When I was a senior in High School, I was spending a lot of time lifting weights, exercising and working my various jobs. At this time, drugs were the cultural norm, and it was rare (at least in my area of the USA) for anyone not to have tried smoking marijuana or taken speed or LSD.
And, being a senior in school, I followed the herd. I went out after work to keg parties, and would toke when a joint of marijuana was passed around, and would take LSD (in the various forms) when they were available.
At that time, I had read a paperback book on everything you might want to know about marijuana. How to use it, treat it, hides it and what not.
This one…
Not this one…
Anyways, I have long ago stopped doing recreational drugs. And, I am glad that I did. The drug use has contributed to the deaths of many of my boyhood friends, and the stagnation of life seen by many of my classmates.
But back then, I was young, and stupid. I think all of us are young and stupid up until we hit our mid 30s. We tend to take risks, do stupid things, and then endure the consequences of those actions. I was not the exception. I was a typical kid from that decade.
In the book that I read it offered a way to increase the potency of the marijuana. And so I wanted to give it a try, and so I did.
- I put a quantity of marijuana in a sealed metal coffee tin.
- I wet the marijuana with water, damped it with a paper towel.
- Then sealed it up and buried the can under a flagstone in my back yard.
- I waited two weeks.
- Then I removed it.
When I removed it, I discovered that the marijuana was covered with mold. Most of the mold was this grayish color, but there were colonies of white, purple and orange mold as well.
I then (when no one was around) put the moldy marijuana on aluminum foil on a cookie tray and dried it out in the oven. And then took it out, and chopped up all the dried leaves.
Now, a few days later, after everyone went off to work and school, I was alone in the house. So I put this mixture in some rolling paper and rolled up and created a “joint” (a marijuana cigarette).
I then went down into the basement and reread what to do next. The book said for the best “mind blowing experience” to smoke the joint while in a crouching position. Then, once I was though, push my feet up so that I stand up very fast.
And so I did that.
And Lordy!
I passed out, and woke up sprawled on the basement cement floor. I had kicked over a treasured bottle that I was using as a ash tray and pulled myself together.
Looking at the clock I was late for school, so I cleaned everything up and started to go to school.
And as I did so Everything got really … s l o w…
I was so damn high. And it wasn’t comfortable at all. It seemed to take me forever to make it to school , and I was stoned out of my mind. But I made it in time for roll call, and totally messed up the words to the “pledge of allegiance”.
The rest of the day was a drug haze, and my friends flanked me and guarded me, in a protective way, so that no one would fuck with me. They were there if I needed to lean on, and luckily I didn’t need that at all.
The day was long and eventually the effect wore off in time for me to go to work.
But I never forgot that moment of stupidity.
Guys and girls do not believe everything that you read in a book. It’s just someone’s opinion. And they could just as well be lying to you for cash to sell books. Take care of yourself, and don’t be an eager fool.
Today…
ELECTION FRAUD ALREADY BEING DOCUMENTED IN MICHIGAN – BUY AMMUNITION!
Election fraud appears to already be taking place in multiple states across the country. Today, numbers came out from Michigan.
This just-in from Attorney Matthew S. DePerno, whose Social Media Account describes him as “Constitutional attorney serving the state of Michigan. “Tough as Hell” and “feared by the legislatures.”:
“After reviewing the Qualified Voter File (QVF) of votes actually cast as of yesterday, Oct 29, 2024, the database identifies 114,545 Michigan voters who have cast 279,113 ballots from multiple addresses across the state. This results in 164,568 excess ballots as of 10/29/2024. Below is the Ballots cast by one Voter ID:
Hal Turner Remark:
Folks, I respectfully suggest Americans all over the country be stocking-up on Ammunition. FAST.
Hamburger Stew
Ingredients
- 1 pound hamburger
- Sliced raw potatoes
- 3/4 cup uncooked rice
- Celery, sliced
- 1 can pinto beans, drained
- 1 cup tomato juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Onion, diced
Instructions
- Brown meat, then drain.
- Combine all other ingredients with meat and cook until tender.
China Will Sanction Intel Very Soon
China says NO NO to American “back doors” in the Western hardware.
The Other Side of Water
Submitted into Contest #196 in response to: Write a story involving a portal into a parallel universe.… view prompt
Kay Reed
Behind him, the sun ghost follows.
While the creatures are dangerous – playing tricks with mirage and slight of hand in the sun-torched sands, in the end, they are merely scavengers. They are patient, stalking their prey for days at a time, waiting until the fight is almost over before sucking their victims dry, leaving behind a soundless heap of ash.
Leven is suddenly aware that he has stopped walking again. His father in his ear, “Son, wake up! Keep moving!”
Instead Leven falls to his knees, hand outstretched toward his father as he bows his forehead to the earth, the weight of reality pinning him to the burning sand – that this is the end.
At least his father is with him.
And that’s when the dark mass brushing the edges of his memory stumbles through the door of his consciousness – that it’s impossible his father is here with him, since his father is dead.
Leven looks up at the shape of his father with sudden horrifying clarity that only the dying are granted at the very end.
The second sun ghost turns, clicks its teeth, snaps them shut.
———–
Death stands at the Wall, and, curiously, a heartbeat.
Naya knows to keep her distance, but finds herself stepping closer instead.
Most of her kind stay away from the barrier that hides her world from the next. Most of her kind stay away from the ruins, too, because there is poison in the ivy, ghosts in the cracks, monsters at the edge. Most of her kind are content living in the vast valley with a barrier sealed tight overtop, like the dry click of a casket’s lid.
She is not like most of her kind.
Naya climbs the throat of the valley often, skirts the sprawling ruins, which are all broken bones with spires and beams snapped open like waiting teeth, all to run a hand against the Wall. The ruins are the only place in her world where the barrier meets the ground – the place they call the Wall – and she comes in awe to watch the pulsing iridescent waves that seal her world shut, her rippled reflection the answer to a question she doesn’t know.
Today there is something beneath the pale ghost of her face, the shape of shadows, like minnows darting through the light and dark of deep waters, there and then not. It is not uncommon for Outsiders to unknowingly venture close, but today is different, electric, the Wall sparking like a live wire. Naya steps close, and shudders at the dark shape that stands mere inches from her face. It is heavy, like the dark that will never find morning. She takes a step back. But there is something else, too, which holds her to the spot – the thing that drew the dark – only light can do a thing like that.
She steps back toward the wall, crouches down, sees what look like a hand, outstretched.
The question she’s been waiting for.
Naya hesitates, because she knows putting too much of herself through the Wall will be final. None who have left her world have ever returned. To find oneself on the other side is binding, The Great Leaving.
But the hand is there, so close. It doesn’t know she’s there, but she knows it’s asking her a question all the same. She places her hand against the Wall and jolts back from the electric pulse. She thinks she brushed against skin that is sizzling with heat.
She massages her hand, catches her breath.
On the other side, she sees that Death has shifted, suspends over a body like a match ready to drop on the pyre.
And the answer comes, effortless, unbidden.
She reaches for the hand, grabs the pulse of the wrist. Pulls.
One moment it is a hand, and next she has the whole of a man in her arms.
His life is flickering, all heat that feels on the verge of leaving.
But his eyes are awake, wild on her face. They are black. No – not black, she realizes. Almost black, but not quite. They are the deepest part of night, the trench of the ocean, the place that is most certainly black—if it weren’t for the stars, for the anglerfish.
The man sighs, slumps all his weight into her, closes his eyes.
On the other side, death howls.
George Galloway: China is the future and it works
What was your best moment when negotiating a salary?
I was in South Texas in 1998, working for $30k a year in information technology. One night, I submitted my resume to a job board, and came home the next day to a full answering machine and tons of e-mail inquiries. One job in Houston sounded great, so I called the recruiter.
The job sounded great, the company sounded great, and the location sounded great. It was time to talk money.
Him: What would it take to get you here? Would you take 35?
Me: I’m sitting at 30 now, and the cost of living there is quite a bit higher.
Him: I think I can get a bit more, but I don’t think the client will pay more than $37 an hour.
Me, pausing in shock: I think that sounds agreeable.
I was talking $30k a year and he was talking $37 per hour. I just more than doubled my salary to $76,960 totally by accident.
That was the best moment I ever had negotiating a salary, and I’m glad he couldn’t see the look on my face when I realized we were talking different numbers.
Edit: I think my 2nd best negotiation just happened. A large company called a couple of weeks ago and asked if I could upgrade some systems over the next few months. Since this was a short-term contract, I asked what hourly rates they were looking at. They said $155/hr with an immediate start date. I asked if that included travel expenses, and they said expenses would be reimbursed on top of that. I agreed. A couple of days later, I received the official paperwork from their contracting office, and the start date was pushed back a week and the hourly rate was $120. I responded that I was okay with a later start date, but the new rate wasn’t what I agreed to. I was told that I had been originally quoted the all-inclusive rate by mistake, and that wouldn’t include travel expenses. I told them that didn’t work for me. They said they could go up to $130, but anything higher than that would require all sorts of managerial approvals. I told them that I would be available the rest of the day and had no plans of leaving the office early. They called back within the hour with all approvals in place, with the caveat that future contracts with them may not be at that high of a rate. If I would have been complacent with their revised numbers, I would have given up more than $20k, and if the contract gets extended, it would be even more.
How have China’s hypersonic missiles affected the capabilities of the US Navy and Air Force?
Just go read the Pentagon report to Congress on Chinese military technology. They have been releasing reports every year to update Congress on Chinese military capability for a long time. Just read the last 5.
The USN will see it’s ships being sunk without even seeing a Chinese fighter plane from over 1,000 miles away. US fighters will be shot down at around 100% loss. Rand Corporation report.
In 2006, Rand’s report said that the US would lose 90%+ of F-18s attacking China. Today, it’s 100% for US fighters F-35, F-18, etc. Whatever we send will get shot down. They’re not coming back.
Why do you think the US hasn’t attacked China yet? The loss would be too great. Any large losses by the US would mean that the US would not achieve its objective of subjugating China. Which means that China wins by default, regardless of the losses they take. And this was in 2006 or so. Never mind today.
LONDON HAS CHANGED! (Probably My Last Visit…)
As a wheelchair user, what is the rudest thing a person has said, done, or assumed about you?
I’ve written here before, but in 2022 I spent three months in the hospital. I was on a ventilator in a coma after surgery to save my life from cavitory Covid pneumonia, collapsed lung, sepsis, and a host of other things. None of it, other than the actual original admission to cardiac ICU and immediate transfer to the operating room, do I remember until waking up. When I did wake up? I could move nothing from the neck down.
I had to relearn everything. Literally like a newborn baby. I was transferred to a hospital for patients on ventilators and who had experienced traumatic brain injuries. Check and check. They performed intensive speech, occupational, and physical therapy on me for months. But that being said, I still had to be discharged home to outpatient therapy in a wheelchair.
That was a nightmare. My first day home, because the door where the new wheelchair ramp had just been built was too narrow, I was going to have to stand and “walk” through. Except I could not yet bare my own weight and this was abundantly clear at the hospital but yet here I was. A host of people had come to welcome me home and they were all standing by to help but they weren’t really trained in how to help someone in my condition. As you can guess, I crumpled to the floor, falling through the threshold, half inside and half outside the house.
I was embarrassed. I wanted to cry from the humiliation of it happening in such a public way. But I sucked it up and made jokes about how clumsy I was got everyone laughing. Friends and family tried various means of pulling me up but I was dead weight without the ability to really move, at this point, from the waist down.
There was no help for it. Finally someone called Emergency Services and explained what had happened. In five minutes we could hear the sirens and an ambulance crew arrived. They were great about the whole thing and immediately had me buckled into my wheelchair. They and I were cracking jokes back and forth like it was comedy hour and they taught everyone present the methods they could use to easily lift a “paralyzed” person who had fallen.
The next few weeks were frustrating to say the least. Everyone was so kind, but they wanted to infantilize me.
“I can shower myself. All I do is transfer board onto to the shower chair, wash myself in the shower, dry myself and dress on the shower chair, and use the transfer board to get back in the wheelchair. If you put towels and clothing and toiletries within my reach then I do not need help! I will call if I need help!”
“I can cut up the vegetables and meats on the cutting board. I can stir the pots. I can open and close the oven. Why would you think I can’t cook? If the pot is too heavy I will tell you. And I most certainly do not need you to cut up my food and feed me!!! That was weeks ago. I have to do things for myself or I won’t get better!”
“I can roll my own wheelchair. I do not need you to push it for me. I most certainly do not need you to push it back there to where the doctor is waiting. You can sit in the waiting room. I am an adult who has taken herself to the doctor for decades and there is nothing wrong with my ears now that I would need a chaperone.”
But those were instances where people were trying to be kind or helpful. They just didn’t understand that for me to get well again I had to do things for myself. What I found to be terribly rude though, were the people who felt entitled to just grab my chair and move me like I was a piece of furniture. If you know me, you know that wasn’t going to happen. I would grab the wheels and lurch them backwards, forcing the chair to an abrupt halt. Then in a frigid and low voice I would tell the person that just as they wouldn’t normally pick me up and move me across the room, they were also not to grab my chair and move me across a room without my consent. Grabbing my chair while I was bound to it was similar to grabbing me, and if you wouldn’t grab me and push me, then you didn’t have the right to grab and push my chair without at the minimum, asking me first. And nine times out of ten, if you asked me about relocating me, I would relocate myself rather than allow you to move me.
People in wheelchairs are people. And their dignity, agency and autonomy are important. Their ability to make decisions and navigate themselves as any other person should never be impeded. I knew that before, but I became keenly aware of it when I experienced it for myself. It is a very unpleasant and powerless feeling to be grabbed against your will and manhandled like a parlor chair. I don’t like to feel like I’m losing control of myself. No one likes that feeling really. Keep that in mind when you interact with friends or family who find themselves in a wheelchair.
Delicious food porn
Why is Australia so anti-China?
MEDIA, most of us have been brainwashed into being anti China through biased anti China news,same as the USA, actually it’s because of the USA, most of our international news mirrors the US for some reason, I could never understand that, and have been TOTALY against it, the other answer saying that we are anti China because we feel they “ stole “ our jobs, is TOTAL RUBBISH in my view, I have NEVER. In all my years have heard anyone say that, only yanks, not Aussies, most of our companies were sold off to overseas interests and THEY. Were the one that shut our industries down and took them overseas, another reason is USA fear mongering convincing us of the “ yellow peril “ which of course is absurd, that’s why we were conned into buying these ridiculous submarines that we have absolutely no use for, that is really crazy, the money could have been much better spent on building nuclear power plants, so we can have cleaner cheaper electricity,
Why I’ll Never Return to the US
I hear you guy.
How does the United States manage its loans and debts? How does it plan to repay what it has borrowed from other countries?
There is no hope that the 35 trillion US debt will return to blood, and the United States wants to start with creditors. According to the data published on the website of the US Treasury Department, the debt scale of the US federal government has exceeded $35 trillion. In 2023, the ratio of American debt to gross domestic product (GDP) reached 121%.
The ratio of national debt to GDP can reflect a country’s ability to repay its debts. According to the calculation results of the peter peterson Foundation, if 35 trillion US dollars of national debt is distributed to the American people, the debt per person will be nearly 104,000 US dollars.
The budget deficit of the United States exceeded 6% of gross domestic product (GDP) for two consecutive years, including 6.4% in fiscal year 2024 and 6.2% in fiscal year 2023. In the period of non-world war or economic recession, such a figure is an “unusually high burden” for the United States.
Where does such a huge deficit come from?
On the one hand, Biden has implemented a number of economic stimulus plans since he took office, and these plans all require capital investment.
On the other hand, the US government is not only heavily in debt, but also militaristic. Up to now, the annual military expenditure of the United States is close to $1 trillion. In the past two years, in order to curb the serious inflation in the United States, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for more than a dozen rounds, resulting in a high base interest rate of 5.5% in the United States. With the base interest rate so high, it is conceivable that the interest rate of national debt is so high.
As a result, the US government only repays debt interest more than $1 trillion a year. It is no wonder that the annual deficit of the U.S. government continues to grow.
Perhaps the American people never expected that the decline in their quality of life in recent years was actually caused by their own country. The Federal Reserve has worked hard to raise interest rates, and the American people have lived frugally. But in the end, Biden’s government borrowed heavily and almost ran out of funds, which will make the next government face an embarrassing situation.
Of course, in fact, it is not only the United States that is borrowing money at present. In order to cope with the epidemic, most countries in the world have been borrowing continuously in recent years to support their own economic development and various expenditures, which has led to the snowballing global debt scale and rising risks. In this game of “credit”, every country is a participant and may also become a loser. However, when the debt problem breaks out, perhaps everyone will have to pay for it, and even an era will end.
Gave My Family Everything And Wife Nearly Took It All Away, Now I’m Thriving & She’s A Broke Addict
Is the BRICS conference in Kazan ultimately likely to be a more important world event than the wars in Ukraine and Israel? Is the West trying to ignore it in the hope that it will go away?
It’s a summit meeting, which means top leadership is present. That’s ~30 heads of state in kazan, at the invitation of Russian president putin. And they are all either members of brics, or have formally applied for membership.
That includes Nato member turkiye’s erdogan.
Remember, there are >22,000 first world sanctions active against Russia, the most sanctioned nation on earth.
THAT THE FIRST WORLD STILL TRADES WITH, INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES.
I kid you not.
But what’s underreported is the scale of the conference beyond the summit. More than 34,000 officials representing over 100 nations have gathered at kazan to pool resources and chip away at the new world order emerging from their collective handiwork.
This is no feel good session to proclaim the universal declaration of human rights at the UN.
This is a supranational progress meeting, with actionable frameworks and real projects to create alternatives to the g7-dominated financial system centered around the dollar, euro, yen and pound.
The push comes from the flagrant abuse of privilege by the g7.
Why should the rest pay for the excesses of the west in perpetuity?
There is collective urgency, and pent-up frustration to break free from the hegemonic prison of the dollar.
The deluge is here, and a great flood of biblical proportions will yet again herald the changing of guard in the western tradition.
As a rejoinder, I suspect the threat of secondary sanctions on Russia and the pressure on India was aimed squarely at disrupting this meeting, not least because of the unprecedented participation.
This is why I am convinced there is a fundamental shift in sentiment, and a pivot away from the west is well and truly underway.
THE UK IS A DYSTOPIA AND I AM LEAVING SOON
Transversal
Submitted into Contest #196 in response to: Write a story involving a portal into a parallel universe.… view prompt
Chris Campbell
Adding two more angled lines resembling the letter A – that cut through the five lines, but without joining at the apex, Andrews explained further.
“However, when two or more transversal lines – such as these intersecting the parallel lines, then they – in theory – open up a portal from one universe to another. At that concise moment in time, all universes are collectively as one. However, because the transversal lines are angled, no timeline between each universe is equal, so Henry Willoughby in universe one is going about life in a different time in universe two, three, four, five, and so on. It is at that exact moment in the transversal that the very basic nuclei of our conscious thoughts are connected – allowing us to transverse, but not in the same moment in time.
“Are you telling me that at the very point of intersection, we can think ourselves into another life?” Henry asked.
“Not exactly, Henry.” Andrews continued. “We don’t travel per se in a physical sense. We exist in a collective consciousness but in different times of our lives. So, when we die, we don’t die, you see? Leaving one universe, we continue in another.”
“Wait a minute, Prof,” Henry interrupted – his brain on overload. “So, you’re sayin’ that in the universe I died in, I knew something was going to happen, because it happened in another timeline?”
“Correct,” Andrews corroborated. “Our collective conscious thoughts are connected via a transversal phone line – like when those little hairs on the back of your neck stand up, telling you something unknown was happening or about to happen. Some people call it Sixth Sense – where one experiences a vision of the future. Others call it, Déjà vu – the feeling that you’ve been somewhere before or that familiar feel you get when meeting someone you eventually fall in love with. Some, call it time travel.”
“So, my memory of dying is from another timeline in another universe that already happened?”
“Correct.”
“And that’s how I survived that night in this universe?”
“You got a Transversal phone call.”
“From myself?”
“Yes, in lay terms. Something happened to change your path on that night and in doing so, changed your course of history.”
“Yeah, but I can’t think of what it was. I can remember trekking through that patch of jungle on a recon mission to set up an ambush on the NVA’s supply line along the Ho Chi Minh trail. It was supposed to be a classified mission. I mean, hell! We were in Cambodia, for Christ’s sake – without permission from their government. I don’t know how, but they knew we were there and surprised the heck out of us before we could react.”
“If I may,” Andrews cut in. “I read the Psych evaluation you sent me. The VA Hospital diagnosed no irregularities in your mental state.”
“The shrinks back at the Veteran’s Hospital say it’s most likely a form of PTSD – where memory loss is symptomatic and also Asymptomatic. Like a manifestation of the mind. My mind.”
“But what do you think it is, Henry?” Andrews asked.
“Well, I can’t discount the realisation of being alive and at the same time, the vision of me dying, is not PTSD, but something more fantastical.”
“All of the answers are still not within our grasp as sentient beings,” Andrews concluded. “However, the unexplained fuels the imagination and scientists like me are tasked to shed light on theories fantastical or otherwise.”
Henry rose from his seating position and extended a hand to Andrews. He needed time to process the information provided by the esteemed professor of science. Coming to terms with the theory of parallel universe ideology and multiple versions of himself, would take time – or whatever measurement of passage that it took to understand his past.
“I have a suggestion,” Andrews inserted into their handshake. “There have been great results in memory recall after going through hypnotherapy sessions. We have one of the finest consultants in the country within our faculty. Would you be open to exploring your past through hypnosis? I would sit in as an observer, and we could follow up the session with an in-depth study of your memories and their relationship to transversal universes.”
“Sure, Prof. If it helps.”
“It would indeed,” Andrews agreed. “Furthermore, it would be a great help to science.”
After exchanging farewells, Henry left Andrews studying his whiteboard sketch. Stretching his legs outside, he headed for the local bus stop. It was a fine summer’s day in Evansville, Indiana. However, the humidity level was overtly high with the expectation of a summer storm. As Henry walked along a path exposed to the glare of the sun, he decided to cross the university’s driveway to seek shade under a big linden tree in full bloom centred on the campus lawn.
Reaching the base of the tree, a sudden cold rush of air enveloped his body, like a ghost had just passed right through him. Looking around, he realised how quiet the campus was, then remembered that it was Sunday, and most students would be off doing other things than attending classes.
“Hi,” a female voice from behind surprised him. “It’s a great tree, isn’t it.”
“What!? Yes, it’s nice and cool under here.”
The young woman smiled and pulled one of the heart-shaped leaves from a branch, before handing it to Henry.
“Here, it’s ever so sweet smelling,” she explained. “They say, the linden tree is associated with Freya, the Germanic Goddess of truth and love.”
“Is that so?” Henry tried to be interested. “What does that mean?”
“It means that you cannot lie under a linden tree,” she added. “Only truth can be told. So, ask me a question.”
Just then, a thick dark cloud that had snuck up on them, opened its floodgates and began to drench the ground.
“Quick!” The young woman said. “Hug the trunk. It’s always drier in there.”
As an approaching clap of thunder rolled around the sky, shaking the leaves, Henry felt another icy chill run through him, like that night so long ago in a jungle clearing.
“If there’s going to be lightning, this ain’t the best of places to be sheltering under.”
“Don’t worry, Henry. We’ll be safe.”
It took a moment to dawn on him the realisation that this young woman had called him by his first name. Leaning against the tree trunk, Henry tried to remember telling it to her.
“How… how do you know my name?”
She shrugged her shoulders and replied, “I dunno. I guess you look like a Henry, so I just said it.”
“I thought no-one could lie under this tree,” Henry jokingly chastised.
“I’m not lying,” she replied. “It was a feeling like I knew you from somewhere and I needed to meet you. I was just out for a Sunday stroll, saw this tree in the distance and felt like I had to come over and see it more closely. Then, I saw you.”
Following more rolls of thunder, the storm and torrential downpour subsided as quickly as it materialised.
“That was a fast-moving cloud,” Henry mentioned. “It’s certainly helped get rid of some of the humidity. I sure don’t like humidity. Hey, are you okay?”
Henry’s concern was due to the girl behaving in an agitated way.
“We have to move,” she warned in a worrying tone of voice. “Now!”
Gripping Henry’s hand, the young woman forcefully pulled him away from the tree, across the campus driveway, and onto the path he had walked on just minutes ago. A loud cracking sound filled the air, followed by another sound of wood snapping. The tree – planted over sixty years prior had suddenly fractured under the weight of the heavy rain nestling amongst its branches and leaves, and simply collapsed – exactly where Henry and the young woman had hurriedly vacated from.
“How did you know?” Henry breathlessly asked.
“I dunno,” she replied. “I just had a feeling. Like I’d seen it happen before. It’s something I’ve experienced since a child. You see, I was born on the same day my granddaddy was killed in Vietnam. Inside his utility belt, they found a folded leaf very similarly shaped to your linden tree leaf. I guess he wanted to keep it as a souvenir or put it in a valentine card to my grandma. As I was growing up, I kept it in a valentine card I had made in a school project – for my granddaddy, and every year at Valentines, I’d open it and suddenly get feelings of things about to happen. And more often than not, they did happen. But I never told anyone for fear of being called crazy, you know?”
“Yes,” Henry replied. “I understand.”
“Eventually,” she went on. “The leaf disintegrated, and I never had another premonition – until today. When I saw that tree as I was passing by, it gave me goosebumps. Like I was meant to be here and like I was meant to urgently talk to you. It was like someone was guiding my every move and action. Isn’t that just a crazy thing to say?”
“No,” said Henry. “After what I’ve learned today, I don’t think anything’s too crazy.”
“Hey, if I’m not being rude, you’re about my granddaddy’s age – if he lived to be your age – aren’t you?”
“It’s possible.”
Producing a greeting card from her backpack, the young woman presented it to Henry.
“I know we just met, and I also know Valentines was months ago, but would you accept this card on behalf of my granddaddy? I just have a feeling I’m supposed to give it to you.”
Taken aback by her request, Henry hesitated, then he felt a warm familiar urge to accept it.
“I’m a little embarrassed,” she shyly added. “So, I’m gonna head off. Please promise me you’ll open it after I’m gone, okay?”
“Sure,” said Henry. “Thank you.”
“Watch out for falling trees,” she yelled back, as she hurriedly walked away.
Henry watched her hop onto a bus waiting at its stop, then waved until it was out of sight. Amused at the thought of receiving a valentine’s card from a stranger in July, he opened it to read what it had to say. His expression quickly changed as a flood of emotion overtook him, causing a stream of salty tears to cascade down his cheek. The printed message was simple enough. “Be my valentine,” it read. However, the handwritten note from the young woman, caused an instant flashback to that night in the jungle. He suddenly recalled the icy chill of that night running through him, a shortness of breath, and an instant urge to flee.
“I got a bad feeling,” he said to platoon leader, Mad Merrill Murdoch.
Instead of chiding him, a concerned looking Murdoch lifted his head and acknowledged Henry’s cry.
Pulling his radio onto his lap, he whispered into the headset, “Charlie Four, Charlie Four, this is Madman. It’s Six. He says it’s a bad one.”
Unnerving precarious moments passed before the radio sprung to the crackle of life on the airwaves.
“Madman, this is Charlie Four,” the radio crackled. “Intel says you’re in for a mighty shitstorm out there. The element of surprise is blown. I repeat, ambush is blown. Best to live to fight again, Madman. Rendezvous at Delta Alpha Foxtrot Tango. Come on back. I repeat, mission overridden… Charlie Four out.”
“Six,” Henry repeated to himself, as he finished reading the Valentines card. “That’s what they called me – on account of them thinking I had Sixth Sense. That’s how we all survived!”
Staring at the card for a final time, Henry wiped his eyes dry.
“But this beats all,” he muttered to himself, as he read the card out loud.
“To Granddaddy Henry,
I never met you, but I’ve always felt you were never far away.
If I could travel into the past, I’d tell you not to fight but to run,
But as time travel isn’t possible, perhaps this card will find you in another universe.
Love,
Your granddaughter,
Jenny H. Willoughby…”
Russian SPETSNAZ Destroyed US Army Rangers, Canadian Commandos, & British Special Forces in BRYANSK
Is it completely true that LGBTQ content is completely forbidden in China (in public life, internet, TV, cinema, etc) and that you cannot absolutely see any kind of mention to LGBTQ people, identities and life in China at all?
Well, these topics are subtle gray zones, difficult to draw clearcut lines, because there is often not enough contrast from examples raised.
Perhaps it is more illustrative to draw from common experience.
Chinese vocabulary is filled will a litany of terms associated with promiscuity. In fact, the philanderer subplot is a widespread cultural hook written into Chinese literature, plays and dramas.
At any given time, there are probably tens of works circulating that involve terms like concubine, mistress, “committed the sin all men commit”, cad, affair, hostess, prostitution and so on.
This is nothing shocking or unique among Chinese diaspora. The difference being mainlanders are far less graphic in the presentation. They openly acknowledge bad behaviors exist, and to some extent tolerated because it is human nature. However, promoting or glorifying such a lifestyle is a strict no-no, especially if the work generates public appeal or worse, furor.
The Chinese are a tolerant people but the people are known to resist the government when pushed beyond the edge. Moral norms are redlines.
The issue with lgbtq is its lack of mainstream acceptance. After all, the number of philanderers is orders of magnitude larger than the number of lgbtq. Most families disapprove, and I’ve heard families falling out or members excommunicated, but the average man on the street won’t criminalize such behavior either.
In the past, it was “do it behind closed doors”. Today, it is “live and let live”.
But promoting it, flaunting the lifestyle, normalizing it as mainstream is still offensive, and taboo.
And that is OK. All societies make value-based choices.
China says no to guns. America yes.
China says yes to monogamy. Saudi Arabia no.
China says no to public nudity. France yes.
China says no to drugs. The Netherlands yes.
You can’t please everyone.
Hardee’s Mushroom and Swiss Burger
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 can Campbell’s Golden Mushroom soup
- 1 can Green Giant sliced mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 4 slices processed Swiss cheese (no holes)
- 4 (1/4 pound) hamburger patties
- 1/2 teaspoon Accent seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
- Mix the first three ingredients together, put on low heat and let simmer.
- Mix the Accent, Lawry’s and pepper together and put into a shaker. Season the patties with this and fry or grill until done, but don’t press down on the patties!
- Put patty onto a bun, then the Swiss, then the sauce and you’re done.
U.S. Marine from Pennsylvania and a US Army Ranger, Killed Fighting for Ukraine
Corey John Nawrocki was born on December 3, 1982 in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA.
He joined the Marine Corps in 2001 and served as a gunnery sergeant in the Guard Company at Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.
In 2021, Corey left the United States Marine Corps.
Later he decided to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces, military unit A3449.
It was a fatal mistake for Nawrocki to go to war with Russia.
Russian FSB Special Forces killed Nawrocki at the border of Bryansk, Russia.
He was trying to enter Russia along with other NATO Mercenaries from the US, CANADA, POLAND, and elsewhere, heavily armed with guns, grenades, anti-tank weapons, and SEMTEX plastic explosives, to perpetrate acts of war and sabotage against Russia,
Nawrocki and his fellow Mercenaries, are pictured – Dead – below:
What happened at a wedding that made you feel horrible for the bride?
My husband’s brother got married to a lovely girl in a large city. The church was on the other side of town from where the bride was getting ready, and traffic was bad, so she was VERY late. My brother-in-law was sweating bullets and the priest was very annoyed; it was a Saturday and they schedule weddings back-to-back all day. When she finally arrived, the priest took both of them into the back and gave them a stern (and audible) talking-to, the gist of which was: WHY was she so late? Maybe she didn’t really want to get married? She had better think about it hard because marriage is forever.
Afterwards, she had to walk BACK to the front of the church, past all the guests who had heard the priest yelling at her, and then come down the aisle AGAIN, with her huge dress and her tear-stained face. The priest rushed through the ceremony, and then we went off to the reception, which was in ANOTHER part of town, so everyone was late. That was another disaster: the hall was freezing and too large, so even though there were nearly 100 guests, they were seated around the edges and the place seemed empty. The only way to keep warm was to dance, but few people were in the mood to; all the guests were either the groom’s family, or their mutual work friends, and the two groups didn’t know each other. The hired waiters were passing bottles of booze out the back door to their friends. The photographers (hired by my husband and me) left BEFORE the cutting of the cake! All around, the whole thing was a mess. But in contrast, the marriage has been long and happy 🙂
Are military police really as bad as people say they are?
Yes!
I was walikg to my room after a couple of beers, from the top Naffi bar, when I was posted to the Falklands. (Important note – a couple of cans, literally).
Now, to get to my room, I had to walk down a very long corridor, which was cold, empty and boring.
After a couple of sets of doors, I came across two military police walking towards me. One RMP and the other an RAF policeman. They walked around me, one on each side and after a couple of seconds I heard one of them talk to me.
(Actual word for word conversation).
Rmp – Excuse me, mate.
Me, turning around – Yes?
Rmp – Have you been drinking?
Me – Yeah, I’ve just had a couple up the top Naffi. Why?
Rmp – You’re nicked.
Me – For what? (Very confused as to what I could have done)
Rmp – Drunk and disorderly.
Me – Are you taking the piss? I’ve had a couple but I’m certainly not drunk.
Rmp – We think you are, and we’re arresting you.
So, I was nicked and spent the night in a cell, just because two corrupt and bored knobbers wanted some fun.
End result, I had to go in front of my o.c and explain what happened. He asked me if I answered back after he told me I was nicked? Well, yeah, I told him exactly what I said. Apparently, because I answered back, they had an excuse to say I was disorderly, and the charge stuck. O.c was very sympathetic, but the only way to stop the Rmps charging me was to make the o.c do it. Fined £225.
I have another story about an Rmp stitching up his fellow Rmp when i was on a signals course. He only had to stay quiet, as it was such a tiny, trivial matter it wasn’t even worth mentioning, but he wanted a browny point by screwing his own mate over.
That’s the type of people they are. Wankers, I’ll never speak to another one as long as I live.
And yes, I’m expecting replies saying bad apples everywhere, I wasn’t like that, don’t tarnish us all, blah, blah, blah.
Bullshit, you’re all power hungry dickheads.
Will the US deploy anti-satellite weapons against Russia and China by 2025? Why is the US always obsessed with starting an arms race? Is there no advantage in other areas?
Weapon is for dominance. To suppress others.
Instead of asking why USA is obsessed with arms race, perhaps we should ask why USA is obsessed with dominance.
US Congress Research Services reveals that from 1798 to 2022, USA has 469 military actions overseas. In 240+ years since US independence, there were only 16 years when USA was not in a war.
After WW2, from 1946-2001, in 55 years, there were 248 wars around the globe. 201 of them ie 82% were instigated by USA. Since 2001, USA has riots/wars in 80 countries. Lots of people died or lost their ancestral land to become a refugee. Lots of human rights have been violated.
Other than war, USA would bribe locals to instigate unrest eg protests, riots & coups against any government who dont bow down to USA. For instance, 56 coups incl assassination in Latin America alone since WW2.
More, USA weaponises USD & its banking system SWIFT to impoverish/bankrupt other countries.
There is only 1 motive for USA: money & power/dominance. It is modern-day colonisation. Old-day occupied other’s land. Modern-day puts a US puppet in other’s territory. There is no democracy in US dictionary.
1, money
Both US military industry (MIC) & Federal Reserve (FED) are private corporations run by capitalist sharks & not by (responsible) government who would focus on the welfare of the country eg economic development.
MIC makes tons of money thru wars & arms sales. They lobby US government to create wars in other countries. US politicians also make $$$ by buying MIC stocks or working as a MIC salesman to other country.
Another capitalist shark is FED who manipulates the US interest to suck in capitals from other country.
Wall Street shark will go into countries bankrupted by FED or ruined by MIC to make money & to to control other’s economy & thus govt.
See, if there is peace in the world, MIC, FED or Wall Street will create war somewhere so as to make money. Be it military war or monetary-financial war.
US senator L Graham accidentally told the truth: must win the Ukraine war because it is rich in minerals.
2, power/US dominance ie modern-day conlonisation
Control other’s government & make them a US puppet.
Then control other’s resources eg Ukraine’s minerals, Syria’s oil & rich agricultural land.
US wisdom
In 1961, the then pres D Eisenhower warned against the establishment of private MIC which will distort US politics & threaten democracy.
Many US pres eg J Kennedy, R Nixon & more fought with the FED but failed.
conclusion
USA wont not let world peace to happen. USA must create unrest/war thru its puppets eg Ukraine & Philippines.
War is in the DNA of USA.
Are capitalist sharks nice to Americans?
Every year, US taxpayers pay the interest of the US debts that is created as aids to war-torn country.
Capitalist sharks make tons of money from wars, but pay little tax to benefit USA. For instance, sharks wont maintain infrastructure, resulting in train derailment almost daily. Making USA look like a under-developed 3rd world. The list is long.
Those mercenary trash (or were they cadre?) look like they were bayoneted to death, apart from the guy on the right who obviously had his head blown off, or was stabbed in the face. The guy next to him got it in the balls.
Ouch. Nasty viewing, but unfortunately necessary as a warning: that’s what tends to happen to people sneaking into Russia armed to the teeth. The Russians are merciless and enjoy close quarter combat, or else they snook up on these guys as they slept, or gassed them first as a “precaution”. Iraq or Afghanistan, it isn’t.
Those plonkers were obviously desperate for money.
Rule #1: Don’t get caught.