I must admit that I enjoy a cold left over pizza in the morning. It goes good with black coffee. It doesn’t matter what kind of pizza, or how much, or what the toppings are. You can reheat it or not. Personally, I guess I am strange, I prefer the cold pizza in the morning. Who figures, eh?

It’s an American thing.

Pizza is an American food, and one of the things that I love, but cannot eat too much of. It tends to make my body rotund, and you guys know that I am in the process of losing weight.

…

I am at 85Kg today.

Last week I was at 90Kg, and (if you recall) my BMI listed me as obese. I said “NO!”, and then lost 5Kg in one week!

I also noticed that I became weak at noon and needed a nap, and afterwards I really needed to urinate. I noticed that my urine became very thick and deep in color.

My waist shrank.

But you know, the rest of my body is still bony as ever. LOL.

…

What I did was change my diet to “slight”.

• Breakfast = 1/2 cup of black coffee.
• Lunch = One small chicken burger or Baozi.
• Dinner = Tiny dinner. Vegetables with meat and small portion of rice.
• No snacks.

Today, we are going to sponsor another meal with friends. The excuse is a shared birthday. We rented a room and we will be drinking a case of Shiraz, and 5 liters of Guoji wine. (37% alcohol).

I’m sure to gain some weight. But I will not glutton out, We will enjoy fine seafood, BBQ chicken and other tasty morsels and sign and dance until midnight, and then take my daughter to bed.

Then I will return back to my (now normal) routine.

…

My affirmations agree with my new lifestyle.

I’m one week into my latest campaign and the transformations are stunning. I am actually witnessing the slides manifest in real time. Not since my Majestic days have I experienced such “easy” changing.

…

My daughter has really taken to boxing, and loves to spar with me. So I get on my knees and allow her to punch me relentlessly. It’s a father’s duty, don’t you know.

She also loves Hip-Hop. Ah. She’s a natural.

And sports; she loves basketball. And she can dribble like there is no tomorrow!

Not too bad for a four-year old. LOL.

…

While she understand my English, she has preferred to speak in Chinese. But lately, she has been speaking to me in English, and it makes me very happy. Still, it’s baby-English and she speaks it like it’s Chinese, but still, it makes me glad.

I’m a proud father.

…

The world continues to turn.

The “news” has hit the stratosphere and now orbits the earth in some kind of lime-loop. And we all move on with our lives one way or the other.

The editors and their owners are absolutely clueless.

…

Typhoon hit yesterday. Today is a steady medium rain with small squall gusts. Much flooding. Some debris on the ground, and some trivial damage. Most of the trees are intact and remain rooted in place.

We took a ride out to check out the damage. Trees are down. Flooding everywhere. Many shops closed. Leaves galore. Some damage to face scanners, cameras, and traffic lights. The thermal scanners are mostly intact, though.

We drove in circles looking for a snack place that served coffee and hybrid / fusion food. Only one open was good, but the dishes served were too big. We wanted a light snack, not a banquet. Sheech!

We swam the car home, dusted off the branches and leaves and ordered home-delivery. I ordered some Zha Jiang Mian for myself and a cup of coffee, the rest got some pigs feet, Chinese spinach and some rice. Ok. Fair enough.

Zha Jiang Mian is very much like American spaghetti. Only the sauce is very thick with lots or ground pork, and thickened with bean paste. You can eat it spicy if you want. Often it is served with these toothpick thin slices of cucumber, which you stir into the noodles.

Its one of my favorites.

I just cannot believe the Chinese expats being happy in the USA and not being able to enjoy such delicious Chinese food on demand. You have to make it at home. Sheech! What a pain!

…

Today’s post…

What is the significance of James Cleverly’s visit to China’s Vice President Han Zheng?

This is what Cleverly thought he can do in China in one day:

He thinks the U.K. is a peer to China and for the sake of the British people and the world, he wants China to work with the U.K. on climate change, prevent nuclear proliferation, and matter relating to AI and other technologies.

It’s humiliating if you think so much of yourself and China politely listens to you and quickly send you off home without discussing any of these.

Cleverly’s humiliating China visit was the perfect symbol of isolated, ill-led ‘global Britain’ | Simon Tisdall

The foreign minister set off with the aim of both ‘standing up for our values’ and securing profitable trade. He failed at both, says foreign policy commentator Simon Tisdall

What Cleverly can’t admit to is that the U.K. needs economic assistance and densely believes that the U.K. can get it from China while barking ever so loudly as a U.S. lapdog.

LOL.

Ha ha ha ha ha!

China doesn’t care if the U.K. is ignoring China.

It’s just that China is simply ignoring the U.K.

LOL!

(Burst of laughing loudly and rolling on the floor.)

Cleverly hasn’t realized it yet that the U.K. is irrelevant to most of the world.

What is the point of China giving basically free money to African nations, and building their infrastructures?

China isn’t giving free money to African nations.

Here are the Chinese goals and motivations:

• The African nations are rich in natural resources, but are weak in infrastructure development, especially transport infrastructure. China is now the world’s leading manufacturing nation, and it needs raw materials and natural resources to keep Chinese factories busy. For this reason, it makes sense for Chinese construction companies to improve the transport infrastructure of the African nations;
• The quality of government and governance in the African nations has been gradually improving, and the African farmers and miners of today are destined to become the African consumers of tomorrow. It makes sense for China and Chinese companies to improve their standard of living so that these Africans will eventually buy the output of Chinese manufacturers, instead of only supplying raw materials to Chinese manufacturers;
• Because the African economies will become more important, it makes perfect sense for China to build goodwill with future African political leaders and business leaders and entrepreneurs. If they attend Chinese schools, learn Chinese, and understand Chinese culture, they will become future ambassadors for China in their home countries, and will be well disposed to building bridges between their government, society and Chinese official and business interests. These societies are also likely to have significant local Chinese populations which will serve as bridges between China and their new African home countries. Because China’s relationship with Africa has never been tainted by a history of brutality, racism and slavery, Chinese and Africans are able to deal with each other equally, and are not burdened with negative historical stereotypes based on racism and discrimination. This racism, discrimination and condescending attitude are something which western societies have great difficulty escaping from, which hinders the development of relations with the African nations and societies. For Africans, this mutual respect with China and Chinese based on pursuing their individual interests, and seeking shared interests when possible, is a breath of fresh air.
• Chinese manufacturers have the know-how many African nations need to move up the value chain. Some of the lower value-added manufacturers, such as textile manufacturers, may move some of their operations to African nations since the Chinese government no longer sees China as being leaders in these areas, and is encouraging high-tech manufacturing development, especially with the Made in China 2025 plan. So far, most Chinese textile makers have been moving to Vietnam, Thailand and SE Asia, but it is likely that some will move their operations to African nations. This will help Africans to get their first step into manufacturing. In contrast, during the colonial period, the British, French and Germans never allowed manufacturing in Africa, instead preferring to keep Africans poor and underdeveloped. China and the Chinese have no such agenda.

To sum up, China is not giving away free money.

China is investing in the African consumer of the future, and sees them as important future Chinese partners.

China Exposed the US Call to Ban Anti Satellite Missile Tests; Fake Arm Control!

Chinese laser technology and rail-gun are more advanced than the U.S.’ ones, while Russia has the most advanced hypersonic missiles. The U.S. lags behind in those fields. That’s why, the latter tries to prevent these cutting edge technologies from destroying Western satellites in case of conflicts. The Americans also aim at slow down the progress of the Russian and China space industries. When Russia and China hadn’t such technologies, the U.S. didn’t offer peaceful use of space, because of Russia and China lagged behind American military and space technologies. It’s too late !

https://youtu.be/EhTFmIswgVU

The “government” is simply fucking with us…

You’ve got to be kidding me…

Beef Curry

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3 pounds beef round steak, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup raisins
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
• 2 apples, unpeeled, cored and finely chopped
• Fluffy rice

Instructions

1. Dry beef well with a paper towel.
2. Mix flour and curry powder.
3. Coat meat cubes with flour mixture.
4. Place meat in slow cooker.
5. Add garlic, raisins, sliced apples, onion, salt and pepper.
6. Pour in broth and stir to blend.
7. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours until meat is tender.
8. Before serving, stir in additional curry powder to taste (up to 1 tablespoon) and chopped apples.
9. Serve over hot fluffy rice.

What surprises Americans when they come to Australia?

Kangaroos! They are a lot bigger than what I’d imagined. These days what with YouTube one can get a good idea about their size, but when I went to Australia I had no idea. I also imagined them to be, you know, out in the bush or somewhere out there away from civilization, but no, I get up in the morning and look out the window and there a pretty big dog outside. Then it stands up and is about 8 feet tall, well maybe not 8 feet, but hella big. My brain sort of short circuits for a second until I realize I’m looking at a kangaroo! Big and in the suburbs of a large city!

I burst out of the room yelling that there’s a giant kangaroo in the back yard! My friend, er… mate says, “Yup, he’s probably eating the dog’s food”. He doesn’t even bother to look. Later we go out the front door and there’s a couple more just standing there. I’m slack jawed and he just walks past them, gets in the car, and off we go. Kangaroos!

Oliver Anthony – I Want To Go Home And Rich Men North Of Richmond (Reaction)

What’s the craziest thing you have said to your boss?

Originally Answered: What is the craziest thing you have ever said to your boss? And still kept your job? Or been fired?

I have been asked to tell the following story many times, and it became so famous that I was even asked to record it for NPR.

I worked for a high-tech company when high-tech was just starting to make an impact on the world. This was before the internet, even before everyone had PCs. We had one IBM PC for the entire department and it was a thrill to use it. I say this just to give an impression of how things have changed since then.

Our company made high speed modems, but the fastest anyone could do in those days was 9600bps, and you paid 10,000 dollars a piece for each modem — and you needed at least two of them, one for each end. We had invented a mechanism that would double that rate to 19,200bps, which was like lightning at the time. The benefits were immediately apparent and every major company wanted them, damn the cost. Unfortunately, the techniques we were using were in their infancy and had lots of bugs. Even though we were selling them like ice cream on a hot day, they didn’t really work as advertised.

A huge oil company bought a massive amount of product. Their plan was to link all of their gas stations across the US to their central site and have the managers report daily sales to the home office. This previously had been done by mail or phone and was slow and inefficient. With a modem system they could know what their revenues were to the penny overnight, or even several times during the day. They did some cursory testing on the devices and rolled them out. But they didn’t work.

Our engineers worked day and night to fix the issues but it turned out to be intractable. There were grave concerns that we might never solve the problem. Our salesman for the company was a brave and confident expert with years of experience but he was becoming increasingly despondent. The customer was agitated and angry and threatening to return the product. This would have been a huge setback, possibly a death blow to the company. They were by far our biggest customer and by far the biggest sale we had ever achieved. And the salesman would not get his commission.

I was the manager of the business unit, newly promoted into the role at the age of 26. I thought I was something special, and to be honest if not modest, I was a world-wide expert on these technologies and frequently flown around the world to solve problems. But what I didn’t know was that behind the scenes the senior managers of this customer were now DEMANDING a reckoning with our company. Our management knew it was the end if we did not have a solution, and we had no solution.

The salesman set up a meeting with the Senior Vice President of this oil company, a man who probably had the power to overthrow third world countries or have people killed. Suddenly, the President of our company had pressing business in Europe. So did every other executive down the line until, casting about, they looked at me. I was to be the sacrificial lamb they would send to the slaughter. I was told to go “make nice” with the customer to buy more time. I was unaware of the political issues behind the scene. If I failed, I would be unceremoniously fired as a token of good faith. The salesman knew it. I did not.

Thinking this was going to be yet another triumphant visit, and with a swelled head, I went out, bought a new suit and briefcase and flew from Boston to the West Coast. I didn’t even have anything to put in the briefcase except a pad and pencil since I wasn’t given any progress report, possible solutions or any token that might mollify them. Management was so certain of disaster that they thought it best I go completely in the dark.

I was picked up by our salesman in his new Jaguar , along with our field engineer, both of whom knew the gravity of our situation and how dire things were. I was cheerful and humming in the car as I took in the sights. I was surprised by their gloomy silence until we got to the customer’s campus. I had never seen anything like it before. Oil money can buy anything, and this building was modern and massive, the lobby was an art museum with original paintings by the Masters.

We didn’t even have to wait. As soon as we announced ourselves we were shown to a conference room. This is when I really got scared. The room was huge with an impossibly long conference table surrounded by the most expensive leather chairs money could buy. There were tuxedoed waiters with white gloves bringing crystal glasses for the pitchers of water. There was a stenographer with a real steno machine to take the minutes. The room was already filled with executives and lawyers speaking to each other in low voices and grim expressions. I knew then that I was doomed.

Finally the door opened and the SVP came in. A hush fell over the room. Here was a man that everyone in that room feared and respected. You could feel the power and electricity coming from him as he strode in. He sat directly opposite me. I blinked stupidly as the sweat rolled down my sides. Next to me our salesman was gripping his Mont Blanc pen like a drowning sailor clutches at a piece of driftwood. On my right the SE sat stoically. No matter what happened, he would be safe — unless the company went broke because of this debacle.

The SVP opened the meeting as if it were a legal proceeding, reading a summary of the problem and all the actions taken to date, emphasizing our failure to solve it. As he got into it he became angrier and angrier. He started pounding the table and he got red as he spoke of how much time and money had been wasted and spoke of “fraud” and “malfeasance” and “misrepresentation”. All of this vitriol was directed at me. He was further insulted that our company had the nerve to send me, of all people, not even a VP. Finally he pointed at me and said in a harsh voice, “If you can’t fix this problem today, right now, around town your name isn’t going to be worth squat!”

And then he sat back in his chair. I can still hear the leather creaking. There wasn’t another sound in the room. Every eye was on me now, and what I would say next. I had nothing. I didn’t even have anything in my briefcase to fumble with for time.

And then, without even thinking, I said, “Around town it was well known that when they got home at night their fat and psychopathic wives would thrash them within inches of their lives”

I couldn’t believe my own ears. I couldn’t believe I had just said that. To my left, our salesman looked at me in horror and tried to pull himself away from me in his chair. The SE had his mouth open. So did all the important lawyers in their suits and suspenders. Even the stenographer looked up from her machine at me. I was well and truly fucked. The SVP wound up to scream at me and I flinched.

Then he stopped.

“Wait a minute,” he said, “I know that line…”
“Yes,” I whispered, “It’s from Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ album.”
He said, “I knew that. You like Pink Floyd?”
“Yes,” I said, “It’s my favorite group.”
“Mine too,” he said, suddenly smiling and getting up, “I saw the ‘Wall’ concert in LA in 1980. It was fantastic! I even caught one of Gilmour’s guitar picks. I have it framed in my office with the ticket stubs. Come on, I’ll show you!”

And he got up and walked over to the door. I numbly followed. My ears were ringing and I knew I stunk of sweat and fear. The people in the room were dumbstruck. Everyone had their mouths open or were looking at us in absolute amazement. No one said a word.

As we left the room, the SVP smiled and said to the room, “Oh, we’ll give them a few more weeks,” and he waved them off and we went down the hall. The rest of the visit passed in a blur.

The salesman was pounding the wheel and laughing out loud on the trip back to the airport. “We gotta get you a great big steak,” he said, “You know, you can only get away with that once in your career.” The SE didn’t say a thing except, “I like Pink Floyd too.”

When I got back to the office I was the hero of the hour.

The salesman had called and related the story to everyone he could reach, and I was called into a meeting to recount the adventure. Everyone was laughing and slapping me on the back. It felt good to be the hero for once: tomorrow I would once again be the goat, I was sure. Over the next few weeks we had a dramatic breakthrough in Engineering and the problem was solved, the situation resolved, the customer saved. They went on to buy many thousands more modems.

Pink Floyd saved the day.

What’s a real fact that sounds made-up?

In 2005, in outskirts of Istanbul Turkey, 1500 sheep were grazing in the field. It was early in the day when all the sheep were relaxing in the field eating there breakfast. The shepherd’s were watching the sheep graze, when they noticed one lone sheep break of from the herd and wander off on it’s own.

This didn’t seem out of the ordinary as sheep tend to wander. They watched as the sheep made it’s way to a cliff edge, but before they even realised what was happening the sheep jumped to it’s death. This was obviously devasting for the shepherd’s watching, and they were definitely not preprepared for what happened next.

Suddenly another sheep left the herd and made it’s way to cliff before following the first sheep to it’s doom. This caused another to follow and jump to it’s death causing a domino effect of suicidal sheep.

The Shepherds tried in vain to stop the sheep from jumping, but it was like they were determined to follow their brothers into the unknown. The sheep began piling up at the bottom of the cliff, but as the sheep piled up in a mass of blood, guts and wool they began to cushion the rest of the sheep as they hit the ground.

The whole herd, 1500 in total had jumped, but only 450 perished with the rest being cushioned by the first of the doomed sheep.

THIS IS THE WORLDS ANTHEM! FOR THE PEOPLE! (Reaction) | Oliver Anthony-Rich Men North of Richmond

Absolutely incredible! Oliver Anthony shines light on those hiding in the shadows. Those D’s wanting to C everything we do, while trying to cover up and hide everything they do. THIS is the voice we need!

What screams “I’m upper class”?

Many years ago my ex husband and I had our own pottery business.

We sold a lot to members of the British Aristocracy (for some reason it seemed to appeal to them).

We only ever realised who they were when they paid by cheque (credit cards weren’t really a big thing at the time).

We had cheques signed by The Marquis of Bath, The Marchioness of Tavistock, Marquis of Salisbury, Earl Spencer amongst many others.

They were the nicest, most down to earth people that you could wish to meet. All of them were very casually dressed and you would never know that they were aristocracy.

My current husband 🤣 was on guard duty at Windsor Castle during the Falklands conflict. Very early one morning our beautiful late Queen Elizabeth passed him on the way to the stables, no bodyguards or companions. She stopped to talk to him, asking where he was from, about his family. She had no particular need to do so, nothing to prove to anyone.

These people screamed class, without making any sound.

Will Russia become the main bargaining chip in the US-China relations?

No because:

1. China does not see relationships as being transactional the way the US has;
2. Russia deserves respect as a sovereign nation which makes its own choices, and if China sold out Russia, it knows that Russia would never trust China again.
3. It understands that the US always views relationships as transactional, and that it would turn against China when expedient.

Tucker: “We Have Proof Obama was Having Sex With Men, Smoking Crack…”

There is a bunch of pictures of Obama with “a brother”, only before he had the sex change. That’s right. “Michelle is a trans man”.

“Biden is the Obama’s third term”.

BRICS: the China-India factor

By Pepe Escobar

After a long-running buildup pinpointed by immense expectations all across the Global South, Global Majority, or “Global Globe” (as coined by Belarus President Lukashenko), the BRICS summit in South Africa, on its first day, revealed a “lost in translation” incident that should be taken as a serious warning.

The BRICS Business Forum feed on South African network SABC turned into a BRICS linguistic Babel. The voice of all the translators, simultaneously, was clashing on the feed. Explanations vary from the desire to forge a new Esperanto (not likely); plain incompetence from the sound engineering team; the isolation of the translators in a separate cabin, not warned to turn off their mikes; or last but not least, NSA interference, messing up with the translators’ mic frequencies.

Whatever happened metastasized into a serious impediment for a South African – and international – audience, online, to understand what was being discussed. Even though “lost in translation” would not nullify the BRICS’s ambitious agenda for change, it certainly will be played up to the max by the usual Divide and Rule suspects to boost their already in effect all-round Hybrid War against BRICS.

The Shakespearean de-dollarization drama

Whatever the final concrete results of these potentially game-changing days in Johannesburg – I analyzed the key themes here

– the basic facts are immutable.

China and Russia, as the main drivers, are bent on expanding towards BRICS+ to resist imperial bullying, diplomatic and otherwise; build alternatives to SWIFT; promote economic self-reliance among members and autonomy from the sanctions dementia (which will only increase); and eventually forge an alliance against imperial military threats – with the possibility of BRICS+ merging in the future with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The China factor is arguably the key vector in all these complex, intertwined processes. It’s no wonder that President Xi, in his only second state visit abroad in 2023 (after Russia), will convene a special meeting in Johannesburg with dozens of African heads of state.

Chinese public opinion is absolutely riveted

by the BRICS summit, with “interest surpassing the G7”. There’s extensive debate on the whole Empire-defying agenda – from de-dollarization to heightened influence in the energy market – and on the China-India divide, with New Delhi often pointed out as a hostile agent inside BRICS.

Sherpas, off the record, as well as diplomats from the current BRICS five (soon to expand) have been extra-cautious to frame the whole debate not on de-dollarization – still a distant prospect – but on alternative trade/payment systems in local currencies.

Yet in his address by videoconference – saluted like a rock star – President Putin was adamant: the de-dollarization process inside BRICS is irreversible.

Yet it’s internal contradictions that stand out when it comes to BRICS+. New Delhi has been extremely cautious – even as sherpas let it be known that the main rules for admission have been agreed upon.

The proverbial Divide and Rule spoilers have been spinning that Beijing wants BRICS+ to be a competitor to the G7. That’s nonsense. Chinese geopolitics is way more sophisticated – and would never present partners with an iron imperative. Beijing wants to solidify its de facto role of geoeconomics leader of the Global South by seducing the maximum number of partners, not intimidating them.

Thus the importance of the China-Africa meeting. South Africa was the first African nation to sign up to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Beijing and Pretoria are celebrating 25 years of diplomatic relations. Xi and Ramaphosa will be talking overall African economic integration, in detail, with all those heads of state.

What does India really want?

China’s vision for BRICS+ and especially for Africa is intrinsically linked to BRI, which after all is Beijing’s overarching foreign policy concept for the next few decades.

India, for its part, has other ideas when it comes to configuring itself as a leader of the Global South. Earlier this year, New Delhi hosted a Voice of the Global South Summit, attended by over 100 nations. That might have conformed a sort of informal, multilateral alliance with diverse values but focusing largely on the same aims promoted by BRICS.

If China rolls with BRI, India rolls with a sort of – complementary – counterpart: the International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), where it’s one of the main actors alongside Russia and Iran. So here we have a top BRICS member and a putative BRICS+ member: India is very much keen on Iran’s accession.

All of that in fact points towards integration of BRICS, BRI, INSTC and also SCO (Russia, China, India and Iran are all members). Once again, the devil will be in the “lost in translation” details. There’s no categorical imperative stating Chinese and Indian priorities may not converge.

The RICs (Russia, China,India) have also noted that the overwhelming majority of Global South/Global Majority nations did not support – nor adhered to – the collective West wet dream of strategically suppressing Russia. Even though Russia is now the fifth-largest economy in the world by PPP (over $5 trillion) – ahead of imperial European vassals – the Global South’s perception of Moscow is as “one of our own”.

All that adds extra power to the new Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) – which has to be courted full-time by the RICs. Global North late “initiatives” such as the American Build Back Better World

and the EU’s Global Gateway

are regarded as lush rhetoric at best.

Even as China is bound to solidify its prime Global South role especially in Africa after the summit, India counts on a boost as well in its self-designed role as a North-South power. That may be seen as a hedging-your-bets sort of game, as the New Delhi establishment prides itself to be intertwined with the Global North when it comes to strategic goals (Quad? Really?) while remaining a Global South actor.

Well, sooner or later something’s got to give. The Empire tailored its bogus “Indo-Pacific” terminology and strategy specifically to ensnare India. No one across Asia-Pacific has ever referred to the region in terms of “Indo-Pacific”. Yet, in one go, the Empire gets rid of China, the South China Sea and even Southeast Asia to accommodate in a catchy slogan what it regards as a geopolitical neo-colony at best and battering ram against China.

It seems that New Delhi is developing a trend: never live up to its potential when it comes to exercising sovereignty to defy the Hegemon.

Undermining BRICS+ from the inside

Russia’s reach is way more ambitious – ranging from the post-Soviet space across the Heartland to the real Asia-Pacific, West Asia and, much like China, also Africa. All of these players rely on Russian energy, food, chemical fertilisers and a host of commodities. As far as all of them are concerned, there will be no “decoupling” or “de-risking” when it comes to trading with Russia.

In his videoconference address to BRICS, Putin absolutely killed it on the connectivity front – expanding on the INSTC and the Northern Sea Route. Same when it comes to providing free grain to the poorer African nations. He also destroyed the “so-called” grain deal: Moscow would consider coming back, but only if its legitimate demands are met.

In contrast to fast expanding Russian soft power, how could Beijing expand its own – which may be severely lacking in several areas? Setting up Confucius Institutes is not enough; ideally the Chinese should start promoting a string of Global South think tanks, from West Asia to Africa and Latin America, to analyze the ever mounting geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges to the multipolar road.

For the moment, Beijing will turbo-charge institutional forms of South-South interactions, such as the Belt and Road Forum (the next one is in October); the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation; and the China-CELAC forum with Latin American and the Caribbean.

But then again, inside BRICS, it all comes back to China-India. 2023 might become a turning point in their bilateral relations. New Delhi organized the latest SCO summit (unfortunately only online; rumors about internal dissent were never fully disproven). And will preside over the next G20 summit.

And then there’s the toxic external factor: the already ongoing imperial Hybrid War against the BRICS. The usual suspects will go no holds barred to pit Beijing against New Delhi, especially after everything they threw against Moscow miserably failed.

This multi-faceted Hybrid War has been designed to undermine BRICS+ from the inside, especially weaker nodes Brazil and South Africa, and including already mega-sanctioned Iran if it becomes a member. The Empire will go no holds barred to not lose key pivots to Latin American and African hegemony.

As a whole, the RICs – and perhaps soon RIICs – should concentrate their attention on Africa. That doesn’t mean that a host of African nations should be allowed to join BRICS+ literally tomorrow; the question is to be able to help them in several crucial fields as the process of breaking from imperial/neocolonial control is now irreversible.

The Empire never sleeps – at least those who really run the show: Crash Test Dummies impersonating Presidents is another matter. With Taiwan false flag dreams fast waning, all bets are off that the Empire might set up its next big war psyop in Africa.

WHO THE F**K IS THIS GUY?!? Reacting To Oliver Anthony “Rich Men North Of Richmond”

HUNGARY BLOCKS ALL E.U. AID TO UKRAINE!

World Hal Turner 31 August 2023

Hungary has vetoed the European Union’s intent to give more money to Ukraine until such time as Ukraine accounts for the 50-70 Billion EUROS already given!   

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said today “Of course I won’t give-=in to pressure.   Until we get a detailed, clear account of what the approximately 50-70 billion EUROS spent on Ukraine, was spent on, and until the OTP Bank is removed from the list of so-called International Sponsors of the War, there can be no question of making a decision about additional funds to finance armaments, or _anything_ related to Ukraine.”

European Union Chief, Borrell, was literally in tears (pictured below) over the situation.   

Borrell had tried to allocate more “Peace Funds” to Zelensky in Ukraine, but had to publicly admit he could not release the next tranche of funds to Kiev “because Hungary said no.”

With European money now halted for Ukraine, it is only a matter of time before the Ukrainians completely collapse.

Another Betrayal Saudi Arabia Dumps US, Backs Up China In The US China Rivalry!

https://youtu.be/NVfM07YUMYA

Russia Announces “SARMAT” ICBM’s Now on Combat Duty”

World Hal Turner 01 September 2023

Russia’s Sarmat strategic missile system has been put on combat duty, Yuri Borisov, the head of Russian state space corporation Roscosmos, said on Friday.

“The Sarmat strategic complex has been put on combat duty,” Borisov said during an educational event.

Russia tested the nuclear-capable Sarmat missile throughout 2022. Last December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia will maintain combat readiness and improve the country’s nuclear triad, which he called the main guarantor of its sovereignty.

The Sarmat system is meant to replace RS-20 Voevoda missile systems. The new missile is capable of striking targets at long ranges using various flight trajectories and is guaranteed to overcome any existing and prospective anti-missile defense systems.

Having the longest range of target engagement, Sarmat is also expected to reinforce the combat capabilities of the Russian strategic nuclear forces. The first test launch of the Sarmat missile was carried out on April 20.

SPECIFICS

The RS-28 Sarmat is a three-stage, liquid-fueled ICBM equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs).

The operational range of RS-28 Sarmat is up to 18,000 km allows it to target almost any location on Earth.

The missile can be armed with 10-15 warheads or a combination of warheads and countermeasures, including dummy warheads to confuse enemy missile defenses.

Additionally, the Sarmat can carry up to two dozen Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles, making it an even more formidable weapon.

Each warhead of the RS-28 Sarmat is estimated to have an explosive power of up to 500 kilotons, equivalent to leveling a major metropolitan area.

To put this into perspective, the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 had an explosive power of 15 and 21 kilotons, respectively.

The destructive potential of the Sarmat is unparalleled, and it serves as a potent deterrent against any aggression directed towards Russia.

RESPONSE TO U.S. “PROMPT GLOBAL STRIKE”

Russia points out that the Sarmat missile system is Russia’s response to the Prompt Global Strike (PGS) concept developed by Pentagon planners.

PGS proposes preemptive conventional massed cruise missile strikes to disarm an adversary and eliminate its leadership.

This concept, unveiled after the US withdrew from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty with Russia in 2002, prompted Moscow to develop advanced weapons, including hypersonic missiles and glide vehicles, and ultimately, the Sarmat.

THIS SONG GOT ME EMOTIONAL! Oliver Anothny-Rich Men North of Richmond | Reaction *SONG OF THE YEAR*

What little-known fact about a dangerous animal would change people’s perception of that animal?

Cheetahs seem ferocious, they’re natural predators; carnivores. They typically stalk their prey, charge towards it, trip it up and bite its throat to suffocate it, you know, to make it nice for the eating.

They’re the fastest land animal, too.

Cheetahs are “instinctively shy” – they’re nervous and shy animals by nature

So, when they’re kept in zoos, their anxiety keeps them from socialising with each other, and most importantly, from procreating. This puts them at a high risk of becoming extinct. (Risk of extinction is why they’re in zoos in the first place – to help get their numbers up.)

For years zoos have been pairing cheetahs with their very own support dogs.

These doggos are raised from very young ages alongside the cheetahs. They live companionably; the cheetahs take their social cues from the dogs, because dogs are very sociable animals by nature.

Cheetahs are so sensitive by nature that almost all of those who are held in captivity suffer from anxiety-related conditions, but dogs make it better, just by being their friends.

[1]Footnotes

[1]Jordan Zhouyi’s answer to What rare fact do you know about an animal that would change a lot of people’s perceptions of that animal?

“We Have Never Seen Anything Like This” | Victor Davis Hanson

Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow in Residence in Classics and Military History at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, a professor of Classics Emeritus at California State University, Fresno, and a nationally syndicated columnist for Tribune Media Services. He is also the Wayne & Marcia Buske Distinguished Fellow in History, Hillsdale College, where he teaches each fall semester courses in military history and classical culture. Victor discusses current political and social events and ideas, and current and past cultural trends.

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.

Yield: 6 servings; serving size 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) ragout

Ingredients

Ragout

• 1 pound lean beef roast such as round tip roast 500 g
• 1 tablespoon canola oil 15 mL
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning 15 mL
• 1 medium eggplant, not peeled, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 (15 ounce/426 mL) cans low-sodium crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup red wine 250 mL
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped 60 mL

Grilled Bread

• 12 slices whole grain Italian bread, sliced on bias, about 1-inch thick each
• 1 tablespoon canola oil 15 mL

Instructions

1. In large, nonstick skillet, brown each side of beef roast in canola oil. Place roast in slow cooker.*
2. 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).
3. When beef is cooked, shred with a fork.
4. To prepare grilled bread: Brush bread with canola oil and grill for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until toasted.
5. 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.

If I travel and visit China, does that also mean that my face is also permanently in the database of Chinese government? Do non-citizens effectively have fewer rights than citizens?

In the US, if you go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get your driver’s license, the same thing happens, and US security services and intelligence agencies can access your photos and data.

The same thing happens when you apply for your passport.

Get over it.

Rescue a dying kitten that the owner abandoned it front my clinic the kitten only breathing

Sad, but then there is hope.