When my mother was ill with cancer, we as a family had to do something. My kid sister lived nearby and was actively trying to put her in an old-folk’s retirement home, and seize all her assets.
All in all they were (her and her narcissist husband) were terrorizing my mother. Visiting her, and yelling at her; tying to get her to sign some legal documents, and also openly stealing her property at night, and then later brazenly in the daytime.
Ugh!
I, as the oldest son, stepped in. Quit my job as the VP of Engineering in a company in Boston and moved to her home. I became her caretaker.
I believe that I wrote about this earlier, and I won’t spend too much time on it. I was a caretaker for my mother with cancer, and I used up ALL of my savings to exist on while I took care of her. Not only did I torpedo my career, but lost all my savings. Meanwhile I dealt with my mother; playing “Driving Miss Daisy” while dealing my a money-crazed kid-sister and her crazy husband.
Many adventures all set in a quiet and pastoral environment. My mother lived in a huge mansion set on a country estate, and I became the caretaker of it as well as my mother.
Today, I want to talk about roto-tillers for the garden. They are used to churn up the ground so that one can plant food, and flowers.
Now, my mother had a couple of them.
She had my kid sister’s husband use them to plow up the local garden, and flower beds. The thing was that he would then take the tillers, and sell them on e-bay for some extra cash.
What a scam.
Now, when I came onto the scene, he freaked out. He was like a parasite siphoning money from my mother one way or the other. And he made my life miserable in various ways. But narcissist are not worth wasting your time on. You just isolate from them; you stay away.
Do what ever is necessary to stay away.
Don’t be the guy that needs a roto-tiller to define your boundaries.
And that is my story for today.
Today…
Exposé – Let Me Be The One
A blast from the past. 1980s style.
What is the one thing that drives you absolutely crazy?
Living with a dirty roommate. It’s terrible.
The guy would go through 2 or 3 protein shakes a day, constantly cook, and constantly have people over, and he also ran an amateur baking business. But he did the dishes once a week if I was lucky.
He saw no need to do the dishes as long as there was still something left to eat with in the house. And the small sink didn’t bother him, since he could also pile up dirty dishes on the countertop and stove. When no clean dishes were left, he would eat out of plastic containers.
When he finally did the dishes at the end of a week or two, he would never unload the dishwasher afterward. Instead, at each mealtime, he would just take out what he needed (e.g. a plate and some cutlery). So in no time you’d have a sink and countertop piled with filthy dishes, and a dishwasher that hadn’t been emptied.
Another filthy habit of his on occasion was to leave his dirty plates on the table after finishing a meal. He’d be too lazy to put them in the sink. If he ordered takeout, he’d be too lazy to toss the eaten food in the garbage afterward. He might do that the next morning. And when he did put dirty dishes in the sink, he wouldn’t run any water over them, so the food particles would harden and need to be scrubbed off before washing.
If he used a frying pan or cooking pot it would stay permanently on the stovetop afterward until I scrubbed it and put it in the washer. And no matter how many times I cleaned up after him, the kitchen would always be a pigsty again within 48 hours.
He also dumped his clutter on all the tables and countertops, even the chairs, so it would be impossible for me to find a place to eat.
That’s just how he was in the kitchen. He was equally filthy everywhere else.
We had shoe racks, but he preferred to kick and scatter his 15 pairs of shoes all over the floor or put them on the edge of the staircase and I would always trip on them.
He didn’t toss his clothes on the floor thank God, but he would put them wherever he felt like. He’d leave them on chairs, couches, on the staircase.
Don’t even ask about the bathrooms. They were so revoltingly filthy a guy might vomit if using them for the first time. The counter, bathtub and toilets would be absolutely caked with grime and the floor would gather up dust and hair for many months. If I thought he liked to postpone doing the dishes until the end of time, I discovered he thought cleaning the bathroom even once a year was optional.
If I hadn’t cleaned the bathrooms, they would absolutely never have been cleaned. I never saw this guy pick up a sponge or toilet brush.
Despite occupying the master bedroom of the house, he would study in the dining room, and spread his property all over the table. There were 6 chairs at that dining table but no free space.
He’d sleep on the couch all the time and never pick up after himself afterwards. The couch would always be a mess, as if a huge dog had slept there instead of my roommate.
He wouldn’t throw his clothes on the floor but he’d hang them on chairs in the kitchen and dining room, and leave them on the couch and rocking chair.
Whenever I approached him about cleanliness, he’d get defensive and basically argue that he worked and studied too much to clean up after himself. How about me? I had a lot of free time, so who did I think I was, complaining about having to spend some of that free time cleaning? How often was I cleaning the bathroom anyway? Not daily. And doing the dishes was just one job, man. I shouldn’t lose my temper over it.
He also had a cat, and he was very strict about the rule that only he was allowed to change the litter box because only he knew how to do it “properly.” Of course — big surprise — he didn’t. He would never scoop the clumps, like cat owners are supposed to do every day. Instead he would just replace the litter, which is supposed to be done every two weeks maximum. But he would do it once every three or four weeks. The whole floor would stink of urine and I’d have to pester him to change the litter box since I wasn’t allowed.
I could hardly believe when he’d invite his girlfriend over. And she would use the bathroom. I don’t know how he explained it. I suspected he told her it was my fault. 🤔
The guy was the definition of filth. He absolutely hated to clean up after himself, ever. He would only do it in an emergency. It was 8 years ago I lived with him and I still wanna puke. 🤢
What should Japan, Taiwan and US allies do in light of China’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test?
Mr QPG,
Not sure what’s your intention for raising this question and your expected propaganda to create.
Here’s my simple answers but yet difficult to do once you don’t have the right leaderships —
- First Step: “Stop poking this Dragon”!!!!! Obviously you will hate yourselves when this Dragon breathes fire at you.
- Second Step: “Stay neutral” to avoid getting into the grass patch when this Dragon stampede on you.
- Third Step: “Be good to your own people” — grow your people’s country, educate them, bring good jobs and good lives to your people.
Isn’t that easy?
The INSANE Plan to Bait China: Push Japan, Philippines Into WAR
What is the pettiest thing you’ve seen a cheap person do at a restaurant?
I’m 56 years old. One of my oldest friendships goes back to high school. My friend, let’s call him Lou, has always been incredibly cheap. I have always known this about him and, for the most part, I don’t care.
But there was one time I almost decked him.
I was visiting him in Pittsburgh, having driven from Boston to visit, when I was in my twenties.
In the course of the visit, I found a wallet lying in the street, full of all its cards and cash.
I found a pay phone, since this was before cell phones, and was able to reach the owner, who drove over to get his wallet back. When he arrived, he was so grateful, he insisted I take $50 as a thank you.
I did try to refuse it, but I was working a job that paid $25K a year at the time, and $50 felt like a lot of money. He was insistent, and I was glad to accept it.
After that was all resolved, we continued in our tour of the city, and then went to a restaurant for dinner, as planned.
When the dinner bill came, Lou took the bill and did the math to divide the cost three ways, as his girlfriend was with us. The amount he wanted us each to pay seemed much too low. There was no way the three amounts would come close to the total bill. “Lou, you can’t have done the math right.” I said.
Lou was soft spoken and a slow talker. He said, “No no, I did the math correctly. You are just not looking at this right. You see, I subtracted the $50 you were given for finding the wallet. After all, if you hadn’t come to visit me, you would not have found the wallet or received the money. Therefore, I am putting the $50 towards our dinner, as a celebration of our day together. Then, I am dividing the rest three ways.”
Again, I have no problem with how cheap Lou can be. We have a great time together and, honestly, I hate to spend money myself, so I like hanging out with a guy who prefers to do things that don’t cost much.
But this was one time I wanted to deck him.
I was young and stupid, so I allowed the $50 to go to the cost of the meal. I would not do that now.
China Urges UK to Return Malvinas Islands to Argentina
Garlic bread hamburger
Do biker gangs such as the Hells Angels, Mongols, etc. pick fights or purposely try to intimidate regular everyday people who are minding their own business, or is it not worth their time?
I walked into a group of gang members here in Florida. It was a Sunday and I called around trying to find a place that could remove a link from my motorcycle chain. No one open and back then I was using the Yellow Pages. It was a small listing I had luck with. A guy answered and told me to hold on…..this should have been a clue…another guy picked up and said “Snake here..what you need?” I told him …he said c’mon and gave me the address. So I drive over in my old jap car with a jap motorcycle chain and opened the privacy gate…to a lot with numerous Harleys and guys wearing colors and froze for a second then asked for Snake. Was told to look in the clubhouse building. Went in and asked and was told he was out in garage and did I want a beer? Large jar with sign that read “Bail Fund”. So I got a beer and put a $5 bill in and went to garage like I belonged there. Slightly nervous at this point hoping no one asked about the foreign car out front! We’ll I found Snake sitting at a workbench….picture a large man wearing colors and hands covered in grease with thigh size biceps..and handed him my chain. I know he knew this wasn’t a Harley chain but he said nothing as he removed a link for me. I asked what do I owe you? He replied “nothing brother”. I thanked him and left finishing my beer putting the empty can in a trash can by the gate. Drove home thinking “phew” and glad I hadn’t cut my long hair ponytail like the wife had been asking for! Seriously they were all non confrontational and good humoured…
In the Korean War, what caused the defeat of the United Nations army led by the USA against the volunteer army from China and was pushed back from the Yalu River to near the city of Seoul?
Simple.
Among the varied accounts of the Korean War written in this language, few explored it from the Chinese POV.
I had to read Chinese accounts before it opened my eyes to whole new possibilities.
The Americans were fighting a veteran adversary, who were victors of a decades long civil war, with the climax campaigns involving millions of men across fronts that were thousands of kilometers wide and deep.
In other words, the Americans were fighting the world’s premier light infantry units, some of the best ever seen, led by wily old heads who drew lessons from decades of warfare against technologically superior opposition that were way better supplied.
The Chinese were not only better led, but they were also cognizant of the fact that if they did not make a stand over the yalu, there would be no secure home to go back to.
The Americans could always give up and enjoy Thanksgiving turkey stateside.
1950年10月，毛泽东与民主人士周世钊谈话时，周世钊问到朝鲜局势，毛泽东指出：我们急需和平建设，如果要我写出和平建设的理由，可以写出百条千条，但这百条千条的理由不能敌住六个大字，就是“不能置之不理”。现在美帝的矛头直指我国的东北，假如它真的把朝鲜搞垮了，纵不过鸭绿江，我们的东北也时常在它的威胁中过日子，要进行和平建设也会有困难。所以，我们对朝鲜问题置之不理，美帝必然得寸进尺，走日本侵略中国的老路，甚至比日本搞得还凶，它要把三把尖刀插在中国的身上，从朝鲜一把刀插在我国的头上，从台湾一把刀插在我国的腰上，从越南一把刀插在我国的脚上。天下有变，它就从三个方面向我们进攻，那我们就被动了。我们抗美援朝就是不许其如意算盘得逞。
打得一拳开，免得百拳来。
我们抗美援朝，就是保家卫国。
In October 1950, when Mao Zedong was talking to Zhou Shizhao, Zhou asked about the situation in North Korea. Mao Zedong pointed out: We urgently need peace construction. If I were asked to write down the reasons for peace construction, I could write down hundreds and thousands of reasons, but these hundreds of thousands of reasons are no match for a single consideration, which is “cannot be ignored”. Now the U.S. imperialist spearhead is aimed directly at our country’s Northeast. If it really destroys North Korea, even if it cannot defeat the Yalu River, our Northeast will often live under its threat, and it will be difficult to build peace. Therefore, if we ignore the Korean issue, the US imperialism will inevitably push forward and follow Japan’s old path of invading China. It will even be more vicious than Japan. It will thrust three sharp knives into our country’s body; a knife from Korea into our head, a knife from Taiwan into our waist, and a knife from Vietnam into our feet. When the geopolitical wind shifts, it will attack us from all three directions, and we will be disadvantaged. Our goal in resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea is to prevent them from succeeding in their wishful thinking.
Land a single punch to avoid hundreds of punches coming.
When we resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, we defend our country.
Planet of the Amazons – Super Panavision – AI Trailer
What would be the consequences for China if Kamala Harris becomes the US president?
136%
and remember this number
Chinas National Debt can rise upto 136% of their GDP and still be fiscally sustainable at 60% of their Present Trade Surplus
We call it the God Option
This means that if Chinas trade surplus plummets by even 40% and China pumps in another 80 Trillion RMB ($ 12 Trillion) over the next 6 years into the Economy – Chinas growth will average 5.35% for the next 6 years
Of course by the end of 2030 – China will enter a near saturated phase at least 10 years before schedule and will likely stagnate with a Nominal GDP of around $ 35.50 Trillion to $ 38 Trillion
It’s a path China would likely take if TRUMP does become President and impose those 60% Tariffs he threatens China with
That’s when China will be forced to give up and sacrifice maybe 20 years of long term vision and hit the economy with BAZOOKA after BAZOOKA after BAZOOKA of stimulus
Once China realizes that their Long term vision is unlikely to be reached , they will decide to party their way to an all time high
You will see even 7.50% growth or 8% Growth again and a huge vital importance to Paper Numbers
Inflation will hit 4% easily
However China will finally do what Shun Bot was waiting for
They will begin their own brutal onslaught on the US
Chinese Social Media will run with filthiest stories on Baron and Melania making out with Trump watching and the dirtiest junk on the Americans
They will flood Twitter with trolling on every US Senators threat to China by threatening his Kids or Grandkids or just abusing him (Imagine 50,000 people calling you a b****** after every tweet)
A Trump win would finally get the Chinese riled up enough to rip up their long term vision and leave the future to the others and take the present to an all time high
Not to mention Bomb the bejeesus out of Taiwan and threaten Nukes on every neighbor and terrify them
My guess is William Lai will be afraid to even come to the mic after sometime
If Kamala Harris wins – it’s Business as usual and China can look at its future and plan for the next 20–30 years in the same conservative and cautious way that it has been planning these 3/4 years
My dream house
Can you imagine discovering this estate?
As a private investigator, have you ever found a missing person?
Many PI’s have found missing people in their careers. Sometimes, when people don’t want to be found, it can go badly. Most of the time, it can be joyous.
I had been working on a case involving a 15 month baby girl. The mom and dad had a bad breakup due to mom’s use of illegal drugs.
Because the father was the only parent that worked, his money ran out constantly, trying to pay for his baby’s needs, living costs and legal fees. He decided to ask his parents for financial help in which they had no problem whatsoever.
So, the grandparents were my clients. They rarely got to see their granddaughter. They were medical doctors who had their own practice so that took up a lot of their time. They tried numerous times to make an appointment with the baby’s mom to see their granddaughter, only to be stood up again and again.
Baby’s mom would disappear for days or weeks at a time with the baby only to eventually call baby’s father to come rescue her out of a’situation’ The ‘situation ‘ always involved having to pay off one of her drug dealers and driving mom and baby home.
The court process is SLOW and father was fighting as much as he could to get custody of his daughter. The courts wanted both homes evaluated. Courts wanted lots and lots of hoops for father to jump through. I was getting evidence, little by little involving her drug use. It was just taking too long to do anything of significance.
Finally, grandparents got a court ordered visitation with their granddaughter for the day. It was just a few hours because mom’s insistence that she was still breastfeeding the 15 month old. During the visit, grandparents, being good doctors, immediately noticed that the baby had some things medically wrong! They contacted a pediatrician they knew who immediately saw the child and took blood samples. The samples would take time for the laboratory to evaluate. This was 20 years ago and labs were slow in comparison to today.
Grandparents reluctantly gave baby back to the mom when the visitation ended. They had good reason to worry, as it turned out. Part of the lab work came in the next day and what it showed, caused grandparents to call the attorney on a Saturday and get an ex parte (immediate court appearance) for the following Monday. Baby’s mom is notified as required by law of the ex parte hearing.
Grandparents, father and their attorney show up for the hearing, lab work in hand. Mom or baby are nowhere to be found and didn’t show up for the hearing. Mom’s attorney was there though, so she was represented.
The judge looked at the lab work and saw that the baby had at least THREE ILLEGAL DRUGS in her tiny body! Although mom’s attorney tried, they were unable to prevent the grandparents from getting legal, temporary custody. The problem was, where was the baby?
I immediately got to work on finding mom and baby. So did the police. The amount of drugs in the baby’s system was high enough to warrant an immediate search that the police took seriously.
I was able to find out the first name of a person that mom told a friend about. Mom said this person would hide her. With just a first name to go on usually would be almost impossible! I TRIED to work with the police but they weren’t going to have any of that. I did, however, give them the first name of the person I felt she was with.
At that time, our investigation office was one of the first database oriented offices in the country. We had a LOT of public records from all over the country. We had information, the police didn’t!
Thank God the person’s first name was unique. I found maybe 20 people in the state who had this first name. I can’t divulge how I found which name/address was the one, but grandparents and I were on the first plane we could get to Northern California. We rented a car at the airport and headed for the police station in the area where I knew Mom and baby were. The custody order was in hand. After learning of the dire situation, these police were AMAZING and we were all on our way to the address.
When we got to the house, it turned out to be a well known drug house to the police. They went in and came out with mom and four other people in handcuffs. I guess the people couldn’t hide all the drugs quick enough and when they opened the door, the police had a visual of drugs and paraphernalia, giving them reasons to go into the house. One male officer, walked out, holding the baby. This officer had tears in his eyes. It was obvious that the baby was drugged. An ambulance was called and baby girl was ultimately taken to the children’s hospital in San Francisco where she remained for almost a week!
We all stayed at a hotel for that week, going to the hospital daily to see the progress of the baby. Grandparents offered to fly me home, but I wanted to stay. We were now friends and I was going to stay and support this family however I could.
So, as a trained investigator, I was able to find a missing baby, whose mother had been drugging with her breast milk. I only had a first name of someone to go on. I always thank the higher power that led us to save this innocent child.
Father raised his daughter as a single parent. Mom, fortunately, didn’t remain in her daughter’s life. Grandparents doted on their granddaughter until they left this world about five years ago.
Diner Dreamin’
Since gun owners have their guns to protect themselves, why shouldn’t they be banned from calling the police?
Oh, that would be nice, wouldn’t it?
Some criminal attacks Bob’s family. Bob puts two rounds through the criminal’s heart and one through his head. The criminal’s biological processes are deactivated before he hits the ground.
Now, under our current legal system, Bob has to call the police. And maybe the police buy his story and maybe they don’t. And maybe the DA decides to actually apply the law regarding self-defense and leave Bob alone … or maybe he doesn’t.
Maybe he prosecutes Bob for doing nothing more than defending himself. And Bob winds up being nearly bankrupted by legal fees even if he managed to avoid prison. All because Bob had to call the police.
I like your plan better. Bob deactivates the criminal, and goes back to bed. Since calling the police is not allowed, private companies have sprung up that dispose of “wrapped refuse”, no questions asked. Bob wraps the criminal up as per specifications and calls the first of these companies that has an opening. Two nice men come by to pick up the wrapped refuse and haul it off to be disposed of.
No cops. No DA. No legal fees.
Yes. Your plan sounds like an excellent idea.
US universities losing hundreds of billions as top Chinese scientists and researchers go home
What are some disturbing ancient historical facts?
The Dark Side of Roman Civilization: Rome The Slave Society
“…to make an example to would-be rebels, 6,000 surviving slaves were crucified along the Appian Way, a major road leading into Rome…”
Slavery was deeply woven into the fabric of Roman society and culture. There were several ways that people in Roman society could fall into slavery.
To varying degrees throughout Roman history, the existence of a pool of cheap labor in the form of slaves was an important factor in the economy. Slaves were acquired for the Roman workforce through a variety of means, including purchase from foreign merchants and the enslavement of foreign populations through military conquest.
So, when the Romans prevailed on the battlefield, they would often take their defeated enemies captive and sell them into slavery as part of the spoils of war.
With Rome’s heavy involvement in wars of conquest in the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE, from tens to hundreds of thousands of slaves at a time were imported into the Roman economy from various European and Mediterranean acquisitions.
People could also become slaves due to failure to pay debts or as a punishment for crime. Roman slavery differed from American slavery in some important respects. Roman slaves could be of any race. And while American slaves generally performed manual labor, Roman slaves could sometimes be highly skilled.
Especially the educated slaves captured from the Greek world were highly sought after for tutoring children and performing clerical work.
While there was limited use for slaves as servants, craftsmen, and personal attendants, vast numbers of slaves worked in mines and on the agricultural lands of Sicily and southern Italy.
For the most part, slaves were treated harshly and oppressively during the Roman republican period. Under Republican law, a slave was property, not a person. Therefore, owners could abuse, injure or even kill their own slaves without legal consequence.
Illustration of branding of a slave
One of the harsh punishments for slaves in Rome was the branding of the slaves forehead with the letters “FUR”, which derives from the Latin word “fure” meaning thief.
Tattooing was also another common method of placing a stigma on the individual and claiming ownership. Some slaves were able to be freed after 20 years of service in the household; however, the fate of a gladiator was much more brutal.
A mosaic showing a master beating a slave
Although slaves could technically become freedmen, slavery, in practice, was permanent, and the masters had the ultimate control of their life. If slaves tried to run away, their brands served as proof of ownership. These marks were conspicuously located on their forehand, legs and arms. Masters also used metal collars for their ordinary slaves; however, the method of branding was much more common.
As expected, many slaves resented their subservient status and inhumane treatment, and this seething resentment reached a boiling point in the form of sporadic riots and revolts.
While there were many grades and types of slaves, the lowest—and most numerous—grades who worked in the fields and mines were subject to a life of hard physical labor.
The large size and oppressive treatment of the slave population led to rebellions. In 135 BCE and 104 BCE, the First and Second Servile Wars erupted in Sicily, where small bands of rebels found tens of thousands of willing followers wishing to escape the oppressive life of a Roman slave.
Depiction of the fall of Spartacus
While these were considered serious civil disturbances by the Roman Senate, taking years and direct military intervention to quell, they were never considered a serious threat to the Republic.
The Roman heartland had never seen a slave uprising, nor had slaves ever been seen as a potential threat to the city of Rome. However, this perception would change with the Third Servile War.
Above map shows a portion of the most famous slave revolt in Roman history, in which the gladiator Spartacus led an army that eventually grew to 120,000 freed slaves.
When the rebellion was finally crushed, 6,000 surviving slaves were crucified along the Appian Way, a major road leading into Rome.
Certainly the revolt had shaken the Roman people, who, reportedly, out of sheer fear seem to have begun to treat their slaves less harshly than before.
The wealthy owners also began to reduce the number of agricultural slaves, opting to employ the large pool of formerly dispossessed freemen in sharecropping arrangements.
With the end of Augustus’ reign (27 BCE – 14 CE), the major Roman wars of conquest ceased until the reign of Emperor Trajan (reigned 98–117 CE) and with them ended the supply of plentiful and inexpensive slaves through military conquest.
This era of relative peace further promoted the use of freedmen as laborers in agricultural estates. The legal status and rights of Roman slaves also began to change.
Tunisian mosaic depicting slaves serving their masters
During the time of Emperor Claudius (reigned 41–54 CE), a constitution was enacted that made the killing of an old or infirm slave an act of murder and decreed that if such slaves were abandoned by their owners, they became freedmen.
Under Antoninus Pius (reigned 138–161 CE), laws further extended the rights of slaves, holding owners responsible for the killing of slaves, forcing the sale of slaves when it could be shown that they were being mistreated and providing a neutral third party to which a slave could appeal.
While these legal changes occurred much too late to be direct results of the Third Servile War, they onevertheless represent the legal codification of changes in the Roman attitude toward slaves that had been evolving over decades.
Meanwhile, the Third Servile War was the last servile war, and Rome did not experience another slave uprising of this magnitude again.
Just as all great civilizations in history, ancient Rome, too, had a dark side behind all the glamour and luster that was built on merciless slave labor.
Let’s not forget that exploitation of fellow men is not limited to slave labor, today it continues to rear its ugly head in a multitude of unsuspecting disguises, shapes and forms, perpetuating income and opportunity inequality, thus poverty across the world.
Strip Steaks with Garlic-Ginger Baste
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup sweet and tangy steak sauce
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon minced, peeled gingerroot or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 (10 ounce) boneless strip steaks
Instructions
- Mix steak sauce, oil, ginger and garlic until well blended. Reserve 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture.
- Brush both sides of steaks with remaining mixture.
- Place on grill over medium coals.
- Grill for 4 to 6 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 140 to 150 degrees F for medium.
- Serve with reserved sauce mixture.
- Use your broiler: Brush steaks with sauce mixture as directed.
- Place on rack of broiler pan. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 140 to 150 degrees F.
- Serve with reserved sauce mixture.
Astral Dominion; Episode 3: The Tubbies – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
Cabin Life
Richard Wolff Reveals the Impact of 100% U.S. Tariffs on Chinese EVs – Is It Sustainable?
As a doctor or nurse, what is the saddest scene you have ever seen?
It was December 23, 2018, I was working as a surgical nurse. At 3:30 p.m., the emergency room called me to tell me that a patient was arriving. A few minutes later I saw an emergency room nurse arrive and push the bed of a young patient, 28-30 years old, red eyes all around, mouth closed, I greeted him, he did not answer me, we put him in his room then I went to the staff with my colleague for the report. When he sat down, he let out a long sigh, I could feel him on the verge of tears, and began his speech:
“Mister is waiting to get treatment, so he came to the emergency room to get a prescription for cough syrup. During the exam we heard abnormal noises, so we did an X-ray, then a CT scan… He has balloon. lung cancer, we did an MRI, he has metastases everywhere, probably due to testicular cancer, but now he has metastases in the spine, in the liver and one in the brain… he is screwed, the oncologist told him that his life can now be counted in days…”.
lung cancer called “balloon release”
We remain silent… I look at her “December 23, it’s sick…” she answers “he got married a month ago, his wife is at the end of the corridor, she learns the diagnosis”.
My colleague leaves, I head to the door to let the patient in and I get stuck in front of the door… what can I say? What can I say? “How are you? Are you in pain? What would make you happy?” Everything I could say or do seemed stupid and awkward, and it was even more so when his wife arrived a few minutes later, I was there, embarrassed, doing the walk-in, they weren’t talking, both in shock. Later that day, he was repatriated at the request of his family and I never heard from him again…
BRICS is Building a Media Empire – Here’s Why the West is Worried
What are the signs that a man has it all figured out?
I had a bizarre incident happen during a Lyft ride last week.
The Lyft pulled up to our hotel.
It was at a loading/unloading zone like this one:
Another car was about 10 feet to the front on our right.
It was parked in the luggage unloading zone in front of us.
A man was on the right side unloading luggage, with presumably his daughter.
Someone still sat in the driver seat.
Our Lyft pulled up to pass the car on the side, opposite the one they were unloading their stuff from.
Then I hear a large “CRUNCH”.
Oh shit.
The car in front of us had opened the door just as we were pulling up.
The front of our car had crunched into that door.
It was definitely not my driver’s fault. My driver was angry.
We pull back as my driver rolls down his window, saying, “That wasn’t my fault! That wasn’t my fault!”
A middle age man comes walking around from the other side, saying, “I know.”
The man’s wife gets out from the door that was crunched. She’d been the one who opened the door.
My Lyft driver got out and walked over and began exchanging information.
I could see the car owner/husband was very subtly annoyed.
I imagine he was frustrated with his wife at this situation. He wasn’t letting it show hardly at all.
My driver gets back in my Lyft car.
As we pull away I hear his wife say,
“Sorry.”
Her husband patiently says, “It’s fine hun. Let’s get the rest of your stuff.”
I admired his poise. He was probably a good husband.
Men Have Found Women’s Weak Spot
Do Chinese nationals really think China is less corrupt than any Western country, and what’s the reality?
I’m a Chinese citizen.
I was a UK citizen. I renounced in 2018.
China is about as corrupt as the UK. What’s the difference? China has consequences for corruption. I’m in Hong Kong the ICAC has teeth. North in the mainland enormous numbers of corruption cases as prosecuted.
While we hear about high profile cases in China often resulting in DEATH. The UK has corruption and politicians are yeah whatcha gonna do about it? The corruption is naked open and the politicians know nothing will happen to them if caught. They just apologise and give it back. There’s literally no consequences Starmer took a £4 million bribe… yet nobody is calling for him to be hanged …many UK people are literally defending it as not corrupt and not buying influence!
Or how Johnson wasn’t criticised for diverting 34bn into his Caymen islands bank account. Nobody was calling for his execution for some reason and he’s loved as a public hero.
China’s Tech, Economy Week. Part 2
The hits keep coming..
A bonanza of technical achievements and economic course-changes this week, hence the two-parter.
Technology
Wuhan’s JFS Labs lit a laser integrated into a silicon chip, filling one of the few blanks in China’s optoelectronics technology. Silicon photonics use optical signals instead of electric signals for transmission. It aims to address the restraints imposed by current technology, as the transmission of electric signals between chips is approaching its physical limit. (See 2023 article, below).
China to launch ultra-secure quantum global communications service by 2027, with the completion of its quantum satellite constellation and its integration with ground-based networks, according to leading physicist, Pan Jianwei.
Three people with severe autoimmune conditions are in remission after treatment with bioengineered, CRISPR-modified immune cells. This is the first step towards mass production of such therapies. The first person to receive the treatment, in May 2023, was a 42-year-old woman with autoimmune myopathy, which targets skeletal muscle tissue, resulting in weakness and fatigue. Mr Gong, and another man with aggressive sclerosis started treatment in June and August 2023.
Gallium is irreplaceable for high-end radar, EW, communication, telecom & lasers. Ga is a byproduct of bauxite production, and China produces 40 megatonnes p.a., which requires 600Twh, or 15% of America’s 2023 electricity production–while America struggles to generate enough electricity for AI. Australia is shutting its Kwinana Alumina plant and Alcoa to close its Intalco Smelter, which supplied 30% of America’s needs. China has a huge energy cost advantage vs EU/JP/SK, so other countries keep closing Alumina smelters. EU lacks the electricity to keep steel plants open, and no Al production means no Ga production. TP Huang.
Washington’s $65 billion chip stimulus is failing. Samsung and Intel announced company-wide staff reductions up to 30% and may get no CHIPS Act money. US export controls slashed Intel’s China sales, once 25% of its revenue. Its European plant is on hold and it failed to install production equipment, the most expensive part of the buildout. Panic in the CHIPS Program Office.
- 2022: 165,000 tech layoffs
- 2023: 264,000.
- 2024: 132,000 YTD.
Economy & Trade
Long term capital intensity policy orientation has shifted to keeping the broader economy aligned with the evolving society and workforce. Both demand-side consumption habits and supply-side skill sets and production factors evolve over time. A workforce dominated by blue-collar workers aligns well with capital-intensive sectors like construction and infrastructure. Whereas a white-collar dominated workforce aligns better with sectors like tech, advertising, manufacturing, healthcare, etc. Glenn Luk.
Beijing wants institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds to play a greater role stabilizing the stock market with more long-term capital. PBOC launched two monetary policy tools, the Securities Fund Insurance Swap Facility and The Share Buyback Increase Re-loan. This shifts the calculus of the equities market.
The middle of a war that threatens to go nuclear and a genocide is a strange time to detour into economics. But economics have a bearing on wars. The two-and-one-half World Wars of the last century each trailed periods of capitalist/imperialist expansion that were followed by crises. As was the case in the 1930s, the 2008 Great Recession caused a deeper and wider crisis of capitalism than has been admitted in the West. Rob Urie.
Giant US deficits and debt rollovers wreak havoc among BRI borrowers.
US manufacturing employment has dropped 30% since 1979, as population rose 50%. From machine tools to industrial robots to consumer electronics, American manufacturing capability has been hollowed out. Boeing and Intel are struggling. The U.S. has five large oceangoing ships under construction or on order, compared to South Korea’s 734 and China’s 1,794.
“China is a very interesting trading partner,” says Javier Milei, as Argentina seeks closer economic ties. “They do not make demands, the only thing they ask is that they not be bothered.” Both exports and imports between the two countries declined sharply after Milei’s election, as China found alternative markets in neighboring Brazil. And Argentina desperately needs investment.
Liu Run, Chinese business author, back from visiting pioneering Chinese factories in Mexico, saw them making products from furniture to home appliances, and filed this report.
Beijing allows foreign cards for transit. Arrivals surpassed pre-Covid: More Russians, fewer American. Beijing received 379,300
China started collecting 30% dumping duties on EU brandy, days after Brussels voted to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs, and signaled that it could unleash tariffs on EU cars, while continuing investigations into EU pork and dairy products.
BMW 5s, Audi A6 and Benz E class discounted prices 27% and still lose market share. What happens when their profit margin in China approaches nothing? That could lead to plant closures in China and in Europe, too.
Airbus will soon produce more A320NEO aircraft in China than China’s COMAC produces C919 aircraft. Xian AC just built its third line for producing A320 wingboxes! It hit its 700th delivery last year and now produces 9 per month. As Chinese suppliers improve, it makes more sense for Airbus to use them in the Tianjin production.
China produces 300% more carbon fiber than the US. Titanium sponge production jumped from 70,000 tons in 2018 to 200,000 tons in 2023. China doesn’t play around once it decides to scale something.
Clothes from thin air. The process begins with giant fans capturing an invisible raw material: carbon dioxide, which gleaming reactors transform into a clear, viscous ethylene glycol, which is fed into machines that spin it into fine, glistening fibers that will be woven into fabrics. Each 300 gm T-shirt will use 100 gm of CO2. Sheng Hong’s factory has developed cutting-edge techniques like direct esterification-polycondensation and melt composite spinning that yield diverse fibers like elastic, ultra-fine, and UV-resistant marvels.
Photonic Dawn
When the US banned China from NASA projects, China built its own. When the US banned China from participating in the “international” space station, China built its own. When the US stopped China from participating in Europe’s GPS project, China built its own. When the US blocked Israel’s sale of AWACs to China, China built its own. When Trump imposed ta…
Photonic Blessings
Photonic chips require no high-end lithography and can be produced with Chinese IP on mature, indigenous technology and equipment. China already makes all the components for photonic chips, and its specialty foundries produce photonic chips for critical applications. Moreover, China is already the world’s largest optical communication market, growing from $800 million in 2017 to $2 billion today,
In addition to greatly speeding computation, integrated photonics enables lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technology, putting laboratories into doctors’ hands. Amazec Photonics’ fiber optic sensor with photonic chips allow doctors to measure both cardiac output and circulating blood volume from outside the body. PICs facilitate communication between vehicles and urban infrastructure to improve driver safety, and can detect different quantities, such as pressure, temperature, vibrations, accelerations, and mechanical strain.
PhotonFirst PICs measure shape changes in airplanes, EV battery temperature, and infrastructure strain. PICs can measure variables beyond the range of the human eye, allowing the food supply chain to detect disease, ripeness and nutrients in fruit and plants. It can also help food producers to determine soil quality and plant growth, and measure CO2 emissions. MantiSpectra’s analyzer fits into a smartphone and can analyze chemical constituents of products like milk and plastics.
Chinese researchers are confident that they have solved the packaging cost problem and will open the first mass production line for “multi-material and cross-size” photonic chips this year, currently being built by Beijing-based Sintone.
Implications
The fab will give China first-mover advantage in a 21st century industry and, probably, as many decades of PIC dominance as America had with ICs.
IC demand will continue to rise, but a Chinese photonic success would alter the balance of power in the world, while simultaneously removing Taiwan as a bone of contention.
Win-win-win.
For China, anyway.
Notes
- Silicon Photonics: Columbia Prof. Karen Bergman on the Why, How and When of a Technology that Could Transform HPC. Inside HPC
- “Efficient photonic chip fabrication with 2.5D printing” by L. Zhang et al. (Nature Communications, June 5, 2021)
- “Superior photonic chip fabrication using 2D material-coated microring resonators” by M. Li et al. (Light: Science & Applications, May 15, 2021)
- “High-throughput photonic chip fabrication using femtosecond laser processing” by Y. Cheng et al. (Applied Physics Letters, April 15, 2021)
West vs East: who is the bad guy? | Lowkey
Cool Interfaces
MEET !! China’s New large Unmanned Submarine Drones, to carry and launch missiles
Is there any rational reason to explain the unusual timidity of the Song emperors in military campaigns throughout their reign? Despite having the economic resources to finance wars, why did they always take the initiative to seek peace in battles?
This involves a political balance problem that troubled ancient China: leaning towards officials or leaning towards generals.
After a long period of division between the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sui Dynasty unified China. But the Sui Dynasty lasted for a short time, and it was succeeded by the Tang Dynasty, the most powerful dynasty in China.
The Sui Dynasty invented the imperial examination in an attempt to break the situation of aristocracy. But the Tang Dynasty was essentially established by the generals of the Sui Dynasty, so the aristocracy continued in the Tang Dynasty. We all know that the nobles in the Middle Ages were usually the owners of force, so the aristocracy was essentially similar to the vassalage in the Middle Ages in Europe. They had their own territories and armies, so they were less dependent on the central government, and the imperial examination invented by the Sui Dynasty was not further improved in the Tang Dynasty. Although the imperial examination system gave birth to the bureaucracy, the bureaucrats had a low voice.
The final outcome of the Tang Dynasty was division. A down-and-out scholar, Huang Chao (this story is a bit like Hitler being rejected by the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts), vowed to completely destroy the aristocracy after failing the imperial examination. So he organized an army, captured the capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang’an, and massacred almost all the nobles in Chang’an. This is regarded as the end of the aristocratic family politics in China. After this, although the aristocracy still exists, their aristocratic status often does not remain until the next dynasty (except for the Duke of Yansheng – they are descendants of Confucius). Every time a dynasty changes, the old aristocracy will become commoners, and new aristocrats will be born, until the dynasty collapses again. Because the capital of the Tang Dynasty was captured, the “vassal of the Tang Dynasty (they were called 节度使)” split the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty gradually perished in the following period. After a period of chaos, a new dynasty, the Song Dynasty, was established.
Because the hereditary military aristocracy that spanned dynasties was completely destroyed, the Song Dynasty began to reuse officials, and all generals were discriminated against. This practice brought a certain degree of prosperity to the Song Dynasty, but it also led to new problems: because the generals were discriminated against, talented people were unwilling to become generals, and the hereditary military aristocracy was completely destroyed, which made the Song Dynasty (especially the Northern Song Dynasty) lack capable generals. I don’t want to say too much about the military failure of the Song Dynasty here, it is a very complicated issue. The Song dynasty tried to bureaucratize the army, but it was not a good idea and was eventually destroyed by the Jurchens and Mongols.
We will not discuss the Yuan dynasty here. After the establishment of the Ming dynasty, the lessons of the Song dynasty were learned and a certain hereditary military aristocracy was retained (such as Mu Ying – he received a king-level title and became a hereditary general). Although generals were still generally discriminated against by officials, the combat effectiveness of the Ming army seemed to be guaranteed. Even in the late Ming dynasty, the field army still had a strong combat effectiveness. Of course, when the Ming dynasty fell, the Spanish colonial empire was almost at its peak, and the world had been changed forever.
What is the most clever way you have seen someone respond to road rage?
Not me, but my long time late employee, a OO driver (Owner Operator) which his nickname was Snake – he used both – the Company tractors or his (it all depended on the dispatch).
His truck was parked in the assigned parking, awaiting for the trailer to be loaded.
For some reason, someone decided to park their car in front of the truck (because there was a gap and sufficient space). This GM Opel, parked his car there. Well, the other tractors and trailers parked at their assigned location.
Well, he wanted him to move the huge long-nose Kenworth Sleeper Tractor “out of his way”. Because the Dispatcher denied (everyone’s assigned, you move when the Dispatcher gives you the clearance and what bay (dock) you hitch up to).
The guy was in a rage, he got into the car and tried to “force” that tractor to move. All he was doing was damaging the rear end of his car! (He did cause some scratches and a couple of ‘dents’ on the Bumper of the Company truck.)
Well, he was just not having it, decided to rev the engine up and go through the chain link fence (that was Slatted – PVC slats woven in the chain link fence) and wound up front first over the ravine into the creek below.
The Truckers went to rescue him out of his car, and he winds up fighting an old oak tree! Literally throwing punches at it, his voice was so slurred, beyond drunk. And he’s fighting the tree! The drivers all went down and grabbed him and pulled him up through the fence and got him on the lot when the Police finally arrived.
He was just so out of it, but Snake, he got him to “sit down” and “drink some coffee” and provided him a couple of donuts. He wasn’t going anywhere, the Cops were in no hurry to handcuff him. They looked over the fence and finds the car down there, totally destroyed.
The other officer went to review the security footage, because none of the front end guards had any cars going through. It turned out he came from the NORTH side of the property (vacant wooded 2.3 acres of land).
Then Snake realized the guy was in medical, and called for Paramedics (the Cops were on the other side investigating the trail he made getting onto the property) – once the Paramedics arrived, the guy was “almost gone”. He was partially stabilized and taken to the Hospital ER and there it was confirmed, alcohol poisoning. (The officers arrested him there at the hospital.)
This bothered Snake, partially, because he just knew this guy was not a drunk, he felt he was “set up”, he even told the Officers that, the other truckers partially believed Snake.
Well, Snake asked to be reassigned back to that Company for a reason, he wanted to follow up with Sam (not real name), he had his information as he was the one that pulled out his wallet. His dad was a Police Chief, what happened was he gave his dad the information → this guy has no driving violations at all.
I have no idea why Snake did what he did, but once he was returned to that location. He put himself on a 3-day off, and he hired a lawyer. Sam was “released on own recognition” and had an upcoming hearing (he bonded out). This lawyer and Snake went to him in person, they questioned him thoroughly.
All he could remember was he was at the co-worker’s party for his wife’s over the hill. He really didn’t want to go. But the pressure of other workers to a degree, forced him to be there. All he could remember was a couple of guys holding him down and they blind folded him, and he felt something down his throat where he was gagging and they poured what he could smell was alcohol by force. (Funneling) And he cannot handle alcohol, due to the medications he was on.
And the next thing he knew he was inside of his car, he decided to get away from there, he has no memory of what happened after that except he was feeling terrible. That lawyer hired a private investigator. Because he now has a Defense Lawyer, the Defense Lawyer postponed the hearing, due to more evidence incoming. Judge granted it.
From what Snake told me, the PI went in and got hired at the same company that he was working for. He learned through gossip from other men, which they laughed, about how they forced moonshine (illegal) and got him totally wasted (drunk). They had to put him in the car because he was having seizures and they didn’t want any responsibility, someone drove him over to a lot and left him there and they returned back.
*BOOM*
The PI asked to buy a jar of that moonshine, they actually gave him a jar and told him “Easy does it.” Then the PI took the evidence to a lab, and it was found to contain 58% APV. With the evidence in hand, and the video and audio of worker’s “confessions”.
Then the trial came up. The State Prosecution threw the case out, and the Judge ordered the arrest of the people involved. To the fact his physician made it exceptionally clear, “his patient cannot have alcohol due to the medications he’s on” (medications disclosed). The people involved were charged with “attempt murder”.
The place of the party they had was actually held in a vacant house on a rural isolated property that was undergoing foreclosure.
His lawyer had his colleague to file suit (lawsuit) against the Company he worked for. In what Snake told me, there was a very nice settlement, he was able to retire early (49 years old). He became friends with Sam. Sam knows that Snake actually saved his life, because he was at “near-death”.
Was this a road rage? Yes it was, but under the influence of alcohol poisoning where the victim was forced without consent.
BRICS Just Acquired 2 MAJOR Assets To Collapse The US Economy With New Currency
Steak with Gorgonzola Thyme Crust
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 (6 ounce) beef tenderloin or small rib eye steaks, cut 3/4 inch thick
- 1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Wisconsin Gorgonzola cheese
Instructions
- Heat broiler.
- Spoon Worcestershire sauce over both sides of steaks; let stand for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle garlic and pepper over steaks. Place steaks on rack of broiler pan.
- Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat source for 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare steak.
- Remove pan from broiler. Sprinkle thyme, then cheese over steaks.
- Return to oven and broil for 2 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.
Ticket Booth
This is just lovely.
Is China’s rise inevitable?
My grandmother used to tell me a story whose endpoint was: A pigeon cannot escape death by closing his/her eyes when a cat is coming towards him/her. China’s rise is certain to be inevitable. The rest of the world is just closing its eyes and believing this cat is fake, and he/she will pass. No, sir/madam: This cat is real, and it is, in fact, a huge dragon.
People usually ask such questions:
- People have no clue about China and the Chinese people.
- People who have no interactions with China/or the Chinese people.
- People who have never visited China can see with their own eyes what it is all about.
- You do not have to be a rocket scientist, brain surgeon, or Nobel Prize winner in economics to understand this simple question.
- When you land in China Beijing/Shanghai, airports and your head spins at the wonder of the efficiency/punctuality/cleanliness/
- You see the bullet trains circling Shanghai.
- Banquet halls and restaurants serve thousands of customers with the efficiency of a Swiss clock.
- You see the Olympic Stadium of 2008.
- You see, the Three Gorges is one of the most significant civil projects of recent times.
- You see cranes all over China putting up buildings like a Lego project.
- You see state-of-the-art infrastructure, roads/bridges/
- You see highly efficient public transport systems.
- You see freedom of the female/gender equality/
- You see a society which is almost violent and crime-free/one of the safest in the world.
- You see young girls working alone in the middle of the night or walking freely in the megacities.
- You see, there is plenty of food for everyone.
- You see happy/rosy cheeks/giggling kids in the parks,
- You see well-respected elders/retirees in the parks.
- You can see some cultural events or other things in the city.
- You see people dancing/exercising in the public squares and parks.
- You would not see many if any, beggars/homeless/druggies/
- You see the Yangtze River with ships/boats/loaded with cargo
- You see commercial rigs on the highways.
- You see beautiful green farms with beautiful houses
- You see trucks loaded with citrus and other fruit going to the cities.
- You see, even when the native son/daughter comes home after a few months, he/she cannot find a way to his/her own house. Because the speed of change is so great, the whole neighbourhood/roads/are changing quickly.
Well, the list is too long,
- I do not have to look at the graphs/GDP/and all the other nonsense.
- Rest assured China is real, and this storm is coming, and the world will not the be same.
At some stage, the world has to learn that this growth is real and must learn to respect and learn from this mega-success story.
BTW: The Author is not Chinese, and he has not hired the hand to do publicity, he is Indo Canadian citizen of Canada for the close to fifty years. He has worked with the Chinese Canadians at various levels and visited China several times. And when he was a baby in India from his childhood he was very interested in China and the Chinese culture. His primary school teacher sowed the seeds in him about China.
This is a dawn of new era: You want to see future please go to China, there you will get an idea, how the future will look, by standing at the present time, and one glance backward to developing China will show you the past.
Standing in the present: You will see the future and you will see the past.
The reality is that China is a new powerhouse; as my grandma said, a Pigeon is just closing its eyes to see death as the cat is approaching him/her.
I hope it helps
As a customer service employee, what was the most unusual tip you ever received for good service?
I was working at Geek Squad and I had a client who was an older woman with an old laptop (no, this is not some kind of joke); it was probably 12–14 years old. It had 256 megs of ram and was running Windows XP for reference sack. It was busted 6 ways from Sunday, dead battery, charging port that you had to really work at to get it seated so it would get power, one hinge was totally wrecked, the CD drive was missing its face plate, the drive itself was bent, the screen was cracked, and the bezel was being held on by tape… I mean this laptop had done its tour of duty three times over.
Anyway, she was emphatic about getting the screen repaired. But it was one of those situations where it would literally cost more than I could convince myself to tell the client it was worth. So I did something that 99.99% of the time you do not do in computer retail and I asked what was so important about this particular computer.
Well, it turns out her great granddaughter had died 3 years prior and the only pictures she had of her were on that computer, and no one had ever told her that it was possible to move the pictures to something that wasn’t on improvised life support.
So I worked with her for a few more minutes to get an idea of what she used her computer for (little bit of online shopping and some email), then grabbed one of the PC sales team I knew and trusted, gave her the run down on the lady and the situation and asked her to find her a good option for a replacement computer, get her signed up for a data transfer, include a 32gb flash drive then come back to me.
Got her set up with a new laptop, transferred all the files from her old computer to the new computer and the flash drive and signed her up for a 1-on-1 training session so I could help her to learn how to use the new computer, the flash drive, and get her setup with One-Drive so she wouldn’t need to worry about losing her pictures.
After it was all said and done, she was so grateful for the help and service that she tried to hand me a $50. I couldn’t take it for multiple reasons – not the least of which being it would have gotten me written up – but mostly because it was my job to help people with their computer problems and that was exactly what I had done. Well, she insisted on knowing what she could do to thank me.
Jokingly, I said “Well, we love chocolate chip cookies.” She smiled, said OK and left. I figured that was it. Came in for my shift the next day to find that she had dropped off what looked like a gross worth of home-made chocolate chip cookies.
Cookies make the best tips!
China blocks all the cargo ships from coming and out of Taiwan. China’s blockade is an act of war. What is President Biden going to do about it?
Blockade? No
What the United States did to Cuba, North Korea and Iran is called “blockade”, using military and non-military capabilities to prevent these countries from normal exchanges and trade with the outside world, thereby strangling the economies of these countries and making their people suffer poverty.
China’s siege of Taiwan often only lasts for a few days. Even if commercial ships are affected, just wait patiently. This is not a blockade and has no substantial impact on Taiwan.
Threat? Yes
Before Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022, China had always maintained restraint and understanding towards Taiwan, and their military exercises never exceeded the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
The United States cannot claim “one China” while allowing senior officials to engage in sexual diplomatic interactions with Taiwan. This is schizophrenia and is bound to anger the Chinese.
So after August 2022, they began military exercises around Taiwan, and as far as I remember, this is the third time.
If Taiwan suffered “sovereignty loss” in this process, it was almost brought about by their allies, the Americans.
When an ally constantly claims to protect you, but at the same time constantly provokes your enemies, you need to think about the true intentions of this “ally”. Look at the situation in Ukraine.
China seems to be threatening Taiwan, but in fact it is using the US provocation to implement a “salami slicing” strategy
With every provocation, they increase the pressure on Taiwan a little bit.
Maintain the median line of the Taiwan Strait > cross the median line of the Taiwan Strait > operate on the east coast > surround the entire Taiwan > enter 12 nautical miles > enter the airspace
China’s sausage has not been cut yet. Pay attention to the exercise area. Although they have surrounded Taiwan, they still respect the tacit understanding of 12 nautical miles. But it may not be the case next time.
You cannot accuse China of “aggression” because Taiwan is different from Ukraine. All countries in the world recognize that Taiwan is part of China. So Taiwan does not legally have territorial waters and airspace. Military operations can only be regarded as China’s domestic counterinsurgency operations.