.”
“Judy, because of your refusal to follow proper protocol and continued insistence that you have done nothing wrong, you are being terminated. Effective immediately.” Her mouth fell open, and she began to cry. “This is Allison from HR. She can answer any further questions you may have.”
That’s the moment, I think, she finally realized the seriousness of her actions.
An Egyptian woman insisted that her husband’s sperm be checked, because something was obviously wrong. They were trying to get pregnant, but nothing happened at all. And she wanted that baby.
His semen sample turned out to be a bit of a surprise, because it was dead. There was not a single living sperm cell detectable, and it had always been like that, because the man was consequently diagnosed with a rare congenital condition in which patients are infertile from birth.
His sperm had always been dead. The suckers never swam.
You might wonder why the woman’s question was shocking in the first place.
Well, they had three children. And her husband was convinced that he was the biological father of all three of them. His wife, on the other hand, knew only too well that maybe — just maybe — that might not have been the entire naked truth. Because back in Egypt — where they lived when all their children were conceived — there must have been another kind sperm donor. With living sperm.
And yet she was the one who insisted that her husband’s semen be checked by their urologist, because something was wrong. Only to be unmasked as a serial cheater.
I was working as a computer programmer. I was given a task with an impossible deadline with the threat “if it’s not finished on time, you’re fired”.
I was working late, very late like past midnight late. For some reason, I had an urge to snoop in my bosses desk. I was shocked to find a hand-written report on everyone in the department. The boss was following everybody around, timing and recording our movements. For example “A” took 3 minutes in the rest room, “B” took 7 minutes getting coffee then went to the rest room 17 minutes later, “C” returned from lunch 3 minutes late.
I was appalled and quit soon after that without telling anyone what I found. The rest of the team quit before the summer was over. From what I heard later on, they were all given a project with the same threat; “if it’s not finished on time, your fired”. Upper management called the boss in to find out why 75% of the department quit in less than 6 months.
I learned a very important lesson; if a boss hands you a project and says “if it’s not completed in time, you’re fired”. Quit immediately because that project was deliberately chosen for you to fail.
Its not exactly revenge, its more getting paid back.
I lived in a condo, I parked right next to a main door.
I would drive to work every morning, and one morning when I pulled out of my parking spot I noticed pinkish red transmission fluid on the parking spot. We have an expensive waterproof coating in the parking garage. You are not allowed to get oil on it, as it degrades it. There are huge fines for dripping oil
So I drove to work, called a transmission repair place, and told them that I had a leak, and they said I could drop it off at lunch. Towards the end of the day, they called me back, and said that they couldn’t find a leak, and they were sorry, but they were going to have to charge me $20 for the time spent looking. I thought this was a screaming deal, and put them on my list of places to deal with. A couple of years later, I did use them.
I drove home, and there was more transmission fluid in my parking stall, and I hadn’t had the car parked there.
So I went shopping, and bought a trail camera, that I placed in my stall. I also put up a sign, saying Parking $200 an hour. Which by condo bylaws was illegal, but I hoped no one would catch me on the first day.
I went to work the next day, and when I came home I checked the trail cam, and a delivery truck parked in my stall 4 times during the day, and the guy ran in and delivered packages. If he didn’t have the leak, he wouldn’t have been a problem. But it was like a $1000 for an oil spill on the membrane, so I had to stop it.
I called the company the next day and told them they had a driver parking in my stall, and they owed me $200, in parking fees. This covered my $20 at the transmission shop, my time off work, and my trail cam. They argued, but eventually paid, because I had pictures of the van parked in front of the $200 an hour parking sign.
He never parked there again. As I said, I wouldn’t have been upset, except for the leak. He might have been doing it for years, before he had a leak.
Yes. I am one of six siblings, the youngest was my sister. At 20 she got married, to what turned out to be a physically abusive husband that raped her. She got divorced. He began tormenting her.
I was ten years older than her; and I had started a business that was doing well. I was aware my sister was having problems with her ex, but I wasn’t paying much attention. She called me, and said she wanted to talk to me about if I could help her.
I could help her, but I was busy dealing with something, and told her I’d call her back when I had more time. Then I forgot to call her back.
A week later, her ex broke into her apartment in the middle of the night, and stabbed her to death, stabbed her 22 times.
It was up to me to go through her apartment after the police turned it over to us, and collect her things. I found a diary. And in the diary, she had written she thought her ex was escalating, he had cut the brake lines on her car, and she was afraid he was going to kill her. So she called me, she wanted me to help her run away for a while, where he couldn’t find her. And I said I could help.
And I forgot to call her back, for a week.
I had plenty of money, I could have easily supported my sister anywhere she wanted to go, indefinitely.
And if I had remembered to call her back, she’d still be alive. But I was too busy to talk to her, and learn how bad it really was. And I was too busy to remember to call her back.
Instead, I spent about $50,000 getting her ex prosecuted and sent to prison. I was prepared to spend even more, but back then, that’s what it cost.
That was over 30 years ago. I put my business ahead of my family. I still know I am guilty, my sister cannot forgive me, and I cannot forgive myself. That will be true for the rest of my life.
Edit: Thanks for the upvotes and sympathy. To save some trouble, I will say I do not want any advice on getting over this, or what my sister would have wanted for me, or forgiving myself, or that her ex is guilty but not me. If I could do any of that, I would not have written this answer. I’ve dealt with this 30 years ago in the way I still think is best: I accepted my mistake, and I changed my priorities and thinking to never make the same mistake again. And at retirement age now, those changes have helped me with other losses; they were not due to my neglect or wrong-headed priorities.
Edit2: several have asked how this cost me money; it is the States job to prosecute and they pay for it. True. But the DA has a budget, and spends it all on cases based on which ones they believe they will most likely be able to get conviction on. Especially you don’t want to prosecute a murder case, fail to get a conviction, and then if new evidence comes to light you cannot prosecute again, due to double jeopardy. They thought our case was just circumstantial and hearsay from the family that hated her Ex. (I understood that.) So I went looking for a solution, and found a law partnership with two ex-Assistant DAs, still on good terms with the current DA. They were now defense attorneys, but I paid them to reprise their former role as prosecutors, they hired private investigators (by the book professionals) to develop the evidence needed to get her Ex prosecuted. I paid a retainer of $10K up front, and every time that ran low, I bumped it up $10K. It took several months, but eventually they brought their case to the DA (I was not present for that meeting, they thought it would be easier to talk if it was just them and no civilians). The DA decided to prosecute. So I didn’t pay for the prosecution, I paid to make it cheap and easy for the DA to prosecute, and that was the new evidence they needed. None of that was illegal or used any illegal means. Her Ex was convicted, and the Jury deliberated about 30 minutes before sentencing him to 30 to life.
Shortly after graduating from the police academy, I learned of a three-day course for police officers called “Street Survival.” I paid my way and attended the event. I learned a tremendous amount from going to that course. One of the biggest things I learned is what happens to a person when they are shot. We reviewed a lot of actual videos of police officers being shot. Some fell while others remained standing.
The skill they were attempting to teach us, was that as a police officer you never stop fighting. Not if you’re shot, not if you’re stabbed, stay in the fight as long as you are alive. This was at that time, shown to be the officer’s best chance at survival.
They showed examples of officers severely wounded who continued to fight until help arrived and survived. Conversely, some officers that were hit and simply disengaged were more likely to either die of shock or subsequently be killed by more gunfire.
I have watched videos where police officers in a gunfight don’t even realize they have been shot. I have always been taught that in a gunfight you keep fighting as long as you are able. It will hurt, and there will be blood, but an officer’s best chance at survival is to fight.
Secret doc AND modern policy aims to slow development in China
I got called for an interview two days after submitting an application. I cried after getting off the phone, because heck, I need this job and I have an interview tomorrow.
For context: I was out at the beach with my niece and nephew, and it was cold water and their first time at a beach so of course I follow them into the water because someone has to keep an eye on these trouble makers.
I failed to realize the consequence of having sniffles combined with taking care of kids and a cold beach. While were out to lunch, I get the aforementioned call.
I wake up the next morning and I am sick. Sick as in flu, runny nose, throwing up, coughing, barely speak sick.
I get my butt up and go to the interview. That alone is crazy.
And this interview goes incredibly well. I manage to get through it.
The manager extends his hand and says with a big smile, “Well, we’d like to extend an offer to work here to you.”
I’m about to shake his hand when, because my life is an actual joke, I throw up. Onto his shoes. All over the carpeted floor.
I look at him, and I’m scared. I thought I royally goofed. He hands me tissues and smiles like a dad does.
”Don’t worry. The offer still stands. I hope you take it too, because it’s obvious you are a determined young woman. I’ve never had anyone come to an interview sick before.”
1) 80% of people would write their name if asked to write something with a new pen.
2) If a person laughs at a low quality joke then he is suffering from loneliness.
3) The big toe indicates the nervous weakness hidden by the other fingers, indicating that the person wants to be unnoticed by many.
4) Psychology is the first 6 seconds of meeting with someone, the first impression about him is formed.
5) It is a proven fact that our response to any situation is capable of radically changing that situation.
6) Many times someone’s indifference indicates his utmost care which he does not want to express.
7) If you write down negative thoughts and throw them away like garbage, your mood will get better.
8) In 90% of cases, those whose handwriting is bad are more creative than usual.
9) It has been proven that orange helps reduce anxiety. That’s why doctors recommend eating an orange before going to work.
10) Never reveal your goals to anyone. It produces the equivalent effect of achieving goals in the brain.
11) When surrounded by plants, the brain releases certain chemicals which increase the thinking power of the brain. That’s why walking in the garden is part of some psychiatric procedures.
12) The conversation of the parents with the child becomes the language of his mind.
13) 8 positive statements disable a negative statement.
14) If someone’s foot is back towards you during the story-gossip with many people, then it should be understood that he is interested in you.
15. If a girl likes you, she will play with her hair while talking to you.
16) You will rarely die in your dreams, if you die in your dreams then you have started something new in life.
17) Dream is a conversation between you and your subconscious mind.
18) But before we go – a click on the upvote button will make both of us happy.
Even if Xi requested for a Loan of $ 900 Billion, the request would be made by the Bank of China to the US Treasury and would be an official request
The Loan would need Congressional Approval
Besides why would Xi need Biden for $ 900 Billion?
He has $ 3.1 Trillion in Forex reserves and even if China pays off all the debts it’s committed to, that leaves $ 1.2 Trillion in the clear for China
That’s more than the next 17 nations combined
Plus even if Xi needs money to bailout some aspect of China, his people have almost 80–100 Trillion RMB in Savings and Investments and all he needs to do is to offer 8% interest and tomorrow morning he gets his $ 900 Billion.
Plus where exactly does Biden have $ 900 Billion?
Plus why would Xi need $ 900 Billion in US currency?
Obviously this news is not just wrong but fundamentally stupid
Xi and Bidens meeting was done at Bidens request
Xi took the opportunity to meet the businessmen of USA and present to them his three new policies on Foreign companies
A. Reducing the time needed to withdraw capital from 36 months to 12 months
B. Extending IP protection from 1 year to 5 years (Many US Businessmen loved this)
C. Decriminalizing Espionage which didn’t have National Security Implications and changing 15 year imprisonment to 100 Million RMB fine
Biden and Xi met to mainly bide time
Biden has the US Elections next year and has his plate full of conflicts and simply can’t afford a third conflict
Xi said he would not invade Taiwan without red lines being violated including the declaration of Independence
My cousin once ordered some louts out of the store he was a manager at.
Later that day, as he drove home, he spotted them following him. He didn’t speed, he didn’t weave, he just drove carefully to a nearby suburb, turned down a side street and then turned into a driveway between two blocks of residential units, with them closing the distance and pulling in right behind him . . . right into the parking area behind the local police station.
The louts realised where they were, started to reverse out as a bunch of police looked up at what was going on, only to have a police car pull up behind the louts, blocking them in.
My cousin got out and explained what was going on to the officers on hand. The louts denied following him but it didn’t matter. They had outstanding warrants AND were already on the ‘Be On The Lookout’ list for some antics they had gotten up to earlier in the day.
My cousin gave a statement and went on his way, the louts didn’t get to do the same.
My family has been involved in sourcing the cows for McDonald’s for decades. I use the word “cows” as opposed to “cattle” because almost all of the meat comes from dairy beef. Now dairy beef is not a bad thing if you make hamburgers out of it and it is very lean. Growing up on a beef farm I was raised on premium ground chuck. The texture is totally different. Our burgers would easily fall apart. However, you do not want that in the fast food industry. Dairy beef creates a “chewier” patty. Processed thin, it is perfect for McDonald’s and it is 100% lean beef.
As cattle buyers, our family has had their fair share of tricks pulled on them. Unscrupulous sellers make give a cow an injection right before she enters the sale barn and we would buy her thinking that she was just a cow that had quit given milk. Since there is a time period between the sale barn purchase and the cow’s arrival at the processing plant, the ailment would inevitably show up and she would be rejected by McDonald’s. We, of course, had to bear the cost of the reject. McDonald’s was strict!
Additionally, all the cattle are brought to a central source where they are butchered and processed to provide a more “generic” flavor as opposed to one particular breeds distinguishing taste (if that makes sense). In other words, all the patties taste the same.
Though I do not eat at McDonald’s very often, I am not afraid of their meat. I recently read an article on Pollock (the fish in Filet-O-Fish). McDonald’s only uses PREMIUM Pollock! And their tatar sauce is one of the top-rated in the world for flavor! Crazy. Try the Filet-O-Fish with added bacon – game changer!!
I tore a guy’s arm apart at the wrist, elbow and shoulder. I dragged another guy’s face along a brick wall.
I was out walking late at night. I’d just had unexpected news that my daughter had died. I was sitting on a bridge near my home contemplating jumping. I was completely broken.
Three men approached me. I was called a Paki and threatened with violence, and rather than run or de-escalate (which is the standard/correct response and one I had consistently tried to use until now), in my emotional state, I threw the first punch.
I dragged one of their faces along a pebble dashed wall, cutting up most of one side of his face.
I grabbed one of them by the wrist, twisted and yanked using a nearby wall and my foot as fulcrums. Elbow popped. Shoulder popped. Wrist cracked. He screamed and it looked completely misshapen.
This is why this was the worst: I was not trying to save myself. I was trying to hurt them. The self defence was coincidental. I was angry beyond anything I could control and they made themselves a valid target for my rage. I did not need to do those things to those people to protect myself.
They ran away with their injured friend(s). I went home and called the police. They sent me to a psychiatrist who assured me that my response was not “abnormal” given the sudden exposure to several extremely stressful events back to back, but that I did need further counselling.
I was put in touch with a longer term psychiatrist to help me process both my grief and anger, who also helped me deal with my subsequent depression.
True violence is very rarely the result of a healthy mind.
Where we live daycare is $500 a week for an infant with almost a one year waiting list. My daughter and my son in law (SIL) were making hard financial decisions on who would give up their career to watch the newborn – trust me they make good money, but not enough in this economy.
I said “I am eligible to retire. I can watch her”. I watch her 7–5, five days a week and do not ask for a penny.
What do I get in return? A bonding with my amazing grandchild that I never had with my own children that went to daycare when I worked.
I see daily, the world through her eyes, and the pure joy only a child has. Days filled with laughter. Singing her to sleep. Reading books. Playing together. Taking walks in the park.
Also they buy or cook food for me so I have a free breakfast, lunch, and snacks everyday. My SIL also helps with our routine home maintenance and also provides the muscle for jobs our old bodies can no longer do.
I receive special gifts from my grandchild every holiday and birthday that I know my daughter and SIL bought – items my daughter knew I wanted, but never would purchase for myself.
Yes, I could have worked a few more years at a very nice salary but I put my own ambitions aside. Family is all you have in the end. Hold them close.
Before the 1990s super corrupt Deng Xiaoping’s son and Macau Gambling debt is testament to that.
Then the 2000s rolled along and there were anti corruption drives. Literally people with bricks of RMB in their homes.
By the mid 00s human flesh search came along. When a citizen saw a government official with stuff beyond his pay grade? Or Flaunting it. They reported it. The CPC went and investigated it.
Li Gang is the poster child for this – This son said I’m LiGang’s son showing his power/wealth influence. He lost everything.
By the end of the 00s corruption existed but it was good fellas
You see by the 2010s cashless payments were the norm. So yeah sure you COULD have bricks of RMB in your home… but you can’t get it out the country… you also can’t spend it as above people watch for things you have above your pay grade if you pay in cash.
BIG cash payments draw attention to you as everything else is paid electronically.
But there are still 420,000 prosecutions each year out of 80–90 million CPC members for corruption.
The big difference? Jon Corzine steals 1 billion dollars. He apologies pays a small fine (significantly less than he stole) and got no prison time, oh and he resigns… the ULTIMATE punishment and the ULTIMATE HIGHEST WORST PRICE IN THE UNIVERSE!
Meanwhile in China. Corrupt politician equals DEATH!
Most westerners laugh at how soft this punishment of death is! I mean if he resigned that would be a MUCH MUCH HARDER punishment!
One day, while I was working upstairs in my office, my German Shepherd came upstairs, stood in my office doorway barking at me.
Then he walked over to the top of the staircase barking as he looked down the stairs. He lifted his head, looked towards me and continued barking.
He walked back and stood in the office doorway again looking at me, barking.
He did this repeatedly for a few minutes while I worked. It became obvious he wanted me to follow him downstairs. I got up and asked him, “What’s the matter?”
As soon as I asked this our house began to shake.
Everything on my walls and shelves were rattling.
I did not understand exactly what was happening, but we both ran down the stairs while I yelled, “Let’s get the hell out of here!”
We got outside and I felt the ground moving.
Then it stopped.
We had just experienced an earthquake. They are practically nonexistent in our region. Somehow, my boy knew it was coming and came upstairs to warn me.
He did many intelligent things in his lifetime, but that was the most amazing.
My grandmother won’t throw out food. If the strawberries go gray, soft, and moldy, she’ll carefully cut out the bad parts and eat them anyway.
When I was a kid, a friend and I played frisbee with a pita bread in a public park. An old man sitting on a bench nearly had a heart attack yelling his lungs out at us.
Both my grandmother and the old man had survived the Holocaust. My grandma watched her own mother wither away, her ribcage protruding more and more every day, her face becoming skeletal until she died from malnourishment.
They lived on unsweetened tea, watery soup, and a fistful of rockhard black bread. You were lucky if you had a potato peel floating around in your bowl.
When the prisoners were liberated, many died because of taking in too many calories too soon. Their bodies couldn’t handle the sudden nutritional richness. Imagine how the Allied soldiers must have felt when they realized their generosity was lethal.
The vast majority of us can’t even imagine a life like that. We live surrounded by an abundance that is unfathomable for people who have gone through such heinous adversity.
We have access to the basic necessities of life.
We have the luxury to dream, create, and even help others.
A long-term relationship not always ends up with a marriage.
Love exists but it is preferable for many to become a slave and cry in a BMW rather than laughing and enjoying every moment with another person sitting right behind his/her two-wheeler.
Money is not everything but it is everything.
Looks are not everything but it is everything.
Sex is a need and is a way to every enlightenment.
The unconventional form of the profession or acts like writing, blogging, taking a year gap, traveling seems tempting by self but not appreciable by society.
“I need some space” is the most hypocritical statement ever.
Change is the only constant thing which stays immortal.
This used to be me. I’m successful in tech & love being with family. I was a travel RN for many years & I have family all over America. Fifteen years ago I was assigned to San Diego for six months. My Uncle Trent lived there with his wife & three kids. I’d see them once weekly for dinner & always paid. The family always ordered the most expensive on the menu but never finished the food. This went on for months. A few times I suggested that they all order what they could eat to no avail. So after four months of this I stopped going out with them when I visited. When they suggested dinner out I took my leave.
Father’s Day my Uncle calls me to come celebrate with them at an Italian restaurant in the mall. Sure! I’d love to be treated for once! I even bring my daughter with me since she’s visiting the city for the first time. We arrive at the restaurant & it’s one of those buffet type places where you pay first then eat. As we are walking up my uncle & his family line up in front of us. My daughter is in front me & we are all laughing & talking.
As I get up to the cashier & order she tells me the total. At my shocked face she says ‘He said you’re paying for everyone.’
My daughter hears this, puts her tray over mine & we turn & leave.
China has succeeded way beyond its own lofty goal 2 full years ahead of time. The goals were to match or overtake the west in all key technology for today and tomorrow’s world to the point that the U.S. and the west can no longer control China technically.
Roughly 2 years ago a Neo funded, Australian think tank call ASPI or Australian Strategic Policy Institute researched and comprehensively concluded that China today lead in 37 out of the 44 key strategic technologies and know how and the U.S. only has a marginal lead against China in 7 out of the 44.
China calls this technology sovereignty and China has them right where they wanted to be at. Frankly the U.S. by being so obnoxious about preventing this actually speed China along. The more the U.S. tried to contain and control China the harder and faster the Chinese work to overcome them.
So don’t asked this bias and ignorant question China is ready and China has overtaken. The question is how can the west win it back!
Start by getting the highest paying job you can get . Be the hardest working man in the room, always.
Get more responsible. Pay your bills on time and reach your workplace on time . Remember, you are capable of so much more.
If you have got any skill, level up and make it earn money for you . Start any side hustle , women love it and men respect it.
Adopt the 5 hours rule . Spend the 1 hour a day , 5 days a week , leveling up your skills , be it reading , studying or painting.
Become dangerous. Start boxing or karate classes , learn how to hurt people , destroy things and take a beating.
Increase your self discipline. Remember pain of discipline is less than the pain of regret and disappointment.
Create your own set of beliefs and standard about what you expect and will tolerate in your life . Like , I will not hang out with people who drink , smoke or have no ethics.
Improve your lifestyle. Cultivate good habits like reading, meditation and cut on bad habits.
Start working out be it yoga, boxing or hiking.
At the end of the day, you have to answer yourself and your conscience,” Did I live today according to the values and beliefs ? Was today a day of peace for me?.
Tibet has been a part of China for more than 700 years. Before 1950, Tibet was a brutal serfdom under Dalai Lama and had a cast system similar to that of India. The Monastery class were the slave masters and owned 99% of the land in Tibet. As a matter of fact, Dalai Lama was the biggest landlord and slave master and owned more than 6000 slaves. As a result of the brutal treatment of serfs, such as judicial bodily mutilation, Tibetans life expectancy under Dalai Lama was only 32.5 years. Now it has more than doubled.
I constantly am told how can I support China considering what they have done to Tibet? For one, the Dali Lama is not the “pope” of Buddhism, the man claims to be Buddha reincarnated, 99% of Buddhists world wide reject this claim, it would be like if someone said they were the second coming of Jesus. Tibet was a backwards feudal theocratic society that tortured people, burned out peoples eyes as legal punishment with heated metal balls. It was a barbaric backwards society that in no way represented the teachings of Buddhism. China has since developed and provided massive humanitarian aid, schools, hospitals, infrastructure, and did away with the barbaric inhumane practices, if you know the truth about Tibet, how can you not support China?
Let’s not forget when Dalai Lama was in Tibet the top 5% own the remaining 95% as serfs. Dalai Lama was from a rich family that has 27 manor houses, 13 pastures and 6,000 serfs. He didn’t want reform and coerced with foreign powers to fight the PLA. He and his rich big land owners now live in India like kings from the huge wealth they moved out of Tibet. The foreign powers used to operate in Tibet as about 20 years I once saw a video pointing from a second floor to a ground front door where a group of rioters suddenly came and systematically set fire up to the property in a staged and well rehearsed manner. I was taken back by the clarify, perfect position of the camera and the exact timing that it captured the entire sequence from the beginning. The video was supposed to prove Tibetans were suppressed and rose up to protest. It appears China has since put an end to these foreign-backed rioters. The CIA also played a huge role in Hong Kong riots in 2019 as they were filmed personally took charge in directing the crowd. Many protesters were paid. Some judges were bribed, arrested protesters were provided with legal lawyers, families of the arrested were given financial helps and those wanting to escape the law were arranged paid transport to Taiwan. The US has infiltrated the the education system, the civil servants, control some media and own one major newspaper.
Dockside Grill Shrimp Remoulade
classic shrimp remoulade plate front
Ingredients
Remoulade Sauce
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup horseradish
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons Creole mustard
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 head shredded lettuce
4 Roma tomatoes, cut into quarters
Shrimp
1 pound boiled shrimp
Instructions
Mix all sauce ingredients well and refrigerate two hours.
Place boiled shrimp on shredded lettuce.
Add the tomato, top with Remoulade Sauce and serve.
What’s the craziest or weirdest thing a new hire at your job has ever done?
I went back to my office after lunch and sat down at my desk. There were crumbs on it.
I called out to my secretary, who had a desk just outside my office, asking,” What are these crumbs all over my desk?”
My secretary says, “I told her not to do that. I told her. But she wouldn’t listen.”
“What is going on,” I asked my secretary, my voice rising. “Who did you tell not to do WHAT?”
Turns out a new hire decided that she needed a change of scenery for lunch, so instead of eating at her desk or in the cafeteria that she’d eat at my desk.
To me, it was:
1. a violation of my personal space
2. rude to leave crumbs all over
3. a stupid thing for a new hire to do
I chewed her out, but then a couple of weeks later a contractor called to let me know that this same new hire had told him not to tell me about a big costly mistake she had made. As if he’d risk his relationship with me!
I fired her sorry ass on the spot.
But when I came back from lunch after I fired her she was still there!
I asked her why she hadn’t left and she said because I couldn’t fire her without a written warning first and then counseling. I informed this sorry excuse for an employee that she was still on probation. She said that couldn’t be because it was past her first 30 days. I told her that she had been causing so many problems (her colleagues were furious with her) that I had officially extended her probation with HR, so I could fire her without any warnings or counseling, and that if she didn’t pack up and leave immediately I’d have Security do it.
When I was a young boy, perhaps in second grade, we lived in Monroe , CT. It was a housing development that was being carved out of the forests, and was very nice. We only lived there for a year or so, before my father was transferred to Pittsburgh. We sold the place. Bad move, as the house ended up being worth millions of dollars.
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Anyways, at that time in my life, I loved roaming the woods. All 7 years old, and it was a big part of my childhood.
I would often go into the homes being constructed with wire cutters and rip out the wiring and electronics for fun. Oh, that is, until my father had a talk with a building contractor. LOL.
But, you know what?
Yeah, what I most remember about that time was spending all day hiking and exploring, and then coming home to a nice big “sit down” dinner. These were often improved upon as I got older, but at that time, my mother was just getting into her “stride” and it was simple but delicious fare.
Meatloaf, roasts, soups, chicken, and the like. All very delicious and filling.
Instant Pot Spaghetti 1
One of my fondest memories was the meat-laden spaghetti, with plain “wonder bread” on the side, and a nice large salad. Other popular meals consisted of pork chutney over rice, and submarine sandwich meals.
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But it’s the spaghetti that I miss the most.
one pot spaghetti and meat sauce image 9
I used to take the bread, and butter both sides. Then, I would spoon the spaghetti into the bread, making a fine thick sandwich. Oh, I was so simple and silly then.
I guess the MM audiences would go “ohhh yuck” at this story. But for me, nah. it’s good memories and good times.
I was a young, recently divorced, single mother of a 3 year old and one Christmas my grandmother gave me a HUGE box to open. In that box I found a little bit of everything! It had paper towels. Toilet paper, cleaning supplies, canned goods and many other items that you may want or need for your home and pantry! I was so grateful as it is pretty costly when you run out of everything especially all at the same time and because my Grandmother had no money she said she added everything a little at a time all throughout the year in order to help me the best way she could. My Grandmother was the sweetest, kindest Lady you’d ever know. I loved her with my whole heart!
I made $7.50 per hour for 3 years before I got a sweet .50 raise that catapulted me no where.
And I only got that because the lady was guilted into it.
I was told, as most people are, if you work hard and prove yourself, you will make more in time. Well that never really happened.
When I first started I just answered phones and worked the register. Then I got my vehicle inspectors license and begin inspecting vehicles. And answering phones and the register.
The business was a window tinting business, primarily, and they tinted vehicles, homes and commercial buildings. Soon I was prepping jobs for tint and doing bids for residential and commercial jobs. And doing well, I might add!
Then helping with the books. Opening, closing, picking up and dropping off customers. Driving out of town to pick up materials. And finally tinting commercial windows.
And I worked, often 80 hours per week. For $8 per hour. Which is a problem because at a certain point, over time starts to hurt. The extra would be taken out in taxes and the effort is not worth it.
Let me also mention that I didn’t have a car and used a company truck for company business but my commute to and from work everyday was just over 3 hours. I woke up at 4 to be there at 8:30. (Hitchhiked, rode 2 buses and walked…both ways…yep)
When I inquired about a raise she kept putting me off. She’d think about it. Couldn’t afford it, etc. Finally she said to me…
”It’s not like you need more money. It’s not like you have a family to take care of, house or car. It’s not like you have any bills.”
I will never ever, forget that. Ever.
Apparently it never occurred to her that I didn’t have any of those things because I was poor. And it was totally ok with her if I never had anything because it benefitted her.
And I had other issues with the place like rarely getting a day off and it would be the end of the world if I took a break at work because only smokers are allowed breaks. Twenty breaks, a hundred, doesn’t matter, because you need those cigarette breaks!
“If you don’t like it, then go work somewhere else.”
When she told me that.
I quit.
She was so certain I would come back because I had no prospects. Two weeks later, a friend told me she was looking for me, she wanted me to come back.
Why, you might ask??
Because she can’t find any decent help (read: people who’ll work for nothing!). And she wanted me to come back for…
Wait for it…
$8.50!!
See, I needed to understand that she could not afford more than that.
I told her. “No thanks.”
Then she called me selfish. She was struggling to find help and I didn’t care. Selfish!!
She ended up having to hire 4 other people. And for the next 5 years she contacted me off and on to try to get me to come back.
“Ok, how about $9! Be reasonable!!”
So on and so forth until she got to $12 over time.
I can’t honestly say I was irreplaceable. I can say that she needed a lot more help after I left. I can also say the business did not exist the fifth year after I’d gone.
I learned a very important lesson working for her. I needed to look out for myself. Work hard but only stay so long, based on the rate, frequency and size of raises. And all the while, always keep my ear to the ground for other opportunities.
I need to look out for me with the same ferocity the companies look out for their own interests.
In 100 years 5% of those who use the U.S. dollar will remember how it look. And 15% of the nations who bought weapons in 2023 will still use weapons from the U.S. still! In 100 years US economy will be lying at best a distant 3rd behind China and India by a very long way. China will be roughly 5–6 times the U.S. size and even India will be close to double that of the USA!
The G7 at best is a fifth the size on BRiCS economy. The U.S. will be broken up into some 3–4 nations. And Democrats and Republicans are close to the full scale or outright U.S. civil war 2.0 in 2123! The U.S. and some 4–5 die hard dogs like UK, Australia and Canada will meet and still talk shit. But no one bother, no one even listen.
China has made the world 10 times more prosperous and 20 times more peaceful by then. Talking about the U.S. in 2123 is like talking about the former Yugoslavia today. By 2023 the U.S. would have long collapse and implode it’s economy and a full scale fight between Democrats and Republicans and also between the whites and coloured and also between the rich and poor has destroyed the so call liberal democracy.
In 100 years, China is selling moon and space tourism, become the leader in autonomous vehicles, supersonic planes, biggest ports and airports world wide. China will be in the business of hypersonic weapons, quantum computers. Artificial intelligence, Bio technology and nuclear technologies. A far cry from selling cheap T-shirts and plastic toys in 1980! By 2123. China has built an alternative Panama and Suez Canal 5 times its size! And a bridge to cross Russia to Alaska!
BRICS by that time consist of 50 nations. And gets supports from 190 out of 200 nations. Meanwhile as many as 10 million are living in tents homeless in the U.S. suburbs. Random mass shootings incidents happened at least 50 times a day in the U.S. killing roughly 100 people a day in the U.S. Confederate flag flies more widely than the Stars and Stripes in the U.S. in 2123.
China has just given warnings on visiting certain parts of the USA no different from the warnings of visiting Ethiopia or Yemen in 2000. That is what is likely happening in 2123 a hundred years from now. But the U.S. still scream liberal democracy like a 80 years old lone hippie!
My husband and I are avid cruisers, which means food, food, and more food. That being said, I typically eat what I choose, save the occasional pick of something that is just not good. I usually eat breakfast alone, as he is still sleeping, and I sit and people watch in the buffet. My breakfast is always the same: oatmeal with fruit, some scrambled eggs, and a couple of pieces of ham or Canadian bacon. The same as I eat at home, essentially. I get to witness the Sodom and Gommorah of food sin every day on a cruise, especially at breakfast. Football sized mounds of food get piled on a plate, and a lot of it is eaten. But it pains me to see a muffin with one bite. A bowl of cereal that had one bite, uneaten food galore. Yes, we pay for the food in our cruise fare, but it is as though we have no conscience when it comes to waste. We often stop in Haiti at the cruise line’s resort, and they prepare a barbeque style lunch there. What many don’t know is that the leftovers are given to the locals, and I have watched them pick a piece of discarded watermelon off of the ground and brush off the sand to eat. While people are tossing full plates of food into the trash, these people are desperate for our scraps.
Food waste bothers me. For the farmer that took the time to sow the crops. For the cow kept pregnant to provide milk. For the pig slaughtered to provide us with ribs and bacon. For the countless hours spent preparing the food. We don’t honor what we have. We assume it is there because most of us have not had to go without. I am lucky, I always had a meal to eat, and I don’t waste food. I eat leftovers until they are gone, I cut my own fruit so that I can get the most out of the rind, and I toss produce scraps out for the deer and groundhogs that frequent my backyard.
We don’t appreciate the food we have. That is the sin.
The future of American women
Cajun Chicken Club Sandwich
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Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 slices Swiss cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan salad dressing
4 hoagie rolls, split and toasted
8 slices tomato
8 strips bacon, cooked
Instructions
Pound the chicken to 3/8-inch thickness; sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.
In a large skillet, cook the chicken in oil for 5 minutes on each side or until no longer pink.
Place one slice cheese over each chicken piece.
Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 minute or until cheese begins to melt.
Spread dressing over cut sides of rolls.
Place two slices of tomato on bottom of bun, top with chicken and two strips of bacon.
Serve with crispy fries or potato salad on the side.
When I was married to my exhusband, I got a ‘‘bee in my bonnet’ that I wanted to learn how to sew. I’d never sewed a day in my life. So we went to different places, looking at machines. Hubs was a ‘research on Consumer Reports’ kinda guy. He didn’t want to buy something that would fall apart. Who knows though, honestly, if I would suck at this?! I’m not sure if he looked at it that way. He just wanted to get me something good.
So, we kind of narrowed it down to a couple, and tbh, they were ridiculously nice. One was a Singer, the other I don’t remember but it was pricey I think like $800 in like 1990. Crazy, for just wanting to try something. It was going to be a ““surprise” for Christmas… but I sneaked a look in his wallet one night (I KNOW, bad wifey) and saw he bought the $800 wonder. I was SOOO excited!!
Christmas morning comes.
I’m still very excited, because this IS an awesome gift. Knowing did not diminish my excitement. I opened up the wrapping, and inside, it was a different machine.
Tears rolled down my face and I couldn’t speak. The $800 wonder wasn’t there. Apparently, he had exchanged it. For an upgraded, fancy $1100. Wonder.
It was amazing. It did embroidery, a zillion stitches. It was a very high quality name I can’t spell 😂 Husqvarna? But wait, there’s more. There’s another box. Inside that box was a 5 thread Serger, a BabyLoc. I had everything I needed to be successful.
I sewed my butt off for years.
But I’ll never forget that feeling of ““I want to give you the moon” that he gave me that Christmas. That was epic.❤️
If the controls are successful, they could handicap China for a generation; if they fail, they may backfire spectacularly, hastening the very future the United States is trying desperately to avoid. Alex W. Palmer, NYT.
The Chinese cannot understand why we fight with “Fists of Seven Injuries” (七伤拳), inflicting as much harm on ourselves as on our target. The sanctions hit our high-tech companies hard, as they lose not only their biggest market, but also important partners in their supply chain. Qualcomm’s profits fell 23%. Samsung’s dropped 95% . Louise Low. Face-off on the Grand Chessboard.
The year of living vulnerably: 2015
By 2015, when President Xi warned of China’s vulnerability to a chip embargo his team, led by the redoubtable Liu He, had spent two years preparing to create an indigenous chip industry. By 2022, the first fabs were producing commodity chips in high volumes at low cost and China spent $300 billion importing high-end chips.
The first breakthrough came when Huawei quietly released its 7 nm. Kirin 9000 chipsets, and its Mate 60 phone sales quickly surpassed Apple’s – as they were doing when the US embargoed Huawei. While the Kirin CPU was a remarkable achievement, professionals were more impressed by Huawei’s indigenous communications chips, like cellular modems, previously a Qualcomm semi-monopoly.
Three months later, YMTC shipped its 232-layer 3D TLC NAND memory chips. Their huge capacity and speedy 12 GB/s I/O make bleeding-edge drives possible.
But the sexiest market right now is insulated gate bipolar transistors, IGBTs. They’re the CPU ‘brains’ that conduct the orchestra of sensors and inputs and reduce EVs’ power loss and improve reliability. They’re expensive: 7% – 10% of an EVs’ final cost. Back in 2020, BYD supplied IGBTs for 20% of Chinese EVs’ and Infineon supplied 58%. The IGBT market has grown from $5.27 billion then to $8.42 billion this year and expects CAGR of 15.7% for some years.
There’s also money to be made in less sexy chips, like microcontrollers, says TP Huang. “Has anyone heard of Zhixin’s chips? You’ll find SMIC’s 40nm auto grade processor in Zhixin’s MCU microcontroller – domestically designed, fabbed and packaged entirely in China. This has huge implications for STMicro, Texas Instruments, Infineon and TSMC. Few automotive applications will ever need processes beyond 28 or 40nm, which is SMIC’s mass production sweet spot. Why wouldn’t Chinese automakers buy domestically? I bet Wall Street analysts covering TI have never looked into new Chinese competitors and considered what that entails. SMIC will be a monster soon enough”.
I was strung out for about 4 years from shooting up dope. After losing almost everything, I finally snapped out of it. It took, however, losing friends, my career, my therapist, my car, my motorcycle, my musical equipment, my instruments, my tools, my electricity, my water, all my savings which was in the tens of thousands, my sanity, almost my freedom, almost my life, and almost my house. I’m still in danger of losing it bc of unpaid property taxes of 3 years now going on 4. So when I was about 2–3 months sober, I had a friend drive me to Little Caesars to see if they were hiring. The manager was there. I asked. She said yes. Then she asked if I had manager experience. I said no…but I kinda did. I just wasn’t prepared for that gig being that I’m just barely out of a horrific addiction. She asked if I had an ID and a bank account for direct deposit. I said yes to the ID but no to bank account. She told me where I can get one at that moment and as soon as I get it to come back and I can begin to fill out the paperwork. Within 30 mins I was hired & started to fill out the necessary forms for employment. This was at the end of January this year and I’m still there and I’m sober.
I know this is a long story for such a question. My reason for including the other info is strictly for those that are currently where I was at when this happened. If this can help one person snap out of it then I will feel like I did a tremendous good for not just that one person but the world. Drug addiction affects way more than the drug addict. If you’re struggling, don’t give up. Be strong. It may take one time to quit or many times. Just don’t give up on yourself. I now have electricity and water and trash service. My house is still a wreck but it’s come a long way. I rode my bike to and from work which was 8 miles there and 8 miles back. But now I have a vehicle. I’m 6 feet tall and at the height of my addiction I weighed about 155lbs. Now I weigh a plump 210lbs. With time, that will change bc I want to be physically healthy. I am, w/o a doubt, physically healthier now than I was when I was using. And I prefer this to that any day. So if you’re reading this, you have to be strong and committed to this change no matter how tough it gets. It’ll get better. There’ll be shit days but it’ll pass. Keep going. We are made of sterner stuff. We’ve been through hell but now we are returning. And don’t think of it as starting over. You’re continuing your journey w a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. You may have lost everything but you’re not starting over. I wish you luck and lots of love. You’re not alone. I know that feeling of loneliness and despair. I felt lonely all throughout my journey through hell. But I wasn’t. You aren’t. If you need someone to vent w, message me. I’ll listen. I will not judge. If not me, reach out to someone. Anyone. And if you get rejected, fuck them. Move on. Don’t let that deter you. Look at me. I’m still here and am getting better everyday. Sure, we are all different but, in many ways, we are the same. We fuck up, and to fuck up is human.
One more thing: don’t beat yourself up if you quit and then go back to using again. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes it doesn’t. Just don’t let that stop you from quitting again. I have days when I feel so weak. I miss it so much. Coupled w the overwhelming feeling of how far I have to go to get back to where I was before my downfall, it feels hopeless. These moments test me, and I’ve come so close to shooting up again but I haven’t. I hope I don’t. In my journey, I always feel so glad I didn’t give in. Those feelings will wash away but they’ll be back again like waves in the ocean. You just stay afloat. It’ll pass and you’ll admire yourself for not giving in after it flows away. You’ll be proud of how strong you are becoming.
Anyway, there are my 2 cents.
Love yourself.
Love those around you.
Don’t be afraid to say it.
Don’t be afraid to show it.
Amp It The Fuck Up!!!
Antony Blinken Wrecked By Protesters In Congress
Great episode, Lee. Your humor is top dog here.
China and the Chip Wars: a Battle It Cannot Afford to Lose
The race for supremacy in the semiconductor industry is about much more than just technological dominance. It is about shaping the future of civilization.
image 148
“Can China ace the chip wars?” This was the central question that framed my talk at the Future of Finance China Forum held in Beijing on July 28. The forum, run by The Asian Banker, served as a critical platform for thought leaders amid the unpredictable economic and financial landscape of 2023.
While these wide-ranging discussions were informative, my focus was squarely on the place and potential of China in the semiconductor industry. Instead of merely asking if China can win the chip wars, it’s more insightful to consider whether China can afford not to. This reframing provides a sharper understanding of the stakes for China’s economy and its global standing in the semiconductor industry.
Current situation
“Valuation extravaganza” is a phrase I use to describe the surging market caps of companies like Nvidia and AMD. The remarkable value growth of these companies has raised eyebrows and led to questions about whether we’re witnessing a semiconductor bubble. However, the rational ubiquity of semiconductors, essential to various sectors, might justify these high valuations.
In 2021, over 1.1 trillion chips were shipped worldwide, finding their way into everything from cars and consumer electronics to industrial applications. Semiconductors, quietly yet crucially, have become a part of nearly every aspect of modern life. According to a recent survey of industry executives, the industry’s future direction is being steered by emerging sectors like the metaverse, sustainability, mobility, and digital health – each calling for unique semiconductor capabilities.
This importance of semiconductors is reflected in the market’s response. Nvidia’s stock price tripled last year raising its valuation to more than $1 trillion with a Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio over 240. AMD’s stock price has also doubled, its P/E ratio almost reaching 500. This valuation growth is partly due to the robust demand for semiconductors, with the global market projected to grow to $1.8 trillion by 2032.
Even with the current chip shortage, some industry observers argue that these high valuations are justified. They view the long-term growth prospects for the industry as strong and believe these valuations are based on the expectation of persistent semiconductor demand.
Despite short-term disruptions like the global chip shortage, the long-term outlook for the semiconductor industry remains bright. Semiconductors play an integral role in the global economy, and their importance will continue to grow in the future, shaping our tech-driven world in ways we’re only beginning to understand.
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Future growth
We must also consider the potential drivers of future chip demand, taking into account the radical changes that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) may bring. A compelling perspective on this comes from Sam Altman, a prominent figure in the tech industry and CEO of OpenAI, in his manifesto “Moore’s Law for Everything”.
Altman applies the principle of Moore’s Law, which traditionally refers to the exponential growth in computing power, to a broader societal context, predicting a future where rapid growth permeates all facets of our lives and economy. Coined by Intel’s co-founder Gordon Moore, the law originally observed that the number of transistors on a microchip double roughly every 18 months. Altman, however, envisions its implications beyond the realm of computing power.
This broader interpretation anticipates an era of abundance, where the ubiquitous adoption of AI causes a steep drop in labor costs that fundamentally transforms society. Altman posits that as automation replaces human tasks from plumbing to R&D, labor costs will plunge, leading to significantly cheaper goods and services. The cost of the essential inputs shifts from labor and raw materials to data, driving prices towards zero and marking the advent of an era of profound abundance.
But abundance here isn’t just about an increase in available goods and services. It’s also about equalizing access to these resources, democratizing what was once the exclusive privilege of the affluent. High-quality healthcare, education, travel experiences, and even a secure standard of living—Altman’s vision suggests these will be accessible to far more people, with the cost of a “great life” approaching zero.
At the core of this transformation is AI, its learning and decision-making abilities propelling us towards this era of abundance. Yet, the manifestation of this AI-driven prosperity depends heavily on a robust, efficient, and advanced computational infrastructure— semiconductors or chips. Semiconductors are the foundation of our digital world, powering everything from personal devices to advanced machinery.
The complexity and scale of AI necessitate more advanced and efficient semiconductors. The AI algorithms promising this era of abundance require enormous computational power to process large volumes of data and make complex calculations. The task of providing this computational power depends on a wide range of semiconductors.
The abundance that Altman predicts will not only be driven by AI but will also critically hinge on the availability and advancement of semiconductors. In the coming era of AI-driven abundance, those countries and companies that can ensure a stable supply of chips will hold the upper hand. Thus, as China strategizes to win the chip wars, the stakes become clear—it’s not just about surviving but thriving in this world of unlimited abundance.
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Domestic politics and geopolitics
In the global context of the race for technological supremacy, the semiconductor industry is emerging as a key battleground. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI), with its potential to usher in an era of unprecedented abundance and revolutionize labor economics, amplifies the national security implications of the semiconductor industry. Indeed, the ‘resilient redesign’ of the global supply chain is becoming an essential facet of national strategies to ensure sustained success in this critical sector.
The complex web of today’s supply chain, spanning continents and countless entities, is inherently vulnerable to geopolitical shocks and pressures. The need for countries to develop resilient domestic capacities is becoming increasingly clear. Governments worldwide are already showing a keen interest in the sector’s growth and security, a trend that is set to heighten as strategic reorientations, regulatory shifts, and a heightened focus on security come into play. The semiconductor industry is becoming a significant geopolitical flashpoint, a field of intense competition for technological dominance.
In the context of China’s domestic politics, this resonates profoundly with President Xi Jinping’s vision of ‘common prosperity’. The potential abundance enabled by AI could pave the way for realizing this vision, democratizing access to what is currently available only to the affluent and creating a more equal society. The era of abundance that Sam Altman envisions could, in fact, help manifest President Xi’s aspiration for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
In this light, China’s broad conception of national security – which encompasses not only traditional military aspects but also economic and even cultural security – becomes particularly relevant. The advancements in AI, underpinned by the semiconductor industry, will be vital for maintaining and enhancing China’s national security in this broad sense.
Therefore, China cannot afford to lose the ‘chip war’. The stakes are beyond high – economic vitality, technological advancement, geopolitical influence and even the future of the human race. The semiconductor industry is not just another industry; it is a cornerstone upon which human civilization may be decided.
In conclusion, the race for supremacy in the semiconductor industry is about much more than just technological dominance. It is about shaping the future of civilization. For China, acing the chip wars is not just a matter of national security in the traditional sense. It is also about securing the future of its society and realizing its vision of prosperity for all.
Before a class room of three hundred 1st year students, I was teaching, and my cell phone started vibrating. And I totally froze.
Just a couple of months earlier, I had become a father for the first time, and my girlfriend and I had agreed not to call during class hours, unless it was an emergency.
Often, I muted my cell phone during class hours, but this time I had forgotten. And this time the phone also rang. My girlfriend was the only person who would ring me at this unearthly hour in the morning. And suddenly it crossed my mind. Something is wrong with the baby.
Instead of two minutes, I had more than fifteen minutes left to cover while my mind blocked my every mathematical thought. So I taught the rest of the class through a true other-worldly out-of-body experience — I literally heard myself talking to the students, explaining things on the blackboard, and answering questions, while I was constantly thinking —
Something is wrong with the baby—Something is wrong with the baby—Something is wrong with the baby—Something is wrong with the baby.
When class was over and questions had been answered, I immediately called my girlfriend. She had forgotten about our agreement.
I’m a landlord and went to renew the lease on one of my rentals once. And when I pulled in to the neighborhood and turned the corner towards the house, the very first thing I saw was the screen door hanging off the front of the house.
I pulled into the driveway, knocked on the door, and while I was waiting for them to answer I looked at the screen door. It was literally ripped off its hinges.
Then they came out and greeted me as if nothing had ever happened.. I asked what happened to the door, and I swear they both looked me straight in the eye and said..
“It was like that when we moved in.” I was absolutely shocked…
I said, “Doug. You two have been here for TWO YEARS. You signed a move-in checklist when you first moved in that said everything was ok. I took and have pictures of everything before you moved in. And last but not least, I was here exactly ONE year ago to renew your lease then! Now, is this seriously your story, and are you sure it’s the one you want to stick to??”
“Yes.. It was like that when we moved in.”
So I called bullshit and told them that I would not renew their lease, and to be out before the end of the week. OR if they wanted to stay then they could fix the door.
They fixed it – reluctantly. Still swearing that it was like that when they moved in.
When I was an administrative assistant to the dean of a department at a 2 year college, there were a couple times during the year that I ate at my desk for various reasons. There was another admin in a different department that took a dislike to me and tried to get me in trouble for only taking 30 mins to eat then leaving 30 mins early. She went to my boss and he said I had his permission to do so. She then went to HR to file a complaint and I got called in. After that, I requested a sit down with HR, my boss, her and her boss which we had. Over several weeks, I had documented everything she had said and done to undermine me and she turned beet red and had no real defense since she documented nothing. A couple of weeks later, she no longer worked there and they hired a woman who became a good friend.
Document everything—day, time, incident, what was said—and keep it in a safe place. I used an old fashioned college notebook and hand wrote everything with just a blank line between each incident. I about filled the notebook in less than a month.
He was the head janitor at my school, a teddy bear of a man, under 5 feet tall with the sweetest little smile and laugh. He had worked at the school since he was a teen and was due to retire.
Da Tuk (not his real name) was gentle, kind and generous, a soft touch for a sob story. He and his family had just enough but always ended with too little because of his ‘kindness.’
A relative had begged him for a large sum, almost all that Da Tuk and his wife had saved for a deposit on a home. He signed over a land deed to Da Tuk and then disappeared into the gambling dens of Klong Tuey.
When Da Tuk took his family to see the land, they found a hilly, barren, nowhere-near-anywhere, unsellable plot. Da Tuk was inconsolable, realizing that he had been duped and had lost almost everything.
Fortunately, the chairman of the school found a way to help the family to buy a small house and deal with the costs of their children’s educations. They never really recovered from the loss.
As the school grew, so did Da Tuk’s staff, to the point where he was overwhelmed. An ‘assistant’ was hired but was, in fact, in charge. However, he always treated Da Tuk as the boss and saw to it that others did as well.
For Da Tuk’s retirement day, the Board had arranged for a huge luncheon, and we were all seated, waiting for Da Tuk.
When he arrived, he looked stunned, which surprised us because everyone had been talking about the party and teasing him for over a month.
Then an equally stunned member of the Board made a shocking announcement.
Da Tuk had just been paid forty million baht (approximately two million U.S. dollars) for that ‘worthless’ land because it was adjacent to the planned eastern seaboard industrial estate.
I got laid off from my work. It’s an awful experience. I just had the yearly performance review and got a raise, I was thinking ‘life is freaking good’, then one fine morning, I woke up to a sudden 1:1 from my boss, and he told me I was let go (together with half of the company).
It’s unexpected, and I was shocked.
I sent my coworkers texts, told them my goodbyes and my wish to stay in touch with them.
All of them offered the same message:
Please let me know how I can help in any way at all!
I was touched seeing those messages, truly.
The only thing I asked from them was: I need to retouch my Linkedin Profile, the job market right now is super tough and competitive, anything can help my profile stands out would mean a great deal and I really appreciate a recommendation from them – if they have a few minutes to write me one. It would be a huge help.
Only 2 out of 10 people offered me the message to help in any way actually did give me a recommendation. And one of them actually referred me everywhere she could trying to help me to get interviews.
I don’t think any less of the 8 people that didn’t give me a recommendation. I understand perfectly that there are millions reasons for that, like I might not worth giving a recommendation, or they just simply forgot to give one, or writing a recommendation is not their cup of tea, etc… I just wish they didn’t tell me that they would help in any way if they didn’t mean it.
And I do admire the ones that offer and live up with their saying “let me know how I can help in any way”
Being a person of their own words is a super power.
Way out in the stick in the north of England there was huge project ongoing to build a dam. A new site manager had been brought in because workers were reportedly lazy, either turning up late or skiving off down the local pub (which I worked in) during working hours. On his first day on the job he grabbed someone from the admin office and headed off round the site looking for a sacrificial lamb. He was going to fire someone as an example to the rest of the staff.
After half an hour or so he came across a young guy sitting behind a building, against a wall, drinking coffee.
“Who are you?” he bellowed. “What’s it got to do you with you?” asked the guy. “I’m the new site manager, who are you, and where do you work?” “Fuck off, leave me alone!”, replied the young guy. “OK, you’ve had your chance, you’re fired!” He turned to the admin guy, “get his details, give him his cards!” The site manager then stormed off thinking this was a good start to his tenure.
Later that day I was serving behind the bar in the pub and the guy came walking in. “Give me a pint of Guinness, I’ve just been fired”. “Oh dear, first one’s on the house!” “Cheers, that’s very nice of you.” he replied. He had his Guinness then asked how much? I said, “no, it’s on the house. Anyone who gets fired from the site gets a free beer.” “No – it’s okay, I’d better pay!” “But you got fired – it’s free!” “I did get fired. I’m just sitting there having a cup of coffee when this idiot appears out of nowhere screaming and shouting at me, and fires me on the spot. He seemed so happy about it I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I didn’t work for him, and I’m just a hiker who had stopped for a coffee.”
Surprised My Cheating Wife With Divorce Papers at Her “Secret” Hotel Getaway Affair.
I nearly hit ENTER on my resignation email. I’d been with the company for 24 years at the time and I was tired of my boss contradicting everything I’d say. Sometimes he was right, usually he wasn’t but of course he only remembered that one out of 10 times he was right come review time.
Most people say I’m too much of a pacifist but he’d ding me as pointlessly argumentative. And, the reason why I was never promoted (he’d tell me year after year) is because I’d said or done “the wrong thing yet again to” and it would always be an unnamed executive. If I asked what I did or said, I’d get “you know I can’t tell you that” and if I asked who’s cage I’d supposedly rattled, it would be another “you know I can’t tell you that.”
This day, he said something that was completely wrong about a field he knew zero about and that I was an expert in. I should have known better but I said something just “in passing.” He erupted and screamed at me. “YOU ARE WRONG and you felt the need to ruin my day. I walked in here this morning feeling okay for the first time in months. You couldn’t let it go. Noooo … not you … you had to correct me and ruin my whole day. And you aren’t even right Mr. Know-it-all. Fine. You ruined my day so now I’m going to ruin yours. I expect a written apology, three copies, and this is going in your file.
I will then have your final written warning for insubordination and disrupting the office ready when you come back with your apology. IF I accept it, you will go on warning. But if I don’t like what you said, I tear that and the warning up and you will be done. You have pretty much just thrown away 24 years of work and any goodwill you might have built up with me because you just always have to say something.
You just can’t let anything go and you always have some story. No matter what anyone says, you were there, did that, had that or something too. Well now I think you can add fired for cause and blacklisted from a whole industry to your awesome list of life experiences. I’m giving you one hour. I’ll see you then or you can spend the time packing up your stuff. I really don’t care which at this point.
And because you are a critical employee with no backup or replacement, I will see to it that you pay for this for a long time to come if I have any say over anything. Now get going. The next time I see you, it will be either carrying your shit to your car or in here with a heart felt written apology.”
I typed out a resignation, just a terse one paragraph indicating only that I resigned effective that day and would agree to make my last day two weeks hence. Dated and my signature typed. I was ready to hit SEND and the email would go to my boss, HR and the Sr VP (who was the department head).
But then I thought: first, I’d be out of a job and it would not be easy for me to get another one. It’s next to impossible to describe what I really do — it’s a bunch of low level tasks where the high level aspect is that I can do them all. I already knew that no one in my industry was interested — had they been, I’d have been contacted at least one of the times where competitors or clients tried to grab employees from us. I was about the only long time employee who’d never been contacted by anyone.
My resume would make even less sense outside my industry. I’d at best have to hope for some small employer looking for a jack of many trades willing to work for next to nothing. Not very appealing.
He was right in one sense about something: whenever someone had a story, I’d often have a counterpart. I’m not a know it all, just a lot older than many of my colleagues and I’ve been around. I’d always thought I was just participating in a conversation but maybe that’s not the way some took it. Perhaps I should sit and listen more even if I did have such an experience myself and even if the teller was way off base.
So I resolved to say a lot less and not correct people unless there could be a serious consequence for letting it go. Even if I’d done whatever 50 times to their 1 and was considered an expert, just let it go. Let them tell their story.
Ruined his day? That was his responsibility. He was going through many personal problems but people other than I were getting tired of his ripping our heads off at work because his personal life was in a tailspin. I know that when I was having many issues one time (many years ago, different boss), my manager came along and told me I needed to straighten myself up.
He knew what I was going through and that’s why nothing had been said for a couple weeks. But now I had to pull myself out of it or he’d have to let me go. That was a couple weeks … but my current boss had been going on that way for months.
So there was wrong on my side and that was on me to handle. But I wasn’t responsible for ruining my boss’ day with an offhand comment of a factual nature. I needed to speak a lot less: not counter a story with one of my own, and don’t correct someone unless there was a vital business need for it. On the other hand, I was not about to take written responsibility for someone else’s life and emotions.
I apologized verbally including indicating where I was wrong and what I planned to do about it. But I made clear what I was apologizing for along with being clear without saying it that it would not be in writing. I also made clear without throwing anything in his face that if he chose to give me a final written warning, I would not sign it but rather resign effective immediately.
Nothing more came of it in large part because by the time I walked in there, the anger was gone. I dealt with this in a clear headed way and that’s the point to this long answer. Anger solves nothing, even if justified or at least partially so. We’ve probably all snapped at work and with what results? If you have sufficient clout, others might respond out of fear. But that never results in a good long term effect. You’re far better off resisting the urge to go off until you’ve had a few minutes to think about the whole situation.
I’m boy, When I was 13 , The principal always checks students’ hair and nails and punishes them if they were long
One day, he came to the line and checked our nails, I had forgotten to trim my nails for a long time, and my nails were long like a girl’s.
When he saw my nails, he asked sarcastically: Am I a girl?
I was embarrassed and lowered my head
The principal sent me to the corner of the wall and I stood facing the wall with my head down
he sent about ten other people to the side of the wall because their nails were too long
When all the students went to class, the manager and the principal came to us with a ruler, the principal said, we have to give them a nice punishment!
Principal said that we should paint their nails to make them girls!
They took us to the manager’s office and forced us to put our hands on the table
Then the manager took out a bottle of red nail polish from his drawer and started painting our nails completely
We felt ashamed and humiliated and our heads were down
They took us to the front of the line in front of all the students and calles us girls!
All the students laughed at us and we cried and felt humiliated
They hit our palms with a ruler to make us cry more!
From that day on, we didn’t have the courage to keep our nails long
1. Successful people don’t leave their life in the hands of luck. Life is too unpredictable to leave it in the hands of luck. Therefore, successful people choose to take control of things rather than sit around and wait for luck to finally smile at them.
2. Successful people take risks at the right place, at the right time. Successful people know that they don’t have the luxury to be taking mindless risks that can do more bad than good. Rather, they wait for that perfect timing and occasion when they can justify taking the risk.
3. Successful people trust their intuition. Many people underestimate the power of gut feeling. But in reality, it’s one of the most efficient and free tools you can utilize profitably. And successful people know how to do just that.
4. Successful people are the masters of their own destiny. Some people believe that one’s destiny is predetermined, and so they decide to simply let things unfold accordingly. But successful people prefer to take charge and carve out the destiny they aim for.
5. Successful people know the importance of having control over their emotions. They understand the impact emotional control or the lack thereof can have on their motivation, perseverance, and overall success. Therefore, they always try to keep their emotions under control so they’ll be the ones having the power over them.
6. Successful people practice positive self-talk. Successful people try not to listen to that negative voice in their head that tells them it is not going to work out. They don’t insult themselves, either. Instead, they train themselves to be compassionate, understanding, and encouraging toward themselves so they never succumb to the destructive effects of negative self-talk.
7. Successful people know that making mistakes is an essential part of the process leading them to ultimate success. They are aware that no matter how many mistakes they make along the way, they can make use of each by learning from them, guiding them toward success they’ve been working hard for.
8. Successful people know how to take constructive criticism well. Not only do they understand the benefits of constructive criticism, but they also appreciate getting it because they see it as a way to improve themselves or get closer to their goals.
9. Successful people have an unshakeable faith in themselves. Even if everyone else around them thinks they are just idealistic dreamers chasing after unrealistic goals, they refuse to see themselves from the same lenses because they know they have what it takes to get the things they are after.
My first thought was to say no but as I was paying for my gas I grabbed the milk. Outside was his girlfriend holding a box of cereal. He thanked me and I started to walk to my car. Something in me made me turn around. I told them I was about to get a car wash but if he wanted to wash it for me I’d pay him $20. We went to the nearest car wash and he had tears in his eyes after I paid him!
He told me that more than anything he appreciated me giving him the opportunity to be a man again in the eyes of his girlfriend and work for the money. The whole time his girlfriend helped him. It’s like she was proud of him. You could tell the love was so real. Real beyond material things and what he could do for her. She told him he did a great job and he couldn’t stop smiling. I had a long talk with him and her and he had a backpack full of paperwork from all of the places he’s been going to get help for them. I drove them to my apartment complex and gave him clothes for interviews and a few outfits and fitted caps. I don’t have much but life is about sharing what you do have.
Be a blessing to someone today because you could be in that situation before you know it! I gave them my number and I plan to take them to any interviews or appointments they have. It’s a great day to be alive no matter what your situation is. Someone has it worse than you! Share this message and inspire others to do good.”
Well it was a older Ford heavy duty truck, a three axle mini dump truck. It came in for brake work and when I opened the hood I discovered that most of the underhood wiring was redone with household electrical wiring cable, Romex and stripped Romex. It ran fine for a truck of the era that it was built and when the guy came to pick it up after the brake work, I had to ask about the wiring. He had the truck sitting unused for several years while he was working for someone and mice or squirrels had gotten in and destroyed the wiring and he had a roll of Romex in his garage and redid the wiring using another very similar truck as reference and got some bits from another truck he found in a junkyard. Mechanically the truck was solid and I was more impressed than anything else with the craftiness.
Woman Demands A Train Ran On Her! This Is Why Men Question The Value Of MW
Lack of purpose. All your young life you are given purpose of passing exams and learning, then all of a sudden you are thrown into the world and told to find your own meaning.
You can stay up as late as you want. But you shouldn’t.
Where did all my friends go?
Didn’t know that other adults have the emotional intelligence of teenagers and its almost impossible to deal with logically.
Getting burnt out.
Having to make dinner every. Fucking. Day.
Not having a lot of free-time or time by myself.
Figuring out what makes you happy. Everyone keeps trying to get you to do things you’re good at, or that makes you money, but never to pursue what you enjoy.
The more life you’ve lived, the faster time seems to go.
I once stopped to help a guy change a tire. He had an arm in a sling and two very young kids in his car. He thanked me saying he didn’t want to hurt his arm any more and wanted to get back to work.
Fast forward three months and I’m in a very ugly motorcycle wreck. One of the EMTs noticed my back was broken. Had they continued I’d have been paralyzed. His quick thinking prevented that.
After I recovered I got to meet the EMT crew that saved my life.
The guy that noticed my back was broken? The guy whose tire I had changed.
About 25 years ago, while living in Tucson Arizona, I received a phone call (bold = caller, non-bold = me):
Hi; Is this David Joseph? Dr. David Joseph?
Yes, who’s this?
Hi David!! It’s Garry Shandling!
Now at that time, Garry Shandling was a pretty well-known comedian, with his own show (“It’s Garry Shandling’s Show”), which was well known for its hilarious opening theme song. I was a big fan of his show, so I assumed a friend was pranking me:
Oh really?? Garry Shandling? Prove it; sing me your opening theme song!
He went ahead and sang me his opening theme song, and then went on:
David, how have you been? It’s been forever — can you believe it’s been over 20 years since we graduated?!
Since we graduated? Graduated what??
High School; Palo Verde??
Wait, I think you have the wrong David Joseph; are you looking for Dr David Joseph, the vet?
Yes; that’s not you? I thought your voice sounded different!
Yeah, that’s not me; I’m a people doc. I think that David Joseph moved away from Tucson a few years ago.
Oh, bummer. OK, I guess I’ll keep trying to find him — we were really close in High School.
Well, if you don’t find him, feel free to call me anytime; I’m happy to be your back-up Dr David Joseph!
Haha! Maybe I will! Thanks!
Good luck!
Then he called back a couple of hours later, explaining that he hadn’t been able to find his high school friend. We chatted a bit more, and then, once every few years, out of the blue, I would get a call from him, wanting to ‘catch-up with his back-up David Joseph.’
After I made a successful (static line) parachute jump – which turned out to be my first ever (and last) jump from a plane – I traveled back to the jump site three more times with Jeff C. to do it again. Various conditions prevented that from happening again, and after the third time that we were unable to jump again, we saw a fire a couple blocks off the interstate that was being fought by a team of professionals. A police officer instructed us to move along, but Jeff chimed in with “Why don’t they just let a good fire burn?” The officer walked to the front of Jeff’s car and wrote down the license plate and village sticker information, then asked Jeff AND me for ID. During the following week, I talked to mutual acquaintances of Jeff and related the aforementioned story to them. From one former coworker of Jeff, I learned that he was suspected of possibly starting two fires at his place of employment, with the second allegation causing him to be let go – I decided not to key ‘fi_ed’ – immediately. I no longer answered any of Jeff’s subsequent telephone calls, and did not answer the door when he came over.
Psychologist Addresses FEMALE DISRESPECT: why this is essential to relationship success
Damn! This is one HELL of a great video! Shit! Amazing video!
What most people don’t understand is that disrespect is a process. The best predictor of overt disrespect is covert disrespect. And this is why it is important to address disrespectful behavior while it is still in its nascent form. Failing to do so will jeopardize your relationship, primarily due to the fact that it is not possible for a woman to love a man she does not respect.
“Seeing how my now ex wife treated me compared to everyone else was an eye opener. I realized why everyone liked her, she treated them with respect and care, while I got the cold, cruel, disrespectful part.”
He beat me with a belt until I would bleed when I was very young and then when I became a teenager he would beat me with his fists. He broke my nose and blacked my eyes a few times. He’s dead now and I’m 69 years old. I have never for forgiven or forgotten. He beat my mom too. They divorced after I left home at 17. May he rot in HELL!
Oh man! I sure have. Often. Up until recently I worked, either with a guy or on my own, doing demolition, kitchen removals and buying/selling used building materials. I also ride a motorcycle. A big-ass noisy motorcycle. And, personally, I think I am a pretty nice person. I am considerate, kind and polite. But sometimes I am covered in drywall or brick dust, insulation, paint or sawdust. I usually carry Handy Wipes to, at least, wipe my face and hands clean. I may be dressed in work clothes and/or motorcycle gear. I am otherwise a well-groomed, clean, and pleasant 54 year old woman. I currently work outside all day and am in and out and crawling around assessing cars and trucks. Again, in work clothes or cover-all’s I am often dusty and wind-blown with dirty, with grease under my nails.
AND I GET TREATED LIKE SHIT.
I get followed, have had rude and disparaging comments made or completely ignored. Some staff treat me like I am invisible and are dismissive, assuming (I think) that I have no money to spend. At other times, they have been openly mistrusting and suspicious.
ALL BECAUSE I WORK FOR A LIVING!
Two of my very worst experiences occurred at places connected to religious institutions. One a church bazaar and the other a faith-based second hand shop. Another time I was speaking, as a counsellor, on a panel about alcoholism and addiction. Independent of each other, the hosts TWICE assumed that I was the newly recovered individual as opposed to the presenting professional.
In NO WAY am I ashamed of what I do or how I look. In fact, I am proud of who I am and the jobs I have done (and still do). I just wish people would judge me on my character or my actions rather than the way I look.
Bought a small place years ago that had a nice shed that could be used for tools, mower, etc and I asked if it conveyed and was told yes. Went to move in after settlement and no shed. Since it was in the contract, I called my realtor and told her the she came back or I would immediately stop the sale. No shed by the next day when promised so I notified the bank again that the sellers were in breach of contract. I was living in the house but had not put my furniture in yet, still in the box trailer belonging to a friend. The sellers had the shed at their new place but moving it damaged it so I refused to accept it and they had to order a brand new shed, same size, for the deal to be completed. The bank held the check, I finished moving in, and 2 weeks later the shed arrived.
Don’t try fast ones when selling since you may seriously regret the expense of fixing it.
Do what my garden-savvy cousin did to keep deer away from her garden. She set up hoses and multiple impact sprinklers with a motion sensor that set them off when deer approached, startling them and soaking them. Very effective, and not mean.
If the neighbor complains your sprinklers got him wet, say “Sorry, I had to do something to keep the deer/bears/monkeys/kids from stealing all my peaches before I can make pies/cobblers/jam from them.
You could even say, if I have a good crop this year, I’ll bring you a bowl of peaches.
In Chinese culture, sharing a meal with friends or family is a time to socialize. It’s actually something I very much enjoy being part of. As a Westerner, growing up in a Western and traditional Southern family, children were “seen and not heard,” and the talking points of a meal were, “Please pass the salt,” or “mind your manners.” The lively, upbeat, excitement that is exuded by Chinese people sharing a meal is something I adore.
When I bought my house the seller told me he had lost a ring a few years prior, and if I ever found it, it would mean the world to him to get it back. Three years later I saw something shiny while I was raking leaves. I picked it up and realized it was a ring encased in mud. I cleaned it off but didn’t think it could possibly be the lost ring. The stones were so large I thought it must be costume jewelry. I phoned the old owner and told him I found a ring but didn’t think it was valuable and asked if he could come take a look. When he saw it he started to cry and said it had great sentimental value. He offered me a reward but I declined. It didn’t seem right to take money for something that belonged to him. What I thought was a cheap ring with glass stones turned out to be $70,000 worth of diamonds.
a friend of ours who at the time was single mother of two, her son is autistic. She complained she had no heat in her mini van and winter in southern Ontario can be bitter cold. Local franchise repair shop quoted her north of $1700 to fix it!
I said let me take it to my trusted repair shop.
After a quick diagnosis he says “is she a teacher?” I’m like “how’d you know?”
He says “I cleaned a pile of papers out of the vents by the the heater core…lots of heat now!”
$75 and she had heat again…and was advised to keep papers off her dash!
Yeah actually… A few years ago I went out on the town for a mates birthday – straight from work. I’m carrying with me a £2.5k laptop and my mates got his full pay packet in cash and a thermos of soup given to him by a friend for his birthday (separate story).
These two kids come up to us and demand all of our worldly belongings. We dismiss them, as the bravery of a nights worth of fairly strong Hazy Pale Ale courses through our veins. As we walk off, the braver of the two pulls out a pretty small knife and demands more of our attention.
With a look from my mate we start off round the corner. Once we’re there we in whispered, quick voices form a plan and we wait for them.
I caught the first guy with a swing of my rucksack right under the chin and all 15” and 2.6kg of my MacBook Pro knocked his head back nearly off his feet. My friend followed with the Thermos on the 2nd. We didn’t hold back on those hits.
Once they recovered enough to speak, the braver one asked the other one if he was bleeding… he was… and the other guy told him.
Angry from the revelation he was bleeding, he said if he ever saw us again we’re dead… My friend, living round the area didn’t take kindly to this and threw the statement back at him. Told him, NO if you ever come back here YOU’RE dead and flew at the guy with the Thermos a second time. He chased them both up the street with that flask, with me laughing in hysterics at the bottom of the road.
In a strange way, being drunk that night changed the whole outcome of that encounter. Doubt we would have stood up to them sober.
He most certainly has a case. One of my neighbors tried to have two of our old silver birches and one 50-years-old Cedar tree cut, and it cost him dearly. It started with a Christmas tree though.
We came back from the United States, and as usual when we are back from holidays, I checked the garden — just to see how the plants, flowers and mushrooms (but also our rabbits and barn owls) were doing.
And then I noticed that one of our beautiful Christmas trees had been cut. The top half was gone, and no higher Mathematics was needed to conclude who had done it. One of our neighbors — I once had a relationship with his youngest daughter Ebba, but he seemed reasonably normal in those days — goes berserk if even only a couple of leaves fall on his property.
This time, he had cut an evergreen conifer, and we were sick of it. We called the neighborhood police man to sort this out, and he reprimanded the neighbor — to no avail. We decided not to go to court for the time being.
Instead, he sued us.
Together with another neighbor friend (who apparently also had problems with leaves and needles without us knowing), he filed a complaint against us in Justice Court. Big goal: having some of our trees (two old birches and an old Cedar) cut.
It did not quite work out that way, though.
Instead, he was forcefully reprimanded by the judge, who explained that leaves and needles are a part of country life, and that there was nothing wrong nor illegal about them falling in his garden.
The judge also dismissed the demand that our trees would be cut —
“It is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN to cut old trees, Mister C., so NO ONE will touch them. And very high maximum penalties would be issued if someone would.”
(Goal not attained.)
Since then, our neighbor had become even more mental than before. He throws all the leaves and needles he can find in our garden, and he has, since recently, started to throw buckets of his own stinking urine in our backyard.
I’m also one of those foreigners who think China is not just good, but a great place to live in! After working in China for the past few years, I have realized so many reasons for loving China.
A quick list of my personal observations about China:
1. Life has been very peaceful in China: I am never worried about my personal safety, or disruption of work. Life has been going quite smoothly.
2. Cost of living: About RMB 5,000/month (~$700). For the quality of life that I have enjoyed in China, it can’t get more affordable.
3. Jobs: my job is going fine. No issues with salaries.
4. Tax holidays: expats from a good number of countries (including US) enjoy tax holidays in China (due to the Double Tax Avoidance Treaty). I have not paid any tax in China so far. 🙂
5. Great food: China offers one of my favorite cuisine (I also love Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and Indian food). You can order from home. RMB 15 for 20 dumplings (饺子, jiaozi). Even if you cook at home, it can’t get cheaper than that.
6. Online shopping: you can buy almost everything online in China. Taobao is probably one of those few sites I visit every day. I buy something every day.
7. Cashless payments: we don’t carry cash in China. We just need to bring a phone, scan QR codes and pay. In fact, you can rent bicycles by just scanning QR codes (first 1hr ride is free).
8. I have a history of diabetes. Going anywhere, including back to the US, puts me at a very high risk of Covid-19 pandemic. There are great medical facility in China. Every Chinese city has a good number of hospitals. It’s very convenient to visit hospital in China (Btw, my city is virtually covid-19 virus free).
9. Learning Chinese: if you want to learn Chinese, China is the best place. The whole atmosphere is warm and welcoming. You’ll learn Chinese fast. This was also a reason for me to move to China.
10. Travel: Lots of nice places in China. Recently I visited Zhouzhuang (周庄), a water town (江南水乡). It was a pleasant experience. Chinese tourist attractions are generally very different from the typical western tourist attractions.
11. No illegal immigration: you can’t enter China illegally. You will be caught if you try. Penalties are heavy. You will be deported, however, only after serving the sentence.
Living in China is a very different experience. It doesn’t make sense to compare China with other countries (or vice versa). Explore what China has to offer, and you’ll love it.
Also, I wish to thank China for taking a good care of me throughout my China stay, especially during my diabetes phase. Otherwise, I couldn’t have survived probably.
The U.K.: much, much more working-class than Americans are raised to assume. It’s a textbook example of American ignorance that we tend to believe Brits are all very sophisticated and “aristocratic.” (And I don’t mean that as an insult, just a reality check.) Britain can be polished and classy, and it can be tougher than a bad neighborhood of Philly.
Ireland: deep beauty, deep gloom, too. Really depends on where you go and when and what you’re up to. One of the friendliest countries I’ve been to. Just don’t expect everything to be rainbows and sentimental fantasy and you’ll be fine. Again, from an American perspective: virtually all Americans need a reality check here.
Mexico: been there multiple times, still haven’t been killed. Haven’t witnessed so much as a mugging let alone a cartel operation. The worst thing I’ve seen is sexual harassment. The worst thing that personally happened to me was an epic case of farts. In general, what I’ve seen of Mexico is more truly cultured and sophisticated than a large chunk of the most hyped places in Europe and certainly more cultured and tasty than significant swathes of the United States. (Some of Mexico is pretty benighted, but the chances of you ending up in those corners of Mexico are next to none.)
The United States: lived here most of my life, still haven’t been shot. A country with places as diametrically different as Vermont and Miami Beach, New York and the Sonora. What’s pretty true about one place isn’t even remotely true about another. And contrary to the stereotype that Americans brook no criticism of our country, I think it’s actually the most hyper-self-critical country I’ve ever personally been to. If you can’t hear copious criticism coming out of the United States, see an ear doctor, your ears are plugged up. (Too much of this criticism is tribal criticism and not enough self-criticism, but Americans love to bitch and moan about the place. How do you not hear this?)
Canada: lovely people, lovely country, but nowhere near as happy or perfect as a big part of the world believes they are. Canadians are aware of their problems, because they’re honest. This isn’t a comment about Canadians. It’s a comment about the mystery of why so many other people aren’t aware of the problems and unhappiness that do exist in Canada.
Colombia: didn’t get killed. Didn’t see any obvious drug deals. Freakishly hot. Got horrifying Montezuma’a Revenge: do not ever ever EVER drink the water. Would I revisit? Yes.
Cuba: very much like the pictures of 1950’s cars and bars would have you believe. Fucking amazing to fly down there from Wisconsin in February: it’s not a long flight at all, but you feel like you’ve gone back 60 years in time and also dropped into what Southern Europe felt like a generation or two ago, not just the Caribbean. Lost worlds, truly. The sanitation will get you, though. The poverty is shocking. The people are wonderful but deserve so much better.
Italy: the only part I really liked was Sicily, where I didn’t killed by the mafia. Sicily was extraordinary.
Greece: incredibly cold when I was there. I think I picked up a minor case of pneumonia. It was March and I was freezing to death.
Turkey: went in 2002 and no Muslims killed me. The waiter brought his kid sister out, maybe 10 years old, to practice English. She giggled and thought Americans were funny. I thought the Turks were friendlier than the Greeks. But I was an asshole kid back then.
Bulgaria: also went in frozen weather in March 2002. Bulgaria was probably the closest to the grim Iron Curtain stereotype I’d sort of been expecting. (You half expected to see Stalin at the train station in Sofia.) But I’ve heard it’s changed a lot for the better. I was there 21 years ago. Would I revisit? Yes. In July.
Spain: didn’t see anybody going to bullfights. Tacos are not the dominant cuisine there. Paella is overrated tourist food. Seville beats Barcelona and Madrid. Go to Lanzarote for surreal quiet time (I was there last April, showed up in a tiny town at night, sat on the balcony watching the moon, and I was like “I’m in Spain and there’s no noise. This is weird.” Also, you’re more likely to see people having big parties than going to a Catholic religious procession. Spain has an exaggerated reputation for being “extremely Catholic.” The American Midwest is 10 times more Catholic.
Sweden: only went to Stockholm. Incredibly empty. Not very exciting. Dirtier than I expected.
Finland: severely underrated people.
Iceland: not as cold as Minnesota. (I’ve been to both in January. Iceland is Ipanema Beach compared to Minnesota.)
Portugal and Slovenia: Europe’s most underrated countries.
Czech Republic, Poland and Croatia: not gray. Everybody who heard I was going there said “that sounds so gray.” These places were bursting with color and life. Ate like a king for the price of a Big Mac meal in the U.S.
Bosnia: didn’t get killed. Contrary to stereotypes, that war ended 30 years ago. Being afraid to go because there had been a war and some bad shit in the past would be like being afraid to go to Germany in 1975, thirty years after WWII. Ridiculous. (I drove on some roads in Bosnia that were better than roads in Michigan. There are other roads where if you’re not paying attention, you’ll drive off a ledge and end up upside down in a cabbage patch.)
I’ve been to a few more countries, but that’s the gist.
One thing I’ve learned from travel is not to put too much stock in other people’s opinions. I’ve been to places they love that I hated. I’ve been to places they bashed or were afraid to visit that I thought were some of the best experiences of my life.
It’s not that I don’t trust anybody. It’s just that I’ve traveled enough to know that I’d rather go somewhere myself and form my own opinion.
Xi knows China needs the US, and of course the US needs China, maybe more so today.
Xi also knows that the world, which is facing more than enough difficulties right now, needs a stable US relationship and can not endure any major conflicts between the two largest economies.
Xi knows he can handle the situation here within China.
Then, looking around, who can help stabilize the bilateral relations? Who have a big say on the US domestic issues to try to calm down the sentiments there?
Is it possible, helpful and practical for him to talk to those big bosses of MICs, the Military Industrial Complex? Not quite possible — they prefer war than peace, they are thirsty for wars.
Is it helpful for him to talk to the US politicians? He has tried. He talked with Trump, and treated him well in Beijing, then what? Trump can tear down any agreements as he likes; He talked with Biden, last year in Bali, Indonesia, then what? Biden can’t even really govern his own administration team, neither the Democratics, let alone those from the GOP. But Xi tried once again, this time, he met Biden in San Francisco. But, again, then what? What if Trump came back after next election? He would again turn everything upside down.
Is it useful and helpful to talk to the general public? Might be of some help, but how many can he talk to? And how much help would that be of? No one really knows.
Then, who are left? The ones with a big say in the US politics, economy and even society — Yes, the business executives.
What they care more about is the market, the profits, the money, where China can offer. And with the money, they can stand with those candidates who are more practical and support a more pragmatic approach towards China, instead of those full of ideologies in their minds and even can’t wait to drum up a war with China.
Thus a comparably virtuous circle is hopefully to be formed to prevent the China-US relations from further spiraling down, which neither can China afford, nor can the US, as well as the whole world.
I joined a ship in Rotterdam and on sailing for Suez, noted that the generator oil temperatures were rather high. On asking the other engineers, they said “They’re always like that” which was often a reason given by those of an idle nature… I investigated and found that they had raised the alarm point to stop the alarms going off instead of actually fixing the problem, which I assumed to be the generator lube oil coolers being fouled. On arrival at Suez and waiting in the anchorage, we opened up the LO coolers but found that they were clear, though with a fine sand lying in the tube bottoms, suggesting a lack of seawater flow-rate. We transited Suez but on meeting the warmer seawater temperatures of the Red Sea, had to reduce the generator load to avoid them tripping out altogether. We put into Aden to fix the problem, blacked out and started working back from the seawater lines into the coolers to the pumps themselves, eventually having to take out just about all the seawater lines until on opening up the main piping from the pumps (some 650mm diameter) we found them to be just about blocked with an aggregate of mud, sand and shellfish, such that only a small diameter of some 250mm was available for passing water to the generator coolers. Out came the main length of piping and we started to shovel out the muck. As we cleared it, a large, Triffid/Hydra-like apparition started to appear, causing the more faint-hearted to jump back in alarm, though it was only moving by virtue of us shovelling out its supporting mussel bed… It turned out to be a submarine tree of surprising length and girth (around 5–6m long and about the diameter of my arm in the main trunk, with lots of squid like leaves on it which had been waving in the ever reducing breeze of seawater passing through the pipe. We eventually removed all the gunk and the “animal” itself and laid it along the plates for a photo opportunity (we only had the ship’s Polaroid instant picture camera in those days so I don’t have a record unfortunately).
How did such a large beast get into the system? Presumably it had entered as a micro-organism and found a handy place to anchor itself in the rubber jointing between flanges (its roots were entwined around the bolts) and then fed itself from the handy warm water stream passing its front door. It gradually grew, causing other marine life such as shellfish to cling on where the water was less turbulent, and then gathering mud and other essential nutrients from its environment. Amazing thing, but fortunately harmless in that it didn’t actually attack us… Being in Aden the temperature in the engineroom without the fans running was around 50C (we had to shut down the generators and rely on emergency lighting), such that we could only work for around 20 minutes each before having to go on deck in the (relatively) cooler air of some 35C Aden night time temperature. It took us most of the night to clear the piping and refit it – a big job indeed.
Final job on restarting everything was to wind the generator LO temperature alarms back to the proper alarm point; I checked back through the ship’s engineroom log books to see where the problem had first started, and it was some 3 years in the making without anyone investigating the slowly rising temperatures.
I was Marketing Director for a major, easily recognized company that manufactured female oriented products. Our President was in over his head, as evidenced by our declining market share and revenue. I was hired to help turn things around given my successful track record at other companies. However, the President couldn’t handle any outside suggestion or strategy unless it was his so I was constantly reprimanded for doing my job.
One day, my timid, suck-up boss sends me an email about a report she needs me to do ASAP. I scoll thru the entire email and at the end, I see it originated with a request from the President. Basically he wanted my boss to assign the report to me and once she had it to fire me. The email also contained some very derogatory & crude & inappropriate comments about my appearance.
I forwarded the entire email to my personal email account, HR and members of the Board. In exchange for me not pursuing legal action or sharing the incident with my press contacts (would have killed any credibility in the female marketplace), I received my bonus, 6 months severance including paying my health insurance, & a strong positive reference letter. I had a new position in 6 weeks.
The President was let go after about 2 months and it took him over 1 year to find a new position at a less prestigious company and lessor salary.
I wasn’t a mechanic, I was a service manager. A guy drove into the lot, he had poked a rod through his block. How the car was still running was a mystery. For some context, this was 1978, he was driving some little 1970 English import, a Vauxhall Viva, possibly. The blue book price was less than $500. He was a recent immigrant, with broken English, and obviously didn’t have much money, from the car he was driving.
I explained that it would cost twice as much to fix the car as it was worth. He didn’t appear to understand. So he called his pastor, who was his sponsor. I talked to the pastor when he arrived, and he called me a racist for refusing to work on an immigrants car. I explained it two different ways, and it didn’t make any difference.
I finally gave up, wrote up a work order, for $1200. Then I ran down the street to a convenience store, and bought an autotrader magazine. I handed him the work order first, and he audibly gasped. Yet it was just what I had verbally told him. Then I flipped the magazine open to a car like his, but in better shape, for sale for $500.
The light switched on. He wasn’t happy, but he now understood why I didn’t want to repair it. Since it was worth more than the car was to repair it, we would have required cash up front. Before starting the job.
My boss wasn’t happy with me, for spending my time driving away a customer.
I have no idea if the guy could have afforded to make the repair.
The next week the pastor started sending other members of his flock to us.
The following is a translation of a recent essay that examines the circumstances of close encounters between Chinese and U.S. militaries in China’s vicinity, explains China’s grievances, and identifies the factors that further heighten risks.
The author of this essay is Hu Bo, Research Professor and Director of the Center for Maritime Strategy Studies, Peking University, and Director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative.
Full text below.
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Recently, the U.S. DoD “declassified” some of the videos and pictures of aerial encounters with PLA military aircraft in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, accusing China of “risky intercept” and “unprofessional behaviors.”
This is, of course, a one-sided narrative from the United States. The Pentagon has not made it clear where these air encounters took place or why they occurred. As the China-U.S. military competition intensifies, the frequency and intensity of air and sea encounters are increasing, and the risk of possible friction and conflict does exist.
However, the United States is hyping “anxiety”, partly because of real concerns about risks, and partly because it wants to take hold of the “moral high ground” in international public opinion and diplomacy.
In fact, in the waters surrounding China, such as the East China Sea and the South China Sea, despite the growing competition between the China-U.S. militaries as well as air and sea encounters, it is important to emphasize that the vast majority of the air and sea encounters between the China-U.S. militaries, which occur more than a dozen times a day and thousands of times a year, have been conducted in a safe and professional manner.
For example, in a 2022 emailed statement about transit through the Taiwan Strait, US 7th Fleet spokesperson Mark Langford said in an emailed statement that “all interactions with foreign military forces during the transit were consistent with international standards and practices and did not impact the operation.”
In August 2022, Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt told the press after the USS Abraham Lincoln, which she commanded, finished a deployment in the Pacific that “We were operating in the vicinity [of] Chinese warships at times, mostly … that shadowed our ship……It was safe and professional the entire time that we interacted with them. During some flight operations, our aircraft did interact with some of their aircraft, but again it remained safe and professional each and every time we interacted with them.” [1]
Both the U.S. and Chinese militaries have made it clear at the highest levels that they “do not want war” and want to avoid direct military conflict.
While formal communication mechanisms between the two militaries (e.g., the China-U.S. Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings, Defense Policy Coordination Talk, and China-U.S. Theater Commanders Talk) were interrupted after Nancy Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan, there are other channels of communication between frontline commanders, such as the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGs), and the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), which was adopted in 2014.
High-level exchanges between the U.S. and Chinese militaries have also been slowly restarting since President Xi Jinping had a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Bali. Overall, the situation of China-U.S. air and sea encounters is not as dire as portrayed by the media and some scholars.
▲ Four scenarios for confrontational encounters between China and the United States
However, under certain circumstances, the risk of conflict could run high. When the United States and China talk about military frictions or dangerous encounters and blame each other, the first thing we should be clear about is where these frictions or encounters are taking place. For both sides, air and sea encounters in different areas have different legal and political implications. Most confrontational encounters between China and U.S. military forces occur under the following four scenarios.
1. When U.S. forces approach the territorial waters and airspace of mainland China or Hainan Island, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reacts vigorously, taking such actions as interception or forcing out.
2. U.S. forces enter the territorial waters and airspace of the Xisha Islands to carry out so-called FONOPs and are warned and driven away by the PLA.
3. When the U.S. military conducted FONOPs within 12 nautical miles of China-controlled islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands and Huangyan Island, The PLA warned and drove away the U.S. military. For example, on September 30, 2018, the USS Decatur conducted a so-called FONOP in the waters near Nansha Islands’ Nanxun Reef and had a close encounter with a Chinese warship. The two ships were only 40 meters apart at their closest.
4. Both China and the United States engage in close reconnaissance of each other’s military forces during military exercises, including live ammunition exercises. While mutual tracking and surveillance of military activities are common, the reconnaissance operations conducted by the U.S. military sometimes come dangerously close.
Particularly during the PLA’s live ammunition exercises, the U.S. military often disregards the no-entry notices and unlawfully enters the relevant sea and airspace. For example, in August 2020, a U.S. U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft intruded into the PLA’s Northern Theater Command’s live ammunition exercise airspace, and an accident was barely avoided.
▲ China has legitimate concerns about the close encounters between Chinese and U.S. naval and air forces
While China is dissatisfied with the U.S. military’s actions in the waters near China and believes that the root cause of the encounters at sea and in the air is the aggressively close reconnaissance and other targeted military operations conducted by the U.S. military, it nevertheless tracks and monitors the U.S. military in accordance with international conventions, which is no different from reciprocal reactions of U.S. and Japan for China.
China only reacts more strongly in the four above-mentioned types of military encounters, which is in line with international common sense. Any country would take all feasible measures to safeguard its territorial, sovereign, and platform security against any actions that attempt to approach its territorial waters and airspace or pose a threat to its training exercises.
Strategically, China opposes the continuous challenges posed by the U.S. to China’s sovereignty over islands and reefs and its national security. Technically or in specific actions, China opposes actions by the U.S. that endanger the safety of personnel onshore at sea and in the air. In addition to strategic and legal differences, China also has three legitimate concerns:
First, some of the U.S. military’s reconnaissance missions are too close to China and overly provocative.
For example, on September 4, 2021, a U.S. RC-135S Cobra Ball missile surveillance aircraft approached Jiaozhou Bay in Shandong Province for close reconnaissance, with its closest point of approach to the Chinese territorial baseline being less than 20 nautical miles. On December 8, 2022, a U.S. P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft flew over the Taiwan Strait, at times with a distance of less than 13 nautical miles from the Chinese territorial baseline.
Second, China has reasons to be concerned about frequent accidents involving the U.S. military. In recent years, the high frequency of U.S. military operations and the negative impact on training and proficiency have led to numerous unfortunate accidents (such as the collision incident involving the U.S. Navy’s USS Fitzgerald missile destroyer in 2017).
When the Chinese and American militaries come into close proximity, the possibility of accidental incidents occurring due to a decline in the professionalism of the U.S. military is increasing.
Third, the United States has intensified the public hype and politicization of encounters at sea and in the air and military actions. In recent years, the United States has amplified the political and diplomatic implications of its military actions, with the most iconic examples being the so-called FONOPs carried out by the U.S. military within 12 nautical miles of China-controlled islands in the South China Sea and its transits through the Taiwan Strait.
On October 27, 2015, the U.S. destroyer USS Lassen conducted a highly publicized FONOP in the waters near the Nansha Islands. Although the U.S. had previously conducted such activities in the South China Sea, they were rarely so open and high-profile. The same is true for U.S. transits through the Taiwan Strait. Since 2018, after each transit through the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. Navy would either feed information to the media or directly issue announcements, claiming to “maintain freedom and openness in the Indo-Pacific region”. Such hype and politicization have increased the complexity and difficulty of military communication between China and the U.S. and added to the risks of encounters between Chinese and American naval and aerial forces.
[1]Note: the original essay wrongly attributed the above quote to Rear Adm. J.T. Anderson, this newsletter corrected the inaccuracy.
You smile, bank the check and say thank you! I had a very small role in the Spiderman movie starring Emma Stone. The scene never made it into the final cut. It wasn’t necessary for the story line. But I got paid union rate and residuals and spent a very pleasant afternoon and evening filming a 2 person scene with Emma Stone, who was absolutely delightful and charming. No complaints. And they sent me the specially designed movie baseball cap. I was treated as a professional and my contribution was valued at the time of filming.
In many western nations it fails on both counts. What they have left is an electoral system that goes through the motions. I remember a module on Law I did at UCL. It’s an elected dictatorship mostly. Before you screech but you’re in China, yeah but I was born in the UK. I watche the 1997 election (too young to vote) participated in 2001, 2005, 2010 and sat out 2015. I had left the UK by 2017 and 2019.
We can go through the common failings:
We can vote out those who fail!
We can freely criticise our leaders!
We can vote somebody in new and different!
Western systems ensure the BEST standards of living
Western systems are accountable!
Western systems ensure the most capable people!
We can vote out those who fail!
Except you don’t. The Labour regime of from 1997 to 2010 didn’t really achieve anything. They had some decent literacy programmes with the gremlins campaign but this was dismantled by the late 00s.
We can freely criticise our leaders!
Less so now, the UK has massively restricted free speech since the 80s, it has massively restricted protest. And guess what? Call the current prime minister a bum what happens NOTHING to you and NOTHING to them.
We can vote somebody in new and different!
Except it’s a false choice. You can choose a Neoliberal or a Neoliberal. The policies are a venn diagram that is a circle.
Western systems ensure the BEST standards of living
Maybe in the past 70s, 80s maybe the 90s. But once it got Neoliberalised productivity got disconnected from wages and there’s been a massive stagnation.
Western systems are accountable!
Yeah, they apologise or say let’s draw a line under it and then simply ignore it. I still remember Blunkett UK MP (EDIT) simply saying I don’t accept that to dismiss a well crafted argument against him.
Western systems ensure the most capable people!
No it ensures popular people. The UK’s Johnson for instance. What qualities other than being popular did he have?
Now let’s return to the above:
For the people.
For the people, are your lives REALLY getting better? My life in the UK:
Access to medical care: As a child I remember being able to get appointments with Dr Sharma same day for the times I was ill. As a teenager when I was beaten up, I could be admitted to hospital pretty quickly. Nose operations to put it back were done in as little as week. Into my 20s. It became increasingly difficult. Barriers kept being put up to see my GP. First off it was you had to book a day in advance, then a week in advance. By the early 00s. My GP had a 10 minute window at 8am to book appointments. There were 10 available a day.
My commute times : Each year it took longer and longer. I recall sitting in my dad’s car. To get to the big city nearby it was 20 minutes door to door. We moved a couple miles East but by the mid 00s it was taking 45 minutes and by the 2010s it was taking an hour each way door to door.
Policing There was a small police station in my dad’s town. It was gone and consolidated by the mid 00s. My dad had things smashed and police would attend same day. By the 2010s they wouldn’t attend and simply give you a crime number.
Of the people.
There’s the odd outlier like Mahri Black? The youngest MP ever. But the trend is establishment candidates. Only those backed by the party apparatchik have any chance of success. Tons of people like Lord Binhead try.. or the Monster Raving Loony Party try but always lose their deposits.
Sheltered, to begin with. In elementary school, I thought that friends who lived on Park Avenue were middle class.
One thing, though, that many don’t understand — not all of the students in these schools are rich. The schools generally offer financial aid, and many students are from upper middle class families. Increasingly, they have some poor children as well.
But of course there are lot of rich kids at them — kids who go skiing in the Swiss Alps, kids with household staffs, what have you. This can leave kids from middle class backgrounds thinking that they are poor.
The schools themselves — mine anyway —
Very high standards. You did not skip class, and you were not absent unless you were ill or there was a major crisis like a death in the family.
Very solid, college preparatory curriculum with lots of electives. Math and language classes were tracked by ability. The curriculum was accelerated to the point at which many students went to college after their junior year — there just wasn’t much left to do.
No bad teachers; they ranged from good to superb.
Few bad students. Admission was competitive and those who couldn’t handle the work were asked to leave. All students went to college, any or most to Ivies or similar, and most got advanced degrees.
Small class sizes. Ours were about 15. Teachers had low course loads, and latitude in what and how they taught — no submitting lesson plans. And they could focus on teaching, rather on lunchroom duty and such.
No “teaching to the test.” But then, such a thing didn’t exist when I was in school.
That said, there was good prep for the SAT’s. This can’t make a dramatic difference in scores, less than 100 points, but it can make some.
Beautiful campus, also like a small college. Here’s where I went to school — that’s the library building:
image 144
9. Excellent facilities.
10. No bells, etc. But very high standards of behavior. You didn’t arrive to class late, and there were no fights or anything of the sort.
11. A friend who transferred in from public school told me that he was delighted to be at a school where the teachers actually liked the kids!
12. I recall visiting my cousin’s public school when we were juniors and was appalled at the way the kids were treated by the administration. Obnoxious.
13. Smart kids were admired rather than bullied or looked down upon.
14. Today, there is a lot of pressure on the kids to get into a top college. Less so in my day. In any case, the schools are feeder schools, known to top colleges. At my school, for example, six kids went to Yale every year. Not five, not seven — they had six slots set aside.
15. The quality of the students was remarkable — probably more so at privates that cater specifically to the children of the rich. Out of a class of 100, one of my classmates became the first female editor of The New York Times. One became a philosophy professor at Cambridge, the other at Harvard. Another became a physicist. Most became doctors and lawyers. (Only three of us, I being one of them, became engineers.) One of the lawyers worked for President Obama. Etc.
16. I asked a former teacher why it was that, on a standardized test administered to students in New York City, the public school students did better than the private school students, but that in life, the private schools students did better, and he said it was simple — the private schools taught the students to think. They don’t stuff your head full of facts like a public school, but you can write an essay or prove a theorem.
In retrospect, if there was a downside, it’s that we were so sheltered. But overall, my experience was just about as good as it could be, within our current educational framework and given the requirements set by the colleges. I wish that every student could enjoy a similar experience.
There is no threat to the Chinese political system. 95% of Chinese support China and its government. People live longer, today their life expectancy is 78 years old and the U.S. is 2 full years lower at 76 years old! They live better lives. Their real standard of living less inflation has grown 30 times in 40 years. Meanwhile during the same time. The U.S. real standard of living not only not grow. It deteriorated back 20 years into the 1960 level!
Chinese has full universal healthcare coverage and college education is free of charge if one qualifies for it. All of which is not free in the U.S. and close to a third of Americans are not covered by healthcare and may die if they fall sick! That is the U.S. not China! Kids gets into college debts before they even start life in the world.
So who want to change their political system? Well by trust on government measurement carried out by trusted western research in the west showed Chinese trust their government 95% and only 30% of American’s trust their government!
And your question is what is the biggest threat to the Chinese political establishment? Not what is the biggest threat to the so call US liberal democracy? Why do you not ask the obvious? And why do you worry about a non issue? Where is your intellect? Where is you rationality and sanity?
Ok I get it you are a China and Chinese hater and you term communism as a slur to demonised China. But let me help you. 87% of the world don’t buy your shit. Sure the 13% westerners may be fooled by your media but even that a higher proportion of westerners are smarter than you. They know this is a nonsense question. But I addressed it to call you out. If you can ask this question you don’t amount to much.
What was odd thirty years ago, is my new normal, but here are a few random remembrances from 1990 Germany, 6 months after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Brutal truth rewarded me when I asked “how are you?”. Replies weren’t always “great”, “awesome” or “just fine thank you.” Germans actually thought I cared (and eventually I learned not to ask if I didn’t).
Germans are direct. They don’t beat around the bush. When they have an opinion they share it with you. And they expect you respect it and deliver honesty in return. Political correctness was non-existent.
Service workers didn’t smile and chirp sugar-coated pleasantries. Shop attendants ignored me unless I asked for help. Restaurant meals were uninterrupted by the obligatory-every-five-minute repetition of “is everything OK?” I learned to ask for the bill rather than wait for it.
Smiling at strangers often seemed to discomfort them. I soon learned to recognize when a smile was welcome and when not.
Football (soccer for me at the time) rules. The 1990 World Cup began soon after I arrived. During games the world stopped. Loud cheers or groans occasionally livened up silent and traffic free downtown streets. As games ended, streets filled with honking cars waving huge flags (Italian, Spanish, Brazilian, Romanian and of course German).
I thought the Super Bowl huge, but the World Cup is much bigger.
Sporting events and television programs were advertising free. Ads appeared only between scheduled programming.
Everything was expensive. A used car with over 80,000 miles cost more than a new Hyundai in the US. A pair of brand name jeans cost 3 times more.
The electronics store salesman spent an hour trying to talk me out of a Toshiba television and a Samsung microwave. He insisted Asian goods broke as soon as the 2 year warranty expired. (The microwave is still going strong 30 years later, and the TV was only replaced because it was no longer smart enough for the digital age).
Nobody ever asked me about my religion or my profession, but damn were they curious about life in America.
Talking about money or charity is taboo.
Alcohol was everywhere. It was common to see people drink beer in the park or walking down the street. Lunch usually included a beer or carafe of wine.
There was no free water in the restaurants. And soft drinks were more expensive than beer. All drinks are served without ice.
Nobody littered! The public waste bins were emptied daily.
Germans pedestrians wait for a red light to turn green even on a deserted street at midnight.
Zebra-striped crosswalks get the same respect as stopped school buses in the US.
I was never asked to show ID to prove myself of legal drinking age. Sixteen-year-olds are allowed to drink wine and beer (even in a bar).
Magazines at the supermarket checkout featured naked breasts (no longer).
Shops closed at 6.30 p.m. on weekdays, 2 p.m. on Saturday and were all closed on Sunday (this has changed).
There were only three types of soda on offer, Coke, Fanta and Sprite (the selection is slightly larger now – but nothing like in the US).
Bagels and donuts were not to be found (that has changed too).
Bread was light on air and heavy on grains. My digestion became like an alarm clock.
Cities and streets are designed for pedestrians, bicycles and public transport – not for cars. Pedestrian zones are everywhere, parking is in expensive garages.
Downtown streets aren’t straight. They wander among the buildings and sites. Highways don’t mention north, south, east or west. They only tell you what towns and cities are ahead on the route.
Restaurant meals took hours not minutes and lack of television in the restaurants forced me to communicate with my friends. Meal portions were smaller and menus much more varied. Chain restaurants were rare. Tipping was optional and the wait staff gets 20 days of paid vacation.
Dogs are allowed in restaurants.
German flags were only displayed during the World Cup.
Everybody took a one hour lunch break and left work promptly before 5.30. People took three or four week vacations and left work behind.
Construction workers drank beer during their morning break. Obesity was unusual, beer bellies were not.
People walked for fun, but nobody seemed to run for fitness.
Some women at the pool sunbathed topless. Young children at the pool often wore nothing.
Public transport was immaculately clean and ran on time.
Brothels are legal.
Nobody ever seemed to get shot (though there were plenty of stabbings in Frankfurt where I lived).
Gas was four to five times more expensive than in the US.
My hour lunch break is over now. I’ll add to this if anything else occurs to me.
Back in the 70s, when smoking was legal almost anywhere except elevators. I stepped into an elevator in an office building with a coworker when another person stepped right in as the doors closed, smoking a cigarette. I pointed out it was illegal to smoke on an elevator and she replied, “what are you going to do, call the police?” My coworker, who happened to be a reserve police officer, pulled out his badge and said, “that won’t be necessary.”
Ah, I still remember her expression.
Varginha UFO Crash: Alien Contact, Government Denial and Coverup
You must be joking!!! I don’t understand how you could be unaware. China has been the target of massive anti-China propaganda in Western media for years.
And not only in mainstream media but in social media like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and here on Quora.
Curiously, there are very few positive stories about China in Western media. They’re nearly all negative! How can that be?
Can a country that…
built the world’s largest economy from scratch within 40 years
lifted 800 million people out of extreme poverty
created the world’s finest infrastructure of roads, bridges, high-speed rail, airports, etc.
landed on the dark side of the moon
sent an ambitious space mission to Mars
built the spectacular BeiDou navigation satellite system
reforested 34 million acres of land
produces the most renewable energy in the world
created the world’s best 5G technology
sent pandemic aid to dozens of countries around the world
…have practically nothing positive to report on at all?
Well, that’s what the American (Western) narrative is.
China don’t throw innocent people into jail like the how U.S. cook up some shit and throw the Huawei CEO daughter in jail in Canada. The 2 Michael’s are spies and doing things in China to hurt China and the Chinese people to spy for the 5 eyes. These are facts. These are self confessed facts. Canada, do the honourable think and apologise to China and the Chinese people.
Canada you are a hypocrite and a liar. You cohort with all the media to claim that they were innocent. Well they now says in their own free speech that they spied for you! You are lucky China don’t sentence them to death. China ought to. China should do. After all what they do could kill many Chinese.
The time that a white persons life is worth more than another race belongs to the 19th century today. We should sue every media that claims the Michael’s are innocent. We should end every journalist that lied. We should fine the media and politicians so hard the will never dare to lie again. Caucasians do the right thing. Do you like to be lied to? Again and again and again?
I thought that freedom of speech is so vital to you. And surely you want the truth, nothing but the truth? Why the hell are you keeping quiet? CNN and BBC. Why are you quiet as a mouse? Lying News channel?
I raised a young family in the 1970’s as a TV repairman. Made good money. TV’s were so unreliable there was a TV shop on every other street corner. Drug stores had a vacuum tube tester for DIY’ers (You can’t guess how many service calls I made where the customer had a bag of tubes they took out to test but didn’t have brains enough to read the tube layout on the inside of the cabinet to return them in the proper place.) When the RCA XL100 came out as one of the first solid state TV’s, repairs started a slow decline. When integrated circuits became the norm, the bottom opened. Microprocessors blew the bottom away.
Drive down ANY 5 streets and tell me how many TV repair shops you can find. Go ahead, I’ll wait………..
I saw the handwriting on the wall, jumped into early PC repair, became an electronics teacher, saw the build you own PC market crash, got into networking, watched Cisco plummet in the 90’s, did cyber security and retired. Modern TV’s are far superior to any previous generation by my firsthand experience. Not to mention a color tv in 1960 cost $300 – 500 dollars. Do the math with inflation vs any brand of 40″ flat screen. Be amazed.
image 149
This is what fed my wife and daughter for 12 years.
Because I got married and had her very early in my 20s, at that time, none of my friends had kids. My baby was the sweetheart for all the aunties – mom’s three close friends. We threw her a party.
It was fun. Each auntie got her a present. They handed it to her one by one so she opened it and got excited. To the last auntie, before she handed the present to my daughter, she ‘demanded’ my girl, “Say ‘please’ and bow, so auntie will give you the gift!”.
I thought she was joking, so I interrupted and told my daughter, “Auntie got you a present, you say ‘Thank you’ out loud!”.
My daughter exclaimed, “Thank you auntie!”, then opened the present.
It was a Lego Friends set. Needless to say, my daughter was so happy, and jumped up and down with the Lego set.
Then suddenly, the auntie snatched the Lego set from my daughter’s hands again, held it up above her head, and demanded my daughter, “Say ‘please’ and bow, or auntie’s gonna take it back!”.
This time, I knew she wasn’t joking.
I got angry but tried very hard to keep my voice calm, “No one demands my daughter to beg. We’re poor but we are not cheap”. “I was just joking!”, she said. “No, you weren’t.
That’s the second time and I don’t like it”, I told her.
Now she got angry, raised her voice with me, “Even so, this is an expensive toy, what wrong with begging a little?”. “You take the gift back and please leave”, I told her, while getting up and holding the door open.
She left and never came back.
The next day, I took my daughter to the toy store to get that Lego set. My friend was right. It was a damn expensive toy, it cost me a big chunk of my skinny paycheck and a friendship.
Of course it is the U.S. but to be fair the U.S. is the biggest threat to the entire world. China included. And the world. As a whole the world need to jointly and severally stop the U.S. excesses. I dare say for the good of the human race including the Americans.
The U.S. is the only nation that will push human into extinction through an all out nuclear war if uncheck. We humanoids on earth need to be very mindful of this fact and the U.S. powers must be checkmate at every turn and ever aspect. Militarily, politically, financially, economically and strategically.
The U.S. must be brought back into being a member of responsible human society where the common good of humanity must prevail over the selfish interest of the U.S. military industrial complex profiting from wars, chaos and violence worldwide.
China is a very peaceful loving nation and it survived 5000 years because it has a peaceful coexistence between nations as a priority. China don’t want enemies and certainly do not like war. Since 1979 some 44 years has passed since China last fought a war. But during that time China phenomenally grew rich and strong to deter any nation from threatening them.
China wants a peaceful world where we can live peacefully and harmoniously. We can all get prosperous and live better and longer lives. And we trade with each other. Today there are only some 12–15 nations that are part of these war threatening pack. Most of them are either forced into this pack as slave vassal states or coerced or bribed into this grouping. Glued together by the U.S. and the western media, this loosely defined as western powers need to be dismantled for good.
Chinese history
Cajun Beef Po’boy Sandwiches with Red Eye Gravy
For Cajun Beef Po’boy Sandwiches with Red Eye Gravy, sirloin steak is rubbed with espresso coffee powder and pepper, then broiled to perfection. Red Eye Gravy is added to the steak.
cajun beef po boys
Ingredients
Po’boys
1 (1 pound) beef top sirloin steak, cut 1 inch thick
6 teaspoons espresso coffee powder, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 large French bread rolls, split
8 slices tomato
1 cup shredded lettuce
Redeye Gravy
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup diced tasso or pancetta ham
1/4 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup hot water
2 cups beef stock
1 to 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (Louisiana-style)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
Rub beef top sirloin steak with 2 teaspoons espresso powder and pepper.
Heat broiler to HIGH.
Place steak on rack on aluminum foil-lined broiler pan so surface of beef is 3 to 4 inches from heat. Broil for 16 to 21 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F) doneness, turning once.
Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium heat; whisk in flour. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until caramel color, whisking often. Remove mixture from pan; set aside.
Melt remaining tablespoon butter in same skillet over medium heat; add tasso, onion, Creole Seasoning and garlic; cook for 10 minutes until onion is translucent.
Dissolve remaining 4 teaspoons espresso powder in hot water; add to skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until browned bits attached to skillet are dissolved and sauce is reduced almost completely.
Whisk in butter mixture until smooth.
Add beef stock, hot sauce and Worcestershire; bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until sauce is reduced to 1 cup.
Add roast beef to skillet. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until heated through, stirring often so sauce coats beef.
Divide beef mixture between rolls. Top beef with tomato and lettuce. Close sandwiches.
There is no need to answer such boring questions anymore.
All infrastructure in China, including logistics, communication, power supply, water supply, and gas supply, is very complete.
In 2021, China produced 8.5 petawatt-hour (Pwh) of electricity, approximately 30% of the world’s electricity production.
There are two most advanced transmission technologies in the world, one called “ultra-high voltage transmission” and the other called “flexible direct current transmission“. China is far ahead of other countries in these two top technologies.
Overhead power lines can easily cause fires and can also lead to power outages.
Outdoor power poles and overhead power lines in China have been basically cleaned up during the renovation of old cities, and all cables have been buried underground without any exposed or disorderly phenomena.
If you have traveled to cities in Taiwan, Japan and Chinese Mainland, you will find that only cities in Chinese Mainland rarely see bare overhead power lines.
I haven’t experienced a power outage in China for 40 years.
Young people born in China after 1990 may not even understand what it feels like to have a power outage.
In China, even remote rural areas have stable electricity supply.
The Tibetan village at an altitude of 5000 meters has also been electrified.
But whether it’s India, Vietnam, or the United States or Europe, power outages are frequent.
The machines running in the factory require electricity, while the computers in the office require electricity. If the power supply is unstable, how do you make the enterprise work?
Taiwan’s power system has always had various problems. Taking TSMC as an example, due to a power outage in Tainan City, 30000 wafers on TSMC’s production line were damaged, resulting in a direct loss of US$200 million. No matter how rich TSMC’s finances are, it cannot withstand the losses caused by several major power outages.
Anyway, since you want to attract foreign investment, the first step is to ensure a stable electricity supply.
Otherwise, these enterprises will have to face downtime and production stoppage.
Through the the Belt and Road Project, China will help these countries improve their power systems and will actively transfer some enterprises to countries along the the Belt and Road.
China’s homegrown TP500 unmanned transport plane makes maiden flight, and transportation between Chinese cities will be faster in the future. Goods that originally took 3 days to arrive can be transported in 2-3 hours.
I was a workaholic, working 16 hour weekdays and 8 hour weekends. This was about 20 years ago.
It was Christmas eve, and I still hadn’t done my Christmas shopping, I had my list for everything, most of it specified by my nieces and nephews.
I had been reading how a few malls in our city were in trouble, as everyone was switching to big box stores to shop. They showed pictures of traffic jams in big box store parking lots. I was finally out of time and had to shop, and hope I could get the stuff on my list, at the last minute.
I pulled up to Sears at the local mall, that had been featured in the news, as being in trouble. The parking lot was empty. I was afraid it was closed. I parked in the closest parking spot to the door. I walked in and manager saw me enter, and was on me like glue. I was the only customer in the store, ON Christmas Eve!!
He asked me what I was looking for and I pulled out this long list. He smiled and called someone over to get me a hot chocolate from the mall, he sat me down in a recliner in the furniture section, and called two more workers over, and asked them to get the stuff on the list.
We talked, and I drank my hot chocolate. He was pretty sure Sears wouldn’t last another five years, and he needed it to, to collect his pension.
After about 15 minutes, the workers were back with my presents. I paid for them. They had a gift wrapping service, which normally cost extra, but he said that the staff weren’t doing anything anyway, so it would be free.
In another 10 minutes, they helped me load the wrapped presents in my car.
It was maybe 25 minutes from when I walked into the store, and I was done. Wrapped and everything.
I had almost never shopped at Sears, but after that I was a regular, until they closed the doors. I saw the manager until he successfully retired.
I later read that Sears ended up shorting the pension fund. I hope he made out OK, as I have never had service like that, before or since.
Just read this out to my wife and she burst out laughing. In 1996 I had been widowed over five years when a crazy woman burst through the door of our car sales site with so much enthusiasm and vibrance and chatter and said she wanted to buy a car. It was a quiet time so I stopped playing my guitar and set about helping her. She bought a car and left and I turned to my mate and said, ‘She’s totally bonkers’, he replied, ‘you’re telling me’, I replied, I could do with some of that’. I delivered the car a few days later and took her to the pub for a chat, after a few dates we were driving towards the Mersey tunnel, Merseyside from Wirral to Liverpool and I asked her if she would like to go on an adventure and her answer was yes, just then we entered the tunnel just as the petrol light came on, I said, ‘welcome to the adventure’.
We sold our houses, bought a B & B, called it ‘Firkin House’ and thirteen years later retired to sunny Cyprus and will have been married twenty years next May with lots of fun and laughs along the way.
Oh, boy. I’ll never forget this one as long as I live.
I had been living with my significant other for about four years. He always treated me well … but other people? Not so much. In this case, it was his grandparents, who I adored. They were just the sweetest people. They really loved their grandson, too, even though he rarely gave them the time of day. They wanted him to fly home for Christmas—I’d made plans with my family, so we were going solo that year.
Anyway, this guy refused to buy a plane ticket unless his grandparents paid for it. Here’s the kicker: he had the money to spend on plane fare. He just didn’t want to. A$$hole that he was. So, his grandfather, who was around 90, had said that he’d put the check in the mail. It hadn’t arrived, due to the holiday mail delay.
I bore witness to this guy browbeating his elderly grandpa into Fed-Exing another check over the phone. This was two days before the cut-off date to book the flight. So his grandfolks sent another check, because they wanted their grandson home for the holidays. These were old, frail people who barely got out of the house. Not good drivers. You know, why didn’t my S.O. just pay for the fare and let his grandfather pay him back once he was there?
A day or so after he left on the trip, his grandfather’s original check arrived in the mail. I looked at his spidery handwriting on the signature line, and I felt positively ill.
I ended up breaking up with my significant other because of that, and for countless other times that I’d seen him be really mean to other people who loved him—family members, even. I knew that one day, I could be next in line, and I wasn’t about to wait around for that to happen.
The MWI is real, and it is valid. However, the idea in the movie that consciousness is equally shared between the world-lines is a tad distorted. Instead the centering of consciousness on a given world-line is the actual REALITY within this universe.
At a tense meeting with IRS inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdre, Waymond's body is taken over by Alpha-Waymond, a version of Waymond from the "Alphaverse."
Alpha-Waymond explains to Evelyn that many parallel universes exist because every life choice creates a new alternative universe.
In the Alphaverse, the late Alpha-Evelyn developed "verse-jumping" technology, which enables people to access the skills, memories, and bodies of their parallel selves by performing bizarre actions that are statistically unlikely.
The multiverse is threatened by Jobu Tupaki (Alpha-Joy), whose mind was splintered after Alpha-Evelyn pushed her to verse-jump beyond her endurance; Jobu experiences all universes at once and can verse-jump and manipulate matter at will.
She has created a black hole-like "Everything Bagel" topped with everything,[18] which appears as a toroidsingularity[19] that could destroy the multiverse.
Evelyn is given verse-jumping technology to fight Jobu's minions, who converge on the IRS building.
She discovers other universes in which she made different choices and flourished, such as becoming a kung fu master and film star; she also learns of Waymond's plans with the divorce papers.
Alpha-Waymond believes that Evelyn, as the greatest "failure" of all Evelyns in the multiverse, has the untapped potential to defeat Jobu.
Gong Gong is taken over by Alpha-Gong Gong, who instructs Evelyn to kill Joy to stop Jobu from using her to enter Evelyn's universe.
Evelyn refuses and decides to face Jobu by gaining powers through repeated verse-jumping.
Alpha-Gong Gong, convinced that Evelyn's mind has been compromised like Jobu's, sends soldiers after Evelyn.
While they fight, Jobu locates and kills Alpha-Waymond in the Alphaverse.
As Jobu confronts Evelyn in her universe, Evelyn's mind splinters, and she collapses.
Evelyn uncontrollably verse-jumps alongside Jobu across bizarre and diverse universes.
Jobu reveals she does not want to fight at all, but that instead, she has been searching for an Evelyn who can see, as she does, that nothing matters, while killing the Evelyns that do not agree with her.
She brings Evelyn to the Everything Bagel, explaining that she wants to use it to allow herself and Evelyn to truly die.
Upon looking into the Bagel, Evelyn is initially persuaded, and behaves cruelly and nihilistically in her other universes, hurting those around her.
As Evelyn is about to enter the Bagel with Jobu, she pauses to listen to Waymond's pleas in her universe for everybody to stop fighting and to instead be kind, even when life does not make sense.
Evelyn has an existentialist epiphany and decides to follow Waymond's absurdist[20] and humanist[21] advice, using her multiverse powers to fight with empathy[22] and bring happiness to those around her; in doing so, she repairs her damage in the other universes and neutralizes Alpha-Gong Gong and Jobu's fighters.
In her home universe, Evelyn reconciles with Waymond, accepts Joy and Becky's relationship and tells Gong Gong of it, and talks with Deirdre after Waymond convinces Deirdre to let them redo their taxes.
Jobu decides to enter the Bagel alone while, simultaneously in Evelyn's universe, Joy begs Evelyn to let her go.
Evelyn tells Joy that even when nothing makes sense and even though she could be anywhere else in the multiverse, she would always want to be with Joy.
Evelyn and the others save Jobu from the Bagel, and Evelyn and Joy embrace.
It is a fantasy. Which is still a fun illustration.
So that is OK, don’t you know.
10947799
But what does the audience get from this movie?
That there is a multi-verse; and MWI.
That you can travel between different world-lines.
That the traveling consciousness can absorb simultaneous experiences that color the actions in the reality.
I personally view this movie as an entry bridge towards enlightenment of the true and really pertinent reality that we all experience.
World-line slides… shown in the movie.
everything everywhere all at once
The three key points above are all in alignment with MM’s MWI narrative.
Edward. We called him Crazy Ed. At 12 years of age during a family reunion he grabbed his dad’s shotgun and started shooting. He got mad at his parents over some little crap. Shot his ma, pa, aunt and was chasing his uncle but ran out of shells. In a juvenile prison, this was the 1960s, he tried to poison a few people. And beat another thug with a broom half to death before they hauled him off. He was a polite, fairly polished, soft spoken youth. Looked like a mousy little accountant, glasses and all. He told people when he got he wanted to be a hit man for the mob. He enjoyed killing. I have no doubt that’s what really became of him.
I was an IT director for a company that had been acquired by a much larger company. When I declined to move to their IT location half a continent away, I was laid off. by phone. (my whole group was effectively laid off because they moved my group’s functions to the parent companies group much larger group and they all refused the move).
This was not unexpected, but the knowledge transfer had not taken place yet between the groups. (it was just beginning)
I accepted the severance package and told them we needed to call my counterpart in the corporate group to make sure the transfer was done securely.
When they asked why, I said that as an IT directory I have all the adminstrator passwords and could literally shut down the business if I was upset about the termination. I want to make sure that any issues that come up will not be pointed back at me or my team.
They agreed to conference call with my counterpart so he could take the necessary steps to secure the system.
The call went like this:
Me: Hey! You need to change all the administrator passwords on our unix servers and close out some accounts:
Him: Why?
Me: My group and I just got terminated and you need to secure these servers to make sure everything stays copacetic. You need to terminate my accounts, all access, and those of my team laid off effective immediately to protect corporate and customer assets.
Him: <explodes>What Assh*t did that? We haven’t got anyone to manage those systems, There has been no knowledge transfer on what the systems are used for, <folornly>I’m screwed!
Big Boss: That would be me. Just do it.
Him: OK, OK. I am logging on to the servers. What is the command? Oh Sh*t, I can’t ask you can I….
Big Boss (to me): This is a surprise. Would you be willing to stick around for a couple of weeks….
Me: Sorry- Even though I don’t particularly have an issue about being laid off, Corporate Security Rules identify me now as disgruntled employee and I am not allowed access to secure systems or even the building spaces.
When I was about 17 years old, my dad walked in on me and my then-boyfriend having sex.
The house I lived in at the time was located directly across from my high school. I was enrolled in a lot of sports, as was my boyfriend. Our practices often didn’t start until a half an hour or so after school ended, so most days we had a little bit of time to, um, kill. This particular day, I thought my dad would be at work. We raced to my house, went to my bedroom, and went at it. A few minutes later, without warning, my dad did the thing he always did – knock, then immediately open the door. Seriously? What was the point of knocking? I’ll never understand.
So there I was. His precious baby, naked with a boy. I did the only thing I could think of, which was to do a little *roll* off the bed, and then a second *roll* to hide myself underneath my bed. Leaving my bare-bummed boyfriend to the nightmare above me.
The only words my dad said was, “get dressed.”
I did not go to practice that day. Instead, I had to have dinner with my dad, alone. I couldn’t even look him in the eye. I was mortified.
We tried to have small talk???? “How was your day?” “Fine, yours?”
Worst. Day. Of. My. Life.
Cajun Style Cube Steaks
2023 11 09 14 37
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
4 (4 ounce) beef cube steaks
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 (15 ounce) can no salt added tomato sauce
1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning
2 cups hot cooked brown rice
Instructions
Place foil grilling bag on cookie sheet. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour in bag.
Arrange steaks in single layer on top of flour; top with pepper and onion.
In a small bowl stir together tomato sauce, Cajun seasonings, and remaining 2 tablespoons flour. Spread evenly over steaks and vegetables. Seal bag by double folding open end, leaving room for expansion.
Coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray. Heat grill to medium indirect heat.
Slide bag from cookie sheet onto grill rack. Cover and grill for 35 minutes.
Remove bag from grill. Use kitchen shears to carefully cut open bag.
We had a a couple of very dear and long- time friends coming over to watch a DVD a few evenings ago. I went into the living room to make sure the sofas were clear of books, newspapers, knitting etc, but there was still some clutter around. The odd grandkids’s toys sitting in a corner. A laptop my husband was fixing for someone In bits on the coffee table. I said to my husband “ Oh, it looks OK. It’s only Angela and Colin coming.” Then I thought that’s a horrible thing to say! But then it occurred to me – it was, in fact, a great compliment. They were like family. I don’t do a big tidy up, making it pristine, if my daughter is coming with her children. Like them, Angela and Colin are part of our lives. It’s clean and comfortable, but it doesn’t have to be “ visitor ready.” When they arrived I told them what has gone through my mind, and they agreed – they would feel the same about us.
Newlywed Has MELTDOWN After Husband Gathers Proof Of Her Cheating For Their “At Fault” Divorce State
All these stories are so sad. But this one seems to be really authentic. The human situation sucks. Ugh. I am sorry for all three people.
USA and Australia are clearly stolen nations or stolen continents after barbaric and phenomenally cruel slaughter of natives living in their land for centuries. These lands don’t belong to the present inhabitants and it must remind all humans in earth of what savagery and imperialism occurred during the 1600–1900 where rampant European colonialism and aggression happened throughout the world.
Australia and the Americas have to be seen as naked aggression and raped of land and destruction and real genocide whatever culture is a 200–300 years old remnants of these atrocities.
China and Japan has long history spanning thousands of years. It possesses history and philosophy of life and both nations were helped by Confucianism and its ethics of discipline, hardworking, respect for the elders and authorities and constant learning and meritocracy. Both are highly educated and very successful societies. For a while Japan was infatuated with western style colonialism. Not the Chinese as it sees that is wrong to steal other people land.
Nations that grew out of stealing land that belong to others naturally sees themselves entitled. Dominate its regions. The U.S. Latin America and Caribbean while Australia the Islanders and thinks they have a right to command South China Sea too. That to me is clearly wrong and high handed with a tinge of colonialism.
Both Australia and the U.S. benefits from the so called international rules based order that favours the west at the expense of the developing world. But that privilege is being stripped away bit by bit. And truly free competition is beyond them. Hence the huffs and puffs.
Only one word RESPECT. Without respect US will always think their way is always the right way. China is not trying to change the U.S. liberal democracy. That is the U.S. way the U.S. sees fit for the U.S. it is the U.S. that insist China must not practice Socialism with Chinese characteristics! There lies the problem.
As long as one thinks and believed that they and only they knows best no relationship can work. The U.S. must know that to each it’s own. And one man’s meat is another man’s poison. I dare say the problem in the entire 100 years passed us that the U.S. wanted every nation on earth to be submissive and subservient to them!
China is very mature. China wants a rich and prosperous USA to sell to and to go for holidays. It doesn’t want to change a thing. The U.S. wants to weaken China. It wants China to be split into a 100 bite size nation for the U.S. to chew on it! It sees itself as the standard, the authority and the god ordained nation to rule the world.
That disrespect cannot go on. It gets no where. A 5000 years responsible civilisation cannot accept a 247 years old rogue stolen nation of cowboys telling them what to do.
This is HOW MUCH My Vending Machines Made in 365 Days!
I have taken a while to collect my thoughts. Some things need to be said.
This will be a disturbing post. So let’s cling precariously to reason. Please.
Two things are obvious here. The first is that the actions by Hamas rip a new gash in the face of humanity. No thinking person can deny this. Generally reliable news agencies like Reuters [1] report:
“We’ve seen dismembered bodies with their arms and feet chopped off, people that were beheaded, a child that was beheaded,” a reserve warrant officer identified only by her first name of Avigayil told reporters.
She said multiple cases of rape were found by forensic examination of the bodies, which have been stored in refrigerated containers.
A large number of international journalists have viewed graphic footage [2] that documents these atrocities:
Other sequences showed a militant with an agricultural tool hacking at the head of a man lying on the ground, gunmen killing wounded female Israeli soldiers and a jubilant Hamas fighter calling his family: “I killed 10 Jews with my own hands. I’m using the dead Jewish woman’s phone to call you now.”
Only a really crazy conspiracy theorist with his underpants on his head would doubt that these terrible things are absolutely, shockingly real.∗
But there is one more thing …
The other obvious thing
Hamas planned this attack meticulously over months—almost certainly with Iranian support.
[3] Israeli intelligence failed comprehensively. But no, these are not that obvious, other thing. The second thing is the answer to the question “Why?”
One answer is “Because Hamas hate Israel, hate Jewish people, and want to erase Israel from the face of the Earth, as they have often declared”. This is almost certainly true, but it is too glib. It is not the answer. If you follow this reasoning, then Hamas are like a fox in a henhouse—ripping away until no living thing is left alive.
The problem with this glib answer is that it doesn’t make complete sense. Yes, of course those who killed 1400 Israelis and kidnapped many more did so with almost indescribable savagery. Yes, of course they went out of their way to document the bloodshed and atrocities. And yes, of course, this is a new low—by even the lowest imaginable standard.
But this is far less than half the story. Those who set up this atrocity surely knew how Israel would respond. They could predict that Israel would pummel Gaza. They invited a blockade, and an invasion by the Israeli army. So the correct answer to that “Why?” question is …
This is all going according to script
Hamas knew that this would result in a huge number of deaths of their own people in Gaza.
Hamas are hoping that thousands—or even tens of thousands—of their own people will die. They have planned for a bloody fight in Gaza, with civilians all around. They want this. They want large numbers of children to die in Gaza. This is part of the plan.
At least thirty Israeli children died. By 24 October 2023, two thousand three hundred and sixty children had died and over five thousand had been injured in Gaza. [4] This is precisely what Hamas want. It is part of their plan. It is surely what they predicted. They are malevolent—but they are not stupid. So then, why did they do this?
Why?
They knew that Benjamin Netanyahu would have no choice but to retaliate not just in kind, but on a vast scale. They knew that had he said something like:
We will not descend to their level. We will hunt down every single one of these terrorists, but we will do this in our own time. Not one will escape. We will move mountains to preserve international law, and protect innocent civilians …
… then he would have been labelled ‘weak’. He would have been out on his arse. The atrocities were so bad that people would have demanded an immediate military response from his successor. This is the main reason why the atrocities were quite deliberately so atrocious.
So thousands of children are dead, and thousands upon thousands of innocent civilians of all ages will still die. Quite according to the script that Hamas has laid out. They don’t care. In fact, it’s precisely part of the plan.
Now you asked:
Will people forget the massacre of innocent Jews by Hamas after seeing the Gaza attack?
No, of course not
That day will live in infamy. But it won’t matter.
Because the countries around Israel will also never, ever forget the vastly greater number of children who died. They will never forget Israel’s response. And here’s the truly terrible thing.
For every one who died, several more will spring up, their heart filled with hate for Israel. There are about two million people [5] packed into the Gaza strip. It’s like a vast kindergarten—and from this kindergarten, hundreds of thousands of people will emerge, and none of them will forget Israel’s actions.
Israel is running things entirely according to Hamas’ script. And when they deviate, they do so in the wrong direction …
A bonus for Hamas
Israel has even provided a few unanticipated bonuses that make things worse. For example, Israel’s UN envoy Gilad Erdan has accused the Secretary General of the UN as follows:
[6] The UN Secretary-General, who shows understanding for the campaign of mass murder of children, women, and the elderly, is not fit to lead the UN. I call on him to resign immediately. There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people. There are simply no words.
This was in response to his speech on 24 October, [7] that went as follows:
I have condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel.
Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians – or the launching of rockets against civilian targets.
All hostages must be treated humanely and released immediately and without conditions. I respectfully note the presence among us of members of their families.
Excellencies,
It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.
The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.
They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.
But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Another perhaps unexpected bonus for Hamas is how Israel has cut off supplies…
Fuel
By far the most important supply Israel has cut off is fuel. No, not water. Not food. Fuel. [8]
This is because the hospitals with their thousands of bomb-injured and crushed people need fuel to run. And water cannot be pumped (or even desalinated) without fuel. Oh yes. The Israelis also supply one third of the water to Gaza. And this has been cut off, too.
They are allowing a few percent of the supplies needed. This will result in multiple deaths, particularly of vulnerable people—the elderly, and children, and the sick.
The most disturbing bit
In the video clip associated with this post, the Israeli defence minister describes Palestinians as ‘human animals’—and says that this justifies cutting off food, fuel and water.
This is from the international playbook [9] of dehumanisation:
During the Holocaust, Nazis referred to Jews as rats. Hutus involved in the Rwanda genocide called Tutsis cockroaches. Slave owners throughout history considered slaves subhuman animals.
In summary
So this is the way I see it. Israel has provided a knee-jerk response.
In consequence, their entire state may not survive. This will likely take a few decades to play out—but I think Israel has just signed its own death warrant in the blood of thousands upon thousands of the sick, the elderly, and children.
This is precisely what Hamas scripted. Israel has simply followed the script.
I find this all tragic beyond words.
My 2c, Dr Jo.
∗
It’s sad we even need to say this. But already the conspiracy nutters are out there in force.
Image was generated by Poe/StableDiffusion in response to the prompt “a fox in a henhouse with lots of feathers and blood”.
Based on my observations after having lived in most of the Anglosphere and in West Europe, I feel that many of the people from said countries would not consider Singaporeans “Native English Speakers”.
Which is pure snobbery, in my opinion. I guess they see themselves as the gatekeepers of who can or cannot be a native English speaker.
I have been to Singapore several times, and in the early part of my career, I was even seconded there.
While it’s true that there are many Singaporeans who grew up in a Chinese-speaking (or Malay-speaking, Tamil-speaking) household and might not have reached the level one would expect from a native English speaker, I also came across many Singaporeans (admittedly, I only worked with Chinese Singaporeans during my time there), the young ones, especially, who could only speak English.
Sure, they’re ethnically Chinese, but their Chinese is…. below even the rudimentary level. Like, if you ask them something very simple and basic like “Can you state the four cardinal directions in Mandarin?”… they can’t.
If they can’t even do something as simple and basic as that in Chinese, and their main language, the one they’ve been using since birth, is English – then how are they not native English speakers?
If you don’t consider them native English speakers – then the question becomes: So, what is their native language?
They can’t, or, to be generous, barely, speak or read Chinese. The only language they know is English.
Shouldn’t that, by definition, make them native English speakers?
Or is it really possible for someone to not be a native speaker of any language?
I would definitely consider this demographic of Singaporeans native English speakers, but, you know, I’m not one of the “gatekeepers” mentioned above, so my opinion might count for nothing.
Taking my morning shower, I felt a twinge of stomach pain. “Man, I’m really hungry!” I thought. “I’ve got to hurry up this shower and get some breakfast.”
Then I started to feel a little light-headed. I put my hand out and braced myself against the shower wall. I felt even more faint. “I could pass out and fall in here,” I thought. “I’d better get out.”
So I did, and as I was toweling off, I started to feel nauseated. I went to the toilet and threw up—blood! Holy shit! I called to my wife, “I’m vomiting blood.” She came and took a look; “You sure are!” It wasn’t a whole lot, about 30 ml of bright red blood and mucus, but it was scary as hell. I was hoping it was only an ulcer or something, but I couldn’t help thinking cancer, especially since a friend of mine had recently died of stomach cancer. It was mid-January and my daughter’s wedding was coming up in April. “I’m not going to make it to Nicole’s wedding,” I said to my wife.
The nausea passed. I finished drying off, laid down in bed, and fell asleep for 2 hours. When I woke up, I threw up more blood.
It turned out that it was in fact cancer. I had a rare type called GIST—gastrointestinal stromal tumor. There was a tumor in my upper stomach exactly the size of a billiard ball. But I’m writing this 7 years later. I lost very little stomach to the surgeon—only an area a little larger than a (U.S.) silver dollar—and I was eating at a fine Italian restaurant in Houston five days after the surgery, everything from red wine to tiramisu. I danced with my daughter at her wedding and I’m a grandfather now. I’ve been fine and very healthy since that surgery. Scared the hell out of me in 2010, though.
I hope never to have another bathroom experience as bad as that one.
Baby Poo
Huawei and Meituan announce collaboration to develop HarmonyOS ecosystem
Huawei and Meituan announced a comprehensive partnership to innovate industries, apply technologies, and develop businesses using HarmonyOS. Huawei will fully back Meituan in launching the development of native applications for HarmonyOS.
The announcement comes on the heels of Huawei’s HarmonyOS Next is expected to ditch Android app support as early as 2024. Several of Huawei’s self-developed OS concept stocks rocketed and hit the daily limit after the news was released, according to ChinaDaily.
Huawei partners with Meituan for HarmonyOS ecosystem
Meituan is a Chinese tech giant that offers a wide range of services, including food delivery, online grocery shopping, and ride-hailing. It is one of the most popular apps in China, with over 600 million active users.
Huawei’s confidence in its alternative ecosystem strategy on the mainland received a boost in late August when the company launched its Mate 60 Pro smartphone, its first 5G handset since the Mate 40 series was released in October 2020.
The Mate 60 Pro was met with strong public support, and Huawei became mainland China’s fastest-growing smartphone vendor in the third quarter of 2023.
Recently, multiple job applications in China have announced the launch of HarmonyOS app development. For example, 同程旅行_旅游_旅游线路_旅行_出国旅游_自驾游_周边游_旅游网站 (formerly known as Tongcheng) announced the launch of HarmonyOS native version App development, with plans to complete core version development by the end of 2023.
In addition, a number of internet giants, including Meituan, have listed several job openings related to HarmonyOS. For instance, Meituan publicized a variety of HarmonyOS-centric roles, such as Senior HarmonyOS Engineer and HarmonyOS Infrastructure Engineer.
According to data, as of August 2023, the HarmonyOS ecosystem boasted over 700 million devices and was supported by more than 2.2 million developers actively contributing to its development. By October 30th, the number of devices upgraded to HarmonyOS 4 had surpassed the hundred million mark.
The connection between “body count” and “cheating while married to a man”
They are still slowly trying to clean it up. The areas that were too dangerous are called Red Zones. Restrictions within the Zone Rouge still exist today. After the war, the French government declared a 460-square-mile area unfit for human habitation or development. It stretches roughly from Nancy through Verdun and onto Lille, with various non-contiguous zones so riddled with unexploded shells (many of them gas shells), grenades, ammunition, and human and animal remains that it was simply too dangerous to enter.
In the 1920s and ’30s, the government oversaw the planting of 36 million trees, mostly pine and spruce, in part of the Zone Rouge. This the Verdun forest.
The Department du Deminage, was created after the war. Over the decades, it has helped to reduce the extent of the Zone Rouge, destroying hundreds of thousands of munitions and chemical shells, and has returned some land to civilian and agricultural use. They calculate that they have 300 years work ahead of them before they have cleared the whole battlefield. French farmers collect a huge amount of unexploded ordnance, barbed wire, shrapnel, and bullets every year. It is called the “Iron Harvest.”
Some areas remain entirely off-limits, the soil so full of arsenic that 99 percent of all plants die. There is still the ever-present threat of unexploded shells. There are many ghost villages that were left abandoned after the war, deemed beyond repair. The bodies of roughly 80,000 soldiers whose bodies were never recovered are still there. The bomb depressions are still there.
I mean, that’s the simple, and charitable, way to put it.
The more complex answer is…less charitable.
Most people don’t have moral principles. They have a general set of guidelines they absorb from the society around them without really questioning too much. These guidelines are tribal in nature, and as often as not are more about marking in-groups and out-groups than about a coherent, consistent set of morals.
A great many people want to think of themselves as “good,” but aren’t particularly interested in thinking a lot about it, and particularly aren’t interested in sacrificing comfort or lifestyle for it.
And given that what passes for morality in many folks is actually a set of tribal signifiers, they most definitely aren’t willing to give up social standing for it.
In fact, I’ll wager you that more than a few people who truly consider themselves moral, scrupulous people willing to give up money for morals, will still toss their values aside the moment they involve loss of social standing.
We are social creatures. We need the support and approval of the people around us to survive. Not just in the sense of an income stream to keep ourselves fed and a roof overhead, but in the sense of a social group—without that, we suffer.
So yeah, confronted with social censure for not adopting the opinion of the people around them, most folks absolutely will surrender their values. Confronted with losing money for not adopting the opinion of the people around them, most folks absolutely will surrender their values. If you’re reading this, odds are pretty good you’re one social smear campaign or a few hungry days away from letting go of what you imagine to be your most cherished moral principles.
Originally Answered: What is the best case of “you just picked a fight with the wrong person” that you’ve witnessed?
Ooh yes this brings back the memories from the early 1980s.
A bunch of us went to the next town for a few drinks and a laugh. I seem to recall one of the lads (not me) was getting married so for reasons that won’t become apparent we trooped off to a bigger town 10 miles away instead of our own little town.
We walked into a quiet little pub, grabbed some drinks and sat down on a round table which perfectly suited our group of seven.
The pub was totally empty apart from us and the barman. It was very early in the evening.
A group of three guys walked in and one of them looked very angry. Big and mean he was too. They walked straight over to us and the angry guy looked directly at me.
Angry – You! You’re a big cunt. Let’s have a fight now. Outside!
Me – No thanks mate. We’re here on a lads’ night out and don’t want any aggro.
The lads – Nah come on mate. We just want a drink. Blah blah blah.
Angry – Come on you cunt. Let’s fucking fight now.
By now he’d walked around to my side of the round table. He was a big and very tough-looking guy and I really didn’t want a punch in the mouth off him. I was probably the biggest in our group at 1.90 metres and 110 kg but even so, I didn’t want to fight this big lummox.
Me – Listen mate…
Angry punched me in the side of the face so hard I thought my head had come off. Blood spurted out but no teeth. It hurt a lot and I just held my face thinking “what the hell do I do now?”
I didn’t have to do anything. Andy, who is a very slender and weedy and very sweet young friend of mine stood up.
Andy – No-one hits my mate. Big mistake.
Angry – Oh yeah. What you going to do about it you strip of piss?
Andy sent him sprawling across the next table with one perfect punch to the face. Angry got up and together with his two mates left the pub without another word being said.
The barman walked over and spoke to Andy.
Barman – Wow. That guy you just floored is the hardest guy in town!
Me – Not any more he isn’t. Cheers Andy.
My face hurt for ages but thankfully no serious damage. Andy was our new top mate of the group.
I was offered a $500/month truck allowance, by my employer, to use my own vehicle on service calls. I bought a used truck, for that purpose. I had to carry a $1 million liability insurance policy, due to some customer’s requirements, in order to drive on their property, too. Then, he changed the number to $250. I told him that wasn’t what he had originally told me. That Friday, he gave me a note, as I left to do service calls, and said to think about it. All it had on it was “$350”. Monday morning, I showed up early, and loaded EVERYTHING that belonged to me into my truck. When he showed up, I gave him my building keys. He wanted to know what was going on, and I said “I’m gone.” When he asked if that was how I negotiated, my reply was “I don’t negotiate with liars.”
I sent postcards to the customers I did work for, telling that I was no longer with that company, but was available to keep their equipment running. I was the ONLY one at that company who knew how the stuff worked, and all the repair business went to me. The company had to down-size, and then sold out to a competitor, so my old boss went from owning his own business, to being just another employee.
Too late! The U.S. allows South Korea to produce chips in China, and China is not doing it!
Too late for South Korea, the China ship has sailed.
On a regular basis? Taking a giant gas guzzling car and lifting it to make it even less fuel efficient.
The trucks you see here in America are so obnoxiously big and with callous disregard for global warming. It’s crazy when you drive around here in Florida: 70% or more of the cars are SUVs or Trucks. Literally, 70% or more.
It’s definitely a cultural thing but I wish it would go away. The guys in these lifted trucks are almost always the hyper aggressive drivers the push up behind you and lay on the horn and then flick you off as they go by.
But then, a few minutes later, I’ll see one of them pulled over by a cop. That’s always the most gratifying feeling.
US Supreme Court Tackles Game-Changing Social Media Censorship Case!
Well that’s exactly the thing. The point of attacking the harbor was so they could take on America. There are two reasons that Japan carried out the attack.
The Paper tiger
The Japanese referred to America as a “paper tiger.” What they meant by this was that their military was all bark and no bite, and if the fleet was destroyed there was no way America could come back. What the Japanese underestimated was America’s production capabilities. America was at the time of 1941 one of the largest and most efficient producers of the world, and while FDR was of the intention to stay out of the war, the factories of the United States were churning out tanks, rifles, planes, and ammo to the Soviets fighting the Wehrmacht in the Europe, and Britain fighting the blitz, the Italians and Germans in North Africa, and the Japanese in Burma, China, and Australia. US Shipyards were just as impressive, with destroyers and merchant marine ships built by the hundreds, sold to Britain to protect against the u boats tearing up the Atlantic trade. Japan made the mistake of underestimating the capabilities of US industry. When the US declared war on Japan in retaliation, production went towards building their own military, including the navy. The US navy numbered in the thousands, from the dozens of capital ships to the hundreds of destroyers and submarines, and all of the auxiliary ships and escorts included. In addition, right after the attack the navy raised most of the sunken ships in the harbor. Of the eight battleships we lost, five were raised and went back into the fight, one of them sunk on refloating, and only two of them remain there, USS Arizona and USS Utah. Pearl Harbor remains one of the greatest tragedies in US history, but because of America’s industrial might, it was not the end.
2. The target
From a tactical perspective, another reason for Japan’s attack was what they believed they would destroy and how it would impact the fleet. The Japanese’ main target was not the many battleships and destroyers that were stationed in Pearl Harbor, not the oil tanks, command, or airfields- These were very significant, and their destruction was all devastating to our efforts in getting in the fight, but the most important targets were but one part of the navy:
The US Carriers
It is often said by historians that Pearl Harbor was the end of the days of mighty battleships and battlecruisers and the dawn of the carrier. The six Japanese carriers, Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Zuikaku, and Shokaku, were the most important part of the Japanese fleet, and carried out the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese knew that the US would only have a chance against the Japanese carriers with the carriers of their own. Therefore, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor believing that the US carriers were there. Fortunately for the US, and the Allies as a whole, the carriers were at sea, safe from the carnage. As a matter of fact, the battleship USS Utah was painted to look like a carrier from the sky, to train US dive bombers, and because of this saw some of the heaviest bombardment of all of the ships, being one of the ships unable to be raised from the bottom. The assessment that the US carriers were essential to the US staying in the fight proved correct. The US launched the Doolittle raid the following year, striking Tokyo for the first of many times in the war from the carrier USS Hornet. The Shoho was destroyed in the following battle of Coral Sea at the cost of the carrier Lexington, but where we really see the tide turn in the Pacific is Midway. The carriers USS Hornet, USS Enterprise, and USS Yorktown crippled the Japanese fleet by destroying Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu. This would not have happened if it wasn’t for the stroke of luck we had with our carriers out at sea when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor.
Admiral Yamamoto, the brilliant Japanese commander who was behind the attack, which I should say despite its failure to knock out America was still a well planned and impressive attack, astutely believed that a drawn out war with the United States would end in defeat, and despite his best efforts to prevent a drawn out war, he was correct. In the film portrayal of Yamamoto in Tora! Tora! Tora! He is quoted for saying:
“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with terrible resolve.”
Yamamoto was killed in April of 1943, and with the carrier might have Japan gone as well, the rising sun was doomed to set.
Men are GIVING UP on Women and their hypergamy
There is such a serious problem with RELATIONSHIPS in the West.
Her department acquired a new department head, a newly promoted V.P.
One of his first actions was to identify all of the highest paid (and most productive) managers and terminate them as a cost cutting measure. At that point managers at my wife’s level were considered “at will” employees and, as such, could be terminated at any time with or without cause.
In any case, the V.P. then proceeded to fill the vacant management positions with much lower paid and less qualified staff. All of this happened within a matter of hours on a Friday afternoon. My wife was understandably quite distressed when she got home that evening.
Over the weekend, though, my wife received a call from the executive V.P. who oversaw her department. He called from his home in Southern France late in the evening so he could speak to my wife in the mid afternoon here in SoCal. He asked her to please report to work as usual on Monday morning.
When she got to work on Monday everything was back to normal and the new department head was gone. Fired for incompetence.
My wife stayed with the company more than a dozen years after that. She was eventually terminated permanently after her department had been sold to a different company. This time, though, she received a rather generous golden handshake — 32 weeks severance pay — as she left for the last time.
This is why men are no longer approaching women; Top 10 reasons WHY
I never experienced unconditional love until I got a dog.
Very likely. Their recent MOU to develop semiconductor lithography, naval shipbuilding, marine nuclear reactors are just another episode in that relationship. The glue that binds them is energy and technology. China needs energy and Russia needs technology. Trade between both countries are growing exponentially, currently at about 40% per year. Russia recently announced it would allow China to build a container port in Vladivostok, another indication China is preparing to use the Arctic belt road via northern Russia.
My opinion: There could be a day when Russia buys warships from China. It has already begun with Russia buying a Chinese frigate. It could also be possible that Russia and China will jointly develop gen 6 and gen 7 fighters and bombers, reducing non-recurring costs. Russia needs ‘China speed.’ China needs Russia’s energy from oil/gas to uranium. It is also likely that Russia and China will standardize military calibers and weapons between them so interchangeability and user knowledge will be compatible between both countries. The SCO makes the case for this standardization to increase to SCO members.
Both are BRICS and SCO members and both organizations are growing which gives them more world influence.
It wasn’t exactly on accident. I worked in the office of a commercial laundry business and they asked me to come in on a Saturday to mail out the monthly bills. During the time I was there the assistant manager came in and started hitting on me. He kept urging me to “go in the back and make out”. I refused and soon one of the drivers came in and he had to go talk to the driver. I finished up with the bills and went home. I told my boyfriend “Well, I don’t think I will be working there very ling”. Sure enough the next Tuesday I was let go for some “bookkeeping errors” that weren’t errors and I had been doing them for months without any problems.
What men and women want
Creole Meatloaf and Macaroni
2023 11 09 14 39
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 onion, minced
1/2 green bell pepper, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes
1 1/4 cups elbow or broken macaroni
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 to 1 1/2 cups meat loaf, cubed*
Seasoned salt and pepper
Instructions
Cook onion and green bell pepper in butter for 2 or 3 minutes.
Add next four ingredients and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and simmer, covered, about 1/2 hour, stirring frequently.
Add meat loaf and seasoned salt and pepper to taste. Heat through.
Notes
* Use leftover meat loaf.
What will these snowflakes do when things get REALLY tough? We haven’t even started yet.
For a serf: It sure beats being a slave. You are treated as a human being, you have your law-encoded rights and responsibilities, your taxes usually were reasonable and your lord had the responsibility to protect you and provide a free access to the castle. He also had the responsibility to provide you work and livelihood, and if he abused you, you had the legal right to flee to a town.
For a freeman (franklin or yeoman): You had the right to your life, body and livelihood, you could freely carry weapons outside a town, you did not pay rent to a lord and you could choose your profession. And should things go sour, you could freely move to a town.
For a town dweller: Towns were semi-independent domains who often were subordinate to the king alone, and while working can give you living, trade will make you wealthy. Townspeople usually were richer than countrypeople, and towns were bastions of freedom.
For a clergyman: You are the subject of the Mother Church and Father Pope alone, and nobody else. You are no more a subject of the lord, the king or the emperor. You will learn how to read and write, and you are free to pursuit your intellectual tendencies. If you join the Cistercian order, there are good chances you become a great engineer.
For a civil servant: You are the subject of the King alone, and nobody else. Same as with the church on intellectual pursuits, but you also may marry and have kids.
For a nobleman: You are first and foremost a soldier. You practice martial arts and train for war, military skills, leadership skills, equestrian skills and anything needed to serve in arms. You are exempt of taxes because upkeeping a military lifestyle is expensive. Your life is likely to be violent, nasty, brutish and mercifully short, but you might become a knight and a lord one day if you avoid that.
For a lord: You are a semi-independent ruler of your domain, and you are the lord and the hidalgo. You owe allegiance to the King alone, and you either pay it in taxes or serve 30 days in his service. Your main profession is to be the supervisor of the peasants who work on your estate, and maintain the balance between overworking them and providing them decent livelihood. Sorry, no ius primae noctis – that is an Age of Enlightment myth.
For a King: Think positively. You do not have the same absolute power as the sultans and czars in despotism, but neither you will face the same chances of getting assassinated or ousted or mutilated as they experience, and you do not need to kill your little brothers to ensure the throne. It is a good idea to run the country as a family enterprise – give important tasks to your younger siblings – and use the most talented of the lords as civil servants. Just maintain the balance between Church, Lords and Commoners, and you will do just fine.
If you are asking me personally, what is my biggest regret, I would have to say that I regret not taking more pictures of things I did when I was younger, and not documenting the adventures I had.
I find that after 50+ years on this earth, I remember bits and pieces of my life, but there are big chunks of my life that I cannot recall, so having more pictures of those events and having a documented record of those activities would be something that would truly bring me joy, being able to remember more of the life I lived.
My international company failed to have routine office supplies at our US location. Entirely. No office supplies.
So one day I needed a new pen. There were, of course, none. But rather than going out and buying my own at a local store, I decided to order one just to be ornery.
So I filled out the formal requisition form for one pen. I justified it (I wrote stuff and my old pen was empty), then used the proper channels to submit the requisition. The form:
Traveled from my California office to the main US branch office in Boston.
Boston routed the form to their home branch office in London.
London sent the form to the main International headquarters in Paris.
Paris approved the req. then…
Cut out one layer of bureaucracy by sending the approved form direct to Boston (the Paris and London offices hated each other)
Boston sent the approved req. back to my office.
I was then able to go out and buy one pen at corporate expense from the local store.
I was tempted to ask for a sheet of paper next, but Boston eventually decided to fund a small office supply in our location.
Oh. The Internet was around, but I should add that the original requisition form was hard copy. A piece of paper. That form physically travelled from California to Boston to London to Paris back to Boston then back to my office before I bought my pen.
This is what the Nile looks like when it goes through Sudan
image 135
This is The Sudd. It’s Arabic for “barrier”. It’s also part of the Nile. It’s also much bigger than what you see here. It’s not much better even when it floods. Imagine you’re an explorer in, well, any time really and you come across this. The Ancient Egyptians tried to navigate past it for centuries. They utterly failed. Then the Romans decided to have a go at it. They failed too. Europeans tried in the 19th century. They had no better luck.
And where there’s swamp, there’s malaria. Good luck with that.
Europeans only found the source because they decided to avoid it entirely and attack it from the other direction, exploring into Central Africa. That’s not much easier.
image 134
Richard Burton decided to make a go of it. He started in lovely civilized Zanzibar and worked his way overland until he found Lake Tanganyika. “Eureka” he exclaimed, “I have found the source of the Nile”.
However, the guy he brought along with him, John Speke, told him he was nuts. Tanganyika was too low and too small to account for the fact that the Nile never ran dry. Burton told him was an idiot and they returned to England triumph…. no, wait, the scientific community wasn’t convinced.
So Speke got to go on his own expedition. He turned north instead and found the much larger and much bigger Lake Victoria.
He returned to England well, not triumphant, but with enough good data to get funding for another expedition to try to make it to the Sudd and not only did he do that, he found another source of the river that met up in the Sudd, what we now call the “White Nile” as opposed to the larger source flowing out of Lake Victoria, the “Blue Nile”.
So, Speke gets the credit, literally for “connecting the dots”.
Image: Me sitting on my porch at my home in the Central Valley of California.
Well as a disabled person, I am legally blind the cruelest thing, in my opinion, was not said with words.
Deeds speak out loud and clear.
I took a class on a subject of interest to me.
The teacher with a happy smile in her voice told me she had a special place in class for people like me.
It was the back corner, furthest away from all of the others in the class.
Total isolation. I could hear the other members of the class, I could see the shadows o of the other members of the class.
When the class had a pot luck of snacks at the last week of class, somehow I didn’t get the e-mail to ask me to take in something. So I didn’t.
Then no-one actually told me directly that there were snacks available nor did they come over and tell me about the pot-uck offerings.
Though they did make quite a bit of a racket, going back and too to the snacks tables and telling each other who had brought which items.
Another classmate came to the class in about the second week and was sat close by in the same corner. She only attended one week and disappeared. She was profoundly deaf. We could chat okay as she could lip read. But as for interacting with the class it was difficult.
Me being bloody minded as I am, finished the class. I paid good money so I wasn’t going to surrender to unspoken insults.
Biden Angry, Calls Xi ‘Dictator’, US Business Applauds Xi; US Isolated UN SC; Sullivan Sleepless
Very good, and clearly explains the Geo-political situation today.
I was fired on the day I was going to hand in my resignation.
I hated the company: boss played favorites, personnel feedback was nonexistent, and they were very stingy with vacation time, even if you earned the days.
The third point I found out too late. After earning 10 days of personal time, I requested for time off six months ahead. Not only was it declined, I also got a stern talking-to by the same boss who played favorites.
I was so pissed off that I started looking for a job that very same night.
Within two weeks, I got an offer from a company I interviewed the previous year who kept my résumé in the active bin.
I moved my vacation date to the next month, upped the number of days, and got a business class ticket. I printed a resignation letter once I signed the offer at the new job.
The next day, I cared not an iota at work. I was just waiting for 5:00 so that I can hand in my two weeks.
4:30pm came and I got an email from the boss. I was being let go. They didn’t really say why (not that I cared) but they were going to give me a full month’s pay to help me find a new job.
i cleared out my desk, gave a quick thanks to my boss (co-workers have left at this point), and screamed when I got to my car.
I got the final pay the week after, then collected unemployment for a few weeks, and had a bloody fantastic time on vacation.
Growing up in Florida, we used to play at the beach almost every day. At least once or twice a week, we’d be building sandcastles, or kicking the surf when we’d watch a tourist with wide eyes knowing what’s to come…
I’m an empath, and often tried to warn them. As a pudgy six year old however; I wasn’t usually fast enough. By the time I’d be close enough to yell “don’t touch that!!”, the elderly tourist or drunk college kid was already screaming in agonizing pain! The Portuguese man o’ war looks like a shiny blue balloon, or plastic grocery bag. The venom is insanely painful. I watched about a dozen people pee on each other by the time I was 8.
Pretending you are not hungry when going to an expensive restaurant with friends, because you can’t actually afford to order food there.
Acting like you don’t like after-school sports, because you have to bolt to your after-school job, so you have lunch money and bus fares.
Pretending that family commitments prevent you from going on the school trip. You know there’s no way you can pay for it.
Declining invitations to weddings because you don’t have proper clothes to wear and because you have no way of getting there either.
Spending an extra hour in the supermarket so you can make the best choices with the $28 you have for food for a full week.
Listening with horror as co-workers trash the boss who only gave each a $20 gift Visa card. You, on the other hand, are silent and also excited beyond words – you plan to get much needed shoes, a winter coat, and a backpack at the Goodwill store.
Having teeth pulled, which should instead be filled and capped, because it costs one-tenth this way.
Talking to supervisors in chain food stores to find out what they do with damaged food. (Poor people know these stores often have a place where you can go to collect it.)
Adding water to the quart bottle of milk to stretch it.
Taking home unused sugar packets, tea bags and napkins from the fast food place and feeling grateful for them.
These are my memories of being poor. Although I am no longer poor, these memories keep me grateful, and, more importantly, I will always understand the behavior of those whose actions are continually checked by empty pockets.
After Denmark surrendered to the Nazis in April 1940 the status of Iceland was ambiguous. Although Iceland was an independent state, it’s ‘personal union’ with Demark, and dependence on Denmark for its defence and foreign relations, potentially meant it could be occupied by Germany. Its strategic location astride Britain’s Atlantic supply route to the United States made it vital to the United Kingdom’s security.
Britain invited Iceland to join the war as any and, when they rejected this, plans were made to occupy the island. Four Royal Navy ships led by HMS Berwick (above) deposited 745 Royal Marines in Iceland who met no resistance from the Icelandic police force, who were the only permanent armed presence on the island.
Iceland was occupied first by a British Division, then by elements of two Canadian Divisions and then by a brigade of US Marines. The latter arrived in June 1941, a whole six months before the United States officially join the war. This was one of Roosevelt’s most partisan decisions and greatly helped the British war effort as the Canadians could be sent to Britain, where eventually they would take part in the Dieppe raid and the battle for Normandy. Roosevelt sent the Marines as, being part of the US Navy, they were under his direct control, whereas sending the US Army would have required the approval of Congress, which was uncertain. The occupation of Iceland was not always popular with the locals, but one benefit of it was the construction of Rejkjavik airport.
Although planes and ships based in Iceland saw action, the garrison itself saw no action. There were, however, casualties as a result of the Icelandic climate and terrain. A five man patrol of the Kings Own Yorkshire Infantry were lost to the elements, for example. Despite the cold though, there were definitely worse places to spend the Second World.
NOTE
A lot of people have asked why the US Army couldn’t be deployed before war broke out. The answer is complicated, but it’s due to a policy decision rather than an act of the Constitution. Here are the details:
“At the same time, the War Plans Division raised inquiry concerning the effect of the legal restrictions that prohibited the National Guard, members of the Reserve, and men drafted under the Selective Service Act from serving outside the Western Hemisphere and which limited their terms of military service to a period of twelve months. For purposes of naval defense the President had placed the Atlantic frontier of the western world, quite arbitrarily, along the 26th meridian, which excluded the whole of Iceland. [25] The question was one of policy, not geography; and if policy for the moment dictated a course of exclusion, circumstances at any future time might well prescribe a change in policy. Whatever concern was felt during these first days in June seems to have arisen over the time limit rather than the controversial geographical restriction. On this basis it was entirely rational for the Chief of Coast Artillery to observe that selectees would have to be used in constituting the harbor defense regiment proposed as part of the Iceland garrison. In any event the problems posed by the legal restrictions did not seem insuperable as long as the 1st Division was being considered for the nucleus of the force. Although 75 percent of the officers of that division had been drawn from the Reserve, it was presumed that most of them would volunteer for duty in Iceland. The problem, in this respect, was considered to be one of maintaining secrecy. As for enlisted men, only a “small percentage” of them were selectees, and only about 10 percent of the men of the two antiaircraft regiments-the 61st and 68th-were subject to the restrictions written into the Selective Service and National Defense Acts. “
We were once renting a house and saving money towards a down payment to buy, when the owner came and told us he had to sell and had already and we had to be out by the end of the week. We refused since our lease guaranteed us 30 days. The new owner said that lease was void and had our utilities turned off. So as a goodbye gift, we went to the store and bought some old fish and 10 cans of cat food. There was a fireplace in the basement built of brick and had come separated from the back wall. We dropped the fish behind that. The cans of cat food, we opened and placed in crawl spaces throughout both floors of the house.
Well, according to my ex girlfriend of 40 years ago, I am blind, because I didn’t notice that the hostess, had sat down next to me, leaned in close to talk in a loud room, laughed at my jokes (hey, I’m funny) and played with her hair.
My girlfriend said it was so obvious she was about to throw up. Guys are oblivious.
Steve Jobs sold all but one of his stocks in Apple when he left in 1985, when Apple stock was at an all time low. He founded NeXT and was the majority owner when Apple bought the company, though at that point he was almost out of money, on the brink of bankruptcy. He also bought Pixar and it has been rolling out blockbusters every other year for 20 years. He also invested in other companies. Toy Story alone made Steve Jobs a billionaire because Pixar was publicly traded company.
Woz on the other hand gave away a lot of his stock. He financed more than a few huge rock concerts that lost a lot of money. He started a company making remote controls that failed and lost money. He got divorced more than a few times. He helps old Apple employees that are out of luck and deal with sickness. He gives away a lot of his money. But you don’t need to worry about him, he still has a lot and he is according to everyone who actually knows him, a super nice guy. He was never in it to have money, he just wanted a computer that he could fiddle with.
China Warns US “Don’t Try THIS” As Biden Prepares To Hug Xi
Just develop the smart bombs to change the equation from MAD to MGD – i.e., from the “old-fashion-not-so-accurate assured” to the “IoT-satellite-guided guaranteed” way of mass destructure.
These are the AI-enabled hypersonic bombs that cannot be defended against and only a few hundred launched from a control center are needed to completely annihilate the entire country the size of Russia, China or the U.S. Then the 5,000-plus warheads in the nuclear arsenals of Russia and the U.S. would become redundant and useless.
Even the triad security concept of land, air and sea delivery system becomes redundant. No need for those expensive bombers and subsmarines to deliver nuclear warheads as backup when those smart ICBMs can do the job.
The calculus for disarmament becomes very straightforward and simple.
War can be so simple when you know its guaranteed and forever.
And isn’t it why Biden is trying to deny China our advanced chips?
We were in a beautiful relationship for about 3 years. And then suddenly she over texts, broke up with me. No explanation given. Like every other guy, I cried, pleaded for just one reason, and all she said was it’s over, I don’t want to be with you. She has changed her college a month before the break up. And like I suspected she fell out of love with me because there is new guy who approached her. Quite similar to everyone’s love story. Lol
Anyway, I was literally shattered, and broken. I couldn’t believe the girl I thought to be my future left me in such a dire condition.
It’s been three years since she is gone. Yesterday, I got a phone call from her at 2am. Basic points from the calls were:
She was unhappy, crying profusely over the phone. She said she don’t have anyone to trust and talk to, except me. And yes, I talked to her because pretty much I loved her too much.
She said the guy cheated her, and when asked him for a breakup, he said he will going to kill her, he abused and hit her off. And she thought everybody will leave silently like me.
I asked her to do a police complain, she said, she doesn’t want her parents to know, she is stucked.
After few minutes on call, she was laughing, talking to me as if we were never separated, I was wondering how easy the things are for girls.
Then she told me even before her father and brother, I am the person she trust and respect the most. I was flattered but I knew, it’s no more important.
I was again at ground zero, I felt happy talking to her, but the wounds were yet fresh.
I tried not to make her feel bad and bid her bye.
Today I Changed my phone number, and email id!
I do love her a lot, still? Yes. But I cannot give her the power to destroy me again.
One day, I had a woman come into my checkout line and wanted to buy ALL the $1.00 Bic cigarette lighters at the checkout stand.
Between the two sets of lighters, she was purchasing about 35–40 lighters.
I was then ringing up all the rest of the completely full shopping cart of stuff she got in line with. At the end, she then handed me a bunch of coupons.
I was already on guard because buying so many lighters was very unusual. I looked at the coupons and there was a whole stack of them that were for $4.00 off of a $6.00 Lady’s Bic shaver.
She never purchased any shavers, and I told her these coupons could not be used, as she did not have the item.
She said they were for the lighters. I told her, “No, this is for 4 dollars off the shaver, not the lighters.”
She insisted that it would accept, and scan for, the lighters, too. I agreed. I told her I knew it would, but it was because of an error in the coupon codes, and it was not deliberate. We had been made aware of the error and did not accept it. She persisted in telling me that if it scanned, we had to accept it.
“No, Ma’am,” I said. “The coupon has to be for the item the coupon is for, not something else.”
What she was attempting to do was get 4 dollars off a 1 dollar item, giving her a negative 3 dollar balance with every lighter purchased. With about 40 lighters, that would leave her total at -120.00 dollars, which then got balanced out with all the rest of the items in her cart. Had I not paid attention to the actual coupons and just blindly started scanning them, not only would she gotten 40 dollars’ worth of lighters free, she would have gotten over 120 dollars’ worth of other merchandise completely free without paying a single cent.
I told her that what she was attempting was theft. She got irate and claimed it was not theft because she was not trying to take the items out without purchasing them. I told her that was exactly what she was doing by running what she knew to be a scam.
She then did not want to buy any of it, and wanted me to void off all the items.
That is when I got rather devilish myself. I told her quietly that no, she was going to buy everything rung up, as-is, without the scam, or that I would be calling the police for her to be charged with theft of well over 180 dollars’ worth of merchandise.
Either she got charged with theft, or bought what she wanted to buy at the correct total. But, it was not getting voided.
She bought it all.
I never saw her in the store again. Before that, she had been a semi-regular customer, always holding up the checkout as she constantly scammed coupons for far more than what the coupons were supposed to allow.
can’t do the 15th,” John said. “Can we push it back two weeks?” I looked at my calendar, trying to align the dates with our friend Derrick. Then, after finding a great window, John came back with another complication. I rubbed my temples in frustration.
I’m 40 and most of my friends are married and buried in toddlers. They also live in other cities. I try to arrange a trip each year, but coordinating it feels like pushing a boulder up a mountain. Beyond the scheduling conflicts, I’m in competition for their PTO with grandparents and extended family.
As a kid, it was all so simple. The only prerequisite for new friends was the spirit of play. If the other person was down, and nice, they became friends. In college, it was all about who I partied with and saw the most frequently. Everyone was so social. Then, this blur of obligations pulled us all apart.
As social primates, friendships are central to our health and happiness. Yet so many of us are painfully lonely and it isn’t entirely our fault. Since the 1950s, sociologist have asserted that modern life makes it difficult to meet the three conditions for close friendships: proximity, repeated and unplanned interactions, and an environment that encourages people to confide in each other.
Which is why it feels so forced to be planning hangout trips months in advance. It feels like I’m scrambling to keep legacy friendships on life support. I can scarcely plan to meet for dinner with people without complications.
image 137
In school and college, it was so easy because there was endless time for socializing, and we were all on top of each other in dorms and classrooms. And, we didn’t have real bills and adult problems. So how can we make more friends as adults?
Converting new friends
Per one study, it takes 40–60 hours within the first six weeks of meeting someone to turn them from an acquaintance into a casual friend. It takes another 80 to 100 hours to elevate them to true friend status. Which feels like a ton of time as a career driven person. But these connections can be built up over longer stretches.
The obvious answer for me was work, back when I had an office job. But the people at my office weren’t necessarily the people I wanted to spend my time with. Sometimes, we just have to work with what is in front of us. It can even boost competency. Researchers found that doctor coworkers who became friends, performed better at their job. A personal connection and trust can boost performance in team environments.
In March of 2020, four teens were stuck on a boat in Cuba. They’d intended to fly back to the Netherlands. Then the pandemic struck and they decided to sail home. The intensity of spending weeks on the boat together, working to navigate as a team, turned them all from strangers into close friends. One friend said, “Being around someone 24 hours a day, you tell them everything. You don’t do that when you are home.”
My friend, who went to prison in his early 20s after being caught up with a bad crowd, said the same thing happened during his five year stint. Today, he is doing fine and in his late 40s, but is still friends with his former cellmates.
The challenge is that we apply more filtering mechanisms with age. We often filter people out by political views, social class, and do so without realizing it. It’s useful to be attuned to what you want in a friend, but beware of letting this turn into snobbish gatekeeping.
Getting a grip on potential friends
One study used Christmas cards in Western society to approximate social networks and estimated each of us have around 121 acquaintances. Other studies have found wide variances from this number. But it is exceedingly rare for anyone to have zero acquaintances.
These acquaintances are potential friends and not to be dismissed. Weak ties, as sociologists call it, are still great for mental wellbeing even if it is just a brief conversation. Today, I found out my beloved gym of seven years is closing. The owner, Joe, let me in for a final workout, even though the lights were off and they were cleaning up. We found time to chat about life and his decision to quit. I’ve always enjoyed talking to him so we exchanged phone numbers to potentially hang out. The other option is to reconnect with older friends you haven’t spoken to in years.
Accept that rekindling friendships is just more work in adulthood. Remember when your buddy got their first girlfriend or boyfriend and stopped hanging out? That’s everyone now. If you have a partner, it’s worth thinking through which potential friend has a partner who would vibe with them.
Also, practicing “self-disclosure”, or opening up about your life, is proven to boost connections with people. One study found three great insights about disclosing. One, people who give more intimate disclosures tend to be more liked than those who don’t. Two, people disclose more to those they like. And three, people like you more after you disclose. This comes with a caveat: don’t make it too personal, too soon. Avoid mud slinging from your divorce and giving play-by-plays from the bedroom.
The importance of maximizing time
My buddy has two kids and said he has one hour of total free time each weekday, and that when he finally gets that hour, he is desperate to decompress and have some time alone. Yet he also wishes we hung out more. This is a common theme around the country. People are lonely and crave more connection. Operate with this assumption, rather than starting from the assumption of someone judging or not liking you.
Remember to think about the places you frequent, and the potential friends you could make and maintain through those interactions. List out a few acquaintances and consider upgrading them. The key with any of these people is to also do things outside the place you regularly see them.
If you don’t see people on a regular basis, consider joining a club or taking up a hobby that involves other people. Then, get to work. Initiating doesn’t have to be heavy. Just something as simple as, “We should hang out some time.”
Lastly, be real and have conversations. Don’t spend 45 minutes talking about the weather. Vulnerability has a mutually boosting likability effect. You’ll both be happier in the end.
Don’t say “I am here if you need anything” when being more specific will truly help. “I am coming over tomorrow to drop off some soup” is way better.
Don’t glance over someone’s shoulder when they are in the middle of a story that matters to them.
Don’t look at your phone at all when you are spending time with someone.
On a plane if your seat is tight don’t recline it. Also, let the person squeezed in the middle seat use both arm rests.
Be extra nice if someone is serving you: giving you a manicure, bringing you food, preparing you a drink. Also please don’t hit on them. They are not charmed. They are serving you.
If anyone says “you hurt my feelings” the only correct response is “I am listening.” Not “I didn’t intend that” or “I was joking” or “wow you are sensitive.”
If you can make someone’s day a bit smoother, please do.
People want to feel heard more than they want advice.
People want to feel seen more than they want to be fixed.
People want to be sincerely complimented more than they want constructive criticism.
Say thank you a lot. Say it all the time. Add why you are saying it. “You always get my coffee just right. Thank you.” “You make my day sunnier. Thank you.” Thank you for reading, sharing and commenting on what I write. It encourages me. It makes my day.
American Couple React “America Compared: Why Other Countries Treat Their People So Much Better”
Sometimes the simple and mundane are the things that we remember, and the memories that we cherish.
The very last ice cream that I shared with my father occurred about two months prior to his death. It was nothing “special”. We were riding in the car together, and he saw a Dairy Cream restaurant and suggested that we get an ice cream cone. They had “orange creamcicle” on sale, so he bought us two and we ate them outside in the warm September sun.
To outsiders, it was just two grown men eating ice cream outside, and really there was nothing overly special about that event.
But for me, it was a memory that I will always treasure.
Enjoy what you experience. because it is all so fleeting….
I was broke and had just received a food stamp card. In the grocery store I picked up about $8 worth of food. Standing in line I took the card out of my wallet, noting the lonely $20 bill that represented my net worth. When my turn came I swiped the card and waited. The clerk said “I’m sorry but there is only $1 available on your card.” I was in shock, because this was my first time using it. Falling back on my fine command of the language, I said nothing. I was confused, embarrassed, and a little sick. Finally I just backed away mumbling that I must have left my money on my yacht. As I was leaving a man stopped me and said, “you just dropped this $20 bill” and handed it to me. I thanked him profusely for his honesty. I also thought what a careless idiot I was. I managed to fumble away the last of my money and only the honesty of a stranger saved me. Well I stopped at another store on the off chance some mistake had been made at the first place, and that turned out to be the case. With tremendous relief I started to put the card and my recovered bill in my wallet. I found to my amazement that my original $20 was still there. I realized that the stranger had given me the bill, while preventing my embarrassment or any refusal of his generosity. This is not meant as a greatest example of kindness, but to mention that a major part of his gift was the lift it gave my spirit to know of such kind and generous people. The last thing you need during hard times is cynicism.
It’s a nice place. I lived there for eight years (2012–2020) and miss it a bit, now that I’m back in Britain. What shocks me so much is the hideous, made up distortion of news reporting about it in the West, But I suppose that the US has to get something for the $400m Congress has voted for anti-China propaganda. It is just humiliating that it gets so much and so few push-backs.
When I was 9 years old, my mom surprised me and my little sister with a trip to Florida. We live in the Midwest, so any spring break trip to somewhere warm is greatly appreciated. I was so exited to have a story to tell my friends when I got back to school. One night, my best friend’s parents came over to talk to mine. They moved to the driveway, and told my sister and I to stay inside. While they were talking I heard my dad’s text notification. He had left his phone inside. Curious, I looked at what the message said. I cant quite remember what that message said, but when I scrolled up, I read a message I should not have seen. It was from my friends dad, who was now standing in the driveway. It read,
“do your girls know ours are coming on the trip, too?” “No, we are going to surprise them”, was the reply from my dad.
I was so shocked! My best friend and her sister were coming to Florida with me! I worked so hard to conceal the fact that I ruined the surprise, up until we were at the airport. We got out of the car, and my friend was there, so excited that she got surprised. I faked a reaction, but I was so mad at myself for ruining what my parents worked so hard to keep hidden. I haven’t told a soul to this day.
You need to seek counseling. Negative people are often happier with negative people. Then you can both talk about the worst case scenario, or see the cup as half empty. I have friends like this, and I try to only hangout with them in a group, so I don’t get to depressed.
Yet my friend is truly happiest when he can complain about something. Even if he has to really reach for the negative. Like I made a ton of money last year and paid off my debts, but when you make that much money, so much of the extra money just goes to taxes. Then a half hour rant on taxes.
I am truly happiest when I am positive. My wife is the most upbeat person I know, next to her, I am a gloomy gus.
Find out if you can be happy, if you have a positive attitude, if so get counseling and save your relationship. If not, cut him loose, and find someone who likes to complain about things.
Returning from a service call in Honolulu, the lady in front of me at the TSA line had serious trouble lifting her (obviously very heavy) carry-on onto the x-ray conveyor. It set off all sorts of alarms when it went through, and the TSA guy did a manual inspection as a result. When he opened it up, the suitcase’s contents were revealed: it was completely full of cans of Spam (the processed meat product). I was absolutely convinced that they actually contained something more nefarious and that she’d likely be arrested, but the TSA guy simply zipped the case back up and sent her on her way.
I was next in line, and, noticing the puzzled look on my face, the TSA guy explained that Spam is considered a gourmet delicacy in Japan, where it sells for around 3–4x what it does in Hawaii. As a result, there is a steady flow of Japanese tourists to the islands, who pretty much pay for their vacations by doing what she did. I was born and raised in the UK, where Spam has a reputation for being gross and disgusting, and something you would only eat if you can’t afford any nicer form of protein.
Management was changed and they appointed new guys ex consultant of the company who pretend know everything – based on the textbook. I am the last two managers that stay in the company when management changed.
So, this new guy did all micro management you can imagine to make most of the people left very nervous and stressful. I managed to stay for another few months until I have felt enough is enough.
Just few days before I intended to put my resignation letter, this new guys and HRD call me to the meeting room and let me go with severance payment – a payment package…
What a wonderful world it was and few friends that knew I am about to gave up congratulate me for being fired…..LOL
This is something I learned very early in my career. I always feel thankful for my former boss who taught me this lesson.
How to ask questions.
The first day I joined the company, after handing me all my personal devices and necessary office items, he led me to my cubicle and told me to self-study the system and come back to him by the end of the working day with questions. So I did. I brought back my two-page-long questionnaire and handed it to him. He read it, then told me to sit down. “Alright, question one, ‘What does (feature) x do?’”, he read my question out loud, “What do you think it does?”, he asked. I answered him with the thoughts I gathered when I studied the system. “Correct!”, he said, “Now, you see, with the way you first asked the question, if I answered it, it would have taken me five minutes to answer, but if you had asked ‘Does x do this’ including what you’ve learned, it would take me just seconds to answer ‘Correct!’ and I also would know that you actually studied and understood it. When you ask questions that you need answers to, make sure it takes the least time for the person you ask to answer. Yes/No is preferred.”
I took that advice seriously.
Instead of asking ‘What does that mean?’, I ask ‘Does that mean [my understanding]?’. Instead of ‘What should we do in this situation?’, I ask ‘In this situation, I propose the solution as below, do you have any directions or adjustments?’. Instead of ‘What time do you want the meeting to be?’, I ask ‘I checked your calendar, you have three open slots x, y, z; which one do you want to set up the meeting with Mr. A?’
This lesson has been a great help in my work, not just with my bosses, but also with other team members/ clients as well.
Cajun Sausage Roast
2023 11 09 14 29
Ingredients
Roast
1 (3 pound) pork loin roast
1 pound smoked Cajun sausage
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 small green bell pepper, chopped fine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup cold water
2 to 3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet
Seasoning Mix
Granulated garlic
Dried chives
Parsley flakes
Black Pepper
Salt
Instructions
Seasoning Mix
Mix granulated garlic, chives, parsley flakes and black pepper to make seasoning mix. Add salt to mix.
Roast
Cut the whole loin into smaller roasts, about 6 inches long. Cut a hole through the center of each roast, along the center axis of the roasts and insert the sausage. If the cross-section of the roast is big enough, cut two parallel holes. Open the holes to the size of the smoked sausage and pour about 1 tablespoon Seasoning Mix into the long holes and push something through the roasts to distribute the seasoning. Slide the smoked sausage through the longitudinal holes in the roasts until about 1 inch of sausage protrudes from each end.
Dust inside and outside with seasonings and salt. Allow to sit and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Place the roasts on a rack inside a covered roaster.
Pour the cut-up onion and bell pepper into bottom of roaster and place, uncovered, in a 425 degrees F oven for approximately 30 minutes or until seared lightly on the outside.
Cover roaster and continue to cook with a meat thermometer until done inside, about 160 – 165 degrees F on meat thermometer.
Remove roasts, trim end faces of excess sausage and chop fine.
Add cornstarch dissolved in cold water.
Add soy sauce and thicken sauce over medium heat.
Adjust color of sauce with Kitchen Bouquet and adjust seasonings.
After I left the workforce, my wife continued working. I normally waited to get up until after she left to keep out of the way. This oneorning, I hear the door close as she is leaving. I get up heading in to start the coffee. On stepping into the kitchen the 1st thing I see is her phone on the charger. Run to the window to see her on the road and gone. I run back to the bedroom to grab my phone to call her to come back and get her phone. When her phone rings I compound the idiocy thinking who would be calling her this early? They need to get off the phone so…she…can…answer…my…call. Then to cap it all, as I’m closing my phone cancelling the call, I’m looking around to see if anyone saw me. 2 of the cats were dying laughing and the other 2 shaking their heads as if thinking what an idiot.
I’d been laid off at a position that did not pay well, but the work was easy. I was interviewing with this other company, and the guy (owner? one of the owners?) would not proceed with the interview unless I filled in my salary from my previous job, so I did.
He offered $3K more per year.
BUT… whereas my old job was 37.5 hours per week, this guy was expecting 55–60 hours per week. The benefit was that they were a small company, and their product was going to be big, and I’d be one of the people who benefited when someone big bought out the product.
Calculating the hours, I told him that, on a per-hour basis, he was offering me between 69% and 76% of what I was getting at the previous job, to which he restated his script about getting in on the ground floor.
A few days later, I got another, much better offer. It was an hourly contract, but 84% MORE than the previous job, and about 2–1/2 times (per hour) what he was offering. I took it.
A day or two after that, he called asking if I was still interested, and I told him I took another position “at MUCH higher pay,” I said, and definitely put the weight/emphasis on the word much. I didn’t tell him how much, but again, he tried to sell me on his “Getting in on the ground floor” shtick.
I couldn’t believe he was still trying to sell me on that.
Two juicy 100% U.S. Beef patties with two slices of melted American cheese.
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Sandwiched with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and A&W classic sauce all on a lightly toasted bun… it doesn’t get better than this – we believe!! Because our country imported almost everything in the old days. (And still do very much in 2023).
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1963 in fact was the year that put American popular food into our collective psyche.
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Now here’s a genuine all-American brand serving all-American fare. And Malaysians fell in 💕💕😘 with new food that truly touched the hearts.
1963 was the first time that burgers were sized ‘papa, mama, baby burger’ – 🥰 cute! (Come to think of it, burgers don’t exist before A&W Malaysia.)
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It was a year that a drink sensation was introduced — in big frosted glass mugs – the A&W Root Beer and Root Beer Float – the two most lovable, must-drink beverages ever since the country’s independence 1957. (Today there are A&W canned root beer in convenience stores everywhere.)
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A&W Root Beer and Coney Dog and Curly Fries are synonymous with A&W and vice versa. To borrow a line, “we’re still loving it, mucho!!”
I’d like to think that the burger in “1950s America” would not vary too much from today’s A&W ‘Papa Burger’.
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The bear is back!
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New A&W retro outlets in Malaysia give you the charming ‘American diner experience’…
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… who says you can’t bring back the good ol’ days?!!!
Do you know which is the laziest nation in Europe, the one that works the fewest hours? Let me give you a little hint, this is their capital:
Berlin
A study by OECD released recently showed in no uncertain terms Germans are the laziest nation in Europe in terms of hours worked. They have the largest economy and one of the largest per capita incomes in EU and worldwide. It gets weirder.
Do you know which nation works the most hours? The most hardworking nation in Europe, clocking in almost 50% hours than Germans in a given year is obvious at this point: Greeks. For every two hour a German works in a year, a Greek works three. For that they’re labeled as the lazy wealth moochers of the south that live easily on their spectacular seaside and glorious history.
Something doesn’t quite add up, does it? It turns out that hours worked is only relevant in a few low added value professions, such as store clercks, recepcionists, call center operators, night guards and the like. Those are professions that are necessary, but they’re low skilled, don’t pay well and don’t add much value to the economy.
What drives a modern economy forward are innovators and engineers who push the boundaries of what is possible. Their productivity is almost inversly proportional to horus worked. You only have that much creative energies to do something new and you need time to recharge. You don’t work as well when you’re tired and simply sitting at work comitting time theft does not equal to productivity. Germans work hard, very hard, during the time they’re at work. But when they clock out, always on time, they leave the job behind and enjoy themselves so their next work day is strong and productive once more.
The same goes for holidays. Germans are notorious for long holiday breaks and this again improves productivity. Your best becomes better if you’re well rested and you’re more willing to give your best to a company that appreciates your effort and talent.
By contrast, Americans often view workers as a nuisance they have to pay for and treat them accordingly. Why would you give your best for a company that only gives you enough not to run away to be treated like a slightly less smelly dropping instead. All of Europe is far ahead of USA on this matter and four weeks of holiday are the statuatory minimum given to all, not some great benefit to droll upon. Five to six weeks are not at all uncommon and you can go well beyond that in certain occupations (i.e. working with radiation, mental hospital employees, etc).
Cat story
A tuxedo cat named Andrew was found in a Bronx park, malnourished and in pain. A local rescuer and Little Wanderers NYC provided medical attention, including tooth extraction, for Andrew’s severe oral infection. After treatment, Andrew became affectionate and was taken into foster care where he enjoyed being indoors and bonded with his caregivers. He developed a close bond with a foster volunteer named Jeff, following him around and showering him with affection. Andrew’s transformation and loving personality have made him a permanent member of Jeff’s family, and the two share a special bond.
Unfortunately, there is this thing called van Loon’s law. It dictates: The level of technological progress in any society is inversely proportional to the number of slaves in the said society.
So you have to first get rid of slavery before any technological advancement will happen. In a slave-owning society, all technology will remain as mere curiosities and gadgets.
Heron’s aeolipili – the first functional steam turbine. It remained as mere clever gadget as there were enough slaves in the Hellenistic world to do all the tasks of slaves.
So first you had to get rid of slavery. The only way to get rid of slavery is a religion which prohibits slavery. There have historically been four of them: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. So the technological revolution could have begun only in those cultural spheres.
Slavery ended in Europe with Christianization – first in the Roman Europe by the Dark Ages and then in the Northern Europe at the end of the Viking era. This dictates the earliest point when technological evolution can begin for good.
Once you get rid of slavery, you need to invent rudimentary technology – i.e. harness the forces of the nature – wind, tide, water etc. You need to develop metallurgy and chemical engineering, and material sciences. Anything which saves human labour, as the price of human labour is now the bottleneck. The Dark Ages were actually a serious period of gadgeteering, and laid the basis for the real technological revolution.
I mean, as fun as it is to whip the woman who is your sex slave in the night, to grind the quern-stones at the day, windmills and watermills are just far more efficient to produce flour.
The thing with science fiction writers is that most of them are engineers, and the heroes have open budgets and do not need to worry about economy. But to develop technology, you need a stable economy. You need to develop Capitalism first. Sorry, no such thing in the bazaar economies. And Capitalism began to evolve in Italy by 1200, and was fully developed by the 17th century. Before that, only gadgeteering.
The third requirement is the rise of sciences. That began with the emergence of universities in the 11th century. To develop sciences, you need a religion which separates between mysticism and philosophy and which recognizes an objective reality, to discover the connection between philosophy and mathematics, to discover the connection between mathematics and engineering, and to develop a system where all these things merge. This happened in the Late Middle Ages.
The Industrial Revolution happened just at the right moment. It could not have happened any earlier. You need to get all the required secondary powers in action first – only then can the real thing happen. The 200 years of Industrial Revolution was preceded by 2000 years of Religious, Philosophical, Technological, Scientific and Economical Evolution.
“We are watching ARMAGEDDON unfolding before our eyes” Col. Douglas MacGregor
Very dangerous prospect for the whole world, not only for US.
I teach teens in France, and I guess many of the particularities of this generation initially confuse or surprise me, I find myself able to roll with it.
I have been especially surprised to hear that, generally speaking, they don’t have any interest in movies, books, TV series, or music. It is surprising to me that even music isn’t of interest to them!
Some like video games, but for the most part, they spend more time on social media than anything else.
The implications of that, and how society will develop with them, leaves a lot to think about.
But as a teacher, I figured I have to deal with that reality. So, for example, I have them do a project where they have to make a tutorial video in English (I teach English). This was something they got excited about, put effort into, and they made great videos! They know how to use their phones, and add special effects, music, off-voice…. they were able to be creative with it. I stopped trying to use current music, films, TV or books. It just wasn’t getting their attention.
The young generation isn’t void of creativity, but they seem to have taken over control of their social conditioning. I mean, they are watching each other create and spread ideas, values, and ethics. I was raised watching cartoons, TV shows, commercials (and reading cereal boxes!) that were carefully geared towards conditioning me to adhere to certain values that my government and the biggest corporations wanted me to integrate.
The kids today have been able to break off from that, and I suppose that scares some older folk. Like it means chaos rules and will lead to destructive movements in society. I’m not so sure. I’m observing with curiosity.
Ex-CIA: Their New Plan is TERRIFYING!
Two Middle East Outlooks
Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor and dimwit, had written a laudation of his own and his bosses foreign policy for the November print edition of Foreign Affairs. The piece was finalized before the war in Palestine had begun.
Indeed, although the Middle East remains beset with perennial challenges, the region is quieter than it has been for decades.
The progress is fragile, to be sure. But it is also not an accident. … [The president’s] approach returns discipline to U.S. policy. It emphasizes deterring aggression, de-escalating conflicts, and integrating the region through joint infrastructure projects and new partnerships, including between Israel and its Arab neighbors. And it is bearing fruit. … This disciplined approach frees up resources for other global priorities, reduces the risk of new Middle Eastern conflicts, and ensures that U.S. interests are protected on a far more sustainable basis. Challenges remain. The Israeli-Palestinian situation is tense, particularly in the West Bank, but in the face of serious frictions, we have de-escalated crises in Gaza and restored direct diplomacy between the parties after years of its absence.
—
Alastair Crooke, who has personally negotiated prisoner exchanges between Hamas and Israel, has published a rather bleak outlook.
… It is no coincidence that Netanyahu flourished a map of Israel during his General Assembly address last month in which Israel dominated from the River to the Sea – and Palestine (indeed any Palestinian territory) was non-existent.
Tom Friedman in his NYT reflections may fear that just as NATO’s impaired performance in Ukraine has ruptured ‘the NATO myth’, so too the 7 October Israeli military and intelligence collapse and what happens in its wake in Gaza ‘might explode the entire pro-American alliance structure’ in the Middle East.
The confluence of two such humiliations might break the spine of western primacy. This seems to be the gist to Friedman’s analysis. (He likely is correct).
Hamas has succeeded in smashing the Israel deterrence paradigm: They were not afraid, the IDF proved far from invincible, and the Arab street mobilised as never before (confounding western cynics who laugh at the very notion of there being an ‘Arab Street’).
Well, that is where we are – and the White House is rattled. … This is what worries the White House Team. They are deeply unconfident that an Israeli invasion of Gaza will put ‘Humpty’ together again. Rather, they fear that events may go badly for the IDF, and further, that the images relayed across the Middle East of Israel using overwhelming force in a civilian urban setting will revolt the Islamic sphere.
In spite of western scepticism, there are signs that this insurrection in the Arab sphere is different, and resembles more the 1916 Arab Revolt that overthrew the Ottoman Empire. It is taking on a distinct ‘edge’ as both Shi’a and Sunni religious authorities state the duty of Muslims to stand with Palestinians. In other words, as the Israeli polity becomes plainly ‘Prophetical’, so the Islamic mood is turning eschatological, in its turn.
That the White House should be floating kites about ‘moderate’ Arab leaders pressing ‘moderate’ Palestinians to form an Israeli-friendly government in Gaza that would displace Hamas and impose security and order shows just how severed is the West from reality. Recall that Mahmoud Abbas, General Sisi and the King of Jordan (some of the region’s most pliable leaders) pointedly refused even to meet with Biden after the latter’s Israel trip.
The anger across the region is real and threatens ‘moderate’ Arab leaders, whose room for manoeuvre is now circumscribed.
So hotspots are proliferating, as are attacks on U.S. deployments around the region. Some in Washington claim to perceive an Iranian hand, and are hoping to expand a window for war with Iran. … Should Israel enter Gaza (and Israel may decide it has no choice but to launch a ground operation, given the domestic political dynamics and public sentiment), it is likely that Hizbullah will incrementally be drawn further in, leaving the U.S. with the binary option of seeing Israel defeated, or launching a major war in which all the hotspots become fused ‘as one’.
In a sense, the Israeli-Islamic conflict now may only be resolved in this kinetic way. All efforts since 1947 have seen the divide only deepen. The reality of the necessity of war is permeating widely the consciousness of the Arabic and Islamic world.
Posted by b on October 27, 2023 at 13:44 UTC | Permalink
Chinese Premier Li Qiang came out before assembled media Thursday to say only this:
“China will continue to firmly support Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national dignity, and will strongly oppose any external forces interfering in Iran’s internal affairs.”
Analysis
This Israel-Hamas thing is getting worse by the hour.
Ground invasion or not, Israel is. . . fucked.
Just a matter of time before Iran outright attacks, with the support of Russia, China, Syria. Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, etc.
I think they already realize they have the upper hand against Israel AND the US..
The biggest news we have heard in a long time is that China will support Iran in the liberation of Palestine. That’s a big deal. It doesn’t get any bigger.
This is shaping up to be the USA, Israel, and the EU against everyone else. I think we cannot win.
We are watching and documenting the start of WW3 right before our eyes.
Why are people Leaving America?
“Everything you said is truth. Things are getting more and more unaffordable here in the US and inflation and crime is killing many small businesses.”
A bar order changed my life. “14 Bier bitte (14 beers please).”
I was celebrating (with friends) the severance package I had signed a few hours earlier.
After 5 years, my time in Germany was coming to an end. I already had 2 interviews lined up back in the US.
From the barstool to the left came a voice. “Excuse me.” I turned to look in the eyes of a rather scruffy absent-minded-professor type.
He smiled and said, “you seem to have a slight English accent…or maybe American?”
“American,” I confirmed. He continued, “you wouldn’t happen to be looking for a job would you?”
Crazy I thought. “I just signed my severance contract 3 hours ago.”
“Can you write?” he replied.
“I think so. My grandfather was a journalist, my mother taught English.”
I’ll spare you the details. He hired me. I never went back to the US. That special lady I had met 7 months earlier came back from her studies in the UK.
Love developed. Babies arrived. We moved to France. Babies grew into fascinating persons.
Any other bar, any other night and it never would have happened this way.
One employer I had decided to make me redundant…which was a BAAAAAD idea.
Keeping it short ( I hope ). I was managing a Photolab ( in a pharmacy ) in SE London…I literally built it up from where it was originally bringing in ‘maybe’ around 10% to 12 % of the total takings of the shop…to where it was bringing in over 80% of the takings. I did that by making certain that the quality we produced was the best for ( literally ) miles around. We had company reps from the midlands who would bring their films into us…because they couldn’t find anywhere to beat us.
At one stage we had the top boys from Kodak visit us, because they were ‘concerned’ at the amount of photographic paper we were going through…sometimes 20 rolls a week. A roll of paper is 175 Meters long…that’s over 1500 prints per roll, or just over 23,000 prints ( 6 x 4 ) a week. It turned out that there was only one Kodak lab in the whole of southern England that beat us…and that by less than 3 %…and that was at a popular seaside resort…Brighton.
Sorry for the long back story.
Almost the first thing they did was make one of the two guys on the counter redundant. Then not long after that they made my assistant redundant as well. You’ve probably worked out where this is going already. If there’s only one person working the lab or the counter what happens on days off? Or when you go to lunch…or if your ill?
Answer? I haven’t got the foggiest idea…we were never told.
Then shortly after that…I was made redundant.
Not really a surprise…I had figured out which way the wind was blowing well before this. In all fairness when they told me I was being made redundant I did tell them that in my ( exceptionally modest and humble opinion ), the lab would be closed within three months since they had no one to run it properly…they ( of course ) just ignored that.
I had a new job within two weeks…paid almost as well…and without all the hassle.
The big problem they had now was that there was now only one person to run the counter side of things…and the lab. That’s assuming that the ‘last guy’ didn’t bother with inconsequential things…like a trip to the loo, or tea breaks or lunch breaks, day’s off, holidays, emergency’s at home or just being to damn ill to come to work.
Oh, I forgot to mention something else.
He wasn’t trained to operate the lab.
He told them. ‘I’ve got no health and safety training for photolab work…you know…for all that unimportant stuff…like the electrical hazards, hazardous and corrosive chemicals etc.’ He had no first aid certification, no fire hazard training. And nothing else either, like the day to day maintenance of the machinery, let alone the longer term maintenance.
There was also the minor ( but vital to maintain quality ) chore of balancing the master channel on a daily basis, plus ( on an ongoing basis ) all the print and film channels. He had no idea where to even begin with that…absolutely not his fault at all…he was counter staff…not trained lab staff.
And…then he told them something else, he was colour blind…not exactly great for printing colour films.
He was told. ‘Use the scanner, that’ll do the job’.
‘Uhuh…I can’t do that’. ‘HUH? Why NOT’!
‘It’s been disabled in the software and disconnected from the motherboard…I don’t even know what it looks like, I wouldn’t recognise it if it got up and smacked me in the face, and I don’t know how to hook it back up and get it working again…of course there was one person here that could do that…but you got rid of him, and even if I did get the scanner working again the quality and delivery times will nose dive, the two people you made redundant did everything manually…that’s why the quality was so good, and why we were doing so much trade’. ( my assistant and I could print faster and more accurately than the scanner could do the job ).
Then, obviously trying to be ‘helpful’ ( IE sticking the knife in ) he added. ‘We could always get an engineer out from Kodak to reconnect it, but, since it’s not a breakdown…it’ll be chargeable’.
Not done.
How do I know all this ?
I’m at home one evening and I get a phone call from the ‘last guy’. ‘Hey! how’s it going’? ‘Pretty good’ was the answer…’How’s the lab doing’? ( I love this bit ) ‘What lab’?? ‘Umm…THE lab’. ‘Like I said…WHAT lab’?! ‘It’s CLOSED’??? ‘Well…I suppose you ‘could’ put it that way…the whole shop is closed…permanently’. ‘Pardon’?
It turned out that not only had the lab closed because ( surprise surprise ), nobody knew how to operate the printer properly or maintain it…but when the customers found out I’d been laid off they expressed their disgust by voting with their feet. The whole shop became a wasteland…hardly anybody went in there now.
Now that might not have been so bad when I first started there, and the lab brought in maybe 10 to 12 % of the total takings…but by the time I was laid off…the lab was bringing in around 80% of the total takings…of the entire shop.
Remember I said the lab would probably be closed within three months?
I was wrong…it took 6 WEEKS! before it…and the whole SHOP was closed.
The new company thought they were getting their hands on a gold mine, and to be honest it would have been…if they hadn’t messed it all up.
In my mid 20’s I had a job at a recording studio. I was “the girl”. I was completely in charge of all things office.
This place was part of an advertising agency.
We had the whole bottom floor and most of what we did was recording jingles.
So there were the jingle writers And the musicians and the sales people. All in all it was pretty much fun.
One day the pay checks were given to me to hand out and I happened to notice that everyone made more money than I did. I marched upstairs and asked WHY. I knew full well I did more work than anyone else there. I was told that “They were creative and I was not.”
My husband and I had already been doing glass work. I called him, told him to come get me. when he got there I said I am quitting my job. I want you to quit yours,too and we will do glass work full time.
He did and we rented our first studio which was near UWM on Milwaukee’s upper East Side.
We are still doing glass work today, 45 years later. hundreds of projects all over the country.
So thanks for telling me how uncreative I was.
Why Men NEED Sex
This should be taught in schools/colleges, the differences between Men & Women so that people can better go about relationships & know why the opposite gender behaves how they behave instead of thinking that there’s something wrong with them. i.e men have 17 times more testosterone than women hence men will tend to have a higher sex drive!
The Chinese Economy resembles a 48 year old man. Not young anymore but certainly not old or dying
The Japanese Economy resembles a 77 year old man. Prematurely aged 20 years thanks to the Plaza accords or would be a healthy 57 year old
The Indian Economy resembles a 43 year old. Down on his luck and having a last chance at some development and growth.
The US Economy resembles a 75 year old. Having sucked the youth of every Economy to keep from growing old or slowing down his ageing
The Russian Economy represents a 34 year old, reborn after dying as a 88 year old and still unsure of how to go forward but strong enough to fight the world
This was maybe ten years ago, back when I worked in a warehouse.
One fine day when I arrived at work there were no chairs at my workstation. A manager was out there and told me they had removed the chairs because the people who worked the previous shift spent too much time sitting around instead of doing their other tasks, but I could go into the office and bring a chair out to the warehouse every day when I came in.
When the next person on the shift came in I told her what was going on with the chairs, and her response was, “What is this, junior high?” I was more amused than exasperated, and life continued with me bringing out a couple of chairs at the start of work every day.
Soon afterward our senior manager became tired of people losing pens all the time and announced that anyone who needed a pen would have to ask her for one personally. I myself was very methodical about how I used my pen, always putting it down at the same place on the table where I worked and expecting it to be there whenever I needed it. Other people (mostly our regular vendors) were less careful with pens, and it didn’t take long before my pen disappeared, along with most of the others.
Now, these were not expensive pens, so the savings our tightfisted manager gained from controlling their distribution could not have been that much. More importantly, our senior manager’s schedule didn’t overlap with mine very much, and if I had better things to do with my time than ask the senior manager for a pen every time I needed one, surely that was more true for her.
So, I took the matter to Human Resources, mentioning both the chair and pen situations in an email. The next morning an HR person called me up on the phone and got some more details about everything. About five minutes later I heard the rumble of plastic wheels on the concrete floor of the warehouse, and there was the middle manager with an extra chair in one hand and a fistful of pens in the other. Sounding a little contrite, he dumped the pens on my table and said if I needed more to please let him know.
Often when I hear people talk about HR, it’s in the context of how HR is on the side of the employer instead of the employee. So I offer up this one instance where HR came through for the little guy.
The chairs in the warehouse stayed in the warehouse afterward. And, more importantly, I never had to waste anyone’s time by asking my senior manager for a pen.
Years ago I fell off a truck and dislocated my shoulder. I called an ambulance and they turned up. One guy said “I’m trained for resetting that”, so he did, me lying on his trolley bed on the pavement, they then took me to hospital for X-rays to make sure there were no further issues.
I don’t know how much it cost, I didn’t see a bill.
Years later I caught double pneumonia. 15 days in hospital with several courses of strong antibiotics and lots of rest.
I don’t know how much that cost – never saw a bill.
And a couple of years ago my 93 year old father in law was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and fitted with a pacemaker that same day, spend a night in hospital and came home with an internet connected heart monitor so they could check on him from the hospital.
We never knew how much that cost … he never got a bill.
That’s universal health care for you.
We also get low cost and no cost pharmecuticals
I don’t mind the 2.5% levy added to my tax bills at all – it’s good value.
One observation I’ve made is that people from Europe have no concept of the ridiculous expanse that is the US, and to be fair the idea that you could take a day trip to another country when you’re in Europe blows my mind as well. I met a couple from France who thought they were going to go to Maine, New York, DC, and Orlando (Disney) all in one weekend. Just for reference, it would take you nearly 24 full hours of driving to get from Maine to Orlando.
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In case you can’t tell, below is the US compared to Australia.
You would not even be in a medieval army if you wanted to be safe. You would have joined a medieval army because you wanted to get rich quick – there was no other way to make easy money.
First of all: avoid all sieges. High risk of dying from dysentery as either besieger or besieged.
A longbow archer was very safe, and paid well, except that archers could not get “first pick” of battlefield booty. It was a trade off. Even so, you might get lucky especially if you got to sack a big town.
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You won the lottery by either capturing a nobleman, his horse, or his fine armor. Capturing a common knight was not bad except that, quite often. knights went into deep debt to finance their war service
Even so. knights sometimes had rich relatives (so don’t get mad and kill Sir Deadbeat)
A surgeon would have been pretty safe and, if captured, you would be treated well.
We live about a quarter mile away from the nearest road, back through the woods, so it’s rare for any stray domestic animals to wander back here, but on the evening of May 26 this year, this tortoiseshell came strolling up the porch steps and looked in the window.
“Oh no,” we thought. “I hope it goes away.” We already had two cats and didn’t want a third. That lasted about 20 minutes. Then, “Well, I guess we need to feed her something. We can’t let her starve.” So she got a meal off us. When she was still there the next morning, we named her. That was it. That’s when you can no longer say a cat doesn’t own you.
I already had a jet black longhair named LBK adopted from a colleague who was moving 1,200 miles away and didn’t want to take her from Georgia to the snows of Vermont. My wife has a blue tortoiseshell rescue cat she calls Biscuit. So we named our porch cat Triscuit—not after the cracker but sort of an organic chemistry joke (bis-, tris-, Biscuit, Triscuit). Students of o-chem will get it.
Triscuit was very emaciated when she came to us. She weighed 3.2 lb; the basal half of her tail was almost hairless, like an opossum tail; she had a prolapsed rectum, worms, and diarrhea; she smelled bad. But I’m a sympathetic sap, especially for underdogs (and undercats), and she captured my heart. After several trips to the vet and a special rehab diet, my free cat has so far cost me only about $780 since May. She’s now up to 4.3 lb—just $180/lb. She’s worm-free, and she’s growing some hair on her tail. She just might live.
Cajun Stuffed Peppers
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Ingredients
1 pound ground meat
1 (16 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup green bell peppers, chopped
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups cooked rice
6 to 8 bell peppers
Sliced cheese
Instructions
Cook meat, tomatoes, onions, chopped peppers and tomato paste. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes until done.
Cook rice. Mix rice into meat mixture, then simmer for 20 minutes.
Clean peppers. Boil in large pot until peppers turn darker green. Dry peppers on paper towels. Cool.
Anyone can think they are superman! Just that most are smart and humble. China is a very pragmatic and rational nation. It knows no nation has a right to exist and enjoys full sovereignty. China never sees itself as a nation that is strong. It knows very very well that should anyone threaten China, it will fully defend itself completely and hurt the attacking nation. Very very hard.
Me to a new hire, “install this wing flap actuator on that left wing and what ever you do…do not drop it, it’s very expensive.”
New hire, “Yes, sir. No problem”.”
Two minutes later, a loud, crashing thud can be heard from over by the left wing.
Me, “NEW HIRE? Did you just drop that actuator?”
New hire “No sir, I just dropped a tool. It’s alright.”
Me as I go over there to examine the situation. “Then why is there a dent on this mounting lug of the actuator?”
New Hire, “uhh, I don’t know, must’ve come that way. It’ll be alright. It’s fine. It’ll still work.”
Me, “Lives are at stake when we work on these aircraft and when mistakes are made we have to own them and immediately correct them. This actuator will not work and neither will you. Remember this lesson on your next job.”
In college I lived in an apartment building and my next door neighbor was the rudest, most angry and disagreeable person that I had ever met. One day after classes I rode my bicycle home and went to store it in the small storage shed in front of my car. I noticed that someone had clipped the right rear corner of my fairly new car. I looked at the Cadillac next to my car and saw a indentation on the rear quarter panel at the same height as the damage to my car. The color on the damaged quarter panel matched the color of my car exactly.
I approached my mean, nasty and disagreeable neighbor, showed him the damage and he immediately claimed that I must have hit his Cadillac and threatened to sue me, get me evicted and on and on.
He worked in a bank in a troubled part of town. I drove by the bank and noticed a massage parlor in a single wide trailer about 2 blocks away.
I went to an adult book store and purchased an explicit picture magazine titled “Beautiful Black Asses”, went to a card store and bought a very feminine thank you card and an envelope big enough for the magazine. I signed the card “Thanks for everything honey – Candy” and mailed it to his apartment with the massage parlor’s name and address as the return address. I was aware that his wife got home first every day and retrieved the mail every day.
A couple of days later I heard a LOUD screaming exchange between them and the wife took off in his Cadillac, burning rubber all of the way. She and the Cadillac were gone for about a month before she returned but, their relationship seemed chilled until I graduated and moved away a year and 1/2 later.
The Israelis are so sure about the location of the Hamas bunker, however, not because they are trying to score propaganda points, or because it has been repeatedly mentioned in passing by Western reporters—but because they built it. Back in 1983, when Israel still ruled Gaza, they built a secure underground operating room and tunnel network beneath Shifa hospital—which is one among several reasons why Israeli security sources are so sure that there is a main Hamas command bunker in or around the large cement basement beneath the area of Building 2 of the Hospital, which reporters are obviously prohibited from entering.
I bet 100 to 1 that nothing Hamas is present in the well known bunker beneath the Shifa hospital.
Mom: I couldn’t find my saved money, I need to pay the deliveryman.
Dad: Don’t worry, you’ll find it. How much for the deliveryman?
Mom: 5 thousand rupees. I ordered some groceries and essentials for the house.
Dad paid the deliveryman and we eventually got busy with our daily work.
The next day, Mom, Dad, and I were cleaning the kitchen, when my mom shouted.
Mom: Look, I got my money, it’s in the cupboard. I was so foolish, I searched the whole house for it.
Mom looked so happy because she saved it for her friend’s birthday gift.
But the situation was something else.
Dad got out of the house to smoke a cigarette and I ran behind him.
I said “Why did you do that?’
Father asked: ‘Do what?’
I replied “I swear I have seen you taking the money out of your wallet and putting it in the cupboard.
Dad smirked and replied: “You know she was everything for me! I can’t see her getting sad over the little money she lost yesterday. Because I think we need to care for the person, we love the most!”
Dad takes out a handkerchief and starts putting off his sweat.
I said “Dad, now why are you using mom’s handkerchief? Is it a sign of your care towards Mom too?”
Dad “Nope, because it still has her fragrance”
This was something that changed my whole point of view not only towards life but also towards love too.
Every heroin addict’s go to line. The problem is the drug is too brutal and won’t let you do a little this time.
Heroin messes with your brain big time.
It is an opioid, which means it comes from the same plant as morphine and other painkillers.
But heroin is different because it gets to your brain faster and stronger than other opioids.
It does this by changing into morphine once it’s in your blood, and then attaching to these things called opioid receptors in your brain.
Opioid receptors are like switches that control how you feel pain and pleasure.
When heroin hits them, it turns them on full blast, making you feel a rush of euphoria and relaxation.
It also blocks out any negative feelings like depression or anxiety.
Sounds awesome, right?
Wrong. Because heroin is so good at turning on your opioid receptors, it also tricks your brain into thinking that heroin is the best thing ever.
Your brain starts to associate heroin with happiness, and forgets about other things that make you happy, like food, friends, or hobbies.
Your brain also becomes less sensitive to heroin over time, so you need more and more of it to feel the same effect.
This is how addiction happens.
You become obsessed with getting and using heroin, and you can’t stop even if you want to.
You also start to feel sick when you don’t have heroin, because your brain is used to having it all the time.
This is called withdrawal, and it sucks big time.
Withdrawal can feel like death. It can make you feel like you have the flu, but worse.
You can have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, sweating, chills, anxiety, insomnia, and more.
Withdrawal can also make you crave heroin even more, because you know it will make you feel better.
The white horse is one of the most addictive drugs out there.
It hijacks your brain’s reward system and makes you dependent on it for feeling good.
It also makes you sick when you don’t have it, and makes you want it more than anything else in the world.
Possibly the worst thing is that even being sober for 20 years, you always remember that first high. That first rush. So the urge never really leaves…..
The smartest student in my class used to be nicknamed “Rain Man” in math class because of how fast he was able to make calculations. But he wasn’t just the best in math. He was also the best in the language classes and in history class – any class except physical exercise really. He wasn’t much use there.
Everyone thought he would go on to become a university professor. But he didn’t. He started distancing himself from academic pursuits in high school and instead started reading poetry and wanting to be an artist. When he was evaluated for military service and got a stellar score on the IQ test, the officers asked him what he wanted to do after high-school, and he told them he wanted to study literature or write novels.
Most likely the issue was that he came from an academic family, with both his parents being university professors, which made that career path seem like nothing special to him. He wanted “more”, whatever that was.
At college, he would become increasingly erratic, often not showing up for class and failing to read appointed materials. But he would still pass all exams with high marks by making an effort at the last minute.
The “artist” aspiration hadn’t died out though. He was pursuing writing as well as music, eventually forming a band, but he never really made an impact. He wasn’t even a bad music artist but he also just wasn’t outstanding like he was at school. His commercially unsuccessful “artist” career saw him moonlighting at random shift jobs to get by, including as a night receptionist.
It would be seven years until he realized music and literature weren’t going to get him anywhere. If he had just managed to put his head down and work diligently on a more weighty subject of study, be it mathematics or medicine or political science, I’m sure he would have had a brilliant career and made a splash in his field. As it was, he was already in his 30s without any really useful qualifications while others were getting promotions and buying real estate.
In the following years, he first learned Chinese and went to live in China, then came back again, took up coding with the intention of making AI models but also lost interest in that before really getting there. Nowadays he’s still struggling to even get a decent job – something I think no one would have expected back then at school. And who knows what’s next?
I guess I should know because I am this person. I was the smartest kid in my class. In this game of “professor or suicide”, I’m thus far neither. But being gifted hasn’t served me particularly well. Since everything was easy for me throughout my education (well, except P.E. and crafts), I never learned to really struggle. I learned that I could win without struggling. Therefore, I proceeded to avoid anything that might seriously put me to the test. And at the end of the day, intelligence is really no match for effort.
The silver lining is that I’m more and more beginning to realize that I don’t need a brilliant career, neither in academia nor as an artist. In hindsight, I was pursuing both more out of vanity than anything else. Unusually smart kids have a tendency to accrue lofty expectations from all around; from parents, teachers and classmates alike. Everyone tells you: “you could do this” and “you should do that” and “you’re gonna be a star” and it’s easy to become inebriated with this praise and forget to stop and be honest with yourself about what YOU actually want – not what others want for you or even what you want for your own idea of you. Finally doing so has been quite liberating.
This is an illusion. The Chinese used to think that having a European appearance meant they would be good at teaching English, but they later realized they were wrong.
Professional ability is linked to your salary, not your appearance.
If you can provide an English major certificate or education certificate, you can earn a good salary at English teaching institutions in China, but of course, there will be many people competing with you. Education requires teaching experience, not just talking to oneself in the classroom. Engaging in the teaching profession requires mastering teaching methods that students can understand. You must first be able to communicate with students in Chinese. Not everyone is suitable for the teaching profession, and whether to stay or not ultimately depends on the graduation rate data of students. People who lack a competitive advantage cannot enter higher education schools and can only teach their children some simple English conversations in kindergartens. Of course, the salary will be much lower than that of school teachers.
China’s second language ~ third language education is civilian education, not aristocratic education.
Generally speaking, the China government requires Chinese students to master at least 1~2 foreign languages. Because English-speaking countries dominate the world, China has popularized English education in the compulsory education stage.
There are many foreigners engaged in English education in China because it is easy to find substitutes, and the competitive pressure of practitioners is also the biggest among all language education. Meanwhile, due to the popularization of English education in China, the job of English teacher is also the easiest to find.
Language teachers such as Russian, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic are relatively lacking.
As far as I know, some teachers of small languages have already earned salaries of $1000~$5000 per hour. (一万到五万一堂课)
Some infrastructure contractors, in order to make their employees understand the local language, offer considerable salaries to language teachers who attend classes during training.
In fact, in recent years, the salaries of Arabic language teachers and French teachers have been very good. Because there are many Arab countries and African countries (French speaking area) along the the Belt and Road. Since there is a demand for business, of course, relevant language education talents are needed.
We hired a lady to organize our archives before they were digitized. This was in 2000. She was just required to work 8 hours a day, and only needed to interact with coworkers for about an hour a day. So she decided to work 3:00–12:00 and our Mom and Pop small company saw no reason why she couldn’t do her job at night.
She was doing a decent job, and nobody had a problem. But we reached a point, where she had to start working days, so she could tell people what was going on.
She had stored all of her rolls of fim in garbage cans, and paper records in recycling boxes.
The first day she wasn’t there when the cleaners came to clean her office, they emptied all of her film and paper into shredders, and hauled it away.
Not one person in the office could figure out why she not only used her garbage can for storage, but brought in extra garbage cans and filled them.
She was livid and blamed the cleaning staff for emptying the garbage and recycling as they were required to do by contract.
They didn’t exactly fire her. They laid her off, and said that now that there was no data to archive, they didn’t have a job for her.
Sara Anne Wood was just 12 years old when she was abducted within view of her home on Aug 18, 1993. I was friends(from camp) with her brother Dusty and it hit everyone so very hard. This was an incredibly nice family from Central New York in a very small town. Back then, kids had heard ghost stories about kids being snatched but very few took it seriously. Sara’s case changed that for many and the resulting publicity made sure that new tools for the public and law enforcement would save more missing kids since.
The man who admitted to abducting and killing her also confessed to another murder- a 12 year old boy, Jimmy Bernardo. He confessed to another murder(Jamie Lusher) but like Sara, the body has never been found. The killer has given incorrect information for the recovery of Sara Anne Wood and Jamie Lusher many times. FBI psychologists are unsure what is keeping the killer from revealing the information since he seems willing to put it behind him. He will serve every day of his pitiful existence behind bars but it isn’t enough for the pain he has brought to so many in this world.
I have not named the killer out of respect for my childhood friend’s family who feel the killer has garnered too much fame already. It’s easy to search, but do me a favor if you choose to look it up. Please also learn about all of the positive changes brought about by Sara Anne Wood’s case. Those changes have saved/found many thousands of children since.
Note to Dusty & the Wood family: I hope you find peace and closure. We have not forgotten Sara and will never stop looking.
I am so so so SO very glad that I no longer live in the USA.
When I was 16 I developed a kidney abscess. It was treated over several weeks and dissipated. First off, I had to sit in a room with a bunch of 70 year old men waiting for my Urologist. Then, the Dr was flummoxed how a teenage girl could get this, so proceeded with different types of tests. One was testing my Ureters. In the hospital, I was naked from the waist down with a paper drape, filled my bladder with something and iodine and literally put a stopper in so that I couldn’t pee. Then, they left the room. It was just me and a male tech who was in front of some machines with screens. The room had swinging double doors. Every once in awhile someone would come in, and my nether regions were on full view to anyone coming in, and anyone passing by. When I was done, I had to wrap the paper drape around me and sprint to the bathroom across the hall to piss like a Russian race horse! I’m pretty sure I leaked that liquid all across that room and the hallway. Yes, this was very embarrassing.
One of my girls had been diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome, developmental delays and schizo affective disorder.
She attends a day program for adults that provides socialization along with life skills training. They also take the clients out into the community to do contract jobs supported by staff. She came home beaming and said she was working in a local grocery store. I assumed stocking shelves, sweeping, etc.
About her third day she came home excited as usual got a snack and went to the bathroom.
I cleaned up the table, put away leftovers, and generally spent a fair amount of time puttering around.
Then I realized she was still in the bathroom and it was very quiet.
I called her name.
No answer.
I checked the door.
It was locked.
I banged on the door, yelled her full name and demanded she open the door immediately!
NO! I’M NOT DONE!
What are you doing?
It’s a surprise. Go away!
Now I’ve had pretty awful bathroom surprises from kids. Things like blood all over from an accident doing something I’d warned them about, to diarrhea, to bathing the dog in the tub with the associated water and mud sprayed around.
I said I was counting to 10 and the door had better be open or I’d pick the lock. Yeah, I’ve had to do that on more than one occasion.
At 9 she opened the door beaming and sweaty. See mom! I cleaned it all by myself! The floor around the toilet, the sinks, inside the toilet and the mirrors! Now I need to wash my hands.
Everything was spotless. I had forgotten most stores have at least employee restrooms. That was what she was doing at work.
She then said it was nicer at home than the men’s room. It was disgusting and stinks.
I was floored! Never have I had a child do such a thorough job cleaning anything! I gave her hugs. I told her I was sooo happy with the sparkling clean bathroom.
Then she asked me, Mom, can you teach me how to clean the tub? They don’t have that at the store.
I was shocked. She actually wanted to do more cleaning!
I told her I was so proud of her, and then later made her promise that if she wanted to clean the bathroom again would she please leave the door open. I explained that the surprise was fantastic, but some cleaning supplies were smelly and she could get sick.
She looked disappointed and asked how she could surprise me if the door was open.
I promised if she said she was working on something special I’d stay in the kitchen and make cookies.
I get a clean bathroom, the kids get fresh cookies, and my husband eats raw cookie dough. Wins all the way around!
China SHOCKS The US With Terrifying Nuclear Space Missile
I got a call from a friend, who had literally just been informed that he was laid off. And he was wondering if I had also gotten the axe.
I was on vacation for a week. It was Tuesday or Wednesday, and I was on my way to a dog show to help some friends set some things up. My friend had been walked into the office that morning and been told that his last day would the the following Friday. The severance was good, he had already been thinking about retiring, and his wife was having pretty bad health issues. So he just said cool, and planned on wrapping up the things he was involved with.
So I checked, and did have a voicemail on my phone. I listened to it, and yes, a manager I knew had called VERY EARLY that day and asked that I call her back when I had the time, sometime today. Given that my friend had been laid off, and what the situation at the company was, yeah, I knew I was going to get the boot as well. Not my first time, so I just sat back and made a list of what I needed to do. Then I called my friend back, told him about the voicemail and we commiserated. And finally I called the manager back and got the bad news. No big deal.
Being laid off sucks. But keep your wits about you, be open to doing something different, make smart financial decisions and just keep movin’ on.
In May 2016, Amber Heard, who is now divorced from Johnny Depp, shared photos claiming he abused her. People quickly condemned Depp, especially when he was cast in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Many thought he shouldn’t be hired due to the accusations. Meanwhile, Heard was praised as a survivor and advocate for abused women.
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Depp, who had built a good reputation over the years, faced a backlash. People didn’t want to work with him, and he was labeled as an abuser. He received hate from fans, the media, and almost everyone.
However, this year, Depp released tapes that changed how we saw the situation. Heard admitted to hitting him and throwing objects at him, even causing injury. She mocked him, knowing people would likely believe her over him.
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Depp, in essence, is saying, “Imagine if I, as a man, claimed to be a victim of domestic violence. How many would believe or support me?” The story shows how we often quickly judge someone as a villain, even when they might not be at fault.
I was the bad boy and what you’re trying to make is a mistake.
Let me explain why.
Most girls in their 20s and even 30s have some kind of masculine ideal. This ideal is anything but healthy. They want the sociopath or the aggressive jerk or whatever is considered nowadays a good representation of masculinity.
The definition of a “good masculine sexual partner” is more of what you’d find in “Fight Club” than “Breakfast At Tiffany”. And yes, I was one of them. I acted as a jerk, I was emotionally imbalanced, I got into a lot of arguments and fights and I was emotionally and physically violent.
And this got me laid. A lot. The fact that my life was chaotic and broken, ironically, made a lot of very beautiful woman want to save me.
And here’s the thing …
If you want to screw your emotional balance, make your life a mess and be in that position for the sake of getting laid you are an idiot. This is because the “bad boy” image that works to get women turned on is kind of the opposite of what works in every other area of life.
Everywhere else consistency, maturity, dignity, integrity are rewarded. In the business world nobody will put up with the “bad boy” bullshit. In the academic world the same. Most realms of life are a meritocracy where your hard work and effort are going to get you what you deserve. Dating is one of the few fields in which the least you care and the more counter-intuitive you act, the better results you’re going to get.
But it is not worth it.
This is because while being a bad boy may get you female attention, being a bad boy is generally not a good life strategy and there is a LOT MORE to life than getting laid. I remember how at some point in my life I was an emotional mess, smoking, drinking, going in bars each night, sleeping with two girls at the same time (not in the same bed) and many people were “admiring me”.
In reality, I was crying out of frustration and desperation often because I was in a hole and no one was pulling me out. While I was getting girls to take off their panties, I had no money, my business partners wanted nothing to do with me, my friends who showed integrity and character have been replaced by superficial relationships and the future looked really bleak.
So honestly, what you want is the most immature thing you can do.
Trust me, treating life as a bad-boy (and I’m not talking about buying a leather jacket but actually being a “I-Don’t-Give-A-Damn” type of person) has a far higher downside than upside. While there are always going to be ladies who will (1) want to save you from yourself (2) think they can change you (3) be attracted because you’re different, the people who don’t want to have sex with you won’t really be impressed by what you’re doing.
So here’s my advice.
Act as a man and stop trying to emulate the dysfunctional bad-boy image. The rogue, the sociopath, the psychopath, the out of control wreck are and were always female fantasies for better or for worse but actually being one sucks.
Instead simply focus on acting as a man. The same traits that you consider boring nice, as a nice guy, are exactly the traits required to succeed in most fields. I’m not saying to be a wimp but I’m saying that being dysfunctional for the sake of mediocre sex (because deep inside you’ll always know that that’s not love but rather fascination) is a very bad trade-of.
A United States Air Force E-4B aircraft, which is a designated National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC) took off from Offutt Air Force Base this afternoon, headed out over the Gulf of Mexico, and Transmitted an Emergency Action Message (EAM) to US Nuclear Missile Submarines, using Very Low Frequency (VLF) Comms.
There’s something unnerving seeing a E-4B NAOC (GORDO16) and a E-6B TACAMO (FULL02) launch from Offutt AFB around the same time. As you can see from the FlightRadar24 map image below, that’s what happened.
The E-4B
The E-4B serves as the National Airborne Operations Center and is a key component of the National Military Command System for the President, the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In case of national emergency or destruction of ground command and control centers, the aircraft provides a highly survivable command, control and communications center to direct U.S. forces, execute emergency war orders and coordinate actions by civil authorities.
The conduct of E-4B operations encompasses all phases of the threat spectrum. Additionally, the E-4B provides outside the continental United States travel support for the Secretary of Defense and his staff to ensure Title 10 command and control connectivity.
The E-6B
The E-6B Mercury is a communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft. It provides survivable, reliable, and endurable airborne Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) for the president, secretary of defense and U.S. Strategic Command.
Only One Job:
The E-4B and E-6B at the end of the day only have one job: getting the message out (Nuclear launch codes) from the NCA (National Command Authority) to the United States Nuclear Triad by any means necessary.
Those means include a variety of waveforms including VLF, HF, UHF, SHF and beyond.
A B-52, B-2, ICBM Silo, or Submarine, will decode these encrypted messages and either launch their nuclear weapons at an intended target – – or not – – based on the decisions of our elected public officials.
So imagine my dismay when surveillance picked up the E-4B transmitting an EMERGENCY ACTION MESSAGE(EAM) while out over the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon! More specifically, the aircraft was messaging our nuclear missile SUBMARINES because it was using VLF, Very Low Frequency, to send the encoded message. VLF is the band that penetrates the ocean to sufficient depth, to reach our submerged nuclear missile subs.
USA civil war?
The state of Colorado ruled Trump ineligible for the 2024 election. An account of something something insurrection democracy something.
As it stands, Trump will compete in only 49 states in the election.
It is likely, others will follow. If a few swing states do it, then result of the election is successfully altered.
If supreme court does not strike these down, the United States is officially no longer a democracy.
If supreme court strikes it down, the damage is still done. People will lose trust that their vote matters.
The country is headed into civil war.
Posted by: FieryButMostPeaceful | Dec 21 2023 16:26 utc | 3
Began the telemarketer. We’d been getting a lot of those calls in the past few weeks and I was about 19 or so, so my evil little comedic mind was at work.
Here’s the thing: no one asks those bastards (you know I wanted to say something else) to call us personally! We want them to stop. It was back in the early days of this crap and many of the accents over the phone were still American.
“I have amazing news!!”
“You found a kidney??!”
“Uh, what?”
“You found a kidney!!!! You’re from the hospital, right? We’ve been waiting by the phone and- and I just can’t believe this is really happening; bless you; thank God!”
“Um…no… I’m… calling about (something he suddenly had dramatically less confidence in).”
“You- you’re not from the hospital?”
“No, sorry, I-“
(I turned my head from the phone and didn’t really muffle it properly.) “Oh, don’t cry, Sarah, sweetie! They’ll find one! It’s okay sweetheart, don’t worry.”
(I turned back to the phone.) “I’ll just call back later.”
“Thanks; I’m sorry: could you please keep the line clear? We’re waiting to hear from the hospital.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do that.”
It got played about 2 more times and then those bastards stopped harassing us by phone to buy or sign on to their whatever.
Meanwhile, about China…
US are completely paranoid about China overtaking them, their tactics to block them has simply backfired spectacularly, so the US resort to scaring every neighbour of China into thinking they are going to invade them, including us.
Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand 19h This is a good read on “why the American technological war against China could backfire” and “supercharge China’s creation of an independent computer chip industry”. theconversation.com/why-the-…
It’s exactly what is happening and at the end of the day, as the article makes clear, it’s all about hubris.
It was always beyond delusional for the US to believe that it could stop the technological progress of a country that IS AHEAD OF THEM on all metrics that matter for it, as detailed in the article: – “Chinese high schoolers score the highest in the world in reading, science and mathematics” – “Chinese universities are outperforming institutions in the rest of the world in the vast majority of disciplines”. For instance, critically, China has 6 of the top 10 universities in the world in engineering whilst the US only has 2… – China produces more than double the number of STEM PhDs every year than the U.S. – “In 2022, China overtook the U.S. for the first time as the country or territory publishing the most research articles in prestigious natural science journals” – “China published the highest number of scientific research papers annually between 2018 and 2020, and had 27.2 per cent of the world’s top one per cent of the most frequently cited papers, compared to 24.9 per cent for the U.S.” – According to research done by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute “China is leading [the world] in 37 of 44 cutting-edge technologies, including nanoscale materials and synthetic biology” – Etc.
Conclusion from the article: “When it comes to the use and production of knowledge-based industries, China has more advantages than any other country in the world. American actions will create a new generation of Chinese high-tech firms that will compete directly with the U.S. and western businesses from whom they used to buy their products. These firms will produce more affordable products than their western counterparts, and could dominate technological infrastructure in the Global South.”
In a nutshell the very notion that China is a country whose technological progress could be stopped is almost criminally deluded, and derives from both a deep misunderstanding of China by the US and a deep overestimation of American capabilities… Adopting this strategy is backfiring big time and will without a doubt yield a considerably worse result for the US than if they’d favored a “coexistence” collaborative approach 🤷♂️
When I worked security, I knew people whose job consisted entirely of occupying a space for a long period of time.
Technically, they were securing the area and they had a walkie-talkie to call the rest of us if anyone tried to go into the area who shouldn’t have been there. But no one ever tried to get into those areas.
I worked at an outdoor concert place that had upscale restaurants around the perimeter of the grounds. Those restaurants closed when the show started, and security guards were put in the restaurants to make sure no drunk concert goers tried breaking into them.
I volunteered for that position once, and never again. I literally sat in a dark, empty restaurant for four hours. I could hear the music outside, and I could see people walking by the windows, but no one tried to come into the restaurant. No one ever tried. It was so boring… I requested to be in front of the stage for shows after that.
I was skidding through my freshman year, sleepwalking to classes and nursing hangovers. I’d just stepped into an elevator on our first day and noticed Professor Kaplan standing next to me. I’d heard about him. He was allegedly one of the best professors, a former Harvard lecturer.
image 346
I turned and said, “Greetings professor! I believe I’m attending your lecture today.” Holding his notebooks, he turned, smiled, and said, “My condolences.” And then he proceeded to give one of the best lectures I’ve ever seen. His display of humility in that elevator made him that much more endearing.
Self-deprecating humor, done lightly, and framed in a positive way, is powerfully charismatic. It makes people feel comfortable and appeals to their insecurities. But if you make a joke about your third wife leaving you, you might be overkilling it.
A lot of people think I’m paid to write the things I write, I merely have a fair bit of free time. Today was the last day for my day job until next year, tomorrow is a massive party though…
Anyway me and a couple of other shit posters irritate enormous amounts of westerners merely by our free time shit posting.
People don’t like to argue against me because I like to use western media to debunk western media. Last night for instance a person said the BBC is honest. I then showed them two BBC clips together and one was very different.
Imagine 500million extra internet users even MORE aggressive and shit postery than me? I say 500 million because while 900 million people can write English to an OK level only about 500 million are proficient.
Imagine ME x 500 or x 5000. And here’s the thing, I’m overseas born, so I’m a hell of a lot easier going than a lot of Chinese people.
Back in 2006 me and a friend had been Christmas shopping, and it was a big outing for me, I had been battling Leukemia for a number of years, and after having a bone marrow transplant I was finally able to be out of a sterile environment,.
We went into a Restaurant and were seated right next to a table where 3 quite over weight women were seated.
I was very thin, I am 5 foot 7 and at the time weighed about 105 lbs. I didn’t have much of an appetite, so when finished my meal was barely touched, the waitress asked me if I wanted a box to take food with me, and I said no.
Well that prompted one of the “ ladies” to loudly say say “ Skinny Bitch, you can tell SHE is on drugs”!
I just looked at her and said “ well, not since the bone marrow transplant, thankfully I am done with Chemo.”
Back in 1981, I was kitchen manager at a new pizza place in town. We were about 4 months in and turning a good profit. The guy who managed the place was a great guy and everyone who worked there loved him. The actual owner of the place had a daughter with a boyfriend. He fired our boss for no reason and said his brat’s boyfriend was the new boss, a guy who had never worked in food service before (it’s just a pizza joint, how hard could it be?). Then we were told we would need to be attend a meeting to talk about these changes at 4:00pm. We did the following: 1) added shit-tons of salt and cayenne pepper to existing pizza sauces, 2) changed the printed recipe for dough to make it unlikely to rise correctly, and if it did rise to certainly taste bad, 3) change the sauce recipe to make it inedible, and 4) swap all the lines around for the soda machine, so that when you dispensed from Coke, Dr. Pepper came out, etc. We only had beer in bottles, and our bottles were longneck deposit bottles, and they hadn’t picked them up yet, so we loaded all the beer into the back of a pickup truck, filled the beer cooler with empties, and took the beer to an undisclosed location. Four o’clock came around and everyone was there. New boss, his girlfriend, and the owner were there and as soon as the new manager was introduced, we got up, walked out the door, and soon found ourselves at said undisclosed location, partaking in recently purloined beer and repeatedly calling in take-out orders that would never be picked up. Did I mention, there was a reservation for a party of 30 that night at 6:00?
Besides making a bad life decision that cost him his life, he also got the opportunity to take a step back but decided to dive back in immediately:
There is an island called “North Sentinel” which is home to 150 natives who vehemently refuse all contact with the outside world.
This rule makes sense, as these human beings are not accustomed to the diseases of the modern world, and any contact could lead to contamination that would be fatal to their small tribe.
But this didn’t stop John Allex Chau, a 27-year-old preacher, from travelling to the island to preach about Jesus Christ.
image 349
He was showered with arrows which, fortunately for him, all missed their target.
Logically, he decided to return the following day for a second attempt.
A completely dumb decision, as the poor man would never leave the island alive.
Didn’t he think God was maybe sending him a divine message the first time the arrows missed his head?
A few years ago, I was charged with ordering breakfast sandwiches for everyone in the office for our morning meeting.
As I went around and got everyone’s orders, ‘Dave’ specifically asked for no mayo on his sandwich. I made a note on the order next to his name that said “NO MAYO” and sent in the order.
Half an hour later, I was distributing the sandwiches and heard Dave say, “Oh, har har har. You’re so funny, Kate.”
I came over to see what he was talking about and started laughing.
Dave’s ‘sandwich’ was comprised of two buns that were swimming in mayo.
No egg.
No bacon.
No cheese.
No ham.
Just an ungodly amount of mayo everywhere.
Someone had to have emptied half a container of mayo in between the buns, and thought, “Hmmm… not quite enough”. And then slathered the outside of the buns, and then thought, “Nope, doesn’t cut it!”. And then wiped more mayo on the inside of the packaging.
After I finished laughing, I took it back and showed the cashier who was absolutely appalled at the mayo monstrosity in my hands.
She went in the back and asked the other guys what the hell had happened and why on earth they made a mayo sandwich.
Apparently they thought it said “Only mayo.”
In which case, they fucking nailed it.
Modern Women Are FREAKING OUT As 63% Of Men Have WILLINGLY Left The Dating Scene
Keep it simple. 50% of women in the 20s and 30s today will NEVER get married, and will NEVER have children. Up your game girls
I was 18 and at home with dad, while mom and my brother had gone out of town.
He asked me if I wanted to watch any movie and I replied a big enthusiastic yes.
I suggested a Bollywood movie Gangster. He agreed. I hadn’t seen the movie’s trailer. What a mistake.
We went to the mall, got the tickets.
When the awkward scenes started, he turned to me and said,
“You should watch such movies with your friends. Why did you tag me along?”
“I am sorry I didn’t know they had such scenes.”
“No worries. Let’s see the movie now. Next time see the trailer before suggesting it to me.”
When it got over we went over to the food court for dinner.
I noticed a guy and wondered where have I seen him when my dad said,
“He is not your type.”
“What?”
“He is not your type.”
“Who? I was not looking at him in that sense.”
He smiled.
“What makes you think he is not my type.”
“He has a moustache. You hate moustaches.”
“How do you know that?”
“Well you know right, I had a moustache till you were a toddler? You would constantly pull them and say you hate it. Why do you think I have been moustache free all these years?”
I smiled at the memory when he pointed to another fellow and said,
Not me, but I was there. My mom was driving and my brother & I, about 9&6 years old, were fighting in the back seat. She’s yelling at us to stop fighting, and didn’t realize that she got into the town speed limit zone (35 instead of 45).
The cop came up and asked why she was going so fast, and she told him. Next thing you know, he’s got the back door open and is lecturing us about how mom needs to pay attention while driving and if we are fighting in the back seat she can’t. And if he catches us fighting in the back seat again, he might have to arrest us. Then he told my mom to drive safe, and to let him know if we caused any more trouble.
Years later, I asked her if she remembered. She laughed, and let me know that of course she did. He had been one of her classmates, she had known him since they were little kids.
I read a book about a magician who performed a stunt where he was locked into a glass box above the city. He did not eat for 53 days, he could only drink water. His stunt had to quit as doctors were monitoring his vitals and after 53 days they started to get too bad.
I couldn’t believe someone could fast that long without food and live, so I wanted to try it myself. I like challenging myself in weird ways I guess. But, I had to make sure I wouldn’t die first, a lot of people told me I probably would.
It turns out, fasting has been used for centuries as a form of healing. Catholic churches had fasting centers where people could come when they got sick back in the day. Jesus, Gandhi, and pretty much every religious figure did it. It was well known that fasting healed the mind and the body.
I read a lot of literature on how fasting has reduced cancerous tumors and even autoimmune diseases. I read about all of it’s supposed health benefits: teeth whitening, skin clearing, tumor shrinkage, plaque eating, and fat reduction. They all sounded good to me. It said you got a heightened clarity of mind after 21 days so that was the time frame I decided to do.
I began my fast. The first day wasn’t bad. The second day I got really hungry and then it went away. The third and fourth day were bad. I was so hungry I didn’t even leave my couch. I just sucked down water all day and slept. Apparently, after 72 hours your body goes into ketosis and starts living off of fat reserves. I think it took closer to 96 hours for me.
After that, I completely lost my hunger. I actually had a lot of energy. The hard part wasn’t eating, I no longer wanted food. The hard part was boredom!!! I suddenly went from eating 3 meals a day to eating nothing. The time I spent cooking, eating, and washing dishes was given back to me, probably at least 4 hours. I couldn’t work out (bad on a fast) so that was out. I couldn’t do any social things because those all involved eating a meal, drinking coffee, or alcohol, none of which I could do at the moment. So, I became ultra productive. I got all my homework done weeks in advance, I started crocheting and painting, and I slept a lot. My mom and friends received calls from me every day. I had so much TIME.
Some days I felt weak, but other days I had a ton of energy. I felt great and really happy. My skin cleared up a lot after the 10th day and I did notice my teeth getting whiter. My tongue got white stuff on it; according to the internet that’s a way your body gets rid of toxins. I lost around a pound of weight a day.
After the 21st day, I was ready to eat again out of boredom. I started by drinking a decaf coffee. That was a mistake, my stomach had lost its lining so the acidity of coffee made me throw up. Everything I ate was really intense. Fruit tasted sweeter and everything had so much flavor.
Overall, I’d lost 24 pounds and I looked really good. But, I had never regained hunger. That meant I still had fat stores on me. If you fast long enough, you’ll regain hunger one day which they call your “true hunger”. That means your fat reserves are up and your body will start eating your muscles to survive, so you really need to start eating after that! I’d also lost some muscle, I was weaker at the gym now, but I regained my muscle quickly.
Most people, if you’re a normal weight, can fast 20-40 days before regaining hunger, before their total fat stores are up. After regaining hunger, your body starts to eat muscle tissue for energy, which includes your heart, and it’s only a matter of time before it will give out. Perhaps 7–20 days until death as preducted by some studies.
But, if you’re overweight or obese, you’ll have a ton of fat stores ready to use. One guy fasted for 384 days under medical supervision on nothing but water and tea with no adverse affects. I’m sure he could have made it quite a while longer until his fat stores were completely up but he ended the fast when he hit 180 lbs.
So the answer is, it varies. But, if you’re of a normal weight, your maximum is probably somewhere from 20-40 days until your muscle tissue begins to get compromised.
Yep! I was 17 working at a mom ’n pop kinda thing, local hardware store. The type where entry-level workers just write in what they can work on a calendar posted in the back room.
Well, one day, the owner came to me and told me that there was about $50 missing from my register. I was usually one of the closers, and I always went to the bank with the nighttime lead to drop off the deposit. I thought maybe I just counted wrong or something. The owner said that if he saw that kind of discrepancy again, I would be fired. I said ok, yes, I understand. I worked for about another week, but I could tell that I was being watched by hawks.
So when I went the next week to write myself in on the schedule, I saw my name crossed out with White-Out on the calendar. Confused and a bit suspicious, I wrote myself back on. When I came in for work, the owner pulled me aside and told me that there was another $70 found missing from my drawer and that I was no longer employed there. Well, ok, fine. Maybe I can’t count, or I’m just an idiot, but whatever. I kind of knew I was going to be fired soon when I saw my name whited-out on the calendar.
For the record, I was at a party with a bunch of random neighborhood friends a few years later, and I overheard a guy I used to work with talking trash about the hardware store and how he robbed the place blind and didn’t even get fired for it—someone else did.
Almond Chicken
almond chicken
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons soy sauce
12 ounces Chinese pea pods
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup natural whole almonds
3 to 4 tablespoons water
1/3 cup sherry
Instructions
Skin, bone and cut up chicken breasts into 1/2-inch cubes.
In a bowl, mix ginger, honey and cornstarch and blend in water, soy sauce and sherry.
Thaw pea pods if frozen. In a wok, heat oil over medium heat.
Add almonds, stirring and cooking for about 3 minutes.
Add chicken and cook just until meat turns white.
Pour in sherry mixture and cook until sauce thickens.
I was working in a supermarket in October 2001. I bent down to pick a can of beans off the bottom shelf on an aisle.
As I stood up, my vision shattered.
Image: My vision shattered much like looking into a light diffuser on a fluorescent light.
2023 12 21 19 22
I also began with a severe headache on the right side of my head.
Over the next few days the headache went away but my vision remained poor inmy right eye.
I was sent to a local eye hospital by my doctor and there I was told after several days of testing that I had Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome, an auto-immune disorder in the same family as Lupus.
The eye problem was a blood clot that had formed and destroyed the blood supply to the retina of my right eye. Treatment was to be life long and I would need to take blood thinners, then Warfarin though today I take other blood thinner drugs.
I also had to have extensive laser surgery on my right eye to prevent further damage from the clot and resulting new blood vessel growth.
Five and a half years later, when I was going through a non theraputic dosage of Warfarin. I had a similar event, a blood clot formed in my left eye. Destroying that retina and leaving me legally blind.
Let me help to makes western admirers amongst orientals such as Japan-and South Korea, people from greater China such as Hong Kong and Taiwan and neighbours such as Phillipines and Vietnam see light.
I am qualified to advise and share my experience. I was born in Malaysia and now a Singaporean who were a starry eye west admirer for say the first 20 years of my life.
Today I am a practical and pragmatic person who sees things differently. If your nation is a direct neighbour or in Chinese neighbourhood, try to comprehend the following.
China has been around for 5000 years as your neighbour and during 4800 out of the 5000 years China were really really strong. In fact so strong it could if it wants to, to walk right into your nation and claimed it for good. But they didn’t. Japan, Korea, Philippines, India, Vietnam and others remain a fully sovereign nation. Appreciate that.
Just look at the nation that lies and spread fear about China, the U.S. it is barely 247 years old yet it started as a 13 states union and in less than a hundred years it stole another 37 states from its neighbours. And what did the U.S. do in Asia! It murdered 3 million Vietnamese, a million each in Philippines in Mindanao, Laos and Cambodia, and at least 2 million suspected communists in Indonesia and colonised the Philippines for close to 50 years.
And they do that as a nation 10 thousand miles away from Asia! China is stone’s throw away from your shores yet you are still independent! So be logical and honest about who is the aggressor and who respects your sovereignty? If you are fair China is a 5000 years gentleman. The U.S. is a 247 years hoodlum you never ever want to get close with, unless you are inviting trouble.
Next let me help you know your future. China is the world’s most humongous market. Your nation is blessed to have such a huge market at your door step. They can buy your products and resources and yet supply you with value for money product for a song.
They are not the despicable west who wants to change your way. They even say their socialism with Chinese characteristics is not exportable and urge you to seek your best political and social system going forward. US says it is their way or the highway! In fact they murdered 5 million Indo Chinese to make them democratic unsuccessfully in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Go to the U.S. to have fun and travel around, do business with them as they are a big spender. But whatever you do remember who really is with you and where is your future with. Most of all remember where is your nation is geographically and China will always be there! It cannot be floated away and so are you, you are stuck there.
Don’t ever let your nation be another Ukraine, the U.S. want your people to die and your nation to be destroyed just to poke China in the eye, just like how they used Ukraine to poke Russia in the eye, unfortunately one time too many. Don’t let them have even one CIA or NED officials in your nation. And don’t ever be used as a cannon fodder.
Grow up and know right from wrong. Korea for example, whether you stay rich and get richer depends on China not the U.S. The only thing the U.S. can help you is simply to get your nation destroyed! China will always be there, it will grow to be 4–5 times the size of the U.S. economy before then of this century. And as a market for Korea, it will be bigger than your next 20 biggest market! So get real, grow up like me, be a realist and be smart.
Vote in a pro Chinese candidate. Vote in a leader that has no inclination to do shit for the U.S. And tell the US. that you are a friend and a partner of China, and that you want American’s as tourist and investor. But under no circumstances will you allow them to interfere in your nation and in Asia. Asia is for Asians. If you have issues involving the US is a sure way to implicate the issues and create discord.
A bunch of young dumb grunts are meandering about the country looking for bad guys, WMDs and whatever else General Mattis (pbuh) felt was appropriate at the time. In this case it was myself and the United States Marine Corps.
Being young, dumb and American, we naturally did not speak much Arabic besides the usual peacekeeping terminology like get your hands up, stop, get down and f#ck off. As is common in these conflicts, we tend to recruit native speakers to act as interpreters.
For reasons unknown, I happened to remember one of these dudes in particular. Let’s call him Joe Hammad for the sake of security. Now these guys usually don’t work anywhere near their hometowns in country because let’s be honest, in the eyes of the bad guys, hell even in the eyes of many locals, these guys are narcs. Snitches get stitches and all that but ramped up to 3rd world standards.
In exchange for helping us communicate with an often unfriendly populace, these dudes are offered visas to go stateside should they fulfill their obligations. For many reasons, this often doesn’t happen. Remember the snitches thing?
Fast forward to 2014. Suburb of a large Arizona city. My broke ass is out of the military and between employment so I decide to put an ad on Craigslist to let a room of my house for rent. Thank goodness I was financially smart enough to have owned my own home at the time.
Within a few days of placing the ad, I have a nibble or two but this one guy comes with cash in hand. I meet him on the porch when he arrives. He’s an Arab man of medium height, about 45 years old and well spoken with a sharp sense of humor. Within minutes we both had a clear spark of recognition.
And that’s how Joe Hammad from Iraq became my roommate after the war in Iraq ended.
I can’t say for sure whether or not you’re missing any secret ingredients, since I don’t know your recipe. I am certain you’re missing one key component though, and that’s heat.
Chinese restaurants cook over commercial wok burners, which put out 125,000 BTUs of heat. Your home stove might generate 15,000 BTUs out of its largest burner. That’s a pretty significant difference.
The heat of a wok burner imparts a distinctive flavor onto foods. When foods hit the polymerized surface of a hot steel wok, they instantly release moisture, which leaves the food in the form of steam. The foods are tossed through the rising steam, where they capture the droplets of water, and fall back into the wok. This action, repeated over and over, is the essence of wok cooking. The intense heat also causes rapid browning and caramelization and gives the food a distinctive smokey flavor. The flavor, known as Wok Hei in Cantonese, is what makes Chinese take out so crave able, and can’t be duplicated on a home stove. None of what I described can be duplicated, to the same degree, on a home stove. It just doesn’t generate enough heat.
My daughter’s car was hit by a speeding unmarked police car. I have written about this and she is recovering well. When I got to the scene, she was still trapped but the fire brigade were on the scene and had everything in control. While they were waiting to cut my daughter out, the lead fireman came over to me and told me to take as many pictures and as much video as I could and to make sure I got pictures of the officers involved. As soon as I started taking pictures a uniformed policeman came over and said that I had to stop as it was an active crime scene. I said that was nonsense and carried on taking pictures. He carried on saying I should stop. I told my wife who had just turned up to take pictures as well. The policeman just walked away. We took loads of pictures and videos, the witnesses telling us what happened. It took two months for the police to give my solicitor any indication that an officer was involved in the crash and this was only because he sent them some of our photographs. They now say there will be no criminal charges to either driver and that his speeding was legal as he was on a covert operation. He was unhurt and walking around, he never once came over or asked how my daughter was. I am glad that I did not listen to the policeman and I am sure that the video and pictures will help in the civil case.
Back when I was (a lot) younger, after a softball game both teams (mine and the other side, who were all good friends on and off the field) came back to our cars to find someone had parked lengthwise behind three of our cars. None of the three could get out because this unthinking individual parked lengthwise and not in a valid parking spot behind them.
We waited about 20 minutes or so chatting, hoping the person would come out and move. They never did. It was a smallish car, a Corolla, so several of us carried the car to the space in the hedge where people had access to the softball fields beyond. It fit perfectly, the front bumper against one side of the gate and the rear bumper within two inches of the other side. Note this wasn’t a metal gate, it was a hedge with an arbor vitae forming the “sides” of the entrance.
Then, out of sheer schadenfreude, we waited. Some left, of course, but most of us were there about 45 minutes later when the person came back to discover their car was basically unmoveable without cutting down a tree owned by a private entity, or have it dragged out by tow truck.
Going Anonymous as my parents follow me and I don’t want them to know this.
I was young ,probably in 7th or 8th standard when I used to do this.There is a bakery near my home of which I still am a regular customer .I buy things from the place at least 5 times in a day.
As we were regular customers we had credit system of paying the owner .We used to pay our credit on a monthly basis. So basically anyone from my family could go and get anything from the bakery and the owner would just write it in his accounts book and we used to pay the whole amount at the end of the month.
Me being really smart found a loop hole and would buy a lot of snacks,basically all kinds of items available for me to eat . I would just buy snacks worth Rs 2000 or so when the owner was not at the counter. He had an assistant who did not know how t read or write so he used to tell me to write it in the accounts book and I would just pretend to write everything and hand him over the book and he never used to check or bother about it.
I did this 3–4 times when I started to feel guilty about this because clearly it was shoplifting or stealing.
I later made a promise to myself that I will never do this again and would pay the whole amount I had stolen to the shopkeeper once I start to earn .
I completed my graduation this year and started working at an MNC and after I got my first salary the first thing I did was to take the money and confess to the shop owner about this.
He got angry at first but looking at my honesty he accepted the whole amount that was due which was about Rs 10000 and thanked me for this.
I told him not to tell my parents about this as they will be really disappointed .
This was the happiest day of my life as a big burden that I carried for almost 6–7 years was finally gone.
I’m not a mechanic, but wanted to share this story.
I needed a new battery for my Jeep Cherokee. I went to the local place that handles my maintenance. I was in a hurry and also needed an oil change. I brought the vehicle into the Maintennance bay. The guy went to get a new battery. He said something about the battery being backwards, or similar statement. It had something to do with not having the exact battery needed. The engineer in me thought that we should wait to get the right battery, but I didn’t push the issue. I had to be somewhere and was in a hurry. The guy puts the battery in and asked me to try to start it. Smoke billowed out of several places inside the vehicle. Wtf was going on?!? This guy had reversed the poles on the battery and had effectively electrocuted my jeep. To say that the electrical engineer in me was upset was an understatement. I had to be somewhere. I got them to fix my Jeep so that it would run. I was irate. It was a Friday. I had to be somewhere all weekend. I was back on Monday morning. Thankfully, they did pretty much everything right. The mechanic had quit, thankfully. There were some additional repairs that had to be completed. Everything was covered.
A few years later, I needed some warranty or recall thing done. The dealership wouldn’t handle the recall work because of non Jeep parts. I went back to the local shop, and they replaced everything with Jeep parts. The dealership handled the recall work.
while I was mad about the incompetence of the mechanic, the local shop did the right thing.
It’s a wild assumption, but one very likely case is Yemen
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For those who quite don’t know, the situation in Yemen is like this
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The green region is under Houthi control (backed by Iranians), the light red is controlled by Hadi government (backed by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain and even USA), the yellow is the Southern Transitional Council (a movement that wants South Yemen to come back as it existed prior to 1991), and the white is al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, also called AQAP
Now one would expect either of the sides to fall, however seeing the way each one is sticking to their captured lands, it looks that another division of Yemen may actually happen. If the AQAP could be vanquished , then the country would end up with three separate authorities, leaving the whole field very much open for a possible trifurcation . It’s quite possible that the Southern Council could get vanquished too, if that happens then a bifurcation would happen, leading to once again a North and South Yemen to emerge.
The difference would be that unlike the previous versions where North Yemen was an independent Arab Republic and South Yemen was a communist state, this time North Yemen would be an Iran-backed client state whereas South Yemen would be a Saudi-UAE backed client state.
Too white
Chicken Cubes with Cherries, Pineapple and Lichees (Bo Lo Lichees Gai Kew)
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Ingredients
1 chicken breast
1 teaspoon sherry
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon anise pepper
1 tablespoon chopped scallion
1 egg white
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups vegetable oil
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup lichee juice
1 cup lichee meat
1/2 cup maraschino cherries
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
Instructions
Bone chicken and cut into cubes; mix sherry, light soy sauce, anise pepper and chopped scallion together, pour over chicken and marinate for 30 minutes.
Beat egg white and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch together. Pour over chicken breast mixture.
Heat oil to 325 degrees F. Deep fry chicken. Drain on paper towels.
Mix sugar, ketchup, vinegar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch and lichee juice in saucepan; stir until thickened. Add lichee meat, cherries and pineapple. Stir until hot, then serve over chicken.
This was Central Florida, the lawns were St Augustine grass that with lot of water, mulching and fertilizer, they grew a couple inches a week, and the leaves are wide and tough unlike the soft lawns up north.
My neighbor disliked me because I built a 2 story house and that blocked the view of the lake. We worked for the same company and he was upset that I was hired in at a management level although he didn’t work for me.
Our lawns were about a 1/3 acre, so a Saturday cut and trim would easily take 3 hours with a normal lawn mower.
He bought a basic riding lawnmower, and he would drive his mower on my property, up to 5′ before making a U Turn. That was OK, except he would make the hard turn on top of my sprinklers. Almost every week, I had to replace the broken PVC pipe, digging up my lawn. I tried several things to dissuade him, but in the end on a Friday night, I brought home about 20′ of a high strength braided steel cabling. It was the smallest diameter I could find. I uncoiled it surrounding the sprinkler heads pushing down into the tall grass so you would never see it. But you would hear it, and I was in my garage when I knew he ran over it. The racket it made was frightening.
Even a 25″ blade on a 10 HP motor couldn’t cut it. But it did wrap it around the shaft and stalled the motor. All 20 feet of the cable was gone from my yard.
He had to push his mower to the garage, and spent the rest of the day disassembling his mower to untangle the mess.
The Only Billionaires who are restricted from leaving are those who are Directors of Public Companies or Director’s/Top Executives of Companies that owe minimum 10 Million RMB in Loans to Banks or vide Public Bonds
They need an exit visa
Others can leave when they want
Many Billionaires from the Mainland have their families in Singapore, Australia and USA while they live in the Mainland for 6–9 out of 12 months a year
The only rule for them is they cannot repatriate in excess of $ 300,000 a year out of China , that too for very specific reasons
So what they earn in China, must be kept in China at all costs
They try sending more money out, they face upto 18 years jail
So keep your family wherever you want, have Villas in Sydney or Florida, Send your mainland sons to UK for school but THE MONEY YOU EARN IN CHINA CANNOT LEAVE CHINA OR YOU NEVER SEE DAYLIGHT AGAIN FOR AT LEAST 10–18 YEARS
How about instead of notorious we focus on an evil genius that should be more notorious? Nazi scientists always get all the focus but what if I told you Japan had their own version of an evil scientist and he was an absolute monster.
Meet Shirō Ishii – a serious piece of sh%t
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This guy was a Doctor and microbiologist- and a rather smart one at that. He was regarded as a brilliant person for nearly his entire life. He was well educated and joined the army as a doctor. While there he caught the eyes of his superiors and was sent for further education at Kyoto Imperial University.
During WW2 he was placed in charge of Unit 731 and this is what he was known for.
What was unit 731? Well, they were a scientific unit that conducted experiments and thought up new ways to win the war. Some examples of things they did include
Imprisoning women, raping them until they got pregnant, and then running horrid painful experiments on them just so they could see how certain poisons affected pregnant women.
They would infect people with syphilis and then cut them open (while alive and awake) so they could see what their bodies did as the infection progressed. Women, men, and even children were forcibly infected
This is called vivisection- its the practice of cutting someone open while alive to see what their body is doing and its typically done when experimenting on animals. In unit 731 they did it to people without anesthesia- always resulting in a slow agonizing death for the person.
Injected people with animal blood to see what happens (bad way to die)
Placed people in centrifuges and spun it until they died
Deprived prisoners of food and water to see how long it was until they died
Placed people in low-pressure chambers until their eyes popped out
Burned people alive to see how long they would live
Injected people with saltwater to see what would happen
Poisoned people to see the effects
gave people radiation poisoning to see the effects
Leave 3-day old babies in the cold just to see how long it took them to freeze to death
Tested flamethrowers on live people
Tested grenades on live people
Removed organs for fun. For instance, they would remove someone’s stomach and attach their esophagus to their intestines directly.
Tested hundreds of diseases and biological weapons on people
In all, around 10,000 prisoners were killed by Unit 731 and as many as 20,000 were tested on. The biological weapons produced by this unit were used to kill as many as 500,000 civilians
On a side note not even the Nazis used chemical weapons in WW2 (they only did in concentration camps). The ONLY nation to employ chemical weapons against civilian and military targets in WW2 was Japan.
You may wonder what happened to Shirō. I mean we caught him and put him on trial for war crimes right?
Nope
He was given full immunity in exchange for full disclosure of his tests. American microbiologists stated that Shirō’s findings were extremely valuable and impossible to replicate unless the experiments were done again.
Shirō lived out the remainder of his life a free man and died in 1959.
A businessman went to a shoe store to purchase a new pair of shoes. He was a prominent person in that town. After selecting a pair of shoes with size 8 he asked the salesperson to pack it. The salesperson had just started his career and joined the shoe store a few days back.
The businessman soon discovered that he had left his wallet at home. He told the salesperson that he would take the shoes with him and make the payment the next day. The salesperson being new to business excused himself in order to discuss this matter with the store manager. The manager knew that the customer is an eminent businessman; however, was reluctant to deliver the shoes without payment. At the same time, he was not ready to lose a sale too. He advised the salesperson to handle the situation in the best manner possible and left the place.
The salesperson stood there frozen for a few minutes unable to decide. He then returned to the customer, started packing the shoes and handed the package to the customer.
The next day the customer arrived at the store with the shoes he had purchased, made the payment for his purchase and told the salesperson that “After opening the package I found one shoe with size 8 and the other with size 7. Maybe you packed them by mistake. Can I have the shoes with size 8 please?” The salesperson apologized for the inconvenience caused and replaced the wrong size shoe with the correct one. The customer collected his shoes and left the store with satisfaction.
The manager happened to overhear their conversation and realized that the salesperson had used his presence of mind and handled the situation very well. They didn’t lose their business as well as the customer.
Moral
It is by the presence of mind in untried emergencies that the native metal of a man is tested. If an individual has a calm state of mind, his attitude and views will be calm and tranquil even in the presence of great agitation.
In the fourth grade, Mr. Mowry, our high school biology teacher, visited and gave a lecture. Afterward, he asked the class to name the smartest animal.
One kid said “chimpanzee.” Another said “dolphin.” I kept waving my hand, but he ignored me. (He later told my mother he knew I knew the answer.)
Finally, after the rest of the class ran out of ideas, he asked me. The class looked incredulous when I said “human beings.” After all, people aren’t animals.
His response was “Life has only two choices. Plant or an animal. Which is it?”
(When I had him as a teacher in the tenth grade, I pointed out there were other life forms, such as fungus and bacteria. He acknowledged that, but figured it was a bit much for a fourth grade class.)
In any case, it felt like my fifteen minutes of fame.
I was at a wedding once where the Groom ended up in hospital with achohol poisoning, but it wasnt what you think.
There is a tradition where I live, where right after the ceremony, the bridesmaids “steal” the Groom and take him for a drink. While the groomsmen do the same thing with the Bride.
An hour later, right on time, the groomsmen had the Bride at the next venue where the dinner and dance was to be held, but there was no sign of the bridesmaids and the Groom.
We guests sat around for a bit, wondering what was going on, and eventually food was served despite the fact there was no Groom, and the Bride was looking more and more upset.
It wasn’t until the start of the wedding dance that news filtered through about what happened.
The Groom had never, up to this, had a drink in his life. And the over enthusiastic bridesmaids had made the guy down several hard drinks in that hour.
And, he reacted really badly to them.
So badly they had to take him to the emergency room to be treated for poisoning, and that is where he spent their wedding night.
The rest of the wedding evening for us as guests, kinda fizzled out as you can imagine. But that poor Bride was in tears and left shortly after the dinner to be with her new husband.
Once you VISUALIZE CORRECTLY, the SHIFT happens IMMEDIATELY. (This Is How)
A lot of things, but I’ll focus on just one for this answer. Maybe other parents can relate:
Cooking for the family is a one-person job.
My children always want to help me cook. I remember, as a child, I always wanted to help my mom cook, but she only let me help on the weekends. Now, I usually only let my kids help me cook on the weekends, too.
In fact, during the week, I kick them out of the kitchen, just like my mother did with me 30 years ago.
Why?
Because, after a long day at work, cooking is actually very relaxing… if you’re doing it alone. Cooking with children is mostly just teaching and supervising. I do that all day. I don’t want to come home and do more of it most days.
Plus, when children “help” you cook, it just slows you down, and I’m usually in a hurry to make dinner before my wife gets home.
My children also tend to stand right behind me when I’m cooking, and I’ve tripped over them before. So now, for speed and safety reasons, I have a “the only person who should be in the kitchen while I’m cooking is me” policy on weekdays.
My mom took me to see this doctor when I was 8 years old and she wouldn’t tell me how come. When we got there the nurses took me in and got me ready for the doctor. They had me laying down with things on my arms and legs so I couldn’t move. I thought this was really funny but I was really embarrassed because I didn’t have clothes on and they could see my boy part. When the doctor came in she started looking at my boy part and she asked me if I know why my mom has brought me here this morning and I didn’t know why. I was like yikes when she told me that in a moment they are going to be circumcising my boy part. I have friends that are circumcised and I know what that means and I was like yikes. They give you stuff so it wouldn’t hurt but I still feel her doing stuff to it and I was like yikes thinking about what she is doing. After it was done and mom come in and got me I was really embarrassed because everyone seen it and know what happened to me. We went for breakfast after and mom told the waitress why I had pajama bottoms on. That was the most embarrassing day ever.
Because the biggest killer and tormentors of Muslims (IN THEIR HOME COUNTRIES) this century has been the UNITED STATES!
Back home, Muslims have been discriminated, and watched like a hawk by the authorities, especially those of Middle-east descent.
The last time America “rallied” the Muslim world was the first gulf war, where a UN coalition liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. Cooperation has been downhill ever since. Even MBS, the Crown Prince of Saudia Arabia, has cooled relationships with America and delivered repeat diplomatic snubs. America’s strongest and most important Muslim ally in the Middle East is working hard to diversify risk, such as settling in non-dollar currencies.
Besides, the evidence is weak, and nothing like the blatant genocide/war crime broadcasting live from the Gaza strip today.
I was camping at a campground in Northern California, and had gone to the bathroom in the morning. A guy was washing his hands with his ten year old son. This guy was decked out with a full on safari outfit, right down to the hat and it was clearly brand new.
When they had finished washing hands, the Dad took a few of those super cheap, thin, brown paper towels and dried his hands. When his son reached for his own paper towels, the Dad said “uh uh. Waste not, want not!” And handed him his soggy, used, brown paper towel and the kid had to try to dry his hands with this gross, soggy wad of used paper towel. The dejected look on the kids face said it all.
I was so disgusted with this guy and felt so bad for the kid. If he was so desperate to save such a minute amount of natural resources, he should have let the kid wash and dry first, and used the kids leftovers.
it really felt like psychological abuse, but he said it with such vigor that I think he was just an ignorant narcissist.
It was a Friday night and the last day of school. My son would be a Senior in the fall.
When I pulled down our street on my way home from work, I noticed both sides of the street were lined with parked cars. You probably guessed it. My son had turned our house into Animal House! We had just had a pool built and it was full of kids every afternoon. I didn’t mind. I could relax knowing where my son was.
But this wasn’t one of those afternoon get-togethers. This was a full blown wild party. Girls were naked in the pool, and there were whiskey and beer bottles everywhere. It looked like half the high school was packed into my house.
My fear was someone leaving drunk. I couldn’t let that happen. I found my son. I told him and the group with him that I was going to my room and would let them have their party, but I needed everyone to leave me their car keys. I didn’t want anyone leaving drunk.
In my state, 17 yr-olds are not old enough to drink. I am responsible for each one as long as they’re in my house. I’d also be responsible for them drinking at my house, I could be arrested. But my worry was getting those keys and keeping them from leaving. I’d figure something else later.
I had what looked like 10 sets of keys that kids had gave me. I told them to write their name on their keys. I thought that once I got their keys, I wouldn’t be so worried and I’d contact parents and let them know what was going on.
I’d been home about 15 min, and went in my room to change out of my work clothes. In under 10 min, I was out of my room and was going to get more of the kids’ keys. Problem was, no one was there. The house was empty, and the cars on the street were gone, except for a few that were probably passengers now. Not one kid was in sight, only a few articles of clothing had been left floating in the pool.
I was furious. My son had left too. He wasn’t answering his phone either. I called a few parents and explained. A few didn’t enjoy being bothered with it. None of them seemed concerned. I was so upset I puked. I didn’t know what to do, or where to look. I just prayed they were all safe at someone’s house. I cleaned the house, and every 30 minutes called and texted my son. He never replied. I tried to sleep, but I kept thinking about all the terrible things that could happen to them, how one night of partying can ruin the rest of their life. I couldn’t stop thinking. I probably buried my son a dozen times in my mind that night. Around 3am, I dozed off
At 4:14am, I got a call. The connection was poor, and I couldn’t hear every word, plus there was a lot of noise. I heard “this is blablabla with —-sheriffs —-EMT paramedic—-permission to treat———!l? Ma’am? Hello? We need permission —-accident involving 4 minors—-please ma’am!
I was yelling, “ Yes, yes, you have my permission to treat them.” I kept saying it over and over, because our connection was so bad. I wanted them to hear me.
The call was dropped. I hit redial on the phone, but it wouldn’t reconnect with who just called. I didn’t know where the kids were, who was with my son, or the details of the accident and the injuries. It was like being trapped in a horrible nightmare. I didn’t even know where to begin. I called all the hospitals and police stations in the area. Nothing.
I have never felt that much pain and heartache at the same time. I wanted to be with my son. I was no longer angry, I just wanted to to be where my son was. I kept envisioning the worst. I paced the floor while holding my bible, and praying those next few hours. I hit my knees and begged God to take me and leave the kids here in good health. For hours I was frantic. I was shaking and felt so helpless. The not knowing was tearing me up. I felt crazy.
At 6:20am I get a call from the hospital. She can’t discuss the accident or injuries. She just gave me the address and names of the passengers. These 4 boys were in a hospital a 4 hour drive away. I had to drive 4 hrs, having no idea of what condition my son would be in. This had become the worst night of my life.
This drive was a long 4 hours, plus a bad storm had rolled in and made driving difficult. I kept thinking, “ Why doesn’t my son call? It has to be bad if he’s not calling me.” The hospital was in a small town on the way to a popular city on the bay. I couldn’t believe it! They had left the house and driven to the beach. I kept thinking about all the empty beer bottles and whiskey bottles I’d picked up at the house. My mind was thinking the worst.
It had gotten pitch black, and the wind was gusting. I was driving into a bad storm, lightning struck all around me. The rain was so heavy, I could barely see the lights of the gas station ahead of me. The cars on the road had all pulled in to wait out the storm. I figured I should too. thought I’d fill up with gas, but there wasn’t a pump not in use. I pulled over by the air pump and just then lightning stuck a transformer, it was on fire. My nerves were shot. The explosion scared me so badly that I almost pee”ed my pants. I couldn’t take it. I decided to get out of that parking lot before a gas pump exploded. Just as I was about to pull out, I heard the sirens. Tornado sirens! Wtf! I was done, I couldn’t handle this. I just wanted to be with my son. I didn’t know what to do. The rain was now falling almost perpendicular to the ground. My windows were rolled up, and still the rain was coming in. My car was shaking. I put it in park, turned off the key, and just sat there crying and praying. I couldn’t see anything out of the windows. I heard another loud explosion, but couldn’t see what it was. I shut my eyes and cried. I listened to the wind and thunder and sirens. My car was shaking so badly I thought the doors were going to open. Then everything stopped. The wind had pushed me to the end of the parking lot next to the railroad tracks. There were railroad tracks (the big wooden beams) all around my car. I guess the wind pulled them up and tossed them around. I put the car in drive and drove. I was hyperventilating, and pulled over at a rest area. I began thinking I would never make it to my son.
I made it to the hospital, and found the corridor they were on. When I got off the elevator I was looking at a waiting area. My son and his one friend were sitting there talking and laughing. A cop was sitting with them. I ran to my son, and he stood up. At that moment I didn’t know if I wanted to hug him or punish him. (Of course I hugged him.) I was looking at his face and arms and I wanted to count his fingers and toes just like I did the first time I held him. He was holding me as I was crying tears of relief. Not a scratch on my son’s body. All four boys were fine!
The cop told me that he had seen a car in a corn field and stopped to check it out. Apparently the crash had just happened when he arrived because the tires were still spinning. My son had fallen asleep behind the wheel. When the car went off the road onto the shoulder he woke and his reflex was to turn the wheel. This caused the car to spin and he lost control. It hit a cable line and the car flipped 5 times. One boy in the back seat flew through the windshield and landed 30’ from the car. He drove a hatchback, and the other boy in the back seat was thrown out of the back. No one was wearing seat belts, but not one boy needed a stitch. Thank God! The cop said he didn’t think he’d find anyone alive. It was the worst accident that little town had ever seen. I was so relieved that everyone was fine. The cop told me that when he was walking up to the car he followed a trail of beer cans all the way to the car. They were unopened and no one had been drinking. They were tested and they were all found to be sober. The car had flipped through the corn field, and the cop said the corn probably softened the blows.
We had to go to the wrecker yard to pay for towing The cop told me to prepare myself. There was no way to prepare myself for what I was about to see. His brand new car didn’t have one place on it that wasn’t damaged. You couldn’t tell what you were looking at. The front and back looked the same. The door handles were the only thing that made you know which end was where. Ears of corn were sticking out everywhere. It was a sight. I stood there crying and holding my son and his friend. They cried too.
I don’t remember if my son got a ticket. I do remember that I had to drive him to alcohol awareness classes twice a week for a month. And once a week I had to drive that 4 hrs to see the judge for a month. The car was sold for scrap for $325. I joke now, and say that we would have gotten more for the corn. The other two boys were arrested for having marijuana on them. They had to wait for their parents to get them.
This happened 19 yrs ago. Last year I was visiting friends near that little town. We went to play bingo one evening. I was talking with a couple sitting across from me. I had mentioned that the last time I’d been down this way was for a bad accident that my son was in. The man looked at me and said “OMG! You’re —’s mom!” He knew my sons name, and said he was the cop on the screen. He told me how he has never been able to forget that morning and the accident. He still has nightmares about walking up and finding 4 dead boys. His wife said it really got to him. She had told her husband that he needed to maybe find the boys and once he knew they were okay, maybe the nightmares would stop. But he didn’t have contact info. I showed him pics of my son and grandson. This man cried right there in the bingo hall. I think it did us both good. I hope he’s sleeping better.
I truly believe we a learned something that day. It definitely changed all involved.
Also there’s another more shrewd reason: Any beer that is NOT opened isn’t one that they have sold and it can allow them to 86 a patron who is sneaking in beers to drink.
While this is, of course, uncommon in higher class establishments, in lower-end bars, patrons have been known to BYOB as the prices of the bar’s offerings are unacceptably high in their opinions, necessitating the “need” for them to sneak in their own and defray some of their drinking expenses. The bartender and servers can tell if they see a beer that’s unopened or witness a patron opening their own beverage that the bar didn’t sell it, and they can eject the patron(s) involved.
This actually was quite common at some of the establishments that I used to frequent in North Carolina decades ago. One of the worst fights that I have ever witnessed was when a bartender tried to eject a patron who brought their own and the patron struck the bartender with a bottle. Unfortunately for the patron, things weren’t like a movie and the bartender proceeded to beat the shit out of him which including some kicks to the head when the man was down. Had some other patrons not stopped things, we probably would have witnessed a murder. I left shortly afterward and I never returned to that establishment.
Anyway…an unopened beverage is one that wasn’t sold by the bar and that’s another reason for the bar to open theirs.
Suddenly (for me). He had been planning it for a while as he had met someone else. I found out and confronted him. He admitted it and left. I cried alot mainly because I had two very small children and another on the way. To be honest I was scared. However within a few weeks I began to notice things. The atmosphere in the house was calm and happy and it was MUCH tidier and better organised. . I was far less stressed and not shouting at the children. Mornings were a breeze because I was in charge and there was now a routine. Bedtimes were easy for the same reason (this had been a nightmare before). I enrolled the children in after school activities which they loved and hadn’t been able to do before because ‘we couldn’t afford it’. Also their friends could come over for tea (not allowed before). I had loads of spare money because no one was buying cigarettes or alcohol. Then the icing on the cake… a gorgeous new baby came along. Life was good and 21 years later its better than I ever imagined possible. The woman he left me for is much better for him. She treats him the way he treated me. I am happily married and the children are all grown up. The end of that marriage was the beginning of my life.
Chicken Slices with Sichuan Peppercorn Sauce (Jiao Ma Ji Pian)
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Ingredients
1/2-1 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
5 green onions, green part only, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chicken broth
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound cooked sliced chicken
Instructions
Soak the Sichuan peppercorns in a small bowl of very hot water for 5 minutes; drain.
Puree the peppercorns, green onions and salt in a food processor; transfer to a small bowl.
Add the broth and soy sauce, stirring until well combined; stir in the sesame oil. Drizzle over the chicken slices.
I’ve written this before and it seems right for this answer.
When young, this is the strangest thing we found in our yard.
Dad had a house built in a new subdivision just out of town. It was one of the first houses. It used to be prairie land.Here’s the story.
Yes. We had a very large, beautiful back yard with fruit trees, lilacs, birch and spruce. It was like a park. Anyway, mom had my older twin sisters and I doing yard work, or helping in yard work because she wanted us to learn about planting, growing and nurturing. Lori and Tracy hated yard work. It was like being on a chain gang to them. “When I have my own place, I’m not having one, bloody plant,” Tracy said. Only she didn’t say bloody. The twins were sixteen here, I was fourteen. I was digging a hole to plant a small tree mom had bought and my spade kept clunking on something.
Lori was raking and Tracy weeding in the garden with a hoe but no plant was safe with Tracy around. Good and bad plants were sliced to death. She figured the worse she did, mom might not ask her to help anymore. “They’re all green anyway!” The girls had better things to do. They would have much rather been with their friends, boys, or shopping for clothes.
I dug around this thing, pulled it out and cleaned some of the mud off of it. It was a small, very old statue like object about a foot and a half long and a eleven inches high.
“Hey guys, come here,” I called my sisters. I always called them guys. They came running over glad to get away from work. We cleaned off the mud as best we could. “Holy shit! Do you know what this is?” Lori exclaimed. “RJ, bring it by the house.”
It looked like it was made of cement. I lugged the heavy thing to the house. Lori turned the hose on it and washed off the rest of the mud. When finished, we stood there looking at a small, very old, well worn statue of a baby kind of laying down in its side. That’s what it clearly was.
Lori looked at Tracy, then me. “I think it could be a grave marker, for a baby. Maybe some pioneer’s child died and they lived around here and buried the child and the father made this statue to honor the baby.” My sisters were real life Nancy Drews plus they had vivid imaginations. Lori had it figured out in minutes. Tracy and I agreed. We couldn’t come up with anything better than that.
“Unless,” I said, “This is a prehistoric baby that was buried and fossilized.”
“Don’t think so,” said Lori quickly.
“Ok,” I said agreeing with my big sister maybe a little too quickly.
“There were no humans in the dinosaur era,” she added, “it’s a babies grave marker.” We lived a way out in the suburbs. Dad bought the land and built a rather large house on it. Pioneers could have lived here and buried their child.
We got mom and dad to come out and have a look and they thought it quite interesting. “Dad, maybe if I dug up around there I might find some more neat things,” I said holding my spade. The twins agreed. “No,” mom said, “knowing you, you’ll have this backyard looking like a prairie dog village.”
We wondered what to do with the baby statue. “Why don’t you put it by your pet cemetery?” Mom said. In the far corner of the yard we had a little pet cemetery with some birds, turtles, fish, my gerbil Gerry, and a squirrel we found dead in the yard. All our pets who died except the bird that flew through the open living room window and my rabbit I took out in the back yard the first day I got him. He hopped away, under the fence and was gone. I was not allowed any pets after that except a fish named Cleo, after Pinocchio’s fish. Cleo was kept in Lori’s room because I overfed the last two fish and they died. “You’re supposed to sprinkle food in lightly,” said Lori, “not give it a big buffet!” I was not trusted with fish.
Anyway, I’m getting way, way off the subject here. We liked the idea of the baby stone guarding our pet cemetery and that is where our unexpected find ended up, watching over our deceased pets. “We have a lot of pets buried out here,” I said after setting the statue near the cemetery.,
“Yeah, and you killed most of them,” Lori said messing my hair. Tracy laughed.
“I did not,” I said, “just two fish that I gave too much to eat and the turtle who escaped and was found under my bed.”
“Cause you left the lid off his pan,” Tracy said. “I think he was trying to crawl into bed with you.”
We stood there looking at the stone baby, as we called it.
“Back to work guys,” mom called, “Tracy, you’ve chopped weeds and good plants, I told you the difference.”
“They’re all green mother, all look the same,” Tracy said under her breath as she walked back to the house.
It was a pretty neat find that we all remember. To this day, we are still not sure of its story but it was a small statue of a baby laying on its side in rest.
It is a child laying on its side in a fetal position facing you, head on a pillow.
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Legend of the Phantom Fortress | The Ghost Plane that Flew and Landed Itself
A girl I knew, we’ll call her Jen, had a pretty lousy dad.
He was on disability from the government and hadn’t worked in years because of a ““““back injury”””” that didn’t hinder him from partying, playing basketball and romping around with girls.
Consequently, he was perpetually broke and living paycheck to paycheck.
Jen’s mother divorced her father when Jen was 2, largely because of his inability and lack of desire to work.
She remarried another man. They had kids, which was fine, but Jen always felt like an outsider in that household.
Her biological dad was in her life but never came through in the most important moments.
Her birthday came around and when I asked if her dad got her anything, she said, “He couldn’t afford to get me a present.”
Without thinking I said, “But wait? Didn’t he just take a surfing vacation to Mexico?”
She sulked and said, “Yeah…”
I felt terrible. Wished I hadn’t said anything.
A birthday present might seem like a small thing, but it is a big deal to a kid.
Airlines have a rule that everyone must be in their assigned seat on take off.
It is because if there is an accident it makes their processes easier after the fact.
Once the plane is in the air, the attendant may move people around.
You have the choice of moving or not – often if you do, the seat offered to you will be better than the one you have. But check first.
I was in the situation where I had an aisle seat in a bank of 3, and the other two seats were taken up by a couple who were extremely fat. They didn’t speak the language I spoke, but by gesture the man was pretty clear what he wanted, and was getting really angry with me. However, I had sat down and stayed there. There literally was no room for me between them, as it was I could barely keep my seat. He called the flight attendent and was insisted I swap. She explained to him, and then to me, in English, that she had to insist we keep our assigned seats until we were at cruising altitude, and she assured me I wouldn’t have to sit in the middle. When she came back, she asked me if a window seat in bank that had no other people in it was acceptable – of course I jumped at the chance. (I tend to be a bit claustrophobic and find being able to look out the window a true joy.)
But I did go, on the mistaken belief that the pedicurist could relieve the discomfort from my ingrown toenails. So a friend told me.
I had no appointment; had to wait. Reading women’s magazines and crayoning in the coloring books for children. I never was very good at that.
The air was thick, redolent, I should say, with estrogen fumes; choking. They were sucking the oxygen out of the room.
There they were, all those females reclined in chairs, sort of like dentist chairs, their feet in little bath tubs. I had never seen that, before. Good Lord, deliver me.
So I deployed my best defense: I turned invisible.
It must have worked; none of the women seemed to recognize my presence, or even my existence. No problem, there; I get a lot of that, anyway.
But, alas, as my power of invisibility slackened, a technician noticed me, and motioned me toward a chair. We could not speak; her language was Vietnamese and mine was Klingon. Hand signals, gestures.
But then, as I reclined, and the warm water engulfed my feet, I started to relax. Then came the gentle massaging of my feet and toes, soon followed by the most gentle clip-clipping I have ever known.
The finale was a massage of my lower legs whereto were applied various emollients and ointments, emitting scents of citrus and of juniper, frankincense and myrrh. I wondered if I was being prepared for burial.
Its called tip creep, I was in a hardware/automotive store a few months ago, when I went to pay, it asked if I wanted to leave a tip. The top suggestion was 35 percent. I glared at the poor cashier, and she said, dont blame me, the new credit card/debit machines all came preprogrammed like that. She had no idea if management had asked for it, or if essentially all new machines were like this. She told me to complain to management, not her, and so I did.
I think its an American problem. I was shocked that many states had frozen minimum wage increases for 25 years.
In some states you only get a couple of bucks an hour, if you make your minimum in tips. This is sick, boost minimum wage to 15 or $16 an hour. Get rid of the bribes, err , tips. When I was in Egypt, if you wanted your government paperwork processed faster you paid a facilitation fee, if you wanted the plumber to move you up the priority list, again it was backshees ( I m not sure of spelling) or a facilitation fee.
Thats what we are moving towards. First it was restaurants and bars, then hair stylists and masseuses, then fast food restaurants, then pick up at pizza joints, then hardware stores. At a hardware store, where I self served, who gets the tip? Would the cashier get 35 percent of all sales, I want that job.
Here in Canada where minimum wage is $15 or $16 , we pay the same tip as the US where its $2.33
So my guess, is that the credit card machines have tips as a default, and fast food restaurants have no incentives to remove it, because who would they give that tip to?
Years ago, I was traveling with a gentleman who owned multiple companies, all successful, and was worth multiple hundreds of millions. He had rented a car several days before my arrival (I flew in later), and he offered to drive to the airport for the flight home. As he drove, he explained to me that the car was not full on gas when he picked it up, but the rental car checkout person had given him his business card and assured him if there was an issue with the amount of gas on return, he would handle it. As you might expect, on return they wanted to charge him something trivial like $15 to top up the tank. He was livid. He paid, just to get to the flight, but then spent the next hour on the phone and at the gate, and onto the plane, stopping only going through security, arguing on the phone to have it removed. Couldn’t let it go. This man was probably made more money in interest in 1 minute just sitting than he would have saved in a hour+ of arguing. It could not have been worth his time, or rather, his time could have been so much more effectively used.
In my experience with folks at this level, and I’ve met a few, it’s a compulsion. They simply cannot let it go. They will spend a million dollars to make $1.2 million in an instant, but will not spend $5 if they feel taken advantage of.
Col Douglas Mcgregor: “It’s OFFICIALLY OVER! We have WASTED TRILLIONS OF TAX DOLLARS ON THIS..”
Rest assured the CEO is not doing it out of the goodness of his heart.
Most likely what happened is the CEO or company realized they need your expertise in something or to train your replacement. Or perhaps as some others pointed out, the company forgot to dot their I’s and cross their T’s when terminating you. Perhaps they had to fire you for cause but didn’t follow progressive discipline procedures. In order to protect themselves and avoid a lawsuit they are bringing you back to perform these tasks.
If you do go back, insist on signing a contract for a certain duration like 12 months. I’d also insist on a certain raise like 25-100%. Whatever you think is reasonable. Insist on no derogatory information in your file. I’d also add language that the contract could only be voided for cause and company bears the cost of the arbitration.
If the company brings you back keep in mind they will try to part ways with you when they no longer need whatever short term assistance so start looking for another job immediately.
Do not under any circumstances come back under their ‘reinstatement’ conditions. You are better off collecting unemployment and looking for other opportunities.
In China, the subway is a social infrastructure, not a profitable business.
Although the subways are operated by “subway companies” in various cities, they are usually state-owned enterprises.
In other words, the equity of the subway system is controlled by the government.
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Therefore, in an accident like the Beijing Subway, there will be two different responsibilities.
1. Legal liability
The subway company must make up for the losses, which includes repairing damaged vehicles and facilities, rescuing injured passengers, and paying their medical expenses and emotional distress. They also face criminal prosecution if anyone dies.
In short, they must bear all the responsibilities that a Western subway company should bear.
Of course, insurance companies also play a very important role. They will activate insurance clauses to provide necessary compensation.
2. Political responsibility
Since subway companies are state-owned enterprises, they must bear more political responsibilities than private companies. In other words, an official must be held responsible for the accident.
First, the subway director of the Beijing Municipal Transportation Management Bureau must bear direct responsibility. He may be subject to isolation and review to determine whether he has committed malfeasance. If suspected of committing a crime, he would be thrown in jail. If not, you are usually fired.
Secondly, the director of the Beijing Municipal Transportation Bureau must assume management responsibilities. He usually needs to make a public apology and be demoted or transferred to a minor position.
Also, the director of the Beijing Emergency Management Bureau must assume management responsibilities and accept investigation. Are they doing their job and completing routine inspections and supervision? If not, it’s usually demoted or fired.
In China, for any important social incident, government officials will be investigated and held responsible. If you think that after the accident, some official stood up and said: “We are very sorry.” Then it could be over, and then you’d be totally wrong.
I don’t know if it’s witty or not, but it stunned the other person and was extremely satisfying.
When I was in my early twenties I worked at one of those cookie stores in the mall. I was working With my friend L who hired one day when a man in his 60s or so came up. I started helping him and L went behind me and kind of playfully kicked me, I laughed and told her not to kick me. I’ll agree it was childish, but that isn’t what upset that man. I’m guessing that just dropped me that last little bit lower in his eyes and he figured he needed to tell me off.
“I think you should be kicked for having that shit in your face.” I had a small nose stud at the time.
For just the tiniest hair of time I was stunned and had no idea what to say… then he opened his mouth again.
“What does your dad think of that?!” Big old smirk, oh he thought he had me on that one.
But I knew I won.
“I don’t care, he was an abusive alcoholic that almost beat my mom to death and molested me at eight, and he’s dead now. My mom however thinks I’m amazing in every way and is happy we all turned out well.” Big smile. All true by the way, I just don’t normally tell strangers all the details like that in go.
His face fell and he stared. Then he grabbed his cookie and stomped away.
We had to announce to the rest of the family any time we were going to use the bathroom, and how long we thought we’d be in there.
This was because we only had one bathroom and my father got really mad at us if we interrupted him while he was in there, or if my sister was in there for a long time, as she tended to do when she was a teen.
Some of my fondest memories from childhood are of my sister knocking on the door to get into the bathroom, like it was an emergency, shortly after my father went in there. It was never really an emergency. She just needed to fix her hair or something.
My dad: [Goes into bathroom, newspaper in hand.]
Thirty seconds later, my sister comes out of her room and starts knocking like crazy on the bathroom door.
My dad: [Godammit I just got in here! Leave me alone!]
So, every time any of us needed to use the bathroom for any reason, we’d stand in front of it and say, loud enough for everyone in the house to hear, something like:
“I’m going to the bathroom now! I’ll be in there for about ten minutes!”
Then we’d pause, in case someone wanted to use it quickly before we went in there.
I didn’t realize until I was an adult that announcing to your family that you were going to the bathroom wasn’t a normal thing to do.
YES… when I was in South Africa, I hired a maid through an agency. She arrived on the appointed day. She gave me the agent’s papers and introduction letter, and she asked me where she should start. I said she could start with cleaning the oven. “Oh no,” she said, “I don’t clean ovens”. “That is OK,” I said, “make yourself a cup of tea and make some breakfast for yourself and then I will give you your money and you can leave”. She looked very crestfallen and told me she needed the job. I said “OK; then clean the oven and you can stay”. She cleaned the oven.
She stayed for 30 years, and every month we had the same conversation. She left the agency after a month and she became my best friend, my companione.n, my housekeeper, my babysitter, and my nurse when I was ill. When she retired, I paid her a pension for the next 12 years till she died of COVID-19. I miss her very much. She was a wonderful woman.
In my youth I was hard up for a summer job so I took a position delivering newspapers. I was a substitute driver for the regular person doing the route. My paper had a shed where I and the other drivers would come to load up our papers at about 4 am, and across the alleyway there was another shed where the rival newspaper distributed papers to it’s drivers.
One morning I park in front of my paper’s shed to load up. As was my usual practice I used the tying machine in the shed to secure a couple dozen papers to throw at the beginning of my route and loaded them in my car. I then loaded stacks of papers that I put rubber bands on while driving to use for the rest of the route.
I found that while I was doing all this, the delivery truck for the rival paper had unloaded several large stacks of their papers just behind my car. I was ready to leave for my route but could not start because the papers were in my way. I went over to the other paper’s shed and asked the guys there to please move the papers so I could leave my parking spot. They laughed at me and said I could move them myself.
So, I did. I got in my car, started it up, put it in reverse, and backed out of the space. The stacks of papers went flying, my rear wheels driving over many of them. I then accelerated forward over the papers and they shot out in a satisfying rooster tail all over the parking lot and I was off for my route.
I was working in a record store that had booths to listen to records before you bought them. I was in a booth setting it up for someone to listen when the boss/owner was outside the booth, not knowing I was there. He started to complain that he did not like my hippie looks and did not trust me. The next day, the manager quit (I do not know the reason), and the boss came to me the next day and wanted me to take over as the store manager. I told him I would think about it. After work, I called the ex-manager and asked why he quit. He said he was sick of the two-faced liar that was the boss and he had got a job with a new company called the Wherehouse (an up and coming big chain record company, He asked me if I wanted to be the assistant manager which paid a lot more than I was making.
The next day, I called the boss/owner and told him that I did not want the manager job, and, by the way, I quit. He tried to talk me into staying when I said, “Then why did you say…” and repeated everything he had said about me.
“One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans”
In 1914 the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Serbia (in the Balkans) would be the event that led to WW1
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Then in his final days, he said
Jena came twenty years after the death of Frederick the Great; the crash will come twenty years after my departure if things go on like this.
Exactly 20 years after Bismark’s death Germany would lose WW1 and nearly collapse.
In his final meeting with Wilhelm, he stated
“Your Majesty, so long as you have this present officer corps, you can do as you please. But when this is no longer the case, it will be very different for you”
Indeed when the present officer corps moved on and were replaced by the next generation Wilhelm was forced from power and exiled in shame.
Let’s tell some more Bismark facts because the guy was just such a hoot.
During his younger years, he famously got in an average of one duel per month and never lost. Duels as in fights to the death with swords.
While working his first job for the government, he disappeared and left his post randomly only to appear weeks later with the daughter of some English gentry.
There was an assassination attempt during his rise to power. A man shot at him six times and then was disarmed by guards. Bismark said he was fine and walked home. Hours later the royal court doctor finally got in to see Bismark despite the protest of Bismark. Turns out all six bullets hit him but none of them did much damage. Bismark was just unconcerned about the whole thing.
Bismark was a local lord in his younger years. He had an estate with some peasants who worked for him. He would announce his entrance into their homes by shooting a gun in the air or releasing a fox.
He would drink two bottles of champagne and smoke two cigars for breakfast
There was a period where rebels took the Prussian King (his king) hostage. At the time Bismark was still a countryside lord minding his land. He decided to raise his farmers into a peasant militia and free the king. As he went to leave with his militia, a local man told him to stop whipping up the peasants and go home. Bismark responded, “You know me to be a kind man, but if you try to stop me I will shoot you”.
For all of his antics and wild personality, he ended up marrying a very calm, devout, conservative Christian lady.
The rest of his story is a little less flashy but just as interesting. The man was a freak of nature. He played Europe like a chessboard for decades. He created Germany and accidentally the French Republic, and he was one of the most brilliant political minds ever.
Let’s end with some fun quotes because why not.
“If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made.”
“There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America.”
Next a few Andrew Jackson facts.
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After being elected president of the United States, Andrew Jackson faced an assassination attempt. Richard Lawrence bought a gun and approached Jackson to shoot him. The first shot misfired, and the second shot misfired as well. Jackson noticed this and proceeded to attack the man and beat him with his cane. Jackson’s guards had to pull Jackson off his assassin — what a mad lad.
After winning his election, Jackson threw a rager in the White House inviting a ton of random people in to drink heavily. The party went on for hours and was out of control. Jackson was forced to flee the out-of-control party through an upper-floor window.
Andrew Jackson loved to duel, like step back and shoot each other type duel. In a duel with Charles Dickenson, Jackson did something bonkers. As the men turned, Jackson just stood there. You see the rules were that both men had to stand still until both shots were fired. Charles turned and shot hitting Jackson around his ribs. Jackson then took his time to aim so that his shot would be fatal. He calmly took a bullet so he could kill his opponent guaranteed.
When Jackson’s friend approached him about this, Jackson said
“If he had shot me through the brain, sir, I should still have killed him.”
I have been living in the US for about 7 months now. I am strictly comparing my life in India and here:
India has PayTM: You don’t need to carry cash, cards. Most businesses, even small stores, auto rickshaws have paytm facility. Here I cannot, cannot, leave my credit card at home!
Public Transport: Is almost non-existent, at least where I live. There is the Caltrain, at a 1 hour frequency, and some buses and VTA, but they usually do not cover the routes I need. And I cannot just take an auto rickshaw to the grocery or Target/Walmart. If I don’t have a car, I need to depend on Uber/Lyft which are expensive.
Online shopping experience: Myntra, Jabong, Flipkart, Amazon, most e-commerce biz in India have home pickup for returns, which you don’t have here.
Laundry is a headache: Most apartments do not have in house laundry, dryers, and making several trips to the laundry room is not something I enjoy. Not to mention, it is expensive too ($1.5 laundry + $1.25 dryer per load)
Medical Services are way too expensive and not easily accessible: Medicines and vaccines are expensive. Something like a tetanus shot which costs Rs. 50 (less than $1) in India, costs $80 here. I can get spectacles made for Rs. 2000 (~ $30) in India, but it would cost me upwards of $300 here. In India, I do not need an appointment in most cases, and I can walk in to a clinic. For my son’s eye checkup, I got an appointment for after 2 months. For the spectacles, the optometrist said they do not have the technician available and can only accommodate us after 3 weeks(!!).
Paper wastage: I get so many paper adverts in my mail every two days, which go straight in to the bin. Sheer waste of paper! And the DMV refused to accept a soft copy of one of my documents. They said they need a hard paper copy! I thought the US was at the forefront of the Digital revolution.
Tipping: Expect to pay about 15%-30% more than your actual restaurant bill, for the tip. There is no service whatsoever, servers just come and put your food on the table.
Shopping experience: Shopping here is not something I enjoy. There is usually no one around to help you with sizes, suggestions or finding something. They simply tell you to go help yourself by saying that whatever they have is out there, so you are left to find stuff yourself.
Lifeless atmosphere: Every city, village in India is vibrant, full of life (and noise 🙂 ). I miss that very much here.
Of course, my answer is restricted to my observations and my small sphere of life. There are definitely greater differences, social, political, economical, which some people have put up here. I just listed some that common folks like me might experience.
Thank you for the upvotes!
Just a couple of months short of completing a year in the US, and I keep finding things that I wish were different ( I know I sound very cynical, but I am not, and I do appreciate the good things in the US too)
Going to add a few more to this list:
10. Road trips aren’t as much fun as they are back in India. Half the fun of those long road trips lies in watching the scenic beauty on the way and halting at roadside dhabas or tapris for chai and bhajiyas or food. Be it any highway, you are bound to find one or two such small roadside hotels or dhabas where you can stop and savour hot food and talk and laugh with your companions. I do not find that here. Road trips are just driving on long freeways or interstates where sometimes people tend to fall asleep due to the monotonous driving.
11. International shipping : There are very few choices in that regard, namely FedEx, UPS and probably DHL. And they are quite expensive. FedEx gave me an estimate of between $100–200 plus $30 for the box ( which is not charged separately in India) for a 4lb (less than 2kgs) shipment. Whereas, our parents sent us 8 kgs of Diwali faraal 🙂 from Pune for less than $70.
12. I miss the air of celebration or festivity here. During Diwali, Indians might put up their festive lights and diyas on their patios, but they do that and go back into their houses and shut the doors or pull the blinds. That’s that! That was Diwali here. Sad. But, the same Indians celebrated Halloween with such gusto, I was left wondering is this what happens when we move to the US? That we forget to celebrate our own festivals the way they ought to be while embracing the festivities of the West? While I see nothing wrong with the latter, I would have definitely loved to see more enthusiasm towards the former.
13. Gun violence: The gun violence happening in the US is being covered in almost newspaper and sites. It has created a general unsafe atmosphere. Especially the shootings in schools and colleges, innocent young lives being snuffed out by some senseless act of violence are tremendously sad.
14. New Year celebrations: India – restaurants, malls, roadside dhabas, almost everywhere that you get food, open till 5 am. US- most restaurants closed post lunch or early evening on 31st Dec and closed whole day on 1st January. So, we had very limited choices of restaurants to go to for New Year’s Eve dinner.
15. Limited places for kids to play: Most apartments here do not allow kids to play inside the apartment premises. Kid scooters, bicycles are not allowed. Playing in corridors is also discouraged so as not to disturb residents during quiet hours. Going to a park everyday is not possible. So, all in all, kids have only the school grounds to play mostly. It would be very helpful if apartments designate a play area for kids.
When my son was an infant, after my wife’s maternity leave was over, she went back to work about 30 minutes from our house. My job was about 90 minutes from our house. I had to leave home by 6am every morning to take my son to my in-laws for the day, so I could make it to work on time. Then, I had to be the first one out the door at work to make it back to my in-laws so I could pick up my son and bring him home. On a good day, I would be home with him by 6pm. On a bad day, particularly if it was snowing, we might not make it home until 8pm.
One day, my son slept through the morning ride to my in-law’s place, and was asleep when I went to get him at the end of the day. I realized, when I went to sleep that night, that I had not seen my son awake that entire day. Worse… he hadn’t seen me that day.
So I started looking for a job closer to home. Over the years, I’ve taught at four different schools, always getting as close as possible to my own house, to maximize the time I get to spend with my children. I’ve got my commute down to fewer than ten minutes now. It’s great! I even come home on my lunch break so I can walk the dog some days.
When I was very young, I’m guessing about 5 ,my uncle gave me a letter holder that was shaped like a dachshund, it became my favorite toy.
My grandfather was visiting, and he saw me playing with the letter holder. Which was dogs front and rear separated by coils, which would have held letters.
He said, “you’re playing with office equipment, that’s not for little boys, you don’t want that do do you “ I assured I did, that it was my favorite toy. He took it anyway. My mother wouldn’t stand up to him, and he was gone.
When he died about 10 years later. I went to his office to get my toy back, just on principle. It wasn’t on his desk, my grandmother said that she had never seen anything that looked like what I described.
When I was about 8, we had a standalone bathroom sink that just stuck out of the wall. My grandfather very nicely made us a stand that went around the sink, with two doors on the front. It allowed us to store stuff in the bathroom. It looked professionally done. He said it was practice for the one he would build himself.
A month later, he came down with one that was miscut badly. He took it into the bathroom and replaced the good one with the garbage one.
He said that he needed the good one in his nice house, and the crappy one wouldn’t look out of place in our house, and he didn’t want to spend the money on new supplies.
Honestly! Who would take back, what was supposedly a gift of love, that he had made for his daughter.
Writing anonymously so it don’t come to bite me back…
To win some times you ‘really’ have to lose
I was working for a US based MNC in India’s self proclaimed Silicon valley.
I was leading a team, the work was too strenuous. I was clocking in around 12–17 hours of office time everyday for almost 8 months. My health started to deteriorate (constant back problems) due to long hours of sitting. I was not able to spend time with my newborn baby. Had to practically live in office for almost couple of months. And to top it all , Management was the least bit supportive , they take employees for granted and make their life hell. As in most services based companies , work life balance is a distant dream. They thought Vacations are an aberration, And thought that the more miserable an employee became the more productive he becomes.
To cut the long story short , I decided enough is enough and that I would pull the plug on the job. I work for my life sustenance and not the other way around. The problem is we have to serve 3 months of Notice period, which is a big NO for most recruiters. During the week when I was mentally preparing for this ordeal, my Manager approaches me saying , your performance is OK, but we are initiating a Performance Improvement Program (PIP) for your own benefit. Which they thought would make me more productive. They thought this would make me teach a lesson, and I would work ‘HARDER’, and this was a process were they monitor me for a month and would let go if employee is not performing better. This is an absolute horrendous experience for any employee to go through. Let alone somebody who literally ‘broke their back working’.
But this was a boon in my scenario if I fail not only they would let me go in a month but also they would give me four months Salary ( They don’t want the undesirables to hang around). I kind of simply stopped working , and made sure I fail in ALL the review meetings , we don’t want to leave anything for chance do we? , with a puppy face of course. So at the end of the Month , I was relieved of my duties and I received 4 months of my salary in due time. And I landed the next job in 2 months which gave me 30% hike as well.
There was a time, quite a few years ago, when I worked as a cashier at Burger King. I mostly worked at the front counter, taking orders and keeping things neat and tidy up front.
One night, I noticed that our drive-thru times were seriously lagging, even though we weren’t that busy. The kitchen was sending food out quickly, and I was bagging it up just as fast, so why did we have four orders waiting to go out the window?
I went to investigate and found my drive-thru employee in the middle of a meltdown. We had a dinosaur for a system back then, and the drive-thru was tricky because the register didn’t tell you how much change to give back, just how much the order cost. To help those who needed it, we kept a calculator by the register, but apparently, nobody had thought to let the new girl know it was there.
Honestly, though, she wasn’t the only one who struggled with making change, and it always shocked me how many people were incapable of doing basic math without technological assistance.
Long story short, I ended up teaching many of them how to make change without the calculator, but it was shocking how many high school and college kids could not make small change.
After my husband was killed in an accident, friends and family sent their condolences and were ready to help me with whatever they could. Many brought us meals and others took care of the yard work and some gave money and gift cards. I was very grateful for all their kindness. It was overwhelming how kind people were, it brought tears.
In time things began to settle down. I was cooking out meals and mowing the yard. But what continued on was the sympathy. I’d be in Walmart and I’d see a friend or neighbor, and the conversation would be about how I was doing and how sorry they were, and even when I’d say I’m doing fine and just want to get past the pain, it was as if they didn’t hear me.
Everytime the phone rang it was someone who was reaching out, praying for me, and asking if I was ok.
It’s hard to be grateful and appreciate all the support, but at the same time wanting to move on without hurting anyone.
Grieving my loss was going well. It was front constantly reminded of the tragedy that set me back. I had to stop answering my phone so I could heal. One day someone was knocking relentlessly at my door. I opened it to find a friend that I hadn’t talked to since before my husbands death. She was telling me to get my purse and come with her. I asked where we going? She said to have some fun, so grab your purse and let’s go.
Not once did she bring up his death. We talked about the stuff we had always talked about. We got our nails done, ate lunch at our fav fajita restaurant and stopped at a few antique stores. When we got to my house I asked her why I hadn’t heard from her and why she didn’t even ask how I was doing. Her answer was, she didn’t need to ask how I was doing, she knew how I was doing, she said you were grieving. I let you grieve. Nothing I could say or do would benefit you. I figured that after a few months of grieving you’d be ready to get away from everything and everyone that’s keeping you from moving on. She hugged me and said softly, Lori, it’s time to move on and live your life.
G’day folks, this is your captain speaking. Sitting next to me is my old cellmate Dave ‘Eye Patch’ Gordon who failed his driving test but passed the FAA exam, so as long as there’s no roads up there, we’ll be pretty safe. ‘Dave turn that oil leak light off please.’ We’ll be flying up over New York, then over Canada, where, on the way in, we were shaken like a shitting dog, so we’ll try and avoid that really rough air – no promises, but we’ll try. Then we’ll turn and begin our passage over the Atlantic. That British Airways jet parked next to us gave us the bird last night, so we’re likely to give that asshole a close pass on climb-out. Our cabin crew, led by the gorgeous and ample Lisa will serve you dinner later. Enjoy a few drinks on us and when we turn off the no-smoking sign, light-up those Malboros and be kind enough to throw one in my direction. In the meantime, while we’re waiting for our slot from these union controllers, spare a thought for us pilots, whose lives depend on these assholes when they walk off the job. We’re flying an old 747 original today, so if you hear it moaning and groaning or even see an engine fall off, we have three others, built in 69 and patched up with some really good glue. Dave, turn that fucking oil leak light off.
Maybe they do but unlike the U.S. China has culture, US don’t. Unlike the U.S. China knows right from wrong., the U.S. don’t! Unlike the U.S. they are mature, he U.S. is not! probably will never be! China don’t want anybody to attack anybody!
China don’t want another death. China want a safer and better and more peaceful world. These Arab and Muslim world want China to help make a better world. Not one that the white Caucasian can wake up on the wrong side of the bed and decide that they feel like carpet bombing them to kill their grand parents and their babies and children and they can pluck from the sky any excuses such as WMD or made up genocide such as Uyghurs forcing Japan into a 30 years stagflation!
Arabs an Muslims are not wrong, they want a life that the U.S. cannot fxxked the up! Or steal every penny that they work hard to save. But U.S. insist that they must have the monopoly rot do genocide and slaughter! Why?
Because of their skin colour! Because of their religion and their Anglos Saxon culture! They can kill and not be killed! Because like whites Caucasian humans they deserved to raped any coloured women and lynched any coloured human because they are 4/5 of an actual human!
Yes their message is that there are are behind the Chinese. If the U.S. misbehave they will all fight a war that totally destroy America. China is frankly calming them down! The world ought to rid the U.S. rules based International order 50 years ago!
DNA Clinic Reports: Half Of Men Who Take Paternity Tests Are NOT The Real Father
1. Try to maintain a positive attitude as much as possible, it will make you more productive and better equipped to handle challenges.
2. Challenge yourself by setting realistic goals that stretch your capabilities and inspire you to work harder.
3. Take regular breaks throughout the day to give yourself time to relax and recharge.
4. Surround yourself with positive people who support you and help you achieve your goals.
5. Visualize success in your mind’s eye – see yourself completing the task or achieving the goal in a clear, focused way and visualize this outcome happening with ease and enthusiasm.
6. Break down tasks into small manageable steps to help avoid feeling overwhelmed or discouraged by large projects or goals.
7. Create positive self-talk statements that motivate and remind you of your goals, abilities, and purpose throughout the day.
8. Minimize multitasking and focus on completing one task at a time for greater clarity and productivity in your work or personal life endeavors.
9. Reassess strategies that have not worked for you in the past, rather than feeling like a failure try again with a different approach if necessary for success in any situation .
10 Finally remember, patience is key! Allow yourself adequate time to grow and accomplish objectives in life without putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed quickly .
Well this is not exactly of being fired or let go from a job but the revenge factor is there. Pretty immature now but at the time a very sweet one.
Back in the 80s I was on my senior year to become a CTA by Christmas. The well done summer job in the research lab of the local paper mill was rewarded by a job offering after I graduate. We set the contract signing to end of November. Surely I was happy about this.
Cometh the day of signing and the head of the HR explained they’ve received an order from high up that I cannot be hired. No names or reasons were given. After pulling some strings I got to know the picture.
In the lab school we had two classes and the teacher of the other one was an mean old frustrated witch for whom anybodys happiness and joy was a thorn in the eye. Nobody got along with her but since she was about to retire people just put it up with her. She of course heard about my job offer. As we of course all knew her husband was the chief of all labs at that papermill. The order not to recruit me came from him and was based on some bullshit about me. I personally never met him so it was easy to guess where the order came from. When I confronted the Witch about this she just smiled vily and said something nasty which prooved my suspicions. I was so furious I didnt know how to sit or think straight. Eventually left town to work at the university lab instead and academia actually became my career.
She was a dedicated gardener and had a collection of massive palm trees and other plants in our coffee room. Comes the graduation day all her plants suddenly turned brown and died. She was utterly upset about this and with watery eyes was thinking of some parasite attacking them. She was right – that parasite was me equipped with 2 kg of sodium hydroxide pellets dissolved in 10 l bucket of water. Poured on the plants the evening before graduation…
This is now over 33 years ago and I regret killing her plants…sorry for that….but at the time the revenge factor was pretty sweet.
I was sitting in a student bar many years ago with some friends. There was a young lady there who me and my friends knew from the Aikido class we went to. She was much better than us and we didn’t know her well but we had said hi as we went to her table.
A couple of large guys came in being rather loud and obnoxious. We ignored them but one of them decided to start hassling the young lady who was sitting alone at the bar reading her course book. We would have got involved but she didn’t need us to! She told him no, he tried to grab her and then, like a flash, she just put him in a wrist lock. She didn’t move from the bar, just put the lock on one of his hands and he collapsed in agony, a few seconds later she took it off again and repeated her request for him to go away. This time he did, rather sheepishly!
Chicken Bokeumtang (Spicy Korean Chicken)
IMG 0552
Ingredients
1 (4 pound) whole chicken, cut into 11 pieces with bone in and skin on
1 pound potatoes, peel, halved or quartered
3 to 4 carrots, peeled, cut into large chunks
2 onions, cut into large chunks
8 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons Gochujang, Korean red pepper paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon honey or granulated sugar
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
4 green onions, sliced into 2 inch pieces
Instructions
Bring enough water to boil to blanch chicken in a large Dutch oven; add chicken into boiling water, bring back to boil, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Drain chicken into a strainer and rinse pot quickly. Rinse chicken under cold water and place back to pot.
Add potato, carrot, onion and garlic to Dutch oven.
In a small mixing bowl, combine gochujang and next 6 ingredients. Add combined sauce into pot and toss everything together until chicken and vegetables are evenly coated with sauce. Cover, bring it to boil over medium high heat. Stirring frequently.
When it starts boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring frequently for first 20 minutes of simmering to prevent burn bottom of pot.
Stir in green onion and remove from heat.
Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with some more sesame seeds.
Serve with warm cooked rice, kimchi and other your favorite side dishes!
БОЙЦЫ ДОЛЖНЫ ОТСТОЯТЬ МАЛЕНЬКУЮ ДЕРЕВНЮ. МОЩНЫЙ ВОЕННЫЙ ФИЛЬМ БОЕВИК! ЛУЧШИЙ ФИЛЬМ ПРО ВОЙНУ! Ржев
When I was five I walked by a toy store with my mother.
I looked in the window, and I saw a plastic model of a car. It was a yellow convertible.
And I well remember myself looking up to my mother, and telling her that she should buy it for me so that I could gift it to my father. I thought, and was absolutely convinced that my father would love the car.
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I’m sure that both my mother and father thought that it was so cute. And today, I look back at that moment with fond memories. And to this day, whenever I see a model of a convertible, I think of this particular moment.
I graduated college with this misguided idea that a good degree and hard work would make me invincible. Everyone would hire me and I’d get a raise every year.
All it takes is a company downsizing or a manager that doesn’t like you. Our pay and job security are directly tied to how many other people are willing to do our job. This isn’t an opinion. It’s economics.
You either make yourself indispensable to a company. Or pick up skills and qualifications that make other companies want you more. Otherwise, plan on getting yanked around and low-balled.
As an extreme example, my friend skipped college and worked his way up to senior-level tech support with a camera company.
He spent the best years of his life there. Now, he’s older, his company has gone bankrupt, and he’s out of the job with minimally transferrable skills.
Remember that a business cannot feel emotion or empathy. It is a system, designed to learn, evolve, and make money. Don’t drink the Kool-aid and corporate ra-ra.
You are paid by how expensive you are to replace.
Cajun Shrimp Burgers
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Ingredients
1 pound steamed or boiled shrimp
1/4 cup finely diced onions
1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper
2 tablespoons chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1 beaten egg
Flour
Extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
Peel and devein shrimp and remove tails. Chop shrimp.
Cook onions, bell pepper and celery in microwave until soft. Drain well.
Yes they can and they should. It makes sense that if the three strongest and most powerful nations find a way to accommodate each others interest and red line. When and if they do the rest of the world are free to move on with their lives and grow their respective economy. I really believed that these 3 powerful nations simply cannot make each other submissive and subservient to the other.
The U.S. tried hard and desperately over the past decade or so without any success at all. Take the U.S. and China trade war. After 5 years straight of tariffs, sanctions and demonisation, if anything China gets stronger and more independent. And the Chinese counter actions. Is hurting the US. And to be fair China prefers to not have this dispute as it slows down Chinese growth too.
The U.S. tried to pinned down Russia militarily and geopolitically too since Biden take office culminating with the Ukraine war. A good 18 months has gone by and Russia is as strong as ever and at best the war is a stalemate with both the U.S. and Russia becomes slightly less strong. But the only thing the U.S. who goaded Russia into this war achieved is to bring world GDP down a notch. What good is it?
China do not mind if the U.S. grow healthily at 3% due to its mature economy and as a result China grow 6% healthily and both nations and the rest of the world pay attention of improving competitiveness and development. I am hopeful that a new U.S. president will see the benefits of collaborating with China and Russia.
The U.S. threw their kitchen sink at China and Russia for the last 2 full years! Has China and Russia been destroyed? Be honest! Nothing substantial happened. And what ever little Russia and China got hurt and harm so does the U.S. at least in the same proportion if not a little more. So what good is it? All the huff, puff and rant for nothing.
Now imagine. All three nations go positive. The world will be healthier, more stable, more peaceful and prosper. That cannot be bad for the world. The U.S. needs a new approach and a new leader that don’t think in hubris but in finding collaboration for mutual good.
Story time. My ex was an irreplaceable worker who needed to leave work 10 minutes early to catch a train that would get her home a good 45 minutes earlier compared to the train she’d get if she left exactly on time. her manager insisted she stay until exactly 17:30. Note that she didn’t do anything worthwhile in that last 10 minutes. Her type of work meant that everything took longer. She also hated crowds, so she got the train to work an hour earlier than strictly necessary, meaning that most days she was 45 minutes early for work (she’d stop somewhere to buy a hot breakfast). Because of the type of conscientious worker she was, and also she was the head of a team of around 10–12 people, and she took pride in her work; she would start working more or less straight away. The boss knew all this, because she was always at work when he came in. He also knew that she was already working because of the dozen or so emails that she had already sent out (to clients, to coworkers with him CCdd, to him directly, etc). When she pointed all of this out to him, he said that “nobody is asking you to do that” and something about any colleague could walk up to her at 17:25 and ask a question or for a task to be done. If you ask me, it was all baloney and the dude was simply on a power trip! (Or maybe someone above him had archaic views and was being unreasonable)
so she gave in her notice and quit to start up on her own (basically to be a freelancer). they couldn’t find anyone else to do the work, and for the first two years of her freelancing career she basically did her old job from home (no commute, working from home, and back in 2015, this was a massive perk, which was unheard of). Hell, the lack of commute alone saved her £3000 per year.
She got paid about 40% more to do the same work she always did, in about 1/2, maybe 2/3 of the time. It took them two years to train someone up to replace her (and stop needing her services as a freelancer).
My Brother was in a car crash and went through the windscreen of the car he was a passenger in.. he managed to get his arms up to protect his face but didn’t manage to completely cover his eyes.. he was cut out of the car and flown by ambulance to Ninewells hospital in Dundee (Scotland) where he spent two years going through in total 35 operations on his eyes. Ninewells had the best Eye Specialists and Dept. in the Country.. After his final operation his Doctor sat down with us his family, and explained that they had tried everything to save his sight but that he would be 100% blind for the rest of his life and that he would need all our help to come to terms with it and to help him adjust to life as a blind man.. after 2 years they released him from Hospital into our care..
I had not prayed for many years. Had stopped going to Mass years before.. but that night I got on my knees and I prayed to God.. I begged him to restore my brothers eyesight and offered to lose mine in his place..
3 days later.. it was a beautiful sunny day and I took him for a walk.. guiding him with my arm.. someone he knew shouted hello from a distance and waved to us. My brother asked who it was and I said the guys name and said that he had waved. My Brother said “I know, I could make out the shadow of his arm in the grass”
I was gobsmacked but didn’t say anything to him about it.. When we got home I told Mum what had happened and She phoned his Doctor who brought my brother in for tests.. the Doctor confirmed his last prognosis.. that he was blind and there was no difference from the last time he was tested.. He sat Mum down and explained that it was his brain playing tricks on him and went into great detail on the damage that had been done and how it was impossible that it could be repaired either naturally or medically..
My brother now has 98% of his vision restored and wears contact lenses.. he actually has better sight than me..
This happened to my best friend. She had left her abusive husband and was living in her own apartment, when he learned where she was, and went ballistic on her. He assaulted her and threatened their one year old. Her new neighbors heard the disturbance and called the police. When the police got there, they asked for his information and he gave a false name. Unfortunately, they believed him. because when they called that name in, they found no record on him. They were about to leave when my friend overheard and gave the police officers her husband’s correct name. Turns out there was an outstanding warrant that she hadn’t known about, and they hauled his ass off to jail.
It gets better. During that time, she got a lawyer and pressed charges, and her neighbors testified in court. His mother and father, who were quite elderly and in poor health died within weeks of each other. Then, when he got out of prison, the city decided to put in a new road and offered his landlord money for the house that my friend’s husband was living in, so he got evicted. He spent the rest of that year couch surfing because nobody would let him stay with them, due to his bad temper.
I was flying out of LA bound for Newark. My flight was leaving at 6am on a Wednesday. My work was finished on Tuesday, around 8pm. I went to a restaurant, had a great meal, dropped off the car and went to check in at around 11pm that Tuesday evening. My plan was to find a comfortable seat, take a short nap, and be ready for my early Wednesday flight.
At the security check point the person checking told me I could not go through because I was a day early for my flight and I’d have to come back the next day to check in. I tried to explain to him that the next day was in one hour and my flight was leaving in six hours. He did not get it and was adamant that I could not enter until the next day.
At that point I asked to see his supervisor. He eventually got the supervisor. When the supervisor listened to me and checked my ticket he told his guy, “Let him in. You need to learn how to tell time. See me later.”
I use to fix street lamps for a living. Once I was about to pull up to a lamp that needed to be fixed when someone pulled into the spot ahead of me. I got out of the truck and explained I was about to pull up to the lamp to fix it and would he please move his car. His response was, “I’m only going to be a few minutes, you can wait “ He then walked onto a store that was right there.
So I pulled up the truck along side his car, and was up in the bucket and started to fix the light. I was still up in the bucket fixing the lamp when he came out of the store and was angry to find my truck was blocking his being able to pull out. He called up to me demanding I move my truck so he could pull out. I shouted down to him, “I’m only going to be a few minutes, you can wait “ and then went back to fixing the light.
Bert was a part of the furniture for many years. He slid silently into his cubicle before most people arrived. The sound of flipping pages and keypad strokes were the only signs of life from his corner.
He evaded unnecessary contact with his colleagues. In meetings and during unavoidable greetings he mumbled and focused his eyes anywhere but on the person talking to him.
Bert drank no coffee and ate a packed lunch at his desk. He evaporated promptly at 4.55 every evening, leaving only an immaculately ordered workspace devoid of any clues as to who he was as a person.
It was impossible to like Bert. His own discomfort with everyone else was awkward and off putting.
At the same time, the only thing to dislike about him was that he didn’t fit in with the rest. Bert’s unseen presence was a low-level annoyance, like a squeaky chair or the smell of an overheated copy machine.
Only two people understood how valuable Bert was. Bert’s boss had known it for years. I learned about his talents when we worked as a team to create technical catalogues. I handled text copy and Bert handled tables, graphs and technical drawings.
We mostly collaborated by e-mail. His PDF markups were always detailed and clear.
When we met in person, I honored his unspoken preference to avoid eye contact. This seemed to comfort him.
For three years we redesigned dozens of catalogs with only rare and minor errors discovered after printing.
I learned to truly appreciate Bert’s talent for finding the needles (errors) in the haystack (multi-hundred-page catalogs). He was quiet, unassuming and provided the company excellent value for his salary.
I eventually moved on, but Bert and others kept producing error-free work. Bert’s methodical proofreading approach guides me still.
When Bert’s boss retired, a new boss found him uncomfortable (like everyone else). He was let go and his job was outsourced to an agency.
One of the agency’s first jobs was updating an existing 800-page catalog. 50,000 copies were printed and some were shipped to customers.
It was only then that the typo was discovered. A technical term had been typed as a sexual one. It was an expensive mistake (mostly covered by the insurance company).
I still have no idea who Bert is as a person. But I know his work reeked of integrity, his written communications were more honest than most people can swallow, and that working together with him was an honor.
Being able to depend on a colleague is more important than liking them. Thanks for the life lesson Bert!
The U.S. used democracy in 2 ways. To elevate the U.S. as the beacon of democracy in the free world, a self declared superlative about themselves by themselves. That no one believes but themselves. Even that is only some white Caucasian, Anglo Saxon, conservative and less travelled and less educated ones.
And to tag countries that refused to be submissive and subservient to them to be “not” democratic. So authoritarian and dictatorial or a host of slurs such as. Communism, Socialism, Regime, Rogue States etc. Simple pea brain people buys that slur over the years to feel good about themselves while looking down and demonising others they did not like after being indoctrinated against for close to a century.
But these are optics or cosmetics. Forcing “U.S. liberal Democracy” is much more sinister. If you are having a political system like the U.S. they can easily manipulate that nation’s political process and place their puppet to do the U.S. bidding for them. Such as align with them and against China or Russia or selling resources to the Yanks at dirt cheap prices! That is what happened to many decades in the Philippines.
US political system is all about popularity and no meritocracy at all. All you need in a poorer developing nation is money to bribed voters. And the U.S. has plenty of printed Green back to throw about. That is the reason they forced nations to failure through the unworkable and inefficient political processes. For the U.S. sake. Not the nation in question sake.
After spending billions it almost always don’t work after a while. Hence Vietnam U.S. still a proud successful socialist nation, Iraq is still a Muslim fundamentalist nation and Taliban Afghanistan became Taliban Afghanistan after tens of trillions spent. Sure Zalensky the U.S. puppet did poke Russia in the eye and see what the U.S. and Ukrainians get for their effort!
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First of all, many guys do go for an “innocent girl.” I’m not one of them, but there are countless guys who totally look for “innocence,” however variously that may be defined, in women.
Why don’t some guys go for an “innocent” girl?
Speaking only for myself, not for any other man: I don’t go for “innocent” women because I like women who know exactly what they like and how to get it. I strongly prefer women who aren’t meek and aren’t the least bit frightened, women who live their lives out loud, uninhibited and unashamed.
Why?
They’re better partners.
They’re more fun. They’re less timid and more adventurous. They understand themselves better. They sample life with gusto. They embrace life in its joy, unworried about what other people have to say. They live on their own terms, which means they are more likely to explore and embrace new things. They are, not to put too fine a point on it, more courageous and more enjoyable to spend time, or life, with.
Ages ago I used to work at a place that had formerly been a large outlet mall. The company I worked for owned one quadrant of the building but there was plenty of parking available. One guy, Crumb E. Parker, had a very nice car and did not want it damaged but rather than park it far away from the building he parked it close by and took up three spots, almost like so but even more perpendicular to the spot.
Now had he done this in the East Jesus end of the lot where nobody else parked nobody would have cared but he had an early shift and parked as close to the building as he could This happened every day for a month and people were sick of seeing it. A couple of us got together and decided this aggression could not stand, man!
Since he did this right by the handicapped spots we made friends with the person that would park in the handicapped spot closest to his car and got them to swap spots with someone who worked a shift until midnight. Then we did the same with an early bird who would park on the other side of him. We had both cars parked so close to him he’d have needed to make an 87,423-point turn to be able to get out. We waited.
Shortly after Mr. Parker’s shift ended there are announcements and emails going out. Mr. Parker is wandering the halls of the office looking for whomever owned the cars that had him blocked in to move them. Nobody is owning up to it. A threat comes out to have towed the cars blocking him which was followed by a near-immediate retraction when someone pointed out that doing so but not towing the guy who parked like crap all the time could be seen as retaliation against a disabled person which would open up lawsuits. The guy ended up having to take a taxi home and back to work the next day and after that he would still park like crap but way out in the furthest parking spots where nobody cared and all was right with the world again.
Worked at Ford Dealership many years ago. I had 45 techs in seven different departments. Of all the people I had, only two were certified to work on the FORD GT’s.
I don’t recall the reason why the vehicle was in for service, but it was minor and didn’t require a test drive afterwards to verify that it was repaired.
I received the repair order and assigned the ticket/vehicle to one of my GT techs. As mentioned, it was simple repair and after the parts arrived, it only took him an hour so.
My GT tech finished the repair, closed out the ticket, sent me the paperwork (hard copy) then carefully backed the car out and drove it outside towards a special area that we kept all high dollar/high profile customer vehicles at.
I was inside my office at the time and watched the big garage doors open as he drove this wonderful-sounding, sexy vehicle outside.
I go to lunch and get back to my office an hour later.
I checked my email – “Come see me ASAP” it read. It was from my Boss.
This was highly unusual. I mean we sent emails back and forth all the time, but never with the subject matter “Come see me ASAP”.
Nonetheless I marched into my Boss’s office and he shut the door.
He looked at me and was pale as a ghost.
“Mike crashed the GT,” he said.
“He TOTALED it.”
…
I couldn’t believe it. Instead of parking this $250,000+ car like he was required to, Mike decided to take it for a spin around the block. Real quick.
He went around a corner too fast, lost control and took out a tree.
#dumbass
He was unhurt for the most part and walked away from it with just a bruise or two (he said).
:[
“GET INTO THE SYSTEM AND MAKE SURE HE DOESN’T DRAW ANOTHER VEHICLE!” my Boss told me. (he wasn’t much of a systems admin guy and needed me to do it). So I did.
To make a long story short, Mike the GT tech finished out another vehicle (a big truck) that he’d been doing an engine on. It took him a couple of days, but when he finished the ticket, he was fired. I’m sure he saw it coming.
The Dealership paid back the GT Owner what he’d paid for it. He wasn’t happy, of course, but what else ya gonna do?
Judging from the economic events that will occur in 2023, I think one of China’s most successful economic policies is “foreign exchange control.”
…
China’s foreign exchange controls include the following measures:
1. Restrict foreign exchange circulation in China
Any enterprise or retailer in China is not allowed to accept foreign currency and must convert it into RMB before trading. I can’t buy anything in any store in China with US dollars or Singapore dollars.
2. Restrict foreign exchange from being freely convertible into RMB
Any foreigner who visits China needs to convert foreign currency into RMB. There are limits on the amount. For example, foreigners entering China can only exchange US$50,000 in cash each year. The foreign exchange received by Chinese companies operating abroad will also be subject to amount restrictions when they need to convert it into RMB.
Foreign companies also need approval to remit foreign currency into China for investment.
3. Restrict the conversion of RMB into foreign currencies
Any Chinese or foreigner leaving China must exchange RMB cash into foreign currency. Or if you want to remit RMB and convert it into foreign currency, you are also subject to the amount limit.
Not only that, if Chinese companies want to invest in other countries and want to convert RMB into foreign currencies, they also need approval.
Simply put, the conversion of RMB and foreign currencies is subject to limits and controls. This makes large sums of money not freely convertible at all.
China is the world’s largest trading country, and it is the largest trading partner of almost all countries in the world. Therefore, the foreign exchange control policy actually has many negative impacts on the Chinese economy, which brings troubles to cross-border transactions, troubles to Chinese companies operating abroad, and a lot of troubles to foreign companies investing in China.
Even so, China still insists on implementing foreign exchange control strategies.
As an employee of a Singapore investment company, perhaps because of my lack of knowledge, I have not been able to understand China’s approach in the past many years. Because this policy often gives me a headache at work and adds a lot of extra workload to our company. The Chinese want to expand trade so much, why do they impose artificial restrictions on currency flows?
I once believed that if China relaxed its foreign exchange controls, China’s imports and exports would see huge growth.
It wasn’t until 2023, after the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike, that I realized the reason why China did this: they took financial sovereignty into their own hands.
As we all know, in order to solve the country’s economic problems and curb inflation. In 2023, the Federal Reserve carried out continuous and substantial interest rate increases on the US dollar.
This operation has greatly increased the yield on U.S. dollar deposits, and funds all over the world want to transfer to the United States to obtain high interest rates. Many people even apply for loans in their own country and then transfer the loaned funds to the United States to enjoy the interest rate difference between the two places.
This caused funds from all over the world to begin to gather in the United States. Investors and wealthy people frantically converted their currencies into U.S. dollars and remitted them to the United States.
This resulted in a series of dire consequences for all other countries:
1. Due to the loss of large amounts of funds, investment in various fields in the country has been stopped.
2. The domestic currency was sold off in large quantities (converted into US dollars), causing the domestic currency to depreciate sharply, while the US dollar appreciated sharply.
3. Lack of investment and consumption (all the money is remitted to the United States) has caused the economy to decline, business is sluggish, and companies are gradually closing down.
4. As the U.S. dollar appreciates, American investors can purchase companies and minerals that are about to go bankrupt in their own countries at very low prices.
5. National wealth shrinks (the national currency depreciates), and people no longer trust the national currency and turn to buying U.S. dollars, causing the collapse of the national currency to intensify.
This consequence is like a domino, which is catastrophic for any country, meaning that the wealth created by this country for decades may be completely harvested by the United States.
In order to avoid this disastrous chain reaction, governments can only take one approach: follow the United States in raising interest rates. This can reduce the interest difference between the two countries and reduce capital outflows. You can take a look at the situation in your country in the past six months. Are banks already raising interest rates?
However, raising interest rates is not a panacea. It also has a serious negative impact, which reduces domestic investment willingness. After all, who wants to invest in business when you can earn a high income by depositing your money in the bank? At the same time, some companies that rely on loans, especially the financial industry and large-scale manufacturing industries, will see their capital costs continue to increase. When the chain breaks, businesses go bankrupt. For individuals, the interest pressure on student loans, credit cards, and mortgages will increase, and people’s lives will inevitably be affected.
Therefore, for most countries, not raising interest rates means allowing the United States to harvest their own wealth; raising interest rates means immediately harming the domestic economy and people;
No matter what you choose, you will get hurt. The rate hike is just the one that hurts less.
But in China, the situation is different.
Not only did the Chinese not follow the U.S. in raising interest rates like other countries, they actually kept cutting interest rates in the past few months.
Aren’t they afraid of massive capital outflows and sharp depreciation of the RMB, which will trigger an economic crisis?
Of course not, that’s why they implemented exchange controls.
Since the RMB and the U.S. dollar are not freely convertible, large-scale conversions are simply impossible.
Bank of China: What, you want to convert 50 million yuan into US dollars? what is your purpose? Transfer money to a U.S. bank? Sorry, this is not allowed.
Oh, you changed your story again and said you were going to the United States to do business. Well, please provide your business contract, investment agreement, and lawyer’s certificate!
Therefore, they are not worried about these problems at all, and the outflow of funds is limited to a controllable range. The United States simply cannot harvest China.
In the past few months, the yuan has indeed depreciated against the US dollar, but has appreciated against other major currencies around the world, which shows the effectiveness of China’s foreign exchange control capabilities.
With low interest rates, Chinese companies can obtain very cheap financial support from their banks, which makes them invincible in the global market. Taking the shipbuilding industry with the largest demand for funds as an example, the Chinese have taken 90% of the world’s shipbuilding orders in the third quarter. In the same period last year, their share was only 50%.
In the face of US dollar interest rate hikes and global currency depreciation, inflation has occurred in various countries, but China’s domestic inflation does not exist at all. They have even begun to worry about “deflation.” Many Chinese friends told me that domestic prices in China are actually lower than last year, and people can buy more goods with the same money.
I was assigned to Police Motorcycles for ten years. I was on a traffic stop one winter day writing a citation to a young man. While writing, the young man asked me if I knew Officer Stone. My heavy leather jacket covered my name plate, and as the only Officer Stone on the force, I found this an interesting question, since I had never seen him before. I responded, “Why yes, yes, I do.” I threw in “He’s really a great guy.” The young man agreed, telling me how they were good friends, and that Officer Stone was close with his family. “Officer Stone comes over to my house on most Sundays for dinner and my mama cooks for him”, the young man added. I said “Why that’s real nice of her.” As I handed the kid his citation to sign, I pulled back my jacket to reveal my name plate, and said “Tell your mama I’ll be over for dinner Sunday at 1:00”. The kid’s face froze, and after a few seconds, he simply responded “Yes Sir!”
My career was spent as the Founder and CEO of a very large company. When a woman disrespected my marriage, politeness went out of the window. Ladies, trust me I’m not God’s gift to women, but I have been hit on! I was once told by a 22 year old (I was 40 something) that she could steal me away from my wife. My response was, “you’re fired”!
I’ve now been married to the most incredible woman in the world for 56 years. I still find reasons to fall in love with her each day.
When I was 17 years old, I dropped out of high school to work full time. I never went in to get my GED (which is the equivalent of a high school diploma).
Since then, my parents (especially my mom) have been begging me to get my diploma.
I’ve put it off for years and years, much to their disappointment.
This fall, my friend finally coaxed me into taking the exams. He assured me that I could do it, he encouraged me, and he was a huge support. I wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t for him.
November 30th, I passed my final exam and got my GED!
I printed it out, framed it, and wrapped it up for my parents for Christmas.
Unfortunately, I have no chill, so I went to my parents’ house last night to give them their Christmas present early. My mom unwrapped it, read the diploma and…
Oh. My. God.
That reaction was worth every single minute of studying and exam taking.
I have never seen someone cry out of happiness at a present, but my mom did. My dad got teary eyed! Shit, the boyfriend said he even got blurred vision watching my parents’ reaction!
It was amazing.
My dad was smiling and clapping and my mom hugged me so hard I thought she was going to break a rib.
The dogs started barking because they were freaked out at the sudden mayhem.
At one point my dad yelled, “A ROUND OF WHISKEY IS IN ORDER!” and ran off to the kitchen to pour a round of shots.
It was hilarious.
Hands down, being able to make my parents that excited has been one of my happiest moments.
There’s nothing like making your parents proud.
(Oh, and P.S.: I passed with flying colors. I made those exams my bitch.)
Iran Gets Access To Chinese Satellite To Use For Missile Attack on Israel!
“The US must be isolated or sidelined for the benefits of all free nations of the world.”
What pushed me —a United States Astronaut— into retirement? I’ll tell you exactly what pushed me.
I was summoned into the “corner office.” This is a hallowed place, reserved for the Chief of all astronauts. Seated in a chair in front of the boss’ desk, the discussion would eventually turn to me asking, “What are my chances of flying again?” The boss pulled out a long sheet of paper. A sheet known to wannabe fliers as the A/B line chart. It typically shows potential flight assignments well into the future and is used for NASA JSC management planning purposes. After fidgeting and mumbling for a few moments, I heard the words that would eventually push me into retirement. I heard the head of the astronaut office say —in part— “… I have better choices to fly in space than you,” and then, after a brief pause, the boss followed up by saying that I didn’t “… have the temperament for long-duration spaceflight.”
I was crushed beyond words. The career that I had worked so hard for, and had —after 15 application cycles— been selected to do, was being summarily ended. I left the office of the Chief Astronaut and cried … but not before I wrote down everything that was said.
I did not retire immediately. I hung on … performing as a lowly “management astronaut.” Stripped of most of the “fun” stuff (like flying in the T-38), I was expected to go to meetings. The only saving grace I had was that I was made an IA (instructor astronaut) for spacewalking. Something I was very good at, I apparently did have the temperament for teaching neophyte space walkers. Of course, I took that assignment very seriously.
In all honesty, I was hoping for a change. I tried to wait the boss out, hoping they would step down for a more promising assignment. They did exactly that, hoping —but failing— to be named as the first astronaut to spend a year in space. I would then enter the hallowed corner office once again, only this time I was sitting across from the new Chief… and the new deputy.
When I respectfully asked them for a chance to get back into the “active astronaut” and flight-eligible line, the boss gave me an emphatic “no.” Expecting exactly that response, I asked for a more responsible position in the office hierarchy, one that could challenge me more than meeting attendance and effectively utilize my 30 years of NASA experience (15 as an engineer, 15 as an astronaut). Again, the boss said “no.” The Deputy said nothing. I was being dressed down, by two people who would go on to fly again … just like the previous boss.
I was angry … very angry. So much so, that I was bringing that anger home and inflicting it upon my family. Obviously an unpalatable situation, it took the courage of my then 18-year old son to say, “… Dad, this has to stop.”
And stop it did … sort of. My family will tell you that I am still angry … and it’s something I must deal with every single day. I am working hard to lessen the anger, but it’s going to take some time.
I have now been retired for nearly 6 years. During that 6-year hiatus from government service, I have been writing. I write to share my stories with you and, more importantly, because it’s therapeutic. And it’s really a whole lot of fun! I also enjoy teaching part-time at Iowa State University, entertaining as a motivational speaker, and I consult with various organizations in a number of different capacities (listen for my voice sometime or take a Royal Caribbean cruise!).
My wife and I spent a month in Spain and were scheduled to fly home from Paris, France.
The day before we were to leave my wife tested positive for Covid.
I had to to make arrangements to stay longer at the Airbnb, the host was very kind and helpful.
I had to reschedule a number of appointments that were to take place after we were to return home.
All of this went smoothly but when I tried to get ahold of Air France, it took over six hours of trying before I was able to talk to a human. I was informed that they would not change our tickets because we had booked through America Express. It took about two minutes to get a human at American Express who was able to change our tickets for a flight four days later. We were issued new tickets, but when we were at the airport, Air France informed me that there was a $175 charge for the changed flight. I asked why as we already had new tickets and Air France did not do anything for the changed tickets. It was like I was talking to a brick wall. The Air France person could not (or would not) explain what the charge was for. He was rude and acted like I was being unreasonable, but all I wanted was an explanation as what the extra charge was for.
Rwanda
I finally paid the the fee but I will never fly on Air France again
Rwanda, a tiny country in the eastern central part of Africa Rwanda
When visiting Rwanda, don’t bring any plastic bags as they are prohibited in the country. When you try to bring them, they will be confiscated right at the airport. Same goes with throwing waste in the environment, our country is very clean, and throwing any waste would be a shame for you, and the authorities can punish you for that.
Don’t openly discuss ethnic issues. 22 years ago our country had seen one of the most atrocious tragedies in human history 1994 Genocide Rwandan genocide
you shouldn’t go around asking everyone what? where? how? who are you? The good way to learn this history is to try and visit some memorials which are rich in that history and it’s near the main city, Kigali and almost in every other city across the country.
Don’t try to take pictures of everything you see especially people even young kids in the street without first asking. Yes, our country is still under development, you might see poor neighborhood, young street kids or some funny things you can make out of those pictures – taking photos of those vulnerable people without their permission is a sensitive issue in our culture.
You shouldn’t be annoyed or irritated if someone didn’t make it on time. For many people being late “is just okay” one hour or 4 hours would still be okay 😉 so if you are meeting someone either for business or personal affairs just bear this in mind and be patient.
Restaurant and other service businesses. You will be treated really well, in fact a special treatment will be given to you if you are a foreigner (Rwandans are very welcoming and we are naturally good to our neighbours), but don’t take advantage of it or think that they want something from you (i.e. don’t shout or raise your voice when you are not satisfied with the service, there is a good manner to bring the issue at hand).
Rwanda is very safe and secure. Contrary to the popular belief or some perception of a country which has been in Genocide 22 years ago, you can move around anytime you want; even midnight. Don’t expect anyone to understand what you are talking about, even if you speak English or French, the majority of people only know one language; Kinyarwanda. Taxis, local traders, waiters, service providers, etc. they try hard to understand you but make sure when you are traveling to have a local guide with you (this will also help you pay less for everything, because you will not be overcharged cause you are a foreigner)
Don’t bring cats or dogs to public places or smoke in public. This doesn’t mean Rwandans hate animals, it means they respect other people’s views almost on anything. There are also special places reserved for smokers.
When you are a guest to someone’s home, don’t pay (or contribute) for the food or drinks offered unless asked to, this is rude or in some cases disrespectful.
Don’t get annoyed if you are being called ‘muzungu’ everywhere. Literally muzungu means ‘a traveler’ but it is widely known as ‘white people’, even Asians are called ‘muzungu’ 😉 😉 Don’t think they are being racists or are they trying to insult you.
Welcome to Rwanda! The land of thousand hills.
Man Expose His Girlfriend After DNA Test Proves He’s Not The Father Of Their Son.
Probably not the strangest, but the only one I could prove.
An elderly gentleman came into the shop complaining of a brake squeak. I wrote up the work order and my guys pulled it into the shop. After several minutes passed, I heard an explosion of laughter coming from the break room.
It was kind of obnoxious, so I went to see what was up. A mouse had gotten stuck between the brake pad and the caliper. Sadly the mouse had passed away.
I then approached the customer to come see what was causing the squeak. The customer began to hysterically laugh. To the point where he dropped to one knee. I thought I was going to have to call an ambulance.
A tech released the mouse and the squeak was gone. Rest in peace Mr. Mouse. Thanks for the laugh.
Back in day 70s when I got married, I registered for a lovely ironstone place setting from Mikasa. I got 10 and a half place setting for wedding gifts. I went to Macy’s in Indianapolis to buy the rest to make 12 place settings. About 18 months later, I got a box from Macy’s that contained another place setting plus some serving dishes. Upon speaking to the manager of the department, it turned out they were discontinuing the pattern and as I was the last person to buy any pieces, they sent the display pieces to me. I thought that was very nice of them. 50 years later I still have all the pieces and use them when I have company.
I think it’s a great idea. Singaporeans are very intelligent, and have excellent educational backgrounds. They also have the distinction of being Asian in ethnic identity but having the Western influence that Singapore is known for. They have the best of both worlds, and a unique ability to unite Eastern and Western worldviews in brokering investments for the tech industry.
Singapore is also known to be a haven for those with considerable wealth. They may be willing to invest in tech startups that have potential. Especially if that company is close to home and able to benefit Singapore’s economy.
Singapore is also a major trade hub. Second to Shanghai, they are the largest port for transporting in the world. It’s a prime location for new ventures. It’s proximity to other Southeast Asian countries, India, and China make it a good hub with access to millions of people. All in all, I have a favorable opinion.
This is why men needs to have more sex than women…
Yes. And when they arrived for the “noise complaint” I answered the door in my boxers with my 3 year old slung over my shoulder on one side and a long handled fish net containing a bat (as in a nocturnal flying mammal) on the other.
“Can I help you officer?”
“Is that a bat?!”
“Yes, excuse me for a moment.”
Handed off my kid to the rather confused officer, went about the necessaries of releasing the terrified bat from the net, set it down, and retrieved my kid.
“What can I do for you sir?”
“We had a noise complaint (it was two or three in the morning) but I’m guessing I understand. Have a good night sir.”
And then he left. Chuckling all the way back to his car.
Someone on Quora pointed out that Ireland is good at micro-efficiency. If you need to fill out a form, there will be a pen beside it. The security guy at the door can tell you which desk you need to go to, stuff like that.
So I apply this to my life. My bicycle is in the hall, with the lock, lights and reflectors all attached to it. I can grab it and go out the door, knowing I have everything I need. My bike bag contains a can of instant puncture repair and rain gear.
My keyring has only the keys I actually use, plus a small mirror for problems with contact lenses.
I only buy trousers with pockets with zips that will actually hold my phone and keys.
Every coat has a pair of reading glasses in the pocket.
Beside my passport, I keep a small plastic bag with a toothbrush, contact lens case and mini deodorant. If I have to, I can hit the airport with just those and I’ll manage.
I wash the muddy dog in the road outside the house, not the bathroom. She likes it better, the local kids help, and I don’t have massive cleaning up to do.
There is no one hack that does it all, it’s more about finding the most efficient way to get things done.
I worked for a company in Texas for a number of years. After my immediate supervisor retired, a new person from outside the company was hired to take his position. This guy was a complete sleeze bucket, he was really shady. I was given instructions that I was morally unwilling to do. I was given the choice to do it or pack up and leave.
I typed up a letter of resignation effective the Friday of that week and immediately left to visit my job sites in Louisiana and East Texas. On Friday as I was headed back home I stopped at one of my last job sites. The superintendent of the site informed me the President of my company was trying to get in touch with me and the owner of his company told him that if I showed up and did not contact my President, he would be fired.
I called him and he said when my resignation was delivered to the Senior VP in charge of my division two of my coworkers also turned in their resignations. Between the three of us, it represented 20+ years with his company. He and the SVP went to talk to my former supervisor. He was terminated on the spot and the three of us were asked to reconsider our resignations.
Well, this wasn’t actually a person. But it was the best case of ‘you just picked a fight with the wrong one’ I’ve ever seen.
I was at the park walking my dog with a friend and her dog.
Her dog was a rescue but from her brains, looks and behavior she was an Australian Shepherd. That particular day she was off in the distance chasing birds while my dog (also a rescue and at that point still quite timid) was hanging back with us.
Suddenly a pair of huge Great Danes appeared out of nowhere and decided to make a meal out of the Aussie. They started off far behind her but they were 5 times her size, so they closed on her quickly in a vee formation, with the Aussie at the point of the vee.
As my friend and I watched in horror, they gained on her until they were just inches from her, still closing in at an angle. We were sure she was a goner.
And then, just as they were about to grab her, she reversed on a dime and shot back through the narrow gap still left between them. The train wreck she left in her wake as the two clumsy oafs slammed into each other head first was awesome to behold.
We were still laughing when she reached us, trotting back with a grin just like the one in the picture on her face and her tail waving high.
Today feels heavy. I got up when it was still dark, way before sunrise because I wanted to do some work before my main job. I’m super tired. Coffee is like the juice that keeps me going.
In a few more minutes, I’ll go to work. I’ll be there for a long time. It’s supposed to be from 9 to 5, but I always need to stay longer. My boss says that’s what I should do to be a good employee. But even though I work a lot, my piggy bank isn’t getting any fatter, and everything else, like food and rent, keeps costing more.
Did you have a similar experience when you were my age? To me, this makes no sense!
Very frequently, I feel scared because I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop working. It bothers me when people suggest we should save for retirement. They make me feel like I can’t manage my finances wisely. This is ridiculous. Savings? Lol, when will it happen?
Meanwhile, everyone seems to be so happy on the Internet. They post pictures with big smiles and seem to be having fun, but I think most are just pretending. Most of my friends are also running this “race” to success. Yet, most of them are also super tired, although nobody wants to say it out loud.
When I get home, I work my side hustle. Why? Because I went to a good college, and now I owe money, a lot of it. So, I work all day long, even when I should be taking a break or hanging out with friends. It feels like I’m on a bike pedaling super hard, but I’m not moving.
I need your help, Hector. How can I make this stop? How can I escape this miserable lifestyle and start making real progress?
Sorry if this was a long email. I hope you have some words of wisdom to open my eyes. I’m hungry for progress. To the best of my knowledge, I’ve done everything I was supposed to do, yet I don’t have the results I expected.
This is a tough one… but this is what I answered:
My friend, reading your email hit me right in the gut. I’ve been there, and let me tell you, it’s a tough spot. But you’re not alone, and you’re not the first to feel this way.
The first thing to understand is that this non-stop hustle culture we live in isn’t sustainable. It’s not healthy. Sure, working hard is important, but there’s a point where you’ve got to step back and look at the bigger picture. Are you working smart? Or just hard?
Here’s my answer thinking as an entrepreneur. I’m not saying this is right, so take this with a grain of salt. This is how I would focus my attention:
Health is the first step to wealth: Drop the caffeine and find a healthier way to stay sharp. If you burn out, you can’t make money. Period.
Forget the 9 to 5 myth: If your current job demands long hours with little reward, it’s time to rethink your career strategy. Maybe your skills are more valuable elsewhere. Ever thought about that?
Your net worth is not your self-worth: Stop comparing yourself to the fake TikTok life. Delete it! Focus on you.
Make time for what matters: You’ve got friends you don’t see because everybody’s “too busy”? Cut the BS. Schedule it as a meeting that you have to attend. Work will always be there. Relationships won’t.
Your side hustle: You’re working a lot and not moving forward? Maybe you’ve got a passion or skill you can monetize on the side. It could be anything. To me, your answer is found there.
Learn to say “NO”: This one’s tough but necessary. Set boundaries. Your time’s the most valuable asset you’ve got.
Get a game plan: Sit down and figure out where you want to be in 5, 10, 15 years. Then, work backward to make a roadmap on how to get there.
Take a break: Burnout is real. Sometimes, you’ve got to take a step back to leap forward.
Keep learning: You say you went to a nice college. Great. But learning never stops. There are a ton of free resources out there. Use them. Learn how to increase your expertise and generate extra income.
You don’t have it all figured out yet, and that’s okay. Most of us struggle with this.
Here’s the good news: It’s great that you’re asking questions. Stay open to change and find new opportunities. Keep searching for answers!
Most importantly, make sure you’re hustling in the right direction. The world has changed. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.
What am I missing?
Xi Jinping’s Global South Red Carpet: China’s WARNING to the Neocons
China has been rolling out the red carpet for Global South leaders maligned by the United States. This video explains why this is a stark warning to the neocons that they’re global order is FINISHED.
It’s the story of a mugger named Bob, who had a lot of money, but wasn’t incredibly happy.
Getting drunk and hiring prostitutes just wasn’t really hitting the spot anymore, he felt a little bit empty, he was having trouble sleeping at night, wondering if he was really doing the right thing, questioning the meaning of life itself.
When he spoke to people about it, many suggested changing his ways, no longer mugging people, and doing something else more productive instead.
Bob didn’t like that idea one bit! It sounded like a lot of work, for one. And it implied he had been doing something wrong?!? How dare they suggest that he was anything less than perfect!? Hearing that kind of stuff made him angry, not happy.
But then one day, Bob talked to one of the PR people working for the thieves’ guild, and it changed his life.
He sat there for hours, listening avidly. For the first time, he was hearing ideas that made sense to him, it was like music to his ears.
Bob the mugger learned that wealth is not a zero sum game. His latent feelings of guilt evaporated as he learned that getting money from someone, was actually the same thing as providing that person with a service. Wealth creation! Of course! That made sense!
He felt a bit like a courageous hero when all the risks he was taking were mentioned.
He had always suspected that if there were any issues caused by muggings, it was just because of over-regulation, and that it would all go much smoother if city guards would just stay out of it.
When he was told that he was an amazing person, superior to everyone else, and that people were just jealous of him, and that was why they didn’t like him… Oh boy! It stroked his ego in just the right way! It was exactly what he wanted to hear.
Bob the mugger walked away feeling GREAT! No more doubts, no more guilt, and no need to change anything either! He could go on mugging people, filled with confidence that he was making the world a better place, by caring only about himself.
And he went on to do great things!
He decided that it was time that he give back to the community, by providing some jobs for other muggers. And he didn’t stop there, he had a growth mindset, and built a huge mugging empire!
Bob the mugger became Bob the risk-taker, Bob the job provider, Bob the creator of wealth!
This unsung hero almost died asking himself that very same question:
Why does nobody understand me and my greatness? Why do they not understand that I’m creating jobs and wealth?!? Why do they keep talking about a zero sum game?!?
But then he remembered: They were probably all just jealous. And he died at peace with himself, soothed by his comforting ideology.
There’s a thing called the gambler’s fallacy that many of us fall for in so many situations.
The most simple example is if you are flipping a coin. You’ve landed on heads 10 times in a row. At that point, you might think that you have higher odds of landing on tails. Obviously, that’s not true — as it is always a 50/50 chance.
It happens during card games, sports betting, and all manner of games that we play. If you are playing cards and get five good hands in a row. It’s easy to start thinking, “You know, I’m actually kind of a good card player.”
Your ego gets involved and that’s when things get dangerous for your wallet.
Cajun Salmon Burgers with Lime Mayonnaise
On the table tonight: Cajun Salmon Burgers seasoned with McCormick® Perfect Pinch® Cajun Seasoning, panko, red bell pepper and onion. Top with Lime Mayonnaise for an extra-delicious Lenten (or any season) dinner.
Quora Prompt Generator, who is the “we” you’re referring to?
Are you referring to the U.S. government? Why be concerned? Biden’s been bitching that Apple should do their manufacturing in the U.S. China is now telling Apple’s producers to stay home in Taiwan. This is a good time to remind Apple to come home.
Or are you referring to Apple stakeholders? You should be very worried. Foxconn and Wistron had to abandon India because they couldn’t transplant and replicate their China production to India and are trying to work their way back to China. Apple has no other country that can produce its premiun models and would be in deep kimchi if Foxconn can’t recoup to build back their capacity in China.
Or are you referring to Apple, the company? Yeah, they should be running scared because Tim Cook knows Apple has no Plan B to fall back on. Why do you think he’s been practically camping in in China these past months?
Or is this the “royal we”, the general public so to speak? This should be taken as a good sign. China is doing their due diligence – not allowing any “sacred cows”. Entities like Foxconn should be audited to ensure that they’re complying with all rules and regulations in order that there is a level playing field and market competition for all.
I had another interview. This was on a website that discusses soul, and astral travel, and all manner of similar items. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the video. Enjoy!
I hope that you enjoy it.
I don’t think that I was at my best. But I did try anyways.
Oh, I’ve got a good one. After joining a new company, I rose quickly from trainee to project manager. However, my pay didn’t rise with my title or responsibility. I was also being forced to work overtime off the clock (illegally). I had a sit down meeting with my boss, and told him that I expected to be paid more given that I had far more responsibility. I was told that I’d need to gain experience in the new department and that they didn’t have money in the budget for raises. I knew this to be nonsense, because there was no way that the guy I replaced was making the pittance that I was. I also asked for a filing cabinet for my office. I was told that one had recently been vacated and to take anything I needed out of that office. I found the file cabinet, which was a rusty piece of shit. But, it’s what I had to work with. I didn’t know how valuable that filing cabinet would be.
I started cleaning out the crap that the last person had left in the filing cabinet. It was mostly a bunch of accounting stuff; invoices from receivables, things like that. At the very bottom of the filing cabinet was a stapled set of papers. On it were the names of the company’s employees with a number beside each one. I tried to figure out what the numbers meant. Office number? No, some of them were the same. That ruled out employee number too. In fact there were decimals. Wait, could it really be? No. Yes! This was a list of the hourly rate of every single employee in the building, from CEO to Janitor. Jackpot.
Now that I new how much everybody was making, I knew exactly what I was worth to them and what they could “afford”. But they had just turned me down for a raise. How was I going to leverage it? Well, by securing another position, which I did. I interviewed at another company, got another offer that was at least above what I was making in case things didn’t work out and put in my notice. About a week went by. Didn’t hear from them. Maybe they were broke and couldn’t afford to pay me any more. But sure enough, one afternoon I got called into the Vice President’s office. “Why are you leaving us?”. I told him that I thought my additional hours and responsibilities were worth more money and I was right, another company offered more money. “Can we at least make you an offer? We can move things around.”
They came back with a substantial raise, in fact more than the other company was offering by a fair amount. But I knew what every employee was making, from the newest project manager to the people I replaced. I was going all in. I told him I had to turn his offer down. Another day went by. I get called into the Vice President’s office again. “We like what you’re doing. We have increased our offer.” I said I would look at it. I waited two days before getting back to him, just a few days before starting my next job. I told him if he added another dollar an hour it was a deal. He said he’d see if the other board members would agree, and it was officially offered on paper that afternoon. It was a dollar more per hour than the people I had replaced, and a 50 percent increase in salary. Information is everything, and somebody left the wrong information at the bottom of a rusty filing cabinet.
“Oh, just one more thing. My filing cabinet is a piece of shit, I want a new one.”
“Done.”
I made sure it was empty when it got hauled out.
“War with Iran would be SUICIDE and the U.S. will lose” – Scott Ritter
Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter lays out how a U.S. backed war against Iran would bring devastation to both the United States and Israel. Ritter says Israel would be destroyed if it tries to face off against Hezbollah and Hamas simultaneously.
Enough to flatten any nation or a few nations which dare to nuke China completely and comprehensively. Ensure that it can send its reciprocal strike with minutes of the enemy’s strike. China won’t be the first to you. But it must retaliate in kind with equal proportion.
Just so you know? How many Nuclear Arsenals? It for China to know and for their enemies to find out the hard way. 300–30’000 that is what China has. Don’t doubt China. A nation that last 5000 years will still be around after you care gone.
Texas Tavern Burgers
2023 10 28 12 33
Yield: 10 servings.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
3 tablespoons butter
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 pounds ground beef
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Combine and cook 1 cup onion and butter until onions are clear and tender.
Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients except beef, salt and pepper.
Simmer for 10 minutes.
Cook ground beef and remaining onion until brown. Add to mixture.
The US needs deflation causing supplies to keep inflation down. If it cuts China supplies your inflation can balloon to between 25–50%.
The U.S. needs a market to sell most of its products. China a lone is bigger than the next 10 markets put together. It’s consumer market alone is roughly 30% of the world. But what is worst is 70% of world produce is made in China. If you add these China commands 50–60% of world market. Any U.S. companies deprived of this market literally goes bankrupt.
You should not even think of cutting out China let alone do it. Anything you do will hurt the U.S. 10 times what it will ever hurts or harm China. That explains why the U.S. trade war on China starting in 2018 is such a duff decision. From 2018–2021 the U.S. economy grew 5.5% in total while China’s economy over the same period grew 5 times faster at 26.5%! No question who won!
Now this Chip war has shown clear signs of bankrupting the entire host of US chip companies from designing to producing and developing. The U.S. expected China to collapse and it is supposed to take a generation or 25 years for China to catch up. It took 3 years! Now China will produce chips at a third of the U.S. cost! The whole nonsense of Chip ban may cost 10 trillion when it tally up the losses.
But a nation that lost in Korea, failed again in Vietnam and disastrous in Iraq and replaced Taliban with Taliban after wasting 5 trillion dollars in Afghanistan will never learn their lesson to be humble.
In technology it has failed miserably in trying to deprived China of GPS. China developed a higher resolution, accurate to a meter version that now is in use by 187 out of 195 nations. Next to ban China from entering the U.S. space station. The result is China now has the only functional state of the art technology Chinese Space Station.
Moscow will sell to Beijing, 70 Million Tons of Grain over the next 12 years for an approximate value of 65% of thr market price of grain pegged to a maximum value of 2.5 Trillion Rubles
PAYABLE IN RMB!!!
This means 36% of the World’s Grain will now be quoted and paid for in RMB
It was 4.7% in 2021
That’s a 720% rise in a mere 2 years
China gains huge food security plus currency domininon
Meanwhile
Russia extended a 10 year deal to sell Oil at a 30% discount pegged to a maximum equivalent of 750 RMB a barrel
And the best news
The Malacca Blockade is worthless now
China can get 100% Energy from Russia & the Middle East plus Food Security and delivered through Safe routes
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The Duran: Germany is FINISHED
This is very interesting. Europe is going down with the United States.
Texas Breakfast Burritos
2023 10 19 08 45
Ingredients
12 flour tortillas, warmed
1/2 pound bacon
2 tomatoes, cubed
1 onion, sliced
3 1/2 tablespoons salsa
6 eggs
Instructions
Cook bacon until crisp.
Using same pan with a little grease, cook onion.
Crumble bacon coarsely and return to pan.
Beat eggs; stir into pan. Cook until eggs are set.
Fold in cubed tomatoes and salsa.
Fill warm tortillas with egg mixture.
Grandma gives high-five to passport bros
China Aims to Use Particle Accelerators to Build Chips and Evade EUV Sanctions
China’s semiconductor ambitions call to use particle accelerator.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), China plans to use an innovative approach to manufacturing processors by harnessing particle accelerators, potentially positioning itself as a global leader in advanced chip manufacturing. SCMP says the method seeks to evade traditional lithography machine limitations and US sanctions on EUV technology, potentially reshaping the semiconductor industry landscape.
The Chinese research team, led by Tsinghua University, is developing a unique laser source using particle accelerators. Their goal is to sidestep the constraints of conventional lithography machines, which are pivotal in microchip production. The proposed particle accelerator will be roughly the size of two basketball courts, between 100-150 meters in circumference, and will serve as a high-quality light source for chip fabrication.
Professor Zhao Wu from Stanford University introduced the underlying technology, termed steady-state microbunching (SSMB). SSMB captures the energy emitted by charged particles during acceleration, transforming it into a continuous, pure EUV light source. Compared to the prevalent ASML EUV method, SSMB boasts superior power and efficiency, potentially reducing chip production costs.
“An SSMB-EUV light source has been designed at THU, with designed EUV power higher than 1kW, and some key technologies are nearly ready,” said team member Professor Pan Zhilong at a presentation at an academic workshop in January 2022.
This ambitious project contrasts with the strategies of companies like ASML, which focus on miniaturizing chip-making machines. Instead, China’s vision involves creating a giant factory that houses several lithography machines, all centered around a single accelerator. This design aims to enable competitive manufacturing processes (such as 2nm and beyond) that will be used to make high-performance chips without using traditional extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography scanners.
“As a completely new light source, the experimental verification of the technology has been implemented. But it is necessary to build a solid SSMB light source research device operating in the EUV band,” said project leader Professor Tang Chuanxiang from Tsinghua University.
“Then we can [use the device to] cultivate scientific and industrial users, and polish the SSMB technology.”
According to the report, Tsinghua University’s team has made significant strides in this domain; they have successfully trialed the technology and are now scouting locations for the project’s construction, the report claims. Their achievements could pave the way for China to bypass potential future sanctions and emerge as a semiconductor powerhouse.
However, the journey to realizing SSMB-based EUV lithography machines remains long and challenging. Professor Tang Chuanxiang heads the project and emphasizes the need for continuous innovation and collaboration across industries to develop a functional lithography system.
“There is still a long way to go before our independent development of EUV lithography machines, but SSMB-based EUV light sources give us an alternative to the sanctioned technology,” said Tang. “It requires continuous technological innovation based on SSMB EUV light sources and cooperation with upstream and downstream industries to build a usable lithography system.”
China Will Take Revenge Against US Discriminatory Practices On Huawei This Way!
The question is, what kind of inquisitive mind thought it would be possible to stop the technological advancement of a country of 1.5 billion people that work diligently hand-in-hand to build and better their country that has over 1 billion people as citizens, and over half of that as Middle Class? US economic experts advising their government should re-educate themselves.
https://youtu.be/RdMwv9z0VwE
Does US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo seriously think that the US Congress can use legislative tools to stop Huawei from doing research innovation and launching new products?
It’s not just her. The entire US government is having delusions of grandeur. They think that all the US needs to do is pass a law and it will magically happen anywhere in the world. This is massively deluded behavior. Much like the insane Emperors of Rome.
Huawei’s mobile devices consumer division was kneecapped and decapitated through sanction, suffering a 90% drop in shipped volume in the last 4 years.
That’s a 100–200b dollar swing in revenue, just for handsets. To put that in perspective, that’s equal to 1–2 Boeings at its 2018 peak.
The US was trying to kill Huawei, and bury the telecoms business by bleeding revenue off its high margin consumer division.
That’s way grander than “stop Huawei from doing research innovation”.
Huawei is still under sanction, and Bloomberg’s recent name and shame of Taiwanese companies helping Huawei/SMIC with foundry infrastructure is a thinly veiled attempt at threatening companies not to deal with Huawei, even though the contracts they have entered into do not fall under current sanction.
Gina is free to suggest sanction escalation and fix Huawei like America did to Russia and Russian oligarchs, but Beijing will retaliate this time. And there is ~1 trillion in annual S&P 500 revenue generated from the mainland to aim for. The Chinese don’t have a significant presence stateside.
Personally, I think the ship on Huawei has already sailed. I won’t be surprised if Huawei breaks 100m phones shipped annually in the next 18–24 months. I also won’t be surprised if Huawei introduces new WIFI and telecoms standards in the next 5 years that end up being adopted in Apple phones. Neither Apple nor Google are capable of driving hardware standards revolution.
I can’t think of any easy-to-implement/low cost cards that the Department of Commerce can still deal when it comes to Huawei.
When I was a child of 8, my mom died suddenly. Our next door neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Cardin, sat outside on their front porch every night and I went over and sat with them for endless hours. They were so kind. I thought they were old. They were in their sixties, I guess. I always felt welcomed. They served me iced tea. They played cards with me. When I turned 18 and my dad died, I moved in with an older sister. I don’t remember ever saying goodbye to them. Years passed, I married, divorced and remarried and moved to another town nearby. I always remembered their kindness. One day I was walking through a local cemetary and reading the tombstone inscriptions (which I love to do). There they were: Geraldine and Louis Cardin. I knelt down in gratitude. The next weekend was Mothers Day. I laid a bouquet of flowers at the grave of Mrs. Cardin and thanked her for her kindness and comfort. They never touched me, never hugged me. They just let me sit beside them while I talked to them and they talked to me. I cannot remember one conversation, only that I felt at peace in their company.
Carl Zha on Huawei, ‘Chinese Spies’ and Chinese economy on Redacted
Years ago I bought a golf diesel car. It belonged to my girlfriends father. He had fallen asleep and clipped a pole. Damaged the passenger side.
I asked what he wanted for it and he insisted it was only worth $600 because that’s what the dealer said it was worth. I bought it and replaced the door and rear axle and had a little body work and paint and pin stripping done. Cost me $800. Now the car had 50K miles on it so just barely broken in for a diesel.
The first time I drove it at night the climate control section of the dash was black. I thought you know that should be illuminated.
So I got into the dash and found the plug to the climate control unplugged. Plugged it in and it worked fine. Actually it looked like the neon lights at a fair. Red, green, blue colors. So I’m over at my girlfriends and sitting in the car when her father came over and we’re talking and he looks into the car and is stunned to see the lights.
Owned the car for a couple of years and said he just carried a flashlight to see the controls. He had no idea it was supposed to be illuminated.
Egypt just dropped a BOMBSHELL in the Israel Hamas War
Much respect to Egyptian Gov. for not bowing to the US.
I love American cars – I have owned Chevy El Camino, two Dodge Ram Vans and one Ford Econoline.
The thing is that American cars are designed for different ecosystem than European and Japanese. American cars have ridiculously over-powered and under-efficient engines, which are extremely reliable, but they are terrible gasoline guzzlers. I mean, the American cars drink petrol like an alcoholic cheap plonk.
Moreover, the American cars are large and they have been designed for straight roads and long distances. They are excellent in Scandinavia, but next to useless in Central Europe.
In Europe, petrol is an import ever since the USA destroyed all the surviving Fischer-Tropsch plants in Germany after the WWII so that Europe could never be self-sufficient on liquid fuels. It means petrol is expensive, and it is heavily taxed. Petrol prices are approximately the same per one litre than they are in the US per one Yank gallon. So this is an incentive to a) maximize the thermal efficiency of an Otto or Diesel engine and b) to get as frugal and economic car as possible.
Moreover, the distances are short (which means a lot of acceleration and deceleration) and the roads are old (some date all the way to the Roman era) and follow the contours of nature. Which means they can be awfully winding, especially at the Pyrenees, Alps and Scandian mountains. Thus the agility is favoured over speed or comfort.
European cities are old, the streets are narrow and they certainly aren’t going to be re-planned with automobiles on mind. Finding a parking lot can be a pain and many city streets may have centuries-old cobblestone instead of asphalt. American car aren’t exactly the optimal vehicles there.
BLOCKADE FAILED! Germany Halts Dismantling of Chinese 5G Equipment！
Recently, the launch of the Huawei Mate 60 and the resurgence of 5G technology in China, powered by the domestically produced Kirin 9000S, have demonstrated that Huawei has successfully overcome the long-standing blockade imposed by the United States.
Although some US lawmakers have made strong statements about increasing sanctions on Huawei, US Secretary of Commerce Raymond has already affirmed that chip supplies to China will continue. Additionally, ASML, a key supplier of lithography machines, has announced their commitment to providing equipment to China until the end of the year.
Furthermore, Germany has also changed its position. Despite the “red-green-light” coalition government’s emphasis on the “security risks” associated with Huawei’s 5G equipment and their efforts to suppress Huawei through legislation and orders to remove Huawei’s equipment, the German government has covertly allowed German telecommunications operators to use Huawei’s 5G components.
According to reports from Chinese media and Germany’s Die Welt newspaper, a German government official privately acknowledged that the new 5G network in Germany incorporates technologies from China and German operators still rely on security-critical components provided by Chinese suppliers, implying that the German government has effectively permitted the use of Huawei’s 5G technology.
Huawei operates globally in 170 countries, with 30 commercial 5G contracts and over 25,000 5G base stations deployed without any major security incidents. Moreover, Germany’s ban on Huawei’s 5G components lacks substantial evidence to prove security risks, indicating that Germany is attempting to find faults where none exist.
However, this ban has faced opposition, with individuals stating that Germany’s 5G network has developed a deep reliance on Chinese suppliers, making it challenging to remove this dependence in a short period of time.
A friend was flying in to LAX, and I was going to meet her there for lunch. Another friend insisted I borrow his Prius (this is important to the theft), saying that he didn’t want to have to rescue me if my car broke down. (Fair worry—my then car was really on its last legs!)
I stopped at a McD’s on my way out of town to get some coffee, and when I walked back out of the restaurant, I unlocked the car using the fob, hopped in, and left. I drove to the airport, but when I parked and went to get my book out of the back seat, my book had disappeared!
It turned out that I had gotten in the wrong Prius!
When I finally figured this out, I went immediately to the airport’s little “police station” (a trailer at the far end of the airport’s circuit) and confessed to my crime. Yes, the car I was in had been reported stolen, but they contacted the owner who kindly agreed to just let me bring it back, which I did after having lunch with my friend.
Both these Priuses had a keyless entry and ignition system, and the way the owner handled hers was the only reason this could have happened.
Her car was the same color as the one I was driving, and she was parked two stalls away from me in the crowded parking lot. When I came out, I headed to the wrong one, not even noticing that there was another Prius nearby. I unlocked my car remotely, opened the door and sat down.
Here’s the thing: she had locked her car with a physical key when she parked it, but had left the fob in the console, forgetting that the Prius won’t lock if it detects the fob inside the car. So her car was unlocked.
I started the car with the pushbutton instead of with the key, and it started since it knew the fob was inside the car, and voila—grand theft auto!
Victoria Nuland, Asst. Sec. of State for Europe, phone call to US Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, in which they discuss how they’re going to set up the new Ukrainian government in 2014.
The video link is provided below. Here’s your smoking gun right here.🔫
And isn’t it interesting that the only administration in which Nuland could NOT find a position was the Trump administration. I’m no fan of DT, but it’s an interesting fact nevertheless.
She was in on Clinton, Bush, Obama, and now Biden administrations — a 33 year “diplomatic” career —including a very high level and indeed dangerous position today (Oct 2023) as Asst. Sec of State. She was Dick Cheney’s Deputy National Security Adviser from 2003 to 2005.
Interestingly, Wikipedia makes no mention whatsoever that Vitali Klitschko was a Ukrainian presidential candidate in 2014, instead providing page after page of information about his boxing career.
On this one, we got real, real lucky.
High level covert operations are NEVER this easy to get evidence on.
Foreign media tend to portray Chinese plans and projects as stemming from a small, tightly centralized regime in Beijing. Foreign press back in the 2000s (when they were still enamored with the ‘Chinese model’ of economic growth) were often quick to praise how the strong, centralized decision making of China and it’s technocratic bureaucracy were key to driving economic growth where the ‘decentralized and slow democratic’ decision making of the decadent rest was going to be their death knell.
One could say that this is more of a linguistic issue where press reports simply referring to Beijing or the CPC created the impression that it was literally just Beijing and the Central Committee of the CPC calling the shots. Thereby creating the assumption that in order to address any issue in China, one must fly to Beijing and meet with the top man there. Or perhaps its a throwback on how the press reported on the USSR by making references to the “Kremlin” every time policy decisions were taken, forgetting that the Soviet States of Hungary, Poland, Romania etc had their own governments with their own powers who also called some of the shots.
This is flawed to say the least.
The Chinese governmental structure endows its provincial governments with surprisingly vast powers to the extent that Provincial governments alone can pursue their own foreign investments and trade deals with only minimal oversight from the center as long as such deals adhere to the loose guidelines issued by the center.
The same goes for the gigantic State Owned Enterprises in China which are permitted to initiate and pursue their own economic activities under the loose framework of the central committee’s guidelines.
As other Chinese Quorans have pointed out, One would do well to remember that China can better be thought of as a continental level entity with it’s own mini nation states inside its borders.
When the BRI was initiated, the central committee simply set out the guidelines for the project, which you can read here:
President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the forum pointed out that our promotion of the “Belt and Road” construction will not repeat the old routine of geo-game, but will create a new model of cooperation and win-win; it will not form a destabilizing small group, but will build harmony. A coexisting family.
This fully demonstrates that the construction of the “Belt and Road” is an important exploration and practice for countries along the line to jointly build a community of human destiny.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has coordinated the two major domestic and international affairs, coordinated development and security, and carried out a great-state diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in a proactive manner, and put forward a series of new ideas and concepts. We advocate the establishment of a new type of international relations with cooperation and win-win as the core, and strive to build a community of human destiny.
President Xi Jinping said in a keynote speech at the 2017 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos in January this year that as long as we firmly establish the common sense of human destiny, work together and work together to help each other and overcome difficulties, we will certainly make the world a better place. Be beautiful and make people happier.
The concept of the community of human destiny highlights the inclusiveness of the new international order
The community of human destiny is based on the thinking of various new elements in the development of the world in the 21st century. In response to the philosophical and historical propositions of “where does man go?”, from the perspective of reforming and improving the international order, A vision for the evolution of global governance.
After the Second World War, the world as a whole maintained peace and development. Its main guarantee factors were the construction of the international order and the in-depth development of economic globalization.
However, with the increasing challenges in the process of economic globalization and the increasing diversification of international actors, the current international order cannot effectively cope with various problems, and the risks of security disorder and development imbalance are increasing. Global governance calls for reform and innovation.
The paper goes on to talk in general guidelines about Eurasian infrastructure and trade development in loose terms:
In 2013, Comrade Xi Jinping formally proposed the “Belt and Road Initiative”. China is focusing on the periphery as the primary direction, promoting the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and providing important new public goods to the international community, especially the developing countries in Asia and Europe.
In August 2016, Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out at the symposium on promoting the construction of the “Belt and Road”: taking the “Belt and Road” construction as an opportunity to carry out cross-border interconnection, improve the level of trade and investment cooperation, and promote international cooperation in capacity and equipment manufacturing. It is to revitalize the world economy by increasing effective supply to generate new demand.
His keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the “Belt and Road” International Cooperation Summit further emphasized that China will thoroughly implement the development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, constantly adapt, grasp and lead the new normal of economic development and actively promote The supply-side structural reforms will achieve sustainable development, inject a strong impetus into the “Belt and Road” and bring new opportunities for world development.
In the context of the continued downturn in the world economy, China’s support for countries along the line to promote industrialization and modernization through the “Belt and Road” initiative to meet the urgent needs of countries to improve infrastructure levels will inevitably activate the growth potential of countries along the route, which will undoubtedly help stabilize the world economy. The situation and the promotion of global economic growth.
McKinsey, the US consulting firm, estimates that by 2050, the contribution rate of countries along the Belt and Road Initiative will be more than 80%.
To say that there are a thousand and ten thousand, China is going to build a development concept of practicing the community of human destiny through the “Belt and Road”, so that all parties can work together to fill the development of Asia, Europe, and the mainland, and create a common development and prosperity of all countries. New Era.
That is pretty much all the center does: establish the guidelines and groves for the project but leave it to other actors to decide how they carry them out.
Chinese provincial governments and their regional local elite have their own significant powers which they can use to resist parts of the agenda from the center which they don’t like (at least temporarily). I remember reading how one of the provincial governments stubbornly resisted Beijing’s calls to reduce pollution levels stemming from the province by pointing out how that would slow down economic activity in the province.
Similarly, when the CPEC project started, a Chinese SOE began development of Gwadar port and it’s special economic zone as part of the BRI initiative.
But right across from Gwadar, a Chinese provincial government began their own special economic zone in Oman, directly in competition with Gwadar!
Our Prime Minister Imran Khan would learn this lesson well when his incompetent team failed to brief him on how the Chinese political structure worked.
So when Imran Khan recently went to China on a state visit to Beijing to renegotiate some of the CPEC projects, he was met by bewildered officials in Beijing who pointed out that the central committee doesn’t exactly negotiate the deals for the BRI. SOEs and Provincial governments do. What exactly did Imran Khan want Beijing to do on an issue where Beijing wasn’t directly involved?
Most BRI contracts are not between governments but instead between Chinese companies and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to facilitate projects for the larger BRI initiative.
In that context, when the new government claims it will renegotiate contracts, as well as terms and conditions, it is forgetting to mention that it will have to do them with Chinese companies and SOEs, not with the Chinese government.
Secondly, because CPEC is an overland project, any arbitration that happens i.e. if the government were to try to renegotiate any contract in place, they will have to refer to the BRI court in Xi’an, which falls under Chinese law.
That means either the government must engage a law firm to represent it on each contract it wants to renegotiate or try to contest cases itself.
Worse still is the fact that the government has practically no idea what it wants to renegotiate in the first place.
That is the crux of the problem Pakistan faces: the state simply does not understand the conceptual basis of BRI or CPEC and, hence, cannot even define what it means.
Chinese companies raise that money in their own country from institutions like the Silk Road Fund, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Export Import Bank based on guarantees provided with regards to project completion through contracts signed by the Pakistani government.
Pakistan owes that money to Chinese financial institutions and not the government — let’s be crystal clear about that. The Chinese government will also not waive that borrowing away because it is project-based debt financing.
The crux of the problem as far as Pakistan is concerned is that we have become so accustomed to reading about China through English print media or viewing the Chinese through a prism set by others, that we have no idea where policy decisions in China are stemming from. Or who exactly to talk to in the PRC.
So we default to our own logics: If we’re a strong man, authoritarian country we expect to take our problems to Xi to have them addressed. Or if we’re a country who sheds limelight constantly on the ongoings of their president, we tend to equate the other country’s president with the same power structure.
It would be useful for other nation states and companies besides Pakistan as well to perhaps narrow down on who exactly they are dealing with when they deal with China.
And perhaps do some linguistic adjustments so we move away from stuff like “China is building ports in the Arabian sea” – wait! Who is China? Xi himself ordered the ports built? Like specifically? Or do you mean a variety of different actors ranging from provincial governments to SOEs are pursuing their own economic activity under loose guidelines from the center rather than as part of some ominous grand design.
To be fair, maybe I’m being too harsh on Pakistani leadership. Certainly the military seems to know who to deal with in China, having negotiated independent contracts with the Xinjiang government, Chinese SOEs and so on.
There is also a tendency to get lost in the weeds when reading foreign press on China sense the idea of “large, centralized, authoritarian behemoth moving steadily in an organized manner towards American interests” sounds way more ominous and fearful than “oh hey, one of the Provincial governments in China is building a port in Burma to expand their provincial trade”.
The idea of an ominous, all power, omnipotent central leadership in Beijing calling all the shots sounds very enticing. Particularly for media centers operating out of nations that wish to portray China as the next big threat to their interests.
Its just not true. And we should probably learn that lesson well in our future dealings. Others would be well advised to do the same.
The point isn’t that the central government is powerless vis a vis localized power centers. Or that the central government is all powerful. But that the truth lies in a nuanced middle ground between both polar opposites. And there needs to be more specificity about who we are referring to in China when discussing policy decisions stemming from the PRC.
“Just a small note – neither of this countries was ever part of the USSR – all of then was separate countries albeit dependent of the Soviets.
USSR republics was the “stans” countries (Turkmenistan, Tajikistan etc), Ukraine, Belorusia, The Baltics, Georgia and Armenia, but not Poland, Hungary or Romania.”
Meet Brian Mwenda, a Kenyan man who has been playing a high-stakes game of make-believe in Kenya’s legal system.
Stunningly, Mwenda is said to have argued and won not one or two, but 26 cases, pitting his wits against bona fide legal eagles and leaving courtrooms in awe. And he did all this without a law degree or any professional certification. He’s a fraud.
Now, authorities have finally caught up to him, and he’s facing a slew of charges for impersonating an Advocate of the Kenya High Court. But the man’s record is flawless, a clean sweep of victories.
It begs the question, should he be behind bars or standing at a podium accepting an award for extraordinary legal acumen?
Mr. Mwenda might just be a legal prodigy, an undiscovered gem in the world of law. Or Kenya seriously needs to reevaluate its legal education and certification processes.
After all, if a fake lawyer can outwit the pros, what does that say about the system?
If he was given the right to defend himself and he eventually won, it’d be his 27th triumph, an untainted record in a courtroom career founded on a lie.
If that happens, Brian Mwenda wouldn’t just be defying the laws of his land; he’d be defying reality itself, turning what should have been his downfall into yet another improbable victory.
There are a lot of things I do understand about Trump supporters.
Trump supporters are angry, tired, and frightened. They live in a world that’s passing them by. They keep hearing about how the economy is booming, but they’re struggling to make ends meet.
They see foreign students coming in on H1B visas to work at tech companies for what seems like ludicrous, unfathomable amounts of money, money they don’t see in a decade, and they’re wondering where their share of the pie is.
They hear people sneeringly talk about “flyover states” without seeming to know or care those are their states, their homes. The people they care about are mired in drug and alcohol addiction and struggling to pay the mortgage while Instagram 20somethings jet off to Maui and get sponsorship deals with companies that make bottled water.
They see liberals bending over backward to support gay men and lesbians and Black criminals and trans people and illegals, talking about treating everyone with compassion, and they’re like, what about me? Where’s the fucking compassion for me?
They bought into reassurances that if they were willing to work hard, they’d make it. They’d get ahead. Hard work and grit would be rewarded. Now the lumber mill’s closed and the mine’s closed and city folks keep going on about how coal mining is actually bad and wrong, and they’re like fuck you, we had a deal, I busted my ass and you took it all away.
They were told there was an order to things, a way things worked, and yeah they were never top dog on the heap, but at least they weren’t the bottom either, and now everything’s changed and men in makeup with long nails who’ve never done a days’ work in their lives are being put ahead of them? Are you kidding me?
I get it. I understand that. They were sold a bill of goods, and now the world has shattered around them and they’re stuck in podunk nowhere with no way to keep a roof over their head and the neighborhood they used to be proud of is trashed by meth dealers and everyone else is going on about how wonderful life is and what losers they are, and they’re pissed about that.
That’s not hard to understand at all.
What’s hard to understand is why they think a grifting self-described billionaire who lives in a penthouse, shits in a gold toilet, and wouldn’t ever in a million years allow any of them into any of his resorts is “one of them” and totally, like, gets them.
That’s the part that I don’t get.
Why the West FEAR China (China is UNLIKE Japan in the 90’s)
America loves China’s consumer goods. As long as China was “the world’s production factory” the United States left China alone for the most part. There was the occasional “free Tibet” protest or Tiananmen Square protests, but nothing like what I see today.
What changed? China. China began to rapidly develop its infrastructure as well as its education sectors such as Science and Mathematics. They were obsessed with STEM learning before it was cool. Their military and space program excelled. They tackled poverty and literacy, created jobs and basically pulled themselves up by their bootstraps.
They no longer had to be the world’s factory. They still produce a massive amount of consumer goods, but as China develops toward first world status some of those factories relocated to Southeast Asia. Vietnam will likely earn persecuted country status by the time my grandchildren come of age. That’s if the U.S. is still influential in world affairs.
They hate China because China is no longer the sick man of Asia. China is strong and influential. The U.S. is terrified of losing their hegemony to China. They are an emerging world power that can offer developing countries a different path from what the United States traditionally offers. It’s all a part of a circle really. Nations rise and fall and have done so for millennia past. They will continue to do so for as long as Earth continues to exist. The U.S. will fall and China will rise. A hundred years from now and it will likely be another country’s turn.
If you are in Southeast Asia like me, you should have realized how happy and proud Indonesians are recently.
The media in Southeast Asia is full of reports about Indonesia’s high-speed rail.
In Indonesia, everyone from the president to civilians is happy for the opening of the high-speed rail. Even those against the media can only say irrelevant nonsense.
Indonesia’s high-speed rail has achieved initial success. This is the first high-speed rail in Southeast Asia. They are worthy of pride.
Our Malaysian neighbors have some nasty things to say in the media. But I know that they are actually very envious of Indonesians, and they also want a high-speed rail from Kuala Lumpur to Penang.
Currently, there are several high-speed rail projects in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Japan’s high-speed rail project in Vietnam is in a quagmire, and its high-speed rail in India has made no progress. Only China’s high-speed railways in Indonesia and Laos have been successful.
If Indonesia wants to maintain this success in subsequent projects, it only needs to maintain its original approach and trust the Chinese as always, and they will help Indonesia create miracles.
If there is, 99% of any incidents are man made. To be precise US lies, innuendos, concoctions, fabrications, made up haft truths or total garbage.
Take the weather balloons. Intentionally blown out of proportion. Pardon my punt. Imaging some hundred million Americans fixated over lies by the media and opportunistic politicians making hay on sunshine demonising and accusing the Chinese of spying a most ridiculous and frivolous claims but it sells media! Finally shooting it down with a hundred million jet at a million a pop on a float away balloon worth a thousand bucks!
So think about how ridiculous it is? In todays world where if China wants to it can zoom in from space at high resolutions on very square meter balloon China need to spy the US using a brightly coloured 2 school bus sized with a huge Chinese flag pasted moving at 5 miles an hour, visible by naked eyes m? It is laughable and shameful if you ask most of the world. But guess what some Americans think it is real! What a spun!
But Chinese people laugh their eyes wet thinking how silly you guys can get. Blinken your Secretary of State even postpone a state visit of utmost importance pretending to be affected by the balloon!
The tensions if any are all US made. A nation allowing fictions to exist and lies to demonised other nations cannot amount to much. But the US has no shame or pride. When General Mike Milley your joint forces chief announced officially that after days of disruption and chaos, up to a billion dollars, that it is what it is. A weather balloon! No more no less. Guess what! No apology, no one took responsibility, no one U.S. made to pay, no acknowledgement!
This is a nation that has carpet bombed nations, use agent Orange on villagers destroy thriving economies by mistakes and false flag operations. 3 million Vietnamese died and half a million U.S. agents dead or injured due a war started by lies in the Gulf of Tonkin!
So, sure one cannot expect much! But guess what they dare to call US exceptionalism and even worst Americans believed it!
In every revolution, there’s one man with a vision
“If change is inevitable, predictable, beneficial…doesn’t logic demand that you be a part of it?”
It won’t it will never and it will hurt and harm the U.S. several folds more that it can hurt and harm China.
It is no different from the U.S. picking a big rock and threaten China that if China do better than the U.S. you will throw the rock on your own foot!
China is a humongous market now. It is several times bigger than the U.S. and worst it produce 75% of everything needed by the world. If you stop selling to China which is say 40–60% of your market. You will go bankrupt. And if you think China cannot make it you better be super careful that the can’t and they will never be able to do! If you are wrong you will not only lose their need but you will also lose entire worlds need too.
Frankly the U.S. is a party not the only party to make most of the products. It simply cost the US too much to stop China. It is cheaper and more sustainable to work with China as an equal and finding a win win solution. The U.S. cannot forced China’s hand and will. China is too strong, too influential, too rich and too capable to fight you if you fight them.
If something is an Offence, then you need someone to determine what constitutes an Offence and thats called DESIGNATED AUTHORITY
So unless US is the Ruler of the World, how can it be an offence to get around Sanctions Imposed by Russia for economic reasons?
Lets say India needs 96 Million Tonnes of Crude this year – 71 Million Tonnes of Sulphur & 25 Million Tonnes of Sweet ]
We normally buy Spot from the Market and have no long term contracts like other Nations have.
Suppose tommorow we are offered Crude at 30% Cheaper Rate, Why cant we buy Crude from Russia if it means a savings of several billion dollars?????
Punishment would simply mean US Sanctioning the Country that dares Trade with Russia
It might work or It might fail
For instance say India which produces its own Food is Sanctioned , tomorrow if it comes to Energy Crisis and Massive Recession vs Freezing of our USD Assets – A Sane man would rather choose Asset Freezing and fight legally in the UN , rather than force an Energy Crisis and Massive Recession
Say China is Sanctioned. It would rather be sanctioned than compromise its National Integrity and Face by conceding to the US demands.
However a Country totally dependent on US would have to Kowtow or totally Dependent on Imports from Europe would Kowtow
In 1997 – 82.9% Nations depended on US and European Imports primarily (159 out of 188)
In 2007- 59.7% Nations depended on US and European Imports Primarily (119 out of 199)
In 2017 – 32% Nations depended on US and European Imports Primarily (66 out of 205)
In 2022 – 28% Nations depend on US and European Imports Primarily (58 out of 207)
So the Sanctions are becoming weaker and weaker because More Countries can survive primarily even despite US Sanctions. (US/EU also includes Canada , UK and EU and NATO nations)
Almost 101 Countries have changed their primary trading Partner from US / EU/ UK/ Australia/NZL/Canada in the last 25 Years alone. Most of them have moved to CHINA including the EU themselves.
Stupid Sanctions like those against Russia tend to cause more negative impacts to the US than positive Impacts
Russian teenage genius joins Huawei .sparking concerns in the United States.
China and Russia, march forward hand in hand to make our world more stable, prosperous and peaceful.
How many cities can make a simple claim like that?
In Singapore, there are few exclusive districts, and those are the remnants of colonial history. In a modern new town, the expensive private apartments are within a stone’s throw of 1,2,3 room public flats. The children go to the same schools, and the parents shop at the same supermarket.
This raising of baselines across the board prevents organized crime from festering, because the fertile ground of poverty and the disadvantaged is uprooted.
Singapore is low crime, and most people have a healthy respect for the law, and especially officers in uniform. My grandma won’t indoctrinate her grandchildren in 21st century Singapore to “beware of cops”, because it isn’t 60s Hong Kong anymore. The SPF is one of the cleanest and most efficient police outfits in the world.
As a reminder, beat cops are armed with guns, but officer-involved shootings are very rare. We can go years between shots being fired. How does the SPF reduce violent arrests, and the risk of injury to both suspect and officer?
Through displays of overwhelming force.
Not all guns blazing, but the deployment of teams of officers to handle on-the-ground situations. Like these:
This round-island ability to concentrate policing power allows the senior officer to control and manage the situation, particularly the safety of the innocent public, the suspect/s, and of course the officers themselves.
In other words, gentler policing SOP.
This is a luxury that not all police forces can boast. Singapore manages by keeping crime waves at bay with effective policing and stiff laws.
At the end of the day, it is the economic and social fabric that keep crime from festering. And Singapore’s remain healthy.
Note: This is what passes for policing elsewhere.
Nurse Dies Of Illness; Experiences Infinite Reality And Told Why We’re Here (NDE)
There is an island in the Aleutions just east of Attu called Shemya. The AirForce has a landing strip there. The Army used to run a listening post there as well. It was considered a hardship tour, so the duration was one year. However, being under CONUS jurisdiction meant that overseas and hazard pay were not offered, base only. As for social life, the joke ran “there’s a woman behind every tree on Shemya; but there are no trees.” A good wind could carry a person off the island if one is not careful. Guide ropes were installed over the winter months to ensure safe passage between the barracks, the workspace, or the messhall. Being in the high latitudes subjected one to auroras, and other geomagnetic storm effects. Stereo gear just didn’t last long up there. Its isolation put Shemya on the bottom of any iteneraries for the top brass, so their presence was rare, thankfully.
Due to its proximity to the international date line, you could see tomorrow on a clear day!
I let a friend stay at our summer house all winter. All they had to do was pay the utilities. A flag went off in my head when she said “why do I have to pay for the utilizes?
we get back in May-the first thing we are greeted to (in order):
oven is a disaster
phone call they will turn off our electric for non payment
her son (who wasn’t supposed to be in there) carved his name in our cocktail table
deep gouge in the oak flooring
my new water pik is gone
ALL MY WINE THAT WAS HIDDEN WAS GONE
Instead of cleaning out the fireplace she used the trap door which took us all day to clean out
she left the place filthy.
I was so angry I wouldn’t answer her emails or phone calls.
She then dialed on someone else’s phone and I picked up-she asked why I wasn’t taking her calls. I told her everything especially our wine being gone.
Her reply was ““so you are going to RUIN our friendship over a few bottles of cheap wine?”
I said THEY WERE CHEAP TO YOU SINCE YOU DIDN’T PAY FOR THEM.
Don’t call me again and hung up. I hope she sees this post.
A scammer sees a high-ticket item with resale value online.
The scammer offers to buy it, sight unseen, with a cashier’s check, money order, or credit card.
You deposit the check or money order, or run the card.
The scammer has a mule, who may or may not know it’s a scam, pick up the item.
The bank notifies you that the check/money order was a forgery or the card was stolen. They take the money out of your account.
You try to go after the scammer to realize they used a fake address, a disposable cell phone or VoIP line, and a fake name—you have absolutely no way to find them. And the mule who picked up the item? If you can find that poor sucker, he tells you the scammer paid him money to pick up a bunch of items, but then the check the scammer paid him with turned out to be a fake.
Optional bonus round:
The scammer sends you a cashier’s check or money order, but the amount is wrong. You agreed on a price of $2,500, the check is for $2,800.
The scammer says “Oh, I’m so sorry, I made a mistake. Can you wire me the $300 I overpaid? Tell you what, it was my fault, just wire me $250, keep the extra $50 since I screwed up.”
The bank tells you the check was a fake and takes the money out of your account. (This can sometimes take 6 or 8 weeks to happen, by the way.) Now you’re out the car, you’re out the money, and you’re out $250 that you wired to the scammer…
…which, when you try to get the wire transfer back, you discover actually went to a recipient outside the US, and you are completely utterly 100% screwed. There is no way in hell you will ever see that money again.
Super playoff round:
You get a message from an “insurance fraud investigator,” “funds recovery specialist,” “online fraud recovery agent,” or something along those lines. He tells you that your name came up as part of a fraud investigation and he can get your money back in return for a percentage.
You negotiate some percentage, say 10% or 15%.
He tells you to send him $150 to pay up-front expenses, fees, duties, “recovery tax,” or some other bullshit fee. He explains that the fee will come out of his percentage, so it’s all good.
You send him the $150.
You never hear back from him. It was the same scammer all along. Now he has your car, your money, the extra $250 you sent him, and he’s just taken you for another $150 on top of that.
Double Jeopardy round:
You get an email or phone call from Interpol, or the FBI online crime task force, or US Boder and Customs, or whatever.
They tell you that a car registered in your name was used to commit a crime and since you’re still the registered owner, you’re legally liable.
They say that an arrest warrant has been issued in your name, and you will be arrested…
…unless you agree to waive your right to a trial and just pay the fine.
They tell you the fine will be $1,000, payable by money wire.
You wire the money. It was the same scammer all along. Now he has your car, your money, the extra $250 you sent him, the $150 you sent him on top of that, and another $1,000.
Double Jeopardy round variant:
You get an email or phone call from Interpol, or the FBI online crime task force, or US Boder and Customs, or whatever.
They tell you that a car registered in your name was used to commit a crime or found abandoned, but either way it’s been impounded, and they’re calling you because you’re still the registered owner.
They say that you will get your car back if you pay the impound fee. Maybe they even send you a photo of the car.
They tell you the fee will be $150, payable by money wire.
You wire the money. It was the same scammer all along. Now he has your car, your money, the extra $250 you sent him, the $150 you sent him on top of that, and another $150.
Yes, I’m dead serious, this actually happens, and people actually fall for it at every step along the way.
In terms of absolute strength, the Qing Empire was more powerful than the Ming Empire
The Qing Empire had a much stronger army. The Qing Empire had twice the territory and four times the population of the Ming Empire.
During its most powerful period, the Ming Empire still faced threats from northern nomads. They built a whole new Great Wall to deal with this.
The Qing Empire completely dealt with the surrounding threats, and their military controlled almost the limit of geographical control.
From the perspective of global relative strength, the Ming Empire was stronger.
In the 15th century, the Ming Empire was the most powerful empire in the world. At that time, the Byzantine Empire fell, England and France were in the Hundred Years War, and the Spanish Empire had just begun to expand. Technically, economically, and in terms of strength, there was no power in the world that could rival the Ming Empire.
In the 18th century, the Qing Empire was not the most powerful empire in the world. Although it has vast land and population, it has lagged behind in terms of social structure and technology. After Europe completed the Renaissance and circumnavigated the world, it began global colonization and the industrial revolution. In particular, the British Empire developed rapidly, and the strength of European countries surpassed the Qing Empire.
Apollo 20: The Secret Mission to the Moon to Salvage an Ancient Alien Spacecraft
This is fun. Not sure if true or not. Check this out.
Egypt warned Israel of a pending Hamas attack ten days before terrorists breached the border and took control of military bases, and communities, killing more than 700 and taking 150 captive including women and children.
“We have warned them an explosion of the situation is coming, and very soon, and it would be big. But they underestimated such warnings,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the content of sensitive intelligence discussions with the media, told The Associated Press.
The Egyptian official said the Israelis were concentrated on the tension on the West Bank and did not consider the Gaza ruling terror group to be a threat despite repeated warningד
that the Egyptians though were not being taken seriously.
One would hope so. But the story will certainly be denied. And due to the war Bibi may still keep his seat.
Since Ukraine fell into crisis, Tesla has recovered from a low of 700 dollars to close to 1,100, a rally of more than 50 percent.
Similarly, the first world’s stock markets have mostly chugged through like nothing has happened.
The turmoil in the commodity space though, tells a different story.
This is because the sanctions are designed not to hurt the first world financial markets too much. The first world control the world’s money flow.
Unfortunately, China is a totally different problem. Any meaningful sanction on the same wide-ranging scale as those being thrown at Russia will roil financial markets around the world.
For a start, Apple will lose 90+ percent of its production and 25 percent of sales if it withdraws from China just like it did in Russia.
When Apple goes, so does the rest of the market. The mother of all asset bubbles will burst, from stocks to real estate to crypto to bonds.
The yuan will devalue sharply, and the forex game of cards will go up in flames, especially the ntd, krw and jpy, which will have to devalue even more or risk oblivion.
A weird new world will be in flux, with assets in the first world devaluing sharply, but consumer goods skyrocketing along with unemployment.
All these point to massive social unrest within weeks or months of taking such a decision, which is difficult to walk back because market sentiment is not easily reversed once the trust evaporates.
No amount of money printing can save the day because China controls the real economy of goods and component production.
REPORT: Qatar to Cut Oil/Gas Supply if Israel Invades Gaza
Qatar is now threatening to cut their oil supply to the world if Israel invades Gaza.
Emir Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani of Qatar threatened to stop gas supplies to the world if the bombing of Gaza did not stop.
You can bet Saudi Arabia among others will be right behind.
Hal Turner Editorial Opinion
Thankfully, illegitimate President Joe Biden and his incompetent Regime, sold-off about two-thirds of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an attempt to stabilize gasoline prices, which skyrocketed when they imposed Sanctions on Russia over Ukraine.
So if the Arabs DO cut-off oil supplies, the United States no longer has a massive 714 Million Barrel reserve from which to draw to keep the country going.
Some 80 million of you voted for this! All you folks who thought Trump was mean (Orange Man BAD!) . . . and voted for Biden . . . . YOU did this.
You’re correct, ground beef is fairly cheap and the cost of the ingredients that make up a burger is relatively low. The cost of all of the ingredients used to produce a restaurant’s hamburger might be a couple of bucks.
So why is my hamburger $15.00, you ask?
Restaurants have other costs, as well as the cost of food. The young lady who greeted you at the door, escorted you to your table and handed you a menu has to be paid. So does the young fellow who took your order, brought you a drink and delivered your burger. Someone had cook the burger, shred the lettuce, slice the onions and tomatoes and prepare the secret sauce that’s slathered on your bun and they get a paycheck. The plate, fork, knife and glass you used need to be washed, which means there’s someone doing that job as well and they need to be paid too. Finally, there’s the owner and his investors. They all demand a profit from the sale of your burger. If there’s no profit, there’s no point in being in business. So they tack a profit onto the price of your burger because they want to be paid too.
There’s also the rent that has to be paid on the building, the electricity and gas that were used to cook your food, light the dining room and power the AC that’s keeping you cool and comfy. A portion of those things are paid for via the sale of your burger. Sell enough burgers and the restaurant stays in business. Don’t sell enough, or sell them too cheaply and you close the doors.
Understand?
Satellites Show Location of USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group Heading toward Israel
European Space Agency (ESA) imagery shows the USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier and its Strike Group, moving south past the Island of Sardinia, enroute to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, closer to Israel.
Iges released by the ESA show the ship and its group:
Alongside the Ford—USA is sending the cruiser USS Normandy, destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, USS Roosevelt.
The Ford and its Strike Group are being sent to “Make certain Iran does not escalate the ongoing hostilities in the region.”
When HAMAS, which is fighting Israel, got word the Carrier was on its way, they issued a statement saying the ship does not make them afraid. One government official – I won’t say from which government — told me “It isn’t coming to scare them; it’s coming to kill them.”
That aside, there is real danger for that ship and its Strike Group, if a confrontation develops. You see, Hezbollah, in Lebanon, has, in its possession, a known quantity of twelve (possibly many more) P-800 “Oniks” anti-ship missiles, built by Russia.
The Oniks missile is either land-launched or air-launched. It has a range of 120 to 300 km (75 to 186 mi; 65 to 162 nmi) depending on altitude (Yakhont export version). But Russia has also made a version for itself with a Range of 500 lm.
It flies very close to the surface of the water, with an operating altitude of 10 meters (32 ft) or higher.
But its real danger is its speed. The missile travels at Mach 2.6, which means 3180 km/h which translates to 1998 mph (884 Meters per second) The human eye — in general — cannot even see this thing moving . . . it moves so fast.
The missile has already been used against Ukraine and Ukraine had a lot to say about these missiles:
The Oniks has proved to be a difficult threat for Ukrainian Air Defenses. Air Force Spokesperson Yurii Ihnat mentioned (to Wikipedia) that the flight profile of the missile is of particular concern; “Onyx missiles are designed to destroy watercraft, and ships, it flies at a speed of 3000 km per hour, that is, very fast,…On the march [cruising], it can rise high, and when entering the target, it can actually fly 10-15 meters above the water to destroy the ship.” He concluded that it was “impossible” to shoot them down with available anti-air means.
Which brings us back to the USS Gerald R. Ford and its Strike Group.
They will be in “the eastern Mediterranean.”
One hopes they will remain far enough off shore to be out of range of these missiles. But the farther offshore they must stay, the less flight time for their fighter jets without refueling. So the Ship has to try to strike a balance between getting as close as possible so fighters can have good range, or putting themselves farther away for their own safety, which lowers fighter jet range.
OTHER SHIPS, EVEN CLOSER!
Other US Navy Ships are even closer to the threat of these missiles. The ships and 3,000 US Marines onboard, are in the Persian Gulf!
Unless, of course, the USS Gerald R. Ford and several (or ALL) of the ships in its Strike Group, are being set-up to be sunk, to provide an excuse for the US to go to war.
No, such a thought isn’t far fetched, the US knew the Japanese were going to attack Pearl harbor, and they let it happen on purpose.
Who knows if the same, sick, mentality, is at play in the federal government today? Another “Gulf of Tonkin” type situation, perhaps?
I guess we’ll see.
The Gerald R. Ford and its Strike Group should be in the eastern Mediterranean Sea later this week. The other vessels are already in the Persian Gulf off Iran’s coastline.
I worked for a 150-person manufacturing and assembly plant. We made small engines and parts for aircraft.
I was the HR person.
While doing a payroll audit after we switched to a new system, I found this guy on payroll. He was supposed to mow the grounds and provide janitorial service.
Except we had a service do it all for over 8 years. So this guy was paid a not-so-bad hourly rate and just never showed up. For 8 years. We never could find him to tell him he was terminated.
A few months later, we found a small room in the upper mezzanine of the warehouse. We found a small color tv, a cot, a refrigerator and microwave, a desk and chair, a radio, and easy chair, clothes, etc.
From the things we found on the small desks in the room, we figured he had been living in the room rent-free and he went unnoticed for years.
We finally caught him sneaking in late one evening and escorted him off. He was actually pretty clever.
Brian Berletic: China is Ready for War as South Korea and Japan Join Alliance with US
Brian Berletic of The New Atlas discusses Biden’s latest escalation with China, this time in the form a new military alliance with South Korea and Japan.
China develops new record-breaking ‘Jiuzhang’ quantum computer prototype
Chinese scientists have developed a new quantum computer prototype known as “Jiuzhang 3.0” with 255 detected photons, pushing the boundaries of photonics quantum computing technology on a global scale.
Led by the renowned Chinese quantum physicist Pan Jianwei, the research team has successfully accomplished this quantum computing feat, achieving a speed that is 10 quadrillion times faster in solving Gaussian boson sampling (GBS) problems compared to the world’s existing fastest supercomputers.
Gaussian boson sampling, a quantum computation intractable for conventional computers, was employed in this study to provide a highly efficient way of demonstrating quantum computational speedup in solving some well-defined tasks.
The study was published online in the journal Physical Review Letters on Wednesday.
Lu Chaoyang, a member of the research team and professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), said that a series of innovations, including a newly developed superconducting nanowire single-photon detection scheme with fiber loop-based configuration, increased the number of detected photons for “Jiuzhang 3.0” to 255, greatly improving the complexity of photonics quantum computing.
“By demultiplexing photons into time bins through delays, we’ve achieved capabilities of pseudo photon number resolving,” Lu added.
According to the state-of-the-art exact classical simulation algorithm, “Jiuzhang 3.0” is a million times faster at solving GBS problems than its predecessor, “Jiuzhang 2.0.” Moreover, the most complex samples of GBS that “Jiuzhang 3.0” can calculate in just one microsecond would take the world’s fastest supercomputer, “Frontier,” more than 20 billion years to complete.
Quantum computing, a new computing paradigm, features extremely fast parallel computing capability.
It has the potential to achieve exponential speedup through specific quantum algorithms compared with classical computers in solving problems of great social and economic value.
Therefore, the development of quantum computers is one of the biggest challenges in the current scientific and technological frontier of the world.
with up to 76 photons detected, marking the first milestone China reached on the path to full-scale quantum computing – a quantum computational advantage, also known as “quantum supremacy,” which indicates an overwhelming quantum computational speedup.
In 2021, the team further developed the “Jiuzhang 2.0” with 113 detected photons and a 66-qubit programmable superconducting quantum computing system named “Zuchongzhi 2.1,” making China the only country to achieve a quantum computational advantage in two mainstream technical routes – one via photonics quantum computing technology and the other via superconducting quantum computing technology.
Girl Dies of Hypothermia; Shown Past Lives & Gets To Choose Her Future (NDE)
This young girl’s story is so authentic and original. Thank you!
I worked with an older geophysicist with a PhD from MIT. He did a lot of research for us. We needed to compare the force generated on a hill side, using 200 grams of dynamite, to the force felt on that hillside by an earthquake, that was rated at 5 on the Richter scale, a certain distance and depth away.
We hired a PhD physicist as a consultant, to write us an unbiased report.
After 3 days, he admitted to us, that he could not find a way to compare the two, unless we could give him a method that did the work for him. Very embarrassing.
We approached our MIT PhD, and asked him if he could work out an equivalency. He looked at us, stunned that we didn’t see how obvious it was. He tried to explain, but he was talking so fast, he lost us.
He then went to his white board, and broke the Richter scale down to its basics, then broke the dynamite down to its basics, in Joules, which is kg m squared per second squared.
Then derived a formula that tied them together.
He did this in less than two minutes, and only took that long, because that was as fast as he could write.
I was impressed, that he even remembered how to calculate the force used to measure the richter scale, without looking it up. But for him to solve in two minutes, what our high priced consultant, couldn’t solve in 3 days, says a lot about the difference in quality of PhDs.
He was the smartest functional man that I ever met. I knew smarter people ,but they couldn’t fit into society.
I know that once I was out of school for 10 years, I couldn’t work things out from basic principles, without researching it. Yet he could after 45 years.
America CAN sanction China, but the cost of doing so won’t be low like doing the same to Russia.
America must pony up the cost, like Apple losing 90 percent of its manufacturing capacity, or Americans losing access to Tiktok or half of Walmart. Jp Morgan and Goldman Sachs will lose access to greater China. Many companies will lose their biggest market, including Volkswagen which sells half its production to the Chinese today.
Yes, 50 percent.
Apple sells more iphones in Greater China than it does back home.
Let that sink in.
Sanctioning China won’t land exclusively on chinese laps. It will hurt the first world too and directly affect the quality of life.
When it comes to China, even America must count the cost. China on the economic battlefield is what Russia on the military front means to the Americans.
Plenty of respect, that is.
Plenty.
U.S China Technology War Panics US as it Sanctions Middle East on AI!
“I love China, from East Africa Kenya, and the whole of Africa stands with China”.
I was once part of a government delegation to Italy to partake in a conference being held by energy industries world wide. It was a pretty diverse event. There were speeches by energy experts on a variety of energy related topics. Panels that debated the future of the energy industry (the Nuclear Energy proponents vs Anti Nuclear energy lobby had some fiery debates!). We had some activities in which we would come up with our own amateurish proposals to resolve energy issues in the developing and developed world.
Perhaps the most time was dedicated to the exhibitions where different industries set up their booths which would offer company products and services to prospective clients.
The exhibitions weren’t really of much interest to us. The company employees knew Pakistan was “small fry” (back in 2007 we didn’t have much purchasing power or budget dedicated to energy related issues). So we Pakistanis were largely ignored by the American and European execs who were more interested in the big fish like Saudis, India, China, Brazil etc. We just mostly meandered about.
During one of our strolls, we passed the Chinese delegation. All serious, taking notes, being engaged by this stunning Italian woman from Shell i think who was explaining some kind of product to the head of the Chinese delegation.
We stood a bit to the side and listened in politely, when the head of the Chinese delegation caught our eye, offered a friendly smile and handshake and asked if we were waiting for them to finish up.
“Oh no no, please continue.”, we replied. “Just wanted to say hi, we’re from Pakistan”
The Chinese gentleman’s face lit up instantly. “Pakistan!” He shook my hand warmly “Our brother!” he exclaimed.
It was quite a moment. I remember every tiny detail from it even till today. The Italian lady’s surprise at how warmly we were being greeted. The other booth employees turning around to see what all the fuss was about. Their own looks of surprise at how the small fry, largely ignored Pakistani delegation was being treated so warmly by the most watched delegation of all, the Chinese.
It’s these small moments, these isolated incidents of human magic that people tend to miss out when they get confused over why China is so well liked by many of the developing world nations. Over the course of the conference, i interacted with other delegations from Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and so on and they all had the same respect and positive impression for the Chinese delegation. Whether it was a delegate from Africa or Asia, no matter what their country’s size and importance, they were treated warmly and with mutual respect by the Chinese as if their country was the same as China in size, importance and power.
Several analysts and commentators want to see something empirical, some hard data that quantifies this respect, that explains scientifically why China is held in a high opinion by developing world countries. They look at investments and trade, look at China’s growing foreign worker and student populations, analyze the spread of Chinese media.
And of course, they do hold true on their own. You can see from this entire thread the vast variety of reasons why people like China (economic might, non-interference in other country’s affairs, an affinity for Chinese culture etc).
So take my answer as one part of the entire canvas of reasons being presented here when i say that a lot of developing nation people, be it government employees or just common folk everywhere, like China because the Chinese still consider themselves as one of us. Not imperial overlords or racial superiors or strict masters and so on. But comrades to the developing world, partners in our struggles and a developing country just like us who share in our troubles, concerns and visions for a mutually beneficial future.
I’m no China expert so i can’t explain where this comes from. Perhaps its still the old Communist ideology at play? Back during the cold war years, the USSR and Chinese communists partnered with a lot of the developing world back then as we struggled to overthrow the colonial and imperialist powers (as well as their local feudal, tribal and monarch proxies). I’ve met old Leftists in their senior years today who tell me about how they would go to the USSR and China back when Pakistan was a dirt poor country to get training, education and what not. Revolutionaries and Leftists from Pakistan, other Asian countries, Africa, Latin America etc would go to the USSR and China in cheap, patched up suits with tattered shoes and not a dime to their name and be greeted warmly by their comrades in Beijing and Moscow and given the top notch treatment. Nations that managed to overthrow their tyrants in a successful coup would send delegations to China and the USSR who would come back full of praises for the hospitality and camaraderie of the Chinese and USSR brother Leftists. Whereas the “Free World” would only choose to associate with our feudal lords, our Shahs, our Kings and our dictators and not step foot in a single street populated by the common man.
I don’t even have to wax poetic about the old days of the Cold war. In my own experience working side by side with my Chinese coworkers, this same feeling of partnership and camaraderie is on display as well. The Chinese who come to work with us, work side by side with us, in the same heat, the same muck, the same mosquito, freezing temperatures, rain and what not. The same hectic schedules and daily annoyances are shared by us equally. We also eat at the same table, play football in the evening with each other and exchange movies and TV shows in USBs with each other.
When i told all of this to my friend who works in the Gulf at an MNC he wouldn’t believe me. His experience with Gulf Arabs and the Western Expats there has been nothing like this. Even students and workers that i know who went to South Korea are a bit amazed when they hear this.
Outside of the work place it’s the same story. Western Expats in Pakistan tend to live in huge, well guarded, walled off compounds with these giant electric generators and might as well be living on another planet given how cut off they are from the rest of the populace. Meanwhile, just 2 days ago, i reversed my car past a Chinese couple getting on their motorcycle in a busy, crowded bazaar typical of any major Pakistani city.
The Chinese live, walk, breath, eat and work among us, on our streets, our cities, our home soil. They face the same problems we do whether its load shedding, low gas supply or slow internet. And when we see them share the realities of our lives, it creates this mutual bond and sense of respect between us. They could have chosen to live in their own huge compounds and indeed, the Pak government is trying to force the Chinese expats in Pakistan to live in compounds away from ordinary Pakistani citizens due to security concerns. But the Chinese refuse. They CHOOSE to live with us. Despite the dangers they face. And that makes all the difference in the world for us.
I had similar positive experiences with the Chinese in Egypt and the African delegations and Middle Eastern delegations were absolutely delighted with the Chinese, how willing to explore the local culture they were, how respectful they were of us and how they would engage with us in social activities and general chit chat everywhere, whether at work or leisure. In the meantime, we didn’t even see the European delegations to Egypt even once (separated for security again i guess).
And my own visit to China a long time ago was no less positive for me. Senior government, military and diplomatic officials would engage with us, discuss with us, seek our view point, offer their own. They would even share stories from their personal lives and listen attentively when we told our own. We were given a royal treatment, housed in comfortable hotels, provided medical assistance immediately if someone got sick, accompanying us to the hospital to make sure we were ok, guiding us in the city. Whether it was common citizens or senior officials, they treated us like equals with a lot of protocol.
Maybe I’ve lost a few folk at this point who have no idea what i’m talking about because they can’t relate. But as a Pakistani, our country is associated only with poverty, violence, terror and instability abroad. No one is impressed when we say we are from Pakistan. No one cares either. So much so that we have become accustomed to it, built our lives around it.
So when i was at that exhibition and the Chinese delegate warmly shook my hand, proclaimed my country a brother in front of the entire exhibition to the surprise of onlookers, when the citizen of a country touted as the next super power of the world gives respect to the citizen of a country that’s touted as a failed state in western publications, it creates an impact on our lives.
I know there are thousands of more like me. In 10, 20, 30 years we will be senior officers, politicians or executives in our own countries. And when we see a Chinese official ask us for a favor, a Chinese company bid us for a project maybe some of us will think back to when the Chinese gave us so much respect on so and so occasion. And we will favor the Chinese because of it. Don’t believe me? Just look at the bonhomie between the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif who was so dazzled to hear that the Chinese were referring to rapidly implemented Pakistani Projects as “running at Punjab speed” as a compliment to his administrative skills, that he granted several projects to Chinese companies without bidding or on very favorable terms.
Based on how i saw the delegates from Africa, Middle East, Asia also be impressed at the humble, respectful and partner like attitude of the Chinese during their interactions with them, i have no doubt the same kind of positive image of China will be created in the minds of those delegates as well. And when they rise to senior positions, they will also hold the same positive image of China and favor her. All that influence and positive image built across the globe for no cost and without needing 12 Aircraft carriers.
There was once a time i thought that maybe our positive experience of China was because of us mostly experiencing China’s “Golden Generation”. By Golden Generation i mean a generation of people who are born when their country is poor and life is hard, enter young adult life when their country is rising rapidly and go into their senior years when their country is a global power. Kind of like the US’s golden generation. This Golden generation has all the power available to a citizen of a super power but at the same time the same humbleness and respectful nature of a modest power. A person from this generation could become king of the world and still rise to meet a person of more modest means.
I would resign myself to the fact that as younger Chinese came of age who had never seen the struggles of China when she was a poorer country with less power, and he grew up only knowing China as a great, powerful nation then perhaps the Chinese too would become more arrogant and assured of their greatness like the US has become. But my interaction with the Chinese youth of Quora has put to bed such fears as i find them as respectful to us, the people of the developing world, as i found their parents and older siblings etc.
I hope this answer didn’t sound too much like rambling or disappointing due to lack of quantifiable data and science. And i hope this answer isn’t interpreted as a diss of people from the West with whom i also have great experiences. But as someone who as worked in Data analysis so long, i can tell you, some things aren’t there in the data. Some things are in the mysterious, murky sphere we call the human aspect. And in that aspect, you’ll find that this mysterious pull and attraction China has on so many people in the developing world from Africa, Asia, Middle East is based on the smallest, but oldest of all things: Respect. Equality. Partnership. Camaraderie.
This happened to a friend of mine. He’s a PhD in Mathematics and was working for Silicon Valley firm writing mostly encryption algorithms, but some firmware stuff as well. Very very well paid — but not the most social person in the world. Being around people causes him anxiety. This isn’t a minor thing for him — it’s a real pathology.
Anyway, He’s a Los Angeles guy — and hated living so far north. His employer worked with him and let him work remotely 4 out of 5 days a week — he would just need to show up for “face” time once a week. Basically show up Sunday, sleep in the company flat, drive home Monday.
That was grinding him down after a year. His employer dropped that down to once a month. After six months, this was still too much and he decided to turn in his resignation on the next “face” day.
He drove up there, spent the night in the company flat, got up to go to the office with his “notice” papers and his boss calls him in.
They’re laying him off. This means, he keeps the stock options he’s earned (would have lost them if he quit), he gets 3 years of paid medical insurance and a 3 year severance package per his contract.
He sent me a pic of himself after he got the news. The biggest sh*t eating grin I’ve ever seen on him —ever — in front of his “beater” pick up truck. .
A very long time ago, when I was new to working in Corporate America, an employee was reprimanded for refusing to do an assigned task given by a new supervisor and then fired for insubordination.
Sheila had worked in the unit for most of her 7 years with the company. She was hardworking, never missing a day, and knew every aspect of the department’s purpose and work. She was ‘right there’ when any of us needed info or help, something that our supervisors were not always able to do.
She SHOULD have been the supervisor, but she had 3 strikes against her: she was still in school (no paper), she was female (most management positions were filled by males), and she was black (the company had a 7% minority hire, mostly in lower positions).
The new supervisor had worked with us for 6 months when he told Sheila that he wanted her to change a major procedure. When she asked why, he became belligerent and refused to discuss it.
Sheila knew (to summarize) that the new procedure would create a multi-level bottleneck in our area and would ultimately lessen efficiency within a third of the company.
When she attempted to explain this, the supervisor accused her of insubordination and threatened her with termination.
He then began a whisper campaign against her. In hindsight, it was based on racism and misogyny that others (especially in management) seemed happy to join.
Sheila did as she was told, and we all watched as our department’s efficiency rapidly fell and began to adversely affect other units.
When the problems couldn’t ‘work themselves out,’ the supervisor accused Sheila of sabotage.
Some of us went to Personnel (HR) in support of Sheila to no avail. Sheila produced the supervisor’s written instructions, but he continued to call her an incompetent, vindictive, ignorant saboteur and in private, added racist/misogynistic terms.
Sheila was fired based on that man’s accusations and in spite of her denials and proof.
Sheila landed a great position with a competitor within days. (She ultimately lured 4 of the department’s best to join her several months later.)
The supervisor crowed that she had been a spy all along, but as the effeciency still fell, management FINALLY saw that department disruption came from the ‘incompetent, vindictive, ignorant’ supervisor.
He was moved to a different position within the company with no reprimand.
This was my first exposure to how unfair and hateful some ‘management’ can be.
Erwin Rommel is probably one of the most over rated so called geniuses. Rommel had a good sense of tactical employment of certain equipment particularly tanks, but he was greatly aided by the fact he mostly fought an outpost of Britain, rather than the full might of any of the allied armies, and his tactics were never tested by the Soviet armored branch, unlike most German generals.
Furthermore, he was operationally inept and strategically an imbecile. Rommel was the ultimate “i know better than you”, and circumvented the command chain to get his way. For example, he appealed directly to Hitler in order to launch the attack on Egypt, that totally failed and cost the Axis their foothold in Africa, and undermining the Wehrmacht plan made to occupy Malta and cut off the British navy.
At the strategic level Rommel never understood Germany’s actual position, and certainly did not contribute to it. He left this entire theater of command on June 5th despite the Germans knowing that an invasion of France was imminent. He had also previously spent massive resources on creating additional anti air borne defenses, none of which had an impact on the outcome of D-day.
Rommel was defeated in Africa, defeated in Italy and defeated in France, before he was a high level leader he was an insubordinate divisional commander who got lucky mostly. His ghost division was called such because no one knew where it was or what it was doing. That is not a good thing.
Despite all this, Rommel is often mentioned as one of the greatest generals in World War 2, but I really see no reason for this, when von Rundtstedt and even the self aggrandising Mannstein, clearly had far more success and skill than Rommel did.
Star Trek – Two Captain Kirks
Spock makes his way to the control room with a phaser…only to find two identical Captain Kirks (Whom Gods Destroy)
Huawei and China. It force China to speed up dominating the industry and make all the money. It no longer need to share with the west and U.S. The U.S. has to pay and lose in trillions of dollars to build big white elephants, subsidise a dozen countries and the entire industry for decades to come!
Meanwhile it has to contend with poorer technology, higher inefficiency and humongous cost of connectivity! It loses competitive edge and allow its people to fall behind in technology!
But you know who else benefits. Your media and your politicians. The media sell hate and the profit. Your politicians show hates and the win votes!
So who benefits? China, the Chinese people, the global south, the U.S. media and the U.S. politicians.
Who lose? Americans. The U.S. taxpayers. Your U.S. companies, your U.S. dog nations, you U.S. slave vassals, your cronies nations! Too bad karma. You guys deserved it.
Are Humans the First Civilization? The Silurian Hypothesis
I had applied for a job with a company where my friend worked. She had sent me the posting even though I was extremely under qualified and the job was 400 miles away.
I applied, not thinking I actually had a chance. The posting was for a SysAdmin, and at this point in my career I had only worked in computer repair shops. I had some server experience and did some side work for a few clients, but I wasn’t a full SysAdmin by any stretch of the imagination. But what could it hurt to apply. The worst they could do is throw out my resume. So I was surprised when they called me for a phone interview.
I got through the HR interview no problem. I have a good work ethic and am generally a pleasant person, so it was a breeze. Next came the tech interview. The guy who was leaving called me and was immediately concerned about my complete lack of experience as a SysAdmin. We went through the technical interview and I figured that would be the end of it. He asked some pretty tough questions about things I had never done before. So I didn’t think I did that well.
Surprise! I got another call from HR. They wanted to interview me in person! Wow, was I shocked. I agreed and immediately started packing a bag for a road trip. I left early the next morning and drove the 400 miles in one day. I crashed on my friend’s couch and went in to work with her the next morning for my interview.
Again, I was interviewed by a technical person, this time a consultant. Again, he grilled me on a bunch of technology that I had never used before. I answered to the best of my ability, but more than once I had to admit that I didn’t know the answer. Again, I didn’t think I did very well. I basically got the “We’ll call you if we’re interested” response when I asked what the next steps were.
I chalked it up to just being a road trip. I spent the rest of the day exploring the city and taking in a few museums. I had a good time with some friends in the city and then headed home the next morning. This was a Wednesday.
The very next day, Thursday, my phone rang. “Hello, this is X from company Y. We were really impressed with you and would like to offer you the job.”
I almost dropped my phone I was so shocked. All I could do was stutter out a “Ok. I’d love to take it.”
Then the twist. “We absolutely need you to start on Monday. Is that going to be a problem? If you can’t we’re going to offer the job to a local candidate.”
I looked around at my house full of stuff that wasn’t packed and replied the only way I could. “Sure. Looks like I’m moving to Washington DC tomorrow.”
So I did. It took about a month of crashing on my friend’s couch before I found a place to stay and move all our stuff down there.
It was surreal to say the least. In one week, I went from being unemployed in Cleveland to getting a job in DC that I wasn’t qualified for and moving my entire life 400 miles away.
UN GIVEN 24 HOUR WARNING, IRAN SENDS TANKS TO BORDER, SYRIA AIRPORT BOMBED
Two months ago, I got a call that my home was on fire. I rushed home with my 4 year old, found my house uninhabitable and all of my pets deceased. While the fire marshal was finishing up paperwork, and I was covered in soot and tears, a man came up to me with condolences and placed $200 in my hand and said he’s sure I could use it. We had never met; I found out later that he lived in the neighborhood and just felt the need to help.
This man’s actions impacted me in a big way. Of course $200 wasn’t going to rebuild my house, but it did cover getting us pajamas, a change of clothes, toothbrushes, and other essentials that we needed immediately, as well as a hot meal, with some left to spare. Most importantly, it gave me one less thing to worry about at the moment.
Moving forward, I want to be more like that guy. Offering thoughts and prayers through Facebook when people go through tragedies is nice, but actually being present and offering assistance is what makes a difference. Thanks, stranger!
Operation Abscam was the sting of the decade. In 1978, the FBI set up a fake company to snare New York gangsters selling stolen art. The company was called “Abdul Enterprise” hence the name Ab(dul)Scam, and owned by a fake Arab Sheik looking to invest in art.
They recovered two paintings worth 1 million dollars, and during the operation they were introduced to more criminals dealing in stolen stocks and bonds, which stopped 600 million dollars in fraudulent securities.
It was through this operation they were introduced to politicians willing to take bribes. The sting brought the FBI to Washington DC, where their criminal contacts introduced them to shady politicians willing to take bribes for the Sheiks business which was a fake Casino in Atlantic City.
These politicians wanted to arrange a meeting between the Sheik and a US congressman who could make happen any private legislation the Sheik wanted for the price of 50,000 dollars.
This led to the arrest of one senator, six congressmen, and more than a dozen corrupt officials.
The sting was surrounded in controversy because it raised many question regarding the FBI tactics being considered entrapment.
This infamous sting was the inspiration behind the movie American Hustle.
This Cat Was Left Behind When His Owner Moved Away | The Dodo
Citibank. Went to the bank to deposit a ~$26k check into a checking account with many times that amount, then pay my credit card bill which had all the charges from a 15-day Disney vacation.
They deposited the check, but put a ‘hold’ on it, making only $100 of the balance available. Then they debited my checkbook, to pay the CC balance in full.
About a week later the statement arrived. The CC was paid in full, ~48 hours before it was due, but somehow managed to accrue >$100 in interest charges. — First time for that.
The checking account also generated about a dozen overdraft charges despite the balance never dropping below $100k! — It’s not like there was a six-figure minimum balance on that account.
And to top it off, every one of my $25k 7-day certificates of deposit forfeited their interest for the week that included that fiasco.
I went to the branch on the next business day. I waited patiently in the line for the teller. When I got to the window, I quietly explained that they had messed up. The teller *insisted* that they followed procedure. I asked for the manager to come out and explain their procedure in more detail.
I listened to 5+ minutes or doubletalk in stony silence. The manager finally saying he could reverse the charges & credit the interest “… this one time as a courtesy.” I allowed him to proceed and complete the tasks.
When I had the corrected receipts in my hand, and in my wallet, I said to him: “Now I want you to close all of my accounts.” There was indignity & quite anger in his face.
He asked me to step aside into his office. I politely declined saying that until you hand over my money, I’m still a customer. I waited 45 minutes in your line and I’m not giving up my spot so you can hide me away from the people who are still in line. I think they deserve to know how badly you treated me, and maybe some of them will get the idea to leave the bank too.
He tried to maneuver me away from the window. I refused to budge. He tried empty threats, even up to calling the police. I told him go ahead. I have witnesses. Then I said, he *SHOULD* call the police because I want my funds in *CASH*.
He then tried to explain how that much cash would generate a CTR, and I’d be investigated by the IRS. I said, that’s fine. I’m clean, you’re dirty. I welcome the sunlight.
Within an hour I walked out of the bank with a thick manilla envelope under my arm and was walked to my car by the armed security guard. I had informed the manager that my safety was *HIS* personal responsibility until I drove off the bank property. The reason was that because of his incompetence, several people in the lobby *KNEW* that I would be leaving the branch carrying substantial cash, and that the potential for me being robbed once I walked out the door was non-zero.
I left the parking lot and drove to the First Union branch nearer my house, asked for the branch manager, told him a short version of what had just transpired, and in less than 30 minutes walked out with a brand-new leather-bound checkbook, and started earning 0.25% more interest on my money.
—
I had been increasingly frustrated with Citibank in the months leading up to that fiasco. To be fair, it was their electronic banking that had lured me into doing business with them in the first place. Their systems integrated with Quicken better than any other I had used up to that point. BTW this all happened between September 1997 & August 1999. The Disney vacation was from the last day of school in June 1999 thru the 8th or 9th of July. It was a big deal for the kids when we pulled them from school early that day and they got to say to their classmates “I’m going to Disney!”
So, literally every time I visited the Citibank branch to conduct business, I walked out feeing like something was wrong. They always did things out of order from the way I presented them to the teller. It was mildly frustrating most of the time. Irritating on many occasions; and maddening when I’d make large deposits & purchase one or more of their $25k 7-day CDs. The $25k CDs were nice because although they were illiquid for the first 14 days after the 2-week hold the most I could forfeit was the interest on the last week — in theory. There were a number of occasions when they would deduct 8 or more days of interest, when I cashed more than one at a time. I’d get to the office, plug the amounts into Quicken and there would be a ‘discrepancy’. That necessitated another trip to the bank to get it corrected. Or a phone call and an up to 60 day wait.
The bank offered these products to attract deposits. They worked, but they inevitably tried to cheat me out of hundreds if not thousands of dollars in interest earned. But in all candor it was the $400plus in *OVERDRAFT* charges on a well-funded account that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Several years ago Costco ended their arrangement with American Express and switched to Citi. I wasn’t happy. But they gave me a new Blue card with my Costco photo on the back. I only used the card at Costco. And each February I’d await my ‘love check’ aka “My Costco Rewards Voucher”. It usually came by April.
About a year ago, I hadn’t been to Costco for a while and so the automatic $50 payments I made to avoid any possibility of a missed payment fee had accumulated. I had visited Costco on the 92nd day following my last bill and the charge was less than $150. But true to form, the bank had cut me an unrequested paper check on the 91st day (supposedly) recorded the charge on day 92, then hit me with a $35 late fee for not receiving another check before the close of the 3rd statement! Can you imagine?
That was the last time I used the Citi card for *ANYTHING* — except… Now, when I go to Costco, I show the Citi card to prove my membership, but I pay with my Chase. Then when I finish shopping, I stop at the lunch counter and buy a Costco signature Hotdog & Pepsi for $1.50 which comes to $1.61 with the tax. When I return home, I schedule a ebill-pay check to be sent to the bank 15 business days later.
And lastly, I disabled electronic statements, forcing them to send me a paper invoice for $1.61 each month. I did this when they failed to send me an email statement or notification then had the nerve to again charge me $35 after a minor error on my part that had left me with a $0.50 *CREDIT* balance which I was allowing to roll from month to month. That was until the bank decided that since the credit was less than $1.00 they were entitled to absorb it and not issue me a check. They also absorbed my then insignificant Rewards balance ~$5.00 as a co-consequence of the late fee assessed. That too earned them another phone call and cost them >90 minutes of agent time, and a replenishment of the rewards balance.
In 2022 my accrued rewards were $0.12 I don’t expect a voucher, but I will call them to inquire why it wasn’t sent. Come to think of it It’s May 16th. I think I’ll do it tomorrow morning.
We need to ACKNOWLEDGE China IS SUPERIOR in these areas
That’s Rule No 1
…
You have nutters who claim we have nothing to learn from China and if these people are the majority than India will be the perpetual loser like always
We built so many toilets, We built so many trains, IMF says we are No 1, ABC says we are No 2 etc etc
India is a country where mediocrity dominates
…
The Cream is in US or UK or Canada or Australia or Europe or Singapore or Malaysia
Achievers think differently
They always look at others strengths and decide to incorporate them and grow and develop
Mediocrities think differently
They bury their heads in the sand, and keep quoting random nonsense to feel good
India sadly belongs to the latter groups
Thus Rule No 1 is to say
Alright these are Chinas strengths, these are Chinas weaknesses
Let’s try to achieve Chinas strengths without going into Chinas weaknesses
The Basic Truth
China and India started together in 1982 and today China is six times larger
That is a truth that’s out there
That means China did something right or infinitely better than us
That means China has to be superior to us in many areas
That’s Logic
We have the same populace at the end of the day
We don’t have a single viable achievement where we have beaten China
Not one
So obviously China did something better
How many actually say this?
Say that – Wow!!! China is indeed better than us in so many aspects. Let’s learn from them.
My guess is very few
Most of us can’t accept this very basic thing
So this answer isn’t for an Indian sadly
Indians today aren’t built to assess others strengths and evaluate the same
Nopes
The West: China Is Collapsing!
Great video! Some people choose to be so ignorant of China even when there are so many vlogs of those exploring the country.
This is worth viewing.
The Split In Israel And The War Of Al-Aqsa
What is the reason for the ‘Al-Aqsa Deluge’, as Hamas had named its terror operation against the Zionists?
On October 8 Alastair Crooke, one of most experienced Middle East hands, wrote in AlMahadeen:
“Israel” has shattered into two equally weighted factions holding to two irreconcilable visions of “Israel’s” future; two mutually opposing readings of history and of what it means to be Jewish.
The fissure could not be more complete. Except it is. One faction, which holds a majority in parliament, is broadly Mizrahi — a former underclass in Israeli society; and the other, largely well-to-do liberal Ashkenazi.
Mizrahi are mostly the original Middle Eastern Jews and often on the religious far right, Ashkenazi are mostly liberal European ones. The current Netanyahoo government is the first which includes far-right Mizrahi ministers.
Most Mizrahi follow the Sephardi religious rites. They want an religious state based on Jewish law. They are as radial as ISIS.
The high court of Israel has 14 Ashkenazi judges and one Mizrahi one. It is one of the reasons why the Netanyahoo government wants the parliament to be able to vote down high court judgements. There have been large, U.S. sponsored ‘regime change’ protests in Israel against that move. The leaders of the military and security services, mostly Ashkenazi, have also opposed the government move against the court.
I therefore think that it is quite possible that there was intelligence pointing to the Hamas attack, but that it was not revealed to let Netanyahoo fall into a trap. We have however no evidence that there were reasonably precise intelligence warnings, or that they were held up.
There are already demands for Netanyahoo to go. If only for his long term sponsoring of Hamas as a counterweight to the more secular Fatah Palestinians. Should he no longer be prime minister the courts will take up the three bribe cases against him which are currently pending. He would likely end up in jail.
Another reason for Hamas’ success was the fact that three of the four infantry battalions, with 800 soldiers each, that usually guard the Gaza strip, had been moved to the West Bank to protect right-wing Zionist settlers during a religious holiday. This allowed for Hamas’ easy breach of the fence.
Well, the Right in Netanyahu’s government has two long-standing commitments. One is to rebuild the (Jewish) Temple on ‘Temple Mount’ (Haram al-Shariff).
Just to be clear, that would entail demolishing Al-Aqsa.
The second overriding commitment is to the founding of “Israel”, on the “Land of Israel”. And again, to be clear, this (in their view) would entail clearing Palestinians from the West Bank. Indeed, the settlers have been cleansing Palestinians from swaths of the West Bank over the past year (notably between Ramallah and Jericho).
On Thursday morning (two days preceding Al-Aqsa Flood), more than 800 settlers stormed the Mosque Compound, under the full protection of Israeli forces. The drumbeat of such provocations is rising.
This is nothing new. The First Intifada was triggered by (then) PM Sharon making a provocative visit into the mosque. I was a part of Senator George Mitchell’s Presidential Committee investigating that incident. Even then, it was clear that Sharon intended the visit to fuel the fire of religious nationalism. At that time, the Temple Mount Movement was a minnow; today it has ministers in Cabinet and in key security positions — and has promised its followers to build the ‘Third Temple’.
So, the threat to Al-Aqsa has been building for two decades, and today is reaching an apex. And yet US and Israeli intelligence didn’t see resistance coming, and nor did they see the settler violence building in the West Bank?
What happened on Saturday was widely expected and clearly extensively planned.
There is by the way no archaeologic evidence, none, that a Jewish ‘Temple’ ever existed in Jerusalem. If it did, it was most likely not on the hill of Al-Aqsa but one of the six other ones.
Al-Aqsa is holy to all Muslims, Shia and Sunni alike. Its destruction would inevitably lead to war. The West is clearly underestimating what forces calls like this one can rise:
Friday sermon from the Grand Mosque in Mecca prays for the “liberation of Al-Aqsa Mosque” in Jerusalem.
This is significant for two reasons: • Audience of 2 billion Muslims. • Such sermons have been significantly censored under MBS. Today’s sermon was likely pre-approved. Video
Israel has used White Phosphorus on the people in Gaza, another war crime. Israel has given all people in north Gaza, 1.1 million human beings, 24 hours to move to south Gaza. That is impossible and will not happen. It is an attempt of ethnic cleansing.
If there were two million Jewish people trapped by Christians in a giant open-air prison and placed under total siege, being told that half of them had 24 hours to relocate into the other half or be killed, nobody would have any confusion about what they were witnessing.
If Israel makes, as announced, a ground attack on Gaza, Hizbullah in Lebanon is likely to attack Israel. The U.S. has allegedly let Syria know (via France) that Damascus, and President Assad personally, would be attacked if that were to happen. This is a miscalculation. It is far from certain that Assad, or even Iran, has the means to hold Hizbullah back.
A U.S. attack on the government of Syria would bring Russia into the war. Iran would also respond which is exactly what some of the neocons want.
The war could easily escalate further from there.
Posted by b on October 13, 2023 at 15:46 UTC | Permalink
Wife Self-Deletes After Husband Discovers All 4 Kids Aren’t His
I live in a wealthy suburb on the outskirts of Silicon Valley in California; trees, flowers, birds, mostly nice neighbors of diverse backgrounds. On the surface, it seems a wonderful place to live, and in many respects, it is, however, if I look out my front window, I see this:
image 172
The electricity is distributed via overhead lines, due to an underinvestment in infrastructure: last month, I lost power for over 36 hours because it got a little windy (the world headquarters of Apple, Facebook, and Google are within a ten mile radius of my place). When I ride my bike to the local supermarket this evening, I will have to be careful not to slip on a large and growing patch of gravel on a road that hasn’t been repaired for many years: this, in one of the wealthiest parts of the wealthiest country in the world.
image 80
The above is a map of the SF Bay area, a densely populated part of California with an almost continuous ring of urban development. As you would expect, the traffic can be pretty bad, so you might expect that there would be a single circular light rail system linking the many cities around the bay; there is not: if I want to travel from my place to Fremont by rail alone, the quickest way with the most frequent service is via San Francisco. US infrastructure is truly abysmal.
Why is America in such poor shape, with its crumbling roads, crappy power distribution, and pitiful public transport systems? It is because Americans have been propagandized for decades into believing that “liberty” is the ultimate virtue, and this “liberty” is so valuable that it justifies the cost of living as a selfish asshole under a dysfunctional government. “Raise taxes to pay for public infrastructure?” “Jeez Louise; over my dead body! Taxation is theft, government is bad!” For much of the 20th century, America defined itself against the collectivist USSR, and the fatuous argument was made that since everything was under the control of the state in the USSR, the US government should do as little as possible, apart from outspending the evil Commies in national defense.
The infrastructure is just one symptom of America’s degradation: the streets of major cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles are filling up with homeless drug addicts, leaving the sidewalks littered with tents, needles, and human waste. Next to nothing is done for these people because it is seen as “their problem” that they are mentally ill, and lack access to mental health services and affordable housing. The irony is that there are so many of these people now that they have become everyone’s problem. Retailers in downtown SF are closing down their stores because the conditions in the streets are keeping paying customers away, whilst the cops barely regard shoplifting as a crime.
2023 10 19 08 53
The only way this person lying on the ground can guarantee access to shelter and minimal medical care is to go to jail. Land of the free…
The US is run by an oligarchy of libertarian fantasists, who have spent so long sucking hallucinogenic bile from the withered teats of Ayn Rand that they have lost all contact with reality. The government is not entirely to blame for the current situation; a lot of the social problems are the result of the narcissistic counter culture that started in the 1960s, but now that these problems are getting worse, the question is, can the government continue to pretend that they don’t exist, or that there is somehow a “free market” solution to mass shootings, drug addiction, and homelessness?
Living in my little enclave, with its fragile electricity supply, and crumbling roads, it’s easy for my neighbors and I to think that things aren’t so bad, but in under an hour, I can travel to SF and see scenes exactly like the one in the last photo. Whilst people are constantly harping on about whether the Democrats or the Republicans are better or worse than each other, they are ignoring the fact that both parties have done nothing to seriously address the severe decay that is undeniably afflicting America’s social and physical fabric.
Edit: My apologies to those who may have wished to leave reasonable and informed comments; I got tired of being notified of comments that were rude and stupid, and there are already plenty of comments in the thread that disagree with my point of view.
Edit 2: There appears to be evidence that it was uninsulated overhead powerlines, such as the ones in my photo, which led to the fires in Maui, which killed hundreds of people.
He himself was a salesman at our local Ford dealership back in the 1960’s. He was a good and honest man. Around 1967 he had several customers reject the deals he was making with them and instead buy cars from another dealership about an hour away, in Amarillo, thinking that they were getting a much better deal. However what was really happening was that other dealership was quoting them a lower initial purchase price but “making it up” with their financing interest rates. Several times, when they came back and talked with my uncle to tell him that they’d “beat his price”, he showed them how they were going to end up paying a lot more for their purchase than they would have with him once all the finance costs were considered, and they got angry about how they’d been tricked, but of course then it was too late.
So, one day he made a trip to Amarillo to that other dealership and posed as something of a ‘rube’ customer. He started trying to make a deal on a new 1967 Ford Mustang coupe, 289 V8, 3-speed manual. Ford called the color “Dusk Rose” but to look at it, it was obviously “Pepto Bismol pink”. He played the usual games with the salesman, going back and forth “to check with his manager” and all that. (As an aside here, if you’ve ever wondered if sales offices are bugged so that they can hear the private conversations that happen while they’re out of the room, you can stop wondering now. They are. What they’re actually doing when they go “talk to their manager” is running a credit check on you to find out if you’re “worth their time” and listening in. They like nothing more than to have a couple in their office and hear that one of them “is in love with” the car they’re considering. They know they’ve won at that point.)
Anyway, my uncle took advantage of all that back and forth, took advantage of what he knew was the actual dealer cost of the car, took advantage of the bug, “talked to himself” while the salesman was gone about how much he liked the car and hoped he could get a good price, and kept at it until the salesman offered to sell him the car at a price that my uncle knew was hundreds less than what the car had actually cost the dealer. The salesman wrote down the deal, and my Uncle Bill reached over and snagged the paper.
Salesman, as he reached into a desk drawer to get the finance agreement forms: “Mr. Garrett? How much would you like to pay down on this car today?”
Uncle Bill: “Oh, I’ll just pay the full price in cash. Right now. No trade in.”
Salesman, now flustered and getting angry: “But you kept haggling about price and wanting it lower!”
Uncle Bill: “I never said I couldn’t afford it, I just said I didn’t want to pay that much.”
The salesman, and the dealership, were so mad at him that they practically threw the keys at him and refused even to wash the car for him prior to delivery. Uncle Bill paid for it and drove it home.
Back then, in our small town, everyone knew “the pink Mustang” and thought it was funny/ugly. Turns out, that Dusk Rose color was very rare and only a very few of them were built (gee I wonder why?) – but documented originals are quite valuable now.
I miss him.
Leaked CIA Documents REVEALED China Has Powerful SPACE WEAPONS
The Chinese Space Program has often found itself at the centre of allegations and accusations, primarily originating from the United States. More recently, the international community was stirred by the disclosure of a classified document, which brought to light China’s formidable space capabilities, notably featuring a device that can be referred to as a ‘satellite hijacker’—an asset reportedly within China’s grasp. Today’s episode will cover a leaked CIA documents contents and a potential arms race in space.
Im an African American male, okay? I come from the DEPTHS of the hood. In the hood, we don’t eat this. In my culture, we don’t eat this.
Well when I graduated college, I moved to Austin Texas. I have a Caucasian wife, okay? She always talked about this. Her family talked about it and even random people. I was like ummm how good can this be because it sounds pretty gross.
One night, 8 years ago, we made it for dinner. And just know that 8 years later, im still dipping my grill cheese in tomato soup at least 4 times a month.
My grandmother, who is now 96, marched out of Auschwitz in broad daylight after taking off her striped uniform and changing into normal clothes.
A Polish friend who worked in the camp as a secretary and wasn’t corrupted by the racist propaganda had risked her own life to bring her the outfit.
Out she walked, past guards with rifles, attack dogs, and hatred so intense it would make your skin crawl with fear.
Her parents, and almost all living relatives, weren’t as fortunate.
The rest of the war, she spent in hiding.
“At that time,” she explained to me during a recent visit, “we couldn’t set goals, let alone pursue them. We were deprived of our agency, of freedom.”
That’s why she always encouraged me to go as far as possible in life.
Because the highest form of freedom— the ability to actualize your dreams, to create a life of meaning, purpose, and wellbeing—is not something to be taken lightly.
Whatever you choose to do with yours, never forget that it’s a gift of the greatest magnitude.
Parents Took $120k Loan On My Name To Fund Spoiled Sister Studies & Claimed It’s My Responsibility
His family STOLE HIS money. They needed to pay it back.
Pro-Israel Propaganda Is Stupid
It is somewhat amazing how low the quality of western propaganda has become. Especially when it relates to hobbyhorses like Israel.
Here is NBCnews testing not only the stupidity of its viewers and readers but also demonstrating the fatuity of its ‘journalists’.
Documents exclusively obtained by NBC News show that Hamas created detailed plans to target elementary schools and a youth center in the Israeli kibbutz of Kfar Sa’ad, to “kill as many people as possible,” seize hostages and quickly move them into the Gaza Strip.
The attack plans, which are labeled “top secret” in Arabic, appear to be orders for two highly trained Hamas units to surround and infiltrate villages and target places where civilians, including children, gather. Israeli authorities are still determining the death toll in Kfar Sa’ad.
The documents were found on the bodies of Hamas terrorists by Israeli first responders and shared with NBC News. They include detailed maps and show that Hamas intended to kill or take hostage civilians and school children.
One page labeled “Top Secret” outlines a plan of attack for Kfar Sa’ad, saying “Combat unit 1” is directed to “contain the new Da’at school,” while “Combat unit 2” is to “collect hostages,” “search the Bnei Akiva youth center” and “search the old Da’at school.”
The attack happened in the early hours of October 7, a Saturday.
What do Zionist children do on a Sabbath, before dawn? Are they sitting in school? Do they visit a youth center?
If Hamas terrorists maneuvered around schools to kill children they came at the wrong time and the wrong day.
At least to me that does not seem to be the most plausible explanation for their carefully planned operation.
The Israeli army is going all in. The plan is to push all people in Gaza into the desert of Sinai:
“This is thought out… There is a huge expanse, almost endless space in the Sinai desert, just on the other side of Gaza. … The idea is for them to leave over for the open areas where we, and the international community, will prepare the infrastructure, ten cities, with food and water… just like for the refugees of Syria that fled the butchering of Asad…. There is a way to receive them all on the other side for temporary time on [sic.] Sinai… and Egypt will have to play ball.”
That is from an ex-deputy foreign minister of Israel. If he says “for temporary time” he likely means centuries.
There are clashes in the West Bank where Israel is trying to incite a third intifada. Some 43 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank over the last six days. Nine of them during the last 24 hours. There are also clashes and artillery exchanges along the boarder with Lebanon.
Posted by b on October 14, 2023 at 13:39 UTC | Permalink
Girls Standing In The Middle of Tokyo to Sell Themselves.. Japan Has A Serious Developing Problem.
Why are so many young women in Japan recently “standing” in the middle of Tokyo? We find the answer to this question through the story of Yuka in this video, and the important message of takeaway in which this alarming phenomenon has for all of us, when visiting, or considering any social issues regarding Japan.
https://youtu.be/yo3IUSfTiMY
The Split In Israel And The War Of Al-Aqsa
What is the reason for the ‘Al-Aqsa Deluge’, as Hamas had named its terror operation against the Zionists?
On October 8 Alastair Crooke, one of most experienced Middle East hands, wrote in AlMahadeen:
“Israel” has shattered into two equally weighted factions holding to two irreconcilable visions of “Israel’s” future; two mutually opposing readings of history and of what it means to be Jewish.
The fissure could not be more complete. Except it is. One faction, which holds a majority in parliament, is broadly Mizrahi — a former underclass in Israeli society; and the other, largely well-to-do liberal Ashkenazi.
Mizrahi are mostly the original Middle Eastern Jews and often on the religious far right, Ashkenazi are mostly liberal European ones. The current Netanyahoo government is the first which includes far-right Mizrahi ministers.
Most Mizrahi follow the Sephardi religious rites. They want an religious state based on Jewish law. They are as radial as ISIS.
The high court of Israel has 14 Ashkenazi judges and one Mizrahi one. It is one of the reasons why the Netanyahoo government wants the parliament to be able to vote down high court judgements. There have been large, U.S. sponsored ‘regime change’ protests in Israel against that move. The leaders of the military and security services, mostly Ashkenazi, have also opposed the government move against the court.
I therefore think that it is quite possible that there was intelligence pointing to the Hamas attack, but that it was not revealed to let Netanyahoo fall into a trap. We have however no evidence that there were reasonably precise intelligence warnings, or that they were held up.
There are already demands for Netanyahoo to go. If only for his long term sponsoring of Hamas as a counterweight to the more secular Fatah Palestinians. Should he no longer be prime minister the courts will take up the three bribe cases against him which are currently pending. He would likely end up in jail.
Another reason for Hamas’ success was the fact that three of the four infantry battalions, with 800 soldiers each, that usually guard the Gaza strip, had been moved to the West Bank to protect right-wing Zionist settlers during a religious holiday. This allowed for Hamas’ easy breach of the fence.
Well, the Right in Netanyahu’s government has two long-standing commitments. One is to rebuild the (Jewish) Temple on ‘Temple Mount’ (Haram al-Shariff).
Just to be clear, that would entail demolishing Al-Aqsa.
The second overriding commitment is to the founding of “Israel”, on the “Land of Israel”. And again, to be clear, this (in their view) would entail clearing Palestinians from the West Bank. Indeed, the settlers have been cleansing Palestinians from swaths of the West Bank over the past year (notably between Ramallah and Jericho).
On Thursday morning (two days preceding Al-Aqsa Flood), more than 800 settlers stormed the Mosque Compound, under the full protection of Israeli forces. The drumbeat of such provocations is rising.
This is nothing new. The First Intifada was triggered by (then) PM Sharon making a provocative visit into the mosque. I was a part of Senator George Mitchell’s Presidential Committee investigating that incident. Even then, it was clear that Sharon intended the visit to fuel the fire of religious nationalism. At that time, the Temple Mount Movement was a minnow; today it has ministers in Cabinet and in key security positions — and has promised its followers to build the ‘Third Temple’.
So, the threat to Al-Aqsa has been building for two decades, and today is reaching an apex. And yet US and Israeli intelligence didn’t see resistance coming, and nor did they see the settler violence building in the West Bank?
What happened on Saturday was widely expected and clearly extensively planned.
There is by the way no archaeologic evidence, none, that a Jewish ‘Temple’ ever existed in Jerusalem. If it did, it was most likely not on the hill of Al-Aqsa but one of the six other ones.
Al-Aqsa is holy to all Muslims, Shia and Sunni alike. Its destruction would inevitably lead to war. The West is clearly underestimating what forces calls like this one can rise:
Friday sermon from the Grand Mosque in Mecca prays for the “liberation of Al-Aqsa Mosque” in Jerusalem.
This is significant for two reasons: • Audience of 2 billion Muslims. • Such sermons have been significantly censored under MBS. Today’s sermon was likely pre-approved. Video
Israel has used White Phosphorus on the people in Gaza, another war crime. Israel has given all people in north Gaza, 1.1 million human beings, 24 hours to move to south Gaza. That is impossible and will not happen. It is an attempt of ethnic cleansing.
If there were two million Jewish people trapped by Christians in a giant open-air prison and placed under total siege, being told that half of them had 24 hours to relocate into the other half or be killed, nobody would have any confusion about what they were witnessing.
If Israel makes, as announced, a ground attack on Gaza, Hizbullah in Lebanon is likely to attack Israel. The U.S. has allegedly let Syria know (via France) that Damascus, and President Assad personally, would be attacked if that were to happen. This is a miscalculation. It is far from certain that Assad, or even Iran, has the means to hold Hizbullah back.
A U.S. attack on the government of Syria would bring Russia into the war. Iran would also respond which is exactly what some of the neocons want.
The war could easily escalate further from there.
Posted by b on October 13, 2023 at 15:46 UTC | Permalink
Originally Answered: What would happen if a high ranking Admiral or General visited a Military base without telling anyone first and didn’t like how things were being done there?
Admiral Rickover no-notice visited a nuclear boat in civilian clothing, was admitted, and began touring the boat. As he approached the reactor room a second class (E-5) stopped him from entering.
When the Admiral went to push past the man, he picked up a very large wrench and offered to split the Admiral’s head open.
Later 0, during a post-tour discussion, the Admiral asked the sailor if he recognized him (the Father of the Nuclear Navy) and if so, why the young sailor wouldn’t let the Admiral enter the reactor room.
The sailor said “Because, sir, you didn’t have the boat’s Reactor Room badge. No one comes into my reactor room without the proper pass, not even you.”
The next day the young man was spot promoted to E-6.
I was told this story by a roommate that was an MS1 (cook) on the boat at the time.
The key sentences in the Analects are:子罕： 無意無必無固無我：Have no preconceptions, do not insist on a certain course of action, don’t be obstinate, keep your ego out of things. The other one is: 里仁：君子之於天下也無適也無莫也義之與比：There is nothing in the world you have to be for, there is nothing in the world you have to be against; the only standard is what is appropriate for the situation at hand.
These were balanced by 禮 cultural standards. You should maintain a balance between 智仁勇 thinking, feeling (kindness), and courage. In all matters, 中庸 keep a balance, don’t go off far ends, never become an extremist.
In a nutshell, that’s it. I could go on for days, but that gives you the key points.
A large group of Russian soldiers in the border area in 1939 are moving down a road when they hear a voice call from behind a small hill:
“One Finnish soldier is better than ten Russian”.
The Russian commander quickly orders 10 of his best men over the hill where a gun battle breaks out and continues for a few minutes, then silence.
The voice once again calls out: “One Finn is better than one hundred Russian.”
Furious, the Russian commander sends his next best 100 troops over the hill, and instantly a huge gunfight commences. After 10 minutes of battle, again Silence.
The calm Finnish voice calls out again: “One Finn is better than one thousand Russians!”
The enraged Russian commander musters 1000 fighters and sends them to the other side of the hill.
Rifle fire, machine guns, grenades, rockets, and cannon fire ring out as a terrible battle is fought…
Then silence.
Eventually, one badly wounded Russian fighter crawls back over the hill and with his dying words tells his commander:
“Don’t send any more men… it’s a trap. There’s two of them!
Pay no attention to criticism or to authors of lies. They wouldn’t be doing it if you hadn’t created something to make them jealous.
When people troll you, this means that you’re important. Pretend that you’re depressed, but smile inwardly because deep inside, you know that you’re somebody significant.
Have a good reason to put a smile on your face. Even when you’re hungry or broke, that’s not a good reason to frown, for you never know when your help is arriving.
Happiness can be faked. This is probably a good thing for your health because your subconscious mind can’t tell the difference.
You can probably tell who your best friends are since they’ll not be easy to find. However, you can easily tell who your fake friends are since they’ll bring themselves to you.
It’s important to connect with as many friends as possible, but the most important way to have inner peace is to connect with yourself.
Whatever happens in your life, try to remain as calm as possible, despite all that’s going on around you.
People who can control their emotions are stronger than fortresses. Most of the problems that take away our inner peace come from reacting to situations we shouldn’t react to.
Don’t look for internal peace externally, where everybody is looking. To have peace, you have to look for someone who already has it. Unfortunately, most people don’t have inner peace, so you must change your focus to rely on your internal resources.
Despite all the noise, there’s still a central place where you can find peace. The heart is a central place where you can find almost anything that needs to be found.
You will never have peace watching the daily news, for it is the bad news that sells for TV stations and makes a slave to negative news. A person who watches much TV will always wake up with a headache, hangover, or depression.
Happiness is the secret to inner peace. Avoid people or situations that deprive you of happiness.
Nothing is as infectious as a good laughter, yet most people want to look depressed for no particular reason. Why don’t you lock yourself in a room and laugh even when there’s no particular reason to laugh?
Whatever situation you find yourself in, there’s no good reason to lose hope. Hope is like advance payment on something valuable you’re eagerly awaiting.
In most cases, you have innate peace inside of you, but other people come and take it away through discouragement, bad news, and idle talk because they don’t have peace in the first place and they don’t feel comfortable when you have it.
When people tell you something negative, the best thing to do is to remain calm. Try to assess it, and if it doesn’t make sense ignore it. The worst thing you can do is to react to it, but the best thing you can do is to avoid negative people.
Inner peace is more valuable than all the peace in the world, because when you have it, you can think more clearly and know how to react to situations and problems.
The natural inclination for humans is to dominate and control others. Know that if you’re a person given to this instinct, you’re courting misery, unhappiness, and grief, for the same people you seek to control, will turn upon you and tear you apart, the moment they realize you’re also human.
The number one killer for peace of mind is when you lose sleep as a result of another person “getting there” quicker than you. No two people are the same. No two people have the same abilities, and no two people think the same way. Don’t feel jealous because someone else is succeeding where you failed. Instead, be happy for them and your own success will arrive faster than you think.
The number two killer for peace of mind is anger. Anger is like a tornado, destroying everything in it’s wake including you and your loved ones.
Pay attention to what you eat. Neurochemicals in the brain that control mood, peace of mind, love, happiness, anger, and other factors, depend on the kind of food you eat, your particular environment, and the people you live with. Changing any or all of these factors, can greatly boost your inner peace that you didn’t believe existed.
There’s a reason why people take a break. Although worrying your head off won’t solve any problem, you might find it reasonable to find a solitary place where you can spend time alone. Enjoying solitude, meditation, and prayer, especially where there’s a body of water like the sea, river, or lake, are great ways to get away from people and all the noise, mobile phones, internet, social media, and rejuvenate your life. Find time to connect with your soul, and understand better what’s ailing you.
The phrase that “music heals your soul” can’t be more true. I’d say that making music your close companion is a great way to relax, whether you’re depressed or not. Music relaxes the mind and body, soothes the nerves, recovers your lost energy and focus, and immunizes you from the stresses of life.
DID YOUTUBE SABOTAGE US? WHY IM CLOSING MY 808,000 SUBSCRIBER CHANNEL
A Turkish artilleryman lifts a 215 kilogram shell singlehanded for loading in a cannon. Corporal Seyit (Seyit Onbasi) is famous for having carried three 215 kg shells to an artillery gun during the Allied attempt to force the Dardanelles on 18 March 1915. Born in a village of Havran, he enlisted into the army in April 1909. After serving in the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 he was transferred to the forts defending the Mediterranean entrance to the Dardanelles. Following the heavy naval bombardment of the forts guarding the Narrows on March 18, 1915, the gun he was serving in the Mecidiye fort remained operational but its shell crane had been damaged. Seyit carried three 215 kg artillery shells up to the gun enabling it to continue firing on the attacking Allied fleet. One of the shells reputedly hit the British pre-dreadnought HMS Ocean, most probably contributing greatly to the repulse of the Allied naval assault.
After that Seyid was promoted to corporal and publicised as an iconic Turkish hero. He was discharged in 1918 and became a forester and later coal-miner. He took the surname Çabuk in 1934 with the passing of the Surname Law. He died of a lung disease in 1939. A statue of him carrying a shell was erected in 1992, just south of Kilitbahir Castle on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Edit: There are some skeptics who think that this story might have been invented for propaganda reasons. First of all, the Ottomans were not as sophisticated as the Allies or the USA regrading propaganda strategies. When it comes to propaganda, misinformation and psychological tactics for manipulating the masses, the Western countries are way ahead of the Turks. Secondly, the only eye witnesses were the few soldiers operating the gun. Nevertheless, according to military records, the crane of the canon was broken and the rounds fired. The battleship Ocean was hit by a cannon shell exactly at a position where it was facing this particular fort. (The picture was shot after the war, to imitate the moment.)
“What’s happening In the Middle East is Shocking…”
You see, when Trump imposed the Huawei Ban, China and Chinese entities were very concerned that they would be next
Thus they began stockpiling massive quantities of Chips & Semiconductor equipment
From 2020–2022 , China kept on buying Chips from the world though it’s demand thanks to the lockdown was down by almost 45%
That’s a huge chunk of chips purchased and equipment purchased between 2020–2022 when the total demand was far lesser both within China and outside China
Hence China has a Supply Glut of Chips & Semiconductor Equipment
This surplus has to be first utilized for China to begin placing orders again
Meanwhile China is also developing it’s own industry in Chips and Semiconductors
Thus the fall in imports is unlikely to be ever reversed
Imagine you’re the unlucky bastard who gets to be positioned behind the machine gun. While most of your brothers in arms have died long ago from climbing out of the trench, you remain shackled in place to provide them supporting fire, watching them each die in the process. What was once your childhood friend Richard presently sits motionless forty paces before you, in the middle of no mans land, tangled in a mess of barbed wire. The flies have largely left him alone by now.
At the same time, you get to fire endlessly at young men your age, of a different uniform, charging blindly towards you. You used to scream at the top of your lungs for them to turn back, to stop running forward. You stopped trying a few hundred kills back.
You’ve witnessed technological marvels unlike anything else you’ve ever seen before. Airplanes. Flamethrowers. Automobiles and tanks. And yet, just a few days ago, you saw your friends beat down an enemy using a primitive spike-covered club, like a caveman might.
Over the permanent ringing in your ears you gained from endless rounds fired and near misses of enemy grenades, you hear a corny, empty song of patriotism for the fourteenth time that day off of a distant gramophone. It’s words cruelly mock you anymore.
You’re covered in fine layers of semi-dried mud, thrown up in your face from a distant artillery hit. It’s the cleanest substance presently adorning your person. Your boots and wraps are wet from the blood, urine, and vomit. Some of it is your own. You can almost remember the last time you took a bath.
The cloth near your ankles has been shredded from the rats, who grow more brazen and hungry every day. The last one you saw was the size of an opossum, and took a nasty bite out of your left leg. Bartholomew, the man who helps feed bullets to your iron beast, stabbed it with his bayonet and tossed it in the pile: the sixteenth one he had killed that day alone.
Your nose has grown numb to the overwhelming odor. The winter season approaches, and everything’s become colder. All your aches and pains hurt more with the cold. Until now, things have been relatively dry, which means you have yet to drown in your own trench from the rainfall.
The sound of a shell impacting the ground crosses the land. The color of the air begins to turn a funny color again. You quietly put on your gas mask and hunch over your weapon. You first heard that this war would be over before Christmas. You then heard that this would be the war to end all wars. You now wonder if this war would ever end, or if it’d merely become the introductory section to the new era: the era of modern warfare.
Well, to start with, nobody in the world actually wants social justice.
There. I said it.
Okay, lots of people sincerely believe they want social justice; the people who say they want it aren’t lying, exactly. It’s way more complicated than that, and a lot happens between “I’d like to live in a just world” and “I am going to work to make a just world happen.”
Buckle up, this answer is gonna get loooooong.
Let’s start here: The real world is complicated. Really, really complicated. You might think getting your scanner/printer to work with Windows is complicated, but that’s peanuts compared to socioeconomic and geopolitical reality.
And people, even smart people, handle complexity poorly.
Topical case in point: What’s happening in Israel and Gaza right now.
If you want to understand what’s happening, you need to know quite a lot of history from the 1940s on. There’s a lot of “there” there: the Israeli offer, turned down by the Arabic population; the reasons Egypt and Jordan closed their borders to the Palestinians; the history of Hamas, which is both a terrorist organization and also a government (and before that, the Muslim Brotherhood); the way Egypt has deliberately played the Gaza refugees as political pawns…it’s complicated and ugly and no side has totally clean hands, but even understanding where the balance lies requires a pretty thorough history lesson…
…and oh God that’s, like, sooooooo complicated, whyyyyyyy can’t someone just tell me who the good guys are and who the bad guys are?
That’s the thing: a lot of people want to treat actual, real-world political situations like football matches or WWF wrestling, with a clearly defined good guy and a clearly defined bad guy, so they know who they’re supposed to root for.
Even people who start out genuinely, sincerely interested in social justice can easily get bogged down.
That’s the heartbreaking thing about, you know, empathy and compassion. When you sincerely want to leave the world in better shape than you found it, you soon find yourself fighting an uphill battle. Injustice doesn’t exist because someone woke up one day and said “Hey! You know what? I think I’ll be a dick to other people today!”
Injustice exists because entrenched economic, social, and political systems with roots thousands of years deep have entrenched ways of doing things because the people atop those systems benefit from doing things that way.
Fighting against that is hard. It grinds you down. However energetic and idealistic you were when you started, it pulverizes you.
Nobody has infinite time. Nobody has infinite energy.
Which is fine, except that most people want to believe themselves to be one of the good guys, on the side of Truth and Righteousness and Justice, even when we don’t want to—or can’t!—do the work of getting there. It’s not enough to say “You know what? I’m not informed enough about this to have a reasonable opinion.” Oh, no, no, we want to take sides but we don’t want to invest the time or labor in making sure we pick the right side.
We just want to know who to blame.
Knowing who the bad guy is helps define us as the good guy. If we’re against the bad guy, that makes us good, right? Right?
So what do we do?
We develop heuristics. Cognitive shortcuts. Quick and dirty rules of thumb to simplify complex situations and help guide them toward the ‘right’ team to root for. These fast and easy heuristics, at least in theory, cut through all the tedious drek of having to learn all that history and become informed of the goals and grievances of all the players and untangle a knotty and nuanced tangle that’s been all balled up for decades.
But here’s the thing:
Heuristics are not subtle. They’re fast intuitive guidelines that substitute for actual understanding. They feel right, but that doesn’t mean they are right.
Those heuristics—“believe women,” “always side with the most historically oppressed,” whatever they are—gradually become rules, then social tribal markers, then symbols of moral purity. Heuristics become adopted by tribes as ways to tell the in-group from the out-group. If you see a hashtag like #believewomen, you can probably make a pretty good guess about the politics of the person who subscribes to it.
Before long, it actually becomes morally wrong not to obey the heuristics.
Enforcing moral purity becomes a way to feel powerful, to feel like you’re accomplishing something, in the face of the overwhelming hopelessness and despair that comes from fighting an entrenched system day after day and ending each day with nothing to show for it.
What it feels like to care about justice
Say your crusade is animal welfare, for example. You’ve fought for years and what do you have to show for it? There are even more factory farms now than when you started. Consumption of animals is up, not down.
But then let’s say Bob, your staunch and stalwart ally, your comrade in arms, reveals that he’s not a vegan…he thinks it’s okay to eat fish. And…and…and eggs. And he wears leather belts.
You can’t end factory farming, you can’t stop the senseless slaughter of animals…but hey, you can rally the troops against Bob, because he betrayed the cause! You can destroyed his reputation and cast him out! Look! Look! You accomplished something!
This is inevitably what happens in social justice circles. We end up here because:
People want a morality simple enough to fit in a hashtag; and
Any morality simple enough to fit in a hashtag cannot capture reality, and therefore is rather limited as a tool to change reality.
People tend to think of “social justice” as a left thing, but this process knows no political bounds. Those on the right do it just as often—they simply don’t call it “social justice.”
But the same things still apply: they have a way they want the world to be; changing the world requires tremendous amounts of effort and work; people don’t have limitless resources; they fall back on simple rules to tell them who the good guys and bad guys are; those eimple rules become tribal markers; before long, it becomes morally unacceptable even to question those simple rules.
We see the world not at it is but as we are. We invent narratives to describe the world, and to tell us who the good guys are, and who we should be in order to think of ourselves as good. Anyone who can co-opt those narratives can control the lines between Us and Them, the boundaries that define our tribes.
So here we are. We’re terrible at nuance, we don’t have tome to get informed, so we let the hashtag mentality do the work for us.
The UK colonized many nations to procure the raw materials to fuel it’s empire worldwide
They enjoyed 80% of the cream and barely gave 20% to the Colonized Nations, of which 15% was taken back vide Taxes and Protection and payment for British Troops
Chinas BRI is a modified version of the same thing UK used to do but a fairer economic sharing platform
China gets Raw materials worldwide through the BRI to fuel it’s mammoth economy and production machine
However instead of the unfair British division, China enjoys maybe 60% of the cream and ensures 40% to the BRI Nations of which maybe 20% is taken back vide Infrastructure projects, Power Projects etc
This while Britain gave only 5% of the Cream to the Colonies, China gives 20%
And while Britain paid most of the Cream to Corpulent Rajahs and Maharajahs, China spends a lot on building Schools and Roads and Bridges
Plus China also uses BRI Countries to outsource it’s low grade manufacturing
Hence BRI is essentially a ‘You help me fuel myself and i help you grow’ mode of economics
Here are some stats from Chinas forum in 2023:-
China sources 66% Rare Earths vide the BRI and controls the Production
China controls between 30–45% of the Tungsten, Nickel, Copper and Mercury vide the BRI
China sources Wheat, Soybeans, Pork, Beef and Eggs vide the BRI
China supplies Chemicals, Machinery, Low Cost Goods, Medium Cost Goods, Textiles and Semi finished goods vide the BRI to various nations. Almost 70% of the supply of these come from China including Paper & Ink
Chinas Energy needs from Enriched Uranium, Uranium Ore, Oil, Gas come vide the BRI at an average discount of 31% from World market prices. Thus outside of interest, China saves at least $ 70 Billion a year on market prices
Thus Chinas BRI is definitely not a Utopian Charity
It is a business arrangement where Chinese win big time with supplies, raw materials, chance to invest their money and prevent accumulation & gain soft power
Yet the BRI nations in return get money from sales of goods plus a lot of modernization at minimum cost (China averages $ 2.19 Million per Mile against $ 17 Million for the US)
Its the best deal for BRI nations today if they want to grow
Best example is Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam which have all seen a CAGR of around 12.2% a year with the BRI over the past 10 year
26 out of 50 African Nations show a CAGR of 6% or more with BRI
Why Is Another Young American Woman Arrested And Jailed In Dubai ? A Critical Review.
Right now, there are at least 4 potential trigger points. Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, North Korea, and China. Any of these could flare up because of an accident or false narrative. WW2 had the Japanese taking a risk by attacking Pearl Harbor, but that was being fought by China much earlier than that. Vietnam was the Gulf of Tonkin false narrative by the US accusing Vietnam of attacking its destroyer. We stayed for 10 years and lost. Iraq was the infamous WMD that proved a false narrative by the US. Afghanistan was the witch hunt for Ben Laden that took 10 years and we stayed for 10 more years only to leave ignominiously. Ukraine is the invasion of Ukraine by Russia because the west continued to move east with NATO. All had reasons for the start of a conflict that potentially could have become much wider, most because of a false narrative by the US, leading one to suspect the US wanted a conflict.
Texas Beef Brisket
2023 10 19 08 47
Ingredients
4 pounds beef brisket
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 bay leaf, crushed
1 (10 ounce) can beef broth
Instructions
Make a dry rub by combining chili powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, sugar, dry mustard and crushed bay leaf.
Season the raw brisket on both sides with the rub.
Place in roasting pan and roast, uncovered, for one hour at 350 degrees F.
Add the beef broth and enough water to make 1/2 inch liquid in roasting pan. Lower oven to 300 degrees F, cover pan tightly and continue cooking for 3 hours or until fork tender.
Trim the fat and slice meat thinly across the grain.
They see as a western nation hypocrisy. Screaming human rights but doing human wrongs. The see everything wrong about US and UK unilateral decisions. They decide to plant Jewish people in the middle if Arab land to do U.S. and western shit on Arabs and Muslim nations and the Palestinians must be happy about it.
The wonder why the people who truly own this land has to give it all up and agree to live as slaves and asylum seekers in their own lands. The Palestinians are the living in the world’s biggest open prison in a land they owned. Who the fxxk gives the US and UK to give something that don’t belong to them away!
The cannot understand why the west can be so foolish to think that Palestinian must be happy and contented in such a terrible outcome for them! Surely they ought to expect incidents like what happened if the Palestinians got a chance? Why do the west not expect that?
Blind? Foolish? Do they see Palestinian as sub humans? Like their African slaves? 4/5 of a human? Imagine instead of choosing Palestinian lands it choose Wales or Burgundy or Texas, will the people in these region accept their fate lying down? I doubt so.
I think they will do what Hitler does! Why do they think Palestinians must accept this fate!
Chinese people cannot understand why the west thinks it can get away with it. That is what the Chinese thinks! I think the Chinese is pragmatic and highly intelligent. They see an unworkable solution while the West thinks it can do what they wish!
Russia Signals The Unthinkable, U.S. Warns Iran, Oil Crisis Coming
Wing Dings
Wing Dings are a Texas specialty!
2023 10 28 12 37
Ingredients
1 cup beer
1/4 cup unsulphured dark molasses
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
Juice of 1 medium lime
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon aniseed, toasted and ground
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 dozen chicken wings
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a large baking pan or dish.
Combine everything except the wings in a large, heavy pan. Simmer them over medium heat 15 to 20 minutes, until they have reduced to a thick sauce.
While the sauce simmers, prepare the chicken wings.
With a butcher knife, remove the wing tips, then cut each wing in half at the joint.
Add the wings to the sauce, and stir to coat them.
Ladle the wings and the sauce into the baking dish.
Bake for 25 minutes, then stir the wings in the sauce.
Turn the heat up to 425 degrees F and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the sauce glazes the wings.
Serve the wings hot with Ranch dressing, if desired.
US-backed Terrorism Targets Vietnam & Myanmar in Wider War on China
Two terrorist attacks this month (June 2023) in Southeast Asia have been carried out by groups backed by the United States government and its allies for decades;
This includes a singer murdered in Myanmar and a series of armed attacks carried out on police stations in Vietnam killing 9 including several civilians;
British state media, the BBC, and US government-funded media platform Radio Free Asia have attempted to spin and even justify this terrorism as part of a much wider pattern promoting and defending terrorism as a means to counter China’s rise and punish nations working closely with China;
The opposition in Myanmar has openly been backed by the US and UK for decades – fighting to reinstall Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy back into power;
In Vietnam, the ethnic Montagnards had fought alongside US invaders in the Vietnam War, and since then have worked closely with the US through the National Endowment for Democracy toward separatism;
Much of this context is omitted from Western state-media accounts of the terrorism;
Both Myanmar and Vietnam’s current governments have close relations with China. Vietnam, while depicted in the Western media as “anti-China,” has worked with China to build infrastructure within its borders and access Chinese rail projects to bring their products all the way to Europe;
US Encircling of China Explained
The US claims that it is not seeking conflict with China – but a look at what the US is doing all along China’s peripheries reveals the US is already in a conflict with China and has been for decades.
The US pursues this conflict – admittedly – not out of national security concerns, but to preserve what it itself calls its “primacy” in the Indo-Pacific region.
China’s New Maglev, High Speed Rail, & What it Means for Belt & Road Partners
China has unveiled a 600kph maglev train that will eventually be used on lines connecting China’s major cities. It is part of the nation’s much larger high speed rail (HSR) network.
I discuss China’s HSR network, the foresight required to implement such an ambitious infrastructure drive, and how the West is trying to foil it both within China’s borders and beyond them as HSR lines begin moving outward as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Bully or Builder? China Finishes Vietnam’s First Metro Train
While the Western media attempts to convince the world China is “bullying” its neighbors in Asia, upon closer examination it is clear it is instead building projects with its neighbors.
This includes with Vietnam which does have a complicated relationship with Beijing – but has not let that get in the way of progress – including cooperation in building the country’s first metro train.
China’s Laos High-Speed Railway is Already Delivering
The Western media continues its attack on China depicting the nation as a global threat. However, what the West says about China and what China itself is doing are two entirely different stories.
The high-speed railway being built between Kunming, China and Bangkok, Thailand is a perfect example of how China is helping the rest of Asia rise with it. The only thing being threatened by China and Asia’s rise is the West’s unwarranted influence over the rest of the globe.
Inflection EP20: China Builds Up ASEAN, the US Bullies it…
While the Western media insists China is a threat to global peace and prosperity, an objective look at China’s role in ASEAN development versus US coercion, political sedition, and even proxy conflict reveals the true threat to both Asia and the rest of the world.
Inflection is a weekly show featuring Angelo Giuliano and Brian Berletic, discussing recent headlines and in-depth discussion of topics shaping the shift from West to East and unipolarism to multipolarism.
Inflection EP23: As China Rises, Southeast Asia Rises
The US is obsessed with containing the rise of China. But China is not rising on its own. With its rise, all of Asia is rising with it.
The notion of the globe’s center of power shifting from West to East is at the heart of Washington, Wall Street, London, and Brussel’s growing desperation and aggression toward China – the engine of Asia’s rise.
Inflection is a weekly show featuring Angelo Giuliano and Brian Berletic, discussing recent headlines and in-depth discussion of topics shaping the shift from West to East and unipolarism to multipolarism.
The US Just Did Something CRAZY!
Biblical collapse coming to the West.
REFLECTION
“My parents were married for 55 years. One morning, my mom was going downstairs to make dad breakfast, she had a heart attack and fell. My father picked her up as best he could and almost dragged her into the truck. At full speed , without respecting traffic lights, he drove her to the hospital.
When he arrived, unfortunately she was no longer with us.
During the funeral, my father did not speak; his gaze was lost. He hardly cried.
That night, his children joined him. In an atmosphere of pain and nostalgia, we remembered beautiful anecdotes and he asked my brother, a theologian, to tell him where Mom would be at that moment. My brother began to talk about life after death, and guesses as to how and where she would be.
My father listened carefully. Suddenly he asked us to take him to the cemetery.
Dad!” we replied, “it’s 11 at night, we can’t go to the cemetery right now!”
He raised his voice, and with a glazed look he said:
“Don’t argue with me, please don’t argue with the man who just lost his wife of 55 years.”
There was a moment of respectful silence, we didn’t argue anymore. We went to the cemetery, we asked the night watchman for permission. With a flashlight we reached the tomb. My father caressed her, prayed and told his children, who watched the scene moved:
“It was 55 years… you know? No one can talk about true love if they have no idea what it’s like to share life with a woman.”
He paused and wiped his face. “She and I, we were together in that crisis. I changed jobs …” he continued. “We packed up when we sold the house and moved out of town. We shared the joy of seeing our children finish their careers, we mourned the departure of loved ones side by side, we prayed together in the waiting room of some hospitals, we support each other in pain, we hug each Christmas, and we forgive our mistakes… Children, now it’s gone, and I’m happy, do you know why?
Because she left before me. She didn’t have to go through the agony and pain of burying me, of being left alone after my departure. I will be the one to go through that, and I thank God. I love her so much that I wouldn’t have liked her to suffer…”
When my father finished speaking, my brothers and I had tears streaming down our faces. We hugged him, and he comforted us, “It’s okay, we can go home, it’s been a good day.”
That night I understood what true love is; It is far from romanticism, it does not have much to do with eroticism, or with sex, rather it is linked to work, to complement, to care and, above all, to the true love that two really committed people profess “.
Peace in your hearts.
You Won’t Believe What Ugandan Women Think About Black Americans
My African sisters looking beautiful and sounding intelligent. On another note, most human beings are unique so lumping a group of people into a stereotype isn’t always advantageous.
One day, Saskatchewan farmer Cecil George Harris was out in his field when his tractor got stuck. Unfortunately, while trying to extricate it, he got trapped beneath one of the tractor’s large wheels.
He wasn’t found for nine hours, by which time he was near death even though he was still conscious. He was taken to the hospital, but he died two days later.
The question was, how should his estate be handled. He had never gone to a lawyer to prepare a will.
But while lying there, trapped and knowing he was going to die, he had the foresight to scratch something into the fender of his tractor with his penknife.
In case I die in this mess I leave all to the wife, Cecil Geo. Harris.
The fender was entered into evidence in the probate court as a holograph (handwritten) will. It was approved for probate. The fender was stored for years in the county’s courthouse and instead of going to the archives it was sent to the University of Saskatchewan Law School for safekeeping, where it now appears.
Treat someone who’s never been treated well as a genuine human.
This Spring I had a few moments in New York City, and a bit of spare cash. Nothing too large that’ll make a difference, but an amount that could buy a meal at Halal Guys.
I saw a man having his head in his palms, sunken with the weight of the world around him. What most people never ever have to experience is having a social net you thought existed fall below you, and then continue falling in life without having a single moment to grasp or gain your balance. Things like this can really screw with any mental problems that may never have existed, and also create anxiety that comes with the insecurity of the most basic human support.
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Out of respect, I didn’t take Jake’s photo, but he looked like this
“Hi sir, what’s your name?” I asked him. He replied Jake, and whether I had any spare change.
I told him, “How about this. Let me get you something nice to eat. You must be cold out here by yourself, right? Does that sound good to you?” One thing I remember was how a lot of homeless people never eat food given to them as they don’t know if someone tapered it or poisoned it, which is a real concern.
“Bless you, sir. That’ll be amazing, thank you.” He replied
We went to Halal Guys and I learned that he was in the military, but he fell upon some hard times. He used to work as a mechanic of sorts but lost it all in a divorce and “money mismanagement”. He didn’t have a family to really go back to so tried to find work in New York but couldn’t and ended up on the street. He told me he was planning to leave soon, and I kept on listening to what he was saying.
I think the look on his face as I got him chicken over rice was something that I rarely see in people, which is a form of gratitude you can never express unless someone lends you a hand as you fall through every social net.
I told him I had to catch a train, but he shook my hand and kept saying “God took you to me, sir. Bless you, bless you.”
Now, regardless of whether his story was true, it doesn’t really matter. I knew this man had to fight off his own demons.
There’s a word in Russian called umilinie (умиление) which roughly translates to “tenderness”. My professor once called the tenderness “melting of the heart”, and that’s what the other man felt at the moment.
I had given him one moment of peace as a human being, and that was all I cared about. When you treat someone well who usually doesn’t and give them some of your time, you’ll truly see someone’s heart melt from a moment of humanity.
Last Gasp of Western Hegemony
The US-NATO group are drowning in debt. The ability to wage war is limited by their debt. They have no military industrial capacity, just corruption. Russia and China are free of debt and have extreme advantage in any war.
As long as it is win win for China and for the U.S. China will sign a deal. But the U.S. cannot say you must buy what we like to sell you and you must sell everything we want at a dirt cheap prices and pay us in dollar!
The U.S. says your products cannot be spied on but we have a right to spy on each and every one of your phone!
The U.S. says when the U.S. introduce G1 to G4 you must trust us blindly but when China build G5 we must not only use your initiative but we will forced everyone else to stop using you too!
The U.S. says you must make all simple chip products and sell it to us as dirt cheap prices and we sell you cars and planes at astronomical prices and don’t you dare make these products!
To China this is wrong and unfair so it’s says go sell to one of your cronies. No thanks U.S.! China say over our dead body will we listen to you! China do what is good for China and the Chinese people. And it will always do so. If you don’t like it tough! Go bang your head against the wall!
The state of Virginia has a “Standards of Learning” end of grade testing, called SOL’s (yeah, that’s what I thought too).
Anyway, my nephew was taking the test (or a practice test that uses old questions) that asked what the Native Americans foraged for in the spring. The answer wasn’t there.
My sister happens to specialize in edible native plant of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My nephew not only knew what was growing in the spring in Virginia, but he could name them and find them in the wild.
His answer was counted wrong and the correct answer, according to the State of Virginia, was berries. My sister asked the school system to identify just one berry that ripens in Virginia in the spring. They couldn’t.
Edit: I was a CTE high school teacher for a little while (Career & Technical Education) and I certainly got things wrong. Everyone does. But I would share the correct answer, apologize if I felt it necessary, and if it was something graded, I would change the grade. I also rarely used a textbook with the exception of specific practice sessions.
As a CTE teacher, I had much more autonomy than math, science or English. They were strictly controlled. Our department was lucky but the state was slowly tightening down on our classes too.
The SOL test wasn’t graded by a teacher or even the school. It was strictly controlled by the state. Each question has to go through a review process and be approved and the grading isn’t subject to revision by the local school.
There are four things that can be regarded negative , as part of the feelings by the people of China
#1 Blaming the Lockdowns – Many Mainlanders especially in the Big 4 Cities blame the lockdowns, kind of like Indians blaming Demonetization. The impact of the Lockdowns was maybe 10% of the Impact of demonetization but China is such a rich and prosperous country now that the slightest slowdown annoys the hell out of the people
#2 Cautious to Invest – Gold & Jade Investments in China have piled up almost by 41% in the last 3 years by Individuals. That’s because Chinese Mainlanders are not having many areas of investment and it’s either Gold Or Banks. They don’t seem to trust the share market and the real estate market is in a glut. Thus China has almost $ 16-18 Trillion in Savings against $ 4.82 Trillion that the US has
Chinese Individuals thus need more Venture Capitalists and Technology Investments to invest their funds in
#3 Generation Gap – The Gen Z of China work smart rather than hard. The policies of Chinese companies still mirror those of the 2000s which focus on time rather than value of work. Rather than the TARGET ORIENTED approach, the approach is TIME ORIENTED meaning working 54 hours a week seems more important than meeting performance targets
The Gen Z feel that if they can work 35–40 hours a week and achieve the same targets , they can enjoy the remaining 14 hours a week
Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba, DJI, Baidu etc already changed their workstyles to make them flexible and based on Targets
Yet 60% of Chinese Employers still have the TIME ORIENTED mentality and pay on a PER HOUR basis
#4 Inability to understand Hostility of the West
Many Chinese are unable to understand why the West is hostile to them and why the sanctions.
This is because the CPC is too nice and doesn’t promote hate against the West in their propaganda
Luckily in this area the CPC has worked tirelessly to ensure alternate economic routes
If exports to the US fell for a Chinese company, Russian markets are a virtual monopoly for the Chinese now (Indians failed to capitalize this market in any way) plus newer markets in South America plus Middle East
Likewise if Investments from US have dried up, Germany and Russia have tripled their investments into China, making up potential deficits
Yet the key thing about China is the TRANSPARENCY in the Country
No lies, hidden from the public, the Positive Side l
Costs are very low, Rents, Food are at their lowest. Savings potential is at 43% , highest in the world against 7% in USA
Rapid Development
Excellent Education
Very good employment despite the slowdown without creating Government Jobs like India or SL
Rapid Technology development
Growing Soft Power of China and Tourist related power in Thailand and other places
So Chinese are extremely content though they wouldn’t mind some reforms which the CPC is likely to implement in the coming 6–24 months
As a new PhD , I interviewed for an entry level academic position. The afternoon prior to the interview, I flew in to a large airport, rented a car as instructed, and drove nearly 200 km out to a university in a rural setting. The next morning, a gray, dreary day, I found my own breakfast and then went to the University, let’s call it University A, to find the interviewer. His first question was, “Are you sure you can tolerate living here?” Odd question, but I could imagine the location probably could have been a problem for some candidates like me, who got his degree at an urban university. I grew up in a place that looked and felt nearly identical, so I was on board. The rest of the morning went well.
For lunch four of the professors and I piled into an older car. The senior professor was in the front passenger seat. The younger two professors and I were in the back seat. Before we start moving, the senior professor turned around, looked me in the eye, and asked, “What do you think of Professor X at University B?” I knew Professor X well. He was a mentor of mine when I was a contract teaching hire at University C several years prior. Both Professor X and this senior professor were well known experts in our field. My Mama told me to always say something nice in such situations. So I made a single sentence that Professor X was a wonderful man to have the privilege of learning from. The senior professor said nothing more the rest of my two days of interviews. Though I did not realize it at the time, the interviews were over when I made that statement. I did not get the job.
I found out later that the senior professor considered Professor X to be his mortal enemy. They had started at this same University A as entry level professors many years prior. After gaining their tenure together, Professor X left for University B while the senior professor stayed. Both became prominent in the same field. But somewhere along the line, their relationship failed. I unwittingly stepped into the crossfire. I never asked Professor X about this, considering it to no longer be important. I also found out that the position was available because the senior professor was running off a young professor that he disliked. A year later at a conference, I met the candidate who won that position. He looked like he had a big dark cloud over his head.
Soon after this interview, I interviewed at another university much farther away. The people were bright and kind. The students were excellent and enthusiastic. The location was also a long way into a scenic rural setting with many gray, dreary days. By the time my flight arrived home back East, their job offer was waiting for me. I still work there, more than three decades later.
The man who lives with the 17 tiny kittens he rescued is experiencing an explosion of happiness.
WWIII will not happen, but the United States is essentially on the road to collapse. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, which was a federal system, it was the turn of the United States, which was a federal system.
As far as the current world situation is concerned, the United States will certainly support Israel without a second thought. In fact, Hamas has already achieved its goal. What happens next:
The EU is forced by the United States to support Israel as it supports Ukraine, but they forget that there are 50 million Muslims living in Europe.
The national image that Israel had previously created for itself collapsed straight away.
The Arab countries will further turn against the US and the West and de-dollarisation will further accelerate.
Further shaking up the US petrodollar system
Ukraine is being collectively ignored by the Western bloc, and the longer the Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues, the better for Russia.
The U.S. doesn’t have the time or the strength to compete with China
In short, the United States has lost so badly this time that there is no room for redemption.
The US is broke, its strategic oil reserves are running on fumes, and it is out of ammo. Ditto for the EU, except the EU is already an economic basket case. The US seems to have this fixation that conflict creates a win for the US so it continues to fund its MIC with only window dressing for its infrastructure and economy.
What Ukraine has shown the US is that it is not invincible and that Russia is not only stronger than the US thought, but more adaptable to the changes in tactics and technology. Ukraine has been a black hole for US and EU wealth and it is no longer in a position to strongly support its domestic needs. The US keeps printing money and raising interest rates, a sure formula for the failure of the US economy.
But, your point is well taken, the US should have been doing that for the last 20 years or so and it would be in a better condition domestically, economically, geopolitically, and relations with other countries. At this point in time, the US is almost beyond repair.
The Idiots couldn’t negotiate with the PLO and later created the Hamas and ended up making the Hamas their enemies as well
Like I said THEY SUCK AT THIS
Just like their masters the US
They keep killing Civilians and always the Terrorists never die
They change from one form to another
So it’s time Israel starts NEGOTIATIONS and uses the Arab Nations to use their leverage with the Hamas
I firmly believe if Israel agrees to the Two State Solution, the whole world including Russia, China, India and even Iran would cooperate in fighting against the Hamas
Even the Hezbollah believe in a Two State Solution now.
The red circle is China, the green circle is Canada
The red arrow is where the “interception” occurs.
2023 10 20 15 3e9
The red circle is China, the blue circle is North Korea
The red arrow is where the “interception” occurs.
The Canadians said they were in “international airspace,” but the Chinese said the plane was near the Diaoyu Islands and that this airspace was China’s airspace.
I don’t want to discuss which one of them is telling the truth.
At least I’m not a fool.
Canadian planes flew from 10,000 kilometers away between mainland China and Taiwan. They said they were to monitor North Korean cargo ships, not to provoke China.
Are Canadians smoking too much marijuana?
The Chinese Navy actually let them fly back intact. This is so merciful.
By the way, the Canadians say that their “Operation Neon” is to uphold the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
But the Chinese say they have never signed such a mandate in the Security Council.
We know that the authorization of the Security Council requires the signature of the five permanent members.
What Canada means is that they are carrying out an operation authorized by China.
A Chinese hsr train is formed from 8-16 carriages, capable of carrying 500-1,300 passengers. Up to 8 trains per hour serve the busiest routes at peak times, which can average 100 services per direction per day.
That’s 260,000 carrying capacity a day, both ways, or 95 million a year, for a single route.
An airport serving the route will have to handle more than 470 Boeing 777 flights a day.
That’s 1 takeoff or landing every 3 minutes, which is obviously untenable.
China has more than 160 cities with population more than 1 million. This number is expected to grow, with Chinese urbanization at 55-60 percent, quite some distance from the 80-85 percent typical of the developed world. The density of Chinese populations make high speed rail a viable proposition.
Airplanes are not more efficient than trains. However, they make more sense for longer trips, with the average air trip being 1,400 km. Hsr trips rarely extend beyond 800 km, and make the most economic sense below 500 km.
The Chinese hsr network is built to handle huge numbers, particularly over the Chinese new year holidays, the largest human migration known to man. China does not have enough planes to handle that kind of demand.
And yes, hsr trains run on electricity, a much greener option than avgas.
Man Dumps Bride Months Before Wedding After Learning She Participated In Group Activities For YEARS
Jesus H Christ
I would like to say a few things here.
Honesty is the foundation of a long-duration relationship
People, however, are permitted to have secrets. It is a human need.
When confronted with this situation, there are many ways to handle it. This man saw it as no-starter, unfortunately. I believe that the issues could have been worked out.
There is nothing wrong with alternative lifestyles, or what-have-you, but if you are married, you lose part of yourself and join with another. For good or bad.
Apparently everything was perfect with them, except for this one issue. Could the issue be resolved, or mitigated? I do not know.
For men, “respect” is the biggest and most important aspect of a relationship. Not sex. So I see this as a sequence of lies on the gals part because she showed him no respect.
Like I said, I would have done things differently, now as an older man. But when I was younger, maybe not…
All in all, the most disturbing thing about this video is NOT that she was having group orgies for the entire time they were living together and him being clueless. It is that she hid that part of her life from him, and told her rotating partners, that he was just fine with it. These lies are what broke up the relationship.
People! Accept who you are. Good and bad. Say things as they are and let the world howl. This goes for both the guy as well as the girl.
The girl, obviously was ready to settle down; get married, have kids and a stable family life. But that is not going to happen if she wanted to continue a free-wheeling 20’s single lifestyle. She wanted what she was clearly not ready for. Sigh.
I rented a caretaker apartment that was attached to a horse stable. The owners were an elderly couple who lived in a house behind the barn. The owners were fantastic people and I got along with them splendidly.
One day they advised me they were selling the property. A few weeks later after the property sold I met the new owners. I immediately did not get a good feeling about the owners. Within the 1st month I started noticing things in the apartment were not where I had placed on. I confronted the new owners who denied going into the apartment. One day, I left for work and did the old tape on the door trick. When I came home sure enough the tape was broken. I again confronted the owner who stated somebody else must have gone into the apartment. I also had some property in the barn that suddenly turned up missing. I asked the new owners about the property and they denied taking it. I ended up finding the missing property in one of their storage sheds hidden underneath some tarps.
I had been dating my girlfriend for several years and at that point we decided to move in together at her place. The caretaker apartment was rather old and the door locks used old style keys that you could not have duplicated at your local hardware store.
I immediately moved out and took the keys with me. I got a call from the owner demanding that I return the apartment key. I advised him I didn’t have the key and told him I left it on the kitchen counter. The owner started yelling that if I didn’t return the key he would sue me for theft and the cost of putting new locks on the doors. I chuckled and said that “Someone must have gone in and stolen the key off the counter. Maybe it’s the same person who stole my property that I found under the tarp in the storage shed.” There was silence and then the phone hung up. I never heard from him again.
When I was working as an engineer during the 1990’s I spent most of my time living in mobile homes. These flimsy boxes were perfect for my lifestyle of hustle and layoff, and move to another city.
But, gosh, the mobile home complexes that we found ourselves in, were inhabited with some very ill-mannered people.
One time, when I lived in “West Elizabeth, PA” we had a mobile home at the edge of the mobile home community, and there at 9am every weekend, this little 13 year old boy would go around and around and around my home on his dirt bike. Only around my home. No other homes. Just mine.
Those things were noisy, and I couldn’t figure out why he chose my home to endlessly circle.
One day, I met his mother.
She said, “Oh, I thought no one lived there. Do you have a problem with him riding around your home?”
Well yeah.
DUH!
We had a few words and he stopped. But not until I was really upset and angry over the non-stop noise and the endless feeling of living in the God-damn middle of a freeway.
So many people are inconsiderate.
Partly because they are rude, and partly because they are stupid. Though drugs might play a role…
Couple of years back, I was having a conversation with an Indian origin entrepreneur in Silicon Valley who is making quite lot of innovative products. It is an early stage company. So, my conversation was about the possibility of starting his firm’s manufacturing units in India. He said something insightful
“I change my product designs quite often. And I would need rapid prototyping abilities to execute my business effectively as it is an evolving field. I make a circuit design, upload the specs to a firm in Shenzen, pay the money. Within four days the prototype is at my place in Palo Alto. All processes can be done online. Imagine doing this in India. Unless you are a Samsung or LG which has a massive team to handle all these customs, import export stuff with tons of paperwork, you will end up spending ages to do this in India. Shenzen is a one-stop ecosystem for anything electronic in the world. The supply chains and distribution mechanisms are super efficient. I don’t think India will ever reach there”
After this conversation, I’ve had multiple conversations with small and large players. Small players lament about the customs, import – export processes in India. Large firms crib about the absence of supply chain base of input for manufacturing. Our metrics of measuring ease of business is horribly skewed towards the efficiencies of business for a large player like Apple or Samsung or say a Honda. We don’t focus on making things easy for small firms like the one which I mentioned . Unless we crack that part, we’ll never be able to build a true ecosystem like Shenzen thats attractive for the large corporations
Steak in a Bag
steak in a bag
Ingredients
1 cup egg bread crumbs
1 (2 to 3 pound) top sirloin steak, cut 2 1/2 inches thick
4 tablespoons butter, softened
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
2 1/2 teaspoons seasoned pepper
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Instructions
Prepare egg bread crumbs; set aside. Remove excess fat from steak.
In a small bowl, mix butter, oil, garlic, seasoned salt and seasoned pepper until blended. Spread on all sides of steak.
Mix bread crumbs and cheese. Press into butter mixture on steak, coating steak well.
Place steak in brown grocery bag. Fold end over and secure with paper clips. At this point steak may be refrigerated several hours.
Before cooking, bring steak to room temperature.
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place bag on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. For medium rare steak, increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F and bake 15 minutes longer, a total of 45 minutes. For medium-well steak, reduce heat from 425 degrees F to 375 degrees F and bake 5 minutes longer before removing from oven, a total of 50 minutes.
Remove steak from bag. Let stand for 5 minutes before carving into thin slices.
NIGER COUP: JUBILATION IN NIGER AS 400 FRENCH SOLDIERS LEFT NIGER IN PEACE THIS WEEK. NOT BY WAR.
I worked in Veterinary medicine for more than 36 years and we always dealt with some real doozies!
We had a lady come in with a chow for regular vaccines and after she signed in, she sat on the bench waiting to be seen. One of my techs walked over to her with a clipboard and pen in her hands to get some information. While she stood there speaking with the woman, her dog came over (he had been straining at the leash trying to get out the door) and with no warning (not even a growl) grabbed hold of her hand with his teeth and began to try and rip her arm off! He shook his head, bit harder and dragged her to the floor!
Instead of trying to get the dog off of her, the woman began screaming at us for abusing her dog as we tried to break the dog free of my tech’s hand and 3 of us were bit trying to get her loose!!
Instead of an apology for owning an aggressive dog and not restraining it when she came in, the woman screamed at us that ‘”You people had no right to attack my dog like that and it’s your own fault for walking up to my dog!”.
My tech ended up with 4 broken bones in her hand and a massive infection that put her in the hospital for 4 days, and in the end, the woman actually had the nerve to file a lawsuit claiming animal abuse against our hospital. She wanted more than $25,000 in emotional distress!
We shut the hospital down on the day of the trial (there was NO WAY we were going to settle) and every staff member who had been involved was there to testify.
In the end, the woman was forced to pay all court costs and lawyer fees, the cost of the medical treatment for every person who was injured, the cost of shutting down the hospital to come to court and was given a fine by Animal Control for having an aggressive dog. She was also told that should the dog ever bite someone again, not only would the dog be put down, but she could be arrested and jailed for having a known aggressive animal in her home and not properly containing it.
I Live Better In Thailand Than I Did In The U.S. – Here’s How Much It Costs | Relocated
To those who say he’s spending too much — not all digital nomads are poor. This guy’s a high earner, and by spending a few thousand he’s living a lifestyle that would typically be accessible to only multi-millionaires in the US or Europe.
A day after reports claimed that Germany was considering a ban on parts made by Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE in its 5G networks, Beijing has responded. The Chinese embassy in Berlin said the country will not stand by idly if the German government goes ahead with the proposal.
“If the German government really decides to move in this direction without proving that Chinese products pose a security threat to Germany, we will not stand by idly,” the embassy was quoted as saying.
“Should Germany unjustifiably exclude Chinese companies, this would not only be a violation of the principle of fair competition but would also harm Chinese companies and Germany itself,” it added.
What has Germany proposed?
Germany’s interior ministry has chalked up a proposal under which the said Chinese companies will be eliminated from the country’s “core network” as part of a “de-risking” strategy. The ministry is expected to submit its proposal to the cabinet next week.
Apart from issuing a full ban on the new parts made by Chinese companies, the German government will also extend the ban on those parts that have already been installed. It wants to start by phasing out parts made by Huawei and ZTE in Germany’s “access and transport network”.
My doctor noticed that I had lost weight. “Are you on a diet?” No. “Having any eating issues? “ Sometimes meat doesn’t go down. “We’d better look.” This was April-may, 2014. Gastroenterologist did an Endoscopy. No warning, “You have Esophagael Cancer, you have an Oncology appointment tomorrow.” Chemo and radiation started almost immediately. They told me not to look on the internet at the statistics, so I did. 95% don’t make it 5 years. The stories were pretty grim. I sold my milling machine, lathe, TIG welder and a couple of old Honda mini bikes, if I was going tits up, I didn’t need some scammers trying to rip off my wife when I was dead and gone. Chemo and radiation were pretty straight forward and I didn’t really have any issues, I continued to work while I was getting treated. CT Scans, PET Scans, Xrays, things improved inside. August 18, 2014, 6am, I went into surgery for a gastroesophagectomy, removal of most of my esophagus and part of my stomach. Up to this point, I had lost 70 lbs in about 5 months. The surgery was really rough, and I couldn’t eat for 3 days after I woke up, then it was cottage cheese and tomato soup for about 2 weeks. I was in the hospital for 15 days, 7 in ICU. I’ve had eating issues since then (coming on 4 years), and it was 3 years before I could eat a steak. I’m back up to about 190 lbs (from 158 at the low), it takes me about 3 hours to eat a meal, but my boss and the people at work, work with me, I’m usually eating all the time. But I can only eat about 1/4 or 1/3 of the amount of food I used to eat, and very little meat, food hangs up. I’m also susceptible to aspirating (inhaling) food into my lungs, which makes me really susceptible to bacterial pnuemonia, which I’ve had at least 1 each year since surgery. All CTScans and PETScans have been negative, my doc says, “Next time if (when) the scan is clear, we’ll call it done.”
But I ain’t dead.
Life has changed considerably. I very seldom eat in restaurants any more. Sometimes I have to eat standing up, something inside seems to get pinched off when I sit down and eat. I don’t sleep as well as I used to. My doctor seems to feel I’m one of the 5% that makes it (she said the actual number is about 15% now, the first numbers I read were old stats). As far as attitude goes, I don’t worry about things any more. I just roll with it and try to enjoy myself. I’ve gotten another lathe and welder, looking for a milling machine, hopefully I’ll be making parts for a good long time.
Chinese Tech Firm’s Groundbreaking Achievement 5nm Chips Made Without Lithography Machines
I recently was released from an Alabama prison. I spent two years in prison. I was sent there when I was 17, I am 19 now. The Alabama prisons are a horrible place. I was a sheltered child growing up. When I was 17 my father forced me to steal from some people because we didn’t have any money. I did not want to do it, my father forced me to. I begged and pleaded with him. I used to love to play video games. I haven’t now played games in years, since I was probably 15. That part inside of me sort of died. I was and am still tall and kind of thin.
The first place I went, was one of the worst places, the juvenile wedge in the Mobile metro jail. A wedge holds eight cells, and is supposed to only hold 2 juveniles per cell/per two bunks. But there were sometimes up to 4 people per cell, forcing kids to sleep on the mats on floor and right near the toilet. The 16 and 17 year olds in Alabama jails are horrible and the most violent of all inmates. I can look back and understand the readers thoughts, they probably are curious to know how age 15-17 year olds could be so violent. But, Alabama, if you have actually visited, is a very rough place, especially the projects. I was in this jail with the teens who were the ones that committed the worst crimes, 1st degree robberies, murders, arson, theft, rape and molestation.
I was the only white boy. They always attempted to steal from me and rob me, and literally terrorize me, throwing piss on me, or spitting in my drinking cup. They let the inmates fill up the other inmates drinking cups. The first week there, I bought a $20 phone card, and when I came back to my cell the black kids were waiting for me in there, predators. They had put a towel over the cell’s only light, to darken the cell, so the guards couldn’t see what was about to happen. And they surrounded me once I had walked back into the cell. I told them I would not give them the phone card, I actually intimidated them. I was grabbed from behind, and put into a choke hold, then I blacked out. I woke up from underneath the steel metal desk with blood dripping down the side of my face. The phone card was gone.
After that, I spent an entire year in a cell by myself, because I had to be separated from them. Throughout that amount of time, I saw over one hundred fights, and was sleep deprived quite a lot. The juveniles would scream and yell and cuss each other out ALL the time. They were animals. They would talk about the most hateful, vile things, and how ‘gangster’ they were, drug dealing, robbing and killing. It was utterly saddening. Especially at night, they would beat on the metal over and over and over, and rap, all of them together. (In no way am I racist. Nor prejudice towards a certain taste of music, I like rap myself sometimes.)
During the time I was in jail, I heard news about my father. Months later, a Correctional Officer actually was the one to give me news that my father had been arrested himself. He had stolen from more people, the same exact way he had made me do it. And was in jail. he would finally pay for what he had done to me. But, there are no laws protecting kids from what their parents force them to do, sadly, Quite a horrible thing for the legal system to do to kids.
The juvenile wedge was located right next to the suicide wedge. The loudest wedge in the entire 2000+ jail. That is where they put the drunks, the crazy psychopaths who had just murdered their whole family, and even more nutjobs. One man gouged his father’s eyes out with a spoon.(I can reference that, as well.) They would beat constantly and scream and moan all night long. I remember specifically the one’s who would never stop beating on the clear plexiglass walls of the suicide cells. They were in there naked, (all of them). At one time I saw my own father in there, after he had gotten jumped in another wedge and his nose broken and both eyes completely blackened. They put him in their for “protection”. I remember hearing the guards running in there and beating the hell out of those people, and hearing the inmates scream. I was right next to those cells. I lost lots of sleep over the constant noise, BANG BANG BANG. BANGING over and over and over, for hours, all night. It was just like a lunatic asylum.
I did read a lot of the christian bible, when I actually believed in that kind of stuff. And other books as well, It was my only solace then. And learning, I yearned to read and learn. I was constantly a target with the black people, because I was a white boy.
I was deeply miserable, and so I got the doctors to finally give me sleep medicine after many months, “Remerons”, which made me feel like I was slow when I took them, but sleepy. They took a very long time to wear off. I started to slide them in the inside of my mouth when the nurse would give them to me, and I would spit them out when I got back to my cell, And hide them in a hole in my inch thick mat. I had no pillow, just a wool blanket. Before I went to prison and was waiting in limbo in jail, I thought there was a chance that I might be sent to prison. So over a long amount of time, I started to collect those sleeping pills just in case. So I could protect myself, if I was given a long amount of time in prison or whatever.
Things got more miserable, I stopped a young black kid from committing suicide in my cell at one point. I turned 18 in jail. After that, I mixed in with the adults. I finally received my time, It was two more years… and I would be going to prison. I couldn’t do it anymore. I was utterly miserable and sad, And I lost the will to want to be alive. I wanted peace, just once in my life. If you call death peace. One night I took all the remerons I had collected, I first waited for my cellmates to begin playing cards, and then I took around 100 of them, and heated up some hot water, and crushed up some of the pills and swallowed them all down.
It was the worst, bitter disgusting taste. I still have a hard time swallowing pills if I ever have to chew them. I wrote a note telling my mother I loved her and wished I could hug her. No one knows the truth or what really happened. No one cares to know. I hadn’t seen her in 8 years. I got up on my top bunk and rolled over on my side on my mat. And laid there. I prayed to God, asking to be with him, I commend to you my spirit “Lord”. I was completely terrified of going to hell, but I still did it, I was in so much misery. 30 minutes later my body was almost paralyzed. And my body was pulsing and throbbing. I began to feel very sick. I tried as hard as I could to hold my stomach in. But I had to get up and go to the toilet to vomit, and my whole body was almost paralyzed, I could not jump off my rack. I couldn’t move. And then I blacked out, into nothingness. Silence. Blackness. There was no bright light.
Over the course of that period, while I was in jail, I had many inmates/criminals try to hurt me.
Later, I woke up in a hospital handcuffed to a stretcher, I was on life support. My cellmates had gotten scared and told the guards, once they had seen me black out. I obviously did not want my cellmates to know what I had done. But I was forced to throw up, and black out.
After my ill recovery, I was thrown into the suicide wedge, right where I remembered all those people.
I soon was shackled and shipped to prison, where there was no A/C at all, there is none in the Alabama prisons. Prison is even worse. You are forced to work all day. And the temperatures inside the dorms get to 100+ degrees. Everyday, all day long, during the hot long Alabama summers. Misery. I remember pools of sweat collecting on my mat, while I tried to lay down. I would have to strip to my underwear to stay cooler. The black men would look at me, and some would masturbate at me, while I would sleep, or do it right in front of me. They call it “gunning you down”. It was a fact that the African american men were specifically like this. A lot of the time when I would try to take a quick shower, they would all watch me, to see when I would go in. And then go in the shower with me and watch me, and ‘gun me down’, while I bathed myself quickly. Quite a dehumanizing thing to have done to you. I wish I could’ve knocked one of the those motherf*ckers heads off. But I knew I had parole coming up, And I might make it, If I never get into any fights, or disciplinaries. Which was even worse. Because, I needed to stand up for myself. It was so crowded in prison, there was no privacy. Nowhere. Showers were completely wide open, toilets were in rows of 30 lined up. No stalls, Those did not exist.
I tried dearly to avoid the showers, and the sick people. I saw a lot of sick stuff in there. The white gay boys were the ones that almost always were on the “receiving” end of the action. Homemade hypodermic needles, and one of the main drugs, called Suboxones, they were these thin sublingual films from a pharmacy that were smuggled in, they are a narcotic analgesic and they dissolve fast. The drug addicts broke up and disolved the film in a spoon and either snorted or injected it. I did none of that. I had never done drugs before.
I was in prison for a long time. After two years of being in there, and finally making parole, I was released and transferred to another state. I was granted immediate release from parole at least three months before, but it took them a very long time to “find” the paperwork. They would not have done it or found it, if a trustee inmate had not given me a special phone number for the parole boards office, that was not “public”, and I got my family to call up there over 50 times over a course of months.
I realized my weaknesses while in prison, my puniness as well. A lot of me died slowly inside, I do not think about girls as much. I was a young kid, I had only ever had one girlfriend in 8th grade. I had to drop out of school after that.
When I was in prison I longed to just touch a girl’s hand, just to have someone love me as friend. I yearned for a companion, I was so lonely. Words could never express. My heart felt like it was literally dying. I also missed listening to music so much, I loved music a lot. I don’t feel things anymore as much, I tried to feel love and compassion, but my heart has died slowly. I still do love people, I have tried to keep that alive, I really try my best. And I love to give people gifts with the money I have now.
Things don’t mean as much at all to me anymore. I am somewhat of a stronger guy now, I fear nothing. I also lift weights and exercise everyday, that is one thing I will always do. I am still trying to find what I am going to do with my life and career. And find meaning in life. I do enjoy computers a lot, evidently. If I had to go through those two years again, I don’t believe I could do it all over again.
Huawei breakthrough is more than the 7nm as widely perceived in the media since the annocement of Huawei mate 60 series.
Huawei had invented and patented a 3D Finfet transistor that enable it to be fabricated using a tweaked or modified DUV machine with mass production. The 7nm Kirin 9000s chip with 3D Finfet transistors consume less power and can achieved equivalent performance of 3nm chip. It can easily be refined and improved with 5 nm or 3nm designs which l believe will be used in Kirin 9100 chips and achieve better performance.
Hisilicon had utilized the Chips and design Kirin 9000, Kirin 9000s Soc using it’s Taishan architectures and system.
The Kirin 9000 series are 8–12 Taishan core CPU working together with GPU and Huawei Balong Modern. They are comparable to Qualcom snapdragon 8-2 chip set and Apple M16 and M17 chip set.
Beside the Kirin Soc the Huawei mate 60 series also used in house indigenous technologies like Ximage, Nearlink and Satellite connectivity technology.
Ximage is Huawei photo taking and processing technology, one of the best in the world.
Huawei breakthrough is far from just handphone technology, Huawei will be the top platforms for AllAI and All Cloud and All IoT. It will be the smart system inventors that empower human leveraging on technology to improve life and productivity.
This is Miss Nigeria Nyekachi Douglas in the Miss World beauty pageant. You must be thinking that she is so happy because she won. No, she didn’t win the Miss World title but rather her friend Miss Jamaica Toni-Ann Singh won Miss World title.
She is being praised for her heartwarming reaction despite losing Miss World After miss Jamaica, Toni-Ann Singh was named miss world, Douglas jumped up and down and did a happy dance as she congratulated and hugged her friend .
Be happy for other people, regardless of what it is for. It will cost you nothing.
I am blown away with her reaction. And she won my heart.
We should learn from her and be happy in the happiness of others.
I’ve dealt with this. For YEARS. My salvation came one day when I was particularly under the gun to get a few real priority tasks around the house and yard done. I was about to leave town and this particular afternoon was my last chance to get things straight before leaving. When said relative showed up, unannounced as per the usual, I said “Great! You’re here” and immediately handed them a lawn bag, went out the door, then hollered back at them to hurry up!
I worked them into the ground…..and kept pressure on with family gossip about THEM as well as promised I’d never turn down their help again….. how I couldn’t wait to get back to town and have them help with winterizing, cleaning gutters, etc.
They never popped in again. That was 17 years ago.
Las Vegas teen expected ‘slap on the wrist’ for hitting, killing cyclist: ‘I’ll be out in 30 days
The teenager who police say intentionally struck and killed a retired police chief in Las Vegas said he would get a “slap on the wrist” after he was taken into custody, the 8 New Now Investigators have learned.
China to build up Huge IC chip factory using a particle accelerator!
Scientists said this unprecedented technology can overstep US sanctions and make China a new leader in semiconductor chip industry
Plans are now in progress to construct a huge particle accelerator to help researchers put into practice the cutting-edge technology
China is exploring new avenues to bypass restrictions on lithography machines, which are used in the production of microchips. Using particle accelerators to create a novel laser source, researchers are laying the foundation for the future of semiconductor fabrication.
China to use EUV in making it’s own IC fab facilities
China is exploring the use of a new extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source in making its own lithography facility but technology experts said such an ambitious goal may take many years to achieve.
Over the past few days articles and videos have gone viral on the Internet in China claiming that Tsinghua University has made breakthroughs in steady-state microbunching (SSMB) technology, which can create an EUV light source with a power several times higher than that of ASML’s EUV lithography.
They say the future launch of a SSMB accelerator, nicknamed “lithographic cannon ,” will help China bypass the export controls of the United States and the Netherlands.
These came after Huawei Technologies on August 29 commenced the sale of its flagship smartphone Mate60 Pro, which used a 7 nanometer chip produced with Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) N+2 processing technology and ASML deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography.
“We understand that it’s difficult to have more breakthroughs in chip-processing if we follow the current technological path,” a Chongqing-based writer saysin an article published by the Huxiao Business Review on September 16. “It will be more feasible to walk on a new path.”
He says Tsinghua’s suggestion to use the SSMB technology in lithography can help China break the technological blockage of ASML.
He adds that what Tsinghua proposes is not a lithography machine but a huge factory that involves a lot of land and workers – resources that China does not lack.
China beats US in top global scientific ‘hot papers’ — those that receive instant recognition — ranking
with the number of papers published and cited in the world’s most influential journals, a new report has found.
China also ranked first on the international papers citation chart in six major disciplines
– agricultural sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, materials science and mathematics. The top spot in mathematics was a new achievement compared with the previous year.
According to the Statistical Data of Chinese S&T Papers released on Wednesday by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC), Chinese researchers
published 1,929 “hot papers” – papers that receive significant numbers of citations soon after publication, usually in a rapidly evolving field such as molecular biology and materials science – accounting for 46 percent of the global total by July.
My live-in nanny Jennifer moved from Oregon to Yuma, Arizona to attend college and take advantage being near her fiancé, Ryan, stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS). Jennifer was energetic and very Mormon, interviewed quite well and had impeccable references. If you are thinking this is all going to turn out bad; you would be 100% wrong. Jennifer was a dream nanny, excellent student, exceptional teacher, my confidant, unapologetically pretty, my foster children loved her and her voice… she could sing like an angel. Jennifer and I are still in touch on social media.
Jennifer moved in with me the fall of 1995 to begin as a nanny. She was so looking forward to caring for Brittney, attending a new semester at Arizona Western College (AWC) and finally spending some time with her fiancé. There was a two-day registration window for her to sign up in January 1996 for the spring semester classes.
On the first day at registration, when she was signing up for a choir class, the teacher informed Jennifer about a music scholarship that would cover all her expenses. Jennifer would have to audition for the scholarship. As I said, Jennifer had the voice of an angel and she easily passed the vocal audition for the scholarship. The kicker; the music scholarship was reserved for Arizona residents (2 years or more) or family members of military personnel only; so, she didn’t qualify. Worse yet, the deadline for qualifying for the scholarship and class registration was the very next day.
Jennifer has never been the type of person to sulk or quit; she was undaunted. She certainly couldn’t qualify for the Arizona resident part; she’d only lived in Arizona for six months. She told her counselor, “If I need to be a military family member, then I will be a military family member by tomorrow.” Jennifer called her fiancé Ryan, told him about the scholarship and announced that they were getting married NOW so she could qualify for the scholarship.
When I came home that day, Jennifer explained about the scholarship and she would need a few hours off to get married. I was absolutely impressed by her resourcefulness. Not once did she address this as a problem; and, she actually reveled in the opportunity the challenge represented.
Ryan, who was still working on converting to Mormonism, was fully on-board with the wedding plan. He and Jennifer could have that big religious wedding for their families later. They just wouldn’t tell them they had gotten married already. Since Ryan was in the Marines, he needed approval from his commanding officer first. Ryan managed to get it done right away and meet Jennifer at Yuma County Clerk’s Office to get their marriage license.
Thank goodness Arizona does not require blood tests; Jennifer is needle-phobic and jokes that a blood test might have been a deal-breaker. Jennifer couldn’t have picked a more perfect town for a quickie marriage. Yuma has quite the reputation for many movie stars flying in from California for a quick marriage; including, Loretta Young, Claudette Colbert, Alice Fay, Mary Astor, Jean Harlow, John Barrymore, Errol Flynn and even cowboy Tom Mix… and more.
The only wedding officiant they could find on such short notice was a judge at City Hall. His docket was full but Jennifer and Ryan somehow convinced that judge to perform the marriage ceremony at 9am the next morning; scholarship and college registration deadline day. I was impressed how quickly Jennifer got it all arranged in a single day. When Jennifer wants to get something done; there is no stopping her.
With no advanced planning for her wedding, Jennifer certainly hadn’t planned for a wedding dress. Ryan could get away with wearing his Marine Corps dress uniform. Jennifer began to go through her everyday-go-to-school outfits and she modeled in front of me, “Do you think this looks wedding-enough?” No matter how resourceful Jennifer had already been; she really had nothing that looked anything like a wedding dress. In my mind; a woman needs a wedding dress on her wedding day. So, I told her I’d buy her a dress as a wedding present. Although it was already late in the day, we immediately went shopping. We stopped near one wedding shop and she motioned for me to keep driving. She insisted, “This is a small event, no need for expensive.” Jennifer got so lucky; she ended up finding the cutest little white lacy wedding dress on a JC Penny’s discount rack for under $40.00. We couldn’t believe it; it was like it was waiting for her and it couldn’t have been more perfect.
On the morning of the 2nd day of college registration, at 9am, she and Ryan stood before the judge at Yuma City Hall and got married. One of Ryan’s friends and I were the witnesses. We took Polaroid insta-print pictures of the ceremony and also a posed-picture with the judge. They had no real wedding rings, but did exchange a couple of Cracker-Jack rings at the ceremony. Ah, such a tribute to young love at its finest.
Now most bright-eyed wedding couples would have a big celebration and then head out for an exciting honeymoon. Well, that’s what’s very different about Ryan and Jennifer. Ryan immediately reported back to duty at the MCAS. Jennifer, still wearing her wedding dress, with a copy of a marriage license in one hand, marriage certificate in the other and backup pictures of the marriage ceremony, drove with all her determination out to AWC to capture her scholarship.
Jennifer’s first stop at the college was the music teacher where she got her scholarship stamped qualified and approved; Victory! Then she stood in line at the registration office, still wearing her wedding dress, and finished registering for her college classes; Victory!
Whenever I hear the expression, “failure is not an option,” it always reminds me of Jennifer. You gotta love Jennifer.
Oh SH*T, NATO just crossed the line and Putin knows it
The year is 1974 and I am the junk dealer’s daughter. My brother has become a teenager; my parents spend half their time watching my father slowly die and striving to save him; the rest struggling to survive.
Our TV is off limits, the days are long — especially for an introverted kid, but I am not alone, for the bookmobile comes every other Thursday at 3 pm.
Three years before my mom had walked me down the street and signed me up for the reading program. Read ten books and get a sticker. Get the stickers and you get a prize.
I had rapidly progressed from the small child’s, to the preteen books and last year the bookmobile lady had sent home a permission slip to allow me to read the adult books. This year she scours the county for good books for me.
Smiling, she hands me a stack of ten books, “there are some new westerns and a couple of scifi as well, if you want them.”
My book a day limit met I struggle home with my treasures. Another two weeks of adventures and stories. I don’t feel as alone and my belly doesn’t rumble as much when I’m reading.
Carefully I open the first page . . . the bookmobile lady has saved me once again.
The year is 1994 and now I have a family to support. Going back to college was a good decision. My hard work and bright mind has been recognized and I have risen from student worker to classified staff.
Painfully shy I stay to myself but then another worker stops by and tells me as a union member I should be attending union meetings.
“I just want to fit in,” I think. “I’ll slip into the back and hopefully no one will take much notice of me.”
“Hey Nancy? Is that you Nancy?”
The bookmobile lady is there, older now but just as nice.
“Sit by me and my friends. Hey everyone this is Nancy. When she was little she used to come down with a wagon full of books to exchange when I ran the bookmobile. She read a book a day. Isn’t that cool?”
One of my guy friends was sucker-punched in the face by a girl outside a club.
We both had left the club with a couple friends, and somehow the girl’s bf was talking shit to us because of some misunderstanding. She couldn’t handle getting shit talked back to her by my guy friend, which he was pretty good at.
Even though he wasn’t directly talking to her, she violently hits him. She was bigger than him, but still hit like a bitch. After she hit him she was still in his face, pulling him around with his t-shirt, yelling her voice out, assaulting with all sorts of shit and going completely ballistic on him.
He grabbed her arms to stop her from punching him, and violently swung her away, causing her to crash on the ground head-first.
That was our opening to escape, and him and I started walking away with our friends. But the security guard briskly chases after him, even though the guard wasn’t outside in time to see what had actually happened. Put his hand on his shoulder and told him to get down on the ground as he shrugged off and said don’t touch me. He later called the cops on him.
They arrested him for assaulting the security. A guy recording everything got arrested for obstruction of justice or something. They put him in an individual cell so they couldn’t talk. Never got his info. He went through an extremely long court battle. The woman who started it was never even mentioned, and he had to do some time in jail for aggravated assault.
It’s absolute bullshit that men are instantly vilified and crucified for assaulting a woman under the right circumstances. I’m sure you can see how differently this story would’ve played out had the roles been reversed.
Oliver Anthony – I Want To Go Home REACTION *TEARS*
People are tired. They are fed up. They want CHANGE.
This is a serious figure; it’s a serious number. It bodes a very bleak fate for Americans, and for any nation that holds on to American stocks, treasuries, and assets.
I suppose I can confuse the reader with bafflegab. Speak thoughtfully and with authority using obscure and technical terms, and repeat the American government narrative that all is well.
But it is NOT well.
The United States has yet again had it’s credit rating downgraded to AA+.
And it sounds “great”, but the naming convention is a distraction. The term “AA+” actually means “Significant credit risk, and looming possibility of default”.
If you all were smart, you would be “bailing” out from the United States as fast as you can get your passport stamped.
…
Go to someplace better.
Like Bangladesh, or Laos, or Bolivia.
Somewhere that will accept you and enable you to live peacefully and calmly, with a roof over your head, has decent medical care, and healthy and cheap food. Oh, and one where criminals and the police won’t shoot at you.
I’d normally advise careful consideration be taken, but given the total collapse of American society, basically ANYWHERE on the face of the planet is an improvement over the United States today.
…
There are few options remaining for the United States movement to stop the rapidly approaching “train wreck”…
Raise taxes on Americans to around 80% of income.
Lift all tariffs, so that there would be some slowing of the rate of inflation.
Re-compensate Russia and re-approach with them to get the fuel / gas prices down.
Not much can be done…
Start charging Americans for the right to breathe air.
Sell off (wholesale) United States assets, property, gold, and land.
A massive war of distraction; perhaps a global thermonuclear war with both Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea simultaneously.
Like I said, all the viable options “on the table” will have catastrophic results.
…
All of this is far too gloomy.
It’s time that I set myself to the other side of the table, and have a shot of whiskey with you. Look into your eyes, and hold your hands. It’s time for straight talk.
American society HAS collapsed.
Like a headless chicken, it is still running around the barnyard, but it is accomplishing nothing.
The “government” is non-functional.
The American citizens are riding in the car, drunk on media lies, and the driver is driving the vehicle right over the cliff.
Freefall will be surreal.
And when you all hit the bottom, it will be really ugly.
And it would be the most stupid thing for our politicians to do because there’s a world of difference between what we have in China than what the Chinese have here.
How U.S. companies do business: It’s hard to accurately quantify how much business assets they have in China. However, considering that between 1982 and 2021, US direct investments abroad grew from $580 billion to more than $6.4 trillion dollars, it would not be too farfetched to assume that they have at least $2 trillion invested in China. China is their supply chain as well as their major market.
How Chinese compaies do business: They stay home to manufacture and profit on their trade with the world. China does have investments in the U.S. but they’re simply “investments” and not core to their operating businesses; they don’t have major companies operating out of the U.S. whose core business is in the U.S. It wiould be hard put to assume that China’s investment is more than $1 trillion in the U.S.
So who would hurt more if these two countries start freezing each other’s assets?
How about China starting off by just freezing Tesla’s and GM’s Chinese assets? Tesla’s mega factories are worth billions but the loss of sales revenue would be exponentially larger.
And how much would Chinese companies lose if the U.S. froze their investments in farmland in the Mid West?
Russia has Officially Deployed the RS-28 Sarmat ICBM
Russia has introduced a formidable weapon that has raised concerns among its rivals. Moscow has officially deployed the RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM known as “Satan II,” for active military use.
This announcement was confirmed by Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, as reported by the Russian state news agency Tass.
According to experts, the RS-28 Sarmat missile has the capability to travel over both the North and South Poles and deliver a warhead weighing up to 10 tonnes to any location on Earth.
This development has amplified concerns about Russia’s nuclear capabilities, particularly in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Steak San Marco
2023 10 09 14 42
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 (2 pound) chuck steak, cut into serving pieces
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
Pepper, to taste
2 tablespoon wine vinegar
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 (16 ounce) can peeled tomatoes
Garlic salt, to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
Arrange meat in a large skillet, cover with onion soup mix and tomatoes.
Sprinkle with oregano, garlic salt, pepper, oil and vinegar.
Simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender.
I’ve learned this over 17 years with my wife. I’ve learned to pretend to have opinions about decisions we need to make, even when I’ll be perfectly happy with any of the options, because it annoys her when I don’t care one way or the other.
From little things, like what we should have for dinner, to big things, like what we should name our children, the truth is I was perfectly happy with all of our choices. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, but rather that I saw the positive aspects in all of the possible decisions, and she did seem to care a lot, so I just let her make the decision.
I guess that drives women crazy: being with someone that’s just going to agree with their decisions 99% of the time, because that someone doesn’t really have an opinion.
So I’ve learned to fake it a lot. My wife knows I’m faking it, but she recognizes it as an improvement from the way I used to be.
Her: What should we have for dinner tonight?
Old Matt: Whatever you want. It’s all good to me.
New Matt: Let’s go with Mexican food tonight. Enchiladas? Yes. That’s what I want.
In reality, Old Matt and New Matt both had the same opinion, but New Matt has learned to just pick something and pretend he has a preference for it, to make his wife happy.
Vocal Coach reacts Dio – Last In The Line / Holy Diver Live 1986
A tiny man with the voice and charisma of a giant. Dio was truly one of a kind.
In my experience, the “freedoms” that they lack are access to Western (social) media (correction to remove freedoms that they actually have). What they get that westerners don’t, in exchange, is a very safe and modern country.
Safe: In ten years here, I have yet to witness violent crimes. My mother isn’t scared to walk alone at night, and there are no shady people lurking in public places.
Modern: the infrastructure is top notch, 5G is ubiquitous, cheap and really fast (I pay about 50 dollars a year for 40 Gb a month of data on my mobile and crazy download speeds). Cash is a thing of the past, everything related to money is digitized. With the sale app you can unlock a dockless bike (less than 2 rmb per ride), ride a bus, pay utility bills, book tickets, order food… even doing taxes is an easy app.
Many Americans like to quote Benjamin Franklin “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”.
But actually, that’s the foundation of society.
Besides, if I compare with France, my home country, Chinese people are more free on their daily life. In France, there are norms and rules about everything, usually in the best interests of corporations. You can’t play music in public places, you need to pay royalties, you can’t change a lightbulb in your office because you need a certification for low level electric work and work in high places… things like street food or street vendors couldn’t exist. In France, you are free* (so long as you abide the 300000 rules). Rules prevent many things “for your own good” but really for big companies. I come from the countryside and many people had to stop butchering ducks at home like they had for generations because they need an official slaughterhouse, which is expensive to build at home. It’s not really that butchering at home is unsanitary, it’s that big slaughterhouse need their money.
In China, you enjoy actual freedom: you are free to sell street food, free to eat it even if it’s not always sanitary, and to go to the toilet because of that, etc. The government usually doesn’t care about people’s lives unless it’s very political. One perfect example is the one child policy. When I was a teacher in college, in a time when the policy was still effective, many students actually had siblings, especially in Guangdong. The government was very strict about that with officials, who were supposed to show a good example, but a lot more lenient with regular people, especially in the country.
So in short, Chinese people in general have a very free daily life, and enjoy a very safe, modern and cheap country. If they have to sacrifice Western media for that, it’s a fair price (besides, there are VPN to get around that limit and that’s another rule the government is lenient about). I enjoy Chinese freedom more than I enjoyed the French one!
The US is saying that Huawei cannot make smartphones with advanced chip technology in large-scale production. This comment comes amid rising worries about Huawei’s return and harming iPhone sales in China.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Tuesday that the U.S. has found no evidence to prove that Huawei can manufacture seven-nanometer chips at scale. Her response draws the attention many of people in the global smartphone industry as everyone is surprised by the return of Huawei’s mysterious chip.
Last month, Huawei unveiled its latest Huawei Mate 60 series in China. The company has not organized any launch event or mega show to introduce this smartphone. Instead, it was sold directly via online and offline sales channels. Aside from its alluring design and camera features, the phone also packs a new Kirin chipset – the Kirin 9000s.
An evaluation from TechInsight shows that the chip is processed with advanced 7nm technology made by China’s SMIC. In some benchmark tests, the chip posts even higher marks than the 5nm Kirin 9000, which is very surprising.
Why all the Ruckus?
In 2019, the US Commerce Department sanctioned Huawei from buying US-made technologies. Therefore, the company can’t purchase or produce new chipsets for smartphones and any of its tech products.
In the early days of sanctions, Huawei stockpiled the chip from various sources. However, the situation became worse as the chip stock declined.
Thereafter, it had to rely on Qualcomm to provide 4G Snapdragon chips for its smartphones. For the past two years, Huawei has been launching phones based on Qualcomm chipsets.
Within the fourth year of sanctions, on August 29, 2023, the Huawei Mate 60 Pro came into play. However, the company does not even mention this chip in promos. But it carries a new Kirin chip, which became a topic of wide discussion.
The return of Kirin also reached the White House and it was previously confirmed that the US is searching for more ‘information’ about the return of the Kirin chip. It seems the US has finally come to the conclusion that Huawei can’t produce advanced chip smartphones and that might be it for the investigations, probably.
Fat TikTok Influencer just said the UNTHINKABLE, wants you to pay for it
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s ambitious plan to connect Asia, Europe and Africa through a network of infrastructure projects, has been met with skepticism and criticism by some Western countries. They accuse China of using the BRI as a tool to trap developing countries into debt and expand its influence and interests. However, this accusation is based on a false premise and a misunderstanding of the BRI’s nature and purpose. In this essay, I will argue that the BRI is not a debt trap, but a platform for win-win cooperation that benefits both China and its partners.
First of all, the BRI is not motivated by China’s selfish agenda or geopolitical ambition, but by its vision to promote the development of participating countries through enhancing connectivity. The BRI is a public good that China offers to the world, and a platform for international cooperation that is open, transparent and inclusive. The BRI follows the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and respects the sovereignty, independence and diversity of each country.
Secondly, the BRI is not a debt trap, but a debt relief for many developing countries that face financing gaps and infrastructure deficits. The BRI could reduce the costs of trade and increase global real income by 2030. The BRI also helps create jobs, improve living standards and foster social development in participating countries. Moreover, China has always been a responsible lender and borrower, and has taken concrete measures to prevent and resolve debt risks. For example, China has signed debt service suspension agreements with 23 African countries under the G20 framework, and has provided debt relief or cancellation to 16 African countries. China has also established mechanisms for debt sustainability analysis, project evaluation and risk management with relevant international organizations and multilateral development banks.
Thirdly, the BRI is not a zero-sum game, but a positive-sum game that creates opportunities for cooperation and mutual benefit for all parties involved. The BRI is not exclusive or competitive, but complementary and synergistic with other regional and global initiatives. The BRI welcomes the participation of third parties, including developed countries and international organizations, to jointly contribute to global development and governance. The BRI also promotes dialogue and exchange among different civilizations and cultures, and fosters mutual understanding and trust among peoples.
In conclusion, the accusation that China’s BRI is a debt trap is based on a false premise and a misunderstanding. The BRI is not a debt trap, but a platform for win-win cooperation that benefits both China and its partners. The BRI is not motivated by China’s selfish agenda or geopolitical ambition, but by its vision to promote the development of participating countries through enhancing connectivity.
The BRI is not a zero-sum game, but a positive-sum game that creates opportunities for cooperation and mutual benefit for all parties involved. Therefore, instead of viewing the BRI with suspicion or hostility, it is more constructive and rational to view it with openness and confidence, and to join hands with China to build a community of shared future for mankind.
The Rise and Fall of America’s Middle Class
America is bleeding out. Slowly, steadily. And it’s a self-inflicted wound. When NAFTA was signed, it set in motion decades of decline that have crippled American industry, gutted American towns, and robbed American citizens of their birthright – the simple dignity of providing for themselves and their families. But there’s a road back. Starting with denim blue jeans.
Prior to my “retirement” I had opened a number of bank accounts in China. I did this, at that time unknowing of my future, as a “good thing” to do, “just in case”.
Talk about foresight! Eh?
I had two bank accounts.
I opened up an account at BOC in Shanghai and placed $40,000 in it. I deposited a cashier’s check in it, and used a “passbook savings account”. I was told that it would take three months to clear, and that I had to keep the receipt in the book to “lock” the exchange rate of 9.5 RMB to USD. This brought me (the potential of) 380,000 RMB. Ah. Enough to buy property in China.
The other account was in Shenzhen and much smaller; being only $5000.
Well…
BOOM! I am “retired” and stuck in Arkansas.
My father needed to hire an attorney to get me out of the mess, and tried to extract the money from BOC. Good luck! No one could take it out except myself.
He needed my thumb print.
When he held the BOC passbook, he discarded the receipt. He thought it was a “worthless scrap of paper”.
…
So, even though I couldn’t hire an attorney, and my bank was frozen, no one else could seize the money.
Good going China!
So I still have money in China; a life in China…and hope in China.
Meanwhile, everything else was gone; stolen and discarded.
All of this while my properties, and belongings were systematically looted, stolen and acquired by all the “friends” and “family” surrounding me.
Jackals.
Seriously.
Now, eventually I get out of the USA. I am in China, and I use the $5000 to start a new! Fantastic, and I related this story to youse guys earlier.
But of the $40,000 in Shanghai?
Well, my well meaning father, discarded that little receipt in the passbook as unimportant. And when I opened up my bank account, I discovered that it only had 220,000 RMB in it. Not the 380,000 RMB I was expecting.
Why?
That little “junk” slip of paper was my proof of a 9.5 conversion rate. Not the 5.5 conversion rate at the time of retrieval.
I lost one FUCK of a lot of money in the process.
…
The point in this little story is that …
…”if you are handling other people’s affairs, keep everything. Do not discard even the most trivial item. You probably are understating its importance.”
Have you ever wondered why we don’t have too many commercial operating systems outside of Windows and MacOS?
I don’t include Linux which is by no means a commercial operating system despite its many advantages
Have you wondered why China and India are unable to make a PC Operating system despite so many skilled students and so much of a software base
Its because a commercial OS needs to be compatible with your processor
The Processor is INTEL Or AMD and they need to ensure your OS is compatible with their processor
This was a huge argument in an ANTITRUST case against Microsoft that the plaintiffs lost
Without that compatibility , you can never control an ecosystem or have an OS that controls the entire ecosystem
You can have secondary systems that can never replace MS Windows or MacOS
Tomorrow if India develops an OS on par with Windows, India will be throttled by Intel and AMD
They will cite security concerns, backdoor etc and simply prevent the Indian OS from freely competing
Thus India needs to develop a processor as well
This processor better be on par with the Intel or AMD or people simply won’t buy the processor and thus by association, the Indian made operating system
Say India develops a cutting edge web browser
The same has to be integrated & compatible with your search engine for maximum efficiency
Google and Bing both have maximum integrated compatibility with Chrome and IE, so your browser will not be able to host these search engines efficiently
That’s goodbye to a good technology right there
Thus you need a search engine of similar standard and a web browser of efficiency plus an Operating System plus your Hardware
THE WEST CONTROLS IT ALL
Rather US controls most of it
Let’s say India develops an App that can beat Facebook
Or an app that can beat Twitter
Android and iOS can simply refuse to give a bundling agreement for that App citing security reasons or other reasons
Tik Tok got a bundling deal with IoS and Android in 2014 for 25 years until 2039 along with WeChat and Alipay and other apps
Telegram got a similar deal until 2033 (15 year deal)
It’s why both Android and iOS cannot remove these apps from their playstores
Today both Android and iOS no longer do bundling deals for long term periods, but only for 12 month periods and renew them (Since 1/1/2020)
So Indian Twitter and Indian Facebook could be throttled simply by refusing to bundle them or integrate them into the Android or iOS ecosystem
If indeed these apps became a threat to the US equivalents, India would become a major security threat in 20 minutes
The Whole world accepted this dominance of the West and their complete control over the Information and Communications Ecosystems
Including many Chinese companies
Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo all happily kowtowed to the Western dominance and slogged hard to make 8% and hand over 92% to the west
Thousands of excellent apps and games are unable to leave China because they can’t get bundling deals with Android and iOS outside the mainland
Then ONE MAN CAME ALONG who said THISISRIDICULOUS
He dared to envision his own ecosystem
The Chip – the Kirin designed entirely by Mainland China
The OS – The Harmony
The 5G Modem – To deliver highest speeds
The Networks – To ensure the lowest latents
Once the Huawei ecosystem was in place, a flood of competition would be unleashed
Chinese Apps would roar into the global market where they had been throttled before
Baidu would finally compete with Google on a one on one platform and combat MSM propaganda in neutral nations
Chinese Digital Payment systems would soar across and surge through the Global South
They throttled Huawei
They simply cut off the source of chips
Huawei had the design but they couldn’t get the chips made because the world’s only makers TSMC and Samsung wouldnt due to sanctions
The excuse was Huawei had business with the Govt of China. So did Oppo but Oppo was a meek obedient boy
Then Huawei tried to get the chips made in SMIC
They retaliated by cutting off access to EUV machines
Yet Huawei managed to mass produce 5 nm Chips with the 7 nm process using very innovative stacking using DUVs
Now Huawei has the Chip and the OS
The US and the West couldn’t succeed in throttling Huawei
Now the next step is probably to stop DUVs
It’s why SMIC is stockpiling and also accelarating it’s own lithography progress
So it’s not the phones
It was never the phones
Tomorrow if Huawei dropped their Chip idea, signed a 20 year deal with Qualcomm and dropped their OS idea and modem idea – US would lift the sanctions in 10 seconds
It’s the ECOSYSTEM that Huawei brings with it that will finally break the US (Western) dominance and bring in a new player and country after virtually 30 years of control
If Huawei triumphs, the world as we know it changes
India could take inspiration and proceed on our own path to develop our own Ecosystem
In the industries of yesterday, there will eventually come a time when China isn’t affected by American sanctions. That will happen within the next 10-20 years, as Chinese manufacturing go from the current 30+ percent to over 50 percent of global output, and the Chinese patent portfolio matures.
Now, turn the coin on its head and ask yourself a simple question.
What happens in a world where the Chinese option is the cutting edge?
Tesla entered into partnership with panasonic just a decade or so ago to build its first gigafactory. Panasonic, a Japanese company, had the best and most mature battery tech then. Similarly, yuasa, another Japanese company, was chosen by Boeing for the 787.
Today, the best batteries using novel chemistries and materials are Chinese, promising unbeatable energy densities at great prices. Many ev makers have entered into partnership with a variety of Chinese battery makers, and that includes Tesla. China will become the go-to for batteries in the coming decade, driven by economy of scale.
Shocking change in just 10 years no?
In nuclear fission, China has leadership in gen 3 reactors, with the indigenous hualong in mass production and a steady stream of projects in the works. More importantly, China has the world’s first and only gen 4 gas cooled demonstrator online and plugged into the grid, promising even greater safety and reliability.
Expect commercial availability within the decade.
Same story in photovoltaics. China is already the biggest maker of solar panels and related modules, with leading edge options. My friend in the industry says it’s practically impossible to make a project viable without Chinese panels, not without massive subsidies or tariff walls. That’s how good the Chinese are.
The best hsr system is Chinese, despite China being 50 years late to the game. Better than the Germans and Japanese? Yes, because the installed length is already greater than the rest of the world combined, and serve a broader range of conditions and latitudes. The ride comfort and stability is second to none. Try it yourself if you don’t believe the claim.
Make a guess how many containers Chinese ports handled last year.
300m.
That’s 3, followed by 8 (eight) zeros.
America just about crumbled with a modest 5–10 percent increase above the 50m they usually deal with, as a direct result of covid induced changes in lifestyle.
Rates for China-US TEU went up more than 10x, an order of magnitude, at its peak. Ships were returned SANS empty containers, just to beat the logjam in American ports.
Imagine first world American ports and infrastructure being unable to handle domestic demand, while China happily fulfilled GLOBAL demand with a future-proof, scalable automated port system.
The Chinese are already leaders in digital payment, facial recognition, aspects of ai and big data, quantum computing, and many other technologies of the future. Some of the most exciting breakthroughs of tomorrow will happen in china, and revolutionize the world.
Is the world prepared for that, especially served by a media that’s reluctant to report China in the slightest factual, and positive light?
The first world may very well be caught unawares.
Huawei 6G is coming, 100Gb per second transfer speed
Good news that more and more Chinese researchers are leaving the States for China. It will help China.
Back in 1996, I worked as a Field Technician for Lanier Business Systems in Houston, Texas. Specifically, I handled recording devices and systems, though on occasion I also handled copiers, printers, and fax machines. My territory was into the 610 loop and all overlapping zip codes. This included all the hospitals in the Houston Medical Center. Those that are technical people will figure out what is going on with this before I finish the explanation.
So, for one of the hospitals, they had one of our dictation systems and one day, I get a call from the hospital administrator complaining that they haven’t had backups running on their system for six months. So, I head to the hospital, walk into the admin office, and begin working on the system. I go through the settings, and confirm it is setup to backup changes to the 3.5 in floppy drive. I checked the logs and confirmed the backups ran with no errors, or where there were errors is was able to resolve them and move on.
I checked the disk, and it was blank. Completely blank, In fact, the disk wasn’t even formatted. Assuming that was the problem, I formatted the disk with Lanier’s proprietary encryption protocols, and confirmed I could copy data to the drive. I left the disk in the drive, and explained to the admin what I thought the problem was, and that I had fixed it.
The next morning, she registered the same problem so I head back to the hospital, with a new disk drive. I pull the old drive install a new one, then proceed to run a few tests on the old drive with my testing equipment. Everything checks out, no problems on the drive, but I leave the new drive in just in case. Again, I explain to her what did, and felt fairly certain the problem was resolved.
Next morning, I get another call. Same problem. At this point, I am scratching my head. I know the system is working, I was able to confirm the doctors are making recordings, i confirmed the backup are configured properly, so I talk to the admin and explain that I will come by this evening and confirm that the backups are running tonight.
That evening, I head to the hospital and sit down at the monitor. She pulls the disk off the side of the system hands it so me and I insert it into the drive. ten minutes later the backup runs, I watch it, and after about fifteen minutes it completes with no errors. I sit down go through the logs, check the data on the disk. I confirm the backups are there, verify the data integrity. I even make certain that I can restore the data to the system. Everything looks great, I think the problem is solved. I hand the backup disk back to the administrator, and we talk for a few minutes. As, I am leaving, she puts the disk in a clip and slaps it onto the side of the system.
I stop, and I stare at her for a moment, She looks at me, and asks what I’m waiting for. I look from her to the disk stuck to the side of the computer, back to her.
I had spent three days troubleshooting this problem. I had confirmed that the equipment was completely in working order, and I knew for a fact that backups were running properly. I literally just confirmed that the backup was run, and the data was right there on the disk.
Her actions had just made all those efforts pointless. She just erased everything off the disk and wasted all of my effort. Heck, she has been wasting her own efforts for six months and was getting frustrated because of what she just did.
That clip is a magnetic refrigerator magnet. That magnet wiped the data from the magnetic disc in the floppy disk. She was the cause of all these problems, and has been doing it for six months. I had walked over, removed the disk and put it back in the drive. She looks at me confused. I pull up the floppy disk and it needs to be formatted. She asks me where the data went. I looked at her and handed her the refrigerator magnet.
“Is it on here?”
“No.”
“Then where it is?”
“Gone, you erased the disk.”
She stares at me, dumbstruck, “What…what…what to you mean, I erased it. she mumbles curiously.
I then explain to her that floppy disks are magnetic and are very sensitive to magnetic fields. That refrigerator magnet was strong enough when attached to metal object to erase the disk. She felt horrible.
However, I spent the next several hours, backing up changes for six months of data onto a box of 3.5 inch floppy drives.
I then explained proper disk storage, and told her to keep magnets away from the backups.
After I was done, she was extremely appreciative, and apologetic.
Additionally, I got 3 hours of overtime pay, and because the problem wasn’t caused by our equipment, which meant it wasn’t covered under contract. I made the company a nice profit. The base charges for such failures was $300 per hour, which easily covered my overtime pay.
HE DID IT AGAIN! (OLIVER ANTHONY – I WANT TO GO HOME REACTION)
I watched a recent speech by Biden in Asia. It was a press conference in Vietnam. Biden was so bad that while he was still talking, his own US press secretary cut him off halfway by muting his microphone, declaring abruptly that the conference was over; and turning on jazz music in the room so that Biden’s voice could not be heard anymore. This was damage control. The US press secretary did it, to stop Biden from continuing to ramble on spouting nonsense in front of a roomful of journalists and media crews.
The poor man is senile. He is still President, of course. But surely he is no longer making the real decisions for the USA. He is just the front, the puppet on stage – the people in charge are the ones behind the curtains pulling on the strings.
It’s pointless for Xi to meet Biden. Xi probably knows it already. Any meeting with Biden would just be for ceremonial purposes and publicity reasons. Nothing will actually come out of such a meeting, because Biden doesn’t make decisions anymore.
Xi is a busy man and I wouldn’t be too surprised if he decides never to meet Biden again. There’s not much point in such a meeting.
Puyi has been seen in history as a villain of sorts. He was the last vestige of the Qing dynasty, a living testament to imperialism. He was called effeminate by many and impotent by some. He was selfish, shallow, and childish in his early years. He was also rumored to be cruel to others for his pleasure.
However, we must view him with nuance and remember the time period he was born into. He was groomed from birth to be ineffective by the women in his family who wanted to hold onto their power to rule through him as their proxy. He was born into a family where opulence and excess was considered normal and expected even. But it was also a time where the peasants were deeply unhappy with an ineffectual government and orchestrated a revolution that toppled his world as he knew it.
He united with the Japanese which made him a traitor in the eyes of the Chinese; but Japan had promised him the opportunity to return to a throne and that was the only life he knew. His early wives would tell you he was self centered and downright nasty when he wanted to be.
While he was not a good man in many ways, he was not irredeemable either. Mao allowed him to be the gardener of the Beijing Botanical Gardens. Puyi sought, with his last years, to redeem himself and to become a better man. He once said that the Puyi of his youth was the enemy to the Puyi of his latter years. He often wept when shown examples of his past damage to China. He was overwhelmed when shown the horrors of Unit 731 and cried that those atrocities had been done in his name. His transformation so complete that he became a man of humility. He was reported to have accidentally knocked an elderly woman over with his bicycle and visited her in the hospital every day until she was released.
In the end he found love with his last wife, Li Shuxian, being “all he had in the world,” and she reported in an interview that his love for her was such that when she was sick he would sit by her bedside all night, seeing to her every need.” He had come to be a man who took pleasure in simple things and in his love for his wife. He had indeed become the model citizen and died at the age of 61 of kidney cancer. His widow had his ashes placed with nine other emperors that had come before him. In death he had been returned to his family.
China shocks Europe by canceling ASML’s $580 billion lithography order!
I am the Tujia nationality, and I belong to the eighth largest ethnic minority in China. We have 8 million people.
1. Add points in the most important exam in China-the college entrance examination;（It used to be 20 points, but now it has been reduced to 5 points due to the improvement of educational facilities and standards.）
2. To study for master’s and doctorate with a score lower than Han people, the tuition fee is exempt.
3. Before the “one-child policy” was abolished, ethnic minorities (the ethnic minorities who joined the Communist Party of China are only allowed to have one child) can have 2 or more children, and the Han can only have one;
4. Use and develop the spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities. Most ethnic minorities only have languages without a writing system. The GOV has developed a writing system for us;
Orange-Chipotle Skirt Steaks
orange chipotle skirt steaks
Marinate: 6 hr to overnight | Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
Marinade
Juice of 1 medium orange
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons adobo sauce (from chipotle peppers)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Steaks
1 1/2 pounds beef skirt steak, cut into 4 to 6 inch pieces
Tomatillo Salsa
2 medium oranges, divided
2 cups chopped tomatillos (4 to 5 small to medium)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 to 3 teaspoons minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Marinade
Combine ingredients in a small bowl.
Steaks
Place beef steaks in food-safe plastic bag; turn steaks to coat. Close bag securely and marinate in refrigerator 6 hours or as long as overnight, turning occasionally.
Tomatillo Salsa
Grate 1/2 teaspoon peel from 1 orange. Cut this orange and half of remaining orange into segments. Chop segments into 1/2 inch pieces.
Combine orange peel and segments, tomatillos, onion, chipotle peppers, cumin and salt in medium bowl; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Cut remaining 1/2 orange into wedges; reserve for garnish.
Remove steaks from marinade; discard marinade.
Place steaks on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, uncovered, 10 to 13 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, covered, 8 to 12 minutes) for medium rare (145 degrees F) to medium (160 degrees F) doneness, turning occasionally.
Carve steaks diagonally across the grain into thin slices; season with salt, as desired.
Serve with tomatillo salsa. Garnish with reserved orange wedges.
Oliver Anthony ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ Intense Listening Sesh/Reaction – POWERFUL!
I will try to make this brief. My husband and I are a “multicultural” pair; he was brought up in Scotland and I was brought up in Cleveland, Ohio. Some of the time during our marriage we have lived in Ohio, some of the time in Glasgow.
Somewhere in the mid ’90s we decided to move again from Ohio back to Glasgow. I had three little children at that time — three girls, 7, 3, and 1. We had practically all our worldly possessions with us in 13 metal trunks and the usual baby paraphernalia. We flew from Florida to Glasgow, after flying from Ohio to Florida. The leg from Florida to Glasgow was a direct flight but lasted 10 hours. Needless to say we were very tired, stiff and sleep deprived.
We saddled the family onto an airport bus to take us “home” after such an exhausting trip. After loading our 13 trunks into the hold of this huge bus our bus driver let everyone else off at the usual stop. Before letting our family deboard, he asked us, “Hey, where do you folks live?” We told him the exact location where our small house was located. He laughed and said, “Stay on the bus, I’ll take you to your door. No taxi I know of will fit all this stuff.”
So that’s what this hero did. He pulled his massive 88-seater bus right into our cul-de-sac, right up to our door, and also helped unload the 13 trunks and our very tired family.
It was an act of kindness I have never forgotten. Oh and I forgot to mention, it was 4am.
I was working as the assistant accountant at a company and had to leave early one day as I was sick. My boss insisted on a doctor certificate to cover that half day so I managed to see my gp the next morning who gave me a certificate for 3 days off plus the half day. I objected but the doc said if you’re feeling better in a few days just go back to work.
So 2 days later I’m feeling better and return to work. My boss was annoyed because instead of a few hours I’m now out 2 days so she says I need to go back to same dr to get a clearance to return to work.
By this time it’s midmorning of the last day of the certificate. I’m fine. It’s the last week of month and we’re super busy and she wants me to drive 40 minutes each way to the dr to get a certificate and the chances of an appointment with the same dr is unlikely. And it’s going to cost me $80 for appointment.
I had lots of sick leave accrued and it’s also November.
I explained that we’d lose 1/2 to 3/4 of the day and I’d be out of pocket but nope she wanted me to go back to the dr.
Previously no one had ever enforced a dr certificate if anyone came back early (unless it was workers comp). She told me that this was my “punishment” for leaving early when I was sick a few days before!
When she said that, I made a decision. I said I wasn’t prepared to spend the money for the dr to reassess me for 1/2 day work. She said in that case you can’t work today.
No problems I said. I’ll go do my Christmas shopping and I grabbed my handbag and sauntered out.
I’m told her face just dropped and she bitched to the GM after I’d left and he laughed and told her she was the one who forced the issue.
”What Do You Have To Offer A Man?”
I think this is THE fundamental question both men AND women should be asking… if you have a long list of demands, you better have a long list of qualities to offer.
Employees will pay for personal calls on the company’s cell phone.
This happened about 2003. The developer team took turns being “on-call” and carrying the company phone. Most of us had cell phones but we did not use them as much as we do now. My plan was expensive even though it was the minimum number of minutes, I think 60, per month. In any case, I rarely went over the number of minutes per month. The company phone, on the other hand, had an unlimited plan so there would be no overage charges. The business use of the phone required a lot of minutes.
When it was my turn to carry the phone, I did not carry my personal cell phone at the same time. If I needed to make a call, I would just use the company phone. Most of us did the same thing. Cell phones were bulky and it did not cost the company anything extra. Also, we only made a few short calls on the work phone.
Well our boss, the CTO, called a meeting and showed a new form for us to record our personal calls when we carried the company phone. He told us that it did not matter that the company’s unlimited plan made the calls free. It was the company’s phone and the company’s money. However, he appreciated that it was inconvenient to carry two phones so he was implementing a new policy that the person using the on-call phone for a personal call would log the call and reimburse the company the going rate. It was something like 20 cents per minute which was the normal per minute cost at the time. We were to use the form to pay the company for personal calls on the work phone.
Most of us thought it was a little petty because the company’s plan was unlimited and a few short calls did not cost the company anything. However, we acknowledged it was a reasonable policy and we would just have to pay a little for convenience or carry two phones. Not really a big deal. Then I thought of something.
I asked the boss, “Can we use the same form for the company to reimburse us for work calls on our personal phones?” He asked if we used our personal cells for work. “Of course, whoever is on-call often calls his colleagues for advice about a problem or how a system was configured. If we are not home, we take the call on our cell. As a matter of fact, twice this year I went over my monthly minutes and had to pay overage charges.” He replied that I would not pay extra if I was more careful to not go over my minutes. “Well, as you explained, it does not matter if I pay extra or not. It’s about keeping personal calls and work calls separate. So, can we use the same form or should we use a different form?” Without answering the question, he ended the meeting shortly thereafter.
He never said anything more about the form, and the policy never went into effect.
I admit that I did not like the guy because he viewed us as commodities instead of employees. The feeling was mutual and he fired me the next year. Oh well, I got a better job after that.
China Tests New Laser Weapon That Destroys Planes In Seconds!
The Debt crisis in China isn’t a shock to the global economy
Evergrande crisis happened in 2021 and it’s 2 years old and yet Evergrande hasn’t fallen
The Debt crisis is two years old, maybe three years old now
So even if the big names begin failing, the systemic shocks to Chinas Economy Or the Global Economy will be much milder than a sudden unexpected shock
The difference between US and China, is that in US, the Institutions which are privately owned and have very little regulations, lie and cheat and bury the information deep and keeps allowing more and more trouble to accumulate
Lehman Brothers crisis in 2008 is an example as is the 1929 depression or the recent Silicon Valley Bank failures
They pretend nothing is wrong, they pretend everything is hunky dory, they even manipulate the system like they did in 2008 with Moodys and S&P
Then THERE IS ALWAYS A SUDDEN COLLAPSE AND A MASSIVE SYSTEMIC SHOCK
Like in 2008 when there was a downward swing in investment indices by a whopping 60% across 2 years
People lost homes, savings everything and plunged into poverty
China is entirely different
China has lots of regulations and State has a huge control which means no pretension, no burying of information
The Chinese in fact start openly publishing info from Day 1 about such problems
Evergrande problems were published 30 days before their first default while the real estate debt crisis problems were openly revealed yuan for yuan almost 3 months before Evergrande (which is how the West knew about it in the first place)
As a result the system gets a DULL SHOCK rather than a SUDDEN SHOCK AND COLLAPSE
This Dull Shock is absorbed slowly into the economy of China and by the investors, then smaller shocks happen and they too get absorbed
Thus Indices will fall maybe 6–8% in China , maybe 10% over 5–6 years and then stabilize and recover
The Impact will probably be 10% of the 2008 Crisis at the most
Lehman collapsed in 14 days, Lehman Bros when it collapses will do so after almost 825 days to 900 days
Lot of time to absorb the shock
Experts gauge China will absorb it’s debt crisis at a cost of around 1.2% a year in it’s economic growth for around 5 years and 0.7% a year for the next five
That’s around 13.5 Trillion Yuan
Worst case, that’s more than double of the estimated value of impact of the debt crisis (6 Trillion Yuan)
Chinas past growth and surging development will keep China protected from the debt crisis and get China off safely and with a nice soft landing
image 5
Another 5 years if Xi had buried this and kept up illusions and kept seeing debt rollovers and price rise rapidly
China would have had 6–6.5% growth for the next 5 years or so but then the impact would have been maybe 30–35 Trillion after a decade or so
An example of the astute leadership of China which cares about long term prospects
Unlike a problem with democracies which bury all the problems hoping the next party will deal with them
Ask you CEOs why they think they are entitled to earn 100 times more that Chinese CEOs? Ask your employees and your unions what the push their salary to 5 times that of China? Ask your employees why they expects 10 times their benefits compared to Chinese counterparts? Ask why they are willing to work 25% less hours compared to the Chinese workers? Ask why are your education system turning out lawyers and bull shit artiste instead of stem engineers?
Ask your government why your infrastructure is dilapidated and why are there no trainings and retraining of workers sufficient to meet today’s manufacturing needs? Those question get you real answers and make the U.S. face realities?
China did not put a gun on the heads on 330 million Americans to buy Chinese products! The 330 million Americans chosed value for money like everyone on earth. The U.S. government and the U.S. people made wrong choices. They choose wars and war mongering rather than helping their manufacturers and factories. The citizens chose those leaders! If the U.S. citizens were to turn around and kicked out any politicians that prioritise wars over work kick them out of office they can make the difference.
There are so many Americans here in QUORA who champion wars and worship power but ask why China makes everything? You need to choose wisely. You go around telling everyone you have a freedom to chose and are so proud of that freedom but you blow it every 4 years for 250 years long.
You chose leaders that don’t care about you and in fact destroy you!
At my wife’s father’s wake, we told her uncle he wasn’t welcome.
We had texted him and asked him not to show up early , as he wasn’t welcome but said that we would be leaving early so he could come later, but he came early anyway with his two sons and his screaming Harpy of a wife.
We had rented the hall and paid for the food and bar.
I stopped them at the door, expecting trouble. I asked him to leave and come back in a few hours when we would be gone.
They tried to push past me and called my wife a c##t
I reacted without thinking.
I shattered his and his two sons noses with three strikes in about two seconds.
They know I am a Wing Chun Gung Fu stylist who is also a 6′ 200 lb pro renovation contractor.
They called the police.
The police called them white trash and suggested they didn’t want to go in front of a judge considering their conduct.
They backed down and left.
One of the cops was Irish , he said he would buy me a whiskey right in front of the jack ass’s if he wasn’t on duty while they were holding their noses.
P. S. I don’t advocate violence, but I have no regrets at this time.
Love some, trust few, and do no great harm.
Baby Wasn’t Able To Tell Parents About Cruel Sitter — But His Dog Could
This is Vesna Vulović.
She holds the Guinness World Record for the highest fall without a parachute and surviving. She is reported to have fallen 6.3 miles (33,330 ft; 10,160 m) from the sky when a briefcase bomb exploded onboard JAT Flight 367 and crashed into what was then Czechoslovakia in 1972.
So, how exactly did she survive the fall? When the bomb exploded during mid-flight, almost all the passengers were sucked out of the airplane into subfreezing temperatures and fell to their deaths. Vulović was trapped inside the fuselage and pinned down by a food cart. She landed in a heavily wooded area with snow, which helped cushion her fall. Interestingly enough, Vulović’s low blood pressure allowed her to pass out quickly when the cabin depressurized and prevented her heart from bursting on impact. When applying to become a flight attendant, Vulović had concealed her low blood pressure from the medical examiners by drinking several cups of coffee.
Vulović was the only survivor, and upon impact, had broken both her legs, parts of her vertebrae, and several ribs. She also fractured her skull and pelvis. After spending several days in a coma, Vulović awoke and asked for a cigarette. She had no recollection of the explosion or the crash. Her recuperation took a total of 16 months.
BREAKING! China and U.S. headed for all out war, and Putin knows it
“Any hotel expense over $XX must be approved by your Supervisor unless previously authorized (Daytona during Bike Week, going into hurricane devastated areas, or other known high cost areas, etc.)”.
Sure, I’m on the road for 3–6 weeks at a time and only after working the planned for 8–10 hours a day (yes 50+work hours a week were the norm) would I be on the road to the next job which was often 100 or more miles away. Needless to say, there were many, Many nights where I arrived at a hotel at around midnight.
Guess who went home at 5 PM back in the office? Yep, our supervisor. So, someone found his home phone number and we all began calling it when we arrived somewhere that wasn’t within the price range they expected.
So they changed the rule to say “Don’t call your Supervisor, but you are responsible for finding a hotel within per diem limits”.
Sure, but since it’s something you told me to do then I’m still at work. Do you Really think its worthwhile to pay me an extra hour’s pay just to save $10 for a night? Do you Really want me to add the two hours travel time to my pay-sheet because the only hotel in the price range was that far away?
I just remembered another prime example backfiring: the company had a policy that if we screwed up a job then it was our responsibility to go back and fix it on our own time. (If we didn’t want to then we’d mysteriously find our services weren’t in such high demand for the next week or three). So, one fine Saturday morning after I’d finished installing the computer system for a well-known coffee chain, I got a phone call that said I had to travel 400 miles to Memphis and fix a problem with a printer that didn’t work. Obviously it not working must have been my fault. It didn’t help much to say that part of my checkout procedure was to get a number from a document the help desk printed to their new POS system’s laser printer.
So, yeah, I’ll go back to Memphis on my own dime, BUT if it’s not my fault then I get paid. Traveled 6.5 hours to Memphis and walked into the coffee shop to hear the manager complain that his printer wasn’t working. I asked him what the help desk had him do. Turns out he didn’t call his help desk but just his contact at the company I worked for. I walked into the office, took a quick look and flipped the “ON” switch to the printer. Then I handed him the work order and told him he was going to be charged for 8 hours of travel to Memphis (400 miles at 50 MPH) 4 hours of overtime (our minimum charge and it was Saturday) and 8 hours of travel back to my house.
“B-But it didn’t work, you installed it wrong!” Nope, here’s the printout and the confirmation number from your help desk printed to that computer saying everything worked. Your help desk would have asked you what lights were on the printer, IF you had called them first.
A terrible day, so I spent the afternoon on Beale St. before heading home to pack up for the next Monday’s job in Charlotte or somewhere, who knows?
Tucker Carlson ‘ You’ve No Idea What is Coming, start Preparing Now
When my daughter was 15 (2000) I asked her what kind of car she wanted. Her answer stunned me: an old VW Beetle. We decided rather than looking for a good one to buy we would buy a beat up old junker and restore it together. I acquired the catalogs from suppliers and was shocked at how cheap the parts were and could not find a single thing that was not available new. We stripped that old junker down, did the body work and painted it. Bought all new chrome and stainless steel trim, all new upholstery, head liner, carpet and replaced every piece of rubber on the car.
When it came time to rebuild the engine I took a list of the parts I thought I would need to a local shop that specialized in VWs. He looked at the list and ask if I was planning on rebuilding the engine. When I said “yes” he responded that I was not going to do it, I was going to pay them to do it. I ask why? He said because this list of part is going to cost you 800 dollars and we will rebuild it for 875 dollars. Thinking it was a scam, I asked what if the crank is bad? His response was we are not going to use anything but the block, everything else is new including the heads . We picked up the engine and, as he said, it was 875 dollars.
When she turned 16 I gave her driving lessons in her VW. She drove it through high school and well after college. she didn’t stop using it until she had her first child.
Rather than let it sit we gave it to a friend who, 20 years after our rebuild, is still using it.
Total cost of the junk car, parts, and materials, including the engine rebuild: $3,300. Never had a part that we couldn’t get within a couple of days (side note; for several years she claimed she could not drive an automatic [or any other car] because she only knew how to drive a VW.)
Digging Dollar’s Grave! ASEAN Nations To Use Yuan As Their New Single Currency!
https://youtu.be/lvsZlBlfvW8
Anti-China Rhetoric Is Off the Charts in Western Media
The mass hysteria reflects the biases inherent in the world’s most powerful media outlets.
By Chandran Nair
February 21, 2023
A key feature of mainstream Western media today is the relentless China-bashing. It is off the charts and tiring, often involving regurgitated trivia or fabricated stories with no evidence to support callous statements about the country, demonstrating a deep lack of understanding. But such stories continue to be churned out with no end in sight.
Countering this in international media by offering more balanced views for a global audience is near impossible as censorship is rife. There almost seems to be a global compact to control the narrative, a propaganda war powered by today’s digital technology.
Just try looking for a positive story on China any day of the week in any of the leading global media outlets. Apart from reports in January about the Lunar New Year, there will hardly be any, and these too are likely to have a negative spin. It would appear there is a confidential memo circulating within Western media groups that guides reporters and editors to ensure there cannot be any positive news arising from a country with 1.3 billion people.
Typically, the negative stories adhere to three core ideas, which inform the unspoken guidelines within these press rooms when it comes to reporting on China.
First is the belief that China is a threat to the world and that this belief must be relentlessly reinforced at every available opportunity. How and why China is a threat is never explored; such is the deep-rooted and almost religious nature of the belief. Sound arguments do not matter. The basic tenets of good journalism are ignored when it comes to a China story. There is no need to explain or give evidence of why China is a global threat.
Left ignored is the plentiful evidence that shows China is not a global threat – even if one can point to mistakes and overreach in certain areas. China has not invaded any country in decades, or imposed sanctions that have devasted the lives of millions in poor countries, unlike the West, led by the United States.
Second is that China must be linked to every possible global event that affects the West. This provides an opportunity for the West to bash China while simultaneously burnishing its own credentials as the supposed arbiters of what is right and wrong in international relations. From the pandemic to the Russia-Ukraine war to carbon emissions; from rising sea levels to the scramble for rare earths; from the building of infrastructure in Africa to the production of vaccines – there must be an angle to demonize the country and instill fear in Western nations (and beyond).
Indeed, media outlets are reverting to the “yellow peril” of the late 1800s. There is no subtle and nuanced approach to instilling fear like this. It is full-on and very often blatantly racist – but it is now acceptable for one to be racist about the Chinese in Western media, despite the fact that Black-White relations are very carefully described.
The third part of this phenomenon, which is surprisingly not challenged by liberal readers of mainstream media, is the sentiment that everything must be done – even illegal and unfair methods – to arrest the rise of China. Never mind the rights of hundreds of millions of Chinese to have a better life after a century of poverty and deprivation.
Headline after headline that capture this sentiment have normalized the view that there is a need to curb the rise of China, and that this is a legitimate geopolitical objective. There is no explanation about why or if it is even morally acceptable. It has become a feature of Western commentary on China to say that its rise is a concern and a threat. With this assumption unassailably in place, the West has the right to galvanize – and even bully – its allies and ask the absurd question, “what should be done about China’s rise?” – as if China does not have the right to carve its own place in the new world.
There is even a school of thought in the United States that it was America that magnanimously allowed China its first baby steps into the globalized economy, and that in hindsight the U.S. was too nice to China. This view betrays everything that is imperial about the West and why it is unable to come to terms with the legitimate rights of other nations to grow and become powers in their own right. The assumption is that the rise of others is a gift from the West, and accordingly they must never challenge its supremacy. The deeply entrenched view in the West from centuries of domination is that it will decide which nations will be permitted to be participants in the global economy according to its self-serving “rules-based order.”
Indeed, Western media seem wholly tied to the hegemonic competition view of geopolitics, constantly referencing the “Thucydides Trap” and being stuck in the Western canon as if there are no other ways of looking at geopolitics and world order. This view assumes conflict is inevitable and helps to demonize China while justifying the hegemonic position of the West – and the United States in particular – as a globally stabilizing force.
Needless to say, this is an extremely belligerent position to take, and not something media should be egging on. Whatever happened to promoting multilateralism? And why are people who speak to multilateralism side-lined as idealists or China apologists? This flies in the face of fair reporting.
So, how to fix this?
First, people in China and the non-Western world must realize that when it comes to the workings of the mainstream media we are in a new era – a propaganda war the likes of which the world has never seen before, powered by today’s digital technology. The media war is real, and tech-driven, and it is not a fight for eyeballs to deliver fair, honest, and educational news. It is almost everything else but that, especially when it comes to China or enemies of the West.
On one side is sheer propaganda aimed at the preservation of Western power. Participants include the most well-known brands in the Western media world, which are household names across the world.
The idea that Western media is run by fair-minded people who are independent, driven only by a desire to talk truth to power, is a mirage. It is a myth, and it is a bitter pill that needs to be swallowed. The idea that the Western journalist is a paragon of virtue also needs to be banished from the minds of consumers of media.
That is the first stage in enabling one to step out of the propaganda mist we are engulfed in on a daily basis, so that one can examine different viewpoints as news is consumed. This is not easy, given the current dominance of Western media outlets and their apparently collective mission.
The next step is to dismantle the dominance of Western media.
This too will be a long, hard fight. Mainstream Western media are the most powerful in the world and for close to a century, Western media have had a stranglehold on the dissemination of international news and viewpoints across the world. Many had their origins in colonialism, the preservation of empire and later the spread of Western ideas about how the world should be run. These outlets are a powerful economic force and dislodging them will require investments.
Across the world there is an opportunity to contribute to this effort, not necessarily by building large media companies but by investing in media companies that are committed to fair and objective analysis, so that local audiences in the first instance have choices and are not inundated by the propaganda of mainstream Western media. This too will not be an easy task and there are many hurdles to overcome, but this is not the space to dive into those details. Ultimately, it is all about readers becoming more aware of global issues by having more non-Western sources to rely on, so they are not victims of the current propaganda war. This is beginning to happen as more alternatives flourish.
It is an urgent need in the West too so that the mass hysteria generated by mainstream media is prevented from creating fear and pitting Western societies against the rest of the world. Today the target is China; tomorrow India and then maybe Africa.
Merkules – ”Rich Men North Of Richmond” Remix (Reaction)
Young Boy Looks Out The Window And Sees Sister Bring Dragged Into The Woods
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At some point or another in most of our lives, we will have an opportunity to be a hero. Some people will take that opportunity and run with it, and that includes Owen Burns.
Owen was coming home from school in the afternoon when he heard screaming. It was his sister, and at first, he didn’t feel that it was anything serious.
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Eventually, he did turn and look out the window and what he saw on the outside was enough to make his blood run cold. It was a frightening issue but one that he decided to put out of his mind and do the right thing.
Owen was getting ready to play Call of Duty on his PlayStation when his sister started screaming from the backyard. As any 13-year-old brother would do, he got irritated because he thought she was overreacting and just being annoying.
When he looked out the bedroom window, however, he saw that his sister was being dragged away by a stranger. His sister was only eight years old and they were headed for the woods behind the house.
Immediately, the teenage boy grabbed a slingshot and anything he could use as ammunition, including a rock and a marble. He took aim and got off a shot, hitting his sister’s abductor right between the eyes.
He got off a second shot, hitting the man in the chest, and at that point, the man was swearing and cursing.
This wasn’t something that was hidden from view, it happened in broad daylight at their home in Michigan. The mother, Maggie Burns, said that it is not common for kidnappings to occur in the neighborhood.
Fortunately, the abductor was scared away and the 8-year-old girl was unharmed. They were able to capture the would-be kidnapper, a 17-year-old. They didn’t release his identity but they did say he would face charges as an adult.
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According to John Grimshaw, a Lieut. with the police force, Owen saved his sister’s life, or from something seriously bad happening to her. They called his actions extraordinary.
He also said that the young man should be commended for what he did. He used a regular slingshot that was purchased for three dollars on sale. He did practice shooting on occasion at old orange juice cans, and that helped him to improve his aim.
Owen said that he only had one thing on his mind when he saw someone trying to kidnap his sister. He was afraid that the kidnapper would either kill her or use her as a sex slave.
He said that the abductor had come behind his sister and grabbed her just like you would see in the movies, putting his hand over her mouth and his arm around her waist. He was trying to get her into the woods.
That is when Owen grabbed his slingshot and started shooting at him. When the kidnapper finally let his grip on the little girl go, she ran into the house crying and said that she had almost been killed.
Owen was angry at that point and ran outside to curse at the kidnapper. He threw a baseball in his direction but it missed.
At that point, he tried to shoot him again with a slingshot but the rubber band broke.
They then called the mother who had been at a relative’s house to help as she was on her way from work. She ran home, called the police, and it all stems from hearing her kids on the phone. The only thing she heard was the word, kidnapper.
They found the 17-year-old kidnapper hiding at a gas station nearby. He was indicted in the County Court on charges of kidnapping and attempted criminal assault. They will also charge him with misdemeanor assault and battery.
The police said that: “He had obvious signs of an injury consistent with those that would have been sustained from the slingshot strikes to his head and chest.”
The mother was skeptical at first that Owen had hit the kidnapper in the face and chest from 200 feet away. When the police confirmed the injuries, they even said that the goose egg on his head continued to get bigger while they were speaking with him.
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and I would say Owen and is as close to a superhero as you can get.
Office of Naval Intelligence Leak: China Building Naval Ships 232 Times faster than USA – “Lift to Invade North America”
The United States office of Naval Intelligence suffered a leak of an intel briefing slide, showing China now has naval ship building capacity 232 times greater than the USA. This capacity can be used to build enough ships to “lift” an army to invade North America – successfully.
This amazingly oversized capacity to build naval vessels has caused some analysts to raise the alarm that the United States cannot even hope to catch-up . . . for years.
Other analysts have a more dire view: China is building this enormous amount of “lift” to be able to field a 200 million man army to invade and conquer North America, which it needs for food production and for its gigantic and growing population.
The seeds for this dire analysis began under the Trudeau government in Canada, when it signed a Treaty with the China Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing to allow Chinese Troops into Canada – to “protect Chinese investments.” The Treaty made it explicitly clear that local governments in Canada would not be notified and could not do anything about the presence of such troops.
By using Canada as a beachhead, giving China a foothold on north American, China can now pre-position armor and troops along the US northern border until they reach such mass that an invasion of the US would be almost a fait accompli!
US Military in Recruiting Shambles
In the meantime, the armed forces of the United States are in a Recruiting shambles. EVERY branch of US Armed Forces have been missing their recruiting goals for the all-volunteer force, and have been missing those goals for years.
The troubles plaguing recruiting do not come from lack of available people but rather a whole host of issues with those people. For instance, a very large portion of American young people are “morbidly obese” to such a degree, that the physical strength and stamina simply cannot be restored to make them fit for military service.
Other potential recruits suffer from a host of disqualifying psychiatric issues: Men who think they’re actually women trapped in the wrong body . . . . women who think they’re men . . . . candidates with a history of suicidal ideation and/or actual suicide attempts and more.
Also plaguing the pool of potential recruits is the mental inability to think critically; to make judgements, and act on immediate information.
As if all of this wasn’t bad enough, a sizeable portion of the potential recruits are so physically weak and effeminate, they simply cannot be brought to military strength.
Drug use is also a major factor in disqualifying potential recruits. Psychiatric drugs for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), addiction to Adderall, on top of others who are using illicit drugs like Cocaine, Heroin, or a
plethora of other, exotic “designer drugs,” has disqualified very many potential recruits because withdrawal from such drugs can lead to long-term violent outbursts and unstable mental states.
DEFENSE INDUSTRY IN SHAMBLES
Adding fuel to the fire is the Defense Industry itself. At present, the US Defense Industry is UNABLE to re-supply the most basic war-fighting products like Ammunition and artillery shells in sufficient quantities to re-stock what the US has already given away to Ukraine, never mind to fight an active war with a near-peer rival.
Instead of hiring new employees to increase defense production, many defense contractors are having to LAY OFF workers because they simply cannot get the parts necessary to assemble replacement weaponry like Javelin Missiles! American manufacturer’s “out-sourced” many jobs to overseas locations, and, in the case of China, that is now coming back to bit the US in its ass.
For instance, China recently imposed economic Sanctions on Lockheed Martin and other American Defense Contractors, for supplying weapons to Taiwan. This means that Chinese manufacturers can no longer sell certain electronics to those companies; electronics necessary to build and re-supply US military weapon systems!
Not only is this affecting the US ability to continue providing weaponry to Ukraine, it is also affecting our ability to make weapons to defend . . . OURSELVES. With the vast array and quantities of weaponry being “given” to Ukraine, it appears to some Defense Analysts that the US is being INTENTIONALLY DISARMED by its own federal government.
COMMERCIAL ENTITIES UNABLE TO SERVICE or CUTTING-OFF US MILITARY
Reverting back to the subject of ships for a moment, it became known this week that Danish shipping giant, MAERSK, is “backing away” from providing shipping services to the Department of Defense.
With most of US Ship-building gone from environmental regulations and Union Labor contract demands, the few shipbuilders the US still has, simply cannot meet the demand for new vessels or to timely repair existing vessels.
The US has to rely on foreign shipbuilders for Hulls and for shipping services.
MAERSK has not said why they are “backing away” from providing services to the Department of Defense, but they are, in fact, doing so.
Are these companies being pressured by China or other foreign governments to cripple the US? Are these companies being threatened with losing the ability to provide shipping services to foreign countries if they continue helping the US? The answer to those questions is not known, but it __may__ be a possibility.
Which brings up the issue of future US ship building and moving men and materiel.
With China having 232 times the US ship building capacity, and with commercial ventures in the US unable to re-supply or even timely service existing ships, and now commercial entitities “backing away” from providing services to the US, it is starting to look as though we are being set up to be invaded and conquered.
MILITARY-AGE MEN SOUTHERN BORDER INVASION
All of the above brings us to the US Southern Border. There has been an over Nine-hundred percent (900%+) increase in young, fit, military-age, Chinese men crossing illegally into the US via the southern border. This is confirmed by FOX NEWS.
Why the sudden surge of Chinese men? Some analysts think they are a fifth column; wolves in sheep’s clothing, entering our country at the behest of the China Communist Party to lay in wait for an order to attack the US from within.
And the US federal Government is making it EASIER for people to enter the country illegally! The Biden regime has ordered gates in former President Trump’s border wall . . . . to be welded open! YEs, you read that correctly, the gates are being welded open so even US citizens, concerned about illegals entering the country, can’t simply close and lock the gates.
STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE, DRAINED
The United States established the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after the Arab Oil Embargo of the 1970’s. The SPR can hold a little over seven-hundred-million barrels of oil in giant caverns in Louisiana and Texas. Yet the Biden regime has ordered the SPR to sell-off much of that reserve to artificially reduce gasoline prices in the USA.
As of today, more than two-thirds of that 700 million barrel SPR, have been sold off and are gone. There are presently no plans (and no money) to refill it.
If the US is invaded, and we cannot import foreign oil because we’re a war zone where ships cannot safely come and go, we won’t have more than a month or two of fuel with which to fight and defend our own land.
TREACHERY?
This appears to be deliberate treachery on the part of the federal government, some of whom may simply have been bribed by China, or other countries, to sell-out our nation and prime us for invasion.
This week, Congress beings Impeachment Hearings into President Joe Biden, who allegedly received potentially millions in bribes from China and elsewhere. Congress has already revealed that Bank Wire Transfers to Hunter Biden, showing Joe Biden’s home address in Wilmington, Delaware as the recipient’s address, have been confirmed as having taken place. At least $250,000 of such wire transfers are said to have come from Beijing.
Also this week, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was Indicted and Arraigned in federal court, after being caught with some $458,000 cash stuffed into envelopes hidden in clothing in a closet, and in a safe, in his Englewood Cliffs home, along with 81.5 ounces of gold bullion in bars, allegedly for making military deals with and for, Egypt.
Menendez is charged with Bribery.
If Menendez took Bribes from Egypt to sell out US weapons, one has to wonder if he also took money from China to sell us out? Or if he also took money from other countries?
One also has to wonder if any OTHER Senators or Congressmen took such Bribes?
It appears the United States of America is suffering a level of treachery from within, that may actually cause our nation to cease to exist.
China Exposes New G20 Summit Hypocrisy and lies
You won’t believe what Biden just said after all the sanctions the US imposed on China. Biden gave a statement thinking that he is trying to create good relations with China after the G20 meeting with China’s Premier League Biden said we don’t want to contain China instead we want to make sure we have a relationship that is on the up and up squared away but don’t be misled by this statement before you know the actual truth According to Forbes, the US has imposed a list of sanctions on China, and its motive is simply to contain China, so when it comes to words, the US has a lot to say to impress you, but when it comes to actions, you won’t find anyone more brutal in the world than the US, so the question is why is there such a big difference between the US’s actions and its words, let’s find out in this video we will discuss the reality behind the US’s claims to not contain China We will also analyze the impact of Biden and Lee’s G20 summit on US-China relations. Watch the video until the conclusion to find out if the US is being honest this time or if this is just another tactic to attain ulterior aims.
https://youtu.be/w0MMrKvJZLQ
COVERT INTEL: CLOSEST PUTIN ADVISOR SAYS “NUKE U.K. OFF THE MAP” TO STOP UKRAINE WAR AND WW3
One of the closest and most trusted Advisors to Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally told his boss that a “massive” use of nuclear weapons is necessary to actually “prevent” World War 3 and save humanity. He urges the complete destruction of the United Kingdom as a warning to others to stop.
Mediterranean Steak and Pasta with Tomato-Olive Sauce
Whole-wheat pasta is served with beef Sirloin Tip Center Steaks and a tomato and olive sauce. This one will please the adults and the kids in your family.
mediterranean steak pasta
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked whole grain fettuccine
4 beef Sirloin Tip Center Steaks, cut 3/4 inch thick (about 4 ounces each)
1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce with olives*
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/4 cup finely shredded Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
Cook fettuccine according to package directions; drain and keep warm.
Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Place beef steaks in skillet; cook for 11 to 13 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F) doneness, turning occasionally. (Do not overcook.) Remove from skillet; keep warm.
Combine pasta sauce and oregano in same skillet; heat until hot. Return steaks to skillet; turn to coat with sauce.
Place steaks on fettuccine; spoon sauce over all.
Sprinkle steaks with cheese, allowing cheese to melt. Sprinkle with parsley.
Notes
* You may substitute 1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce with olives for 1 (26 ounce) pasta sauce plus 1/4 cup chopped olives.
I used to coach swimming in the early 2000’s. It probably won’t surprise you that my most challenging group was the middle school boys.
But where a few of them were difficult, others were in need of help. They were “different”. Consequently, they were bullied frequently at school. They would come in upset about how their day had gone.
I identified with them on so many levels as I’ve spent my entire life having people tell me, “You are one weird guy.”
I would reassure them that they were simply misunderstood and that they were in good company: some of the greatest people who ever lived were treated as weirdos.
Frederick Nietzsche, another mega genius, was in this camp at one point too. He was, by very definition, different than his peers. People tend to attack things they don’t understand.
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Throughout his life, he proposed many wild and brilliant ideas, faced his own share of critics, and endured his own moments of social isolation.
One line he wrote, that I encourage any who feel misunderstood to remember:
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.
Humanity is filled with wild and shimmering variety. Those who see “different” and attack are afraid of their own authenticity.
Don’t shy away from living your own truth.
If you haven’t been told “You’re weird.” a few times along the way, you aren’t doing it right.
There was a 1979 movie starring Peter Falk titled “The In-laws”, and for some strange reason I just remembered this movie. I tried to download the torrent, but it is taking forever. It is just a goofy and funny comedy, but for some reason… it came to mind.
The premise of this film is really simple: if two families are about to enjoy the union of their children in a marriage, is it not likely that the in-laws involved can come to depend and help each other out in times of need? Most of us would probably say no, or want to know the extent of the help. However, when Vincent J. Ricardo (Peter Falk) asks Dr. Sheldon Kornpett (Alan Arkin) to assist him in retrieving something from a safe in Ricardo’s office, Kornpett is willing (if somewhat suspiciously) to do it.
The reason that Kornpett is suspicious is he is not quite certain what to make of Ricardo. They only met at Kornpett’s house the night before, for a dinner party introducing the families of the bride (Kornpett’s) and groom (Ricardo’s) to each other. Ricardo acted…well oddly. He told tales of his business travels in Central America, including how in one country babies are being carried off by huge bats that are protected by the Guacamole Act of 1917. Kornpett hears this with a blank face, although his eyes do bug out a little in disbelief. Later, when Ricardo gets testy with his son over a comment about the former not being home enough, Kornpett can’t believe the near rage that Ricardo demonstrates at the table. So his suspicions about his future in-law seem well based.
Shortly, after being chased and nearly killed by two men who are after the items that Kornpett picked up, the suspicions seem confirmed. Ricardo explains to him, over pea soup in a restaurant, that he actually is not a successful salesman but a C.I.A. operative (a photo in Ricardo’s office confirms this: it is of President Kennedy, and the autograph refers to the Bay of Pigs Invasion). He is in the middle of a critically important mission in Latin America dealing with international finance and a conspiracy against the richest nations. Kornpett hears him out, and is upset to hear that there is more material that Ricardo hid in Kornpett’s home the night before. He wants no part of it, and leaves to go home – only to find the police there. He flees, and does evade capture – at the cost of having his car repainted in a way he never would have wanted it to look.
Soon Kornpett is forced to join forces with Ricardo, and enters the deadly serious but (here) quite farcical world of international espionage and intrigue. At the end of the road is the ringleader of the conspiracy, General Garcia (Richard Libertini) who has a special little friend that makes Al Pacino’s little friend in SCARFACE lethal but sensible in comparison.
THE IN-LAWS is funny. Arkin with his tight-ass repressive personality works well against the free-wheeling, anything goes Falk. Libertini appears only in the films last twenty minutes, but he does equally nicely as the ultimate in screw-ball dictators. Well supported by a cast including Nancy Dussault, Arlene Golonka, Penny Peyser, Michael Lembeck, and Ed Begley Jr. the film is just a laugh fest until the happy ending. As mentioned elsewhere in these comments Arkin and Falk should have made several films together. They have only done one other movie together since THE IN-LAWS. Pity.
‘If you lose this baby, you could always have another one’. The comment above was made by the doctor who my husband and I had a consultation with. I was roughly 10 weeks pregnant with our first child. I was in my mid 30’s while hubby was in his early 40’s.
An elderly man in his fifties, he barely looked at us, ignored me, said hello to my husband, looked at my file fleetingly, a file with tests and scans which showed I had fibroids, looked directly at my husband and said to him, ‘She will be fine’. I was furious that this man was clearly sexist, ignoring me as if I was invisible. I responded by asking what that meant, what was the cause of the bleeding as he had not told us at this point about the fibroids. ‘You do not need to bother about it. That is why we are here’. This statement was addressed again to my husband who he was still looking at while still ignoring my presence.
At this point, something in me snapped and I snapped at him, ‘Look at me and tell me what is causing this bleeding. It is my body and I need the details’. He then slowly turned to look at me as if seeing me for the first time and emotionlessly said, ‘you have fibroids. They are not massive and do not pose a danger to your baby’. ‘But I am bleeding. Is that not dangerous? ‘ I worriedly asked.
That was when he looked at the file and without lifting his head, retorted ,Not really. However, if you lose this baby, you could always have another one ’. I almost cussed the insensitive idiot out but my husband who knew I was fuming at this point, got up and ushered me out of the office while the doctor was still talking about ante natal visits at their hospital. We had heard enough. I went on to another hospital where I met the amazing doctor who delivered my daughter without complications and went on to have a son after that.
She is now a healthy, happy 10 year old who is pure joy and always a little mama to her 7 year old brother.
London Broil
London Broil is a favorite recipe from the Iowa Beef Industry Council.
delish london broil horizontal 1546553273
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 (1 1/4 to 1 3/4 pound) beef flank steak
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Combine vegetable oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper for marinade.
Place steak in plastic bag and pour marinade over it.
Close bag securely and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.
Pour off and reserve marinade.
Place steak on grill and broil at moderate temperature for 5 minutes.
Turn, brush with marinade and broil 5 minutes or to desired doneness (rare or medium).
To carve, slice diagonally across grain in thin strips.
10 STOIC LESSONS TO HANDLE DISRESEPECT (MUST WATCH) | STOICISM
Learn something important.
ASML
Here is the reason why ASML CEO said a few years ago that if ASML gave China the blueprint for the EUV machine China would not be able to make it.
This is because all of the core technologies is NOT owned by ASML. ASML is the system integrator that was allowed by the US government to participate in the US government project to create an EUV light source.
This project pulled together many US national labs including Lawrence Livermore Labs, Sandia Nation Lab, Brookhaven National Lab, Lawrence Berkely National Lab, IBM, Intel, AMD, etc. And it took over 10 years to create this laser light source.
This was considered a national security project so Japanese companies like Nikon and Canon were not allowed to join.
The difficulty of this light source and the engineering problems that had to be overcome was as difficult as the first atomic bomb.
So I have to admit that I was wrong in my speculation about using a Rube Goldberg device to generate EUV. They didn’t have a choice. This was the best possible source at the time. It took literally the US, Germany, and some other nation’s best experts to create this light source.
The other parts are relatively easy in comparison.
The problem is that China has also created this light source and using another method so it isn’t so Rube Goldberg machine. Not that it was simple to make. But it is more reliable and you don’t have to worry about residue removal that will mess up your mirrors and the inside of the your machine which has to remain at clean room levels.
The Answer is yes. Yes indeed the U.S. and the west has been propagating that only western liberal democracy works. Nothing else. Either be a liberal democracy or die says the US. That is of course simply not true at all. And the real truth is simply that the West wanted to install liberal democracy so that the west can easily manipulate it and install a government that surrender its sovereignty to the west in order to manipulate and steal it’s resources to enrich the former colonials.
Now that China proved beyond reasonable doubts and against all odds that it could grow phenomenally and economically dwarfed every other nation, this fear and worry the U.S. mightily. Failure to contain China means failure to perpetuate this lie!
This is indeed worrisome for the west since they the west in general has essentially collapsed in a huge pile of debts. And law and order disintegrates through the western world. With high inflation and a looming recession with countless millions of homeless people living in the streets while their government finance and orchestrate wars. Based on printing money without basis and rampant money creation.
China U.S. out innovating the U.S., it U.S. out thinking the U.S., out growing the U.S. and out influencing the U.S. growing even its military and wealth and out manipulating the U.S. government everywhere on earth. The U.S. wants to stop the truth from being revealed to the world.
It’s Not Just You: American Jobs Didn’t Used To Be This Terrible
My Dad’s Union IBEW is the reason we went from lower middle class to solid middle class in 10 years. Unions are one of the most important checks for capitalism.
Government promise something. Give it a few years and it happens.
Some bigger projects like Mao wanting to borrow some water from the south took a bit longer.
OTOH governments like the UK one I lived under… they promise shit, then they say haha you sucker you actually believed me? Fuck you!
Gordon Brown’s QC literally said that election pledges and promises were not subject to legitimate expectation.
Here? Here in Hong Kong? The government construction projects shaved 20 minutes off my commute.
25 years ago they shaved an hour off the commute for the villagers by widening the dirt track that lead to my village and paving it. Then offering a bus franchise nearby so it was connected with the world.
Most people my age would either be listening to music, watching some TV show/movie in their smartphones/tablets. A very few would be reading a newspaper or book.
I was one of them. I always had music on. I can’t read/watch anything because of motion sickness while traveling on road.
The older generation- they do nothing. They don’t use phones, they don’t talk, don’t read, nothing. They just sit and look around.
I wanted to try this and coincidentally my earphones broke down.
Now it has been over six months. I travel in the metro for 3 hours everyday and do nothing, just look around. This has helped me so much. I observe people, their behaviours. I look around to see what’s actually happening.
It may sound weird but there’s something weirdly enjoyable about it. It feels like living life the old school way. This has helped me reduce the screen time as well.
I have even started recognising the regular commuters. I am sure they don’t recognise me.
Unbreakable (2000) | *First Time Watching* | Movie Reaction | Asia and BJ
Still one of the top 10 best comic films of all time. Its really the first one that showed what the comic genre could do when taken seriously.
This is one of my top, and most favorite movies. It is so meaningful to me. Seriously people. I can relate to this movie. So very much!
When my daughter was about 9 or 10 years old, whenever she got a scolding from my wife, I would annoy her by doing a chicken dance and do so in a way that ONLY she sees it.
“Mommy! Dad is making fun of me!” she would always complain.
When my wife turned around, I would stop and act normal and go on with my stuff. This went on for a while till it became a game of HER trying to catch me in the act and prove it to her mother.
She would learn to very quickly take out her mobile phone and try to snap a picture of me doing it. I would tease her by dancing until the moment the phone was almost pointing towards me, then I would stop and behave normally.
“I will get you someday,” she said.
“No, you won’t! I am too fast for you,” I replied.
On a particular day, I again did the ridiculous chicken dance, she was rolling her eyes and her hands move slowly towards her phone. I continued dancing and mentally calculating how fast she could key in the pass-code and turn on the camera mode.
Something didn’t feel right, her action was slower than usual, by the time she pointed the camera at me, I had stopped. But she started laughing loudly.
“Guess what daddy? THIS isn’t my phone. I switched the phone cover with mum. MY PHONE is behind you, just above the cupboard, ON VIDEO TAKING MODE.”
Ouch! A full two minutes of myself being ridiculous caught on video!
NOT genius smart, NOT intellectual smart, perhaps a little STREET SMART!
The gay and bisexual men are not as common in China as they are in the West. It is difficult for MPOX to become an epidemic in China.
From June 2 to June 30, 2023, 106 new confirmed cases of monkeypox were reported in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), including 48 cases reported in Guangdong Province, 45 cases reported in Beijing City, 8 cases reported in Jiangsu Province, 2 cases reported in Hubei Province, 2 cases reported in Shandong Province, and 1 case reported in Zhejiang Province. There were no severe cases or deaths.
The epidemic presents the following characteristics:
One is that the vast majority of cases are mainly transmitted through male homosexual sexual contact.
Secondly, the risk of transmission through other forms of contact is low, and the vast majority of close contacts, except for sexual contact, have not experienced infection.
The third is that most cases were found during medical treatment, while a few cases were found through follow-up screening of close contacts.
The fourth is that the vast majority of cases have typical clinical manifestations, mainly symptoms such as fever, herpes, and lymph node enlargement, with no severe or fatal cases.
An American Reacts to Why America Sucks at Everything – THIS ONE HURT
This is very good. Really.
It is a MUCH watch. This is the real truth about the United States.
“I’m so glad you made this video because my conservative mom watched it and now she’s starting to wake up. I got screwed over by the “in network out of network” bullshit recently. My employer changed our healthcare coverage, and I had to find a new neurologist and start the “prior authorization “ process for a particular drug that I take all over again”
The sheer power of Xi Jingping is the fact that QG has been buried away and cut off in a matter of seconds and China and it’s foreign affairs moves without a single blip
Thats power
Had Xi been weak, a rival faction would have lobbied immediately within the CPC but the fact that China has simply chosen to forget QG and not talk about him shows the power of Xi Jingping
China and CPC knows that today in the hostile atmosphere with the West — Only XJP is the right man to lead China
Hu JINTAO would have kowtowed in seconds
Li Keiqang would have kowtowed in maybe a month
Bo Xilai would have kowtowed in nanoseconds
Xis power is at its peak now
Had QG defected to US and been declared a mole for CIA then yes , Xi would have been finished politically
Yet QG is in China and safe and under the Partys safe hands 😁
My father-in-law did. He was moving some tools around in his garage and suddenly had a strong urge to move one of the cars, a Subaru, out into the driveway. He tried to ignore this feeling, because the car was not in his way and it seemed like a needless waste of time. But he couldn’t shake it, so he went and got his car keys and backed the car out of the garage.
Just as he had done so and was getting out of the car, a speeding Tesla flashed past him a couple of feet away and crashed into the open garage, then burst into flames. If he’d stayed in the garage working, he would most likely have been killed.
The resulting fire destroyed the entire garage and his other car. It was 9 months before he and his wife were able to move back into the house. But he was alive, and they still had their Subaru. There was no good explanation for the “little voice in his head” that told him he needed to get himself and his car out of the garage.
By the way, the Tesla driver, who was pulled out of the burning car by a neighbor, was uninjured but was convicted of DUI and had to pay restitution and perform community service.
He was suffering from pancreatic cancer at the time, but from that moment his desire to oversee the restoration of the house gave him a new determination in life. It was a very busy and stressful time, during which he and his wife lived in rental housing. At last they were able to move back into the house which had been perfectly restored to its original state, including a new garage of course, new roof, new heating & a/c, new paint and flooring, and every item inside the house had been removed, professionally cleaned, and replaced. It was beautiful. However, his condition declined rapidly after that and he passed away in August 2018, not quite a year after the fire.
The US Plan to KILL Second Citizenship
“As a Venezuelan born in the 90s (post oil-golden era for that country), I know first hand what he means when he says it’s important to have options. I saw how my mother and her siblings were unable to get their second citizenship by descent from Trinidad and Tobago, once things got terribly bad in my country. My grandparents had both US residency and Caribbean citizenship, but because things were going so well in Venezuela in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, they didn’t work on securing and passing along those other options; and their children never thought things would get this bad. It only took less than 30 years to see things turn around for the worst.”
For many years now, the USA has been classified as a “flawed democracy”. Events such as the Capitol Hill riots – intended to disrupt the inauguration of your elected President – did not help. A significant proportion of Americans themselves believed that the last election was rigged and “stolen” from them. So how can the USA be said to be the “very embodiment of democracy”? This strikes me as an extremely grandiose and indefensible claim.
As for freedom, the USA comprises 5% of the world population but holds about 20% of the world’s prisoners. With so many Americans literally locked up behind bars, how can the USA claim to be a “free” country? Furthermore your 13th amendment legalises the enslavement of prisoners – and the USA heavily exploits these slaves/prisoners in ways that your own civil liberty lawyers have described as an abuse of fundamental human rights. (Eg US prisoners can be forced into hazardous jobs – such as fighting wildfires – for as little as zero to fifty cents per hour of work). Errrr, seriously, you think that the US is the embodiment of freedom?
What hope does the USA bring to the world? In the past 40 years, the USA has dropped more bombs, fired more missiles and killed more people in other countries, than any other country in the world. In the past 40 years, the USA has killed people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Grenada, Bosnia, Somalia and Uganda. Because of US sanctions, the world was afraid to send even vaccines, masks and ventilators to Iran during the covid–19 pandemic. This is how the US brings death and destruction to the world.
Please stop watching your Hollywood movies where the USA is always the one to save the world from invasions by aliens from outer space. Open your eyes and look at the real world. At least look at your own country. Your people are dying from drug overdose at the highest rate in the world. Your people are getting shot to death at the highest rate among all developed countries. Your policemen are shooting citizens for minor offences. Your cities are littered with homeless people living in tents. Your national literacy rate is collapsing together with your average life expectancy. Medical bills are the biggest cause of personal bankruptcies in the USA; your infrastructure is crumbling and aged water pipes are leaking lead into the drinking water for your public schools. To lead your country, you are choosing between a criminal octagenarian and a senile otagenarian. Your income inequality is vast, with the top 1% controlling more wealth than the middle 60% – let’s not even discuss the sufferrings of your bottom 20%.
The US is the embodiment of … HOPE, you say?! Hopelessness is more like it. The USA is no example for the world – unless we are talking of negative examples.
I used to work for a major mail order company; as tech staff I could be sent out anywhere in the country, for which the company would pre-pay for accommodation and pay 40 pence per mile for fuel costs (which was tight-arsed of them, as other companies paid 65ppm).
They also supposedly insured us for using our private cars this way.
People who regularly went out for long trips had a company card to pay for hotels with.
One day they decide they are cutting the fuel payment to 25ppm, and back-dating it SIX months, and also cancelling the company cards – people would have to pay with their own money and claim it back.
This latter move caught a few out who were already out on trips – one guy was unable to pay his bill at a London conference centre, and the staff there were threatening to call the Police.
We also discovered at the same time, that the company HADN’T been paying for the extra car insurance policy, so we were all using our cars effectively with no insurance.
Next day, everyone parked 1/2 mile away and walked into work. “Sorry, can’t go on that job, no car” was the story from every member of the technical staff.
Every senior manager was made to turn over his company car for us to drive around. Even the CEO’s chauffeured Bentley was pressed into service, but it still wasn’t enough; by the end of the first week the taxi bill was running into the high hundreds, and everyone was refusing overnight jobs on the basis they couldn’t afford to pay for the hotel.
It took a MONTH for the suits to cave, and god only knows how much it cost them, in money, customer relations, and the lost goodwill of the tech staff.
Why the American Dream is a Myth
“It’s expensive to be poor” Just…. damn man!
Mediterranean Steak and Pasta with Tomato-Olive Sauce
Whole-wheat pasta is served with beef Sirloin Tip Center Steaks and a tomato and olive sauce. This one will please the adults and the kids in your family.
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Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked whole grain fettuccine
4 beef Sirloin Tip Center Steaks, cut 3/4 inch thick (about 4 ounces each)
1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce with olives*
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/4 cup finely shredded Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
Cook fettuccine according to package directions; drain and keep warm.
Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Place beef steaks in skillet; cook for 11 to 13 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F) doneness, turning occasionally. (Do not overcook.) Remove from skillet; keep warm.
Combine pasta sauce and oregano in same skillet; heat until hot. Return steaks to skillet; turn to coat with sauce.
Place steaks on fettuccine; spoon sauce over all.
Sprinkle steaks with cheese, allowing cheese to melt. Sprinkle with parsley.
Notes
* You may substitute 1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce with olives for 1 (26 ounce) pasta sauce plus 1/4 cup chopped olives.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she was “upset” when China’s Huawei Technologies released a new phone with an advanced chip during her visit to the country last month but noted that the US has no evidence China can make these components “at scale,” Bloomberg reported. She also said the US is trying to use every single tool at its disposal to deny the Chinese the ability to advance their technology in ways that can hurt the US.
Raimondo’s words are nothing new, but saying that China’s technological advancement “can hurt the US” is a stupid and ridiculous line of thinking. Many American elites refuse to accept that the Chinese have broken through the technological blockade. Radical lawmakers are calling for efforts to strangle Huawei and SMIC, which is not only hegemonic but also an evil way of thinking.
Whether it is ASML, the Dutch manufacturer of lithography machines, or the American chip giants, they do not believe that decoupling can stop China’s progress in semiconductor technology. They believe that China can find alternative methods and its own technological path. However, a large number of American elites are non-technical and refuse to face reality, blindly believing that Huawei’s breakthrough is because the US export controls on technology to China are “still too loose.”
It should be said that Huawei’s breakthrough has to a certain extent undermined the credibility of the US’ technological blockade against China and shattered the collective confidence of the West in this regard. Washington’s current investigation into the origin of Huawei’s chips and attempts to tighten the noose on the blockade against China will only isolate itself.
Because Washington clearly lost the first round, it has to bet even bigger and risk losing the Chinese market for many Western semiconductor companies. Imagine the result of continuing technological restrictions if Huawei makes further breakthroughs – can ASML’s lithography machines still enjoy their current glory? Where will the US-controlled chip production factories find their next market? Just look at the panic faced by Japanese and German automotive giants today in the face of the rise of Chinese electric vehicles. If the current semiconductor leaders are cut off from the Chinese market, who can guarantee that their future situation will be better?
Huawei’s Kirin 9000s is a breakthrough that it was forced to make by the US sanctions. If the US exerts even greater pressure, it will turn this breakthrough into a systemic breach, promoting a highly integrated and strong production chain in the Chinese semiconductor industry. Chips produced in China will also be much cheaper than those produced in the US.
If the US semiconductor industry loses the Chinese market, it will not be as lucky as Google and Facebook. The latter have software advantages that some Chinese internet companies do not have, including the application ecosystem they established by being the first movers. However, semiconductors are hardware, and when Chinese companies like Huawei can provide a cheaper alternative, the situation will be completely different.
A crucial crossroads has been reached. If the US forces China to achieve complete independence in the semiconductor industry, it will have no further cards to play in blocking China’s progress. Moreover, the technological landscape of the world will undergo a rewrite. China now possesses the capital, and we will continue to progress no matter what. It is now the US’ turn to make a choice: continue gambling or change course and resume cooperation?
Expat’s THAI WIFE disappears and so did his fortune $$. Then it got WORSE!
This was in the early days of the internet, and I would find the articles, and then print them out. I ended up with piles of stacks of unsorted articles, (also known as the Rush Limbaugh style “stack of stuff”) and huge expenses for printer ink and boxes of white paper.
2023 09 28 11 09
Towards the end of the 1990’s I just gave up, and simply saved the articles on hard drive. i used something called a “ZIP drive” back then to store the articles. It was a “hoarding” habit. A sign of… coping… perhaps. To a stressful life. And then, oh Lordy was my life stressful.
2023 09 28 11 10
I did this with everything. I was like a big vacuum and magnet that recorded everything that passed my screen. Articles, images, porn, stories, cat pictures and memes. Ugh!
And I would collect these things on disk and then put the discs in boxes, and just store them. I had so many boxes of “my precious archives”.
2023 09 28 11 12
Funny thing though, I never really took the time to go back through them. Not really. They just were vacuumed up, stored, and boxed. Only to be forgotten and ignored over the dust of time.
…
Today, we can put the stuff “in the cloud”.
But you know what?
If you never get around to reading the articles, looking at the pictures, viewing the movies, then why bother with the effort?
You are wasting your time.
STOP.
Just STOP.
Go outside and get drunk… play with your kitties, doggies, or go fishing. How about watching a ball game? Or better yet, playing ball. Spend time with your loved ones.
I live 3 blocks north of my local police station and 3 blocks south of a tiny strip mall. The strip mall has 1 entrance and 1exit so basically it is a 1 way drive and many use it to make a u-turn
I had picked up a moron about a mile from my home because I was only doing 30 in a 25 residential neighborhood – tailgating, honking, etc. There was no shoulder on this road. I was not about to speed up since it was the time that school got out and there were kids walking home.
Even though the moron had a few opportunities to pass me or turn off the road, he stayed on my bumper. I drove into the strip mall and he followed me so I knew I had a serious problem on my hands. While driving, I discreetly called the cops, explained what was happening and headed to the station. Moron kept following me. He was not thrilled when the cops were waiting for him.
While they held him and ticketed him, I drove home and parked my car in my garage. The next day, I dropped off a basket of cookies for the cops and found out that the moron had a couple of outstanding warrants for assault. I’m so glad that I never stopped my car and just kept driving.
Blackstrap Steaks with Caramelized Onions
blackstrap steaks
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Caramelized Onions
1 1/2 cups sweet onions
3/4 cup red bell pepper
2 tablespoons fresh basil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Steak
4 chuck eye steaks (Delmonico)
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt
Fresh basil
Instructions
Caramelized Onions
Spray a medium nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium to medium-high heat until hot. Add onion; cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently.
If necessary, re-spray skillet with cooking spray. Add bell pepper; continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes or until onions are browned and bell pepper is crisp-tender, stirring frequently.
Stir in sliced basil, pine nuts, vinegar and black pepper. Season with salt, as desired; keep warm.
Steak
Combine molasses, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar in small bowl.
Heat second large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Season steaks with black pepper. Place steaks in pan; cook 9 to 11 minutes (ranch steaks, 8 to 11 minutes) for medium rare (145 degrees F) to medium (160 degrees F) doneness, turning occasionally and brushing with molasses mixture during last 3 to 4 minutes of cooking.
Season steaks with salt, as desired; serve with caramelized onions. Garnish with basil sprigs, if desired.
Why are SO MANY Americans Retiring in Europe Right Now?
For the U.S. to decide this Chip Act it must have been debated at length by hordes of parties and institutions including dozens of companies in the U.S. and throughout US allies.
Why?
Well simple. The repercussions are simply gigantic and colossal if indeed this act fail. It will cause trillions upon trillions of dollars lost over time. At least a hundred U.S. and its cronies chip firms may simply go out of business all together.
Worst is that this is the last thing the US can do to stop and contained China if this fails, that will be the end of US hegemony in technology. So for the U.S. to take this measure is like putting everything at stake into this one act. Billions has to be spend to build a plants in the U.S. that hinge on China’s failure to counter act. Billions need to be spend to protect and subsidise these hundreds of firms in case it fail.
Countries whose livelihoods depend on this precise technology and business to survive and thrive have to be bribed and coerce to cut out China.
These bribes probably run in the trillions of dollars figures.
…
And all these hinge on one and only one assumption.
That is China will not be able to design, make and manufacture this high end chips for at least a generation! If this assumption fail to materialised then the U.S. will be thoroughly fxxked for a generation and it will forever not able to compete with China.
In other words, there is absolutely no room at all for failure.
Failure means China will now totally controlled every aspect of Chip making technologies from materials, to designing, to developing , to mass producing in the billions. And it will do it at a fraction of the costs of doing it in the U.S. which simply means the total implosion of all the U.S. chip firms!
So after a mere 3 years China did precisely what the U.S. fears most.
Their worst fears has come true.
The Chinese simply do not need a single technology from the U.S. and its cronies to launch this 5NM chip capable of 5G and satellite communications which also means there is zero possibility for the U.S. to hack it. 150 million orders have been placed and 40 million orders has been fulfilled in a mere 20 days from its launch.
This Huawei Mate 60 series including the Mate 5X is such a blow to the U.S.
For a start the U.S. already lost 3 billion in profit had they not banned themselves from selling to China and up to a few trillion dollars have been wiped off the stock values of these chip firms from 27th August till now. The melt down will carry on and on and on till the U.S. economy collapse all together. We in the rest of the world call this Karma.
The US is lagging behind China because the US is a plutocracy, a system where the rich and powerful have a stranglehold on the political and economic spheres. This is not a matter of opinion, but a reality that can be verified by various sources and indicators. In this essay, I will show how the US is a plutocracy, how it affects its performance compared to China, and what are the consequences for the future of both countries.
First, let us understand what a plutocracy is. According to Wikipedia, a plutocracy is “a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income”. Plutocracy is not based on any established political philosophy, but rather emerges from the accumulation of money and power in the hands of a few. Plutocracy is often linked to corruption, inequality, social unrest, and environmental degradation.
How can we tell that the US is a plutocracy? There are several indicators that reveal the extent of the influence of money and power in the US political system. One of them is the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC in 2010, which allowed corporations and other entities to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns and advocacy. This decision effectively gave the rich and powerful a disproportionate voice in the electoral process, undermining the principle of one person, one vote. Another indicator is the lobbying industry, which spends billions of dollars every year to influence legislation and policy in favor of their clients’ interests. Lobbyists often have access to lawmakers and regulators that ordinary citizens do not have, and they can shape the agenda and outcomes of public decisions. A third indicator is the revolving door phenomenon, which refers to the movement of personnel between positions of public office and private sector jobs. This creates conflicts of interest and reduces accountability, as public officials may favor their former or future employers over the public interest.
How does plutocracy affect the US performance compared to China? One way to measure performance is to look at the economic growth rate, which reflects the increase in the value of goods and services produced by a country over a period of time. According to World Bank data, China’s GDP growth rate was 2.3% in 2020, while the US GDP growth rate was -3.5% . This means that China’s economy expanded despite the COVID-19 pandemic, while the US economy contracted significantly. One reason for this difference is that China has a more effective and responsive government that can mobilize resources and implement policies to deal with crises and challenges. China also has a more balanced and diversified economy that relies less on consumption and more on investment, innovation, and trade. The US, on the other hand, has a dysfunctional and gridlocked government that is captured by special interests and unable to address the needs and demands of its people. The US also has an unbalanced and fragile economy that depends heavily on consumption and debt, and suffers from low productivity, inequality, and environmental degradation.
What are the implications for the future of both countries? If the current trends continue, China will surpass the US as the world’s largest economy by 2028 . China will also gain more influence and leadership in global affairs, especially in areas such as trade, technology, climate change, and security. The US will face more challenges and difficulties in maintaining its economic competitiveness, social cohesion, democratic legitimacy, and international reputation. The US will also have to deal with more internal conflicts and external threats, as its plutocratic system erodes its trust and stability.
In 1959, the American inventors of the integrated circuit chose silicon as their substrate and gave birth to a new industry. Now other materials, with virtues suited to new applications, are beginning to replace it. Graphene, for example, is a potentially exciting substrate, but it lies years further out on the R&D schedule.
As with silicon, whoever mass produces the new substrate will probably dominate the trillion-dollar industry it spawns.
Gallium oxide is much closer to mass production, and China refines 80% of global gallium and exported 94 metric tons of it last year, up 25% YoY. But only a few companies – one European and the others in Japan and China – can make it at the required purity.
Thanks to their low energy consumption, gallium oxide semiconductors are ideal for communications, aerospace, radar, and maglev. Among ultra-wide band gap materials like diamond, boron nitride and silicon carbide, only gallium oxide forms single crystals at atmospheric pressure after solidification from a melt
While drastically reducing fabrication costs, this requires large amounts of iridium to make crucibles for the melt. But iridium is three times more expensive than gold, and a 4 inch crucible requires 11 lb. (5 kg.) of the stuff. Also, for China, this raises IP concerns since Japan and the US pioneered the method.
Battle of the substrate stars
August 2022 —US government imposes export controls on two substrates of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors – gallium oxide (Ga2O3), and diamonds – as well as EDA software “designed for the development of integrated circuits with Gate-All-Around Field-Effect Transistor (GAAFET).
July 2023 —China: ‘Gallium and germanium require an export license’.
August 2023 — China: ‘Gallium nitride (GaN) and germanium dioxide (GeO2) exporters must apply for licenses, identify importers and end-users’.
September 2023 — “Chinese researchers cut iridium use 80%, make four-inch gallium dioxide wafers, slash production costs, smooth the path to mass fabrication”. Interesting Engineering.
Why is China releasing a blizzard of new technologies?
It’s committed to development through technology,
It outspends the USA by 400% on R&D,
It has 300,000 researchers with an IQ of 160+ vs. 30,000 in the rest of the world.
China is doing for ICs what it did for railways and renewable energy.
It’s doing the same for EVs and will do for medical care: make them affordable by the 90%. And make a fortune doing so.
I saw a woman wrap a line once, it was fascinating.
We all know those lines, boarding planes, at the store, the Post Office. People arrive too fast, the line grows out of control and takes over the space.
Takes over everything.
It’s an operation crisis, new people arrive faster than they are processed and the system overloads.
Everyone grumbles but no one fixes it.
It’s conformity. Everyone doing the same thing: standing behind the person in front of us.
I used to go to a Dunkin Donuts in Boston. It was just off the North Station T stop so, between 8:20 and 8:30 am, the line grew exponentially. Each commuter stood behind the last and inadvertently created something that consumed the small space and made everyone uncomfortable.
Quickly, the straight line went right out the door, and in winter people near froze, no longer waiting for coffee, but for warmth. To get inside.
It always felt selfish stepping inside, away from that person behind you. Like you were separated, different. But we all did it.
Fact was, it was too early and we were too tired to take responsibility for anyone else.
One day, in February, a day coated with the most vile wintery-mix, a woman with winter boots, two bags, gray face, looked just like me, just like all of us – she just woke up.
Quietly, almost to herself, “This is stupid, those people are freezing.”
And then she did something about it.
She gently pulled arms and pushed backs and said ‘excuse me’ and ‘I’m trying to get those people inside’ and one by one she got strangers to ribbon themselves in such a way that everyone fit, everyone was inside and everyone was still behind the person in front of them.
What an amazing person.
Who steps up and takes responsibility for strangers like that? Especially when it matters so little. And so early in the morning?
What a lady. Fascinating. I’ve wrapped a few lines since then, I always think of her.
“A Revolution Against The Elites!” – WEF’s Klaus Schwab Openly Worries
Huawei Mate 60 Pro may not have shocked the world as much as the news reporting on the Chinese government instructed all its personnel to refrain from bringing any foreign brand phone into government building and subsequently ………
Apple immediately lost US $200B of its market capitalization.
So what is $200B?
Well, that’s 50% of the total Apple revenue generated in 2022. Any ideas how many senators and congressman/women hold much shares in Apple ? 🤭
Isn’t that a sweet revenge for bullying Huawei and for holding hostage of their princess CFO Meng Wenzhou.
I was at a swanky resort hotel in Niagra-on-the-Lake and some obnoxious young women in their early twenties were hanging off a baggage cart for an Instagram shot. I was annoyed because they had been acting all day like they were in their own private reality show, and I suppose since they had two videographers, maybe they were.
I brushed right through them to get through the door they were blocking with the luggage cart, only to hear one yell “Later, Grandpa” as I closed the door. Doing the math, yep I could be their grandpa if had children at age 20. I have no biological children so those kind of “mile markers” are generally not present in my life.
I have to stop myself if I’m at a coffeeshop and there is an attractive young woman. Otherwise paying too much attention makes me a creep. In my mind, and probably many other people, we think of ourselves as mid-20s for a few too many decades.
Modern Women Regretting Feminism Loneliness is Affecting them Badly
The US is not a democratic, it is a die hard interventionist, meaning it interferes with the world Sovereign States’ affairs . Every single year of its existence is spent on warring with others, if not in physical wars then it would be on non physical ones.
But why the the Sovereign State of US alone spent so much time , money and energy on wars while other Sovereign States don’t? The reason is simple, so long as the US government views you as a threat, an enemy to its preeminent *dominance, it will target you , the US government even admitted this themselves , the key words here is “ America’s **adversaries” :—
So based upon the US clampdown on all things China like , the Chinese students study of STEM subjects, the banning of China from the Space technology, space station, the purchase of companies in the US, and recently in year 2023 , the Huawei , and the EVs , we know that the US never stop targeting China for demise even though the US Biden administration said it is derisking the Chinese government. The Derisking of China here is actually to destroy the competitive threat the Chinese is posing to the US economy! So, the US has been all out to stop the *money making opportunities of the Chinese to stop the Chinese from rising economically.
The archives Fantabulastic physical war list of the US:
The signs are written on the walls , the undeniable truth is the money making Chinese companies are the ones being targeted by the US for it’s ‘derisking’ strategy against China!
There was a rule at home when I was in middle school called no questions after 7:00 pm. If I broke that rule I got a lip numbing face smack. Not by the creator of the rule, my mom, but by her boyfriend. Mom actually made the rule to try and curb Dale’s anger. He was only allowed to slap me if I broke a rule. No crying. No talking while the tv was on. No staying up past eight. No complaining. The point is, I got the shit slapped out of me a lot. I watched men abuse my mother and my brother for years. Some would say it’s all I ever knew.
Jessica and I got together three years ago. We live together with her two teenage (16 and 13) sons. I don’t have any children. Their curiosity and love of life can be challenging for me. I don’t know how to be a parent. Here’s an example. The eldest, Corey, likes fire. I caught him flicking a lighter after I took the last one away. If that were me, I’d be bruised for ten days. Being constantly pounded on as a kid made me promise myself I’d never do that.
So, the question I asked myself was, how should I discipline him? How can I get the point across without being that monster that I hated so much? Well, I’m making a light up skateboard and since you enjoy lighting things up, you’re gonna help with soldering the lights for one hour every time I catch you with a lighter.
It’s eight at night, so, we set up our phones to aid with lighting and I taught Corey how to use solder. Once I was confident he could use the iron safely, I strung lights beside him while he soldered for an hour. It ended up being really fun for both of us.
Another point of contention is bedtime. Boy oh boy, getting two teenagers in bed by ten is like trying to hit the Powerball without playing. I’ve told them for two years now to go to bed at ten. So what do I do when I wake up at 3:00 am to use the bathroom and find them sleeping on the couch?
I cover them up, kiss their foreheads and say goodnight.
I’m followed on Quora by five ex-girlfriends, my mother, my current girlfriend, her two children and my ex-wife of 18 years. I don’t know how to be a parent and I can be a shitty boyfriend at times. What I do, when I’ve done all I can do, is anything other that what Dale did to us.
I have never raised my voice or hand to a woman or a child, ever. There is no version of me that finds that acceptable. Eighteen years of marriage, never once did I raise my voice to her. The point is, I’m not sure what to do sometimes. But I know I’d rather Corey remember having to learn how to solder as a punishment over being smacked. Yelling at the people I love is never the answer. My job is to do everything I can to protect my family. Not yell at my girl or smack a kid.
Leon
A Death Row Inmate’s Thoughts, Days Before His Execution
Not many people have seen a real death warrant in person, let alone been issued one with their name on it.
I remember the warden instructing security to escort us in restraints from our cells, one at a time, to a small office where we were surrounded by prison officials. The warden read aloud the information off the warrants, which included our names, our crimes, and the jury’s verdict.
There was silence. My mind remained unaffected, having undergone this very thing before only to later receive a stay of execution. There was a measure of calm, knowing I wasn’t alone, that there were seven others—though, given the love I have for the other guys, I would rather have done it alone.
I was handed the death warrant, a longer-than-usual sheet of paper with the golden seal of the State of Arkansas fixed on it. At the bottom, there was the signature of Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Death, one step closer. Tick, tick.
When you’re issued a date, you want to be the first to break the news to your family. But often the press gets to them first. For the prisoner, as the fatal day approaches, the hardest part is knowing you’ve condemned your loved ones to a bitter fate. Once you depart, they have to carry on.
It is vital that I reach a place of self-forgiveness, so that I can write to my 21-year-old daughter and break the news to her. I could soon be joining her mother in the afterlife, leaving her parentless. Just writing that letter is enough to make me consider beating the executioner to the punch, but I’ve been stabilized and sustained by the inner peace and forgiveness I’ve received through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Oh boy, do the letters come pouring in after an execution date has been set! During mail call, I receive more mail than ever before about the well-being of my soul. Do you know God? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as lord of your life? If you don’t repent before you die you will go to hell. They send typed letters, handwritten letters, cards, books, etc.
Most of these materials are destined for the trash. Where were they all those years, when I was sitting on death row, when I might have embraced what they had to offer? I see them as opportunists, who want to brag to their friends about how they tried to win my soul.
At this point, an individual has already made his peace with God, or hasn’t.
Some of the prisoners opted out of petitioning for clemency, knowing the board usually issues a denial. They figured they’d save themselves the disappointment.
I, on the other hand, saw opportunity. I wanted to appear before the board so I could show them I was no longer the person I once was. God has transformed me, and even the worst of us can be reformed and renewed. Revealing these truths meant more to me then being granted clemency. I’m still going to eventually die someday, but to stand up for God in front of man, that’s my victory.
To the families of my victims, to whom I have brought pain, great loss, and suffering, as shallow as “I am sorry for robbing you of your loved one” can sound, I would rather say it, and mean it, than not say it at all.
I was asked by mental health personnel, “Have you been thinking about harming yourself?” I was offended — the train of thought behind the question is to get ahead of anyone thinking of ending their life before the state can do so. They don’t want us to beat them to the punch.After a death row prisoner has received a date, others who have befriended him make their pitch: Let me have those tennis shoes. Leave me that watch. Let me get your radio. The poor guy may feel like he’s being picked apart. Other things he doesn’t want to give to prisoners, like family pictures or old letters, he can send home in a box, shortly before he too is sent home in a box.An officer showed up at my cell door today and asked, “Kenneth, how are you?” Then he asked, “What is your shirt and pant size? What size shoe do you wear? How tall are you? How much do you weigh?”
Talk about the lamb being sized up before the slaughter. I thought: Have they forgotten I am human, or do they just not care? Then I thought: Wasn’t it my disregard for human life that got me in this situation to begin with?
I know that midazolam, one of the drugs used in the cocktail to put prisoners to death, doesn’t always anesthetize the prisoner completely. Since I am one of the last to be executed, there are some people who think that if one of the first executions is botched, it could prolong the lives of the others, including me. But I don’t want to live only because someone else suffers that agony. Others suffering in order that I live for however much longer — that’s no hope at all, not if I have truly learned my lesson to value other people’s lives.
Kenneth Williams was sentenced to death for murdering Cecil Boren during a 1999 escape attempt from the Cummins Unit in Grady, Ark. Williams had just begun a life sentence for the murder of university student Dominique Hurd. He also confessed to a third murder, and was responsible for the death of a fourth victim in a traffic accident during his escape. This essay was derived from Williams’ written correspondence with Deborah Robinson, who is writing a book about the eight men scheduled for execution in Arkansas.
My Mom passed in 1999. My sister and I were cleaning out her home. In her closet were a bag of wigs. My sister said, Toss these, I replied, No let’s give them to a cancer charity. As I was taking them out one by one, to check the condition. Money flew out of the wigs.
A total of 22 thousand dollars. Looking back I should have kept it all. After I went thru her paperwork. All of my older siblings owed my mother thousands of dollars over 10–15 years. She kept emaculent records dates, reasons, payments all in a book.
Not one of my 5 siblings ever paid her back! My oldest brother and wife owed my mother $30,000 with one payment years before of $100. Others were just as bad.
I never owed my mother any money!
Dax – Oliver Anthony “Rich Men North Of Richmond” Remix [Official Video]
Wall Street analysts tore down a Chinese Tesla competitor and found a great Model 3 alternative — for a fraction of the cost.
The Seal, a mid-sized electric sedan made by Chinese EV giant BYD, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is a close rival to the Tesla Model 3. Analysts at UBS recently investigated to see just how comparable to Elon Musk’s popular model it might be.
Ultimately, tearing down the Seal — “a good example of Chinese EV models’ technological edges and cost optimization” — reinforced the bank’s belief that Chinese auto companies are here to stay and dominate the global electric car market, it said in a note to clients.
The Seal rivals the Model 3 in many ways, according to UBS, and it does so at a “20% lower selling price.”
Analysts noted features such as its larger interior space, 5G connectivity, and rotational central cockpit screen, as well as how it “opts for slower acceleration, lower top speed, slower charging speed” as some of its advantages over Musk’s popular car.
They also noted BYD’s battery technology (coined cell-to-body), allows for more in-vehicle legroom, a unique car shape, improved performance, and — given the tech introduces a more efficient way of integrating the battery — lower manufacturing costs.
“The floor carpet of the passenger cabin is directly above the battery cell stack, and the top cover of the battery pack serves as the floor of the car body, eliminating one more layer of aluminum or steel,” UBS analysts noted. “Such a thin battery pack occupies less floor space than others, allowing the car’s profile to be low, which reduces aerodynamic resistance and creates a more spacious interior for drivers and passengers.”
UBS also said that, when comparing power performance, cost efficiency, and energy density, the BYD Seal’s electric system “is in-line with the competition despite being at the relatively lower end of the range, especially compared to the leading solution provided by Tesla’s Model 3.”
Interestingly, unlike Tesla, BYD seems to be steering clear from autonomous driving technology, and instead, is opting for a standard, Level 2, advanced driver assistance system. The company is also outsourcing this tech instead of developing it in-house.
At a high level, UBS analysts said the BYD Seal is “cost competitive, thanks to its vertical integration, suitable specs, and volume scale.”
And experts suggest it’s not unlikely they’ll find success in the US in the near future, too.
“Chinese carmakers currently have systematic EV cost advantages versus US and European incumbents while offering wider product line-ups than Tesla and covering more segments (especially mass market),” they added.
I sued my general contractor who was also my neighbor.
We hired him because of the great price and he gave us and because he could “squeeze us in right away.” We trusted him because he lived across the street.
Who would screw over his neighbor?
Well. He took our 10k down payment, ripped off our siding and roof, demolished the garage where the new addition was going, and then hit us with sob stories about his grandma dying (seriously) and the expensive adoption of a baby from overseas and the other people in the nieghborhood who weren’t paying on time, etc.
He asked for more money upfront to buy the roofing materials.
And we gave it to him.
He was our neighbor, right?
He was working on another 5 or more homes in the area, surely he was a trustworthy guy.
The roof was finished. Then the asks for more money.
Considerably more that was outside the payment plan we agreed to.
More excuses. And interestingly, more new stuff was showing up at HIS home!
Like a new SUV for his wife.
New siding and windows on HIS home across the street!
Eventually he comes over to say all these other people have stiffed him, and he’s going bankrupt. I have no siding.
It’s Fall. It’s cold.
I have a gaping hole in the side of my house where the addition should be.
So I go out and meet some of these other homeowners whose houses he was working on. And they all have the same story I do.
Excuses.
Lots of money paid upfront.
Broken houses with winter coming.
I go to lawyer after lawyer.
Each one says you lost a lot, save your money. Fix your home. You won’t win. You’ll have to stop his bankruptcy to recover anything.
Not gonna happen.
I dont accept this.
It’s like the perfect crime!
I finally find a lawyer who will take my money and fight the bankruptcy. We need to prove theft by deception.
We get statements from a half dozen angry homeowners.
We get the story in the local papers.
I get Fox News’s consumer reporter to run the story of the neighborhood builder who screwed his neighbors.
They even sent a helicopter to shoot all the half built houses from the air- and his mansion sitting across the street from my tarp covered ranch.
I talk to the prosecutors office too.
They tell me you won’t win in court.
I say wait.
We block the bankruptcy.
We prove theft by deception.
I pitch and get more media coverage.
I go back to the prosecutors. I join up with another hurt family and they finally take our case, and we win.
The judge orders the contractor to pay me damages AND to pay back all the other families who were hurt in a settlement over time.
He also can’t work as a GC anymore.
Plus, our county enacted new law the forced GCs to operate with a license.
By now though I’m dead broke, and my house is still a mess.
We had to pay for so many things 2x.
Once to our criminal GC and again to the suppliers and subcontractors to actually complete the work.
We start getting payments from the settlement, but they come in a little every month.
God blessed my family though, because we won 10k out of the blue in a contest Betty Crocker was running on their fruit roll up boxes!
It paid our legal bills.
Moral of the story, sometimes we need to fight back.
God opened doors for me throughout the whole ordeal.
He needed someone who would be His hands and voice and soldier here on Earth to stop this criminal from hurting so many people.
We found out this guy had run the same scheme in other towns too and had moved around a lot.
Now he’s stopped. Justice is slow. But Justice is done.
President of Turkey Says “may have to part ways with EU”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogansaid on 16 September that Ankara could “part ways” with the EU if necessary, following the release of a European Parliament report rejecting the possibility of Turkiye joining the EU soon.
The report instead suggested the EU explore “a parallel and realistic framework,” such as a customs union, to determine its ties with Ankara.
“The EU is trying to break away from Turkiye,” Erdogan told reporters. “We will make our evaluations against these developments and if necessary, we can part ways with the EU.”
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the European Parliament report contained unfounded allegations and prejudices and took “a shallow and non-visionary” approach to the country’s ties with the EU.
Visa liberalization, which would give Turkish citizens visa-free travel to the bloc for long periods, is a significant reason Turkiye wishes to join the EU. Many Turkish citizens work in EU states, most notably Germany, and EU membership for Turkiye would free them of the difficult bureaucratic process needed to obtain visas.
The European Parliament report follows renewed Turkish efforts to join the EU. Earlier this summer, President Erdogan sought to link Turkiye’s EU accession to approving Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
However, EU officials balked at linking the two issues, citing human rights abuses and the deterioration of the rule of law in Turkiye under Erdogan.
“We have recently seen a renewed interest from the Turkish government in reviving the EU accession process,” said the lead lawmaker on the file, Spanish Socialist Nacho Sánchez Amor, upon adopting the report on Wednesday.
“This will not happen because of geopolitical bargaining, but only when the Turkish authorities show real interest in stopping the continuing backsliding in fundamental freedoms and rule of law in the country,” Sánchez Amor said.
EU officials accuse Erdogan of stifling the media and imprisoning dissidents, including during a crackdown after a failed coup in 2016, which Erdogan blamed on the Gulen Movement. Turkiye’s occupation of parts of EU-member Cyprus has also led EU officials to criticize Erdogan.
In 2018, the European Council said in a statement that negotiations for Turkiye to join the EU “have come to a standstill.”
Hal Turner Analysis
Erdogan of Turkey keeps trying to burn the candle at both ends between Europe and Russia. He pits one against the other regularly and BOTH sides are growing weary of his antics.
Biden Afraid As U.S Finds Itself In A WEAK Cold War Which Can Turn Into World War III!
How can you have a WAR when there is only one combatant? The world is moving past this, hopefully the US will see their future as a major player amongst all nations and join in as an equal for everyone’s benefit. Everyone should benefit and no-one needs to win.
From afar one gets the impression that Iran’s fortunes are improving. The exchange of prisoners between the U.S. and Iran and the return of $6 billion stolen dollars to Iran is a positive. Iran also has joined BRICS, the Global South is more or less rejecting Western hegemony, Africa is pushing off French colonialism, and U.S. and Western dominance is unraveling some like never before since World War 2.
Europe is sinking into a self-inflicted economic morass and the U.S. is not far behind with its unsustainable debts built up this century especially. The U.S. has all but lost the proxy war on Russia in Ukraine, the Russian economy so far is doing okay, Putin remains popular and Russians in general are united in their own sovereignty with resolve. Apartheid Israel is a divided mess what with the incompetent Netanyahu government staffed with evil clowns, racists, and belligerents.
However, it must be said by this American observer from afar, that Iran could prosper even more than it may in future if it can dispense with any perceived oppression of its own population by its own citizens. Doing so is no threat to Iran’s Islamic orientation.
But at this juncture here’s a few prognostications with commentary.
The worst President this century, senile Joe Biden now facing an impeachment inquiry in the U.S. House, is being pushed by important voices in the U.S. not to run for a second term. The Washington Post confirms this. He is likely to be forced to cancel his candidacy later this autumn or winter.
The bloody, ill-conceived and provoked U.S./NATO proxy war on Russia is likely to end early in 2024 with negotiations. But Russia will never abandon Crimea or the regions it occupies among Russian-speaking and leaning former Ukrainians in the eastern parts of Ukraine. They are Russians now. And a neutral Ukraine is imperative to Russia. The war is unsustainable but if NATO/U.S. enters the conflict directly that could spark a nuclear apocalypse. Russia will NOT permit a threat to its existence.
With respect to China, the U.S. cannot abide competition anywhere. (Huawei, one of China’s leading hi-tech companies, is under attack again given fear of Huawei’s latest 5G consumer mobile phones which have been supplied with a Chinese-made advanced chip after being cut off from buying them elsewhere. The U.S. House of Representatives has proposed sanctions against Huawei and SMIC, not only severing all commercial relations with them but also filing criminal lawsuits against their executives for managing to compete! This is beyond petty.
The U.S. has stationed an alleged 375,000 thousand personnel at 66 military bases in the Indo-Pacific region, and focused the US defense budget for 2024 on China. It is pushing war with China on its gullible Pacific allies, too. This is waste on a gargantuan scale by a U.S. that is virtually bankrupt even without war. The Pentagon, playing war games from time to time, has concluded the U.S. cannot “win” a war with China, not to mention any war with Russia that cannot be won. As long as the U.S. maintains economic wars on competitors and even Europe, it will backfire on the U.S. economy. Expect more erosion of the dollar as a reserve currency.
The “American Century” is dying. Multipolarity is rising. No one can weep about this.
Expect increasing military, social, economic, and political decay in the U.S. and vassal Europe. Ukraine is the last of militant U.S. imperialism on steroids, which is why it’s so dangerous to humanity. Too many psychopaths in Washington remain, fewer in the general populating by the week. One must ask simply: what’s wrong with a more peaceful world, one where competition is acceptable to spur innovation and the U.S. isn’t the hegemonic beast throwing its weight around waging wars of choice, and none of them to date have “won” a thing but dollar profits for the Military Industrial Complex in the U.S. and for politicians. Average Americans also are in desperate need of attention and are suffering relatively. Corrupted Zelensky is coming to the U.S. and will appear at the UN in New York. Would that he were shunned and ridiculed there. He’s coming to beg for another $24 billion atop nearly $200 billion already wasted and he’s likely to get another lame infusion to prolong the bloody proxy war on Russia.
West Africa is likely to avoid a general conflagration and Nigeria probably won’t be able to lead a war on Niger.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has threatened to leave the Democratic Party in his bid for the Presidency in 2024. Biden won’t even give him as a candidate normal Secret Service protection and he faced a distinct threat of assassination last week. He or Vivek Ramaswany could win the 2024 election in a truly free and fair election, which the U.S. will never see again if the so-called Deep State has its way again. The U.S. has not really been a “democracy” of merit for many years.
The “American Century” is dying. Multipolarity is rising. No one can weep about this.
Beef Pepper Steak
instant pot pepper steak 7
Ingredients
1 pound beef top round or top sirloin steak, boneless, cut 3/4 inch thick or flank steak
1/2 cup prepared Italian dressing
Salt and pepper
2 large bell peppers, any color, cut into 1/8 inch strips
1 onion, cut into 1/8 inch wedges
Instructions
Cut beef steak lengthwise in half, then crosswise into 1/8-inch thick strips.
Place beef and 1/3 cup Italian dressing in food-safe plastic bag; turn beef to coat. Reserve remaining dressing for vegetables. Close bag securely and marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Remove beef from marinade; discard marinade. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot.
Add 1/2 of beef; stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until outside surface of beef is no longer pink. (Do not overcook.)
Remove from skillet.
Repeat with remaining beef.
Season beef with salt and pepper; keep warm.
Wipe skillet with paper towel.
Heat remaining Italian dressing in same skillet until hot.
Add peppers and onion. Stir-fry for 5 to 6 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
Return beef and juices to skillet. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through.
Total: 30 to 35 min | Marinade: 30 min to 2 hr | Yield: 4 servings
China’s Luxury Car Is A Threat To Rolls-Royce, Mercedes, BMW, and Bentley
My father was very conservative and extremely protective of me.
When I was little – seven or eight – he often joked I’d have to wait until I was at least forty before I could date anyone.
When I did start dating, the rule was the boy had to pick me up and come inside to meet my father.
Oh oh.
The first time I had someone over, I was nervous. What would my father do? How would he act?
I hoped he wouldn’t scare him off forever.
The boy came in and sat on the living room couch. My father shook his hand cordially, sat down and asked him a couple of questions, mostly logistical. Where are you going? How will you get there? What time are you bringing my daughter back?
That was it.
“That’s it?” I whispered to my dad. “No tests, no threats?”
“Dushka,” said my dad. “You have a very good head on your shoulders. I trust you. If you like him and want to spend time with him, my assumption is the kid is worth spending time with.”
Then he said “One day you will make the wrong choice and get hurt. Getting hurt is how you learn. I am here to keep you safe – not to take away your life experience. So please, be thoughtful and careful about who you choose because beyond that I can’t protect you without causing more damage than good.”
China is looking to hire engineers from other nations to bolster local chip production in the face of crippling US sanctions, with Huawei – one of the country’s largest tech giants – said to be creating a network of covert semiconductor plants across the country.
As Washington tries to curtail China’s access to advanced technology, Beijing continues to seek ways to advance its semiconductor ambitions, including discreetly reviving a past initiative to recruit top foreign-trained scientists to import much-needed expertise.
The new initiative, called Qiming, is overseen by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Qiming was set up to run in parallel with other recruitment initiatives from local and provincial authorities plus a government-backed hiring drive by Chinese chip companies themselves, which favor applicants trained at elite foreign institutions.
In related news, Huawei is building out a covert network of semiconductor facilities across China to tackle the limitations of US sanctions that have chocked off its supply of chips.
According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the trade body for US chipmakers, Huawei has taken possession at least two existing factories and is building a minimum of three others. SIA claims it is doing this under the names of other companies to conceal its involvement.
Doing so may allow Huawei to circumvent restrictions and indirectly purchase chipmaking equipment and other supplies that would otherwise be off-limits to the company. As a reminder, earlier this year, Washington was pushing for an all-out block on any and all US technology export licenses to Huawei.
No wonder that BRICS is spearheaded by China to bring USD’s demise sooner than later. There has to be a tit for every tat and who knows this better than China which started with Gallium and Germanium products, Micron and now Apple card being played.
Just imagine this, with the news of few Apple phones being discouraged to be used in the offices and Apple lost 200 billion dollars (this is akin to GDP of Hungary) of its share value overnight. What happens if there is a official ban a la Micron on Apple? They will lose trillion dollars = 33% of its share value in a single day because China is responsible for 25% of Apple’s revenue.
Its easy to do business with China, yet its tough to do business with China if you arm twist China.
The US is all talking. They don’t have the resources to push for their “comprehensive” plan in blocking China’s development.
Rome is not built in one day. The Belt and Road Initiative started 10 years ago and to date, 147 countries—accounting for two-thirds of the world’s population and 40 percent of global GDP—have signed on to projects or indicated an interest in doing so.
No one, including the US, really wants to cut off their ties with China as they all benefit from the big Chinese market and investment.
The US’ goal of containing China’s rise is evil and despicable.Who do they think they are? The US is working against the trend of history and against the wish of 1.4 billion Chinese pursuing a better life. Their effort in containing China’s growth will prove to be useless and 100% be crushed down to nothing. China’s rise is inevitable, no one can stop.
Qualcomm generates two-thirds of its revenue and profit from China. Instead of manufacturing the chips it designs, the company derives income from licensing fees related to its intellectual property. Following the embargo, Qualcomm has been permitted to supply 14nm and higher Android chips to China to sustain its operations. since most cell phone vendors in China, are converting to Harmony, enabling the chip for Harmony OS enhances Qualcomm’s prospects in China, as it involves minimal expenses to adapt the microcode it possesses
Trouble Ahead! Western Lithography Machines Shutdown En Masse.
The United States has restricted the export of high-end chips to China, but China has made significant progress in mid-to-low-end chips. This has reduced China’s dependence on US chip imports, leading to a decline in integrated circuit imports and Western photolithography machine shutdowns. China’s semiconductor industry has developed rapidly, although there are still technological gaps and market share issues compared to American chip companies. China has provided an opportunity for American chip giants like Qualcomm, Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD to expand their business and generate significant revenue, with over 30% and up to 60% of their revenue coming from the Chinese market. They even develop tailored versions of their chips to comply with export control regulations and continue doing business in China.
One of the MANY kinds of music that I enjoy is “Trance”. This is a kind of melodic continuous beat, many times with a female vocalist signing her heart out.
I was listening to some Trance on you-tube, and thought about it… you know… the pace and the beat of the music lends itself well to porn. No shit!
So, on a lark, I went to one of the porn sites; xHampster, and spent a minute or two watching the video while the you-tube Trance music played. Sure as shit, I kid you not, the music and the melody absolutely matched the actions of the porn actors and actresses. LOL.
Both the men and the woman busy in frenzied (erp) activity…
I think that this is more than just a casual observation. It’s a reflection of the ties to emotional and mental biological attachments relative to our drives.
Sex is but one of our many, many drives.
…
How does the music you listen to reflect your interests and desires?
I mean if Trance can equate to porn, then what does Country & Western music equate to? What does Classic Rock equate to?
Carry on my wayward son
Stairway to Heaven
Back in Black
Black Magic Woman
It seems to me that David Lee Roth is always singing about prostitutes, and Van Halen roars out about cars…
Ah.
…but what about polkas?
2023 09 28 10 45
… Vodka drunk aunties, with roses clenched in their teeth, and little kids running all over the stage, eh?
…
Music reflects our inner desires, and under certain conditions, they can enhance or suppress them.
Jazz.
Pop.
Banjo…
…
Todays…
NATO Planning for 3.5 MILLION to Serve if War With Russia Starts
In the event of a direct war with Russia, the NATO military bloc will utilize the 300 thousand troops already on the Border with Russia, in the first month. “NATO will then “attract” up to 3.5 million troops” according to Admiral Rob Bauer, the head of the military committee of the North Atlantic Alliance, .
Where do they think they’re going to get those 3.5 Million troops? Why, YOU – and your children — of course! Ready to go fight and die for the armpit of eastern Europe, Ukraine?
Admiral Bauer noted that NATO’s new regional defense plans involve further reinforcement on the borders with Russia in case of a possible confrontation.
“If they attack, we must be ready. So we need more militaries at a high level of readiness, and that’s not something that can be done overnight. They will need training, weapons, ammunition, everything else. Therefore, we are talking about 300 thousand military personnel at a high level of readiness. In total, NATO countries, together with Finland and Sweden, have 3.5 million troops,” said Bauer.
Rattling sabers will not help. Sooner or later Russia will complete its plans for its new Northern Military District, and NATO knows about this.
NATO, the clown force defeated by horseback riders from Afghani caves.
Beef and Mushrooms
Wild Mushroom and Beef Stew Recipe 5 of 10
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 pounds sirloin steak, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (10 ounce) package sliced mushrooms
1 (16 ounce) package frozen pearl onions
2 cups red wine
1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell’s Golden Mushroom soup
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
Instructions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Season steak with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.
Transfer steak to a bowl and set aside.
Add mushrooms and onions to the pan and cook until liquid has evaporated.
Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, 5 to 6 minutes.
Stir in soup and 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil.
Add steak and its juices from the bowl and simmer, 2 minutes.
Divide into individual bowls and sprinkle with the parsley, if using.
Trump Latinos – Rich Men North Of Richmond “Official Video”
America does not believe in fair competition, Tonya Harding is its role model.
What has the US done while China is improving?
…
NOTHING.
Just a whole lot of talk, blustering and promises…
China released new photolithography factory plan, U.S. restrictions will no longer be in effect.
Oh man this is a very wonderful news, hope it can be made soon and can’t wait to see US semiconductor companies close their doors one by one as no other market can absorb their products … I would say well done USA for digging your own grave yard, very well planned!
My first “real” marketing job, back in the 80’s, was working in the fragrance division of a world renowned fashion designer. 2x a year, I was given $2,000-$3,000 to go shopping at Bloomingdales buying up the competition’s newest products.
I learned that if I dressed down, jeans & tees, I could freely shop the dept without sales pressure. I could easily make a list of what I needed to buy Basically, I was ignored and when I tried to get help, I was ignored even more by the seasoned sales people. They would rather talk to each other than help me.
Eventually, a new or young sales clerk would take pity on me & ask if they could help me. I would hand them my list and watch the delight spread over their face as they mentally calculated their sizeable commission, especially as I pulled out the cash.
And it was super fun watching the scowls on those that wouldn’t help me, when they saw the size of my purchase. And yes, as I walked out, I said to each one of them “ you had your chance.” Lol
There were only two things that shocked me when I came to the US.
The complete lack of maintenance for the infrastructure. I thought Americans loved to drive? So why not spend some money on maintenance. I’ve seen more potholes in 6 days in the Usa, than in my entire life in the Netherlands
The way police officers and other other uniformed people behaved. It already started on the airport at border security, all of the guys in uniform acted like they were the most important person in the world and we were just measly worms. Come on, I know you have a job to do, but why can’t you just try to be pollite? If Dutch police officers would behave like that, they would be considered unfit for the job.
You could try doing what my neighbor did 50 years ago. His mother was a stubborn woman from the old country. She won’t consider going to a nursing home having any help in her place etc. she fired several people as soon as they started. So he hired another person and they concocted this plan. He told his mother that this person wanted to rent a room from her and she would pay her every week. But that she was a bit hard up and couldn’t afford the full cost of the rent so in order to get a lower rent she was going to help around the house and other things that might need to be done. So every week the son gave the Aide an extra $50 and the Aide handed the mother the $50 and she gave it to her son to put in the bank. So the Aide started helping around the house and then slowly started with personal care. Pretty soon she was taking full care of the mother and the mother thought she was great and offered a bigger reduction in her “rent” and she told her son that she had a nice tenant who helped her “a little” and it was so much better than having an Aide messing around in her house plus she was earning an extra $50 a week!
When I was in school, they held a robotics competition.
It was pretty simple, conceptually. You had to make a firefighting robot. It would have to navigate a maze, find a candle and put it out (fully automated, no remote control). I can’t remember the exact size but I think the robot had to be smaller than 1 foot in length, width, and height.
Scoring was as follows. You start with your time (how long it takes to search every room and put out the candle), and get deductions (bonus points) if your robot:
Put out the candle with anything other than a fan (water, for instance)
Searched every room, didn’t just stop at the one with the candle
Could separate into parts to search rooms in parallel
Was very efficient algorithmically (there were a few benchmarks for this)
Most entries looked like what you would expect, a bunch of sub-systems. Each one with a specific purpose. A Robot.
I entered a block of dry ice. It held a simple metal device attached to it.
It basically just had a spring-powered hammer to shatter it into little pieces when the start timer went (so that it would evaporate faster)
In seconds the entire maze was filled with a white fog and the candle was definitely out. I had the fastest time by a landslide even before you counted my deductions:
Didn’t use a fan? Check
Search every room? Check.
Separate into parts to put out fires in parallel? Check
I think I could’ve been the only person in history to ever win a robotics competition without writing a single line of code or soldering a single wire.
But alas, the judges disqualified me by unanimous vote.
Aztec Death Whistle | The Scariest Sound You’ve Ever Heard
During the Iraq war, soldiers frequently used Silly String to help detect booby traps.
Specifically:
If you were entering a house, a perimeter, any at-risk area, you would stand near the areas, and spray Silly String around the room.
Wherever the string caught, seeming to hang in the air—was often a tripwire, that was designed to set off a bomb killing all in the immediate vicinity. (Source: Silly String Has a Real Purpose: Exposing Trip Wires. Ferro, Shaunacy)
Because Silly String is so light, it doesn’t set the wire off. And—you can get Silly String that glows in the dark and is bright. So it has become a popular request from soldiers in the field.
A woman in New Jersey, whose son was serving, even created a charity and collected 80,000 cans of the stuff to ship over to them.
My parents used to fuss at me so bad about my adventures, mainly because I would bring junk home from the multiple dumpster areas. One in particular was located in the middle of nowhere, which is now a very nice neighborhood. Before this area boomed into what it is now, this particular set of dumpsters was literally rich people stuff from the surrounding lake homes. If Dad told me to take off the trash, I drove the extra few miles down the small road to go to these. Anyways, one day I hit mega jackpot!
Since these were so remote, nobody ever really used them and they were not picked through. I can tell you we had pickers in the others, because one day I threw a bag in and the dumpster said “hey watch it!”. That was quite the surprise. On this day the stars aligned for me though. As I was emptying Dad’s old truck, my eyes happened to see what I couldn’t believe….a nearly new VCR. Back then dad said he wouldn’t buy one they were just too expensive. This was back in the late 80s when VCRs were literally thousands of dollars, and this one was top of the line too! Somebody must have gotten angry at it, as I could tell it had been bashed. It was lying in a pile of stuff, deep down inside. So I pull the trusty truck up to the door where I could crawl inside. Low and behold it gets even better! Under it was a fairly new Sears stereo system…..like WHAT!!!! This was thousands of dollars of stuff here, and me being 17 I was just overcome with emotion. The cabinet was smashed as someone had just tossed it all in. I didn’t care I was in heaven. I retrieved my prizes and headed home. I was beside myself. When I pulled up to the house, I was so excited I could barely speak. Dad was skeptical. I admit the stuff had been scratched and damaged, but it was complete!
I understand why someone threw it out. The VCR ate tapes more than it played them. At 17 though, my skills as a repair person were developing. What happened was the rubber was not staying on the wheel that drove the tape, it was slipping. Gluing the rubber to the wheel solved the problem. The stereo was way more complicated to fix. It only had one side that was working, the left channel. The right was dead. It took me some time to figure it all out, but with help from the neighbor down the street (who had a Commodore 64 controlling his whole house) we were able to get it repaired. It was a burned up circuit on the board. I held on to that stereo and VCR for years, until it became totally obsolete and I finally placed it for recycling. My roommate for college was utterly shocked with the electronics I had. He couldn’t figure out how someone who barely worked could afford such high end stuff. He was even more miffed when I said I literally got it for free. I was always scared he was going to steal it too.
I ran a company for years and I told my employees that I expected them at work every day unless they were truly sick or had something that had to me taken care of.
I paid well and took good care of my people. One day, a guy named Tommy called in sick. Later in the day, I had to go look at a job on a part of town I’d never been in. As I drove, there was a group of guys in a yard drinking beer. Tommy was there with them. I waved as I drove by, and the look on his face was priceless.
I had a car phone which was rare back then. Tommy called after a bit and I told him his check would be ready on Friday.
Later, his wife called and asked me to give him one more chance that this was the best job he’d ever had and that their family was more secure than they’d ever been.
I let him come to a staff meeting and stand up and tell everyone what he’d done. I passed out slips of paper to everyone and let them vote. Stay or fired. They wrote, folded the papers and put them in a hat as it went around.
Most voted to let him stay. I did and he was a great employee from then on. I think it made a strong impression on all of the crews and I’m glad I gave him another chance. If his wife had not called, he would never have gotten the second chance.
Shopping at One of the Last Open Kmart’s Before it Closes Forever! Westwood NJ
Signs of America.
When my mother started to suffer from dementia.
I was in that position. It’s not an uncommon position to be in.
My mother was living alone and had early dementia. While not 91, she needed help and someone to talk with. And she was slowly losing it. She was in her late 70’s and had cancer. She lived in a big “Manor” house about an hours drive out of Pittsburgh, PA.
My sister lived the next town over and didn’t want to have anything to do with her. Instead, she wanted to put her in a care-home for aged people, and then take over her estate. Which was really selfish, and rude, but her husband was / is a self-centered bastard, so what can you expect.
My other sister lived a five hour drive away, and while she wanted to do something, it really wasn’t possible. She had her own business, and was busy. She could visit maybe once a month, but that was it.
My younger brother lived in Colorado, had his own business and couldn’t do anything.
And I, well, I was living in Boston, MA at the time. I was working as the VP of an International automotive electronics company, and I (as the oldest) was faced with the task on what to to. My brother and older sister discussed the matter with me and none of us wanted to put here in a “home”. So it was really up to me.
I quit my job.
Packed up all my belongings, and moved into the “Carriage House” (a caretaker building) on the property. Technically, I didn’t live in the house, but I was with her every day. We shared meals together. I took care of the property, and drove her to her medical appointments and kept an eye on her.
I did this for three years.
Then on Easter day, she got really tired. She couldn’t eat dinner with all of us. Instead she just sat in the kitchen, unable to move. We ate, and talked and then we carefully helped her to the couch in the TV room.
We put on a rental movie, and watched it together. She closed her eyes and went to sleep. Everyone else left, and that night, I sat beside her writing e-mails to my girlfriend in China.
She never woke up.
And I, well, I sat beside her all night, and into the next afternoon. Hospice came. We moved her into a bed in the TV room. She laid there.
And I sat beside her.
I was there beside her as she passed on.
…
You can either be a man and take responsibility for your family, or not. I took responsibility, and those three years with my mother were very special to me. Treasures. Really.
After she passed on, a new chapter opened up in my life.
When has a Company in US ever lowered its retail costs to compete fairly?
The Answer is NEVER
At least not since the 1970s
Japanese cars and steel threatened to swamp out the US overpriced cars in the 1980s
You had the PLAZA ACCORDS to destroy the Japanese export market for two decades
Tik Tok has a huge market in US and threatens every Big Tech Giant and their applications
It became a National security threat
…
Huawei became a major competition for Apple globally and looked poised with their innovation to eclipse Apple by 2025
It became a National Security Threat and was hit with every commercial sanction in the book
…
Chinese Electric vehicles threaten to dominate the world market by 2025
Bang!!!! European Parliament decides to look into anti dumping and raise tariffs. After all, it became a National Security Threat.
The fact is these guys haven’t properly competed with any rival for more than five decades
I mean the West of course
They have a four way formula to keep skirting around competition:-
Powerful Brand Image and Billions of Dollars in advertising and marketing
Powerful Lobby Groups in US and powerful political forces to throttle any competition outside the Western Bloc plus Japan using the ‘National Security Threat’
Political manouvering to use Tariffs, Sanctions and vague Export controls to throttle foreign competition
Outright buying up of opposition through voluntary or involuntary acquisitions
In short ‘BULLYBOY TACTICS’
India does the exact same thing, so do most democracies these days
Dr Singh wanted multiple entities to set up mobile services in India to develop fair competition and lowering the prices
33 to be exact
Instead we set up mock bribery charges and wiped out the entire plan and established a Cartel
So the US and it’s lackeys will never play fair economics
They will talk about it of course until kingdom come
Tomorrow if China decides to ban Iphones for 50 people, they will shriek and scream about ‘Laissez Faire’ and ‘Free market’
Yet these demented fools will never see that they are doing worse. They have been brainwashed into believing they are the good guys.
The only way to defeat them is the Chinese way which involves simply innovating, lowering costs and establishing markets wherever possible in the Global South especially BRI countries where Chinas influence exceeds the West and their influence
And slowly keep your cards close to your chest and use some of the same protection tactics that the West adopts and cut off their products from your market threatening a SCORCHED EARTH POLICY.
Or have you forgotten what and how the United States treated Huawei?
My wife works for a big logistics company in China. When the US sanctions hit, DHL withheld some Huawei equipments in their European warehouses for American investigation. This totally set Huawei off and prompted the company to look for domestic alternatives. My wife says their service is worse and more expensive than DHL, in fact totally incomparable in Europe, but after the episode Huawei was just never going to trust DHL again. Thanks to the money Huawei keep throwing their way these past few years, they’ve been able to grow and expand in Europe, becoming more respectable. At this very monent she’s on a business trip in Europe to open a new office for their newly acquired Dutch subsidiary and the inauguration of a new cargo airline.
This is just one very narrow and personal peek into the consequences of the trade war, but I think it’s a window into other areas like chips as well.
American chips were good and cheap and flooded the Chinese market before the tech war, in fact they still do, so Chinese domestic chip makers just couldn’t grow. In 1997 Chinese ministry of education downright cut the semiconductor major in universities, probably believing such majors to be unnecessary since cheap American chips are readily available and Chinese companies just weren’t making them so graduates couldn’t find jobs.
The chip war has changed that. Now semiconductor is the hottest major in China and new Chinese engineers are filling up new Chinese chip start ups. If the US drops the sanctions and flood the Chinese market again now, it will still have tarnished its reputation as a reliable supplier, and we have an entire nation, if not more, wary of the potential of American political untrustworthiness disrupting supply lines. Just like Huawei refuses to use DHL despite its service being better and cheaper, allowing for my wife’s company to grow and maybe one day take on DHL, some Chinese companies will just not trust American chips again, despite them being cheap or not, leaving room for domestic chip business to grow.
Cambodian Girl Surprises Me With Kindness in Phnom Penh
As an attorney, I had someone served with an involuntary bankruptcy at his wedding.
He had refused to pay both child and spousal support for years. He worked for his daddy and claimed he wasn’t making any money. Almost everything he owned was in someone else’s name, except for the house.
He drove expensive cars, had a boat, a couple of quads and dressed in very upscale clothing.
He would eat at the finest restaurants and travel all over the world.
Yet his ex-wife could hardly put food on the table for herself and her children, who were his children also.
I filed an involuntary bankruptcy against him to get the equity in the house to pay for the support.
He kept dodging my process server. His car would be at his work, but they would claim he was not there. Same at home, his car would be there, but his girlfriend would claim he was not home.
I spent about six months trying to get him served, when his children (the ones he refused to support) got an invitation to his wedding.
I had my process server dress as a delivery lady, with a big gift-wrapped box. Someone at the door said they would take the gift, but the process server told them that the gift was so special, it had to be delivered to the man personally.
He came to the door, the process server opened the box and, “Mr. So-and-so, you have been served.” He blew a cork and started screaming at the process server using every cuss word you could imagine.
I found out later that he was served just as the wedding was about to start.
During one of the court proceedings, he told the judge that I ruined his wedding and his honeymoon, to which I replied that was OK because he had ruined his children’s lives.
Daddy came up with the money for the back support and my attorney fees. I also got a lien on the house for all future support payments. I then dismissed the bankruptcy.
I really dislike anyone who will not support their own children, especially when they have the ability to do so.
I consider this to be one of my finest cases.
Shanghai Has Changed Forever Since The Lockdown
A dated video. But gives you an idea bout the feeling at that time.
I arrived at a very old and very prestigious school for a job interview as a teacher. The first thing I thought upon arrival was “Oh my God! This place is way outside my comfort zone.” It looked just so venerable and posh. Much of the building was Tudor (1547ish) and extensively re-modelled in Victorian gothic. It was imposing and intimidating as a potential workplace.
But then I walked into the school office and Reception and there on the Reception desk was a letter “In-Tray” with a huge ginger Tom Cat curled up alseep in it. I thought that “only in a very old, very British, very eccentric school that was very sure of itself would a cat be sleeping in the Reception Desk in-tray.”
The cat was called Henry and he had the run of the whole school and everyone loved him.
Anyway, I got the job and was ringing round various companies to acquire new equipment for my Technology lab. One company I wished to use had no supply contract with the school and so I was asked by their representative on the phone to set up a credit account. The conversation went like this:
“We will need some business credentials for your company in order to set up the credit account”
“Yes of course; what do you need to know?”
“Firstly, how long has your business be operating?”
“Four hundred and seventy-five years”
“Ah. I don’t think there will be any problem setting you up with a credit account”.
The De-Civilization of America | Victor Davis Hanson
When I was in 3rd grade, there was a class bully by the name of Chris. My cousin Ryan was also in the class, and we were buddies. One day Chris decided to pick on my cousin. Incensed, I punched Chris in the face and knocked him clean out of his chair.
Horrified by what I had done, I quickly turned to see if the teacher had seen. She hadn’t. She had her back to the class writing on the chalk board and had missed the whole thing. I was so relieved. I attended a private school that employed corporal punishment and I was so sure I was going to get paddled.
I found out years later from my parents that she had actually seen the whole thing and had quickly turned to the board to hide her huge smile. She had been aching to punch Chris herself for months.
Chris never bothered me or my cousin again.
Constitution 101 | Lecture 1
Learn the meaning of the Constitution and the principles of American government in this new version of Hillsdale’s most popular course. Visit hillsdale.edu/con101 to begin your course today.
Two things – not necessarily strange, just quirky. My father died quite unexpectedly of an aneurysm over a decade ago. He had a terrific sense of humor, and an awful gold and tan plaid sports jacket from the 70s. My mom had begged him to get rid of it for years, but no. He even wore it to my best friend’s wedding, insisting she’d find it funny. She did. When I got to it in the closet, I wasn’t sure I could give it away, but I checked the pockets anyway. Each pocket held 13 crisp $100 bills – $3900 total.
The other item was inside a puzzle box I had given him many years prior. It was the kind where you had to tap on one section, twist another, etc. in a specific order to get it open. I heard something inside when I shook it. Took me almost an hour to get it open to find his neatly written recipe for barbecue sauce.
Gosh, I miss him!
9 Things Your Cat Does for You Without You Knowing
I am disabled and I see a psychiatrist, as required by disability.
My doctor was the only one in town who accepted medicare/medicaid. He accepted me as his patient when I went for my first appointment. We got on well right away. Over the years, he has helped me along my journey to better mental health. I have had to change medications quite a few times. Sometimes they stopped working. Sometimes the side effects were too bad, or they didn’t help at all. Each time, he listened to me describe my thoughts on the medications. He worked with me and offered different solutions in order to find the best fit for me. I sincerely like and respect my psychiatrist.
I had an appointment one afternoon, and at the end of our session, he told me that he wasn’t going to be accepting medicare/medicaid patients any more. My heart sank, because this meant either forking over cash, or driving to another town to see a psychiatrist.
Then he told me that he had decided to keep a handful of his medicare/medicaid patients and see them pro-bono. He said that I was one of those patients.
So now I have a doctor who sees me regularly, fills out paper work to the satisfaction of disability people, and prescribes my medications and monitors how they are working for me. And he does it without charging me a dime.
My income is small. This is an enormous benefit to me. I can’t thank him enough. I’m proud to know a charitable person who silently helps people with no expectation of gaining anything from it. If my situation changes, I will be glad to start paying him to see me, even if it hurts my pocketbook.
1980s Things That Are Not Socially Acceptable Today
My 8th grade PE teacher was tall, black, muscular, and pretty terrifying. His wife came by class one day; she was white, plump, mid height, and sweet. I’d never seen a mixed race couple before and was a little shocked. (It wasn’t that I didn’t like the idea; I had zero exposure to mixed race anything in a nearly all white neighborhood.) What was more shocking was she took none of his shit. He barked at her like he barked at us and she told him to settle down. She instantly became my hero. They loved each other a lot, that was obvious. I never thought twice about mixed race couples again.
Yep. Our local McDonalds recently completed their renovation, which includes the new kiosks. I walked in and noticed the kiosks, but went straight to the cash register.
The manager asked me to please use the kiosk. I said no thank you. She said, we’re trying to get all of our customers to use them. Again, I said no thanks. She got really huffy and stopped what she was doing at the french fry station and turned to me and said, why won’t you use them?
I said, “I didn’t come here this morning to do your job. You want me to take an order, then pay me.” That stopped her. She came and took my order.
While she was taking my order I explained, “To use your kiosk, I have to make multiple selections, and each one requires that I choose between many options. I don’t want to do that. I just want a breakfast sandwich and a coffee. I can tell you that in one simple sentence. I don’t have to pick through multiple screens of options of things I don’t want.”
That’s why you won’t ever see me at the kiosk.
“We Can’t Be Afraid Of Nuclear War!” Says Sean Penn
EU could become as dependent on China for lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells by 2030 as it was on Russia for energy before the Ukrosia war unless it takes strong measures.
Worried by China’s growing global assertiveness and economic weight, the leaders will discuss the European Commission’s proposals to reduce the risk of Europe being too dependent on China and the need diversify towards Africa and Latin America.
While the EU has a strong position in the intermediate and assembly phases of making electrolysers, with a more than 50% global market share, it relies heavily on China for fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries crucial for electric vehicles.
According to the European Commission, in 2021, the year before Ukrosia war, the EU took more than 40% of its total gas consumption, 27% of oil imports and 46% of coal imports from Russia.
Ending most energy purchases from Russia caused an energy price shock in the EU and a surge in consumer inflation, forcing the European Central Bank to sharply raise interest rates in a move that has curbed economic growth.
Lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells were not the only area of EU vulnerability.
A similar scenario could unfold in the digital-tech space. Forecasts suggest that the demand for digital devices such as sensors, drones, data servers, storage equipment and data transmission networks will rise sharply in this decade.
The EU has a relatively strong position in the latter, but it shows significant weaknesses in the other areas.
By 2030, this foreign dependency could seriously hinder the productivity gains that the European industry and service sector urgently require and could impede the modernization of agriculture systems essential to addressing climate change.
China Ignores the US & Deepens its Ties with Russia!
China Creates world’s most powerful RADAR Chip
Article HERE Amid US tech sanctions, Chinese scientists say they made the world’s most powerful radar chip
New semiconductor performs at orders of magnitude higher than similar power-amplifying chips in most existing radar systems, says Chinese team
It uses gallium nitride despite export bans by the US government blocking high powered gallium-based semiconductors to China
A research team with a major Chinese defence company says it has built a radar chip with a record power output using semiconductor technology that is the subject of strict US sanctions. The finger-sized chip can generate radar signals with peak power reaching 2.4 kilowatts. It is one or two orders of magnitude higher than the performance of similar power-amplifying chips in most existing radar systems.
This after China banns the export of Gallium to NATO countries.
American foreign policy is based around “security”. But our notion of “security” does not distinguish between a possible threat and an actual threat. If it could possibly be a threat, then we treat it as if it’s threatening us right now. We dominate the North American continent; that’s not secure enough, so we establish military bases in Europe; that’s not secure enough, so more bases in Asia; that’s not secure enough, so take over space. In fifty years, we’ll probably be trying to colonize Mars to forestall the “threat” of somebody else getting to it first (that’s a little joke). To get an idea of how American foreign policy works, imagine a psychopathic Uncle Sam, staring at some small country with creepy twitching eyes, and saying, “You’re threatening me” while reaching for a knife.
There is a thing called nuclear primacy. Suppose that you can attack another country with nuclear weapons and destroy the whole country without the possibility of retaliation. The United States can do this to any nation on the planet, except for Russia. If Russia’s arsenal degrades to the point where it can no longer retaliate, then the United States has nuclear primacy, meaning the ability to destroy anyone without consequence. Total impunity.
There is another thing called full spectrum dominance, which is similar to nuclear primacy, except for every single dimension of warfare, not just nuclear weapons. Domination of land, air, sea, cyber warfare, everything. The United States has this over most other countries. There are a few exceptions, though. China is one. The stated intention of American military policy is to achieve full spectrum dominance over any possible opponent. Total control.
When Washington describes China as a threat, they mean that China may one day be a country that the United States can’t dominate completely with zero consequences. The chances of this are quite small and remote, but higher than zero. That makes China a “threat”, in the way that Washington uses the word. So we have to remove the “threat” by ham-stringing China, preferably by partitioning them.
Which brings me to my next point: divide-and-rule is a strategy as old as empire. Western countries excel at it. The idea is to take someone else’s country and break it apart into many smaller countries. We call this “partitioning”. Partitioning weakens your enemy by destroying their unity. But partition is a nasty, aggressive word, and Washington likes to frame all of its actions as just and defensive. So instead of partitioning, we say we’re “decolonizing” other countries. We don’t want to dominate Russia and China by partitioning them. No, see, they’re the evil imperialists, so we’re going to decolonize them, tee-hee! We’re the good guys!
This last requires a lot of propaganda to frame our enemies as “colonizers”. So we take lands that have been Chinese for centuries and claim that the Chinese are evil colonizers for having those lands. Of course, we’re also evil colonizers, but that’s okay because I started with a land acknowledgment. This is also why you hear Western intellectuals say things like, “China has never been truly unified” and “There is no continuous Chinese civilization”. This is manufacturing a justification for partitioning China a few decades down the line. Or perhaps sooner than that…
What I fear is that American hubris will suck us into a Thucydides trap. What if we decide that it’s intolerable for us not to control the world? What if we decide that World War Three is a better option? Because those are the only two options Washington sees as viable: total domination, or apocalypse.
Don’t get me wrong, by the way. I love my country. But the America I love is 4th of July parades, cookouts, and deer jerky. The America that glasses a small Middle Eastern country so some guy at Raytheon can get a new yacht — that America I don’t love.
It seems the Dutch Government has forbidden ASML to sell EUVs to SMIC from 1/9/23
Yet orders placed until 23:59 on 31/8/23 can be shipped and fulfilled.
So technically ASML can ship orders to SMIC upto the time the last order placed on 31/8/23 is fulfilled
That’s for 21 EUV Machines & 1850 DUV Machines
In September, ASML has delivered 4 EUV Machines & 390 DUV Machines
Meanwhile there is another legal complication
SMIC has now introduced a Distributor company who can buy EUVs from ASML and simply sell them to SMIC for a 10% commission (10% is just an example)
Now the Dutch order said only SMIC was forbidden from receiving ASML EUVs so ASML has also accepted 8 more orders for EUVs from this distributor
Technically Dutch Govt cannot specifically forbid ASML from selling to China as a whole as that is a major WTO violation
So they can only blacklist importers
So China can keep bringing up new distributors and placing orders and ASML is happy because TSMC has cancelled 24 Machines recently and i am sure China offered full price for the machines
Ultimately MONEY TALKS
Once again the US is furious but again it’s all about the legalese now
SMIC is forbidden so an agency buys and sells to SMIC
The Dutch look the other way of course
ASML is delighted because they sell more machines
My guess is this new agency will be blacklisted soon and they will incorporate more laws to prevent such measures
Yet that gets China another 8 machines plus a further 24 machines which I bet China will place as they are already in process
This means SMIC technically can make 7 nm and 5 nm Chips in decent quantities at least till 2026/2027
By then they should crack some breakthrough
So China has gained TIME and the Dutch have put business ahead of stupidity
Just like NVDIA and Intel just sold products to China which were slightly off the specs in huge numbers
Economics is ultimately invincible
Reality
Beef Medallions with Cognac Sauce
Beef Medallions wCognac Sauce
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 teaspoon (packed) brown sugar
1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup canned beef broth
1/2 cup Cognac or brandy
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 (4 to 5 ounce) beef tenderloin steaks (each about 1 inch thick)
Fresh Chives
Instructions
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 4 minutes.
Add brown sugar; stir 1 minute.
Add chicken broth, beef broth and Cognac. Simmer until sauce is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 20 minutes.
Add cream. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)
Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat.
Add steaks; cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for rare.
Transfer steaks to plates.
Add sauce to skillet; bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Slice steaks; fan slices on plates.
Top with sauce and garnish with chives.
Notes
Serve Cabernet Sauvignon with the steaks.
The cost of living in Chiang Mai, Thailand 2023. Retire in Thailand affordably – live in Chiang Mai!
The rest of the world is a great IMPROVEMENT over that of the “good ol’ USA”.
When my daughters were babies/toddlers, I/we used to have to walk to the supermarket and back to get our groceries for the week. Most of the time, this went alright. It was a bit of a juggling act and it always stressed me out on the way home, but it was also nice to get out with them without my then husband.
Anyhow, one day we’re really struggling to get home. My oldest didn’t want to walk and I couldn’t carry them both and the bags etc, so we’re doing everything the hardest way possible. The only way possible. Then a lady, a bit older than myself, stopped me and told me to ‘wait right there please”. I was completely confused, but thought maybe she was going to get her car or something? Who knew. I was exhausted, my kids were too, so we waited and I thought I was an idiot for waiting.
Then she came back, with a double stroller. Not some glamorous kind, nothing with all the bells and whistles and not brand new, but one that I could use as a buggy or as a stoller. I could put one of my kids in it and still have room behind them for bags, or put both kids in.. or neither kid and lay the front seat down. Anyways, it was perfect for us and I could’ve cried and kissed that lady. She kept saying she didn’t need it anymore and it wasn’t a big deal, but it was a huge deal for us. I offered to pay her or do something, but she wouldn’t hear of it. I’ll never forget her generosity or how much she helped us.
RUSSIAN SUPERMARKET TOUR! 🇷🇺 0,2$ BREAD and 0,2$ POTATO
I have a salesman in the UK who used to live in the ‘States.
Once, when he visited me here in China, he reflected on what he observed about the United States.
He told me that the United States is a pendulum. (Well, he referred to it as a meter.) It swings from one extreme to the other over a decade, but the over all effect is that (in the long view) it seems that the pendulum seems to stay centered.
Hum…
Sort of like this…
2023 10 14 07 40
…
Maybe.
I view it quite differently, however, let’s give his observation some credit.
Following his observation, to me, it seems that the pendulum swung so hard to one side that the meter broke, and the needle (pendulum) is stuck in the region of broken glass. The USA has entered totalitarian dictatorship of the most basic historical norms; serf and peasants toiling for the mega-wealthy.
The needle is broke.
The meter needs to be replaced.
It simply cannot be repaired.
2023 10 14 07 41
It needs to be pulled out of the wall, and completely thrown in the trash, and a nice new digital one put in it’s place.
…
That’s my opinion, folks. Yours might be different.
“The popular conception is that companies come to China because of low labor costs. I’m not sure what part of China they go to, but the China stopped being the low labor cost country years ago. That is not the reason to come to China from a supply point of view. The reason is because of the skill.”
I just searched around and found that no one pays attention to Ukraine anymore, neither the Western media, nor the Western governments, who have turned their attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
image 100
And the Russian army is in high morale and has now captured Avdiyevka, But nobody in the Western world cares about Ukraine anymore.
Putin is right. The Yanks are treating Ukraine as an “expendable“.
Ukraine needs help now, so the American people should donate money to Ukraine!
Talk is cheap. Don’t just shout slogans in the media, support Ukraine with real action. Do you understand?
Americans hope that Taiwan will become Ukraine 2.0, but Taiwanese people do not want to become toilet paper that Yanks throw away immediately after use.
What Taiwanese want is for American soldiers to rush to the front and become cannon fodder. 😅 Stop the cheap’s talk, The Taiwanese are waiting for Americans to sacrifice their children for the cause of “Taiwan independence”.
In response to the current world situation，Bulletproof vest manufacturers in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, China, have received a large number of orders, and workers are working overtime to catch up.
image 70
DJI’s newly released drone-mounted LiDAR adds Arabic language and Hebrew language to the original Russian language.
image 99
These are civilian items, not weapons, and it won’t explode.
Whether it is the Russian-Ukrainian war or the Palestinian-Israeli war, the Chinese Government has always called on both sides to exercise restraint and engage in peaceful negotiations. Why is no one listening?
The US once invaded Iraq, ignored the opposition of China, overthrew the Saddam regime, and supported a pro-American Iraq government.
The US spent $3 trillion in subsequent Iraqi governance, which was borrowed from China. The US military did not make Iraq more peaceful, but created the monster ISIS.
The Iraq government in Iraq later realized that the US military could not help Iraq’s reconstruction, US companies do not have the capacity for large-scale reconstruction, so it approached China for cooperation.
Today, most of Iraq’s oil extraction rights are vested in China, far surpassing the US, Britain, and Russia.
Later, the US Secretary of Defense mentioned in his speech that the US owed China a lot of money during the Iraq War, and all interests belonged to China. The US’ Iraq war was fought for China! This is an unexpected ending for the US government.
Stupid Yanks! A state that has no history and knows only the use of barbaric violence can only perish.
In addition, Saudi Arabia requires all ministerial officials to study the ancient Chinese classic “Zhan Guo Ce”.
Don’t underestimate this book, it may change the future landscape of the Middle East.
3 trillion US dollars, the Americans should pay off their debts to China quickly!
44 days left in the US government shutdown!
The economic growth rate of China in the second half of the year is estimated to be over 6%.
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves
Salt, to taste
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, preheat the olive oil to medium-high. Sauté the onion in hot oil until transparent. Add the garlic, curry powder and coriander; continue to sauté for another minute or two.
Stir in the canned and fresh tomatoes; bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook gently until the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the okra and chicken-style broth; return to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook gently for about 10 to 15 minutes, or just until the okra is tender.
Just before serving, stir in the cilantro. Add salt to taste.
Serve promptly for best color and freshest taste.
Hip-Hop Fan REACTS To Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond
When they met my dad was studying for becoming a doctor. His main passions were video games and music. He’s always been kind of a genius academically. He is very reserved and does not talk a lot at first.
My mom, on the other side, was a high school student. She was the president of the Students Council, a gymnast and a photo model. She was always surrounded by many friends, she liked parties and having fun. Despite being skilled, she wasn’t a top student, her sassy behavior didn’t help either.
My dad was supposed to meet a girl for a date. The girl asked my mom to go with her just to check that everything would go smoothly and well. However, it was love at first sight between my parents. They dated for seven years, for a period of time they even lived in different cities, but their love never ceased. They married in 1994, one year later my older sister was born.
So, my parents got married for love. They are so different from each other, yet so perfect. They complete one another.
Mandarin learning boom in the Middle East
Saudi Arabia is the latest country to mandate Chinese language education in schools as the region embraces closer ties with Beijing.
While interest in learning Mandarin declines in the West, Middle Eastern children are attending classes in China’s official language as part of a geopolitical shift in the region.
Last month, Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab country in the region, mandated Mandarin lessons in all public and private secondary schools, which are expected to extend classes to second-year pupils during this academic year. The extension of Mandarin education in Saudi secondary schools follows a 2019 agreement, struck during the Crown Prince’s visit to Beijing, to have Mandarin lessons at all levels of school.
The long-standing US ally is looking to bolster its ties with China beyond the oil trade to technology, infrastructure, and even arms, in an economic diversification blueprint backed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Last month, Saudi Arabia, together with Iran and the UAE, were among six countries invited to join Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa in an expansion of the BRICS association of leading emerging economies.
The United Arab Emirates – with a population of 9.3 million and the world’s seventh-largest oil reserves – was the first Gulf state to include Mandarin in its national education system. With Beijing’s help, the UAE started a Chinese language program in 100 schools in 2019 that expanded last year to 158 public schools, according to figures from the Chinese embassy in Abu Dhabi.
In 2020, Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding with China to adopt Mandarin as an elective for a second foreign language subject at primary and secondary school levels. Later that year, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi endorsed a law adding Mandarin to the list of foreign languages that can be taught in middle and high schools across the country.
In my late teens I worked as a school cook. It was a private boarding school mostly for military and diplomatic families, it gave the kids stability as the parents were posted all over the world. Part of the job was to supply lunch to the board of governors once per month. A guy came into the kitchen, said he was the chairman of the board of governors and asked if he could have more pudding. Lucky for him there was some left so I filled his bowl and off he went a happy chap. The following month he came back and every month I worked there he would come into the kitchen for more pudding. I started to call him Oliver as he was asking for more. He was particularly fond of the steamed jam rollypolly so always filled his bowl. He told me that he had told his cousin and her family about my puddings and how nice they were. His wife came in once to tell me not to give him so much as he was putting on weight!
A few years later I was visiting my parents who lived next to the lifeboat shed and a new lifeboat was being presented and dedicated. I saw “Oliver” in the crowd and shouted him over. Asked what he was doing there, seems he was with the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) and he was there to present the new boat. Later my dad asked if I knew who I had been talking too. So I told him the above. Then dad told me that the man I knew as Oliver was a Duke and cousin to the queen!!
Edit :
It’s over forty years since these events I don’t follow royal circles and memory gets vague with time! I have been told that the man I knew as “Oliver” died sometime in the late eighties so have changed the answer in response to this sad news, he was a nice bloke.
It was a regular day at the bank. I was speaking to one of our high-net clients, AH. He needed help with his account and I was explaining some transactions to him. Suddenly we heard a loud retching followed by a thud.
Both of us looked towards the source of the sound and saw a guy sprawled on the floor just inside the branch entrance. People rushed towards him. The branch wasn’t crowded, thankfully. There were just a few customers present at that time.
As I neared the guy, I realised that he was a regular visitor… an office boy who used to come in almost daily to deposit cheques and for other mundane chores. I called out to our support staff and requested him to get water. The guy had fainted after vomiting, perhaps due to the extreme heat outside. While I gently tapped his shoulder and called out his name to wake him, one of my colleagues attempted to manoeuvre his way to figure out how to pick him up.
AH, who had been observing us all along, coolly walked to the prone figure (without bothering about the messy floor), bent down and cradled the collapsed guy’s head. He gently raised him, supported his arms and helped him to the seating area. The guy, who was regained consciousness by then, looked at us numbly. While our staff handed him a glass of water, AH removed a pristine white handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to the guy to wipe his vomit stained face. After ascertaining that the guy didn’t need any more immediate help, AH excused himself and discreetly asked to be directed to our washroom where he could clean his hands.
As I sat down with AH after some time, I couldn’t help but marvel at the complete ease with which he helped out a stranger in a situation that would make most people balk. His nonchalance towards the mess was at complete odds with his concern for another fellow being. And while others were either panicking or fumbling, he handled the matter with maturity and an ease that spoke volumes about him! When I gushed over his actions he shushed me down with a simple logic. ‘I would like to be helped should I ever face some issue like this. What I expect, I should be ready to offer as well.’
AH didn’t remain a mere high-net client from that day on. He became a highly respected one too!
Actions speak louder than words they say. In this case, they did more… they revealed and taught!
Achieved Mass Production Achieved in 180 Days! China Breaks Foreign Monopoly in the Chip Industry！
I was given full and sole conservatorship (read “custody”) of my daughters after my wife of 20 years walked out on us for someone else.
About 3 years later, my ex managed to scrape together enough money to engage a lawyer to challenge the custody order. I was totally freaked out, tbh. I sold a car and borrowed a couple thousand dollars from my brother to get my own lawyer. I had gathered evidence and my daughters were prepared for private conferences with the judge. As they were only 11 and 14 at the time, you can imagine their stress and upset as well.
When the day of the hearing rolled around, however, my ex’es lawyer turned out to be a dud. An exceptional dud, at that. He stood before the judge and basically argued for a change of custody based on the fact that my ex really, really wanted the order to be changed. The judge left the custody order intact.
I can only assume that my ex was victimized by a predatory lawyer who made promises he could never keep. I had new ulcers and was 3000 dollars in the hole…but my kids stayed safe with me. It was the sheer ineptitude of the lawyer that amazed me. My lawyer just had to shake his head and laugh.
I’ve been alone, single, and heartbroken. And I’ve been in the most amazing intimate relationships imaginable.
I’ve traveled the world, made friends, lost friends, and tried things I never thought I would.
At the end of the day, I’ve realized that living a good life is a lot simpler than people try to make it out to be.
And here are my 15 best tips for achieving it.
1. Sleep 9 Hours a Night
Plain and simple. You’ll feel better, look better, be more productive, be happier, and be less likely to suffer from obesity and chronic diseases.
Sleep isn’t a weakness. It’s a necessity.
Get 7.5–9 hours a night and I promise your life will change.
2. Be Happy Now
Happiness is a choice (even though we’d like to think otherwise).
So stop trying to achieve happiness and just decide to be happy. You can make the most out of terrible situations and learn to find joy and gratitude in even your darkest times.
Your life is better than 99% of the human beings who lived on this planet before you.
So be happy now.
3. Create Passive Income Asap
It’s worth 10x working income and creates ultimate freedom in your life.
If you can build a website, write a book, or launch a product that generates $5,000 a month semi-automatically, your life will change forever.
4. Exercise Everyday
There’s no reason to go a day without exercise. You don’t have to lift heavy everyday, but you must MOVE.
You’ll be happier, stronger, smarter (literally), and more productive.
It takes less than 30 minutes to get a good sweat on and it can add years to your life. No excuses.
5. Prioritize Lifestyle > Money (But Money Also)
Money is great. But living a life of freedom is better. Prioritize living a great life and embrace minimalism. Make money, sure. But don’t make money at the expense of living your life.
6. Stop Eating Sugar
It’s basically poison and has no nutritional value. A cookie here and there isn’t a big deal, but the less of this crap you eat, the better you’ll feel and the more effectively you’ll perform.
7. Do The Things YouWant to Do
Life is too short to live for other people.
So your parents want you to be a Doctor? So what! They don’t have to live your life or shoulder your regrets.
Do what you want to do and remember that life is too damn short to follow other people’s dreams.
8. Only Take Advice From People You’d Trade Lives With
If someone doesn’t have the life that you want or at least a life that you’d want. Don’t take their advice.
This includes me.
If you want to be a billionaire mega investor and rule the world, don’t listen to a word I say.
If you want to have a life of happiness, financial freedom, and lifestyle independence, I might have a thing or two to teach you.
9. Travel More and Travel Longer
You’ll never regret it. It will open your eyes to new ways of living, thinking, and being and will be the most transformative experience of your life.
If you have the opportunity to travel somewhere new, always say “Yes.”
10. Make Time to Think
Don’t get so caught up in doing things that you forget to make time to think.
Ponder deep questions, ask yourself what you really want out of life, figure out innovative solutions to your problems.
Make time for deep thought and you’ll be amazed at how your life will change.
11. Quit Complaining
It doesn’t help you, it pisses off the people around you, and makes you less attractive.
Remind me again why you think it’s a good thing to bitch about traffic all the time?
12. Stop Lying
To your friends, family, and most importantly… Yourself.
Live in truth. Be authentic. Stop making crap up and pretending you’re ok to make other people happy.
You can only change your life from a place of truth.
Be honest about your reality, desires, and obstacles and you’ll find that the solutions come easier.
13. Read as Much as You Can
Never pass up an opportunity to expand your mind and broaden your horizons. Read about everything.
Science, psychology, self help, business, history, biographies, fiction. You name it.
The more you read, the more well rounded you’ll become and the better your life will be.
14. Be Nice to Yourself
You’re the only person you have to live with for the rest of your life. So try being nice to yourself.
Watch the negative self talk. Believe in yourself. Treat yourself with love and respect.
Before you do, say, or pursue anything, ask yourself, “If a close friend was in this situation, how would I respond or what would I encourage him/her to do?”
15. Don’t be a Dick
Seriously…
Life is too short to yell at the Verizon customer support agent over a payment dispute. The poor gal wasn’t the one who double charged your account, so don’t take it out on her.
Life has a funny way of reprimanding mean people.
So be nice to people and stop being a dick, m’kay?
Hope this helps
Stay Grounded, Andrew
ALIEN WAR and The Horrors of Dulce Underground Base
It’s the 14th century. John the Blacksmith comes home from the forge to find his wife crying in the kitchen.
“What ails ye, wife?” he asks.
“Our son,” she wails. “He’s been taken, John!”
John runs to the bed chamber, his stomach churning with fear. Young Luke… gone… he’d have the whole village up and searching within the hour, and damn the darkness. Except, when he opens the door, he finds the child standing in his cot, staring at the walls and singing nonsense to himself.
“What nonsense is this, woman?” he shouts back to the kitchen. “He’s right here!”
“It’s not him,” she sobs. “A mother knows. It’s not him!”
John frowns. He’s heard the stories, of course, but he never believed they were actually true. He walks up to young Luke, calls his name. Luke looks up, then looks away. He doesn’t smile, just carries on singing the same tune over and over.
John returns to the kitchen, and holds his wife as she cries.
“I told you,” she said. “It was the faeries, John. They’ve taken our son, and left a changeling in his stead.”
John nods. His grandmother’s stories were true. She’d said once that his own uncle had been taken by the faeries, that the child they’d left behind grew up… strange. He’d lived by himself in the woods for many a year; the village left him be, and he left them alone in turn. Granny had said the faeries would come back to the same family again. He’d brought this curse upon them.
“What do we do, John?”
He shook his head. “We have to raise him, wife, as though he were our own. Sometimes… they bring them back. Sometimes. But they won’t unless we raise theirs in return.”
“And if they don’t?”
He had no answer for that.
A lot of autistic children seem normal in their early years – one reason why diagnosis is unreliable when they are very young. It’s been suggested before that the myth of the changeling – a faerie child swapped for an identical human one – could derive from those small children seeming “different” to their parents as they get older. It would be nice to think that they were still raised by their parents and found a place in society, even on the fringe of it – however, given the high rate of infant mortality back then, it’s entirely possible that a lot of them were abandoned or even killed.
It’s also quite plausible that a lot of them were given to the Church. What better way to drive out any demons that may possess them? And a monastic life would probably suit many autistic people – minimal distractions, a set routine, limited social interaction…
The point is, autism has been around as long as humans have. We just didn’t know what it was. Those who were high functioning enough to be part of the village were considered a bit weird but generally tolerated. Those who weren’t, if they survived, would be outsiders. And those that couldn’t function were entirely reliant on their families to survive – if those families were willing to help them.
Brian Berletic: China DESTROYS US War Plans as Europe Rejects Taiwan Independence
USA : Please help us to end the Ukraine War so that we can concentrate War in the island of Taiwan with you.
I was about eighteen, shy, thin, poor, and an artist. I was living in a factory town that did not appreciate anyone who didn’t fit in and I didn’t.
I was raised to be a gentleman and to be nice to everyone. This is not a popular thing when you are young and it is often misunderstood.
I was getting gas for my vehicle and I was dealing with rejection a few hours earlier from a girl that I really liked. She had just told me that I was too polite and nice.
I paid for my gas and walked to the convenience store doorway. I was on the cusp of deciding to stop being polite and nice.
I stepped out and noticed an older black man, who was likely in his eighties, dressed as if he was coming from church was coming up to the door. Without thinking, I held it open for him, nodded, and smiled.
So much for my tough guy plan.
He doffed his porkpie hat to me and said the words that changed my life. With a twinkle in his eyes, he said, “You sir, are a gentleman.”
I beamed. Yes, he’s right. That is who I am, and as importantly, who I want to be.
He probably never knew just how important his kind words were to the man that I would become.
I remember him and the gas station, but don’t even remember the name or even face of the woman who had told me I was too nice.
Life is grand when we treat everyone with kindness and care.
This is it. The roadmap & Plan for the post-American-led global world order. This document, is lengthy, but is being followed by MOST OF THE WORLD outside the West. -MM
Trump Latinos Charles J. Jones & Forgiato Blow – America Uncanceled
This one is really great. A bit “red neck”, but I really like that people are trying to fight back from the insanity of Washington DC. But it’s gonna take more than singing…
The new announcements from Huawei just keep on coming:
Huawei announces new 5.5G wireless standard which is already implemented on the Huawei Mate 60 Pro family;
Tencent, owner of WeChat, announces full support for Huawei’s HarmonyOS. WeChat has more than 1B accounts in China alone
Significantly, Huawei is going ahead with its new technology announcements without seeking approval through tech standards committees which are dominated by western tech companies.
In 2024, many new chip fabs which were hiding will start going into production for chips over >5nm. These fabs will be coming online at the same time, and there will be a price war as they fight for sales.
Qualcomm, based in San Diego, is a leading maker of wireless transceivers, and has announced the layoff of 1,200 personnel in December 2023.
Leading American tech brands will be hit badly as Chinese makers eat into their business.
China WARNS Neocons of Consequences as Biden, Blinken Sink to New Low
In the 1980s my Dad bought a complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, including the children’s version. My Dad passed away in 2002 and my Mom has held on to them. Last year she was cleaning house and she asked me if I wanted them for my kids. I told her that my kids would have no use for them. She tried giving it to a local orphanage in Nairobi (Kenya) and they, too, declined to take them. They did ask if we could donate a computer instead. So in 2023, encyclopedias are pretty much worthless even for orphanages in developing countries.
Because people are willing to pay a lot for a hamburger.
This is a fundamental rule of economics a lot of folks don’t get. With the exception of some commodity goods, price of a good or service doesn’t depend on the cost of making it. You don’t set the price by taking the cost of production, adding some amount for profit, and then using that for the price.
In technical terms, the input price is disconnected from the output price.
You set the price as high as the market will bear. You do everything you can to drive the cost as low as possible. You keep everything in between.
Suppose people will pay $15 for your burgers. Why would you set the price at $10? You’d have to be a moron to do that. If people will pay $15, you sell for $15.
If the burger costs $8 to make and people will pay $15, you sell for $15.
If the burger costs $6 to make and people will pay $15, you sell for $15.
If the burger costs $2 to make and people will pay $15, you sell for $15.
the real price of the American Dream for Black women & why I gave it up
There is a reason you don’t see other countries “buzz” the carriers. They will buzz destroyers and spy planes, but not the carriers. At least not too closely. Shadow? Sure, but from a fair distance.
If you start interfering with something that expensive containing 5,000+ American lives, the stakes get much bigger much quicker. The carrier and its escorts will absolutely destroy anything they believe to be a threat to the carrier and its operations, even in peace time. Everyone knows this. We are talking about the crown jewels of the US military here, most of the USN is tasked almost exclusively with defending them at all costs.
Carrier escorts will literally throw themselves in front of torpedoes in order to protect the carrier if they have to. In WWII, the Royal Navy was stunned to learn the US planned to do exactly that even with capital ships like battleships if necessary. I am not joking, even today there are protocols where escorts will criss-cross through the wake of the carriers to act as a physical shield against wake homing torpedoes.
The point of “buzzing” isn’t to be an open threat though, its to harass and to voice a general displeasure at your presence.
The problem with harassing a carrier is that the line between harassment and threat is very blurred due to the sheer value of the carrier in both people and treasure. What the CO of an American carrier views as a threat might be very different to what a Russian or Chinese fighter pilot may believe is simply harassment, especially when you have active flight operations on an already chaotic and dangerous floating airport.
It is best to tread carefully near them for all involved. There are plenty of other lesser targets to annoy. You don’t want to get any closer than this for the most part:
“Poor Men South of Portland” by Jon Reep
It’s a massive play on words for a subject that needs attention.
Let me tell you China will 100% not allow the U.S. and the west to ever freely manipulate China, Chinese laws, Chinese systems and policies and Chinese rules and regulations in China.
To China, they have a more effective and efficient democracy and democratic process that has stood the test of time. To the Chinese people and many others in the world we find the U.S. political systems highly ineffective and inefficient and unsustainable. Hence China will never ever adopt the western political system if that Is what you are asking.
China will be as free as it makes sense. For example in China you are free to drink on the street. In the US you can be arrested for drinking on the street. But in China you cannot even carry or have possession of a knife linger that 15 cm in the Public. Weapons of any kind Is totally not allowed by anybody! To us it makes PERFECT sense!
In the West and US you can shout obceneties and curse politicians. But Chinese people prefer cultured respectful dialogue.
Burkina Faso Sacks Chief Of Staff After He Was Caught Selling Out His Country
I was tapping a parking meter with my credit card, and looked down, and saw, not a wallet. But the contents of a wallet. A credit card, a health insurance card, a rewards card, and a debit card.
Since it was a busy pay station, it hadn’t been there for long. I picked it up, ran into my meeting, and looked at the cards. They had an unusual name, so I googled it, and found two people with that last name in the city, and a food critic article, about a new chef, starting a new restaurant, and he had the exact name. So I called the restaurant, and left a message, that I found something of his, and if he could tell me what he was missing, I would return it to him. There was no reply, so I phoned the person with a different initial and the same last name, and left a message, that if they knew the other guy, to have him call me.
Nothing. The next day I left another message at the restaurant, and got no reply. The next day, I left a message saying I was going to drop it off at the police station, and he could do what he wanted, as I was done stressing over it.
I figured, that had I called the restaurant within 5 minutes of the card being lost, and if he was close to where he lost it, he could have it back in ten minutes from the time he lost it, and not have to cancel his cards, so I was trying hard to get it to him, but afterwards, I figured he would have already cancelled the card.
The next day he phones me and tells me that his wife lost the cards, and she only uses them maybe once a week, and never knew that they were missing.
It was only when the police phoned him, that she checked. He figured I was a scammer, and didn’t return my call. He said he had words with his wife, because she had no idea that anything had happened in those three says. Both the credit card and debit card had tap, I probably could have bought $500 bucks a day worth of stuff, for a week, before his wife noticed.
I never got an apology or a thank you, just an explanation.
But despite that, I will continue returning lost wallets, because I once left $200 in a bank machine, and and a young lady chased me down, a half block to return it. So I know there are other good people out there.
Declining US Empire vs Rising China
These two guys are GREAT. Love watching them.
A Global Community of Shared Future:
China’s Proposals and Actions
The State Council Information Office of
the People’s Republic of China
September 2023
Contents
Preface
I. Humanity at a Crossroads
II. An Answer to the Call of the Times and a Blueprint for the Future
III. Deep Roots in History and Cultural Traditions
IV. Direction and Path
V. China’s Action and Contribution
Conclusion
Preface
In the universe there is only one Earth, the shared home of humanity. Unfortunately, this planet on which we rely for our subsistence is facing immense and unprecedented crises, both known and unknown, both foreseeable and unforeseeable. Whether human civilization can survive these has become an existential issue that must be squarely faced. More and more people have come to the realization that rather than amassing material wealth, the most pressing task is to find a guiding beacon for the sustainable development of human civilization, because we all care about our future.
Ten years ago President Xi Jinping propounded the idea of building a global community of shared future, answering a question raised by the world, by history, and by the times: “Where is humanity headed?” His proposal lights the path forward as the world fumbles for solutions, and represents China’s contribution to global efforts to protect our shared home and create a better future of prosperity for all.
To build a global community of shared future, all peoples, all countries, and all individuals – our destinies being interconnected – must stand together in adversity and through thick and thin, navigating towards greater harmony on this planet that we call home. We should endeavor to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity, turning people’s longing for a better life into reality.
The vision of a global community of shared future bears in mind the wellbeing of all humanity. It is based on both observation of the present and visionary planning for the future. It lays out goals, charts the path, and offers action plans to achieve them. It concerns the future of humanity and the destiny of every human being.
President Xi Jinping first raised the vision of a global community of shared future when addressing the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 2013. Over the past decade it has been steadily enriched. He fleshed it out with a five-point proposal [The five points are: We should build partnerships in which countries treat each other as equals, engage in extensive consultation, and enhance mutual understanding. We should create a security environment featuring fairness, justice, joint efforts, and shared interests. We should promote open, innovative and inclusive development that benefits all. We should increase inter-civilization exchanges to promote harmony, inclusiveness, and respect for differences. We should build an ecosystem that puts Mother Nature and green development first.] in his speech at the General Debate of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly in 2015. He further proposed five goals for the world [The five goals are: We should build a world of lasting peace through dialogue and consultation. We should build a world of common security for all through joint efforts. We should build a world of common prosperity through win-win cooperation. We should build an open and inclusive world through exchanges and mutual learning. We should make our world clean and beautiful by pursuing green and low-carbon development.] in his speech at the United Nations Office in Geneva in 2017. This represents the steady increase in the depth and scope of the vision.
The past decade has seen steady progress in implementing the vision. From bilateral to multilateral and from regional to global dimensions, ground-breaking results have been achieved on every front. The Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative have taken root and borne fruits, bringing prosperity and stability to the world and creating substantive benefits for the people.
Over the past decade, the vision of a global community of shared future has gained broader support. More countries and people have come to the understanding that this vision serves the common interests of humanity, represents popular calls for peace, justice and progress, and can create the greatest synergy among all nations for building a better world. It is now widely recognized in the international community that the vision has nothing to do with self-interest and protectionism. Instead, by presenting China’s vision of the course of human development, it confronts the hegemonic thinking of certain countries that seek supremacy. It is therefore of great significance to promote solidarity and cooperation among all countries and create a better future for humanity.
The Chinese government is publishing this white paper to introduce the theoretical base, practice and development of a global community of shared future. We hope it will improve understanding and expand consensus in the international community, and reinforce the global effort to realize this vision.
I. Humanity at a Crossroads
This is an era of promise, and an era of challenges. At yet another crossroads in history, we have to choose between unity and division, between opening up and closing off, between cooperation and confrontation. With the overall interests of humanity at stake, this choice tests the wisdom of all countries.
1. Interdependence is the prevailing trend throughout history
In its history, humanity has progressed from primitive society to the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and now the Information Revolution. While this process has seen a steep increase in productivity, one fundamental reality has remained unchanged: The Earth is our one and only home. All countries bear responsibility for the safety of this planet and the future of humanity. If the pursuit of power and profit escalates to vicious competition or even armed conflict, self-destruction will be the certain outcome.
Throughout history, peace and development have been the primary aspirations of humanity. Having experienced the ravages of wars and conflicts, especially the two world wars, people around the globe have built a keener awareness of cherishing peace, expanding cooperation, and seeking common development. The idea that “we are all one human family” is gaining traction, and the desire for a global community grows stronger than ever.
Globalization has improved the allocation of production factors worldwide, including capital, information, technology, labor and management. As if connecting scattered lakes and creeks into an uninterrupted expanse of water, it draws nations out of isolation and away from the obsolete model of self-reliance, merging their individual markets into a global one and combining their respective experiences into world history.
As information technology advances with every passing day, most prominently in the fields of Internet, big data, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence, human exchanges have become deeper, broader, and more extensive than ever before, and countries are more interconnected and interdependent than at any point in the past. Globalization is not an option; it is the reality and the way of life. The global village is getting smaller – the longest distance between two places on earth has been reduced to a flight of no greater than 24 hours, and our planet is becoming flat – one tap on a mobile phone connects us to the other side of the world in a split second. This is an integrated world. Those who turn their back on it will have no place in it.
Living on the same planet, all countries, adjacent or distant, large or small, developed or developing, are members of an emerging community of shared interests, responsibility, and destiny, whose wellbeing and security are interrelated. Only when appropriate attention is paid to the collective future of humanity is it possible that the wishes of every country, people and individual come true. Whatever we may encounter on our journey ahead, the only right choice is to work together for the benefit of all.
2. Global challenges call for global response
Our world is undergoing change on a scale unseen in a century. Various problems old and new and complex issues are converging with and compounding each other, posing unprecedented challenges for human society. Instability, uncertainty, and unpredictability are now the norm.
The peace deficit is growing. Though human society has largely maintained peace since the end of World War II, threats to world peace continue to amass. War has returned to the Eurasian continent, tensions are rising, and a series of flashpoints are emerging. The shadow of the arms race lingers on, and the threat of nuclear war – the Sword of Damocles that hangs over humanity – remains. Our world is at risk of plunging into confrontation and even war.
The development deficit is ballooning. The global economic recovery is sluggish, and unilateralism and protectionism are rampant. Some countries are turning to a “small yard, high fence” approach to wall themselves off; they are pushing for decoupling, severing and “derisking” supply chains. All this has caused setbacks to globalization. At the same time the Covid-19 pandemic has reversed global development, exacerbating the North-South gap, development fault lines, and the technology divide. The Human Development Index has declined for the first time in 30 years. The world’s poor population has increased by more than 100 million, and nearly 800 million people live in hunger.
The security deficit is glaring. Due to more intense global strategic competition and a lack of mutual trust between major countries, the Cold War mindset has re-emerged, and calls for ideological confrontation have resurfaced. Some countries’ hegemonic, abusive, and aggressive actions against others, in the form of swindling, plundering, oppression, and the zero-sum game, are causing great harm. Non-traditional security challenges are on the rise, including terrorism, cyber-attacks, transnational crime, and biological threats.
The governance deficit is more severe. The world is facing multiple governance crises. The energy crisis, food crisis, and debt crisis are intensifying. Global climate governance is urgently needed, and the transition to green, low-carbon development requires dedicated efforts over an extended period of time. The digital divide continues to expand, and sound governance of artificial intelligence is lacking. The Covid-19 pandemic is a mirror through which we have observed that the global governance system is falling further behind the times and keeps breaking down on issues requiring resolution. It has to be reformed and improved.
In the face of global crises, the 190-plus countries in the world are all in the same big boat. Only big boats can withstand battering winds and crashing waves. No country, however strong it may be, can do everything on its own. We must engage in global cooperation. Only when all countries work together, only when we align individual interests with the interests of all, and only when we truly build a global community of shared future, can humanity tide through the crises confronting us and sail towards a better future.
3. The new era calls for new ideas
This is an era when the world is undergoing rapid changes almost every day. We can no longer interpret the reality we are living in or find satisfactory solutions to the conundrums we are facing by means of traditional approaches to international relations. It is increasingly obvious that the idea that “all strong countries will seek hegemony”, the obsession with superior strength, and the zero-sum mentality are in conflict with the needs of our times. Humanity is in great need of new ideas that generate positive developments and conform to positive historical trends.
There is no iron law that dictates that a rising power will inevitably seek hegemony. This assumption represents typical hegemonic thinking and is grounded in memories of catastrophic wars between hegemonic powers in the past. China has never accepted that once a country becomes strong enough, it will invariably seek hegemony. China understands the lesson of history – that hegemony preludes decline. We pursue development and revitalization through our own efforts, rather than invasion or expansion. And everything we do is for the purpose of providing a better life for our people, all the while creating more development opportunities for the entire world, not in order to supersede or subjugate others.
The strong preying on the weak is not a way for humans to coexist. If the law of the jungle is imposed on human society, and the idea that “might makes right” prevails, the principle of sovereign equality will be fundamentally undermined, and world peace and stability will be severely endangered. In the age of globalization, all countries are interdependent and interconnected. Therefore the law of the jungle and the winner-takes-all mindset will lead nowhere – inclusive development for the benefit of all is the right path forward. China has consistently championed equity and justice, and remains committed to friendly cooperation with other countries, on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, in order to advance democracy in international relations.
The zero-sum game in which one wins by causing others to lose is doomed to fail. Nevertheless, certain countries still cling to this mindset, blindly pursuing absolute security and monopolistic advantages. This will do nothing for their development over the long run; it will simply create a major threat to world peace and prosperity. No country should hope for others to fail. Instead, it should work together with other countries for the success of all. China consistently aligns its development with global development, and aligns the interests of the Chinese people with the common interests of all peoples around the world. When the world thrives, China thrives, and vice versa.
II. An Answer to the Call of the Times and
a Blueprint for the Future
Standing at a crossroads, humanity is faced with two opposing options. One is to revert to the Cold War mentality that deepens division and antagonism and stokes confrontation between blocs. The other is to act for the common wellbeing of humanity, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, advocate openness and win-win results, and promote equality and respect. The tug of war between these two options will shape the future of humanity and our planet in a profound way.
To build a global community of shared future is to pursue openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit, equity and justice. The goal is not to replace one system or civilization with another. Instead, it is about countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures and levels of development coming together to promote shared interests, shared rights, and shared responsibilities in global affairs. The vision of a global community of shared future stands on the right side of history and on the side of human progress. It introduces a new approach for international relations, provides new ideas for global governance, opens up new prospects for international exchanges, and draws a new blueprint for a better world.
1. Introducing a new approach to international relations
The current international order is facing a myriad of challenges. Some countries, holding to the notion of might makes right, willfully engage in bullying, plundering and zero-sum competition. The development gap is widening and the deficit in security is growing. The isolationist and exclusive practice of alliance-based confrontation runs counter to the trend towards multipolarity and the evolution of international relations in the post-Cold War era. Especially with the rise of a large number of emerging market and developing countries, the current international order is increasingly out of step with the changing times. “What kind of world we need and how to build such a world” has become a vital question with the future of humanity at stake.
China’s answer to this question of the times is to build a global community of shared future. It means that with their futures closely interlocked, all nations and countries should stick together, share weal and woe, live together in harmony, and engage in mutually beneficial cooperation. The idea is based on a reasonable design for state-to-state relations. It reflects the general consensus and common expectations of the international community, and demonstrates China’s sense of duty as a responsible major country.
In this global village, all human beings are one big family. With their interests intertwined and futures interlocked, countries are turning into a community of shared future. Such a vision rises above the exclusive rules of bloc politics, the notion of might makes right, and the “universal values” defined by a handful of Western countries. It conforms to the trend of the times, echoes the call for global cooperation, and contributes to a more just and equitable international order.
2. Highlighting the new features of global governance
The concept of a global community of shared future holds that all countries share a common future, and envisions a world characterized by openness and inclusiveness, equity and justice, harmonious coexistence, diversity and mutual learning, and unity and cooperation.
– Openness and inclusiveness. Countries should not draw lines based on ideology, target specific countries, or gang up to form exclusive blocs. The ocean is vast because it admits all rivers. To build a global community of shared future, countries should advance democracy in international relations to make sure that the future of the world is determined by all, that international rules are written by all, that global affairs are governed by all, and that the fruits of development are shared by all.
– Equity and justice. The world needs justice, not hegemonism. No country has the right to dominate global affairs, dictate the future of others, or monopolize development advantages. Countries should safeguard the international order based on international law, uphold the authority of the international rule of law, and ensure equal and unified application of international law. The practice of double standards or selective application of law should be rejected.
– Harmonious coexistence. Countries should strive to achieve peaceful coexistence and common development by seeking common ground while reserving differences. Planet Earth is not an arena for wrestling between countries, but a stage for human coexistence. Despite their differences and diverse features, countries can develop together in harmony and unity, and it is precisely such diversity that gives strength to global development.
– Diversity and mutual learning. Different histories, national conditions, ethnic groups, and customs have given birth to diverse civilizations. Diversity of human civilizations is a basic feature of our world. Mutual learning among civilizations provides important impetus to human progress. Countries should respect one another and jointly pursue common development through exchanges and mutual learning.
– Unity and cooperation. Countries should act for the greater good. Pursuing development behind closed doors can only result in poverty. Viewed from a “country-first” perspective, the world is small and crowded, and locked in “fierce competition”; viewed from the perspective of a shared future, the world is vast, and full of opportunities for cooperation. No country can overcome global development challenges on its own. Cooperation among all countries is the only viable option.
3. Opening up new prospects for international exchanges
China has made a five-point proposal for building a global community of shared future in the areas of partnerships, security environment, development, inter-civilization exchanges, and ecosystem. This has opened up new prospects for international exchanges.
We should build partnerships in which countries treat each other as equals, engage in extensive consultation, and enhance mutual understanding. The principle of sovereign equality runs through the UN Charter. All countries are equals. The big, the mighty and the wealthy should not bully the small, the weak and the poor. We should uphold multilateralism and reject unilateralism. We should replace the outdated mindset of winner takes all with a new vision of seeking win-win outcomes for all. We should forge global partnerships at both international and regional levels, and embrace a new approach to state-to-state relations, one founded on dialogue rather than confrontation and that seeks partnership rather than alliance. In handling their relations, major countries should follow the principles of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation. Big countries should treat small countries as equals and take the right approach to friendship and interests, pursuing both friendship and interests and putting friendship first.
We should create a security environment featuring fairness, justice, joint efforts, and shared interests. In the age of economic globalization, the security of all countries is interlinked, and each has an impact on the others. No country can maintain absolute security on its own, and no country can achieve stability by destabilizing others. The law of the jungle leaves the weak at the mercy of the strong; it is not the way for countries to conduct their relations. Those who choose to oppress will invite harm to themselves, like lifting a rock only to drop it on their own feet. We should reject Cold War mentality in all its manifestation, and foster a new vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.
We should promote open, innovative and inclusive development that benefits all. Development is meaningful only when it is inclusive and sustainable. To achieve such development requires openness, mutual assistance and mutually beneficial relations. Long-term global development cannot be founded on one group of countries becoming increasingly prosperous while another group of countries remain chronically poor and backward. Development should be placed high on the international agenda, and efforts should be made to reduce inequality and imbalance in global development, leaving no country or individual behind.
We should increase inter-civilization exchanges to promote harmony, inclusiveness, and respect for differences. There are more than 200 countries and regions, over 2,500 ethnic groups and a vast number of religions in our world. Such cultural diversity is what makes the world colorful. Diversity breeds exchanges, exchanges lead to integration, and integration brings progress. Only by upholding the equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness of civilizations, and working for mutual respect, experience sharing, and harmonious coexistence while preserving diversity, can the world maintain its diversity and thrive. We should respect all civilizations, treat each other as equals, and draw inspiration from each other to boost the creative development of human civilization.
We should build an ecosystem that puts Mother Nature and green development first. Humanity may have the ability to utilize nature and even transform it, but it is still a part of nature. We should care for nature and not place ourselves above it. We should reconcile industrial development with nature, and pursue harmony between humanity and nature to achieve sustainable global development and all-round human development. We should respect nature, follow its ways, and protect it. We should firmly pursue green, low-carbon, circular and sustainable development.
4. Outlining a new vision for building a better world
China proposes to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, common security, and common prosperity. From “the five-point proposal” to “the five goals”, the concept of a global community of shared future has gained a broader historical perspective and deeper meaning, and set a clearer goal and drawn a clearer blueprint for the future of humanity.
We should build a world of lasting peace through dialogue and consultation. It means beating the swords of war into the plowshares of peace. The stone wall at the entrance to the UNESCO headquarters carries the inscription of one single message: “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.” Throughout human history, obsession with power and hegemony has led to frequent wars and loss of lives. The lessons are painful and profound, and we need to remove the fuses of war from our minds. Big countries should treat the smaller ones as equals instead of seeking unilateral dominance or imposing their will on others. No country should open Pandora’s box by willfully provoking turmoil and armed conflict or undermining the international rule of law. Countries should respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, and respect the development path and social system chosen by other peoples.
We should build a world of common security for all through joint efforts. It means turning absolute security for one into common security for all. There is no place in the world that enjoys absolute security, and a country cannot build its security on the turmoil of others. Threats to other countries can turn into a challenge to one’s own country. When neighbors are in trouble, instead of reinforcing one’s own fences, one should extend a helping hand. As challenges often take on global dimensions, it is all the more important for countries to cooperate in addressing them, turning pressure into motivation and crises into opportunities. Unilateral action or blind belief in the use of force cannot address the complex international security threats. The only solution lies in cooperative and common security. It is normal for countries to have differences, and they should be properly addressed through dialogue and consultation. As long as we show sincerity, goodwill and political wisdom, no conflict is too big to resolve and no ice is too thick to break.
We should build a world of common prosperity through win-win cooperation. It means bidding farewell to the winner-takes-all mindset and sharing development achievements. In this day and age, the international community has evolved into a sophisticated and integrated apparatus, as the removal of any single part will cause serious problems to its overall operation. We must keep to the correct direction of economic globalization, and oppose any attempt to set up technological blockades, cause technological divides, or seek development decoupling. While we should make the pie of the global economy bigger, it is even more important to divide it well, so that development achievements can benefit people of all countries more equitably, and bring about true cooperation and win-win results.
We should build an open and inclusive world through exchanges and mutual learning. It means bidding farewell to the mindset that one civilization is superior to another and starting to appreciate the strengths of other civilizations. Our world can fully accommodate the common growth and progress of all countries, and success for one country does not mean failure for another. There is no universally applicable development path. A development path that continuously benefits the people is the most viable one. Countries and nations should respect their differences and seek harmony without uniformity, and civilizations should draw strength from each other and make progress together. Exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations should be a driving force for human progress and a strong underpinning for world peace.
We should make our world clean and beautiful by pursuing green and low-carbon development. It means bidding farewell to the destructive exploitation of resources and preserving and enjoying the lush mountains and lucid waters. Humanity coexists with nature. Any harm we inflict on nature will eventually come back to haunt us. We often take natural resources such as air, water, soil and blue sky for granted. But we could not survive without them. Industrialization has created a level of material wealth never seen before, but it has also inflicted irreparable damage on the environment. We must not exhaust all the resources passed on to us by previous generations and leave nothing to our children, or pursue development in a destructive way. Lush mountains and lucid waters are invaluable assets. We must follow the philosophy of harmony between humanity and nature and observance of the laws of nature and pursue a path of sustainable development, so that everyone is able to enjoy a starry sky, lush mountains and fragrant flowers.
Building a global community of shared future is China’s proposed strategy for reforming and improving the international governance system. This does not mean that the international system should be dismantled or started afresh. Rather, it means promoting greater democracy in international relations and making global governance more just and equitable. This important vision reflects the broadest common aspiration of the peoples of all countries in pursuit of peace, development, and stability, and the broadest consensus among countries with different cultural backgrounds and at different stages of development. It transcends outdated mindsets such as zero-sum game, power politics, and Cold War confrontations. It has become the overall goal of China’s major-country diplomacy in the new era, and a great banner that leads the trend of the times and the direction of human progress.
III. Deep Roots in History and
Cultural Traditions
The concept of a global community of shared future has deep roots in China’s profound cultural heritage and its unique experience of modernization. It carries forward the diplomatic traditions of the People’s Republic of China and draws on the outstanding achievements of all other civilizations. It manifests China’s time-honored historical traditions, distinct characteristics of the times, and a wealth of humanistic values.
1. Inheriting the best of traditional Chinese culture
China’s fine traditional culture epitomizes the essence of the Chinese civilization. It provides inspiring insights to help understand and shape the world and address current challenges, and contains elements of the vision of building a global community of shared future.
Harmony is the core concept of Chinese culture, which values the primacy of harmony and harmony within diversity, pursues the ideal of harmony and solidarity towards common progress, and embraces cultural diversity and global harmony.
The Chinese nation believes all nations together are one community, advocates fraternity among all peoples and peace for all countries, follows the principle of interstate relations that the strong do not bully the weak and the rich do not insult the poor, and pursues a world of fairness and justice for the common good.
The Chinese nation champions universal benevolence, holding that the virtuous are never left to stand alone, endorsing good neighborliness with good faith and good will, and pursuing both friendship and interests while putting friendship first.
The Chinese nation observes the rule that “to establish oneself, one must help others to establish themselves first; to succeed, one must help others to succeed first”, believing that helping others is helping oneself. It also upholds the principle that “do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself”, and never imposes its will upon other nations.
The Chinese nation acts on the belief that humans are part of nature and follows the old adage: “Fish with a line but not with a net; when fowling, do not aim at a roosting bird.” It reveres the laws of the universe, loves nature, and pursues harmony between humanity and nature.
2. Showcasing the global vision of the Communist Party of China
Always championing a global vision is part of the valuable experience accumulated by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in its century-long history. Over the past one hundred years and more, the CPC has always sought happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation while pursuing progress for all of humanity and the common good of the world. It succeeded in leading the Chinese people onto a distinctively Chinese path to modernization and developing a new form of human advancement. These successes have laid a solid foundation for building a global community of shared future, charting the course and opening up broad prospects for this great endeavor.
The CPC is committed to seeking progress for China while benefiting the wider world, bringing a good life to the Chinese people and also helping other peoples to prosper, and contributing more to humanity. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress in 2022 drew a great blueprint for rejuvenating the Chinese nation on all fronts by pioneering a uniquely Chinese path to modernization, and pointed out that striving to build a global community of shared future is one of the intrinsic requirements of Chinese modernization, affirming the close bond between the future of China and the future of all humanity.
The CPC leads the Chinese people in blazing and expanding China’s path to modernization based on both China’s distinctive conditions and other countries’ common approaches. Chinese modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for a huge population, coordinated material and cultural-ethical advancement, harmony between humanity and nature, and peaceful development. All these features have provided useful experience for other developing countries and a more robust and sustainable option for jointly building a global community of shared future.
3. Promoting the fine diplomatic traditions of New China
Over the past 70 years and more, China has made notable progress, established fine traditions, and forged a tenacious character and unique strengths in developing foreign relations. The initiative of building a global community of shared future builds on the PRC’s diplomatic philosophies, strategic thinking and traditions, and opens up new horizons for major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.
After the PRC was founded in 1949, China committed itself to an independent foreign policy of peace and put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, the Three Worlds theory and other principles, policies and ideas. This allowed China to find its place, win respect, and expand its reach in the international community. After the launch of reform and opening up in 1978, China asserted that peace and development are the underlying trends of the times. It advocated multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations, promoted a harmonious world, and achieved significant progress in China’s diplomacy around the world.
In the new era, championing peace, development, and win-win cooperation, China has advanced its major-country diplomacy on all fronts and formed a multifaceted, multilevel, and all-dimensional diplomatic strategy. China has initiated a range of visionary initiatives, including a global community of shared future, a new type of international relations, the common values of humanity, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, and promoted a set of approaches to global governance, to friendship and interests, to security, to development, to cooperation, and to the eco-environment. All these carry distinctively Chinese features, style and ethos.
4. Incorporating the outstanding achievements of other civilizations
The concept of a global community of shared future incorporates the best of the cultures of enduring appeal and impact that have transcended time, space, and national borders in human history. It crystallizes the shared values of people from different regions, cultures, ethnic backgrounds and with different religious beliefs. It draws on the outstanding achievements of cultural integration between diverse civilizations. It embodies the common aspiration of all humanity.
All civilizations around the world have manifestations of the concept of a global community of shared future. Ancient Greek philosophers conducted primary research on this concept based on city-states, believing that humanity as one community should act in concert to pursue common interests and thus must live in harmony. Ancient Indian literature records the motto of “Under Heaven – one family”. The African philosophy of Ubuntu holds that “I am because we are,” emphasizing interdependence of humanity.
The concept of a global community of shared future reflects the common interests of all civilizations – peace, development, unity, coexistence, and win-win cooperation. A Russian proverb holds, “Together we can weather the storm.” The Swiss-German writer Hermann Hesse proposed, “Serve not war and destruction, but peace and reconciliation.” A German proverb reads, “An individual’s effort is addition; a team’s effort is multiplication.” An African proverb states, “One single pillar is not sufficient to build a house.” An Arabian proverb asserts, “If you want to walk fast, walk alone; if you want to walk far, walk together.” Mexican poet Alfonso Reyes wrote, “The only way to be profitably national is to be generously universal.” An Indonesian proverb says, “Sugarcane and lemongrass grow in dense clumps.” A Mongolian proverb concludes, “Neighbors are connected at heart and share a common destiny.” All the above narratives manifest the profound cultural and intellectual essence of the world.
In building a global community of shared future, all countries should observe the widely acknowledged norms of international relations. Since the advent of modern times, a fair and equitable international order has been the long-standing goal of all humanity. From the principle of equity and sovereignty established by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, to international humanitarianism established by the Geneva Conventions in 1864, then to the four purposes and seven principles established by the Charter of the United Nations in 1945, and later to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence proposed at the Bandung Conference in 1955, these norms of international relations have evolved into widely recognized principles and become the essential foundations of a global community of shared future.
IV. Direction and Path
The vision of a global community of shared future is the outcome of China’s wisdom in handling contemporary international relations from the perspective of world peace and development – a Chinese plan for improving global governance, and a Chinese proposal to address various challenges in the 21st century. Vision guides action and direction determines the future. The international community should work together to turn the grand blueprint into a roadmap, and a beautiful vision into reality step by step.
1. Pressing ahead with a new type of economic globalization
Economic globalization is an irreversible trend of global economic development, and is in line with the desire for development and cooperation held by people of all countries. Economic globalization has greatly facilitated trade, investment, flows of people, and technological advances, making an important contribution to global economic development.
However, problems and drawbacks also accumulated in the process, and there are attempts at retreating from it. The current model of economic globalization fails to reflect the demands or represent the interests of developing countries. The law of the jungle, zero-sum game, and the “win-or-lose”, “winner-takes-all” mindset have exacerbated the divide between the rich and poor, as evidenced by the widening gap between developed and developing countries, and that within developed countries. Some countries blame their problems in domestic governance on economic globalization or other countries, and resort to unilateral, protectionist, and bullying actions. This has damaged global industrial, value, supply and consumption chains, and caused turbulence and even conflict in the current international trade order.
Promoting a new type of economic globalization is essential for building a global community of shared future. Countries need to pursue a policy of openness and explicitly oppose protectionism, the erection of fences and barriers, unilateral sanctions, and maximum-pressure tactics, so as to connect economies and jointly build an open world economy. Countries should strive to build a system of fair, reasonable, and transparent international economic and trade rules, press ahead with trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and promote further global economic openness, exchange, and integration in order to form an economic globalization that is open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all, so that people of all countries can share the fruits of economic globalization and world economic growth.
Opening up should be a two-way journey, not a one-way street; one cannot demand the opening of other countries while closing its own doors. Some countries are seeking to decouple from and break chains with China, enclosing themselves in “small yards, high fences”, which will ultimately only backfire on themselves. Some people overstate the need to “reduce dependence” and “derisk”, which is essentially creating new risks. Risk prevention and cooperation are not mutually contradictory, whereas non-cooperation is the biggest risk and non-development is the biggest threat to security. Pursuing de-sinicization in the name of derisking and reducing dependence undermines opportunities, cooperation, stability, and development.
The current revolution in science and technology marked by artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on the new round of economic globalization and social development. Relevant rules and standards should be established to support scientific and technological innovation and guard the red line of human security. The interests of all countries, especially developing ones, should be taken into account in a balanced manner, to ensure that technological innovation is placed under the rule of law and internationally recognized norms, and ensure that innovation is steered by and works for humanity, and is consistent with human values.
2. Following a peaceful development path
History tells us that for a country to develop and prosper, it must understand and follow the trend of global development; otherwise it will be abandoned by history. The trend now is the pursuit of peace, development, cooperation, and win-win results. The old path of colonialism and hegemonism leads to a dead end and those who follow it will pay a heavy price, whereas the path of peaceful development is the right one for the world to follow.
The pursuit of peace, amity and harmony is deeply rooted in the cultural realm of the Chinese nation and runs in the blood of the Chinese people. For a long time in the past, China was one of the most powerful countries in the world, but it does not have any record of colonization or aggression against other countries. China’s adherence to the path of peaceful development is an extension of the millennia-old cultural tradition of the peace-loving Chinese nation.
China always adheres to an independent foreign policy of peace and has always emphasized that the goal of China’s foreign policy is to maintain world peace and promote common development. China opposes all forms of hegemonism and power politics, and does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. It will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion. These principles are stated in China’s policies, incorporated in its systemic designs, and always adhered to in its practices.
The world needs peace, just like a human being needs air and living things need sunshine. The path of peaceful development is beneficial to China and the world, and we cannot think of any reason not to stay on this path. China follows the path of peaceful development, and hopes that other countries will take this path as well. Only by working together to pursue peace, safeguard peace, and share peace can countries achieve their development goals and make greater contributions to the world. Only when everyone follows the path of peaceful development can countries coexist peacefully, and can there be hope for building a global community of shared future.
3. Fostering a new type of international relations
The new type of international relations is different in that it has created a new path for interactions between countries, opened up a new chapter of world history where different civilizations and countries with different systems coexist in peace and seek common development, and paved the way for building a global community of shared future.
A new type of international relations should be built on the principles of mutual respect, equity and justice, and mutually beneficial cooperation. Mutual respect means treating people with sincerity and equality, and opposing power politics and bullying practices. In upholding equity and justice, countries must discard extreme materialism and overemphasis on competition, and ensure that all countries have equal rights and opportunities for development. Mutually beneficial cooperation means that countries should reject the maximization of self-interest, address the legitimate concerns of other countries while pursuing their own interests, and promote common development of all countries alongside their own development.
The foundations for building a new type of international relations lie in broader and deeper global partnerships based on equality, openness, and cooperation. China adheres to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in pursuing friendship and cooperation with other countries. It works to reinforce coordination and positive interaction with other major countries in order to build major-country relations featuring peaceful coexistence, overall stability, and balanced development. Acting on the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness, and the policy of forging friendships and partnerships with its neighbors, China strives to increase friendly ties, mutual trust, and converging interests with its neighboring countries. Guided by the principles of sincerity, real results, amity, and good faith and with a commitment to the right approach to friendship and interests, China endeavors to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with other developing countries and safeguard the common interests of the developing world.
Major countries are key actors in building a new type of international relations. The international status of a country is measured by its openness of mind, breadth of vision, and sense of responsibility rather than its size, strength or power. Major countries should direct their primary efforts to the future of humanity and assume greater responsibility for world peace and development, rather than wielding their power to seek monopoly over international and regional affairs. Major countries should strengthen coordination and cooperation, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, consider the perspectives of other parties and value mutual understanding, and treat smaller countries as equals. By building a global community of shared future, emerging countries and established powers can avoid falling into the Thucydides trap, find the right way to get along in mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and build common ground and achieve common development for different civilizations and countries with different social systems.
4. Practicing true multilateralism
Building a global community of shared future requires practicing true multilateralism. Building cliques in the name of multilateralism is no more than bloc politics. Seeking supremacy in the name of multilateralism is still unilateral thinking. “Selective multilateralism” is practicing double standard. The world should be fair and free from domineering practices. China opposes all forms of unilateralism and the formation of camps and exclusive cliques targeting specific countries, and opposes actions that undermine the international order, create a new Cold War or stoke ideological confrontation in the name of the so-called rules-based order.
China firmly upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, as well as the authority and status of the United Nations. The various confrontations and injustices in today’s world do not arise because the purposes and principles of the UN Charter are outdated, but rather because these purposes and principles are not effectively followed. China maintains that for the world, there is only one system, which is the international system with the United Nations at its core, that there is only one order, which is the international order based on international law, and that there is only one set of rules, which is the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
China actively participates in and leads the reform of the global governance system. It follows the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefits, that is, global affairs must be discussed by all, governance systems built by all, and benefits of governance shared by all, so that every country is a participant, contributor, and beneficiary of world peace and development.
5. Promoting the common values of humanity
China advocates peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, the common values of humanity. With an open mind, China understands that different civilizations have different understandings of the nature of these values, and respects the efforts of people in different countries to explore their own development paths. It goes beyond the narrow historical limitations of the so-called universal values, and promotes the common values of humanity embedded in Chinese civilization. These are the values embodied in pursuing a global community of shared future.
Peace and development are a common cause. A tree of peace cannot grow on barren land, nor can it bear the fruits of development amidst the flames of war. The fundamental solution to various global challenges lies in seeking peace and achieving development. Equity and justice are common ideals. No country should act as it pleases, or ride roughshod over others. Democracy and freedom are the common goals of humanity. There is no single model of democracy that is universally applicable, far less a superior one. Democracy is not Coca-Cola, tasting the same across the world as the syrup is produced in one single country. Democracy is not an ornament, but a solution to real problems. Attempts to monopolize the “patent” of democracy, arbitrarily define the “standards” of democracy, and fabricate a false narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism” to provoke confrontation between political systems and ideologies are practices of fake democracy. Promoting the common values of humanity is not about canonizing the values of any particular country, but about seeking common ground while reserving differences, harmony without uniformity, and fully respecting the diversity of civilizations and the right of all countries to independently choose their social systems and development paths.
The more advanced human society becomes, the more important it is to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. All countries should treat each other with respect and as equals, discard arrogance and prejudice, deepen understanding of the differences between its own civilization and others, and promote dialogue and harmonious coexistence between different civilizations. Every country should value its own civilization, appreciate others, and facilitate their common progress. We should keep our own civilizations dynamic and create conditions for other civilizations to flourish. Together we can make the garden of world civilizations colorful and vibrant. All countries should be open and inclusive, promote mutual learning, strive to remove all barriers to cultural exchanges, and seek nourishment from other civilizations to promote the common development of all civilizations. All countries should progress with the times, explore new ground in development, take in the best of the present age, and sustain the development of civilizations through innovation.
V. China’s Action and Contribution
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Over the past decade, China has contributed its strength to building a global community of shared future with firm conviction and solid actions.
1. Promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a vivid example of building a global community of shared future, and a global public good and cooperation platform provided by China to the world. Since introducing the BRI ten years ago, based on extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefits, China has pursued open, green, clean, and high-standard cooperation to promote sustainable development and improve people’s lives, and advanced high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. It has laid the groundwork and set up the frameworks of BRI cooperation, delivering tangible results and achieving sustainable progress. Together, participants in the initiative have jointly advanced “hard connectivity”, “soft connectivity” and “people-to-people connectivity”, setting up an important platform that has enabled wide participation, built international consensus and pooled the strengths of all parties.
Policy connectivity continues to deepen. By July 2023, more than three-quarters of countries in the world and over 30 international organizations had signed agreements on Belt and Road cooperation with China. China has successfully hosted the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2017 and the second in 2019, and will host the third this year, maximizing synergy for advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Infrastructure connectivity continues to strengthen. A general connectivity framework consisting of six corridors, six routes, and multiple countries and ports is in place. The overall layout of land, sea, air and cyberspace connectivity continues to improve, centered on economic corridors such as the New Eurasian Land Bridge, supported by routes like the China-Europe Railway Express and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the information expressway, and underpinned by major railways, ports, and pipelines. Trade connectivity continues to increase. According to Belt and Road Economics, a report released by the World Bank, the BRI, when fully implemented, will increase intra-BRI trade by 4.1 percent. By 2030, the BRI will generate US$1.6 trillion in annual global revenues. Financial connectivity continues to expand. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund have been set up, providing financing support for hundreds of projects. People-to-people connectivity continues to strengthen. Roads, bridges and development belts that lead to a happier and better life are constantly emerging in participating countries, and solid progress is being achieved in Juncao, wells, hybrid rice and other small projects that work faster in improving people’s lives, giving local people of BRI countries a stronger sense of gain and fulfillment.
The BRI originated in China, but the opportunities and achievements it creates belong to the whole world. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, since its launch ten years ago, has lent strong impetus to the economic and social development of Pakistan. The China-Laos Railway has realized the long-cherished wish of the Lao people to convert Laos from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub. The Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway has become the first railway in Southeast Asia to reach a speed of 350 kilometers an hour. The Mombasa-Nairobi Railway has added more than two percentage points to local economic growth. Malawi’s 600 wells built with Chinese assistance have become “wells of happiness” serving 150,000 local people. The China-Europe Railway Express serves as a “steel camel fleet” between China and Europe. Luban workshops help young people in Tajikistan and other countries acquire vocational skills. Cooperation in the fields of health, green development, digital economy, and innovation is thriving.
The BRI is an initiative for economic cooperation, not for geopolitical or military alliances. It is an open and inclusive process that neither targets nor excludes any party. Rather than forming exclusionary cliques or a “China club”, it aims to help China and the rest of the world to seize opportunities and pursue common development. Rather than a private route for any one party, it is a broad path that can be joined by all interested countries to work together for shared benefits.
The international community speaks highly of the BRI, praising it not simply as some random road or economic belt, but as an initiative to achieve common progress for humanity, an initiative that has opened up new paths for the common development of all countries. The BRI has facilitated the modernization drive of developing countries, leading the world into a new era of transcontinental cooperation.
2. Implementing the three global initiatives
It is widely recognized that peace and stability, material sufficiency, and cultural-ethical enrichment represent the basic goals of human society. Development serves as the material foundation for security and civilization, security acts as the fundamental prerequisite for development and civilization, and civilization provides the cultural-ethical support for development and security. The Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China guide the advance of human society across these three dimensions. Resonating and complementing each other, they have evolved into a crucial cornerstone for building a global community of shared future, offering China’s solutions to major challenges pertaining to peace and development for humanity.
– Through the Global Development Initiative, China has issued a resounding call for commitment to development and reinvigorated cooperation, and made its contribution to resolving challenges to development and advancing global development. The fundamental aim of the initiative is to accelerate the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its core requirement is a people-centered approach, its foremost philosophy is united, equal, balanced, and inclusive global development partnerships, and its pivotal measure entails results-oriented actions to bolster stronger, greener, and healthier global development and jointly build a global community of development.
China has hosted the High-level Dialogue on Global Development and presented 32 major measures to implement the initiative, such as creating the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund totaling US$4 billion, launching the China-FAO South-South Cooperation Trust Fund (Phase III), and strengthening support for the China-UN Peace and Development Fund. Over the past two years, the international community has extensively responded to the initiative and jointly tackled prominent issues including food security, poverty reduction, and energy security as the implementation mechanism steadily improves and practical cooperation delivers progress. The Global Development Promotion Center is running smoothly, and the library of the Global Development Initiative projects is expanding, with over 200 projects achieving good results. At the same time, China has issued the Global Development Report, and established the Global Knowledge Network for Development, contributing Chinese wisdom to the resolution of developmental challenges. Currently, more than 100 countries and international organizations have expressed support for the Global Development Initiative, with over 70 countries participating in the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative established at the UN.
China is committed to propelling global development through its own development. It has thoroughly applied the new development philosophy, with a focus on promoting high-quality development to foster a new development paradigm. Modernization of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people will create a market rivaling the aggregated size of all developed countries. This will open up more opportunities for all countries and stakeholders to partake in China’s huge market. China has also pioneered major expos and fairs, exemplified by the China International Import Expo, China International Fair for Trade in Services, China Import and Export Fair, and China International Consumer Goods Expo. It has encouraged all countries and stakeholders to share the opportunities presented by China’s institutional opening up and steadily expanded institutional opening up with regard to rules, regulations, management, and standards. It has enforced the Foreign Investment Law and its supporting rules and regulations, implemented the new catalogue for encouraging foreign investment, continued to remove items from the negative list of market access for foreign investment, advanced high-quality development of pilot free trade zones, and accelerated the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port.
China is committed to win-win cooperation and common development. As the largest developing country in the world and a member of the Global South, China has made every effort to aid other developing countries and help recipient countries expand their capacity for development. China is actively engaged in international exchanges and cooperation. It has cooperated with almost 20 international organizations, including the UN World Food Programme, the UN Development Programme, the UN Children’s Fund, the UN Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and executed over 130 projects in nearly 60 countries including Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Nigeria. “Small but beautiful”, these projects span fields such as poverty reduction, food security, Covid-19 response, and climate change, and have benefited more than 30 million individuals. China worked actively for the adoption of and has comprehensively acted on the Debt Service Suspension Initiative of the Group of Twenty (G20), contributing more than any other G20 member to its implementation. China has signed agreements or reached understandings on the suspension of debt repayments with 19 African countries, helping Africa alleviate debt pressure.
China is committed to building an open world economy. It has become the main trading partner of more than 140 countries and regions, and signed 21 free trade agreements with 28 countries and regions. It has worked for high-quality implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, actively worked to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, and expanded its globally-oriented network of high-standard free trade areas. It has also promoted the internationalization of the Renminbi, and reinforced financial standards and its level of internationalization, thereby converging its interests closer with other countries.
– Through the Global Security Initiative, China seeks to work with the international community in upholding the spirit of the UN Charter, and calls for adapting to the profound changes in the international landscape through solidarity, addressing traditional and non-traditional security risks and challenges with a win-win mindset, and creating a new path to security that features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance, and win-win results over zero-sum game.
In February 2023, China officially released The Global Security Initiative Concept Paper. The document further elaborates the core concepts and principles of the initiative, elucidates its key avenues for cooperation, and presents recommendations and ideas concerning its cooperation platforms and mechanisms. This has demonstrated China’s awareness of its duty to maintain world peace and its firm determination to safeguard global security. As an international public good, the Global Security Initiative serves the interests of and maintains peace for people throughout the world.
China is a pillar in maintaining world peace. It is committed to handling disputes with relevant countries over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests through negotiation and consultation. It has settled land boundary issues peacefully with 12 of its 14 neighbors along its land borders through negotiation and consultation, and delimited the maritime boundary in the Beibu Bay with Vietnam. China has faithfully fulfilled its responsibilities and missions as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. It is the second largest contributor to the UN regular budget and peacekeeping assessment, and the largest contributor of peacekeeping troops among the permanent members of the Security Council. Over the past three decades and more, having sent more than 50,000 personnel to UN peacekeeping operations in over 20 countries and regions, China has become a key force in UN peacekeeping. China has dispatched more than 100 naval vessels in 45 taskforces to the Gulf of Aden and waters off the coast of Somalia to provide escort for over 7,000 Chinese and foreign ships.
Facing constant flare-ups of hotspot issues, China has been committed to fulfilling its role as a responsible major country, pushing for the resolution of international and regional flashpoints, such as the Korean Peninsula, Palestine, the Iranian nuclear issue, Syria, and Afghanistan. On the Ukraine issue, China has actively promoted talks for peace, put forth four key principles, four things that the international community should do together and three observations, and released China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis. China has dispatched the Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs to engage in extensive interactions and exchanges with stakeholders on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
Through the mediation of China, Saudi Arabia and Iran have achieved historic reconciliation, setting a fine example for countries in the region to resolve disputes and differences and achieve good neighborly relations through dialogue and consultation, and catalyzing a wave of reconciliation in the Middle East.
China has actively cooperated with other parties in non-traditional security domains such as anti-terrorism, biosecurity, and food security. It has proposed the International Cooperation Initiative on Global Food Security within the framework of the G20, and pushed for the adoption of the Strategy on Food Security Cooperation of the BRICS Countries. It has also officially launched the China-Pacific Island Countries Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Cooperation Center, representing yet another robust action to help developing countries tackle non-traditional security challenges within the context of the Global Security Initiative.
– Through the Global Civilization Initiative, China calls for jointly advocating respect for the diversity of civilizations, jointly advocating the common values of humanity, jointly advocating the importance of continuity and evolution of civilizations, and jointly advocating closer international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. The Global Civilization Initiative makes a sincere call for the world to enhance inter-civilization exchanges and dialogue, and promote human progress with inclusiveness and mutual learning, inspiring the building of a global community of shared future.
China has hosted gatherings including the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting, the CPC and World Political Parties Summit, and the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations. It has engaged in extensive bilateral and multilateral activities for political party exchanges and cooperation, and promoted diverse forms of civil diplomacy, city diplomacy, and public diplomacy. China has continued to deepen cooperation with the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN World Tourism Organization. It now has 43 items inscribed on the intangible cultural heritage lists of UNESCO.
China has celebrated over 30 large-scale cultural and tourist “years” (festivals), such as the China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism, the China-Greece Year of Culture and Tourism, and the China-Spain Year of Culture and Tourism. It has promoted the steady development of 16 multilateral exchanges and cooperation mechanisms, such as the meeting of BRICS ministers of culture, as well as 25 bilateral cooperation mechanisms. It regularly hosts cultural activities at home, such as the Arabic Arts Festival and the Meet in Beijing International Arts Festival, and has held “Happy Spring Festival” celebrations outside China for more than 20 years in a row. It hosted approximately 2,000 events across over 130 countries in 2017, and has organized activities around the world under such brands as “Tea for Harmony” Yaji Cultural Salon. It has advanced cultural and tourism exchanges under the Belt and Road Initiative, carried out the Cultural Silk Road program, and established the Silk Road international theater, museum, art festival, library, and art museum alliances. It has also established approximately 3,000 pairs of sister cities or provinces with various countries, and launched the “Nihao! China” inbound tourism promotion program.
The international community has spoken highly of these three global initiatives, acknowledging that they reflect China’s global vision and growing international influence and provide comprehensive solutions to the challenges confronting humanity. The Global Development Initiative is highly compatible with the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and resonates, in particular, with the aspirations of developing countries for greater development. The Global Security Initiative upholds the principle of common security, emphasizes comprehensive approaches, pursues sustainable security through cooperative efforts, and makes a valuable contribution to addressing international security challenges. The Global Civilization Initiative calls on all countries to respect the diversity of civilizations in the world, which is conducive to facilitating exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations.
3. Working with more countries and regions
China has proposed a range of regional and bilateral initiatives on building communities of shared future, and is working with stakeholders to build consensus and expand cooperation, thereby playing a constructive role in promoting regional peace and development.
The China-Africa community of shared future was the first regional proposal. It values sincerity and equality, pursues both friendship and interests and puts friendship first, takes a people-oriented approach in pursuing practical and efficient cooperation, and follows an open and inclusive approach to cooperation. It has set a good example of China and African countries building a community of shared future. The China-Arab community of shared future, China-Latin America and the Caribbean community of shared future, and China-Pacific Island Countries community of shared future have all made swift and steady progress. They are vivid illustrations of solidarity, cooperation, and common progress among developing countries.
The community of shared future among neighboring countries has taken firm root. As the China-ASEAN community of shared future continues to make advances, China-ASEAN cooperation has evolved into the most fruitful, dynamic, and substantive cooperation in East Asia. The two sides have seen a steady increase in mutual trust, engaged in frequent high-level exchanges, and established dialogue and cooperation mechanisms in nearly 50 domains and institutions. The community of shared future of Lancang-Mekong countries continues to make progress. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization community of shared future has yielded substantial outcomes. The building of the China-Central Asia community of shared future has made solid steps forward. The first China-Central Asia Summit was a success and a meeting mechanism at the heads-of-state level between China and Central Asian countries has been established. These efforts have contributed to enduring peace and shared prosperity in the region and the wider world.
At the bilateral level, China is building communities of shared future with an increasing number of partners in different forms. China and countries including Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Mongolia, Cuba and South Africa have published action plans, released joint statements, or reached important agreements on building bilateral communities of shared future. China has also implemented the vision of building a global community of shared future on a bilateral level with all the five Central Asian countries. As this vision gains greater traction among the people, substantial outcomes have been delivered, significantly boosting local development and improving people’s lives.
The global community of shared future is a dynamic, open, and inclusive system. However different countries may be in geographical location, history, culture, social system, size of economy, and development stage, alignment with the core idea of a global community of shared future enables them to seek common ground while shelving differences, achieve harmony in diversity, reinforce cooperation, and pursue win-win outcomes. China will work with more and more regions and countries to build a global community of shared future and contribute to the development of all countries and the progress of human civilization.
4. Boosting international cooperation in all areas
The vision of a global community of shared future addresses the deficits in peace, development, security, and governance facing the world today. As China’s unique contribution to solving global problems, it also offers solutions which have been translated into concrete actions in areas such as health, climate change, and cybersecurity.
Confronted by the rampant Covid-19 pandemic, China proposed to build a community of health for all. It has stood in the frontline of international anti-pandemic cooperation, carrying out global emergency humanitarian relief and providing assistance and support to more than 150 countries and international organizations. China has advocated that vaccines must first and foremost be a global public good, and was among the first countries to make a commitment to supply Covid-19 vaccines as a global public good, to support waiving intellectual property rights on the vaccines, and to start joint production with other developing countries. It has also played a pioneering role in the equitable distribution of vaccines, contributing China’s strength to the global health cause through firm commitment and practical actions.
To address disorder in cyberspace governance, China has proposed the concept of a community of shared future in cyberspace. It actively participates in UN cybersecurity processes and supports the UN in playing a core role in global cyberspace governance. China has hosted the World Internet Conference and established the World Internet Conference Organization as a platform for global internet sharing and governance.
To advance the development of a set of rules for global digital governance, it has launched the Global Data Security Initiative, and released the China-LAS Cooperation Initiative on Data Security together with the League of Arab States and the Data Security Cooperation Initiative of China + Central Asia together with the five Central Asian countries. To ensure that rights and responsibilities are shared among all countries, it promotes the improvement of governance rules in the deep sea, polar regions, outer space, and other new frontiers. Efforts are made to ensure that in formulating new rules for governance in new frontiers, the interests and expectations of emerging market countries and developing countries are fully reflected.
Concerning the fundamental issues in global nuclear security governance, China proposes to build a community of shared future on nuclear security. It firmly safeguards the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and upholds a rational, coordinated and balanced approach to nuclear security. In response to the increasing risk of nuclear conflict, China has pushed for the conclusion of a joint statement among the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states, reaffirming that “a nuclear war cannot be won, and must never be fought”. China actively advocates the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons, and it is the only nuclear country that has publicly committed to no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and not using or threatening to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states and nuclear-weapon-free zones.
Faced with increasingly complex maritime issues, China has proposed to form a maritime community of shared future and has always been committed to peaceful resolution of territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests disputes through dialogue and consultation. China has signed and fully and effectively implemented the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea with ASEAN countries, and continues to advance consultations on the code of conduct in the South China Sea. China has proposed to jointly build a partnership on blue economy and strengthen maritime connectivity. It adheres to the path of pursuing joint development while setting aside disputes, and actively explores joint resource development with maritime neighbors at sea.
Faced with the severe and growing global climate challenge, China has proposed important concepts such as building a community of life for humanity and nature and a community of all life on Earth. China actively promotes economic development and transformation, and undertakes to strive to achieve peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. It has introduced a “1+N” policy system for carbon peaking and neutrality. China has built the world’s largest clean power generation network, contributed 25 percent of the world’s newly added green area since 2000, and enabled an annual economic growth rate of over 6 percent with an average annual energy consumption growth rate of 3 percent. It has the largest installed capacity of hydropower, wind power, and solar power in the world. It actively participates in global environmental governance, advocates the comprehensive and effective implementation by the international community of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, and adheres to the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities”. China tries its best to help developing countries improve their ability to address climate change, and vigorously supports their green and low-carbon energy development. It has inked 46 South-South cooperation documents with 39 developing countries to address climate change, and trained approximately 2,300 officials and technical personnel in the field of climate change for more than 120 developing countries. Holding the presidency of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), China made every effort to ensure the success of the meeting, taking the lead in funding the establishment of the Kunming Biodiversity Fund and contributing to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Whether dealing with the current crises or creating a better future together, all countries need to unite and cooperate. Faced with profound changes unseen in a century, China has proposed the building of a global community of shared future, calls on all countries to uphold the concept of a shared future, fully communicate and consult with each other, share governance responsibilities, and form broad consensus and take concerted actions to address global issues, so as to inject confidence and momentum into humanity’s drive towards a bright future.
Conclusion
All good principles should adapt to changing times in order to remain relevant. A broad consensus of solidarity and cooperation has developed in the international community behind the proposal and the implementation of the concept of a global community of shared future to address the challenges facing humanity. Looking to the future, it is bound to shine as a pioneering thought with the power of truth that transcends time and space, opening up a beautiful prospect of common development, long-term stability, and sustained prosperity for human society. The future of humanity is bright, but it will not come without effort. Building a global community of shared future is both a salutary vision and a historical process that calls for generations of hard work.
To realize this goal, confidence and determination are of foremost importance. The trend of our times for peace, development and win-win cooperation cannot be halted. Building a global community of shared future is the way forward for all the world’s peoples. However, it is not a goal to be accomplished overnight, and there will be no plain sailing. We need to make unremitting efforts and forge ahead with perseverance. We should never give up on our dreams because of harsh realities; we should never stop pursuing our ideals because they seem out of reach.
To realize this goal, a broad mind and a global vision are central as we live in great times. In the face of common challenges, no person or country can remain isolated. The only response is to work together in harmony and unity. Only by strengthening coordination and cooperation, and ensuring that the interests of the people of every country will be kept in line with those of all others, can all countries move forward towards a global community of shared future.
To realize this goal, a sense of responsibility and a will to act hold the key. The key to success is simple and boils down to action. Building a global community of shared future depends on the joint actions of all countries. All countries should take a sense of responsibility that treats the task as a bound duty, and take concrete actions instead of being bystanders. We should strengthen dialogue, build consensus, promote peace and development, improve governance, and carry out global actions, global responses, and global cooperation.
Our journey ahead will be a lengthy and arduous one. But as long as we press ahead with perseverance, there will be much to expect. Successes and setbacks await us, but hopes abound. When all countries unite in pursuing the cause of common good, plan together, and act together day by day towards the right direction of building a global community of shared future, we can build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity, and jointly create a better future for all of humanity.
Cheese Scalloped Zucchini
Italian Cheese Scalloped Zucchini
Ingredients
4 cups diced zucchini, cooked until tender (6 to 8 minutes)
This is a gay sailor sign to ward off Russian submarines.
In 2013, Sweden submerged a Neon sign depicting a gay sailor in its waters to ward off Russian submarines from entering their waters. Below the sailor the neon sign reads;
“Welcome to Sweden-gay since 1944.”
Using sonar the sign omits the message “This way if you are gay” in Morse code.
There have been no reports of Russian submarine sightings ever since.
Even the US is a bit stunned at this announcement and i am sure this 24 hour deadline will be ignored by the Israelis
The Israelis operate on the presumption that they work on credible intelligence when it comes to bombing terrorist targets in the Gaza and it is the Hamas which is placing civilian targets in their way as a kind of collateral damage
That presumption goes to pieces, That narrative goes to pieces if Israel starts bombing and openly killing Civilians, especially in such mass quantities
Even the Nazis didn’t do things so brazenly
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2023 10 14 07 29
Like they say in Tamil
“Oru flow la sollitaan”
Israel, flushed with a war haze made a statement, they have to necessarily scale back on
Believe me, Netanyahu will be HANGED if he tries this
Not even the US can save him
The EU and US and UK, their entire rhetoric is that Israel is eradicating the Hamas from that area
They equate it to 9/11
Killing Civilians used as collateral is one thing but openly killing civilians could lead to a huge backlash in Europe
You have millions of muslim migrants in these nations who could snap at a moments notice
No way would EU nations go so far as to support this
By now the US would be flooded with phone calls from EU, UK and even India who have almost 20 Crore Muslims
Blinken would talk to Israel and inform them to TAKE IT EASY and not follow through on hitting Civilians openly
The US Military Industrial Complex wants to make money from War
However allowing Israel to directly hit Civilians without a military pretext is a new level of crime
The US can’t recover from such a mistake
Already losing trust, they will lose trust with every muslim in the world
Hell, a Muslim cop who’s never been to Palestine could fire three shots into the chest of Ursula Von Der Leyen and grin as she chokes on her own blood
So No
I doubt Israel will follow this through
2023 10 14 07 30
Even Jaishankar would be calling them and saying “You are going too far you stupid b*******”
EDIT:-
2023 10 14 07 31
There
EXACTLY LIKE I TOLD YOU.
The US have stepped in now and already the deadline is over and will be forgotten
How Starbucks Surpassed by Luckin Coffee? | LKNCY ( China’s Largest Coffee Chain )
Analysis of Luckin Coffee’s extraordinary comeback from its accounting scandal and how it subsequently surpassed Starbucks as China’s largest coffee chain.
Comeback? Yeah. One year ago, all of the Western “news” were making fun of Luckin Coffee. Claiming that it was a sign of “China’s collapse”. LOL.
Never happened.
BTW, I tried this Baijiu version. Pretty tasty, I’ll tell you what.
When I lived in Indiana USA, we (my wife and I) took a welding class for fun and enjoyment. This was a college course out of the local college, and we attended classes on Saturday morning. We really enjoyed the class, aside from learning how to weld.
I had a blast, and my wife really thought it was fun.
2023 09 28 10 29
Anyways, we were in a class of around 30 students, and we were the oldest students. The rest were kids in their 20’s. Maybe one or two almost our age.
But there was one kid, a teenager, who came every Saturday, signed his name and left.
In and then two minutes later… gone.
He never stuck around.
Never learned anything.
Didn’t chat or talk with any of us and never even attempted to learn.
He never actually learned anything. He didn’t get to enjoy any fun, and he certainly didn’t get anything out of it. I couldn’t figure out why he came, signed in and left.
So I asked the instructor.
He was arrested on possession and sales of illegal drugs. He was 18 years old. The judge cut him a deal instead of sending him off to prison for a few years. He would be free and not go to jail or prison, as long as he attended the welding class to learn a skill. If he did that, his record would be purged, and he would be a better person with a skill to rely upon.
I think that the judge made the right decision, but failed to police the actions of the young kid. Now, that kid will “on paper” appear to have a skill, but in truth all that happened is that he is going to keep on doing what he has been doing, no hope off the treadmill, and he has no idea that he is on one to begin with.
Next problem will be far worse, and then the recovery will be equally worse.
Dumb smuck.
…
Take advantage of every opportunity, never think that you are getting more for less by cutting corners. Life does not work that way.
Today…
RUSSIA LAUNCHES 50 MISSILES INTO UKRAINE; 48 HIT ***NATO*** INFRA-STRUCTURE AND AMMO DUMPS!
Breaking: Russia has bombed NATO Infrastructure across Ukraine as an apparent message is sent . . . loud and clear.
Logistics Hubs, “Mercenary” (NATO, UK, and USA) barracks, quarters and Bases, Weapons and Depleted Uranium Ammunition Depots have all been set ablaze in a gigantic strike with more than 50 missiles.
The __only__ purely Ukraine target was the Rivne thermal power station . . . which was was completely destroyed.
Carpetbagger Steak
800full carpetbag steak
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 cup fresh oysters, drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons melted butter
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 ounce crumbled bleu cheese
1/4 cup sauterne or other dry white wine
4 thick-sliced rib eye or filet steaks
Instructions
Sauté oysters, mushrooms and parsley in butter until mushrooms are tender; drain.
Stir in bacon, cheese and sauterne; set aside.
Make pocket in side of steak. Stuff pocket with oyster mixture; secure with wooden picks.
Broil steaks about 6 inches from heat for 8 to 10 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
Give a kid dinner, and he eats for a day. Teach a kid to make dinner, and THE PARENTS EAT UNTIL HE MOVES OUT.
Before our 11-year old had even finished expressing his interest in cooking, we were handing him whisks and salted butter. Get started, kid!
Kids curing their boredom by cooking? That is SO much better than building model rockets. Can you eat a model rocket? You cannot. And, half the time they wind up stuck in trees.
But can I eat this pasta sauce that he made? Yes. Yes, I can.
image 95
Wait, he wants to start a restaurant in the kitchen, so that mom & dad can sit at the table on a Sunday morning and be waited on? SOLD.
image 96
Sure, he forgot to put coffee on the menu, but the waiter was accommodating when we asked for it.
Mom opted for the egg sandwich:
image 97
I went for the BLT because… bacon:
image 98
I’d give him 5-stars on Yelp, if he were on Yelp.
After he suggested he wanted to try his hand at baking, I was immediately racing to the store to get him a 9″ springform pan. I had no idea what that even was until he mentioned it. It helps him make things like this:
image 99
I’m all for it.
After school yesterday, he decided he wanted to make a dessert. I told him to pick out a recipe. I had to make a special trip that evening to buy almond flour, but the payoff was I got to have his Olive Oil Cake:
image 100
Will he stick with it? We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, while there are plenty of things for an 11-year old to do when bored, this is one of my favorites.
No. The US has had four years of trying to kill Huawei and it is not working.
While Huawei has dropped to #6 position in global smartphone sales. It has created its own Operating System thereby avoiding android. Their OS is available for other phone manufacturers to use. The company has also designed its own chipset. Production of their own 14nm and 7nm 5G chips is said to begin this year.
Meanwhile Huawei has been working on 6G which expectations for 2030.
Huawei Q2 2023 revenue was up 4.8% y/o/y to $25 billion USD.
I was looking for old mystery novels—the kind of 1950’s cheap pulp crap that never even hits a second printing. I didn’t find any, but I did find a couple of Agatha Christies, so I went to check out.
The shop owner was unpacking a new box from somebody who’d gone “you can have the whole thing for five bucks, I just want it gone.” She’d set aside one book about the same size as an adult woman’s hand, a nasty little grubby thing that looked like it might have a bad case of mold. I was curious, so I asked about it.
Her reply: “I don’t think I even have a place for it on the shelf. It’s going to sit forever.”
I bought it for 50 cents and took it home.
There was no title page, and neither my mom nor I recognized the work in it, so my mom—now also curious—bought a baby toothbrush and spent a lot of hours teasing the dirt off the cover with the barest amounts of water and a lot of paper towels. Just one word for a title: “Essays.” But now we knew what the cover looked like—not grunge black, but a pretty tan and green—so she started doing research.
First edition of Emerson’s Essays, as confirmed by the cloth color on the cover and the lack of a title page.
BUT WAIT.
You think that’s the find of a lifetime. And for someone else in another bookshop, it is.
But here’s the thing. There were TWO first editions of Emerson’s Essays. A binding error led to the release of a few hundred copies with about 20 pages missing, and a couple of others upside-down. These error copies were quickly destroyed, barring those that had already been purchased, and the current going price for such a copy was several hundred dollars, possibly as much as a thousand—as opposed to the $50 or so garnered for a “first” (corrected) edition.
My mom and I read this on an appraiser’s website and stared at each other, barely daring to breathe. I asked if she’d looked. She said no. “You bought it, you look.”
I picked it up and flipped to the page numbers indicated. Missing—but that wasn’t good enough. Pages can be removed. I had to confirm the other error, too.
I flipped the pages—so, so carefully. I was shaking. I looked.
I gasped so loudly you could have heard me three counties over, dropped the book, caught it, and set it down like it was made out of glass.
And that’s the story of how I paid our mortgage AND electricity for a month for just fifty cents.
VIKING tells the COLDEST truth about the female nature
“At 55 years old. I live on my own now for 6 years. Never will I allow myself to be treated poorly again. I relate to this man.”
At every level, America is ready to explode.
He is speaking TRUTH. It stings. And it is real. Agony.
My ex gf had a son around 10 years old at the time who is on the Autism spectrum. He was the sweetest, smartest little boy just didn’t have the best socializing skills. One day I stopped by their home to pick up my watch that I left there that morning. Me stopping by wasn’t part of the daily routine or planned ahead of time, and he was surprised when I got there. Every time I’d get to their house and he was home I would always talk to him first before even giving my gf a hug. So after saying hello and telling him why I was there I sat on the couch with him to chat while he was playing with play doh. While we were talking he was writing something in a flat piece of play doh. Then he handed it to me. It said “why don’t you leave?” I read and it thought I’d mess with him a little. I said out loud, “don’t leave!” I said ok, bud! I’ll stay all day!” He yells “No! It says why don’t you leave!?!” “oh ok, I said I didn’t see that part. Ok, I’ll leave I didn’t mean to bother you.” Mom jumps in while hearing this and tells him that was very rude and blah blah blah. I interrupted her and told him it’s all good!!! I always want you to tell me the truth about how you feel. You never have to hide your feelings because of me. So if you don’t want company when I’m here you just have to say so. You can always talk to me. I asked him if I could give him a hug before I left and he said yes. I gave him a hug and gf walked me out. She apologized over and over. It was all good. I know he has a hard time socializing so I wasn’t too upset.
It all began when the US started playing dirty and Trump sanctioned Huawei
Other players in China began to start stockpiling Chips and placed large orders with TSMC
So TSMC sales boomed but in reality all that was happening was the mainland was buying more and more chips to stockpile
Every smartphone maker feared a similar ban from the demented United States
Today China has between 140% -170% of the 7 nm Chips it needs
Global Demand has weakened which means these Chips can last until 2025 November
Until then TSMC won’t get any more orders from China or will get minimal orders
Who else buys 7 nm Chips?
So TSMC will see a fall in sales for the next few quarters
Meanwhile if the Chinese in these two years cost effectively crack the 7/5 DUV Stacking Chip process of Huawei and make the imported equivalent of 18 Billion ICs a year, then it’s likely Chinas TSMC imports will fall by as much as 70% from 2026 onwards
So obviously they have slashed 40% of their orders from 40 to 24 EUV Lithography Machines
No need for Xi Xinping to say it, the world already know it and the world except for some dozen or so cronies and slave nation do not like it and the world will slowly but surely, step by step dismantle this so called International Rules Based Order.
To the world every nation or group of nations cannot have a right to fxxk up any nation using arbitrary sanctions. And the world have acted. The unfair and unjust U.S. and European actions on Russia in war blamed on Russia although fully goaded and provoked by the U.S. and UK. Is the straw that break the camel’s back.
International norm must be truly international not set by some white Caucasian Anglo nations. Especially when a nation like the U.S. and UK failed every test on a truly international norm. Plundering, looting, stealing, bombings, war mongering, unilateral sanctions, regime change, orchestrating coups, demonstrations, revolutions are not international norm. They are bullying, mafia behaviour. Coercion by force.
The world has moved on from this western bullying.
On June 17, 2022, the FDA authorized emergency use of the mRNA Covid vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech to include use in children down to 6 months of age. Turns out, it KILLED a lot of them.
Just over a year later, the report – which was quietly released by CDC and subsequently suppressed by the mainstream media – revealed that nearly half a million children and young adults have now died since the injections were approved for use on most children.
Over 118,000 of those deaths are suspected to be DIRECTLY linked to the Covid vaccines’ side effects.
Despite the staggering death toll revealed in the report, it has been met with deafening silence from the mainstream media.
The latest data from the CDC has just been published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEC).
The OEC is an intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries and it hosts a wealth of data on excess deaths, including data from the CDC that isn’t easily available to the American people.
The thing about nm claims is that they turn out to be marketing.
So you have to go with the economics of semiconductors. The first company that invests in top of the line semiconductors has to spend a ton of money on research and development that go nowhere. For example, there are two ways you can produce 7nm, one that works and one that doesn’t. Intel put all their money on a process that just doesn’t work, whereas TSMC put billions of dollars in two different processes, once of which worked, which means that you spent billions on a dead end.
Because the leading companies have to recover the costs of dead ends, they will sell the best chips at a huge premium. Once you’ve figured out how to produce the chips the cost of the chip is low and you are just recovering R&D costs.
This is why China can produce mature chips super chip. Once you know that you can produce chip X using process Y, then you just do it. It turns out that this is really symbotic because it means that Taiwan and South Korea can focus on R&D and then Mainland China focuses on mature chips. The thing about this is that most of the advanced chips end up in Mainland China where you have Santa’s elves put these together into consumer goods.
The thing about Biden’s semiconductor policy is that there seems to be absolutely no strategic thinking behind them, and a lot of this has to do with US politics in which different groups want different things. The basic problem is that you have people that want to “starve”China from semiconductors, whereas most of the people that actually understand how semiconductors work haven’t bought in on decoupling.
My personal opinion is that US policy will end up screwing over Taiwan, and by 2028 this is going to be so obvious that you will have a blue wave in 2028.
Did you feel the earth move?
On April 19, 2010, a Muslim cleric in Iran blamed earthquakes on women who dressed – immodestly.
Jen McCreight was a student at Purdue University when she heard this. She didn’t like the idea of natural disasters being blamed on sinful women so decided to do something about it. She wrote a blog post entitled: “In the name of science, I offer my boobs”.
I was playing Galaga in the basement of the Student Union building at CUNY Queens College about 35 years ago. There was this gorgeous, Asian, punk girl who I was somewhat acquainted with who sat opposite me. We played for about 15 minutes and I said, “crap. I’m all out of quarters”.
She said, “What do you want to do now?”
I said, “Take you up to the roof and bang the hell out of you.”
I had no idea how this just came out. I wasn’t thinking at all. I had removed the filter between my brain and mouth and it just happened.
The discoveries will help shorten mining time by about 70 percent, reduce the impurity content by 70 percent and increases the recovery rate of rare earths by about 30 percent.
The findings were made by He Hongping’s team from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. They presented the research results at a scientific evaluation meeting in Meizhou City, South China’s Guangdong Province.
This new mining technology is mainly applied to the mining of weathered crust rare earth ores, a characteristic resource in China. It aims to solve the problems of present in-situ leaching technology in ecology, resource efficiency, and to promote efficient and green utilization of rare earth resources in China.
Professor He’s team creatively developed a new way of using electric currents to extract rare earth elements (REEs), compared to traditional methods which uses ammonium chloride as leaching agents to extract REEs. The new technology is more environmental friendly as it avoids soil contamination caused by leaching agents, which responded to Chinese government’s demand for environmental protection and green and efficient mining.
With a 5,000-ton earth-moving scale demonstration area, professor He’s team was able to test his findings on soil and achieved design outcomes on the ground. This key technology and its results have helped He’s team publish 11 high-level papers in journals such as Nature Sustainability, and to obtain 7 patents for inventions. Citing a report from Nature Sustainability, Anouk Borst, a geologist at KU Leuven called the strategy “A game changer, providing that it is feasible on a large scale.”
Through years of efforts, China has formed a complete industrial chain around REEs. In 2022, China accounted for 63 percent of the world’s rare-earth mining, 85 percent of rare-earth processing, and 92 percent of rare-earth magnet production, according to Politico.
The new rare-earth extraction technology could increase China’s advantage in rare-earth sectors by making the extraction process greener and more efficient. The strategy could help China keep its leading position in the global rare-earth industrial chain.
If You Think The Last Few Years Were Difficult…
Mark Twain once said that “If voting made a difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.”
“This sense of unease. People of upset. There is a sense of anger and frustration.”
China’s total national debt to GDP is high, pushing 300%. Government wants to control it. It sees this as a serious impediment to sustainable growth. This is a critical part of the structural change in the country. Another critical part of the structural change is to drive consumer expenditure, such as to improve consumer confidence, such as through better access to healthcare, personal insurances, and pension and retirement plans. These structural changes underway have slowed growth, which could persist in the next 2–3 years.
Overwhelmingly, the debt is owed by corporates, as part of business finance, and by local authorities, in pursuit of their development plan. The debt owed by the central government is very small, at 21% of GDP. The overwhelming amount of the debts are domestic debts in RMB. RMB is issued by PBOC, the legal tender in China. China has very little foreign debts. Its net international financial position is in surplus. Indeed, the single most important factor for the slow take-off to internationalize the RMB is that it has low international liquidity, due to China’s persistent current account surplus.
China has no problem to borrow more money. (1) Central government has low debt at only 21% of GDP, (2) the overwhelming debts are owed by corporates and local authorities in RMB, (3) PBOC has full control over the RMB, and (4) China’s net international financial position is in surplus. Quite the opposite. China does not want the debt to rise in the country. The most visible of this is the 3 red lines regulations on the real estate sector.
US government debt at about $33 trillion is pushing 130% of GDP (compared with 21% for China). It rose dramatically from $31.4 trillion when debt ceiling was raised in June, to $33 trillion at end-August. About 30% of US TBs are held by foreigners, the 3 largest are Japan, China, and UK. China has reduced its holdings from the high of over $1.1 trillion to less than $850 billion.
US government is in chronic deficit, running at an annual rate of over $1 trillion, and rising. US government debt will rise in consonant. Rising issue of TBs will require an elevated interest rates regime to attract investors, which increasingly will be domestic investors as foreigners could shy away. Elevated interest rates have driven the government’s interest bill towards $1 trillion, growing faster and exceeding the defense budget.
Rising US government borrowings and elevated interest rates could distort the financial markets. One consequence of the Fed’s interest hikes has been the loss of the market value of TBs. It has stressed the banking system, including the collapse of a few regional banks. Bloomberg estimated that as of May, the banking system was sitting on unrealized losses of $1.84 trillion on their holdings of TBs. The regional banks are the most stressed. They are the main lenders to commercial real estates. An estimate by Newmark Group, a brokerage, has it that $1.2 trillion of such debts are potentially troubled when refinancing is due, the combination of lower quantum from falling property prices and lower leverage, as well as, higher interest rates. Many property owners have defaulted and let the lenders take the properties rather than to put up more money.
You are right that borrowing more money in the US may become more difficult.
China Laughs at American Sanctions
It seems that when the United States can’t compete fairly they revert to underhanded tactics. They can’t handle a peer competitor and that is exactly what China has become.
The Chinese automotive manufacturing is the largest in the world as is most sections of manufacturing. China built their own space station and now 7nm Semiconductors built by SMIC. Huawei although sanctioned has come up with an amazing cell phone Mate 60 Pro that the Americans say can’t be possible.
It seems sanctions no longer work against Chinese growing economy and the United States is getting nervous.
Taiwan is in China. The island of Taiwan is surrounded by Chinese warships and the American, Japanese and Australian fleets are unable to approach Taiwan.
Biden did not tell the US citizens that he wanted to invade China, only “to defend Taiwan”.
So, I ask, how does the US plan on doing that? with some sort of video game competition?
I mean, in order to “defend Taiwan”, you have to have military troops pertorming military actions, aka combat inside of China – And that’s because Taiwan is in China.
So currently America has soldiers in Taiwan, which is either illegal, or at the very least gray area because that’s part of China. And the government of China doesn’t approve of that and hasn’t allowed it. So that’s the current status.
If US start performing miltary action, that’s an effort to militarily conquer at least China or push them back inside of China.
That‘s called an invasion.
Sorry, everybody, if you don’t agree with this definition, but that’s what it is.
The 1.4 billion Chinese people have told the small hooligans led by the United States countless times that the Taiwan question is the bottom line of the Chinese people, and foreign forces are not allowed to get their hands on it.
China can use all its forces to resist the invasion, and after this naval battle all the warships of China, the United States, Japan and Australia will be destroyed.
Do you think that after the end of the naval war, it will stop here? No, it has not come to a stop yet.
At the same time, China will fight back against its territory. Although all of China’s warships were sunk in the war with the United States, Japan and Australia, let us not forget that China has the largest number of civilian ships in the world, and Chinese soldiers will be present in those countries.
No matter what era we are in, apart from the indiscriminate bombing in the early stage of the war, the later stage of the war will be a ground war.
Does Australia have 50,000 soldiers combined? China can send 500,000 troops to Australia and take it over.
Japan: China does not need to send troops to occupy, dropping a few atomic bombs would be enough. The four Japanese islands are so resource-poor that even if China occupied them, they would be a liability and would be better off being completely destroyed.As for the US, China wouldn’t send troops to occupy it either, but a huge army landing on US soil would be enough to make the US pay. China’s huge population could provide a steady stream of soldiers. You have to be prepared for America to become a battlefield.
The United States is keen on Preemptive war. However, China has always adheres to the principles of defense, self-defense and post-strike response, and adopts active defense. It keeps to the stance that “we will not attack unless we are attacked, but we will surely counterattack if attacked”.
“post-strike response“,”we will surely counterattack if attacked” →→→ We have already told you what we will do!
Don’t think that if China is bullied, it will swallow its anger and not take revenge. There are limits to tolerance. Modern China is no longer the China a hundred years ago.
This is like a group of American hooligans always bullying a high-achieving Chinese student at school. Chinese students usually don’t give a damn about the provocations of American hooligans, but once they can’t stand it anymore and decide to fight back, the American hooligans will have to start paying a high price for their previous stupid provocations.
This question has been asked for years, if not decades.
The key problem is that, as a westerner, you have no idea how fast China has been developed.
In the place where you live, things around you don’t change much even after one or two decades. The layout of streets, the buildings, even the stores don’t change much.
They also don’t know the size and population of China. They just assume that China is more or less the same as where they live, maybe slightly bigger.
Above link is about a man called Kevin and his family.
He went to China from Belgium when he was 6 with his parents, to one of the poorest province, Guizhou, and lived there for 20 years. In this video, he talked about things when they went back to Belgium.
He described the scene when he was chatting with his relatives about China. His relatives in Belgium thought that when Kevin said they need to go to another city to take a plane, they assume it is like 50 kilo or something, but the reality is 300KM. People in Belgium cannot imagine a country which is about the same size as Europe.
Then they mentioned certain people think China is all city, and others think China is all village and nature.
Then the camera guy asked them a question: “Don’t they go online?”, and this is how they react:
2023 09 27 14 49
“Yeah… but what could we do?”
While the west enjoying their nice infrastructure, meanwhile in China:
image 94
The country was developed in a speed which the world had never seen.
image 93
Same thing happned in Shenzhen too.
The urbanization ratio was very low in China, and began to grow up rapidly.
In 1978, China had 17.92% urban resident, in 2022 it was 65.2%.
In comparison: The US in 80%, Germany is 77.65%, the UK is 84.4%.
If we set China’s standard with the lowest of the 3, Germany, then there is still 77.65–62.2=12.42% of Chinese people waiting to move into urban areas.
That is 1400×12.42%=173.88 million people.
image 28
This is a Japanese news in 2017 reporting about a subway station called Cao Jia Wan in Chongqing.
I don’t fully understand the title, but I can read the Kanjis. It says somthing about looking like a ruin or military base.
image 27
In 2020, a Japanese posting on Twitter about Cao Jia Wan station. It looked very differently already.
It was not very crowed, because of the pandemic.
image 26
In 2022, it looks like this.
China doesn’t count on the invisible hand,
image 92
not entirely at least.
The government plans ahead, then lay down the infrastucture for people to move in.
The actual move happens after most of the plan is finished: shopping, transportation, education, medical care, etc.
It’s rarely that a western media could do a follow up about the “ghost town” they reported. Because in several years, there will be crowded.
They will just make more ghost town news to make their audiences thinking that China is full of ghost town.
Just think about this: If China’s GDP and other aspects are indeed faked as the western media say, then how come that white house considers China as its top rival?
The US national debt reached $33 trillion for the first time
The fiscal milestone comes as Congress is facing a new spending fight with a government shutdown looming – NYT.
Since the “debt ceiling crisis”, the US has been adding $1 trillion to its debt every month. Over the past 5 years, the US debt has increased by a total of $11.5 trillion.
This should be the real ‘war’ Americans should be fighting against. The ‘war’ of relentless money printing but not seeing any significant upgrades to Americans’ standard of living, where did the money go? why no accountability from the leaders who were elected into the office?
Why I’m Raising My Children in CHINA – NOT the UK or US!
What was the stupidest thing someone has called the police on you for?
I lived in a large apartment building, with lots of nosy neighbors.
I was going to a work conference for a long weekend. My kids were teenagers, but I didn’t want to leave them alone. My (very able) mother was available, so I asked her to stay with them while I was gone. No big deal. (They watched out for her more than she did for them.)
The very first night I was gone, the police showed up at my door. My daughter, (all six-foot-two of her) answered the door. The police were a little flummoxed (and shorter). They said they had a report that I had abandoned my kids. (Apparently, they were expecting little children.) My mother, who was very able-bodied, confronted the police. Let’s just say that my mother could teach a sailor how to curse, and she knew a version of the riot act that was applicable. The police didn’t come back.
But the nosy neighbors certainly got an earful regarding their ill behavior. So did the manager of the apartment complex as there was a “police report” on me. He wrote a threatening letter to me. I filed a counter-complaint about harassment, and I wasn’t having it. Again, the riot act was applied.
Children’s Protective Services were also called. And again, we had to have the confrontation. All of this drama because I was doing my job. My mistake was that I was seen carrying my suitcase to my car.
I’ll never understand why some people are happily destructive requiring an overkill of drama, even if it’s not their own.
Online Safety Bill becomes law – internet freedom destroyed
I was 22 and had sudden, sharp pain low in my groin. It was so bad I couldn’t stand up straight and could barely walk. I made an emergency appointment with my OB/GYN. After a very brief and cursory exam he told me it was a “swollen ovary” and it would go away in TWO OR THREE MONTHS.
I went home and told my then-husband what the doctor said. He insisted I get a second opinion. I made many calls. Most doctors didn’t “do” second opinions. I finally got one nurse who (in a bored voice) asked “What are your symptoms?” I explained and she said she’d talk to the doctor and call me back. This was at 11 am one workday. She called back and said he’d see me at 1. I went to his office straight from lunch.
That doctor did an exam then turned to the nurse and said, “She’s the one.” I asked what he meant. He said that 1 in 1000 women claiming they had an emergency actually did, and I was that one. Then he asked, “What did you have for lunch?” I responded (a burger) and he frowned, then said, “You need surgery.” I tried to tell him I needed to go back to the office and close out some projects first. He said, “Oh, you’re not leaving here.”
They put me in a wheelchair and rolled me 200 feet across the parking lot to the hospital. I was given time to make 2 phone calls — one to my husband (I had to leave a message with the office admin — this is long before the days of cell phones) and one to my parents (since I couldn’t reach my husband).
Later, in the recovery room Dr. Horowitz explained. I had an ovarian torsion on my right side. That happens when an ovaries (and in my case also the fallopian tube) bent and twisted around the tissue they’re connected to. The torsion happened because there was a grapefruit-sized tumor on that ovary. It was benign, thankfully, but he said it was so close to bursting (and probably killing me) that he didn’t dare let me go home.
My husband returned to the first doctor’s office and read him the riot act for “almost killing my wife”.
Chicken Fried Steak
The Best Chicken Fried Steak scaled 1
Yield: 6 to 8 servings; 2 cups Cream Gravy
Ingredients
1 (2 1/2 to 3 pound) round steak
1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
2 tablespoons green Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon each salt and cracked pepper
Vegetable oil
Instructions
Trim steak and pound, if needed, to 1/2 inch thick; cut into 6 to 8 pieces.
Combine milk, Tabasco sauce and salt in a bowl.
Measure 1 cup of flour into a bowl.
Combine remaining flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper in another bowl. Dip steak into flour, into milk mixture, and then into seasoned flour. Set aside until all meat is coated.
Heat 1 or 2 inches of oil in a heavy fry pan. Fry meat until both sides are golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.
Drain on paper towels. Serve with cream gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits.
Cream Gravy: Pour off all but 6 tablespoons of fat from fry pan; add 6 tablespoons flour into pan (use any leftover seasoned flour) and blend well. Gradually stir in 2 1/2 cups of milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened.
Hi, Krennick . Thanks for your very interesting question!
In China, we only have 56 official ethnic groups. I’m sure this pales in comparison to the number of ethnic groups in Western countries, but it is what it is, and your question appears to be asking for a number, so ask and ye shall receive, bruv!
Yes, 56.
There you go! Sorted! Done and dusted!
I don’t have time to post pictures of all 56 ethnic groups, so instead, I’ll just post the traditional wedding attire of a few of those 56 ethnic groups.
Because who doesn’t like looking at pretty wedding dresses, amirite? 😀
So, without further ado, here we go!
The traditional wedding attire for Han, Miao, Mongolian, and Hui:
image 101
The traditional wedding attire for Zhuang, Qiang, Manchu, and Tibetan:
image 103
The traditional wedding attire for Yi and Bai:
image 102
There you go! 10 out of the 56 should do for now, aye.
As always, I’m happy to help with your questions, Krennick ! I hope this has helped sate your curiosity!
The Rock ANGRILY Oprah Winfrey True Role In Maui Wildfire
In early August 2023, a series of devastating wildfires broke out in Hawaii, primarily on the island of Maui. These wind-driven wildfires led to extensive evacuations and widespread destruction, particularly in the town of Lahaina, Hawaii. As a result of these fires, at least 115 people lost their lives, and over 1,000 others were reported missing.
https://youtu.be/TMqRQNsGrSk
A preacher
A preacher was making his rounds to his parishioners on a bicycle when he came upon little Johnny trying to sell a lawn mower. “How much do you want for the mower?” asked the preacher.
“I just want enough money to go out and buy me a bicycle,” said little Johnny.
After a moment of consideration, the preacher asked, “Will you take my bike in trade for it?”
Little Johnny said, “Mister, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
The preacher took the mower and tried to start it. He pulled and pulled on the rope until he was dripping with sweat but the mower refuses to start.
The preacher called little Johnny over and said, “I can’t get this mower to start.”
Little Johnny said, “That’s because you have to cuss at it to get it started.”
The preacher said, “I’m a man of the church and I can’t cuss. It’s been so long since I’ve been saved that I don’t even remember how to cuss.”
Little Johnny looked at him happily and said, “Just keep pulling on that rope. It’ll come back to ya.”
China’s cancellation of UK’s $240bn nuclear power plant order shocks Europe US!
In this video, host Steffan explores China’s recent withdrawal from a £24 billion nuclear project in the UK. Nuclear technology’s global evolution and its applications in various sectors are discussed, highlighting China’s leadership in nuclear technology. The video delves into the reasons behind China’s withdrawal, touching on carbon neutrality goals, coal combustion phase-out, and the UK’s role in the project.
https://youtu.be/g0Z2lSJmHjI
Confession of the Day
My husband(31M) has never gone beyond a kiss to me (28F) in the 4 years we’ve been married.
My husband was my best friend: knew each other in 2014, and I wanted him to stay with me (he’s from England) with the hope everything would turn into more.
First year of marriage, he had severe back problems and I understood.
Second year was COVID and I understood then.
Third year, we bought our house and I told him I wasn’t happy. He was overtly affectionate for a couple weeks and went back to the same routine.
Now I’m coming up on 4 years and he went through my messages last Monday with some friends and came across me venting to a guy friend I had been semi-flirtatious with about our marriage and how I felt ugly and unloved.
Now he tells me it’s because when he was 15/16 and was an apprentice, an older man took him out back and did things, which is why he has intimacy issues. Which, I completely understand how that is traumatic, as I was sexually assaulted when I was a young teen.
But the past 4 years I’ve felt inadequate while catering to his life. Paying for green card paperwork, driving him everywhere as he has no license (he works nights, I wake up at 5:40am every morning tuesday thru saturday to pick him up), making his doctor appointments for him, handling all the loans and bills, and all big decisions that really should be joint decisions. All while feeling unloved and ugly.
On Saturday he tried to initiate sex with me while drunk and it made me so mad and upset. That the only way he could fuck me is if he was intoxicated. And now I feel I am so mentally and emotionally clocked out that unless he pulls a miracle change, that I will leave him by the end of the year.
I don’t know what to do going forward but I’m just so sad because he was my best friend and if it weren’t for this issue, I think we’d be fine. But I’m not equipped to be anyone’s therapist, and this was definitely something I should have been told, as he has kept hanging the possibility of children over my head, knowing I desperately want them.
Before anyone says anything: I have initiated every single aspect of our relationship. I wanted him to do this one thing and made it clear to him. Never has he said anything. I’m just. Ugh.
Saudi Arabia Rejects US Demand, Send $70 Billion in Project Orders To China
My husband and I have raised 4 kids to adults. When our youngest was an infant, we found out she had brain cancer. Talk about a stressful time for our family! My MIL was and is very close to us geographically, as well as one I consider a friend and ally. With 3 kids in school and a seriously ill baby, we leaned on her for emotional support and she was there! We tried to go on snowmobile trips with our kids, her and extended family. (The oncologists gave us suggestions on how and when we could safely take our youngest with us — we followed his advice and still maintained her drug regimen protocols.)
One member who accompanied us all was one of my SILs. She didn’t have any kids at that time and was impatient to get on the trails the first morning. I got my three older kids ready and equipped with extra hats, gloves, snacks, drinks, helmets and snowsuits as well as any other cold-weather gear they would need. Next was my baby. Cleaning her Hickman Catheter (her drugs and all blood draws were done through it), making sure she had the blankets, toys, vanilla PediaSure (the ONLY thing she could hold down and that was the only flavor she would drink), making sure I had her anti-nausea and anti-seizure medications, as well as diapers and extra clothing she might need in case of accidents or nausea. Most of this was packed the night before, but I am in the habit of double checking (I HAVE forgotten her meds before).
My SIL complained about my incompetence as a mother to our MIL. Our MIL looked her in the eye and asked her if she had ever had to mobilize an army of sleepy young children before dawn and take care of the needs of a baby with cancer that was well enough to go on this trip? My SIL said “NO!” Our MIL then said, “I have experience with 6 sleepy kids. All of them were healthy. It is not easy in the best of circumstances. I think she is doing an excellent job.” When our MIL finished what she was doing, she went and helped me. I am blessed to have her in my life!
When my husband met my family for the first time we were all so nervous.
As you may know, he’s American. Meaning he’s pretty clueless about some of our traditions and concepts.
As he and my father were discussing important matters and the tension rising in the air… he did something he shouldn’t have…:-
He crossed his legs, putting his calf on his knee!
My inner self was going “no no no Mike please put that leg down!!!”
My parents’ eyes went to the his feet. I could already see what they are going to say later.
Anyhow, after we went home. My mother said “He really lacks respect. He talks aggressively and did you see how he put his leg up so rudely?!”
I was like “ugh I saw that coming”.
I had to take them a step back and tell them that he’s not an Arab and he doesn’t know that this is rude in our culture. They didn’t seem convinced.
So yeah, if you’re in a serious setting with an Egyptian, don’t ever let the sole of your shoes/ feet be seen. Especially if it’s in front of someone older than you.
Feet here symbolize humiliation.
So for example some people here would view a woman rubbing her husband’s feet as a humiliating act.
And a man giving his wife a foot rub is so rare and if it’s done then it’s in private.
That’s why until this day I feel very guilty if I’m getting feet pedicures at salons. Similarly, if I’m sitting at home, spreading my legs on the couch, my father would yell at me to move my feet because they are facing him.
My mother was astonished to know that my husband gives me foot rubs, and prayed for god to always make him so good and humble haha !
The US commerce minister’s confession that the US does not know how, when, or the scale of Huawei Mate 60 series production could be seen as evidence that the Huawei Mate series are the world’s most advanced, most secure, and only spy-proof smartphones in the world. However, it is important to note that there is no definitive proof that this is the case.
Huawei has been under intense US scrutiny for several years now, and the US has repeatedly accused Huawei of being a security risk. The US has also imposed a number of sanctions on Huawei, which have made it difficult for the company to do business with US companies.
Despite these challenges, Huawei has continued to develop and produce advanced smartphones. The Huawei Mate series is one of Huawei’s most popular and critically acclaimed smartphone lines. The Mate series is known for its large screens, powerful processors, and impressive camera systems.
The fact that the US does not know how Huawei is able to produce the Mate 60 series could be seen as a sign that Huawei is using advanced technologies that the US is not aware of. However, it is also possible that the US simply does not have access to the necessary information.
Whether or not the Huawei Mate series are the world’s most advanced, most secure, and only spy-proof smartphones in the world is a matter of opinion. There is no definitive proof to support or refute this claim.
It is important to note that the US has a vested interest in discrediting Huawei. The US is currently in a trade war with China, and Huawei is one of China’s most successful technology companies. By accusing Huawei of being a security risk, the US is trying to damage Huawei’s reputation and make it more difficult for the company to compete in the global market.
Ultimately, it is up to each individual consumer to decide whether or not they believe that the Huawei Mate series are the world’s most advanced, most secure, and only spy-proof smartphones in the world.
In my early 20s I lived in an apartment complex. My direct neighbor was an elderly Hispanic man. He always seemed so nice. He would speak to me in Spanish, which, at the time, I knew very little of (had taken 2 years mandatory class in high school). He would say this phrase and nod his head. I would always nod back, assuming we were somehow communicating pleasantries across a language barrier.
5 months go by and a friend I had made in that town, who was a Latina, saw our interaction one day. She got SO mad at the man and started yelling at him in Spanish. I was mortified. I was raised to respect my elders and I thought she was being disrespectful. She grabs my arm and drags me into my house. She explained to me what the man had said to me, HAD been saying to me since the day I moved in was “do you want to see my big fat d$%k?” I was so shocked! Turns out, every time I was nodding to him, I WAS communicating with him 🤣🤣🤣.
To this day, 20 something years later, my friend and I still get a laugh out of that story.
I did decide to take some Spanish classes at college after that. I’m glad i did too! It has been a valuable asset to my work in the medical field. Probably would have never taken those classes if it wasn’t for senor pervy.
A cat was found on the stairs of an apartment building. Two weeks later, his life completely changed
When I lived in American Samoa (Pago Pago), there were many unique aspects of it that I have long since forgotten. But today, well something jogged my mind. And you know what came up? Yes.
Turkey-ass sandwiches.
Yupper. Very popular in Samoa. They (for some reason that I do not understand) inherit a large amount of turkey-ass meat. And the locals take this cheap meat, and cook it and make sandwiches out of it.
Two slices of bread; mayonnaise, and turkey ass meat.
It’s not exactly my “cup of tea”, but I had a few sandwiches (back in the day). It fills your stomach. But not as good as you would hope for them to be. I’ll tell you what.
Long post today. Many videos. More than average number of Oliver Anthony reaction videos. Kinda like a mother-load. But overall thoughts on the absolute devastation of Western culture and Western society today.
Krugman initially made such a report based on the Western Model and predicted Chinas collapse in 2005
Krugman wrote a paper where he established that the Banking Crisis of the 1990s would surface by 2005 and displace China
It didn’t happen
Because as I keep saying Repeatedly – the Chinese work and think differently and their economy works as per their own system
Now Americans and the Western systems HATE Saving money. Money is meant to be spent. Money has to keep being spent and drive consumption.
If you don’t have the money – BORROW or avail what is another major driver – CREDIT
image 33
The Chinese on the other land love saving money. They love having money in the bank. They prefer to spend only money from their current earnings or from any PROFIT or INTEREST they earn on those savings
Likewise Americans invest very heavily in paper or non asset backed instruments
It’s very easy to go to New York tomorrow and raise $ 50 Million capital from a small hedge fund who will simply call someone else who will invest the money from an Insurance or Pension Fund
In the 1980s – the Americans loved the free market
Today they are confident of a Federal Bailout ever since the 2009 Crisis
Chinese don’t trust paper instruments
They trust ASSETS
They like Land, Gold, Resources, Buildings, Windmills
In 2002 – The Government of China converted 160 Billion Yuan of Bad Debt ($ 18.3 Billion) by Banks into Units of Land Holdings owned by the Banks
image 32
They offered these units as sale
The Debt was paid off in 8 Days!!!!
A Debt that was 10 years old, paid off in just 8 days
So unless an Economist knows China, Chinese Culture and the Chinese system including the fact that the State owns all the land and resources – they cannot understand China
image 31
They always judge China by the Western Standard and when China thrives and doesn’t collapse like they predicted
They don’t apologize and realize their mistakes
They double down and keep assuming China must have done SOMETHING SHADY
It’s fodder for the MSM Propaganda against China
These Experts, they apply the Western System everywhere
BASEL was fine in Switzerland and developing companiss
However applying it in India destroyed almost our entire enterprise and banking so far
So Krugman, he simply tries applying the Western system to China
He tried this in 2005 and failed badly
Now he is doubling down
Unless he truly understands the Chinese people and the Chinese system – his predictions aren’t worth a damn
Nobel Prize or No Nobel Prize
I Finally Heard the Viral Country Song EVERYONE is Talking About.
Yep you are right – NATO+G7 hold around 65% of the World’s Gold Reserves
They also hold $ 81.79 Trillion in External Debt combined
If you have a Gold Backed currency, it means the NATO and G7, they can’t keep printing notes anymore
Tomorrow every note they print can legally be redeemed against a few micrograms of gold
Their Printing fun is OVER
Now BRICS
BRICS have 20% of the World’s Gold Reserves
Their Cumulative External Debt is only $ 5.105 Trillion
So now YOU DO THE MATH
NATO +G7+ Japan have 3.25 times more gold
They have a whopping 16 times more external Debt
That’s the Big problem here
Low Country Chicken Bog
2023 09 13 15 18
Ingredients
1 (3 pound) whole chicken
6 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
1 onion, chopped
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup long-grain white rice
1/2 pound smoked sausage of your choice, sliced
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
2 cubes chicken bouillon
Instructions
Place chicken, water, salt and onion in a large pot. Bring to a boil; cook until chicken is tender, about 1 hour.
Remove chicken from pot and let cool. Remove skin and bones and chop remaining meat into bite-size pieces.
Skim off fat from cooking liquid and measure 3 1/2 cups of this chicken broth into a 6 quart saucepan.
Add rice, chicken pieces, sausage, herb seasoning and bouillon to the saucepan. Cover the saucepan. Let come to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes. If mixture is too watery or juicy, cook over medium low heat, uncovered, until it reaches the desired consistency. Stir often while cooking.
TELL IT LIKE IT IS!!! | Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North of Richmond
All the focus is on the CHIP, the Chip and it’s stacking and it’s revolutionary inhouse design
In reality the real breakthrough by Huawei isn’t the damn Chip.
It’s the FILTER
The Bulk Accoustic wave Filter, the small component that in laymans terms enables those different latent speeds on your smartphone and gives you 5G connectivity
The Chip is great news
Yet that’s nothing amazing or new. Yes China can make 5nm Chips with Foreign DUV equipment
That’s why US sanctioned the equipment which is probably why China now uses stacking to get the same processing power but with higher power consumption
The BAW filter is the BIG BREAKTHROUGH and China is diverting all the attention from this to the CHIP hoping that idiots like Raimondo or Blinken go after the Chips
In reality the BAW Filter made entirely of Chinese Design is the killer here
I bet the Chinese commercially make it at 60% cost
Now China can make it’s entire 5G network spectrum without any dependence on the West
Zero Dependence
They control the raw materials, the equipment, the design and the process entirely in house
Companies that design and make the BAWs are entirely anyway on the US Blacklist so they won’t be affected in the least
Plus now that Huawei has designed a BAW for 5G Latents, it’s only one step for higher latents (6G)
It’s why China and Huawei are diverting everyone’s attention towards the CHIPS again and again
The West will say “They were made using ASML and we have restricted the exports of ASML so this will end”
Nobody will look at the 5G BAW filter designed and made by China from scratch and scaled efficiently
Helping China scale it’s way to 6G without any dependence on the West and KEEPING THEIR LEAD
That’s the big breakthrough Huawei has achieved which they are masking from the world to remain undisturbed for another 2–3 years while the Idiots focus on the Chip again and again
Originally Answered: What does it feel like to go from being wealthy to being poor?
It’s absolutely horrible. I was 50, had recently sold my very successful car washes, had a $1MM in my checking account, the big house, kids in private school and life was grand. I was focused on growing my other business (car wash equipment sales) when the manufacturer we represented lost a client that accounted 1/3 of our business, Hurricane Katrina hit (followed by several other hurricanes), and then the great recession. I had stopped taking a salary and started loaning the company money. I was determined to work through this. I even spent my retirement in a last attempt to turn things around. Fast forward, the company was broke, I was broke, and I couldn’t pay the house mortgage. I had to give up the house and shut down the business. A personal bankruptcy soon followed, and then a separation from my wife of 30 years. The stress was unbearable, and I contemplated suicide. The only thing that stopped me was that my dad had taken his life when I was 26, and I knew first hand the pain that my loved ones would bear for my actions.
The worst part is the loss of self confidence and depression, followed by the loss of “friends”. It’s amazing how quickly they disappear! I will say that two friends stuck by me. One in particular would check on me and take me out to ride his motorcycles to help take my mind off of things. I moved into a friend’s rental property and I started looking for work. I had owned my own companies since college, was a past Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, and had never really worked for anyone. At the worst, I was working at a construction company repairing equipment in their yard, collecting food stamps and living alone.
Fast forward a couple of years. My wife and I got back together, we moved to Texas, and I took a job back in my industry (building car washes). We now rent a nice home, and were recently able to buy a nice used car. It gets better every day. I love my job, and I hope to get back into car wash ownership (with investors), while continuing to do what I do.
In summary, there are a couple of important lessons to take from this:
Good times don’t last; bad times don’t last.
Most of the people who claim to be your friend are only there for the good times.
Business associates that you’ve spent millions of dollars with over decades will instantly turn their back on you when the money stops.
Don’t ever stop taking care of yourself. Exercise is great for relieving the stress.
Face facts. Recognize when you have a losing hand and walk away. And if bankruptcy is inevitable, just do it. Don’t procrastinate and stick your head in the sand.
Do not EVER use your retirement money. I used mine to try and save the company, and I am now 60 years old and starting over.
Never stop believing in yourself.
The Left RAGES Over Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North Of Richmond” | Tomi Lahren Is Fearless
China’s core competence is manufacturing and logistic. It has IP independence in numerous areas, and the industrial chain can collaborate to bring complex, world-class projects online in record time.
As I’ve said repeatedly over the years, China class is world class, because the Chinese competition has to beat the world’s best in order to be counted as domestic champions. There are few absentees in the world’s largest single market. Chinese corporations do not compete in sandboxed silos, unlike elsewhere.
The best thing is, the Chinese are among the best informed people when it comes to business intelligence, because of the completeness of the supply chain.
Case in point: Kuo Ming-Chi has been one of the best-informed and accurate Apple “analyst” over the past decade, because he taps the Greater China-centered supply chain directly.
That is also why only Apple is left in the brutal handset business in China, with the Koreans, Japanese, Taiwanese and Europeans all relegated to “others” or complete irrelevance on the mainland. Transsion, a company few have heard of, outsells Samsung in Africa, a market that Chinese handset vendors dominate. The competition that China offers is multidimensional and immense.
We will see entire industries being remade on a global scale as China moves up the tech ladder and redefine the 21st century factory. Today, a journalist who wants to showcase industrial innovation will find the best material in China, and not Germany, Japan and the US. Instead of going wild over AI’s use as a human-like chatbot, China is deploying AI, ML and big data on an industrial scale to run intelligent factories, automating the often tumultuous marriage between lean manufacturing and quality improvement.
What impressed me about the Mate 60 Pro’s soft launch was the order fulfillment. The announcement went live on the webstore around 12pm, and orders were processed for an hour before selling out. Customers received their purchases several hours later. That’s world class, cutting edge logistics, and it is already what the Chinese consumer expect as norm.
China is writing the 21st century future.
Can you imagine a world where Southeaast Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Russia (yes, Russia!) enjoying the same as the Chinese recreate the mainland experience overseas?
The global south leapfrogging the first world, in delivered outcomes.
Makes for interesting times, don’t you think?
My First Reaction to Oliver Anthony | I want to go home | REACTION
Jim Haywood wrote the best answer to these stupid questions I have come across on Quora:
OK, I’ll bite…
In the UK, I’ve never heard it called “free” by anyone except Americans looking for a straw man argument. In the UK we normally just call it “the hospital”, “the doctor”, “the clinic”, “the ambulance”. The exception is “the dentist”, which has a standard charge if you’re registered with the NHS. AND…
BEFORE YOU START YOUR NEXT STRAWMAN PROJECT… the state of people’s teeth is better in the UK than the US.
A personal experience.
Last year, I spent three weeks in hospital for major surgery. I wasn’t well enough for the operation at first and I was pumped full of antibiotics, vitamins and three fuck-off-size bags of amino acids and other nutrients (its called TPN). My biggest fear was the drip stand falling and crushing me, (like suffocating under a cow’s udder!). I took a photo.
The extra nipple is for visitors.
I’m joking, of course; there were no visitors during the covid lockdown.
I had the operation, and some days recovering, at the end of which (the evening before I was due to be discharged), I tested positive for covid (you remember that funny little bug), so had to stay longer.
I had about £2.60 in my pocket. I went home with £2.00 because, one day, I went for a walk in my hospital slippers and bought a Twix at a vending machine.
(The food, btw, was good, and already paid-for, of course, since you asked. Not Michelin starred, but wholesome, tasty, familiar, comfort-food. It was the same as served in the canteen for visitors and staff and cooked on the premises.)
When finally home, I was looked after by “district” nurses visiting me at home to change dressings, and specialist related to the particular procedure I had. This was daily at first, tapering off as I needed less support.
At home, then, I got a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lung, probably as a consequence of covid combined with the op.), I was reticent to go back to hospital (as you might expect), so the GP came out to me, at about 9pm, just to check me over and make sure I went to hospital (a PE can be life-theatening). I was admitted back into hospital via A&E (Emergency Room) for a day of monitoring.
More drugs. Slow recovery over the last year, with regular checkups and blood tests.
Money?
Now, I’m not a rich man, and I have a mortgage, and bills to pay like everyone else.
Not once did I worry about medical bills. Not once. Because there weren’t any. No forms to fill in, other than a simple consent for the operation, no “co-pays” (as I’ve learned you call them), no payments for diagnostic imaging – x-rays, ultrasound scans, and no insurance man checking whether I could have the treatment or the meds (WTF??).
Being that sick is a shitty experience whatever country you live in. But, by God, I was very grateful for the Nation Health Service.
No, it’s not free. We all pay for it based on our ability to pay. If you’re rich, you pay more; if you’re poor you pay less. It’s funded directly from general taxation and comes out of my monthly salary before I see my pay in the bank. (BTW, the tax system is massively more efficient than in the US, too. I haven’t had to complete an annual tax return for 20 years, for example.)
I post my experience, here, not because it was exceptional – it wasn’t – but because it was ORDINARY and EXPECTED.
Oh yeah, “socialised” medicine:
So when I need medical treatment, it’s already paid for, fairly (we’re not bloody savages), by every tax payer in the country.
Just to head off a few other straw men:
If you haven’t paid your taxes, you still get medical treatment, because the doctors don’t care about your tax: it’s none of their business. And we’re not bloody savages.
If you’re terminally ill, you still get treatment. We’re not bloody savages.
There are no such thing as “death panels”, an invention of liars in the US media. We’re not bloody savages.
And the only time you see a shop till is in the cafe in the reception foyer (and that’s staffed by volunteers) or the staff canteen.
What it really costs you, Americans.
Not only do you, in the US, pay more (about double) for a similar quality of service, some of you pay with your lives.
Being scared of medical bills, people put up with pain, put off worries, and sometimes die, unable to afford the most basic medication. Insulin, for example. You don’t pay for insulin in the UK.
How else do you pay? Drug addiction, as “doctors”, cajoled and incentivised by big pharma, look for a quick, affordable (to the patient) fix, and end up hooking the patients onto addictive drugs.
On average, your life expectancy is two years shorter than in the UK. Now, some people might say “ Well, those are two years of pain and decrepitude at the end of my life, so no great loss!” No. They are two years of healthy life that you haven’t had. And all that’s left to you then is some horrible religious drug-addled fatalism as you watch your life and your savings bleed away to be sucked up by big pharma and the bloated, useless “insurance” companies. This is a one-way flow, notice. Once that money is gone from your family it’s gone for good.
Free-rider “problem”? There’s plenty of free riders – you’re already paying for the health plans of all those insurance salesmen, actuaries, marketeers, administrators…
End of rant. Now the really sad part:
You know, I’m sure you’ve noticed a certain sneering from some respondents on Quora towards the USA. Not Americans, I hasten to add: we tend to like Americans. You might put all that negativity down to “hate” (which seems to mean something different to Yanks, but never mind). I tell you though, it’s not hate, it’s not envy, it’s not spite or helpless rage or snobbishness. It’s something much more damning:
Disappointment.
A footnote about prescription charges.
In the UK, there are prescription charges. But you don’t pay if you’re a child or pregnant or over 60 or suffering from one of a number of long-term conditions or on state benefits, or receiving disability allowance, or unemployed, or living in Wales or Scotland (which have slightly different arrangements).
If you do pay, it’s a standard change of £9:30 per prescription, but you can buy a “prepayment certificate” for £112 per year, if that’s better value.
When I collect a prescription, I’m asked “Do you pay for your prescriptions?” I used to answer “Yes”, and pay, or “No, I have a ‘cert’. Now, they rarely even ask, because I look my age, 60. Not once, have I been asked to prove my age or show a certificate. Why? Because its too much bother – if I needed to cheat, I wouldn’t have to because I would get it free anyway (in most cases)!
BTW, if medicines are dispensed in hospital, there is never a prescription charge.
Anything else?
Yes. One more thing that screws American patients: your litigious culture: if something goes wrong you can be awarded punitive damages. Suing a hospital is cheap and the rewards can be very high. This incentivises ultra-precautionary medicine so you go to a doctor (on your sooper-dooper insurance policy) with a simple strep throat. The Doc writes you up for a mountain of almost certainly completely unnecessary tests to de-risk himself (not for your benefit). He has an army of lawyers on stand-by in his own indemnity insurance, which has to be paid for. So his charge are higher, so insurance premiums are higher, and ultimately, the individual pays. The costs are so high, everyone is looking for an opportunity to screw someone else.
In the UK, the system, even today, works more on trust: patients trust the doctors to advise them and diagnose them correctly, and trust that there are check and balances in place that will identify bad doctors and disqualify them. Suing a doctor is still possible, but damages are only to reimburse the failed patient, not to punish the failing medic.
You’re are all paying to keep the ambulance chasers chasing ambulances.
Finally, let’s go back to your question:
Why do some call universal healthcare free when it isn’t since people pay for it through their taxes?
No, matey. It’s not free despite being paid for through our taxes, it’s free because it’s paid for though our taxes:-
Free at the point of use.
Free from the threat of bankruptcy.
Free from co-pays and desperate attemps to claw back money through lawyers (and their fees).
Free from the fear of lawsuits.
Free from drug companies’ profiteering from your illness.
Free from t.v. adverts for life-saving drugs (ask your doctor for what???).
Free to leave your crappy, toxic, wage-slavery dead-end job, yet still receive treatment for your “pre-existing” condition (as opposed to non-existing conditions, presumably).
Free not to have to choose between your home and living out of pain.
Free to hold your newborn baby in hospital (you’ve GOT to be joking!).
Free from Go Fund Me campaigns for your kids’ cancer treatment.
Free from the selfish, vindictive, judgemental, spiteful attitude that Human Being X doesn’t deserve to live because they didn’t buy enough insurance.
Put all that together, folks: what a weird and twisted SICK system you have (accidentally, perhaps) invented! Some of you think it’s normal, even to the point of QUESTIONING another, better system. If you’re happy with it, you’re just as weird and twisted. But probably not sick. Yet.
U.S Lose $1.7 Trillion USD in Trade, After Tariff On China
Welcome back to Innovative Check! Dive deep into the intricacies of the U.S.-China trade dynamics and uncover how tariffs are impacting American manufacturers. As companies like MISCO feel the strain, what does the future hold for U.S. domestic production?
To little to late, the horse has bolted, China have the ability to make their own now, there is no going back. The USA have lost their little chip war, NEVER start a fight you can’t finish, you’ll end up with a bloody nose. The US never seem to learn, block them from the ISS, no problems, China just make their own, block the chip supply? No problems China just make their own, try and block technology? Won’t work, China will end up with better than yours, when are they going to wake up, that it’s better to work with them than against them? If they start a war with China, they might end up with a lot more than just a bloody nose,
I am planning to study Mandarin Chinese, yet I am overwhelmed by what to do, and what online resources there are available, can you please assist?
If you are serious, move to China and immerse yourself in the environment which will force you to learn Putonghua. If you are not serious about learning Putonghua, don’t bother, because the time investment is worth it.
My second son was a toddler and we were on the way to meet friends at a soft play centre. i always stopped off on the way at a local garage and got a large coffee. There was a short zebra crossing from the parking area to the shop and a young girl in a convertible parked across it. Son was walking holding my hand and I said
“Did you have to block the crossing”
“Too bad you fat cow” she flounced off into the shop.
Coffee in cup holder I watched her pull away between a lorry and the bollards at the shop front … and scrape the side of her pale blue car along the side of the lorry. I almost wet myself laughing so hard and loud enough that she heard me. The driver of the lorry who had watched this with amusement looked across at me and said
“No Chinese can say it?” where have you been? Definitely not China.
I worked with uni students in Guangzhou who major in several European languages including English. They translate English to Mandarin articles for me in a few hours, and here we are, speaking English and Mandarin in a Zhongshan cafe.
My China nephew about to graduate from engineering course from Guizhou university listens to old Beatles songs, he likes the group, and we talked in Chinese and English.
Huawei naming of their latest phone is for the international market. In Kuala Lumpur Huawei has a skyscraper HQ and their mobile phones are popular among Malaysians.
The world does not exist only for English speaking people.
In tiny Malaysia, a former British colony, you’d be surprised how many people eat, live, and breathe Mandarin only, they don’t need the English language.
Kasandras Beware – China’s Economy Will Not Hit A Wall
The economist and columnist of the New York Times Paul Krugman wrote about China hitting the wall:
China is in big trouble. We’re not talking about some minor setback along the way, but something more fundamental. The country’s whole way of doing business, the economic system that has driven three decades of incredible growth, has reached its limits. You could say that the Chinese model is about to hit its Great Wall, and the only question now is just how bad the crash will be. … Wages are rising; finally, ordinary Chinese are starting to share in the fruits of growth. But it also means that the Chinese economy is suddenly faced with the need for drastic “rebalancing” — the jargon phrase of the moment. Investment is now running into sharply diminishing returns and is going to drop drastically no matter what the government does; consumer spending must rise dramatically to take its place. The question is whether this can happen fast enough to avoid a nasty slump.
That was written in 2013 when China’s GDP at purchase power parity reached $16.3 trillion. The number has since more than doubled to a projected $33 trillion in 2023. (In the same time span U.S. GDP(ppp) grew from $17 to $26 trillion.) But that hasn’t influenced Krugman’s conclusions. Two week ago he wrote another column that paints the same gloomy picture and prescribes the same false medicine:
Since the late 2000s, however, China seems to have lost a lot of its dynamism. … … China clearly can’t sustain anything like the high growth rates of the past. … At a fundamental level, China is suffering from the paradox of thrift, which says that an economy can suffer if consumers try to save too much. If businesses aren’t willing to borrow and then invest all the money consumers are trying to save, the result is an economic downturn. Such a downturn may well reduce the amount businesses are willing to invest, so an attempt to save more can actually reduce investment. … The obvious answer is to boost consumer spending. Get state-owned enterprises to share more of their profits with workers. Strengthen the safety net. And in the short run, the government could just give people money — sending out checks, the way America has done.
How is giving checks (btw: no Chinese or European citizen uses those antique instruments) to people who are saving instead of consuming supposed to increase their consumption? I would presume that it would rather increase their savings. Giving more income to people who like to save to increase consumption is like pushing on a string.
David Fishman, an economist who lives in China and speaks Mandarin, had an interesting chat with a taxi driver. He concludes:
1. Even after buying a property, long-term considerations still drive Yang to save money, most prominently his daughter and parents. 2. Yang and his wife give up consumption in pursuit of their long-term goals, even working an extra job, to put away extra cash for those goals. 3. He associates loose/free consumption habits with youth and a lack of responsibility. His consumption today is strategic and intentional. 4. He is unperturbed by the prospect of real estate losing value, since he bought his house to live in, and doesn’t intend to resell it.
Now, macro econ punditry is *not* my lane.
But if I hear a pundit talking about Chinese consumers, and how they will/won’t behave in response to some government policy, I will always wonder what their mental model of this generic Chinese consumer’s behavior looks like.
To be credible, that consumer behavior model should probably look like Yang, willing to work an extra job & skip consumption, not out of today’s financial necessity, but in preparation of being a good filial son, and so his 3-year old daughter can take dance lessons someday.
And that is Krugman’s problem with diagnosing China’s economy. People work hard in China. And they like to save instead of consuming all their income. They retire pretty early but live long (though that retirement age is likely to rise). So having a bit of money on the side will make for a nicer living in later years:
The official retirement age for men is 60. Women in managerial positions have a retirement age of 55, while blue-collar female workers can retire at 50.
Chinese people are simply not Americans. But Krugman’s economic models presume that they are and he isn’t willing or capable of looking beyond those.
Still he was onto something when he opened his column with this:
The narrative about China has changed with stunning speed, from unstoppable juggernaut to pitiful, helpless giant.
It is indeed a fact that the narrative about China’s economy has changed way more than China’s economic numbers. But Krugman fails to ask why.
First, the most salient preoccupations of Western commentators reflect the skewed distribution of foreign-owned capital within the Chinese economy. … The second feature relates to the financial industry’s reliance on the art of political-economic storytelling to sell investment options.
But it is probably more a political instrument to support the general U.S. war against China.
Newsweek recently published a rather laughable story which asked if Shanghai (25 million permanent inhabitants) had turned into a ‘ghost town’.
The Global Times editors see political motives behind such ‘bad China’ narratives:
If only Newsweek is doing this, then it is an isolated case, indicating the media outlet’s problematic professional ethics and the negative impact it caused is not significant. However, starting from March or April this year, not only Newsweek but also other US and Western media outlets have been selectively using some specific data from a certain point or in a certain field to generalize, and even fabricate information to undermine, the Chinese economy. This is a coordinated and large-scale campaign, with consistent steps, intense actions, and extensive content, which is rare in recent years. Can we say that this is a coincidence?
The ‘bad China’ narrative is an economic phenomenon but is used for political reasons:
In the field of economics, there is a term called narrative economics, which uses storytelling to influence judgments, even at the cost of creating false information, to undermine the morale and confidence of the target and attempt to deter foreign investment, thereby having a substantial impact on the economy. The US has openly regarded China as its biggest competitor and even treats China as an imaginary enemy in many practical aspects. We cannot expect it to engage in fair competition with China. In order to win this “competition” initiated by itself, the US often resorts to any possible means. This perspective can explain the phenomenon in which the US is badmouthing the Chinese economy in a collective manner and can also roughly predict the US’ future actions toward China, indicating that it aligns with the basic facts.
War propaganda falls apart when a war is lost. Economic propaganda falls apart when the new numbers come in. Krugman’s doom and gloom propaganda from 2013 was defeated by China’s growth. His 2023 propaganda is likely to have the same fate.
Posted by b on September 12, 2023 at 16:39 UTC | Permalink
EXPLOSIVE! New details in the JFK assassination & RFK, JR responds
EXPLOSIVE! New details in the JFK assassination, and now RFK, JR. is responding. On Saturday, 88-year-old former secret service agent Paul Landis gave an exclusive interview with The New York Times where he shared he shared his revelations regarding what happened November 22, 1963. And it turns out he’s the one that picked up the magic bullet from the back of the President’s limo. This completely upends the story around the magic bullet and undermines The Warren Commission.
I’ll tell you a story from my Marines career. Not marine Corp, Royal Marines. I was responsible for intel and let’s just say I was on detachment to some of the better Royal Marines. We had some young gawky junior officer fresh out of training and looking to stamp his authority on us. So one day he decided to make me do 20 I took the piss and did a few extra got back up and stood to attention. A few hours later I got called to the bosses office.
Conversation as follows.
Hayworth did he reprimand you?
Yes sir
Why?
I was laughing at him behind his back
CO to hotshot,
You might want to remember that this guy is the one who’s going to be getting the right intel to your unit, basically when he’s on operations he is the guy making the decisions
Officer Hotshot. Why, I’m in charge.
CO to hotshot, not without fucking intel you’re not. Now get the fuck out of my base and get a transfer. If you think stamping authority around here is going to get you any favors then you are useless to me and my men. There is no rank around here, not even me. That’s the SBS way. We’re all experts at our jobs and I don’t need a fucking junior officer upsetting my teams. I still love that CO.
My Stepdaughter passed away at 22 due to complications from her Type 1 Diabetes. She had massive medical bills. We had insurance, but it only covered parts. So, let’s start by being harassed by a debt collector calling about someone that had passed away.
When the bills started coming I called all the companies. 99% only asked me to send a copy of the death certificate. But, this one company, well, they were total slime balls. The odd part was this was on a bill that was actually paid by the insurance in full. So, on the first call from them I sent them copies of the paid in full notices, and a copy of the death certificate.
A year went by, and I got a call from them again on the same bill. I told them about their error, even sent a copy of the registered mail signed copy. Week later, another call. This time I was hot. Gave them an ear full. A month later, same thing. This time, the asshat actually said they don’t believe she is dead. Wanted to know how to reach her so they can sue her for the money. I gave them the address to the cemetery. A month went by, another call. Same thing: we don’t believe you, etc. So, I said, Do what you got to do.
And believe it or not, they actually sued her. I went to the office of the lawyer, with my lawyer, and a counterclaim on behalf of the estate. The lawyer wanted to drop everything right then. But, we took it to court. We made them play the recording of the agent telling me that they refused to believe she was dead. The Judge dropped the hammer on them. We won a $30,000 donation in her name to the American diabetes Association.
However, back in he 1960s I was one of a group of about 20 new graduates taken on by a large multinational. We were in an enormous site and were all expected to trek across it in order to clock in every morning. We quickly took it in turns for one of us to go and clock in for us all.
One day, one of my colleagues had just finished clocking in for us when he was apprehended by a portly manager for this illegal practice. “Do you know who I am, demanded this august presence?”
“No” my friend replied and listened to the fellow describe his important position in the company. When he had finished, my friend asked him if he knew who my friend was.
“No” replied the manager.
“Thank God!” said my friend and took to his heels. An investigation followed but we were able to hide the miscreant
Shortly after, we decided to go on strike and all refused to clock in. The company relented after we agreed to sign an attendance sheet. The local union rep found about this and made a fuss about it as it was a privilege normally extended to more senior staff than new graduates. The result was we were all promoted to a position where we were ‘legally’ allowed to sign in which carried a pay rise with it.
I don’t know what this proves except that perhaps it pays not to accept being messed about with.
Testimonial: “They Moved a Biological Man into My Dorm Room!”
The #WalkAway Campaign is a true grassroots movement, founded by former liberal, Brandon Straka, dedicated to providing a place to share #WalkAway testimonials and personal journeys to freedom.
I worked at a state park for a few years. The primary sources of income for the park are day-use fees and the seven campgrounds. The main two campgrounds and day-use areas are developed, very nice with running water, showers, and are only accessible through a manned gate. The other five undeveloped campgrounds and day-use areas are self-pay on the honor system, but since that unfortunately means most people don’t pay, one of my main duties was going around and collecting fees.
More often than not, most people were “just about to go pay.” Sometimes they’d been in the park for days, but were inevitably “just about to go pay.” What timing.
One day I stopped by a campsite where I was immediately confronted by a diminutive and very angry camper. He immediately started accusing me of harassment, then started listing an exhaustive series of offenses I had committed against him and his family, even though I’d been there for about a total of 45 seconds. Recognizing that he had a few too many with lunch, I put on a big smile and assured him I was just there to collect the campground fees. He told me to look in his truck, he had his self-pay permit attached to the windshield.
He wasn’t wrong, it was there. The problem is that the window tag is attached to an envelope. You put your money in the envelope, write down your license plate number, and put it in the locked collection box. There’s even a matching number on both in case you didn’t write your license plate number on it. The tag was on his window, but the envelope was still attached.
I calmly explained this to him, and asked for the $8 fee. He swore at me, called me names, threatened me. I asked him if there was someone else I could talk to. That really set him off. He started screaming at me, hitting his own truck, and threatening to call the cops and sue me. I tried my best to keep him calm, then decided to give him some cool down time. I left and started going to the other camp sites, planning on returning on my way out and maybe even catch someone more sober and reasonable.
However, a few minutes later I received a call on my radio. A camper had called 911 to report that a ranger was harassing and threatening them. They wanted me to go talk to him and see what was going on.
This is a unique form of irony.
Seeing the conflict of interests and not wanting to escalate the situation, I asked if a county deputy was really available. One was, and he was there within minutes. I met them both back at the campsite where I found the man yelling at the deputy. I calmly explained that if he just wanted to pay his $8 we would leave and he could enjoy the rest of the night.
Long story short, he spent the night in jail and received over $100 in fines.
TRAVEL FROM GHANA TO KENYA WITH ME | MY SURPRISING FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF NAIROBI
My wife quite possibly saved our lives. We were on our last vacation, a two-week road trip through some western states. At her insistence I booked two nights on the Las Vegas strip. (I love playing poker but I can’t stand Las Vegas. I would have preferred an extra night in Laughlin or at an Indian casino). The moment we arrived, she was on edge. I did all right, and even cashed in a small sit-and-go Hold-Em tournament.
When I got back to the room, she said we are leaving first thing in the morning. We had reserved a nice room on the strip for Thursday and Friday nights, and this was still Thursday. We had already toured the renovations going on “Downtown” and planned to spend Friday on the strip. There was some huge music festival going on Friday night we wanted to check out. Nope. WE. ARE. LEAVING.
Yes, Dear. Some things shall not be questioned. Change some reservations, whatever. Reminder to self: I don’t even like Vegas. Her idea to go there, and her idea to LEAVE. RIGHT. NOW. Yes, Dear.
We had just settled in to a Motel 6 in Bakersfield CA when Stephen Paddock opened fire at that music festival on the Vegas strip.
Didn’t give the judge a laugh but gave others in the court room one. My older cousin was a senior in high school and her social problems class was on a field trip to the local court. We lived in a small county, so cases ranged from traffic tickets to drug offenses to child support cases before one judge.
This was before DNA testing. A 17 yo mother was on the stand testifying that she had only been with one guy and he denied that he was the father. The judge called the one she named as the father and he admitted he had had sex with her, but so had his two friends. The judge believed the mother. He called each of the guy’s friends and they testified that they had each had sex with her and they were winking at each other as if they were fooling everyone. The teen mother was upset but was quiet. The judge looked at the three friends and ruled that each would pay the full amount of child support and he would see them in a month and maybe by then they would have figured out which one was the father before he ruled if all three would pay back child support.
Bet the three friends had an interesting conversation outside the parking lot
Bobby Asks Tony To Give Him Better Jobs – The Sopranos HD
The evolution of Bobby’s character was one of my favorite details from The Sopranos. From a shy, bumbling guy Tony ridiculed and dismissed into Tony’s most trusted soldier.
Yes, because I was the manager when this incident occurred.
For all of an hour and a half or so, I had to fill in as a temp for the Domino’s store I worked at.
Why my manager picked me, a kid who had just turned 18, to be her fill-in is beyond me, but I guess she trusted me more than I thought she did.
Apparently, she had a doctor’s appointment to attend to and the assistant manager was unable to clock in early, so it was up to me to hold down the fort.
Even under unusual circumstances, I was determined to perform well in my new role, even if it was only temporary.
I did perfectly fine for the first hour, as business was going well as usual.
That was, until some kid wearing a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) blues uniform walked in and told me that he had somehow ‘earned’ some free cookie brownies.
The uniform looked similar to Air Force blues, but without the ribbons, the lapels, and the rank.
And how did the kid supposedly earn free brownies?
According to him, he was walking down the street when one of the delivery drivers pulled up next to him and told him he could have some free brownies solely because he was wearing the uniform and the driver wanted to thank him for his “service to the community.”
I knew that was bullshit immediately because I personally knew all the drivers on shift, and none of them would ever hand out free brownies to anyone, no matter who it was.
And they definitely weren’t going to pull up to some kid and tell him to walk to the store for some free brownies.
That sounds really stupid, doesn’t it?
Anyway, I told the kid he had to pay for whatever he wanted or he wasn’t getting anything.
With that, the kid left. Or so I thought.
A couple of minutes later, his mom walked in and demanded that I give her son his free brownies because of his service to the community or whatever.
There was no way in hell I was going to be a pushover for some entitled boy scout and his even more entitled Karen of a mother.
I told her that I wasn’t going to just give anything out for free and that they would have to pay for what they order, or else they had to leave the store.
The lady didn’t seem very pleased with that, so she told me to ‘get’ my manager so that she could further ‘negotiate’ or really just demand.
I told her no because I was the manager at the time, and I then told her to leave or else I would have to call the cops and whoever else I saw fit.
That scared away the mom and her kid, so they left the store, and I told them to have a nice day.
I was shocked to see that two people could have such an irrational sense of entitlement, and it still bothers me that people like them are out there.
TSMC has a large number of resignations;6,000 Tsinghua scientists defect to Huawei
TSMC has a large number of resignations; 6,000 Tsinghua scientists defect to Huawei; Ren Zhengfei personally receives Chinese students.
16. My province, New-Brunswick, is completely bilingual . You can get served in English or French. Everything has to be bilingual as well, including road signs, menus, food labels, etc…
A few years ago, my wife heard what sounded like an animal scratching around in our attic. I figured a squirrel must have made its way inside. The attic access is a little 3 foot by 4 foot opening in the ceiling of one of the closets. It’s a pain to get up there, but I know even a single squirrel can cause a lot of damage so I got the ladder and a flashlight with Intention of trying to chase it out the vent up there.
i climbed up through the opening and turned the flashlight on to see what was happening and I saw about 50 pairs of bat eyes reflecting back at me. I turned the flashlight off, slowly climbed back down the ladder pulling the door cover closed behind me.
My wife, anxiously awaiting my return asked if I had gotten rid of it already. I just said nope and that I wasn’t going back up there.
it ended up being a whole ordeal to get rid of them. They are a protected species, so you can’t have them exterminated. You have the house sealed off to prevent the bats from getting, but they leave a hatch the bats can get out through. Once they all leave in the evening to eat, you are good. Only problem was, it was their mating season so we were told if we sealed the house now, when the mothers left to eat, they would not be able to return to care for their babies, so we had to wait two months until the babies were old enough to go feed on their own.
it was a long two months hearing them moving around up there. Fortunately, homeowners insurance did pay for the removal and cleanup afterwards.
I’ll never forget all of those eyes staring at me though. Still gives me chills.
Buckle Up: This White House MISTAKE Will Hurt Americans
The European Union’s leader has proposed the idea of a Global Digital ID, which would allow governments worldwide to monitor their citizens. While it’s framed as “keeping track,” it raises concerns about potential surveillance and control. The plan involves countries contributing funds to establish this system, overseen by the United Nations. Critics liken it to dystopian scenarios, like the “Mark of the Beast” from religious texts, as it could enable extensive tracking, restricting access to basic necessities for those with dissenting opinions or unvaccinated individuals.
My mate Graham, almost 70 years old. He came out of his house one day and 3 young guys are lounging against his BMW car parked in the street. “Come on guys, off the car, it’s mine”.
Reply was, “ huh, don’t have to, we can do as we want!”
“Oh, so it’s OK for everyone to do what they want? Regardless of the consequences?” “ Really?”. The guy said “Yes!”
Graham hit him with a left hook that sent the guy flying and bleeding into the road. He turned to the others and said, “Hey, this is great, being able to do whatever I want, with no consequences!” They ran for it and the other one picked himself up off the road and followed them.
The moral of the story: don’t fuck with an Ex British Para and ex French Foreign Legionaire, even if he is almost 70!
Oliver Anthony Slams High Ticket Prices, Cancels Show
I just like this guy more and more as I see how he deals with his success. In a world of so many bad leaders and people who are driven by money alone, it’s so refreshing seeing someone who won’t bend his morals to greed.
When he backed down an abusive teacher without saying a single word.
I was in second grade, and my teacher was haranguing me while I waited for my father to pick me up at the office. He walked in, saw me sitting there, bloody and clothes torn, and simply looked at her. She started, then began to shrilly list my supposed faults. Silence, and the “Dad stare”. She started spouting justifications. More silence and one eyebrow raised. She burst into tears and bolted from the room…
US/EU pressure UAE in effort to pick apart BRICS
This just further shows how desperate the US and collective West are getting, their military industrial complex along with the USD’s hegemony are in decline and they know it.
It is stuff like this that kind of annoys and amuses me because it shows that people that are commenting don’t even have a basic idea of how a cell phone works.
SK Hynix is a manufacturer of DRAM and flash memory chips. DRAM is basically a commodity market, and it would have likely been impossible for SK Hynix to prevent Huawei from using its DRAM even it it wanted to. The thing about DRAM is that is it basically interchangeable with other DRAM and flash memory. So unlike other chips which have to be custom designed, Huawei can replace those with local chips if it wanted to.
One thing that kind of really makes my blood boil is that the US seems intent on preventing China from manufacturing top of the line cell phones. Okay, if the US wanted to restrict China from getting atom bomb secrets or manufacturing better missiles, I can sort of deal with that.
But we are talking about a consumer cell phone, and if China can’t manufacture better cell phones then I don’t know what the US expects China to do.
This is hard to watch…
That chick wouldn’t be so bad looking if she didn’t turn herself into a clownish monster.
Absolutely. There was this kid (literally, he was 17) who was pretty much the model recruit. He never complained; did what he was told; helped the rest of us out; and was physically in great shape.
He’d been in competitive martial arts for years. Not YMCA level, but “has to travel to Japan for belt tests,” skilled. (He never, ever bragged about it.)
The only time I can remember him getting yelled at was when we were in the sand pit learning basic unarmed self defense. (The super cheesy kind that makes you think you’re in a World War II training film. I think that they have dramatically improved that portion of the training now.)
The Private was decidedly and obviously half-assing it. Not arrogantly, more like bored out of his skull.
One of the drill sergeants came over and was doing his motivation screaming thing and asked him, “You think you don’t need this? Are you too good for this?” and other variations on the theme.
Pvt Yarberry replied, again, matter-of-factly and not boastfully, that no, he did not actually need that training.
It went about how you’re imagining it.
The only thing that saved him was that he had been such a model recruit. So the drill sergeant eventually says, “Show me.”
Mind you, this was not an angry fight. They assumed ready stances and this recruit did a series of moves that were very fast and almost gentle? Honestly, I can’t really describe what he did because it was so fast. The drill sergeant was basically laid onto the ground in a control position where he could not do anything about it. Nobody tried to hit anybody, but it was clear that the 17 year-old kid could put this 30 something year-old experienced soldier in the pretty muc…
German deindustrialization accelerates
“I spent a lot of time in Germany. I cannot believe that the Germans I knew would follow the Ukrainian mission over the cliff like lemmings.”
Doom and Gloom
On August 24th, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced partial suspension of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines due to low semiconductor demand. Similar challenges are affecting South Korean semiconductor factories due to the loss of a crucial customer, China. South Korean Chip Factories Announce Shutdown of Lithography Machines Due to Lack of Chinese Orders!
This nightmare will hit South Korea in two steps.
Loss of China market as its chip manufacturers enhance technology and ramp up capacity.
Reduction of global prices as China manufacturers enter the international market in 2024 and that would affect the profit of the South Korea chip companies.
The nightmare for South Korean chip companies is only starting. It is too late to reverse the situation.
Huawei is capable of self-reliance, and the US plan to sanction Huawei has failed, but they will not resign themselves to failure, and there will be more madness in the future. ake trouble, fail, make trouble again, fail again . . . till their doom. that is the logic of the American imperialism over in dealing with the rival companys, and they will never go against this logic.
Over the weekend, the United States and South Korea agreed to a five-year deal to increase the military payments, subject to legislative approval in both capitals. Under the agreement, South Korea will pay $1 billion this year, 13.9 percent more than its annual payments in 2019 and 2020, officials said on Wednesday.
IMO there is little chance of a rapprochement between China and SK until the American Pie and Yankee Doodle singer is gone. His hardline towards China will cost not only his job but has affected the future of many South Korea.
What a jerk SK has elected for the Blue House? Now they understand the price they have to pay for Yankee Doodle democracy as per USA.
I Left USA and Moved To Thailand. Why I’ll NEVER Go Back.
As a korean-american who just came back to the US after 3 months stay in Bangkok, I couldn’t agree more with what you said. My quality of life escalated significantly when I was in Thailand. I miss Thailand so much haha.
I’m a truck driver. One day, when I was waiting in line to load at a coffee warehouse, the driver behind me who was an owner-operator asked if he could load before me because he was in a hurry to get to his delivery on time. So I let him pass in front. He then told me that he’d just bought another truck and asked me if I would drive it. He offered me much more money than my current employer, so I accepted. That was 15 years ago. He now has a fleet of 50 semi-trailer trucks and I’m still working for him.
They need the Chinese market to have the revenues to do research and stay relevant.
If they lose the Chinese market they will end up as laggers in technology rather than leaders.
Micron is already projected to lose 50% revenues. And YMTC hasn’t even started production with their second much larger fab yet. That is due to come online next year.
So Micron can expect to lose the entire Chinese market.
Micron will also lose the world market outside of the US, EU, Japan, lapdogs, etc. As those Chinese chips are going to be going into Chinese products shipper worldwide.
Same for Nvidia, Intel, etc. SMIC is building 4 more fabs. As they come online and start making chips, they will displace US, EU, and Japanese chip makers. And we are talking about all types of chips. Everything from power chips to FPGAs to GPUs to CPUs to DRAM to ASICs for everything.
As BCG’s (Boston Consulting Group) paper said. Western companies would lose their leadership position. They thought it would happen in 30 years…I laughed when I read that. Clearly they didn’t understand Chinese progress in tech.
He who controls the market controls the industry.
Hi-Rez – Rich Men North Of Richmond (Rap Remix) – Reaction
During the G20, Xi Jingping spent his time meeting Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela and setting up a Oil Deal to assure the energy security of his nation
He later toured the provinces of China to supervise the Agricultural Areas and talk to the people about Health Insurance and renewed improvements in Agrarian financing
In short he was doing what a Leader should be doing
Visiting his people and discussing their problems and finding solutions
While people like Sunak , Ursula, Scholz and Biden and Macron paraded around pompously, blissfully ignoring the problems their people face
Xi Jingping is doing what’s best for China and the Chinese people
He sent Li Qiang to Delhi as a representative believing that it was enough, having lost any real respect for the alliance and feeling the alliance to be a lackey group for the G7
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As for PM Modi stealing the limelight
Barely 24 hours later Bidens speech in Vietnam included
I met with the Indian PM, Nare..Nare.. Modi and they didn’t allow a Q & A, those Indians. I had a good talk on Human Rights concerns and the importance of a Civil society and raised several pertinent questions
Meaning Modi has been TOLD to respect human rights and follow a Civil Society
Biden doesn’t tell this to Britain or Japan does he?
image 39
Trudeau openly said
Actions of a few don’t represent Canada. Canada respects freedom of speech and peaceful protests and believes it fosters progress
Any idea what he is referring to?
The Farmers protests of course. A Protest that forced Modi to finally back track his farm laws.
Now what has India gained from the Summit?
It’s over now
The AU are happy but that’s it. They go back home now and they need GRAIN and RAILWAYS and JOBS and TRADE
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India can’t give them any of these
US can’t give them any of these except Bradleys and Howitzers and sermons on Democracy
Only China and Russia can give them all of these
300,000 Tonnes Grain Cargo from Russia is worth 500 G20 Summits
$ 16 Billion waiver of interest for 3 years from China and a new Hydro power plant is worth 500 G20 Summits
The AU had their Pindi Chole, Lal Maas etc and now they are gone
They have trouble, they will call Putin and Xi
They won’t call Modi or even remember him unless they meet him again in Rio in 2024
Same for Saudi Arabia
MBS is on a State Visit
He will persuade India to buy Saudi Oil and ask for investment into Refining and Petrochemicals
India will obviously delay and drag and eventually say no
India has inked 3500 MOUs in the past 4 years or so and only 19 have managed to gain ground and proceed to operations
MBS needs Russia for his OPEC Solidarity and China to modernize Saudi Arabia and even maybe to build a nuclear power plant
Once he leaves India, he forgets Modi until he meets him in Kazan in 2024 or Rio in 2024
LEVERAGE!!!!
That’s what China holds and Russia and even the US
No G20 summit is needed to enforce that
India holds near zero leverage today
A Thousand G20 summits and Pindi Chole and Laser Shows and Five Star pandering can’t advance Indias leverage by 1%
How the U.S. is preparing for conflict in Asia: Hynes
The U.S, is building power by creating a dense network of military alliances among Asian countries, says Phill Hynes, a top geopolitical analyst based in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, here’s the answer to the puzzle of why the media tells Australians that an invasion is imminent, but their submarines won’t be ready until the 2040s.
Mississippi Delta Tamales
2023 09 13 15 20
Ingredients
Filling
6 to 8 pounds boneless meat (pork shoulder, chuck roast or chicken)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Wrappers
Corn husks
Corn Meal Dough
8 cups yellow corn meal or masa mix (available in most grocery stores)
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 2/3 cups lard or vegetable shortening
6 to 8 cups warm meat broth (from cooking the meat)
Instructions
Filling: Cut meat into large chunks and place in a large, heavy pot. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until meat is very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove meat and reserve cooking liquid.
When meat is cool enough to handle, remove and discard any skin and large chunks of fat. Shred or dice meat into small pieces. There should be about 14 to 16 cups of meat.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Stir in chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder and cumin. Add meat and stir to coat with oil and spices. Cook, stirring often, until meat is thoroughly heated, 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside.
Wrappers: While meat is cooking, soak husks in a large bowl of very warm water, until softened and pliable, about 2 hours. Gently separate husks into single leaves, trying not to tear them. Wash off any dust and discard any corn silks. Keep any shucks that split to the side, since two small pieces can be overlapped and used as one.
Corn Meal Dough: Stir corn meal, baking powder, salt and lard together in a large bowl until well blended. Gradually stir in enough warm meat broth to make soft, spongy dough the consistency of thick mashed potatoes. The dough should be quite moist, but not wet. Cover with a damp cloth.
To assemble the tamales, remove a corn husk from water and pat it dry. Lay husk on a work surface. Spread about 1/4 cup of the dough in an even layer across the wide end of husk to within 1 inch of edges. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of meat mixture in a line down the center of dough. Roll husk so that dough surrounds filling and forms a cylinder or package. Fold bottom under to close. Place tamales in a single layer on a baking sheet. Repeat until all dough and filling is used.
Stand tamales upright, closed side down, in a large pot. Place enough tamales in the pot so that they do not fall over or unroll. Carefully fill pot with enough water to come just to the top of the tamales, trying not to pour water directly into the tamales. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until dough is firm and pulls away from the husk easily and cleanly, about 1 hour.
If you prefer to steam tamales, stand tamales upright, closed side down, in a large steamer basket. Cover with a damp towel or additional husks. Steam tamales over simmering water until dough is firm and pulls away from the husk easily and cleanly, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
Serve tamales warm, in their husks. Remove husks to eat.
Yield: 7 to 8 dozen
American cities are collapsing and democrats are in PANIC mode
Should entire families be deported to solve the migrant crisis? That is what Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy promised to do if elected. This would bring about a Fourteenth Amendment question.
Ramaswamy says that there are “legally contested questions under the 14th Amendment.” This comes as progressive politicians are showing real signs of fear over illegal immigration.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams says that the city is facing a “financial tsunami” because of it and predicted that the rapid influx of immigrants will destroy the city that he knows and loves. What is the solution besides burdening the already-burdened U.S. taxpayer?
An apartment complex in the city of Kramatorsk Ukraine was said to be cursed.
In 1980, an 18-year-old woman living in apartment 85 suddenly died. Two years later, the girl’s 16-year-old brother died, followed by their mother. They had all died of Leukaemia, but doctors couldn’t find the root cause of it.
image 36
Then in 1989, another family took up residence in apartment 85. A father and his two sons had been living there less then a year when both sons fell ill. Rumour began to spread around the city that the apartment was cursed when it turned out the two boys also had leukaemia.
With the apartments history the father knew something other than a curse was the problem. When one of his two sick sons dies he pushed to have to apartment inspected.
In the late 70s workers lost a radiation level gauge in the Karanksy Quarry located in the city. Workers spent a week looking for it, but it never turned up. No more thought was given to the level gauge, and the rocks from the quarry were then used in the construction of apartment 85.
When inspectors came out to check for high levels of radiation they found it radiating from a wall along side one of the kid’s beds. They knocked the wall and found a capsule of Caesium-137 that had broken out of the level gauge. By a stroke of poor bad luck for two families the capsule ended up becoming a part of their apartment. 17 other residents living in the apartment block received large doses of radiation.
Bernini’s “The Abduction of Proserpina” is a mesmerizing sculpture that captures the dramatic moment from Roman mythology when Pluto, the god of the underworld, seizes Proserpina, the daughter of Ceres, to make her his queen. Completed in 1622, this Baroque masterpiece portrays the intense emotions of the characters: Pluto’s powerful grasp and Proserpina’s anguish. The work showcases Bernini’s skill in sculpting marble to convey a sense of motion and realism, making it a celebrated piece in art history and a symbol of Baroque sculpture’s dynamism and emotional depth.
image 34
It currently resides in the Borghese Gallery in Rome.
This year, the Chinese economy has been growing more slowly than expected because of the ongoing real estate crisis, and trade decoupling with the G7 countries led by the US.
But the launch of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro offers a bright spot for Chinese spending. Up until US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s China trip, it looked like most Chinese were going to stop spending until things became clearer for the economy. Most Chinese had treated their purchased homes as a major asset and because real estate prices were deflating, they cut back on their spending.
No more.
The US’s demands for Huawei to stop spending on research and development have hit a very nationalist raw nerve among the Chinese. (Huawei spends about US$22B on R&D annually.) Many feel that this is an insult not just to Huawei, but to China, the nation. How do they push back? By buying the Huawei Mate 60 Pro, which sells at 6999 yuan each. Some estimates are that Huawei may sell 35–50M units by year-end.
The Mate 60 Pro is first in a line of tech products developed according to Chinese instead of western standards. While Chinese are careful about their spending, many feel that now is the time to stand up and support Chinese tech companies by buying their products, just as the tech companies are struggling hard for their survival. Some Chinese will do this even though their home values are declining.
This means that it will likewise be a very hard time for foreign tech companies in China such as Apple. Apple has tried very hard to steer clear of the US-China tech dispute and up until now, it has succeeded. At the end of the day though, it is a US tech company which will side with the US government in a crisis.
The friend and enemy lines are being drawn more clearly.
This also means that as the US tries to build new supply chains outside China, in India and Vietnam, they cannot count on support from Chinese suppliers helping to make the switch. The management of some of these suppliers will decide that supporting the Chinese home team is more important than making money.
Some remarkable stories are coming out about the development of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro. Many Chinese component suppliers came together voluntarily, forming cooperative teams across companies which normally were competing against each other. Engineers spent all-nighters in their competitors’ offices developing and testing equipment. Many gave up going home. Some Taiwanese companies in the PRC also joined in. They did this because they felt that the Chinese tech industry was in a life-and-death struggle to survive, and they needed to come up with new standards, components and products which were completely free of western patent claims. This was not normal business, and they needed to fight and survive and set aside the normal profit motive for the time being.
Just to cite one example, they were able to create a 5G wireless modem which went around Qualcomm’s very broad patent claims. Apple has spent the past six years trying to do this, and even buying a business unit from Intel, but so far has failed.
The team around Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro did it in about a year and a half.
Some day, this would make a great movie story.
Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North of Richmond🔥 | WAKE UP AMERICAN
When my daughter was 4 we went into a store. There was a man there that was physically handicapped. His legs were skinny and twisted and he was walking with crutches.
My daughter walked up to him (very confidently) and asked “what’s wrong with your legs?” I wanted to crawl under a rock!!
This man was absolutely AMAZING with her! He looked down at her, smiled and said “God didn’t give me good legs like you have so he gave me these (indicating his crutches).” That was enough to satisfy her curiosity. He looked at me and smiled and said that I had a beautiful child.
He was pleased that she asked instead of being afraid of him because he was different.
I was truly embarrassed when she asked him her question but so amazed at his gracious answer.
This is what really-really AMAZED me
Raimondo was in China where she had hoped that China will return to buying Boeing jets
Given what they had done to Huawei, why would she even think that China would buy Boeing aircrafts
Boeing have forecasted that China would need 8,485 new passenger planes by 2041 and, traditionally Boeing had received half of the Chinese market
but no longer, other than a few immaterial amounts, China has essentially stopped purchasing Boeing aircrafts
image 18
this will now NOT change especially since Huawei had broken the American chip blockade
over one million American aerospace jobs (including related American supply chains) will be/was lost
On a side note, of the industrialized countries that I have travelled in, the United States have one of the poorest telecommunication infrastructure. Because it has locked out Chinese companies, the United States pay a heavier price primarily from non-American/non-Chinese suppliers for a poorer telecommunication product. I won’t discuss what will happen to American semiconductor industry. So Americans are paying what was done to Huawei in MANY ways.
The Americans are SILLY-fied people who are unable to learn and pivot to a better place.
My daughter started talking quite early and was always very curious. Around the time she turned 2 she loved showing off her communication skills by naming things around her. “”Look mommy an apple! Do you like apples? I like apples too!”
It was very cute and she was usually quite loud which garnered much attention and lots of compliments.
On one fine day while driving home from picking up my teenage son from school, he was 13 at the time, she began identifying things around her.. cars, people, buses. Then I heard“”what’s that mommy?” I looked over and saw a dump truck so I responded “”that’s a truck sweetheart.”
Little one can’t pronounce the “t” sound and says ever so innocently “oh… fuck!”
Teenage son loses his mind with laughter which is all the little one needed to know she was on to something. Next thing we hear my 2 year old dropping F-bombs left and right from the back seat.
Wish the story ended there. Couple of weeks and lots of t-phonics practice sessions later, we are in the front yard of my brothers house, when lo and behold a trash truck is driving by. In front of about 15 family members and 5 other kids my sweet little toddler looks at the truck and says very loudly, you guessed it, “FUCK!”
No one was able to hold in their laughter much to my terrible embarrassment.
That eventually some people will be left to pick up the pieces.
Every battle has a clean up just like any other mess. Someone has to make the phone calls to let family know their son or daughter has died.
Someone has to remove the body from the battlefield. It is very common to see soldiers’ bodies with photos of their loved ones, like this Italian soldier in WWII with a picture of his baby in his hand.
image 35
The last thing he did was look at his child before he bled out.
These are the very real sacrifices people make. I grew up on military bases and have been to many military funerals. Families never truly move on from the death of a young loved one like this.
There are often inner conflicting feelings about encouraging their son to join the military (even amongst the most patriotic families). These things are all normal.
War is a terrible thing and anyone who tries to glamorize it as some video game has never truly endured it.
Merkules – Oliver Anthony ”Rich Men North Of Richmond” Remix
Few months ago I was visiting Colorado. While leaving for the airport to go back home, someone hit my rented Tesla from behind. The usual process happened where cops was called, complaint was filed, numbers exchanged, etc.
After this incident, I dropped by at a near-by pizza place with my son. I was tired and somewhat stressed about this accident. Although it wasn’t my car or my fault with the accident but I still felt bad for the person who owned this car. I had a great trip but the last few hours of my trip was something. My son and I walked into the pizza place. The manager asked, “How was your day?” I responded saying, “good” but my son said, “No it wasn’t good. Someone hit our car so my mom is feeling bad.”
We ordered and ate our pizza. I asked the waiter for the bill and he said the manager took care of it ($19). He said, he can sense the stress on my face and wanted me to go home peacefully. In addition, there were two other waiters who constantly checked on us while we were eating to see if we wanted anything else. One of the waiter also entertained my son while I had to take care of some phone calls. In addition, while talking to the waiter, I also learned that the business was suffering during Covid but they’re trying to rise up again slowly. I was so touched by their kindness and willingness to pay for my pizza even though their business was not in the best condition financially. I offered to pay my bill numerous times but the staff wouldn’t let me. So I left a $50 bill with the manager and asked him to split the tip between the three waiters. In addition, I also took the manager’s card and sent him a bottle of wine from my state for their kindness.
This was a small encounter but I’ll never forget this kindness. There are very few people in this world who will think about others even when they have their own problems to worry about. May God bless such people. I hope their business thrives.
Wow, so many upvotes. Thank you for reading this answer. I didn’t expect such a nice a response :).
Update:
Here is picture of the manager, Jonathon. I randomly dropped by Priti’s pizza in Denver and captured a picture of this kind soul 🙂
Dancing around each other in the ring. Throw a punch or two, and the West believes that “it has rigged the game”. I disagree, but what do I know?
I am tried of all this “shadow boxing”, but there are only two directions; two vectors left.
Full scale military HOT war
A subsiding of hostilities
I think that the East (China, Russia, the Global South) are just biding their time in the eventuality that the West will run out of “steam” and slow down on the provocations.
It’s safe and reasonable. And they have systems designed…intentionally designed to force all the steam out of the “mighty beast”.
But I am sure that they are all ready to unleash bloody Hell if need be.
…
Nothing that I can do about it.
So, I’m just gonna drink my coffee and enjoy the day.
Ukrainians Caught Trying to Sabotage Russian Nuke Plant; Putin says “Trained by British” – for whom “There will be consequences”
Putin British trained Ukies Nuke Plant Sabotage large
“Vladimir Putin today warned Britain of ‘serious consequences’ and said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ‘doesn’t understand’ the risks after the UK’s special forces tried to disrupt Russian nuclear power plants.
President Putin said that Britain’s elite forces were training Ukrainian troops on how to damage atomic power plants in Russia.
The Russian President declared dire consequences for the UK while admitting his words would be interpreted as ‘nuclear blackmail.’
Putin claimed during a speech at an economic forum in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, that Russia’s FSB security service had interrogated a Ukrainian team caught operating inside Russia.
‘It turned out to be a sabotage group of Ukrainian special services,’ he said.
‘Interrogation showed they had been tasked to damage one of our nuclear stations by exploding a power line… to damage the work of the power plant. And this is not the first attempt.’
He alleged: ‘During interrogation, they admitted they were trained under supervision of British instructors. Do [the British] understand what they are playing with, or not?
‘Are they provoking our response at Ukrainian nuclear sites, nuclear stations, or what?
‘Does the British leadership, or the Prime Minister [of the United Kingdom. Rishi Sunak] know what their special services are engaged with in Ukraine?
‘Or do they have no clue at all? I assume this is possible, too. I assume it is possible British special services act on the orders of the Americans. Either way, we know the final beneficiary.”
There was a moment after a short firefight when we shared a few thoughts about a dead enemy soldier.
We were on the top of a small hill in the mountains near our Kosovo Liberation Army base and a group of enemy infantry was coming up towards our positions. They didn’t see us, but we could hear them talking to each other. One guy, probably their leader, told his troops: “Stop whining, guys!”
When they were close enough we opened fire. We heard one of them screaming in pain. After we had ceased fire we went down the hill to look at the aftermath. We found the body of a dead soldier and what struck me first was how well this guy was equipped: a US-style Kevlar helmet, combat fatigues, boots; all his gear was of the best quality. One of my comrades searched his pockets and found his documents.
My comrade read out loud what was written in the dead soldier’s papers. This guy had been a sergeant and a professional soldier. He had fought in Bosnia as well and was the member of a Special Forces unit.
Then my comrade told me in a tone of regret: “Look at him! This guy did all the training, fought everywhere and then he gets himself killed by some peasants like us. What a waste!”
That was quite an objective and modest statement and I was honestly surprised. We had very good soldiers who were well trained and highly motivated, but they were no match to the soldier we had just killed. He was better trained and equipped and far more experienced than we were. Still, he was dead and we were alive.
We took the dead soldier’s gun and left the place.
This was the only time that we’ve ever talked about a dead enemy. Usually, we were just interested in the number we had killed: one there, three over there and so on. They were numbers for us, nothing else. We fought for the right cause and they didn’t. No regrets.
Tex-Mex Meatballs
Crushed tortilla chips is the ingredient that sets these Tex-Mex Meatballs apart from the rest!
In a bowl, combine the crushed tortilla chips (they should be the size of large breadcrumbs) with the water or beef broth. Stir to make a thick paste. This helps keep the meatballs moist but also adds a great corn flavor.
In a large bowl, combine ground beef, green chiles, salt, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle powder, onion powder and the tortilla chip mix. Using hands, mix lightly but thoroughly (do not pack).
Form the ground beef mixture into balls, using about 1/3 cup of the mixture per ball. Do not overwork or form the meatballs too tightly.
Place the meatballs in a large skillet, leaving space between them, then bake for 15 minutes.
Pour the enchilada sauce over/around the meatballs, and return to the oven for an additional 7 minutes.
Sprinkle the cheese all over the meatballs, and return to the oven until cheese is melted, about 3-5 minutes.
Serve immediately. Caution, skillet will be extremely hot.
Yield: 8 servings
In Canada
In Canada, they combine orphanages with retirement homes. And it has given new meaning to the lives of older people, who can share their time with children who so desperately need a father or mother figure.
For a few hours, children and elderly people play, discuss and share together.
As for the little ones, they grow up and learn in an atmosphere of respect and admiration, not only between themselves, but also in front of the elders.
And older people have the opportunity to pass on some of their wisdom to children. They no longer feel so alone and isolated and now look forward to getting up in the morning to play and talk with the little ones.
It seems to me that this initiative should be applied everywhere in the world, we would help the elderly to feel less alone and the children to grow better.
The Chinese can’t make domestic chips below 5nm process using their present methods of innovative stacking
The Chinese used the “Necessity is the mother of invention” saying to fullest use and have managed to mass produce 7nm cost effective Chips using DUV and innovative stacking
They will crack 5nm Chips in a year and by 2027 – the Chinese will make 25% of all the 7nm and 5nm Chips on earth
They would have saved their Semiconductor Industry and would be able to make Robots and develop advanced technology
I don’t think the Chinese want more than that
Fact 1:- 3nm Chips are very different. It may look like 5 to 3 is just one step below but in reality 7nm process and 3nm process are two generations (6 years) apart. So if the 3nm is 2024,then 7nm is 2018 and 5nm is 2021.
Without Western Equipment and without the advanced know how that TSMC and Samsung offer – the 3nm Chip is almost 3 generations or even 3.5 generations ahead in commercial manufacture
This means to China, the 3nm Chip is around 10.5 years apart, meaning 2035 at least
It’s not worth it and China knows that
Fact 2:- The West cannot develop 3nm Chips commercially and not sell to China
image 24
China and Hong Kong together consume around 43% of the World’s Chips produced
image 23
China and HK account for 30% of the sales of Advanced Technology and Hardware needed for Advanced Applications
It makes no sense to invest billions into 3 and 2 nm Chips and NOT SELL in a market that today has a 30% demand and could well have 45% demand in the next 15 years
That’s like increasing oil production by 30% and refusing to sell to China or India
That’s like spending crores of rupees on refining Gold jewelry and refusing to sell them to Telugu or Gujarati weddings
It’s UNVIABLE
So the West HAS to sell the 3&2 nm Chips to China if they have to sustain a market.
At present the rest of the World only has a 7% market for these advanced applications of which Saudi and UAE have a 3.4% market share and they certainly can’t create the applications even if they get the equipment for the next 15 years
India has a 0.7% market today for advanced applications ($ 767 Million)
That’s 3% of Chinas market and 2.3% of China and HK market combined
Fact 3:- The 3nm Chips, 2 nm Chips and 1 nm Chips may be redundant advanced technologies
Artificial Sun, Hypersonics, Nanogrid Laser Arrays – these were all areas where good studies were made by the US in the 1980s -1990s , well before China and Russia
Yet they faltered because there was not sufficient necessity for such advanced stuff back then
The assumption that people will use advanced smartphones for the next 30 years would be silly
Today Defence equipment works perfectly with 450 nm Chips and Drones with 150nm -65 nm Chips
Today the most advanced Robotic applications are done without 7/5 nm Chips
The Memory, GPUs and other hardware are more crucial than Chips now
Again these products need China which is a 30% market to them
Otherwise they cannot be viable commercially
They HAVE to sell to China and if the US tries too hard, they will find alternate ways
Like NVDIA which custom made advanced chips and sold $ 5 Billion of these to China just breaking the threshold
If they say China can’t be sold a car that drives at 100 Kph, simply modify your engine a bit and sell them a car that drives at 99 Kph and stay within sanctions guidelines
Fact 4:- If China develops it’s own 7/5 nm Chips using the innovative stacking process and DUV, that alone is a major blow to Global Players
image 22
Today TSMC sells most 14,7 and 5 nm. chips to China
China accounts for 36.5% of TSMC and it’s revenue
Yet now its estimated by the SIA that
image 21
By 2027, SMIC and other Chinese entities will sell most of the 14,7 and 5 nm Chips to China
TSMC and Samsung will lose a lot of sales to China in the next five years and simply be unable to sell anywhere else
By 2027, China will account for 14.6% of the same sales to TSMC and there won’t be market for TSMC to compensate for the loss
Same for Qualcomm, Intel and other players selling Modems and other 5G technology
This means China is a part of a War where it suffers the LEAST
China won’t make 3nm and 2nm Chips. They will buy these Chips if offered by others but won’t waste billions on trying to commercially make these chips with their own equipment
They DON’T NEED these Chips even for their most advanced applications
TSMC and others HAVE TO SELL TO CHINA if they commercially produce 3/2 nm Chips
China likewise knows it will be SOLD equipment and hardware that keep defying sanctions all the time to survive
And in a few years time – China will take away a huge chunk of TSMCs market in the mainland and TSMC cannot replace the Chinese market, even half of it in the next decade
To answer your question
China is never likely to catch up with commercial 3 / 2 nm Chips
China will come out of the Chip war with the least damage and most positive effect for the mainland.
Taiwan, Korea and US will find their players badly mauled by economics
China will deliver a strong blow to TSMC and Samsung by 2027 from which they can’t recover
Unless Biden removes ALL EXPORT CONTROLS today and goes to free market mode
Then Chinese players will start being swamped with aggressive growth.
The Sopranos – Johnny Sack And Paulie
Paulie complains about Tony ruling against him in a sitdown to Johnny Sack, This is the first of many conversations between the two. These conversations lead to major problems down the road.
Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako was one of the most famous Russian defence lawyers of the 19th century. Many of his speeches were recorded and became legendary. I will quote two of them.
Once, he was defending an old Orthodox priest accused of adultery and theft. The jury was very unfavourable. The public prosecutor described the depravity of the vicious priest. Finally, Plevako rose from his seat to say:
– Gentlemen of the jury! The affair is clear. The prosecutor is absolutely right in everything. The accused really perpetrated those crimes and confessed them. Nothing to discuss. But there is something I wish to draw your attention to. You behold a man, who listened to our confessions for thirty years. For thirty years, he absolved us from our sins. Now he is waiting for your decision. Would you absolve his sin?
The priest was acquitted.
In another case, Plevako defended an old townswoman who stole a tin kettle worth 30 kopecks. The prosecutor, knowing that she was going to be defended by Plevako, decided to knock the bottom out of his arguments and took pains to describe the hardness of her life and show that she was worthy of compassion. However, he explained, private property is sacred and if you acquit her, you would have to acquit criminals who are much more dangerous, and this may lead to the destruction of Russia. The jury nodded in agreement. Plevako started to speak:
– Russia has suffered a lot in over 1,000 years of its history. It was invaded by numerous foes. Moscow was taken by Napoleon’s army. Russia overcame all these challenges and not only survived but became stronger. Unfortunately, an old lady stole a tin kettle worth 30 kopecks. This is a heavy blow. Now Russia will perish, that’s for sure.
The old woman was acquitted.
Ukrainian Soldiers REVOLT Against Military Leadership
If only we could send all the Ukraine flag twitter users as conscripts, then we’d have reasonable discourse on the internet. LOL.
Not at all. the two colonies involved in the war, Upper Canada and Lower Canada, both remained colonies after the war. Even if the Americans had succeeded in their objectives, they may have just handed both colonies back to the United Kingdom. The war was started by the Americans, although they felt some of their grievances against the United Kingdom were legitimate. The end of the war essentially put things back exactly as they were before the war, and everyone in Upper Canada and Lower Canada were just fine with that.
However, the war did create a Canadian identity, both tying together people of both Protestant and Catholic backgrounds through the six British Colonies in eastern Canada, and by establishing an identity separate from the United Kingdom for Protestant Canadians.
Prior to the war, you pretty much had five distinct groups of people living in Canada, each of whom identified differently.
Catholics (mostly French speaking) who identified as “Canadien” and not as British. They didn’t see Protestants as “Canadian” but as “British”.
Loyalists, who had been born in the United States prior to the American revolutionary war. They always saw themselves as “British”, but largely spoke and acted like Americans.
British immigrants, who also saw themselves as “British”, but were more diverse than the Loyalists, who tended to be English and Anglican, while the immigrants were English, Irish and Scottish, and were often Methodists, Baptists or Presbyterian. The largely Anglican Loyalists weren’t very welcoming. The immigrants also spoke and acted like the British.
American immigrants, who still saw themselves as “American” and came to Canada looking for opportunity well after the revolutionary war. They didn’t get along well with the Loyalists, and also had a rather diverse set of religious backgrounds.
First Nations, a mix of those who had been in Canada for some time, and some that had fled from the United States because they had supported the British. Most of them didn’t get along well with each other. They got along well with British authorities, but not with the other four groups.
Shortly into the war, and by no later than 1813, all five groups had pretty much put aside their differences and started identifying clearly as “Canadian”. There were two basic reasons for this. The first was that the Americans treated everyone they encountered brutally. They would routinely loot and burn settlements, including York (now Toronto), where they burned the new legislative building (which is why the Ontario legislature isn’t on Parliament Street, but the burned down structure was). Anyone who dealt with the American forces largely found the militia (not so much the professional soldiers) to be undisciplined and arrogant.
The other was the indifference of the United Kingdom to their plight. Yes, the UK was busy with Napoleon, and the professional British forces in Canada were competent, but a lot of the fighting was done by the First Nations with help from the local militia. The militia often complained they had to answer to British leaders who were often indifferent to their suffering. For people in Upper Canada, that often meant that their local forces answered to the British governor in Quebec City.
So, yes, the British did most of the fighting, with some help from Canadians, but the real stars were the First Nations, who terrified the Americans but worked well with the British. When the Mohawks heard the Americans had invaded York, and the British had abandoned the city, they put together a force of 400 warriors (to face an American force at least three times that size) and only turned back when they found the Americans had abandoned the city too. In late 1813, after the American unsuccessfully tried to attack British forces near St. Catharines (where they were ambushed), the natives surrounded the Americans at Fort George and kept them from venturing outside the fort. The Americans withdrew for the winter.
Over in Lower Canada, the Americans found the locals not to be hospitable. Two attempts to invade Montreal were turned back by a mixed force which was largely French-Canadian. That sent morale throughout the country through the roof.
As for the American immigrants, they soon realized they wanted nothing to do with their own country as the American forces looted and burned farms and houses without discrimination. That drove them further towards the British and their fellow residents of Upper Canada.
Meanwhile, over in Nova Scotia,. Halifax became rich as Canadian privateers preyed on American shipping. Once privateer, the Liverpool Packet, took fifty prizes during the war despite being captured once – the Americans sold the ship at auction back to its former owner. Everyone in Canada got involved in the effort.
The events eventually pushed all the colonies towards self-government by the 1840s (governors became figureheads without real power) and a new country by the 1860s (when the Americans went to war with themselves).
Glenn Beck reacts to Oliver Anthony’s POWERFUL testimony on The Joe Rogan Experience
Over the years, there have been several people (suspects, offenders, witnesses, victims, etc.) who have said kind things to me. One that comes to mind is probably the most recent. As a captain, I’m not often out on patrol and I make very few traffic stops. A few weeks ago however, I saw a vehicle traveling the wrong direction in a traffic circle. Given the danger presented, I stopped the motorist and saw that the vehicle was driven by a tiny African American lady of about 65 (I am a not so tiny 55-year-old Caucasian man), and that she was confused and upset by the unfamiliar traffic control device into which she had driven. I helped get her turned around and pulled to the side of the road where we were both safe. Pursuant to Department policy, I asked her for her license, registration and proof of insurance. She paused a moment and then started looking through her purse, center console and glove compartment for the requested documentation. Based on my experience, this suggested to me that she did not have one or more of the documents I had asked her to produce. I asked her if she had a driver’s license and she admitted that her license was suspended. I couldn’t help but notice the tears welling up in her eyes. I had already noticed that her license plate was expired, as was her motor vehicle inspection sticker. I then asked if her automobile was insured, and she told me it was not.
In my jurisdiction, unless there are exigent circumstances, a vehicle found to be uninsured is to be towed and impounded. In addition, a motorist found to be driving under suspension may, at the discretion of the officer, be arrested, and should not be permitted to drive away from the traffic stop absent exigent circumstances which mitigate against preventing the motorist from driving any further. The lady had tears streaming down her cheeks, knowing she had a problem. She was wearing a business outfit, so I asked her where she was going, thinking that I might be able to drop her off if time was a problem. She explained that the previous week, she was hired by a local hospital and that day was to be her first at her new job. She explained that she had lost her home and job in August of 2016 when our area suffered through the worst flood to affect the area in modern history. Approximately 80% of the homes and businesses in our area flooded during the event. Many had never flooded before, were not in flood zones and consequently, many families and businesses were left with nothing, following the inundation. This lady was one of those.
She understood that she was in trouble, and she understood that despite her good intentions, she was breaking the law. But there was no anger or bitterness. In her face, I saw only resolve and determination. She never once suggested that she deserved a break. She didn’t hint at leniency. She expressed no self-pity and did not seek to shift the blame. While I may not have shown it, I was very impressed with the way she was handling the experience.
I told the lady, whom I’ll call Ms. Smith, to have a seat in her car, turn on her air conditioner (it was about 95), and that I would be back with her as quickly as possible. I then returned to my unit and checked her registration and driver’s license. I determined that her license was suspended due to her inability to honor a payment plan with the DMV that she had reached in order to resolve the fines assessed to her when her insurance lapsed. She was uninsured; her history showed that over the last several years, her insurance lapsed several times, She always managed to have her insurance reinstated but the administrative fees had built up over time. Her registration had expired two months earlier. However, with a suspended driver’s license, she could not renew her registration or obtain an updated motor vehicle inspection sticker. Clearly, she was in a vicious spiral and putting her in jail or doing anything to cost her the new job would not be helpful.
I carefully considered my options, recognizing that my obligation to protect and serve includes keeping people without the mandatory liability insurance off of the road. Her failure to have the required insurance presented a problem for me. Under our law, were she to have an at-fault accident and it was discovered that I had stopped her and failed to take the appropriate action, I could be held responsible. If I towed her car, she would likely lose her new job which was going to pay her enough to get the required insurance, take care of her suspended driver’s license and generally make her life better for the first time in two years. As I sat there considering what to do, I suddenly remembered something. I got out of my unit, walked up to car and looked in the back seat. There, behind the front passenger seat was a rear-facing baby seat, buckled snuggly into place. “I meant to ask you about the baby seat,” I told her. “Oh,” she replied. “That’s for my grand baby,” she told me. “I take her to day care each morning so that my daughter can make it to nursing school on time. This is our only car.” “Do they live with you all the time.” I asked. “Yes, sir! They’re my best friends,” she said with a smile.
I thanked her and returned to my unit. I smiled too and thought to myself, “Exigent circumstances! Can’t tow that car if there are exigent circumstances.” I prepared the lady a citation for driving under suspension. I hated to do it, but the only discretion we have in such cases is jail or a misdemeanor summons. I did, however, exercise my discretion and prepared a warning for the expired driver’s license and expired vehicle inspection sticker. I then made a quick phone call before walking back to her car, ticket book in hand. As the little lady waited to hear her fate, I began. “OK, Ms. Smith, here is where we are,” I told her. “I have to issue you a citation for driving under suspension. I have no choice. However, you’re not being arrested, only fined.” She asked me how much the fine would be and I told her that I did not know, but that I had called the Clerk of Court, asked that they let her pay over a period of six months, and that they had agreed. I then handed her the citation and asked her to sign where indicated. She signed and then remembered the other charges. “Is there another ticket,” she asked? “No Ma’am,” I told her. “Apparently, I am out of tickets and don’t have time to go and get some more.” She seemed confused and asked, “I know you have to tow my car, Captain. I was just wondering if there is any way that you can let me get to work first. I can park it around back where nobody will see it and you can tow it from there, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Well, Ms Smith, it looks like your car isn’t going to be towed today. As it turns out, there are exigent circumstances that allow me to let you keep your car. But you have to get insurance within 30 days.” She didn’t understand, so I explained that since there is an infant in their house, since they had only one car, and since that car was the child’s sole means of transportation to day care, such a situation created exigent circumstances which allowed me to decline to tow the car, provided that I had a reasonable belief that the required insurance would be obtained within 30 days. She assured me that they would get the insurance they needed.
I wished her good luck and told her to be safe and I turned around to walk back to my unit as the tears started rolling down her cheeks again. Before I could walk away, however, Ms. Smith called out to me, “Captain Sharp!” I turned back to her. “I don’t know if you’re allowed or not, but would it be OK if I gave you a hug?” I told her I would love a hug, and it was the best hug of the day.
I’m sorry that it took so long to answer your question, but, “Would it be OK if I gave you a hug?” was one of the kindest things that a suspect ever said to me. Thank you for your question!
Nearly ALL of America FEELS This | Oliver Anthony “Rich Men North of Richmond” | Just Jen Reacts
Americans are crying out! And not one Senator is addressing this!
Covert Intel: Another “Gulf of Tonkin” Incident Planned? Black Sea. Next Week.
This content is for Subscribers Only — In order to get the United States involved in the Vietnam War, the “Gulf of Tonkin Incident” was staged by the United States, to claim one of its ships was attacked by the North Vietnamese (Viet Cong) and thus, the US had to enter the war.
Years later, it was revealed the entire incident was staged by the US to provide an EXCUSE to enter the war.
First and foremost you should worry. Feeling eating is a chore is not healthy at all. Meals are one of the core moments of socialization, our whole human identity is tied to eating collectively and many paleoanthropologists believe that the practice of sharing meals is what pushed us to develop the linguistic skills. This is how important are meals. Your refusal to eat may be a symptom of something extremely serious and you should see a psychologist about it.
‘The Purge’ would cause a massive shift of capital to the rich, causing society to essentially collapse.
What would be incredibly rare is private citizens going out hunting and killing each other for sport. People would naturally band together in groups of those they trust and heavily arm themselves. Neighbourhoods would become fortresses. Rich people would hire extremely well paid private security for the night. If you had a murderous grudge against someone, Purge night would be the dumbest night of the year to actually try and carry out that grudge. It is the only night where it should be literally impossible to find your victim unarmed, unaware and alone.
It would also be unlikely to be an opportunity to rob banks or stock up on luxury goods or cars via looting – people who run banks or supercar showrooms know a thing or two about security, for purge night those places would be patrolled by heavily armed private security with orders to drop anyone who comes within a 100m radius of the place.
What would take place is massive amounts of corporate, financial and environmental crime, mostly by rich people.
Say you have a factory which produces gigantic amounts of toxic waste. Treating and properly disposing of that waste is damn expensive, so how about instead of doing that, you just store it all up in a giant vat through the whole year and dump it all into the sea on purge day! Millions in overheads saved, and your company isn’t on the hook for the cleanup. You could probably even get away with claiming that your company has produced zero toxic emissions that year and claim environmental subsidies as a result.
Say you are a hedge fund manager responsible for managing a multi billion dollar portfolio of assets mostly made up of people’s pensions. There are strict rules about how you manage pension funds, however on purge day, you simply transfer all of the money into your own account and become a billionaire overnight.
Say you are a major property developer who has big plans to demolish a poor neighbourhood to make way for luxury condos. There’s no way you can get away with doing something like this in normal times, but on purge day? Shit you could hire goons to put the whole place to the torch.
The premise of ‘The Purge’ is that it is supposed to act as an outlet to enable people to express their frustrations with life for one day, allowing them to live the rest of the year normally. What would actually happen if this law was passed is that normal people would spend the night huddled together in fear whilst rich people systematically rape and pillage the rest of society with zero repercussions.
The World WON’T Believe How SAFE China is! (Americans Shocked)
“I live in Los Angeles. It’s true that I will not go out walking around after dark by myself. It’s definitely not safe. I don’t understand why the government cannot do anything effectively about homeless people, zero-dollar shopping, and all sorts of hate crimes. I hope Chinese people continue to enjoy the freedom of walking around in the cities day and night without worrying about safety.”
My friend is a police officer and what he told me was surprising: the thing that gets most criminals caught is often simple stuff—usually with their car.
Speeding. Expired license. Broken brake light. Turning without using your signal.
Stupid stuff.
Officers need probable cause to pull you over. So at night, when many criminals are out, they just look for these little things.
Once you are pulled over, the officer runs your name in their database and asks you questions. He notices you acting weird while you churn out lies while darting your eyes around nervously. He notices the slight smell of crack coming from your car because you couldn’t leave it at home. But just to be sure, he has a drug dog come and sniff the car.
It all starts with something as simple as that license plate tag you were too lazy to update, which has a new color cycled in each year, to immediately call you out.
I see it happen over and over again on bodycam videos on YouTube.
Most criminals aren’t these genius conniving psychopaths you see on TV. They are generally quite stupid.
In March of 2022, former US Army Soldier Jericho Skye, made the decision to leave his young child and family behind, and go fight for the Ukrainian government.
An avid mass-media consumer, he was convinced that Russia’s “unprovoked” war was merely the start of a bloodthirsty campaign for global conquest.
The photogenic Californian was killed in battle yesterday, along with NINETEEN other “volunteers.”
I am not sure about you but I don’t think any military background would have helped Huawei’s founder in any way to survive and fight the most powerful nation in the world, because he does not lead an army, but a private company.
I would think it is his engineering background that’s behind his success,which translates to a single-minded purpose to transform factual information and physics into something that benefit Huawei’s customers more cost effectively and efficiently. This is the true cornerstone of Huawei’s success.
Even when his daughter was detained/kidnapped by Canadian authorities to blackmail him into submission,he did not immediately confront the unfairness of the detention, as what all hot-blooded military folks would do, but instead make him want to motivate his company to continue producing high quality products for the consumers. He took three years to reorg and rally his staff to launch the Mate 60 Pro and Mate X foldable smartphones recently, despite U.S. sanctions.
He probably foresee what’s coming, as he had wanted to sell Huawei to Motorola back in 2003, knowing Huawei will one day challenge America’s high tech Infocomms hegemony … but Motorola was not keen at that time and the deal was called off. After that he held an after-event-review and asked his employees if they wanted to sell the company again and the majority gave a no-vote.
Thus he decided so be it, and warned his employees they will one day battle the most powerful nation on Earth.
He’d never looked back since. The rest is history.
A woman found three kittens running right up to her, and knew they needed her help.
My sister asked me right before my father’s funeral as she was processing his final arrangements if I wanted to be buried next to him when I pass away myself. I felt that question was a self-serving, insulting slap in the face to me. My father and I had a very toxic relationship. We didn’t speak to each other the last 2 years of his life, although I was gultt-tripped by the family to attend his deathbed and funeral. Going all the way back to my early childhood, my sister, mother, stepmother, grandmother, and everyone else in the family have made it clear my dad matters more than me. Once he was gone, I couldn’t even enjoy the quiet relief from his emotional abuse of me in peace without having yet another female made on me, although I told my sister to go to Hell.
With Huawei Mate 60 Pro, the writing on the wall is clear: China’s chip ecosystem can make the chips to power the 5G technologies to meet current market needs. . . .and producing its own high end lithography machines can be achieved in as short as 5 years.
ASML should be shitting in their pants right now.
If Huawei can make do with 7nm node and work with chiplet technology in packaging to boost power and utility for the next few years, this means that U.S. chips will not be needed by China. And when the U.S. chip companies are decimated in their prime market and bankrupt, where else can ASML sell their machines to?
Weak or even the collapse of the EUV machine market will mean choking off the large capital funding needed for their even more expensive NA EUV machines. All these can collapse on its own immense weight within these 5 year period. ASML does not have the luxury of time.
‘To hell with spinelessness!’ | Neil Oliver
Neil Oliver shares his thoughts on the climate agenda.
Africa is an imaginary place to most people. A lot of commentary about Africa is a fictional genre that reveals more about the writer than the subject of their analysis.
If Europe was written about like Africa, it’d be a place that Arabs and Turks colonised, then an Austrian and Corsican did evil stuff before Uncle Sam saved them from themselves. They’d best watch out for dreadful Chinese and Russian propaganda! Europeans are a bit childlike, you see.
With that out of the way, countries can’t help each other. They can trade, but that is mutually beneficial. By sheer proximity European countries have paid more for African products than China has.
Even now, my country sells more to Spain than we do to China. It’s their dollars that funds our imports of Chinese widgets. Last I checked, Britain was also our largest source of foreign investment.
Much is made about infrastructure, but it’s one of those topics where people have more opinions than facts. The infrastructure explosion across many African countries is downstream of their increased prosperity and the expansion of global financial and industrial capacity.
China Civil Engineering is one of many foreign and domestic contractors vying for construction contracts from the Nigerian government. But it is ultimately Nigerian taxpayers financing the construction. I bet it’s no different in other African countries.
Infrastructure is also an investment. For example, a consortium of American internet firms have built out the underwater internet infrastructure linking Africa to the world. They’ll recoup their investment from increased usage and selling access to their property.
Similarly, a Chinese firm granted a port concession will recoup their investment through port management fees.
There is richer, more informative story waiting to be told once people drop their caricatures and deal with reality.
Dell’s Revenue Collapses After Losing Chinese Market Share De risking Became Destruction
Dell has lost China as its market share plunged posing an existential challenge as Lenovo, a Chinese company, has about 3x higher market share in China and growing. Dell is moving out of China as it cannot survive against the competition against China’s local companies due to the usa’s de-risking policy. Without components from China however makes Dell uncompetitive against China’s local companies. Going out from China Dell loses the huge China’s market forever. The de-risking policy shoot Dell in its foot as it struggles for survival.
Back in the 80s, I lived alone in a cheesy one-bedroom apartment in a building full of apartments rented to gay guys. I developed significant friendships with these men; one of them eventually became my “maid” of honor at my wedding, and we are all still in contact to this day. I was alone in the city and these men became my family. We were always hanging out in one apartment or another and I rarely ate dinner alone.
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Back in the 80s, our 24-hour Walmart was still a fun place to hang out. If we were bored, we’d all pile in my car and go to Walmart; half a dozen gay men and me.
One December weekend afternoon we were just hanging at Walmart. Some of us were picking up Christmas gifts but mostly we were just enjoying the Christmas displays and each other’s company, cutting up amongst ourselves. We landed in the Christmas toy aisle.
Oh, lo, and behold, hey guys come check out the fire truck!
It was metal, and heavy, and fully as long as my arm. Bright red, it was built to resemble a real fire truck, not a cartoon truck. And it was covered with buttons labeled “Try me!”
By God, it was the coolest thing. One button sounded the siren. Another button and we heard water gushing out of the hose. Another button and we could hear the fireman admonishing the driver to go faster. Sound effects for everything: a 911 call reporting a fire, tires screeching around the corner, firemen calling out to rescue the cat. Probably two dozen buttons worth of sound effects. By God, it was the coolest thing.
The seven of us crowded around this fire truck; for five minutes we repeatedly punched buttons, crowing with delight.
Finally, the old lady standing behind us asked to be excused and pushed between us to grab three of the fire trucks. “If it keeps seven adults that amused, it might work for my grandsons.”
I was tearing down my old house, and building a new house. I got some outrageous estimates for tearing it down. I live 80 km from the nearest waste transfer station that would take this kind of material, so the hauling was expensive.. It was surrounded by trees, that I wanted to keep, so I couldn’t burn it down. I was talking to a neighbor about how much it cost to tear it down, but that looked like my only option. He talked to my other neighbors, and then on my birthday, the whole neighborhood showed up and helped tear down the house. One guy worked construction, and brought out a 40 foot dumpster container for the waste. We kept a fire like a large bonfire going, small enough to not be a threat, but big enough to burn a lot of tinder dry 80 year old wood . We filled the dumpster with the crushed shingled roof, windows, hot water heater, insulation, and kept burning as much wood as the fire would take. One neighbor brought over a Bobcat to pack everything into the dumpster. Others had sawzalls, cutting the walls into manageable chunks. My wife was BBQing up a storm. One neighbor who was disabled brought over 10 pizzas for the crew. Others hooked their winches to the walls and brought it down.
Some people hauled stuff away, my refrigerator became someone’s beer fridge, etc.
One neighbor stored all my furniture in his garage.
One neighbor let me plug an extension cord into her house, so we didn’t overload the little generator I had.
Another neighbors leant me in his bigger generator.
It took one day, a lot of burgers and pizzas, and my neighbors had saved me a small fortune.
Would your neighbors do this for you? I couldn’t believe my neighbors would do it for me.
BRICS: Bank of China opens branch in Saudi Arabia, New World Order
If you are dumb to asked this question you should take my advise. First open up every product to ensure 100% nothing is made in China. Check the materials. And every single parts need to be sent to a laboratory to check.
Any part of any items with even a small oration or materials made in China as throw it away. Yes you should absolutely not buy anything made in China. China don’t need you. You can throw everything you have and China still has 7 billion customer.
You and your six racist friends can keep buying and keep throwing everything away for all we care. You can burnt down your home because chances is the materials. Are China made, the wall paper U.S. Chinese made, your paint is made in China. Stop asking redundant questions no one gives a shit of your hate.
We don’t gives a shit if you think Chinese products is bad, inferior, trash or dangerous 175 out of 195 nations has China as their biggest trading partner and 7 billion out of 8 billion use a Chinese product 23 out of 24 hours a day. You are as insignificant to China as a one of the germ on planet earth. Get it through your thick skull.
why am I speaking out for China part.1
Once you get past his accent, it’s a very nice perspective.
Huawei is taking up the leadership in various tech fields, from autonomous vehicles to semiconductors. Huawei is moving so fast, the US has little chance to catch up, let alone compete. Huawei has gone beyond its original mandate of telecom gear and is now a strong voice in the EV sector, cloud computing, semiconductor design, production and all the attendant software and hardware items needed for the complete supply chain to produce semiconductors.
Huawei’ unannounced sales of its Mate 60 Pro with its Kirin 9000s chip during US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s visit to China stole the show. Not only is the chip self designed and produced in China, but it features no US parts. In fact, the messaging in the semiconductor sector is continuous and fast moving. Not only did SMIC produce 7nm chips, but TSMC is now taking orders from the mainland for 7nm chips.
Further, Samsung is set to rebuild its China semiconductor factories, Micron is expanding its Xian plant, Intel and Qualcomm have created ‘ innovation centers’ in China, and TSMC is expanding its Nanjing fab. Rumor has it that TSMC may acquire or build a couple more fabs in China. A rebellion is taking place to flaunt Biden’s bullying and destroying any effort to quiet the rise of the semiconductor sector in China.
Mission accomplished
Love this!
Tex-Mex Ravioli Casserole
This dish is good as is, but for an extra pop, serve with a dollop of sour cream and a few jalapeno slices.
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Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) jar mild salsa
1 (10.75 ounce) can tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (28 ounce) bag frozen cheese ravioli, unthawed
2 (19 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
Combine salsa, puree and cumin.
Pour 1/2 cup of sauce mixture on bottom of a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish.
Top evenly with frozen cheese ravioli. Layer with black beans, chopped cilantro, green onions, and remaining sauce mixture; top evenly with cheeses.
Bake, covered with aluminum foil, at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until bubbly.
Remove foil, and bake 5 more minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.
Right now the Chinese government and companies are striving to make tech breakthroughs in all areas: the most recent example is the launch of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro 5G mobile phone, which was made completely without using any US technologies.
As a result, share prices in tech companies have gone up.
The current trend is to let the air go out of the real estate balloon, while building up the tech sector.
China is also welcoming investment money from Saudi Arabia and UAE, while the US is forcing US tech companies to cut back on their sales and investment to the Chinese market.
Niger France Uranium Operations Shutdown As US Ambassador Is Given 48hr Ultimatum To Leave
Why would you send an ambassador to or insist on being in a country you don’t recognise the regime? The US and France definitely have something under their sleeves.
The State Department said on Friday that the US government had seized the vessel and its cargo of 980,000 barrels of crude oil, alleging it was transporting Iranian oil to China in violation of Washington’s sanctions against Tehran.
It further claimed that the US government obtained a warrant earlier this year for its seizure.
On April 19, around the time of the seizure, the vessel’s owner, Suez Rajan Ltd, pleaded guilty to sanctions violations and was fined $2.5 million.
Subsequently, the Greek vessel’s operator, Empire Navigation, agreed to cooperate with US authorities and ordered the ship, located in Southeast Asia at the time, to take its load of oil to the United States.
The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy warned on July 20 that any oil company unloading hundreds of thousands of barrels of seized Iranian oil sitting in a Greek tanker off the coast of Texas would be held accountable.
Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri’s remarks came on the anniversary of Iran’s confiscation of a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz in 2019 after Britain seized an Iranian oil tanker off Gibraltar.
A few days after the seizure of the M/T Suez Rajan, Iran’s Navy seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Sea of Oman, which was carrying Kuwaiti oil for the second-largest energy company in the US.
The oil tanker, named Advantage Sweet, had been involved in a maritime accident with an Iranian fishing craft, which resulted in the injury and missing of a number of its crew.
After the collision, the oil tanker attempted to flee the scene in serious breach of international laws and regulations, which require the provision of medical treatment and supply of proper and sufficient medicine to seamen in case of sickness or injury.
After sitting off the Texas coast for months, the Suez Rajan began the hours-long ship-to-ship transfer of its oil to another tanker, the MR Euphrates, on August 21.
The newly released court documents confirm the US government then seized the oil.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference on August 21, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kan’ani emphasized that the Islamic Republic won’t remain silent on any violation of the Iranian nation’s rights, will show an appropriate reaction, and will “cut off the hands of violators.”
He reminded the parties that have plans to confiscate Iran’s oil to review the history of Iran’s actions in similar cases.
“Measures that involve attacking oil tankers carrying Iranian oil are a brazen example of piracy,” Kan’ani stated.
The United States and its allies have been seizing Iranian oil cargoes since the previous US administration of Donald Trump withdrew unilaterally from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in May 2018.
In the early 1970s I was at a cocktail party. There was lots of standing about in small groups making small talk about nothing consequential. I was introduced to one particular person who was from Canada.
When in other countries myself, I have often been asked by strangers, when they discovered I was Scottish, if I knew their aunt, or uncle, or cousin or some other random relatives. No one seemed to realise that Scotland has a population of 5 millions and it was impossible for me to know everyone who lived in the same country as myself.
With the above in mind while chatting with this Canadian visitor, I made a joke saying “I won’t ask you if you know my friend Billy who lives in Canada”. We both laughed at that and talked about other things. A couple of hours later we had both circulated through various other groups and came across each other again. We had both run out of meaningless Smalltalk and simply smilled at each other.
Our Canadian guest then broke the ice by saying “Aren’t you the one who has a friend living in Canada? “
I responded yes, in Toronto.
He asked where in Toronto.
I replied, Missauguia.
He asked, where in Missauguia.
I replied, 26 High Cliff Drive.
He looked surprised and said, “Do you mean Billy Skinner. I live next door at number 24.”
On the night of August 23rd 1987, 16-year-old Don Henry and 17-year-old Kevin Ives decided to go hunting in Alexander Arkansas. It was believed, at 4 am the two boys were in a horrific accident when they were hit by a train.
It was determined to be a horrific and tragic accident by the state medical examiner, who said the boys were sleeping on the tracks due to marijuana intoxication from smoking 20 Joints. Those were his words, and the authorities closed the case.
Anyone that knows anything about weed would see that as a major red flag. The parents didn’t accept this finding and had a second autopsy done which showed the boys only smoked one joint and they were already dead when they were placed on the tracks. Don Henry’s shirt showed evidence of a stab wound and Kevin Ives had his head smashed in with his own rifle.
The theory is the boys stumbled upon a drug smuggling operation that was run by crooked cops and town officials. Several witnesses that came forward with information died under mysterious circumstances with each of the victim’s bodies examined by the same guy who first examined the two boys.
The prosecutor for the case Dan Herman, was arrested for drug dealing and was implicated as one of the murderers. Keith McCaskill was another man implicated but died when he was stabbed to death by an unknown attacker.
Phil And Tony Sitdown With Carmine Lupertazzi Jr – The Sopranos HD
Phil Leotardo And Tony Soprano Sitdown With Carmine Lupertazzi Jr.
Of course. China is the cause of all of the USA’s problems.
See how the white cops keep killing black people in the USA – this surely is China’s doing.
Observe the mass shootings that plague the whole of the USA – at schools, malls, supermarkets, churches, pubs, cinemas, workplaces – this too must be China’s doing.
Did you know that the USA’s literacy rate has plunged t0 78%? (Developed countries usually have a literacy rate between 95 to 100%). China must have caused this.
Look at the ever-increasing number of homeless people living in tents in the streets of the USA. We know that this is China’s fault.
US engineers say that many of the bridges and roads and other public infrastructure in the USA are “crumbling”. Why didn’t China take steps to stop this?
In the USA, even the water pipes are leaking lead into the supply of drinking water at public schools, poisoning the children. China must be blamed!
Look at how Americans hate each other! Even families stop talking to each other, because some are Democrats and some are Republicans. Once again, China is guilty.
The average life expectancy in the USA keeps dropping! Americans keep dying at a younger age. Becauae they are more and more obese these days and; their healthcare system is too expensive. Surely China had something to do with this.
Women in the USA even have problems getting birth control and abortions! The infant mortality rate AND the maternal mortality rate in the USA have fallen to the levels typically found in developing countries. Let’s blame China for this too.
But not to worry. The USA still has more gender pronouns than China. So the USA will prevail.
I served as an infantryman in the army…. I don’t usually share this kind of thing, but I do have one “confirmed kill” to my name that I’m sure of. I think this an important topic, so I’m going to explain a little about my service.
My unit had many enemy KIA’s, and I’m sure my bullets were in many of them, but I’m happy not to know for sure. My one “confirmed” was from less than 3 feet away, and I wish like hell I could pretend there was a way to spread that out over my fire team.
I’m proud of my service. I’m proud of the men I served with. I’m proud of a lot of things I did when I served…. I’m not “proud” I had to shoot someone. I’m not proud of any of the potential “kills” I may or may not have had. …I’m happy the men I served with came home. I’m happy that my wife doesn’t understand my nightmares or my anger, or my need for hyper-vigilence (i.e. paranoia). But one thing that will live with me forever is searching through the possessions of a young man I KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt I killed…
I still am angry at the situation. I still shake and feel nauseous. At the time I got a reputation for being cold because I DID search his body when we got the all clear. The reality was that I didn’t want someone else to have to do it. I took “Intel search” duty for the rest of the deployment. Most of my battle buddies looked relieved they didn’t have to. Some were angry at themselves for feeling that way. None of them were going to go home and brag to a friend about it. Let me repeat that…
NONE OF THEM WERE GOING TO GO HOME AND BRAG ABOUT IT!
We didn’t talk about killing others amongst ourselves. We actively avoided such topics.
Some of us started waking up in the middle of the night. I definitely did. I went for walks. I went to another room. I made something to eat. By the end of the deployment, we’d have midnight card games. We weren’t sleeping anyways, and it was something else to think about. We told inappropriate jokes, we complained about the heat, we talked about women and home. We never talked about what woke us up.
Your friend could be a psychopath that truly didn’t feel anything when someone else died. He could be claiming every kill his unit got, and never losing any sleep over any of them because they were never personal. He could be a sadist, and truly enjoyed killing the people he did.
Or he could be lying.
I have to be honest, I hope it’s the last one. For his sake, I honestly hope it’s that.
It has been years, and I still don’t want to talk about some of the things I had to do so I could come home. Writing it here is the closest I’ve ever come. Even if no one reads this, I do feel a lot better for having written this down.
BRICS is an economic organization where all nations are treated as equals.
How does that make BRICS dependent on China?
China and India have border disputes, and Chinese companies have repeatedly been sanctioned and fined by the Indian government, but they still manage to work together for BRICS.
If BRICS were too dependent on China in any way, India would be the first to complain, but that has not happened.
The US has changed completely in the last 30 years
Their Motto in the 1990s was
I want to Win
Their Motto today is
I don’t want to Lose
2022
image 26
This reflects the Chinese Semiconductor Market today
China still imports more 28 nm, 14 nm, 7 nm and 5 nm Chips than it makes domestically
Yet it makes most of the 45–450 nm Chips on Earth
2015
image 27
This is the same market in 2015
See the Difference?
China was importing a lot of 45 nm Chips , a good amount of 90–260 nm. chips and almost 96% of it’s 28 nm Chips
In a mere 7 years, China developed advantage in 45 nm Chips, a near monopoly in 90–260 nm Chips and 40% of it’s 28 nm Chips, up from 8% in 2015
Directly proportional to the Anti China Rhetoric from the West
The Moral of the story is
You don’t provoke such people by cutting them off
You keep giving them best chips which are far better than their home made chips so that THEIR CHIP INDUSTRY NEVER GROWS BEYOND THE 28 NM CHIP
If TSMC keeps giving their best Chips to China, China would never have their own Chip Industry
Sure Huawei may be developing it’s own Chips but others won’t cooperate because they would get better chips easily available
Instead by throttling access, you allowed China to innovate and slowly they managed to crack cost efficient stacking to make the 7 nm Chip domestically
Plus the 5G Modem
If you keep doing this, they innovate faster and harder
It’s inevitable
So the US should end export controls on Huawei and flood China with 5 nm Chips and ensure that it makes no economic sense to invest billions into semiconductor chips
All restrictions must be removed and free market competition must ve established
If that happens, US has a 50–60% Chance for continuing their tech dominance for a few more decades
If they keep doubling down and imposing more stupid restrictions, China will take over in a decade or 15 years tops
About the image above: The Quora "profile" of a troll that attacked one of my posts.
Notice that he used a revolving profile set up back in 2013. Never used before. No activity at all.
He's a human. Not a bot, and spent a considerable amount of time attacking me personally, my comments, and China.
Ne is gone now.
If you post anything on Social Media, you must be serious about troll, and bot removal.
We are “in the change”.
It is HAPPENING.
Over the next few weeks I will include many reaction videos regarding the various songs by Oliver Anthony. I am placing them here because they are such a MAJOR catalyst to the change that is starting to ignite. Listen to what the people have to say.
He has a number of songs, but Americans have gotten a voice.
But…
It is going to get far, far, FAR worse economically for Americans in the upcoming years. You see, the world is dropping the USD, and with each drop, American USD inflation rises.
At some point it will go into hyper-inflation.
And REAL change is going to be forced upon the reluctant American government. Brace yourself, no matter where you live.
DC says its “little bads” , with a possibility of “middle bads”. But… it is going to be a bumpy ride. Strap yourselves in. You all will come out of the storm clouds intact, but everything will be changed.
Meanwhile, the USA government is going full-on clown show…
The USA government clamps down HARD on “independent reporting”
2023 08 24 09 57
Independent Women CRAWLS Back To Men For Help After Being Fooled Into Feminism
2023 08 19 16 45
Coca-Cola Glazed Kielbasa
Coca Cola Kielbasa
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 rosemary sprigs
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed
2 pounds Polish kielbasa sausage
1 (12 ounce) can Coca-Cola Classic
Rosemary sprigs for garnish
Instructions
In a 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot. Add the onions, green bell pepper and two rosemary sprigs. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the onions are nearly translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
Stir in honey, mustard seed, and sausage. Pour the Coca-Cola over the sausage and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the liquid is absorbed and glazes the sausage. This will take about 30 to 40 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the sausage from sticking.
Remove the rosemary sprigs from the Dutch oven and transfer the sausage slices to serving platter. Garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs.
Notes
Variation: Substitute red wine or dark beer for the Coca-Cola Classic; chorizo or andouille sausage for the kielbasa.
I would like to answer for a friend who is not on Quora. She overheard a conversation, and solved a crime.
She found a lost wallet with a couple hundred dollars in cash, as well as credit cards and ID. She also found the owner’s address in a nearby town to mail the wallet back.
We worked together in a company that had a mailroom, so she packed up the wallet, with everything intact, and explained the situation to Sal the mailroom guy, asking him to send it out with the days mail.
A week later, my friend was sitting in the bleachers at her daughters baseball game in that same neighboring town. The woman behind her was telling a friend how she had lost her wallet, and this nice guy Sal had found it. Although the all money was gone, she was happy to pay him the $25 he asked as a finders fee.
Incensed, my friend spun around and asked- “Excuse me are you Mrs. X?”
When she said she was, my friend told her the real story. My friend found the wallet, and packed it with all the contents intact. Sal, the mailroom guy, opened the package, took the cash, then called the woman and asked for $25 to bring her the wallet.
What are the odds of a crime being discovered by eavesdropping?
The wallet owner didn’t want him to be fired, so Monday morning my friend called Sal into her office. She told him that he had until noon that day to come up with the stolen cash as well as his $25 “finders fee”. He did, and my friend returned it to the wallet owner.
My friend did inform Sal’s supervisor, so he could keep a closer eye on him, and sure enough, within a month he was caught doing something else shady and was fired.
Another good reason not to steal, you never know who is listening.
Does Australia Want To Be A U.S Pawn In Aggression Against China
Surprisingly, we don’t know exactly how they copulate. They do this in flight, at several hundred feet altitude. Scientists can’t exactly go up there in some sort of light aircraft, fly around looking for ants on the nuptial flight, say “Oh there’s one!,” and fly up close to film them. It
seems almost unimaginable to study much insect behavior in high-altitude flight.
All we know is that winged virgin females and drones (alates) take flight—easy to observe at an ant colony—and within a couple of hours, they fall to ground, easy to collect if you know where and how. A fire ant specialist who was on my doctoral committee collected just-mated queen fire ants from city parking lots on weekends when the stores were closed. Myrmecologists (ant scientists) can examine these females and find sperm in them, so they know they mated on the nuptial flight. After falling, the queens shed their wings, searchfor suitable ground, and the few successful ones excavate the first burrow to lay their first few eggs. The males that fall from the nuptial flight simply die.
But no one has ever observed the actual mating.
Song Starts Global Movement; People WORLDWIDE “Get” What The Man Sings About . . .
As you read this, today is Friday, August 18, 2023. Two nights ago, on my worldwide TALK Radio show, I played a new song by Oliver Anthony called “Rich Men North of Richmond” and reported to my global audience that this song has struck a chord with common, everyday, working people throughout America. The next day, the song topped Apple Music Charts for GLOBAL distribution.
I take no credit at all for the song reaching the top of the GLOBAL chart, but I certainly hope and pray that I helped.
This song speaks to the real life, everyday struggle that you, and me, and every other common, working-class person, lives. It speaks to the reason for such struggle: The rich men north of Richmond (Virginia) – that is to say, Washington, DC.
The song has real global appeal and a user on Twitter, now called “X,” edited together a video of Podcasters around the world, all listening to the song together, online. Some of them actually had tears in their eyes.
I think it’s because they finally came to realize, we are ALL hit by the situations created by these “Rich Men north of Richmond.” NONE of us is immune. It is a struggle for ALL of us common folk. THe song brings to the forefront the realization that ALL these troubles, all the strife, all the fighting, all the division – pitting groups against each other – is ALL being done by the “Rich men north of Richmond.”
Below is that video of the Podcasters worldwide, of all ages, races, shapes, and sizes, listening to the song. Watch the reactions. It is soooooooo powerful. In those reactions, there are real tears from folk who KNOW how hard it is nowadays just to live. In their faces there is almost relief that THEY are not alone in this struggle; the realization that all of us are being affected, badly. And moreover, we are ALL so very tired of this bullshit.
Pepe Escobar: BRICS Summit DESTROYS Neocons as New Currency and Expansion Top Agenda
Pepe Escobar gives his assessment of the BRICS Summit and the prospects of an alternative financial system and expanded membership coming out of the historic meeting beginning August 22nd in South Africa.
I woke up early(well, that’s not true, I didn’t really sleep at all… lets say I got up) and met my replacement at the office at 630 the next morning to update him on several projects that i was working on at the time, including a $12k grant for technology for the department.
After getting him up to speed, I packed all of my personal effects and left before anyone else showed up at 8am.
By 9am I was at the workforce center signing up for my unemployment. By 11am I had applied for my first job. By 1pm I had my last paycheck from the city. By 2pm I was on the road to my PREVIOUS employer’s office to work on some consultation work for them.
In four months I got the job I am in now.
And overall… I am happier here than I can imagine I would have ever been there.
I let that agency and the ill-advised city council to struggle with their issues as I made the place I am a great place to serve while ensuring good service to everyone.
U.K on the RUN : China Takes Over as U.K exit Zambia Mines!
This is a real thing going on right now.
South Korea To Run “NUCLEAR ATTACK” Evacuation Drill August 23
The entire country of South Korea will stage a NUCLEAR ATTACK EVACUATION DRILL on August 23. Fifty-one Million (51,000,000) citizens are REQUIRED to participate to practice evacuating to shelters or underground safe spaces during the 20-minute exercise.
The drill, scheduled for 2:00 PM on Wednesday, August 23, will see many drivers required to pull over to the side of roads and the exits to subway stations closed with commuters required to remain inside, a statement from the South Korean Interior Ministry said.
“We expect to strengthen the response capacity of the nation through a practical drill reflecting the aspects of provocations of North Korea,” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said in a news release this week.
The release said the 20-minute drill is part of a larger exercise to test the South Korean government’s response to potential threats including “advanced nuclear missile threats, cyber attacks, drone terrors, etc.”
The prime minister also called on South Koreans to take the drills seriously, something that hasn’t always been the case.
The Interior Ministry said 17,000 shelters would be open nationwide, and locations are searchable in popular Korean online apps.
The South Korean prime minister said the civil defense drill would be held in conjunction with large-scale US-South Korea military exercises that have drawn sharp criticism from Pyongyang in the past.
It will also come less than a week after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol travels to the United States for a trilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, where “the continued threat posed by” North Korea will be on the agenda, according to a White House statement.
Hal Turner Opinion
HMMMMM. Having a nuclear evacuation “drill” of 51 Million people into 17,000 shelters at THE SAME TIME as a large-scale US-South Korea military “exercise???????????”
Gee, it occurs to me that maybe that military “exercise” isn’t an “exercise” at all. What if they first-strike North Korea?
With 51 Million South Koreans already inside Shelters, and US-South Korean Troops already on-station and fully armed – seems to me it would be a perfect opportunity for the US to first-strike North Korea.
What better conditions would exist than the ones described above?
Young Women Are Furious They Were Fooled Into Feminism
This is surprisingly good. Go traditional marriage. All will be good.
My first real job was working as a Marketing Assistant for a Fortune 500 corporation (that you all have at least one of their products in your house).
The holiday bonus for everyone below a Director was to be invited to the cafeteria, in groups, to hear the “company” choir sing 3 Xmas songs and to have 3 cookies. And then you were rushed back to your desk/office…
This is the reality…
Meanwhile, in Washington DC.
2023 08 20 10 33
Neither Biden Nor Trump Americans Will Choose This Pro China President in New Election
This could very well happen. But most of the viewers of the video have doubts. You can see their disbelief in the comment section.
Yes, and I think about it often. After Hurricane Ike in September 2008 in Texas, none of us in the neighborhood had electricity of course. Our electric pole near our house was pulled backwards and we were told that when the power company came to fix their issues and reconnect, that it would need to be standing upright. I asked my grown nephew and brother in law to help us pull it straight. We couldn’t while the wires were attached, so they said we had to cut them. Scary thought, but we didn’t have power right? The voltage tester said we didn’t also.
I got the cutters and my nephew reached up and cut through the thick wires. At that moment, my sister drove up and said “Hey, the power is back!” She lives across the street. We were stunned. Somehow my nephew was still standing. It turned out that our wire was disconnected from the pole at the street as well, but we didn’t know that. And what if it hadn’t been?
I have a good answer. I hope it is helpful to you. So, the question is, what’s the biggest oopsie-daisy as we age?
Sitting on the couch and consuming crappy food like it’s your full-time job! An inactive lifestyle might seem cozy, but it’s a shortcut to health troubles. As the years pile on, a couple of surprise health hiccups can make getting active even harder. Next thing you know, you’re at risk for slips, trips, and yikes – even broken bones. All this can fast-track us to losing our mojo and independence. So, trade that remote for some walking shoes, and let’s keep the fun in our golden years!
Oh, I have even a piece of better advice; walk every day and lift some weights! It is the key to having decent health while aging. It is no guarantee to increase your lifespan, but as I have experienced the journey, it will create a decent life quality as we get older.
Took our VW Rabbit to a VW dealer for warranty work, When picking up the car I was told that it wouldn’t start and that the fuel injectors were replaced ($400). I refused to pay as this work was not authorized. Dealership said they had a mechanics lien on the car and would not release it without payment. I said I had a spare key and would leave. The dealer called the police. When the cops arrived, I asked the dealer to give me the old parts. He said that the trash had already been picked up. I then asked the dealer to show me (and the police) where the new injectors were under the hood (they should be clean, right?) After a few minutes the dealer emerged from under the hood with a puzzled look on his face. I then told the Cops that the car had a carburetor and not fuel injectors. I went home. The VW dealer went out of business some time later. It pays to know a little bit about your car!
First Time Hearing Oliver Anthony – “Rich Men North of Richmond”
A friend of mine is an automotive engineer – I don’t mean a mechanic, I mean a straight up engineer who fabricates his own parts, designs suspension systems, builds vehicles that stretch their length using hydraulics, steer with all four wheels, can lift a container full of products, that sort of thing. Really smart dude. If I ever decide to build a replica of the Tumbler Batmobile from The Dark Knight, he’s the guy I would have do it.
So what does he do with this knowledge? He opened a shop and builds custom trucks and mods race cars for people.
It’s a good business. He enjoys it and pays his bills on time. But he will never be rich from it.
There are only so many hours in a day, and the market price of his final product has a ceiling. If you’re doing individual builds like that, your income is tied to the clock. He only makes money when he is doing something with his hands. If he’s sick or injured or takes a day off, he doesn’t get paid.
Now, he’s made some really cool stuff along the way – things that could be sold separately and installed by someone else. Some of the things he’s made for customers in the offroad and racing applications could easily be produced and sold to distributors and retailers in the aftermarket auto space, even the little things like joints and brackets. Any of you Jeep/Classic/Muscle/Corvette guys out there know how many parts and accessory catalogs you get in the mail. It’s a $41 billion industry.
But he hasn’t done it, because he doesn’t think at scale. He only thinks in terms of labor and hours, and doing the job the customer is paying him to do.
Even something simple like a roll cage, he’s building them by hand every time. Every time a customer wants a cage, he takes detailed measurements, cuts and bends the pieces, welds it all together, and sends them on their way. It takes hours and hours of labor. If he would write down the measurements and cut ten of each piece at the same time, he could build ten cages on the ground in about the same time it takes him to build one on the vehicle, then sell the other nine as a ready-to-install product through all of those catalogs and websites – who will then put it in front of millions of subscribers. He could be making ten times the revenue for the same amount of work – and even that would still be pretty small-time, but at least it would be a step toward mass production.
I’ve tried to steer him in that direction. And his response, every time, is “Yeah, I know, I’d like to get to that point eventually, but right now I’ve got 10 more customer projects I have to finish.” He’s been saying that for the lastfive years.
If you want to make millions of dollars, you have to think at scale and not be bound by the limitations of your time and labor. Your product has to be working for you, not you working for your product.
Oliver Anthony – I Want To Go Home| REACTION *TEARS*
Everyone feels this.
Microwave Pepperoni
2023 08 24 10 13
Makes 4 (8 ounce) rolls.
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup water
2 tablespoons meat cure
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon oregano leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in large bowl; mix well. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into a roll, approximately 8 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 24 hours.
Remove plastic wrap. Place rolls on microwave roasting or bacon rack. Cover with wax paper. Microwave on 30 percent power for 1 hour, turning rolls over and rearranging every 15 minutes. If necessary, continue to cook until rolls have reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.
Drain on paper towels. Cool. Wrap lightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate up to two weeks; freeze for longer storage.
Use as you would regular pepperoni in your favorite Italian dishes and snacks.
Saudi Arabia Just BROKE The Dollar – Record Treasury Dump.
2023 08 24 09 50
Saudi Arabia has dumped their holdings of US treasuries to a 6-year low. Even as a global recession nears, Saudi Arabia is diversifying away from dollar assets into risky investments like stocks. This underscores a big economic and geopolitical shift away from Washington and the world reserve currency.
The latest blow to the United States actually comes from Saudi Arabia no they aren’t pricing oil in the Chinese Yuan or the real yet but they are dumping a ton of their U.S treasury Holdings and this is a big deal.
America is starting to lose control of the petrol dollar and this is confirmed with Saudi Arabia’s move away from U.S treasury Bonds in a big update Saudi power of U.S treasuries at six-year low in shift to risk the kingdom sold three billion dollars of U.S debt in June as they move towards riskier assets and here’s the crazy thing this has been happening for years right under our noses.
From 2016 to 2020 the Saudis were piling on U.S debt they were taking their oil revenues and buying treasury bonds until it picked out at 184 billion dollars but now they have reverse Direction they have sold 76 billion or 41% of their entire Holdings over the last three years that’s even more aggressive than China and it’s all about the timing this comes on the heels of a De-dollarization wave across the global South.
2023 08 24 09 51
Saudi Arabia is losing faith in U.S debt and this is bad for the United States both in the short term and the long term. America is already borrowing a ton of money today racking up an incredible amount of debt in Q3 alone America borrowed one trillion dollars and is facing a fiscal crisis where they have no choice but to keep issuing bonds.
Will Saudi Arabia keep dumping the U.S treasuries and more importantly will they be joining the bricks very soon? Things are getting really interesting as we move towards the BRICS Summit this week.
BRICS could shift the global power dynamics in their favor by controlling the majority of the world’s oil and gas trade. The bloc is keen on expansion by allowing Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates into the group. The inclusion of Saudi Arabia and the UAE into BRICS could have a paradigm shift in the oil economy, as it could force other countries to drift away from the USD. Therefore, the first step of the de-dollarization process could begin with oil and gas sales.
A handful of oil-producing Middle Eastern countries have expressed their interest in joining the bloc. Apart from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, and Algeria are looking to join the BRICS. The five Arab nations represented 60% of the world’s oil reserves, and induction into BRICS could spell doom for the U.S. dollar.
If the BRICS alliance inducts all five oil-producing countries, it could control 90% of the world’s oil supply. This could lead to 90% of the oil and gas trade being settled in local currencies and not the USD. The international markets could subsequently shift away from the U.S. dollar and usher in a new era of global finance.
Accepting local currencies for oil and not the USD could fast-track the de-dollarization process. Countries in Asia, Africa, and South America are most likely to accept paying in native currencies rather than the USD. If BRICS controls crude oil, the U.S. economy could face hardships as the means to fund its deficit narrows. In conclusion, the upcoming BRICS summit holds the key to the U.S. dollar’s prospects.
Saudi Arabia is reportedly considering a large number of French-made Dassault Rafale fighter jets.
Such a purchase would be a break from Saudi Arabia’s long history of buying US and British jets.
This suggests Riyadh doesn’t think its traditional partners will be as reliable in the future.
Saudi Arabia has spent decades building an enormous air force composed exclusively of advanced US and British fighter jets. But Riyadh’s reported interest in potentially purchasing a large number of French jets may be a sign it doesn’t think its longtime patrons are as reliable as before.
In December, France’s La Tribune financial newspaper, citing unnamed sources, reported that Saudi Arabia was considering acquiring 100 to 200 Dassault Rafale fighters. The report came amid developments suggesting that the US and other nations might not provide military equipment to Riyadh in the future.
After Riyadh cut oil production in October, US lawmakers proposed legislation freezing all American arms sales to the kingdom, which could have grounded most of the Saudi air force and would further fray already strained US-Saudi relations.
In July, Germany announced it would not allow additional Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to be delivered to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi air force has 72 Eurofighters, second only to the number of US-made F-15s it has.
Buying more Typhoons would be “the sensible move” since the Saudis have the infrastructure to train pilots and operate that jet, “but a German block prevents that,” said Sébastien Roblin, a widely published military-aviation journalist.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is “not currently inclined to throw Washington any free bones by ordering F-15EXs,” and despite an “about-face” by President Joe Biden, Roblin said, the Saudis know that future jet sales “could be disrupted by domestic political revulsion for Riyadh’s actions domestically or the war in Yemen.”
As bin Salman pursues a detente with his main rival, Iran, and improves relations with China, opposition to such sales may only increase.
Uncle shame got shunned this time!
She’s Right: The Male Loneliness Epidemic REACTION
The following is my very own first attempt at a fictional story.
I have been told that I must be a great writer because all of my Metallicman writings are so fantastical and imaginative. I must have a great colorful and active mind to dream up such ideas. But that’s not really true. I only write what I have personally experienced, and talk about the life that I live and what I see and do.
There’s nothing fictional in this site whats so ever.
Never the less, I have tried to write fiction in the past, maybe the early 1990’s and it got no where. Maybe I could try again. Maybe I’ll be another Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke or Robert Heinlein. Who actually knows?
So with that introduction, let’s introduce my first internet published short story. And you’se guys are the first to read it. I do hope that you enjoy it.
The Three Shepherds
Once upon a time, in a rather pastoral land, were three shepherds. They were men of sheep.
All of them were tall, strong and carried about a long crooked cane. And as they went about their day to day life shepherding, doing sheep related things, and discussing sheep related current events, they would often gather together (as was their want) under this huge shady tree.
And there, under the great expanse of the mighty oaken limbs, they would discuss the latest in sheep husbandry, sheep technology, and sheep-related gossip.
The three shepherds went by the names of Tom, Dick and Harry.
Tom, the best shepherd of the trio had a massive and impressive flock of sheep. All of them were well cared for, happy and were the envy of the local village.
Dick, an average shepherd, had an average flock of sheep. There was nothing really that great about it. All of the sheep were solid “C” grade students in the local sheep academy, and it showed in their actions and behaviors.
And, Harry, well, Harry was the worst shepherd of the three. He tended to ignore his flock of sheep and left them to do their own bidding. Meanwhile he would cavort with a prized sheep or two off in the wilds behind the bushes in a most devilish manner.
And one day, on this fine and quiet pastoral land, they came to an argument.
It turns out that they were arguing just who was the best shepherd.
And the point was raised, that your actions are reflected in how the sheep behavior, and not whether or not you get ribbons at the local annual sheep parade, or are given the key to the city for the most amazing sheep.
Ai! And the argument went long and hard and well into the night. No one could decide who was the best shepherd.
By the crowing of the early bird, a cock named “amorphous weasel” on account of his propensity to steal long bananas, with (two) well rounded kiwi fruit off kitchen window sills, the group tiredly came to a conclusion.
It was decided that each shepherds would go off, one by one, and gather their flock and bring it to the tree. And there in front of everyone the sheer beauty (or maybe it’s “shear” beauty) and magnificence of the flock would be obvious to all to behold.
So Dick, the average shepherd, went off to gather his flock.
And after what seemed to be day, but was really a mere two hours, he came back. (Let it be known that he stopped for a blueberry pie, and maybe a little kiss, from the baker Lady Ms. McSmunch-a-lot in the town.) And refreshed, wiping the blueberry stains off his lips, he led his flock to the rest of the trio to observe.
And there, came the flock.
They were clean and presentable. Their hooves were all trimmed and well manicured. Their eyes were also clear, and the wool was obviously of the finest quality. They came well behaved, and presented themselves are docile, but proud sheep; they were the kind of sheep that you would introduce to your son.
And as they arrived, they sang a little sheep marching song. It went a little like this…
Baa Baaaa, Baa Baaaa,
We’re the sheep of Baaa Dick.
Baa Baaa, Baa Baaa.
And then, after a short while, the filed to the tree, and then upon the proper signal (by Dick obviously), they settled down. All the time making tiny cooing sounds…
Baaa Baaa.
Of course both of the other two shepherds were impressed. For indeed this was a fine, fine flock of sheep. It was undeniable. And nothing would make this moment more noteworthy than when a shepherd talent-scout showed up and wanted to take a picture of young shepherd Dick with his fine, well tended flock.
There were rumors that he was going to be on the cover of “Sheep News and Pastoral Report”.
And it seemed to be his destiny, for shortly afterwards a gaggle of young attractive lasses, with hair in long pony-tails, wearing short skirts with low cut bodices were asking for Dicks autograph. They all wanted a piece of Dick, and were willing to do anything to get a taste of this Dick action.
Well, as impressive as all that was, Tom decided to go off and get his flock of sheep.
Now Tom went off and it wasn’t long before the clouds in the sky opened up. And bright blue “spring time” sky appeared with two enormous sheep blowing long golden trumpets appeared. And as they blew the ground and surroundings became calm. Everything went absolutely quiet. Even the worms and the snails stopped their crocheting, and stood by a listening.
Then, brighter than day and appearing in blinding, and stunning radiance appeared the flock. It approached the stunned spectators in organized cadence. And they hummed, and sang, and their voices resonated in brilliance and within spectacular fashion.
Ba Ba. Ba Ba.
Baaaaaa!
Ba, Ba, Baaaa, Baaaa, Ba!
They approached the group in groups of three. marching to the beat, and their hooves landed ever gently upon the grass at the feet of the shepherd.
There was no question that this flock was truly exceptional. Their wool was of the finest texture, and so white and clean that it hurt the eyes of any who beheld it. The faces of the sheep were impassioned with glee, happiness and empathy. And when they finally gathered together they were polite about it.
They would say such things as “Excuse me, my fine fellow sheep, can you please pass me the Grey Poupon…. Baaahhh.”
Indeed, these sheep were exception. No one could deny it.
And when the shepherds started to talk, the sheep took the time to post insta-sheep photos for their followers, for after all, many of the sheep in this flock were famous influencers. And sheep all over the world would follow their postings. They would want to know what grass they were eating and why. They would want to see who they were hanging out with, and pictures of their latest meals, and pictorials of their latest pastoral settings.
It was absolutely clear that this flock was spectacular.
Well, the time came for Harry to show his flock. So he got up off the long he was sitting upon and ambled off to gather his flock. As he went he muttered something under his breath, but no one could make it out.
It sounded something like “truck fist” or something similar. He grumbled away saying things like “razzmatazz” and “hoodwink, and scurvy tweaky boondoggle”
Hours passed.
The sky got dark, and a wind started to blow.
Dark clouds appeared on the horizon and a cool chill started to cause everyone to gather their shawls and jackets around their shoulders.
And the ground started to rumble.
It was low at first but soon become enormously loud. It sounded like an air plane jet engine revving up, and the exploding and dying over and over as it’s internal parts bashed and clanged upon each other in the most terrible of grinding sounds. People started to cover their ears, and a light oily rain started to fall upon everyone in a brown oozy slimy mess.
And there, on the horizon were what appeared to be a herd of tiny tornadoes. These brown dusty and dirty nightmares approached the crew, the tree, and all the two flocks that were gathered there. The talent scout stopped talking and taking pictures, the Insta-sheep models stopped filming selfies, and everyone stood shaking where they stood. They remained rooted to the ground.
And as the group got close you could make out what was approaching.
For, in front of them was a small army of “Mad Max style” cobbled together quasi vehicles of all makes, models and unusual pedigrees.
Some looked like something the devil himself would weld together with nightmare steel, twisted metal, and chain link accoutrements.
Others looked like a maniac’s idea of a military vehicle if they had the budget of a used junk yard attendant.
And still others looked more like they belonged outside a meth-lab, a biker bar, or an abandoned kiddie circus prowled by nightmare clowns with chainsaws and blood lust in their eyes.
And they roared towards them.
It was like an avalanche or a tidal wave and they pulled up in front of all the startled spectators. they all revved their motorcycle and various engines for effect.
Barroom! Barroom!
Braaaaam!
And black oily smoke blew out of their exhausts. And the sheep themselves looked like Frankenstein-sheep.
Many had patches of wool missing, obviously from a diet low in vitamin “D”, or perhaps suffering from mange. Many were missing eyes, limbs, teeth. They all wore vests emblazoned with the words…
“Satan’s orphan lamb”
And many had tattoos everywhere.
Some were of names of a certain loved one, a sheep from their past, but with the name crossed out, and another one written next to it. Others were tattoos of knives, skulls, and “low brow art”.
And then…
…just then…
… a big noisy, and particularly malodorous motorcycle-like vehicular contraption pulled up. It sprayed dust and gravel everywhere, and the lone dark sheep got off the bike.
He was an ugly brute, a big blustering monstrosity, that was foul, nasty, criminally dirty, and oily…
…an onerous sheep that went by the name of Beelzebub.
He was big, and nasty. His wool was black and grey with red and purple highlights. He wore lipstick, and ear rings, with seemed to point to some kind of LGBT sheep hybrid of sorts, he wore a big leather belt with an enormous belt buckle featuring the head of one of the missing sheep-dogs that used to help the shepherd, and emblazoned upon his chest was a big garish tattoo with the words…
“My shepherd doesn’t love me”
And he scanned the people gather there with his one lone bloodshot eye. As he got off his bike and hobbled towards them, his single leg ended up hitting the dust while his wooden peg-leg went thunk, thunk, thunk….
…and he stopped in front of all the shepherds, and their flocks. No one said a sound.
A moment passed and then another.
Finally, shepherd Tom cleared his throat, and said…
“You are by far, the absolutely worst flock of sheep that I have ever seen in my life!”.
And no one moved.
…
No one.
No one said a thing.
You could hear a pin drop.
Then the leader, the biggest, the baddest, the most foul, and slimy sheep went up to him. his foul sheep breath was stinky, oily, nasty and disgusting.
And he said…
…
“We might be the ugliest, the most disgusting, the most untamed sheep that you have ever laid your eyes upon. But I will tell you one thing…”
…
And he paused for effect, and gave everyone a good harsh look with his remaining blood-shot eye…
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