There’s a lot of chatter about the news that Israel planned to detonate a nuclear bomb in EMP configuration to attack Iran. There was a great build up, a great deal of media prep work, and then zilch.
Then Pepe announced that Israel planned to ignite an EMP bomb, and then invade Iran.
Evidence suggests that Russia took them all out, and with no EMP the “invasion” would have been a complete disaster. So it was called off.
…
That’s the news.
Insane USA. Insane Israel.
Clown Show.
Today…
What were the achievements of Mao Zedong and why are they important for China?
Mao deny the U.S. of the most vital victory in the last 100 years! The U.S. knew it had to break up China from within and it has this articulate plan to use the democracy shit to used its money to choose their U.S. puppet who will then enable them to break China into a 100 bite size nations that the U.S. can chew at! Mao deny them a Republic of China or ROC ie Kuomintang win that can and will cement the U.S. dominance in China via proxies.
I give credit to the intelligence and maturity of mind of the Chinese race. More than than Mao per say but the U.S. needs to find an enemy for its simple minded citizens hence Mao becomes their fall guy to blamed on everything. They collectively saw through the US intentions and like they say the rest is history.
Mao’s army routed the KMT and drives them out of mainland China! And with that the U.S. lost its one and only chance to carve China up into bite size nation and it knew that at some point China will become humongous with its land mass and its 1.4 billion people that the U.S. won’t be able to match.
The US had no choice but to move into plan B. To demonise China and Mao and to do it from the outside, hence Tiananmen and the recent Hong Kong protest, these are US CIA handiwork that failed no different from the Maidan coup. Or colour revolutions. Both failed miserably. And China rise and rise and rise to today threatening to destroy the U.S. economy and militarily!
In China the saying is without Mao TZE Tung there is no China today. And this is so correct. China will be a poorer version of EU with puppet leaders collecting bribes from the U.S. state department no different from Zalensky and Bumbong Marcos. Mao foiled the U.S. grand plan!
Have your kids ever walked in on you doing “it”?
Not specifically “my” kids, but when my 17 year relationship ended I spent a decade or so travelling the country most weekends to meet people via a social site I was using at the time, during that time it happened maybe a dozen times or so with their kids, once whilst I was on a step ladder on the landing helping them to put Christmas decorations into the loft when her kid who was maybe 8 came upstairs to ask them something about the TV show they were watching whilst the mother had her mouth full, she just slapped me to answer the kid on their behalf without even losing her rhythm
Possibly the weirdest one though was where the mother was on top and their daughter daughter came in to borrow an item of clothing, although she actually stopped whilst she was there she didnt cover up or even throw the quilt over me or seem embarrassed about it in the slightest, then to make the entire thing even more of a cringe later said not to give it a second thought because she did the same thing all the time when she had “someone” there, bearing in mind I personally had only met her that weekend as was a total stranger effectively, she went on to say she suspected her daughter did it deliberately to be “nosey”
As a parent to a teenaged daughter myself at the time I have to admit I found that kind of “yuck” to say the least
Why do the Americans think the Chinese military and technology are worthless garbage, but at the same time consider China as the the biggest threat?
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
It’s a combination of multiple … bad things:
It’s the classic fascism theme.
Our enemies are too strong and yet extremely weak! This is actually great, as US weapons companies can claim a missile gap and that their weapons are no use against the enemy weapons… so they can demand dump trucks full of money to make up the apparent gap.
It’s classic racist dismissive superiority
Essentially we are superior to the Asiatic hordes they are not only incompetent and immoral, also because their system inherently inferior to ours, so they will collapse!
In ability to see things for themselves
Literally reliant on vicarious experiences. Granted the PLA aren’t going to let you go look at their best stuff. As such you only see what the media show you. The media may well be the same people in control of the weapons companies.
I mean as a child in the 1980s I noticed some of the narrative didn’t align and I felt something was wrong…
Plucky Americans infiltrate the USSR to steal the Soviet SUPER WEAPON.
In 1990. Americans plot with corrupt USSR officers to steal the Soviet SUPER WEAPON.
For anybody who sat still and thought about it for a moment… wasn’t Western/American technology SUPER advanced and USSR stuff garbage? If this was the case why would there be any need to steal old Soviet junk?
Similar to my super rich uncle he acted incredibly wealthy, but it was an act. Namely by how infrequently he went out to eat and whenever he did he’d order the cheapest thing AND he’d never tip either.
What is the strangest experience you ever had in an elevator?
I was in New York in 1976 and wanted to go up to the top of the World Trade Center.
I walked for blocks and blocks to get there and strolled into the lobby. I was a scruffy 19 year old student from England.
There was an elevator for visitors in one of the towers who just wanted to see the view but you had to pay I think around $4–50c to get a ticket and ride on up.
Now not having a lot of money, I thought that if I just got into an elevator and ride on up to the top floor I could look out for free.
So I followed a crowd of guys into an elevator but then realized that they had express elevators and slow ones and you needed to pick the right one to get to the top.
So after a few abortive rides worked out which one I wanted, got on and called out to the guy nearest the panel, ‘The top please’.
Off I went and eventually arrived, exited the lift and found myself in a lobby with a desk and a lady behind it but no windows.
Well as we say in England if you do not ask you do not get.
‘Hi I said, is it possible I could look out of a window’.
She was a bit mystified at my request and wanted to know if I had an appointment to see anyone.
‘ No I just wanted to admire the view, someone said it was great’.
Anyway I was shown into an empty office and left there for a few minutes, the view was fantastic, I took some photos. The lady returned and I went back down in the lift.
Well those were the days of innocence for sure, even in New York and I watched in horror in my office in 2001 in England at the destruction that happened and felt very sad and at the same time fortunate that I had been there in much better times.
What would you do if you were told, “pack up your things and leave immediately” from your place of employment?
I worked at a place where you had to apply for the time off that you wanted for vacation. I had applied and about three weeks later I still hadn’t received approval. I went to see my manager as to why he hadn’t approved anything because I wanted to make vacation arrangements.
He said that he wanted to meet with me in an isolated area and as we sat down he said that he needed to get a witness.
He left the papers that he was carrying on the table and left the room.
He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. After about a minute, I took a peek at the papers. They were papers that outlined my dismissal and my settlement.
After about five minutes I left the room, went back to my office and gathered every shred of pertinent documents related to my 10 year employment and hid them in someone else’s office.
This proved to be extremely valuable.
When the witness came to view the proceedings, I was officially informed that I was being let go. I was the guinea pig in the case as I was the first employee that they had ever tried to dismiss like this.
They picked the wrong guy.
Other employees had been pressured into leaving and simply given their noticed. It must be mentioned that I was an older employee whose job was unique to the company.
They were telling me that they were going to be outsourcing my job – which in fact was illegal.
Terminating an older employee in order to save money is deeply frowned upon and warranted a substantial settlement.
They offered me a meager 17 weeks severance and wanted me to sign a waiver before I left. I steadfastly refused because I was fully aware of the employment standards act in the jurisdiction where I worked.
I knew it better than my boss because a few months earlier he had me read up on it because he wanted the information for another case.
When I refused to sign after telling him that the company would be hearing from my lawyer, I was asked to surrender my keys and to leave the premises immediately.
What my boss could not understand was the enormous smile on my face as he walked me out the building.
I had already decided that I was only going to work another two months which would have taken me beyond the Christmas & New Year holiday season before I was going to hand in my resignation.
With that resignation, I would have received zero compensation.
After the lawyers bandied the terms back and forth, I finally settled on a settlement of continued pay with full benefits for a year and a half.
I’m glad that I had rescued those important papers because they came in handy when my lawyer fought my case.
When the settlement was reached, I was invited back to the company to collect my personal belonging.
Most of my personal stuff had been thrown out by some over zealous lackey and they didn’t seem very apologetic.
I was so happy, and rubbed it in their faces when all the payments eventually stopped, to let them know that I was planning to quit anyway.
The story this is based on was broken by Pepe Escobar Done to bring down Netanyahu from the inside .. (unconfirmed)
This is from ‘a friend’…
“You need to know this. These Jewish military guys, they are all Russians but some of them have always been Russians, oldline Soviets and they are getting sick of Netanyahu. The risk would be too great except for one thing, the circus of Amercian politics with two mentally declining old men ‘running scared’……………
Because of the total surveillance state, the plans were printed on real paper and driven by cab from Tel Aviv to a Syrian security officer in Amman Jordan and from there to Khmeimim Air Base, where the FSB has its regional HQ.
Questions:
When will Escobar ‘strengthen’ his claim?
Can a Syrian source confirm?
Can we confirm through the IAEA who works closely with US NES Teams
(inquiries sent)
Lavrov: US-led West on verge of causing nuclear war
The US-led collective West could cause a potentially catastrophic war between global nuclear powers due to its openly hostile stance toward Russia and efforts to undermine existing arms control agreements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
Addressing the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference organized by the Centre for Energy and Security Studies, Lavrov noted that the globe is in a state of crisis with regard to mechanisms for arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation and that this jeopardizes international security. He placed the blame for this on Washington, which, according to the diplomat, has been “cynically combining the deliberate destruction of balanced and equal [arms control] agreements” with “blatantly dishonest schemes” that are advantageous solely to the US.
Lavrov explained that the US and allies were responsible for blocking the recent review cycles of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which, Lavrov says Washington long used to pressure its foes. He also noted the potential danger posed by the three-way AUKUS agreement between the US, UK and Australia, which is becoming “increasingly similar to a military bloc,” as well as NATO, which has been boosting its military spending.
According to the senior official, the West’s support for Ukraine is also fraught with danger, especially as the three major Western nuclear powers, the US, UK and France, are among the main sponsors of the “criminal Kiev regime” and the “main organizers” of provocations against Russia.
The US and Russia hold nearly 90% of the world’s nuclear warheads, according to the US-based Arms Control Association. Last year, Russia suspended its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as ‘New START’, the last remaining nuclear agreement between the US and Russia that caps arsenals. Russia cited US involvement in the Ukraine conflict as the primary cause for the suspension. Washington has since appealed to Moscow to renew dialogue on the treaty, but the latter has said that doing so is impossible as long as the US continues to support Kiev.
In his address, Lavrov reiterated this stance, saying that he saw “no basis whatsoever” for an arms control dialogue with the US “in the face of a total hybrid war being waged against our country.”
Some other AI generations
Is it true that Asian people are leaving the U.K. because they are facing too much racism?
The thing is Asian in the UK refers to Indians/Pakistanis/Bangladeshis and to some extent Nepalis, Iranians and Afghans.
I can speak for some of the UK Chinese community. A lot of my overseas born cousins have returned to China some live in the village some. Also during CNY celebrations a lot of UK cousins were looking for a way to come live here.
The problem is many of them have no way back, I mean they can come live here but can’t make a living here. Quite a few of them went straight into work after school and lived the lives of that aren’t all that dissimilar to english people.
There’s also the aspect of leaving and leaving. The 2001 census found that about 500,000 young men (of all kinds not of any particular group) had left the UK quietly. The UK you see didn’t record exits and still doesn’t if I recall correctly.
My cousin Jane she’s been here (China) since 2017, she holds a UK passport. For all intents and purposes aside from the lack of income tax payments the UK government the UK government thinks she’s still in the UK.
Same with my dad. My dad lives in China pretty much 350 out of 365 days a year here in China. Yet he retains his Netherlands and UK passports for pension purposes (he paid into those pensions all his working life). He’s moved away but on paper hasn’t moved away. His situation is replicated in almost all of the post WW2 generation. They all hold multiple passports and retain citizenship for pension purposes. They paid into those pensions and paid taxes all their lives so they’re taking out what they paid in. However, in reality they’ve pretty much emigrated.
What disgusting thing at work made you quit your job?
I was working a second job at a company that made industrial heat treatment systems. This was in addition to my midnight shift job at UPS.
Initially, the job was supposed to be four 10 hours days per week. For the time I was there, we worked 5 days per week at 10 hours per day. We even worked a couple of partial day Saturday shifts.
This schedule of working from 7am to 5 pm and from 10pm to 2am was starting to take its toll on me. I was recognizing some symptoms that my friend had gotten a few years earlier which layed him out with exhaustion for about 6 weeks. I gave notice but was asked to stay for two more weeks beyond the date that I had given.
So I stayed.
The owner decided to have the building painted. As part of the prep process, the building was media blasted with ground corn cob. This worked well to get the flaked paint off the building. It was biodegradable and worked well around the building, except in the truckwell. It clogged the drain.
With less than a week to go, a huge storm dumped a shit ton of water in the truck well. Guess which bottom of the list person was asked to clean this mess. It was a putrefying mess, a job that would cause a gag reaction.
I bailed at lunch and asked my buddy to bring my tool box back to me. No way was I going to clear that drain and reestablish the proper flow.
I don’t know who was tapped to finish the job and I didn’t ask when I went to get my last check.
Burkina Faso Military Just Caught These High-Profile Spies
The West is completely collapsing in Africa.
As an emergency room doctor, what was the fastest deterioration you’ve witnessed in a seemingly healthy patient?
I was an ICU RN at the time. I took a phone call from a doctor for a “direct admit.” That means he has seen the patient and she is en route to the hospital. He gave me her medical orders for medications, lab work, and everything else. She should be here soon. He had just spoken with her and she was on her way in.
She had been to her doctor two days before for upper respiratory problems. He was treating her with antibiotics, breathing treatments at home, and a few other things. She was just feeling worse. She called her doctor back and he sent her up to the hospital for a chest x-ray. She went back home after the x-ray.
The doctor got the phone call from the radiologist (a doctor who reads x-rays). The x-ray showed a “white-out” meaning both lungs are full of crap. Her doctor called her and told her to go immediately to the hospital. Then he called me.
About two hours passed and she hadn’t shown up. I called her doctor to let him know. He started trying to find the patient. About 20 minutes later she came walking down the hall with her hubby.
I took her straight to her room, gave her a gown, and helped her undress and get into the gown. She’s looking pretty good, colors good, speech is easy and clear. She doesn’t seem to be very sick. She and hubby had gone out to dinner and a trip to Walmart en route to the hospital.
I took her blood pressure and couldn’t find one. I seriously thought the machine was broken. I went out and got another machine and asked another nurse to get me an IV and also call respiratory therapy for an oxygen set up and a nebulizer set up.
I was out of the room for less than five minutes. When I walked in, it was obvious she had a significant decline in her health. I yelled out to the hallway for help and hit the code button near the head of her bed. She was unconscious and not breathing by the time help arrived.
Despite over five hours of extreme measures, she died. Her doctor was pretty devastated she went out to dinner and didn’t understand how adamant he was about going to the hospital NOW.
Her “white-out” chest x-ray was a presentation of ARDS. Acute respiratory distress syndrome. ARDS is generally 90% fatal. It is also the main reason Covid lands people on ventilators.
I felt so bad for poor hubby when the doctor explained to him the dinner date may have killed her. There was nothing to be gained from putting that guilt on him.
When being terminated from a job, have you ever warned the company of something important that only you knew how to do, and your advice has gone unheeded?
Mine was a bit strange
it was a Monday, I show up to work, (I had scheduled a surgery for that day, but I had canceled it and went to work ) I arrived early, and went straight to my office, and closed the door. I came out for coffee a couple hours later , and I saw no one around (that was a first, usually people would be scurrying about every where.
I got my coffee and went back to my office, came out for lunch, no body around , so I started looking for people, and ran into the president of the company , and as he saw me, he went ballistic “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in the hospital. Go get out of here NOW ! I explained that I wasn’t going to get it done.
He said you’re on sick leave, SO YOU LEAVE NOW !
We argued a little, and I told him I needed to finish what I had started this morning, laughing I thought he was pulling something over on me.
Man you can’t go back , come into my office.
An order had come from corporate, they were to lay off the top salary person in each department, and half of the staff, as well as 90% of the draftsmen. I was the highest paid engineer in the Air Pollution division, and the project engineer for a system, and no one even had a clue of how it worked But me ( it was also the biggest contract the company EVER HAD )
I had finished shipping everything that was in the system to the general contractor the week before.
He told me he had planned , while I was off sick to convince corporate if He laid me off the company would lose millions.
As I sat there as he called the general contractor ( 300 miles away on the Job site .
“WE HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM!”,, and explained everything to them.
The contractor hired me instantly Doubled my salary , and covered all expenses, for me and my family to move down there and live for two years .
My now old boss asked if they would start my pay right then. So he could keep me the rest of the week to fix all the loose ends in my office.
Everyone else that was laid off the day was not allowed to even go back to their workplace or office, they were escorted out by security.
They system I had designed, no company had ever got one to work, no one believed anyone could make one work (I was hired after they got the contract as the fall guy , to get blamed )
It worked the first time I hit the start button, and are now Worldwide
Some fun comix
Is it true that Americans can shoot anyone who breaks into their house, like a target practice without having to worry about the consequences?
My state passed the Castle Doctrine some years ago. Before then, if someone broke into your home, you had to prove that they actually meant you harm before you could defend yourself. This usually meant letting them harm or kill you. But the Castle Doctrine ended that nonsense. Now if someone breaks into your home, their presence there is considered to be proof of intent to do harm. In other words, their mere presence in your home allows you to use deadly force. The law also says you can’t be sued for doing so.
So it’s this simple. If you break into my home, you WILL get shot. Sound ruthless? It’s intended to be. But then you have a very effective way to prevent it. Don’t break into my home. It works every time.
NOTE: I’ve dealt with several childish responses which say such idiotic things as “What if it’s your drunk brother coming home late”. For those slow on the uptake, I point that we are talking about someone who is BREAKING INTO a house. Not someone just coming home late.
Now, if my brother…don’t have one, but for the sake of discussion….comes home and finds himself locked out and then proceeds to break into my home in the same manner as a criminal would, then he takes the risk of getting shot. And if I did so, I would certainly wish it hadn’t happened, but the RESPONSIBILITY for what happened was his and his alone.
I’m sorry but I believe in the world where people take personal responsibility for their own actions. And I’m not going to expose my wife and I to a potential deadly threat while waiting to see if it’s actually a bad guy or not.
Note #2: Enough is a enough. I’ve done all the arguing I’m going to with nitwits who think someone breaking into your home is acceptable behavior. Turning off comments.
I really don’t understand the American culture. I knew somebody for 22 years. I asked if she could lend me $200 for 4 days and she refused. Why?
Haha!
As a Newcomer in Canada, I met a Nigerian friend who kindly purchased about $10 worth of items (winter gloves, socks) for me.
When I said “Thank you”, she told me to give her a refund when I can.
I was shocked!
As Nigerians, we’re used to receiving gifts or just random things from friends & family, free of charge.
Growing up in Nigeria, you don’t expect a refund for about $5, $10 or even $20 items.
It’s not same here in Canada/US.
Or maybe this was only applicable to my sheltered life & not to the rest of Nigerians – you guys tell me.
So, I gave my friend back her $10.
However, I was not going to let the American or Canadian system change me.
While living with that friend, I’d buy fruits & other items and share with her.
It’s just who I was raised to be; I share things!
She’d ask to pay me back & I’d politely decline.
I wasn’t gonna come to Canada & just switch from who I used to be.
Mind you, I would never go broke from these little acts of communal living or kindness.
Guess what?
With time, that my friend caught on.
She started sharing her own things: giving back to me & waiving refunds from me.
I also observed she didn’t extend this generosity to others.
But even with my own generosity, I would give but never expect anything back.
So, I wouldn’t expect anyone to outright lend me their money.
If it’s not yours, don’t expect it to be (easily) given to you.
But what I’ve learned about the American/Canadian credit culture is that many people don’t have free cash to spare.
Many of them don’t have any extra money sitting in their chequing/savings account.
Once salaries are paid, nearly all of it goes to debt payments (rent, school loans, credit cards, various utilities, phone bill, car, insurance etc.).
I’ve been blessed to not have any debts & to live quite a frugal & financially-wise lifestyle.
A friend once borrowed money from me because her husband’s birthday came before her paycheck (salary) was paid.
I know people who can’t go out to eat with their colleagues unless it’s a pay day (the day salaries are paid).
Hence, where would someone like that find $200 to lend to you for 4 days?
Even if they have it, they might have better things to do with it than lend it to you.
No one owes you their money.
Even if you ask, & it’s not given – kindly understand, respect their decision & move on!
SERGEY LAVROV:
"We want to focus on Eurasian security, which is much more natural. Eurasia is one continent and no players from across the ocean will be involved in this arrangement. Eurasian security will rely on a unification of all existing projects – the EAEU, the CSTO, the SCO, and the CIS. China’s Belt and Road Initiative will provide a material foundation for future security arrangements. We will keep the door open for the western part of the continent, for everyone. Of course, this is our common home where everyone should behave properly and avoid bringing the Americans’ aspirations into any of these future constructs. They will certainly try to poke their noses into these processes though, just as they are now getting involved in the Asia-Pacific region, the Indian Ocean and other regions. But China is a powerful player. When China proposes its initiatives, it never pressures anyone. Beijing can propose an economic project, for example, building a railway in Central Asia, or in Africa, or somewhere else, but all decisions will be made on the basis of a balance of interests. This is the case in our relations with China, and we saw a record increase in trade to $240 billion last year. It will definitely continue to grow."
Excerpt from remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with the radio stations Sputnik, Govorit Moskva, and Komsomolskaya Pravda, Moscow, April 19, 2024.
Shorpy Selection
Bad cop Blinken to deliver ultimatum to China
*sigh* Yada yada
What’s the fastest you’ve personally fired someone else and why?
I used to own nightclubs and one night I was visiting the biggest one. It had a 2,500 capacity with over 3,500 people through the doors each night.
The manager greeted me and was very excited to suggest that I went to the VIP bar to meet the new server.
When I walked in, I saw one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen in my life. Slim, blonde, tanned and had to have been at least six foot tall.
I introduced myself but didn’t get much response back except a smile. I then asked her for a bottle of water. This is where the problem became apparent.
She looked at me with a confused face. “A water please” I repeated but still the same response. “Aqua?” I asked, no joy, “Agua?”, no response. I didn’t know the Polish for water.
I ended up pointing to the taps and she started to fill a glass. At this point, I went behind the bar and got myself a bottle.
I went straight to the manager and, with a tear in my eye, I told him that she had to go. I simply couldn’t afford for her to stay.
I have no problem at all employing non-native English speakers, but they need enough English to be able to take drink orders from customers. The club hadn’t even opened at this point so there wasn’t any music playing.
The following weekend, I was relating this story to a good friend of mine who also owned bars. He was laughing and was very sympathetic to my pain. As we walked into his bar, there, behind the bar, was the very same Polish stunner!
What are some of the most mind-blowing facts?
1. Australia is wider than the moon.
2. You share your birthday with about 20 million people.
3. One million seconds is less than 11 days.
One billion seconds is more than 31 years.
4. Airplane food isn’t very tasty because our sense of smell and taste decrease by around 30 percent during flights.
(img source: Instagram)
5. YouTube began as a dating site.
PS
7. Serial killers behave like bees. Scientists studied bee behavior and found algorithms police now use to catch felons.
8. In a 2008 survey, 58% of British teenagers thought Sherlock Holmes was a real person.
9. High heels were originally for men.
10. The average woman loses 1-2 hours of sleep each night due to over thinking.
11. Psychology says if you have the power to go to movies and restaurants alone, you can do anything in your life.
If you’ve ever had to kick your adult child out of your house, how did you deal with your guilt?
My step son had been with me off and on since was 13. When he was 18, he was living with his mom again. My youngest had just turned 2 and his daycare situation fell apart, so I asked my step-son to watch him for a few days while I found a new daycare.
They had always had a very close relationship and while my step-son was staying over, we talked and decided that he would move in and be my live in “manny”. He wasn’t working at the time and his mom’s house was overwhelming with kids, pets etc. He got free room and board, plus I paid him $10 a day for spending money and he only was “on duty” while I was working. Any time I was home he was not responsible for anything and if I wanted extra hours off that I would either hire him at $10 an hour or I had another part time lady who would watch him when she was available.
The only thing I asked of him was to pick up after him and the little one, not sleep all day, keep him engaged and don’t let people over during the day because he was supposed to be taking care of the little guy, not socializing. Everything was great for a year or so. Then, he stated sneaking girls over during the day. My little guy would tell me that a girl had been over and my step son would deny it. He stopped picking things up and I’d come home to a mess, my son still in pj’s etc. Then, he started talking about his was the man of the house and he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted and I had no right to tell him otherwise.
We had several talks about his responsibilities and how he was not in charge etc. It seemed like Things straightened up for a while, but it started backsliding again. So, I decided that this was not going to work out anymore. I found a new daycare and told him that he was no longer needed as the manny. He could rent the room he was staying in for $450 a month plus utilities or he could move out, his choice. I explained that when you are hired by someone to do a job, that you are not free to make your own rules on how that job is handled and you don’t get to decide that you can do what you want, especially when kids are involved.
He was angry and hurt and we didn’t speak for a few months. I felt incredibly guilty, because his own mother has abandoned him multiple times. He spent a lot of time in foster care as a kid and it felt like I was doing the same thing buy telling him to leave. He ended up leaving and going to stay with his girlfriend, who he eventually married. However, we have always had a great relationship so after he got it out of his system, we resumed talking, hanging out and visiting. He eventually told me he understood why I did what what I did and how that event made him grow up and stop acting like a kid.
He’s now 29 years old. He’s a terrific father to his two kids and he’s raising his older brother’s son too. He has a fantastic job, owns his home and has a great life. He and I talk several times a week by phone since he lives out of state now. He’s getting re-married in July 2021, and has asked me to be there since he considers me the mother that has stuck by him through thick and thin and have been the best influence on him. Him and my son still have a super close relationship and every summer we go to visit for a week or so. My youngest son turned 13 this year and is planning to go stay with his brother for 2 weeks this summer, without me being there (this is a first for us)!
Sometimes, you gotta kick those baby birds out of the nest, so they learn how to fly on their own!
What’s your expectation for Blinken’s upcoming trip to China?
Tony ‘the Brainless’ Blinken has announced that he plans to warn China against exporting weapons to Russia or face sanctions
Of course he knows and everyone knows that China doesn’t export weapons to Russia
The very fact that he announced his agenda publicly and claimed to go to China to WARN THE CHINESE and still be allowed to visit China by the Chinese indicate that this is mere Public Bluster meant to play to the Gallery
Why visit the Chinese to warn them? A Mere summoning of the Ambassador in DC can do the job equally well.
Anyone who is even a high schooler who has studied even one chapter of International Affairs and Political Science will know that China will not stop trading with the Russians
So why is Blinken going to China
- To placate the Chinese on the $ 8 Billion Taiwanese Arms Package. You can bet Blinken will make a “US believes in One China” and “US doesn’t support Taiwanese Independence” hidden somewhere in those ‘Warnings’.
- To persuade the Chinese to get a message to Putin to somehow keep things fluid until the November 2024 elections. To get the Chinese to use their Yuan system and their Exports to Russia as a leverage and get Putin to back off and keep things on a stalemate level so that Biden doesn’t risk a major backlash
Yellen was the soft job
She was supposed to persuade the Chinese by saying “You get Putin to go slow on Ukraine or even freeze the conflict upto 2024 November and we won’t target you on Overcapacity and Steel and Shipping”
The Chinese simply said “Sorry but NO CAN DO”
Now Blinken will try the same thing
“You get Putin to go slow or even freeze the conflict upto 2024 November and we will go soft on our Anti Chinese Rhetoric. The President will even ignore any Anti China bills”
Plus a new
“You do this and we will ensure that $ 8 Billion is delayed from reaching Taiwan for months if not years”
Its evident that Chinese exports are keeping the Sanctions from crippling Russia today although not to the extent that they could have crippled Russia back in 2022 March or April
They keep Russia’s Industries going with Finished Goods and Consumer Goods flooding into the country to keep the people spending money
Plus the Chinese make key machine tools and components needed for Russia for their War Industry too
So technically Xi can leverage Putin
He won’t do so
Simply put Russia is a source of Commodities and Energy for China that bypasses all the USD routes
The West simply cannot find out how much Oil China imported from Russia or Gas or Commodities because they were paid in Yuan and Ruble between Shanghai and Moscow
So China will respond with the usual
“International law should prevail. We call for peace by all sides. We are law abiding and our trade with Russia is entirely commercial. We refuse any allegation that we are funding the war machine in Russia. We request the US to uphold international law”
Blinken will return with a few more threats
Biden will be furious at the Chinese as usual so he will sanction a few banks, maybe place another 50 companies from China on a blacklist, impose tariffs on Chinese Steel and get Bong Bong or Lai to make a few provocative statements
The Chinese as usual will make the normal statements of “We protest against this. We deny these accusations”
Nobody trusts the West anymore. That’s the problem.
Putin trusted them in 2015 (Minsk 2) and 2022 (Istanbul) and was betrayed both times
The Chinese have never trusted the WESTERN BARBARIANS for millennia
Even stalwarts like Kissinger or Baker who were good diplomats and convincing liars couldn’t fox the Chinese
You think this Idiot Blinken can manage to do so?
IMF Issues STARK WARNING TO UNITED STATES!
What did your boss say to you during a meeting that resulted in you immediately resigning?
At one time, I worked in a factory that made polystyrene products. I’d only been there about a year, and was on the night crew. Once a month, the company would have a safety meeting that fell at a time after the day crew shift, and at the beginning of night crew’s.
Both sides were bitching about working conditions.
Day crew bitched that we weren’t getting everything done, which was making more work for them.
Night crew was bitching that day crew was doing the bare minimum, and we were getting tired of working fifteen hours shifts six days a week, while they worked eight hours five days a week. We also pointed out that even though we had a third of the people day crew did, we got out two thirds of the work. We wanted things more equitable.
The plant manager had enough. “Okay, night crew. You knew what you signed on for. Those orders have to be completed. If you don’t like how things are done here, walk. There’s the door.”
One could have heard a pin drop.
We all looked at each other. “Okay, boss. You win.”
We all got up and headed for the door. Fifteen people (the entire night crew) headed out to the parking lot.
It was at this moment the plant manager and day crew had a “come to Jesus” moment. No night crew meant that day crew would have to work overtime to get the orders done. By his own mouth, he had condemned them to go back to work instead of being done for the day. The prospect of having to work six days a week of double shifts did not appeal to day crew. They began to panic.
He called out to us, and asked us to come back. “What do you guys want?”
We haggled this deal.
- Hire more employees to keep up with the work load.
- If days didn’t get finished in eight hours, they stayed until they did. In return, we’d come in four hours later, and we would stay until our stuff was done.
- Workload distributed fairly based on employees available.
- No shifts longer than twelve hours.
- If we weren’t done with night’s stuff by Friday, days was to finish up on Saturday. If they couldn’t finish, nights would come in on Saturday to do so.
Somehow, magically, the day crew worked harder, and night crew actually got to see their families once in a while.
Some of my latest AI generations
Theme is “Asian women with wine, loaves of bread, tomatoes and cats”
How does it feel to get fired from your job suddenly?
It happened to me just 2 years back, when I was called by my HR and told that I need not come to office from Monday onwards, and I would be getting my 2 months salary. It was sudden, no advance notice, no prior warning nothing. It was not that I was idle, I was neck deep in a project, working on a crucial module. There was no attempt even made to give me time to do a Knowledge Transfer to other colleagues. I was asked not to speak to any colleagues about this, was just asked to take my belongings and leave.
The irony was that I was the one who had done more work on my module than others, got it up and running. There were issues, but primarily due to lack of guidance. Basically the management had no clue about how to manage the project, the specifications just keep changing randomly, and it got escalated. They needed some scapegoat, since I was the one getting the higher pay it fell on me.
It was not an easy feeling at all, I had a family to support, I had bills to pay, I had to pay the tuition fees for my daughter’s school and here I was out of a job, staring at an uncertain future ahead. It was hard to be facing this, and for 4 months I was jobless, one of the worst period of my life. It was also the time I realized, that corporate relationships never really have any meaning. All those colleagues with whom I was hanging out, boozing, did not even bother to call me up and find what happened. Not even a single courtesy call, and these were the same guys who used to literally force me to join some party. Not that I believed in it earlier, but this whole corporate bonding, team bonding thing is an utter sham. It was not that bad at my earlier workplaces, where we had a good bonding, even after I left the company.
Also being jobless is one of the worst possible things to ever happen, you become an object of pity, ridicule, there is rarely any empathy. Every Tom, Dick and Harry, becomes an expert on your career, giving you free advice, even though they had no clue what you are doing. I finally managed to land up a job, but these 4 months were harrowing, one of the worst phases in my life.
On a positive note, it was during my lay off period, that I discovered Quora, and that I guess was one of the good things that happened.
I just want to say one thing, don’t take your workplace too seriously, invest time in good hobbies, in family. Never ever trust your workplace colleagues, sorry if I am sounding cynical, but too many bitter experiences has just made me wary. Finish work, go home, spend time with family or if you are single, spend time reading or learning music or watch a good movie.
Have you ever told a “pushy” car salesman something that stopped him immediately? What was it?
I almost forgot this experience. We were in the market for a minivan in the late 80s, when we went on a relaxing Sunday drive.
We came across the local Toyota dealership and saw the funny looking Toyo van. In case you don’t remember it it looked like this:
We honestly were just curious about it, so we stopped to take a look.
Unfortunately, we did not realize the dealership was open on a Sunday, and we were soon approached by a salesman who, before we knew it, gave us the keys and told us to take it for a spin.
So we did. It was just a weird driving it as it looked because the driver is literally sitting over the front wheels. Steering took some getting used to.
We laughed about it and soon brought it back to the dealership. We thanked the salesman, who invited us inside where we met the sales manager and the finance guy.
Wait, what? Before we had a moment to think we had lease papers in front of us. I’m serious. We never gave any indication that we intended to purchase or lease. But all they needed was our signatures. I don’t know how they got all of the other information on the papers, but I’m assuming it was from our car that was left on the lot while we went for a test drive.
A pen appeared in my hand, and I was about two-inches from the signature line, when all of a sudden I blurted out “Wait! It’s a Sunday! I can’t buy a car on a Sunday. That’s against my religion.”
The sales manager was quick on his feet, “But you’re not actually buying it. You’ll be leasing it.”
Then I looked down and said “Oh no, I’m wearing shorts. There’s no way I can sign these papers wearing shorts. I need to go home and change.”
And we left. To their credit they never bothered to contact me again.
It pays to be a little crazy when dealing with a crazy business.
When it comes to love and relationships, what is the first lesson you want to teach your children?
Mother never gave advice. Dad gave me advice twice in my entire life. He said this to me when I was about 18. “It’s better to be lonely than unhappy.” He was referring to future relationships with boyfriends, but it can be taken a step further in terms of relationships with anyone. It’s better to be lonely than unhappy.
The second piece of advice Dad gave me was when my first child was born. Let me preface this advice by saying Dad was the kindest, most gentle, loving person in the world. He did not raise his voice or spank us. Having said that, this is why we obeyed him.
We valued him as a father and a human being so much we did not want to disappoint him. Dad modeled the kind of behavior he expected of us. All we had to do was follow his example. By and large, we did.
You can see the love on Dad’s face as he looks at his scowly daughter. Just so I don’t keep you in suspense, I am that scowly daughter. That’s our old car in the background.
If for some reason, we got a little “rowdy”, Dad put down his newspaper and looked at us over the rim of his glasses. That’s all he had to do.
However, there was an inner core of strength to Dad and somehow he established an invisible line that we never crossed. We didn’t cross it out of fear but out of immense respect and devotion.
I needed to set the stage for Dad’s second piece of advice. When my first child was born. He looked at me and said, “Teach him who’s boss early.”
I brought up my two children very much the same way I was raised. My children and I adore each other. In fact, I just texted them and asked if they remembered something I did when they were very small. I’d say, “Open your hand and close your eyes and you’ll get a BIG surprise.” They both remembered the many times I did that.
The advice Dad gave me dealt with my relationships with people and my relationship with my children. Both pieces of advice proved to be invaluable.
Update on “Pepe’s Nuke”
Since Moon of Alabama remains offline, this becomes the place to further broaden the reach of Pepe Escobar’s following announcement he posted to his Telegram:
THE NUCLEAR F-35 MYSTERY – FINAL UPDATE
1. It’s now fully established that The Information was confirmed independently by the intel of a Big Power.
2. The Information was NOT relayed by Russia.
3. It then reached a third nation – and from that to me.
4. The players involved are not backing down an inch from The Information.
5. I was privately provided with two examples of the accuracy of recent intel by the Big Power on two separate big developments in West Asia .
6. The source that contacted me notes that “sometimes, after news has entered the media space, there is no choice but not to provide clarification.”
Additionally, a senior Russian diplomat who does not know The Information, said to me the following:
1. “That is entirely possible.”
2. It shouldn’t have been revealed to the public.
3. “If this is true, then all sides will be determined to cover it up.”
One unanswered question for me is: Why did the Big Power source relay The Information to an intel agency from another nation? I tend to believe this was to erase its tracks in the chain. Particularly because my initial source has now revealed that the Big Power gained their intelligence firsthand – and that it was not transmitted to them by the Russians, Iranians or other direct parties to the hot war in West Asia.
To sum it all up, via the source who originally received The Information: “If anyone should be accused of fabrication it is the ’source’; but in this case the ’source’ remains confident of the accuracy.
I rest my case. I published raw intel the way I received it.
It’s up to a wider audience to judge whether – and how – The Information connects with new developments occurring at breakneck speed, and part of a New Paradigm.
I earlier today noted when replying to a comment that Pepe joined Larry Johnson and Dima in a chat on the topic, which can be found here. Pepe’s note above was posted after that chat.
I don’t have much to add, although I will again note this RT item reporting Iranian President Raisi’s words when he arrived in Pakistan, “Iran threatens to wipe out Israel,” that was published yesterday:
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has threatened Israel with annihilation if it attempts to attack Iran again….
“If the Zionist regime once again makes a mistake and attacks the sacred land of Iran, the situation will be different, and it is not clear whether anything will remain of this regime,” the state news agency IRNA quoted Raisi as saying. [Emphasis original and mine]
Now eliminating the Zionist regime isn’t the same as annihilating Occupied Palestine, which RT inserted as hyperbole as what was promised was decapitation of the “regime” to some degree, perhaps total.
As I recall, the initial promise of retaliation in response to an attack on Iranian soil was made by the Iranian military and was done prior to what’s been deemed the Zionist response that was dubbed rather tepid and inept by fanatical Zionists.
The political response by Raisi comes after Escobar’s publication of his source’s revelation and may or may not be connected. Pepe seems content with having done his job as a messenger.
Most open-minded analysts believe the Zionists could have tried such an attack and wouldn’t have warned anyone, including its benefactor the Outlaw US Empire.
Given what we’ve witnessed regarding the Zionists willingness to kill any and all who oppose their Genocidal Project, I believe their response was the bomb as all—Zionists, their press and Pro-Zionist Western media— were anticipating something at that level of destruction, but nothing similar happened. And nothing of any consequence occurred on Passover either.
Today’s been a relatively quiet day for the region, but that can change at any moment.
Say GOODBYE To The American Dream (EVERYONE IS LEAVING!)
More and more Americans are deciding that the American dream is now to leave! Shocker, it’s getting too expensive to even survive here for most people let alone by a nice home being able to afford to raise children in it and also retire comfortably one day. As George Carlin said they call it the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.
Been in Thailand for 7 months. Lost 35 pounds. Just from not eating processed foods. Had a condo for $600 right across the street from the beach.
Food in a western restaurant about $5. Pork fried rice from a street stall is about $2. Went to Malaysia and got an extensive physical for $350.
I’m happier in SE Asia.
I’ve met many expats , most are Europeans. A few Americans.
The people that say the USA is still the best haven’t been anywhere or haven’t been anywhere recently.
Is Thailand perfect? No.
Does Thailand have incredible value both monetarily and spiritually? For me the answer is yes.
Let’s say I can get 99% of my needs met for 25-30% of the cost in the US. Add in the health benefits , and just being happier and FOR ME it’s over 100% of what my life was like in the US.
Personally I miss the people in my life back in the US. I miss the food in Chicago.
I’d do just about anything for some pizza right about now.
But I don’t miss living in the US.
Don’t miss the stress.
Don’t miss the crime of Chicago.
Definitely don’t miss the politics and the culture wars.
You can live very well here for $1000-1500 a month in SE Asia. The only hiccup is immigration issues.
Frankly they don’t want Americans in this neck of the woods.
Russians , Chinese and others can stay in these countries for longer with less hurdles than you as a US Citizen can .
But you can stay in Thailand for 6 months.
Malaysia for 3 months. Vietnam for 3 months. Lather , rinse , repeat. Oh. You don’t see the homeless you see in LA here.
You can walk around without a pistol to defend yourself like I’d advise you to do in Chicago.
Those are the two places I’ve lived in the US.
There is no value in the US.
The schools suck.
The healthcare system is insane. Cost of medicine is insane. Social issues are insane.
I’m a blue collar guy. Union dude.
Made a lot of money during my lifetime.
But there is no value in the US anymore.
You go to Kuala Lumpur and look out your hotel window and you can count 20-30 cranes building skyscrapers. How many cranes do you see in Chicago or NYC ?
Asia is the future.
The women are beautiful.
I wish I could’ve done this 10 years ago.
You are much better off making 40k a year as a digital nomad in Cambodia than you are making 100k a year in NYC or LA , or SF or Chicago.
It’s all about value. There is no value in the US anymore.
Stick a fork in it. It’s dead.
Brings me no joy to say any of this. I have a son. I have family that lives in the US.
The difference in how things are now and how they were just 5 years ago in LA , Los Angeles , Vegas , Phoenix and Chicago is incredible.
And it’s not going in the right direction.
If you need to make 100k a year just to tread water it doesn’t make any sense to live there.
If your house is worth $1 million dollars but nobody can buy it because they need to make $200k a year to buy it and only 1% of the country makes that kind of money what good does that do you?
They are trying to sell Jeeps for over $100k!
A piece of shit Jeep!
I love the US. I hate what it is becoming.
But what can you do. For me.
The best decision was to pack up my stuff and move. For you it may be to stay and fight.
But I’d advise everyone to at least look into moving abroad. Could be Europe. Could be Latin America. Could be Asia.
There may be someplace that is a better for for you. Or maybe not. Personally I’d rather thrive than struggle.
And if it doesn’t work out I can always go back and get my $25 Big Mac Combo at McDonalds